Glass 
 
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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 
 
THE 
 
 Glory of Our Youth 
 
 AS PORTRAYED IN THE EVENTS AND MOVEMENTS THAT 
 
 HAVE CHIEFLY DISTINGUISHED THE MARVELOUS 
 
 ADVANCE OF THE AMERICAN NATION 
 
 From Colony to World Power 
 
 THE FASCINATING STORY 
 
 Interesting as a romance, of the notable occurrences and decisive actions in the 
 
 Political, Social, Religious, Economic, and Industrial Life of the 
 
 People, from the Birth of the Republic 
 
 to the current year 
 
 WITH 
 
 ENTERTAINING AND RELIABLE 
 
 Character-sketches of the men and women whom the Nation has 
 
 delighted to honor; all made doubly interesting by lively 
 
 accounts of personal experiences, anecdotes, etc. 
 
 BY 
 FRAZAR KIRKLAND 
 
 AND 
 
 CHARLES W. CHASE, A. B. 
 
 Richly illustrated with about four hundred reproductions 
 of famous paintings, portraits, etc. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE C. A. NICHOLS COMPANY 
 
 SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 
 
vA' 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^.<v 
 
 Copyright 1909 by 
 THE C. A. NICHOLS Co. 
 
 ,1. b. lyon company 
 
 Electrottpers, Pbinters and Binders, 
 
 albany, new york. 
 
 ©Gl. A 2 53240 
 
IT is superfluous to remind an American reader that the United 
 States have become a great Nation, well nigh incomparably great 
 in its virtues and achievements, — not insignificantly great, per- 
 haps, in its vices and in what it has failed to accomplish. Scores of writers have 
 depicted in dignified and stately narrative the growth of the Nation, from a weak and 
 discordant condition that threatened to be fatal, to the stage of exalted power, bound- 
 less resources and wealtli, and vast moral influence which it holds to-day. 
 
 In the present work, however, the author has conceived of this national life as the 
 counterpart or reflection of the life of an individual. In the Colonial period its 
 infancy and childhood are seen, which gradually merge into a lusty and vigorous 
 youth, chiefly through the unifying experiences of the Revolutionary war, and the 
 broadening outlook that came with independent sovereignty and constantly enlarging 
 national and international relations. By conscious and unconscious accretions of 
 strength, physical vigor, and moral force the youth develops through a century of 
 marvelous expansions until at its close full maturity of powers, definiteness of 
 purpose, and a mighty determination to attain more lofty heights of achievement and 
 influence mark the advent upon the world's stage of action of the adult Nation, — a 
 World Power of lofty and imposing grandeur. And in the story of the Nation's 
 progress from infancy to maturity we find " The Glory of Our Youth." 
 
 Such a conception naturally admits of a method of treatment of the Nation's de- 
 velopment very different from that of the ordinary historian. Wars and international 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 quarrels are considered rather as inci- 
 dents in, than determining factors of, its 
 growth. Their course, therefore, has not 
 been followed closely or in detail; but 
 significant events and movements that 
 illustrate the patriotism, and the heroic 
 purpose and action, of the people at differ- 
 ent periods have been selected and de- 
 scribed more fully than the space of the 
 usual historic narration would permit. 
 But hardly a year has passed since Inde- 
 pendence was proclaimed when a certain 
 individual occurrence or natural phe- 
 nomenon lias not chiefly absorbed the 
 thought and attention of all the people of 
 the land. Such living questions of diiler- 
 ent periods it has been the author's aim 
 to select with judgment and make the 
 subject of detailed treatment in the 
 several chapters of this work. By this 
 method of presenting the story of the 
 Nation's development the reader may 
 become more intimately familiar with the 
 dominant hopes, fears, and aspirations of 
 the people as the years rolled by than 
 would otherwise be possible; while it 
 admits of the description of personal ex- 
 periences, interesting and peculiar situ- 
 ations, and the introduction of anecdotes, 
 which serve to enliven the narrative. 
 
 No subject, for example, so engaged 
 popular attention in 1789 as the novel 
 function of inaugurating the first Presi- 
 dent of the new Republic. The standard 
 histories simply record the main features 
 of the event, with comment especially 
 directed toward its political significance. 
 Here, however, by making the inaugura- 
 tion the subject of a separate chapter, the 
 autlior has been able to weave into the 
 story interesting incidents, to describe in 
 detail the movements, bearing, and dress 
 of President Washington, the manner in 
 which popular enthusiasm expressed itself, 
 and many similar features in much the 
 same way as the Press correspondents 
 have recently sent into every home an 
 account of all the incidents of interest 
 connected with the inauguration of 
 President Taft. Comparatively few people 
 of the present day are aware that their 
 forefathers in 1780 were thrown into an 
 
 almost incredible state of superstitious 
 fear and terror by what was long known 
 and talked of as the " Wonderful Dark 
 Day." By selecting that as the subject 
 best illustrating popular interest at that 
 time, it is possible to depict with a large 
 measure of clearness the mental and re- 
 ligious sentiment then prevalent. Look- 
 ing back to the year 1857 one finds the 
 whole country disturbed and all its people 
 woefully distressed by conditions not ap- 
 parently related, yet which our narrative 
 will show were closely connected. The 
 " Great Panic " of that year carried 
 despair and ruin into thousands of homes 
 all over the land; in the "Great Revival" 
 movement of the same period one sees the 
 stricken people, by scores of thousands, 
 turning for succor to Him " who opens 
 His hand " only " to satisfy the desire of 
 every living thing." A chapter given to 
 each of these subjects is replete with in- 
 cidents and anecdotes that touch the heart 
 and kindle the fires of sympathy in the 
 breast of every reader. With the Great 
 lievival movement of 1857 the author has 
 associated a detailed and inspiriting ac- 
 count of the wonderful work of Moody 
 and Sankey twenty years later. At first 
 blush one would fail to recognize any con- 
 nection between the chance meeting of 
 Alexander I. of Russia, in 1815, with the 
 religious enthusiast and pietist, Mme. de 
 Krudener, and the establishment of the 
 Monroe Doctrine and the settlement of 
 the Venezuela Boundary dispute. As the 
 attitude of President Cleveland on the 
 latter subject was the topic of dominant 
 interest in this country and England in 
 1895, it has naturally been chosen as the 
 subject of our chapter to illustrate that 
 period; and it has thus been possible to 
 trace to its source, and in an interesting 
 manner to make more intelligible, the 
 development of the great American 
 Doctrine which then, for the first time, 
 was recognized by the foremost Powers 
 of the world as an unwritten principle of 
 International Law. No one matter of 
 public concern, probably, has more 
 thoroughly engrossed the thought and 
 attention of the American people during 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 the last decade than the Isthmian Canal. 
 Making this the subject of one of our 
 longer ehaxsters, the progress of the Canal 
 scheme is detailed from the days when 
 Philip II. of Spain, after prolonged in- 
 vestigation by his naval officers and en- 
 gineers, abandoned the project because it 
 was evidently an impious act for man to 
 attempt to join oceans which God had 
 put asunder, down to the latest visit of 
 President Taft to Panama. And lastly, 
 not to cite other illustrations from the 
 scores that are noted in our Table of 
 Contents, it will be within thfe memory 
 of most of our readers how the religious 
 world was shocked when it was proposed 
 to revise the grand old Bible, which had 
 been considered perfect in every respect, 
 and of too sacred a character to be 
 touched by the irreverent hands of so- 
 called textual critics and advanced 
 Biblical scholars. A vast majority of 
 Bible readers sympathized with the senti- 
 ment of the curate quoted by Bishop 
 Wordsworth, " that if the authorized 
 version was good enough for St. Paul it 
 was good enough for him." Selecting 
 the Revision of the Bible as the subject 
 for our chapter illustrating popular 
 thought and interest about 1880, it is 
 shown in a lucid and, it is believed, very 
 entertaining and instructive manner how 
 our prized King James Version has been 
 evolved from a long succession of ante- 
 cedent versions; and it is also made 
 manifest that nothing of its essential 
 truth has been disturbed or destroyed in 
 the revision. 
 
 These topics are named merely to 
 illustrate as clearly as we may the idea 
 that has been worked out in the prepara- 
 tion of this book. With loving interest 
 and thoughtful study the author has sur- 
 veyed the period of the nation's history 
 which in his thought constituted its 
 " C41orious Youth," and has chosen such 
 subjects for detailed treatment as seem to 
 express most fully the mental and physical 
 activities of the jjeople for nearly each 
 year of the period covered; and which, he 
 believes, in their totality furnish a more 
 illuminating and vastly more fascinating 
 
 survey of the young nation's progress 
 toward maturity than can be secured by 
 any other method of treatment. His 
 purpose has been not merely to instruct, 
 but to interest and entertain the reader ; 
 " by judicious selection, rejection, and ar- 
 rangement," as Macaulay has said, " to 
 give to truth those attractions which have 
 been usurped by fiction." 
 
 Most frankly and happily it is admitted 
 that the aim has been to present the 
 various subjects treated in a populwr 
 manner. But with the most determined 
 insistence it is maintained that such a 
 treatment need not, and has not been 
 allowed to, in any degree involve a loss 
 of dignity in the style of writing, nor 
 of a keen sense of the difference between 
 what appeals to a vicious and uneducated 
 public sentiment and that which ministers 
 to the highest ideals, loftiest aspirations, 
 and purest life of an intelligent and 
 right-minded people. The author has 
 had in mind the hundreds of thousands of 
 average homes throughout this great land ; 
 and unless he has lamentably failed in his 
 labors the work will be fomid intellectu- 
 ally and morally enlightening and helpful, 
 and, best of all, stimulating in an 
 unusual degree of a desire to know more 
 of the history and true greatness of this, 
 our home-land. 
 
 Nor has the .pen alone been brought 
 into use to secure these ends. The senses 
 are also appealed to and interested by re- 
 productions of some of the best work of 
 artist, engraver, and photographer. It 
 will at once be recognized, however, that 
 the aim has not been merely to attract the 
 eye. Every picture is designed to truhj 
 illustrate the text, not merely to adorn 
 the page. For this reason a great num- 
 ber of old and rare prints have been re- 
 produced that the reader may more 
 readily appreciate the actual conditions 
 that existed in any community at the 
 period described. This has involved the 
 insertion in these pages of more than 
 three hundred portraits of distinguished 
 actors in the thrilling movements of the 
 Nation's youth, scenes of notable events, 
 and illustrations of customs, dress, modes 
 
8 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 of travel, marvels of industrial and 
 scientific development, etc. 
 
 Because apparently isolated events or 
 movements have been described, however, 
 one should not imagine that such subjects 
 have been selected at random nor in any 
 hap-hazard way. There is a unity of 
 purpose and a general thread of con- 
 tinuity underlying the whole work; and 
 the author feels great assurance that the 
 unity of History has been quite as well 
 conserved as in any of the more pre- 
 tentious histories. But a great gain is 
 made in the opportunity for interesting 
 
 and attractive statement. Each chapter 
 being complete in itself and devoted en- 
 tirely to the delineation of a single sub- 
 ject, the volume may be taken up at any 
 time and opened by chance at any place, 
 and one find an entertaining story or 
 narrative, replete with informing and 
 suggestive material ; all of which is made 
 more truly attractive by anecdotes of the 
 actors in the events described and others, 
 by accounts of individual experiences, 
 and by a most generous supply of 
 portraits and pictures which eilectually 
 illustrate and illuminate the narrative. 
 
In Colonial Days. 
 
 Marvelous Achievements of Nineteenth Century.^ — Far Surpass Those of All Previous Cen- 
 turies. — Washington Could Travel No Faster, Nor Despatch Messages More Quickly, Than 
 CiEsar or Hammurabi. — Views of John Fiske. — " The Past Contains Within Itself All the 
 Germs of the Future." — Mr. J. N. Larned's P>evie\v of Historical Development. — The United 
 States in 1800.^ — New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Compared. — Washington in 1800. — Com- 
 mercial and Social Life of Charleston. — Passion for Sport, Including the Rough-and- 
 Tumble Fight. — Beginning of Cotton Culture and the Invention of the Cotton Gin. — Migra- 
 tion to the Ohio Valley. — Local State Jealousies. — Contest Over Adoption of the Consti- 
 tution. — Payment of Taxes an "Amiable Eccentricity." — Not a Dollar in the National 
 Treasury. — Craze for Cheap Money and Depreciation of Currency. — Samuel Adams Pays 
 .$2,000 for Hat and Suit of Clothes. — Injury to Cause of Popular Government Worked by 
 Popular Discord.— Opinions of Fisher Ames, Hamilton, and Others. — " Your People, Sir. 
 Your People is a Great Beast." — The Post Office Department. — First Mail Despatched on 
 American Continent. — Methods of Travel, Inns, Etc. — The Early Stage Coaches and Famous 
 Concord Stages. — Advent of Steam Railroad. — Home Life in the Colonies. — The Dining- 
 room and the Kitchen. — The Light of Our Fathers. — The Clergv and Churches. — Intem- 
 perance the National Curse. — Moral Status of the People. — Intellectual and Literary Con- 
 ditions and Publications. — ^No Scientific Attainments. — Opinions of " Tom " Moore, Noah 
 Webster, and Others. — Contrast Between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries... SI 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 II. 
 Birth of the New Eepublic. — 1776. 
 Declaration of American Indejjendence and National Sovereignty-, July Fourth, 1776. — TIr- 
 Gauntlet of Defiance thrown at the Feet of the British Empire by Her Yoiuigest Colonies. 
 — Vast Disparity, in Power and Resources, between the Contestants. — The whole World 
 Looks on Astonished. — Seven Years' Bloody and Desolating War. — The American Cause Tri- 
 umphant. — Grandest Modern Event. — America Resists Unjust Taxation. — Haughty Obsti- 
 nacy of King George. — Burning Eloquence of Patrick Henry.- — His Summons, " We Must 
 Fight." — Washington Endorses this Sentiment. — Determination of the People. — War Pre- 
 ferred to Submission. — Momentous Action by Congress. — Separation from England Decreed. 
 — Effect of the Act in America. — Its Reception in England. — Excitement of the King and 
 Court. — Lord Chatham, America's Advocate. — His Passionate Change of Views. — Scorching 
 Speech against the Colonies. — He is Struck Dead while Speaking. — Magnanimity of Burke 
 and Fox. — Recognition from France Secured. — Her Timely Aid in the Struggle. — Victories 
 over the British Armies. — England Gives Up the Contest. — World-wide Welcome to the 
 New Nation 65 
 
 III. 
 
 First Americ.\n Nav.\l Victory. — 1779. 
 John Paul .Tones, Commanding the Bon Homme Richard, Fights and Captures King George's 
 Powerful Ship-of-war, the Serapis. in British Waters. — Crowds of Spectators Line the Eng- 
 lish Coast. — The Most Sanguinary Battle Ever Fought between Single Ships. — Jones is 
 Hailed as '" The Washington of the Seas." — World-wide Interest of this Combat. — Commo- 
 dore Jones's Early Career. — Offers his Services to Congress. — Appointed a Naval Lieutenant. 
 — Joins the Continental Fleet. — The First to Hoist its Ensign. — Style and ilotto of the 
 Flag. — Sails from France on a Cruise. — Terror Created by His ^Movements. — Characteristic 
 Anecdotes. — Two British Frigates in Sight. — Jones Ready for Bloody Work. — The Ships 
 Muzzle to Muzzle. — Superiority of the Serapis. — A Most Deadly Contest. — Both Vessels on 
 Fire. — .Jones Attacked by Another Foe. — One of His Vessels Treacherous. — Remarkable 
 Scenes. — Britain's Flag Struck to America. — An Act without Precedent. — Sinking of the 
 Victorious Vessel 72 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Wonderful Dark Day. — 1780. 
 
 The Northern States wrapt in a Dense Black Atmosphere for Fifteen Hours. — The Day of 
 Judgment Supposed to have Come. — Cessation of Labor. — Religious Devotions Resorted to. 
 — The Herds Retire to their Stalls, the Fowls to their Roosts, and the Birds Sing Their 
 Evening Songs at Noonday. — Science at Loss to Account for the Mysterious Phenomenon. — 
 One of Nature's Marvels. — Redness of the Sun and Moon. — Approach of a Thick Vapor. — 
 Loud Peals of Thunder. — Sudden and Strange Darkness. — Alarm of the Inhabitants. — End 
 of the World Looked For. — Dismay of the Brute Creation. — An Intensely Deep Gloom. — 
 Difficulty in Attending to Business.- — Lights Burning in the Houses. — Vast Extent of the 
 Occurrence. — Condition of the Barometer. — Change in the Color of Objects. — Quick Motion 
 of the Clouds. — Birds Suffocate and Die. — The Sun's Di.sc Seen in Some Places. — Oily 
 Deposit on the Waters. — Impenetrable Darkness at Night. — Incidents and Anecdotes. — 
 Ignorant TOiims and Conjectures. — An Unsolved Mystery 79 
 
 V. 
 
 Washington's Farewell to the Army. — 1783. 
 
 Affecting Interviews and Parting Words between the Great Chieftain and His Comrades-in- 
 Arms. — Solemn Farewell Audience with Congress. — In Its Presence He Voluntarily Divests 
 Himself of His Supreme Authority, Returns His Victorious Sword, and Becomes a Private 
 Citizen. — History of the Election of a Military Leader. — America's Destiny in His Hands. 
 — Appointment of George Washington. — The Army at Cambridge, Mass. — He Immediately 
 Takes Command. — Is Enthusiastically Greeted. — Leads Its Fortunes Seven Years. — Record 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 of His Generalship.— Ends tlie War in Triumpli. — Scheme to Make Him King.— Indig- 
 nantly Rebukes the Proposal.— Last Review of His Troops.— His Strong Attachment for 
 Them. — Intention to Leave Public Life. — Congress Informed of this Fact. — Embarkation 
 from New York. — Homage Paid Him Everywhere. — Arrival at Annapolis. — Proceeds to the 
 Halls of Congress. — Impressive Ceremonial There. — Rare Event in Human History 88 
 
 VI. 
 
 Appointment of the First Minister Plenipotentiary from the New Republic to 
 
 THE English Court. — 1785. 
 
 John Adams, America's Sturdiest Patriot, and the Foremost Enemy of British Tyranny, Fills 
 this High Office. — Interview between Him and King George, His Late Sovereign. — Their 
 Addresses, Temper, Personal Bearing, and Humorous Conversation. — ^The Two Men Rightly 
 Matched against Each Other. — Old Animosities Unhealed. — ilutual Charges of False Deal- 
 ing. — Settlement Demanded by the United States. — What Adams's Mission Involved. — Dis- 
 memberment of the British Realm. — Loss of the Fairest Possession. — Bitter Pill for the 
 King. — His Obstinacy Forced to Yield. — Humiliation of the Proud Monarch. — All Europe 
 Watches the Event. — Mr. Adams Presented at Court. — ^Patriot and King Face to Face.— 
 Official Address by the Minister. — Reply of King George. — His Visible Agitation. — Adams's 
 Presence of Mind. — Pays His Homage to the Queen. — Her Majesty's Response. — Civilities 
 by the Royal Family. — Results of this Embassy. — Pitiable Position of George the Third.— 
 Fatal Error of Great Britain 95 
 
 VII. 
 First Organized Rebellion in the United States. — 1786. 
 Daniel Shays, at the Head of an Armed and Desperate Force, Boldly Defies the State and Fed- 
 eral Laws in Massachusetts. — " Taxation and Tyranny " the Alleged Grievances. — Alarming 
 Disaffection throughout all New England. — Bad Leaders and Furious Mobs. — Rout of the 
 Insurgents, by General Lincoln, in the Dead of Winter. — Patriotic Old Massachusetts in a 
 Ferment. — Causes of Public Discontent. — Total Exhaustion of Credit. — Prostration of Trade. 
 —Ruinous Debts, Heavy Taxation. — Weakness of the Government. — An Excited Populace. 
 — Turbulence and Lawlessness. — All Authority Spurned. — A Bloody Conflict Invited. — 
 Courts of Justice Broken Up. — Indignation of Washington. — Heroism on the Bench. — The 
 National Forces Augmented. — Fears of a General Civil War. — Unscrupulousness of Shays. 
 — Intention to Seize the Capitol. — Governor Bbwdoin's Defenses. — General Lincoln in Com- 
 mand. — Active Movement of His Troops. — A Terrible Snow Storm. — Hardships of Shays's 
 Army. — Federal Bayonets Triumphant 101 
 
 vni. 
 
 Formation and Adoption of the Federal Constitution. — 1787. 
 The United States no Longer a People without a Government. — Establishment of the Repub- 
 lic on a Permanent Foundation of Unity, Organic Law, and National Polity. — Dignity, 
 Learning, and Eloquence of the Delegates. — Sublime Scene on Signing the Instrument. — 
 Extraordinary Character of the Whole Transaction. — State of Things After the War. — 
 Financial Embarrassment. — Despondency of the People. — Grave Crisis in Public Affairs. — 
 A Grand Movement Initiated. — Plan of Government to be Framed. — All the States in Con- 
 vention. — Washington Chosen to Preside. — Statesmen and Sages in Council. — The Old Com- 
 pact Abrogated. — New Basis of Union Proposed. — Various Schemes Discussed. — .Jealousy of 
 the Smaller States. — Angry Debates, Sectional Threats. — Bad Prospects of the Convention. — 
 Its Dissolution Imminent. — Franklin's Impressive Appeal. — Compromise and Conciliation. — 
 Final System Agreed Upon. — Patriotism Rules all Hearts. — Ratification by the Stat/cs. — 
 National Joy at the Decision lOS 
 
 IX. 
 First Election and Inauguration of a President of the United States. — 1789. 
 Washington, " First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen," tlie 
 Nation's Spontaneous, Unanimous Choice. — His Triumphal Progress from Home, and Sol- 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 enin Imluction into Office. — .Jubilee tlirougliout the Republic, over the August Event. — 
 Auspicious Commencement of the National Executive Government. — Requirements of the 
 Constitution. — A President to be Chosen. — Four Years tlie Term of Service. — All Eyes 
 Fi.\ed Upon Washington. — His Reluctance to Accept. — Reasons Given for this Course. — 
 Urgent Appeals to Him. — The Result of the Election. — One Voice and One Mind. — He 
 Bows to the People's Will. — Joy Produced by His Decision. — Departs at Once from Mount 
 Vernon. — Farewell Visits to His Mother. — Inauguration Appointed for March Fourth. — 
 Postponement to A])ril Thirtieth. — Order of Ceremonies. — Xew Spectacle in the Western 
 World. — Distinguished Celebrities Present. — Washington's Elegant Appearance. — Dignity 
 when Taking the Oath. — Reverentially Kisses the Bible. — Curious Customs Initiated.. 11.5 
 
 X. 
 
 Whitney's Extraohuixary Cotton Gin Invention. — 1793. 
 
 Amazing Impetus Given to tlie Culture, Uses, and Consumption of Cotton. — Revolution in the 
 Industrial Prospects and Political Power of the South. — How Cotton Became " King." — Its 
 Relation to the Great Themes and Events in American History. — Ingratitude to Whitney. — 
 His Brilliant Change of Fortune in Anotlier Spliere. — Whitney's Obscure Circumstances. — 
 His Early Mechanical Genius. — Determined to Get an Education. — Goes to the South as a 
 Teacher. — Change of Pursuits. — Befriended by General Greene's Widow. — Amateur Invent- 
 ive Efforts. — Low State of Southern Industry. — Objection to Cotton-Raising.- — Mrs. 
 Greene's Apt Suggestion. — Whitney's Characteristic Resolve. — Secret and Persevering Toil. 
 — Exciting Rumors as to His Purpose. — Gi-eat Expectations Entertained. — Triumphant Suc- 
 cess. — Entliusiasm of the Cotton-Growers. — His Machine Stolen from Him. — Infringements 
 upon His Patent. — Law-Suits, but no Redress for Him. — His Patlietic Letter to Fulton. — • 
 He Invents a Valuable Firearm. — Soutliern Strides in Wealth 122 
 
 XL 
 
 FouNuiNi; ANU Est.^blishment of the National Capital. — 1799. 
 Bitter Sectional Contest in Deciiling the Location. — First " Compromise " in Congress between 
 the Xorth and the South. — Final Removal of the Government and its Archives to Washing- 
 ton. — Official Observance of the Event. — Magnificent Site and Plan of the City. — Splendor 
 of its Public Buildings. — Congress First Sits in Philadelphia. — Need of a Permanent Capi- 
 tal. — National Dignity Involved. — Violent Agitation of the Subject. — Philadelphia and New 
 York Proposed. — They are Objected to by the South. — Northern Disunion Threats. — 
 Schemes of Conciliation. — How the Question was Settled. — Sweetening Two Bitter Pills. — 
 .Jefferson's Graphic Account. — General Washington's Preference. — His Site on the Potomac 
 Adopted. — Some Ratlier Personal Anecdotes. — Work of Laying Out the City. — Its Original 
 Aspect and Condition. — Early Trials of the President's Wife.- — Construction of the Capitol. 
 — Its Corner-stone Laid by Washington. — Congress in its New Halls. — -Growth of the 
 Metropolis. — The New Corner-Stone of 1851 129 
 
 XII. 
 Death of George Wa.shington. — 1799. 
 His Sudden and Brief Illness, Last Hours, and Dying Words. — Fortitude and Serenity through 
 all His Sufferings. — He Calmly .Announces His Approaching Dissolution Without a Mur- 
 mur. — The Whole World Does Honor, by Eulogy and Lamentations, to His Exalted Worth 
 and Immortal Fame. — He Anticipated an Early Death. — His Invariably Good Health. — 
 Exposure in a Snow-Storm. — Takes a Fatal Cold. — Last Letter Written by His Hand. — 
 Reads the Papers in the Evening. — Characteristic Reply to His Wife. — ^Passes a Restless 
 Night. — Alarming Condition the Next Day. — Medical Treatment of no Avail. — Calls for His 
 Two Wills, Burns One. — Affecting Scene at His Bedside. — ^Last Words, " 'Tis Well!"^ 
 Only One Day's Sickness. — Acute Laryngitis His Disease. — Burial in the Old Family Vault. 
 — Tidings of His Death. — Tributes from Peoples and Kings. — A Man Without a Parallel. — 
 Last Page in His .Tournal. — Re-entombment in 1837. — Appearance of His Remains. . . . 136 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 xni. 
 
 Fatal Duel Between Mr. Burr and General Alexander Hamilton. — 1804. 
 
 Fall of Hamilton at First Fire." — His Death in Thirty Hours. — Profound Sensation and Solemn 
 Obsequies in all Parts of the Land. — Mourned as One of the Founders of the Republic. — 
 Indictment of the Assassin for the Crime of Murder. — Hamilton's Brilliant Public Life. — 
 Washington's Riglit-liand SLin. — Champion of the Federalists. — Burr's Career in the Revo- 
 lution. — His Notorious Debauchery. — Finally Dismissed by Washington. — Becomes Vice- 
 President in 1800. — Deadly Personal Hatreds. — Criticisms on Burr by His Opponents. — 
 Challenge Sent to Hamilton. — Pacific Explanations Spurned. — Forced to ileet Burr. — Makes 
 His Will in Anticipation. — Sings at a Banquet the Day Before. — Arrival of the Fatal Hour. 
 — Hamilton's Mortal Wound. — What He Said of the Event. — Conversation before Dying. — 
 Partakes of the Communion. — His Testimony against Dueling. — Heartless Conduct of 
 Burr. — A Fugitive and an Outlaw 141 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Fulton's Triumphant Application of Steam to Navigation. — 1807. 
 First Steam-boat Voyage on American Waters under His Direction. — Astonishment Produced 
 by the Exhibition. — Great Era in National Development. — The World at Large Indebted to 
 American Ingenuity and Enterprise for this Mighty Revolutionary Agent in Human Prog- 
 ress and Power. — The Wliole Scale of Civilization Enlarged. — Fulton's Early Mechanisms. 
 — His Inventive Projects Abroad. — Steam Propulsion tlie End Sought. — Various Experi- 
 ments and Trials. — Livingston's Valued Co-operation. — Studying the Principle Involved. — 
 Its Discovery at Last. — Legislative Encouragement Asked. — Public Ridicule of the Scheme. 
 — Construction of a Steam-boat. — The " Queer-Looking Craft." — Incidents at the Launch. — 
 Undaunted Confidence of Fulton. — Sailing of the " New-Fangled Craft." — Demonstrations 
 Along the Route. — Complete Success of the Trip. — First Passage Money. — That Bottle of 
 Wine. — Opposition Lines, and Racing. — First Steam-boat at the West. — Amazing Subse- 
 quent Increase. — Fulton's Checkered Fortunes 151 
 
 XV. 
 
 Capture of the British Fkig.'vte Guf.rrieri: by the United States Frigate Consti- 
 tution. — 1812. 
 
 Captain Dacres's Insolent Challenge to the American Navy. — Captain Hull's Eager Accept- 
 ance. — His Unrivaled Tactics and Maneuvers. — A Short, Terrific, Decisive Contest. — Yankee 
 Valor on the Ocean a Fixed Fact, Sternly Respected. — The Constitution Becomes the Favor- 
 ite Ship of the Nation and is Popularly Called " Old Ironsides." — Cruise of the Constitution. 
 — Hull, the "Sea King." in Command. — A Sail! The Enemy's Squadron! — Chased Three 
 Days by Them. — Rowing and Warping in a Calm. — Most Wonderful Escape on Record. — 
 Another Frigate in Sight, the Guerriere. — Her Signals of Defiance. — Yankee Eagerness for 
 Action. — The Two Frigates Afoul. — Yard- Arm to Yard-Arm Encounter. — Fire of the Con- 
 stitution Reserved. — Final and Deadly Broadsides. — Fearless Conduct of Her Crew. — British 
 Colors Hauled Down. — Sinking of the Shattered Wreck. — Armament and Power of the 
 Ships. — An Almost Equal Match. — Anecdotes of the Two Commanders. — Honors to the 
 Brave Victors. — Future Annals of the Constitution. — Her Varied and Noble Career. . . 157 
 
 XVI. 
 
 General J.\ckson's Terrible Kout .\nd Slaughter of the British Army, at New 
 
 Orleans.— 181.5. 
 
 His Consummate Generalship in the Order and Conduct of this Campaign. — The War with 
 England Terminated by a Sudden and Splendid Victory to the American Arms. — Jackson is 
 Hailed as One of the Greatest of Modern Warriors, and as the Deliverer and Second Savior 
 of His Country. — National Military Prestige Gained by this Decisive Battle. — British Inva- 
 sion of Louisiana. — Preparations to Resist Them. — Jackson Hastens to New Orleans. — His 
 Presence Inspires Confidence. — Martial L.aw Proclaimed. — Progress of the British Forces. — 
 They Rendezvous at Ship Island. — Pirates and Indians for Allies. — Capture of the United 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 States Flotilla. — Arrival of Veterans from England. — Desperate Attempts at Storming. — 
 Both Armies Face Each Other. — The Day of Action, January Eighth. — General PaUenham 
 Leads the Charge. — His ilotto, " Booty and Beauty." — Fire and Death Open Upon Them. — 
 Tliey Are ilowii Dawn Like Grass. — Pakenliam Falls at the Onset. — Panic and Precipitate 
 Retreat. — America's Motto, " Victory or Death." — T!ie Result at Home and Abroad. — 
 Startling and Impressive Effect 166 
 
 XVII. 
 
 The Ever-Memor.\ble September Gale. — 1S15. 
 Its Violence and Destructiveness ■without a Parallel Since the Settlement of the Country. — 
 Terror Excited by its Sudden and Tumultuous Force. — LTnprecedented Phenomena of Tem- 
 pest, Deluge, and Flood. — One Hour of Indescribable Havoc on the Land and Sea. — Premon- 
 itory Indications. — Heavy North-east Rains. — .Sudden and Violent Changes of Wind. — Its 
 Rapidity and Force Indescribable. — Demolition of Hundreds of Buildings. — Orchards and 
 Forests Instantly Uprooted. — Raging and Foaming of the Sea. — Its Spray Drives like a 
 Snow-Storm over the Land. — Tremendous Rise in the Tides. — Irresistible Impetuosity of the 
 Flood. — Several Feet of Water in the Streets. — Innumerable Fragments Fill the Air. — Flight 
 for Safety to the Fields. — The whole Coast Swarms with Wrecks. — Perils, Escapes, Fatali- 
 ties. — Peculiar Meteorological Facts. — Bright Skies in the Midst of the Tempest. — Suffo- 
 cating Current of Hot Air. — Sea Fowls in the Depths of the Interior. — Effect upon Lands, 
 Crops, and Wells. — All New England Desolated. — Comparison with Other Gales 173 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Visit of Lafayette to America, as the Guest of the Eepublic. — 1824. 
 His Tour of Five Thousand Miles through the Twenty-four States. — A National Ovation on 
 the Grandest Scale. — Cities, States, Legislatures and Governors. Vie in Their Demonstrations 
 of Respect. — The Venerable Patriot Enters the Tomb and Stands beside the Remains of his 
 Great Departed Friend, Washington. — Noble Qualities of the ilarquis. — A Favorite of 
 Louis XVI. — Hears of tlie Battle of Bunker Hill. — Pleads the Cause of the Americans. — • 
 Resolves to Join their Army. — Freely Consecrates his Vast Wealth. — Equips a Vessel and 
 Embarks. — Introduced to General Washington. — Admiration of Him by the Chieftain. — One 
 of Washington's Military Family. — A Major-General in His Nineteenth Year. — Heroic Fi- 
 delity During the War. — Subsequent Vicissitudes in France. — America's Heart-felt Sym- 
 pathy. — He Leaves Havre for New York. — Enthusiasm Excited by his Presence. — Incidents, 
 Interviews. Fetes. — Greetings with Old Comrades. — Memories, Joys, and Tears. — Departs in 
 the United States Ship Brandywine.— His Death in 1834. — National Grief 181 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Fiftieth A^■xlVERSARY and Celebration of the Independence of the Republic. — 1826. 
 
 Sudden and Simultaneous Death of Ex-Presidents .lohn Adams and Thomas .Jefferson, its Two 
 Most Illustrious Founders. — Tlie Day of Resounding Joy and .Jubilee Clianged to One of 
 Profound National Sorrow. — No Historical Parallel to Such a Remarkable Coincidence. — 
 World-Renowned Career of these Statesmen. — Extraordinary Preparations for the Day. — 
 Adams and Jefferson then Alive. — Sires and Patriarchs of the Nation. — Their Names House- 
 hold Words. — Invited to Share in the Festivities. — Tliey Hail the Glorious Morn. — Great 
 Rejoicings; Death's Summons. — Jefferson's Distinguishing Honor.- — Adams's Patriotic Lus- 
 ter. — Their Imperishable Deeds. — Calm Yet High Enthusiasm. — Hostile Leaders in After- 
 Life. — Racy and Piquant Anecdote. — Crisis Point in Adams's J^ortunes. — His Last Toast 
 for His Country, — " Indejiendence Forever." — Two Sages in Old Age. — Serenity, Wisdom, 
 Dignity. — Former Friendship Revived. — Letters of Mutual Attachment. — European Admir- 
 ation Excited. — Reverence to Their Colossal Fame 191 
 
 XX. 
 
 The " Gre.\t Debate " Between Webster and Hayne, in Conoress. — 1830. 
 Vital Constitutional Issues Discussed. — Unsurpassed Power and Splendor of Senatorial Elo- 
 quence. — Webster's Speech Acknowledged to be the Grandest Forensic Achievement in the 
 
CONTENTS. 15 
 
 Whole Range of ]\Iodern Parliamentary Efforts. — Golden Age of American Oratory. — Un- 
 precedented Interest and Excitement Produced in the Public Mind. — No American Debate 
 Comparable with This. — Known as " The Battle of the Giants." — Inflamed Feeling at the 
 South. — Hayne's Brilliant Championship. — His Speech Against the North. — Profound Im- 
 pression Created. — Its Dash, Assurance, Severity. — Bitter and Sweeping Charges. — His Op- 
 ponents Wonder-Struck. — Webster has the Floor to Reply. — An Ever-Memorable Day. — 
 Intense Anxiety to Hear Him. — Magnificent Personal Appearance. — His Exordium; All 
 Hearts Enchained. — Immense Intellectual Range. — Copious and Crushing Logic. — Accumu- 
 lative Grandeur of Thought. — Thrilling Apostrophe to the Union. — The Serious, Comic, 
 Pathetic, etc. — Hayne's Argument Demolished. — Reception Accorded the Speech. — Rival 
 Orators ; Pleasant Courtesies 197 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Struggle fob the Eight of Petition in Congress. — 1836. 
 John Quincy Adams, the " Old Man Eloquent," Carries on a Contest of Eleven Days, Single- 
 Handed, in its Defense in the House of Representatives. — Passage of the " Gag Rule." — Ex- 
 pulsion and Assassination Threatened. — His Unquailing Courage. — A Spectacle Unwitnesseil 
 'hefore in the Halls of Legislation. — Triumph of His Master Mind. — The Right of Petition a 
 Constitutional One. — Indiscriminate and Unrestricted. — Anti-Slavery Petitions. Mr. Adams 
 Their Champion. — An Unpopular Position. — He Defies Every Menace. — His Bold and In- 
 trepid Conduct. — The North and South at Variance. — Monster Petitions Pour In. — A Me- 
 morial from Slaves. — Wild Tumult in the House. — Cries of " Expel the Old Scoundrel ! " — 
 Proposal to Censure and Disgrace Him. — Mr. Adams Unmoved Amidst the Tempest. — Elo- 
 quence and Indomltaibleness. — A Petition to Dissolve the Union. — Increased Exasperation. 
 — Violent and Denunciatory Debate. — Sublime Bearing of ilr. Adams. — Vindicated and 
 Victorious at Last. — What He Lived to See. — Honor from His Opponents 200 
 
 xxn. 
 
 Breaking Out of the Temperance Eeformation. — 1840. 
 Origin, Rapid Spread, Influence, and Wonderful History of the Movement. — Enthusiasm At- 
 tending the " Washington " Era. — Its Pioneers Rise from the Gutter to the Rostrum, and 
 Sway Multitudes by Their Eloquence. — Father Mathew's Visit. — His 600,000 Converts. — Ca- 
 reer of Hawkins, Mitchell, Gough, Dow, and Others. — First Temperance Society in the 
 United States. — Singular Terms of Membership. — Social Customs in Former Times. — Unre- 
 strained Use of Spirits. — Growing Desire for Reform. — Influential Men Enlisted. — Meetings, 
 Societies, Agitation. — A Congressional Organization. — Origin of " Tee-Totalism." — Deacon 
 Giles's Distillery. — " My Mother's Gold Ring." — Rise of " Wa.shingtonianism." — Six Re- 
 formed Drunkards. — Cold Water Armies, Processions, etc. — Music. Banners, and Badges. — 
 The Country All Ablaze. — An "Apostle of Temperance." — Administering the Pledge. — Con- 
 flict Concerning Measures. — Anecdotes of Washington. — General Taylor's Whiskey Jug. — 
 Farragut's Substitute for Grog 217 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Invention op that Wondrous Piece of Mechanism, the Sewing Machine. — 1846. 
 
 Romantic Genius and Perseverance Displayed in Its Production. — Toils of the Inventor in His 
 Garret. — World-Wide Introduction of the Device. — Upwards of One Thousand Patents 
 Taken Out in the United States. — The Industrial Interests of the Country Affected to the 
 Amount of $.500,000,000 Annually. — The Humble Inventor Becomes a Millionaire. — ^The 
 Main Principle Involved. — Comparison With Hand Sewing. — How it was Suggested. — Lis- 
 tening to Some Advantage. — History of Mr. Howe's Efforts. — Ingenuity, Struggles, Triumphs. 
 — Value of a Friend in Need. — A Machine at Last. — Its Parts, Capabilities, etc. — Reception 
 by the Public. — Doubt Succeeded by Admiration. — Great Popularity and Demand. — Weari- 
 some Litigation With Rivals. — Interesting Question of Priority. — Decided in Howe's Favor. 
 — He Rises to Affluence. — Improvements by Others. — Unique and Useful Devices. — Number 
 of Machines Produced. — Time and Labor Saved. — Effect Upon Prices. — New Avenues of 
 Labor Opened 226 
 
16 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Discovery of the Inhalation of Ether as a Preventive of Pain. — 1846. 
 
 Performance of Surgical Operations Involving tlie Intensest Torture, During the Ha])py Un- 
 consciousness of tlie Patient. — Account of the First Capital Demonstration hefore a Crowded 
 and Breathless Assembly. — Its Signal Success. — Thrill of Enthusiastic Joy. — Most Benefi- 
 cent Boon Ever Conferred by Science upon the Human Race. — Instinctive Dread of Pain. — - 
 Fruitless Search Hitherto for a Preventive. — Terror of the Probe and Knife. — Heroes Quail 
 before Them. — Case of the Bluff Old Admiral. — Discovery of the Long-Sought Secret. — Sul- 
 pliurio Ether the Prize. — Bliss During Amputation. — Honor Due to America. — A Whole 
 World Elated. — Jledical Men Exultant. — Curious Religious Objections. — Test-Case in Sur- 
 gery. — Startling and Romantic Interest. — Value in Public Hospitals. — War's Sufferings 
 Ameliorated. — Various Effects While Inhaling. — Amusing and Extraordinary Cases. — 
 "Thocht tlie Deil Had a Grip o' Her!"— Odd Talk of an Innocent Damsel.— Old Folks 
 Wanting to Dance. — Awards to the Discoverers 234 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Discovery of Gold at Sutter's Mill, California. — 1848. 
 
 Widely-Extended and Inexhaustible Deposits of the Precious Metal. — The News Spreads Like 
 Wild-Fire to the Four Quarters of the Globe. — Overwhelming Tide of Emigration from all 
 Countries. — Nucleus of a Great Empire on the Pacific. — California Becomes the El Dorado 
 of the World and the Golden Commonwealth of the American Union. — First Practical Dis- 
 covery of Gold. — On John A. Sutter's Land. — Found by J. W. Marshall. — Simple Accident 
 That Led to It. — Marshall's Wild Excitement. — Shows Sutter the Golden Grains. — A Dra- 
 matic Interview. — The Discovery Kept Secret. — How It was Disclosed. — A Real Wonder of 
 the Age. — Trials of the Early Emigrants. — Their Bones Whiten the Soil. — All Professions 
 at the Mines. — Impetus Given to Commerce. — Life Among the Diggers. — Disordered State 
 of Society. — Crimes, Outrages, Conflagrations. — Scarcity: Fabulous Prices. — ilining by 
 Machinery.— Order and Stability Reached.— Population in IS.iT, 600,000.— Gold in Ten 
 Years, .$(500,000,000 242 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Victorious 'Race of the Yacht "Ajierica," in the Great International 
 
 Regatta. — 1851. 
 She Distances, by Nearly Eight Miles, the Whole Fleet of Swift and Splendid Competitors, 
 and Wins " the Cup of all Nations." — Grandest and Most Exciting Spectacle of the Kind 
 Ever ICnown. — Queen Victoria Witnesses the Match. — Universal Astonishment at the Result. 
 — Admiration Excited by the "America's" Beautiful Model and Ingenious Rig. — Scenes at 
 the " World's Exhibition " at London. — Grand Finale Yet to Come Off. — Championship of 
 the Sea. — England Sensitive on this Point. — Her Motto, "Rule Britannia!" — George Steers 
 Builds the America. — Commodore Stevens Takes Her to England. — His Challenge to all 
 Countries. — An International Prize Race. — Eighteen Yachts Entered. — The Scene on Wave 
 and Shore. — All Sails Set: The Signal. — Every Eye on "the Yankee." — Her Leisurely Move- 
 ments. — Allows Herself to be Distanced. — Her Quality Soon Shown. — No "Bellying" of 
 Canvas. — Amazing Increase of Speed. — All Rivals Passed, One by One. — They Return in 
 Despair. — Great Odds for the America. — Is Visited by Queen Victoria 2.50 
 
 XXVII. 
 N.U'AL Expedition to Jap.vn, under Commodore M. C. Perry. — 1852. 
 Negotiations to be Opened for Unsealing the Ports of that Empire to America. — Letter of 
 Friend.ship from the President of the LInited States to the Emperor. — Distinguished Favor 
 Shown the Representatives of the Great Republic— Ceremonies, Entertainments, and Diplo- 
 matic Conferences. — Treaty of Peace, Amity, and Commercial Intercourse Concluded. — 
 Former .Japanese Isolation Policy. — Exclusive Privileges to the Dutch. — Effects of this Re- 
 striction. — European Efforts to Change It. — Mission of Commodore Biddle. — Seeks the 
 
CONTENTS. 17 
 
 Release of United States Sailors. — Ordered to Depart Forthwith. — Firm Conduct of Captain 
 Glynn. — Contempt for .Japanese Etiquette. — Champagne as a ilediator. — Commodore Perry's 
 Fine Fleet. — The Letter in a Golden Bo.x. — Its Presentation to the Emperor. — Commissioners 
 Meet Commodore Perry. — Their Attire, Manners, Etc. — The Conference in Session. — Friend- 
 liness of the Japanese. — Civilities and Festivals. — Reception on the Flag-Ship. — Substance 
 of the Treaty. — A Talk with the Emperor. — More Privileges Extended 2.30 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Terrible Crisis in the Business and Fin.^ncial World. — 1837. 
 
 Known as " the Great Panic." — A Sudden, Universal Crash, in the Height of Prosperity. — 
 Caused by Wild Speculations and Enormous Debt. — Suspension of Banks all Over the Coun- 
 try.— Failure of the Oldest and Wealthiest Houses. — Fortunes Swept Away in a Day. — Pros- 
 tration of Every Branch of Industry. — Prolonged Embarrassment, Distrust, and Suffering. — 
 The Panic of 1837 in Comparison. — Extravagance and High Prices. — Chimerical Railroad 
 Schemes. — Mania for Land Investments. — Reckless Stock Gambling. — Western Paper Cities. 
 — Fabulous Prices for " Lots." — Money Absorbed in this Way.— Bursting of the Bubble.— 
 The First Great Blow. — A Bomb in Money Circles. — W'ide-Spread Shock and Terror. — 
 Fierce Crowds at the Banks. — A Run Upon Them for Specie. — They " Go to the Wall." — 
 Savings Bank Excitement. — Rare Doings at the Counters. — ^V^'it, Mirth, Despair, and Ruin. 
 — Forty Thousand Persons in Wall Street. — Factories, Foundries, etc.. Stopped. — Business 
 Credit Destroyed. — Root of the Whole Difficulty 267 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The " Great Awakening " in the Eeligious World, and the Popular Movement (in 
 1875-76) under Messrs. Moody and Sankey. — 18.57. 
 
 Like a Mighty Rushing Wind, it Sweeps from the Atlantic to the Pacific. — Crowded Prayer- 
 Meetings Held Daily in Every City and Town, from the Granite Hills of the North to the 
 Rolling Prairies of the West and the Golden Slopes of California. — Large Accessions, from 
 all Classes, to the Churches of Every Name and Denomination. — The "American Pentecost." 
 — Early American Revivals. — Dr. Franklin and Mr. Whitefield. — The Revival of 1857 Spon- 
 taneoxis. — No Leaders or Organizers. — Its Immediate Cause. — Universal Ruin of Commerce. 
 — Anxiety for Higher Interests. — All Days of the Week Alike. — Business Men in the Work. 
 — Telegraphing Religious Tidings. — New York a Center of Influence. — Fulton Street Prayer- 
 Meeting. — Scenes in Burton's Theater. — New Themes and Actors. — Countless Requests for 
 Prayers. — A Wonderful Book. — Striking Moral Results. — ilen of Violence Reformed. — 
 Crime and Suicide Prevented. — Infidels, Gamblers, Pugilists. — Jessie Fremont's Gold Ring. 
 — "Awful " Gardner's Case 276 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Political Deb.\te Between Abraiiasi Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in Illinois. 
 
 — 1858. 
 
 Cause of this Remarkable Oratorical Contest. — Intense Interest in All Parts of the Land. — 
 The Heart of every American Citizen Enlisted in the Momentous Issue Involved. — Eminent 
 Character of the Combatants. — Their Extraordinary Ability and Eloquence Universally Ac- 
 knowledged. — The Discussions Attended by Friends and Foes. — Victory, Defeat, Life and 
 Death. — Condition of the New Territories. — Form of Constitution to be Decided. — Domestic 
 Institutions: Slavery. — Mr. Douglas Advocates "Popular Sovereignty." — "Prohibition" 
 Urged by Mr. Lincoln. — National Importance nf the Question. — The Public Mind Divided. — 
 Joint Debates Proposed. — Agreement between the two Leaders. — Personal Appearance and 
 Style. — Plans, Places, Scenes. — Theories and Arguments Advanced. — Skill and Adroitness of 
 the Disputants. — Immense Concourses. — Result Impartially Stated. — Mr. Douglas Re-elected 
 Senator. — Mr. Lincoln Nominated for President. — His Election to that Office. — Douglas' 
 Magnanimity. — The Olive Branch. — Shoulder to Shoulder as Unionists. — Sudden Decease of 
 the Great Senator 28!) 
 
18 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Extraordinary Combat Between the Iron-Clads Merrimac and Monitor, in 
 
 Hampton Roads.— 1862. 
 
 Suililen Appearance of tlie Merrimac Among the Federal Frigates. — Their Swift and Terrible 
 Destruction by Her Steel Prow. — Unexpected Arrival of the " Little Monitor " at the Scene 
 of Action. — She Engages and Disables the Monster Craft in a Four Hours Fight. — Total 
 Revolution in Xaval Warfare the World Over by this Remarkable Contest. — How the Mer- 
 rimac Changed Hands. — Burned and Sunk at Norfolk, Va. — Her Hull Raised by the Confed- 
 erates. — She is Iron Roofed and Plated. — Proof Against Shot and Shell. — A Powerful Steel 
 Beak in Her Prow. — Most Formidable Vessel .4lloat. — In Command of Commodore Buchanan. 
 — Departs from Norfolk, March Eightli. — Pierce.s and Sinks the Cumberland. — Next Attacks 
 tlie Congress. — The Noble Frigate Destroyed. — Fight Begun with the Minnesota. — Suspended 
 at Nightfall. — Trip of the Monitor from New York. — Her New and Singular Build. — Lieu- 
 tenant Worden Hears of the Battles.— Resolves to Grapple with tlie Monster. — The Two 
 Together Next Day. — A Scene Never to be Forgotten. — Worden Turns the Tide of Fortune. 
 — Repulse and Retreat of the Merrimac 290 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Proclamation of Emancipation, as a War Measure, by President Lincoln. — 1863. 
 
 More than Three Millions, in Bondage at the South, Declared Forever Free. — Most Important 
 American State Paper Siijce July Fourth, 177fi. — Pronounced, by the President, "the Great 
 Event of the Nineteenth Century." — Tlie Whole System of Slavery Finally Swept from the 
 Republic, by Victories in the Field and by Constitutional Amendments. — Mr. Lincoln's 
 Views on Slavery. — Opposed to all Unconstitutional Acts. — His Orders to Union Generals. — 
 Prohibits the Arming of Negroes. — .\Iarming Progress of Events. — The Great Exigency at 
 Last. — Slavery i>crsus the Union. — Solemn and Urgent Alternative. — Emancipation Under 
 the War-Power. — Preparation of the Great Document. — Its Submission to the Cabinet. — 
 Opinions and Discussions. — Singular Reason for Delay. — Mr. Lincoln's Vow to God. — Wait- 
 ing for a Union Triumph. — Decided by the Battle of Antietam. — Final Adoption of the 
 Measure. — Mr. Carjienter's Admiraible Narrative. — Public Reception of the Proclamation. — 
 Promulgation at the South. — Scenes of Joy Among the Freedmen. — Enfranchisement Added 
 to Freedom 305 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 TiiHEE Days' B.M'tle Between the Concentrated Armies of Generals Meade and 
 
 Lee, at Gettysburg, Pa. — 1863. 
 
 Overwhelming Invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate Forces. — The Union Army Drives 
 Them with Great Slaugliter Across the Potomac. — Unsuccessful Attempt to Transfer the 
 Seat of War from Virginia to Northern Soil. — One of the Most Decisive and Important 
 Federal Victories in the Great American Civil Conflict. — Lee's Army Impatient to go North. 
 — Order of March at Last.^Consternation in the Border States. — Call for One Hundreil 
 Thousand More Men. — Advance of Meade's Array. — Face to Face With the Foe. — Engage- 
 ment between the Vanguards. — Terrific Artillery Contests. — ^Movements and Counter Move- 
 ments. — Severe Reverses on Both Sides. — Carnage at Cemetery Hill. — Longstreet's Furious 
 Onset. — Most Destructive Cannonade. — Gettysburg a Vast Hospital. — Crawford's Grand 
 Charge. — Standing by the Batteries! — Hand-to-Hand Conflict. — Following the Battle-Flag. 
 — Deadly and Impetuous Fighting. — Forty-one Confederate Standards Taken. — Unliounded 
 Joy of the Victors. — President Lincoln's Announcement ;il."> 
 
 XXXIV. 
 Grand March of the Fnion Army, under General Siierm.\n, Through the Heart 
 
 OF THE South. — 1864. 
 Generals and Armies Baffled, and States and Cities Conquered, Without a Serious Disaster to 
 the Victors. — Display of Military Geniiis Unsurpassed in Any Age or Country. — The 
 Southern Confederacy Virtually Crushed Within the Coils of this Wide-Sweeping, Bold, and 
 Resistless Movement. — The Great Closing Act in the Campaign. — Sherman's Qualities as a 
 Commander. — His Great Military Success. — His Own Story. — A Brilliant Campaign PLanned. 
 
CONTENTS. 19 
 
 — Brave and Confident Troops. — Atlanta, Ga., the First Great Prize.— Destroys tliat City: 
 Starts for the Coast. — Kilpatrick Leads the Cavalry. — Thomas Defends the Border States. — 
 Successful Feints Made by Sherman. — Subsists His Men on the Enemy's Country. — Im- 
 mense Sweep of the Onward Columns. — Savannah's Doom Sealed. — Fall of Fort McAllister. 
 — Christmas Gift to the President. — Advance Into South Carolina. — The Stars and Stripes 
 in Her Capital. — All Opposition Powerless. — North Carolina's Turn Next. — Swamps, Hills, 
 Quagmires, Storms, Floods. — Battles Fought: Onward to Raleigh. — Johnston's Whole Army 
 Bagged. — Sherman Described Personally 325 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Fall of Richmond, V.\., thi-; Confederate Capital. — 1865. 
 The Entrenched City Closely Encompassed for Months by General Grant's Brave Legions and 
 Walls of Steel. — Flight of .Jefferson Davis, and Surrender of General Lee's Army. — Over- 
 throw of the Four Years' Gigantic Rebellion. — The iEgis and Starry Ensigns of the Republic 
 Everywhere Dominant. — Transports of .Joy Fill the Land. — A Nation's Laurels Crown the 
 Head of the Conqueror of Peace. — Memorable Day in Human Affairs. — ilomentous Issues 
 Involved. — Heavy Cost of this Triumpli. — Without It, a Lost Republic. — Unequaled Valor 
 Displayed. — Sherman's Grand Conceptions. — Sheridan's Splendid Generalship. — Onward 
 March of Events. — Strategy, Battles, Victories. — I^e's Lines Fatally Broken. — Approach of 
 the Final Crisis. — Riclimond Evacuated by Night. — Retreat of Lee: Vigorous Pursuit. — 
 His Hopeless Resistance to Grant. — Their Correspondence and Interview. — The Two Great 
 Generals Face to Face. — What Was Said and Done. — Announcing the Result. — Parting of 
 Lee with His Soldiers. — President Lincoln's Visit to Richmond.— Raising the United States 
 Flag at Fort Sumter. — Davis a Prisoner in Fortress Monroe 33-1 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Assassination of President Lincoln, at Ford's The.4ter, Washington, by J. Wilkes 
 
 Booth.— 1865. 
 
 Conspiracy to Murder, Simultaneously, all the Chief Officers of the Government. — The Most 
 Exalted and Beloved of Jlortal Rulers Falls a Victim. — A Universal Wail of Anguish and 
 Lamentation Poured Forth from the National Heart. — Darkest Page in the History of the 
 Country. — Funeral Cortege Through Fifteen States. — Tragical Fate of the Conspirators. — 
 Object of this ilost Infamous of Crimes. — Singular Time of Its Perpetration. — Virtual End 
 of the Great Civil War. — Dawn of Peace: Universal Joy. — President Lincoln's Happy Frame 
 of Mind. — How He Passed His Last Day. — Conversations on the Evening of April Four- 
 teenth. — Makes an Engagement for the Morrow. — Last Time He Signed His Name. — Re- 
 luctantly Goes to the Theater. — Arrives Late: Immense Audience. — Plans and ^Movements of 
 the Assassin. — The Fatal Shot: a Tragedy of Horrors. — Removal of the President to a Pri- 
 vate House. — Speechless and Unconscious to the End. — Death-Bed Scenes and Incidents. — 
 The Nation Stunned at the ApjiaHing News. — Its Reception at the South, and by General 
 Lee. — A Continent in Tears and Mourning. — ilost Imposing Obsequies Ever Known. — 
 Booth's Swift and Bloody End. — Trial of His Male and Female Accomplices 344 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 National Peace Jubilee and Musical Festival for Five Days, in Boston, in Honor 
 OF THE Restoration of the Union op the St.\tes. — 1869. 
 
 Ten Thousand Singers, an Orchestra of One Thousand Instruments, and Tens of Thousands of 
 Spectators, in the Coliseum, an Immense Building Erected for the Occasion. — Attendance of 
 President Grant. — Sublime and Inspiring Harmonies. — Most Majestic Musical Demonstra- 
 tion of Modern Times. — Origin of the Jubilee. — P. S. Gilmore: His Zeal and Enthusiasm. — 
 All Discouragements Overcome. — Magnificent Programme. — Splendor of the Coliseum. — It 
 Covers Nearly Four Acres. — Inauguration Ceremonies. — View of the Audience. — Scene of 
 Surpassing Enchantment. — Beauty of the Decorations. — Overtures, Choruses, Anthems, Etc. 
 — Parepa-Rosa. Phillips, Ole Bull. — Their Professional Triumphs. — Zerrahn, Tourjee. Eich- 
 berg. — Tlie Famous "Anvil " Chorus. — Chiming the City Bells. — Novel Commingling of 
 Artillery with Music. — Tremendous Ovation to Grant. — Half a Million People in the City. — 
 Testimonial to Mr. Gilmore. — Last Day: Concert by 10,000 Children. — Triumphant Success 
 of the Jubilee ,S.56 
 
20 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 COXSECRATION OF THE FiRST CARDINAL IX THE FxiTED STATES. 1875. 
 
 The Venerable Archbishop McC'loskey, of New York, Si-leeted by tlie Roman Pontiff, for lliis 
 Great OHUe. — He becomes a Prince in the Cliurcli. — Tlie Highest Ecclesiastical Appointment 
 in the Catholic Hierarchy. — Reasons given for this Step. — Solemn Investiture, in the Cathe- 
 dral, by Clerical Dignitaries from All Parts of the Country. — An Uuiiaralleled Scene. — Illus- 
 trious Xature of this Office. — Special Knvoy sent from Rome. — Announcing the Event to the 
 Archbisliop. — Time of Public Recognition Assigned. — A ^Mighty Stream of Humanity. — 
 Decorations of the Church. — Procession of Priests. — Incensing the Altars. — Sacred Vessels 
 and Vestments. — Insignia Peculiar to this Rank. — The Scarlet Cap. — Profoundly Impressive 
 Service. — Unprecedented on this Continent. — Imposing the Berretta. — Intoning and Chanting. 
 — Official Letter from the Pope. — Use of the Latin Language. — Inspiring Strains of Music. 
 — Incidents atten<ling the Ceremonial. — Pontifical Benediction by the Cardinal. — Retirement 
 of the Celebrants. — Dispersion of the Vast Throng 365 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 The Tweed Eing.— 1876. 
 The Character of New York City Government When Tweed Began Public Life. — State Inter- 
 ference. — Tweed's Entry Into Politics. — Sent to Congress in ISnS. — " Tweedie Never Goes 
 Back on Tweedie." — Becomes Grand Sacliem of Tammany Hall. — The New " Wigwam." — 
 The Democratic National Convention Held in It, July 4, 1868. — Tammany Forces Seymour 
 on Party, ami Supports Hoffman for Governor. — Oaths Administered on " Ollendorff's 
 French Metliod," No Bible Being at Hand. — Constitution of Tweed Ring in 1868. — The 
 "Big Four," "Oal«'y" Hall, Sweeny, Cnnnolly, and Tweed. — Tweed Already Very Rich. — • 
 Marriage of Daughter and Costly Piesents From Politicians. — The Americus Club and 
 Its Tiger. — Latter Becomes Emblem of Tammany. — The New City Charter, " Tweed's 
 Charter." — Places All Power in City in Hands of Ring Legally. — Charter Cost Tweed 
 $1,500,000. — " The Y'oung Democracy." — Exposures by New York Times. — " What Are You 
 Going to Do About It?" — Tweed's Hold Upon the Poor. — Ring Overthrown in the Elec- 
 tion of 1871. — Statement of Enormous Thefts. — Untold Millions. — Tweed's Various Trials. 
 — Exciting Escape to Spain and Recapture. — Confesses Judgment for .$6.000,000. — Unable 
 to Pay or Secure .$3.000.000 Bail, He Goes to Jail.— Dies in Ludlow Street Jail April 12, 
 1878. — Deserted By All His Henchmen and Former Friends. — Other Ring Members Escape to 
 Europe. — Effect Upon Tammanj' Hall. — Similar Corruption in Other Cities 371 
 
 XL. 
 
 New Forms of Religious Activities. — The Society for Ciiristiax Endeavor. — 1881. 
 
 Recent Organizations of Young People Into Immense Societies. — Jleaning of Such Movement's. 
 — Dr. Hale and the Lend-a-Hand Clubs. — Mottoes of the Clubs. — Jlrs. Bottome and the 
 King's Daughters. — An Outgrowth of the Lend-a-Hand Movement. — Rapid Growth of Order. 
 — Changed to " International Order of the King's Daugliters and Sons." — Rev. F. E. Clark 
 as a Pastor. — Origin of Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor. — Its First Meet- 
 ing.— Dr. Clark's Statement of Results. — October, 1884, More Than 150 Societies With 
 Upwards of Eight Thousand Members. — Incorporation of United Society of Christian En- 
 deavor, 1SS5. — Mighty Force Toward Christian Unity. — Organizations not Denominational 
 but Interdenominational. — Third World's Convention at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1906. — 
 Sixty-four Thousand Societies Reported : Close to Four Jfillion 'Members. — Withdrawal of 
 Methodists and Baptists in 1801. — The Epworth League Strictly Denominational and Under 
 Control of Church. — Organization of Baptist Young People's Unioii the Same Year. — Edu- 
 cational Features of Later Societies. — The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Organized October, 
 1886. — " Object '" and " Rules " .of the Society.— The Rule of Prayer and Rule of Service. 
 — Contrast of Working of These Societies With That of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciations. — A Mighty Power For the Uplifting of All Peoples 383 
 
 XLI. 
 The Feder.^tiox' of Labor. — Labor Oroanizationr. — 1881. 
 
 Ideal Relation of Capital and Labor. — Actual Conditions. — Labor of Earliest Historical 
 Times. — Origin of Slavery. — Condition^ in Greece and Rome. — Change from Slavery to 
 
CONTENTS. 21 
 
 Sei-fflom. — Graduiil Aeqiiisition of Rights of Freemen by Serfs. — Influenee of Wyclif and 
 His Itinerant Preachers. — Conditions in Enghmd in Eighteentli Century. — Unions of 
 Laboring Men Organized. — Early Labor Situation in United States. — First Organizations 
 and Tlieir Wealiness. — Individual Versus Collective Bargaining. — The Weakness of the 
 Labor Unit. — John Mitchell's Description of the Trade Union and Its Purposes. — Flexibility 
 of Union Organizations. — The Knights of Labor. — "That is the Most Perfect Government 
 in Which Injury to One is the Concern of All." — The Federation of Organized Trades and 
 Labor Unions of the United States and Canada. — Importance of Federative Principle. — 
 General Position of LTnions as to Strikes and Boycotts. — Evil Results to All Unions of 
 Political Alliances. — Present Status of Federation of Labor: 1.500,000 Paying Members. — 
 Organization of Employers' L'nions. — ■' Tlie Citizens Industrial Association of America." — 
 Statement of Its Principles. — Reactionary Position of Its Leaders. — " Labor Has No 
 Rights Capital is Bound to Respect." — The Twentieth Century Spirit Will Not Tolerate 
 Reactionary Measures. — The Rights of All, Labor, Capital, and the Public, Must be Con- 
 sidered. — " No Man Liveth to Himself Alone." — End to be Aimed at is Peace 391 
 
 XLII. 
 The Eevisiox op the Bible. — 1885. 
 The Bible of the Apostles. — Tlie Jewish Scriptiiros. — A Library of Law. Prophecy. Philosophy, 
 and Poetry. — Rise and Importance of the Synagogues. — ^Jlanner in Wliich the Scriptures 
 Were Kept. — The Rolls. — Papyrus and Methods of Writing. — The Septuagint. — Libraries 
 of the Early Christian Churclies. — Tliree Great Sources of Our Bible. — Remarkable Work 
 of Dr. Tiscliendorf. — The Old Latin Bible. — St. Jerome's Revision. — The Accepted Vulgate. 
 — Caedmon's Paraphrases and Bede's Tran.slations. — King Alfred's Dooms — Translation 
 from Sa.xon to Modern English. — Effects of the Norman Invasion of England. — Inlluence 
 of Bible on the Rise of Intellectual and Civil Liberty. — The Black Death. — Wyclif's 
 Translation of the Bible. — Purvey's Revision. — The Invention of Printing. — First Printed 
 Book, the Mazarin Bible. — Luther and His Translation of the Bible. — Intellectual and Re- 
 ligious Conditions in the Church at Close of Fifteenth Century. — Tyndale and His Trans- 
 lation of Bible. — First Division into Chapters. — Final Revision in 1.5.34. — Coverdale's, 
 Matthew's, and Taverner's Bibles. — The " Great Bilde." — Influence of Bible npon English 
 People and Language. — Green's Estimate. — Tlie Geneva, or " Breeches," Bible. — First Di- 
 vision of Chapters into Verses, and First L^se of ilodern Type. — The Bishop's Bible. — Ac- 
 cession of King James and His Character. — The King .lames, or Authorized, Version of 
 Iflll. — The CJeneva a Strong Competitor. — Reasons for another Revision. — Wonderful 
 Increase of Texts and Documents Unknown to Revisers of 1611. — Character of Revision 
 Committee and Methods of Work. — Three Million Copies Revised New Testament Sold in 
 One Year. — Work of American Revision Committee. — The American Revised Bible of 190]. 
 — Many Notable Opinions Regarding the Bible. — " In this Book is Contained All the 
 Wisdom of the World." 401 
 
 XLIII. 
 The Hayjiarket Eiot. — Anarcht. — 1886. 
 Political and Social Conditions at Close of Eiglitcenth Century. — Effect of Advances Along 
 Commercial and Industrial Lines. — Difficulty of Realizing Economical and Social Burdens 
 of Eighteenth Century Workingmen. — Accounts of Travelers and Historians and Novelists. 
 — The Origin of Socialism and Anarchy. — St. Simon, Fourier, Proudhon. — Proudhon's 
 "What :s Property?" "Property is Theft." — Accounts of the Two Great Anarchist Leaders. 
 Bakunin and Ivropotkin. — Rise of Russian Anarchists. — Repressive Laws Following Murder 
 of Alexander 11. — The Leaders Driven From Europs to United States. — Connection Be- 
 tween Assassination of Czar and Haymarket Riot a Close One. — Condition in Chicago. — 
 Great Strike at ^IcCormick Harvester Works. — Interference and Incendiary Utterances of 
 Anarchist Agitators. — Calls to Arms. — The Riot at McCormick's Works, 'May .3. — Call for 
 Haymarket Meeting. — "Workingmen. Arm Yourselves, and Appear in Full Force." — Tli.^ 
 Throwing of the Bomb. — Whole Company of Police Prostrated. — Eiglit Mortally Wounded. 
 — Intense Excitement All Over Country. — Trial of Accused Anarchists. — Seven Sentenced 
 to Death, One Imprisonment for Life. — Sensational Suicide of Lingg. — Sentences of Fielden 
 
22 CONTENTS. 
 
 and Schwab Commuted to Life Imprisonment. — Spies, Parsons, Fislier, and Engel, Hung 
 November 11, 1SS7. — Cliange iu Public Opinion. — Action of Governor Altgeld. — Judge 
 Gary's Position 445 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 The Great Bi,izz,\rd. — 1888. 
 Supreme Satisfaction of People of Xew York. — Its Apparent Safety From Dangers From 
 Storm or Flood. — Apparent Purpose of the Infinite Power to .Show How Insignificant We 
 Really Are. — Beginning of Great Storm, Sunday Evening, March 11, 1888. — Origin and 
 Progress of Storm From West to Coast.^ — -Conditions Early Monday Morning. — All Systems 
 of Transi)ortation Tied Up. — People Rescued From Elevated Trains by Ladders. — Before 
 Ten O'Cloclv Broadway a Succession of Hills. Vrtlleys, and Ravines. — Drifts Across Street 
 Si.K to Ten Feet Deep. — Side Streets Filled Witli Abandoned Teams AViout Which Snow 
 Piled up Fifteen to Twenty Feet. — Calmien Cliarge Fifty Dollars for Fare iladison Square 
 to Wall Street. — Trade Comlitions. — ilany " Spring 0])enings " Advertised for This Monday 
 Morning. — At Altman's Tlirongli Forenoon One Woman Bouglit Two S])Ools of Thread. — 
 All Business Suspended at Noon. — No Steam Trains Able to Enter or Leave City. — Horror'^ 
 of Monday Niglit. — Storm Increasing, Wind Rising, Mercury Falling. — Total Darkness and 
 Blinding Storm Obliterated all Landmarks. — Suli'erings of Lady Stenographer; Seven Hours 
 Getting Home, a Distance of Two Miles. — Terribl" Experience of Roscoe Conkling. — Lost 
 in Union Square. — Snow Storm Ceases Tuesday ilorning. But Not tlie Wind. — 12..500,000 
 Loads of Snow to Be Removed. — Over Six Hundred Funi'rals Wednesday. — City Closi- 
 to Starvation. — Humorous Messages of Sym]>athy from Dakota. — '■ Keep Off tlie Grass." — 
 Extent of Storm. — Worst Recorded in History of Country. — Twenty Lives Lost and $15,- 
 000,000 to $20,000,000 of Property Destroyed in Manhattan Alone 457 
 
 XLV. 
 The New Navy.— 1893-1909. 
 Conditions Preceding Spanish War. — President Cleveland's Attitude Regarding Cuban Affairs. 
 — President McKinley's. — Republican Platform of 1896. — Senator Proctor's Description of 
 Conditions in Cuba. — Destruction of the Maine. — Resolutions of Congress Declaring War. — 
 History of American Navy. — Sentiment of Colonial Leaders. — .Tohn Paul .Jones. — Total 
 Strength of Revolutionary Navy. — ^First Secretary of Navy. — Character of Vessels Built 
 After War. — First Application of Steam and of the Propeller. — The Demologos. — The 
 Monitor and Merrimae. — Condition of Navy After Civil War. — Birth of New Navy. — The 
 White Squadron. — Tlie Battlesliip Era. — The Oreqon. — The Battle of Manila. — Departure 
 of Admiral Sampson's Fleet to Blockade Cuba. — Cervera's Squadron and the Santiago 
 Blockade. — The Blowing Up of the Merrimae. — Destruction of Cervera's Fleet. — Fall of 
 Santiago and Close of War. — Schley and the Famous Loop. — Improvement in Navy Fol- 
 lowing Close of Spanish War. — Comparison of Navy of 1893 and 1008. — ^Naval Appropria- 
 tions of Leading World Powers. — Cruise of the Battleships. — Itinerary of Trip. — Reception 
 of Fleet and Review in Hampton Roads, February 22, 1000 467 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 The Venezttela Eot'NnARY Dispute. — ]\roNROE Doctrixe. — ISO.'i. 
 Alexander I. of Russia and Mme. de Krudener. — The Emperor's Religions Enthusiasm. — 
 His Part and Purpose in Forming the Holy Alliance. — Text of That Remarkable Document. 
 — The Holy Alliance Becomes Association of Despots For Overthrow of Liberty. — Spanish 
 Colonies in Western Hemisphere Declare Independence. — Purjiose of Holy Alliance to Re- 
 store Power to Spain. — Canning's Proposals. — Views of .Tohn Quincy Adams. Secretary of 
 State. — ^Declares Against Acting "As a Cock-boat in Wake of British ilan-of-War." — 
 "Make an American Cause and Adhere Inflexibly to That." — Statement of His Doctrine 
 as Announced by President Monroe in 182.3. — Reception of ^Message by British Press. — 
 Canning's Duplicity Proved. — ^Doubtful Position of the United States Government as to 
 Doctrine for Seventy Years. — " To Be Asserted When, and to What Extent, Individual Con- 
 ditions Demand," — Polk's Attitude as Congressman and Later as President. — Applica- 
 tion to French Occupation of Mexico. — Interpretations and Indorsements in Many Party 
 
CONTENTS. 23 
 
 Platforms. — History of Differences between Great Britain and Venezuela. — Intervention of 
 the United States. — Olney versus Salisbury. — Latter's Contempt for Monroe Doctrine. — ■ 
 President Cleveland's Vigorous Message. — Appointment of American Commission to De- 
 termine True Boundary Line. — Great Britain Assents to Arbitration. — Distinguished 
 Arbitrators. — Character of Award and Results. — Final Determination of Status of Monroe 
 Doctrine 502 
 
 XLVII. 
 The Annexation of Hawaii. — 1898. 
 Sandwich Islands Unknown When American Independence Declared. — Discovery by Captain 
 Cook, 1778. — His E.xperience With Natives. — Descriptions of Islands. — Highest Volcanoes 
 In World. — Xotable Eruptions. — Princess Kapiolani Defies Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes. — 
 Three Periods of Hawaiian History. — Origin of Xative People. — Physical Characteristics. 
 — Their Religion and Superstition. — The Tabu.^Pastimes of People. — Xative Poetry.^ 
 Vancouver's Influence. — Introduction of Rum. — Kamehameha I. — Conquers Other Chiefs. 
 — Established Central Government. — Overthrow of Idolatry 'by People. — Arrival of Mis- 
 sionaries. — Intense Interest of People in Education. — Continuous Interference of Foreign 
 Powers. — The " New Kaahumanu." — Formation of Written Language. — First Constitu- 
 tion. — Independence Recognized by United States, France, and England. — Comparison of 
 Census Statistics. — Steady Growth of American Party. — Statement of Liliuokalani. — 
 Early Movements Toward Annexation. — Hostility of English. — First Treaty Witli LTnited 
 States. — Kalakaua. — Crisis on Accession of Liliuokalani. — Establishment of Provisional 
 Government. — Negotiations with Government of United States. — The Joint Resolution of 
 Congress. — Final Cession to LTnited States 52.5 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 The Hague Conferences.— 1899-1907. 
 Early Arbitration Agreements. — The Jay Treaty. — The Burr-Hamilton Duel. — The Geneva 
 Arbitration. — The Czar's First Letter to Sovereign States. — Public Opinion Regarding It. — 
 Second Letter and Programme for Conference. — Description of Holland and The Hague. — 
 Grotius and His Work. — The House in the Wood. — Splendid Courtesy of Queen Wilhelmina 
 and The Netherlanders. — First Meeting of First Conference. — Twenty-six Nations. Twelve 
 Hundred Jlillion People Represented. — Cliaracter of Delegates and Languages Spoken. — ■ 
 Delegates from the United States. — Routine Work of Delegates. — Social Functions. — 
 Details of Results Achieved. — Effective Addresses of Leading Delegates. — Permanent Court 
 of Arbitration. — Notable Arbitration Between Chile and Argentina. — The Statue of the 
 Christ. — Second Conference Demanded by Interparliamentary Union. — President Roosevelt's 
 Action. — Final Call of Czar of Russia for Conference to Meet .June 15, 1007. — Delegates 
 from United States. — Conditions Attending the Meeting. — Organization and Distribution 
 of Work. — Notable Addresses. — Stubborn Fight to Perfect Permanent Court. — Magnificent 
 Work of Mr. Choate.^All Provisions Made for Court, hut no Judges. — Bitter Opposition 
 of Smaller Nations. — "The World Desires Peace." — The International Prize Court. — 
 Achievements of Second Conference. — Opinion of Elihu Root, then Secretary of State. — 
 Real Significance of the Conferences 5.57 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 The Destruction of Galveston. — 1900. 
 Sublime Faith and Heroism of Stricken Peoples. — Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, San Fran- 
 cisco. — Peculiar Location of Galveston. — Importance as Sea Port. — Converging Point of 
 Fifty-three Steamship Lines. — The " Oleander City." — The Terrible Hurricane of September 
 8, 1900. — Winds Began to Rise Early in Forenoon. — Constantly Changing Direction They 
 Covered Every Point of Compass. — Rapidly Increasing Velocity.—" Every Building on 
 Island Trembled, Many Rocking Like Boats." — Velocity of Wind One Hundred and Ten 
 Miles an Hour in Evening. — Whole City Prepares for Death. — At Convent tlie Sacrament 
 Administered to All. — At Orphan Asylums Nims Tied Little Charges in Bunches, Each 
 Sister Fastening Runcli to Herself. — All Perished Together. — Great Rafts of Wreckage 
 Hurled in Every Direction by Wind and Waves. — Veritable Battering Rams. — After Nine 
 
24 CONTEXTS. 
 
 P. M., IJegan to Subside. — Pastor and Family and Three Quarters of Entire Congregation 
 Drowned. — Within a Week Six Thousand Bodies Recovered. — Probably Anotlier Thousand 
 Washed Out to Sea. — Wonderful Recuperative Powers of People. — Committee of Safety. — 
 The Deep-water Commission.— Xew City Charter. — ilammoth Sea Wall. — Total Surface 
 Level of City Raised from Five to Eighteen Feet. — The Xew Government By Commission; 
 '• The Galveston Plan." — Result of Its Work in Rebuilding and Redeeming Galveston. — 
 Adopted in Jlany Other Cities 585 
 
 L. 
 
 The Pan.\ma C.\nal. — 1903. 
 Early Search for Strait Connecting Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. — Efforts of Cortez, Saavedra. 
 and Others. — Interest of Charles V. and Philip II. — Latter Decides, "Contrary to Divine 
 Will to Unite Two Oceans Which the Creator of World Had Separated." — English Become 
 Interested in Nicaragua in Seventeenth Century. — Visit of Humboldt to United States and 
 Central America. — Outlines Nine Routes for Waterway from Atlantic to Pacific. — Views 
 of Goethe. — Remarkable Predictions as to Development of United States; Also as to Canals. 
 — The Treaty of lS4li with New Granada (Colombia). — The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. — 
 French Interference Under Napoleon III. — American Position Asserted by President Grant 
 In 1SG9. — "Only American Canal, under Control of Americans Should be Built Between 
 Atlantic and Pacitie Oceans." — DeLesseps and the French Concession. — A])]iointment of Com- 
 mission to Investigate Merits of All Leading Routes. — Commission Reports in Favor of 
 Nicaragua. — Debate in Congress and Spooner Amendment. — Clayton-Bulwer Treaty Abro- 
 gated by Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, IHOI. — The Remarkable Panama Revolution. — M. Bunau- 
 Varilla. — Treaty with Panama Republic. — President Roosevelt's Attitvide. — His Letter to 
 Dr. Shaw.^Transfer of All Riglits and Property of French Canal Company for .$40,000,000. 
 — Canal Commission Appointed. — Repeated Changes in It. — Whole Work Finally Placed in 
 Hands of Board of Army Engineers. — Great Improvement in Its Prosecution. — Statistics 
 as to Present Conditions. — Original Estimates and Probably Final Cost of the Canal. . 594 
 
 LI. 
 
 The Treaty of Portsmouth. — 1905. 
 The Interests of Russia and .Japan in ilancliuria. — Position and Importance of the Province. 
 — Position of Korea. — Tlie Building of tlie Siberian Railroad. — Japan's Vital Need of Man- 
 churian and Korean Markets and Products. — The Chinese-.Japanese War of 1894-5.- — .Japan 
 Robbed of the Fruits of Victory by European Powers. — Russia's Agreement of 1902 to 
 Evacuate Manchuria. — Not Only Fails to Evacuate but Strengthens Forces. — Russia's 
 Interests on the Yalu. — Dignified but Forcible Protest of .Japan in 1903. — Russia's Dilatory 
 Tactics. — Diplomatic Relations Severed February 5, 1904. — The Battle of Chemulpo Bay 
 and Port Arthur. — L'nprecedented Successes of Japan on Sea and Land for Fifteen Months. 
 — Final Battles of JIukden and Korean Straits. — Movements T^ooking Toward Peace. — 
 The Influence of the Hague Conference. — President Roosevelt's Identical Notes to Czar and 
 Mikado of .June 7, IPOo. — ^Conference Agreed Upon. — Ambassadors Named by Botli Powers. 
 — Reception of Ambassadors on the Mayfloiver. — President Roosevelt's Tact, and Amicable 
 Toast. — Reasons for Choosing Portsmoutli as the Treaty City. — First Meeting of Envoys 
 August 9, 1905. — Account of Deliberations. — ^Dark Days. — Final Agreement. — Result of 
 Compromises. — Treaty Signed September 5. — Interesting Interchange of Courtesies Be- 
 tween Envoys. — Notable Te Deiim Service in Episcopal Church at Portsmouth. — Reception 
 of News Throughout United States. — Cannons Roar, Bells Ring, Bonfires Everywhere. — 
 Hostile Reception by .Japanese People. — Results Acliieved. — Happy and Proud Position of 
 President Roosevelt ''12 
 
 LIT. 
 
 E.\RTHQUAKE AXD FiRE -\T SaN FrANCISCO. — 1906. 
 
 The Long Chain of San Franciscan Missions in California. — The IMission Dolores on the Site 
 
 of San Francisco. — Took Present Name in 1R47. with Population of 450. — Discovery of Gold 
 
 on Sutter Ranch, — The Early Vigilance Leagues. — Character of Early City. — "A Free and 
 
 Easy City, Bohemian to the Core." — Early " Baptisms of Fire." — Peculiar Location of City. 
 
CONTENTS. 25 
 
 — Market Street and Van Ness Avenue. — The Fateful ISth of April, 190G. — Small Loss uf 
 Life and Property from Earthquake. — The Starting of the Fire and Causes. — No Water, 
 The City at the Mercy of tlie t<'lames. — Dynamit<? the Only Weapon with Whicli to Fight 
 the Fire. — " Shoot at Sight Anyone Cauglit Pilfering or Looting." — Sorrowful Fliglit of 
 Refugees to Suburban Towns, or The Presidio and Golden C4ate Park. — Wonderful Fortitude 
 of Sufferers. — Progress of the Fire on the 19th. — Final Stand of Fire Fighters at Van Ness 
 Avenue. — Sudden Change of Wind Saves tlie Rest of the City. — Three Quarters of a Mile 
 of Mansions Blown L'p. — Region Destroyed Covered About Four Square Miles. — 498 City 
 Blocks. — Month Following Fire Jlost Orderly City Had Ever Known. — The Bread Lines. — 
 . "Neither JIarkets nor Jloney with Wliich to Buy." — C41oriou3 Outburst of Sympathy 
 Throughout the Country.— ilore than .$20,000,000 Contributed in Thirty Days.— Hon. ,T. D. 
 Phelan's Review of the Situation. — Character of New Buildings. — Systematic Plans for 
 Rebuilding. — The Burnham Plans. — Labor Troubles and Municipal Rottenness. — The Case 
 of Mayor Schmitz. — Widespread Symjiathy with tlie Stricken People 626 
 
 LIII. 
 
 The Story of Electricity. 
 Amber and the Lodestone. — Views of Ancient Philosophers and of the Church Fathers. — 
 The Chinese " Soutli-Pointing Car." — Rise of Experimental Philosophy. — Dr. Gilbert the 
 Pioneer Experimenter. — Formation of the British Royal Society. — The " Roarings and 
 Crackings " wlien Electricity was Produced. — Earliest Comparison with Thunder and 
 Lightning. — Franklin's Experiments. — His " Electrified Bumpers." — His Demonstration 
 that Liglitning of the Storm Same as He Produced. — Lightning Rods. — Invention of Leyden 
 Jar. — Line of Monks, Nine Hundred Feet Long, Electrified. — Experiments of Galvani and 
 Volta. — Humphrey Davy and the Arc Liglit. — Oersted's Great Discovery. — Faraday 
 Determines Relation of Electricity anil Magnetism. — .Joseph Henry's Distinguished Career 
 and Discoveries. — !Morse and the Electric Telegraph. — Strange and Sad Vicissitudes of 
 Inventor. — First Telegraph Laid. Baltimore to Washington, Opened ^lay 24. 1S44. — First 
 Message, " \\'hat God Hath Wrought."— Cyrus Field and the Atlantic Cable. — Repeated 
 Failures. — First Perfect Connection Established July 27, 186B. — Statistics as to Cable 
 Service. — Bell and the Telephone. — Remarkable Characteristics of Invention. — The 
 Microphone. — Every Other Family in the United States Has Telephone. — Development of 
 Dynamos and Motors. — Remarkable Transmission of Currents for Power and Light. — The 
 Electric Light. — Incandescent and Arc Lights Described. — Arc Light 3,000,000 Candle 
 Power. — Uses of Selenium. — ^\^arious Applications of Electricity in Railroad Service.^ 
 Dr. Holmes's " Broomstick Train." — Hertz and the Hertzian Waves.— Ether. — Marconi's 
 W'ireless Telegraph and Its Principles. — Remarkable Invention of Orling and Armstrong. — • 
 The Wireless Telegraph and the Republic Collision. — What Next, Telepathy? 636 
 
 LIV. 
 
 Intersatio\al Courtesies. 
 Founder's Day at Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg.— Address of W. T. Stead. — " Outlook for 
 Peace." — "You Have Only to Hang Twelve Newspaper Editors." — Infliience of More 
 Intimate Relations Between Peoples. — "Little Things that Make for Peace." — The Life and 
 Death of George Peabody a Link Between the English and American Peoples. — Editorial 
 Utterances. — The Geneva Arbitration. — The French Gift of Bartholdi Statue. — Description 
 of Statue. — Educational Reciprocity. — Work of I'Alliance FranQaiae. — Exchange of 
 Lecturers by Harvard and The Sorbonne. — Lectures of Charles F. Beach at University of 
 Paris Law School. — Work Extended to Other French tTniversities. — German Emperor and 
 American Ambassador Discuss Exchange of Professors Between Universities. — Emperor 
 Invited President Nicholas ilurray Butler to Discuss Subject at Informal Dinner. — " The 
 Theodore Roosevelt Professorship " at L^niversity of Berlin. — Gift of .Tames M. Speyer to 
 Columbia to Found Similar Chair. — English and American Universities. — Opinion and 
 Efforts of Baron Kentarn, of Japan, Along Same Lines. — Cecil Rhodes and His Ambitions. 
 "A Good Understanding Between England, Germany, and United States. Will Secure Peace 
 of the World; and Educational Relations Form the Strongest Tie." — The Rhodes Scholar- 
 ships. — Bryce ' and " The American Commonwealth." — Hannis Taylor and " The English 
 Constitution." — " God Hath Created of One Blood All Nations of Men." 678 
 
26 CONTENTS. 
 
 LV. 
 
 Education in Colonies and States. 
 Education at the Time of the Great Reformation. — The Renaissance. — Wyolif's Position. 
 Luther's Appeal to the German ilagistrates. — " The True Wealtli of a City is to Have Many 
 Learned, Serious, Worthy, Well-educated Citizens." — Common Schools in Germany and Low 
 Countries in Sixteenth Century. — Contact of Pilgrim Fatliers witli Dutch System While at 
 Leyden. — First School Established in Colonies of America. — Support of Dutch West India 
 Company. — The Boston Latin School. — Massachusetts Law of 1047. — " The Great Charter 
 of Free Education in the Commonwealth." — Early Schools for Boys Alone; Girls Had No 
 Share in School Privileges. — Graduates of English Universities in Colonies. — John Harvard 
 and the Founding of Harvard College. — Xo Knowledge of Harvard's Life. — ,$500 Offered for 
 Five Lines of Authentic Information. — Present Status of University, and Its New President. 
 — Foundation of William and Mary. — Eliliu Yale and Yale College. — Tennent's " Log 
 College " and Princeton. — Lottery to Raise Money for King's College. — Present Status of 
 Columbia University. — The " Dartmouth College Case." — Number and Resources of 
 "Colleges, Universities, and Technical Schools" in the United States. — Rise of Academies 
 and Notable Preparatory Schools. — Education of Women. — Growth of the High School 
 System. — Horace Mann and tlie Massachusetts State Board of Education. — Establishment 
 of Normal Schools. — The National Educational Association.^ — Origin and Development of 
 State Universities. — Post-Graduate Work. — ^^'omen's Colleges ; Vassar, Mt. Holyoke, Welles- 
 ley, Smith, Bryn Mawr. — The Chautauqua and Summer Schools 691 
 
 LVI. 
 
 An Era of Prinpei.y Gifts. 
 Contrast Between Early Gifts and Those of To-day. — Different Sources of Wealth. — Total of 
 Gifts Above .$.5,000 for 1003-1007 Inclusive Upwards of $1.000,000,000. — Animating Impulse 
 in Such Gifts. — " There is Something Pathetic About a Great Gift." — Stephen Girard and 
 His Benefactions. — His Estate Valued at $9.000,000. — Girard College and Its Peculiar 
 Restrictions as to Ministerial Visitors. — Notable Gift of John Lowell. — The Lowell Institute 
 and Its Work. — The Lyceum Lectures in New England. — Estimate of Value of Lowell's 
 Beneficence by Hon. Edward Everett. — George Peabody and His Royal Liberality. — Letter 
 of Tlianks from Queen Victoria. — Tlie .J. F. Slater and Daniel C. Hand Bequests for the 
 Freeilnien. — Beneficent Action of Miss Anna T. Jeanes. — The Enoch Pratt Library. — Johns 
 Hopkins; His University and Hnspital. — Influence of Death of Son on Leland Stanford and 
 Wife. — "The Children of California SIuill Be Our Children." — The Leland Stanford .Tunior 
 University. — " The Lolita Armour Institute of Bloodless Surgery." — The Newberry and 
 Crerar Libraries in Chicago. — Peter Cooper and Cooper U^nion. — John Jacob Astor's 
 Gift to City. — James Lenox and His Library. — "The Finest Collection of Books and Art in 
 New World." — J. Pierpont Morgan's Many Liberal Benefactions. — Samuel J. Tilden's 
 Notable Gift to New York. — The Tilden Library Foundation. — .Joseph Pulitzer Gives 
 $2,000,000 to Establish His School of .Tournalism.— Peculiar Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage.— 
 The True Measure of the Value of Gifts. — Carnegie and His "Many Notable Gifts. — 
 Rockefeller's Beneficence: Tlie University of Chicago, and General Education Board. — 
 Influence of Robert C. Winthrop on Direction of George Peabody's Great Benefactions. — 
 ludiretlly, also, of Those That Have Followed. — Opinions of President Daniel Coit Gil- 
 man 731 
 
 Lvn. 
 
 The Conquest of the North Pole — 1909. 
 Polar E.xploration Pro.secuted for nearly Four Centuries. — Its History Divided Naturally 
 into Three Periods. — Characteristics of Each. — Importance of Ancient and Mediaeval Com- 
 merce between Europe and the Orient. — Early Trade Routes. — The '• Wealth of tlie 
 Indies." — Effect of the Mohammedan Conquests. — Europe Shut in upon Herself. — Birth of 
 Polar E.\ploratiou in Commercial Distress tliat Followed. — Significance of Voyages of 
 Columbus and Magellan. — Beginning of the Search for a Northwest or Northeast Passage 
 to Cathay. — History of Early English and Dutch Ventures. — Well Determined Routes 
 for Exploration at Beginning of Nineteenth Century. — Most noted Expeditions of the 
 
COiSiTEiN'TS. 27 
 
 last Century. — Sir William Parry's Four Ventures. — Sir John Franklin's Notable 
 Achievements and Melancholy F'ate. — Great Number of Relief Expeditions. — Discovery 
 of the Northwest Passage. — Amundsen and the Ojoa. — Exploits of tlie Three Noted 
 American Explorers, — Kane, Hayes, and Hall. — Terrible Experience of the Crew of the 
 Polaris. — De Long and the Jeaiiiictte Expedition. — Nordenskiold Makes the Northeast 
 Passage. — Nansen's Famous Drifting Expedition in the Frain. — Notable Expedition of 
 the Duke of the Abruzzi. — Attempts to reach the Pole by Balloon and Air Ship. — An- 
 nouncement of Cook and Peary that They had Reached the Pole. — Previous Experience 
 of Each. — The Voyage of the John R. Bradley. — Dr. Cook's Dash for the Pole. — His Return 
 and Reception. — The Roosevelt and Commander Peary's Remarkable Achievements. — 
 Some Considerations Regarding the Controversy Over the Claims of the two Explorers. 
 — Both Successful, though Dr. Cook first at the Pole. — Only Alternative. — Chronology of 
 Arctic Exploration 767 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 The United St.\tes a World Power — 1909. 
 Influence of Cacch-words and Phrases on Sentiment of People. — Old Ideas of World Powers. — 
 What Constitutes the World Power of To-day. — The " Powers " of the Nineteenth Century. 
 — The Concert of the Powers. — "' Spheres of Influence." — Europe No Longer the World. — 
 The Recognized World Powers ; England, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. — 
 Riches of China. — Outbreak of European Nations in 1897. — Murder of French and German 
 Missionaries. — " The Battle for Concessions." — Attitude of Administration Leaders Toward 
 Spanish War. — Despatch to Commodore Dewey at Hong Kong. — " Ofl'cnsive Operations in the 
 Philippine Islands." — The Annexation of Hawaii. — Underlying Purpose of Many Congress- 
 men. — •" Point of Vantage for Acquiring Dominion in Far East." — Causes of War. — 
 Political and Commercial and Not Merely Humanitarian. — Terras of the Protocol 
 Concluding Peace. — The American Commissioners to Paris. — Proceedings of the Joint 
 Commission at Paris to Agree upon Treaty of Peace. — "The Cession Must Be of Whole 
 Archipelago or None." — Change in Public Sentiment at Result of War. — Views of Senator 
 Hoar. — The Teachings of the Fathers Become " Glittering Generalities." — " Those Nursery 
 Rhymes that were Sung Around the Cradle of the Republic." — Debate Over the Spanish 
 Treaty. — Possessions Acquired by the Treaty. — Increasing Responsibilities and Expenses 
 as Result of War. — Already More than One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Million 
 Dollars Directly Chargeable to that Cause. — "The Parting of the Ways." — Contrasted 
 Views of World Powers. — The One Militant and Aggressive; the Other Peaceful and Moral. 
 — LTnited States Always a W'orld Power in Latter Sense. — Illustrations of that Fact, — 
 The Outlook 703 
 
1. Frontispioeo 
 
 2. .Tulm Fi.-ike. :'.?, 
 
 3. I'ciin Treaty Tree, and rhiladdpbia in ISOO, 30 
 
 4. Thf Battery. New York City, in ISOO. - 37 
 
 5. Broadway and Canal Street. 1812. - - 3S 
 
 6. Bo.ston in 1773. 39 
 
 7. Virginia Tobacco Team, 1800, - - . 42 
 
 8. Charleston. S. C, in 17S0. - . - . 43 
 1>. Fisher Ame.s. --..._. 47 
 
 10. Bnrns' Coffee Honse. Bowling Green, - 49 
 
 11. A Coloni*! Stage Coach, . - . . 52 
 
 12. Green Dragon Tavern. Boston. - - - 54 
 
 13. E.xchange Coffee House, Boston, - - r>^ 
 
 14. The Jrdin Hancock House, - . - - r,r, 
 1.5. New York in 1745. 57 
 
 16. Head of Lady of Fashion. 1775. - - 5S 
 
 17. Noah Welister. 63 
 
 15. Ringing the Bell, July 4. 1776. ... 65 
 
 19. Hall of Independence. Philadelphia. 1776. 67 
 
 20. Hoisting the First Naval Flag, - . - 72 
 
 21. John Paul Jones, 74 
 
 22. The First American Naval Victory, - - 75 
 
 23. Traveling During the Dark Day. - - 79 
 
 24. Change of Scene .^ftcr the Dark Da.v. - S3 
 
 25. The Wonderful Dark Day. - . . . so 
 
 26. Washington's Sword, 88 
 
 27. The Washington Elm, Cambridge, Mass,. 90 
 
 28. Washington's Resignation. .... 91 
 
 29. Amity Between England and America. - 95 
 3(1. George the Third, 90 
 
 31. Reception of the First Minister to England. 9S 
 
 32. John Adams, 00 
 
 33. Scene in Shays" Rebellion. - . - . 101 
 
 34. Sliays' Forces in Massachusetts. - - 103 
 
 35. Daniel Shays, 104 
 
 36. General Lincoln, 106 
 
 37. Enrolling the Constitution. - - . - 108 
 3.8. The Convention at Philadelphia. 1787, - 110 
 
 39. Franklin Pleading for Pacilication, - - 112 
 
 40. Washington's Inaugtiration Bible. - - 115 
 
 41. First Inauguration of a President, - • 117 
 
 42. Presidential Mansion. 1789. ... 119 
 
 43. Presidential Mansion. 1870, ... 119 
 
 44. Results of the Cotton Gin, - . . . 122 
 
 45. Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin. 1793. . . 124 
 
 46. Eli Whitney. 126 
 
 47. Washington. D. C in 1876. ... 133 
 
 48. The Nation.il Capitol in 1876. - . . 134 
 
 49. Statue of .\merica Surmounting the Capitol. 134 
 
 50. Martha Washington. 137 
 
 51. Death of Washington. December 14. 1799, 139 
 
 52. George Washington as Colonel. - - - 140 
 
 53. George Washington as General. ... 141 
 
 54. George Washington as President. - • itl 
 
 55. The Tomb of Washington. .... 142 
 
 56. Monument to .\lexander Hamilton. - - 144 
 
 38. 
 39. 
 GO. 
 61. 
 62. 
 63. 
 04. 
 
 65. 
 06. 
 67, 
 
 79. 
 
 80. 
 81. 
 82, 
 S3. 
 84. 
 S5. 
 86. 
 87. 
 
 01. 
 92. 
 
 93. 
 94. 
 
 96. 
 
 97. 
 
 98. 
 
 99. 
 100. 
 101. 
 102. 
 103. 
 104. 
 105. 
 
 SrB.TECT. PAGK. 
 
 Alexander naniiitim. ..... 145 
 
 Aaron Burr. ....... 145 
 
 Scene of the Burr and Hamilton Duel. - 1 18 
 
 First Steamboat on the Hudson. - - 151 
 
 Robert Fulton. 152 
 
 Fulton's First Steamboat, .... 154 
 
 Captain Isaac Hull. - - . - . 159 
 Action Between the Constitution and 
 
 Guerriere. ---.-.. 162 
 
 American Defenses at New Orleans, . - 106 
 
 Atidrew Jackson. --.--. 169 
 
 Tile Battle of New Orleans, - - - 171 
 
 Destruction b.y the Great Gale and Flood. 173 
 The Ever-memorable Gale, September 23, 
 
 1815. 175 
 
 Hfirrors of the Whirlwind Throughout 
 
 New England. - 178 
 
 Landing of Lafayette at New York. - 181 
 
 General Lafa.yette. 183 
 
 Sword of Honor Presented to Lafayette. 18.5 
 
 Lafayette's Residence. - ... - 186 
 
 Lafaj-ette's Birthplace. 188 
 
 Lafa.vette's Tomb. 190 
 
 The Jefferson Mansion at Monticello. - 192 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. .----- 194 
 
 The Adams Mansion at Quincy. Mass., - 196 
 
 The Victor's Wreath, 197 
 
 Robert Y. Hayne. 109 
 
 r>aniel Webster. 201 
 
 Webster's Reply to na.vne. .... 204 
 
 Monster Petition to Congress, ... 206 
 
 John Quincy Adams. 208 
 
 Adams Defending the Right of Petition, - 212 
 
 EtTect of the Temperance Reformation, - 217 
 
 Signing the Pledge. ..... 220 
 
 Distinguished Temperance Advocates. - 223 
 
 The Inventor Toiling in his Garret. . - 226 
 
 Ellas Howe. Jr., 228 
 
 Tlie Old and New ; Sewing by Hand and 
 
 Machine. 230 
 
 Relieving Pain by the Use of Ether, - 23 4 
 The Three Claimants of the Discovery of 
 
 Ether. 236 
 
 Monument in Honor of the Discovery of 
 
 Ether. 240 
 
 Mining Operations in California, - - 242 
 
 .Sutter's Mill. 244 
 
 John A, Sutter. .--.-. 243 
 
 .Tames W. Marshall, 247 
 
 George Steers. .--•--- 232 
 The Yacht America, . _ _ - - 254 
 The " Cup of All Nations," - - - 256 
 Treaty of Peace. Amity, etc., - - . 250 
 Cnmmndore Perr.v, ...--- 261 
 Naval Expedition to Japan TJnder Com- 
 modore Perry. --.--- 264 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 29 
 
 NO. SITBJECT. PAGE. 
 
 inO. Run on a Bank, 267 
 
 107. Excitement in Business Circles During the 
 
 Panic. 2(iO 
 
 108. Effects of tlie Hard Times, - - - - 271 
 
 109. Booli o( Requests for Prayers, - - - 276 
 
 110. Grnnp of Eminent Revival Preacliers. - 2S0 
 
 111. Dwight L. Mood.v. 2S4 
 
 112. Ira D. Sanl;ey. 2S1 
 
 ILI. Great Revival Meeting In BrnokI.vn, - - 2S5 
 
 114. State Capitol of Illinois, ... - 2S9 
 
 115. Deljate Between Lincoln and Douglas. - 200 
 
 116. Steplien A. Douglas, 204 
 
 117. Interior of Turret of tlie Monitor. - - 296 
 
 118. Commodore Franklin Buciiauan. - - - 29S 
 
 119. Battle Between the Merrimac and Monitor, "01 
 
 120. Lieutenant John L. Worden. - - - 30.1 
 
 121. Pen I'scd in Signing Emancipation Procla- 
 
 mation, -------- 305 
 
 122. ■U-illinin H. Seward, 306 
 
 1?3, Edwin M. Stanton, 307 
 
 1^.4. Abraham Lincoln, .---.. 30.S 
 
 125. Considering the Proclamation of Emanci- 
 
 pation, 310 
 
 126. General Meade's Headquarters. - - - 31.^ 
 
 127. General George G. Meade, - - - - 317 
 12,S. The Battle of Gett.vsburg, ... - 319 
 
 129. .Tames Longstreet. 321 
 
 130. Sohliers' Monument at Gett.vsburg, . - 323 
 
 131. Headquarters at Atlanta. Ga., - - - 325 
 
 132. General W. T. Sherman, ... - 327 
 
 133. Sherman's March Through the South, - 32!) 
 l.?4. General Grant Stating Terms of Surrender, 334 
 
 135. The I'nion Army Entering Richmond. - 337 
 
 136. President Lincoln's Early Home. - - 344 
 
 137. Ford's Theatre. Washington, D. C, - 345 
 
 138. Assassination of President Lincoln, - . 347 
 
 139. House in Whicli Lincoln Died. - . - 34S 
 
 140. J. Wilkes Booth, 349 
 
 141. Lincoln's Home at Springfield. III., - . 350 
 
 142. Sergeant Boston Corbett. ... - 351 
 
 143. Burial Place of Lincoln, - . . - 3.53 
 
 144. Patrick Sar-sfleid Gilmore. .... 35s 
 
 145. National Peace Jubilee at Boston. 1869. 361 
 
 146. The Great Cathedral. New York City. . 365 
 
 147. Cardinal John McCloskey, - . - - 366 
 
 148. Consecration of First American Cardinal, 36S 
 
 149. William M. Tweed. 372 
 
 150. The Tammany Wigwam. - . - . 374 
 
 151. Horatio Seymour. --..-- 37.-, 
 
 152. A. Oakey Hall. - 377 
 
 153. The Tombs. New York City, - - . 381 
 
 154. Rev. Edward Everett Hale. - . . - 384 
 
 155. Mrs. Margaret Bottome, . - . . 3S5 
 
 156. Rev. Francis E. Clark. - - - . - 3S7 
 
 157. John Mitchell. 396 
 
 158. T'riah S. Stephens. 398 
 
 159. Samuel Gompers. 399 
 
 160. Scripture Rolls. (03 
 
 161. .Mt. Sinai Convent, 407 
 
 162. Alfred the Great. 413 
 
 163. John Wycllf, 414 
 
 164. W.vcllf's Pulpit, 416 
 
 165. Johann Gutenberg. ...... 417 
 
 166. Desiderins Erasmus, ..... 419 
 
 167. William Tyndale. 420 
 
 168. St. Paul'.s Cro.ss, 421 
 
 169. Vilv.>rde Castle. 423 
 
 170. Myles Coverdale, -.-... 424 
 
 171. A Chained Bible, 426 
 
 172. J. R. Green, 427 
 
 178. Hugh Latimer. 428 
 
 179. James tlie First. 431 
 
 180. Cardinal Newman. ...... 435 
 
 ISl. Alexander II. of Russia, - - - • - 451 
 
 182. Joseph E. Gary. 454 
 
 1S3. Roscoe Conkling, 463 
 
 1.84. Snow Drifts on Side Street, N. T. City, 465 
 
 1S5. Redfleld Proctor. 469 
 
 186. Fltzhugh Lee, 470 
 
 187. The Maine. 471 
 
 188. Captain Charles D. Slgsbee, .... 472 
 
 NO. SUBJECT. PAGE. 
 
 189. The John Ericsson Statue, ... - 47s 
 
 190. John D. Long, 4SI 
 
 101. The Oregon. 4S2 
 
 192. .\dmiral George Dewey, .... 4,s:j 
 
 193. Manila Ba.v. 4g4 
 
 194. Admiral W. T. Sampson, - _ . _ 4S6 
 105. Admiral Pascual Cervera, . - . - 4S7 
 
 196. Lieutenant Ri<'liard P. Hobson, ... 4S9 
 
 197. Gencr.'tl Joseidi Wheeler. .... 401 
 
 198. Captain Charles E. Clark, .... 494 
 109. General Nelson A. Miles. .... 495 
 
 200. Admiral Robley D. Evans. .... 497 
 
 201. .\dmiral Charles S. Sperry, ... - 498 
 
 202. The Connecticut. 499 
 
 203. The Dc-wey Arch. New York City. - . 501 
 
 204. Alexander I. of Russia, .... 503 
 
 205. Mme. <le Krudener, 505 
 
 206. John Quincy Adams, .... - 507 
 
 207. James Monroe, ...-.-- 509 
 
 208. George Canning. 513 
 
 209. James K. Polk, 514 
 
 210. Grover Cleveland, ------ 517 
 
 211. Lord Salisbury, 520 
 
 212. Richard Olney, 521 
 
 213. Melville W. Fuller. 523 
 
 214. Captain Cook. 526 
 
 215. Crater of Kilauea Volcano, . - . . 528 
 
 216. Captain Vancouver, 535 
 
 217. Kamehameha I. ---.-. 53^; 
 
 218. Rev. Titus Coan, 542 
 
 219. King Kalakaua. 549 
 
 220. Queen Liliuokalani, 552 
 
 221. Sanford B. Dole, 533 
 
 222. John Jay, 558 
 
 223. The Vyver, or Fish Pond, The Hague. - 563 
 
 224. Hugo Grotins, 564 
 
 225. Queen Wilhelmina. of Holland, - - - 565 
 
 226. Andrew D. White. 507 
 
 227. The House in the Wooil. - . . - 513s 
 
 228. Horace Porter. 574 
 
 229. David Ja.vne Hill, 573 
 
 230. Joseph H. Choate. 580 
 
 231. Elihu Root. 5.83 
 
 232. The Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas, 587 
 
 233. The Sea Wall at Galveston, . - - - 591 
 
 234. Ccirtez, 596 
 
 235. Philip II. of Spain. 597 
 
 236. Alexander von Humboldt, - . - - 59s 
 
 237. Goethe, 599 
 
 238. P'erdinand de Lesseps. - ... - (501 
 
 239. John C. Spooner. 603 
 
 240. John Hay. 604 
 
 241. Theodore Roosevelt. 605 
 
 242. Sir Julian Panncefote, 607 
 
 243. Colonel G. W. Goethals, . - - . ROS 
 
 244. Relief Map of the Canal Zone. - - - 6119 
 
 245. The Er.iperor of Japan. 614 
 
 246. The Czar of Russia. 618 
 
 247. The President and Envoys on the May- 
 
 flower. ... 021 
 
 248. The Dolores MLssion, 627 
 
 249. San Franci.sco in 1855, 628 
 
 250. General Funstou, 630 
 
 LSI. Section of Market Street Before the Fire. 631 
 
 232. Portion of Business Section After the Fire. 634 
 
 233. Benjamin Franklin. 642 
 
 254. Sir Humphrey Davy. ----- 649 
 
 235. Michael Faraday. 631 
 
 236. Joseph Henry, 652 
 
 237. .Samuel F. B. Morse. 655 
 
 258. Morse's Original -Apparatus. - . . 656 
 
 259. Orders Conferred on Morse, - . - 639 
 
 260. Cyrus W. Field. 66.? 
 
 2G1. Alexainler Graham Bell. .... 665 
 
 262. Thomas A. Edison, 669 
 
 263. Searclilight on Vessel at Sea. - - • 670 
 
 264. William Marconi. 674 
 
 265. The Monarch Bearing Remains of George 
 
 Peabody. 680 
 
 266. Th" Bartholdl Statue, 683 
 
 2C7, Empenir William II. of Germany, - 683 
 
30 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 2U8. 
 209. 
 
 :;to. 
 
 271. 
 
 273. 
 274. 
 275. 
 270. 
 
 278. 
 279. 
 2S0. 
 281. 
 2S2. 
 283. 
 28-1. 
 285. 
 2S6. 
 287. 
 288. 
 289. 
 290. 
 291. 
 292. 
 203. 
 294. 
 295. 
 296. 
 297. 
 298. 
 
 SUBJECT. PAGE. 
 
 Baron Kaneko Keutaro, ... - 0S7 
 
 Ct'i-il JuUu Ithudes, ------ OSS 
 
 James Bryee. 089 
 
 llaltin l.utLi-1-, - 093 
 
 Rev. Jobu Cotton. 090 
 
 Emmanuel College, Cambriilye, England, 7U0 
 
 John Harvard Monument, . - - - 7u2 
 
 First Harvard College, 703 
 
 Harvard College Campus, 1870, - - - 705 
 
 Charles W. Eliot, 706 
 
 Abbott Lawrenei- Lowell. - - - . 707 
 
 James Blair. ------- 709 
 
 Ellhu Yale, 711 
 
 Timoth.v Dwigbt. 712 
 
 Yale College In 1830, 713 
 
 James MeCosh, ------ 714 
 
 Woodrow Wilson, ------ 715 
 
 First King's College. ----- 716 
 
 Nicbolas Murray Butler, - - - - 717 
 
 Jobn Marsball. 71S 
 
 Horaee .Mann, 722 
 
 James B. Angell. ------ 720 
 
 Mary Lyon. 727 
 
 Vassar College. ------- 728 
 
 .\lii-e Freeman Palmer. 729 
 
 William R. Harper, 730 
 
 Ste|)llen CJirard, ---... 733 
 
 Girard College, Philadelphia. - - - 735 
 
 John Lowell. Jr., 739 
 
 Louis Agassiz, ---..-. 740 
 
 George Peabody, ---... 743 
 
 NO. SUBJECT. PAGE. 
 
 299. Johns Hopkins, 748 
 
 300. Leiand Stanford, 751 
 
 3ul. Greek Theatre, t'niversity of California, 753 
 
 302. John Crerar. 755 
 
 303. Peter Cottper, 756 
 
 304. John Jaeob Astor, 758 
 
 305. Samuel J. Tilden, 759 
 
 300. J. I'ierpont Mcjrgan, 700 
 
 307. Mrs. Russell Sage. ------ 762 
 
 308. John D. Roekefeller, 704 
 
 309. Andrew Carnegie, 705 
 
 310. Robert C. Winthrop, 760 
 
 311. In Winter Quarters, 772 
 
 312. Sir Jobn Franklin, 773 
 
 313. A Constant Companicai. . - - - 775 
 
 314. Esquimau Women and Children, - - 779 
 
 315. The Duke of the Abrnzzi, ... - 783 
 
 316. Frederiek A. Cook, 785 
 
 317. John R. Bradley, 786 
 
 318. Reeonnoitering. 788 
 
 310. Robert E. Peary, 789 
 
 320. The Roosevelt, 791 
 
 321. Etah --------- 792 
 
 322. William McKinley. 803 
 
 323. George F. Hoar, 805 
 
 324. William P. Frye, 806 
 
 325. Cusbman K. Davis, 807 
 
 326. Whitelaw Reid, 808 
 
 327. George Gray, 809 
 
 328. William R. D,ay 810 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 Marvelous Achievements of Nineteenth Centurj'. — Far Surpass Tliose of All Previous Cen- 
 turies. — Washington Could Travel No Faster. Xor Despatch Messages More Quickly. Than 
 Ca?sar or Hammurabi. — Views of John Fiske. — " Tlie Past Contains Within Itself All the 
 Germs of the Future." — Mr. J. X. Larned's Review of Historical Development. — The 
 United States in ISOO. — -New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Compared. — Washington in ISOO. 
 — Commercial and Social Life of Charleston. — Passion for Sport, Including the Rough- 
 and-Tumble Fight. — Beginning of Cotton Culture and the Invention of the Cotton Gin. — - 
 Migration to the Ohio Valley. — Local State Jealousies. — Contest Over Adoption of the Con- 
 stitution. — Payment of Taxes an "Amiable Eccentricity." — Not a Dollar in the National 
 Treasury. — Craze for Cheap Money and Depreciation of Currency. — Samuel Adams Pays 
 $2,000 for Hat and Suit of Clothes. — Injury to Cause of Popular Government Worked by 
 Popular Discord. — Opinions of Fisher Ames, Hamilton, and Others. — "Your People, Sir, 
 Your People is a Great Bcafit." — The Post Office Department. — First Mail Despatched on 
 American Continent. — Metliods of Travel, Inns, Etc. — The Early Stage Coaches and Famous 
 Concord Stages. — Advent of Steam Railroad. — Home Life in the Colonies. — The Dining- 
 Room and the Kitchen. — The Light of Our Fathers. — The Clergy and Churches. — Intem- 
 perance the National Curse. — Moral Status of the People. — Intellectual and Literary 
 Conditions and Publications. — No Scientific Attainments. — Opinions of "Tom" Moore, 
 Noah Webster, and Others. — Contrast Between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. 
 
 " Let our object be OUR COtlNTHT. OUR WHOLK COUNTRY, AND NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY. 
 And by the blessing of God, may that country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression 
 and terror, but of wisdom, of peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever." 
 — Daniel Websteb. 
 
 'N one of the most charming passages of the Odyssey, Homer 
 recites the trials of Penelope who, persistently followed by 
 suitors, yet still hoping that Ulysses may return, finally 
 consented to consider their proposals after she had finished 
 the web upon which she worked, intended as the death- 
 shroud for the ancient Laertes. Day by day Penelope and 
 her maids, with their distaffs, worked at the web, 
 
 " But every night-time she unwrougbt it all,"' 
 thus keeping the suitors at bay for three years, when her 
 " dear lord " returned, and slew all those who had taken 
 advantage of the defenseless position of his wife. The 
 " distaffs " used by Penelope and her maids, with only slight change of form, none 
 of principle, are still to be found in many homes through the country in the " Spin- 
 ning Wheels " which our grandmothers used. 
 
 When Hammurabi, more than four thousand years ago the great King of Babylon, 
 sent a messenger to a governor of one of his provinces; when Abraham hurried a 
 trusted servant off to Lot; when Caesar despatched a lieutenant with instructions for 
 
32 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD TOWER. 
 
 a general in Gaul, each of these messen- 
 gers traveled as swiftly, — probably in the 
 case of the Roman courier more swiftly, 
 because of the fine Roman roads, — as did 
 George Washington when he set out 
 from Philadelphia in 1775 to take com- 
 mand of the American army at Cam- 
 bridge, though the " sliced of his desire " 
 naturally urged him forward on his 
 journey with impatient haste. Or, as a 
 prominent British essayist, W. E. Gregg, 
 writing about thirty years ago summed 
 the matter up : " Few phenomena are 
 more remarkable, yet few have been less 
 remarked, than the degree in which ma- 
 terial civilization — the progress of man- 
 kind in all those contrivances -which oil 
 the wheels and promote the comfort of 
 daily life — has been concentrated into 
 the present centui-y- It is not too much 
 to say that in these respects more has 
 been done, richer and more prolific 
 discoveries have been made, grander 
 achievements have been realized in the 
 course of fifty or seventy years of our 
 own lifetime than in all the previous 
 lifetime of the race, since states, nations, 
 and politics such as history makes us ac- 
 quainted with, have had their being," — 
 in effect boldly contrasting the advance- 
 ment along all intellectual and material 
 lines of the nineteenth centuo', — tlie 
 general period covered liy this work, — 
 with the the sum of all similar endeavor 
 and development, of all the preceding- 
 centuries. There have been other indi- 
 vidual eras marked by great development 
 and wonderful enlightenment, as the 
 Age of Pericles, or the Age of the 
 , Antonines; but the characteristics that 
 have made them distinguished have 
 been special in their nature, while the 
 great forward movements of the nine- 
 teenth century have been of universal 
 interest and such as to transform the 
 modes of life, and tendencies of the 
 thought and activities of the people of 
 all nations. Not the least interesting 
 phase of the subject is the fact that one 
 of the most, if not the most, important of 
 the discoveries of this same nineteenth 
 century, — the principle and laws of evo- 
 
 lution, — has given to us a key to the 
 mystery of the world's history, which 
 reveals a continual unfolding through all 
 the historic period that is beautiful in its 
 suggestiveness and inspires a reverent 
 liomage in the mind of every thoughtful 
 and devout man or woman. Previous to 
 the middle of the nineteenth century all 
 great historical events and movements 
 were looked upon as phenomena, each an 
 independent act of the Ruler of the Uni- 
 verse, and not necessarily nor even jirob- 
 ably, having any direct connection with 
 others; or. as each happening by chance, 
 the Creator being, as Carlyle expressed it, 
 " an absentee God, sitting idle ever since 
 the first Sabbath, at the outside of His 
 Universe, and ' seeing it go.' " 
 
 To-day, however, the principles of evo- 
 lution are generall.v recognized, and, we 
 believe, the view so well expressed by John 
 Fiske is well nigh universally accepted by 
 thoughtful and studious people. " The 
 past contains within itself all the germs 
 of the future." he says. " Humanity is not 
 a mere local incident in an endless and 
 aimless series of cosmical changes. The 
 events of the Universe are not the work of 
 chance neither are they the outcome of a 
 blind necessity. The Universe is not a 
 machine, but an organism ; and the whole 
 tendency of motlern science is to impress 
 upon us ever more forcibly the truth that 
 the entire knowable Universe is an im- 
 mense unit, animated throughout all its 
 parts by a single principle of life." And 
 he further refers to the appearance of man 
 upon the earth as the last act in " the 
 great drama of creation," believing " that 
 all the remaining work of evolution now 
 consists in the perfecting o^f the creature 
 thus marvellously produced." This has, 
 perhaps, seemed theoretical and visionary 
 to many; j'et the question whether the 
 wonderful movements of the last century 
 were sporadic, or an orderly and natural 
 development of pre-existing conditions, is 
 certainly a most absorbing one, — an in- 
 quiry which must affect one's whole out- 
 look upon life. Before taking u\i the 
 individual subjects illustrating the mighty 
 advances made during the past century. 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 therefore, it would seem helpful to con- 
 sider whether any evidence can be dis- 
 covered that would make such an orderly 
 purpose in the development of human his- 
 tory, looking toward the present era, ap- 
 parent; and. also, whether there may not 
 be found proof sufficient to warrant the 
 belief that the present age of enlightened 
 activity is not to be a limited period, but 
 a continuous and more and more intelli- 
 gent advancement of the race toward its 
 idtimate goal of perfection. 
 
 Mr. riske's theory and belief was that 
 during the process of the evolution of the 
 race there came a time when, in the order 
 of natural selection, the direction of effort 
 was changed from physical to psychical 
 ends; that man, the animal, had become 
 as complete an organism as could be made, 
 or as was necessary for the furtherance of 
 the Divine purpose; and that thereafter 
 the whole course of his development was 
 to be along lines that should continually 
 enlarge his mental horizon and constantly 
 increase his spiritual and intellectual 
 achievements, — the " glorious consumma- 
 tion " toward which organic evolution is 
 lending being the production of the 
 highest and most perfect psychical life, as 
 '• the Creation and perfecting of Man has 
 been the goal toward which Nature's work 
 has been tending from the first." 
 
 The distinguished historical writer, Mr. 
 J. N. Larned, in a recent work entitled 
 " Seventy Centuries," has concisely but 
 most lucidly reviewed the history and de- 
 velopment of the human race from the 
 earliest times. The interest in the work 
 for our present purpose lies in his mas- 
 terly division of the historic period into 
 six great epochs which illustrate the 
 orderly development like six acts in a 
 great drama. As the time covered by each 
 period, or act, is from four thousand to 
 two hundred years, there are, of course, 
 many floodings and ebbings of the tide of 
 progress during its years; yet it becomes 
 clear that the sum-total of the events 
 and activities of each period represents a 
 distinct advance upon previous achieve- 
 ment. The drama opens with the Semitic 
 and Hamitic races supreme throughout 
 3 
 
 the then known world, and they hold the 
 stage until about the sixth century before 
 Christ, when a new actor enters in the 
 form of the Persian branch of the great 
 Aryan race, which utterly overthrows and 
 forever destroys the early nations as rul- 
 ing peoples. Then the Persian Aryan is 
 overthrown by an European branch of the 
 same family in the great victory of the 
 Greeks over Xerxes, in 480 B. C, ending 
 the first act or period. During the prog- 
 ress of its events the race had advanced 
 from the rude and semi-barbarous culture 
 of Babylon and early Egypt — the most ab- 
 solute of despotisms — to the time when the 
 Greeks became masters of the Eastern 
 
 JOHX FISKE. 
 
 World, and an era of great enlightenment 
 and culture sets in. At the beginning of 
 the second act of the drama the Greeks 
 hold the stage and early present the mar- 
 vels of art, literature, political ideals, and 
 philosophic thought which astonish the 
 world to-day as much as ever, when 
 viewed as the product of the people of one 
 small country in less than two hundred 
 years. Early in this act the wonderful 
 conquests of Alexander complete the de- 
 struction of the Asiatic despotisms, and 
 the Greek language and Greek culture are 
 carried to the ends of the earth. But the 
 era of Greek supremacy represents an age 
 
34 
 
 FEOM COLO:\"Y TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 chiefly of great intellectual enlightenment, 
 not of moral advancement. Yet the way 
 was paved for the coming of the blaster 
 teacher. But before His work could be 
 effectual the whole world must be brought 
 under one sway, and the Roman takes the 
 stage, subduing the whole world physic- 
 ally, yet himself conquered by the arts 
 and philosophy of Greece, so that nothing- 
 good is lost, and new elements of strength 
 are introduced. The whole world being 
 under one power maintaining everywhere 
 order and peace, and the Greek language 
 affording a universal means of communi- 
 cation, the i^ath is straight for the coming 
 of the grantl revelation of the Creator's 
 purpose, and Christ appears, teaching for 
 the first time in history the greatest of all 
 truths which is thereafter to dominate the 
 desire of mankind, — the Fatherhood of 
 God, and its corollary the hrotherliood of 
 man, — a truth that man will never again 
 lose sight of. Unconsciously a tre- 
 mendous support for this truth is now 
 added to the sum of the world's knowledge 
 and enlightenment by the great Roman 
 concept of the Law of Nations, in gen- 
 eral, teaching for the first time that there 
 are certain fundamental rights that are 
 common to all peoples; while the Roman 
 further presents as his contribution to the 
 advancement of the race the general idea 
 of order under clearly defined legal prin- 
 ciples. When, in course of time, these 
 new ideas have become a permanent pos- 
 session of the race, Greece and Rome have 
 served their purpose and a new principle 
 is needed. During all these years hardy, 
 uncontaminated peoples have been develop- 
 ing up in the North of Europe, their vei->- 
 methods of life and the vast solitudes in 
 which they lived, creating in them a pas- 
 sion for freedom and an indomitable iuilc- 
 pendence; and with the fall of Rome the 
 great second act of the drama ending, the 
 third opens with the inroads of the bar- 
 barians who over-run and destroy most 
 that is material of the older states. But, 
 as Rome in conquering Greece absorlied 
 all her teachings of philosophy, literature, 
 art, and politics, so now the Northern in- 
 vaders gradually settle down upon the 
 
 lands of the conquered, but, in turn, ab- 
 sorbing and being conquered by their re- 
 ligion and culture, — nothing, again, of 
 real value being lost, while the Teutons 
 add to the sum of the world's spiiitual 
 good the great principle of individual 
 freedom and activity. All of the action 
 of this tliird period, which extends to 
 A. D. 1453, is involved in the settlement 
 of the " New Nations," the constantly 
 shifting of borders and governments; un- 
 til toward the close of the period all the 
 Nations have assumed practically the po- 
 sitions that have since been maintained. 
 But now "the old order changeth;" and 
 from the opening of the fourth period, in 
 1450, on, the dominant movements are to 
 be along mental and intellectual lines, and 
 not a constant struggle between nations 
 for supremacy. Not that tumult is to 
 cease. It is a part of the law of evolution 
 that old forms and foi-ces may and do 
 exist for centuries alongside the new ; 
 but they are no longer the dominating and 
 directing forces. So more or less inces- 
 sant warfare will continue; and the full 
 flowering of the new principles will be but 
 gradually realized. But the real leaven 
 that is to work from this time on will be 
 spiritual and intellectual, and not ma- 
 terial. And just here seems to begin the 
 working of Mr. Fiske's principle of the 
 change in the direction of the activity of 
 the law of natural selection from physical 
 to mental and spiritual lines. The fitst 
 great influence in this period was that of 
 the Renaissance, so-called, which was not 
 in reality the birth of anything new, but 
 " an expansion, a liberation, an enlighten- 
 ment — an opening of eyes, and of ears, 
 and of inner senses and sensibilities." 
 Then follows closely the great religious 
 lieformation, when the spirit of Liberty 
 which has been more or less dormant for 
 centuries realizes itself, and the shackles 
 are forever broken that have bound men to 
 the church. The next great Era is that of 
 the Political revolutions, covering roughly 
 the period from 1600 to 1800, the act open- 
 ing with the great contest for civil and 
 political liberty between Charles I. and 
 Parliament, and ending with the revolu- 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 35 
 
 lion of 1688, and the establishment of the 
 first Constitutional government. Then fol- 
 lows a long period of struggles for greater 
 freedom of thought and speech, and 
 for the rights of the individual as a man 
 and as a citizen, culminating in the Amer- 
 ican and the French Revolutions, and re- 
 sulting actually in the total overthrow of 
 the whole structure of absolutism and des- 
 potism, — whether in church or state. And 
 after seventy centuries of slow but sure 
 evolution man, representing the race, 
 stands on the threshold of the nineteenth 
 century emancipated hodily, nientalh/, and 
 spiritually ; and the way is clear and open 
 for the unrestricted use and exercise of 
 all his faculties, the sequel of which is the 
 story of the marvelous outburst of energy, 
 inquiry, invention, and activity which has 
 in very truth, within one hundred years, 
 transformed the world. 
 
 Imperfectly as we have expressed the 
 marvelous development of the race, we 
 think we have outlined the process with 
 sufficient clearness to illustrate our pur- 
 pose, and, perhaps, to lead others to in- 
 vestigate the subject more fully, firmly be- 
 lieving that all who do so will exclaim 
 with Tennyson 
 
 " Yet I doubt not through the Ages one 
 increasing purpose runs, 
 
 And the thoughts of men are widen'd 
 with the process of the Suns." 
 And the strongest evidence that the vast 
 and rapid changes of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury are not to be, like those of other cen- 
 turies, sporadic, is to be found, as will 
 be seen in our further treatment of The 
 subject, in the fact that all the achieve- 
 ments of the human intellect during this 
 period follow one another in order. Each 
 new discovery becomes at once a powerful 
 instrument in the hands of innumerable 
 .'■killed workers, and each year, as has been 
 said, " wins over fresh regions of the uni- 
 verse from the unknovsTi to the known." 
 We have become so accustomed to the al- 
 most daily discovery of most important 
 principles that we fail to appreciate their 
 meaning or importance, even inventions 
 or improvements that the most unscien- 
 tifie person must recognize as revolution- 
 
 ary causing hardly a passing comment. 
 It will, however, be our effort in the fol- 
 lowing pages to give some comprehensive 
 idea of what the total for the nineteenth 
 century really represents. 
 
 It has been shovi'n how little the condi- 
 tions of life or of business had changed 
 during the entire historic period down to 
 the nineteenth century. It is now neces- 
 sary to obtain some clear conception, if 
 possible, of what the mode of life, and 
 state of commerce, science, and the arts 
 really were at that time, so that an intel- 
 ligent realization of what the vast changes 
 which are apparent now, as the result of 
 a little more than a century's develop- 
 ment, really mean. The census of 1800 
 showed the population of the entire 
 United States to be 5,308,483, of which 
 number nearly 1,000,000 were negro slaves. 
 As the country had generally become more 
 settled after the Revolutionary War, five 
 important social and commercial centres 
 had established permanently their lead — 
 Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
 and Charleston. Of these, Philadelphia, 
 the National Capital until July, 1800, 
 having a population of about 70.000, was 
 the most distinguished not alone because 
 of its prestige as the capital city, but also 
 because it was better paved, lighted, had a 
 better class of houses and inns, and main- 
 tained a more refined and aristocratic 
 social life than was to be found else- 
 where. Owing to the repeated scourges 
 of yellow fever, considerable attention 
 had been given to drainage and sanitation, 
 and a general appearance of greater clean- 
 liness obtained than in any of its sister 
 cities. The Due de Liancourt was one of 
 the most intelligent and observant of 
 travelers through the States in the latter 
 part of the eighteenth century ; and in the 
 narrative of his travels he says: "Phila- 
 delphia is not only the finest in the United 
 States, but may be deemed one of the 
 most beautiful cities in the world. The 
 profusion and luxury on great days, at the 
 tables of the wealthy, in their equipages, 
 and the dresses of their wives and daugh- 
 ters, are extreme. I have seen balls on the 
 President's birthday where the splendor of 
 
36 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 the rooms and the variety and richness of 
 the dresses did not suffer in comparison 
 with Europe; and it must be acknowl- 
 edged that the beauty of the American 
 ladies has the advantage in the compari- 
 
 make use of her natural advantages. 
 More roads and canals were building and 
 planned than elsewhere; while a turnpike 
 from Philadelphia to Lancaster was eon;- 
 pleted, and the great highway to Pittsburg 
 
 THE PENN TREATY TREE, AND PHILADELPHIA, ABOUT ISOO. 
 
 son. The young women of Philadelphia 
 are accomplished in different degrees, but 
 beauty is general with them. They want 
 the ease and fashion of French women, 
 but the brilliancy of their complexion is 
 infinitely superior. Even when they grow 
 old they are still handsome; and it would 
 be no exaggeration to say. in the numer- 
 ous assemblies of Philadelphia it is impos- 
 sible to meet with what is called a plain 
 woman. As to the young men, they for 
 the most part seem to belong to another 
 species." And the historian Henry 
 Adams, referring to the same period, de- 
 clares that "it (Philadelphia) surpassed 
 any city of its size on cither side of the 
 Atlantic for most of the comforts and 
 some of the elegancies of life." Pennsyl- 
 vania, too, manifested far greater public 
 S])irit. and a more deteriniiied purpose to 
 
 was the most important artery of com- 
 merce and national life to be found in the 
 LTnion. Several important industries had 
 started up about the city too. There were 
 iron-works already in a flourishing condi- 
 tion, and the most productive manufac- 
 tures of paper, gunpowder, pleasure car- 
 riages, etc., were located there. The city 
 was also the headquarters of the Bank of 
 the United States, with its capital of 
 $10,000,000 and private banks were cap- 
 italized at about $5,000,000 more. All ac- 
 counts of travelers represented it as a most 
 attractive and interesting city; and the 
 native or foreigner who wished to see the 
 most or best of the social or material life 
 of the country went to Philadelphia, as 
 to-day he goes to New York. 
 
 The State of New York gained a lead 
 in population over Massachusetts and 
 
IX COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 37 
 
 Maine (then one state) for the first time 
 in 1800, the former being credited with a 
 population of 589,000, and the latter with 
 one of 573,000; while their respective val- 
 uations for purposes of taxation were 
 .$100,000,000 and $8-1,000,000. Outside the 
 city of New York, however, there were 
 fewer evidences of prosperity and general 
 comfort than in New England. In fact 
 it was in increase of population alone that 
 the city had shown any material advance 
 since the Revolution. Tiie population of 
 33,000 in 1790 had grown to GO.OOO in 
 1800, and the city was compared by for- 
 eign travelers with Liveriiool, which then 
 bad a population of about 70,000. It was 
 a typical sea-port town, dirty, undrained, 
 and for the most part unattractive. No 
 sanitary regulations were enforced, and 
 terrible scourges of the yellow fever in 
 1798 and 1803 swept oS hundreds of vic- 
 tims, and drove all who could get away 
 back to the higher country. The esti- 
 mated city expenses for the year 1800 
 amounted to $130,000, a marked contrast 
 with those of the jiresent day. The ap- 
 
 able change in the monotony of the resi- 
 dence streets. The Battery was naturally 
 the rendezvous and promenade for all the 
 people, and was undoubtedly the most at- 
 tractive " breathing place " and park to 
 be found in the country at that time. A 
 broad walk ran to the water's edge, and 
 above it on a terrace were ranged thirteen 
 guns which commanded the entrance to 
 the rivers. The wharves were all on the 
 East river side and extended from the 
 Battery round to Peck Slip. All the 
 warehouses, stores, and best residences 
 were east of Broadway, Wall street at 
 the opening of the century being the fash- 
 ionable residence street, with the aristo- 
 cratic Trinity Church and church-yard at 
 its head. John Jacob Astor, who had not 
 yet begun his great series of investments 
 in city property, but was simply a furrier, 
 dwelt quite in the suburbs where the 
 present Astor house stands. Thoug^h the 
 Battery was the great resort of the people, 
 still there were other attractive and in- 
 viting places outside the city. On the 
 heights overlooking the Sound were sev- 
 
 sik is. :* ; 
 
 "^j-^^ 
 
 r'S^S^E^iffi^Kv^^^W?' 
 
 THE BATTERY', 1800. 
 
 pcarance of the residence part of the city 
 had been somewhat improved as the area 
 laid waste by two large fires had been 
 filled in by new houses of other than 
 Dutch architecture, which made an agree- 
 
 eral " Tea Gardens " which were places 
 of note. At Brannon's, for instance, there 
 was a greenhouse full of lemon trees and 
 orange trees, and many varieties of trop- 
 ical plants, and, " besides the tea, the best 
 
38 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 iced liquors and the best icod creams that 
 were to be had on the island." But the 
 most popular of these resorts was at 
 Gravesend, a " tea-drinking- pleasure 
 house ■' known far and near. The fine 
 
 wanted a position it was at the Tontine 
 that the notice was posted up." To live 
 at the Tontine cost at least two dollars 
 and fifty cents a day; but where No. 1 
 Broadway now stands was a fashionable 
 
 ^vff-t^T^M'^ ^ *tt*iy ^'^bi 
 
 BROADWAY AND 
 
 yiews and the cool breezes were additional 
 attractions, and local papers speak of the 
 " thousands " who on Sunday took the 
 ferry to Brooklyn and thence the road to 
 Gravesend. These were days when people 
 seem to .have taken the burdens of life 
 lightly, the merchants finding abundant 
 time for social gatherings in the coffee- 
 houses, and the women for promenades on 
 the Battery, and gossip. Just previous to 
 1800 the merchants had left their old Ex- 
 change at the foot of Broad street, and 
 had made the new " Tontine Coffee 
 House " their meeting place. " This 
 building," says McMasters, " has been de- 
 scribed as elegant and commodious and in 
 its coffee-room, from eleven till two each 
 day, the merchants and brokers were gath- 
 ered. There politics were discussed, scrip 
 and stock bought and sold, and business 
 in a lar!;e way transacted. There were the 
 insurance offices, blank checks on the city 
 banks, and the huge books in which cap- 
 tains and pilots spread such shipping 
 news as they had been able to collect. If 
 a merchant wanted a clerk, or a clerk 
 
 boarding house, or family hotel, where the 
 rates were seven dollars per week. But a 
 little way out of the city board could be 
 obtained for two or three dollars a week. 
 The bulk of the capital of the city at this 
 time was invested in shipping. Of manu- 
 factures there were but few and those un- 
 important. New York had a wide and 
 rapidly growing country over which to 
 extend its trade, as all of Massachusetts 
 west of the Connecticut river, most of 
 Connecticut and New Jersey, and all of 
 the Hudson valley with its constantly in- 
 creasing settlements, came within its zone 
 of trade. But no great amount of wealth, 
 no new creations of power, nor any con- 
 siderable industries yet existed. There 
 were two banks in addition to the branch 
 of the United States Bank, with a total 
 capital of about $2,500,000; and besides 
 these but two other banks existed in the 
 state, one at Hudson and the other at Al- 
 bany. The total value of the exports from 
 New York in 1800 was but $14,000,000, 
 while the net revenue from imports for 
 1799 was $2,373,000, the net revenue col- 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 39 
 
 locted ill Massachusetts for the same 
 ^leriod being $1,007,000. 
 
 The census of 1800 gave to Boston a 
 population of 25,000. It was not an at- 
 tractive town. Its footways and sidewalks, 
 like its streets, were paved with round cob- 
 blestones, with no curbings, though a gut- 
 ter ran between the walks and the street. 
 The streets were almost unlighted at 
 night, the occasional oil lamp that was 
 provided serving rather to make the dark- 
 ness more sensibly felt than to lighten the 
 way. Notwithstanding its large popula- 
 tion, and its extended interests, it still 
 retained the old New England town sys- 
 tem of government, the management of 
 its affairs being in the hands of selectmen, 
 chosen annually at the " town meetings." 
 The first charter for a city was issued in 
 1822. Though there had been many im- 
 provements in the way of building roads 
 and of public and private buildings, still, 
 notwithstanding the general economy and 
 
 in a style of comfort and elegance, that 
 compared favorably with the best homes 
 and social life of Philadelphia, or of the 
 best English mercantile classes. But law- 
 yers, ministers, and the average trades- 
 men found it difKcult to live in such a 
 manner as their abilities and worth would 
 warrant. There were no great corporations 
 of any character to pay large retainers 
 and " fat " fees to the lawyers. Litigation 
 was for the most part over petty causes, 
 and the litigants were far from rich; 
 while down to the nineteenth century few 
 ministers in New England received more 
 than five hundred dollars a year. On 
 these meagre salaries, however, they 
 reared large families, and practiced char- 
 ity and hospitalitv with considerable 
 liberality. In a eulogy on the Rev. Abijah 
 Weld, of Attleborough, Mass., President 
 Dwight stated the amazing fact that on a 
 salary of two hundred and twenty dollars 
 a year Mr. Weld had reared eleven ehil- 
 
 BOSTON IN 1776. 
 
 thrift of the people, Boston and New Eng- 
 land were poor. A few of the more prom- 
 inent merchants, chiefly m foreign trade, 
 had amassed what were then considered 
 large fortunes, and built houses and lived 
 
 dren, in addition to keeping a hospitable 
 house and exercising a generous charity 
 toward the poor. Temporarily, as a result 
 of the French Wars, Boston was enjoying 
 an unusual degree of prosperity. The ex- 
 
40 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 ports and imports of New England were 
 comparatively very great, and its shipping 
 is said to have been greater than that of 
 New York and Pennsylvania. One factor 
 in the volume of this shipping has 
 brought the bitterest criticism upon Bos- 
 ton, and few will deny that it has been 
 well merited. A regular fleet of vessels 
 was engaged in a peculiar tri-angular 
 trade. They loaded at Boston with Med- 
 ford rum, which was then taken to the 
 coast of Africa where it was exchanged 
 for negroes. Of course certain of the 
 coast chiefs were a part of the machinery, 
 and they constantly warred on their 
 neighboring tribes, and held their captives 
 to exchange with the American captain 
 for his rum. Many other ways were de- 
 vised, too, to get possession of natives. 
 Frequently off some little coast settlement 
 the innocent blacks would swarm in their 
 canoes around the vessel attracted by the 
 curious ship, unfamiliar to them. They 
 could usually be lured on board, when all 
 would be chained and cast into the hold. 
 Death itself would have been intinitcly 
 preferable to the sufferings these poor 
 creatures were doomed to endure. The 
 '•'cargo" was not complete until every 
 available inch of space in the hold was 
 " assigned." Each man was allowed six 
 feet by sixteen inches to lie down in; boys 
 were allowed five feet by fourteen inches; 
 the women five feet, ten inches by sixteen 
 inches; and the girls four feet by one foot 
 each. To make them lie close the lash and 
 rope's end were used. Brooks's " Histoi'y 
 of Medford " gives several illustrations of 
 the transactions of these vessels. The 
 cargo of the " Caesar," for example, out- 
 bound was : eighty-two barrels, six hogs- 
 heads, and six tierces of New England 
 rum; thirty-three barrels best Jamaica 
 spirits; thirty-three barrels of Barbados 
 rum; twenty-five pistols; two casks mus- 
 ket balls; one chest arms; twenty-five cut- 
 lasses. The return cargo was " In the hold 
 on board the scow ' Caesar,' 153 adult 
 slaves and two children." Frequently 
 these return cargoes of slaves were taken 
 directly to Southern points and sold; but 
 generally they were taken to some " clear- 
 
 ing house " in the West Indies, where they 
 were exchanged for molasses, which was 
 brought to Boston to make more rum, so 
 that there should be no hitch in the per- 
 fect working of the system. 
 
 The great manufacturing interests that 
 have made Boston and New England such 
 hives of industry, and have been the 
 sources of the great wealth so manifest in 
 New England to-day, had as yet no exist- 
 ence. The people were still dependent 
 upon home industrj- for clothing and most 
 of the necessaries of life. Two or three 
 small cotton mills were being operated 
 ■nath doubtful success; but Massachusetts 
 could not comjjete with England in lines 
 of ordinary manufacture. The whale-oil, 
 salt-fish, lumber, and rum were mostly 
 shipiied abroad; but a few coasting sloops 
 were eng-aged in the coasting trade, on 
 which were shipped home-made linens and 
 clothes, cheese, butter, shoes, etc. These 
 were sent chiefly to Norfolk and the 
 Southern ports, one sloop only plying reg- 
 ularly between Boston and New York. 
 Down to the nineteenth century three 
 banks liad been established in Boston, one 
 being a branch of the Bank of the United 
 States, and the others local. The total 
 capital of these institutions was about 
 $2,500,000, while the capital of a number 
 of small banks scattered through the 
 smaller towns was about equal in 
 amount. 
 
 Baltimore had suddenly become a cen- 
 tre of enterprise and activity after the 
 war, and at the time we are considering 
 had a population as large as that of Bos- 
 ton, with an equal or larger shipping busi- 
 ness. Washington was just rising, with 
 doubtful success, from the marshes of the 
 Potomac. When the seat of government 
 was removed to that place from Philadel- 
 phia in 1800, a most unattractive and un- 
 promising scene presented itself. The 
 " City " had only a few log- cabins and 
 negro quarters, where, as one has said, 
 " the plan called for the traffic of London 
 and the elegance of Versailles." The half 
 finished White House stood in a barren 
 field overlooking the Potomac, witli two 
 unattractive government buildings near 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 41 
 
 it; while a mile and a half away across a 
 swamp stood the two unfinished wings of 
 the capitol, without a body. " Never," 
 says Henry Adams, " did hermit or saint 
 condemn himself to solitude more con- 
 sciously than Congress and the Executive 
 in removing the government from Phila- 
 delphia to Washington; the discontented 
 men clustered together in eight or ten 
 boarding houses as near as possible to the 
 capitol and there lived, like a convent of 
 monks, with no other amusement or occu- 
 pation than that of going from their lotlg- 
 ings to chambers and back again. Even 
 private wealth could do little to improve 
 the situation, for there was nothing which 
 v;ealth could buy. There were in Wash- 
 ingfton no shops or markets, skilled labor, 
 commerce, or people. Public efforts and 
 lavish use of public money could alone 
 make the place tolerable; but Congress 
 doled out funds for this national and per- 
 sonal object with so sparing a hand that 
 their capitol threatened to crumble to 
 pieces and crush Senate and House under 
 the ruins long before the building was 
 complete." 
 
 Turning toward the south from Wash- 
 ington, the evidences of prosperity became 
 less and less apparent. Virginia had at 
 this time a population of more than a half 
 million whites and three hundred and 
 fifty thousand slaves. Yet between Alex- 
 andria and Charleston no place of any im- 
 portance existed. Of roads there were 
 practically none; and Jefferson com- 
 plained that between Montiicello and 
 Washington seven rivers were to be 
 crossed, over four of which there were no 
 bridges of any kind for their entire 
 length. The land was already exhausted; 
 and the most skilled husbandry which a 
 few large land-owners like Jefferson prac- 
 ticed could not secure a yield of more 
 than eight bushels of wheat to the acre. 
 Even where the continued planting of to- 
 bacco had not exhausted the lands bad 
 systems of agriculture and force of habit 
 kept the farmers in their old ruts. Great 
 estates were still the rule, situated mostly 
 along the navigable rivers, sounds, and 
 creeks of the Eastern Shore; but even on 
 
 these the evidences of wealtli, and the 
 semi-royal mode of life which prevailed 
 a century before, were rarely in evidence. 
 .As the Due de Lianeourt observed : " The 
 Virginians are not generally rich, es- 
 pecially in net revenue. Thus one often 
 finds a well-served table, covered with 
 silver, in a room where for ten years half 
 the window panes have been missing, and 
 where they will be missed for ten years 
 more. There are few houses in a passable 
 state of repair, and of all parts of the es- 
 tablishment those best cared for are the 
 stables." No better statement of the dif- 
 ferent conditions that obtained in Vir- 
 ginia and Pennsylvania could be found 
 than that which appears in the account of 
 the travels of an English Quaker, Robert 
 Sutcliffe, who made a journey through the 
 States in 1804. " In Pennsylvania," he 
 says, " we met great numbers of wagons 
 drawn by four or more fine, fat horses, 
 the carriages firm and well made, and cov- 
 ered with stout good linen bleached almost 
 white (the ' Conestoga wagons ') ; and it 
 is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen to- 
 gether traveling cheerfully along the 
 road, the driver riding on one of his 
 horses. Many of these come more than 
 three hundred miles to Philadelphia from 
 tlie Ohio, Pittsburg, and other places; and 
 1 have been told by a respectable Eriend, 
 a native of Philadelphia, that more than 
 one thousand covered carriages frequently 
 come to the Philadelphia market. The 
 appearance of things in the slave States is 
 quite the reverse of this. We sometimes 
 meet a ragged black boy or girl driving a 
 team consisting of a lean cow and a mule ; 
 sometimes a lean bull, or an ox, and a 
 mule; and I have seen an ox, a mule, and 
 a bull, each miserable in its appearance, 
 comix)sing one team, with a half naked 
 black slave or two riding or di'iving as 
 occasion suited. The carriage or wagon, 
 if it may be called such, appeared in as 
 wretched condition as the team and its 
 driver. Sometimes a couple of horses, 
 mules, or cows, would be dragging a hogs- 
 head of tobacco, with a pivot or axle 
 driven into each end of the hogshead, and 
 
42 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEK. 
 
 something like a shaft attached, by which 
 it was drawn or rolled along the road." 
 
 Although North Carolina ranked fifth 
 among the sixteen states of the Union in 
 population, being credited with 478,000 
 
 five feet, and the space below is left open 
 for the hogs, with whose charming vocal 
 performances the wearied traveler is sere- 
 naded the whole night long." 
 
 But when one reached Charleston the 
 
 VIRGINIA TOBACCO TEAM, 1800. 
 
 inhabitants, yet it was the most unknown 
 of all the states. No entei-prise was mani- 
 fest, and so far as influence of any kind 
 upon the political, social, and economic 
 life of the country was concerned it might 
 as well, apparently, have been stricken 
 from the list of states. Travelers who 
 were forced to pass through it, en route 
 for Charleston, or other points farther 
 south, made the most doleful reports of 
 their experiences. One particularly intel- 
 ligent traveler reports: "The taverns 
 are the most desolate and beggarly 
 imaginable ; bare, black, and dirty walls, 
 one or two old broken chairs and a bench 
 form all the furniture. The white females 
 seldom make their appearance. At supper 
 you sit down to a meal tlie very sight of 
 which is sufficient to deaden the most 
 eager appetite, and you are surrounded by 
 half a dozen dirty, half naked, blacks, 
 male and female, whom any man of com- 
 mon scent might smell a mile off. The 
 house itself is raised upon props four or 
 
 whole scene changed. The city had in 
 1800 a population of 18,000 and so was a 
 close third to Baltimore and Boston. It 
 possessed a large foreign trade and at all 
 times vessels from Great Britain and the 
 ^^'est Indies could bo seen at the wharves. 
 It had, too, a very large proportion of cul- 
 tivated, refined people, most aristocratii- 
 in their bearing- and manner. They were 
 chiefly owners of large plantations who 
 made the city their home for the greater 
 part of the year, while the overseer man- 
 aged the estate. Many of the men had 
 been educated at the English universities 
 and had brought back to Carolina an in- 
 tense devotion to sports, especially of the 
 lower class so much favored by the Eng- 
 lish aristocrat. Like the wealthy Vir- 
 ginian, the Carolina planter was a pas- 
 sionate lover of the race course, as well 
 as the patron of cock-fighting, and in too 
 many cases of the brutal " set-to," known 
 as the rough-and-tumble fight, which was 
 a prize-fight without rules, and in which 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 43 
 
 '.he biting off of an ear or nose, and the 
 gouging out of eyes were permissible. 
 This barbarous encounter was of more or 
 less frequent occurrence all through the 
 South, and particularly common in the 
 southwest along the Ohio river. These 
 Virginia and Carolina planters scorned 
 any connection with trade, and looked upon 
 tiie things done by merchants and trades- 
 men as degrading. They were generally 
 poor in immediate cash, yet ever ready to 
 ■ii'ager a slave on a horse race or five hun- 
 dred dollars in tobacco or cotton upon a 
 cock-fight, — the cocks always being shod 
 with steel spurs to make the " sport " 
 more bloody, and so more exciting. A 
 most generous hospitality was offered at 
 the homes of the great planters of both 
 Virginia and the Carolinas, the passing 
 stranger ever finding a warm welcome. 
 
 from the fact that the great plantations 
 were so isolated that even the sight of a 
 strange face served to break the monotony 
 of life, while from the stranger the 
 planter might hope to get some news of 
 what was going on in the world from 
 which he was so absolutely separated. 
 
 The people of Charleston, too, had been 
 active in efforts to improve their trade, 
 and extend the area that might be tribu- 
 tary to the city. They readily saw that 
 theirs was the natural shipping port for 
 the whole Tennessee and northern Georgia 
 territory, and they had secured a good 
 road from the coast to Nashville, Tenn., 
 over which a regularly established trade 
 was being rai^idly built up. But two 
 events had recently occurred that meant 
 more to the far Southern States than any 
 avenue of commerce they might open 
 
 ^. 
 
 CHARLESTON IN 1780. 
 
 In many cases where the house lay far 
 back from the main-traveled road a slave 
 was kept stationed at the highway to in- 
 vite travelers to share the hospitality of 
 the proprietor. This custom had arisen 
 
 up. The first was the utilization of the 
 recently invented Watt steam engine by 
 the cotton manufacturers of England, 
 enormously increasing the demand for 
 cotton; and the other was the invention 
 
44 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 of the Whitney Cotton Gin. Here we come 
 upon the first of the great inventions tliat 
 have helped to transform tlie world dur- 
 ing the nineteenth eentui-j'. The first 
 cotton grown in the United States was 
 lirolmhly in 1789. The next year a few 
 bales, then called " packets," were sent to 
 England and sold for twenty-two pence a 
 pound. From this time the price steadily 
 rose until in 17(t9 it reached forty-four 
 cents in this country. In the meantime 
 more and more attention had been given 
 to its culture, and the crop of two hun- 
 ch'cd thousand pounds in 1791 grew to 
 twenty million in 1801, and twice that 
 amount in 1803. In 1794: Whitney re- 
 ceived the patent on his " gin," and in 
 
 1801 South Carolina bought it, and in 
 
 1802 North Carolina and Tennessee; and 
 an immediate and tremendous impulse 
 was given to the production of cotton. 
 The planters increased their land holdings 
 as fast and as far as possible, and a brisk 
 demand arose for more slaves. The 
 future of the South looked more promis- 
 ing than that of most of the Northern 
 states; and the citizen of Charleston 
 easily saw his city passing Boston and 
 Baltimore in wealth and commerce to take 
 its place as the third city of the Union. 
 
 Already, in 1800, nearly a half million 
 people had pushed their way beyond the 
 Alleghany and Blue Ridge mountains. 
 By the routes already mentioned to 
 Pittsburg, and another road that had been 
 built from the Potomac southwest through 
 Virginia to Knoxville, Tenn., and thence 
 through the Cumberland Gap into Ken- 
 tuek.v, there was a constant movement of 
 emigration toward the Ohio valley. At 
 Pittsburg and along the Monongahela 
 river existed settlements already old, with 
 a population of more than seventy thou- 
 sand. Kentucky, the largest community 
 west of the mountains, had a population 
 of one hundred and eighty thousand 
 whites and forty thousand negTo slaves; 
 wliile about ninety thousand whites and 
 fourteen thousand slaves were sparsely 
 settled over the state of Tennessee. Cin- 
 cinnati had a population of about fifteen 
 thousand people, and at Marietta a New 
 
 England colony had established itself. 
 Buffalo and Rochester were not yet laid 
 out. and the rough outline we have 
 sketched of the area and conditions within 
 (he United States of 1800 certainly has 
 little that would lead the most optimistic 
 of propliets to see even the faintest glim- 
 merings of the great changes that were 
 so soon to press upon each other witli a 
 bewildering rapidity. As Henry Adams 
 well says : " Nature was rather man's 
 master than his servant, and the five mil- 
 lion Americans struggling with the un- 
 tamed Continent seemed hardly more 
 competent to their task than the beavers 
 and buffalo which had for countless gen- 
 erations made bridges and roads of their 
 own." The same authority estimates that 
 tlie " probable valuation of the whole 
 United States in 1800 was $1,800,000,000, 
 equal to $328 for each human being, in- 
 cluding slaves or $418 to each free white. 
 This property was distributed with an 
 approach to equality, except in a few of 
 the Southern States. In New York and 
 Philadelphia a private fortune of one 
 hundred thousand dollars was considered 
 handsome, and three hundred thousand 
 was great wealth. Inequalities were fre- 
 quent but they were chiefly those of a 
 landed aristocracy. Equality was so far 
 the rule that every white family of five 
 persons might be supix)sed to own land, 
 stock or utensils, a house and furniture 
 worth about two thousand dollars ; and as 
 the only considerable industry was agri- 
 culture, their scale of life was easy to 
 calculate — taxes amounting to little or 
 nothing, and wages averaging about a 
 dollar a day." 
 
 But it was not only tlie lack of inven- 
 tive faculty and the disposition to be sat- 
 isfied with existing conditions; the low 
 mental state and the lack of moral force 
 that characterized a great part of the peo- 
 ple, — it was not alone these things that 
 filled many thoughtful people with dark 
 fcjrebodings as to the future. In addition 
 to these the want of a sentiment of na- 
 tionalit.y and union filled many wi+h 
 alarm. Between New England and New 
 York, or New York and Pennsylvania, 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 45 
 
 there was little of common interest; while 
 hetween all three and the South there was 
 still less. Moreover the inland empire 
 that was being built up west of the Al- 
 leghanies had no common ground of 
 thought or action with the sea-board 
 states; and its natural connection with the 
 outside world seemed to be by way of the 
 Ohio and the Mississippi rivers rather 
 than over two hundred miles of mountains 
 and forests to the Atlantic ports. 
 
 The primary causes of this lack of com- 
 mon interest are to be found in the des- 
 perate and paralyzing conditions that ex- 
 isted during the last two or three years of 
 the Revolutionary War. At the outbreak 
 of the war, and especially after the Decla- 
 ration of Independence, the entire pop- 
 ulation of the Colonies was thrilled with a 
 spirit of patriotism and enthusiasm that 
 promised great and speedy results. The 
 repulse of the British regulars at Lexing- 
 ton and Concord, followed by the essential 
 victory at Bunker Hill, had convinced the 
 Americans that under anything like 
 equally favorable conditions they were 
 more than a match for the British troops. 
 But the people had no conception of what 
 it meant to organize, drill, and equip an 
 army, and were suspicious of every move- 
 ment that looked toward the possible es- 
 tablishment of a standing army; so that 
 every obstacle was placed in the way of 
 Washington's achieving much immediate 
 success. The brilliant campaign of 1777 
 in New Jersey, which was destined to es- 
 tablish among military critics Washing- 
 ton's position as one of the greatest gen- 
 erals of history, only served to revive for 
 a period the rapidly waning confidence of 
 the people ; and when this was followed by 
 the forced inaction and futile efforts of 
 the next two or three years, chiefly due to 
 the vacillating course and incompetency 
 of the Continental Congress, an evil spirit 
 of apathy and despair took possession of 
 the popular mind, the worst result of 
 ■which was the revival of old-time local 
 and state jealousies, and a hopeless indif- 
 ference as to the outcome of the struggle 
 for independence. Even the crowning 
 victories in South Carolina and Virginia 
 
 failed to dissipate this sentiment and to 
 inspire hope; and it was only the most 
 adroit and persistent effort of Washing- 
 ton and a few of the great political leaders 
 tliat was powerful enough to revive the de- 
 sire for Union sufiiciently to secure a con- 
 vention for the consideration of some new 
 form of government. Even after the Con- 
 stitution had been framed and laid before 
 tlie people it was nearly two years before 
 the approval of nine of the thirteen col- 
 onies could be secured; while in the fight 
 in the different states over its adoption 
 the old sectional differences and selfish 
 local interests were still further inflamed. 
 Never did a great nation have its birth 
 in greater pains and labor than did the 
 United States. The war had cost $170,- 
 (100,000 ; but there was no inclination on 
 the part of the states to contribute 
 toward the settlement of their share of the 
 just claims incurred. So indifferent were 
 the people to the public needs that at one 
 time there was not one dollar in tlie na- 
 tional treasury. The payment of taxes 
 was regarded as an " amiable eccentric- 
 ity." All these disgraceful and disheart- 
 ening conditions, too, were aggravated by 
 the deplorable state of the currency. The 
 cvaze for " cheap money " was everywhere 
 manifest in the rural communities, and 
 every kind of a substitute for coin was in 
 circulation, until it became impossible to 
 fix upon any basis of values on which bus- 
 iness transactions could be conducted. It 
 would have seemed that the exijerience of 
 the people with the Continental currency 
 during the war should have taught them a 
 lesson they would not soon forget ; but 
 such was not the case. The Continental 
 Congress, having no power to levj- taxes 
 on the colonies, as early as 1775 began to 
 issue bills. The first issue was for 
 $300,000, redeemable in gold or silver in 
 three years. Eurther issues in rapid suc- 
 cession increased the amount outstanding 
 in 1778 to about nine millions, and down 
 to that date their value was maintained. 
 But when Congress showed neither an in- 
 clination nor ability to redeem the earlier 
 issues, depreciation began and the decline 
 was rapid ; so that by the end of that year 
 
46 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 The paper dollar was worth only sixteen 
 cents in the Northern states and twelve 
 in the Southern. Washington sadly ob- 
 served that it took a wagon load of money 
 to buy a wagon load of provisions. A 
 small minority in Congress insisted upon 
 the adoption of some method of taxation 
 to relieve the situation ; but the general 
 sentiment of that body was voiced by one 
 member who indignantly asked why he 
 should help to ta.x the people when they 
 could go to the printing office and get a 
 cartload of money. " Early in 1780," says 
 John Fiske, " the value of the dollar had 
 fallen to two cents, and before the end of 
 the year it took ten paper dollars to make 
 a cent. In October, Indian corn sold 
 wholesale in Boston for $150 a bushel ; 
 butter was twelve dollars a pound; tea, 
 ninety dollare; sugar, ten dollars; beef, 
 eight dollars ; coffee, twelve dollars ; and a 
 barrel of flour cost $1,575. Samuel Adams 
 paid $2,000 for a hat and suit of clothes. 
 The money soon ceased to circulate, debts 
 could not be collected, and there was a 
 general prostration of credit. To say a 
 thing 'was not worth a continental.' be- 
 came the strongest possible expression of 
 contempt." But. notwithstanding these 
 bitter and recent experiences, nearly all the 
 states within five years were flooded with 
 local bills, and every conceivable thing 
 that was transferable was offered in pay- 
 ment for goods. In many places the mer- 
 chants closed their stores and refused to 
 do any business. vSuch conditions could 
 not fail to result in the direst distress, 
 which resulted in disorder and riots in 
 many places, and the more serious 
 " Shays' Rebellion " in Massachusetts. 
 The sentiment that the Union was a fail- 
 ure became common throughout the 
 greater part of the country, and that no 
 relief from the public ills could be looked 
 f<n- from that source. Withiii twenty-five 
 years after the adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion no less than five distinct movcmonis 
 looking toward secession received popular 
 support in different parts of the country-, 
 while the general principle of nullification 
 was stoutly maintained by the Virginia 
 and Kentucky Resolutions of 179S and 
 
 1799. By the Funding Act of the first 
 National Congress the financial situation 
 was materially improved ; and by meas- 
 ures of reasonable taxation a tolerable 
 revenue was established both for the gen- 
 eral and state governments. Business im- 
 proved accordingly and the dejected and 
 disheartened people slowly acquired a 
 measure of confidence in the future of the 
 Union, and hope came to reign in the 
 place of despair. But even the imi^roved 
 business conditions, and the increase of 
 wealth could not obliterate state and sec- 
 tional prejudices and jealousies; and any- 
 thing like a real condition of political 
 harmony and national unity was still far 
 from realization at the opening of the 
 nineteenth century. Happily, in a sense, 
 the various aggressions of both England 
 and France on the rights of Americans 
 during the first quarter of a century of 
 tlie nation's existence, with the resultant 
 war of 1812, served in a measure to unite 
 all the factions, and to create a sentiment 
 of nationality and a community of in- 
 terests, which the coming of the railroad a 
 few years later, — breaking down all phys- 
 ical barriers between the diverse sections 
 of the country, and bringing the people 
 of each locality into closer intercourse 
 and acquaintance with those of every 
 other, — served to perpetuate and make 
 lasting. Though, as a sad experience 
 proved, only the civil war could remove 
 certain obstacles to a perfect harmony, 
 and forever bury all ideas of nullification 
 and separation by establishing an indis- 
 soluble union of the people of the whole 
 land, as distinguished from a federation 
 of individually sovereign states. 
 
 But the conditions which prevailed 
 down to the war of 1812 — the jealousies, 
 selfishness, indifference to the public wel- 
 fare, — worked a lasting injury to the 
 cause of popular government, which only 
 the successful issue of the Civil War, es- 
 tablishing a more solid and permanent 
 union, served to relieve. European na- 
 tions looked upon a govenunent by the 
 people as a beautiful dream, perhaps, but 
 impossible of realization; and the chaos, 
 and almost anarchy, of the early period of 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 47 
 
 our history only confirmed them in their 
 opinion. The people could not be trusted 
 to establish a government, and rule them- 
 selves! And this conviction is voiced by 
 all the foreign publicists and writers on 
 the science of government of the first half 
 of the nineteenth century, — Mill, Maine, 
 and Freeman (in his earlier days) in par- 
 ticular, — all illustrating' their argiiments 
 from what they conceived to be the failure 
 of ReiDublican institutions in America. 
 More serious, however, was the breach 
 made between the great leaders in the pop- 
 ular movement here and the i>eople for 
 whom they labored. Anyone reading the 
 Journal of the Constitutional Convention 
 will see that, however much Hamilton and 
 a few others favored a more aristocratic 
 form of government than that finally 
 adopted, all were agreed that the govern- 
 ment to be established should be one of, 
 by, and for all the people of all the states. 
 No one seriously questioned the ability of 
 the people to act sanely and wisely in 
 adopting and conducting their govern- 
 ment. But the course of affairs and the 
 conduct of the great rural communities 
 during the twenty years following the 
 adoption of the Constitution disgusted 
 and alienated the leaders who had spared 
 neither physical streng-th and health, ex- 
 penditures of private means, nor incessant 
 labor in behalf of the popular cause, until 
 the line of division in sentiment between 
 the two classes became marked and threat- 
 ening. No one would doubt the patriot- 
 ism of Fisher Ames; yet he but expressed 
 the profound conviction of nearly all his 
 class, when he wrote, in 1803 : " Our coun- 
 try is too big for Union, too sordid for 
 patriotism, too democratic for liberty. 
 What will become of it. He who made it 
 best knows. Its vice will govern it. by 
 practising upon its folly. This is or- 
 dained for democracies." In his most valu- 
 able History of the Ignited States, Henry 
 Adams has discussed this situation at 
 length ; and among other illustrations of 
 the spirit he quotes, " as neither more ex- 
 travagant nor more treasonable than the 
 rest," a paragraph from Dennie's " Port- 
 folio," of 1803. "A democracy," says the 
 
 writer, " is scarcely tolerable at any 
 period of national history. Its omens are 
 always sinister and its powers are unpro- 
 pitious. It is on its trial here, and the 
 issue will be civil war, desolation, and 
 anarchy. No wise man but discerns its 
 
 FISHER AMES. 
 
 imperfections, no good man but shudders 
 at its miseries, no honest man but pro- 
 claims its fraud, and no brave man but 
 draws his sword against its force. The in- 
 stitution of a scheme of policy so radically 
 contemjjtible and vicious is a memorable 
 example of what the villainy of some men 
 can devise, the folly of others receive, and 
 both establish in spite of reason, reflec- 
 tion, and sensation." But the too prevail- 
 ing sentiment among these men was most 
 tersely stated by Hamilton, who at a din- 
 ner in New York, replying to some dem- 
 ocratic sentiment, struck the table sharply 
 with his hand, and exclaimed, " Your peo- 
 ple sir, — your people is a great heasf." 
 Small prophesy, surely, can be found in 
 such political conditions of the firmly es- 
 tablished LTnion, and mighty nation, now 
 a leading " World Power." 
 
 Such was the general character of the 
 physical, material, and political conditions 
 that existed in the United States in 1800. 
 It will also be of interest to learn some- 
 
48 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tiling- of the cloniestie life of the i^ojile, 
 the conveniences and aclvantages they en- 
 joyed at homo and when they traveled, 
 and of the intellectual advancement which 
 had been reached when the nineteenth cen- 
 tury opened. As it is the traveler alone 
 who can obtain any satisfactory idea of 
 the social and domestic conditions of a 
 wide area of countiy, — settled by iieople 
 of various nationalities. — each of whom 
 li'oks upon the "home-land" customs and 
 habits as the best and most rational, and 
 all variant ones as peculiar or foolish, — 
 the means of communication between dif- 
 fei'ent parts of the country, and the 
 modes of travel first claim our attention. 
 There is hardly any institution in which 
 the whole people to-day are so much in- 
 terested as in the post-office department. 
 It was not so, however, one hundred years 
 ago, the difference due partly to the very 
 poor service rendered and the high rates 
 of postage, couiiled with the poverty of 
 the people, and also to the sluggish mental 
 condition of the great majority. The first 
 mail ever despatched on this continent 
 left New York for Boston on Xew Year's 
 Day, 1C73. Francis Lovelace, the second 
 English Governor of New York, who came 
 over in 1G68, evolved a plan which he 
 thought should promote the union of the 
 English Colonies. This plan he outlined 
 in a letter to Winthrop, at Hartford, in 
 1G72, which has such a lasting interest 
 as the origin of our great mail service 
 that we quote it entire, as given by John 
 Fiske. " I herewitli present you with two 
 rarities," he wrote; "a pacquette of the 
 latest intelligence I could meet withal, 
 and a Post. By the first you will see what 
 has been acted on the stage of Europe; 
 by the latter you will meet with a monthly 
 fresh supply; so that if it receive but the 
 same ardent inclination from you as at 
 first it has from myself, by our monthly 
 advisees all publique occurrences may be 
 transmitted between us, together with sev- 
 eral other great convenieneys of publique 
 importance, consonant to the commands 
 laid on us b.v His sacred Majestie, who 
 strictly injoine all his American subjects 
 to enter into a close correspondency with 
 
 each other. This I look upon as the most 
 compendious means to beget a mutual 
 undei-standing; and that it may receive all 
 the countenance from you for its future 
 duration, I shall acquaint you with the 
 model I have proposed; and if you please 
 but to make an addition to it, or sub- 
 straction, or any other alteration, I shall 
 be ready to comply with you. This per- 
 son that has undertaken the employment 
 I conceived most proper, being both stout, 
 active, and indefatigable. He is sworne 
 as to his fidelity. I have affixt an aimuall 
 sallery on him, which, together with the 
 advantage of his letters and other small 
 portable paekes, may afford him a hand- 
 some livelyhood. Hartford is the first 
 stage I have designed him to change his 
 horse, where constantly I expect he should 
 have a fresh one lye. All the letters out- 
 ward shall be delivered gratis, with a sig- 
 nification of Post Payd on the sui>erscrip- 
 tion; and reciprocally, we expect all to us 
 free. Each first Monday of the month he 
 sets out from New Y'ork and is to return 
 within the month from Boston to us 
 again. The maile has divers baggs, ac- 
 cording to the townes the letters are de- 
 signed to, which are all sealed up till their 
 arrivemcnt, with the seale of the Seere- 
 tarie's office, whose care it is on Saturday 
 night to seale them up. Only by-letters 
 are in an open bag', to disisense by the 
 wayes. Thus you see the scheme I have 
 drawne to promote a happy correspond- 
 ence. I shall only beg of you your fur- 
 therance to so universall a good work, that 
 is to afford him directions where and to 
 whom to make his application to upon his 
 arrival at Boston ; as likewise to afford him 
 what letters you can to establish him in 
 that imployment there. It would be much 
 advantageous to our designe, if in the in- 
 tervall you discoursed with some of the 
 most able woodmen, to make out the best 
 and most facile way for a Post, which in 
 processe of tyme would be the King's best 
 highway ; as likewise passages and accom- 
 modations at rivers, fords, or other neces- 
 sary places." 
 
 A locked box was set up in the Seere- 
 tarv's office in New York, in which east 
 
IX COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 49 
 
 bound letters were dropped day by day 
 during the absence of the carrier. When 
 he returned with his prepaid mail, he 
 emptied his New York bag on a large table 
 in the Coffee-House where citizens were 
 most accustomed to congregate. And in 
 that locked box in the Secretary's office, 
 and the table at the Coffee-House, was 
 the prophecy of the great Postal-System 
 of the present day, which reaches the most 
 remote settlements of the whole country. 
 But the development was slow and hardly 
 any improvement in methods was made 
 for more than one hundred years. 
 
 Shortly after the Revolution a general 
 post-route had been marked out from Pas- 
 
 letters taken along their lines. By an Act 
 of Congress, February 20, 1792, the rates 
 of postage were fixed as follows: Up to 
 thirty miles, on a single letter, six cents: 
 between thirty and sixty miles, eight 
 cents; between sixty and one hundred 
 miles, ten cents ; and so on, until between 
 three hundred and fifty and four hundred 
 and fifty miles it was twenty-two cents, 
 and above four hundred and fifty, twenty- 
 five cents. Much trouble later arose re- 
 garding these rates, as the postmaster at 
 each office was the solo judge of distances, 
 and great abuses grew up in the way of 
 overcharges. As a result of constant com- 
 plaints, in 1811, the Government ordered 
 
 BURNS's COFFEE HOUSE, BOWLING GREEN. 
 
 samaquoddy in the Province of Maine to 
 Georgia, with a few lateral branches from 
 Boston, New York, and Philadelphia; 
 the service rendered down to the end of 
 the eighteenth century being conducted by 
 mail carriers on horseback, with their bags 
 hung on either side of their horses. No 
 definite schedule of time for the starting 
 or arrival of mails could be established, 
 owing to the poor condition of the roads 
 or trails traversed. Consequently the car- 
 riers took their own time, conducting a 
 private commission and agency business 
 along their routes and appropriating, as 
 perquisites, all postage collected on local 
 4 
 
 a careful topographical survey of the en- 
 tire post-road from Maine to Georgia, as 
 well as of the cross-roads. The distances 
 between each of the post-towns was then 
 published so that anyone could compute 
 with accuracy just the amount of postage 
 required. In this connection it is interest- 
 ing to note that the historian of the 
 British Post-office says that " in 1813 there 
 was not a single town in the British King- 
 dom, at the post-office of which absolutely 
 certain information could have been ob- 
 tained as to the charge to which a letter 
 addressed to any other town would be 
 subject." 
 
50 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 As a basis for charging- postage a letter 
 was a single sheet of any size, each addi- 
 tional sheet counting as an extra letter. 
 That the people indulged in but little cor- 
 respondence is manifest from the fact 
 that, even at the high rates of postage, the 
 gross revenue for the eighteen months be- 
 ginning July 1, 1791 and ending Decem- 
 ber 31, 1792, was only $92,988.40, the ex- 
 penses for the same period being $76,- 
 580.00, leaving a net revenue for the de- 
 partment of $ie,-101.S0. The Postmaster- 
 General was not yet a member of the 
 cabinet, so insignificant were his duties. 
 In 1791, something like a reorganization 
 of the service was attempted, Timothy 
 Pickering being placed at its head. 
 There were then two hundred and sixty- 
 four post-offices in the country. There 
 were also the same troubles over what is 
 now termed " second class " matter as fre- 
 quently arise at present. Previous to 
 Pickering's regime the Postmaster-Gen- 
 eral would have nothing to do with news- 
 papers. Local postmasters received them 
 generally, and sent them along with the 
 mails ; but they were not under obligation 
 to do so. Consequently local papers re- 
 mote from the coast towns were filled with 
 complaints that the " Pennsylvania 
 Packets," or the " New York Journals " 
 were kept back, and polite but urgent re- 
 quests were made that they be forwarded. 
 But the new law of 1792 decreed that 
 after its passage no postmaster should re- 
 ceive or distribute newsisapers free of 
 postage, which was fixed at one cent for 
 any distance within one hundred miles, 
 and beyond that distance at a cent and a 
 half. By the same Congressional Act the 
 " franking " privilege was given to mem- 
 bers of Congress. These two latter fea- 
 tures of the law aroused a storm of angry 
 criticism and abuse of the Government all 
 over the country. The postage on papers 
 was declared to be " a vile tax on knowl- 
 edge," and the Postmaster-General was 
 brought into violent disputes with many 
 editors. The " franking " privilege was 
 regarded as a scheme to intrench itself 
 in power by the dominant party, — "An 
 aristocratic scheme." The general senti- 
 
 ment as voiced by the press, has been well 
 summed up by McMaster. " Why," it was 
 said, " should the mass of the people be 
 loaded with an odious tax, while a select 
 few escaped ? Was the information likely 
 to be conveyed in the letters of Congress- 
 men better than the information to be 
 found in ' Packets ' and ' Journals i ' 
 What kind of information did these let- 
 ters convey while the funding system was 
 being framed (when Congressmen were 
 openly charged with the use of their 
 knowledge for speculative purposes) ? 
 Had not these self-appointed aristocrats 
 most shamefuly abused their privilege on 
 that occasion ? That scheme of finances 
 which collected a revenue from the mails 
 by loading them with free letters might 
 be understood by the minds of a Congress- 
 man, but, happily, such minds were rare." 
 By the schedules of that day. letters 
 which left Philadelphia at eight in the 
 morning were due in New Yorlv at two the 
 next afternoon ; and exactly the same time 
 was consumed in reaching Baltimore. 
 Ordinarily it took four days for a letter 
 to go from New York to Boston, — in win- 
 ter, much longer. George Washington 
 died December 14, 1799 ; but the news of 
 his death did not reach Boston until the 
 24th, though it was doubtless conveyed 
 with the greatest speed possible, as it was 
 an event of such momentous interest. At 
 the time of the reorganization in 1792, 
 President Washington was anxious that a 
 system should be established that would 
 insure the covering on all main routes of 
 at least one hundred miles eveiy twenty- 
 four hours; and as the mail carriers trav- 
 eled only by day, it was proposed to hurry 
 the mails along at night by giving them 
 to stage coaches. But the country was too . 
 poor for this added expense, so that mat- 
 ters continued in about the same condi- 
 tion until well into the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. By 1800 the gross revenue from the 
 mail service was $320,000, toward which 
 letters contributed $290,000, and the bal- 
 ance, we may presume, was largely from 
 the postage on newspapers. It would 
 seem that, at the rates of postage quoted 
 above, an averace of eicht letters for a 
 
IN COLOXIAL DAYS. 
 
 51 
 
 dollar would be a fair one, which would 
 indicate tliat about 2,320,000 letters were 
 carried during' the year, or about one for 
 each adult inhabitant of the country. 
 But when it is considered what a large 
 proportion of these letters must have been 
 sent in due course of business, it would 
 appear hardly probable that the average 
 inhabitant outside the large cities could 
 have mailed a letter much oftener than 
 once in five years. 
 
 As he had been for more than sixty cen- 
 turies, so at the beginning of the nine- 
 teenth century, the horse was the only 
 motive power for travel, as well as almost 
 the sole burden bearer, — some o.xen being 
 in use. All through the land, and espe- 
 cially in the south, the most common 
 method of travel was in the saddle; and 
 when the wife or daughter or children 
 accompanied the traveler, they rode be- 
 hind him on the pillion, which was a 
 padded cushion with straps, sometimes 
 having on one side a kind of platform 
 stirrup. An amusing custom which en- 
 abled four persons on a journey to ride 
 part of the way, was the " ride-and-tie " 
 system. Two would start on the horse, 
 and two would walk. When those on the 
 horse had ridden about a mile, they would 
 dismount, tie the horse to a tree, and pro- 
 ceed on foot. When the other couple 
 came up to the horse they would mount, 
 and, passing the foot travelers, at the end 
 of another mile would dismount, tie the 
 liorse, and proceed on foot ; and su in turn 
 they alternately rode and walked a mile 
 until they reached their journey's end. 
 Horses of a rather scrubby character were 
 very numerous, so that it was a common 
 saying that " no one walked save a vaga- 
 bond or a fool." After a time a good 
 class of saddle horses was produced in 
 Ehode Island, called the " Narragansett 
 Pacers," which were very easy in motion 
 and of great endurance. In Virginia and 
 the Carolinas, however; from the earliest 
 colonial days the best of English racing 
 horses were imported and bred. Even 
 down to the end of the eighteenth century, 
 there were but few roads or turnpikes 
 which could be traversed by coaches, and 
 
 these were chiefly the great highways that 
 connected the important cities and, in a 
 few cases, extended in lateral directions, 
 generally toward the west. In every 
 direction, too, travel was restricted and 
 made dangerous by a lack of bridges, and 
 ferries were established only when a con- 
 siderable and regular traffic made them 
 profitable. It is interesting to note that 
 the American mechanics thus early took 
 the lead in bridge building, which has un- 
 questionably been maintained to the 
 present day. The first important work was 
 the bridge from Boston to Charlestown. 
 As an old account informs us the Charles 
 river at the point where the old ferry 
 crossed had about the same width as the 
 Thames at London bridge. Here Lemuel 
 Cox, a Medford shipwright, the fore- 
 runner of a long succession of eminent 
 builders, was successful in erecting a 
 draw-bridge in 1786, which was considered 
 the longest in the world, and a " triumph 
 of engineering skill." This was followed 
 by an era of bridge building which soon 
 made travel much safer and far more 
 agreeable. Road construction also re- 
 ceived an important impetus at about the 
 same period, and in New England espe- 
 cially some quite long stretches of macad- 
 amized road were built, — as the Salem 
 and Boston turnpike, the Essex turnpike, 
 and the Newburyport turnpike. The 
 most notable highway of all, however, was 
 the great " National Road " built by the 
 National Government, really as a military 
 measure. Its construction was first pro- 
 posed in Congress in 1797, though the act 
 authorizing it was not passed until nine 
 years later. It extended at first from 
 Cumberland to Wheeling, one hundred 
 and thirty miles, and cost $1,750,000. 
 It was sixty-five feet wide, of stone 
 broken to pass through a three-inch 
 sieve, then covered with gravel and 
 rolled hard. From Cumberland to Balti- 
 more the cost of construction fell on 
 certain banks of Maryland, which were 
 rechartered on condition that they com- 
 plete the road, which eventually proved a 
 great source of profit to them. Mrs. 
 Earle, in her most interesting work, 
 
52 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 " Stage Coach and Tavern Days," has 
 given valuable and entertaining accounts 
 of these old " highways and by-ways." 
 Another much traveled road at this time 
 was the " Mohawk Turnpike." After the 
 Revolution an epidemic of emigration 
 broke out in New England and thousands 
 turned their eyes and steps westward, the 
 objective points being the Mohawk and 
 Genesee Valleys. It is said that in the 
 winter of 1795 twelve hundred sleighs 
 passed through Albany in three days, 
 loaded with sturdy New Englanders bound 
 for the Genesee Valley. Roads were built, 
 the prices of land rapidly advanced, and a 
 genuine " boom " was created. Within a 
 short time fifty-two taverns were opened 
 within fifty miles of Albany, and even 
 these were unable to accommodate the 
 travelers. 
 
 The first public road-wagon, the fore- 
 runner of the stage coach, came into use 
 early in the eighteenth century. It was 
 not until the middle of the century, how- 
 ever, that they became common and coach- 
 ing became a recognized business, — several 
 companies having been organized about 
 that time. Then began the great variety 
 of interesting announcements and ad- 
 vertisements of independent and rival 
 companies. The old road-wagon became a 
 
 COLONIAL STAGE COACH. 
 
 " stage chaise," a " stage coach," a " stage 
 wagon," and even " stage chariots " were 
 run on some routes. The typical vehicle, 
 however, down to the present century, and 
 which is still seen on many western lines, 
 was the stage wagon, which was well de- 
 scribed by an English traveler who made 
 the journey from Philadelphia to Balti- 
 more and return in 1795. "The vehicle," 
 he sa.vs, " was a long car with four 
 benches. Three of these in the interior 
 held nine passengers. A tenth passenger 
 
 was seated by the side of the driver on the 
 front bench. A light roof was supported 
 b,v eight slender pillars, four on each side. 
 Three large leather curtains suspended to 
 the roof, one at each side and the third 
 behind, were rolled up or lowered at the 
 pleasure of the passengers. There was no 
 place nor space for luggage, each person 
 being expected to stow his things where 
 he could under his seat or legs. The en- 
 trance was in front over the driver's 
 bench. Of course the three passengers in 
 the back seat were obliged to crawl across 
 all the other benches to get to their places. 
 There were no hacls to the benches to 
 support and relieve us during the rough 
 and fatiguing journey over a newly and 
 ill-made road." And another foreigner, 
 who had, however, lived in America thir- 
 teen years, writing of the same subject in 
 1806, uses almost the same words as the 
 traveler quoted, describing the coach be- 
 tween Philadelphia and New York. " The 
 vehicle, the American Stage Coach," he 
 says, "which is of like construciion 
 throughout the country, is calculated to 
 hold twelve persons, who sit on benches 
 placed across, with their faces toward the 
 horses. As there are no doors at the sides 
 the passengers get in over the front 
 wheels. The first get seats behind the 
 rest, the most esteemed seat because you 
 can rest your shaken frame against the 
 back part of the wagon." About 1815 this 
 rough and most uncomfortable coach gave 
 place on the leading lines to an egg-shaped 
 vehicle, more like the modern stages, with 
 racks behind, fastened to the axle, for the 
 carriage of baggage. These in turn gave 
 place about fifteen years later to the most 
 famous of all makes of coaches, which no 
 one has ever attempted to improve upon, 
 and which are still in constant demand 
 and use in all parts of the world. This 
 was the " Concord Stage," the first of 
 which, establishing the type, was built at 
 Concord, N. H., in 'l827. With its earlier 
 and somewhat rougher form all who have 
 visited Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows are 
 familiar; and all travelers among moun- 
 tain resorts which the railroad has not yet 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 53 
 
 reached, are acquainted with its later and 
 more perfected forms. The period be- 
 tween 1820 and 1840 was the golden age 
 of stage coach travel, both in England and 
 the United States. The coaches had be- 
 come comfortable vehicles, the business 
 was systematized and better horses pro- 
 vided, the stages were cut down from 
 fifteen to twenty miles to from ten to 
 twelve, and the roads had everywhere been 
 greatly improved; and all who have ever 
 ridden on top of a Concord coach through 
 the mountains or a fine river country, 
 with a pleasant party of companions en- 
 joying the clear, fresh, frosty air of an 
 autumn morning, will never forget the 
 exhilaration and abounding joy of the ex- 
 perience. Boston became the greatest 
 coaching centre about 1820, and a great 
 number of lines started from there. In 
 1818 a combination was formed of all the 
 lines in Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode 
 Island, Maine, and New Hampshire, a 
 veritable " Trust," and its business and 
 profits were enormous. In 1829 there were 
 seventy-seven stage coach lines from Bos- 
 ton, which had increased to one hundred 
 and six in 1832. The old and familiar 
 newspaper, the Boston Traveler, was 
 started as a coach paper in 1825. But, 
 as one has well said, " none of these 
 companies was shrewd enough to heed 
 the warning ' Look out for the En- 
 gine ; ' " and in 1838 the railroad had so 
 far advanced in its operations that the 
 great eastern stage company utterly col- 
 lapsed, carrying ruin also 'to the great 
 number of taverns, vast stables, black- 
 smiths shops, etc., which had everywhere 
 been established along the stage routes for 
 the accommodation of travelers and to 
 meet all demands of the business. The 
 climax was reached at about the same 
 time in England, and the catastrophe was 
 equally ruinous. The great English novel- 
 ists of the second and third quarters of 
 the last century, particularly Dickens and 
 Lever, gave us so many amusing, interest- 
 ing, and exciting tales of the road, that 
 they threw over the story of coaching such 
 a halo of romance that one who has ever 
 been inoculated by its spirit may never 
 
 expect to fully recover from the infection. 
 " Pickwick " was published in 1836, when 
 the stage companies began to read the 
 handwriting on the wall; and we can 
 hardly close this brief account of the 
 " good old days " of staging better than by 
 quoting the words of Tony Weller's pro- 
 test : " I consider that the rail is uncon- 
 stitutional, and a inwader o' privileges. 
 As to the comfort — as an old coachman I 
 may say it — veres the comfort o' sittin' in 
 a harm-chair, a lookin' at brick walls, an 
 heaps o' mud, never eomin' to a public 
 'ouse, never seein' a glass o' ale, never 
 goin' thro' a pike, never meetin' a change 
 o' no kind (bosses or otherwise), but al- 
 ways eomin' to a place ven you comes to 
 vun at all, the wery picter o' the last ! As 
 to the honor and dignity o' travellin', veve 
 can that be vithout a coachman, and vats 
 the rail to sich coachman as is sometimes 
 forced to go by it, but a outrage and a 
 insult!" 
 
 A very essential element in the matter 
 of travel, especially after the weary 
 travelers had been jolted over rough roads 
 all day, in cramped positions on seats 
 without backs, was the Inns. These were, 
 of course, of the most varied character. In 
 the larger towns of New England, the well 
 settled parts of New York, and the Quaker 
 settlements of Pennsylvania, commodious, 
 neat, and clean taverns were to be found, 
 which, though they would seem bare, in- 
 convenient, and not over-restful places 
 of entertainment to the traveler of to-day, 
 yet were sumptuous hostelries in the es- 
 teem of the public of a century ago. 
 Reminiscences of some of these inns still 
 linger in many localities, and in the 
 memories of some who enjoy the greater 
 conveniences of the twentieth century 
 hotels. The Wadsworth Inn, at Hartford, 
 Connecticut; The Buckman Tavern, at 
 Lexington; the Bliss Tavern, at Haver- 
 hill ; Howe's Tavern, at Sudbury, which 
 Longfellow has immortalized as " The 
 Wayside Inn," — all in Massachusetts, are 
 typical of such houses. At them a warm 
 welcome, a generous table, clean and com- 
 fortable beds always awaited the visitor. 
 In all cases one of the most inviting and 
 
54 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 comfortably furnished of the rooms was 
 the " tap-room," where " mine host " from 
 within a cage, not unlike those provided 
 for clerks in modern banks, dispensed 
 rum, flip, sack, a variety of wines, and 
 beer to the thirsty assembly, and generally 
 the thirst was a scorching one. On one 
 side of the room there was an immense 
 
 fr 
 
 
 ' -'■ M 
 
 IHPIJP-^^ ,g| - 
 
 m 
 
 pmHHl^ '" 
 
 rfi7^3ffi 
 
 ^^^^B 
 
 ^^^5 
 
 ^3n.-:-'-^-'^^^ 
 
 THE GREEN DRAGON TAVEKN, BOSTON. 
 
 brick fire-place, from which in winter the 
 great logs sent out warmth and cheer for 
 every guest. But the average inn which a 
 traveler off the main highways would en- 
 counter only added to the miseries of a 
 journey. Dirty, with filthy table cloths, 
 or a bare, greasy table, with little variety 
 in the fare furnished, many a sore and 
 half sick mortal went to a soiled be<l 
 hungry, rather than eat the food offered, 
 which generally consisted of some form of 
 pork, — salt pork and bacon being the 
 staples. But the custom that most dis- 
 gusted travelers was that of putting sev- 
 eral beds in one room, and frequently two 
 or even three strangers into the same bed. 
 Weld, one of the most intelligent of the 
 Englishmen who visited this country 
 about the opening of the last century, and 
 whose record of travels forms one of the 
 best source books, which all historians 
 have freely drawn from, on arriving at 
 Elkton, on the main road between Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore, asked the landlord 
 what accommodations he had ? " Don't 
 trouble yourself on that score," was the 
 reply ; " I have no less than eleven beds 
 in one room." And this custom prevailed 
 more or less generally over all the states, 
 north and south, apparently without pro- 
 test from the American people. But the 
 
 traveler was never sure of even the one of 
 many beds in a room assigned him; a.s he 
 was not infrequently awakened by the 
 landlord entering the room with a candle, 
 and designating to a later arrival half of 
 his bed as the place where the new-comer 
 should sleep. One can, therefore, hardly 
 wonder at the indignant outburst of one 
 sufferer, a Philadclphian, who queried : 
 " What can be the reason for the vulgar, 
 hoggish custom, common in America, of 
 squeezing three, six, or eight beds into one 
 room ? " These inns all put out preten- 
 tious signs, many of which were interest- 
 ing and many grotesque, — however in- 
 ferior and scjualld the house itself might 
 be. Before the war, many of them had 
 large pictures of the King or some mem- 
 ber of the royal family, or the royal arms, 
 or some di.stinguished British officer. 
 After the war, these, of course, gave place 
 to portraits of Washington, or some dis- 
 tinguished or favorite American officer. 
 The average tavern was little more than a 
 rough saloon with the most indifferent 
 provision for meals or lodging. The quar- 
 ter century after the close of the war was 
 one of intense political ferment; and the 
 rural tavern was the meeting place, day 
 and night, for a half-drunken, brawling 
 crowd, who spent their time in " discuss- 
 ing " political questions, too often accen- 
 tuating their arguments by the use of the 
 knife or pistol, or settling the whole ques- 
 tion by a free fight. 
 
 There were, of course, in all the larger 
 cities Irretentions houses of wide notoriety, 
 toward which all travelers turned with 
 eager steps upon their arrival. Such was 
 the Exchange Coffee Plouse of Boston, 
 which was seven stories high, had 200 
 rooms, and had cost a half million dollars. 
 Here were registers of all shipping, and 
 it was also a naval rendezvous. Presi- 
 dent Monroe stopped at the house in 
 1817, and at a sumptuous banquet 
 tendered him many men distinguished 
 in the young nation's histoiy were as- 
 sembled, — as Commodores Bainbridge, 
 Hull, and Perry; Ex-President John 
 Adams: Generals Swift, Dearborn, Cobb, 
 and Humphrey; and Judge Story. Early 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 in' the century, too, the City Hotel, occu- 
 pying a whole block on Broadway, at 
 Thomas street, New York, held a similar 
 leading position. It was run by two old 
 bachelors, Jennings and Willard, who 
 were said to be able to \;all by name any- 
 one who had ever once stopijed at the 
 house. It was commonly understood that 
 Willard never went to bed, but was on 
 hand always to perform his duty as host, 
 bookkeeper, or cashier. When Niblo's 
 Garden opened farther up town, it was de- 
 cided that Willard must attend the house- 
 warming, but when the time to start ar- 
 rived it came to light that he liad not 
 
 larger cities famous for some special dish, 
 or dishes, as well as for their good cheer. 
 In Philadelphia " cat fish " suppers at the 
 Mendenhall Ferry Tavern were in high 
 favor, as were " Turtle-feasts " at a popu- 
 lar resort up East river, in New York. A 
 clergyman traveling late in the 18th cen- 
 tury, wrote: "There are several taverns 
 pleasantly situated upon east river. New 
 York, where it is common to have these 
 turtle-feasts. These happen once or twice a 
 week. Thirty or forty gentlemen and 
 ladies meet and dine together, drink tea 
 in the afternoon, fish and amuse them- 
 selves till evening, and tlion return home 
 
 THE KXCUANQE COFFEE HOUSE, BOSTON. 
 
 owned a hat for several years. Equally 
 famous was the London Coffee House of 
 Philadelphia, which was the most popular 
 meeting place and resort for officers of the 
 government and army during and follow- 
 ing the Revolutionary war. In the cities, 
 frequently, one or more of the most stately 
 homes and grand mansions became 
 famous inns, as the " Indian Queen " in 
 Philadelphia, which had at different times 
 been the home of Sir Richard Penn, Gen- 
 eral Howe, Robert Morris, and Presidents 
 Washington and Adams. There were, too, 
 certain taverns and road-houses near the 
 
 in Italian chaises, a gentleman and lady 
 in each chaise. On the way tliere is a 
 bridge, about three miles distant from 
 New York, which you always pass over 
 as you return, called the ' Kissing Bridge,' 
 where it is a part of etiquette to salute the 
 lady who has put herself under your pro- 
 tection." One can easily imagine with 
 what speed the poor horses were driven 
 until the " Kissing Bridge " was reached, 
 and how leisurely they were allowed to jog 
 along toward home after it had been 
 passed. 
 
 The home life of the people at the close 
 
56 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 of the colonial days, which was not ma- 
 terially changed until well into the nine- 
 teenth century, was exceedingly primitive. 
 The five large cities, at the beginning of 
 that century, had less than 200.000 in- 
 habitants, leaving a rural population of 
 upwards of 5,000,000, or 4,000,000 ex- 
 elusive of slaves. In the cities, among the 
 richer families, there were evidences of 
 great comfort, and better household ap- 
 pointments, than prevailed elsewhere. But 
 even in the more elegant homos the 
 superiority to the conveniences and ar- 
 rangements of the average home consisted 
 chiefly in the greater elegance and costli- 
 ness of materials used, both for building 
 and decoration, rather than in any es- 
 sential differences in the mode of life. 
 Many city homes were large and impos- 
 ing structures of stone and brick ; and in 
 many rural communities were isolated 
 structures of similar character, though 
 
 The country had been settled by people 
 from many laJids, to whom long associa- 
 tion liad made certain styles of houses 
 dear; and in the land of their adoption 
 they tried to reproduce the " homeland " 
 so far as possible, and so in a degree alle- 
 viate the pangs of homesickness. New 
 England houses, therefore, were suggest- 
 ive of England, both in their external 
 appearance, and in the surroundings, 
 where by planting English flowers and 
 hedges, an effort was made to reproduce 
 the home atmosphere of the mother coun- 
 try. In Virginia, the rich cavaliers who 
 were the early settlers built noble speci: 
 mens of the country houses of their 
 wealthy counto-men, many of which could 
 hardly be equaled anywhere in the colo- 
 nies. They attempted, too, a style of fur- 
 nisliing and an elegance in all their 
 surroundings that tended to rob exile of its 
 cliief horrors, and to make life in the 
 
 THE JOHN HA.MCOCK HOUSE — TYPICAL COLO.MAL MANSION 
 
 generally constructed of wood, whose 
 architecture is still greatly admired and 
 copied, and which it would be difficult to 
 improve upon for interior arrangements, 
 whether beauty or comfort is considered. 
 
 wilderness of the new world a reflection 
 of the social conditions and atmosphere 
 of the homeland for which their hearts 
 still yearned, to which they looked for all 
 the amenities of life, — importing liberally 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 57 
 
 the evil as well as the good products and 
 influences. In New York, settled by 
 the Dutch, the prevailing- early archi- 
 tecture was from Holland, and churches, 
 houses, and furnishing-s all suggested 
 
 utensils for cooking, as well as the 
 " warming pan," usually of copper or 
 brass, about a foot in diameter and four 
 inches deep, which in very cold weather 
 was filled with live coals, and then used 
 
 Ni;\V YORK IN 1745. 
 
 Amsterdam and Delft as distinctly as 
 the New Englander reproduced Old Eng- 
 land. In the interiors, however, there 
 was greater uniformity. In the homes 
 of the average Americans the kitchen 
 was the centre of life, light, and socia- 
 bility; and its most prominent feature 
 was the great brick fireplace which 
 during the long winter months was 
 the source of heat for all the household, 
 as well as the centre of nearly all the ac- 
 tivities of the housekeepers. On its hearth 
 some fire was kept perpetually alive, if 
 only a few embers, as matches had not yet 
 come into use and the only means of 
 striking a light was from the old flints, 
 which was an uncertain and tedious pro- 
 cess; consequently candles and the pine 
 knots were lighted from the fire on the 
 hearthstone. These fire places were of 
 immense size, and the fore and back logs 
 were frequently drawn into the kitchen 
 by a horse, or on sleds. On the great 
 cranes himg a variety of pots and kettles, 
 and on the side walls were hung all the 
 
 to warm the sheets of the beds before the 
 family or guests retired. What we call 
 the dining table was then known as the 
 " Board," and the table-cloth was the 
 board-cloth. These tables were made of 
 two or three smooth boards fastened to- 
 gether, which were placed upon supports 
 consisting of crossed strips of wood, like 
 the saw-horse, — such tables, in fact, as are 
 still in use at church or fraternal society 
 suppers. Of table linen and napkins there 
 was usually a generous supply, as they 
 were the special pride of the housewife 
 and represented her own, or her daugh- 
 ter's, work at the spinning wheel. The 
 centre-piece, when the table was dressed, 
 was a large salt cellar, generally of pewter ; 
 and those seated at the table were placed 
 '■ above the salt," where sat the husband 
 and wife at the head of the table, with any 
 people of distinction or honored guests 
 at their right or left ; or " below the salt," 
 where people of less consequence or chil- 
 dren were seated. Of course it is impos- 
 sible to learn just when social customs and 
 
58 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 uses change, or give place entirely to new 
 conditions; but it is certain that e^xcept 
 in the homes of the wealthy people, pewter 
 was the material iised for all table ware 
 until after the Revolution, china or earth- 
 enware being very rarely seen; and even 
 after they had come into more common 
 use, or had become more fashionable, 
 pewter still held a warm place in the 
 housekeeper's heart. As one of our best 
 authorities has said: "Pewter was used 
 until this (19th) century in the wealthiest 
 homes, both in the north and south, and 
 was preferred by many who owned rich 
 china. Among the pewter-lovers was the 
 Revolutionary patriot, John Hancock, 
 who hated the clatter of the porcelain 
 plates;" and what was called a "garnish 
 of pewter," that is, a full set of pewter 
 platters, plates, and dishes was one of the 
 
 HEAD or A LADY OF FASHION, 1776. 
 
 richest and most coveted of wedding gifts. 
 But it was late in the eighteenth century, 
 and, in fact, well on in the nineteenth in 
 some localities, before plates came into 
 common use. All through the Colonial 
 I)eriod the " trencher " was used in its 
 place in this country as it was in Eng- 
 land. This was made of wood, frequently 
 onlv a block of wood ten or twelve inches 
 
 square and about four inches deep, hol- 
 lowed out in the middle so that it made a 
 sort of bowl. In this the food was i^laced, 
 porridge, meat, vegetables, etc., and from 
 it generally two persons ate, using their 
 spoons or fingers as might be most con- 
 venient. For forks were as late in 
 coming into use as was china, and even in 
 the last half of the eighteenth centurj 
 were hardly common even at the tables of 
 the more wealthy city people. When 
 elaborate meals were prepared, they were 
 not served in courses as to-day; but pride 
 was taken in loading the board-cloth with 
 everything conceivable and obtainable 
 that could be eaten. In his diary John 
 Adams has left an account of some of 
 the dinners to which he was invited when 
 he went to Philadelphia. At the house of 
 Miers Fisher, a young Quaker lawyer, he 
 says, " This plain Friend, with his plain 
 but pretty wife with her Thees and Thous, 
 had provided us a costly entertainment; 
 ducks, hams, chickens, beef, pig, tarts, 
 creams, custards, Jellies, fools, trifles, 
 floating islands, beer, porter, punch, wine, 
 etc.;" and at the home of Chief Justice 
 Chew, he says, " about four o'clock we 
 were called to dinner. Turtle and every 
 other thing, flummery, jellies, sweetmeats 
 of twenty sorts, trifles, whipped sillabubs, 
 floating islands, fools, etc., with a dessert 
 of fruits, raisins, almonds, pears, peaches, 
 etc." Of course even the elaborate din- 
 ners of the less opulent in rural communi- 
 ties bore little resemblance to these semi- 
 barbaric feasts; yet with the latter as with 
 the former, a desire prevailed to make the 
 greatest and most attractive showing of 
 food possible. And among both classes no 
 dinner was complete without a liberal 
 supply of drinks of varying character, 
 ranging from the beer, ale, and cider of 
 the average home to the " fifteen kinds of 
 wine, besides cider, beer and porter," 
 which were served by Col. Duer of New 
 York, in 1787, when the Rev. Dr. Cutler 
 dined with him, as recorded in the latter's 
 diary. In rural homes, when the meal 
 was over the table was quickly removed, 
 and the kitchen and dining-room became 
 the living room, especially in the winter. 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 59 
 
 as no other room was heated. Usually all 
 along the ceiling rafters were hung strings 
 of dried apples and pumpkins, which the 
 prudent housewife took care to prepare in 
 abundance during the autumn. But her 
 chief concern was the laying by of a sup- 
 ply of candles that should last through the 
 long winters. These were chiefly the 
 ordinary tallow candles, though among the 
 wealthier classes spermaceti candles were 
 in use, as well as those made of the wax of 
 the bay-berry, which grew in profusion in 
 many isarts of the country. These were 
 particularly favored in the homes of the 
 rich because of the peculiarly agreeable 
 odor that followed the putting out of the 
 light; and in fashionable social gatherings 
 it was quite a conmion thing to extinguish 
 the lights to enjoy the perfume. Among 
 those whose incomes were very limited the 
 I'.sual light was furnished by the pine tree 
 knots, which were usually " cloven into 
 two little slices, something thin, which arc 
 so full of the moysture of turpentine and 
 pitch that they burne as cliere as a torch." 
 As these pine candles gave out a great 
 deal of smoke, and their burning was ac- 
 companied by pitchy droppings, they were 
 usually ijlaced in a corner of the fireplace, 
 on a flat stone. Mrs Earle tells of an old 
 Massachusetts minister who boasted that 
 every sermon of the hundreds he had writ- 
 ten had been copied by the light of these 
 torches; and when we remember the 
 length of the sermons of those days this is 
 no mean indorsement of the pine tree 
 candle. Among the slaves and the poor 
 whites of the south, these pine knots fur- 
 nished practically the only light used. 
 But among the wealthy in the cities, 
 pressed glass lamps were used, of styles 
 and forms that may be seen in some 
 country stores at the present day, in which 
 whale or fish oils were burned. 
 
 Next to the homes, the church was, 
 over the greater part of the country, the 
 centre and the most potent influence of 
 colonial life. In New England this was 
 particularly true, the influence of the 
 clergy even down to the eighteenth cen- 
 tury being well nigh supreme, and in many 
 cases it was exercised in a most tyrannical 
 
 manner. Fortunately they were, as a rule, 
 an educated and enlightened class of men, 
 and their general influence in a com- 
 munity tended to sobriety and seriousness 
 of life. The churches were barren and 
 uninteresting, and even in the severe 
 winters of New England were never 
 heated. Women, as a rule, took small 
 foot-stoves, filled with coals, to church 
 with them, but, while they kept the feet 
 warm for a time, they only served to make 
 the general chill and dampness of the at- 
 mosphere more sensible. Generally the 
 pews were the square box pews still to be 
 seen in many old churches, and the seats 
 were plain board benches along three sides, 
 which could be raised during the singing 
 of the psalm so that the audience could 
 have the support of the pew walls during 
 that long and trying ordeal. When, at the 
 close of the singing, or end of the service, 
 the people dropped their seats the noise 
 was deafening, and in summer could be 
 heard for a long distance. As an old poem 
 puts it 
 
 " And when at last the loud Amen 
 Fell from aloft, quickly then 
 The seats came down with heavy rattle. 
 Like musketry in fiercest battle." 
 The pulpit was generally opposite the 
 main entrance to the church, and raised 
 from ten to fifteen feet above the floor 
 level; and over it hung a sounding board 
 suspended from the ceiling by a brass rod. 
 To reach this the minister ascended a 
 flight of stairs, which then became the 
 vantage ground from which the " titheing 
 man " or the deacons watched the congre- 
 gation, and in due course turned the hour 
 glass which stood in front of the pulpit. 
 The sermons of those days were serious 
 affairs, as were also the prayers. No 
 minister conceived that he was in any 
 sense doing his duty unless he preached 
 two hours at each service. It is recorded 
 that when the First Church in Woburn 
 was dedicated, the minister preached for 
 nearly five hours; and a Fast Day prayer 
 of four hours is also a matter of record. 
 The singing was hardly less tedious than 
 the other features of the service. None of 
 
GO 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 the congregation had any notes, and sing- 
 ing by ear was not productive of harmony. 
 Usually the psalms were " lined " or 
 " deaconed," — that is, the deacon from the 
 pulpit steps read a line, which was then 
 sung by the congregation; and it is said 
 tliat the "lining" and singing of sonu' 
 psalms occupied a full half hour, during 
 which the congregation stood. There were 
 no church organs; pitch-pipes were used 
 to get the key; and after a time bass-viols, 
 clarionets, or flutes were introduced to 
 help the singers. Violins, however, were 
 too closely associated with frivolous dance 
 music to find any place in the church 
 service. 
 
 Both the Sabbath and its services were 
 less puritanically observed in New York, 
 where the Dutch Reformed was the estab- 
 lished church, than in New England, 
 though even there the recognized duties 
 and services were such as would make an 
 ardent churchman of the twentieth cen- 
 tury quail. As one went farther south, 
 religion and church ordinances and cus- 
 toms were taken far less seriously. In 
 Virginia the Church of England was the 
 established church, and it was not until 
 after the Revolution that other denomina- 
 tions gained any foothold. During the 
 Colonial i>eriod, of course, the regular 
 Church of England service was used in all 
 its churches, which was materially altered 
 after the separation from the mother 
 country, and the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church of America succeeded to tlie Eng- 
 lish Church. 
 
 During the formative period of Ameri- 
 can life, — social and intellectual as well 
 as religious, — the ministry played a most 
 conspicuous and, with rare exceptions, a 
 most stinnilnting and healthful part. It 
 would be difficult to find any body of men 
 at any period of the world's history, who 
 held loftier ideals, or were for their age, 
 better educated; who with rare unselfish- 
 ness ever strove to lift the people to their 
 ideal standards, and placed at their service 
 the results of their study and experience. 
 Their whole creed and outlook upon life 
 seems to us to-day stern and forbidding; 
 but the times and the social and political 
 
 conditions were very different from ours, 
 and called for different men and measures. 
 There were many New England ministers, 
 especially in the larger cities, who became 
 puffed up with pride, and were arbitrary 
 and dictatorial in their manner and 
 speech, and cruel in their enforcement of 
 their individual ideas; and they, unfortu- 
 nately, have taken a prominent place 
 among the worthies in history. But all 
 about them were noble men, true pastors, 
 who, with but little return, gave to their 
 people themselves and all they had; and 
 who were most important factors in the 
 development of the character and thought 
 of their people — a character and mental 
 activity of which every New Englander 
 is justly proud, and whose characteristics 
 can be easily observed in almost every 
 part of the northern United States to-day, 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. 
 There were, of course, many ministers in 
 all the Colonies who were hardly examples 
 which their flocks should follow. Not a 
 few in particular were caught in the 
 snares of intemperance, and were more or 
 less constantly under the influence of 
 lii|uor. So different, however, was the 
 public sentiment of those days from that 
 of this century, that such lapses were not 
 seriously regarded. In his histor>' nf 
 Andierst College, Prof. Tyler cites sev- 
 eral cases of excessive use of liquors 
 among New England ministers, and one 
 or two where the minister was badly in- 
 toxicated while presiding at the Com- 
 mmiion service. But, happily, such cases 
 were exceptional and rare. Virginia suf- 
 fered more than the other Colonies in this 
 regard, because her ministers were, as a 
 rule, sent out from England and were too 
 often men who had disgraced themselves 
 and the church there before being sent 
 here. Relying upon the authority of 
 Bishop Meade. John Fiske cites the follow- 
 ing case: " In 1711 a bequest of one hun- 
 dred pounds was made to the vestry of 
 Christ Church parish in Middlesex, pro- 
 viding that the interest should be paid to 
 the minister for preaching four sermons 
 each year against ' the four reigning vices. 
 — viz: atheism and irreligion, swearing 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 61 
 
 and cursing, fornication and adultery, and 
 drunkenness.' Later in the eentury the 
 living was held for eighteen years, and 
 the sermons were preached, by a minister 
 who was notoriously guilty of all the vices 
 mentioned. He used to be seen in the 
 tavern porch, reeling to and fro, with a 
 bowl of toddy in his hand, while he called 
 to some passer-by to come in and have a 
 drink. When this exemplary man of God 
 was dying in delirium, his last words were 
 halloos to the hounds." In 1726 a thought- 
 ful and worthy minister named Lang 
 wrote to the Bishop of London about the 
 scandalous behavior of the clergy, of 
 whom the sober f)art were " slothful and 
 negligent " while the rest were debauched 
 and " bent on all manner of vices." 
 
 Apart from the excessive use of liquors 
 the morals of the people were above the 
 average. Theft was comparatively un- 
 known, as the promiscuous mixing of 
 strangers in the same bed or bedroom in 
 the taverns would manifest, if nothing 
 else did, as nowhere are there accounts 
 of robbery even under such favorable con- 
 ditions. There was. too, a very general 
 spirit of brotherliness and helpfulness 
 manifested in every community. But 
 drunkenness was the besetting sin of the 
 people. Everywhere, and on every oc- 
 casion, everybody, almost without excep- 
 tion, drank not only wines, but hard 
 liquors, and fearful decoctions that were 
 brewed from them. Even boys of twelve 
 were accustomed to have at home, or get 
 at the tavern, their toddy or draught of 
 black-strap. From the standpoint of 
 temperance the outlook was certainly a 
 most discouraging one, and none of the 
 scientific achievements and advances of 
 the last century are more remarkable and 
 noteworthy than the moral upheaval 
 which has produced from the drunken 
 conditions and sentiments of one hundred 
 years ago, the high standard of temper- 
 ance that now obtains. The social life of 
 the eighteenth century in the Colonies and 
 the new Union was much cleaner than 
 such a prevalence of heavy drinking 
 would lead one to suppose. There was a 
 literary paper of some pretension and a 
 
 fair measure of success published in Phil- 
 adelphia, whose interests were decidedly 
 pro-English, and whose columns were 
 open to any criticism of American politi- 
 cal or social life. In it, in 1803, a writer 
 said : " I heard from married ladies, whose 
 station as mothers demanded from them a 
 guarded conduct, — from young ladies 
 whose age forbids the audience of such 
 conversation, and who using it modesty 
 must disclaim, — indecent allusions, indeli- 
 cate expression, and even at times im- 
 moral innuendoes. A loud laugh or a 
 coarse exclamation followed each of these, 
 and the young ladies generally went 
 through the form of raising their fans to 
 their faces." In analyzing this and other 
 similar general statements, however, 
 Henry Adams well says : " Yet public rec- 
 ords might be searched long before they 
 revealed evidence of misconduct, such as 
 filled the press and formed one of the 
 commonest topics of conversation in the 
 society of England and France. Almost 
 every American family, however respect- 
 able, could show some victim to intemper- 
 ance among its men, but few were morti- 
 fied by a public scandal due to its women." 
 Excessive drinking, too, was not an exclu- 
 sively American habit, but was the curse 
 of Great Britain as well as of the LTnited 
 States. Many proofs of this could be 
 advanced, but one will sufiice. Dr. Mc- 
 Cosh, the late distinguished president of 
 Princeton University, left among his 
 papers an autobiographical sketch, which 
 Professor Sloane afterward made the 
 basis of his life of the President. In that 
 sketch Dr. McCosh gave quite detailed 
 accounts of his experiences as pastor in 
 Scotland during the early part of the 
 nineteenth century. He refers to two 
 weaknesses of the jjeople that caused hi:n 
 more trouble and anxiety than all the 
 others. One was the excessive drinking. 
 His people drank on any and all occasions. 
 Christenings, weddings, deaths, were al- 
 ways occasions of assembling of all the 
 relatives and friends for a day or two's de- 
 bauch. And he mentions one case in par- 
 ticular where a man died in mid-winter 
 back in the hill country. The relatives 
 
G2 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 and friends came from miles around, a 
 great feast was spread and eating and 
 drinking- lasted througli the night. The 
 next forenoon they started through the 
 deep snow and over the bleak hills to the 
 burial ground several miles away, only 
 to find when they reached it that they had 
 left the corpse at home. 
 
 As has been said the chief interest of 
 the people was in agriculture, as it was 
 the principal source of what wealth they 
 jiossessed. Science and invention at the 
 opening of the nineteenth century were 
 subjects of which the vast majority of the 
 lieople had no knowledge. Two medical 
 S(diools had been established toward the 
 close of the last century ; but so far as an 
 acquaintance with the character or causes 
 of diseases, and methods of treatment, 
 was concerned the medical profession had 
 apparently made little, if any, advance 
 since the days of Hippocrates and Galon. 
 Whatever the nature of the patient's ail- 
 ment but three remedies were used, — 
 bleeding, purging, and blistering; and 
 they were employed singly or collectively 
 in every case. It has hardly ever been 
 doubted that Washington's life would 
 have been prolonged many years had he 
 received any rational treatment during his 
 brief illness; but he was bled, purged, and 
 blistered until even his strong vitality 
 was utterly destroyed, and complete ex- 
 haustion resulted in a speedy collapse. 
 Xot a few thoughtful men have regarded 
 the treatment of his case as closely akin 
 to professional murder; and one of his 
 three doctors confessed that they had made 
 a mistake in bleeding their victim the last 
 time, as he had not vitality enough left 
 to survive the drain upon his system. 
 
 Nor was the condition different in other 
 scientific fields. An engineer, civil or 
 mechanical, could hardly be found. So 
 True was this that when, in 170". a com- 
 pany was formed in Boston to build a 
 canal from the Merrimac river to Boston 
 harlior, no competent engineer could be 
 found in Boston to make the survey of 
 an easy route of less than thirty miles, 
 and the directors were forced to send to 
 Philadelphia, and secure the services of 
 
 an English engineer whom the Delaware 
 and Schuylkill Canal Company had em- 
 ployed. Philadelphia liad one citizen pos- 
 sessed of considerable scientific knowledge 
 and experience. La Trobe, an architect by 
 profession. Writing to a friend in 
 France, in 1811, he said: "Thinking 
 only of the profession and the affluence 
 that it yields in Europe to all who follow 
 it, you forget that I am an engineer in 
 America ; that I am neither a mechanic 
 nor a merchant, nor a planter of cotton, 
 rice, or tobacco. You forget, for you know 
 it as well as I do, that with us labor of 
 the hand has precedence over that of the 
 mind; that an engineer is considered only 
 as an overseer of men who dig, and an 
 architect as one that watches others ivho 
 hew stone or wood." 
 
 Nor is a survey of the literary field 
 more inspiring. Apart from political 
 pamphlets, many of which were of the 
 highest literary form, and written in the 
 purest and most expressive English, there 
 was but little interest manifested in the 
 productions of the mind. Of newspapers 
 there was an endless succession ; but there 
 was little in their columns that tended to 
 advance education, or to enlighten their 
 readers. The first newspaper in the Col- 
 onies was the " Boston News Letter," pub- 
 lished by John Campbell, a Scotchman, 
 who was a bookseller and postmaster in 
 Boston. Its first issue, April 24, 1704, 
 was a folio, ijrinted in small pica tyjje. 
 The first page was filled with an extract 
 from " The London Flying Post," respect- 
 ing the Pretender. The Queen's speech to 
 the Llouses of Parliament, a few articles 
 under the Boston head, four short para- 
 graphs of marine intelligence from New 
 Yorlc, Philadelphia, and New London, and 
 an advertisement formed its entire con- 
 tents. Though these publications in- 
 creased rapidly in number, the estimate 
 of a competent critic of the papers of 1800 
 will show that they had not materially 
 changed their character. " The student 
 of history," he says, " might search for- 
 ever these storehouses of political calumny 
 for facts meant to instruct the public in 
 any useful subject. A few dozen adver- 
 
IN COLONIAL DAYS. 
 
 63 
 
 tisements of shipping and sales; a marine 
 list; rarely, or never, a price list, unless 
 it was European; copious extracts from 
 English newspapers, and long columns of 
 political disquisition, — such matters filled 
 the chief city newspapers, from which the 
 smaller sheets selected what their editors 
 thought fit. Reporters and regular cor- 
 respondents were unknown. In such 
 progress as had heen made Philadelphia 
 took the lead and in 1800 was at the 
 height of her influence." L^nfortunately 
 it was not journalism alone that was 
 material and earthy; but throughout the 
 land literature languished. It is true that 
 President Dwight had given expression to 
 his poetic genius in an epic poem, in 
 eleven hooks and ten thousand lines, en- 
 titled, " The Conquest of Canaan ; " and 
 Joel Barlow had attempted to fire the 
 sluggish American intellect by his "Vision 
 of Columbus " in seven thousand lines ; 
 yet their readers were few, though select; 
 the popular ear being deaf to the poet's 
 highest flights of song. Joseph Dennie, 
 possessed of a refined and poetic tempera- 
 ment, after graduating from Harvard 
 College and failing to find in Boston an 
 atniosphoi'e congenial to his literary as- 
 pirations, had removed to Philadelphia, 
 which he thought more tolerable tlian any 
 other city of the United States. There, in 
 1801, he established his "Portfolio," a 
 weekly journal of not a little merit, though 
 severely critical of American social and 
 intellectual conditions. Here with a few 
 kindred spirits, among them Charles 
 Brockden Brown, the first American nov- 
 elist of note, he nursed his contempt for 
 the plebeian spirit that dominated his 
 countrymen, though through the columns 
 of his paper he tried by criticism, sug- 
 gestion, and appeal to excite an apprecia- 
 tion of higher things. In 1804 the popu- 
 lar Irish poet, " Tom " Moore, visited the 
 United States and was charmed with the 
 manners and tastes of this little com- 
 pany. " If I did not hate, as I ought," he 
 wrote, " the rabble to which they are op- 
 pnsed, I could not value as I do the spirit 
 with which they defy it; and in learning 
 from them what Americans can he, I but 
 
 see with the more indignation what Amer- 
 icans are." And breaking forth into verse 
 he not only sang of his affection for these 
 friends, but in the last four lines ex- 
 pressed only too clearly the impression 
 which the superficial observer received 
 from a general view of American life. 
 
 " Yet, yet forgive me, you sacred few, 
 
 Whom late by Delaware's green banks I 
 knew; 
 
 Whom, known and loved, thro' many a 
 social eve 
 
 'Twas bliss to live with, and 'twas pain 
 to leave. 
 
 Oh, but for such, Columbia's days were 
 done ! 
 
 Rank without ripeness, quickened with- 
 out sun. 
 
 Crude at the surface, rotten at the core, 
 
 Her fruits would fall before her spring 
 were o'er." 
 
 NOAH WEBSTEK. 
 
 Porha]5s the whole subject of the state 
 of learning and scholarship in the States 
 cannot be better summed up than it was 
 by Noah Webster, who wrote upon the 
 subject in 1800. After claiming for New 
 Englanders a familiarity with theology, 
 law, politics, and light English literature, 
 
64 
 
 FROM COLOxXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 he saj's : " But as to classical learning, 
 history (civil and ecclesiastical), mathe- 
 matics, astronomy, chemistry, botany, and 
 natural history, excepting here and there 
 a rare instance of a man who is eminent 
 in some one of these branches, we may 
 be said to have no learning at all, or a 
 mere smattering. . . . Our learning is 
 superficial in a shameful degree; our col- 
 leges are disgracefully destitute of books 
 and philosophical apparatus; and I am 
 ashamed to owti that scarcely a branch of 
 science can be fully investigated in Amer- 
 ica for want of books, especially original 
 v/orks. This defect of our libraries I have 
 experienced myself in searching for ma- 
 terials for the history of epidemic dis- 
 eases. ... As to libraries, we have 
 no such things. There are not more than 
 three or four tolerable libraries in Amer- 
 ica, and these are extremely imperfect. 
 Great niunbers of the most notable au- 
 thors have not found their way across the 
 Atlantic." 
 
 We have endeavored to give as detailed 
 an account as our space would admit of 
 the social, intellectual, moral, and politi- 
 cal spirit and conditions that obtained in 
 
 the United States during the years imme- 
 diately following the formation of a union 
 by the thirteen Colonies down to the open- 
 ing of the nineteenth century, which may 
 be considered as the childhood of the na- 
 tion. It is not altogether a pleasing 
 picture, though it serves to heighten the 
 glory of the nation's youth, as manifested 
 in the marvelous development from a 
 stage of comparative jwverty to one of im- 
 mense wealth, from an intellectual apathy 
 and sluggishness to such a state of mental 
 activity and inventive fertility as the 
 world never before has known; and from 
 a prevailing attitude of political jealousy 
 and suspicion, constantly threatening dis- 
 union and separation, to one of concord 
 and harmonious action from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific, and from Canada to Jlex- 
 ico, under an established constitution, and 
 stable national and state governments. 
 Of the details of this wonderful growth 
 the following chapters will give the salient 
 features and dominant characteristics, 
 which cannot fail to mightily strengthen 
 tne faith of the reader in the virtue and 
 permanency of American institutions and 
 ideals. 
 
u. 
 
 BIRTH OF THE NEW REPUBLIC— 1776. 
 
 Declaration of American Independence and National Sovereignty, July Fourth, 1776. — The Gauntlet of 
 Defiance thrown at the Feet of the Britisli Empire by Her Youngest Colonies. — Vast Disparity, in 
 Power and Resources, between tlie Contestants. — The whole World looks on Astonished. — Seven 
 Years' BI"ody and Desolating War. — Tlie American Cause Triumphant.--Grandest Modern Event. 
 America Resists Unjust Taxation. — Hauglity Obstinacy of King George. — Burning Eloquence of Pat- 
 rick Henry. — His Summons, " We Must Fight." — Washington Endorses this Sentiment. — Determina- 
 tion of the People. — War Preferred to Submission — Momentous Action by Congress. — Separation from 
 England Decreed. — Effect of the Act in America. — Its Reception in England. — Excitement of the 
 King and Court. — Lord Chatham, America's Advocate. — His Passionate Change of Views — Scorch- 
 ing Speech against the Colonies. — He is Struck Dead while Speaking. — Magnanimity of Burke and Fox. 
 — Recognition from France Secured. — Her Timely Aid in the Struggle. — Victories over the British 
 Armies. — England Gives Up the Contest. — World-v^-ide Welcome to the New Nation. 
 
 " It will be celebrated by aucceedins; pencrations. as the ^eat anniverear.v festival. It ouiiht to be commemorated aa the day of deliverance, 
 by Goleinn acta ot devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be toleinnized with r>omn and parade, with *^hows, frames, aportfl, guns, bella, bon- 
 (ireB, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, fiom thia time torth, forevermore."— Jou.v Adaus. 
 
 [N the Fnui'th of July. 17TC, there wa.s born in 
 the western world a New Nation, — the Re- 
 public OF THE UxiTED STATES. Defiance to 
 tyrants was emblazoned in empyreal light upon 
 brow, and Freedom and Justice were the 
 frontlets between her eyes. Mon- 
 archs, crowned with kingly dia- 
 dems, stood aweil at the august 
 manifesto, and at the solemn ar- 
 raignment of King George before 
 the judgment of mankind, and 
 parliaments and cabinets started 
 in dismay to their feet ; but the 
 People, as they descried the eagle 
 of Liberty spreading her wings, 
 and soaring proudly aloft, breath- 
 ed freer and took stronger heart, 
 as the clear ring of her voice 
 sounded through the air, declar- 
 ;;^ ing, with grandly rounded enun- 
 -^»;?'i'>^ elation, that "all men are created 
 
 ; J BLNGING OF THE BELL, JULY 4, 1776. CqUal." 
 
 *= Refusing to pay the tribute of taxation arbitrarily imposed 
 upon them at the point of the bayonet by the British crown, — 
 5' 
 
(iG 
 
 FROM COLOXY' TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 failing, too, to move the king and his min- 
 isters from their career of liaughty and 
 reckless obstinacy, — the thirteen American 
 colonies found themselves reduced to the 
 alternative of abject submission to their 
 so-called royal masters, or of armed resist- 
 ance. Already there had flashed through- 
 out the country the electric words of Pat- 
 rick Henry, " We must fight ! An appeal 
 to arms and to tlie God of Hosts is all 
 that is left us. I repeat it, sir, we must 
 fight ! " And as the blood of patriot 
 hearts had now flowed freely and bravely 
 at Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker 
 Hill, Washington declared, in words of 
 solemn emphasis and characteristic brevity, 
 " Nothing short of Independence, it ap- 
 pears to me, can possibly do." He also 
 warmly approved and commended Paine's 
 pamphlet, " Common Sense," written to 
 this end. Tiie sons of liberty shouted their 
 responsive acclaim to this manly summons 
 from the great American soldier — Wash- 
 ington — and, like the sound of many wa- 
 ters, the spirit of national independence 
 which thus possessed the people came ujjon 
 the continental congress, then in session in 
 the State-house at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 It was in this temple of freedom, where- 
 in was sitting as noble and august a legis- 
 lative body as the world ever saw, that 
 Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolu- 
 tion, on the 7th of June, 1776, declaring, 
 " That the United Colonies are and ought 
 to be free and independent States, and tliat 
 their political connection with Grreat Brit- 
 ain is and ought to be dissolved." Upon 
 this resolution there sprang up at once an 
 earnest and powerful debate. It was op- 
 posed, principally, on the ground that it 
 was premature. Some of the best and 
 strongest advocates of colonial rights spoke 
 and voted against the motion, which at last 
 was adopted only by a vote of seven States 
 in its favor to six against. Some of the 
 delegates had not received definite instruc- 
 tions from their constituents, and others 
 had been requested to vote against it. Its 
 further consideration was accordingly post- 
 poned until there was a prospect of greater 
 
 unanimit}'. On the eleventh of June, 
 therefore, a committee was appointed to 
 draft a formal Declaration ; this commit- 
 tee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, John 
 Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, 
 and Robert R. Livingston. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of June, the com- 
 mittee made their report, and presented 
 the Declaration which they had drawn up. 
 The first or original draft was penned by 
 Mr. Jefferson, chairman of the committee. 
 On the second of July, congress proceeded 
 to the serious consideration of this mo- 
 mentous paper ; the discussion, as to the 
 tone and statements characterizing the 
 document, and the propriety of adopting 
 at that time a measure so decisive, lasted 
 for nearly three days, and was extremely 
 earnest. It was so powerfully opposed by 
 some of the members, that Jefferson com- 
 pared the opposition to " the ceaseless ac- 
 tion of gravity, weighing upon us by night 
 and by day." Its supporters, however, 
 were the leading minds, and urged its 
 adoption with masterly eloquence and abil- 
 ity. John Adams, Jefferson asserts, was 
 " the colossus in that debate," and "fought 
 fearlessly for every word of it." The bond 
 which was formed between those two great 
 men on this occasion seems never to have 
 been completely severed, both of them 
 finally expiring, with a sort of poetic jus- 
 tice, on the fiftieth anniversary of the act 
 which constituted their chief glory. 
 
 Well and truly did the mighty patriot 
 Adams characterize this event as the most 
 memorable epoch in the history of Amer- 
 ica. " T am apt to believe," said he, " that 
 it will be celebrated by succeeding genera- 
 tions, as the great anniversary festival. It 
 ought to be commemorated as the day of 
 deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to 
 Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized 
 with pomp and parade, with shows, games, 
 sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumina- 
 tions, from one end of this continent to 
 the other, from this time forth forever- 
 more ! " The result has equaled the great 
 patriot's wishes. Tradition gives a dra- 
 matic effect to its announcement. It was 
 known, throughout the city, that the great 
 
BIKTH OF THE NEW REPUBLIC— 1776. 
 
 67 
 
 event was to be determined tliat day, by 
 the last formal acts ; but the closed doors 
 of couoress excluded the populace from 
 witnessing the august assembly or its pro- 
 ceedings, though thousands of anxious 
 citizens had gathered around the building, 
 eager to hear the words of national des- 
 tiny soon to be officially proclaimed. From 
 the hour when congress came together in 
 the forenoon, all business was suspended 
 throughout the city, and the old bellman 
 steadily remained at his post in the steeple, 
 prepared to sound forth to the waiting 
 multitudes the expected glad tidings. He 
 had L'ven stationed a boy at the door of the 
 hall below, to give immediate signal of the 
 turn of events. This bell, manufactured 
 
 felt such a professional pride, the electri- 
 fied old patriot rung forth such a joyous 
 peal as was never heard before, nor ceased 
 to hurl it backward and forward, till every 
 voice joined in its notes of gladness and 
 triumph. The roar of cannon, and illu- 
 minations from every house and hill-top, 
 added to these demonstrations of uni- 
 versal rejoicing. 
 
 And this was the type of that exultation 
 which everywhere manifested itself, as the 
 news spread with lightning rapidity from 
 city to city and from State to State. Every 
 American patriot regarded the declaration 
 by congress as the noble performance of 
 an act which had become inevitable ; and 
 the paper itself as the complete vindica- 
 
 HALL OP LNIII.l 
 
 . i-lilLAUELl'UlA, 1776, 
 
 in England, bore upon its ample curve the 
 now prophetic inscription, "Proclaim lib- 
 erty throughout all the land unto all the 
 inhabitants thereof." Hours passed on, 
 and fear began to take the place of hope 
 in many a heart ; even the venerable and 
 always cheerful bellman was overheard in 
 his despondent soliloquy, " They will never 
 do it! they will never do it!" Finally, 
 at about two o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the door of the mysterious hall swung 
 open, and a voice exclaimed, " Passed ! — 
 it has passed ! " The word was caught up 
 by ten thousand glad mouths, and the 
 watch-boy now clapped his hands and 
 shouted, " Ring ! Ring ! " Seizing the iron 
 tongue of the bell in which he had long 
 
 tion of America before the bar of public 
 opinion throughout the world. When it 
 was read by the magistrates and other 
 functionaries, in the cities and towns of 
 tlie whole nation, it was greeted with 
 shouts, bonfires, and processions. It was 
 read to the troops, drawn up under arms, 
 and to the congregations in churches by 
 ministers from the pulpit. Washington 
 hailed the declaration with joy. It is 
 true, it was but a formal recognition of a 
 state of things which had long existed, but 
 it put an end to all those temporizing hopes 
 of reconciliation which had clogged the 
 military action of the country. On the 
 ninth of July, tlierefore, AVashington 
 caused it to be read at six o'clock in the 
 
68 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 evening, at the head of each brigade of 
 tlie army. " The general hoj^es,"' said lie 
 in his orders, '•'that this imijortant event 
 will serve as a fresh incentive to every 
 officer and soldier, to act with fidelity and 
 courage, as knowing that now the peace 
 and safety of his country depend, under 
 God, solely on the success of our arms ; 
 and that he is now in the service of a 
 State, possessed of suificient power to re- 
 ward his merit, and advance him to the 
 highest honors of a free countrj-." The 
 troops listened to the reading of this with 
 eager attention, and at its close broke forth 
 in tumultuous applause. 
 
 The excitable populace of New York 
 were not content with the ringing of bells 
 and the other usual manifestations of 
 public joy. There was a leaden eques- 
 trian statue of George the Third iu the 
 ]>owling Green, in front of the fort. 
 Around this kingly effigy the excited mul- 
 titude, surging hither and thither, unit- 
 edly gathered, and pulling it down to the 
 ground, broke it into fragments, which 
 fragments were afterwards conveniently 
 molded into bullets and made to do service 
 against his majestj^'s troops. Some of the 
 soldiers and officers of the American army 
 having joined in this jiroceeding, Wash- 
 ington censured it, as having much the 
 appearance of a riot and a want of disci- 
 pline, and the army was ordered to abstain, 
 in the future, from all irregularities of the 
 kind. 
 
 in Boston, that citadel of radical insub- 
 ordination to "his majesty," the public 
 joy knew no bounds, and even the British 
 prisoners were courteously summoned to 
 witness the sjjirit with which a brave peo- 
 ple, determined to be free, dared to defy 
 the British throne. On the seventeenth 
 of July the British officers on parole re- 
 ceived each a card from the governor, re- 
 questing the honor of said officer's attend- 
 ance at a specified hour on the morrow, in 
 the town hall. As rumors were jjretty 
 well afloat, however, touching the decided 
 step that had been taken at Philadelphia, 
 the officers were not without a suspicion as 
 to the purport of the meeting, and hesi- 
 
 tated for a while as to the consistency of 
 giving the sanction of their presence to a 
 proceeding which they could not but re- 
 gard as traitorous. Curiositj', however, 
 got the better of these scruples, and it was 
 resolved, after a brief consultation, that 
 the invitation ought to be accepted. 
 
 On entering the hall, the king's officers 
 found it occupied by 'rebellious' function- 
 aries, military, civil, and ecclesiastical, and 
 among whom the same good humor and 
 excitement prevailed as among the throng 
 out of doors. The British officials were 
 received with great frankness and cordi- 
 ality, and were allotted such stations as 
 enabled them to witness the whole cere- 
 mon}'. Exactlj' as the clock struck one. 
 Colonel Crafts, who occupied the chair, 
 rose, and, silence being obtained, read 
 aloud the declaration, which announced to 
 the world that the tie of allegiance which 
 had so long held Britain and her North 
 American colonies together, was forever 
 separated. This being finished, the gen- 
 tlemen stood up, and each, repeating the 
 words as they were spoken by an officer, 
 swore to uphold, at the sacrifice of life, 
 the rights of his country. Meanwhile, the 
 town clerk read from a balcony the solemn 
 declaration to the collected multitude ; at 
 the close of which, a shout began in the 
 hall and passed like an electric spark to 
 tlie streets, which now rang with loud Jiuz- 
 zas, the slow and measured boom of can- 
 non, and the rattle of musketry. The 
 batteries on Fort Hill, Dorchester Neck, 
 tlie castle, Naritasket, and Long Island, 
 each saluted with thirteen guns, the artil- 
 lery in the town fired thirteen rounds, and 
 the infantry scattered into thirteen divis- 
 ions, poured forth thirteen volleys, — all 
 corresponding to the number of states 
 which formed the Union. There was also 
 a municipal banquet, at which speeches 
 were made and toasts drank ; and in the 
 evening a brilliant illumination of the 
 houses. 
 
 In Virginia, the proclamation of inde- 
 pendence was greeted with that same 
 ardor of enthusiasm which for so many 
 years bad characterized the people of that 
 
BIRTir OF THE NEW REPUBLIC— 1776. 
 
 (ii) 
 
 ancient commonweaHli, in the course of 
 political freedom. In South Carolina, too, 
 the declaration was read to the assembled 
 multitudes, amid the greatest rejoicings, — 
 public addresses, military and civic proces- 
 sions, bands of music, firing of cannon, 
 and kindred demonstrations of popular 
 favor. In all the colonies, indeed, the 
 declaration was hailed as the passing away 
 of the old world and the birth of the 
 new. 
 
 But the declaration, though it thus 
 solemnly inaugurated a new nation and 
 made the colonies, for the time, the theater 
 of patriotic jubilee, involved startling per- 
 ils and imposed momentous duties ; for it 
 was a defiant challenge to combat thrown 
 by a mere province in the face of the most 
 colossal power in all Christendom. This 
 important paper commences with stating 
 that, " When in the course of human 
 events it becomes necessary for one people 
 to dissolve the political bands which have 
 connected them with anotlier, and to as- 
 sume among the powers of the earth, the 
 separate and equal stations to which the 
 laws of Nature, and of Nature's God, en- 
 title them, a decent respect to the opinions 
 of mankind requires that they should de- 
 clare tlie causes which impel them to the 
 separation." 
 
 The causes are then stated, and a long 
 enumeration of the oppressions complained 
 of by America is closed by saying that 
 " a prince, whose character is thus marked 
 by every act which may deiine a tyrant, is 
 unfit to be the ruler of a free people." 
 History may be searched in vain for words 
 so bold and scathing, used by a colony 
 against a powerful sovereign. 
 
 The fruitless appeals which had been 
 made to the people of Great Britain are 
 also recounted, but " they too," concludes 
 tjiis declaration, " have been deaf to the 
 voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
 must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity 
 which denounces our separation, and hold 
 them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
 enemies in war, in peace friends." Then 
 comes the portentous conclusion — 
 
 " We, therefore, the representatives of 
 
 the United States of America, in general 
 congress assembled, appealing to the Su- 
 preme Judge for the rectitude of our inten- 
 tions, do, in the name, and by the author- 
 ity of the good people of these colonies, 
 solemnly publisli and declare, that these 
 United Colonies are, and of right ought to 
 
 be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES ; that 
 
 they are absolved from all allegiance to 
 the British crown, and tliat all political 
 connection between them and the State of 
 Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally 
 dissolved; and that, as free and independ- 
 ent states, they have full power to levy 
 war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
 establish commerce, and do all other acts 
 and things, which independent states may 
 of right do. And for the support of this 
 declaration, with a firm reliance on the 
 protection of Divine Providence, we mutu- 
 ally pledge to each other, our lives, our 
 fortunes, and our sacred honor." 
 
 In the whole country, however, between 
 New England and the Potomac, which 
 was now to become the great theater of 
 action, although a vast majority was in 
 favor of independence, there existed an 
 influential number, who not only refused 
 to act with their countrymen, but were 
 ready to give information and aid to the 
 enemy. Most of these tories were wealthy 
 and haughty, and rendered themselves ex- 
 tremely unpopular. Laws passed by the 
 new State authorities had subjected these 
 persons to fines and imprisonments, and 
 their property to confiscation. They en- 
 dured many outrages, and were treated to 
 "tarrings and featherings" innumerable, 
 by the more violent among the angry pop- 
 ulace. To prevent these outrages, con- 
 gress gave the supervision of tories to 
 committees of inspection. Many of these 
 obnoxious families finally left the country, 
 and in course of time the tory element was 
 eradicated or completely silenced. 
 
 Scarcely less interesting and important 
 is the character of the reception which 
 this remarkable document met on its ar- 
 rival in England. Of the noble band of 
 American patriots who had been chosen to 
 deliberate and act for the best good of the 
 
70 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD POWEK. 
 
 oppressed colonies, and who, preceding the 
 final act of the declaration of independ- 
 ence, had sent forth the most magnani- 
 mous appeals to Britain's sense of justice, 
 — of these men and their works, there had 
 gone forth one of the grandest eulogies 
 from the elder Pitt (Lord Cliatham), the 
 greatest of Britain's statesmen, who, in 
 his place in parliament, dared to say — 
 
 " I must declare and avow that in all 
 my reading and study — and it has been 
 my favorite study ; I have read Thucydi- 
 des, and have studied and admired the 
 master states of the world — that, for so- 
 lidity of reasoning, for force of sagacity, 
 and wisdom of conclusion, under such a 
 complication of circumstances, no nation 
 or body of men can stand in preference to 
 rlie general congress of Philadelphia." 
 
 But when, a few years after, it was pro- 
 posed, by tlie Britisli prime minister, to 
 conciliate the exasperated colonies by treat- 
 ing them as a people possessing certain 
 independent rights and powers, Pitt 
 sliowed the exalted estimation in which 
 lie held the rebellious colonies as part of 
 the British realm, by opposing such a 
 course, in a speech of almost dramatic 
 power and effect, and from which, owing 
 to the exhaustion it produced in his own 
 shattered system, the great peer and ora- 
 tor almost immediately died. 
 
 In France, the declaration of independ- 
 ence by the American colonies was greeted 
 with secret satisfaction by the court and 
 rulers, and aroused to universal gladness 
 the popular heart. Reviewing the scene 
 and its actors, one of the most brilliant 
 and popular orators of that intrepid nation 
 was led to say: "With what grandeur, 
 with what enthusiasm, should I not speak 
 of those generous men who erected this 
 grand edifice by their patience, their wis- 
 dom, and their courage ! Hancock, Frank- 
 lin, the two Adamses, were the greatest 
 actors in this affecting scene ; but they 
 were not the only ones. Posterity shall 
 know them all. Their honored names 
 shall be transmitted to it b^' a happier 
 pen than mine. Brass and marble shall 
 show them to remotest ages. In behold- 
 
 ing them, shall the friend of freedom feel 
 his heart palpitate witli joy — feel his ej'es 
 float in delicious tears. Under the bust of 
 one of them has been written, ' He wrested 
 thunder from heaven and the scepter from 
 tyrants.' Of the last words of this eulogy 
 shall all of them partake." Still more preg- 
 nant were the words of the great Mira- 
 beau, as, citing the grand principles of the 
 American Declaration, from his place in 
 the National Assembl}', " I ask," he said, 
 "if the powers who have formed alliances 
 with the States have dared to read that 
 manifesto, or to interrogate their con- 
 sciences after the perusal ? I ask whether 
 there be at this day one government in 
 Europe — the Helvetic and Batavian con- 
 federations and the British isles excepted 
 — wliich, judged after the principles of the 
 Declaration of Congress on tlie fourtli oi 
 July, 1776, is not divested of its rights!" 
 For more than a year, commissioners 
 from congress, at the head of whom was 
 Dr. Franklin, resided at the court of 
 France, urging upon tliat government to 
 acknowledge the independence of the 
 United States. But the success of the 
 American struggle was regarded, as yet, 
 too doubtful, for that country to embroil 
 herself in a war with Great Britain. But 
 that great event, the capture cf the British 
 army at Saratoga, seemed to increase the 
 probability that the American arms would 
 finally triumph, and decided France to 
 espouse her cause. The aid which France 
 now brought to the Americans was of 
 great importance. It is even doubtful 
 whether the colonies, without her contri- 
 butions of money, nav3-, and troops, would 
 have been able to resist Britain with final 
 success ; at least, the struggle must have 
 been greatly prolonged. To this inter- 
 vention, however, France was inclined, be 
 her own hostility to England, whom she 
 delighted to see humbled, especially by a 
 people struggling for independence. Fi- 
 nally, after the surrender of Cornwallis to 
 General Washington, the French court 
 pressed upon congress the propriety of ap- 
 pointing commissioners for negotiating 
 peace with Great Britain. In accordance 
 
BIRTH OF THE NEW REPUBLIC— 1776. 
 
 with this advice, John Adams, Benjamin 
 Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, 
 were appointed. The commissioners met 
 Messrs. Fitzherbert and Oswald, on the 
 part of Great Britain, at Paris, and provi- 
 sional articles of peace between the two 
 countries were there signed, November 
 thirtieth, 1782; the definitive treaty being 
 signed on the third of September, 1783. 
 Holland acknowledged the independence 
 of the United States in 1782; Sweden, in 
 February, 1783; Denmark, in the same 
 month ; Spain, in March ; Russia, in July. 
 And thus, the Republic of the United 
 States of America became an inde- 
 pendent power among the nations of the 
 earth. 
 
 It was not unknown to the wise and 
 venerable enactors of the Declaration, that 
 their signatures to such an instrument 
 would be regarded in England as an act 
 of treason, rendering them liable to the 
 halter or the block. In the full apprecia- 
 tion of all this, every man of them placed 
 his name upon the immortal parchment. 
 The only signature which indicates a 
 
 trembling hand, is that of Stephen Hop- 
 kins, but this was owing to a nervous 
 affection ; for, so resolute was he in con- 
 gress, that, when some of the members 
 suggested a hope of reconciliation, Mr. 
 Hopkins replied, that " the time had come 
 when the strongest arm and the longest 
 sword must decide the contest, and those 
 members who were not prepared for action 
 had better go home." The boldest signa- 
 ture is that of John Hancock, he whom 
 the British had excejjted in their offers of 
 jDardon, as one "whose offenses are of too 
 flagitious a nature to admit of any other 
 consideration but that of condign punish- 
 ment." The number wlio signed the Dec- 
 laration was fifty-si.\ ; and the average 
 length of their lives was about sixty-five 
 years. Carpenters'Hall — or Independence 
 Hall — in Philadelphia, where these tre- 
 mendous scenes transpired, is still one of 
 the places which every American looks 
 upon with patriotic pride; for within that 
 temple was born a Nation, in whose des- 
 tiny were wrapped the interests of Liberty 
 and Civilization to the end of time. 
 
III. 
 
 FIRST AMERICAN NAVAL VICTORY.— 1779. 
 
 John Paul Jones, Commanding the Bon Homme Richard, Fights and Captures King George's Power- 
 ful Ship-ofWar, tlie Serapis, in British Waters. — Crowds of Spectators Line tlie Englisli Coast. — The 
 Most Sanguinary Battle Ever Fought Between Single Ships. — Jones is Hailed as " The Washington 
 of the Seas." — World-wide Interest of this Comhat. — Commodore Jones's Early Career. — Offers his 
 Services to Congress. — Appointed a Naval Lieutenant. — Joins the Continental Fleet. — The First io 
 Hoist its Ensign. — Style and Motto of the Flag — Sails from France on a Cruise. — Terror Createil by 
 bis Movements. — Characteristic Anecdotes. — Two British Frigates in Sight. — Jones Ready for Bloody 
 Work. — The Ships Muzzle to Muzzle. — Superiority of the Serapis. — A Most Deadly Contest. — Both 
 Vessels on Fire. — Jones Attac'sed by Another Foe. — One of his Vessels Treacherous. — Remarkable 
 Scenes. — Britain's Flag Struck to America. — An Act Without Precedent. — Sinking of the Victori- 
 ous Vessel. 
 
 ' The moit obBtinale and bloody bstttlc in th^- annuls of naval warfare." — J. Fenimore Cooper. 
 
 UCH an exploit as that performed by John Paul Jones, in 1779, 
 by which, in plain sight uf tlic English coast, he flung to the breeze 
 tlie gaUaiit eiisigti ot the United States, and, witli Britons as wit- 
 nesses of his daring, fought, victoriously, a battle whicii has always 
 been spoken of as the most obstinate and sanguinary combat that 
 ever occurred between single sliips, can never be read of by Ameri- 
 with other than the deepest and most enthusiastic interest. The 
 1 \^ victory came, too, at one of the darkest hours in the revolutionary cam- 
 * ' paigii, and served to gladden and encourage, for the time being, the de- 
 liondcnt hearts of honest patriots. The vaunted iuvincibleness of the 
 ritish navy became a b\--word of contumely, the world over, from the 
 time .Jones nailed his flag to the mast, and, under the calm 
 sky and round harvest moon of September, dealt forth a storm 
 of deatli and desolation upon the enemies of his adopted coun- 
 try. The action may well be pronounced one of the most 
 terrible on record, from its unusual duration for a naval bat- 
 tle, from the ferocity which the combatants displayed, and 
 from the proximity of the two vessels, the muzzles of the 
 ships' batteries almost reaching into each other's port-holes. 
 •John Paul was born in Scotland, on the sixth day of 
 July, 1747, and the scenerj' and associations of his birth- 
 place — Arbigland — and its vicinity, doubtless encouraged 
 '\/ \ \Mj> ^'^^^ restless spirit of adventure and love of change, as 
 W^^iIE^ well as that ardent enthusiasm in tlie objects of his pur- 
 '-'^^5 suit, which so strikingly characterized his career througli life. 
 t- At the age of twelve, he was ajiprenticed to a mercliant 
 FIRST xav.^l flag, of Whi tchaveu, who carried on a considerable trade with 
 
FIRST AMEEICAN NAVAL VICTOEY— 1779. 
 
 (o 
 
 the American colonies. His first voyage 
 was made before lie was thirteen years old, 
 being to Virginia, where his elder brother 
 was established as a planter. He was after- 
 ward engaged for a short time in the slave 
 trade, which he left in disgust, and made a 
 number of voyages to the West Indies. 
 
 In 1773, John Paul removed to Virginia, 
 to attend to the affairs of his brother, who 
 had died childless and intestate. He now, 
 for some unknown reason, assumed the ad- 
 ditional surname of Jones, and which he 
 retained through life. At the commence- 
 ment of the revolutionary conflict, his feel- 
 ings became warmly enlisted in the cause 
 of the colonies, and this spirit fully pre- 
 pared him for the active part he soon un- 
 dertook in their behalf. An offer of his 
 services, which he made to the colonies, 
 was accepted, and, on the twenty-second 
 of December, 1776, by a resolution of con- 
 gress, he was appointed lieutenant in the 
 American navy. 
 
 It was Lieutenant Jones who hoisted, 
 with his own hands, the first American 
 naval flag on board the American frigate 
 Alfred, the flag-ship, tlie national ensitjii 
 being thus for the first time displayed from 
 a man-of-war. The circumstances attend- 
 ing this interesting occasion are stated to 
 have been as follows: The Alfred was an- 
 chored off the foot of Walnut street, Phila- 
 delphia. On a brilliant morning, early in 
 February, 1776, gay streamers were seen 
 fluttering from every mast-head and spar 
 on the river Delaware. At nine o'clock, a 
 full-manned barge thridded its way among 
 the floating ice to the Alfred, bearing the 
 commodore. He was greeted by the thun- 
 ders of artillery and the shouts of a multi- 
 tude. When he reached the deck of the 
 flag-ship. Captain Salstonstall gave a sig- 
 nal, and Lieutenant Jones gallantly pulled 
 the ropes which wafted the new flag mast- 
 head high. It was of yellow silk, bearing 
 *;he figure of a pine tree, and the signifi- 
 cant device of a rattlesnake in a field of 
 thirteen stripes, with the ominous legend, 
 " DonH tread on me!" This memorable 
 act, it was Jones's high honor and privilege 
 to perform when in his twenty-ninth year; 
 
 an honor, too, of which, as events afterward 
 proved, he was fully worthy. 
 
 On the fourteenth of August, 1779, Jones 
 sailed from the roadstead of Groix, France, 
 in command of a small squadron, consisting 
 of the Bon Homme Richard, forty-two guns, 
 the Alliance, thirty-six guns, the Pallas, 
 thirty-two guns, the Cerf, twenty-eight 
 guns, and the Vengeance, twelve guns. 
 Two privateers afterwards joined them, but 
 did not continue with them till the end of 
 the cruise. The efficiency of the expedi- 
 tion was marred by a want of subordination 
 on the part of some of the officers, who do 
 not appear to have been willing to yield 
 prompt obedience to orders. Captain Lan- 
 dais, of the Alliance, habitually disregarded 
 the signals and orders, throughout the 
 cruise, and, towards tlie close, committed 
 acts of open hostility to his superior. But, 
 notwithstanding the difficulties against 
 which he had to contend, Jones inflicted 
 great damage on the enemy ; he coasted 
 Ireland, England, and Scotland, making 
 many prizes, and carrying terror wherever 
 he appeared. 
 
 But the action which gave the most dis- 
 tinguishing renown to Jones's brilliant ca- 
 reer, and which so early gave prestige to 
 American prowess on the ocean, is that of 
 which a detailed account is given below : 
 
 It was about noon, on the twenty-third 
 of September, 1779, a fleet of over forty 
 sail appeared off Flamborough Head, on 
 the coast of Yorkshire, and Jones at once 
 gave up the pursuit of a vessel in whose 
 track he was just then following, with all 
 jjossible speed, and made signals for a gen- 
 eral chase. The sails in sight were a fleet 
 of English merchantmen, under convoy of 
 the ships-of-war Serapis and Scarborough, 
 and as soon as they saw themselves pur- 
 sued the}' ran in shore, while their convoj's 
 that protected them bore off from the land 
 and prepared for an engagement. The 
 Bon Homme Richard set every stitch of 
 canvas, but did not come into fighting po- 
 sition toward the enemy until about seven 
 o'clock in the evening, at which time, from 
 the darkness having set in somewhat, ob- 
 jects on the water were dimly discerned. 
 
74 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD ROWER. 
 
 though not with such difficulty as would 
 have been the case had not the moon 
 shone forth with great brightness, and the 
 weather proved serene and beautiful. 
 When within pistol-sliot, the hail from the 
 Serapis, " What sliip is that ? " was 
 answered, " I can't hear you." Captain 
 Pearson says the answer was, " The Prin- 
 cess Royal." A second hail was answered 
 by a thundering broadside from the bat- 
 teries of the Richard, — a signal that in- 
 dicated a hot and bloody encounter at 
 hand, as the sequel soon proved. 
 
 The American ship, it may here be re- 
 marked, was much inferior to her antag- 
 onist, being, in fact, an old vessel, clumsy, 
 and unmanageable. She carried six 
 eighteen-pounders on the lower gun deck, 
 fourteen twelve-pounders and fourteen 
 nine-pounders on the middle gun deck, 
 two six-pounders on the quarter-gun 
 deck, two six-pounders o-ii the spar deck, 
 one six-pounder in each gangway, and two 
 six-pounders on the forecastle. She was 
 manned by three hundred and eighty 
 men and boys. The Serapis, on the other 
 hand, was a new ship, built in the best 
 manner, and with a much heavier arma- 
 ment. She mounted twenty eighteen- 
 pounders on her lower gun deck, twenty 
 nine-pounders on her upper gun deck, six 
 six-pounders on her quarter deck, four 
 six-pounders on the forecastle ; and she 
 had a crew of some three hundred and 
 twenty men. 
 
 Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas, en- 
 gaged the Scarborough, and took her, after 
 an hour's action, while the Bon Homme 
 Richard engaged the Serapis. 
 
 In the earlier jsarc of the action, the 
 superior sailing qualities of the Serapis 
 enabled her to take several advantageous 
 positions, which the seamanship of Paul 
 Jones, hampered by the unmanageable 
 character of his craft, did not enable hini 
 to prevent. Thus he attempted to lay his 
 ship athwart the enemy's bows, but the 
 bowsprit of the Serapis sweeping over the 
 Richard's poop, was grappled and lashed, 
 and her stern swung round to the bow of the 
 Bon Homme Richard by the action of the 
 
 wind ; the vessels lay yard-arm and yar J- 
 arm, the muzzles on either side actually 
 touching the enemy. But long before this, 
 many of the eighteen-pound shot of the 
 Serapis had entered the Richard's hull be- 
 low the water-mark, and she leaked in a 
 threatening manner. Just before they 
 closed. Commodore Pearson hailed his ad- 
 versary : " Has your ship struck ? " "I 
 haven't begun to firjlit yet ! " thundered 
 forth the brave Jones, in rejily. 
 
 A novelty in naval combats was now 
 presented to many witnesses, but few ad- 
 mirers, — says Lieutenant Dale, who par- 
 ticipated in the conflict, — the rammers 
 being run into the respective shijis to en- 
 able the men to load after the lower ports 
 of the Serapis had been blown away, to 
 
 make room for running out their guns, 
 and in this situation the ships remained 
 until between ten and t\yelve o'clock, 
 P. M. From the commencement to the 
 termination of the action, there was not a 
 man on board the Richard who was igno- 
 rant of the superiority of the Serapis, both 
 in weight of metal, and in the qualities of 
 the crew. The crew of that ship were 
 picked seamen, and the ship itself had 
 been only a few months off the stocks; 
 whereas the crew of the Richard consisted 
 of part Americans, English and French, 
 and a part of Maltese,Portuguese, and Ma- 
 lays, these latter contributing bj' their 
 want of naval skill and knowledge of the 
 English language, to depress rather than 
 encourage any reasonable hope of success 
 in a combat under such circumstances. 
 
FIRST AMEEICAX NAVAL VICTORY— 1779. 
 
 75 
 
 
 ■■i'^imm' 
 
 I 
 
riiO-M COLOXY TO AVOKLD PO^YER. 
 
 One of the most disheartening facts in 
 the early part of the action, was the silenc- 
 ing of the battery of twelve-pounders, on 
 which Jones had placed his principal de- 
 pendence. 
 
 Brave and dauntless sailor as he was, 
 Jones stuck to his little battery, and stimu- 
 lated his men with word and example. 
 While one of the nine-pounders vomited 
 double-headed .shot against the mainmast 
 of the Serapis, the two others swept her 
 decks with grape and canister. The fire 
 was so hot from the nine-pound battery and 
 the tops, that not a man could live on the 
 deck of the English ship. But all this 
 while, her lower battery of eighteen-pound- 
 ers was making an awful ruin of the Rich- 
 ard. The terror of the scene was al.so soon 
 heightened beyond the power of language 
 to depict, by both vessels taking fire, which 
 required almost superhuman exertion to 
 subdue, and, in the midst of all, Jones and 
 his heroic men were horror stricken to see 
 their consort, the Alliance, commanded by 
 Captain Landais, come up and pour a full 
 broadside into the Richard's stern ! The 
 evidence is regarded as most conclusive, 
 that Captain L.'s conduct on this occasion 
 was not due to any mistake on his part in 
 supposing the Richard to be the Serapis, 
 but to his personal hostility to Jones. 
 With jealousy and treason in his heart, his 
 plan was to kill Jones, and, capturing the 
 Serapis, claim the victory as his. But the 
 black-hearted Frenchman failed in his plot. 
 A quantity of cartridges on board the Ser- 
 apis was set fire to by a grenade from 
 Jones's ship, and blew up, killing or wound- 
 ing all the officers and men abaft the main- 
 mast. But long after this the fight went 
 on with fury. 
 
 At last, the mainmast of the Serapis be- 
 gan to totter to its fall — her fire slackened, 
 and, about half-past ten o'clock, the British 
 flag was struck, and Commodore Pearson 
 surrendered his sword to his really weaker 
 foe. In going through the formalities of 
 this scene, Pearson displayed much irrita- 
 bility, and, addressing Jones as one who 
 fought under no recognized flag, said: 
 
 " It is painful to deliver up my sword to 
 
 a man who has fought with a halter around 
 his neck." 
 
 " Sir," replied Jones, good humoredly, 
 as he handed back the weapon, "3'ou have 
 fought like a hero, and I make no doubt 
 but your sovereign will reward j-ou in the 
 most ample manner." 
 
 True enough, the gallant Pearson soon 
 received from King George the dignity of 
 knighthood as an acknowledgment of his 
 bravery in this unparalleled battle, — hear- 
 ing of which honor, Jones is said to have 
 dryly remarked : " Well, he deserved it ; 
 and should I have the good fortune to 
 meet with him again, I will make a Io)yI 
 of him ! " 
 
 Another episode occurred in connection 
 with a medical officer, — the surgeon of the 
 Richard, — who ran up from the cock-pit, 
 in great fright and trepidation, and hur- 
 riedly accosting the caj)tain, said : "Are you 
 not going to strike the colors ? Is not the 
 ship fast sfMA-i'/^r/."" "What! doctor," re- 
 plied Jones, " would j'ou have me strike to 
 a drop of water ? Here, help me get this 
 gun over ! '' The doctor, as though answer- 
 ing a sudden professional call, was soon 
 retracing his steps to the cock-pit. 
 
 So terribly was the Richard cut to pieces 
 (being an old ship), that it was found im- 
 possible, after the fight, to get her into 
 port, and, the wounded being removed, she 
 soon after sank. 
 
 Jones took his prizes to Holland, and it 
 is no exaggeration to say that the whole 
 world stood astonished at his bravery and 
 success. 
 
 A most interesting account of this cele- 
 brated battle between the Serapis and 
 Richard was given, soon after its occur- 
 rence, by Commodore Jones himself, a 
 portion of which, describing in his own 
 dramatic style, the principal scenes during 
 the engagement, is given below: 
 
 On the morning of that day, September 
 twenty-third, the brig from Holland not be- 
 ing in sight, we chased abrigantine that ap- 
 peared laying to, to windward. About 
 noon, we saw and chased a large ship that 
 appeared comin g round Flamborough Head 
 from the northward, and at the same time 
 
FIRST AMERICAN NAVAL VICTORY— 1779. 
 
 a 
 
 I manned and armed one of the pilot boats 
 to send in pursuit of tlie brigantine, wliich 
 now appeared to be the vessel that I had 
 forced ashore. Soon after this, a fleet of 
 forty-one sail appeared off Flamborough 
 Head, hearing N". N. E. This induced me 
 to abandon the single ship which had then 
 anchored in Burlington Bay ; I also called 
 back the pilot boat, and hoisted a signal 
 for a general chase. When the fleet dis- 
 covered lis bearing down, all the merchant 
 ships crowded sail toward the shore. The 
 two ships-of-war that protected the fleet at 
 the same time steered from the land, and 
 made the disposition for battle. In ap- 
 proacliing the enemy, I crowded every pos- 
 sible sail, and made the signal for the line 
 of battle, to which the Alliance paid no at- 
 tention. Earnest as I was for the action, 
 I could not reach the commodore's ship 
 until seven in the evening, being then 
 within pistol-shot, when he hailed the Bon 
 Homme Richard. We answered him by 
 firing a whole broadside. 
 
 The battle being thus begun, was con- 
 tinued with unremitting furj-. Every 
 method was practiced on both sides to gain 
 an advantage and rake each other ; and I 
 must confess that the enemy's ship, being 
 much more manageable than the Bon 
 Homme Richard, gained thereby several 
 times an advantageous situation, in spite 
 of my best endeavors to prevent it. As I 
 had to deal with an enemy of greatly su- 
 perior force, I was under the necessity of 
 closing with him, to prevent the advantage 
 which he had over me in point of ma- 
 neuver. It was my intention to lay the 
 Bon Homme Richard athwart the enemy's 
 bow ; but as that operation required great 
 dexterity in the management of both sails 
 and helm, and some of our braces being 
 shot away, it did not exactly succeed to my 
 wish. The enemy's bowsprit, however, 
 came over the Bon Homme Richard's poop, 
 by the mizzenmast, and I made both ships 
 fast together in that situation, which by 
 the action of the wind on the ene^ny's sails, 
 forced her stern close to the Bon Homme 
 Richard's bow, so that the ships lay square 
 alongside of each other, the yards being 
 
 all entangled, and the cannon of each ship 
 touching the opponent's. 
 
 I directed the fire of one of the three 
 cannon against the mainmast, with dou- 
 ble-headed shot, while the other two were 
 exceedingljf well served with grape and 
 canister shot, to silence the enemy's mus- 
 ketry and clear her decks, which was at 
 last effected. The enemy were, as I have 
 since understood, on the instant of calling 
 for quarter, when the cowardice or treach- 
 ery of three of my under-ofiicers induced 
 them to call to the enemj'. The English 
 commodore asked me if I demanded quar- 
 ter, and I, having answered him in the 
 most determined negative, they renewed 
 the battle with double fury. They were 
 unable to stand the deck ; but the fire of 
 their cannon, especially the lower battery, 
 which was entirely formed of ten-pound- 
 ers, was incessant ; both ships were set on 
 fire in various places, and the scene was 
 dreadful beyond the reach of language. 
 To account for the timidity of my three 
 under-officers, I mean the gunner, the car- 
 penter, and the master-at-arms, I must 
 observe, that the two first were slightly 
 wounded, and, as the ship had received 
 various shots under the water, and one of 
 the pumps being shot away, the carpenter 
 expressed his fears that she would sink, 
 and the other two concluded that she was 
 sinking, which occasioned the gunner to 
 run aft on the poop, without my knowl- 
 edge, to strike the colors. Fortunately for 
 me, a cannon-ball had done that before, by 
 carrying away the ensign-staff; he was 
 therefore reduced to the necessitj' of sink- 
 ing, as he supposed, or of calling for quar- 
 ter, and he preferred the latter. 
 
 All this time the Bon Homme Richard 
 had sustained the action alone, and the 
 enemy, though much superior in force, 
 would have been very glad to have got 
 clear, as appears by their own acknowledg- 
 ments, and by their having let go an an- 
 chor the instant that I laid them on board, 
 b}' which means they would have escaped, 
 had I not made them fast to the Bon 
 Homme Richard. 
 
 At last, at half-past nine o'clock, the Al. 
 
FEOil COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 liance appeared, and I now thought the 
 battle at an end ; but, to my utter aston- 
 islimeut, lie discharged a broadside full 
 into the stern of the Bon Homme Richard. 
 We called to him for God's sake to forbear 
 firing into the Bon Homme Richard; yet 
 they passed along the off side of the ship, 
 and continued firing. There was no pos- 
 sibility of his mistaking the enemy's ship 
 for the Bon Homme Richard, tliere being 
 the most essential difference in their ap- 
 pearance and construction. Besides, it was 
 then full moonlight. The Bon Homme 
 Richard received various shots under wa- 
 ter from the Alliance; the leak gained on 
 the pumps, and the fire increased much on 
 board both ships. Some officers persuaded 
 
 me 
 sense 
 
 to strike, of whose courage and good 
 I entertain a high opinion. My 
 treacherous master-at-arms let loose all my 
 prisoners without my knowledge, and my 
 j)rospects became gloomy indeed. I would 
 not, however, give up the point. The ene- 
 my's mainmast began to shake, their firing 
 decreased fast, ours rather increased, and 
 the British colors were struck at half an 
 hour past ten o'clock. 
 
 This prize proved to be the British ship- 
 of-war, the Serapis, a new ship of forty- 
 four guns, built on the most approved con- 
 struction, with two complete batteries, one 
 of them of eighteen-pounders, and com- 
 manded by the brave Commodore Richard 
 Pearson. 
 
IV. 
 
 THE WONDERFUL DARK DAY.— 1780. 
 
 The Northern States wrapt in a Dense Black Atmosphere for Fifteen Hours. — The Day of JiulKnient 
 Supposed to have Come — Cessation of Labor. — Rehgious Devotions Resorted to. — The Herds 
 Retire to their Stalls, the Fowls to their Roosts, and the Birds Sing their Evening Songs at Noonday.— 
 Science at Loss to Account for the Mysterious Phenomenon.— One of Nature's Marvels — Redness of 
 the Sun and Moon —Approach of a Thick Vapor.— Loud Peals of Thunder.— Sudden and Strange 
 Darkness.— Alarm of the Inhabitants— End of the World Looked For.— Dismay of the Briite Crea- 
 tion. — An Intensely Deep Gloom. — Difficulty in Attending to Business. — Lights Burning in the 
 Houses, — Vast E.\tent of the Occurrence — Condition of the Barometer. — Change in the Color of 
 I tbjects. —Quick Motion of the Clouds —Birds Suffocate and Die.— The Sun's Disc Seen in Some 
 Places. — Oily Deposit on the Waters. — Impenetrable Darkness at Night. — Incidents and Anecdotes. — 
 Ignorant Whims and Conjectures — An Unsolved Mystery. 
 
 " The Dark Day in nortKern America waa one ot those wonderful |ihenoniena of nature which wiU always be read of with interest, but 
 which philosophy is at a loss to explain." — tlLKQCHKL. 
 
 DIFFICULTY OF Tli.iVELING. 
 
 
 LMOST, if not altogether alone, as tlie most 
 I niy.sterious and as yet unexplained plienome- 
 non of its kind, in nature's diversified range of 
 events, during the last century, stands the 
 Darli Day of May Nineteenth, 1780, — a most 
 unaccountable darkening of the whole visible 
 heavens and atmosphere in New England, — 
 which brought intense alarm and distress to 
 multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the 
 brute creation, the fowls fleeing, bewildered, to 
 their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and 
 the cattle returning to their stalls. Indeed, 
 thousands of the good people of that day be- 
 came fully convinced that the end of all things 
 terrestrial had come ; many gave up, for the 
 time, tlieir secular pursuits, and betook them- 
 selves to religious devotions ; while many others regarded 
 the darkness as not only a token of God"s indignation 
 against the various iniquities and abominations of the age, 
 but also as an omen of some future destruction that might 
 overwhelm the land — as in the case of the countries men- 
 tioned in biblical hi.story, — unless speedy repentance and 
 
80 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 reformation took place. The ignorant in- 
 dul"-ed iu vague and wild conjectures as 
 to the cause of tlie phenomenon; and 
 those profounder minds, even, that could 
 "gauge the heavens and tell tiie stars," 
 were about equally at loss for any rational 
 explanation of the event. It is related 
 that the Connecticut legislature was in 
 .ses>ion at this time, and that, so great was 
 the darkness, the members became terri- 
 fied, and thought that the day of judg- 
 ment had come ; a motion was conse- 
 quently made to adjourn. At this, Mr. 
 Davenport arose and >aid: "j\lr. Speaker, 
 — It is either the day of judgment, or it 
 is nut. If it is not, there is no need of 
 adjourning. If it is, I desire to be found 
 doing my duty. I move that candles be 
 brought, and that we proceed to business." 
 The time of the commencement of this 
 extraordinary darkness was between the 
 hours of ten aud eleven iu the forenoon of 
 Friday, of the date already named; aud it 
 continued until the middle of the follow- 
 ing night, but with different appearances 
 at different places. As to the manner of 
 its approach, it seemed to appear first of 
 all iu the south-west. Tiie wind came 
 from that quarter, and the darkness ap- 
 peared to come on with the clouds that 
 came in that direction. Tlie degree to 
 which the darkness arose varied in differ- 
 ent localities. In most parts, it became so 
 dense, that people were unable to read 
 common print distinctly, or accurately de- 
 termine the time of day by their clocks or 
 watches, or dine, or manage their domes- 
 tic affairs conveniently, without the light 
 of candles. In some places, the degree of 
 darkness was just about equal to prevent- 
 ing persons seeing to read ordinary print 
 in the open air, for several hours togetiier. 
 The extent of this darkness was also very 
 remarkable. It was observed at the most 
 easterly regions of New England; west- 
 ward, to the furthest parts of Connecticut, 
 aud at Albany ; to the southward, it was 
 observed all along the sea coasts ; and to 
 the north, as far as the American settle- 
 ments extended. It probably far exceeded 
 these boundaries, but the exact limits were 
 
 never positively known. With regard to 
 its duration, it continued in the neiglibor- 
 hood of Boston for at least fourteen or Hf- 
 teen hours ; but it was doubtless longer or 
 shorter in some other places. The appear- 
 ance and effects were such as tended to 
 make the prospect extremely dull, gloomy, 
 and unnatural. Candles were lighted up 
 in the houses; the birds, in the midst 
 of their blithesome forenoon enjoyments, 
 stopped suddenly, and, singing their even- 
 ing songs, disappeared, and became si- 
 lent; the fowls retired to their roosts; the 
 cocks were crowing in their accustomed 
 manner at the break of day ; objects could 
 not be distinguished at a comparatively 
 slight distance ; and ever^'thing bore the 
 aspect and gloom of night, — to sa3' noth- 
 ing of the effect ujion the minds of the 
 people, which, indeed, was quite inde- 
 scribable. 
 
 The above general facts concerning this 
 strange phenomenon were ascertained, 
 after much painstaking inquiry, soon 
 after its occurrence, by Prof. AVilliams, of 
 Harvard College, who also collected to- 
 gether some of the more particular ob- 
 servations made in different parts of the 
 countrv, relative to the remarkable event. 
 From these data it appears that, with re- 
 gard to the state of the atmosphere pre- 
 ceding this uncommon darkness, it was 
 noticed in manv sections, for several days 
 before, that the air seemed to be of a 
 smoky and vaporous character. The sun 
 and the moon exhibited an unusual red- 
 ness in their color, and divested of their 
 usual brightness and lucid aspect ; and 
 this obscuration increased as they ap- 
 proached nearer to the horizon. This 
 was ascertained to have been the case in 
 almost all parts of the New England 
 states, for four or five days preceding the 
 nineteenth of May. The winds had been 
 variable, but chiefly from the south-west 
 and north-east. The thermometer indi- 
 cated from forty to fifty-five degrees. The 
 barometer showed a somewhat higher range 
 than usual. The weather had been fair 
 and cool for the season. 
 
 As to the state of the atmosphere when 
 
THE WONDERFUL DARK DAY — 17S0. 
 
 81 
 
 the darkness came on, it was observable 
 that the weight or gravity of it was grad- 
 ually decreasing, the greater part of the 
 day. According to the observations made 
 at Cambridge, Mass., the mercury in the 
 barometer was found, at twelve o'clock, to 
 stand at twenty-nine inches, seventy; in 
 half an hour after, the mercury had fallen 
 the one-hundredth part of an inch ; at one 
 o'clock, it was twenty-nine inches, sixty- 
 seven ; at three o'clock, it was at twenty- 
 nine inches, sixty-five ; at eight minutes 
 past eight, it was at twenty-nine inches, 
 sixt\'-four. A similar course of barometri- 
 cal observations made, at the same time, 
 in another part of the state, showed as fol- 
 lows : at six o'clock in the morning, the 
 mercury in the barometer was found to bo 
 at twenty-nine inches, eighty-two ; as soon 
 as the darkness began to appear uncom- 
 mon, that is, at ten minutes past ten, the 
 mercury was found at twent3'-nine inches, 
 sixty-eight ; at quarter before eleven — the 
 time of the greatest degree of darkness in 
 that part of the country — the mercury was 
 at twenty-nine inches, sixty-seven, the 
 darkness continuing in the same degree 
 for an hour and a half; at fifteen minutes 
 past twelve, the mercury had fallen to 
 twent^'-nine inches, sixty-five, and, in a 
 few minutes after this, the darkness began 
 to abate ; the mercury remained in this 
 state during the whole evening, without 
 any sensible alteration. At half-past 
 eight, it seemed to have fallen a little, but 
 so small was the alteration, that it was at- 
 tended with some uncertainty, nor did it 
 appear to stand any lower tliree hours 
 later. 
 
 From these observations, it is certain 
 that, on the day when the darkness took 
 place, the weight or gravity of the atmos- 
 phere was gradually decreasing through 
 the whole day. Both of the barometers 
 in use were instruments of superior work- 
 manship, and consequently to be depended 
 on as to the accuracy of their indications. 
 
 The color of objects that day, is another 
 
 point of interest. It is mentioned, in the 
 
 record of observations made with reference 
 
 to this feature of the phenomenon, that 
 
 6 
 
 the complexion of the clouds was com- 
 pounded of a faint red, yellow and brown, 
 — that, during tlie darkness, objects which 
 commonly appear green, were of the deep- 
 est green, verging to blue, — and that those 
 which appear white, were highly tinged 
 with yellow. This was the character of 
 the observations, as given by almost every 
 one who made any record of the day's ap- 
 pearance. But Prof. Williams states that, 
 to him, almost every object appeared tinged 
 with yellow, rather than with any other 
 color; and this, whether the thing was 
 near, or remote from the eye. 
 
 Another element of peculiarity, in this 
 remarkable scene, was the nature and ap- 
 pearance of the vapors that were then in 
 the atmosphere. Early in the morning, 
 the weather was cloudy ; the sun was but 
 just visible through the clouds, and ap- 
 peared of a deep red, as it had for several 
 days before. In most places thunder was 
 heard a number of times in the morning. 
 The clouds soon began to rise from the 
 south-west, with a gentle breeze, and there 
 were several small showers before eight 
 o'clock ; in some places there were showers 
 at other hours, throughout the day. The 
 water that fell was found to have an un- 
 usual character, being thick, dark, and 
 sooty. One observer, in the eastern part 
 of Massachusetts, states, in this connec- 
 tion, that the strange appearance and 
 smell of the rain-water which people had 
 saved in tubs, was the subject of universal 
 and wondering remark. On examining 
 the water, there was found a light scum 
 upon it, which, on being rubbed between 
 the thumb and finger, seemed to resemble 
 the black ashes of burnt leaves ; the water 
 also gave the same strong, sooty smell, 
 which characterized the air. A similar 
 appearance, in this respect, manifested 
 itself in other localities; it was especially 
 exhibited on the Merrimac river, large 
 quantities of black scum being seen float- 
 ing upon the surface of that stream, dur- 
 ing the day. In the night, the wind 
 veered round to the north-east, and drove 
 this substance towards the south shore ; 
 when the tide fell, the matter lay for 
 
«9 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 many miles along the shore, the width of 
 the deposit being some four or five inches. 
 An examination of a considerable quantity 
 of this substance, in several places, failed 
 to show anything of a sulphurous nature, 
 either in its taste, color, or smell. Prof. 
 Williams states that, being apprehensive 
 as to whether there was not some uncom- 
 mon ingredient in the air that day, he put 
 out several sheets of clean paper in the air 
 and rain. When they had been out four or 
 five Lours, he dried them by the fire. They 
 were much sullied, and became dark in 
 their color, and felt as if they had been 
 rubbed with oil or grease ; but, iipon burn- 
 ing them, there could not be detected any 
 sulphurous or nitrous jsarticles. 
 
 The motion and situation of the cur- 
 rents or bodies of vapor in the atmosphere 
 likewise exhibited some striking peculiar- 
 ities. In most places, it was very evident 
 that the vapors were descending from the 
 higher parts of the atmosj)here towards 
 the surface of the earth. A gentleman 
 who made some special observations bear- 
 ing upon this point, mentions a very curi- 
 ous circumstance, as to their ascent and 
 situation, namely, that at about nine 
 o'clock in the morning, after a shower, 
 tlie vapors rose from the springs in the 
 low lands, in great abundance. Notice 
 was taken of one large column that as- 
 cended, with great rapidity, to a consid- 
 erable heiglit above the highest hills, and 
 soon spread into a large cloud, then moved 
 off a little to the westward. A second 
 cloud was formed in the same manner, 
 from the same springs, but did not ascend 
 so high as the first; and a third was 
 formed from the same places, in less than 
 a, quarter of an hour after the second. 
 About three-quarters of an hour after 
 nine o'clock, these clouds exhibited a very 
 striking appearance. The upper cloud 
 wore a peculiar reddish hue; the second 
 showed in some places or parts a green, in 
 others a blue, and in others an indigo 
 color; while the surface of the third cloud 
 was almost white. 
 
 Of a somewhat singular nature, also, is 
 the fact, as related by another, that, while 
 
 tlie darkness continued, the clouds were in 
 quick motion, interrupted, skirted one over 
 another, so as to form — at least to the eye 
 of the beholder — a considerable number of 
 strata, the lower stratum being of an uni- 
 form height as far as visible; but this height 
 was conceived to be very slight, from the 
 small extent of the horizon that could be 
 seen, and from this circumstance observed 
 in the evening. A lighted torch, held by 
 a person passing along the street, occa- 
 sioned a reflection of a faint red or copper- 
 tinged light — similar to a faint aurora 
 borealis, — the apparent height at which 
 tlie reflection was made, being some twenty 
 to thirty feet. And it was generally re- 
 marked, that the hills might be seen at a 
 distance in some directions, while the in- 
 termediate spaces were greatly obscured 
 or darkened. 
 
 It would thus appear, from the state- 
 ments now cited, as if the vapors, in some 
 places, were ascending ; in most, descend- 
 ing; and, in all, very near to the surface 
 of the earth. To this it may be added, 
 that, during the darkness, objects seem- 
 ingly cast a shade in every direction, and, 
 in many instances, there were various 
 appearances or corruscations in the atmos- 
 phere, not unlike the aurora borealis, — 
 though it is not stated that any uncom- 
 mon exhibitions of the electric fire were 
 witnessed during the day. In some ac- 
 counts, however, it is mentioned that a 
 number of small birds were found suffo- 
 cated by the vajjor ; some were found dead, 
 and some flew affrighted, or stupefied, into 
 the houses. 
 
 In New Haven, Conn., there was a 
 shower of rain, with some lightning and 
 thunder, about daybreak in the morning, 
 the rain continuing, with intervals, until 
 after sunrise. The morning was cloudy 
 and darkish ; and the sun, rising towards 
 the zenith, gave no increase of light, as 
 usual, but, on Ihe contrary, the darkness 
 continued to increase until between eleven 
 and twelve o'clock, at which time there 
 was the greatest obscurity in that place. 
 What little motion of the air there was 
 just at this period, was nearly from the 
 
THE WOXDEEFUL DAEK DAY — 1780. 
 
 83 
 
 south ; though tlit> atmospliere was as calm 
 as the blandest summer morning. There 
 was sonietliing more of a luminous appear- 
 ance in the horizon, than in the hemi- 
 sphere in general ; also, a most marked 
 liveliness of tint to the grass and other 
 green vegetation; and a very noticealile 
 yellowness in the atmosphere, which made 
 clean silver nearly resemble the color of 
 brass. At about twelve o'clock, noon, the 
 singular obscuration ceased ; the greatest 
 darkness, at any particular time, was at 
 least as dense as vhat is commonly called 
 ' candlelighting,' in the evening. In the 
 town of Hartford, and the neighboring 
 villages, the phenomenon was observed 
 with all its distinctive peculiarities ; and, 
 by some persons, the disc of the sun was 
 seen, at the time of the greatest deficiency 
 of light 
 
 such buildings. At twelve, the darkness 
 was greatest, and a little rain fell ; in the 
 street, the aspect was like that at the be- 
 ginning of evening, as lights were seen 
 burning in all the houses. The clouds 
 were thinnest at the north; at tlie north- 
 east, the clouds were very thick, and so 
 low that hills could not be seen at the dis- 
 tance of half a mile ; south-westerly, hills 
 might be clearly seen at the distance of 
 twenty miles, though the intermediate 
 space was so shaded that it was impossi- 
 ble to distinguish woodland from pasture. 
 At half-past twelve, the clouds, having 
 been hitherto detached, began to concen- 
 trate at such an height, that all the hills 
 became visible, and the country around 
 exhibited a most beautiful tinted verdure ; 
 at one, the clouds became uniformly 
 spread, and tlje darkness wa- not greater 
 
 CHASGE OF SCEKE AITER THE DARK DAY. 
 
 In Middlesex county, Mass., the peals 
 of thunder were loud and frequent at six 
 o'clock in the morning, attended with 
 heavy rain; at seven o'clock, the rain and 
 thunder had ceased, but the sky contin- 
 ued cloudy. Between nine and ten o'clock, 
 the clouds were observed to thiclcen, and 
 to receive continual accessions from the 
 low lands. Before ten, the darkness had 
 sensibly increased, till it became difficult 
 to read an almanac in a room having two 
 windows ; at eleven o'clock, candles were 
 lighted, and at h.ilf-past eleven the dark- 
 ness was so great in the meeting-house, 
 where a court was then sitting, that it 
 was difficult to distinguish countenances 
 at the smallest distance, notwithstanding 
 the large number of windows usual in 
 
 The same 
 the whole 
 
 than is usual on a cloudy day 
 weather continued through 
 afternoon, except that the sun was seen 
 for a few minutes, in some places, about 
 three o'cloi'k. At eight in the evening, 
 the darkness was so impenetrably thick, 
 as to render traveli'ng positively imprac- 
 ticable ; and, altliough the moon rose 
 nearly full about nine o'clock, yet it did 
 not give light enough to enable a person 
 to distinguish between the heavens and 
 the earth. 
 
 In the account of this phenomenon given 
 by Dr. Tenney, of New Hampshire, an in- 
 telligi'ut observer and writer, are some 
 interesting details, gathered by him while 
 on a journey to Pennsylvania, from the 
 east. He repeats and confirms tiie state- 
 
84 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER.. 
 
 ment made by others, that, previously to 
 the commencement of the darkness, the 
 sky was overcast with the common kind 
 of clouds, from wliicli there was, in some 
 places, a moderate fall of rain. Between 
 these and the earth, there intervened an- 
 other stratum, apparently of great thick- 
 ness ; as this stratum advanced, the dark- 
 ness commenced, and increased witli its 
 progress till it came to its lieight, which 
 did not take place till the hemisphere 
 was a second time overspread — the uncom- 
 mon thickness of this second stratum be- 
 ing probably occasioned by two strong cur- 
 rents of wind from the southward and 
 westward, condensing the vapors and 
 drawing them to the north-east. 
 
 The result of Dr. Tenney's journey, — 
 during which he made tiie best use of his 
 opportunities for information, — was, that 
 the darkness appeared to be most gross in 
 Essex county, Massachusetts, the lower 
 part of the state of New Hampshire, and 
 in portions of what was then the province 
 of Maine. In Rhode Island and Connect- 
 icut it was not so great, and still less in 
 New York ; in New Jersey, tlie second 
 stratum of clouds was observed, but it was 
 not of any great thickness, nor was the 
 darkness very uncommon ; in the lower 
 parts of Pennsylvania, no extraordinary 
 scene was noticed. 
 
 Through the whole extent of country 
 referred to, tlie lower cloud-stratum had 
 an uncommon brassy hue, while the eartli 
 and trees were adorned with so enchant- 
 ing a verdure as could not escapj notice, 
 even amidst the unusual atmospheric 
 gloom that accompanied it. The dark- 
 ness of the following evening was proba- 
 bly as deep and dense as ever had been ob- 
 served since the Almighty fiat gave birth 
 to light ; it wanted only palpability to ren- 
 der it as extraordinary as that wliich over- 
 spread the land of Egypt, in tlie days of 
 Moses. If every luminous body in the 
 universe had been slirouded in impenetra- 
 ble shades, or struck out of existence, it 
 was thought the darkness could not have 
 been more complete. A sheet of white 
 paper, held witiiin a few inches of tlie 
 
 eyes, was equally invisible with the black- 
 est velvet. And, considering the small 
 quantity of light that was transmitted 
 by tlie clouds, during the day, it is not 
 surprising that, at night, a sufficient quan- 
 tity of rays should not be able to penetrate 
 the same strata, brought back by the shift- 
 ing of the winds, to afford the most ob- 
 scure jjrospect even of the best reflecting 
 bodies. The denseness of this evening 
 darkness was a fact universally^ observed 
 and recorded. 
 
 In view of all the information contained 
 in the various accounts of this daj', it ap- 
 pears very certain that the atmosphere 
 was charged with an unjjrecedented quan- 
 tity of vapor, — from what primary cause 
 has never been satisfactorily determined; 
 and as the weather had been clear, the air 
 heavy, and the winds small and variable 
 for many days, the vapors, instead of dis- 
 persing, must have been constantly rising 
 and collecting in the air, until the atmos- 
 phere became highly charged with them. 
 
 A large quantity of the vapors, thus 
 collected in the atniosjihere, on tlie day in 
 question, was floating near the surface of 
 the earth. Wheresoever the specific grav- 
 ity- of any vapor is less than the specific 
 gravity of the air, such a vapor will, by 
 the law of fluids, ascend in the air ; wiiere 
 the speciflc gravity of a vapor, in the at- 
 mosphere, is greater than that of the air, 
 such a vapor will descend ; and where the 
 specific gravity of the vapor and air are 
 the same, the vapor will then be at rest, — 
 floating or swimming in the atmosphere, 
 without ascending or descending. From 
 the barometrical observations, it appears 
 that the weight or gravity of the atmos- 
 phere was gradually growing less, from 
 the morning of the nineteenth of May, 
 until the evening; and hence the vapors, 
 in most places, were descending from the 
 higher parts of the atmosphere, towards 
 the surface of the earth. According to 
 one of the observations cited, the vapors 
 were noticed to a-^cend, until they rose to 
 a height where the air was of the same 
 specific gravity — a height not much above 
 the ailjacent hills, — and here the}' in- 
 
THE WONDERFUL DAEK DAY — 1780. 
 
 85 
 
 stantly spread, and floated in the atmos- 
 phere. From tlie5e data, the conclusion 
 is drawn, that tlie place where the vapors 
 were balanced must have been very near 
 the surface of the earth. 
 
 Reasoning from the premises thus set 
 forth. Prof. Williams was of the opinion 
 that such a large quantity of vapor, float- 
 ing in the atmosphere, near tlie earth's 
 surface, might be sufiScient to produce all 
 the phenomena tliat made the nineteenth 
 of May, 1780, so memorable. Thus, the 
 direction in which the darkness came on 
 would be determined by the direction of 
 the wind, and this was known to be from 
 the south-west; the degree of the dark- 
 ne s would depend on the density, color, 
 and situation of the clouds and vapor, and 
 the manner in which they would transmit, 
 reflect, refract, or absorb the rays of light; 
 the extent of the darkness would be as 
 great as the extent of the vapor; and the 
 duration of it would continue until the 
 gravity of the air became so altered that 
 the vapors would change tiieir situation, 
 by an ascent or descent; — all of which 
 particulars, it is claimed, agree with the 
 observations that have been mentioned. 
 Nor does the effect of the vapor.s, in dark- 
 ening terrestrial objects, when they lay 
 near the surface of the earth, appear to 
 have been greater than it was in darken- 
 ing the sun and moon, when their situa- 
 tion was higher in the atmosphere. 
 
 It being thus evident that the atmos- 
 phere was, from some peculiar cause (per- 
 haps great fires in distant woods) charged, 
 in a high degree, with vapors, and that 
 these vapors were of different densities 
 and occupied different heights, — the de- 
 duction is, tliat by this means the rays of 
 light falling on them must have suffered a 
 variety of refractions and reflections, and 
 thereby become weakened, absorbed, or so 
 reflected, as not to fall upon objects on the 
 earth in the usual manner ; and as the 
 different vapors were adapted by their 
 nature, situation, or density, to absorb or 
 transmit the different kind of rays, so the 
 colors of objects would appear to be af- 
 fected by the mixture or prevalency of 
 
 those rays which were transmitted through 
 so uncommon a medium. This was the 
 explanation suggested by Prof. Williams, 
 tiiough not to the exclusion of other the- 
 ories. 
 
 But there were not wanting those — and 
 a large number they were too — who gave 
 play, in their minds, to the most strange 
 opinions concerning the cause of so mar- 
 velous an appearance. It was imagined 
 by some persons, that an eclipse of the 
 sun, produced of course by an interposition 
 of the moon, was the cause of the darkness 
 — others attributed it to a transit of Venus 
 or Mercury upon the disc of the sun — 
 others imputed it to a blaziug star, which 
 they thought came between the earth and 
 the sun. So whimsical, indeed, were some 
 of the opinions which possessed men's 
 minds at this time, that even so bare a 
 vagary as that a great mountain obstructed 
 the rays of the sun's light during that 
 day, obtained advocates ! Whether they 
 thought that a new mountain was created 
 and placed between the earth and the sun, 
 or that a mountain from this globe had 
 taken flight and perched upon that great 
 luminary, does not appear. 
 
 That this darkness was not caused by 
 an eclipse, is manifest by the various posi- 
 tions of the planetary bodies at that time, 
 for the moon was more than one hundred 
 and fifty degrees from the sun all that 
 day, and, according to the accurate calcu- 
 lations made by the most celebrated as- 
 tronomers, there couid not, in the order of 
 nature, be any transit of the planet Venus 
 or Mercury upon the disc of the sun that 
 year ; nor could it be a blazing star — much 
 less a mountain, — that darkened the at- 
 mosphere, for this would still leave unex- 
 plained the deep darkness of the following 
 night. Nor would such excessive noc- 
 turnal darkness follow an eclipse of the 
 sun ; and as to the moon, she was at that 
 time more than forty hours' motion past 
 her opposition. 
 
 One of the theories, looking to a solution 
 of the mysterious occurrence, which found 
 defenders, was as follows : The heat of the 
 sun causes an ascent of numerous particles 
 
b6 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
THE WONDERFUL DAEK DAY — 17S0. 
 
 87 
 
 which consist of different qualities, such as 
 aqueous, sulphurous, bituminous, salinous, 
 otc. ; hence the waters of the seas, rivers, 
 and ponds ; the fumes of burning volca- 
 noes, caused by subterraneous veins of 
 liquid fire ; all the other kinds of smoke — 
 fat, combustibles, oily matter from various 
 kinds of earth, the juice of trees, plants 
 and herbs ; salinous and nitrous particles 
 from salt, snow water, and kindred sources ; 
 — these are exhaled into the regions of the 
 air, where their positions are subject to 
 various mutations or changes by reason of 
 the motion and compression of the air, 
 causing them to be sometimes rarefied and 
 sometimes condensed. It was (according 
 to this theory,) a vast collection of such 
 particles that caused the day of darkness ; 
 that is, the particles, after being exhaled, 
 were driven together by certain winds 
 from opposite points of the compass, and 
 condensed to such a degree by the weight 
 of the earth's atmosphere, that they ob- 
 structed the appearance of the rays of the 
 sun by day, and thr se of the moon by 
 night. 
 
 Having thus presented the facts and 
 circumstances pertaining to this notable 
 day in the history of the New England or 
 nortlierii states, it may not be amiss to 
 add, tluit a similar day of mysterious dark- 
 ness occurred on October 21, 1716; the 
 day was so dark, that people were forced 
 to light candles to dine by, — a darkness 
 which could not proceed from any eclipse, 
 a solar eclipse having taken place on the 
 fourth of that month. There was also a 
 remarkable darkness at Detroit and vicin- 
 ity, October 19, 1762, being almost total for 
 the greater part of the day. It was dark 
 at day-break, and this continued until nine 
 o'clock, when it cleared up a little, and, for 
 the space of about a quarter of an hour, 
 the body of the sun was visible, it appear- 
 ing as red as blood, and more than three 
 
 times as large as usual. The air, all this 
 time, was of a dingy yellowish color. At 
 half-past one o'clock, it was so dark as to 
 necessitate the lighting of candles, in 
 order to attend to domestic duties. At 
 about three in the afternoon, the darkness 
 became more dense, increasing in intensity 
 until half-past three, when the wind 
 breezed up from the southwest and brought 
 on a slight fall of rain, accompanied with 
 a profuse quantity of fine black particles, 
 in appearance much like sulphur, both in 
 smell and quality. A sheet of clean paper, 
 held out in this rain, was rendered quite 
 black wherever the drops fell upon it ; but, 
 when held near the fire, it turned to a yel- 
 low color, and, when burned, it fizzed on 
 the paper, like wet powder. So black did 
 these powdery particles turn everything 
 upon which they fell, that even the river 
 was covered with a black froth, which, 
 when skimmed off the surface, resembled 
 the lather of soap, with this difference, that 
 it was more greasy, and its color as black 
 as ink. At seven, in the evening, the air 
 was more clear. This phenomenon was 
 observed throughout a vast region of coun- 
 try ; and, though various conjectures were 
 indulged in, as to the cause of so extraor- 
 dinary an occurrence, the same degree of 
 mystery attaches to it as to tliat of 1780, — 
 confounding the wisdom even of the most 
 learned philosophers and men of science. 
 
 It may easily be imagined, that, as the 
 deep and mysterious darkness which cov- 
 ered the land on the memorable nineteenth 
 of May filled all hearts with wonder — and 
 multitudes with fear, — so, the return, at 
 last, of that brightness and beauty charac- 
 teristic of the month and of the season, 
 brought gladness again to the faces of the 
 young, and composure to the hearts of the 
 aged ; for never before did nature appear 
 clothed in so charming an attire of sun- 
 shine, sky and verdure. 
 
V. 
 WASHINGTON'S FAEEWELI. TO THE AEMY.— 1783. 
 
 Affecting Interviews and Parting Words between tlie Great Chieftain and His Conirades-in-Arms. — 
 Solemn Farewell Audience with Congress — In Its Presence He Voluntarily Divests Himself of His 
 Supreme Authority, Returns His Victorious Sword, and Becomes a Private Citizen, — History of the 
 Election of a Military Leader. — America's Destiny in His Hands — Appointment of George Wash- 
 ington — The Army at Cambridge, Mass. — He Immediately Takes Command — Is Enthusiastically 
 Greeted. — Leads Its Fortunes Seven Years. — Record of His Generalship. — Ends the War in Tri- 
 umph. — Scheme to Malte Him King. — Indignantly Rebukes the Proposal — Last Review of His 
 Troops. — His Strong Attachment for Them. — Intention to Leave Public Life — Congress Informed of 
 this Fact. — Embarkation from New York. — Homage Paid Him Everywhere — Arrival at Annapo- 
 lis — Proceeds to the Halls of Congress. — Impressive Ceremonial There — Rare Event in Human 
 
 History. 
 
 ■•■» 
 
 " Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the theater of action, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this auguit body 
 under whose orders 1 have bo long acted, 1 here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employmenta of public life." — Washiwo- 
 Toif's Retireuent as Reyoli^tionaby Leadeb. 
 
 WASHIXGTOS 
 
 in regard 
 era, and 
 
 HAT momentous object for which the War of Independence was for 
 seven long years waged, under the supreme leadership of General 
 . Wasliington, having been achieved by the tmconditional acknowledg- 
 ment of that independence on the part of Great Britain, a cessation 
 of hostilities was formally announced by congress to a rejoicing 
 people. Washington's military course having thus honorably and 
 successfully terminated, he, Cincinnatus-like, sheathed his sword, 
 and .stirrendered his high commission to that power which had in- 
 vested him with its authority. It will, therefore, not only be apprc>- 
 priate, but of peculiar interest, to link together, in one narrative, the 
 circumstances attending his appointment to the responsible office of 
 commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, and that last great 
 act — the Return of his Commission — in the stupendous drama of 
 which he was the central figure. 
 
 To that sterling old patriot, John Adams, the credit of the wisdom 
 of selecting Washington as military chieftain principallj' belongs. 
 It was a question, on the decision of which hung the fate of the rev- 
 olutionary cause ; and in all parts of the country, among the people 
 at large as well as in the more immediate circles of congress, by 
 whom the great question was finally to be determined, the discussion 
 as to who should be chosen as the nation's leader in the councils of 
 's SWORD, war and on the battle-field, was universal. Mr. Adams states that 
 to this election, there was in congress a southern party against a north- 
 a jealousy against a New England army under the command of a 
 
WASHINGTON'S FARF.WELL TO THE ARMY — 1783. 
 
 89 
 
 New England general ; but whether this 
 jealousy was sincere, or whether it was 
 mere pride and ambition — the ambition of 
 furnishing a southern general to omr'and 
 the northern army, — was a matter of 
 doubt. The intention, however, was very 
 visible that Colonel Washington was their 
 object. 
 
 The military ability which had been dis- 
 played, on different occasions, by Colonel 
 Washington, were well understood, and, 
 from the conspicuous positions in which 
 he had thus been placed, and the saga- 
 cious judgment which was known to have 
 characterized him in important emergen- 
 cies, he had, for a long time past, enjoyed 
 a fine reputation throughout the colonies, 
 as a gallant and successful officer. He was 
 only in a moderate sense a partisan, in 
 the difficulties and discussions which had 
 arisen between his own and the mother 
 country ; but, from the very first, he ex- 
 hibited sufficient repugnance to any atti- 
 tude of vassalage, on the part of his coun- 
 trymen, to show that he would be no will- 
 ing subject of coercion, should the preten- 
 sions of the British be attempted to be car- 
 ried out by threats, or by recourse to arms. 
 
 When congress had assembled, Mr. 
 Jolin Adams arose in his place, and in as 
 short a speech as the subject would admit 
 represented the state of the colonies, the 
 uncertainty in the minds of the people, 
 their great expectation and anxiety, the 
 distresses of the army, the danger of its 
 dissolution, the difficulty of collecting an- 
 other ; and the probability that the Brit- 
 ish army would take advantage of these 
 delays, march out of Boston, and spread 
 desolation as far as they could go. He 
 concluded with a motion, in form, that 
 congress would adopt the army at Cam- 
 bridge, and appoint a general ; that though 
 this was not the proper time to nominate a 
 general, yet as there existed reasons for 
 believing this to be the greatest difficulty, 
 he had no hesitation to declare tliat there 
 was but one gentleman in liis mind for 
 that important office, and that was a gen- 
 tleman from Virginia — one of their own 
 number, and well knoAvn to them all, — a 
 
 gentleman whose skill and experience as an 
 officer, whose independent fortune, great 
 talents, and excellent general character, 
 would command the approbation of all 
 America, and unite the cordial exertions 
 of all the colonies better than any other 
 person in the Union. 
 
 Mr. Washington, who liappened to sit 
 near the door, as soon as he heard this al- 
 lusion to himself, with his usual modesty, 
 darted into the library room. 
 
 The subject came under debate, and 
 several gentlemen declared themselves 
 against the appointment of Mr. Washing- 
 ton, not on account of any jjersonal objec- 
 tion against liim, but because the army 
 were all from New England, had a general 
 of their own, appeared to be satisfied with 
 him, and had proved themselves able to 
 imprison the British army in Boston. 
 Mr. Pendleton, of Virginia, and Mr. 
 Sherman, of Connecticut, were very ex- 
 plicit in declaring this opinion. Mr. 
 Cushing and others more faintly expressed 
 their opposition, and their fears of discon- 
 tent in the army and in New England. 
 Mr. Paine expressed a great opinion of 
 General Ward, and a strong friendship 
 for him, having been his classmate at col- 
 lege, or, at least, his contemjjorary ; but 
 gave no opinion on the question. The 
 subject was postponed to a future day. In 
 the meantime, pains were taken out of 
 doors to obtain a unanimity, and the voices 
 were generally so clearly in favor of Wash- 
 ington, that the dissenting members were 
 persuaded to withdraw their opposition, 
 and Mr. Washington was nominated by 
 Mr. Thomas Johnson, of Maryland, unan- 
 imously elected, and the army adopted. 
 
 His official commission was at once 
 drawn up and presented to him ; a copy of 
 which most interestiiig document is given 
 below : — 
 
 " In, Congress. AVe the delegates of the 
 United Colonies of New Hampshire, Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 New Castle, Kent, and Sussex on Dela^ 
 ware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
 and South Carolina, 
 
90 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 To George Washington, Esquire : 
 
 We, reposing special trust and coua- 
 dence in your patriotism, conduct, and 
 fidelity, do by these presents constitute and 
 appoint you to be Gexekal and Com- 
 maxder-ix-Chief of the army of the 
 United Colonies, and of all the forces 
 raised or to be raised by them, and of all 
 others who shall voluntarily offer their 
 services and join the said army for the de- 
 fense of American liberty, and for repelling 
 every hostile invasion thereof. And you 
 are hereby invested with full power and 
 authority to act as you shall think for the 
 good and welfare of the service. 
 
 And we do hereby strictly charge and 
 require all officers and soldiers under your 
 command to be obedient to your orders, 
 and diligent in the exercise of their several 
 duties. 
 
 And we do also enjoin and require you 
 to be careful in executing the great trust 
 reijosed in j'ou, by causing strict discipline 
 and order to be observed in the army, and 
 that the soldiers are duly exercised and 
 provided with all convenient necessaries. 
 
 And you are to regulate your conduct in 
 every respect by the rules and discipline 
 of war, (as herewith given you,) and punc- 
 tually to observe and follow such direc- 
 tions, from time to time, as you shall re- 
 ceive from this or a future Congress of the 
 said United Colonies, or a Committee of 
 Congress for that purpose appointed. 
 
 This commission to continue in force till 
 revoked by this or a future Congress. 
 By order of Congress. 
 
 John Haxcock, President. 
 Dated, Philadelphia, June 19, 1775. 
 Attest, Charles Thomsox, Secretary." 
 
 On the second day of July, 1775, Wash- 
 ington arrived in Ci>mbridge, Massachu- 
 setts, accompanied by Major-General Lee, 
 his next in command, and other officer.s, 
 establishing his head-quarters at the man- 
 sion subsequently occupied by Longfellow, 
 the elegant scholar and poet. At about 
 nine o'clock on the morning of the next 
 day, Washington, attended by a suitable 
 escort, proceeded from his head-quarters to 
 a great elm tree — one of the majestic na- 
 
 tives of the forest, — near Harvard College, 
 and where the continental forces were 
 drawn up in military order. Under the 
 shadow of that wide-spreading tree, Wash- 
 ington, moving forward a few paces, drew 
 his sword as commander-in-chief of the 
 American army, declaring that it should 
 
 THE W.lSaiNGTON ELM, CAMBBIDGE, MASS. 
 
 never be sheatlied until tlie liberties of his 
 country were established. The record of 
 his services is the history of the whole 
 war. Joining the army in July, 1775, he 
 com])elled the British to evacuate Boston 
 in March, 1776 ; he then followed the 
 British to New York, fighting the battle 
 of Loug Island on the twenty-seventh of 
 August, and that of WHiite Plains on the 
 twenty-eighth of October. On the twenty- 
 fifth of December he made the memorable 
 passage of the Delaware, and soon gained 
 the victories of Trenton and Princeton. 
 The battle of Brandywine was fought on 
 the eleventh of September, 1777, and that 
 of Germantown, October fourth. Febru- 
 ary twenty-eighth, 1778, witnessed his 
 " glorious and happy day," as he himself 
 termed it, at Monmouth. In 1779 and 
 1780 he conducted the military operations 
 in the vicinitj- of New York ; after which, 
 in 1781, he marched to Virginia to watch 
 the movements of Lord Cornwallis, whom 
 he forced to surrender at Yorktown, in 
 October, liy which great achievement he 
 put an end to the active operations of the 
 revolutionary struggle, and secured peace 
 and independence to his country. 
 
 W'ith the return of peace, and the 
 achievement of independent nationality, 
 
WASPIINGTON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARMY — 1783. 
 
 91 
 
 the wisdom and patriotism of Wusliington 
 were to be severely tested, and in a most 
 unexpected manner, in connection with the 
 form of government to be adopted by the 
 United States. The English government 
 was regarded by many of the strongest 
 American minds as, in most respects, a 
 model one ; and Ijy manj' persons the En- 
 glisii form of a constitutional monarchy 
 was decided, especially by some of the 
 army officers, to be the most promising, 
 and thus far the most successful, experi- 
 ment in government, and the one most 
 
 this scheme called a secret meeting, and 
 finally determined on the title of King, 
 and Washington was informed of the fact. 
 He spurned the gilded bribe of a king's 
 crown, and promptly and sternlj' rebuked 
 the abettors of the scheme in the following 
 letter addressed to their leader : 
 
 " Sir, — With a mixture of great sur- 
 prise and astonishment, I have read with 
 attention the sentiments you have sub- 
 mitted to my perusal. Be assured, sir, 
 no occurrence in the course of this war has 
 given me more painful sensations than 
 
 WA.SHINGTUN : 
 
 likely to be adopted liy America upon due 
 deliberation. Universal dissatisfaction was 
 felt with the proceedings and conduct of 
 congress as a governing jiower, and there- 
 fore some agency superior to that, and of 
 controlling prerogative, was jircposed, — a 
 head, like the English sovei'eign, with 
 proper safeguards against usurpation. 
 Circumstances, of course, indicated Wash- 
 ington as that head, and the next ques- 
 tion naturally arose — under what official 
 title should such a head rule ? The officers 
 around Newburgh who were associated in 
 
 RESIGNATION. 
 
 your information of there being such ideas 
 existing in the army as you have expressed, 
 and which I must view with abhorrence 
 and reprehend with severity. For the 
 jaresent, the communication of them wil' 
 rest in my own bosom, unless some further 
 agitation of the matter shall make a dis- 
 closure necessary. I am much at a loss to 
 conceive what part of my conduct could 
 have given encouragement to an address 
 which to me seems big with the greatest 
 mischiefs that can befall my country. If 
 I am not deceived in the knowledge of 
 
1)2 
 
 FEO.M COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 myself, you coula iiot have found a person 
 to whom your schemes are more disagree- 
 able. At tlie same time, in justice to my 
 own feelings, I must add, that no man 
 possesses a more serious wish to see ample 
 justice done to the army than I do ; and, 
 as far as my power and influence, in a con- 
 stitutional waj', extend, they shall bo em- 
 ployed to the utmost of my abilities to 
 effect it, should there be any occasion. 
 Let me conjure you, then, if j'ou have any 
 regard for j'our country, concern for your- 
 self or posterity, or respect for me, to 
 banish these thoughts from your mind, and 
 never communicate, as from yourself or 
 any one else, a sentiment of the like na- 
 ture." 
 
 In perfect keeping with the spirit in 
 which Washington ti-eated the dazzling 
 offer thus so unexpectedly set before him, 
 was the simplicity of his conduct in bid- 
 ding adieu to his comrades-in-arms, and 
 then presenting himself befoi'e congress, 
 there to deliver up his sword, and volunta- 
 rily divest himself of the supreme com- 
 mand ; — in the serene and thoughtful 
 phraseology of his own words, " to address 
 himself once more, and that for the last 
 time, to the armies of the United States, 
 however widely dispersed the individuals 
 who compose them may be, and to bid them 
 an affectionate and a long farewell." 
 
 For the last time, he assembled them at 
 Newburgh, when he rode out on the field, 
 and gave them one of those paternal ad- 
 dresses which so eminently characterized 
 his relationship with his army. To the 
 tune of " Roslin Castle," — the soldier's 
 dirge, — his brave comrades passed slowly 
 by their great leader, and filed away to their 
 respective homes. It was a thrilling scene. 
 There were gray-headed soldiers, who had 
 grown old by hardships and exposures, and 
 too old to begin life anew ; tears coursed 
 freely the furrowed cheeks of these veter- 
 ans. Among the thousands passing in 
 review before him were those, also, vfho 
 had done valorous service when the destiny 
 of the country hung tremblingly in the 
 balance. As Washington looked upon 
 them for the last time, he said, " I am 
 
 growing old in my country's service, and 
 losing my sight ; but I never doubted its 
 justice or gratitude." Even on the rudest 
 and roughest of the soldiery, the effect of 
 his parting language was irresistible. 
 
 On the fourth of December, 1783, by 
 Washington's request, his officers in full 
 luiiform, assembled in Fraunces's tavern. 
 New York, to take a final leave of their 
 commander-in-chief. On entering the 
 room, and finding himself surrounded by 
 his old companions-in-arms, who had 
 shared with him so many scenes of hard- 
 ship, difficulty, and danger, his agitated 
 feelings overcame his usual self-command. 
 Every man arose with eyes turned towards 
 him. Filling a glass of wine, and lifting it 
 to his lip.s, he rested his benignant but sad- 
 dened countenance upon them, and said, — 
 
 " With a heart full of love and grati- 
 tude, I now take leave of you. I most de- 
 voutly wish that your latter days maj' be 
 as prosperous as your former ones have 
 been honorable and glorious." Having 
 drunk, he added, " I cannot come to each 
 of you to take my leave, but shall be 
 obliged to you. if each of jou will come 
 and take me bj' the hand." A profound 
 silence followed, as each officer gazed on 
 the countenance of their leader, while the 
 eyes of all were wet with tears. He then 
 expressed again his desire that each of 
 them should come and take him by the 
 hand. The first, being nearest to him, 
 was General Knox, who grasped his hand 
 in silence, and both embraced each other 
 without uttering a word. One after an- 
 other followed, receiving and returning the 
 affectionate adieu of their commander, 
 after which he left the room in silence, 
 followed by his officers in procession, to 
 embarlv in the barge that was to convey 
 him to Paulus's Hook, now Jersey City. 
 As he was passing through the light in- 
 fantry drawn up on either side to receive 
 him. an old soldier, who was by his side 
 on the terrible night of his march to 
 Trenton, stepped out from the ranks, and 
 reaching out his arms, exclaimed, "Fare- 
 well, my dear general, fareiuell! " Wash- 
 ington seized his hand most heartily, when 
 
WASHINGTON'S TAREWELL TO THE ARMY — 1783. 
 
 93 
 
 the soldiers forgot all discipline, rushed 
 towards their chief, and bathed him with 
 their tears. The scene was like tliat of a 
 good patriarch taking leave of his children, 
 and going on a long journey, from whence 
 he might return no more. 
 
 Having entered the barge, he turned to 
 the weeping company upon the wharf, and 
 waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. 
 They stood with heads uncovered, until 
 the barge was hidden from their view, 
 when, in silent and solemn procession, they 
 returned to the place where they had as- 
 sembled. Congress was at this time in 
 session at Annapolis, Maryland, to which 
 place Washington now proceeded, greeted 
 along his whole route with enthusiastic 
 homage, for the j)urpose of formally resign- 
 ing his commission. He arrived on the 
 nineteenth of December, 1783, and the 
 next day he informed congress of the pur- 
 pose for which he had come, and requested 
 to know whether it would be their pleas- 
 ure that he should offer his resignation in 
 writing, or at an audience. A committee 
 was appointed by congress, and it was de- 
 cided that on Tuesday, December twenty- 
 third, the ceremonial should take place as 
 follows : — 
 
 The president and members are to be 
 seated and covered, and the secretary to 
 be standing by the side of the president ; 
 the arrival of the general to be announced 
 by the messenger to the secretary, who is 
 thereuj)on to introduce the general, at- 
 tended by his aids, into the hall of con- 
 gress ; the general, being conducted to a 
 chair by the secretary, is to be seated, with 
 an aid on each side standing, and the 
 secretary is to resume his place. After a 
 proper time for the arrangement of spec- 
 tators, silence is to be ordered by the sec- 
 retary, if necessary, and the president is to 
 address the general in the following 
 words : " Sir, — The United States in con- 
 gress assembled are prepared to receive your 
 communications." Whereupon the gen- 
 eral is to arise and address congress ; after 
 which he is to deliver his commission and 
 a copy of his address to the president. 
 The general having resumed his place, the 
 
 president is to deliver the answer of con- 
 gress, which the general is to receive 
 standing ; the president having finished, 
 the secretary is to deliver the general a 
 copy of the answer, and the general is then 
 to take his leave. When the general rises 
 to make his address, and also when he 
 retires, he is to bow to congress, which 
 thej' are to return by uncovering without 
 bowing. 
 
 When the hour arrived, the president, 
 General Mifflin, informed him that tliat 
 body was prepared to receive his commu- 
 nications. With a native dignity, height- 
 ened by the solemnity of the occasion, the 
 general rose. In a brief and appropriate 
 speech he offered his congratulations on 
 the termination of the war, and having 
 alluded to his object in appearing thus in 
 that presence, — that he might resign into 
 the hands of congress the trust committed 
 to him, and claim the indulgence of retir- 
 ing from the public service, — he concluded 
 with those affecting words, which drew 
 tears from the eyes of all in that vast as- 
 sembl}' : 
 
 " I consider it an indisjjensable duty to 
 close this last act of my official life, by 
 commending the interests of our dearest 
 country to the protection of Almighty 
 God, and those who have the superintend- 
 ence of them, to his holy keeping. Having 
 now finished the work assigned me, I 
 retire from the theater of action, and, 
 bidding an affectionate farewell to this 
 august body, under whose orders I have so 
 long acted, I here offer my commission, 
 and take my leave of all the em2)loyments 
 of public life." 
 
 After advancing to the chair, and deliv- 
 ering his commission to the president, he 
 returned to his place, and remained stand- 
 ing, while General Mifflin replied, review- 
 ing the great career thus brought to a 
 close, and saying, in conclusion : 
 
 " The glory of your virtues will not ter- 
 minate with your military command; it 
 will continue to animate the remotest ages. 
 We join with j'ou in commending the in- 
 terests of our country to Almighty God, 
 beseeching Him to dispose the hearts and 
 
94 
 
 FEOAI cDLONY to AVOKLD POWER. 
 
 miiuls of its citizens to improve the op- 
 portunity afforded them of becoming 
 a happy and respectable nation. And 
 for you, we address to Him our warm- 
 est prayers, that a life so beloved may 
 
 be fostered with all His care, that your 
 days may be as hajipy as they have been 
 illustrious, and that He will finally give 
 you that reward which this world cannot 
 bestow." 
 
VT. 
 
 APPOINTMENT OF THE FIRST MINISTER PLENIPOTEN- 
 TIARY, FROM THE NEW REPUBLIC TO THE 
 ENGLISH COURT.— 1785. 
 
 John Aflaras, America's Sturdiest Patriot, and tlie Foremost Knemy of British Tj'ranny, Fills this 
 High Office — Interview between Him and King George, His Late Sovereign —Tlieir Addresses, 
 Temper, Personal Bearinsr, and Humorous Conversation. — The Two Men Kightly Matclied Against 
 Each Otiier. — Old Animosities Unhealed — Mutual Cliargesof False Dealing. — Settlement Demanded 
 by the United States. — What Adams's Mission Involved — Dismemberment of the British Realm. — 
 Loss of the Fairest Possession — Bitter Pill for the King. — His Obstinacy Forced to Yield — Humilia- 
 tion of the Proud Monarch. — All Europe Watches the Event. — Mr. Adams Presented at Court.— Pa- 
 triot and King Face to Face. — Official Address by the Minister. — Reply of King George. — His Visi- 
 ible Agitation. — Adams's Presence of Mind. — Pays His Homage to the Queen — Her Majesty's Re- 
 sponse. — Civilities by the Royal Family. — Results of this Embassy. — Pitiable Position of George the 
 Third. — Fatal Error of Great Britain. 
 
 ' I must avow to your majesty, 1 hQV€ no attachment but to my own country."— Johs Adams to Kino Geoboe. 
 *' An honest man will have no other."— Tub Kino's Ixstant Retlv. 
 
 SE — ^ O deep-seatecl and festering were 
 the old aniinosities between Amer- 
 ica and the mother countrjr, that, 
 scarcely had the war of the revo- 
 lution terminated, when the two 
 nations reciprocally charged each 
 other with violating the treaty of 
 peace. The United States were 
 accused of having infringed those 
 articles which contained agree- 
 .^^ ^^^,,,^^ ments respecting the payment of 
 
 AMiTv BETWEEM ENGLAND AND AMERICA. dcbts, tlic confiscation of property, 
 
 and prosecution of individuals for the part taken by them during the war. On the 
 other hand, the English were charged with violating that article which stipulated 
 against the destruction or carrying away of any description of American property; 
 the king was also complained of, for still retaining possession of the posts on the 
 American side of the great lakes, thus influencing the Indian tribes to hostility; 
 and, above all other sources and causes of complaint, in the conduct of Great Britain, 
 was her rigorous and restrictive commercial system. 
 
 These growing misunderstandings between the two countries, discussed with such 
 angry vehemence on both sides, threatened such serious consequences should their adjust- 
 ment be much longer delayed, that congress determined upon the important step of 
 
96 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 appointing, after the manner of independ- 
 ent nations, a Minister Pleni2^otentiary to 
 the court of Great Britain ! 
 
 In February, 1785, John Adams was 
 duly accredited ambassador, to represent 
 the United States at that court. 
 
 That George the Third was as obstinate 
 a man as ever ruled a kingdom, no histo- 
 rian has ever questioned. Having struck 
 at the rights and liberties of America, in 
 order to add to the riches of his coffers, 
 nothing could turn him from his determin- 
 
 ation to rule, or to ruin and destroy. To 
 the suggestion that the king's rule over 
 the colonies might be slightly softened or 
 modified, Lord North despairingly replied : 
 "It is to no purpose the making objec- 
 tions, for the king will have it so." But 
 in no more forcible phrase could the king's 
 arbitrary temper concerning his colonies 
 be shown, that in that which fell from his 
 own lips, in the presence of the new en- 
 vo}-, namely, "/ was the last man in the 
 kingdom, sir, to consent to the independ- 
 ence of America." 
 
 Of all the opponents of Briti-sh misrule, 
 in the western world, John Adams was 
 the earliest, ablest, most intrepid and un- 
 tiring. It was John Adams, who, in 
 
 1775, in the memorable continental con- 
 gress, at Philadelphia, suggested George 
 Washington as comnumder-in-chief of the 
 army that was to wage war against Great 
 Britain — and, even before this crowning 
 act, had sent across the Atlantic, ringing 
 into the ears of the haughty monarch, the 
 epithets ti/rant and usurper. 
 
 The kingly ceremony of acknowledging 
 the colonies independent took place, in con- 
 formity with previous arrangements, on 
 the fifth of December, 1782, in the house 
 of lords. The scene was one which 
 drew together an immense and won- 
 dering crowd of spectators, conspicu- 
 ous among whom was the celebrated 
 admiral Lord Howe, who had just re- 
 turned from a successful relief of 
 Gibraltar, and who had now elbowed 
 himself exactlj' in front of the throne, 
 to listen, sadly, to his country's hu- 
 miliation. The ladies of the nobility 
 occupied the lords' seats on the wool- 
 sacks, so called, as an emblem of the 
 power and wealth of old England, 
 because it had been mainly derived 
 from wool. The lords were standing 
 here and there promiscuously. It 
 was a dark and foggy day, and the 
 windows being elevated and con- 
 structed in the antiquated stj-le, with 
 leaden bars to contain the diamond- 
 cut panes of glass, augmented the 
 gloom. The walls were also hung 
 with dark tapestrj', representing the de- 
 feat of the great Spanish armada. The 
 celebrated American painters, West and 
 Coplej', were in the throng, with some 
 American ladies, also a number of dejected- 
 looking American royalists. After a 
 tedious suspense of nearly two hours, the 
 approach of the king was announced by a 
 tremendous roar of artillery. He entered 
 by a small door on the left of the throne, 
 and immediately seated himself in the chair 
 of state, in a graceful attitude, with his 
 right foot resting on a stool. He was 
 clothed in the magnificent robes of British 
 majesty. Evidently agitated, he drew 
 slowly from his pocket a scroll containing 
 his humbling speech. The commons were 
 
FIRST MINISTER TO THE ENGLISH COURT — 1785. 
 
 91 
 
 summoned, and, after the bustle of their 
 entrance had subsided, the thrilling mo- 
 ment arrived, when the speech was to be 
 read. After some general remarks, usual 
 on public occasions, he said : 
 
 " I lost no time in giving the necessary 
 orders to prohibit the further prosecution 
 of offensive vrar upon the continent of 
 North America. Adopting, as my inclin- 
 ation will always lead me to do, with de- 
 cision and effect, whatever I collect to be 
 the sense of my parliament and my people, 
 I have pointed all my views and measures, 
 in Europe, as in North America, to an 
 entire and cordial reconciliation with the 
 colonies. Finding it indispensable to the 
 attainment of this object, I did not hesi- 
 tate to go to the full length of the power 
 vested in me, and therefore I now declare 
 them " — here he paused, in evident agita- 
 tion, either embarrassed in reading his 
 speech, by the darkness of the room, or 
 affected by a very natural emotion, but, 
 recovering himself in a moment by a 
 Ktrong convulsive movement, he added — 
 "/ree and independetit states. In thus 
 admitting their separation from the crown 
 of this kingdom, I have sacrificed every 
 consideration of my own, to the wishes and 
 opinions of my people. I make it my 
 humble and ardent prayer to Almighty 
 God, that Great Britain may not feel the 
 evils which might result from so great a 
 dismemberment of the empire, and that 
 America may be free from the calamities 
 which have formerly proved, in the mother 
 country, how essential monarchy is to the 
 enjoj-ment of constitutional liberty. Re- 
 ligion, language, interests, and affection 
 may, and I hope will, yet prove a bond of 
 permanent union between the two coun- 
 tries." 
 
 It was universally remarked of King 
 George, that, though celebrated for read- 
 ing his speeches in a distinct, composed, 
 and impressive manner, he was on this 
 occasion painfully lacking in his usual 
 self-possession ; he hesitated, choked, and 
 executed the high but humbling duties of 
 the occasion, in a manner which showed 
 that he was deeply mortified. 
 
 Mr. Adams was at Paris when he re- 
 ceived information of his appointment, in 
 1785, to confront his late king and royal 
 master. In an account given by Mr. 
 Adams himself, of his movements at this 
 time, he says : At Versailles, the Count 
 de Vergennes said he had many felicita- 
 tions to give me upon mj^ appointment to 
 England. I answered that I did not 
 know but it merited compassion more than 
 felicitation. "Ay, why?" "Because, as 
 you know, it is a species of degradation, in 
 the eyes of Europe, after having been ac- 
 credited to the king of France, to be sent 
 to any other court." 
 
 " But permit me to say," replies the 
 count, "it is a great thin// to be the first 
 ambassador from your country to tlie 
 country you sprany from. It is a mark." 
 
 One of the foreign ambassadors said to 
 me — 
 
 " You have been often in England." 
 
 " Never, but once in November and De- 
 cember, 1783." 
 
 " You have relations in England, no 
 doubt." 
 
 " None at all." 
 
 " None, how can that be ? j'ou are of 
 English extraction." 
 
 " Neither my father or mother, grand- 
 father or grandmother, great grandfather 
 or great grandmother, nor any other rela- 
 tion that I know of, or care a farthing for, 
 has been in England these one hundred 
 and fifty years ; so that you see I have not 
 one drop of blood in my veins but what is 
 American." 
 
 " Ay, we have seen proof enough of 
 that." 
 
 In the month of May, Mr. Adams trans- 
 ferred himself and family to the other side 
 of the channel, prepared to undertake the 
 new duties to which he had been aj)- 
 pointed. The first thing to be done was 
 to go through the ceremony of presenta- 
 tion to the sovereign ; to stand face to face 
 with the man whom he had for the first 
 forty years of his life habitually regarded 
 as his master, and who never ceased to 
 regard him, and the rest of his country- 
 men, as no better than successful rebels 
 
98 
 
 FROM COLONY TO AYOELD TOWER. 
 
 against his legitimate authority. In his 
 dispatch to Mi\ Jay, then American secre- 
 tary of foreign affairs, Mr. Ailams gave 
 the following very interesting account of 
 this meeting : — 
 
 At one o'clock on AVerlnesday, the first 
 of June, 1785, the master of I'eremonies 
 called at mj' house, and went with me to the 
 secretary of state's office, in Cleveland Row, 
 where the Marquis of Carmarthen received 
 and introduced me to Mr. Frazier, his 
 imder secretary, who had lieeu, as his 
 
 attended by the master of ceremonies, tho 
 room was very full of ministers of state, 
 bishops, and all other sorts of courtiers, as 
 well as the next room, which is the king's 
 bed-chamber. You may well suppose I 
 was the focus of all eyes. I was relieved, 
 however, from the embarrassment of it, by 
 the Swedish and Dutch ministers, who 
 came to me and entertained me with a very 
 agreeable conversation during the whole 
 time. Some other gentlemen, whom I 
 had seen before, came to make their com- 
 
 FIRST MINISTLIl Ti.) 1..M.LAMJ. laALlilw^ ..l' J.tU.N ADA.MS. 
 
 lordship said, uninterruptedly in that office, 
 through all the changes in administration, 
 for thirty years. After a short conversa- 
 tion, Lord Carmarthen invited me to go 
 with him in his coach to court. When we 
 arrived in the ante-chamber, the master of 
 ceremonies introduced him, and attended 
 me while the secretary of state went to 
 take the commands of the king. While I 
 stood in this place, where it seems all min- 
 isters stand ujjon such occasions, always 
 
 {jlimcnts to me, until the Marquis of Car- 
 marthen returned and desired me to go with 
 him to his majestJ^ I went with his 
 lordship through the levee room into the 
 king's closet. The door was shut, and I 
 was left with his majesty and the secretary 
 of state alone. I made the three rever- 
 ences : one at the door, another about half- 
 way, and another before the presence, 
 according to the usage established at this 
 and all the northern courts of Europe, aiid 
 
FIEST MINISTER TO THE ENGLISH COUET — 1785. 
 
 99 
 
 then I addressed myself to his majesty in 
 the following words : 
 
 "Siue: The United IStates have ap- 
 pointed me minister plenipotentiary to 
 your majesty, and have directed nie to 
 deliver to j'our majesty this letter, which 
 contains the evidence of it. It is in obe- 
 
 J-ff^m Ma^m^ 
 
 dience to their express commands, that I 
 have the honor to assure your majesty of 
 their unanimous disposition and desire to 
 cultivate the most friendly and liberal in- 
 tercourse between _your majesty's subjects 
 and their citizens, and of their best wishes 
 for your majesty's health and happiness, 
 and for that of your family. 
 
 The appointment of a minister from the 
 United States to your majesty's court will 
 form an epoch in the history of England 
 and America. I think myself more fortu- 
 nate than all my fellow-citizens, in having 
 the distinguished honor to be the first to 
 stand in your majesty's royal presence in 
 a diplomatic character, and I shall esteem 
 myself the happiest of men, if I can be 
 instrumental in recommending my country 
 more and more to your majesty's royal 
 benevolence, and of restoring an entire 
 esteem, confidence, and affection ; or, in 
 better w^ords, ' the old good nature and the 
 good old humor,' between people who, 
 though separated by an ocean, and under 
 different governments, have the same lan- 
 guage, a similar religion, a kindred blood. 
 I beg your majesty's permission to add, 
 
 that, although I have sometimes before 
 been instructed by mj' country, it was 
 never in my whole life in a manner so 
 agreeable to myself.'' 
 
 The king listened to every word I said, 
 with dignity, it is true, but with apparent 
 emotion. Whether it was my visible agi- 
 tation, for I felt more than I could ex- 
 press, that touched him, I cannot say; 
 but he was much affected, and answered 
 me with more tremor than I had spoken 
 with, and said — 
 
 "Sir: The circumstances of this audi- 
 ence are so extraordinarj-, the language 
 you have now held is so extrenielj- proper, 
 and the feelings you have discovered sn 
 justly adapted to the occasion, that I not 
 only receive with pleasure the assurance 
 of the friendly disposition of the United 
 States, but I am glad the choice has fallen 
 upon you to be their minister. I wish 3'ou. 
 sir, to believe, that it may be understood 
 in America, that I have done nothing iu 
 the late contest hut what I thought myself 
 indispensably bound to do, by the duty 
 which 1 owed my peojile. I will be frank 
 with you. I was the last to conform to 
 the separation ; but the separation having 
 become inevitable, I have always said, as I 
 now say, that I would be the first to jneet 
 the friendship of the United States as an 
 independent power. The moment I see 
 such sentiments and language as yours pre- 
 vail, and a disposition to give this country 
 the preference, that moment I shall say, let 
 the circumstances of language, religion, 
 and blood, have their natural, full effect." 
 
 The king then asked me whether I came 
 last from France; upon my answering in the 
 affirmative, he put on an air of familiarity, 
 and, smiling, or rather laughing, said — 
 
 " There is an opinion among some people 
 that you are not the most attached of all 
 your countrymen to the manners of 
 France." 
 
 " That opinion, sir, is not mistaken ; 7 
 must avow to your majesty, I have no at- 
 tachment but to my own country." 
 
 The king replied as quick as lightning — 
 
 "An honest man ivUl have no other." 
 
 The king then said a word or two to the 
 
100 
 
 FKOil COLONY TO WOKLD FOWEK. 
 
 secretary of state, which, being between 
 them, I did not hear, and then turned 
 round and bowed to me, as is customary 
 with all kings and princes when they give 
 the signal to retire. I retreated, stepping 
 backwards, as is the etiquette, and making 
 mj' last reverence at the door of the chamber. 
 
 Mr. Adams was yet to pay liis first 
 court of homage to the queen. He was 
 presented to her on the ninth of June, by 
 Lord Allesbury, her lord-chamberlain, — 
 having first been attended to his lordship 
 and introduced to him by the master of 
 the ceremonies. The queen was accompa- 
 nied by her ladies-in-waiting, and Mr. 
 Adams made his compliments to her maj- 
 esty in the following words : 
 
 "Madam, — Among the many circum- 
 stances which have rendered my mission 
 to his majesty desirable to me, I have ever 
 considered it a principal one, that I sliould 
 have an opportunity of paying my court 
 to a great queen, whose royal virtues and 
 talents have ever been acknowledged and 
 admired in America, as well as in all the 
 nations of Europe, as an example to prin- 
 cesses and the glory of her sex. 
 
 Permit me, madam, to recommend to 
 your majesty's royal goodness a rising em- 
 pire and an infant virgin world. 
 
 Another Europe, madam, is rising in 
 America. To a philosophical mind, like 
 your majesty's, there cannot be a more 
 pleasing contemplation, than the prospect 
 of doubling the human species, and aug- 
 menting, at the same time, their jirosperity 
 and happiness. It will, in future ages, be 
 the glory of these kingdoms to have peo- 
 pled that country, and to have sown there 
 those seeds of science, of liberty, of virtue, 
 and permit me, madam, to add, of piety, 
 which alone constitute the prosperity of na- 
 tions and the happiness of the human race. 
 
 After venturing upon such high insinu- 
 ations to your majesty, it seems to be de- 
 scending too far, to ask, as I do, your 
 majesty's royal indulgence to a person who 
 is indeed unqualified for courts, and who 
 owes his elevation to this distinguished 
 honor of standing before your majesty, not 
 to any circumstances of illustrious birth. 
 
 fortune, or abilities, but merely to an 
 ardent devotion to his native country, and 
 some little industry and perseverance in 
 her service." 
 
 To this address of Mr. Adams, the 
 queen answered, in the accustomed royal 
 brevitj', as follows : 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for your civilities to 
 me and my family, and am glad to see 
 you in this country." 
 
 The queen then asked Mr. Adams if he 
 had provided himself with a house, to 
 which question answer was made that he 
 had agreed for one that morning. She 
 then made her courtesy, and the envoy 
 made his reverence, retiring at once into 
 the drawing-room, where the king, queen, 
 princess royal, and the j'ounger princess, 
 her sister, all spoke to the new minister 
 very courteously. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the memorable 
 historical bearings of this mission of the 
 great American statesman, as first ambas- 
 sador of the new-born republic, to his late 
 august sovereign, — a mission which riveted 
 the attention of the civilized world, — and 
 although George the Third had submitted 
 with dignity to the painful necessity of such 
 a meeting, the embassy was attended with 
 no jiermanently favoi'able result either to 
 America or to Mr. Adams. Indeed, of the 
 many humiliations which befell the un- 
 happy George, jierhaps few were felt so 
 bitterly as this almost compulsory inter- 
 view with the representative of a people, 
 once his subjects, afterwards rebels, and 
 now free. Well and truthfully has the 
 historian said, that, in the conduct of the 
 king, on this occasion, the obvious wisdom 
 of conciliating the J'oung and rising nation 
 on the western side of the Atlantic was 
 forgotten, and the error of supercilious 
 neglect was preferred. Throughout the 
 whole political history of Great Britain 
 this marked fault may be traced in its 
 relations with foreign nations, but it never 
 showed itself in more striking colors than 
 during the first half century after the in- 
 dependence of the United States. The 
 effects of the mistake then committed have 
 been perceptible ever since. 
 
VII. 
 
 FIKST ORGANIZED REBELLION IN THE UNITED 
 
 STATES.— 1786. 
 
 Daniel Sliays, at the Head of an Armed and Desperate Force, Boldly Dtfjcs tlie Slate and Federal 
 Laws in Massachusetts. — " Taxation and Tyranny" the Alleged Grievances — Alarming Disaffection 
 Throughout all New England. — Bad Leaders and Furious Mobs. — Rout of the Insurgents, hy General 
 Lincoln, in the Dead of Winter. — Patriotic Old Massachusetts in a Ferment. — Causes of Public Dis- 
 content. — Total Exhaustion of Credit. — Prostration of Trade. — Ruinous Debts, Heavy Taxation. — 
 Weakness of the Government. — An Excited Populace. — Turbulence and Lawlessness. — All Authority 
 
 Spurned. — A Bloody Conflict Invited — Courts of Justice 
 Broken Up. — Indignation of Washington. — Heroism on 
 the Bench. — The National Forces Augmented. — Fears 
 of a General Civil War — Unscrupulousness of Shays. — 
 Intention to Seize the Capital. — Governor Bowdoin's De- 
 fenses. — General Lincoln in Command. — Active Move- 
 ment of His Troops. — A Terrible Snow-Storm. — Hard- 
 ships of Shays's Army. — Federal Bayonets Triumphant. 
 
 " sirs. I Bhall sit here as a judee. or die here ae a penerall"— Replt op 
 General Cobb, a Massacuusetts Judge, to a Scmkoks to Dissolve 
 HIS Court. 
 
 SCENE IN SHAYS'S KEBELLIO.N. 
 
 NE of the most noteworthy facts in the history 
 of the early period — the first decade — of the 
 American Republic, is, that in the state of Mas- 
 sachusetts, the state which had been foremost in 
 ilie war of independence against Great Britain, 
 occurred the first instance of armed and organ- 
 iz(-d rebellion against the situation and conduct 
 of public affairs consequent upon the changed character of the government and its 
 administrators. It will be necessary, however, not only in behalf of the consistency 
 of popular government, but as vindicating the patriotic old commonwealth in question 
 from any imputation of lawless proclivities, to narrate, first, some of the peculiar cir- 
 cumstances which brought distress to a large class of citizens, and provoked political 
 discontent, finally culminating in bloody sedition. 
 
 For a considerable period after the people of the United States had secured peace, 
 through British acknowledgment of their independence, was the exhausting effect felt 
 by them, of their exertions in so hard-fought and prolonged a contest. The popular 
 enthusiasm, excited by a victorious termination of the struggle, began to subside, and 
 the sacrifices of the revolution soon became known and felt. The claims of those who 
 toiled, and fought, and suffered in the arduous contest, were strongly urged, and the 
 government had neither resources nor power to satisfy or to silence them. The wealth 
 
102 
 
 YROll COI,ONY TO AVOKLD TOWER. 
 
 of the country liad been totally exhausted 
 during the revolution, and, worse than all, 
 the public credit had become so shaken 
 and jjrostrated as to be a mere by-word, 
 at home and abroad, no matter what might 
 be the pledges of security proffered. Taxes 
 could not be collected, because — even if for 
 no other reason, — there was no money to 
 represent the value of the little personal 
 property which had not been, and the land 
 which could not be, destroj'ed; and com- 
 merce, though preparing to burst from its 
 thraldom, had not yet had time to restore 
 to the annual produce of the country its ex- 
 changeable value. The states owed each a 
 heavy debt for local services rendered 
 during the revolution, for which it was 
 bound to provide, and each had its own 
 domestic government to support. 
 
 The causes of discontent which thus ex- 
 isted after the restoration of peace, in 
 every part of the Union, were perhaps no- 
 where more operative than in New En- 
 gland, growing out of the following circum- 
 stances : The great exertions which had 
 been put forth by those states in the course 
 of the war, had accumulated a mass of 
 debt, the taxes for the payment of which 
 were felt as peculiarly burdensome, be- 
 cause the fisheries of this people had be- 
 come so unproductive. This important 
 branch of industry, which, before the revo- 
 lutionary war, had in some measure com- 
 pensated for the want of those rich staples 
 that were possessed by the middle and 
 southern colonies, had been unavoidably 
 neglected during the struggle for inde- 
 pendence ; and, as a consequence of that 
 independence, had not only been deprived 
 of the encouragements under which it had 
 flourished, but its produce was excluded 
 from markets which had formerly been 
 opened to it. The restlessness produced 
 by the uneasy situation of individuals, to 
 gether with lax notions concerning public 
 and private faith, and erroneous opinions, 
 tended to confound liberty with an exemj)- 
 tion from legal conti'ol. 
 
 This turbulent spirit was carried out 
 and encouraged, with great effect upon the 
 minds of the populace, by puljlic conven- 
 
 tions, which, after voting their own con- 
 stitutionality, and assuming the name and 
 authority of the people, arrayed themselves 
 against the regular legislative power, and 
 declared in the most exciting language the 
 grievances by which they alleged them- 
 selves to be oppressed. 
 
 Eeckless and desperate, a body of mal- 
 contents entered the legislative chamber 
 at Exeter, New Hampshire, and deliber- 
 ately overpowered and made prisoners the 
 general assembly of the state ; the citizens, 
 however, rose and crushed the movement 
 in a few hours. 
 
 But the center of this s2)irit of lawless 
 violence throughout New England, culmin- 
 ated in 1786, in the state of Massachu- 
 setts, where, on account of the calamitous 
 interruption of the regular trades and oc- 
 cupations, on land and sea, a vast number 
 of the male population, principally young 
 men, became impoverished, and wei'e 
 thrown upon society. The general court, 
 or legislature, of Massachusetts, had found 
 it necessary- to impose taxes which, perhaps, 
 in any case would have been ill-received, 
 but which, in the existing state of feeling 
 and social disorganization, led to general 
 resistance and open rebellion. The dis- 
 contented, led on by ambitious and un- 
 principled leaders, provided themselves 
 with arms of every description ; they had 
 seen the country free itself from the tyr- 
 anny of Britain by these means, and now 
 they were about to try the same against 
 what they considered the tyranny of their 
 own government. Things continued to go 
 on in this way for some time, when, the 
 number of the malcontents becoming so 
 large and formidable, the militia were 
 called out to protect the sittings of the 
 courts, which it was the object of the in- 
 surgents to prevent ; and so conciliatory 
 and considerate was the government, that 
 their grievances were made the subject of 
 repeated and anxious counsel, and as much 
 as possible redressed. Bills were passed 
 for diminishing legal costs, law charges 
 being at that time enormous ; and for al- 
 lowing the payment of taxes and private 
 debts in specific articles instead of coin, 
 
FIKST ORGANIZED EEBELLIOX — ITSG. 
 
 10c 
 
 of whicli latter there was scarce- 
 ly any in circulation ; as well as 
 for applying certain revenues, 
 formerly devoted to other pur- 
 poses, to the payment of govern- 
 mental dues. So far were con- '"""= 
 cessions made ; still the agitation contin- 
 ued, and the habeas corpus act was sus- 
 pended for eight months. Nevertheless, 
 though every preparation was thus made to 
 secure jJrotection to the government, full 
 pardon for past offenses was promised to 
 all, if they would cease from their illegal 
 agitations. 
 
 Doubtless, but for the daring and des- 
 peration of one man, Daniel Shaj's, order 
 would have been restored. 
 
 Great anxiety filled the minds of the 
 patriotic statesmen throughout the coun- 
 try, at this state of anarchy ; and from 
 the bosom of Washington, in especial, 
 there went forth utterances of profound 
 indignation and alarm. "Eor God's sake 
 tell me," said he in a letter to Colonel 
 Humphreys, '• what is the cause of all 
 these commotions ? do they proceed from 
 licentiousness, British influence dissemin- 
 ated by the tories, or real grievances 
 which admit of redress ? if the latter, why 
 was redress delayed until the public mind 
 had become so much agitated ? if the 
 
 former, why 
 
 are not the 
 
 powers of F^'t 
 
 government %s= 
 
 tried atonce? ^^^ 
 
 it is as well eS--,.- 
 
 to be with- '" IP" 
 
 out, as not to bhays's forces in Massachusetts. 
 
 exercise them. Commotions of this sort, 
 like snowballs, gather strength as they 
 roll, if there is no opposition in the way to 
 divide and crumble them.'' Such was 
 Washington's horror of this Massachusetts 
 tumult. 
 
 Colonel Humphrej-s, while acknowledg- 
 ing his inability to give any adequate ex- 
 planation of the cause and origin of the 
 difficulties, yet gave it as his opinion that 
 they were attributable to all the three 
 causes which Washington had suggested 
 — that, in Massachusetts j^articularl}', 
 there were a few real grievances, and also 
 .some wicked agents or emissaries who 
 made it their business to magnify every 
 existing evil, and to foment causeless jeal- 
 
iU-t 
 
 TEOM COLONY TO WORLD TOWEE. 
 
 ousies and commotions. Under the influ- 
 ence of such examples, it was plain to see 
 that there had become prevalent among 
 many of the people a licentious spirit, a 
 leveling principle, a desire of change, and 
 a wish to annihilate all debts, both public 
 and private. 
 
 The force of this part\f throughout New 
 England was computed at twelve or fifteen 
 thousand men, chiefly of the .young and 
 active part of the community, who were 
 more easily collected than kept together. 
 Many of these were despei'ate and unprin- 
 cipled, opposed to all good government and 
 legal discipline, and consequently ready, 
 when any demagogue should light the 
 spark of violence, to commit overt acts of 
 treason and bring on a bloody civil war. 
 This state of things alarmed greatly the 
 friends of law and order, and made them 
 firm in the conviction that there needed to 
 he established, above all things, a govern- 
 
 ment for the people of tlie United States, 
 wbiili should have the power to protect 
 ■licm in their lawful pursuits, and which 
 would be efficient in cases of internal 
 commotions, or foreign invasions, — a gov- 
 ernment resting upon liberty, and regu- 
 hitcd by laws firmly administered. 
 
 Tlie mob spirit grew more and more 
 rampant in jMassachusetts, and, in spite 
 of the vigilance which the authorities now 
 put forth, generally succeeded in its demon- 
 strations of violence, and in thwarting the 
 plans of that faithful and energetic chief 
 magistrate, Governor Bowdoin. In one 
 
 instance, however, at least, their proceed- 
 ings in this respect were summarily 
 brought to a stand. This was in the town 
 of Taunton, where Judge Cobb, formerly 
 an ofiicer under Washington, and still one 
 of the state-militia generals, was holding 
 a court session at the time. On the ar- 
 rival of the insurgents at the court-house. 
 General Cobb jn-omjjtly confronted them, 
 and, after exhorting them to render that 
 obedience to the laws which is binding 
 on every citizen, emphatically declared to 
 them, "Sirs! I shall sit here tis a judge, 
 or die here as a general ! " Knowing him 
 to be £. man who knew his rights and 
 WKuld maintain them at anv cost, the mob, 
 though more numerous than the force that 
 General Cobb could summon, concluded 
 that the safest course for them to pursue 
 was to disperse. 
 
 Ostensibly on account of the danger 
 which threatened the frontiers, but really, 
 it would seem, with a view to the sit- 
 uation of affairs in Massachusetts, 
 congress had agreed to augment the 
 military establishment to a much 
 larger and more effective standard, 
 and had detached the secretary of 
 war, General Knox, to the eastward, 
 with directions to concert measures 
 with the government of the state for 
 the safety of the public arsenals. So 
 unfavorable, indeed, was the aspect of 
 affairs, that fears were seriously en- 
 tertained that the torch of civil dis- 
 cord, about to be lighted ujj in ]\Iassa- 
 chusetts, would communicate its flame 
 to all New England, and perhajis spread 
 the conflagration throughout the Union. 
 
 A few of the agitators having, at length, 
 been seized and lodged in Boston jail, — 
 the details of which will be found more 
 particularly narrated on a subsequent page, 
 — the exasperation of their associates was 
 greatly increased, and in a short time they 
 organized themselves as an armed force, 
 under tlie command of Daniel Shays, Luke 
 Day, and Eli Parsons ; but some little 
 time elapsed before the state was full}' 
 prepared to show its military power, 
 though the riotous interference with the 
 
FIEST OEGANIZED EEBELLION — 1786. 
 
 105 
 
 courts ot justice was repeatedly enacted. 
 In the account of these proceedings given 
 bj' that excellent and most reliable histo- 
 rian, Mr. Lossing, it is stated that, while 
 the legislature was in session, early in 
 November, there were indications that an 
 attempt would be made to interfere with 
 the sittings of the supreme court about to 
 be held in Middlesex county. General 
 Brooks, a gallant officer of the revolution, 
 in command of the militia of that district, 
 was ordered to have a strong foi'ce in 
 readiness to march to Cambridge if neces- 
 sary. Among those summoned, and held 
 in readiness, were three regiments and 
 four artillery comjaanies of Middlesex 
 county, and one comjiany of infantry and 
 one of artillery, in Boston. This formida- 
 ble display made the Middlesex malcon- 
 tents invisible and silent at that time. 
 Brooks was a fine officer, and had showed 
 himself a gallant adherent of the com- 
 mander-in-chief during the consjjiracy or 
 mutiny which took place in Newburgh 
 camp at the close of the revolutionary war. 
 Washington requested him to keep his 
 officers within quarters, that they might 
 not attend the insurgent meeting, his reply 
 was — 
 
 " Sir, I have anticijmted your wishes, 
 and mj' orders are given." 
 
 " Colonel Brooks, this is just what I ex- 
 pected from you," was the reply of the 
 chieftain, as he took the gallant colonel by 
 the hand. 
 
 The legislature adjourned after a session 
 of six weeks. Their dispersion was the 
 signal for greater activity on the jaart of 
 the insurgents. They held several meet- 
 ings in the western counties, and severelj' 
 censured the measures recently adopted by 
 the legislature. They resolved, by acclam- 
 ation, to resist the execution of the laws 
 of the state ; and everywhere, among un- 
 principled men, the most lawless and 
 alarming spirit was manifested. The len- 
 iency of the governor was called cowardice. 
 The acts of the legislature were denounced 
 as instruments of tyranny. The people 
 were excited by inflammatory appeals. 
 They were incited to acts of violence, and 
 
 the courts of justice were again interfered 
 with. Toward the close of November, the 
 sitting of the general court of sessions at 
 Worcester was prevented by an armed 
 mob, who, taught by demagogues, and be- 
 lieving that they owed no other obedience 
 to government but in so far as they might 
 approve its measures, declared that they 
 had the right, if they chose, to dispense 
 with all laws which were obnoxious to 
 tliem, and that they intended to set the 
 state authorities at defiance. In Hamp- 
 shire and Middlesex counties, similar bold 
 demonstrations were made. Governor 
 Bowdoin perceived that the time for ar- 
 gument and persuasion was at an end, and 
 that the safety of the commonwealth, now 
 really in danger, must be secured by ener- 
 getic measures. He accordingly issued a 
 general order for the major-generals 
 throughout the state to see that the mili- 
 tia, under their respective commands, were 
 equipped, and ready to respond to anj' 
 sudden demand for their services. This 
 order inflamed the leaders of the malcon- 
 tents and their deluded followers, and the 
 insurrection now began to assume the 
 alarming form of a rebellion. The leaders, 
 expecting severe punishment in the event 
 of failure, became desperate, and were 
 ready to employ desperate measures for 
 the accomplishment of their wicked 
 scheme. They also hoped to secure a suf- 
 ficient number of adherents or defenders 
 to procure the governor's pardon in the 
 event of their failure. They were doomed 
 to be disappointed. 
 
 In December, a large number of the in- 
 surgents assembled at Concord, expecting 
 to be joined by others from Bristol, Wor- 
 cester, and Hampshire counties. Their 
 object was to prevent the sitting of the 
 court at Cambridge, the dictation of meas- 
 ures to the governor, and the suspen- 
 sion, for a time at least, of the usual proc- 
 esses of law. It is evident, that, while 
 these objects were acknowledged, they in- 
 tended, if possible, to seize the capital, 
 take possession of the archives, and pro- 
 claim a provisional government. But the 
 project failed, an<^ three of the leading 
 
106 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 traitors of Middlesex soon found them- 
 selves within the walls of a Boston jail. 
 The sheriff, in the execution of his war- 
 rant for their arrest, was accompanied by 
 a number of influential gentlemen and a 
 company of Boston cavalry, who volun- 
 teered their services. 
 
 Shays and his followers, desperate but 
 determined, — for success or utter ruin was 
 the alternative presented, — turned their 
 faces westward, and marched upon Spring- 
 field for the purpose of interfering with 
 the sitting of the court appointed for the 
 twenty-sixth of December, and, if strong 
 enougli, to seize the continental arsenal at 
 that place. They arrived there on the 
 twenty-fifth, took possession of tlie court- 
 house, and presented to the judges a writ- 
 ten declaration that the court should not 
 transact business. The powerless judges 
 were compelled to submit. 
 
 Finding that the lenient measures whicli 
 had thus far been taken by the legislature 
 to subdue the violence of the insurgents 
 only enlarged their demands, — -that the 
 pardon proffered to those who would re- 
 turn to their duty was rejected with scorn, 
 — that the conciliating efforts of govern- 
 ment only increased their audacity, — and 
 tliat tliey were proceeding with more and 
 more energy to marshal their military 
 forces for an aggres.^ive movement, — Gov- 
 ernor Bowdoin, who had probably been 
 restrained by the temper of the house of 
 representatives from an earlier resort to 
 the final extremity, at length determined, 
 with the advice of council, on a vigorous 
 exertion of all the powers he possessed, 
 for the protection and defense of the com- 
 monwealth. Upwards of four thousand 
 militia were ordered into service, and were 
 placed under the command of the veteran 
 General Lincoln, whose gallant military 
 reputation, and well-balanced judgment, 
 rendered liim doubly capacitated for so 
 critical and important a trust. 
 
 It was in the depth of an unusually se- 
 vere winter, and which caused bitter suf- 
 fering, that the troops thus raised in the 
 eastern jiart of the state assembled near 
 Boston, and 'iiarched towards the scene of 
 
 action. Those from the western counties 
 met in arms under General Shepard, an 
 officer who had served with honor during 
 the war of the revolution, and took close 
 possession of the federal arsenal at Spring- 
 
 '^^^^rP2^:^^Z^ 
 
 field. Before the arrival of Lincoln, a party 
 of the insurgents presented themselves 
 before the arsenal and demanded its sur- 
 render. Attempting to carry out their 
 demand, General ' Shepard, after warning 
 and entreating them to retire, fired upon 
 them. The first discharge was over their 
 heads ; they took no notice of it. The sec- 
 ond was into the ranks ; a cry of '' Mur- 
 der ! " arose, and all fled in confusion, 
 leaving three men dead on tlie field and 
 one wounded. Urging his march with the 
 utmost celerity, Lincoln soon came up, and 
 pressing the insurgent army, endeavored 
 by a succession of rapid movements, in 
 which the ardor of his troops triumphed 
 over the extreme severity of the season, to 
 disperse or bring it to action. But the 
 insurgents fled to Pelham, where they 
 posted themselves upon two hills, rendered 
 almost inaccessible by the great fall of 
 snow. They used all their address to pro- 
 duce a suspension of hostilities until an 
 accommodation might be negotiated with 
 the legi-slature, — believing, as they did, 
 that, if they could keep up their influence 
 until another choice of legislature and gov- 
 ernor came around, matters might be 
 molded to their liking. Shays now of- 
 fered to lay down his arms on condition of 
 general pardon, which Lincoln, however, 
 was not empowered to grant. At length, 
 
FIRST OEGANIZED REBELLION — 1786. 
 
 107 
 
 sorely pressed for food, a sudden retreat 
 was made to Petersham. Discovering 
 this, Lincoln set off at six in the evening, 
 and marching all night, forty miles, 
 through intense cold and a di'iviug storm. 
 
 reached Petersham by daybreak, to the 
 astonishment of the rebels, who had not 
 the least idea of this movement, and ac- 
 cordingly fled in dismay or were taken 
 prisoners. 
 
VIII. 
 
 FORMATION AND ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTI- 
 TUTION.— 1 787. 
 
 The United States no Longer a People Witliout a Government. — Establisluneut of the Republic on a 
 Permanent Foundation of Unity, Organic Law and National Polity. — Dignity, Learning, and Elo- 
 quence of the Delegates. — Sublime Scene on Signing the Instrument. — Extraordinary Character of 
 ihe Whole Transaction. — State of Things After the War — Financial Embarrassment — Despondency 
 of the People. — Grave Crisis in Public Atiairs. — A Grand Movement Initiated — Plan of Government 
 to be Framed. — All the States in Convention — Washington Chosen to Preside. — Statesmen and Sages 
 in Council. — The Old Compact Abrogated. — New Basis of Union Proposed. — Various Schemes Dis- 
 cussed. — Jealousy of the Smaller States. — Angry Debates, Sectional Threats — Bad Prospects of the 
 Convention. — Its Dissolution Imminent — Franklin's Impressive Appeal. — Compromise and Concilia- 
 tion. — Final System Agreed Upon. — Patriotism Rules all Hearts. — Ratification by the States. — Na- 
 tional Joy at the Decision. 
 
 " Should the states reject ttiis excellent Constitution, the probability is that an opportunity will never njrnin be ofTered to cancel another in 
 peace— the nest will be drawn in blood." — Remark of Washington on Signing the Constiti'tion. 
 
 EXnOLLIXG THE COXSTITUTIOX. 
 
 HOUGH the close of the 
 war of independence 
 resulted in tlie establish- 
 ment of a free national- 
 ity, it nevertheless 
 brought an.xious solici- 
 tude to every jDatriot's 
 mind, and this state of 
 aiipi-ohension and disqui- 
 etude increased with each 
 succeeding j'ear. The 
 state debts which had 
 licen incurred in anticipation of prosperous times, operated severely, after a while, on 
 all classes in the community ; to meet the paj'ment of these debts, at maturity, was 
 impossible, and every relief-act only added to the difficulty. This, and kindred 
 troubles, financial and governmental, impressed the people with the gloomy conviction 
 that the great work of independence, as contemplated in the revolutionary struggle, 
 was only half done. It was felt tliat, above all things, a definite and organic form 
 of government — reflecting the will of the people — should be fi.xed upon, to give energy 
 to national power, and success to individual and public enterprise. So portentous a 
 crisis as this formed another epoch for the displaj^ of the intellectual and political 
 attainments of American statesmen, and the ordeal was one through wliich they passed 
 with the highest honor, and with ever-enduring fame, at home and abroad. New men 
 appeared on the stage of legislative council and action, and it was found that the quan- 
 
ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION — 1787. 
 
 109 
 
 tity of talent and information necessary in 
 the formation period of a new republic 
 had greatly increased in the various states. 
 But, in especial, the great minds that 
 achieved the revolution beheld with deep 
 concern their country impoverished and 
 distracted at home, and of no considera- 
 tion among the family of nations. 
 
 A change was now to be wrought, the 
 grandeur of which would be acknowledged 
 throughout all lands, and its importance 
 reach forward to the setting of the sun of 
 time. The same hall which had resounded 
 with words of patriotic defiance that shook 
 the throne of King George and proclaimed 
 to an astonished world the Declaration of 
 Independence, — that same hall in which 
 congress had continued to sit during the 
 greater part of the momentous period in- 
 tervening, — in the state house at Phila- 
 delphia, was soon to witness the assem- 
 bling of such a body of men as, in point of 
 intellectual talent, personal integrity, and 
 lofty purpose, had perhaps never before 
 been brought together. The curious stu- 
 dent of this page in modern history has 
 sometimes plausibly but speciously attrib- 
 uted to mere chance — instead of to that 
 Providence which rules in the affairs of 
 men — this timely and grand event. Thus, 
 General Washington, having contemplated 
 with great interest a plan for uniting the 
 Potomac and the Ohio rivers, and by this 
 means connecting the eastern and western 
 waters, made a journey of six hundred and 
 eighty miles on horseback, taking minute 
 notes of everything which could be subserv- 
 ient to this project. His influence, and 
 the real importance pf the design, induced 
 the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland 
 to send commissioners to Alexandria to 
 deliberate on the subject. They met in 
 March, 1785, and having spent some time 
 at Mount Vernon, determined to recom- 
 mend another commission, which might 
 establish a general tariff on imports. The 
 Virginia legislature not only agreed, but 
 invited the other states to send deputies 
 to meet at Annapolis. In September, 
 1786, they had arrived from five only, and 
 with too limited powers. A number of 
 
 able statesmen, however, were thus assem- 
 bled, who, feeling deeply the depressed 
 and distracted state of the countrj^, became 
 sensible that something on a much greater 
 scale was necessary to raise her to pros- 
 perity, and give her a due place among 
 the nations. They therefore drew up a 
 report and address to all the states, 
 strongly representing the inefficiency of 
 the present federal government, and earn- 
 estly urging them to send delegates to 
 meet at Philadelphia in May, 1787. Con- 
 gress responded to this proceeding in Feb- 
 ruary, by the passage of resolutions rec- 
 ommending the proposed measure, — but of 
 which, perhaps, they did not then contem- 
 plate all the momentous results. 
 
 On the day appointed for the meeting 
 of the convention. May fourteenth, 1787, 
 only a small number of the delegates had 
 arrived in Philadelphia. The delibera- 
 tions did not commence, therefore, until 
 May twenty-fifth, when there were pres- 
 ent twenty-nine members, representing 
 nine states. Others soon after came in, 
 till the whole number amounted to fifty- 
 five. Never, perhaps, had any body of 
 men combined for so great a purpose — td 
 form a constitution which was to rule so 
 numerous a people, and probably during 
 so many genei'ations. The members, con- 
 sisting of the very ablest men in America, 
 were not unworthy of, nor unequal to, so 
 high a trust. 
 
 Towering above all these men of might, 
 in his world-wide fame and in the genius 
 of his personal ascendency, was Washing- 
 ton, intrusted by the commonwealth of 
 Virginia with the work of cementing to- 
 gether the sisterhood of states in one in- 
 dissoluble bond of mutual interest, co-ope- 
 ration, and renown. And there was Rufus 
 King, from Massachusetts, young in years, 
 but mature in wisdom and brilliant in ora- 
 tory ; Langdon, from New Hampshire, 
 strong in his understanding and readily 
 mastering the most intricate details ; EIt 
 bridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, exhibiting 
 the utmost zeal and fidelity in the per- 
 formance of his official duties; Caleb 
 Strong, from the same state, plain in his 
 
110 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 r" 
 
 
 ii"ii»k,„ 
 
 CONVENTION AT PHILADELPHIA, 1787. 
 
 apiieanaiice, Inifccalni, firm, intelligent, and 
 well-balanced ; Ellsworth, from Connecti- 
 cut, elegant in his manners, and distin- 
 guished for his energy of mind, clear 
 reasoning powers, and effective eloquence; 
 Sherman, his colleague, a statesman and 
 jurist whose fame has extended far beyond 
 the western world; Hamilton, from New 
 York, spare and fragile in jjerson, but 
 keen, active, laborious, transcendent in 
 his abilities and of unsullied integrity; 
 Livingston, from New Jersey, of scholarly 
 tastes, uncompromisingly republican in his 
 politics, and fearless in the expression of 
 his opinions; Franklin, from Pennsylvania, 
 one of the profoundest philosophers in the 
 world, and, though now rising of four- 
 score years, capable of grasjiing and throw- 
 ing light upon the most recondite ques- 
 tions relating to the science of govern- 
 ment ; Robert Morris, from Pennsylvania, 
 the great financier, of whom it has been 
 said, and with much truth, that 'the 
 Americans owed, and still owe, as much 
 acknowledgment to the financial operations 
 of Robert Morris, as to the negotiations of 
 
 Benjamin Franklin, or even to the arms 
 of George Washington ; ' Gouverneur 
 Morris, from the same state, conspicuous 
 for his accomplishments in learning, his 
 fluent conversation, and sterling abilities 
 in debate ; Clymer, distinguished among 
 the sons of Pennsylvania, as one of the 
 first to raise a defiant voice against the 
 arbitrary acts of the mother country; 
 Mifflin, another delegate from the land of 
 Penn, ardent almost beyond discretion, in 
 zeal for his countr3''s rights and liberties; 
 Dickinson, from New Jersey, a patriot, 
 who, though the onlj- member of the con- 
 tinental congress opposed to the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, on the ground of its 
 being premature, was nevertheless the only 
 member of that body who immediately 
 shouldered his musket and went forth to 
 face the enemy ; Wythe, from Virginia, 
 wise, grave, deeply versed in the law, and 
 undaunted in the defense of liberty- for the 
 the jieople; Madison, also from Virginia, 
 talented, thoughtful, penetrating, one of 
 the brightest ornaments of his state and 
 nation; Martin, from Maryland, a jurist 
 
ADOPTION OF THE FEDEEAL CONSTITUTION — ITsT. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of vast attainments and commanding 
 powers ; Davie, from North Carolina, of 
 splendid physique, one of tlie master-minds 
 of tlie country ; Rutledge, from South Car- 
 olina, pronounced by Washington to be 
 the finest orator in the continental con- 
 gress ; Pinckne y, from the same state, 
 a soldier and lawyer of unrivaled abili- 
 ties; — and thus the record might go on, 
 until it embraced all the names of this 
 eminent assemblage of America's noblest 
 patriots and most illustrious historic char- 
 acters, " all, all, honorable men." 
 
 On proceeding with the organization of 
 the convention, George Washington was 
 nominated by Robert ]\Iorris to jjreside 
 over its deliberations, and was unanimously 
 "lected. The standing rules were then 
 adopted, one of these being that nothing 
 spoken in the house be printed or other- 
 wise published, or made known in any 
 manner, without special permission. And 
 in this connection, the following little epi- 
 sode, which has come to light, will doubt- 
 less be read as a refreshing reminiscence 
 of the "secret" doings among those grave 
 old worthies : 
 
 One of the members of the Georgia del- 
 egation was Mr. -, a gentleman, the 
 
 zeal of whose legislative mind and efforts 
 sometimes quite ate up his attention to 
 mere extraneous matters. Like all the 
 rest of his associates in the assembly, he 
 had been furnished with a schedule of the 
 principal points of debate, or subjects of 
 consideration, which were to be brought 
 before the convention as constituting its 
 business, and, in accordance with the par- 
 liamentary' usage of secrecy, this pro- 
 gramme of the convention's duties and 
 deliberations was with especial care to be 
 kept from disclosure during the period of 
 its sittings. It happened, however, that 
 one of the delegates unfortunately lost his 
 copy of this official schedule or orders of 
 the day. General Mifflin, one of the del- 
 egates from Pennsylvania, by good chance 
 discovered the stray document, and, ex- 
 plaining the circumstances to Washing- 
 ton, placed it in the latter's hands, who, 
 in silence and gravitj-, deposited it among 
 
 his own papers. At the close of that day's 
 proceedings, and just previously to the 
 convention's rising, Washington, as pre- 
 siding officer, called the attention of the 
 assemblj- to the matter in question, in the 
 following characteristic remarks : 
 
 " Gentlemen, I am sorry to find that 
 some one member of this body has been so 
 neglectful of the secrets of this convention, 
 as to drop in the state house a copy of 
 tlieir proceedings — which, by accident, was 
 picked up and delivered to me this morn- 
 ing. I must entreat gentlemen to be 
 more careful, lest our transactions get into 
 the newspapers, and disturb the public 
 repose by premature speculations. I know 
 not whose paper it is, but there it is 
 (throwing it down on the table) ; let him 
 who owns it take it." 
 
 But to proceed with the historical 
 sketch of this most august body of modern 
 legislators. 
 
 They had been appointed merely with a 
 view to the revision or improvement of the 
 old articles of confederation, which still 
 held them precariously together as a na- 
 tion ; yet they had not deliberated long, 
 when they determined tliat the existing 
 compact or system of government must be 
 swept away. The question, however, as to 
 what should be substituted in its place, was 
 one of extreme difficulty. Mr. Randolph, of 
 Virginia, opened the great discussion by a 
 speech in which he laid bare the defects of 
 the confederation, and then submitted a 
 series of resolutions embodying the sub- 
 stance of a plan of government — the same, 
 in character, as that contained in letters 
 written by Mr. Madison to Mr. Jefferson, 
 Mr. Randolph, and General Washington, 
 a few months previous. 
 
 The plan in question proposed the form- 
 ation of a general government, consti- 
 tuted as follows : The national legislature 
 to consist of two branches — the members 
 of the first branch to be elected by the 
 people of the several states, and the 
 members of the second branch to be elected 
 by the first branch, out of a proper number 
 nominated by the state legislatures ; the 
 national legislature to have a negative on 
 
Ill 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 all tlie state laws contravening the articles 
 of union, and to have power to legislate in 
 all cases where the states were incompe- 
 tent ; the right of suffrage in the legisla- 
 ture to be proportioned to the quota of 
 contribution, or to the number of free in- 
 habitants ; a national executive to be 
 chosen by the national legislature ; a na- 
 tional judiciar}', to consist of one or more 
 supreme tribunals and inferior ones, the 
 judges to be chosen by the national legis- 
 lature; the executive, and a convenient 
 number of the national judiciary, to com- 
 
 KUA.NKLl.S ^■LEADI^G FOK PACIFICATION. 
 
 pose a council of revision to examine every 
 act of the national legislature before it 
 should operate, and evei\y act of a particu- 
 lar legislature before a negative thereon 
 should be final ; provision to be made for 
 the admission of new states to the Union ; 
 a republican form of government to be 
 administered in each state; provision to 
 be made for amendments to the articles of 
 union; the legislative, executive, and judi- 
 ciary powers, or officials, of the several 
 states, to be bound by oath to support the 
 articles of union. 
 
 A good degree of f.ivor was shown to 
 Mr. Randolph's plan, but not sufficient to 
 prevent other projects, conspicuous among 
 these being one by Mr. Patterson, of New 
 Jersey, and another by Alexander Hamil- 
 ton, from being brought forward and urged 
 by their respective friends, — all of these 
 being republican in their general features, 
 but differing in their details. 
 
 For some daj'S, angry debates occurred 
 wliich, but for the timebj and liealing 
 wisdom, of Dr. Fninldin, the Mentor of 
 the convention, would have ended in the 
 breaking up of the body. As soon 
 as there was an opening for him to 
 speak, the doctor rose, and in a most 
 impressive manner, said, among 
 other things : 
 
 '' It is to be feared that the mem- 
 bers of this convention are not in a 
 temper, at this moment, to approach 
 the subject on which we differ, in 
 candid spirit. I would therefore 
 ropose, Mr. President, that, without 
 proceeding further in this business 
 at this time, the convention sliall 
 adjourn for three days, in order to let 
 the present ferment pass off, and to 
 afford time for a more full, free, and 
 dispassionate investigation of the 
 subject; and I would earnestly rec- 
 ommend to the members of this con- 
 vention, that they spend the time of 
 this recess, not in associating with 
 their own party, and devising new 
 arguments to fortify themselves in 
 their old opinions, but that they mix 
 with members of opposite senti- 
 ments, lend a patient ear to their reason- 
 ings, and candidly allow them all the 
 weight to which they may be entitled ; 
 and when we assemble again, I hope it will 
 be with a determination to form a consti- 
 tution ; if not such an one as we can indi- 
 vidually, and in all respects, approve, yet 
 the best which, under existing circum- 
 stances, can be obtained." (Here the 
 countenance of Wa-shington brightened, 
 and a cheering ray seemed to break in 
 upon the gloom of the assembly.) The 
 doctor continued : 
 
ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION — 1787. 
 
 113 
 
 "Before I sit down, jMr. President, I 
 will suggest another matter; and I am 
 really surprised that it has not been pro- 
 posed bj- some other member, at an earlier 
 period of our deliberations. I will sug- 
 gest, Mr. President, the propriety of nom- 
 inating and appointing, before we separate, 
 a chaplain to this convention, whose duty 
 it shall be uniformly to assemble with us, 
 and introduce the business of each daj' by 
 imploring the assistance of Heaven, and 
 its blessing upon our deliberations." 
 
 The doctor sat down, and never did a 
 countenance appear at once so dignified 
 and so delighted as that of Washington, 
 at the close of this address. The motion 
 for appointing a chaplain was instantly 
 seconded and carried. The convention 
 also chose a committee, by ballot, consist- 
 ing of one from each state, to sit during the 
 recess, and then adjournetl for three days. 
 
 The three days were spent in the 
 manner advised by Doctor Franklin. On 
 re-assembling, the chaplain appeared and 
 led the devotions of the assembly, and the 
 minutes of the last sitting were read. All 
 eyes were now turned to the venerable 
 doctor. He rose, and in a iew words 
 stated, that during the recess he had list- 
 ened attentively to all the arguments, pro 
 and fan, which had been urged by both 
 sides of the house ; that he had himself 
 said much, and thought more, on the sub- 
 ject; he saw difficulties and objections, 
 which might be urged by individual states, 
 against every scheme which had been pro- 
 posed ; and he was now, more than ever, 
 convinced that the constitution wliich they 
 were about to form, in order to be just and 
 equal, must be formed on the basis of 
 compromise and mutual concession. With 
 such views and feelings, he would now^ 
 move a reconsideration of the vote last 
 taken on the organization of the senate. 
 The motion was seconded, the vote carried, 
 the former vote rescinded, and by a suc- 
 cessive motion and resolution, the senate 
 was organized on the present plan. 
 
 On the seventeenth of September, the 
 final debate closed, the last amendment was 
 adopted, and the result of the convention's 
 S 
 
 labors was the formation of a constitution 
 establishing a national government on the 
 following prescribed principles : That the 
 affairs of the people of the United States 
 were thenceforth to be administered, not 
 by a confederacy, or mere league of friend- 
 ship between the sovereign states, but by 
 a government, distributed into the three 
 great departments — legislative, judicial, 
 and executive ; that the powers of govern- 
 ment should be limited to concerns per- 
 taining to the whole people, leaving the 
 internal administration of each state, in 
 time of peace, to its own constitution and 
 laws, provided that they should be repub- 
 lican, and interfering with them as little 
 as possible in c ise of war ; that the legis- 
 lative power of this government should be 
 divided between the two assemblies, one 
 representing directly the people of the 
 separate states, and the other their legisla- 
 tures ; that the executive power of this 
 government should be vested in one person 
 chosen for four years, with certain quali- 
 fications of age and nativitj-^, and invested 
 with a qualified negative upon the enact- 
 ment of the laws; and that the judicial 
 power should consist of tribunals inferior 
 and supreme, to be instituted and organ- 
 ized by congress, the judges removable 
 on'" by impeachment. 
 
 Thus, finally amended, the constitution 
 was signed by all the members present, 
 except by Messrs. Randolph and Mason, of 
 Virginia, and Gerry, of Massachusetts. 
 The scene is described as one of historic 
 solemnity, rising almost to the sublime. 
 When Washington, whose turn came first, 
 was about to sign the instrument ordained 
 to be henceforth — if ratified by the several 
 states — the palladium of his country's na- 
 tional existence, and the formation of 
 which he had watched over with such 
 anxious solicitude, he rose from his seat, 
 and holding the pen in his hand, after a 
 short pause, jironounced these words : 
 
 " Should the states reject this excellent 
 Constitution, the prohability is that an op- 
 portunity tvill never again be offered to 
 cancel another in peace — the next will he 
 drawn in blood." 
 
114 
 
 IKOAl CULOAY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 And when, following the example of 
 their illustrious leader, the other members 
 of the convention appended their signa- 
 tures, Doctor Franklin, with his eye fixed 
 ujion the presiding officer's seat, in tlie 
 rear of which was the picture of a halo or 
 sun, made the characteristic remark : 
 
 " I have often and often, in the course 
 of the session, and in tlie vicissitudes of 
 my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked 
 at that sun behind the jJresident, without 
 being able to tell whether it was rising or 
 sinking; at length I have the hajipiness 
 to know it is a rising and not a setting 
 sun." 
 
 The convention, however, which framed 
 the constitution, was not clothed with leg- 
 islative power, nor was the congress of the 
 confederation competent to accept it or 
 reject the new form of government. It 
 was referred by them to the several states, 
 
 represented by conventions of the people ; 
 and it was provided in the instrument it- 
 self, that it should become the supreme 
 law of the land, when adopted by nine 
 states. It was not till the summer of 
 1788 that the ratification of nine states 
 was obtained, beginning with Delaware, 
 some by large, and some by very small 
 majorities. The violence of the opposition 
 part}' was in some sections very great, re- 
 sulting, in New York, in tumultuous riots. 
 Of the thirteen original states, Rhode 
 Island was the last to accept the constitu- 
 tion, which she did in Maj', 1790. 
 
 The j'ear of suspense, while the Ameri- 
 can people were debating the great question 
 whether to accept or reject the constitu- 
 tion offered them by Washington and his 
 associate compatriots, was, on the an- 
 nouncement of the result, succeeded by a 
 national jubilee. 
 
IX. 
 
 FIRST ELECTION AND INAUGURATION OF A PRESIDENT 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES— 1789. 
 
 Washington, " First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen," the Nation's 
 Spontaneous, Unanimous Choice — His Triumphal Progress from Home, and Solemn Induction into 
 Office — Jubilee tlirougliout tlie Republic, over the August Event— Auspicious Commencement of 
 the National Executive Government — Requirements of the Constitution — A Piesident to be Chosen. 
 — Four Years the Term of Service — All Eyes Fixed Upon Washington. — His Reluctance to Accept. 
 — Reasons Given for this Course. — Urgent Appeals to Him — The Result of the Election — One 
 Voice and One Mind — He Bows to the People's Will — Joy Produced by His Decision. — Departs at 
 Once from Mount Vernon. — Farewell Visits to His Mother. - Inauguration Appointed for .March 
 Fourth. — Postponement to April Thirtieth. — Order of Ceremonies — New Spectacle in the Western 
 World — Distinguished Celebrities Present — Washington's Elegant Appearance. — Dignity when 
 Taking the Oath — Reverentially Kisses the Bible. — Curious Customs Initiated. 
 
 "Where ehall the eye rest, weary of frazing on the great, 
 where find a glory that is not criminal a pomp that ie not con- 
 templihie;' Yes. there is a man, the first, the last, the best or 
 oil. the Cineinnatus of the West, whom envy itself does not 
 hate. The name of Washington is bequeathed to us to make 
 humanity blush that such a man is alone in Iiistory ' — Loud 
 IJriiON. 
 
 CCORDING to the terms of the new 
 federal constitution, whicli had now 
 been assented to and ratified by the 
 wASHiNGTox's INAUGURATION BIBLE. requisitc niimber of states, a President 
 
 of the United States was required to be elected for a term of four years ; and, amidst 
 all the discordances of political opinion respecting the merits of the constitution itself, 
 there was but one sentiment throughout the country as to the man who should admin- 
 ister the affairs of the government. All eyes were directed to Washington, and at an 
 early period his correspondents endeavored to prepare his mind to gratify the expecta- 
 tions of the people. Mr. Johnson, a distinguished patriot of Maryland, wrote him, 
 "We can not do without you." Indeed, he alone was believed to till so pre-eminent a 
 place in the public esteem, that he might be called to the head of the nation without 
 exciting envy ; and he alone possessed in so unlimited a degree the confidence of the 
 masses, that, under his auspices, the friends of the new political system might hope to 
 see it introduced with a degree of firmness which would enable it to resist the open 
 assaults and secret plots of its many enemies. 
 
 By almost ail who were on terms of intimacy with W.ashington, fears were enter- 
 tained that his earnest desire for private life and the improvement of his vast and long- 
 neglected plantations, would prevail over the wishes of the public, — an acquiescence 
 in which wishes was believed to be absolutely essential to the completion of that great 
 work, the Constitution, on which tlie grandeur and happiness of America was deemed to 
 
116 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 depend. The struggk", on his part, be- 
 tween ini-linatiiin and dnty, was long and 
 severe, as is evident by the letters wliirh he 
 wrote on the subject, in response to the ap- 
 peals and importunities constantly made by 
 his friends. (Aihmel Lee. then a distin- 
 guished member of congress, conmiunicat- 
 iug to Washington the measures which that 
 body were adopting to introduce the govern- 
 ment just ordained, tlui.s alludes to the 
 presidency : '• Without j'ou, the govern- 
 ment can have but little change of success ; 
 and the people, of that happiness which 
 its prosperity must yield." So, also, Mr. 
 Gouverneur Morris, a patriot who had been 
 one of the most valuable members of con- 
 gress during a great part of the war, and 
 who had performed a splendid part in the 
 general convention, wrote: '"I have ever 
 thought, and have ever said that you must 
 be the president ; no other man can fill 
 that office." The great Hamilton likewise 
 urged him to accept the office, and thus 
 yield to the general call of the country in 
 relation to its new and untried govern- 
 ment. '' You will permit me to saj-," 
 wrote Hamilton, "' that it is indispensable 
 you should lend yourself to its first opera- 
 tions. It is to little purpose to have in- 
 troduced a system, if the weightiest influ- 
 ence is not given to its firm establishment 
 at the outset." Such arguments and en- 
 treaties as these poured in upon Washing- 
 ton from all quarters of the broad land, 
 that he .should consent to assume the pres- 
 idential chair. 
 
 But the election luid taken phu'e, in 
 obedience to the fundamental law ; and at 
 length, the votes for the president and 
 vice-president of the United States were, 
 as prescribed in the constitution, opened 
 and counted in the senate. The result 
 showed, that neither the animosity of i)ar- 
 ties, nor the activity of the enemies of the 
 newly-formed government, could deprive 
 General AVashington of a single vote in 
 the electoral college. By the voluntary 
 and spontaneous voice of a great people, 
 he was called to the chief magistracy of 
 the nation. The second number of votes 
 was given to i\L-. John Adams, of ^Nlassa- 
 
 chusetts. George Washington and John 
 Adams were therefore declared to be duly 
 elected president and vice-president of the 
 United States, to serve for four years from 
 the fourtii of INLxrch, 1789. 
 
 At jMount Vernon, on the fourteenth cf 
 April, 1789, the appointment of General 
 Washington as supreme executive of the 
 republic was officially announced to him. 
 This commission was performed by Mr. 
 Charles Thomson, secretary of the late 
 congress, who presented to him a certifi 
 cate signed by John Langdon, president 
 pro tcniport- of the senate, stating that he 
 was unanimously elected. 
 
 Accustomed to respect the wishes of his 
 fellow-citizens, Washington did not think 
 himself at liberty to decline an office con- 
 ferred upon him bv the unsought suffrage 
 of an entire peojile. His acceptance of it, 
 and the expressions of gratitude he in- 
 dulged in for this fresh proof of the esteem 
 and confidence of his country, were min- 
 gled with declarations of extreme diffidence 
 in himself. •■ I wish," he said, " that there 
 nuxj- not be reason for regretting the 
 choice, for, indeed, all I can jDromise is, 
 to accomplish that which can be done by 
 an honest zeal." In this spirit of devoted 
 self-sacrifice, and realizing that the ur- 
 gency of public affairs must require the 
 immediate attendance of the president at 
 the seat of government, he hastened his 
 departure ; on the sixteenth of April, 
 therefore, — the second day after receiving 
 the certificate of his election, — he bade 
 adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, 
 and to domestic felicity, and, in company 
 with j\Ir. Thomson and Colonel Hum- 
 phreys, proceeded to New York, where 
 congress was then in session, to assume 
 the administration of the new government. 
 But, notwithstanding the weight of anxi- 
 ety upon his mind concerning the public 
 business, he did not omit to pay a parting 
 visit to his venerable mother. Embracing 
 his mother, Washington bowed his head 
 upon her shoulder and wx>pt, murmuring 
 at the same time something of a hope that 
 they should meet again. ••'No, George," 
 she replied, '• this is our la^t parting; my 
 
FIEST ELECTION AND INAUGURATION OF A PRESIDENT — 1789. 117 
 
 Jays to come are few. Bnt go, fulfill your I town, where the whole population turned 
 high duties, and may God bless and keep out to do him honor. And thus it was, 
 you." She was then afflicted with a I that, notwithstanding Washington wished 
 
 cancer, of which she died in her eighty- [ to make a private journey, his desire could 
 
 second year. not be gratified. The public feelings were 
 
 Leaving Alexandria, he was aecompa- too strong to be suppressed. Crowds 
 
 nied by a throng of citizens to George- tlocked around him enthusiastically wher- 
 
118 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 ever he stopped; and corps of militia, and 
 processions of citizens, attended liim 
 through their respective states. At Phil- 
 " adelphia, he was received by a concourse 
 of the most distinguished personages of 
 the city and state, and followed by thou- 
 sands of people to a grand banquet, pre- 
 pared for the occasion, where addresses 
 and sentiments were interchanged, while 
 the air was filled with the shouts of popu- 
 lar exultation, and with one universal 
 acclaim, invoking blessings upon liim. As 
 he crossed the S<'liu\-lkill. a civic crown of 
 laurel was, iinperceived by him, let down 
 upon his head by a youth who was con- 
 cealed in the arch of evergreen wliich dec- 
 orated the bridge. At night, the whole 
 town was brilliantly illuminated, and all 
 classes and ages spontaneously united in 
 the happy festivities. 
 
 The next da^', at Trenton, he was wel- 
 comed in a manner exceedingly novel and 
 touc^hing. In addition to the usual dem- 
 onstrations of respect and attachment, 
 which were given by the discharge of 
 cannon, by military corps, and by private 
 persons of distinction, the gentler sex pre- 
 pared, in their own taste, a most unique 
 tribute of their regard, indicative of the 
 grateful recollection in which they held 
 their deliverance twelve years before from 
 an insulting enem^-. On the bridge ex- 
 tending across the stream which passes 
 through the town, — tlie place where Wash- 
 ington, at one time, made so gallant a sur- 
 prise on the enemy of his country, and at 
 another, so important a stand, and a re- 
 treat worth more than a victory, — a tri- 
 umphal arch was erected, with evergreen 
 and floral adornments, and supported bv 
 thirteen pillars similarly enwreathed. On 
 the front was inscribed, in large golden 
 letters: 'The Defender of the Moth- 
 ers WILL BE THE ProTECTOR OF THE 
 
 Daughters.' Over this, in the center of 
 the arch, above the inscription, was a 
 dome or cupola of evergreens and flowers 
 encircling the dates of two memorable 
 events, one of these being the bold and 
 judicious stand made by the American 
 troops, by which the progress of the Brit- 
 
 ish army was arrested on the evening pre- 
 ceding the battle of Princeton; the other 
 was the date of Washington's glorious 
 victory at Trenton, when nine hundred 
 Llessians were made prisoners, and the 
 horizon of American affairs was illumined 
 1)3' a radiance which never again wholly 
 forsook it. On the summit of the arch a 
 large sun-flower, as always pointing to the 
 sun, was designed to express this )notto, — 
 ' To You Aloxe.' The ladies had ar- 
 ranged themselves on the side of the 
 .street, between the arch and the town, 
 with their daughters in front, to a very 
 considerable number, all dressed in white, 
 and decorated with floral wreaths and 
 chaplets. Six of these held baskets of 
 flowers in their hands, and, as soon as the 
 general had passed under the arch, the 
 beautiful choristers advanced, singing a 
 sonnet composed for the occasion ; as they 
 sung the last lines they strewed the flowers 
 before the general. 
 
 At Brunswit-k, he was joined by Gov- 
 ernor William Livingston, of New Jersey, 
 who accompanied him to Elizabethtown 
 Point. On the road, the committee of 
 congress received and attended him with 
 much military parade to the point where 
 ho was to embark for New York. The 
 embarkation took place in a magnificently- 
 decorated barge, manned and rowed by 
 thirteen branch 2)ilots, attired in white. 
 There were also other barges, filled with 
 eminent dignitaries from all parts of the 
 land. 
 
 Arriving at New York, the president 
 was received by the governor of the state, 
 and by an immense concourse of citizens, 
 headed by the military. IMultitudes of his 
 old and faithful officers and fellow-patriots 
 pressed around him to offer their congrat- 
 ulations, and to express the joy which 
 glowed in their bosoms at seeing the man 
 in whom all confided, at the head of the 
 nation's affairs. 
 
 Thus it appears that the president's first 
 arrival at the seat of government was a 
 national ovation which showed, by its 
 spoutaneousness, enthusiasm, and unauim- 
 itv, that all hearts and voices were united 
 
FIKST ELECTION AND INAUGURATIOX OF A PRESIDENT — 17^9. 119 
 
 in his favor. It was an occasion which 
 excited tlie great heart of the people be- 
 yond all powers of description ; the hand 
 of industry was suspended, and the various 
 pleasures of the cajjital were centered in a 
 single and universal enjoyment. Many 
 aged patriots were heard to say that they 
 should now die contented, having had a 
 sight of the Father of his Country. 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL MANSION, 1789. 
 
 The fourth of Mareli was the day which 
 had been appointed for the new national 
 government to commence operations, but 
 so many impediments occurred that it was 
 not until the thirtieth of April that this 
 took place. 
 
 Vice-president Adams arrived in New 
 York, escorted by a troop of horse, on the 
 twenty-first of April, and, two daj's before 
 Washington's arrival, took his seat as the 
 constitutional presiding officer of the 
 senate. On doing this, he addressed that 
 body in a dignified speech adapted to the 
 occasion, and warmly eulogistic of the 
 new-born republic and its illustrious chief 
 magistrate. 
 
 On Thursday, the thirtieth of April, 
 1789, the ceremonj' of Inaugurating the 
 First President of the United States took 
 place in New York, which at that time 
 was the federal capital. Long before the 
 hour arrived, the town swarmed with 
 people; every tavern and boarding-house 
 was full, and private residences teemed 
 with guests and lodgers. Many persons 
 are said to have slept in tents on 'the 
 Common.' The Hudson was studded with 
 boats bearing visitors, and long caravans 
 of carts began to arrive before daybreak, 
 from Westchester, Long Island, and the 
 Jerseys. The ceremony of the day was 
 
 ushered in by a salute fired from the bat- 
 tery. This was about six o'clock in the 
 morning, and, even at this earl}- hour, the 
 streets were fast filling up. At nine, the 
 church bells rang out a merry peal ; at ten 
 they summoned the worshipers to church, 
 each pastor devoting the occasion to im- 
 ploring Heaven's blessing upon the nation 
 and the first president. General Wash- 
 ington had now been in the citj- a week, 
 having arrived on the twenty-third. He 
 was living in a private house, the prop- 
 erty of Mr. Osgood, on the corner of 
 Cherry street and Franklin square ; but 
 his household arrangements had not yet 
 been perfected, as Mrs. Washington did 
 not arrive for some little time, remaining 
 at Mount Vernon until affairs were in a 
 state of readiness for her presence at the 
 new presidential mansion. 
 
 At eight o'clock, on this memorable 
 morning, the sky was overcast, and the 
 appearance was that of a gathering storm. 
 Everybody noticed, however, that the mo- 
 ment the bells began to ring the sky 
 cleared, and by the close of divine service 
 the weather was serene and beautiful. At 
 noon, the procession that was to conduct 
 the [iresident to Federal hall assembled 
 in due stj'le oj)posite his residence in 
 Cherry street. There were the usual mil- 
 itary companies — a troop of horse, one or 
 two companies of grenadiers, a company of 
 Highlanders, in kilts, — all the chief mu- 
 nici]i:il iiffii'i'i-;. till' i-iiii'^-vcs^iritinl cnniiuit- 
 
 IHESIDEXTIAL MANSION, 18T0. 
 
 tees, and the new cabinet, — multitudes of 
 distinguished citizens bringing up the 
 rear. By this assemblage the new presi- 
 dent was escorted to Federal hall, which 
 stood at the head of Broad street, in Wall, 
 
20 
 
 JKOM COLONY TO WOiiLi) POWEK. 
 
 where the custom-house was subsequently 
 built. The old building had been put in 
 repair at a considerable expense, but it 
 was still so rickety that cautious persons 
 looked forward to the ceremony with un- 
 easiness. The procession having arrived, 
 and the hall occupied according to the jn-o- 
 gramme, nothing remained but to proceed 
 with the solemn formalities ; and, when it 
 is remembered that there was no precedent 
 in history for the inauguration of a rejnib- 
 lican president, one can not but admire the 
 striking dignity whicli characterized the 
 whole occasion. At the door of the senate 
 chamber, to which the eyes of the whole 
 vast multitude were intensely directed, the 
 vice-president met General Washington, 
 and with consummate but unaffected ease 
 and grace of manner said — 
 
 '' Sir, the senate and house of represent- 
 atives of the United States are ready to 
 attend you to take the oath required by 
 the Constitution, which trill he adininis- 
 tered to you by the chancellor of the state 
 of New York." 
 
 " I am ready to proceed," was Washing- 
 ton's reply, made with liis accustomed 
 elegant dignity. 
 
 Tl)e vice-president now led the way to 
 the outside gallery ; the ])resident fol- 
 lowed, with as many of the high function- 
 aries as could find room, and all were pres- 
 ently gathered on the balcony fronting on 
 Wall street. Of the group, perhaps the 
 most striking person was Chancellor Liv- 
 ingston, in a full suit of black, and, like 
 Washington, one of the finest-looking men 
 anywhere to be seen. Secretary Otis car- 
 ried the Bible on a crimson cushion, and 
 near him were Generals Knox and St. 
 Clair, Roger Sherman, Hamilton, and 
 other noted persons of revolutionary fame. 
 At the proper moment, the chancellor ad- 
 ministered the oath, with great delibera- 
 tion and enipluisis, to Washington, who, 
 bowing down, seized the book, kissed it, 
 and exclaimed, with closed eyes and much 
 emotion — 
 
 " I sivear, so help 7ne God!" 
 
 " It is done," the chancellor declared, 
 and, turning to the crowd exclaimed. 
 
 "Long lire George Washington, President 
 of the United States!" 
 
 This last-named declaration, on the part 
 of the chancellor, was in imitation of mo- 
 narchical custom. The error of this prac- 
 tice was, however, soon exposed and 
 abandoned ; but at this time, the crowd 
 thought of nothing but the exciting solem- 
 nity of the scene, and many who demon- 
 stratively waved their hats were too 
 overcome by emotion to join in the huzzas. 
 
 Of course, Washington was the observed 
 of all observers in that might}' crowd, and 
 his grandly-commanding figure made this 
 both natural and easy, and so too did the 
 construction of the balcony, conspicuously 
 fronting the edifice, where the remarkable 
 ceremony was performed. He was dressed 
 in a comjdetu suit of dark In-own broad- 
 cloth, of American jJroduction, white silk 
 long stockings, silver shoe-buckles upon 
 his polished shoes, a steel-hilted dress 
 sword, and his hair dressed and powdered 
 according to the style then in vogue, and 
 gathered up in a bag. This attire, it may 
 be remarked, was Washington's personal 
 choice. On the occasion of his second in- 
 auguration, however, Washington was 
 dressed precisely as Stuart has painted 
 him in Lord Lansdowne's full-length por- 
 trait — in a full suit of the richest black 
 velvet, with diamond knee-buckles, and 
 square silver buckles set upon shoes ja- 
 panned with the most scrupulous neatness, 
 black silk stockings, his shirt rufSed at the 
 breast and wrists, a light dress-sword ; his 
 hair profusely powdered, fully dressed, so 
 as to project at the sides, and gathered be- 
 hind in a silk bag, ornamented with a 
 large rose of black ribbon. He held his 
 cocked hat, which had a large black cock- 
 ade on one side of it, in his hand, while 
 standing, but laid it on the table when he 
 sat down. 
 
 Washington, on taking the oath, as ad- 
 ministered by Cliancellor Livingston, is 
 said to have laid his hand upon that page 
 of the Bible containing the fiftieth chapter 
 of Genesis, opposite to which were two 
 illustrations of the text, one being a pic- 
 ture of ' The Blessing of Zebulon,' and the 
 
FIKST ELECTION AND INAUGUEATION OF A PRESIDENT — 17S9. 121 
 
 other of 'The Prophecy of Issachar.' That 
 memorable volume, of such peculiar his- 
 torical associatious, now belongs to one of 
 the masonic lodges in New York. Upon 
 each of the two outside surfaces of the vol- 
 ume, there is engraved in golden letters a 
 commemorative record of the interesting 
 circumstances attaching to it ; and on the 
 inside, beautifullj' written upon parch- 
 ment, in ornamental stj'le, surmounted by 
 an engraved portrait of Washington, is 
 the following statement : 
 
 ' On this Sacred Volume, on the 30th day 
 of April, 1789, in the city of New York, 
 was administered to George Washixgtox 
 the first President of the United States of 
 America, the oath to support the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States. This important 
 ceremony was performed by the Most 
 Worshipful Grand Master of Free and 
 Accepted Masons of the state of New 
 York, the Honorable Robert R. Livings- 
 ton, Chancellor of the state.' 
 
 The inaugural address delivered by 
 Washington, and which, like all the early 
 inaugurals, possessed the merit of brevity, 
 was pronounced in the senate chamber. It 
 was considered, in those days, a speech to 
 congress and not to the people ; and both 
 houses felt it incumbent on them — follow- 
 ing the usage of monarchies, — to present 
 replies to the president, at his residence. 
 
 From the senate chamber, the president 
 was escorted to St. Paul's church, where 
 he heard an appropriate religious service, 
 conducted by Dr. Prevost; and thence 
 home to his house. In the evening the 
 whole city was one blaze of illumination, 
 all classes participating in this attractive 
 
 feature of the general jubilee. Manj' of 
 the illuminations were very beautiful — 
 none more so than those of the French and 
 Spanish minister.?, who both lived in 
 Broadway, near the Bowling Green ; and 
 the whole scene was unique, animated, and 
 enchanting. General Washington him- 
 self went ' down town,' that is to say, 
 toward the Battery, to see the spectacle, of 
 which ho expressed the warmest admira- 
 tion ; returning about ten o'clock on foot, 
 the crowd being too dense for a carriage 
 to pass. 
 
 As the supreme head of the nation. 
 President Washington at once endeavored 
 to acquaint himself fully with the state of 
 public affairs, and for this purpose, he 
 called upon those who had been the heads 
 of departments under the confederation, to 
 report to him the situation of their respec- 
 tive concerns. He also, having consulted 
 with his friends, adopted a sj'stem for the 
 order of his own household, for the regu- 
 lation of his hours of business, and of in- 
 tercourse with those who, in a formal 
 manner, visited him as the chief magis- 
 trate of the nation. But he publicly an- 
 nounced that neither visits of business nor 
 of ceremony would be expected on Sunday, 
 as he wished to reserve that daj^ sacredly 
 to himself. One of the most important 
 and delicate of the president's duties was 
 to fill those departments which congress at 
 an early day had established to aid the 
 executive in the administration of the 
 government. His judgment and prudence 
 were consistentl3' exhibited in this respect, 
 by his selecting such able men for his 
 cabinet. 
 
WHITNEY'S EXTRAORDINARY COTTON-GIN INVEN- 
 TION.— 1793. 
 
 Amazing Impetus Given to the Culture, Uses and Consumption of Cotton. — Revolution in the In- 
 dustrial Prospects and Political Power of the South. — How Cotton Became " King." — Its Relation to 
 the Great Themes and Events in American History. — Ingratitude to Whitney. — His Brilliant Change 
 of Fortune in Another Sphere — Whitney's Obscure Circumstances — His Early Mechanical Genius. 
 — Determined to Get an Education. — Goes to tlie South as a Teacher. — Change of Pursuits — Be- 
 friended by GeTieral Greene's Widow. — Amateur Inventive EfJbrts. — Low State of Southern In- 
 dustry. — Objection to Cotton-Raising. — 
 Mrs. Greene's Apt Suggestion — Whit- 
 ney's Characteristic Resolve — Secret and 
 Persevering Toil. — Exciting Rumors as 
 to His Purpose. — Great Expectations En- 
 tertained. — Triumphant Success. — En- 
 thusiasm of the Cotton-Growers. — His 
 Machine Stolen from Him. — Infringe- 
 ments upon His Patent. — Law-Suits, but 
 no Redress for Him. — His Pathetic Let- 
 ter to Fulton. — He Invents a Valuable 
 Firearm. — Southern Strides in Wealth. 
 
 •' What Peter the Great did to make Russia dominant, 
 Eli "Whitney's invention of the Colton-Gin has more than 
 equaled in "its relation to the progress and power of the 
 United States."— LuRi» Macallay. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE COTTON-GIN. 
 
 1|EY0ND all doubt oi- question, the 
 ^ invention of the cotton-gin, just at 
 m\ the close of the eighteenth century, 
 w.as an event which most "n'onder- 
 full.v accelerated the higli career of 
 the United States, in an industrial point of view, and, indeed, revolutionized, by an 
 extraordinary impetus, the manufacture.s and commerce of the world. It may be re- 
 garded, in a word, as the first key which was applied to the unlocking of those won- 
 drous natural capabilities of the new-born repiiblic, the continued development of 
 which has given her such a foremost place, in respect to material and political 
 power, among the nations of the earth. So direct is its identity with the facts and 
 causes which have led to the country's prodigious progress during the hundred years 
 of its national history, that he who would trace to their primary source — with even 
 ordinary philosophical acuteness of judgment — those momentous events, whether 
 material, political, military, or social, which have distinguished the greater part of 
 that century, may well pause longest and take his latitude at this point. Such, in- 
 deed, is the great national consequence accorded by historians to this machine, that, of 
 
WHITNEY'S COTTON-GIN INVENTION — 1793. 
 
 123 
 
 the thousands upon thousands of inven- 
 tions and discoveries recorded iu the 
 patent office at Washington, many of 
 them, of course, of almost incalculable 
 value, only some half a dozen, or less, 
 are comprised in the ' chronology of 
 important dates,' in the New American 
 Cyclopedia, — that marvelous portrayal of 
 miin and civilization during the known 
 ages. First among the triumphs of Amer- 
 ican ingenuity thus made conspicuously 
 historical, is the invention and introduc- 
 tion of the cotton-gin, in 1793, which is 
 the subject of this article. That it should 
 have a place among the few of its kind 
 capable of coming within the plan and 
 scope of this volume, will be at once ap- 
 parent. 
 
 Before entering into the more elaborate 
 details pertaining to this remarkable ma- 
 chine and its bearing upon American 
 industry and commerce, it may be useful 
 to give, in the first place, a sketch in brief 
 of the career of Eli Whitney, whose genius 
 gave to his country, and to mankind, this 
 great boon. At an early age, he gave in- 
 dications of that mechanical and inventive 
 talent, for which he was afterwards so 
 greatly celebrated. His father was a 
 farmer in Westborough, Massachusetts, a 
 village where only the ordinary advantages 
 of a common-school education were availa- 
 ble. But Mr. Whitney was desirous of 
 the benefits of a more complete course of 
 instruction, and at the age of twenty-three 
 entered the college in New Haven. He 
 received the honors of this institution in 
 1792, and soon after went to Georgia, in 
 the expectation of opening a private 
 school, and devoting himself to that profes- 
 sion. In this expectation he was disaj)- 
 pointed, for, on arriving at the place of his 
 destination, he was informed that another 
 tutor was already filling the station he ex- 
 pected to occupy. 
 
 Having traveled from the north, to Sa- 
 vannah, in company with Mrs. Greene, the 
 widow of the revolutionary general and 
 hero of that name, he received from that 
 lady a courteous invitation to make her 
 house his home, while engaged in his 
 
 course of studies preparatory to entering 
 the legal profession. This most favorable 
 offer, so timely in view of his shattered 
 health and scanty means, he gratefully 
 availed himself of. 
 
 It was on the occasion of a social gath- 
 ering of some neighbors and others, one 
 afternoon, at the residence of Mrs. Greene, 
 — a party including several planters of 
 distinction, a few of whom had served as 
 officers under General Greene's command, 
 — that Whitney first resolved to rouse his 
 genius to its utmost accomplishment. 
 Among other remarks made by the gentle- 
 men present, on the occasion referred to, 
 was one in regard to the depressed condi- 
 tion of the agricultural interests of Geor- 
 gia, namely, that since all the lands in 
 that region, not suitable for the cultivation 
 of rice, were eminently favorable for the 
 production of heavy cotton-crops, it was 
 exceedingly to be regretted that no means 
 existed of cleansing the green seed-cotton, 
 or of separating it from its seed, in a 
 manner sufficiently thorough to make it 
 profitable, — it being almost useless, in the 
 absence of such a method or contrivance, 
 to undertake to grow cotton-crops for sale, 
 because only a jiound of this green seed- 
 cotton could be cleaned and made mer- 
 chantable, per day, by a single laborer, 
 and the price obtainable for it, when thug 
 prepared, was but a few cents per pound. 
 
 In response to these suggestions, Mrs. 
 Greene, with true womanly perceptions, 
 and knowing Whitney's ingenious turn of 
 mind in the sphere of mechanics, naively 
 remarked, " Well, gentlemen, apply to my 
 young friend, Mr. Whitney, — he can make 
 anything;" and, suiting the action to the 
 word, she led them into the room where 
 her tambour or embroidery-frame was 
 kept, together with some other ingenious 
 contrivances, and exhibited them to the 
 company as evidences of Whitnej''s sin- 
 gular skill. On being introduced to these 
 gentlemen, and entering into conversation 
 with them on the subject, Mr. Whitney 
 was obliged to inform them that he had 
 never seen cotton nor cotton-seed in his 
 life ! 
 

 
 
 
WHITXEY'S COTTOX-GIN INVEXTIOX — 1793. 
 
 12:) 
 
 111 a few months, lie had advanced so 
 far and so successfully witli his machine, 
 as to leave no doubt of his having acliieved 
 a conij)Iete triumph. In acknowledgment 
 of Mrs. Greene's many and valued atten- 
 tions to him during his labors, and her 
 steadfast interest in his fortunes, the grat- 
 ifying jirivilege was accorded her, on a 
 day duly appointed, of exhibiting to an 
 invited assembly of guests, principally 
 planters, a model of the saw-gin that was 
 to produce such a mighty change. Their 
 astonishment was almost unbounded, 
 when, on examining tlie principle and 
 working of the instrument, the^' found 
 that more cotton could Ije separated from 
 the seed in one day by the labor of a single 
 hand, than could be done, in the usual 
 manner, in many niontlis. Enthusiasm 
 over such a result, and in view of such a 
 prospect, was very natural. 
 
 The report of Mr. Whitney's invention 
 spread very rapidly throughout the South, 
 exciting intense interest, and the planters 
 in especial were eager to see a machine 
 that promised such incalculalile benetits to 
 themselves and to the nation. For a time, 
 however, Whitney declined showing the 
 gin, as it was not entirely perfected, and 
 because it might be imitated by others, 
 and he be deprived in that way of his 
 right to a patent. But, so great was the 
 excitement to which the people had been 
 wrought up, and so tempting was the 
 chance which presented itself to the un- 
 principled, to appropriate to themselves 
 the fruits of other men's toils, that the 
 building in which Whitney carried on his 
 labors was actually broken into, one night, 
 by a party of lawless individuals, and the 
 instrument secretly carried off. Thus it 
 was that several machines were constructed 
 on the basis of Whitney's invention, and 
 indeed varying but little from the original, 
 though it was artfully attempted to have 
 the deviation sufficiently obvious to escape 
 the penalties of imitation. 
 
 It may well be supposed that the vari- 
 ous lawsuits growing out of the infringe- 
 ments upon his rights, was an exhausting 
 draft upon Mr. Whitney's funds. But, in 
 
 addition to this drawback upon his enter- 
 prise, there befell him the successive 
 calamities of prolonged sickness, the 
 destruction of his manufacturing estab- 
 lishment bj' fire, and, worse than all, the 
 assertion on the part of certain unfriendly 
 jiersons, that the use of the machine ought 
 to be abandoned, because it greatly in- 
 jured the fiber of the cotton. The testi- 
 mony of some of the British manufacturers 
 was industriously circulated, to the effect 
 that the old roller-gin, which ground the 
 seed to impalpabilit}', was preferable to 
 that which separated the seed from the 
 staple, at the sacrifice of its qualit}' ! And 
 here it may be of interest to state, that, in 
 order to overcome the difficulty of separat- 
 ing the seed from the wool by hand, a 
 rude hand-mill, or roller-gin, was at an 
 early period substituted, in some parts of 
 India and China, by which from forty to 
 sixt3'-five pounds could be cleaned in a 
 daj'. After this, the cotton was further 
 cleaned from dirt and knots by 'bowing.' 
 A large liow lieing placed in a heap of 
 cotton, the string was made to vibrate pow- 
 erfully, thus dispersing and cleaning the 
 heap. These means, employed from re- 
 mote times in eastern countries, were also 
 formerly used by American growers. 
 Much of the sea-island cotton is still sepa- 
 rated from its seeds by rollers constructed 
 on a large scale, and worked by horses, 
 steam, or water. These rollers are of 
 wood, and revolve rapidly in contact with 
 each other ; as they do so, a sort of comb 
 with iron teeth acts on the cotton as it 
 passes between them, and detaches the 
 seeds, which fly off like sparks in all direc- 
 tions. Particles of seeds which escape and 
 pass through with the cotton, are removed 
 by hand. The cotton is then whisked 
 about in a light wheel, and, when well 
 winnowed, it is conveyed to the packing- 
 house, and forced into bags by means of 
 screws, until each bag contains the requi- 
 site number of pounds. But short-stapled 
 cotton cannot be properly cleaned by this 
 process ; the seeds are so firmly attached 
 to the wool, that a more powerful machine 
 is needed, — and here the utUty of the saw- 
 
126 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD I'OWER. 
 
 qin over the roller-contrivance is -manifest. 
 The cotton is put into a long and narrow 
 hopper, one side of which is formed by a 
 grating of strong parallel wires, one-eighth 
 of an inch apart. Close to the hopper is a 
 roller set with circular saws, an inch and a 
 half apart. These, as they revolve, jiass 
 within the grating of the hopper to a cer- 
 tain depth, and seize by tlieir teeth on tlie 
 locks of cotton, dragging them through the 
 wires, which are not wide enough apart to 
 allow the seeds to pass also. The cotton 
 is afterwards swept from the saws by a 
 revolving cylindrical brush. Thus the 
 separation is effected in a cheap, easy, and 
 rapid manner. At first, Whitney used 
 bent wires or teeth, like those of the 
 common card, but much larger and 
 stronger, and these were placed in rows on 
 a revolving cylinder. The cotton was 
 separated from this cylinder by a frame of 
 parallel wires; as the cylinder revolved, 
 the teeth extending through the wire- 
 frame caught the cotton and drew it 
 througli the grating, but the seeds being 
 too large to pass between the wires, were 
 of course separated from the fiber. These 
 teeth, however, being found too weak to 
 pull the cotton from the seed without be- 
 coming bent or broken, "Wliitney substi- 
 tuted a circular saw in their place. The 
 teeth of the saw being large, and shaped 
 like the beak of a bird, had more strength 
 and were equally effective. 
 
 So serious an objection as that brought 
 by the British manufacturers, namely, that 
 the operation of this machine injured the 
 quality of the cotton, was a most disheart- 
 ening one to Mr. Whitney and his part- 
 ner, Mr. Miller, for, on its truth or falsity, 
 their fortune and fate depended. For a 
 time, the process of patent ginning was 
 quite at a stand ; and, indeed, little was 
 heard of it by the originators, except the 
 condolence of a few real friends, who ex- 
 pressed their regret that so promising an 
 invention had entirely failed. Of the in- 
 ventor's state of mind, as well as the con- 
 dition of his purse, at this time, some idea 
 may be formed from a letter written by 
 Whitney, in the autumn of 1797, in which 
 
 he says : ' The extreme embarrassments 
 which have for a long time been accumu- 
 lating upon nie are now become so great 
 that it will be impossible for me to strug- 
 gle against them many d.aj's longer. It 
 has required my utmost exertions to exist, 
 
 without making the least progress in our 
 business. I have labored hard against the 
 strong current of disappointment, which 
 has been threatening to carry us down the 
 cataract ; but I have labored with a shat- 
 tered oar, and struggled in vain, unless 
 some speedy relief is obtained. Life is 
 but short, at best, and six or seven years 
 out of the midst of it is, to him who makes 
 it, an immense sacrifice. My most unre- 
 mitted attention has been directed to our 
 business. I have sacrificed to it other 
 objects, from which, before this time, I 
 might certainly have gained twenty or 
 thirty thousand dollars. My whole pros- 
 pects have been embarked in it, with the 
 expectation that I should, before this time, 
 have realized something from it.' Against 
 all opposition, the machine finally became 
 appreciated according to its merits, and, 
 though the country was flooded with imi- 
 tations, — against the manufacturers of 
 which, it seemed almost impossible to 
 obtain any redress or protection in the 
 courts of law, — a large demand set in, and 
 
WHITNEY'S COTTON-GIN INVENTION — 1793. 
 
 127 
 
 Wliitney's golden visions appeared likely 
 to be realized. 
 
 At the suggestion made to them by 
 some of their business friends, Miller and 
 Whitney were induced, in view of the 
 public benefit that would accrue to the 
 cotton-growing states, by the general and 
 inexpensive introduction of the saw-gin, to 
 offer the exclusive disposal of the machine 
 in South Carolina to the legislature of 
 that state, which offer was finally accepted; 
 the sum paid to the inventors, for this 
 privilege, being fifty thousand dollars. 
 Though this sum was only one-half of that 
 which had originally' been fixed upon by 
 the patentees, it seems to have given quite 
 a zest to Mr. Whitney's feelings and an- 
 ticipations, for he wrote in relation to the 
 new arrangement : ' The use of the machine 
 here (in South Carolina) is amazingly ex- 
 tensive, and the value of it beyond all 
 calculation. It may, without exaggera- 
 tion, be said to have raised the value of 
 seven-eighths of all the three southern 
 states from fifty to one hundred per cent. 
 We get but a song for it in comparison 
 with the worth of the thing ; but it is sr- 
 curing something. It will enable Miller 
 and Whitney to pay all their debts, and 
 divide something between them. It es- 
 tablishes a precedent that will be valuable 
 as respects our collections in other states, 
 and I think there is now a fair prospect 
 that I shall in the event realize property 
 enough to render me comfortable, and, in 
 some measure, independent.' It was not, 
 however, without much trouble and litiga- 
 tion, that Wliitney realized the fulfillment 
 of this contract. 
 
 But the expense involved in numerous 
 suits at law against the encroachers upon 
 his patent, was more than the profits 
 yielded by the sales, and these struggles 
 and expenditures, and constantly-recurring 
 discouragements, sent Mr. Miller to a pre- 
 mature grave, at the close of 1803. In the 
 year 1812, Mr. Whitney applied to con- 
 gress for a renevjfal of his patent, in the 
 hope of still receiving some substantial 
 benefit from his invention. But the 
 southern delegation generally — though 
 
 with some honorable exceptions — were op- 
 posed to it ; which was of course the more 
 unexpected, as well as wounding, in view 
 of the immense advantage of the machine 
 to that part of the United States. In 
 regard to this last-mentioned point, no tes- 
 timony could be more weighty or emphatic 
 in the affirmative than that by Judge 
 Johnson, an eminent South Carolinian, 
 and, at the time of speaking, a judge of 
 the United States supreme court : — ' The 
 whole interior of the southern states (these 
 are the words of Judge Johnson, as judi- 
 cially uttered) was languishing, and its 
 inhabitants emigrating for want of some 
 object to engage their attention, and em- 
 ploy their industry, when the invention of 
 this machine at once opened views to them 
 which set the whole country in atjtive 
 motion. From childhood to age, it has 
 presented to us a lucrative employment. 
 Individuals who were depressed with pov- 
 erty, and sunk in idleness, have suddenly 
 risen to wealth and respectability. Our 
 debts have been paid off. Our capitals 
 have increased, and our lands trebled 
 themselves in value. We cannot express 
 the weight of the obligation which the 
 country owes to this invention. The ex- 
 tent of it cannot now be seen. Some faint 
 presentiment may be formed from the re- 
 flection that cotton is rapidly supplanting 
 wool, flax, silk, and even furs, in manufac- 
 tures, and may one day profitably supply 
 the use of specie in our East India trade. 
 Our sister states also participate in the 
 benefits of this invention ; for, beside af- 
 fording the raw material for their manu- 
 facturers, the bulkiness and quantity of 
 the article afford a valuable employment 
 for their shipping.' 
 
 Such was the testimony borne by the 
 highest possible authority, in regard to 
 the wonderful value and effect of this in- 
 vention. And yet, though full a dozen 
 years had elapsed since Whitney had 
 staked his all upon the machine, and was 
 even now pleading for redress against the 
 piracies committed upon his rights and 
 property, he was actually a poor man, 
 struggling against remorseless fate. Mr. 
 
VIS 
 
 FKO.M COLONY TO WOIJLD POWEK. 
 
 Wliitney, in a letter almost pathetic in its 
 rehearsal of his wrongs, addressed to 
 Robert Fulton, the inventor of the first 
 successful steamboat, remarks, that ' the 
 difficulties with which he had to contend 
 originated, jwincipally, in the want of a 
 disjjosition in mankind to do justice. The 
 invention was new and distinct from every 
 other ; it stood alone. It w-as not inter- 
 woven with an3'thing before known; and 
 it can seldom happen that an invention is 
 so strongly marked, and can be so clearly 
 and specificall3' identified ; and I have 
 always believed that I should have had no 
 difficulty in causing m^' rights to be re- 
 spected, if it liad been less valuable, and 
 been used only by a small portion of the 
 community. But the use of this macliine 
 being immensely profitable to almost ever3' 
 planter in the cotton districts, all were in- 
 terested in trespassing upon the patent 
 right, and each kept the other in counte- 
 nance. Demagogues made themselves 
 popular by misrepresentation and un- 
 t'ounded clamors, both against the right, 
 and the law made for its protection. 
 Hence there arose associations and combi- 
 nations to oppose both. At one time, few 
 men in Georgia dared to come into court 
 and testify to the most simple facts within 
 their knowledge, relative to the use of the 
 machine. In one instance, I had great 
 
 difficulty in proving that the machine had 
 been used in Georgia, although, at the 
 same moment, there were three separate 
 sets of this machinery in motion within 
 fifty yards of the buildinjj in which the 
 court sat, and all so near that the rattling 
 of the wheels was distinctly heard on the 
 steps of the court-house.' Surely, few 
 men of genius have rendered so great ben- 
 efits to their country, by means of an in- 
 vention, who have been so heartlessly 
 treated and so poorly remunerated. De- 
 spairing of ever realizing an adequate 
 return, therefore, for his cotton-gin, Whit- 
 ney ai)plied his inventive skill to the im- 
 proved manufacture of firearms, in which 
 he was very successful, and, having ob- 
 tained valuable contracts from the govern- 
 ment for his improved muskets, he 
 ultimately acquired a fortune, — a strange 
 but most deserved sequel to his hitherto 
 checkered career. 
 
 The progress and value of the cotton 
 production in the United States, under the 
 impetus given to it by Whitney's inven- 
 tion, may be characterized as simply 
 prodigious ; and, in the mind of the philo- 
 sophic statesman and student, the storj' of 
 the cotton-gin will forever weave itself, 
 most intimately and wonderfully, with 
 those great themes and events which make 
 up the nation's histor}'. 
 
XI. 
 
 FOUNDING AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL 
 
 CAPITAL.— 1799. 
 
 Bitter Sectional Contest in Deciding tlie Location. — First "Compromise" in Congress between tlie 
 Nortli and tlie South. — Final Kemoval of the Government and its Archives to Washington — Official 
 Observance of the Event. — Magnificent Site and Plan of the City. — Splendor of its Public Build- 
 ings. — Congress FirstSits in Philadelphia. — Need of a Permanent Capital — National Dignity Involved. 
 — Violent Agitation of the Subject. — Philadelphia and New York Proposed. — They are Objected to by 
 the South — Northern Disunion Threats — Schemes of Conciliation. — How the Question was Settled. 
 — Sweetening Two Bitter Pills. — Jefferson's Graphic Account. — General Washington's Preference. — 
 His Site on the Potomac Adopted. — Some Rather Personal Anecdotes. — Work of Laying Out the City. 
 — Its Original Aspect and Condition — Early Trials of the President's Wile. — Construction of the Cap- 
 itol. — Its Corner-Stone Laid by Washington. — Congress in its New Halls. — Growth of the Metropolis. 
 —The New Corner-Stone of 1851. 
 
 •* Where peeped the hut the palace towers ; 
 Where ekiuimed the hark the war-ehip lowera : 
 Joy saily carols where was eilenee riiile ; 
 And cultured thousandtt throiis; the Bulitude. 
 
 .EXT in importance to the founding of a free and independent 
 nationality, and the inauguration of a supreme legislative and 
 executive government, was the act of establishing a permanent 
 capital, — one on a scale, and of a character, commensurate with 
 the dignity and prospects of the new republic. Indeed, from as early a period as June, 
 1783, when congress was virtually driven from its halls in Philadelphia by the mutiny 
 of a part of the Pennsj'lvania line, the necessity was very evident of some place being 
 fixed upon where the government of the Union might at least be secure from violence 
 and insult. As this remarkable and untoward circumstance was, perhajis, one of the 
 most notable in its bearing upon subsequent events, in this connection, it may be worth 
 while to recite some of its chief features. While the patriot army, encamped under 
 the eye of Washington, bore their hardships and privations without flinching, and, at 
 the close of the struggle, in 1783, returned quietly, though poor and unpaid, to their 
 homes, some of the newly-recruited soldiers of Penns^ylvania, stationed at Lancaster, 
 suddenly mutinied and set off in a body for Philadelphia, to demand redress of fancied 
 grievances from the legislature of the state. Arriving at that city, they were joined 
 by a force from the barracks, and proceeded on the second of June with beat of drum 
 and fixed bayonets to the state house, where congress and the sujjreme executive council 
 of Penn.sylvania were both holding their sessions. After placing sentinels at all the 
 doors, they sent in a written message, threatening the president and the council of the 
 state to let loose an enraged soldierj' upon them, if their demands were not acceded to 
 in twenty minutes. Although the resentments of this banditti were not directed par- 
 !) 
 
130 
 
 FROM C'OLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 ticularly against congress, the government 
 of the Union was grossly insulted, and 
 those who administered it were blockaded 
 for several hours in the discharge of their 
 duties, by an armed band. Fearing lest 
 the authorities of Pennsylvania might not 
 be able to furnish adequate protection, it 
 adjourned to meet witliin a few days at 
 Princeton, — sending information, in the 
 meantime, to Washington, of this outbreak. 
 The latter immediately sent fifteen hun- 
 dred men under General Howe to suppress 
 the mutiny ; but before the detachment 
 could reach Philadelphia, the mutiny was 
 in a great degree subdued, and fortunately 
 without bloodshed. 
 
 When once the subject of definitely 
 fixing upon a location for the seat of gov- 
 ernment was before congress and the 
 people, the question seemed to overshadow 
 all others. Being in session at Princeton, 
 under the circumstances above narrated, it 
 was vesolved by congress that a building 
 for the national legislature be erected near 
 the Falls of the Delaware. 
 
 The commissioners to lay out a town on 
 the Delaware reported their proceedings 
 to congress, but no further steps were 
 taken to carry the resolution into effect. 
 Some were very strenuous for New York, 
 others proposed some convenient place on 
 the banks of the Susquehanna. To the 
 latter proposition, southern members, 
 among whom was Mr. Madison, were un- 
 alterably opposed. All admitted the im- 
 portance of the step to lie taken, involving, 
 perhaps, the perpetuity of the government 
 itself. 
 
 At length, a compact respecting the 
 temporary and jiermanent seat of govern- 
 ment was entered into between the friends 
 of Philadeljihia, and the Potomac, whereby 
 it was stipulated that congress should 
 hold its sessions in Philadelphia, for ten 
 years, during which time, buUdings for 
 the accommodation of the government 
 should be erected at some place, to be se- 
 lected, on the Potomac, and which latter 
 should become, on the expiration of the 
 ten years, the permanent capital of the 
 nation. This compromise having united 
 
 the representatives of Pennsylvania and 
 Delaware with the friends of the Potomac, 
 in favor both of the temporary and perma- 
 nent locality which had been mutually 
 agreed on between them, a majority was 
 thus finally secured in favor of the project, 
 and a bill which was brought into the 
 senate in conformitj- with this arrange- 
 ment, passed both houses by small major- 
 ities, though, according to Judge Marshall, 
 these majorities would have been larger, 
 if necessary. 
 
 But, as the final compromise briefly re- 
 corded above sliows, the die ivas cast, at 
 last, to mutual satisfaction. How this was 
 brought about, Jefferson's graphic, and, 
 it may be, highly-colored portraiture of the 
 closing hour and result of the struggle will 
 give some idea : ' The eastern members 
 particularly, who, with Smith from South 
 Carolina, were the princijial gamblers in 
 these scenes, threatened secession (ind dis- 
 solution. Hamilton was in despair. As 
 I was going to the president's, one day, I 
 met him in the street. He walked me 
 backwards and forwards before the presi- 
 dent's door for half an hour. He painted 
 patheticall}' the temper into which the 
 legislature had been wrought ; the disgust 
 of those who were called the creditor 
 states ; the danger of the secession of their 
 members, and the i^eparation of the states. 
 He observed that the members of the ad- 
 ministration ought to act in concert; that 
 though this question was not of my de- 
 partment, yet a common duty should make 
 it a common concern ; that the i)resident 
 was the center on which all administration 
 questions ultimately rested, and that all of 
 us should rally around him, and support, 
 with joint efforts, measures approved by 
 him ; and that the question having been 
 lost by a small majority only, it was prob- 
 able that an appeal from me to the judg- 
 ment and discretion of some of ray friends, 
 might effect a change in the vote, and the 
 machine of government, now suspended, 
 might be again set into motion. I told him 
 that I was really a stranger to the whole 
 subject ; that not having j'et informed my- 
 self of the system of finance adopted, I 
 
FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL — 1799. 
 
 ir^i 
 
 knew not how far tliis was a necessary se- 
 quence ; that undoubtedly, if its rejection 
 endangered a dissohition of our Union at 
 this incipient stage, I should deem that 
 the most unfortunate of all consequences, 
 to avert which all partial and temporary 
 evils should be yielded. I proposed to 
 him, however, to dine with me the next 
 day, and I would invite another friend or 
 two, bring them into conference together, 
 and I thought it impossible that reasona- 
 ble men, consulting together coolly, could 
 fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, 
 to form a compromise which was to save 
 the Union. The discussion took place. I 
 could take no part in it but an exhortatory 
 one, because I was a stranger to the cir- 
 cumstances which should govern it. But 
 it was finally agreed, that whatever im- 
 portance had been attached to the rejection 
 of this proposition, the preservation of the 
 Union and of concord among the states, 
 was more important, and that, therefore, 
 it would be better that the vote of rejec- 
 tion should be rescinded, to effect which 
 some members should change their votes. 
 But it was observed that this pill would be 
 peculiarly hitter to the southern states, 
 and that some concomitant measure should 
 be adopted to sweefeti it a little to them. 
 There had before been projects to fix the 
 seat of government either at Philadelphia, 
 or at Georgetown on the Potomac ; and it 
 was thought that, by giving it to Phila- 
 delphia for ten years, and to Georgetown 
 permanently afterwards, this might, as an 
 anodyne, calm in some degree the ferment 
 which might be excited by the other meas- 
 ure alone. So two of the Potomac mem- 
 bers (White and Lee, but White with a 
 revulsion of stomach almost convulsive) 
 agreed to change their votes, and Hamilton 
 undertook to carry the other point. In 
 doing this, the influence he had established 
 over the eastern members, with the agency 
 of Eobert Morris with those of the middle 
 states, effected his side of the engagement.' 
 Thus it was that the assumption-bill was 
 passed, and thus it was that the far more 
 important measure was enacted, which 
 provided — 
 
 " That a district of territory on the 
 river Potomac, at some place between the 
 mouths of the eastern branch and the 
 Connogocheague, be, and the same is 
 hereby, accepted, for the permanent seat 
 of the government of the United States." 
 In enduring honor of the father of his 
 country, the name given to the projected 
 city was Washington. 
 
 From the beginning. General Washing- 
 ton advocated the site which was finally 
 fixed upon, and its establishment there 
 was due in a large measure to his counsels 
 and influence. It is related, though some- 
 what questionable, that during the hot and 
 angry discussion on the subject, in con- 
 gress, pending the determination of a 
 locality, a person who was in company 
 with Washington remarked, one day, — 
 
 " I know very well where the federal 
 city ought to be." 
 
 " Where then would you put it, sir ? " 
 was the serene inquii-y of Washington. 
 
 " It ought to be located in Philadelphia," 
 was the reply. 
 
 " Why are you sure it should be there ? " 
 
 " For the most satisfactory of all rea- 
 sons," was the sinister answer; "because 
 nearly the whole of my property lies there 
 and in the neighborhood." 
 
 In stern silence did Washington fasten 
 his eye upon ths man who thus dared the 
 insolent insinuation that the president 
 favored the location of the capital in its 
 present site because it was near his Mount 
 Vernon estates ; and the offender soon 
 vanished out of sight. 
 
 Another little anecdote in this connec- 
 tion will be here given, as showing that 
 " no sea is free from ripples." It w^as for 
 many years traditional in the federal capi- 
 tal, that one man was found not awed by 
 the presence of the great founder of that 
 city. Wliile the president was procuring 
 the ground which was to be the seat of 
 government, he had but little difficulty in 
 obtaining the necessary releases, except in 
 one instance. Mr. James BjTnes was the 
 owner of a lot or tract which it was advis- 
 able should be included in the plan. The 
 general had various conferences with Mr. 
 
.132 
 
 FROil COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 Byrnes, wlio was especially obstinate, and, 
 highly prizing, as he did, tiie tract in ques- 
 tion, flatly resisted all the reasonings and 
 persuasions of the great man. Unused to 
 opposition, Washington at last turned 
 upon him and said, as only he could say 
 
 it — 
 
 "Mr. James IJyrues ! what would your 
 land have been worth if I had not placed 
 this city on the Potomac ? " 
 
 Byrnes was not at all crushed b3' this 
 peculiar flanking argument on the part of 
 the general ; but, undismayed, coolly 
 turned to him and said, — • 
 
 "George Wasliington, wliat would i/du 
 have been worth if 3'ou had not married 
 the widow Cnstis?" 
 
 It will not do to judge of the nation's 
 metropolis at that day by what it is now. 
 At that time it was desolate in the ex- 
 treme, with its long unimproved avenues 
 and streets, its deep morasses, and its vast 
 area covered with trees instead of houses. 
 Mrs. Adams, the wife of Pi-osident John 
 Adams, who first occupied the White 
 House, in writing to a friend regarding 
 the city and the presidential mansion at 
 that period, says: ' In the city are build- 
 ings enough, if they were compact and 
 finished, to accommodate congress and 
 those attached to it, but as they are, I see 
 no great comfort in them. The river, 
 which runs up to Alexandria, is in full 
 view of my window, and I can see the 
 vessels as they pass and re-pass. The 
 house is upon a grand and superb scale, 
 requiring about thirty servants to attend 
 and keep the apartments in [uoper order, 
 and perform the ordinary business of the 
 house and stables ; an establishment very 
 well proportioned to the president's salary. 
 The lighting the apartments, from the 
 kitchen to the parlors and chambers, is a 
 tax indeed; and the fires we are obliged 
 to keep, to secure us fi-om daily agues, is 
 another very cheering comfort. To assist 
 us in this great castle, and render less at- 
 tendance necessary, bells are wholly want- 
 ing, not one being hung through the 
 whole house, and promises are all we can 
 obtain. This is so great an inconvenience 
 
 that I know not what to do, or how to do. 
 If they will put me up some bells, and let 
 me have wood enough to keep fires, I de- 
 sign to be pleased. I could content my- 
 self anywhere three months, but sur- 
 rounded by forests, can you believe that 
 wood is not to be liad, because people can 
 not be found to cut and cart it ? Briesler 
 entered into a contract with a man to 
 supply him with wood. A small part, a 
 few cords only, has he been able to get. 
 Most of that was expended to dry the walls 
 of the house before we came in, and yes- 
 terday the man told him it was impossible 
 for him to procure it to be cut and carted. 
 He has had recourse to coals; but we can 
 not get grates made and set. We have 
 indeed come into a new countrj.' These 
 and kindred inconveniences were naturally 
 incident to the new order of things ; they 
 were only temporary. 
 
 As has already appeared, it was reserved 
 to Washington's immediate successor in 
 the presidential office, to be the first occu- 
 pant of the executive mansion. Neverthe- 
 less, the superintending mind and hand of 
 Washington are broadly identified with 
 the conception not only of that elegant 
 building, but of the capitol and other gov- 
 ernment structures. On the fifteenth day 
 of April, 1791, the Hon. Daniel Carroll 
 and Dr. David Stewart superintended the 
 fixing of the first corner-stone of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, at Jones's Point, near 
 Alexandria; it was laid with all the usual 
 masonic ceremonies, an address being also 
 delivered on the occasion by Rev. James 
 Muir. " Maj' this stone," said the orator, 
 " long commemorate the goodness of God 
 in those uncommon events which have 
 given America a name among nations. 
 Under this stone may jealousy and selfish- 
 ness be forever buried. From this stone 
 may a superstructure arise whose glory, 
 whose magnificence, whose stability, shall 
 astonish the world." The south-east 
 corner-stone of the capitol was laid by 
 President Washington, September eight- 
 eenth, 1793, with appropriate services, 
 principal among which was the act of the 
 commissioners, in their oflBcial capacity', 
 
FOUXDi:sG OF TUE :N'AT10JS'AL CAPITAL — ITUy. 
 
 ^^:-- 
 
 WASniNGTOX, D. C, IX 1876. 
 
 when they delivered to President Wash- 
 ington, who deposited it in the stone, a 
 silver plate, inscribed as follows: — 
 
 "This soutli-east corner-stone of the 
 Capitol of the United States of America, 
 in the city of Washington, was laid on the 
 18th day of September. 1793, in the eight- 
 eenth year of American Independence, in 
 the first year of the second term of the 
 presidency of George Washington, whose 
 virtues in the civil admin i.stration of his 
 country have been as conspicuous and 
 beneficial as his military valor and pru- 
 dence have been useful in establishing her 
 liberties, and in the year of Masonry 5793, 
 by the President of the United States, in 
 concert with the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land, several lodges under its jurisdiction, 
 and Lodge No. 22 from Alexandria, Vir- 
 ginia." 
 
 In the summer of 1800, the archives of 
 the government were removed from Pliila- 
 dolphia to Washington, and, the ensuing 
 November, the north wing of the capitol 
 was ready for the first sitting of congress 
 in the new metropolis. John Cotton 
 
 Smith, a distinguished member of this con- 
 gress from Connecticut, speaking of the 
 new city on his arrival there, says: 'I 
 can not sufficiently express my admiration 
 of its local position.' 
 
 It was at this session that formal recog- 
 nition was made of the great national 
 event of the founding and establishment 
 of the national capital, bj' mutual congrat- 
 ulatory addresses between the chief mag- 
 istrate of the republic on the one jiart, and 
 the senate and house of representatives on 
 the other. 
 
 A more beautiful site for a large city 
 could scarcely have been selected. On a 
 level plain some three miles in length, and 
 varying from a quarter to two miles wide, 
 and extending from the banks of the 
 Potomac to a range of hills bounding 
 the plain on the east, the new city was 
 laid out. The idea of General Washington 
 was that the capitol should be the center 
 of the city, and that avenues should radi- 
 ate from it at equi-distant points. To 
 complete his plan, the metropolis should 
 have a million of inhabitants, instead of 
 
134 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 its present very moderate fraction of that 
 number. Tiiougli not a seven-hilled city, 
 Washington has, as well as Rome, its Ca- 
 pitoline Hill, commanding views scarcely 
 
 
 
 NATIONAL v?APITOL IN 1876. 
 
 less striking than those of the Eternal 
 City. The general altitude of the city- 
 plot is forty feet above the river, but this 
 is diversified by irregular elevations, which 
 serve to give variety and commanding 
 sites for the public buildings. The plot is 
 slightly ainphitheatrical, the president's 
 house on the west standing on one of 
 the sides, and tlie eapitol on the other, 
 while the space between verges towards a 
 point near the river. The president's 
 house and the eapitol stand centrally with 
 regard to the whole, though situated at 
 the distance of one mile from each other, 
 the former forty-four feet above the Poto- 
 mac, and the latter seventy-two feet. All 
 the public buildings are on a scale of mag- 
 nificence worthy of a great nation ; and 
 the munificence of congress in this respect, 
 as well as in regard to all that pertains to 
 the city, as the seat of government of the 
 United States, is evident on every side. 
 This is as it should be, and betokens the 
 destined splendor, in point of architecture, 
 avenues and parks, institutions of art, 
 science and education, of the federal cap- 
 ital. 
 
 Starting from the eapitol, the streets 
 run from north to south and from east to 
 west, their width varying from ninety to 
 one hundred and ten feet. There are be- 
 side twenty avenues, named after the 
 
 older states of the Union, which cross the 
 streets at various angles and connect the 
 most important points of the city, forming 
 at their intersection with the streets and 
 with each other numerous open 
 — -^ sjjaces. These grand avenues are 
 from one hundred and thirty to 
 one hundred and sixty feet uni- 
 form width ; the principal of these 
 is called in honor of the state of 
 Pennsylvania, and extends from 
 Georgetown to the Anacostia, a 
 distance of four miles. It forms 
 the main avenue of communication 
 between the eapitol and the presi- 
 
 J dent's house and the chief offices 
 -_ of government. The eapitol oom- 
 mands Maryland, Delaware, New 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, and 
 Missouri avenues ; the president's house, 
 Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and 
 Connecticut avenues. The effect of this 
 arrangement, taken in connection with 
 the natural advantages of the site, is 
 exceedingly fine — one of the finest in 
 the world, for a city. From the hill, in 
 especial, on which stands the eapitol, the 
 
 SVMBOLU- biAlUi; or AMERICA SUKMOUNTING 
 THE U. S. CAPITOL. 
 
 most noble view presents itself to the ej-e 
 of the beholder that the imagination can 
 conceive. On the fourth of July, 1851, 
 
FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL — 1799. 
 
 135 
 
 the corner-stone of that magnificent ex- 
 tension of the capitol which lias rendered 
 it the most sujjerb structure of its kind in 
 the world, was laid with splendid ceremo- 
 nial, including a commemorative oration 
 by President Fillmore, assisted by Daniel 
 Webster, secretary of state. In the stone 
 \^as also deposited a record of the event, 
 with the following impressive statement 
 and invocation : — 
 
 "If, therefore, it shall be hereafter the 
 will of God that this structure shall fall 
 from its base, that its foundation be up- 
 turned, and this deposit brought to the 
 eyes of men, be it then known that on 
 this day the union of the United States of 
 America stands firm, that their Constitu- 
 
 tion still exists unimpaired and with all 
 its original usefulness and glory, growing 
 every day stronger and stronger in the 
 affections of the great body of the Amer- 
 ican people, and attracting more and more 
 the admiration of the world. And all 
 here assembled, whether belonging to 
 public life or to private life, with hearts 
 devoutly thankful to Almighty God for 
 tlie preservation of the liberty and happi- 
 ness of the country, unite in sincere and 
 fervent praj'er that this deposit, and the 
 walls and arches, the domes and towers, 
 the columns and entablatures, now to 
 be erected over it, may endure forever ! 
 God Save the United States op 
 Ameuica ! " 
 
XIT. 
 DEATH OF GEORGE AYASHINGTON.— 1799. 
 
 His Sutiilen and Brief Illness, Last Hours, and Dying Words — Fortitude and Serenity Through all 
 His Sufferings. — He Calmly Announces His Approaching Dissolution Without a Murmur — The 
 Whole World Does Honor, by Eulogy and Lamentations, to His Exalted Worth and Immortal Fame. 
 — He Anticipated an Early Death. — His Invariably Good Health — Exposure in a Snow-Storm — 
 Takes a Fatal Cold. — Last Letter Written by His Hand. — Reads the Papers in the Evening — Char- 
 acteristic Reply to His Wife. — Passes a Restless Night — Alarming Condition the Next Day. — Medi- 
 cal Treatment of no Avail — Calls for His Two Wills, Burns One. — Affecting Scene at His Bedside. 
 
 —Last Words, '"Tis Well!"— Only One Day's Sickness. 
 =---j^:. '-'- — Acute Laryngitis His Disease — Burial in the Old Family 
 
 Vault — Tidings of His Death — Tributes from Peoples and 
 Kings — A Man Without a Parallel — Last Page in His 
 Journal. — Re-entombment in 1837 — Appearance of His 
 Remains. 
 
 '•I'opterity will talk of Wnchinutdn with tovercncc. up the founder of a grva, 
 empire, when my name ehall t)e lost in the vortex of ieTotutioii."-NAroLEOH Bo- 
 
 N APAJITE. 
 
 ASIIIXf;T(JX is ile.ad!" were the appalling words which, with the 
 fading out of the eighteenth century, brought home to every American heart the solemn 
 lesson of the flight of time, and that " all men are mortal." Totally unprepared as 
 was his idolizing country for such an event, — no intelligence of the slightest illness of 
 the great chieftain having preceded the bald announcement of his death and burial, — 
 the tidings moved the nation's heart to profound amazement and sorrow, and deep an- 
 swered unto deep, in the universal wail of a liereaved and stricken republic. If a 
 nation's prayers could have prevailed, Washington — Columbia's most honored, venerated, 
 and renowned son, — would have been immortal on earth. But the ordinance of divine 
 wisdom is, that tlie great boon of immortality shall be attained by man only through 
 the portals of the grave, and to this decree the illustrious and the humble are alike sub- 
 ject. Thus it was that Washington, the great Christian warrior and statesman — the 
 greatest of good men and the best of great men — paid the debt of nature when he had 
 scarcely reached the allotted period of three-score years and ten. 
 
 The last end of so illustrious a personage as Washington, is fraught with an interest 
 so profound and memorable, as never to lose its freshness and value to successive 
 generations. It appeared to be the will of heaven that, so soon as the circum- 
 stances of his country enabled it to dispense with the services of the man who, above 
 all others, was its founder and leading head, he shoidd be summoned away from 
 the scenes of earth. That he was one who was accustomed to consider the brevity of 
 life and the 'uncertainty of human affairs, is evident from the tenor of his conduct 
 and conversation, and from occasional passages in his correspondence. Thtis, to the 
 Hon. James M'Henry, secretary of war, he wrote, but a few months prior to his 
 decease : " My greatest anxiety is to have all these concerns in such a clear and distinct 
 
DEATH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON — 1799. 
 
 10- 
 01 
 
 form, that no reproach may attach itself to 
 me when I have taken my departure for 
 the land of spirits." He had also been 
 making arrangements, just before tlie at- 
 tack of illness which terminated in his 
 death, for the construction of an improved 
 family tomb, and in speaking of his plans 
 to a relative at his side, he remarked, 
 "This change, I shall make the first of all, 
 for I may require it before the rest." He 
 had also been heard to say, " I am of a 
 short-lived family, and cannot expect to 
 remain very long upon the earth." 
 
 The month of December, 1799, found 
 him in the enjoyment of excellent health. 
 Indeed, Major Lewis, his nephew, writing 
 of him as he appeared to himself and a 
 friend at that time, says, " The clear and 
 healthy flush on his cheek and his 
 sprightly manner brought the remark from 
 both of us, that we had never seen the 
 general look so well." On the tenth of 
 December, he completed the draught of an 
 elaborate plan for the management of his 
 lands, laying down the rotation of the 
 crops for a succession of years in advance. 
 The morning of that day was clear and 
 calm, but the afternoon was lowering. 
 The next day, the eleventh, was bluster- 
 ing and rainy ; and at night, as Washing- 
 ton recorded in his diary, "there was a 
 large circle round the moon." The morn- 
 ing of the twelfth was overcast. Wash- 
 ington's last letter was written tliat 
 morning — it was to Hamilton, and princi- 
 pally on the subject of a military academy. 
 The events of that day, and of the two 
 days following, are most minutely narrated 
 by an eye-witness — Mr. Tobias Lear, — 
 who was Washington's private secretary 
 as well as valued friend ; and with Mr. 
 Lear's statement, are incorporated some 
 facts from the pen of Washington's favor- 
 ite kinsman, Mr. Custis : — 
 
 On Thursday, December twelfth, the 
 general rode out to his farms about ten 
 o'clock, and did not return home till past 
 three. Soon after he went out, the weather 
 became very bad, rain, hail, snow falling 
 alternately, with a cold wind. When he 
 came in, I carried some letters to him to 
 
 frank, intending to send them to the post- 
 office in the evening. He franked the 
 letters, but said the weather was too bad 
 to send a servant to the office that even- 
 ing. I observed to him, that I was afraid 
 he had got wet. He said. No, his great 
 coat had kept him dry. But his neck ap- 
 peared to be wet, and the snow was 
 hanging upon his hair. He came to din- 
 ner, which had been waiting for him, 
 without changing his dress. In the even- 
 ing he appeared as well as usual. 
 
 A heavy fall of snow took jjlace on 
 Friday, which prevented the general from 
 riding out as usual. He had taken cold, 
 undoubtedly from being so much exjiosed 
 the day before, and complained of a sore 
 throat. He, however, went out in the 
 afternoon into the ground between the 
 house and the river to mark some trees, 
 which were to be cut down in the improve- 
 ment of that spot. As was usual with 
 him, he carried his own compass, noted 
 his observations, and marked the ground. 
 He had a hoarseness, which increased in 
 the evening, but he made light of it. 
 
 Between two and three o'clock, on Sat- 
 urday morning, December fourteenth, he 
 awoke Mrs. Washington, and told her that 
 he was very unwell, and had had an ague. 
 She observed that he could scarcely speak, 
 
 and breathed with difficulty, and would 
 have got up to call a servant. But ho 
 would not permit her, lest she should take 
 a cold. As soon as the day appeared, the 
 
1?,8 
 
 FROAI COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 woman (Caroline) went into tlie room to 
 make a fire, and Mrs. Washington sent 
 her immediatel}' to call me. I got up, 
 put on my clothes as quickly as possible, 
 and went to his cliamber. Mrs. Washing- 
 ton was then up, and related to me his 
 being ill as before stated. I found the 
 general breathing with difficult}', and 
 hardly able to utter a word intelligibly. 
 He desired Mr. Rawlins (one of the over- 
 seers) might be sent for, to bleed him be- 
 fore the doctor could arrive. I dispatched 
 a servant instantly for Rawlins, and an- 
 other for Dr. Craik, and returned again to 
 the general's chamber, where I found him 
 in the same situation as I had left him. 
 
 A mixture of molasses, vinegar, and 
 butter, was prepared, to try its effects in 
 the throat ; but he could not swallow a 
 drop. Whenever he attempted it, he ap- 
 peared to be distressed, convulsed, and al- 
 most suffocated. Rawlins came in soon 
 after sunrise, and jn-epared to bleed him. 
 When the arm was ready, the general, ob- 
 serving that Rawlins appeared to be agi- 
 tated, said, as well as he could speak, 
 " Don't be afraid.'' And when the incision 
 was made, he observed, " The orifice is not 
 large enough." However, the blood ran 
 pretty freely. Mrs. Washington, not 
 knowing whether bleeding was proper or 
 not in the general's situation, begged tliat 
 much might not be taken from him, lest it 
 should be injurious, and desired me to 
 stop it; but, when I was about to untie 
 the string, the general put uj) liis hand to 
 prevent it, and, as soon as he could speak, 
 he said, " More, more." Mrs. Washing- 
 ton being still very uneasy, lest too much 
 blood should be taken, it was stopped after 
 taking about hiilf a pint. Finding that no 
 relief was obtained from bleeding, and 
 that nothing would go down the throat, I 
 proposed b.ithing it externally with sal 
 volatile, which was done, and in the oper.a- 
 tion, which was with the hand, and in the 
 gentlest manner, he observed, "It is very 
 sore." A piece of flannel dipped in sul 
 volatilf was put around his neck, and his 
 feet bathed in warm water, but without 
 affording any relief. 
 
 In the meantime, before Dr. Craik ar- 
 rived, Mrs. Washington desired me to 
 send for Dr. Brown, of Fort Tobacco, 
 whom Dr. Craik had recommended to be 
 called, if any case should ever occur that 
 was seriously .alarming. 
 
 Dr. Dick came about three o'clock, and 
 Dr. Brown arrived soon after. Upon Dr. 
 Dick's seeing the general, and consulting 
 a few minutes with Dr. Craik, he was bled 
 again. The blood came very slow, was 
 thick, and did not produce any .symptoms 
 of fainting. Dr. Brown came into the 
 chamber soon after, and upon feeling the 
 general's pulse, the physicians went out 
 together. Dr. Craik returned soon after 
 The general could now swallow a little. 
 Calomel and tartar emetic were adminis- 
 tered, but without any effect. 
 
 The weather became severely cold, 
 while the group gathered nearer to the 
 couch of the sufferer. He spoke but little. 
 To the respectful and affectionate inquir- 
 ies of an old familj' servant, as she 
 smoothed down bis pillow, how he felt 
 himself, he answered, '" I am very ill." 
 To Mrs Washington he said, '' Go to mj' 
 desk, and in the private drawer you will 
 find two papers — - bring them to me." 
 They were brought. Upon looking at 
 them he observed, " These are my wills — 
 preserve this one and burn the other ; " 
 which was accordinglj' done. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon he ap- 
 peared to be in great pain and distress, 
 from the difiiculty of breathing, and fre' 
 quently changed his posture in the bed. 
 On these occasions I lay uiion the bed and 
 endeavored to raise him, and turn him 
 with as much ease as possible He ap- 
 jieared penetrated with gratitude for my 
 attentions, and often said. " I am afraid I 
 shall fatigue you too much ;" and upon my 
 assuring him that I could feel nothing but 
 a wish to give him ease, he replied, 
 
 " Well, it is a debt we must pay to each 
 other, and I hope, when you want aid of 
 this kind, j'ou will find it." 
 
 He asked wlien IMr Lewis and Wash- 
 ington Custis would return. (They were 
 then in New Kent.) I told him about the 
 
DEATH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON — 179'.i. 
 
 139 
 
 mhM-^Mffm- js- 
 
 20tli of the month. 
 The general's serv- 
 ant, Christopher, 
 was in the room (hir- 
 ing the ihiv ; ami in the afternoon, tlie 
 general di reeled him to sit down, as he had 
 been standing almost the whole day. He 
 did so. About eight o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, he had expressed a desire to get up. 
 His clothes were put on, and he was led to 
 a chair by the fire ; he found no relief 
 from that position, and lay down again 
 about ten o'clock. About five o'clock. Dr. 
 Craik came again into the room, and, 
 upon going to the bedside, the general said 
 to him, 
 
 " Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid 
 to go. I believed, from my first attack, 
 that I should not survive it. My breath 
 can not last long." 
 
 The doctor pressed his hand, but could 
 not utter a word. He retired from the 
 bedside, and sat by the fire absorbed in 
 grief. Between five and six o'clock, Dr. 
 Dick and Dr. Brown came into the room, 
 and with Dr. Craik went to the bed, when 
 Dr. Craik asked him if he could sit up in 
 the bed. He held out his hand, and I 
 12 
 
 ^^U 
 
 &■ ?~^' 
 
 UlNOluA, DEC. U, 1799. 
 
 raised him up. He then 
 said to the physicians. 
 
 " 1 feel myself goitu I : 
 I thank you for your 
 attentions ; but I -pray yon to tiihe no more 
 trouble about me. Let vie go off quietly. 
 I cannot last long." 
 
 About ten o'clock he made several at- 
 tempts to speak to me before he could 
 effect it. At length he said, 
 
 " I am just going. Have me decently 
 buried; and do not let my body be put 
 into the vault in less than three days after 
 I am dead." 
 
 I bowed assent, for I could not speak. 
 He then looked at me again and said, 
 
 " Do you understand me ? " 
 
 " Yes," I replied. 
 
 "'Ti.s WELL," said he; the last words 
 which he ever uttered on earth. 
 
 With surprising self-possession he pre- 
 pared to die — composing his form at full 
 length, and folding his arms on his bosom. 
 
 About ten minutes before he expired 
 (which was between ten and eleven o'clock 
 Saturday evening), his breathiiig became 
 easier. He lay quietly ; he withdrew his 
 hand from mine, and felt his own pulse. 
 
110 
 
 FiiOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 I saw lug conntenance oliango. I spoke to 
 Dr. Craik, «lio sat Iiy the tire. He came 
 to the bedside. The general's hand fell 
 from his wrist. I took it in mine, and 
 pressed it to my bosom. Dr. Craik imt 
 his hands over his eyes, and he expired 
 without a struggle or a sigh, December 
 fourteenth, 1799, in the sixty-eighth j'ear 
 of his age, after an illness of twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 While we were fixed in silent grief, 
 Mrs. Washington, who was sitting at the 
 foot of tlie bed, asked with a firm and 
 collected voice, '■ Is he gone ? " I could 
 not speak, but held up my hand as a signal 
 that he was no more. " 'Tis well," said 
 >he, in the same voice, "all is now over; 
 I shall soon follow him ; I have no more 
 trials to pass through." 
 
 The disease of which Washington died 
 was what is now technically called "acute 
 laryngitis," a disease of very rare occur- 
 rence. 
 
 OKOKiJK w VSIIIVfJTON, AH rOLONEL, 
 
 About twelve o'clock, the body was car- 
 ried down stairs, and laid out in the large 
 drawing-room ; the burial taking place the 
 next Wednesday, December 18th, his 
 mortal remains being dei)Osited in the 
 family vault at IMount Vernon. The 
 sudden tidings of his death fell like a do- 
 mestic sorrow upon the hearts of the 
 oeople ; lamentations and solemn obsequies 
 filled the land, — -and, throughout the whole 
 world, the event was heard with the deep- 
 est emotion. 
 
 Nearly forty years after Washington's 
 
 death and burial, his remains, together 
 with those of his wife, were re-entombed, 
 in order to their being placed in the 
 marble coffins which had been generously 
 offered for that purpose by a patriotic citi- 
 zen of Philadelphia, to the legal represen- 
 tatives of the departed chieftain. This 
 was in 18.37. At the time of Washing- 
 ton's interment, Decemher 18, 1799, his 
 body was placed in a mahogany coffin lined 
 witii lead, soldered at the joints, with a 
 cover of lead to be soldered on after the 
 body should be in the vault. The coffin 
 was put into a case, lined and covered 
 with black cloth. 
 
 On entering the tomb and examining 
 the coffin, on the occasion in question, it 
 was found that the lid had become dis- 
 placed and broken, and the silver shield 
 which had originally surmounted the lid 
 had dropped down into the case. At the 
 request of Major Lewis, who was one of 
 the family group to witness the re-entoml>- 
 nieiit, the fractured part of the lid was 
 turned over on the lower part, exposing to 
 view a head and breast of large dimen- 
 sions, which appeared, by the dim light of 
 the candles, to have suffered but little 
 from the effects of time. The eye-sockets 
 were large and deep, and the breadth 
 across the temples, together with the fore- 
 head, appeared of unusual size. There 
 was no appearance of grave-clothes ; the 
 chest was b^oad, the color was dark, and 
 there was the appearance of dried flesh 
 and skin adhering closely to the bones. 
 
 The ancient family vault, in which 
 Washington's remains first reposed, was 
 situated under the shade of a small grove 
 of forest trees, a shoi-t distance from the 
 family mansion of Mount Vernon, and 
 near the brow of the precipitous bank of 
 the Potomac. Diminutive and unadorned, 
 this humble sepulchre stood in a most 
 romantic and picturesque spot, and, on ac- 
 count of its prominent locality, could be 
 distinctly seen by travelers, as they passed 
 in steamboats uj) aiul down the river. 
 
 But the ashes of the father of his coun- 
 try were in course of time removed from 
 that place, to a lot near the corner of a 
 
DEATH OF GEOEGE WASHINGTON — 1799. 
 
 141 
 
 beautiful enclosure, where the river is con- 
 cealed from view. This site was selected 
 by Washington himself, in the later years 
 of his life, for a tomb. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to cite the opin- 
 ions held by the illustrious men of Amer- 
 ica concerning Washington. Those opin- 
 ions, held and shared by all, from the 
 highest to the humblest citizen, may all 
 be summed up in tha'j grand ajjotheosis of 
 eulogy, namely, that he was "Fikst in 
 Wak, Fix.st tn Peace, First in- the 
 
 HE.iRTS OF Hl.S COUXTKVMEN." It will 
 
 be of interest, however, in this place, 
 to glance at the estimate of Washing- 
 ton held by some of the great historic 
 characters of the old world, — kings, queens, 
 nobles, and orators. 
 
 When Napoleon was about to embark 
 for Egypt, some American gentlemen who 
 happened to be at Toulon, being an.xious 
 for an interview with the mightjr Corsi- 
 can, obtained an introduction to him. 
 Scarcely were the customary salutations 
 exchanged, when he eagerly asked — 
 
 "How fares j-our countryman, the gretit 
 Washington ? " 
 
 "He was very well, general, when we 
 left America," replied the travelers. 
 
 "Ah, gentlemen," rejoined the man of 
 destiny, "Washington can never be other- 
 wise than well. The measure of his fame 
 
 a great admirer of the heroism and per- 
 sonal character of Washington, though 
 not in sympathy with his political princi- 
 ples. Wishing to send to him a royal 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. GENERAL V. 3. A. 
 
 is full. Posterity will talk of him with 
 reverence as the founder of a great empire, 
 when my name shall be lost in the vortex 
 of revolutions." 
 
 Marie Antoinette, queen of France, was 
 
 cs^yfA 
 
 FRESIUKNT O? FHK UNITED 8TATE>. 
 
 gift in token of her appreciation of his 
 great merits, she consulted Lafayette as to 
 the form of presentation, citing the terms 
 used on similar occasions, in addressing 
 kings and other monarchs. Lafayette 
 mildly objected to those terms, as being 
 not altogether suitable in the present case, 
 saying : " They, madam, were only kings. 
 Washington is the General of a free na- 
 tion," — a sentiment to which the gentle- 
 mannered queen at once yielded a most 
 gracious assent, in deference to the ac- 
 knowledgerl pre-eminence of Washington. 
 Lord Erskine, in writing to Washington 
 from London, said : " I have taken the 
 liberty to introduce your august and im- 
 mortal name in a short sentence, which is 
 to be found in a book I send you. I have 
 a large acquaintance among the most val- 
 uable and exalted classes of men ; but you 
 are the only human being for whom I have 
 ever felt an awful reverence. I sincerely 
 pray God to grant you a long and serene 
 evening to a life so gloriously devoted to 
 the universal happiness of the world." 
 
142 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 In the j'car 1780, Frederick the Great, 
 king of Prussia, presented General Wash- 
 ington witli a picture of liis majesty taken 
 to the life, and inscribed underneath with 
 the words — 
 
 "From the oldest r/e/uinil in Europe, to 
 the greatest geyieral on earth." 
 
 Charles James Fox, the renowned Brit- 
 ish premier, declared of Washington, in 
 the presence of parliament : " How infi- 
 nitely wiser must appear the spirit and 
 principles manifested in his late addresses 
 to congress than the policy of modern Eu- 
 ropean courts ! Illustrious man ! deriving 
 honor less from the splendor of his situa- 
 tion than from the dignity of his mind ; 
 before whom all borrowed greatness sinks 
 into insignificance, and all the potentates 
 of Europe — excepting the members of our 
 own royal family — become little and con- 
 temptible. I can not, indeed, help admir- 
 ing the wisdom and fortune of this great 
 man. A character, of virtues so happily 
 tempered by one another, and so wholly 
 unalloyed by any vices, is hardly to be 
 found on the pages of history. For him it 
 has been reserved to run the race of glory, 
 without experiencing the smallest inter- 
 ruption to the brilliancy of his career." 
 
 When the news of Washington's death 
 reached France, Napoleon announced the 
 event to his army, and ordered black crape 
 to be suspended from all the flags and 
 standards in the French service for ten 
 days ; and, on the eighth of February, 
 1800, M. DeFontanes, by direction of Na- 
 poleon, pronounced a funeral oration in 
 honor of Washington, in the presence of 
 Bonaparte and the great dignitaries of the 
 realm, in which oration the illustrious de- 
 ceased was declared to be " a character 
 worthy the best days of antiquity." 
 
 Of Washington's personal apjjcarance, 
 little further need be remarked than that 
 it comported entirely with the solid gran- 
 deur of his character. In respect to jihy- 
 sique, no man could have been better 
 formed for command. A stature some- 
 what exceeding six feet, a full but admir- 
 ably-proportioned frame, calculated to 
 su.stain fatigue, without th.at heaviness 
 
 which generally attends great muscular 
 strength and abates active exertion, dis- 
 played bodily power of no moan standard. 
 A light gray eye and full, firm forehead, 
 Roman nose ; his mouth was peculiar of its 
 
 iUMB OF WASHi>(iluM. 
 
 class— the lii)S firm, and the under jaw 
 seeming to grasp the upper with force, as 
 if its muscles were in full action when he 
 sat still. It was W^ashington's habit to 
 fasten his eyes calmly and steadily upon 
 those who were ushered into his presence, 
 whether friend or foe, nor was it a slight 
 ordeal thus to meet his penetrating gaze. 
 His limbs were long, large, and sinewj', 
 and his frame was of equal breadth from 
 the shoulders to the hips ; his joints were 
 large, as were also his feet, and the great 
 size of his hand never failed to attract 
 attention. His gait and tread was that of 
 a practiced soldier; his deportment inva- 
 riably grave and reserved ; his speech 
 sparing and deliberate. At home he wore 
 the usual dress of a citizen ; on state occa- 
 sions, he dressed in a full suit of the rich- 
 est black velvet, with diamond knee- 
 buckles, and square silver buckles set 
 
DEATH OF GEOEGE WASHINGTON — 1799. 
 
 143 
 
 upon shoes jajDanned with the most scru- 
 pulous neatness, black silk stockings, his 
 shirt ruffled at the breast and wrists, a 
 light dress sword, his hair profusely pow- 
 dered, fully dressed, so as to project at the 
 sides, and gathered behind in a silk bag. 
 
 ornamented with a large rose of black 
 ribbon. In the prime of life, Washington 
 stood six feet two inches, and weighed 
 nearly two hundred and twenty pounds ; 
 he measured precisely six feet when at- 
 tired for the grave. 
 
XIII. 
 
 Fi^TAL DUEL BETWEEN MR. BURR AND GENERAL 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON.— 1S04. 
 
 Fall of Hamilton at First Fire. — His Death in Thirty Hours — Profound Sensation and Solemn Obse 
 quies in all Parts of the Land. — Mourned as one of the Founders of the Republic. — Indictment of the 
 Assassin for the Crime of Murder. — Hamilton's Brilliant Public Life. — Washington's Highthand Man. 
 — Champion of the Federalists. — Burr's Career in the Revolution. — His Notorious Debauchery. — Fi- 
 nally Dismissed by Washington. — Becomes Vice-President in I8U0 — Deadly Personal Hatreds. — 
 Criticisms on Burr by His Opponents. — Challenge Sent to Hamilton — Pacific E.xplaiiations Spurned. 
 — Forced to Meet Burr. — Makes His Will in Anticipation — Sings at a Banquet the Day Before. — 
 Arrival of the Fatal Hour — Hamilton's Mortal Wound. — What He Said of the Event. — Conversation 
 Before Dying — Partakes of the Communion. — His Testimony Against Dueling. — Heartless Con'.uct 
 of Burr. — A Fugitive and an Outlaw. 
 
 CiEitar to Aitton'i • 
 
 "L«t the old niftiaa know 
 
 I have many other ways to die: meantime, 
 
 Lauiili at his chuUenje."— Ant. & Clbo.. Act. 4. 8c. 1. 
 
 Y far the most exciting personal tronsac- 
 tion tliat occurred among the first genera- 
 tion of American statesmen and jtoliti- 
 cians, was the duel fought in July, 1804, 
 between Colonel Aaron Burr, at tliat time 
 vice-president of the United States, and 
 General Alexander Hamilton, formerly 
 secretary of the treasury, during the ad- 
 ministration of "Washington; and in which 
 duel Hauiilton fell mortally wounded, his 
 country being thus deprived of its most 
 brilliant ornament. 
 
 Of transcendent abilities and unsullied 
 official integrity, it may be said of the 
 victim in this murderous tragedy, that no 
 one labored more efficiently than he, in the 
 organization of the present federal govern- 
 ment. At the age of nineteen he entered 
 the revolutionary army, and in 1777 was 
 appointed aid-de-canip of General Wash- 
 ington,witli the rank of lieutenant-colonel. 
 In this capacity he served during the re- 
 mainder of the war, and at the siege of Yorktown led in person the detachment 
 that carried by assault one of the British outworks. "When his military services 
 ■were no longer reijuired, he commencctl the study of tlie law, entered into its jirac- 
 
 MONDMEXT TO ALEXANDEK HAillLTON. 
 
DUEL BETWEEN BURR AND HAMILTON — ISOi. 
 
 14d 
 
 tice in New York, and soon rose to dis- 
 tinction. In 1782, lie was chosen a 
 member of congress ; in 1787, a, member of 
 the convention that framed the federal 
 constitution. Of this work, as profound as 
 any, and more generally intelligible than 
 most, that have been written on the science 
 of government, the larger portion pro- 
 ceeded from the pen of Hamilton. In 
 political life, he was one of the strongest 
 champions of the party which had Wash- 
 ington at its head. In 1789, he was placed 
 in the cabinet, as secretary of tlie treasurj', 
 and while in this position rendered the 
 most efficient service to his countrj', by 
 the establishment of an admirable system 
 of national finance. During the insurrec- 
 tion in Pennsylvania, when the people of 
 the western counties took up arms against 
 the general government, Hamilton was 
 placed at the head of the government force 
 destined to act against them ; the disturb- 
 ances being quelled without bloodshed, ho 
 resigned his post. His last appearance in 
 military character was again by the side 
 
 of Washington, in 1798, as second in com- 
 mand of the army, which was to be called 
 into service in case of hostilities with 
 France. 
 
 10 
 
 Aaron Burr was one j'ear the senior of 
 Hamilton, in point of age. His father was 
 the Rev. Aaron Burr, the learned and de- 
 vout president of Princeton college, and 
 
 his mother the daughter of that eminent 
 divine, Jonathan Edwards. Before Burr 
 had reached his third year, however, he 
 was an orphan. When twelve years of 
 age he entered college, graduating at si.x- 
 teen with the highest reputation. In 
 1775, while a student of law, he joined the 
 American army under Washington, and 
 siuli was his ardor in his countrj''s cause, 
 that he joined Arnold as a volunteer in 
 the expedition against Quebec. After his 
 arrival there he was appointed aid-de-carap 
 to Montgomery, and was by the side of 
 that brave officer when lie fell. Subse- 
 quently, in 1776, he was received by 
 Washington as one of his military family, 
 but was soon cast off by that stern moral- 
 ist in consequence of his debauchery. 
 This act of Washington, Burr never for- 
 gave. His unquestioned military talents, 
 however, secured for him the high position 
 of lieutenant-colonel in 1777, which he re- 
 tained until 1779, when he was obliged to 
 relinquish it on account of ill-health. De- 
 voting himself to law, he early became one 
 of the greatest lawyers in New York, of 
 which state he was made attorney-general 
 in 1789. Prom 1791 to 1797, he was a 
 United States senator. In 1800, he was a 
 
UG 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 caaJidate for the presidency, and receivt'd 
 the same number of votes as Thomas Jef- 
 ferson ; the choice thus went to congress, 
 which, on the thirtj'-sixth ballot, elected 
 Jefferson jj resident and Burr vice-presi- 
 dent. In his 2)ersonal appearance, Burr 
 is described as liaving been, in the prime 
 of liis manhood, a small but well-formed, 
 fair-complexioned, fascinating man; his 
 face was handsome, by some described as 
 striking, and eyes jet-black and uncom- 
 monly brilliant and piercing. In public 
 he had an air of eminent authority, but in 
 the drawing-room his manner was singu- 
 larly graceful, gentle, and winning. He 
 was a wit, a beau, a good scholar, a iw\- 
 ished gentleman, an unscrupulous lawyer 
 and politician, and a libertine in morals. 
 But whoever would read, in all its varied 
 detail, the life of this wonderful man, 
 must consult the biographies of him by 
 Parton and Davis. 
 
 The animosity between Burr and Ham- 
 ilton, as the leaders, respectively, of the 
 two great political parties, was very bitter. 
 The liistory of this quarrel, in its immedi- 
 ate bearing upon the fatal rencontre in 
 which it finally culminated, is somewhat 
 differently characterized by various biogra- 
 phers, and perhaps not always impartially. 
 Reviewing the matter from the date of 
 Washington's death, the fact is brought to 
 notice, that such was the number of seced- 
 ers from the federal party after that un- 
 looked-for event, that their opponents re- 
 solved to adopt the bold policy of running 
 two presidential candidates, in order thus 
 to secure at least the election of a vice- 
 president, and in this way, although a 
 choice by the electoral colleges was not 
 effected, the two candidates of the demo- 
 cratic party were brought before the house 
 of representatives with claims apparently 
 equal. In the vote of tliis liody by states, 
 it soon appeared that the federal members 
 had it in their power to determine which 
 of the two, Jefferson or Burr, .should lie 
 president. Many violent federal parti- 
 sans were inclined to throw a brand of 
 discord into the republican party, by con- 
 ferring the dignity on Burr; and he is 
 
 accused of intriguing with them for th<' 
 purpose. 
 
 It is believed tliat Burr, from this time 
 forth, became Hamilton's mortal foe, and 
 watched for an occasion to get rid of such 
 a rival. In the careful account given by 
 Hildreth, of the subsequent progress of 
 this feud, — a portion of which is h?re cited, 
 — he mentions, primarily, the two well- 
 known letters written by Dr. Cooper, a 
 zealous partisan, in one of which it is 
 alleged that Hamilton had spoken of Burr 
 as a dangerous man, who ought not to be 
 trusted with the reins of government. In 
 the other letter, after repeating the above 
 statement. Cooper added that he could de- 
 tail a still more despicable opinion which 
 General Hamilton had expressed of Mr. 
 Burr. 
 
 Upon this latter jjassage, the historian 
 asserts, Burr seized as the means of forcing 
 Hamilton into a duel. For his agent and 
 assistant therein he selected William P. 
 Van Ness, a young lawyer, one of his most 
 attached partisans, and not less dark, de- 
 signing, cool, and implacable than himself. 
 Van Ness was sent to Hamilton with a 
 copy of Cooper's printed letter, and a note 
 from Burr, insisting upon a prompt and 
 unqualified acknowledgment or denial of 
 the use of any expressions which would 
 warrant Cooper's assertions. 
 
 Hamilton expressed a perfect readiness to 
 avow or disavow any specific opinion which 
 he might be charged with having uttered; 
 but added that he never would consent to be 
 interrogated generally as to whether he had 
 ever said anything in the course of fifteen 
 years of political competition to justify in- 
 ferences which others might have drawn, 
 thus exposing his candor and sincerity to 
 injurious imputations on the part of all 
 who might have misapprehended him. 
 
 " More than this," said Hamilton in (he 
 conclusion of his letter to Burr, " can not 
 fitly be expected of me; especially, it can 
 not lie reasonably expected that I shall 
 enter into any explanations upon a basis 
 so vague as that you have adopted. I 
 trust, on more reflection, you will see the 
 matter in the same light. If not, I can 
 
DUEL BETWEEN BURR AND HAMILTON — ISOi. 
 
 147 
 
 only regret the circumstance, and must 
 abide the consequences." 
 
 Burr's curt, rude, and offensive reply 
 began with intimating that Hamilton's 
 letter was greatly deficient in that sincer- 
 ity and delicacy which he professed so 
 much to value. The epithet in question, 
 in the common understanding of it, im- 
 plied dishonor. It having been affixed to 
 Burr's name upon Hamilton's authority, 
 he was bound to say whether he had au- 
 thorized it, either directly, or by uttering 
 expressions or opinions derogatory to 
 Burr's honor. 
 
 It was apparent from this letter, and it 
 was subsequently distinctly stated by Van 
 Ness, that what Burr required was a gen- 
 eral disavowal on the part of Hamilton, of 
 any intention, in any conversation he 
 might ever have held, to convey impres- 
 sions derogatory to the honor of Burr. 
 Desirous to deprive Burr of any possible 
 excuse for persisting in his murderous 
 designs, Hamilton caused a paper to be 
 transmitted to him, through Pendleton, a 
 brother lawj'er, who acted as his fi-iend in 
 this matter, to the effect that, if properly 
 addressed — for Burr's second letter was 
 considered too insulting to admit of a reply 
 - — he should be willing to state that the 
 conversation alhiiled to by Dr. Cooper, so 
 far as he could recall it, was wholly in re- 
 lation to politics, and did not touch upon 
 Burr's private character ; nor should he 
 hesitate to make an equally prompt avowal 
 or disavowal as to any other particul.ar and 
 specific conversation concerning which he 
 might be questioned. 
 
 But as Burr's only object was to find a 
 pretext for a challenge, — since he never 
 could have expected the general disavowal 
 he demanded, this offer was pronounced 
 unsatisfactory and evasive ; and again, a 
 serond time, disavowing in the same bi-eath 
 the charge made against him of predeter- 
 mined hostility, Burr requested Van Ness 
 to deliver a challenge. 
 
 The eleventh of July, at seven in the 
 mcrning, was the time mutually agreed 
 upon for the duel ; the place, Weehawken, 
 New Jersej', opposite the city of New York ; 
 
 the weapons to be jiistols, ana the distance 
 ten paces. In the meantime, Hamilton and 
 Burr met once more at the convivial board, 
 namely, at the annual banquet of the Soci- 
 ety of the Cincinnati, of which Hamilton 
 was president and Burr a member. It is 
 related that on this occasion Hamilton was 
 cheerful, and at times merry. He was 
 urged, as the feast wore away, to sing the 
 onl3' song he ever sang or knew, the 
 famous old ballad of " The Drum." It 
 was thought afterward, that he was more 
 reluctant than usual to comply with the 
 company's request ; but after some delay, 
 he said, " Well, 30U shall have it," and 
 sang it in his best manner, greatly to the 
 delight of the old soldiers \>y whom he 
 was surrounded. Burr, on the contrary, 
 was reserved, and mingled little with the 
 company, and held no intercourse what- 
 ever with the president. He was never a 
 fluent man, and was generally, in the soci- 
 ety of men, more a listener than a talker. 
 On this occasion, his silence was, there- 
 fore, the less remarked ; yet it was re- 
 marked. It was observed, too, that he 
 paid no attention to Hamilton's conversa- 
 tion, nor, indeed, looked toward him, until 
 he struck up his song, when Burr turned 
 toward him, and, leaning upon the table, 
 looked at the singer until the song was 
 done. 
 
 The fatal morning came. Colonel Burr 
 arrived first on the ground, as had been 
 previously agreed. He deliberately took 
 off his coat, surveyed the ground, and 
 then cleared away the bushes, limbs of 
 trees, etc. When General Hamilton ar- 
 rived, the parties exchanged salutations, 
 and the seconds proceeded to make their 
 arrangements. They measured the dis- 
 tance, full ten paces, and cast lots for the 
 choice of position, as also to determine by 
 whom the word should be given, both of 
 which fell to the seconds of Hamilton. 
 They then proceeded to load the pistols in 
 each other's presence, after which the 
 parties took their stations. 
 
 The gentleman who was to give the 
 word now explained to the parties the 
 rules which were to p:overn them in firing, 
 
148 
 
 FKo:n coI.o^'Y to woklu power. 
 
 SCENE OF THE BURH AND H 
 
 which were as follows : ' The parties heing 
 placed at their stations, the second who 
 gives the word shall ask them whether 
 they are ready ; being answered in tlie 
 affirmative, he shall say Present : after 
 this, the parties shall present and lire 
 wJieii they please. If one fires liefore 
 the other, the opposite second shall say, 
 One, two, three, fire ; — and lie shall then 
 fire, or lose his fire.' He then asked if 
 they were prepared ; being answered in 
 the affirmative, he gave the word Present, 
 as had been agreed on, and both parties 
 presented and fired in succession. The 
 fire of Burr took effect ; Hamilton sprang 
 upon his toes with a convulsive movement, 
 
 AMILTOX DtTEL, WEEHAWKEN. 
 
 reeled a little toward the heights, at which 
 moment he involuntarily discharged his 
 pistol, and then fell headlong upon his face, 
 and remained motionless upon the ground. 
 His ball rustled among the branches, seven 
 feet above the head of his antagonist, and 
 four feet wide of him. Burr heard it, 
 looked up, and saw where it had severed a 
 twig. Looking at Hamilton, he beheld 
 him falling, and advanced towards him 
 with a manner and gesture that ajjpeared 
 to be e.xpressive of regret, but without 
 speaking turned about and withdrew, 
 being urged from the field by his friend. 
 No further communication took place be- 
 tween the principals, and the barge that 
 
DUEL BETWEEN BURR AXD IIAIFILTON — 1804. 
 
 149 
 
 carried Colonel Burr immediately left the 
 Jersey shore for New York. 
 
 Hamilton was at once borne away ten- 
 derly in the arms of Pendleton, and his 
 necessities ministered to by Dr. Hosack. 
 He had, at this moment, just strength 
 enough to say, "This is a mortal wound, 
 doctor ; " when he sank away, and became 
 to all appearance lifeless. "My vision is 
 indistinct," were his first words. Soon 
 after recovering his sight, he happened to 
 cast his eye upon the case of pistols, and 
 observing the one he had usi'd lying on 
 the outside, he said : 
 
 " Take care of that pistol ; it is undis- 
 charged, and still cocked; it may go off 
 and do harm ; — Pendleton knows (attempt- 
 ing to turn his head towards him) that I 
 did not intend to fire at him." 
 
 "Yes, I have already made Dr. Hosack 
 acquainted with your determination as to 
 that," replied Pendleton. 
 
 On approaching the shore, he said, " Let 
 Mrs. Hamilton be imraediatelj^ sent for ; 
 let the event be gradually broken to her ; 
 but give her hopes." His friend, Mr. 
 Baj'ard, stood on the wharf in great agita- 
 tion, and, on seeing Hamilton lying in the 
 bottom of the boat, he threw up his arms 
 and burst into a flood of tears and lamen- 
 tation. Hamilton alone appeared tranquil 
 and composed. On being put to bed, a 
 consultation of physicians was held, who 
 united in the opinion that thei-e was no 
 chance of his recoverj'. General Key, the 
 French consul, also had the goodness to 
 invite the surgeons of the French frigates 
 then in New York harbor, as they had had 
 much experience in gun-shot wounds, to 
 render their assistance. They immedi- 
 atel}^ came, but their opinion was unani- 
 mous as to the lKi[ielessness of the case. 
 The ball had struck the second or third 
 false rib, and fractured it about the middle ; 
 it then passed through the liver and 
 the diaphragm, and as far as was sub- 
 sequently ascertained, lodged in the first 
 or second lumbar vertebra, the latter being 
 considerabljr splintered, so that the spic- 
 ulas were perceptible to the touch of the 
 finger. 
 
 The news of Hamilton's fall, and prob- 
 ably speedy death, by a duel with the vice- 
 president of the United States, jiaralyzed 
 the whole nation, as the shocking intelli- 
 gence sped itself over the country. In 
 New York, especially, bulletins, hourly 
 changed, kept the citj' in agitation. All 
 the circumstances of the catastrophe were 
 told, and re-told, at every corner. The 
 thrilling scenes that were passing at the 
 bedside of the dying man, the consultation 
 of the jdiysicians, the arrival of the stricken 
 family, Mrs. Hamilton's overwhelming 
 sorrow, the resignation and calm dignity 
 of the illustrious sufferer, his broken slum- 
 bers during the night, the piteous specta- 
 cle of the seven children entering together 
 the awful apartment, — all these jaroduced 
 an impression on the public that can only 
 be imagined. 
 
 At General Hamilton's request. Bishop 
 Moore and Rev. Dr. Mason visited him at 
 his bedside. To the former he said : " My 
 dear sir, you perceive my unfortunate sit- 
 uation, and no doubt have been made 
 acquainted with the circumstances which 
 led to it. It is my desire to receive the 
 communion at your hands. I hope you 
 will not conceive there is any impropriety 
 in mj' request. It has for some time past 
 been the wish of my heart, and it was my 
 intention to take an early opportunity of 
 uniting myself to the church by the recej}- 
 tion of that holy ordinance." Bishop 
 Moore observed to him, that he must be 
 very sensible of tlie delicate and trying 
 situation in which, as a minister, he was 
 then placed ; that however desirous he 
 might be to afford consolation to a fellow 
 mortal in distress, still it was his duty as 
 an ambassador of the gosjiel, to hold up the 
 law of God as paramount to all other law, 
 and that, therefore, he must imequivocally 
 condemn the practice which had brought 
 him to his present unhappy condition. 
 Hamilton acknowledged the propriety of 
 these sentiments, and added, " I have no 
 ill-will ar/ainst Colonel Burr. I met him, 
 tvith a fixed determination to do him no 
 harm. I forgive all that happened.!'' 
 After some other religious conversation 
 
loO 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 incident to tlie occasion, he received the 
 sacrament with great devotion, exjjressing 
 strong confidence in divine mercy. In liis 
 interview witli Dr. Mason, lie exhibited 
 the same spiritual conviction, and repeated 
 tlie emphatic testimony he had given to 
 Bishop Moore, against the barbarous 
 custom of dueling. 
 
 The next day, Thursda}', at eleven 
 o'clock, being about thirty hours after 
 receiving the fatal wound, Hamilton em- 
 braced his wife for the last time, then 
 calmly composed himself to die, and ex- 
 pired witliout a shudder or a groan, in the 
 prime of his manhood, being forty-seven 
 years of age. 
 
 The death of this most illustrious .states- 
 man was universally deplored, as a na- 
 tional calamity second only to the death of 
 Washington himself ; and, indeed, on ac- 
 count of the tragical circumstances under 
 which the great patriot was brought to 
 his end, the excitement produced through- 
 out the country was, if possible, more 
 startling and profound than that which 
 followed the announcement of Washing- 
 ton's decease. In the city of New York, 
 the most imposing funeral ceremony ever 
 witnessed in America revealed the unex- 
 ami)led grief that burdened the public 
 mind. All business was suspended, the 
 bells tolled in solemn requiem, public meet- 
 ings of the various societies were held, the 
 ships in the harbor hoisted their flags at 
 half-mast, and sorrow was depicted on 
 every countenance. 
 
 The indignation against Burr knew no 
 bounds. His fixed determination to bring 
 Hamilton within range of his pistol, feel- 
 ing " sure of being able to kill him," 
 caused his act to be branded as willful 
 murder, and an indictment was dulj* found 
 against him ; but in a few daj's he fled, an 
 outlaw and an outcast, and thus eluded 
 justice. Burr's execrable heartlessness 
 may be judged of, by the note written by 
 him to Mr. Allston, his son-in-law, in which 
 
 he said : " General Plamilton died j-ester- 
 day. The malignant federalists or tories, 
 and the embittered Clintonians, unite in 
 endeavoring to excite public sympathy in 
 his favor and indignation against his an- 
 tagonist. Thousands of absurd falsehoods 
 are circulated with industry. The most 
 illiberal means are practiced in order to 
 produce excitement, and for the moment 
 with effect." 
 
 One week before the time fixed upon for 
 the duel, Hamilton pre]>ared a letter to his 
 wife, to be handed to her in case of his 
 death. In this affecting epistle, he assures 
 her that he had striven by all honorable 
 means to avoid the meeting, and expects 
 to fall in it; he entreats her forgiveness 
 for the calamity his death would bring 
 upon her, and conjures her to meet the 
 blow in calm submission to jirovidence. 
 
 Hamilton's widow, a woman of rare 
 excellence and dignity, survived him some 
 fifty years. Once only did she see her 
 huslianil's murderer, the circumstances of 
 this occasion being related as follows : In 
 the year 1822, she was traveling from 
 New York to Albanv. on one of the 
 boats plying the Hudson. The com- 
 j)any had been summoned to dinner. 
 When Mrs. Hamilton had almost reached 
 her seat in the dining-saloon, on rais- 
 ing her ej'es she perceived Aaron Burr 
 standing directly opposite to her, with 
 only the narrow width of the table between 
 them. The shock was too much for her 
 system, — she uttered a loud scream, fell, 
 and was carried in a fainting state from 
 the apartment. As soon as she recovered, 
 she insisted on being set on shore at the 
 first landing-place, refusing to journey 
 further in the same vessel with Burr. It 
 is said, that, after the removal of Mrs. 
 Hamilton from the dining saloon. Burr 
 deliberately sat down and ate a hearty 
 dinner with the utmost composure. This 
 story, however, wears an air of improba- 
 bility. 
 
XIV. 
 
 FULTON'S TRIUMPHANT APPLICATION OF STEAM TO 
 
 NAVIGATION.— 180 T. 
 
 First Steam-boat Voyage on American Waters Under His Direction. — Astonisliment Produced by the 
 Exhibition, — Great Era in National Development. — The World at Large Indebted to American 
 Ingenuity and Enterprise for this Mighty Revolutionary Agent in Human Progress and Power. — 
 The Whole Scale of Civilization Enlarged. — Fulton's Early Mechanisms, — His Inventive Projects 
 Abroad. — Steam Propulsion the End Sought. — Various Experiments and Trials. — Livingston's 
 Valued Co-operation. — Studying the Principle Involved. — Its Discovery at Last. — Legislative En- 
 couragement Asked. — Public Ridicule of the Sclieme. — Construction of a Steamboat. — The " Queer- 
 Looking Craft." — Incidents at the Launch. — -Undaunted Confidence of Fulton. — Sailing of the 
 " New-Fangled Craft." — Demonstrations Along the Route. — (^omplete Success of the Trip. — First 
 Passage-Money. — That Bottle of Wine. — Opposition Lines, and Racing. — First Steam-boat at the 
 West — Amazing Subsequent Increase. — Fulton's Checkered Fortunes. 
 
 "It is to the undaunted perseverance and exertions of tlie American Fdlton that ia due the everlasting honor of having produced this 
 reTolution, both in naval architecture and ncvigalion."— Jury RKfOHT op THB ExniBlTlo.\ OF all Kations. Londo..*, IRM. 
 
 ITEAM, in its application to the purposes of navigation, 
 w.is first successfully employed by Robert Fulton, a na- 
 tive of Little Britain, Pennsylvania. His peculiar genius 
 iiKiiiifested itself at an early age, in an irrepressible taste 
 for producing drawings and various mechanisms. At the 
 age of twenty-one he was intimate with Franklin. He 
 had previously painted portraits and landscapes in Phila- 
 delphia, and derived considerable profit from the occupa- 
 tion. He subsequently sailed for England, with the view 
 of seeking Mr. West's aid in the prosecution of his art. 
 That great painter took him into his family, at once. In 
 1793, Mr. Fulton was actively engaged in a project to im- 
 prove inland navigation. Even at that time he had con- 
 ceived the idea of propelling vessels by steam. In 1804 he had acquired much 
 valuable information upon the subject, and written it down, as well as much concern- 
 ing his own life, and sent many manuscripts from Paris to this country, but the 
 vessel was wrecked and most of the papers destroyed. About this period, the sub- 
 ject of canals seems to have been the principal object of his attention, although not 
 exclusively-. In 1806, Mr. Fulton left Europe for New York, and on hts arrival 
 in this country, he immediately commenced his arduous exertions in the cause of 
 practical science. The fertility of his mind in this direction may be understood, 
 when it is stated that, in 1794, he had been engaged by the Didce of Bridge water in 
 
 FIRST STEAM BOAT ON THB 
 HLDSON 
 
l.'j 
 
 -lO 
 
 Tmni coLoxY to wokld powek. 
 
 fuiKil projects, had alopted and patented 
 tlie system of inclined planes as a substi- 
 tute fur locks, anil ]ia<l written a treatise 
 on canals. He also invented a mill for 
 sawing marble, patented severul methods 
 of spinning tiax and making ropes, and 
 constructed a torpedo to be used in war, 
 fur the destruction of an oneniv's vessels. 
 
 At what time Mr. Fulton's min<l was 
 first directed to steam navigation, is not 
 definitely known; but even in 1793, he 
 
 Brunei's direction. The incompleteness of 
 Fitch's plan is matter of historj-, though 
 his inventive ingenuity was very great. 
 
 Among those of Fulton's own country- 
 men who had jireviously made unsuccessful 
 attempts to render the force of steam sub- 
 servient to practical and useful purposes, 
 was Chancellor Livingston, of New York. 
 As early as 1798, he believed that he had 
 accomplished his object, and represented 
 to the legislature of the state of New York, 
 
 had matured a plan in which he reposed I that he possessed a mode of applying the 
 great confidence. No one, previously to ' steam engine so as to propel a boat on 
 Mr. Fulton, had constructed a steam-boat ' new and advantageous jn'inciples; but he 
 
 was deterred from carrj-ing it into effect, 
 by the uncertainty and hazard of a very 
 expensive experiment, unless he could be 
 assured of an exclusive advantage from it, 
 should it be found successful. 
 
 The legislature in March, 1798, passed 
 an act vesting Mr. Livingston with the 
 exclusive right and privilege of navigating 
 all kinds of boats which might be propelled 
 hy the force of fire or steam, on all the 
 waters within the territory or jurisdiction 
 of the state of New Y''orli:, for a term of 
 twenty years from the passing of the act, 
 — upon condition that he should within a 
 twelvemonth build such a boat, the mean 
 of whose jjrogress should not be less than 
 four miles an hour. 
 
 The bill was introduced into the house 
 of assembly by Dr. Mitchell, upon which 
 tf-^'X-^occasion the wags and the law^-ers united 
 their powers in opposition to the bill in 
 such a manner that the good doctor had 
 to encounter all their jokes, and jiarry all 
 their blows. 
 
 According to Mr. Livingston's own 
 account of these most interesting circum- 
 stances, it apjjears that, when residing as 
 minister jdenipoteutiary of the United 
 States in France, he there met with Mr. 
 Fulton, and they formed that friendship 
 and connection with each other, to which 
 a similarity of pursuits naturally gives 
 birth. He communicated to Mr. Fulton 
 his views of the importance of steam-boats 
 to their common country ; informed him of 
 what had been attempted in America, and 
 of his resolution to resume the piursuit on 
 
 /I^i^aJ- i^^^ 
 
 in any other way, or with any other result, 
 than as an unsuccessful experiment ; and 
 although many have disputed his right to 
 the honor of the discovery, none have done 
 so with any semblance of justice. Miller's 
 experiments, which simply proved the 
 practicability of the pnncijde of propelling 
 vessels by steam, were made in 1787, in 
 Scotland; but Fulton's boat, which began 
 to navigate the Hudson in 1807, was cer- 
 tainly the first practical demonstration of 
 this application of steam, Ix'ing five years 
 prior to the success of Henry Bell on the 
 Clyde, and nearly ten years preceding the 
 first attempts on the Thames river, under 
 
FULTON'S APPLICATION OF STEAM TO NAVIGATION — isor. 153 
 
 his return ; and advised him to turn his 
 attention to the subject. It was agreed 
 between them to embark in the enterprise, 
 and immediately to make such experi- 
 ments as would enable them to determine 
 how far, in spite of former failures, the 
 object was attainable. The principal 
 direction of these experiments was left to 
 Mr. Fulton. 
 
 On the arrival at New York of Mr. 
 Fulton, which was not till 1806, they im- 
 mediately engaged in building a boat of — 
 as was then thought — very considerable 
 dimensions, for navigating the Hudson. 
 This boat, named the Clermont, was of 
 one hundred and sixty tons burden, one 
 hundred and thirtj' feet long, eighteen 
 feet wide, and seven feet deep. The 
 diameter of the paddle-wheels was fifteen 
 feet, the boards four feet long and dipping 
 two feet in the water. She was a queer- 
 looking craft, and, while on the stocks, 
 excited much attention and no small 
 amount of ridicule. WHien she was 
 launched, and the steam engine placed in 
 her, that also was looked upon as being of 
 a piece with the boat built to float it. A 
 few had seen one at work raising the Man- 
 hattan water into the reservoir back of 
 the almshouse; but, to the people at large, 
 the whole thing was a hidden mystery. 
 Curiositj' was greatlj' excited. Nor will 
 the reader be at all surprised at the state- 
 ment made by an eye-witne.ss and narrator 
 of these events, that, when it \vas an- 
 nounced in the New York papers that the 
 boat would start from Cortlandt street at 
 six and a half o'clock on Friday morning, 
 the fourth of August, and take passengers 
 to Albany, there was a broad smile on 
 every face, as the inquiry was made, if 
 any one would l;ie fool enough to go ? 
 One friend was heard to accost another in 
 the street with — ■ 
 
 "John, will thee risk thy life in such a 
 concern ? I tell thee she is the most fear- 
 ful wild fowl living, and thy father ought 
 to restrain thee ! " 
 
 When Friday morning came, the 
 wharves, piers, house-tops, and every 
 ' coir/ne de vantage ' from which a sight 
 
 could be obtained, was filled with spectar 
 tors. There were twelve berths, and 
 every one was taken through to Albany. 
 The fare was seven dollars. All the 
 machinery was uncovered and exposed to 
 view. The periphery of the balance- 
 wheels, of cast iron, some four or more 
 inches square, ran just clear of the water. 
 There were no outside guards, the balance- 
 wheels being suj^ported bj- their resjjective 
 shafts, which projected over the sides of 
 the boat. The forward part was covered 
 by a deck, which afforded shelter to the 
 hands. The after-part was fitted uj), in a 
 rough manner, for passengers. The en- 
 trance into the cabin was from the stern, 
 in front of the steersman, who worked a 
 tiller, as in an ordinary sloop. Black 
 smoke issued from the chimney; steam 
 issued from every ill-fitted valve and crev- 
 ice of the engine. Fulton himself was 
 there. His remarkably clear and sharp 
 voice was heard above the hum of the mul- 
 titude and the noise of the engine ; his 
 step was confident and decided ; he heeded 
 not the fearfulness, doubts, or sarcasm of 
 those by whom he was surrounded. The 
 whole scene combined had in it an individ- 
 uality, as well as an interest, which comes 
 but once and is remembered forever. 
 
 Everything being ready, the engine was 
 set in motion, and the boat moved steadily 
 but slowly from the wharf : as she turned 
 up the river, and was fairly under way, 
 there arose such a huzza as ten thousand 
 throats never gave before. The jiassen- 
 gers returned the cheer, but Fulton stood 
 upon the deck, his eyes flashing with an un- 
 usual brilliancy as he surveyed the crowd. 
 He felt that the magic wand of success 
 was waving over him, and he was silent. 
 
 As the boat sailed or steamed hy West 
 Point, the whole garrison was out, and 
 cheered most lustily. At Newburg, it 
 seemed as if all Orange county was col- 
 lected there ; the whole side-hill city 
 seemed animated with life. Every sail- 
 boat and water-craft was out. The ferrj'- 
 boat from Fishkill was filled with ladies, 
 but Fulton was engaged in seeing a pas- 
 senger landed, and did not observe the 
 
154 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 boat until she bore up nearly alongside ; 
 the flapping of a sail arrested his atten- 
 tion, and, as he turned, the waving of so 
 many handkerchiefs, and the smiles of so 
 
 In a letter to his friend and jiatron. I\Ir. 
 Barlow, Fulton saj's of this Clermont trial 
 trip : " My steam-boat voj-age to Albany 
 and back has turned out rather more 
 
 many bright and happy faces, struck him 
 with surprise, and, raising his hat, he ex- 
 claimed, "' That is the finest sight we have 
 seen yet." 
 
 favorable than I had calculated. The dis< 
 tance to Albanj- is one hundred and fifty 
 miles. I ran up in thirty-two hours and 
 down ill thirty. The latter is just five 
 
FULTOX'S APPLICATIOX OF STEAM TO XAVIGATIOX — 1807. 15.j 
 
 miles an hour. I had a light breeze 
 against me tlie whole way, going and com- 
 ing, so that no use was made of my sails, 
 ami this voyage has been performed whol- 
 ly by the power of the steam engine. I 
 overtook many sloops and schooners beat- 
 ing to the windward, and passed them as 
 if they had been at anchor." Such was 
 tlie modest description of this greatest of 
 modern inventions. 
 
 Of peculiar interest and entertainment 
 is the following narrative connected with 
 this historic voj'age, from the graphic pen 
 of one who was a personal actor in the 
 scene described : — 
 
 I chanced to be at Albany on business 
 when Fulton arrived there in his unheard- 
 of craft, which everybody felt so much 
 anxiety to see. Being ready to leave, and 
 hearing that this craft was going to 
 return to New York, I repaired on board 
 and inquired for Mr. Fulton. I was 
 referred to the cabin, and there found a 
 plain, gentlemanly man, wholly alone, and 
 engaged in writing. 
 
 "Mr. Yulton, I presume." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Do you return to New York, with this 
 boat ? "" 
 
 " We shall try to get liack, sir." 
 
 " Can I have a passage down ? " 
 
 "You can take your chance with us, 
 sir." 
 
 I inquired the amount to be paid, and, 
 after a moment's hesitation, a sum, I 
 think six dollars, was named. The amount, 
 in coin, I laid in his open hand, and, with 
 his eye fixed upon it, he remained so long 
 motionless, that I supposed it might be a 
 miscount, and said to liim, " Is that right, 
 sir?" This question roused him as from 
 a kind of reverie, and, as he looked up, the 
 big tear was brimming in his eye, and his 
 voice faltered as he said — 
 
 " Excuse me, sir ; but memory was 
 busy as I contemplated this, the first 
 pecuniary reward I have ever received for 
 all my exertions in adapting steam to 
 navigation. I should gladly commemorate 
 the occasion over a bottle of wine with 
 you, but really I am too poor even for 
 
 that, just now; yet I trust we may meet 
 again, when this will not be the case." 
 
 Some four j'ears after this (continues 
 the writer of this agreeable reminiscence), 
 when the Clermont had been greatly im- 
 proved and her name changed to the North 
 River, and when two other boats, viz., the 
 Car of Neptune and the Paragon had been 
 built, making Mr. Fulton's fleet consist of 
 three boats regularh- plying between New 
 York and Albany, I took passage upon one 
 of these for the latter city. The cabin in 
 that day was below; and, as I walked its 
 length to and fro, I saw I was ver}^ closely 
 observed by one I supjiosed a stranger. 
 Soon, however, I recalled the features of 
 Mr. Fulton ; but, without disclosing this, 
 I continued my walk. At length; in pass- 
 ing his seat, our eyes met, when he sprang 
 to his feet, and, eagerly seizing my hand, 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " I knew it must be j'ou, for your feat- 
 ures have never escaped me ; and, although 
 I am still far from rich, yet I may venture 
 that hoftle now ! " 
 
 It was ordered ; and during its discus- 
 sion Mr. Fulton ran rapidly, but vividly, 
 over his experiences of the world's cold-' 
 ness and sneers, and of the hopes, fears, 
 disappointments, and difficulties, that were 
 scattered through his whole career of dis- 
 covery, up to the very point of his final, 
 crowning triumph, at which he so fully felt 
 he had arrived at last. And in reviewing 
 all these matters, he said — 
 
 " I have again and again recalled the 
 occasion, and the incident, of our first 
 interview at Albanj' ; and never have I 
 done so without renewing in my mind the 
 vivid emotion it originally caused. That 
 seemed, and does still seem, to me, the 
 turning point in my destiny — the dividing 
 line between light and darkness, in my 
 career upon earth ; for it was the first 
 actual recognition of nij' usefulness to my 
 fellow-men." 
 
 Even at this early period in the employ- 
 ment of so dangerous and slightly under- 
 stood a motive power as steam, the rivalry 
 and diversion of racing was indulged in. 
 It was in the month of September, 1809, 
 
156 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 that the exciting and criminal scene of a 
 steam-boat race was first enacted. A com- 
 pany from Albanj' had been formed for 
 the purpose of competing with Fulton. 
 The first vessel of this opposition line was 
 advertised to leave Albany at the same 
 time as Fulton's. Parties ran high in the 
 hotels of Albany. The partisans of Fulton 
 were enrolled under Professor Kemp, of 
 Columbia College ; those of the opposition 
 under Jacob Stout. The victory was long 
 in suspense ; and it was not until after the 
 thirtieth hour of a hard struggle that the 
 result was proclaimed by Dr. Kemp, on 
 the taffrail of Fulton's vessel, and holding 
 out, in derision, a coil of rope to Captain 
 Stout, for the purpose, as he remarked in 
 so doing, of ''towing liim into port." 
 When the age, high standing, and sedate 
 character of these two gentlemen are con- 
 sidered, it is not surprising that, in course 
 of time, women at the West learned to 
 devote their bacon to feeding the furnace 
 fires of rival steam-boats. 
 
 The comp)lete success attending steam 
 navigation on the Hudson and the neigh- 
 boring waters, previous to the j'ear 1809, 
 turned the attention of the principal pro- 
 jectors to the idea of its application on the 
 western waters ; and in the month of 
 April of that year, Mr. Roosevelt, of New 
 York, pursuant to an agreement with 
 Chancellor Livingston and Mr. Fulton, 
 visited those rivers, with the purpose of 
 forming an opinion whether they admitted 
 of steam navigation or not. Mr. Roosevelt 
 surveyed the rivers from Pittsburg to 
 New Orleans, and, as his report was favor- 
 able, it was decided to build a boat at the 
 former place. This was done under his 
 direction, and in the year 1811 the first 
 boat was launched on the waters of the 
 Ohio. It was called the New Orleans. 
 
 Late at night, on the fourth day after 
 quitting Pittsburg, they arrived in safety 
 at Louisville, having been seventj' hours 
 descending a distance of somewhat more 
 than seven hundred miles. The novel 
 appearance of the vessel, and the fearful 
 rapidity — as it was then regarded — with 
 which it made its passage, excited a mix- 
 
 ture of terror and surprise among manv of 
 the settlers on the banks, whom the rumor 
 of such an invention had never reached. 
 
 Mr. Livingston's former associate in his 
 exjjeriments with applying steam to this 
 purpose was Mr. John Stevens, of New 
 Jersey, who persevered independently of 
 Fulton and his patron, in various attempts 
 to construct steam-boats. In this enter- 
 prise he was aided by his son, and his 
 prospects of success had become so flatter- 
 ing, that he refused to renew his partner- 
 ship with Livingston, and resolved to trust 
 to his own exertions. Fulton's boat, how- 
 ever, was first ready, and thus secured the 
 grant of the exclusive privilege of the state 
 of New York. The Stevenses were but a 
 few days later in moving a boat with the 
 required velocity. Being shut out of the 
 waters of the state of New York, by the 
 l^riority of Livingston and Fulton, Stevens 
 conceived the bold design of conveying his 
 boat to the Delaware by sea ; and this 
 boat, which was so near reaping the honor 
 of first success, was the first to navigate 
 the ocean by steam. One of the most 
 efiicient advocates of the new mode of nav- 
 igation by steam was DeWitt Clinton. 
 
 From the date of Fulton's triumph in 
 1807, steam navigation became a fixed fact 
 in the United States, and went on extend- 
 ing with astonishing rapidity. Nor could 
 a different result have been rationally 
 expected in such a country as America. 
 
 In person, ]\Ir. Fulton was about six 
 feet high, slender form, but finel}' propor- 
 tioned. Nature had made him a gentle- 
 man, and bestowed upon him ease and 
 gracefulness. A modest confidence in his 
 own worth and talents, gave him an unem- 
 barrassed deportment in all his social 
 intercourse. He expressed himself with 
 energy, fluencj', and correctness, and, as he 
 owed more to liis own experience and 
 reflections than to books, his sentiments 
 were often interesting from their original- 
 ity. But what was most conspicuous in 
 his character, was his calm constancy, his 
 industry, and that indefatigable patience 
 and perseverance, which always enabled 
 him to overcome difficulties. 
 
XV. 
 
 CAPTURE OF THE BRITISH FRIGATE GUERRIERE BY 
 
 THE U. S. FRIGATE CONSTITUTION.— 1812. 
 
 Captain Dacres's Insolent Challenge to the American Navy. — Captain Hull's Eager Acceptance. — His 
 Unrivaled Tactics and Maneuvers.— A Short, Terrific, Decisive Contest.— Yankee Valor on the 
 Ocean a Fixed Fact, Sternly Hespected — The Constitution Becomes the Favorite Sliip of the 
 Nation, and is Popularly Called " Old Ironsides."— Cruise of the Constitution.— Hull, the " Sea 
 King," in Command — A Sail! The Enemy's Squadron !— Chased Three Days by Them. — Rowing 
 and Warping in a Calm —.Most Wonderful Escape on Record.— Another Frigate in Sight, tlie Guer- 
 
 riere. — Her Signals of Defiance — Yankee Eagerness for Ac- 
 tion. — The Two Frigates Afoul. — Yard-arm to Yard-arm 
 Encounter. — Fire of the Constitution Reserved. — Final and 
 Deadly Broadsides. — Fearless Conduct of her Crew. — British 
 Colors Hauled Down — Sinking of the Shattered Wreck. — 
 Armament and Power of the Ships. — An almost Equal 
 Match. — Anecdotes of the Two Commanders. — Honors to the 
 Brave Victors. — Future Annals of the Constitution. — Her 
 Varied and Noble Career. 
 
 *' Never before, in the history of the worlil. did an Eogliah frigate Btrilie to an American, 
 under equal circumatancea."— London Times. 
 
 '-'^- ROUDEST among the triuniplis of tlie American flag will for- 
 ever be associated the career of that noble old frigate, the Constitution, 
 . j — re-christened, by popular acclaim, " Old Ironsides" for her grand 
 and victoriotis resistance to British domination on the ocean, in succes- 
 sive and hotly-contested battles. The greatest of these triumphs came, too, at a 
 time when the public heart heaved with despondency; and the sensibilities of a 
 whole nation, deeply wounded by the ill-success of their arms on the frontier, were 
 suddenly thrilled with joj- at the announcement of an action brilliant bej'ond all 
 precedent in its results, in the annals of naval warfare. The American heart beat 
 high and warm, as the news of this proud achievement winged itself over the sea and 
 over the land, and from the western to the eastern hemisphere. It may here be 
 stated, as an interesting naval item, that the first commander of this pet frigate was 
 Commodore Samuel Nicholson, brother of Commodore James Nicholson, of revolu- 
 tionary note. 
 
 Previous to the final declaration of war against Great Britain, in June, 1812, 
 preparation liad been made by the United States government to send to sea, imme- 
 diately on that event, all the frigates and armed vessels that could be put in readi- 
 ness, to protect American commerce, and meet the enemy on the ocean. When, 
 
158 
 
 FEO?[ COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 however, these little squadrons left tlieir 
 ports to contend with the haughty mistress 
 of the seas, every American breast was 
 filled with anxiety. Indeed, the British 
 naval commanders had boasted that they 
 would drive the little striped bunting of the 
 upstart states, in affright and dismay, 
 from every part of the broad ocean. How 
 the Constitution saved herself, on first 
 sighting the British lion, is a narrative 
 uniting the romantic and miraculous. 
 
 It was on the twenty-first of June, that 
 a squadron, consisting of the President, 
 the United States, the Congress, the 
 Hornet, and Argus, under the com- 
 mand of Commodore Rodgers, sailed from 
 New York on a cruise in quest of British 
 merchantmen, then on their way from 
 Jamaica to Englan/L Subsequently, tlie 
 frigate Constitutioi., Captain Isaac Hull, 
 received orders to lom the squadron of 
 Rodgers, and, for that purpose, sailed from 
 the Chesapeake on the twelfth of July. 
 On the seventeenth, being off Egg Harbor, 
 four sliips, apparently men-of-war, were 
 discovered from the mast-head to the 
 northward, approaching rapidly with a fine 
 breeze, while it was nearly calm about the 
 Constitution. In the belief that it was the 
 American squadron, waiting her arrival, 
 every effort was made to come up with 
 them. At four in the afternoon, another 
 ship was seen to the north-east, standing 
 for the Constitution, with all sails set. At 
 ten in the evening, being then within six 
 or eight miles of the strange s.iil, the pri- 
 vate signal was made by tiie Constitution ; 
 which not being answered, it was con- 
 cluded that tliey were the enemy's vessels. 
 
 And now commenced what may jus-ly 
 be termed the most remarkable series of 
 naval tactics and maneuvers ever known, 
 — the most wonderful chase recorded in 
 nautical history — resulting in the success- 
 ful, and almost miraculous, escape of the 
 American frigate from a whole squadron 
 of British vessels, commanded by Captain 
 Broke, in close pursuit for nearly three 
 days and nights. 
 
 The position of the Constitution seemed 
 hopeless indeed, when she found that one 
 
 of the enemy's frigates was within about 
 five or six miles, and a line-of-battle ship, 
 a frigate, a brig, and schooner, some ten or 
 twelve miles directly astern, all in chase 
 of her, with a fine breeze, and coming up 
 fast, — while, unfortunately, the wind had 
 entirely left the Constitution, so that the 
 ship would not steer, but fell round off 
 with her head towards the two ships under 
 her lee. The boats were instantl}' hoisted 
 out, and sent ahead, to tow the ship's head 
 round, and to endeavor to get her farther 
 from the enemy, being now within five 
 miles of three heavy frigates. The boats 
 of the enemy were got out and sent ahead 
 to tow, by which, with the light air that 
 remained with them, thej' came up very 
 fast. Finding the enemy gaining on him, 
 and but little chance of escaping, Hull 
 ordei-ed two guns to be ran out at the cal>in 
 windows for stern guns on the gun-deck, 
 and hoisted one of the twenty-four pound- 
 ers off the gun-deck, and ran that, with 
 the forecastle gun, an eighteen-pounder, 
 out at the ports on the quarter-deck, and 
 cleared the ship for action, being deter- 
 mined they should not capture her, with- 
 out encountering a resistance worthy of 
 Americans. 
 
 At about seven o'clock, on the morning 
 of the eighteenth, the nearest ship ap- 
 proached within gunshot and directly 
 astern, seeing which, Hull ordered one of 
 the stern gims to be fired, to see if her 
 masts could be reached and disabled, but 
 the shot fell a little short. At eight, four 
 of the enemy's ships were nearlj' within 
 gunshot, some of them having six or eight 
 boats ahead towing, with all their oars and 
 sweeps out, to row them up to the Consti- 
 tution, which they were fast doing. It 
 thus appeared that the notle frigate must 
 b J taken — that escape was impossible, — 
 four heavy ships being already so near, and 
 coming up fast, with not the least Iw^pe of 
 a breeze to give the Constitution a chance 
 of getting off by outsailing them. 
 
 In this situation, and finding himself in 
 onlj' twenty-four fathoms of water, Hull, 
 adopting the advice of Lieutenant Morris, 
 determined to try and warp the ship ahead, 
 
CAPTURE OF THE GUERRIERE BY THE CONSTITUTION — lSl-2. 159 
 
 by carrying out anchors ami warping her 
 up to them. Three or lour Imudretl fath- 
 oms of rope were instantly got up, and two 
 anchors made ready and sent ahead, by 
 which means the sliip began to distance 
 the enemy's squadron ; but the latter soon 
 saw this movement, and adopted the same 
 plan, under very advantageous circum- 
 stances, as all t!)e boats from the British 
 ships furthermost off, were sent to tow and 
 warp up those nearest to the Constitution, 
 by which means they again came up, 
 almost within gun-shot reach. 
 
 From nine to twelve, Hull employed all 
 hands in warping the ship ahead, and in 
 starting some of the water in the main 
 hold to lighten her, which, with the help 
 of a slight breeze, enabled the Constitution 
 to rather gain upon the enemy. About 
 two, in the afternoon, all the boats from 
 the line-of-battle ship and from some of 
 the frigates were sent to the foremost frig- 
 ate, to endeavor to tow her along more 
 rapidly, but, a light air springing up, the 
 Constitution held way with her pursuer, 
 notwithstanding the latter had eight or ten 
 boats ahead, and all her sails furled to tow 
 her to windward. The wind continued 
 light until eleven at night, and Hull's 
 boats were kept ahead, towing and warp- 
 ing to keep out of the reach of the enemy, 
 three of the frigates being now very near ; 
 at eleven, however, a fresh breeze blew 
 from the southward, when the boats came 
 alongside and were hoisted uj», the ship 
 having too much way to keep them ahead. 
 
 On the nineteenth, the enemy stood six 
 sail in sight, still in chase, with all can- 
 vas spread, and very near. The wind, 
 however, continued to increase, gradually, 
 during the whole day, and Hull gained six 
 or eight miles upon Broke, notwithstand- 
 ing the latter pressed on with everj' inch 
 of sail he could fling to the breeze. The 
 hopes of the Americans were now un- 
 bounded in their buoyancy, and these 
 hopes were succeeded by unspeakable 
 exultation, when it was discovered, at day- 
 light on the morning of the twentieth, 
 that only three of the British vessels could 
 be seen from the mast-head, the nearest of 
 
 w^hich was about twelve miles off, directly 
 astern. All bands were now set at work 
 wetting the Constitution's sails, from the 
 royals down, by means of the engine and 
 fire-buckets, and it was soon found that 
 the enemy was left far in the rear. At a 
 quarter-past eight, the British, finding that 
 they were fast dropping astern, gave over 
 chase, and hauled their wind to the north- 
 ward. The Constitution, being separated 
 from the rest of the American squadron, 
 made immediately for Boston, where she 
 arrived in safety, and remained a few days. 
 
 During the whole of this most remark- 
 able, as well as exciting and wearisome 
 chase, the gallant crew of the Constitution 
 remained steadfastly and cheerfully at 
 their stations, without murmur or confu- 
 sion, and not only they and their officers, 
 but the noble ship herself, gained a high 
 reinitation for masterly movement and 
 behavior. Eveu the officers of the British 
 squadron expressed their admiration of the 
 consummate nautical knowledge and j>ro- 
 fessional adroitness displayed by Captain 
 Hull, in maneuvering his ship and effecting 
 his escape. 
 
 But it was soon to be proved that Hull 
 was no less a sea-warrior tlian a brilliant 
 strategical navigator. (Dn the second day 
 
 CAPTAIN HULL. 
 
 of August, Hull again i)ut to sea, pursuing 
 an easterly course. He passed near the 
 coast as far down as the bay of Fundy, 
 then ran off Halifax and Cape Sable ; but, 
 not seeing any vessels for some days, Hull 
 steered toward Newfoundland, passed the 
 
"160 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 isle of Sallies, and took a station off the 
 gulf of iSt. Lawrence, to intercept the 
 Canada trade. AVJiile cruising here, he 
 captured two merchant-vessels. On the 
 fifteenth, lie chased a convo}' of five sail, 
 captured one of them, and prevented the 
 prize-ship of an American privateer from 
 being re-taken. Having received informa- 
 tion that the British squadron was off the 
 Grand Banks, and not far distant, lie 
 changed his cruising-ground, and pro- 
 ceeded southward. 
 
 On the nineteenth of August, 1812, at 
 two o'clock in the afternoon, the Constitu- 
 tion being in latitude forty-<ine degrees 
 and forty-two minutes nortli, and tifty-five 
 degrees and thirty-tliree minutes west 
 longitude, off the coast of Massachusetts, 
 a ship was discovered from the mast-head 
 of the Constitution. Captain Hull in- 
 stantly made all sail in chase, auil soon 
 gained on her. At three o'clock, it could 
 plainly be perceived that she was a man- 
 of-war, on the starboard tack, under easy 
 sail, close-hauled to the wind ; and by half- 
 past three the stranger was ascertained to 
 be a British frigate, — the Guerriere, Cap- 
 tain James A. Dacres. This vessel had 
 hoisted at her mast-head, a flag with her 
 assumed name, the Warrior, in large char- 
 acters, and on another were inscribed the 
 words, 'Not the Little Belt,'— the latter 
 being a British sloop-of-war that had been 
 badly handled in an engagement with the 
 United States ship President. The Guer- 
 riere had looked into several ports inquest 
 of American frigates, and given a chal- 
 lenge to all vessels of her class. On the 
 heaving in sight, therefore, of the Consti- 
 tution, the British commander assembled 
 his crew, pointed to them the object of 
 their wishes, assured them of an easy vic- 
 tory, and was answered by three hearty 
 cheers. So, too, the announcement by 
 Captain Hull, that the ship in sight was a 
 British man-of-war, and probably of about 
 the same force as the Constitution, was 
 received with lively exultation by the 
 brave American crew. 
 
 Eager fo; battle and hopeful of victory, 
 Hull ordered the light sails to be taken in, 
 
 the courses to be hauled up, and the ship 
 to be cleared for action. The enemy now 
 backed her main-top-sail, and waited fo; 
 the Constitution to come down ; and as 
 soon as the latter was ready for action, she 
 bore down, intending to bring to im- 
 mediate engagement the British frigate 
 wjiich had been from the very first, the 
 oliject of such eager attention by the 
 Americans, on account of her fine ap- 
 pearance and [lecnliar movements, and 
 leading to the supposition that she was 
 a craft of more than ordinary import- 
 ance in the estimation of the enemy, 
 — a supposition that did not fail to be 
 realized. 
 
 The very fact that she bore on one 
 of her flags the words just quoted, in- 
 ilii'ated that the feeling engendered by 
 that event was a terribly sore one to 
 the British, and tliat, if it were a pos- 
 sible thing, the wound was to be healed, 
 at the first opportunity, l)y some sig- 
 nal act of retribution. 
 
 On the Constitution coming within gun- 
 shot, the Guerriere fired a broadside, then 
 filled away, wore, and gave a broadside on 
 the other tack ; this firing, however, pro- 
 duced no effect, as the shot fell short. The 
 British frigate maneuvered, and wore sev- 
 eral times, for about three-quarters of an 
 hour, in order to obtain a raking position, 
 but, not succeeding in this, she bore up 
 under her top-sails and jib, with the wind 
 on the quarter. It is related that, during 
 this time, the Constitution not having 
 fired a single broadside, the impatience of 
 her officers and men to engage was so 
 excessive, that nothing but the most rigid 
 discipline could restrain them. Hull, 
 however, was preparing, with the utmost 
 calmness and deliberation, to decide the 
 contest according to a method of his own. 
 
 Making sail so as to bring the Constitu- 
 tion directly up with her antagonist, and, 
 at five minutes before six in the afternoon, 
 being alongside within half jHstol shot, 
 Hull ordered a brisk firing to be com- 
 menced from all the Constitution's guns, 
 which were double-shotted with round and 
 grape shot ; and so well-directed and so 
 
CAPTURE or THE GUERRIERE BY THE CONSTITUTION — 1812. Ifil 
 
 warmly kept ap was the American fire, 
 that, ill fifteen minutes, the mizzen-mast 
 of the Guerriere went by the board, and 
 her main-yard in her slings. Her hull 
 was much injured, and her rigging and 
 sails completely torn into shreds. The 
 fire was kept up, in the same spirited 
 manner, for fifteen minutes longer, by the 
 Constitution. She had now taken a posi- 
 tion for raking, on the bows of the Guer- 
 riere, when the latter could only bring her 
 bow guns to bear on the Constitution ; the 
 grape-shot and small-arms of the latter 
 ship completel_y swept the decks of the 
 British frigate, and she was an utter 
 wreck. 
 
 Thirty minutes after the commencement 
 of the contest, by the Constitution, tjie 
 main-mast and fore-mast of the Guerriere 
 went by the board, taking with them every 
 spar except the bowsprit. Seeing her con- 
 dition, Captain Hull ordered the firing to 
 cease ; and Captain Dacres then struck his 
 colors, which had been fastened to the 
 stump of the mizzen-mast. 
 
 Setting her fore and main sails, the Con- 
 stitution now hauled to the eastward, to 
 repair damages. All her braces, a great part 
 of her standing and running rigging, and 
 some of her spars, were shot away. At 
 seven in the evening, she stood under the 
 lee of the prize, and sent a boat on board, 
 which returned in a short time with Captain 
 Dacres, commander of the ill-fated frigate. 
 In the action, the Constitution lost seven 
 killed, and seven wounded ; the Guerriere, 
 fifteen killed, and sixty-two wounded, — 
 the latter including several ofiicers, and 
 there were twentj'-four missing. Among 
 the killed, on board of the Constitution, 
 was Lieutenant Bush ; and among the 
 wounded, First Lieutenant Morris and 
 Master Alwyn. The circumstances were 
 as follows : As soon as the two vessels 
 fell afoul of each other, the cabin of 
 the Constitution was observed to take 
 fire, from the close explosion of the 
 forward guns of the enemy, who obtained 
 a small, though but momentary, advantage 
 from his position; the ready attention, 
 however, of Lieutenant Hoffman, who 
 11 
 
 commanded in the cabin, soon repaired 
 this accident, and a gun of the enemy's, 
 that threatened further injury, was effects 
 ually disabled. But, in a moment, affairs 
 took a more tragical turn, for, the vessels 
 having come close together, both parties 
 prepared to board. The English turned 
 all hands ujj from below, and mustered for- 
 ward, with that object, while Lieutenant 
 Morris, Master Alwyn, and Lieutenant 
 Bush, sprang upon the taffrail of the t^on- 
 stitution, with a similar intention. The 
 position of the two frigates was already 
 giving employment to the sharpshooters of 
 either side, and incessant volleys of mus- 
 ketry rattled in the tumult all around. 
 Morris was shot througli the body, but 
 maintained his post, the bullet fortunately 
 missing the vitals. Alwyn was wounded 
 in the shoulder. Bush, just as he was 
 making the spring, was pierced by a ball 
 in the head, and tumbled headlong, in the 
 speedy agonies of death. 
 
 On the Guerriere's striking her flag, and 
 being in a sinking condition. Captain Hull 
 immediately sent his boats to bring the 
 wounded and prisoners on board the Con- 
 stitution. At about two o'clock in the 
 aftei'noon, a sail was discovered off the lar- 
 board beam, standing to the south. The 
 Constitution was instantly cleared for 
 action ; but at three, the vessel stood 
 away. At daybreak, information was 
 received from the lieutenant on board the 
 prize, that the Guerriere was an unman- 
 ageable wreck, with four feet of water in 
 the hold, and in a sinking condition. As 
 soon, therefore, as all the crew were 
 removed from on board of her, she was 
 abandoned, and her shattered hulk set fire 
 to and blown up. During the whole 
 period of combat, the total loss on board 
 the Constitution amounted to seven killed 
 and seven wounded, and, as soon as she 
 had rove new rigging, applied the neces- 
 sary stoppers, and bent a few sails, she 
 was ready, as has been seen, to engage 
 another frigate. Captain Hull, in his 
 tribute to his crew, says : " Tiiey all 
 fought with great bravery ; from the 
 smallest boy in the ship to the oldest 
 
102 
 
 FROM COLOJSiY TU WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 ACTION BET'WEEN THE FRIGATES rONSTlTCITION AKD GUERRIEKE. 
 
 seaman, not a look of fear was seen. They 
 all went into action giving three cheers, 
 and requesting to be laid close alongside 
 the enemy." In the very heat of the 
 engagement, one of the crew of the Con- 
 stitution, perceiving that the flag at the 
 foretop-mast head had been shot away, 
 went up with it, and lashed it so securely 
 
 as to render its removal impossible, unless 
 the mast went with it. 
 
 The total casualties, from first to last, 
 on board the Guerriere, in killed and 
 wounded, numbered nearly eighty, com- 
 prising about one-third of her entire crew, 
 and, according to the statement of Captain 
 Dacres, in his defense before the court 
 
CAPTURE OF THE GUEKRIEKE BY THE CONSTITUTION — 1812. 163 
 
 which tried him for the loss of his ship, 
 she had, besides being dismasted, received 
 no less than thirty shot as low as five 
 sheets of copper beneath the bends. 
 
 In respect to armament and force, the 
 Guerriere rated thirtj^-eight guns, and car- 
 ried forty-nine, one of which was a light 
 boat-carronade. Her gun-deck metal was 
 eighteen-pounders, and her carronades, like 
 those of the Constitution, thirty-twos. 
 The Guerriere was a French-built ship, 
 and nearly as long as her adversary, 
 though the latter was somewhat larger and 
 heavier. The Constitution rated forty- 
 four guns, and mounted fifty-five. On an 
 actual weight, however, of the shot of both 
 ships, it was found that the Constitution's 
 twenty-fours were only three pounds heav- 
 ier than the Guerriere's eighteens, and 
 there was nearly the same difference in 
 favor of the latter's thirty-twos. The 
 great inferiority of the Guerriere was in 
 her men, as she mustered but two hundred 
 and sixty-three souls at quarters, in conse- 
 quence of the absence of some of the offi- 
 cers and men who had charge of prizes. 
 Captain Dacres had also some ten or a 
 dozen Americans in his force, who refused 
 to fight, and, much to his credit, he per- 
 mitted them to go below. The Constitu- 
 tion's complement of men was four hundred 
 and fifty, all newly shipped. 
 
 The character and peculiarities of this 
 victory have been justly described, by 
 Cooper, as consisting in a fine display of 
 seamanship in the approach, extraordinary 
 efficiency in the attack, and great readiness 
 in repairing damages, all of which denote a 
 disciplined man-of-war. Nor diil Captain 
 Dacres lose any professional honor by his 
 defeat. He had handled his sliip in a 
 manner to win the applause of his enemies, 
 and only submitted when further resist- 
 ance would have been as culpable as, in 
 fact, it was impossible. Less can be said in 
 favor of the efficiency of the Guerriere's 
 batteries, which were not equal to the mode 
 of fighting introduced by her antagonist, 
 and which, indeed, was the commencement 
 of a new era in combats between single 
 ships. Never was any firing so dreadful. 
 
 The news of this brilliant and unexam- 
 pled victory — the first, in fact, of any 
 importance, as yet obtained by the United 
 States in the present contest, — was 
 received with rapturous applause by the 
 American people, especially in view of the 
 vie' ">ry having been achieved on the water, 
 an element upon which scarcely any Euro- 
 pean nation dared to cope with Brit- 
 ish prowess. The event was therefore as 
 mortifying to the pride of England as can 
 possibly be imagined ; for, in the long 
 period of thirty years up to this date, it 
 was Britain's boast that she had not lost a 
 single frigate in anything like an equal 
 conflict. By the English journals, the 
 American navy was contemptuously spoken 
 of as " a few fir-built frigates, manned by 
 a handful of dastards and outlaws ! " But 
 the generositj' and heroism of Cajjtain 
 Hull and his crew extorted praise even 
 from the vanquished. Captain Dacres, in 
 his official letter, confesses their conduct 
 to have been " that of a brave enemy- — the 
 greatest care being taken to prevent our 
 men losing the slightest article, and the 
 greatest attention being paid to the 
 wounded." This victory of Hull, on the 
 ocean, went far to wipe out the stain upon 
 American arms produced by General Wil- 
 liam Hull's unfortunate campaign in 
 Canada, The victory of the Constitution 
 over the Guerriere was soon followed bj 
 the capture of the Frolic by the Unitec. 
 States sloop-of-war Wasp, under Lieuten- 
 ant Biddle ; the capture of the Macedo- 
 nian, a large frigate, by Commodore 
 Decatur, of the frigate United States ; and 
 the capture of the frigate Java, on th(! 
 twenty-ninth of December, by Commodord 
 Bainbridge, who had succeeded Hull in 
 command of the Constitution. 
 
 An amusing anecdote is related of 
 Dacres, showing the effect of circum- 
 stances upon the gallant captain's temper. 
 A short time previous to her capture by 
 the Constitution, the Guerriere had fallen 
 in with, and taken, a French prize, France 
 and England being then at war. Among 
 the jiassengers transferred on this occasion 
 to the deck of the Guerriere, was a French 
 
1G4 
 
 TKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEli. 
 
 gentleman charged with di.siiatches to tlie 
 American government, and wlio, on pre- 
 senting himself to the Briti.sh commander, 
 was dispossessed of his books and papers, 
 and peremptorily ordered to go below. 
 Overwhelmed with this sudden and fatal 
 termination of his mission, the gentleman 
 passed several days in great distress of 
 mind, aggravated not a little by the 
 haughty bearing of Dacres. Once or 
 twice, addressing him with his blandest 
 manner and best English, he said — 
 
 " Captain Dacre, I tank you, sare, for 
 my government deespatch and my law 
 books." 
 
 " Go below ! you frog-eating, sallow- 
 faced wretch," was the only reply of the 
 proud Briton. 
 
 Ere long, however, a sail was descried 
 on the edge of the distant horizon. Her 
 gradually-increasing size gave token that 
 she approached, and, as she neared to 
 view, the tapering spars and the graceful 
 trim of Yankeedom were seen. Dacres, 
 with glass in hand, had observed her from 
 3 mere speck, and as soon as he was satis- 
 fied that she was American, gave vent to 
 the wildest expressions of joy. He paced 
 the deck with exulting step — sv>'ore he 
 would ' take that craft in fifteen minutes,' — 
 and, to crown his anticipated triumph, 
 directed that a hogshead of molasses be 
 
 hoisted upon deck, ' to treat the 
 
 Yankees.' Strange as it may appear, this 
 order was actually olieyed ; and, at almost 
 the first shot, the Constitution struck the 
 hogshead, and, its contents spreading over 
 the deck, conduced somewhat, no doubt, to 
 the Guerriere's disadvantage in the action. 
 The Frenchman, who was meanwhile a 
 silent thougli not an uninterested observer 
 of what was passing before him, again 
 put on his most winning smiles, and 
 remarked — ■ 
 
 " Captain Dacre, sare, wid your permis- 
 sion I stay upon deck, and see de fight." 
 
 "Go to the ," responded the rough 
 
 old salt — now busied in preparations for a 
 bold and brilliant achievement. 
 
 The little Frenchman was soon snugly 
 unsconced among the rigging, and the two 
 
 vessels continued gradually and silently to 
 approach each other. The Constitution 
 having finally got within reach of the 
 enemy's long-guns, the scene that followed 
 is thus described by the lively "deesjiatch" 
 bearer: — "Captain Dacre, he sail dis way, 
 and den he sail dat way, and again he go 
 — boom ! De Yankee man, he say nothing 
 — but still keep comin'. Again, Captain 
 Dacre sail dis way, and den he sail dat 
 way, and again he go—hooiii .' Enfin, de 
 Yankee man go jjojj, pop, pop, — pop, pop, 
 pop ! I say to Captain Dacre, ' Sare, wid 
 your permission I go below — ^tis too hot 
 'her,'!'" 
 
 He went below ; and the action con- 
 tinued. When the firing ceased, the sleep- 
 less little Frenchman, peeping up the 
 hatchway, espied one oflicer-like man, and 
 Captain Dacres handing his sword. The 
 truth flashed upon him in an instant. He 
 rushed upon deck ; and finding himself 
 again at liberty, he capered about like one 
 ' jiossessed.' Finally advancing to the 
 now mute and fallen Dacres, he said, with 
 an air which utterly defies description : 
 
 " You tell me, sare, you take dis ship in 
 fifteen minutes ; by gar, he take you .' 
 Now, sare," he added, with a low and 
 bitter emjihasis, '• / tank you for my gou- 
 erinni'iit dcespatcJi and law hooks." 
 
 As has already been stated, the crew of 
 the Constitution became somewhat impa- 
 tient at Hull's cool delay to commence 
 action, after receiving the Guerriere's first 
 fire. Even Morris, on seeing his favorite 
 coxswain carried by a shot, looked rather 
 hard at ' the old man,' as Hull, though 
 young in year.s, was familiarly called, and 
 then walked up to him. saying, by way of 
 hint, in a low tone, " The ship is ready for 
 action, sir, and the men are getting impa- 
 tient." Hull nev'er turned, but, keeping 
 his eye steadily on the enemy, simply 
 replied, " Are — you — all ready, Mr. 
 Morris ? " " All ready," said the lieuten- 
 ant. "Don't fire a gun till I give the 
 orders, Mr. Morris," was the rejoinder. 
 Presently, up went a midshipman from the 
 main deck, and, touching his cap. said to 
 ' tlie old man,' " First division all ready, 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CxUEERlEEE BY THE CONSTITUTIOX — 1812. 165 
 
 sir, — the second lieutenant reports the 
 enem3''s shot liave Iiiirt liis men, and he 
 can with difficulty restrain them from 
 returning their fire." " Tell them to wait 
 for orders," was Hull's repl^' again, with- 
 out deigning to turn his head. At length, 
 however, when the Constitution had actu- 
 ally become enveloped in the enemy's 
 smoke, and even the old gun-boat men 
 began to stare wonderingly, up jumped the 
 great-hearted Hull in the air, slapped his 
 hand ou his thigh with a report like a 
 pistol, and roared out in a voice that 
 reached the gunners in the magazines, — 
 
 " Now, Mr. Morris, give it to them, — 
 now give it to them, — fore and aft, — round 
 and grape, — give it to 'em, sir, — give it to 
 'em. ! " 
 
 These words were scarcely uttered, 
 before a whole broadside glanced at half 
 pistol shot — the old ship trembling from 
 her keel to her trucks, like an aspen, 
 with the roar and crash of her own guns, 
 — then, instantly shooting ahead and 
 doubling across the enemy's bows, another 
 
 broadside was poured into her, with 
 three deafening cheers. It was terrible. 
 The continual boom and flash of the 
 batteries seemed like a thunder-storm in 
 the trojjics. 
 
 The Constitution arrived in Boston 
 harbor, the last of August. Never did any 
 event spread such universal joy over the 
 whole country, and such astonishment 
 throughout Europe, as this complete and 
 magnificent victory. The gallant Hull, 
 as well as his equally-gallant officers and 
 crew, were received with enthusiastic dem- 
 onstrations of gratitude, wherever they 
 appeared. He was presented with the 
 freedom of all the cities, on his route to the 
 seat of government, and with elegant serv- 
 ices of silver-plate, also tlie thanks of leg- 
 islative and other bodies ; several officers 
 were promoted ; and congress voted fifty 
 thousand dollars to the crew, as a recom- 
 pense for the loss of the prize. 
 
 At home and abroad, the valor of the 
 American sailor was acknowledged to be 
 a fixed fact. 
 
XVI. 
 
 GENERAL JACKSON'S TERRIBLE ROUT AND SLAUGHTER 
 OF THE BRITISH ARMY AT NEW ORLEANS.— 1815. 
 
 His Cousummate Generalship in the Order aud Conduct of this Campaign. — The War witli England 
 Terminated by a Sudden and Splendid Victory to the American Arms. — Jackson is Hailed as One 
 of the Greatest of Modern Warriors, and as the Deliverer and Second Savior of His Country — 
 National Military Prestige Gained by this Decisive Battle. — British Invasion of Louisiana. — Prepar- 
 ations to Resist Them. — Jackson Hastens to New Orleans. — His Presence Inspires Confidence. — 
 Martial Law Proclaimed — Progress of the Britisli Forces. — They Rendezvous at Sliip Island. — • 
 Pirates aud Indians for Allies, — Cajiture of the United States Flotilla. — Arrival of Veterans from 
 England — Desperate Attenijits at Storming. — Both Armies Face Each Other. — The Day of Action, 
 January Eighth. — General Pakeuham Leails the Charge. — His Motto, " Booty and Beauty." — Fire 
 and Death Open Upon Them. — They are Mown Down Like Grass. — Pakeuham Falls at the Onset. 
 — Panic aud Precipitate Retreat- — America's Motto, " Victory or Death." — The Result at Home and 
 Abroad. — Startling aud Impressive Effect. 
 
 '■ The redcoate will find out whom Ihey have to deal with. I will smash them, so help me God!"— General Jaceso^, on assuming 
 
 THE DEFENSE OK NEW ORI-SANS. 
 
 AMFKII AN DEFENSES AT NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 T IS a fact fiuitful of the most suggestive reflections, 
 
 that, had the facilities of communication by steam 
 
 and electricity been enjoyed in 1815, as they are at 
 
 the pre^>ent time, the battle of New Orleans, and 
 
 the blood which flowed so freely on that memorable 
 
 occasion, would have been spared ; for, onlj' two 
 
 weeks previous to the sanguinary conflict, namely, on the 24th 
 
 of December, 1814, the treaty of peace between the United 
 
 States and Great Britain was signed at Ghent, by the ap- 
 
 ointed commis.sioners, — a most joyous event to all, but the 
 
 tilling^ of which did not, unfortunately, reach the contending 
 
 armies in Tjouisiana, until several weeks after the battle took 
 
 place. Nevertheless, perhaps no other battle in American 
 
 annals, up to that period, had given such prestige to the valor 
 
 of American arms, nor can any estimate be made of the 
 
 4 
 
GEXERAL JACKSON AT NEW ORLEANS — 1815. 
 
 167 
 
 immense consequences of that victoiy to 
 General Jackson and his country. Mr. 
 Bancroft, the historian, says that the 
 heroes of antiquity would have contem- 
 plated with awe the unmatched hardihood 
 of Jackson's character. 
 
 The circumstances which led to a battle 
 so creditable in its result to the genius 
 and hraverj' of the American arnij' were 
 as follows : On the twenty-fifth of August, 
 1814, a British army landed at Pensacola, 
 and took forcible possession of the place, 
 being aided by the Spaniards in all their 
 proceedings ; thej' collected all the Indians 
 that would resort to their standard ; and 
 Colonel Nichols, the chief British com- 
 mandei', even sent an officer to the notori- 
 ous piratical establishment at Barataria 
 to enlist the chief, Lafitte, and his follow- 
 ers, in their cause, the most liberal and 
 tempting inducements being held out. 
 These people, however, showed a decided 
 preference for the American cause, and, 
 deceiving the Er.glish by delay, convej'ed 
 intelligence of their designs to the gov- 
 ernor of New Orleans, and frankly offered 
 their services to defend the country. Dis- 
 appointed in securing their aid, the expe- 
 dition proceeded to the attack of Fort 
 Bowyer, on Mobile point, commanded by 
 Major Lawrence. The result, however, 
 was a loss to the besiegers of more than 
 two hundred men ; the commodore's ship 
 was so disabled that they set fire to her, 
 and she blew up, and the remaining three 
 vessels, shattered and filled with wounded 
 men, returned to Pensacola. While the 
 British were thus sheltered in this [ilace, 
 busily occupied in bringing over the Indi- 
 ans to join them, General Jackson, — who, 
 after the peace with the Creeks had become 
 active commander at the south, — formed 
 an expedition of about four thousand men, 
 to dislodge them. He summoned the 
 town, was refused entrance by the Spanish 
 governor, and his flag of truce was fired 
 upon ; the British soldiers being also in 
 the forts, where their flag had been 
 hoisted, in conjunction with the Spanish, 
 the day before the American forces 
 appeared. Preparations were immediately 
 
 made to carry the place ; one battery 
 having been taken by storm, with slight 
 loss on either side, the governor surren- 
 dered, the English having previously 
 retired on board their ships. The forts 
 below, which commanded the passage, 
 were blown up, and this enabled the 
 English fleet to put to sea. 
 
 Returning to Mobile, General Jackson 
 learned that preparations were making by 
 the British for the invasion of Louisiana, 
 and with especial reference to an attack 
 on New Orleans. 
 
 He accordingly hastened to New Orleans, 
 which he found in great alarm and confu- 
 sion. He at once put in operation the 
 most rigorous measui'es of defense. The 
 militia of Louisiana and Mississipjii were 
 ordered out en masse, and large detach- 
 ments from Tennessee and Kentucky. 
 From a previous correspondence with Gov- 
 ernor Claiborne, General Jackson had been 
 informed that the city corps had, for the 
 most part, refused obedience to the orders 
 which had been given them to turn out ; 
 that thej' had been encouraged in their dis- 
 obedience by the state legislature, then in 
 session in the city : and that, although 
 there were many faithful citizens in the 
 place, there were many others who were 
 more devoted to the interests of Spain, and 
 others still wiiose hostility to the English 
 was less observable than their dislike to 
 American government. 
 
 Under these circumstances, and finding 
 that the statements relative to the disaf- 
 I fection of the populace were fully confirmed, 
 Jackson, on consultation with the gover- 
 nor, in conjunction with Judge Hall, and 
 many influential persons of the city, on 
 the sixteenth of December, issued an 
 order, declaring the city and environs of 
 New Orleans to be under strict martial 
 law. 
 
 Nor were the military modes and plans 
 adopted by General Jackson, outside of 
 the city proper, wanting in efficiency. 
 Fort St. Philip, which guarded the passage 
 of the river at the detour la Plaquemine, 
 was strengthened and placed under the 
 command of Major Overton, an able and 
 
168 
 
 n;oM COLONY to woeld towee. 
 
 skillful engineer. A site was also selected 
 for works of defense, four miles below the 
 cit}', where its destinies were ultimately to 
 be determined. The right rested on the 
 river, and the left was flanked by an 
 impenetrable cypress swamp, which ex- 
 tended eastward to Lake Pontchartrain, 
 and westward to within a mile of the river. 
 Between the swaniii and tlie river was a 
 large ditch or artificial bayou which had 
 been made for agricultural objects, but 
 which now served an important military 
 purpose. On the northern bank of this 
 ditch, the entrenchments were thrown up, 
 and large quantities of cotton-bales so 
 arranged, that the troops could be 
 effectually protected from the fire of the 
 British. Each flank was secured by an 
 advance bastion, and the latter protected 
 by batteries in the rear. These works 
 were well mounted with artillery. Oi)po- 
 site this position, on the west bank of the 
 river, on a rising ground. General Morgan, 
 with the city and drafted militia, was sta- 
 tioned ; and Commodore Patterson, with 
 the crews of the Caroline and Louisiana, 
 and the guns of the latter, formed another, 
 near General Morgan's ; both of which 
 entirely enfiladed the approach of an 
 enemy against the principal works. A 
 detachment was stationed above the town, 
 to guard the jiass of the bayou St. John, 
 if an attempt should be made from that 
 quarter. 
 
 On the twenty-second of December, the 
 enemy proceeded from their rendezvous on 
 Ship island, with all their boats and small 
 craft capable of navigating the lake to the 
 bayou Bienvenue, and having surprised 
 and captured the videttes at the mouth of 
 the bayou, the first division accomplished 
 their landing unobserved. Major-General 
 Villery, of the Kew Orleans militia, living 
 on the bayou, to whom the important 
 service of making the first attack, and 
 giving notice of the enemy's approach was 
 intrusted, found them on his own planta- 
 tion, nine miles below the cit3', without 
 any previous knowledge of their approach. 
 
 The morning of New Year's day, 1815, 
 was very dark and foggy amid the swamps 
 
 and bogs of New Orleans, and the day was 
 somewhat advanced before the Americans 
 discerned how near the enemy had ap- 
 proached to them, or the novel use which 
 had been made of their molasses and sugar 
 hogsheads. In the course of the day, 
 under cover of these batteries, three 
 unsuccessful attempts were made to storm 
 the American works. By four in the 
 afternoon, all the enemy's batteries were 
 silenced, and the next night found them 
 in their former position. 
 
 On the fourth of January, General 
 Adair arrived, with four thousand Ken- 
 tucky militia, jirincipally without arms. 
 The muskets and munitions of war, des- 
 tined for the supply of this corps, were 
 provided at Pittsburg, but did not leave 
 that place until the twenty-fifth of Decem- 
 ber, and arrived at New Orleans not until 
 several days after the decisive battle of 
 January eighth. On the sixth, the enemy 
 received their last re-enforcement of threfe 
 thousand men from England, under Major- 
 General Lambert. But before the final 
 assault on the American lines, the British 
 general deemed it necessary to dislodge 
 General Morgan and Commodore Patter- 
 son, from their positions on the right 
 bank. These posts so effectually enfiladed 
 the approach to General Jackson's works, 
 that the army advancing to the assault, 
 must be exposed to the most imminent 
 hazard. To accomplish this object, boats 
 were to be transported across the island 
 from lake Borgne to the Mississippi ; for 
 this purpose the British had been labori- 
 ously employed in dee]ieuing and widening 
 the canal or bayou Bienvenue, on which 
 they first disembarked. On the seventh, 
 they succeeded in opening the embank- 
 ment on the river, and completing a com- 
 munication from the lake to the Missis- 
 sippi. In pushing the boats through, it 
 was found, at some places, that the canal 
 was not of sufficient width, and at others 
 the banks fell in and choked the passage, 
 thus occasioning great delay ; at length, 
 however, they succeeded in hauling through 
 a sufficient number to transjwrt five hun- 
 dred troops to the right bank. 
 
GENERAL JACKSON AT NEW ORLEANS — 1815. 
 
 169 
 
 Ou the left bank, where General Jack- 
 son in person commanded, everything was 
 in readiness to meet the assault when it 
 should be made. The redoubt on the 
 levee was defended by a company under 
 Lieutenant Ross. The regular troops 
 occupied that part of the entrenchment 
 next to the river. General Carroll's divi- 
 sion was in the center, supported by Gen- 
 eral Adair's Kentucky troops ; wliile the 
 extreme left, extending for a considerable 
 distance into the swamp, was protected by 
 the brigade of General Coffee. How soon 
 the onset should take place, was uncertain ; 
 at what moment rested with the enemy, — 
 with the Americans, to be in readiness for 
 
 pace with the zeal and preparation of the 
 enemj-. He seldom slept ; he was alwu) & 
 at his post, performing the duties of both 
 general and soldier. His sentinels were 
 doubled, and extended as far as possible in 
 the direction of the British camp; wliile a 
 considerable portion of the troojis were 
 constantly at the line, with arms in their 
 hands, readj' to act, when the first alarm 
 should be given. Tor eight dajs did the 
 two armies remain thus upon the same 
 field, in battle array and in view of each 
 other, without anj'thing decisive on either 
 side being effected. Tvpice, since their 
 landing, had the British columns essayed 
 to effect by storm the execution of their 
 
 Q^J^^-z^^-^o^c^^^ 
 
 resistance. There were majiy circum- 
 stances, however, favoring the belief that 
 the hour of contest was fast approaching ; 
 the unusual bustle, — the efforts of the 
 enemy to carry their boats into the river, 
 — the fascines and scaling-ladders that 
 were preparing; all these circumstances 
 indicated the hour of attack to be near at 
 hand. General Jackson was not only 
 unmoved by these appearances, but, accord- 
 ing to General Eaton's statements, he 
 anxiously desired a contest, which, he 
 believed, would give a triumph to his 
 arms, and terminate the hardships of his 
 soldiers. Unremitting in exertion, and 
 constantly vigilant, his precaution kept 
 
 plans, and twice had failed and retired 
 from the contest. 
 
 The eighth of Januanj, 1815, at length 
 arnved. The day dawned ; and the sig- 
 nals, intended to produce concert in the 
 enemy's movements, were descried. On 
 the left, near the swamp, a sky-rocket was 
 perceived rising in the air; and presently 
 another ascended from the right, next the 
 river. They were intended to announce 
 that all was prepared and ready, to proceed 
 and carry by storm a defense which again 
 and again had foiled their utmost efforts. 
 Instantly the charge was made, and with 
 such rapidity, that the American soldiers 
 at the outposts with difficulty fled in. 
 
170 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 The British batteries, wliich had been 
 demolished on tlie first of tlie month, had 
 been re-established during the preceding 
 niglit, and heavy pieces of cannon mounted, 
 to aid in their intended operations. Tliese 
 now opened, and showers of bombs and 
 balls were poured upon our line, while the 
 air was lighted with their congreve rock- 
 ets. The two divisions, commanded by 
 Sir Eilward Pakenhau'. in person, and 
 sujoported by Generals Keane and Gibbs, 
 pressed forward ; the right against the 
 center of General Carroll's command, — 
 the left against our redoubt on the levee. 
 A thick fog, that obscured the morning, 
 enabled them to approach within a .short 
 distance of our entrenchment, before they 
 were discovered. They were now perceived 
 advancing, with firm, quick, and steady 
 pace, in column, with a front of sixty or 
 seventy deep. The American troops, who 
 had for some time been in readiness, and 
 waiting their ajipearance, gave three deaf- 
 ening cheers, and instantly the whole line 
 was lighted with the blaze of their fire. 
 A burst of artillery and small-arms, poui'- 
 ing with destructive aim upon them, 
 mowed down their front, and arrested their 
 advance. It was a perfect sheet of fire 
 and death I 
 
 The havoc and horror before them — the 
 terrible carnage which swept down their 
 advancing ranks, — became at last too 
 great to be withstood, and already were 
 the British troops seen wavering in their 
 determination, and receding from the con- 
 flict. At this moment, Sir Edward Paken- 
 ham, the distinguished commander-in-chief 
 of the British forces, hastening to the 
 front, endeavored to encourage and inspire 
 them with renewed zeal. His example, 
 however, was of short continuance, for, 
 when near the crest of the glacis, he 
 received a ball in the knee; still continu- 
 ing to lead on his men, another shot soon 
 pierced his body, and he was carried in 
 mortal agony from the field, in the arms of 
 h'S aid-de-camp. Nearly at the same time, 
 Major-General Gibbs, the second British 
 officer in command, received a mortal 
 wound when within a few vards of the 
 
 lines, and was removed. The third in 
 command also, Major-General Keane, 
 while at the head of his troops near the 
 glacis, was terril)ly wounded, and at once 
 borne away. 
 
 At this moment, General Lambert, — 
 who had arrived from England but two 
 days before, and found himself now the 
 only surviving general, — was advancing at 
 a small distance in the rear, with the 
 reserve, and met the columns precipitately 
 retreating, broken and confused. His 
 efforts to stop them were unavailing, — 
 onward they continued in their headlong 
 retreat, until they reached a ditch, at the 
 distance of four hundred 3'ards, where a 
 momentary safety being found, the pant- 
 ing and fear-stricken fugitives were i-al- 
 lied, and halted. 
 
 The field l>efore them, over which they 
 had so confidently advanced, was strewed 
 with the dead and dying. Imminent 
 danger faced them ; yet, urged .and en- 
 couraged by their officers, who feared 
 their own disgrace involved in the failure, 
 they again moved to the charge. They 
 were already near enough to deploy, and 
 were endeavoring to do so ; but the same 
 constant and unremitted resistance that 
 caused their first retreat, continued yet 
 unabated. Our liatteries had never ceased 
 their fire ; their constant discharges of 
 grape and canister, and the fatal aim of 
 our musketr\', mowed down the front of 
 the columns as fast as they could be 
 formed. Satisfied nothing could be done, 
 and that certain destruction awaited all 
 further attempts, they forsook the contest 
 and the field in disorder, leaving it almost 
 entirelv covered with the dead and 
 wounded. It was in vain their ofiicers 
 endeavored to animate them to further 
 resistance, and equally vain to attempt 
 coercion. The panic produced by the 
 dreadful repulse they had experienced, — 
 the sight of the field on which they had 
 acted, covered with the ghastly bodies of 
 their countrymen, — and the bitter fact 
 that, with their most zealous exertions, 
 they had been unable to obtain the 
 slightest advantage; all these circum- 
 
GENERAL JACKSON AT NEW ORLEANS — 1815. 
 
 171 
 
 stances were well calculated to make even 
 the mobt submisM^t s 1 li i t i ^i tin 
 
 intiiont} til It would ba^e contiolkil liini 
 The decided advantage of the Americans 
 
 gave to the conduct of the enemy more of 
 til. liTacter of madness than of valor. 
 As has already been stated, the 
 fall of General Pakenham and 
 the two next in command de- 
 volved the leadership upon 
 Lambert, the only general offi- 
 
 ■er left upon the field, and to 
 whom had been consigned the 
 rliarge of the reserve ; and 
 though, meeting the discom- 
 fited troops in their flight, he 
 endeavored to restore the for- 
 tune of the day, the effort was 
 3 truitless to the last degree. 
 ^ On the ninth. General Lam- 
 bert determined to relinquish 
 xltogether so desperate and 
 hopeless an enterprise, and 
 immediately commenced the 
 necessary preparations, though 
 with the utmost secrecy. It 
 was not until the night of the 
 
 ighteenth, however, that the 
 ISritish camp was entirely 
 
 vacuated. 
 The loss of the British in 
 this fatal expedition was im- 
 mense, the narrow field of strife 
 
 etween the opposing combat- 
 mts being strewed with dead. 
 So dreadful a carnage, consid- 
 
 ring the length of time and 
 the numbers engaged, has sel- 
 lom been recorded. Two thou- 
 ^and, at the lowest estimate, 
 
 ressed the earth, besides such 
 >f the wounded as were not 
 ible to escape. The loss of the 
 \mericans did not exceed seven 
 killed, and sis wounded. Mili- 
 tary annals do not furnish a 
 more extraordinary instance of 
 lisparity in the slain, between 
 the victors and vanquished. 
 The entire British force en- 
 .jaged in this attempted reduc- 
 tion of New Orleans, amounted 
 to twelve thousand men ; the 
 Anting., J numbered some six thousand, 
 chiefly militia. 
 
172 
 
 TKOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 Pakenham, the distinguished leader of 
 the British forces, was a brother-in-law of 
 the great Ihike of Wellington, had long 
 been in high repute for military skill and 
 personal bravery, and on this occasion 
 numbered among his troops those who had 
 won laurels of victor^' on the battle-fields 
 of Europe. But, that he felt convinced of 
 the magnitude and hazard of his present 
 undertaking, as distinguished from all 
 previous ones, is evident. When an officer 
 leads his troops on a forlorn attempt, he 
 not unfrequently places before them allure- 
 ments stronger than either authority or 
 duty. According to General Eaton's his- 
 torical statements, a positive charge is 
 made against General Pakenham, in this 
 respect, — inducements having been lield 
 out by him, than which nothing more 
 inviting could be offered to an infuriated 
 soldiery. By this gallant but misguided 
 general, there was promised to his soldiers 
 — to excite their cupidity — the wealth of 
 the city, as a recompense for their gal- 
 lantry and desperation ; while, with brutal 
 licentiousness, they were to revel in lawless 
 indulgence, and triumph, uncontrolled, 
 over female innocence. The history of 
 Europe, since civilized warfare began, may 
 be challenged to afford an instance of such 
 gross and wanton outrage. The facts and 
 circumstances which were developed at the 
 time, left no doubt on the minds of the 
 American officers, but that ' Bootij and 
 Beautij' was the British watchword of the 
 day. The information was obtained from 
 prisoners, and confirmed by the books of 
 two of their orderly sergeants taken in 
 battle. 
 
 Jackson was well aware, frcmi the first, 
 of the bold and reckless character of the 
 enemy he had to deal with. With patri- 
 otic indignation he declared: "The red- 
 coats will find out whom they have to deal 
 with. 1 will smash them, so help me 
 God 1 " And the spirit with which he led 
 
 his men forward may be easily judged of 
 from his emphatic exclamation — •' Remem- 
 ber, our watchword is ' Victor// or Deaf Ji /' 
 We will enjoy our liberty, or perish in the 
 last ditch ! " Never before did a general 
 bring upon his troojss such a spell of 
 enthusiastic devotion to himself, and to 
 the demands of the hour. So, too, in the 
 flush of triumph, he did not forget mercy 
 and magnanimity. " General Jackson," 
 saj's Blackwood's Magazine, of London, 
 " behaved with humanity ?nd generosity 
 to all his prisoners, which did him as great 
 honor as his conduct in the defense. We 
 do not hesitate to call him a great maii." 
 Such was the encomium bestowed upon 
 him by the pen of an enemy, — one of 
 the most influential organs of British 
 opinion. 
 
 At this time, the person of General 
 Jackson is described as being neither 
 robust nor elegant. He was six feet and 
 one inch high, remarkably straight and 
 spare, and weighing about one hundred 
 and forty-five pounds. His physique 
 appeared to disqualify him for hardship ; 
 yet, accustomed to it from early life, few 
 were capable of enduring fatigue to the 
 same extent, or with less injury. His 
 dark blue eyes, with brows arched and 
 slightly' projecting, possessed a marked 
 expression; but when from any cause 
 excited, the^^ sparkled with peculiar luster 
 and penetration. In his manners he was 
 pleasing — in his address commanding. 
 His countenance, marked with firmness 
 and decision, yet beamed with a strength 
 and intelligence that struck at first sight. 
 In his deportment, he was eas}-, affable, 
 familiar, and accessible to alL 
 
 The annunciation of the triumphant 
 defense of New Orleans was hailed, in 
 every section of the country, with accla- 
 mations of delight, and won for Jackson 
 the title of " the conqueror of the con- 
 querors of Napoleon." 
 
XVII. 
 THE EYER-MEMORABLE SEPTEMBER GALE.— 1815. 
 
 Its Violence and Destructiveness Without a Parallel Since the Settlement of the Country. — Terror 
 Excited by Its Sudden and Tumultuous Force. — Unprecedented Phenomena of Tempest, Deluge and 
 Flood. — One Hour of Indescribable Havoc on the Land and Sea. — Premonitory Indications. — Heavy 
 North-east Kains. — Sudden and Violent Changes of Wind. — Its JRapidity and Force Indescribable — 
 DemoUtion of Hundred,s of Buildings. — Orchards and Forests Instantly Uprooted. — Raging and 
 Foaming of the Sea. — Its Spray Drives Like a Snow-storm over the Land. — Tremendous Rise in the 
 Tides. — Irresistible Impetuosity of the Flood. — Several Feet of Water in the Streets. — Innumerable 
 Fragments Fill the Air. — Flight for Safety to the Fields. — The Whole Coast Swarms with Wrecks. 
 — Perils, Escapes, Fatalities. — Peculiar Meteorological Facts. — Bright Skies in the Midst of the Tem- 
 pest. — Suffocating Current of Hot Air. — Sea Fowls iu the Depths of the Interior. — Effect Upon 
 Lands, Crops, and Wells. — All New England Desolated. — Comparison with Other Gales. 
 
 — •' still overhead 
 The miriBling tempest wears Its gloom, and ktill 
 The deluge deepens; till the fields around 
 Lie sunk and Hutted in the sordid wave. 
 
 All that the winds had spared, 
 In one wild moment ruined." 
 
 CJDGING from all the information, historical 
 
 luiil traditional, relating to the great American 
 gales (luring the last hundred years, it would 
 apjiear that the one which occurred in New 
 iMigland, on the 23d of September, 1815, was 
 and is still without a jsarallel, in its extraordi- 
 nary characteristics of violence and destruc- 
 tiveness. In the history of the countr}', 
 dating back to its earliest annals, there is no 
 account of any gale or hurricane equaling 
 this, in its various phenomena of suddenness, 
 severity and power. As distinguishing it, 
 therefore, above all others of its class, this 
 has ever since been called the Great Septem- 
 her Gale. 
 
 The observations of the character, course 
 and effects of this wonderful storm, made hy 
 Professor Farrar and others, for the latitude 
 of Boston, show that it was there preceded by 
 rain, which continued to fall for about twenty-four hours with a moderate wind 
 from the north-east. Early in the morning of the twenty-third, the wind shifted 
 to the east, and began to lilow in gusts accompanied with showers. It continued 
 
 DEsrUUCTION BV THE GI!E.\T GALE AND FLOOD. 
 
174 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 to change toward the south and to increase 
 in violence while the rain abated. Be- 
 tween nine and ten o"clofk in the fore- 
 noon, it began to excite alarm. Chiinne3's 
 and trees were blown over both to the 
 west and north ; but shingles and slates, 
 that were torn from the roofs of buildings, 
 were carried to the greatest distance in the 
 direction of about three points west of 
 north. 
 
 Between half-past ten and half-past 
 eleven o'clock, the greatest destruction 
 took place. The rain ceased about the 
 time the wintl shifted from south-east to 
 south ; a dear sky was visible in many 
 places during the titmost violence of tlie 
 tempest, and clouds were seen flying with 
 great rapidity in the direction of the wind. 
 The air had an unusual appearance. It 
 was considerably darkened by the exces- 
 sive agitation, and tilled with the leaves 
 of trees and other liglit substances, which 
 were raised to a great height and whirled 
 about in eddies, instead of being driven 
 directly forward as in a common storm. 
 The rivers raged and foamed like the sea in 
 a storm, and the spray was raised to the 
 height of sixty or one hundred feet in the 
 form of tliin white clouds, which were 
 drifted along in a kind of wave form, like 
 snow in a violent snow-storm. Travelers 
 were frequently driven back by the force 
 of the wind, and were obliged to screen 
 themselves behind fences and trees or to 
 advance oblicjuely. It was impossible for 
 even the stoutest man to stand firm in a 
 place exposed to the full force of the wind. 
 The pressure of the wind was like that- 
 of a rapid current of water; pedestrians 
 could with great difficulty hear each other 
 speak at the distance of two or three 
 yards; and they moved about almost as 
 awkwardly as if attempting to wade in a 
 strong tide. 
 
 In Boston harbor, the sea had risen 
 unusually high, two hours before the calen- 
 dar time of high water. But the direction 
 of the wind at this time tended to coun- 
 teract the tide, and thus secured the port 
 from that awful calamity which threatened 
 it. Great losses, however, were sustained 
 
 from the wind alone ; many buildings 
 were blown down, great numbers were 
 unroofed or otherwise injured, and few 
 entirely escaped. The most calamitous 
 destruction befell the trees, — orchards and 
 forests exhibiting a scene of desolation, 
 i the like of which had never before been 
 witnessed in America. The roads in many 
 places were rendered impassable, not only 
 through woods, but in the more cultivated 
 towns, where they happened to be lined 
 with trees ; and the streets in Boston and 
 neighboring towns were strewed with the 
 ruins of innumerable gardens and fruit- 
 yards. A considerable proportion of the 
 large and beautiful trees in Boston mall, 
 and in other public walks, some of which 
 trees measured from eight to twelve feet 
 in circumference, were torn wp hy the 
 roots and prostrated. Apple trees, in 
 especial, being separated at a considerable 
 distance from each other, were overturned 
 in great numbers ; no less than five thou- 
 sanil ice.re thus destroyed in the town of 
 Dorchester alone. In this same town, 
 also, seventeen houses were unroofed, sixty 
 chimneys blown over, and about forty 
 barns demolished. 
 
 Rhode Island felt the full force of this 
 remarkable gale, Providence suffering to 
 the amount of millions of dollars, accom- 
 panied with a fearful loss of life, as in 
 other places. This was owing to the wind 
 blowing directly np the river on which the 
 place is built, unbroken by the cape or 
 Long Island, and in sweeping over such 
 an extent of water it accumulated a dread- 
 ful and most destructive tide, so that 
 cessels irerc actually driven over the 
 irharces tnid throuyh the streets. Early 
 in the morning, the wind was north-east, 
 but, at about eight, it shifted to south-east, 
 and soon began to blow violently, continu- 
 ing to increase until ten, when it became 
 a luirricane. All was now confusion and 
 disma^f in the exposed region. The tide, 
 impelled by the tempest, overflowed the 
 wharves; vessels, broken from their moor- 
 ings in the stream, and their fastenings at 
 the wharves, were seen driving with dread- 
 ful impetuosity towards the bridge, which 
 
THE EVEE-MEMORABLE SEPTEMBEE GALE — 1815. 
 
 175 
 
 they swept away, without a moment's 
 check to their progress, and passed on to 
 the head of the basin, where they drove 
 high up tlie bank. Everj^ exertion to 
 protect property, was rendered futile by 
 the violence of the wind, the rapid rise of 
 the water, and the falling of trees ; indeed, 
 these, with the crashing of chimnej's, 
 tumbling upon the houses and descending 
 into the streets, together with tiles and 
 railings from the tops of buildings, and 
 many other s]iecies of dangerous missile 
 flying through the air, rendered it perilous 
 tc appear in the streets. All considera- 
 tion of property, however, was soon for- 
 gotten in the more important one of self- 
 preservation. The tempest stiU raged 
 
 elements, were seen removing the panic- 
 stricken inmates; and on the east side, an 
 awful torrent rolled through the main 
 street, in depth nearlj- to a man's waist, 
 and by which boats, masts, bales of cotton, 
 and immense cjuantities of property of 
 every description, were driven along with 
 resistless force. It was an aicful and te)"- 
 rific scene. Everj' store below, on the 
 east side, was either carried away or com- 
 pletely shattered ; and every building on 
 the opposite side and on the wharves, were 
 swejJt from their foundations — so that all 
 the space, where, an hour or two before, 
 were so many valuable wharves and stores 
 crowded with shipping and merchandise, 
 was now one wide waste of tumultuous 
 
 THE EVER-3IEM(1UAIU 
 
 with increasing violence ; the flood was 
 overwhelming the lower parts of the town ; 
 stores and dwelling-houses were tottering 
 on their foundations, and then, plunging 
 into the deluge, blended their shattered 
 remains with the wrecks of vessels, — the 
 whole passing, with irresistible impetuos- 
 ity, in full view, on the current to the head 
 of the cove, to join the already accumu- 
 lated mass of similar wrecks. 
 
 By this time, the water on the west side 
 of the river had risen nearly to the tops of 
 the lower windows of the houses, and boats 
 and scows, struggling with the maddened 
 
 water. Only two small vessels, of all that 
 were in the harbor, succeeded in riding 
 out the gale, all the rest having drifted 
 ashore, or been carried high up on the 
 wharves. It was such a scene of wide- 
 spread ruin and desolation, as beggars all 
 description — vessels of all kinds and in 
 every position, blended promiscuousl}', 
 with carriages, lumber, wrecks of build- 
 ings of every variety, furniture, and tens 
 of thousands of fragments from far and 
 near, all told the story of universal havoc 
 and destruction. Women and ch ildren were 
 saved in boats from ehamber-windows. 
 
17G 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 One flistressing and peculiar scene, 
 which took phxce among tlie shipping, will 
 serve as a description of a thousand otlier 
 cases which occurred during tlie storm. A 
 hrig, loaded and reaily for sea, with live- 
 stock, drove against the end of a wharf, 
 and her head rested on it ; here she hung, 
 appearing every moment as if she would 
 upset, and plunge her crew into the raging 
 flood. The men were seen clinging to her, 
 awaiting their fate, as no soul could ven- 
 ture to their succor, — the whole distance 
 between the vessel and the houses being 
 filled with roofs and parts of stores tum- 
 bling with the violence of the tempest. 
 Expecting every moment to be precipitated 
 into the torrent, they determined at last 
 upon the final Init perilous attempt to quit 
 the vessel and gain the houses. Strug- 
 gling with the violence of the gale, and 
 with the rolling and bounding materials, 
 in endeavoring to get a foothold, they at 
 last reached the rear of the houses, where 
 some were taken intc the second story, 
 and others, unable to be reached, succeeded 
 in braving the waves until they swam to a 
 place of safety. 
 
 liut it would be absolutely impossible to 
 giv>^ an extended detail of the disastrous 
 scenes pertaining to each sejjarate locality, 
 although some of the incidents and items 
 of the gale's destructive effects deserve to 
 be cited for their very marvelousness. 
 Mention has already been made of the 
 devastation in Dorchester, near Boston, — 
 unparalleled since its settlement, — result- 
 ing in seventeen houses hehig unroofed, 
 sixtij chimneys irrostrated, forUj hams 
 demolished, and more than Jive thousand 
 trees destroyed. The number of buildings, 
 large and small, destroyed in Providence, 
 was estimated at five hundred, and about 
 fifty vessels wrecked. In many instances, 
 majestic oaks, which had braved the tem- 
 pests an hundred years or more, were 
 thrown down, or twisted into shreds ; and 
 in Danvers, Mass., tbe venerable pear tree, 
 imported and transplanted by Governor 
 Endicott, was made terrible havoc with. 
 In Chelsea, not far from Danvers, the 
 great Elm tree, seventeen feet in girth. 
 
 and which had a jjortico built upon its 
 limbs, capable of holding thirty persons, 
 was among the wrecked. In the little 
 town of Acton, about twenty miles from 
 Boston, the damage amounted to forty 
 thousand dollars. At Stonington, Conn., 
 tlie tide rose seventeen feet higher than 
 usual, all the vessels going ashore or sink- 
 ings and all the wharves and manj' build- 
 ings being destroyed. The fate of one 
 citizen of this town was almost as disas- 
 trous as that of Job of yore : His house, 
 ropewalk, blacksmith's shop, and other 
 buildings, with all their contents, were 
 swept away, and, melancholy to relate, his 
 wife, daughter, wife's mother, and a 
 young lady visitor, all perished in the 
 billows. All along the New England 
 coast, and as far as New York, the damage 
 done to the shipping was immense, hun- 
 dreds of vessels with their cai'goes being 
 wrecked ; and almost every seajiort as well 
 as inland town suffering to some degree, 
 — in many instances, almost irreparable, in 
 kind and extent. Innumerable churches 
 were wholly or partially ruined, and the 
 number of cattle killed was very great. 
 The gale was also severely felt by 
 vessels off Cape Hatteras, in the gulf 
 stream, off the capes of Delaware, at Sand}' 
 Hook, Nantucket Shoals, Cape Ann, Cape 
 Henlupen, etc. 
 
 The course of the gale, as ascertained 
 from data procured from various points, 
 furnishes facts of peculiar meteorological 
 interest. Thus, in Philadelphia, there 
 was, during most of the night of the 
 twenty-second, a gale from the north-east, 
 with heavy rain. Early the next day, the 
 wind veered to the north-west, the gale 
 continuing, with torrents of rain, for sev- 
 eral hours. Between eight and nine 
 o'clock, the wind slackened, the rain 
 ceased, and clouds broke away in the west 
 and south. Aliout noon, the weather was 
 clear and mild, with a gentle westerly 
 breeze. During the greater jjart of the 
 afternoon, the sun was obscured with fly- 
 ing clouds from the west and north-west. 
 
 In New York, a violent north-east storm 
 of wind and rain commenced at night, on 
 
THE EVER-MEMORABLE SEPTEMBER GALE — 1815. 
 
 177 
 
 the twenty-first ; about two o'clock, tlie 
 wind suddenly shifted to the north and 
 north-west, blowing with increased vio- 
 lence. On the twenty-second, there was a 
 gale all day, from the north-east and east, 
 ■with heavy and incessant rain. The gale 
 increased in the evening, continuing until 
 four o'clock the next afternoon, though 
 most violent at nine o'clock the same fore- 
 noon, the wind being north to north-west. 
 At New London, Connecticut, the storm 
 commenced on Friday, the twenty-second, 
 a heavy rain falling during that day and 
 night, the wind north-east. Next morn- 
 ing, the twenty-third, the wind became 
 very violent, and soon after almost a hur- 
 ricane. The tide, which commenced flood 
 about six o'clock, had, by ten, risen three 
 or four feet liigher than was ever known 
 before. The rise was so rajsid, too, that 
 some of the dwellings were deluged before 
 the inhabitants knew of their danger, and 
 not more than thirty minutes elajised after 
 they thus realized their peril, before the 
 waves rose four to six feet in the streets ! 
 Stores were soon seen falling before the 
 terrible jjower of the tempest, buildings 
 were unroofed, giant trees fell. But this 
 awful scene of destruction was short. 
 Soon after eleven o'clock, the wind shifted 
 to the westward and abated ; the sea 
 returned with the velocity it came in, 
 though it should have run flood until 
 twelve ; and the storm ceased. The show- 
 ers which fell over the city and neighbor- 
 hood were of salt water ; and the leaves of 
 the tender fruit-trees and shrubs and of 
 many forest trees, without frost, shrunk in 
 a few hours after the gale as though they 
 had been scorched. Brooks and wells in 
 the town and neighborhood became brack- 
 ish ; and during the strength of the wind, 
 in the eddies, the air was extremely hot 
 and suffocating. 
 
 Far into the interior, the tempest swept 
 and raged with unparalleled fury. Early 
 i.n Saturday morning, the wind became 
 very violent, and torrents of rain descended, 
 continuing with but short intermissions 
 until about half-past ten in the forenoon ; 
 at this time, the rain abated, and the wind, 
 12 
 
 suddenly shifting to the south-east, blew a 
 hurricane, tlte terrible deoustatioii o/ivhic/o 
 covered a column or area of sixty miles in 
 width. A suffocating current of air as, 
 from a hot bath, accompanied the middle 
 stage of the tempest. Flocks of gulls, 
 from the far-off ocean, were seen after the 
 storm in the Worcester meadows, and, as 
 evening apjsroached, they flew toward the 
 sea. 
 
 Along the seaboard, the effect of the 
 tide upon the soil and its productions was 
 very marked. Grass was entirely killed. 
 There was not a green blade to be seen, in 
 anj' place, over which the flood had passed. 
 In a few sjDots, near running springs, some 
 new shoots appeared in the course of the 
 autumn ; but on uplands, none grew until 
 aziother season, and then it was not the 
 same kind of grass which grew there 
 before, excejjting in a verj^ few instances. 
 Several cedar-swamps were filled with sea 
 water, which, having no outlet, soaked 
 into the ground. The trees in these 
 swamps perished forthwith, the leaves 
 withering and falling off in a verj' short 
 time. In the trees cut from these swamj^s 
 during the winter following the storm, the 
 sap-wood had turned nearly black ; and 
 there was scarcely an instance in which a 
 cedar-tree survived the effect of the flood 
 Pme and oak trees suffered a similar fate, 
 excepting a verj' few, which stood near 
 the shore, — these latter, perhaps, having 
 grown accustomed to the influence of salt 
 water, and could better endure the ordeal, 
 — though a ver}' great proportion even of 
 these perished in a short time. Most of 
 (he shrubs and bushes, over which the tide 
 passed, perished similarly. It was ob- 
 served, however, that one or two species 
 of laurel, and the common bayberry, were 
 but little if at all injured, and some of 
 the swamp whortleberry -bushes survived. 
 Apple trees were, generally, on such high 
 ground, that the tide did not reach them ; 
 only a few were surrounded hy the water, 
 and none of them were so situated that the 
 ■water could remain about them for any 
 length of time. They were, nevertheless, 
 as much exposed as manj' of the cedars 
 
378 
 
 TUO'Sl COIOXY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 (vhicli died ; but the apple trees continued 
 to live, though considerably stinted in 
 their growtli. With these excejitions, the 
 destruction of vegetable life iu localities of 
 this exposure, was very general, if not 
 universal. 
 
 Wherever the i-ultivatcd Ltiids were in 
 low places near the shore, tliey were of 
 course overflowed. In fields wliere Indian 
 corn was standing, the roots wcri-, in most 
 cases, tor]i out of the grouiul ; ami where 
 tliis did not take place, tlie stalks were 
 wrenched and twisted, and the spikes 
 broken off. The corn, where it had pre- 
 viously grown hard or ripe, was fit for 
 food, but where the grain had not already 
 hardened, it failed to do so, and either j)er- 
 isbed in the husk, or very soon after it 
 was taken out. It was a common remark, 
 that no ])artof the plant could be dried by 
 any means, and therefore by far the 
 greater part of the harvest was lost, not 
 being yet ri])e. Potatoes, an<l other 
 vegetable roots, if left in the ground, 
 perished ; Imt. where they li:i,<l rii)ened, 
 and were taken up within a few days 
 after the flood, and well drie I, they were 
 good. 
 
 which the tide water did not run, were so 
 infected with the taste and cpialities of sea 
 water, as tii be totally unfit for domestic 
 purposes The inhabitants were obliged 
 therefore to transport this necessary article 
 for houseb ild uses, from a great distance; 
 and travelers who needed it were glad to 
 receive it in a measure of tlie smallest 
 capacity. In some wells near the shore, 
 the water formerly rose and fell with the 
 tide, still remaining fresh; but the severe 
 and jieculiar discipline of this flood so 
 changed their habit, that the water in 
 them became of a fixed height, and saltish. 
 ^Vhe^ the vast and tremendous tide was 
 sweeping over the land, the spray arising 
 from it w.is very great, over a wide surface 
 of country, extending to the furthermost 
 of the interior of the northern states. It 
 is spoken of as having resembled a drii-iiu/ 
 snoiv-storm, tlireiigh which objects could 
 be discerned only at short distances. In 
 the more northerly regions it was observed, 
 immediately after the storm, that a singu- 
 lar effect had been produced upon the 
 leaves of the trees by the spray ; their 
 vitality was destroyed, and they exhibited 
 an appearance similar to that which 
 
 >K TlTr. WHIKLW tVl) [11 ItuCGHOCT NKW i:N'r,L.\ND. 
 
 Fresh water, along the se:ilMiai-'i. was, accompanies frost, except that they 
 
 for a long time, a rarity of price, the wells I'etained more of their original color, and 
 
 having been generally overflown and left in some instances they assumed a dark 
 
 full of sea water. Watering-places for red hue, as if they had been well scorched, 
 
 cattle suffered a similar fate ; and so Ibit in other sections along the shore, the 
 
 extensive was the influence of the flood, leaves did not exhibit this pecidiar dis- 
 
 that many wells, pools and streams, into coloration; those which were destroyed by 
 
rilE EVEE-:iIE:\[OEABLE REPTE:\rBER GALE — 18] f 
 
 179 
 
 tlie flood, bore every mark of death, but 
 not of having been burnt, — neither was 
 there any thin coating of salt on tlie win- 
 dows in these regions, as on tliose in the 
 neighborhood of Boston and elsewhere. 
 
 In multitudes of instances, the saltness 
 of tlie wells and watering-places continued 
 unabated for six months, or until the first 
 week of the following March. The winter 
 had been severe, and the ground frozen 
 very deep until the middle of February, 
 wlifci: there were several weeks of moderate 
 weather, with soft rains, whicli dissolved 
 the snows and opened the ground ; shortly 
 after wliich, it was discovered that several 
 of tiie wells and ponds were fr".sh. As 
 the water in the.- ■ had been tasted but a 
 few days previously and was found still to 
 retain its disagreeableness, the freshness 
 must have taken place suddenly. After 
 successive spells of dry weather, these 
 wells grew salt again, but not to the same 
 degree as before ; and, on the other hand, 
 they would l)e fresh, after heavy rains, and 
 then become salt again after dry weather, 
 the degree of saltness diminishing from 
 time to time. This peculiarity continued 
 for sevei-al years, in some localities, being, 
 of course, a great inconvenience to man 
 and beast. 
 
 The center or the limits of this great 
 and memorable tempest, scientific investi- 
 gators were unable to determine. It was 
 very violent at places separated by a con- 
 siderable interval from each other; while 
 the intermediate region suffered much less. 
 Its course through forests was, in some 
 instances, marked almost as definitely, as 
 where the trees have been newly cut down 
 for a road. In these cases, it appears to 
 hari- hf'dii a moi'ivg vortc.r, and not the 
 rushing forward of the great body of the 
 atmosphere. There seems to have been 
 no part of the coast of New England which 
 escaped its fury, though in Vermont and 
 the western parts of New Hampshire its 
 severity was much less ; yet still further 
 west, on the St. Lawrence, the gale was so 
 great as to render it extremely dangerous 
 to be upon the river. And what is still 
 more remarkable, the storm began to grow 
 
 violent at this place about the same time 
 that it commenced near the Atlantic, and 
 subsided about the same time. 
 
 As to the direction of the wind, at the 
 several places where the storm prevailed, 
 Professor Farrar's account states, that, on 
 the twenty-second, the wind was pretty 
 generally from the north-east. The storm 
 commenced to the leeward; but when the 
 wind shifted from north-east to east and 
 south, along the coa.st of New England, it 
 veered round in the opposite direction at 
 New York, and at an earlier period. It 
 reached its greatest height at this latter 
 place about nine o'clock on the morning of 
 the twenty-third, wlien it was from the 
 north-west; whereas, at Boston, it became 
 mo.st violent and devastating about tw-o 
 hours later, and blew from the opposite 
 quarter of the heavens. At Montreal, the 
 direction of the wind was the same as at 
 New York, but did not attain its greatest 
 height so soon by several hours. The 
 barometer descended very fast during the 
 morning of the twenty-third, and, when 
 the wind was highest, had fallen about 
 half an inch. It began to rise as the wind 
 abated, and recovered its former elevation 
 by the time the air was restored to its 
 usual tranquillity. 
 
 According to the investigations made 
 by others, and the observations recorded 
 at the time, in different places, the follow- 
 ing facts are believed to be established, 
 namely : That the hurricane commenced 
 in the West Indies, and moved northward 
 at the rate of twelve or fifteen miles an 
 liour. Its course from St. Barts was about 
 west-north-west to Tiu'ks Island, and 
 thence to Boston — nearl_y on the same 
 meridian — it was a curve convex to the 
 we.st. Previous to the arrival of the hur- 
 ricane in New England, a north-east storm 
 had prevailed along the Atlantic coast for 
 more than twenty-four hours. For some 
 hours previous to the hurricane, there was 
 a great and rapid condensation of vapor, 
 producing a heavy fall of rain in the line 
 of the north-east storm. The hurricane, 
 or violent blow, was mostly from the south- 
 east, blowing into and at right angles to 
 
180 
 
 FRO:\r COLOXY TO WOPJ.D POWER. 
 
 the north-east storm, at its soutliern ter- 
 mination. As the south-east wind ap- 
 proaclied tlie line of tlie north-east storm, 
 it was deflected into an east wind. Tlie 
 general form of the liurrirane, in and about 
 New England, was tliat of an eccentric 
 ellipse, with its longest diameter north- 
 east and south-west ; wind blowing north- 
 east on the north-west side; north-north- 
 west, and west-north-west, at its south 
 end; south-east on its south-east side, 
 curving into an east wind at its junc- 
 tion withj the north-east current; wind 
 blowing from south at the easternmost 
 part of the hurricane. The whole body 
 of the hurrii^ane, in the form thus 
 described, moved to the north nearly on 
 the meridian. 
 
 It is universally admitted, that there is 
 no account of a storm or gale in all respects 
 so remarkable in its plienomena as this, to 
 be found in the history of the United 
 States. Other hurricanes there have been, 
 ]a\'ing waste whatever came in their v:ay, 
 but they have been comparatively limited 
 in their extent and destruetiveness. 
 Morton, in his New England Memorial, 
 gives a description of the violent tempest 
 that took place soon after th.e first settle- 
 ment at Pl^'uiouth. It began on the 
 morning of August fifteenth, 1635, very 
 suddenly, '■ blew down houses, uncovered 
 divers others, divers vessels were lost at 
 sea ; it caused the sea to swell in some 
 jjlaces so that it arose to twenty foot right 
 up and down, and made many Indians to 
 climb into trees for their safety ; blew 
 down many hunrlred thousands of trees," 
 •etc. The tremendous gales of 1723, 1804, 
 1818, 1821, 1836, 1841, 1851, 1859, 
 :186!>, 186".'. and some others, will long 
 
 be remembered in certain localities, for 
 their severity and the loss of life 
 and property, on land and sea. which 
 attended them ; but neither the memory 
 of mail, iwr the annuls of the country, 
 from its first settlement down to the 
 present time, furnish any parallel to 
 the jjeculiur character of the (jreat gale 
 of Scjjtemher, 1815. 
 
 Of the storms and floods which occurred 
 during the last half of the century, those 
 of September and Octolier, 1869, were per- 
 haps the most memorable. The devasta- 
 tion by the latter embraced the whole 
 country between the Nova Scotia coast and 
 the Mi.'.issippi, and from the north limits 
 of the Canadas to the cotton states. The 
 rain fell in torrents for about iovty consec- 
 utive hours, the dense clouds descending 
 in vast sheets, and a moaning wind accom- 
 panying the powerful outpouring. A 
 stronger storm was beyond conception. In 
 some places, the rain-gauge showed that 
 four inches of rain fell in the course of 
 twentj'-nine hours, and, during the suc- 
 ceeding six hours, 3.34 inches additional, 
 — the total fall of water during the storm, 
 over a vast region of country, reaching the 
 enormous amount of 8.05 inrbe.-. The 
 resulting floods on all the streams were 
 beyond any ever recorded. The storm was 
 so sudden arid unexpected, that no pre-, 
 cautions could have been taken, and none 
 were. Railroads, telegraph wires, streets, 
 bridges, dams, manufactories, houses, lands, 
 crops, were utterly or partially' ruined, 
 over a wide extent of country ; and such 
 an embargo on travel was never known 
 before. The pecuniary losses reached 
 millions of dollars, and many lives were 
 iost. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 VISIT OF LAFAYETTE TO AMERICA, AS THE GUEST 
 OF THE REPUBLIC— 1824. 
 
 His Tour of Five Thousand Miles Tlirough tlie Twenty-Four States. — A National Ovation on the 
 Grandest Scale — Cities, States, Legislatures and Governors, Vie in Their Demonstrations of Respect. 
 — The Venerable Patriot Enters the Tomb and Stands Beside the Remains of His Great Departed 
 Friend, Washington. — Noble Qualities of the Marquis. — A Favorite of Louis XVL — Hears 
 of the Battle of Bunker Hill. — Pleads the Cause of the Americans. — Resolves to Join Tlieir 
 Army — Freely Consecrates His Vast Wealth. — Equips a Vessel and Embarks. — Introduced to 
 General Washington — Admiration of Him by the Chieftain. — One of Washington's Military 
 Family. — A Major-General in His Nineteenth Year. — Heroic Fidelity During the War — Subse- 
 q lint Vicissitudes in France. — America's Heart-Felt Sympathy. — He Leaves Havre for New York. — 
 
 Enthusiasm Excit- 
 ed by His Pres- 
 ence. — Incidents, 
 Interviews, Fetes. 
 — Greetings with 
 Old Comrades. — 
 — Memories, Joys, 
 and Tears — De- 
 parts in the United 
 States Ship Lafay- 
 ette. —His Death 
 in 1834. — National 
 Grief. 
 
 "Fortunate, fortunate man ! 
 I leaven eawtit to ordain tliat 
 the electric Bparlt of liberty 
 -houldbe condiicted.throuph 
 I .afavette, from tiie New 
 World totheOld."— Danikl 
 Webstek. 
 
 WO names are most intimately and indissolubly associated with 
 
 ts=i=.^i6t«<ire,i I M the dramatic train of military events which led to the establish- 
 
 ^^^Wi^^f^,'^ ment of the United States as a nation and government, namely, 
 those of Washington and L.\fayette. No two names are, 
 down to the present day, more fresh in the love and gratitude of the American people, 
 and, until time shall be no more, a test of the fidelity with which that people hold to 
 the principles of republican wisdom and virtue that gave them birth, will be their 
 admiration of the names of those patriots and heroes. To understand, therefore, 
 the significance of that spontaneous outburst of popular enthusiasm which greeted 
 Lafayette on his visit to America in 1824, and which made that year one of the mo.st 
 
182 
 
 FRO:\f COLOXY TO WORLD POW 
 
 memorable in tlie nation's historj-, it will 
 only be necessary to glance at the services, 
 military ami civil, rendered us liy this 
 large-hearted patriot, during the opening 
 years of our national existence. Those 
 services and that reception form, indeed, a 
 national romance. 
 
 Wlien only tliirteen j'ears of age, Lafay- 
 ette was left an orphan, and in full posses- 
 sion of valualile estates, and master of his 
 own affairs. Being for a tinii' at the col- 
 lege in Paris, his associations hrouglit him 
 into notice at the court of King Louis, and 
 he became ijuite a favorite witli that mon- 
 arch. He was appointed one of the 
 queen's pages, and througli her agency 
 received a commission at tlie early age of 
 fifteen. He formetl an early attachment 
 to a daughter of tlie noble family of 
 Noailles, witli wliom he was united in 
 marriage at tlie age of sixteen. Adopting 
 the profession of a soldier, Lafayette, at 
 nineteen, was stationed, as captain of dra- 
 goons, at Metz, one of the garrisoned 
 towns of France. Here, in 1776, Lafay- 
 ette's attention was direi;ted to the conflict 
 of liberty in America — the hostilities 
 between Britain and her colonies ; and 
 while ill conversation with the Duke of 
 Gloucester, brother to George the Third, of 
 England, lie elicited facts that led him to 
 see the whole merits of the case. The 
 battle of Bunher Hill and the Declaration 
 of Independence fired his heart! Before 
 rising from the dinner-table at wjiich this 
 interview occurred, Lafayette had resolved 
 to leave his home, and offer himself and 
 his services to the rising i-epublic, whose 
 cause he regarded as just and noble. From 
 that hour he could think of nothing but 
 this chivalrous enterprise, though awai-e 
 that it would cut him off from the favor 
 of that brilliant court-circle in which he 
 shone so conspicuously, and that he would 
 also have to tear himself away from his 
 young, beautiful, and fondly attached 
 wife, who alone, among all his associates, 
 approved of his intention. 
 
 Proceeding to Paris, he confided his 
 scheme to two young friends, Count Segur 
 and Viscount Noailles, and proposed that 
 
 tliey sliould join him. Tliey entered with 
 enthusiasni into Ins views, but, owing to 
 obstacles put ill their way through family 
 interference, tliey were prevented from 
 following out their course, but faithfully 
 kept their comrade's secret. He nest 
 explained his intention to Count Broglie, 
 who advised him to abandon it at once as 
 in the highest degree chimerical and haz- 
 ardous. The count assured him that his 
 confidence was not misplaced; but, said 
 lie— 
 
 "I have seen your uncle die in the wars 
 ot Italy, I witnesscil your father's deatli at 
 the battle of Mindeii, and I will not be 
 accessory to the ruin of the only remaining 
 branch of the family." 
 
 But, .so far from being disheartened by 
 the unpromising reception which Lafay- 
 ette's plan met with from those to whom 
 ho nia.de known his purposes, liis ardor 
 was rather increased in the pursuit of his 
 object. '■ My zeal and love of liberty," 
 said he, " have perhaps been hitherto the 
 jjrevailing inotives ; but now 1 see a 
 chance for usefulness, which I had not 
 anticipated. I have money ; I nill pur- 
 chase a ship, which sliall convey to Amer- 
 ica myself, my companions, and the freight 
 for I'ongress." All this, as the sequel will 
 show, he nobly and self-sacriPcingly car- 
 ried out. 
 
 This design was now made known liy 
 Laf.ayette to Messrs. Franklin, Lee, and 
 Deane, the American commissioners at 
 Paris ; and to a proposal so disinterested 
 and generous they could, of course, make 
 no objection, — could only admire, indeed, 
 the spirit which actuated it ; and he hast- 
 ened immediately to put it into execution. 
 After surmounting the many difliculties 
 which from time to time interrupted the 
 progress of his plans, he at last set sail, 
 the ISaron de Kalb and eleven other offi- 
 cers of various ranks, in pursuit of em- 
 jiloyment in the American army, consti- 
 tuting his retinue. In due time they 
 approached the shore near Georgetown, 
 South Carolina, having fortunately escaped 
 two British cruisers, and soon proceeded 
 to Charleston harbor, where a niagnificeiit 
 
THE VTRTT OY LAFAYETTE TO AMERICA — 1824. 
 
 183 
 
 reception was given them. The vessel 
 was subsequentl\' loaded with rice for the 
 French market, but it foundered in going 
 out of the harbor, and both the vessel and 
 the cargo became a total loss. 
 
 But Lafayette had not j'et reached his 
 destination. As soon, however, as all 
 things were in readiness, the part^' left 
 Charleston and traveled *^o Philadelphia, 
 where congress was then sitting. On 
 iirriving there, he put his letters into the 
 hands of Mr. Lovell, chairman of the com- 
 mittee on foreign affairs. He called the 
 next day at the hall of congress, and Mr. 
 Lovell came out to him and said, that so 
 many foreigners had offered themselves for 
 employment, that congress was embar- 
 rassed with their apjjlication, and he was 
 sorry to inform him there was very little 
 hope of his success. Lafayette suspected 
 that his papers had not been read, and he 
 
 immediately sat down and wrote a note to 
 the president of congress, in which he 
 desired to be permitted to serve in the 
 American army on two conditions : first, 
 that he should receive no pay ; second, 
 that he should act as a volunteer. These 
 terms were so different from those de- 
 manded by other foreigners, and presented 
 so few obstacles on the ground of any 
 interference with American officers, that 
 they were at once accepted. His rank, 
 
 zeal, perseverance, and disinterestedness, 
 overcame every objection, and he was 
 appointed a major-general in the American 
 arnij' before he had reached the age of 
 twenty. 
 
 But he was yet to stand before the face 
 of the great American chieftain. Wash- 
 ington was at head-quarters when Lafay- 
 ette reached Philadelphia, but, being daily 
 expected in the city, the young general 
 cuneluded to wait his arrival, instead of 
 presenting himself at camp. The intro- 
 duction of the youthful stranger to the 
 man on whom his career depended was, 
 however, delayed only a few days. It 
 took place in a manner peculiarly marked 
 with the circumspection of Washington, 
 at a dinner-party, where Lafayette ^vas 
 one among several guests of consideration. 
 Washington was not uninformed of the 
 circumstances connected with Lafayette's 
 arrival in this country ; and it may well 
 lie supposed that the eje of the father of 
 his country was not idle during the re- 
 past. But that searching glance, before 
 which pretense or fraud never stood 
 undetected, was completely satisfied. 
 When they were about to separate, 
 Washington took Lafayette aside, spoke 
 to him with kindness, complimented 
 liim upon the noble spirit he had shown 
 and the sacrifices he had made in favor 
 of the American cause, and then told 
 him that he should be pleased if he 
 would make the quarters of the com- 
 nuinder-in-chief his home, establish him- 
 ' self there whenever he thought proper, 
 and consider himself at all times as one 
 of his familj', — adding, in a tone of pleas- 
 antry, that he could not promise him the 
 luxuries of a court, or even the con- 
 veniences which his former habits might 
 have rendered essential to his comfort, but, 
 since he had become an American soldier 
 he would doubtless contrive to accommo- 
 date himself to the customs, manners and 
 privations of a republican armj'. Such 
 was the reception given to Lafaj'ette, by 
 the most sagacious and observant of men ; 
 and the personal acquaintance, thus com- 
 menced, ripened into an intimacy, a con- 
 
J 84 
 
 ir.OM COJ.OXY lO WOliJ.l) rOAVEll. 
 
 Bdence, and an affection without bounds, 
 and never fur one nionient interrupted. If 
 there lived a man wlioni Washington 
 loved and admired, it was Lafayette. 
 
 Gloriously did Lafayette fulfill, in his 
 military cai'eer, the high hopes which 
 swelled the liearts of American patriots, in 
 the heroic courage which he displayed at 
 Br;indywine, wliere he received a ball in 
 his leg ; his success in Jersey, before he 
 had recovered from his wounds, in a battle 
 wliere he commanded militia against Brit- 
 ish grenadiers; in the liriiliant retreat, 
 by which he eluded a combined maneuver 
 of the whole British force ; by his great 
 services in the enterprise against Rhode 
 Island, and his successful movements 
 against Cornwallis; — all these proofs of 
 his patriotism and military shill, together 
 with his warm and unsullied friendshiiJ 
 for Washington, through all the varying 
 fortunes of war, endeared him forever to 
 every American. 
 
 After the fall uf Cornwallis, Lafayette 
 sailed for Franc(>, but revisited America 
 in 1784. He was received with enthusi- 
 asm wherever he went. Returning to 
 France, he found himself the object of 
 immense popularity, and took his seat with 
 the notables, convoked in 17S7. In 17S9, 
 he boldly proposed, in the national convo- 
 cation, the Declaration of Rights, which 
 he had brought from the free soil of Amer- 
 ica, as the preliminary of a constitution. 
 Proclamation of this world-renowned doc- 
 ument was made July 22, audit furnished 
 the French people with the metaphysical 
 reasons for the '' sacred right of insurrec- 
 tion." Meanwhile the Bastile had been 
 taken, July 14, the national guard organ- 
 ized, and Lafayette appointed to the com- 
 mand. In this capacity he rode a white 
 charger, and shone the impersonation of 
 chivalry, and twice the royal family owed 
 their preservation to his address and cour- 
 age. When the popular enthusiasm lulled, 
 he returned to his native fields; the 
 national guard, on his retirement, present- 
 ing him with a bust of Washington, and 
 a sword forged from the bolts of the Bas- 
 tile. Subsequently, having denounced the 
 
 bloodthirsty Jacobins, he was hurned in 
 etfigy by the sans-culottes of Paris, and, 
 fleeing from the guillotine which there 
 awaited him, he finally fell into the bands 
 of the Austriaus, and was by them sub- 
 jected to a long and cruel imprisonment in 
 the fortress at Olniutz. His release, so 
 earnestly but unsuccessfully solicited by 
 Washington, was peremptorily demanded 
 by Napoleon, and obtained, in September, 
 1797. In the year ISIS, he became a 
 member of the chamber of deputies, and, 
 resuming his career as an advocate of con- 
 stitutional principles, succeeded at last in 
 elevating Louis Philijipe to the throne of 
 France. 
 
 By this time, Lafayette had grown old 
 in the services he had rendered to America 
 and France. Though bis 3'ears were now 
 nearly three score and ten, he could not 
 think of meeting death until lie had once 
 more seen that land of liberty across the 
 wide Atlantic, which was as dear to him as 
 his native country. In its infancy, and 
 for its freedom, he had, fifty years ago, 
 contriljuted his wealth and shed his blood, 
 sharing the bosom confidence of the greal 
 Washington as did no other human being. 
 That struggling little republic had now 
 become a giant nation; the thirteen states 
 constituting the original galaxy, had be- 
 come almost double that number, and vast 
 as the empires of antiquity in territory. 
 Remembering his magnificent services, in 
 1824 the congress of the United States 
 voted unanimously a resolution requesting 
 President Monroe to invite Lafayette to 
 visit the United States, as the nation's 
 guest, — an honor never before accorded a 
 foreign nobleman, — and tendering a ship 
 of the line for his conveyance. This invi- 
 tation was extended to the great French 
 p.atriot in President Monroe's most happy 
 manner, and was duly accejjted, though 
 the offer of a war-ship was declined. 
 
 On the twelfth of July. 1824, Lafayette, 
 accompanied by his son, George Washing- 
 ton Lafayette, and his secretary, M. Levas- 
 seur, sailed from Havre for America. He 
 arrived in New York, August fifteenth, 
 and landed on Staten Island. One of the 
 
THE VISIT OF LAFAYETTE TO AMEEICA — 1S21. 
 
 185 
 
 first to greet him was Jose])li Bonapartf, 
 brother of the great Napoleon. Josejjh 
 then resided at Bordeutown, New Jersey ; 
 
 SWORD OF HOMOR VRESENTED TO LAFAYETTE. 
 
 he .lau always cherished a high regard for 
 the Marquis, and greatly valued his 
 friendship. The interview between the 
 two was attended n ith the warmest emo- 
 tions ; and whoever has seen Sully's por- 
 trait of the great French patriot can form 
 some adequate conception of the chieftain's 
 magnificent bearing on this occasion. 
 
 The announcement of his arrival sent a 
 thrill of joy to every American heart and 
 home, and the great pageant of his recep- 
 tion commenced in the city where he first 
 set foot forty years before. As the fleet 
 arrived off the battery at New York, a mili- 
 tary line composed of thousands of veter- 
 ans was formed, and the people, crowding 
 the battery and all the adjacent streets, 
 swelled the throng to the number of forty 
 thousand. The patriot was deeply affected 
 when he exchanged congratulations with 
 his old companions and friends. Shout 
 after shout went up in long and loud 
 acclaim, while the bands of music played 
 a triumphant welcome to the hero. His 
 stay m the cit3' was one unbroken succes- 
 
 sion of high honors and civic laudation, 
 such as liings might envy ; at Albany, he 
 was received by Vice-President Tompkins. 
 Ou proceeding to New England, the same 
 enthusiasm was exhibited in every city, 
 town, and village. From the residence of 
 Hon. William Eustis, the governor oi 
 Massachusetts, in Eoxburv, he was es- 
 corted by a large cavalcade and almost the 
 entire population, to Boston, where a 
 dense assemblage awaited his appearance. 
 Arriving at the line, he was greeted by 
 the mayor of the city and the people, 
 through whom he passed in a superb car- 
 riage, under df>afening cheers. The streets 
 were lined with sjiertators to the entrance 
 of the beautiful common. There, the 
 children of the public schools formed two 
 lines, the girls being dressed in spotless 
 white, and the boys in white pants and 
 blue jackets, and all wearing appropriate 
 badges. A little girl sprang forward from 
 the line as Lafayette was passing, and, at 
 her request to speak to him, was lifted 
 into the carriage, when she gracefully pre- 
 sented him with a wreath of flowers, which 
 the venerable hero received with affecting 
 courtesy. While going from town to town, 
 he found in every jilace some of the 
 descendants of 1776, ready to give him 
 the heartiest of welcomes. Thus, when 
 visiting Marblehead, in Massachusetts, the 
 marquis manifested much curiosity at so 
 many ladies being mingled with the male 
 citizens, who had been deputed to receive 
 him. The spokesman of the occasion, 
 perceiving the pleasant surprise of the 
 marquis at this jaeculiar feature, said to 
 him — 
 
 " These are the widows of those who 
 perished in the revolutionar3' war, and the 
 mothers of children for whose liberty you, 
 illustrious sir! have contended in the field 
 of battle. They are now here in the 
 places of their husbands, many of whom 
 were once known to you." 
 
 It may here be remarked, that Marble- 
 head was the " banner town " for furnish- 
 ing soldiers, in the revolutionary war, 
 there being a larger proportion to the 
 whole number of inhabitants from that 
 
186 
 
 FR0:\1 COLOXV TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 to.vn than hjiv otlier jilace in tlie United 
 States. The Britisli armed vessels llo^•e^- 
 iiit>' on tlie i-oast destroyed tile eoastiiig 
 and fishing business, and thus the loss of 
 men in the war fell heavily upon the small 
 ■iea[)Ort towns ; for, lieing out of emplny- 
 .nent, nearly all the young and old men 
 shouldered their muskets and joined the 
 army. 
 
 At Philadelphia he was welcomed with 
 almost idolizing enthusiasm; for tender 
 and thrilling indeed were the assoc-iations 
 which linked together the history of the 
 past and present nf that city, in the person 
 and services of Lafayette ; the hospitali- 
 ties of tlie state were appropriately dis- 
 jieiisi-d liy Governor Shultze. On landing 
 at ISaltimore. he was conducted to the 
 'tent of Washington,' and the freedom of 
 the state and city confi'rred upon him in 
 an address hy Governor Stevens. For 
 some time Lafayette i-mild not jn'ecisely 
 understand the conipliuient conveyed in 
 the selection of the tent — especially one of 
 that construction — for 
 such proceedings. It 
 w IS soon ni ide plain, 
 ho\\e\ei foi, ginning 
 xiound he iKogni/ed 
 a poition ot \\ islinig- 
 
 liim, he said, in a voice tremulous with emo- 
 tion, "/ rcmi'mhev!" Proceeding to 
 AVashington, Lafayette was received with 
 open arms by President Monroe, at the 
 executive mansion. Congress had just 
 assenililed in regular session, at the capitol. 
 He was introduced to both houses, and was 
 formally and elegantly addressed by Mr. 
 Clay, speaker of the house of representa- 
 tives, the two branches unanimously unit- 
 ing in their legislative honors to the 
 nation's guest. At this session the sum 
 of two hundred thousand dollars, together 
 with a "township, consisting of twenty- 
 four tliousand acres of fertile land, was 
 voted by congress to General Lafayette, as 
 an e.xpression of the grateful memory with 
 which the peojijle of America regarded his 
 services in their behalf. A few of the 
 members felt themselves constrained, from 
 some doubts resjiecting its constitution- 
 ality, to vote against this appropriation. 
 Lafayette, taking one of them by the 
 hand, said to him with considerable feel- 
 ing: 
 
 " I appreciate your views. If I hac 
 been a member, I sliould have voted with 
 you, not only because I partake of the sen- 
 timents which determined your votes, but 
 also because I think that the American 
 nation has (hme too much for me." 
 Most characteristic of Lafayette's 
 disinterestedness and magnanim- 
 ity was that remark ! 
 
 At this time, Governor Pleas- 
 ant was chief magistrate of the 
 •Old Dominion,' and warmly wel- 
 comed the na- 
 ■(^•^^ tion's guest. The 
 -\ . ■ - 'f- emotions experi- 
 Sj' a, enced by Lafax- 
 *§■*" fH ette, as he once 
 ;'^> , ?■■' '"'' more trod the bat- 
 /'ifeti-'-v'"-., tie-fields of Vir- 
 c a n o f 
 
 ,^,,,vi;v;<'%i*fr\ ffinia, 
 
 "-A^l'lIiAV ^ 1 Ji 1 
 
 ,.>,^?' -^ y course hardly be 
 
 described. York- 
 
 town, distinguish- 
 ton's personal equipage i ed for the surrender of Cornwallis, 
 during the war; and I which event gave the finishing blow- 
 turn ing to one near I to the war, presented a vast field 
 
THE VISIT OT LAi'AYETTE TO AMEKICA — IbiH, 
 
 lb: 
 
 of tants at the reception of Lafayette. 
 Tlie same liouse occupied by Coniwallis, as 
 his head-quarters in 1781, was still stand- 
 ing. The general appearance of the place 
 gave evidence of a deserted village. The 
 ileuses of yore, which had been riddled 
 with balls and blackened with smoke, still 
 retained the marks of battle. In many 
 parts of the ground were seen broken 
 shells, and gun-carriages, with various 
 implements of war, — some on rocks, and 
 others Jialf buried in the earth ; every 
 arrangement having been made to give the 
 town, on Lafayette's arrival, the appear- 
 ance of a place taken and occupied after a 
 severe contest in battle. One of tlie tents 
 erected on this occasion, was the one used 
 bj^ Washington at the time of the siege, 
 togetlier with others which had furnished 
 temporary' apartments for weary soldiers 
 during the eventful campaign. An arch, 
 bearing the names of Lafayette, Hamilton, 
 and Laurens, was erected on the very spot 
 where the redoubt stood which was stormed 
 b}- Lafayette ; an obelisk was also erected, 
 bearing the names of distinguished French- 
 men. And on the same spot it is said 
 that the orator of the occasion was design- 
 ing, at the close of his address, to place a 
 blended civic crown and national wreath 
 in honor of Lafayette, who, while he 
 acknowledged the unique compliment, 
 gracefully averted its consummation, and, 
 taking the symbolic garland in his hand, 
 called for Colonel Fish, the only survivor 
 of the attack upon the redoubt, and 
 declared that half the honor belonged to 
 him. AVashingt(ni's marquee was erected 
 on the plain, just out of the village. Be- 
 ing escorted to this tent, Lafayette gave 
 an affecting welcome to the officers of the 
 militia. Two old veterans were there, who 
 had faced the enemy in war, and stood firm 
 in the midst of the roar of the cannon ; 
 but as they pressed the hand of Lafayette 
 on this occasion, the old heroes wept and 
 fainted. Some of the servants who were 
 present discovered in an obscure corner of 
 a cellar a large box of candles, bearing 
 marks of belonging to Cornwallis'.s military 
 stores — having remained uudisturlu'd for 
 
 forty-thi-ee years. They were lighted fof 
 the evening, and notwithstanding the 
 fatigues of the day, some of the old .soldiers 
 remained till the last vestige of these Brit- 
 ish candles had expired in the sockets. 
 
 Taking Camden, South Carolina — Gov- 
 ernor Richard J. Manning, — in his tour. 
 Lafayette assisted in laj'ing the corner- 
 stone of a monument erected to the name 
 and memory of Baron de Kalb, a German 
 by Ijirth, who came over in the same vessel 
 with Lafayette, in 1776, and volunteered 
 his services in the American army for 
 three years. He fell while bravely en- 
 gaged in the battle at Camden, pierced 
 with eleven deadly wounds. It is said 
 that Washington, visiting the baron's 
 grave many years after his death, sighed 
 as he looked upon it, and exclaimed, 
 "There lies the brave De Kalb, the gener- 
 ous stranger, who came from a distant 
 land to fight our battles, and to water with 
 his bloo<l the tree of Lil)erty. Would to 
 God he had lived to share with us in its 
 fruits ! " At Savannah, Georgia, after 
 being welcomed bj^ Governor Troup, Lafa}-- 
 ette united in the same service connnemor- 
 ative of Generals Greene and Pulaski. 
 On the seventeenth of June, Lafayette 
 witnessed the laying of the corner-stone of 
 Bunker Hill monument, at Charlestown, 
 Massachusetts; he was the only surviving 
 major-general of the revolution who was 
 present at this ceremony-. Colonel Francis 
 K. Huger participated in the patriotic 
 services — the man who, when a lad, walked 
 with Lafayette over his father's grounds, 
 and who, some thirty years before this 
 seventeenth of June, risked his life in 
 attempting to aid the escape of Lafa^^ette 
 from the castle of Olmutz. The people of 
 (Jharlestown not only welcomed Huger, 
 but gave him a seat by the side of Lafay- 
 ette, in the carriage which moved in the 
 procession, and also one near him at the 
 festive board. Daniel Webster was the 
 orator for the day ; it was the fiftieth anni- 
 versary of the battle ; and everything con- 
 spired to render the day memorable. As 
 the procession passed, Lafayette was con- 
 tinually liailed with demonstrations of love 
 
]S8 
 
 T"RO:\r COLONY TO WORLD TOWER. 
 
 and gratitude. The procession was sev- 
 eral miles long, and, on arriving at the his- 
 toric spot, the impressive rite of laying the 
 corner-stone was performed by the grand 
 master of the Freemasons, the ]>i'o?idfiit of 
 
 "^ "w. she ^ as w ilLing out in the for- 
 
 the Monument Association, au<l (General 
 Lafayette, in the presence of a vast con- 
 course of people. The assembly then 
 moved to a spacious amphitheatre, wliere 
 the oration was ]ironounced by iNIr. Web- 
 ster, before as great a multitude as was 
 ever, perhaps, assembled within the sound 
 of a human voice. 
 
 There was one place — Kaskaskia, on the 
 route of Lafa_yette's tour, at wliich. though 
 no preparations had been made to receive 
 him, he paused a short time; and here it 
 was that a most affecting incident oc- 
 curred. Curiosity induced one of his com- 
 panions to go and look at an Indian 
 encampment, a short distance from the 
 town. He there met with an educated 
 Indian woman, who spoke the French lan- 
 guage tolerably well, and who expressed a 
 desire to see Lafayette, and to show him a 
 relic which she always carried with her, 
 and which was "very dear to her."' She 
 wished to show it to Lafayette, as proof of 
 the veneration with which his name was 
 regarded among their tribes. It was a 
 letter written by Lafayette in 1778, and 
 addressed to her father, I'anisciowa, a 
 
 chief of one of the si.x nations. This letter 
 
 expressed the hearty thanks of Lafayette 
 
 for the faithful services of that chief in the 
 
 American cause. The name of this only 
 
 child of the old chief was Mary, who, at 
 
 the decease of her mother, was 
 
 plai ed undei the care of an 
 
 '^■'■^i f^^ -'^"" ^'" ^'i' igent, by whom she 
 
 *•(■ J!»^^ ^Ms nistuKted and kindly treat- 
 
 '%^\ 4^:.J ^"'^ ed SIk becxmeaChristiam As 
 
 " ^ " in 
 
 est, aliout five 
 vears after, an 
 lian warrior 
 \ 'Ttook her and 
 M formed her that 
 j iier father was dy- 
 ing, and wished 
 i- to see her. She 
 soon started off, 
 traveled all night, 
 lid in the morn- 
 ing reached his 
 liut, which was 
 situated in a narrow valley. As she came to 
 his liedside, he took from his pouch a paper 
 wrapped in a dry skin, and gave it to her, 
 with a charge to jireserve it as a precious 
 gift, saying : " It is a powerful charm ta 
 interest the pale-faces in your favor. I 
 received it from a great French warrior, 
 whom the English dreaded as much as the 
 Americans loved him, and with whom I 
 fought in my youth." The chief died the 
 next day. Mary returned to her white 
 friends, and soon after married the young 
 warrior, who was lier father's friend and 
 companion. She had the pleasure of 
 showing the letter to Lafayette, who rec- 
 ognized it, and listened with great respect 
 and deep feeling to her touching story. 
 
 Another most interesting episode was that 
 which transpired at Lafayette's reception 
 in Nashville, Tenn., Governor Carroll pre- 
 siding at the state ceremonies. There had 
 come from different parts of the country 
 about forty officers and soldiers of the rev- 
 olution. Among the number was an aged 
 man who had traveled one hundred and 
 fifty miles. His name was Hagu_y, a 
 German, and he was one of those who 
 
THE VISIT OF LAFAYETTE TO AMERICA — 1S24. 
 
 1S9 
 
 embarked in the same vessel witli Lafay- 
 ette for this countrj', nearly fifty years 
 back, and served under him during the 
 whole war. The old veteran, clasping 
 Lafayette's hand with affectionate 
 warmth, the tears rolling down his 
 cheeks, said : 
 
 "I have come many miles to see tlie 
 ' young general.' I have had two hajipy 
 days in uij' life — one, when I landed with 
 you on the American coast, nearly fifty 
 years ago, and to-day when I see your face 
 again. I have lived long enough." The 
 sensation produced by this scene, in that 
 great throng, was for a time completely 
 overpowering: 
 
 Not less interesting was the interview, 
 at Buffalo, between Lafayette and ' Eed 
 Jacket,' the old chief of the Seneca tri1)e 
 of Indians. They had botli met in I'ouncil 
 at Fort Schuyler, in 1784. Red Jacket, 
 in conversation with General Lafayette, 
 made some allusions to that famous coun- 
 cil, and to those who participated in its 
 proceedings, when Lafayette inquired with 
 some curiosity — 
 
 " Where is the young warrior, I wonder, 
 wlio opposed the burying of the toma- 
 hawk ? '■ 
 
 '' He is liere before you," instantly re- 
 plied the aged chief. 
 
 " Ah, I see," replied the general, " time 
 has changed us. We were once young 
 and active." 
 
 " But," said the chief, " time has made 
 less change on you than on me." 
 
 Saying this he uncovered his head, and 
 exhibited his entire baldness. The gen- 
 eral wore a wig, and, not wishing to 
 deceive Red Jacket, took it from his liead, 
 to the no small amusement of the aston- 
 ished Indian. 
 
 A visit to the tomb of Washington was 
 one of the most notable events in Lafay- 
 ette's tour. His arrival there was an- 
 nounced by the firing of cannon, which 
 brought to his memory the din of war, — 
 the scenes of the revolution, — when he, 
 with the great but now lifeless chieftain, 
 v/ere side by side in battle. Standing for 
 awhile upon the consecrated ground rrad 
 
 amidst tlie solemn stillness of the place, 
 he descended alone into the tomb with his 
 head uncovered. There he remained in 
 solitary contemplation for some time — the 
 living aged veteran communing with the 
 illustrious dead. He returned witli his 
 face bathed in tears, and, taking his son 
 and Levasseui', the secretary, by the hand, 
 led them into the tomb. He could not 
 speak, but pointed mutely to the coffin of 
 Washington. They knelt reverently by 
 it, kissed it, and. rising, threw themselves 
 into the arms of Lafayette, and for a few 
 moments wept in silence. Lafayette was 
 now' presented, by the hand of Mr. Custis, 
 one of the surviving family connections of 
 Washingto]!, with a massive finger-ring 
 containing a portion of the hair of his 
 departed friend. He was also the recipi- 
 ent of some otlier personal memorials of 
 the '• Father of his Country." 
 
 During this tour Lafayette visited every 
 one of the tvvent3'-four states of the Union, 
 and traveled over five thousand miles. In 
 nearly every region which he visited, 
 towns or counties, and literarj', scientific 
 or civic associations, named in honor of 
 him, still preserve his memory. Indeed, 
 one of the foremost of the great colleges of 
 the Middle states dates from the same 
 period. At Easton, in Pennsylvania, 
 the citizens convened on the 27th of 
 December, 1824, and resolved to estab- 
 lish L.\FAYETTE CoLLEGE, an eminent 
 institution of learning, in memory of 
 and " as a testimony of respect for the 
 talents, virtues and signal sevices, of 
 General Lafayette, in the great cause of 
 Freedom." 
 
 When the time which he had allotted 
 for his tour had expired, Lafayette re- 
 paired to Washington, to pay his parting 
 respects to the chief magistrate of the 
 nation, John Quincy Adams, who had suc- 
 ceeded President Monroe. This took 
 place at the presidential mansion, on the 
 sixth of September, 1825. The farewell 
 address from the president, in behalf of 
 the whole American people, was a most 
 affecting tribute to the lofty character and 
 patriotic services of Lafayette, during his 
 
21)0 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOliLD POWEE. 
 
 long and eventful career, and closed with 
 tlu- following words : 
 
 '• Vou ;ire ours by that unshaken senti- 
 ment of gratitude for your services which 
 is a precious portion of our inheritance ; 
 ours hy that tie of love, stronger than 
 death, which has liidced j-our name for the 
 endless ages of time with the name of 
 AVasliiiigton. At the painful moment of 
 
 parting with you 
 .v^-.. ,,, jI? we take comfort 
 
 in tlie thought 
 that, wherever you may be. to the last jud- 
 sation of your heart, our country will ever 
 be present to your affections : and a cheer- 
 ing consolation assures us that we are not 
 
 called to sorrow — most of all, that we 
 shall see your face no more, — for we 
 shall indulge the pleasing anticipation 
 of beholding our friend again. In the 
 name of the whole people of the United 
 States, I bid you a reluctant and affec- 
 tionate farewell." 
 
 To this parting address from the lips of 
 the nation's distinguished chief magistrate, 
 Lafayette replied in a strain of i)atriotic 
 and impassioned eloquence never to be 
 forgotten. 
 
 On the same day he embarked for 
 France, on board the Brandywine, a new 
 ' ij:ate, named 
 IS in comjili- 
 iMiit to Lafay- 
 ; tc, who, on the 
 iiiiiks of that riv- 
 1. was wounded 
 II his first battle 
 or American 
 icdom. In the 
 » li ole range of 
 M>tory, ancient 
 or modern, tliere 
 is no instance of 
 similar Honors being paid to any hero, by 
 the united and spontaneous will of a great 
 people ; and when, nine years after, he paid 
 the debt of nature, that same great people 
 gave vent to universal grief, and every 
 tongue spoke words of eulog\' to the mem- 
 ory of America's most illustrious friend. 
 
XIX. 
 
 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY AND CELEBRATION OF THE 
 INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLIC— lS:i6. 
 
 Sudden and Simultaneous Death of Ex-Presidents Jolni Adams and Thomas Jefferson, its Two Most 
 Ilhistrious Founders — The Day of Resouiuiiiig Joy and Jubilee Chaufied to One of Profound 
 National Sorrow. — No Historical Parallel to Such a Remarkahle Coinci'lence — Wirld-Itenowiied 
 Career of t:iese Statesmen. — E.xtraordinary Preparations for the Day. — Adams and .Jefferson then 
 Alive — Sires and Patriarchs of the Nation — Their Names HousehoM Words. — Invited to Share 
 in the Festivities — They Hail the filorious Morn — Great Rejoicint's, Death's Summons. — Jefferson's 
 Distinguisliing Honor. — Adams's Patriotic TiUster — Their Imperishable Deeds — Calm yet Hif;li 
 Enthusiasm — Hostile Leaders in Alter-Life — Kacy and Piquant Anecdote. — Crisis Point in Adams's 
 Fortunes — His Last Toast for His Country, — " Independence Forever." — Two Sages in Old Age — 
 Serenity, Wisdom, Dignity — Fotnier Friendshi]) Revived. — Letters of Mutual Attachment. — Euro- 
 pean Admiration Excited. — Reverence to their Colossal Fame. 
 
 " Such pnBti nwny: hut they lervi- 
 All hope, or love, or truth. "or I.IBEHTY.— 
 WhoBefomiB th'ir iri.ghly fiiiirit;* could conceive. 
 To be a rule aud low lo ii.e8 thot survive " 
 
 'iOY'OUS, painful, liy sudden and strange transition, to the Ameri- 
 can poople, was the Fourth of July, 1826, — the anniversary of the 
 hrst half-i-entury of their national existence, and, as it proved, the 
 day on which the two chief founders of the repuhlic passed, 
 simultaneou.sly, from the scenes of their earthly career to the 
 repose anil the rewards of another world; — one of the most remarkaVde coincidences 
 that has ever occurred in the history of nations. It was the half-ceutcnniai Juliilee of 
 American Independence, and preparations had been made in every jiart of the Union to 
 celebrate the august day witl> extraordinarj' demonstrations and observances. John 
 Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two illustrious sages, whose names and lives were pre- 
 eminently identified with the formation of the government, and. for so many years, 
 ft'itli its history and administration, so much so as to have liocome household names 
 everywhere, in the nation, were, on this most memorable day, — amid the rejoicings of 
 the people, the peals of artillery, tlie strains of music, the exultations of a great 
 nation in the enjoyment of freedom, peace, and happiness. — releaseil from the toils 
 of life. 
 
 In the personal and public career of these two great patriots, there were many 
 points of similarity. In the enumeration of these similarities by Mr. Webster, their 
 eloquent eulogist, it appears that they belonged to the same profession, both 
 being learned and able lawyers. They were natives and inhabitants, respectively, 
 ••f those two of the colonies, Massachusetts and Virginia, whiih, at the time of the 
 
192 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 revolution, were the largest and most pow- 
 erful, and which naturally had a lead in 
 the political affairs of the times. When 
 the colonies became in some degree united, 
 by the assembling of a general congress, 
 they were brought, at an early period, to 
 act together in its deliberations. Each 
 had already manifested his attachment to 
 the cause of the country, as well as his 
 ability to maintain it, by jn-inted addresses, 
 public speeches, extensive corresjiondence, 
 and whatever other mode could be adopted 
 for the purpose of exposing the encroach- 
 ments of the British parliament, and ani- 
 mating the people to a manly resistance. 
 Both were not only decided, but early, 
 friends of independence. While others 
 yet doubted, they were resolved; where 
 others hesitated, they pressed forward. 
 They were both members of the committee 
 for preparing the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, and they constituted the sub-com- 
 mittee apjjointed by the other members to 
 
 versary of American liberty — in the very 
 midst of the festivities which commem- 
 orated the nation's half-centennial jubilee ! 
 Wherever the tidings of their decease 
 could be flashed, on that eventful day, the 
 voices of festivity and mirth were changed 
 to those of wonder and mourning. 
 
 Jefferson's imperishable renown consists 
 in his having penned the Declaration of 
 Independence, rather than in the fact of 
 his having filled the highest offices, state 
 and national, culminating with that of 
 president of the republic. 
 
 On the other liand. to have been fore- 
 most among those who foresaw and broke 
 the way for the birth of a new nation ; to 
 have been the mover of numerous decisive 
 acts, the undoubted precursors of the great 
 consummation ; to have been among the 
 many and towering spirits then engaged 
 in defying the mightiest throne in Chris- 
 tendom, by acknowledgment unsurpassed 
 in zeal, and uneijualed in ability; to have 
 
 THE .lEFFERSON MA20ION AT MOXTrCELLO. 
 
 make the draft. Jefferson was the author 
 of that noblest production of statesman- 
 ship; Adams was its chief parliamentary 
 expositor and triumphant advocate in the 
 'assembly of the mighty.' They left their 
 seats in congress, being called to other 
 public employment, at periods not remote 
 from each other. Both became public 
 ministers abroad, both vice-presidents, and 
 both presidents. All these remarkable 
 parallels and coincidences were at last most 
 singularly crowned and completed : They 
 died together — and they died on the anni- 
 
 been exclusively associated with the au- 
 thor of the Declaration ; and then, with a 
 fervid and overwhelming eloquence, to 
 have taken the lead in inspiring the con- 
 gress unanimoush- to adopt and proclaim 
 it, — this is the glory of John Adams. 
 
 Mr. Adams connnenced the practice of 
 the law in his native town of Quincy. At 
 the age of twenty-eight, he was married to 
 Abigail Smith, a country clergyman's 
 daughter, and an excellent woman with 
 whom he lived in wedlock more than fifty 
 years. At the age of thirty, he published 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVEKSAKY OF INDEPENDENCE — 1S26. 
 
 11)3 
 
 a dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law, 
 in wliicli he explained the Puritan princi- 
 ples of religion and government, and 
 brought them to bear upon the disputes 
 between Great Britain and the colonies. In 
 1766, he removed to Boston. His profes- 
 sional standing was now so high, that, in 
 1768, Governor Bernard offered him the 
 post of advocate-general of the court of 
 admiralty. But Mr. Adams had ranked 
 himself decisively with the friends of the 
 people ; and had he accepted a lucrative 
 oflSce under the crown, although no condi- 
 tions were annexed, his course would not 
 have been the same as heretofore. In 
 truth, the offer must have been intended 
 quite as much to silence his political oppo- 
 sition, as to secure his legal services. He 
 therefore declined it, but gave a noble 
 evidence, not long afterwards, that no liase 
 subserviency to the people, any more than 
 to the government, could make him swerve 
 from his own ideas of right. Tl.ls truth 
 was shown in 1770, b}' his conduct in ref- 
 erence to the Boston massacre, as the 
 following account will show. 
 
 The scene of bloodshed in King street, 
 Boston, was a natural consequence of the 
 relative positions of the soldiery and the 
 people. No good feeling could possibly 
 exist between them. On the part of the 
 troops, the haughty consciousness that 
 Britain had made them keepers of the 
 province, together with a sense of the 
 odium in which they were held, produced 
 a contemptuous antipathy towards the 
 colonists. 
 
 At the sight of their own blood, shed by 
 a hireling soldiery, the ferment of the 
 people became terrible, and was shared, 
 for a time, by the calmest patriots in New 
 England. A multitude, computed at ten 
 or twelve thousand, assembled at Faneuil 
 Hall, and adjourned thence to the Old 
 South Church. There went a rumor, that 
 the tragedy in King street had been pre- 
 meditated, and was but the prelude to a 
 general massacre. For defense against 
 this exaggerated, yet not altogether shad- 
 owy danger, a militar}* guard was enrolled, 
 and the town put itself under martial law 
 13 
 
 No British officer or soldier could have 
 walked the streets with safety to his life. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs, when John 
 Adams, himself the foremost patriot of all, 
 and a member of the people's military 
 guard, was solicited to undertake the 
 defense of Captain Preston, and the sol- 
 diers who had tired the fatal vollej', against 
 the charge of murder. It was a singular 
 compliment to liis integrity, that the 
 imprisoned soldiers should have sought the 
 aid of a man so situated. 
 
 It does not appear that the confidence 
 of Mr. Adams's countrymen in him was 
 shaken bj' this act of personal and profes- 
 sional indejiendence ; or, if so. it was only 
 for the moment. In 1773, he was chosen 
 a member of the provincial council, but 
 was rejected by the torj- Governor Hutch- 
 inson, and afterwards by General Gage. 
 
 In the year 1775, John Adams, as a 
 delegate in congress, nominated George 
 Washington to the post of commander-in- 
 chief of the American armies. The glory 
 of originating this choice ajjpears to be- 
 long principally to Mr. Adams, and, did 
 he need a secondary' reputation, this 
 would have been claim enough to his 
 country's gratitude. The service cannot 
 be too highly estimated. Washington's 
 character was of such a nature, that, if 
 some sagacious individual had not pointed 
 him out, he probabl3' would not have been 
 the foremost figure in the public eye. 
 Had the selection fallen u[ion another, no 
 one can conjecture what would have been 
 the result. 
 
 As alreadj' stated, Mr. Adams was one 
 of the committee to draft the Declaration 
 of Independence; and the calm, yet high 
 enthusiasm of the letter in which he 
 announced that event to a friend, and 
 prophesied that its anniversary would 
 become a national festival, must be famil- 
 iar to every American. He had a share 
 in all the weightiest business of congress, 
 and bore the burden of much that was less 
 imjiortant, being a member of no less than 
 ninety committees, and chairman of twen- 
 ty-five. In 1777, he was appointed com- 
 missioner to France, to supersede Deane, 
 
194 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 who was the colleague there of Benjamin 
 Franklin and Arthur Lee ; returning home 
 in 1779, he was again sent out, in the 
 autumn of that year, with powers to con- 
 clude a treaty of peace and commerce. In 
 1786, the distinguished honor fell to him 
 of being appointed the first minister from 
 the United States to the court of St. 
 James; and, in tliis capacity, was duly 
 presented to his long-time political enemy. 
 King George the Third. In 1788, he 
 returned home. He sulisequently assisted 
 in forming the constitution of his native 
 state. During the eight years presidency 
 of Washington, Mr. Adams was vice-pre.s- 
 ident, and, when the former retired from 
 ofHce, Mr. Adams, after a hard political 
 contest with Jefferson and Thomas Pinck- 
 ney, became president of the United 
 
 ^/^-^rTZ, 
 
 States. At the end; however, of the first 
 four years, Mr. Jefferson canu' in by a tri- 
 umphant majority', and President Adams 
 retired to domestic life. This was in 1801, 
 when he had reached the age of sixty-six. 
 His long course of public services was 
 now ended. At the iseriod of his retire- 
 ment, he did not enjoy the unreserved and 
 cordial approbation of any party. Some 
 of his measures had gone far towards alien- 
 ating tlie federalists by whom he had oeeii. I 
 chosen president, and he had bitter ene- i 
 
 mies. Being a man of warm passions, 
 Mr. Adams was not slow to resent, nor 
 cautious to hide his resentment. He once 
 observed, pointing to his own portrait, 
 " That fellow could never keep his mouth 
 shut!" But he was always frank, and 
 inflexibly honest, as is most plainly shown 
 by the incidents given in his biography, 
 written by Hon. Charles Francis Adams. 
 
 As showing from what accidental cir- 
 cumstances often spring the most import- 
 ant changes in the lives and fortunes of 
 men, the following anecdote is well worthy' 
 of a place in this narrative: 'When I was 
 a boy,' sa_ys John Adams, ' I had to study 
 the Latin grammar, but it was dull, and I 
 hated it. My father was anxious to send 
 me to ■■ollege, and therefore I studied the 
 grammar till I could bear with it no longer, 
 and, going to my father, I told him I did 
 not like study, and asked for .some other 
 employment. It was opposing his 
 wishes, and he was quick in bis answer. 
 ' Well, John,' said he, 'if Latin gram- 
 mar iloes not suit you, you may try 
 ditching; perhaps that will. My 
 meadow yonder needs a ditch, and you 
 may jiut liy Latin and try that.' This 
 seemed a delightful change, and to the 
 meadow I went. But I soon found 
 ditching harder than Latin, and the first 
 forenoon was the longest I ever expe- 
 rienced. That day I ate the bread of 
 labor, and glad was I when night came 
 on. That night I made some compar- 
 ison between Latin grammar and ditch- 
 ing, but said not a word about it. I 
 dug the next forenoon,' and wanted to 
 return to Latin at dinner ; but it was 
 humiliating, and I could not do it. At 
 night, toil conquered pride, and I told 
 my father — one of the severest trials of 
 my life — that, if he chose, I would go back 
 to Latin grammar. He was glad of it; 
 and if I have since gained any distinction, 
 it has been owing to the two daj's' labor 
 in that abominable ditch.' 
 
 Declining farther and farther into the 
 vale of years, and now long removed from 
 the dust of contending narties, the hoary 
 sage drevr towards his sepulchre. Fot 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSAKY OF INDEPENDENCE — 1826. 
 
 195 
 
 several days before the fourth of July on 
 which he expired, he had been fast failing, 
 though, in reply to an invitation to partici- 
 pate in the celebration of that day, he 
 wrote a patriotic note, full of the fire of 
 his best days. Being desired to furnish a 
 toast for the occasion, he gave — ' Inde- 
 pendence Forever ! ' He was asked if 
 anything should be added to it. He imme- 
 diately replied, "Not a word!" This 
 toast was drank at the celebration in 
 Quincy, about fifty minutes before the 
 departure of the venerated statesman from 
 earth. On the morning of the fourth, 
 which was ushered in b}' the ringing of 
 bells and firing of cannon, he was asked if 
 he knew what day it was ? — " yes," he 
 replied, ''it is the glorious fourth of July 
 — God bless it ! — God bless j'ou all ! " In 
 the course of the day he said, " It is a 
 great and glorious day." The last words 
 he uttered were, "Jefferson survives!" 
 But the spirit of Jefferson had already 
 left the body. Among Adams's pall- 
 bearers, were President Kirkland, Judge 
 Story, Judge Davis, and Lieutenant 
 Governor Winthrop. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, the illustrious comfjeer of 
 Adams, was born in Albemarle county, 
 Virginia, in 1743, and was entered a stu- 
 dent in the college of William and Mary. 
 On leaving this seminar^', he applied him- 
 self to the study of the law, under the 
 tuition of the celebrated George Wythe, 
 and was called to the bar in 1766. He 
 soon occupied a high stand in his profes- 
 sion, and, at the early age of twenty-five, 
 entered the house of burgesses of his 
 native state. In 1774, he published a 
 Summary View of the Rights of British 
 America, a bold but respectful pamphlet 
 addressed to the king. In 1775, he was 
 elected a member of the continental con- 
 gress, and in the following j^ear drew up 
 the Declaration of Independence, the most 
 remarkable document that has ever, in the 
 ages of the world, proceeded from an 
 uninspired pen. 
 
 Of the committee appointed to draft the 
 momentous Declaration, Jefferson, though 
 the youngest, was unanimously made 
 
 chairman, his colleagues being John 
 Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Frank- 
 lin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of 
 Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of 
 New York. Jefferson's draft was taken 
 up, in committee of the whole, on the first 
 of July, the chair being filled by Benjamin 
 Harrison, father of William Henry H:,?- 
 rison, president of the United States in 
 1840. The great manifesto w-as debatsd,. 
 and, after some slight modifications, vas 
 agreed to in the course of a three days' 
 session. No record of that thrilling debate 
 has come down ; only some fragmentary 
 reminiscences of the participants of the 
 drama. Edward Rutledge, of South Caro- 
 lina, is said to have exclaimed, "I should 
 advise persisting in our struggle for liberty 
 and independence, though it were revealed 
 from Heaven that nine hundred and ninetj'- 
 nine were to perish, and only one of a 
 thousand were to survive and retain his 
 liberty." The Declaration was adopted, 
 by a unanimous vote, a little past noon, on 
 the fourth of July. " Now, gentlemen," 
 .said the quaint Dr. Franklin to his col- 
 leagues, " we must all hang together, or 
 we »\\i\\\ surely hang separately." 
 
 Though what maj' be termed bitter 
 political rivals for a long period, — leading, 
 respectively, the two great opposing par- 
 ties, — time's mellowing iniluence changed 
 all this, and the two patriarchal statesmen 
 and ex-presidents cultivated a mutually 
 warm and generous friendship in theii old 
 age. In a letter written by Jefferson to 
 Adams, in June, 1822, he says : 
 
 " It is very long, my dear sir, since I 
 have written to you. My dislocated wrist 
 is now become so stiff, that I write slowly, 
 and with pain ; and therefore write as 
 little as I can. Yet it is due to mutual 
 friendship, to ask once in a while how we 
 do ? I have ever dreaded a doting old 
 age ; and my health has been generally so 
 good, and is now so good, that I dread it 
 still. The rapid decline of my strength 
 during the last winter, has made me hope, 
 sometimes, that I see land. During 
 summer, I enjoy its temperature, but I 
 shudder at the approach of winter, ajid 
 
19G 
 
 TROM rOLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 wish I could sleep tlu-ougli it, with the 
 dormouse, and only wake with him in 
 spring, if ever. They say that Starke 
 could walk ahout his room. I am told you 
 walk well and firmly. I can only reach 
 my garden, and that with sensible fatigue. 
 I ride, however, daily ; but reading is my 
 delight. I should wish never to put jien 
 to paper ; and the more because of the 
 
 Europe, where it excited much commenda- 
 tion, on account of the contrast it afforded 
 between an old age thus dedicated to 
 virtue, temperance, and philosoj)h3-, and 
 the heart-sickening details so often per- 
 taining to the lives of those who sit upon 
 thrones. 
 
 Thougli lie had for some time past been 
 failing in his General health, it was not 
 
 
 THE ADAMS MANSION AT yCINl V. 
 
 treacherous practice some people have, of 
 publishing one's letters without leave ; " 
 — etc., etc. 
 
 In his reply to the pleasant and cordial 
 letter, from which the above few sentences 
 are extracted as specimens, Mr. Adams 
 says, among other friendly and felicitous 
 expressions : 
 
 " Half an hour ago I received, and this 
 moment have heard read, for the third or 
 fourth time, the best letter that ever was 
 written by an octogenarian, dated June 
 1st. My sight is very dim, hearing pretty 
 good, memory i)oor enough. In wishing 
 for your health and happiness, I am veiy 
 selfish ; for I hope for more letters. This 
 is worth more than five hundred dollars to 
 me ; for it has already given me, and will 
 continue to give me, more pleasure than a 
 thousand ; " — etc., etc. 
 
 This correspondence between the once 
 rival presidents of the greatest republic of 
 the world, was republished in full, in 
 
 until the first of July 
 was confined tu his be 
 continued to sinl 
 
 that Mr. Jefferson 
 d. On the third, he 
 ear the middle of the 
 
 night he asked tnc hour ; and on being 
 told that it was near one o'clock, he 
 expressed his joy. He expressed an earn- 
 est de.jire that he might live to behold the 
 light of the next day — the fiftieth anni- 
 versary of the independence of his coun- 
 try. His prayer was answered. At fifty 
 minutes past meridian, July fourth, 1826, 
 TJiomas Jefferson ceased to breathe. 
 
 Tlius, these two most illustrious fathers 
 of the republic, — associates, rivals, friends, 
 — took their flight together to the other 
 world, on the most memorable day since 
 the birth of the nation, and all classes and 
 parties, forgetting the animosities of the 
 past, united in paying their common trib- 
 ute of reverence to the magnificent fame 
 of Adams and Jeffei'son. In the words of 
 Webster, their great eulogist, " their 
 
 NAME LIVBTU EVERMORE! 
 
 1" 
 
XX. 
 
 THE "GREAT DEBATE" BETWEEN WEBSTER AND 
 HAYNE, IN CONGRESS.— 1830. 
 
 Vital Constitutional Issues Discussed — Unsurpassed Power and Splendor of Senatorial Eloquence. — 
 Webster's Speech Acknowledged to be the Grandest Forensic Acliievement in tlie Whole Range of 
 Modern Parliamentary Efforts — Golden Age ot American Oratory. —Unprecedented Interest and 
 E.\citenient Produced In the Public Mind — N.i American Debate Comparable with This. — Known as 
 the " Battle of the Giants " — Inflamed Keeling at the South. — Hayne's Brilliant Championship. — His 
 Speech Against the North — Profound Impression Created — lis Dasli, Assurance, Severity — Bitter 
 and Sweeping Charges. — His Opponents Wonder-Struck —Webster has the Floor to Reply. — .^n 
 Ever-Memorable Day. — Intense Anxiety to Hear Him. — Magnificent Personal Appearance. — His 
 E.xordium. all Hearts Enchained. — Immense Intellectual Range — Copious and Crushing Logic. — 
 Accumulative Grandeur of Thought — TlirUling Apostrophe to the Union. — The Serious, Comic, 
 Pathetic, etc — Hayne's Argument Demolished — Reception Accorded the Speech. — Rival Orators; 
 Pleasant Courtesies. 
 
 •' It has been my fortune to hear some of the ablest epeechen of the greatest living orators on both sides of the water, but I must confess I 
 never heard anythinir whict> so rompletely realized my conception of what Demosthenes was when he delivered the Oration for the Crown." 
 
 ^EllWARD EVEKETT ON WEBSTER'S SPEECH. 
 
 'Jv.'^i^^ , \^ \,^ = "^^^7/=^ HE remark made by a distinguished public man. 
 <*,^u^.rr /x,.>>;>^:3~,-,v<A r kjf^t. rj'i tliat. to have lieard tlie great national debate ill tlie 
 
 senate of the United States, between Webster of 
 Massachusetts and Hayne of South Carolina, "con- 
 tsM'T" ^^'^^^S^''' ""c" Y^^W'^Sy-'^ stituted an era in a man's life," is an expression 
 ^IM\ f""^/>~'''°.tP''°''/il^Bjbw^ worthy of being expanded into the far more com- 
 mensurate statement that the debate in question 
 constituted an era of far-reaching influence and 
 importance, in the political history of the nation. 
 It was, indeed, the greatest forensic exhibition this 
 country has ever witnessed, and, though nearly 
 a century has elapsed since its occurrence, and the immediate participants and their 
 official contemporaries have, almost all of them, long since passed to the sphere of 
 aiKither existence, the occasion still furnishes, and will continue tn fui'uish to future 
 generations, one of the most instructive chaiJters in the annals of national affairs. 
 Well has the debate been called ' the battle of the giants.' 
 
 Fortunately for those who would wish, in after time, to inform themselves with ref- 
 erence to the principles involved and the chief netors engaged m this great debate. 
 
 THE victor's wreath. 
 
198 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD TOWER. 
 
 the memorials of the occasion furnislieJ 
 by Mr. Marcli, and, subsequently, by Mr. 
 Lanuian, Dr. Teti't, Louis GaylorJ Clark, 
 Edward Everett, and others, leave nothing 
 to be supplied. Mr. March's notes are 
 adopted by Mr. Everett, in his memoirs of 
 Mr. Webster, and, in au abridged form, 
 are given below, in connection with the 
 perspicuous statements of Tefft and others 
 relating to the general issue. The sjseech 
 was also reported by Mr. Joseph Gales, 
 at the request of Judge Burnett, of Ohio, 
 and other senators. On canvas, too, Hea- 
 ley, the master-painter, has commem- 
 orated in an enduring manner, the orator 
 and the occasion. 
 
 The subject of discussion before the 
 senate, in the persons of these two intel- 
 lectual gladiators, grew out of a resolution 
 brought forward by Senator Foot, of Con- 
 necticut, just at the close of the previous 
 year, with a view to some arrangement 
 concerning the sale of tlie public lauds. 
 But this immediate question was soon lost 
 sight of in the discussion of a great, vital 
 j)rinciple of constitutional law, namely : 
 the relative powers of the states and the 
 national government. Upon this, Mr. 
 Benton and Mr. Hayne addressed the 
 senate, condemning the policy of the east- 
 ern states, as illiberal toward the west. 
 Mr. Webster replied, in vindication of 
 New England and of the policy of the 
 government. It was then that Mr. Hayne 
 made his attack — sudden, unexpected, and 
 certainly une.xamiiled, — on Mr. Webster 
 personally, upon Massachusetts and the 
 other northern states politically, and upon 
 the constitution itself; in respect to the 
 latter, Mr. Hayne taking the position, that 
 it is constitutional to interrupt the admin- 
 istration of the constitution itself, in the 
 hands of those who are chosen and sworn 
 to administer it, by the direct interference, 
 in form of law, of the states, in virtue of 
 their sovereign capacity. All of these 
 points were handled by Mr. Hayne with 
 that rhetorical brilliancy and power which 
 characterized him as the oratorical cham- 
 pion of the south, on the floor of the 
 senate ; and it is not saying too much. 
 
 that the sjjeech produced a jirofound im- 
 pression. 
 
 Mr. Ha3'ne's great effort appeared to be 
 the result of premeditation, concert and 
 arrangement. He selected his own time, 
 and that, too, peculiarly inconvenient to 
 Mr. Webster, for, at that moment, the 
 supreme court were proceeding in the 
 hearing of a cause of great importance, in 
 which he was a leading counsel. For this 
 reason, he requested, through a friend, a 
 postponement of the debate ; Mr. Hayne 
 objected, however, and the request was 
 refused. The time, the matter, and the 
 manner, indicated that the attack was 
 made with a design to crush so formidable 
 a political opponent as Mr. Webster had 
 become. To this end, jiersonal history, 
 the annals of New England and of the 
 federal 2J'ii't"yj were ransacked for materi- 
 als. It was attempted, witli the usual 
 partisan unfairness of political harangues, 
 to make him responsible, not only for what 
 was his own, but for the conduct and opin- 
 ions of others. All the errors and delin- 
 quencies, real or supposed, of Massachu- 
 setts, and the eastern states, and of the 
 federal party, during the war of 1812, and, 
 indeed, prior and subsequent to that 
 period, were accumulated uj)on him. 
 
 Thus it was, that Mr. Hayne heralded 
 his speech with a bold declaration of war, 
 with taunts and threats, vaunting antici- 
 pated triumph, as if to paralyze by intimi- 
 dation ; saying that he would carr\' the 
 war into Africa, until he had obtained 
 indemnit_v for the past and security for the 
 future. It was supposed that, as a distin- 
 guished representative man, Mr. Webster 
 would be driven to defend what was inde- 
 fensible, and to ujihold what could not be 
 sustained, and, as a federalist, to oppose 
 the popular resolutions of '98. 
 
 The severe nature of Mr. Haj-ne's 
 charges, the ability with wbirh he brought 
 them to bear upon his opjjonents, his great 
 reputation as a brilliant and powerful 
 declaimer, filled the minds of his friends 
 with anticipations of comjilete triumph. 
 For two days, Mr. Hayne had the control 
 of the floor. The vehemence of his Ian- 
 
GREAT DEBATE BETWEEN WEBSTEK AXD HAYXE — 1S;JU. 
 
 lii') 
 
 guage and the earnestness of liis manner 
 gave added force to the excitement of the 
 occasion. So fluent and melodious was his 
 elocution, that his cause naturally begat 
 sympathy. No one liad time to deliberate 
 upon his rapid words, orcanva.ss his sweep- 
 ing and accumulated statements. The 
 dashing nature of the onset ; the assurance, 
 almost insolence, of its tone; tlie serious 
 character and apparent truth of the accu- 
 sations, confounded almost every liearer. 
 The immediate impression from the speech 
 was most assuredly disheartening to the 
 cause Mr. Webster upheld. Congratula- 
 tions from almost every quarter were show- 
 ered upon the speaker. Mr. Benton said, 
 in the full senate, that much as Mr. Hayne 
 had done before to establish his reputation 
 as an orator, a statesman, a patriot, and a 
 gallant son of the south, the efforts of tliat 
 day would eclipse and surpass the whole. 
 Indeed, the speech was extolled as the 
 greatest effort of the time, or of other 
 times, — neither Chatham, nor Burke, nor 
 Fox, had surpassed it, in their jmlmiest 
 days. 
 
 Satisfaction, however, with the speech, 
 even among the friends of the orator, was 
 not unanimous. Some of the senators 
 knew, for they had felt, Mr. Webster's 
 power. The}- knew the great resources of 
 his mind; the immense range of his intel- 
 lect; the fertility of his imagination; his 
 copious and fatal logic; the scathing sever- 
 ity of his sarcasm, and his full and electri- 
 fying eloquence. Mr. Webster's own 
 feelings with reference to the speech were 
 freely expressed to his friend, Mr. Everett, 
 the evening succeeding Mr. Hayne's clos- 
 ing effort. He regarded the speech as an 
 entirely unprovoked attack upon the north, 
 and, what was of far more importance, as 
 an exposition of a system of politics, 
 which, in Mr. Webster's opinion, went far 
 to change the form of government from 
 that which was established by the consti- 
 tution, into that which existed under the 
 confederation, — if the latter could be called 
 a government at all. He stated it to be 
 his intention, therefore, to put that theory 
 to rest forever, as far as it could be done 
 
 by an argument in the senate-chamber. 
 How grandly he did this, is thus vividly 
 portrayed by i\lr. March, an ej'e-witness, 
 and whose account has been adopted by all 
 historians: » 
 
 It was on Tuesday, January the twenty- 
 sixth, 1830, — a da\' to be hereafter forever 
 memorable in senatorial annals, — that the 
 senate resumed the consideration of Foot's 
 resolution. There was never before in the 
 city, an occasion of so much excitement. 
 To witness this great intellectual contest, 
 multitudes of strangers had for two or 
 
 ROBERT Y HAVXE. 
 
 three daj-s previous Ijeen rushing into the 
 city, and the hotels overflowed. As early 
 as nine o'clock in the morning, crowds 
 poured into the capitol, in hot haste ; at 
 twelve o'clock, the hour of meeting, the 
 senate-chamber, — its galleries, floor, and 
 even the lobbies, — was filled to its utmost 
 capacity. The very stairways were dark 
 with men, who hung on to one another, 
 like bees in a swarm. 
 
 The house of representatives was early 
 deserted. An adjournment would hardly 
 have made it emptier. The sjieaker, it is 
 true, retained his chair, but no business of 
 moment was, or could be, attended to. 
 Members all rushed in, to hear Mr. Web- 
 ster, and no call of the house, or other par- 
 liamentary proceedings, could compel them 
 back. The floor of the senate was so 
 
200 
 
 .FEo:\r roLoxY to v;oKLn powee. 
 
 densely crowded, tlint persons once in 
 could not get out. nor cluinge their posi- 
 tion. In the re;ir of the vice-president's 
 chair, the crowd was particularly dense; 
 Hon. Dixon II. Lewis, then a representa- 
 tive from Alahania, became wedged in 
 here. From his enormous size, it was 
 impossible for him to move without dis- 
 jilacing a vast portion, of the multitude; 
 unfortunately, too, for him, he was 
 jammed in directly f.ehind tlie (duiir of the 
 vice-president, where he could not see, and 
 could hardly hear, the speaker-. By slow 
 and laborious effort — p.ausing occasionally 
 to breathe — he gained one of the windows, 
 which, constructed of painted glass, flanked 
 the chair of the vice-president on eitlier 
 side. Here he paused, unable to make 
 more headway. But determined to see 
 Mr. Webster, as he spoke, with his knife 
 he made a large hole in one of the j)anes 
 of glass. The courtesy of senators ac- 
 corded to the fairer sex room on the floor 
 — the most gallant of them, their own 
 seats. 
 
 Seldom, if ever, has speaker in this or 
 any other country, had more powerful 
 incentives to exertion ; a sidiject, the 
 determination of which involved the most 
 important interests, and even duration, of 
 the republic ; comijetitors, unequaled in 
 reputation, ability, or position ; a name to 
 make still more renowned, or lose forever ; 
 and an audience, comprising not only 
 American citizens most eminent in intel- 
 lectual greatness, Init representatives of 
 other nations, where the art of eloquence 
 li.id flourished for ages. 
 
 ]Mr. Weljster perceived, and felt equal 
 to, the destinies of the moment. The very 
 greatness of the hazard exhilarated him. 
 I lis spirits rose with the occasion. He 
 awaited the time of onset with a stern and 
 impatient joy. He felt, like the war-horse 
 of the scriptures, who ' paweth in the 
 valley, and rejoiceth in Ifis strength : who 
 goetli on to meet the .armed men, — who 
 sa3-eth among the trumpets, ha, ha! and 
 who smelleth the battle afar off, the thun- 
 der of the captains and the shouting.' A 
 confidence in his resources, springing from 
 
 no vain estimate of his pow'er, but the 
 legitimate offspring of previous severe 
 mental discipline, sustained and excited 
 him. He had gauged his opponents, his 
 subject, and fiinisi'/f. He was, too, at this 
 period, in the very prime of manhood. He 
 had reache<l middle age — an era in the life 
 of man, when the faculties, physical or 
 intellectual, may be supposed to attain 
 their fullest organization, and most perfect 
 development. Whatever there was in 
 him of intellectual energj' and vitality, the 
 occasion, his full life and high ambition, 
 might well bring forth. 
 
 He never rose on an ordinary occasion 
 to address an ordinary' audience more self- 
 possessed. There was no tremulousness in 
 liis voice nor manner; nothing hurried, 
 nothing simulated. The calmness of supe- 
 rior strength was visible everywhere ; in 
 countenance, voice, and bearing. A deep- 
 seated conviction of the extraordinary 
 character of the emergency, and of his 
 ability to control it, seemed to possess him 
 wholly. If an oliserver, more than ordi- 
 narily keen-sighted, detected at times 
 something like exultation in his ej'e, he 
 presumed it sprang from the excitement of 
 the moment, and the anticipation of 
 •(•ictory. 
 
 The anxiety to hear the speech was so, 
 intense, irrejsressible, and universal, that 
 no sooner had the vice-president assumed 
 the chair, than a motion was made and 
 unanimously carried, to postpone the ordi- 
 nary preliminaries of senatorial action, and 
 to take up immediately the consideration 
 of the resolution. 
 
 Mr. Welister rose and addressed the 
 senate. His exordium is known by heart 
 everywhere : " Mr. President, when the 
 mai-iner has lieen tossed, for many days, in 
 thick weather, and on an unknown sea, he 
 natur.ally avails himself of the first pause 
 in the storm, the earliest glance of the 
 sun, to take his latitude, and ascertain how 
 far the elements have driven him from his 
 true course. Let us imitate this prudence ; 
 and before we float further, on the waves 
 of this debate, refer to the point from 
 which we departed, that we maj-, at least, 
 
GREAT DEBATE BETWEEN WEBSTEK AXD llAYA'E — ls30. 
 
 lU] 
 
 be able to form some conjecturo wliere we 
 now are. I ask for tlie reading of the res- 
 olution." Calm, resolute, impressive, was 
 this opening utterance. 
 
 There wanted no more to enchain the 
 attention. There was a spontaneous, 
 though silent, expression of eager approba- 
 tion, as the orator concluded these opening 
 remarks. And while the clerk read the 
 resolution, many attempted the impossibil- 
 ity of getting nearer the speaker. Every 
 head was inclined closer towards him, 
 every ear turned in the direction of his 
 voice — and that deep, sudden, mysterious 
 silence followed, which always attends full- 
 ness of emotion. From the sea of up- 
 turned faces before him, the orator beheld 
 his thoughts reflected as from a mirror. 
 The varying countenance, the suffused eye, 
 the earnest smile, and ever-attentive look, 
 assured him of the intense interest excited. 
 If, among his hearers, there were those 
 who affected at first an indifference to his 
 glowing thoughts and fervent periods, the 
 difficult mask was soon laid aside, and 
 profound undisguised, devoted attention 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 followed. In truth, all, sooner or later, 
 voluntarily, or in spite of themselves, were 
 wholly carried away by the spell of such 
 unexampled forensic eloquence. 
 
 Those who had doubted Mr. Webster's 
 ability to cope with and overcome his 
 
 opponents were fully satisfied of their- 
 error before he had proceeded far in his 
 speech. Their fears soon took another 
 direction. When they heard his sentences 
 of powerful thought, towering in accumu- 
 lative grandeur, one above tlie other, as 
 if the orator strove, Titan-like, to reach 
 tlie very heavens themselves, the^' were 
 giddy with an apprehension that he would 
 break down in his flight. Tlie^- dared not 
 believe, that genius, learning, — any intel- 
 lectual endowment, liowever uncommon, 
 that was simply- mortal, — could sustain 
 itself long in a career seemingly so jierd- 
 ous. They feared an Icarian fall. 
 
 No one, surely, could ever forget, who 
 was present to hear, the tremendous — the 
 awful — burst of eloquence with which the 
 orator apostrophized the old Baj- State 
 which Mr. Hayne had so derided, or the 
 tones of deep pathos in which her defense 
 was pironounced : " Mr. President, I shall 
 enter on no encomium upon Massachusetts. 
 There she is^behold her and judge for 
 yourselves. There is her history; the 
 world knows it by heart. The past, at 
 least, is secure. There is Boston, and 
 Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill, 
 — and there they will remain forever. 
 The bones of her sons, falling in the great 
 struggle for independence, now lie min- 
 gled with the soil of every state, from New 
 England to Georgia ; and there they will 
 lie forever. And, sir, where American 
 liberty raised its first voice, and where its 
 youth was nurtured and sustained, there it 
 still lives, in the strength of its manhood 
 and full of its original spirit. If discord 
 and disunion shall wound it — if part}'- 
 strife and blind ambition shall hawk at 
 and tear it — if folly and madness — if uneas- 
 iness under salutary and necessarj' re- 
 straint, — shall succeed to separate it from 
 that Union, by which alone its existence 
 is made sure, it will stand, in the end, by 
 the side of that cradle in which its infancy 
 was rocked : it will stretch forth its arm 
 with whatever of vigor it may still retain, 
 over the friends who gather round it ; and 
 it will fall at last, if fall it must, amidst 
 the proudest monuments of its own glory, 
 
202 
 
 FEO:\r COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 and on the very sjiot of its origin.'' No 
 New Engliind heart but tlirobbej with 
 vehement, absorbed, irrepressible emotion, 
 as Mr. Webster thus dwelt upon New 
 England sufferings, New England strug- 
 gles, and New England triuniplis, during 
 the war of the revolution. There was 
 scarcely a dry eye in the senate ; all hearts 
 were overcome ; grave judges, and men 
 grown old in dignified life, turned aside 
 their lieads, to conceal the evidences of 
 their emotion. 
 
 In one corner of tlie gallery was clus- 
 tered a group of Massachusetts men. 
 Tlie}' had hung from the first moment 
 upon the words of the speaker, with feel- 
 ings variously but always warmly excited, 
 deepening in intensity as he ]>roceeded. 
 At first, while the orator was going 
 througli hi.s exordium, they held tlieir 
 breath and Iiid tlieir faces, mindful of the 
 fierce attack upi>n him and New England, 
 and the fearful odds against any one 
 standing u]) as a chamjiion of the latter; 
 as he went deeper into his speech, they 
 felt easier; when he turned Hayne's flank 
 on " IJanquo's ghost " — that famous rhe- 
 torical figure used b}' the South Carolinian, 
 — they breathed freer and fuller. lUit 
 anon, a- ne alluded to Massachusetts, their 
 feelings were strained to the utmost ten- 
 sion ; and when the senator, concluding 
 his passages upon the land of their birth, 
 turned, intentionally or otherwise, his 
 burning eye upon them, tears were falling 
 like rain adown their cheeks. 
 
 No one who was not present can under- 
 stand the excitement of the scene. No 
 one, wlio was, can give an adequate de- 
 scription of it. No word-painting can 
 convey the deep, intense enthusiasm, — the 
 reverential attention, of that vast assem- 
 bly, — nor limner transfer to canvas their 
 earnest, eager, awe-struck countenances. 
 Tliuugli language were as subtle and flex- 
 ible as thought, it still would be impossi- 
 ble to represent the full idea of the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 Much of the instantaneous effect of the 
 s])eech arose, of course, from the orator's 
 delivery — the tones of his voice, his coun- 
 
 tenance, and manner. These die mostly 
 with the occasion ; they can only be 
 described in general terms. '■ Of the 
 effectiveness of Mr. Webster's manner, in 
 many parts," says Mr. Everett, himself 
 almost without a jieer, as an orator, "it 
 would be in ^ain to attempt to give any 
 one not present the faintest idea. It has 
 been my fortune to liear some of the ablest 
 speeches of the greatest living orators on 
 both sides of the water, but I must confess 
 I never heard anything which so com- 
 pletely realized my conception of what 
 Demosthenes was when he delivered tlie 
 Oration for the Crown." There could be 
 no higher praise than this. Kean nor 
 Kend)le, nor any other masterly delineator 
 of the human passions, ever jjroduced a 
 more powerful imjiression upon an audi- 
 ence, or swayed so comjdetely their hearts. 
 
 No one ever looked the orator, as he did, 
 — in form and feature how like a god ! His 
 countenance spake no less audiblj' than his 
 words. His manner gave new force tojiis 
 language. As he stood swaying his right 
 arm, like a huge tilt-hammer, up and 
 down, his swarthy countenance lighted up 
 with excitement, he appeared amid the 
 smoke, the fire, the thunder of his elo- 
 quence, like Vulcan in his armory forging 
 thoughts for the gods ! Time had not 
 thinned nor bleacluMl his hair; it was as 
 dark as the raven's jdumage, surmounting 
 his massive brow in ample lolds. His eye, 
 always dark and deep-set, enkindled by 
 some glowing thought, shone from beneath 
 his somber, overhanging brow like lights, 
 in the blackness of night, from a sepul- 
 chre. No one understood, better than Mr. 
 Webster, the philosophy of dress ; — what a 
 powerful auxiliary it is to speech and 
 manner, when harmonizing with them. 
 On this occasion he appeared in a blue 
 coat, a buff vest, black pants, and white 
 cravat, a costume strikingly in keeping 
 witli his face and expression. 
 
 The hunum face never wore an expres- 
 sion of mure withering, relentless scorn, 
 than when the orator replied to Hayne's 
 allusion to the " murdered coalition," — a 
 piece of stale political trumpery, well 
 
GREAT DEBATE BETWEEN WEBSTEK AXD HAYXE — 1S30. 
 
 •203 
 
 understood at that day. " It is," said Mr. 
 Webster, '• tlie very cast-off slough of a 
 polluted and shan>eless press. Incapable 
 of further mischief, it lies in the sewer, 
 lifeless and despised. It is not now, sir, 
 in the power of the honorable member to 
 give it dignity or decency, by attempting 
 to elevate it, and introduce it into the 
 senate. He cannot change it from what 
 it is — an object of general disgust and 
 scorn. On the contrary, the contact, if he 
 choose to touch it, is more likely to drag 
 him down, down to the place where it lies 
 itself!" He looked, as he spoke these 
 words, as if the thing he alluded to was 
 too mean for scorn itself, and the sharp, 
 stinging enunciation, made the words still 
 more scathing. The audience seemed 
 relieved, — so crushing was the expression 
 of his face which they held on to, as 'twere, 
 spell-bound, — when he turned to other 
 topics. 
 
 But the good-natured yet provoking 
 irony with which he described the imagin- 
 ary though life-like scene of direct collision 
 between the marshaled army of South 
 Carolina under General Hayne on the one 
 side, and the officers of the United States 
 on the other, nettled his opponent even 
 more than his severer satire; it seemed so 
 ridiculously true. With his true Southern 
 blood, Hayne inquired, with some degree 
 of emotion, if the gentleman from Massa- 
 chusetts intended any personal imputation 
 by such remarks ? To -which Mr. Web- 
 stc replied, with perfect good humor, 
 " Assuredly not — just the reverse ! " 
 
 The variety of incident during the 
 speech, and the rapid fluctuation of pas- 
 sions, kept the audience in continual 
 expectation, and ceaseless agitation. The 
 speech was a complete drama of serious, 
 comic, and pathetic scenes ; and though a 
 large portion of it was strictly argumenta- 
 tive — an exposition of constitutional law, 
 — yst, grave as such portion necessarily 
 must be, severely logical, and abounding 
 in no fancy or episode, it engrossed, 
 throughout, undivided attention. 
 
 The swell of his voice and its solemn 
 roll struck upon the ears of the enraptured 
 
 audience, in deep and thrilling cadence, as 
 waves upon the shore of the far-resound- 
 ing sea. The Miltonic grandeur of his 
 words was the fit expression of his great 
 thoughts, and raised his hearers up to his 
 theme ; and his voice, exerted to its utmost 
 power, penetrated every recess or corner 
 of the senate — penetrated even the ante- 
 rooms and stairways, as, in closing, he 
 pronounced in deepest tones of pathos 
 these words of solemn significance: 
 "When my eyes shall be turned to behold, 
 for the last time, the sun in heaven, may 
 I not see him shining on the broken and 
 dishonored fragments of a once glorious 
 Union ; on states dissevered, discordant, 
 belligerent; on a land rent with civil 
 feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal 
 blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering 
 glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign 
 of the republic, now known and honored 
 throughout the earth, still full high 
 advanced, its arms and trophies streaming 
 in their original luster, not a strij)e erased 
 nor polluted, not a single star obscured, 
 bearing for its motto no such miserable 
 interrogator}- as, "What is all this worth ?" 
 — nor those other words of delusion and 
 folly, " Liberty first and Union after- 
 wards : " but everywhere, spread all over 
 in characters of living light, blazing on all 
 its ample folds, as they float over the sea 
 and over the land, and in every wind 
 under the whole heavens, that other senti- 
 ment, dear to every American heart, 
 "Liberty and Uniox, now and for- 
 ever, ONE AND INSEPARABLE ! " 
 
 The speech was over, but the tones of 
 the orator still lingered upon the ear, and 
 the audience, unconscious of the close, 
 retained their positions. Everywhere 
 around seemed forgetfulness of all but the 
 orator's presence and words. There never 
 was a deeper stillness ; silence could almost 
 have heard itself, it was so supernaturally 
 still. The feeling was too overpowering, 
 to allow expression by voice or hand. It 
 was as if one was in a trance, all motion 
 paralyzed. But the descending hammer 
 of the chair awoke them, with a start ; and 
 with one universal, long drawn, deeu 
 
204 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 WKBSTER'S REPLY TO HAYNE. 
 
 breath, with which tlie ovt'i-charijcil lirart 
 seeks relief, the crowded assembly broke 
 up and departed. 
 
 New England men walkeil down Penn- 
 sylvania avenue that day, after the speech, 
 with a firmer step and bolder air — ' pride 
 in their port, defiance in their eye.' They 
 devoured the way in their stride. They 
 looked every one in the face they met, 
 fearing no contradiction. They swarmed 
 in the streets, having become miraculously 
 multitudinous. Tliey clustered in parties 
 and fought the scene over one hundred 
 times that niglit. Their elation was 
 the greater, by reaction. Not one of 
 them but felt ho had gained a personal 
 victory. 
 
 In the evening, General Jackson held a 
 presidential levee at the AVhite House. It 
 was known, in advance, that Mr. Webster 
 would attend it, ami hardly had the hos- 
 pitable doors of the mansion been thrown 
 open, when the crowd that had filled the 
 senate-chamber in the morning rushed in 
 
 and oc<'upied the rooms, leaving a vast 
 and increasing crowd at the entrance. 
 On all previous occasions, the general 
 himself had been the observed of all 
 observers. His receptions were always 
 gladly attended by large numbers ; and 
 to these lie himself was always the chief 
 object of attraction, on account of his 
 great military and personal reputation, 
 official position, gallant bearing, and 
 courteous manners. 
 
 But on this occasion, the room in which 
 he received his company was deserted, as 
 soon as courtesy to the president permitted. 
 Mr. Webster w-as in the East Room, and 
 thither the whole mass hurried. He stood 
 almost in the center of the room, pressed 
 upon by surging crowds, eager to paj' him 
 deference. Haj'ne, too, was there, and, with 
 others. went ujiand complimented Mr. Web- 
 ster on his brilliant effort. In a subsequent 
 meeting between the two rival debaters, 
 Webster challenged Hayne to drink a glass 
 of wine with him, saying, as he did so, — 
 
GEEAT DEBATE BETWEEN WEBSTER AND IIAYXE — 1S30. 205 
 
 " General Hajnie, I drink to your health, 
 and I hope that you may live a thousand 
 j'ears." 
 
 '• I shall not live more than one hundred, 
 if you make another such speech," Ha^-ne 
 replied. 
 
 To this day, Webster's speech is re- 
 garded as the masterpiece of modern elo- 
 quence, — unsurpassed bj- even the might- 
 iest efforts of Pitt, Fox, or Burke, — a 
 matchless intellectual achievement and 
 complete forensic triumph. It was to this 
 great and triumphant effort, that Mr. 
 Webster's subsequent matchless fame as a 
 statesman was due ; and, that he was 
 eqTial to comp)rel)ending the true principles 
 of international, as well as those of inter- 
 nal, justice and poliej-, is abundantly 
 proved by his diplomacy with Great Brit- 
 ain, to which the highest credit is awarded 
 by Eliot, the accomplished historian, in his 
 foncise and admirable review of public 
 affairs during this period. An insurrec- 
 tion (says Mr. Eliot) having broken out 
 in Canada, it was immediately supported 
 by American piarties, the insurgents being 
 in favor of reform or independence. One 
 of these American jiarties, in company 
 with some Canadian refugees, after pillag- 
 ing the New York arsenals, seized upon 
 Navy Island, a British possession in the 
 Niagara river. Mr. Marcy was governor 
 of New York at this time. The steamer 
 Caroline, engaged in bringing over men, 
 arms, and stores to the island, was de- 
 stroyed, though at the time on the Ameri- 
 can shore, by a Britsh detachment. The 
 deed was instantlj' avowed by the minister 
 of Great Britain at Washington as an act 
 of self-defense on the British side. One 
 of the chief characters in these exciting 
 movements was William M'Kenzie. In 
 November, 1840, one Alexander M'Leod, 
 
 sheriff of Niagara, in Canada, and as such 
 a particijjator in the destruction of the 
 Caroline, was arrested in New Y'ork on 
 the charge of murder, an American having 
 lost liis life when the steamer was de^ 
 strnyed. The British government de- 
 manded his release, in doing which they 
 v.cre sustained by the United States 
 administration, on the ground that M'Leod 
 was but an agent or soldier of Great Brit- 
 ain. But the authorities of New York 
 liekl fast to their prisoner, and brought 
 him to trial. Had harm come to liini, his 
 government stood pledged to declare war ; 
 but he was acquitted for want of proof. 
 The release of M"Leod did not, however, 
 settle the affair of the Caroline ; this still 
 remained. There were, or there had been, 
 other difficulties also, — namely, upon the 
 Maine frontier, where the boundary-line 
 had never yet been run. Collisions took 
 place, between the Maine militia and the 
 British troops, and others had been but 
 just prevented. On Mr. Webster's acces- 
 sion to the state department, our govern- 
 ment projiosed, through Mr. Webster, to 
 the British cabinet, to take uj) the north- 
 eastern boundary question. The offer was 
 accepted by the British, who sent, as spe- 
 cial envoy. Lord Ashburton, to whom was 
 committed the boundary and other contro- 
 verted questions. The consultations be- 
 tween Mr. Weoster and Lord Ashburton 
 led to a treat}'' which settled the boundary, 
 put down the claim to visit our vessels, 
 and provided for the mutual surrender of 
 fugitives from justice. For the affair of 
 the Caroline, an ai^ology was made by 
 Great Britain. 
 
 The fame of IVIr. Webster, as an 
 orator, a statesman, and an expounder oi 
 p'jblic law, thus became world-wide and 
 unrivaledo 
 
XXI. 
 
 STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHT OF PETITION IN CON- 
 GRESS.— 1836. 
 
 John Quincy Adams, the " Old Man Eloquent," Carries on a Contest of Eleven Days, Single-Handed, 
 in its Defense, in the House of Representatives — Passage of tlie " Gag Rule."— Expulsion and Asshs- 
 eination Threatened. — His Unquailing Courage. — A Spectacle Unwitnessed Betore in the Halls of 
 Legislation — Triumph of His Master Mind — The Right and Petition a Constitutional One. — Indiscrim- 
 inate ami Unrestricted. — Anti-Slavery Petitions. — Mr. Adams Their Champion. — An Unpopular Posi- 
 tion. — He Defies every Menace — His Bold and Intrepid Conduct. — The North and South at Variance. 
 Monster Petitions Pour In — A Memorial from Slaves. — Wild Tumult in the House, — Cries of " E.xpel 
 the Old Scoundrel!" — Proposal to Censure and Disgrace Him — Mr. Adams Unmoved Amidst the 
 Tempest — Eloquence and Indomitableness — A Petition to Dissolve the Union. — Increased E.xasper- 
 ation. — Violent and Denunciatory Dehate — Sublime Bearing nf Mr. Adams. — Vindicated and Vic- 
 torious at Last. — What He Lived to See — Honor from His Opponents. 
 
 " Though flged, he was bo iron of limb. 
 None of tile •■cmtli c<iuld cope with him; 
 And the f<.<ii wliinii he Hinglv kei>t at bay. 
 Outnumbered hi*, huirs ol white and l^ray." 
 
 NERABLE in years, and laden witli political 
 honors — such as a king might he ])roiul of, John 
 Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the 
 house of representatives at Washington, in 1831. 
 It was about this time, that the anti-slavery socie- 
 ties of the North began to petition congress for the 
 abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, the 
 inhiliition of the inter-state slave-trade, and kin- 
 dred measures. Though comparatively few at the 
 outset, the petitioners for these objects increased 
 greatly in numbers during the next four or five 
 years, until they reached, in one congress, three- 
 fourths of a million. But not all of these petition- 
 ers were 'abolitionists,' in the then commonly- 
 accepted meaning of that term. In the defense of 
 the untrammeled right of petition, as also that of 
 MONSTiiB i-KimoN TO CONGRESS. t'l^ frecdom of speech and of the press, it became 
 
 evident to considerate men, of aU parties, that not alone was the right to discuss and 
 petition in regard to slavery involved, but that vital constitutional principles were at 
 stake, and that these must be defended, irresjicctive of the merits of the particular sub- 
 ject over which the battle was waged. It was upon this broad ground that Mr. Adams, 
 
STRUGGLE FOR THE EIGHT OF PETITION — 183G. 
 
 12 (J7 
 
 'the old man eloquent,' as he was famil- 
 iarly called, became at once the champion 
 of freedom of debate and the right of peti- 
 tion in the national legislature, making 
 not America only, but the civilized world, 
 resound with the clash of the conflict. Of 
 the long and eventful life of this extraor- 
 dinary man, the chapter covering the 
 events here recorded may perhaps be 
 regarded as the most striking and brilliant. 
 The exalted positions he had held, almost 
 from the very foundation of the govern- 
 ment, his multifarious learning, his world- 
 wide renown, lent luster to the cause ; 
 while his exhaustless resources, his skill in 
 debate, his dauntless courage and indomit- 
 able will, were a tower of strength to its 
 friends, and, as the sequel will show, a 
 source of mortification and discomfit- 
 ure to its foes. No threats and no tu- 
 mults could for a moment cause him to 
 quail or waver in his heroic determina- 
 tion. 
 
 On the twelfth of December, 1831, Mr. 
 Adams, then at the very outset of his con- 
 gressional career, presented fifteen peti- 
 tions, all numerously signed, from inhabi- 
 tants of Pennsylvania, praying for the 
 abolition of slavery and the slave-trade in 
 the District of Columbia. In presenting 
 these petitions, Mr. Adams remarked, that 
 although the petitioners were not his 
 immediate constituents, he inferred, from a 
 letter which accompanied the petitions, 
 that they came from members of the Soci- 
 ety of Friends, or Quakers, — a body of 
 men, he declared, than whom there was no 
 more respectable and worthy- class of citi- 
 zens in the whole country. At the same 
 time, while he considered that the petitions 
 for the abolition of the slave-trade in the 
 District related to a proper subject for the 
 legislation of Congress, he did not approve 
 of those which prayed for the congressional 
 abolition of slavery there. 
 
 Similar petitions were constantly for- 
 warded from different parts of the land, 
 during successive terms of congress, for 
 Mr. Adams to present, the parties well 
 knowing that they could rely upon his 
 scrupulous fidelity to them in the high 
 
 places of power, and that, against all men- 
 aces or blandishments, he would intrepidly 
 advocate that most sacred privilege of free- 
 men — the right of jjetition. 
 
 ISecomiug alarmed at these demonstra- 
 tions, the southern members of congress 
 determined to arre.st them, and, on tlie 
 eighth of February, 1836, a committee of 
 the house was appointed to consider wiiat 
 disposition should be made of petitions and 
 memorials of this nature. The report of 
 this committee consisted, in substance, of 
 three resolutions, as follows : First, that 
 congress could not constitutionally inter- 
 fere with slaverj' in any of the states ; 
 second, that it ought not to interfere with 
 slavery in the District of Columbia ; third, 
 that all petitions, propositions, or papers of 
 an_y kind, relating to the subject, should, 
 if brought before congress, be laid upon 
 the table, without liberty of debate, and 
 receive no further action. Tliis repoH 
 was the casting of the die. Well was it 
 called the "Gag Rule." 
 
 When the first of these resolutions was 
 taken up, Mr. Adams said, if the house 
 would allow him five minutes' time, he 
 would prove the resolution to be untrue. 
 His request was denied. On the third 
 declaration, Mr. Adams refused to vote, 
 and sent to the speaker's chair the follow- 
 ing protest, demanding that it should be 
 placed on the journal of the house, there 
 to stand to the latest posterity : 
 
 " I hold the resolution to be a direct vio- 
 lation of the constitution of the United 
 States, of the rules of this house, and of 
 the rights of my constituents." 
 
 Notwithstanding the rule embodied in 
 this resolution virtually trampled the right 
 of petition into the dust, yet it was adopted 
 by the house, by a large majority. But 
 Mr. Adams was not to be baffled by this 
 arbitrary restriction. Petitions on the 
 subject of slavery continued to be trans- 
 mitted to him in increased numbers, some 
 of them of monster size, bearing thousands 
 of signatures. With unwavering firmness 
 — against a bitter and unscrupulous oppo- 
 sition, exasperated to the highest pitch by 
 bis unconquerable pertinacity — amidst a 
 
108 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOltLD rOvv'Elt. 
 
 perfect tempest of vituperation and abuse 
 — lie persevered, unvanqiiished, in present- 
 ing these petitions, one b^y one, to the 
 amount sometimes of two hundred in a 
 day, and demanding tlie attention of the 
 house on each separate petition. His 
 position in tliese scenes, — advocating, 
 amidst scorn and derision, and threats of 
 expulsion and assassination, the inalienable 
 
 right of petition for the poorest and hum- 
 blest in the land, — was in the highest 
 degree illustrious and sublime ; a spectacle 
 unwitnessed before in the halls of legisla- 
 tion. 
 
 On the sixth of January, 1837, Mr. 
 Adams ])reseiited the petition of one hun- 
 dred and fifty women, whom he stated to 
 be the wives and daughters of his immedi- 
 ate constituents, praying for the abolition 
 of slavery in the District of Columbia; 
 and he moved that the petition be read. 
 Objection was maile, whereupon Mr. 
 Adams remarked tliat, understanding that 
 it was not the petition itself which was 
 laid upon the table, but the motion to 
 receive, he gave notice that he should call 
 up that motion, for decision, every day, so 
 long as freedom of speech was allowed to 
 him as a member of the liouse. Being 
 called to order at this stage of proceedings, 
 Mr. Adams said he would then have the 
 honor of presenting to the house the peti- 
 tion of two hundred and twenty-eiglit 
 women, the wives and daughters of his 
 
 immediate constituents; and, as a part of 
 the speech which he intended to make, he 
 would take the liberty of reading the peti- 
 tion, which was not long, and would not 
 consume much time. Objection being 
 made to the reception of the petition, Mr. 
 Adams at once proceeded to read, that the 
 petitioners, inhabitants of South Wey- 
 mouth, in the state of Massachusetts, 
 "im])ressed witli the sinfulness of slavery, 
 and keenly aggrieved by its existence in 
 a part of our country over which con- 
 gress " 
 
 Here Mr. Pinckney, of South Carolina, 
 I'ose to a question of order, and, after a 
 brisk colloquy in the house, the sjjeaker 
 ruled that Mr. Adams must confine him- 
 self to stating the contents of the petition. 
 
 Mr. Adams. — I am doing so, sir. 
 
 The SpeaJca: — Not in the opinion of 
 the chair. 
 
 JJi: Ad'Hii.'i. — I was at this point of the 
 petition: "Keenly aggrieved by its exist- 
 ence in a jiart of our country over which 
 congress possesses exclusive jurisdiction 
 in all cases whatsoever " 
 
 Loud cries of '• Order," "Order ! " 
 
 ])fr. Aihniis. — "])o most earnestly peti- 
 tion your honorable body " 
 
 Mr. Chambers, of Kentucky, rose to a 
 point of order.' 
 
 Mr. Adams. — "Immediately to abolish 
 slavery in the District of Columbia " 
 
 Mr. Chambers reiterated his call to 
 order, and the Speaker directed Mr. 
 Adams to take his seat. 
 
 Mr. Adams proceeded, however, with 
 great rapidity of enunciation, and in a 
 very loud tone of voice — "And to declare 
 evert/ Inima II being free iidio sets foot upoti 
 its .w/V ./ " 
 
 The confusion in the hall at this time 
 was verj' great. The speaker decided that 
 it was not in order for a member to re.ad a 
 petition, whether it was long or short. 
 
 Mr. Adams appealed from any decision 
 which went to establish the principle that 
 a member of the United States house of 
 representatives should not have the power 
 to read what he chose. He had never 
 before heard of such a thing. If the hith- 
 
STRUGGLE FOK THE RIGHT OF PETITION — 1S30. 
 
 209 
 
 erto invariable practice was to be reversed, 
 let the decision stand ujjon record, and let 
 it appear how entirely the freedom of 
 speech was suppressed in this house. If 
 the reading of a paper was to be suppressed 
 in his person, so help him God, he would 
 only consent to it as a matter of record. 
 Saying this, he instantly resumed and 
 finished the reading of the petition, that 
 the petitioner.s 
 
 " respectfully announce their inten- 
 tion to present the same petition yearly 
 before this honorable body, that it might 
 at least be a memorial in the holy cause of 
 human freedom, that they had done what 
 they could." 
 
 These words were read by Mr. Adams, 
 at the tojJ of his voice, amidst tumultuous 
 cries of "order" from every part of the 
 house. The petition was finally received, 
 and laid upon the table. 
 
 One month after this, namely, on the 
 seventh of February', after Mr. Adams had 
 offered some two hundred or more aboli- 
 tion petitions, he came to a lialt. and, with- 
 out yielding the floor, employed himself in 
 packing up or arranging his budget of 
 documents. He was about resuming his 
 seat, when, suddenl}' glancing at a paper 
 on his desk, he took it up, and exclaimed, 
 in a shrill tone — 
 
 "Mr. Speaker, I have in my possession, 
 a petition of a somewhat extraordinary 
 character ; and I wish to inquire of the 
 chair if it be in order to present it." 
 
 The Speaker rejjlied, that if the gentle- 
 man from Massachusetts would state the 
 character of the petition, the chair would 
 probably be able to decide on the subject. 
 
 "Sir," ejaculated Mr. Adams, "the 
 petition is signed by eleven slaves of the 
 town of Fredericksburg, in the county of 
 Culpepper, in the state of Virginia. It is 
 one of those petitions which, it has oc- 
 curred to my mind, are not what they 
 purport to be. It is signed partly by per- 
 sons who cannot write, by making their 
 marks, and partly by persons whose hand- 
 writing would manifest that they have 
 received the education of slaves. The 
 petition declares itself to be from slaves, 
 U 
 
 and I am requested to present it. I will 
 send it to the chair." 
 
 The speaker, Mr. Polk, who habitually 
 extended to Mr. Adams every courtesy 
 and kindness imaginable, was taken by 
 surprise, and found himself involved in a 
 dilemma. Giving his chair one of those 
 hitches which ever denoted his excitement, 
 he said that a petition from slaves was a 
 novelty, and involved a question that he 
 did not feel called on to decide. He 
 would like to take time to consider it ; and, 
 in the meantime, would refer it to the 
 house. The house was very thin at the 
 time, and but little attention was paid to 
 what was going on, till the excitement of 
 the speaker attracted the attention of Mr. 
 Dixon- H. Lewis, of Alabama, who impa- 
 tiently, and under great excitement, rose 
 and inquired what the petition was. The 
 speaker furnished the required informa- 
 tion ; whereupon Mr. Lewis, forgetting all 
 discretion, whilst he frothed at the mouth, 
 turned towards Mr. Adams, and exclaimed, 
 in thunder-tones — 
 
 " Bi/ , sir, this is 7iot to he endured 
 
 any longer!" 
 
 "Treason ! treason ! Expel the old scoun- 
 drel ; put him out ; do not let him disgrace 
 the house any longer," screamed a half 
 dozen other members. 
 
 " Get up a resolution to meet the case," 
 exclaimed a member from North Carolina. 
 Mr. George C. Dromgoole, who had ac- 
 quired quite a reputation as a parliamen- 
 tarian, was selected as the very man who, 
 of all others, was most capable of drawing 
 \\\) a resolution that would meet and cover 
 the emergenc3'. He produced a resolution 
 and preamble, in which it was stated, sub- 
 stantially, that, whereas the Hon. John 
 Quincy Adams, a representative from Mas- 
 sachusetts, had j)i'esented to the house a 
 petition signed by negro slaves, thus 
 " giving color to an idea " that bondmen 
 were capable of exercising the right of 
 petition, it was " Resolved, That he be 
 taken to the bar of the house, and be cen- 
 sured by the speaker thereof." 
 
 A still more stringent resolution was 
 introduced by Hon. Waddy Thompson, 
 
210 
 
 riiOM COLONY TO WOHLD POWER. 
 
 namel}-, tliat Mr. Adams, '•having been 
 guilty of gross disrespect to tlie liouse, be 
 instantly Li'ought to the bar, to receive 
 the severe censure fif the speaker." Sev- 
 eral other resolutions and j'l'opositions, 
 from members of slave-holding states, were 
 submitted, but none proved satisfactory 
 even to themselves. The idea of bringing 
 the venerable ex-president to the bar, like 
 a culprit, to receive a reprimand from a 
 comparatively j-outliful speaker, was equal- 
 ly disgraceful and absurd. Mr. Adams, 
 however, entirelj' immoved by the tempest 
 which raged around him, defended him- 
 self, and tlie integritj- of his i)urpose, with 
 his accustomed ability and eloquence. 
 
 " In regard to the resolutions now 
 before tiie house," said he, "as the}' all 
 concur in naming me, and in charoinsr me 
 with high crimes and misdemeanors, and 
 in calling me to the bar of the house to 
 answer for my crimes, I have thought it 
 was m_y dut}- to remain silent, until it 
 should be tlio jileasure of tlie house to act 
 either ou (lue or the other of these resolu- 
 tions. I su])])ose that if I sliall be brought 
 to the bar of the house, I shall not be 
 struck mute liy tlie previous question, 
 before I have an opportunity to say a word 
 or two in my own defense." 
 
 "Now, as to the fact what the petition 
 was for." said Mr. Adams, in another por- 
 tion of his speech, "I simply state to the 
 gentleman from Alabama, who has sent to 
 the table a resolution assuming that this 
 petition was for the abolition of .slavery — 
 I state to him that lie is mistaken. He 
 must amend liis resolution; for if the 
 house should choose to read this petition, 
 I can state to them they would find it. 
 something very much the reverse of that 
 which the resolution states it to be. And 
 if the gentleman from Alabama still 
 chooses to bring me to tlie bar of the 
 house, he must amend his resolution in a 
 very important particular; for he may 
 probably have to put into it, that my crime 
 has been for attempting to introduce the 
 petition of slaves tliat slavery should not 
 be abolished." 
 
 Reiterating the principle, that tlv r'':;bt 
 
 of petition belongs to nil, Mr. Adams said 
 that he felt it a sacred duty to present any 
 petition, couched in respectful language, 
 from any citizen of the United States, be 
 its object what it might, — be the prayer of 
 it that in which he could concur, or that to 
 which he was utterly opposed ; no law 
 could be found, even in the most abject 
 despotism, which deprives even the mean- 
 est or most degraded, of the right to sup- 
 plicate for a boon, or to pray for mercy ; 
 there is no absolute monarch on earth, who 
 is not compelled to receive the petitions of 
 his people, whosoever they may be, — not 
 even the sultan of Turkey can walk the 
 streets and refuse to receive petitions from 
 the lowest and vilest of the land. 
 
 When southern members saw that, in 
 their haste, they had not tarried to ascer- 
 tain the nature of the petition, and that it 
 prayed for the jicrpetiififinii, instead of the 
 a/jo/itioi) of slavery, their position became 
 so ludicrous, that their exasperation was 
 greatly increased. At the time the 
 petition was announced liy Mr. Adams, 
 the house was very thin ; but the excite- 
 ment that was produced soon filled it; 
 and, besides, the sergeant-at-arms had been 
 instructed to arrest and bring in all absen- 
 tees. The excitement commenced at about 
 one o'clock, and continued until seven 
 o'clock in the evening, when the house 
 adjourned. Mr. Adams stood at his desk, 
 resolutely refusing to be seated till the 
 matter was disposed of, alleging that if 
 he were guilty, he was not entitled to a 
 seat among high and honorable men. 
 When Mr. Dromgoole's resolution was 
 read to the house, for its consideration, 
 Mr. Adams yielded to it one of those sar- 
 castic sneers which he was in the habit of 
 giving, when provoked to satire; and said 
 — "Mr. Speaker, if I understand the reso- 
 lution of the honorable gentleman from 
 Virginia, it charges me with being guilty 
 of 'giving rtj/or to an idea .'"' The whole 
 house broke forth in one common, irrepres- 
 sible peal of laughter, at this capital double 
 entendre ; and the Dronigoole resolution 
 was actually hiughed out of existence. 
 The house now found that it had got itself 
 
STEUGGLE FOR THE EIGHT OF PETITION — 1880. 
 
 211 
 
 in a dilemma — that Mr. Aclnm.s \vas too 
 much for it; and, at last, adjourned, leav- 
 ing the affair in the position in which 
 they found it. 
 
 For several days this subject continued 
 to agitate the house — and the nation. Mr. 
 Adams not only warded off the virulent 
 attacks made upon him, but carried the 
 war so effectually into the camp of his ene- 
 mies, that, becoming heartily tired of the 
 contest, they repeatedly endeavored to get 
 rid of the whole subject by laying it on 
 the table. To this Mr. Adams objected. 
 He insisted that it should be thoroughly 
 canvassed. Immense excitement contin- 
 ued, and call after call of the house was 
 made. At length, the subject was brought 
 to a termination by the passage of a pi-e- 
 amble and resolution — much softened 
 down, in comparison with what was at first 
 proposed — declaring that the paper cannot 
 he received, and that slaves have no right 
 to petition. 
 
 The slave petition in question is believed 
 to have been a counterfeit, manufactured 
 by certain members of congress from 
 slave-holding states, and was sent to Mr. 
 Adams by way of experiment — with the 
 double design of ascertaining if he could 
 be imposed upon ; and, if the deception 
 succeeded, those who got it up were curi- 
 ous to know if the venei-able statesman 
 would redeem his pledge, and present a 
 petition, no matter who it came from. He 
 was too wily not to detect the plot at the 
 outset ; he knew that all was a hoax ; but 
 he resolved to present the paper, and then 
 turn the tables upon its authors. 
 
 His success in thus defeating his oppo- 
 nents on their mad intention of censure, 
 was one of the most signal instances of 
 personal and parliamentary triumph. In 
 vain did they threaten assassination, 
 indictment before the grand jury, and 
 other proceedings, to seal his lips in 
 silence. In vain, too, did they declare 
 that he should "be made amenable to 
 anotlier tribunal (mob law), and, as an 
 incendiary, be brought to condign punish- 
 ment." "My life on it," said a southern 
 member, "if he presents that petition from 
 
 slaves, we shall yet see him within the 
 walls of the penitentiary." Firm stooa 
 the white-haired sage of more than seventy 
 winters, and with withering rebukes 
 repelled his hot-blooded assailants. His 
 clarion voice rang defiantly through the 
 hall, as he said — 
 
 " Do the gentlemen from the south 
 think they can frighten me by their 
 threats ? If that be their object, let me 
 tell them, sir, they have ju'eciscly mistaJcen 
 their man. I am not to be frightened 
 from the discharge of a sacred duty, by 
 their indignation, by their violence, nor, 
 sir, b}' all the grand juries in the universe. 
 I have dene only my duty; and I .shall do 
 it again, under the same circumstances, 
 even though they recur to-morrow." 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of January, 1842, 
 Mr. Adams presented the petition of forty- 
 five citizens of Haverhill, Massachusetts, 
 praying that congress would immediate!}' 
 take measures j^eaceably to dissolve the 
 Union of the States : First, because no 
 union can be agreeable which does not 
 present prospects of reciprocal benefits ; 
 second, because a vast jjroportion of the 
 resources of one section of the Union is 
 annually drained to sustain tlie views and 
 course of another section, without any 
 adequate return; third, because, judging 
 from the history of past nations, such a 
 union, if persisted in, in the present course 
 of things, would certainly overwhelm the 
 whole nation in utter destruction. 
 
 Mr. Adams moved that the petition be 
 referred to a select committee, with in- 
 structions to report an answer showing the 
 reasons wh}' the praj^er of it ought not to 
 be- granted. 
 
 Immediate and wild excitement fol- 
 lowed the presentation of this petition. 
 Mr. Hopkins, of Virginia, moved to burn 
 it in presence of the house. Mr. Wise, of 
 the same state, asked the speaker if it was 
 in order to move to censure anj' member 
 for presenting such a petition. Mr. 
 Gilmer, also of Virginia, moved a resolu- 
 tion, that Mr. Adams, for presenting such 
 a petition, had justl}' incurred the censure 
 of the house. Mr. Adams said he hoped 
 
019 
 
 FEOM CULOXY TO WUi^LD TOWEK. 
 
 JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS DEFENDING THE RIGHT OF PETITION IN CONGRESS, 
 
 that the resolution would be received and 
 discussed. Angry debate continued, until 
 the house adjourned. 
 
 The next day, the whole body of south- 
 ern members came into the house, appar- 
 ently resolved to crush Mr. Adams and his 
 cause — the right of petition — forever. 
 They gathered in groups, conversed in 
 whispers, and the wliole aspect of tlieir 
 conduct at twelve o'clock indicated the 
 approach of some high-handed proceeding. 
 Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, who 
 had been selected as spokesman for tlie 
 occasion, rose, and, having asked and 
 received of Mr. Gilmer leave to offer a 
 substitute for his resolution of censure 
 which was pending at the adjournment, 
 presented three resolutions, which had 
 been prepared at a caucus, the night 
 before, and which declared that the peti- 
 tion in question involved a proposition to 
 the house to commit perjury and high 
 treason, and that Mr. Adams, for offering 
 it, receive the severest censure of that 
 body. 
 
 Assuming a manner and tone as if he 
 
 felt the historical imjjortanco of his posi- 
 tion, he spoke with great coolness and 
 solemnity, — a style wholly unusual with 
 him; exhibited, too, a magisterial air, and 
 judicial consequence, as if he thought that 
 he was about to jiour down the thunder of 
 condemnation on the venerable objei't of 
 his attack, as a judge pronouncing sentence 
 on a convicted culprit, in tlie sight of 
 approving men and angels. The vast 
 audience before whom he spoke were not 
 to be left in any doubt of his eminent 
 capacity to act the part he had assumed, 
 of ])rosecutor, judge, and executioner. 
 
 When !Mr. Marshall concluded, the 
 chair announced to Mr. Adams that his 
 position entitled him to the floor ; bringing 
 up to the imagination a jsarallel scene — 
 ■Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art 
 permitted to speak for thyself.' 
 
 Up rose, then, that bald, gray olil man, 
 his hands trembling with constitutional 
 infirmity and age, upon whose consecrated 
 head the vials of partisan wrath had been 
 outpoured. Among the crowd of slave- 
 holders who tilled the galleries he could 
 
STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHT OF PETITION — 1836. 
 
 213 
 
 seek no f i-iends, and bnt a few among those 
 immediately around him. Unexcited, he 
 raised liis voice, high-keyed, as was usual 
 with him, but elear, nntremulous, and 
 tirm. In a moment his intirmities disap- 
 peared, although his shaking hand could 
 not but be noticed ; trembling not with 
 fear, but with age. At first there was 
 nothing of indignation in his tone, manner, 
 or words. Surprise and cold contempt 
 were all. The thread of his great discourse 
 was mainly his present and past relations 
 to Virginia and Virginians. After grate- 
 fully acknowledging his infinite obligations 
 to the great Virginians of the first age of 
 the federal republic, he modestly and 
 unpretendingly recounted the unsought, 
 exalted honors, heaped upon him by Wa.sh- 
 ington, Madison, and Monroe, and detailed 
 with touching simplicity and force some of 
 his leading actions in the discharge of 
 these weigiity trusts. In pursuing his 
 remarks, he chanced to fix his eye upon 
 Marshall, who was moving down one of 
 the side-aisles. Instantly, at the sugges- 
 tion of the moment, he burst forth in a 
 touching appeal to the hallowed memory 
 of IMarshall, the venerated and immaculate 
 Virginian, through a long career of judi- 
 cial honor and usefulnes.s. With a flash 
 of withering scorn, Mr. Adams struck at 
 the unhappy Marshall of another day. A 
 single breath blew all his mock-judicial 
 array into air and smoke. In a tone of 
 insulted majesty and reinvigorated spirit, 
 Mr. Adams then said, in reply to the auda- 
 cious charge of high treason, 
 
 "I call for the reading of the first jiara- 
 graph of the Declaration of Independence. 
 Read it! read it! and see what tliat says 
 of the right of a people to reform, to 
 change, to dissolve their government." 
 
 The look, the tone, the gesture, of the 
 insulted patriot, at that instant, were most 
 imposing. He seemed to have renewed his 
 youth like the eagles, and his voice was 
 that of sovereign command. The burthen 
 of seventy-five winters rolled off, and he 
 rose above the puny things around him. 
 When the passage of the Declaration was 
 read which solemnly proclaims the right 
 
 of reform, revolution, and resistance to 
 oppression, the grand old man .thundered 
 out — 
 
 "Head that ayain!" 
 
 Looking proudly around on the listen- 
 ing audience, he heard his triumphant 
 vindication sounded forth in the glorious 
 sentences of the nation's Magna Charta. 
 written by Mr. Jefferson, a Virginian. 
 The sympathetic revulsion of feeling was 
 intense, though voiceless ; every drop of 
 free, honest blood in that vast assemblage 
 bounded with high impulse, every fiber 
 thrilled with excitement. The members 
 of the house were all gathered around him, 
 even his persecutors paying involuntary 
 triliute to the 'old man eloquent.' Lord 
 Morjjeth was an attentive spectator and 
 auditor ; and so were governors, senators, 
 judges, and other high officials, innumera- 
 ble. A strong exhibition of the facts in 
 the case, mostly in cold, calm, logical, 
 measured sentences, concluded Mr. Adams's 
 effort, and he sat down, vindicated, victo- 
 rious. 
 
 Intemperate debates, with violence undi- 
 minished, succeeded, in which all the 
 topics of party censure, from the adoption 
 of the constitution, were collected and 
 heaped upon Mr. Adams, by Marshall, 
 Wise, Gilmer, and others. No description 
 can do justice to the effective eloquence of 
 Mr. Adams in reply, — including amusing 
 particulars of missives he had received 
 from the south threatening him with 
 assassination ; among other kindly hints, 
 of this sort, sent through the post-office, 
 being a colored lithograph portrait of him- 
 self, with the picturesque annotation of a 
 rifle-ball on the forehead, and a promise 
 that such a remedy would "stop his 
 music." 
 
 On the eleventh day of this debate, Mr. 
 Adams, in opening his defense, stated it 
 as his intention to go over the whole affair, 
 and that he should require a great deal 
 more time, in addition to what had already 
 been consumed ; but he was willing to 
 forego it all, provided it could be done 
 without sacrificing his rights, the rights 
 of his constituents, and those of the peti- 
 
■J.U 
 
 i'KOil COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 tioners. He tlien stated, that if auy 
 gentleman would make a motion to lay the 
 wliole subject — tliat ai which Marshall 
 had been made the champion — on the 
 table, he would forbear to proceed with 
 liis defense. This motion was at once 
 made by Mr. Botts, of Virginia, and car- 
 ried by a vote of one hundred and six to 
 ninety-three. The petition from Haverhill 
 was then refused to be received, three- 
 fourths of the bouse voting against it. 
 
 It would appear well-nigli incredible, 
 that a venerable man like Mr. Adams 
 should be able to carry on, for eleven 
 days, almost single-handed, so great a con- 
 test. That this was due, in no small 
 degree, to his consummate skill as a i)ar- 
 liamentarian, cannot be questioned. The 
 following memorable instance of his power 
 in this respect, will form a fitting close to 
 this chapter. 
 
 At the opening of the twenty-sixth con- 
 gress, the clerk began to call the roll of 
 the members, according to custom. AVhen 
 he came to New Jersey, lie stated that 
 five seats of the members from that state 
 were contested, and that, not feeling him- 
 self authorized to decide the question, he 
 should pass over those names, and proceed 
 w'ith the call. This gave rise to a general 
 and violent debate on the steps to be pur- 
 sued under such circumstances. Innumer- 
 able questions were raised, and proposi- 
 tions made, but the house could not agree 
 upon the mode of proceeding, and, from 
 the second to the fifth day, the house 
 remained in a perfectly disorganized state, 
 and in inextricable confusion, the clerk 
 acting as the tool of his party. But the 
 Hour of disenthrallment was at hand ; a 
 scene was to be presented which would 
 send the mind back to those days when 
 Cromwell exclaimed, " Sir Harrj' Vane ! 
 woe unto you, Sir Harry Vane ! " — and in 
 an instant dispersed the famous rump par- 
 liament. 
 
 Mr. Adams, from the opening of this 
 scene of confusion and anarchy, had main- 
 tained a profound silence. He appeared 
 to be engaged most of the time in writing. 
 To a common observer he seemed to be 
 
 reckless of everything around him. But 
 nothing, not the slightest incident, escaped 
 him. 
 
 The fourth day of the struggle had 
 now commenced. Mr. Hugh A. Garland, 
 the clerk, was directed to call the roll 
 again. He commenced with Maine, as 
 usual in those days, and was j)roceeding 
 towards Massachusetts. Mr. Adams was 
 now observed to be holding himself in 
 readiness to get the floor at the earliest 
 moment possible. His eye was riveted 
 on the clerk, his hands clasped the front 
 edge of his desk, where he always placed 
 them to assist him in rising. He looked, 
 in the language of Otway, like a ' fowler 
 eager for his prey.' 
 
 "New Jersey!" ejaculated Mr. Hugli 
 Garland, " and the clerk has to repeat 
 tliat " 
 
 Mr. Adams sprang to the floor ! 
 
 " I rise to interrupt the clerk," was his 
 first ejaculation. 
 
 " Silence, silence ! " resounded through 
 the hall. "Hear him, hear him! Hear 
 what he has to say ! Hear John Quincy 
 Adams!" was vociferated on all sides. 
 
 In an instant, such profound silence 
 reigned throughout the vast chamber', that 
 the fall of a leaf of paper might have been 
 heard in any part of it; and every eye was 
 riveted on the venerable Nestor of Massa- 
 chusetts, — one of the purest of statesmen 
 and noblest of men ! He paused for a 
 moment, and, having given Mr. Garland 
 a withering look, he proceeded to address 
 the dense throng. 
 
 "It was not my intention," said he, "to 
 take any part in these extraordinary pro- 
 ceedings. I had hoped that this house 
 would succeed in organizing itself; tliat a 
 r.peaker and clerk would be elected, and 
 that the ordinary business of legislation 
 would have been progressed in. This is 
 not the time, or place, to discuss the 
 merits of the conflicting claimants for 
 seats from New Jersey ; that subject 
 belongs to the house of representatives, 
 which, by the constitution, is made tlie 
 ultimate arbiter of the qualifications of its 
 members. But what a spectacle we here 
 
STRUGGLE FOE THE EIGHT OF PETITIOX — 1S36. 
 
 215 
 
 present ! We degrade and disgrace our- 
 aelves; we degrade and disgrace our con- 
 stituents and our country-. We do not, 
 and cannot organize ; and why ? Because 
 the ■■.lerk of this house, the mere clerk, 
 whom we create, whom we employ, and 
 whose existence depends upon our will, 
 usurps the throne, and sets us, the repre- 
 sentatives, the vicegerents of the whole 
 American people, at defiance, and holds us 
 in contempt! And what is this clerk of 
 yours ? Is he to control the destinies of 
 sixteen millions of freemen ? Is he to 
 suspend, by his mere negative, the func- 
 tions of government, and put an end to 
 this congress ? He refuses to call the 
 roll ! It is in j-our power to compel him 
 to call it, if he will not do it voluntarily." 
 
 Here he was interrupted by a member, 
 who said that he was authorized to say 
 that compulsion could not reach the clerk, 
 who had avowed that he would resign, 
 rather than call the state of New Jersey. 
 
 " Well, sir," continued Mr. Adams, 
 "then lat him resign, and we may possibly 
 discover some way by which we can get 
 along, without the aid of his all-powerful 
 talent, learning, and genius. If we cannot 
 organize in any other way — if this clerk 
 of yours will not consent to our discharg- 
 ing the trusts confided to us by our con- 
 stituents, then let us imitate the example 
 of the Virginia House of Burgesses, which, 
 when the colonial governor, Dinwiddle, 
 ordered it to disperse, refused to obey the 
 imperious and insulting mandate, and, like 
 men " 
 
 The multitude could not contain or 
 repress their enthusiasm any longer, but 
 saluted the eloquent and indignant speaker, 
 and intercepted him with loud and deaf- 
 ening cheers, which seemed to shake the 
 capitol to its center. The very Genii of 
 applause and enthusiasm seemed to float 
 in the atmosphere of the hall, and every 
 heart expanded with indesci-ibable pride 
 and exultation. The turmoil, the dark- 
 ness, the very chaos of anarchy, w'hich had 
 for successive days, pervaded the American 
 congress, was dispelled by the magic, the 
 talismanic eloquence of a single man ; and, 
 
 once more, the wheels of government and 
 of legislation were j)ut in motion. 
 
 Having, b^- this powerful appeal, brought 
 the yet unorganized assembly co a percep- 
 tion of its real position, he submitted a 
 motion requiring the acting clerk to pro- 
 ceed in calling the roll. This and similar 
 motions had alreadj' been made bj- other 
 members. The difficulty, indeed, was just 
 this, that the clerk declined to entertain 
 them. Accordingly, Mr. Adams was 
 immediately interrupted by a burst of 
 voices demanding, " How shall the ques- 
 tion be put ? " " Who will put the ques- 
 tion ? " The voice of Mr. Adams was 
 heard above all the tumult, " / intend to 
 put the question nnjself.'" That word 
 brought order out of chaos. There was 
 the master mind. 
 
 As soon as the multitude had recovered 
 itself, and the excitement of long and loud 
 resounding plaudits had abated, Mr. 
 Richard Barnwell Ehett, of South Caro- 
 lina, leaped upon one of the desks, waved 
 his hand, and exclaimed : 
 
 "I move that the Honorable John 
 Quincy Adams take the chair of the 
 speaker of this house, and officiate as pre- 
 siding officer, till the house be organized 
 by the election of its constitutional officers ! 
 As many as are agreed to this will say uij ; 
 those " 
 
 He had not an opportunity to complete 
 the sentence, " those who are not agreed 
 will say no," — for one universal, deafen- 
 ing, tremendous ay, responded to the 
 nomination. 
 
 Hereui)on, it was moved and ordered 
 that Hons. Lewis Williams, of North 
 Carolina, and Richard Barnwell Rhett, 
 conduct John Quincy Adams to the chair. 
 And well did Mr. Wise, of Virginia, say 
 to him : 
 
 " Sir, I regard it as the proudest hour 
 of your life ; and if, when you shall be 
 gathered to your fathers, I were asked to 
 select the words which, in my judgment, 
 are best calculated to give at once the 
 character of the man, I would inscribe 
 upon your tomb this sentence : / iniend 
 to put the question myself." 
 
216 
 
 TROM COLONY TO WORLD PO\YER. 
 
 Thj brave old man lived not only to 
 see the odious "gag rule" rescinded, but to 
 listen to that magnificent speech from one 
 of his colleagues, Dr. Palfrey, on the 
 " inalienable rights of man," at the con- 
 clusion of which, Mr. Adams characteris- 
 tically exclaimed, "God be praised; the 
 seals are broken ; the door is open ! " 
 
 Dying in his country's capitol, in the 
 midst of his public duties, in February, 
 1848, his illustrious career shone brightly 
 to the end. As secretary of state under 
 Mr. Monroe, and subsequently as presi- 
 
 dent, liis cabinet and other political asso- 
 ciates consisted of such eminent statesmen 
 as Crawford, Shelby, Crowninshield, 
 Thompson, Southard, Meigs, McLean, 
 Rush, Wirt, Barbour, Porter, Van Renssel- 
 aer ; nor was his political ability hardly less 
 appreciated by those master leaders in the 
 ranks of his o])punents. A whole nation 
 deplored the loss and united in rendering 
 homage to the memory of the fearless 
 " champion of the right of petition." His 
 .successor in congress was Hon. Horace 
 Mann, a kindred spirit. 
 
XXII. 
 
 BKEAKING OUT OF THE TEMPERANCE REFORMA- 
 TION.— 1840. 
 
 Origin, Rapid Spread, Influence, and Wonderful History of the Movement. — Enthusiasm Attending the 
 " Washingtonian " Era. — Its Pioneers Rise from the Gutter to the Rostrum, and Sway Multitudes by 
 their Eloquence — Fatlier Mathew's Visit. — His 600,000 Converts. — Career of Hawkins. Mitchell, 
 Gough, Dow, and Others. — First Temperance Society in the United States. — Singular Terms of 
 Membership. — Social Customs in Former Times. — Unrestrained Use of Spirits. — Growing Desire for 
 Reform. — Influential Men Enlisted. — Meetings, Societies, Agitation. — A Congressional Organization. 
 — Origin of " Tee-Totalism." — Deacon Giles's Distillery. — " My Mother's Gold Ring." — Rise of 
 " Washingtonianism." — Six Reformed Drunkards. — Cold Water Armies, Processions, etc. — Music, 
 Banners and Badges — The Country All Ablaze — An " Apostle of Temperance." — Administering the 
 Pledge. — Conflict Concerning Measures. — Anecdotes of Washington. — General Taylor's Whiskey 
 Jug. — Farragut's Substitute for Grog. 
 
 " I Ihall not close this letter without exhortinc you to refrain from spirituouB liquore; they will prove your ruin if you do not. Consider 
 bow little a drunken mon differs from a beast; the latter is not endowed with reason, the forrner deprives himself of it."— OBlfBBAL Wash- 
 
 IXOTON. 
 
 jERHAPS it would be difficult to name the precise date when 
 active public effoi-t.s were initiated in the United States to 
 check the widespread evil of intemperance. It is not to 
 be doubted, however, that the writings of that eminent 
 man of science, Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, 
 especially his " Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits 
 upon the Human Body and Mind," issued as earlj' as 1804, 
 did much to awaken an interest in the subject, on the part 
 of the community. But not until 1808, was there any 
 movement of an associated character, for public or indi- 
 vidual abandonment of the use of intoxicating drinks. 
 
 But it sounds somewhat strangely, in these later da3's of 
 radical reform, that the initial movpinent ref-^rred to, and 
 which was entitled " The Temperate Society of Moreau and Northumberland," (towns 
 \n the county of Saratoga, N. Y.) originated by Billy Clarke, should be based upon 
 regulations like the following : — 
 
 "No member shall be intoxicated, under penalty of fifty cents. No member shall 
 drink rum, gin, whiskey, wine, or any distilled spirits, or compositions of the same, or 
 any of them, except by the advice of a physician, or in case of actual disease (also 
 excepting wine at public dinners), under penalty of twenty-five cents ; provided that 
 this article shall not infringe on any religious ordinance. No member shall offer any 
 of said liquors to any other member, or urge any other person to drink thereof, 
 under penalty of twenty-five cents for each offense." 
 
 EFFECT OF EEri>R.MATI0N. 
 
218 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO Vv'OliLD TUWEE. 
 
 But the day of small beginnings, in a 
 humane cause, is never to be despised, 
 and, in a few years, the reform had 
 enlisted the earnest co-operation of law- 
 yers, divines, and otlier eminent men, such 
 as Carey, Palfrey, Humphrey, Dexter, 
 Marsh. Edwards, lieeeher, I'orter, Leavitt, 
 Hewit. Day, and Kittredj^e. In 1813, 
 there was formed the Massai-husetts Soci- 
 ety for the 8ui)pression of Intemperance; 
 one ill Coiiiiectirut. in 18-!'.); and, in ISl'G, 
 the zVmcrican Temperance Union. The 
 statistics of this period present the calcu- 
 lation, that, out of a white population of 
 ten millions, between three and four mil- 
 lions were habitual spirit-drinkers, of whom 
 three hundred and sevent^'-iive thousand 
 drank daily on an average three gills of 
 ardent .spirits, while an equal number con- 
 sumed more than twice that quantity, and 
 of course were drunkards. Making due 
 allowance for the imperfectness of such 
 statistical data, it was admitted bj' all, 
 that the intemperate use of spirituous liq- 
 uors, in every part of the land, had become 
 alarmingly prevalent. 
 
 The excellent rcsuiiii' of this movement, 
 as given by Dr. Emerson Davis, himself 
 one of its ablest and most efficient sup- 
 porters, states that at this time the reform 
 seemed to be simultaneous through the 
 country. At the beginning of 1828, the 
 custom, hitherto so general, of treating 
 visitors with wine, cordials, and brandy, 
 began to disappear. The sideboards of 
 the rich and influential, which from time 
 immemorial had groaned under a load of 
 decanters, were relieved of their burdens, 
 and a ver^' great change in the customs of 
 society began to be apparent. At the 
 close of 1828, the number of temperance 
 societies reported in tlie temperance jour- 
 nals was two hundred and twenty-tive. 
 At the close of 1829, there were more 
 than one thousand such societies, embrac- 
 ing more than one hundred thousand 
 members, pledged to total abstinence ; 
 fifty distilleries had stopped, four hun- 
 dred merchants had abandoned the traffic, 
 and twelve hundred drunkards had been 
 reclaimed. On the tirst of May, 1831, it 
 
 appeared that more than three hundred 
 thousand persons had signed the pledge, 
 and not less than fifty thousand were sup- 
 posed to have been saved from a drunkard's 
 grave. Even at Washington, a congres- 
 sional temperance society was organized, 
 under the auspices of such men as Cass, 
 Grundy, Bates, Wayne, Post, Durbin, and 
 others ; and some of the most brilliant 
 public men signed the pledge. 
 
 A very common objection (adds Dr. 
 Davis), made by many of the poor, was, 
 that they could not afford to drink wine, 
 and, therefore, that signing the pledge 
 operated unequally; it took from them 
 the use of all stimulants but cider and 
 beer, but it left to the rich the use of wine, 
 which was often about as strong as Cognac 
 brandy. In order to obviate this objec- 
 tion, it was found necessary to introduce 
 a new pledge, prohibiting the use, not 
 only of distilled, Init of fermented, liquors. 
 The first society that adopted this pledge 
 was the Eighth Ward Branch of the New 
 York City Temperance Society. This 
 was called the tee-total pledge, — a name 
 first given to it in England, and which 
 had its origin in the prolonged and inco- 
 herent stuttering, by one who was taking 
 the pledge, at the first letter in the word 
 ' ?otal.' This tee-total jjledge was intro- 
 duced into this country in 1834, and in 
 a short time many societies were formed 
 on that principle. Many, however, who 
 signed the old pledge, refused to sign the 
 new ; and thus there was an apparent fall- 
 ing off in the number of the members of 
 temperance organizations. Some, too, who 
 had delivered public addresses, and stood 
 foremost in the ranks of reformers, were 
 thrown into the background, and became 
 silent spectators of passing events. 
 
 Among the prominent promoters of the 
 cause, appear the names of Delavan, Nor- 
 ton, Keener. Gerritt Smith, Moses Grant, 
 Loyd, Collins, Briggs, Walworth, Grundy, 
 Hunt. Stewart, and Hoar, as speakers. 
 Mr. L. M. Sargent contributed powerfully 
 to the reform, by his unrivaled temper- 
 ance tales, including that widely circulated 
 and admired production, " J/y Mother's 
 
THE TEMPEEAXCE EEFOEMATION — 1S40. 
 
 219 
 
 Gold Ring." Pierpont inspired thousands 
 by his quaint and tlirilling poems; and 
 the letters, essays, and otlier writings, of 
 such men as Woodward, Warren, Baird, 
 Beman, Chapin, Kirk, Channing, and 
 Barnes, added greatly to the impression 
 upon the public mind. Among the inci- 
 dents of this period, perhaps none created 
 greater interest and excitement through- 
 out the whole land, than the assault, prose- 
 cution, and imprisonment, of Rev. George 
 B. Cheever, of Salem, Mass., subsequently 
 of Kew York. About the beginning of 
 1835, he published in a Salem newspaper, 
 a dream, descriptive of " Deacon Giles's 
 Distillery," in which the liquors were 
 graphically characterized as containing 
 demons in an inferno. Deacon Giles was 
 a veritable person, and the publication 
 resulted in a violent assault upon Mr. 
 Cheever, one night, by the foreman of the 
 distillery, who inflicted upon the unarmed 
 clergyman a number of severe blows with 
 a raw hide, to which Mr. Cheever made no 
 resistance. Mr. Cheever was also prose- 
 cuted for libel, and sentenced to thirty 
 days' imprisonment. He was regarded as 
 a martyr to the cause of temperance, and 
 his case helped rather than checked the 
 progress of the reform. He continued to 
 do valiant service, as before, with his pen 
 and voice, ranking, in this respect, with 
 such men as Clarke, Grimke, Fisk, Coffin, 
 Woods, Williams, Merrill, Sewall, Pond, 
 Thurston, Keese, Van Loon, Jewett, Buck- 
 ingham. 
 
 But a most stirring and enthusiastic 
 impetus was yet to be given to the temper- 
 ance movement, and that through the 
 humblest personal instrumentality. This 
 was the organization of the Washington 
 Temperance Society, in Baltimore, in the 
 month of April, 1840 ; its most remarka- 
 ble convert being Mr. John H. W. Haw- 
 kins, who joined the society the following 
 June. 
 
 It appears that six individuals, who 
 were in the habit of associating together, 
 were seated, as usual, on Friday evening, 
 April 2, 1840, in Chase's tavern, in Lib- 
 erty street, Baltimore, where they were 
 
 accustomed to meet almost every evening, 
 for the jjurpose of enjoying mutually all 
 the benefits and conveniences which that 
 establishment and each other's society 
 could possibly afford. These were Wil- 
 liam K. Mitchell, tailor ; John F. Hoss, 
 carpenter ; David Anderson, blacksmith ; 
 George Steers, blacksmith ; James McCur- 
 ley, coach-maker ; and Archibald Camp- 
 bell, silver-plater. A clergyman who was 
 preaching in the city at that time, had 
 given public notice that on that evening 
 he would deliver a discourse on the sub- 
 ject of temperance. Upon this lecture, 
 the conversation of the six comrades pres- 
 ently turned ; whereupon it was agreed 
 that four of them should go and hear it, 
 and report accordingly. So, after the ser- 
 mon, they returned and conversed on its 
 merits for some time; when one of the 
 company remarked, ' After a-U, temperance 
 is a good thing.' ' Oh,' said the host, 
 ' they're all a parcel of hypocrites.' 'Oh, 
 yes,' replied McCurley, ' I'll be bound for 
 you; it's your interest to cry them down, 
 anyhow.' '/ tell you what, boys, let's 
 form a society, and make Bill Mitchell 
 president.' ' Agreed,' cried they. The 
 idea seemed to take wonderfully, and the 
 more they talked and laughed over the 
 idea, the more were they pleased with it. 
 
 After parting that night, they did not 
 all meet again until Sunday, when they 
 took a stroll, and, between walking and 
 treating, they managed to arrange the 
 whole matter to their entire satisfaction. 
 It was agreed that one of them should 
 draw up a pledge, and that the whole 
 party should sign it the next day. Accord- 
 ingly, on Monday morning, Mitchell wrote 
 the following pledge: 'We whose names 
 are annexed, desirous of forming a society 
 for our mutual benefit, and to guard 
 against a pernicious practice, which is 
 injurious to our health, standing, and fam- 
 ilies, do pledge ourselves as gentlemen, 
 that we will not drink any spirituous or 
 malt liquors, wine, or cider.' 
 
 He went with this, at about nine o'clock, 
 to Anderson's house, and found him still 
 in bed, sick from the effects of his Sunday 
 
220 
 
 FIJOM COLONY TO WOKJ.D roWEli. 
 
 adventures. He arose, liowever, "dressed 
 himself, and, after hearing tlie pledge read, 
 went down to his shop with his friend for 
 pen and ink, and there did himself the 
 honor of being the first man to sign. 
 After obtaining the names of the remain- 
 ing four, the worthy jn-esident finished 
 this noble achievement by adding his own. 
 On the evening of that day, they met at 
 the residence of one of their number and 
 duh' formed themselves into a society, with 
 the usual officers. Little did these six 
 associates know of the fame and achieve- 
 ments they were moulding ! 
 
 Having thus got under way, they next 
 turned their attention to obtaining mem- 
 bers and devising means to defray the 
 e.xpenses of their meetings ; it was there- 
 fore agreed that each man should bring a 
 man, and every one should pay twenty-five 
 cents upon becoming a member, and 
 twelve and a lialf cents, monthly, there- 
 after. 
 
 The next debate was as to the name 
 they should give tt) their society. A num- 
 ber were propo.sed, among them that of 
 Jefferson ; when it was finally agreed that 
 the president and secretary should be a 
 committee to draft a constitution, and 
 select a name. Tliis the}' did, giving to 
 the association the name of the " Wash- 
 ington Temperance Society," in iiouor f 
 of the Father of his Country, and were | 
 consequently known as rn/.v// /»(//«// /(';;s. ' 
 It is a little singular, however, that this i 
 name should have been chosen, for, 
 though Washington was 
 one of the brightest ^ 
 examj)les of temperate: 
 eating and drinking, be 
 habitually used Hcjuor 
 or wine himself, and 
 provided it for his 
 guests and laborer.*. 
 The following curious 
 document is in point: 
 
 " Articles of Agree- 
 ment made this twelfth 
 day of April, Annn 
 Domini, one thousand 
 seven hundred and 
 
 eighty-seven, by and between George 
 AVashington, Esq., of the I'arish of Truro, 
 in the County of Fairfax, (State of Vir- 
 ginia, on the one jiart, and Philip Bater, 
 Gardener, on the other. Jl'itiii'ss, that 
 the said Philip Pater, for and in 
 consideration of the covenants herein 
 hereafter mentioned, doth promise and 
 agree to serve the said George Wash- 
 ington for the term of one year, as a 
 Gardener^ and that he will, during said 
 time, conduct liimself soberly, diligently 
 and honestly — that he will faithfully and 
 industriously perf(irm all and every jiart of 
 his duty as a gardener, to the best of his 
 knowledge and abilities, and that he will 
 not. at any time suffer himself to be dis- 
 guised with liquor, except on the times 
 hereafter mentioned. In consideration of 
 these things being well and truly per- 
 formed on the part of the said Philip 
 Bater, the said George Washington doth 
 agree to allow him (the said Philip) the 
 same kind and quantity of jJi'ovisions as he 
 has heretofore liad : and likewise, annually, 
 a decent suit of clothes, befitting a man in 
 his station ; to consist of a coat, vest and 
 breeches ; — a working-jacket, and breeches 
 of home-spun besides; two white shirts; 
 three checked do ; two linnen pocket-hand- 
 kerchiefs, two [lair linnen u\erall» ; — as 
 
 SIGNING THE PLEDGE. 
 
THE TEMPEKANCE EEFOEMATIOX — ISiO. 
 
 221 
 
 many pair of shoes as are actually neces- 
 sary for liim ; — -four dollars at Christmas, 
 ivith wliich lie may be drunk four days 
 and four nights ; two dollars at Easter to 
 effect the same "purpose; two dollars at 
 Whitsuntide, to be drunk two days; — a 
 dram in the morning and a Drink of Grog 
 at Dinner at noon." 
 
 The above is signed by the two con- 
 ti'acting parties, and witnessed by George 
 A. Washington and Tobias Lear. In 
 another instance, Wasliington's fine in- 
 stincts and principles are admirably dis- 
 played : 
 
 " I shall not close this letter," writes 
 Washington to one of his overseers, 
 " without exhorting you to refrain from 
 spirituous liquors ; tlie}' will prove your 
 ruin if you do not. Consider how little a 
 drunken man differs from a beast ; the 
 latter is not endowed with reason, the 
 former deprives himself of it; and when 
 that is the case, acts like a brute, anno}'- 
 ing and disturbing every one around him ; 
 nor is this all, nor, as it respects himself, 
 the worst of it. By degrees it renders a 
 person feeble, and not only unable to 
 serve others, but to help himself; and 
 being au act of his own, he falls from a 
 state of usefulness into contempt, and at 
 length suffers, if not perishes, in penury 
 and want. Don't let this be your case. 
 Shew yourself more of a man and a Chris- 
 tian than to yield to so intolerable a vice, 
 which cannot, I am certain, (to the great- 
 est lover of liquor,) give more pleasure to 
 sip in the poison, (for it is no better,) than 
 the consequence of it in bad behavior at 
 the moment, and tlie more serious evils 
 produced by it afterwards must give pain." 
 
 Great and wonderful were the results 
 destined to flow from the ' Washington 
 Temperance Society,' thus started by those 
 six inebriates in the city of Baltimore. 
 At their second meeting, they had two 
 new members ; but, in a comparatively 
 short time, the society increased so much 
 that it became a question how they could 
 employ their time so as to make their 
 meetings interesting. The president there- 
 upon suggested that each member should 
 
 rise in his place and give his experience ; 
 and, by way of commencement, he arose 
 and told what be had passed throujih in 
 the last fifteen years, and the advantages 
 he had derived from signing the total- 
 abstinence pledge. This was the origin of 
 that most popular and efficient method 
 which tlie Washington Society and all its 
 auxiliaries adopted, for giving interest 
 and effect to their gatherings. Signers 
 were thus obtained, and the attention of 
 the public was attracted, so that a class 
 was reached which otherwise might not 
 have been affected by the labors of those 
 other good men who had for so nuxny 
 years been engaged in promoting temper- 
 ance in a different way. 
 
 By Christmas, in 1840, the refoi'm had 
 become so popular, that thousands bad 
 flocked to' its standard, and enrolled them- 
 selves as the friends of temperance. The 
 wave had swept onward, and tidings of the 
 great reformation reached distant cities. 
 On invitation from New York, for a dele- 
 gation of five men to hold experience 
 meetings twice every da\' for one week, in 
 that city, Messrs. Hawkins, Pollard, Shaw, 
 Casey, and Mitchell, proceeded to that 
 place, and there held the first Washing- 
 tonian missionary temperance meeting 
 ever known in the United States. It was 
 a type of that success which was to 
 accompany this new s^'stem in behalf 
 of temperance, for, during each of the 
 speeches, multitudes came forward and 
 signed the j)ledge, and, taken altogether, 
 such a scene had never before been wit- 
 nessed in New York. 
 
 But the most powerful among all the 
 advocates of Washingtonian reform was 
 Mr. Hawkins, who rose from the very gut- 
 ter of drunkenness to the rostrum of im- 
 passioned eloquence in advocacj' of reform, 
 and with prodigious success. The pecu- 
 liar circumstances of his history had an 
 almost overpowering effect on his own 
 feelings, whenever he spoke, and his au- 
 diences listened now breathless!}', and 
 anon with uncontrollable demonstrations 
 of enthusiasm. He was a man of plain, 
 good common sense, with a peculiar sin- 
 
•)-)0 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 cerity about him, and an easy way of 
 working up his hearers to a state of sym- 
 pathy with liim. He would at one time 
 assume tlie melting mood, and picture the 
 scenes of a drunkard's home — and that 
 home his own — and the fountains of gen- 
 erous feelings, in many hearts, gushed 
 forth in tears ; and again, in a moment, 
 as he related some ludicrous story, those 
 tearful eyes glistened with delight, sighs 
 changed to hearty shouts, and long faces 
 were convulsed with broad grins an(i 
 glorious smiles. Drunkards aud outcasts 
 of the worst type, that swarm in the fes- 
 tering purlieus and penetralia of New York, 
 were reclaimed, and such was the over- 
 whelming power of the movement, that, 
 finally, immense meetings were held in the 
 Park. In Boston, too, the old Cradle of 
 Liberty rocked with tumultuous enthusi- 
 asm for ' independence ' from the tyi-ant of 
 strong driidc. Festivals, children's cold 
 water armies, processions, banners, bands 
 of musics, songs, etc., filled the whole land 
 with the feast of reason and the flow of 
 soul. 
 
 Statistics might be indefinitely pre- 
 sented, showing the vast results achieved 
 by this wonderful moral enginery. Up- 
 wards of twenty-two thousand names were 
 obtained to the pledge by Messrs. Pollard 
 and Wright, in a lecturing tour made by 
 them through Central New York, New 
 Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Messrs. Vicars 
 and Small and Smith revolutionized Ohio 
 and the West ; Hawkins, Bishop, John- 
 son, Hayes, and Haydoek, labored from 
 one end of the country to the other. Haw- 
 kins alone, in less than twenty years, 
 traveled more than two hundred thousand 
 miles, lecturing between five and «ix thou- 
 sand times. Latham, ^Madden, Snow, 
 White, Gary, Leigh, Coffin, Brown, Riley, 
 Bungay, Copway, Zug, Drinkard, Thomp- 
 son, are names that will ever he remem- 
 bered, too, as powerful and successful 
 advocates of this reform, on the rostrum ; 
 and those of Pierpont, Burleigh, Phillips, 
 Tappan, and others, by their stirring 
 songs and poems. But, chief and most 
 powerful of the many advocates of the 
 
 temperance reformation, is John B. Gough, 
 who has proved himself in this arena, a 
 wonderful orator. His eloquence, indeed, 
 was of that electric quality which, striking 
 a chord in ever}' heart and drawing tears 
 from every eye, perfectly swaj'ed the vast 
 multitudes that hung upon his words 
 wherever he went. Every city, town, and 
 village, throughout the country, felt the 
 impress of his wonderful power in this 
 great reformatory movement. Like Haw- 
 kins, his condition was humble, but from 
 this he had descended to the lowest depths 
 of social and personal degradation until 
 rescued by the interposition of a friendly 
 hand. No data can adequately describe 
 the extent and value of his labors from 
 that time forth, for a quarter of a century 
 and more. 
 
 But a new and most interesting, as well 
 as important chapter, in the history of 
 temperance, is yet to be mentioned, namely, 
 the visit of Father Mathew, the world- 
 renowned 'Apostle of Temperance' in 
 Ireland, to this country, in 1849. For 
 ten years previously', he labored as a tem- 
 perance agitator and reformer in Ireland 
 and England. In five months, he obtained 
 150,000 converts in Cork ; and in Galway, 
 he administered the pledge to no less than 
 100,000 in two days ! On his landing at 
 New York city, the civil authorities ac- 
 corded him the honor of a public recep- 
 tion, — certainly well deserved, by one who 
 had been tlie instrument, under divine 
 guidance, of reclaiming 6,000,000 of his 
 fellow-creatures. He visited the principal 
 cities, north and south, and everywhere a 
 hearty welcome was extended to him from 
 all classes. He remained several days in 
 Washington, where he was entertained 
 at a grand dinner by the president of the 
 United States, and received many dis- 
 tinguishing marks of esteem from gentle- 
 men highest in the offices of the govern- 
 ment. He was honored, also, with a seat 
 on the floor of the house of representa- 
 tives, and within the bar of the United 
 States senate. At Philadelphia, he re- 
 ceived his welcome in Independence Hall ; 
 and at Boston, the doors of Faneuil Hall 
 
THE TEMPERANCE EEFOEMATIOA' — 1540. 
 
 223 
 
 DISTIXOnSHED TRIMPERANCE APTOIATES. 
 
1^24 
 
 PROM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEli. 
 
 oj)ened to him on golden hinges of accla- 
 mation, and where he administered the 
 pledge to upwards of four thousand per- 
 sons the first da}'. His metliod of admin- 
 istering the pledge was somewhat novel, 
 thongh at the same time quite affecting. 
 The converts knelt in a semi-circle around 
 him, and repeated the following words : 
 
 'I promise, with divine assistance, to 
 abstain from all intoxicating liquors, cor- 
 dials, cider and fruit liquors, and to i)re- 
 vent, as much as possible, intemperance in 
 others, by advice and example.' 
 
 To this. Father Mathew's response was, 
 ' May God bless you, my children. May 
 he give you grace and strength to keep 
 the pledge.' He then went to each indi- 
 vidual and marked them with the sign of 
 the cross ; but this latter ceremony, and 
 the kneeling, were dispensed with in the 
 case of Protestants. In this way, the 
 venerable and devoted man traveled over 
 almost the entire country, zealously ad- 
 vocating his great principles, and ajjinurds 
 of six hundred tliousand. persons enrolled 
 themselves under his hanner of total 
 abstinence. Upon descending the Missis- 
 sippi, he administered in one of the towns 
 situated on its banks, the pledge to seven 
 hundred persons. He ascended it, after 
 an interval of some months, and stopping 
 at the same town, he had the gratification 
 to find that among the converts there were 
 but three instances of relapse. Though 
 not possessed of the oratorical graces of 
 eloquence, like those of Gough, he knew 
 how to present truth with sucli force and 
 sincerity, as to win almost irresistibly 
 upon all hearers. The following anecdote 
 will illustrate his peculiar forte: 
 
 ' Did you see Father Mathew lately ? ' 
 said one friend to another, whom he haj> 
 pened to meet. ' I did,' was the reply. 
 ' And I'll engage he made you take the 
 pledge ! ' 'He did, indeed. But did you 
 see him lately?' 'To be .sure I did.' 
 ' And did he make you take it too ? ' 
 ' Tliat he did ! ' ' There's no escaping 
 him ; hut I am not sorry for it.' ' No. nor 
 I neithe;-.' 
 
 Personallj', Father Mathew was a little 
 
 above the ordinary stature, with a full 
 and well-proportioned figure, dark hair, 
 soft blue eyes, ruddy and healthy com- 
 plexion. 
 
 Though characterized by periods of 
 prosperitj' and declension, the temperance 
 cause has proved itself ineradicable, even 
 under circumstances seemingly the most 
 untoward. Perhaps the greatest struggle 
 through which it has passed, in later years, 
 has been that which involved the enact- 
 ment of state prohibitory laws, which 
 visited stringent penalties upon those who 
 sold spirituous liquors. The name of Neal 
 Dow, the author and advocate of this kind 
 of legislation, the discussion attending 
 which has been one of the most important 
 and exciting during the century, will for- 
 ever be identified with the history of the 
 American temperance reformation, as will 
 also the names of Greeley and Miner, dis- 
 tinguished champions of the same priu- 
 cijile. 
 
 It would be an easy task to fill a whole 
 volume with distinguished testimonies to 
 the value of temperance. As this, how- 
 ever, would here be impossible, a few 
 pleasant illustrative incidents will suffice 
 the purpose. 
 
 Towards the close of the revolutionary 
 war. an officer in the American army had 
 occasion to transact some business with 
 General Washington, and repaired to 
 Philadelphia for that purpose. Before 
 leaving, he received an invitation to dine 
 with the general, which was accepted and, 
 upon entering the room he found himself 
 in the company of a large number of ladies 
 and gentlemen. As they were mostly 
 strangers to him, and he was of a naturally 
 modest and unassuming disjiosition, he 
 took a seat near the foot of the table, and 
 refrained from taking an active part in 
 the conversation. Just before the dinner 
 was concluded, Washington politely re- 
 quested him, by name, to drink a glass of 
 wine with him. 
 
 'You will nave the goodness to excuse 
 me, general,' was the reply, 'as I have 
 made it a rule not to take wine.' 
 
 All eyes were instantly turned upon the 
 
THE TEMPERANCE REFORMATION — 1840. 
 
 young officer, and a murmur of contempt 
 and surprise ran around the room. That 
 a person should be so unsocial, not to say 
 mean, as never to drink wine, was really 
 too bad ; but that he should abstain from 
 it on an occasion like that, and even when 
 offered to him by Washington himself, 
 was really intolerable ! Washington no- 
 ticed at once the feelings of his guests, 
 and promptly addressed them in his gra- 
 cious and winning way, saying: 
 
 ' Gentlemen, Mr. is right. I do 
 
 not wish any of my guests to partake 
 of anything against their inclination, 
 and I certainly do not wish them to 
 violate any established principle in their 
 
 intercourse with me. I honor Mr. for 
 
 his frankness, for his consistency in thus 
 adhering to an established rule which can 
 never do him harm, and for the adoption 
 of which, I have no doubt, he has good 
 reasons.' 
 
 General Taylor, the hero of the Mexi- 
 can war, always gave the weight of his 
 example in favor of temperance. A trav- 
 eler in the west one day encountered an 
 emigrant journeying with his family to 
 the fertile regions beyond the Mississippi, 
 all his worldly goods being packed on 
 wagons, and on one load there hung a 
 huge jug with the bottom broken out. 
 The emigrant was asked his reason for 
 carrying that with him. ' Why,' he said, 
 
 'that is my Taijlor jug.' 'And what is a 
 Taylor jug ? ' inquired the friend. ' Whj',' 
 said the emigrant, 'I had a son with Gen- 
 eral Taylor's army in Mexico, and the old 
 general always told him to carry his whis- 
 key-jug with a hole in the bottom ; and 
 since that, I have carried my jug as you 
 see it, and I find it is the best invention I 
 ever met with.' 
 
 Everybody admired Admiral Farragut's 
 heroism in clinging to the topmast to 
 direct a battle ; but there was another 
 jsarticular of that contest, illustrating no 
 less forcibly his heroic character. ' Ad- 
 miral,' said one of his officers, the night 
 before the battle, ' won't yon consent to 
 give Jack a glass of grog in the morning, 
 not enough to make him drunk, but enough 
 to make him fight cheerfully ? ' ' Well,' 
 replied the admiral, ' I have been to sea 
 considerably, and have seen a battle or 
 two, but I never found that I wanted rum 
 to enable me to do my duty. I will order 
 two cups of coffee to each man, at two 
 o'clock ; and, at eight o'clock, I will jaipe 
 all hands to breakfast, in Mobile bay.' 
 And he did give Jack the coffee ; and 
 then he went up to the mast-head, and the 
 result is well known. 
 
 These illustrations of devotedness to the 
 principle of temperance in high places 
 might be greatly multiplied. Their value 
 to the cause can hardly be overestimated. 
 
 15 
 
XXIII. 
 
 [NVENTION OF THAT WONDKOUS PIECE OF MECHANISM, 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE.— 1S46. 
 
 Rumantic Genius and Perseverance Displayed in its Production — Toils of the Inventor in His Garret. 
 — World-Wide Introduction of tlie Device — Upwards of One Thousand Patents Taken Out in the 
 United States. — The Industrial Interests of tlie Country AflTected to tlie Amount of $500,000,000 
 Annually. — The Humble Inventor Becomes a Millionaire. — The Main Principle Involved. — Compari- 
 son with Hand Sewing — How it was Suggested. — Listening to Some Advantage. — History of Mr 
 Howe's Efforts — Ingenuity, Struggles, Triumphs. — Value of a Friend in Need — A Machine at Last. 
 — Its Parts, Capabilities, etc. — Reception by the Public. — Doubt Succeeded by Admiration. — Great 
 Popularity and Demand. — ^ Wearisome Litigation with Rivals — Interesting Question of Priority. — 
 Decided in Howe's Favor — He Rises to Affluence — Improvements by Others. — Unique and Useful 
 Devices. — Number of .Machines Produced. — Time and Labor Saved. — Effect Upon Prices — New 
 Avenues of Labor Opened. 
 
 " The invention nil iidmired. 
 
 And each hnw lie to be the inventor miesed. 
 
 Bo plain it seemed oni-c found— which yet un. found. 
 
 Most would have thought impossible." 
 
 IFFEREISrCE of opinion there may 
 be, with regard to the abstract 
 question, wlio first conceived the 
 peculiar principle involved in 
 sewing by machinery-, and even 
 pect to who was the original con- 
 11 of a machine capable of fulfilling 
 lea ; but, so far as actual demonstra- 
 its feasibleness and utility is con- 
 and for the great results which 
 followed that demonstration, the world 
 be considered as indebted to Elias 
 Jr., a Massachusetts mechanic, born 
 eared in obscure circumstances, and 
 early age thrown upon his own 
 lustrious endeavor, for simple sub- 
 It may be remarked, as a general fact, that the 
 peculiar or original principle characterizing the 
 THE^vENTOR TOILING IN HIS GARRET, '"^'^lem scwing-machine, consists in the use of two 
 
 threads, one being fed by a needle, and the other — 
 
INVENTION OF THE SEWING MACHINE — 1846. 
 
 227 
 
 the wrong side thread, or, as it has been 
 termed, the auxiliary thread — being sup- 
 plied bj' a shuttle and bobbin. The needle 
 is secured to a stock, whose movement, 
 caused by arms and levers, drives its point 
 through the material to be sewed ; the 
 eye of the needle, at a moderate distance 
 from the point, carries the thread through 
 and then retires leaving a loop, through 
 which loop a shuttle is passed, on tlie 
 under side of the material to be sewed; 
 this shuttle carries a quantity of thread 
 upon a spool, which it supplies as the seam 
 progresses. The needle on retiring draws 
 up the loop, and thus closes the seam, 
 which on the upper or face side of the 
 work presents the appearance of what is 
 called a 'row of stitching,' and on the 
 under, a close resemblance, but differing 
 slightly. The return, or rotation of the 
 shuttle in its orbit, is a matter of course, 
 and the work thus goes on continuously 
 and with great rapic'it^-. 
 
 Tlie feed, or the progressive movement 
 of the material to be sewed under the 
 needle, is accomplished in various ways — 
 primaril3', by means of the friction of a 
 feeding wheel, whose roughened surface 
 ■.reates sufficient adhesion to movQ the 
 material forward at the requisite intervals. 
 This feed is effected by the ordinary 
 means of a racket-wheel and click, or paul, 
 the latter being capable of adjustment 
 through shifting levers, so as to give a 
 longer or shorter stitch, at the will of the 
 operator, or the requirements of the work. 
 
 These devices and arrangements, with 
 such improved modifications as experience 
 and ingenuity have suggested from time to 
 time, constitute the American sewing- 
 machine. 
 
 Although the use of the sewing-machine 
 has become general only within a compar- 
 atively recent period, the instrument is, 
 'n a certain sense, an old invention. The 
 needle with the eye in the center, and 
 double-pointed, is beautifully employed in 
 the embroidery machine, which is an old 
 French device. This machine worked 
 upon cloth as many as sixty similar figures 
 or flowers at the same time; the whole 
 
 being directed by one hand, who, by the 
 aid of a pentagraphic guide on a prepared 
 pattern, pointed the needles to their appro- 
 jjriate place of entrance, and returned them 
 with unerring certainty and exactitude. 
 The earliest form of stitch made use of 
 was the -'chain stitch,' vi'hich is still 
 emjiloj'ed for ornamental jiurposes, but is 
 not approved of where strength and dura- 
 bility are required. The next stitch in 
 order was the ' running stitch,' and was 
 accomplished bv means of a needle having 
 an eye in the middle and points at each 
 end ; this has been extensively used for 
 the cheaper kinds of work, but does not 
 insure durability. The next form of stitch 
 is that already described, as formed by 
 means of two threads, with a needle and 
 shuttle ; — and this opens up the wonderful 
 era of modern sewing-machines, beginning 
 with the introduction to the public of that 
 by Mr. Howe. 
 
 It w-ould be impossible to follow Mr. 
 Howe through all the details of his varied 
 experience during his early years. Suffice 
 it to say, that it was at Boston, when in 
 his twentieth year, and after he had 
 learned the rudiments of his trade in one 
 of the machine shops of Lowell, and sub- 
 sequently in Cambridge, working side by 
 side with Nathaniel P. Banks, that the 
 thought of sewing by machinery was first 
 suggested to his mind. As related by 
 Mr. Parton, in his admirable magazine 
 sketch of Howe, this singularly fortuitous 
 incident happened in this wise : — In the 
 year 1839, two men in Boston, one a 
 mechanic and the other a capitalist, were 
 striving to ])roduce a knitting-machine, 
 which proved to be a task beyond their 
 strength. When the inventor was at his 
 wit's end, his capitalist brought the 
 machine to the shop of Ari Davis, to see 
 if that eccentric genius could suggest the 
 solution of the difficultj^, and make the ma- 
 chine work. The shop, resolving itself into 
 a committee of the whole, gathered about 
 the knitting-machine and its proprietor, 
 and were listening to an explanation of its 
 principle, when Davis, in his wild, extrava- 
 gant way, broke in with the question — 
 
n;oM coLOXY to would tower. 
 
 "Wliat are you bothering yourselves 
 with a knitting-nuichiue for V ^^ hy don"t 
 you make a sewing-machine ? " 
 
 " I wish I could," said the cajjitalist : 
 "but it can't be done.'' 
 
 "Oh, yes, it can," said Davis; "I can 
 make a sewing-machine mj'self." 
 
 "Well," said the other, "you do it, 
 Davis, and I'll insure you an independent 
 fortune." 
 
 Among the workmen who stood by and 
 listened to this conversation — and in this 
 instance at least the old adage concern- 
 ing listeners appears to have been reversed 
 — says Parton, was Howe ; and from that 
 time he was in the habit, in his leisure 
 
 moments, of meditating devices for sewing 
 by machinery. Having inherited a con- 
 stitution hardly strong enough for the 
 work of a machinist, and burdened even 
 in his opening manhood with the care of a 
 growing family, his attention was more 
 and more concentrated upon the project 
 of building a machine which would furnish 
 him a livelihood more easily earned. In 
 December, 1845, upon a small capital, pro- 
 vided by the generosity of an old friend, 
 he shut himself up in a garret at Cam- 
 bridge, and set himself seriously to the 
 task of inventing a sewing machine. 
 After about six months of incessant labor 
 
 and reflection he produced the first mor 
 chine tJutt ever sewed a seam, and he ivas 
 soon the wearer of a suit of rlotlics made 
 hij its assisfanri: This first machine, 
 which is one of great beauty and finish, is 
 still in existence, an object of peculiar 
 interest to the curious who inspect it; and 
 it will sew ten times as fast as a woman 
 can sew by hand. Having jaatented the 
 machine, and finding the tailors of Amer- 
 ica averse to its introduction, he went to 
 England, where he succeeded in selling 
 two machines ; but found so little encour- 
 agement that he would have starved to 
 death but for the aid of friends, and he 
 resolved to return home, or at least to send 
 his family. So pinched was he, 
 while in London, that he fre- 
 quently borrowed small sums of 
 Lis friend, Mr. Inglis — on one 
 occasion a shilling, with which he 
 bought some beans, and cooked 
 and ate them in his own room, — 
 and through him also obtained 
 some credit for provisions. Ar- 
 riving home, after an absence of 
 about two years, he found that the 
 sewing-machine was a conspicuous 
 object of public attention ; doulit 
 had been succeeded by admiration 
 of its qualities; and several ingen- 
 ious men having experimented, 
 had finallv improved upon the ma- 
 chine as originally constructed. 
 A war of litigation ensued, and, 
 after several years, Jlr. Howe's 
 claim to be the original inventor was 
 legally and irreversibly established, the 
 judge deciding that 'there was no evidence 
 which left a shadow of doubt that, for all 
 the benefit conferred ui)on the public by 
 the introduction of a sewing-machine, the 
 public are indebted to Mr. Howe.' To 
 him, therefore, all other inventors or 
 improvers had to pay tribute. From 
 being a poor man, Howe became, in a 
 few years, one of the most noted mil- 
 lionaires in America ; and his bust, exe- 
 cuted by Ellis, shows a man of marked 
 personal appearance and striking natural 
 endowments. 
 
INVEXTIOX OF THE SEWING lIACIiIXE — 1S40. 
 
 229 
 
 But here the verj' singular circumstances 
 relating to the alleged priority' of Mr. 
 Walter Hunt's invention, as described by 
 a graphic and well-informed writer in the 
 New York Galaxy, — showing how preca- 
 rious, at best, is the basis upon which 
 even the most impartial of legal conclu- 
 sions are arrived at, — may well be pre- 
 sented, as exhibiting the trials of inventors 
 and public benefactors : It was between 
 the years 1832 and 1834, that Mr. Hunt, 
 in his own workshop in Amos street, New 
 York city, invented, built, and put into 
 full and effective operation a machine for 
 sewing, stitching, and seaming cloth. 
 This first machine was made principally 
 by the inventor's own hands. It was the 
 pioneer sewing-machine of America, and 
 the first really successful one of the world. 
 There had already been a French inven- 
 tion, a tambour machine for ornamenting 
 gloves; but it was of very little general 
 utility. These machines of Walter Hunt 
 all contained the invention of the tnirved 
 needle with the eye near the point, the 
 shuttle and their combination, and they 
 originated the famous interlocked stitch 
 with two threads. Many samples of cloth 
 were perfectly sewn by these machines, 
 and many of the friends and neighbors of 
 the inventor came to see them work. At 
 length, one G. A. Arrowsmith was so well 
 satisfied with the working of the machines, 
 that he bought them, in 1834, and there- 
 with the right to obtain letters-patent. 
 But no sooner had Arrowsmith got this 
 right, than he became impressed both with 
 the vastness of the undertaking and with 
 the prejudice which any scheme appar- 
 ently tending to impoverish poor seam- 
 stresses would awaken. At the same time 
 he became involved in pecuniary disaster, 
 and for years did nothing with the 
 machine. Fortunately for Mr. Hunt's 
 fame, many persons had seen his machines 
 work, and had seen them sew a good, 
 strong and handsome stitch, and form 
 seams better than hand-sewing. Of these, 
 no less than six directly testified to this 
 fact in a suit afterward brought, and 
 established the fact beyond question that 
 
 Walter Hunt invented the first sewing- 
 machine, and that it contained the curved, 
 eye-pointed needle at the end of a vibrat- 
 ing arm with a shuttle. The case itself 
 was decided upon another point. These 
 afiidavits are still in existence. But this 
 was not all. Fifteen years after he had 
 sold his machines to Arrowsmith, who lost 
 a fortune and a name in not devoting him- 
 self to their reproduction, Walter Hunt 
 from memory gave a sworn written de- 
 scription of his first machine in every part, 
 and, to clinch the matter, afterward con- 
 structed a machine from that description, 
 which was the counterpart of the machine 
 of 1834, and worked perfectly. Finally, 
 one of the original machines sold to Arrow- 
 smith in 1834, was and is, still preserved, 
 though in a dilapidated condition. Walter 
 Hunt then undertook to make a new 
 sewing-machine, which should be an oper- 
 ative instrument, and should contain 
 all the parts which were preserved of 
 the old machine, with such others as were 
 necessary to present the machine in the 
 same shape that the original one pos- 
 sessed. He did this succes.sfully, and 
 the restored machine, still operative and 
 ready to sew good, strong seams, is yet in 
 existence. 
 
 W^ithout drawing further, however, from 
 this curiously interesting chapter in the 
 history of the machine, involving a ques- 
 tion of the deepest interest to inventors, 
 it is time to describe the instrument — its 
 parts and peculiar features, and modus 
 operandi, — invented b}' Mr. Howe, and 
 which transformed him from an obscure 
 and struggling mechanic to one of the 
 foremost manufacturers and millionaires 
 in America Seating ourselves therefore 
 before this wonderful elaboration of artis- 
 tic genius and skill, as it has come fresh 
 from the hands of the toilsome but at last 
 successful inventor, and witnessing its 
 weird and agile movement while its enthu- 
 siastic proprietor essays to sew a seam, we 
 find that two threads are employed, one of 
 which is carried through the cloth by 
 means of a curved needle, the pointed end 
 of which passes through the cloth; the 
 
230 
 
 FKO.M COLONY TO WOKLD I'OWER. 
 
 THE OLD AND SEW: SEWING BY HAND AND MACHINE. 
 
 needle used lias tlie eye that is to receive each side of tlie cloth the same appearance 
 
 the thread within a small distance, say an as that tjiven by stitching, with this pecu- 
 
 eighth of an inch, of its inner or pointed liarity, that the thread sewn on one side 
 
 end, the other or outer end of the needle of the doth is exclusively that which was 
 
 being held by an arm that vil)rates on a [ given out by the needle, and the thread 
 
 pivot or joint jiin, the curvature of the ' seen on the other side is exclusively that 
 
 needle being such as to correspond with which was given out by the shuttle, 
 the length of the arm as its r.adius. ! Thus, according to this arrangement, a 
 
 When the thread is carried through the stitch is made at every back and forth 
 
 cloth, which may be done to the distance , movement of the shuttle. The two thick- 
 
 of about three-fourths of an inch, the thread nesses of cloth that are to be sewed, are 
 
 will be stretched above the curved needle, held uiion pointed wires, which project out 
 
 something in the manner of a bowstring, frmu a metallic plate, like the teeth of a 
 
 leaving a small open space between the 
 two. A small shuttle, carrying a bobliin 
 filled with silk m- thread, is then made to 
 pa.ss entirely through, this open space, 
 between the needle and the thread which 
 it carries; aii<l when the shuttle is re- 
 
 comb, but at a considerable distance from 
 each otlier. — say three-fourths of an incli. 
 more or less, — these ])oiuted wires sustain- 
 ing the cloth, and answering the purpose of 
 ordinary basting. The metallic plate from 
 which these wires project has numerous 
 
 turned, which is done Dy means of a picker ! holes through it, which answer the purpose 
 
 staff or shuttle-driver, the thiead which of rack teeth in enabling the ])late to move 
 
 was carried in by the needle is surrounded forward, by means of a pinion, as the 
 
 by that received from the shuttle ; as the ] stitches are taken. The distance to which 
 
 needle is drawn out, it forces that which the said plate is moved, and, consequently, 
 
 was received from the shuttle into the the length of the stitches, may be regu- 
 
 body of the chith ; and as this oiieration ! lateu at pleasure, 
 
 is repeated, a seam is formed which has on i One of the most formidable of Mr. 
 
INVENTIOX OF THE SEWIXG :MACHIXE — 1846. 
 
 231 
 
 Howe's competitors, as a, successful in- 
 ventor and manufacturer, was Mr. I. M. 
 Singer. His biographer speaks of him as 
 a mechanic of some ingenuity but of Gmall 
 means, who, taking up with a casual sug- 
 gestion made to him by a comrade, that a 
 sewing-machine capable of doing a fjredti-r 
 variety of work would be a profitable 
 thing, ceased all other labor, and, borrow- 
 ing forty or fifty dollars of his friend Mr. 
 Zieber, applied himself unremittingly to 
 the accomplishment of his task. He 
 worked, as he states, day and night, sleep- 
 ing but three or four hours out of the 
 twenty-four, and eating generally but 
 once a day, knowing that he must get a 
 machine made for forty dollars, or not get 
 it at all. The machine was completed the 
 night of the eleventh day from the day it 
 was commenced. About nine o'clock that 
 evening the parts of the machine were 
 finally put together, and a trial commenced 
 with it. The first attempt to sew was 
 unsuccessful, and the workmen, who wei'e 
 tired out with almost unremitting work, 
 left him one by one, intimating that the 
 thing was a failure. Singer continued, 
 however, trying the machine, with Zieber 
 to hold the lamp for him ; but, in the ner- 
 vous condition to which he had become 
 reduced by incessant toil and anxiety, was 
 unsuccessful in getting the machine to 
 sew tight stitches. About midnight, 
 Singer started for the hotel where he then 
 boarded, accompanied by Zieber. Upon 
 the way, they sat down on a pile of boards, 
 and Zieber asked Singer if he had noticed 
 that the loose loops of thread on the upper 
 side of the cloth came from the needle. 
 It then flashed ujjon Singer's mind that 
 he had forgotten to iidjitst the tensioyi upon 
 the needle thread ! They both started for 
 the shop again. Singer adjusted the ten- 
 sion, tried the machine, and sewed five 
 stitches perfectly, when the thread broke. 
 The perfection of those stitches, however, 
 satisfied him that the machine was a 
 success, and he therefore stopped work, 
 went to the hotel, and had a sound sleep. 
 By three o'clock the next day, he had the 
 machine finished, and started with it to 
 
 New York, taking immediate steps to 
 secure a patent. It brought him, in a few 
 years, princely rvealtli. The peculiarity 
 of this machine is the chain stitch or 
 single thread device, but with the employ- 
 ment of an eye-pointed needle, and other 
 appliances, so as to make it admirably 
 adapted for the general purposes of sewing. 
 On a similar principle are the Ladd and 
 Webster, and Finkle and Lyon, machines. 
 
 Other improvements or modifications of 
 the machine have been patented by Messrs. 
 Grover & Baker, Blodgett, Lerow, Wilson, 
 Morey, Johnson, Cliapin, Gibbs, Leavitt, 
 Watson, Clark, Weed, Arnold, McKay, 
 Langdon, and others, but which can only 
 be alluded to here. The principle of the 
 double -thread self- regulating machine 
 brought forward by Mr Martin, stopping 
 whenever the thread breaks or a loop is 
 missed, is claimed by several j^arties. A 
 number of the machines patented after 
 Howe's, use needles of a different kind from 
 his, but produce the same stitch ; most of 
 these instruments are equally correct in 
 respect to mechanical principles, but differ 
 widely in certain particulars, one being 
 vertical and the other horizontal, one car- 
 rying its own cloth and another requiring 
 that it should be carried by hand; with 
 other differences. 
 
 But one of the most ingenious and orig- 
 inal devices in this line remains to be 
 mentioned, namely, a combination of the 
 sewing-machine and the melodeon, bj' 
 Wheeler and Wilson, and by them exhib- 
 ited, on its comj)letion, to an admiring 
 jiublic. The apparatus had the appear- 
 ance, externally, of a small parlor side- 
 board or other similar piece of furniture. 
 On lifting the front, there was seen a 
 handsome set of piano keys. On closing 
 it, and turning back a hoop on the top, 
 there opened to the view a complete 
 sewing-machine, conveniently arranged. 
 Concealed below, within side doors, were 
 two pedals, one for the music, the other 
 for th* sewing-machine. Thus, by the 
 use of one of these ingenious contrivances, 
 when the lady operating the machine 
 became tired of playing at sewing, she 
 
i32 
 
 FKOil fOl-OXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 could cbangf! Ikt foot to the other pedal, 
 open the melodeon part, and discourse 
 music! The 'rotating hook ' and feeding 
 apjiaratus of the Wilson machine consti- 
 tute an admirahle feature ; and the same 
 may be said of the Grover & Baker or 
 ' double loop ' stitch. 
 
 Though at first looked uj)on as of doubt- 
 ful utility, the value of the sewing-machine 
 was in a short time abundantly demon- 
 strated. Curiosity and doubt were suc- 
 ceeded by admiration, and soon the demand 
 became extensive both at home and abroad, 
 until, at the present time, the annual pro- 
 duction of machines is thought to appro.x- 
 iniate to half a million. Active minds 
 were also not slow to devise what they 
 deemed to be im[)rovements in the ma- 
 chine and its appurtenances; and to this 
 end, the number of patent-claims filed U]) 
 to the present time does not vary much 
 from one thousand, though only an 
 extremely small proportion of these are of 
 any really practical importance. 
 
 Such a revolution in the processes and 
 results of national industry as that effected 
 by this machine could have entered into 
 no man's mind — not even the mind of one 
 given to the wildest romancing. Thus, in 
 the brief period of some dozen years 
 merely, from the time of the introduction 
 of the machine to the ]niblic, the value 
 and practical results of the invention may 
 be understood from the following facts, 
 which appeared in evidence in the contest 
 before the commissioner of patents, for the 
 extension of Howe's patent — namely : 
 
 At that time, the amount of the boot and 
 shoe business of Massachusetts was fifty- 
 five million dollars annually, and of this 
 amount, the ladies' and misses' gaiter- 
 boots and shoes involved one-half. About 
 one-eleventh of the sum total above named 
 was paid for sewing labor. From this 
 proportion it appeared that the annual 
 expenditure for sewing upon ladies' and 
 misses' gaiter-boots and shoes was two and 
 a half million dollars, and that it would 
 have cost four times as much if done by 
 hand, — so that the saving in a single year, 
 in one state, by this invention, in the man- 
 
 ufacture of one special article only, was 
 nearly eight million dollars. 
 
 Similarly conclusive evidence was given 
 in regard to the making of shirts, by an 
 extensive manufacturer in Connecticut, 
 who stated that his factory turned out 
 about eight hundred dozen i)er week ; that 
 he used four hundred sewing-machines, 
 and that one machine, with an attendant, 
 would do the work of five hand-sewers at 
 least, and do it better. He paid, at least, 
 four dollars per week ; but, reckoning it 
 at three dollars, — the old price for sewing 
 before machines were introduced, — it 
 showed a saving, in this single manufac- 
 tory, of two hundred and fortj' thousand 
 dollars. Allowing, then, the males of the 
 United States, at that time, to wear out 
 two shirts a year apiece, a projjortional 
 saving would amount to the large sum of 
 between eleven and twelve million dollars 
 annually, in making the single article of 
 shirts. 
 
 Another witness, representing the firm 
 of Brooks Brothers, of New York city, 
 manufacturers of clothing, stated that that 
 house alone did a business, at the period 
 named, of over a million dollars annually, 
 using twenty machines in the store, 
 besides patronizing those that others used, 
 and doing about three-fourths of all their 
 sewing bj' machines, and paying annually 
 for sewing labor about two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars ; seventy-five thousand dollars 
 of this was saved I)}' machines, — that is, 
 the machines saved seventy-five thousand 
 dollars on every two hundred thousand 
 paid for sewing labor. But the great 
 manufactures of this house did not consti- 
 tute, at most, but one-hundredth part of 
 the machine-made clothirig produced in 
 that city ; which fact, putting the propor- 
 tion at one-hundredtli part, made the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing machine clothing ir 
 the city of New York one hundred millici 
 dollars per annum ; and thus, at the rate 
 paid by that house for sewing, it brought 
 the cost of sewing in that branch of the 
 business in that citj^, — even witli the 
 assistance of the sewing-machines, — up to 
 twenty million dollars. Applying the 
 
INVENTION 01>" THE SEWING MACHINE — 1*40. 
 
 233 
 
 same ratio to tLe estimated amount of this 
 branch of business in tlie United States, 
 the total would reach the sum of seventy- 
 five million dollars. All this, be it remem- 
 
 bered, was in the comparative infancy of 
 the machine. Its pecuniary importance, 
 as a labor agent, is now estimated to reach 
 $500,000,000 annually. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE INHALATION OF ETHER AS A PRE- 
 VENTIVE OF PAIN.— 1846. 
 
 Performance of Surgical Operations Involving the Intensest Torture, During the Happy Unconscious- 
 ness of the Patient — Account of the First Capital Oenionstration Before a Crowdeil and Breatliless 
 Assembly. — Its Signal Success. — Thrill of Enthusiastic Joy — Most Beneficent Boon Ever Conferred 
 by Science upon the Human Race. — Instinctive Dread of Pain — Fruitless Search Hitherto for a Pre- 
 ventive. — Terror of the Probe and Knife. — Heroes Quail Before Tliem. — Case of the Bluff Old 
 Admiral. — Discovery of the Long-sought Secret. — Sulphuric Ether the l^rize. — Bliss During Ampu- 
 tation. — Honor Due to America. — A Whole World Elated. — Medical Men Exultant.— Curious Relig- 
 ious Objections. — Test Case in Surgery. — Startling and Romantic Interest. — Value in Public Hos- 
 pitals. — War-SufTerings Ameliorated — Various Effects while Inhaling. — Amusing and Extraordinary 
 Cases. — " Thoclit the Dei! had a Grip o' her!" — Odd Talk of an Innocent Damsel. — Old Folks 
 Wanting to Dance — Awards to the Discoverers. 
 
 '■ The fierce extremity of autferinc has been steeped in tlie 
 agony has been amootbed foiever." — Prof. o. W lioLUbs 
 
 waters of for^ettulnesa, and the deepeat furrow in the knotted brow of 
 
 
 UMANITY — even the Iiardiest 
 .111(1 bravest portions of it — in- 
 stinctively shrinks, with dread, 
 from the pain attendant upon a 
 deliberate cutting of tlie living 
 flesh by surgical instruments. 
 The case is related of a bluff 
 old English admiral — one of the 
 stoutest hearts that ever beat, lu 
 a service whose men of every 
 grade are, to a jiroverb, daunt- 
 less, — who, in the opening of his 
 distinguished career, had been engaged in cutting out an enemy's frigate. From the 
 gun-boat, he climbed up the ship's steep side, and, foremost of his crew, had reached the 
 bulwarks, when, receiving a stunning blow, he fell into his boat again, striking Ins 
 back with great violence. Years afterwards, a tumor had grown on the injured 
 part; and at length the admiral — gray, and bent in year.^^ — found it advisable tliat 
 this growth should be removed. The man that never feared death in its most ghastly 
 and appalling form, now shrank from the surgeon's knife ; the removal, contemplated by 
 the man of inany b.ittles with feeling almost akin to childish fear, was long deferred; 
 and at length, half stupefied by opium though he was, a most unsteady patient did he 
 prove during the operation. 
 
 KELIKVING PAIN RV THE USE OF ETHER. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF ETHER — 184G. 
 
 235 
 
 Numberless instances have there been, 
 too, of women — mothers — who, for their 
 kindred, have been at any time read}' to sac- 
 rifice their lives,by watching and privation, 
 in loathsome and tainted chambers of infec- 
 tious disease, but, wlien themselves be- 
 came victims of that which the}' knew re- 
 quired a surgical operation, and which, 
 without this, they were well assured must 
 miserably consume them away, — • even 
 these noble minds, resolute in the prospect 
 of death, have yet quailed under the fear 
 of surgical suffering; they have studiously 
 concealed their malady from their nearest 
 friends, and deliberately preferred the 
 misery of a fatal, and unchecked, and 
 gnawing cancer, to the apprehended tor- 
 ture of an operation, temporary though it 
 be. This feeling has been universal, in 
 all ages, among the victims of keen physi- 
 cal suffering. 
 
 From time immemorial, means have 
 been sought, and with partial success, to 
 relieve and even to destroy pain, during 
 the manipulations of practical surgery. 
 For this purjiose, opium, Indian hemp, 
 mesmerism, and nitrous oxide gas and 
 alcohol, have been employed, and all in 
 their turn abandoned, except that opium 
 in many cases, and mesmerism in a few, 
 still continued to be used with imperfect 
 success, and almost always with the subse- 
 quent disadvantage of headache, feverish- 
 ness, or other general disorder. 
 
 It was reserved for the simjple inhala- 
 tion of a certain gas — pure sulphuric 
 ether — to achieve insurgerij that for which 
 surgeons had for centuries labored, and 
 labored in vain ! 
 
 This was in 1846. A certain old gentle- 
 man, however, — as the case is narrated, — 
 was not altogether a stranger to the com- 
 forting effects of this same anodyne pro- 
 cess, some forty years previously. He had 
 discovered that the fumes of ether could 
 lull him into forgetfulness of the pains 
 and disquietude of a bustling and check- 
 ered life. He was a man of research in 
 his way ; curious in beds, baths, and pro- 
 fessing to understand disease and its cure 
 better by far than his fellows. But he 
 
 was loose in principle, as well as weak in 
 science, and no doubt, most deservedly, 
 had niauj' roughnesses in life which he 
 could wish to rub away. His mode was 
 this ; Obtaining an ounce or two of 
 ether, he leisurely sniffed up its vapor, sit- 
 ting softly the while, and manifestly en- 
 joying a time of calmness and repose, 
 greatly to his liking. Indeed, on being 
 interrogated, he was in the habit of 
 blandly answering, " soothing, sir, sooth- 
 ing to an immeasurable degree." In this 
 oblivion to the disgusting harassments 
 of life, he was in the habit of indulging 
 many times a day. He had curiously dis- 
 covered tliat the fumes of ether could 
 relieve, temporarily, from the pains of a 
 mind ill at ease ; but he was not to know 
 that it could still more wonderfully 
 assuage the body's worst suffering. 
 
 The divulgement of this most beneficent 
 boon to the world since man's moral re- 
 demption — by which the most dreaded of 
 surgical operations can be performed dur- 
 ing a happy uneon.sciousness of the jiatient 
 — not merely with little suffering, but ab- 
 solutely with none — is due to three Ameri 
 cans, namely, Drs. Morton, Jackson, and 
 Wells ; but to which of these is due the 
 priority or chief merit of the discovery, is 
 a question long and bitterly discussed, and 
 still undecided. Certainly, however, the 
 proceedings of each of these gentlemen, in 
 connection with the discovery, show mi- 
 doubted scientific acuteness, ingenuity, 
 zeal and perseverance. 
 
 The entlnisiasm with which the an- 
 nouncement of this marvelous discovery 
 was received may well be described as 
 unbounded. Wafted across the Atlantic, 
 it was at once hailed with rapturous ex- 
 ultation in England, and speedily adopted 
 in most of the large hospitals throughout 
 the kingdom — also, in the vast hosjiitals 
 of Paris, and in the numerous institutions 
 of like character in Germany, including 
 those so celebrated at Vienna and Berlin. 
 
 Still, there were not wanting those who 
 regarded the discovery with distrust, and 
 some of the public medical institutions 
 barred their doors against the new alle- 
 
l!36 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 viating agent. Objections based on relig- 
 ious grounds were urged against the em- 
 ployment of etlier. Pain, it was argued, 
 was the natural and intended consequence 
 of the primal sin, and therefore any attempt 
 to do away with it must be wrong. These 
 objectors failed to see that their argument, 
 if it proved anything, proved too much, 
 since it held with equal cogency against 
 any and every remedial agency, in all 
 cases whatsoever. Others opposed the 
 anaesthetic on the ground that pain is sal- 
 utary, and that its annihilation would be 
 
 this, it was alleged that the new agent 
 might be used for infamous purposes. " A 
 fatal habit," it was said, " had sprung up 
 of using ether, like opium, for purposes of 
 exhilaration, to all intents intoxication. 
 A burglar forced his way into a mansion 
 when all its occupants were in profound 
 slumber, and, applying ether to them, he 
 had the house all to himself." Frequent 
 accidents, moreover, resulted from the use 
 of impure ether by unskillful hands, so fre- 
 quent, indeed, that prosecution was threat- 
 ened for administering it at all. 
 
 He RACE Wells 
 
 THE THKEE CLAIMANTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF PAINLESS SURGERY, BY' ETHER. 
 
 hazardous to the patient. And an emi- 
 nent physiologist expressed the doubt 
 whether there were a true advantage in 
 suppressing pain. " It is a trivial mat- 
 ter," said this stoic, " to suffer, and a dis- 
 covery whose object is the prevention of 
 pain is of slight interest." 
 
 Then, too, letters came pouring in upon 
 the discoverer from all over the civilized 
 world, upbraiding him with having an- 
 nounced the claims of a humbug. He 
 also received constant visits from profes- 
 sional gentlemen, who questioned the ac- 
 curacy of the experiments. Worse than 
 
 But the domain of the grim demon, 
 Pain, having once been successfullj' in- 
 vaded, humanity and science were ill-dis- 
 posed to yield the vantage ground. One 
 of the most eminent professors of surgery 
 in America, Dr. 0. W. Holmes, said : 
 " The knife is searching for disease — the 
 pulleys are dragging back dislocated 
 limbs — nature herself is working out the 
 primal curse, which doomed the tenderest 
 of her creatures to the sharpest of her 
 trials ; but the fierce extremity of her 
 suffering has been steeped in the waters 
 of forgetfulness, and the deepest furrow 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF ETHER — 1S4(J. 
 
 237 
 
 in the knotted brow of agony has been 
 smoothed forever." So, too, that world- 
 renowned surgeon and anatomist. Dr. 
 John C. Warren, — grave, venerable, and 
 dispassionate, — exclaimed : 
 
 " Who could have imagined, that draiv- 
 ing the knife over the delicate skin of the 
 face might produce a sensation of un- 
 mixed delight! — that the turning and 
 twisting of instruments in the most sensi- 
 tive bladder might lie accompanied di/ a 
 beautiful dream/" 
 
 It was natural enough, certainly, that 
 benevolence should prompt the humane 
 surgeon to such utterances of congratula- 
 tion, for it supplied to him a desideratum, 
 long sought, for the relief of the excrucia- 
 ting pain they were necessarily obliged to 
 inflict in the practice of their profession. 
 For screaming, and struggles, and intense 
 suffering under the surgeon's knife, ether- 
 ization substituted complete exemption 
 from pain, associated in some with the 
 quietude, mental and corporeal, of deep 
 sleep ; in others, with pleasing dreams, 
 imaginary busy scenes, and sweet music ; 
 and in others, with a perfect consciousness 
 of surrounding objects and events. The 
 obstetrician finds in it the means of alle- 
 viating that distress with which woman 
 has always been aiifiicted, wlien in the 
 act of becoming a mother. To the phj'si- 
 cian it affords one of the most useful, as 
 it is one of his most prompt, remedies. 
 He, before, had no reliable means of re- 
 lieving the spasms of tetanus ; he not 
 unfrequently failed to procure sleep, in 
 delirium tremens, when the question was 
 one of sleep or death; his before pallia- 
 tive remedy, opium, for the pain of colic, 
 too often purchased temporary relief at the 
 expense of an aggravation of the cause of 
 the disease, and of increased difficulties in 
 its cure ; and he occasionally witnessed 
 the breaking up of the system of a neu- 
 ralgic patient, more as a consequence of 
 repeated large doses of opium, than of the 
 disease itself. 
 
 Heretofore, also, the shock of all serious 
 operations had been formidable. The 
 patient, however resigned and courageous, 
 
 was deeply impressed in sj'stem ; the 
 pulse became feeble, the sui-faco cold and 
 pale, the e^-e dim, respiration troubled, 
 and the whole powers of life brought low. 
 With the use of ether, this is otherwise. 
 Parturition may take place, thighs maj- be 
 amputated, stones extracted, tumors re- 
 moved, dentistry in all its branches per- 
 formed ; the chief deviations from the nor- 
 mal characters of health being, in all these 
 cases, such as are known to be the effects of 
 ether — and, accordingly, both manageable 
 and transient. In the army, it has been 
 found of incalculable service, in cases re- 
 quiring the use of the probe and and knife, 
 — the sadly ample opportunity in this field 
 during the war in the Crimea, in Mexico, 
 and on the battle-grounds of the South, 
 adding fresh triumphs to the discovery. 
 
 It will be interesting to give, at this 
 point, an account of the first surgical 
 operation pcrfornied under the infl,uence 
 of ether, the result of which so fully de- 
 monstrated this glorious truth of science. 
 It occurred at the Massachusetts General 
 Hospital, the operator being Dr. Haj'ward. 
 
 In his own narration of the circum- 
 stances of this deeply interesting and most 
 important occasion, Dr. Hay ward says : " It 
 was my fortune to perform the first capital 
 operation on a patient rendered insensible 
 by the inhalation of sulphuric ether. It 
 rarely falls to the lot of a professional 
 man to be the witness of a scene of more 
 intense interest. The operating-room was 
 crowded ; many were obliged to stand. 
 Besides the class of students in attend- 
 ance on the lectures, numbering more than 
 one hundred, and many of the principal 
 physicians and surgeons of the city and 
 neighborhood, there were present several 
 clergymen, lawyers, and other individuals, 
 from the various callings of life. When 
 I entered the theater, before the patient 
 was brought in, I found it, to my surprise, 
 filled in every part, except the floor on 
 which the table stood, with persons on 
 whose countenances was depicted the al- 
 most painful anxiety with which they 
 awaited the result of the experiment they 
 were about to witness. I simply told them 
 
FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 that I liad decided, with the advioe of my 
 colleagues, to allow the patient on whom I 
 was to operate, to inhale an article which 
 was said to have the power of annulling 
 pain. The patient was then brought in. 
 She was a delicate looking girl of about 
 twenty years of age, who had suffered for 
 a long time from a scrofulous disease of 
 tiie knee-joint. It had at length sup- 
 purated ; there were extensive openings 
 into the cavity of the joint; the cartilages 
 were ulcerated, and partly absorbed ; the 
 bones carious, and symptoms of hectic 
 fever had already made their appearance. 
 As soon as she was well arranged on tlie 
 table I told her that I should let her 
 breathe something which I hoped would 
 prevent her from suffering much from the 
 operation, and that she need not be afraid 
 of breathing it freely." The critical 
 nature of this case can easily be appre- 
 ciated, even by the unprofessional mind, 
 and the result is fraught with deep and 
 romantic interest. 
 
 It being desirable that the amputation 
 should be performed as rapidly as possible, 
 Dr. Haywai'd decided to accomplish it 
 by means of the flap operation. One per- 
 son was to compress the artery, another to 
 withdraw the flaps, a third to hand the in- 
 struments, and a fourth to watch the pulse. 
 Dr. Hayward grasped the patient's limb 
 with his left hand, and held the amputat- 
 ing knife behind him in his right, care- 
 fully concealed from her view. The 
 mouth-piece of the inhaling instrument 
 was then put into her mouth, and she was 
 directed to take long inspirations. After 
 breathing iji this way a short time, the 
 nostrils were compressed, so that all the 
 air that went into the lungs must first 
 pass through the machine, and of course 
 be mixed with the vapor of the ether. 
 Slie breathed with perfect ease, and with- 
 out struggling, and in about three minutes 
 from the time the instrument was put 
 into her mouth, Dr. Morton said, ' She is 
 ready.' A death-like silence reigned in 
 the room ; no one moved, or hardly 
 breathed. The doctor passed the knife 
 directly through the limb, and brought it 
 
 out as rapidly as he could, and made the 
 upper flap. The patient gave no sign of 
 feeling or consciousness, but looked like 
 one in a deep, quiet sleep. Every other 
 person in the room took a full inspiration 
 that was distinctly audible, and seemed to 
 feel that they could now breathe again. 
 The second flap was then made, the bone 
 sawed, five arteries were tied, and as the 
 doctor was tightening the ligature upon 
 the sixth and last she groaned, being the 
 first indication of sensibility that had 
 been given. Nothing more was done than 
 to bring the flaps together, cover the 
 stump with cloths dipped in cold water, 
 and apply two or three turns of a roller to 
 keej) them in place. Her consciousness 
 soon returned ; she was wholly ignorant 
 that the operation had been done! For 
 some time she would not believe it, and 
 said that she had felt nothing till the 
 doctor tied the last arter^'. The operation 
 lasted a minute and three-quarters. 
 
 The phenomena, or effects, produced by 
 the administration of ether, are extremely 
 various, depending much, of course, upon 
 the temperament, habits, and condition of 
 the patient. Sometimes the dreaui is ex- 
 quisitely charming, and the patient seems 
 passed into another and a better world. 
 Sometimes the opiiosite state obtains, the 
 patient betraying manifest uneasiness 
 while in the trance, by restless, staring, 
 anguished eye-balls, by groaning, and by 
 wrestling movements of the body. And 
 these are not loath to emerge from the 
 effects of the drug, while the former jiart 
 with them grudgingly. One poor girl, for 
 instance, had struggled hard during an 
 amputation, yet felt no pain ; and, on com- 
 ing to herself, thankfulness was expressed 
 in every feature, as well as by her blithe 
 tongue, for she " thocht the deil had a 
 grip o' her a' the time." 
 
 In some cases, the dreamer is falling from 
 a great height rapidly, down and down into 
 some unfathomable abyss. In other cases, 
 the dream is warlike ; personal to the 
 dreamer ; or of by-gone days, implicating 
 some great military demonstration ; and 
 the crack of tooth-pulling has thus passed 
 
THE DISCOVEKT OF ETHEE — 1S4G. 
 
 239 
 
 off as the din of ordnance. Sometimes, in 
 youth, the dream has been " all fun ;" and 
 the dreamer has been anxious to be back 
 i.ito the midst of his pleasant pastime 
 again, even at the cost of another tooth- 
 drawing. The patient, if a wanderer, and 
 then in a strange land, may dream pleas- 
 antly of home — " she had been home, it 
 was beautiful, and she had been gone a 
 month ; "' so said one poor woman in the 
 midst of what, without the ether, would 
 have been agony. 
 
 Sometimes the dream passes steadily on 
 to completion, sometimes it is abruptly 
 closed by some critical procedure on the 
 part of the operator— -the extraction of a 
 tooth, with a sudden wrench, for example. 
 A .soldier dreams of guns and bayonets, 
 and strife, and clamor ; a sailor, of ships, 
 and storms, and grog ; an Irishman of 
 whiskey and shillalahs, and a " skrim- 
 mage ; " a boy of marbles, tops, and " lots 
 of fun ; " a mother, of home and children ; 
 a girl, of gala-days and finery. 
 
 A tippler fancies he is in the grog-shop, 
 and there he may enjoy himself hugely — 
 or he may dream " his wife came to fetch 
 him.'' Quarrelsome men grow pugilistic, 
 and coats may be doffed with appropriate 
 accompaniment of word and action. 
 Young men, having some one in their list 
 of female acquaintance dearer than the 
 rest, grow active lovers, and in lone walks, 
 earnest conversations, or soft whisperings, 
 seem to make rare progress in their suit. 
 The swearing and dissolute may indulge 
 in oaths and profane jests. The man of 
 fervent piety, who is habitually looking 
 heavenward, may not only suppose himself 
 translated to the realms of bliss, but may 
 take part in imagined exercises there. A 
 patient of this class was known thus to 
 employ himself immediately after a pain- 
 ful operation ; four verses of a psalm were 
 sung by him very londly, with his eyes 
 fixed, his body in a tremor, and intense 
 fervor shown in every movement; he 
 would not be interrupted, and could 
 scarcely be prevailed upon to leave the 
 operation-room, seeing that he found him- 
 self so wonderfully happy there — said he 
 
 had been in heaven, and had seen his 
 Savior ; on reaching his bed, he fell on his 
 knees and was rapt in praj'er. 
 
 Not always, however, is the dream con- 
 sistent with the character. Among the 
 instances showing this, is that of a young, 
 simpering and innocent damsel, who, 
 addressing a most amiable and excellent 
 dentist, knitting her brow into something 
 more than a frown, clenching her fist, and 
 scowling deiiance, vowed in the most up- 
 roarious tone and manner, that if he ven- 
 tured near her with his profane touch, 
 "big blackguard, as he was, slie'd knock 
 him down." And so, too, staid, demure, 
 elderly persons, have, in most abandoned 
 gaj'ety, insisted on the operator forthwith 
 joining them in a joyous polka ! 
 
 In plain language, as in plain fact — says 
 an English reviewer, whose interesting 
 7'esume is here quoted — the patient is 
 dnn/k. Sometimes the consciousness of 
 this condition is made apparent by the 
 sensations which are induced in the early 
 period of inhalation. '' You'll have me 
 drunk I " cried one ; "Oh, you rascals! I 
 know what you are ; " evidently supposing 
 that he had fallen into loose society, and 
 that his companions had a design on him. 
 But it is on coming out of the trance, that 
 the intoxication shows most. The patient 
 sways as he tries to stand ; is garrulous, 
 sprightly, and humorous ; and often in- 
 sists on shaking hands with all and 
 sundry. The unsteadiness of gait, and 
 lightness of head, sometimes have an 
 inconvenient duration, as is illustrated in 
 the case of a most worthy lady, who, leav- 
 ing the dentist too soon, had to grope her 
 way along the railing of the street, in 
 noonday, and ran no slight risk of losing 
 all reputation for sobriety. 
 
 Among the many amusing examples of 
 the effect produced by the administration 
 of the ansesthetic — in addition to its pri- 
 mary quality of annulling pain — the follow- 
 ing may be cited : An Iri.sh woman, who 
 had never heard of ether previous to call- 
 ing upon the dentist for the jsurjjose of 
 having a large molar tooth extracted, took 
 it on being told that she would suffer no 
 
240 
 
 FEOM COIONY TO WORLD POWEIJ. 
 
 pum, and would, probably, have an inter- 
 view witli her friends in the old country. 
 Just as its influence commenced, the 
 doctor remarked that lie would like to 
 have her observe what occupation her 
 friends were engaged in, if she succeeded 
 in finding them. The tooth was di'awn ; 
 she moved not a muscle of the face, but 
 remained as in a quiet sleep, for about one 
 
 machinery, declared herself unhurt by the 
 operation, and wished the doctor to see if 
 there was not " another tooth what wanted 
 to he drfir." 
 
 Another example of this class, was that 
 of a middle-aged Irisliman, who had sus- 
 tained compound fracture of the leg. The 
 fracture had not united, in consequence of 
 the presence of a dead piece of bone, and 
 
 MONDBBNT ERECTED IN HOKOR OF THE DISCOVEKY OF ETHEU. 
 
 minute. Upon opening her eyes, she 
 exclaimed, " I have seen all my friends ; 
 they were engaged in spinning — and don't 
 I hear their wheels now, sure ? " She 
 said it appeared to her as though she had 
 been absent many months. She recol- 
 lected that she went home in a steam 
 vessel, heard the noise of steam and 
 
 it became necessary to remove this by a 
 painful operation, in the following manner : 
 The patient was seated on a table, and 
 the inhalation was applied. At first, little 
 effect was produced, but after some min- 
 utes, the patient fell liackwards, as in a 
 swoon. Tlie operator was then about to 
 proceed ; but the man immediately ob- 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF ETHER — ISiG. 
 
 1'41 
 
 jected, saying that "he was not asleep, and 
 that he trusted nothing would be done 
 till he was asleep." For full twenty min- 
 utes more the inhalation went on, the man 
 confused and talkative, but wide-awake, 
 and occasionally expressing very emphati- 
 cally his conviction that " it would not do." 
 At length, however, while in this wakeful 
 state, the operation was begun. Incisions 
 vere made on the shin, and tlajjs were dis- 
 sected off so as to expose the bone beneath. 
 A portion of this was sawn and clipped 
 through, and then the dead Ijone was 
 removed. Only during the clipping of the 
 bone with strong straining pliers did any 
 sign of feeling escape from the patient, 
 who was busy inhaling all the while, and 
 now and then protesting that " it wouldn't 
 do." The operation occupied aljuut ten 
 minutes, and, from the highly sensitive 
 nature of the parts involved, must have 
 been attended with excruciating suffering 
 under ordinary circumstances. After it 
 was over, the operator said to the patient — 
 
 " I suppose you won't let me operate 
 to-day ? " 
 
 " Certainly not," replied the patient, 
 "it won't do; I must be asleep. The 
 thing hasn't succeeded with me, and I am 
 sure it can't succeed with any one else, for 
 I did everything I could to get asleep, for 
 my own sake, and I'd do anything to plase 
 you." 
 
 " Then you won't even let me make a 
 cut into the leg ? " 
 
 " No ; I must be asleep ; we can try it 
 another time." 
 
 This plain proof of his utter unconscious- 
 ness of the operation having been per- 
 formed was acknowledged by the specta- 
 tors in a hearty round of applause. The 
 patient then sat up, and, seeing the wound, 
 burst into an immoderate fit of laughter, 
 saying — • 
 
 '■No doubt there's blood, or something 
 very like it ; but I haven't felt a single 
 thing done to my leg. That bates the 
 globe ! " 
 
 On being asked decidedly as to his 
 having felt anything, he repeatedly an- 
 swered "Not a ha' porth." He got into 
 16 
 
 amazing spirits, and refused to leave the 
 room until he had told "all about the tol- 
 drums of the business." And then, with 
 the manner of a tipsy man, and very 
 happy, he kept surgeons and students in a 
 roar of laughter for some minutes with a 
 narrative of his condition during the in- 
 halation, which, Irish-like, seemed to have 
 an interminable medley of imaginary 
 fights and " killings " going on around 
 him. 
 
 It has already been stated, that Drs. 
 Jackson, Morton, and Wells, respectively, 
 claim the honor of having discovered this 
 great fact in chemical and medical science, 
 and the claim of each is supported by a 
 formidable army of names and evidence. 
 One of the most candid investigators of 
 the character and weight of these several 
 and conflicting claims, has presented the 
 case in this light, namely : That to Dr. 
 Wells unquestionably belongs the merit 
 of having first demonstrated the happy 
 idea of deadening sensibility in painful 
 operations, by using both nitrous oxide 
 and sulphuric ether ; that to Dr. Jackson, 
 the thanks of the world are due for lend- 
 ing that influence which his well-earned 
 reputation qualified him to do, in estal)- 
 lishing confidence in the public mind in 
 the use of sulphuric ether, as a substitute 
 for the nitrous oxide ; and that, to Dr. 
 MortOii's indefatigable exertions in secur- 
 ing the attention of leading medical men 
 to the subject, was due the rapid adoption 
 of sulphuric ether in connection with the 
 practice of surgery. But, singularly 
 enough, though the French Academy has 
 acknowledged, by jiecuniary and honorary 
 awards, the indebtedness of mankind to 
 the American discoverers of this vast 
 blessing to humanity, the American gov- 
 ernment has thus far failed to confer any 
 reward upon any one of the distinguished 
 claimants. A costly and superb monu- 
 ment, designed and executed with con- 
 summate skill by AYard, the eminent 
 sculptor, and erected at the cost of a 
 wealthy citizen of Boston, in honor of this 
 great discovery, now adorns the public 
 garden of that city. 
 
XXV. 
 
 DISCOVERT OF 
 
 GOLD AT SUTTER'S MILL, OALIFOR- 
 
 NIA.— 184S. 
 
 Widely Exteudeil ami Iiiexliaustilile Deposits of tlie Precious Metal. — The News Spreads like Wikl-fire 
 to tlie Four Quarters of the Glohe — Uverwljeluiiug Tide of Euiigratiou froiu All Couutries. — Nucleus 
 of a (ireat Empire on tlie Pacific— California J5econies the El Dorado of the World aud the Goldeu 
 ConiuionweaUli of the American Union. — First Practical Discoverv of the Gold.— On John A. Sutter's 
 Land -Found liy J. W. Marshall.— Simple Accident that Led to It.— Marshall's Wild Excitement.- 
 Shows Sutter the Golden Grains. — A Dramatic Interview. — The Discoverv Kept Secret. — How it 
 was Disclosed —A Keal Womler of the Age.— Trials of the Early Emigrants.— Their Bones Whiten 
 
 tlie Soil. — All Professions at the Mines. — Impetus Given to Commerce. — Life Among the Dif;gers. 
 
 Disordered State of Society. — Crimes, Outrages, Conflagrations.— Scarcity, Fahulous Prices. — Minin" 
 hy Macliinery. — Order and Stability Reached. — Population in 18.57, fiOO.OOO. — Gold in Ten Years, 
 
 $i;oo,ooo,ooo. 
 
 " Gold to fetch, and pold to neiid. 
 Gold to Itorrow, ami pold to lend. 
 Gold to keep, and gold to (tpend. 
 .'\nd abundance of gold in fuluro.'* 
 
 Ml.VlNt; OCKKA riOXS IN < A l.lFolt-N'lA. 
 
 ITHOUT any exaggeration, it 
 
 may be asserted that no modern 
 
 event lia.s been the cause of .so 
 
 much romance in real life, — no 
 
 laMiich or sphere of trade, even though perfected b^' long 
 
 experience, has called into eni[iIoyment so many of the 
 
 means and instrumentalities of diversified human industry 
 
 and commercial intercourse, — indeed, nothing within the 
 
 memory of man, except the achievements of steam and the 
 
 electric telegraph, approaches so nearly to magic, as the 
 
 discovery of gold, in luxurious deposits, on the shores of the 
 
 Pacific, and that, too, in the soil of a territory which, by 
 
 ronqiiest and purchase, had but just fallen, like fruit golden 
 
 ripe, into the lap of the Great Republic. Tliis 
 
 iscovery occurred at Sutter's mill, in Coloma 
 
 county, California, in February', 
 
 1848." 
 
 Here, however, it deserves to 
 be stated as a matter of histori- 
 - cal interest, that gold placers 
 were worked in certain jiortions 
 of California, long before the 
 discovery just mentioned. The 
 
DISCOVERY OF GOLD AT SUTTEE'S MILL — 1848. 
 
 243 
 
 eTi'dence of this appears in a letter ad- 
 dressed by Abel Stearns, of Los Angeles, 
 to Louis R. Lull, secretar}- of the Califor- 
 nia Society of Pioneers. Mr. Stearns, who 
 went to California from Mexico in 1829, 
 states that on the 22d of November, 1842, 
 he sent by Alfred Robinson — who returned 
 from California to the states by way of 
 Mexico — twenty ounces California weight, 
 or eighteen and three-fourths ounces mint 
 weight, of placer gold, to be forwarded by 
 him to the United States mint at Phila- 
 delphia; the mint assay was returned 
 August 6, 1843. This gold was taken 
 from placers first discovered in March, 
 1S42, by Francisco Lopez, a Californian, 
 at San Francisquito, about thirty-five miles 
 north-west from Los Angeles. It appears 
 that Lopez, while resting in the shade with 
 some companions, during a hunt for stray 
 horses, dug up some wild onions with his 
 sheath knife, and in the dirt discovered a 
 piece of gold. Searching further, he found 
 more pieces, and on returning to town an- 
 nounced his discovery. A few persons, 
 mostly Sonorians, who were accustomed to 
 placer mining in Mexico, worked in the 
 San Francisquito placer from this time 
 until the latter part of 1846 (when the 
 war with the United States disturbed the 
 country), taking out some six thousand :o 
 eight thousand dollars in value, per annum. 
 The United States mint certificate for the 
 assay made for Mr. Stearns in 1843, is now 
 in the archives of the " Society of Califor- 
 nia Pioneers." 
 
 Before the great event which made the 
 year 1848 so memorable, the influence of 
 the United States had already become con- 
 spicuous in the affairs of California, and 
 had in a degree prepared the way for what 
 was to follow. In the words of a British 
 writer, the United States spread her actual 
 influence long before she planted a flag as 
 the sign of her dominion. For two years 
 previous to the capture of Monterey, in 
 1846, her authority had been paramount in 
 California. At length, towai-d the close of 
 the summer of 184.5, Fremont appeared in 
 the neighborhood of Monterey, whose park- 
 like scenery — trees scattered in groups 
 
 over grassy hills, wide sloping fields, plan- 
 tations of oak and fir, red-tiled houses, 
 yellow-washed church, and white cottages 
 — showed in pleasant contrast to the deso- 
 late region of the Rocky mountains he had 
 left. He was accompanied by some of his 
 trappers — men of muscle and daring, 
 dressed in deer-skin coats, with formidable 
 rifles, and mounted on tall, spare horses. 
 They rode in Indian file through the out- 
 skirts ; their leader viewed the town, and 
 they vanished. Soon again he appeared, 
 with an ominous array of thirty-five fol- 
 lowers, encamped on a woody height ; was 
 commanded to depart, was driven to the 
 hills, pursued, and again lost sight of. 
 An American ship then sailed into the 
 harbor. Fremont was again at Monterey. 
 The Californians foresaw the probable 
 progress of events, and perhaj)s secretly 
 desired the fostering protection of the 
 gre.at republic. While balancing between 
 that and independence, two United States 
 vessels simultaneously entered the harbors 
 of Monterey and San Francisco, and in 
 July, 1846, the whole of California came 
 under the rule of America. A new era 
 was again opened. An immediate change 
 appeared. Industry was revived; deserted 
 villages were repeopled ; neglected lands 
 were again cultivated ; decaying towns 
 were renovated ; and the busy hum of 
 toil broke that silence and lethargy which 
 brooded over an ill-governed country. 
 
 But another and greater change was at 
 hand, to turn the tide of her fortunes into 
 a new, a wider, and more diffusive channel, 
 and to raise California from the condition 
 of a wild and isolated territory, to be the 
 very focus of -the world's attention, — the 
 spot where innumerable streams of emigra- 
 tion from the four quarters of the world, 
 from barbarous and civilized countries, 
 pouring across the Rocky Mountains, or 
 brought over the sea, from distant shores, 
 were to meet in tumultuous confluence, 
 and, flowing upon each other, form an 
 eddying whirlpool of excitement, such as 
 few countries on the globe, in any period 
 of their history, could present to the ob- 
 servation of mankind. 
 
244 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 Wliat is tlio character of this region, 
 independently of its newly- discovered 
 treasures, at the period mentioned ? It 
 is wealthy in many natural resources. Its 
 extent is great. From Cape Mendocino, 
 at the borders of the United States, to the 
 root of the peninsula, is seven hundred 
 miles, and Lower California thrusts out 
 its vast tongue to an almost equal dis- 
 tance. The old region is for the most 
 part a broken, hilly, and barren tract of 
 land ; but occasional plains of rich fertility 
 alternate with the less favored tracts, and 
 these formed the sites of the old Jesuit 
 missions. Alta California extends from 
 the coast to the provinces of New Mexico. 
 Of the interior desert basin, little is known, 
 except that it is a wild, rocky, and woody 
 territory, watered by a few rivers, and 
 lakes, rising periodically from the earth, 
 and peopled by wandering Indian hordes. 
 The Sierra Nevada, or snowy range, di- 
 vides the gold region from the great des- 
 ert basin ; and between this and the sea 
 lies another line of mountains, forming a 
 valley five hundred miles in length, wa- 
 tered by the Sacramento and the San 
 Joachim. These streams, forming a junc- 
 tion in the center of the valley, iliverge 
 toward the sea, and pour in an united 
 current into the harbor of San Francisco 
 — one of the no!)lest on the globe. The 
 aspect of the country is diversified, and 
 full of beaut3^ Green valleys, glittering 
 lakes, and verdant hills, extend along the 
 interior borders, backed by the rounded 
 si)ires of the snowy range, whose deep ra- 
 vines and caverns are just now peopled liy 
 
 toiling gold-hunters ; and these are drawing 
 more wealth from the bleakest, most bar- 
 ren, and most neglected spots, than a hus- 
 bandman in the course of many years could 
 derive from the most luxuriantly cultivated 
 land. Along the river banks, light grassy 
 slopes alternate with stony, broken, sandy 
 expanses, honey-combed as it were by 
 time, but now swarming with amateur 
 delvers. However, the country', as a 
 whole, is fertile ; producing readily grains, 
 vegetables, and fruits, with fine timber, 
 whilst immense pasture grounds afford 
 nourishment to the tlocks and herds that 
 once formed the priucijsal wealth of Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 LTp to the year 1847, so comparatively 
 small were the gatherings of gold, in 
 various sections of the globe, that in 
 
 :K b MII.L. \\ Ill-I^L *.OLD "^N Ad riKhl L i .<: _ La I I , >1S48 
 
DISCOVERY OF GOLD AT SUTTEES MILL — 1848. 
 
 245 
 
 reckoning the avercage produce of the pre- 
 cious metal, of all parts of the New and 
 Old World for a series of years previous to 
 1847, it did not amount to the annual 
 value of twenty-five million dollars. 
 
 It was in September, 1847, that Captain 
 John A. Sutter, the great pioneer settler 
 in California, commenced an undertaking 
 
 I! - * 
 
 .lOHN A. SUTTER. 
 
 which led, by a very simple and ordinary 
 circumstance, to t/ie first practical dif:- 
 coveri/ of the prodigiounbj i^Aliiahle (fold 
 mines of California — the long-sought JEl 
 Dorado of ancient and modern times. 
 This undertaking consisted in the erection 
 of a saw-mill at Coloma, on a mountainous 
 spot about one thousand feet above the 
 level of the valley, where the Kio des los 
 Americanos pours down from the Sierra 
 Nevada to swell the united streams of the 
 Sacramento and San Joachim. 
 
 Such an enterprise, in such a region, at 
 a time when the political and social con- 
 dition of the country was so unsettled and 
 uncertain, indicated a mind of energy and 
 executive capacity, on the part of the 
 projector. And it was even so, in full 
 measure, In the case of Captain Sutter. 
 He is described, by his biographers, in the 
 annals of San Francisco, as an intelligent 
 Swiss emigrant, who sailed for and reached 
 New York, in July, 1834; but finally 
 settled and for several years resided in 
 Missouri. The wild w^est had always 
 possessed a charm for him, and he had re- 
 moved thither ; but now his adventurous 
 spirit looked still further tcrtvards the setting 
 
 sun, and roved along the waters that sped 
 their unknown way to the Pacific. Leav- 
 ing family and home, in company with Sir 
 William Drummond Stewart, he joined a 
 party, under the charge of Cajstain Tripps, 
 of the American Fur Companj', and start- 
 ed for the broad valleys of California, 
 where he knew that rich and fertile lands 
 only awaited an industrious cultivator, and 
 where Providence had even a still richer 
 yielding field that lie knew not of. He 
 left the trappers at their rendezvous on 
 the Wind river among the Kansas Rocky 
 mciuntains, and with a new party of six 
 decided on proceeding to their destination 
 by way of Oregon. Crossing the valley of 
 the Willamette, he finally arrived at Fort 
 Vancouver, and there ascertained that 
 innumerable delaj^s must elapse before he 
 could reach California. Nothing daunted, 
 and apparently urged, like Columbus, to 
 accomplish his object despite of fate, 
 Cajjtain Sutter sailed for the Sandwich 
 Islands, hoping to embark thence direct 
 for the Spanish coast. But when he 
 arrived there, no vessels were about to sail 
 in that direction. Again he threw down 
 the gauntlet to fate, and re-embarked for 
 Sitka Island, in Russian America, and 
 from that immense distance at last reached 
 Yerba Buena, July second, 1839. Not 
 permitted to land here, he again embarked, 
 and was fijaally allowed to set foot on 
 California soil at Monterey. Having suc- 
 ceeded in overcoming the Spanish opposi- 
 tion to foreign settlers, he obtained the 
 permission of Governor Alvarado to locate 
 himself in the valley of the Rio del Sacra- 
 mento ; more readily granted, perhaps, 
 because it was then the abode of savage 
 Indians. He explored the Sacramento, 
 Feather and American rivers, and in 
 August, 1839, about eighteen months after 
 he commenced his journey, permanently 
 established himself on the latter river, 
 with a colony of only three whites and 
 eight Kanakas. In a short time, he re- 
 moved to the location afterwards known as 
 Sutter's Fort, and took possession of the 
 surrounding country under a Mexican 
 grant, giving to it the name of New 
 
246 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOULD TOWER. 
 
 Helvetia. From this point lie cut a road 
 to the juuetion of the Sacramento and 
 American river.s, where he established a 
 quay or hinding-plaire, on the site of whiidi 
 has since been built the city of Sacramento. 
 Here he remained for several years, becom- 
 ing possessor of a large amount of land, 
 and rapidly carrying on various and ex- 
 tensive improvements. At one time he 
 had a thousand acres sown in wheat, and 
 owned eight thousand neat cattle, two 
 thousand horses and mules, as many sheep, 
 and a thousand swine. He was appointed 
 alcalde of the district by Commodore 
 Stockton, and Indian agent by General 
 Kearney ; and with all his sympathies 
 with this country, his earnest wish was to 
 see California brought into the American 
 Union. 
 
 Among the followers of Sutter was 
 James W. IMarshall, who emigrated from 
 New Jersey to Oregon in 1843, and a j-ear 
 later went to California. By trade he 
 was a carpenter, and to him Captain 
 Sutter intrusted the erection of the saw- 
 mill at Coloma, where good water-power 
 and plenty of lumber had determined its 
 location. It was this enterprise which led 
 to the most famous discovery of gold ever 
 known in the history of the globe. How 
 this happened, has been differently related 
 by different authorities, but jierhaps by 
 none more authentically than by Mr. 
 Dunbar, president of the Traveller's Cluh 
 of New York. The saw-mill was com- 
 pleted in January, 1848, and they had 
 just commenced sawing lunilier, when, on 
 the night of February 2d, Marshall 
 appeared at Sutter's Fort, his horse in a 
 foam and himself presenting a singular 
 appearance — all bespattered with mud, 
 and laboring under intense excitement. 
 
 And now ensued a scene which can 
 scarcely be exceeded in its elements of 
 dramatic representation. Marshall imme- 
 diately requested Captain Sutter to go 
 with him into a room where they could be 
 alone. This request was granted, and, 
 after the door was closed, Marshall asked 
 Captain Sutter if he was sure they would 
 not be disturbed, and desired that the 
 
 door miglit be locked. Captain Sutter did 
 not know what to make of his actions, and 
 he began to think it hazardous to lock 
 himself in the i-oom with Marshall, who 
 appeared so uncommonly strange. Mar- 
 shall being satisfied at last that they 
 would not lie interrupted, took from his 
 pocket a jjoucli from which he poured 
 upon the table about an ounce of yellow 
 grains of metal, which he thought would 
 prove to be gold. Captain Sutter inquired 
 where he got it. Marshall stated that in 
 the morning, the water being shut off from 
 the saw-mill race, as was customary, he 
 discovered, in passing through the race, 
 shining particles here and there on the 
 bottom On exaniination, he found them 
 to be of metallic substance, and the 
 thought flashed over him that they might 
 be gold. Jioif linj ir'ith events teas this 
 point of ti)?)i' .' Marshall stated that the 
 laborers — white and Indian — had picked 
 up some of the particles, and he thought 
 a large quantity could be collected. 
 
 Captain Sutter was at first quite 
 incredulous as to these particles being 
 gold, but happening to have a bottle of 
 nitric acid among his stores, he applied 
 the test, and, true enough, the yellow 
 grains proved to be jiure gold. The great 
 discoueri/ iras made! 
 
 The account given above agrees sub- 
 stantially with Captain Sutter's own 
 narrative of the event, namely: That 
 Marshall had contracted with him for the 
 building of a saw-mill for producing 
 lumber, on the south fork of the American 
 River, a feeder of the Sacramento. In 
 the course of his operations, Marshall had 
 occasion to admit the river water into the 
 tail-race, for the purpose of widening and 
 deepening it by the strength of the 
 current. In doing this, a considerable 
 quantity of mud, sand, and gravel, was 
 carried along with the stream, and 
 deposited in a heap at the foot of the tail- 
 race. Marshall, when one day examining 
 the state of his works, noticed a few 
 glittering particles Ij'ing near the edge of 
 the heap. His curiosity being aroused, 
 he gathered some of the sparkling objects; 
 
DISCOVEKY OF GOLD AT SUTTEE'S MILL — 1848. 
 
 247 
 
 and he at once became satisfied of their 
 nature and the value of his discovery. All 
 trembling with excitement, he hurried to 
 his employer and told his story. Captain 
 Sutter at first thought it was a fiction, and 
 the teller only a mad fool. Indeed, he 
 confesses that he kept a sharp eye upon 
 his loaded rifle, when he, whom he was 
 tempted to consider a maniac, was eagerly 
 disclosing the miraculous tale. However, 
 his doubts were all at once dispelled when 
 Marshall tossed on the table before him 
 some of the shining dust. 
 
 Xot less interesting is the account given 
 of the manner in which the discovery 
 became public — owing, as appears by Mr. 
 Dunbar's statement, to that which extracts 
 both wit and wisdom, as well as folly, from 
 the brain of man. After some examin- 
 ation, Captain Sutter became satisfied that 
 gold in considerable quantities would be 
 found in that neighborhood; and while the 
 reflections of Marshall were probably con- 
 fined to the idea of rapidly acquired 
 wealth for himself, Captain Sutter realized 
 at once how impossible it would be to hold 
 his laborers to their work in carrying on 
 his improvements, gathering his crops, and 
 avoid being overrun by new-comers, 
 should the gold prove abundant and the 
 discovery be promulgated. He therefore 
 begged the laborers to say nothing about 
 the gold for six weeks. His grist-mill and 
 some other improvements would then be 
 completed, and his crops all gathered. 
 The laborers promised to comj)ly with his 
 request, and Captain Sutter returned home 
 on the fifth of February. But the great 
 secret could not long be retained. A 
 bottle of whiskey made it known. A 
 teamster, whom Captain Sutter had dis- 
 patched to the saw-mill with supplies, 
 heard of the discovery of gold, and 
 managed to obtain some of the precious 
 grains. On returning to the fort, he 
 immediately went to the neighboring 
 store, kept by a Mormon, and demanded a 
 bottle of whiskey. This was a cash article 
 in that country, and, as the teamster was 
 poor pay, the trader refused to sell him 
 the whiskey. The man declared he had 
 
 plenty of monej-, and exhibited some 
 grains of gold. The astonished trader, on 
 being satisfied that these were gold, gave 
 his customer the bottle of whiskey, and 
 earnestly inquired where he got the gold. 
 The teamster refused to make known the 
 secret till he had imbibed considerable of 
 the liquor, when his tongue was loosened, 
 and he told all about the discovery of gold 
 at Sutter's mill. The wonderful tale 
 spread like wild-fire throughout the 
 sparsely inhabited territory of California. 
 It ran up and down the Pacific coast, 
 traversed the continent, reached the 
 Atlantic shores, and in a short time the 
 story of California's golden treasures had 
 startled the whole civilized world. 
 
 Naturally enough, the first rumors, as 
 they spread abroad, were lightly tossed 
 
 JAMES W. MARSIULL. 
 
 aside ; but confirmation gave them 
 strength, and as each transmission of 
 intelligence to the United States carried 
 fresh accounts of new discoveries, an 
 enthusiastic ardor was awakened, and 
 within four months of that eventful day, 
 five thousand persons were delving on the 
 river's banks, on the slopes, amid the 
 ravines, hollows, and caverns in the valley 
 of the Sacramento. 
 
 And now, from the vast population of 
 the great republic, new streams of emigra- 
 tion broke at once to swell that current 
 which for j'ears had set noiselessly toward 
 the valle3's of California. Gradually, the 
 knowledge of the auriferous soil was borne 
 to the four quarters of the worlil. and from 
 
248 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 all the ports of all nations sails wero 
 spread toward the i-oasts of that wealthy 
 region. As by a magnetic impulse, the 
 sands of the Sacramento attracted popula- 
 tion. Lawyers, clergymen, physicians, 
 hotel-lceeper.s, merchants, mechanics, 
 clerks, traders, farmers, left their occupa- 
 tions, and hurrii'd with basket and .spade 
 to the land that glittered. Homes and 
 houses were closed ; the grass threatened 
 to grow over whole streets ; deserted ships 
 swung on their anchors in silent harbors. 
 The garri.^on of Monterey abandoned arms 
 and took up the pickaxe and the shovel. 
 Trains of wagcms constantl}' streamed 
 from the coast to the interior. Stores and 
 sheds were built along the river bank, 
 and crammed with provisions to be sold at 
 more than famine prices; whole towns of 
 tents and bushy bowers .sprang ujj as if 
 by magic ; every dawn rose upon a motley 
 toiling multitude, swarming in every nook 
 and corner of the modern El Dorado, and 
 every night was illuminated by the flames 
 of a thousand liivouacs. 
 
 Half-naked Indians, sharp-visaged Yan- 
 kees in straw hats and loose frocks, groups 
 of swarthy Spanish-Americans, old Dons 
 in the gaudy costume of a dead fashion, 
 gigantic trappers with their rude prairie 
 garb, and gentlemen traders from all the 
 States of the Union, with crowds of 
 Californian wouien, jostled in tumultuous 
 confusion through the gold district. 
 Every method, from the roughest to the 
 most ingenious, was devised for the rapid 
 accumulation of gohl ; and the strange 
 spectacle was presented of a \'ast popula- 
 tion, without law, without authoritj^ with- 
 out restraint, toiling together in amicable 
 companionship. But the duration of this 
 condition of things was brief. Outrages 
 were perpetrated, robbery commenced, 
 blood was shed, and unarcliy in its most 
 hideous form apjieared. But the United 
 States government soon laid tlie founda- 
 tions of order, and prepared a system of 
 regular legislation for California. A 
 severe code was established ; thieving in- 
 curred the heavy penalty of a brand on 
 the cheek, with mutilation of the ears : 
 
 other crimes were punished with similar 
 rigor. 
 
 Within a period of five months, the 
 population of the territory had run up to 
 one hundred thousand, having just quad- 
 rupled during that time. Of these, some 
 forty-five thousand arrived in the nine 
 thousand wagons that traversed the over- 
 land route, and four thousand on mule- 
 back, while the remainder came i-ia 
 I'anama, and round Cape Horn. One- 
 third of this multitude was composed of 
 farmers, another of tradesmen and me- 
 chanics, and the rest of merchants, pro- 
 fessional men, adventurers, and gamblers. 
 The vast emigrant armies acted as pioneers 
 on their various routes, )iewing down 
 trees, filling up chasms, leveling the 
 grounds, and bridging torrents. But the 
 sufferings endured in these colossal cara- 
 vans were severe and terrible. Many 
 perished on the route ; many became in- 
 sane, or wasted away, through lack of food 
 and water. The scourge of -holera also 
 overtook the early emigrants, before they 
 were fairly embarked on the wilderness; 
 the freijuent i-ains of the early spring, 
 added to the hardships and exposure of 
 their travel, prepared the way for its 
 ravages, and the first four hundred miles 
 of the trail were marked by graves, to 
 the number of about four thousand. 
 Many also suffered immensely for want 
 of food. Bayard Taylor, in his narrative 
 of what befell these pioneer emigrants, says 
 that not only were they compelled to kill 
 their horses and mules to keep themselves 
 from starvation, but it was not unusual for 
 a mess by way of variety to the tough mule 
 steaks, to kill a (piantity of rattlesnakes, 
 with which the mountains abounded, and 
 have a dish of them fried for supper. 
 
 And still the tide of emigration rolled 
 onward, as the richness of the gold 
 product, over .so vast a region of territory, 
 l)ecame a confirmed fact. Notwithstand- 
 ing the oft-told story of deprivation, 
 famine and death, parties and companies 
 daily went forth to El Dorado, the golden 
 land. Some took the perilous inland route 
 across the Rocky mountains; some went 
 
DISCOVERY OF GOLD AT SUTTER'S MILL — 1848. 
 
 249 
 
 round Capo Horn ; and multitudes took 
 the Panama route. The tens of thousands 
 who thus went, having no other object 
 than to get gold, had neither means nor 
 inclination to grow their own food nor to 
 manufacture their own necessaries ; and 
 hence arose a field of enterprise which the 
 commercial world did not neglect. Valu- 
 able cargoes were dispatched to San Fran- 
 cisco to be there sold in exchange for 
 gold dust, and that place in time became a 
 populous, busy, thriving city, distinguished 
 also for reckless speculation, fabulous 
 prices for real estate, excesses of all kinds, 
 and disastrous conflagrations. During 
 one week in 1850, gold dust to the value 
 of three million dollars was shipped and 
 exported from San Francisco. In August 
 of che same year the monthly shipment 
 had reached about eight million dollars. 
 On September 15, 1850, there were in that 
 port six hundred and eighty-four vessels, 
 belonging to twenty-one different nations ; 
 some of these vessels, small in size, had 
 crossed the whole breadth of the Pacific 
 from Australia and New Zealand, to ex- 
 change their produce for gold dust. In 
 the first two weeks of October, in the 
 same year, ninety-four vessels arrived at 
 San Francisco, not including the regular 
 steamers. 
 
 But the most strange and wonderful 
 spectacle of all, was that exhibited by 
 the money-diggers at their avocation. 
 Men with long-handled shovels delved 
 among clumps of bushes, or by the side of 
 large rocks, never raising tlieir eyes for an 
 instant; others, with pick and shovel, 
 
 worked among stone and gravel, or with 
 trowels searched under banks and roots 
 of trees, where, if rewarded with small 
 lumps of gold, their eyes suddenh- kindled 
 with pleasure, and the search was more 
 intently pursued. In the water, knee, or 
 even waist deep, regardless of the shiver- 
 ing cold, others were washing the soil 
 iu the tin pans or the common cradle rocker, 
 whilst the sun poured a hot flood upon their 
 heads. The common rocking machine 
 for separating the gold was at first in great 
 demand, but this was soon superseded by a 
 cradle of ingenious construction ; then 
 came crushing mills, of various kinds, for 
 pounding the auriferous quartz ; and in 
 time, machinery of the most effective 
 adaptability was universally introduced. 
 This operated powerfully to regulate min- 
 ing operations, and to give order and 
 stability to affairs generally throughout 
 the territory. Society assumed the most 
 advanced organization, churches every- 
 where dotted the land, education was 
 fostered, and the political institutions of 
 the country patterned after those of the 
 older states. Agricultural, industrial, 
 and commercial pursuits were entered upon 
 largely and with great success ; California 
 was admitted as a state into the Union in 
 1850 ; and in only ten years from Mar- 
 shall's curious and accidental discovery of 
 gold at Sutter's mill, in 1848, the gold 
 product of California had reached a total 
 of six hundred million dollars, and the 
 population had increased from between 
 twenty and thirty thousand souls to six 
 hundred thousand ! 
 
XXVI. 
 
 VICTORIOUS RACE OF THE YACHT "AMERICA," IN THE 
 GREAT INTERNATIONAL REGATTA.— 1851. 
 
 She Distances, by Nearly Eight Miles, the Whole Fleet of Swift and Splendid Competitors, and Wins 
 " the Cup of all Nations." — Grandest and Most Exciting Spectacle of the Kind P'ver Known. — Queen 
 Victoria Witnesses the Match — Universal Astonishment at the Result — Admiration Elicited by the 
 " America's " Beautiful Model anil Ingenious Rig — Scenes at the " World's Exhibition " at London — 
 Grand Finale Yet to Come Off — Championship of the Sea. — England Sensitive on this Point. — Her 
 Motto, " Rule Britannia!" — George Steers Builds the America — Commodore .Stevens Takes Her to 
 England — His Challenge to All Countries — An International Prize Race. — Eighteen Yachts Entered. 
 — The .Scene on Wave and Slmre. — All Sails Set : The Signal. — Every Eye on " the Yankee." — Her 
 Leisurely Movements — Allows Herself to be Distanced — Her Quality Soon Shown. — No "Bellying" 
 of Canvas — Amazing Increase of Speed. — .VII Rivals P;isseil, One by One. — They Return in 
 Despair. — Great Odds for the America. — Is Visited by Queen Victoria. 
 
 On every side wna beard the hail. 
 DON Tluus. 
 
 3 the America firat?"— The aoawer, " Ye 3 ! "— •■ Whaft second ?"— The reply, " NoTHlN*!"— LoN- 
 
 RATIFYING, iu the highest degree, to the pride of every American, was the 
 announcement that, in tlie great and exciting international yacht 
 race, — whicli formed, in an important sense, the grand 
 finale of the " Exhibition of the Industry of All 
 Nations," held in London, in 1851, — the victory had 
 been won by the clipper yacht America, of one 
 hundred and seventj' tons, built by JNIr. George 
 Steers, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and commanded by 
 Commodore John C. Stevens, also of New York. 
 The jirize was no less than "T/(e Cv2j of all Na- 
 
 Making but an indifferent show of contributions 
 to the various departments of art, science, and 
 manufactures, at that renowned exposition, the 
 conclusion had become universal, that the United 
 States would gain but little eclat in that magnifi- 
 cent congress of the industries of civilization. One 
 trial of championship, however, was yet to be made 
 and determined, — the supremacy, in respect to 
 architectural moilel, equipment, nautical skill, and power of speed, upon that element, 
 the dominion of which has ever been the coveted achievement of every maritime coun- 
 
VICTOKIOUS RACE OF THE YACHT AMERICA — 1851. 
 
 251 
 
 try, and of England in particular, — the 
 Iiigli claims put fortli by the latter being 
 well understood. 
 
 How happily it was reserved for the 
 United States to take this honor to her- 
 self, in a manner, too, undreamed of by 
 any compeer or rival, will appear from the 
 following history of the great fact, as given 
 at the time by the press of both England 
 and America. Indeed, in resjject to the 
 English journals and the English public, 
 it can truly be said, that fair jilay and 
 vianhj acknoivleJgment of a, fair beat 
 were never more Jionorahh/ exit ihitcd. And 
 this last-named fact is all the more credit- 
 able, when all the circumstances of the 
 case are considered. A large portion of 
 the British jseerage and gentry left their 
 residences and forsook their usual diver- 
 sions, to witness the struggle between the 
 yachtsmen of England, hitherto unmatched 
 and unchallenged, and the Americans who 
 had crossed the Atlantic to meet them. 
 All the feelings of that vast population 
 swarming in British ports and firmly 
 believing in " Rule Britannia," as an arti- 
 cle of national faith ; all the prejudices of 
 the nobility and wealthy aristocrac3', who 
 regarded the beautiful vessels in which 
 they cruised about the channel and visited 
 the shores of the Mediterranean every 
 summer as the perfection of naval archi- 
 tecture, were roused to the highest degree ; 
 and even the Queen of England did not 
 deem the occasion unworthy of her pres- 
 ence. 
 
 Until the very day, August twenty- 
 second, 1851, of this celebrated contest, no 
 Englishman ever dreamed that any nation 
 could produce a yacht witli the least pre- 
 tensions to match the efforts of White, 
 Camper, Ratsey, and other eminent build- 
 ers ; and in the pages of the Yacht List 
 for that very year (1861), there was an 
 assertion which every man within sight of 
 sea water from the Clyde to the Solent 
 would swear to, namely, that " yacht build- 
 ing was an art in which England was 
 unrivaled, and that she was distinguished 
 pre-eminently and alone for the perfection 
 of science in handling them." Of the sev- 
 
 enteen j-acht clubs in various parts of the 
 united kingdom, not one of them had ever 
 seen a foreigner enter the lists in the 
 annual matches. It was just known that 
 there was an imperial yacht club in St. 
 Petersburg, maintained, it was affirmed, 
 by the imperial trcasur3', to encourage a 
 nautical spirit among the nobility, and 
 that a few owners of jachts at Rotterdam 
 had enrolled themselves as a club ; but, 
 till the America came over, the few who 
 were aware of the fact that there was a 
 flourishing club in New York did not 
 regard it as of the slightest consequence, 
 or as at all likely to interfere with tlieir 
 monopoly of the glory of the manliest of all 
 sports. The few trial runs made by the 
 America, on her arrival in English waters, 
 proved her to be of great speed, and satis- 
 fied the English critics that her owners 
 were not so little justified as at first they 
 Lad been thought, in offering to back an 
 untried vessel against any other yacht 
 for the large sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
 or for a cup or piece of plate. An inter- 
 esting reminiscence or two, in this connec- 
 tion, related by Colonel Hamilton, a mem- 
 ber of the club, may here be given, 
 namely : 
 
 There had previously been some talk 
 among the meml)ers of the New York 
 yacht club, of a race with the yachts of 
 England, and Mr. W. 11. Brown, the well- 
 known and skillful ship-builder, had under- 
 taken to build a schooner that should out- 
 sail any other vessel at home or abroad, 
 and he agreed to make the purchase of her 
 contingent upon her success. His offer 
 was accepted by the yacht club. And 
 now, to the master hand and brain of that 
 accomplished architect, George Steers, 
 was confided the task of furnishing the 
 model of this — to be — nautical wonder. 
 The America teas built. Failing, however, 
 in repeated trials, to beat Commodore 
 Stevens's yacht Maria, the club were not 
 bound to purchase. But the liberality of 
 the original offer was so great, in assuming 
 all risk, and the vessel in fact proved her- 
 self so fast, that several gentlemen, the 
 commodore at the head, determined to buy 
 
252 
 
 YllOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEE. 
 
 hm' and send licr out. She was accord- 
 ingly purchased, and sent to Havre, there 
 to await the arrival of the members of the 
 club, who were to sail her, they following 
 ill a steamer. 
 
 Everything being made ready and com- 
 pleted at Havre, they sailed thence to 
 Cowes, a seaport of the Isle of Wight — the 
 scene of the contemplated regatta. Their 
 arrival was greeted with every hospitality 
 and courtesy, not only by the noblemen 
 and gentlemen of the royal yacht club, but 
 by the offi<-ers of government. Lord 
 Palmerston issued an order that the Amer- 
 ica should be admitted iiKall the English 
 ports on the footing of English yachts; 
 the custom-houses were all made free to 
 her: and the admiral of the station at 
 
 GEORGE STEERS. 
 
 Portsmouth offered every assistance and 
 civility. The Earl of Wilton, and the 
 veteran Manpiis of Anglesea, the latter 
 eighty years of age, were among the first 
 visitors on board. 
 
 When the time for the regatta came, 
 which was to take place on the most dan- 
 gerous course possible for a stranger — in 
 the waters of the Isle of Wight, with their 
 currents and eddies, familiar only to those 
 ai-customed to the water — great solicitude 
 was naturally felt by the Americans, as to 
 the pilot to be employed. Warnings of 
 all sorts, from various quarters, reached 
 them, not to rely too much on any pilot 
 that might offer; and the commodore was 
 naturallj' perplexed. But here again the 
 English admiral, witli an intuitive pei'cep- 
 tion of the difficulty — of which no men- 
 
 tion, nevertheless, had ever been made to 
 him — told Commodore Stevens that he 
 would furnish him with a pilot for whom 
 he himself would be answerable. The 
 offer was as frankly accejated as it was 
 honorably made. The pilot came on 
 board, and never, for a moment, was there 
 a suspicion on any mind that he was not 
 thoroughly honest and reliable. Yet, so 
 strong was the distrust among Americans 
 oiifside, that even after the pilot was in 
 charge, the commodore was warned, by 
 letter, not to trust too much to him, and 
 urged to take another pilot to overlook 
 him. But the commodore's own loyaltj' 
 of character would not entertain such a 
 proposition — he gave his confidence to 
 the pilot the admiral sent him, and it was 
 completely justified. 
 
 The London Times said that never, in 
 the history of man, did Cowes present such 
 an appearance as on the eventful day 
 apjiointed for this race. Upwards of one 
 hundred j-achts lay at anchor in the roads ; 
 the beach was crowded ; and the esplanade 
 in front of the club swarmed with ladies 
 and gentlemen, and with the people inland, 
 who came over in shoals, with wives, sons, 
 and daughters, for the day. Booths were 
 erected all along the quay, and the road- 
 stead was alive with boats, while from 
 sea and shore arose an incessant buzz of 
 voices mingled with the splashing of oars, 
 the flapping of sails, and the hissing of 
 steam, from the excursion vessels prepar- 
 ing to accompany the race. Flags floated 
 from the beautiful villas wliich stud the 
 wooded coast, and ensign and bargee, rich 
 with the colors of the various clubs or the 
 devices of the yachts, flickered gayly out in 
 the soft morning air. The windows of the 
 houses which commanded the harbor were 
 filled from the parlor to the attic, and the 
 "old salts " on the beach gazed moodily on 
 the low black hull of " the Yankee," and 
 spoke doubtfully of the chances of her 
 <'ompetitors. Some thought " the Vo- 
 lante " might prove a teaser if the wind 
 was light ; others speculated on " the 
 Alarm " doing mischief, if there was wind 
 enough to bring out the qualities of that 
 
VICTOKIOUS EACE OF THE YACHT AMEEICA — 1S51. 
 
 ioo 
 
 large cutter in beating up to windward 
 and in tacking ; while more were of the 
 opinion that the America would carry off 
 the cup, " blow high — blow low." It was 
 with the greatest difficulty the little town 
 gave space enough to the multitudes that 
 came from all quarters to witness an event 
 so novel and interesting. Among the vis- 
 itors were countless strangers — Frenchmen 
 en route for Havre, Germans in quiet won- 
 derment at the excitement around them, 
 and Americans already triumphing in the 
 anticipated success of their countrj'men. 
 
 Eighteen yachts were entered, and were 
 moored in a double line from Cowes castle, 
 the Beatrice being nearest that point, the 
 America about midwaj', and the Aurora 
 farthermost. The mist which hung over 
 the fields and woods from sunrise was cai'- 
 ried off about nine o'clock by a very gentle 
 breeze from the westward, which veered 
 round a little to the south soon afterwards, 
 and the morning became intensely warm. 
 
 At five minutes before ten o'clock, the 
 preparatory gun was fired from the club- 
 house battery, and the yachts were soon 
 sheeted from deck to topmast with clouds 
 of canvas, huge gaff topsails and balloon 
 jibs being greatly in vogue, and the Amer- 
 ica evincing her disposition to take advan- 
 tage of her new jib by hoisting it with all 
 alacrity. The whole flotilla, not in the 
 race, were already in motion, many of 
 them stretching down towards Osborne 
 and Eyde, to get a good start of the clip- 
 pers. Of the yachts that entered, fifteen 
 started, seven of these being schooners 
 and eight cutters. 
 
 Precisely at ten o'clock, the signal gun 
 for sailing was fired, and before the smoke 
 had well cleared away the whole of the 
 beautiful fleet was under way, moving 
 steadily to the east, with the tide and a 
 gentle breeze. The start was effected 
 splendidly, the yachts breaking away like 
 a field of race-horses ; the only laggard 
 was the America, which did not move for 
 a second or so after the others. Steamers, 
 shore-boats, and yachts, of all sizes, buzzed 
 along on each side of the course, and 
 spread away for miles over the rippling 
 
 sea — a sight such as the Adriatic never 
 beheld in all the pride of Venice — such, 
 indeed, as was never before known in the 
 annals of yachting. Soon after they 
 started, a steamer went off from the roads 
 with the members of the sailing committee 
 — Sir B. Graham, Bart., commodore, of 
 the royal yacht squadron, and other distin- 
 guished gentlemen. The American minis- 
 ter, Hon. Abbott Lawrence, and his son. 
 Colonel Lawrence, uttdclie to the American 
 legation, arrived too late for the sailing of 
 the America, but were accommodated on 
 board the steamer, and went round the 
 island in her. 
 
 The Gipsey Queen, with all her canvas 
 set and in the strength of the tide, took 
 the lead after starting, with the Beatrice 
 next, and then, with little difference in 
 order, the Volante, Constance, Arrow, and 
 a flock of others. The America went 
 easily for some time under mainsail, (with 
 a small gaff-tojisail of a triangular shape, 
 braced up to the truck of the short and 
 slender stick which served as her main-top- 
 mast,) foresail, fore-staysail and jib ; 
 while her competitors had every cloth set 
 that the club regulations allowed. Slie 
 soon, began to creep upon them, passing 
 some of the cutters to windward. In a 
 quarter of an hour she had left them all 
 behind, except the Constance, Beatrice, 
 and Gijjse}' Queen, which were well to- 
 gether, and went along smartly with the 
 light breeze. Once or twice the wind 
 freshened a little, and at once the Amer- 
 ica gathered vvay, and passed ahead of the 
 Constance and Beatrice. Another puff 
 came, and she made a dart to pass the 
 Gipsey Queen, but the wind left her sails, 
 and the little Volante came skimming past 
 her with a stupendous jib, swallowing up 
 all the wind that was blowing. The glo 
 rious pageant, passing under Osborne- 
 house, formed a pageant surpassingly fine, 
 the whole expanse of sea, from shore to 
 shore, being filled as it were with a count- 
 less fleet, while the dark hull of the Ven- 
 geance, eighty-four, in the distance at 
 Spithead, towered in fine relief above the 
 tiny little craft that danced around her ; 
 
254 
 
 FROM COLOIS'Y TO WOELD TOWEE. 
 
 the green hills of Hampshire, the white 
 batteries of Portsmouth, and the pictur- 
 esque coast of Wight, forming a fine 
 frame-work for the picture. 
 
 As the Volante passed the America, 
 great was the delight of the patriotic, but 
 the nautical knowing ones shook their 
 heads, and said the triun)ph would be 
 short-lived ; the breeze was freshening, 
 and then the sprightly cutter must give 
 way, though she was leading the whole 
 squadron at the time. At half-past ten, 
 the Gipsey Queen caught a draught of 
 
 densely crowded. But the America wag 
 forging ahead, and lessening the number 
 of her rivals every moment. The Sand- 
 heads were rounded by the Volante, 
 Gipsey Queen, and America, without any 
 perceptible change in point of time, at 
 eleven o'clock, the last being apparently 
 to leeward. Again the wind freshened, 
 and the fast yachts came rushing up before 
 it, the run from the Sandheads being most 
 exciting, and well contested. Here one of 
 the West India mail steamers was ob- 
 served paddling her best, to come in for 
 
 YACHT AMKUICA 
 
 wind and ran past the Volante, — the Con- 
 stance, America, Arrow, and Alarm, being 
 nearly in a line; but in fifteen minutes, 
 the breeze freshened again for a short 
 time and the America passed the Arrow, 
 Constance, and .Marm, but could not sliake 
 off the Vcil.uite nor come up to the Gipsey 
 Queen, and exclamaiions were heard of 
 •■• Well, Brother Jonathan is not going to 
 have it nil his own w;i_y," etc. 
 
 Passing Rj'de. the excitement on shore 
 was very great, and the vast pier was 
 
 some of the fun, and a slight roll of the 
 sea inwards began to impart a livelier 
 motion to the yachts, and to render excur- 
 sionists, whether male or female, ghastly- 
 looking and uncomfortable. 
 
 The yachts Volante, Freak, Aurora, 
 Gipsey Queen, America. Beatrice, Alarm, 
 Arrow, and Bacchante, were timed oft' 
 Norman's Land buoy ; the oth.er six were 
 staggering about in the rear, and the 
 Wyvern soon afterwards hauled her wind, 
 and went back towards Cowes. 
 
VICTORIOT^S RACI-: OF THE YACHT AMERICA — 1851. 
 
 200 
 
 At this point, the wind blew somewhat 
 more steadily, and the America began to 
 show a touch of her quality. Whenever 
 the breeze took the line of lier hull, all the 
 sails set as flat as a drumhead, and, with- 
 out any careening or staggering, she 
 "walked along" past cutter and schooner, 
 and, when off Brading, had left every 
 vessel in the squadron beliind her, with 
 the exception of the Volante, which she 
 overtook at half-past eleven, when she 
 very quietly hauled down her jib, — as 
 much as to say she would give her rival 
 every odds, — and laid herself out for the 
 race round the back of the island. The 
 weather showed signs of improvement, as 
 far as 3'achting was concerned ; a few sea- 
 horses waved their crests over the water, 
 the high lands on shore put on their fleecy 
 "niglitcaps" of cloud, and the horizon 
 looked delightfully threatening ; and now 
 " the Yankee" flew like the wind, leaping 
 over, not against, the water, and increasing 
 her distance from the Gipsey Queen, 
 Volante, and Alarm, every instant. The 
 way her sails were set evinced superiority 
 in the cutting which the English makers 
 would barely allow, but, certain it was, 
 that while the jibs and mainsails of her 
 antagonists were "bellied out," her canvas 
 was as flat as a sheet of paper. No foam, 
 but rather a water-jet rose from her liows ; 
 and the greatest point of resistance — for 
 resistance tliere must be somewhere — 
 seemed about the beam, or just forward of 
 her mainmast, for the seas flashed off from 
 her sides at that point every time she met 
 them. WJiile the cutters were thrashing 
 througli the water, sending tlie spray ovei 
 their bows, and the schooners were wet up 
 to the foot of the foremast, the America 
 was as dry as a bone. She had twenty-one 
 persons on her deck, consisting of the 
 owners, the crew, cook, and steward, a 
 Cowes pilot, and some seamen. They 
 nearly all sat aft, and, when the vessel did 
 not require any handling, crouched down 
 on the deck by the weather bulwarks. 
 The Gipsey Queen, when a little ]iast 
 Rrading, seemed to have carried awav her 
 foresail sheets, but even had it not been 
 
 so, she had lost all chance of success. The 
 America, as the wind increased, and it was 
 now a six-knot breeze, at least, hauled 
 down her wee gaff-toj)sail, and went n\Tay 
 under mainsail, foresail, and fore-stavsail, 
 so that it required the utmost the steamer 
 could do to keep alongside of her. T/ii.i 
 was her quickest bit of suHitirj, for on 
 rounding the east point of the island it 
 was necessary to beat to the westward, in 
 order to get along the back of the "Wight. 
 
 At 11 : 37, the Arrow, Bacchante, Con- 
 stance, and Gipsey Queen, stood away to 
 the north, to round the Nab, imagining 
 that it was requisite to do so, as the visual 
 course was to go outside the lightship, 
 though the cards did not specify it on this 
 occasion. The America and most of the 
 other yachts kept their course round the 
 Foreland and by Bembridge. She ran 
 past tlie white and black buoys at a tre- 
 mendous rate, and, at 11 :47, tacked to the 
 west, and stood in towards the Culver cliffs, 
 the nearest yacht being at least two miles 
 to leeward or astern of her. She was not 
 very quick in stays on this occasion, and 
 it would seem she was not very regular in 
 that maneuver, sometimes taking a minute, 
 sometimes thirty seconds, to perform it. 
 At 11 : 58, she stood out again to the south- 
 east, and, having taken a stretch of a mile 
 or so, went about and ran in towards San- 
 down. The breeze died off at this point, 
 and to keep the cutters and light craft off, 
 the America hoisted her gaff-topsail and 
 jib once more. Under Shanklin t'hine the 
 set of the tide ran heavily against her, but 
 still there was nothing to fear, for her 
 rivals were miles away, some almost hull 
 down. 
 
 While running under Dunnose, at 12 : 58, 
 her jib-boom broke short off; it was 
 broken by mismanagement on the part of 
 the men when straining on it with the 
 windlass, and did not snap from the action 
 of the sail. This accident threw her up in 
 the wind, and gave the advantage of about 
 a quarter of an hour to her opponents, 
 while she was gathering in the wreck. 
 But it was of little use to them. Looking 
 away to the east, they were visible at 
 
256 
 
 FROM COLUXY TO WOIILD POWEli. 
 
 great distances, standing in shore, or 
 running in and out, most helplessly astern 
 — the Aurora, Freak, and Volante, in spite 
 of light winds and small tonnage, being 
 two or three miles behind. The wind fell 
 off very much for more than an hour, and 
 it was but weary work stretching along 
 the coast against a baffling tide, every 
 moment making the loss of her jib of 
 greater consequence to the America. 
 
 "cur OF ALL NATIONS," WON UY THE A5IERICA. 
 
 At about o : 20, the breeze freshened, 
 and the America, still some miles ahead, 
 .slipped along on her way, making tacks 
 with great velocity, and standing well up 
 to windward. Her superiority was so 
 decided that severn.l of the yachts ■irorK, 
 and iveiit hack again, to Cowes in despair; 
 and, for some time, the America increased 
 her distance every second, the Aurora. 
 Freak, and Volante, keeping in a little 
 .squadron together — ^ tack for tack — and 
 
 running along close under the cliffs. This 
 was rather unfortunate in one respect, for, 
 in going about, the Freak fouled the 
 Volante and carried away her jib-boom; 
 and the boatman's pet became therebv 
 utterly disabled, and lost the small glimpse 
 of fortune which the light winds might 
 have given her. 
 
 Meanwhile, minute after minute, "the 
 Yankee " was gaining ground, and at 3 : 30 
 was fl.ying past St. Lawrence towards Old 
 Castle, while the Bacchante and Eclipse, 
 which had been working along honestly 
 and steadily, were about two and a half 
 miles to leeward behind her. Further 
 away still, were visible five or six yachts, 
 some hull down, some dipped further still, 
 digging into the tideway as hard as they 
 could, and lying into the wind as well as 
 their sails might stand it. 
 
 By this time, the America had got the 
 wind on her quarter, having gone around 
 Rocken-end, an<l thus having a tolerably 
 fair course from the south to north-west, 
 up to the Needles, the wind being light 
 and the water somewhat broken. The 
 persons on board the steamers were greatly 
 astonished at seeing ahead of the America, 
 after she had rounded Rocken-end, a fine 
 cutter with a jib and foresail together — 
 " two single gentleman rolled into one," 
 bowling away with all speed, as if racing 
 away for her life, and it was sometime 
 liefore they could be persuaded she wa> 
 not the Aurora; but she was in reality the 
 Wildfire, forty-two tons, which was taking 
 a little share in the match to herself, an<l 
 had passed the End at 3 : 40. The Amer- 
 ica, however, bore straight down for th*' 
 cutter, which was thoroughly well-sailed, 
 and passed her after a stern cha.se of niori' 
 than an hour, though the Wildfire, when 
 first sighted, was reckoned to be some tw.' 
 and a half miles ahead. 
 
 At 5 : 40. the Aurora, the nearest yacht, 
 was fully seven and one-half miles astern, 
 the Freak being about a mile more distant, 
 and the rest being " nowhere. " The 
 .America was at this time close to thi' 
 jSTeedles, upon which she was running with 
 a liffht breeze all in her favor. 
 
VICTORIOUS RACE OF THE YACHT AMERICA — 1851. 
 
 .'o. 
 
 Two of the excursion steamers ran into 
 Alum L).iy, and anchored there to see tlie 
 race round the Needles. While waiting 
 there in intense anxiety for the first vessel 
 that should shoot round the immense pil- 
 lars of chalk and limestone which Lear the 
 name, the passengers were delighted to 
 behold the Victoria and Albert, with the 
 royal standard at the main, and the Lord 
 Admiral's flag at the fore, steaming round 
 from the north-west, followed by the 
 Fairy, and the little dock-yard tender. 
 Her majesty. Prince Albert, and the royal 
 famil}', were visible by the aid of a glass 
 from the deck of the steamers. The royal 
 yacht went past the Needles, accompanied 
 by the Fairy, at 5 : 35, but quickly re- 
 turned, and at 5 : 45 lay to, off Alum Bay. 
 The Fairy was signaled to proceed round 
 the Needles, to bring tidings of the race, 
 and at once started on her errand. 
 
 But all doubt and speculation, if any 
 there could have been, was soon removed 
 by the appearance of the America hauling 
 her wind round the cliff, at 5 : 50. The 
 breeze fell dead under the sliore, and the 
 America lowered out her foresail and fore- 
 staysail so as to run before it. All the 
 steamers weighed and accompanied her^ 
 giving three cheers as she passed, a com- 
 pliment which owners and crews acknowl- 
 edged with uncovered heads and waving 
 hats. At 6 : 04 the Wildfire rounded the 
 Needles, and bore away after the schooner, 
 which by this time had got almost in a 
 line with the Victoria and Albert ; and, 
 though it is not usual to recognize the 
 presence of her majesty on such occasions 
 as a racing match — no more, indeed, than 
 a jockey would pull up his horse to salute 
 the queen, when in the middle of his 
 stride, — the America instantly lowered her 
 ensign, blue with white stars, the commo- 
 dore took off his hat, and all his crew, fol- 
 lowing his order and example, remained 
 with uncovered heads for some minutes, 
 till they had passed the royal yacht. The 
 steamers, as she passed on, renewed their 
 cheering. 
 
 On turning towards the Needles, at 
 6:. 30, not a sail was in sight, but the 
 17 
 
 breeze was so very light that all sailing 
 might be said to have finished ; and it was 
 evident that the America had won the 
 cuj), uidess some light cutter ran xii3 with 
 a breeze in the dusk and slipped past her. 
 The steamers returned towards Cowes, and 
 the royal yacht, having run close by the 
 America under half-steam for a .short dis- 
 tance, went on towards Osborne. Off 
 Cowes were innumerable yachts, and on 
 every side was heard the hail, " Zs tlie 
 Americu first?" — The answer, " Yes." 
 "What's second?"— The reply, "Nofh- 
 iuf/." 
 
 As there was no wind, the time con- 
 sumed in getting up from Hurst Castle to 
 the winning flag was very considerable, 
 the America's arrival first not having 
 been announced by gunfire till 8 : 37. The 
 Aurora, which slipped up very rapidly 
 after rounding the Needles, in consequence 
 of her light tonnage and a breath of wind, 
 was signaled at 8 : 45 ; the Bacchante at 
 9:30; the Eclipse at 9:45; the Brilliant 
 at 1 : 20 a. m., August 23d. The rest were 
 not timed. Thus the America made good 
 all her professions, and to Commodore 
 Stevens was presented, by the royal yacht 
 squadron, the well-won cup. 
 
 On the evening after the race there was 
 a splendid display of fire-works by land 
 and water along the club-house esjdanade, 
 at which thousands of persons were pres- 
 ent. A re-union also took place at the 
 club-house, and the occasion was taken of 
 the Hon. Abbott Lawrence's presence to 
 compliment him on the success of his 
 countrymen ; to which his excellency made 
 a suitable reply, humorously remarking 
 that, though he could not but be proud of 
 his fellow-citizens, he still felt it was but 
 the children giving a lesson to the father 
 — and if the America should be purchased 
 by English friends, the Yankees would 
 nevertheless try to build something better 
 in New Y^ork, so as to beat even her ! 
 
 The queen having intimated her desire 
 to in.spect the America, the latter sailed 
 from Cowes to Osborne, where the Victoria 
 and Albert also dropped down. As the 
 queen, with Prince Albert, and suite, neared 
 
258 
 
 i'KOAi CULU^Ii' 10 WUKLD TUWEii. 
 
 the Ainorica, the national colors of that 
 vessel were dipjjed, out of respect to her 
 majesty, and raised again when she h.ad 
 proceeded on board. The queen made a 
 close inspection of the vessel, attended by 
 Commodore Stevens, Colonel Hamilton, 
 and the officers of the yacht, remaining 
 half an hour on board, and expressing 
 great admiration of the famous schooner. 
 Indeed, the America's beautiful and ingen- 
 ious model, and her remarkable sailing 
 qualities, were the astonishment of every- 
 body. 
 
 The triumph of the America was due 
 alike to her superior model and to the 
 unique cut and fit of her sails. Tlie first 
 thing that met the eye, whether the vessel 
 was afloat or in dock, was the position of 
 the greatest transverse section — in ap- 
 pearance situated at about ten-seventeenths 
 of her whole length from forward ; at this 
 section, the bottom was nearly straight for 
 several feet out from the keel, while the 
 two sides included au angle of about one 
 hundred degrees. At the forepart, her 
 appearance contrasted sti'augely with the 
 observances of modern ship-building, 
 
 namely, the avoidance of hollow water- 
 lines, hers being very concave, and her 
 forefoot exceedingly short, or, in other 
 words, the lower part of the stem and 
 gripe forming a long curve, and therefore 
 only a small rudder being needed; in con- 
 sequence of this, there was, in steering, 
 but little impediment opposed to her pas- 
 sage through the water; the great draught 
 of her water aft, eleven feet four inche^, 
 with only six feet forward, added also to 
 her facility in steering. Any defect that 
 might be expected to result from this in 
 sailing on a wind, was quite avoided by 
 her great depth of keel, — two feet two 
 inches amidships. The copper was placed 
 upon her bottom with great care, and 
 everv possible projection avoided, in order 
 to diminish the friction in jiassing through 
 the water. But by far the most distin- 
 guishing feature of the America was the 
 set of her sails. The bellying of the sails 
 of yachts universally — not only when 
 running free, but also when sailing on a 
 wind — was, in the case of the America, 
 avoided to a very great extent, and from 
 this arose much of her superiority. 
 
 Stmmaky of R.\cf';s kok thk A.merica's Ci'r. 
 
 DATE. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1S51. 
 
 Course. 
 
 Aug, 
 Oft. 
 Oct. 
 Oct. 
 Oct, 
 Oct, 
 
 8, 1870. 
 16, 1871. 
 18,1871. 
 19,1871. 
 21, 1871. 
 23,1871. 
 
 Aug. 11, 1S76. 
 
 Aus. 12, 1876. 
 
 Nov. 9,1881., 
 Nov. 10,1881., 
 Sept. 14, 1885., 
 Sept. 16, 1885., 
 Sept. 9, 1886., 
 Sept. 11, 1886., 
 Sept. 27, 1887., 
 Sept. 30, 1887., 
 Oct. 7,1893., 
 Oct. 9, 1893. , 
 Oct. 13,1893,, 
 Sept. 7,1895.. 
 Sept. 10, 1895., 
 Sept. 12, 1895,. 
 Oct. l"!, 1S99.. 
 Oct. 17, 1899., 
 Oct. 20,1899.. 
 Sept. 28, 1901.. 
 Oct. 3,1901., 
 Oct. 4,1901.. 
 Aug. 22,1903.. 
 Aug. 27, 1903., 
 Sept. 3,1903., 
 
 .\round Isle of Wight .\nierica 
 
 .\merican 
 yacht. 
 
 Time. 
 
 .\ew York Y. C. course. 
 New Y^orlc Y. C. course. 
 20 m. windward and back , 
 New York Y'. C. course, . , . 
 20 m. windward and back. 
 New Y'ork Y. C. course. 
 
 ■Vlagic . 
 
 Columbia. 
 
 Columbia. 
 
 Columbia* 
 
 .■^appho., 
 
 Sappho., 
 
 -\ew Y'ork Y. C. course I .Madeleine . 
 
 20 m. windward and back. . .Madeleine. 
 
 New York Y. C. course 
 
 16 m. leeward and back 
 
 -New Y'ork Y'. C. coiu-se 
 
 20 m. leeward and bark 
 
 New Y'ork Y'. C. course 
 
 20 m. leeward and back 
 
 New Y'ork Y. C. course 
 
 20 ni. windward and back . . . 
 15 m. windward and back. . . 
 
 30 m. triangular course 
 
 is ra. windward and back. . , 
 i5 m. windward and back. . . 
 
 30 m. triangukir course 
 
 15 m. leeward and back 
 
 15 m. windward and back, , , 
 
 30 m. triangular cour.se 
 
 15 m. leeward and back 
 
 15 m. windward and back. . . 
 
 30 m. triangular course 
 
 15 m. leeward and back 
 
 15 m. windward and back. . . 
 
 30 ra. triangular course 
 
 15 m. leeward and back 
 
 Mischief, . . 
 -Mischief. . . 
 Puritan . . , 
 Puritan . . . 
 Mayflower . 
 Majflower . 
 Volun teer. . 
 Volunteer.. 
 Vigilant.. . 
 Vigilant. . . 
 Vigilant. , . 
 Defender. . 
 Defender . . 
 Defender. . 
 Columbia.. 
 Columbia. . 
 Columbia.. 
 Columbia.. 
 Columbia.. 
 Columbia.. 
 Reliance... 
 Reliance... 
 Reliance... 
 
 H. M. s. 
 10,37,00 
 3,58.26, 
 6.19 41. 
 3.07,42 
 4.17.35, 
 5,39.02. 
 4.46.17. 
 5.23.54 
 
 7.18.46. 
 
 4.17.09. 
 4. .14. 53. 
 6.06.05 
 5.03.14 
 5.26,41 
 6,49,00 
 4 53,18 
 5. 42. .56 
 4.05,47 
 3,25,01 
 3,24,39 
 4. 59. .54 
 3.55.56 
 4.43.43 
 4 . 53 . 53 
 3.27.00 
 3.38.09 
 4.30.24 
 3.12.35. 
 4. 32. .57. 
 3.32.17. 
 3,14.54, 
 4. 28. 06. 
 
 English 
 yacht. 
 
 .Aurora 
 
 Cambria 
 
 Livonia 
 
 Uvonia 
 
 Livonia 
 
 Livonia 
 
 Livonia 
 
 Countess of 
 
 Dufferin. . . . 
 Countess of 
 
 Dufferin. . . . 
 .\tlatita. . . . 
 
 .\tlanta 
 
 (lencsta 
 
 (Jencsta 
 
 Galatea 
 
 (lalatea 
 
 Thiitle 
 
 Thistle 
 
 Valkyrie II.. 
 \'alkyrie II . 
 V.ilkyrio II . . 
 N'alkvTie III 
 Valkyrie Hit 
 \alkyrie III . . 
 Shamrock I. , . 
 Shamrock I . . . 
 
 hamrock I . . . 
 Shamrock II . . 
 
 hamrock II 
 Shamrock IIJ 
 Shamrock III 
 Shamrock III . 
 Shamrock III . 
 
 Time. 
 
 H. M. s. 
 10.55 00. 
 4.37.38. 
 6 46.45. 
 3.18.15. 
 4.02.25. 
 6.09.23. 
 5.11.44. 
 
 5.34.53. 
 
 7.46.00. 
 
 4.45.39. 
 
 5 33.47 
 
 6.22.24. 
 
 5.04.52. 
 
 5.38.43. 
 
 7.18.09. 
 
 5.12,41. 
 
 5,54,45, 
 
 4.11,35 
 
 3.35.36. 
 
 3.25.19 
 
 5.08 44 
 Disqu'fied 
 Withdrew. 
 
 5.04 01. 
 Disabled. . 
 
 3.44.43. 
 
 4.31.44. 
 
 3.16.10. 
 
 4.33.38. 
 
 3.39,20 
 
 3,16.13. 
 
 Result. 
 
 .American boat first home by 18,00. 
 -Vnierican boat won by 3f . 1 2, 
 .\merican boat w'on by 27.04. 
 .\merican boat won by 10.33. 
 English boat won by *15.10. 
 American boat won by 30.21. 
 .American boat won by 25.27. 
 
 American boat won by 10.59. 
 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 ,\merican 
 ,\merican 
 .American 
 .\merican 
 American 
 .American 
 .\merican 
 .\nierican 
 .\mcrican 
 .\merican 
 j.\merican 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 ,\merican 
 American 
 .American 
 .\merican 
 .\merican 
 English 
 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 boat 
 
 won by 27.14. 
 won by 28.30. 
 
 by 38.54. 
 
 bv 16.19. 
 
 by 1.38. 
 
 by 12.02. 
 
 by 29.09. 
 
 by 19.23. 
 
 by 11.48. 
 
 by 5.48. 
 
 by 10.35. 
 
 by .40. 
 
 by 8.4(1. 
 fovl 
 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 
 won on 
 bad walk 
 won by lO.OS. 
 had walk over, 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 won 
 lost 
 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 
 6.34. 
 1.20. 
 3.35. 
 t.41. 
 7.03. 
 1.19. 
 
 ♦Oohirabia disab'ed. f Valkyrie finished first, but race awarded .American boat on account of foul. 
 
 JShamrock II finished first, but lost race on time allowance of 4S s. 
 
XXVIL 
 
 NAVAL EXPEDITION TO JAPAN, UNDER COMMODORE 
 
 M. C. PERRY.— 1852. 
 
 Xegotiations u< be Oiieneil for Unsealing the Ports of tliat Empire to America. — Letter of Friendship 
 from the President of the United States to the Emperor. — Distinguislied Favor Shown the Represen- 
 tatives of tiie Great Kepublic. — Ceremonies, Entertainments, and Diplomatic Conferences. — Treaty 
 of Peace, Amity, and Commercial Intercourse Concluded — Former Japanese Isolation Policy. — Exclu- 
 sive Privileges to the Dutch. — Effects of this restriction. — European Ettbris to Cliange it. — Mission 
 of Commodore Uiddle. — Seeks the Release of United States Sailors. — Ordered to Depart Forth- 
 with. — Firm Conduct of Captain Glynn. — Contempt for Japanese Etiquette. — Cham|iagne as a 
 Mediator. — Commodore Perry's Fine Fleet. — The Letter in a Golden Box — Its Presentation to the 
 Emperor — Commissioners Meet Commodore Perry. — Their Attire, Manners, Etc — The Conference 
 in Session. — Frendliness of the Japanese. — Civilities and Festivals. — Reception on the Flag-Ship. — 
 Substance nf the Tre.ity. — A Talk with tlie Emperor. — More Privileges Extended. 
 
 "I have tlirecteil Commodore Perry loasBUre yonr imperial majesty that I entertain ttie kindest feelings towards your majeaty's person 
 aid government, and that I have no othf r object in sending him to Japan but to propose to your imperial niajesly tliat the I. nlted Statei 
 and Japan should live in friendaliip and have commercial intercourse with each other. —The Pbesident's L'etthk to the Eupebor. 
 
 7 APANESE seclusion from tlie'rest of the nations of the earth, and especially 
 
 from the governments representing the same, seemed, for centu- 
 
 rie.s, to be an irritating problem, defying the utmost ingenuity 
 
 and sidll of diplomacy to solve ; and the various attempts, made 
 
 by different governments, to break through this impenetrable 
 
 barrier of isolation, were, until a period comparatively recent, 
 
 completely abortive, — the only approach to anything deserving 
 
 the name of commercial intercourse with that country being a 
 
 restricted privilege to trade at one or two points, granted for a 
 
 ,..;.^ time to the Portuguese, and subsequently to the 
 
 Dutch, but, in each case, upon conditions most 
 
 humiliating to the parties thus favored by the 
 
 Japanese. 
 
 But it is a fact which would seem not to 
 admit of any doubt, that this practice of jeal- 
 ous seclusion is fostered rather by the ruling 
 classes, than by the masses of the people, and, 
 therefore, foreign nations have felt all the 
 more justified in endeavoring to break down a 
 policy so manifestly at war with the rights 
 and interests of the human race. Providence 
 having bestowed the whole earth on the chil- 
 TREATY OF PEACE, AMITY, ETC. dieii of mcu, sucli isolatiou is defeating alto- 
 
260 
 
 FROM COLOKY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 getluu- tliat beneficeiit purpose ; for, should 
 other niitious follow the example of Japan, 
 and refuse to couiniunieate with t'.ieir 
 neighbors, there would be an end of all 
 eomiiierce, of all progress, of all civiliza- 
 tion, — industry v.'ould be smitten with 
 paralysis, and men would regard the inhab- 
 itants of adjoining countries as enemies. 
 
 Of the efforts put forth by European 
 nations to establish commercial and politi- 
 cal fraternity with Japan, no rehearsal 
 need be here made. On the jaart of the 
 United States, negotiations were under- 
 taken during the administration of Presi- 
 dent Polk, through Commodore Biddle, 
 but with no success of a permanent chai'- 
 acter. The commodore had been espe- 
 cially charged with the duty of bringing 
 home several American sailors, who, having 
 escaped from the wreck of their whale-shij), 
 succeeded in reaching the Japanese coast, 
 but were forthwith imprisoned. As illus- 
 trating the rules and conduct of the singu- 
 lar people into whose good graces the com- 
 modore thus essaj'ed to propitiate himself, 
 the following circumstances, as related by 
 Mr. Secretary Kennedy and others, will 
 both amuse and instruct, and form a fit pre- 
 liminary to llie account of Commodore Per- 
 r3''s subsequent visit : — 
 
 As soon as Commodore Biddle had an- 
 chored in the bay of Yeddo, a junk, with 
 the officials of the empire, came out to his 
 shi]>, having witli them a Dutch inter- 
 preter. Biddle told the dignitaries that 
 the vessels came with goo<l will, to learn 
 whether Japan had, like China, oi)ened 
 her ports to foreign trade ; and, if she 
 liad, to negotiate a treaty of commerce. 
 The dignitaries requested that this state- 
 ment should be reduced to writing, foi 
 transmission to the higher authorities. 
 He also stated that all needed supplies 
 would be furnished, but refused any per- 
 mission to land. In about a week, an offi- 
 cer with a suite of eight persons came on 
 board with tlio emperor's letter, which 
 read thus: "According to the Ja2:)anese 
 laws, the Japanese may not trade excejJt 
 with the Dutch and Chinese. It will not 
 be allowed that America make a treaty 
 
 with Japan or trade with her, as the same 
 is not allowed with any other nation. 
 Concerning strange lands, all things are 
 fixed at Nagasaki, but not here in the 
 bay ; therefore j-ou must depart as quick 
 as possible, and not come any more to 
 Japan." Biddle's instructions being not 
 to do anything " to excite a hostile feeling, 
 or distrust to the United States," he was 
 compelled to refrain from any compulsory 
 proceedi/igs. 
 
 It so hapjiened, that when the junk, 
 with the officials, made the visit to the 
 commodore's vessel, as above described, 
 one of the American officers stepjied on 
 board ; hut, in consequence of his having 
 violated Japanese etiquette by boarding a 
 government junk before the official bell 
 had been rung, a Japanese knocked him 
 overboard, and the junk returned to the 
 shore. The officer, very natiu-all}' thinking 
 himself badly used, demanded an apology. 
 The next day, therefore, the commodore 
 received a message stating that the Jap- 
 anese who had knocked the American over 
 the gangway, would be sent on board with 
 his father and mother, brothers and sis- 
 ters, grandmother, wife, and wife's sister, 
 and that thi^ij ivould all rip themselves 
 open lirfiire tJie captiii.n, for his satisfac- 
 tion. But the caiitain did not want to 
 witness that sort of satisfaction, and, as 
 he could not ascertain anything aliout the 
 prisoners, he set sail for home. The Jap- 
 anese entertained a very poor opinion of 
 the American peojde, in consequence of 
 the conduct of the captain on that occasion 
 — a nation, they thought, that would not 
 allow mcTi to rip tliemselves open, must be 
 a nation of cowards. The next squadron 
 to Japan was directed by Captain Glynn, 
 who determined to make an example of th« 
 Japanese. 
 
 As soon, therefore, as the American ship 
 approached the shore, a junk came off to 
 her, and, when near enough, a parchment 
 was extended towards the ship's officers 
 on a reed. The captain took the parch- 
 ment and threw it into the water. In an 
 instant, four or five Japanese jumped over- 
 board and recovered the parchment, b«- 
 
PERRY'S NAVAL EXPEDITION TO JAPAN — 1S52. 
 
 261 
 
 cause, as the captain was told afterwards, 
 they would have been ripjied open if tlie 
 parchment had been lost. As the anchor- 
 age usually allotted to foreigners did not 
 please Captain Glynn, he moved towards 
 a more convenient haven. Suddenly, a 
 voice in tiie junk shouted, " You must go 
 no furder — you must go no furder ! " The 
 captain, on hearing his own language, said 
 to the speaker, " You are the very man I 
 want." He hove to and got the man on 
 deck. "Who are you, sir?" asked the 
 captain. " I am the interpreter," said he. 
 " Are you one of the big men of this 
 country?" asked Glynn. He answered 
 in the negative, but told the captain that 
 he musj go no nearer the shore, as it was 
 contrary to the Japanese laws to do so. 
 
 U^d^ 
 
 "■ Stranger," said the captain, " I'll go just 
 where I please, and I don't mean to speak 
 to any one on the island under the prince 
 or governor." So, onward he sailed, till 
 he came to a place that suited him, where 
 he dropped his anchor. Next day the 
 prince of the district, with a great 
 cortege, consisting of about fifty men in 
 yellow robes, was seen walking along the 
 shore. 
 
 They soon entered a junk, and ap- 
 proached the ship. The yellow men 
 entered first, and as soon as they did so 
 they put their heads to the deck and kept 
 them there. When the great functionary 
 entered, instead of going aft, as is the 
 practice with Americans, he walked for- 
 ward. Glynn went up to him, clapped 
 
 him on the shoulder, and said, "Look you 
 here, friend, you must come the other 
 way." The Japanese officers and men 
 were astonished at this audacious famil- 
 iarity of the Americans, and thought that 
 their prince was going to be martyred. It 
 is customary in Japanese state junks, to 
 have an elevated jilatform forward, and 
 that is the place of honor. The Japanese 
 officer was surprised, therefore, on going 
 on the quarter-deck of the strange ship, to 
 see that no platform had been provided ; 
 and so, after looking round for the seat of 
 honor, he went to the helm and perched 
 himself on the rudder post. Glj'nn sent 
 for a chair, and pointed to it, and in 
 language which, though not to be found in 
 manuals of politeness, was at least very 
 perspicuous, bade him put himself into it. 
 "Now," said he, turning to the interpreter, 
 "tell him that!" The interpreter replied 
 that he could not do so, as such a remark 
 from him would insure his being ripped 
 open on the spot. The captain told him 
 that if he didn't obey him he would blow 
 his brains out. So the interpreter, as a 
 choice of evils, complied with the com- 
 mand. As soon as the prince had seated 
 himself, the captain ordered a bottle of 
 sherry wine, of which he offered him a 
 glass. The interpreter said, "the prince 
 never drinks." "He is with me now, and 
 he vH».<i drink," replied Glynn. The 
 jjrince put the glass to his lips, but did 
 not drink the liquor. The captain then 
 turned round to the interpreter and asked, 
 "Will you have it ?" He replied in the 
 negative. The captain then offered cham- 
 pagne. When the prince saw how it 
 sparkled, his scruples vanished, and he 
 drank it off. The captain filled another 
 and yet another glass, which the jsrince 
 enjoyed infinitely. When the captain saw 
 that he had pleased the prince, he t«Id 
 him, through the interpreter, that he ha<l 
 come for the American prisoners, and they 
 must be given up immediately. The 
 prince said forty days would be required 
 to send to Yeddo for them. Glynn replied, 
 " I must sail in three days, and I must 
 have them then." After some demur, 
 
:J62 
 
 YLiVM CULUAY TU WUlvLD i'OWEi;. 
 
 four days were 'allowed, at wliicli time the 
 prisoners were returned. 
 
 In dispatching the expedition under 
 Commodore Perry, the object of the 
 United States government was to obtuin 
 some definite stipulations, in the form of a 
 treaty, for mutual commercial transactions, 
 between the two countries; and, in order 
 to suitably impress the Japanese with the 
 serious character of the movement, the 
 fleet sent out was composed of some of the 
 finest and most formidable ships in the 
 American navy, carrying a large number 
 of sailors and marines, and more than the 
 usual complement of guns, mostly heavy 
 ordnance. Each of the steamers mounted 
 a couple of Paixhan shell-guns, of the 
 largest caliber, and i)laced on revolving 
 trucks, so as to sweep the horizon, — these 
 guns lieing intended to be nsed for the 
 discharge of shells of sixty-eight and one 
 hundred and twentv poun<ls each, and 
 long forty -twos, making twenty-two guns 
 to each steamer. Every ship was provided 
 with two brass twenty-four-pound field 
 pieces. 
 
 With this splendid disjilay of naval 
 power. Commodore Perry sailed from the 
 United States, in the steamship Missis- 
 sippi, November 24, 1852, touched at 
 Madeira ami the Cape of Good Hope, 
 reached Hong Kong in April, 1853, and 
 thence sailed for Japan. After uniting 
 all the vessels of the squadron. Perry, 
 leading the fleet in the flag-ship Sus(pie- 
 hanna, made Cape Idzu on the eighth of 
 July. Their first anchorage and inter- 
 course with the natives was near the town 
 of Uraga. On the fourteenth. Prince 
 Iwami gave Commodore Perry a formal 
 reception on shore, and took charge of the 
 president's letter to the emperor. 
 
 This letter, which was written by Hon. 
 Edward Everett, secretary of state, and 
 signed by President Fillmore, was beauti- 
 fully engrossed on parchment and depos- 
 ited in a gold-mounted bo.x of superb 
 workmanship and costing a thousand dol- 
 lars. The excellent spirit in which it was 
 couched will appear from the opening sen- 
 tences, namely: " Great and Good Friend: 
 
 I sen<l you this pul)lic letter by Commo- 
 dore Matthew C. Perry, an officer of the 
 highest rank in the navy of the United 
 States, and commander of the squadron 
 now visiting your imperial majesty's 
 dominions. I have directed Commodore 
 Perrj' to assure your imperial majest}' that 
 I entertain the kindest feelings towards 
 your majesty's j)erson and government, 
 and that I have no other object in sending 
 him to Japan but to propose to your 
 imperial majesty that the United States 
 and iFapan should live in friendship and 
 have commercial intercourse with each 
 other. The Constitution and laws of the 
 United States forbid all interference with 
 the religious or political concerns of other 
 nations. I have particularly charged 
 Commodore Perry to abstain from every 
 act whicli could possibly disturb the tran- 
 quillity of your imperial majesty's domin- 
 ions ; " etc. In this friendly and resjiect- 
 ful strain was the whole of the presidential 
 letter written. 
 
 Al)undant time having been given the 
 Jaj)anese authorities to decide upon what 
 course they woui<i pursue, the American 
 squadron, which had temporarily with- 
 drawn, now re-ajipeared in the bay of 
 Yeddo. As soon as they had anchored, a 
 nund-ier of Japanese officers went on Ijoard 
 the flag-shi[) to welccmie the commodore 
 and his ofScers >jack. and to inform him 
 that preparations liad been made for his 
 reception at Uraga. where an answer from 
 the emperor to the president's letter would 
 be delivered to him, and begged that he 
 would move his squadron down to that 
 place. To this, the commodore, through 
 the captain of the fleet, peremptorily re- 
 fused to accede, on the ground that the 
 anchorage there was too much exposed at 
 such a season of the year, and even inti- 
 mated that he might have to go up to 
 Yeddo, the imperial capital! 
 
 Several days passed in fruitless argu- 
 ments on the part of the Jai)anese to 
 induce the commodore to yield this point. 
 In the meantime, the surveying jjarty had 
 been actively employed, and, as the Jap- 
 anese began to assume an independent 
 
PERRY'S NAVAL EXPEDITION TO JAPAN — 1852. 
 
 263 
 
 and intractable tone, a signal was thrown 
 out and the squadron moved up the baj', 
 to a position ten or twelve niile^ above the 
 ' American Anchorage,' and iu front of the 
 city of Kanagawa. Boats were immedi- 
 ately dispatclied to make further examina- 
 tions of the channel in the direction of the 
 capital ; but before they returned, the dig- 
 nitaries from Uraga arrived, and, forget- 
 ting their pertinacious obstinacy of a few 
 hours previously, good-humoredly begged 
 that an officer might be sent with them to 
 select a suitable anchorage and place of 
 reception somewhere in the vicinity of 
 where the squadron lay. The commodore 
 assenting to thi.s, the village of Yoko- 
 liama was chosen on account of the excel- 
 lent shelter afforded by its harbor. 
 
 The squadron then present, consisting 
 of the steam-frigates Powhatan, Susque- 
 hanna, and Mississippi, sloops-of-war Mac- 
 edonian, Vandalia, and Saratoga, and 
 store-ships Southampton and Lexington, 
 anchored in a line off the town, and the 
 Japanese set to work with a will to erect 
 suitable buildings for the conferences. 
 
 On the eighth of March, the accommo- 
 dations being completed, the commodore, 
 by appointment, landed witli a suite of 
 officers and an escort of five hundred sea- 
 men and marines. He was received by 
 five commissioners appointed by the em- 
 peror to confer with him, consisting of the 
 supreme counselor, the prince of Tsa- 
 Sima, the prince of Mimi-Saki, a member 
 of the board of revenue, and one other 
 officer of high rank. The seamen and 
 marines were all armed, and, with drums 
 beating, colors fl.ving, bands playing at 
 intervals, and salutes fired on the arrival 
 of the officials, the scene was indeed a 
 striking one. Thousands of Japanese sol- 
 diers crowded the shore and neighboring 
 heights, looking on with curious interest. 
 The house was a plain frame-building, 
 containing one large room — the audience 
 iiall — and several smaller ones for the con- 
 venience of attendants, etc. The floor 
 was covered with mats, and very prettily 
 painted screens adorned the sides. Long 
 tables and benches, covered with red 
 
 woolen stuff, placed parallel to each other, 
 three handsome braziers, filled with burn- 
 ing charcoal, on the floor between them, 
 and a few violet-colored crape hangings 
 suspended from the ceiling, completed the 
 furniture of the room. The Americans 
 touk their seats at one of the tables, and 
 the Jaj)anese commissioners placed them- 
 selves at the other table opposite; while 
 behind them both, seated on the floor on 
 tliuir knees — their usual position, as they 
 do not use chairs — was a crowd of Jap- 
 anese officers, forming the train of the 
 commissioners. The business was carried 
 on in the Dutch language, through inter- 
 preters. 
 
 First of all, after an exchange of com- 
 pliments, the communication from the 
 emperor to the j)i'esident of the United 
 States was delivered in due form by the 
 commissioners, and then thej' expressed 
 themselves prepared to commence discus- 
 sions ujjon the various points contained in 
 the president's letter, and also to receive 
 any further propositions that might be 
 made, — the commissioners stating that, in 
 the determination of the emperor to make 
 some modification in their laws of seclu- 
 sion, he relied upon the friendly disposi- 
 tion of the Americans towards Japan, and, 
 as such negotiations were entirely novel 
 to them, they would trust witli confidence 
 to the commodore's superior experience, 
 to his generosity, and his sense of justice. 
 A real desire was manifested b_y the Jap- 
 a;iese to cultivate friendl_y feelings with 
 their guests; in fact, the general bearing 
 of the people had already convinced the 
 Americans that Jajjanese distrust of them 
 had measurably worn away. 
 
 Refreshments were served in elegantly 
 lacquered dishes — first of all, tea, which, as 
 in China, is the constant beverage ; then 
 different kinds of candy and sponge cake ; 
 and, lastly, oranges, and a palatable liquor, 
 distilled from rice, and called saki. What 
 was left on their plates, by the Americans, 
 at the close, was wrapped in paper, and 
 given them to carry away, according to 
 the usual custom in Japan. The commis- 
 sioners were intelligent looking men, 
 
164: 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOULD POWER 
 
 riclil}' dressed in gaj', silk petticoat panta- 
 loons, and upper garments resembling in 
 shape ladies' short gowns. Dark-colored 
 stockings, and two elegant swords, pushed 
 through a twisted silk girdle, tinished the 
 costume. Straw sandals are worn, liut are 
 always slipped off on entering the house. 
 The^' do not cover the head, the top and 
 front part of which is shaved, and the 
 back and side hair, being brought up, is 
 tied so as to form a tail, three or four 
 inches long, that extends forward upon the 
 bald pate, terminating about half way 
 between the apex and the forehead ; this is 
 
 beautiful locomotive, tender, and passenger 
 car, one-fourth the ordinary size, also a 
 mile of magnetic telegraph, the operations 
 of which were exhibited on shore. These 
 excited a great deal of interest among the 
 Japanese, particularly the telegraph, when 
 they came to comprehend its utility in the 
 transmission of intelligence, communica- 
 tions being made in their presence in the 
 English, Japanese, and Dutch languages. 
 They were also delighted with the railroad, 
 when they saw the engine and car flying 
 along the track at the rate of twenty miles 
 an hour, but thought it would be impossi- 
 
 NAVAL EXPErHTION TO -TAPAIf 
 
 a very comfortable fashion, and, were it 
 not for the quantity of grease used in it, 
 would be a cleanly one. 
 
 The negotiations proceeded harmoni- 
 ously, but, on account of the exacting cer- 
 emony peculiar to the Japanese, very 
 slowly. Thus, a question proposed had to 
 pass first through the interpreters, and 
 then through several officers ascending in 
 rank, before it could reach the commis- 
 sioners, every one bowing his head to the 
 floor before he addressed his superiors. 
 Among the presents intended for the 
 emperor was a small railroad track, with a 
 
 CTRDER COJrMODORE M. C. PERRY. 
 
 ble to construct them to advantage in 
 Japan, owing to the ver^' uneven surface 
 of the country ! 
 
 The ])olicy of the commodore had been, 
 on lioth this and his former visit, to ob- 
 serve a strict exclusiveness, and the Jap- 
 anese were, on all occasions, given to 
 understand that, with a desire on the part 
 of the Americans to establish friendly 
 relations, no unworthy restrictio- s or 
 exactions would be submitted to ; that 
 they came among them not to beg, but to 
 dispense favors ; that, conscious of the 
 power of their government, they were, 
 
PERRY'S NAVAL EXPEDITION TO JAPAN — 1S52. 
 
 ^65 
 
 nevertheless, desirous of meeting them on 
 equal and honorable terms, and upon no 
 other conditions whatever fould they con- 
 sent to hold amicable intercourse with 
 them. The favorable effect of this course 
 was verj' apparent; they were glad to be 
 admitted on board the ships, and the com- 
 missioners offered no objections to the 
 officers strolling about the country in the 
 neighborhood of the anchorage. 
 
 Whilst the negotiations were pending, 
 the commodore gave an entertainment to 
 the commissioners, on board the flag-ship. 
 They also visited other vessels of the squad- 
 ron. The engines of the steamers were 
 put in motion, that their operation might 
 be witnessed. The ships' companies were 
 drilled at general quarters, and attention 
 was called to the caliber of the heavy 
 guns in use among western nations. 
 Their usual stoicism and self-possession 
 were not proof against such novelties, 
 and they v/ere unable to withhold their 
 admiration and surprise. During the 
 entertainment, toasts to the emperor and 
 the president were drank with all the 
 honors, the guests did ample justice 
 to the sumptuous dinner, and the com- 
 pany did not disperse until a very late 
 hour. 
 
 At length, after uiueh di[)lomacy on the 
 part of the Japanese, — the Americans 
 strenuously refusing to accept any propo- 
 sition to go to Nagasaki, — a treaty of 
 amity, peace, and commerce, was agreed 
 to and ratified, three copies in Japanese 
 being delivered to Commodore Perry, and 
 three copies in English, signed by himself, 
 with Dutch and Chinese translations, be- 
 ing delivered to the imperial commission- 
 ers. Article first of the treaty established 
 peace and amity between the United 
 States and Japan ; article second assigned 
 the ports of Simoda, in the principality of 
 Idzu, and of Hakodadi, in the principality 
 of Matsmai, for the reception of American 
 ships, and where thej' might obtain wood, 
 water, provisions, and coal, payment to be 
 made in gold and silver ; articles third, 
 fourth, fifth, and sixth, provide for good 
 treatment, security to jjroperty, etc., in the 
 
 case of American vessels and crews ship- 
 wrecked on the coast ; article seventh pro- 
 vided that ships of the United States 
 resorting to the ports opened to them, 
 should be jaermitted to exchange gold and 
 silver coin, and articles of goods, for other 
 articles of goods, under such regulations as 
 the Japanese government might tempora- 
 rily establish for that purpose, it being 
 also stipulated that the ships of the United 
 States should be permitted to carry away 
 whatever articles they received in ex- 
 change. These articles were the most 
 important embraced in the treaty, which 
 was signed March 31, 185-1. The treaty 
 privileges thus obtained by Commodore 
 Perry for the United States, were the 
 most liberal and advantageous of any 
 which, up to that time, had been accorded 
 by Japan to a foreign people ; but the 
 same or equal privileges were afterwards 
 permitted to other nations, and, subse- 
 quently, new treaties were made with the 
 United States, greatly enlarging the lib- 
 erty of trade. 
 
 As already stated above, one of the arti- 
 cles of the treaty gave to citizens of the 
 United States the right of free access to 
 the two Japanese ports of Simoda and 
 Hakodadi, and, with this, unrestricted 
 liberty in the surrounding country em- 
 braced by a radius of about sixteen English 
 miles. These, with some other stipula- 
 tions of a certain character, it was thought 
 desirable to make a practical te.st of , before 
 the departure of the squadron from the 
 waters of Japan. 
 
 Accordingly, a few days after the con- 
 clusion of the treaty, which were occupied 
 in completing the surveys on hand of por- 
 tions of Yeddo Bay, the ships sailed for 
 Simoda, it being a short distance to the 
 south and westward, — a capital harbor, 
 and surrounded by a charming and highly 
 cultivated country. Accustomed to a sys- 
 tem of unrelenting espionage, it required 
 much patience and address to bring the 
 inhabitants to a proper appreciation of the 
 new condition of things ; but in a short 
 time, however, the movements of the 
 officers and men about the city and coun- 
 
266 
 
 FROM fuLuXY TO WOKLL TOWEi:. 
 
 try became as unhampered and safe as in 
 anv part of the United States. 
 
 After making an accurate survey of tlie 
 harbor and its approaches, the sqiuidron 
 sailed for Ilakodadi ; and, although six 
 weeks had elapsed since the signing of the 
 treaty, the authorities protested that they 
 had heard nothing of it, and consequently 
 nothing of the intended visit of the squad- 
 ron, and gave as an evidence that the 
 women and ch'Mren had all fled to the 
 interior, frightened at the apiJroach of the 
 ships off the harbor. On delivering a 
 letter from the commissioners, however, 
 and showing them the treaty, their anxi- 
 ety was at once allayed, an.l all were very 
 kindly received. The deputies di.spatched 
 from Yeddo, by the commissioners, to 
 meet the commodore at Hokodadi, did not 
 arrive till he was on the eve of sailing, 
 and stated that they had been upwards of 
 fifty days on the road, although the dis- 
 tance by the air line was less than four 
 hundred miles. Still, the intercourse with 
 the authorities and inhabitants had been 
 very satisfactory, and the parting was one 
 of sincere mutual regret. 
 
 The subsequent treaty, made by INIr. 
 Townsend Harris, United States consul- 
 general at Japan, secured several addi- 
 tional ports to American commerce. Mr. 
 Harris was in direct contact with the 
 emperor, at Yeddo, during a portion of the 
 time employed in negotiating this treaty, 
 — a contact as interesting as it was unirpie. 
 Mr. Harris states that after passing 
 through the various fortified gatevva^-s, up 
 to the gate of the palace itself, he was 
 received at the entrance by two chamber- 
 lains, who conducted him to an apartment 
 where a chair had been jilaced for his use. 
 Tea, bon-bons, and other refre.shments, 
 were offered, and a large number of princes 
 came to be presented to him. Passing 
 through a large hall, in which some three 
 or four hundred nobles of the empire, all 
 dressed in their court costume, were kneel- 
 ing, all silent and motionless as statues, 
 Mr. Harris entered the supreme audience 
 
 chamber. At this moment, a chamberlain 
 called out, ' Merrican Embassador,' and 
 then the prince of Sinano threw himself 
 down and crawled along, as the consul 
 walked in. Advancing up the room, and 
 making three bows as he proceeded, Mr. 
 Harris halted at the head of two lines of 
 men, who were prostrate on their faces ; 
 those on the right were members of the 
 council of state, with the prince of Bittsu 
 at their head, and those on the left were 
 brothers of the emperor. 
 
 His majest}' was seated on a chair 
 placed on a dais, elevated some three feet 
 above the floor of the chamber. He was 
 dressed in yellow silk, and wore a black 
 lacquered cap of indescribable peculiaritj'. 
 After a short pause, the consul made an 
 address to the emperor ; and, after a simi- 
 lar pause, his majesty replied in a clear 
 and pleasant voice. At the close of the 
 emperor's speech, the consul's secretary 
 passed the president's letter intended for 
 the emjjeror to Mr. Harris ; the latter 
 removed the silk ewer — striped, red and 
 white, — ojsened the box, and displayed the 
 writing to the prince of Bittsu, who now 
 stood up, and then, closing the box, Mr. 
 Harris handed it to the prince, who i)laced 
 it on a lacquered stand, prepared for the 
 jnirpose. The prince again became pros- 
 trate, and then the emperor bowed to the 
 consul, smiling pleasantly as he did so. 
 This ended the audience, and Mr. Harris re- 
 tired from the room, still facing the empe- 
 ror, and making the customary three bows. 
 
 From the audience chamber, the consul 
 was taken to another room, where the 
 gi-eat councilors of state congratulated 
 him on the interview just held, and ex- 
 pressed much wonder and astonishment at 
 what they called his 'greatness of heart.' 
 On asking their meaning, they told the 
 consul that they were filled with admira- 
 tion to see him stand erect, look the awful 
 'tycoon' in the face, speak j)lain]y to him, 
 hear his reply — and all this without any 
 trepidation, or any ' (juiveriug of the mus- 
 cles of the side ! ' 
 
XXVIIl. 
 
 TERRIBLE CRISIS IN THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL 
 
 WORLD.— 1857. 
 
 Known as " the Great Panic." — A Suililen, Universal Crash in the Heiglit of Prosperity. — Caused by 
 Wild Speculations and Enormous Debt. — Suspension of Banks all Over the Country — Failure of the 
 Oldest and Wealthiest Houses — Fortunes Swept Away in a Day. — Prostration of Every Branch of 
 Industry. — Prolonged Embarrassment, Distrust, and Suffering — The Panic of 1837 a Comparison — 
 Extravagance and High Prices. — Chimerical Railroad Schemes. — Mania for Land Investments — 
 Reckless Stock Gambling. — Western Paper Cities — Fabulous Prices for " Lots." — Money Absorbed 
 in this Way. — Bursting of the Bubble, — The First Great Blow. — A Bomb in Money Circles — Wide- 
 spread Shock and Terror. — Fierce Crowds at the Banks. — A Run Upon Them for Specie. — They 
 " Goto the Wall." — Savings Bank E.xcitement — Rare Doings at the Counters. — Wit, Mirth, Despair, 
 and Ruin. — Forty Thousand Persons in Wall Street. — Factories, Foundries, etc.. Stopped. — Business 
 Credit Destroyed. — Root of the Whole Difficulty. 
 
 " The moBt extraordinary, violent, and deetructive panic ever experienced in thia country."— Gibbon's Histoky of Banes and 
 Banki.mi. 
 
 AJSTY persons will recall, even at this 
 remote lapse of time, the terrible com- 
 
 KUX ox A BANK. ■ , II,- 1 • 1 ■ 1 
 
 mercial and business revulsion which 
 preceded, by just a score of years, that more general and calamitous one of 1857, — the 
 latter being universally known to this day as " the Great Panic." During the first- 
 named, every bank in the Union failed and suspended specie payment, with a compar- 
 atively few exceptions. Extravagance pervaded all classes of society, and so general 
 and feverish was the excitement in western hinds' speculation, that men grasped at 
 ' lots " in that boundless and then almost untracked region, as if the supply was about 
 to be exhausted. Indeed, the picture is but slightly if at all overdrawn, which repre- 
 sents the land mania of that period as swallowing up, in its mad whirl, all classes. 
 The "man of one idea" was visible everywhere; no man had two. He who had no 
 money begged, borrowed, or stole it ; he who had, thought he made a generous sacri- 
 fice, if he lent it cent per cent. The tradesman forsook his shop ; the farmer his 
 
268 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 plougli ; the merchant his counter ; the 
 Lawyer his office ; the clergyman his study 
 — to join tlie general chase. The man 
 with one leg, or he that had none, could 
 at least get on board a steamer, and make 
 for Chicago or Milwaukee ; the strong, tlie 
 able, but above all, the " enterprising," 
 set out with his pocket map and his pocket 
 compass, to thread the dim woods, and see 
 ■with his own eyes, — for who could be so 
 demented as to waste time in planting, in 
 building, in hammering iron, in making 
 shoes, when the path of wealth laj' wide 
 and flowery before him ! A ditcher, hired 
 by the job to do a certain piece of work in 
 liis line, was asked — 
 
 " Well, John, did j'ou make anything ? " 
 
 "Pretty well; I cleared about ten dol- 
 lars a day, but I could have made more by 
 standin' round" — that is, watching the 
 land market, for bargains. 
 
 The host of travelers on their western 
 speculating tours met with many difficul- 
 ties, as might be supposed. Such search- 
 ing among trees for town lines ! — such 
 ransacking of the woods for section cor- 
 ners, ranges, and base lines! — such anxious 
 care in identifying spots possessing " par- 
 ticular advantages!" And then, alas! 
 after all, such precious blunders, — blun- 
 ders which called into action another class 
 of operators, who became popularly known 
 as " land lookers." These were plentiful 
 at every turn, ready to furnish "water- 
 power," "pine lots," or anything else, at 
 a moment's notice. It was impossible to 
 mention any part of the country which 
 they had not "personally surveyed." 
 They would state, with the gravity of 
 astrologers, what sort of timber predomi- 
 nated on any given tract, drawing sage 
 deductions as to the capabilities of the 
 soil ! Did the purchaser incline to city 
 property ? Lo ! a splendid chart, setting 
 forth the advantages of some unequaled 
 site. 
 
 But at last this bubble burst — thousands 
 (if fortunes vanished into thin air — the 
 crisis and the panic came like a whirl- 
 wind. 
 
 Similar was the state of things preced- 
 
 ing the awful crash in 1857. The times 
 were characterized by excessive debts and 
 almost incredible extravagance and specu- 
 lations. The cities, and many parts of the 
 countrj', were drained of means for legiti- 
 mate purposes, being devoted, instead, to 
 the construction of unproductive railroads, 
 or absorbed in western land speculations. 
 The new territories, and some parts of the 
 western states, were almost covered with 
 paper cities, selling to the credulous at 
 almost fabulous prices. In Kansas alone, 
 where scarcely one legal title had as j'et 
 been granted, there were more acres laid 
 out for cities, than were covered by all the 
 cities in the northern and middle states. 
 Nearly the whole west swarmed with spec- 
 ulators, who neither intended to cultivate 
 the soil nor settle there, but who expected 
 to realize fortunes, without labor, out of 
 the bona fide settler. Lots in "cities," 
 where was scarcely a house, were sold to 
 the inexperienced and the unwary, at 
 prices equaling those in the large cities. 
 These operations, with others of a similarly 
 chimerical character, made money scarce 
 everywhere, and diverted thousands of 
 men, and much of the capital of the coun- 
 try, from the liusiness of producing, — 
 tending, of course, to extravagant prices 
 of food. 
 
 But the omens of disaster began to cast 
 their spectral shadows athwart the finan- 
 cial sky, the first manifestation being a 
 regular decline in the value of leading 
 railroad stocks, especially the western 
 roads. But the first great blow to public 
 confidence was given by the unexpected 
 failure, in August, of the Ohio Life Insur- 
 ance and Trust Compan^y. The magni- 
 tude and importance of the operations of 
 this institution tliroughout the country, 
 amounting to millions of dollars, and in- 
 volving so many individuals and corpora- 
 tions, rendered its suspension a fearfid 
 disaster. The announcement fell like a 
 bomb in the money circles, and, bj'' the 
 first or second week of September, banks 
 and business honses began to stop pay- 
 ment, and a panic ensued, which became 
 almost universal during the month. The 
 
TEERIBLE CRISIS IX FINANCIAL WORLD — 1S57. 
 
 269 
 
 best mercantile paper was at a discount of 
 from tliree to five per cent, a month. 
 Toward the close of the month tl.ree of 
 the leading banks of Philadelphia failed, 
 and the remainder resolved upon a tempo- 
 rary suspension of specie payments. This 
 was followed by a similar step on tlie part 
 of most of the banks of Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, the District of Columbia, and 
 New Jersey. 
 
 No such intense excitement had ever 
 before prevailed in Philadelphia, as that 
 which reigned when the bank of Pennsyl- 
 
 being nearly two million dollars. Very 
 early on the same day, the Girard and 
 Commercial banks ceased paying their de- 
 jjosits, but continued to pay their bills. 
 Checks were marked good and returned to 
 the holders. After three o'clock, the city 
 was full of all sorts of rumors, and, at a 
 meeting of the bank jiresidents, a universal 
 suspension was agreed upon. These tid- 
 ings became rapidly known throughout the 
 towns and villages of the state, and the 
 next morning a vast number of anxious 
 people flocked into the city by steam-boat 
 
 E.NCITKMKST IN BUSINESS CIECLBS DURING THE GKEAT PANIC. 
 
 vania closed its doors. Crowds of people 
 poured into Third street from the distant 
 extremities of the city, and the street 
 became a perfect jam, everybody wlio had 
 any money in those banks which had not 
 yet stopped specie payment, being in haste 
 to obtain their dues. Prom this vast mass 
 of people there radiated lines reaching to 
 the counters of all the banks, demanding 
 coin for bills and deposits ; and all the 
 various applicants, as the}' presented them- 
 selves, received their money, and retired 
 in good order. This scene continued until 
 the hour of closing, the amount of coin 
 thus paid out, from eleven to three o'clock, 
 
 and railroad. As if unwilling to believe 
 the unwelcome news, they gathered in 
 crowds opposite the various banks, pa- 
 tiently awaiting the hour for opening. 
 All appeared bent on getting coin for their 
 checks and bills. At ten o'clock the doors 
 opened, police officers being everywhere 
 about, to preserve order. Each customer 
 went up in turn, presented his check, and 
 luid it marked good ; while such as held 
 bills were told that the redemption of them 
 in sj^ecie was temporarily suspended. 
 
 And now, all over the land, east, west, 
 north, and south, the dark days of fear, 
 alarm, and ruin, settled down upon the 
 
270 
 
 FKOM COLOXY TO WOKLD TOWER. 
 
 people, and panic raged like a pestilence. 
 Indeed, the extent of the crash far ex- 
 ceeded what it would have been, but for 
 the shock and terror which so needlessly 
 possessed men's minds at the instant, and 
 unbalanced their judgment. Universal 
 distrust prevailed — a loss of that mutual 
 confidence between man and man, without 
 which, the foundations of mercantile credit 
 are washed away as so much sand, but 
 with which, temporary difficulties, even 
 though stringent, maybe surmounted, and 
 total ruin to individuals and the public 
 prevented. No more fitting illustration of 
 the working of this principle of confidence 
 could be cited, in sustaining or overturn- 
 ing the steadiness of business affairs, than 
 the anecdote of the little Frenchman who 
 loaned a merchant five thousand dollars, 
 when times were good, but who called at 
 the counting-house on the times becoming 
 " hard," in a state of agitation only faintl\' 
 portrayed in the following hasty colloquy 
 which ensued : 
 
 •' How do you do ? " inquired the mer- 
 chant, as the French creditor presented 
 himself at the counter. 
 
 " Sick — ver sick,'' — rrqilied monsieur. 
 
 "What is the matter?" 
 
 " De times is de matter." 
 
 " Ih times ? — what disease is that ? " 
 
 " De malaide vat break all de marchants, 
 ver much." 
 
 " Ah — the times, eh ? Well, they are 
 bad, very bad, sure enough ; but how do 
 they affect you ? " 
 
 "Vy, monsieur, I lose de confidence." 
 
 " In whom ? " 
 
 "In everybody." 
 
 "^ot in me, I hope?" 
 
 " Pardonnez moi, monsieur ; but I do 
 not know who to trust a present, when all 
 de marchants break several times, all to 
 pieces." 
 
 " Then I presume you want your 
 money." 
 
 "Oui, monsieur, I starve for want of 
 c'argeiit. " (the silver). 
 
 " Can't you do without it ? " 
 
 -'No, monsieur, I must have him." 
 
 ■' You must ? " 
 
 " Oui, monsieur," said little dimity 
 breeches, turning pale with apprehension 
 for the safety of his monej'. 
 
 " And you can't do without it ? '' 
 
 " No, monsieur, not von other leetle 
 moment longare." 
 
 The merchant reached his bank book, 
 drew a check on the good old ' Continen- 
 tal ' for the amount, and handed it to his 
 visitor. 
 
 "Vat is dis, monsieur? " 
 
 " A check for five thousand dollars, with 
 the interest." 
 
 "l&\thon?" (good,) said the French- 
 man, with amazement. 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Have you I' argent in de bank ? '' 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And is it parfaitement convenient to 
 pay de same ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly ! What astonishes you ?' 
 
 "■ Vy, dat you have got him in deet; 
 times." 
 
 " Oh, yes, and I have plenty more. I 
 owe nothing that I cannot pay at a mo- 
 ment's notice." 
 
 The Frenchman was perplexed. 
 
 " i\Ionsieur, you shall do me von leetle 
 favor, eh?" 
 
 " AVith all my heart." 
 
 "AVell, monsieur, you shall keep I'ar- 
 gent for me some leetle year longare." 
 
 " Why, I thought you wanted it ! " 
 
 " Tout au contraive. I no vant de 
 ar</eiit. I vant de grand confidence. 
 Suppose you no got de money, den I vant 
 him ver much — suppose you got him, den 
 I no vant him at all. Vous conqn-enez, 
 eh ? " 
 
 After some further conference, the little 
 chatterer prevailed upon the merchant to 
 retain the money, and left the counting- 
 house with a light heart, and a counte- 
 nance very different from the one he wore 
 when he entered. His confidence was 
 restored — he did not stand in need of the 
 vionci/. 
 
 The banks of New Y^ork and New 
 England remained firm, far into the month 
 of October, but so rapid and numberless 
 were the failures, each succeeding day, of 
 
TEERIBIE CRISIS IX FINANCIAL AVORLD — 1857. 
 
 271 
 
 railroad and other forporations, and busi- 
 ness houses which liad — some of tliem — 
 breasted all the financial storms of the last 
 half centurjf, that these were finally obliged 
 to succumb to the avalanche of pressure, 
 and fell into the vortex of universal sus- 
 pension. Tuesday', the thirteenth of Octo- 
 ber, the day preceding the suspension, was 
 the climax of the struggle, and Wall 
 street, 'New York, as the great center of 
 money operations in the United States, 
 presented a scene of wild excitement never 
 before witnessed. 
 
 The account of that scene, as given by 
 the reporter for the Tribune, is here in 
 part reproduced. At ten o'clock in the 
 
 was hurriedly dashed off at its foot, and in 
 another moment it was on its way to the 
 bank. 
 
 The crowd increased in numbers. Each, 
 person took his place in the line and 
 aivaited his turn, wliile policemen kept 
 those out who were present only from 
 motives of curiosity. One after another 
 was paid, and with the shining treasure 
 departed. Scores of hands, skilled by long 
 experience in counting coin, were taxed to 
 their utmost in their efforts to keep pace 
 with the demand for gold. AJtogether, 
 the scene presented was one of the wildest 
 excitement. Tliirtij to forty thousand 
 persons were at the same moment in the 
 
 EFFECTS OP THE HARD TIMES. 
 
 morning, says that journal, the fronts of 
 the different institutions indicated, by the 
 crowds gathered around them, that the 
 ability of the vaults to yield up their treas- 
 ure at the call of depositors and bill-hold- 
 ers was to undergo no ordinary test. 
 Check after check was presented and paid, 
 and still they came. Word soon went 
 forth that a run had commenced on the 
 banks, and it passed from one house to 
 another until the whole lower part of tlie 
 city was alive with excitement. Bank 
 books were examined ; but a moment was 
 required to prepare a check — a signature 
 
 sfrref — some rushing onward in the hope 
 to secure their deposits before the hour of 
 closing should arrive, and others clustered 
 together, discussing the condition of af- 
 fairs. One after another of the announce- 
 ments made, of banks failing under the 
 continued drain upon them, fell with dis- 
 may among the crowd, and confident pre- 
 dictions were uttered that ten o'clock of 
 Wednesday would tell the storjf of the 
 suspension of all. But not a few there 
 were, whose belief in the ability of the 
 moneyed institutions was still unshaken, 
 and they asserted, with earnestness, tnat 
 
FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEK. 
 
 every demand in checks and bills would 
 be met to the last, and Panic be laughed 
 to scorn. 
 
 But, with all the anxiety and resolute- 
 ness depicted upon so nian^- countenances, 
 there were those who laughed and cracked 
 jokes about their deposits in banks which 
 had suspended, and about their stock in 
 smashed-up railroads, as though the whole 
 thing were a huge joke. From the top of 
 Wall street to the bottom — from Broad- 
 way to Water street — the sidewalks were 
 crowded with people, desirous to know the 
 truth of the rumors which lilled the air. 
 
 In other parts of the city, stirring 
 scenes were transpiring, and not a iew 
 that were quite illustrative of human 
 nature in its different veins. During the 
 run upon the Bowery Savings Bank, an 
 old Irishwoman, short, thick, resolute, and 
 ' a little in for it,' made herself conspicu- 
 ous by elbowing her way through the dis- 
 trustful depositors, very unceremoniously, 
 and denouncing, in no measured terms, 
 "the big blackguards that would be afther 
 chafing a poor body out iv her hard earned 
 wagis." Some order of precedence is cus- 
 tomary at such times, Ijut the heavy shoes 
 of the Irishwoman did such execution 
 upon the corns of all who stood in her wav, 
 that she soon obtained a good place near 
 the door, in spite of the remonstrances of 
 a dozen or two of younger Biddys, Mag- 
 gies, Marys, and Kathleens, who had been 
 waiting an liour or two. At the door, she 
 had a wordy quarrel with a broad-should- 
 ered black man in advance of her, calling 
 him a "runaway nagur ; " and anon she 
 varied her performances by shaking her 
 fist in the face of a policeman — who, as an 
 official conservator of the peace, had under- 
 taken to check her, — and, at length, very 
 red and sweaty, she stood before the pay- 
 ing teller and presented her book, with a 
 vocal invocation to him to do the clean 
 thing. " What's this mean ? " .said he, look- 
 ing at her somewhat impatiently. " What's 
 your name?" "Can't yoos rade writin' 
 hand?" she rejoined sharply; " shure, 
 me nam's on the book ! " " But this," said 
 he, " is only a grocer's old pass book ! 
 
 What's your name, I say ? " " Mary 
 McEagan I was christened, but I married 
 Pat Millikens." The teller turned rapidly 
 to his index of depositors. " You have 
 got no money in this bank ! " said he, when 
 he had ascertained the fact. She left the 
 premises in company with an officer, to 
 whom she confessed that she iiad found 
 the pass book near the crowd, and think- 
 ing it had been dropped accidentally by a 
 depositor, she had thought to obtain the 
 money before the depositor applied for it. 
 At the same bank, one man who drew out 
 his deposits was so intoxicated that he 
 could hardly stand ; quite likely, he lost 
 the savings of years before the night was 
 over. At another savings bank, one poor 
 girl had her pocket picked of her little all 
 — about seventy-seven dollars, before she 
 had got out of the crowd. A vast deal 
 of chafifing occurred among those who 
 thronged the doorways of the banks. " I 
 don't know," said one to a bystander, 
 " where to put my money when I get it ! " 
 " Give it to me," rejoined the other. 
 " Sew it up in your shirt," said another ; 
 and several other methods were promptly 
 and merrily suggested by the sympathiz- 
 ing spectators, such as " Stick it in your 
 wig" — "Let the old woman have it" — 
 " Put it in your boots, and let me wear 
 them ; " etc. 
 
 At the Sixpenny Savings Bank, a little 
 newsboy, without a jacket, and only one 
 susjjender (and that a string), confronted 
 the teller on Mondaj', and demanded to 
 know whether " She was all right " — 
 meaning the Institution — because if she 
 was, he didn't mean to be scared, if every- 
 body else was. He'd got forty-two cents 
 salted down there, and all he wanted was 
 his (the teller's) word of honor that it 
 wouldn't si)ile. The teller assured him 
 that his money was ready for him at any 
 moment. " 'Nuff said, 'tween gen'l'men, 
 but I don't want it," rejoined the youth, 
 and with a self-complacent, well-satisfied 
 air, walked out of the bank. "Is she 
 good ? ' cried two or three other news- 
 boys who were awaiting the result, at the 
 doorsteps. " Yes, s-i-r-r-e-e ! " he replied. 
 
TEERIBLE CEISIS IX FI^'AXCIAL WORLD — 1.S5 
 
 ■'as good as wlieat. Ketch our bank to 
 stop ! Yoos ought to seeil the gold I seed 
 ill der safe ! " " How much was they ? " 
 inquired a companion. '' More'n a house- 
 full ! " was the prompt response, '• an' yoos 
 don't ketch dis "ere chile a-makin' an oold 
 woman of his-self, an' drawin' out his 
 money ; I ain't so green — I ain't ! " 
 
 It will require but little strain of the 
 imagination to realize, to one's mind, the 
 case of Mrs. Jones, who, on receipt of the 
 news of the banks suspending specie pay- 
 ments, hastened to her savings bank, 
 elbowed her way smartly to the desk, pre- 
 sented her hook, and demanded her money. 
 
 " Madam," said the clerk, persuasively, 
 " are you sure you want to draw this 
 monej' out in specie '? " 
 
 " Mrs. Jones," said a director, with an 
 oracular frown, "do you know that you 
 are injuring your fellow depositors ? " 
 
 " And setting an example of great folly 
 to less educated persons in this commu- 
 nity ? " struck in another director. 
 
 " Let us advise you simply to reflect," 
 interposed the clerk, blandly. 
 
 '■To wait for a day, at least," said the 
 director. 
 
 At last there was a pause. 
 
 Mrs. Jones had been collecting herself. 
 She burst now. In a tone which was 
 heard throughout the building, and above 
 all the din of ordinarj' business, and at 
 which her questioners turned ashy pale, 
 she said : 
 
 " Will you pay me my money? — yes or 
 no!" 
 
 They paid her instantly. 
 
 Not only in the great centers of business 
 and finance, like New York, Philadelphia, 
 Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
 and New Orleans, but in every town and 
 village, the scarcity of money and the 
 failure of banks and commercial houses, 
 operated to paralyze industry and bring 
 want to thousands of families. In conse- 
 quence of the universal stoppage of facto- 
 ries, the poorer classes in some of the man- 
 ufacturing communities saw winter ap- 
 proaching, with no prospect of earning a 
 livelihood. Wliole families began to suffer 
 IS 
 
 for bread — the fathers willing and eager to 
 work, but absolutely nothing to do. Tales 
 of distress were to be heard at almost 
 every step, for the factories, forges, and 
 foundries, had all ceased their cheerful 
 hum of activity, and every day's intelli- 
 gence from different parts of the land was 
 that of fresh accumulations of disaster, 
 increasing the severity of the situation, 
 and adding to the general gloom. The 
 oldest, heaviest, richest, and firmest mon- 
 eyed institutions, corporations, companies 
 and firms, which were considered equal to 
 any pressure that might be brought to 
 bear against them, were daily chronicled 
 as having " gone to the wall." Fortunes 
 were swept away, like ashes in a whirl- 
 wind. Not even in 1837, when the bank- 
 ing system of the country was in so preca- 
 rious a condition, was there such a terrible 
 downfall of old and wealthy houses. At 
 the west, there was one short, tremendous 
 collapse, that seemed to bring ruin, at one 
 quick blow, upon everything and every- 
 body ; and at the south, the devastation 
 was no less wide-spread and fatal. 
 
 Various means were resorted to, to real- 
 ize cash for stocks of goods on hand, even 
 at a ruinous discount. At numberless shop 
 windows were to be seen in staring letters, 
 such announcements as : ' These goods 
 sold at wholesale prices.' 'Selling off at 
 half cost.' 'Bargains to be had for two 
 days — now or never!' ' We must realize 
 ten thousand dollars to-daj', at any sacri- 
 fice ; ' etc. Indeed, in all the large cities, 
 the dry goods dealers, being severely 
 jjressed for monej', offered their goods in 
 this way, and effected large sales. A large 
 number of the most prominent wholesale 
 dealers threw open their vast warehouses 
 to retail customers, and by this means, 
 probably, not a few houses, of that class, 
 managed to escape the hard fate that befell 
 others. 
 
 Thus, in a word, there was exhibited 
 the melancholy spectacle of a great nation's 
 commercial, financial, manufacturing, and 
 industrial interests in utter ruin, from one 
 end of the broad land to the other ; pros- 
 perity succeeded by abject adversity ; con- 
 
!74 
 
 iKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 lidence supplanteil by total distrust; a 
 paralysis of all trade ; the stoppage of 
 almost every bank in every part of the 
 United States, the cessation of factories, 
 the discharge of thousands of laborers, the 
 inability to bring our large crops of prod- 
 uce to market, the ruinous rate of two or 
 three per cent, a month on the strongest 
 paper, and a ruinous depreciation in the 
 price of all stocks. The steamers on the 
 great rivers and lakes stood still ; the 
 canal boats ceased to ply ; the railroad 
 trains conveyed less than half the usual 
 amount of travelers and mei'chandise ; the 
 navigating interest shared the common 
 distress, so that the cargoes, brought from 
 abroad, either passed into the public stores, 
 or were re-exported at great loss ; the 
 freighting business was nearly annihilated. 
 Alarmed, too, at the prospect before them, 
 ship-loads of emigrants were taken home 
 to their native land, in the packets run- 
 ning from Boston and New York to Eu- 
 rope. Nor did the fortune-tellers fail to 
 drive a brisk liusiness in informing igno- 
 rant and credulous inquirers what was to 
 "turn up." 
 
 Tluit this great national calamity had 
 its root in the fever for land and railroad 
 siieculation, involving enormous debt, with 
 no corresponding sound basis or adequate 
 means, cannot be doubted. Mr. Gibbons, 
 one of the very ablest of American finan- 
 cial writers, argues, in respect to this 
 point, that, notwithstanding the appear- 
 ances of prosperity previous to the panic, 
 there existed all the conditions of extraor- 
 dinary financial disturbance. A prodig- 
 ious weight of insolvency had been carried 
 along for years in the volume of trade. 
 Extravagance of living had already sapped 
 the foundations of commercial success, in 
 hundreds of instances where credit sup- 
 plied the place of lost capital. Misman- 
 agement and fraud had gained footing in 
 public companies to an incredible degree ; 
 hundreds of millions of bonds were issued 
 with little regard to the validity of their 
 basis, and pressed upon the market by dis- 
 honest agents, at any price, from sixty 
 down to thirty cents on the dollar. False 
 
 quotations were obtained by sham auction 
 sales. The newsjiaper press, :n 2Jarticular 
 instances, was bribed into silence, or 
 became a partner in the profits to be 
 derived from the various schemes which it 
 commended to' general confidence. The 
 land grants by congress to railway compa- 
 nies gave added impetus to speculation, 
 and state legislatures were bribed to locate 
 roads to serve individual interests. Public, 
 as well as jirivate credit, was compromised. 
 It could not be otherwise than that 
 bankruptcy and an overwhelming crash 
 should succeed such an inflated and preca- 
 rious state of things. Even when trade 
 and business are conducted in accordance 
 with fair and legitimate rules, the records 
 of insolveu'-y among American merchants 
 tell a wofid tale. Thus, General Dearborn, 
 who for twenty years was collector of the 
 port of Boston, and who had ample opjjor- 
 tiinities for observing the vicissitudes of 
 trade, ascertained, on investigation, that 
 among every hundred of the merchants 
 and traders of that city — whuse character 
 for carefulness and stabilitj' will compare 
 favorably with that of merchants in any 
 other portion of the land — not more than 
 three ever acquired an independence. 
 This conclusion was not arrived at without 
 great distrust ; but an experienced mer- 
 chant, who was consulted, fullj' confirmed 
 its truth. A Boston antiquarian in the 
 year 1800 took a memorandum of every 
 person doing business on Long Wharf, 
 and in 1840 only Ave in one hundred 
 remained ; all but these had either failed 
 or died insolvent. The L^nion Bank com- 
 menced business in 1798, there being then 
 only one other bank. The L^nion was 
 overrun with business, the clerks being 
 obliged to work till midnight, and even on 
 Sundays. An examination, some fifty or 
 sixty years from the starting of the bank, 
 showed that of one thousand accounts 
 opened at the commencement, only six 
 remained ; all the others had either failed, 
 or died insolvent, — houses wljose paper 
 had passed without question, the very par- 
 ties who had constituted the solid men of 
 the city, all had gone down in that period. 
 
TP:K1UBLE crisis in financial WOKLD — l,s57. 
 
 :io 
 
 Of the direful havoc, therefore, created by 
 a sudden and violent panic, sweeping over 
 the whole country like a hurricane, some 
 idea may be formed from the statistics 
 here given. 
 
 Notwithstanding the resumption of 
 business on a specie basis, in about two 
 months from the time of their suspension, 
 
 by most of those banks which were in a 
 solvent condition, it was a long while 
 before trade and industry recovered from 
 their crippled state ; and the embarrass- 
 ment and suffering which consequently 
 weighed, during so protracted a period, 
 upon all classes of the community, were 
 painful to the last degree. 
 
XXIX. 
 
 THE " GREAT AWAKENING " IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD ; 
 
 AND THE POPULAR REA^IVAL MOVEMENT (IN 1875-0) 
 
 UNDER MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY.— 1857. 
 
 Like a Mighty Rushing Wind, it Sweeps from tlie Atlantic to tlie Pacific. — Crowded Prayer-Meetings 
 Held Daily in Every City and Town, from the Granite Hills of the North to the Rolling Prairies of 
 the West and the Golden Slopes of Calilornia. — Large Accessions, from all Classes, to the Ci.urches 
 of Every Name and Denomination. — The "American Pentecost." — Early American Revivals — Dr. 
 Franklin and Mr. WhiteHeld. — The Revival of 1857 Spontaneous. — No Leaders or Organizers. — Its 
 Immediate Cause. — Universal Ruin of Commerce. — An.xiety for Higher Interests. — All Days of the 
 Week Alike. — Business Men in the Work. — Telegraphing Religious Tidings. — New York a Center 
 of Influence — Fulton Street Prayer-Meeting. — Scenes in Burton's Theater. — New Themes and Actors. 
 — Countless Requests for Prayers. — A Wonderlul Book. — Striking Moral Results. — Men of Violence 
 Reformed. — Crime and Suicide Prevented. — Infidels, Gamblers, Pugilists. — Jessie Fremont's Gold 
 King. — " Awful " Gardner's Case. 
 
 " What nothing earthly yivfs, or can destroy. 
 The suul's calm eunshme and the heartfelt joy." 
 
 ^^^ EVIVALS of religious feeling 
 J^\ and interest, attended with 
 ^* great numerical accessions to 
 the church, have been not 
 unfreqiient among the various 
 denominations of Christians in Amer- 
 ica, from the very earliest period of tlie 
 country's settlement; and, during the 
 eighteenth century, under the labors of 
 such men as A^']litefiekl, Edwards, the 
 Tennents. and others, such results fol- 
 lowed as had never before characterized 
 any age or jieople. The labors of 
 Whitefield, in especial, stirred the public mind to its depths, and reached all hearts. 
 Even Dr. Franklin, rationalist though he was, was won upon, head, heart, and pocket, 
 by the power of this mightiest of pulpit orators. Happening to attend one of his meet- 
 ings in Philadelphia, and perceiving, in the course of the sermon, that "Whitcticld 
 intended to finish with a collection. Eranklin silently resolved that the preacher should 
 get nothing from him, though he had in his pocket a handful of copper money, three or 
 four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As Whitefield proceeded, Franklin began 
 to soften, and determined to give the copper. Another stroke of the preacher's oratory, 
 made Franklin ashamed of that, and determined him to give the silver instead ; but 
 
 K OK REQUESTS FOR rU.WKns. 
 
GREAT AWAKKXIXG IN THE EELIGIOL'S WORLD — 185 
 
 tlip preacher finished so admirably, that 
 
 the pliilosopner emptied his pocket wholly 
 into the collector's dish, gold and all. On 
 the same occasion, another gentleman, sus- 
 pecting a collection might be intended, 
 had, by precaution, emptied his pockets 
 before leaving home. Towards the conclu- 
 sion of the discourse, however, he felt a 
 strong inclination to give, and applied to 
 a neighbor, who stood near him, to lend 
 him some money for the pur[Kise. The 
 request was made to, perhaps, the only 
 man in the assembly who had the firmness 
 not to be affected by the preacher. His 
 answer was, " At any other time, friend 
 Hodgkinson, I would lend to thee freely; 
 but not now, for thee seems to be out of 
 thy right senses." The multitudes, of all 
 denominations, that went to hear this won- 
 derful man, were enormous — indeed, one 
 great secret of his success was, his freedom 
 from sectarian prejudice and animosity. 
 As an illustration of this quality, it is 
 related that in the midst of one of his 
 most overjiowering discourses, he stopped 
 short for an instant, and then uttered the 
 following impressive apostrophe : " Father 
 Abraham, who have _you in heaven ? any 
 Episcopalians ? " " No." " Anj^ Pre.sbj'- 
 terians?" "No." "Any Baptists?" 
 " No." "Have you any Methodists, Sece- 
 ders, or Independents there?" "No, 
 no I " " Why who have j'ou there ? " 
 " We don't know those names here. All 
 who are here are Christians, believers in 
 Christ — men who have overcome by the 
 blood of the Lamb, and the word of his 
 testimony." "Oh, is that the case? then 
 God help me, God help us all, to forget 
 party names, and to become Christians, in 
 deed and in truth." The labors of such a 
 champion could not be otherwise than 
 fruitful of good. 
 
 Without dwelling upon the scenes and 
 results relating to the early religious 
 efforts alluded to above, it may be said of 
 the revival in 1857-8 — known as "the 
 Great Awakeninfi" and which is the 
 subject of this chapter, — that it depended 
 not upon any leader or preacher, however 
 eloquent, but was the spontaneous out- 
 
 growth of the heart's necessities, felt in 
 common by the great mass of the j^ublic, 
 in view of the financial tornado which, 
 sweeping with such universal destructive- 
 ness over the land, had given impressive 
 weight to the truth, that " the things 
 which are seen are temporal, but the 
 things which are not seen are eternal." 
 No words could convey a better idea of the 
 general feeling whicli thus possessed men's 
 minds at this period of mercantile ruin on 
 the one hand, and of religious anxiety on 
 the other, than those uttered by a promi- 
 nent merchant of New York, at one of the 
 business men's daily prayer-meetings in 
 that city. "Prayer," said he, "was never 
 so great a blessing to me as it is now. I 
 should certainly either break down or turn 
 rascal, except for it ! When one sees his 
 property taken from him every day, by 
 those who might i)ay him if they were 
 willing to make sacrifices in order to do it, 
 but who will not make the least effort even 
 for this end, and by some who seem de- 
 signedly to take advantage of the times, in 
 order to defraud him — and when he him- 
 self is liable to the keenest reproaches from 
 others if he does not pay money, which he 
 cannot collect and cannot create — the 
 temptation is tremendous to forget Chris- 
 tian charity, and be as hard and unmerci- 
 ful as anybody. If I could not get some 
 half hours every day to jtray myself into a 
 right state of mind, I .should either be 
 overburdened and disheartened, or do such 
 things as no Christian man ought." Tes- 
 timonies like this were innumerable from 
 business men, — they, as well as the laity 
 in general, being most prominent in carry- 
 ing on the work. 
 
 But, though this movement was, in a 
 very great degree, spontaneous, it was 
 early accompanied by a systematic plan of 
 family visitation, in the principal cities, 
 and by noonday prayer-meetings, in almost 
 every city, town, and village, from one end 
 of the country to the other. In ?uch 
 places as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, 
 Cincinnati, Chicago, Richmond, as well as 
 farther south and west, not only were the 
 usual houses of worship crowded daily, but 
 
•278 
 
 FKO:\r COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tlie largest public halls were hired for the 
 same purpose, and resounded every day 
 with fervent prayers, songs of praise, and 
 earnest exhortations. 
 
 Thus, in Philadelphia, the vast audience 
 room of Jayne's Hall, and, in New York, 
 Burton's well-known theater, were appro- 
 priated for religious assemblings. The 
 room hitherto occupied in the first-named 
 hall, contained accommodations for about 
 three hundred persons, and when it was 
 decided upon to remove into the large hall, 
 It was with no expectation that the room 
 would be filled, at such an hour as noon- 
 day. To the amazement of all, however, 
 it was densely crowded, every seat being 
 occupied, including the settees in the aisles, 
 and a large portion of the immense galler- 
 ies, and those who left for want of room 
 upon the main floor, are said to have 
 exceeded the number who could not gain 
 admission on the day previous, when the 
 meeting was held in the small room ad- 
 joining. It was estimated that there were 
 certainly not less than three thousand per- 
 sons who entered the hall during the hour, 
 and it was conceded, by those whose 
 means of knowledge enabled them to judge, 
 that this was the largest meeting convened 
 for the simple purpose of prayer to God, 
 that had ever been assembled in this 
 country. 
 
 From New York city, a vast religious 
 influence went forth to all parts of the 
 land, and details of the daily proceedings 
 in the prayer-meetings held at Burton's 
 theater, and in the Fulton street and John 
 street church vestries, were published far 
 and wide bj' the secular press. Indeed, 
 the fullness and candor characterizing the 
 reports contained in the city journals, 
 were, with scarcely an exception, most 
 honorable to those influential mediums of 
 public enlightenment. Of the now almost 
 world-renowned Fulton street prayer-meet- 
 ing, held at first in one room, but to which, 
 as the revival progressed, it was found 
 necessary to add two more, the Daily Tri- 
 bune of March 6, 1858, said : " All three 
 are now not only filled to their utmost 
 capacity, but would be still more largely 
 
 attended if there were sitting or even 
 standing-room to be offered to the multi- 
 tude. A placard is posted on the gate, 
 inviting persons to enter, though such au 
 invitation seems no longer necessarj-: 
 ' Step in tor five minutes, or longer, as 
 your time permits.' Inside notices are 
 hung on the walls, to the effect that 
 praj'ers and remarks should be brief, ' in 
 order to give all an opportunity,' and for- 
 bidding the introduction of 'controverted 
 points,' for the jmrpose of preventing the- 
 ological discussion. These j>recautions are 
 taken, in order to give as much variety as 
 possible to the exercises, for it is always 
 unpardonable to render a crowded meeting 
 dull. The frequenters of this meeting 
 come from all classes of society, and are 
 invited as such, without regard to their 
 differences. Many clergj'men of the city 
 churches, and many pi-ominent laymen, 
 including merchants and gentlemen in the 
 legal and medical jirofessions, are seen 
 there every day — as they ought to be seen 
 — side by side with the mechanic and the 
 day laborer, and even the street beggar. 
 Draymen drive up their carts to the 
 church, and, hitching their horses outside, 
 go in with the crowd ; and ' fine ladies,' 
 who sometimes have Christian hearts in 
 spite of unchristian fashions, driven down 
 from ' uj) town ' in their fine carriages, also 
 step in and mingle T.ith the same multi- 
 tude. The exercises consist about equally 
 of prayers, remarks, and singing. Of 
 course it is impracticable for so many to 
 take part in the speaking or the audible 
 praying, but they all join in the singing 
 with great zeal and emphasis. On one 
 occasion, the volume of sound was so heavy 
 as to dislodge from its place on the wall 
 the clock wliich had been securely fastened, 
 as was supposed, and bring it crashing to 
 the floor. It is not unfrequent, during the 
 continuance of the meeting, to see a crowd 
 of persons collected in the street in front 
 of the church, to listen to the siiirit-stirring 
 hymns that are sung inside. The praj-er- 
 meeting held in the old Methodist church 
 in John street is similar to this. The 
 attendance here is already found sufficient 
 
GREAT AWAKENING IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD — 1857 
 
 279 
 
 to crowd the entire ground floor of the 
 building. Many Methodist brethren at- 
 tend this meeting in preference to the 
 other, hut the proceedings are character- 
 ized with entire catholicity and freedom 
 from sectarianism." Perhaps no better 
 illustration could be afforded of this unsec- 
 tarian feeling, as well as of the prevailing 
 spirit of the times, than the following dis- 
 patch, which was sent by telegraph, at 
 noon, March 12th, to the great union 
 prayer-meeting in Jayne's Hall, Philadel- 
 phia : 
 
 ''Christian Bn'fhri'ii — The New York 
 John street Union Meeting sends you 
 greeting in brotherly love : ' And the in- 
 habitants of one city shall go to another, 
 saying, Let us go speedil}' to pray before 
 the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts — 
 I will go also. Praise the Lord — call 
 upon his name— declare his doings among 
 the people — make mention that his name 
 is exalted.' " 
 
 To the above message, the following 
 dispatch from Mr. George H. Stuart, a 
 prominent Old School Presbj'terian and 
 chairman of the Philadelphia meeting, was 
 immediately telegraphed and read to the 
 John street meeting: 
 
 " Jayne's Hall daily Prayer Meeting is 
 crowded ; upwards of three thousand pres- 
 ent; with one mind and heart they glorify 
 our Father in heaven for the mighty work 
 he is doing in our city and country, in the 
 building up of saints and the convei'sion of 
 sinners. The Lord hath done great things 
 for us, whence joy to us is brought. May 
 He who holds the seven stars in his right 
 hand, and who walks in the midst of the 
 churches, be with you by His Spirit this 
 day. Grace, mercy, and peace, be with 
 you." 
 
 Even among those denominations unac- 
 customed to what are known as 'revival 
 measures ' for the furtherance of religion, 
 such as the Unitarian, Universalist, and 
 Episcopalian, a disposition was manifested 
 to co-operate, in prayers and labors, for the 
 success of the good work. In Boston, and 
 other places, prayer-meetings were con- 
 ducted by the Unitarian clergy and laity, 
 
 which were thronged to the utmost capac- 
 ity of the halls used for the purpose. In 
 New York, the Orchard Street Universalist 
 church. Rev. Dr. Sawyer, exhibited a warm 
 sj'mpathy with the revival, and took an 
 active part in its progress ; prayer-meetings 
 were held twice a week, which were fully at- 
 tended, a deep religious feeling pervaded 
 the congregation, and large numbers 
 united with the church. The card of invi- 
 tation to their prayer-meeting, which, like 
 that of other denominations, was exten- 
 sively circulated, read as follows : A gen- 
 eral prayer-meeting will be held every 
 Wednesday and Friday evening, at half- 
 past seven o'clock, in the lecture-room of 
 the Rev. Dr. Sawyer's church, Orchard 
 street, near Broome. ' Ho, everj' one that 
 thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he 
 that hath no money ; come ye, buy and 
 eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk with- 
 out money and without price.' 
 
 Among the Episcopalians, meetings of 
 deep interest were held, including regular 
 evening services for prayer and short ad- 
 dresses, at the Church of the Ascension 
 New York, Eev. Dr. Bedell's. One oi 
 these meetings was of a very impressive 
 character. The meeting commenced with 
 singing the hymn, "Stay, thou insulted 
 Spirit, stay," a series of prayers followed, 
 after which Rev. Mr. Dickson delivered 
 a short address, founded on the words, 
 " Lord, are there few that be saved ? " 
 Other hymns were sung, and then remarks 
 made by Rev. Drs. Dyer and Cutler, Epis- 
 copal rectors. Doctor Cutler said that, 
 twenty years ago, such a meeting as the 
 present one would have been denounced as 
 Methodistical ; but he felt that he could 
 almost say, with Simeon of old, "Now, 
 Lord, let thy servant depart in peace," for 
 he had witnessed that glorious "levia- 
 than," the Episcopal Church, which for 
 forty years he had lamented tv see, with 
 all its noble qufilities and precious gifts, 
 being fast in tlie stocks, at last launched 
 and making full headway in the river that 
 flows from the City of God. 
 
 Next to the Fulton street prayer-meet- 
 ing, in point of wide-reaching influence, 
 
180 
 
 TKO.M C'OLOXY TO WORLD TO WEE. 
 
 r.ROlI- OF EMINE.VT REVIVAL PREAIIIEES DUKING THE NATIONAL (ENTIRT. 
 
GEEAT AWAKENING IN THE EELIGIOUS WOKLD — 1S57. 281 
 
 the meetings for prayer held daily, at 
 noon, in Burton's theater, may be spoken 
 of as most conspicuous. It was hired for 
 this purpose by the New York Young 
 Men's Christian Association, and was 
 crowded daily with earnest-minded men 
 and women, fervent in their songs, prayers, 
 and exhortations. The j)lace made so 
 famous, in j-ears pa.st, by the histrionic 
 performances of Burton, Blake, Placide, 
 Holland, Davenport, Johnston, Lester, 
 Jordan, Eisher. Brougham, and other 
 celebrities, now resounded with the soul- 
 stirring appeals of such men as Cuyler, 
 Beecher, Hatfield, Armitage, and a host of 
 warm-hearted merchants and professional 
 men, all enlisted in the good work of ex- 
 tolling the glad tidings of salvation. In- 
 stead of polkas, schottisches, and waltzes 
 — instead of fiddle and bow, orchestra and 
 overture, — there were the grave and seri- 
 ous hymns, " Children of the Heavenly 
 King," and "Salvation, the joyful 
 sound," " Return, my wandering soul, 
 return," etc. With the exception of now 
 and then a fervid " Amen," or a hearty 
 " Yes, Lord," the order and quiet of the 
 audience during the speaking were entirely 
 uninterrupted. 
 
 At all the multitudinous prayer-meet- 
 ings held in different places throughout 
 the country, one marked feature of the 
 proceedings was that of receiving and 
 reading requests for prayers. The re- 
 quests of this character sent to the Fulton 
 street meeting have all been carefully pre- 
 served in a book, constituting a volume 
 upon which no one can look without the 
 deepest interest. The scope and variety 
 of these requests afford so apt a reflection 
 of the state of feeling during the revival 
 period, that a few specimens of those pre- 
 sented at different times and places, will 
 be a fair illustration of all : 
 
 ' A Christian merchant earnestly desires 
 the prayers of God's people for his co-part- 
 ners in business, and for all the young 
 men in their employment unconverted to 
 God.' 
 
 ' An anxious wife is praying earnestly 
 at this hour for her husband, who once 
 
 made a profession of religion, but is now 
 fearful that he never was born of the 
 Spirit, and is in darkness. She asks for 
 an interest in your prayers in his behalf.' 
 
 ' The prayers of those who are accus- 
 tomed to intercede with God, are requested 
 by a San Franciscan, that the Almighty 
 would visit the city of San Francisco with 
 a gracious outpouring of his Spirit. Re- 
 member jour brothers and fathers on the 
 Pacific coast.' 
 
 ' The prayers of this meeting are re- 
 quested for a j'oung lady who scoffs at 
 religion. Don't forget her, brethren. She 
 has no one to pray for her but the writer 
 of this. Oh, pray for her.' 
 
 'A widow asks for the prayers of the 
 brethren and sisters for a son brought up 
 under careful religious instruction, who 
 last night cursed his mother — that he may 
 this day be brought to the feet of Jesus.' 
 
 'Prayers are requested for a sister who 
 is given to intemperance.' 
 
 ' The prayers of Christians are most 
 earnestly requested by a son in behalf of 
 an aged father, nearly seventy years old. 
 A familj' of ten children are praying 
 morning, noon, and night for him.' 
 
 ' The prayers of Christians are requested 
 for a young man — the son of a clergyman 
 — who is an idle jester on the subject of 
 religion, and who has, within the last 
 hour, been heard to ridicule these meet- 
 ings, and to jest upon these subjects.' 
 
 'My husband is not a Christian, though 
 often thoughtful. I have praj-ed for his 
 conversion every day since our marriage 
 — nine years. May I ask an interest in 
 j'our jjrayers that my husband may seek 
 noil) an interest in Christ, and that we 
 may both become devoted, earnest, Bible- 
 Christians ? ' 
 
 'The prayers of the Fulton street meet- 
 ing are earnestly requested for a bible 
 class of twenty-two young ladies, con- 
 nected with one of the Dutch Reformed 
 churclies in this vicinity, some of whom 
 appear to be anxious for their souls.' 
 
 It was in this spirit that the Great 
 Awakening showed its character and its 
 power in all sections of the land, north, 
 
282 
 
 feo:m colony to wokj.d powek. 
 
 south, east, and west, tlie "Wind of God 
 sweeping benignly from the Atbiutic to 
 the Pacific, — reaching across the length 
 and breadth of the continent, — from the 
 granite mountains of the north to the roll- 
 ing prairies of the west and the golden 
 slopes of California. It was, in a word, 
 the American Pentecost, — the great relig- 
 ious epoch of the national century, un- 
 equaled in earnestness, union, and univer- 
 salitj-, by any similar movement that had 
 preceded it, in the history of the western 
 world. The spiritual activities of the 
 denominations were everywhere constant 
 and fruitful, the accessions to the churches 
 being numbered by scores of thousands. 
 In places the most obscure, remote and 
 isolated, the most fervid religious engaged- 
 ness was to be found, while, in the larger 
 towns and cities, no business man, what- 
 ever his location, needed to go forty rods 
 to find a prayer-meeting in operation, with 
 a printed invitation outside for him to 
 enter and listen to the prayers and expe- 
 riences of others, and, if he so desired, take 
 a part in the exercises himself. There 
 were special meetings for pra3'er, also, in 
 behalf of firemen, policemen, waiters at 
 hotels, seamen, and boys, maintained 
 wholly or in part by the classes specially 
 named, and resulting in a large amount of 
 good. Men of established Christian char- 
 acter were strengthened in their good pur- 
 poses ; the indifferent and heedless were 
 awakened to thoughtfulness on religious 
 themes ; and multitudes, everywhere, who 
 had led lives of immorality and wicked- 
 ness, dangerous to society, were reclaimed, 
 and henceforth walked in the path of 
 virtue and honor. 
 
 Of the many interesting incidents which 
 transpired during this wonderful period, 
 only a few can here be cited. 
 
 Just after the commencement of the 
 great panic, (says Rev. Mr. Adams, a well- 
 known Methodist preacher in New York,) 
 a young man called on me late on Satur- 
 day night. He was the picture of distress 
 and despair. Supposing him to be one of 
 the many cases that daily came under my 
 notice, I invited him in. He sat some 
 
 minutes in perfect silence, and finally 
 burst into tears. It was some time before 
 he could control himself sufficiently to go 
 on, and then said, "Can j'ou do anything 
 for me ■;' " I requested him to state his 
 case. He said he was miserable be3'ond 
 description — had been blessed with pious 
 parents and a religious education, but had 
 gone far away from the counsels of his 
 fathers ; he had fallen into shameful sin, 
 until his soul loathed himself, and he had 
 been on the verge of self-destruction. 
 "This afternoon," said he, "feeiing a hell 
 within, I went and bought poison, — went 
 into my room, and was about to take it, 
 when something seemed to sa^' to me, 'Go 
 down and see the minister,' and I have 
 come. Will you pray for me ? " He fell 
 on his knees and cried aloud for mercy. 
 After two hours of ju'ayer, he grew calm, 
 and finally joyful. He gave me a package, 
 and requested me to destroy it; there was 
 laudanum in it — enough to have killed 
 half a dozen men. 
 
 One of the first conversions among the 
 sailors, was that of a man who had been 
 greatly addicted to gambling, and to other 
 vices that usually accompany this. When 
 he went to the meeting, he had just left 
 the gaming-table ; but when he returned, 
 his first act was to consign his cards and 
 dice to the flames. He then knelt down, 
 prayed, and was converted. He went to 
 sea, and on board the slii]i daily prayer- 
 meetings were held both in the cabin and 
 forecastle. 
 
 A merchant, after having attended one 
 of the crowded prayer-meetings held in 
 the city, determined, on returning home, 
 to make an effort for the spiritual good of 
 some of his friends and neighbors. One 
 of these was a man who avowed himself an 
 infidel. A israyer-meeting was organized, 
 to which this man with others was invited, 
 and, after several days' attendance, rose 
 on one occasion, and requested that prayer 
 should be made in his behalf. To the 
 surprise and almost astonishment of his 
 acquaintances, he shortly afterward re- 
 nounced infidelity, and embraced the 
 Christian religion. 
 
GREAT AWAKEXIXG IX THE EELIGIOUS WORLD — 1857 
 
 283 
 
 At many of the telegraph offices, mes- 
 sages were constantly being sent to all 
 parts of the land, announcing conversions. 
 Some of these were exceedingly tender and 
 touching, such as, ' Dear mother, the revi- 
 val continues, and I, too, have been con- 
 verted.' ' My dear parents, j-ou will re- 
 joice to hear that I have found peace with 
 God.' 'Tell my sister that I have come 
 to the Cross of Christ.' 'At last I have 
 faith and peace.' 
 
 The influence of personal effort and a 
 good example was forcibly- illustrated in 
 the following case of a man and wife, who 
 were utterly regardless even of the forms 
 of religion, the husband, indeed, being an 
 infidel. The wife had, however, been 
 taken b^' some one to the meetings in a 
 neighboring Methodist church, and, un- 
 known to her husband, had become inter- 
 ested in them. One day he was scoffing 
 in lier presence at the revival, expressing 
 his disbelief in everything of the kind, 
 especially ridiculing the Methodist modes 
 of labor, and winding up with a threat 
 that he would soon stop any of //Is family 
 who should be guilty of the folly of going 
 up to the altar. " Why," said his wife, 
 throwing her arms round his neck, and 
 giving him a kiss, '-do you know that / 
 was there last night ? " " No," he replied, 
 returning her kiss; "but I am glad of it." 
 He was softened ; that same evening he 
 accompanied her to meeting, and went up 
 to the altar himself. 
 
 St. Paul's Episcopal church, on Broad- 
 way, New York, was filled with multi- 
 tudes, on Wednesday and Friday evening.s, 
 in attendance on the devotional services 
 performed there. On one of these occa- 
 sions, soon after the exercises commenced, 
 the large and fashionable congregation was 
 surprised by the entrance of three Indian 
 maidens, wrapped in their blue blankets. 
 They paused for an instant at the door, 
 aud then advanced to the front of the altar 
 with quiet dignity and self-possession, and 
 knelt down to their devotions. As the 
 solemn ceremonies drew near to a close, 
 they rose, crossed themselves, and, saluting 
 the altar, glided down the aisle and from 
 
 the church. They were of the Caughne- 
 waga tribe, residing near Montreal, and 
 had visited New York for the purpose of 
 selling their trinkets, bead moccasins, and 
 baskets. Being mostly Catholics, they 
 usualh' worshiped in the church of that 
 order on Canal street; but it seemed that 
 they had observed the brilliantly illumin- 
 ated church in passing by, and had entered, 
 forgetful of form or sect, to kneel with 
 their white sisters before the common 
 Father of all. 
 
 In Mr. Beecher's church, Brookljn, at 
 the close of one of the morning meetings, 
 a charitable collection was taken up. 
 Among the audience was Mrs. Fremont 
 ("Our Jessie"), who, happening to have 
 no money in her jjocket, as the plate was 
 passed, took from her finger a heavy gold 
 ring, and threw it in as the only contribu- 
 tion which she was able at the moment to 
 make. The ring contained on the outside 
 an engraved bee, — in allusion to a beautiful 
 incident in Fremont's passage of the 
 Rocky Mountains, — and, on the inside, 
 the in.scription, ' March 4, '57.' 
 
 One of the most remarkable conversions 
 among the dangerous and criminal classes, 
 was that of Orville Gardner, commonly 
 called " Awful " Gardner, a noted prize- 
 fighter and trainer of pugili.sts. He was 
 induced to attend one of the Methodist 
 meetings, and, to the surprise of multi- 
 tudes, he requested the prayers of the con- 
 gregation, a. request which on three differ- 
 ent occasions he repeated. At this time, 
 he was residing in the vicinity of New 
 York. Having some unimportant busi- 
 ness to do in that city, a friend asked him 
 if he would " jump into the cars and go 
 down and attend to it." He replied, " I 
 have more important business to attend to 
 first, and I shall not go to the city till it 
 is done." He had then three men under 
 his training for a prize-fight. On being 
 asked if he would give them further les- 
 sons, he replied that "he would go to 
 them soon, but on a different errand from 
 boxing and training^he would try to jjer- 
 suade them to reform, and to embrace 
 religion." 
 
284 
 
 FKO.M COLONY TO M'Oin.l) POWER. 
 
 A young man, hearing himself prayed 
 
 for by some friends, became so angry, that 
 he resolved to sell his farm and go west, 
 away from such interfering relatives. 
 They continued to pray, and he finally 
 sold his farm, and was going to start for 
 Albany, on his way to the west. While 
 going to take the cars, he passed the 
 prayer-meeting, and, having some time to 
 wait for the train, thought he would just 
 step in, to pass the time away, and see 
 what was going on. He went in, was 
 deeply impressed, and his ease was imme- 
 diately added to the great multitude of 
 similar instances of reformation, which 
 made the Great Awakening of 1857-8 so 
 memorable in the religious history of the 
 nation. 
 
 world-wide fame, who had some time pre- 
 viously been on a tour of active and suc- 
 cessful religious labor in different parts of 
 EuroiJe. Returning to their native land, 
 they devoted themselves, for consecutive 
 months, and with great and disinterested 
 earnestness, among the lliasses, and this, 
 too, as it appeared, not only without stated 
 or assured pecuniary compensation, but 
 absolutely without consideration of money 
 or hire, beyond what was voluntarily con- 
 tributed by friends for their current ex- 
 penses. 
 
 Never before, perhaps, were the fount- 
 ains of the higher life in man opened up 
 so abundantly and universally in our land, 
 as by the efforts of these simjjle-spoken 
 but intrej)id and warm-hearted reformers. 
 
 ^^enriW^ 
 
 0.5AWKE* 
 
 But, in addition to the Great Awaken- 
 ing thus distinguishing the periods de- 
 scribed, and which wrought such mighty 
 results, there was to succeed another, 
 which, in some of its aspects, was to prove 
 even more noteworthy. Indeed, it may 
 be said, without exaggeration, that one of 
 the most happy, conciliatory, and widely 
 useful religious movements characterizing 
 the historj' of our country, and, in fact, 
 the history of modern times, — creating an 
 enthusiasm as genial and far-reaching as 
 it was decorous and practical, — was that 
 which \;ommenced in the fall of 1875, 
 ander the personal auspices of Messrs. 
 Moody and Sankey, lay evangelists of 
 
 as they went from town to town and from 
 city to city, with the iiroclamation, by fer- 
 vent discourse, and cheering, melting song. 
 of the "glad tidings of good."' 
 
 Standing aloof from even the shadow of 
 sectarian propagandism or theological dis- 
 putation, they enlisted the co-operation — 
 or, at least, the good will and God-speed — 
 of all denominations of Christians, and, so 
 conciliatory was their speech, and so ra- 
 tional their methods, in appealing to the 
 irreligious or indifferent, that, unlike the 
 experience which would probably have at- 
 tended a different course, little if any time 
 was lost in provoking criticism or combat- 
 ing objections. And this, in a word, was 
 
GEEAT AWAKEKT"yG TN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD— 1S57. 285 
 
 the cause of the welcome extended them, 
 wherever they went, and of tlie almost 
 invariably rich harvests which accom- 
 panied their labors. Nothing, in fact, 
 could better evince the favorable impres- 
 sion made by these evangelists upon soci- 
 ety, than the judgments of the value of 
 their work, expressed by those not holding 
 their opinions. Thus, the Tablet, an in- 
 fluential journal of the Roman Catholic 
 faith, published in New York, spoke of 
 Mr. Moody as affording, in "the midst of 
 an age of mocking and unbelieving, a kind 
 of earnest testimony to Jesus, and we can 
 not find it in our heart to say it is not of 
 God ;" and, though guarding its conces- 
 sions by tlie claim for its own Church of 
 possessing solely the real truth, it admit- 
 ted, nevertheless, that " it is something in 
 cities where the divinity of Clirist and His 
 divine teaching are openly blasphemed, 
 and where to the great bulk of the popula- 
 tion the Chi-istian religion is a matter of 
 complete indifference, when it is not one 
 of scorn, that their ears should be accus- 
 tomed to words of adoration and love of 
 Him, and that even the dreary wastes of 
 heresy should echo with the name of 
 Jesus. . . . This work of Ml'. Moody's is 
 not sin. It cannot l>e sin to invite men 
 to love and serve Jesus Christ." 
 
 And in a similar spirit to that just cited, 
 the Jewish Messenger, referring to the 
 meetings contemplated to be held by these 
 evangelists, in the vast hippodrome, New 
 York city, expressed it as its opinion that, 
 whatever objection might be urged to 
 emotional religion as spasmodic, lacking 
 in substantial good, no man of sense could 
 declaim against such services, if conducted 
 in the same orderly and earnest way that 
 had characterized the meetings else- 
 where. In the same vein was the utter- 
 ance of a distinguished preacher in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., — one representing the 
 extreme wing of the 'liberal' school, — 
 who declared, in a sermon, that, if 
 Moody and Sankey could reach the 
 masses of the people, " they would per- 
 form a work for which all lovers of man- 
 kind would be grateful." That this hope 
 
 was largely realized, in the case of 
 Brooklyn itself, is well known. 
 
 One of the events in Mr. Moodjf's career 
 which jieculiarly conspired to awaken pop- 
 ular enthusiasm in behalf of him and his 
 cause, on this side of the Atlantic, was the 
 account, which preceded his arrival in 
 America by some weeks, of the extraordi- 
 nary occasion attending the close of the 
 evangelists" wonderful labors in London, 
 and which, on being read by their friends 
 in this country, seemed like a prophecy of 
 great things in store for their native land, 
 when their homeward voyage should be 
 accomplished. It appeared, according to 
 the account of the meeting referred to — 
 the last of the immense gatherings of this 
 kind in that metropolis — that, for some 
 days prior to its taking place, the anxiety 
 of the people to obtain admission to the 
 hall amounted almost to a frenzy, and not 
 altogether a harmless one. Number.f were 
 waiting for admission as early as three 
 o'clock in the morning, or hours before the 
 opening, — all the approaches were crowded 
 with surging throngs, some of whom had 
 come from great distances, — and, all 
 around, dense masses of men, women, and 
 children, were present, worked up to the 
 highest point of interest and expectation. 
 Mr. Moody found entrance through a pri- 
 vate house adjoining, and with the help of 
 a ladder. Meetings were held outside, but 
 nothing less than seeing and hearing Mr. 
 Moody would satisfy the densely packed 
 multitude. Among the great dignitaries 
 present were the Queen of the Netherlands 
 and the Duchess of Sutherland. The last 
 words of the evangelist were very impres- 
 sive, as, indeed, was the whole scene of 
 this most memorable occasion, and his sen- 
 timents, as then and there uttered — rapid, 
 spontaneous, gushing, — may be said to 
 fitly represent the preacher's character and 
 power. ' It is," he said, " the last time I 
 shall have the uns]>eakable privilege of 
 preaching the gospel in England. I have 
 never enjoj'ed preaching so much as I have 
 in this country." " Have another week," 
 shouted a man. " I want to have you all 
 saved to-niijht," said Mr. Moody, looking 
 
286 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 KEVIVAL MEETING !N IJKOOKLYN, CONDUCTED BV MESSRS. MOUDV .\NL1 S.\NKEY. 
 
 toward the speaker. " If I were to stay 
 another week, I eouhl tell you no more. I 
 have not told yon a liumlredth part of the 
 story, but I have done the best I can with 
 this stammering tongue. I don't want to 
 close this meeting until I see you safe 
 behind the walls of the city of refuge. 
 During tlie past thirty days I have been 
 preaching here, I have tried to allure 
 you away to that -world of light. I have 
 told you of hell to warn you, and I have 
 told you of the love of God. To-night I 
 have been trying to illustrate salvation. 
 You can i-eceive Christ and be saved, or 
 reject him and be lost. By-aiid-by there 
 will be a glorious future, and I want to 
 know how many there are willing to join 
 me for eternity. How many will stand up 
 here before God and man. and say, by that 
 act, you will join me f<ir heaven ? Those 
 who are willing tu do so to-night, will you 
 just rise ? " Multitudes rose to their feet. 
 
 Of this remarkable European tour of the 
 evangelists, one of them afterwards said, 
 " I remember when we left home, not 
 knowing what was before us. We landed 
 in Liverpool, and found the friends who 
 invited us over both dead. We were 
 strangers, but God led us ; His Spirit 
 directed us up to a dead town, where we 
 held a prayer-meeting, at whii^h, at first, 
 there were !)Ht four persons j^resciit. After- 
 ward more came. People thought we were 
 two Americans with sinister designs. The 
 meetings, however, increased in interest 
 and power, and then the work began."' 
 
 In due time, after returning to this 
 country, the evangelists commenced their 
 public labors, selecting Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 as their first field. No church edifice, 
 however, in that cit}', having the seating 
 capacity to aecoraraodate the throng of 
 peojile who desired to listen to Mr. Moody's 
 powerful exhortations and Mr. banke.y 3 
 
GEEAT AWAKENING IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD — 1857. 
 
 287 
 
 singing, the large structnrp liiiown as the 
 rink, on Clermont avenue, was fitted up 
 for this purpose. It accommodated five 
 thousand jiersons. The interior of this 
 vast building, as viewed from the platform, 
 a large semi-circular dais, was in the high- 
 est degree inspiring. Mr. Moody's posi- 
 tion, when speaking, was at the center of 
 this platform, in front ; on his left were 
 seats for visiting clergymen ; on his right, 
 in front, was Mr. Sankey's position, at a 
 small organ, on which he plaj'ed the ac- 
 companiment to his admirable rendering 
 of the hymns which formed such a marked 
 and helpful feature of these services. It 
 was in this rink, that, day after day and 
 night after night, for successive weeks, 
 dense throngs assembled, and discourse, 
 song, and prayer united to bring thousands 
 of hearts to religious consecration. Out- 
 door meetings, as well as meetings in the 
 neighboring churches, were also held daily, 
 with the most beneficial results, the pastors 
 joining heartily in the work, — and, in 
 fact, all over the land, the stimulus to 
 renewed zeal and activity in spiritual 
 things, received from this source, was 
 most decided. 
 
 Commencing in Brooklyn, October 24th, 
 and continuing some weeks, only a brief 
 interval elapsed before the revivalists com- 
 menced their labors in Philadelphia, 
 namely, on Sunday morning, November 
 21st, the meetings being held in the old 
 freight depot, at Thirteenth and Market 
 streets, which had been fitted up for this 
 use. The inclemency of the weather did 
 not prevent the assemliling of at least ten 
 thousand persons at the opening services, 
 including hundreds of prominent persons. 
 Indeed, long before the hour of opening, 
 the streets leading to the building were 
 alive with people of every age and condi- 
 tion, and of both sexes ; thousands came 
 by the various lines of passenger railway 
 running by or near the spot, and other 
 thousands wended their way thither on 
 foot, many of them coming weary di.s- 
 tances. Within the building, the sight of 
 such a vast sea of humanity — now eager to 
 catch the earnest words of the sjieaker, 
 
 and, again, with heads bowed in solemn 
 prayer — was most impressive ; nor was 
 it less so, when, under Mr. Sankey's in- 
 spiring leadership, the joyous multitude 
 united in singing those sweet and favorite 
 songs, "Hold the Fort," "The Ninety and 
 Nine," " Jesus of Nazareth Passeth by," 
 etc. The interest and enthusiasm in these 
 meetings continued without abatement for 
 consecutive weeks, not the least interested 
 among the attendants, during one of the 
 December sessions, being President Grant, 
 with members of his cabinet. 
 
 New York city was the next field of 
 labor chosen by the evangelists, the hippo- 
 drome being chosen by the Young Men's 
 Christian Association of that cit3-, for the 
 meetings, the opening one taking place 
 February 4, 1876. Both halls, the larger 
 containing seven thousand persons, and 
 the smaller, containing four thousand 
 were filled, and sevend thousand persons 
 more stood outside. Distinguished! reach- 
 ers occupied the platform ; a choir of 
 twelve hundred voices conducted the sing- 
 ing; Mr. Moody preached with great 
 power ; and the spectacle altogether was 
 truly sublime. Mr. Sankey carried all 
 hearts with him while he sang " Hold the 
 Fort," the people joining in the chorus. 
 There was not only no diminution in 
 enthusiasm or attendance while the meet- 
 ings were in progress, but rain and storm 
 offered no obstacle to the pressing throngs. 
 Mr. Moody gained favor constantly by the 
 judicious judgment which he showed in 
 his management both of the people and 
 himself; and when, on one occasion, he 
 said, " I want no false excitement," the 
 expressions of approval were unmistaka- 
 ble. On Sunday, February 13th, the en- 
 tire attendance was estimated to be from 
 twenty to twentj-five thousand ; even as 
 early as eight o'clock, A. m., at a special 
 meeting for Christians, the admission 
 being by ticket, over four thousand per- 
 sons were present; at three o'clock, P. M., 
 a meeting specially for women was at- 
 tended by more than six thousand of them ; 
 and in the evening, when men alone were 
 admitted, the audience numbered some ten 
 
288 
 
 FRf).\r COI.OXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 thousand. At all these services the order 
 was perfect, and all hearts seemed in 
 accord. Though a Roman Catholic, Dom 
 Pedro, emperor of Brazil, being in the 
 city on his American tour, during the 
 holding of the meetings, became an audi- 
 tor, and was not only deejjly moved by 
 
 such a vast and unusual spectacle, but 
 expressed his admiration of Mr. Moody's 
 fervid preaching and Mr. Sankey's beauti- 
 ful songs. The New York meetings were 
 succeeded by visits from the evangelists to 
 the south and west, with the most benefi- 
 cial results. 
 
XXX. 
 
 POLITICAL DEBATE BETWEEN ABRAHAM LINCOL: 
 STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, IN ILLINOIS.— 1858. 
 
 AND 
 
 Cause of tliis Remarkalile Oratorical Contest. — Inteuse Interest in All Parts of the Land. — the Heart of 
 Every American Citizen Enlisted in the Momentous Issue Involved. — Eminent Character of the Com- 
 batants. — their Extraordinary Ability and Eloquence Universally Acknowledged. — the Discussions 
 Attended by Friends and Foes. — Victory, Defeat, Life and Death. — Condition of the New Territories. — 
 Form of Constitution to be Decided. — Domestic Institutions : Slavery. — Mr. Douglas Advocates " Popu- 
 lar Sovereignty." — " Prohibition " Urged by Mr. Lincoln. — National Importance of the Question. — The 
 Public Mind Divided. — Joint Debates Proposed. — Agreement between the two Leaders. — Personal Ap- 
 pearance and Style. — Plans, Places, Scenes. — Theories and Arguments Advanced. — Skill and Adroit- 
 ness of the Disputants. — Immense Concourses. — Result Impartially Stated. — Mr. Douglas Re-elected 
 Senator. — Mr. Lincoln Nominated for President. — His Election to that Office. — Douglas' Magnanimity 
 — The Olive Branch. — Shoulder to .Shoulder as Unionists. — Sudden Decease of the Great Senator. 
 
 " 1 regard Lincolo ai a kind, amiable, and IntelliseDt gentleman, a good citizen, and an honorable opponent." — JI7DOE DouoLAa, 
 " The man who stumpa a State with Stephen A. Douglas, and meeta him, day af^er day, before the people, has got to be do fool." 
 
 UOBACE Qbeblbi. 
 
 HE trenipiidou-s political excitement which convulsed the nation in 1858, 
 ^ growing out of the agitation of the slavery 
 
 question, in its relation to the vast terri- 
 tories of Kansas and Nebraska, found two 
 of the most able and conspicuous men 
 in the great west, and especially Illinois, 
 pitted against each other in the discussion 
 uf that issue, — representing, respectively, 
 the two prevailing political parties in pub- 
 lic affairs, — and the interest created by 
 this fact throughout that region, and, in- 
 deed, from one end of the whole land to 
 the other, was still farther heightened by 
 those two gentlemen being not only candi- 
 dates — the one of the democratic and the 
 other of the anti-slivery party — for the 
 senatorial seat of that State in the capitol 
 at Washington, but their names were also 
 looming up in the near presidential horizon of 1860. 
 
 'I'he question at issue was immense — permanent not transient — universal not local, 
 19 
 
 STATi; CArilUL UF ILLINOIS. 
 
290 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 and the debate attracted profound atten- 
 tion on the part of the people, whether 
 democratic or free soil, from the Kennebec 
 to the Rio Grande. Briefly stated, Mr. 
 Douglas took the position in this contro- 
 versy, that the vote of a majority of the 
 
 man were closely scanned. Finally, after 
 the true western style, a joint discussion, 
 face to face, between Lincoln and Douglas, 
 as the two great representative leaders, 
 was proposed and agreed to, — seven public 
 debates, one each at Ottawa, Freeport, 
 
 1U:I(.\TE ItETWEEN L1^■C0L^' AND DOUGLAS. 
 
 people of a territory should decide this as 
 well as all other questions concerning their 
 domestic or internal affairs, and this theory 
 came to be known as that of " Popular 
 Sovereignty." Mr. Lincoln, on the con- 
 trary, urged in substance, the necessity 
 of an organic enactment excluding slavery 
 in any form, — this latter to be the condi- 
 tion of its admission into the Union as a 
 State. 
 
 The public mind was divided, and the 
 utterances and movements of every public 
 
 Jonesboro', Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, 
 and Alton, — the seven oratorical tourna- 
 ments being thus held in all quarters of 
 the state, from the extreme of one point 
 of the compass to the extreme of the op- 
 posite, and everywhere the different par- 
 ties turned out to do honor to their cham- 
 pions. Processions and cavalcades, bands 
 of music and cannon-firing, made every 
 day a day of excitement But far greater 
 was the excitement of such oratorical con- 
 tests between two such skilled debaters. 
 
DEBATE BETWEEN' L12\'C0LiS" AJS'D DOUGLAS — 1S5S. 
 
 291 
 
 before mixed audieBces of friends and foes, 
 to rejoice over every keen thrust at tlie 
 adversary, and, again, to be cast down by 
 each failure to " give back as good," or to 
 parry the thrust so aimed. 
 
 In person, appearance, voice, gesture, 
 and general platform style and impres- 
 sion, nothing could exceed the dissimilarity 
 of these two speakers. Mr. Douglas 
 possessed a natural build or frame and 
 physique uncommonly attractive, — a pres- 
 ence which would have gained for him 
 access to the highest circles, however 
 courtly, in any laud ; a thick-set, finely- 
 built, courageous man, with an air, as 
 natural to him as his breath, of self-con- 
 fidence that did not a little to inspire his 
 supporters with ho[ie. That he was every 
 inch a man, no friend or foe ever ques- 
 tioned. Ready, forceful, animated, keen 
 and trenchant, as well as playful, by turns, 
 and thoroughly unartificial, lie was one of 
 the most admirable platform speakers that 
 ever appeared before an American audi- 
 ence, — his personal geniality, too, being 
 so abounding, that, excepting in a polit- 
 ical sense, no antagonism existed between 
 him and his opponent. 
 
 J\lr. Lincoln's personal appearance was 
 in unique contrast with thai presented by 
 Mr. Douglas. He stood about six feet 
 and four inches high in his stockings ; 
 long, lean, and wiry ; in motion, he had a 
 great deal of the elasticity &nd awkward- 
 ness which indicated the rough training 
 of his early life ; his face genial looking, 
 with good humor lurking in every corner 
 of its innumerable angles. As a speaker 
 he was ready, precise, fluent, and his man- 
 ner before a popular assembly was just us 
 he pleased to make it, being either superla- 
 tively ludicrous, or very impressive. He 
 employed but little gesticulation, but, 
 when desiring to make a point, produced 
 a shrug of the shoulders, an elevation of 
 his eyebrows, a depression of his mouth, 
 and a general malformation of countenance 
 so comically awkward that it never failed 
 to 'bring down the house.' His enuncia- 
 tion was slow and emphatic, and his voice, 
 though sharp and powerful, at times had 
 
 a tendency to dwindle into a shrill and 
 unpleasant sound. In this matter of voice 
 and of commanding attitude, so as to af- 
 fect the multitude, the odds were quite in 
 favor of Mr. Douglas. 
 
 The arrangements, places, etc., for the 
 great debate, having, as already remarked, 
 been perfected, the first discussion took 
 place, August 21st, at Ottawa, in La Salle 
 county, a strong republican district. The 
 crowd in attendance was a large one, and 
 about equally divided in political senti- 
 ment — the enthusiasm of the democracy 
 having brought out more than a due pro- 
 portion, if anything, of that party, to hear 
 and see their favorite leader, Douglas. 
 His thrilling tones, his manly defiance to- 
 wards the enemies of the party, assured 
 his friends, if any assurance were wanting, 
 that he was the same unconquered and 
 unconquerable democrat that for twenty- 
 five years he had proved to be. Douglas 
 opened the discussion and spoke one hour ; 
 Lincoln followed, the time assigned him 
 being an hour and a half, though he 
 yielded a portion of it before the expira- 
 tion of its limit. 
 
 In this first debate, Mr Douglas ar- 
 raigned his opponent for the expression 
 in a former speech of " a house divided 
 against itself," etc., — referring to the 
 slavery and anti-slavery sections of the 
 country ; and Mr. Lincoln reiterated and 
 defended his assertions on that subject. 
 It was not until the second meeting, how- 
 ever, and those held subsequently, that 
 the debaters grappled with those profound 
 constitutional questions and measures of 
 administration which wei-e so soon to con- 
 vulse the whole land and cause it to stag- 
 ger almost to the verge of destruction. 
 But, as Mr. Lincoln's jiosition in relation 
 to one or two points growing out of the 
 former speech referred to had attracted 
 great attention throughout the country, 
 he availed himself of the opportunity of 
 this preliminary meeting to reply to what 
 he regarded as common misconceptions. 
 'Anything,' he said, ' that argues me into 
 the idea of perfect social and political 
 equality with the negro, is but a specious 
 
i:92 
 
 FEOil COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 and fantastic arrangement of words, by 
 which a man can prove a liorse-chestnut 
 to be a chestnut horse. I will say here, 
 while upon this subject, tliat I have no 
 purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere 
 with the institution of slavery in the 
 states where it now exists. I believe I 
 liave no lawful right to do so, and I have 
 no inclination to do so. I have no pur- 
 pose to introduce political and social 
 equality between the white and the black 
 races. There is a physical difference be- 
 tween tlie two, whi(^h, in my judgment, 
 will probably forever forbid theii- living 
 together upon a footing of perfect equal- 
 ity, and inasmuch as it becomes a matter 
 of necessity that there must be a differ- 
 ence, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in 
 favor of the race to which I belong having 
 the superior position. I have never said 
 anything to the contrary, but I hold that, 
 notwithstanding all this, there is no rea- 
 son in the world why the negro is not en- 
 titled to all the natural rights enumerated 
 in the Declaration of Independence — tlie 
 right to life, liberty, and the i)ursuits of 
 liappiness. I hold that he is as much en- 
 titled to these as the white man. I agree 
 with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in 
 many respects — certainly not in color, 
 perhaps not in moral or intellectual en- 
 dowment. But, in the right to eat the 
 bread, without tlie leave of any one else, 
 which his own hand earns, he is my equal, 
 and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the 
 equal of every living man.' 
 
 Touching the question of resjiect or 
 weight of opinion due to deliverances of 
 the United States Supreme Court, — an 
 element which entered largely into this 
 national contest, — llr. Lincoln said : 
 ' This man sticks to a decision which for- 
 bids the people of a territory from exclud- 
 ing slavery, and he does so not because he 
 says it is right in itself — he does not give 
 any opinion on that, — but because it has 
 been decided by the court, and being de- 
 cided by the court, he is, and j'ou are 
 bound to take it in your political action 
 as law ; not that he judges at all of its 
 merits, but because a decision of the court 
 
 is to him a ' Thus saith the Lord.' He 
 places it on that ground alone, and you 
 will bear in mind that, thus committing 
 himself unreservedly to this decision, com- 
 mits him to the next one just as firnilj' as 
 to this. He did not commit himself on 
 account of the merit or demerit of tlie de- 
 cision, but it is a ' Thus saith the Lord.' 
 The next decision, as much as this, will 
 
 U 
 
 Thus saith the Lord.' There is 
 
 nothing that can divert or turn him away 
 from this decision. It is nothing that I 
 jioint out to him that his great prototy])e. 
 Gen Jackson, did not believe in the 
 binding force of deci.-ions, — it is notliing 
 to him that Jefferson did not so be- 
 lieve. I have said that I have often heard 
 him approve of Jackson's course in disre- 
 garding the decision of the Supreme Court 
 pronouncing a National Bank unconstitu- 
 tional. He says I did not hear him say 
 so ; he denies the accuracy of my recollec- 
 tion, I say he ought to know better than 
 I, but I will make no question about this 
 thing, though it still seems to me that I 
 heard him say it twenty times. I will 
 tell him though, that he now claims to 
 stand on the Cincinnati iilatform, which 
 affirms that Congress ran not charter a 
 National Bank, in the teeth of that old 
 standing decision that Congress ctni char- 
 ter a bank. And I remind him of another 
 piece of history on the question of respect 
 for judicial decisions, and it is a piece of 
 Illinois history belonging to a time when 
 the large party to which Judge Douglas be- 
 longed were displeased with a decision of 
 the Supreme Court of Illinois, because 
 they had decided tiiat a Governor could 
 not remove a Secretary of State. I know 
 that Judge Douglas will not deny that he 
 was then in favor of overslaughing that 
 decision by the mode of adding five new 
 judges, so as to vote down the four old 
 ones. Not only so, but it ended in the 
 Judge's sitting down on that very bench 
 as one of the five new judges to break down 
 the four old ones'. In this strain Mr. 
 Lincoln occupied most of his time. 
 
 But, if the opponents of Judge Douglas 
 were elated at the animated effort put 
 
DEBATE BETWEEN LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS — 1S58. 
 
 293 
 
 forth by his rival, at Ottawa the debate 
 which followed at Freeport gave ample op- 
 portunity for the Judge to exhibit his 
 great intellectual prowess, nor did he fail 
 to improve it. 
 
 At this meeting, Mr. Lincoln pro- 
 pounded certain questions, and to these 
 prompt and vigorous response was made. 
 ' He desires to know, If the people of 
 Kansas shall form a Constitution Iiy 
 means entirely proper and unobjectionable, 
 and ask admission into the Union as a 
 state before they have the requisite popu- 
 lation for a member of Congress, whether 
 I will vote for that admission ? Well, 
 now, I regret exceedingly that he did not 
 answer that interrogator}' himself before 
 he put it to me, in order that we might 
 understand, and not be left to infer, on 
 which side he is. Mr. Trumbull, during 
 the last session of Congress, voted from 
 the beginning to the end against the ad- 
 mission of Oregon, although a free state, 
 because she bad not the requisite popula- 
 tion for a member of Congress. Mr. 
 Trumbull would not, under any circum- 
 stances, consent to let a state, free or 
 slave, come into the Union until it had 
 the requisite population. As Mr. Trum- 
 bull is in the field fighting for Mr. Lin- 
 coln, I would like to have Mr. Lincoln 
 answer his own question, and tell nie 
 whether he is fighting Trumbull on that 
 issue or not. But I will answer his ques- 
 tion. In reference to Kansas, it is my 
 opinion that, as she has jsopulation enougli 
 to constitute a slave state, she has people 
 enough for a free state. I will not make 
 Kansas an exceptional case to the other 
 states of the Union. I hold it to be a 
 sound rule, of univei-sal application, to re- 
 quire a territory to contain the requisite 
 population for a member of Congress be- 
 fore it is admitted as a state into the 
 Union. I made that proposition in the 
 Senate in 1856, and I renewed it during 
 the last session, in a bill providing that no 
 territory of the United States should form 
 a Constitution and apply for admission 
 until it had the requisite po|)ulation. On 
 another occasion, I proposed that neither 
 
 Kansas, nor anj- other territory, should be 
 admitted until it had the requisite popula- 
 tion. Congress did not adopt any of my 
 propositions containing this general rule, 
 but did make an exception of Kansas. I 
 will stand by that exception. Either 
 Kansas must come in as a free state, with 
 whatever population she may have, or the 
 rule must be applied to all the other ter- 
 ritories alike.' 
 
 Mr. Douglas next proceeded to answer 
 another question proposed by Mr. Lincoln, 
 namely, Whether the people of a territory 
 can in any lawful way, against the wishes 
 of any citizen of the United States, ex- 
 clude slavery from their limits prior lo the 
 formation of a state Constitution. Said 
 Mr. Douglas : ' I answer emphatically, 
 as Mr. Lincoln has heard me answer a 
 hundred times from every stump in Illi- 
 nois, that in my opinion the people of a 
 territory can, by lawful means, exclude 
 slavery from their limits prior to the forma- 
 tion of a state Constitution. .Mr. Lincoln 
 knew that I had answered that question 
 over and over again. He heard me argue 
 the Nebraska Bill on that principle all over 
 the state in 1854, in 1855, and in 1866, and 
 be has no excuse for pretending to be in 
 doubt as to my position on that question. 
 It matters not what way the Supreme 
 Court may hereafter decide as to the ab- 
 stract question whether slavery may or 
 may not go into a territory under the Con- 
 stitution, the people have the lawful means 
 to introduce it or exclude it as they please, 
 for the reason that slavery cannot exist a 
 day or an hour unless it is supported by 
 local police regulations Those police 
 regulations can only be established by the 
 local legislature, and if the people are op- 
 posed to slavery they will elect representa- 
 tives to that body who will, bj' unfriendly 
 legislation, effectuallj' prevent the intro- 
 duction of it into their midst. If, on the 
 contrary, they are for it, their legislation 
 will favor its extension. Hence, no mat- 
 ter what the decision of the Supreme Court 
 may be on that abstract question, still the 
 right of the people to make a slave terri- 
 tory or a free territory is perfect and com- 
 
204 
 
 rRo:\[ coi.oxY to would power. 
 
 plet(3 under the Nebraska Bill ' This 
 riglit or freedom of the people thus to act, 
 and which Mr. Douglas so strenuously ad- 
 vocated, was commonly termed ' Popular 
 Sovereignty,' and, as one of the battle- 
 cries in the great contests, was most ef- 
 fectivclj- used. 
 
 One of the most interesting features of 
 this memorable debate, covering as it did 
 almost the whole issue involved in the 
 canvass, consisted of the following inter- 
 rogatories propounded by Mr. Douglas, 
 and Mr Lincoln's replies: — 
 
 Mr Douglas : I desire to know whether 
 Lincoln to-day stands, as he did in 1854, 
 in favor of the unconditional repeal of the 
 Fugitive .'^lave law ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I do not now, nor ever 
 did, stand in favor of the unconditional 
 l-epeal of the Fugitive Slave law- 
 Mr. Douglas : I desire him to answer 
 whether he stands pledged to-day, as he 
 did in 1854, against the admission cif any- 
 more slave states into the Union, men if 
 the people want them ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I do not now, or ever 
 did, stand pledged against the admission 
 of any more slave states into the Union. 
 
 Mr. Douglas : I want to know whether 
 lie stands pledged against the admission 
 of a new state into the Union with such a 
 Constitution as the people nf that state 
 may see fit to make ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : 1 ilo not stand jiledged 
 against the admission of a new state into 
 the Union, with such a Constitution as 
 the people of that state may see fit to 
 make. 
 
 Mr. Douglas: I want to know whether 
 he stands to-day pledged to the abolition 
 of slavery in the District of Columbia '.' 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I do not stand t(Miay 
 pledged to the abolition of slavery in the 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 Mr. Douglas: I desire liim to answer 
 whether he stands pledged to the jirohibi- 
 tion of the slave-trade between the differ- 
 ent .-tates ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I do not stand jdedged 
 to the prohibition of the slave-trade be- 
 tween the different states. 
 
 Mr. Douglas : I desire to know whether 
 he stands pledged to prohibit slavery in 
 all the territories of the United States, 
 North as well as South of the Missouri 
 Compromise line ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I am impliedly, if imt 
 expressly, pledged to a belief in the rirj/it 
 and (hifi/ of Congress to prohibit slavery 
 in all the United States territories. 
 
 Mr. Douglas : I desire hini to answer 
 whether he is opposed to the acquisition 
 of any new territory- unless sla^•ery is first 
 lirohibited therein ? 
 
 Mr. Lincoln : I am not generally op- 
 posed to honest acquisition of territory ; 
 and, in any given case. ] would or would 
 not oppose such ac(juisitiou. according as 
 I might think such acquisition would or 
 would not aggravate the slavery question 
 among ourselves. 
 
 It was with great vigor and adroitness 
 that the two distinguished combatants 
 went over the ground covered by the above 
 questions, at the remaining five places of 
 debate, all of which were attended and 
 
 listened to by immense concourses. On 
 both sides the s])eeches were able, elo- 
 quent, exhaustive. It was admitted by 
 Lincoln's friends, that, on several occa- 
 sions, he was partly foi'ed or, at least, 
 badlv bothered. \vb'> on the other band. 
 
DEBATE BETWEEN LINCOLN AKD DOUGLAS —1S5S. 
 
 295 
 
 Douglas' admirers allowed that, in more 
 than one instance, he was flatly and fairly 
 floored liy Lincoln's logic, wit, good hu- 
 mor and frankness. Douglas, while more 
 hrusque and resolute, was also rather the 
 superior of the two in a certain force, direct- 
 ness and determination, that greatly helped 
 his side. But it was, altogether, about an 
 equal match in respect to the ability dis- 
 played by these foremost champions. Both 
 of them were self-made men ; both of 
 them able lawyers and politicians ; both 
 sprang from obscurity to distinction ; both 
 belonged to the common people ; and both 
 were strong and popular with the masses. 
 The portrait which we give of Mr. Doug- 
 las (Mr. Lincoln's will be found in another 
 part of this volume i represents him at this 
 victorious stage in his career. 
 
 As for the result, Lincoln took more of 
 the popular vote than Douglas, but the 
 latter secured a majority in the legislature, 
 — sufficient to insure his re-election to the 
 United States senate, and this majority 
 
 would probably have been greater, but for 
 tile hostility towards him of a certain por- 
 tion of his own party, who favored a more 
 thorough southern or pro-slavery policy 
 than Douglas would con.sent to. 
 
 In May, 1860, the Kepublican Nomi- 
 nating Convention met at Chicago, 111., and 
 after successive ballots, Mr. Lincoln was 
 chosen standard-bearer of the party in the 
 presidential contest. His election followed 
 iu November ensuing. Mr. Douglas failed 
 of a nomination at the Democratic conven- 
 tion. Secession raised its gory front. 
 Forgetting past differences, Douglas mag- 
 nanimously stood shoulder to shoulder 
 with Lincoln in behalf of the Union. It 
 was the olive branch of genuine patriotism. 
 But, while proudly holding aloft the ban- 
 ner of his country in the councils of the 
 nation, and while yet the blood of his 
 countrymen had not drenched the land, 
 the great senator was suddenly stricken 
 from among the living, in the hour of the 
 republic's greatest need. 
 
XXXI. 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY COMBAT BETWEEN THE IRON-CLADS 
 
 MERRIMAO AND MONITOR, IN HAMPTON 
 
 ROADS.— 1862. 
 
 SudJen Appearance of tlie Meniiiiac Ariionj; the Feiler.il Kriuates — Tlieir Swift and Terrible Destruc 
 tion by Her Steel Prow. — Unexpected Arrival of tlie " Little Monitor " at tbe Scene of Action. — Sbe 
 Engages and Disables the Monster Craft in a Four Hours' Figlit. — Total Revolution in Naval War- 
 fare the World Over by this Remarkable Contest. — How the Merrimao Changed Hands. — Burned and 
 Sunk at Norfolk, Va — Her Hull Raised by the Confederates. — She is Iron Roofed and Plated. — Proof 
 Against Shot and Shell. — A Powerful Steel Beak in Her Prow — Most Formidable Vessel Afloat — 
 In Command of Commodore Buchanan. — Departs from Norfolk, March 8th — Pierces and Sinks the 
 Cumberland. — Next Attacks the Congress. — The Noble Frigate Destroyed — Fight Begun with the 
 Minnesota. — Suspemled at Nightfall. — Trip of the Monitor trom New York. — Her New and Singular 
 Build, — Lieutenant Worden Hears of the Battles. — Resolves to Grapple with the Monster. — The Two 
 Together, Next Day. — A Scene Never to be Forgotten. — Worden Turns the Tide of Fortune. — 
 Repulse and Retreat of the Merrimac. 
 
 " Be it Rrsolved, eto-.TIihI the timnks t^i' Congress and of the Aniencnn people are due. and are hereby teodercd, to Lieutenant J. 
 I* Worden. of the tjnited Stalea Navv. and to the olMcerp and men ot tlie iron-clad gun-boat Monitor, under his command, for the skill and 
 gallantry exhihited by them in the late remarkable battle between the Monitor and the rebel iron-clad fcteamer Merriniac."— Resolution 
 Passed bt cokohess. 
 
 UITTIXG the city of Norfolk, Va., on the eighth 
 ot JSIareh, 1862, tliti confederate iron-chid steam- 
 ram Merriinac sailed down Elizabeth river into 
 Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay, and there sig- 
 nalized the navai history o the civil war in Amer- 
 ica by an action not only memorable beyond all 
 others in that tremendous conflict, but altogether 
 unprecedented in the annals of ocean warfare in 
 any country or in any age. On the abandonment 
 and destruction, by fire, of the Norfolk navy yard, 
 in Ajiril. ISfil, by the United States officers in 
 charge, among the vessels left behind was the 
 steam frigate INFerrimac, of four thousand tons 
 burden, then under repair. In the conflagration 
 she was burned to her copper-line, and down 
 INTERIOR OF Tiin TOWER OF THE MONITOR, through to hcr bcrtli-deck, which, with her spar 
 and gun-decks, was al.>.;o burned. Soon after the confederate authorities took possession 
 of the navy yard, the ]\Ierriinac was raised and converted into an iron-plated man-of-war 
 of the most formidable character. 
 
 Immediately after this, she was placed upon the dry 
 
COMBAT BETWEEN HIE MEREIMAC AND ilONITOK — lS(i2. 297 
 
 dock, and covered with a sloping roof of 
 iron plates three inches thick, the weight 
 of which nearly broke her down upon the 
 dock. Owing to some miscalculation when 
 launched, she sank four feet deejjer than 
 before, and took in considerable water. She 
 was, inconsequence, obliged to be docked a 
 second time. Her hull was cut down to 
 within three feet of her water-mark, over 
 which the bomb-proof house covered htr 
 gun-deck. She was also iron-plated, and her 
 bow and stern steel-clad, with a projecting 
 snout of iron for the purpose of piercing 
 an antagonist. She had no masts, and 
 there was nothing to be seen over her gun- 
 deck but the pilot-house and smoke-stack. 
 Her bomb-proof was three inches thick, 
 and consisted of wrought iron. Her arma- 
 ment consisted of four eleven-inch navy 
 guns, broadside, and two one-hundred- 
 pounder rifled guns at the bow and .stern. 
 She was now named the Virginia, though 
 she continued to be known as the Merri- 
 mac. She was commanded by Com. Frank- 
 lin Buchanan, formerly commandant of the 
 Washington navy yard. 
 
 The time chosen for her departure for 
 Hampton Roads was one peculiarly adapted 
 for the trial of her prowess. The federal 
 fleet in that vicinity comprised the sloop- 
 of-war Cumberland, the sailing-frigate 
 Congress, the steam-frigates Minnesota, 
 St. Lawrence, and Koanoke — the latter in 
 a disabled condition from a broken shaft, 
 together with a number of improvised 
 gun-boats of a small grade. The Cumber- 
 land and Congress were anchored before 
 the entrenched federal camp at Newport 
 News, the Roanoke and St. Law'rence near 
 the Rip Raps, and the Minnesota in front 
 of Fortress Monroe. 
 
 On the Merrimac coming out, on Satur- 
 day, the eighth of March, she stood directly 
 across the roads toward Newport News. 
 What followed was, according to the nar- 
 rative published in the Baltimore Ameri- 
 can by one who had unusually favorable 
 opportunities of observation, in the order 
 of occurrence given below : 
 
 As soon as the Merrimac was .nade out 
 and her direction ascertained (says the 
 
 narrative referred to), the crews were beat 
 to quarters on both the Cumberland and 
 Congress, and preparations made for what 
 was felt to be an almost hopeless fight, but 
 the determination to make it as desperate 
 as possible. The Merrimac kept straight 
 on, making, according to the best estimates, 
 about eight miles an hour. As she passed 
 the mouth of Nansemond river, the Con- 
 gress threw the first shot at her, which 
 was immediately answered. The Merri- 
 mac passed the Congress, discharging a 
 broadside at her, — one shell from which 
 killed and disabled every man except one 
 at gun No. Ten, — and kept on toward the 
 Cumberland, which she apjjroached at full 
 speed, striking her on the port side near 
 the bow, her stem knocking port No. One 
 and the bridle-port into one, whilst her 
 ram, or snout, cut the Cvunberland under 
 water. Almost at the moment of collision, 
 the Merrimac discharged from her forward 
 gun an eleven-inch shell. This shell raked 
 the whole gun-deck, killing ten men at 
 gun No. One, among whom was master- 
 mate John Harrington, and cutting off 
 both arms and legs of quarter-gunner 
 Wood. The water rushed in from the hole 
 made below, and in five minutes the ship 
 began to sink by the head. Shell and 
 solid shot from the Cumberland were rained 
 upon the Merrimac as she j)assed ahead, 
 but the most of them glanced off harm- 
 lessly from the incline of her iron-plated 
 bomb-proof. 
 
 As the Merrimac rounded to and came 
 up, she again raked the Cumberland with 
 a heavy fire. At this fire, sixteen men at 
 gun No. Ten were killed or wounded, and 
 all subsequently carried dowil in the sink- 
 ing ship. Advancing with increased mo- 
 mentum, the Merrimac now struck the 
 Cumberland on the starboard side, sma.sh- 
 ing her upper works and cutting another 
 hole below the water-line. 
 
 The ill-fated Cumberland now began to 
 rapidly settle, and the scene became most 
 horrible. The cock-pit was filled with the 
 wounded, whom it was found impossible 
 to bring up. The forward magazine was 
 under water, but powder was still supplied 
 
L'Uti 
 
 IKOM COLOSY TO WOliLU POWEK. 
 
 from the after-magazine, and the firinn; 
 kept steadily up by men who knew that 
 the ship was sinking under them. They 
 worked desperately and unremittingly, and 
 amid the din and horror of the conflict 
 gave cheers for their flag and the Union, 
 which were joined in by the wounded. 
 The decks were slippery with blood, and 
 arms and legs and chunks of flesh were 
 strewed about. The Merrimac laid off at 
 easy j)oini:-blank range, discharging lier 
 broadsides alternately at the Cumberland 
 and the Congress. The water b_y this time 
 had reached the after-magazine of the 
 Cumberland. The men, however, kept at 
 work, and several cases of powder were 
 passed up and the guns kept in play. A 
 
 drowned. When the order Wvis given to 
 cease tiring, and to look out for their safety 
 in the best way possible, numbers scam- 
 pered througli the port-holes, whilst others 
 reached the spar-deck by the companion- 
 ways. Some were unable to get out by 
 either of these means, and were carried by 
 the rapidl3'' sinking ship. 
 
 The Cumberland sank in water nearly to 
 her cross-trees. She went down with her 
 ^floj/ still fi/iug, and, for some time after, 
 it might still be seen flying from the mast 
 above the water that overwhelmed the 
 noble ship, — a memento of the bravest, 
 most daring, and yet most hopeless defense 
 that was ever made by any vessel belong- 
 ing to any navy in the world. The men 
 
 number of men in the after shell-room lin- 
 gered there too long in their eagerness to 
 l)ass n\i shell and were drowned. 
 
 By this time the water had readied the 
 berth or main gun-deck, and it was felt 
 hopeless and useless to continue the fight 
 longer. The word was given for each man 
 to save himself ; but after this order, gun 
 No. Seven was fired, when the adjoining 
 gun, No. Six, was actually under water. 
 This last shot was fired by an active little 
 fellow named Matthew Tenney, whose 
 ourage had been conspicuous throughout 
 tbe action. As his port was left open by 
 the recoil of the gun, he jum])ed to sci-am- 
 ble out, but the water rushed in with so 
 much force that he was washed back and 
 
 fought with a courage that could not be 
 excelled ; there was no flinching, no thought 
 of surrender. The whole number lost, of 
 the Cumberland's crew, was one hundred 
 and twenty. Many of the scenes on board 
 were deeply affecting. Two of the gunners 
 at the bow-guns, when the ship was sink- 
 ing, clasped their guns in their arms, and 
 would not be removed, and went down 
 embracing them. One gunner had both 
 his legs shot away; but he made three 
 steps on his bloody thighs, seized the lan- 
 yard and fired his gun, falling back dead. 
 Wood, who lost both arms and legs, on 
 being offered assistance, cried out, '■^Buck 
 fo i/ouf fjiiiif:, hni/sf Gire'emfits! Hur- 
 nih for the flag !" He lived till she sank. 
 
COMBAT BETWEEN THE MEREIMAC AXI) 3IOXITOB — ISOi. 299 
 
 Having thoroughly demolished the Cum- 
 berland, the INIerriiiiac now proceeded to 
 deal with tlie Congress, the officers of 
 which, having seen the fate of the Cum- 
 berland, and aware that the Congress must 
 also be sunk if she remained within reach 
 of the iron monster's beak, had got all sail 
 on the ship, with the intention of running 
 her ashoi'e. The tug-boat Zouave also 
 came out and made fast to the Cumberland, 
 and assisted in towing her ashore. 
 
 The Merriniac then surged uj), gave the 
 Congress a broadside, receiving one in 
 return, and getting astern, raked the Con- 
 gress fore and aft. This fire was terrible- 
 destructive, a shell killing ever3' man at 
 one of the guns except one. Coming again 
 broadside to the Congress, the Merrimac 
 ranged slowlj- backward and forward, at 
 less than one hundred yards distant, and 
 fired broadside after broadside into the 
 Congress. The latter vessel replied man- 
 fully and obstinately, every gun that could 
 be brought to bear being discharged rap- 
 idly, but with little effect upon the iron 
 monster. Some of the balls caused splint- 
 ers of iron to fly from lier mailed roof, but 
 still she seemed well nigh invulnerable. 
 The Merrimac's guns appeared to be spe- 
 cially trained on the after-magazine of the 
 Congress, and shot after shot entered that 
 part of the ship. 
 
 Thus slowly drifting down with the 
 current and again steaming up, the Merri- 
 mac continued for an hour to fire into her 
 opponent. Several times the Congress was 
 on fire, but the flames were kejjt down. 
 Finally, the ship was on fire in so many 
 places, and the flames gathering such force, 
 that it was hopeless and suicidal to keep 
 up the defense any longer. The federal 
 flag was sorrowfully hauled down and a 
 white flag hoisted at the peak. After it 
 was hoisted, the Merriniac continued to 
 fire, perhaps not discovering the white flag, 
 but soon after ceased firing. 
 
 A small confederate tug that had fol- 
 lowed the Merrimac out of Norfolk tlien 
 came alongside the Congress, and a young 
 officer gained the gun-deck through a port- 
 hole, announced that he came on board to 
 
 take command, and ordered the officers on 
 board the tug. The officers of the Con- 
 gress refus<?d to go, hoping from the near- 
 ness to the shore that they would be able 
 to reach it, and imwilling to become pris- 
 oners whilst the least chance of escape 
 remained. Some of the men, thinking the 
 tug was a federal vessel, rushed on board. 
 At this moment, the members of an Indi- 
 ana regiment, at Newport News, brought 
 a Parrott gun down to the beach and 
 opened fire upon the tug. The latter 
 hastily put off, and the Merrimac again 
 opened fire upon the Congress. The fire 
 not being returned from the ship, the Mer- 
 rimac commenced shelling the woods and 
 camps at Newport News. 
 
 By the time all were ashore, it was 
 seven o'clock in the evening, and the Con- 
 gress was in a bright sheet of flame fore and 
 aft. She continued to burn until twelve 
 o'clock at night, her guns, which were 
 loaded and trained, goingoff as they became 
 heated. Finally, the fire reached her mag- 
 azines, and with a tremendous concussion 
 her charred remains blew up. There were 
 some five tons of gunpowder in her mag- 
 azines, and about twenty thousand dollars 
 in the safe of paymaster Buchanan, the 
 latter officer being an own brother to the 
 commander of the Merrimac. The loss of 
 life on board the Congress was lamentable. 
 
 After sinking the Cumberland and firing 
 the Congress, the Merrimac (with her 
 companions the Yorktown and James- 
 town,) stood off in the direction of the 
 Minnesota, which, in trying to reach the 
 scene of action, had run aground, and 
 could not be moved. An exchange of shot 
 and .shell, however, took place between the 
 vessels, after which, nightfall setting in, 
 the Merrimac steamed in under Sewall's 
 Point, expecting the next day to capture 
 the Minnesota as a prize, instead of destroy- 
 ing her. The day thus closed dismally for 
 the federal side, and with the most gloomy 
 apprehensions of what would occur the 
 next day. The Minnesota was at the 
 mercy of the Merrimac, and there appeared 
 no reason wh^' the iron monster might not 
 clear the Koads of the whole fleet, and 
 
3U0 
 
 PKOll COLUA'Y TO woi;ll) powek. 
 
 destroy all the stores and warehouses on 
 the beach. Saturday, therefore, was a 
 night of terror at Fortress Monroe. 
 
 But just here, the chief event of interest 
 centers. It was at night, the moon shin- 
 ing brightly, when, totally unexpected, 
 there came into those blood-tlyed waters, 
 the little gun-boat Mon itor, from New York, 
 — a vessel which had just been completed, 
 from designs of Mr. Ericsson, and differ- 
 ing materially from any vessel ever before 
 constructed, and believed by its inventor 
 to be absolutely invulnerable. Externally, 
 it had the appearance of a long, oval raft, 
 rising only eighteen inches above the 
 water, with a low, round tower upon its 
 center. This raft was the upper part of 
 the hull of the vessel, and was plated with 
 iron so as to be ball-proof ; it projected on 
 every side beyond the lower hull, which 
 contained the machinery. The tower, con- 
 taining two heavy guns, the only arma- 
 ment of the battery, was of iron, and nearly 
 a foot in thickness, and so constructed as 
 to revolve, bringing the guns to bear upon 
 any point. This tower, nine feet high and 
 twenty in diameter, and a pilot-house, ris- 
 ing three feet, were all that appeared upon 
 the smooth, level deck. She was com- 
 manded by Lieutenant Worden, U. S. N., 
 and, though a mere pigmy, in size and 
 armament, compared with the JMerrimac, 
 was soon to measure her prowess with the 
 latter, in a contest such as liad never 
 entered into the imagination even of Mr. 
 Ericsson himself. 
 
 The succeeding day, Sunday, dawned 
 fair. As the sun broke on the horizon, a 
 slight haze was visible on the water, Avhich 
 prevented an extended vision. At half 
 past six, A. M., this haze cleared away. 
 Looking toward Sewall's Point, there 
 appeared the Merrimac, and her attend- 
 ants, the steamers Yorktown and Patrick 
 Henry. They were stationary, — the Mer- 
 rimac to the right of the others, blowing 
 off steam. They seemed deliberating what 
 to do — whether to move on to attempt the 
 destruction of the Minnesota, which was 
 yet aground, or move on to the federal 
 fleet anchored near the Rip Ilai)s. At 
 
 seven o'clock, a plan seemed to have been 
 adopted, and the ^Merrimac steamed in the 
 direction of the Minnesota, which was still 
 aground. The Yorktown and Jamestown 
 were crowded with troops, and steamed 
 slowly after the Merrimac. ' The latter 
 steamed along with boldness until she was 
 within three miles of the Minnesota, when 
 the Monitor essayed from behind the lat- 
 ter, and proceeded toward the Merrimac. 
 It should here be mentioned, that when 
 Lieutenant Worden first arrived in the 
 Roads and was informed of what had 
 occurred, though his crew were suffering 
 from exposure and loss of rest from a 
 stormy voyage around from New York, he 
 at once made preparations for taking part 
 in whatever might take place the next day. 
 To this end, the Monitor moved up, before 
 daylight on Sunday morning, and took a 
 position alongside the Minnesota, lying 
 between the latter ship and the fortress, 
 where she could not be seen by the enemy, 
 but was ready, with steam up, to slip out. 
 
 At the sudden appearance of so strange- 
 looking and diminutive a craft as the Mon- 
 itor, the confederate monster seemed non- 
 plussed, and hesitated, no doubt in wonder- 
 ment that such an unaccountable and 
 apparently insignificant an object should 
 l)e making so bold an approach. 
 
 The Merrimac now closed the distance 
 lietween her and the Monitor, until they 
 were within a mile of each other. Both 
 batteries stopped. The Merrimac fired a 
 shot at the Minnesota, to which no reply 
 was made. She then fired at the ]\[onitor ; 
 the latter replied, hitting the Merrimac 
 near the water-line. The Merrimac then 
 commenced firing very rapidly, first from 
 her stern gun at the Monitor, and then 
 her broadside guns, occasionally firing a 
 shot at the Minnesota. The fight went on 
 in this way for an hour or two, both ves- 
 sels exchanging shots pretty freely. Some- 
 times the Merrimac would retire, followed 
 by the Monitor, and sometimes the reverse. 
 
 While the fight between the batteries 
 was going on, one hundred solid nine-inch 
 shot were sent up from Fortress Monroe 
 on the steamer Rancocas to the Minnesota. 
 
COMBAT BETWEEN THE MERRIMAC AND MONITOR — 1862. :!0l 
 
 At a quarter-past ten o'clock, the Merri- 
 mac and Monitor had come into pretty 
 close quarters, the former giving the latter 
 two broadsides in succession. It was 
 replied to promptly by the Monitor. The 
 firing was so rapid that both craft were 
 obscured in columns of white smoke for a 
 moment or more. The ramparts of the 
 fort, the rigging of the vessels in port, the 
 bouses, and the bend, were all crowded 
 with sailors, soldiers and civilians. When 
 the rapid firing alluded to took place, these 
 spectators were singularly silent, as if 
 doubtful as to the result. Their impatience 
 was soon removed by the full figure of the 
 Monitor, with the stars and stripes flying 
 at her stern, steaming around the Merri- 
 (j mac, moving with the ease of a duck on 
 H the water. The distance between the ves- 
 I sels was forty feet. In this circuit, the 
 a Monitor's guns were not idle, as she fired 
 ^ shot after shot into her antagonist, two of 
 a which penetrated the monster's sides. 
 g At eleven, A. M., the Minnesota opened 
 a fire, and assisted the Monitor in engaging 
 a the Merrimac. She fired nine-inch solid 
 B shot with good accuracy, but with appar- 
 ^ ently little effect. The Merrimac returned 
 I the fire, firing shell, one of which struck 
 ■* ,1 5 and exploded the boiler of the gun-boat 
 a Dragon, which was alongside the Minne- 
 j sota, endeavoring to get her off. Eor the 
 > next hour, tlie battle raged fiercely between 
 '■^' the Merrimac on the one side, and her 
 antagonists, the Monitor, Minnesota, and 
 Wliitehall, but with no important result. 
 The Minnesota being the best mark for 
 the Merrimac, the latter fired at her fre- 
 quently, alternately giving the Monitor a 
 shot. The Merrimac made several attempts, 
 also, to run at full speed past the Monitor, 
 to attack and run down the Minnesota. 
 All these attempts were parried, as it were, 
 by the Monitor. In one of these attempts 
 by the Merrimac, she ran her prow or ram 
 with full force against the side of the 
 Monitor; but it only had the effe"^ of 
 careening the latter vessel in the slightest 
 degree. The Yorktown and Patrick Henry 
 kept at a safe distance from the Monitor. 
 The former vessel, at the beginning of the 
 
302 
 
 FROM. COLOXY TO WUltLD POWEli. 
 
 fight, had the tenifiity to come within 
 respectable range (if tlie Monitor. The 
 latter fired one ?liot at her, which carried 
 away hei- pilot-honse, and caused hei to lose 
 no time in retiring. 
 
 As the Monitor carried but two guns, 
 whilst the Merrimac. had eight, of course 
 she received two or three shots for every 
 one she gave. The fight raged hotly on 
 both sides, the opposing batteries moving 
 around each other with great skill, ease, 
 and dexterity. The Merrimac, though the 
 strongest, did not move with the alertness 
 of her antagonist ; hence the Monitor had 
 the advantage of taking choice of position. 
 At a quarter before twelve o'clock, noon, 
 Lieutenant Heiiburn, the signal officer on 
 the ramparts at Fortress Monroe, reported 
 to General Wool that the Monitor had 
 pierced the sides of the Merrimac, and in 
 a few minutes the latter was in full retreat. 
 Wliether true, or not. that the Merrimac's 
 armor had actually been penetrated, her 
 iron prow had become .so wrenched in 
 striking the sides of her antagonist, that 
 tlie timbers within were started, and the 
 vessel leaked badly. The little Monitor 
 followed the retreating Merrimac until she 
 got well inside Sewall's Point, and then 
 returned to the Minnesota. It is probable 
 that the pursuit would have been con- 
 tinued still farther, but Lieutenant Worden 
 had previously had his eyes injured, and it 
 was felt that, as so much depended on the 
 Monitor, it was imprudent to expose her 
 unnecessarily. At the time he was injured, 
 Lieutenant Worden was looking out of the 
 e\'e-holes of the pilot-house, which were 
 simply horizontal slips, half an inch wide. 
 A round shot struck against these slits as 
 Lieutenant Worden was looking through, 
 causing some scalings from the iron and 
 fragments of cement to fly with great force 
 against his ej^es, utterly blinding him for 
 some days, and permanently destroying 
 the power of his left eye. Stunned by 
 the concussion, he was carried away 
 helpless. 
 
 On recovering sufficiently to sjieak, he 
 asked — 
 
 " Have I saved the Mia nrsutu ? " 
 
 " Yes, and wltippcd the Merrimac" was 
 the answer. 
 
 " Then I don't cure what hecomesofme.'^ 
 said Lieutenant Worden. 
 
 No other real damage was received by 
 the Monitor, during the action ; the deeji- 
 est indentation received by her was on 
 the side, amounting to four and one-half 
 inches ; on the turret, the deepest was one 
 and one-half inches; and on the deck, one- 
 half inch. The Merrimac, in addition to 
 the injury already mentioned, had her 
 anchor and flag-staff shot away, her smoke- 
 stack and steam-pipe riddled, two of her 
 crew killed and eight wounded, including 
 her commander, Buch.anan. The latter 
 officer went out on his deck, was seen by 
 the federal sliari)-shooters at Camp Butler, 
 and was shot with a minie rifle ball in his 
 left leg, which maimed him for life. His 
 exploits gained him great favor at the 
 south, and he was subsequently made 
 Admiral of the Confederate States navy. 
 The praises of Lieutenant Worden filled 
 every loj'al mouth, and he was successfully 
 promoted to the highest rank in the" ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Withdrawing to Norfolk, the Merrimac 
 underwent extensive repairs for some 
 weeks, and was provided with ordnance of 
 great power. She tlien took her station 
 at the mouth of the Elizabeth river, guard- 
 ing it, and threatening the United States 
 vessels in the Roads, but, on account of 
 some defects in her working, not ventur- 
 ing an attack. Finally, Norfolk having 
 surrendered to the Union forces, M:iy 10th, 
 and the Merrimac being found to draw too 
 much water to admit of her being removed 
 \\\) the river, she was on the 12th aban- 
 doned and set on fire, and soon after blew 
 up. 
 
 The loss of two such fine war vessels as 
 the Cumberland and Congress, with some 
 four hundred brave men, cast a gloom over 
 the nation, the weight of which was only 
 relieved by the heroism displayed in their 
 defense. Indeed, one of the greatest in- 
 stances of patriotic devotion ever recorded 
 in our own or any other nation's naval his- 
 tory, is that which narrates the closing 
 
COMBAT BETWEEN THE JVIEREIMAC AND MONITOR — 1862. 303 
 
 scene on board the Cumberland. Neither 
 the shots of the Congress, nor of the Cum- 
 berland, had any more effect, for the most 
 part, upon the iron-mailed Merrimac, than 
 if they had been so many peas. But if 
 they could have kept the Merrimac off, she 
 never could have sunk the Cumberland. 
 They had then nothing to do but stand and 
 fight and die like men. Buchanan asked 
 their commander, Lieutenant Morris — 
 " Will you sun-ender the ship ? " 
 "Never," said Morris, "never will we 
 surrender the shiji."' 
 
 Buchanan then backed his huge ram off 
 again, and the Cumberland fired as rapidly 
 as she could, but the Merrimac came once 
 more and ran her steel beak in ; and now 
 it was that Buchanan asked Lieutenant 
 Morris, calling him by name — 
 
 
 " Mr. Morris, will you surrender that 
 ship ? " 
 
 "Never," said Morris, "siii/c her!" 
 
 The remaining act in this startling 
 drama is well known. The guns of the 
 Cumberland were coolly manned, loaded 
 and discharged, while the vessel was in a 
 sinking condition, and the good ship went 
 down with her flag tlving defiantlv at the 
 gaff 
 
 Similar was the bravery exhibited on 
 board the ill-fated Congress. The father 
 of the gallant commander of that ship 
 (Lieutenant Joseph Smith), who lost his 
 life in that terrible encounter, was Com- 
 
 modore Joseph Smith, of Washington. It 
 appears that the elder Smith had exerted 
 himself specially to finish the work on the 
 Monitor, and hasten her departure. The 
 son, too, had written repeatedly to the 
 naval authorities at Wa.shington, express- 
 ing his fears for the consequences of an 
 attack from the Merrimac, and urging 
 plans for guarding against it. The father 
 knew the spirit of his son, and tliat the 
 only issue of a battle for him was death or 
 ^'ictory. When ho saw, therefore, by the 
 first dispatch from Fortress Monroe, that 
 the Congress had raised the white flag, he 
 only remarked quietly, " Joe is dead ! " 
 No Roman father ever paid a nobler or 
 more emphatic tribute of confidence to a 
 gallant son than is contained in the words 
 30 uttered, nor ever gave that son to his 
 country with more cheerful and 
 entire devotion. The sad assur- 
 ance was well founded. Tlie flag 
 was not struck until liis son had 
 fallen. 
 
 Not less conspicuous was the 
 conduct of Charles Johnston, boats- 
 wain of the Congress — a fine speci- 
 men of the thorough seaman, who 
 had been in the navy some thirty 
 odd years — who greatly excited the 
 admiration of the officers ny his 
 cool, unflinching courage. Sta- 
 tioned in the very midst of the 
 carnage committed by the raking 
 fire of the Merrimac, he never lost 
 his self-possession, and not for a 
 moment failed to cheer on and encourage 
 the men. Blinded with the smoke and 
 dust, and splashed with the blocjil and 
 brains of his shipniates, his cheering words 
 of encouragement were still heard. After 
 the engagement, from which he escaped 
 unwounded, his kindness and care in jjro- 
 viding for the removal of the wounded, 
 were untiring. The fact has already been 
 mentioned that the paymaster of the Con 
 gress was an own brother of the com- 
 mander of the Merrimac. His position 
 was one of extreme agony, but his loyal 
 heart did not fail him. " Just before the 
 sanguinary engagement," said paymaster 
 
304 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 Buchanan, " I volunteered my serv- 
 ices to Lieut. Commanding Joseph B. 
 Smith for duty on either of the upper 
 decks, although the rebel steamer Mer- 
 rimac was commanded by my own 
 brother, when I received an order to take 
 charge of the berth-deck division, which 
 order I promptly obeyed, and, thank 
 
 God, I did some service to my beloved 
 country." 
 
 The character of this contest maj' truly 
 be said to have astonished the world, and 
 its effect has been to revolutionize the 
 princij)les and mode of naval warfare, ren- 
 dering wooden vessels of war practically 
 useless for active service. 
 
XXXII. 
 
 PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION, AS A WAR MEAS- 
 URE, BY PRESIDENT LINCOLN.— 1863,. 
 
 More than Three Millions, in Bondage at the South, Declared Forever Free. — Most Important Amer- 
 ican State Paper Since July 4tli, 1776 — Pronounced, bj- the President, " the Great Event of the 
 Nineteenth Century." — The Whole System of Slavery Finally Swept from tlie Republic, by Vic- 
 tories in the Field and by Constitutional Amendments. — Mr. Lincoln's Views on Slavery. — Opposed 
 to all Unconstitutional Acts. — His Orders to Union Generals. — Prohibits the Arming of Negroes. — 
 Alarming Progress of Events. — The Great Exigency at Last — Slavery versus the Union. — Solemn 
 and Urgent Alternative — Emancip.ation Under the War Power. — Preparation of the Great Document. 
 — Its Submission to the Cabinet. — Opinions and Discussions — Singular Reason for Delay. — Mr. Lin- 
 coln's Vow to God. — Waiting for a Union Triumph — Decided by the Battle of Antietam. — Final 
 Adoption of the Measure. — Mr. Carpenter's Admirable Narrative. — Public Reception of ihe Procla- 
 mation. — Promulgation at the South. — Scenes of Joy Among the Freedmen. — Enfranchisement 
 Added to Freedom. 
 
 '* And upon thifl act, aincerely believed to be an act or juatice. warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the con- 
 siderate judsment of mjnliind, and Itie gracious favor of Alinigiity God."— Tue Proclamation. 
 
 EALOUSLY cherisliiiio' the humane personal wish, '■ that all men every- 
 wiicre might he free," — as expressed by himsell' in one of his most mem- 
 orable political letters, — and inflexibly' objecting to the introduction of 
 slavery into the new national territories, President Lincoln, nevertheless, 
 on every occasion avowed his opposition to all unconstitutional meas- 
 ures of interference with that .system, as it existed in the States of the 
 South. Only under the stupendous exigency precipitated upon him 
 and upon the country, by the war inaugurated at Fort Sumter, and 
 -, -i f, now carried on with such direful loss of blood and treasure for two long 
 I? il H years, for the destruction of the Union, did he avail himself of the high 
 and solemn prerogative of his position, as the sworn protector ami 
 defender of the nation, to decree, substantially, the utter extinction of 
 slavery throughout all the borders of the land. 
 
 It was a war measure, done " upon military necessity," and in the 
 grave performance of which President Lincoln said : " I could not feel 
 that, to the best of my ability, I had even tried to preserve the Constitu- 
 tion, if, to preserve slavery, or any minor matter, I should permit the 
 wreck of government, country, and constitution altogether. When, early 
 in the war. General Fremont attempted military emancipation, I forbade 
 it, because I did not then think it an indispensable necessity. Wlien, a 
 little later. General Cameron, then secretary of war, suggested the arm- 
 ing of the blacks, I objected, because I did not yet think it an indispen- 
 sable necessity. When, still later, General Hunter attempted military 
 20 
 
•^06 
 
 YllOil COLONY TO \VOi;J.D TOWEK. 
 
 emancipation, I again forbade it, because 
 I did not yet think the indispensable 
 necessity had come. Wlien, in March and 
 May and July, 1862, I made earnest and 
 successive appeals to the border states to 
 favor compensated emancijtation, I believed 
 the indispensable necessity for military 
 emancipation and aruiing the blacks would 
 come, unless averted by that measure. 
 They declined the proposition ; and I 
 was, in my best judgment, driven to the 
 alternative of eitlier surrendering the 
 Union, and with it the Coustitution, or of 
 laying strong hand upon the colored ele- 
 ment. I chose the latter." It will thus 
 be seen that, so far from being rash or 
 aggressive in his anti-slavery policy, he 
 favored no step in that direction, until 
 driven to it as a last and remediless alter- 
 native, froui which there seemed no possi- 
 ble escape. 
 
 Singularly enough, this great measure 
 — involving as mighty a moral, social, and 
 political revolution as was ever accom- 
 plished in any age or in any country — was 
 distinctly expounded ami foresiiailowcd by 
 John Quincy Adams, in a remarkable 
 debate which took place in the lower house 
 of congress, in 1842, and in the course of 
 which he said : " I believe that, so long as 
 the slave states are able to sustain their 
 institutions, without going abroad or call- 
 ing uj)on other parts of the Union to aid 
 them or act on the subject, so long I will 
 consent never to interfere. I have said 
 
 this; and I repeat it; but, if they come to 
 the free states and say to them, ' You must 
 help us to keep down our .slaves, you must 
 aid us in an insurrection and a civil war,' 
 then I say that, with that call, comes a full 
 and plenary power to this house, and to the 
 senate, over the whole subject. It is a 
 war power; I say it is a war power; and 
 when your country is actually in war, 
 whether it be a war of invasion or a war 
 of insurrection, congress'has power to carry 
 on the war, and must carry it on according 
 to the laws of war ; and, by the laws of war, 
 an invaded country has all its laws and 
 municipal institutions swept by the board, 
 and martial law takes the jjlace of them. 
 This power in congress has, perhaps, never 
 been called into exercise under the present 
 constitution of the United States. But, 
 when the laws of war are in force, what, 
 I ask. is one of those laws? It is this: 
 that when a country is invaded, and two 
 hostile armies are set in martial arraj', the 
 commanders of both armies have power to 
 emancipate all the slaves in the invaded 
 territory." In proof of the correctness of 
 his assertion, Mr. Adams cited the well- 
 known historical case of the abolition of 
 slavery in Colomliia. Hrst by Murillo, the 
 Spanish general, and subsequently by 
 Bolivar, the American general, in each case 
 as a military act, and observed and main- 
 tained to this day. 
 
 Though the great American Proclama- 
 tion of Emancipation did not appear until 
 January 1, 1863, President Lincoln's mind 
 had for some months previously been drift- 
 ing in the direction of some such act. As 
 he himself expressed it, everything was 
 going wrong — the nation seemed to have 
 put forth aliout its utmost efforts, and he 
 reallv didn"t know what more to do, unless 
 he did this. Accordingly, he prepared a pre- 
 liminary proclamation, nearly in the form 
 in which it subsequently appeared, called 
 the cabinet together, and read it to them, 
 with the following result, as reported: 
 
 Mr. Montgomery Blair was startled, 
 " If you issue that ju'oclamation, Mr. Pres- 
 ident," he exclaimed, "you will lose every 
 one of the fall elections." 
 
THE PKOCI.A.MATIOX OF K.MAX( IPATIOX — '1S('.:]. 
 
 307 
 
 Mr. Seward, on the otlier liaiul, said, "I 
 
 approve of it, Mr. Pre.sideiit, just as it 
 stands. I approve of it in principle, and 
 I approve the policy of issuing it. I only 
 ohject to the time. Send it out now, on 
 the heels of our late disasters, and it will 
 be construed as the convulsive struggle of 
 a drowning man. To give it proper weight, 
 you should reserve it until after some vic- 
 tory." The president assented to Mr. 
 Seward's view, and held the document in 
 reserve. It appeared to the president, 
 that Mr. Seward's opinion was of great 
 wisdiim and force. 
 
 Perhaps no account of this most memo- 
 rable event can be said to equal, in relia- 
 bility and graphic interest, that which is 
 furnished by Mr. F. B. Carpenter, in his 
 reminiscences of " Six Months at the 
 White House," while employed there in 
 
 ^ ■ 
 
 executing that unrivaled masterpiece of 
 American historical painting — the Procla- 
 mation of Emancipation — which, by uni- 
 versal consent, has placed Mr. Carpenter's 
 name second to none on the roll of eminent 
 modern artists. Enjoying, too, as he did, 
 the most intimate personal relations with 
 the author of that proclamation, the infor- 
 mation which he thus obtained from the 
 president's own lips, as to its origin, dis- 
 cussion, and final adoption, must forever 
 be the source from which, on this subject, 
 all historians must draw. 
 
 As already stated, the opinion of the 
 
 secretary of state in regard to the effect of 
 issuing such a proclamation at such a time, 
 impressed Mr. Lincoln very strongly. " It 
 was an aspect of the case that" — said 
 President Lincoln to Mr. Carpenter, — "in 
 all my thought upon the subject, I hail 
 entirely overlooked. The result was that 
 I put the draft of the proclamation aside, 
 as you do your sketch for a picture, wait- 
 ing for a victory. From time to time I 
 added or changed a line, touching it up 
 here and there, anxiously watching the 
 progress of events. Well, the next news 
 we had was of Pope's disaster at Bull Eun. 
 Things looked darker than ever. Finallj-, 
 came the week of the battle of Antietam. 
 I determined to wait no longer. The news 
 came, I think, on Wednesday, that the 
 advantage was on our side. I was then 
 staying at the Soldiers' Home (three 
 miles out of Washington). Here I fin- 
 ished writing the second draft of the pre- 
 liminary proclamation ; came up on Sat- 
 urday ; called the cabinet together to hear 
 it, and it was jmblished the following 
 Monday." At the final meeting of Sep- 
 tember 20th, another incident occurred in 
 connection with Secretary Seward. Th(» 
 president had written the important part 
 of the proclamation in these words : — 
 
 " That, on the first daj' of January, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-three, all persons held 
 as slaves within any State or designated 
 part of a State, the jjeople whereof shall 
 then be in rebellion against the United 
 States, shall be then, thenceforward, and 
 forever Fhee ; and the Executive Govern- 
 ment of the United States, including the 
 military and naval authority thereof, will 
 recor/uize the freedom of such persons, and 
 will do no act or acts to repress such per- 
 sons, or any of them, in any efforts they 
 may make for their actual freedom." 
 
 " When I finished reading this para- 
 graph," resumed Mr. Lincoln, "Mr. Sewara 
 stopped me, and said, ' I think, Mr. Presi- 
 dent, that you should insert after the word 
 " recognize," in that sentence, the words 
 " and maintain." ' I replied that I had 
 already considered the import of that ex- 
 
308 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEK. 
 
 pression in this connectiou, but I liad nut 
 introduced it, because it was not my way 
 to promise what I was not entirely sure 
 that I couUl perform, and I was not pre 
 pared to say that I thought we were 
 exactly able to 'maintain' this. But 
 Seward insisted that we ought to take this 
 ground, and the words finally went in. It 
 is a somewhat remarkable fact,'' he subse- 
 quently added, " that there were just one 
 hundred days between the dates of tlie two 
 proclamations issued upon the '22d of Sep- 
 tember and the 1st of January." 
 
 bany, N. Y., in 18G4 ; it is in the proper 
 handwriting of Mr. Lincoln, excepting two 
 interlineations in pencil, by Secretary 
 Seward, and the formal heading and end- 
 ing, which were written bj' the chief clerk 
 of the state department. The final j)roc- 
 lamation was signed on New Y'ear's T)ay, 
 1863. The president remarked to Mr. 
 Colfax, the same evening, that the signa- 
 ture appeared somewhat tremulous and 
 uneven. " Not." said he, " liecause of any 
 nncertainty or hesitation on my jiart ; but 
 it was just after the public reception, and 
 
 The original draft of the proclamation 
 was written upon one side of four half- 
 sheets of official foolscap. " He flung down 
 upon tlie table one day for me," continues 
 Mr. Carpenter, " several sheets of the same, 
 saying, '■ There, I believe, is some of the 
 very paper which was used — if nut, it was 
 at any rate just like it.' " The original draft 
 is dated September 22, 1862, and was ])re- 
 sented to the Army Eelief Bazaar, at Al- 
 
 tlirec hours' hand-shaking is not calculated 
 to imjjrove a man's chirography." Then 
 changing his tone, he added : " The south 
 had fair warning, that if they did not 
 return to their duty, I should strike at 
 this pillar of their strength. The promise 
 must now be kept, and I shall never recall 
 one word" 
 
 In answer to a question from Mr. Car- 
 penter, as to whether the policj' of eman- 
 
THE PROCLAilATlOA' OF E.MAXClPxVTION — 1863. 
 
 309 
 
 cipation was not opposed by some mem- 
 bers of the cabinet, the president replied; 
 "Nothing more than I have stated to you. 
 Mr. Bkiir thought we should lose the fall 
 elections, and opjjosed it on that ground 
 only." " I have understood,'' said Mr. 
 Carpenter, "that Secretary Smith was not 
 in favor of your action. Mr. Blair told me 
 that, when the meeting closed, he and the 
 secretary of the interior went away to- 
 gether, and that the latter said to him, 
 that if the president carried out that pol- 
 icy, he might count on losing Indiana, 
 sui-e ! " "He never said anything of the 
 kind to me," responded the president. 
 " And what is Mr. Blair's opinion now ? '' 
 I asked. " Oh," was the prompt reply, 
 "he proved right in regard to the fall elec- 
 tions, but he is satisfied that we have since 
 gained more than we lost." " I have been 
 told," I added, " that Judge Bates doubted 
 the constitutionality of the proclamation." 
 " He never expressed such an opinion in 
 my hearing," replied Mr. Lincoln; "no 
 member of the cabinet ever dissented from 
 the policy, in conversation with me." 
 
 It is well known that the statement 
 found very general currency and credence, 
 that, on the proclamation having been 
 read to the cabinet. Secretary Chase ob- 
 jected to the a[)j3earance of a document of 
 such momentous character without one 
 word beyond the dry phrases necessary to 
 convey its meaning, and finally proposed 
 that there should be added to the presi- 
 dent's draft, the sentence — 'And upon this 
 act, sincerely believed to be an act of jus- 
 tice, warranted by tlie constitution, I 
 invoke the considerate judgment of man- 
 kind, and the gracious favor of Almighty 
 God.' The facts of the case, however, as 
 learned by Mr. Carpenter were these : 
 While the measure was pending, Mr. Chase 
 submitted to the president a draft of a 
 proclamation embodying his views of the 
 subject, and which closed with the solemn 
 and appropriate words referred to. Mr. 
 Lincoln adopted the sentence intact, as 
 Mr. Chase wrote it, excepting that he 
 inserted after the word 'constitution,' the 
 woids 'upon military necessity;' and in 
 
 that form the document went to the world, 
 and to history. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter also makes an interesting 
 statement touching the religious aspect of 
 Mr. Lincoln's mind, concerning this mo- 
 mentous matter, as follows : Mr. Chase 
 told me that at the cabinet meeting, imme- 
 diately after the battle of Antietam, and 
 just prior to the September proclamation, 
 the president entered upon the business 
 before them, b}' saying that "the time 
 for the annunciation of the emiuicipation 
 policy could be no longer delayed. Public 
 sentiment," he thought, "would sustain it 
 — many of his warmest friends and sup- 
 porters demanded it — and he hud prow- 
 ised his God that he would do it!" 
 The last part of this was uttered in a low 
 tone, and appeared to be heard by no one 
 but Secretarj' Chase, who was sitting near 
 him. He asked the president if he had 
 correctly understood him. Mr. Lincoln 
 replied : " I made a solemn vow before 
 God, that if General Lee was driven back 
 from Pennsylvania, I would crown the 
 result by the declaration of freedom to the 
 slaves." In February, 1865, a few days 
 after the passage of the Constitutional 
 Amendment, Mr. Carpenter went to Wash- 
 ington, and was received by Mi-. Lincoln 
 with the kindness and familiarity which 
 had characterized their previous inter- 
 course. I said to him at this time, (says 
 Mr. Carpenter,) that I was very proud to 
 have been the artist to have first conceived 
 the design of painting a picture commem- 
 orative of the Act of Emancipation ; that 
 subsequent occurrences had only confirmed 
 my own first judgment of that act as the 
 most sublime moral event in our history. 
 " Yes," said he, — and never do I remem- 
 ber to have noticed in him more earnest- 
 ness of expression or manner, — "as affairs 
 have turned, it is the central act of my 
 administration, and the great event of the 
 nineteenth ceJltury.'' 
 
 The scope of this most important state 
 paper ever issued since the Declaration of 
 Independence, was, to give liberty' to more 
 than three millions of people, — a number 
 eoual to the whole population of the 
 
310 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO \YOKLD POWEK. 
 
 
THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION — l.S(i3. 
 
 311 
 
 United States when the revolutionary 
 struggle with Great Britain i-omnieneed, 
 and about four-fifths of the whole slave 
 population. The work of emancipation 
 througliout all the borders of the land was 
 completed by victories in the field, and the 
 adoption of the Constitutional Amendment, 
 Arti(.'le XIII., by which slavery was for- 
 ever and entirely swept from the Republic. 
 
 The reception of the proclamation by 
 the millions who were ranged on the side 
 of their country, praying and fighting for 
 the success of the union cau.se, was warm 
 and enthusiastic, the feeling being almost 
 universalh^ prevalent that the nation had 
 entered upon a new and auspicious era, 
 and that, under such a banner, heaven 
 would crown our armies with victory, and 
 give perpetuitj- to our republic among the 
 governments of the earth. Generally, the 
 great document was the theme of earnest 
 and eloquent discourses from the northern 
 pulpits, the current of the preachers' 
 thoughts showing itself in the various sub- 
 jects or titles vmder which the event was 
 discussed, such as ' The Conflict between 
 Despotism and Libertj-,' 'The duty of 
 uniting with our whole energies in execut- 
 ing the Emancipation Edict of the presi- 
 dent, to accomplish, by the blessing of 
 God, its beneficent results, without possi- 
 bility of failure,' 'The Jubilee of Free- 
 dom,' 'The Influence of Christianit3' on 
 the Abolition of Slavery,' — these, though 
 but a few among thousands elicited by the 
 proclamation, indicate the hearty appreci- 
 ation of President Lincoln's course in issu- 
 ing the decree. From countless pulpit.?, 
 too, the momentous document was simjjly 
 read, without comment. 
 
 Great public meetings of congratulation 
 and rejoicing were held in almost every 
 large town and city in the various north- 
 ern states. At the Cooper Institute, New 
 York, a grand jubilee came off, the colored 
 people of that city and of the surrounding 
 towns for many miles, gathering together 
 to do honor to so great a boon to their 
 race. The large hall was completely 
 packed, long before the hour at which the 
 proceedings were ai)pointed to take place, 
 
 and multitudes had to be turned away 
 from the feast of eloquence and music 
 which was there enjoyed for several hours. 
 
 Two days after the issue of the procla- 
 mation, a large body of people assembled 
 before the White House, in Washington, 
 with a band of music, and called for the 
 president. He appeared, and made an 
 address of thanks to them for their cour- 
 tesy-, in which, alluding to the proclama- 
 tion, he said, "What I did, I did after a 
 very full deliberation, and under a heavy 
 and solemn sense of responsibility. I can 
 only trust in God I have made no mis- 
 take." From the colored people of Balti- 
 more, Mr. Lincoln was the recipient of a 
 superb copy of the Bible, of the largest 
 size, and bound in violet-colored velvet. 
 The corners were bands of solid gold, and 
 the event carved upon a plate also of gold, 
 not less than one-fourth of an inch thick. 
 Upon the left-liand cdvcr, was a design 
 representing tlie president in a cotton- 
 field, knocking the shackles off the wrists 
 of a slave, who held one hand aloft as if in- 
 voking blessings upon the head of his ben- 
 efactor, — at whose feet was a scroll upon 
 which was written "Emancipation ; " upon 
 the other cover was a similar plate, bear- 
 ing the inscription : " To Abraham Lin- 
 coln, President of the United States, the 
 friend of Universal Freedom. From the 
 loyal colored people of Baltimore, as a 
 token of respect and gratitude. Baltimore, 
 July 4, 1864." 
 
 But the greatest interest necessarily 
 attaches to the recejrtion which such an 
 amazing document met with on the part 
 of those who were or had recently been 
 slaves. Although by the terms of the 
 proclamation, the cities of Norfolk and 
 Portsmouth, Va., were excluded from its 
 operation, the slaves fully believed that 
 ' Massa Lincoln ' had emancipated them all ; 
 with this view, thej' refused to work with- 
 out wages, and, their former masters ac- 
 ceding to this, virtual emancipation was 
 the result in that region. On New Year's 
 day, the slaves of Norfolk, Portsmouth, 
 and Gosport, with the African strangers 
 gathered there, to the number of some 
 
312 
 
 FKOJii COLOAY TO WUKLD i'OWEE. 
 
 thousands, turned out en, masse, and liy 
 processions, speeches, h_ymns and songs of 
 jubilation, and by otiier demonstrations, 
 celebrated wluit was ever afterward to be 
 their Fourth of July. The exultation of 
 the slaves was great, and many a notice- 
 able incident presented itself. "Massa," 
 said an old woman to a stranger near by, 
 "I have had twenty children. My Massa 
 and Missus sole 'em all off ; one of my 
 gals was sole to buy young Missus lier 
 piano. I used to stop my ears when I 
 heard her play on dat ar; I thought I 
 heard my chile a crying out dat it was 
 bought wid her blood. Uey was all sole 
 off, — I'se not got one left to Iniry me. 
 But I'se free ! and my ole heart is glad 
 agin. I'll go happy to my grave." In 
 one of the colored churches in Norfolk, the 
 preacher took for his text, " Stand fast, 
 therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ 
 has made you free," and with great inge- 
 nuity, and without irreverence, the 
 preacher showed how President Lincoln, 
 in emancipating them, had stood in Christ's 
 stead to them, and how it was now their 
 duty to stand fast, and fight for the liberty 
 which he, under God, had given them. 
 Singular enough, tliere rose from the 
 whole congregation a cry, as if with one 
 voice, "Amen ! glory be to God ! we'll 
 fight till de cows' tails drop off ! " 
 
 In the Department of the South, em- 
 bracing Port Royal, S. C, and other 
 islands, it was very difficult to convince 
 the colored people that they were free, and 
 t.liat the government, or Yankees, could lie 
 in earnest. Christmas v.'as to most of 
 them a sad day. General Saxton, there- 
 fore, who spared no effort to disabuse 
 their minds and inspire them with confi- 
 dence, issued his proclamation inviting the 
 people to assemble at the head-quarters of 
 the First South Carolina Volunteers, on 
 the first of January. Missionaries, min- 
 isters, superintendents and teachers, offi- 
 cers and privates, joined heartily in the 
 gathering. The word went out far and 
 near, but the people were suspicious. 
 Mischievous ones had told them it was a 
 trap to force them into the army; others 
 
 that they were to be collected on steam- 
 boats that would run them to Cuba ; oth- 
 ers that they were to be got away from 
 their homes and sent into exile. But, at 
 an early hour of the sublimely beautiful 
 day, the jjeople began to arrive at the 
 camping-ground, and, despite their fears, 
 thousands were there. The proceedings 
 opened with prayer and music, after which, 
 • Judge Brisbane, of Wisconsin, but a son 
 of South Carolina who, twenty-five years 
 previously, set all his slaves free, read the 
 emancipation act amidst the jubilant 
 shouts of the vast multitude ; and when, 
 succeeding this, the proclamation of Gen- 
 eral Sa>.ton was read, declaring that the 
 great act should be enforced, twelve deaf- 
 ening cheers burst forth from the thou- 
 sands of grateful and joyous hearts to 
 whom the good tidings of liberty and pro- 
 tection had thus come. An original ode 
 was tlien sung to the tune of ' Scots wha' 
 ha' wi' Wallace bled," and then came the 
 crowning feature of the day, the presenta- 
 tion by the Rev. Mr. French of a splendid 
 silk flag, with the embroidered inscription : 
 
 " To the First South Carolina Regiment. 
 The j'ear of jubilee has come." 
 
 It was a very elegant flag, a gift from 
 Doctor Cheever's church in the city of 
 New York. As it passed from the hands 
 (if ]\Ir. French, the negroes struck up the 
 national air, " M_y country, 'tis of thee," 
 with fine effect. Colonel Higginson, who 
 had received the flag, stood waiting his 
 time to reply, with the golden tassels in 
 his hands. After an eloquent speech by 
 the colonel, he called the sergeant of Com- 
 pany A, "Prince Rivers," and a corporal 
 of another company, named Sutton, both 
 black men, and, handing over the flag 
 which had been presented, called upon 
 both to speak, which they did with great 
 acceptance. Other exercises of rejoicing 
 took place, and then attention was paid to 
 the physical wants of the happy throng. 
 For this purpose, ten beeves had been 
 slaughtered and were roasting in their 
 pits ; and these, with several hundred gal- 
 lons of molasses and water, — a favorite 
 beverage of the negroes, — and a full sn]iply 
 
THE PR0CLA:\IATI0N of emancipation — 1863. 
 
 513 
 
 of hard bread, awaited the hungrj'^ expect- 
 ants. Thus ended tlie grand celeliration 
 of the emancipation of the slaves of South 
 Carolina. 
 
 The observance of the event in other 
 parts of the south, wherever the authority 
 of the union forces was present to permit 
 it, was so similar in its character and 
 enthusiasm to what has already been nar- 
 rated, that it is unnecessary here to extend 
 the descriptions. By the army and its 
 officers, with here and there an exception, 
 the proclamation was regarded as an act to 
 which things had long been tending, and 
 which, under the circumstances of peril in 
 which the union had so long been placed, 
 was inevitable. Of course, no such proc- 
 lamation, in time of war, could have any 
 weight in the section of country at which 
 it was aimed, excepting as the union mili- 
 tary successes made it effective. Those 
 successes in due time reached every por- 
 tion of the south, and the fetters of every 
 bondman on American soil were thus 
 broken. Congress subsequently passed an 
 amendment to the constitution, forever 
 prohibiting slavery in any portion of the 
 republic, and this amendment, on being 
 ratified by the requisite number of states, 
 became a part of the organic law of the 
 land. 
 
 The original draft of the emancipation 
 proclamation, in the president's handwrit- 
 ing, was presented by Mr. Lincoln to the 
 great Northwestern Sanitary Fair, held at 
 Chicago, in the autumn of 1SG3. The fol- 
 lowing letter accompanied the gift: 
 
 Executive Man.sion, 
 Washington, October 26, 1863. 
 
 To the Lftdies having in charge the 
 Northwestern Fair for the Sanitary Com- 
 mission, Chicago, Illinois: — 
 
 According to the request made in j-our 
 behalf, the original di-aft of the emancipa- 
 tion proclamation is herewith enclosed. 
 The formal words at the top, and the con- 
 clusion, except the signature, you perceive, 
 are not in my handwriting. They were 
 written at the State Department, by whom 
 I know not. The printed part was cut 
 
 from a copy of the preliminary proclama- 
 tion and pasted on, merely to save writing. 
 I had some desire to retain the paper; 
 but if it shall contribute to the relief or 
 comfort of the soldier, that will be better. 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 This chief treasure of that great fair was 
 purchased for three thousand dollars, by 
 the Hon. Thomas B. Bryan, for the Chi- 
 cago Soldiers' Home, of which he was 
 president. Lithographic copies of the doc- 
 ument were al.so sold for the benefit of the 
 same institution, and netted it thousands 
 of dollars. 
 
 One of the most important results of this 
 great measure, whether considered from a 
 moral, political, or social point of view, 
 was the Fifteenth Amendment to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, by which 
 all citizens were made equal before the 
 law. 
 
 It was on the twent_y-seventh of Febru- 
 ary, 1869, that congress passed a resolu- 
 tion in tlie following words: 
 
 A resolution proposing an amendment 
 to the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 Iii'soh'ed, By the Senate and House of 
 Representatives of the United States of 
 America, in Congress assembled, two- 
 thirds of both Houses concurring, that the 
 following article be proposed to the legis- 
 latures of the several States as an amend- 
 ment to the Constitution of the United 
 Stfoes, which, when ratified by three- 
 fourths of the said legislatures, shall be 
 valid as a part of the Constitution, namely : 
 — Article 16, Section 1. The right of 
 citizens of the United States to vote shall 
 not be denied or abridged by the United 
 States, or by any State, on account of race, 
 color, or previous condition of servitude. 
 Section 2. Congress shall havt power to 
 enforce this article by appropriate legisla- 
 tion. 
 
 In about one year's time from the pas- 
 sage of this resolution, proclamation was 
 made by the secretary of state, Hon. Ham- 
 ilton Fish, that the jjroposed amendment 
 had been ratified by the legislatures of the 
 
314 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 states of North Carolina, West Virginia, 
 Mussaclnisetts, Wisconsin, Maine, Louisi- 
 ana, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Arkansas, Connecticut, Plorida, 
 Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Hamp- 
 shire, Nevada, Vermont, Virginia, Ala- 
 bama, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, 
 Kansas, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Ne- 
 t)raska, and Texas, — twenty-nine in all, 
 and constituting three-fourths of the whole 
 number of states, and thus becoming valid, 
 fo all intents and purposes, as a part of 
 ti>e constitution of the United States. 
 
 Though not obligatory, as an executive 
 duty. President Grant communicated the 
 fact of the ratification to congress, in a 
 special message, on the thirtieth of March, 
 1870. "The measure" — said the presi- 
 dent — " whicli makes at once four millions 
 of the people voters who were heretofore 
 declared by the highest tribunal in the 
 land not citizens of the United States, nor 
 eligible to become so, with the assertion 
 that at the time of the Declaration of In- 
 
 dependence the opinion was fixed and uni- 
 versal in the civilized portion of the white 
 race, and regarded as an axiom in morals 
 as well as in politics, that black men had 
 no rights which white men were bound to 
 respect, is, indeed, a measure of grander 
 importance than any other one act of the 
 kind from the foundation of our free gov- 
 ernment to the present time. Institutions 
 like ours, in which all power is derived 
 directly from the people, must depend 
 mainly upon their intelligence, patriotism, 
 and industry. I call the attention, there- 
 fore, of the newly enfranchised race to the 
 importance of their striving, in every hon- 
 orable manner, to make themselves worthy 
 of their new privilege. To a race more 
 favored heretofore by our laws, I would 
 say, withhold no legal privilege of advance- 
 ment to the new citizens." So great an 
 event was not suffered to pass without pub- 
 lie demonstrations of joy commensurate 
 with its grand, beneficent, and elevating 
 scope, in almost all parts of the country. 
 
XXX ITT. 
 
 THREE DAYS' BATTLE BETWEEN THE CONCENTRATED 
 
 ARMIES OF GENERALS MEADE AND LEE, AT 
 
 GETTYSBURG, PA.— 1863. 
 
 Overwhelming Inyasion of Pennsylvania by tlie Confederate Forces. — The Union Army Drives Tliem 
 with Great Slaughter Across the Potomac. — Unsuccessful Attempt to Transfer the Seat of War from 
 Virginia to Northern Soil. — One of the Most Decisive and Important Federal Victories in the Great 
 American Civil Conflict. — Lee's Army Impatient to go North — Order of March at Last. — Consterna- 
 tion in the Border States. — Call for One Hundred Thousand More Men — Advance of Meade's Army. 
 — Face to Face with the Foe. — Engagement ISetween the Vanguards. — Terrific Artillery Contests. — 
 Movements and Counter Movements. — Severe Reverses on Both Sides. — Carnage at Cemetery 
 Hill. — Longstreet's J* urious Onset. — Most Destructive Cannonade. — Gettysburg a Vast Hospital. — 
 Crawford's Grand Charge — Standing by the Batteries! — Hand-to-Hand Conflict. — Following the 
 Battle Flag. — Deadly and Impetuous Fighting — Forty one Confederate Standards Taken. — Un- 
 bounded Joy of the Victors. — President Lincoln's Announcement. 
 
 " this day hath made 
 
 Much work tor tears Ml imillv a haplete mother. 
 Whobe sous lie scatteted on t)ie bleedinn ground." 
 
 _^_g?|| EE'S vast and powerful army liad long waited, with eager and restless 
 expectation, for the order of march from their chieftain which should 
 
 enable them to transfer the seat of civil war 
 from the familiar encampments and blood- 
 stained battle-fields of Virginia to the soil of 
 the North. The plans of the commanding 
 general were in due time arranged with this 
 end in view, and, about the middle of June, 
 18fi.3. he began to move his troops across the 
 Potomac, and soon took possession of Hagers- 
 town. Md., intending immediately to move 
 thence, in full force, direct to Pennsylvania. 
 Such a movement, on the part of the con- 
 federate army, so sudden and well executed, produced great consternation 
 throughout the north. President Lincoln issued a call for one hundred thousand addi- 
 tional men from the loyal states nearest the theater of military operations ; and Gen- 
 eral Meade, who had just succeeded General Hooker in command of the army of the 
 Potomac, lost no time in advancing his army northward, as far as Harrisburg, Pa., the 
 place ot destination of Lee's forces. The army of General Meade consisted of the fol- 
 lowing corps : First, under command of Gen 'r:il Reynolds, and subsequently under 
 
 MEADE'S HEAD-QUARTERS. 
 
316 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 General Doubleday ; second, under Gen- 
 eral Hancock ; third, under General Sick- 
 les ; fiftb, under General Sykes ; sixth, 
 under General Sedgwick ; eleventh, under 
 General Howard ; twelfth, under General 
 Slocum. Total number of men, sixty to 
 eighty thousand, with two hundred guns. 
 The army of General Lee consisted of 
 General Hill's corps. General Longstreet's, 
 and General Ewell's ; in all, about ninety 
 thousand men, and two hundred guns. 
 
 On the first of July, the advanced corps 
 of the union army, led by Reynolds and 
 Howard, engaged the confederate forces 
 near Gettysburg. General Reynolds ap- 
 proached the town from the south-east, the 
 confederates evacuating it on his arrival. 
 He passed through and out (says the 
 account of a writer in the Philadelphia 
 Age) on the west side toward Chambers- 
 burg. He marched several miles, was met 
 by the enemy in stronger force, and after 
 a slight contest was compelled to retire. 
 The confederates pushed him very hard, 
 and he came into the town on a run, his 
 troops going along every available road, 
 and rushing out on the east side, closely 
 pursued. One of his brigades with a con- 
 federate brigade on each side of it. All 
 three were abreast, running as hard as 
 they could, — the two outside ones pouring 
 a heavy fire into the center, out of which 
 men dropped, killed or wounded, at almost 
 every footstep. This federal briga<:le, in 
 running that terrible gauntlet, lost half its 
 men. General Reynolds was killed, and 
 Gettysburg was lost ; but the federal 
 troops succeeded in mounting the Ceme- 
 tery Hill, and the confederates ceased pur- 
 suing. At night, the latter encamped in 
 the town, and the union troops on the 
 hill. During Wednesday night and 
 Thursday morning, the two armies were 
 concentrating on the two ridges, which 
 were to be the next day's line of battle, 
 and by noon on Thursday each general 
 had a force of eighty thousand men at his 
 disposal. Then began the great artilleri/ 
 contest, the infantry on both sides crouch- 
 ing behind fences and trees and in rifle- 
 pits. The federal soldiers in the cemetery 
 
 laid many of the tombstones on the ground 
 to prevent injury, .so that many escajsed. 
 There was but little infantry fighting on 
 Thursday, and neither party made much im- 
 pression on the other. The confederates in 
 the other town erected barricades, and had 
 their sharpshooters posted in every availa- 
 ble spot, picking off federal soldiers on the 
 hills to the north of the cemetery. The 
 cannonade was fierce and incessant, and 
 shells from both sides flew over and into 
 the devoted town. Beyond killing and 
 wounding, breaking trees and shattering 
 houses, and making an awful noise, how- 
 ever, this cannonade had but little effect 
 on the result of the battle. Both sides 
 fought with great ferocity, and neither 
 could drive the other out of position. 
 
 On Thursday night, fearing that the 
 enemy had flank parties which might turn 
 his rear. General Meade had serious inten- 
 tions of a change in his plan of movements, 
 and he called a council of war. The ad- 
 vice of some of his generals, however, and 
 the capture of a courier with dispatches 
 from Richmond, from which it was learned 
 that the confederates could receive no 
 re-enforcements, made him decide not to 
 alter his programme. On Friday morning. 
 General Lee did not desire to make the 
 attack. He saw the superiority of the 
 federal position, and wished to entice them 
 out of it and down into the valley. With 
 this design in view, he withdrew all his 
 sharpshooters and infantry from Gettys- 
 burg. The deserted town lay there a very 
 tempting bait, but General Meade's men 
 hid quietly behind the fences and trees, 
 and the banks upon the hills. Thej' could 
 look down into the streets and see every- 
 thing that was in progress. They saw the 
 confederates march out and retire to the 
 seminary, but made no advance, and the 
 confederates gained nothing by the move- 
 ment. A parting salute of musketry, 
 however, from a knoll north of the ceme- 
 tery, accelerated the confederate retreat. 
 For some time the town had scarcely a 
 soldier in it. Scores of dead and wounded 
 men and horses, with broken wagons, 
 brick.s, stones, timber, torn clothing, and 
 
THE THEEE DAYS' BATTLE AT GETTYSBURG — 1863. 
 
 31 
 
 abaudoned accoutrements, lay there. The 
 frightened inhabitants peered out of their 
 windows to see what the armies were doing 
 to cause sucli a lull, and, almost afraid of 
 their own shadows, they hastened away 
 and crouched in corners and cellars at the 
 sound of every shot or shell. 
 
 Of the stirring scenes that so soon fol- 
 lowed, the same correspondent says : Gen- 
 eral Lee's evacuation, however, had no 
 effect. Meade was neither to be enticed 
 into the town nor into the valley. Enough 
 dead bodies lay in the fields and streets to 
 give him warning of what happened to 
 poor Reynolds two days before, and he 
 wisely determined to stay where he was 
 and let events shape themselves. The 
 confederates soon became impatient. They 
 could wait no longer ; and after much 
 solicitation from his subordinates, General 
 
 Lee permitted General Longstreet to send 
 his grand division on a charge upon the 
 cemetery. The federal soldiers were on 
 the alert. They were hid behind their 
 embankments, some kneeling, and some 
 flat on the ground. The confederate artil- 
 lery opened. It was as fierce a cannonade 
 as the one the day before, but instead of 
 being spread all over the line, every shell 
 was thrown at the cemetery. Experienced 
 soldiers soon divined what was coming, 
 and, in every portion of the federal line, 
 the cannon were directed toward the valley 
 in front of the cemetery. All were ready. 
 Amidst the furious fire from the confeder- 
 
 ate cannon scarcely a federal shot was 
 heard. The artillerists, implements in 
 hand, crouched in the little ditches dug 
 behind their cannon. With arms loaded, 
 the infantry awaited the charge. It soon 
 came. From the woods of short, scrubby 
 timber and the rocks near the seminary, 
 there rose a yell. It ivas a long, loud, 
 unremitting, hideous screech, from thou- 
 sands of voices. At the yell, the federal 
 cannon opened. Soon the confederate col- 
 umns emerged from the woods. Tliey 
 came on a rush down the hill, waving their 
 arms and still screeching. They climbed 
 the fences and rushed along, each one bent 
 upon getting first into the cemetery. The 
 cannon roared, and grape and canister and 
 spherical case fell thick among them. 
 Still they rushed onward, hundreds falling 
 out of the line. They came within musket- 
 shot of the federal troops. Then the small 
 arms began to rattle. The confederates 
 approached the outer line of works. They 
 were laboring up the hill. As thej^ 
 mounted the low bank in front of the rifle- 
 pits, the federal soldiers retreated out of 
 the ditch behind, turning and firing as 
 they went along. It was a hand-to-hand 
 conflict. Every man fought for himself 
 and by himself. Myriads of confederates 
 pushed forward down the hill, across into 
 the works, and up to the cemetery. All 
 were shouting, and screaming, and swear- 
 ing, clashing their arms and firing their 
 pieces. The confederate shells flew over 
 the field upon the federal artillerists on 
 the hills above. These, almost disregard- 
 ing the storm which raged around them, 
 directed all their fire upon the surging 
 columns of the enemy's charge. Every 
 available cannon on Cemetery Hill, and to 
 the right and left, threw its shells and 
 shot in the valley. The fight was terrible ; 
 but, despite every effort, the confederates 
 pushed up the hill and across the second 
 line of works. The fire became hotter. 
 The fight swayed back and forth. One 
 moment the confederates would beat the 
 railings of the cemetery ; then a rush 
 from the federal side would drive them 
 down into the valley. Then, with one of 
 
FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 their horrid screeches, they would fiercely 
 run up the hill again into the cemetery, 
 and have a fierce battle among the tomb- 
 stones. It was the hardest fight of the 
 day, and hundreds were slain there. Sev- 
 eral attempts were made to take the place, 
 but the}' were not successful, and late in 
 the afternoon, leaving dead and wounded 
 behind them, the confederate forces re- 
 treated upon their own hill and into their 
 woods again. They were not routed. 
 They can scarcely be said to have been 
 driven. They made an attack and were 
 repulsed, and, after renewed attempts, 
 feeling that it was useless to try any more, 
 they retreated. It was now General 
 Meade's turn to make an attack. Though 
 they had lost heavily they felt elated. 
 They saw hopes of a victory, aud were 
 ready to do almost anything to secure it. 
 Although there had been a battle in the 
 valley below Gettysburg, yet the town was 
 as quiet and as much deserted as ever. 
 Shells flew over it, and now and then one 
 of its houses would have a wall cracked or 
 a roof hiokeu, but neither force possessed 
 it. General Meade turned his attention 
 there. 
 
 The day was waning and the battle had 
 lulled, and Meade determined, if possible, 
 to drive the confederates out of the semin- 
 ary. This was done, according to the 
 writer already quoted, as follows : His 
 troops were placed in order, and charged 
 down the hill and into the town. They 
 ran along every street chasing a few of 
 the enemy still hid there, before them. 
 They came out upon the west side, along 
 the Emmettsburg and Chambersburg 
 roads, and ascended the enemy's hills 
 amidst a storm of grape and shell. At 
 the seminary the confederates were not 
 very strong. They had weakened that 
 ]iortion of the line to make their attack 
 further to tlie south u]ion the cemetery. 
 The}' had but few cannon ; and though 
 they resisted some time, the}' finally re- 
 treated from the edge of the hill and aban- 
 doned the seminary. The federal troops 
 did not chase them. The land back of the 
 .seminary was rather flat and cut up into 
 
 grain fields, with here and there a patch 
 of woods. The rifle-pits on the brow of 
 the hill proved an effectual aid to the fed- 
 eral soldiers in maintaining their ground ; 
 and as they lay behind the bank, with the 
 ditch in front, they could pick off the 
 stragglers from the retreating enemy. 
 There was but little serious fighting after 
 that, and night put an end to Friday's 
 struggle, the confederates having retired 
 abour a mile to the north, near the seniin- 
 ary, aud half a mile on the south, at a 
 little stream. During the night, the dead 
 in the streets of Gettysburg were buried, 
 and the wounded on all parts of the field 
 were collected and carried to the rear. On 
 the next morning. General Meade expected 
 another attack ; but, instead of making it, 
 the confederates retreated further, aban- 
 doning their entire line of battle, and the 
 pickets reported that they were intrench- 
 ing at the foot of South Mountain. The 
 federal army was terribly crippled and 
 sadly in need of rest, and no advance was 
 made, although pickets were thrown across 
 the enemy's old line of battle, and toward 
 the place where they were building in- 
 trenchments. All the day was spent in 
 feeding and resting the men. Gettysburg 
 was turned into a v.ast hospital, and im- 
 promptu ones were made at a dozen places 
 on the field. The rain came, too, and witli 
 it cool air and refreshment buth from wind 
 and rain. No one could tell what the con- 
 federates were doing ; every picket reported 
 that they were intrenching, and the night 
 of the fourth of July closed upon the field, 
 the federal army being in full possession. 
 
 The gallant charge made by the division 
 under Crawford's command, contributed 
 very materially to saving the left of the 
 federal army. The confederates had 
 massed their troops on Crawford's left. 
 The third corps, Sickles's, had been en- 
 gaging the enemy, but were overpow- 
 ered, and several guns had been lost. 
 Two divisions, of the fifth corps, Sykes's, 
 had been also engaged, but nothing could 
 withstand the confederate pressure, and 
 their troops gave way. Several thou- 
 sand arms had been lost. On came tlie 
 
THE THKEE DAYS' BATTLE AT GETTYSBUKG — 1863. 
 
 519 
 
320 
 
 FRo:\r f'OLoxv to world tower. 
 
 conferlei'ates in a dark mass, across the 
 wheat field, over the stoue wall, and across 
 the ravine. At this moment, while the 
 fugitives were rushing through Crawford's 
 ranks, he ordered a charge. He was 
 drawn up in line of battle, and in lohunn 
 of division. His men, with loud cheers, 
 rushed forward. Crawford himself rude to 
 the front, and, seizing the flag of the lead- 
 ing regiment, encouraged the men. They 
 dasliediu; volley after volley was poured 
 into the confederate ranks. The federals 
 got ahead, and drove the confederates back 
 across the ravine, over the stone wall, and 
 through the wheat field, retaking the 
 unionists" ground and an immense (juantity 
 of arms. The left of the federal position 
 was saved by this charge, enabling them 
 to remain masters of the field. 
 
 A fit illustration of the sanguinary char- 
 acter of the afternoon struggle already de- 
 scribed, is that given by Mr. Whitelaw Keid, 
 one of the gifted correspondents of the Cin- 
 cinnati Gazette. Mr. Reid says that some 
 Massachusetts batteries — Captain Bige- 
 low's, Captain Phill'ps's, and two or three 
 more under Captain McGilvr3^ of Maine 
 — were planted on the extreme left, ad- 
 vanced now well down to the Emmettsburg 
 road, with infantry in their front, — the 
 first division of Sickles's corps. A little 
 after five, a fierce confederate charge drove 
 back the infantry aiul menaced the batter- 
 ies. Orders were sent to Bigelow on the 
 extreme left, to //old his position at evenj 
 Itdzitrd short of sheer annihilation, till a 
 couple more batteries could be brought to 
 his support. Reserving his fire a little, 
 then with depressed guns opening with 
 double charges of grape and canister, he 
 smote and shattered, but could not break 
 the advancing line. His grape and canis- 
 ter became exhausted, and still, closing 
 grandly up over their slain, on they rushed. 
 He fell back on spherical case, and poured 
 this in at the shortest range. On, still 
 onward, came the artillery-defying line, 
 and still he held his position. They got 
 within six paces of the guns — he fired 
 again. Once more, and he blew devoted 
 soldiers from their very muzzles. And, 
 
 still mindful of that solemn order, he held 
 his place; they spring upon his carriages, 
 and shoot his horses ! And then, his 
 Yankee artillerists still about him, he 
 seized the guns by hand, and from the 
 very front of that line dragged two of them 
 off. The caissons were farther back — five 
 out of the six are saved. That single com- 
 pany, in that half hour's fight, lost thirty- 
 three of its men, including every sergeant 
 it had, and the captain himself was 
 wounded. Yet it was the first time it was 
 ever under fire. So tliey fought along 
 that fiery line ! The confederates now 
 [>oured u]ioii Phillips's battery, and it, too, 
 was forced to drag off the pieces by hand 
 when the horses were shot down. From a 
 new position, it opened again ; and at last 
 the two re-enforcing batteries came up on 
 the gallop. An enfilading fire swept the 
 confederate line ; Sickles's gallant infantry 
 charged, the confederate line swept back 
 on a refluent tide — the unionists regained 
 their lost ground, and every gun they had 
 just lost in this splendid fight. 
 
 Mr. Reid, as an eye witness, character- 
 izes the sanguinary struggle at four o'clock 
 as tlie (jvcat, di'sju'ratr, and final cliarye. 
 The confederates seemed to have gathered 
 up all their strength and desjjeration for 
 one fierce, convulsive effort, that should 
 sweep over and wash out all resistance. 
 They swept up as before ; the flower of 
 their army to the front — victorj' staked 
 upon the issue. In some places, they lit- 
 erally lifted up and pushed back the imion 
 lines ; but, that terrible ' position ' of the 
 federals I — wherever they entered it, enfi- 
 lading fires from half a score of crests 
 swept away their columns like merest 
 chaff. Broken and hurled back, they 
 easily became prisoners ; and on the center 
 and left, the last half hour brought more 
 prisoners than all the rest. So it was 
 along the whole line ; but it was on the 
 second corps that the flower of the confed- 
 erate army was concentrated ; it was there 
 that the heaviest shock beat upon, and 
 shook, and even sometimes crumbled, the 
 federal line. The federals had some shal- 
 low rifle-pits, with ban-icades of rails from 
 
TliE THREE DAYS' BATTLE AT GETTYSBURG — 1S(J3 
 
 r.2i 
 
 the fences. The confederate line, stretch- 
 ing away miles to the left, in magnificent 
 array, but strongest here, — Pickett's splen- 
 did division of Longstreet's corps in front, 
 the best of A. P. Hill's veterans in support 
 — came steadily, and as it seemed resist- 
 lessly, sweeping up. ■ The federal skir- 
 mishers retired slowly from the Emmetts- 
 burg road, holding their ground tenaciously 
 to the last. The confederates reserved 
 their lire till the}' reached this same Em- 
 mettsbiirg road, then opened with a ter- 
 rific crash. From a hundred iron throats, 
 meantime, their artillery had been thun- 
 dering on the union barricades. Hancock 
 was wounded ; Gibbon succeeded to the 
 command — approved soldier, and read}- for 
 
 mere machine strength of their combined 
 action — swept the confederates on. The 
 federal thin line could fight, but it had not 
 weight enough to oppose to this momen- 
 tum. It was pushed behind the guns. 
 Eight on came the confederates. They 
 were upon the guns — were bayoneting the 
 gunners — were waving their flags above 
 the federal pieces. But they had pene- 
 trated to the fatal point. A storm of 
 grape and canister tore its way from man 
 to man, and marked its track with corpses 
 straight down their line ! They had ex- 
 posed themselves to the enfilading fire of 
 the guns on the western slope of Cemetery 
 Hill; that exposure sealed their fate. The 
 line reeled back — disjointed already — in 
 
 ^S^^Jv^->^^^^-o ^^^-<^~^JOc^aX^yvJC^ 
 
 the crisis. As the tempest of fire ap- 
 proached its height, he walked along the 
 line, and renewed his orders to the men to 
 reserve their fire. The confederates — 
 three lines deep — came steadily up. They 
 were in point-blank range. At last the 
 order came/ From thrice six thousand 
 guns, there came a sheet of smoky flame, 
 a crash, a rush of leaden death. The line 
 literally melted away ; but there came the 
 second, resistless still. It had been the 
 unionists' supreme effort — on the instant, 
 they were not equal to another. Up to 
 the rifle-pits, across them, over the barri- 
 cades — the momentum of their charge, the 
 21 
 
 an instant in fragments. The union 
 troops were just behind the guns. They 
 leaped forward upon the disordered mass ; 
 but there was little need for fighting now. 
 A regiment threw down its arms, and, 
 with colors at its head, rushed over and 
 surrendered. All along the field, smaller 
 detachments did the same. Webb's bri- 
 gade brought in eight hundred ; Gibbon's 
 old division took fifteen stand of colors. 
 Over the fields, the escaped fragments of 
 the charging line fell back — the battle 
 there was over. A single brigade, Har- 
 row's, came out with fifty-four less ofiicers, 
 and seven hundred and ninety-three less 
 
FROM COLUXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 men (the Seventli Michigan regiment was 
 of this hri gillie,) th;ui it took in. 80 the 
 whole corps fought — so too they fought 
 farther down the line. It was fruitless 
 sacrifice. They gathered up their liroken 
 fragments, formed their lines, and slowly 
 marched away. It was not a rout, it was 
 a bitter, crushing defeat. 
 
 Among the individual instances of brav- 
 ery narrated of this terrible combat be- 
 tween the two great armies, that of Henry 
 Shaler, of Indianapolis, will bear repeti- 
 tion, for he seems to have more than 
 equaled the self-told mythiral performance 
 of the Irishman who 'surrounded' a half- 
 dizen of the enemy and bagged them 
 plump. Shaler took more prisoners in 
 this battle than any other man in the 
 army — in all, twenty-five men, including 
 one lieutenant and eighteen privates at 
 one swoop. He took them liy strategy of 
 the most undoubted kind; that is, he sur- 
 rounded them, and they had to give up. 
 On the morning of the fourth, he went out 
 with his 'poncho" over Jiis shoulders, so 
 that the confederates couldn't see liis coat, 
 and thus they thought he was one of their 
 own men. He went up and told them to 
 lay down their arms and come and help 
 carry some wounded off the field ; they 
 did so. When he got them away from 
 their arms, he rode uj) to the lieutenant 
 and told him to give up his swoi-d. The 
 lieutenant refused at first, but Shaler drew 
 his revolver, and the lieutenant yielded 
 without a shot, and the whole squad were 
 then escorted by their gallant captor into 
 camjJ. 
 
 The heroism of General Kil[)atrick — 
 like that of Couch, Geary, Buford, Birnej', 
 Newton, Gregg, Mcintosh, Neil, and oth- 
 ers — was conspicuous from first to last. 
 On the thirteenth, some ten days after the 
 i-.lose of the conflict. General Kilpatrick 
 was anxious to make an advance, but 
 could not obtain orders. Some of the 
 Pennsylvania militia having been placed 
 at his disposal, he thought he would try 
 one regiment under fire. The Philadel- 
 phia Blues were selected, and, accompa- 
 nied liv the First Vermont cavalry, a dem- 
 
 I onstration was made on the right — the 
 confederates then occupying a fortified 
 position. Tlie militia were now dejiloyed, 
 the general desiring them to move to the 
 crest of a knoll, where the bullets were 
 flying pretty livel}'. There was some hes- 
 itancy at first, whereupon a battle-flag pre- 
 sented to the division by the ladies of 
 Boonsboro' was sent to the front. Ser- 
 geant Jud}-, bearer of the flag, cried out — 
 
 " This is General KUpatrick's hattle- 
 fliKj ; follow it!" 
 
 The militia obeyed the summons 
 promptly, and fell some distance in front 
 of the line, and it was su])posed for some 
 time that the enemj' had captured the flag; 
 but at night, when Judy was brought in 
 on a litter, he proudly waved the battle- 
 flag. Tile novelty of being thus under 
 fire for the first time was keenly felt by 
 the n)ilitia. About the first man touched 
 had the top of his head grazed just close 
 enough to draw blood. He halted — threw 
 down his musket — truly an astonished 
 man ! One or two officers and a dozen or 
 more privates ran hurriedly to see what 
 the matter was. Running both hands over 
 his pate, and seeing blood, he exclaimed, 
 " .\ ball ! a ball ! " — while the others stood 
 on agape with astonishment, until the 
 shrill voice of the general sounded in their 
 eai-s ; " Move on there ! " 
 
 On the opening movement being made 
 to baffle Lee's march toward Pennsylva- 
 nia, the spirit which animated those who 
 had gone forth in defense of the American 
 Union — "man's last, best hope, of free 
 government," — was conspicuously mani- 
 fest. At a distance of fifteen miles from 
 Gettysburg, where the armies were mass- 
 ing, were first caught the murmurs of the 
 ojiening battle, and from that time the 
 scene was all enthusiasm among the weary, 
 foot-sore federals, who counted as nothing 
 all the pains of a march of nearly two hun- 
 dred miles, now that they were within 
 striking distance of the foe. Most of the 
 way, the ambulance train had been crowded 
 with both officers and men, weary, worn, 
 and haggard; but the cannon's rattle, as 
 it became more and more distinct, changed 
 
THE TIIKEE DAYS' BATTLE AT GETTYSBL'KU — 1SG:J. 
 
 323 
 
 them in a twinkling into new creatures. 
 The New Jersey brigade, in Sedgwick's 
 corps, was of tliis body. At about three 
 o'clock on the afternoon of July 3d, the 
 head of the column arrived on the battle- 
 ground. As it came to a halt, a poor fel- 
 
 SOLDIEK8' MOX0HE.NT AT GETTYSBURG. 
 
 low, who looked the very image of death, 
 hobbled out of the ambulance in which he 
 had been lying, and, shouldering his 
 musket, was just starting forward, when 
 the surgeon stopped him with — 
 " Where are you going, sir ? " 
 •' To the front, doctor," — and the brave 
 fellow tried hard to stand firm and speak 
 boldly as he saluted the surgeon. 
 
 "To +lie front! What ! a man in jiour 
 condition ? Why, sir, you can't march 
 
 half a mile ; you haven't the strength to 
 carry yourself, let alone your knapsack, 
 musket, and equipments. You must be 
 crazy, surely." 
 
 " But, doctor, my division are in the 
 fight," (liere he grasped the wheel of an 
 ambulance to sufiport himself,) "and I have 
 a younger brother in my company. I 
 must go." 
 
 " But I am your surgeon, and I forbid 
 you. You have every symptom of ty- 
 phoid fever; a little over-exertion will kill 
 you." 
 
 "Well, doctor, if I miitft die, I would 
 rather die in the field, than in an ambu- 
 lance." 
 
 The doctor saw it was useless to debate 
 the point, and the soldier went as he de- 
 sired. But on the evening of the next 
 da}' he was buried where he fell — for fall 
 he did — his right arm blown off at the 
 elbow, and his forehead pierced by a minie 
 ball. 
 
 The impetuous bravery with which the 
 confederate troops fought is illustrated by 
 the fact that every brigadier in Pickett's di- 
 vision was killed or wounded ; out of twen- 
 ty-four regimental officers, only two escaped 
 unhurt; the colonels of five Virginia reg- 
 iments were killed; the ninth Virginia 
 went in with two hundred and fifty men, 
 and came out with only thirty-eight. 
 These data show that the total casualties 
 of the confederate army, though never 
 officiallj' published, must have been im- 
 mense — greater, probaldy, than those of 
 the victorious. The latter, as given by 
 General Meade, were as follows : two 
 thousand and eight hundred and thirty- 
 four killed; thirteen thousand and seven 
 hundred and nine wounded ; six thou- 
 sand and six hundred and forty-three 
 missing. The union army took forty- 
 one standards, nearly twentj'-five thou- 
 sand small arms, and about fourteen 
 thousand i)risoners. 
 
 So great was tlie joy throughout the 
 loyal states, as the tidings of victory 
 flashed across the wires, that, on the fore- 
 noon of July 4th, President Lincoln oiB- 
 cially telegrapjied as follows : 
 
324 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOliLD TOWER. 
 
 " The President announces to the coun- 
 try tliat news from the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, up to 10 p. M. of the 3d, is such as to 
 cover that army with tlie higliest honor; 
 to promise a great success to the cause of 
 the Union, and to claim the condolence 
 
 of all for the many gallant fallen ; and 
 that for this he especially desires that 
 on this day, He, whose will, not ours, 
 should ever be done, be everywhere re- 
 membered and reverenced with profound- 
 8st gratitude." 
 
XXXIV. 
 
 GRAND MARCH OF THE UNION ARMY, UNDER GEN. 
 SHERMAN, THROUGH THE SOUTH.— 1804. 
 
 Generals and Armies Baffled, and States and Cities Conquered, Without a Serious Disaster to the Vic- 
 tors — Display of Military Genius Unsurpassed in Any Age or Country. — The Southern Confederacy 
 Virtually Crushed Witliin the Coils of this Wide-Sweeping, Bold, and Resistless Movement. — The 
 Great Closing Act in the Campaign. — Sherman's Qualities as a Commander — His Great Military Suc- 
 cess. — His Own Story. — A Brilliant Campaign I'lanned. — Brave and Confident Troops. — .\tlanta, 
 Ga., the First Great Prize. — Destroys that City : Starts tor the Coast — Kilpatrick Leads the Cav- 
 alry. — Thomas Defends the Border States. — Successful Feints Made by Slierman. — Subsists His 
 Men on the Enemy's Country. — Immense Sweep ot the Onward Columns. — Savannah's Doom 
 Sealed — Fall of Fort .McAllister. — Christmas Gift to the President. — Advance Into South Carolina. — 
 The Stars and Stripes in Her Capital. — All Opposition Powerless. — North Carolina's Turn Next. — 
 Swamps, Hills, Quagmires, .Storms, Floods — Battles Fought: Onward to Kaleigh. — Johnston's 
 Whole Army Bagged. — Sherman Described Personally. 
 
 " I h«R to present you. as a Cbrifitmae pift. the city of Savannfth. with one hundred and fitly heavy guna, plenty of ammunition, and 
 fliKrat twenty-five thousand bajea of cotton."— General Sherman to President Lincoln. 
 
 
 .--v^Hv 
 
 ff" ";^^^^ W.ALIANT, resolute and hopeful as a soldier, Gen- 
 ^1^ eial Slieinian added to these qualities the wisdom 
 
 and genius of Wasliiiigton 
 himself as a commander. His 
 March to the Sea has been 
 universally pronounced, both 
 in America and Europe, one 
 of the most brilliant military 
 results — especially when con- 
 sidered in connection with the 
 slight cost of life at which it 
 was achieved — presented in 
 the long and varied histor}' of 
 war. It was, in a word, one of the greatest and most important of modern campaigns, 
 conducted with complete success, without any considerable battle. And 3'et it was his 
 own native sagacity, more than anything else, which enabled General Sherman to 
 plan and execute the vast undertakings which have crowned his name with imperisha- 
 ble honor. " I have oftentimes," said General Sherman, in an address at West Point, 
 "been asked by friends familiar with Xenophon, Hume, and Joinini, in which of these 
 books I had learned the secret of leading armies on long and difficult marches, and they 
 seemed surprised when I answered that I was not aware that I had been influenced by 
 
 
 HEAD-QU.\RTEnS, ATLANTA, GA. 
 
326 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 any of them. I told them what I now tell 
 yuu, in all simplicity and truth, that, wlien 
 I was a J'oiing lieutenant of ai'tillery, I liiul 
 often hunted deer in the swamps of the 
 Edisto, the Cooper, and the Santee, and had 
 seen with my own eyes that they could be 
 passed with wagons ; that in the spring of 
 1844, I had ridden ou horseback from 
 Marietta, Ga., to the valley of the Tennes- 
 see, and back to Augusta, passing in my 
 course over the very fields of Altoona, of 
 Kenesaw, and Atlanta, where afterward it 
 fell to my share to command armies and to 
 utilize the knowledge thus casually gained. 
 Again, in 1849 and 1850, I was in Cali- 
 fornia, and saw arrive across that wild belt 
 of two thousand miles of uninhabitable 
 country the caravans of emigrants, coni- 
 ])ose(l of men, women, and children, who 
 reached thoir destination in health and 
 strength ; and when we used to start on a 
 journey of a thou.sand miles, with a single 
 blanket as covering, and a coil of dried 
 meat and a sack of parched corn meal as 
 food ; — with this knowledge fairly acquired 
 in actual experience, was there any need 
 for me to look back to Alexander the 
 Great, to Marlborough, for examples ? " 
 Hut to all this kind of knowledge — useful, 
 doubtless, in the highest degree. General 
 Sherman added the possession of the most 
 commanding military genius. 
 
 It was early in May, 1864, that General 
 Siierman began the brilliant series of his 
 ■campaigns. The first objective point was 
 Atlanta. To reach that city, his armies 
 had to pass from the northern limit to the 
 center of the great state of Georgia, forcing 
 their way through mountain defiles and 
 across great rivers, overcoming or turning 
 formidably intrenched positions defended 
 by a strong, well-appointed veteran arm}', 
 commanded by an alert, cautious, and skill- 
 ful general. The campaign opened on the 
 sixth of May, and on the second of Septem- 
 ber the national forces entered Atlanta. 
 
 For some time previously to the opening 
 movement, says General Sherman's report, 
 the union armies were lying in garrison 
 seemingly quiet, from Knoxville to Hunts- 
 ville, and the enemy lay behind his rocky- 
 
 faced barrier at Dalton, proud, defiant, 
 and exulting. He bad had time since 
 Christmas to recover from his discomfiture 
 at Mission Ridge, witli his ranks filled, 
 and a new commander-in-chief, and second 
 to none in the confederacy in reputation 
 for skill, sagacity, and extreme popularity. 
 All at once, the union armies assumed life 
 and action, and apjieared beforo Dalton. 
 Threatening Rocky Face, they threw 
 themselves upon Resaca, the enemy only 
 escaping by the rapidity of their retreat, 
 aided by the numerous roads with which 
 they only were familiar. Again the con- 
 federate army took 2>ost in Altoona, but 
 found no rest, for, by a circuit towards 
 Dallas and subse(]uent movement to Ac- 
 worth, the iniiou army gained the Al- 
 toona Pass. Then followed the eventful 
 battles about Kenesaw, and the escape of 
 the confederates across the Chattahoochee 
 river. The crossing of the Chattahoochee 
 and breaking of the Augusta road was 
 handsomely executed by Sherman's army. 
 It was at this stage of proceedings, that the 
 confederate authorities became dissatisfied 
 with Johnston as commander, and selected 
 one more bold and ra.sh, — General Hood. 
 New tactics were adopted by the latter. 
 He first boldlj' and rapidly, on the twen- 
 tieth of July, fell ou the union right, at 
 Peach Tree creek, and lost. Again, ou 
 the 22d, he struck the extreme union left, 
 and was severely punished ; and finally, 
 again on the 28th, he unsuccessfully re- 
 peated the attenijit on the union right. 
 Sherman slowly and gradually drew his 
 lines about Atlanta, feeling for the rail- 
 road which supplied the confederate army 
 and made Atlanta a place of importance. 
 The enemj' met these efforts patiently and 
 skillfully, but at last Hood made the mis- 
 take which Sherman had waited for so 
 long, sending his cavalry to the union 
 rear, far beyond the reach of recall. In- 
 stantly Sherman's cavalry was on Hood's 
 only remaining road, with the principal 
 army following quietly, aud Atlanta fell 
 into Sherman's possession, as the fruit of 
 well-concerted measures, backed by a brave 
 and confident army. 
 
SHERMAN'S MAECH THEOUGH THE SOUTH ~18(>4. 
 
 327 
 
 Hood's plan was, to force General Sher- 
 man from Georgia, by cutting off bis com- 
 munications, and invading Tennessee and 
 Kentucky. Pursuant to tbis plan, Hood, 
 by a rapid marcb, gained and broke up, at 
 Big Shanty, the railroad that supplied 
 Sherman's army, advanced to Dalton, and 
 thence moved toward Tennessee. Hood 
 was followed from Atlanta by Sherman far 
 enough north to cover his own purpose and 
 assure him against Hood's interrupting 
 the march to the sea-coast which he had in 
 contemplation. The ta.sk of encountering 
 Hood's formidable movements, and defend- 
 ing the border states from invasion, was 
 intrusted to General Thomas, who was 
 ably assisted by his second in command. 
 General Schofield. 
 
 It appears from Major Nichols's graphic 
 diary of the events connected with this 
 great march — the narrative of his excel- 
 lent observations as one of Sherman's staff 
 ofBcer.s — that the general, from his camp 
 at Gaylesville, while awaiting the develop- 
 ment of Hood's design, sketched out the 
 march to Goldsboro'. Seated in front of 
 his tent, towards the end of October, 1S64, 
 with his generals around him, and the 
 map of the states spread on his knees 
 Sherman ran his finger over the map, and 
 indicated his course to Savannah. Then, 
 after pondering on the map of South Car- 
 olina, his finger rested on Columbia, and 
 looking up, he said — 
 
 " Howard, I believe we can go there, 
 without any serious difficulty. If we can 
 cross the Salkahatchie, we can capture 
 Columbia.'' 
 
 After giving expression to this strik- 
 ing strategic insight. General Sherman 
 passed his finger quickly over rivers, 
 swamps, and cities, to Goldsboro', N. C, 
 saying— 
 
 " Tliat point is a few days' march 
 through a rich country. When we reach 
 that important railway junction— when I 
 once plant this army at Goldsboro', — Lee 
 must leave Virginia, or he will be defeated 
 beyond hope of recovery. We can make 
 this march, for General Grant assures me 
 that Lee cannot get away from Richmond 
 
 I without his knowledge, nor without seri- 
 ous loss to his army." 
 
 This prediction, showing at once the 
 most remarkable forecast and most com- 
 prehensive generalship, was at once put in 
 course of fulfillment. 
 
 Atlanta having served its purpose in 
 General Sherman's plans — a resting-place 
 on his way to Savannah, to Columbia, and 
 to Richmond if need be, — it was given up 
 to the flames, that its workshops might 
 never again be employed in casting shot 
 and shell for the confederacy. The rail- 
 ways were torn up, the jjeople turned 
 away, and torches were applied to the 
 stores and magazines. A space of two 
 hundred acres was soon on fire, and its 
 progress watched until the conflagration 
 had spread beyond the power of man to 
 arrest its destructive work, and then tlip 
 
 union forces marched out of the unfortu- 
 nate city with solemn tread, their band 
 playing the wild anthem, " John Brown's 
 soul goes marching on." The army num- 
 bered about sixty-five thousand men. 
 
 As the news of Sherman's great move- 
 ment became known at the north, intense 
 interest was felt in the result, and it may 
 well be supposed that not a few were filled 
 with the greatest apprehensions, in view of 
 the dangers to be encountered. That the 
 president, however, did not share in any 
 such feeling of alarm in regard to the 
 i issue, is shown by the following conversa- 
 
328 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD ROAVER. 
 
 tion on the subject, between him and a 
 friend. 
 
 Said Mr. Lincoln's friend: "Mr. Lin- 
 coln, as Sherman's army advances, the 
 rebel forces necessarily concentrate and 
 increase in number. Before long, Sher- 
 man will drive the columns of Johnston, 
 Bragg, Hoke, and others, within a few 
 days' march of Lee's main army. May 
 not Lee suddenly march south with the 
 hulk of his army, form a junction with 
 Johnston's troops, and before Grant can 
 follow any considerable distance, strike 
 Sherman's column with superior force, 
 break his lines, defeat his army, and drive 
 his broken fragments back to the coast, 
 and with liis whole army give battle to 
 Grant, and j^erJiajys defeat him ? " 
 
 President Lincoln instantly replied : 
 " And 2'ei'haps not! Napoleon tried the 
 same game on the British and Prussians, 
 in 1815. He concentrated his forces and 
 fell suddenly on Blucher, and won an inde- 
 cisive victory. He then whirled round and 
 attacked the British, and met his \Vater- 
 loo. Bonaparte was hardlij inferior to 
 Lee in military talents or experience. 
 But are you sure that Lee's forces, united 
 with Johnston's, could beat Sherman's 
 army? Could he gain his Ligny, before 
 meeting with his Waterloo when he at- 
 tacks Grant." I tell you, there is a heap 
 of fight in one hundred thousand western 
 veterans. They are a good deal like old 
 Zach. Taylor at Bueua Vista, — fhcij don't 
 knoiv wlien the// are whipped ! " 
 
 In turning his back upon Atlanta, Gen- 
 eral Sherman divided his army for the 
 great march into two wings, General 
 Howard commanding the right, and Gen- 
 eral Slocum the left ; General Kilpatrick 
 handled the cavalry under Sherman's 
 orders. The various corps composing the 
 wings were led, respectively, by Generals 
 Osterhaus, Blair, Davis, and Williams ; 
 and Sherman for a time accompanied one 
 wing and then the other. 
 
 On the 13th of November, Sherman's 
 communications with the north ceased. 
 Spreading itself out like a fan, the extreme 
 left wing swept down the Augusta road. 
 
 and the extreme right marched towards 
 Macon, the space between being covered 
 by two corps, one from each wing, and the 
 cavalry riding well on the flanks. Mil- 
 ledgeville, the capital of Georgia, on the 
 Oconee, was the first point of concentra- 
 tion for the left wing. The right wing, 
 preceded and flanked by cavalry, went 
 down the roads towards Macon, sweeping 
 away the small opposing forces mustered 
 by Cobb and Wheeler, and advancing as 
 far as Griffin. The left wing went by 
 Covington to Madison, and there, sending 
 the cavalry towards Augusta, turned south- 
 ward by way of Eatonton to Milledgeville. 
 The right, after maneuvering in the direc- 
 tion of Macon, crossed the Ocmulgee above 
 it, and, passing by Clinton, descended 
 upon Gordon, whence a branch line led to 
 Milledgeville. 
 
 The movement of troops on so many 
 points had confounded the confederates. 
 The authorities of Augusta believed their 
 town was the object of the march ; those 
 of Macon were certain that it was against 
 them the enemy was coming. In reality, 
 Sherman had turned toward Macon, and 
 had cut off at least the infantry force 
 there, and rendered it useless. They 
 showed fight, however, attacking a small 
 union force, pushed up to Griswoldville to 
 protect the confederates who were destroj'- 
 ing the railroad, and were punished se- 
 verely for their courage. 
 
 In a week after quitting Atlanta, the 
 left wing was united at Milledgeville and 
 the right at Gordon, while the cavalry 
 were scourina- the flanks. In the mean- 
 time. General Wheeler had ridden round 
 the right flank, and crossing the Oconee, 
 had turned to defend the passage of the 
 suanipv stream. But his resistance was 
 vain. Slocum moved out from Milledgeville 
 ujwn Sandersville, and Howard marched 
 on both sides of the Savannah railway, 
 thrusting Wheeler away from the bridge 
 over the Oconee, and crossing himself 
 without the loss of a man. The left wing 
 was now converging on Louisville, while 
 the right struck across the country, by 
 Swainsboro', upon Milieu. It was now 
 
SIIERMAX'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH — 1864. 
 
 329 
 
 l'^^.^ir"i- 
 
 
330 
 
 FKOil f'OLOXY TO WOrj.D POWER. 
 
 plain that the confederates had no troops 
 strong enough to interrupt the march, as 
 all their efforts had failed to arrest the 
 forward movement of the columns. 
 
 In this way, covering a wide front, now 
 filing through swamps, now spreading out 
 on a broad front under the tufted pines, 
 now halting to tear up, twist, and burn 
 rails and sleepers, now collecting cattle and 
 forage, and everj'where welcomed and fol- 
 lowed by the negroes, the army pressed 
 forward to its goal. The left flankers came 
 down through Sparta, the solid body of the 
 left wing marc-lied through Davisboro", the 
 right moved steadily forward ujion Millen, 
 while Kilpatrick was in the front threat- 
 ening Waynesboro', and destroying the 
 bridges on the way to Augusta. At length 
 the whole force, save one corps, crossed 
 the Ogeechee and united at Millen. 
 
 Here, again, Sherman kept his oppo- 
 nents in doubt respecting the course he 
 would pursue. At Millen he threatened 
 both Augusta and Savannah, and he made 
 such strong demonstrations on the Au- 
 gusta road, that he led the confederates to 
 fear for Augusta, and so prevented them 
 from concentrating their troops at Savan- 
 nah. Kilpatrick, supported by two infan- 
 try brigades, very effectually disposed of 
 Wheeler. The army halted two days, and, 
 refreshed and united, began on the second 
 of December, its final march upon Savan- 
 nah. The whole force, save one corps, 
 went steadily down the strip of land be- 
 tween the Savannah and the Ogeechee, 
 while the one corps on the right bank, 
 marching in two columns, a day in ad- 
 vance of the main bodj', effectually pre- 
 vented the confederates from making any 
 stand on the main road by constantly 
 flanking every position, — a sound precau- 
 tion, though not needed. 
 
 The correspondents who accompanied 
 this grand army on its triumphant march, 
 have furnished abundant narrative con- 
 cerning that brilliant consummation of its 
 toils, the capture of Savaiinaii. It was on 
 the evening of December 12th, says one of 
 these, that General Howard relieved 
 Kazan's second division of the fifteenth 
 
 corps, by a part of the Seventeenth, and 
 threw it across the Little Ogeechee, 
 toward the Great Ogeechee, with the 
 view of crossing it to Ossabaw Island, 
 and reducing Fort McAllister, which held 
 the river and the citj'. The confederates 
 had destroyed King's bridge, across the 
 Great Ogeechee, and this had to be re- 
 paired ; this was done — one thousand feet 
 of bridging — during the night, and, on the 
 morning of the 13th, Hazen crossed and 
 moved toward the point where Fort McAl- 
 lister obstructed the river. KilpatricK, in 
 the meantime, had moved down to St. 
 Catherine's sound, opened communication 
 with the fleet, and asked permission to 
 storm Fort McAllister ; but Sherman 
 thought the cavalry unequal to this feat. 
 
 Hazen made his arrangements to storm 
 the fort on the afternoon of the 13th, Gen- 
 erals Sherman and Howard being at Che- 
 roe's rice mill, on the Ogeechee, opposite 
 the fort. Sherman was on the roof of the 
 mill, surrounded by his staff and signal 
 officers, Beckley and Cole, waiting to com- 
 municate with Hazen, on the Island. 
 While patiently waiting for Hazen's sig- 
 nals, Sherman's keen eye detected smoke 
 in the horizon, seawai'd. Up to this time 
 he had received no intelligence from the 
 fleet. In a moment the countenance of 
 the bronzed chieftain lightened up, and he 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " Look ! Howard ; there is the gun- 
 boat!" 
 
 Time passed on, and the vessel now 
 became visible, but no signal from the 
 fleet or Hazen. Half an hour passed, and 
 the guns of the fort opened simultaneously 
 with puffs of smoke that rose a few hun- 
 dred yards from the fort, showing that 
 Hazen's skirmishers had opened. A mo- 
 ment after, Hazen signaled — 
 
 ''I have invested the fort, and will 
 assault immediately." 
 
 At this moment, Beckley announced a 
 signal from the gun-boat. All eyes now 
 turned from the fort to the gun-boat that 
 was coming to their assistance with news 
 from home. A few messages pass, which 
 apprise that Foster and Dahlgren are 
 
SHEEMAN'S MAKflT TITKOUOII THE SOUTH — 1S64. 
 
 within speaking distance. The gun-boat 
 now halts and asks — 
 
 " Can we run up ? Is Fort McAllister 
 ours ? "' 
 
 " No," is the reply ; " Hazen is just 
 ready to storm it. Can you assist ? " 
 
 " Ye.s," is the response ; " What will 
 you have us do ? " 
 
 But before Sherman can reply to Dahl- 
 gi-en the thunders of the fort are heard, 
 and the low sound of small arms is borne 
 across the three miles of marsh and river. 
 Field glasses are opened, and, sitting fiat 
 upon the roof, the hero of Atlanta gazes 
 away off to the fort. " There they go 
 grandly — not a waver," he remarks. 
 
 Twenty seconds jiass, and again he ex- 
 claims — 
 
 " See that flag in the advance, Howard ; 
 how steadily it moves ; not a man falters. 
 * * There they go still ; see the roll of 
 musketry. Grand, grand ! " 
 
 Still he strained his eyes, and a moment 
 after spoke without looking up — 
 
 " That flag still goes forward ; there is 
 no flinching there." 
 
 A pause for a minute. 
 
 "Look!" he exclaims, "it has halted. 
 They waver — -no, it's the parapet ! There 
 they go again ; now they scale it ; some 
 are over. Look ! There's a flag on the 
 works ! Another ; another. It's ours. 
 The fort's ours ! " 
 
 The glass dropped by his side ; and in 
 an instant the joy of the great leader at 
 the posse.ssion of the river and the open- 
 ing of the road to his new base burst forth 
 in words — 
 
 " As the old darkey remarked, dis chile 
 don't sleep dis night ! " — and turning to 
 one of his aids, he added, " Have a boat 
 for me at once ; I must go there ! " — 
 pointing to the fort from which half a 
 dozen battle-flags floated grandly in the 
 sunset. 
 
 But this dramatic scene is thus graphi- 
 cally delineated by another correspondent, 
 who brings the nai'rative down to the cul- 
 minating and crowning event. The United 
 States revenue cutter Nemaha, Lieutenant 
 Warner, General Foster's flag-boat, left 
 
 Hilton Head, on the morning of December 
 12tli, to go down the coast with General 
 Foster and staff, to endeavor to open com- 
 munication with General Sherman, going 
 through to Fort Pulaski and thence 
 through the marsh to Warsaw Sound, 
 looking toward the main canal to discover 
 some traces of Sherman's advance. None 
 were observed, so Foster proceeded outside, 
 and entered Ossabaw Sound, where the 
 gun-boat Flag, on Idockading duty, was 
 communicated with. Lieutenant Fisher 
 was here left on board the Flag, to proceed 
 with his party up the Ogeechee, and en- 
 deavor to signal to Sherman, if he should 
 approach the coast at that point. 
 
 The Nemaha returned to Warsaw, and 
 moved up the Wilmington river, anchor- 
 ing just out of range of a confederate bat- 
 tery. During the night, rockets were 
 thrown up by Captain Merrill, chief of the 
 signal corps, to announce his presence to 
 General Sherman's signal officers, but 
 elicited no response. 
 
 Lieutenant Fisher was more successful. 
 The Flag fired six guns in rapid succes- 
 sion, from a heavy gun, as a signal, and 
 then Lieutenant Fisher threw up several 
 rockets and closely examined the horizon 
 over the mainland for the response. At 
 about three o'clock on the morning of the 
 13th, after a rocket had been discharged 
 from the Flag, a little stream of light was 
 observed to shoot up in the direction of the 
 Ogeechee, and quickly die away. Another 
 rocket was immediately sent up from the 
 flag-ship, and a second stream of light was 
 seen in the same position as the first. It 
 then became a question, whether or not 
 they were confederate signals to deceive 
 the federal officers. 
 
 At about seven o'clock, the navy tug 
 Dandelion, acting master Williams, took 
 Lieutenant Fisher and his party, and Cap- 
 tain Williamson, of the flag-ship, and pro- 
 ceeded up the Ogeechee, to a point within 
 sight of Fort McAllister and the batteries 
 on the Little Ogeechee. Here Lieutenant 
 Fisher took a small boat and proceeded up 
 as far as possible without drawing the 
 enemy's fire. A careful reconnoissance 
 
FRO:\[ rOLOXY TO WORLD TOWEE. 
 
 was made of the fort and the surrounding 
 woods, from which came the reports of 
 musketry, and the attention of the garrison 
 seemed to be directed inland entirely. A 
 flag, whicli seemed like that of the Union, 
 was seen flj'ing from a house four miles off, 
 and on more careful examination the stars 
 were plainly visible, and all doubt of the 
 character of the flag was at once removed. 
 It was tJie flag that had floated over Gen- 
 eral Howard's head-quarters at Atlanta, 
 and now flamed out on the sea-coast, 
 within eight 7iriles of the citi/ of Savari- 
 nah. Lieutenant Fisher at once returned 
 to the tug, and moved up to an opening 
 out of range of Fort McAllister, when, 
 from the top of the pilot-house of the Dan- 
 delion, the American flag could be dis- 
 tinctly seen. A white signal flag was at 
 once raised by Lieutenant Fisher, and at 
 once a signal flag of like nature was waved, 
 and comuuinication opened. Lieutenant 
 Fisher signaled — 
 
 ' Who 
 
 are yon C 
 
 " McClintock, chief signal officer of 
 General Howard," was signaled back. 
 
 A message was at once sent to General 
 Sherman, tendering all aid from General 
 Foster and Admiral Dahlgren. General 
 Sherman then signaled that he was invest- 
 ing Fort McAllister, and wanted to know 
 if the boat could help with her heavy guns. 
 Before any reply could be given, Sherman 
 had signaled to Hazen, of the fifteenth 
 corps, to take the fort immediately. In 
 Ave minutes the rally had been sounded 
 by the bugles. One volley of musketry 
 was heard, and the next moment the three 
 brigade flags of Hazen's troops were 
 placed, almost simultaneously, on the j par- 
 apets of Fort IMcAllister. The fort was 
 captured in twenty minutes after General 
 Sherman's order to take it was given. 
 Sherman then sent word that he would be 
 down tliat night, and to look out for his 
 boat. The tug immediately steamed down 
 to Ossabaw Sound, to find General Foster 
 or Admiral Dahlgren ; but they not being 
 there, dispatches were sent to them at 
 Warsaw, announcing General Sherman's 
 intended visit, and the tug returned to its 
 
 old position. While approaching the fort 
 again a small boat was seen coming down. 
 It was hailed with — 
 
 "What boat is that ? " and the welcome 
 response came back — 
 
 "Sherman." 
 
 It soon came alongside, and out of the 
 little dug-out, paddled by two men, stepped 
 General Sherman and General Howard, 
 and stood on the deck of the Dandelion. 
 The great leader was received with cheer 
 after cheer. 
 
 The city of Savannah, strongly fortified, 
 and garrisoned bj' a large force under Gen- 
 eral Hardee, was summoned, but surrender 
 was refused. Preparations for assault 
 were made, and, during the night of De- 
 cember 20th, Hardee evacuated the city, 
 and, with a large part of his garrison, 
 escaped under cover of darkness. The 
 iinion army soon after entered the city, 
 and General Sherman thus announced 
 to President Lincoln this splendid tri- 
 umph : 
 
 '• / /)cg to jiresent yon, as a Christmas 
 gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy 
 guns, and plenty of ammunition, and also 
 alioiit 25,000 bales of cotton." 
 
 Waiting at Savannah only long enough 
 to refit and recruit, Sherman again began 
 a march which, for peril, labor, and results, 
 will compare with any ever made by an 
 organized army. The floods of the Savan- 
 nah, the swamps of the Combahee and 
 Edisto, the high hills and rocks of the 
 Santee, the flat quagmires of the Pedee 
 and Cape Fear rivers, were all passed in 
 mid-winter, with its floods and rains, in 
 the face of an accumulating enemy. 
 
 On the morning of February 17th, Gen- 
 eral Sherman entered Columbia, the capi- 
 tal of South Carolina. In about a month 
 from this time, and after fighting battles 
 at Averysboro' and Bentonville, he made 
 a junction with General Terry's forces at 
 Goldsboro', K C, and from this point 
 pushed onward to Raleigh, where, on the 
 26th of April he received the surrender of 
 the confederate army under Johnston,— the 
 only remaining formidable confederate 
 army in existence at that time east of the 
 
SHERMAN'S MAECII TIIEOUGTI THE SOFTTI — 1SG4. 
 
 Mississippi river,^thiis virtually crushing 
 the southern confederacj'. Indeed, it was 
 Sherman's intention not to stop short of 
 Richmond, and only the great events con- 
 summated a short time previously at that 
 important point, under Grant's masterly 
 generalship, rendered this part of the pro- 
 gramme unnecessary. 
 
 At this time, the great warrior, as de- 
 scribed by his accomplished aid-de-camp, 
 Major Nichols, was in person nearly six 
 feet in height, with a wiry, muscular, and 
 not ungraceful frame. His age only fort}'- 
 seven years, but his face furrowed with 
 deep lines, indicating care and j^rofound 
 thought. With surjsrising rapidity, how- 
 ever, these strong lines disappeared when 
 he talked with women and children. His 
 eyes dark brown, and sharp and quick in 
 expression ; his forehead broad and fair, 
 and sloping gently at the top of the head, 
 the latter being covered with thick and 
 light brown hair, closely trimmed ; his 
 beard and moustache, of a sandy hue, 
 were also closely cut. Of an iron consti- 
 tution, exposure to cold, rain, or burning 
 heat, seemed to produce no effect upon his 
 powers of endurance and strength. Under 
 fhf most harassing conditions, he exhibited 
 
 no signs of fatigue. When in the field he 
 retired early, but at midnight he might be 
 found pacing in front of his tent, or sitting 
 by the camp-fire smoking his cigar. He 
 would fall asleep as easily and as quickly 
 as a little child,— by the roadside or upon 
 wet ground, on the hard floor or when a 
 battle stirred the scene ; but the galloping 
 of a Courier's horse down the road would 
 instantly awaken him, as well as a voice 
 or movement in his tent. As showing his 
 thorough military spirit, it is related of 
 him, that, before the fall of Atlanta, he 
 refused a commission of major-general in 
 the regular armj', saying, " These positions 
 of so much trust and honor should be held 
 open until the close of the war. They 
 should not be hastily given. Important 
 campaigns are in ojieration. At the end, 
 let those who prove their capacity and 
 merit be the ones appointed to these high 
 honors." The great captain was in a 
 short time made lieutenant-general, and, 
 subsequently, on the accession of General 
 Grant to the presidency, he became Gen- 
 eral OF THE Akmy, — a military rank 
 and title conferred only upon three per- 
 sons, since the founding of the republic, 
 iiamely, Washington, Gr.\nt, Sherman. 
 
XXXV. 
 
 FALL OF RICHMOND, VA., THE CONFEDP^RATE 
 CAPITAL.— 18G5. 
 
 The Entrenclied City Closely Encompassei! for Months by General Grant's Brave Legions and Walls of 
 Steel. — Flight ot Jellersoii l>avis. and Surrender ot General Lee's Army — Overthrow of the Four 
 Years' Gl|;antic Kebellion. — The^gis and Starry Ensifjns of the Uepuhlic Everywhere Dominant. — 
 Transports of Joy Fill the [..and. — A Nation's Laurels Crown the Head of the Conqueror of Peace. 
 — Memorable Day in Human Affdirs — .Momentous Issues Involved — Heavy Cost of this Triumph. 
 — Withont it, a Lost Republic — Unequaleil Valor Displayed. — Sherman's Grand Conceptions — 
 Sheridan's Splendid Generalship. — Onward March of Events — .Strategy, Battles, Victories. — Lee's 
 Lines Fatally Broken.— Approach of the Final Crisis — Richmond Evacuated by Night. — Retreat 
 of Lee: Vigorous Pursuit. — His Hopeless Resistance to Grant — Their Correspondence and Inter- 
 view. — The Two Great Generals Face to Face. — What was .Said and Done — Announcing the Result. 
 — Parting of Lee with His Soldiers — President Lincoln's Visit to Richmond — Raising; the United 
 States Flag at Fort Sumter— Davis a Prisoner in Fortress Monroe. 
 
 •I propose to fight it out OD thia line, if it takes all Buininer."— General Gba.vt'9 Dispatch from the Field. 
 
 N 
 
 GRANT STATINO TERMS OF Sl'RBEKlJKU. 
 
 > /^ERXES crossing tlie Hellespont with his miles of 
 
 troops and flotilla, and over which vast concours \ 
 he wept, it is said, as it passed in review, was not 
 a more nienioralile illustration of the pomp and 
 oirrunistaiice of war, than that wliich was exhibit- 
 ed ill 1S64 and 1S65 Ijy the Union army under Gen- 
 eral Grant, which, like a wall of steel, heleaguer- 
 ed the entrenched city of Ricliniond — the strong- 
 hold of his country's foes, — and brought it, in 
 April of the last-named year, to submission and 
 surrender ; and with which event, the hosts that 
 had liocn gathered by a powerful confederacy for 
 the iivcrtlu-ow of the republic, melted away in 
 defeat and disaster, the disunion chieftains became 
 fugitives, and the long strife of arms ceased 
 tliroughout the nation. This event has been justly 
 characterized as far more momentous than any 
 other that is likely to happen in our time, and 
 wliieh will always make 180,") one of the great 
 years of liistory — putting it, in fact, in the same 
 category with the first year of tlie Christian era, 
 the vear in wliicli Rome was sacked, in wliieb 
 
THE FALL OF RICHMOND — 1865. 
 
 Europe was saved from the Saracens, in j 
 wliich Lutlier began to i)reach tJie Reform- 
 ation, in which Parliament drew the sword 
 against Charles I., and in which the first 
 shot was fired in the American Revolu- 
 tion ; a j'ear, in short, in which events 
 marked the commencement of a new and 
 important stage in human progress. 
 
 That the foe thus vanquished was not 
 an inferior one is shown by the single fact, 
 — if by no other — as stated by one of the 
 most reliable authorities in such matters, 
 that, in the whole history of war, no city 
 has been purchased by a conqueror at so 
 heavy a price as it cost to take Richmond. 
 Napoleon took Berlin, Vienna, and Mos- 
 cow, each in a single campaign, and, when 
 the scale of fortune turned, the Allies 
 entered Paris in two successive years. 
 Sebastopol resisted the English and French 
 armies for thirteen or fourteen months, 
 and four or five battles were fought in the 
 hope of raising the siege. For nearly 
 four years, Richmond was the principal 
 object of siege and attack by the union 
 armies, and probably half a million of men 
 were at different times employed iu at- 
 tempting its conquest. After the disas- 
 ter at Bull Run had shown the federal 
 government the deficiencies of its military 
 organization. General McClellR,n command- 
 ed an army of not far from two hundred 
 thousand men on the Potomac, and he land- 
 ed more than half the number in the Pe- 
 ninsula, while his colleagues defended the 
 approaches of Washington. The losses of 
 the union army in the disastrous campaign 
 of the Chickahominy, and in the subsequent 
 defeat of Geneial Pope, were variously 
 estimated from fifty thousand all the way 
 up to one hundred thousand men. Burn- 
 side's loss, in his attack upon the heights 
 of Fredericksburg, was not far from fifteen 
 thousand men, and about the same result 
 attended the struggle between Generals 
 Lee and Hooker, in 1863. The magnifi- 
 cent union victory at Gettysburg, involv- 
 ing so great a loss of life, was included in 
 the same campaign. It was not till the 
 early summer of 1864, that General Grant 
 commenced his final advance upon Rich- 
 
 mond, and the battles which ensued in the 
 Shenandoah and in the neighborhood of 
 Petersburg, added largely to the record of 
 bloodshed. Great and most precious, how- 
 ever, as was the cost of final victory to the 
 union army, its final defeat instead would 
 have been at the cost of the existence of 
 the Republic ! 
 
 The splendid militar}' conceptions of 
 General Sherman, and their jierfect execu- 
 tion, had much to do with hastening the 
 downfall of Richmond and the collapse of 
 the southern confederacy, nor can the lirave 
 and effective movement of General Sheri- 
 dan in the same relation be too highly 
 eulogized by his countrymen. Of the lat- 
 ter general's services, at this most excit- 
 ing and momentous crisis. General (irant 
 says : " During the 30th, (March, 1865,) 
 Sheridan advanced from Dinwiddie Court- 
 House towards Five Forks, where he found 
 the enemy in force. General Warren 
 advanced and extended his line across the 
 Boydton plank road to near the White 
 Oak road, with a view of getting across 
 the latter ; but finding the enemy strong 
 in his front, and extending lieyond his left, 
 was directed to hold on where he was and 
 fortify. General Humphreys drove the 
 enemy from his front into his main line on 
 the Hatcher, near Burgess's mills. Gen- 
 erals Ord, Wright, and Parke, made exam- 
 inations in their fronts to determine the 
 feasibility of an assault on the enemy's 
 lines. The two latter reported favorably. 
 The enemy confronting us, as he did, at 
 every point from Richmond to our extreme 
 left, I conceived his lines must be weakly 
 held, and could be penetrated if my esti- 
 mate of his forces was correct. I deter- 
 mined, therefore, to extend my line no 
 further, but to re-enforce General Sheri- 
 dan with a corps of infantry, and thus ena- 
 ble him to cut loose and turn the enemy's 
 right flank, and with the other corps as- 
 sault the enemy's lines."' 
 
 With what soldierly gallantry Sheridan 
 and his colleagues fulfilled the parts as- 
 signed them by their superior, is thus 
 related by the latter. " On the morning 
 of the 31st, General Warren reported fa- 
 
.JO() 
 
 FKOM COLOXT TO WORLD TOWER. 
 
 vorably to getting possession of the White 
 Oak road, and was directed to do so. To 
 accomplish this, he moved with one divis- 
 ion, instead of his whole corps, which was 
 attacked by the enemy in sujjerior force 
 ■and driven back on the second division 
 before it had time to form, and it, in turn, 
 forced back upon tlie third division, 
 when the enemy was checked. A divis- 
 ion of the second corps was inmiedi- 
 ately sent to his support, the enemy driven 
 back with heavy loss, and possession of 
 the White Oak road gained. Sheridan 
 advanced, and with a portion of liis cavalry 
 got possession of the Five Forks, but the 
 enemy, after the affair with the fifth corjis, 
 re-enforced the rebel cavalry, defending 
 that point with infantry, and forced him 
 back towards Dinwiddle Court-House. 
 Here General Sheridan displayed great 
 generalshi}}. Instead of retreating with 
 his whole command on the main armj', to 
 tell the story of superior forces encount- 
 ered, he deployed his cavalry on foot, leav- 
 ing only mounted men enough to take 
 charge of the horses. This compelled the 
 enemy to deploy over a vast extent of 
 woods and broken country, and made his 
 progress slow. At this juncture, he dis- 
 patched to me what had taken place, and 
 that he was dropping back slowly on Din- 
 widdle Court-House." Never was the trib- 
 ute of praise more worthily bestowed, 
 than this by the greatest of American 
 heroes upon General Slieridan. 
 
 But still more important events were 
 hastening. "On the morning of the 1st 
 of April," says General Grant, " General 
 Sheridan, re-enforced by General Warren, 
 drove the enemy back on Five Forks, 
 where, late in the evening, he assaulted 
 and carried his strongly fortified position, 
 capturing all his artillery, and between 
 five and six thousand prisoners. About 
 the close of this battle, Brevet Major- 
 General Charles Griffin relieved Major- 
 General Warren, in command of the fifth 
 corps. The report of this reached me after 
 nightfall. Some apprehensions filled my 
 mind lest the enemy might desert liis lines 
 during the night, and by falling upon 
 
 General Sheridan before assistance could 
 reach him, drive liini from his position 
 and open the way for retreat. To guard 
 against this. General Miles's division of 
 Humphrey's corps was sent to re-enforce 
 him, and a bombardment was commenced 
 and kept up until four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, April 2d, when an assault was ordered 
 on the enemy's lines. General Wright 
 j)enetrated the lines with his whole corps, 
 sweeping everything before him and to 
 the left towards Hatcher's Run, capturing 
 many guns and several thousand prisoners. 
 He was closely followed by two divisions 
 of General Ord's command, until he met 
 the other division of General Ord's that 
 had succeeded in forcing the enemy's lines 
 near Hatcher's Run. Generals Wright 
 and Ord immediately swung to the right, 
 and closed all of the enemy on that side of 
 them in Petersburg, while General Hum- 
 phreys jiushed forward with two divisions 
 and joined General Wright on the left. 
 General Parke succeeded in carrying the 
 enemy's main line, capturing guns and 
 prisoners, but was unable to carry his 
 inner line. General Sheridan being advised 
 of the condition of affairs, returned Gen- 
 eral Miles to his proper command. On 
 reaching the enemy's lines immediately 
 surrounding Petersburg, a portion of Gen- 
 eral Gibbon's corps, by a most gallant 
 charge, captured two strong, enclosed works 
 — the most salient and commanding south 
 of Petersburg — thus materially shortening 
 the line of investment necessary for tak- 
 ing in the city. The enemy south of 
 Hatcher's Run retreated westward to 
 Sutherland's station, where they were 
 overtaken by Miles's division. A severe 
 engagement ensued and lasted until both 
 his right and left flanks were threatened 
 by the approach of General Sheridan, who 
 was moving from Ford's station towards 
 Petersburg, and a division sent by Gen- 
 eral Meade from the front of Petersburg, 
 when he broke in the utmost confusion, 
 leaving in our hands his guns and many 
 prisoners. This force retreated by the 
 main road along the Appomattox river. 
 During the nii/ht of the second, the enemy 
 
THE FALL OF RICHMOND — 1S65. 
 
 22 
 
^38 
 
 Fi;o:\r colony to world lower. 
 
 evacuated Pefershiirg aiid Riclimond, and 
 retreated toward Danville. On the morn- 
 ing of the 3d, pursuit was commenced. 
 General Sheridan jjushed for the Danville 
 road, keeping near the Appomattox, fol- 
 lowed by General Meade with the second 
 and sixth corps, while General Ord moved 
 for Burkesville along the South Side road, 
 the ninth corps stretched along that road 
 behind him," — these combined movements 
 being made with such rapidity <iii<i effec- 
 tiveness, that Lee's army could have no 
 expectation of escape founded upon any 
 reasonable probability. 
 
 By the night of Tuesday, April 4th, 
 Sheridan and the fifth corps had, by a 
 march of thirty-six miles, gained a position 
 west of Lee, near Jettersville, on the road 
 to Burkesville. This movement resulted 
 the next day in the capture of a train of 
 three hundred wagons, with five cannon 
 and a thousand prisoners. On Wednes- 
 day, Grant, with the twenty-fourth corps, 
 had reached Nottoway Court-House, and 
 there learned by a dispatch from Sheridan 
 that Lee had been intercepted. On Thurs- 
 day, Grant had brought his army up to 
 Sheridan's support, and with the second, 
 fifth, and sixth corps, lay in line of battle 
 at Burke's Station, facing to the north 
 and east, and cutting Lee off from Dan- 
 ville. Lee then tried to move on toward 
 Lynchburg, by taking a circuitous route 
 by way of Deatonsville, toward the Appo- 
 mattox, which he hoped to cross, and, with 
 the river between him and Grant, secure 
 his retreat. Lee was compelled to fight 
 at Deatonsville, where he was defeated, 
 his loss amounting to thirteen thousand 
 prisoners, including Lieutenant-General 
 Ewell and Major-Generals Custis Lee, 
 Kershaw, Corse, DeBarry, Anderson, Hun- 
 ton, and Barton. Fourteen cannon were 
 also taken, and several hundred wagons. 
 
 On Friday, April 7th, Grant wrote briefly 
 to Lee, asking him to surrender " that 
 portion of the Confederate States army 
 known as the Army of Northern Virginia." 
 He said : " The result of last week must 
 convince you of the hopelessness of further 
 resistance on the part of the army of 
 
 Northern Virginia in this struggle." Lee 
 replied the same day, saying that though 
 he was not entirely of Grant's opin- 
 ion as to the hopelessness of further 
 resistance, he reciprocated the desire to 
 avoid useless effusion of blood, and asked 
 upon what terms Grant would accept the 
 surrender. On tlie 8th, Grant again wrote, 
 declaring that he should insist upon but 
 one condition, namely : " That the men 
 surrendered shall be disqualified for taking 
 up arms again against the government of the 
 United States until properly exchanged." 
 To this, Lee replied that he did not think 
 the emergency had arisen to call for the 
 surrender, but desired an interview at ten 
 o'clock the next day. on the old stage 
 road to Richmond, in respect to the restor- 
 ation of peace. On the ninth. Grant 
 wrote that he had no authority to grant 
 such an interview. He said : " The 
 terms upon which peace can be had are 
 well understood. By the South laying 
 down their arms they will hasten that 
 most desirable event, save thousands of 
 human lives and hundreds of millions of 
 property not yet destroyed."' 
 
 In taking the ground that he did in this 
 correspondence, Grant acted expressly 
 in accordance with the views entertained 
 by his superiors at Washington. It ajv 
 pears that among the dispatches which 
 Grant had sent to the president, about 
 this time, was one in which he spoke of an 
 application to be made, by Lee for an 
 interview to negotiate about peace. Mr. 
 Lincoln intimated pretty clearly an inten- 
 tion to permit extremely favorable terms, 
 and to let his general-in-chief settle them ; 
 and this even to an extent that overpow- 
 ered the reticent habits of his secretary of 
 war, who, after restraining himself as long 
 as he could, broke out sternly, saying — 
 
 " Mr. President, to-morrow is inaugura- 
 tion day. If you are not to be the presi- 
 dent of an obedient and united people, you 
 had better not be inaugurated. Your 
 work is already done, if any other author- 
 ity than j-ours is for one moment to be 
 recognized, or any terms made that do not 
 signify that j'ou are the sujsreme head of 
 
THE FALL OF RICIIMOXD — 1865. 
 
 tlie nation. If generals in the field are 
 to negotiate peace, or any other chief 
 magistrate is to be acknowledged on the 
 continent, then you are not needed and 
 you had better not take the oath of office." 
 
 " Stanton,"' said the president — his 
 whole tone changing, ''you are right. 
 Let me have a pen." 
 
 Mr. Lincoln sat down at the table and 
 wrote as follows : 
 
 "Tlie president directs me to s:iy to 
 you that he wishes you to have no confer- 
 ence with General Lee, unless it be for 
 the capitulation of Lee's army, or on some 
 niiuor or purely military matter. He 
 iiLstructs me to say that j'ou are not to 
 decide, discuss, or confer on any political 
 question ; such questions the president 
 holds in his own hands, and will submit 
 them to no military conferences or conven- 
 tions. In the meantime, you are to press 
 to the utmost your military' advantages." 
 
 The president now read over what he 
 had written, and then said — 
 
 "Now, Stanton, date and sign this paper, 
 and send it to Grant. We'll see about 
 this peace business." 
 
 Grant's note declining anj^ interview to 
 consider terms of peace was received 
 l^y Lee on the spot which he had desig- 
 nated for the meeting. On receipt of this, 
 Lee at once dispatched another note, 
 requesting a personal interview for the 
 object named in Grant's previous commu- 
 nication — the surrender of Lee's army. A 
 flag of truce proceeded to Appomattox 
 Court-House shortly after noon, and at 
 about two o'clock the two generals met at 
 the house of Mr. W. McLean. General 
 Lee was attended by General Marshall, his 
 adjutant-general ; General Grant, bj' Colo- 
 nel Parker, one of his chief aids-de-camp. 
 General Grant arrived about fifteen min- 
 utes later than General Lee, and entered 
 the parlor where the latter was awaiting 
 him. 
 
 The two generals greeted each other 
 with dignified courtesy, and after a few 
 moments conversation, proceeded to the 
 business before them. Lee immediately 
 alluded to the conditions named by General 
 
 Grant for the surrender, characterized 
 them as exceedingly lenient, and said he 
 would gladly leave all the details to (ieii- 
 eral Grant's own discretion. Of this inter- 
 view, General Grant himself gave the 
 following interesting account to some 
 friends, at a private dinner-party in AVash- 
 ington : 
 
 " I felt some embarrassment in the pros- 
 pect of meeting General Lee. I had not 
 seen him since he was General Scott's 
 chief-of-staff in Mexico; and in addition to 
 the respect I entertained for him, the 
 duty which I had to perform was a dis- 
 agreeable one, and I wished to get through 
 it as soon as possible. When I reached 
 Appomattox Court-House, I had ridden 
 that morning thirt\-seven miles. I was 
 in my canijiaign clothes, covered with dust 
 and mud ; I had no sword; I was not even 
 well mounted, for I rode (turning to Gen- 
 eral Ingals, who was present.) one of 
 Ingals's horses. I found General Lee in a 
 fresh suit of confederate gray, with all the 
 insignia of his rank, and at liis side the 
 splendid dress-sword which had been given 
 him by the state of Virginia. We shook 
 hands. He was exceedingly courteous in 
 his address, and we seated ourselves at a 
 deal table in Mr. McLe.m's front room. 
 We talked of two of the conditions of sur- 
 render, which had been left opsn by our 
 previous correspondence, one of which re- 
 lated to the ceremonies which were to be 
 observed on the occasion ; and when I di.^- 
 claimed any desire to have any parade, 
 but said I should be contented with the 
 delivery of arms to nij- officers, and with 
 the proper signature and authentication of 
 paroles, he seemed to be greatly pleased. 
 When I yielded the other point, that the 
 officers should retain their side arms and 
 private baggage and horses, his emotions 
 of satisfaction were plainly visible. We 
 soon reduced the terms to writing. We 
 parted with the same courtesies with which 
 we had met. It seemed to me that Gen- 
 eral Lee evinced a feeling of satisfaction 
 and relief when the business was finished. 
 I immediately mounted Ingals's horse, re- 
 turned to General Sheridan's head-quarters. 
 
340 
 
 FKOM COLO^'Y TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 and did not again present myself to the 
 confederate couiuuiuJer." 
 
 Tlie house in which this most memora- 
 ble interview took place was a comfortable 
 and well-built double brick bouse, with a 
 small green lawn in front. The occupant, 
 Mr. McLean, lived in 1861 at Bull Run, 
 and owned the farm on which the first 
 and famous Bull Run battle was fought. 
 It was in consequence of the disturbed 
 state of the country and the annoyances 
 to which lie was subjected, that he aban- 
 doned his place, and took refuge in the 
 distant town of Appomattox. Here he 
 purchased some land and settled quietly 
 down, as he thought, bej'ond the tide of 
 war. But fate followed him ; for, about 
 four years after he left the Bull Run farm, 
 tlie southern army was surrounded at 
 Appomattox, and the last battle as well as 
 the first was fought on his farm ! The 
 large marble-topped center table, on wliidi 
 the two generals signed the minutes, was 
 of a somewhat antiquated style, and was 
 afterwards purchased by General Ord for 
 fifty dollars. General Custer purchased 
 the other table, of small size, on which the 
 documents were prepared, for twenty-five 
 dollars. 
 
 After the interview. General Lee re- 
 turned to his own camp, about half a mile 
 distant, where his leading officers were 
 assembled, awaiting his return. He an- 
 nounced the result and the terms, where- 
 upon they expressed great satisfaction at 
 the liberal conditions. They then ap- 
 proached him in order of rank, shook 
 hands, and assured him of their approval 
 of his course, and their regret at j)arting. 
 The fact of surrender and the easy terms 
 were then announced to the troops, and 
 when General Lee appeared among them 
 he was loudly cheered. 
 
 Immediately after the evacuation of 
 Richmond, General Weitzel, with the 
 second brigade of the third division of the 
 twenty-fourth army corps, entered the city 
 and took possession, hoisting the LTnited 
 States flag at everj- prominent point, and 
 on the next day President Lincoln visited 
 the fallen capital. His appearance was 
 
 greeted with tumultuous cheering, though 
 he came with no pomp of attendance or 
 surroundings, and totally unheralded. He 
 arrived in a United States war vessel, 
 early in the afternoon, at the landing 
 called the Rocketts, about a mile below 
 the city, and thence, accompanied bj- his 
 young son and Admiral Porter, went to 
 the city in a boat. Mr. C. C. Coffin, 
 (" Carleton,") the accomplished corre- 
 spondent of the Boston Journal, in giving 
 an account of this presidential visit, says 
 that somehow the negroes on the bank of 
 the river ascertained that the tall man 
 wearing a black hat was President Lin- 
 coln. There was a sudden shout. An 
 officer who had just picked up fifty negroes 
 to do work on the dock, found himself 
 alone. They left work, and crowded 
 around the president. As he approached, 
 I said to a colored woman, — 
 
 " There is the man who made you free." 
 
 " What, massa ? " 
 
 " That is President Lincoln." 
 
 " Dat President Linkuni ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 She gazed at him a moment, clapped 
 her hands, and jumped straight up and 
 dowji, shouting " Glory, glory, glory !" till 
 her voice was lost in the universal 
 cheer. 
 
 There was no carriage near, so the presi- 
 dent, leading his son, walked three-quarters 
 of a mile up to General Weitzel's head- 
 quarters — Jefferson Davis's presidential 
 mansion. A colored man acted as guide. 
 Six sailors, wearing their round blue caps 
 and short jackets and bagging pants, with 
 navy carbines, were the advance guard. 
 Then came the president and Admiral 
 Porter, flanked by the officers accompany- 
 ing him, and the correspondent of the 
 Boston Journal, then six more sailors with 
 carbines, — amid a surging mass of men, 
 women, and children, black, white, and 
 j'ellow, running, shouting, and dancing, 
 swinging their caps, bonnets and hand- 
 kerchiefs. The soldiers saw him and 
 swelled the crowd, cheering in wild enthu- 
 siasm. All could see him, he was so tall, 
 so conspicuous. 
 
TPIE FALL OF RICHMOND — 1865. 
 
 341 
 
 One colored woman, standing in a door- 
 way, as the president passed along the 
 sidewalk, shouted, " Thank you, dear 
 Jesus, for this ! thank you, Jesus ! " 
 Another, standing by her side, was clap- 
 ping her hands and shouting, " Bless de 
 Lord ! " A colored woman snatched her 
 bonnet from her head, whirled it ui the 
 air, and screamed with all her might, 
 " God bless you. Massa Linkum ! " 
 
 President Lincoln walked in silence, 
 acknowledging the salutes of officers and 
 soldiers, and of the citizens, black and 
 white. It was the man of the people 
 among the people. It was the great de- 
 liverer among the delivered. General 
 Shepley met the president in the street, 
 and escorted him to General Weitzel's 
 quarters. Major Stevens, hearing that 
 the president was on his way, suddenly 
 summoned a detachment of Massachusetts 
 cavalry, and cleared the way. After a 
 tedious walk, the mansion of Mr. Davis 
 was reached. The immense crowd swept 
 round the corner of the street and packed 
 the space in front. General Weitzel 
 received the president at the door. Cheer 
 upon cheer went up from the excited mul- 
 titude, two-thirds of whom were colored. 
 The officers who had assembled were 
 presented to the piresident in the reception 
 room, and then citizens innumerable paid 
 him their respects ; after which the presi- 
 dent took a ride through the citj-, accom- 
 panied by Admiral Porter, Generals Shep- 
 ley and AVeitzel, and others. 
 
 All this took place only a few hours 
 after the flight of Davis. Early in the 
 forenoon of that eventful Sunday, Lee tel- 
 egraphed to his chief, that his lines had 
 been broken in three places and that Eich- 
 niond must be evacuated in the evening. 
 This message was delivered to Davis at 
 eleven o'clock, while he was in church. 
 He immediately left, and, arranging his 
 affairs as well as time would permit, pro- 
 ceeded with his cabinet to Danville. Pol- 
 lard, the historian of the southern cause, 
 states that the rumor was caught up in 
 the streets that Eii-hmond was to be evac- 
 uated, and was soon carried to the ends 
 
 of the city. Men, women, and children, 
 rushed from the churches, passing from 
 lip to lip news of the impending fall. It 
 was late in the afternoon when the signs 
 of evacuation became apparent to the in- 
 credulous. Wagons on the streets were 
 being hastily loaded at the departments 
 with boxes, trunks, etc., and driven to the 
 Danville depot. Those who had deter- 
 mined to evacuate with the fugitive govern- 
 ment looked on with amazement ; then, 
 convinced of the fact, rushed to follow the 
 government's example. Vehicles suddenly 
 rose to a premium value that was astound- 
 ing. All over the city it was the same — 
 wagons, trunks, boxes, bundles, and their 
 hurrying owners, filling the streets. By 
 order of the military authorities, all the 
 spirituous liquor in the city was destroyed, 
 but some of it was seized and used by the 
 straggling soldiery, who thereupon commit- 
 ted the grossest excesses. The great 
 tobacco warehouses were also, by mili- 
 tary order, set on fire, as were also the 
 various bridges leading out of the city, 
 and the rams in James river were blown 
 up. The whole scene was awful in the 
 extreme. 
 
 At Danville, Davis set up the form and 
 macliinery of his government, issuing ai, 
 once a stirring address, in which he said : 
 " We have now entered upon a new phase 
 of the struggle. Relieved from the neces- 
 sity of guarding particular jioints, our 
 army will be free to move from point to 
 point, to strike the enemy in detail far 
 from his base.'' Waiting here, in expect- 
 ation of Lee's arrival with his army, the 
 news of the surrender of the latter reached 
 him on the 10th of April. Dismayed at 
 the tidings, Davis hastily made his escape 
 to Greensboro, N. C, and afterwards, with 
 various baitings, to Charlotte, N. C, and 
 thence to Washington and Irwinsville, 
 Ga., where he was captured. May 11th, by 
 the union cavalry, and carried, a prisoner, 
 to Fortress Monroe. This was, in form, 
 the close of the war. General Johnston 
 surrendered his army at Raleigh, N. C, 
 April 26th, to General Sherman. General 
 Howell Cobb, with his militia and five 
 
342 
 
 yho'm colony to world power. 
 
 generals, surrendered to General Wilson, 
 at Macon, Ga., April 20tli. Gen. Dick 
 Taylor surrendered all the remaining con- 
 federate forces east of the Mississijjpi to 
 General Canby, May 14th ; and, on the 
 26th of the same month, Gen. Kirby Smith 
 surrendered his entire command, west of 
 the Mississippi, to the same officer. On 
 the 14th of April, — just four years from 
 the memorable bondiardment and evacua- 
 tion, — the flag of the United States was 
 planted again upon Fort Sumter, under 
 the orders of the president, by the hands 
 of General Anderson, its commander in 
 April, 1861. 
 
 The close of this mighty struggle, assur- 
 ing the world of the continued nationality 
 of the American Union, tilled the land 
 with such transports and demonstrations 
 of joy as were never before known among 
 any people ; and the laurels of the nation 
 covered the brow of Grant, the hero of 
 mighty battles — the Conqueror of Peace. 
 By special act of congress, the full and 
 supreme rank of General — a title never 
 worn by a United States commander since 
 the daj's of the illustrious Washington, — 
 was revived and conferred upon Grant ; 
 and. as the highest honor in the gift of 
 his countrymen, he was in 1869 transfer- 
 red from the <'ommand of the army to the 
 exalted position of President of the United 
 States, in which station he remained eight 
 years. 
 
 One event, in especial, among the clus- 
 ter just named in connection with the 
 closing scenes of the Great Conflict, de- 
 serves more than a passing mention here, 
 namely, the Jie-j->ossfssion of Fort Sumter, 
 and the restoration to its origiiial jylace on 
 that historic spot, hy General Anderson, of 
 tlie identical Ji a f/ which, after an honora- 
 ble and gallant defense, he was compelled 
 to lower in April, 1861. 
 
 This ceremony of re-occupation took 
 place, as ordered by President Lincoln, on 
 Friday, April 14th, 1865, in presence of 
 several thousands of spectators. Among 
 the company were Generals Gillmore, Di.x, 
 Washburne, Doubleday, Anderson, Dela- 
 field, Grover, Hatch, and Saxton, Rev. 
 
 Henry Ward Beecher, William Lloyd 
 
 Garrison, George Thompson, Assistant Sec- 
 retary Fo.x, of the Navy Department, 
 Professor Davis, and some two hundred 
 officers of the navy. The spectators were 
 conveyed from Charleston to the fort by 
 steamers, and the ceremonies were ushered 
 in at noon with a song and chorus entitled 
 ' Victory at Last.' 
 
 Prayer was now offered by Rev. Mat- 
 thias Harris, chaplain United States Army, 
 who made the prayer at the raising of 
 the flag when Major Anderson suddenl}' 
 removed his command from Fort Moultrie 
 to Fort Sumter, December 27th, 1860. 
 Rev. Dr. Storrs, of Brooklyn, then read 
 selections of scripture, after which, Adju- 
 tant-General Townsend read Major Ander- 
 son's dispatch, dated steamship Baltic, off 
 Sandy Hook, April 18th, 1861, announcing 
 the fall of Fort Sumter. 
 
 Major-General Anderson and Sergeant 
 Hart then stepped forward on the platform 
 and unfurled the glorious old banner, amid 
 the deafening cheers of the assemblage. 
 As they raised the flag, with an evergreen 
 wreath attached, the occujiants on the 
 stage all joined in taking hold of the hal- 
 yards. The scene of rejoicing that fol- 
 lowed, as the flag reached the top of the 
 staff, was indescribable. The enthusiasm 
 was unbounded. There was a simultane- 
 ous rising, cheering, and waving of hats 
 and handkerchiefs, for fully fifteen minutes. 
 As the starry emblem floated out grace- 
 fully to the strong breeze, the joyful dem- 
 onstrations were repeated, which were 
 responded to by music from the bands, a 
 salute of one hundred guns at Fort Sumter, 
 and a national salute from every fort and 
 battery that fired ujion Sumter in A])ril, 
 1861. When this was over. General Ander- 
 son came forward and said — 
 
 " I am here, friends and fellow-citizens, 
 and brother soldiers, to perform an act of 
 duty which is dear to my heart, and which 
 all of you present appreciate and feel. Did 
 I listen to the promptings of my own 
 heart, I woidd not attempt to speak ; but 
 I have been desired by the secretary of 
 war to make a few remarks. By the con- 
 
THE FALL OF RICHMOND — 1S65. 
 
 343 
 
 siderate appointment of the honored secre- 
 tary of war to fultill the cherished wish of 
 my heart through four long years of bloody 
 war — to restore to its proper place this 
 very flag which floated here during peace, 
 before the first act of this cruel rebellion 
 — I thank God I have lived to see this 
 day, to be here to perform this, perhaps 
 the last act of duty to my country in this 
 life. My heart is filled with gratitude to 
 Almighty God for the signal blessings he 
 has given us — blessings beyond number. 
 May all the world proclaim ' Glory to God 
 
 in the highest ; on earth, peace and good 
 will toward men.' "" 
 
 The ' Star Spangled Banner ' was then 
 sung by the whole audience, with great 
 feeling and effect ; after which, Eev. 
 Henry Ward Beecher delivered a com- 
 memorative oration of great eloquence and 
 power. The doxology, with devotional 
 services, closed the public exercises of the 
 day ; and, with cheers for President Lin- 
 coln, the old Flag, the Union, Generals 
 Grant, Sherman, and others, the vast mul- 
 titude separated. 
 
XXXV 1. 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN, AT FORD'S 
 
 THEATER, WASHINGTON, BY J. WILKES 
 
 BOOTH.— 1865. 
 
 Conspiracy to Murder, Simultaneously, ail the Cliief Officers of the Government — The Most Exalted 
 and Beloved of Mortal Rulers Falls a Viciini — A Universal Wail of Anguish and Lamentation 
 Poured Forth from the National Heart. — Darkest Pa^ie in the History of the Country — Funeral Cor- 
 tege Through Fifteen States. — Tragical Fate of the Conspirators. — Object of this Most Infamous of 
 Crimes — Singular Time of its Perpetration. — Virtual End of the Great Civil War. — Dawn of Peace : 
 Universal Joy. — President Lincoln's Happy Frame of Mind. — How He Passed His Last Day. — Con- 
 versations on the Evening of April 14th. — Makes :in Engagement for the Morrow — Last Time He 
 Signed His Name — Reluctantly Goes to tlie Theater. — Arrives Late : Immense Audience — Plans and 
 Movements of Booth, the Assassin. — The Fatal Shot : A Tragedy of Horrors — Removal of the Presi- 
 dent to a Private House. — Speechless and Unconscious to the End — Death-Bed Scenes and Incidents. 
 — The Nation Stunned at the Appalling News. — Its Reception at the South, and hy General Lee. 
 
 _ — A Continent in Tears and Mourning. — Most 
 
 ^^^ ^, ^ Imposing Obsequies Ever Known. — Booth's Switt 
 
 ^B?i^Hi _ and Bloody End. — Trial of His Male and Female 
 '■j Accomplices. 
 
 — '■ Mnurn ye for him? let him be regarded 
 As the most "noble coise that ever heralil 
 Did lollow to iiis urn." 
 
 'I.N S i:.\RLV H(>MK. 
 
 .'. ^ EVIEWING the great [jvocession of events 
 wliich distinguish tlie ninety years cov- 
 ered bv our national existence, up to the 
 present time, there is, confessedl\', none 
 of the many during that period, wliich 
 shows -so dark and terriMe a page. — none which so paralyzed the heart of the nation, or 
 sent such a thrill of ag.uiy through the four continents of the globe, causing world-wide 
 sorrow and lamentation, — as the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, president of the 
 United States, by John Wilkes Booth, at Ford's Theater, in the capital of the nation, 
 on the night of April 14th, 1865. And this bloody deed was but one act in the diabol- 
 ical conspiracy which contemplated tlio simultaneous murder of the chief officers of 
 state, at the federal capital, to the end that panic might there seize upon the govern- 
 ment and nation, and treason >and anarchy assert their sway over a republic in ruins. 
 
 And yet, the time chosen for tliis most appalling conspiracy was that which was 
 marked by the virtual close of the great war which for four long years had filled the 
 land with carnage and death ; the prowess of General Grant had .shattered the plans of 
 the ablest military chieftains of the south ; General Sherman had consummated his 
 grand march from Atlanta to Savannah, and thence through South Carolina ; all the 
 
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN — 1865. 
 
 o-to 
 
 chief cities of the south were occupied by 
 the union forces ; Lee had surrendered 
 his sword, and President Lincoln had just 
 visited the city of Eiclimond, so recentl3^ 
 the confederate strongliold; and Jefferson 
 Davis was a fugitive, who had then barely 
 escaped capture. The demonstrations of 
 joy at the now certain conclusion of hostil- 
 ities, and the dawn of peace, were univer- 
 sal ; and by no one, in all the land, was 
 this joy shared so fully as by President 
 Lincoln. 
 
 Of the president's hapjjv frame of mind, 
 now that victory had everywhere crowned 
 the federal arms, and he was entering on 
 
 FOKD S THEATER, IN WASHIXGTON. 
 
 his second presidential term under the 
 auspices of prospective peace, something 
 may be judged by the incidents repre- 
 sented to have transpired in connection 
 with his private and personal intercourse, 
 during the last day of his life. On the 
 morning of that fatal day, Captain Robert 
 Lincoln, son of the president, and who had 
 just returned from the capitulation of Gen- 
 eral Lee, breakfasted with his father, and 
 the president passed a happy hour listen- 
 ing . to all the details. While thus at 
 breakfast, he heard that Speaker Colfax 
 was in the house, and sent word that he 
 wished to see him immediatelv in the 
 
 reception room. He conversed with him 
 nearly' an hour, on his future policy as to 
 the south, which he was about to submit 
 to the cabinet. Afterwards he had an 
 interview with Mr. Hale, minister to Spain, 
 and with sevei-al senators and representa- 
 tives. At eleven o'clock, the cabinet and 
 General Grant met with him, and, in one 
 of the most important and satisfactory 
 cabinet sessions held since his iii-st inau- 
 guration, the future j)olicy of the adminis- 
 tration was harmoniously and unanimously 
 agreed on, Secretarj' Stanton remarking 
 that he felt that the government was 
 stronger than at anj' previous period since 
 the rebellion commenced. Turning to 
 General Grant, Mr. Lincoln asked him if 
 he had heard from General Sherman. 
 General Grant replied that he had not, but 
 was in hourly expectation of receiving dis- 
 patches from him announcing the sur- 
 render of Johnston. The jJresident re- 
 plied : 
 
 " Well, you will hear verj' soon, and the 
 news will be important." 
 
 "Why do j'ou think so?" inquired 
 General Grant, somewhat in a curious 
 mood. 
 
 " Because," said Mr. Lincoln, " I had a 
 dream, last night, and, ever since the war 
 began, I have invariably had the same 
 dream before any very important military 
 event has occurred." He then instanced 
 Bull Run, Antietam, Gettj'sburg, etc., and 
 said that before each of those events he 
 had had the same dream, and, turning to 
 Secretary Welles, continued, ,'• It is in 
 your line, too, Mr. Welles. The dream is, 
 that I saw a .ship sailing very rapidly, and 
 I am sure that it jjortends some important 
 national event." 
 
 In the afternoon, the president had a 
 long and pleasant interview with General 
 Oglesby, Senator Yates, and other leading 
 citizens of Illinois. 
 
 At about half-past seven o'clock in the 
 evening, Hon. George Ashmun, of Massa- 
 chusetts, who presided over the Chicago 
 Convention in 1860, called at the White 
 House, and was ushered into the parlor, 
 where Mr. Colfax was seated, waiting for 
 
316 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD TOWEIi. 
 
 an interview with the president, on busi- 
 ness which had a bearing on his proposed 
 overhuid trip. A few moments ehipsed, 
 when President Lincoln entered the room, 
 and engaged in conversation upon various 
 matters, apjjearing to be in a very happy 
 and jovial frame of mind. He spoke of 
 his visit to Richmond, and when they 
 stated that there was much uneasiness at 
 the north while he was in that city, for 
 fear that he might be shot, he replied, 
 jocularly, that he would have been alarmed 
 himself if any other perspn had been pres- 
 ident and gone there, but that personally 
 he did not feel any danger whatever. 
 Conversing on a matter of business with 
 Mr. Ashmun, he made a remark that he 
 saw Mr. Ashmun was surprised at, and, 
 though not very important, he immediately 
 said, with his well-known kindness of 
 heart, — 
 
 " You did not understand me, Ashmun. 
 I did not mean what you inferred, and I 
 take it all back and apologize for it." 
 
 Mr. Ashmun desiring to see him again, 
 and there being no time to attend to it 
 then, the president took out a card, and 
 placing it on his knee, wrote as follows : 
 
 " Allow Mr. Ashmun and friend to come 
 to me at nine a. m., to-morrow. 
 
 April 14, '65. A. Lincoln." 
 
 These were the last words that he 
 penned. It was the last time that he 
 signed his name to any order, document or 
 message. The last words written by him 
 were thus making an engagement for the 
 morrow — an engagement which he was not 
 allowed to meet. Before the hour had 
 arrived he was no more. After signing 
 the card, he said, humorousl}', to Mr. 
 Colfax,— 
 
 " Mr. Sumner has the gavel of the Con- 
 federate Congress, which he got at Rich- 
 mond, to hand to the secretary of war; but 
 I insisted then that he must give it to you, 
 and you tell him for me to hand it over." 
 
 Mr. Ashmun here pleasantlj' alluded to 
 the gavel which he himself still had — the 
 same one he had used when presiding over 
 the Chicago Nominating Convention of 
 1860. 
 
 President Lincoln finally stated that he 
 must go fo the theater and, saying, '■ You 
 are going with Mrs. Lincoln and me to the 
 theater, I hope." warmly pressed Speaker 
 Colfax and Mr. Ashmun to accompany 
 them, but they excused themselves on the 
 score of previous engagements. It was 
 now half an hour after the time when they 
 had intended to start, and they spoke 
 about waiting half an hour longer, — the 
 president going with reluctance, as Gen- 
 eral Grant had that evening gone north, 
 and Mr. Lincoln did not wish the people 
 to be disappointed, it having been an 
 nounced in the afternoon papers that the 
 president, Mrs. Lincoln, and General 
 Grant, would attend the theater that even- 
 ing, to witness the rejaresentation of the 
 " American Cousin." At the door, Mr. 
 Lincoln stopped and said, — 
 
 " Colfax, do not forget to tell the people 
 in the mining regions, as j'ou pass through 
 them, what I told j'ou this morning about 
 the development when peace comes, and I 
 will telegraph you at San Francisco." 
 
 Starting for the carriage, Mrs. Lincoln 
 took the arm of Mr. Ashmun, and the 
 president and Mr. Colfax walked together. 
 As soon as the president and Mrs. Lincoln 
 were seated in the carriage, Mrs Lincoln 
 gave orders to the coachman to drive 
 around to Senator Harris's residence, for 
 Miss Harris. As the carriage rolled 
 away, they both said ' Good-by, — Good- 
 by," to Messrs. Ashmun and Colfax. A 
 few moments later, and the presidential 
 party of four persons, namely, the presi- 
 dent and Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris, and 
 Major Eathbone, arrived at the theater 
 and entered the front and left-hand upper 
 private box. 
 
 The deeply-laid plan of Booth to murder 
 the president was soon to culminate in 
 horrid and fatal execution. According to 
 the very reliable account given by the 
 Hon. H. J. Raymond, in his biography of 
 the martyred president, and in which 
 account there is exhibited the most pains- 
 taking synopsis of the accumulated evi- 
 dence concerning Booth's movements, the 
 murderer made his appearance at fifteen 
 
THE ASSASSIXATION OF PRESIDENT LIXCOLN — 1865. 347 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 minutes aftei- ten, passed along the pas- 
 sage behind the spectators in tlie dress- 
 circle, showed a card to the president's 
 messenger, and stood for two or three min- 
 utes looking down upon the stage and the 
 orchestra below. He then entered the 
 vestibule of the president's box, closed the 
 door behind him, and fastened it by brac- 
 ing a short plank against it from the wall, 
 so that it could not be opened from the 
 outside. He then drew a small silver- 
 mounted Derringer pistol, which he car- 
 ried in his right hand, holding a long 
 double-edged dagger in his left. All in 
 the box were intent on the proceedings 
 upon the stage ; but President Lincoln 
 was leaning forward, holding aside the 
 curtain of the box with his left hand, and 
 looking, with his head slightly turned, 
 towards the audience. Booth stepped 
 within the inner door into the box, directly 
 behind, the jiresident, and, holding the 
 
 pistol just over the back of the 
 chair in which he sat, shot him 
 through the back of the head. 
 Mr. Lincoln's head fell slightly forward, 
 and his eyes closed, but in every other 
 respect his attitude remained unchanged. 
 The report of the pistol startled those 
 in the box, and Major Eathbone, turn- 
 ing his eyes from the stage, saw, through 
 the smoke that filled the box, a man 
 standing between him and the president. 
 He instantly sprang towards him and 
 seized him ; but Booth wrested himself 
 from his grasp, and, dropping the pis- 
 tol, struck at him with the dagger, in- 
 flicting a severe wound upon his left 
 arm, near the shoulder. Booth then 
 rushed to the front of the box, shouted 
 " Sic semper tijvannis ! '"' — put his hand 
 upon the railing in front of the box, and 
 leaped over it ujjon the stage below. As 
 he went over, his spur caught in the flag 
 which draped the front, and he fell ; but 
 recovering himself immediately, he rose, 
 brandished the dagger, and facing the 
 audience, shouted, " The South is 
 avenged ! " He then rushed across the 
 stage towards the passage which led to the 
 
J48 
 
 FKOM COLOA'Y TU WUiiLlJ TOWia: 
 
 stage door in tlie rear of the theater. An 
 actor naiUKil llawke was the only person 
 on the stage when Bootli leaped up<in it, 
 and seeing Booth coming towards him 
 with tlie dagger in his Iiand, he ran off the 
 stage and up a flight of stairs. Bootli ran 
 through the passage-way beside the scenes, 
 meeting one or two persons only, whom he 
 struck from his path, went out at the door 
 which stood open, and which he closed 
 behind him, anil mounting a horse which 
 he had brought there, and which a lad was 
 holding for him, he rode over the Anacosta 
 bridge, across the east branch of the Poto- 
 mac, safely escaping to Lower Maryland. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the scene 
 which transpired in that box and in that 
 vast audience, on the discovery that the 
 president was shot. Suffice it to say, that 
 the surgeon-general and other ])liysicians 
 were immediately summoned, and their 
 skill exhausted in efforts to restore him to 
 consciousness. An examination of his 
 wounds, however, showed that no hopes 
 could be given that his life would be 
 spared. 
 
 Preparations were at once made to re- 
 move him, and he was conveyed to a house 
 immediately opposite, and there placed 
 upon a bed, the only evidence of life being 
 
 l^[|(jlrt[jfK' 
 
 mw^ 
 
 HOUSE WltEIiE LINCOLN- PIED. 
 
 an occasional nervous twitching of the 
 hiiud and Jieavy breathing. At about haif- 
 past eleven, the motion of tlie muscles of 
 ln.-i face indicated as if he were trying to 
 speak, but doubtless it was merely muscu- 
 lar. His >'yes protruded from their sock- 
 ets and we>e suffused with blood. 
 
 At his bedside were the secretaries of 
 war, the nav\- and the interior; the post- 
 master-general and attorney-general ; Sen- 
 ator Sumner; General Todd, cousin to 
 Mrs. Lincoln; Major Hay, Mr. M. B. 
 Field, General Halleck, General Meigs, 
 llev. Doctor Gurlej', the jihysicians, and a 
 few other persons. All were bathed in 
 tears ; and Secretary Stanton, when in- 
 formed by Surgeon-General Barnes, that 
 the i)resident could not live until morning, 
 exclaimed, ''Oh, no. General; no — no;'" 
 and with an impulse, natural as it was 
 unaffected, immediately sat down and 
 wept like a child. Senator Sumner was 
 seated at the right of the president, near 
 tlie liead, holding the right band of the 
 president in his own ; he was sobbing like 
 a woman, with his head bowed down 
 almost upon the pillow of the bed. In an 
 adjoining room were INIrs. Lincoln, and 
 several others. 
 
 ilrs. Lincoln was in a state of great 
 excitement and agony, wringing her hands 
 and exclaiming, '' Why did he not shoot 
 me, instead of my husband ! I have tried 
 to be so careful of him, fearing sometliing 
 would happen, and his life seemed to be 
 more precious now than ever. I must go 
 with him ! " — and other expressions of like 
 churactcr. She was constantly going to 
 and from the bedside of the president, say- 
 ing in utter grief, "How can it be so!" 
 The scene was heart-rending. Captain 
 Robert Lincoln bore himself with great 
 firmness, and constantly endeavored to 
 assuage the grief of his mother by telling 
 her to put her trust in God and all would 
 be well. Occasionally, however, being 
 entirely overcome, he would retire by him- 
 self and give vent to most piteous lamen- 
 tations. 
 
 At four o'clock, the symptoms of restless- 
 ness returned, and at six the premonitions 
 of dissolution set in. His face, which had 
 been quite i)ale, began to assume a waxen 
 transparency, the jaw slowly fell, and the 
 teeth became exposed. About a quarter 
 of an hour before the president died, his 
 breathing became very difficult, and in 
 manv instances seemed to have entirely 
 
THE ASSASSINATION OF PEESIDENT LINCOLN — 1865. 
 
 349 
 
 ceased. He would again rally and breathe 
 with so great difficulty as to be heard in 
 almost every part of the house. Mrs. 
 Lincoln took her last leave of him about 
 twenty minutes before he expired, and was 
 sitting in the adjoining room when it was 
 announced to her that he was dead. 
 When this announcement was made, she 
 exclaimed, " Oh ! why did you not tell me 
 that he was dying ! '" 
 
 The surgeons and the members of the 
 cabinet. Senator Sumner, Captain Robert 
 Lincoln, General Todd, Mr. Field, and 
 one or two more, were standing at his 
 bed-side when he breathed his last. Rob- 
 
 ert Lincoln was resting himself tenderly 
 upon the arm of Senator Sumner, the 
 mutual embrace of the two having all the 
 affectionateness of father and son. The 
 surgeons were sitting upon the side and 
 foot of the bed, holding the president's 
 hands, and with their watches observing 
 the slow declension of the pulse, and 
 watching the ebbing out of the vital spirit. 
 
 He lingered longer than was expected ; 
 until, at twenty-two minutes past seven 
 o'clock, in the morning, April fifteenth, 
 the phj'sician said, with solemn accent and 
 overpowering emotion, — 
 
 " He Is gone ; he, is dead." 
 
 Such was the deep stillness, in that 
 awful presence, at the fatal announcement. 
 
 that for the space of five minutes the tick- 
 ing of the watches could be distinctly 
 heard. All stood transfixed in their posi- 
 tions, speechless, breathless, around the 
 dead body of that great and good man. 
 At length the secretary of war broke the 
 silence and said to Rev. Doctor Gurley, 
 "Doctor, will you say anj'thing ? " He 
 replied, " I will speak to God." " Do it 
 just now," responded the secretary. And 
 there, by the side of the fallen chief, a fer- 
 vent prayer was offered up, at the close of 
 which there arose from the lips of the 
 entire company a fervid and siiontaneous 
 "Amen." 
 
 No adequate portrayal can be 
 given of the effect upon the 
 public mind, of the murder of 
 the president, as the news was 
 borne along the telegraphic 
 wires, from one end of the land 
 to the other. Stunned, bewil- 
 dered, incredulous, at first, the 
 tears and wailing of a whole 
 nation were soon manifest — 
 deep answering unto deep — to 
 an extent and degree never be- 
 fore witnessed since the death 
 of Washington. A pang of hor- 
 ror seized every heart, in this 
 darkest hour of the country's 
 history, the emblems of mourn- 
 ing slu'ouded the land in very 
 darkness — its streets, its habita- 
 tions, its churches, its halls of justice, its 
 capitols, — funeral pageants everywhere 
 hushed the noise of business, — and tlie 
 solemn voice of eulogy and lamentation, 
 and the sound of dirge and requiem, filled 
 the air, from the mountains of the north 
 to the prairies and valleys of the west and 
 the golden slopes of the far-off Pacific. 
 
 If, in the blind and fatal mistake of 
 sectional antagonism or partisan bitterness, 
 this most infamous of human crimes found 
 apologists, there were, at least, some nota- 
 ble exceptions to this feeling. Thus, 
 when the tidings reached Richmond, Gen- 
 eral Lee at first refused to hear the details 
 of the horrid deed, from the two gentlemen 
 who waited upon him on Sunday night 
 
;;50 
 
 FROi[ COLOXY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 with the particulars. He said, that when 
 he dispossessed himself of the command of 
 the confederate forces, he kej)t in view Pres- 
 ident Lincoln's benignity, and surrendered 
 as much to the latter's goodness as to 
 Grant's artillery. The general said that 
 he regretted Mr. Lincoln's death as much 
 as any man in the north, and believed him 
 to be the epitome of magnanimity and good 
 faith. 
 
 On the nineteenth of April, the New 
 World witnessed the most imposing fu- 
 neral ceremonies that ever took place this 
 side of the Atlantic, or perhaps in the 
 w hole world. The body, which had been 
 embalmed, lay in state in the Green Room 
 of the White House, the coffin resting 
 upon a magnificent catafalque, and the 
 
 The description given bj' Holland, of 
 the procession in the federal metropolis, 
 will apply, in its main features, to all the 
 corteges in the various cities through 
 which the lionored remains passed. "Ev- 
 ery piazza, window, verandah and house- 
 top, was tilled with eager but mournful 
 faces. Funereal music filled the sweet 
 spring air ; and this was the only sound, 
 excejjt the measured tread of feet, and the 
 slow roll of wheels upon the pavement. 
 As the hearse, drawn bj- six gray horses, 
 reached the capitol grounds, the bands 
 burst forth in a requiem, and were an- 
 swered bj' minute-guns from the fortifica- 
 tions. The body of the president was 
 borne into the rotunda, where Doctor Gur- 
 ley completed the religious exercises of the 
 
 LISCUL.N'S EESIDENCE AT SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 
 
 grand room overflowing with flowers which 
 had poured in from innumerable sources. 
 The public exercises took place in the East 
 Room, being conducted by Rev. Drs. Hall, 
 Gurlej', and Gray, and Bishop Simpson. 
 The throng of dignitaries, embracing rep- 
 resentatives of the army and nav}', sena- 
 tors and members of congress, judges, for- 
 eign ambassadors, governors of the states, 
 and other high officials, was such as had 
 never before been gathered together in the 
 executive mansion. From tlie latter place, 
 the body of the illustrious deceased was 
 conveyed, along Pennsylvania Avenue, to 
 the great rotunda of the nation's capitol, 
 thence to be cari-ied to their last resting- 
 place in Oak Ridge cemetery, Springfield, 
 111. 
 
 occasion. Here the remains rested, ex- 
 posed to public view, but guarded by sol- 
 diery, until the next day. Thousands 
 who had no other opportunity to take their 
 farewell of the beloved dust thronged the 
 capitol all night. The pro"ession which 
 moved from the White Hous' , April 19th, 
 was but the beginning of a pageant that 
 displayed its marvelous numbers and its 
 ever-varying forms, through country, and 
 village, and city, winding acr' -s ilie terri- 
 tories of vast states, along r. ii.vK of Liiore 
 than fifteen hundred miles.' During this 
 period, millions gazed i pen the loved 
 features of the departed president. 
 
 It was on the twentj'-first of April, that 
 the remains were started upon their mourn- 
 ful journey to Springfield, 111. They were 
 
THE ASSASaiNATIOlS OF PEESIDENT LINCOLN — ]SG5. 
 
 :J51 
 
 taken to that city by the route he pursiied 
 while ou his way from his western liome to 
 be inaugurated in AVasliington. Balti- 
 more, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, 
 Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, In- 
 dianapolis, and Chicago, were visited in 
 the order named, and at each place, as 
 well as all along the route, there were 
 most extraordinary demonstrations of re- 
 spect and sorrow. Millions of people 
 manifested, by every possible means and 
 token, their deep sense of the public loss, 
 and their appreciation of the exalted vir- 
 tues which adorned the life of Abraham 
 Lincoln. All classes, without distinction 
 of politics or creeds, spontaneously united 
 in the posthumous honors. 
 
 The funeral at Springfield was on a 
 beautiful May day. At noon, the remains 
 were brought from the state house, in the 
 same hearse which had borne the bodies 
 
 SERGEANT BOSTON COEBETT. 
 
 of General Lyon and Thomas H. Benton. 
 The hearse was surmounted by a crown of 
 flowers. From the portico, as the proces- 
 sion, advanced, a vast chorus of voices filled 
 the air with the strains of " Children of 
 the Heavenly King." The ceremonies 
 were under the immediate direction of 
 General Hooker. A dirge was sung ; and 
 after the reading of scripture, a prayer, 
 and a hymn, the president's second inau- 
 gural address was read. A dirge suc- 
 ceeded, after which Bishop Simpson de- 
 livered the funeral oration before the great 
 audience there assembled, and from the 
 midst of which went forth many an ejacu- 
 lation of uncontrollable sorrow. 
 
 And the illustrious and beloved 
 president, so recently the most ex- 
 alted of mortal rulers, was buried 
 in his own tomb. 
 
 But before the noble de2)arted had been 
 consigned, amidst the tears and lamenta- 
 tions of a whole continent, to the earth's 
 bosom, John Wilkes Booth, the perpetra- 
 tor of the greatest of modern crimes, had 
 met his doom, and most of his co-conspira- 
 tors — Atzerodt, Doctor Mudd, Payne, Har- 
 old, Mi's. Surratt, O'Lauglilin, Arnold, and 
 Spangler — were in the clutches of the law. 
 It was Payne, who, at the same time that 
 Booth's bullet sped its fatal course, en- 
 acted his part of the conspiracy in which 
 Booth was chief, by entering the sick 
 chamber of Secretary Seward, stabbing 
 him in the throat, and then escaping. It 
 was at Mrs. Surratt's house that the con- 
 spirators had met and laid their plans. 
 As alleged, Atzerodt was to have taken the 
 life of Vice-President Johnson. O'Laugli- 
 lin was assigned to murder General Grant 
 or Secretary Stanton. Harold was the 
 body companion of Booth. Spangler as- 
 sisted in Booth's escape from the theater. 
 Mudd had held interviews with Booth and 
 John H. Surratt, son of Mrs. Surratt 
 named above, and had also attended to 
 Booth's leg, crippled by his getting entan- 
 gled with the flag that decorated the presi- 
 dent's box. Arnold was originally in the 
 plot, but quarreled, and left it. Booth was 
 but twenty-seven years old at the time of 
 his crime, by profession an actor, long 
 known for his dissipated habits, and for his 
 ardent devotion to the southern cause. 
 He was born in Harford county, Md., his 
 father being the once celebrated actor, 
 Junius Brutus Booth, and his brother 
 being Edwin Booth, also famous on the 
 stage. 
 
 Immediately after the murder, Colonel 
 Baker, of the detective service, set out to 
 find Booth's hiding-place. He soon suc- 
 ceeded in capturing Atzerodt and Mudd. 
 A negro was then arrested, who said he 
 had seen Booth and another man cross the 
 Potomac in a fishing boat. Colonel Baker 
 sent to General Hancock for twenty-five 
 
FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 mounted men to aid him in the pursuit. I 
 The.se were sent under Lieutenant Dough- 
 erty, and Baker placed them under the 
 control of Lieutenant-Colonel Conger, and 
 of his cousin, Lieutenant L. B. Baker, and 
 dispatched them to Belle Plain, with 
 orders to scour the country about Port 
 Royal. 
 
 At Port Royal they found one Rollins, 
 a fisherman, who referred them to a negro 
 named Lucas as having driven two men a 
 short distance toward Bowling Green, in a 
 wagon. These men perfectly answered 
 the description of Booth and Harold, 
 hsome disbanded men, it was learned, be- 
 longing to Mosby's command, took Booth 
 under their protection on the way to 
 Bowling Green, a small court-house town 
 in Caroline county. To that place, Baker 
 and his party immediately proceeded, and 
 there found the captain of the confederate 
 cavalry, from whom they extorted a state- 
 ment of Booth's whereabouts ; this was at 
 the house of a Mr. Garrett, which they had 
 already passed. 
 
 Returning with the captain for a guide, 
 the worn-out command halted at Garrett's 
 gate, at two o'clock on the morning of 
 April I'Gth. Witliout noise, the house 
 was surrounded, and Baker went up to 
 the kitchen door at the side, and rapped. 
 An old man in half undress undrew the 
 bolt.s, and had scarcely opened the door 
 before Baker had him by the throat with 
 a pistol at his ear, and asked, '• Where are 
 the men who stay with j-ou ? " Under 
 the menace of instant death, the old man 
 seemed paralyzed, but at Baker's order lit 
 a candle. The question was then i-epeated. 
 " They are gone," replied the old man. 
 Soon a young boy api^eared, and told 
 Baker the men he sought were in the 
 barn. The barn was then surrounded. 
 Baker and Conger went to the door. The 
 former called out, signifying his intention 
 to have a surrender on the part of the men 
 inside, or else to fire the barn, and shoot 
 them on the spot. The young boy was 
 sent in to receive their arms. To the 
 boy's message Booth answered with a 
 curse, accusing the boy of having betrayed 
 
 him. The boy then came out, and Baker 
 repeated his demand, giving Booth five 
 minutes to make up his mind. Booth 
 replied — 
 
 '• Who are you, and what do you want 
 with us ■;' " 
 
 " We want j'ou to deliver up your arms 
 and become our jarisoners," said Baker. 
 
 " But who are you ? " 
 
 " That makes no difference. We know 
 who you are, and we want you. We have 
 here fifty men with carbines and pistols. 
 You cannot escape." 
 
 " Captain," said Booth, after a pause, 
 " this is a hard case, I swear. Perhaps I 
 am being taken by my own friends." 
 
 He tlien asked time to consider, which 
 was granted. After a little interval. 
 Baker threatened to fire the barn, if the}' 
 did not come out. Booth replied that he 
 was a cripple, and begged a chance for his 
 life, declaring that he would fight them 
 all at so many yards ajjace, and that he 
 would never be taken alive. Baker an- 
 swered that he did not come there to fight 
 but to capture him, and again threatened 
 to fire the barn. 
 
 "Well, then, my brave boys," said 
 Booth, '' prepare a stretcher for me." 
 
 Harold now wanted to surrender, and, 
 in the midst of a shower of imprecations 
 from Booth, did so. Conger then set fire 
 to the barn. 
 
 The blaze lit up the black recesses of 
 the great barn till every wasp's nest and 
 every cobweb in the roof was visible, fling- 
 ing streaks of red and violet across the 
 tumbled farm-gear in the corner, and bath- 
 ins: the murderer's retreat in a vivid illu- 
 mination, — and, while in bold outline his 
 fit;iire stood revealed, they rose like an 
 impenetrable wall to guard from sight the 
 dreadful enemy who lit them. Behind the 
 blaze, with his eye to a crack, Conger saw 
 Wilkes Booth standing upright u])on a 
 crutch. At the gleam of fire. Booth 
 dropped his crutch and carbine, and on 
 both hands crept up to the spot to espy 
 the incendiary and shoot him dead. His 
 eyes were lustrous as with fever, and 
 swelled and rolled in terrible anxiety, 
 
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN — 1865. 
 
 353 
 
 while his teeth were fixed, and he wore 
 the exjiressiuu of one in the calmness pre- 
 ceding frenzy. In ^ain he peered, with 
 vengeance in his look ; the blaze that 
 made him visible concealed his pursuers. 
 A second he turned glaring at the fire, as 
 if to leap upon and extinguish it, but the 
 flames had made such headway that this 
 was a futile impulse, and he dismissed it. 
 As calmly as upon the battle-field a vet- 
 
 l)ett fired through a crevice and shot Booth 
 in the neck. 
 
 They then took up the wounded man 
 and carried him out on the grass, a little 
 way from the door, beneath a locust tree. 
 Conger went back to the barn, to see if 
 the fire could be put out, but found it 
 could not, and returned to where Booth 
 was lying. Before this (says Lieutenant 
 Conger, in his official account), I supposed 
 
 BURIAL PLACE OF LINCOLN. 
 
 eran stands amidst the hail of ball and 
 shell and plunging iron. Booth turned at 
 a man's stride and pushed for the door, 
 weapon in poise, and the last resolve of 
 death — despair — set on his high, bloodless 
 forehead. 
 
 At this instant. Sergeant Boston Cor- 
 2.3 
 
 him to be dead ; he had all the appearance 
 of a dead man ; but when I came back, his 
 eyes and mouth were moving. I called 
 immediately for water, and put some on 
 his face. He seemed to revive, and at- 
 tempted to speak. I put my ear down to 
 I his mouth, and heard him say, "Tell my 
 
:!r>4 
 
 FUO-M COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 mother I died for my country." I re-- 
 peated the words to liim, and said, "Is 
 that what you would say'/" He said 
 " Yes." They carried hiin to the porch of 
 Garrett's house, and laid him on a straw 
 bed or tick. At that time lie revived con- 
 siderably, and could talk in a whisper, so 
 as to be intelligibly understood. He could 
 not speak above a whisper. He wanted 
 water; I gave it to him. He wanted to 
 turn on his face ; I said he couldn't lie in 
 tha*^ position. He wanted to be turned on 
 his side ; we turned him on his side three 
 times, but he could not lie with any com- 
 fort, and asked immediately to be turned 
 back. He asked me to put my hand on 
 his tliroat, and press down, which I did. 
 He said " Harder; " I pressed as hard as 
 I thought necessary. He made a very 
 strong exertion to cough, Init was unal>le 
 to do so. I suiipose he thought tliere was 
 blood in his throat. I asked him to jiut 
 out his tongue, wiiicb he did. I said, 
 "There is no blood in your throat.'' He 
 repeated several times, "Kill nie ! kill 
 me ! " I replied, " I do not want to kill 
 you. I want you to get well." 
 
 When the doctor arrived, whom Conger 
 had sent for. Booth asked to have his 
 ha-nds raised and shown him. When this 
 was done, he muttered " Useless, useless ! " 
 These were his last words. He died about 
 four hoars after being shot. 
 
 Tlie solemn trial of the other accom- 
 plices in this great crime of conspiracy 
 and murder, soon took place in the city of 
 Washington, before a military commission 
 consisting of Generals Hunter, Howe, 
 Harris, Wallace, Kautz. Foster, Ekin ; 
 Colonels Clendenin, TDUipkins, and Bur- 
 nett; Judges Bingham and Holt. The 
 last named held the position of Judge- 
 Advocate-General of the court, and Major- 
 General Hunter officiated as president. 
 
 The charges upon which Payne was 
 arrested and tried were, that he was a 
 confederate of Booth in the general con- 
 spiracy to kill the i)resident, vice-])resident. 
 General Grant, and Secretary Seward, so 
 as thus to deprive the armv and navy of a 
 constitutional commander-in-chief, and to 
 
 prevent a lawful election of president and 
 vice-president 113' the vacancy thus made 
 in the office of secretary of state, — the duty 
 of the latter officer being, in case of the 
 death of the president and vice-president, 
 to cause an election to be held for presi- 
 dential electors. The arraignment of all 
 the parties was upon this general charge, 
 with specifications in each case. 
 
 Against Payne, the specification was 
 that of attempting to kill Secretary Sew- 
 ard. Presenting himself at the door of 
 Ml'. Seward's residence, he gained admis- 
 sion by repre.senting that he had a pre- 
 scription from Mr. Seward's physician, 
 wdiich he was directed to see administered, 
 and liurried up to the third-story chamber, 
 where Mr. Seward was lying sick. He 
 here discovered Mr. Frederick Seward, 
 struck him over the head, inflicting severe 
 wounds, and then rushed into the room 
 where Mr. Seward was in bed, attended by 
 a young daughter and a male nurse. The 
 assassin stablied the latter in the lungs, 
 and then struck Secretary Seward with a 
 <l;igger twice in the face and twice in the 
 throat, inflicting terrible wounds. By this 
 time Major Seward, eldest son of the sec- 
 retary, and another attendant, reached the 
 room, and rushed to the rescue of the sec- 
 retary ; they wei-e also wounded in the 
 conflict, and the assassin escaped. 
 
 Spangler, who was employed at the the- 
 ater, was tried for aiding and assisting 
 Booth to (ibtain an entrance to the box in 
 which President Lincoln sat in the thea- 
 ter, and for barring or obstructing the 
 door of the passage-way, so as to hinder 
 pursuit. 
 
 Atzerodt was charged with lying in wait 
 to murder Vice-President Johnson, at the 
 Kirkwood House, wdiere the latter was 
 stopping. He took a room at that house, 
 on the morning of April 14tli, and was 
 there at different times during the day and 
 evening, under suspicious circumstances. 
 Though in active co-operation with Booth 
 and his accomplices, he failed in executing 
 the i)art particularly delegated to him. 
 
 In the further ])rogranime of the great 
 conspiracy, O'Laughlin was to take the 
 
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN —1S65. 
 
 35r, 
 
 life of General Grant, and on this charge 
 and speL-itication he was indicted and tried, 
 though he failed, like Atzerodt, to accom- 
 plish the hloody deed. 
 
 Mrs. Surratt was charged with having 
 '■ on or before the sixth da^' of Marcli, 
 1865, and on divers other days and times 
 between that day and the twentieth of 
 April, 1865, received, entertained, har- 
 bored and concealed, aided and assisted " 
 tlie conspirators in the execution of their 
 plans. She was charged with being cog- 
 nizant of the intended crime almost from 
 its incei3tion, becoming an active partici- 
 pant and general manager. With Doctor 
 Mudd, it was charged, she planned the 
 means and assistance for the escape of the 
 assassins, and visited Mudd at five o'clock 
 on the day of the assassination, to see that 
 certain weapons were in readiness. Booth 
 had frequent interviews at her house, 
 and was with her on the afternoon of the 
 fourteenth. 
 
 The part taken by Doctor Mudd, in the 
 tragedy, was described in the indictment 
 as that of an accomplice. He was, it ap- 
 peared, in the confidence of Booth several 
 months prior to the assassination. In 
 January, he had an interview with John 
 H. Surratt and Booth, at the National 
 Hotel. He introduced Booth to Surratt, 
 and was visited by Booth at the Pennsyl- 
 vania House. When the assassins fled to 
 his house, he dressed Booth's wound and 
 assisted in the escape of both Booth and 
 Harold. When the officers called at his 
 
 house, soon after the assassination, he 
 denied that he knew either of the crimin- 
 als, but subsequently, after his arrest, he 
 admitted the fact of his acquaintance with 
 Booth ; both of the fugitives were well 
 cared for by him at his house. 
 
 Arnold was tried for being one of the 
 original conspirators, but it was not 
 charged that he maintained any active 
 relation to the plot at the time appointed 
 for its execution. His guilt consisted in 
 being an accomplice before the act. 
 
 Harold's complicity admitted, of course, 
 of no doubt. On the night of the assas- 
 sination he was seen at the livery stable 
 with Booth, and on various occasions he 
 was known to have held secret meetings 
 with Booth, Atzerodt, and others of the 
 conspiracy, at Mrs. Surratt's and else- 
 where. During his flight with Booth, he 
 acknowledged to confederate soldiers that 
 he and Booth had made way with the 
 president. 
 
 Atzerodt, Harold, Payne, and Mrs. Sur- 
 ratt, were found guilty of crimes deserving 
 death, and were hanged therefor on the 
 seventh of July, 1865. Arnold, O'Laugh- 
 lin, and Mudd, were sent to the Dry Tor- 
 tugas for hard labor during life ; and 
 Spangler for six j'ears of hard labor, at the 
 same place. John H. Surratt, son of Mrs. 
 Surratt above named, and who was also 
 indicted, fled to Europe ; being discovered, 
 he was arrested and sent to Washington, 
 but, after a protracted trial by jury, es- 
 caped conviction. 
 
XXXVll. 
 
 NATIONAL PEACE JUBILEE AND MUSICAL FESTIVAL, 
 
 IN BOSTON, IN HONOR OF THE KESTOPxATlON 
 
 OF THE UNION OF THE STATES.— 1869. 
 
 Ten Thousand Singers, an Orcliestra of One Thousand Instruments, and Tens of Thousands of Spec- 
 tators, in tlie Coliseum, an Immense Building Erected for tlie Occasion. — Attendance of President 
 Grant. — Siiiilirne and Inspiring Harmonies. — Most Majestic Musical Demonstration of Modern Times. 
 — Origin of the Jubilee. — P. S. Gilmore : His Zeal and Enthusiasm — .Ml Discouragements Overcome. 
 — Magniticent Programme — Splendor of the Coliseum — It Covers Nearly Kour Acres. — Inauguration 
 Ceremonies. — View of the Audience — Scene of Surpassing Enchaniment.— Beauty of the Decora- 
 tions—Overtures, Clioruses. Anthems, Etc— Parejia liosa, Phillipps, Ole Bu'l —Their Professional 
 Triumphs.— Zerrahn, Tourjee, Eichberg.— The Famous "Anvil" Chorus —Chiming the City Bells. 
 — Novel Counniiighng of Ariillery with Music — 'rremendous Ovation to Grant — Half a Million 
 People in the City — Testimonial to Mr. Gilmore — Last Day: Concert by Ten Thousand Children. 
 — Triumphant Success of the .Jubilee. 
 
 "Let 118 have peace! "— Genebal Grant, tM hi.s Letter accepting the Fbesideiitial .\ohiiiatioit. 
 
 OUR long ami welcome year.s of peace had been enjoyed by tlie American people, 
 since the greate.st of civil war.s ever waged suddenly ceased its 
 wasting horrors, by the surrender of the army of Lee to General 
 Grant, and that of Johnston to General Sherman. But, as yet, no 
 .^peciiil commemorative celebration of the momentous event had 
 taken place in any part of the land — except that outburst of joy 
 and satisfaction in all parts, with which the final grounding of 
 arms was greeted. A hapjiy local conception for supplying this 
 omission, to some extent, was that of the well-known organizer of 
 musical bands and leader of instrumental concerts, Mr. P. S. Gil- 
 more, of Boston. His jdan. or programme, was that of a Grand 
 National Peace Jidiilee in that city, on the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 
 anil 19th of June, 1869, — the grandest outpouring of sublime and patriotic music, ever 
 heard upon the American continent. It was to be a demonstration which, in magnitude 
 and splendor, would represent the greatest cause for national rejoicing which the Amer- 
 ican people were ever called u]ion to celebrate, and in which the glad voices of a 
 reunited nation shoulil mingle in one common .song of thaid<sgiving to the Almight}', 
 for the return of those bles.^ings which years of terrible strife had withheld ; — an occa- 
 sion which should bring together, in fraternal greeting, the leading men of the republic, 
 throughout all its borders, and, aside from its imposing significance as the first national 
 re-union since the close of the war, should also be the greatest feast of inspiring har- 
 mony — majestic choruses, anthems of adoration, niiiitary and patriotic compositions, 
 
THE NATIONAL PEACE Jt^BILEE — 1869. 
 
 ii,)i 
 
 oratorio and symphony, and the divinest 
 airs from Mozart and Meyerbeer — ever 
 heard in any part of the world. 
 
 The choruses, it was furtlier proposed, 
 should be performed bj' ten to fifteen 
 thousand voices, comjjrising the very best 
 singers obtainable ; the orchestra to con- 
 sist of one thousand players, including 
 the leading bands and most skillful musi- 
 cians in the United States ; also, a vast 
 and powerful organ, together with the 
 accompanying effects of artillery, chiming 
 of bells, and other accessories. The whole 
 to be held in an immense coliseum, cajja- 
 ble of accommodating fifty thousand per- 
 sons, and to be magnificently decorated 
 with historical emblems of state and na- 
 tional progress since the formation of the 
 Union. 
 
 So vast and novel an undertaking was 
 naturally looked upon somewhat distrust- 
 fully, at first, by those to whom it was 
 unfolded. One of the warmest of Mr. 
 Gilmore's friends, on listening to an ex- 
 position of the plan, remarked, " Why, 
 Gilmore, that is an idea fit for an emperor, 
 and it will take an emperor to carry it 
 out." "Then," laughingly responded Mr. 
 Gilmore, " I must become an emperor." 
 Discouraged and ridiculed by others, he 
 never flagged for a moment in energetic- 
 ally urging the co-operation of influential 
 men in behalf of his plan, and gave wide 
 publicity to itj from one end of the land 
 to the other. At length, opposition began 
 to die away ; men of patriotism and 
 wealth pledged themselves to the enter- 
 prise ; letters strongly endorsing it were 
 received from eminent officials ; and prom- 
 ises of participation freely flowed in from 
 musicians and musical societies. An as- 
 sociation was now formed of prominent 
 gentlemen, conspicuous in political, pro- 
 fessional, and business circles, for thorough 
 and effective work, in forwarding the proj- 
 ect to a speedy and complete consumma- 
 tion. 
 
 On the 29th of March, work on the great 
 building was commenced, and it soon grew 
 up to its full proportions, majestic in size 
 and strength, — the largest edifice that had 
 
 ever been erected on this continent. The 
 size of the building was three hundred 
 feet by five hundred ; the height of its 
 roof, one hundred feet, and of its side 
 walls thirty-six ; and the promenade was 
 more than a fourth of a mile in length. 
 The interior was gorgeously decorated ; 
 folds of blue, brown and gold, depending 
 from the galleries, and rich frescoings and 
 many-tinted banners everj' where meeting 
 the eye. On the side arches, colossal 
 angels bore up the inscription " Peace," 
 and over the central arch was the Song of 
 the Annimciation, " Glory to God in the 
 Highest, Peace on Earth, Good Will 
 toward Men." In the rear of these arches, 
 on each flank of the organ, appeared me- 
 dallions, one representing St. Cecilia, at- 
 tended by heavenly beings, who are listen- 
 ing to her playing, and the other repre- 
 senting David and his harp. The great 
 roof was supported by four ranges of 
 pillars, eighteen in each range. Those 
 which ran along the front of the galleries 
 bore each the coat-of-arms of a State of 
 the Union, witli flags raj'ed from it, and 
 an eagle above ; while on the two central 
 ranges of pillars the banners bore the 
 colors of foreign nations, the portraits of 
 great composers, and other emblems. The 
 main ceiling was hung with tri-colored 
 streamers, and the faces of the galleries 
 were elegantly frescoed. The end of the 
 wall behind the spectators was also superb 
 in its adornments, including a mighty 
 Angel of Peace, with her right hand 
 raised, and holding forward the symbols 
 of harmony and peace, while with her 
 left hand she waved behind her tlie 
 sanguinary implements of war. The coat- 
 of-arms of Massachusetts and the city seal 
 of Boston appeared on either flank. The 
 building covered some three or four acres. 
 As the day apjwinted for the opening 
 services approaclied, the interest in the 
 event became intense in every part of the 
 country, and Boston was crowded as it 
 never had been before by hosts of strangers. 
 Everybody and everything wore a holiday 
 appearance. Citizens from every State in 
 the Union were there. 
 
358 
 
 FROM C'OLOXY TO WOItLD POWER. 
 
 At about three oV'Iock in tlie afternoon, 
 the opening exercises of the celebration 
 oommeni'ed as follows : Prayer, by Rev. 
 E. E. Hale ; address of welcome, b^' Mayor 
 Shurtleff; oration, by Hon. A. H. Rice. 
 But it was the niusiral feature of the 
 occasion for which the tens of thousands 
 gathered together in that vast and mag- 
 nificent scene were anxiously waiting. 
 The immense ami)hitheater, two hundred 
 feet in depth from the front of the orches- 
 tra by three hundred feet in width, was 
 filled to its utmost capacity with the ten 
 thousand ladies and gentlemen who formed 
 the grand chorus, and its base or front 
 center was occupied by the orcliestra of 
 one thousand instruments. Be- 
 hind the orchestra was tlie big 
 drum, eight feet in diameter and 
 eight feet high, and, further 
 back, beyond tlie central seats 
 of the choir, rose the organ, 
 thirty feet in height. A look 
 at the orchestra from the ex- 
 treme north end of the building 
 presented a sight witnessed only 
 once in a life-time. 
 
 The greatest celebrity noticed 
 as yet among the musicians was 
 Carl Rosa, who was seated 
 among the violins, and beside 
 whom there was a vacant chair. 
 
 Presently there was burst of \ ^ / 
 
 cheers, as the tall, graceful, and 
 dignified form of Ole Bull was 
 seen wending his way down from the back 
 to take his seat as the leader of tlie violin- 
 ists. And now there was a perfect torrent 
 of applause, as Mr. Gilmore advanced to 
 open the programme. It was a proud 
 moment for him, as he stood there, to 
 reflect that this, the greatest of musical 
 festivals, sprang up under his magic wand. 
 Another warm welcome was in store for 
 Mr. Eichberg, Mr. Zerrahn, Mr. Tourjee, 
 Madame Parepa-Eosa, Miss Phillipps, and 
 other leaders, as they made their appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Luther's great choral, '• God is a castle 
 and defense," began the grand perform- 
 ances, and as, in magnificent strength 
 
 and beauty, the vast volume of pure sound 
 arose from ten thousand voices and a 
 thousand instruments, the grandeur of the 
 effect was indescribable. To this suc- 
 ceeded the Tannhauser overture, exciting 
 and entrancing the senses and filling the 
 soul with weird and peculiar pleasure ; and 
 then came the '' Gloria," from Mozart's 
 Twelfth Mass. In Gounod's "Ave Maria," 
 Madame Parejia-Rosa made her appear- 
 ance as the first soloist of the jubilee. 
 She was clad in faultless white, and re- 
 ceived a trenendous ovation. The accom- 
 paniment of two hundred chosen violins, 
 le<l by Bull, Carl Rosa, Schultze, Suck, 
 Meisel, Eichberg, and others, began sweet- 
 
 ly, thrillingly. and tenderly, adding to the 
 anxiety of the audience. Suddenly a note, 
 clear, sublime, and heard above all else and 
 to the farthest corner of the hall, began the 
 '■Ave Maria," whicli the prima donna sang 
 with matchless skill. In this, as also in 
 the beautiful '' Inflammatus,'' she was en- 
 cored with a fervor such as no woman ever 
 saw manifested by an audience before. 
 The scene was enchanting. 
 
 At the conclusion of the first part of 
 the concert, the "Star Spangled Banner" 
 was given with grand and overpowering 
 effect, producing the wildest excitement 
 in the audience. The choral combinations 
 of the parts used iu the piece were very 
 
 I 
 
THE NATIONAL PEACE JUBILEE — 18G9. 
 
 359 
 
 ingenioua, and, in addition to these, the 
 aid of a great military band, of an immense 
 drum corps, and of artillery, was given to 
 the chorus, orchestra and organ. The 
 artillery firing, by means of electricity, 
 was a novel and most striking feature in 
 this piece, as was also the ringing of the 
 bells of the city in unison, from the tele- 
 graph stand. 
 
 In the second 'part, the " Hymn of 
 Praise," composed for the occasion by Di-. 
 0. W. Holmes, and set to the music of 
 Keller's American Hj^mn, was the first 
 ])iece, and was beautifully and nobly exe- 
 cuted. After this came Rossini's overture 
 to William Tell, the performance of which 
 was pronounced to be the sublimest orches- 
 tral rendering ever given in America — 
 true, wonderful, and lovely, revealing in 
 most remarkable beauty, the noble melo- 
 dies and harmonies of the composition. 
 After the " Coronation March," from Mey- 
 erbeer, came the " Anvil Chorus " from 
 " II Trovatore,'' producing a tremendous 
 sensation among the audience and receiv- 
 ing an uproarious encore. The jiictur- 
 esque hundred firemen, in black pant.s, red 
 shirts, and white caps, did their duty 
 admirably, beating their anvils with fine 
 effect, and with such precision as not to 
 miss a note amid the rapid cadences which 
 the orchestra gave with such force. " My 
 Country, 'tis of Thee," with the same 
 novel accessories as the " Star Spangled 
 Banner," concluded the first daj-'s concert 
 most appropriately, the audience joining 
 in the last stanza with magnificent effect. 
 The hundred anvils were ranged in four 
 rows, extending from near the front of the 
 platform to the back of the orchestra stage. 
 No words can adequately describe the 
 transporting effect of this first day's per- 
 formance upon the thousands assembled 
 under that vast roof. A distinguished 
 gentleman sent the following telegram to 
 his wife, at the close of the concert: 
 "Nothing like it in a life-time. Will 
 make any sacrifice to have you here Thurs- 
 day. Come by express train." 
 
 The second day of the jubilee was ren- 
 dered still more exciting and memorable 
 
 by the presence of the chief magistrate ot 
 the nation, General Grant. The popular 
 success of the great national festival prov- 
 ed, under these circumstances, absolutely 
 enormous. The Common was covered with 
 people, and the streets were so crowded 
 that motion was almost impossible. The 
 military marched with much difficulty 
 along a portion of the route, and around 
 the coliseum the mass of people became so 
 dense all day, that it was difficult to ap- 
 proach the doors. Many of the hotels and 
 restaurants were even forced to lock their 
 doors, to keep out the hungry multitude 
 whom they could not supply. 
 
 A constant ovation attended the presi- 
 dent's reception until he reached the 
 coliseum, and there he found acres of 
 humanity' waiting his entrance. The par- 
 lor to which the illustrious guest was con- 
 ducted exhibited most elegant taste, in 
 keeping with all the appointments of the 
 magnificent edifice throughout. The walls 
 were tinted and paneled in fresco ; dra- 
 pery, and lace curtains, and cornices en- 
 riched the windows ; beautiful carpeting 
 covered the floor ; splendid sets of black 
 walnut furniture were provided ; and then 
 there were rustic baskets filled with the 
 choicest cut flowers suspended from nu- 
 merous points, elegant and spacious mir- 
 rors and choice paintings hung upon the 
 walls, and superb works of art contributed 
 to the admirable tout ensemble of the 
 apartment. Here the distinguished guest 
 received the courtesies of tlie originator of 
 the jubilee and his colleague, after which 
 he proceeded to the audience hall. 
 
 As the president passed down the cen- 
 ter aisle of the building to his seat, arm 
 in arm with Governor Claflin, followed by 
 Admirals Farragut and Hudson, Commo- 
 dore Winslow, Secretary Boutwell, Mayor 
 Shurtleff, and others, the vast assembly 
 started to their feet as if by one common 
 impulse, and while the hero stood, hat in 
 hand, bowing to the mighty throng, a 
 cheer went up from sixty thousand voices, 
 and filled the far-extended structure, like 
 the mighty roar of the ocean. For full 
 five minut«s were these cheers continued 
 
^60 
 
 FEO:\I COLONY TO WORLD TOWER 
 
 from aiiflience and chorus and ordiostra, 
 aoi-ompanied l\y tlie ^vaving of tlionsands 
 of handkerclui'fs in the hands of fair 
 women. la the midst of this scene of 
 unparalleled enthusiasm, the powerful or- 
 gan thundered forth the strains of " See 
 the Conquering Hero Comes," and tlien, 
 as the music jirogressed, at a signal from 
 Mr. Gilmore's haton, ten thousand souls, 
 in colossal chorus, gave voice to the words 
 of that welcoming anthem. The climax 
 of the Week of Festival was now fairly 
 reached. 
 
 In compliment to the president, the 
 " Star Spangled Banner" was introduced 
 between the two parts of the programme ; 
 and to this was added the "Anvil Chorus," 
 with the original one hundi'ed anvils and 
 the one hundred red-shirted firemen to 
 beat theiii — and this, with the adjuncts of 
 cannon and bells, threw the audience into 
 a frenzy of rapturous delight. There was 
 more classical music on this occasion than 
 on the day previous, but the president 
 appeared to prefer the more popidar patri- 
 otic airs, and the tiring of guns by elec- 
 tricity appeared to interest him much. 
 This battery of Parrott guns, placed im- 
 mediately within the coliseum, were ma- 
 nipulated in front of the conductor's stand, 
 the process being that of touching, at the 
 proper moment, the keys of an electrical 
 instrument, to which the guns were con- 
 nected by wires, precisely as the ke_ys of 
 an organ or piano are struck, when har- 
 mony in the measurement of time is de- 
 manded. 
 
 With evident satisfaction, the president 
 listened to Parepa-Rosa, as she sang 
 Handel's " Let the Bright Seraphim." 
 Without the faintest appearance of effort, 
 she sang as clearly and brilliantly as if in 
 a concert x'oom of ordinary dimensions, the 
 clear sounds of her imperial voice sweep- 
 ing throughout the galleries and corri- 
 dors in trumpet-like tones. The audience 
 ■ was electrified. Not only spectators, but 
 the twelve thousand choristers and one 
 thousand performers, rose and vehemently 
 cheered or waved their handkerchiefs. 
 Another splendid vocal triumph was that 
 
 achieved l\v Miss Adelaide Phillipps, in 
 the singing of Mozart's aria from the 
 Clemenza di Tito. The chorus, "Glory to 
 God in the highest, peace on earth, good 
 will to men," was another of the perform- 
 ances. Hardly was it finished, when 
 another — " And the glory of the Lord 
 shall be revealed " — was taken up by the 
 thousand altos, and echoed by the basses 
 and sopranos until the hall rung. Noth- 
 ing in the whole range of music could be 
 more thunderous and intense than the 
 concluding strains of this chorus. The 
 chorus from Mendelssohn, " He watching 
 over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps," had 
 an almost divine pathos and melodj'. The 
 great swaying grandeur of "America " 
 impressed the chief magistrate deeply. As 
 he left the building, salvos of artillery 
 broke upon the air, fired in unison with 
 the last chords of the strains of music and 
 the rounds of cheers. 
 
 Mr. Gilmore's jjrogramme for the third 
 day consisted of popular and patriotic 
 music, such as kept the vast crowd in a 
 continual furore of jileasurable excite- 
 ment. The first piece, the overture to 
 Anber's " Fra Diavolo," was splendidly 
 played by the full orchestra of upward of 
 one thousand, and a novel and very pleas- 
 ing effect was produced by placing fifty 
 trumpets, or cornets, on the solo trumpet 
 part, the matchless Arbuckle being at the 
 head of the list. Luther's grand old 
 choral, "The Judgment Hymn," was 
 given by the full chorus, with full orches- 
 tral and organ accompaniment. The next 
 j)erformance was the " Peace Festival 
 March," composed for the occasion by 
 Signor Janotta. It was performed by the 
 grand orchestra and military band com- 
 l>ined, and was a magnificent success. 
 Madame Parepa-Rosa next rendered an 
 aria from " Robert le Diable ; " and the 
 Anvil Chorus, and " Overture Triomphale" 
 on the American national air " Hail Co- 
 lumbia," composed for the festival by C. 
 C. Converse, closed the first part of the 
 programme. The second part included 
 the "Prince Frederick" march, the "Star 
 Spangled Banner," a cornet solo by Ar- 
 
THE NATIONAL PEACE JUBILEE — 1SC9. 
 
 361 
 
 ' buckle, "The Harp that once through 
 Tara's Halls," the overture to Elotow's 
 " Stradella," and the '•One Hundredtli 
 Psalm." The whole audience joined in 
 the last verse of the psalm, and the accom- 
 jianinient comjirised the organ, orchestra, 
 and cannon. 
 
 In the evening, a Jubilee Ball was 
 given in the coliseum, which was an 
 immense success. A dancing hall of colos- 
 sal proportions was provided, and the 
 coliseum presented a more magnificent 
 appearance under the effect of fifty thou- 
 
 superb, — the largest ball, indeed, ever 
 known in this country. 
 
 A purely classical programme was ar- 
 ranged for the fourtli day, and the highest 
 expectations of success were fvdly realized. 
 Complete in its artistic results, no heartier 
 enthusiasm was displayed at any time dur- 
 ing the festival than that which followed 
 the various choral and ori'hestral selections 
 of this da3^ Among the performances 
 were the "Gloria'' from the Twelfth Mass, 
 the "Hallelujah Chorus," "Achieved is 
 the Glorious Work,'' the " Prayer '' from 
 
 NATIONAL PEACE JUBILEE AND MUSICAL FESTIVAL. AT ItOSTON. 
 
 sand gas-lights, than in the day time. The 
 decorations were thrown out boldly, while 
 the rich toilets of the ladies heightened 
 the general enchantment of the scene. 
 The order of dances was twenty-two in 
 number, and the ball opened promptly at 
 half-past nine, Mr. Gilmore waving the 
 baton. The orchestra was made up of a 
 dance and promenade band, the former 
 under the direction of Mr. Gilmore, and 
 the latter under Mr. Harvej' B. Dodworth, 
 of New York. Ten thousand persons were 
 present, and the affair was in all respects 
 
 Moses in Egj'pt, etc. The choral, " To 
 God on High," and " Sleepers wake, a 
 voice is calling," were both sung almost 
 perfectly, showing, magnificently, their 
 solid grandeur and beauty. The purely 
 instrumental performances, Weber's " Ju- 
 bilee " overture, and the Fifth Symphony 
 of Beethoven, were rendered in the most 
 m.ajestic style. Miss Phillipps gave Han- 
 del's beautiful "Lascia chio pianga" in 
 the most finished and graceful manner, so 
 that the audience were excited to the very 
 highest pitch of enthusiasm, and an encoi-e 
 
362 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 was rapturously demanded. Mr. George 
 Peabody was introduced to the audience, 
 during the intermisson, and was loudly 
 cheered. There were also on the plat- 
 form, with him, Governors Claflin and 
 Jewell, Senators Sumner and Wilson, 
 Generals Banks and Hawley, Bishop Simp- 
 son, Dr. Lowell Mason, and other distin- 
 guished guests. 
 
 Saturday was the fifth and last day of 
 this grandest musical festival of modern 
 times. Ten thousand school children, 
 their innocent voices pouring forth a flood 
 of sweet and simple song, constituted the 
 great attraction of the day. Clad in white 
 dresses, with red and blue ribbons, the 
 appearance of the girls was charming in 
 the extreme. It was the largest chorus 
 of children ever brought together in the 
 world, and the concourse of spectators was 
 vast. Chorals, three-part songs, national 
 airs, etc., were performed with great skill 
 and power by the juvenile songsters, elicit- 
 ing unbounded applause. " Hail Colum- 
 bia," and "Now the twilight softly steal- 
 ing," were exquisitely rendered. Brinley 
 Richards's song, " So merrily over the 
 ocean spra\'," was one of the most telling 
 features of the day ; the solo was sustained 
 by five hundred pujiils of the girls' high 
 and normal school, and the chorus by all 
 the children. " God is a Castle and 
 Defense" was given with fine effect; and 
 Ole Bull's marvelous skill as a violinist 
 was displayed in the solo, " A Mother's 
 Prayer." The orchestra played the over- 
 ture to " William Tell," and the corona- 
 tion march from " The Prophet." Madame 
 Rosa repeated " Let the Bright Sera- 
 phim," with Mr. Arbuckle's accompani- 
 ment. A duet, " Quis est homo," sung 
 by Madame Rosa and Miss Phillipps, was 
 a performance long to be remembered. 
 During the intermission, Mr. Gilmore was 
 called from the orchestra to the editors' 
 room, where Mr. Carl Gartner, of Phila- 
 delphia, presented to him a massive gold 
 watch, of great elegance and cost, and a 
 heavy gold chain, as a testimonial of re- 
 spect and regard from the members of the 
 orchestra. The gift was entirely unex- 
 
 pected to Mr. Gilmore, who made a fitting 
 response. The '• Russian National Hymn," 
 with words of welcome to President Grant, 
 was executed in a manner that showed the 
 excellent vocal culture of the children ; 
 and the concert was brought to a close by 
 singing, in grand chorus, the One Hun- 
 dreth Psalm. 
 
 To say that the efforts and anticipations 
 of those who originated the National Peace 
 Jubilee and Musical Festival were crown- 
 ed with triumphant success, from first to 
 last, is but uttering the simple truth. It 
 was a mighty conception, and the result 
 was the greatest musical event in the his- 
 tory of modern times. The very first 
 day's performances were so satisfying and 
 so enthusiastically received, as to render 
 the succeeding efforts comparatively easy 
 and sure. From the oj)ening to the clos- 
 ing performance, the rapturous excitement 
 and delight continued without abatement. 
 At times it rose to almost wild delirium. 
 The audience and the performers seemed 
 to be actuated b_y one impulse of magnetic 
 fervor. Unquestionably, the great musical 
 artiste was Madame Parepa-Rosa, who 
 gained new triumphs every day. Even 
 the musicians, when she came to the last 
 notes of the '• Star Spangled Banner," 
 where in capacity of voice she almost 
 rivaled Jenny Lind, laid down their in- 
 struments, and gazed in wonder. Her 
 jiure, full, and resonant notes seemed to 
 triumph over walls and roof, and to fill all 
 space with tangible and enchanting mel- 
 ody. 
 
 General Grant's presence gave magnif- 
 icent eclat to the occasion. Fully half a 
 million people were in the city on that 
 day, and the rush to the coliseum was ter- 
 rific, there being fifty thousand persons 
 outside of the building, unable to obtain 
 admission. Hours before the time of the 
 concert, orders had to be issued prohibit- 
 ing the further sale of tickets ; and, almost 
 as soon as the performances commenced, 
 every door was closed, secured by iron 
 clamps, and guarded hy the police. Those 
 who arrived late, holders of season tickets, 
 purchasers of single da}' tickets bought of 
 
THE NATIONAL PEACE .1 FBI LEE — 18(39. 
 
 36;! 
 
 the speculators at a great price, ineinbers 
 of parties whose friends were already 
 inside, even journalists with their tickets 
 and badges, were firmly refused admission. 
 General Grant surveyed the vast and brill- 
 iant mass of humanity with evidently 
 greater interest than that with which he 
 listened to the music. Indeed, it was 
 well known that, among his many fine 
 qualities, a taste for this divine art was 
 not included. When, therefore. General 
 Underwood called upon Genei-al Sherman, 
 on the morning before the pi-esident's 
 departure for Boston, General Sherman 
 said, "Taking Grant off to that drum 
 match, are you, Underwood ? " " Yes, 
 general, and I am very sorry you cannot 
 join us." "Well," responded Sherman, 
 " it is a kind of disappointment, j-ou know, 
 because I can appreciate those things ; 
 but the President ! bless your soul, he'll 
 be bored to death ! And, worse than all 
 that, he has no ear for music. Why, do 
 you know that Grant actually couldn't tell 
 tlie difference between Yankee Doodle and 
 Zip Coon ? " On his way from Boston, 
 the evening after his attendance at the 
 coliseum. President Grant was asked how 
 he liked the discharge of artillery during 
 the performances that afternoon. He re- 
 plied that, in his opinion, '' the firing was 
 the best part of the music ! " 
 
 Much of the sustaining character of the 
 choruses was due to the admirable adapt- 
 eduess of the organ to the occasion. Its 
 tones were heard and felt clear over and 
 through the host of voices and instru- 
 ments ; at times it seemed to overshadow 
 all, and its thunder tones shook the whole 
 vast building. It liad but a single man- 
 ual, besides the pedals and sub-bass, but 
 was capable of all desirable combinations, 
 and was an organ complete of itself. Re- 
 peated experiments were necessary to get 
 pipes of sufficient compass as well as ex- 
 cellence, and the result was the production 
 of an instrument whicli, for volume of 
 sound, could not be surpassed by a union 
 of the four largest organs in Boston. This 
 power was due not only to the capabilities 
 of the tubes, but to the immense pressure 
 
 of air brought to bear on them — four thou- 
 sand pounds. The chief element of 
 strength was the tuba mirabilis stop — 
 found in but two other organs in the 
 whole countrj'. There were twelve com- 
 plete sounding stops, with one hundred 
 and sixty pipes connected. The instru- 
 ment was twenty-two feet broad and thirty 
 feet high. 
 
 Another of the wonders of this wonder- 
 ful week was the monster bass drum — the 
 heads measuring nearly eight feet each in 
 diameter, made from the hides of two 
 mammoth oxen, wliicli had been exhibited 
 through the country during several years 
 past. On each head was the motto, " Let 
 us have Peace." Tlie drum was about 
 three feet through from head to head, 
 and the rim was painted red, white 
 and blue. It was thoroughly perfect in 
 all its parts, and, being the largest drum 
 in the world — for no larger one could 
 be made, without using the hides of 
 elephants for the heads — created a de- 
 cided sensation. 
 
 Whatever deficiencies or shortcomings 
 a critical ej'e may have detected in any of 
 the various features characterizing so stu- 
 pendous an undertaking, it was almost 
 universally pronounced a great success, 
 realizing, in the highest degree, the patri- 
 otic wish of the projector and his associ- 
 ates, that the restoration of Peace through- 
 out the land should be celebrated by one 
 of the most imposing national gatherings 
 ever assembled in any land ; and that the 
 return of kindly feeling and the prepetua- 
 tion of National Unity, should be sealed 
 by the grandest outburst of sublime and 
 inspiring harmony that had ever fallen 
 upon human ears. The management of 
 the whole affair was such as to command 
 the highest praise. 
 
 The monster entertainment known as 
 " The WorUl's Peace Jubilee and Inter- 
 national Musical Festival," was opened in 
 Boston, June 17, 1872, and continued, 
 with varying performances, which were 
 attended by multitudes of people, from all 
 parts of the country, until Jul^' 4th. The 
 choruB numbered twenty thousand voices, 
 
i64 
 
 FROM COr.OXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 embracing one hundred and sixty-five 
 musical societies from tlie different states, 
 but principally from New England. The 
 orchestra parts numbered about two thou- 
 sand, including twenty-seven brass bands, 
 beside the foreign military bands, the 
 
 United States marine band, the Em- 
 peror William's cornet quartet, British 
 Grenadier band, Strauss's orchestra, and 
 such renowned virtuosos as Madame Ara- 
 bella Goddard, PeschkarLeutner, Ruders- 
 dorff, etc. 
 
XXXVIII. 
 
 CONSECRATION OF THE FIRST CARDINAL IN THE 
 UNITED STATES.— 1875. 
 
 The Venerable Ai-L-libisIiop McClosky, of New York, Selected by the Romau Pontiff, for this Great 
 Office. — He becomes a Prince in tlie Churcli. — The Highest Ecclesiastical Appointment in tlie Catholic 
 Hierarcliv. — Reasons given for this Ste]). — Solemn Investitnre, in the Cathedral, by Clerical Dignitaries 
 from All Parts of the Conntry. — An Unparalleled Scene. — Illustrious Nature of tliis Office. — Special 
 Envoy sent from Rome. — Announcing the Event to the Archbishop. — Time of Public Recognition 
 Assigned. — A Miglity Stream of Humanity. — Decorations of the Church. — Procession of Priests. — 
 Incensing the Altars. — Sacred Vessels and Vestments. — Insignia Peculiar to tliis Rank. — The Scarlet 
 Cap. — Profoundly Impressive Service. — Unprecedented on this Continent. — Imposing tlie Berretta. — 
 Intoning and Chanting.— Official Letter from the Pope. — Use of the Latin Language. — Inspiring Strains 
 of Music. — Incidents Attending tlie Ceremonial. — Pontifical Benediction by the Cardinal. — Retirement 
 of the Celebrants. — Dispersion of the Vast Throng. 
 
 " [t was the intent and purpose nf the holy tattler to gve honor to our whole country ; to give honor and show his deep respect and esteem 
 for our giedt end liIotious repiiblie, ot" which the Catholic population form so essential a part, and who arc bo loyally devoted to her institu- 
 tions."— Cardinal McCloskey's Address. 
 
 <I H 
 
 1 
 
 T may not be inappropriate, perhaps, to state, first, that a 
 cardinal is an ect^lesiastical ])riuce in the Roman Catholic 
 uicli, — ail official of the most illustrious charac er, tliere- 
 i'ore, in tliat liicrarchy, — second, in fact, only to tlie pope 
 himself, in point of rank, — and, among his very highest pre- 
 rogatives, is that of having a voice and vote in the conclave 
 of cardinals at the election of a pope, who is taken from 
 their number. The limit is seventy, and these also consti- 
 tute the sacred college, and compose the pope's 
 council. The distinguishing dress of a cardi- 
 nal is a red sontaine or cassock, a rochet, a 
 short purple mantle, and a red hat. 
 
 As usual, in such a case, a special envoy was 
 sent from Rome, to bear to the eminent ap- 
 pointee the papal briefs. Count Marefoschi, 
 of the pope's household, was deputed for this 
 purpose, and by him the official announcement 
 was duly made to the venerable prelate, and 
 various insignia of his new rank presented to 
 him. One special article of dress, however, 
 pertaining to the cardinalate, — namelj^, the 
 cappello — has to be received directly from the 
 
me 
 
 FEOM CO].OXY TO WOKLI) POWKU. 
 
 hands of the pope liimself ; the article tlms 
 named is the flat-topped,wide-brimnied hat, 
 from which depend two large tassels, and 
 which is worn on the most exalted occa- 
 sions. 
 
 In handing to the cardinal the jjapal 
 letter and the special insignia — a scarlet 
 skull cap, — the envoy stated that the oh- 
 jt>cts had in view by the holy father in this 
 step, were, first, to recognize and reward 
 
 in from all quarters to witness the solemn 
 and impressive jiageant — the first of its 
 kind since the settlement of our countrj-. 
 At the gate of entrance, the scene was 
 one long to Le remembered by the vast 
 multitude — old men and women, j'oung 
 men and maidens — who there sought, with 
 almost mortal struggle, admission to the 
 portals of the sacred edifice. 
 
 In the decorations of the cathedral, the 
 
 ARCHBISHOP MCCLUSKEV, THt; FIR.ST A-MKKIC.VN r.VKDINAL. 
 
 the personal merits and distinguished ser- 
 vices to the Church of the archbishop 
 himself ; second, to testify liis regard for 
 and pay a just tribute to the piety and 
 zeal of the Catholics of America ; and 
 third, to acknowledge, in an especial man- 
 ner, his appreciation of all that the Cath- 
 olics of the diocese of New York had 
 accomplished for religion. 
 
 The 27th of April was the time assigned 
 for the public ceremonial of consecration, 
 and a mighty stream of humanity poured 
 
 choicest taste was exercised. The sanctu- 
 ary was festooned with scarlet cloth orna- 
 mented with gold lace and fringe, while 
 over the cross, at the top of the altar, was 
 arranged, in gas jets, ' Te Deum Lauda- 
 mus,' and the floral decorations on the 
 altar itself were profuse and elegant in 
 the extreme. On either side of the tab- 
 ernacle were floral columns of choice ex- 
 otics, fully three feet in length and a foot 
 in diameter, composed of roses, camellias 
 and calla lilies, surmounted bj' a red cross 
 
THE FIRST CARDINAL IN THE UNITED STATES — 1875. 
 
 o(j7 
 
 of carnation pinks, while other floral de- 
 signs of every description were strewn 
 about in graceful profusion. The gallery, 
 which had been set apart for the sole use 
 of the choir, was hung with crimson cloth 
 fringed with gilt, and caught up with 
 heavy gold tassels ; in the centre was 
 looped the papal banner, while on either 
 side hung the stars and stripes. 
 
 At the appointed hour, the pope's legate, 
 supported by his secretary and the master 
 of ceremonies, came from the sacristy, 
 bearing the berretta and the papal briefs, 
 and deposited the treasures at the left of 
 the cardinal's throne, the berretta, in this 
 case, being of the color peculiar to the 
 cardinalshij). In a few moments came the 
 procession of priests, in their priestly cas- 
 socks and short surplices, and, shortly 
 after, the dignitaries came forth from the 
 same sacristy door; first came a company 
 of acolytes ; then the archbisho2)s and 
 bishops, mitred and arrayed in all the 
 insignia of their order; then the pope's 
 legate ; and next His Eminence the car- 
 dinal, his train borne by two boys. Be- 
 hind the cardinal came Count Marefoschi, 
 in the uniform of the papal guard ; then 
 another procession of priests, closed by 
 the Dominican monks in white, and the 
 Franciscans in brown robes. The bodies 
 composing the jjrocession being duly ar- 
 ranged, the church was now filled with 
 joyous music from the choir. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey was, of course, the 
 noteworthy figure in this dazzling assem- 
 bly. He wore a light purple or mauve cas- 
 sock, a white surplice, and a velvet manta- 
 letta of deep purple ; about his neck was a 
 gold chain, from which was suspended a 
 ponderous cross, blazing with magnificent 
 gems ; on his head was a black berretta — 
 a small cap with three crests which run 
 from the central point on top to the other 
 edge, — which, upon removal, showed be- 
 neath it the small scarlet skull cap, the 
 well known sacerdotal insignia. His tall 
 spare person, towering over the larger 
 number near him, and his finely intellect- 
 ual and energetic face, gave decided char- 
 acter to the scene. All the bishops, with 
 
 their gorgeous mitres and copes of gold 
 and silver and sheeny satin, embroidered 
 in various colors ; the cardinal tranquilly 
 seated on his throne ; the gigantic guard, 
 in the person of Count Marefoschi, mag- 
 niiicently attired, at his left ; Archbishop 
 Bayley, on the throne beyond the blazing 
 altar, whose wealth of flowers and their 
 tender hues became well nigh lost in the 
 dazzle and blaze of the firmament of can- 
 dles ; the sober j'et superb decorations of 
 the whole altar and sanctuary, and the 
 storm of music that swept over all ; — it 
 was a spectacle never to be forgotten. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey, wearing his rochet, 
 purple cassock, etc., knelt at the epistle 
 altar; the archbishop of Baltimore sat on 
 the same side ; the officiating prelate and 
 clergymen stood at the altar .steps ; and 
 mass was commenced. At the confiteor, 
 the cardinal stood up and proceeded to 
 his throne at the gospel side, he alone of 
 all the prelates present having a pastoral 
 staff, which was carried by an officiating 
 bishop. After incensing the altar three 
 times, he sat down with the deacon and sub- 
 deacon. Bishop Loughliu read 'Introit,' 
 recited 'Kyrie,' and intoned 'Gloria in 
 Excelsis,' which was afterwards sun gljy the 
 choir. Collects were read by the celebrant, 
 the 'Epistle' by the sub-deacon, and, while 
 Bishop Loughliu read the 'Gospel,' the 
 congregation rose to their feet ; he then 
 chanted 'Credo in Unum Deum,' and in a 
 low voice recited the remainder of the 
 ISTicene Creed. 
 
 At this point, after the choir had fin- 
 ished, Bishop Loughlin repaired to the 
 altar, where, after the customarj' 'Domi- 
 nus vobiscum ' and ' Oreraus,' he proceeded 
 to read prayers at the offertory. The dea- 
 con and sub-deacon then prepared sacred 
 vessels and bread and wine. Mercan- 
 dante's 'Quam dilecta' was sung during 
 this period. Acolytes then advanced wiih 
 censers and the altar was incensed by the 
 celebrant, the archbishop and bishop ris- 
 ing and removing their mitres, the priests 
 and entire congregation also rising. At 
 this time, the church was a level sea of 
 he.ids, and, when the bells tinkled to an- 
 
168 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 nounce tlie opening of canon or solemn 
 part of tlie ceremony, the people were un- 
 aLle to kneel, so tightly were they packed 
 together. Toward the end of the mass, 
 was observed tlie interesting ceremony of 
 giving the ' jjax,' or kiss of peace, — not 
 
 left hand side of the altar, and the arch- 
 bishoj) of Baltimore stepped down from 
 his throne and knelt at the epistle side. 
 Ablegate Roncetti stood beside Archbishop 
 Baj'lej', and in a loud clear voice read the 
 message, in Latin, from the Pope to his 
 
 '-NSl-t ICAl ill 
 
 llK.sr A.MI;KI< AX (AKIUNAl 
 
 exactly a kiss, but an inclination of heads 
 together, while the hands rest on others' 
 arms. 'Pax' was given from one to the 
 other until ir passed along to right and 
 left, all through the crowded sanctuary. 
 
 When mass was finished, the most nota- 
 ble scene of the great occasion commenced. 
 Cardinal McCloskey rose and knelt at the 
 
 venerabilis frater, giving the reasons which 
 induced him to confer the cardinalate upou 
 Archhisho[> McCloskey, and at its close 
 handed him the parchment 'brief,' author- 
 izing him to confer the berretta, in the 
 name of His Holiness, on this newly ap- 
 pointed prince of the Church. The arch- 
 bishop liaving replied, in the Latin Ian- 
 
THE FIRST CARDINAL IN THE UNITED STATES — 1S75. 
 
 369 
 
 guage, delivered the brief to a deacon of 
 the mass, and, after reading it, Count 
 Marefoschi surrendered the berretta to 
 Mgr. Roncetti, who, handing it to Arch- 
 bishop Bayley, the latter walked over to 
 Cardinal McCloskey and placed the cap 
 on his head, at the same time addressing 
 him as 'Eminentia tua.' Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey made a suitable replj^, in the 
 Latin vernacular, and, after intoning ' Te 
 Deum,' retired to the vestry, where he put 
 on the crimson robes of liis office, and re- 
 turned to the altar, while the choir sang 
 ' Te Deum.' 
 
 The interest, both ecclesiastical and 
 historical, pertaining to the papal docu- 
 ments referred to, entitle them to an in- 
 sertion in this jilace. The first of these, 
 couched in the usual phraseology of com- 
 munications of such grave importance, is 
 addressed — 
 
 ' To our Venerable Brother, James Roose- 
 velt Bayley, Archbishop of Baltimore. 
 Pius IX., Pope. Venerable Brother, 
 Ileallh and Apostiilic Benediction : 
 After the example of the Roman Pontiffs, 
 our predecessors, it has ever been our care to 
 fill the College of Cardinals, which is the Sen- 
 ate of the Cliurcli, with men whose piety, 
 virtue, and merits, should correspond to the 
 splendor of so great a dignity. It is this that 
 has moved us to proclaim Cardinal of the 
 Holy Roman Church, our Venerable Brotlier, 
 John McCloskey-, Archbishop of New York ; 
 whose piety, learning, devotion to His Holy 
 Apostolic See, and whose indefatigable zeal 
 in the cultivation of the Lord's Vineyard, 
 have been so conspicuously evident to Us that 
 we have thought him worthy of this great 
 honor. And now that we would choose a per- 
 sonage for the office of conferring ujion hini 
 the berretta, one of the insignia of his new 
 dignity, we have thought well to select for the 
 office you, venerable brother, who presides over 
 so illustrious a church, and one that has the 
 right of precedence over all the churches of 
 the L^nited States of America. We know that 
 such is your devotion toward us and toward 
 this chair of the blessed Peter, that we are 
 confident you will, in the discharge of this 
 office, fulfill all our expectations. We, there- 
 fore, by tliese presents, charge you, venerable 
 brother, that, strictly observing whatever is 
 prescribed by the sacred rites of the Roman 
 24 
 
 Church, you confer, in our name and in liis 
 own Cathedral church, upon our beloved son, 
 John McCloskey, proclaimed by us a Cardi- 
 nal of the Holy Roman Church, the scarlet 
 berretta, which we have sent to him by the 
 hand of our beloved son, Cesar Roncetti, 
 one of our private chamberlains ; and we, 
 therefore, through these presents, by the same 
 apostolic authority, grant you all the powers 
 necessary and proper for the purpose. And it 
 is our wish that nothing contained in any 
 other ordinance shall be construed thwarting 
 our purpose, even though such thing might 
 seem to require special and individual men- 
 tion. 
 
 Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, under the 
 seal of the Fisherman's Ring, on the 16th day 
 of March, anno Domini 1875, and of our Pon- 
 tificate the twenty-ninth. 
 
 [l. s.] F. Cardinal Asquini.' 
 
 The above letter was followed by one 
 which announced to the distinguished pre- 
 late, personally, that His Holiness had been 
 pleased to make him one of the princes 
 of the Church, and was addressed — • 
 
 • To our Beloved Son, John McCloskey' — by 
 the Appointment and Favor of the Apos- 
 tolic of oiu- Archbishop of New York, and 
 now proclaimed a Cardinal ot the Holy 
 Roman Church. Plus IX., Pope. Beloved 
 Son, Health, and Apostolic Benediction : 
 Having been placed, through the Divine 
 will, without any merit of ours, in the supreme 
 dignity of this Apostolic See, with that solici- 
 tude which should be characteristic of our 
 pastoral office, while laboring for the welfare 
 of the Catholic Church, we have ever sought 
 to enroll among the number of our venerable 
 brethren the Cardinals of the Holy Roman 
 Church, men of such conspicuous merit as the 
 dignity of their illustrious order demands. 
 For this reason it is that we have chosen you, 
 our well-beloved son, whose eminent piety 
 virtue and learning, and zeal for the propaga- 
 tion of the Catholic faith, have convinced ua 
 that your ministry would be of great utility 
 and honor to the Church of God. Having, 
 therefore, created you a Cardinal of the Holy 
 Roman Church, we send to you, by our be- 
 loved son, Cesar Roncetti, one of our secret 
 chamberlains, the scarlet berretta, which is 
 one of the insignia of that sublime dignity. 
 When, with the proper forms, it shall have 
 been conferred upon you, know that its shin- 
 ing crimson should ever remind him who ia 
 
o70 
 
 PEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 elevated to the C:n-dinalitial dignily, that, 
 fearless and uucon(]uered, lie must ever up- 
 hold the rights of the Church of God through 
 every danger, even to that shedding of his 
 blood which is pronounced precious in the 
 sight of the Lord. We also greatly desire that 
 you would receive, with all niiiniier of kind- 
 ness, liim who we have sent to you, both for 
 the sake of the mission upon which lie is sent 
 and for our sake. It is also our wish, that, 
 before you receive the berretta, you should 
 take and subscribe with your own hand, the oatli 
 vvhich will be presented to you by the afore- 
 mentioned, our beloved son, Cesar Roncetti, 
 and send it to us, cither by his hand, or any 
 otlier. And it is our wish that no persons, 
 constitutions or ordinances, of this Apostolic 
 See, or anything else whatsoever, shall be con- 
 strued as invalidating this our present act. 
 
 Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, under the 
 seal of the Fisherman's Ring, on the 2(ith day 
 of l^Lal■ch, anno Domini 1875, and of our Pon- 
 tificate the twenty-ninth. 
 
 [l. s.] F. Cardinal Asquini. 
 
 The closing act in tliis solemn pageant, 
 after the inspiring strains of music had 
 ceased to fill the air, wa.s the pontifical bene- 
 diction by the Cardinal, and, after the re- 
 tirement of the celebrants in processional 
 order, the vast throng of spectators dis- 
 persed. The new Cardinal entered upon his 
 great office with the reputation, accorded to 
 him alike by Protestants and Catholics, of 
 a name without a stain, and a career honor- 
 able and dignified, through a long life. 
 
 It is certainly not saying too much, tliat, 
 in the annals of American Catholicism, so 
 memorable a ceremonial as that now des- 
 cribed must render historical, in the liigh- 
 est degree, the sacred edifice in which it 
 occurred. But only a few years elapsed, 
 after this unprecedented occasion, wlien the 
 venerable Cardinal had the satisfaction of 
 officiating at the dedication of the now and 
 magnificent St. Patrick's Cathedral just 
 completed on Fifth Avenue, — the most 
 superb ecclesiastical structure not only in 
 New York city, but on the American conti- 
 nent. The dedication took place May 25, 
 1879, or nearly twenty-one years after the 
 laying of the corner-stone. The founda- 
 tions rest on a bed of solid rock, in which 
 excavations therefor had to be made, and 
 
 at the normal level of the surrounding 
 ground rests a chisel-dressed base course of 
 granite. From this springs a pure Gothic 
 marble superstructure, similar in archi- 
 tecture to the style obtaining in Europe 
 during the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
 turies, and, like the cathedrals of Amiens, 
 Eheinis, and Cologne, this is free from 
 heaviness and over-ornamentation. Most 
 of the windows on the lower tier were do- 
 nations from various churches, and some 
 are of American make ; those of the nave 
 were ordered by Cardinal McCloskey, when 
 visiting Rome. These windows are de- 
 clared by good judges to be masterpieces 
 of art. The interior of the edifice is di- 
 vided into three parts — transept, nave, and 
 choir, — of dimensions as follows : Length 
 of transept, 140 feet; height of nave, 108 
 feet; internal length of the building 306 
 feet, and breadth 96 feet. A series of 
 chapels, each twelve feet deep, occupy 
 either side of the edifice ; the nave is di- 
 vided from the aisles by two rows of clus- 
 tered columns, sixteen columns in a row ; 
 the choir has five bays, and arranged with 
 double aisles on either side of the central 
 aisle. The area of the interior of the ca- 
 thedral is 38,500 square feet; there is 
 standing room for 19,000 people, and 
 14,000 can be accommodated with seats. 
 The cost of the cathedral, when completed, 
 will approximate $5,000,000. The first 
 event in connection with the dedication of 
 the edifice was the solemn consecration, 
 two days jireviously, of the High AJtar, 
 the chief consecrator being the Right Rev. 
 Bishop Conro^r, of Albany, N. Y. This 
 grand altar, exquisite in material, design, 
 and artistic beauty, stands forty-eight feet 
 in lieight to the apex of the cross sur- 
 mounting the tabernacle. The number of 
 eminent prelates present was quite large 
 comprising not less than six archbishops, 
 in cope and mitre, followed by the bishops, 
 similarly attired, and making in all a gath- 
 ering of forty-three members of the Epis- 
 copacy. The scene of the dedication, un- 
 der the lead, primarily, of the eminent and 
 venerable Cardinal, was impressive to a 
 degree rarely witnessed on American soil. 
 
XXXIX. 
 
 THE TWEED RING - 1876. 
 
 The Cliaracter of Xew York City Government When Tweed Began Public Life. — State Inter- 
 ference. — Tweed's Entry Into Politics. — Sent to Congress in 1853. — "• Tweedie Xever Goes 
 Back on Tweedie."- — Becomes Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall. — The New " Wigwam." — 
 The Democratic National Convention Held in It, July 4, 1868. — Tammany Forces Seymour 
 nn I'arty, and Supports Hoffman for Governor. — Oaths Administered on "Ollendorff's 
 French Method," Xo Bible Being at Hand. — Constitution of Tweed Ring in 1868. — The 
 ■■ Big Four," '■ Oakey " Hall, Sweeny, Connolly, and Tweed. — Tweed Already Very Rich. — 
 Marriage of Daughter and Costly Presents From Politicians. — The Americus Club and 
 Its Tiger. — Latter Becomes Emblem of Tammany. — The Xew City Charter, "Tweed's 
 Charter."^ Places All Power in City in Hands of Ring Legally. — Charter Cost Tweed 
 .$1,500,000. — " The Young Democracy." — Exposures by Xew York Times. — " What Are Y'ou 
 Going to Do About It?". — Tweed's Hold Upon the Poor. — Ring Overthrown in the Elec- 
 tion of 1871. — Statement of Enormous Thefts. — Untold Millions. — Tweed's Various Trials. 
 — Exciting Escape to Spain and Recapture. — Confesses .Judgment for $6.000,000. — Unable 
 to Pay or Secure $3,000,000 Bail, He Goes to Jail.— Dies in Ludlow Street Jail April 12. 
 1878. — Deserted By All His Henchmen and Former Friends. — Other Ring Members Escape 
 to Europe. — Effect Upon Tammany Hall. — Similar Corruption in Other Cities. 
 
 "Corruption is a tree, whose branches are 
 Of an unmeasurable length; they spread 
 Ev'rywhere. — and the dew that drops from thenoe 
 Hath infectod some chairs and stools of authority." 
 
 — BEAtJMONT AND FLETCHER. 
 
 
 HE year 1857 marked a turning point in the liistory of New 
 York City. It was then that a great change began to be 
 noticeable in the character of the voting population, as a 
 result of innnigration, which became more anti more pro- 
 nounced each year. About the same time, too, the State 
 Legislature began to take a more positive interest in the 
 city's affairs. Up to this time the municipality had been 
 self governing, and had for many years practically always 
 returned Democratic majorities in city elections. Naturally 
 all the ofBces were held by that party, which had come to 
 mean by Tammany Hall, or by those with whom Tammany 
 leaders might have made trades. But the "political pickings" which had for many 
 years enriched large numbers of Tammany office holders sorely tempted the statesmen 
 at Albany, the majority of whom were Republicans, and many of whom were very 
 hungry for some of the rich spoils which the richest city of the country afforded. It 
 was decided, therefore, to take the control of the city out of the hands of the officials 
 elected by the citizens, and to vest it very largely, at least, in commissioners ap- 
 pointed by the State authorities. The sadly peculiar feature of the whole movement, 
 
372 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 fis indicated by the press of that day. was 
 that while the ostensible purpose of the 
 Legislature was to secure better goveru- 
 iiient for the city, it was evident that the 
 real inspiring force was the desire of 
 many leaders in that body to share in the 
 spoils. Accordingly in that year (1857) 
 a new charter and laws affecting the city 
 government were passed. The powers of 
 
 WII.l.IAM MAKCS' TWEED. 
 
 tlie city council were greatly curtaileil, 
 and those of the mayor were somewhat re- 
 stricted ; but the most significant change, 
 in the light of after events, was the ap- 
 IKiintnient of a State Board of Super- 
 visors, distinct from the municipal au- 
 thorities ; and in this Board were vested 
 the most important administrative powers. 
 — especially those of levying the local 
 taxes, making appropriations, etc. This 
 board was to be bi-partisan, and com- 
 posed of twelve Republicans and twelve 
 Democrats. A metropolitan police dis- 
 trict, fire district, and health district 
 were also created, the administration of 
 whosi' aifairs was to be in the hands of 
 boards appointed by the Governor of the 
 State. This action aroused great opposi- 
 tion in the city, and a spirit of rebellion 
 was manifest ; so that when the metro- 
 politan police undertook to displace the 
 municipal police several encounters re- 
 
 sulted with considerable bloodshed. But 
 the Supreme Court deciding that such 
 action on the part of the State was en- 
 tirely within its powers it was seen that 
 opposition was useless, and physical re- 
 sistance was abandoned. There were 
 other ways of securing the same ends. 
 " This," says one of the historians of the 
 period, " was the general character of the 
 government that New York possessed 
 when it fell into the hands of a band of 
 statesmen of more than average ability, 
 line] of quite phenomenal dishonestii, 
 whose career constitutes the greatest re- 
 liroach that has ever been cast upon popu- 
 lar government." 
 
 The moving spirit and directing force 
 of this gang of plunderers was William 
 Marcy Tweed. He was of Scotch jiarent- 
 age and was born in Cherry street, in 
 182.3. His father was a chair maker in 
 comfortable circumstances, who gave his 
 children a fair education; and for a time 
 the son was associated with his father 
 in business. But young Tweed's restless 
 spirit yearned for a more strenuous life; 
 and before he was of age he had Joined 
 the old volunteer fire department, and in 
 1849 he was elected forenij^n of a com- 
 pany. " Free and easy in his manners," 
 says a contemporary, " loyal to his friends, 
 with great animal spirits, and a large 
 fund of coarse humor, Tweed was just the 
 man to be popular with the class from 
 which the fire companies were recruited ; 
 and his popularity among the ' boys ' of 
 the fire brigade gave him entrance into 
 city polities." His first taste of official 
 life was as alderman in 1850; and he had 
 no sooner assumed the duties of the office 
 than he began to manifest the traits that 
 characterized his whole career. Every 
 contract or job that promised to advance 
 his interests financially or politicall.v 
 found in him an earnest and powerful 
 advocate: and his political strength and 
 popularity increased so rapidl.y that he 
 was able to secure an election to Congress 
 in 185.3. He was delegate to the Congres- 
 sional convention of the 5th district, 
 composed of two East Side wards and 
 Williamsburg, and was elected chairman 
 
THE TWEED KING — 1876. 
 
 373 
 
 of the convention. Each section had 
 forty-four votes, and a deadlock ensued. 
 After several ballots the Williamsburg 
 delegates dropped their candidate and 
 tln-ew their forty-four votes for T^vced ; 
 and claiming the privilege of the chaii-- 
 man to cast the deciding vote when there 
 is a tie he declared himself elected, saying 
 that " Tweedie never goes back on 
 Tweedic." Serving one term in the na- 
 tional House of Representatives, he was 
 defeated for re-election by the " Know- 
 Nothings," whom he then and ever after 
 fought so earnestly that he became the 
 recognizcid champion of the foreign ele- 
 ment. So popular had he now become that 
 he was made a Sachem of the Tammany 
 Society, and, in 1856, became a public 
 school commissioner; and adroitly using 
 the inflnences at his command he was 
 elected one of the new board of super- 
 visors in 1S57. Here he found a field 
 suited to his abilities, and at once began 
 laying the foundations of the machine, or 
 ring, he built up. As has been said, the 
 board of supervisors was a bi-partisan 
 board, but Tweed early displayed his 
 political genius by bribing one of the Re- 
 publican members to remain away front 
 some important meetings, for which use- 
 ful service he was paid $2500. At these 
 meetings the inspectors of elections were 
 appointed, and the " ring " makers were 
 thus enabled to put the " right " men in 
 charge of each election jsrecinct. In 1861 
 Tweed conducted an aggressive campaign 
 for the office of sheriif, — an office at that 
 time worth from $100,000 to $150,000 a 
 year; but in this race he was beaten by a 
 popular Irishman named James Lynch. 
 Nothing daunted by this incident, he 
 turned his attention to strengthening his 
 position in Tammany Hall, with such 
 success that before the year was over 
 he was elected chairman of the Gen- 
 eral Committee, and a little later, 
 Grand Sachem ; and. holding these two 
 offices, he held the supreme power 
 in the most perfectly organized politi- 
 cal machine the country has ever 
 known. He was now able to dictate nom- 
 inations to public offices as he would, and 
 
 so had become a power with which every 
 interest in the city must reckon and, if 
 necessary, jilacate. This power he used in 
 a most despotic manner, yet with such 
 tact that he gave little offense to other 
 members of the Tammany Society. In 
 presiding over its business meetings, when 
 any matter came up which he wished de- 
 cided in a particular way, his usual 
 method was to call for the affirmative vote, 
 and then declare the measure adopted, 
 without calling for the vote on the nega- 
 tive side. In addition, too, to the power 
 he possessed as the leader of all the Demo- 
 cratic forces, his control of practically 
 every department of the city employing 
 men enabled him to trade in the most ef- 
 fective manner. 
 
 But there has often been a thorn in 
 Tammany's flesh in the form of an opposi- 
 tion society, which, during Tweed's time, 
 was known as " Mozart Hall." These so- 
 cieties were always organized by hungry 
 politicians who had failed to get all their 
 greed demanded in the distribution of 
 spoils, and so gathered about themselves 
 other disaffected spirits, seceded from 
 Tammany, and set up their own organiza- 
 tions. These movements were always in 
 the nature of " strikes," though the lead- 
 ers, surrounding themselves with a halo 
 of righteous indignation, denounced the 
 corruptions and evil influences of the old 
 Society, proclaimed for themselves the 
 highest principles of civic virtue, and an- 
 nounced the dawn of better daj's in 
 municipal affairs. Generally the public 
 was deceived and anticipated improved 
 conditions, but Tammany leaders never 
 were; and the results have ever been the 
 same, — simply a more generous division 
 of the plunder, and, after a few years, the 
 liolding of a " great love feast " in Tam- 
 many Hall, when the political prodigal 
 son was received back into the home fold, 
 under guarantees of more liberal con- 
 sideration for the future. Tammany Hall 
 has always been the dominant society : 
 and, despite intestine quarrels and exter- 
 nal attacks which seemed to threaten its 
 very existence, its strength and vitality 
 have never been materially affected. No 
 
374 
 
 FROM COLO^'Y TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 organism has ever manifested greater re- 
 cuperative powers. 
 
 During the early " sixties " the an- 
 tagonism of ]\Inzart Hall was especially 
 vicious, and Tweed undertook to bring the 
 hostile forces together, and so to present a 
 united front to their common enemy, — the 
 business interests of the city and decent 
 society. Fernando Wood, a most un- 
 scrupulous politician and as a clever 
 schemer and spoils-monger no unworthy 
 foe for Tweed to meet, was at the head of 
 Mozart Hall. By giving to Wood, who had 
 ambitions to figure in national politics, 
 the nomination for Member of Congress, 
 harmony between the hostile forces was 
 
 THE WIGWAM. 
 
 established, and the leading members of 
 Mozart Hall returned to Tammany Hall, 
 their less consequential followers being 
 left out in the cold. This union greatly 
 strengthened Tammany's position, and 
 
 added to its forces many men of influence 
 in the city's affairs, notably A. Oakey 
 Hall and Judge Cardozo. Hall had orig- 
 inally been an active member of the Re- 
 publican party, but had sometime before 
 allied himself for political reasons with 
 Mozart Hall; and now becoming a pro- 
 nounced Democrat he was recognized as a 
 most valuable addition to the Tammany 
 ranks. He was a man who stood well in 
 the city, of marked literary tastes, and 
 considerable ability as a writer. Judge 
 Cardozo allied himself with Tammany in 
 return for a promised nomination for a 
 seat on the bench of the highest court. 
 Concurrently with the consolidation of 
 the Democracy Tweed became street com- 
 missioner; so that now the control of all 
 the offices of the city, and of all the 
 avenues for levying tribute were in the 
 hands of Tweed and his confederates. 
 One important influence was still to be 
 secured, however, and that was the mayor- 
 alty. Accordingly a most estimable citizen 
 was induced to become the candidate of 
 Tammany in the mayoralty campaign of 
 1SC5. This was John T. Hoffman, a man 
 of good family and high social standing, 
 but with ambitions looking toward the 
 governorship : and with the promise of 
 Tammany that he should have the next 
 Democratic nomination for Governor, he 
 consented to become the Hall's candidate 
 for mayor, and was elected in that year. 
 His early days in office were character- 
 ized by some well-planned and earnest 
 assaults upon the ring, and the public 
 soon believed that the administration was 
 working for the true interests of the city, 
 and Hoffman's popularity was greatly in- 
 creased. But gradually his opposition to 
 t!ie worst elements of the Democracy be- 
 came lukewarm ; and by holding over him 
 a threat to recede from their agreement as 
 to the gubernatorial nomination the party 
 leaders were able to silence him and nul- 
 lify his apparent hostility. 
 
 The .year 1868 was one of marked prom- 
 inence in the annals of Tammany and 
 of supreme importance to its leaders. The 
 previous year Tweed, who had for some 
 time been dissatisfied with the old Hall, 
 
THE TWEED RING — 1S7G. 
 
 now the New York Sun building, deter- 
 mined that the Society should have a new 
 home " up-town," more in keeping with 
 its commanding position in the city's af- 
 fairs. So Hberally had the leading mem- 
 bers of the organization enriched them- 
 selves out of their otBcial positions that 
 when Tweed proposed his plan, and stated 
 that $250,000 was needed at once to put it 
 into execution, fifteen men present im- 
 mediately subscribed $10,000 each and the 
 balance was quickly raised. The corner- 
 stone of the new " Wigwam " in East 14th 
 street, between Irving Place and Third 
 avenue, was laid in the fall and the build- 
 ing was completed the next summer; and 
 was one of the most imposing and preten- 
 tious semi-public buildings then in the 
 city. The Democratic National Conven- 
 tion was held in the new hall on July 4, 
 1808, and the occasion was one to abun- 
 dantly gratify the pride and patriotism of 
 the average " brave ; " while the leaders had 
 planned to make this meeting the greatest 
 event in their already remarkable career, 
 and to secure by it the control of the gov- 
 ernorship of the State, as well as the may- 
 oralty of the city. The convention was a 
 notable one and enthusiasm ran high, and 
 flowed freely. Though the party at largo 
 had other views, Tammany succeeded in 
 forcing Seymour on the Convention as its 
 candidate for the presidency. In the 
 State convention Hoffman was nominated 
 for Governor, Tammany making good 
 its promise to him when he ceased 
 his hostility as mayor; and Hall was 
 slated to succeed Hoffman in the mayor- 
 alty. The stakes for which the ring 
 played were enormous; and no expendi- 
 ture of money nor any trick which the 
 shrewdest politicians could devise and 
 their control of all the machinery of elec- 
 tion enable them to carry out, was not re- 
 sorted to. Owing to the tremendous in- 
 crease in immigration of the previous 
 few years the ignorant foreign voting ma- 
 terial had become of vast importance ; and 
 men were naturalized at the rate of a 
 thousand a day at times. Every prepara- 
 tion was made for repeating and stuffing 
 ballot boxes. On October .jOth, Tweed 
 
 made the welcome proclamation that at 
 ten o'clock the next forenoon the money 
 for electioneering purposes would be ready 
 for distribution, and it was announced 
 that one thousand dollars was ready for 
 each of the 327 election precincts, making 
 a total of $.327,000, to be distributed by 
 
 HOR-iTIO SEYMOUR. 
 
 the General Committee alone, which was 
 exclusive of the amoimts derived by tlie 
 district leaders from the saloons, gam- 
 bling houses, and brothels in their respec- 
 tive districts. By all the evil methods 
 that could be devised by the clever 
 schemers in charge of the election the 
 total vote of the city was run up to 150,- 
 288, of which a conservative estimate 
 placed the fraudulent votes at not less 
 tban 25,000. Tweed himself confessed 
 nine years later, when on trial, that he 
 thought the inspectors of elections 
 " lumped " the votes and declared them 
 without counting, in order to overcome 
 the Republican majority in the rest of the 
 state and give the electoral vote to Sey- 
 mour. In those days the complete returns 
 were never declared until it was known 
 with what majority the Republicans " had 
 come down to the Harlem;" and to pre- 
 vent them from getting the use of certain 
 telegraph wires that night Tweed sent out 
 long and useless messages, declaring his 
 intention of telegraphing the whole Bible, 
 
376 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 if necessary. It is said to have been at this 
 election that, at tlie swearing in of elec- 
 tion inspectors, no Bible being obtainable, 
 they took the oath on a copy of " Ollen- 
 doriFs New Method of Learning Plow to 
 Read, Write and Speak French;" and 
 the courts afterward held that the substi- 
 tution of Ollendorff for the Bible was not 
 such an act as could vitiate the election. 
 The total vote was 108.31G for Seymour 
 and 47,702 for Grant ; and Seymour car- 
 ried the State. The same tidal wave of 
 fraud carried Hoffman into the governor- 
 ship; and at a special election held in 
 December to fill the mayoralty office made 
 vacant by the elevation of Hoffman, thi' 
 ring's candidate. Hall, one " of its very 
 own," was elected by a total vote of 75,10!) 
 against 20,805 for the Republican camli- 
 dato. The disparity between these totals 
 and those of the presidential election a 
 month earlier gives some idea of the nnni- 
 ber of fraudulent votes cast to secure Sey- 
 mour's election. To further strengthen 
 the position of the thieving conspirators 
 Tweed had himself elected to the State 
 Senate, so that he could personally super- 
 vise tlie "running'' of the JA-gisUiturc 
 Already the ring which existed in the 
 board of supervisors between the two 
 factions of partisans in the board had 
 grown into a compact ring between the 
 Republican majority at Albany, the board 
 of su])ervisors, and the Tammany ring; 
 and Tweed recognized the necessity of be- 
 ing on the ground in Albany, the centre 
 of political bargaining and legislative 
 manipulation. The corruption at Albany 
 in those days was quite as great as that 
 in the city, and the two rings were closely 
 allied. But the Legislature was full of 
 strikers and enormous sums were paid for 
 the passage of bills. A difficult element 
 to handle, too, was the famous " Black 
 Horse Cavalry,"' a band of about thirty 
 Republican and Democratic members who 
 organized themselves under one of the 
 most notorious lobbyists, mutually pledg- 
 ing each other to vote as directed. 
 
 The ring interests in the city might 
 now be considered as definitel.y estab- 
 lished, and its membership was distinctly 
 
 recognized. Besides Tweed, the men con- 
 stituting the " Big Four," as they were 
 familiarly known, were A. Oakey Hall 
 (popularly called "Oakey" Hall), whom 
 they had just caused to be elected mayor, 
 Peter B. Sweeney, and Richard B. Con- 
 ihilly. As has already been stated Hall's 
 general reputation in the city was good, 
 and his intellectual attainments marked, 
 so tliat his election was not regarded as 
 offensive by citizens of either party. 
 Sweeney had for years been one of the 
 cdeverest lobbyists at Albany, and so had 
 liccome an experienced judge of men, as 
 well as a master in the art of handling 
 them; and for this reason w-as selected by 
 'I'weed for the important position of City 
 ( 'hamberlain. Connolly was the weakest 
 member of the "Four" and was the one 
 least trusted by his confederates. He was, 
 liowever, recognized as a man of consider- 
 able financial experience and ability, and 
 SI) was made Controller. His nickname of 
 " Slippery Dick," however, illustrates the 
 oi)inion held of him by his associates. 
 
 " By the election of 1868," said S. J. 
 Tilden in his report as president of the 
 ( 'iininiitlee of Seventy, "the ring became 
 iMiinpletely organized and matured." Its 
 Icailers had now become rich men. When 
 Tweed entered the board of supervisors he 
 ilcrlared that he would soon be among the 
 largest hiilders of real estate in the city; 
 and the fact that in 1805 he was a com- 
 jjaratively poor man and in 1809 was gen- 
 erally estimated to be worth ten to twelve 
 million dollars ought surely to give him a 
 high place among the prophets. Of these 
 men at tliis period one writer says: 
 " Tweed was an enormously rich man. He 
 had investments in real estate and iron 
 mines; he was interested in every street 
 oiM'uing and widening- scheme; he had a 
 hand in all city and in many State con- 
 tracts; and held directorships in many 
 railroads, gas companies, and other cor- 
 pcn-ations. Connolly, wdio some years be- 
 fore bad left a position as bookkeeper at 
 a moderate salary, to engage in politics 
 ' as a financial speculation,' Sweeney, 
 and the rest of the ring suddenly became 
 millionaires. Fvery active Tammanv 
 
THE TWEED KING — 1S76. 
 
 377 
 
 mail and many Republican accomplices 
 shared according to the degree of eacli in 
 the sacking of the city.'' It was about 
 this time, too, that Tweed became actively 
 interested in Erie, and other railroad af- 
 fairs; and one who wrote a life of the 
 notorious " Jim Fisk," said: " Jay Gould 
 and Fisk took William M. Tweed into 
 their (the Erie) board ; and the State 
 Legislature, Tammany Hall, and the 
 ' Erie King ' were fused in interest, and 
 have continued to serve each other faith- 
 fully." From this source alone Tweed at 
 one time declared his profits for the pre- 
 ceding three months were $650,000. 
 
 Kor did Tweed aim alone to establish 
 a position in political life. The modest 
 home in Henry street was exchanged for 
 a most pretentious one on Fifth Avenue, 
 where he kept up an elaborate and expen- 
 sive establishment. The marriage of his 
 daughter was one of the sensational events 
 of the day, and through Tweed's influence 
 with the papers most detailed and spicy 
 accounts of the event were sent broadcast 
 through the country. Most costly gifts 
 were showered upon the bride, those from 
 her father's political friends alone costing 
 over $100,000. Among them were forty 
 complete sets of solid silver, and fifteen 
 diamond sets, one of which was valued at 
 $4r),000. Her wedding dress, we are told, 
 cost $4,000 and the trimmings $1,000 
 more. Tweed spent money everywhere 
 with a lavish hand. His summer place 
 near Greenwich, Ct., was one of the most 
 beautiful on Long Island Sound. The 
 stables alone cost over $100,000, even the 
 stalls being built of ' the finest polished 
 mahogany. The Americus Club was 
 his favorite social organization, and its 
 house on the Sound was one of the best 
 appointed and most sumptuously fur- 
 nished club houses in the land. His fol- 
 lowers gladly paid their initiation fee of 
 one thousand dollars in addition to the 
 two thousand charged for the furnishings 
 of the room to which each member was 
 entitled. The crest of the club was a 
 tiger's head, and in the cartoons of the 
 period the tiger figured largely with a 
 collar oil which was stamped " Americus," 
 
 and it was through this association of the 
 club emblem with the acts of its members 
 that the tiger gradually became the sym- 
 bol of Tammany Hall, and has so figured 
 to the present day. Evei-ywhere the same 
 prodigality of expenditure was manifest. 
 Trifles like a thousand dollars were 
 thrown about as freely as the average cit- 
 izen spends five dollars, or even one. 
 
 " Oakcy " Hall took his seat as mayor, 
 January 1, 18(39. The ring now con- 
 trolled the common council of the city, the 
 Legislature of the State, and its Governor 
 was the State's executive officer. Hall was 
 mayor; Sweene.v was city chamberlain, or 
 treasurer of both city and county; Tweed 
 was supreme in the street department; 
 
 A. OAKEY HALL. 
 
 Connolly was city controller, and as such 
 had charge of the city's finances; and to- 
 gether they controlled the entire political 
 machinery of Tammany Hall, so that 
 there was little chance of their being dis- 
 lodged through election methods. The ac- 
 count that has been given of the wealth 
 and extravagance of these men and their 
 satellites is sufficient evidence of the 
 amount that must have been stolen up to 
 this time. But when it is remembered 
 that what they had personally kept bore 
 only a small proportion to the amount 
 
378 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tliat had been spent in bribing men whom 
 they needed in the city, in tlie legislature, 
 and on the bench, one can easily see that 
 the aggregate of plunder must already 
 have reached scores of millions of dollars. 
 Yet the orgy had only begun. As the 
 election of 1S(59 had given the Democrats 
 a clear majority in both branches of the 
 Legislature, the ring determined to se- 
 cure clianges in the city charter which 
 should make their work still easier and 
 less expensive. And strangely, though the 
 changes proposed were only in the interest 
 of the ring, yet their general provisions 
 were so good that the new charter received 
 the unqualified indorsement of nearly the 
 entire press of the city, and of the best 
 citizens irrespective of party; and its prin- 
 ciples accorded with the most advanced 
 modern theories of municipal administra- 
 tion. The city secured a greater power 
 over its own affairs; the complex admin- 
 istrative institutions were greatly simpli- 
 fied, and responsibility for administration 
 was centred in very few hands. " But," 
 as was .said, " the only fault was that these 
 hands at the moment were unclean and 
 grasping hands." This charter restored to 
 the city all the powers that had been taken 
 from it by the charter of 1857; and on the 
 specious plea that all the misgovernment 
 of the few years previous was due to the 
 various State commissions, the ring- 
 turned suspicion away from itself and 
 secured the support of the majorit.v of the 
 best citizens for its measures. The old 
 board of supervisors was abolished, the 
 entire executive power, with that of ap- 
 pointment, was placed in the hands of the 
 mayor, and an entirely new board was 
 created, styled the Board of Apportion- 
 ment. This was composed of the mayor, 
 the controller, the commissioner of pub- 
 lic works, and president of the pai-k 
 board, that is of ILxll, Connolly, Tweed, 
 and Sweeney; and they thus received 
 power to make all appropriations neces- 
 sary for carrying on the government. The 
 ring thus legally became judges of 
 the necessities of expenditures and were 
 empowered to provide for their jjayment. 
 Auntlicr law was passed creating a B(iard 
 
 of Audit, whose duty should be to close 
 up all the affairs of the late board of 
 supervisors. This law made the mayor. 
 Hall; the comptroller, Connolly; and the 
 president of the old board of supervisors, 
 Tweed, the members of the new board of 
 audit, with power to examine and allow 
 all claims against the county previous to 
 1S70. This was the richest single mine 
 yet struck by the ring. The new charter 
 had cost them a frightful sum, generally 
 estimated from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000; 
 and this was the means taken to recoup 
 themselves for this outlay, and replenish 
 their exchequers. Claims to the amount 
 of more than $6,000,000 were audited and 
 ]iaid out of the city treasury in less than 
 three months. This charter came to be 
 known as " Tweed's Charter." As a re- 
 sult of later investigations Samuel J. 
 Tilden testified that it was evident that it 
 cost Tweed about $1,000,000 to get it 
 through the Legislature. Tweed himself 
 afterward testified that he gave to one 
 man $000,000, with which to buy votes, 
 this being only part of the fund. He 
 further testified that he bought the vote 
 of five Republican senators for $40,000 
 apiece, giving one of them $200,000 to dis- 
 tribute. It is not surprising, therefore, to 
 learn that the vote in both houses was 
 practically unanimous in its favor. Dur- 
 ing the session of 1870-1871 the ring also 
 got other bills through the Legislature en- 
 larging their powers to raise money and 
 increase the city's debt, with the result 
 that from these sources they secured con- 
 trol of about $48,000,000 for the year 1871. 
 But the most colossal single effort of the 
 ring had been prosecuted in the building 
 (if the County Court House, which stands 
 in the City Hall park. When the work 
 began it was stipulated that the total cost 
 should not exceed $250,000; yet by the end 
 of 1871 over $8,000,000 had been paid out 
 on this accovmt, and it was still un- 
 finished. The method of procedure here 
 was that whenever a bill was brought in 
 b.v one of the contractors he was ordered 
 to greatly increase the amount of his total 
 charge; and if he demvirred. he was in- 
 fornied that he nnist wait indefinitelv for 
 
THE TWEED RING — 1876. 
 
 379 
 
 his pay. The result was that he always 
 yielded. A warrant was then drawn for 
 the amount of the bill as raised, the con- 
 tractor was paid the original amount, or a 
 little more, and the balance was divided 
 between the members of the ring. In his 
 " History of Tammany Hall," Myers says : 
 "At a single sitting — on May 5, 1870 — the 
 board of audit made out an order for the 
 payment of $(i,312,500 on account of the 
 building of the new court house. Of this 
 sum barely a tenth was realized by the 
 city. Payments under the 'Adjusted 
 ( 'laims Act ' were first made by the con- 
 troller in July, 1868, and were continued 
 until January, 1869. During this time 
 tifty-five per cent of the claims was di- 
 vided among members of the ring, twenty- 
 five per cent to Tweed, twenty to Con- 
 nolly, and ten to Sweeney. In July, 1869, 
 payments under the act were resumed, but 
 the percentage of spoils was raised to 
 sixty, and after November, to sixty-five. 
 Of this increase a small amount was al- 
 lotted to three clerks and ' go-betweens,' 
 and five per cent was reserved for ' Ex- 
 penses,' — that is, for bribery. Later in 
 making payments on the court house the 
 spoils rate was raised to eighty-five per 
 cent. 'Jobs' signiticant of untold millions 
 lurked in every possible form. One of 
 Tweed's favorite schemes was to create on 
 paper a fictitious institution, jot down the 
 names of three or four of his friends as 
 ofiicers, put a large amount in the tax levy 
 for that institution, and pocket the money. 
 Asylums, hospitals, and dispensaries that 
 were never heard of and never existed ex- 
 cept on paper, were i^ut down as benefici- 
 aries of state and city." To cover up the 
 real condition of affairs the controller 
 failed to make a public statement of the 
 financial conditions which was due Janu- 
 ary 1, 1S70, until the following- October. 
 In this report everything of a suspicious 
 character was in an account entitled 
 " General Purposes." — and in a total ex- 
 penditure of $21,000,000. it appeared that 
 $9,000,000 had been paid oat for such 
 " general purposes." This naturally 
 aroused suspicion in the public mind ; but 
 so earnestly did the controller "court" 
 
 an investigation of his office and methods 
 by a committee of the citizens that the 
 suspicions were quieted for a time. A 
 little later, however-, such a committee, 
 composed of some six or seven of the fore- 
 most lawyers and business men of the 
 city, was named for the purpose of ex- 
 amining the books and the workings of 
 the controller's office; and so well did 
 Connolly cover up the tracks of the ring 
 and conceal the true state of affairs that, 
 after their examination, the committee 
 published a " card " in the daily papers 
 stating that the financial affairs of the city 
 under the charge of the controller were 
 administered in a correct and faithful 
 manner. And they further stated that the 
 debt of the city was about $20,000,000 less 
 than it was afterwards proved to be; also 
 that if the then existing rate of redemp- 
 tion ivas Tcept up the total debt of the 
 cilj/ would he extinguished in less than 
 twelve years. This statement read very 
 strangely in the light of subsequent de- 
 velopments, which showed that the dol)t 
 of the city actually increased during the 
 years 1870 and 1871 at the rate of $28.- 
 652,000 a year; and that it had grown 
 from $20,000,000 in 1860, when Tweed 
 first began to get his work in, to $100.- 
 955,330 in July, 1871, as reported in the 
 New York Tribune of August 8, 1871. 
 
 But without any warning to its luembers 
 the days of the ring were being numbered. 
 An oppositioai political society had sprung 
 up called the " Young Democracy," and in 
 the spring of this same year, at the solici- 
 tation of James O'Brien, the leader of the 
 Young Democracy, Connolly appointed 
 one Copeland to a clerkship in the audi- 
 tor's ofiice. Soon after his ai)pointment 
 there came into Copeland's hands certain 
 vouchers which seemed to him peculiar 
 and excited his curiosity. Upon investi- 
 gating the matter further he found an 
 account entitled " County Liabilities." 
 which contained some of the enormous 
 bills paid by the city for plastering and 
 furniture. Awaiting his opportunity he 
 copied the entire account and gave it to 
 O'Brien. The latter decided not to make 
 it pulilic at once, but to use it as an aid in 
 
380 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 collecting certain large fees he claimed 
 were due him from the ring', which had 
 accrued while he was sheriff. Failing in 
 this, early in the summer of 1871 O'Brien 
 took the statement to the New York 
 Times, and immediately that paper began 
 its exposure of the operations of the ring. 
 It boldly denounced the members, in large 
 capitals, as thieves and swindlers, and 
 defied them to sue that paper for libel. 
 Commencing July 22d it published in suc- 
 cessive issues extracts from the secret ac- 
 counts obtained from O'Brien, and on the 
 29 til summed up all the charges against 
 the ring in a supplement. This general 
 statement was published in both English 
 and German, and showed that over $10,- 
 000,000 had already been paid out for the 
 furnishings of the court house and 
 armories. The innnediate result was a 
 mass meeting of the leading citizens in 
 Cooper Union, and the appointment of the 
 famous " Connnittee of Seventy," with 
 whom Samuel J. Tilden acted most 
 energetically, though cluurman of the 
 Democratic State Committee. Seeing 
 that the storm was not going to blow over, 
 the other members of the ring undertook 
 to make a scapegoat of Connolly. But he 
 vigorously protested, refusing as he said to 
 be oifered as a " vicarious sacrifice," and 
 hastened to make ti>rms with ]\[r. Tilden. 
 At the latter's suggestion Connolly ap- 
 pointed Andrew IT. Green, a leading mem- 
 ber of the Committee of Seventy, his 
 deputy with full powers, a course provided 
 for in the city charter. The committee 
 now had complete access to all the records 
 and accounts in the controller's office. Un- 
 fortunately, however, after the storm broke 
 the ring's servants burned over thirty-five 
 hundred of the most compromising vouch- 
 ers, so that it was with difficulty that the 
 connnittee gathered legal evidence. 
 
 Meanwhile Tweed's hold on the people 
 was manifested in many ways. It was 
 during the winter of 1870-71 that, partl.v 
 to ease his conscience, as was surmised, 
 and partly to pose as a philanthropist, he 
 gave to each of the Aldermen $1,000 to be 
 \ised in buying coal and wood for the poor 
 of his ward; and among the needy in his 
 
 own ward he distributed $50,000. "When, 
 therefore, charges began to be made 
 against his honesty a ci-y went up from 
 thousands in protest and the general re- 
 frain was " Oh ! but he was so good to the 
 poor.'' Moreover the New Y'ork Sun 
 seriously proposed in March, 1871, that a 
 statue should be erected to Tweed, an 
 idea which his adherents immediately 
 seized upon, and $8,000 was raised in a 
 \-ery short time. But Tweed emphatically 
 declined the honor, and published a letter 
 in the Sun discountenancing the project. 
 This was printed in the Sun of March 14, 
 1871, imder the bold heading 
 
 "A Great Man's Modesty 
 
 " The Hon. Wm. M. Tweed declines the 
 Sun's Statue — Characteristic letter from 
 the great New York Philanthropist — lie 
 ibinks that virtue should be its own re- 
 ward — The most remarkable letter ever 
 written by the noble benefactor of the 
 people." 
 
 For the fall election of 1871 Tweed 
 midertook to make the fight of his life, 
 believing that if he succeeded it would be 
 taken as a vindication of his course and 
 eliaracter. With the other members of the 
 ring he affected an air of unconcern re- 
 garding the disclosures; and when ques- 
 tioned as to the charges made his famous 
 ici)ly, "What you going to do about it?" 
 Sooner than he anticipated, however, he 
 received a very practical and positive 
 answer to his query. The exposures al- 
 ready made had so aroused the public con- 
 science that all the forces outside of Tam- 
 many Hall united in an effort to over- 
 throw the dominance of that organization. 
 During the excitement of the campaign, 
 on Oetober 26th, Tweed was arrested on 
 the affidavit of Samuel J. Tilden, and held 
 to bail in the sum of $1,000,000. This was 
 speedily furnished, and Tammany at once 
 undertook to make capital from the 
 " hounding of Tweed." The result of the 
 election was a sweeping victory for the 
 entire citizens' ticket. But one Tammany 
 candidate for the Senate was elected, and 
 that was the " boss" himself, who received 
 over nine thousand majority. 
 
 But the snell was now broken and the 
 
THE TWEED KING — 187G. 
 
 381 
 
 L-ollapse of the ring was sudden and com- 
 plete. On November 25th, Connollj' was 
 arrested and placed under $1,000,000 bail ; 
 and being unable or declining to furnish 
 this he was sent to jail. In October the 
 subcommittee of the Committee of 
 Seventy, which had been appointed to 
 examine the books of the controller's office, 
 reported among other things that $3,- 
 200.000 had been paid for repairs on 
 armories and drill-rooms, the actual cost 
 of which was less than $250,000; that 
 over $11,000,000 had been charged for out- 
 lays on the unfinished court house, the 
 entire cost of which, on an honest esti- 
 mate, would be less than $3,000,000; that 
 safes, carpets, furniture, cabinet-work, 
 painting, ijlumbing, gas and ijlastering 
 had cost $7,289,486, the real value of which 
 was found to be $624,180; that $400,000 
 had been paid for lumber worth $48,000; 
 that the printing, advertising, stationery, 
 etc., of the city had cost in two years and 
 eight months, $7,168,212. etc. It was on 
 the basis of this showing that Tweed had 
 been arrested, and on January 30, 1873, 
 he was tried, the jury disagreeing. lie 
 was again tried and found guilty on 
 ninety out of one hundred and twenty 
 counts, and sentenced fo BlackiveU's 
 island for twelve years, and to pay a 
 fine of $12,000. Anticipating his release 
 by the Supreme Court on a technicality 
 the Committee of Seventy secured the 
 passage of a special bill by the legislature 
 authorizing the people to institute a 
 special civil suit against Tweed. Accord- 
 ingly when set free on his appeal, he was 
 at ones arrested in a new suit for $6,- 
 000,000 under the Sijecial Act, and bail 
 was fixed at $3,000,000. Not being able 
 to secure this he lay in prison until De- 
 cember 4th. when, while visiting his home 
 in the custody of two keepers, he was 
 allowed to escape. This privilege he after- 
 wards testified cost him $60,000. Fleeing 
 from place to place he was finally arrested 
 at Vigo, in the North of Spain, and re- 
 turned to the United States in the warship 
 Vranllin, reaching New Yoi'k November 
 23, 1876. In one of the civil suits judg- 
 ment had been given against him for 
 
 $6,000,000. Confessing this he was sent 
 to jail until he should be able to satisfy it. 
 No pei-sonal property of his could be 
 found on which levy could be made. Dur- 
 ing his trial Tweed stated that he was 
 never worth more than $3,000,000, and 
 that he had recklessly thrown his money 
 away. As soon as his star began to de- 
 cline, he was set upon by all his old 
 henchmen and unmercifully blackmailed. 
 
 '■ Yesterday, Cresar might have stood 
 against the world ; 
 Now none so poor as to do him rever- 
 ence." 
 
 Deserted by all his political associates 
 and most of his friends, disgraced, with 
 the memoi-y of his crimes as his only com- 
 panion, he lingered in Ludlow street jail 
 until released by death on April 12, 1878. 
 By failures of juries to convict, and by 
 various compromises, all the other mem- 
 bers of the ring escaped punishment, and 
 went into exile in Europe. 
 
 Thus ended the Tweed Ring, the most 
 infamous and most successful band of 
 tliieves that ever plundered a great city. 
 The fame of the ring and its spectacular 
 
 THE TOMBS. 
 
 ending spread throughout the world, and 
 Tammany became a by-word and reproach 
 among all civilized peoples. But — that 
 was all ! It is doubtful whether any other 
 political organization could have survived 
 the exposures made. But Tammany has 
 a charmed life ! It has been overthrown, 
 crushed, paralyzed, wiped out of exist- 
 ence, time and time again, only to revive 
 before the next election, and probably 
 o\-erthrow the very reform organizations 
 that defeated it two or four vears before. 
 
382 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOliLD I'OWEK. 
 
 For one hundred years it has continued 
 this very existence, and the defeats as well 
 as the victories are taken simijly as a part 
 of the ga]ne. It is easy to hold up one's 
 hands in horror at the suggestion of Tam- 
 many; and its name has become a synonym 
 for greed and plmider in municipal ailairs. 
 But it should not be forgotten that every 
 large city in the country has, and has had, 
 its Tammany. Except in the few years 
 of the ascendency of the Tweed ring, the 
 role of Tammany has been no worse than, 
 generally not so bad as, that of the Re- 
 publican ring which has held the city of 
 Philadelphia and the State of Pennsyl- 
 vania by the throat for the past forty 
 
 years. The scandals connected with the 
 building of the new eapitol at Harrisburg 
 ivcently exposed are identical with those 
 connected with the building of the court 
 house in Tweed's time, even down to the 
 minutest details; while in Chicago, St^ 
 Louis, Cincinnati, San Francisco, — where- 
 ever the searchlight of investigation has 
 been turned on, the same rottenness in 
 municipal government has been exi^osed. 
 The government of its cities is one of 
 the most serious questions that confronts 
 the American peoi>le ; and unless some 
 solution shall be found, the very existence 
 of the nation is imj)erilled. 
 
XL. 
 
 NEW FORMS OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.- YOUNG PEOPLE'S 
 SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR — 1S8L 
 
 Recent Organizations of Young People Into Immense Societies. — Meaning of Such Movements. 
 
 — Dr. Hale and the Lend-a-Hand Clubs. — ilottoes of the Clubs. — Mrs. Bottome and the 
 King's Daughters. — An Outgrowtli of the Lend-a-Hand ilnvenient. — Rapid Growth of Order. 
 
 — Changed to " International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons." — Rev. F. E. Clark 
 as a Pastor. — Origin of Young People's Societ.y of Christian Endeavor. — Its First Elect- 
 ing. — Dr. Clark's Statement of Results. — October. 1S84, Mure Tlian 150 Societies Witli 
 Upwards of Eight Thousand ilembers. — Incorporation of United Societj' of Cliristian En- 
 deavor, 1885. — Mighty Force Toward Christian Unity. — Organizations not Denominational 
 but Interdenominational. — Third World's Convention at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1906 — 
 Sixty-four Thousand Societies Reported; Close to Four Million Members. — Withdrawal of 
 Methodists and Baptists in 1891. — The Epworth League Strictly Denominational and L'nder 
 Control of Church. — Organization of Baptist Young People's Union the Same Year. — Edu- 
 cational Features of Later Societies. — Tlie Brotlierhood of St. Andrew, Organized October, 
 1886. — "Object" and "Rules" of the Society. — The Rule of Prayer and Rule of Service. 
 — ^ Contrast of Working of These Societies With That of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciations. — A Mighty Power For tlie L'plifting of All Peoples. 
 
 " Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens." 
 
 — Daniel Webster. 
 
 XE of the distinctive developments in tlie evolution of the 
 -ueial and religious life of the last half century has been 
 the rapid organization of young people into immense 
 societies, both within and without the Church. Fifty years 
 ago elderly men and women were still regarded as import- 
 ant factors in the orderly arrangement and working of 
 human and divine institutions and movements; and, to 
 claim the least, the adage " Old men for counsel, young 
 men for action " was recognized as voicing the precepts 
 of wisdom, as well as the results of a wide and varied pop- 
 ular experience. But between the association of the youth 
 of the land into societies that have either assumed, or had thrust upon them, so large 
 a share in the direction and working out of all social and religious movements, and 
 the dictum of Science, as voiced by Dr. Osier, that the only proper course for those 
 who have passed middle life is either to resignedly submit themselves to the heads- 
 man's axe, or enter a home for the aged, there seems now little left for the counselors 
 of old but to quietly take their scats in the grand stand, and admiringly, and without 
 criticism, watch the progress of the game. Whether the change simply represents 
 the extreme swing of the pendulum in one direction, or the young giant shall main- 
 
384 
 
 FKOM COLOXY TO WORLD POWEK. 
 
 tain his control, remains to be seen. But 
 whatever the outcome, the movement is a 
 most interesting: one. and demands seri- 
 ous consideration. That the plasticity of 
 mind and enthusiasm of youth were too 
 ■nuch neglected until very recently, no 
 thoughtful person will deny. It is but 
 little more than a centui? since the first 
 Sunday School was organized by Robert 
 Raikes. and the Young Men's Christian 
 Association has but recently passed its 
 lialf-century mark; while within the last 
 forty years probably not less than ten mil- 
 lions of young people have been banded 
 together in different great societies, in- 
 spired by a common purpose and desire to 
 
 REV. EDW.^HD EYEHETT H.\LE, D.D. 
 
 cultivate a higher life among themselves 
 and, by united effort, to bring others to 
 share in the advantages they are dei-iving 
 from such union. It is evident, therefore, 
 that a tremendous force which, a century 
 ago. was ignored or carefully and studi- 
 ously restrained, has now^ been set free, 
 which, if wisely directed, must work 
 mightily for the spread of righteous 
 thought and righteous action. It is not 
 our purpose to make any attempt to 
 measure the successes or mistakes that 
 have attended this revolution, but simply 
 to outline briefly the origin, aim. and 
 growth of some of its leading forces. 
 
 When, in 1S70, the Rev. Dr. Eilward 
 Everett Hale sent his little book " Ten 
 Times One Is Ten " out into the world, he 
 had little idea how many thousands of his 
 readers were really waiting for some an- 
 nouncement of a " Lend-a-TIand " gospel. 
 But the immediate and spontaneous re- 
 sponse to his thought proved that he had 
 struck a chord whose vibration has 
 brought good cheer, help, and comfort 
 1() millions. " Lend-a-IIand " clubs and 
 " Ten Times One " clubs were at once or- 
 ganized in many places; and the noble 
 father of the movement was soon buried 
 under the avalanche of letters from 
 earnest incjuirers who sought guidance or 
 advice as to the best form for such organ- 
 izations to take, and the most promising 
 lines along which to direct their work. 
 The first " Lend-a-IIand " club was 
 formed in Boston in 1870, and it largely 
 took over the work of directing the move- 
 ment, under Dr. Hale's wise supervision. 
 Xo effort was made to unite the many 
 scattered clubs into one central society, 
 but it was advised that each individual 
 I lub should organize as it preferred, 
 choose its own name, make its own consti- 
 tution, and select its own work. The only 
 common basis for thought and work was 
 embodied in the great principles of Eaith, 
 Hope and Love, which were expressed in 
 the mottoes : 
 
 "Look up and not down; (Faith) 
 Look forward and not back; (Hope) 
 Look out and not in ; 
 and lend a hand" (Love). 
 From the first, the general advice as to 
 organization was summed up tersely in the 
 suggestion "Go as you please. — oiih/ go." 
 But in every case it was urged that each 
 society should have for one of its objects 
 the uplifting of some i^erson, neighbor- 
 hood, or institution outside the club itself. 
 In 1874 a " Look ITp Legion " was formed 
 at Chautauqua, which gave occasion to 
 Dr. Hale and his fellow workers to pub- 
 lish successive circulars, which soon gave 
 place to a " Journal of Organized Benefi- 
 cence," entitled " Leud-a-IIand." As the 
 number of clubs multiijlied rapidly 
 
NEW FORMS OF EELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. 
 
 ^85 
 
 through the country a central organiza- 
 tion became a necessity; and in Novem- 
 ber, 1891, "The Ten Times One" cor- 
 poration was formed. This action, how- 
 ever, did not involve the abridgment of 
 the independence of any local societies, 
 but simply established a general clearing' 
 liouse for work, and a legal depository 
 f(jr any property of the central society. 
 The badge of the " Lend-a-hand " clubs is 
 tlie ^Maltese cross; and their watchword, 
 " In His Name." But in these matters, 
 as in all others, each individual club de- 
 cides whether it will adopt one, or both, 
 or neither. In all the jaarent society's 
 work the desire has been not to suggest 
 liow individual societies shall work, or go, 
 — Ijut simply to inspire the impulse to 
 work and go in some way, " In His 
 Name." 
 
 One of the earliest results of the 
 '"' Lond-a-IIand " movement was the 
 formation in New York of an independ- 
 ent organization which first took the name 
 of " The King's Daughters." The secre- 
 tary of the club later wrote to Dr. Hale: 
 " In October, 1885, I went to Mrs. Bot- 
 tome (wife of Rev. Dr. F. Bottome), who 
 received the outline of the ' Sisterhood ' 
 wliich you sent with enthusiasm. I read 
 ' Ten Times One ' before her class in her 
 husband's church to-night. She is carried 
 away with it." As a result ten women 
 met at the home of Mrs. Bottome on Jan- 
 uary 1.3, 1886, and organized a " Ten," 
 adopting the four mottoes Of the " Lend- 
 a-IIand " clubs quoted above, the watch- 
 word " In His Name," and the silver 
 Maltese cross as their badge. This move- 
 ment proved very contagious, while the 
 character and special gifts of the mem- 
 bers of the original " Ten " constituted 
 it a natural centre for counsel and co-o]i- 
 eration. They wisely, however, guarded 
 against governing too much, " disclaiming 
 any purpose to control any circle in its 
 choice of a field." In 1887. " after urgent 
 requests, membership in the order was 
 opened to men and boys," and the cor- 
 porate title was changed to " The Inter- 
 national Order of the King's Daughters 
 and Sons." Early in the histoi-y of the 
 
 sisterhood a " Declaration of Independ- 
 ence " was issued, which distinctly cir- 
 cumscribed its field. Among other things 
 this declaration said : " In answer to the 
 repeated (jucstion that comes to us, ' Do 
 you belong in any way to the other 
 
 MES. MARGARET BOTTOME. 
 
 " Ten," " Lend-a-Hand " clubs, " Look Up 
 Legions," etc.?' we desire to clearly state 
 that we have no connection with any other 
 orders whatsoever. The Daughters of the 
 King recognize that they are indebted to 
 these friends for admirable suggestions, 
 which they have thankfully adopted. Ours 
 is distinctly a spiritual organization, based 
 on strictly evangelical principles. Our 
 foundation is Jesus Christ, our Lord, in 
 whose atonement we rely for salvation, 
 and by whose power, and in whose name, 
 and to whose glory, all our work is done." 
 This declaration of dogmatic orthodoxy 
 was, however, modified later by an official 
 announcement that the order " demanded 
 no uniformity in choice of labors. It de- 
 clined to make of its central council a 
 board of examiners into the theological 
 views of its members. It had no right to 
 
3S6 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 question tlie love of those who accepted a 
 call to commit themselves to labor for 
 His sake and in His name. It did not 
 found a church. It only summoned 
 women to greater and sweeter service, in 
 and beyond their own churches." The 
 constitution of the order provides for cir- 
 cles, chapters of circles, and State sec- 
 retaryships, under the general direction 
 and advice of the central council, with 
 which they are expected to keep in close 
 correspondence. " In the development of 
 the idea the direction specially empha- 
 sized is: first, the heart; next, the home; 
 then the church; and after that the great 
 outside." The growth of the order was 
 niarvelous, and at the end of the first dec- 
 ade of its history the original " Ten " 
 had become more than four hundred thou- 
 sand, with circles in nearly every coun- 
 try on the globe. " Hardly any class," 
 states one of the official reports, " has been 
 forgotten in its ministrations. Among 
 the poor and the sick, in hospitals and 
 jails, among the victims of flood, and fire, 
 and disease, the little cross has gone with 
 its loving service. Special interest has 
 always been shown in the care of the aged 
 and little children. And the distinctly 
 educational work in scliool and college 
 extension by correspondence among mem- 
 bers of the order has no insignificant 
 place among the varied activities of the 
 King's Daughters and Sons." Tlie otfice 
 of the Central Council is in New York 
 city, where is published the official paper 
 of the order, "The Silver Cross." The 
 present total membership of the order is 
 estimated at about half a million. 
 
 In the j'ear ISsl the young ami earnest 
 pastor of a new and aggressive church in 
 the city of Portland, Me., conceived the 
 not very novel idea of interesting his 
 young people in the active work of the 
 church. This young man had not out- 
 grown the old-fashioned idea of revivals 
 as a feature of the church life, nor 
 did he fear the evil of enthusiasm which 
 it is now proper to deprecate. As was not 
 wholly luicommon in those days in evan- 
 gelical churches, he believed that the 
 i^taled week of praj'er should bring re- 
 
 sults ; and so successfully had he inocu- 
 lated his iseople with the same idea, that 
 during each of the years of his service 
 the exijected, — not the unexpected, — had 
 happened, and the church had been 
 blessed with a period of pronounced re- 
 ligious awakening, as a result of which 
 many people, and especially many young 
 people, had been brought into the church 
 fold. It was just toward the close of such 
 a period in the spring of 1881 that the 
 Rev. F. E. Clark was anxiously stud.ving 
 liow the full force of enthusiasm engen- 
 dered by the revival might be made a per- 
 manent asset in the character of the new 
 converts, as well as of enduring benefit to 
 the whole church. As a step in this direc- 
 tion he invited forty or fifty of the young 
 people to meet at his house, that in a 
 social way he might stimulate their zeal, 
 and thinking that perhaps together some 
 helpful plan might be worked out. But 
 uiKJU the day of the meeting he hit upon 
 tlie idea of a pernuinent organization of 
 file young people into a society whose 
 constitution should bind each signer to 
 certain collective and individual effort ; 
 luid at what seemed the psychological 
 nninient. after a pleasant entertainment 
 and during a social talk, he presented the 
 proposition to his young guests for their 
 consideration. The document which he 
 had prepared provided for the formation 
 of the Williston Young People's Society 
 of Christian En<leavor, "Williston" be- 
 ing the name of the local church. Its 
 proposed object was " to promote an 
 earnest Christian life among its members, 
 to increase their mutual acquaintance, 
 and to make them more useful in the 
 service of Ood.'' But it was to the prayer 
 meeting that the constitution looked as 
 the pivotal point in the whole scheme, and 
 its most important clause relating to it 
 read as follows: " It is expected that all 
 active members of the society will be 
 l^resent at every meeting, unless detained 
 by some absolute necessity, and that each 
 one will take some part, however slight, 
 in every meeting." This article further 
 provided that once each month an " ex- 
 perience meeting " (this was later called 
 
NEW FOKMS OF EELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. 
 
 .SST 
 
 a " consecration meeting ") should be 
 hold, " at which each member shall speak 
 concerning his progress in the Christian 
 life for the past month. If anyone 
 chooses he can express his feelings by an 
 appropriate verse of Scripture." It was 
 still further provided that at the close of 
 each monthly experience meeting, " the 
 loll shall be called, and the response of the 
 active members who are present shall be 
 considered a renewed expression of alle- 
 giance to Christ." A look-out committee 
 vias appointed to follow up any who ab- 
 sented themselves from the experience 
 meetings ; and if any member persisted in 
 such absences for three successive months, 
 without suiBcient excuse, his name was 
 dropped from the roll. Brief as this state- 
 ment is, it embodies all the principles of 
 the constitutions of the thousands of so- 
 cieties that have since been formed in all 
 parts of the world. When the proposition 
 was first laid before the young people of 
 the Williston church by Dr. Clark it 
 rather terrified them, as it seemed as if 
 they were covenanting to perform more 
 than they might have the grace to execute. 
 But after a little deliberation one leader 
 signed, and then in turn all present affixed 
 their names and the greatest religious or- 
 ganization of young people the world has 
 ever known was born. Dr. Clark has told 
 ns with what anxiety he attended the first 
 prayer meeting after the organization of 
 the society to see how the young people 
 realized the character of their undertak- 
 ing. " The result," he says, " was that, 
 instead of three or four little sermonettes 
 and long prayers which had heretofore 
 filled the hour of the young people's meet- 
 ing, forty young people, more or less, with 
 Scripture verses and sentences of prayer, 
 and some of the more experienced with 
 longer testimonies or exhortation, were 
 heard in the precious and prophetic sixty 
 minutes devoted to the first genuine 
 Christian Endeavor prayer meeting." And 
 he adds: "But this meeting, though the 
 first, was by no means the last of the 
 series, nor was it the best; for each suc- 
 cessive meeting seemed to grow in in- 
 terest and power. Numbers increased 
 
 rapidly, young men and women who never 
 thought of going to a prayer meeting be- 
 fore were attracted to this one, and when 
 they came once they came again." After 
 a thorough test of the plan for about six 
 montlis Dr. Clark felt that its efficiency 
 was so well established that he wrote of 
 his experiment and its results to " The 
 Congregationalist " under the caption 
 " How One Church Looks After Its 
 Young People." This letter was copied in 
 the " Sunday School Times " and other 
 religious papers; and thus the idea was 
 successfully launched and started on its 
 world-wide career. The second society 
 formed was in the fall of the same year, 
 in Newburyport, Mass., and before the 
 end of 1881 societies had been formed in 
 a Rhode Island and a Vermont church, 
 and in another of the Portland churches. 
 Our space does not permit of our follow- 
 ing the interesting development of the 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 
 w 
 
 aJI 
 
 P^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 K^^H 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 REV FRANCIS E. CL.iuis. 
 
 young organization; and it is, moreover, 
 so well known that it is hardly necessary. 
 SuflSce it to say that even at the third 
 annual convention in October, 1884, one 
 hundred and fifty-six societies were re- 
 ported, with an active membership of 
 
388 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 8,005, and that among tlie number were 
 societies in China, India, and Hawaii. 
 
 In 1885 the need of incorporation hav- 
 ing become manifest the " United Society 
 of Christian Endeavor " was organized, 
 M-ith headquarters at Boston; and in 1886 
 the oificial paper of the society, " The 
 Golden Eule," was first published, on 
 October 7. In 1898 its name was changed 
 to the " Christian Endeavor World." At 
 the sixth annual convention, held at Sar- 
 atoga, N. Y., in 1887, the Eev. Erancis E. 
 Clark, the father of the movement, was 
 elected president of the United Society, 
 resigning his pastorate shortly after to 
 give his entire attention to Endeavor 
 work. Dr. Clark has visited every coun- 
 try of the world, practically, establishing 
 new societies and stimulating the energies 
 of those already organized ; and the so- 
 ciety's literature is now published in 
 about fifty distinct languages and dialects. 
 In 1906 the twenty-fifth anniversary of 
 the society's organization was observed in 
 all parts of the world, meetings of special 
 importance being held at Portland, Bos- 
 ton, Xew York, and W^ashington, in the 
 United States. The second European, 
 and the third World's Convention, was 
 also held that year at Geneva, in Switzer- 
 land, at which ovei- 61,000 societies, with 
 a membership of about 4,000.000, were re- 
 ported. On February :iS, 1909, President 
 Clark issued a birthday message to the 
 members of the society, in the course of 
 which he said: "To-day, on the 28th 
 birthday of Christian endeavor, we find 
 more than 71,000 societies, in practically 
 every land on the face of the earth. Here 
 is the inspiring list: Africa 503; Ar- 
 gentina 1; Australia 2,926; Austria 9; 
 Barbardos 3; Belgiinn 2; Bermuda 8; 
 Bohemia 7; Brazil 93; British Guiana 
 11 ; Bulgaria 11 ; Burmah 15 ; Canada 
 3.669; Caroline Islands 4; Chili 7; China 
 391; Colombia 6; Coeta Rica 10; Crete 4; 
 Cuba 44; Denmark 2; Dutch Guiana 1; 
 Egypt 17; Ellice Islands 9; England 
 11,550; Fiji Islands 1; Finland 31; For- 
 mosa 1; France 141; Germany 400; Gib- 
 raltar 3; Gilbert Islands 4; Greece 4; 
 
 Grenada, West Indies, 2; Guatemala 3; 
 Ilaj-ti 1; Hawaiian Islands 54; Holland 
 1 ; Hungary 23 ; Iceland 1 ; India 850 ; 
 Ireland 339; Italy 15; Jamaica, West In- 
 dies, 259; Japan 147; Korea 12; Labrador 
 1 ; Laos 29 ; Lapland 1 ; Loyalty Islands 
 25; Madagascar 93; Madeira Islands 1; 
 ilarshall Islands 21; Mauritius 1; Mexico 
 133; Newfoundland 2; New Hebrides 1; 
 Norway 26; Palestine 5; Panama 5; 
 Persia 65 ; Philippine Islands 6 ; Portugal 
 4; Porto Rico 7; Russia 49; Samoa 42; 
 Scotland 597 ; Siam 2 ; Spain 63 ; Sweden 
 374; Switzerland 24; Syria 19; Tokelau 
 Islands 3; Trinidad, W^est Indies, 21; 
 Turkey 62; United States 46,324; Wales 
 460,— total 71,064." 
 
 In 1888, at the Chicago Convention, the 
 society adopted the motto : " Not to be 
 ministered unto, but to minister;" and 
 its badge is a monogram made up of the 
 letters " C " and " E." 
 
 A most promising feature of the earlier 
 history of the Christian Endeavor Society 
 was its attitude toward denominational- 
 ism. It is not many years since the de- 
 \'Out Methodist, or Baptist, or Congrega- 
 tionalist looked upon members of the 
 other sects as irretrievably lost unless they 
 abandoned their peculiar tenets and 
 adopted those of the observer. But the 
 Christian Endeavor Society claimed from 
 the beginning to be not undenominational 
 but i«<e7'denominational. Its theory was 
 that each society, under normal condi- 
 tions, belongs to some church, and exists 
 to strengthen that particular church in 
 every way. Moreover similar societies, 
 actuated by the same motives, exist in a 
 nudtitude of difi'erent churches, and in 
 many denominations, to do the same serv- 
 ice loyally for each church and each de- 
 nomination. The general society unre- 
 servedly encouraged in each local society 
 the liveliest zeal for the sect to which the 
 church in which it existed belonged. Then 
 it sought to bring together on terms of 
 kindly fraternization and fellowship, in 
 general and convention assemblies, those 
 strongly differentiated societies. This was 
 a most attractive and Christian plan to 
 
NEW FOKMS OF KELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. 
 
 bring the denominations into more liar- 
 monious relations, and to break down 
 dividing walls. For several years the 
 scheme worked well, and great results 
 were being acliieved. As one has said, 
 " In the annually increasing conventions 
 of the united societies the fervid m.utual 
 fellowship of societies attached individ- 
 ually to many differing and almost an- 
 tagonistic sects was to many generous 
 minds an inspiring sight, conveying the 
 Ijru))hecy and the earnest of the manifold 
 iniity of the church of Christ." But this 
 spirit of fraternity was not in harmony 
 with the thought of older members of 
 some of the denominations, who consid- 
 ered sectarian exclusiveness more funda- 
 mental and vital than Christian fellow- 
 ship. The result was that the Methodist 
 and Baptist churches soon counseled the 
 union of all their societies within the lines 
 of their sectarian bodies. 
 
 In May, 1891, a meeting of representa- 
 tives of five different organizations of 
 young people within the Methodist Church 
 M-as held at Cleveland, Ohio, with the re- 
 sult that it was determined to cons(jlidate 
 their various societies under a general or- 
 ganization to be known as the Epworth 
 League, taking its name from the birth- 
 place of the founder of Methodism, John 
 Wesley. The Christian Endeavor Society 
 started with units of the individual 
 church societies, which were later drawn 
 together by natural development into the 
 larger associations. The Epworth League, 
 on the contrary, started with a central or- 
 ganization under whose direction all in- 
 dividual societies should be formed. This 
 central organization adopted a constitu- 
 tion which was to be the type for all the 
 constitutions of subsidiary societies. The 
 executive body in the main, society is the 
 "Board of Control;" and immediately 
 after its organization in 1889 this board 
 sent out a ringing call to all young peo- 
 ple's societies of the church to unite under 
 its banner. The call was, " To Your 
 Tents, O Israel ; " and was sent to all 
 Christian Endeavor Societies in the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, virtually instruct- 
 
 ing them to reconstitute themselves under 
 the denominational order. " The Epwortli 
 League," the call stated, " has its origin 
 in the conviction that the various young- 
 people's societies of the church should be 
 united in one organization. Its scheme of 
 work has been made large enough to com- 
 prehend all forms of Christian activity. 
 We therefore recommend that all literary, 
 social, and religious societies of young 
 people now in existence in our church 
 merge into the Epwortli League, and that 
 every such society continue its special 
 work through tliat department of the 
 league under which it would properly 
 fall." This organization lacks all the demo- 
 cratic features that were so attractive 
 in the earlier society, and exists within 
 hard and fast lines which are determined 
 by the controlling society and the general 
 church government. The board of control 
 is presided over by one of the bishops of 
 the church, and is made up of five min- 
 isters and nine laymen appointed by the 
 bishops and of fourteen other members 
 each elected by one of the Conference Dis- 
 tricts. The response to the call of the 
 board of control was immediate and ef- 
 fective, so that in 1897 it could report 
 an enrollment of 24,000 chapters, with a 
 membership of 1,650,000. The headquar- 
 ters of the board of control are in Chi- 
 cago, and the official publication is " The 
 Epworth Herald." The motto of the 
 league is: "Look up: Lift up!" and its 
 membership at the present time is approx- 
 imately 2,000,000. 
 
 In 1891 representative members of the 
 Baptist Church met in conference at Phil- 
 adelphia and put forth over their signa- 
 tures a document which was sent broad- 
 cast among the Baptist churches entitled 
 " A General Basis of Organization," 
 whose preamble reads as follows : " The 
 undersigned, cognizant of the fact that 
 there is a widespread desire for a more 
 thorough organization of the young peo- 
 ple of the Baptist churches for indoc- 
 trination in distinctive Baptist principles, 
 and instruction in Baptist history; for 
 more effective service in the local 
 
390 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 churches; for a better acquaintanceship 
 among our young people; for the better 
 pushing of all mission work — domestic, 
 home and foreign — suggest the following 
 basis of organization." It will be ob- 
 served that this plan provides for educa- 
 tional features which were not so clearly 
 announced in the preliminary statements 
 of the earlier general societies. This 
 feature was implied in the formal plans of 
 the Epworth League, and has since been 
 made a more pronounced characteristic of 
 its work. Both of these later denomina- 
 tional societies had the advantage of sev- 
 eral years' experience in the working of 
 the principles of the Christian Endeavor 
 societies, and so were able to outline or- 
 ganizations that seemed more in hannony 
 with the individual denominational needs. 
 Regular courses of study have been im- 
 portant features in the work of the Bap- 
 tist societies, and have proved both at- 
 tractive and helpful. The result of the 
 Philadelphia conference was the organ- 
 ization of the "Baptist Young People's 
 Union," whose relation to local societies 
 is much the same as that of the United 
 Society of Christian Endeavor to its in- 
 dividual chapters. The headquarters of 
 the Baptist Union are also at Chicago. 
 and its official organ is " The Baptist 
 Union." The watchword of the union is 
 "Loyalty to Christ." 
 
 The Episcopal Church has never affil- 
 iated with the Evangelical churches, and 
 so was without the range of the influence 
 of the Christian Endeavor movement. It 
 could hardly happen, however, that a 
 church which manifests so much interest 
 in young men, esi^ecially in the cities, 
 should fail to be influenced by the spirit 
 of organization that was everywhere in 
 the atmosphere. We are not, therefore, 
 surprised to find that in October, 1880, the 
 representatives of twenty local societies 
 that had been formed in as many parishes, 
 in different regions, met in Chicago and 
 firganized a general " Brotherhood of St. 
 Andrew." This brotherhood has de- 
 veloped from a loosely tied band of church 
 
 guilds into an order of laymen in the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, divided, for 
 local work and administration, into pa- 
 rochial chapters. As might be expected, 
 this organization is mucli more con- 
 servative in its activities than any of 
 the other societies that have been de- 
 scribed, and rather discourages the es- 
 tablishment of new chapters until the 
 evident need has become manifest. It has, 
 however, had a steady growth, and now 
 has a membership of about 20,000. The 
 headquarters of the Brotherhood are in 
 New York city, where the official organ, 
 " The St. Andrew's Cross " is published. 
 There are two Brotherhood badges; one, 
 a St. Andrew's cross of gold and red 
 enamel, and the other a black silk button 
 with a red St. Andrew's cross woven on 
 its face. 
 
 This brief description of the aims and 
 purposes of the leading organizations of 
 young people within the churches will give 
 a general idea of the magnitude of the 
 movement. That it has worked miglitily in 
 stimulating an interest in religious work 
 can hardly be doubted. Enthusiasm i:i 
 contagious, but its heat can only be main- 
 tained in a social atmosphere. For many 
 years the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciations had centred the interest of the 
 young men, at least, outside the churches, 
 necessarily weakening their power for 
 good. The various organizations de- 
 scribed above, however, have all tended to 
 revive the love of all the young ix>ople for 
 their individual church homes, which has 
 served in a marked way to quicken the re- 
 ligious activities of such churches and en- 
 rich their social life. No imagination can 
 picture the possible effects of the more or 
 less close union of eight or ten million 
 youths inspired with a common purpose 
 and a common hope; and though all the 
 ideals set up may not be realized, it is a 
 happy prophecy for the uplifting of all 
 peoples that such a potent influence looks 
 toward righteousness and social better- 
 ment alone. 
 
XLI, 
 
 THE FEDERATION OF LABOR — LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 1881. 
 
 Ideal Relation of Capital and Labor. — Actual Conditions. — Labor of Earliest Historical 
 Times. — Origin of Slavery. — Conditions in Greece and Rome. — Change from Slavery to 
 Serfdom. — Gradual Acquisition of Riglits of Freemen by Serfs. — Influence of Wyclif and 
 His Itinerant Preachers. — Conditions in England in Eighteenth Century. — Unions of 
 Laboring ilen Organized. — Early Labor Situation in United States. — First Organizations 
 and Their Weakness. — Individual Versus Collective Bargaining. — The Weakness of the 
 Labor Unit. — John Mitchell's Description of the Trade Union and Its Purposes. — Flexibility 
 of L'nion Organizations. — The Knights of Labor. — '"That is the Host Perfect Government 
 in Which Injur}' to One is the Concern of All." — The Federation of Organized Trades and 
 Labor Unions of the United States and Canada. — Importance of Federative Principle. — 
 General Position of Unions as to Strikes and Boycotts. — Evil Results to All Unions of 
 Political Alliances. — Present Status of Federation of Labor; 1,500,000 Paying Members. — 
 Organization of Employers' Unions. — "The Citizens' Industrial Association of America." — • 
 Statement of Its Principles. — Reactionary Position of Its Leaders. — "Labor Has No 
 Rights Capital is Bound to Respect."— The Twentieth Century Spirit Will Not Tolerate 
 Reactionary Measures. — The Riglits of All, Labor, Capital, and the Public Must be 
 Considered. — " Xo Man Liveth to Himself Alone." — End to be Aimed at is Peace. 
 
 " When labor quarrels with capital, or capital neglects the interests of labor, it is like the hand thinking 
 it docs not need the eye, the ear, or the brain." — jAMliS Freeman Clakke. 
 
 N Oriental legend tells of a species of birds of great size 
 and strength, whose natural habitat was the clear air of 
 the loftiest mountains and the invigorating atmosphere 
 of the highest heavens. Yet they were so formed that by 
 union alone could they rise. The male bird was equipped 
 with a powerful right wing; but in the place of a wing on 
 the left side, he had only a hook-like joint. Conversely 
 the female bird had a strong wing on the left side, while 
 from her right side protruded a joint prepared to fit that 
 on the left side of her male companion. United they could 
 soar to the loftiest heights, and revel in the most luxurious airs; separated, they 
 floundered and groveled in forest and in s\\ amps, — " useless each, without the other." 
 It would seem difficult to illustrate better the relations that should exist between 
 liibor and capital. Yet from the dawn of history to this year of our Lord, 1909, 
 one has refused to recognize the power of friendly union by which the greatest 
 good for both could be attained; and yielding willing submission to those birth- 
 marks of the bestial nature of the race, — Greed and Avarice, — long and weary 
 centuries of injustice, mutual hostility, and angry defiance have been endured, until 
 
392 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 to-ilay, as all through the ages, these 
 giant forces that, working in harmony, 
 should make for civilization and right- 
 eousness, are drawn up in antagonistic 
 lines, under hostile banners, moving to- 
 ward the most deplorable crises, unless 
 mutual concession and wise legislation 
 shall lead them to see the power for their 
 own good and for that of all mankind 
 that lies in their cordial union. 
 
 Students of the life of primitive men 
 agree that as far back as our evidence 
 goes the individual was an independent 
 unit in all his relations. He supported 
 himself and female associate and their off- 
 spring by hunting and fishing, while the 
 woman in a crude way reared the children, 
 prepared their food, and fastened together 
 the skins for clothing. Later, as individ- 
 iials allied themselves together in families, 
 or village communities, or tribes, the 
 stronger unions began to prey upon the 
 weaker, and war became common. The 
 family or tribe that conquered its neigh- 
 bors at first merely seized upon their 
 cattle or war implements, and killed ofi' all 
 the members of the conquered tribe. But 
 as the wealth of those stronger tribes or 
 fanulies increased they began to realize 
 that it would be a much better business 
 proposition to make prisoners of their con- 
 quered foes, and let the captives do all 
 their work while they enjoyed the spoils 
 of .victory. And thus slavery arose, the 
 natural and immediate result of war, and 
 its ethical principle that " Might makes 
 Right." But it is essential to note that 
 whatever had been their previous rela- 
 tions, as the custom grew up of enslaving 
 the conquered instead of killing them off, 
 the conquerors came to place the captive 
 in exactly the same category as the herds, 
 or the spears and shields, which they had 
 formerly brought home as the spoils of 
 war, — simply as so much property. The 
 captive ceased to be a man, a worthy foe 
 or useful ally; he became a thing, a useful 
 tool, and was classed with the other 
 chattels. As wars became more com- 
 mon, and certain tribes developed into 
 powerful nations, the number of slaves 
 rapidly increased. With this increase 
 
 grew up the idea that it was ignoble 
 for one of the conquering tribe or 
 nation to perform any kind of labor, even 
 of the most i>ersoual or trivial character; 
 that was left to the slaves. So that in 
 the days of the glory of Greece and of 
 Rome we are hardly surprised to find tliat 
 all the philosophy of their learned men 
 and the theories of their statesmen are 
 based upon the absolute inequality of the 
 few and the many. With Plato, Aristotle, 
 Cicero, Cato, the slave is such by nature; 
 slavery is a political necessity, — since no 
 one who labors in any way could be fit for 
 citizenship. In order to have free citi- 
 zens to rule the State, there must be slaves 
 to support them in idleness. How often 
 have our pulses throbbed more quickly and 
 our enthusiasm been fired as poets and 
 orators have sung and declaimed of the 
 glorious liberties of Athens, and the high 
 character of Athenian political life dur- 
 ing the golden days of the city's history! 
 But we are seldom reminded of the fact 
 that these statesmen and philosophers, 
 these men who " spent their time in noth- 
 ing else but either to tell or to hear some 
 new thing," were a most inconsiderable 
 part of the total population of the city, 
 probably not at any time over thirty thou- 
 sand men, while an aggregate of from one 
 hundred to one hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand slaves supported them in this idle- 
 ness. What slavery was in Rome after 
 the great conquests, and what its influence 
 was upon the people has been repeatedly 
 told us by historians. But the significant 
 fact for our present purpose is that all 
 through these ages there were just two dis- 
 tinctly antagonistic classes, — the idle, who 
 could own or hire slaves to do their work, 
 and the slaves or laborers who maintained 
 their masters in idleness. While Rome 
 was tottering toward her fall a new and 
 life-giving element was injected into the 
 situation, and that was the simple teach- 
 ings of Christianity. The distinguished 
 German historian and theologian, Har- 
 nack, has sununed up the whole revelation 
 of Jesus under two heads: (1) The 
 Fatherhood of God, and its corollary, the 
 brotherhood of man ; and (2) the infinite 
 
THE FEDEEATION OF LABOK — LABOR OEGANIZATIONS — 1881. 
 
 value of the human soul. And the history 
 of the last eighteen centuries has fully 
 demonstrated that whenever the full im- 
 port of this revelation has been grasped 
 by any people, slavery and every form of 
 tyranny has been doomed. As a result of 
 the Christian Spirit and of the Teutonic 
 invasions and conquests the rigors of 
 slavery were greatly mitigated throughout 
 Europe, and the status of the laborer was 
 materially raised. EverjTvhere serfdom 
 succeeded to slavery. Under its laws the 
 master has no right of ownership in, nor 
 of life and death over, his subject man, 
 but the latter has become attached to the 
 soil. He has gained a larger measure of 
 personal freedom, but still is far from be- 
 ing a free man. " The owner of the land," 
 as a historian has said, " could not sell 
 them (the serfs) nor drive them from 
 their homes, nor could they, on the other 
 hand, run away : if they did, the master 
 could bring' them back. Generally they 
 were required to pay him a i^ortion, fixed 
 by law, of the product of the land which 
 had been assigned to'them ; and they owed 
 to him also a certain yearly amount of 
 labor upon the land which he kept for his 
 own purposes. The rent dues and the 
 labor dues could not be increased by the 
 master. Adscripfi Glehae, these laborers 
 were called; they were tenants registered 
 by the state, and fastened forever to the 
 same spot of earth; for them there was 
 no freedom of movement and )io choice 
 of occupation. The serf could not marry 
 a wife who belonged on another estate; 
 his children were tethered to the same soil. 
 The title of the property might pass from 
 owner to owner, but the serf remained. 
 Lords might come and lords might go. but 
 he stayed on forever." This description, 
 of course, applies directly to agricultural 
 communities; but similar relations ex- 
 isted in the cities, ilost laborers were in 
 some way attached to a Master, as menials 
 or retainers. This status of serfdom ob- 
 tained in Europe from the fourth or fifth 
 century of our era down to vai-ying periods 
 in different countries from the fifteenth 
 to the nineteenth centuries. For most of 
 the countries it was undermined or swept 
 
 away by the French Revolution; in Russia 
 it was abolished by imperial edict in 
 1S61. In England, however, its decline 
 dated from the preaching of Wyclif's 
 itinerant priests, in the latter part of the 
 fourteenth century, who circulated his 
 little tracts consisting of translations from 
 the Latin Bible into the new English 
 tongaie of the great truths of the brother- 
 hood of men. " Wyclif's poor priests," 
 says Thorold Rogers, in his ' Six Cen- 
 turies of Work and Wages,' "had honey- 
 t-ombed the minds of the upland folk with 
 what may be called religious socialism. 
 By Wyclif's labors the Bible men had been 
 introduced to the New World of the Old 
 Testament, to the history of the human 
 race, to the primeval garden and the 
 young world, where the first parents of 
 all mankind lived by simple toil, and were 
 the ancestors of the proud noble and 
 knight, as well as the down-trodden serf 
 and despised burgher. They read of the 
 Ijrave time when there was no King in 
 I srael, when every man did what was right 
 in his own eyes, and sat under his own 
 vine and fig tree, none daring to make him 
 afraid." And Wyclif's disciple, John 
 Ball, the " mad priest of Kent," as he was 
 called, preached: "Good people, things 
 will never go well in England so long as 
 goods be not in common, and so long as 
 there be villeins (serfs) and gentlemen. 
 By what right are they whom we call 
 Lords greater folk than we? On what 
 grounds have they deserved it? Why do 
 they hold us in serfdom? If we all came 
 of the same father and mother, of Adam 
 and Eve, how can they say that they are 
 better than we, if it be not that they make 
 us gain for them by our toil what they 
 spend on their pride i They are clothed 
 in velvet and warm in their furs and er- 
 mines, while we are covered with rags. 
 They have wine, and spices, and fair 
 bread, and we eat oat-cake and straw, anrl 
 water to drink. They have leisure and 
 fine houses, we have pain and labor, the 
 rain and the wind, in the fields. And 
 yet it is of us and of our toil that these 
 men hold their state." A troublesome 
 
394 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 leaven this to have working in the dough 
 of Feudalism ! 
 
 Of course, too, the religious reforma- 
 tion of the sixteenth centui-y did much to 
 elevate the status of the serf, and the slov? 
 but sure abolition of the restraints of 
 serfdom upon the rights of tlie mas-es of 
 the people was a natural result. Freedom 
 of action, freedom of contract, and the 
 rights to secure and hold property were 
 gradually acquired. Thus in the slow 
 grinding of the " Mills of God " centuries 
 of slavery gave place to other centuries 
 of serfdom, — a distinct step upward, and 
 bearing the seed of a better harvest; and 
 after centuries of serfdom, the labor ques- 
 tions of the nineteenth and twentieth cen- 
 turies all unfolded, but with the parties 
 to them each recognized as men. with 
 equal rights before the law to life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness. Such, in 
 brief, has been the evolution of the Labor 
 problem. From slavery to complete legal 
 independence is a far reach; and though 
 the higher status has been attained only 
 after and through the unspeakable suffer- 
 ing, misery, and wretchedness of untold 
 millions of men, women, and children, 
 yet the orderly development promises that 
 even present conditions are but transitory, 
 and that brighter days and more equal 
 privileges are before all God's cliihh'cn. 
 as surely as the brightness of dawn fol- 
 lows the darkest hours of the night. 
 
 Our space does not admit of any de- 
 tailed reference to the mediseval guilds, 
 which played no unimportant pait in the 
 abolition of serfdom and the determina- 
 tion of the rights of man, as man. Their 
 influence was, however, powerful chiefly 
 on the Continent, and affected the develop- 
 ment of labor questions in England and 
 the United States only indirectly. But 
 as we review the whole period, covering 
 more than four thousand years of recorded 
 histoi-j-, the .sad .si:)ectacle is everywhere 
 presented of mankind ranged in two hos- 
 tile lines, the few ever exploiting the 
 many; and one cannot fail to observe that 
 all through the ages no point or advan- 
 tage has ever voluntarily been yielded to 
 the weak by the strong, but that every 
 
 advance has been gained in the teeth of 
 the bitterest opposition, through force or 
 fear. The great capitalist of to-day is a 
 more interesting and pleasing person to 
 contemplate than the gluttonous, drunken, 
 bestial owner of thousands of slaves in 
 the days of Nero ; but the same contempt- 
 uous indifference to the conditions and 
 privileges of the many has characterized 
 the policy of both. Greed, avarice, lust 
 of possession are jealous masters, and 
 quickly strangle any better sentiments in 
 those who have once submitted themselves 
 to their brutalizing rule. 
 
 Modern labor organizations, that is, dis- 
 tinctly labor organizations, are the out- 
 growth of the great industrial revolution 
 which began about the middle of the 
 eighteenth century, and whose end no man 
 can foresee. Then came in rapid succes- 
 sion the great discoveries and inventions 
 that revolutionized every phase of produc- 
 tion and distribution. Great factories 
 sprang up in certain centers, which drew 
 the working people from rural communi- 
 ties and massed them in towns. The 
 change was attended with the most acute 
 misery, and " man's inhumanity to man " 
 was never more forcibly illustrated. It 
 would be well for every critic of labor or- 
 ganizations to read the detailed statement 
 of the conditions that resulted from the 
 unrestrained action of so-called economic 
 laws, as they are recorded in the writings 
 of students of this period. And it was not 
 until the wholesale mortality among fac- 
 tory and mining operatives and the threat- 
 ened extinction of a large class of English 
 laborers forced upon Parliament a con- 
 sideration of the existing conditions, that 
 the country at large awoke to the horrors 
 of the situation. Nowhere in the history 
 of the treatment of slaves is there such a 
 record of brutal, selfish greed coining 
 money out of the very life-blood of human 
 beings. It was a terrible experience, but 
 it demonstrated one fact beyond question, 
 and that was, that through combinations 
 of laborers alone could any relief be ob- 
 tained; and it was under such conditions 
 that labor organizations first came into 
 
THE FEDEEATION OF LABOR — LABOE ORGANIZATIONS — 1881. 395 
 
 existence in Great Britain, during the lat- 
 ter part of the eighteenth century. 
 
 As the factory system developed in the 
 United States, too, and mines were 
 opened, similar forces began at once to 
 operate. Happily here the vast area of un- 
 developed country, and the many openings 
 for labor, tended to mitigate the evils that 
 bore so heavily upon laborers in Great 
 Britain ; but the same tendencies and 
 principles were operative here as there, 
 and the laboring men early realized that 
 through union alone could they secure any 
 just and adequate return for their work. 
 It was not, however, until toward the mid- 
 dle of the nineteenth century that ten- 
 dencies toward the union of independent 
 and local organizations began to manifest 
 themselves. The first quarter of that cen- 
 tury hae been called the "germinal 
 period," during which mention of labor 
 organizations becomes more and more fre- 
 quent, though there is no well-defined 
 movement. The quarter of a century 
 from 1825 to 1850 was a period of intel- 
 lectual and political ferment all over Eu- 
 rope, as well as in the United States. 
 Then flourished the Transcendental Move- 
 ment and the attempts at the practical ap- 
 plication of the new theories of Commun- 
 ism and Socialism. Reform was in the 
 air. The determined opposition to the ad- 
 vance of the slave power in the South was 
 constantly growing, and the equal rights 
 of all men were being heralded. This 
 widespread phase of thought and action 
 could not fail to have its effect upon the 
 laboring men ; and the immediate result 
 was the formation of a large number of 
 loosely organized, semi-political societies, 
 to whose membership unskilled laborers, 
 women, farmers, and many employers were 
 admitted. The most tyjiical of these organ- 
 izations were perhajis the New England 
 Workingmen's Association, the New Eng- 
 land Protective Union, and the Industrial 
 Congress of the United States. These 
 Associations, which were closely allied in 
 their form and laurposes, were organized 
 between 1840 and 1850, died early deaths, 
 and achieved little of value to anyone. 
 Their mistakes, however, showed clearly 
 
 to later organizations what must be 
 avoided. These pioneer, indiscriminately 
 mixed, associations dissipated all their en- 
 ergies in championing women's rights, the 
 nationalization of land, and the abolition 
 of slavery; and with their failure ended 
 the attempts to establish organizations 
 upon enthusiasm, altruism, and general 
 social discontent. Practical men saw the 
 necessity of careful, systematic organiza- 
 tion upon business principles, with clearly 
 defined purposes in view, the achievement 
 of which should be the sole aim of the 
 society. The first of the distinctively 
 national labor organizations was the In- 
 ternational Typographical Union, which 
 \vas organized in 1850. The next fifteen 
 years was a period of nationalization ; and 
 by 1866 from thirty to forty national and 
 international Trade Unions were in exist- 
 once, some of them numbering their mem- 
 bership by tens of thousands. 
 
 As popular notions as to Trade Unions 
 are somewhat vague it would be well at 
 once to get a clear idea of what such an 
 organization is and what are its aims. It 
 will, we think, bo generally conceded that 
 no one is better fitted than John Mitchell 
 to state the Union's case, and we shall 
 quote from his work entitled " Organized 
 Labor." " In its fundamental principle 
 trade unionism is plain and clear and 
 simple. Trade Unionism starts from the 
 recognition of the fact that under normal 
 conditions the individual, unorganized 
 workman cannot bargain advantageously 
 with the employer for the sale of his labor. 
 Since the workingman has no money in 
 reserve and must sell his labor immedi- 
 ately; since, moreover, he has no knowl- 
 edge of the market and no skill in 
 bargaining; since, finally, he has only his 
 own labor to sell, while the employer en- 
 gages hundreds or thousands of men and 
 can easily do without the services of any 
 particular individual, the workingman, if 
 bargaining on his own account and for 
 himself alone, is at an enormous disad- 
 vantage. Trade Unionism recognizes the 
 fact that under such conditions labor be- 
 comes more and more degenerate, because 
 the labor which the workman sells is, un- 
 
39(5 
 
 FKOM COLOXY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 like other commodities, a thing wliich is 
 of his very life and soul and being-. In 
 the inilividual eontraet between a rirh 
 employer and a poor workman, the laborer 
 
 Copyiiijht 1'.I03 by J. E. Piirdu. Boston. 
 JOHN MITCHELL. 
 
 will seeure the worst of it ; he is jirogress- 
 ivcly debased, because of wages insuffi- 
 cient to buy nourishing food, because of 
 hours of labor toO' long to permit sufficient 
 rest, because of conditions of work de- 
 structive of moral, mental, and physical 
 liealth. and degrading and annihilating 
 to the laboring classes of the present and 
 the future; and, finally, because of danger 
 from accident and disease, which kill off 
 the workingnian or prematurely age him. 
 The ' individual bargain,' or ' individual 
 contract.' between employers and men 
 means that the condition of the worst 
 and lowest nnm in tile industry will be 
 that which the best man must accept. 
 From first to last, from beginning to end. 
 always and everywhere, trade unionism 
 stands unalterably opposed to the indi- 
 vidual contract. Then' ran. hf tin conrrs- 
 sion or yielding upon tliis point. There 
 
 can he no permanent prosperity to the 
 working classes, no real and lasting prog- 
 ress, no consecutive improvement in 
 conditions, iintil the ;;)"i»ctp?e is firmlij 
 and fully estahUsJied, that in industrial 
 life, especially in enterprises on a large 
 scale, the settlement of wages, hoiirs of 
 lahor, and all conditions of ivork, must he 
 made helween employers and worJcingmen 
 eoUeclively, and not heliueen the employ- 
 ers and worlcingmen individually." 
 
 American Unions are either local, dis- 
 trict, national, or international. Local 
 Tnions ordinarily represent members of 
 single trades who live and work in the 
 same city or small community. The 
 National Union, as its name implies, 
 covers the various states and localities 
 where the members work at a particular 
 trade; and the District Organization is a 
 subdivision of a National Union, exercis- 
 ing supervision over the locals in a par- 
 ticular state; it is chartered by and sub- 
 ordinate to the National. International 
 Societies are so called because they include 
 Canadian or Mexican Unions; not because 
 of aifiliation of American National Or- 
 ganizations with those of Europe or 
 other parts of tlie world. Historically it 
 is unquestionably true that the local 
 union is the father of the National Union ; 
 yet it is equall.v true that b,v far the 
 greater majority of the local unions have 
 been formed by the National Organiza- 
 tion. Naturally these local bodies are ex- 
 tremely democratic in their forms of gov- 
 ernment, and are usually composed of 
 men working at the same trade, of about 
 equal wages and position in the com- 
 munity, and so connected closely by ties 
 of personal acquaintance. The govern- 
 ment of a trade union is a government of 
 workingmen, for workingmen, by working- 
 men, and the framers of its constitution 
 have been workingmen. Though the 
 supreme law of the Union has not been 
 formulated by highly paid constitutional 
 lawyers, yet it represents in a clear and 
 definite manner the ideals, purposes, and 
 aims of the great majority of the members 
 of the organization ; and the faithfulness 
 with which trade union constitutions rep- 
 
THE FEDEilATlON OF LABOE — LABOK ORGANIZATIOXS — 1881. 397 
 
 resent trade union sentiment is due to 
 the elasticity of those constitutions. The 
 government of trade unions is loose and 
 fle.xible. The object of the leaders, as of 
 the rank and file of trade unionists, has 
 been to preserve the largest possible elas- 
 ticity and freedom of movement to the 
 ruling- majority of the organization. The 
 formal written constitution of a Trade 
 Union is rather a statement of principles 
 and a formulation of the present policy 
 of the Union than a hard and fast deter- 
 mination of its future laws. 
 
 As has been emphatically stated, the 
 first, last, and all-important principle of 
 all union organizations is that of collec- 
 tive bargaining', which undertakes to se- 
 cure adequate or reasonable wages, hours 
 of labor, etc. There are many other 
 thing's of only less importance that are 
 distinctive features of all labor organiza- 
 tions, such as insurance, — old age and 
 death; sick benefit funds; out-of-work pro- 
 visions, etc. ; all of which are recog- 
 nized and provided for in the make 
 up of the total annual payment of each 
 member of the Union; and Unions 
 have often been severely criticised liy 
 their alleged friends for the occasional 
 use of pension or insurance funds 
 to maintain an important strike. But 
 with the explicit statement made by 
 all Unions that the charitable features 
 must always be held in a secondary 
 position to its one imperative purpose 
 to maintain wages, secure better hours of 
 labor, etc., it is difficult to see with what 
 justice such criticism is advanced. It is 
 certainly puerile, and would never be set 
 up in opposition to any similar act on the 
 liart of capital. Every advantage that the 
 Unions have gained, either in the way 
 of increased wages, better hours of labor, 
 improved conditions under which the 
 work shall be done, increased responsi- 
 bility of the emi^loyer in case of accident, 
 — all of these gains have been made 
 tin-ough absolute adherence to one prin- 
 ciple, and they never could have been 
 gained otherwise. Altruism in com- 
 mercialism is an absolutely idle dream ; 
 and, as we have said before, the saddest 
 
 position one is forced to take in studying 
 the whole subject of the rise of the laborer 
 from slave to Union man is that never by 
 grace of the consideration or courtesy of 
 employers has a point been gained. Every 
 step has been won in weakness, suffering, 
 under ridicule and stringent penal laws, 
 by persistent, self-forgetful, determined, 
 aggressive action. And it would indeed 
 seem strange if, after generations of ex- 
 perience the laboring men had evolved one 
 principle of absolutely basic character in 
 their movements, — a veritable " big stick " 
 potent to secure " square deals," — they 
 should hesitate to use it to its utmost 
 power because of any puling sentiment as 
 to the ethics of their insurance or pen- 
 sion funds. 
 
 Previous to the civil war in the United 
 States there were no successful attempts 
 made to form alliances among national 
 trade unions. Labor federations, when 
 they existed, were local in cliaracter. 
 Thus the General Trades Union of the 
 City of New York, organized in 18:J3, was 
 a federation of the Unions of that City. 
 On January 8, 1834, The General Trades 
 Union of Boston was organized on the 
 same general lines, and shortly after 
 similar organizations appeared in Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore. In 18GG repre- 
 sentatives of organized labor assembled at 
 Baltimore and formed the National Labor 
 Union, the chief declared aim of which 
 was to secure the establishment of the 
 eight-hour working day. This organiza- 
 tion held national conventions in 1867 
 and 1808, and seemed to possess elements 
 of vitality. But too active participation 
 in the political campaigns of 1868 and 
 1872 created internal dissensions that 
 proved fatal to its continued existence. 
 The general industrial depression of the 
 early "seventies" forced very many 
 Unions to disband. They had been or- 
 ganized on the basis of low dues and light 
 benefits, and hard times found them with- 
 out any resources for the emergency. But 
 with the later industrial revival, the labor 
 world again looked toward organization 
 along broader and stronger lines than be- 
 fore. The experiences of the Unions dur- 
 
398 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD ^O^YEE. 
 
 ing the depression had shown the need of 
 strong intcr-trade alliances, supplement- 
 ary to the local and national trade Unions 
 then existing. 
 
 This need the Knights of Labor under- 
 took to supply. This, the first successful 
 National t^nion of Laborers in the United 
 States, had its origin in a local union or 
 assembly of Garment Cutters, formed in 
 Philadelphia in 1869. With increase in 
 the number of local assemblies, demand 
 arose for a body which should represent 
 all the local unions in a certain district. 
 This was the origin of the " District As- 
 sembly No. 1," others being formed as fast 
 as the number of local assemblies in a 
 new field warranted union in a District 
 Assembly. On August 2, 1877, a circular 
 from " District Assembly No. 1 " was sent 
 to all officers and members of Knights of 
 Labor, notifying them of a convention to 
 be held in Reading, Pa., on January 1, 
 1S78, for the purpose of forming a " Gen- 
 eral Assembly," and establishing a general 
 assistance fund, a bureau of statistics, and 
 
 I'HIAH S. STEPHENS, 
 
 Founder of the Knights of Labor. 
 
 a system of revenue to aid in the work of 
 organization. This resulted in the " Gen- 
 eral Assembly of the Knights of Labor of 
 North America." Full and final juris- 
 
 diction in all matters pertaining to local 
 and district assemblies " was given to the 
 General Assembly, while each District 
 Assembly was given power to decide all 
 appeals and settle all controversies within 
 or between local assemblies." Many prin- 
 ciples of this Order, as enunciated in its 
 constitution, were of the most advanced 
 and ennobling character. Though it was 
 during its supremacy in the labor world 
 that the earliest and fiercest of the great 
 national strikes occurred, yet, as a body, 
 it officially discouraged strikes and boy- 
 cotts, urging that the main reliance of the 
 Order should be placed on political action, 
 co-operation, and education. Back of its 
 educational policy was the theory that me- 
 chanical inventions were making the 
 skilled trades increasingly dependent upon 
 the lower grades of unskilled labor, and 
 that, consequently, the laboring classes 
 must be elevated en masse or not at all, 
 — taking for its official motto the senti- 
 ment. " Tliat is the most perfect govern- 
 ment in which an injury to one is the 
 concern of all." The year 1880 was the 
 banner year of the Knights, when they 
 reported at their Convention upwards of 
 CiOO.OOO members of the different local and 
 district assemblies. But the mistake was 
 again made of engaging too actively in 
 national polities: and the autocratic form 
 of government of the supreme body was 
 not in harmony with the best ideas of 
 the time. Consequently when, in 1881, 
 " The Federation of Organized Trades 
 and Labor L^nions of the Unitecl States 
 and Canada " was formed, the Knights 
 could not long resist the influence of the 
 federative idea, which has proved the most 
 potent principle in the history of labor 
 organizations. In organization The Fed- 
 eration is the very antithesis of that of 
 the Knights of Labor. In structure it is 
 a confederation, dealing with Unions or 
 local federations whenever possible, care- 
 fully refraining from the slightest infrac- 
 tion of the autonomy of the constituent 
 tmions. and confining itself to those ob- 
 jects which are of vital importance to all 
 liilior organizations in common, — such as 
 tl'e maintenance of a labor press, the pas- 
 
THE FEDERATION OF LABOE — LABOR ORGANIZATIONS — 1881. 399 
 
 sage of favorable labor legislation, the 
 amicable settlement of disputes between 
 unions, the more extended use of the 
 union label and the " unfair" list, and, 
 most important of all, the complete 
 organization along trade lines of the en- 
 tire body of wage earners. Perhaps the 
 greatest element of its strength, however, 
 may be found in its basic principle, per- 
 sistently and consistently adhered to, that 
 Ijartisan politics shall in every way, and 
 on all occasions, be absolutely eschewed. 
 
 The Federation of Labor has recently 
 taken important part in many questions 
 of national importance, and is constantly 
 gaining in strength, having now a mem- 
 bership of close to one and a half million 
 men actually paying dues. As John 
 ^litchell has said: "The American Fed- 
 eration is the sovereign organization in 
 the trade union world, and represents the 
 apex of a pyramid, the foundation of 
 which consists of one hundred and twelve 
 national unions, and many thousands of 
 local organizations. The steady, and, at 
 times rapid, growth of the Federation has 
 resulted from its adojation of a wise, con- 
 servative policy, and from its adherence 
 to the interests and purposes for which it 
 was instituted. The object of the Fed- 
 eration has been, and still is, to foster and 
 encourage the formation of local and na- 
 tional organizations, to secure the institu- 
 tion of local and state central bodies, to 
 establish friendly feelings between the 
 various national and international organi- 
 zations though without destroying their 
 autonomy and self-government, and to 
 encourage and promote the labor press of 
 the country, as well as the use of union 
 label goods." 
 
 Naturally a great number of Employers' 
 Associations and Unions have also been 
 formed to present a united front to the 
 demands and movements of the laboring 
 men. These have assumed a gTeat variety 
 of forms and characters, some embracing 
 all the employers of labor in the same 
 line in the same state, or a union of em- 
 ployers of allied interests, — as of all con- 
 nected with the building interests, etc. 
 The most formidable organization of this 
 
 kind, however, both because of its strength 
 and its confessedly reactionary character, 
 is the "Citizens' Industrial Association of 
 America." This Association was organ- 
 
 Copyright 1903 by J. E. Purdv, Boston. 
 SAMUEL GOMPERS, 
 
 President American Federation of Labor. 
 ized at a convention of representatives 
 from all employers' associations which met 
 at Chicago, October 29, 1903, to which 
 more than one hundred and fifty organiza- 
 tions, — local, state, and natioiuil, sent dele- 
 gates. At a meeting of the Executive 
 Committee on December 3, 1903, the fol- 
 lowing were adopted as the principles of 
 the Federation : "(1) No dealings with 
 walking delegates; (2) The open shop; 
 (3) No sympathetic strikes; (4) No re- 
 striction in the number of apprentices; 
 (5) No restriction of output; (6) The full 
 enforcement of the law." While these 
 principles are not, perhaps, more hostile 
 to labor unions than one would expect, it 
 is the commentary on them, as exjiressed 
 in the addresses of leading officers of the 
 organizations at their various conventions, 
 that manifests the real animus of the 
 members of the Association. On these 
 
400 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 occasions the fiercest expression has been 
 given to the most hostile feelings toward 
 any such modem ideas as the " rights of 
 labor." In the eye of the Citizens' Indus- 
 trial Association labor neither has nor can 
 have any rights which capital is bound to 
 respect. As one of the most conservative 
 students of the movement has said : 
 " Nothing less than the entire destruction 
 of the power of the Unions, whether the 
 exercise of that power be legitimate or 
 not, can fulfill the purpose of these mili- 
 tant associations. They refuse to recog- 
 nize the generally conceded right of 
 Unions to exist in the present industrial 
 regime, and deny that Unions have a 
 legitimate function." The great wealth 
 that this organization has at its command 
 and the resultant ability to influence legis- 
 lation all through the country and to 
 practically control the press, will tend to 
 make more difficult the long desired con- 
 summation of industrial peace. But that 
 is all ! Too great advances in that direc- 
 tion have already been made for such sel- 
 fish opposition to be of permanent influ- 
 ence. Already the " small cloud " has ap- 
 peared on the horizon which is yet 
 destined to determine industrial develop- 
 ment. " No man liveth to himself alone " 
 is as true in commercial affairs as in 
 social or moral; and it is in the establish- 
 ment of this principle that relief will yet 
 come. Nothing that anyone possesses, 
 whether it is wealth, interest, strength, — 
 is his to do with as he pleases; but every 
 possession or accomplishment is to be held 
 and used with due regard to the rights — 
 legal and moral — of all other men. Al- 
 ready this truth has been feebly voiced in 
 important crises, as in the assertion of 
 the rights of third parties in the case of 
 great strikes, like that of the Anthracite 
 Coal Miners; and it is bound to be heard 
 more and more frequently and impera- 
 tively in the years to come. 
 
 We feel that we cannot better close this 
 brief review of the industrial situation 
 and the labor movements, than by quot- 
 ing the words with which the Rev. Wash- 
 ington Gladden closed a lecture on a like 
 
 subject. " The labor question of to-day," 
 he said, " when we get at the heart of 
 it, is simply this: What can be done to 
 bring Employer and Employed together 
 upon a basis of genuine good will; to make 
 them friends, comrades, helpers of one 
 another? This is the labor question of 
 tlie twentieth century, and it is the ques- 
 tion which the twentieth century must 
 answer. I am not sure that the answer 
 can be put into the terms of the wage- 
 system ; I rather doubt it. I think that 
 some kind of co-operation will have to 
 be found by which the interests of the 
 men who direct the work and the men 
 who do the work will be more perfectly 
 and more consciously identified. But the 
 answer tnitst he found and it tnust he an 
 answer of peace. We are not going to 
 solve the labor question by gathering men 
 into mighty armies and setting them to 
 fighting one another; that is simply mad- 
 ness. All war is madness; it is the climax 
 of unreason. Brutes and savages know no 
 better than to fight ; for men, for the men 
 of the twentieth century after Christ, it 
 is not only wicked, it is absurd. The 
 time is near when these industrial wars 
 will appear to be as senseless, as mon- 
 strous, as the ' wager of battle ' and ' the 
 ordeal ' by which disputes were settled in 
 the Dark Ages. The answer must he peace. 
 Among men of good will there can be no 
 other answer. And there is no perma- 
 nent place upon this planet for any other 
 kind of men. Men of ill will are not 
 wanted here. They do not fit into the 
 nature of things; they do not make sense; 
 they make confusion, discord, chaos; they 
 must go. O bells of the New Year, of 
 the New Century, ring them out ! ring 
 them out! Ring out the churl, the 
 egoist, the sect-man, the party man, the 
 class-man! Ring them out from church; 
 and school, and council chamber, and 
 capitol, from office and counting room and 
 shop and factory ! 
 
 " ' Ring in the valiant man and free, 
 The larger heart, the kindlier hand; 
 Ring out the darkness of the land. 
 Ring in the Christ that is to be.' " 
 
XLII. 
 THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE— 1885. 
 
 Tlie Bible of the Apostles. — The Jewish Scriptures. — A Librarj' of Law, Prophecy, Philosophy, 
 ami Poetry. — Rise and Importance of the Synagogues. — ilanner in Which the Scriptures 
 Were Kept. — -The K0II3. — Papyrus and Methods of Writing. — The Septuagint. — Libraries 
 of the Early Christian Churches. — Three Great Sources of Our Bible. — Remarkable Work 
 of Dr. Tischendorf . — The Old Latin Bible. — St. Jerome's Revision. — The Accepted Vulgate. 
 
 — Caedmon's Paraphrases and Bede's Translations. — King Alfred's Dooms — Translation 
 from Saxon to Modern English. — Efl'ects of the Norman Invasion of England. — Influence 
 of Bible on the Rise of Intellectual and Civil Liberty. — The Black Death. — Wyclif's 
 Translation of the Bible. — Purvey's Revision. — The Invention of Printing. — First Printed 
 Book, the Mazarin Bible. — Luther and His Translation of the Bible. — Intellectua.1 and Re- 
 ligious Conditions in the Church at Close of Fifteentli Century. — Tyndale and His Trans- 
 lation of Bible. — First Division into Chapters. — Final Revision in 1534. — Coverdale's, 
 Matthew's, and Ta\eruer's Bibles. — Tlie "Great Bible." — Influence of Bible upon English 
 People and Language. — Green's Estimate. — The Geneva, or "Breeches," Bible. — First Di- 
 vision of Chapters into Verses, and F"'irst Use of Modern Type. — The Bishop's Bible. — Ac- 
 cession of King James and His Ciiaracter. — The King .James, or Authorized, Version of 
 ICll. — The Geneva a Strong Competitor. — Reasons for another Revision. — Wonderful 
 Increase of Texts and Documents Unknown to Revisers of 1611. — Character of Revision 
 Committee and Methods of Work. — Three Million Copies Revised New Testament Sold in 
 One Year. — Work of American Revision Committee. — The American Revised Bible of 1901. 
 
 — Many Notable Opinions Regarding the Bible. — "In this Book is Contained All th^' 
 Wisdom of the World." 
 
 '■ Here he expn-ssed a wish that I should read to him. and when asked from what book, he said ' Need 
 jou asU? There is but one.' " — I.ockhart's I.ife of Scott, 
 
 O long have English-speaking peoples been accustomed to a 
 Bible in a single volume, and to regard it as one book, mad^' 
 up of a series of more or less closel.v connected parts, fol- 
 lowing each other in an established order, that compara- 
 tively few persons realize that our Scriptures have ever 
 existed in any other forms, or that our so-called Authorized 
 Version is itself the result of a great number of previous 
 revisions. In his recent work, the " Canon and Text of 
 the New Testament," Professor Caspar Eene Gregory, of 
 the University of Leipzig, says: "As a general rule the 
 mass of people take things as they arc. They are also 
 lilvely to think, or at least to go on the supposition, that things have always been 
 as they are now. They can buy a New Testament, a nicely bound one, for a mere 
 trifle. It rarely occurs to them that six centuries ago that would not have been 
 possible. Perhaps there are men who would be surprised to learn that Paul, and 
 
402 
 
 FliOM COLOKY TO WOELD POWER 
 
 even Peter and John and James, did not 
 each carry a little New Testament in his 
 girdle." And Bishop Wordsworth tells of 
 the curate who, while public feeling was 
 deeply stirred over a proposed revision, 
 that of 1880, declared that " if the autlior- 
 ized version was good enough for St. Paul, 
 it was good enough for him." But Jesus 
 and his immediate followers knew no 
 Bible literature save the Hebrew writings 
 which constitute our Old Testament and 
 the Apocrypha ; and when the blaster 
 bade the Jews " Search the Scriptures," 
 it was to those writings alone that he re- 
 ferred them. It is equally true, of course, 
 that neither Paul nor Peter ever saw or 
 heard of one of our gospels ; and their own 
 letters, with the Epistle of James, were 
 the only books of our New Testament that 
 had been written up to the time of their 
 martyrdom. It was not until the fourth 
 century after Christ that the books consti- 
 tuting our Old and New Testaments were 
 brought together in one volume; and it 
 was a thousand years later before such a 
 combination of the Hebrew and Christian 
 sacred books became common,^each of 
 the individual books still circulating and 
 being read, cojiied, and revised, inde- 
 pendently of any of the others. The Old 
 Testament was the " library " of the Jews, 
 as it, with the writings of the Apostles, 
 became the " library " of the early church 
 and Christians, — a library consisting of 
 separate books, or rolls, of history, law, 
 prophecy, philosophy, and letters. 
 
 We are prone to forget that Jesus and 
 his disciples were Jews and remained to 
 the end of their lives regular attendants 
 upon the services of the Jewish syna- 
 gogues. Without exception, too, Paul on 
 his missionary joumeyings undertook first 
 to preach his new Gospel of a Risen Christ 
 to the Jews and in the Jewish s.\niagogues 
 of every place he visited ; and it was only 
 when he and his teachings were rejected 
 by the Jews in their synagogues, that 
 he established his separate Gentile ami 
 Christian churches. It is, then, to the 
 Jewish synagogues that we naturally turn 
 to learn of the form and character of the 
 earliest books, upon which a large part 
 
 of our Bible has been built up. The syna- 
 gogue, as an important factor in Jewish 
 life, only goes back to the destruction of 
 the Temple, and the captivity in Babylon, 
 in the sixth century before Christ. From 
 that time on the Jews became more dis- 
 persed over the civilized w-orld, and at the 
 time of Christ there was hardly a city or 
 town of any size or importance where a 
 synagogue would not be found. Sepa- 
 rated as the people were from the foun- 
 tain of their national life, and from their 
 Temple worship, the local synagogue stood 
 in the place of both, and was the center 
 uf all the religious, educational, and social 
 life and activity of each exiled com- 
 munity. In those little Jerusalems the 
 Jew was ever reminded of the greater city 
 of his God ; and here all the great events 
 of the Hebrew national life were re- 
 hearsed, the law studied and taught, and 
 the prophets searched for the signs of His 
 coming who should restore to the nation 
 its former glory, and redeem its people. 
 In those worshiping groups, far from 
 tiieir home-land, perhaps, and possibly few 
 in numbers, we may almost hear the oft- 
 repeated lament of their fathers in exile, 
 — " By the rivers of Babylon, there we 
 sat down, yea we wept when we remem- 
 bered Zion;" while the pious vow was 
 oft repeated : " If I forget thee, Jeru- 
 salem, let my right hand forget her cun- 
 ning; if I do not remember thee, let the 
 tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; 
 if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief 
 joy." 
 
 Each synagogue had a ruler who di- 
 rected the general affairs of the religious 
 body, and an attendant, or Chazzam, who 
 looked after the church property and 
 building, and had charge of its sacred 
 books. Those were kept in a " press," or 
 chest, usually in a separate corner of the 
 audience room, and the chest was gen- 
 erally hidden from public view by a cur- 
 tain. It corresponded to the Ark of the 
 Covenant, which contained the law in the 
 great Temple at Jerusalem. When the 
 service was opened, it was the duty of 
 the " Chazzam " to hand to the reader the 
 roll containing the lessons of the day from 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 18S5 
 
 40;] 
 
 tlie law and from tiie propnets; and after 
 the reading of each, the leader handed 
 back each roll to the " Chazzam," who, 
 after rolling it up behind the curtain, re- 
 turned it to its proper division in the 
 chest library. In Luke iv:lC), and follow- 
 ing verses, we read that Jesus " came to 
 Xazareth, where ho had been brought up. 
 and, as his custom was, he went to tlie 
 
 have found that it was separated into 
 three main compartments, — one each fnv 
 the law, for the historical books (among 
 which were included some of the propli- 
 ets), and for the "writings," as they 
 were generally called, or Hagior/raplia. 
 covering the poetical works, the wisdom 
 books, and the remainder of the prophets. 
 Examining any one of the rolls, we 
 
 SCHIPTIRE ROLLS. 
 
 sjTiagogue on the Sabbath day, mid stood 
 up for to read. And there was delivered 
 unto him (from the chest) the book of the 
 prophet Esaias . . . and he closed the 
 book and gave it again to the minister." 
 Had we followed the minister as he went 
 behind the curtain to return the roll to 
 its proper place, and with his permission, 
 perhaps, examined the chest, we should 
 
 sh'iuld have found it mounted at the end 
 upon a wooden roller, or if the congrega- 
 tion was an important and wealthy one, 
 upon two rollers, made probably of more 
 costly material and, perhaps, with con- 
 siderable ornamentation. Opening one of 
 the rolls to examine it, we should see that 
 the matter was written by hand upon a 
 rather stiff and somewhat brittle material 
 
404 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOliLD POWER. 
 
 known as " papyrus." Printing and 
 paper were yet centuries away. This ma- 
 terial was made from the pith of the stem 
 of the papynas plant, which grew along 
 the banks of the Nile in Egypt, although 
 it was found in small quantities in some 
 other places. Of course the strips that 
 could be secured by cutting through the 
 pith would necessarily be narrow; but a 
 sufficient number of these strips were laid 
 edge to edge horizontally until the desired 
 width of a roll was reached. Then a thin 
 paste was spread over this surface and a 
 like number of vertical strips were laid 
 over the others. The whole sheet was then 
 pressed and dried, after which the sur- 
 faces were smoothed with pumice stone. 
 Several of these sheets were pasted to- 
 gether to make a roll long enough to con- 
 tain the matter one wished to write out. 
 The longest roll known is Egyptian, and 
 measures one hundred and forty-four 
 feet ; but the usual extreme length of 
 Greek rolls was about thirty feet. The 
 height, or width, varied from five to fif- 
 teen inches. Of course this material was 
 costly, and various economies, such as 
 running words and sentences together and 
 the contraction of words, were exercised 
 in its use; and sometimes, though not 
 often, the scribe would write upon the re- 
 verse side as well as on the front, if his 
 sheet was not long enough, — as is men- 
 tioned in Ezekiel xi :10, where a " roll of a 
 book" was spread before the prophet 
 " icritlen without and iritliin." Having 
 ]}repared his papyrus of the right dimen- 
 sions the scribe would commence to write 
 his matter on the extreme left of his long 
 sheet, — unless it was Hebrew. — arranging 
 it on the pap.vrus in columns of from 
 two to three and a half inches in width, 
 which was considered the best literary 
 form, though of course if the matter was 
 poetry the length of the line dftermined 
 the width of the column. Reed pens 
 v.-cre used, and ink, for the making of 
 which there were several well-known for- 
 mulae. Having carefully written out the 
 entire matter which he was copying, as for 
 example, the roll of the prophet Isaiah, 
 the scribe would attach the end section 
 
 or right edge of his sheet to a roller, over 
 which the whole manuscript would be 
 wound. So that when Jesus, as referred 
 to above, was handed the " roll of the 
 prophet Esaias," he commenced unrolling 
 from right to left until he came to the 
 passage he wished to speak upon, or the 
 lesson for the day. As the papyrus was 
 easily broken, however, and Lecame more 
 brittle with age, the double roll became 
 the more common; and in using it, the 
 reader simply unrolled from the right 
 roller on to the left as he went along. On 
 the back of the roll a thin strip of papyrus 
 was pasted which bore the title of the 
 work. 
 
 The older and original manuscripts 
 of the Jewish sacred books were writ- 
 ten in Hebrew; but in the greater 
 number of the churches of the dis- 
 persion, that is, of the exiled Jews, 
 the Septuagint translation of these books 
 was used. This is one of the great 
 basic versions for all later revisions, 
 it being a complete translation of all 
 the Jewish Scriptures into Greek, and 
 derives its name from the fact that 
 the translation was attributed to seventy 
 of the most learned Jewish Rabbis. One 
 of the most familiar legends regarding 
 this translation is that Ptolemy Phidadel- 
 phus sent to the Jews of Jerusalem for a 
 Greek version of their Scriptures for his 
 great library at Alexandria. Accordingly, 
 seventy elders skilled in the Scriptures and 
 in languages were sent to him, whom ho 
 separated in seventy different cells while 
 they were prosecuting their work. When 
 all had completed their translations and 
 appeared before the King, " God was 
 glorified," as the legend recites, " for they 
 all agreed exactly, word for word." The 
 generally accepted theory is that the work 
 was done by learned Alexandrian Jews at 
 ditferent periods during the third and 
 second centuries before Christ. This Sep- 
 tuagint version is of especial interest to 
 us because it was the form of the Jewish 
 Scriptures with which Jesus and the early 
 Christians were familiar; and the slight 
 difference between their quotations from 
 those Scriptures and the form with whi<'h 
 
THE EEVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 4or. 
 
 we are familiar in the authorized version 
 is accounted for by the fact that the Old 
 Testament of that version was another 
 translation from the original Hebrew, and 
 not from the Septuagint, which Jesus and 
 his followers used. 
 
 Within one hundred years after the As- 
 cension of Christ the Christians through- 
 out Western Asia and Southern Europe 
 had separated themselves from the syna- 
 gogue connection, and had organized 
 their churches and erected their church 
 buildings. If we could have visited one 
 of their more influential churches, say 
 that of Rome, or of Ephesus, or Alex- 
 andria, we should still have found, as one 
 of the most important of the church fur- 
 nishings, the " chest " for the sacred 
 books ; and upon looking into it we should 
 have discovered the same rolls which we 
 have described as constituting the library 
 of the synagogues. But in addition to 
 those works we should also have found 
 rolls of nearly all, perhaps all, of the 
 books which now make up our New Testa- 
 ment, — some originals, others copies from 
 originals. — all of which hail been written 
 within the century that had passed since 
 the Crucifixion. Not every church for an- 
 other hundred years yet would have all 
 these new rolls; but one would have one 
 or two gospels, another a different one; 
 nearly all would probably have Paul's four 
 great Epistles, — to the Galatians, Romans, 
 and Corinthians, — as well as the Acts ; 
 while some congregations cherished as 
 priceless ti-casures the Apostle's ijersonal 
 letters to them individually. Buf' Ihe liii- 
 poriant fact is that a search through the 
 chests of all the churches at about this 
 period would have revealed to us in the 
 Christian libraries original manuscripts 
 of all the bool's of our Bible; ami that 
 those early manuscripts constitute the 
 only sources from which we hare obtained 
 that Bible. These later manuscripts were 
 all written out by hand in the same man- 
 ner, and upon the same material, as those 
 which made up the library of the S^-na- 
 gogues. already described. If anyone of 
 these collections had been preserved intact 
 to modern times the work of revisers 
 
 would be simple and easy; but, unfortu- 
 luitely, the libraries of the early churches 
 — the Christian writings, — were more 
 recklessly destroyed than were the Chris- 
 tians themselves during the persecutions 
 of the first three centuries, with the result 
 that not a single manuscript of any book 
 of the Bible belonging to that period has 
 been preserved. The question, therefore, 
 how we get our Bible, and upon what 
 basis the revisers and translators of dif- 
 ferent ages have worked, becomes an ex- 
 ceedingly important one. 
 
 Taking the position of the learned Re- 
 visers of 1880, we should have before us 
 three classes of material to work upon, a 
 very large proportion of which was un- 
 known to the Revisers who produce.] our 
 lYuthorized Version, in IGll. This matter 
 has been discovered from time to time, 
 chiefly during the last five hundred years, 
 often in the rubbish heaps of the old 
 monasteries of Europe and Asia, and is 
 now scattered among the great libraries 
 of Rurope. — those of the Vatican, of the 
 British Museum, of St. Petersburg, and 
 of Paris, especially, possessing documents 
 of inestimable value. Of this material, 
 the first class consists of Manuscripts, by 
 fl'hich is technically meant copies in the 
 original language of the different Scrip- 
 tures. The second class is made up of a 
 great number of ancient Versions, a ver- 
 sion technically meaning a franslafioji of 
 the Bible, or any of its books, into the 
 languages of early Christendo7n. Some of 
 these, like the Syriac, Egyptian, Latin, and 
 Gothic Versions, are very ancient and of 
 supreme importance. The third class con- 
 sists of the writings of the Early Chu3'ch 
 Fathers, which make an extensive librai-y. 
 These men were generally earnest con- 
 troversialists, and quoted Serii)ture so 
 freely that it has been said if all other 
 sources of our Bible were lost, we could 
 recover the greater part of it from their 
 writings alone. 
 
 The most important of these three 
 sources is, of course, the Manuscriprs. the 
 copies of the Scriptures in the original 
 tongue. Of these there are now a great 
 number in existence, some of them having 
 
406 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD TOWER. 
 
 originally been translations of the whole 
 Christian library, that is, of the entire 
 Bible, others of single books or groups, as 
 the Psalter, the Gospels, the Epistles, etc. 
 The manuscripts vary greatly in age and 
 so in value, as it is evident that the 
 nearer in point of time a manuscript be- 
 longs to the original text, the nearer will 
 be its approach to a perfect copy. It must 
 be remembered that all copies were made 
 by hand from other copies; and when one 
 considers how difficult it is even to tran- 
 scribe a page of printed matter exactly, it 
 is easy to see that errors must have crept 
 into the successive copies as made, even 
 though the most loving and conscientious 
 effort was made to avoid any mistakes. 
 Irenfeus, Bishop of Lyons in the second 
 century, wrote as follows on a copy he had 
 made of one of the sacred books : " Who- 
 soever thou art who shalt transcribe this 
 book, I charge thee with an oath by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and by His glorious 
 appearing, in which He cometh to judge 
 the (luick and the dead, that thou care- 
 fully compare what thou hast transei-ibed, 
 and correct it according to this copy when 
 thou hast transcribed it; and thou tran- 
 scribe this oath in like manner and j^lace 
 it in thy copy." 
 
 Three of these manuscripts, which are 
 nearly complete copies of the whole Bible, 
 go back to the fourth and fifth centuries, 
 and so are the most ancient of the sacred 
 documents, as well as the most priceless 
 treasures of the Christian church. Curi- 
 ously one of them belongs to each branch 
 of the church, — the Greek, Roman, and 
 Reformed. All of them were before the 
 revisers of 1880, though none of them were 
 known to those of the Authorized Ver- 
 sion. The most ancient of these is the 
 " Vatican Manuscript," which has lain in 
 the Vatican library for several hundred 
 years, but has been of no use to scholars, 
 as access to it was forbidden until the 
 latter part of the nineteenth century, when 
 Pope Pius IX. allowed excellent fac- 
 similes of it to be made, which can now be 
 studied in all the larger libraries of the 
 world. This manuscript is written on vel- 
 lum, which began to take the place 
 
 of papyrus for sacred writings about the 
 end of the third century, and is in book 
 form instead of on rollers, a change that 
 was made about the same time, and par- 
 tially because of the use of a different 
 writing material. This " Codex Vat- 
 icanus " as it is known among scholars 
 (" codex " meaning simply the book 
 form in distinction from the roll) has 
 about seven hundred leaves of the finest 
 vellum, is about a foot square, and bound. 
 It lacks the first forty-six chapters of 
 Genesis, Psalms 105 to 138, and all of the 
 New Testament after the fourteenth verse 
 of the ninth chapter of Hebrews. Each 
 page has three columns, the writing is all 
 in capital letters, and there is no spacing 
 between the words nor any punctuation or 
 division into sentences, all of which makes 
 it very difficult to read. This form of 
 writing vras one of the economies prac- 
 ticed when writing material was very ex- 
 pensive. It is also one of the best proofs 
 of the age of a manuscript, as a few 
 centuries later modern forms of writing 
 were adopted in copying. These old, capi- 
 tal-letter manuscripts are known as 
 "Uncials," in distinction from those writ- 
 ten in the modern or running form, which 
 are called " Cursives." The value of a 
 manuscript depends chiefly, as a general 
 liroposition, upon its age, which places 
 the L^ncials far above the Cursives in 
 that regard. Yet it is quite possible that 
 a Cursive of the fifteenth century should 
 have been copied directly from an early 
 L^ncial, like the Codex Vaticanus of 
 the fourth century, and so have a greater 
 value than an Uncial of the eighth 
 century, and several of such Cursives 
 have been found which are highly 
 esteemed. 
 
 Foremost among the distinguished 
 group of scholars of the last centur.y who 
 di'voted their time, energy, and study to 
 tlie manuscripts and texts of the Bible 
 books, was Dr. Constantin Tischendorf, 
 Professor of Theology at the University 
 of Leipzig from 1845 until the time of his 
 death in 1874. For many years he made 
 frequent visits to old Greek monasteries in 
 southeastern Europe and western Asia, 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1S85. 
 
 407 
 
 eagerly searching for new material. In 
 18-1:4, when only twenty-nine years of age, 
 he arrived at the ancient convent of St. 
 Catherine, on the range of Mt. Sinai. 
 While quietly conducting his investiga- 
 tions he came upon a large basket filled 
 with worn and damaged manuscrix)ts, 
 v.hieh had been set aside to be burned, as 
 two similar baskets-full had already been. 
 Here he found a considerable number of 
 vellum leaves of a Greek manuscript, 
 which his practiced eye at once recognized 
 as one of the oldest in existence. He ob- 
 tained possession of forty-three sheets, 
 
 of fruitless search through the library and 
 among all the papers of the convent, he 
 was about to take his departure. While 
 walking with the steward the evening be- 
 fore be had planned to leave, their con- 
 versation turned upon the text of the 
 Old Testament; and returning at twilight 
 to the convent, he was invited by the 
 steward to partake of a luncheon with him 
 in his cell. While they were eating the 
 host said that he had there a copy of that 
 Septuagint, at the same time bringing 
 from the corner of the room a large manu- 
 script wrapped in a red cloth. Glancing at 
 
 //- ' 
 
 i\ 
 
 .„ .i" ri- 
 i*A "I n ) e 
 
 W' f] '^^ 
 
 1 a; js ^-fr-''"'-'™^> /f 
 
 
 MT. SIN'AI CONVENT. 
 
 about one-third of the number he had 
 rescued, but was not permitted to take the 
 remainder. Unfortunately his enthusiasm 
 had betrayed the value of the treasures in 
 the basket to the unconscious monks. For 
 fifteen years he made repeated but un- 
 successful attempts to get possession of 
 the remaining sheets, working through 
 various influential channels. In 1859 he 
 determined again to visit the convent him- 
 self, and was happily able to go armed 
 with a strong personal letter from the 
 head of the Eastern Church, the Emperor 
 Alexander II. of Russia. After five days 
 
 the pile of vellum, Tischendorf quickly 
 recognized it as belonging to the same 
 codex of which he had rescued some 
 leaves from the waste basket fifteen years 
 before. Concealing his emotion, he ob- 
 tained the privilege of taking the manu- 
 script to his chamber, where, to his un- 
 speakable joy, he found it contained the 
 New Testament entire. Then began the 
 long and weary efforts to get possession of 
 the entire manuscript, or proper con- 
 veniences for copying it; and, though 
 these were eventually granted, the work 
 could not be done under such circum- 
 
408 
 
 EEOil COLONY TO WOKLD TOWEE. 
 
 stances as to guarantee the perfect ac- 
 curacy which alone would satisfy Tiseh- 
 eaidorf. As a last resort he raade the 
 happy proposal tliat the moid?s should 
 make a gift of the entire material to the 
 great defender of their church, the 
 Emperor Alexander; with the result that 
 about eight months after reaching the 
 convent, the precious treasure was placed 
 in his hands to bear to the emperor at St. 
 Petersburg. This codex is written iipon 
 vellum of extnnne fineness and beauty, 
 and has 346 leaves, of which 199 contain 
 twenty-two books of the Old Testament, 
 while the remaining 147 have the whole of 
 the New Testament, the "Epistle of 
 Barnabas," and part of the " Sliepherd of 
 Hernias." The whole work has J'^.any 
 points of similarity with thi' Vatican 
 Codex, though the latter has three col- 
 unms on a page, while the former has 
 four. This is known as the " Cmlrx 
 Sinaiticiis," and it is believed tliat it goc-. 
 back to before 3.50 A. D. The early 
 church historian, Eusebius, who was also 
 secretaiy to the Emperor Constantiiie 
 after his conversion, states that the 
 Emperor ordered him to have fifty of the 
 most perfect and beautiful copies of the 
 Bible made and delivered to liini; and 
 many learned scholars, including Tisch- 
 endorf, are confident that the Siinxitie 
 manuscript is one of those fifty copies. 
 Facsimiles of this codex have also been 
 made, and in this form it is accessible 
 to all scholars. 
 
 The third in antiquity of the great 
 Uncial manuscripts of the Bible in the 
 Greek language is the " Codex Alrj- 
 andrinus." This codex was presented to 
 Charles I. of England, in 1628, only seven- 
 teen years after the revisers had com- 
 pleted their work on our Antliorized Ver- 
 sion, by Cyril Luear, Patriarch of Alex- 
 an<lria, from whence he had brought the 
 manuscript, which is named after the 
 city of its origin. It is in quarto form, 
 about thirteen inches high and ten wide, 
 each page being divided into two columns 
 of fifty lines each. Like the others it is 
 written on thin, fine, and very beautiful 
 vclhnn, with an elwrant thondi simole 
 
 L'ncial, and without spacing the words. 
 Ten leaves are missing from the Psalms, 
 and tlie first twenty-four chapters of 
 ^Matthew, the seventh and eighth chapters 
 of St. John, and eight chapters of First 
 Corinthians. But there is added to this 
 the one genuine letter of Clement of Rome 
 to the Corinthians. The trustees of the 
 British Museum have published a beauti- 
 ful photographic facsimile of this, one of 
 the greatest treasures of their lilirary. 
 
 Another curious and valuable manu- 
 script is in the National Library of France, 
 and is known as the " Codex Ephraemi." 
 It was brought from the East by Andrew 
 Lascar, a learned Greek patronized b.v 
 Lorenzo de' ilediei, and was carried to 
 Paris by Catherine de' Medici when she 
 became Queen of Henry II. of France. 
 This codex illustrates a custom anion:; tlu^ 
 monks of the Middle Ages which is doubt- 
 less responsible for the loss of many 
 valuable manuscripts. As vellum was 
 very expensive, if a monk wished to tran- 
 scribe any new matter he would often take 
 an old book and clean its pages as far as 
 ]Hissible of its written matter by rubliing 
 tliem with pumice stone. As tliis could 
 never be perfectly done, the old matter 
 always appeared indistinctly under the 
 ML'W writing. Such manuscripts are called 
 ■■ Palimpsests," and the Codex Ephraemi 
 was one of them. During the seventeenth 
 century a scholar discovered the impor- 
 tance of the first writing, and for two hun- 
 ih'ed years various attempts were made to 
 remove the later matter. But it remained 
 for Tischendorf, after nearly a year's hard 
 labor, to succeed in the work, and in 1840 
 to disclose a very rare and ancient I^ncial 
 which unquestionably belongs to the fifth 
 century, and is esteemed b.v many critics 
 as only second in imjiortance to the Vati- 
 can and Sinaitie manuscripts. These four 
 codices are the chief manuscripts which 
 I'.ave preserved the Greek text for nearly 
 the whole Bible: but there are scattered 
 through the libraries of Europe manu- 
 scripts of groups of books, or single books, 
 or parts of each, which are usually classed 
 as "Fragments;" and of these there are 
 now known aliont ino Fncials. while in 
 
THE REVISION OF THE ElBLE — 1885. 
 
 409 
 
 1890 Dr. Gregory counted up 3,553 Cur- 
 sives, — all of which, as has been said, are 
 ir.ore or less Complete parts of the Bible 
 in the original Greek language. 
 
 Of the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old 
 Testament it is only necessary to saj- that 
 none are in existence dating earlier than 
 llie tenth century. The lack of old manu- 
 scripts here, however, is of little impor- 
 tance; for about a thousand years ago all 
 the old ones were collected and compared 
 for the purpose of a grand revision, so 
 that at that early date the Hebrew of the 
 Old Testament was made as nearly per- 
 fect as the best scholars of the Je^^•ish 
 academies could make it. After that the 
 older manuscripts gradually disapjpeared. 
 The work of revision was done with the 
 most scrupulous care, and every mechani- 
 cal device was used in addition to clerical 
 skill to prevent errors from creeping in. 
 And the reason that in the latest English 
 revision there are so few changes in the 
 Old Testament compared with those in 
 the New is that there was less need, as 
 well as fewer means, of making any cor- 
 rections. 
 
 Before taking up the second class of 
 sources of our Bilile, the Versions, a few 
 words may be said in reference to the 
 change from the use of the roll to the 
 book. Vellum had been in use in the 
 ancient world since about 180 B. C, when 
 King Ptolemy of Egypt, jealous of the 
 great library that the King of Pergamus 
 was building up, undertook to cripple him 
 in his work by forbidding the export of 
 papyrus. The King of Pergamus, there- 
 fore, was forced to find another material 
 for writing, and hit upon skins; and the 
 other name for vellum — " parchment " — 
 is simply a derivative from " Pergamine." 
 For this purpose the skins of sheep, calves, 
 and of asses were chiefly used, the hair be- 
 ing carefully scraped from one side and the 
 flesh from the other. The skin was then 
 stretched and dried, and, before using, 
 the surfaces were carefully smoothed and 
 polished with pumice stone. At a later 
 date a very fine quality of vellum was 
 made from antelope skins. Strictly speak- 
 ing vellum denotes material made from 
 
 calves' and antelopes' skins, while parch- 
 ment was applied to skins of sheep, asses, 
 and even swine; but practically no dis- 
 tinction was made, and the term vellum 
 came to be applied to all kinds of dressed 
 skins used for purposes of writing. In 
 the first and second centuries it was used 
 uidy for note books, rough drafts, and 
 inferior classes of literary work. But its 
 use for note books, shaped according to 
 the form of the wax tablets, the kind of 
 note books previously existing, naturally 
 led to the evolution of the codex, or 
 modern book form, and together they 
 gradually disijlaced papyrus and the roll 
 for literary productions, during the early 
 part of the fourth century. One demand 
 which greatly stimulated this movement 
 was that for complete collections of the 
 Scriptures in a usable form both for read- 
 ing and reference. It was not until 
 towards the close of the second century 
 that anything like an accepted canon of 
 the New Testament writings was recog- 
 nized ; but as soon as tradition and usage 
 had determined what books should be ac- 
 cepted and read by all Christians as the 
 Scriptures, a more convenient form than 
 the old rolls was imperatively demanded. 
 And as it was recognized that some twenty 
 or thirty rolls were needed for the New 
 Testament alone, while the whole could be 
 gathered into one codex of not immoder- 
 ate size, the latter quickly came into gen- 
 eral use. 
 
 The second class of material for Bible 
 revision, next in importance to the manu- 
 scripts, consists of " Version.?," that is, of 
 translations from the original language 
 of the Scriptures into the languages of 
 the various peoples who from time to time 
 became converted to Christianity. Of 
 these versions a great number are in ex- 
 istence, some of which bear evidence of 
 great care in translation, others more 
 carelessly done and from corrupt originals. 
 Many versions are very, ancient, the early 
 Christians in their missionary work among 
 the Egyptians, Armenians, Syrians, and 
 Latin peoples of North Africa and South- 
 ern Europe, from the first endeavoring to 
 .•'.ive those peoples at least the princijial 
 
410 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 books of the New Testament and the 
 Psalms ill their own tongues, the com- 
 plete Bibles following in due course. As 
 some of these translations go back to the 
 early part of the second century, they 
 become of the greatest value as aids in 
 verifying and correcting the texts of the 
 t-arly New Testament ScriiJtures. 
 
 The church at Rome of the first centui'y 
 was iriore Greek in its character than 
 linniau; and not only did Paul wi'ite his 
 I'lpistle to its members in Greek, about (iO 
 A. D., but its earlier bishops all appear to 
 have been Greeks, one of whom, t'lement, 
 at the end of the century, wrote an im- 
 liiirtant letter to the Corinthian church in 
 (ireek which, as we have seen, was bound 
 n]i with the New Testament books in the 
 
 Cofle.r Ale.i-aiitJriniis." There was not, 
 tlii'reforc, the same necessity for a Latin 
 ti'anslation of the Scriptures for the 
 Italian churches as for those of the Ko- 
 man province of North Africa, where many 
 important churches were early established, 
 and from whence came many of the most 
 noted of the church fathers, including the 
 great St. Augustine; and it was chiefly 
 for these outlying churches that the first 
 Latin Jjible was made. This is known as 
 the Old Latin Version, to distinguish it 
 from the later work of Jerome. This Old 
 Latin l^.ible has great value for the New 
 'i'l'stament. as it was ])robably the first 
 translation made from the original Greek 
 te.xts, but the Old Testament was only a 
 translation of a translation, that is, of the 
 Septuagint. As the Church spread, this 
 ISible would necessarily have to lie made 
 in large nmnbers, and owing to the fragile 
 character of the papyrus, earlier copies 
 would have to be replaced by newly made 
 ones. It naturally resulted, therefore, that 
 in the process of these many translations 
 the original text soon became very much 
 corrupted, so that by the middle of the 
 foui'th century, as one has said, " the Latin 
 sjieaking churches were in danger of los- 
 ing the pure Scripture of the Apostolic 
 days." Fortunately, just at this period 
 the great Eusebius Plieronymus. better 
 known as St. Jerome, returned to Rome 
 after several years of travel, study, and 
 
 ascetic life in the East. Reputed to be the 
 best liible scholar in the church, and 
 nearly the only one who was thoroughly 
 familiar with Hebrew, Damasus, Bishop 
 of Rome, in 382 urged him to undertake a 
 revision of the Latin Scriptures. This 
 work Jerome at once began, and in 385 
 had finished the New Testament. lie 
 then began work upon the Old Testament, 
 making first two or three separate trans- 
 lations of the Psalter frozn the Septuagint. 
 But being dissatisfied with this, he turned 
 to the original Hebrew text and made an 
 entirely new translation, which was com- 
 pleted in 404. This final translation of 
 Jerome has become one of the most im- 
 portant factors in all later Biblical re- 
 vision. It is known as the " Vulgate," 
 which means simply the " commonly re- 
 ceived translation." This became the 
 officially accepted Bible of the Western 
 churches, and holds that position in the 
 Roman Catholic church to-day, as it did 
 in England until the Reformation; and 
 the Septuagint and Vulgate are the two 
 great versions in the immense library of 
 Biblical literature. 
 
 Human nature, however, changes but 
 little through the ages, and Jerome's great 
 work met with the same determined oppo- 
 sition, as well as bitter criticism and 
 abuse, that later greeted the work of the 
 revisers of 1880. All over the world, that 
 is the Western world. Christians had be- 
 come familiar with and loved the Old 
 Latin version; and as, owing to the cor- 
 ruptions of the latter, Jerome's changes 
 \\ ere many and marked, a storm of hostile 
 criticism broke over him. This he fought 
 vigorously and with considerable temper, 
 insisting that no amount of sentiment 
 could be a plea for a faulty Bible, and 
 that the mosc venerated translation must 
 give way, if found to disagree with the 
 original texts. In a letter to one of the 
 church fathers, Jerome mentions " certain 
 poor creatures " who studiously calumni- 
 ate him " for correcting words in the 
 Gospels;" and says: "T could afford to 
 despise them, if I stood upon my rights; 
 for a lyre is played in vain to an ass. If 
 they do not like the water from tiie pure 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 411 
 
 fountain head, let them drink oi the 
 iiuiddy streams;" and ag'ain returning- to 
 the subject closes his letter with a refer- 
 ence to those " two-legged donkeys." 
 Nevertheless the Old Latin held a con- 
 spicuous place, and was highly esteemed 
 by the churchmen for centuries, both 
 versions being used and existing side by 
 side, much as the Revised Version and the 
 King James Version exist in our own 
 religious life to-ila^', until the Council of 
 Trent gave to the Vulgate the official 
 recognition of the Roman church. 
 
 It was not until late in the seventh 
 centuiy that any attempt was made to 
 give our English ancestors any portion of 
 the Bible in their own tongue: and even 
 then, so low was the mental state of the 
 people, anything like a written Gospel 
 would have been of little use. As hardly 
 any, either of the nobility or the peas- 
 antry, could read their own tongue, there 
 was little demand for a translation of the 
 Scriptures. These were truly the " Dark 
 Ages." Religious interest could only be 
 aroused with any measure of success by 
 appeals to the senses, and it v.'as by the 
 ininistrj' of art and song that the sacred 
 story first touched the popular heart, or 
 caught the popular ear. Like all primitive 
 peoples, the Saxons were most susceptible 
 to the emotional songs of their bards, and 
 no festivities were complete without the 
 minstrel's lays in which they delighted. 
 One of the foremost centres of religious 
 life and light at this period was the 
 famous Abbey of Whitby. High up on 
 the cliils in the north of England, look- 
 ing out over the North Sea, the Princess 
 Hild had established her religious houses; 
 and about her were gathered a goodly 
 number of monks, and many lay helpers. 
 Among the latter was Caedmon, the 
 earliest of English singers, with whom 
 English literature and the English Bible 
 alike have their beginning, and to the 
 " music of whose native harp," as one has 
 said, " the Bible stoi-y, in the form of 
 poetic paraphrase, begins to pass out of 
 its old Latin into its new English dress, 
 out of the dim seclusion of cell and 
 school to the open sunlight of the country- 
 
 side, and from the narrow limits of the 
 parchment-scroU to the wandering min- 
 strelsy of the vernacular poetry." Caed- 
 mon was already an old man when, as the 
 Venerable Bede, the Father of EngJish 
 history tells us, " being at the feast where 
 all agreed for glee sake to sing in turn, 
 he no sooner saw the harp come toward 
 him than he rose from the board and went 
 out." As it was his day to look after the 
 cattle, he went to the stables, where he 
 so(ni after lay down and fell asleep. 
 Presently a beautiful form, clothed in 
 light, stood before liim, and said: 
 
 " Sing, Caedmon ; sing some song to 
 me." 
 
 " I cannot sing," was Caedmon's sorrow- 
 ful reply; "for this cause I left the hall 
 and came hither." 
 
 " Yet," said He who stood before him, 
 " Yet, shalt thou sing to me." 
 
 " What shall I sing ? " asked Caedmon. 
 
 " The beginning of created things," re- 
 plied his visitor. 
 
 " Whereupon," continues Bede, '" he 
 presently began to sing verses to the praise 
 of God, which he had never heard. Awak- 
 ening from sleep, he remembered all that 
 I he had sung in his dream, and soon addwl 
 nmch more to the same effect in verse 
 worthy of the Deity. By his verses the 
 minds of many were often excited to de- 
 spise the world, and to aspire to heaven. 
 Others after him attempted, in the Eng- 
 lish nation, to compose religious poems, 
 but none could ever compare with him, for 
 he did not learn the art of poetry from 
 man, but from God; for which reason he 
 could never compose any trivial or vain 
 poems, but only those which relate to re- 
 ligion suited his religious tongue." But 
 this minstrelsy was not confined to mo- 
 nastic circles; its songs were sung befoi'e 
 kings and warriors, and among the peas- 
 antry in the villages and in their homes. 
 Through these channels the Scriptui'e 
 narratives circulated for generations, and 
 the common people acquired in a forn\ 
 which fixed itself in their memories a 
 rudimentary Bible knowledge to which, 
 otherwise, they must long have remained 
 strangers; just as, fifteen centuries earliT 
 
412 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 I lie aueieiit Greeks lirst learned the 
 .sturics of gods and men which hiter made 
 the Greek Bible, — the Iliad, — through the 
 songs of their minstrels in royal halls and 
 at imblie festivals. 
 
 ])ut the sacred songs of Caedmon were 
 not translations into the Saxon tongue, but 
 merely free paraphrases of the Scripture 
 narrative, and so may be regarded as a 
 prologue of the long drama of the evolu- 
 tion of the English Bible, whose first act 
 calls us to the renowned monastery and 
 school at Jarrow, near the mouth of the 
 Wear. Here one of the world's great 
 scholars had built up one of the most 
 famous schools of the age. Beda, or as he 
 is more familiarly known, the " Venerable 
 Bede," was born close to the monastic 
 halls at Jarrow in the year 673; and he 
 never left the cloister's shades until he 
 sweetly breathed out his life in prayer on 
 Ascension Eve in the year 735. His en- 
 tire life was devoted to study, teaching, 
 and writing; and little by little he made 
 himself nuistor of the whole range of the 
 knowledge of his day, so that he became, 
 as Burke justly styled him, " the father of 
 English learning." Si.x hundred monks, 
 besides strangers, gathered at Yarrow to 
 enjoy Bede's instructions; and in treatises 
 prepared as text-books for his scholars he 
 brought together all the knowledge that 
 the world had then accumulated in astron- 
 omy, physics, iJiilosophy, rhetoric, gram- 
 mar, music, arithmetic, and medicine. 
 The best known of all these works was his 
 " Ecclesiastical History of the English 
 Nation," from which all that is really 
 known of the century and a half follow- 
 ing the landing of Augustine must be 
 learned. As the historian Green has said, 
 " Beda was at once the founder of 
 mediaeval history and the first English 
 historian." But notwithstanding his com- 
 numding position and great learning, he 
 remained to the last the simple, unaf- 
 fected, loving and beloved master, whoso 
 personal influence upon his students 
 worked greater results even than his secu- 
 lar and religious teachings; and there is 
 liardly in all literature more tender and 
 loving tribute to the memory of a great 
 
 teacher than the letter in which Cuthbert, 
 one of his disciples, writes to his fellow 
 student, C'uthwiu, of the passing of the 
 master. " He w-as much troubled," writes 
 Cuthbert, " with shortness of breath, yet 
 without pain, before the day of our Lord's 
 resurrection, that is about a fortnight. 
 During these days he labored to compose 
 two works well worthy to be remembered, 
 viz : he translated the Gospel of St. John 
 as far as the words, ' But what are these 
 among so many ' (John vi. 9) into our 
 own tongue, and some collections out of 
 the Book of Notes of Bishop Isodorus, 
 saying, ' I will not have my pupils read a 
 falsehood, nor labor therein without profit 
 after my death.' When the Tuesday be- 
 fore the Ascension of our Lord came, he 
 began to suffer still more in his breath; 
 but he passed all that day and dictated 
 cheerfully, and now and then, among 
 other things, he said ' Go on quickly, I 
 kn(.iw not how long I shall hold out, and 
 whether my Maker will not soon take me 
 away.' By turns we read, and by turns 
 we wept, nay, we wept always whilst we 
 read." As the last day dawned, again the 
 master called his scholars about him and 
 bade them write. " There is still a chapter 
 wanting," said the scribe as the morning 
 wore on, " and it is hard for thee to ques- 
 tion thyself anj' longer." " It is easily 
 done," replied Bede ; " take thy pen and 
 write quickly." And so, amid work and 
 tears and farewells eventide approached. 
 " There is yet one sentence unwritten, 
 dear master," said the boy. " Write 
 it quickly," bade the dying saint. And 
 when after a little time the youth 
 said, "See, dear master, it is finished 
 now," the teacher replied, " You speak the 
 truth; all is finished now. Receive my 
 head into your hands, for it is a great sat- 
 isfaction to me to sit facing my holy 
 place, where I was wont to pray, that I 
 may also sitting call upon my Father.'' 
 " And thus," says Cuthbert, " on the pave- 
 ment of his little cell, singing Glory be to 
 the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
 Holy Ghost, when he had named the Holy 
 Ghost he breathed his last, and so de- 
 jiarted to the Heavenly kingdom." 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 413 
 
 Of the character of this translation, the 
 dying gift of the great teacher to his 
 spiritual children, nothing can now be 
 known, as no copy of the work has come 
 down to our day. Still, the Venerable 
 Eede stands as the first link in the chain 
 of translators which, through Wyclif, 
 Tyndale, Coverdalc, and their successors 
 in the continuous work of revision, binds 
 the eighth to the nineteenth century in 
 the history of the English Bible. 
 
 From the middle of the eighth to the 
 close of the thirteenth century was a bar- 
 ren period in Saxon intellectual and re- 
 ligious life. For more than two hundred 
 yeai's the country was repeatedly laid 
 waste by Danish invaders, only to be fol- 
 lowed, before peace had brought any last- 
 ing results, by the more complete con- 
 quests by the Xormans in the eleventh 
 ccntin-y. That anything Saxon survived 
 the liarbarous destruction of life and 
 liroperty that paralyzed all endeavor and 
 Idighted all national hopes of this period, 
 is strong evidence of the enduring vitality 
 of the love of independence, of justice, 
 and of wisdom, which were the basic prin- 
 ciples of the better Saxon character, and 
 which have become the rich heritage of 
 the later English nation. The success of 
 the Norman invasion resulted in a more 
 complete subjugation than had attended 
 the inroads of the Danes; and a strange 
 language and a religion that seemed 
 hardly less strange to them were forced 
 upon the people. The Saxon clergy were 
 turned out of their churches and livings 
 and were replaced by priests from Nor- 
 mandy, who despise<l both the native lan- 
 guage and the people who spoke it ; and as 
 the whole spirit of the Church on the con- 
 tinent was adverse to any translations of 
 the Scriptures into vulgar tongues, not 
 only was nothing done to enlighten the 
 people, but even the few versions that ex- 
 isted in the Saxon tongue were con- 
 temptuously cast aside and destroyed. 
 During the intervals of peace previous to 
 the Norman conquest, sporadic attempts 
 at translation of parts of the Bible, es- 
 pecially of the Gospels and the Psalter, had 
 been made; but the whole life of the peo- 
 
 ple had become that of the camp and not 
 of the home, and so afforded no congenial 
 soil for the propagation of the graces of 
 literature and religion. The great, shin- 
 ing figure of the entire period was that of 
 the most noble and Christian king, Alfred. 
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 who accomplished marvelous things con- 
 sidering the conditions ijnder which he 
 labored. One of the great monuments of 
 his reign was his collection into one body 
 of all the laws of the Saxon realm, which 
 he entitled " Alfred's Dooms." His intro- 
 duction to this code, which began with 
 these words, "The Dooms which the Al- 
 mighty himself spake to Moses, and gave 
 to him to keep, and after our Saviour 
 Christ came to earth He said, ' He came 
 not to break or forbid, but to keep them,' " 
 was followed by the king's own transla- 
 tion of the Ten Commandments into the 
 native tongue, which thus became the first 
 part of the most ancient law of England. 
 Although the thoroughness of Williaii 
 the Conqueror's plan contemplated the 
 complete obliteration of the native lan- 
 guage, as well as the supplanting of all 
 national customs by the more refined 
 modes of Norman French life, yet the 
 sturdy patriotism of the conquered race 
 
414 
 
 IROM COLONY TO WOELJJ POWEE. 
 
 frustrated his purposes. The Saxon 
 priests, driven from their eliurehcs. be- 
 came wandering friars, and, going from 
 liamlet to hamlet, kept alive the fires of 
 nationalism and became the iuspirers of 
 new hopes in the subjugated, but not sub- 
 clued people. So that, though Norman 
 Frcneh was the only language of the 
 eourt, the church, the school, and for the 
 transaction of all public afPairs, yet the 
 native tongue was cherished with all the 
 sentiment of nationality and fellowship 
 that its use inspired, in the halls of the 
 old Saxon nobles, and in the rude homos 
 of the people. What this double life of 
 the people meant is most interestingly 
 portrayed in Scott's great novel, " Ivan- 
 hoe." But the result of the friction be- 
 tween the two languages was the gradual 
 formation of a new one which was to be- 
 come the medium of expression for all the 
 thought and action of the great English- 
 
 JliHX WYCLIF- 
 
 speaking nations. Just when the change 
 occurred cannot be marked, any more 
 fhnn one can say when a child becomes 
 a youth, or the youth a man. But the 
 important point is that when the pent-np 
 forces of national and i-eligious life and 
 
 thought broke through the barriers that 
 had so long restrained them, the imnicrtal 
 verse of Chaucer, as well as the noble and 
 dignified prose of Wyclif, found a lan- 
 guage rich enough in its vocabulary, and 
 flexible enough in its fonn, to give full 
 expression to the glowing fancy of the 
 poet, and to the exalted protests and pas- 
 sionate denunciations of the great re- 
 former. There have been certain great 
 periods in the evolution of the Divine 
 plans as manifested in the world's history, 
 which no expression seems so well to de- 
 scribe as Paul's pregnant one, — " the full- 
 ness of time ; " and the era of the thir- 
 teenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries 
 appeared most forcefully to mark such a 
 " fullness of time." It was the breaking 
 of the morning light of a new and more 
 glorious day for all mankind. In its 
 earlier years a spirit of unrest and dis- 
 content had become well-nigh universal 
 that boded ill for all the forces of tyranny 
 and despotism that enslaved the minds, 
 as well as the bodies, of the mass of the 
 people: and there is no more interesting 
 study than to trace the influence of the 
 English Bible in arousing, stimulating, 
 and directing the course of these uplifting 
 nidvements. 
 
 The most notable of all the heralds of 
 the new day, the most intelligent and de- 
 termined of all " Reformers before the 
 Reformation," was John Wyclif. The 
 date of his birth is uncertain, but was 
 previous to 1320; and the period of his 
 life covers a time of grievous distress 
 throughout Europe. The most terrible 
 plague the world has ever known, the so- 
 called " Black Death," advancing from 
 the East, devastated all Europe, and in 
 1348 invaded England; and of the popula- 
 tion, then estimated at between three and 
 four millions, more than one half suc- 
 cumbed to its dread power. No words can 
 describe the effects of its ravages upon the 
 social life of the kingdom. All industry 
 was paralyzed, and famine stalked in the 
 steps of the pestilence. The land was un- 
 filled, and even where crops came to ma- 
 turity, no one could be found to harvest 
 them and they rotted in the fields. Down 
 
THE EEVISION OF THE BIBLE — IShS. 
 
 415 
 
 to the thirteenth century, the great mass 
 of the people was made up of peasants 
 attached to the soil, mere serfs, — a little 
 higher in the scale of life than the cattle, 
 but not much. As a result of the great 
 scarcity of laborers, those whom the 
 plague had passed by recognized the op- 
 portunity that was placed in their hands 
 and made bold and determined strikes for 
 fi'ccdom. The line of demarcation be- 
 tween the rich and the poor was painfully 
 distinct, with the result that the same 
 social and industrial questions that agitate 
 the life of to-day sprang fully developed 
 into existence in Wyclif's time. 
 
 Moreover the state of religion only ag- 
 gravated the conditions of social life. 
 The church had only the husks of re- 
 ligious forms to ofPer suffering humanity. 
 The monasteries and church institutions 
 had become enormously rich, while dire 
 poverty and ignorance oppressed the 
 people. The clergy as a class were 
 ignorant and corrupt. Their chief in- 
 terest in the people was to extort by 
 masses and pardons the last farthing 
 from them, " as if," as an old writer ex- 
 pressed it. " God hail given His sheep not 
 to be pastured but to be 'shaven and 
 shorn." And, as though their cup of 
 misery was not full. Christians through- 
 out Europe were, for fifty years, scandal- 
 ized by the quarrels of rival Popes at 
 Rome and at Avignon, each anathematiz- 
 ing and hurling damnation at the other, 
 while marshaling their armies and 
 slaughtering men, women, and children 
 for their own aggrandizement. Truly, the 
 " fullness of time " had arrived. Space 
 forbids any reference in detail to the 
 events hy which Wyclif was led, step by 
 step, to his final break with the church; 
 but when it came, it was decisive, and 
 marked the birth of new forces, and doc- 
 trines that were to result later in the re- 
 ligious reformation of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, and in the establishment of political 
 and civil liberty in the seventeenth. For- 
 tunately, the situation between Edward 
 III. and the Papacy was strained, so that 
 Wyclif could rely upon political protec- 
 tion in his agitation, without which he 
 
 would have been quickly silenced. With 
 unflinching courage he declared : " If 
 there were a hundred Popes, and if all 
 friars were cardinals, one ought not to 
 trust them in matters of faith except 
 as they agree with Holy Scripture." In 
 works of great force of learning and argu- 
 ment he assailed one after another the 
 various positions of the Papacy, striking 
 at the very heart of its teachings when 
 ho denied the doctrine of transubstantia- 
 tion. But the great reformer saw that he 
 must get the life-giving truths of the Gos- 
 pel into the hands and the hearts of the 
 people, and so determined to make his 
 translation of the Bible into the English 
 language. But even with that made, he 
 recognized that its circulation must be 
 very limited, and confined to the class that 
 he was least desirous of reaching. The 
 mere writing out of the words of the en- 
 tire Bible was the work of months, and it 
 is estimated that a copy could not cost less 
 than two hundred doHars. Wyclif. there- 
 fore, conceived the plan of organizing 
 bodies of lay preachers who should go 
 among the people; and for their use little 
 tracts were prepared, made up of quota- 
 tions from the Gospels and the Psalter, 
 which they carried into the hovels of the 
 poor throughout the hind, explaining, as 
 they went, the full purport of the texts 
 left with them. Wyclif's cardinal doc- 
 trine was the Fatherhood of God, and the 
 direct relation of each child to the Father, 
 involving the infinite value of each in- 
 dividual human soul, and the brotherhood 
 of all men as children of the one Father. 
 In this creed there was no place for a 
 hierarchy of priests, nor for the saving 
 power of sacraments; each child was in 
 direct communication with, and was the 
 heir to, all tlie love and bounty of an In- 
 finite Father. This was new doctrine, and 
 to the hungry bodies and souls of the suf- 
 fering people it was most palatable and 
 promised peace and plenty. 
 
 Just when Wyclif began his transla- 
 tion of the Bible into English canmit 
 be determined, though the entire work 
 was completed in 1.382. It is certain 
 that a part of the Old Testament was 
 
416 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 translated by Nicholas of Hereford, 
 one of Wyclif's Balliol scholars. The 
 translation was made from the Latin 
 Vulgate, ■which had already become very 
 corrupt as the result of constant copying, 
 without reference to Hebrew or Greek 
 manuscripts; and so has the many defects 
 of a translation from a translation. But 
 
 wyclif's pulpit. 
 
 the great truths of the Gospels and of the 
 New Testament Wyclif wrote out not for 
 scholars or nobles, but for the common 
 people, and he suited his style to those for 
 whom he wrote. Plain, vigorous, and 
 homely were his expressions, yet of such 
 dignity and solemn grace as to fix the at- 
 tention of all readers. The master was 
 not blind to the faults of the work, how- 
 ever, and was preparing for a new re- 
 vision, when on the last Sunday of the 
 year 13.S4, while serving at the altar of his 
 church at Lutterworth, in the very act of 
 elevating the Sacrament, he was suddenly 
 stricken with palsy, and passed away on 
 the last day of the year without having 
 spoken once. It is needless to say that his 
 death brought gTcat rejoicing into the fold 
 of the Church, while its manner was 
 Imiilly advertised by the monks, and de- 
 clared to be the direct judgment of God 
 upon Ills heresies. One of their writers 
 
 thus refers to the subject : " The devil's 
 instrument, church's enemy, people's con- 
 fusion, heretic's idol, hj-pocrite's mirror, 
 schism's broacher, hatred's sewer, store- 
 house of lies, flatterer's sink, was stricken 
 by the horrible judgment of God, breathed 
 forth his soul to the dark mansion of the 
 black devil." And the more dignified, but 
 no more friendy, Knighton says: "This 
 -John Wyclif translated into the Anglic, 
 not angelic, tongue, the Gospels. Whence 
 it is mad? vulgar by him, and more open 
 to the reading of the lay men and women 
 than it usually is to the knowledge of let- 
 tered men and intelligent clergy, and thus 
 the pearl is cast abroad and trodden under 
 feet of swine. The jewel of the church is 
 turned into the common sport of the peo- 
 ple." Very diiferent has been the estimate 
 of posterity. An eminent German bi- 
 ographer (Buddenseig: Wyclif) has well 
 summed up the present-day opinion of the 
 great refonner and his work : "As a bold 
 and powerful critic of papal abuses, and 
 as a mighty champion of the principle 
 that the authority of the Bible is higher 
 than the authority of the Church, — a prin- 
 ciple which had been buried since the very 
 earliest Christian times, — it can be said 
 of Wyclif that he has profoundly affected 
 the entire spirit of the Western world. 
 His blow struck a spark from the flint, 
 Hus applied the spark to the coals, and 
 Luther, having lighted the torch of the 
 Reformation at these coals, bore it aloft 
 until all Europe saw its light and felt its 
 heat." 
 
 The unfinished work of revision was 
 taken up b.v Wyclif's friend and curate at 
 Lutterworth. Richard Purvey, and was 
 completed in 1388. Purvey's Preface to 
 his great work is hardly less interesting 
 than the work itself, manifesting as it does 
 the spirit and purpose that had animated 
 him in his labors. He says: "A simpel 
 creature hath translated the scrijiturc out 
 of Latin into Englische. First, this sim- 
 pel creature had much travayle (labor) 
 with divers fellows and helpers to gather 
 many old Bibles and other doctors and 
 glosses to make one Latin Bihle some deal 
 true and then shiJii if anew, the texte and 
 
THE REVISION OE THE BIBLE — 1SS5. 
 
 417 
 
 any otlier help he might get, especially 
 Lyra on the Old Testament, which helped 
 him much with his work. The third time 
 to counsel with the olde grammarians and 
 old divines of hard words and hard sen- 
 tences, how they might best be under- 
 stood and translated, the fourth time to 
 translate as clearly as he could to the 
 sense, and to have many good fellows and 
 cunnynge at the correcting of the transla- 
 cion. ... A translator hath great 
 uede to studie well the sense both before 
 and after, a7id then also he hath nede to 
 live a dene life and he full devout in 
 preiers, and have not his wit occupied 
 about the worldi things, that the Holy 
 Spyrit, author of all wisdom and cun- 
 nynge and truihe, dresse him for Iiis work, 
 and suffer him not to err." 
 
 These two versions are generally classed 
 together as the Wyclif Bible and rightly 
 so, if one understands their history. Pur- 
 vey's work was done in no spirit critical 
 or envious of his master's, but in the most 
 loving sympathy, and all that gave 
 to Wyclifs translation its distinctive 
 strength and charm was retained. Not- 
 withstanding the great expense of this 
 work, its circulation must have been verj' 
 extensive, as, in spite of all the penal acts 
 of the few years following whose purpose 
 was to utterly destroy every vestige or line 
 of the books, there are now in existence 
 one hundred and seventy copies of the 
 Wyclif Bible. The hunger of the people 
 for the Word becomes strikingl.y manifest 
 when we realize that, as an old writer has 
 stated, " the readers of the book were 
 burned with the cojjies around their 
 nocks; that men and women were ex- 
 ecuted for teaching their children the 
 Lord's ijrayer and the commandments in 
 English ; that husbands were made to wit- 
 ness against their wives, and children 
 forced to light the death fires of their 
 parents; and possessors of the banned 
 Wyclif Bible were hunted down as if they 
 were wild beasts." " Certes," says old John 
 Fox, " the zeal of those Christian days 
 seems superior to this of our careless 
 times." 
 
 That " God moves in a mysterious way 
 J.1 
 
 Ilis wonders to perform " is recognized as 
 a truism; nor is it less marvelous how Ho 
 uses the most untoward and unrelated 
 events, apparently, to further His vast de- 
 signs. About twenty-five years after 
 Wyclif had fallen asleep, little Johann 
 Gooseflesh was having a dull morning in 
 his German home. Left to amuse himself 
 he began to cut the letters of his name out 
 of bark, and to put them together in their 
 proper order. Accidentally dropping the 
 last one into a pot of purple dye that 
 stood beside the stove, he thoughtlessly 
 thrust his hand into the boiling liquid 
 and pulled the letter out, only to drop it 
 again as quickly. But this time it fell 
 upon a white dressed skin that was lying 
 close at hand, and lo! he had a beautiful 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 MB 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 
 ■^9^' ^rW. 1 
 
 ^■j 
 
 
 '^i^^M^^KMM 
 
 H 
 
 m\ 
 
 B M *^ ''^^B. 'M 
 
 1 
 
 Mm 
 
 ^Qh| 
 
 Bl 
 
 
 m 
 
 II 
 
 V -^■■" 
 
 ^^1 
 
 JOHANN GUTENBERG. 
 
 purple " h " printed on a rich yellowish 
 ground of vellum. It was a trifling mat- 
 ter, but evidently impressed itself upon 
 little Johann's mind; for about forty 
 years later Johann Gutenberg — he has 
 dropped his father's name and taken his 
 mother's more euphonious one — is turning 
 out the first book ever printed from niov- 
 
418 
 
 FllOll COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 able type, in li.jO. And what could be 
 more fitting- than that it should be a 
 copy of the Latin Vulgate Bible, which is 
 now known as the " Mazarin Bible," and 
 has become one of the rarest and most 
 costly books in the world — the last copy 
 Sold a few years ago. from the library of 
 Lord Ashburnham. having brought f-t.OtM), 
 or $20,000. 
 
 A few years before the invention of 
 printing and the publication of the first 
 printed book, the detestalile Turk had. be- 
 gun to close in upon Constantinople with 
 his armies. Happily there had been liv- 
 ing in that city many very learned Greek 
 scholars, whose worldly goods consisted 
 chiefly of old manuscripts of the works of 
 Homer, and of Plato and Aristotle, of 
 Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; and 
 far more interesting for our purposes were 
 the many copies they had of very old 
 manuscripts of the Bible in Greek. Fear- 
 ing the excesses of the Turks they began 
 to migrate into western Europe, bearing 
 their sacred treasures with them. They 
 found friendly shelter at the courts of 
 some of the patrons of learning, like the 
 Medici in Florence, and at the great uni- 
 versities. And for the first time all the 
 glories of Greek literature and philosoph.y 
 illuminated the intellectual world of 
 western Europe. Hungry Bible students 
 became possessed of ancient texts of the 
 Bible books in their original language and 
 so became familiar with readings by 
 which it was possible to correct the cor- 
 rupt texts of the V.ulgate. The effect of all 
 this was electrical, and the light of the 
 new learning soon banished the shadows 
 of the Dark Ages, stirring enthusiasm and 
 arousing such a larger thirst for knowl- 
 edge as never had been known before. So 
 little Johann Gooseflesh and the unspeak- 
 able Turk became the moving forces in 
 events the most beneficent for all man- 
 kind that have occurred since the Saviour 
 walked the earth. 
 
 With this broadening of the intellectual 
 vision came the impulse to test every- 
 thing; and all existing institutions. — 
 political, religious, social, — all were put 
 on trial. This awakenniir was one 
 
 phase of the great change called the 
 Renaissance which came over the Western 
 world, starting at an undefined jieriod 
 towards the close of the ^Middle Ages, and 
 whose influence is still potent among all 
 civilized peoples. As has been well said : 
 " Expressed in terms of literature, we call 
 it the revival of letters. Expressed in 
 terms of religion, we call it the Reforma- 
 tion. Contrasted with medisevalism the 
 Renaissance is like a bright fresh morning 
 after a i-lose and sultry night. It repre- 
 sents the change in men's views of life 
 from asceticism to freedom and human- 
 ism; from the monastery to the college; 
 from a civilization based on Feudalism 
 and educated by the Latin Church to a 
 civilization educated by science and bused, 
 within the restrictions of nationality, in 
 a spiritual intcr-comnumity of ideas anil 
 interests." An interesting fact regarding 
 this great movement on its religious side 
 is that it has been confined, almost with- 
 out exception, to races (if Teutonic de- 
 s;cnt; while all tlie Latin races, and those 
 that have come under their conquering in- 
 fluence, have clung to the old Cluirch. 
 .Viiiong these Teutonic races the Bible has 
 hi'en the teacher and guide in their con- 
 tinued advance toward civil and religious 
 liberty. Luthi'r posted his faniiiu~ 
 " Thesc»s " on the door of the church at 
 Wittenberg in l.'ilT, which was the first 
 definite step in the great religious refor- 
 nuition; and the smoke of the initial battle 
 had hardly cleared away before he was at 
 work upon his translation of the Bible 
 into the popular German tongue; he, like 
 all the great reformers, being convinced 
 that neither civil nor ecclesiastical ab- 
 solutism could long hold in their fetters 
 peoples familiar with the great, essential 
 truths of the Bible, all of which make for 
 freedom. Luther's translation of the Xew 
 Testament, with pertinent commentary, 
 was published in 1522; and his comideted 
 Bible in l.')3-l. The New Testament, with 
 many of Luther's tracts, soon found their 
 wa.v into England, and were somewhat im- 
 portant factors in the early reform move- 
 ment there; while, with the first printed 
 edition of the Greek Testament, edited by 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 41!) 
 
 1;lie foremost Greek scholar of the age, 
 Erasmus, they spurred on the impulse 
 which was constantly becoming more im- 
 perative for an English Bible, translated 
 directly from the new-old manuscripts 
 which had only recently come to the 
 knowledge of Western scholars. 
 
 In 1484, the year after the birth uf 
 Luther, and one hundred years after the 
 death of Wyclif, William Tyndale was 
 born, the most important personality con- 
 nected with the whole history of our Eng- 
 lish Bible. Distinguished at a very early 
 age for his remarkable scholarship, he was 
 entered at Oxford, where he took high 
 rank. Changing to Cambridge University 
 later he fell in with Erasmus, who had 
 recently completed his Greek Testament. 
 Tyndale quickly made himself familiar 
 with this, and his spirit was stirred to its 
 depths by ttiis wonderful revelation of 
 Divine love. It had all the force of a 
 new revelation, and aroused a spirit of 
 earnest study and discussion among the 
 priests at the universities; and on one oc- 
 casion, in the heat of controversy, when 
 the opponent of Tyndale had affirmed, 
 " We had better be without God's laws 
 than the Pope's," Tyndale indignantly de- 
 clared, " I defy the Pope, and all his laws; 
 and if God spare me, I will one day make 
 the boy that drives the plow in England 
 to know more of Scripture than the Pope 
 docs." 
 
 As has been said, the first printed book 
 was the Mazarin Bible, published in' 1456; 
 and the impulse given to the new learning 
 came largely as the result of the capture 
 of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. 
 England, however, was more backward in 
 appropriating the benefits resulting from 
 those epochal events than were the nations 
 on the Continent. Before the end of the 
 fifteenth century about eighty editions of 
 the Latin Bible had been published in dif- 
 ferent parts of Europe, and national ver- 
 sions of the entire Bible were circulating 
 in the German, Italian, French, Dutch, 
 Danish, and Spanish languages. In his 
 most Cuxcellent work on the " Evolution of 
 the English Bible," Mr. H. W. Hoare has 
 collected some data showing how limited 
 
 had been the facilities for the. study of 
 the original texts of the Scriptures, even 
 if the scholars had possessed them. The 
 public teaching of Greek was not intro- 
 duced into the University of Paris until 
 1458, and its earliest teacher at O.xford 
 was Grocyn, who went to the University 
 in 1492. The first Greek grammar was pub- 
 lished in 1476, the first Greek lexicon in 
 1480; while the earliest Hebrew grammar 
 
 DESnJERIUS EH.4SJnTS. 
 
 \vas printed in 150.3, which was followed 
 b.v the first Hebrew lexicon three vears 
 later. The first printed Hebrew Bible ap- 
 peared in 1486 ; and the first printed New 
 Testament in Greek, by Erasmus, was 
 published in 1516. Printing was first in- 
 troduced into England by Caxton, in 1470. 
 So that, even if the clergy had been ani- 
 mated by a desire to study any subjects 
 other than those connected with ecclesias- 
 tic Latin and the scholastic theology, the 
 " tools " at their command could have af- 
 forded them but little aid in their work. 
 But as a matter of fact there was an utter 
 paralysis of moral and intellectual pur- 
 pose among the clergy, which means, of 
 course, among nearly all the so-called 
 learned men of Europe, as the Church, as 
 a general proposition, embraced within its 
 
420 
 
 FEOM COLOXV TO WOKLD roWKH. 
 
 fold all the sc-liolars, as well as all the 
 learning of the age. But this fact did not 
 exalt the scholarship of the clergy to a 
 high plane. Writing about the end of the 
 fifteenth century the distinguished Car- 
 dinal Bellarniine, no unfriendly critic, 
 said : " Some years before the rise of the 
 Lutlieran heresy there was almost an en- 
 tire abandonment of equity in the ecclesi- 
 astical judgments; in morals, no disci- 
 ])line; in sacred literature, no erudition; 
 in divine things, no reverence. ReUgion 
 was almost exlincf." And a few years later, 
 in the preface to his work entitled " The 
 Obedience of a Christian ]\Ian." Tyndale 
 wrote : " Alas ! the curates themselves, for 
 the most part, wot no more what the New 
 (jr Old Testament meaneth than do the 
 Turks, neither care they but to mumble 
 so much every day as the pie and poppin- 
 
 WH.LIAM TVN'UALi;. 
 
 jay speak, they wot not what, to fill their 
 bellies withal. If they will not let the 
 layman have the word of God in his 
 mother's tongue, yet let the priests have it, 
 which for the greater part of them dri 
 understand no Latin at all, but sing and 
 patten all day with the lips only, that 
 which the heart understandeth not." Still 
 a little later. Hooper, Bishop of Glouces- 
 ter, made a visitation in his diocese, and 
 
 examined three hundred and eleven clergy. 
 Of these, he reported, one hundred and 
 sixty-eight ive're iinahte to repeat the Ten 
 Commandments; thirty-one were ignorant 
 from whence the Decalogue came; forty 
 could not repeat the Lord's prayer, and 
 iihout the same number did not even know 
 to whom it should be ascribed. If such 
 were the shepherds, what of the sheep! 
 And yet these unpriestly priests were con- 
 tent to live in their fat livings, and had 
 complete power of life and death in all 
 (juestions of theology; and as all criticism 
 of their habits and mode of life was as 
 heretical as the denial of doctrines of the 
 ( hurch, the path of the reformer was 
 thickly strewn with dangers, and promised 
 only suffering and death in return for the 
 most unselfish labors. All this Tyndale 
 knew full well when he defied the Pope, 
 and proclaimed his purpose to make the 
 boy at the plough more conversant with 
 the Scriptures than was the great head of 
 the church, the Vicar of Christ. 
 
 Before leaving the university Tyndale 
 had already begun his work of transla- 
 tion ; and having heard that Tunstall, the 
 Bishop of London, was a patron of the 
 new learning, he asked for permission to 
 carry on the work in the episcopal palace 
 under the bishop's patronage. But it was 
 in the study of classical authors only that 
 Tunstall was interested, and Tyndale's 
 proposal received a very cold reception. 
 Through the generosity of a wealthy mer- 
 chant who had heard him preach, however, 
 and who had become interested in him. 
 Tyndale was able to continue his study 
 and his work of translation during the 
 greater part of the year 1523 under his 
 patron's roof, and with his generous sup- 
 port. But what he saw of the life of the 
 clergy in London during the year proved 
 to him that no mercy would be shown to 
 one who shoid<l inidertake to give to the 
 people the Bible in their own tongue. Al- 
 I'cady many of Luther's writings were 
 finding their way into England, and he 
 saw men led to prison and even to execu- 
 tion for possessing and reading such 
 works. " Wherefore," as he sadly said. 
 " I perceived that not only in my Lord 
 
THE EEVISIOX OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 421 
 
 of London's palace but in all England 
 tlicre was no room for attempting a trans- 
 lation of the Scriptures." So in 1524 he 
 sorrowfully left his native land never to 
 see it again ; and at Hamburg-, in poverty 
 and in distress and in constant danger, 
 he most diligently prosecuted the worlv of 
 translation, with the result that in 1525 
 he was able to go to Cologne, the most 
 famous center of printing at that time, 
 and place the copy of the translation in 
 the printer's hands. It was arranged that 
 three thousand copies should be issued in 
 a small quarto edition, with a prologue, 
 references, marginal notes, and with divi- 
 sions into chapters, — the division of chap- 
 ters into verses came much later. But the 
 spies of the Inquisition were everywhere 
 through Europe; and one of its agent-, 
 ( 'ochlaeus, known among his Catholic con- 
 temporaries as the " Scourge of Luther," 
 was then in Cologne looking after the 
 publication of a book of his own. Chanc- 
 ing to be near a little group of composi- 
 tors who were indulging rather freely in 
 native wines, he overheard their boast 
 that before long all England would become 
 , Lutheran. Joining the party and gen- 
 erously supplying all they would drink, 
 he gradually learned the facts regarding 
 Tyndale's translation. Cochlaeus at once 
 applied to the magistrates, demanding that 
 the sheets be seized and the work stopped ; 
 and also dispatched a messenger to the 
 English bishops warning them of their 
 unexpected danger. But, happily, Tyn- 
 dale was informed at his lodgings^of what 
 had happened: and w'ith a friend rushed 
 to the printer's, seized all the sheets that 
 were printed, and hurriedly fled to Worms, 
 where the enthusiasm for Luther and the 
 Reformation was then at its height. 
 There he at length succeeded in his noble 
 purpose, producing for the first iiiar in 
 modern English a complete Xew Testa- 
 ment. Knowing that as a result of the 
 disclosures of Cochlaeus the greatest 
 vigilance would he exercised to prevent 
 the entry of the books into England, they 
 were dispatched secretly, packed in all 
 kinds of merchandise, in barrels, in bales 
 of cloth, in sacks of flour, and in every 
 
 covert ■\\'ay that could be devised. Thou- 
 sands of copies were, however, seized and 
 burned with solemn ceremony at the old 
 cross of St. Paul's " as a burnt ofEering 
 most pleasing to Almighty God;" but 
 other thousands supplied their place. The 
 Church had not now to contend with the 
 slow methods of production that attended 
 the distribution of Wyclif's Xew Testa- 
 ment ; the printing press could defy the 
 
 ST. PATTL S CROSS. 
 
 utmost diligence of the opponents of the 
 work. " In burning the book," wrote 
 Tyndale, " they did none other thing than 
 I looked for ; no more shall they do if they 
 burn me also, if it be God's will that it 
 should be so." 
 
 Seeing that they could not keep the 
 books out of the country, Bishop Tunstall 
 conceived the brilliant scheme of buying 
 up the whole edition in Germany. He ac- 
 cordingb' sought out a merchant hav- 
 ing extended connections with German 
 business houses, Augustine Pakington. 
 " Deeming," as the old chronicle has it, 
 " that he hadde God by the toe, whanne 
 in truthe he hadde, as after he thought, 
 the devyl by the fiste." the bishop urged 
 Pakington to use all diligence and get 
 the books for him, and he would gladly 
 give him whatever they might cost; as 
 he intended " Surely to destroy them all 
 and to burn them at Paul's Cross." A 
 short time after, Pakington, who was 
 friendly toward Tyndale and knew that 
 
422 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 his funds ivcre low, sought him out and 
 said : 
 
 " Master Tyndalo, I have found you a 
 good purchaser for your books." 
 
 " "Who is he '." asked Tyndale. 
 
 " My Lord of London." 
 
 " But if the Bisliop of London wants 
 the books it must hi' only to burn them." 
 
 " Well, what of that ? The Bishop will 
 burn them anyway, and it is best that 
 you should have the money to enable you 
 to imjirint others instead." 
 
 " S(i," as the ehrcmiele continues, "the 
 Bishop had the books, Pakington had tlie 
 thanks, and Tyndale had the money." 
 "I am the gladder," (juoth Tyndale, " for 
 these two benefits that shall come thereof. 
 I shall get money to bring myself out of 
 debt, and the whole world will cry out 
 against the burning of God's word; and 
 the overplus of the money that shall re- 
 main with me shall make me more 
 studious to correct the said New Testa- 
 ment, ar.d so to imprint tlie same once 
 again, and I trust the second will be much 
 better than ever was the first." 
 
 Finding that burning T.vndale's books 
 could not prevent their distribution, a 
 vigorous denunciation of them was made 
 from all the pulpits of the land, wliich was 
 more efPective, as only one side of the 
 question was presented. In 1.529, how- 
 ever, one of tile most powerful preachers 
 of the time, Hugh Latimer, who fortu- 
 natel.v enjoyed tlie favor of the King, 
 preached at Cambridge his celebrated 
 " Sermons on the Card," in whicli he fear- 
 lessly championed the translation and uni- 
 versal reading of the Holy Scriptures. 
 The rage of the friars knew no bounds, 
 and it was especiall.v quickened by tlio 
 realization of the fact that his reasoning 
 was so unanswerable. After many con- 
 ferences, however, they decided that an 
 opposition s-.'rmon must be preached. 
 Friar Buckingham was chosen as their 
 champion, and a Sunday was selected on 
 whicli he sliould answer Latimer. On the 
 Sunday named, a great audience assem- 
 bled; and to illustrate the character of the 
 arguments of the opponents of biblical 
 translation, we quote a few sentences from 
 
 the sermon. " Thus," asked the preacher 
 triumphantly, "where Scripture saith, no 
 man that layeth his hand to the plough 
 and looking back is fit for the Kingdom 
 of God, will not the ploughman -when he 
 readeth these words be apt to forthwith 
 cease from his plough, and then where will 
 be the sowing and the harvest? Likewise, 
 also, whereas the baker readeth, 'A little 
 leaven leavenetli the whole lump,' will he 
 not forthwith be too sparing in the use of 
 leaven to the great injury of our health? 
 And so, also, when the simple man reads 
 the words, ' If thine eye offend thee, pluck 
 it out, and cast it from thee,' incontinent 
 hi' will i)luck out his eyes and so the whole 
 realm will be full of blind men, to the 
 great decay of the nation and the manifest 
 loss of the King's grace. And thus, by 
 reading of the Holy Scripture, will the 
 whole realm come into confusion." It 
 would, indeed, be surjjrising- if any such 
 puerile arguments could have influenced 
 anyone ; and it was becoming more evi- 
 dent every da.v that no persecution, no 
 burning of books, no preaching against 
 them availed to abate the constantly in- 
 creasing thirst the people had for the _ 
 Scriptures. In spite of all opposition 
 Tyndale's books were ever>'where bought, 
 talked about, and read. " It passeth my 
 power," wrote one bishop to the primate, 
 " or that of any spiritual man, to hinder 
 it now; and if this continue much longer 
 it will undo Its all.'' 
 
 But Tyndale had not rested after the 
 completion of his earlier work. He soon 
 began the great task of translating the 
 Old Testament from the original Hebrew 
 into English; and as the first fruit of this 
 labor appeared his translation of the Pen- 
 tateuch in 1,530. In 1531 he pulilislied his 
 translation of the book of Jonah, with a 
 lengthy prologue, reviewing the condition 
 of ecclesiastical affairs in England. After 
 this for some time he seems to have devoted 
 himself to revision, as he expressed his 
 purpose of doing when Pakington's deal 
 with the Bishop of London was eonsuni- 
 mated; «'(7/( the result that in 1.534 lie 
 pnlilishcd a thorough revision of his New 
 Testament of 1525. Tliis revision lias al- 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 423 
 
 ways been regarded as Ihe crowning glory 
 uf the great scholar's work. He had carried 
 into it the same pious enthusiasm which 
 had characterized his labors in translation. 
 The first edition had api^eared anony- 
 mously for several reasons; but the revi- 
 sion of 1534 had Tyndale's name on the 
 title page, and the preface is headed, 
 " William Tindale yet once more to the 
 Christen reader." Prefaces were also 
 written for each book excepting Acts and 
 Revelation, and the original marginal 
 notes were all rewritten. 
 
 But Tyndale's enemies were many and 
 powerful in England, and they were not 
 inactive. For years the weary, hunted, 
 hungry, poverty-stricken exile in Genuan 
 towns had eluded emissaries, though all 
 the subtle craft of the state as well as of 
 the Church had been exercised to get him 
 into their power. But he " was simple, 
 and inexpert in the wily subtleties of the 
 world;" and through the influence of Sir 
 Thomas More a villainous clergyman, of 
 the most plausible appearance and char- 
 acter however, was sent to Antwerp, where 
 Tyndale was then working, to gain the 
 friendship and confidence of the lonely 
 exile. The scheme worked only too well. 
 Tyndale became deeply attached to this 
 man Phillips, and confided in him, even 
 loaning him money from his ill-lined 
 purse, and caring for him in sickness. 
 His friend Poyntz. with whom Tyndale 
 was lodging in Antwerp, was suspicious of 
 Phillips and warned his lodger to be on 
 his guard. Unfortunatelj, however, Phil- 
 lips one day succeeded in leading him 
 some distance from his lodgings, when 
 confederates attacked them, and Tyndale 
 was carried off to the Castle of Vilvorde. 
 near Brussels, where he was cast into a 
 dungeon, which he was never to leave 
 again. 
 
 If the value of civil liberty and spii'itual 
 enlightenment could be measured, it 
 would doubtless be found that all Eng- 
 lish-speaking peoples owe as much to 
 Tyndale as to any other one man on the 
 long roll of their benefactors; and it is 
 pitiful to read the appeals to the governor 
 of the castle of this helpless sufferer who 
 
 was wearing out his life in cold and misery 
 that his countrymen might gain a per- 
 sonal knowledge of the true God. He 
 writes, " I beg your lordship, and that by 
 the Lord Jesus, that if I am to remain 
 here during the winter you will request 
 the Procurcur to be kind enough to send 
 me from my goods which he has in his 
 possession a warmer cap, for I suffer ex- 
 tremely from a perpetual catarrh, which 
 is much increased by this cell. A warmer 
 coat also, for that which I have is very 
 thin; also a piece of cloth to patch my 
 leggins; my shirts, too, are all worn out." 
 And again, " I wish permission to have 
 a candle in the evening, for it is a weary 
 work to sit alone in the darl-. But above 
 all things, I entreat and beseech your 
 clemency to be urgent with the Procureur 
 that he may kindly suffer me to have my 
 Hebrew Bible, grammar, and dictionary 
 that I may spend my time with that 
 study." After a confinement of about 
 eighteen months, of which but few partic- 
 ulars are obtainable, on the 6th of Octo- 
 ber. 1536, the great, good man was stran- 
 gled at the stake, and then his body 
 burned to ashes, — his last words heing, 
 "Lord, open the King of England's eyes." 
 All previous English Versions of the 
 
 VILVORDE CASTLE. 
 
 T'ible, or parts of it, were simply transla- 
 tions of translations, being taken from 
 some edition of the Vulgate, or older 
 Latin Versions. Tyndale's translation is 
 distinguished not only by the fact that he 
 went back for the first time to the orig- 
 
424 
 
 FEOM COLOA^Y TO WOKLU POWEE. 
 
 iual Hebrew and Greek texts, seeking the 
 true meaning of Scriptures in the orig- 
 inal lansuiiiie, but also because of the won- 
 derful character of the translation itself. 
 He fixed for all subsequent time tlie mold 
 in which the Scripture translations should 
 
 MYLES COVERDALE. 
 
 run, and all later versions, in(dudinf;' our 
 so-called Authorized Version, are in 
 reality little more than revisions of 
 Tyndale's work; and all the sim- 
 plicity, the lioauty, the majesty of lan- 
 guage and style that have nnule our Bible 
 the crowning- glory of the English lan- 
 guage, — all belong to Tyndale. As 
 Frouile has well said: "The peculiar 
 genius which breathes through the English 
 Bible, the mingled tenderness and maj- 
 esty, the Saxon simplicity, the grandeur. 
 unci|ualed, unapproached in the attempted 
 improvement of modern scholars, all are 
 111 re, and bear the impress of the mind 
 of one man, and that man, William 
 Tyndale." 
 
 Following Tyndale's death the change 
 in the official English sentiment was rapid 
 and complete; and could the noble martyr 
 rd' 1536 have lived but four years longer 
 he would have seen the answer to his 
 in-ayer. for the eyes of the King of Eng- 
 land were opened, though one may hardly 
 
 admire the causes that led to that desired 
 consummation. After Tyndale, the name 
 most frequently and most closely con- 
 nected with Bible revision was that of 
 ilyles Coverdale. Born in 1488, he was 
 as a young man attached to the monastery 
 of the Augustine friars at Cambridge; 
 and later was a member of the " Club of 
 Lutherans" in the University. Though 
 little is known of his early life, he seems 
 to have been an occasional visitor at the 
 house of Sir Thomas More, and to 
 have become intimately acquainted with 
 Cromwell, who was rapidly rising in 
 power and was to succeed his master, 
 Wolsey, in his influence with Henry 
 YIII. About the year 152C Cover- 
 dale became a secular priest, and in 
 1528 worked in tlie county of Suffolk, 
 preaching against the Mass, compulsory 
 confession, and the worslup of images. It 
 is supposed that this course led to his en- 
 forced retirement to the Continent, where 
 in 1529 he is said to have met Tyndale at 
 Hamburg, and to have worked with him 
 on his translation of the Pentateuch. 
 Though there is no reliable account of 
 Coverdale's movements between 1529 and 
 15;;5, it has been surmised that Cromwell, 
 who had become Secretary of State, see- 
 ing the course affairs were taking, deter- 
 mined to be ready with a new Bible to 
 introduce at the opportune moment. 
 Knowing Henry's hatred of Tyndale and 
 the consequent impossibility of using his 
 translation, the supposition is that the 
 Secretary communicated with his old 
 friend Coverdale, encouraging him to be 
 ready with a version of his own. How- 
 ever this may be, it is certain that in 
 15;iG, while Tyndale still languished in the 
 Vilvorde dungeon, a new Bible appeared 
 in England, printed in black letter, and of 
 small folio size, containing an elaborate 
 and obsequious dedication to King Henry, 
 which was signed by his " humble subjecto 
 and dayle oratour, Myles Coverdale." 
 This Bible makes no pretense to being a 
 new and original translation ; it is, as its 
 title page states, " translated out of 
 Douche and Lat.vn into Englishe, with 
 the help of five sundry interpreters," that 
 
THE KEVISION OE THE lilELE — ISbi 
 
 425 
 
 is, translators ; and the chief of these was 
 evidently Tyndale. whom he practically 
 copies in the New Testament. 
 
 This Coverdale Bible is sometimes 
 called " The Treacle Bible," because of 
 its rendering- of Jeremiah viii. 22 : " Is 
 there no treacle in Gilead '. " The exigen- 
 cies of the obsequious editors are well il- 
 lustrated by the reference to the King's 
 " dearest, juste wyfe, and most virtuous 
 princesse," who is named in the first 
 edition as Ane. Dr. Smythe tells us that 
 the copy now in the British Museum has 
 the same inscription, but Am has been 
 changed to Jane, — thus, JAne. Other 
 copies have some Ane and some Jane, 
 while some leave the space blank, the 
 editors apparentlj- being unable to keep 
 pace with Henry's rapid matrimonial ven- 
 tures. 
 
 The version known as " Matthew's 
 Bible " appeared in 1537. This was really 
 the work of John Itogers, one of the noted 
 early reformers and the literary executor 
 of Tyndale, who suffered martyrdom dur- 
 ing Mary's reign. The suppression of his 
 name is easily accounted for by his well- 
 known close connection with Tyndale, as 
 well as on account of his liberal opinions. 
 This version was Tyndale's work pure and 
 simple, excepting the latter half of the 
 Old Testament, which the latter did not 
 live to complete; that matter was taken 
 chiefly from Coverdale's Bible. The pe- 
 culiar thing about the reception of 
 ]\iatthew's Bible was the fact that Tyn- 
 dale's work was not recognized at the time, 
 though all his anti-papal marginal notes 
 were reproduced exactly as in the original 
 edition. Archbishop Cranmer, one of 
 Tyndale's bitterest opponents, declared the 
 Jfatthew's " better . than any translation 
 heretofore made." nnd he would " rather 
 see it licensed by the King than receive 
 £1,000." Moreover he thought "if they 
 waited till the bishops should set forth a 
 better translation they would wait till the 
 day after doomsday." 
 
 In 15.39 what is known as " Taverner's 
 Bible " appeared ; but this was little more 
 than a revision of " Matthew's Bible," by 
 a private seholai'. 
 
 But there were several reasons, mostly 
 political, why none of these versions were 
 entirely satisfactory. Cromwell and 
 others high in authority were determined 
 to have the Scriptures in a form that 
 should really be worthy to stand as a Na- 
 tional Bible. Again Coverdale was ap- 
 pealed to and he took charge of the work. 
 Apparejitly thinking that there was virtue 
 in bigness, it was arranged that this 
 should be the largest liible ever made, and 
 that it should be produced in the most 
 perfect form mechanically. Accordingly, 
 it was arranged that the printing should 
 be done by Eegnault of Paris, one of the 
 most famous bookmakers of the period; 
 and Coverdale went to Paris in 153S to 
 suiJervise the work. Although Regnault 
 had a special license from the King of 
 Eranec to prosecute this work, they 
 labored in constant fear of the inter- 
 ference of the Inquisitor General oi the 
 Inquisition ; and before the work was com- 
 pleted in December, an order for confisca- 
 tion was issued, and Eegnault was cited. 
 By some jjeculiar business transaction, 
 however, in which bribery was understood 
 to be an important factor, a large pro- 
 portion of the sheets were soon recovered; 
 and then Regnault's entire outfit for this 
 work was moved to London, — compositors, 
 type, presses, and all, — where the work 
 was completed. This " Great Bible " as 
 it has always been called, was first pub- 
 lish.ed in April, 1539, and "was autlior- 
 ized to be read and frequented in every 
 Church in the Kingdom." It was a very 
 large folio, in black letter, and was re- 
 garded, as the finest, sijecimen of the 
 printer's art extant. One of its distinc- 
 tive features was a marvelous allegorical 
 frontispiece said to have been designed by 
 Hans Holbein. In anticipation of the ap- 
 pearance of this work Cromwell had pre- 
 pared an injunction, issued in September, 
 1 538, by which all the clergj- were ordered 
 to provide before a specified date "one 
 hol-e of the whole hihle, in the largef^f 
 volume, in Englyshe, sett up in summe 
 conrenijent place ivithin the church that 
 lie have cure of, %'liereat your parishoners 
 may most commodiously resort to the 
 
426 
 
 FROM. COLOxN'Y TO WOKLU POWEK. 
 
 same and read yt." This iujunction had 
 the full authority of a royal command; 
 and thus within thirteen years of the 
 hurning of Tyndale's New Testament at 
 St. Paul's cross, the battle for the free 
 use of the English Bible had been fought 
 and won. First, forbidden; then, silently 
 tolerated; and next licensed, it was now 
 commanded by the King's highness to be 
 set up for the benefit of each one of the 
 many thousand parishes of the land. 
 This meant that in every church at least 
 one of these " Great Bibles " should be 
 placed on a stand, or attached to the 
 pillars or wall of the church in such a 
 way that any person who was so inclined 
 could have free access to it at any time. 
 Bishop Bonner had six of the Bibles set 
 up in St. Paul's; and we are tohl that 
 " numy well disposed people used nuich to 
 resort to the hearing thereof, especially 
 when they could get any that ha<l an 
 audible voice to read to them." And the 
 
 A CHAINED lilBLE 
 
 name of one young man, otherwise un- 
 known to fame, John Porter, has become 
 historic, because he was large of body and 
 lusty of voice, " a fresh young man of 
 big stature," who delighted many by his 
 reading of the Word. As the old chronicle 
 
 has it : " Oue John Porter used sometimes 
 to be occupied in that goodly exercise, to 
 the edifying of himself as well as others; 
 and great multitudes would resort thither 
 to hear him, because he could read well 
 and had an audible voice." And the old 
 annalist, Strype, in his life of Archbishop 
 Cranmer, said: "It is wonderful to see 
 with what joy this book of God was re- 
 ceived, not only among the learned sort, 
 but generally, all England over, among 
 all the vulgar and common ijeople, and 
 with what greediness God's word was 
 read. Everybody that could bought the 
 book, or busily read it, or got others to 
 read it to them." 
 
 But what was this " Great Bible ? " It 
 has been variously described as a compil- 
 ation from Matthew's and Coverdale's 
 Bibles, and as a revision of Matthew's, 
 Coverdale acting as editor, with reference 
 to some other versions. But the inter- 
 esting fact is that it is, like its prede- 
 cessors, in reality only another version Oi 
 Tyndale's great work; and that the noblt 
 martyr " though dead, yet speaketh." A 
 second edition, in which parts of the Old 
 Testament were revised, appeared in 
 April. 1540, which was followed by two 
 more editions that year, and three the 
 next year, 1541. The edition of Novem- 
 ber. 1540, bore on its title page an author- 
 ization by Tunstall. Bishop of London, 
 who thus gave official sanction to the 
 work of Tyndale, which fourteen years 
 before he had ijroscribed and burned at 
 the cross of St. Paul's. 
 
 But a reaction now set in, which tem- 
 porarily checked the continued publica- 
 tion of the Scriptures, though it did not 
 quench the zeal of the people. Henry was 
 no more pleased with the spirit to which 
 the teachings of the Bible were giving 
 life, than he had been with the over- 
 bearing claims of the Papacy; and after 
 the execution of Cromwell he became dis- 
 tinctly hostile to the principles and 
 practices of the Protestant leaders. In 
 1543 it was ordered that all translations 
 of Scriptures bearing the name of Tyndale 
 should be destroyed; that all notes anil 
 comments in other Bibles should be ob- 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 4-2'> 
 
 liturated; and the common people were 
 forbidden to read any part of the Bible 
 either in public or private. In lo-lC 
 Coverdale's New Testament was joined in 
 the same condemnation as Tyndale's, 
 and a great destruction of the earlier 
 Testaments took place. So that not only 
 was the making of new translations sus- 
 pended for several years, but the very ex- 
 istence of all that had been made was 
 endangered. But the common people had 
 already caught clear visions of a realm of 
 light and freedom, and no royal command 
 could quench their thirst for further 
 knowledge. When the Great Bibles wore 
 set up in the churches to be read by all 
 men, the gates had been opened, and no 
 earthly power could close them again. 
 
 It is difficult for us of the twentieth cen- 
 tury to appreciate what this change meant. 
 Accustomed as the English speaking- 
 peoples of to-day are to the issue of a 
 score of thousand of new books every 
 ,\car, on every conceivable subject, and to 
 the daily, weekly, and monthly ministra- 
 tions of a like number of pajjers and 
 periodicals of every character, we can 
 with difficulty place ourselves in the posi- 
 ti(in of our English ancestors of the early 
 ihiys of Elizabeth, when the Bible was 
 practically the only literature with which 
 they were familiar. As Green has said: 
 " The whole moral effect which is pro- 
 <luced now-a-days by the religious news- 
 papers, the tract, the essay, the mis- 
 sionary report, the sermoai, was then pro- 
 duced by the Bible alone ; and its effect 
 in this way, however dispassionately we 
 examine it, was simply amazing-. The 
 whole nation became a church." The 
 English people have, in a very true sense, 
 been the people of one book ; and to form 
 any definite and proper estimate of the 
 value of that book, which it is somewhat 
 the purpose of this chapter to demon- 
 strate, one must realize how it has entered 
 into, given direction to, and affected the 
 trend of all the literary, social, political, 
 and religious thought and activities of 
 that people from the days of the new 
 lilrth, or Renaissance, down to what we 
 arc pleased to consider the full-orbed day 
 
 of civil and religious liberty, and of gen- 
 eral enlightenment, in which we live. 
 That this has been so, is the result of con- 
 ditions that attended the first presenta- 
 tion of the Bible to the people; and as it 
 would be idle for another to try to im- 
 
 J. R. CHEEN. 
 
 prove upon the account of those condi- 
 tions which Green has so superbly and 
 interestingly elaborated in his " History 
 of the English People," we shall quote a 
 few sentences from his account to illus- 
 trate our position. "All the prose litera- 
 ture of England," he says, " save the for- 
 gotten tracts of Wycliff, has grown up 
 since the translation of the Scriptures by 
 Tyndale and Coverdale. So far as the 
 nation at large was concerned, no history, 
 no romance, hardly any poetry, save the 
 little-known verse of Chaucer, existed in 
 the English tongue, when the Bible was 
 ordered to be set up within the churches. 
 Sunday after Sunday, day after day, the 
 crowds that gathered round the Bibles in 
 the nave of St. Paul's, or the family group 
 that hung on its words in the doctrinal 
 exercises at home, were leavened with a 
 new literature. Legend and annal, war- 
 song and i>salm. State-roll and biography, 
 the mighty voices of prophets, the par- 
 
4li8 
 
 riiO.M COLOXY TO WOKLD TOWEE. 
 
 ables of Evan,nelists, stories of mission 
 journeys, of perils by sea and among- tlie 
 heathen, philosophic arguments, apocalyp- 
 tic visions, all were fliins' broadcast over 
 minds unoccupied for the most part by 
 any rival learning- . . . The power of 
 the book over the mass of Englishmen 
 showed itself in a thousand superficial 
 ■ways, and in none more conspicuously 
 than in the influence it exerted on ordi- 
 
 
 
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 W >,;, '"J ^^^^^^^^M 
 
 
 
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 .^d3iiH 
 
 HUGH LATIMER. 
 
 nary speech. It foi'med, we must repeat, 
 the whole literature which was practically 
 accessible to ordinary Englishmen; and 
 when we recall the number of conniion 
 phrases which we owe to great authors, 
 the bits of Shakespeare, of Milton, of 
 Dickens, of Thackeray, whii-h unconsci- 
 ously interweave themselves in our ordi- 
 nary tallv, -n'e shall better understand the 
 strange mosaic of biblical words and 
 phrases which colored English talk three 
 hundred years ago. The mass of pictur- 
 esque allusion and illustration which we 
 Iiorrow from a tho-usand bonks our fathers 
 were forced to borro;v from one. 
 When Spenser poured forth his warmest 
 love-notes in the ' Epithalamion,' he 
 adopted the very words of the Psalmist, 
 as he bade the g-ates open for the 
 cntva'.'.ce of his bride. When Crom- 
 
 well saw the mists break over the hills of 
 Dunbar, he hailed the sunburst with the 
 cry of David, ' Let God arise,- and let his 
 enemies be scattered. Like as the smoke 
 vanisheth, so shall thou drive them away.' 
 Even to common minds this familiarity 
 with grand poetic imagery in prophet and 
 apocal.vpse gave a loftiness and ardor of 
 expression that, with all its tendency to 
 exaggeration and bombast, we may prefer 
 to the slip-shod vulgarisms of to-day." 
 
 The brief freedom that was accorded 
 the people in the use of the Bible by 
 Edward YL, who succeeded Henry YIII. 
 in 15-t7, was again restricted under Mary, 
 who came to the throne in 1553. A 
 bigoted Catholic, the wife of Philip of 
 Spain, and of a generally sour and 
 morose disposition, her accession boded 
 ill for all reformers as well as for all use 
 of the Scriptures. Although her reigti 
 lasted but five years, about three lumdred 
 Protestants were burned at the stake, in- 
 eluding- Cranmer and John liogers, the 
 real author, as we have seen, of Matthew's 
 Uible, and the friend of Tyndale. Promi- 
 nent among the other prelates who wit- 
 nessed to their faith at the stake, were 
 Ridley, Bishop of London, and Latimer, 
 ]3ishop of Worcester, celebrated alike for 
 their great learning and virtue. Perish- 
 ing- in the same flames, they sustaineil 
 each other's constancy by mutual exhor- 
 tations, Latimer calling out, " Be of good 
 cheer, brother Ridley, we shall this day 
 kindle such a torch in England as, I trust 
 in God, shall never be extinguished." 
 
 But our immediate interest lies with 
 the little band of fugitives from the 
 ifarian persecutions which found a safe- 
 refuge in Geneva, where Calvin had al- 
 ready become firmly established, and 
 which was a stronghold of the whole re- 
 form movement. Besides Calvin and 
 Knox there was then in Geneva Theodore 
 Bcza, recognized as the foremost biblical 
 scholar of that day. A distinguished body 
 of French scholars was also assembled 
 there, engaged in making a translation of 
 the Bible into their language for the use 
 of French Protestants. Into this con- 
 genial atmosphere came several of the 
 
THE EEVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1S85. 
 
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430 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 Icaiiing English Bible scholars who had 
 tied across the channel, including Cover- 
 dale ; and they immediately began to work 
 upon a revision of the " Great Bible." A 
 New Testament was first issued in 1557 
 by Whittingham, a fellow of All Saints 
 College, Oxford, and a relative of Calvin 
 by marriage. But this was very soon 
 superseded by a more comprehensive and 
 complete revision of the whole Bible, in 
 which work Coverdale, Beza, and others 
 took part in addition to Whittingham. 
 The bases used for revision were the 
 "Great Bible" for the Old Testament, 
 and Tyndale's revision of 1534 of the 
 New Testament. This "Geneva Bihle" 
 (IS if ]ias alwatis heen called, puhlished 
 In 15(;(), ivas notable in manii respects. It 
 lens tlie first Bible printed in. modern 
 roman type instead of the old black letter 
 wliich had ahvays been used before. It 
 iras also tlie first Bible in whicJi the 
 modern division of chapters into verses 
 occurs. In all previous translations only 
 a division into chapters or paragraphs had 
 been made, a form to u'hich the Revisers 
 of 1880 reverted. In the making of ver- 
 sions of the Bible, or New Testament, 
 the custom of writing comments in the 
 margins had been universal from very 
 (>nrly times. Beginning with Wyclif these 
 became of a polemical character, not 
 merely explanations or illustrations of the 
 matter of the text; and Tyndale and 
 others followed the Steps of Wyclif, de- 
 nouncing in their marginal notes the 
 Pope, the Mass, the Confession, and all 
 the, leading doctrines of the Roman 
 Church. The "Geneva Bible" was not 
 only richly supplied with marginal notes 
 of this character, but also added a large 
 number proclaiming the Calvinistic and 
 Protestant teaching against the divine 
 right of kings and all forms of absolutism, 
 — an innovation which, we shall see later, 
 lilayed an imjiortant part in determining 
 the form of our Authorized Versi(m. 
 
 The " Geneva " was for a long time 
 familiarly known as the "Breeches" 
 P)ilile. from its rendering of Gen. iii. 7. 
 where Adam and Eve were said to have 
 " sewed fig-tree leaves together, and made 
 
 themselves breeches." Though it wa.-; 
 never authorized for use in churches, its 
 convenient form, a small quarto, its 
 legible type, and its intelligent and sen- 
 sible commentary immediately gained for 
 it the popular approval, so that it became 
 the Bible of the home and for all general 
 reading; and during the half century that 
 intervened between its publication and 
 the completion of the King James version 
 in 1611, more than one hundred and 
 twenty distinct editions came from the 
 press. Not the least interesting fact 
 about this Geneva Bible, to American 
 readers, is that it was the Bible used by 
 our Puritan ancestors, and the one which 
 the Pilgrims brought with them to 
 Plymouth in 1020. 
 
 With the accession of Elizabeth in 
 1558, a brighter day dawned for the Eng- 
 lish Bilile, as with the death of Maiy 
 had closed the final chapter in the history 
 of the supremacy of the Catholic Church 
 in England and Scotland. The public 
 reading of the Bible in the churches was 
 at once restored and the clergy were again 
 reiiuired to have a copy of the " Great 
 Bible " publicly displayed in the churches 
 to which all should have free access. The 
 publication of the Geneva Bible, how.ever, 
 at once weakened the position of its rival, 
 even churchmen recognizing the great 
 superiority of the former. But the par- 
 tisan character of its notes made its ac- 
 ceptance for use in the public service of 
 the churches out of the question. Conse- 
 quently Parker, Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, conceived the idea of a revision of 
 the Great Bible to be made by a number 
 of scholars working separately. Por- 
 tions of the Bible were assigned to each 
 of the divines selected for the revision, 
 and the whole work then passed through 
 the hands of the archbishop as editor. 
 This was known as the " Bishop's Bible," 
 and was published in 1568. It at once 
 superseded the " Great Bible " for use in 
 the churches, no eflition of the latter hav- 
 ing been printed later than 1569. As a 
 whole, however, the work was far from 
 satisfactory, and the Geneva Bible still 
 easily held its place in popular favor, the 
 
THE KEVISION OF THE lilBLE — 1885 
 
 431 
 
 Bishop's having practically no sale except 
 for use in the churclies. During the last 
 third of the sixteenth century, therefore, 
 there were tliree different Bibles in more 
 or less common use ; the " Geneva," in the 
 homes and the familiar use of the people; 
 the Bishop's, the translation supported by 
 c:clesiastical authority; and the "Great 
 Bible," which was still to be found 
 chained to the walls or pillars of many 
 churches throughout the kingdom. 
 
 Upon the death of Elizabeth the crown 
 passed from the Tudors to the Stuarts, 
 and James VI. of Scotland became James 
 I. of England. One of the most peculiar 
 and uninteresting kings that ever sat on 
 any throne, it seems passing strange that 
 we owe to one of his pronounced xiecu- 
 liarities, — his inordinate love of theologi- 
 cal disputation, — the most admired of the 
 English versions of the Bible. "' His 
 big head," says Green, " his slobbering 
 tongue, his quilted clothes, his rickety 
 legs, stood out in as grotesque a contrast 
 with all that men recalled of Henry or 
 Elizabeth as his gabble and rhodomon- 
 tade, his want of personal dignity, liis 
 buffoonery, his coarseness of speech, his 
 pedantry, his contemptible cowardice. 
 Under this ridiculous exterior, however, 
 lay a man of much natural ability, a ripe 
 Scholar, with a considerable fund of 
 shrewdness, of mother wit, and ready 
 repartee. His reading, especially in the- 
 ology, was exhaustive; and he was a volu- , 
 mi nous author on subjects which ranged 
 from predestination to tobacco. But his 
 shrewdness and learning only loft him, in 
 the phrase of Henry IV. of France, ' the 
 wisest fool in Christendom.' " 
 
 Very early in his reign grievances from 
 the Puritan wing of the church were 
 pressed upon the King, and in 1604 he 
 held a conference at Hampton Court to 
 consider the subject of toleration, to 
 which bishops and Puritan clergy were 
 alike invited. In the course of a lengthy 
 discussion of religious affairs. Dr. Rey- 
 nolds, a Puritan, and the head of Corpus 
 Cliristi College, Oxford, urged the need 
 of a new revision of the Bible, which 
 should be such as could be accepted by all, 
 
 and so become a bond of union between 
 rival religious commimities. Coming 
 from a Puritan the proposition seemed 
 likely to fail of serious consideration, 
 Bancroft, Bishop of London, remarking 
 " if every man had his humor about new 
 versions, there would be no end of trans- 
 lating." But the proposal appealed to 
 James, and he quickly saw that such a 
 work well done would confer great dis- 
 tinction on his reign, while having, in a 
 sense, the supervision of it would afford 
 him many opportunities for the display 
 of his theological learning, of which he 
 was inordinately proud. Moreover, he 
 had had many and irritating controver- 
 sies with the Calvinists of Scotland, An- 
 drew Melvil, for instance, once having 
 snapped his fingers in the King's face, and 
 called him " God's silly vassal." He had. 
 
 therefore, conceived a violent hatred of 
 the " Geneva Bible," whose whole atmos- 
 phere was hostile to the cardinal doctrine 
 of the Stuarts, — " the divine right of 
 kings." It is not surprising, therefore, 
 that James shortly after suggested a 
 scheme for the prosecution of the work, 
 along the general lines that the revision 
 should be executed mainly by the univer- 
 sities; that it should be approved by the 
 
432 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POAVEE. 
 
 liishops and most learned men of the 
 whole church, by the privy council, and 
 liy the King himself, su that the whole 
 church should be concerned in it ; and es- 
 pecially important, in view of the results, 
 was the absolute prohibition of the usual 
 marginal commentaries which might tend 
 to make it a Bible of one party only. — 
 marginal notes only to be used for the 
 purpose of explaining, when deemed 
 neeessarj', any Hebrew or Greek words. 
 The scheme of revision was drawn up 
 in 1604, though the work was not for- 
 mally begun until 1607. The body of re- 
 visers was a very able one, inchtding the 
 professors of Hebrew and Greek at both 
 universities, with practically all t!i:- Irad- 
 ing scholars of the day. Their numVier 
 varied from forty-eight to fifty; and they 
 were divided into six groups, of which 
 two sat at Westminster, two at Oxford, 
 and two at Cambridge. In the first in- 
 stance each group worked separately on 
 a special part of the Bible assigned to it, 
 and when any group had finished the re- 
 vision of its allotted portion, the matter 
 was sent to all the others for their criti- 
 cism or suggestions; while ultimate dif- 
 ferences of opinion were to be settled at 
 a general meeting of the chief members 
 of each company. Two years and nine 
 months of arduous labor were consumed 
 in the work, the last nine months being 
 devoted to the final revision; and in 1611 
 the results of their labors were pub- 
 lished. Tills. Iiux always been l-nown as 
 llifl "King James Version," or as iJir 
 " A iiiliorized Version," hy which lillr 
 if is most frequently designated and 
 cited; yet, strangely, apart from the 
 appearance on the title page of the words 
 " appointed to be read in the churches." 
 Iliere is no record whatever of any 
 decree of King, parliament, or convo- 
 cation, ordaining its use. As against the 
 Bishop's Bible it quickly established its 
 superiority; but the struggle between it 
 and the Geneva Bible was long and sonie- 
 \\lmt heated, and for more than fifty 
 years they existed side by side. Just as 
 the Authorized Version and the Revised 
 have existed since 188.5. But the recog- 
 
 nized superior merit of the King James 
 \'ersion. and its freedom from any party 
 iir sectarian spirit, eventuall.v won the 
 day for it, so that by the middle of the 
 seventeenth century it liad tat:eii its un- 
 disputed place as ilic Biidc of tlie Englisli 
 iiiilion. All learned and serious-minded 
 [leople realized that in its preparation the 
 translation had passed out of the sphere 
 of controversy; that it had been made a 
 national undertaking in which no one 
 had any interest at heart save that of 
 producing the best possible version of the 
 Scriptures. But another important ele- 
 ment that contributed to the excellence of 
 the translation was the constant improve- 
 ment of literary exi>ression and taste dur- 
 ing the fifty years preceding the revision. 
 We have already referred to the absolute 
 lack of books and of literary culture when 
 the "Great Bible" was published; but in 
 the intervening period some of the most 
 noted poets and prose writers of English 
 literature, — Spenser, Sidney, Hooker, Mar- 
 lowe. Shakespeare, to name only a few 
 of the greatest, — had combined to estali- 
 lish and cultivate a literary style and to 
 fix a high standard of literary taste. And 
 il iras under sucli influences tliat the re- 
 risers wrought out the fi,ne material left 
 llirni liy Tt/ndale and his sncce.i.'sors into 
 Hint grandest monument of Elizahethan 
 prose, the version of 1611. As one ha-^ 
 well said: "The English of the Author- 
 ized Version is tJie finest specimen of our 
 prose literature at a time when English 
 prose wore its stateliest and most majes- 
 tic form.." 
 
 As the history of the Bible as used in 
 the Roman Catholic churches, and the 
 measure of its agreement with the one 
 used in the Protestant churches is not 
 generally understood, it seems desirable 
 to describe the origin and development of 
 the former, as we have already done of the 
 latter. In 190.3 Miss Helen Gould, hav- 
 ing had some controversial con-espond- 
 ence with Father Early of Hastings-on- 
 the-Hudson, offered through Dr. White, 
 president of the Bible Teachers' Training 
 School, prizes for the three best essays 
 upon the accepted Catholic Bible and the 
 
THE KEVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 433 
 
 Americau revision of 1901. These prizes 
 were resjjectively one thousand, tive hun- 
 dred, and two hundred and fifty dollars. 
 Two hundred and sixty-five essays were 
 submitted. A competent and scholarly 
 board of seven judges unanimously 
 agreed ujxin three of these as must com- 
 pletely and learnedly covering the ground 
 specified. These have since been pub- 
 lished in a volume entitled " Koman 
 Catholic and Protestant Bibles Com- 
 pared. The Gould Prize Essays." (_Scrib- 
 ner's Sons). They give an amount of re- 
 liable information upon the subjects dis- 
 cussed — all buttressed by an array of 
 references to and quotations from Cath- 
 olic and Protestant Bible students, de- 
 crees of councils, and ecclesiastical au- 
 thorities, — such as has never before been 
 accessible to the general reader in a single 
 volume in the English language. It is 
 a work that every Bible student should be 
 familiar with; and we gratefull.v ac- 
 knowledge an indebtedness to it for many 
 facts, and especially for the translations 
 of church decrees, and similar documents. 
 The Bible in use in the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church has for its basic version the 
 Vulgate of St. Jerome. An account of 
 his preparation of that version has al- 
 ready been given above. In 1545 the 
 Council of Trent, after a prolonged de- 
 bate, decreed : " The same old and Vul- 
 gate edition, which has been approved by 
 long use for so many ages in the Church 
 itself, is to be regarded as authentic ini 
 public readings, controversies, discourses, 
 and expositions, and nobody may dare or 
 presume to reject it on any pretense." 
 And it was further declared to be unlaw- 
 ful " for anyone to print or cause to he 
 printed any books whatsoever on sacred 
 matters without the name of the author; 
 nor to sell them in future, or even to keep 
 them by them, unless they shall have been 
 first examined and approved by the ordi- 
 nary." But the chief source of confusion in 
 the church arose from the fact that there 
 were so many and variant editions of the 
 Vulgate in existence, scores of them dif- 
 fering one from another so that there 
 could not be said to be any commonly re- 
 28 
 
 ceived text. This point, however, was not 
 touched upon by the Council of Trent. 
 The oldest extant manuscript of the Vul- 
 gate, known as the Codex Amiatinus, as 
 it came from the convent of Monte 
 Amiata, near Sienna, Italy, is now the 
 most valued treasure of the Mediceo- 
 Laurentian library at Florence. It was 
 originally made in England by order of 
 Ceolfrid, and by him presented to Pope 
 Gregory II. about 715 A. D. Even when 
 this was made the texts must have been 
 very corrupt, as copies had been made 
 constantly during three hundred years; 
 and as we have before shown, early 
 scribes rarely hesitated to take liberties 
 with the texts they were copying, adding 
 or omitting words or phrases if such addi- 
 tions or omissions seemed to them to im- 
 jjrove the text. As Gigot, the learned 
 Professor of Sacred Scriptures at St. 
 Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Md., says in 
 his " General Introduction to the Study 
 of the Holy Scriptures : " " During the 
 course of the two centuries which elapsed 
 between the time of St. Jerome and the 
 general reception of his work, corruptions 
 of a very extensive character crept natur- 
 ally into the text of the Latin Vulgate. 
 Not only the or<linai'y mistakes of trans- 
 cription . . . were made . . . but 
 the peculiar relation in which our Vul- 
 gate stood to the old Latin Version . . . 
 led to a strange mixture of texts. From 
 sheer familiarity with the words of the 
 older version the transcribers of the Vul- 
 gate wrote down its words instead of 
 those of St. Jerome. Another fertile 
 source of corruption . . . consisted 
 in the lack of critical sense in most of 
 the transcribers and owners of manu- 
 scripts during the Middle Ages ; time and 
 again they inserted in their copies of 
 Holy Writ glosses drawn from other 
 manuscripts, from parallel passages, from 
 the sacred liturgy, from the writings of 
 St. Jerome, or even of Josephus, and 
 thought that they had thereby secured 
 what they were pleased to call pleniores 
 codices (more complete texts), while they 
 had simply added to the corruptions al- 
 ready existing." 
 
4;;-i: 
 
 FKOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 I']vcii when the Council of Trent con- 
 vened more than seventy different edi- 
 tions of the Vulgate had been published 
 t;inee the invention of printing; and gen- 
 erally the printer used the most available 
 copy without regard to its authenticity or 
 accuracy. In view of these facts an ap- 
 peal was made to the Pope shortly after 
 the close of the Council to determine upon 
 a text that should be deemed and recog- 
 nized as authoritative. It was some years, 
 however, before the subject received seri- 
 ous consideration. But toward the end of 
 the sixteenth century one of the noted 
 scholars of the church became Pope, as 
 Sixtus V. In l.js7 he appointed a com- 
 mittee of six scholars to revise the Vul- 
 gate, reserving for himself the decisive 
 voice in the revision. As Pope, he pre- 
 faced this revision with a Bull giving it 
 the approval of his " apostolic authority 
 transmitted from the Lord," and decree- 
 ing that it should be used " as true, legit- 
 imate, authentic, and undoubted in all 
 public and private debates, readings, 
 preachings, and explanations ; '" and any- 
 one -who ventured to change it without 
 Papal authority would " incur the wrath 
 of God Almighty and of the blessed Apos- 
 tles Peter and Paul." Eeserving a copy- 
 right for ten years, he ordered that all 
 future editions must conform with it, 
 and that all existing copies should be cor- 
 rected by it and be officially certified by 
 inquisitor or bishop. Sixtus dying in 
 1590 his revision was held for further 
 scrutiny, as something like two thousand 
 of his personal corrections of the com- 
 mittee's work had been proved erroneous. 
 In 1592 a revision of the revision of Six- 
 tus was issued under the authority of 
 Clement VIII. This revision was also 
 preceded by a Bull of Clement similar in 
 terms to that of Sixtus. Corrected edi- 
 tions followed in 1592, 1593, and 159S, 
 all of which are credited to Sixtus instead 
 of Clement. This course seemed neces- 
 sary in order to protect the doctrine of 
 the infallibility of the Pope. The Clem- 
 entine Vulgate in the edition of 1598 be- 
 came the authorized text of that version 
 for use in the Poman Catholic Church, 
 
 and is to-day the standard for all Catholic 
 versions of the Scriptures, from which, 
 according to the Bull of Clement, none 
 may vary. 
 
 The many translations of the Bible into 
 the English tongue during the sixteenth 
 century had excited a popular enthusiasm 
 which affected Catholics as well as Prot- 
 estants ; and the apprehended danger to 
 Catholic readers from contact with the 
 marginal notes of the Protestant Bibles 
 forced the authorities of the Roman 
 Church to yield an unwilling assent to a 
 translation for their own i>eople. The 
 reign of Elizabeth was not a propitious 
 one for the Catholic Churcii iu Englaml. 
 Many of its priests and scholars, there- 
 fore, took refuge on the Continent ; and 
 among- them was a distinguished and 
 learned graduate of Oxford, William 
 Allen. With the approval of the Pope he 
 established, in 1568, a seminary at Douay, 
 in France, for the training of English 
 Catholics. Ten years later the school was 
 removed to Rheims, where the translation 
 of the Bible was begun. That it was not 
 undertaken with good grace the preface 
 to the work clearly shows. The trans- 
 lators there declare that they have not 
 taken the step from an " erroneous 
 opinion of necessity that the Holy Scrip- 
 tures should always Ik- in the mother 
 tongue, or that they ought to be read in- 
 differently by all. Not for these causes 
 do we translate this sacred book." But 
 they consider that some things are " med- 
 icineable now that otherwise in the peace 
 of the church were neither much reiiui- 
 site. nor perchance wholly tolerable." 
 ^loreover Allen, in a letter, expressed his 
 aversion to the work. '' Perhaps indeed 
 It would have been more desirable," he 
 wrote, " that the Scriptures had never been 
 translated into barbarous tongues; never- 
 theless at the preseu-t day, when either 
 from heresy or other catises, the curiosity 
 of men, even of those who are not bad, 
 is so great, and there is often also such 
 need of reading the Scriptures in order 
 to confute our opi>onents, it is better that 
 there should be a faithful and Catholic 
 translation than that men should use a 
 
THE KEYISIOX or THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 435 
 
 corrupt version to their peril or destruc- 
 tion; the more so since the dangers which 
 arise from reading certain more difficult 
 passages may be obviated by suitable 
 notes." 
 
 Associated vs'ith Allen in this undertak- 
 ing were Gregory Martin, reputed to be 
 one of the most learned Hebrew and 
 Greek scholars of his time, Richard Bris- 
 tow, and Dr. Worthington, all distin- 
 guished Oxford scholars, ilartin trans- 
 lating, his co-laborers revised his work, 
 with the result that in 1582 the New Tes- 
 tament, with notes by Allen and Bristow, 
 fl"as published at Eheims. As the stand- 
 ard Clementine Vulgate was published in 
 1598, a new edition of the Eheims New 
 Testament was issued in 1600 at Antwerp. 
 In 1609 the Old Testament, with notes 
 by Worthington, was published at Douay, 
 forming, with the New Testament de- 
 scribed above, the Eheims and Douay 
 Bible, or, as it is commonly called, the 
 " Douay Bible." Though this has since 
 been accepted as the authorized version of 
 the Holy Scriptures to be used in the 
 Catholic Church, it has never received 
 Papal indorsement. As Cardinal New- 
 man has said: "It has never had any 
 episcopal imprimatur, much less has it 
 received any formal approbation from the 
 Holy See. It comes to us on the author- 
 ity of certain divines of the Cathedral 
 and College of Eheims and of the Univer- 
 sity of Douay, confirmed by the subse- 
 quent indirect recognition of English, 
 Scotch, and Irish bishops and its general 
 reception by the faithful." 
 
 In making their translation Allen and 
 his associates worked upon what they con- 
 sidered the best texts of the Vulgate. 
 " It must be said," declares Professor 
 Gigot, " that, since the Douay version was 
 made very closely from Latin manu- 
 scripts, or editions of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, anterior to the official texts pub- 
 lished by the Popes Sixtus V. and Clem- 
 ent VIIL, it may and does in several 
 cases point to Latin readings no longer 
 found in our editions of the Latin Vul- 
 gate." The translators also followed 
 closely in many places the English trans- 
 
 lations of Wyclif, Tyndale, and Cover- 
 dale. In fact it is only when these early 
 translations are more or less closely ad- 
 hered to that the Douay version is gen- 
 erally intelligible to the average English 
 reader. A literal translation of Latin 
 
 CARDINAL NEWMAN. 
 
 wurds produced a hard and often incom- 
 prehensible literary work. That this fact 
 was recognized by the translators is made 
 evident by their reference to it in their 
 preface. " We have," they say, " kept 
 ourselves as near as possible to our text 
 and to the very words and phrases made 
 venerable . . . though to some pro- 
 fane or delicate ears theij may seem more 
 hard or barbarous." And it was this 
 course, with the results it produced, 
 which led the English revisers in pub- 
 lishing the King James version to suggest 
 in their preface that the Douay trans- 
 lators had retained Latin words " of pur- 
 pose to darken the sense, that since they 
 must needs translate the Bible, yet by the 
 language thereof it may be kept from be- 
 ing understood." This unintelligible 
 character of much of the English of the 
 Douay translation and the success of the 
 King James version created a demand for 
 a revision of the former, with the result 
 that such works followed in frequent sue- 
 
436 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD POWEE. 
 
 cession. The most noted of these was the 
 translation of Challouer, Vicar Apostolic 
 of London. In 1749 he brought out an 
 edition of the Kheims New Testament 
 and later of the Douay Bible, " newly re- 
 vised and corrected according to the 
 Clementine edition of the Scriptures." 
 The changes from the language of the 
 Douay version were so many that Chal- 
 loner's was practically a new translation; 
 and in this translation the King James 
 Version was evidently his guide. So evi- 
 dent is this that Cardinal Newman wrote : 
 " Looking at Dr. Challoner's labors on 
 the Old Testament as a whole, we may 
 pronounce that they issue in little short 
 of a new translation. They can as little 
 be said to be made on the basis of the 
 Douay as on the basis of the Protestant 
 Version. Of course, there must be a cer- 
 tain resemblance between any two Cath- 
 olie Versions whatever; because they are 
 both translations of the same Vulgate. 
 But, this connection between the Duuay 
 and Challouer being allowed for, Chal- 
 loner's version is even nearer to the Prot- 
 estant than it is to the Douay; nearer, 
 that is, not in grammatical structure, but 
 in phraseology and diction." And fur- 
 ther he says : " After all allowances for 
 the accident of selection (of passages for 
 comparison) it is difficult to avoid the 
 concJusion that at this day the Douay Old 
 Testament no longer exists as a received 
 version of the Authorized Vulgate." Re- 
 ferring to the same author's revision of 
 the New Testament, Newman says : " The 
 second Challoner edition of 1750 differs 
 from the first, according to the collations 
 which Dr. Cotton has printed, in about 
 one hundred and twenty-four passages ; 
 the third, 1752, in more than two thou- 
 sand. These alterations. Dr. Cotton tells 
 us, are all in the direction of the Protest- 
 ant Version." And Cardinal Wiseman 
 says : " To call it any longer the Douay 
 or Rhemish version is an abuse of terms. 
 It has been altered and modified till 
 scarcely any verse remains as originally 
 published." 
 
 In 17S3 the Rev. Bernard :\ri-Mahon. 
 nf Dublin, published another revision of 
 
 the Douay Bible, which is connnonly 
 known as the Troy Bible, from the prelate 
 who gave his approbation to the transla- 
 tion. Though this work claims descent 
 from the Challoner version, it differs 
 from it materially, there being more than 
 five hundred variations in the New Testa- 
 ment. These two revisions, however, — ■ 
 Challoner's and Troy's — have become the 
 accepted authorities in the Church, though 
 many other translations have since been 
 made. 
 
 In 1870 the Vatican Council restated 
 the position of the Church in these woi-ds: 
 " The complete books of the Old and New 
 Testaments with all their parts, as they 
 are received in the decrees of the same 
 Council (of Trent) and contained in the 
 old Latin Vulgate edition, must be re- 
 ceived as sacred and canonical. The 
 Church, moreover, holds these booivs as 
 sacred and canonical not only because 
 collected by man's industry, since they 
 have been approved by its authority, nor 
 for the reason only that they contain 
 revelation without error, but because, by 
 the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the 
 collections have God as their author, and 
 as such the churches have handed them 
 down." 
 
 The authority for the use of this ver- 
 sion in the United States comes from the 
 decrees of the Second Council of Balti- 
 more, held in 1866. After charging that 
 the clergy should take care that their 
 flocks do not " select the pure food of the 
 woril of God unless from approved ver- 
 sions and) editions." the Council declares 
 its position as follows: " We order, there- 
 fore, that the Douay Version, which is re- 
 ceived in all churches where the faithful 
 speak English, and which has been justly 
 set forth for the use of the faithful by 
 our predecessors, be altogether retained. 
 Moreover the bishops wil' take care that 
 the most approved copy should be desig- 
 nated by them, and all editions, both of 
 the Old and New Testaments of the 
 Douay Version be most perfectly made, 
 with such notes as might be selected from 
 the holy Fathers of the Church, or from 
 learned Catholics." 
 
THE REVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 437 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that uo trans- 
 lation of the Bible into English has ever 
 received the official approval of the Holy 
 See. While the translation in general 
 use is known as the Douay Bible, it is, 
 nevertheless, Challoner's or Troy's re- 
 vision of that text, which, as has been 
 shown, amounted to practically new 
 translations. Any of the many revisions 
 that have been n^ade may be used by 
 members of the Catholic Church provided 
 it has received the approval of a bishop 
 or higher prelate. But the only version 
 that has received ecumenical or papal 
 authorization is the Vulgate itself. The 
 position generally maintained by the 
 clergy and laity of the Church wa-', un- 
 doubtedly clearly expressed by Father 
 Early in his letter to Miss Gould. " The 
 Catholic Church," he wrote, " has never 
 prohibited any of her members reading 
 Ihe Scriptures or Bible. In every family 
 whose means will permit the buying of a 
 copy, there you will find the authentic 
 version of God's words as authorized by 
 the Church, and which has come down to 
 us, unchanged, from the time of Christ 
 himself. But the Catholic Church does 
 object to the reading of the Protestant 
 Version, which goes back only to the days 
 of Henry VIII. of England, and was then 
 gotten up for obvious reasons." 
 
 How truly this Bible has " come down 
 to us unchanged from the time of Christ," 
 and how exact is the Father's declaration 
 as to the age and purpose of the Protest- 
 ant Bible, one may be able to judge some- 
 what intelligently, it is hoped, from the 
 unbiased account that has been given of 
 the different versions and revisions of 
 the same early texts by the great ecclesi- 
 astical divisions of the Universal Cliarch 
 in the western world. 
 
 Ever since the invention of printing 
 the vagaries of compositors have bowed 
 low the heads of publishers and excited 
 the most profane sentiments of authors. 
 That frequent errors should have been 
 made in the earliest days of printing, and 
 that they should have passed inspection 
 and survived to enliven the printed page 
 is hardly to be wondered at. Composi- 
 
 tion and proof-reading were not then the 
 specialized arts they have since become. 
 Holy writ and secular literature have 
 alike suffered from the lapses of type-set- 
 ters, many of which have produced a racy 
 humor beyond the conscious wit of man 
 to devise. Collectors of rare and curious 
 books have long since fi.xed a great value 
 upon certain editions of the Bible which, 
 upon publication, were found to contain 
 gems of the compositor's fancy. These 
 have all been given distinctive titles, sug- 
 gestive of the character of the blunder 
 they have perpetuated. The Breeches 
 Bible and the Treacle Bihle have already 
 been mentioned ; and a brief description 
 of the most valued of the others may not 
 be without interest. 
 
 The Printer's Bible is so called because 
 where in Psalm cxix. 1(31, the Psalmist 
 declares that " Princes have persecuted 
 me without a cause," he is made by the 
 type-setter to say that, even at that early 
 day, " printers," not princes, were the 
 source of his troubles. 
 
 The Vinegar Bihls takes its name from 
 an edition of the Authorized Version pub- 
 lished in 1717, in which the head-line 
 over Luke xx. calls attention to the " Par- 
 able of the Vinegar," instead of the Vine- 
 yard. 
 
 The sixteenth verse of Jude reads: 
 " There are murmurers, complainers," 
 etc. But the luckless compositor thought 
 " murderers " better expressed the author's 
 meaning, and so became responsible for 
 the Murderer's Bible. 
 
 It would almost seem that the days of 
 Elizabeth were more akin to the twentieth 
 century than we are apt to appreciate; 
 and that political bosses were then the 
 sources of patronage as now. The one 
 who set up the type for the Sermon on the 
 Mount in the Geneva Bible of 15C2 was 
 unquestionably an office-seeker, and so 
 naturally declared " Blessed are the 
 Place-makers" instead of Peacemaker's; 
 thus giving birth to the Place Mal-er's 
 Bible. 
 
 The evil-minded who would annul the 
 Ten Commandments belong to all ages. 
 It is not surprising, therefore, to find a 
 
438 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 compositor of the time of Charles I. im- 
 mortalizing himself by producing the 
 ]yiched Bihle, for which it was only 
 necessary to omit the " not " from the 
 seventh commandment. All pure-minded 
 people, however, will sympathize with the 
 risihtcous indignation of Arch-liishop 
 Laud, who promptly fined the offender in 
 the sum of £300 sterlini;' for his indis- 
 cretion. 
 
 If St. Paul was conscious of events of 
 the sixteenth century he must have felt 
 that he had .iust occasion for the applica- 
 ticm of his injunction, "Be ye anijry 
 and sin not." For while he had sedulously 
 labored to confirm the Corinthian Christ- 
 ians in riti'hteousness, in I. Cor. vi. 9, urji- 
 inji' " Know ye not that the unrighteous 
 shall not inherit tlie Kingdom of God?" 
 another absent-minded compositor over- 
 looked the negative, and thus knocked out 
 one of the corner-stones of the great 
 Ai)ostle's theology by declaring that the 
 unrighteous should inherit the Kingdom. 
 And so we have the U nriiihli'inis Bihle. 
 
 The Bug Bihle is of particular interest 
 because of the different use of words at 
 different periods rather than from a 
 printer's error. This edition of Cover- 
 <lale's Bible made Psalm .\ci. 5, read: 
 " Thou shalt not node to be affrayed for 
 eny hugges by night." To the modern 
 ear this has an unpleasant sound. But all 
 disagreeable suggestions vanish when one 
 remembers that the word " bogy," which 
 we still use, was in tln' sixteenth century 
 the common term for anything frightful 
 or fearful, either in its present form, or 
 as " bug." The latter is used in the same 
 sense in Purvey's and ^latthew's Biljles, 
 thinigh not there in the Psalm quoted. 
 Shakespeare, also, in III. Ilenr.v YI. has: 
 '■ Warwicke was a hiigge that fear'd 
 (affrighted) us all;" and in another place: 
 " The hug which you would fright me 
 \vith, I seek." Coverdale's translation 
 thus becomes more natural, though none 
 the less amusing to modern readers. 
 
 Others, though less interesting and 
 sought after, are the Goose Bihle, the 
 Lrrla Bihle. the JJe and She Bihles, the 
 ^landing Fislie.^ Flihle, etc. Of course 
 
 but few copies of these Bibles got into 
 circulation, as the errors were quickly 
 noted by some reader. The further issue 
 was then delayed until the objectionaljle 
 passages had been corrected. 
 
 F<]r more than two hundred and fifty 
 years the grand old version of 1611 
 has been the word of God for all Eng- 
 lish-speaking Protestant peoples, in all 
 parts of the world. And when, during 
 the latter part of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, urgent calls for a revision of it 
 were made by scholars, the great mass of 
 Christian people protested, and the ques- 
 tion naturally was asked on all sides, 
 '■ AVhy do we need a revision ? " It has 
 often been said tliat when Luther, pro- 
 testing against an infallible Pope, inaugu- 
 rated the reformation movement, he set 
 up in the place of the unseated autocrat 
 an infallible hook; and there are few who 
 were children of Christian families of a 
 half a centur.v ago who were not taught 
 that every individual word of the Bible 
 they used was directly inspired by God, — 
 a teaching that has worked more harm in 
 the world, and made more skeptics, than 
 all heretical teachings combined. The 
 whole beauty and purpose of God's won- 
 derful revelations of Himself, and His 
 purposes, were missed and instead of seek- 
 ing above all things to learn the will of 
 the Father and then to develop a life in 
 harmony with that will, all the energy of 
 the great majority of Christians has been 
 expended in well-nigh fruitless endeavors 
 to minutely observe the mere letter of the 
 law, while its spirit was too often entirely 
 missed. A spirit of idolatry was almost 
 omnipresent, the form of the revelation 
 getting the reverence due to its content 
 alone ; the setting of the stone being more 
 highl.v prized than the precious jewel 
 which it encased. We have endeavored to 
 show that our English Bible has been 
 evolved, and that the form in which we 
 know and love it is the result of a long 
 series of revisions. Eveiy devout Christ- 
 ian believes that God spake to Holy men 
 of old, and the essential thing for His 
 followers to know is just what He said, 
 roganlless of the form in which the mes- 
 
THE EEVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 439 
 
 sage comes to us. For the New Testament 
 we know that the message was written out 
 some eighteen centuries ago in the form 
 of original manuscripts in the Greek 
 language; and for the Old Testament 
 very ancient documents existed which 
 were the written form of traditions that 
 had been accumulating for centuries, — 
 traditions handed down from generation 
 to generation with an exactness of form 
 that could not be made more jierfeet by 
 the modern form of the printed book. 
 But as we have shown, owing to the perse- 
 cution of the early church and Christians 
 everyone of such manuscripts had been 
 lost before the fourth century ; and for 
 fifteen hundred years the only available 
 form in which their message existed 
 was the Latin Vulgate, itself Jerome's 
 revision of the early Latin versions 
 which in turn were translated from 
 the original Greek Scriptures of the 
 first and second centuries. From about 
 400 A. D. to 1500 A. D. the only 
 standard to which all translations could 
 be referred was the Vulgate; and as. 
 during that long period, thousands of 
 copies of it had been made, and its origi- 
 nal was early lost, it hardly needs any 
 argument to prove that many and perhaps 
 important changes and corruptions must 
 have crept in, and errors and omissions, 
 or additions, have been made to the 
 original text. Consequently ever since 
 the awakening of the Christian conscious- 
 ness in the fourteenth century, the su- 
 preme desire of devout scholars has been 
 to find that plumb line of Divine Truth, 
 and to straighten their warped and ill- 
 shaped forms of it Ijy that standard. For 
 the New Testament the imperative need 
 was a reliable Greek text, one that could 
 be relied upon as an esontially correct 
 reproduction of the original form of the 
 Gospels, Epistles, and other books. But 
 it was not until 1516, when Erasmus pub- 
 lished his Greek Testament, that any ap- 
 proximately accurate guide was obtained ; 
 and the material upon which he had to 
 build was of doubtful authority, and un- 
 questionably imperfect; yet it was upon 
 such uncertain foundations that the 
 
 revisers of 1611 had to build. But during 
 the last century the situation has entirely 
 changed. Not only have three very 
 ancient texts of nearly the whole Bible 
 been discovered (the codices described 
 above), but thousands of other manu- 
 scripts, versions, and documents have 
 come to light, which were entirely un- 
 known to the makers of the Authorized 
 Version. Moreover during the last cen- 
 tury a large body of the world's most 
 learned men have devoted their entire 
 study to the comparison and collating of 
 all this material, that is, to textual criti- 
 cism, with the result that forty or fifty 
 years ago these scholars became assured 
 that they were in a position to determine 
 with great exactness just what the origi- 
 nal texts of the Scriptures were; and men 
 like Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott, and 
 Hort, were able to practically agree upon 
 a Greek Text for the New Testament 
 which has proved acceptable to all men 
 learned in textual criticism. Their re- 
 searches had proved beyond question that 
 many readings of our King James Ver- 
 sion were erroneous; and the question 
 became a dominant one whether as Chris- 
 tians we should have and teach the word 
 as Christ and the Apostles spoke and 
 wrote it, or whether we should still be 
 content with a superb and grand literary 
 production irrespective of the relation of 
 its contents to the exact truth. Hapjiily 
 the desire to know the truth prevailed ; 
 with the result that on the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1870, Bishop Wilberforce proposed 
 in the upper house of the Southern Con- 
 vocation " that a committee of both 
 houses be appointed to confer with any 
 committee that may be appointed by the 
 convocation of the northern province, to 
 report on the desirableness of a revision 
 of the Authorized Version of the New 
 Testament, whether by marginal notes or 
 otherwise, in all those passages where 
 plain and clear errors, whether in the 
 Greek text adopted by the translators, or 
 in the translations made from the same, 
 shall on due investigation he found in 
 exist." 
 
 In our classification of the material 
 
440 
 
 riiO^M COLOXY TO WOULD TOWER. 
 
 iiixiu which revision must he hased, we 
 spoke of manuseriyts, ancient versions, 
 and the writings of the early fathers. As 
 was then said, the early fathers were 
 voluminous writers and pronounced con- 
 troversialists, and nearly one half of their 
 works are made up of quotations from the 
 Scriptures as they existed in their time, 
 only a century or two after the Apostolic 
 days. Hence these very profuse (juota- 
 tions become of supreme value in textual 
 criticism, corroborating the texts of the 
 manuscripts or versions that were before 
 the revisers of 1880, who were the first 
 scholars engaged in any such work, prac- 
 tically, to whom this great mass of ma- 
 terial was available. 
 
 Another consideration that made revi- 
 sion seem desirable was the natural 
 growth of the English language since the 
 days of Elizabeth, an<l the consequent 
 change in the meaning and use of many 
 words. Many an earnest Christian has 
 stumbled over Christ's injunction " Take 
 110 thought for your life, what .ve shall 
 cat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for 
 your body, what ye shall put on," not 
 knowing that when the Authorized Ver- 
 sion was made the word " thought " was 
 used in the sense of worrv. anxious 
 thought, fret. — a sense which it has 
 now entirely lost. So what the IVIaster 
 really said was, " Do not worry, or fret 
 yourself about such matters," gently as- 
 suring his followers that their Heavenl.v 
 Father knew that they had need of all 
 these things. In the same sense an early 
 chronicler used the word when he wrote 
 that "Soto died of thouglif in Florida:" 
 and Chaucer wrote, " Which cause is of 
 my death for sorrowe and lliouglil." An- 
 other illustration is in the use of the 
 verb " to let," which in earlier times had 
 the meaning " to hinder " and " prevent." 
 The Authorized Version makes Paul write 
 to the Thessalonians (II. Th. xi. 7), 
 " Only he who now letteth will let, until 
 he be taken out of the way," which is evi- 
 dently the opposite of his meaning. 
 Shakespeare used this word in the same 
 sense, when he made Hamlet, who would 
 follow his father's ghost, say, " By 
 
 Heaven! I'll make a ghost of him that 
 lets me;" and in Tennyson's Lancelot 
 and Elaine we read : 
 
 " Sir King, mine ancient womid 
 is hardly whole 
 And lets me from the saddle." 
 
 The work of revision was undertaken 
 by a carefully selected committee of fifty- 
 four members, who were divided into two 
 companies of twenty-seven members each, 
 one company to undertake the revision of 
 the Old and one the revision of the New 
 Testament. These committees were made 
 up of the most noted biblical scholars of 
 Great Britain, the leading professors of 
 the Hebrew and Greek languages in the 
 great universities, with many special 
 students of textual criticism. Sectarian 
 lines were ignored in making up the com- 
 mittees, the leading men of the Church of 
 England, and the noted scholars of the 
 Presbyterian, ilcthodist. and Baptist 
 Churches sitting side b.v si<le in the prose- 
 cution of their great work. The first meet- 
 lug of the revisers was held in June, 1870, 
 in the renowned Jerusalem Chamber of 
 Westminster Abbey. The work of revis- 
 ing the New Testament occupied the at- 
 tention of its company for ten years, dur- 
 ing which time the average number of 
 meetings was fort.y each year; and in 
 iMa.v, 1881. the Revised Version of the 
 Xew Testament was published, which was 
 followed by the Old Testament in July, 
 1884:, and a complete Revised Versicju of 
 the entire Bible was published in May, 
 1885. As a very complete account is given 
 in the preface to the Revised Version 
 of all the conditions attending its prepa- 
 ration, we shall not recite the details here. 
 Christian people all over the world had 
 followed the repoi-ts of the work of the 
 connnittees with deep interest and the re- 
 sult was anxiously looked for. More than 
 three million copies of the Revised New 
 Testament were sold within one year after 
 its issue, and the complete Bible received 
 a cordial welcome when it appeared later. 
 Shortly after the beginning of their work 
 the English revisers solicited the co-op- 
 eration of American Bible scholars, and 
 
THE EEVISION OF THE BIBLE — 1885. 
 
 441 
 
 two companies were organized in tlie 
 United States similar to the companies in 
 England, who worked together harmoni- 
 ously during the remainder of the revi- 
 sion period. Some of the suggestions of 
 the American committees that were not 
 accepted by the English revisers were 
 added to the completed Bible as an ap- 
 jiendix. By the mutual agreement under 
 which the work of the two national com- 
 mittees was prosecuted, the American 
 revisers had bound themselves not to pub- 
 lish any American revision for fourteen 
 years. During this period, however, they 
 had kept up their organization and a great 
 ileal of critical study bad been devoted to 
 the English version of 1885. And at the 
 expiration of the fourteen years' period 
 the American revision committee decided 
 to publish a standard Revised Version for 
 the United States, which came from the 
 press of Thomas Nelson & Sons in 1901. 
 This embodies all the suggestions of the 
 American revisers which were not ac- 
 cepted by the English companies, and in 
 other ways materially differs from the 
 English Revised Version. This American 
 revision has become the standard in this 
 country and is unquestionably as near a 
 true rendering of the Holy Scriptures as 
 can be made. 
 
 As we have seen, loud protests have 
 been made by those to whom old versions 
 have become familiar and dear, whenever 
 revisions have been proposed. When 
 .Terome made the Vulgate, which super- 
 seded the Old Latin Bible; when the King 
 James Version came into competition 
 with the home Bible of the people, the 
 " Geneva ; " and recently again, when 
 the Revised Version was offered in pri'f- 
 crence to the Authorized Version, the 
 same cry has in every instance been 
 raised, " They are taking away our Bible." 
 But just as the " Geneva " and " King 
 James " Versions existed side by side for 
 more than half a century, so the later re- 
 vision is living harmoniously with the 
 beloved Authorized Version; and after 
 twenty-five years of such friendly rivalry 
 Christian people have come to realize 
 that in the work of revision nothing 
 
 rightly tending to subvert the faith of any 
 believer has been set up. Many readings 
 and expressions which had become as 
 familiar to us as household words in the 
 Authorized Version, have been changed 
 in the revised, and we cannot help feeling 
 that something has been lost. But the 
 essential fact is that after from ten to iif- 
 teen years of the most critical study and 
 deliberation of the foremost biblical 
 scholars of England and America, dviring 
 which time thousands of manuscripts, 
 versions, and translations covering a 
 period of more than fifteen hundred 
 years, have been studied and com- 
 pared, it has not been found neces- 
 sary to change or materially restate 
 any essential truth as set forth in the 
 King James Version. So that we have 
 not lost our Bible; but we have gained 
 the priceless assurance that we have, es- 
 sentially correct, the Scriptures as they 
 were known to the Christians of the first 
 and second centuries. The letter it has 
 been deemed wise and helpful to change 
 in many cases; but the great truths of the 
 Divine revelation, as we have been 
 familiar with their statement in the Au- 
 thorized Version, remain unchanged and 
 inviolate. 
 
 Some time after the appearance of the 
 Revised Version, a well-known clergyman 
 published a book entitled, " What is left 
 of the Bible ? " iluch better might it be 
 asked, " What has been lost from our 
 Bible ? " and a truthful answer would be 
 " Nothing." Not one c "^ the grand truths 
 that have placed these sacred books so 
 far above all other books of religious or 
 philosophical thought has been assailed ; 
 and for nearly all, the same exalted state- 
 ment remains. The old Bible, dear to 
 millions of people both for its simisle ex- 
 pression of the thoughts of every human 
 heart and for the beauty and majesty of 
 its literary form, holds a more exalted 
 liosition to-day than ever before. The 
 esteem in which any great work has been 
 held by the most learned, serious-minded, 
 and eminently experienced men of the 
 past naturally interests their readers of 
 following generations. We cannot, there- 
 
441! 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD LOWLK. 
 
 fore, better bring tbis story of tbc evolu- 
 tion of our English Bible to a close than 
 by quoting- the opinions regarding it of 
 many of the distinguished statesmen, 
 prose-writers "and jxiets of the recent and 
 more remote past. Rev. R. Ileber New- 
 ton, in his book. " The Riglit and Wrong 
 Uses of the Bible," and Professor T. IL 
 Pnttison in his " History of the English 
 Bible," in particular, have brought to- 
 gether a great number of these testimonies 
 from a wide range of sources; and we 
 gladly acknowledge our indebtednes>s to 
 them for several of the sentiments which 
 follow. 
 
 Emerson wrote : " Europe has always 
 owed to Oriental genius its divine im- 
 pulses. What these holy bards said, all 
 sane men found agreeable and true. And 
 the unique impression of Jesus upon man- 
 kind, rvltose name is not so much, ivrit/i'ii 
 0.S' ploughed in Id ilic Jiisfori/ of ihe world, 
 is proof of the subtle virtue of this infu- 
 sion." And in the same manner that the 
 name of Jesus has been " ploughed " into 
 history, the noble and soul-satisfying 
 teachings of the Bible have Ijeen 
 "ploughed" into the human conscious- 
 ness of English-speaking peoples. What 
 a blank would most of our best literature 
 be. could the Bible and its influences be 
 withdrawn from it ! Poets, orators, 
 statesmen, novelists have, one and all. 
 drawn from its pages their highest in- 
 spiration and a large proportion of their 
 most impressive thought, as well as th(> 
 standard of form for its expression. " The 
 English Bible " says ]\[acaulay ; " a book 
 which if everything else in our language 
 should perish, would alone suffice to show 
 the full extent of its beauty and power." 
 Along the same line John Stuart Mill 
 wrote: "The Bible and Shakespeare have 
 done more than any other books for the 
 English language, introducing into the 
 soul of it such grand ideas expressed with 
 such sublime simplicity." But " Shakes- 
 peare," says Emerson, " the first literary 
 genius of the world, the highest in whom 
 the moral is not the predominating ele- 
 ment, leans on the Blhle; his poetry pre- 
 supposes it." And Bishop Wordsworth 
 
 has cited five hundrej and forty passages 
 from Shakespeare, where the poet uses the 
 exact words of the Bible, or uses its image 
 or thought with a slightly varied form of 
 expression. 
 
 " As a mere literary monument," wrote 
 J. R. Green. " the English Bible remains 
 the noblest example of the English 
 tongue, while its perpetual use made it 
 from the instant of its appearance, the 
 standard of our language." " People 
 imagine," says Emerson, " that the place 
 which the Bible holds in the world, it owes 
 to miracles; it owes it simply to the fact 
 that it came out of a profounder depth of 
 thought than any other book." Milton 
 and Dante lived, moved, and had their 
 intellectual being in the atmosphere of 
 the Bible; while Tennyson, Browning, 
 Wordsworth, Coleridge, Pope, Dryden, 
 Addison, drank at the same fountain of 
 exalted wisdom and sublime expressicni, 
 and gladly witnessed to their obligation. 
 " There can be no songs comparable to the 
 songs of Zion." wrote ^Milton ; " no ora- 
 tions equal to those of the prophets; and 
 no politics like those the Scriptures 
 teach." It is said to have been Edmund 
 Burke's habit to read a chapter in Isaiah 
 before going to speak in the House of 
 Commons. " Isaiah." said he, " possessed 
 both the blaze of eloquence and the light 
 of truth; " and Washington Irving de- 
 clared : " I think I have waked a good 
 many sleeping fancies by the reading of 
 a chapter in Isaiah." Matthew Arnold, 
 easil.v the most distinguished literary critic 
 of his time, edited Isaiah as a text book 
 for the culture of the imagination in Eng- 
 lish schools; and in his preface to that 
 work exclaims with enthusiasm : " What 
 a source of eloquence and poetry is the 
 liible in our schools!" In another place 
 the same writer says : " Of conduct, which 
 is more than three-fourths of life, the 
 Bible, whatever people may think or say, 
 is the great inspirer." In his conversa- 
 tion with Eckermann, Goethe said : " Let 
 mental culture go on advancing, let the 
 natural sciences go on gaining in depth 
 and breadth and the human mind expand 
 as it may, it will never go beyond the ele- 
 
THE EEVIS10:N of the bible — IbSo 
 
 44.S 
 
 vation and moral culture of Christianity, 
 as it glistens and shines in the Gospel." 
 And Thomas Jefferson wrote : " Of all the 
 systems of morality, ancient and modern, 
 which have come under my observation, 
 none appear to mo so pure as that nf 
 Jesus." Daniel Wi'hster was an habitual 
 reader of the Bible and attributed his 
 wonderful vocabulary of the simplest yet 
 most forceful language to the influence of 
 the Scriptures, while he held its moral 
 standards as far superior to those of any 
 other religion. In one of his remarkable 
 orations he says : " If we abide by the 
 principles taught in the Bible, our 
 country will go on prospering and to 
 prosper; but if we and our posterity 
 neglect its instruction and authority, no 
 num can tell how sudilen a catastrophe 
 may overwlielm us, and bury all our glory 
 in profound obscurity." One of his most 
 achnired passages was the reference to the 
 besetting force of " duty," which closed 
 his argument in the famous White murder 
 case. "A sense of duty," he said, " pur- 
 sues us ever. It is onniipresent like the 
 Deity. If we take to ourselves the wings 
 of the morning and dwell in the utter- 
 most parts of the sea, duty performed or 
 duty violated, is still with us for our hap- 
 piness or our misery. If we say surely 
 the darkness shall cover us, in the dark- 
 ness as in the light our obligations are 
 yet with us. We caiuiot escape their 
 power, nor fly from their ijresence," — all 
 <if which is merely the most literal para- 
 phrase of the Psalmist's sense of the omni- 
 presence of God, as expressed in the 139th 
 Psalm. In his " History of the Jewish 
 ( 'huKch," Dean Stanley recalls reminis- 
 cences of the great historian of Israel, 
 Ewald, saying : " It is impossible to for- 
 get the noble enthusiasm with vehich this 
 dangerous heretic, as he was regarded in 
 England, grasped the small Greek Testa- 
 ment which he had in his hand as we 
 entered, and said 'In this little hool- is 
 contained all the wisdom of the world.'" 
 Carlyle read his Bible continually, insist- 
 ing that it was the greatest work in the 
 world ; and the Ijook of Job, which was 
 his closest friend, he considered " one of 
 
 the grandest things ever written with 
 lieu." Indeed, it is related of him that 
 (ince visiting at a country house he was 
 asked to conduct the family worship ; and 
 starting to read that immortal poem he 
 forgot his surroundings, and did not stop 
 until he had read all of its forty-two 
 chapters. Buskin and Cardinal Newman 
 liave generally been considered as masters 
 of the purest and choicest English; yet 
 both attributed their skill in its use to the 
 fact that they were led to commit large 
 portions of the Bible to memory, when 
 young. From his earlist boyhood, Scott 
 was a devout admirer and constant 
 >ttidciit of the Bible: and his greatest 
 romances are filled with Scriptural refer- 
 ences, and many direct quotations occur. 
 Tn describing the great man's last illness, 
 his son-in-law and biographer, Lockhart, 
 says: "Here he expressed a wish that T 
 sliould read to him, and when asked from 
 what book, he said, 'Need you ash? There 
 is hut one.' " 
 
 In reply to a critic Dickens once wrote : 
 " I have always striven to express venera- 
 tion for the life and lessons of our 
 Saviour,- because I feel it." But had he 
 left no written testimony of his rever- 
 ence for the Gospel, one would not rend 
 far in his works without realizing the 
 atmosphere of Christ's teachings: and no 
 one can read that superb, crowning scene 
 in the " Tale of Two Cities,'' without 
 realizing that its author had dwelt hiug 
 on the meaning of Calvary. Professor 
 Pattison has said : " The Castaway Syd- 
 ney Carton, by his voluntary death, better 
 than any other character in English fic- 
 tion, illustrates the Master's words 
 ' Greater love hath no man than this, 
 tliat a man lay down his life for his 
 friends.' " Already the guillotine is in 
 vii'w and in turn the victims take their 
 lilaces in line. Just in front of Carton 
 is a poor seamstress, like himself inno- 
 cent, and until then a stranger to him. 
 At this supreme moment she remembers 
 a cousin of hers in the sweet far-away 
 country, ignorant of the dreadful doom 
 by which she is now to perish : and in her 
 simplicity she turns to Sydney for light 
 
444 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLJJ POWEE. 
 
 on the question that perplexes her. " ' Do 
 .you think,' and the uncomplaining eyes in 
 which there is so much endurance fill with 
 tears, and the lips part a little more and 
 trcnihle, ' that it will seem long to mo 
 wliile I wait for her in the better land, 
 where I trust both you and I will be 
 mercifully sheltered?' 
 
 "'It cannot be, my child; there is no 
 Time and no trouble there.' 
 
 " ' You comfort me so much ! I am so 
 isnorant. Am I to kiss you now ? Is the 
 moment come ? ' 
 
 "'Yes.' 
 
 "She kisses his lips; he kisses liers; 
 they solenuily bless each other. The 
 spare hand does not tremble as he re- 
 leases it; nothing worse than a sweet con- 
 stancy is in the patient face. She goes 
 next before him — is gone. 
 
 "'I am the Resurrection and the Life,' 
 saith the Lord; 'he that believeth in me, 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live; 
 and whosoever liveth and believeth in me 
 shall never die.' " 
 
 Nor was Thackeray less indebted to the 
 Bible, and no writer treats its sacred 
 themes more reverently. Many illustra- 
 tions might be given, but the author's 
 whole spirit is so manifest in his descrip- 
 tion of the last moments of the noblest 
 character in the whole range of English 
 fi<-tion, — Colonel Newcome, — that we shall 
 quote it alone. "At the usual evening 
 hour the chapel bell began to toll, and 
 Tliomas Neweome's hands outside the bed 
 beat time. And just as the last bell struck, 
 a peculiar sweet smile shone over his face, 
 and he lifted, up his head a little and 
 quickly said, 'Adsum.,' and fell back. It 
 was the word we used at school when 
 names were called; and lo! he whose heart 
 was as that of a little child, had answered 
 to his name and stood in the presence of 
 the ^Master." 
 
 Truly we may say of the Bible, as the 
 
 Psalmist declared of the Glory of the 
 Liird, "there is no speech nor language 
 where its voice is not heard." 
 
 In an address to young journalists, de- 
 livered at Union College in 1893, the late 
 Charles A. Dana, one of the most distin- 
 guished e<litors this country has produced, 
 said: "There are some books that are ab- 
 solutely indisi^ensable to the kind of edu- 
 cation that we are considering; and of 
 these the most indisjTensable, the most 
 useful, the one whose language is most 
 cffcrtive, is the Bible. There is no book 
 f re 1111 which more valuable lessons can be 
 learned. I am considering it now, not as 
 a religious book, but as a manual of 
 utility, of professional preparation and 
 professional use for a journalist. There 
 is. perhaps, no book whose style is more 
 suggestive and more instructive, from 
 which you learn more directly that sub- 
 lime simplicity which never exaggerates, 
 which recounts the greatest event with 
 solemnity, of course, but without senti- 
 mentality or affectation, — none which you 
 can open with such confidence, and lay 
 down with such reverence; there is no 
 hook lil-e the Bible." 
 
 No ! This glorioxis Bible — the book of 
 books — ^has lost none of its glory in re- 
 vision. We may. individually or as a peo- 
 ple, lose it through neglect ; but to-day, 
 as of ohl, no inquirer can come to it with 
 open mind without finding in its pages all 
 the wisdom, the beauty, the sublimity 
 that have endeared it to untold millions. 
 "We search the world for Truth; we cull 
 The good, the pure, the beautiful 
 From graven stone and written scroll. 
 From all old flower-fields of the Soul; 
 And, weary seekers of the best. 
 We come back laden from our quest 
 To find that all the Sages said 
 Is in the Book our mothers read." 
 
 Whittier — (Miriam.) 
 
XLIII. 
 THE HAYMARKET EIOT - ANAECHY — 1886. 
 
 Political and Social Conditions at Llose of Eighteenth 'Century. — Ktl'ect of Advances Along 
 Commercial and Industrial Lines. — Difficulty of Realizing Economical and Social Burdens 
 of Eighteenth Century Workingmen. — Accounts of Travelers and Historians aud Novelists. 
 
 — The Origin of Socialism and Anarchy. — St. Simon, Fourier, Proudhon. — Proudhon's 
 ■■ \\ hat is Property V " " Property is Theft."' — Accounts of the Two Great Anarchist Leaders, 
 Bakunin and KrojjutUin. — Rise of Russian Anarcliists. — Repressive Laws Following Murder 
 of Alexander IL — The Leaders Driven From Europe to United States. — 'Connection Be- 
 tween Assassination of Czar and Haymarket Riot a Close One. — Condition in Chicago. — 
 Cireat Strike at McCorniiek Harvester Works. — Interference and Incendiary Utterances of 
 Anarchist Agitators. — Calls to Arms. — The Riot at ilcCormick's Works, May 3. — Call for 
 Haymarket Meeting. — "Workingmen, Arm Yourselves, and Appear in Full Force." — The 
 Throwing of the Bomb. — Whole Company of Police Prostrated. — Eight Mortally Wounded. 
 
 — Intense Excitement All Over Country. — Trial of Accused Anarchists. — .Seven Sentenced 
 to Death, One Imprisonment for Life. — Sensational Suicide of Lingg. — Sentences of Fieldcn 
 and Schwab Commuted to Life Imprisonment. — .Spies. Parsons, Fisher, and Encel. Hun" 
 November U, ISS7. — Change in Public Opinion. — Action of Ctovernor Altgeld. — Judi'e 
 Garv's Position. 
 
 ' As man seelis justice in equality, so society seeks oriler in anarchy." — PnouimoN. 
 
 IIK last half of the eighteenth and the first half of the iiiuc- 
 teciith centuries was pre-eminently a revolutionary era. In 
 every line of activity, as vs'ell as in all trends of thought, — 
 political, social, philosophical — the tendency was to break 
 away from established forms. In the latter part of the 
 eighteenth century, emancipation from absolutism of every 
 kind was the goal sought; and the "rights of man" set 
 <iver against the " divine rights " of kings and institutions, 
 and the equally despotic rule of caste and wealth, became 
 the battle cry of the people throughout Europe and the 
 United States. The French Revolutioii was but the breaking forth in one local- 
 ity of the pent-up forces that were working in all localities; but the evidence 
 that the leaven, whose working was first manifested in the Reformation of the 
 sixteenth century, had already leavened the whole lump, and that the old national. 
 Social, and religious orders were doomed, and must give place to newer orders 
 v,-hose purpose and result should be the enlightenment and uplifting of all man- 
 land. Contemporaneous with this forward movement, and very largely as a result 
 of it, came also the unprecedented development along commercial and industrial 
 lines, — the wonderful inventions in manufacturing machinery, the discovery and appli- 
 cation of the uses of steam, the vastl.y increased knowledge and utilization of the 
 forces of nature, which, before the last quarter of the nineteenth century had banded 
 
446 
 
 PEOM COLOXr TO WOKLD POWEli. 
 
 all nations and peoples of the earth more 
 elosely together physieally than the people 
 of any single State had been at the Lie- 
 ginning of the century, — all these changes 
 combined to broaden men's ^iews, to 
 "widen their whole outlook upon the phe- 
 nomenal and social world, and to burn in 
 uiiou the minds of thoughtful men tli<' 
 deep truth announced eighteen hun- 
 dred years before, but now for the 
 tirst time in any sense comprehended, 
 that " Ciod hath made of one blood all 
 nations of men," and that the neces- 
 sary corollary of the Church's divincst 
 tenet, " the Fatherhood of God," was 
 the "brotherhood of man." It could 
 not fail tliat thought, suddenly emanci- 
 pated after so many centuries of repres- 
 sion, should for a time run riot; that 
 llicories containing germs of the most 
 sacred truth should be distorted, per- 
 verted, and misapplied; but through it all 
 we may now discern a purpose which was 
 by mistake, by failure, by brutal extremes 
 at times, perhaps, ushering in the dawn of 
 better ilays. At different jseriods marked 
 by the excesses of men drunk with the 
 new wine, it seemed as if the "return to 
 nature " meant the return to the state of 
 bestiality and savagery that character- 
 ized the primitive man. But through all 
 the sporadic excesses and all the ill-ad- 
 vised and sometimes criminal acts we can 
 see that new conditions were being 
 evolved that have uplifted mankind, mor- 
 ally, socially, economically, ami physi- 
 cally; and though we are yet suffering the 
 pains of the new birth, and ideal conditions 
 of political and social life are still far be- 
 fore us, yet we cannot thoughtfully re- 
 view the advances of the last century 
 without sharing the faith so confidently 
 cxju'cssed by Tennyson, seventy years ago, 
 when he wrote: 
 '' Yet T doubt not through the ages one 
 
 increasing purpose runs. 
 And the thoughts of men are widened 
 
 with the process of the suns." 
 
 Tt is an easy matter to sit quietly in 
 our comfortable and luxurious homes in 
 this twentieth centuiw. enjoying social 
 
 conditions that have been made possible, 
 in a large degree, by the sufferings of 
 those who "counted not life dear unto 
 themselves," and criticise the harsh and 
 brutal acts of those who have blazed the 
 V ay for reform. But it was quite a dif- 
 ferent thing for the poor wretches who 
 were the sufferers from the oppression of 
 the greedy and heartless masters of the 
 |)eriod we are considering. Xo just esti- 
 mate can ever be made of any man or any 
 people, at any time, unless one can, in 
 some degree, at least, put one's self in the 
 place of such actors. And to judge right- 
 eous judgment of many of the labor and 
 social agitators of the last century one 
 must endeavor to live with them under 
 conditions which have been described by 
 many historians and novelists. From 
 such accounts as may be found in 
 Taine's "Ancien Regime," Arthur Young's 
 "Travels," and Dickens' "Tale of Two 
 Cities," one can learn of the horrible op- 
 l rcssion of the many by the few which 
 n.ade the French Revolution inevitable ; 
 and in Kingsley. Dickens, Besant, Green, 
 and poems like Mrs. Browning's " Cry of 
 the Children," the seminal causes of the 
 origin as well as of the excesses of the 
 labor organizations may be learned; while 
 if we familiarize ourselves with the social 
 and political conditions described b.v 
 Turgeneff, Tolstoi, and Sienkiewicz, we 
 shall, perhaps, if we have much love for 
 justice, cease to wonder at and anathema- 
 tize the men who have from time to time, 
 impatient of the slow grinding of God's 
 mills, struck at the personifications of the 
 .-ystems that were oppressing them, — the 
 ffficial authorities who enforced the laws 
 cf those systems. 
 
 Murder, bomb-throwing, secret assas- 
 sinations are, indeed, horrible things and 
 can neither be condoned nor tolerated by 
 :.ny people. But every page of history 
 IS eloquent of the truth that the iidiuman 
 ;ind degrading conditions which so-called 
 i-ivilized and Christian peoples have 
 rieated are the soil which must of neces- 
 sity produce anarchistic acts. All down 
 through the ages the dominant powers in 
 Cluirch and State have stood behind the 
 
THE HAYMAEKET KIOT — ANAECHY — 18S6. 
 
 447 
 
 mental and physical enslavement of all 
 liut an insignitic-ant proportion of the 
 people; and it has only been the dearly 
 bought rights and privileges, secured by 
 revolutions of various kinds during the 
 last one hundred and fifty years, that 
 have made the lives of the great majority 
 much better than those of the brute crea- 
 tion. So late as 1771, Blaekstone in his 
 Commentaries on the Laws of England 
 enumerated two hundred offenses punish- 
 able by death, nearly all of which bore di- 
 rectly upon the poor and in protection of 
 unimportant privileges of the rich ; while 
 it was not until 1830 that the common peo- 
 ple became possessed of any large degree 
 of civil rights even in England, which in 
 all matters pertaining to the welfare of 
 its people, was, generally sneaking, far in 
 advance of the other countries of Europe, 
 excepting Switzerland. In, this countrj' it 
 has been difficult for us to realize such 
 conditions, because we started as a people 
 on a political and social basis consider- 
 ably in advance of that of any people of 
 Europe down to 1850. But of those whose 
 unpardonable acts have cast such oppro- 
 brium on the term " Anarchy " prac- 
 tically all were brought up subject to con- 
 ditions which existed in central Europe 
 iuul Russia and have themselves suffered 
 in dungeons, under the lash, and been de- 
 prived of every privilege of advancing 
 their own and the interests of those dear 
 to them, or protecting the same. 
 
 It is hardly surprising, therefore, that 
 as the smoke of the battle of the French 
 Revolution cleared away theories of every 
 kind looking toward the amelioration of 
 the condition of the people should find 
 expression. Early in the nineteenth cen- 
 tury three different philosophers an- 
 nounced more or less well-defined systems 
 for social betterment. From the jirin- 
 ciples expounded by those teachers — St. 
 .Simon, Fourier, and Proudhon, — have de- 
 veloped the various schools of socialistic 
 thought which have prevailed down to the 
 present time, though on the foundations 
 they laid men like Owen, Lassalle, Marx, 
 Rakunin, and others have built differing 
 superstructures. Strictly speaking Social- 
 
 ism and Anarchism have little in com- 
 mon ; are, in fact, the very antitheses of 
 each other. Socialism looks toward com- 
 munity of interests, while Anarchy is the 
 extreme of individualism. But as all the 
 systems would reach their ultimate ends 
 through the subversion of the existing 
 forms and laws governing the iirinhu-tiuu 
 and distribution of wealth, they have 
 quite naturally been grouped together in 
 the uninformed public mind. 
 
 Proudhon, the founder of Anarchism, 
 was born at Besan(;on, in France, in 1800, 
 of poor parents, and was himself, as a 
 young man. a cattle herder. At sixteen 
 he was able to enter college, but was so 
 IJoor that he had to borrow the books from 
 other students and copy out the lessons at 
 night while the others slept ; and it is re- 
 ported that he returned home laden with 
 prizes only to find that there was nothing 
 in the house to eat. When nineteen he be- 
 came a proof reader, and while so occupied 
 became conversant with Hebrew. Greek, 
 and Latin. In 1838 he obtained a scholar- 
 ship from the Academy of Besancon, 
 which insured him three hundred dollars 
 a year for three j'ears, and soon after he 
 set out for Paris to continue his studies. 
 Here he lived an ascetic and studious life, 
 and became deeply interested in the 
 social movements which were then agitat- 
 ing central Europe. In 1840 he published 
 his first and decisive work, entitled 
 " What is Property ? '' to which he gave 
 the answer that " Property is Theft." The 
 greater part of the remainder of his life 
 was passed in Paris, and he became a 
 deputy from the Seine; though as a re- 
 sult of one of the many changes in gov- 
 ernment in France, he was forced to flee 
 to Belgium, and remained in exile three 
 years. He died at Passy in 1865. Per- 
 sonally he has been described as one of 
 the most remarkable figures of modern 
 France. His life was marked by the 
 severest simplicity and even puritanisni ; 
 he was affectionate in his domestic rela- 
 tions, a most lo\-al friend, and strictly 
 upright in conduct. He strongly opposed 
 the prevailing French Socialism of his 
 times because of its utopianism and im- 
 
448 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 morality; aud bitterly deuouuced the 
 teaching that the ideas common to both 
 could be realized otherwise than through 
 a long and laborious process of social 
 transformation. That society could be 
 changed oS-hand, by a ready-made and 
 complete scheme of reform, he character- 
 ized as " the most accursed lie that could 
 be offered to mankind." It is evident, 
 therefore, that true anarchism, or scien- 
 tific anarcliism, as it has been called, 
 counseled neither the bomb nor the dag- 
 ger; but loolved for tlie realization of its 
 ideals through tlie slower processes of 
 social evolution. As his doctrine is sum- 
 marized in Kirkup's " History of Social- 
 ism," Proudhon " contemplated a condi- 
 tion of human enlightenment and self- 
 control in which the individual shall be a 
 law unto himself, aud in which all ex- 
 ternal authority shall bo abolished as a 
 despotic interference with personal free- 
 dom. It is an iilcal to which the highest 
 religion and philosophy look forward as 
 the goal of man, not as one, however, 
 which can be forthvpith reached through 
 the wholesale destruction of the present 
 framework of society, but through a long- 
 process of ethical and social improvement. 
 The error of the anarchists consists in 
 their impatient insistence on this prin- 
 ciple of absolute freedom in the present 
 debased condition of the great mass of 
 people in every class. They insist upon 
 taking the last step in social development 
 before they have quite taken the first." 
 As Proudhon himself says in " What is 
 Property " : " In a given society the au- 
 thority of man over man is inversely pro- 
 portional to the stage of intellectual de- 
 velopment which that society has reached. 
 Property and royalty have been crum- 
 bling to pieces ever since the world began. 
 As man seeks justice in equality, so so- 
 ciet'ii seeks order in anarchy," that is, in 
 the entire ahsence of laur, because of the 
 i<Ieal condition which society has reached 
 wlien law is no longer necessary. This 
 theory of freedom is a very ancient one, 
 and, as has been said, " has no necessary 
 connection with a revolutionary pro- 
 gramme, and we should not misunder- 
 
 stand it because of the strange company 
 in which we here find it." It has been a 
 high aud long-cherished ideal of the best 
 and greatest minds. St. Paul had the 
 same conception in mind when he de- 
 clared " Ye shall know the Truth, and the 
 Truth shall make you free." The good 
 and just man in the social life of to-day 
 does his duty not from fear of the police 
 or the law, but because it is his duty ; and 
 we rightly regard it as the highest evi- 
 dence of his goodness that the right is so 
 wrought into the very fibre of his con- 
 science and intelligence that the doing of 
 it becomes as natural as breathing or 
 walking. 
 
 But, unfortunately, two of his disciples 
 became more actively influential than 
 Pri million himself; and as both had been 
 witnesses of the worst crimes of Russian 
 despotism, and had themselves endured 
 the tortures of Russian prisons and suf- 
 fered the hardships of exile in Siberia, 
 they seized upon the phase of the master's 
 teachings which emphasized the abolition 
 of all government and determined that, so 
 far as they could affect it. it should be 
 accomplished now, rather than naturally 
 as a result of social development, as 
 Proudhon taught. The most earnest of 
 these men was Michael Bakunin, who be- 
 came the great apostle of destructive 
 anarchism. He belonged to the highest 
 Russian aristocracy, and was born in 
 1814-. In due time he entered the most 
 select branch of the army, the artillery. 
 While serving in Poland, however, he was 
 so oppressed by the barbarities perpe- 
 trated under Russian rule that he re- 
 signed from the artillery, and began a life 
 of study. In 1847 he visited Paris and 
 there met Proudhon, who gave the de- 
 cisive influence and direction to his opin- 
 ions. Engaging in the Revolution of 1848 
 and being especially active in the unsuc- 
 cessful uprising in Dresden in 1849, he 
 fell into the hands of the police, with the 
 result that, as he has told us, he was con- 
 fined for eight years in various fortresses 
 in Saxony, Austria, and Russia, and was 
 then exiled to Siberia for life. Fortu- 
 nately for him, however, Muravieff, the 
 
THE HAYMARKET KIOT — ANARCHY — 1886. 
 
 449 
 
 Governor of Siberia, was a relative, and 
 allowed him some measure of liberty ; and 
 after four years of exile he escaped, 
 reaching California after a series of al- 
 most unprecedented hardships, from 
 whence he went to London. This most 
 interesting man is thus described by his 
 intimate friend and fellow anarchist, 
 Elisee Reclus, the distinguished geog- 
 rapher: "Friends and enemies know 
 that the man was great by his thinking- 
 power, his force of will, and his persistent 
 energ-y; they know also what lofty disdain 
 he felt for fortune, rank, glory, and all 
 the miserable prizes which the majority 
 of men are base enough to covet. A Rus- 
 sian gentleman belonging to the highest 
 nobility of the Empire, he was one of the 
 first to enter in that proud association of 
 revolt, who know to detach themselves 
 from the traditions, the prejudices, the 
 interests of race and class, — to contemn 
 their own happiness. With them he 
 fought the hard battle of life, aggravated 
 by prison, by exile, by all the dangers and 
 all the bitterness which devoted men have 
 to undergo in their troubled existence. 
 The originality of his ideas, his pictur- 
 esque and fiery eloquence, his untiring 
 zeal in propaganda, supported by the 
 natural majesty of his appearance and by 
 his strong vitality, gained an entrance for 
 him in all groups nf revolutionary social- 
 ists, and his activity left deep traces even 
 among those who, after having welcomed 
 it, rejected it because of differences in 
 aim or method." 
 
 His principal published work was en- 
 titled " God and the State," and in it he 
 most frankly and unhesitatingly unfolds 
 his destructive theories. Rejecting every 
 ideal system, of whatever name or shape, 
 from the idea of God downwards, and 
 every form of external authority, whether 
 emanating from the will of a sovereign, 
 or from universal suffrage, he says: " The 
 liberty of man consists solely in this, that 
 he obey the laws of nature because he has 
 himself recognized them as such, and not 
 because they have been imposed upon him 
 externally by any foreign will whatever, 
 human or divine, collective or individual. 
 29 
 
 In a word, we object to all legislation, all 
 authority, and all influence, privileged, 
 patented, official, and legal, even when it 
 has proceeded from universal suffrage, 
 convinced that it must always turn to the 
 profit of a dominating and exploiting 
 minority against the interests of the im- 
 mense majority of the enslaved." 
 
 The other most interesting figure in 
 the recent revolutionary history of Eu- 
 rope is Prince Kropotkin. Like Bakunin 
 he belonged to one of the noblest families 
 of Russia, it being frequently claimed 
 that his family had a better right to the 
 throne than the present dynasty. A man 
 of the widest scientific attainments, a 
 member of nearly all the foremost and 
 most distinguished societies of learning 
 in Europe and the United States, of the 
 most kindly and refined nature and 
 courteous bearing, it is difficult to con- 
 ceive of him as an avowed champion and 
 active supporter of the most destructive 
 creed of anarchism. In his defense at 
 the famous trial of anarchists at Lyons, 
 France, in 1883, he stated the leading 
 facts of his life, in substance as follows: 
 His father was an owner of serfs and 
 from childhood he had witnessed scenes 
 made familiar to American readers by 
 " Uncle Tom's Cabin." The cruelties suf- 
 fered by the oppressed classes taught him 
 to love them. At sixteen, he entered the 
 school of Pages at the Imperial Court, 
 and learned at court to detest the great 
 as much as he had learned at home to love 
 the poor. In the army and the admin- 
 istration he saw the hopelessness of ex- 
 pecting reforms from the reactionary Rus- 
 sian government. For some time after- 
 ward he devoted himself to scientific 
 study and work. When the Russian social 
 movement began, Kropotkin joined it. 
 The demands made by the new party for 
 more liberty met with a simple response 
 from the government ; they were thrown 
 into prison, where they were subjected to 
 the most horrible treatment. In the 
 prison where the Prince was confined 
 nine lost their reason, and eleven com- 
 mitted suicide. Falling seriously ill he 
 was sent to the hospital, from which he 
 
450 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEli. 
 
 later escaped, and found refuge in 
 Switzerland. Here lie witnessed the suf- 
 ferings of the pcciple caused by the crisis 
 in watch manufactures, — everywhere the 
 like niisorics, due to the like social and 
 political evils. The recor<l of the great 
 trial allu<lcd to (at Lyons in l^.SM) is a 
 historical docunicnt nf Ihe greatest inj- 
 portance; and, as (me li.i> --aid. "Everyone 
 who wishes to understand the causes, mo- 
 tives, and aims of the anarchist move- 
 ment should study it carefully.'' At the 
 trial a declaration of opinion was signed 
 by all the accused, from whirh we can 
 quote only tlic statement as tn capital and 
 distribution. " As no freedom is possible 
 in a society where capital is monopolized 
 by a diminishing minority, we believe that 
 capital. tlif connnon inheritance of 
 humanity, since it is the fruit of the co- 
 operation of past and present generations, 
 ought to be at the disjiosal of all, so that 
 no man be excluded from it, ami no man 
 seize part of it to the dctriuicnt of the 
 rest. In a word, we wish equality, equal- 
 ity of fact, as corollary, or rather as 
 primordial condition of freedom. From 
 each one according to liis faculhes; to 
 each one according io his needs." 
 
 There have been three distinct stages in 
 the reform movement in. Kussia. 1 he 
 first took the form of Nikllism, with 
 whose princiijles and workings all readers 
 of Turgeneff are familiar. The second 
 stage was one of socialistic teaching and 
 •jropaganda, — a campaign of education. 
 In the early " seventies " hundreds of 
 j'oung men and young women from the 
 best families of Kussia were studying at 
 universities and leading schools of West- 
 ern Europe, — a large proportion of them 
 at Zurich. As they were here exposed t(j 
 all the dangers of socialistic teaching, 
 they were all called home by an Imperial 
 Ukase, in IbTo, — but not until they had 
 imbibed the new spirit of freedom, and 
 had consecrated their lives to the holy 
 purpose of securing its blessings for their 
 fellow countrymen and women. L^pon 
 their return, the plan of " going among 
 the people " was adopted as a systematic 
 principle. The young women went to be 
 
 midwives, or helpers, in the villages; the 
 young men learned sinqile trades of the 
 Iniiidilcst cliaractcrs, so as to identify 
 themselves with the people; others toiled 
 fifteen hours a day in the factories, that 
 they might quietly talk with fellow labor- 
 ers. By the most heroic self-denial they' 
 laliin'cd to arouse the n.iinds of the 
 peasantry. But they had no organization, 
 and paid little attention to secrecy, with 
 the result that they were quickly appre- 
 hende<l by the government, and before 
 ISTG more than two thousand of them had 
 bi'Cn transported to Siberia. One can 
 hardly wonder, therefore, that the third 
 stage of tile revolution became one of per- 
 sistent and determined attack upon of- 
 ficials regardless of consequences to them- 
 selves. A strong and secret organization 
 was formc(l, and the bomb, the revolver, 
 and the dagger were adopted by the rev- 
 olutionists as their arguments, the more 
 peaceful ones having proved wholly futile. 
 '^I'he first notable act of this period was 
 the assassination of General Trepoff, 
 Prefect of Police, b,v A'era Sassoulitch, at 
 St. Petersburg, in 187S. The occasion of 
 the deed was the brutal flogging of a 
 Ijolitical iH'isoner, wholly unknown to the 
 nnirderer. hy command of Trepoff. At her 
 trial she was acquitted by the jury to the 
 great surprise of the Imperial Court ; and 
 an attempt of tlic police to rearrest her 
 as she left the cdurt was frustrated by the 
 mob, through whose aid she escaped to 
 Switzerland. Then followed in rapid suc- 
 cession several assassinations of leading 
 otHcials of the government, followed, on 
 ilarch lo, JS.sL hy that of the Czar Alex- 
 ander II. The determined purpose of the 
 revolutionists was well illustrated in the 
 latter ease, as tlnve desperate attempts on 
 Alexander's life had failed, owing to his 
 change of plans, before the fourth and suc- 
 cessful attempt was made. This assas- 
 sination sent a thrill of horror throughout 
 Europe, and the most repressive measures 
 were at once instituted in all countries 
 against men suspected of secret as:;ocia- 
 tion with anarchistic bodies. As a quite 
 natural result of these measures hundreds 
 I if Russian, German, Scandinavian, and 
 
THE IIAYMARKET KIOT — AXAKCIIY — ISSG. 
 
 4o1 
 
 Slav anarchists were forced to flee across 
 the Atlantic, their hatred of governments 
 inflamed to a white heat by their further 
 sufferings at the hands of Eurojx'an of- 
 ficers. And it was under these conditions 
 that New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and 
 Milwaukee became centres of destructive 
 socialistic and anarchistic teachings and 
 propaganda. The forced exodus of the 
 disciples of Bakunin as a result of the 
 Russian revolution was the almost direct 
 cause of the rise of anarchism in the 
 United States; and the connection of the 
 murder of Alexander II. with the Hay- 
 market riot in Chicago and the slaughter 
 of the police was a close one. 
 
 As the rise of labor organizations in 
 the United States has been fully detailed 
 in another chapter of this book, it is only 
 necessary here to note that the third quar- 
 ter of the last century was the fruitful 
 period in the development of such organ- 
 izations, and was also the period of their 
 great strikes to secure the redress of real 
 or imaginary grievances or a recognition 
 of their principles. Similar bodies in Eu- 
 rope had not been less active ; but, as has 
 been shown above, there the acquisitidu 
 of the simplest political privileges, which 
 the American laborer had not to contend 
 for, to a large degree overshadowed the 
 labor questions. Consequently, extreme or 
 destructive Socialism and Anarchism were 
 not much considered by the great labor 
 bodies of this country. Immediately upon 
 their arrival here, however, the exiled 
 anarchists began their ett'orts to proselyte 
 among the laboring men, and as ten years 
 of more or less incessant and open war- 
 fare between capital and labor had then 
 been waged, the aroused animosities of the 
 members of the labor iniions presented a 
 soil especially fitted for the reception of 
 teachings which emphasized the antagon- 
 ism between employers and employees, and 
 openly advocated the use of force to ac- 
 complish ends which had been secured 
 only in a limited degree by the strike and 
 the boycott. 
 
 For months previous to the fateful May 
 4, 1886, rabid New Y'ork and Chicago 
 anarchists had been uttering through 
 
 their class papers the most impassioned 
 c-alls to laboring men to join them in 
 llieir crusade against the connnon enemy, 
 — the capitalistic class. The sentiment 
 among the laboring men in Chicago was 
 very bitter, and it is doubtless true that 
 some of the more hot-headed among them 
 were influenced by the anarchistic appeals 
 and threats. Tliat there was any wide- 
 spread acceptance of their teachings, huw- 
 cvcr, there is no evidence. For nearly a 
 year strikes had been maintained at vari- 
 <ius places in the endeavor to enforce the 
 adoption of the eight-hour law. In the 
 spring of 1885 such a strike had occurred 
 at the great McCormick Harvester works 
 in Chicago; and though work was re- 
 sumed later in the season, the company 
 had taken the opportunity to install new 
 f(n'ms of labor-saving machinery, so that 
 the help of many men previously em- 
 
 
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 ployed was not needed. In February of 
 1886, the employees of the works waited 
 upon the company's officials and asked for 
 a uniformity of wages; the re-employ- 
 ment, as occasion demanded, of all old 
 hands, many of whom liad been out of 
 
452 
 
 YROM CULOXY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 work since the strike of the previous 
 April ; and the discharge of five non- 
 union men emi^loyed in the foundry. To 
 the first two requests Mr. McCormick 
 yielded, but the last he refused to con- 
 sider on the usual ground that the request 
 was an interference with the company's 
 right to emijloy whomsoever it pleasetl. 
 As the employees persisted in their de- 
 mand and thi-eatened to strike unless it 
 was complied with, the company antic- 
 ipated their action by ordering the works 
 closed on February IGth, to remain closed 
 until the strikers saw tit to return to 
 work. By this lock-out the employees were 
 deprived of three thousand dollars a day 
 in wages, that being the amount of the 
 daily pay-roll. The situation was a very 
 serious one, and the strikers were in a 
 bad mood ; and, as is usual in such cases, 
 all the disafl'ected men of every character 
 in the city began to hang around the har- 
 vester works, inciting men to violence and 
 destruction of property. It was a golden 
 opportunity for the anarchists and they 
 did not fail to improve it. Their two 
 papers were daily filled with the most ex- 
 aggerated statements as to real conditions 
 in the labor world, and with the most im- 
 jiassioned appeals to the men to arm 
 themselves and demand their " rights." 
 It seems incredible that a civilized com- 
 munity should have allowed men to pub- 
 lish for more than a year, day after day, 
 nueh wild calls upon maddened men to 
 kill and to burn; to arm themselves with 
 revolvers, but more particularly with dy- 
 namite and bombs, and to use them. Free- 
 dom of speech and of the press have never 
 been held to mean open and undisguised 
 incitements to murder, and the preaching 
 of sedition and revolution in a commu- 
 nity; and in all fairness and reason a city 
 that knowingly permits such incendiary 
 appeals ought to be held jointly responsi- 
 ble for any evil that may result. 
 
 Within thirt.v days the McCormick 
 Company had so arranged their affairs as 
 to open the works, and run them without 
 the aid of the strikers, and did so on 
 March 1st. This, of course, added fuel 
 to the flames, and through the two follow- 
 
 ing mouths coniiicts with the non-union 
 men and police on one side, and the 
 strikers on the other, were of almost daily 
 occurrence. At the close of work on May 
 3, however, an unusually large force of 
 the men had assembled about the works, 
 the anarchistic papers having endeavored 
 to stir up a "blood and riot" sentiment 
 for that occasion. All through the day 
 the members of their orders labored with 
 tlie workmen, urging them to arm them- 
 selves and teach the capitalists the needed 
 lessons at that time. As is usual in such 
 cases, the matter was a fizzle, only a few 
 hoodlums and anarchists committing any 
 overt acts, and the whole crowd was 
 quickly dispersed by a charge of the 
 police. In the excitement four or five of 
 the mob were shot by the police, though 
 so far as could be learned, no deaths en- 
 sued. The anarchists' papers, however, 
 innnediately came out with great head- 
 lines announcing- that six of the workmen 
 had been " murdered by the bloodhounds 
 of the capitalists," and called upon the 
 workmen to avenge their slain brethren. 
 Thousands of circulars were distributed 
 among the unemployed, headed in large 
 letters "Revexgk! Wohkixgmen' to 
 Arms !" These were printed in both Ger- 
 man and English. The German, which 
 was somewhat more inflammatory than 
 the English, ended with this appeal: 
 " Laboring men, Hercules, you have ar- 
 rived at the cross-way. Which way wiU 
 you decide? For slavery and hunger, or 
 for freedom and bread ? If you decide for 
 the latter, then do not delay a moment; 
 then, people, to arms ! Annihilation to 
 the beasts in human form who call them- 
 selves rulers ! Uncompromising annihila- 
 tion to them! This must be your motto. 
 Think of the heroes whose blood has fer- 
 tilized the road to progress, liberty, and 
 humanity, and strive to become worthy of 
 them." Private meetings of the an- 
 archists, and of as many of the workmen 
 as they could influence, — mostly ignorant 
 Slavs, unable to understand or to speak 
 English, — were held at difi^erent places 
 that evening, and a call was issued for a 
 grand mass meeting at the " ITavmarket " 
 
TILE IIAYMAKKET RIOT — AXAKCHY — 18S0. 
 
 45n 
 
 for the next evening to denounce the out- 
 rage, and to act. The call for the meeting 
 read as follows : 
 
 Attention Workingsien ! 
 Great 
 Mass Meeting 
 To-night at 7:30 
 at the 
 IIaymauket, Randolph St., between 
 Desplaines and Halsted. 
 (!(]od speakers will be present to de- 
 nounce the latest atrocious act of the 
 police, the shooting of our fellow work- 
 men yesterday afternoon. 
 WoiiKiNGMEN, Arm Yourselves, and Ap- 
 pear IN Full Force. 
 The Executive Committee." 
 
 During the afternoon the word Riitie 
 (German for Peace) appeared without 
 comment on the pages of the evening an- 
 archist paper. The police afterward laid 
 great stress upon this, assuming that it 
 was the signal to be uttered when the 
 bomb should be thrown. The " Hay- 
 market," which was designated as the 
 place of meeting, is simply a widening of 
 Randolijh street, between Desplaines and 
 llalsted streets, a short distance from the 
 Chicago river, on the west side. In years 
 past it had been used by farmers as a 
 place for the sale of hay and produce, 
 from which fact it took its name. For 
 certain reasons, however, the meeting 
 was held on Desplaines street, about one 
 hundred feet north of Randolph. This 
 locality was surrounded by a low class of 
 beer saloons, and the meeting places of 
 the different anarchistic bodies were near 
 by. The meeting was not opened 
 promptly and, as estimated by the police, 
 at eight o'clock three thousand people had 
 assembled who were getting into bad 
 humor. About 8 :40 the anarchist Spies 
 delivered a very harmless speech in Eng- 
 lish, and following him Parsons spoke in 
 a similar strain. Mayor Carter Harrison 
 (the elder) was among the crowd, and 
 after hearing these two speeches, dropped 
 in at the Desplaines street station and ad- 
 vised dismissing all the reserves, as the 
 meeting was orderly and would call for 
 
 no interference. After the mayor had 
 gone, however, Fielden began a most im- 
 passioned address, and was arousing the 
 crowd to a high pitch of excitement when 
 detectives reported at the station house 
 that the crowd was getting turbulent, and 
 that it was time to interfere. Inspector 
 Bonfield, who was in charge, doubting the 
 seriousness of the situation, sent the de- 
 tective back to investigate further; but 
 the latter quickly returned, reporting 
 greater excitement, and more incendiaiy 
 utterances from Fielden. In order to meet 
 any emergency that might arise a reserve 
 force of five companies of police had been 
 assembled in the Desplaines street station, 
 which was about four hundred feet from 
 the truck which served as a speaker's 
 stand at the meeting. The Inspector im- 
 mediately ordered all these reserves out, 
 and they were at once placed in available 
 positions to cover the mob. Captain 
 Ward then advanced to within six feet of 
 the truck and said : " I command you, in 
 the name of the people of the State of 
 Illinois, to immediately and peacefully 
 disperse." And turning to the crowd he 
 continued, "I command you, and you, and 
 you to assist." Fielden had, meanwhile, 
 jumped from the truck, and as he reached 
 the sidewalk, declared in loud voice " We 
 are peaceable." This reply, the State 
 claimed on the trial, was the signal for 
 the firing of the bomb; but no proof of it 
 \\'as ever advanced, except that " we are 
 peaceable " suggested " Riihe," which had 
 appeared in the evening Arheiter Zeitung. 
 But, be that as it may, the order to dis- 
 perse had hardly been given, before a 
 spark flashed through the air, " looking 
 like the remnant of a cigar, but hissing 
 like a miniature sky rocket." A terrific ex- 
 plosion followed, creating frightful havoc 
 and dismay. The police were for the 
 moment stunned and terror stricken. 
 All the members of the center column, 
 near which the bomb exploded, were 
 thrown to the ground. But the In- 
 spector immediately rallied the uninjured 
 men, and ordered a running fire of 
 revolvers, as a result of which the street 
 was quickly cleared. The wounded offi- 
 
454 
 
 FKOM COLO:XY TO WOULD POWEii. 
 
 fcrs and men of the crowd were at once 
 hurried to the station house, which was 
 quickly transformed into a hospital, and 
 medical aid was called for from every 
 direction. It was then found that eight 
 of the officers were dangerously wounded, 
 all of whom died as the result of their 
 
 Fi 
 
 ^«5iSk 
 
 A 
 
 JOSEPH E. GARY. 
 
 Wounds, while sixty-eight others were 
 more or less seriously injured. Officer 
 Mathias J. Degan was almost instan- 
 taneously killed, and his murder was the 
 charge on which the anarchists were sub- 
 sequentl.v tried. 
 
 The frightful results of this wicked 
 riot filled the people of the whole country 
 with a most righteous indignation, and 
 the cr.v for vengeance was instant and 
 emphatic. As there was no reliable 
 knowledge as tn ulin threw the bomb, the 
 leading anarchist-^, including the pub- 
 lishers and editors of their papers, were 
 one after another arrested, and all were 
 soon brought to trial. All their rooms, 
 offices, and meeting places were searched, 
 and must incriminating evidence was 
 found, inclu<ling bombs, dynamite, guns, 
 etc. After three weeks of the most thor- 
 ough investigation of every movement 
 jiud act (if these men, the Orand Jury, 
 on the 28th of May, returned indictments, 
 
 and on June 21st the trial of the case of 
 the State of Illinois vs. August Spies, 
 Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden, Albert 
 R. Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George 
 Engcl, Louis Lingg, and Oscar W. Neebe, 
 charged with the murder of Mathias J. 
 Degan on the fourth day of May, 1880, in 
 Chicago, was begun before the Hon. 
 Joseph E, Gary, as judge. Twenty-one 
 days were consumed in selecting the jury, 
 and 9S1 men were sworn and examined 
 before the jury was secured. The taking- 
 of testimony began July 14th and con- 
 tinued until August 10th, and the case 
 was given to the jury at four o'clock on 
 the afternoon of August 19th. A-s Judge 
 Gary had ordered that the jury should not 
 leave their room until they had reached 
 a verdict, when they marched out of the 
 court house at 7.30 the same evening to 
 go to their hotel, the public knew that a 
 verdict had been agreed upon, though it 
 could not be ainiouneed until the next 
 morning. Of course the most intense ex- 
 citement prevailed, and the night passed 
 slowly and wearily for many a heavy 
 heart. For one thing had been estab- 
 lished beyond dispute during the trial, 
 and that was the irreproachable private 
 character of the leading defendants, sev- 
 eral of whom hatl large families to whom 
 it had been shown they were tenderly de- 
 vdteil, — all of whose members must wait 
 in ajixious suspense until the verdict 
 shiiuld be announced. At ten o'clock on 
 the morning of the 20th, the Court con- 
 vened, and soon after the verdict was 
 called for. Lender the Statutes of Illinois 
 tlie measure of punishment on a verdict 
 of guilty of murder, whether it shall be 
 death, or imprisonment in the peniten- 
 tiary for life, or for some time not less 
 than fourteen years, is fixed by the jury. 
 In his closing argument the State's at- 
 tin'ney had acknowledged that he did not 
 think Neebe ought to die: would like 
 lenienc.v be shown to the others^ Address- 
 ing the jin-y, Judge Gary asked if they 
 had agreed upon a verdict? "We have,' 
 replied the tVireman, at the same time 
 handing two papers to the clerk, from 
 which he read: '"We, the Jury, find 
 
THE HAYMAKKET RIOT — ANAKCHY — 1886. 
 
 455 
 
 the defendants August Spies, Michael 
 Schwab, Louis Lingg-, Samuel Fielden, 
 Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, and 
 (ieorge Engel, guilty of murder in man- 
 ner and form as charged in the indict- 
 ment, and fix the penalty at death. We 
 find the defendant Oscar W. Neebe 
 guilty of murder in manner and form 
 as charged in the indictment, and fix the 
 penalty at imprisonment in the peniten- 
 tiary for fifteen years.'' 
 
 On a Writ of Error the case was car- 
 I'ied to the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, which sustained the State Court 
 in its findings; and, as the date first set 
 for the execution of the prisoners had 
 passed before the United States Court 
 had passed upon the case, November 11, 
 ^ 1S87, was finally set down as the date 
 for the execution. But soon after the 
 (•'inclusion of the trial, public opinion 
 began to change. When the heat of pas- 
 sion had subsided, thinking men and 
 women began to realize that the only 
 thing that had been established against 
 the condemned men was their teachings; 
 and it was not long before petitions for 
 executive clemency began to pour in upon 
 the Governor, and even public meetings 
 were held with the same end in view. 
 As a result, the sentences of Fielden and 
 Schwab were commuted to imprisonment 
 for life; and on the very day of the exe- 
 cution, Governor Oglesby was seriously 
 considering the conunutation of all the 
 sentences. But for reasons known only 
 to himself he failed to act; and on 
 November 11th, Spies, Parsons, Fischer, 
 and Engel were hung. Lingg was one of 
 the most determined men of the entire 
 group and was an expert in the handling 
 and preparation of dynamite and bombs. 
 On the 6tli of November, five days before 
 the date set for the execution, his cell was 
 carefully searched. In it was an old box 
 that had been passed to him as empty, 
 and which appeareil to have only a few 
 personal effects in it. It was, however, 
 liy accident forcibly overturned, when a 
 false bottom was knocked out, and four 
 suicide bombs were disclosed. He was 
 then again most carefuly searched, and 
 
 put in a new cell where he would be under 
 the eye of a keeper all the time. At nine 
 o'clock on the 10th of November, a fear- 
 ful explosion was heard in the direction 
 of his cell. The officer who had him in 
 charge had only left him for a moment 
 to attend to another prisoner. Ujjon en- 
 tering the cell Lingg was discovered lying 
 on his side, with face toward the wall, 
 and his arm over his head. When he 
 was turned, it was found that a bomb 
 which he had placed in his mouth and 
 exploded had torn nearly the whole front 
 of his head out, presenting a most hor- 
 rible sight. He was, however, breathing 
 regularly, and was at once placed in the 
 hands of the surgeons. For more than 
 two hours they worked over him, Ik,^ 
 calmly watching their every move, and 
 bearing all the pain of their operations 
 without a quiver. About three in the 
 afternoon, however, he passed away, hav- 
 ing- cheated the gallows of a victim. 
 
 Few cases have ever been tried in this 
 country that aroused such widespread in- 
 terest. The cry for vengeance was so loud 
 before and during the trial that the pub- 
 lic hardly considered the legal rights of 
 the accused men at all; nor did they re- 
 ceive much more consideration from the 
 Court. It was "Anarchy " that was 
 really being tried ; and it hardly admits 
 of question to-day, nor is it often dis- 
 puted by the best lawyers, that the four 
 men who were executed on November 
 11th, were illegally put to death. Aii- 
 arcliy condemned and punished an- 
 archists. So strong was this sentiment 
 for a few years, that several of the fore- 
 most lawyers of the country reviewed the 
 trial in the legal journals and magazines, 
 practically all arriving at conclusions ad- 
 verse to those of the Court. It is un- 
 questionably true that under the Common 
 Law, and our State laws, one must bo 
 held responsible for the result of his 
 speech or writings, if hy them another is 
 led to commit a criminal act; and if the 
 State could have proved that the one who 
 threw the bomb was incited to do so by 
 the harangues and inflammatory words of 
 the accused anarchists, then the case 
 
456 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 ^voulil have been clear, and the Court's 
 rulings and instructions would have been 
 beyond question. But to this day it is 
 not known who threw the bomb, and so 
 it cannot possibly be shown that he was 
 influenced by the teachings of the men 
 who were declared guilty of the murder 
 of Degan. The important case against 
 Moyer, Haywood, and Pettibone. the of- 
 ficials of the Western Federation of 
 Miners, tried at Boise, Idaho, in the 
 spring of 1907, turned upon this very 
 point. And Judge Wood of the United 
 States Court held in all the cases, — the 
 defendants, or rather two of them, being 
 tried separately, — that the Government 
 had not made out its case because it had 
 failed to show any connection between 
 the incendiary talk of the defendants and 
 the act of the murderer of ex-Governor 
 Steunenberg (also killed by bomb), the 
 infamous Harry Orchard. 
 
 In 1893 interest in the case was re- 
 
 vived by the absolute pardon of the three 
 anarchists, Fielden, Schwab, and Neebe. 
 by the Governor of the State of Illinois: 
 and in a small volume entitled, " Why I 
 pardoned the Anarchists," Governor Alt- 
 geld has reviewed the case fully, an<l 
 shown the illegal character of the pro- 
 ceedings of 1886. Moreover the criticism 
 of hi.s course had been so wide and 
 strenuous that Judge Gary felt called 
 upon to retry the case in the forum of 
 public opinion, and to make what reduced 
 itself to a personal defense of his course, 
 in the Century Magazine for April, 1903; 
 and we think a careful reading of his 
 statement will tend to convince an un- 
 biased mind that the judge would have 
 done well to have remained silent; for 
 " Common Sense " is not now, nor has 
 it ever been, law in this country; nor does 
 " Vengeance " have any place in a State's 
 prosecution of a criminal. " Yengeanre 
 is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." 
 
XLIV. 
 THE GEEAT BLIZZAED - 1888. 
 
 Supreme Satisfaction of People of New York. — Its Assumed Safet\- from Dangers from 
 Storm or Flood. — Apparent Purpose of the Intiuite Power to Show How Insignificant We 
 Really Are. — Beginning of Great Storm, Sunday Evening, March 11, 1888. — Origin and 
 Progress of Storm From West to Coast. — Conditions Early Monday Morning. — All Systems 
 of Transportation Tied Up. — People Rescued From Elevated Trains by Ladders. — Before 
 Ten O'clock Broadway a Succession of Hills, Valleys, and Ravines. — -Drifts Across Street 
 Six to Ten Feet Deep. — Side Streets Filled With Abandoned Teams About Wliich Snow 
 Piled up Fifteen to Twenty Feet. — Cabmen Charge Fifty Dollars for Fare Madison Square 
 to Wall Street. — Trade Conditions. — Many " Spring Openings " Advertised for This Monday 
 Morning. — At Altman's Through Forenoon One Woman Bought Two Spools of Thread. — 
 All Business Suspended at Xoon. — No Steam Trains Able to Enter or Leave City. — Horrors 
 of Monday Night. — Storm Increasing, Wind Rising, Mercury Falling. — Total Darkness and 
 Blinding Storm Obliterated all Landmarks. — Sufferings of Lady Stenographer; Seven Hours 
 Getting Home, a distance of Two Miles. — Terrible Experience of Roscoe Conkling. — ^ Lost 
 in Union .Square. — Snow Storm Ceases Tuesday Morning, But Not the Wind. — 12,.jOO,000 
 Loads of Snow to Be Removed. — Over Six Hundred Funerals Wednesday. — ■ City Close 
 to Starvation. — Humorous Messages of Sympathy from Dakota. — " Keep Of!' the Grass. "^ 
 Extent of Storm. — Worst Recorded in History of Country. — Twenty Lives Lost and $15,- 
 OOn.Onn to $20,000,000 of Property Destroyed in Manhattan Alone. 
 
 'So all night long the storm roareJ on; 
 The morning broke without a sun; 
 And when the second morning shone 
 We looked upon a world unknown; 
 No cloud above, no earth below, — 
 A universe of sky and snow." 
 
 — Whittier. 
 
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 r 
 
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 I . 
 
 
 \ 
 
 " ■ ^ 
 
 
 »rf >i_ 4 
 
 
 -■'£■• f^ 
 
 
 -1 
 
 
 ■* 
 
 
 
 
 '# 'C^ 
 
 
 ■«% 
 
 
 
 
 JIIE liist fifty yenrs have been characterized by more wonder- 
 ful achievements in the domain of physical science than 
 have marked any other period of the world's history, — 
 perhaps more wonderful, even, than those of all preceding 
 centuries combined. We of the twentieth century consider 
 with not a little pride the conquests that have been made 
 of so many of the forces of nature; and from heights al- 
 ready attained, anticipate with confidence the not dis- 
 tant day when all the secrets of the earth, sea. and air shall 
 be as clear to us as the page of a printed book, and we shall. 
 in very fact, be " Lords of all we survey." So accurately have the laws of the 
 material universe been fathomed that we bid all its forces serve us, and with 
 .such uniformly certain results that it is hardly surprising- that we are prone 
 to forget that we are not their masters, and come to look upon ourselves as the 
 creators of the energies we are merely given tlie intelligence to direct for the pur- 
 
458 
 
 FROM COLO^'Y TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 pose of our own physical and spiritual 
 advancement. But to-day, as of old, it 
 would seem to be the purpose of tlir In- 
 finite Power at times to impress upon us, 
 llis creatures, how insignificant we really 
 are, and by some great and startling' man- 
 ifestation of power, rather than by voice, 
 t(i |)riirlaiin "1 am the Lord; that is my 
 name; and my glory will I not give to 
 another." 
 
 Probably nowhere else in the world 
 were the evidences of man's dominion over 
 nature so varied and pronounced as in 
 New York city. They wore to be seen on 
 every hand, — in her great business blocks 
 and in her palatial homes; in her rail and 
 steamship connections with every part of 
 the globe; in her free adoption of all de- 
 vices, of every nature, which the }nost 
 highly developed inventive genius coukl 
 suggest as likely to minister to the com- 
 fort or convenience of her peoxsle; in her 
 vast commerce; in her widely diversitied 
 activities, whose influence was felt 
 throughout the world; in her apparently 
 perfect and complete system of electrical 
 communication, which made the business 
 happenings or the political and social 
 movements of the most remote jjlaces the 
 innnediate subjects for action on her ex- 
 changes, or for gossip at her dinner tables 
 and clubs; and in the profusion of the 
 rari'st products of the factories, the fields, 
 the forests, and the seas of every part of 
 the globe, which daily appealed to tlu' ap- 
 petite and wants of this cosmopolitan 
 people. So that not without reason might 
 they paraphrase the boast of Babylon's 
 great king- and say, " Is not this great 
 New York that we have built by the 
 nnght of our power, and for the honor of 
 our majesty ( " 
 
 Yet, as the sequel shows, nature had 
 but to frown for a night and a day, when, 
 l(j ! all this vaunted dominance is para- 
 lyzed, and the people of this great modern 
 Babylon become as impotent as a babe 
 in its mother's arms. 
 
 The terrible storm of wind, sleet, and 
 snow which prostrated all industries, 
 destroyed all means of communication, 
 and held ninety-five jser cent of the popu- 
 
 lation of Xew York city in as close con- 
 finement as if they had been behin<l 
 prison bars, covered the period from Sun- 
 <lay evening, March 11th to Wednesday, 
 March 14, 1888, and has come to hold 
 rank as the most fearful storm ever 
 known on the coast, and has acquired the 
 distinctive title of " Tlie Blizzard." The 
 iifficial report of it made by an officer of 
 the Weather Bureau saiil : "The great 
 storm off the Atlantic Coast of the United 
 States of March ll-14th, will probably go 
 down into history as the most severe ex- 
 perienced since this country has been 
 iidiabiti'd by Europeans. Not only was 
 it remarkable for its force and duration, 
 but also for the unexpected manner of its 
 ai)i)earance and development, and from 
 the track it followed from the time it was 
 first observed to that of its final disap- 
 pearance." Tt orig-inated in the far West 
 and traveled leisurely across the Con- 
 tinent, an apparently inoffensive and 
 somewhat obscure disturbance; and it 
 was not until it reached the coast, and 
 there found a great anti-cyclonic wave of 
 high barometer overlying the ocean from 
 Nova Scotia to Hatteras, that it met with 
 any opposition. But for this meeting of 
 hostile atmospheric forces, each claiming 
 the right of way, and trying to pass on 
 the same track, the original storm would 
 have passed quietly off to sea, and the 
 city would have suifered only the trifling- 
 inconvenience of the rain of Sunday 
 evening. But when two such powerful 
 forces cross each other's paths, or meet 
 face to face, the results may be exceed- 
 ingly unpleasant; and such proved to be 
 the ease in New York city, when these 
 two storm areas met, — the city apparently 
 being- in the very storm center. 
 
 The latter part of the previous week 
 had suggested an early spring. The 
 weather was mild, — even warm; the sun 
 bright and genial, foretelling the near ap- 
 proach of the days when all nature breaks 
 into renewed life and beauty. On Sun- 
 day, however, the scene changed, and dull 
 clouils hung- over the city, which became 
 darker and heavier as the day advanced. 
 Early in the evening- a light rain began 
 
THE GEEAT BLIZZAED — 1888. 
 
 459 
 
 to fall, the thermometer indicating about 
 thirty-five degrees above zero. The force 
 of the storm steadily increased until 
 before midnight it had driven all pedes- 
 trians within doors, the driving, pelting 
 rain making umbrellas of little use. 
 Shortly after midnight there camr a su<I- 
 den change, the wind rising rapidly t(i 
 the force of a hurricane, and the mer- 
 cury beginning to fall stea<lily. Very 
 quickly the rain became a wet, heavy 
 snow, which fell with almost unparalleled 
 thickness, the average accumulation for 
 the hours preceding daybreak being from 
 three to four inches. During the early 
 morning the fury of the gale was con- 
 stantly increasing; and the wind soon ac- 
 quired a velocity of sixty to sixty-four 
 miles an hour. Very early, long before 
 daylight, the street cars had become 
 stalled, and on nearly all lines the effort 
 to run cars had been abandoned. The 
 small army of working men and women 
 ^^■ho start out between four and seven were 
 able to get to their destination with only 
 moderate difficulty and without serious 
 suffering. But the main army of work- 
 ci's, who crowd every means of convey- 
 ance and throng the streets between seven 
 and nine in the morning, faced another 
 l>roblem. The pecidiar physical forma- 
 tion of the city, — a long narrow islan<I 
 with nearly all nf its offices and whole- 
 sale business down at its extreme southern 
 end, while the hundreds of thousands who 
 nuist get to that business district live 
 from two to fifteen miles farther north, 
 at the center and toward the northern 
 end, — greatly aggravated the difficulties 
 piled up by the storm. By eight o'clock 
 the street cars had all been taken off, ex- 
 cepting those — and there were many of 
 them — which were stuck in the snow 
 along the various lines. But the elevated 
 roads had always, heretofore, made some 
 coimection with the downtown districts 
 possible; and it was considered that any- 
 thing like a complete " tie-up " of the 
 transportation system of the city was im- 
 possible, as the skeleton-like structures of 
 these roads seemed to make any such 
 accumulation of snow as should impede 
 
 the movement of trains practically out 
 of the question. But this storm had no 
 respect for theories ; and before ten o'clock 
 it was evident that even these roads had 
 met their master. The switches became 
 clogged, the tracks icj', and the force of 
 the wind was such that the cars swayed 
 to and fro until the passengers expected 
 every moment to be hurled to the streets 
 below, while at times it defied the best 
 efforts of the engines to make any head- 
 way against it. As a result, this service 
 early became totally demoralized and by 
 eleven o'clock there was a continuous 
 blockade on the Sixth avenue lines from 
 Fourth to Twenty-eighth streets. The 
 sufferings of the imprisoned passengers 
 was intense, quite as much from fear as 
 from the inclemency of the weather. 
 After a long and weary wait a young man 
 on the platform of a car over Twenty- 
 second street saw through the blinding- 
 snow a burly negro plowing his way down 
 that street. 
 
 " Sa-a-ay,"' he shrieked, and the man 
 looked up. 
 
 " If you'll get. a ladder and let me down 
 into the street I'll give you a dollar." 
 There was a look of doubt on the man's 
 face, but the idea was too good and the 
 opportunity too promising, to allow it to 
 miscarry. So another man shouted, " I'll 
 give you five, if you get a ladder and get 
 me down." 
 
 "A' right, boss," responded the man, 
 and away he started to find a ladder ; and 
 a shout went up as he was seen shortly 
 after coming down Sixth avenue with 
 one. But upon placing it against the 
 iron pillars it was found it would not 
 reach the rail beams. Off the negro went 
 again, soon returning with two large and 
 strong dry goods boxes and placing the 
 butt of the ladder on these, the top rung 
 just reached the rail beam. Then the 
 man yelled that all the passengers who 
 would pay twenty-five cents might use the 
 ladder, — an offer which was quickly ac- 
 cepted. Wliile that train was being emp- 
 tied, passengers from those in front and 
 behind were crawling along the icy rail 
 beams, getting around the engines by 
 
460 
 
 FEOM COLO^^Y TO WOKLD POWEIJ. 
 
 holding to their greasy wheels, and in 
 turn they descended to the street. As a 
 result of his work the colored man took 
 iu over one hundred dollars in an hour. 
 But neither his scheme nor his apparatus 
 was patented. He soon had a dozen com- 
 petitors; and before the train service wa.s 
 actually discontinued in the afternoon 
 there was a colored man with a ladder on 
 about every block along the avenue. 
 Later a train was blocked at Sixth avenue 
 and Ninth street, where the track is 
 higher and more exposed. F(jr over four 
 hours the passengers were in the greatest 
 danger and suffered intensely, until at 
 length thirteen policeman forced their 
 way through the drifts, bearing a ladder 
 that had been hastily constructed at a 
 neighboring carpenter's shop ; and by 
 means of it all the passengers were 
 brought safely to the street. The Ninth 
 avenue line suffered even more than the 
 Sixth, as it is in many places higher, and 
 along its whole route is much more ex- 
 posed to the terrible winds that sweep 
 down the North river. During the 
 middle of the day the best time made by 
 a train between Fourteenth and Fiftieth 
 streets, where there are some bad grades, 
 was four hours, though the schedule time 
 was only thirteen minutes. But the 
 whole elevated system was tied up before 
 night, as the engineers refused to try to 
 make the trip again when they had once 
 reached the yards. 
 
 But what were the people on the streets 
 doing all this time? A very large pro- 
 portion of the stores, realizing the serious- 
 ness of the situation, had either not been 
 opened at all, or had been closed at an 
 early hour of the forenoon. But there 
 were, of course, many thousands who felt 
 that they nuist get down town, and so 
 made the journey on foot. Before ten 
 o'clock Broadway had, for its entire 
 length, become a succession of hills, val- 
 leys, and ravines. Enormous drifts, 
 reaching entirely across the street and 
 from six to ten feet deep, were common. 
 The wind was continually adding to these 
 and piling up others, while the air was so 
 thick with snow that one could hardly 
 
 see fifty feet. Driven by the fierce gale 
 the sleet cut faces and hands until the 
 lilood came, wdiile the force of the wind 
 was so great that many were driven 
 bodily into snow banks, and others against 
 heavy iron railings or the sides of stone 
 walls, breaking arms, legs, and in two or 
 three eases fracturing skulls. The entire 
 police force was on the alert watching for 
 the injured, and helping women and chil- 
 dren out of the drifts in which they were 
 buried and must soon have perished. 
 But all through the forenoon a great 
 army in single file marched wearily over 
 the snow hills in their effort to reach 
 their offices. They presented a grotesque 
 and motley appearance, and the greatest 
 good nature prevailed. All were brothers 
 then, and mutual help and encouragement 
 was everywhere manifested. Every con- 
 ceivable kind of a dress was to be seen, 
 and the procession would have been a 
 mirth-provoking one had the situation 
 been less tragic. The side streets had 
 become practically impassable. Long 
 before noon abandoned meat wagons, 
 piled high with jirovisions; milk trucks, 
 loaded beer wagons, grocers' teams, and 
 every kind of a vehicle were to be seen, — 
 many of them overturned — and in the 
 middle of the streets deserted cars, 
 all of which formed natural barri- 
 cades about which the fierce winds 
 piled the snow from ten to twenty- 
 five feet high. During the earlier part 
 of the day, and to a limited extent all 
 through it, the cabmen forced their poor 
 horses through the storm and drifts, mak- 
 ing more from a single trip than was 
 usually made in a week. With their 
 thorough knowledge of all side streets and 
 by-ways the drivers were able to get from 
 the uptowTi hotels to the downtown office 
 district in some way, and at some time. 
 A broker at the Hoffman House had a 
 very important deal which was to be 
 closed that day, which meant a small 
 fortune to him. Meeting a " cabby," a 
 dialogue something like the following is 
 reported to have taken place : 
 
 " I must get down," pleaded the broker. 
 
THE GREAT BLIZZARD — 1888. 
 
 4G1 
 
 " Oi, very loikely," responded the cab- 
 man. 
 
 " What will you take for your whole 
 establishment ? " 
 
 " It arn't moine.' 
 
 '■ I'll buy the horse and cart, and I'll buy 
 you too, if you're for salfe; come, what's 
 your price ? " 
 
 " The 'orse arn't moine, I tell ye." 
 
 "Your rig's worth $150. Come, I'll 
 give you $500." 
 
 " No, but I'll take you down for $50." 
 
 The broker quickly paid it, and the 
 start was made. Every fare was paid in 
 advance that day. 
 
 Before noon a large proportion of the 
 cabmen had made a week's, some of them 
 a mouth's wages, and the saloons then be- 
 came more attractive than other " fares." 
 And one of the sad sights of the day was 
 the poor old cab horses, from Harlem to 
 the battery, tied to lamp posts near 
 saloons, while the drivers caroused within. 
 The suffering of the poor animals during 
 the i>elting storm of cold sleet and snow- 
 was terrible; and by a sad irony of fate 
 their best friend, Henry Bergh, passed 
 away that very morning, when his myriad 
 of friends, the dumb animals, most 
 needed him. 
 
 So balmy had been the weather the pre- 
 ceding week that many of the leading re- 
 tail stores had made elaborate prepara- 
 tions for their " Spring Openings " on 
 this Monday morning, and pages of the 
 Sunday papers announced their attrac- 
 tions. Among them was Macy's great 
 store, but a reporter who called during 
 the forenoon found the snow banked six 
 to eight feet high against the great show 
 windows while the porters could scarcely 
 keep the entrances clear. At Altman's 
 through the forenoon one woman ventured 
 in, who bought two spools of thread. In 
 view of these conditions, and the fact that 
 the fury of the storm was steadily increas- 
 ing, by noon all the great department 
 stores closed, and the thousands of clerks 
 and salesmen and women began the battle 
 of their lives with the elements to reach 
 their homes. The great stores on the 
 lower East Side were better situated than 
 
 those farther up town, as the Secon<l 
 avenue elevated was the last to yield to 
 the storm ; so that the thousands of their 
 employees stood a better chance of reach- 
 ing their homes. The Grand and Allen 
 street stations became the most lively 
 centres in the city for a few hours, — 
 streets, stairways, and station platforms 
 becoming one solid mass of anxious but 
 good-natured men and women struggling 
 to reach tlie trains as they slowly crawled 
 along. 
 
 The day was not half spent before every 
 kind of business, except the hotels and 
 saloons, and eveiy means of transporta- 
 tion had become completely paralyzed. 
 All railroads leading into the city were 
 blocked, and not a train moved in any 
 direction; while on all roads were stalled 
 trains, whose passengers were destined to 
 suffer from cold and hunger from thirty- 
 six to sixty hours, before they should get 
 relief. But the storm had only begun. 
 All through the afternoon the atmosphere 
 became thicker and darker, and the force 
 of the gale increased. Streets and lo- 
 calities became unrecognizable, and people 
 lost their way, wandering aimlessly about 
 as one might in a dense wilderness. Even 
 so early in the storm's career a hand 
 thrust through the snow revealed to a 
 policeman or chance traveler the location 
 of some unfortunate who had been over- 
 come, and already was well-nigh buried. 
 As the hurricane gained force men and 
 women were bodily hurled into drifts, or 
 thrown against buildings. Hundreds of 
 pedestrians were cut and bruised, and but 
 for the timely arrival of a policeman 
 would have perished in the snow. And 
 with all the other horrors of the situation, 
 the steadily falling temperature made 
 conditions even more intolerable; for be- 
 fore night set in the mercury was rapidly 
 approaching the zero mark, — an extreme 
 for New York city. All telegraphic and 
 telephonic connections had been destroyed 
 very early in the day, the Atlantic cable 
 being the only means of cormnunieation 
 with the outside world. 
 
 One pitiable sight was the great num- 
 ber of dead sparrows, the only bird that 
 
4G2 
 
 FEOM COLU^'Y TU WOiiLJU POWER. 
 
 remains with us through all kinds of 
 weather. Driven with tremendous force 
 against the windows and buildings they 
 were killed by hundreds. Flocks of them 
 were driven into the hotels around Madi- 
 son square, where they were fed, being so 
 tame as to take food from the hands of 
 the guests. One is reported to have flown 
 into the barroom of the Gilsey House, 
 where he remained on the bar for over an 
 hour, an interested spectator, and a centre 
 of attraction. 
 
 But no words can express the horror of 
 the general situation as night came on. 
 In homes throughout the city and its 
 suburbs there reigned the most painful 
 suspense as to the whereabouts of some 
 member of the family. All were equally 
 helple.ss; no inquiries could be instituted, 
 no search made; all must simply wait in 
 dumb suspense. Many cases were later 
 reported where people were stricken with 
 dangerous diseases, but neither a doctor 
 nor medicines could be procured. While 
 the storm was raging furiously, Monday 
 afternoon, Manager Eckert of the West- 
 ern Union Telegraph Company found two 
 girls, aged thirteini and fifteen, lying in 
 the snow in the doorway of the Coal and 
 Iron Exchange building, at the corner of 
 Liberty and Church streets. Thi>y were 
 clasped in each other's arms, and both 
 already unconscious. With great ditfi- 
 cnlty he succeeded in partially arousing 
 them, and in carrying them through the 
 storm and the drifted snow to the Astor 
 House. During the afternoon the driver 
 of a baker's wagon, who had undertaken 
 to make his calls in spite of the storm 
 and the cold, was found sitting on the 
 seat of his wagon, still holding the reins 
 and with wide open eyes, — but, frozen to 
 death. And so the sad tales began to 
 come in, as they were learned by the in- 
 defatigable reporters for the papers, who 
 performed the most herculean feats and 
 were the means of saving many lives. 
 
 As the day wore towards night the ques- 
 tion of how they were to get to their 
 homes became an intensely serious one for 
 those who had gone down town in the 
 morning. Knowing the keen anxiety that 
 
 would be felt in their homes, and having 
 no means of communicating with their 
 families, many took the trip uptown not- 
 withstanding their experience of the 
 morning, and unmindful of the vastly 
 worse conditions that must exist as a re- 
 sult of the furious storm through the day. 
 Kvcry inch of available space in all the 
 downtown hotels was early bargained 
 for; cots were laid in all the parlors, cor- 
 ridors, and even bathrooms, and all were 
 quickly taken. Billiard tables and floor 
 spaces were eagerly sought. All the down- 
 town clubs threw open their doors; and 
 even the Bowci'y lodging houses were 
 overrun with a class of patrons never seen 
 within their doors before. Of course all 
 the jjolice stations were crowded to the 
 doors with refugees and the great railroad 
 stations were packed with people, many 
 <jf whom gladly sought rest on the hard 
 floors after the exhausting experiences of 
 the day. All the sleeping cars in the sta- 
 tion yards were placed at the disposal of 
 travelers who could not get into the 
 hotels. Many and heart-rending were 
 the stories told by those who undertook 
 to walk uptown. This was a much 
 harder task than getting down, as they 
 now had to face the gale and the driving 
 snow which had beat vipon their backs in 
 the morning. One case, which illustrates 
 the hardships endured by many, was that 
 (if a young lady, a public stenographer in 
 the Stewart building, at the corner of 
 Broadway and Chambers street. Having 
 faithfully promised to complete some work 
 for a lawyer that day, she had gone down 
 early in the morning on a train that got 
 through. In the afternoon she started to 
 walk to her home at .'51,) West Nineteenth 
 street. Though the distance is hardly more 
 than two miles, she buifeted with the storm 
 and the drifts for seven Iiours, and was 
 nearly dead when she reached her door. 
 She had to be carried into the house, 
 when she immediately fainted. Her 
 clothes were frozen to her body. There 
 were scores, perhaps hundreds of these 
 cases, and not a few were overcome and 
 perished in the snow. One of the number 
 who barely escaped with his life, and who 
 
THE GREAT BLIZZAED — 1888. 
 
 4g:] 
 
 died only about a month later as a result 
 of the terrible strain and exposure, was 
 the well-known ex-United States senator 
 from New York State, Roscoe Conk- 
 ling. A man noted throughout the country 
 for his superb physique, his tremendous 
 will power, and great physical strength, 
 which he had always cultivated by con- 
 stant and regular exercise, he felt 
 little hesitation in facing the storm 
 and starting on his walk downtown. 
 From his office in Wall street to his 
 destination, the New York Club, the 
 distance is about two and a half 
 miles, which Mr. Conkling would ordi- 
 narily have walked in forty minutes. As 
 he has left an account of his experience 
 it will fitly close this imperfect suggestion 
 of the frightful conditions that obtained 
 in New Y^ork on that first day of the 
 storm. He says: "There wasn't a cab or 
 carriage of any kind to lie had. Once dur- 
 ing the day I had declined an offer to ride 
 uptown in a ean-iage because the man 
 wanted fifty dollars ; and I started up 
 Broadv.-a.v on my pins. It was dark, and 
 it was useless to try to pick out a path, 
 so I went magnificently along, shoulder- 
 ing through drifts, and headed for the 
 north. I was pretty well exhausted when 
 I got to Union square, and wiping the 
 snow from my eyes tried to make out the 
 triangles there. But it was impossible. 
 There was no light and I plunged right 
 through on as straight a line as I could 
 determine upon. Sometimes I have run 
 across passages in novels descriptive of 
 great adventures in snow storms, — for 
 example in stories of Russian life, where 
 there would be a vivid description of a 
 man's struggle on a snow-swept and 
 windy plain, but I have always considered 
 the presentation an exaggerated one. I 
 shall never say so again: for after what 
 I encountered in last night's blizzard, I 
 can believe that the strongest description 
 would fail to approximate the truth. I 
 had got to the middle of the Park 
 (Square) and was up to my arms in a 
 drift. I i^ulled the ice and snow from my 
 eyes and held my hands up there till every- 
 thing was melted off so I could see, — but 
 
 it was too dark and the snow too blind- 
 ing. For nearly twenty minutes I was 
 stuck there and I came as near giving up, 
 and sinking down there to die, as a man 
 can do it, and not do it. When I reached 
 the New York Club on Twenty-fifth street 
 I was covered all over with ice and packed 
 snow and they would scarcely believe I 
 had walked from Wall street. It fool- 
 Ihrce hours to make the journey." 
 
 xVll through the night the storm con- 
 tinued to rage with unabated fury. But 
 with the dawn of Tuesday the fall of the 
 snow ceased, though the high wind con- 
 tinued through the day, filling the air 
 with driven snow and piling many of the 
 
 KOSCOE CONKLING. 
 
 drifts still higher. Immediately all the 
 energies of men, women, and children 
 were turned toward freeing themselves 
 from their snowbound condition. Thou- 
 sands of men were set to work clearing 
 paths, other thousands, under the direction 
 of the street department, to opening up 
 the drifts along the principal avenues and 
 streets, while still other thousands were 
 set to work by the street railway com- 
 panies in an effort to clear their main 
 tracks. All through the day everyone 
 worked with a will; but with all their 
 united effort little business could lie 
 transactp<l. Toward night the elevated 
 roads got into fair condition, and began 
 
-KJl 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 niiiuiiig trains, but iio attempt was made 
 til run the surface cars. As it is expected 
 that the city will have all tlie leading 
 streets cleared of snow very soon after it 
 ceases to fall, — and as a rule, it does, — ■ 
 very few merchants or storekeepers, or 
 even liverymen, have sleighs or sle<ls. 
 Cuuseiiuently, in this emergency, every 
 kind of a box was i)ut on runners; and 
 carpenters worked day and night to fit 
 out any kind of a rough sled for the 
 grocers, butchers, bakers, and tradesmen. 
 Some very patriarchal old coaches on 
 runners — relics of days gone by — were 
 unearthed and put in service between the 
 hotels and the downtown district. After 
 a careful study of the situation, the 
 street commissioners estimated that the 
 amount of snow below Forty-second street 
 that must be carried away would reach 
 to at least 25,000,000 cubic yartls; which 
 at the usual rate of two cubic yards to ;i 
 load meant 12,500,000 loads that must be 
 shoveled, carted to the wharves, and 
 dumped in the rivers. While ever.vthing 
 was being done to open up the buried cit.v, 
 the steam railroads were no less active in 
 their efforts to release the passengers from 
 the stalled trains, and to lift the embargo 
 on travel. Seventy-two loaded xiassenger 
 trains were reported snowbound almost 
 witliin sight (d' the city. But it was 
 Wednesday morning before the New York 
 Central railroad got its local tracks clear; 
 and by noon it hail brought into the Forfy- 
 second street station all trains that had 
 been stalled south of White Plains. 
 Fortunatel.v there were but two or three 
 alarms of fire during the blizzard's reign. 
 In responding to the alarms, scouts were 
 sent ahead on horseback to mark the way 
 for the engines and hose carriages which 
 followed, each drawn by six or eight 
 jiowerful horses, tin- drivers mounted on 
 one of the rear teams and lashing the 
 leaders, — having every appearance of a 
 battery going into battle. 
 
 All through Tuesday most distressing 
 tales of suffering were reported from all 
 Quarters. One well-known merchant was 
 found dead on Seventh avenue, having 
 evidi'ntly fallen from exhaustion and tlien 
 
 Ijccn frozen to death. Another was found 
 dead in the suow on the edge of Central 
 Park, whither he had apparently wandered 
 after losing his way. A woman was 
 fiiund dead from exposure in an area wa.v 
 off Broadway. About three o'clock in the 
 murning two Herald reporters were forg- 
 ing their way uptown on snow shoes, 
 when at the corner oi Broadway and 
 Twent.v-third street they espied a dark 
 object about six feet from the walk, and 
 partially covered with snow. Uncovering 
 it and turning it over, they discovered 
 that it was a policeman who, worn out 
 with the excitement and exertions of the 
 night, had fallen in the drift and was too 
 weak to rise. Though unconscious, he 
 was taken into the Herald's uptown office 
 near by and revived. The hospitals were 
 crowded to the doors with men, women, 
 and children, — some seriously cut. or with 
 lioibs broken a« a result of the hurri- 
 cane's rough work; others suffering from 
 frozen ears, faces, hands, and feet. Tliat 
 Jlonday night was one that no one who 
 was in any wa.v exposed to its horrors 
 will ever forget. A peculiar feature of 
 such a calamity as had befallen New 
 ^ ork is the great number of serious situ- 
 ations that arise of which even a very 
 observing and inquisitive person would 
 hardly ever learn. This is forcibly illus- 
 trated by the fact that no interments of 
 the dead had been possible since Sunday ; 
 and Wednesday more than six hundred 
 bodies were awaiting burial. This num- 
 ber was uot materially affected b.v the 
 storm, as, so far as known, but twenty lives 
 were lost as the direct result of the bliz- 
 zard. As this number represented the 
 deaths in the old city only, and was ex- 
 clusive of Brooklyn and the other suburbs 
 where similar conditions existed, one is 
 forcibly impressed as to the death rate of 
 a great city. 
 
 On Wednesday the wheels of industry 
 began to move again ; and although all 
 conditions were abnormal in the extreme, 
 still all pulled together, and with a will, 
 for the common good, everyone manifest- 
 ing the best of nature and infinite 
 patience. It has been said that great 
 
THE GKEAT BLIZZAED — 1888. 
 
 465 
 
 cities like London ;uul Xew York are 
 never more tlian one week removed from 
 want, and already New York had begun 
 to realize the truth of the saying. Provi- 
 sions and poultry were already very scarce 
 and prices rose Wednesday from ten to 
 thirty per cent. No milk had come into 
 the city since Sunday, which caused 
 serious inconvenience and even suffering 
 in families where there were very young 
 children and invalids. Coal had also be- 
 come scarce, — and conditions were such 
 as to make it very clear that, had the em- 
 bargo on communication with the outside 
 world continued for a week, tremendous 
 suffering and want must have ensued. 
 
 To aid the sun in its benefieent work of 
 melting the snow, lionfires were built in 
 and under the drifts all over the city. 
 One statistical reporter rstini:it?d that 
 there were over twenty thousand such 
 fires on Wednesday, below Forty-second 
 street, and some streets presented all the 
 
 this drift ; " another, " Man buried under 
 this drift; hurry up and dig him out;'' 
 and still another gave greeting to the 
 home of blizzards with these words, 
 " Dakota, thanks awfully ; " while planted 
 high on snow peaks all over the city could 
 be seen the familiar injunction, " Please 
 keep off the grass." 
 
 But it's an " ill wind that blows none to 
 good:" and New York's dire extremity 
 was Dakota's golden opportunit.v. The 
 feelings of the average New Yorker had 
 been hurt in many ways during the days 
 of the blizzard's force ; but to have the 
 first open wires bring messages like the 
 following seemed like adding insult tn 
 injury: 
 
 BiSMARciv, N. D., March 14. 
 Mayor Hewitt, New Yorh: 
 
 Subscription paper reported passed 
 through Dakota for aid of storm sufferers 
 in New York, and surrounding country. 
 Citizens of territory express deep sym- 
 
 'S^=''^:^^_vfi^iS«l)ar'r''J^^^, 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 ,.^- 
 
 .SNOU DUlhrS ON SIDK STREET. 
 
 appearances of a great conflagration. All 
 over the city large placards began to ap- 
 pear on top of the huge drifts. One an- 
 nounced a " reward of five thousand 
 dollars for a diamond ring lost under 
 
 pathy for your people, and are respondiny- 
 liberally — would you prefer clothes, or 
 food, or both? 
 
 J. M. QUINN, 
 Bismarck Tribune. 
 
466 
 
 FltOil COLONY TO WOlILU l-UWi.!:. 
 
 llLiio.x, D. T., Marcli 14. 
 j\I.\Yoi! Hewitt, Xcw York: 
 
 Huron, Dakota, under a mild spring 
 sun, sends her sympathy to blizzard- 
 strieken New York. If needed, you may 
 draw on us for $50 to reUeve the storm 
 sufferers. 
 
 And the following- message was sent to 
 Senator Conkling, eongratulating him 
 upon his escape from death in the storm. 
 
 FAli(iO, X. D., March 14. 
 Hun. KoscoK OoNKLiXG, Nfw Yurk: 
 
 Tlie Dakota robins, sifting on orange 
 frees in lAoom, join in thanks for your 
 safe delivery from New York's snow 
 drifts. Here in the Tribune office all join 
 me in congratulations to yon. and say : 
 Coinr to the lianana tjeft. where every 
 man is your v.-cll wisher. 
 
 A. W. EDWARDS, 
 
 Editor. Farf/u Trilniiie. 
 
 Many days, of course, passed before the 
 city assumed a normal condition, auti the 
 effects of the blizzard were obliterated. 
 For weeks it was the common topic fur 
 conversation and discussion ; and many 
 were the t(>rrible experiences that were re- 
 counted. In summing up the tlireet re- 
 sults, so far as the city alone was con- 
 cerned, it was found that twenty people 
 had perished in the snow drifts or were 
 frozen to death, though many others, like 
 
 Senator Conkling, doubtless succumbed 
 later to the effects of the storm. The 
 property loss was vai'iously estimated at 
 from fifteen to twenty million dollars. It 
 should be remembered that all these sta- 
 tistics apply to the old city of New Y'^ork 
 alone, the present borough of Manhattan, 
 — as Brooklyn and the outlying districts 
 had not then been annexed. And it must 
 also be remeniljered that tins description 
 of conditions which existed in New York 
 applies with equal truth and force to the 
 surrounding country. The story of the 
 blizzard's career and effects iu the city 
 alone has been told here, because it was 
 the storm centre, and the locality where 
 its fury was most severely felt and where 
 the havoc wrought would naturally be the 
 greatest. Other coast cities suffered only 
 in a lesser degree, — AVashingtou, Balti- 
 more, Philadelphia, and Boston, all re- 
 ceiving a liberal share of the storm's at- 
 tention. It did not, however, extend 
 further west than Buff'alo, and even there 
 it was not marked by unusual severity, 
 lint as the must interested students of its 
 phenomena could tind no other storm re- 
 i-orded in the history of the country with 
 which to compare it, so it may be hoped 
 tliat it may long retain its rightful claim 
 tu the title of "The Blizzard," and that 
 neither New York nor any other city may 
 again have to go through a like ex- 
 perience. 
 
XLV. 
 THE NEW NAVY— 1883-1909. 
 
 Conditions Preceding Spanisli War. — President C leveland's Attitude Regarding Cuban Affairs. 
 President McKinley's. — Republican Platform of 1896. — Senator Proctor's Description of 
 
 Conditions in Cuba. — Destruction of the Maine. — Resolutions of Congress Declaring War. 
 
 History of American Xavy. — Sentiment of Colonial Leaders. — John Paul Jones. — Total 
 Strength of Revolutionary Navy. — ■ First Secretary of Navy. — Character of Vessels Built 
 After War. — ^ First Application of Steam and of tlie Proiieller. — Tin- Demoloyos. — The 
 Monitor and Uerrimac. — Condition of Xavy After Civil War. — Birth of Xew >favy. — Tlie 
 Wliite Squadron. — Tlie Battlesliip Era. — The Oregon. — The Battle of Manila. — Departure 
 of Admiral Sampson's Fleet to Blocka<le Cuba. — Cervera's Squadron and the Santiago 
 Blockade. — The Blowing Up of the Merrimac. — Destruction of Cervera's Fleet. — Fall of 
 Santiago and Close of War. — Schley and the Famous Loop. — Improvement in Navy 
 Following Close of Spanish War. — Comparison of Navy of 1893 and 1908. — Naval Appro- 
 jjriatiiins of Treading World Powers. — Cruise of the Battlesliips. — Itinerary of Trip. — 
 Reception of Fleet and Review in Hampton Roads, February 22, 1909. 
 
 " Why prate of peace? When, warriors all, 
 We clank in harness into hall. 
 And ever bare upon the board 
 Lies the necessary sword." 
 
 — HoBEitT I.ofis Stevenson. 
 
 HE year 1898 marks an epoch in the history of the United 
 States. For one hundred years the young nation had been 
 expanding from the Atkrntie to the Pacific; liad been in- 
 creasing at an unprecedented rate in population ; had been 
 steadily advancing from a position of weakness and even 
 contempt to one of the most exalted moral and material 
 influence among the nations of the world; had, by the in- 
 ventive genius, shrewd common sense, and aggressive 
 intelligence of its people reached a very high degree of 
 attainment in every branch of practical science, in manu- 
 factures, in commerce, in the liberal arts and in educa- 
 tion ; had, fro;ii a low and disordered financial condition advanced to a state of 
 enormous wealth ami unparalleled abundance of material resources; and had, by the 
 severest test of the Kepublican form of government in two wars, and in repeated 
 trying emergencies in home affairs, established beyond question the practicability 
 and inherent virtue of popular institutions. After a vigorous and honorable youth 
 the country had achieved a position of respect and influence among the nations of the 
 world that was unique. A well established tradition of noninterference with the 
 affairs of other peoples, based upon the "teachings of the fathers" and formulated 
 in the Monroe Doctrine, had secured innnuiiity from foreign entanglements, and the 
 peace necessary for a phenomenal internal development; while the moral influence of 
 the nation had become second to that of none of the great powers of the world. This 
 fact had very recently been demonstrated when, in 1895, M'ithout an army of any 
 consequence and practically no available navy, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine 
 
-K58 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOltLD POWER. 
 
 a-s asserteil by President Cleveland liad 
 been accepted by the most powerful of 
 the nations of the world, which had ceased 
 its aggressive encroachments upon the 
 rights of a weaker power, and liail sub- 
 mitted its cause to arbitration. While 
 there was nuieh in the conduct ni domes- 
 tic aft'airs and in thi' achniiiistration of 
 municipal governments tliat was with 
 reason deplored, still the people could look 
 back upon the period of the nation's youth 
 witii just pride, and felt warranted in 
 facing- the twcntictli century with assur- 
 anre and confidence in the maturity of 
 tlieir powers and in the benetieence of the 
 established customs and institutions. As 
 Prof. Coolidge. in his "United States as 
 a World Power." has said: "They be- 
 li<'ved their country to be the best, the 
 tinest, the richest, the happiest in tlie 
 world, and they gave due recognitinn to 
 tlii'ir (iun merits which had made it 
 so. With a tine self-confulenc, public 
 iipiniiin. when forced to admit the charges 
 against anything American, consoled it- 
 self with the belief that things would 
 soon be better. There was a comfortable 
 conviction that if the Americans had 
 failed in any respect, it was only because 
 ihcy bad been tiio busy elsewhere to turn 
 llicir attention in that particular direc- 
 tidu; that, wlien once they had established 
 tiicir material conditions on a thoroughl.v 
 firm fciundation, they could attend to 
 such matters as tinlvcring- the weak places 
 in the macliiue of go^'ernment or develop- 
 ing ihe a'Sthetic capabilities of the race." 
 Jkit unconsciously the youthful nation 
 was alread.v face-to-faee with new eondi- 
 lious that were to test its moral and ma- 
 terial strength. When Mr. ilcKInle.v 
 was inaugurated as president, on March 
 -1. IS'.tT. the Country was at jieacc with 
 all the world, and the people were looking 
 forward with eager confidence to an era 
 of commi'icial prosjierity after four years 
 of financial and business depression. No 
 o}i<' >aw any cloud on the political hori- 
 zon that portended war, nor any threat- 
 ened complications that would swerve the 
 country from its purpose to maintain the 
 existing peace with all nations, and to 
 
 devote all its energies to the task of ad- 
 vancement of home industry and the 
 furtlier development of its vast material 
 resources. President McKinley's inau- 
 gural address was devoted almost entirely 
 to economic questions, including the 
 tariff. It is true that public opinion in 
 the United States had been aroused and 
 sliocked b.v the deplorable state of affairs 
 in Cuba, where the insurgents had not 
 been able to overthrow the Spanish gov- 
 erinnent, nor had the latter been able to 
 maintain any stable authority outside two 
 or three of the large cities. In his mes- 
 sage to Congress on December 7. ISOtl, 
 President Cleveland analyzed the situa- 
 tion, and referred, in no uncertain terms, 
 to the imperative need of making an 
 end, in some way. to the state of anarchy 
 that existed on the island. " The spec- 
 tacle," he said, " of the utter ruin of an 
 adjoining countr.v. by nature one of the 
 njost fertile and charming on the 
 globe, would engage the serious attention 
 of the government and people of the 
 United States in any circumstances. In 
 point of fact, the.v have a concern with it 
 whieli is b.v no means of a wholly senti- 
 mental or philanthropic character. It 
 lies so near to us as to be hanlly sepa- 
 rated from our territory. Our actual 
 l)ecuniar,v interest in it is second only to 
 that of the jieople and government of 
 Spain. It is reasonably estimated that 
 at least from $30,000,000 to $.50,000,000 of 
 American capital are invested in planta- 
 tions and in railroad, mining, and other 
 business enterprises on the island. The 
 volume of trade between the United 
 States and Cuba, which in 1880 amounted 
 to about $(U.00(.).0(10, rose in 1893 to about 
 $lo;j,0OO.O(it) and in 1894, the year before 
 the present insurrection broke out, 
 amcmuted to nearly $96,000,000. Besides 
 this large pecuniary stake in the fortunes 
 of Cuba, the United States finds itself 
 ine,\tricabl,v involved in the present con- 
 test in other ways both vexatious and 
 costly ... It would seem that if Spain 
 should (iffer to Cuba genuine autonomy — 
 a measure of home rule which, while pre- 
 serving' the sovereignty of Spain, wouhl 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 4(iii 
 
 satisfy all rational requirenieuts of her 
 Spanish subjects — there should be no just 
 reason why the pacification of the island 
 might not be efFected on that basis. Such a 
 result would appear to be in the interest of 
 all concerned ... It should be added that 
 it cannot be reasonably assured that the 
 hitherto expectant attitude of the United 
 States will be indefinitely maintained. 
 While we are anxious to accord all due 
 respect to the sovereignty of Spain, we 
 cannot view the landing conflict in all 
 its features and projierly apprehend our 
 inevitably close relations to it, without 
 considering that by the course of events 
 we may be drawn into such an unusual 
 and unprecedented condition, as will fix a 
 limit to our patient waiting for Spain to 
 end the contest, either alone and in her 
 own way, or with our friendly co-opera- 
 tion." 
 
 Y>y its platform for the presidential 
 campaign of 1896, the Kejiublican party 
 placed itself on record as favoring inter- 
 ference in Cuban affairs, to the end that 
 hostilities in the island should be termi- 
 nated. " From the hour of achieving their 
 own independence," read one paragraph 
 of that declaration of party principles. 
 " the people of the United States have 
 rc^garded with s^^npathy the struggles of 
 <pther American peoples to free themselves 
 from European domination . . . The 
 government of Spain having lost con- 
 trol of f'uba and being unable to protect 
 the lives or property of resident American 
 citizens, or to comply with its treaty obli- 
 gations, we believe that the government 
 of the United States should actively use 
 its influence and good ofiices to restore 
 jieace, and give independence to the 
 islands.'' When President McKinley suc- 
 ceeded President Cleveland, March 4, 
 1897. he made no change in the policy 
 which the latter had ijursued, but con- 
 tinued the insistent pressure by which it 
 was sought to persuade the Spanish gov- 
 ernment to give a satisfying measure of 
 free government to its great dependency. 
 In conformity with that policy and the 
 expressed attitude of his party he early 
 addressed himself to the Cuban question. 
 
 the new administration's position being 
 first communicated to Spain by a note 
 from Secretary of State Sherman, dated 
 June 27, 1897, to the effect that the 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by J. E. Purely. Boston. 
 REDFIELD PHOCTOH. 
 
 United States, in the name of humanity 
 and in its own interests, protested against 
 the decrees and acts of General Weyler, 
 especially his reconcentration order. On 
 August -Ith the Spanish government re- 
 plied that the situation on the island was 
 not as bad as reported ; that General Wey- 
 ler's orders were not unusual, and were 
 no more severe than measures adopted by 
 Hunter and Sheridan in the Virginia 
 Valley, or by Sherman in Georgia. And 
 in conclusion the attention of the Ameri- 
 can government was directed to the 
 activity of the Cuban Junta in New 
 York, and to the aid the Cubans were 
 constantly receiving from the United 
 States. 
 
 General Woodford having succeeded 
 Ilannis Taylor as Minister from the 
 United States to Spain in September, 
 1897, a further communication was pre- 
 sented to the Spanish govenimeni setting 
 
470 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD TOWEK. 
 
 Inrth in detail the views of the adminis- 
 tration, and once more tendering the good 
 ofRees of this government for the adjust- 
 ment of Cuban affairs. Very shortly aftei- 
 this the SiJanish ministry resigned, and, 
 on October 14, a liberal ministry assumed 
 control of that nation's interests. Three 
 days later General Blanco was apjwinted 
 to succeed General Weyler as governor 
 and captain-general of the island: and 
 iiu the 23d the new ministry replied to 
 (ieneral Woodford's last note, promising 
 to grant autonomy to Cuba, and again re- 
 quested the United States to enforce with 
 more vigor its neutrality laws. The de- 
 cree of autonomy was made public in 
 Madrid November 27, and a summary of 
 its contents was immediately cabled to 
 Washington so that it might be considered 
 by the President before sending his mes- 
 sage to the Congress about to convene. 
 In that message President McKinley fully 
 reviewed the Cuban situation, but advised 
 that it was only fair to Spain to give the 
 new ministry time to test its policy of 
 autonomy. He also referred to the recall 
 of General Weyler, the mitigation of the 
 
 FITZHTT.n LEE. 
 
 evils of reconcentration. and stated that, 
 so far as this government knew, not a 
 single American citizen was then under 
 arrest or in confinement in Cuba. 
 
 But it immediately became manifest 
 that autonomy had come too late, and that 
 it was greeted with scant favor by either 
 party. On January 13, 1898, serious riots 
 occurred in Havana, which were intended 
 as a popular demonstration against the 
 entire scheme. About this time Senator 
 Proctor, of Vennont, visited Cuba, and on 
 March 17, 1898, he delivered a speech in 
 the Senate, relating the results of his ob- 
 servations, which inflamed public opinion 
 to a white heat. " It is not peace, nor is 
 it war,"' he said: " it is desolation and dis- 
 tress, misery and starvation ... I saw 
 no house or hut in the four hundred miles 
 of railroad ride from Pinar del Kio 
 in'ovince in the west across the full width 
 of Ilabana and Matanzas provinces, and 
 to Sagua la Grande on the north shore 
 and to Cienfuegos on the south shore of 
 Santa Clara, except within the Spanish 
 trochas . . . The dividing lines between 
 the parties are the most straight and clear- 
 cut that have ever come to my knowl- 
 edge. The division in our war was by no 
 means so clearly defined. It is Cuban 
 against Spaniard. It is practically the 
 entire Cuban population on one side, and 
 the Spanish army and Spanish citizens 
 on the other . . . There is no doubt 
 that General Blanco is acting in entire 
 good faith : that he desires to give the 
 Cubans a fair measure of autonomy. He 
 has, of course, a few personal followers; 
 lint the army and the Spanish citizens do 
 mil want genuine autonomy, for that 
 iiicans government by the Cuban people. 
 And it is not strange that the Cubans say 
 it conies too late." In the course of this 
 speech. Senator Proctor described in de- 
 tail the horrible sufferings of the people 
 as a result of the concentration system ; 
 the wretched misery of the country peojjle 
 huddled together like animals within the 
 military stations, where they were dying 
 by hundreds every day from disease and 
 starvation. The effect of his speech was 
 electrical, and the people throughout the 
 United States declared with one voice 
 that such barbarity must cease. From 
 that day it was a foregone conclusion 
 
THE NEW XAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 471 
 
 that the Spaniards must g'et out of Cuba, 
 however long diplomatic formalities 
 might postpone the event. But an unfore- 
 seen disaster was close at hand which was 
 to precipitate the crisis. Upon the occa- 
 sion of the riots in Havana in January, 
 General Fitzhugh Lee, who was then 
 Consul-General of the United States at 
 Havana, advised the government that the 
 presence of war-ships would probably be 
 desirable later on for the protection of 
 American citizens, but not then. The 
 g-overnment, however, decided to send a 
 
 laved. But the Maine, under the com- 
 mand of Captain Sigsbee, had already 
 sailed for Havana, where she arrived Jan- 
 uary 25th, without any demonstration on 
 the part of the people. There she remained 
 for three weeks, no appreciable excitement 
 attending her stay. On the contrary a 
 feeling of relief and confidence seemed 
 to follow the long-interrupted friendly 
 intercourse. So noticeable was this that 
 General Lee strongly urged that the pres- 
 ence of our ships in Cuban waters should 
 be continued by retaining the Maine at 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by Underwood <& Underwood, N. Y. 
 
 THE MAINE. 
 
 war vessel to Havana ; but to avoid as far 
 as possible any suggestion of an aggres- 
 sive or unfriendly aet General Lee was 
 officially informed, on January 24, that it 
 was " the purpose of this government to 
 resume friendly naval visits at Cuban 
 ports. In that view the Maine will call 
 at the port of Havana in a day or two. 
 Please arrange for a friendly interchange 
 of calls with authorities." General Lee at 
 once urged the postponement of the visit 
 for a few days until the excitement oc- 
 casioned by the riots should be further al- 
 
 Havana, or, in the event of her recall, by 
 sending another vessel there to take her 
 place. But at forty minutes after nine, 
 on the evening of February 15, the Maine 
 was destroyed by an explosion, by which 
 the entire forward part of the ship was 
 utterly \\-recked. In this horrible catas- 
 trophe two officers and two hundred and 
 sixty-four of her crew perished, those who 
 were not killed outright by the explosion 
 being penned between decks and drowned 
 by the immediate sinking of the hull. 
 Prompt assistance was rendered by all the 
 
472 
 
 FllOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 vessels in the harbor, the Spanish Cruiser 
 Alfonso XII. being especially active in 
 this regard. The wounded wore tenderly 
 cared for by the authorities, the hospitals 
 being freely opened to them, while the 
 earliest recovered dead were interred by 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES U. SIGSBEE. 
 
 the municipality. Tributes of grief and 
 sympathy were also offered from all of- 
 ficial quarters of the island. 
 
 A naval Court of Inquiry was at once 
 appointed, made up of officers of rank and 
 experience. The Spanish authorities re- 
 quested i>ermission to take part in the in- 
 vestigation, but their request was refused. 
 After twenty-three days of arduous labor 
 their report was completed March 21, and 
 submitted to the President. T!ie testi- 
 mony showed that there were two explo- 
 sions, the first like a report of a gun, the 
 second more open, prolonged, and id 
 greater volume. The conclusions of tlie 
 Court, as officially reported, were: "That 
 the loss of the Maine was not in any re- 
 spect due to the fault or negligence on 
 the jiart of any of the officers or members 
 
 of her crew ; that the ship was destroycil 
 by the explosion of a submarine mine, 
 wliirh caused the partial explosion of two 
 or more of her forward magazines; and 
 that no evidence has been obtainable fix- 
 ing the responsibility for the destruction 
 of the Mdine upon any jierson or persons." 
 Not being allowed to join in the investi- 
 gation made l>y the American officials, 
 the Spanish authorities made one on their 
 own account, examining many witnesses, 
 and concluded that the destruction of the 
 Maine was due to an explosion in her 
 forward magazine. The real cause of this 
 most lamentable catastrophe has never 
 been definitely established. If the sub- 
 marine mine theory is accepted, still no 
 thoughtful person, reviewing all the con- 
 ditions and evidence, has ever believed 
 that the Spanish government either 
 planned the destruction of the vessel, or 
 had any knowledge of such a purpose. Ko 
 act, as they well knew, could have been 
 perpetrated that would more surely spur 
 the American people on to war: and Spain 
 <lid not then want war. The insurgents 
 were the only ones who were working to 
 incite the United States to active hostili- 
 ties, and the most logical supposition is 
 that, if the Maixe was blown up by a 
 I torpedo or mine, the placing and explod- 
 ing of it were the rash acts of hot-headed 
 Cuban insurgents. 
 
 Pending the report of the Court ap- 
 pointed to investigate the affair, the peo- 
 ple manifested a remarkable degree of 
 patience and sanity, as public opinion had 
 been aroused to a point only equaled by 
 the frenzy that followed the attack on 
 Fort Sumter in 1861. But as soon as 
 the findings of the Court were made pul>- 
 lic the pent up anger burst forth. " Ee- 
 member the Maine" became the watch- 
 word, and an immediate declaration of 
 war was demanded. Just at this juncture 
 several of the European powers united in 
 an appeal to the President to maintain 
 peace; and the Pope directed Archbishop 
 Ireland to j^roeeed to Washington as his 
 representative to work for the same end. 
 Put convinced that further negotiations 
 witli Spain would be useless, and being 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 473 
 
 hotly pressed by an impatient Congress 
 now thoroughly dominated by the popular 
 sentiment, the President, on April 11, 
 1898, sent a message to Congress in which 
 he reviewed the situation, concluding that 
 forcible intervention alone could solve the 
 existing difficulties; this, he asserted, was 
 justitied on the grounds of humanity, as 
 well as on those of furnishing the neces- 
 sary protection of the lives and property 
 of American citizens in Cuba, and of end- 
 ing a conflict that was a constant menace 
 to the peace of the United States, while 
 it entailed a great expense on our govern- 
 ment. After several days of heated dis- 
 cussion, on April 19, Congress adopted 
 the following resolutions, which were rec- 
 ognized as equivalent to a declaration of 
 \\'ar : 
 
 " Resolved by the iSenatc and House of 
 Representatives of the United States in 
 Congress Assembled, 
 
 " First : That the people of the island 
 of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free 
 and independent. 
 
 " Second : That it is the duty of the 
 United States to demand, and the govern- 
 ment of the United States does demand, 
 that the Government of Spain at once re- 
 lincpiish its authority and government in 
 the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land 
 and naval forces from Cuban waters. 
 
 " Third : That the President of the 
 I'nited States be, and he hereby is, di- 
 rected and empowered to use the entire 
 land and naval forces of the United 
 States, and to call into the actual service 
 of the United States the militia of the 
 several States to such extent as may be 
 necessary to carry these resolutions into 
 effect. 
 
 "Fourth: That the United States 
 hereby disclaims any disposition or inten- 
 tion to exerciss sovereignty, jurisdiction, 
 or control over said island except for the 
 pacification thereof, and asserts its deter- 
 mination, when that is accomplished, to 
 leave the government and control of the 
 island to its people." 
 
 As soon as the President approved the 
 Resolutions, which he did on the follow- 
 ing day, the Spanish ilinistcr left Wash- 
 
 ington, and on the next day General 
 Woodford severed his relations with the 
 Spanish government, leaving Madrid for 
 Paris; and a state of war between the 
 United States and Spain became an es- 
 tablished fact. 
 
 In the light of sul: sequent events it 
 should be noted that, while putting these 
 Resolutions into effect would unquestion- 
 ablj' involve the country in a war with 
 Spain, it is, at the same time, most ex- 
 plicitly declared that the purpose of such 
 war is not to conquer Spain as a nation, 
 nor to attack her in the possession of any 
 of the other of her dependencies. Apart 
 from the effect of the disturbed condi- 
 tions in Cuba upon the United States, 
 the country had no cause for war with 
 Spain, and with the surrender of that is- 
 land, the whole object for which the war 
 was declared was accomplished. The ac- 
 quisition of Porto Rico, and the subse- 
 quent demand for the cession of the Phil- 
 ippines, are hardly consistent with the dis- 
 interested, and highly moral purpose 
 a\"owed in the fourth resolution. More- 
 over, it would seem that if the fourth 
 resolution expressed the purpose and in- 
 tent of the Administration, there could 
 hardly have been complete harmony in 
 its counsels ; for on Februai'y 23, only five 
 days less than two months before the 
 Resolutions were approved by the Presi- 
 dent, the following despatch was sent by 
 the Navy Department to Commodore 
 Dewey, commanding the Asiatic Squad- 
 ron: "Order Squadron, except Monoc- 
 acy, to Hong Kong. Keep full of coal. 
 In event of declaration of war with Spain, 
 your duty will be to see that the Spanish 
 Squadron does not leave the Asiatic 
 Coast, and then offensive operations in 
 Philippine islands." 
 
 The history of the Spanish war is al- 
 most entirely a record of the valorous 
 action and achievements of the Navy. As 
 President Roosevelt said: "The most im- 
 pressive thing in the prosecution of this 
 war was the preparedness of the Navy and 
 the unpreparedness of the Army." Not 
 only for this reason, but also because there 
 is alwavs a romantic sentiment associated 
 
474 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POV\LR. 
 
 with the naval life and its activities, we 
 shall devote a large part of this chapter 
 to the history of the so-called " New 
 Navy," which did such valiant and heroic 
 work during- the war, and has continued 
 to excite the pride and patriotism of 
 every American, as the cruise of its fleet 
 of battleships around the world has 
 elicited the enthusiastic admiration of the 
 people of every country whose ports it has 
 visited. 
 
 The continued employment of large mil- 
 itary forces (standing armies) or of great 
 fleets has always been regarded as incon- 
 sistent with ReiJublican principles. From 
 the earliest days of their national life 
 down to the last decade the American 
 people have watched with jealous eyes any 
 propositions that looked toward tin- main- 
 tenance of more than a police force, 
 either on land or sea, in times of peace. 
 During the entire life of the nation no 
 measure introduced in Congress to in- 
 crease the size of the Army or Navy, un- 
 less war was immediately innnimut, has 
 ever escaped the keenest scrutiny, or. per- 
 haps, the strenuous opisosition, of the pop- 
 ular party. When, at the close of the 
 eighteenth century, it was urged in Con- 
 gress that a new and more powerful navy 
 was a necessity, one of the Senators from 
 Pennsylvania, in the course of a long- and 
 powerful speech in oyiposition to the bill, 
 said: "It is the design of the Court 
 party (refei-ring to those who were 
 charged with a purpose to make the new 
 government conform as nearly as possi- 
 ble to the monarchical ideas of the old 
 world) to have a fleet and an army. This 
 is but the entering wedge of a new mon- 
 archy in America, after all the blood- 
 shed and suffering of a seven years' war 
 to establish a- republic. The Indian War 
 is forced forward to justify our having- a 
 standing army, and eleven unfortiniate 
 men now in slavery in Algiers is the pre- 
 text for fitting out a fleet. . . . This 
 thing of a fleet has been working among 
 our members all the Session. I have 
 heard it break out often. It is another 
 menace to our repuhlican institutions!" 
 Obedient to this sentiment the largo forces 
 
 in both arms of the service that would be 
 assembled during- the prosecution of a 
 war have always been dissipated as soon 
 as i^eace was assured. And few things il- 
 lustrate more clearly the changed char- 
 acter of American political thought and 
 theory as a result of the Spanish war 
 than do the establishment of an army of 
 close to one hundred thousand men on a 
 peace footing, and the huilding and main- 
 taining of one of the most powerful 
 navies of the world, wdiile the country is 
 at peace with all nations. 
 
 On the 1-lth of June, 1775. just three 
 days before the battle of Bunker Hill, the 
 Continental Congress appointed a Com- 
 mittee to " consider, inquire, and report 
 with respect to the organization of a naval 
 force." Ten days later the Chairman of 
 this Committee was authorized to " invito 
 John Paul Jones, Esq., Gent., of Virginia, 
 Ma-.ti'r ilariner," to come to Philadelphia 
 and favor the Committee with his advice. 
 As a result of this conference, Jones, 
 Xi<-h(ilas Piddle, and three other captains 
 of merchant ships were directed to ex- 
 amine the vessels lying at Philadelphia 
 and to reconnnend such as seemed suit- 
 able for service as war vessels. Acting 
 upon their advice tlic Congress purchased 
 two ships and two brigs. The larger of 
 the ships had been in the East India 
 trade, and when purchased was named the 
 A If red, after Alfred the Great. Although 
 she -was of oidy four hundred and forty 
 tons burden, after being strengthened sho 
 was armed with eight 12-ix>unders, twelve 
 9-pounders, and eight C-poundei's. and 
 carried a crew of two hundred and twenty 
 officers and men. Tliis was tlte origin of, 
 and iliese were tiie ressels tlial consti- 
 tuted, the first Xar/i of the United States. 
 On December !'■>. 1775, Congress voted 
 to build thirteen cruisers. A successful 
 attempt was made to produce vessels that 
 shcudd be a little, at least, in advance of 
 vessels of their class in any other navy, — 
 a policy that has been the ideal of the 
 Navy Department down to the present 
 day. Of the thirteen cruisers the Han- 
 coc.li, Bandolph. Baleigh, Trumhiill. and 
 Prnridenrp. only, got to sea, and all rcn- 
 
THE XEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 t/.) 
 
 (lered good accounts of themselves ; and, 
 later iu the war, the Alliance and Con- 
 federacy were built, which even surpassed 
 their predecessors as the best specimens 
 of naval architecture. As fighting ma- 
 chines these vessels contrast strangely 
 with the war vessels of to-day, marking 
 no less emphatically than the other trans- 
 formations recorded in this volume the 
 marvelous develoiiment of the inventive 
 genius of the nineteenth century. The 
 Alfred, for example, in which John Paul 
 Jones first sailed in the service of the 
 United States as Lieutenant, firing all of 
 her twenty-eight guns at once, could dis- 
 charge only three hundred and eighty 
 pounds of balls, or one hundred ninety 
 at a broadside. At the test of the new 13- 
 inch gun, now in place on our latest bat- 
 tleships, made at Indian Head, in 1894, 
 an eleven hundred pound shell was used, 
 which was driven through seventeen 
 inches of steel plate. 
 
 The total " salt-water " Navy in service 
 during the Revolutionary war included 
 forty-seven vessels of all classes, — ships, 
 brigs, schooners, and sloops. The two 
 most formidable vessels of the period were 
 never of service to the nation, as policy 
 dictated their presentation to the King of 
 France. These were the Iiidien, built at 
 Amsterdam, which it was intended to 
 place under the command of John Paul 
 Jones, whose guns could throw a total of 
 twelve hundred and six pounds of shot, 
 or a broadside of over six hundred 
 pounds; and the America, launched late 
 in the progress of the war, which was a 
 ship of the line, carrying seventy-four 
 guns. These were as formidable as any 
 ships of war afloat at that time. Those 
 were the romantic days of our naval his- 
 tory, the tales of which have fired all 
 youthful hearts for a centur\-. There was 
 no long-range fighting, but broadsides were 
 exchanged at such close quarters that a 
 spar shot away on one vessel was liable to 
 fall upon the deck of an antagonist ; and as 
 batteries were disabled, eager preparations 
 were made for boarding and hand-to-hand 
 fighting on the deck of one or the other 
 of the ships. The other vessels that 
 
 achieved tlie most notoriety were the Bon 
 Homme Richard, the Randolph, and the 
 Ranger. The English navy truly ruled the 
 seas at this time, and the sentiment of 
 the Continental, and even later National, 
 (.'ongresses was, that our vessels should 
 be kept at home for harbor defense, as it 
 was not believed, vessel for vessel, that 
 they could stand any chance of victory 
 over the British war-ships. It was not 
 oidy their love of adventure and a fight 
 that led the early naval officers to take 
 great risks; they also wished to demon- 
 strate to the weak and timid home gov- 
 ei'nment and people that, under any ap- 
 proach to fair conditions, the vessels and 
 the crews of the United States Navy were 
 the equals of those of any navy in tlio 
 world; and this they abundantly proved in 
 a series of most brilliant and thrilling en- 
 gagements extending over all the troubled 
 years until the end of the war of 1812. 
 It is related that Jones and Captain Bid- 
 die of the Randolph had often talked this 
 matter over, and had agreed upon the 
 wonderful results that would accrue to 
 their country if " by exceedingly desperate 
 fighting one of our ships should conquer 
 one of the English of markedly superior 
 force; " and each of these gallant oflScers 
 watched anxiously for the opportunity, 
 and hoped to be the first to demonstrate 
 the superiority of yankee ships, yankeo 
 gunnery, and yankee grit and pluck. The 
 lot fell first to Biddle who, in command 
 of the Randolph, in March, 1778, was 
 cruising near Barbardos. His ship 
 mounted only thirty guns. One afternoon 
 the British ship Yarmouth, mounting 
 sixty-four guns, and, because of their 
 greater size, of more than four times the 
 force of the RandolpJi's batteries, bore 
 down on Biddle's ship, and the little con- 
 voy of merchant sloops accompanyiu';' 
 him. He at once waited for the Yarmouth 
 to come up, and when she had come 
 within range the Stars and Stripes were 
 flung to the breeze, and a broadside was 
 sent crashing against the enemy's hull, to 
 which the Yarmouth immediately replied. 
 After the exchange of two or three rounds 
 it was clear that the Randolph could fire 
 
47G 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 iiliout three broadsides to the Yarmouth's 
 one; but the heavier guns of the hitter 
 \\ere too mueh for the former to with- 
 siand. Biddle had been shot down early 
 in the fight; but, seated in a chair, he 
 cheered his men on. Seeing that he eouhl 
 not win by direct firing- against the en- 
 emy's more powerful batteries, he ordered 
 a movement that would bring him along- 
 side the Yarmouth, intending to grapple 
 i'ud board her, and then fight it out on 
 her deck. Just as he was coming close to 
 the enemy, however, fire reached the Ran- 
 dntph's magazine directly un<ler Biddle's 
 icet, and she was blown clean out of 
 water. Only four of her crew were saved. 
 I'bough all was lost the superb bravery 
 I'f officers and crew cheered the despond- 
 I lit hearts of the American people and 
 stiffened the Congressional backbone. The 
 great victory Biddle and Jones had talked 
 of was reserved for the latter when, in 
 the Bon Homme Bichard, he captured 
 the Serapis in 17T8, and established the 
 standard of seamanship ami unflinching 
 courage which it has since been the high- 
 est purpose of the officers and men of the 
 American navy to maintain. In the 
 meantime, however, an honor of a dif- 
 ferent character fell to the lot of Jones. 
 On the 14th of June. 1777, Congress en- 
 acted that " the flag of the thirteen 
 Tnited States shall be thirteen stripes, 
 alternate red and white; that the union 
 be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, 
 representing a new constellation." On 
 the first of November following Jones 
 sailed from Portsmouth, N. II., in the 
 sloop Ranger, just completed, flying the 
 new American flag, which he displayed 
 for the first time in European waters; 
 and on December 15 he sailed through 
 the French fleet at Quiberon bay, near 
 Xantes, whither he convoyed a fleet of 
 .Vmerican merchantmen, with the Stars 
 ami Stripes at his mast-head, which was 
 there for the first time saluted by a for- 
 eign flag-ship, and an Admiral's fleet. 
 
 On April 30, 1798, a separate Navy De- 
 jiartment was created, and Benjamin 
 Stoddert was appointed the first Secre- 
 tary. Previous to that date the naval af- 
 
 fairs had been conducted as a branch of 
 the war department. By an act of Con- 
 gress, July 11, 179S, a permanent Marine 
 Corps was also established, having eight 
 hundred and eighty-one officers and men, 
 all under the command of a Major. Be- 
 fore the end of the century the cruisers 
 which had achieved such brilliant records 
 during the war had all been dismantled 
 or sold. But war with France becomiii"; 
 imminent, and the depredations and in- 
 sults of the Barbai-y Corsairs passing en- 
 durance. Congress was, by a small major- 
 ity, led to authorize the building of an- 
 other fleet. A group of frigates, ten in 
 number, were launched between 1797-99, 
 which were a marked advance upon the 
 cruisers of the Revolution. The most 
 noted of these were the United States, 
 Constellation, Chesapeake and the Consti- 
 hillon, which was later to immortalize 
 herself in the famous fight with the 
 Guerriere. Vessels of this class were so 
 successful that an occasional one was 
 added to the fleet down to 1S47. As a 
 part, also, of a plan to gradually 
 strengthen the Navy the government 
 liuilt, between 1814-18, several vessels of 
 a new class, — seventy-four gun ships of 
 the line. Among these were the Franklin, 
 (llilo. North Carolina, and Vermont. 
 These vessels were easily the finest battle- 
 ships afloat: and the appearance of the 
 North Carolina in Mediterranean ports, 
 in 1825, with her one hundred and two 
 guns in three tiers, awakened the deepest 
 interest, European naval officers pro- 
 nouncing her the most formidable war 
 vessel in the world. In his most valuable 
 History of the United States Navy, Mr, 
 ]Maclay has brought together some of the 
 expressions by foreign naval experts of 
 their appreciation of America's success in 
 naval construction and administration 
 which would seem to warrant the pride in 
 their Navy which the people of this coun- 
 try are sometimes thought too ready to 
 manifest. In 1820, ho .says, the British 
 government sent a naval officer to inspect 
 our Navy. He reported that " the organ- 
 ization of the American Naval Depart- 
 ment, either for administrative duties or 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 47: 
 
 for practical work, is the best system ex- 
 trmt. Their ships are the best built and 
 their timber is unsurpassed. Their frig- 
 ates are competent to cope with ships of 
 the line, and their ships of the line with 
 three deckers; and the whole administra- 
 tion of the Navy is conducted with com- 
 paratively little expense.'" Maclay fur- 
 ther states that in the introduction to a 
 new edition of James's " History of the 
 British Navy," the editor says: "It is 
 liut justice, in regard to America, to men- 
 tion that England has benefited by her 
 (America's) example, and that the large 
 class of frigates now (182(3) employed in 
 the British service is modeled after that 
 of the United States." 
 
 But a new factor in tlie history of all 
 ship-building- was now forcing itself upon 
 the attention of all constructors. Eulton 
 had already established the practicability 
 of steam as a motive power for sea-going 
 vessels, and early urged upon Congress 
 the construction of a steam war ship. The 
 result of his efforts was the building' of 
 the Demologos, as Fulton called her, or 
 Fulton Numher One as she is known in 
 the Navy lists. This unique vessel is thus 
 described in the " Life of Fulton: " " The 
 Demologos, or Fallon, measured one hun- 
 dred and forty feet over all, fifty-five feet 
 beam, and drew onfv eiglit feet of water. 
 The superstructure was built on two hulls, 
 sejiarated from end to end by a channel 
 fifteen feet wide and sixty-six feet long. 
 One hull contained the boiler, which was 
 ii;ade of copper, for generating steam. 
 The machinery occupied the othei- boat. 
 The water-wheel revolved in the space be- 
 tween them. The main, or gun deck, sup- 
 ])orted the armament, and was protected 
 by a parapet five feet thick, of solid tim- 
 ber, pierced by embrasures. Her upper, 
 or spar deck, upon which many hundred 
 men might parade, was encompassed with 
 a bulwark for safety. She was rigged 
 with two stout masts, each of which sup- 
 poi'ted a large lateen yanl and sails. Slic 
 liad two bowsprits and jibs, and four rud- 
 ders, one at each end of each boat, so that 
 she might be steered with either end fore- 
 most." In addition to these features this 
 
 remarkable vessel had a battery of twenty 
 long 32-pounders, which was supplemented 
 b,v a submarine gun designed to throw 
 a hundred-pound shot. She was also 
 ecjuipped with an engine for tlie purpnse 
 of forcing an immense column of water 
 through an enemy's port-hole with a view 
 to sinking the vessel, and had a furnace 
 for hot shot. After the war of 1812 the 
 Demologos was stationed at the Brooklyn 
 Navy Yard as a receiving ship until 1829, 
 when she was blown up, with a terrible 
 loss of life. Fulton the Second, designed 
 as a defense vessel for New York harbor, 
 was built in 1837. She had sloping bul- 
 \varks of the best live oak five feet thick, 
 a model that undoubtedly suggested the 
 sloping sides of the Merrimac and the 
 other iron-elads of her class that were 
 fitted out by the Confederate government 
 during the Civil War. The Navy Depart- 
 ment, however, was slow to adopt steam, 
 even as an auxiliary motive power. By 
 1838 both England and France were build- 
 ing steam war vessels; but it was not 
 until 1841 that the- prejudices of the 
 United States officials were overcome. In 
 that year the two side-wheel steamers 
 .][ississipjti and ilissouri were con- 
 structed, and in 1847 two more of the 
 same class, the Susquehanna and the 
 Powhatan. The Missouri was burned at 
 Gibraltar, in 1-843 ; but her sister-ship, the 
 Mississippi, had a long and notable career. 
 She was the flagship of the naval forces 
 in the Gulf during the war with Mexico; 
 also Capt. Perry's flagship when he visited 
 Japan, and negotiated the treaty with that 
 country; and was at last destroyed by fire 
 when, under Farragut, she was trying to 
 pass the Confederate batteries at Port 
 Hudson during the Civil War. 
 
 But the inventive mind was still active 
 and the time had arrived for the adoption 
 of a new propelling force for vessels, A 
 submerged screw had been experimented 
 with in France as early as 1823; but, 
 though satisfactory results were achieved 
 in trials, the idea was generally regarded 
 as impracticable by all naval authorities. 
 In 1830, liowcver, the Rolert Field Stocl- 
 tun crossed the Atlantic, using a propeller 
 
478 
 
 I'KUM COLO^'Y TO ■\VOKLD POWEE. 
 
 i:i-;tead of side wheels. Captniu Stoektou I 
 had borrowed his ideas largely from John 
 Ericsson, who was then in London ; and 
 after the successful trip of the Stockton, 
 he urged his plans upon Congress, with 
 the result that the first steam propeller 
 was launched and built in 1844, and, in 
 honor of Captain Stockton was named 
 the Princeton, after his home city. So 
 great was the success of this venture that, 
 between 1856-9, the government was led 
 to build the splendid fleet of screw war 
 vessels that were at once recognized 
 everywhere as superior to all existing war 
 -laps. Among these were the Niagara, 
 }'Jerrimac (later the Confederate iron- 
 clad), Waliash, Minnesota, BrooHi/n, Lan- 
 caster, etc. They were all ship-rigged, 
 and very efficient whether under sail or 
 steam. 
 
 Yet formidable and perfect as these 
 latest vessels appeared, their practically 
 
 THE ERICSSON STATUE, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 utter uselessness was soon to be demon- 
 strated. Tt is doubtful whether any battle 
 ever fought on the water was so moment- 
 ous in its results as the duel between the 
 Monitor and Merrimac. The ease with 
 
 which the Merrimac, the day before, had 
 shelled and rammed and sunk our best 
 vessels at Hampton Eoads, readily 
 demonstrated that the day of the wooden 
 war ship was over. This was recognized 
 liy foreign nations as well as our own. 
 A distinguished member of Parliament, 
 speaking on the subject the day after the 
 receipt of the news of the battle doelared, 
 " Our whole Navy is useless : we must be- 
 gin anew." More than this, the fight be- 
 tween the two ironclads determined tho 
 tj-pe of vessel that would be the battle 
 ship of the future. As Maclay says : 
 " Ericsson in his Monitor gave the cue to 
 naval designers all over the world, the es- 
 sential feature of his invention, the tur- 
 ret, being introduced in all first-class 
 war ships to-day. In fact, strictly speak- 
 ing, our heavy war vessels of 1900 are 
 nothing more than highly developed Mon- 
 itors. The two turrets, one forward and 
 one aft, and, in ships of the Oregon class, 
 the auxiliary turrets containing 8-inch 
 guns, classify them unmistakably with 
 the improved Monitor, the only essential 
 difference being the greater freeboard 
 designed to secure better accommodatiiiu 
 for the officers and crew. This freeboard, 
 however, is in no way estimated in the 
 main defensive scheme of our battleships. 
 1'lie heavy armor belt is carried not much 
 higher above the water line than in the 
 originial Monitor, while the heavily 
 armored protected deck of the Oregon is 
 iii much the same position as that on 
 Ericsson's invention. Stripped down to 
 her real offensive and defensive concep- 
 tion the Oregon would bear a remarkable 
 proportional resemblance to the Monitor, 
 the superstructure built above the real 
 pi'otective deck and belt being designed 
 so that it could be riddled with shot with- 
 out it any way affecting- the vitality of 
 the ship." And a prominent English 
 Xaval expert, speaking of the Goliath 
 (1S98") as the latest and most powerful 
 battleship constructed in Great Britain, 
 is quoted as saying : " It is of historic 
 interest that the modern ironclad with its 
 turrets and massive plates had its root 
 idea in the famous monitors designed for 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 47!) 
 
 the United States government by Eries- 
 son, who sought to eombine invulnerabil- 
 ity with very heavy ordnanee." 
 
 The years following the Civil Wnr were 
 years of stagnation in naval affairs. For 
 a brief period the jiowerful monitors that 
 were built during the later years of the 
 war, with their 15-ineh Dahlgren guns, 
 were the most formidable lighting ma- 
 chines afloat. But European nations soon 
 had battleships of far greater size than 
 our monitors, armed with imj^roved 
 breech-loading rifles. The sentiment of 
 the American government was to patch 
 up our old wooden ships, and to let Europe 
 " make experiments for us." The natural 
 result was that the Navy, by 1S80, had be- 
 come one of the most inefficient in the 
 world. The year 1881, however, marked 
 the beginning of the " new order," and 
 was the natal year of the " New Navy." 
 On June 29th a Board was appointed by 
 the Secretary of the Navy to consider its 
 state, and report what action ought to be 
 taken by Congress. After mature delib- 
 eration the Board recommended the 
 building of twenty-one battleships and 
 seventy cruisers, besides torpedo-boats and 
 rams. The immediate result was the con- 
 struction of one " worthless ram." But the 
 luatter was now before Congress and the 
 jjeople, and constant agitation of the ques- 
 tion by the press and by naval writers was 
 destined to secure early results. Sijeak- 
 ing of this period Lieutenant Spear, a 
 historian of the Navy, saj'S : " For sev- 
 enteen years we had allowed foreign coun- 
 tries ' to do the experimenting for us.' In 
 that time England had learned how to 
 build an Inflexible with armor from eight- 
 een to twenty-four inches thick, and car- 
 rying four built-up rifles of 16-inch cal- 
 ibre, firing a projectile weighing seven- 
 teen hundred pounds, that was able to 
 pierce twenty-seven inches of wrought 
 iron armor at a range of five hundred 
 yards. Our best naval ship was a mon- 
 itor carrying smooth-bore guns that fired 
 a shell as little able to penetrate the armor 
 of the day as a flint-lock musket would 
 have been. But we had a complete book 
 knowledge of the best of the British ships. 
 
 and now we were to begin using the ad- 
 vantages we had gained by allowing other 
 nations ' to do the exijerimcnting for us.' " 
 Even after the Secretary of the Navy had 
 determined to commence building the 
 ships authorized by Congress, it was found 
 that there was not a ship-yard in the 
 country adapted to the construction of a 
 five-thousand-ton cruiser, not to speak of 
 an armorclad vessel. Nor was there a mill 
 in the country that could make the steel 
 plates and frames required, nor the armor. 
 The Department was, therefore, forced 
 to begin by building a despatch boat and 
 two small 3000-ton cruisers, the Dolphin, 
 the Boston, and the Atlanta. The eon- 
 tract for the construction of these vessels 
 was made with John Koacli, July 23, 
 1883, by which the mills for tlM making of 
 such steel plates as were needed were 
 guaranteed. By a later contract of June 
 1, 1887, with the Bethlehem Iron Com- 
 pany, facilities for making the best of 
 steel armor and forgings for the largest 
 of steel guns were provided. The Dolphin 
 was launched in 1884, and the Atlanta 
 and Boston in 1885. The two latter had 
 armaments of two 8-inch and si.x G-inch 
 guns, besides a secondary battery, which, 
 with a speed of fifteen knots, made them 
 very creditable war vessels for the time. 
 Having fairly entered upon the new work, 
 each succeeding Secretary of the Navy 
 earnestly labored to improve upon the 
 work of his predecessor; and new and 
 larger vessels of improved types and 
 greater fighting power and speed followed 
 each other in rapid succession. The first 
 armored ship worthy of particular men- 
 tion in the New Navy, or the '•' White 
 Squadron " as the vessels were familiarly 
 classed, was the Maine, destined to meet 
 such a tragic fate in Havana harbor eight 
 years later. She was launched Novem- 
 ber 18, 1890, had side armor twelve inches 
 thick, and carried 10-inch guns in each 
 turret. But the first vessel whose trial- 
 trip banished all pessimism from the 
 minds of naval authorities and gave dis- 
 tinct promise that the United States 
 Navy was fairly in line once more for the 
 first rank among the great navies of the 
 
480 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 world, was the New Yuri,-. Shu was 
 launched December 2, 1891; was 380.5 
 feet long, 65 feet wide, and had a disislace- 
 incnt of 8200 tons. Under the terms of 
 the contract with her builders she was to 
 have a guaranteed speed of twenty knots 
 an huur, and a premium was offered for 
 any excess of speed. An enthusiastic 
 naval officer thus speaks of her trial trip: 
 " On !May 22. 1S'J2, she was at sea for her 
 (jtKoial trial, and if we consider the effect 
 of that trial upon the Navy and the na- 
 tion we shall find few other days to com- 
 pare with it. For because of the pessi- 
 mistic habit of thought cultivated during 
 the dark ages of the Navy even the offi- 
 cers who were to test her had not full con- 
 fidenc'o that she Mould make good the rec- 
 ord for which she was designed. But 
 when with eager eyes they watched the 
 swift beating of connecting rods and the 
 smooth whirr of shafts, and in tlie midst 
 of the perspiring heat of the air they 
 found the bearings cool, while the indi- 
 cator cards showed such power as they 
 liad never seen before, their fears faded 
 away. For four hours they kept their 
 eyes on engine-room and taffrail log and 
 clo<-k ; and then, when the time was done, 
 the whole crew burst into cheers while a 
 sailor climbed aloft, and lashed a broom 
 to the mast-head. She had covered twenty- 
 one knots an hour. No such ship as that 
 had ever floated the 'gridiron flag;' no 
 such ship of the class floated any flag. 
 The shame that ha<l for twenty-five .years 
 rested on our Navy was wiped out. The 
 ^f)D York was the Constitution of the 
 Ne\v Navy we atfcctionately called the 
 * White Squadron.' " 
 
 rSut the battleship era was now on. By 
 the .Vrt of June 30, 1890, Congress pro- 
 vided for the construction of three " coast 
 defense" battleships. Benjamin F. Tracy 
 was then Secretary of the Navy, and 
 he is reported to have said to the head 
 of the Construction Bureau : " Now, sir, 
 what you're to do is to design a ship 
 that can lick anything afloat." And the 
 Orrgnn was the result. She was equipped 
 with two 13-inch guns, the most power- 
 ful then made, in each of two main turrets 
 
 placed over the keel at bow and stern. 
 Two other turrets were located over each 
 rail, in each of wliich were mounted two 
 S-inch guns; and along the side armor 
 walls were placed four 6-inch guns. Her 
 armor varied from fifteen to eighteen 
 inches in thickness, her displacement was 
 10,300 tons, and her speed was fifteen and 
 a half knots. It was generally conceded 
 (liat the naval constructor had faithfully 
 e.NCcuted the orders of Secretary Tracy, 
 and the Oregon at once took her place as 
 tile Queen of the New Navy. The Massa- 
 cliusetfs and the Indiana, of the same 
 class as the Oregon, quickly followed. 
 These vessels were classed as " coast line 
 battleships," and while powerful and ef- 
 fective within their range, they w-ere de- 
 fective in their coal capacity, and so could 
 not be relied upon for long-distance ser- 
 vice. As will be seen a later class, ordered 
 and built after the Spanish war, like the 
 Louisiana, were constructed of more than 
 double the displacement of the " coast- 
 line " ships, capable of taking in coal 
 enough to go half way round the world 
 and arrive at any jjoint ready for action 
 without delay for coaling. The " New 
 Navy " consists of four types of ships ; 
 the battleships, cruisers, torpedo-boats, 
 and auxiliaries. There are, too, subdivi- 
 sions of each of these classes, — as the 
 battleships into "coast-line" and sea- 
 going vessels; the cruisers, into armored 
 cruisers, protected cruisers, gunboats, and 
 scouts; the torpedo boats, into torpedo boat 
 destroyers, submarines, etc. In 1891 the 
 Columbia and Minneapolis were added to 
 the fleet, each with a speed of twenty- 
 ihree knots an hour, which were readil.v 
 recognized as the most efficient armored 
 cruisers designed as commerce destroyers 
 afloat ; while in 1895 the Brooklyn, an ad- 
 vance on the Xew York both in speed and 
 strength of armament, took her place at 
 the head of the armored-cruiser class. 
 By constant addition to all classes of the 
 fleet, our Navy had become a formidable 
 one by the time our affairs with Spain 
 took a serious turn, and naval officers 
 were anxious to test its efficiency in 
 actual war. When the Spanish war be- 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 481 
 
 (.•nine an undoubted fact, however, it was 
 deemed necessary to add to the fleet a 
 large number of vessels from the mer- 
 chant marine. The great and swift ocean- 
 liners New York, Paris (renamed respec- 
 tively the Harvard and Tale), St. LouU, 
 and St. Paul were chartered at an enor- 
 mous rental, to act as despatch boats, 
 scouts, etc. ; while a large number of 
 smaller craft, — tugs, big steam-yachts, 
 and similar vessels, — were bought. In 
 this manner the total number of vessels, 
 (if all classes, that were engaged in actual 
 service during the war, was brought up 
 to one hundred and fifty-five. 
 
 Although it is generally stated by 
 writers upon the subject, as it was by the 
 leaders of public opinion at the time, that 
 the Spanish war was in reality unex- 
 pected, — especially that part of it which 
 was conducted in the Orient ; yet it seems 
 111 have been understood in the Navy De- 
 partment, at least, for some weeks before 
 tlic destruction of the Maine, that matters 
 would assume the course they did, and 
 that not only the destruction of the Span- 
 ish fleet in Asiatic waters was contem- 
 idated, but the acquisition of the Philip- 
 pines as well. At the opening of the year 
 1898 there were forty-eight war ships of 
 the various classes in commission or 
 available for active service. Of these 
 fourteen were on the North Atlantic Sta- 
 tion, seven were on the Pacific ocean, 
 tlnee were in the South Atlantic, two 
 were in European waters, and six were on 
 the Asiatic station. As early as January 
 11. the Department began sending mes- 
 sages to the Commanders of the different 
 squadrons to retain men whose terms of 
 enlistment were about to expire, and to 
 keep their vessels full of coal, and be 
 ready for immediate and important 
 orders. The work of the Secretary of the 
 Navy, John D. Long, at this time de- 
 mands the highest praise. By adroit 
 maneuvering he brought all the import- 
 ant vessels of the European and South 
 Atlantic squadrons into Cuban waters 
 without arousing suspicion, or assembling 
 such a force at one point as would take 
 on the appearance of an act of wnr. 
 31 
 
 On January 3 Commodore Dewey suc- 
 ceeded to the command of the Asiatic 
 .-■quadron, and on the 2Tth, he was reached 
 by a cable message at Yokohama, which 
 led him to repair at once to Ilong Kong, 
 where he was shortly after instructed 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by J. E. Furdy, Boston. 
 JOHN D. LONG. 
 
 to assemble all his squadron except the 
 Monocacy. On February 26 the Balti- 
 more, then at Honolulu, was ordered to 
 join Dewey's squadron with all possi- 
 ble despatch, as was the revenue cutter, 
 Hniyh McCulloch, then in the South Pa- 
 cific. As a result of these prompt meas- 
 ures there were soon assembled at Hong 
 Kong, ready for any emergency, the Olyra- 
 pia, Baltimore, Boston, Raleigh, Concord, 
 Petrel, and Hugh McCulloch. On Feb- 
 ruai'y 25 Assistant Secretary Roosevelt 
 cabled Dewey at Hong Kong : " Secret 
 and confidential. Order the squadron, 
 except Monocacp, to Hong Kong. Keep 
 full of coal. In the event of declaration 
 of war with Spain your duty will be to 
 see that the Spanish squadron does not 
 leave the Asiatic Coast, rind th?.n offensive 
 ope'-aHons in the Philippines.'' 
 
482 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOULD I'OWER. 
 
 One of the vessels of the Pacific Siiuad- 
 ron was the Oregon then at the Bremer- 
 ton Navy Yard, on Puget Sound, oppo- 
 site Seattle. Under date of March 7 the 
 Secretary of the Navy telegraphed to her 
 Commander: "The situation is getting 
 worse. You should go to San Francisco 
 as soon as possihle and get ammunition." 
 Three daj's later the Orenon passed 
 through the Golden Gate into San Fran- 
 cisco bay. As the cruise of the Oregon, 
 of which Captain Charles E. Clark as- 
 sumed command at this time, was one of 
 the most notahlo in all naval history and 
 the most spectacular event of the war, 
 the Captain's orders are of interest. On 
 March 12, Secretary Long telegraphed: 
 " When in all respects ready for sea. pro- 
 ceed with the vessel under your com- 
 mand to Callao, Peru, and await further 
 orders. In view of the present critical 
 
 drilled, the jiassage of the ship not to be 
 delayed thereby.'' Our space does not ad- 
 mit of any extended account of this most 
 remarkable run for a war ship of tliis 
 class, eventful and interesting as it was. 
 Leaving San Francisco on ilarch 19 she 
 arrived at Key West on the morning' of 
 May 2(5, having covered the run of four- 
 teen thousand miles in sixty-eight days, 
 and in such perfect condition that she was 
 ready for battle the hour of her arrival. 
 Stops had been made at Callao, Val- 
 paraiso, Sandy Point (Straits of Magel- 
 lan), and Rio de Janiero for coal. From 
 Rio on the cruise was made the more ex- 
 citing for officers and men by the re- 
 ported presence of torpedo boats in the 
 vicinity of the Brazilian capital, and by 
 the news conveyed to Captain Clark by 
 the Department that he might possibly 
 come in contact with Cervera's fleet. 
 
 Photo. Cojiyrighlcd hif Underwood & Underwood A'. Y. 
 
 THE OREGON. 
 
 condition of affairs the Oregon should 
 leave San Francisco at the earliest possi- 
 ble date and arrive at Callao as soon as 
 practicable. The crew is to be constantly 
 
 which was then supposed to be some- 
 where among the Windward islands. In 
 view of this emerg'oncy the govern- 
 ment had given Captain Clark a free 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1S83-1909. 
 
 483 
 
 hand, trusting absolutely to his discre- 
 tion as to whether he should fight or 
 ti-y to elude the enemy. There was, 
 however, but one sentiment on board 
 the Oregon, from the Captain to the pow- 
 der boy, and that was if Cervera appeared 
 on the scene he must fight. One is al- 
 most temjited to wish that the Oregon 
 mig-ht have had added to the glory of her 
 unique cruise the supreme achievement 
 of annihilating Cervera's squadron single- 
 handed, which it is generally believed she 
 could have done, following the plan of 
 battle which Captain Clark had decided 
 upon. It is probable that the course of no 
 other single vessel in all the world's his- 
 tory has been followed with such intense 
 interest and tense anxiety as was that of 
 the Oregon on this unparalleled voyage; 
 and when the news of her safe arrival at 
 Key West was telegraphed over the coun- 
 try, a great sigh of relief, and the voice 
 of thanksgiving, was heard in everj^ town 
 and village of the land. 
 
 It was six o'clock on the evening of 
 April 21st when Eear-Admiral Sampson, 
 recently raised from a captain to the 
 rank of Eear-Admiral and given chief 
 command of all vessels in the Atlantic 
 waters, received a message from the Sec- 
 retarj' of the Navy directing him to 
 " Blockade coast of Cuba immediately 
 from Cardenas to Bahia Honda. Block- 
 ade Cienfucgos if it is considered advis- 
 able;" and the war with Spain was on. 
 With the early dawn of the next day the 
 vessels of the squadron got under way, 
 with their bows pointed toward Havana. 
 But before even an effective blockade had 
 been established about Cuban ports, the 
 people of the country were electrified by 
 the news of Dewey's victory at Manila, 
 which naturally, therefore, claims our 
 first attention. 
 
 As has been said, Dewey had assembled 
 the vessels of the Asiatic squadron at 
 Hong Kong and was there through March 
 anxiously awaiting developments. On 
 April 7 he received orders to land all 
 woodwork and stores not necessaiy for 
 operations, and on the 21st was informed 
 that the fleet had left Key West to estab- 
 
 lish the blockade about Cuba. He at onco 
 had all his ships painted a slate color; 
 and as, on the 24th Great Britain issued 
 a proclamation of neutrality, Dewey at 
 
 .IDMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY. 
 
 once withdrew the squadron from Hong 
 Kong to Mirs Bay, about thirty miles to 
 the north, to await his final orders. On 
 the same day these were forwarded from 
 the Naval Department in the following 
 terms : " War has commenced between 
 the United States and Spain. Proceed 
 at once to Philippine islands. Commence 
 operations at once, particularly against 
 Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels 
 or destroy. TJse utmost endeavors." In 
 accordance with these instructions the 
 squadron left ^Firs bay on the 27th of 
 April and sighted the island of Luzon on 
 the 30th. As it had been reported that 
 Admiral Montojo had withdrawn his 
 fleet from Manila bay to Subig bay, a few 
 miles to the north, Commodore Dewey first 
 went there to meet him only to find that 
 the Spanish fleet had returned to Manila 
 bay, where he soon located it lying under 
 the protection of the guns at Cavitc. 
 
484 
 
 FKO-M COLOXY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 Dewey at once assembled his officers on 
 l)oard the flagshiii, and announced his 
 intention of entering Manila bay that 
 night and attacking- the enemy with the 
 f;i'?t dawn of day. There was to be no 
 
 led the way, until as day broke they found 
 themselves to the north of Cavite and 
 ;il>rcast the city. Witli their field glasses 
 the officers could see the people crowding 
 every point of vantage to watch the de- 
 
 riifilo. Copijriiilitriihij rii'h-ni-oml it Uiulerirood. N. V. 
 
 MANIL 
 
 time wasted in reconuoiteriiig or study- 
 ing the situation. The most distinctive 
 feature of the battle on that May-day 
 morning was not the mere victory over 
 the enemy's fleet; that was a foregone 
 conclusion, if the two squadrons came to- 
 gether, as the Spaniards were entirely out- 
 classed in every respect. But the prompt- 
 ness, decision, and cleanness which cluiv- 
 acterized the whole proceeding is almost 
 without parallel. Dewey's orders at Ilong 
 Kong were to capture or destmy Montojn's 
 fleet ; and when he turned the prows of 
 his ships toward Manila he never faltered 
 one moment until the enemy's fleet was 
 before him and he was ready to com- 
 mence an action. Silently through the 
 early hours of May 1 the American ves- 
 sels felt their way over the unfamiliar 
 waters of Manila liay. which were said to 
 be filled with mines. With all lights ex- 
 tinguished except one stern signal to 
 guide the ships in the rear, the Oh/mpia 
 
 \ BAY. 
 
 structiou of the hated American fleet. 
 Turning to the east and south the flag- 
 ship soon came within range of the gams 
 of the Cavite forts; and lying off the 
 point was the object of Dewey's search, — 
 the fleet of Admiral Montojo. Continu- 
 ing his course until within a range of 
 abiiut five thousand j'ards, Dewey, at 
 flirty minutes after five, leaned over the 
 rail and in a quiet voice uttered the words 
 tliat have now become famous in history, 
 " Wlicn you are ready you may fire, 
 Gridlcy.'" Every man on all the ships 
 had been anxiously waiting for this word, 
 and the suspense had become well-nigh 
 intolerable; so that it is said that the 
 response to Dewey's command came from 
 the Olympia's heavy 8-inch battery just 
 one second after the Commodore ceased 
 s])eaking. The plan adopted for the fight 
 was one that was used with marked suc- 
 cess in some of the naval engagements 
 of the civil war, which involved keeping 
 
THE NEW XAVY — lb83-1909. 
 
 485 
 
 the vessels in motion so as to deprive the 
 enemy of the advantage of a stationary 
 target. In harmony with this plan Dewey 
 led his ship three times to the westward 
 and twice to the eastward in front of the 
 Siianish fleet and batteries, each time 
 running a little closer in and delivering 
 more eifective fin', the range getting as 
 low as two thousand yards. The fire 
 from the Spanish fleet and forts was 
 vigorous, but proved absolutely ineffective. 
 As the American fleet was making its 
 second passage past the enemy the Spanish 
 flagship was seen to leave her consorts 
 and advance, as if to give battle to the 
 Oliiiiipin at close range. But she had 
 liardly proceeded tlu'ee ship's lengt.hs be- 
 for the concentrated fire from Dewey's 
 squadron turned her back, torn and smok- 
 ing, with her steering gear sipparently 
 shot away. As her stern was exposed to 
 the fleet the most beautiful shot of the 
 day was made. One of the American 
 gunners carefully aimed an S-inch gun at 
 her and fired, sending a two hundred and 
 fifty pound projectile at the rate of two 
 thousand feet per second, which struck 
 the Spanish flagship squarely on the stern, 
 and went crashing through all bulkhea<ls 
 and partitions in the engine-room, e>xplod- 
 ing one of the boilers and ripping up the 
 protective deck above. The ship gave a 
 terrible lurch forward, and her career was 
 ended. After two hours of continuous 
 fighting it was evident that the Spanish 
 fleet was effectually disabled, and Dewey 
 humanely drew his fleet off and gave 
 orders to cease firing, so that the crews, 
 who had fought on a cup of coffee served 
 at four A. M., might have their l)reakfast 
 and some rest. An hour later Connnodoro 
 Dewey signaled to the several Command- 
 ers to come aboard the flagshiii, as he 
 wished to learn just the condition on each 
 vessel. The sum total of these official re- 
 ports was that not a man had been killed 
 or seriously hurt, not a gun was out of 
 v.'orking order, not a ship had been dis- 
 rbled in any way. All were ready and 
 anxious to renew the battle and finish the 
 work assigned to the fleet. At 11.1.5 A. "M. 
 the squadron returned to the attack with 
 
 renewed energy, and it was but a short 
 time before the balance of the Spanish 
 fleet was in flames, and the shore batteries 
 quiet. At 12.40 the American fleet had so 
 elFectually completed the work assigned 
 to it that the squadron withdrew from the 
 scene of battle and anchored off Manila, 
 the gunboat Petrel being left to destroy 
 two or three small gunboats that wore ly- 
 ing behind the point of Cavite. Thus 
 ended the memorable battle of Manila, 
 the American fleet being practically un- 
 injured, with only seven men slightly 
 wounded, while it had destroyed ten ship.^, 
 — the entire naval force of Spain In 
 Asiatic waters, — had silenoed three bat- 
 teries, and three hundred and eiglity 
 Spaniards were killed, and many move 
 wounded. The McCullocJi was at once 
 despatched at top-speed to Hong Kong to 
 cable th© news to Washington, where it 
 was received early in the morning of May 
 6. The public had been taken into the 
 government's co)ifidence veiy little so far 
 as the movements of the Asiatic squadron 
 were concerned, so that the report of 
 Dewey's brilliant victory aroused un- 
 bounded enthusiasm. All eyes were 
 turned toward the Orient; and people 
 who, when the battle and its results were 
 made public did not, as a satirical writer 
 said, " Know whether the Philippines 
 were islands or canned goods," began at 
 once to talk of strategical positions in the 
 far East, spheres of influence, world 
 power, etc. The recognition of Dewey's 
 fine and effective work was immediately 
 proclaimed by the government. President 
 McKinley at once making him a Rear- 
 Admiral, also recommending that the 
 grade of Admiral be revived for his 
 special honor, and that he should receive 
 the thanks of Congress. All these honors 
 wore subsequently bestowed upon him. 
 
 The destruction of Montojo's fleet re^ 
 lieved the government of any anxiety as 
 to trouble from that quarter, and so al- 
 lowed it to concentrate its entire atten- 
 tion and resources upon the movements 
 and conditions near home. It was known 
 that Admiral Cervera with a Spanish 
 st)uadron had left the Cape Verde islands 
 
486 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 April 29, destination unknown, though it 
 was naturally and rightly believed to be 
 the West Indian islands. A panic of fear 
 possessed the people of the Northern 
 Atlantic coast cities, however, which 
 seems supremely ludicrous as one looks 
 back upon the situation. The government 
 endeavored to quiet this sentiment, kiiuw- 
 iug- well that vessels of the capacity of 
 Cervera's could not carry coal enough to 
 cross the Atlantic and engage in of- 
 fensive operations upon our coast with- 
 out coaling. There was no i)lace outside 
 
 
 
 k^ 
 
 H-* 
 
 ^^I^^^^^IAi\ '^HIb 
 
 ll^^ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 i. 
 
 ADMIKAL WILLIAM T. SAMPSON. 
 
 the West Indies where they could procure 
 more coal. It was, therefore, evident that 
 as soon as they entered any port, the 
 government would at once know of their 
 location, and use its strong fleet in those 
 waters accordingly. But the nervousness 
 of the people was not to be allayed by any 
 such reasoning. The Navy Department 
 Avas, therefore, iiractically forced to estab- 
 lish a northern Patrol squadron to cruise 
 north of the Delaware Capes. This fleet 
 was under the command of Commodore 
 Tlowell, whose flagship was the San 
 
 Francisco, which was supported by tlie 
 auxiliary cruisers Yankee, Dixie, Prairie, 
 and Yosemite; and in May this squadron 
 was greatly strengthened by the addition 
 of the fastest cruisers of the Navy, — the 
 Columbia and Minneapolis. A " Flying 
 Squadron " was also established, with its 
 base of operations at Hampton Roads, 
 which was placed under the command of 
 Commodore W. S. Schley, to which was 
 attached the Brooklyn as a flagship, the 
 battleships 3Iassachusetts and Texas, and 
 the ram Katalidin. For the first throe 
 weeks of the war the gTeat question that 
 agitated the people and interested the 
 government was, " Where is Cervera's 
 fleet ? " Having established a more or less 
 effective blockade at Havana and Cieii- 
 fiiegos, on May 5 Admiral Sampson in his 
 flagship New Yorh, supported by the Iowa 
 and Indiana and several smaller vessels, 
 began a cruise toward the Windward 
 Passage (between Cuba and Haiti), so 
 as to be in a position to intercept Cer- 
 vera's fleet in case that officer should de- 
 cide to make a dash for the American 
 coast from Porto Rico. Sampson con- 
 tinued his course as far east as San Juan, 
 Porto Rico ; and satisfying himself that 
 the Spanish fleet was not there, on May 
 12 he steamed away to the northeast and, 
 when out of sight of land, turning to the 
 west, returned to Havana. The swift 
 American liners St. Louis and Ilarrard 
 had been sent out April 30 to cruise along 
 a north and south line eighty miles east- 
 ward of Guadeloupe and Martinique. By 
 their orders they were to meet at the 
 middle of the course once each day, com- 
 municate, and then go back in opposite 
 directions. If by May 10 tliey had seen 
 nothing of the Spanish fleet, the Harvard 
 was to touch at Martinique, and the St. 
 Louis at Guadeloupe, cable the depart- 
 ment and Sampson, and then, unless 
 ordered to the contrary, proceed at once 
 to Hampton Roads. From the log of the 
 Cristobal Colon it was -afterwards learned 
 that at noon of May 10, the day the 
 cruisers abandoned this patrol, Cervera's 
 fleet had reached a point one hundred and 
 thirty miles cast of Martinique, showinir 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 48/ 
 
 tliat if the Harvard had continued her 
 patrol one day longer she would have un- 
 doubtedly sighted the Spanish squadron, 
 and tlie whole course of the war would 
 have been changed. On May 12 the Navy 
 Department learned that Cervera had been 
 off the coast of Martinique the day before. 
 On the 15th the department got into coni- 
 nuniication again with Sampson and was 
 able to advise him that Cervera had been 
 at Curasao the day before, that Schley 
 with the " Flying Squadron " had been 
 ordered to Key West, whither he (Samp- 
 son) should proceed at once to receive 
 further orders. It had been reported that 
 Cervera's squadron had munitions of war 
 destined for Havana, and that his orders 
 were to reach that port or Cienfuegos, 
 whence his supplies could be sent to 
 Havana by rail. Sampson reached Key 
 We.st on May 18, and on the 19th Schley 
 was ordered to Cienfuegos, having under 
 his command the Brooklyn, Massachu- 
 setts, and Texas: and he was joined later 
 by the Iowa and some cruisers. On the 
 very day that Schley left for Cienfuegos, 
 and Sampson began to watch the coast 
 adjacent to Havana, Cervera with his 
 squadron quietly slipped into Santiago. 
 Though spies in Havana reported to the 
 Department by cable the arrival of Cer- 
 vera, and the Secretary strongly advised 
 Sampson to send Schley to Santiago at 
 once, the latter was doubtful about the 
 truth of the report, still believing Cien- 
 fuegos would be Cervera's objective point. 
 On May 23, however, Sampson ordered 
 Schley t« proceed to Santiago, if satisfied 
 that the enemy's squadron was not in 
 Cienfuegos. At 5.30 P. M.. May 26, 
 Schley reached a point about twenty miles 
 south of Santiago, when he was joined by 
 several of the cruisers on scouting duty. 
 The officers of these vessels informed him 
 that they knew nothing positively as to 
 the whereabouts of the Spanish squadron, 
 whereupon at 7.45 P. !M., two hours after, 
 his arrival, Schley signaled to his vessels : 
 " Destination, Key West, via South side 
 of Cuba and Yucatan Channel, as soon 
 as collier is ready; speed nine knots." 
 Thus, without any effort on his own part 
 
 to determine whether Cei"vera's fleet was 
 within Santiago harbor, Schley began tlie 
 famous retrograde movement, which no 
 one has ever been able to understand or 
 explain, and which was one of the chief 
 subjects of the investigation which Schley 
 demanded some years later. For two days 
 he with the squadron drifted aimlessly 
 about along the southern coast of Cuba. 
 He then reversed his previous orders and 
 returned to Santiago May 28, where he at 
 once established a blockade. On June 1 
 Admiral Sampson arrived off the port with 
 his squadron, and assumed direct com- 
 mand of the entire fleet. 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 
 K/ 
 
 k 
 
 m^^^^^^^^KlMb''^^^ 
 
 
 ADMIR.4L PASCU.1L CERVERA. 
 
 The vessels composing Admiral Cer- 
 vera's fleet, which had without molestation 
 run into Santiago harbor on May 19, were 
 the cruisers Maria Teresa (the flagship), 
 Vizcaya, and Oquendo, each of seven 
 thousand tons, carrying two 11-inch and 
 ten 5.5 inch guns, and credited with a 
 sjjeed of twenty knots; and a fourth 
 cruiser, the Colon, of sixty-eight hundred 
 tons, carrying ten 6-inch and six 4.Y inch 
 guns, though her main battery was not on 
 board. There were also the torpedo boats 
 Pluton and Furor. As the entrance to 
 
488 
 
 FKOM COLOSY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 Siintiu^-o hnrboi- was but threa liuudred. 
 fi'et wide, with a winding channel, it was 
 deemed impossible to run the American 
 fleet in and attack the enemy in the 
 harbor. Consequently Admiral Sampson 
 established a very close watch over the 
 entrance and awaited developnients. The 
 ships of his Squadron were assigned posi- 
 tions in a semicircle, with a radius of 
 six miles from "\Iorrii, the foi't which 
 stood on the bluff overhauf'iii.u the en- 
 trance to the bay. On the left, at a point 
 about two miles from the shore was the 
 Vixen, then the MarhleheaJ , the Broo!:- 
 li/n, the Tf.riis, the Massachuseds, the 
 lotra, the latter being the centre of the 
 semicircle, and directly opposite the 
 Mori'o. Tlien came the Orcpon, Sew 
 York, I'orli'f, Xeu^ Orleans a:id Ma.i/- 
 floircr, which was two miles from the 
 shore at the right of the line. These 
 were the dj.iy stations. At night the wliole 
 line was drawn in to a radius of about 
 two miles from ilorro, while two battle- 
 ships drew still nearer in, one of which 
 kept her powerful searchlights playing on 
 the entrance all through the night while 
 the other, her own lights all extinguished, 
 lay in the sliadnw ready to open f.re with 
 her heavy guns, should there be any at- 
 tempt on the part of Cervera's fleet to 
 escape. Working inside this circle, too, 
 were the smaller craft, — the Gl()}ire.'</er 
 (which was formerly J. Pierpont Morgan's 
 pleasure yaclit, Corsair), the Scorpion, 
 the Suivaiire, and some steam launches. 
 These ran close in shore and kept eager 
 watch under the searchlights of the 
 battleship. This blockade was maintained, 
 in form and manner, until Cervera's 
 squadron made its famous dash for liberty 
 on July 3. 
 
 As has been stated, the entrance to the 
 harbor of Santiago is only about three 
 hundred feet wide; and even before leav- 
 ing Key AVest for that port Sampson had 
 been consulting with his officers as to 
 some means of obstructing this channel, 
 so that some of the blockading vessels 
 might be withdrawn for other service. 
 The result cf their deliberations was 
 the determination to run the collier 
 
 Merrimac into the channel, and sink her 
 in the narrowest part b.v means of torpe- 
 does attached to her hull. Naval con- 
 structor Eichard P. Ilobson had taken 
 part in these conferences, and before 
 Sampson's fleet arrived oS Santiago on 
 June 1, Ilobson had perfected a scheme 
 \\hieh met the approval of the Com- 
 mander-in-chief. As Admiral Sampson 
 said: "I was greatly impressed with the 
 faitli and absolute fearlessness which Mr. 
 Ilobson displayed. Xot in the least par- 
 ticular did he show a particde of doubt 
 of success, lie had developed the whole 
 plan to such a degree that no one else had, 
 or probably could have, the matter so 
 completely in mind. For this reason alone 
 prudence demanded that he should be en- 
 trusted with the principal command." 
 When the call was made for volunteers 
 to accompany Ilobson on this perilous 
 venture the traditional spirit of the 
 American sailor was shown. " To my 
 surprise," said Sampson, " enough officers 
 and men volunteered to man a hundred 
 Merrimacs, there being hundreds of offers 
 from a single ship. As oidy seven men 
 were required, it was a difficult matter 
 to decide wlm should be chosen to go.'' 
 The general plan which Ilobson had pro- 
 posed was to attach ten torpedoes on the 
 port side of the collier, below the water 
 line, which were to be exploded by electric 
 wires from the bridge of the vessel when 
 in the channel. After considerable delay 
 the seven men necessary for the under- 
 taking were selected, each being chosen 
 for his special fitness to execute some par- 
 ticular feature of the plan. At half-past 
 one A. ^r., June 3, after serving coifec and 
 sandwiches, Ilobson ordered his crew to 
 (|uarters, and the Merrimac started on her 
 course for the entrance to the channel. 
 Xo oiiposition to her advance was made 
 until she had passed in tnider Morro 
 castle. Then she was discovered and a 
 general fire was opened upon her from 
 both sides of the channel. Paying no at- 
 tention to this the vessel was quietly di- 
 rected toward the point where it had been 
 decided to sink her. At the crucial mo- 
 ment the current bore her stern around 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1SS3-1909. 
 
 4S!» 
 
 until she came close to the Morro side of 
 the channel, making- it necessary to chan^;;o 
 the helm so as to get the hull across the 
 entrance before discharging the torpedoes. 
 It was then discovered, however, that the 
 steering gear had been shot away. An 
 anchor was then thrown out in the hope 
 that the current might carry the stern 
 around, but this expedient was only par- 
 tially successful. As there was nothing- 
 more that Hobson or his men could do to 
 change this unfortunate situation and 
 they were exposed to a galling fire from 
 all sides, orders -were given to discharge 
 the torpedoes. Number one worked 
 effectively, but the next three failed to ig- 
 nite, the connections having been broken, 
 as they were of all the remaining five. 
 Shortly after her own torpedoes had been 
 discharged, a mine was exploded under the 
 Merrimac from the shore, which expedited 
 the work of sinking her. Yet it was 
 twenty-two minutes before she went down, 
 and the men could escape to the raft 
 which had been thrown over. To avoid 
 detection they kept their bodies under 
 water, and several search boats drew near 
 the sunken collier but did not discover 
 the float. Soon after sunrise a steam 
 launch approached containing Admiral 
 Cervera and a recoiuioitering party. 
 When they had come within about one 
 hundred feet, Hobson called out that they 
 were Americans and wished to surrender 
 to a Spanish officer. He then swam to the 
 launch and was taken on board by the 
 Admiral and his officers; and after a few 
 moments all the others were rescued. 
 Hobson and his crew were generally well 
 treated by the Spaniartls, and were ex- 
 changed on July 6. Like most of such 
 daring and unusual ventures that have 
 been made in the coui'se of wars, this was 
 only partially successful, as the Merrimac 
 sank lengthwise in the channel, and 
 near to the easterly side, so that the pas- 
 sage of vessels was not seriously inter- 
 fered with. But the heroic action of 
 Hobson and his seven associates thrilled 
 the people of the United States; and 
 when they returned to America after the 
 close of the war they were everywhere 
 
 received with tumultuous enthusiasm. As 
 was illustrated in this case, too many un- 
 usual and uncertain conditions are to be 
 faced in all such movements to warrant 
 the assurance that any successful results 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted bt/ J. E. Purdy, Bnxton. 
 LIEUT. RICHARD P. HOBSON. 
 
 can be achieved. Happily the brave crew 
 escaped all the dangers attending the 
 blowing up of the Merrimac while their 
 valor won for them considerate treatment 
 by their captors. 
 
 As soon as it was definitely settled that 
 C'crvera's entire fleet was shut up in San- 
 tiago, Sampson increased the vigilance of 
 the blockading- squadron. Early in June 
 the fleet was divided into two squadrons, 
 the first, under his inunediate command, 
 consisting of the New York, Iowa, Orf- 
 00)1, New Orleans, Mai/flower, and 
 Poricr, was to guard the eastern side of 
 the harbor entrance; while the second, 
 under the command of Commodore Schley, 
 consisting of the Brooklyn, Massachusetts, 
 Texas, Marhlehead, and Vixen, watched 
 the west side. On June 2 Sampson issued 
 the standing order for battle, in the fol- 
 lowing words. " If the enemy tries to 
 
•i!)U 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 t'soape, the ships must close and engage 
 as soon as possible, and endeavor to sink 
 Cervera's vessels or foree them to run 
 ashore." How strictly this order was ob- 
 served, with but a single exeeptioii. the 
 story of the battle of Jul.v 3 will demon- 
 strate. To further tighten his grip upon 
 the enemy's position, on June 12 Samp- 
 son reduced tlie radius of the blockade's 
 semicircle from six to four miles by day; 
 and each <'onimander was instructed to see- 
 that the bow of his vessel was constantly 
 turned toward the harbor entrance so that 
 not a moment need be lost in i-onnnen- 
 cing the attack whenever the Spanish 
 fleet should make its appearance. 
 
 During the jjeriod since the beginning 
 uf the war the government had been 
 actively engaged in recruiting troops and 
 massing them at different points in the 
 South. As has been said previously this 
 was pre-eminently a naval war; and it 
 would have been fcirtunate fur the prestige 
 of the War Department if Sampson could 
 have engaged and destroyed Cervera's 
 fleet before the army had been despatched 
 from our own shores; for the masterly in- 
 competency tliat was manifested in its 
 (■(juipnient and direction makes a chap- 
 trr in the history of the Spanish war for 
 which every patriotic American must 
 wish the material had never been ijr(]- 
 vidcd. In response to the President's calls 
 nearly two hundred thousand volunteers 
 had been as-sembled. An immense number 
 of officials of every character were ap- 
 pointed from private life to command, or 
 minister to the wants of, this great army; 
 with the result that tlic petty claims of 
 office seekers and not the effectiveness of 
 the army received the supreme attention 
 of the Department. ^lost of the regular 
 infantry and cavalry and some of the 
 volunteer regiments had been assembled 
 at Tampa, Florida, and organized as the 
 Fifth Army Corps, wliich was held in 
 readiness to land in Cuba as soon as the 
 Xavy should have made the way safe for 
 transports. General !Miles, the head of the 
 army, believed that the final and impor- 
 tant battles of the war would be fought 
 about Havana, and so detailed General 
 
 Shaffer to take command of the force 
 about to embark for Santiago. On June 
 1 tlie Indiana, with some smaller war-ves- 
 sels, was ready to convoy the transports, 
 and embarkation began ; but so poorly 
 was it conducted that it was not until the 
 14th that the fleet could set sail. The 
 exijedition consisted of 815 officers and 
 10,(172 enlisted men, all regulars with the 
 exception of the Seventy-first New York, 
 and the first Volunteer Cavalry, popularly 
 known as the " Rough Riders." This 
 motley aggregation of cowboys, full- 
 blooded Indians, and college graduates 
 was enlisted chiefly in Arizona, New 
 Mexico, and Oklahonm, by Colonel Wood, 
 with Theodore Roosevelt, who resigned his 
 office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy 
 to take this connnand, as Lieutenant- 
 ( 'olonel. On June 20 the fleet of trans- 
 IHirts arrived off Santiago ami Admiral 
 Sampson at once had a conference with 
 (ieneral Shaffer, the result of which was 
 the decision to laml the troops at Daiquiri, 
 a few miles east of the entrance to the 
 bay. When preparations for disembark- 
 ing were begun it was found that no prep- 
 aration of any kind had been made for 
 such purijose. As Senator Lodge has said 
 ill his "War with Spain": "The Army 
 had neither lighters nor launches. They 
 had been omitted, forgotten, or lost, like 
 an umbrella, no one knew exactly where; 
 so the work of disembarking the troops 
 foil upon the Navy." This unexpected 
 burden fell upon the shoulders of Cap- 
 tain Goodrich of the St. Lovis. By the 
 use of Navy launches, and in sjiite of a 
 heavy swell and high surf, six thousand 
 trrxjps were landed the first day, June 22, 
 and by the 26th the entire force, v.-ith a 
 large quantity of ammunition and sup- 
 lilies, had been safely put on shore. But 
 " confusion doubly confoundei! " reigned 
 everywhere among the land forces. The 
 troops had been crowded like sheep into 
 the transports with no reference to order; 
 officers were separated from their com- 
 mands; artillery-pieces were on one trans- 
 port, the horses on another, and the har- 
 ness on a third, with no means of finding 
 out where any of them were. As thci'o 
 
THE NEW NAVY 
 
 1SS3-1909. 
 
 491 
 
 were no lighters the horses were thrown 
 into the sea, where many of them were 
 drowned, some in bewilderment swimming 
 out to sea instead of to the shore. Im- 
 mediately upon landing the first detach- 
 ment of troops General Lawton advanced 
 along the shore and seized Siboney, eight 
 miles nearer Santiago, where Kent's di- 
 vision landed. General Wheeler then 
 Ijushed on, and on the 24th defeated the 
 Spanish force at La Guasima, with a total 
 loss of fifteen killed and fifty-two 
 wounded. During the following week the 
 land forces were concentrated at Sevilla. 
 During these days the troops suffered 
 from tlie heavy rains, lack of rations, and 
 15oor camp accommodations. No proper 
 provision had been made for the landing 
 of supplies or transporting them to the 
 camp; with the result that, while there 
 was an abundance aboard the transports, 
 the troops were in actual want. On June 
 30 it was decided to make an advance ; but 
 to reach Santiago the important points 
 San Juan hill and El Caney must be 
 taken. In these engagements, which 
 covered three days, the only serious en- 
 gagements on land which were fought, 
 the Spaniards offered stubborn resistance 
 at each point. The troops, too, were in a 
 wretched plight, half sick from exposure 
 and climatic conditions. They had, too, 
 to march and fight under a scorching 
 .semi-tropical sun in the heavy woolen uni- 
 forms worn in regular service, as no khaki 
 uniforms were available until the trans- 
 fer to Montauk Point, a month later, was 
 begun. The spectacular event of the 
 campaign was the charge up San Juan 
 hill. As the roughness of the ground and 
 wire fence obstructions broke up all 
 regular military fonnations, it proved to 
 be a fight where individual bravery and 
 energy won the day. The Rough Eiders, 
 though raw and unexperienced troops, 
 won marked distinction, and with the 
 troops of the First Regiment of regulars, 
 were the first to gain the enemy's in- 
 trenchments. Here they were nobly sup- 
 ported by the negro troops of the Tenth 
 Cavalry. The fighting continued with 
 more or less regularity until about noon 
 
 of July 3, when the Spaniards ceased 
 firing. The losses during the three days 
 fighting were eighteen ofiicers and one 
 hundred and twenty-seven men killed, 
 sixty-five officers and eight hundred and 
 forty-nine men wounded, and seventy-two 
 missing. The condition of the troops 
 after the battle was most deplorable; a 
 large proportion were sick, and all suffered 
 wretchedly from the lack of adecjuate sup- 
 plies. Notwithstanding the victories of 
 the three days which had put his army in 
 possession of the strong out-posts about 
 the city, the valiant General Shaffer 
 cabled the Secretary of War, July 3, that 
 he was " seriously considering withdraw- 
 ing about five miles and taking up a new 
 position on the high ground between the 
 San Juan river and Siboney," as he con- 
 sidered it impossible to take Santiago by 
 storm with the forces he then had. But, 
 happily, the Navy was again to come to 
 
 GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER. 
 
 the rescue of the Army, and spare it the 
 disgrace of a retreat after its brave and 
 victorious advance. 
 
 The events of July 1 and 2 forced upon 
 the Spanish governor some decision in 
 
492 
 
 PEOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 iX'iCi-eiiee to Cervera's fleet in the harbor. 
 Under the Spanish regulations the Ad- 
 miral and his fleet were under the abso- 
 lute control of the Captain-General of 
 the island, Blanco; and on July 1, the 
 latter telegraphed Cervcra : " In conform- 
 ity with the opinion of the Government 
 you will re-embark those of your crews 
 which were landed, taking advantage of 
 the first opportunity to go out of the 
 harbor with all your ships;." In the 
 course of Shatter's inland advance on 
 Santiago, ('crvera had landed a thousand 
 of his seamen, who seemed indispensable 
 for the protection of the city. Upon the 
 receipt of General Blanco's message, Cer- 
 vcra called a council of his otfieers to con- 
 sider the situation, and all agreed that it 
 would be suici(hd to force the blockade; 
 and the Admiral was fully determined 
 that he would not take the responsibility 
 of any such course. These views of him- 
 self and officers were communicated to 
 Blanco: but an imperative order was at 
 once returned, instructing Cervcra to " re- 
 embark landed troops of squadron as fast 
 as possible and go out immediately." 
 This order was received on July 2 very 
 early in the morning, and Cervera deter- 
 mined to go out at four o'clock that after- 
 n(K)n. But uiJon gathering in his sailors 
 who had been engaged about the city, he 
 found many of them so exhausted that 
 the dash out of the harbor was postponed 
 until the morning of the third. Cervera's 
 plan of action was based upon the sup- 
 position that the ships of the blockading 
 scpiadron would maintain the same posi- 
 tions they had held during the i^receding 
 four weeks. Captain Coneas, his chief of 
 staff and captain of the flagship, in an ac- 
 count of the fleet's cruise and destruction 
 published later said: "Close in shore, 
 toward the west, there was a yacht (the 
 ^'ixen), which we supposed to be in con- 
 stant communication with the insurgents, 
 and supporting the yacht was the Brouk- 
 hin, in the centre of the interval and far 
 away from the other ships, consequently 
 leaving a large space open to the south- 
 west between the Texas and the coast. 
 Supposing, therefore, that the Brooklyn 
 
 was at her usual station when we came 
 out, the Infanta Maria Teresa (Cervera's 
 flagship) was to engage her in battle, en- 
 deavoring to ram her, and while the rest 
 of the enemy's squadron was grappling 
 with our flagship, the other ships, headed 
 by the Vizcaija, without delaying to suc- 
 cor the ilaria Teresa, were to pass in 
 eolunni between her and the coast and 
 endeavor to escape. Those of the ships 
 which succeeded in escaping were to gain 
 Havana or Cienfuegos." This programme 
 is interesting as showing the purpose of 
 the gallant Admiral to sacriflce himself, 
 crew, and shii^ in a valiant endeavor to 
 engage Sampson's entire fleet, and single- 
 handed hold it in check, while the re- 
 mainder of the Spanish vessels stole away. 
 — a plan whose unselfish heroism honored 
 the Commander wdio conceived it and 
 merited better results than followed his 
 action. 
 
 The morning of July 3 dawned clear 
 and bright, the sea was calm and beauti- 
 ful, sparkling under the rays of the tropi- 
 cal sun, and a holy quiet befitting the 
 Sabbath morn seemed to brood over the 
 whole scene. Before dawn the Massaelm- 
 setis had gone to Guantanamo for coal, 
 and so failed of any share in the glorious 
 action of the day. At 8.55 A. M. Admiral 
 Sam.pson signaled to the other vessels of 
 the fleet. " Disregard movements Com- 
 mander in chief," and in the ^ew York 
 leisurely steamed toward Siboney, where 
 he was to land and go several miles inland 
 to confer with Shaftcr, by appointment. 
 Just as the New York was off Siboney, 
 and still in full view of the fleet, the 
 lookout on the bridge called out : " Smoke 
 in the harbor!" and an instant later 
 shouted " The fleet's coming out." 
 Glasses were at once trained on the en- 
 trance and Sampson calmly replied. "Yes, 
 they are coming out. Hoist two-fifty." 
 tliat signal meaning " close in toward 
 harbor entrance and attack vessels." 
 Checking the course of the New York to 
 the eastward, she was at once brought 
 about and with all steam on hastened 
 toward the scene of action. While Samp- 
 son was nearing Siboney, the Iowa, at 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1S«3-1909. 
 
 493 
 
 9.31 A. M., first discovered the hostile 
 tleet comiug out, and at once Captain 
 Evans signaled " Enemy's ships coming- 
 out ! " and fired a signal gain. Cervera's 
 vessels were sighted at nearly the same 
 time by all the ships of the blockading- 
 squadron, and in confoi-mity -with t^amp- 
 son's pennauent order of June 2, all be- 
 gan to close in and attack. As President 
 Roosevelt afterward said of it, it was 
 a " Captain's fight." The Spauisli fleet 
 came out in the following order, — Maria 
 Teresa (flagship), Vizcaya, Cristobal 
 Colon, and Almirante Oquendo. At first 
 there was some doubt as to the course the 
 hostile ships would take ; but as soon as it 
 was evident that it was to be a dash for 
 liberty toward the west all the fleet, with 
 one exception, turned in that direction, 
 keeping- up a terrific fire on the Spanish 
 ships. After facing the enemy for about 
 ten minutes, however, the Bronlhjn 
 (Schley's flagship) made a broad loop to 
 the right, or east, away from the fleeing 
 enemy. In making this movement he 
 forced the Texas, which had been headed 
 at once to the w'ost and was fighting hard, 
 to reverse her engines and lose all the 
 headway to avoid being- rammed by the 
 Brooklyn. Speaking of this movement 
 Eear-Admiral (then Captain) Philip said 
 to the historian Maelay : " The Texas at 
 this time was doing her best to close on 
 the Spaniards, when to my surprise and 
 consternation, I saw the Brooklyn swing- 
 round with port helm — when all the 
 other American war ships had used the 
 starboard — away from the Spaniards and 
 place herself directly in our course. I was 
 compelled to stop and reverse our engines, 
 and even then came nearer to a collision 
 than I could wish. On account of this 
 circumstance the Texas lost a splendid 
 chance of closing with the enemy." Pas- 
 sing the Texas the Brooklyn steamed far 
 to the south, out of the range of the 
 enemy's guns, and then turned west, her 
 commander keeping a battleship between 
 liiniself and the Spanish ships during the 
 remainder of the fight. When it is re- 
 membered that the Brooklyn outclassed 
 every vessel of the Spanish fieet in all re- 
 
 spects, — speed, armament, men, and gen- 
 eral fighting strength, — this famous 
 " loop "' must take rank as the most unique 
 movement ever made by any ofiicer of the 
 American Navy during its entire history. 
 A historian of the war thus sums this 
 matter up : " The one great lesson that 
 Nelson gave in naval strateg-y -svas ' that 
 a captain is never out of position when 
 alongside an enemy.' Farragut's groat 
 axiom, sixty years later, was that ' the 
 nearer you got to your enemy the harder 
 you can stril'ie.' Schley's contribution to 
 naval strategy, as too plainly shown by 
 his conduct throughout this campaign, 
 was 'Avoid your enemy as long as possible, 
 and if he makes for you, run.' " As was 
 said this was a Captain's fight, and once 
 it was on, each commander used his own 
 discretion as to where he could fight most 
 effectively. Shot and shell fairly rained 
 upon Cervera's ships, -which they returned 
 with vigor but with little effect. The 
 Maria Teresa, struck bj' several shells 
 and on fire -vvas first turned to shore at 
 quarter after ten, only six miles west of 
 Morro Castle. The Oquendo had been re- 
 ceiving a similar pounding, and riddled 
 with shot and also on fire, she was run 
 upon the beach about a half mile west of 
 the Teresa, at 10.20. The entire fire of 
 tlie American fleet was then turned upon 
 the Vizcaya and Colon, the pace attained, 
 however, becoming too much for the older 
 battleships. At 11.05 the Vizcaya was 
 run ashore about fifteen miles west of the 
 Morro, while the Oregon, with the Brook- 
 lyn, at a safe distance outside, put on full 
 steam to overtake the Colon. It was a 
 wild and exciting- chase. The Oregon had 
 won the most glorious honor by her trip 
 from the Pacific coast, but now she fairly 
 outdid herself. Built to make fifteen 
 Ivnots, Captain Clark, by the eager and 
 terrible work of his aids in the engine 
 room, forced the monster battleship up to 
 a speed of seventeen to eighteen knots. 
 For some time it was simply an ocean 
 race, no shots being fired by any of the 
 vessels; but steadily the Oregon, gained, 
 and when Captain Clark considered him- 
 self within range a shot was fired which 
 
494 
 
 FKOM COLOXY TO WOULD POAVEE. 
 
 fell beyond the Colon; ami the Spaniards 
 saw at once that the end had come. At 
 1.15 P. il. the Colon turned to shore about 
 forty-five miles west of Santiago, and 
 surrendered. 
 
 Tlius ended one of the most excitiii};- 
 and remarkable battles in jSTaval history, 
 and the United States squadron had done 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES E. CLARK. 
 
 its work as cleanly and effectively as did 
 Devifey's fleet at Manila. Not a vestige of 
 the enemy's fleet remained. And most 
 remarkable of all was the fact that the 
 American ships were hardly injured and 
 only one man had been killed and one 
 wounded. The news of the victory 
 reached the United States on the eve of 
 the usual Fourth of July celebration; and 
 it is hardly necessary to saj' that rarely, 
 if ever, has the nation's natal day been 
 (ibserved with such wild enthusiasm. 
 Some particular act of bravery and hero- 
 ism was told of nearly all the Captains 
 and crews; and for the time Dewey and 
 ^Manila were forgotten while the air rang 
 with the shouts for Sampson, Clark, 
 Philip, and Evans, and plucky Wain- 
 v.-right who, in his unarmed yacht, had 
 
 boldly attacked the Spanish torix-do-boats, 
 and had been chiefly instrumental in de- 
 stroying them. 
 
 Though Santiago had not been cap- 
 tured, nor any foothold firndy established 
 I in Spanish territory, everyone looked 
 upon the destruction of Cervera's fleet as 
 virtually ending the war; and the further 
 land movements were watched with only 
 a listless interest. On July 3 General 
 Shatter demanded the surrender of San- 
 tiago, which was refused. On the 10th 
 anil 11th the city was bombarded b.v the 
 land and sea forces. About this time 
 General Miles reached Santiago with 
 troops intended for Porto Hico. With 
 General Shafter he met the Sjianish Cqui- 
 niander. General Toral, under a flag of 
 truce, and arranged tenns for a surrender, 
 which took place ou the 17th. In the 
 meantime the condition of the American 
 Iroops had become desiderate in the ex- 
 Irenie, while the war department seemed 
 unconscious of their existence. The whole 
 force had become so reduced by malarial 
 fevers that an epidemic of yellow fever 
 seemed imminent. Then it was that the 
 leading officers and surgeons met at Gen- 
 eral Shafter's headquarters and signed 
 the famous " round-robin '' addressed to 
 the Secretary of War, reciting the shock- 
 ing conditions that prevailed and urging 
 that the troops be at once removed to the 
 United States. This appeal so aroused 
 [lublic sentiment through the country that 
 even the War Department woke from its 
 lethargy, and on August 4 orders were is- 
 sued to remove the command to Montauk 
 Point, Long Island. 
 
 General Miles, with an entire force of 
 about 16.000 men and a convoy of battle- 
 ships, then began the illustrious campaign 
 in Porto Rico, which was to wrest from 
 Sjiain her last territory on the Western 
 Continent. After a leisurely march of 
 about two weeks over about two-thirds of 
 the island, meeting no opposition worthy 
 of the name, further movements were 
 checked by the signing of the Peace 
 Protocol, August 12, 1908; and the Span- 
 lali war M'fls of an end. Compared with, 
 other modern wai's, it was not a great one. 
 
THE XEW NAVY — 1S83-1909. 
 
 49.3 
 
 There were two real battles, and iu both 
 the honors went to the New Navy, whose 
 work had been, quick, sharp, and decisive. 
 As the vessels returned to home waters, 
 crowds flocked from all quarters to the 
 ports which they visited to see the ships 
 that had been so nobly tested, and not 
 found wanting-; while the arms of the peo- 
 ple of every city and town throughout the 
 land were wide open to receive any of the 
 officers or crews that had distinguished 
 themselves. The Navy had worthily es- 
 tablished its claim for the recognition of 
 the people, and they responded in no un- 
 certain manner. He would have been rash 
 who should have favored in Congress a 
 course similar to that which had been fol- 
 lowed after previous wars, — a course 
 which allowed the Navy to fall into de- 
 suetude and inefficiency. 
 
 The improvement in the Navy follow- 
 ing the close of the Spanish war was 
 rapid, and the treatment of the Depart- 
 ment by Congress and the people was most 
 generous. In 1893 there was not a single 
 battleship in commission, and but few 
 cruisers. In 1908 the efficient Navy in- 
 cluded twenty-seven battleships, ten 
 armored cruisers, twenty-eight cruisers, 
 sixteen torpedo boat destroyers, thirty- 
 eight torpedo boats, twelve submarines, 
 ten monitors, and thirty-eight gunboats. 
 For 1893 the entire appropriation for the 
 Department, to cover all expenditures, in- 
 cluding construction, was $23,000,000. 
 The appropriations for the navy in the 
 budget for 1909 sum up $135,000,000. In 
 1893 there were about fifteen thousand 
 sailors and marines enrolled; at the begin- 
 ning of the present year, 1909, there are 
 over forty-five thousand. These statistics 
 express more emphatically than any 
 words the vast importance the " New 
 Navy " has assumed in the national econ- 
 omy. When the appropriation bill was 
 introduced in Congress in the Fall of 
 1908 four new battleships were asked for, 
 to be larger, more powerful, capable of 
 steaming faster, and more heavily armed 
 than any other battleships afloat. These 
 were to be of the 26,000 ton class, and 
 their estimated cost was about $8,000,000 
 
 each. In view of the rapidly increasing 
 deficit in the national revenue, however, 
 a strong spirit of opposition to a further 
 enlargement of the navy at this time man- 
 ifested itself. There also appeared a well- 
 defuied suspicion that we had been build- 
 ing rapidly but not too wisely. Serious 
 defects in the plans of some of the later 
 battleships were openly charged, even by 
 active officers of the fleets, and many 
 hearings have been held upon the subject. 
 Early in the present year the President 
 appointed two separate commissions to in- 
 vestigate the condition of the navy whose 
 reports have not yet been made. All these 
 conditions, however, made it evident to 
 congressmen that a policy of retrench- 
 ment was advisable. For a time it seemed 
 
 GENERAL NELSON A. MILES. 
 
 doubtful whether any new ships would be 
 authorized this year. But under the spur 
 of the President's earnest advocacy, and 
 the powerful influence of the Department 
 itself in Washington, a compromise was 
 reached and authority was given for the 
 construction of two of the enormous bat- 
 tleships. A potent influence that has 
 
490 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWLE. 
 
 been cultivated and exploited to support 
 the President's policy has been the ever- 
 present " war scare." For two years every 
 eifort has been made to keep the probabil- 
 ity of a war with Japan before the ijublic, 
 and so create popular sentiment to sup- 
 ])ort the ambitious programme of the Ad- 
 ministration. There has s'vown up amouf;- 
 tliou.ditful people, however, an assured 
 feeling that this bogy was being too 
 strenuously worked. As Representative 
 Burton, Chairman of the Committee on 
 Xaval Affairs in the House, said, when 
 the current bill was being- discussed, 
 " there is a period of war scare every 
 time a naval bill comes up for considera- 
 tion. Believe me, it will all pass away, a 
 phantom of the air." While the appro- 
 priation for the British navy for the year 
 1908 was only $170,000,000, notwithstand- 
 ing- that country's purpose to maintain a 
 fleet at least ten per cent greater than the 
 fleets of any other two powers combined ; 
 and the appropriations for the German 
 and French navies for the same fieriod 
 were $8;3.0OO.OOO and $64,000,000 respec- 
 tively; it would seem that the United 
 States could well afford, for the present, 
 to adopt a " go-slow " principle in reganl 
 to' naval affairs. The appropriation for 
 the Xavy Department for the year 1908 
 was $118,700,000, about $17,000,000 less 
 than for the current year. But even on 
 that basis more fluin sixly-five per cent 
 of tlie entire revenue of the United States 
 fnr I lie year 1908 went to pay for past 
 irai-s or preparations for future wars. In 
 view of the many arbitration treaties that 
 have recently been made between leading 
 nations of the world, and the theoretical 
 indorsement that is given by the Govern- 
 ment and the people of the United States 
 to the principles of the Hague Confer- 
 ences, it would seem to be the wiser 
 course to act as if war could be honestly 
 avoided and peace honorably maintained. 
 In another chapter of tliis -work (Inter- 
 national Courtesies) extended reference 
 was made to the part so-called " Yellow 
 journals " play in the delusion of the pub- 
 lie, and in the creation of an inmioral 
 and erroneous laiblic sentiment. Surely 
 
 in this twentieth century a people so 
 widely and highly educated as are the 
 people of the United States should refuse 
 to be moved by such irresponsible utter- 
 ances. The sober thought and saner judg- 
 ment of the people of all nations are to- 
 day looking toward peace. Under such 
 conditions it should appear the -^viser 
 course for governments to abandon the 
 childish policy of tr;\-ing each to build a 
 greater war monster than another can 
 produce. 
 
 During the Fall of 1907 i-umors became 
 current that it was the purpose of the 
 Government to send a large fleet of bat- 
 tleships around ('ape Horn to the Pacific 
 Coast. These rumors were later con- 
 firmed, and the jslan of the Department 
 was fully disclosed. The proposition 
 caused widespread discussion and much 
 connnent. As troubles over the School 
 question in California had greatly irri- 
 tated the Japanese people it was consid- 
 ered by many an unwise move. Opposi- 
 tion, however, was quieted by the declar- 
 ation, frequently rei»ated, by the Govern- 
 ment that the proposed cruise had no 
 political significance, but was merely an 
 extended practice-cruise of a large fleet, 
 such as smaller squadrons were con- 
 stantly taking- in the Atlantic waters. Ac- 
 cordingly, after an imposing review by 
 the President, sixteen of the finest battle 
 ships of the United States and of the 
 world steamed out of Hampton Roads, 
 on December 16, 1907, under connnand of 
 Acbniral Robley D. Evans. It is needless 
 to remark that the deepest interest of the 
 nation was centred upon the fleet, es- 
 pecially until after it had sucessfully 
 passed through the Straits of Magellan 
 and was plowing the more friendly waters 
 of the Pacific ocean. The first port 
 reached was Trinidad, where the vessels 
 arrived December 23, and where the 
 Christmas holidays were passed. The re- 
 ception there accorded ofiieers and men 
 was but a foretaste of the friendly feeling 
 that was ever;vT\'here manifested. It is not 
 too nmcli to say that every port at which 
 the fleet stopped was theirs, and all that 
 it contained. Receptions, formal dinners. 
 
THE NEW NAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 49 
 
 excursions, picnic parties, barbecues fol- 
 lowed each other in quick succession; and 
 had it not been for the long reaches be- 
 tween ports, with the recuperative tonic 
 and foroe of ocean airs, no human organ- 
 ization could have witlistood the demoral- 
 izing effects of such open-handed hospi- 
 tality. By March of 1908 the ships had 
 reached the California coast, and from 
 Sau Dieg-o to San Francisco one day of 
 festivity followed anotlier without cessa- 
 tion. On May 6 the fleet entered the har- 
 bor of San Francisco, which was origi- 
 nally its objective point. But some time 
 before this it had been reported that it 
 was the purpose of the Government to 
 have the battleships continue their cruise 
 until it should cover the circle of tlie 
 earth; and during the stay of the vessels 
 at San Francisco this report was con- 
 firmed and the requisite instructions were 
 issued. Admiral Evans had been in poor 
 health during the greater part of the 
 cruise from Hampton Roads, and, at his 
 own request, was relieved of active com- 
 mand of the fleet, Admiral Sperry finally 
 and permanently succeeding him !May 15. 
 After continuing the cruise to the North 
 and visiting the Puget Sound cities, the 
 great fleet again turned its course toward 
 the West, reaching Honolulu July 10. 
 From Honolulu to Auckland, 3,851 miles, 
 was the longest leg of the cruise, and is 
 said to have been the longest run ever 
 made by war ships witliout coaling; but 
 tlie vessels reached their destination with 
 coal enough in their bunkers to steam an- 
 other thousand miles. Auckland opened 
 its arms to receive the visitors on August 
 8 ; and on the 19th Sydney's population 
 imdertook to outdo the hospitality of 
 their New Zealand brethren. At Mel- 
 bourne the same kindly feeling and genial 
 reception awaited the fleet; and another 
 link for the chain that binds the English- 
 siieaking races together was forged. The 
 enthusiasm and wannth of the recep- 
 tion accorded the fleet by English colo- 
 nial governments and peoples was hardly 
 second to that of the Americans of 
 our West Coast. Leaving Melbourne Sep- 
 tember 4 Manila w'as reached October 
 32 
 
 2; and after a brief stay the cruise was 
 continued to Japanese waters. There, 
 from the 20th to the 23th of October, the 
 Japanese, from the Mikado to the hum- 
 blest laborer, vied with each other to do 
 honor to the American representatives. 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted 1907, by Underwood i- Cnderu'ood, 
 .•ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EV.\NS 
 
 and to manifest in the most generous 
 manner their friendliness toward the 
 American Government and people. This 
 reception was naturally different in many 
 respects, so far as customs were con- 
 cerned, from what had been accorded the 
 fleet in other ports. That it was one the 
 officers and men of the squadrons will 
 never forget has since been manifested in 
 a most practical way. Before the fleet 
 reached Hampton Roads on the homeward 
 voyage twenty-one hundred dollare had 
 been subscribed by its ofiicers and men to 
 procure an elegant and costly loving-cup 
 to be presented to the Japanese Navy as 
 an expression of the appreciation by the 
 American sailors of the courteous atten- 
 tion shown them by their Japanese fellow 
 seamen. This absolutely unique tcsti- 
 
498 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 inonial ought to go far toward strengthen- 
 ing the sentiments of peace and amity 
 between the two peoples. 
 
 After leaving Japanese waters the bat- 
 tleships made a brief visit to Amoy, where 
 another unexpectedly cordial reception 
 was accorded them. Certainly if the 
 Oriental nations and peoples are not truly 
 friendly to the United States and its peo- 
 ple every person on our fleet, from Ad- 
 miral Sperrj' to the cabin boys, will give 
 them the credit of being the most con- 
 summate and entertaining actors that 
 ever appeared on any stage. From Amoy 
 the course lay toward Manila, where a 
 second and longer stop was made. Leav- 
 ing the capital of the Philippines Novem- 
 ber 30, after visits at Singapore and Co- 
 lombo, the Suez Canal was reached Jan- 
 uary 3, 1909. Happily all the vessels 
 passed through the great water-way with- 
 out accident, one of the ships only ground- 
 
 
 J 
 
 •i^4 
 
 
 
 
 /^% 
 «-<^ 
 »? 
 
 
 
 jJM 
 
 
 irt^ 
 
 '"■^fni 
 
 «B 
 
 
 ^B 
 
 iijfP 
 
 l^^l 
 
 
 'Hf 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo, Copyriijhted 1909, by Underwood t& Undericood 
 
 jV. r. 
 
 ADMIRAL CHARLES S. SPERRY. 
 
 ing for a few hours, and being quickly 
 floated again without damage. After en- 
 tering the Mediterranean the fleet was 
 for a time broken up. separate squadrona 
 being sent to different ports, all to 
 
 rendezvous again at Gibraltar at the end 
 of January to prepare for the homeward 
 cruise. At all the ports of the countries 
 bordering on the Mc<literranean the same 
 royal welcome was accorded the American 
 ships and their crews. 
 
 Saturday, February 6, was as bright 
 and clear a day as one could wish for a 
 final display of the American fleet in 
 European waters. Not a cloud was in the 
 sky. A fair breeze just crested the 
 waves with foam which sparkled in the 
 genial sunlight. All was excitement and 
 jiiyful anticipation on board the great 
 battleships, for the time had come to bid 
 farewell to all foreign shores. At eleven 
 o'clock the Connecticut, which had been 
 the flagship throughout the entire cruise, 
 steamed majestically from her position in 
 the harbor of Gibraltar to take her place 
 at the head of the line of the fleet. The 
 homeward run was begun. Great enthu- 
 siasm was manifested at all points along 
 the shore and on the rocky cliffs. As ves- 
 sel after vessel swung into line cheer upon 
 cheer from the si^ectators expressed the 
 kindly feelings the American sailors were 
 leaving behind, as well as the apprecia- 
 tion due the perfect maneuvering of the 
 squatlrons, and the striking beauty and 
 .-significance of the spectacle. For twelve 
 miles the course was due south. Then, 
 being clear of the southernmost point of 
 Europe, Cape Tarifa, the fleet turned 
 sharply to the West and, passing the pil- 
 lars of Hercules, steamed out into the 
 Atlantic and began the last stretch of the 
 cruise which should end in the longed-for 
 liome waters. Before leaving Gibraltar 
 Admiral Sperry expressed his unqualified 
 satisfaction with the results of the long 
 run of close to 45,000 miles, summing up 
 what seemed to him its inestimable ad- 
 vantages and achievements in these 
 words ; " Tliis ciTjise marks an epoch in 
 our naval annals, for the fleet has found 
 ilsdf — has been weldeil into a unity. An 
 aggregation of battleships, irrespective of 
 the power and efficiency of the individual 
 units, is not a fleet in the highest sense of 
 the term until by long, faithful, and har- 
 monious work on the part of the personnel. 
 
THE NEW XAVY — 1883-1909. 
 
 49!) 
 
 the spirit of the fleet has heeii developed. 
 That now has been accomplished. The 
 American people have come to appreciate 
 the appearance of sea power as one of the 
 most potent factors in the preservation 
 of a just peace; and they should appre- 
 ciate what it means to have a fleet like 
 
 of repairs. The ofiicers and men respon- 
 sible for repairs have met evers' test, and 
 the results prove that the ships have been 
 better cared for than when they depend 
 upon the navy-yards. . . . For tech- 
 nical work the cruise has been ideal. The 
 lonff stretches between ports permitted un- 
 
 Photo, Copyrighted 1908, by Underwood di Vnder^cood, N. Y. 
 
 THE CONNECTICUT 
 
 this. The lessons of the cruise have been 
 many, and it is no exaggeration to say 
 that the condition of our ships is better 
 to-day than when they sailed from Hamp- 
 ton Roads in December, 1907. During 
 these fourteen months the fleet has been 
 practically self-sustaining in tlie matter 
 
 remitting daily exercises and maneuvering'. 
 The degree of gunnery efficiency has been 
 greatly improved, as the conditions of 
 drilling and training during long-distance 
 cruising cannot be equaled in homo 
 waters, where there is constant interfer- 
 ence. This is proved by the unequaled 
 
500 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLJJ POWEK. 
 
 results of the target practice at Magda- 
 lena bay and Manila. 
 
 " The fleet everywhere has encountered 
 unbounded hospitality. The lavish enter- 
 tainment and perfect good feeling- dis- 
 played were almost without precedent, 
 and they should always be remembered by 
 oiu' people. While the cruise has been 
 intensely interesting and valuable to of- 
 ficers and men, there is naturally wide- 
 spread elation throughout the fleet at tho 
 prospect of reaching home in a fortnight." 
 
 If the skies were bright and nature 
 smiled as the fleet started from Gibraltar 
 for home, she had no such welcome to 
 offer the ships as they entered Hampton 
 Roads again on the morning of February 
 22, 1909, — one year and sixty-eight days 
 after they had left that roadstead. All 
 prejiarations had been made for receiving 
 the fleet in the most royal manner. Bat- 
 tleships and cruist'rs on the home station 
 had met the incoming fleet about one 
 thousand miles east of Cape Tlatteras, 
 and accompanied it to the place of ren- 
 dezvous. President Roosevelt came down 
 from Washington Sunday night on the 
 Mayflowe?; to act as the supreme review- 
 ing ofticer as the fleet entered the Roads. 
 Promptly at eleven o'clock the Connecii- 
 cuf came out of the mist and fog into 
 sight of the reviewing boat, and soon after 
 belched forth the President's salute from 
 her big guns. In regular order followed 
 the other vessels of the fleet, the ships be- 
 ing four hundred yards apart. Notwith- 
 standing the inclemency of the weatlier 
 the shores were lined with enthusiastic 
 spectators, and hundreds of small boats 
 darted in every direction. The entire 
 fleet had passed in review before two 
 o'clock, at whicli hour the Admirals and 
 Captains assembled on board the Mai/- 
 flower to pay their respects to the Com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Navy of the 
 United States. nn<l to receive the official 
 " Well Done " of the President. That this 
 was bestowed without stint and in ful- 
 some eulogy need hardly be said. This 
 ceremony completed, the President en- 
 tered a launch and was conveyed first to 
 the Cniinorficiif. and then to the flagship 
 
 of each of the other squadrons in turn. 
 To officers and men alike he expressed his 
 joy and gratification that they and their 
 vessels were again at home after such a 
 record-making cruise. The many predic- 
 tions of calamity that were made fourteen 
 months before had been proved visionary, 
 and the wisdom of the President vindi- 
 cated. Rarely have there been occasions 
 when " joy unconfined " reigned so su- 
 premely in every heart. On all the ves- 
 sels the men cheered the President as only 
 tlie strong- throats of the lusty sailors can 
 cheer ; and as, when he went over the side 
 of tho Connecticut, another and louder 
 cheer broke out, he turned and laughingly 
 said, "I'd cheer you tlie sauie way if 
 there was only enough of me." 
 
 By five o'clock all the official formali- 
 ties had been observed and completed, and 
 the most remarkable, as well as the most 
 spectacular and sensational, cruise ever 
 made by any naval fleet was at an end. 
 As the subject will long interest the peo- 
 ple of the United States an itinerary of 
 the cruise, and the distances covered is 
 given here, which may prove of value for 
 future reference : 
 
 Hampton Roads to Trinidad 1850 
 
 Trinidad to Rio de Janeiro olOO 
 
 Rio do Janeiro to Punta Arenas. .. 2228 
 
 Punta Arenas to Callao 2666 
 
 Callao to Magdalena Bay 3050 
 
 Magdalena Bay to San Francisco. . 1200 
 
 San Francisco to Honolulu 2100 
 
 Honolulu to Auckland 3850 
 
 Auckland to Sydney 1284 
 
 Sydney to Melbourne 575 
 
 Melbourne to Albany 1350 
 
 Albany to Manila 3.500 
 
 Manila to Yokohama 1753 
 
 Yokohama to Amoy 1343 
 
 Amoy to Manila 666 
 
 Manila to Singapore 1368 
 
 Singapore to Colombo 1560 
 
 Colombo to Suez 3440 
 
 Suez to Gibraltar 1920 
 
 Gibraltar to Hamjiton Roads 3500 
 
 These figures represent a total of 42,303 
 miles covered in direct course. From 
 San Francisco side trips were made to the 
 
THE NEW XAVY 
 
 1S83-1909. 
 
 501 
 
 Puget Sound ports; and in the Mediter- 
 ranean various irregular routes were fol- 
 lowed so that the total number of miles 
 covered is generally placed, in round 
 numbers, at forty-five thousand. 
 
 Reviewing the admirable conduct of the 
 crews of the different vessels of the fleet 
 under conditions naturally tempting to ex- 
 cessive indulgences and license; the mag- 
 nificent appearance of the vessels them- 
 selves and their manifest adaptability for 
 all the demands to which such sea mon- 
 sters may be subjected ; and the fact that 
 these superb battleships are but the most 
 imposing class of a much larger fleet 
 equally fit and ready for service, — the 
 American people, whatever views may be 
 
 held as to the necessity of a great navy, 
 may take a peculiar and just pride in 
 what has been accomplished in but little 
 over fifteen years. But while we glory in 
 these achievements it is cei'tainly the 
 hope and prayer of all Christian and civ- 
 ilized people that never one of the great 
 guns of our monster battleships may speak 
 a word hostile to any one of the nations 
 or peoples who during the past fifteen 
 months have so spontaneously and un- 
 grudgingly given of their affection and 
 their substance to manifest their respect 
 and regard for this great Christian nation, 
 and the noble and humane principles 
 which its theory of government rep- 
 resents. 
 
 THE DKWEli ARCH, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
XL VI. 
 
 THE VENEZUELAN BOUNDAEY DISPUTE — THE MONROE 
 
 DOCTRINE - 1895. 
 
 Alexander I. of Russia and Mme. de Kiudenev. — Tlie P^inperor's Religious Enthusiasm.— 
 His Part and Purpose in Forming the Holy Alliance. — Text of That Remarkable Document. 
 — The Holy Alliaucf liecomes Association of Despots For Overthrow of Liberty. — Spanisli 
 Colonies in Western Hemisphere Declare Independence. — Purpose of Holy Alliance to Re- 
 .store Power to Spain. — Canning's Proposals. — Views of John Quinoy Adams, Secretary of 
 State. — Declares Again.-t Acting "As a Cock-boat in Wake of British Man-of-War." — 
 "Make an American Cause and Adhere Inflexibly to That." — Statement of His Doctrine 
 as Announced by President Monroe in 1S2.'5. — Reception of ilessage by British Press. — 
 Canning's Duplicity Proved. — Doubtful Position of the United States Government as to 
 Doctrine for Seventy Years. — " To Be Asserted Wlien, and to What Extent, Individual Con- 
 ditions Demand." — Polk's Attitude as Congressman and Later as President. — Applica- 
 tion to French Occupation of Mexico. — Interpretations and Indorsements in Many Party 
 Platforms. — History of Differences between Great Britain and Venezuela. — Intervention of 
 the United States. — Olney versus Salisbury. — Latter's Contempt for Monroe Doctrine. — 
 President Cleveland's Vigorous Message. — Ap])ointment of American C-ommission to De- 
 termine True Boundary Line. — Great Britain Assents to Arbitration. — Distinguished 
 Arbitrators. — Character of Award and Results. — Final Determination of Status of Monroe 
 Doctrine. 
 
 " I mistake the American people if they favor the odious doctrine that tlu-ve is no such thing as Inter- 
 national morality, that there is ore law for a strong nation and another for a weak one. and that even by 
 indirection a strong power may with impunity despoil a weak one of its territory." — Grovee Cleveland. 
 
 FTER Napoleon had been safely banished to St. Helena in 
 1815, and the allied powers betook themselves to the task 
 of re-establishing- conditions which the great soldier's 
 career and the liberated spirit of freedom had seriously 
 shattered, Alexander of Russia came naturally to the front 
 as the foremost European potentate, distinguished alike, 
 at that time, as a soldier and a wise statesman actuated 
 by the highest moral purposes. It vras during the pro- 
 tracted sittings of the representatives of the different 
 powers to restore the peace of Europe that the Czar first 
 came in touch with one of the most remarkable of women, who had charmed all 
 the noted people of the different courts of Europe by her wit, cleverness, and 
 beauty in youth ; and who, later in life, deeply penitent for the sins of her earlier 
 life, became the ascetic pietist and lay preacher, Mme. de Ivrudener. Herself of 
 Russian descent, of an exceedingly sentimental and poetic temperament, at the 
 age of nineteen she became the wife of an aged and very distinguished Russian 
 diplomat, who was well known and highly esteemed at every court of Europe. She 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONROE DOCTRINE— 1895. 50c 
 
 spent some years in the great capitals of 
 the world, reveling in all the excitements, 
 gayety, and license which the utter lack of 
 moral sense of the age made possible. 
 Failing health, an uneasy conscience, and 
 some scandals led her to retire to a quiet 
 life about 1807, when a little over forty 
 years of age, when she came under the 
 influence of the Moravian Brethren, the 
 mystical side of whose religious beliefs 
 appealed strongly to the sensitive nature 
 of the brilliant wonian, weary of sin and 
 of self. From this time until her death 
 among some poor colonists in Crimea, in 
 1824, her entire life was devoted to 
 preaching the simplest gospel of Christ 
 and to deeds of self sacrifice and noble 
 charity. There is abundant evidence that 
 the wonderful political events of the 
 three years preceding the year 1815 had 
 most seriously impressed Alexander I., the 
 Emperor of Russia, and that he recog- 
 nized the Divine purpose in their develop- 
 ment; so that he was in the frame of 
 mind best suited to absorb the exalted 
 teaching and be intluenced by the impas- 
 sioned appeals of !Mme. de Krudener. 
 Visionary in Iier thought and subject to 
 the spiritual uplifting of a devout mys- 
 ticism, she has left an account of her 
 first meeting with the Emperor, while on 
 the road to Paris, in 1815. Without for- 
 mal introduction, and with absolute fear- 
 lessness, she at once called upon him to 
 repent of all the sins of his past life as 
 man and Emperor, and as a child to con- 
 secrate his entire strength of mind and 
 body and all his mighty influence to the 
 honor and glory of the one God. For 
 nearly three hours this earnest exhorta- 
 tation was kept up, the Emperor being 
 greatly impressed and moved, at last fall- 
 ing on his knees witli the two or three 
 present while Mme. de Krudener prayed 
 earnestly that his sins might be made 
 clear to him, and that he might be led 
 to realize the great powers God had placed 
 in his hands for the good of his fellow- 
 men. So powerfully was the Emperor at- 
 tracted by the noble and pure thought of 
 the woman that he insisted upon her keep- 
 ing near him. and helping him by her 
 
 uplifting conversations and prayers. And 
 as soon as the imperial palace had been 
 occupied, the Emperor made it his first 
 business to see that proper apartments 
 were secured in the immediate vicinity 
 for Mme. de Krudener and her attendants. 
 
 ALEX.\NDER I. OF RUSSIA. 
 
 By a rear entrance the Emperor, attended 
 by a single servant, could unseen enter 
 the apartments of his spiritual teacher; 
 and there, after the stormy political dis- 
 cussions of the day were over, he spent 
 three or four hours of every night reading 
 the Bible, listening to his teacher's ex- 
 positions, and in earnest prayer. This 
 absoi-ption in religion and in spiritual 
 thought continued until late in Septem- 
 ber, 1815, the climax of the situation be- 
 ing reached on the 11th of that month. 
 During the summer the great Russian 
 army had been encamped in Champagne. 
 Before setting out for the return to Russia 
 the Czar determined to hold a grand 
 review on the 10th of September, his 
 birthday, to be followed on the 11th 
 by a solemn religious service of thanks- 
 giving and consecration. Accordingly 
 
504 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEK. 
 
 seven great altars were erected on the 
 plain, at which masses were simultane- 
 ously celebrated, with all the gorgeous ac- 
 cessories of the ritual of the Greek 
 Church. On an elevated spot in full view 
 of the one hundred and fifty thousand 
 soldiers assembled on the vast plain was 
 the Imperial tent; and before it, in sight 
 of the whole great multitude, the Emperor 
 and his spiritual adviser participated in 
 the services, prostrating themselves in 
 prayer and oifering up devout thanksgiv- 
 ing to the Almighty for the especial pro- 
 tection accorded the Russian troops in 
 the recent campaign. The distinguished 
 writer and critic, Sainte-Bcuve, on the 
 authority as he affirms of an eyewitness, 
 thus described the scene: " The honors 
 paid by Louis XIV. to Mme. de Main- 
 tenon at the camp of Compiegne did not 
 surpass the veneration with which Mmc. 
 de Krudener was treated by the con- 
 queror. It was not as the granddaughter 
 of Marshal Miinnich, it was not even as 
 his favorite subject; it was as llie ambas- 
 sadress from Heaven that he receired her. 
 and conducted her into the presence of 
 his armies. Bareheaded, with her still 
 golden hair falling to her shoulders, and 
 a few curls gathered together and 
 fastened over her forehead ; clad in a long- 
 dark gown confined at the waist by a 
 single girdle, and rendered elegant by her 
 manner of wearing it; thus she appeared 
 at this period, thus she arrived in the 
 plain at dawn, ami thus, erect, at the 
 moment of prayer she seemed as a new 
 Peter the Hermit, in the presence of the 
 prostrate troops." " This day," declared 
 the Emperor at its close, " has been the 
 most beautiful of my life, and one that I 
 can never forget. My heart was filled 
 with love for my enemies; I was enabled 
 to pray fervently for them all: and it was 
 whilst weeping at the foot of the crijss of 
 Christ, that I interceded in behalf of 
 France." " There is no doubt." says the 
 biographer of Mme. de Krudener. " that 
 this religious solemnity on the Plains of 
 Vertus must be regarded as indicating 
 the high water mark of Mme. de Ivni- 
 (lener's career in the eyes of the world. It 
 
 made patent to all Europe what until then 
 had only been realized in its entirety by 
 the initiated few, namely, the overwhelm- 
 ing influence of her religious teachings 
 upon the mind of the Czar. It was the 
 signal for all the arts of diplomacy to be 
 init in motion in order to rescue Alex- 
 ander from what, in the eyes of his eon- 
 temporaries, was nothing less than a 
 lamentable infatuation." And diplomacy 
 and the separation between the Emperor 
 and Mme. de Krudener which followed 
 soon after the remarkable scene on the 
 Plains of Vertus, were only too effective 
 in weaning him from the noble sentiments 
 that then fully possessed him. Before de- 
 jjarting for Russia, however, the Emperor 
 determined to testify openly before all na- 
 tions as to the faith that was in him, and 
 to set an example before Europe of the 
 practical application of the doctrines of 
 Christianity to the problems of interna- 
 tional politics. Accordingly he drew up a 
 paper expressing his thought, which was 
 for years one of the most discussed and 
 least understood documents of European 
 history, and one which was a determining 
 factor in the fate of nations during the 
 fir-it lialf of the nineteenth century. This 
 cldcument or agreement is known as the 
 " II oil/ Alliance : " and as it became one 
 of the determining elements in the de- 
 velopment of the Monroe Doctrine, and is 
 so uni(iue and interesting in itself, we 
 shall briefly describe and quote it. 
 Many have gone so far as to ascribe 
 to Mme. de Krudener. not only the 
 inspiration, but also the composition 
 (if the paper. But her faithful at- 
 tendant and fellow-preacher for man.v 
 y(>ars wrote of its origin as follows: "A 
 few days before his departure, the Em- 
 juror said to us, 'I am going to leave 
 Prance, but previous to my departure I 
 wish to render public homage to God, — 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 — in return for the protection He has 
 vouchsafed to us, and to invite the na- 
 tions to enroll themselves under the ban- 
 ner of obedience to the gospel. Here is 
 the draft of the act, which I beg you to 
 go through carefully, and if it contains 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDAEY DISPUTE — MONROE DOCTRINE — 1895. 505 
 
 any expression of which you do not ap- 
 prove, I trust you will inform me of tlie 
 fact. I wisli the Emperor of Austria and 
 the King of Prussia to imite themselves 
 with me in this act of adoration so that, 
 like the Wise Men of the East, we may 
 be seen openly acknowledging the su- 
 preme authority of one Divine Saviour. 
 You will unite yourselves with me in 
 prayer that my allies may be disposed to 
 sign.' The following day he returned for 
 the draft ; we were profoundly touched by 
 the humility with which he was pleased to 
 listen to the suggestions we made to him. 
 The next day he took the document 
 to the allied sovereigns to sign, and 
 he had the satisfaction of seeing them 
 enter at once into his views. That same 
 evening he came to inform us of the steps 
 he had taken and to render thanks to God 
 for the success with which they had been 
 attended." And M. Capefigue, the his- 
 torian of the Restoration, states that ho 
 personally inspected the original of the 
 treaty, written throughout in the hand of 
 the Emperor Alexander, with corrections 
 by Mme. de Krudener, by whom the wor<ls 
 "Holy Alliance" were interpolated. The 
 essential parts of this remarkable agree- 
 ment were as follows: 
 
 " In the Name of the Holy and Un- 
 divided Trinity. 
 
 " Their Majesties the Emperor of Aus- 
 tria, the King of Prussia, and the Em- 
 peror of Russia, in consequence of the 
 great events which have occurred in Eu- 
 rope in the course of the last three years. 
 having become profoundly convinced that 
 it is necessary to base the principle of 
 conduct to be adopted by the Powers, in 
 their mutual relations, on the sublime 
 truths contained in the eternal religion of 
 Christ, our Saviour; declare solemnly 
 that the present act has for its sole object 
 to manifest, in the face of the vmiverse, 
 their unalterable determination to adopt 
 as their rule of conduct, whether in the 
 administration of their respective states 
 or in their political relations with all 
 other governments, no other principles 
 than those of their holy religion, precepts 
 of justice, of charity, and of peace, which. 
 
 far from being exclusively applicable to 
 private life, ought, on the contrary, 
 directly to influence the resolutions of 
 princes, and guide all their decisions, as 
 offering the only means of consolidating 
 
 MME. DE KRUDENER. 
 
 human institutions and remedying their 
 imperfections. 
 
 " In consequence their Majesties have 
 adopted the following articles: — Art. 1. 
 In accordance with the words of Holy 
 Scripture, which command all men to re- 
 gard one another as brothers, the three 
 contracting Monarchs will remain united 
 by the bonds of a true and indissoluble 
 brotherhood and, regarding each other as 
 compatriots, they will lend one another 
 aid, and succor in all places, and under 
 all circumstances ; believing themselves to 
 be placed toward their subjects and their 
 armies in the position of a father toward 
 his children, they will direct them in a 
 
506 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 similar spirit of brotherhood, for the pro- 
 tection of religion, peace, and justice. 
 
 " Art. II. As a result, the only principle 
 in operation, either between the said gov- 
 orrunents or between their subjects, will 
 Jie that of rendering reciprocal service; to 
 display to one another, by an unalterable 
 good will, the mutual affection with which 
 each should be animate<l ; to regard one 
 another without exception as members of 
 one and the same Christian nationality; 
 the three allied princes themselves only 
 considering themselves as delegated by 
 Providence to govern three branches of 
 one and the same family, to wit: Austria, 
 Prussia, and Russia ; thus confessing that 
 the Christian nation of which they and 
 their people form a part has really no 
 other sovereign than Him to whom alone 
 supreme power belongs, because in Him 
 alone are containetl all the treasures i>f 
 love, of knowledge, and of infinite wis- 
 dom, that is to say in God, our divine 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, the incarnate word. 
 Their majesties consequently recommend 
 to their i)eopIe with the most earnest 
 solicitude, as being the only means of 
 enjoying that peace that is born of a good 
 conscience, and which alone is lasting, 
 daily to fortify themselves more and more 
 in the principles and practice of those 
 duties which our Divine Saviour imposed 
 on mankind." A sublime and exalted 
 teaching this, but of differing value as 
 translated in the language and spirit of 
 JTme. de Krudener, or of Prince Metter- 
 iiich; and unfortunatel.y he, the tricky 
 diplomatist, had the ears of the three 
 allied sovereigns. " That the King, the 
 Emperor, and the Czar," says Professor 
 McMaster, " had any hidden motive in 
 forming this far-famed Holy Alliance ; 
 that they said one thing and meant an- 
 other; that their intention was less to rule 
 in accordance with the maxims of Christ 
 than to set up and maintain absolute gov- 
 ernments; that when they signed that 
 league they knew the.v were forming a 
 bond of union against the spread of lib- 
 eral ideas, and even then contemplated a 
 system of meddling in the affairs of other 
 nations, — there is no evidence whatever. 
 
 . . . That this little society of Chris- 
 tian monarchs should have any interest 
 for us of to-day is due to the fact that 
 their treaty contains the words ' Holy 
 Alliance,' that the signers have ever since 
 been called the ' Holy Allies,' and that to 
 their league have wrongfully been attrib- 
 uted results wliich sprang from the 
 'Quadruple Treaty' siijned tivo months 
 later by Russia, Prussia, Austria, and 
 Gieat Britain; a new alliance which 
 bound the four powers to do four things: 
 exclude Xaijoleon forever from power: 
 maintain the government they had just 
 set up in France; resist with all their 
 might any attack on the army of occupa- 
 tion ; and meet in 1818 to consult con- 
 cerning their common interests, and to 
 take such measures as should then seem 
 to be best fitted to serve the peace and 
 happiness of Europe." Continuing, Mc- 
 Master says, "By the Quadruple Treaty, 
 signed at Paris in 1815, England, Prus- 
 sia, Russia, and Austria bound themselves 
 to maintain the government they had just 
 set up in France, and to hold a Congress 
 of the Powers in 1818. They met, accord- 
 ingly, in September at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 and with that conference a new era opens 
 in the constitutional history of Europe. 
 Theti and there was formed the real ' Con- 
 spiracy of Kings' The reactionaiy move- 
 ment of three years had extinguished in 
 the hearts of the best of them the last 
 trace of liberalism, and they all stood to- 
 gether on a common ground of hatred of 
 popular liberty. It was the conference at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle that united the sovereigns 
 in the project of a joint regulation of 
 European affairs, and turned the Holy 
 Allies into a miilaal association for the 
 insurance of Monarchy. Having, in the 
 language of the time, taken the ijeople of 
 Europe into their Holy keeping the three 
 autocrats declared that henceforth all 
 useful or necessary changes in the legisla- 
 tion and administration of states must 
 emanate alone from the free-will, the re- 
 flecting and enlightened impulse of those 
 whom God rendered responsible for 
 power." 
 
 Taking advantage of the domestic 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONKUE DOCTRINE— 1895. 507 
 
 troubles that ovei-whelmed the different 
 European states early in the nineteenth 
 century, tlie Spanish colonies of North 
 and South America began about 1810 to 
 revolt against their mother country and 
 to set up governments of their own; and 
 by 1820 these colonies had so far estab- 
 lished their independence that individual 
 governments veere recognized by the 
 United States, and diplomatic relations 
 were established with each. About 1818 
 Russia made a settlement on the coast of 
 California, and seized a small island of 
 the Hawaiian group. AUliough this move- 
 ment aroused some apprehension it was 
 not until 1822 that the extent of the Rus- 
 sian pretensions was brought directly to 
 the attention of the government at Wash- 
 ington. Then the Russian Minister 
 placed in the hands of tlie Secretary of 
 State an Edict of tlio Emperor Alexander 
 granting to Russian subjects alone all 
 rights of commerce, whaling, and fishing, 
 whether on the islands or in the ports and 
 gulfs of tlie northwest of America, from 
 Bering' Sea to fifty-one degrees north lati- 
 tude. Foreign vessels were, therefore, fm- 
 bidden not only to land on the coast and 
 islands, hut even to come witliin one lnui- 
 dred miles of tliein. This unexpected at- 
 tempt to define the boundaries of the two 
 countries aroused the government of the 
 United States, and led to immediate de- 
 mands for explanations, protests, an<l 
 statements as to the respective positions 
 of the two countries; and in July, 1823, 
 in conversation with the Russian Min- 
 ister, John Quincy Adams, the Secretary 
 of State for the United States, announced 
 explicitly that " we should contest the 
 right of Russia to any territorial estab- 
 blishment on this Continent, and that we 
 should assume distinctly the principle 
 that the American Continents are no 
 longer subjects for any European colonial 
 settlements," — a concise and emphatic 
 statement of the principle that has since 
 become so widely known as the " Monroe 
 Doctrine." 
 
 The fall of the "Holy Allies" from 
 grace, and from their exalted spiritual 
 position as announced in 181.5, was rapid 
 
 and complete. From an alliance based on 
 the most divine sentiments of the religion 
 of Christ it swiftly became a close asso- 
 ciation of a few despots actuated by the 
 principles and morals of the Spanish In- 
 (]uisition, and secretly pledged to extir- 
 pate every movement or tendency looking 
 toward the spread of popular government. 
 It is not surprising, therefore, to find 
 these " lords of creation " closing their 
 conference at Laybaoh, in 1821, with the 
 solenm declaration that henceforth all 
 " useful or necessary changes in the leg- 
 islation and administration of states must 
 emanate alone from the free-wilt, the re- 
 flecting and enlightened impulse of those 
 u'liom God has rendered responsible for 
 power, — (their modest manner of refer- 
 ring to themselves); nor to learn that at 
 Verona, in 1822, they " secretly made 
 additions to the Treaty of the Holy Al- 
 liance." whose first two sections read as 
 follows : 
 
 " The undersigned, specially authorized 
 t(] make some additions to the treaty of 
 ihe ' Holv Alliance,' after having ex- 
 
 *'^ 
 
 JOHN QUINCT ADAMS. 
 
 changed their respective credentials, have 
 agreed as follows : 
 
 ■' Article I. The high contracting 
 powers, being convinced that the system 
 of representative government is equally as 
 
5U8 
 
 FKOiU COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 iiicumpatihle ivilh the monarchical prin- 
 ciple as the maxim of tlw sorereignty of 
 tlie people with tlie deriiic riijht, engage 
 uiutuiilly, in the most solemn manner, to 
 ttse all their efforts to pat an end to the 
 system, of representative ijorernment, in 
 whatever country it may exist in Europe, 
 and to prevent its being introduced in 
 tliose countries where it is not yet known. 
 " Article II. As it cannot be doubted 
 tliat the liberty of the press is the most 
 piiwerful means used by the pretended 
 supporters of the rights of nations to the 
 detriment of those Princes, the hif>li con- 
 tracting parties promise reciprocally to 
 adopt all proper measures to suppress it, 
 not only in their own states, but also in 
 the rest of Europe." These " additions " 
 to the original treat.v were signed b.y the 
 authorized representatives of Russia, 
 Austria. France, and Prussia. In har- 
 mony with the general spirit of the con- 
 ference it was agreed before adjournment 
 that France, in the name of the Holy 
 Alliance, should send an army into Spain 
 to put an end to the system of representa- 
 tive government which had been strug- 
 gling, and with a good measure of success, 
 for supremacy in that country. Accord- 
 ingly in April, 1S■J■^. a French army 
 under the Due d'Angouleme crossed the 
 Pyrenees and, after a feeble resistance on 
 the part of the revolutionists, re-estab- 
 lished Ferdinand iipon his despotic 
 throne. Of course the independence of 
 the Spanish Colonies in North and South 
 America had not been recognized by any 
 power excepting the United States; the 
 colonists were, as yet, simpl.v subjects in 
 revolt against their rightful sovereigii ; 
 and Ferdinand was begging lustily of the 
 Allies that tliey would aid him in redu- 
 cing his rebellious subjects to submission. 
 The matter was seriously discussed by the 
 Powers at Verona, but was left open for 
 decision at a subsequent Conferewe to be 
 held in the fall of 1823. Such was the 
 situation that faced the nine million peo- 
 ple of the Uiiitcd States, who seemed en- 
 gaged in a vain effort to guarantee politi- 
 cal freedom, and the blessings of repre- 
 sentative government, to all the people of 
 
 this hemisphere! "The moment was a 
 critical one," as Professor McMaster has 
 well said. " It was not Mexico, nor 
 Buenos Ayrcs, nor Chile that the Holy 
 Allies proposed to attack, but the repub- 
 lican institutions, and the republican gov- 
 ernments of the new world." England 
 had already established quite an extensive 
 trade with the Spanish colonies, and was 
 so situated as regards the Allies that her 
 government wished to appear in the most 
 favorable light to the Colonists but with- 
 out committing itself to any jjosition that 
 might be uncomfortable in the near 
 future. Accordingly in the spring of 
 1823, "Mr. Canning, then the English 
 prime minister, opened negotiations and 
 proposals through Mr. Rush, the Amer- 
 ican minister at the Court of St. James; 
 but nothing of a prai-tical nature resulted, 
 though Canning Inter assumed all the 
 glor.y of having conceived and set up the 
 Slonroe Doctrine, — or, as he sententiously 
 exjiressod it, " I called the new world into 
 existence to redress the balance of the 
 old." 
 
 As the time approai-bcd for President 
 Monroe to prepare his annual message to 
 Congress, the dominant consideration 
 seemed to be the relation that should exist 
 between the peoples of the two continents, 
 and their several governments. Soon 
 after receiving the full statement of Can- 
 ning's proposal through Mr. Rush, Presi- 
 dent Monroe took occasiim to lay all the 
 documents and jjapers bi>fore ox- President 
 Jefferson, who was then living in retire- 
 ment at Monticello, and before ex-Presi- 
 dent Madison. In bis reply to Monroe's 
 connuunication, Jefferson said: "The 
 question presented by the letters you have 
 sent me, is the 7nost momentous winch 
 has ever heen offered to my contemplation 
 since that of Independence. That m,ade 
 vs a Nation, this sets our compass and 
 points the course irhirli we are to steer 
 through the ocean of time opening on lis. 
 And never could we embark on it under 
 conditions more auspicious [Mr. Jefferson 
 here had in mind a coalition in some form 
 with Great Britain]. Our first and fiin- 
 damenlnl mn.rim .'should he. never to en- 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONEOE DOCTEINE — 1895. 509 
 
 tanyle ourselves in the hrolls of Europe. 
 Our second, never to suffer Europe to 
 intermeddle with cis-Atlantic affairs. 
 America, North and South, has a set of 
 interests distinct from those of Europe 
 and peculiarly her own. She should there- 
 fore have a system of her own, separate 
 and apart from that of Europe. While 
 ihe last is laboring- to become the domicil 
 of despotism, our endeavor should surely 
 be to make our hemisphere the domicil of 
 freedom." Meeting after meeting of the 
 cabinet was held to discuss the questions 
 involved from every standpoint; and no- 
 where did the President find a stauneher 
 supporter, wiser counselor, or more 
 sturdy advocate than in his Secretary of 
 State, John Quincy Adams. Mr. Adams 
 believed emphatically in an unqualified 
 and explicit statement of our position; 
 that matters should not be minced in the 
 least, hut that wdiat we wanted and what 
 we proposed to stand for should be so 
 sirai^ly and plainly stated as to admit of 
 no ambiguity; and that, instead of follow- 
 ing the usual course in such matters of 
 sending diplomatic notes and polite mes- 
 sages through secret channels, the pro- 
 nouncement should be made in the most 
 public manner, in the plainest language, 
 and from the most authoritative source. 
 But there were earnest divisions in the 
 cabinet itself on the matter. Calhoun 
 doubted the necessity, or even advis- 
 ability, of publishing " so ostentatious a 
 display of rei)ublican principles." Wirt, 
 the Attorney-General, who had been ab- 
 sent from all of the meetings up to within 
 a week of the convening of Congress, now 
 joined the cabinet discussions and, with a 
 mind uninfluenced by former spirited ar- 
 guments, ijroceeded to examine Mr. 
 Adams' proposals afresh. He coolly sug- 
 gested that the whole statement might 
 seem mere bombast ; for if the Allies 
 should actually begin hostile operations 
 against South America, would the United 
 States back up Mr. Adams' declaration 
 with men and guns? To this Mr. Adams 
 could only reply, " That is, and has been 
 to me, a fearful question." With eloquent 
 earnestness Adams endeavored to allay 
 
 the fears of his colleagues who were 
 alarmed at the possibility of the spread of 
 war. But while he dismissed tliis danger 
 as remote, he pictured vividly the perilous 
 alternatives in case the Allies subjugated 
 Spanish America ; California, Peru, and 
 Chile might go to Eussia ; Cuba to Eng- 
 land ; and Mexico to Erance. The danger 
 was even at our door, he declared, for 
 within a few days the minister of France 
 had openly threatened to recover Louis- 
 iana. More and more convinced of the 
 soundness of his position as the days 
 passed, he persisted with increased ear- 
 nestness that this country ought to decline 
 
 JiMIS MONROE 
 
 the overture of Great Britain, and avow 
 its principles explicitl.y to Eussia and 
 France, " rather than to come in as a cock- 
 boat in the wake of British man-of- 
 war;" that the reply to Eussia and the 
 instructions to Eush in England must be 
 part of a comhined system of polirij. 
 " The ground that I wish to take," he 
 said, " is that of earnest remonstrance 
 against the interference of European 
 powers by force with South America, but 
 to disclaim all interference on our part 
 with Europe; to make an American cause 
 and adhere inftexihhj to that." And when, 
 on December 2, 1823, Presiilent Monroe 
 submitted his annual message to Con- 
 
510 
 
 riiOM COLONY TO WOKLI) POWER. 
 
 gress, voicing for the first time, officially, 
 the political sentiments on those subjects 
 which have since borne his name, it was 
 noted that in practiea-Uy every case he 
 had adopted the idea, if not the phrase- 
 ology, of his Secretary of State. As a part 
 of his review of our relations with Russia, 
 the President, in his message, said: "In 
 the discussion to which this interest [the 
 rights of the United States on the north- 
 west coast of America] has given rise, 
 and in the arrangements by which they 
 may terminate, the occasion has been 
 judged proper for asserting, as a principle 
 in which llie rii/hls and inferesis of (be 
 United t^liitcs are involved, thnt Ihc 
 American Continents, by the free and in- 
 dependent condition which they have 
 as^;umcd and maintained, are hence- 
 furlh nut to he considered as subjects 
 for future colonization hy any Euro- 
 pean powers." Referring' next to the 
 " Holy Alliance," the President said : 
 " We owe it, therefore, to candor and 
 to the amicable relations existing be- 
 tween the United States and those powers, 
 to declare tiint tve shonhl consider any at- 
 tempt on tlieir part to extend their sy-stem 
 to any portion of this hemisphere as dan- 
 gerous to our peace and safety. With the 
 existing colonies or dependencies of any 
 European power w-e have not interfered 
 and shall not interfere. But with the gov- 
 ernments w'ho have declared their inde- 
 pendence and maintained it, and whosc- 
 indepcndence we have, on great considera- 
 tion and on just principles, acknowledged. 
 tve could not view any interposition for 
 the purpose of oppres.'iiny them or con- 
 trollini; in any other manner their destiny 
 hy anil European Poiver, in any other 
 liyht than as the manifestation of an un- 
 friendly ilisposition toward the United 
 S'iaies. Our policy in regard to Europe, 
 which was adopted at an early stage of 
 the wars which have so long agitated that 
 quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains 
 the same, ^vhieh is not to interfere in the 
 internal concerns of any of its powers: to 
 consider the government de facto as the 
 legitimate government for us ; to cultivate 
 friendly relations with it. and to preserve 
 
 those relations by a frank, finn and manly 
 policy; meeting in all insta7ices the just 
 claims of every power, submitting to in- 
 juries from none. But in regard to these 
 continents circumstances are eminently 
 and conspicuously different. It is impos- 
 silAe thai the Allied Powers should extend 
 their political system to any portion of 
 either continent without endangering our 
 peace and happiness: nor can anyone be- 
 lieve that our Southern brethren, if left 
 to themselves, would adopt it of their own 
 accord. It is c^iually impossible, there- 
 fore, that we should behold such inter- 
 position, in any form, with indifference." 
 Such is the text of the JVIonroe Doctrine 
 in the words of its propounder; it has 
 however, been more conveniently and 
 briefly summed up under three heads, as 
 follows: 
 
 1. Xo more European Colonies on 
 either of the American Con- 
 tinents; 
 II. The United States will not inter- 
 fere in the internal concerns of 
 any European power; 
 III. " In regard to those continents 
 (North and South America) cir- 
 cumstances are eminently and 
 conspicuously different ; " and if 
 any European power attempts at 
 any future time to extend its 
 political system to any part of 
 this hemisphere " for the pur- 
 pose of oppressing " the nations 
 or " contrnlling in any other 
 manner their destiny." the 
 United States will interfere. 
 
 Tlie message was most cordially re- 
 i-rived hy the people of the United States, 
 and its positions undoubtedly won im- 
 mediate approval. The effect in England 
 was quite as marked as here at home. 
 ( 'anning. though not at all in accord with 
 tbe part of the doctrine restricting the 
 rights of the European governments to 
 colonize on the western hemisphere, was 
 so much relieved by th(> effects of the pro- 
 nouncement on the IToly Alliance that for 
 the time, and publicly, he heartily ap- 
 jiroved the whole message. The great 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONROE DOCTRINE — 1895. 511 
 
 Brougham exultingly declared that " the 
 question with regard to South America 
 is now disposed of, or nearly so, for an 
 event has recently happened than which 
 no event has dispensed greater joy, exulta- 
 tion, and gratitude over all the freemen of 
 Europe; that event, which is decisive of 
 the subject in respect of South America, 
 is the message of the President of the 
 United States to Congress." The English 
 press, too, gave the message most compli- 
 mentary attention and sympathetic criti- 
 cism. In his volume of essays entitled 
 " With the Eathers," Professor McMaster 
 has reproduced several leading editorial 
 notices bearing upon the matter and in- 
 fluence of President !Monroe"s address, 
 from which we quote briefly. Under date 
 of December 24, 1823, the editor of the 
 London Courier said : " The si"ieech of the 
 President of the United States is, in all 
 its bearings, a document of more than 
 usual importance. . . . The question 
 of the independence and recognition of 
 the South American States may now be 
 considered at rest. Great Britain has, as 
 \^-e liave repeatedly shown, acknowledged 
 their independence, de facto; and the 
 T'nited States, their nearest neighbors, 
 have not only acknowledged it, but have 
 given a bold and manly notice to the con- 
 tinental powers that they shall treat ' any 
 interposition with a view of oppressing or 
 controlling them in any matmer as a man- 
 ifestation of an unfriendly disposition 
 toward themselves, and as dangerous to 
 their peace and safety;' in other words, 
 they shall view it as affording them just 
 ground for war. After so clear and ex- 
 plicit a warning, there is not one of the 
 continental powers, we suppose, that will 
 risk a war with the United States. . . . 
 Thus, then, we repeat that the question 
 may be considered to be set at rest ; we 
 shall hear no more of a Congress to settle 
 tlie fate of the South American States." 
 On the same date the editor of the Lon- 
 don Moi-ning Chronicle said: "The 
 American papers received yesterday eon- 
 tain the accounts of the opening of Con- 
 jvress and the message of the President of 
 the United States. The commuuication 
 
 of the chief office-bearer of the great Re- 
 public to the Legislature at this critical 
 period, — when the ambition of Kings, not 
 satisfied with the calamity which it has 
 occasioned in Europe, threatens to re- 
 kindle the flames of war throughout the 
 western hemisphere — was looked forward 
 to with the utmost anxiety. It is worthy 
 of the occasion and of the people destined 
 to occupy so large a s^iace in the future 
 history of the world. Wluit a contrast he- 
 twcen ilie manly plainness of this state 
 paper and the Mnchiavelism and hypoc- 
 risy of Hie declaration of the manifestoes 
 of the Governments of this part of the 
 world! . . . The siicech of the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, so full of wis- 
 dom and just ideas, has, however, had 
 more effect on the opinions of the leaders 
 in the national securities than the abun- 
 dance of money or the changed policy of 
 Eranee, for in it they see a sufficient guar- 
 antee for the maintenance of the freedom 
 of the American Continent." 
 
 Under the date of Januai-y 3, 1824, the 
 editor of the Liverpool Advertiser re- 
 ferred in the following graceful and ap- 
 preciative language not only to the Presi- 
 dent's political attitude, but to the general 
 conditions in the country as set forth in 
 the message: "By one short passage in 
 it is set at rest, we dare presume, what- 
 ever may have been in agitation by the 
 Continental Allies in reference to the late 
 Spanish possessions in America. There 
 will be no attempt made, it may be con- 
 fidently affirmed, to interfere with th(> 
 present condition of those countries when 
 it is known that such interference woul<l 
 be viewed by the United States as a just 
 cause of war, on her part, with any power 
 attempting such interference. 
 
 "In regard to the power, prosperity and 
 resources of the nation herself, also, the 
 language of the speech is very interest- 
 ing; her revenue, it is affirmed, will on the 
 first of the year exceed her expenditures 
 by not less than nine million dollars. ITer 
 population is estimated at ten millions, 
 and every branch of industry, every 
 source of 'revenue, wealth, and jiower is 
 flourishing. 
 
31: 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 " While in licr ijower aud resouret's, as 
 they are illustrated in this speech, the na- 
 tion of the United States exhibits the 
 vigor of ripe years, slie, in tliose senti- 
 ments of active humanity seems, to our 
 tiiouglit, to preserve the fresh feeling of 
 youth, and not to be wholly engrossed, as 
 older States arc, in the pursuit or sup- 
 port of purely selfish interests. And we 
 have thus a pleasure from contemplating 
 her less as that metaphysical, insentient 
 thing, a State, than as an actual human 
 and feeling being." 
 
 The editor of the Paris Etoile, the min- 
 isterial organ of the French government, 
 however, did not receive the President's 
 words so graciously. " Mr. Monroe," he 
 said, " who is not a sovereign, who lias 
 himself told us that he is only the iirst 
 delegate of the people, has taken in his 
 message the tone of a powerful monarch 
 whose armies and fleets are ready to go 
 forth on the first signal. He does more; 
 he prescribes to the potentates of Europe 
 the conduct they are to pursue in certain 
 circumstances if they do not wish to incur 
 his displeasure. Such is the prohibition 
 which he issues against their ever think- 
 ing of any now colonization in the two 
 Americas. Mr. Monroe is the temporary 
 President of a Republic situated on the 
 Eastern Continent of North America. 
 This Republic is hminded on- the soulli hi/ 
 the possessions of the King of Spain, and 
 on the north by those of the King of 
 England. Its independence has only been 
 acknowledged for forty years; by what 
 title, then, are the two Americas to be 
 under his innnediate dependence, from 
 Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn ? , , . 
 It was reserved for Mr. Monroe to show us 
 a dictator armed with a right of superior- 
 ity over the whole of the new world. Ac- 
 cording to the political system he would 
 establish it would not be permitted to 
 Spain to make the least effort to re-enter 
 on the territory which for three centuries 
 she has possessed. . . . England would 
 require his previous consent, if it suited 
 her interest to make any new militarv or 
 political establishment either in Canada 
 or Nova Scotia. And vet, Mr. Monroe's 
 
 message contains phrases indirectly hostile 
 to the policy and ambition of the Great 
 Powers of Europe ! " 
 
 To this snarling criticism a most spir- 
 ited rejoinder came from an unex- 
 pected source, — Tlie London Times, whose 
 editor on January 16, 1824, handled the 
 editorial position of the The Etoile with 
 great earnestness, as well as witli a char- 
 acteristic logic and sarcasm. " A direct 
 attempt is made," he said, '' by the Etoile 
 to sever the Chief Magistrate of a power- 
 ful and enlightened nation from the body 
 of a state which he represents. ' Not a 
 sovereign ! ' No, but he is the acknowl- 
 edged — the elected head aud organ of a 
 great sovereign jieople — one whose ele\'a- 
 tion cost his country neither a drop of 
 blood nor a widow's tear, nor the beg- 
 gary or banishment, the persecution or 
 corruption, of a single human being 
 among- ten millions of men. . . . He 
 calls ifr. Monroe a ' temporary presi- 
 dent ; ' but is the power he exercises a 
 temporary power? It is, on the contrary, 
 a prerogative which never dies, let who 
 will be its trustee for the moment; and 
 which, as Mr. Monroe has on this occasion 
 (nnployed it, has its sanction in the heart 
 of evcr.v citizen among those millions who 
 confided it to his hands. Will the Etoile 
 venture to match the durability of any 
 despotic throne in Europe with that of 
 the President's chair in North America ? 
 If so, we tell him that he is likely to lose 
 his wager." 
 
 As has been previously intimated, 
 Mr. Adams, when Canning first pro- 
 posed, through Mr. Rush, luiited ac- 
 tion by Great Britain and the United 
 States upon the questions which con- 
 stitute the Monroe Doctrine, suspected 
 the sincerity of the British premier, 
 believing that he had in view the great 
 increase of English influence in af- 
 fairs of the American Continents, as a 
 result of principles enunciated and risks 
 assumed by the TTnited States alone. 
 Hence his detennined attitude not " to 
 come in as a cock-boat in the wake of the 
 British man-of-war;" an attitude whose 
 wisdom Canning's subsequent position 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE — MONROE DOCTRINE — 1895. 513 
 
 emphatically affirmetl. On December 17, 
 1824, tlie Prime Minister wrote: "Span- 
 ish America is free; and if we do not mis- 
 manage our matters sadly, she is English. 
 and novus saeclonim nascifur ordo." Also 
 in 1825, shortly after the British g-ovorn- 
 ment had recognized the independence of 
 Mexico, Canning declared that " the great 
 danger of the time — a danger which the 
 jiolicy of the European system would have 
 fostered — was a division of the world into 
 Eurox)ean and American, republican and 
 monarchical ; a league of wornout govern- 
 ments on the one hand and of youthful 
 and stirring nations, with the United 
 States at their head, on the other. We 
 slip in hetween, and plant ourselves in 
 Mexico. The United States have gotten 
 the start of us in vain, and we link once 
 more America to Europe." 
 
 The position taken by the young nation 
 of the United States in proclaiming such 
 a doctrine under circumstances then ex- 
 isting, is, we think, without parallel in 
 histoi-y. Perhaps the situation itself was 
 equally unparalleled. As the unforeseen 
 result of European political movements, 
 within a very few years it had come about 
 that every people of the western hemi- 
 sphere had been ranged on the side of 
 representative government as opposed to 
 absolutism ; and wise statesmanship fore- 
 ."^aw the infinite possibilities which the 
 situation offered for the culture and de- 
 velopment of popular rights and privileges 
 unhampered by constant friction witli the 
 ]irejudices and reactionary thought and 
 influences of despotic institutions. But 
 that a nation so weak physically, and oc- 
 cupying or controlling so insignificant a 
 part of the great territorN' set apart, should 
 have the temerity to defy all the peoples 
 of the Old World, backed by great and 
 trained armies, all of whom had tasted of 
 lhc fruits of colonization in the western 
 hemisphere and were hungry for more 
 plunder; that this young knight whose 
 virgin sword had hardly yet been fleshed 
 should cry " stand back ! " and " hands 
 off ! " to the world's most experienced 
 connnanders and statesmen verges so 
 closely vipon the confines of the sublime 
 33 
 
 and the ridiculous that one hardly knows 
 in which category to place it, even though 
 seventy years of a more or less strenuous 
 application of the jarinciples of the Mon- 
 roe Doctrine has proved that it was an act 
 of such exalted statesmanship as to stamp 
 
 GEORGE CANNING. 
 
 its real origin as divine rather than 
 human. One student of the causes that 
 led to the formulation of the doctrine, 
 and of the condition and character of the 
 people that led to its avowal, will see only 
 David, " a youth, ruddy and of a fair 
 countenance,'' strong in the realization of 
 the great truth that " One with God is a 
 majority," defying the insolent and 
 mighty Philistine and all the enemies of 
 the living God ; while another, less rev- 
 erent, perhaps, may rather see Don 
 Quixote, inspired with all the noble sen- 
 timents of chivalry, as, mounted upon his 
 faithful Rosinante, with .spear in place, 
 he goes forth to defy every form of error, 
 and valiantly enters the lists to redress 
 all wrong and injustice. Certain it is 
 that for more than seventy years after its 
 promulgation a place somewhere between 
 these two extremes wa.s given to the Mon- 
 roe Doctrine by all who, for any reason, 
 were brought into intimate relation with 
 
5U 
 
 FRO:Sl COLOXY TO WOliLD POWEE. 
 
 its prc'cc'iits. As amiounced, the doctrine 
 was simply a dictum of one man, and of 
 one, tlimifili I'vesident of the United 
 States, so far as that oi)inion was con- 
 cerned, possessed of no more power to en- 
 force its proposals than any ordinary citi- 
 zen. This position was fully realized by 
 all men connected with public affairs, and 
 an effort was at once made to f;ivc to the 
 Doctrine an un(iuestioned standiufr by 
 having' its jirineiplcs embodied in a Joint 
 Kesolution of the House and Senate. 
 Henry Clay was then at the zenith of his 
 jinwer, and was speaker of the House. 
 He undertook the leadership in the move- 
 niiiit. But it was not far from a presi- 
 dential campaign, with many prominent 
 and earnest aspirants for presidential 
 honors in the field. Clay was one of the 
 most conspicuous; and his rivals. — 
 Adams, Jackson, Crawford, Calhoun, and 
 their friends, — did not propose to let their 
 great antagonist gain political cajiital by 
 securing the enactment of any measures 
 that would exalt the ilonroe ilictum to the 
 
 JAMES K. POLK. 
 
 higher status nf a Xationnl policy, ac- 
 cepted and indorsed by the National Leg- 
 islature, lender such conditions Clay 
 could secure so little support for his 
 measure that ho was forced to table it. 
 It has often been charged that as a result 
 
 of this experience Clay abandoned his 
 support of Monroe's policy. But events 
 that occurred only the next year prove the 
 fallacy of this charge. John Quincy 
 Ailams became President in 1825, and im- 
 mediately appointed Clay as his Secretary 
 of State. Very early in the Administra- 
 tion's course rumors became current that 
 France was planning to seize Cuba and 
 Porto Pico as, in some sense, a return for 
 her services in restoring the monarchy in 
 Spain. Clay immediately instructed the 
 American Minister to France to investi- 
 gate the matter and to make clear to the 
 French Government " that we would not 
 consent to the occupation of those 
 islands by any other European Power 
 than Spain, under any circumstances 
 whatever." 
 
 As a general proposition it may be said 
 that for seventy j'ears the Monroe Doc- 
 trine existed as a basic theory for the 
 relations of the United States with f<jr- 
 eign powers, but to be used when, and 
 to what extent, individual conditions 
 might demand. At different times the 
 same statesmen took different views of its 
 scope and purpose. Polk, while a member 
 of Congress from Tennessee, in a mem- 
 orable speech delivered in 1826, said : 
 " When the message of the late President 
 of the United States was communciated 
 to Congress in 1823, it ivas viewed, as it 
 sliinild have been, as the mere expression 
 of opinion of the executive, submitted to 
 the consideration and deliberation of Con- 
 gress, and designed probably to produce 
 an effect upon the councils of the Holy 
 Alliance, in relation to their supposed in- 
 tention to interfere in the war between 
 Spain and her former Colonies. That 
 effect it probably had an agency in pro- 
 ducing, and if so, it has performed its 
 office. The President has no power to bind 
 the Nation bi/ suclt a pledc;e." But when 
 later Polk had been elected President by 
 the party whose slogan was " The whole 
 of Oregon, or none; fifty-four forty or 
 fight," and the troubles with England 
 over the Oregon boundary assumed a 
 very serious aspect, the President confi- 
 dentlv called forth all the dormant 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONROE DOCTRINE— 1895. 515 
 
 powers of the Monroe Doctrine, and de- 
 clared to the English government that 
 " in the existing circumstances of the 
 world, the present is deemed a proper oc- 
 casion to reiterate and reaffirm the prin- 
 ciple avowed by Mr. Monroe, and to state 
 my cordial concurrence in its wisdom and 
 sound policy. E.xisting rights of every 
 European nation should be respected, but 
 it is due alike to our safety and our in- 
 terest that the efficient protection of our 
 laws should be extended over our whole 
 territory, and that it should be distinctly 
 announced to the world as our settled 
 policy that no future European colony or 
 dominion shall, with our consent, be 
 ))lanted on any part of the North Ameri- 
 can Continent." Polk further applied the 
 Doctrine in its fullest force to the case 
 of Yucatan. There a war had broken out 
 between the Indians and tlie whites, who, 
 in desperate straits, appealed to England, 
 Spain, and the United States for aid, of- 
 fering in return the full sovereignty of 
 the peninsula. In 1848 the President said 
 in his message to Congress: "While it is 
 not my purpose to recommend the adop- 
 tion of any measure with a view to the 
 acquisition of the ' dominion and sover- 
 eignty ' over Yucatan, yet, according to 
 our established policy, we could not con- 
 sent to a transfer of this ' dominion and 
 sovereignty' to either Spain, Great 
 Britain, or any other European power. 
 In the language of President Monroe, in 
 his message of December, 1823, 'we should 
 consider any attempt on their part to ex- 
 tend their system to any portion of this 
 hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and 
 safety.' " 
 
 For forty years after Mexico had 
 achieved independence her social and po- 
 litical affairs were in the most chaotic 
 condition. Since the acknowledgment of 
 lier independence in 1821, there had not 
 been a month's peace. Thirty-six different 
 governments had been set up and over- 
 thrown within thirty-three years. So 
 disperate had conditions then become that 
 France, England, and Spain decided upon 
 armed interference. Unfortunately the 
 American people were just then, 1860, too 
 
 nuirh occupied with their own affairs to 
 follow closely those of their neighbors. As 
 is well known the Allies landed at Vera 
 Cruz; but it becoming evident that it was 
 Napoleon's purpose to establish a French 
 Empire in Mexico, England and Spain in- 
 dignantly withdrew from the undertaking. 
 To the general public the apparently un- 
 opposed invasion of Mexico seemed the 
 death-blow to the Monroe Doctrine. As 
 a writer in the London Times, in 1862, 
 said : " Napoleon has done a real service 
 to the world in extinguishing the Monroe 
 Doctrine." And a writer in a leading 
 Review said : " The occupation of Mexico 
 is the extinction of the Monroe Doctrine. 
 That doctrine, it must be owned, is both 
 absurd and arrogant in theory and prac- 
 tice." But again it soon became evident 
 that the principle was neither dead nor 
 forgotten, only dormant. Even during 
 the terrible stress and strain of our civil 
 war. Secretary of State Seward repeatedly 
 called the attention of the French govern- 
 ment to the fact that the people of the 
 T'^nited States would not recognize any 
 government in Mexico which was not the 
 free choice of the people of Mexico. All 
 jirotests were unavailing, however, until 
 in the summer of 1865, General Sheridan 
 with fifty thousand veteran troops took up 
 a position on the Rio Grande to enforce 
 by arms, if necessary, for the first time 
 the principles of the Monroe Doctrine. 
 Concuri-cntly with this demonstration of 
 force, the French government was again 
 and finally notified that the people of 
 every State on the American Continent 
 have a right to a Republican government 
 if they choose, and that any attempt by a 
 foreign power to prevent the enjoyment 
 of such institutions is, in its effect, an- 
 tagonistic to the free and popular govern- 
 ment existing in the United States." As 
 Napoleon read these despatches in the 
 light reflected from fifty thousand bayo- 
 nets glistening in the Southern sun, a 
 new view of the situation dawned upon 
 him, and the French troops were with- 
 drawn from Mexico in 1866, the Emperor 
 leaving his unfortunate tool, Maximilian, 
 to his wretched fate. 
 
316 
 
 FKOM COLOKY TO WOKLl) POWER. 
 
 In 1870, President Grant somewhat en- 
 larged the popular view of the Doctrine 
 lliough not, perhaps, its inherent prin- 
 ciples, when in his message to Congress on 
 May 28, 1870, relating to San Domingo, 
 he said : " The Doctrine promulgated by 
 President Monroe has been adhered to by 
 all political parties, and I now deem it 
 proper lo assert the equalhj important prin- 
 ciple that hereafter no territory on this 
 Continent sliall he regarded as suhject of 
 transfer to a European power." And the 
 place and force given to the Doctrine dur- 
 ing the days following our civil war can, 
 l^erhaps, be shown in no way better than 
 by quoting the statement of Secretary' of 
 State Fish, under date of July 14, 1870. 
 He says : " The United States stand sol- 
 emnly committed by repeated declara- 
 tions and repeated acts to this doctrine 
 and its application to the affairs of 
 tins Continent. In his message to 
 the two Houses of Congress at the 
 commencement of the present session, the 
 President, following the teachings of all 
 our history, said that ' the existing de- 
 pendencies are no longer regarded as sub- 
 ject to transfer from one European power 
 tri another. When the present relation of 
 colonies ceases, they are to become inde- 
 pendent powers, exercising the right of 
 choice and of self-control in the deter- 
 mination of their future condition and 
 relation with other powers.' This policy 
 is not a policy of aggression ; but it op- 
 poses the creation of European dominion 
 on American soil, or its transfer to other 
 European powers, and it tools hopefuUi/ 
 to the time when, hy the voluntari/ de- 
 parture of European governments from 
 this Continent and the adjaceitt islands, 
 America shall he wholly American." 
 
 Not a little disturbance in political 
 circles in the United States followed the 
 proposal by a French company to dig an 
 Isthmian canal to connect the Atlantic 
 and Pacific oceans. Eepresentativcs Burn- 
 side in 1870, and Crapo in 1880, in- 
 troduced resolutions in the House, declar- 
 ing that the American people adhered to 
 the Monroe Doctrine, and could only view 
 the purpose of the Powers to build a canal 
 
 across the Isthmus of Panama as an evi- 
 dence of an unfriendly disposition toward 
 the United States. This application of 
 the Doctrine to commercial undertakings 
 was novel, and seemed very far-fetched. 
 As Mr. Blaine showed clearly, however, 
 it was not to the digging of the canal 
 that such objections could be raised; but 
 capital so interested must look for pro- 
 tection to one or more of the great Power.s 
 of the world, and this country could never 
 allow any European power to extend such 
 protection. 
 
 The first reference to the Monroe 
 Doctrine in party platforms seems to be 
 that which the Democratic Convention 
 that nominated Buchanan for the presi- 
 dency, at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 18.56, in- 
 serted in its platform, in the following 
 form : " Resolved, That our geographi- 
 cal and political position with reference 
 to the other states of this continent, no 
 less than the interest of our commerce 
 and the development of our growing 
 power, requires that we should hold as 
 sacred the principles involved in the 
 Monroe Doctrine; their bearing and im- 
 port admit of no misconstruction ; they 
 should be applied with unbending rigid- 
 ity." The next reference of this char- 
 acter was made by the Republican Con- 
 vention which convened at Baltimore in 
 1S(U, and renominated President Lin- 
 coln. Maximilian was then nominally 
 Emperor of Mexico, supported by French 
 arms. The Convention adopted the fol- 
 lowing: ''Resolved, That we approve the 
 position taken by the government that 
 the people of the United States can never 
 regard with indifference the attempt of 
 any European power to overthrow by 
 forc-e, or to supplant by fraud, the insti- 
 tution of any republican government on 
 the western hemisphere ; and that they 
 will view with extreme jealousy, as 
 menacing to the peace and independence 
 of their own country, the efforts of any 
 such power to obtain new footholds for 
 monarchical governments, sustained b.y 
 foreign military force, in near proximity 
 to the United States." 
 
 Neither party seems to have thought 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDAKY DISPUTE— MONEOE DOCTEINE — 1895. 517 
 
 that the Doctrine needed further indorse- 
 ment until 1896, after a Democratic 
 president had somewhat cleared the at- 
 mosphere by his vigorous action in the 
 Venezuela boundary case. Then the 
 Republican convention inserted the fol- 
 lowing plank in its party platform, which 
 is not without interest in view of the 
 events that were so soon to follow : " We 
 reassert the Monroe Doctrine in its full 
 extent, and we reaffirm the right of the 
 United States to give the Doctrine effect 
 by responding to the appeal of any 
 American states for friendly intervention, 
 in case of European encroachment. We 
 have not interfered and shall not inter- 
 fere with the existing possessions of any 
 European power in this hemisphere, but 
 these possessions must not on any pre- 
 text be extended. We hopefully look for- 
 ward to the eventual withilrawal of the 
 European powers from this hemisphere, 
 and to the ultimate union of all the 
 English-speaking part of the continent by 
 the free consent of its inhabitants." On 
 the other hand the Democratic party at 
 its convention of the same year simply 
 modestly asserted that " The Monroe 
 Doctrine, as originally declared and in- 
 terpreted by succeeding presidents, is a 
 permanent part of the foreign policy of 
 the United States, and must at all times 
 be maintained." 
 
 But before another presidential election 
 was due, great changes had occurred. 
 The Monroe Doctrine consists of two 
 equally important and equally distinct 
 IJarts, — non-interference on the part of 
 the United States in any old-world 
 affairs or politics, and a similar non-in- 
 terference of the old-world powers in the 
 affairs of the American continents. If 
 either feature haid been more urgently or 
 strenuously maintained than the other, 
 from the da.ys of Washington and Jeffer- 
 son to those of Lincoln. Grant, and Cleve- 
 land, it was the position of non-inter- 
 ference, non-entanglemenf, in old-world 
 affairs. But in the period between 180() 
 and 1900 the Republican administration 
 became elaborately entangled in such old- 
 world affairs, notwithstanding the em- 
 
 phatic declaration in its platform of 1896 
 that it would not do so. Consequently 
 we are not surprised at the unostentatious 
 tribute paid to the Monroe Doctrine in 
 the party's platform of 1900, where 
 under the shadow of the plank relating 
 to the South African war is worked in 
 the following ringing pledge of loyalty : 
 " We assert our steadfast adherence to 
 the policy announced in the .Monroe 
 Doctrine." 
 
 But by far the most important event 
 tending to fix the status of the Monroe 
 Doctrine was the position taken by Presi- 
 dent Cleveland in 1895 regarding the 
 Venezuela Boundary controversy. It is 
 
 GUOVEH CLLVLLANU. 
 
 unquestionably true that the English na- 
 tion has long had a most unsavory repu- 
 tation as to territorial acquisition, the 
 national lust for more lands too often 
 blunting the honor and warping the con- 
 science of the people as to the conditions 
 under which expansion is achieved. In 
 1821 a motion was introduced in the 
 House of Representatives of the United 
 States looking toward the establishment 
 of a settlement on the Columbia river. 
 Canning, who was then the British minis- 
 ter to the United States, in an interview 
 with Mr. Adams, our Secretary of State, 
 protested against any such action, where- 
 
518 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 upon, Mr. Adams challenffed any claim 
 of England to any part of the shores of 
 the Pacific. "I do not know," said he, 
 " what you claim nor what you do not 
 claim. You claim India; you claim 
 Africa ; you claim — " "A piece of the 
 moon, perhaps," interrupted Canning-. 
 " No," said Adams, " I have not heard 
 that you claim exclusively any part of 
 the moon ; but there is not a spot on this 
 habitable globe that I could ajfirm you 
 do not claim ; and there is none which you 
 may not claim with as much color of 
 right as you can have to the Columbia 
 river or its mouth." Mr. Adams knew 
 his antagonist and spoke for a powerful 
 nation ; Venezuela had no Adams, and 
 was not the United States. About 1814, 
 as a result of one of the many readjust- 
 ments of national lines and possessions 
 which grew out of the Napoleonic wars, 
 England acquired title from Holland to 
 territory described in the treaty as " the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and the establish- 
 ments of Demarara, Essequibo, and Ber- 
 bice." No limits nor bounds were men- 
 tioned, nor (lops it appear that any defi- 
 nite boundaries had ever been set to " the 
 establishments of Demarara, Essequibo, 
 and Berbice," which have since been 
 known as British Guiana. Venezuela 
 declared her independence of Spain in 
 1810, and a few years later united with 
 two other of Spain's revolted colonies to 
 form the Colombian Federal Union, 
 which was recognized by the United 
 States in 1822. By the dissolution of 
 this Union in 1836, Venezuela again be- 
 came a separate and independent repub- 
 lic, being promjitly recognized as such by 
 the United States, and other powers, 
 though Spain delayed her recognition 
 until 1845, when she ceded to Venezuela 
 by the treaty the same territory which as 
 an independent republic Venezuela had 
 owned and possessed since 1810. But 
 neither in the treaty nor in any other 
 documents are the boundaries described 
 othei-wise, or more explicitly, than " as 
 being the same as those which marked 
 the ancient vice-royalty and captaincy- 
 general of New Granada and Venezuela 
 
 in the year 1810." As the ill-defined 
 territory of British Guiana adjoined on 
 the west the equally undetermined countiy 
 of Venezuela, it will be readily seen 
 that the situation was rich in possibili- 
 ties for quarrels and misunderstandings, 
 as well as for the gradual encroachment 
 of the stronger upon the territory claimed 
 by the weaker power. 
 
 In 1835 the British government com- 
 missioned a young man, Robert Schom- 
 burgk, to explore the strip of country ob- 
 tained from Holland. He completed his 
 survey in 1839, and took the ground in 
 his report that, as Great Britain owned 
 the Essequibo river, she was entitled to all 
 the territory drained by its tributaries. 
 He accorilingly drew a line around the 
 sources of the rivers which enter the 
 Essequibo from the west, and urged Great 
 Britain to claim the drainage basin of 
 that river. This she did, and in 1840 sent 
 Schomburgk to mark out on the ground 
 the line he had traced on paper. This 
 course of Great Britain, and the mark- 
 ings and boundary signs of Schomburgk, 
 aroused the Venezuelans and, in 1841, a 
 protest was made to the British govern- 
 ment by the Venezuelan minister. This 
 was the beginning of the boundary dis- 
 putes between the two governments 
 which were continued until 1895. with 
 only an occasional cessation. It is, of 
 course, impossible here to enter into the 
 details of this long drawn out discussion, 
 during which England constantly evaded 
 or refused all of Venezuela's urgent re- 
 quests for arbitration, while all the time 
 allowing and encouraging British settlers 
 to take up lands within the disputed zone; 
 until in 1881, Lord Granville, the British 
 foreign secretary, made the astounding re- 
 ply to one of the requests of the Vene- 
 zuelan minister, that in the course of five 
 and thirty years which had elapsed since 
 Alx'rdeen drew the line so many settlers 
 had gone into the disputed country under 
 tlie belief that it belonged to Great 
 Britain, it was now impossible to deprivo 
 them " of the benefits of British rule." 
 Lord Granville then proposed a new line 
 far to the west of those laid down by 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDAEY DISPUTE— MONKOE DOCTRINE — 1895. 519 
 
 Schomburgk and Aberdeen. When one 
 considers that, as the various despatches 
 and notes of the Ministers show, Lord 
 Granville's closed land was the very land 
 which, in 1850, Great Britain admitted 
 was in dispute, and which slifi solemnly 
 declared and pledged her word she did 
 not intend " to occupy or encroach 
 upon ; " the course of the British govern- 
 ment becomes clearly one of persistent 
 aggression of a powerful state against 
 the rights of one too weak to enforce its 
 protests, with the evident anticipation 
 that Venezuela would be goaded to some 
 overt act to protect her rights, when the 
 whole country would naturally become 
 the prey of the powerful aggressor. It 
 should be borne in mind that the area 
 which was now under dispute, but which 
 Great Britain claimed arbitrarily, was 
 no insignificant area, but covered 109,- 
 000 square miles, — a territory thirteen 
 times larger than the State of Massa- 
 chusetts. More than that, the latest ag- 
 gressions of the English included the 
 mouth of the Orinoco river, which they 
 Iiad begun to fortify. This, one of the 
 largest rivers of the world, is the natural 
 eonnnercial highway of Venezuela, it-s 
 general course being from west to east, 
 and the whole of it lying within what 
 had hitherto been the undisputed terri- 
 tory of Venezuela. With its mouth in 
 the control of a hostile power, Venezuela 
 naturally became helpless and all possi- 
 bility of growth or development was at 
 once destroyed. It is easy to see, there- 
 fore, that the questions at issue between 
 the two countries, while merely side 
 issues of no serious moment to England, 
 involved the very life of the people of 
 Venezuela. Einally, gold having been 
 discovered in parts of the disimted terri- 
 tory, with the result that more English 
 settlers were constantly going intd the 
 country. Lord Salisbui-j' bluntly asserted 
 the absolute right of Great Britain to all 
 the territory within the Schomburgk line, 
 graciously consenting to arbitrate as to 
 the country west of it, regarding the 
 ownership of which there had heretofore 
 been no suggestion of a question. Vene- 
 
 zuela, however, persisted in her position 
 that all or none should be arbitrated ; and 
 as Great Britain began to fortify the ter- 
 ritory included within the agreement of 
 1850, Venezuela broke oS all diplomatic 
 relations with Great Britain in 1887. 
 
 As early as 1876 the government of 
 Venezuela had laid its ease before the 
 government at Washing-ton, and there- 
 after, from time to time, sought advice 
 and aid from the State Department of 
 the United States, " the most powerful 
 and the oldest of the Republics of the 
 new continent, and called on to lend to 
 others its powerful moral support in dis- 
 putes with European Nations." Repeat- 
 edl.v our representative at the Court of 
 St. -Tames had expressed to the British 
 g-overnment the interest of the United 
 States in Venezuela's petitions, and 
 repeatedly arbitration had been urged by 
 our ministers ; and iinallj', previous to the 
 rupture between the two countries, Mr. 
 Bayard, our Minister to Great Britain, 
 formally tendered to the English govern- 
 ment, on February 8, 1887, the good offices 
 of the United States to i^romote an amica- 
 ble settlement of the pending controversy, 
 and otfered our arbitration, if acceptable 
 to both parties. A few days later. Lord 
 Salisbury, on behalf of Great Britain, re- 
 plied that the attitude which had been 
 taken by the President of the Venezu- 
 elan Republic precluded her Majesty's 
 government from submitting the ques- 
 tion at that time to arbitration. 
 
 In his message to Congress on Decem- 
 ber 3, 1894, the President reviewed the 
 whole situation and fully advised Con- 
 gress as to what steps had been taken, 
 stating further : " I shall renew the 
 efforts heretofore made to bring about a 
 restoration of diplomatic relations be- 
 tween the disputants and to induce a 
 reference to arbitration, — a resort which 
 Great Britain so conspicuously favors in 
 princijole and respects in practice, and 
 which is earnestly sought by her weaker 
 adversary." And on February 22, 1895, 
 a joint resolution was passed by both 
 Houses of Congress earnestly recom- 
 mending to both parties in interest the 
 
520 
 
 FKO.M COLONY TO WOKLD I'OWLi;. 
 
 ri'csident's suggestion ''that Oreat Bi-ita!n 
 and Venezuela refer their dispute as to 
 boundaries to friendly arbitration." 
 
 In a lecture delivered at Princeton 
 University upon the Venezuelan boundary 
 controversy, and now published with 
 other essays under the title of "Presi- 
 dential Problems," President Cleveland 
 has eiven his view of the situation at 
 
 LORD SALISBIKY. 
 
 that time. " Durinu- a jn-ridd of more 
 than fourteen years,"' he says, " our 
 government, assuming the character of a 
 mutual and disinterested friend of Imth 
 countries had, with vaiying assiduity, 
 tendered its good offices to bring- about 
 a pacific and amicable settlement of this 
 boundary controversy, only to be repelled 
 with more or less civility by Great 
 Britain. We had seen her pretensions in 
 the disputed regions wideai and extend 
 in such manner and upon such pretexts 
 as seemed to constitute an actual or 
 threatened violation of a doctrine which 
 our nation long ago established, declar- 
 ing that the American continents are not 
 
 to be considered subjects for future colon- 
 ization by any European power 
 England ha<l finally and unmistakably de- 
 clared that all the territoi-y embraced 
 within the Schomburgk line was indis- 
 putably hers. Venezuela presented a 
 claim to territory within the same limits. 
 whi<-h could not be said to lack strong 
 support. England had absolutely refused 
 to permit Venezuela's claim to be tested 
 by arbitration; and Venezuela was utterly 
 powerless to resist I)y force England's self- 
 pronounced decree of ownership. If this 
 decree was not justified by facts, and it 
 should be enforced against the protest 
 and insistence of Venezuela and should 
 result in the possession and colonization 
 of Venezuelan territory by Great Britain, 
 it seemed quite plain that the American 
 iloctrine which denies to European powers 
 the colonization of any part of the 
 American continent would be violated. 
 Recreancy to a principle so fundamen- 
 tally American as the Monroe Doctrine 
 on the part of those charged with the ad- 
 ministration of our government, was. of 
 course, out of the question. Inasmuch, 
 therefore, as all our efforts to avoid its 
 assertion had miscarried, there was nofh- 
 ing loft for us to do consistently with 
 national honor but to take the place of 
 Venezuela in the controversy, so far as 
 that was necessary, in vindication of our 
 American doctrine ... In the advanced 
 condition of the dispute, sympathy with 
 Venezuela and solicitude for her dis- 
 tressed conditions could no longer con- 
 stitute the motive power of our conduct, 
 but these were to give way to the duty 
 and obligation of protecting our own 
 national rights." 
 
 Interesting as they are, and novel in 
 diplomatic intercourse, it is impossible 
 in this place to consider in detail the 
 documents that passed between the rep- 
 resentatives of the United States and of 
 (treat Britain relative to the situation. 
 All this matter can be found in President 
 Cleveland's work referred to above, and 
 in works treating of the diplomatic re- 
 lations of the United States. Suffice it 
 to say that Secretary of State Olney pre- 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDAKY DISPUTE— MONEOE DOCTKIXE — 1805. 521 
 
 pared a most exliaustive and learned pres- 
 entation of tlie ease of the United 
 States, whieli was submitted to the 
 government of Great Britain. Of this 
 state paper Mr. Cleveland says : " The 
 Monroe Doctrine may be abandoned ; we 
 may forfeit it by taking our lot with 
 nations that expand by following un- 
 American ways; we may outgrow it, as we 
 seem to be outgrowing other things we 
 once valued; or it may forever stand as 
 a guaranty of protection and safety in 
 our enjoyment of free institutions; but 
 in no event will this American principle 
 ever be better defined, better defended, or 
 more bravely asserted than was done by 
 Mr. Olney in this despatch." But in 
 Lord Salisbury, Mr. Olney had a foeman 
 worthy of his steel, and as men they were 
 much alike. Not distinctly intellectual 
 nor personally attractive, Salisbury was 
 cool, hard-headed, and intensely Britiah. 
 and knew the diplomatic history of his 
 country as few of his contemporaries 
 knew it; and his reply to Mr. Olney's 
 despatch opened up the weak points of 
 the American position, if they were weak, 
 and analyzed as they had not been ana- 
 lyzed before the imderlying principles of 
 the Monroe Doctrine. " But the circum- 
 stances with which President Monroe was 
 dealing," said he, " and those to which 
 the present American government is ad- 
 dressing itself have very few features in 
 common. Great Britain is imposing no 
 'system' upon Venezuela, and is nut 
 concerning herself in anyway with the 
 nature of the political institutions under 
 which the Venezuelans may prefer to live. 
 But the British Empire and the Republic 
 of Venezuela are neighbors, and they have 
 differed for some time past, and continue 
 to differ, as to the line by which their 
 dominions are separated. It is a con- 
 troversy with which the United States 
 have no apparent concern . . . The dis- 
 puted frontier of Venezuela has nothing to 
 do with any of the questions dealt with by 
 President Monroe." And again referring 
 to the Monroe Doctrine he says : " It must 
 always be mentioned with respect on ac- 
 count of the distinguished statesman to 
 
 whom it is due, and the great nation who 
 have generally adopted it. But interiia- 
 fional law is founded on the general con- 
 sent of nations; and no statesman, how- 
 ever eminent, and no nation, however 
 powerful, are competent to insert into the 
 code of inteimational law a novel prin- 
 ciple which was never recognized before, 
 and which has not since been accepted 
 by the government of any other country. 
 The United States have a right, like any 
 other nation, to interpose in any contro- 
 versy by which their own interests are 
 affected; and they are the judge whether 
 those interests are touched, and in what 
 measure they should be sustained. But 
 their rights are in no way streng-tliencd 
 or extended by the fact that the contro- 
 versy affects some territory which is 
 called American." 
 
 RICHARD OLXEV. 
 
 On December 17. Is'Jo, Mr. Olney's 
 despatch and Loril Salisbury's reply were 
 submitted to Congress, accompanied by a 
 message from the President, whose em- 
 phatic and peremptory character startled 
 the world, and seriously tried the faith 
 and loyalty of Mr. Cleveland's staunchest 
 Friends. EefeiTing to the Monroe Doc- 
 trine the President said: "Without at- 
 
522 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 tempting extendeJ argument in reply to 
 these (Lord Salisbury's) positions, it may 
 not be amiss to suggest that the doctrine 
 upon which we stand is strong- and 
 sound, because its enforcement is impor- 
 tant to our peace and safety as a nation, 
 anil is essential to the integrity of our 
 free institutions, and the tranquil main- 
 tenance of our distinctive form of 
 government. It U'cts inlcndpd in apply 
 io errr/j sfage of our natiunal life, and 
 cannot hecome ol/sohle trhile our Hrpuh- 
 lic I'ndurff. If the linlaiice of jiower is 
 justly a cause for jealous anxiety among 
 the governments of the old world and a 
 subject for our absolute noninterference, 
 none the less is the observance of the 
 Monroe Doctrine of vital concern to our 
 people and government." Considering 
 then the absolute refusal of the English 
 govenimeut to arbitrate the questions at 
 issue, the President suggested that there 
 was but one course open to the govern- 
 ment of the United States, and that was 
 to determine for itself what the true line 
 of division between Venezuela and British 
 (iuiana should be, and then to act in ac- 
 cordance with such definite knowledge; 
 and to accomplish that end he advised the 
 appointment of a commission, which 
 should proceed to determine for the 
 guidance of the American nation just 
 wliat the right.s of the two antagonized 
 countries were. " When such rejiort is 
 made and accepted," he said, " it will, in 
 my opinion, be the duti/ of the Unilfd 
 States to resist hi/ ereri/ means in its 
 power, as a willful aggression upon its 
 rights and interests, the appropriation hii 
 Great Britain of au/i lands or the exer- 
 cise of governmenhil jurisdiction- over 
 any territori/, wliicli, after investigation, 
 we liitre delerniined of right helongs to 
 Venezuela. In making these recommen- 
 dations, I am falhi alive to the respon- 
 sihility incurred, and keenly realize all 
 the consequences that may follow. I am, 
 nevertheless, finn in my conviction that 
 ■v\'hile it is a grievous thing to contem- 
 jilate the two great English-speaking peo- 
 ples of the world as being othenvise than 
 friendlj' competitors in the onward march 
 
 of civilization, and strenuous and worthy 
 rivals in all the arts of peace, there is 
 no calamity which a great nation can in- 
 vito which equals that which follows a 
 supine submission to wrong and in- 
 justice, and the consequent loss of 
 national self-respect and honor, beneath 
 which are shielded and defended a x>eo- 
 ple's safety and greatness." 
 
 The recommendations of the President 
 were acted upon with remarkable unan- 
 imity and promptitude in Congress, a bill 
 authorizing the appointment of tlie pro- 
 posed commission and an appropriation 
 of one hundred thousand dollars for the 
 necessary expenses, being passed by the 
 House on the day after the receipt of the 
 message and by the Senate three days 
 later. On January 1st follow'ing the 
 President appointed these commissioners 
 to act under the law : Associate Justice, 
 D. J. Brewer, of the United States Su- 
 preme Court ; R. H. Alvey, Ch. Justice 
 of the Court of Appeals of the District 
 of Columbia; Andrew D. White, Ex- 
 United States Minister to Germany aiid 
 to Russia ; D. C. Oilman, Presi<lent of 
 Johns Hopkins University; and Hon. F. 
 R. Coudert of New York, one of the 
 highest authorities on Roman law. But 
 the sentiment of the best Englishmen had 
 been aroused and influences were brought 
 to bear that caused the government of 
 Great Britain to reconsider its position 
 with the result that the atmosphere of 
 the British foreigii office daily became 
 more mellow, and arbitration constantly 
 became more and more imminent. On 
 February 27, 1S9G, in a note to Lord 
 Salisbury, after speaking of arbitration 
 as seeming to be " almost unanimously 
 desired by both the United States and 
 Great Britain," our Ambassador to Eng- 
 land proposed an entrance forthwith upon 
 negotiations at Washington to effect this 
 purpose. On March 3d, Lord Salisbury 
 replied concurring in the suggestion of 
 the U^nited States government, and em- 
 powering Sir Julian Pauncefote " to dis- 
 cuss the question either with the repre- 
 sentative of Venezuela or with the 
 government of the United States, acting 
 
VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISPUTE— MONKOE DOCTRINE— 1895. 523 
 
 as the friend of Venezuela." In the 
 negotiations that followed England 
 abandoned the position that the territory 
 within the Schomburgk line should not 
 be questioned, only insisting that, what- 
 ever the award, English settlers long in 
 occupancy of the disputed territory 
 should have their rights scrupulously con- 
 sidered. To meet these claims it was 
 agi'eed that adverse holdings or prescrip- 
 tion during a period of fifty years should 
 make a good title. By the Provisional 
 Treaty between Great Britain and Vene- 
 zuela of February, 1897, it had been 
 agreed that the Court of Arbitration 
 should consist of five members, — two to 
 be named by and act on behalf of Great 
 Britain; two to act on behalf of Vene- 
 zuela, one of whom was to be named by 
 the President of Venezuela and the other 
 by the Justices of the Supreme Court of 
 the United States; while the fifth, who 
 should act as the president of the court, 
 should be named by the other four, or in 
 default of their action or agreement, by 
 King Oscar of Sweden and Norway. The 
 arbitrators named by England were Lord 
 Chief Justice Russell and Sir Richard 
 Collins, one of the Justices of her Maj- 
 esty's Supreme Court of Judicature ; on 
 behalf of Venezuela, the president of that 
 country named Chief Justice Fuller, of 
 tjie Supreme Court of the United States, 
 wliile the Justices of that Court selected 
 the lion. D. J. Brewer; and these distin- 
 guished jurists elected as the fifth mem- 
 lier .of the court and its presiding officer, 
 lion. Frederic de iilartens. Privy Coun- 
 cillor and Permanent Member of the 
 Council of ilinistry of Foreign Affairs 
 of Russia. By the third article of the 
 Treaty establishing the Tribunal and its 
 powers, it was provided : " The Tribunal 
 shall investigate and ascertain the extent 
 of the territories belonging to, or which 
 might lawfully lie claimed by, the United 
 Netherlands, or by the Kingdom of Spain, 
 respectively, at the time of the acquisi- 
 tion by Great Britain of the Colony of 
 British Guiana, and shall determine the 
 boundarj'-line between the Colony of 
 
 British Guiana and the United States of 
 Venezuela." 
 
 By the final article of the Treaty " The 
 High Contracting Parties " engaged " to 
 
 Kl 
 
 
 
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 -Jl^.. 
 
 
 
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 Plioto. Copyright 190" h\i J. E. Piirdij, Buslon. 
 MELVILLE W. KfLLEK. 
 
 consider tlie result of the proceedings of 
 the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, per- 
 fect, and final settlement of all questions 
 referred to the arbitrators." The Tri- 
 bunal began its sittings at Paris, oi 
 .lune 1.5, 1899, and its decision, which was 
 said to have been unanimous, was an- 
 nounced on October 3, 1899. This ver- 
 dict was largely in the nature of a com- 
 promise, but was most emphatically 
 favorable to Venezuela, when that 
 country's interests were viewed in the 
 light of the claims of Great Britain. A 
 large proportion of the territoi-y within 
 the famous Schomliurgk line, which Lord 
 Salisbury had claimed absolutely and re- 
 fused to arbitrate, was restored to Vene- 
 zuela ; while the complete control of the 
 Orinoco river was secured to that countr.v 
 as well as important rights in the Ama- 
 kuru and Barima rivers, whose naviga- 
 
524: 
 
 iKOM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 tiou Groat Britain haj claiiiK'J to control 
 absolutely. 
 
 Thus ended what threatened to be one 
 of the most deplorable politiral eompliea- 
 tions of the century with peace and some 
 honor, at least, for all parties. By a bold 
 and determined adherence to a long- main- 
 tained sentiment of natiimal i)olicy, the 
 United States was able to check the ag- 
 ji'ressions of a powerful nation on the 
 ]-is'hts of a weaker, which had for years 
 appealed to our government for its aid 
 in its defenseless position. But while 
 doing a merciful and just act a great 
 Ijrineiple of national policy was so firmly 
 established that it is hardly probable it 
 will ever be seriously questioned again by 
 any European Power. In his recent ad- 
 dress (July, 1908) before the Naval War 
 College at Newport, E. I., President 
 Eoosevelt, in his enthusiasm over his 
 favorite theme of a greater, and yet 
 greater navy, declared that the Monroe 
 Doctrine never received the recognition of 
 any great Powers until we began building 
 our great navy of battleships. As a 
 matter of fact, however, before the keel 
 of the first of our modern warships had 
 lic^n laid the fact that the Monroe Doc- 
 trine stands as the cardinal principle of 
 the American foreign policy and as such 
 must be respected in spirit and in letter 
 had, after serious and hostile delibera- 
 tion, been recognized and respected by the 
 nation of all others of the world the most 
 able to dispute its power and standing. 
 Moreover since the memorable Venezuelan 
 case many other and strong indorsements 
 of the effectiveness of the Doctrine have 
 Ijcen adtled to those already conceded. 
 Not the least of these was the virtual 
 acceptance of the standing of the Monroe 
 Doctrine and its position as what must 
 be recognized as an " unwritten law " of 
 nations, was the final agreement of all 
 the nations represented at the first Hague 
 Conference that the representatives of 
 the United States government should be 
 
 allowed to sign cai/h of the Conventions 
 arrived at with the following proviso: 
 " Nothing contained in this convention 
 shall be so construed as to require the 
 United States of An)crica to depart from 
 its traditional policy of not intruding 
 upon, interfering with, or entangling 
 itself in the political questions or policy 
 or internal administration of any foreif^ii 
 state, nor shall anything contained in 
 the said Convention be construed to im- 
 ply a relinquishment by the T'nited 
 States of America of its traditional at- 
 titude toward purely American ques- 
 tions." And it was more than an inter- 
 national courtesy tliat led Germany, in 
 1901, when she proposed to use forcible 
 means to collect the claims of some of 
 her subjects against Venezuela, first to 
 inform the government of the United 
 States, through her Ambassador at 
 Washington, of her purpose to take such 
 action, but that the " German Government 
 had no purpose or intention to make even 
 the smallest acquisition of territory on 
 the South American Continent, or the 
 islands adjacent." 
 
 Therefore, notwithstanding Lord Salis- 
 bury's dictum that International Law is 
 founded on the general consent of na- 
 tions, and no statesman however emi- 
 nent, and no nation however, powerful are 
 competent to insert into its code a novel 
 principle " which ^vas never recognized 
 before, and which has not since been ac- 
 cepted by the government of any other 
 country;" we are prone to believe that 
 the verdict of history will be that this 
 "novel larinciple." the Monroe Doctrine, 
 worked over and out by John Quincy 
 Adams, voiced by President ilonroe, was, 
 after seventy years of a doubtful mean- 
 ing and existence, given real life and an 
 unquestioned position as an unwritten 
 principle of international law by the 
 honest, forceful, and clear-sighted states- 
 manship of Grover Cleveland. 
 
XLvn. 
 
 THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII - 1898. 
 
 Sandwich Islands Unknown When Anierieau Independence Declared. — Discovery by Captain 
 Cook, 177S. — His Experience Witn Natives. — Descriptions of Islands. — Highest Volcanoes 
 in World. — Motable Eruptions. — Princess Kapiolani Defies Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes. — 
 Tliree Periods of Hawaiian History. — Origin of Native People. — Pliysical Characteristics. 
 — -Their Religion and Superstition. — The Tabu. — -Pastimes of People. — Native Poetry. — 
 Vancouver's Inlluence. — Introduction of Rum. — Kamehameha I. — Conquers Other Chiefs. 
 — Establislied Central Ciovernment. — Overtlirow of Idolatry l)y People. — Arrival of Mis- 
 sionaries. — Intense Interest of People in Education. — Continuous Interference of Foreign 
 Powers. — The "New Kaahumanu."— Formation of Written Language. — First Constitu- 
 tion. — Independence Recognized by United States, France, and England. — Comparison of 
 Census Statisti--s. — Steady Cirowth of American Party. — Statement of Liliuokalani. — 
 Early Movements Toward Annexation. — Hostilit.v of English. — First Treaty With United 
 States. — Kalakaua. — ^ Crisis on Accession of Liliuokalani. — E.stablishment of Provisi<uial 
 Government. — Negotiations with Government of United States. — The Joint Resolution of 
 Congress. — Final Cession to United States. 
 
 Some unsuspected isle in far-off seas." — BuoWNlNG. 
 
 T is an interesting fact that when, in 1898, the Hawaiian 
 islands were annexed to the United States territory was 
 added to the national domain whose very existence was un- 
 known at the time the Declaration of Independence was 
 made, and the people of the thirteen original states began 
 their struggle for a separate political existence. Moreover 
 it seems well-nigh incredible that for more than two 
 hundred years a great number of navigators should have 
 cruised between the west coast of America and the east 
 coast of Asia, and yet never have sighted so extensive 
 and prominent a group of islands; for they were no low- 
 lying lands which might easily be passed by unless one ran very close to their 
 shores, but were conspicuously marked by some of the loftiest mountains of the 
 western hemisphere, which were visible for many miles in every direction. Yet there 
 seems to be no trustworthy evidence that until tlie last quarter of the eighteenth 
 century they were ever visited or even sighted. 
 
 One of the earliest traditions of the people of Hawaii relates that sometime between 
 the years 1525 and 1530 a small vessel was wrecked on the coast of one of the islands. 
 Only the captain and his sister reached the shore in safety, when thej' knelt for a long- 
 time in prayer, and were found in this attitude by the natives, who received them 
 kindly and ministered to all their wants. According to the Spanish historians about 
 that time Cortez. the conqueror of Mexico, fitted out several exploring expeditions, 
 one of which, consisting of three vessels under the command ol Alvarado de Saavedra, 
 
526 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 sailed frnm Lacatula for the Moluccas, 
 October ;>1, 15:^7. Wlien the S(iiiailrijn 
 was about five thousaml miles frnm jiort 
 the vessels were separated by a fierce 
 storm, and the two smaller ones were 
 never heard from. As most of the severe 
 pales of that resion come from the south- 
 west, which would drive a disabled vessel 
 directly toward Hawaii, and as the Span- 
 iards were the only white peoplr navif^a- 
 tinp the Pacific at that period, it has come 
 to be believed that the small vessel 
 wrecked on the Kona coast was one of 
 the missing vessels of Saavedra's fleet. 
 According to the same tradition the cap- 
 tain and his sister settled among the na- 
 tives, and their descendants were among 
 the leading chief's of later days, and have 
 been marked even down to recent times 
 by their different racial characteristics. 
 There is evidence, too, that a Spanish 
 navigator, Jean Galtano, visited the is- 
 lands about thirty years later, though no 
 distinct record of the event has been 
 found. In the year 174.3 the British ship 
 
 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 iif war, "Centurion," under command of 
 Lord Anson, cruised in the southern 
 Pacific on the lookout fur Spanish gal- 
 leons; and in the account of his "Voy- 
 
 ages'' it is cited as a "remarkable" fact 
 " that by the concurrent testimony of all 
 Spanish navigators, there is not one port 
 nor even a tolerable road as yet found 
 out between the Philippine islands and 
 the coast of California: so that from the 
 time the Manila ship first loses sight of 
 land she never lets go her anchor till 
 she arrives on the coast of California." 
 It is evident, therefore, that none of 
 these islands were known to the navi- 
 gators of the sixteenth, seventeenth, 
 and eighteenth centuries; and so were 
 truly discovered by Captain Cook. 
 lie was then making the third of 
 his remarkable voyages, having sailed 
 from Bolabola, one of the Society is- 
 lands, December 8, 1777, in an effort to 
 find a northern passage between the At- 
 lantic and Pacific oceans. On Sunday, 
 •Tanuary IS, 1778, he reached the island 
 of O.ahu, and then visited other islands 
 of the group. The simple natives, who 
 had never seen a white man nor any such 
 vessels, were thrown into a state of the 
 greatest consternation and perplexity; 
 and in their excitement and fear crowded 
 the heights above the shore to watch 
 eveiw movement of the strange visitors. 
 The majority of the people regarded Cap- 
 tain Cook as the incarnation of their ab- 
 sent god, Lono, whose return was ex- 
 pected as a result of an ancient prophecy, 
 while the crews of his two vessels were 
 looked upon as supernatural beings. Mes- 
 sengers were sent to the other islands to 
 inform the chiefs of the arrival of these 
 strangers, who were thus described : " The 
 men are white; their skin is loose and 
 folding; their heads are angular; fire and 
 smoke issue from their mouths; they 
 have openings in the sides of their bodies 
 into which they thrust their hands and 
 draw out iron, beads, nails, and other 
 treasures." From this description it is 
 evident that the natives, who knew noth- 
 ing of clothes, regarded those worn by the 
 Englishmen as their skin, which was 
 " loose and folding; " and that when they 
 put their hands into the pockets of their 
 clothes, the natives thought they actually 
 thrust them into "the sides of their 
 
THE ANNEXATION OE HAWAII. 
 
 527 
 
 bodies." Ou Eebruaiy 1, 1778, Lt. Gore 
 and twenty men landed, taking- on shore 
 three goats, a boar, and a sow pig of 
 English lireed, as well as seeds of melons, 
 pumpkins, and onions. As the weather 
 was very stormy they were obliged to 
 remain on shore two nights, and were 
 most hospitably entertained by the na- 
 tive.?. On February 3, Cook with his two 
 vessels continued his voyage to the coast 
 of Alaska, Bering straits, and the Arc- 
 tic ocean, until stopped by the ice fields, 
 when he returned to winter in the islands 
 he had discovered, arriving November 
 26th. Again he was received as a god. 
 Sacrifices were oflfered to him, and he 
 and his followers were loaded with gifts, 
 many of which were of great value, they 
 giving only some trinkets in return. As 
 there were no metals on the island any 
 scraps of iron, old nails, or the common- 
 est tools were eagerly sought after. The 
 distinctive marks of rank among the 
 chiefs, and the insignia of royalty, were 
 most costly feather cloaks. Their ground- 
 work was a fine netting of native hemp, 
 to which small and very delicate feathers 
 of a bright yellow color were attached so 
 as to overlay each other and form a soft 
 and smooth surface. These choice yellow 
 feathers were taken from somewhat rare 
 birds that have one little tuft of the 
 feathers under each wing, which gives 
 some idea of the value that must have 
 been represented in such cloaks. That 
 worn by the great king Kamehameha I. 
 is said to have busied nine generations 
 of kings in its making. Five of these al- 
 most priceless garments were presented to 
 Captain Cook at one time, for which, in 
 return, he graciously presented the gen- 
 erous donor with a " linen shirt and a 
 cutlass." After a few weeks, however, 
 the natives began to realize that the Eng- 
 lishmen wore very human, and that they 
 were cari-ying a heavy burden; while with 
 the Anglo-Saxon's usual contempt for an 
 inferior race, Cook and his men grossly 
 abused the confidence and friendship of 
 the people. As matters were assuming a 
 Berious aspect, the English determined to 
 get a chief on board one of the vessels. 
 
 and hold him as a hostage. But the sus- 
 picions of the natives had been aroused, 
 and the attempt to abduct the chief led to 
 a serious quarrel, during which Captain 
 Cook was stabbed in the back by one of 
 tlie men, who used a large iron knife 
 which one of the Englishmen had 
 brought in. Captain Cook's followers 
 then opened fire on the natives and in the 
 skirmish seventeen of them were killed, 
 including five chiefs. After this en- 
 counter, which had resulted in the loss 
 of their commander, the British left the 
 islands, February 25, 1779, sailing for the 
 Arctic ocean. 
 
 The Sandwich islands as they were 
 named by Captain Cook in honor of 
 his patron the Earl of Sandwich, then 
 First Lord of the British Admiralty; or 
 the Hawaiian islands as they were called 
 by the natives after the largest of the 
 group and are now officially known, lie 
 at the present " cross-roads " of all Pa- 
 cific ocean travel and commerce. They 
 are about 2,100 miles from San Fran- 
 cisco, 2,300 from Seattle or Victoria, 
 2,500 from Manila, 4,650 from Panama 
 and the proposed canal, and 6,-100 from 
 Cape Horn. All steamers, of which there 
 are now several lines from San Francisco 
 to Japan, China. Australia, and the Phil- 
 ippines, as well as the English lines from 
 Vancouver and Victoria to Australia and 
 New Zealand, make regular stops at 
 Honolulu. There are seven inhabited, 
 and six or eight small, uninhabited is- 
 lands in the group. The largest is 
 Hawaii, which is also the most easterly, 
 and is ninety miles in length by seventy 
 in breadth. The islands all lie Just within 
 the Tropics, between latitudes 18° and 
 23° north. They extend from Hawaii in 
 a northwesterly direction for a distance 
 of about 3S0 miles in the following order, 
 which is very nearly, also, their order in 
 size: Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, — on 
 the south side of which is situated the 
 capital city, Honolulu, — Kaui, Niihau, 
 and the small island of Lanai, lying just 
 south of Molokai and west of Maui. 
 
 All these islands are of volcanic or 
 coral formation, and present a great 
 
528 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOliLU POWKIL 
 
 variety of physical conditions, as of 
 climate, soil, etc. On Hawaii are the two 
 highest island mountains in the world, — 
 jMauna Loa, near the centre <it' the island, 
 rising- to the heis'ht of 13,7li.'> t'ect ahove 
 the sea, and Manna Kea, almut twenty 
 miles north of IMauna Lna. with an alti- 
 tuile of lo,S05 feet; wliile Mauna Loa 
 and Kilauea, ahout twenty miles east, 
 are the larg-est active volcanoes on the 
 !ili>y)e. Ocean soundin.ns made around 
 till' island reveal a depth of frt)in seven- 
 
 down the sides of the mountain, usually 
 at about eleven thousand feet above sea 
 level, and play like a fountain to a height 
 of from two hundred to one thousand 
 feet. At the same time streams of lava 
 pour through huge fissures, merging into 
 a river of fire from a mile to two and a 
 half miles wide, which flows towards the 
 sea. Frequently the flow is rapid, the 
 stream reaching a velocity of ten miles 
 an hour, at other times it spreads out 
 into great lakes, making little progress for 
 
 I'lHTER OF KILAl'EA VOLOANO. 
 
 teen to twenty thousand fi'ct within four 
 miles of the shore. This would mean 
 that, if the bed of the ocean could be laid 
 bare, one would see Mauna Loa rising to 
 a height of over thirty thousand feet. All 
 the islands are, in fact, but the tops or 
 table lands of a submerged range of vol- 
 canic mountains. There have been six or 
 seven eruptions of ilauna Loa during 
 the last century, the most notable ones be- 
 ing those of lS,"i.5, ISSO. and 1885. They 
 have all been of a similar character, and 
 have usually occurred without any pre- 
 monitions of earthquakes or subterra- 
 neous noises, — as quietly as the moon rises. 
 Lights are first seen on the summit, 
 which steadily increase mitil the whole 
 country becomes illuminated, so that it 
 has been possible to read a book at night 
 at a distance of several miles from the 
 volcano. Then fires burst forth lower 
 
 days. These streams, of course, destroy 
 everything in their path. In 1,880 the 
 flow continued for nine months, and the 
 stream stopjx'd a half mile only from the 
 beautiful town of Ililo. In 1885 the dur- 
 ation of the flow was fifteen months, but 
 its course was fortunately toward the 
 ocean. In 1887 a stream of molten lava 
 broke through a fissure in the mountain 
 about seven thousand feet above sea- 
 level, and reached the ocean, twenty 
 miles distant, in three days. Lut the 
 most frightful and awe-inspiring of all 
 known volcanoes is Kilauea, which all 
 scientists and most travelers visit, though 
 its crater is reached with difficulty. It is 
 really a foot-hill of Mauna Loa, and has 
 an altitude of only about four thousand 
 feet. A hotel has been built close to the 
 edge of the crater from which most of 
 the horrors and phenomena of the region 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 529 
 
 can be seen. One can look down into 
 the great crater, whicli is nine miles in 
 circumference and six hundred feet deep, 
 stretching- out like a great plateau with 
 perpendicular walls. " The floor of this 
 vast pit," says a distinguished traveler, 
 " is covered with black lava hills in 
 gigantic forms and irregular shaiies, piled 
 up in endless confusion, while the level 
 portion is crossed by many cracks and 
 tissures, from which jets of hot steam 
 and sulphuric vapors are constantly aris- 
 ing." But the most remarkable feature 
 of this Inferno is the ever active lake of 
 molten lava, about three miles distant 
 from the entrance to the crater at the 
 hotel. To reach this one descends about 
 three hundred feet from the floor of the 
 crater into an inner pit. and so may come 
 near enough to the burning mass to stir 
 it with a stick. The same writer quoted 
 above says : " In this great bed we saw 
 a volume of liquid fire, like molten iron, 
 moving to and fro, surging and hissing 
 like a sea in a storm. Conducted by the 
 guide I went across a thin shell of lava 
 liurning the soles of the feet, and over 
 crevices through which the livid fire 
 ci:)uld be seen only a few inches down, 
 until I came to the edge of the cone- 
 shaped wall that confined the liquid mass 
 of some twenty acres or more. The heat 
 was intense, as tlic lake of fire, boiling 
 like a cauldron, covered in places with a 
 hard crust separated by great lanes of 
 fire, surged and rolled its heavy surf 
 against its enclosing walls. The whole 
 surface was constantly changing, foun- 
 tains were playing at many points, and 
 liqtiid tongues of fire would leap up as 
 the congealed surfaces would meet with a 
 crash, and new lanes form, sometimes 
 opening clear across the lake. As day- 
 light faded away the walls of the pit be- 
 gan to glow with the reflection of the vol- 
 canic fires, and the heavy gases hmig in 
 clouds like reflectors in the star-lit sky. 
 As the darkness deepened, the light from 
 the lava grew brighter, while the jets and 
 surges of molten fire continued without 
 intermission, fountains of liquid fire 
 shooting up thirty feet. The peculiar 
 34 
 
 sullen or angry roar of the fiery surf was 
 distinctly heard, sometimes like the noise 
 of cannon or rattling fire of musketry." 
 In the whole interior of the crater, the at- 
 mosphere is filled with myriads of thread- 
 like filaments of lava resembling twisted 
 hair, the products of volcanic fires, — a 
 product similar to blown glass. This is 
 known as " Pele's hair," Pele being the 
 goddess of the volcano and its fires. 
 
 Like most of the early peoples, or jieo- 
 ple in a semi-savage state, the Ilawaiians 
 had a special god or goddess who was 
 identified with every force of nature; and 
 this goddess of the subterraneous fires 
 was worshiped with a reverence and awe 
 proportioned to her supposed powers for 
 evil, as manifested in the frightful and 
 destructive eruptions of Mauna Loa and 
 Kilatioa, with which the natives were 
 only too familiar. The abode of the god- 
 dess was in the lake of fire in Kilauea's 
 crater, and certain berries that grew near 
 the crater were sacred to her. To break 
 the force of their superstitious beliefs 
 was the first effort of the missionaries to 
 the people ; and to aid in this work, one 
 of the noblest acts of heroism anywhere 
 recoriled was performed by the Princess 
 Kapiolani after her conversion to Christ- 
 ianity. Although tradition says that her 
 previous life had been marked by ex- 
 cesses of intemperance and licentiousness 
 she was one of the first to renounce the 
 old gods and idols, and yield to the puri- 
 fying and elevating influences of the Gos- 
 pel of Christ, thus greatly aiding the 
 missionaries in their work not only by 
 the influence of her high rank but by the 
 more potent force of her changed life. 
 To demonstrate to her people that their 
 old gods had no power, either for good 
 or for evil, she determined to attack one 
 of the most deep-seated of their super- 
 stitions and fears. Accordingly public 
 announcement was made in December, 
 1824. that she would go to the very abode 
 of the goddess Pele, there eat her sacred 
 berries, and openly defy her. The more 
 deeijl.v to interest the people in her act and 
 the better to advertise her purpose, and 
 in the face of the most strenuous opposi- 
 
ooO 
 
 PEOM COLOXY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 tion of her husband and friends, she jour- 
 neyed on foot from Keakikekua on the 
 west coast more than half way aromid 
 the island, a distance of about one hun- 
 dred and twenty miles. After reaching 
 Kilauea she si>ent the night with friends 
 just outside the crater. The next morn- 
 ing slie and her company of about eighty 
 persons descended into the crater and ap- 
 proached the burning lake. There, in full 
 view of its terrifying activity, she ate the 
 sacred berries and threw stones into the 
 lake of fire, saying: "Jehovah is my 
 God. lie kindles these fires. I fear not 
 Pele. If I perish by her anger then you 
 may fear Pelo; but if I trust in Jehovah 
 and lie preserves me when breaking her 
 tabus, then you must fear and servo Ilim 
 alone.'' " Tlion," says the historian, 
 " they united in singing a hymn of praise 
 to the true God, and knelt in adoration 
 to the Creator and Governor of the Uni- 
 verse." To an intelligent person of this 
 civilized age and country, the act of this 
 heroic woman does not seem remarkable. 
 But when one considers that from her 
 earliest chilhood, until within two years 
 of the time of her act, she had been 
 taught and had firmly believed that with 
 this Pole lay the power not only of smit- 
 ing her with instant death, but also of 
 spreading death and destruction among 
 her people as a punishment of her im- 
 pious act; and when one also considers 
 that the defiance was made amid jihysical 
 surroundings that seemed the very " jaws 
 of hell," and were calculated to suggest 
 diabolical power and presence even to 
 people who had outgrown all superstition 
 — even Luther threw his iid<stand at the 
 devil, — one can but marvel at her faith 
 in her newly found God, which inspired 
 her with such superhuman courage and 
 love. Hers was certainly as it has been 
 called " one of the greatest acts of moral 
 courage ever performed." IQ^or did her 
 zeal diminish ; but throughout the re- 
 maining seventeen years of her life she 
 labored earnestly for the moral uplifting 
 of her people. And at her death, in 1841, 
 it was said of her: " This nation has lost 
 one of its brightest ornaments. She was 
 
 confessedly the most Christian, the most 
 civilized in her manners, and the most 
 thoroughly read in the Bible of all the 
 chiefs this nation ever had. The hand 
 of God is to be seen in the consistent life 
 for twenty years of this child of a de- 
 graded paganism." 
 
 The history of the Hawaiian people 
 divides itself naturally into three dis- 
 tinct and well defined periods. 1st. From 
 the earliest reliable records or traditions 
 to the discovery of the islands by Captain 
 Cook, in 1778. 2d. From the discovery 
 by Captain Cook to the advent of the 
 missionaries in 1S20, which is known as 
 the "Period of Conquest,'' and includes 
 the most notable reign of Hawaiian his- 
 tory, — that of Kamehamcha the Great, 
 wlio sul)dued all the other chiefs of the 
 islands, and united the people under one 
 wise and strong ruler. This centraliza- 
 tion of ijower, together with the abolition 
 of idolatry and the (ahn si/sfem, which 
 took place early in his son's reign, pre- 
 pared the way for the introduction of 
 Cliristianity. .3d. From 1820 to the an- 
 nexation of the islands to the LTnited 
 States. 
 
 As a multitude of works have been 
 written which cover the second and third 
 periods, and which are, therefore, more 
 familiar in tlie general reader, we shall 
 use the limited space which the plan of 
 this work allows to especially illustrate 
 the character of the people during the 
 first period and the conditions then exist- 
 ing, of which it is much more difficult to 
 obtain any reliable and detailed account, 
 — merely giving a general outline, or 
 rapid survey, of the events and move- 
 ments of the second and third periods. 
 
 Some fourteen or fifteen centuries ago 
 there was, it is believed, a migration of 
 people from the East Indian Archipelago 
 into the Pacific ocean, the first point of 
 settlement having been the island of 
 Savaii, in the Samoan group. From this 
 central point these people were gradually 
 dispersed over all the islands of the east- 
 ern Pacific, . from New Zealand to 
 Hawaii ; and for a long time they have 
 been classed as one race, — the Polynesian. 
 
THE ANNEXATION OE HAWAII. 
 
 531 
 
 Quite recently these people have been 
 called by ethnologists Sawaioris, a com- 
 pound word made up of the first, middle, 
 and last syllables of Sa-moa, Ha-wai-i, 
 and Ma-on; and it is by this name that 
 they are now most commonly designated. 
 The earliest mig-ration has generally been 
 placed at about the fifth century after 
 Christ ; but when the settlements of the 
 other islands followed there is no con- 
 sensus of opinion. It is practically cer- 
 tain, however, that the people whom Cap- 
 tain Cook foimd at Hawaii belonged to 
 this race, and had a very ancient lineage. 
 All that transpired in their histoi-y dur- 
 ing the intervening centuries is simply a 
 matter of conjecture, or legendary, 
 though there are many evidences that a 
 more or less frequent intercourse was 
 kept up by the Hawaiians with the 
 fatherland of Samoa and with Tahiti, so 
 that the people became skillful and dar- 
 ing navigators. As a people the Sawai- 
 oris have common characteristics, phys- 
 ically the Hawaiian not differing ma- 
 terially from his brothers of Samoa, or 
 the Maoris of New Zealand. All author- 
 ities agree that they were an exception- 
 ally large and well-developed people, the 
 average height of the men being placed 
 at five feet and nine or ten inches; and a 
 skeleton has been found in a catacomb 
 at Wainiea, which is six feet seven and 
 three-quarters inches in length. In his 
 great work on the " Human Species," 
 de Quatrefages, in a table giving the 
 stature of different races of men, shows 
 that the natives of Samoa and Tonga are 
 the largest people in the world. They 
 are generally described as of a brown 
 color, with straight black hair and very- 
 little beard ; their features are fairly 
 regular, eyes invariably black, lips of 
 medium thickness, noses short and wide 
 at the base, with foreheads high, but 
 rather narrow. The native Hawaiians 
 presented marked contrasts of character, 
 possessing great strength and boldness, 
 yet being indolent and servile. Every 
 act of their lives was hedged about by 
 religious observances and ceremonials, 
 yet they were cannibals and licentious 
 
 beyond almost any other known people. 
 Chastity and common morality were 
 practically unknown among them; yet 
 their history presents not infrequent in- 
 stances of an affectionate and generous 
 disposition, capable of making great sac- 
 rifices for the good of others. Their re- 
 ligion was such as to degrade and corrupt 
 a people rather than elevate them; and 
 the fact that so many attractive and 
 amiable qualities survived its debasing 
 and vicious influences, is the best evi- 
 dence of a naturally better character as 
 their birth-right. 
 
 In their social life there were three 
 distinct and fixed ranks, or castes, — the 
 nobility, the religious orders, and the 
 conunon people. The King had absolute 
 power over the lives, services, and prop- 
 erty of all his subjects. The chiefs 
 served, when the King so desired, as a 
 sort of advisory council; and these as- 
 semblies furnished the occasion for the 
 most powerful displays of native elo- 
 quence which was always greatly appre- 
 ciated by the people. The kingly ofiice 
 was hereditary in the royal family, 
 though the sovereign coulil name his suc- 
 cessor; and in default of heirs, the chiefs 
 chose the king from among- those of 
 highest rank. Each island had its king; 
 and the chiefs were the head-men of dis- 
 tricts, and his innnediate vassals. In 
 theory, and generally in practice, the 
 King was the owner of all the land, which 
 he subdivided among the chiefs, and they 
 again among their followers and the peo- 
 ple, who were mere tenants at will. The 
 person of the King and his chiefs was 
 sacred, and they were held in the highest 
 reverence. As a native historian has 
 said : " It was death for a common man 
 to remain standing at the mention of the 
 King's name in song or when the King's 
 food, drinking water, or clothing was 
 carried past; to put on any article of 
 dress belonging to him; to enter his en- 
 closure without permission ; or even to 
 cross his shadow, or that of his house. If 
 he entered the dreadful presence of the 
 sovereign he must crawl, prone on the 
 ground, and leave it in the same man- 
 
FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 iier."' This reverence for the kingly of- 
 fice became a most important factor in 
 the introduction of Christianity, as the 
 chiefs were among- the firet converts, and 
 the people were easily led tu follow them, 
 at least so far as form was concerned. 
 
 The early religion presents a very in- 
 teresting but very complex subject for 
 study. As lias been said, it affected prac- 
 tically every act of the lives of the peo- 
 ple. There was first among the gods, 
 " Essential and uncreated,'' a trinity, — 
 Kaue, Ku, and Lono. " Kaue was held 
 superior to the others, and was benevolent 
 in his character; Ku was the essence of 
 darkness and cruelty ; while Lono was 
 more closely associated with the human." 
 Of lesser divinities the number was 
 legion. Earth, Seas, and Air were full of 
 them. They were present in all the 
 phenomena of nature; the families had 
 their tutelary gods, — a kind of ancestor 
 worship; and every trade or occupation, 
 even the thieves and gamblers, had a spe- 
 cial deity. Human sacrifices were of- 
 fered on special occasions, such as the 
 dedication of a temple, the launching of 
 a war canoe, the building of a chief's 
 house, or the sickness of a King or Queen. 
 Of the religious customs, that which most 
 directly affected the people was the 
 Tahu, which served every conceivable 
 purpose. A piece of land was tahited, and 
 it was a capital offense to enter it; one 
 having a debt against another could have 
 his house tahued, and no one could leave 
 or enter it until the debt was paid, and 
 the tahu lifted. There were regular fahu 
 seasons, sacred to the gods, when every 
 fire or light on the island, or in a par- 
 ticular district, must be extinguished; no 
 canoe could be launched : no one could 
 bathe, and no individual, exceist the 
 priests, must be seen on the streets, or out 
 of doors: even the dog must not bark, nor 
 the pig squeak, nor the cock crow, lest 
 the tahu should be broken, and fail to ac- 
 complish its purpose. The temples and 
 idols and the persons of the principal 
 chiefs were always fahu, — that is, sacred, 
 and not to be touched. The fahu ruled 
 the famil.v. too, and was largely responsi- 
 
 ble for the destruction of anything re- 
 sembling family life. It was tahu for 
 any woman, even the highest, to eat with 
 any man, or to eat of food prepared in 
 the same oven, or to partake at any time 
 of pork, bananas, cocoanut, turtle, and 
 certain kinds of fish ; and one author has 
 found evidence that this tahu extended to 
 fowls, and every animal ever sacrificed, — 
 except in eases of special indulgence. 
 As hogs and fowls were the only animals 
 on the islands, and cereals were un- 
 known, the diet allowed to women must 
 have Iwen extremely meagre. When the 
 Princess Kapiolani. whose later heroic de- 
 fiance of the goddess Pele has already 
 been mentioned, was a girl, she and a 
 companion rebelled against this fahu, and 
 determined to eat a banana, one of the 
 most eonnnon fruits on the islands. They 
 rushed into the water, concealing the 
 banana in their hands, and ate it when 
 some distance from the shore. Unfor- 
 tunately a priest chanced to see them and 
 their act, and the young- girls were con- 
 demned therefor to degradation of rank, 
 aii<l pei'petual poverty and celibacy. In- 
 fluence, however, was apparently brought 
 to bear on the priest, who suggested an 
 expiatory sacrifice. A young boy, a 
 favorite page of Kapiolani's. was seized 
 and strangled ; whereupon the sentence 
 upon the offenders themselves was an- 
 nulled. 
 
 That conjugal love was comparativel.y 
 weak among the Hawaiians may be 
 easily inferred from what has already 
 been said. Other evidences of it may be 
 found in the frequency of divorce, as the 
 tenure of the marriage relation depended 
 entirel.y upon the will of the husband; 
 and in the practice of infanticide, which 
 was everywhere prevalent. This was 
 usuall.v accomplished by burying the little 
 babe alive; and one of the best authori- 
 ties on Hawaiian customs estimates that 
 two-thirds of the offspring of the com- 
 mon people were destroyed in this man- 
 ner. As it was more commonly the female 
 babes that were so disposed of, there was 
 always a great excess of males in the 
 population. Considering all these con- 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 Jitions and the additional effects of the 
 lieat of the tropics and the fact that little, 
 and often no clothing was worn by either 
 sex, it is hardly surprising that chastity, 
 as it is regarded among civilized peoples, 
 had but little foot-hold among the 
 natives. In this connection, however, 
 it may be observed that one of the high- 
 est authorities on anthropology (Waitz) 
 remarks that the absence of clothing 
 among native people is not in itself a 
 mark of innnodesty; nor is its adoption 
 due to a sense of shame, but rather to the 
 need of protection or the desire for orna- 
 mentation; a truth which is illustrated 
 by the story, recorded by the Rev. Dr. 
 Anderson, of the Hawaiian who, having 
 been rebuked by a missionary for appear- 
 ing in his house nearly naked, added to 
 his slight attire on his next visit a pair 
 of stockings and a hat. 
 
 And yet with all these dark and ugly 
 pliases of their lives and customs there is 
 abundant evidence that there wore many 
 of the people whose characters exhibited 
 bi-ight glimmerings of " sweetness and 
 light," and who were in all respects be- 
 yond the confines of savagery. We are told 
 that many were very brave, and thought 
 little of self-sacrifice for others, where 
 duty or family honor were concerned ; 
 and it would be difficult to find a nobler 
 illustration of this than the following 
 anecdote offers: "Some lads belonging to 
 two villages fell out, and began stone 
 throwing. One of them, who was the son 
 nf a chief, was struck and, it was feared, 
 killed. As soon as this was known to the 
 young men of his village they armed 
 tliemselves in order to go to the other vil- 
 lage to seek reparation according to the 
 custom of the times, by killing some one 
 of the family of the boy who had thrown 
 the stone. A report that they were com- 
 ing preceded them, and a young man, a 
 i-ousin of the boy, in order to prevent a 
 fight, quietly walked out of the village to 
 meet the avengers of blood. When he 
 met them he calmly said, ' You are com- 
 ing to avenge your brother. I am brother 
 to the boy who killed him. Do not go 
 farther. Kill me and be avenged so that 
 
 our villages may remain at peace.' His 
 conduct somewhat disconcerted the 
 avenging party; and by the timely ar- 
 rival of a Christian teacher matters were 
 settled without bloodshed." The Ha- 
 waiiaus, when not restrained by their 
 tahu, were a light-hearted and generally 
 joyous people, as most children of the sun 
 and the sea are. They entered into all 
 sports, of which they had many, with 
 genuine enthusiasm. On all the islands 
 there were occasional markets and fairs 
 for the purpose of trade, as well as to dis- 
 cuss national affairs; wliile an annual 
 festival, the Makahiki, was held in the 
 autumn of each year. At these meetings 
 games and contests were given an im- 
 portant place. Boxing, foot-racing, bowl- 
 ing, wrestling, surf-bathing, a species of 
 tobogganing, throwing and catching the 
 spoar, the shooting of mice with bow and 
 arrow, and checkers were all freely in- 
 dulged in; while the children played 
 " cat's cradle," walked on stilts, spun 
 tops, and were fond of kite-flying. More- 
 over Vancouver, who visited the islands 
 three times, 1792-93-94, says that he wit- 
 nessed a sort of drama or operatic per- 
 formance in several acts, describing in- 
 cidents in the lives of members of the 
 royal family, which was " supported with 
 a wonderful degree of vivacity and 
 spirit." Dancing was a favorite pastime, 
 and also held an important place in their 
 religious rites. Unfortunately many of 
 these dances were such as to degrade the 
 people, the worst of them being the las- 
 civious and infamous hula hula dance, 
 which has put a stigma on the Hawaiian 
 name throughout the civilized world. 
 
 The people were also deeply interested 
 in oratorical efforts and have been called 
 natural orators and politicians. The hus- 
 band of Kapiolani, after the islands had 
 all been brought under one rule by Kame- 
 hameha I., attained great celebrity as the 
 " National " orator. Their legends and 
 historical tales were handed down from 
 generation to generation by professional 
 singers and stoiy-tellers who were at- 
 tached to the retinue of the leading 
 chiefs. As among nearly all primitive peo- 
 
334: 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 liles the Hawaiian bards were highly es- 
 tfoined and reverenced, and the people's 
 love of poetry and song found expression 
 through them. The native poetry, of 
 wliieh they were passionately fond, had 
 no rhyme or meter, but the poems con- 
 sisted of short musical sentences or lines, 
 divided into bars or measures with par- 
 ti<'ular attention to the accent and cadence 
 (if the final words. Much of their poetry 
 was of a dreamy, half minor tone and 
 ciivered every expression of feeling, from 
 the religious chants and prayers, and love 
 songs, to dirges and lamentations for the 
 dead. As an illustration of their poetry, 
 we give a passage from a poem in 
 memoiy of Chief Keeaumoku, the father- 
 in-law of the great Kamehameha, which 
 has been preserved by one of the mis- 
 sionaries : 
 
 Auwc, auwe, ua mate tuu alii, 
 Ua mate tuu hatu, tuu hoa, 
 Tuu hoa i ta wa o ta wi 
 Tuu hoa i paa ta aina 
 Tuu hoa i tuu ilihune 
 Tuu hoa i ta ua me ta matani 
 Tuu hoa i ta wela o ta la, 
 Tuu hoa i ta auu o ta mauna, 
 Tuu hoa i ta ino 
 Tuu hoa i ta malie 
 Tuu hoa i na tai ewalu 
 Auwe, auwc, ua hola tuu hoa, 
 Aohe e hoi mai ! 
 
 Alas, alas, dead is my chief. 
 
 Dead is m.v lord and my friend; 
 
 My friend in the season of famine 
 
 My friend in the time of drought 
 
 My friend in my poverty. 
 
 My friend in the rain and the wind, 
 
 My friend in the heat and the sun. 
 
 My friend in the cold from the mountain, 
 
 My friend in the storm 
 
 My friend in the calm, 
 
 ]\ry friend in the eight seas. 
 
 Alas, alas, gone is my friend. 
 
 And no more will return. 
 
 "During the second i>eriod of their his- 
 tory, the Hawaiian Islands came to be well 
 known to navigators, and through them 
 to the countries from which they came. 
 Karly in the period, too, the islands be- 
 
 came the rendezvous of the great whaling 
 fleets, so that there were often several 
 foreign vessels in their ports at the same 
 time. Frequently some of the sailors de- 
 serted, or were puiiiosely left on the is- 
 lands, so that there gradually grew uyt a 
 foreign element among the people of the 
 roughest and most dissolute character. 
 For several years after Captain Cook set 
 sail there were no visitors. During the 
 years 1786-9 several English and French ' 
 captains arrived and traded with the na- 
 tives, without unpleasant incidents. But 
 in 1789 Captain Metcalf, an American, 
 came into port with two vessels. He be- 
 gan at once to quarrel with the people, 
 and it was not many days before one of 
 his boats was stolen. To retaliate, he in- 
 duced a great number of the natives to 
 come out to his ship with supplies, which 
 he proposed to buy. But no sooner had 
 he massed them on one side of the vessel 
 than he opened a broadside from his 
 guns, siiil\ing the canoes, and killing 
 more than one hundred natives. The sur- 
 vivoi-s then seized his smaller vessel, 
 which was commanded by his son, and 
 massaci'ed everyone on board excepting 
 the mate, Isaac Davis, whose life was 
 spared. The boatswain, John Young, 
 happening to be on shore, was detained. 
 Captain ]\Ietcalf soon left the islands. 
 But Davis and Young remained among 
 the peojile, and being both possessed 
 of strong and clean characters, soon 
 achieved positions of ijifluence. Both 
 became chiefs, and were close and trusted 
 advisers of Kamehameha during his wars 
 of conquest, and in the settlement of his 
 kingdom. In 1792 Captain George Van- 
 couver arrived at Hawaii. Remembering 
 their recent experiences, the natives re- 
 ceived him coldly, and with well-marked 
 suspicion. His coming has, however, 
 been held to mark an era in the develop- 
 ment of the country. He soon gained 
 the confidence of chiefs and people alike, 
 and made determined and continued ef- 
 forts to restore peace among the warring- 
 leaders, to rid the people of many of their 
 superstitions, and in evei-y way to en- 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 635 
 
 lighten and elevate them. Between 1792- 
 95 Vancouver made three successive 
 visits, being received each time with in- 
 creased favor. Of his last visit a native 
 writer says: "Vancouver and his men 
 were regarded as the guests of the nation, 
 and treated with unbounded hospitality. 
 He gave the King much valuable advice 
 in regard to his intercourse with for- 
 eigners, the management of his kingdom, 
 the discipline of his troops, etc. He also 
 told him of the one true God, Creator 
 and Governor of all mankind; that their 
 tahu system was wrong; and that he 
 would ask the King of England to send 
 him a teacher of the true religion." It 
 weuld certainly have been fortunate for 
 the Hawaiians had the Englishman Van- 
 couver preceded the Englishman Cook 
 and the American Metcalf! One of 
 Vancouver's greatest benefactions was 
 a liberal gift of sheep and cattle. Up to 
 this time the only animals on the islands 
 were native hogs, dogs, and mice, with 
 some fowls, — all of which seem to have 
 been brought in at the time of the first 
 migration. There were even no wild 
 animals, nor serpents, nor any creeping 
 things, save one species of lizard. When 
 A'^ancouver presented his sheep and cattle, 
 he wisely had them tabued for ten years, 
 so that they should have time to propa- 
 gate; and also stipulated that at the end 
 01 the period the women as well as the 
 men should be privileged to eat them. 
 
 About 1800, rum began to be shipped 
 into the islands with results that beggar 
 description. About the same time, too, 
 some " Botany Bay " convicts who had 
 come off a vessel introduced the " art of 
 distilling," and it was not many months 
 before nearly every chief had his still. 
 Drunkenness became chronic and the con- 
 dition of the people was deplorable. Even 
 Karaehameha became an excessive drinker, 
 but was led to reform through the in- 
 fluence of John Young, and became a total 
 abstainer. But the vice became so fas- 
 tened upon the people that they lapsed 
 into a bestial condition : and as it was the 
 aim of the white savages who had settled 
 among them to keep them so, Kame- 
 
 hameha was able to do but little to resist 
 the ravages of disease, made more horrible 
 and deadly by the grossest intemperance. 
 Universal experience has demonstrated 
 that the so-called civilized wliite man, 
 when he gives rein to his passions, is liable 
 to become more debased, brutal, and sav- 
 age than any real savages in their natural 
 state; and with their motto "There is no 
 God west of Cape Horn," the majority of 
 the seamen of those daj's flung all moral 
 restraints to the winds and became animals 
 rather than men. A native Hawaiian was 
 well within the bounds of truth when he 
 wrote : " While there have been no ser- 
 pents or tigers in these islands, there 
 have been human brutes, worse than ser- 
 pents and tigers, that have greatly de- 
 stroyed the people." Captain Cook esti- 
 mated the population of the islands at 
 400,000 in 1778 ; but so great was the mor- 
 tality during this second, — which may be 
 
 CAPTAIN VANCOUVER 
 
 called a transition, — period, that in 1830 
 the population had fallen to 130,000. 
 
 But the dawn of a better day was near. 
 After about twenty years of almost con- 
 stant fighting Kamehameha I. had sub- 
 dued all the other chiefs, and comparative 
 
536 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 peace reigned throughout the islands. 
 While still a nominal supporter of the 
 national religion he had privately recog- 
 nized the futility of its forms and 
 ceremonies, and the evils of the sacrificial 
 rites. Rumor had rer-ched the islands 
 
 KING KAMKHAMEHA I. 
 
 of the new religion which was being 
 preached in the Society islands; hut 
 being unable to learn more of it the 
 King died in 1S19 in the faith of 
 his ancestors, which he also charged 
 his son and successor Liholiho, or 
 Kamehanieha IT., to maintain. The 
 rough old warrior was eighty-two years of 
 age at the time of his death. He had 
 done a great work among his people, and 
 had unconsciously laid the foundation for 
 a better and more comprehensive one. 
 Down to the nineteenth century a more 
 or less continuous strife had existed be- 
 tween the chiefs of the diflFerent islands. 
 Kamehanieha became the true " Father of 
 his Country" by consolidating the group 
 tinder one government, putting an end to 
 feudal anarchy and the long series of petty 
 wars, and thus making straight the way 
 for the introduction of modern civilization 
 and the Christian religion. His widow 
 
 Kaahumanu, who was possessed of a char- 
 acter hardly less marked and determined, 
 was associated by the dying king with his 
 son in the equal control of the government, 
 as Liholiho had few of the virtues of his 
 father, was weak in character and disso- 
 lute, and unduly subject to priestly in- 
 fluence. No sooner had the ex-Queen as- 
 sumed power than she determined to 
 break the iahii, so far, particularly, as it 
 restricted the social privileges. At first 
 the King offered a nominal resistance 
 though he permitted his younger brother 
 to eat at a banquet with his mother and 
 other women, the first time that the 
 sexes had ever partaken of a meal to- 
 gether. Kaahumanu also brought all her 
 influence to bear upon the young King to 
 ]iersuade him to renounce idolatry and 
 abandon the native religion, with the re- 
 sult that, returning from one of the other 
 islands, the native historian relates "he 
 found a great feast prepared, at which he 
 sat down with a large company of chiefs 
 of both sexes, and openly feasted with 
 them, while a multitude of common peo- 
 ple looked on with mingled fear and curi- 
 osity to see what judgments would follow 
 so impious an act. As they saw no harm 
 ensue they raised a joyful shout, ' The 
 fnhiis are at an end and the gods are a lie.' 
 The effect of it was like that of displacing 
 the keystone of an arch. The whole struc- 
 ture both of idol-worship and of the fahiis 
 fell at once into ruins. The high-priest 
 himself set the example of setting fire to 
 the idols and their sanctuaries." For a 
 time the adherents of the old religion in 
 other parts of the kingdom resisted the 
 new movement for freedom, a chief of one 
 cif the islands openly rebelling against the 
 crown. A decisive battle was fought 
 aliout December 20, ISIO, when the rebel- 
 lious forces were entirely overthrown, and 
 iiliposition to the reform movement was 
 at an end. Then followed a brief period 
 during which, as one has said, " Hawaii 
 presented to the world the strange spec- 
 tacle of a nation without a religion." 
 
 During the early part of the nineteenth 
 centui-y New England whalers were more 
 or less constantly in different Hawaiian 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 bin 
 
 harbors and occasionally native youths 
 shipped with them on their return trips. 
 In this way several had come into Amer- 
 ican and especially New England towns. 
 One of these, Humehunie, son of a king 
 of one of the islands, enlisted in the 
 American navy and served through the 
 war of 1812, as well as the war with 
 Algiers, returning later to the islands with 
 the first missionaries, whom he greatly 
 aided in many ways besides acting as one 
 of their intei"preters. One of these Ha- 
 waiian youth was found one morning in 
 1809 on the steps of one of the New 
 Haven churches, hungry and lonely. He 
 was kindly cared for and became one of 
 the inspiring causes of the first mission 
 to the Sandwich Islands. In 1817, the 
 " Foreign Mission School " was established 
 at Cornwall, Conn., to furnish instruction 
 to young men from heathen lands. Five 
 young Hawaiians were among the earliest 
 students. Through them the Missionary 
 Society became interested in their land 
 and people; and on October 23, 1819, two 
 clergymen and five laymen with their 
 wives, and three of the Hawaiian students 
 from the Cornwall school, embarked at 
 Boston on the brig Thaddeus for the is- 
 lands. On ilarch 31, 1820, they arrived 
 off Kohala, one of the minor divisions of 
 the island of Hawaii. A boat was at once 
 sent ashore under the first officer to learn 
 the condition of the country. On his re- 
 turn he reported: " Liholiho is King; the 
 tahus are abolished; the idols are burned; 
 the temples are destroyed. There has 
 been war, but now there is peace." This 
 was welcome news to the missionaries, who 
 were ignorant of any of the recent re- 
 ligious or political changes. Continuing 
 their course they arrived at Kailua, where 
 the King was then residing, April 4th ; 
 and the Captain with Mr. Bingham and 
 Mr. Thurston of the missionaries, with an 
 interpreter, at once called on the King to 
 explain the purpose of their visit, and to 
 secure permission to reside in the country. 
 On the second day following, the King 
 with his family dined on board the 
 Thaddeus ; and after a week's delay per- 
 mission was granted them to remain on 
 
 the islands one year, two of them at 
 Kailua and the others at Honolulu. It 
 afterward became known that the most 
 potent influence with the King was the 
 advice of John Young', the castaway whom 
 Captain Metcalf had left behind in 1770. 
 iloreover the most powerful argument 
 Young- used with the King was that the 
 missionaries preached the same religion 
 which Captain Vancouver had told them 
 about years before, and of whose principles 
 he had promised to send them a teacher. 
 The Hawaiians had not forgotten their 
 friendly visitors any more than they had 
 those ^\'ho had brought misei-y upon them 
 and planted among them the seeds of 
 licentiousness and hate. 
 
 The reception of the missionaries was 
 generally cordial, and gradually they 
 gained the confidence of the natives. 
 From the start the greater number of their 
 pupils were the chiefs and their attend- 
 ants and families, and the wives and chil- 
 dren of foreigners. At first they could 
 only teach in English. They labored so 
 earnestly, however, to master the native 
 language and to reduce it to writing, that 
 they were soon able to make it the medium 
 of their instruction. Kaahumanu at first 
 treated the missionaries with contempt. 
 But her alert mind soon became interested 
 in the arts of reading and writing, which 
 led to her consideration of the teachings 
 of the foreigners, with the result that her 
 heart and conscience were both touched, 
 and she accepted the Christian religion. 
 vSo great was the change in her character 
 and manner that the natives ever 
 after called her the "New Kaahumanu." 
 During the remainder of her life she 
 ilid all in her power to aid the mis- 
 sionaries, urging her jDeople to embrace 
 their teachings and to learn to read 
 and write. Just before her death in 
 1S32, the first printed copy of the New 
 Testament in the Hawaiian language was 
 placed in her hands, which she received 
 with reverent thankfulness and joy. 
 
 The childlike confidence of the people 
 in foreigTiers who came to the islands and 
 manifested an interest in the natives is 
 one of their most interesting cliaracteris- 
 
d<JD 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 ties.' Vancouver's name was held in rev- 
 erence for years after he had departed. A 
 like trust was placed in the newly arrived 
 missionaries as soon as they had made it 
 clear that their mission was one of love. 
 In 1825, the British frig-ate Blonde, com- 
 manded by Lord Byron, a cousin of the 
 poet, reached tlie islands bearing the re- 
 mains of the King and Queen, who had 
 died while on a visit to England. After 
 till? funeral services had been held, a 
 national council of chiefs was convened 
 to determine the succession to the crown, 
 and to settle other important affairs of 
 government. Lord Byron had already 
 shown so kindly an interest in the people 
 that he was invited to attend the council, 
 greatly and wisely aiding- the chiefs in 
 their deliberations. lie unqualifiedly in- 
 dorsed the objects and labors of the Amer- 
 ican missionaries, and suggested many 
 changes in their customs and the adoption 
 of new laws. 
 
 But the course of the missionaries was 
 not altogether a smooth one. By the time 
 of their arrival there had grown up a con- 
 siderable colony of foreign residents, al- 
 most without exeejition of the lowest and 
 most depraved character. They did not 
 themselves propose to submit to any laws 
 restraining their licentious practices and 
 they constantly incited the lower orders of 
 the natives to resist. Many times the 
 lives of the missionaries were threatened 
 ;iiiil on two or three occasions they were 
 driven from their homes. Unfortunately 
 the English consul, Charlton, sided with 
 the disorderly element and was constantly 
 stirring up strife. In 1826 the United 
 States armed Schooner Dolphin, under the 
 command of Lieutenant Percival, arrived 
 at the islands, and took sides with the 
 disorderly seamen and foreigners. Lieu- 
 tenant Percival joined hands with Charl- 
 ton and his followers and demanded the 
 immediate repeal of the laws against vice. 
 Later his men attacked the mission prem- 
 ises, and Mr. Bingham barely escaped 
 with his life through the assistance of 
 natives. Lieutenant Percival then waited 
 upon the chiefs and again demanded the 
 repeal of the laws obnoxious to the dis- 
 
 solute elements. Intimidated by his 
 threats the governor of Honolulu gave as- 
 sent to the violation of the law, whereupon 
 it is said " a shout of triumph rang 
 through the shipping." The Dolphin re- 
 mained in port two months longer; and 
 the same authority declares "that the per- 
 nicious influence exerted by its crew dur- 
 ing that time cannot be described." It 
 is some relief to the American people 
 to know that Lieutenant Percival was 
 brought before a Court of Inquiry at the 
 Charlestown Navy Yard upon his return 
 and that most of the thirty-six charges 
 against him were sustained. About this 
 time several memorials were presented to 
 the President of the United States by the 
 shipowners of Nantucket, complaining of 
 the frequent mutinies and desertions of 
 their crews, and declaring that there wag 
 danger that the " Sandwich Islands would 
 become a nest of pirates and murderers." 
 These memorials stated that nearly one 
 hundred whale-ships visited the islands 
 every year, and that thirty were fre- 
 quently in the port of Honolulu at one 
 time. As a result of these representations 
 the sloop of war Peacock, Captain Jones, 
 was sent to the islands to investigate con- 
 ditions, arriving at Honolulu in October, 
 1S20. where she remained for about three 
 months. During this time a great coun- 
 cil of chiefs was convoked by the Queen 
 Regent, at which Captain Jones and the 
 British Consul were present. Charlton 
 denied the right of the chiefs to make any 
 treaties or agreements with foreign 
 powers, claiming that they were subjects 
 of Great Britain. Proving that Charl- 
 ton's own commission as consul recog- 
 nized the independence of the islands. 
 Captain Jones and the council soon agreed 
 to the terms of a commercial treaty with 
 the United States, the first the Hawaiian 
 government had ever made with any for- 
 eign power. In October the missionaries 
 from all the islands met together and drew 
 up and published a circular briefly review- 
 ing the course they had pursued and 
 challenging an investigation. The chal- 
 lenge was accepted. A public meeting 
 was held at the governor's house, over 
 
THE ANNEXATION OE HAWAII. 
 
 539 
 
 whic-li Captain Jones presided. Tlie op- 
 position was as usual headed by Cliarltou. 
 After the circular was read the oppiosition 
 was invited to present charges and sup- 
 port them by reasonable and credible tes- 
 timony. As they declined to do this the 
 meeting was adjourned and the proceed- 
 ings dropped. In his report upon this 
 meeting. Captain Jones wrote that "not 
 one jot or tittle, not one iota, derogatory 
 to their characters as men, or as ministers 
 of the Gospel of the strictest order, could 
 be made to appear against the mission- 
 aries by the united eilorts of all who con- 
 spired against them." 
 
 But the barbarous seamen soon over- 
 reached themselves. The earliest offender 
 against the new rules which the mission- 
 aries had instigated was a Captain Buckle 
 of the ship Daniel, of London. Return- 
 ing to the islands in 1827 he learned that 
 a full report of his and his crew's out- 
 rages in 1825 had been published in the 
 United States, and ho proceeded to execute 
 vengeance on the missionary at Lahaina, 
 Mr. Richards. The latter was, however, 
 hidden away by the natives and soon 
 taken to another island. The violent 
 threats and riotous conduct of the Daniel's 
 crew aroused the chiefs to action. AU 
 were summoned to attend a council at 
 Honolulu, where it was decided that the 
 nii>:sionaries should be protected at all 
 hazards. The fort was immediately 
 strengthened and preparations made to 
 offer armed resistance to any who 
 should attempt to do violence to the mis- 
 sionaries or to make their will the law 
 in the islands. And under the inspiration 
 of their indignation, on December 8, 1827, 
 the first written laws were drafted and 
 published against murder, theft, adultery, 
 rum selling, and gambling. This vigorous 
 action seems to have put an end to the 
 outrageous and riotous conduct of visit- 
 ing seamen, and no more outbreaks of a 
 similar character are recorded. 
 
 Notwithstanding this organized oppo- 
 sition which appealed to all that was base 
 in the native character, the work of the 
 missionaries now progressed more steadily 
 and aggressively, with the hearty sym- 
 
 pathy of nearly all the chiefs and the 
 better class of the people. In 182'J, an 
 immense thatched house of worship was 
 erected at Honolulu, capable of seating 
 , four thousand people. It was opened on 
 July 3, the King taking a prominent part 
 in the dedicatory services. About the 
 same time, too, additional laws were 
 passed further restricting theft, gambling, 
 and drunkenness, as well as establishing 
 rules affecting marriage and the observ- 
 ance of the Sabbath. All the measures 
 received the usual opposition, Charlton 
 and his followers formally protesting that 
 as foreign residents they were not amen- 
 able to the laws or courts of the countiy. 
 This position was effectually met by a 
 proclamation from the government, ad- 
 dressed to the foreign element, giving em- 
 phatic notice that the laws of the land 
 would be enforced equally against natives 
 and foreigners. 
 
 Material for a more pleasant chapter in 
 the history of the relations between the 
 United States and the islands was pro- 
 vided by the visit of the American sloop 
 of war Titicennes, Captain Finch, which 
 arrived in October of this same year. 
 Captain Finch bore presents to the King 
 and more prominent chiefs, as well as a 
 letter from the Secretary of the Navy 
 eongratulating them on their " rapid prog- 
 ress in acquiring a knowledge of letters 
 and of the true religion." The letter 
 further contained the following important 
 assured recognition of the island govern- 
 ment: "Our citizens who violate your 
 laws or interfere with your regulations 
 violate at the same time their duty to 
 their own government and country, and 
 merit censure and iJunishment. We have 
 heard with pain that this has sometimes 
 been the case, and we have sought to know 
 and to punish those who are guilty." 
 This declaration greatly strengthened the 
 position and courage of the chiefs in their 
 contest with the rebellious foreign element 
 of the population. Captain Finch, too, 
 took great pains to advise the rulers upon 
 the principles of civilized government and 
 institutions, and especially to inform them 
 a-i to their rights and duties as an inde- 
 
540 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 liL"ii(leiit nation. Coming at a most criti- 
 cal juncture in their national affairs, when 
 the forces of anarchy and evil were most 
 active, this visit of the representatives of 
 the United States government served a 
 most useful purpose, and was a potent ally 
 of the chiefs and the missionaries in their 
 efforts for civil and moral improvement. 
 In 1830 the ased and devoted Kaahu- 
 manu made a final tour of all the islands, 
 g^reatly strengthening the purpose of the 
 chiefs and the missionaries and their fol- 
 lowers to establish a stable, civilized 
 government, throughout the kingdom. 
 During the later years of her life this re- 
 markable woman labored unceasingly to 
 encourage every movement looking toward 
 the enlightenment and moral uplifting 
 of her people, and stood like a great wall 
 against which all the tides of lawlessness 
 and evil beat in vain. In her earlier life 
 as licentious and idolatrous as she after- 
 wards became chaste and Christian her ex- 
 ample was well-nigh as potent an influence 
 for good as was the preaching of the mis- 
 sionaries. Soon after the arrival of the 
 latter they had devote<l their most serious 
 attention to the work of developing the 
 spoken language of the iwople into a writ- 
 ten one. An alphabet of twelve letters 
 was decided upon, — the five vowels, a, e, i, 
 o, u, and the consonants h, k, 1, m, n, p. 
 and w. The vowels have the same sounds 
 as in the Latin languages, or particularly 
 the Italian. In the written language every 
 word and evei-y syllable must end in a 
 vowel, and two consonants can never come 
 together, — a vowel must always intervene. 
 The accent of more than five-sixths of all 
 the words is on the jienult. Having de- 
 termined the form of the written language 
 the printing press was in order. The first 
 one was sot up in 1822, and early in that 
 year the first impressions of eight pages of 
 a Hawaiian spelling book were made. The 
 novelty of the proceeding greatly inter- 
 ested the chiefs and they were very recep- 
 tive of all the instructions of the mission- 
 aries as to the supreme value of the arts 
 of reading and writing. As has been said 
 the chiefs and their dependents became 
 their first pupils, and the desire to acquire 
 
 the simple rudiments of knowledge became 
 widespread. Within two years more than 
 two thousand people had learned to read 
 and write. A peculiar system of schools 
 spread over the islands. Each chief sent 
 the most proficient scholars among his 
 immediate followers to different parts of 
 his province as teachers, calling upon all 
 his subjects to attend school. As a native 
 historian says : " The eagerness of the 
 people to acquire the new and wonderful 
 arts of reading and writing was intense, 
 and at length almost the whole population 
 went to school. The time of school was 
 from one to two hours in the afternoon, 
 and the pupils were called together by the 
 blowing of a conch-shell." In 1832 it was 
 estimated that about twenty-five thousand 
 of the people could read, and a large 
 proportion of these could also write. In 
 that year common schools began to be 
 opened for the children, most of the pupils 
 down to that time having been adults. The 
 steady growth, too, of a really Christian 
 ideal of character throughout the islands, 
 especially away from the evil influences of 
 the important ports, was marked ; and it 
 is undoubtedly true that the history of 
 missions records no other so rapid and 
 intelligent advance of a people from semi- 
 barbarism and degradation along the road 
 leading to civilization and a reformed 
 social and civil life, as the Hawaiian peo- 
 ple made during the decade following the 
 arrival of the good brig Thaddeus. And 
 in every one of these mo%'ements the good 
 Queen Kaahumanu became an inspiring 
 force, giving the encouragement of her 
 visits to schools and missions in different 
 localities, while earnestly and constantly 
 apixaling to her people to abandon all 
 idolatrous customs and superstitious prac- 
 tices and come out into the sweet light of 
 a moral life and trust in one only God and 
 Father. As mentioned above, her last days 
 were cheered by the possession of tlie first 
 copy of the New Testament in the Ha- 
 waiian language, enabling her to read the 
 Gospel in her own tongue and not depend 
 upon the verbal translation of the 
 teachers. 
 
 Evidences of the advance of the people 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 541 
 
 ill civilization now followed each other in 
 rapid succession. In 1831 the Lahainaluna 
 Seminary was founded under the care of 
 the Eev. Lorren Andrews. The scholars 
 supported themselves in part by cultivat- 
 ing a tract of land granted by the chiefs 
 to the school. A printing press and book 
 bindery were set up here, where many text- 
 books were printed. In 1832 the first 
 census of the islands was taken, showing 
 a population of 130.313, disclosing a most 
 astounding mortality, if Captain Cook's 
 estimate of 400,000 population in 1778 
 was in any degree accurate. The first 
 newspaper printed on the islands of the 
 Pacific was issued in February of 1834 
 from the press at Lahainaluna, which was 
 followed in October of the same year by 
 one published at Honolulu. The first 
 paper published in the English language, 
 the Sandwich Islands Gazette, made its 
 appearance in 1836. A girls' boarding 
 school was opened at Wailuka in 1837, 
 and a manual-labor school for boys was 
 established the same year at Ililo. 
 
 For a long time the system of land 
 tenures worked against the interests of 
 foreign investors and planters. Absolute 
 ownership of land was unknown among 
 the Hawaiian people. A life estate was 
 the longest that could be held, and land 
 could not be bought or sold like other 
 property. Foreigners could only obtain 
 permission to occupy practically at the 
 pleasure of the chiefs or King ; and at the 
 departure or death of tenants the land 
 reverted to the crown. The first lease of 
 land for a sugar plantation was made to 
 Ladd & Co., in 1835 ; and the initial step 
 was taken in the establishment of indus- 
 tries and foreign interests that made the 
 ultimate annexation to the United States 
 a certainty. The same year a silk plan- 
 tation was started, and cotton began to be 
 raised and manufactured, a stone cotton 
 factory being built at Kailua. 
 
 The decade between 182.5 and 1835 was 
 characterized, however, by many political 
 disturbances and much friction with the 
 representatives of the English and French 
 governments. The chief grounds for 
 French interference grew out of the 
 
 treament of some French priests who came 
 to the islands in 1827. A small chapel was 
 built and a few converts were gathered in. 
 The priests from the start received the 
 encouragement of Charlton and his asso- 
 ciate opponents of the reform movements, 
 who anticipated that in the spread of the 
 Catholic cause they would secure a power- 
 ful political instrument. From the be- 
 ginning, however, the priests were opposed 
 by the chiefs, who saw in the Catholic 
 service a worship of images which por- 
 tended the restoration of idolati-j'. The 
 Queen, Kaahumanu, in particular, opposed 
 the new religion ; and b,y her orders the 
 governor of Oahu (Honolulu) published 
 an order forbidding the natives to at- 
 tend upon the Catholic worship. Finding 
 that the faith was gaining a foothold in 
 Honolulu, the Queen ordered the priests 
 to cease propagating their teachings, also 
 commanding the natives to give up their 
 crucifixes, and threatening all with severe 
 punishment who should persist in using 
 them. As the priests persisted in their 
 ministrations a council of the high chiefs 
 was called. The result was a formal order 
 that the priests should leave the islands 
 within three months. As they still re- 
 fused to yield, and none of the foreign 
 vessels were disposed to take them at the 
 request of the government, the chiefs 
 built a vessel of their own, at a cost of 
 four thousand dollars, in which they de- 
 ported the priests to the California coast, 
 where they joined the Franciscan mis- 
 sions. This experience led to a most 
 hostile visit from the French frigate 
 Artemise in 1839, when her commander. 
 Captain Laplace, demanded and forced 
 from the government most humiliating 
 concessions. These, however, proved of iuj 
 lasting influence. Even at the urgent re- 
 quest of the American missionaries re- 
 ligious toleration soon became established, 
 and more peaceful political conditions 
 followed. 
 
 Their continued trovibles with the com- 
 manders of war vessels of different 
 nationalities, however, led the chiefs to 
 seek instruction in the principles of gov- 
 ernment and law. A letter was sent to 
 
542 
 
 FKOM COLOXr TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 the United States' government asking 
 tliat a legal adviser and instructor in tlie 
 science of government be sent to the 
 Inlands. But as nothing came of this 
 request one of the missionaries, Mr. 
 TJichanls, was chosen as their adviser in 
 Is.'iS. He "was released from his connec- 
 tion with the mission, and entered upon 
 his new duties the following- year, deliver- 
 ing lectures in the native language upon 
 tlie principles of government and law, and 
 assisting in the preparation of a consti- 
 tution. The first draft of this document 
 was made in ISOO. and was accompanied 
 
 H '^ ^'^-^^<^.!r4i/)^p^p: 
 
 REV. TITrS COAN, D.D. 
 
 b.v a Bill of Rights, which the uativo 
 people have regarded as their Magna 
 Car'n. Il contained tlie fuilowing im- 
 portant clause guaranteeing a security 
 hitherto unknown in the Islands: "Pro- 
 tection is liereby assured to the persons 
 of all the people, together with their 
 lands, their building lots, and all their 
 jiroiierty, while they conform to the laws 
 of the kingdom; and nothing whatever 
 shall be taken from any individual ex- 
 cept by express provision of the laws." 
 Religious liberty was jilcdgcd in these 
 words: "All men of every religion shall 
 
 be protected in worshiping Jehovah and 
 serving Him according to their own vm- 
 derstanding." This fundamental law also 
 created a legislative body of fifteen hered- 
 itary nobles and seven representatives, the 
 latter to be elected by the people. These 
 legislators sat as one body and met 
 annuall.v. They were empowered to ap- 
 point four judges who, with the King 
 and premier, should constitute the Su- 
 preme Court of the kingdom. The first 
 attention of the legislative body was 
 given to the laws of the land. Old laws 
 were revised and new ones added, and the 
 completed collection was published in 
 1S42. They established a uniform system 
 of taxation, abolishing local and arbitrary 
 assessments. During the same year a 
 treasury board was created, consisting of 
 four persons, with Dr. Judd, of the mis- 
 sionary forces, as chairman. A regular 
 system of keeping accounts was instituted, 
 of collection of taxes, and fixed salaries 
 were determined for the goverimient 
 officials, with the result that the credit 
 of the nation was soon established, and 
 the most pressing debts were paid off. 
 That these laws were impartially admin- 
 istered, at least during the earlier days, is 
 proved by the public execution of one of 
 the high chiefs in 1840 for causing the 
 death of his wife by poison. 
 
 Educational matters continued to re- 
 ceive careful consideration. In 1841 the 
 first general school laws were enacted. 
 Aliout the same time a school for the 
 especial education of young chiefs was 
 founded. This was later known as the 
 Ro.val school, because its pupils were 
 exclusively children or youth whose claims 
 to the throne were acknowledged. In 
 1843 a school was founded at Punahou 
 by the American Mission, which has de- 
 veloped into the present chartered College 
 of Oahu. It was also a period of especial 
 religious activity. What has been laiown 
 as the " Great Revival " occurred during 
 the years 1838-9. This movement ex- 
 tended over all the islands and affected 
 tlie bulk of the peoiile. More than five 
 thousand people were admitted to the 
 
THE AXXEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 543 
 
 Protestant churches in 1839, and ten 
 thousand the following year. The work 
 was especially fruitful in results on the 
 island of Hawaii, where the Kev. Titus 
 Coan was the leader and tireless worker. 
 In two years upwards of seven thousand 
 people were added to his church in Hilo. 
 The complete establishment of religious 
 toleration, too, led to the revival of the 
 Catholic mission. In May, 1840, the 
 Bishop of Nilopolis, Rev. L. D. Maigret, 
 and two priests arrived from Valparaiso 
 and the erection of a Cathedral was at 
 once commenced, a considerable number 
 of converts soon being enrolled. The fol- 
 lowing year the bishop returned to France 
 to secure further aid, and in 1842 sailed 
 for the islands accomisaniod by seven 
 priests, seven catechists, nine lay brothers, 
 and ten nuns. Their ship also bore a 
 large supply of crosses, church ornaments, 
 and a cargo of goods for the mission. Un- 
 fortunately she foundered off Cape Horn 
 and all on board were lost. 
 
 A permanent form of government hav- 
 ing now been established, and a good de- 
 gree of financial credit, recognition by the 
 leading foreign powers was eagerly 
 sought. As has been suggested the King 
 and people had for years been subject to 
 the insolence and the conflicting demands 
 and bullying of the representatives of 
 different nations as they came to the 
 islands in their respective war vessels. 
 There was no Hawaiian army or navy. 
 Foreign officers were, therefore, able to 
 exact the most humiliating concessions 
 from the chiefs, threatening to bombard 
 the towns if immediate recognition of 
 their demands was not granted. The 
 worst offenders were the French, with the 
 I']nglish as close seconds. But happily 
 nearly all the absurd demands of these 
 naval officers were later repudiated by 
 their governments, though long after 
 great distress and injury had been in- 
 flicted upon the long-suffering people. A 
 definite recognition of the independence 
 of the nation by these powers could alone 
 save the islanders from further insults of 
 a similar character; and to secui-e such 
 recognition an embassy was despatched in 
 
 1843. During the previous year repre- 
 sentatives of the government had visited 
 Washington, and after several interviews 
 with Daniel Webster, then Secretary of 
 State, had received from him a letter de- 
 claring " as the sense of the government 
 I if the United States that the government 
 of the Sandwich Islands ought to be re- 
 spected; that no power ought to take pos- 
 session of the islands, either as a con- 
 ciuest or for the purpose of colonization; 
 and that no power ought to seek for any 
 undue control over the existing govern- 
 ment, or any exclusive privilege or pref- 
 erences in matters of commerce." Having 
 this assurance of the position of the 
 government of the United States, the en- 
 voys of 1843 went directly to Europe, via 
 ^lexico. After wearisome delays they 
 were able to secure a joint declaration 
 from France and Englan<l which declared 
 that " Her Majesty, the Queen of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and His Majesty, the King of 
 the French, taking into consideration the 
 existence in the Sandwich Islands of a 
 government capable of providing for the 
 regularity of its relations with foreign 
 nations, have thought it right to engage 
 reciprocally to consider the Sandwich 
 Islands as an independent state, and 
 never to take possession either directly or 
 under the form of a protectorate, or under 
 any other form, of any part of the terri- 
 tory of which they are composed." Re- 
 turning from Europe with this agreement 
 the envoys visited Washington ; and on 
 July 6, 1844, received from J. C. Calhoun, 
 then Secretary of State, a despatch in- 
 forming them that the President regarded 
 the statement of Mr. Webster and the 
 appointment of a commissioner to the 
 islands " as a full recognition on the part 
 of the United States of the independence 
 of the Hawaiian Government." AVith 
 these important assurances of the future 
 respect of the most important foreign 
 governments the Hawaiian nation seemed 
 fairly to have entered upon its career as 
 one of the group of independent states of 
 the world. It had, however, many times 
 during the next few years to realize that 
 
5U 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 the very weak powers have few rights 
 that the strong will recognize if they in 
 any way conflict with the apparent inter- 
 ests of the latter; and every two or three 
 years envoys had to be sent to the great 
 states to clear up false situations or seek 
 a remedy for abuses of their jiowers. 
 
 A constant source of weakness of the 
 native government was the absence of a 
 well-informed legal adviser, familiar with 
 international law. In 1844 a Mr. Eicord, 
 a lawyer who Lad recently arrived from 
 Oregon, was made Attorney-General. 
 But it was not until 1S46 that any suit- 
 able legal adviser was secui'ed. In that 
 ye;ir the brig Uciinj, from Xowbury- 
 port, arrived having on board fifteen 
 passengers bound for Oregon. Among 
 them was a talented young lawyer, Mr. 
 W. L. Lee, who bcjre the very strong en- 
 dorsements of such eminent teachers of 
 law and jurists as Professor Greenleaf 
 and Judge Story. He was prevailed upon 
 to remain in the islands and to accept the 
 position of Chief Justice of the Supremo 
 Court, which he held until his death. As 
 a native historian puts it. " to say that 
 he was ' the right man in the right place ' 
 gives but a faint idea of his eminent ser- 
 vices to the country. He organized the 
 Courts of Justice, and so conducted the 
 highest tribunal that it soon acquired 
 universal confidence and respect, and in- 
 stead of being a source of weakness, be- 
 came the strongest pillar of the govern- 
 ment." One of the measures to which 
 Chief Justice Lee gave his attention was 
 the drafting of a new Constitution. This 
 was nominally done by three commission- 
 ers, one representing the King, one the 
 nobles, and Mr. Lee acting for the 
 representatives. This instrument was 
 adopted June 14, 1S52. and signed by the 
 King. As it has formed the basis of all 
 subsequent Constitutions, its principal 
 provisions become of interest. Under it 
 a legislature was established to consist of 
 two separate bodies, — thirty nobles, se- 
 lected by the King, and twenty-four 
 representatives to be elected by universal 
 suffrage. A privy council separate from 
 the house of nobles was instituted. The 
 
 courts were organized practically as they 
 have since existed, and consisted of a Su- 
 preme Court composed of a chief justice 
 and two associate justices, four circuit 
 courts, and a petty judge for each dis- 
 trict. Its liberal provisions placed the 
 King. Kamehameha III., high in the favor 
 of the people; and it was regarded by all 
 as a marked advance upon the Consti- 
 tution of 1840. 
 
 The census taken in 1850 revealed the 
 further shocking mortality among the 
 jieople. As noted above, the census of 
 18:52 gave a total population on all the 
 islands of 130.313. A second, taken four 
 years later, gave a total count of only 
 108,579, a loss of 21,734 in four years. 
 The census of 1850 showed that the num- 
 ber of inhabitants had fallen to 84,165, re- 
 vealing a still further decrease of 24,414 
 in fourteen years. The latter census also 
 gave the number of foreign residents at 
 that time as 1,962. Immigration to the 
 islands began to be encouraged in the 
 " seventies," owing to a shortage of labor 
 for the sugar plantations. A commission 
 was sent to the Azores to interest the Por- 
 tuguese in the subject, and to China and 
 Japan. As early as 1865 a first colony 
 came from China, numbering about five 
 hundred. In 1878 the pioneer company 
 of Portuguese arrived, numbering about 
 two hundred; and in 1885 five hundred 
 Japanese were brought in. How rapidly 
 this foreign element increased and the 
 native decreased the census of 1890 makes 
 manifest. This gave the total population 
 as 58.714 males, 31,276 females, a total 
 of 89,990. Of this number there were 
 natives and half-castes 21,449 males and 
 19,173 females, in all 40,622. There 
 were, however, 8,602 Portuguese, 15,301 
 Chinese, and 12,360 Japanese included in 
 the count, — a number which has since 
 been materially increased. Nothing 
 could better illustrate the decisive change 
 in the character of the population of the 
 islands than a comparison of these figures. 
 In 1850 the proportion of the native peo- 
 ple to foreigners was 82,203 to 1,962; in 
 1890 it was 40,622 to 49,368. The census 
 of 1896 showed a material increase of the 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 545 
 
 total population which then reached 109,- 
 020 ; but the natives numbered only 39,504 
 while the foreigners were 69,516, — 61,214 
 of whom were Portuguese (15,191), Jap- 
 anese (24,407), and Chinese (21,616). 
 From these figures it will readily be seen 
 that the Hawaiian question had, before 
 the acute stage of the question of annexa- 
 tion was reached, materially changed its 
 character. The native ijoijulation had al- 
 ready become a comparatively small 
 minority, and was year by year being more 
 and more submerged by the rapidly in- 
 creasing body of foreign residents. 
 
 Our space does not admit of any de- 
 tailed account of the political changes 
 that intervened between the establishment 
 of constitutional government and the 
 recognition of the independence of the 
 Hawaiian nation by tlie great Powers of 
 the world, and the period of the supremacy 
 of the question of annexation to the 
 United States. Notwithstanding the as- 
 surances of respect for the Island Govern- 
 ment which France and Great Britain had 
 given, they continued to disturb its peace- 
 ful administration and to badger and 
 harass its people in many ways. So ag- 
 gressive were these attentions, and so 
 threatening the attitude of the French 
 government in particular, that Kame- 
 hameha III. secretly executed a formal 
 cession of the Islands to the United 
 States, which he placed in the hands of 
 its representatives to be used if the 
 French government attempted to enforce 
 its alleged claims. But from the middle 
 of the century to its close the independent 
 power and influence of the native rulers 
 and people were constantly weakening 
 and authority was passing to the foreign 
 residents. In view of the waning vitality 
 and vigor of the native race this was in- 
 evitable and undoubtedly for the best. 
 But many have looked, and will continue 
 to look, upon the gradual crowding out of 
 this kindly people by those whom they had 
 hospitably received as guests, with feel- 
 ings of deep regret. This transfer of 
 political and financial supremacy must, 
 therefore, offer two distinctly antagonistic 
 points of view ; and while believing that 
 35 
 
 the annexation of Hawaii to the United 
 States was the only logical and humane 
 course, it is but fair that the other side 
 of the question should be stated. As this 
 was done clearly and concisely by the ex- 
 Queen Liliuokalani in her book entitled 
 " Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen," her 
 words will be used. " For many years," 
 she wrote, " our sovereigns had welcomed 
 the advice of, and given full representa- 
 tions in their government and councils to, 
 American residents who had cast in their 
 lot with our people, and established in- 
 dustries on the Islands. As they became 
 wealthy, and acquired titles to lands 
 through the simplicity of our people and 
 their ignorance of values and of the new 
 land laws, their greed and their love 
 of power proportionately increased; and 
 schemes for ag'grandizing themselves still 
 further, or for avoiding the obligations 
 which they had incurred to us, began to 
 occupy their minds. So the mercantile 
 element, as embodied in the Chamber of 
 Commerce, the sugar planters, and the 
 proprietors of the ' missionaiy " stores, 
 formed a distinct political party, called 
 the 'down-town ' party, whose purpose was 
 to minimize or entirely subvert other 
 interests, and especially the prerogatives 
 of the crown, which, based upon ancient 
 custom aiid the authority of the island 
 chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our 
 nationality. Although settled among us, 
 and drawing their wealth from our re- 
 sources, they were alien to us in their 
 customs and ideas respecting government, 
 and desired ahove all things the extension 
 of their power, and to carry out their own 
 special plans of advancement, and to 
 secure their oivn personal henefli . . . 
 Kalakaua valued the commercial and in- 
 dustrial prosperity of his Kingdom highly. 
 He sought honestly to secure it for every 
 class of people, alien or native, in his 
 dominions, making it second only to the 
 advancement of morals and education. 
 If he believed in the divine right of 
 King's, and the distinctions of hereditary 
 nobility, it was not alone from the preju- 
 dices of birth and native custom, but be- 
 cause he was able to perceive that even 
 
546 
 
 FKOM COLO^'Y TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 the most enlightcneJ nations of the earth 
 have not as yet been able to replace them 
 with a ruling class equally able, patri(]tic, 
 or disinterested. I say this with all 
 reverence for the fonn of government and 
 the social order existing in the United 
 States, whose workings have, for more 
 than a century, excited the interest of the 
 world; not the interest of common peo- 
 jde only, but of nobles, rulers, and kings. 
 Kalakaua's highest and most earnest de- 
 sire was to be a true sovereign!, the chief 
 servant of a happy, prosperous, and 
 progressive people . . . He freely gave 
 his personal efforts to the securing of a 
 reciprocity treaty with the United States, 
 and sought the co-operation of that great 
 and powerful nation, because he was per- 
 suaded it would enrich, or benefit, not 
 one class, but, in a greater or less degree, 
 all his subjects." 
 
 It is a trite saying that however humble 
 it may be, home is still the dearest jslace 
 to us on the whole broad earth. The 
 Hawaiian people had seen the descendants 
 of the missionaries who had come to the 
 Islands settling' among them as lawyers, 
 bankers, and business men, until by an 
 unconscious and hardly noted develop- 
 ment a very .small minority of the po]nila- 
 tion had attracted to itself the greater por- 
 tion of the wealtli of the kingdom, ami a 
 predominant influence in all its affairs. 
 Most of these men were aliens, as the 
 Queen complained, and had not become 
 [■itizens of the country where there in- 
 fluence was sn dominant. At the time of 
 annexation these American residents 
 numbered less than seventeen hundred. 
 It is hardly surprising, therefore, that 
 when the native rulers bcuan to realize 
 the true situation they should have be- 
 come restive, and endeavored to offer 
 some organized resistance to the power 
 that was so rapidly supplanting them. 
 TTad the native race retained any of its 
 ancient hardihood and vigor this resist- 
 ance might have been as successful as it 
 would have been reasonable. But a people 
 that was so rapidly disappearing and had 
 become physically so enervated could only 
 submit to the inevitable. In fact, wlieu 
 
 the United States annexed Hawaii it 
 added so much more to the territory of 
 the country. But it can hardly be said 
 that it was the Hawaiian people who 
 were added to the population ; it was a 
 motley aggregation of Hawaiian, Portu- 
 guese, Chinese, Japanese, and other 
 foreigners, of which the natives formed 
 a rather small and constantly decreasing 
 minority. 
 
 As one reads the history of the Islands 
 the surprising fact is not that annexation 
 was accomplished, but that it was so long 
 delayed. For more than a half century it 
 had been in the air, and American and 
 Hawaiian leaders had given the matter 
 serious consideration. As far back as 
 1849, referring to the most recent French 
 assault upon the independence of Hawaii, 
 Secretary of State J. W. Clayton, in a 
 letter to the American minister at Paris, 
 voiced the official sentiment of the United 
 States government regarding the Islands. 
 " The Department will be slow," he wrote, 
 " to believe that the French have any in- 
 tention to adopt, with reference to the 
 Sandwich Islands, the same policy which 
 they have pursued in reference to 
 Tahiti. If, however, in your judgment it 
 should be warranted by circumstances, 
 you may take a ]iroper opportunity to 
 intimate to the minister for foreign 
 affairs of France that the situation 
 (if the Sandwich Islands, in respect 
 to our possessions on the Pacific, and 
 the bonds commercial and of other 
 descriptions between them and the United 
 States, are such that we could never, with 
 indifference, allow them to pass under the 
 dominion or exclusive control of any other 
 powcT." Nothing resulted from these 
 negotiations, however, and French aggres- 
 sions became more intolerable. Two or 
 throe war vessels of that nation were in 
 the harbor all the time, and threats were 
 made that the city would be bombarded 
 unless certain guai'antees were delivered 
 to the Admiral representing the French 
 government. So little informed, however, 
 was the American representative at the 
 Islands of the position of his home govern- 
 ment that on ]\rnrch 11, 18.51, he wrote 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 547 
 
 Daniel Webster, who had become Secre- 
 tary of State, advising him of the state of 
 affairs, and asking how far he might go 
 ill protecting tlio American flag if it 
 should be raised by the local government. 
 The King had then become so weary of 
 the French insolence that he executed the 
 secret cession of the Islands to the 
 United States, which he placed in the 
 hands of the American Minister, advising 
 him at the' same time that if the French 
 war ships opened fire the United States 
 flag would be raised above the Hawaiian 
 on all the government buildings, and 
 the secret cession should become opera- 
 tive. The Minister asked whether in such 
 event the American war vessel in port 
 could not be called upon to interfere " to 
 protect American property, which is to be 
 found on hath sides of every street in 
 town and all along the wharves." In 
 closing his letter he says : " The natives 
 look upon them (the French) as enemies; 
 and if they come again on a like errand, 
 we shall be again appealed to for protec- 
 tion, and the subject of annexation will 
 come up again with added force." Reply- 
 ing to our Minister's inquiries Mr. Web- 
 ster privately urged uison him extreme 
 caution, and instructed liim to return to 
 the King the document the latter had 
 placed in his hands. The Secretary's 
 official communication stated clearly and 
 precisely the position of his government. 
 Among other things, he said: "It is too 
 plain to be denied or doubted that de- 
 mands were made uiwn the Hawaiian 
 government by the French commissioner 
 wholly inconsistent with its character as 
 an independent state, — demands which, if 
 submitted to in this case, would be sure 
 to be followed by other demands equally 
 derogatory, not only from the same quar- 
 ter, but probably also from other States, 
 and this could onl.y end in rendering the 
 Islands and their government a prey to 
 tlie stronger commercial nations of the 
 world. It cannot be expected that the 
 r/overnment of the United iStates could 
 loolc on a course of things leading to such 
 (I result with indifference. The Hawaiian 
 Inlands are ten times nearer to the United 
 
 Slates than to any of the powers of 
 Euroi^e. Five-sixths of all their com- 
 mercial intercourse is with the United 
 States; and these considerations, together 
 with others of a more general character, 
 have fixed the course wdiich the govern- 
 ment of the United States will pursue in 
 regard to them. The annunciation of 
 this policy will not sui-prise the govern- 
 ments of Europe, nor be thought to be un- 
 reasonable by the nations of the civilized 
 world; and that policy is that while the 
 government of the United States, itself 
 faithful to its original assurance, scru- 
 pulously regards the independence of the 
 Hawaiian Islands, it can never consent 
 to see those Islands taken possession of by 
 either of the great commercial powers of 
 Europe, nor can it consent that demands, 
 manifestly unjust and derogatory and in- 
 consistent with a bona, fide independence, 
 shall be enforced against that govern- 
 ment . . . The Navy Department will 
 receive instructions to place and to keep 
 the naval armament of the United States 
 in the Pacific ocean in such a state of 
 strength and preparation as shall be 
 requisite for the preservation of tlie honor 
 and dignity of the United States and tlie 
 safety of the government of the Hawaiian 
 Islands." 
 
 Copies of this letter were placed in the 
 hands of the French Minister at Wash- 
 ington and of the American Minister at 
 Paris; and our Minister was instructed to 
 present a copy of it to the French Minis- 
 ter at Honolulu. These words, whose 
 meaning could not be misunderstood, 
 served to check the aggressive movements 
 of foreign powers, and to establish a posi- 
 tion regarding the Islands which was not 
 changed until actual annexation took 
 place. In 1855, however, Kamehamema 
 IV. eame to the throne, and the following 
 year married Emma Eooke, a grand- 
 daughter of the John Young- whom 
 Captain Metcalf had left behind him in 
 the last century, and who had been so in- 
 fluential an adviser of Kamehameha I. The 
 Queen, when a child, had been adopted 
 by Doctor Rooke, an English physician, 
 with the result that all her svinnathies 
 
5-tS 
 
 I'liOM COLO:Nr to WOltLU i'OWEK. 
 
 were with the British and unfavorable to 
 American interests. Under her intiuence 
 the King associated but little with Ameri- 
 cans, but chose all his friends from the 
 English settlers. " The King is strongly 
 predisposed in favor of the British in 
 preference to Americans or those of any 
 other nationality," wrote Minister Mc- 
 Bride to Secretary Seward, in 1SC3. 
 " English policy, English etiquette, and 
 English grandeur seem to captivate and 
 control him. His familiar associates are 
 Englishmen; and where an office becomes 
 vacated by death, resignation, or other- 
 wise, it is filled by the appointment of an 
 Englishman ... It is plainly to be 
 seen that the British government places 
 a high estimate on the future value of 
 the islands, believing, no doubt, that the 
 Pacific and other railroads will be built, 
 and that these islands will become very 
 important as a ' halfway house ' between 
 Euroj^e and America on one side, and 
 China and Japan on the other . . . The 
 American interests greatly predominate 
 here over all others combined, and not less 
 than four-fifths of the commerce con- 
 nected with these islands is American. 
 The English have no commerce here 
 Worthy of the name, and but one or two 
 retail stores; the Germans about the same 
 amount of business as the English." Mr. 
 McBride expressed the great fear of 
 American interests that the " British rule 
 should become dominant," in which case 
 "American interests would be crushed out 
 with eagerness and despatch." For some 
 time, therefore, the British flag rather 
 than the French was the danger signal. 
 Queen Emma was active in the establish- 
 ment 01 the English Church in the 
 islan<ls. The King had already trans- 
 lated the English Book of Common 
 Prayer into the Hawaiian language, and 
 in 1862 they welcomed Bishop Staley and 
 other English clergy to the Kingdom, who 
 soon after received the King and Queen 
 into the communion of that church. But 
 whatever evils these pro-English and anti- 
 American movements might portend, the 
 situation was wholly changed by the death 
 of the King in 1863. Kamchameha V., his 
 
 elder brother and successor, was of a far 
 different character, and held with con- 
 siderable success a middle course between 
 the two leading factions. He was re- 
 actionary in his politics, refusing to rec- 
 ognijic the Constitution of 1852. He 
 called a convention, however, in 186-i to 
 draft a new constitution which proved to 
 be generally acceptable and was con- 
 tinued ill force mitil 1887. In 1867 a 
 representative of the government was 
 sent to Washington to negotiate a reci- 
 procity treaty between the United States 
 and Hawaii. Such a treaty was com- 
 pleted and approved by the President 
 and Cabinet but was defeated in the Sen- 
 ate. It afterwards became known that 
 the opposition to the treaty in the Senate 
 was based chiefly upon the belief that it 
 would interfere with the progress of the 
 annexation movement. The King dying 
 in 1872, the dynasty of the Kamehamehas 
 was at an end, he being the last direct 
 male descendant of the first and great 
 King of the Islands. Passing the brief 
 reign of one year of Lunalilo, the suc- 
 cession to the throne rested between 
 Queen Emma, the widow of Kame- 
 hameha IV., and David Kalakaua. Imme- 
 diately the strongest antipathies were 
 aroused, the English rallying to the sup- 
 port of the Queen, while the Americans 
 supported the cause of Kalakaua. When 
 the Legislature, specially convened, jiro- 
 ceeded to election, the followers of Emma, 
 believing Kalakaua's election predeter- 
 mined, resolved themselves into a riotous 
 mob, surrounded the Court House, broke 
 in the doors, etc. The representatives 
 were savagely beaten with clubs, one 
 dying as the result of his injuries. The 
 police being unable to control the mob, 
 and the few native trooiJS being unreli- 
 able, for the first time a force was asked 
 for from a foreign vessel to put down the 
 i-ii>t, and preserve peace. At the request 
 i)f the government a force of one hundred 
 and fifty armed men was landed from 
 tlie United States war vessels Tuscarora 
 and Portsmoiifh, which were luckily in 
 the harbor. Order was soon restored, but 
 hardly before a force of British marines 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 549 
 
 was landed, without request of the author- 
 ities, from the British war ship Tcnedos. 
 After the dispersion of the mob the elec- 
 tion proceeded, with the result that Kala- 
 kaua won by a vote of 39 to 6. Shortly 
 after, the American Minister, Mr. H. A. 
 Pierce, who had long been an American 
 merchant in Honolulu, called upon Queen 
 Emma, advised her that Kalakaua had 
 been elected and recognized by the rep- 
 resentatives of foreign nations, and urged 
 her to make the same recognition, and 
 urge her followers to accept the situation 
 without further disorder. Tliis she at 
 once did, with the result that the factious 
 soon became harmonized and less friction 
 existed than for several years. Kalakaua 
 proved, however, too friendly to the 
 United States, and when, in 1874, he de- 
 cided to visit this country vigorous pro- 
 tests were offered by the French and Eng- 
 lish Ministers. The direct result of that 
 visit of several weeks was the execution 
 of a reciprocity treaty between the two 
 countries, which went into effect Septem- 
 ber 9, 1875. The British government at 
 once protested that the part of the treaty 
 granting- certain exclusive commercial 
 privileges to the United States was in 
 contravention of the Anglo-Hawaiian 
 treaty of 1852, which contained the 
 " most favored nation " clause. This 
 contention continued many years, and the 
 consideration of the case by Mr. Blaine, 
 as Secretary of State, in 1881, hardly al- 
 layed the excitement. In a despatch to 
 the American Minister at Honolulu, after 
 setting forth in detail the situation of af- 
 fairs then existing and showing the im- 
 possibility of a grant by the Hawaiian 
 government of any of the privileges ex- 
 clusively given to the United States by 
 the Treaty of 1875, Mr. Blaine said: 
 " You will add that, if any other power 
 should deem it proper to employ undue 
 influence upon the Hawaiian government 
 to persuade or compel action in deroga- 
 tion of this treaty, the government of the 
 United States will not be unobservant of 
 its rights and interests, and will he neither 
 unirilling nor unprepared to support the 
 
 Hawaiian government in the faithful dis- 
 charge of its treaty ohligations." 
 
 This treaty was to continue in force 
 seven years. When that time had elapsed. 
 
 KING KALAKAUA. 
 
 negotiations were at once opened for a 
 second treaty of like character, which 
 were efFective and resulted, in 1884, in 
 the renewal of the treaty for another 
 period of seven years. Moreover, as a 
 part of this convention, the King ceded 
 to the United States the exclusive right 
 to enter Pearl river in the island of Oahu, 
 and establish there a coaling and repair 
 station. Again vigorous remonstrance 
 was made by the British government, 
 based, as before, on the Anglo-Hawaiian 
 agreement of 1852. The treaty, however, 
 prevailed and remained in force until an- 
 nexation became an accomplished fact. 
 But in view of the constant friction be- 
 tween so antagonistic forces, in such a re- 
 stricted area, it did not require great po- 
 litical acumen nor a remarkably clear 
 prophetic vision to see that an end of 
 such constant disturbance of social, politi- 
 cal, and business relations must soon be 
 reached. Moreover, King Kalakaua had 
 not proved a veiy acceptable sovereigii 
 from the Hawaiian standpoint. Many of 
 
550 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEK, 
 
 liis acts were subversive of liberty and he 
 was charged witli gi'oss venality in some 
 business transactions. Accordingly one 
 is not surprised to learn that in 1887 a 
 determined revolt against his course was 
 instituted bj' a union of the better class 
 of citizens, who now began to organize 
 systematically to secure better govern- 
 ment. A mass meeting of the people was 
 called, at which a spirit was manifested 
 tiiat awed the King. He at once agreed 
 to give his assent to a new constitution. 
 When this was drawn, its preamble de- 
 clared that " the constitution of this 
 kingdom heretofore in force contains 
 many provisions subversive of civil 
 rights, and incompatible with enlightened 
 constitutional government." It was also 
 declared to be necessary that a new con- 
 stitution should be at once promulgated 
 " in order to restore order and tranquillity, 
 and the confidence necessary to a further 
 maintenance of the present government." 
 The terms of the new instrument con- 
 tained many liberal provisions and gave 
 satisfaction to the majority of the people. 
 I.iliuokalani, sister of the King, however, 
 who had been named as heir-apparent by 
 him. stoutly rebelled against its pro- 
 visions. She was decidedly averse to 
 liberal ideas and is said to have openly 
 upbraided her brother for his failure to 
 assert the royal prerogatives. It was her 
 wish and purjjose to restore as far as pos- 
 silile the ancient absolutism of the sov- 
 ereign. Rightly or wrongly she was 
 charged with being the inciting cause of 
 the rebellion under the lead of Wilcox 
 and Boyd which broke out soon after. 
 The insurgents seized the palace grounds, 
 government buildings, and offices. At once 
 the King sent a messenger to the repre- 
 sentatives of the foreign governments, 
 who attempted to communicate with 
 the insurgents and learn their demands. 
 Failing in this, and firing being heard in 
 the direction of the government build- 
 ings, an armed force of marines from the 
 United States war ship Adams was at 
 once landed. Upon their approach the 
 rioters retreated to the King's bungalow, 
 which they held through the day. An- 
 
 ticipating further trouble, the contingent 
 from the Adams was reinforced; where- 
 upon the insurgents decided to surrender. 
 Nothing was accomplished by the rebel- 
 lion, though it was believed by the for- 
 eign residents that the heir-apparent had 
 shown her hand, and that they must per- 
 fect their organization so as to be ready 
 for any other overt acts. In December, 
 1890, the King- decided again to visit the 
 United States. Upon his arrival in San 
 Francisco he was received with due 
 honors. Shortly after, however, he was 
 stricken with a fatal illness, and died at 
 the Ualace Hotel, January 20, 1891. His 
 body was returned to Honolulu on the 
 United States war ship Chaiiesion. 
 
 With the accession of Liliuokalani the 
 decisive crisis in Hawaiian affairs was 
 reached, and the beginning of the end of 
 the national life. Convinced that the re- 
 bellion of 1889 was instigated by the 
 Queen her opponents anticipated an early 
 rupture of the existing political relations, 
 with a positive attempt on the Queen's 
 part to return to the old principles of 
 absolutism. Nor were they disappointed. 
 Though she had taken an oath to support 
 the constitution of 1887, she had evi- 
 dently done so with a reservation; as she 
 soon began to manifest a spirit independ- 
 ent of the constitution and savoring 
 strongly of personal government. For 
 about a year after her accession her re- 
 lations with the American party were 
 friendly. Then her husband. General 
 Dominis, an American, died, and she at 
 once began to affiliate with the English 
 party, and to be dominated by its influ- 
 ence. As she has shown in her "Story of 
 Hawaii," the Queen had a rather amus- 
 ing love of pomp and display, and dwelt 
 in loving admiration upon the conception 
 of Kingly state. Courtly etiquette was 
 cultivated, and elaborate chess and re- 
 galia were demanded. Though the so- 
 called National Guard was probably never 
 larger numerically than a single company 
 of a regiment of the American army, and 
 was generally hardly equivalent to a 
 " conioral's guard," yet the husband of 
 the Queen was Licutenant-General of 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 551 
 
 the army, wore a marshal's sash, and was 
 covered with as many orders as would or- 
 nament the breast of a Bismarck or Wel- 
 lington at a Court reception. 
 
 The Queen's first move was to relieve 
 herself of her cabinet, or rather Kala- 
 kaua's, which .she had inherited. But 
 the little oligarchy which had become 
 dominant in the Islands had planned 
 wisely when they made their constitution 
 of 1SS7. They realized that the King was 
 then so alarmed by the disturbance they 
 had excited that he would grant prac- 
 tically all their demands. They con- 
 sequently incorporated in the new con- 
 stitution that no act of the King or 
 Queen would be valid unless counter- 
 signed by the Ministers, who, by the same 
 law, could only be removed by impeach- 
 ment or death. Then, nominating a min- 
 istry of their own for the King, which he 
 accepted, the American party had reason 
 to consider themselves practically secure. 
 Kings might come or Queens might go, 
 but they would go on forever. These men 
 were not Ilawaiians, they were American 
 citizens, chiefly, and were familiar with 
 American politics. The others were not. 
 Consequently when the Queen, looking 
 upon her ministers as in some degree, at 
 least, personal to herself, undertook to es- 
 tablish a cabinet of her own choosing to 
 take the place of the late King's, she 
 found herself powerless. The ministers 
 refused to resign, and against the 
 Queen's power of removal appealed to the 
 Supreme Court. But here, strangely, the 
 American party were defeated, as the 
 Court ruled that Kalakaua's ministry 
 ceased to exist with his death, and that 
 the Queen was free to appoint a Cabinet 
 of her own. But the ministers must be 
 approved by the Legislature. This was, 
 however, a small body and the leading 
 bankers, merchants, and planters who 
 composed the opposition party easily con- 
 trolled it. List after list of nominations 
 were sent in by the Queen and all re- 
 jected ; until in sheer despair she ac- 
 cepted a list suitable to the dominant 
 party. This became widely known as the 
 Wilcox-Jones cabinet. Affairs remained 
 
 in this unsatisfactory and unsettled con- 
 dition until 1893, when it became evident 
 that the Queen was about to promulgate 
 a new constitution. It was naturally an- 
 ticipated by the American party that its 
 terms would hardly favor their interests; 
 and, it is said, it was " afterward dis- 
 closed " that it woul.d have " placed 
 American influence and the property of 
 American citizens wholly at the mercy of 
 the Queen and her personal adherents." 
 It is unfortunate that there are no records 
 of events on the Islands after 1890 that 
 are not so tinged with partisanship as to 
 malce them utterly worthless as history. 
 A dozen books ai'e at hand, each one, how- 
 ever, written by an American who went 
 to the Islands, associated only with Amer- 
 icans, was put up at the American Club, 
 etc. It is somewhat natural, therefore, 
 that the one or two per cent of the popu- 
 lation who composed that party were the 
 " intelligent," the " patriotic," the " most 
 influential " people so constantly referred 
 to by these writers, all of whom favored 
 the opposition; while their opponents 
 were — well, the less said of them the bet- 
 ter. As we have said, annexation to the 
 United States was a foregone conclusion, 
 and had been for years; and considering 
 the weakened vitality and virtue of the 
 native race it was unquestionably a con- 
 summation greatly to be desired. But 
 it is hard to read the story of the last dec- 
 ade of the nineteenth century in the Is- 
 lands, as it is written, without a sensa- 
 tion of moral nausea at the thought of so 
 much virtue and noble jiatriotism arrayed 
 against such cohorts of Satan and dark- 
 ness. Happily, as in the fairy tales, 
 virtue (and money) vanquished all the 
 forces of evil, and the beauty of holiness 
 shone resplendent from the legislative 
 halls as the anointed took over the gov- 
 ernment. This was done early in 1893. 
 It was then that the Queen announced 
 her intention of abrogating the Constitu- 
 tion of 1887 and of establishing a new 
 one, which, it is asserted, was dicated by 
 herself, and represented her extreme 
 views. Though this Constitution was reg- 
 ularly drawn and presented to her Min- 
 
552 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEE. 
 
 istors, copies of it in recent histories are 
 wanting. It is alleged, however, that it 
 provided that members of the house of 
 nobles and council of state should be ap- 
 pointed by the sovereign at will ; and that 
 all white men, unless married to native 
 women, were to be absolutely debarred 
 from suffrage. The last provision seems 
 so incredible that one hesitates to believe 
 that a woman, who in other respects mani- 
 fested not a little ability and judgment, 
 should ever have considered it. However, 
 it was upon this statement of fat-ts that 
 the American party decided to act. Mr. 
 J. L. Stevens was then Minister from the 
 LTnited States to Hawaii, and in his de- 
 spatches for more than a year previous he 
 had shown that the question of annexa- 
 tion was the one closest to his heart, — 
 while his whole course was one of most 
 hearty sympathy with the revolutionary 
 party. The United States war ship 
 Boston, was also in the harbor. Great ex- 
 citement followed the announcement of 
 the QuecMi, und, it is said, " thi' entire 
 
 QUEEN LILIUOKALANI. 
 
 military force of tlie Kingdom paraded the 
 streets." This was Saturday, January 14. 
 A mass meeting of citizens was called for 
 the following Monday. At that meeting 
 
 a " Committee of Public Safety " was ap- 
 pointed ; and we are told that the " meet- 
 ing adjourned amid great enthusiasm, 
 every person present seeming determined 
 to resist to the utmost the attempted ag- 
 gressions upon their liberties." The dec- 
 laration of the Queen of her intention to 
 disregard the constitution was claimed to 
 be an abdication of her sovereignty. The 
 Committee of Public Safety called upon 
 the department chiefs to resign, which 
 they did, and the archives and govern- 
 ment buildings and offices were surren- 
 dered to the Conniiittee's representatives. 
 A state of anarchy followed, the Queen 
 not attempting to use force to oppose the 
 Committee's revolutionary course. Claim- 
 ing that public and private property was 
 endangered, the Committee called upon 
 ]\Ir. Stevens to land troops from the Bos- 
 ton to protect American interests, which 
 were, as has been shown, identical with 
 the interests of the Committee and those 
 whom they represented. Accordingly Mr. 
 Stevens requested Captain Wiltze of the 
 Boston to send his forces ashore. The 
 landing of the troops is said to have pro- 
 duced a quieting effect, though no hostile 
 force was anywhere in evidence. On the 
 following da.y, Tuesday, the chairman of 
 the Committee of Public Safety, in the 
 presence of a crowd that filled the space 
 about the govenunent buildings, form- 
 ally proclaime<l the abrogation of the an- 
 cient Hawaiian government, and the in- 
 stitution of a provisional government 
 " for the control and management of pub- 
 lic affairs and the protection of the public 
 peace," which should exist "until terms of 
 union with the United States of Amer- 
 ica " should be agreed upon. Upon the 
 demand of the Committee the Queen's 
 household guards, the police force, and all 
 the civil forces surrendered with the ap- 
 proval of the Queen. Thus, as is com- 
 monly narrated, " the revolution was ac- 
 complished without the loss of life, the 
 monarchy had fallen, and the first active 
 step toward the annexation of the Ha- 
 w-aiian Islands to the United States had 
 been taken." The Queen expressly stated 
 in yielding her various positions that she 
 
THE AXNEXATIOX OF HAWAII. 
 
 only did so to superior force, not wishing 
 to enter into any conflict witli the repre- 
 sentatives of the United States govern- 
 ment bacl^ed by its military force. At the 
 time of abdication she presented a writ- 
 ten protest, declaring that she resigned 
 the power only temporarily, until her 
 rights should be determined by the United 
 States government, to whose justice she 
 appealed. This protest was received by 
 the Committee and indorsed by its of- 
 ficers. In it the Queen says: " I yield to 
 the superior force of the United States 
 of America — until such time as the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States shall, upon 
 the facts being presented to it, undo the 
 action of its representatives, and rein- 
 state me in the authority which I claim 
 as the constitutional sovereign of the 
 Hawaiian Islands." 
 
 Realizing that their action must be put 
 before the government at Washington at 
 once, the Committee of Safety secured 
 the only steamer in the harbor and at 
 once despatched a commission from its 
 members to proceed to the United States. 
 There being no other means of communi- 
 cation available at the time the Queen 
 requested permission to send a letter to 
 President Harrison by the same convey- 
 ance, which was refused. She, however, 
 despatched such a letter by the first mail. 
 In her letter she says : " It is with deep 
 regret that I address you ou this oc- 
 casion. Some of my subjects, aided by 
 aliens, have renounced their loyalty, and 
 revolted against the constitutional gov- 
 ernment of my Kingdom. They have at- 
 tempted to depose me, and establish a 
 Provisional Government in direct con- 
 flict with the organic law of this King- 
 dom. Upon receiving incontestable proof 
 that His Excellency the Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary of the United States had 
 caused troops to be landed for that pur- 
 pose, I submitted to force, believing that 
 he would not have acted in that manner 
 unless by authority of the government 
 which he represents. 
 
 " This action on my part was prompted 
 by three reasons, the futiliti/ of a conflict 
 v;Uh the United States, the desire to 
 
 avoid violence and hloodslied and the de- 
 struction of life and property, and the 
 certainty whicti I feel that you and your 
 government will riglit whatever wrong 
 may have been inflicted upon us in the 
 premises. In due time a statement of the 
 true facts relating to this matter will be 
 laid before you, and I live in the hope 
 that you will judge uprightly and justly 
 between myself and my enemies. This 
 appeal is not made for myself personally 
 but for my people, who liave hitherto al- 
 ways enjoyed the friendship and protec- 
 tion of the United States." Referring to 
 her request that the vessel carrying the 
 commissioners of the Committee of Safety 
 might also take her letter to him, she con- 
 tinues: "This request has been refused: 
 and I now ask you, in justice to myself 
 and my people, that no steps be taken by 
 the Government of the United States 
 until my cause can be heard by you. I 
 shall be able to send an envoy about the 
 second day of February, as that will be 
 the first available opportunity hence; and 
 he will reach you with every possible 
 haste, that there may be no delay in the 
 settlement of this matter." 
 
 Unfortunately the simple woman, 
 though a Queen, understood neither the 
 exigencies of American politics nor the 
 power of the influences opposed to her. 
 For more than a year Mr. Stevens had 
 been reporting a strong case against the 
 Queen and in favor of the insurgent 
 party to the State Department at Wash- 
 ington ; and only shortly before the out- 
 break he had advised in language more 
 poetical than just : " The Hawaiian 
 pear is now fully ripe and this is the 
 golden hour for the United States to 
 pluck it." The administration was, there- 
 fore, not unprepared for the visit of the 
 Hawaiian Commission. A treaty was 
 speedily prepared with the Secretary of 
 State which received the President's sig- 
 nature and was submitted to the Senate 
 for approval February 15, 1893. Unfor- 
 tunately the Senators considered other 
 matters of more importance, as the ses- 
 sion was drawing to a close, and the 
 Hawaiian business failed of consideration. 
 
554 
 
 FROM COLOKY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 President Cleveland succeeded Presi- 
 dent Harrison on March 4. His atten- 
 tion had been called to the situation by 
 the Queen at the same time she wrote 
 President Harrison. Very soon after as- 
 suming office, as is well known, Mr. Cleve- 
 land withdrew the treaty from the Sen- 
 ate. Mr. Cleveland's rugged justice has 
 rarely been questioned by friend or foe, 
 unless in the heat of partisan strife; and 
 it is unfortunate that his course regard- 
 ing the treaty should have been at once 
 attributed to partisanship. It would be 
 well for everyone interested in tlie sub- 
 ject to read the message to the Senate 
 which accompanied the withdrawal of the 
 treaty. Its contents can only be sug- 
 gested here. " When the present Admin- 
 istration," he says, " entered upon its 
 duties the Senate had under considera- 
 tion a treaty providing for the annexa- 
 tion of the Hawaiian Islands to the terri- 
 tory of the United States. . . . But 
 it appeared from the documents accom- 
 panying the treaty when submitted to the 
 Senate that the ownership of Hawaii was 
 tendered to us by a Provisional Govern- 
 ment set up to succeed the Constitutional 
 ruler of the Islands who had been de- 
 throned, and it did not apijear that such 
 provisional government had the sanction 
 of either popular revolution or suffrage. 
 Two other remarkable features of the 
 transaction naturally attracted attention. 
 One was the extraordinary haste — not to 
 say precipitancy — characterizing all the 
 transactions connected with the treaty." 
 The President then reviews each step of 
 the proceedings at Hawaii, and con- 
 tinues : " Thus between the initiation of 
 the scheme for a Provisional Govern- 
 ment in Hawaii on January 14 and the 
 submission to the Senate of the Treaty of 
 Annexation concluded with such govern- 
 ment, the entire interval was thirty-two 
 days, fifteen of which were spent by the 
 Hawaiian Commissioners on their jour- 
 ney to Washington." 
 
 " In the next place, upon the face of 
 the papers submitted with the Treaty it 
 clearly appeared that there was open and 
 undetermined an issue of fact of the most 
 
 vital importance. The message of the 
 President accompanying the treaty de- 
 clared that ' the overthrow of the mon- 
 archy was not in any way promoted by 
 this g-overnment' ; and in a letter to the 
 President from the Secretary of State, 
 also submitted to the Senate with the 
 treaty, the following passage occurs: 'At 
 the time the Provisional Government took 
 possession of the government buildings 
 no troops or officers of the United States 
 were present or took part in the proceed- 
 ings. No iDublic recognition was accorded 
 the Provisional Government by the United 
 States Minister luitil after the Queen's 
 abdication, and when they were in effec- 
 tive possession of the government build- 
 ings, the archives, the treasury, the bar- 
 racks, the police station, and all the po- 
 tential machinery of government.' But a 
 protest also accompanied said treaty, 
 signed by the Queen and her ministers 
 at the time she made way for the Pro- 
 visional Government, which explicitly 
 stated that she yielded to the superior 
 force of the United States, whose Min- 
 ister had caused United States troops to 
 be landed at Honolulu, and declared that 
 he would support the Provisional Govern- 
 ment. The truth or falsity of this pro- 
 test was surely of the first importance. 
 If true, nothing but the concealment of 
 its truth could induce our government to 
 negotiate with the semblance of a govern- 
 ment thus created, nor could a treaty re- 
 sulting from the acts stated in the protest 
 have been knowingly deemed worthy of 
 consideration by the Senate. Yet the 
 truth or falsity of the protest had not 
 been investigated. I conceived it to be 
 my duty, therefore, to withdraw, the 
 treaty from the Senate for examination, 
 and meanwhile to cause an accurate, full, 
 and impartial investigation to be made of 
 the facts attending the subversion of the 
 constitutional government of Hawaii, and 
 the installment in its place of the Pro- 
 visional Government. . . . Our coun- 
 try was in danger of occupying ihe posi- 
 tion, of having actually set up a temporary 
 government on foreign soil for the pur- 
 pose of acquiring through that agency 
 
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 
 
 555 
 
 territory which we had ■wrongfully put in 
 its possession. The control of both sides 
 of a bargain acquired in such a manner 
 is called by a familiar and unpleasant 
 name when found in private transactions. 
 . . . liiit in the present instance our 
 duty does not, in my opinion, end with 
 refusing to consummate the questionable 
 transaction. It has been the boast of our 
 government that it seeks to do justice in 
 all things without regard to the strength 
 or weakness of those with whom it deals. 
 I mistake the American people if they 
 favor the odious doctrine that there is no 
 such thing as international morality, 
 that there is one law for a strong nation, 
 and another for a weak one, and that even 
 by indirection a strong power may with 
 impunity despoil a weak one of its ter- 
 ritory." 
 
 As is well known Mr. Cleveland sent a 
 special envoy to Hawaii to investigate 
 the true state of affairs, and that as a 
 result of his investigation the President 
 declined to resubmit the treaty to Con- 
 gress. Failing of the desired annexation 
 111 the United States at that time, the Pro- 
 visional Government established the Re- 
 public of Hawaii, believing that, with the 
 advent of another Republican Admin- 
 istration in the United States, annexa- 
 tion could be achieved. Accordingly 
 when the first Congress of Mr. McKin- 
 ley's Administration convened a new 
 treaty was submitted, which its adherents 
 believed would receive prompt and imme- 
 diate action. Unexpectedly, however, a 
 strong opposition developed. In another 
 chapter of this book (World Power) the 
 story of this campaign and the reasons 
 for the failure of the treaty have been 
 given. Unable to secure the desired re- 
 sults in the regular way of treaty, the an- 
 nexation party resorted to the measure of 
 a Joint Resolution of Congress which was 
 passed, and by President McKinley's sig- 
 nature became a law, on July 8, 1898. 
 Thus ended the long contest ; and the an- 
 nexation of the Hawaiian Islands, which 
 had been debated and contemplated for 
 more than a half century, became an ac- 
 complislied fact. 
 
 On Friday, August 12, 1898, the United 
 States war ship Philadelphia, under com- 
 mand of Admiral Miller, arrived at 
 Honolulu, bearing the largest ensign made 
 for the purpose at the Mare Island Navy 
 Yard, and the ceremony of transferring 
 
 Photo, Copyright 1907 by J. K. Purdy, Boston. 
 SANFOKD B. DOLE. 
 
 the territory took place on that date. Be- 
 side the chair of President Dole of the 
 Hawaiian Republic sat Hon. Harold M. 
 Scwall, who had been designated by Pres- 
 ident McKinley as Envoy Extraordinary 
 to receive the transfer of the Island ter- 
 ritory. The certified copy of the Joint 
 Resolution of Congress accepting the 
 cession of the Islands was delivered to 
 President Dole by Mr. Sewall ; and the 
 President, in a brief address, delivered to 
 Jfinister Sewall the sovereignty of 
 Hawaii. After a prayer and the render- 
 ing of the Hawaiian national anthem, 
 Hawaii Ponoi, by the native band sta- 
 tioned in the square below, at a signal the 
 Hawaiian flag fell from the staff over the 
 Government building, and the flag of the 
 
550 
 
 FROM. COLOA'Y TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 United States was raised to its jilace. At 
 the same time a similar change of flags 
 was made over all public buildings, and 
 the national salute thundered from the 
 guns of the war vessels in the harbor. Fol- 
 lowing the flag raising Minister Sewall 
 proclaimed the sovereignty of the United 
 States, and the oath of office was admin- 
 
 istered to President Dole and the other 
 oliicials by Chief Justice Judd, they hav- 
 ing been authorized by President MeKiu- 
 ley to continue the administration of the 
 affairs of the Islands until a definite form 
 of government for them should be deter- 
 mined upon by Congress. 
 
XLvin. 
 
 THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCEvS - 1899-1907. 
 
 Early Arbitration Agreements. — The Jay Treaty. — The Burr-Hamilton Duel. — The Geneva 
 Arbitration. — The Czar's First Letter to Sovereign States. — Public Opinion Regarding It. — • 
 Second Letter and Programme for Conference. — Description of Holland and The Hague. — - 
 Grotius and His Work. — The House in the Wood. — Splendid Courtesy of Queen Wilhelmina 
 and The Netherlanders. — First Meeting of Fir.st Conference. — Twenty-six Nations, Twelve 
 Hundred Million People Represented. — Character of Delegates and Languages Spoken.^ 
 Delegates from the United States. — Routine Work of Delegates. — Social Functions. — De- 
 tails of Results Achieved. — Effective Addresses of Leading Delegates. — Permanent Court of 
 Arbitration. — Second Conference Demanded by Interparliamentary Union. — President Roose- 
 velt's Action. — Final Call of Czar of Russia for Conference to Meet .June 15, 1907. — Delegates 
 from United States. — Conditions Attending the Meeting. — Organization and Distribution 
 of Work. — Notable Addresses. — Stubborn Fight to Perfect Permanent Court. — Magnificent 
 Work of Mr. Choate. — All Provisions Made for Court, but no Judges. — Bitter Opposition 
 of .Smaller Nations. — "The World Desires Peace." — The International Prize Court. — 
 Achievements of Second Conference. — Opinion of Elihu Root, then Secretary of State. — 
 Real Significance of the Conferences. 
 
 " I once heard Mr. Root (Ex-Sec. of State of the United States) say ' there are no international contro- 
 versies so serious that they cannot be settled peaceably if both parties really desire peaceable settlement. The 
 matters in disoute between nations are nothing; the spirit which deals with them is everything.' This is 
 perfectly true.*'— James Bryce. 
 
 N the evolution of political and social life it has been the 
 good fortune of the government and people of the United 
 States, sometimes ■with clear vision and sometimes uncon- 
 sciously, so to change the direction of forces active in a 
 period that quite new and often unexpected results have 
 been achieved. Thoug'h the Revolutionary War had been 
 fought to a successful issue, the Treaty of Peace between 
 the United States and Great Britain left many serious 
 questions unsettled, which were constant sources of irrita- 
 tion to the government and to the people of both countries. 
 So acute had the antagonism become during the early years of Washington's admin- 
 istration, that it was evident some mutual understanding must be reached, or 
 the trial of battle again be made. To avert such a calamity, John Jay, one of 
 the most enlightened, intelligent, and experienced statesmen of the period was 
 sent to England in 1Y95 to negotiate, if possible, some treaty which should estab- 
 lish a basis for the continuance of peaceful relations between the two countries. 
 Though he achieved reasonable success, so hostile was the Republican parly, — the 
 party of strong French proclivities, — to any negotiations with Great Britain, that 
 
558 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 the reception given Jay and liis treaty 
 upon his return to the United States was 
 most disheartening. Though dissatisfied 
 with its provisions, Washington realized 
 that it was the best that could be done 
 under existing conditions, and his in- 
 fluence was powerful enough to secure its 
 aiiproval by the Senate. As the execu- 
 tion of the treaty involved an expenditure 
 of money, however, which must be voted 
 in the first instance in the House, the 
 majority of whose members belonged to 
 the Republican party, there seemed to be 
 little possibility of its being approved. 
 The crisis was one of the most desperate 
 in the early history of the nation, as on 
 the day of the final vote it was found that 
 the opponents of the Treaty would have 
 a majority of six votes. Then was de- 
 livered by Fisher Ames, of Massachusetts, 
 what has been declared to be the greatest 
 siwech hcai'd in Congress down to the days 
 of Daniel Webster. After years of faith- 
 ful service to his country, Ames was 
 rapidly approaching the end of life, and 
 was in such a feeble condition when he 
 
 arose to speak tli.nt hi? weak body and 
 voice well-nigh failed him. But inspired 
 by the supreme imiiortance of the action 
 of his fellow members, upon which he 
 firmly believed even the continued exist- 
 ence of the nation depended, he spoke with 
 
 such fervor and convincing power that 
 the majority hostile to the Treaty was 
 overcome, and it was approved by a ma- 
 jority of three votes. " For three hours," 
 says the historian, " he held the House 
 and the gallery in the spell of his burning 
 eloquence, and closed with the pathetic 
 words : ' Even the minutes I have spent in 
 expostulating have their value, because 
 they protract the crisis and the short 
 period in which alone we may resolve to 
 escape it. Yet I have, perhaps, as little 
 l^ersonal interest in the event as anyone 
 here. There is, I believe, no member who 
 will not think his chance to be a witness 
 of the consequences greater than mine. 
 If. however, the vote should pass to re- 
 ject, — even I, slender and almost broken 
 as my life is, may outlive the government 
 and the constitution of my country.' " 
 
 Tlie highest significance of this treaty 
 lies not alone in the fact that it served 
 to avert war for the time, and postpone 
 for twenty years what was probably an 
 inevitable conflict, until the young nation 
 was able to wage it successfully; but also 
 in the great fact that it was the first 
 agreement of this character entered into 
 by the United States, and, perhaps, the 
 first between any two independent nations, 
 which made any provision for the settle- 
 ment of political differences by peaceful 
 measures, rather than by the arbitrament 
 of tlie sword. The Jay Treaty provided, 
 among other tilings, for the settlement of 
 three of tlie questions at issue beiween the 
 two countries hy mixed commissions, a 
 form of irihunal which afterward de- 
 veloped into tlie temporary arhitration 
 Court, which has done so much in recent 
 years to preserve and promote the peace 
 of the world. Hundreds of treaties had 
 been made before this, but their purpose 
 had always been to define new relations 
 and political or territorial rights, after 
 war; but the Jay Treaty, .unconsciously, 
 perhaps, to all the parties concerned. 
 " blazed a better way," whicli it is to the 
 eternal honor of the American government 
 it has been well disposed to follow. 
 " Peace hath her victories, no less re- 
 nowned than war; " and it is these blood- 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 559 
 
 less victories, all of them the legitimate 
 successors of the Jay Treaty, that are de- 
 tailed in the pages of the more than two 
 hundred arbitration treaties that have 
 been negotiated between independent na- 
 tions during the past century, as recorded 
 by Professor John Bassett Moore, in his 
 work entitled " International Arbitra- 
 tions." 
 
 Early in the nineteenth century the 
 popular conscience began to be aroused as 
 to the horrors of both public and private 
 war, as well as to realize its futility in the 
 settlement of misunderstandings in ac- 
 cordance with the principles of justice. 
 There was awakening a glimmering con- 
 sciousness that " might does not make 
 right." The duel between Burr and Ham- 
 ilton shocked the better sentiment of the 
 American people as no similar event had 
 ever done; and the horrible slaughter 
 which had been going on throughout 
 Europe during the quarter of a century 
 prior to 1815, as a result of which it was 
 claimed over 6,000,000 had lost their lives, 
 aroused in the popular mind a conviction 
 that both individual and international 
 wars were relics of barbarism, and that en- 
 lightened and civilized peoples cou'.d and 
 should work out some better method of 
 settling disputed questions. One has 
 only to read, even superficially, the story 
 of the political and social development 
 of the last hundred years, and the trend 
 of the popular thought as reflected in our 
 best literature, to discover the continual 
 growth of more humane impulses as to the 
 conduct of international strifes, as well as 
 the constantly increasing strength of peace 
 sentiments and of organizations founded 
 to promote its interests; while the duel 
 has come to be held in abhorrence, if not 
 legally forbidden, in all civilized countries. 
 Though the tangible results achieved 
 previous to 1870 may seem meagre, yet it 
 was everywhere manifest to even the 
 casual observer that the Angel of Peace 
 was troubling the waters, and that all 
 civilized peoples were more and more real- 
 izing the sublime fact that there was heal- 
 ing in his wings. 
 
 The Treaty of Washington, of 1871. 
 
 however, placed the arbitration of inter- 
 national differences on a more secure 
 basis, and established principles of in- 
 calculable benefit to mankind. The con- 
 flict of opinion between Great Britain and 
 the United States regarding the Alabama 
 Claims had been long continued and 
 bitter, and several times war seemed the 
 only outcome; but wiser councils prevailed 
 eventually, and the representatives of the 
 two countries were able to provide for the 
 amicable settlement of these most serious 
 questions. Of far greater importance, 
 however, than the immediate results to 
 either jieople of the arbitration proceed- 
 ings at Geneva, was the precedent then 
 estahlished, which has ever since been 
 recognized as of vital importance by the 
 statesmen of both countries. As the dis- 
 tinguished British statesman and writer, 
 John Morley, has said: "The Treaty of 
 Washington and the Geneva Arbitration 
 stand out as the most notable victory in 
 the nineteenth century of the noble art 
 of preventive diplomacy, and the most 
 significant exhibition in their history of 
 self-command in two of the three chief 
 democratic powers of the western world." 
 With constantly growing unanimity the 
 leaders of opinion in both countries have 
 made Peace and Arbitration their watch- 
 words; and it may be safely asserted that 
 such relations have now been reached be- 
 tween the two most powerful English- 
 speaking peoples of the world that war be- 
 tween them is no longer regarded as even 
 a ijossibility whatever their differences. 
 So dominant had become the spirit of con- 
 ciliation in the conduct of international 
 affairs that when the Congress of the 
 United States, in 1890, adopted a resolu- 
 tion " that the President be requested to 
 invite from time to time, as fit occasion 
 may arise, negotiations with any govern- 
 ment with which the United States has or 
 may have diplomatic relations, to the end 
 that any differences or disputes arising 
 between the two governments which can- 
 not be adjusted by diplomatic agency may 
 be referred to arbitration, and be i>eace- 
 fully adjusted by such means," a sympa- 
 thetic response came almost immediately 
 
560 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 from the British House of Commons, in 
 the form of a resolution, approving of 
 this Act of the Congress of the United 
 States, and expressing the " hope that 
 Her Majesty's g-overnment will lend their 
 ready co-operation to the g-overnment of 
 the Ignited States for the accomplishment 
 of the object had in view."' Thus had 
 these two great and influential nations, 
 before the close of the nineteenth century, 
 placed themselves on record, oificially, as 
 favoring the most complete submission 
 of differences between them to peaceful 
 arbitration. But notwithstanding these 
 signal achievements looking toward the 
 reign of Peace on Earth, it appeared as 
 if the nineteenth century was to pass into 
 history with its latter years darkened by 
 the hideous system of militarism. While 
 making treaties of arbitration, the great 
 Powers had with increased ardor enlarged 
 their fighting forces. The military and 
 naval budgets of Great Britain were more 
 than doubled during the last ten years of 
 the century, while those of the United 
 States were more than trebled in the same 
 jseriod; and under the influence of the 
 " Jingo " spirit it was the avowed purpose 
 of both nations to continue the same 
 policy. Arbitration was magnificent in 
 its way and within its limitations; but 
 tlie very existence and continuance of the 
 great military establishments of all the 
 leading powers showed only too clearly 
 that its ultimate effectiveness was 
 doubted. Restriction and reduction of 
 armaments, and a lightening of the ter- 
 rible burdens of taxation which the great 
 military establishments entailed, were the 
 ends sought by the peacemakers; and of 
 such tendencies there appeared no signs. 
 
 But it was the darkness that precedes 
 the dawn. On the 24th of August, 1898, 
 Count Mouravieff, the Russian Foreigii 
 Minister, presented to each of the diplo- 
 matic representatives at the Court of St. 
 Petersburg a lithographic communication, 
 wliicli read as follows: "The mainte- 
 nance of the general peace and a possible 
 reduction of the excessive armaments 
 which weigh upon all nations present 
 themselves, in the existing condition of 
 
 tlie whole world, as the ideal toward which 
 the endeavors of all governments should 
 be directed. The humanitarian and mag- 
 nanimous ideas of Ilis Majesty the Em- 
 peror, my August Master, have been won 
 over to this view. In the conviction that 
 this lofty aim is in conformity with the 
 most essential interests and the legitimate 
 views of all the Powers, the Imperial Gov- 
 ernment thinks that the present moment 
 would be very favorable for seeking, b.v 
 means of international discussion, the 
 most effectual means of insuring to all 
 peoples the benefits of a real and durable 
 peac, and, above all, of putting an 
 end ',0 the progressive development 
 of the present armaments. In the 
 course of the last twenty years the long- 
 ings I'o:- a general appeasement have 
 become especially pronounced in the 
 consciences of civilized nations. The 
 preservation of Peace has been put for- 
 ward as the object of international jjol- 
 icy; in its name great states have con- 
 cluded between themselves powerful al- 
 liances; it is the better to guarantee 
 peace that they have developed, in pro- 
 portions hitherto unprecedented, their mil- 
 itary forces and still continue to increase 
 them without shrinking from any sacri- 
 fice. All these efforts, nevertheless, have 
 not as yet been able to bring about the 
 beneficent results of the desired pacifica- 
 tion. The financial charges following an 
 upward march strike at the public pros- 
 perity at its very source. The intellectual 
 and physical strength of the nations, labor 
 and capital, are for the major part 
 diverted from their natural application, 
 and unproductively consumed. Hundreds 
 of millions are devoted to acquiring terri- 
 ble engines of destruction which, though 
 to-day regarded as tlie last word of science, 
 are destined to-morrow to lose all value in 
 consequence of some fresh discovery in 
 the same field. National culture, eco- 
 nomic progress, and the production of 
 wealth are either paralyzed, or cheeked 
 in their development. Moreover, in pro- 
 portion as the armaments of each power 
 increase, so do they less fulfill the object 
 which the governments have set before 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 561 
 
 themselves. Tlie economic crisis, due in 
 great part to the system of armaments 
 a I'outrance, and tlie continual danger 
 which lies in this massing of war ma- 
 terial, are transforming the assured peace 
 of our days into a crushing burden, which 
 the peoples have more and more difficulty 
 in bearing. It appears evident, then, that 
 if this state of things were jsrolonged, it 
 will • inevitably lead to the very cat- 
 aclysm which it is desired to avert, and 
 the horrors of which make every thinking 
 man shudder in advance. To put an end 
 fo these incessant armaments and to seek 
 the means of warding off the calamities 
 which are threatening the whole world, 
 such is the supreme duty which is to-day 
 imposed on all states. Filled '^^ ith this 
 idea His Majesty has been pleased to 
 order me to propose to all the govern- 
 ments whose representatives are accredited 
 to the Imperial Court the meeting of a 
 conference which would have to occupy 
 itself with this grave problem. This con- 
 ference should be, by the help of God, a 
 liapjjy presage for the century which is 
 about to open. It would converge in one 
 powerful focus the efforts of all states 
 which are sincerely seeking to make the 
 great idea of universal peace triumph 
 over the elements of trouble and discord. 
 It would at the same time confirm their 
 argument by the solemn establishment of 
 the principles of justice and right, upon 
 which repose the Security of States and 
 the Welfare of Peoples." 
 
 No words can convey any idea of the 
 astonishment with which this communica- 
 tion was received. To many earnest men 
 on both Continents who had been working 
 and praying for some signs of the advent 
 of the " Prince of Peace," it carried joy 
 unspeakable and strengthened their high- 
 est hopes. To the great majority, how- 
 ever, it seemed the proposal of a dreamer, 
 and hardly worthy of serious considera- 
 tion. In many of the leading journals of 
 Europe and America the Czar was im- 
 mercifully lampooned, ridiculed, and cari- 
 catured. The general sentiment found 
 expression in the ancient query, " Can any 
 good thing come out of Nazareth ? " and 
 3C 
 
 the issuance of such a circular by the most 
 autocratic and, in the popular esteem, the 
 most heartless and cruel Power of the 
 world seemed little short of monumental 
 impudence. Nor did a much more favor- 
 able opinion obtain in diplomatic circles. 
 The American representative at St. 
 Petersburg reported to the government at 
 Washington that " the general consensus 
 of opinion among members of the diplo- 
 matic corps now present appears to be 
 that the proposition is visionary and 
 Utopian, if not partaking of Quixotism. 
 Little value is expected to result from the 
 Conference, and indeed every diplomatic 
 officer with whom I have talked seems to 
 regard the proposition with that technical 
 skepticism which great measures of re- 
 form usually encounter." Happily there 
 were wiser heads in the various home gov- 
 ernments, and men of broader and more 
 sympathetic political vision; and every 
 American may take just pride in the fact 
 that the United States decided at once to 
 accept the proxjosal contained in the Rus- 
 sian circular, an<l instructed the Ambas- 
 sador at St. Petersburg to do so, orally, 
 in the most cordial terms. 
 
 Within a few months so many accept- 
 ances had been received by the Russian 
 Government that on January 11, 1881), 
 a second circular letter was delivered by 
 Count Mouravieff to the same diplomatic 
 representatives who had received the first, 
 acknowledging with a lively appreciation 
 the hearty responses from all the Powers, 
 and their acceptance of the Czar's pro- 
 posal for a Conference. In the same com- 
 munication suggestions were offered as to 
 topics that might be made the basis for 
 discussions, and limits proposed beyond 
 which they should not go. 
 
 The remarkable tact that had charac- 
 terized every act of the Russian Govern- 
 ment thus far, was further manifested 
 in the last paragraph of this second cir- 
 cular which declared that " His Imperial 
 Majesty considers it advisable that the 
 Conference should not sit in the capital 
 of one of the great jjowers, where so iiaany 
 political interests are centred which 
 might, perhaps, impede the progress of a 
 
562 
 
 rEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 work which all the countries of the uni- 
 verse are equally interested in." On Feh- 
 ruary 9th, Count Mouravieff advised the 
 representatives of the invited Powers that 
 the Imperial Government had communi- 
 cated with the government of Her Maj- 
 esty, the Queen of the Netherlands, re- 
 garding- the choice of The Hague as the 
 eventual seat of the isroposed conference 
 and that, the Netherlands government 
 having expressed its assent, the repre- 
 sentatives were requested to inform their 
 governments of this selection. The formal 
 invitation of the Netherlands' government 
 was sent to the invited Powers on the Tth 
 of April, 1899. In this invitation the 
 18th of May following was named as the 
 date for the opening session of the Con- 
 ference. Thus were concluded the some- 
 what elaborate preliminaries for the as- 
 sembling of the most notable body of men 
 that ever came together to consider ques- 
 tions of the most vital interest to every 
 inhabitant of the globe. As the proposi- 
 tion was absolutely unique in its incep- 
 tion, there were no precedents to guide 
 the Russian Court in its procedure; and 
 the manner in which it avoided jealousies 
 by limiting its invitations to the Powers 
 represented at its Court, and friction and 
 undue influence of any nature by the 
 selection of The Hague as the meeting 
 place, was worthy of the highest admira- 
 tion, as well as of the unreserved endorse- 
 ment all the Powers gave to the entire 
 procedure. As was well said by one of 
 the most prominent delegates to the Con- 
 ference this was " certainly one of the 
 greatest achievements of modern Russian 
 diplomacy." 
 
 The Hague is the interesting political 
 capital of one of the most interesting and 
 peculiar of the European states. Geo- 
 graphically, Holland, or, as it is ofBcially 
 known. The Netherlands, is one of the 
 most insignificant of states, situated on the 
 North Sea, and having an extreme length 
 from north to south of 164 miles and a 
 width from east to west of 110 miles. It 
 is literally " made land," the result of the 
 combined work of nature and man. As 
 the name indicates, the Netherlands are 
 
 low and flat, and form the delta of the 
 Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt rivers. So 
 peculiar, too, is the configuration of the 
 land, with the great Zuyder Zee cutting 
 in from the North Sea to almost its south- 
 ern boundary, that well-nigh its entire 
 area is sea coast, and a large proportion 
 of its towais are sea-ports. Along many 
 parts of the coast, and along all the rivers, 
 huge dikes have been constructed, thirty 
 feet high and seventy feet broad at the 
 base, for protection against inundation. 
 The whole country, too, is intersected by 
 a marvelous system of canals, which are 
 to be found everj-where. and which have 
 a total length of over 1,600.000 miles. 
 These have been cut partly for the purpose 
 of communication, but more particularly 
 for drainage. One of the most interesting 
 of travelers and writers, d'Amicis, has 
 given this description of the country : 
 " What sort of a country Holland is has 
 been told by many in a few words. 
 Napoleon said it was an alluvion of 
 French rivers — the Rhine, the Meuse, 
 and the Scheldt — and with tliis pre- 
 text he added it to the empire. One 
 writer has defined it as a sort of transi- 
 tion between land and sea. Another, 
 as an immense crust of earth float- 
 ing in the water. Others, as an annex of 
 the old continent, the China of Europe, 
 the end of the earth and the beginning of 
 the ocean, a measureless raft of mud and 
 sand : and Phillip II. called it ' the coun- 
 try nearest to Hell.' But all agreed upon 
 one point, and all expressed it in the same 
 words; Holland is a conquest made by 
 man over the sea — it is an artificial coun- 
 try — the Hollanders made it — it exists be- 
 cause the Hollanders preserve it — it will 
 vanish whenever the Hollanders abandon 
 it." In the Introduction to his " Rise of 
 the Dutch Republic," Motley thus speaks 
 of this remarkable country : " Geo- 
 graphically and ethnologically, the Low 
 Countries belong both to Gaul and to Ger- 
 many. It is even doubtful to which of 
 the two the Batavian island, which is tho 
 core of the whole country, was reckoned 
 liy tho Romans. Three great rivers- — the 
 Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt — had 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 5G3 
 
 deposited their slime for ages ar.iong the 
 dunes and sandbanks heaved up by the 
 ocean around their moutlis. A delta was 
 thus formed habitable at last for man. 
 It was by nature a wide morass, in which 
 oozy islands and savage forests were in- 
 terspersed among lagoons and shallows; 
 a district lying partly below the level of 
 
 race, engaged for generations in stub- 
 born conflict with the angry elements, 
 was unconsciously educating itself for its 
 great struggle with the still more savage 
 despotism of man. The whole territoi-y 
 of the Netherlands was girt with forests. 
 The groves of Haarlem and the Hague 
 are relics of this ancient forest. The vast 
 
 THE VyVER, OR FISH POND, THE HAGUE. 
 
 the ocean at its higher tides, subject to 
 constant overflow from the rivers, and to 
 frequent and terrible inundations by the 
 sea. . . . Here, within a half-sub- 
 merged territory, a race of \''retched 
 iethyophagi dwelt upon ' terpen,' or 
 mounds, which they had raised, like 
 beavers, above the almost fluid soil. Here, 
 at a later day, the same race chained the 
 tyrant Ocean and his mighty streams 
 into subserviency, forcing them to fertil- 
 ize, to render commodious, to cover with 
 a beneficent network of veins and arteries, 
 and to bind by watery highways with the 
 farthest ends of the world, a country dis- 
 inherited of its rights. A region, outcast 
 of ocean and earth, wrested at last from 
 both domains their richest treasures. A 
 
 Ilercynian forest, nine days journey in 
 breadth, closed in the country on the Ger- 
 man side. On the South, the famous 
 groves of Ardennes, haunted by faun and 
 satyr, embowered the country and sep- 
 arated it from Celtic Gaul. Thus inun- 
 dated by mighty rivers, quaking beneath 
 the level of the ocean, belted about by 
 hirsute forests, this lowland, nether land, 
 hollow land, or Holland, seemed hardly 
 deserving the arms of the all-accom- 
 plished Roman." 
 
 But it is physically only that Holland 
 is insignificant, few states having played 
 a more important part in the history and 
 development of modern Europe. All 
 readers of Motley's works are familiar 
 with the terrible sufferings the Dutch en- 
 
564 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 dured to protect their civil and religious 
 liberties, resisting successfully all the 
 powers and arms of Spain, and surviving 
 all the tortures of the Inquisition. Later 
 the little state became practically the 
 leading power in the industrial and com- 
 mercial world, and mistress of the seas. 
 After the battle of Goodwin Sands, in 
 1052, the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp 
 paraded the English coast with a broom 
 at the masthead of his vessel, proclaiming 
 that he had swept the English channel; 
 and in 1667 De Euyter sailed up the 
 Thames and blockaded London. The sur- 
 plus energj' of its people found vent in 
 every form of commercial ende.avor and 
 maritime conquest. Thriving colonies 
 were founded in both the East and West 
 Indies, which are still a chief source of 
 the wealth of the country. At home their 
 manufacturing industries were probably 
 more and better developed than those of 
 any other state; and many a housewife 
 
 HUGO GROTIUS 
 
 still calls certain kinds of linens " Hol- 
 lands." Kor were the achievements of 
 this remarkable people less distinguished 
 in literature, art, philosophy, and religion. 
 For well-nigh a century Holland was the 
 tolerant and peaceful haven in which " the 
 persecuted for righteousness' snke " of 
 other countries found refuge. From few, 
 
 if any, other cities of the world have 
 there gone forth such potent influences 
 for the enlightenment of the whole earth, 
 and for the humanizing and uplifting of 
 its people, as from the little city of Delft, 
 four miles east of The Hague. Here was 
 born in 1583 the great Grotins, more 
 than any other one man the father of all 
 the tendencies that look toward " peace 
 among men," the great apostle of tolera- 
 tion when it was a well-nigh unknown 
 virtue, and the author of the great work 
 which is the basis of the entire system 
 of modern international law. Of Grotius 
 and his work Hon Andrew D. White has 
 said: "This debt (of gratitude) is that 
 .which, in common with the whole world, 
 we owe to one of whom all civilized lands 
 are justly proud, — the poet, the scholar, 
 the historian, the statesman, the diplomat, 
 the jurist, the author of the treatise 
 De Jwre Belli ac Pacts. Of all works 
 not claiming divine inspiration that book, 
 written by a man proscribed and hated 
 both for his polities and his religion, has 
 l")roved the greatest blessing to humanity. 
 More than any other it has prevented un- 
 merited suffering, misery, and sorrow; 
 more than any other it has ennobled the 
 military profession ; more than any other 
 it has promoted the blessings of peace and 
 diminished the horrors of war.'' From 
 this same little city of Delft, too, in 1620. 
 sailed the " Mayflower," bearing the im- 
 mortal Pilgrim Fathers to plant in the 
 new world the seeds of religion and jjoliti- 
 cal liberty. What more fitting place could 
 have been found, where else an historical 
 atmosphere so congenial, for the assem- 
 bling of the first International Peace 
 Congress, the " first conference of the 
 whole world," the sole object of whose 
 existence was the uplifting of the people 
 of every clime and race, and the opening 
 of the doors that the Prince of Peace 
 might come in. 
 
 The Hague, though far outstripped by 
 Amsterdam and Eotterdam in commercial 
 importance, is the most beautiful of the 
 cities of the Netherlands. It has been de- 
 scribed as "unlike other Dutch cities, — 
 more like a French city strayed over into 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 565 
 
 Holland." Its broad streets are lined 
 Avith trees, and there are many open 
 spaces and parks. The centre of the city, 
 where are the most historic buildings, is 
 by the Vyver, or " fish pond," a lake of 
 considerable size and beauty. Along the 
 sides extend the principal streets and the 
 fashionable promenades. The city was 
 originally the hereditary seat of the 
 Counts of Holland, and its Dutch name 
 " Graven Hage," or " en Haag," signifies 
 the Count's enclosure or hedge. Since 
 the latter part of the sixteenth century 
 it has been the political centre of the 
 country, and there the nobles, the for- 
 eign ambassadors, and all the important 
 officials of the realm have resided. In 
 walking through its streets signs of wealth 
 and fashion are everywhere visible. The 
 two chief points of interest are the Art 
 Gallery, which has been called the " Jewel 
 of The Hague," and the famous " House 
 in the Wood." The art gallery has about 
 four hundred and fifty canvases, many of 
 which are of the highest merit with, of 
 course, a large representation of the 
 Dutch masters. It is particularly rich in 
 Eembrandts and includes his best known 
 painting the " Lesson in Anatomy." An- 
 other of the famous works is Paul Pot- 
 ter's " Bull,"— " that Bull which," says 
 d'Amicis, " at the time when there was a 
 mania for classifying pictures in a sort of 
 hierarchy of celebrity, hung in the gallery 
 of the Louvre side by side with the 
 ' Transfigairation ' of Raphael, the ' St. 
 Peter Martyr ' of Titian, and the ' Com- 
 munion of St. Jerome' of Domenicho; 
 that Bull for which England would 
 give a million francs, and with which 
 Holland would not part for double that 
 sum." The " House in the Wood " is sit- 
 uated about a mile east of the city, in the 
 beautiful park known as the " Bosch." 
 This is the summer palace of the Dutch 
 royal family, and was built in 1047 in 
 memory of Prince Frederick Henry of 
 Orange, by his wife. Uniting tjie quali- 
 ties of beauty and simplicity in its ex- 
 terior, the palace in its interior presents 
 a series of magnificently ornamented 
 rooms, the finest of which is the Orange 
 
 Zaal, — the ballroom, which was most elab- 
 orately decorated by Jordaens and other 
 pupils of Rubens. This room has now 
 become historic as the assembling place 
 of the first International Peace Confer- 
 ence. 
 
 In ]S9S, while the negotiations de- 
 scribed above preliminary to the calling of 
 
 Photograph Underiiwod & Undcrzvood, N. Y. 
 QUEEN WILHELMINA. 
 
 the conference were pending, the interest 
 of the whole world was for a time centred 
 in The Hague because of the comini;- of 
 age of the young and beautiful Queen, 
 Wilhelmina. Born in 1880, she became 
 legally the Queen on the death of her 
 father in 1890, but could not ascend to 
 the throne until she had reached her legal 
 maturity. During the years of the 
 regency of her mother, Queen Emma, 
 many accounts appeared in the magazines 
 and papers describing the beauty of char- 
 acter and person of the young Queen and 
 her democratic, human, and lovable traits. 
 When, therefore, she assumed the author- 
 ity as well as title of Queen and was en- 
 throned with great splendor and rejoicing 
 in 1898, there was a spontaneous outburst 
 
566 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEE. 
 
 of affection and good will from the people 
 (if all nations; and it was certainly a 
 liappy omen that one of the earliest duties 
 and privileges of her official life was to 
 invite the delegates to the Peace Confer- 
 ence to become the honored guests of her 
 government and later to receive them 
 with a graciousness and sweetness that 
 charmed even the hardest hearted and 
 coolest headed of the world's diplomats; 
 and lier dei^p interest in the movement 
 wa.s manifested when she placed at the 
 disposal of the Conference, for its meet- 
 ing filace, the most beautiful room of her 
 favorite palace, the great Orange Zaal. 
 
 " On Thursday, the 18th of May," says 
 Mr. F. W. Holls, a delegate from the 
 United States and the historian of the 
 Conference, " the beautiful Netherlands 
 capital, The Hague, presented a stirring 
 and picturesque spectacle. From all the 
 public buildings, the principal hotels, the 
 various embassies and legations, and also 
 from many private houses, especially in 
 the neighborhood of the public S(]uare.s, 
 the flags of nearly all civilized countries 
 were thrown to the winds. The delegates 
 of twenty-five powers had arrived to at- 
 tend tlie opening of what has since been 
 known as the International Peace Confer- 
 ence. It was a iserfeet spring day, and it 
 had been chosen for this interesting eere- 
 monj' because it was the birthday of the 
 Emperor of Russia." At two o'clock in 
 the afternoon the delegates assembled for 
 their first meeting, and it was found that 
 four rows of concentric, semi-circular 
 tables, covered with green baize, had been 
 provided, affording just one hundred 
 seats, — the exact number of delegates ex- 
 pected. These had been assigned to the 
 respective states in alphabetical order, 
 the French language being used, and the 
 United States having been classed as 
 Amerique shared with Germany (Alle- 
 magne) the seats of honor along the 
 centre of the room, and directly in front 
 of the president's chair. Upon investiga- 
 tion it was found that every delegate was 
 present at the first meeting. There was 
 no room for spectators or for journalists, 
 except in a narrow gallerj- in the cupola, 
 
 to which a few invited guests were ad- 
 mitted on the opening and closing days 
 of the Conference. At all other times all 
 besides members were rigidly excluded, 
 and visitors were not jiermitted even to 
 inspect the palace during the sessions of 
 the conference or any of its committees. 
 Every guarantee was thus given for com- 
 plete privacy and freedom of delibera- 
 tions. 
 
 That this was indeed an assembly rep- 
 resenting the world, a few facts selected 
 from an array of statistics brought to- 
 gether by Dr. Trueblood, in his interest- 
 ing volume on " The Federation of the 
 World," will abundantly demonstrate. 
 Twenty-four independent and two semi- 
 independent nations were present by their 
 delegates, — all the European nations, 
 twenty in number, two from North Amer- 
 ica, and four from Asia. The twenty-six 
 nations represented, with their depend- 
 encies, have a population of over twelve 
 hundred millions of people, or more 
 than four-fifths of the population of 
 the globe. Territorially, close to five- 
 sixths of the earth's surface was rep- 
 resented. The whole of Europe, the 
 wliole of North America, practically 
 the whole of Asia, most of Africa, 
 and of the islands of the sea par- 
 ticipated by direct or indirect rejiresenta- 
 tion, in this unique gathering. Only 
 South and Central America and a few 
 small sections of territory had no share 
 in it. Moreover no such array of tongues 
 ever came together since the differentia- 
 tion of human speech began. Though 
 French was the official language of the 
 deliberation of the Conference, the dele- 
 gates spoke, as their native tongues, no 
 less than twenty different languages. At 
 the Hague one might have heard English, 
 French, German, Spanish, Russian, Ital- 
 ian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, 
 Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, 
 Greek, Turkish, Roumanian, Bulgarian, 
 Servian, Hungarian, Polish, Prussian, 
 Siamese, and possibly Arabic. The men 
 of which the Conference was composed, 
 too, were among the most eminent public 
 men of the time. More than thirty were 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEEN CES — 1S99-1907 
 
 367 
 
 actual ambassadors or ministers pleniiio- 
 tentiary of their governments to foreign 
 courts, the men who constitute the most 
 powerful political tie binding the nations 
 together. Among the delegates also were 
 the eminent educators from both hemi- 
 spheres, distinguished students and ex- 
 pounders of international law, capable 
 and experienced jurists, eminent cabinet 
 officers, senators and representatives, and 
 military and naval experts of the first 
 rank. This bodj- of public men might 
 doubtless have been duplicated in ability, 
 experience and fitness, but it could not 
 probably have been surpassed by an equal 
 number from among living statesmen and 
 publicists. 
 
 The following distinguished gentlemen 
 were named by the President to represent 
 the United States at the Conference: 
 Hon. Andrew D. White, Ambassador to 
 Germany, elected President of the dele- 
 gation; Hon. Seth Low, President of 
 Columbia University; G. F. W. Holls, of 
 New York, an eminent lawyer, and later 
 the historian of the Conference; Captain 
 A. S. Mahan of the United States Navy; 
 and Captain W. Crozier of the Army. 
 
 The first meeting of the Conference 
 was called to order by the Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, W. 
 H. de Beaufort, who welcomed the dele- 
 gates most cordially in behalf of his gov- 
 ernment, expressing the conviction that 
 " the day of the meeting of this Confer- 
 ence will, beyond doubt, be one of the 
 days which will mark the history of the 
 century which is about to close;" and in 
 conclusion he expressed the desire that 
 the Presidency of the Assembly should 
 be conferred upon his Excellency M. 
 de Staal, the Ambassador of Russia, il. 
 de Staal accepted the ofiice in a very 
 graceful address in which he declared that 
 he " could not consider the election which 
 has been conferred upon me otherwise than 
 as a result of my being a plenipotentiary 
 of the Emperor, my Master, — the August 
 Initiator of the idea of this Conference." 
 Following his address of acceptance the 
 President proposed to send to Her Ma- 
 jesty, the Queen, " whose grateful guests 
 
 we are," this message: "Assembled fur 
 the first time in this beautiful ' House in 
 the Wood ' the members of the Confer- 
 ence hasten to place their best wishes at 
 the feet of your Majesty, begging the 
 acceptance of the homage of their 
 gratitude for the hospitality which you. 
 Madam, have so graciously deigned to of- 
 fer them." At the second session of the 
 Conference the President had the pleasure 
 of reading to the delegates the Queen's 
 reply in these words : " In thanking your 
 Excellency, as well as the members of the 
 Peace Conference, for the sentiment ex- 
 pressed in your telegram. I take this oc- 
 casion, with great pleasure, to repeat my 
 welcome to my counti-y. I wish most sin- 
 cerely that, with the aid of God, the work 
 of the Conference may realize the gen- 
 erous idea of your August Sovereign." 
 In his second letter to the Powers the 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted 1903 Itij J. E. Purdy, Boston. 
 .iNDUEW D. WHITE. 
 
 Emperor had suggested eight subjects 
 which he deemed of such a character that 
 they could be discussed without exciting 
 individual national animosities. The first 
 
5G8 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 four naturally g-rouped themselves under 
 the general head of military afiairs; the 
 next three under the head of subjects that 
 had been considered ijrcviously at the 
 Geneva Convention of 1864; while the 
 eighth covered the general jsroposition of 
 mediation and arbitration. In outlining 
 its work, therefore, the Conference divided 
 itself into three great or chief committees 
 and one of these general subjects enu- 
 merated was assigned to each. These Com- 
 mittees were subdivided, such sub-divi- 
 sions considering individual subjects 
 under the general head. The conclusions 
 of these sub-committees were first ap- 
 proved or rejected, or varied, by its grand 
 committee; and the approved findings of 
 
 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD. 
 
 these general committees were then taken 
 up and acted upon by the Conference as 
 a whole. The work was thus greatly sim- 
 ])lified and much friction and inauy 
 stormy debates unquestionably avoided 
 with the result that, though the Confer- 
 ence was in session from May 18 to July 
 29, seventy-two days, — it only met as a 
 plenary body ten times. But the story of 
 the routine activities of the members 
 shows tliat constant and devoted work 
 was being done b,y each, daily and nlglitly. 
 in the sub- or general-committees. 
 
 All the delegates who have written 
 upon the proceedings of the Conference 
 bear testimony to the fact that in its 
 earlier days a positive spirit of skepticism 
 and doubt, even of contempt for the whole 
 
 idea, possessed many of the representa- 
 tives assembled ; and it was only gradually 
 that this spirit disappeared as members 
 became better acquainted, and exchanged 
 views and sentiments with each other. 
 As soon as it became evident that tangi- 
 ble results could and would be secured, 
 all worked together harmoniously and 
 with unflagging zeal. Two things which 
 contributed especially to this end were 
 (1) the continuous round of social func- 
 tions in the city, which brought the dele- 
 gates together in a friendly way at teas, 
 dinners, and receptions; and (2) the fine 
 tact and generous and thoughtful hos- 
 pitality that was everj^vhere in evidence 
 on the part of the officers of the govern- 
 ment who had the provision for the com- 
 forts and necessities of the delegates in 
 chai'ge. This was well illustrated in the 
 assemblies at the " House in the Wood." 
 All the meetings of the Conference as a 
 whole or of its committees were held 
 there; and on evei'y occasion an elaborate 
 luncheon was served, care being always 
 taken by the master-of-ceremonies that 
 the same delegates should not be grouped 
 at the tables day after day, but new com- 
 binations made. Before the Conference 
 had come to the point of considering any 
 of the important subjects as a whole, 
 therefore, all the members had become 
 pleasantly and quite well acquainted. A 
 community of interest and a mutual re- 
 spect and regard had been established 
 which worked as a potent factor in all 
 their deliberations. After the formalities 
 of the organization had been completed 
 the Conference took up its routine work. 
 The eight subjects suggested by the Czar 
 were recognized by the delegates as con- 
 stituting their programme. In his open- 
 ing address Baron de Staal had limited the 
 scope of discussion in these terms: " It is 
 understood that outside of the topics men- 
 tioned above (the Czar's eight proposi- 
 tions), the Conference does not consider 
 itself competent to consider any other 
 question. In case of doubt the Conference 
 shall have to decide whether any proposi- 
 tion originating in the commissions, is 
 or is not within the scope of the topics 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEREISiCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 569 
 
 outlined." This ruling of the president 
 turned the discussion into well defined 
 channels and greatly simplified the work 
 of the delegates. It also served fre- 
 quently to dispose of some questions that 
 arose which threatened to scatter the 
 seeds of discord among the members. All 
 acquiesced in the position taken by Baron 
 de Staal ; and in the instances where new 
 propositions were suggested in the com- 
 missions, the Conference declined em- 
 phatically to consider them as within its 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 In the review of prevailing conditions 
 embraced in his first letter to the Powers 
 the Czar especially emphasized the exist- 
 ing and growing evil of excessive arma- 
 ments and the horrible expense of the 
 great military establishments. It is evi- 
 dent that this was, in his view, the subject 
 that should receive the especial attention 
 of the delegates to the Conference. Un- 
 fortunately, too, the public interest all 
 over the world had become fixed upon this 
 particular feature of the movement, and 
 had overlooked or minimized all other 
 questions. It was also the subject first 
 assigned to a general committee. When, 
 therefore, early in the proceedings, it be- 
 came evident that nothing whatever could 
 be accomplished looking toward disarm- 
 ing nor even a limitation of armaments, 
 public opinion was pronounced in its ex- 
 pression of disappointment and even dis- 
 gust, and the whole scheme of such a 
 Conference was declared a failure and its 
 proceedings a farce. Very soon after the 
 discussion of the question was begun in 
 Committee the military representatives of 
 Germany took such a position as to make 
 further consideration useless. The evil of 
 the situation was emphasized by the fact 
 that throughout the world the opinion 
 had gained foothold that the proposition 
 of the Czar contemplated actual and im- 
 mediate disarmament by the great mil- 
 itary Powers. But such was never the 
 idea. A limitation as to increase of arma- 
 ments was all that was meditated at the 
 time, with a hope for gradual disarma- 
 ment in the future as a result. Imme- 
 diately after the first suggestion of the 
 
 Conference Count Mouravieff urged the 
 British Ambassador to note " that this 
 eloquent appeal, which I have drawn up 
 at the dictation of the Emperor, does not 
 invite a general disarmament, as such a 
 proposal would not be likely to receive 
 general acceptance at present, nor does 
 His Iniperial Majesty look for an imme- 
 diate realization of the aims he has so 
 much at heart, but desires to initiate an 
 effort, the effects of which can only be 
 gradual." In opening the consideration 
 of the subject in committee Colonel 
 Gilinsky introduced the Russian proposi- 
 tions, prefacing them with an eloquent 
 and earnest address. " Gentlemen," said 
 he, " will the peoples represented in this 
 Conference be entirely satisfied if, in go- 
 ing hence, we take them arhitration and 
 the laws of warfare, but nothing for the 
 time of peace, — of this armed peace which 
 is so heavy a burden on the nations, which 
 crushes them to that point where it can 
 be sometimes said that open war would 
 perhaps he better than- this state of secret 
 war, this incessant competition in which 
 all the world pushes forward larger and 
 larger annies, — larger now in time of 
 peace than they used to be in times of 
 greatest warfare? The various countries 
 have engaged in war only once in every 
 twenty or tliirty years; but this armed 
 peace lasts for decades, it precedes war and 
 follows it." At the close of his address 
 Colonel Gilinsky submitted these proposi- 
 tions: 1. An international agreement for 
 the term of five years, stipulating the non- 
 increase of the present number of troops 
 maintained in time of peace in each 
 mother country. 2. The determination, in 
 case of this agreement, of the troops to be 
 maintained in time of peace by all the 
 powers, not including Colonial troops. 
 .3. The maintenance, for the same term 
 of five years, of the size of the militai-y 
 budget in force at the present time. 
 
 A captain of the Russian Navy presented 
 similar propositions to govern marine 
 forces and budgets, after which the 
 discussion became general. One of the 
 earliest and most determined opponents 
 of the whole Russian proposition was 
 
570 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 Colonel von Schwarzlioff, of the German 
 army, wlio entertained the Commission 
 with a very Kaiserish speech, which 
 aroused ill concealed irritation among- the 
 delegates. "As far as Germany is con- 
 cerned," he said, " I can reassure her 
 friends completely and dissipate all benev- 
 olent anxiety regarding her. The Ger- 
 man people are not crushed beneath the 
 weight of expenditures and taxes; they 
 are not hanging on the edge of a preci- 
 pice; they are not hastening towards ex- 
 haustion and ruin. Quite the contrary; 
 public and private wealth is increasing; 
 the general welfare and standard of life 
 are rising from year to year. As for com- 
 pulsory military service, which is inti- 
 mately associated with these questions, 
 the German does not regard it as a heavy 
 burden, but as a sacred and patriotic duty, 
 to the performance of which he owes his 
 existence, his prosperity, his future." 
 Strangely the bellicose Colonel did not 
 buttress his arguments by reference to the 
 fact of the emigration of some two or 
 three millions of his countrj-men to North 
 and South America within the preceding 
 twenty years that they might enjc.v under 
 less strenuous conditions the blessings 
 which the German military system offers. 
 Many earnest and eloquent protests were 
 entered against Germany's attitude, and 
 favoring the Russian proposals. Dr. 
 Stancioff, of Bulgaria, presented the in- 
 terest of the weaker nations, declaring 
 that " armed peace is ruinous for small 
 states, whose needs are numerous, and who 
 have everything to gain by investing- their 
 means in the development of industry and 
 agriculture, and in the requisites of prog- 
 ress." After considerable debate, how- 
 ever, it -was decided to refer the subject to 
 a military subcommittee, which was made 
 up of Colonels Gilinsky and Schwarzhoff, 
 and military representatives from five 
 other large powers and two small po-wers. 
 On June 30, this subcommittee reported 
 as follows : " The members of the com- 
 mittee charged with the examination of 
 the propositions of Colonel Gilinsky, i-e- 
 lating to the tirst topic of Count Moura- 
 
 vieff's circular, have met twice. With the 
 exception of Colonel Gilinsky they have 
 decided unanimously; first, that it would 
 be very difficult to fis, even for a term of 
 five years, the number of troops, without 
 at the same time regulating other elements 
 of the national defense; second, that it 
 would be no less difficult to regulate by 
 an international agreement the elements 
 of this defense, organized in each country 
 upon very different principles. Hence, 
 the Committee regrets its inability to ac- 
 cept the proposition made in the name of 
 the Russian government. The majority 
 of its members believe that a more thor- 
 ough study of the question by the 
 governments themselves would be desir- 
 able." 
 
 After this report had been presented 
 to the (leneral Committee and read the 
 President invited members to discuss it; 
 but as no one responded he declared 
 that the complete silence of the assembly 
 acted as an approval, and that under such 
 circumstances it was unnecessary to take 
 a vote. After the declaration of the Presi- 
 dent, however, several members seized the 
 opportunity to explain their position. 
 Baron de Bildt, of Sweden and Norway, 
 in particular, feelingly voiced his opinion 
 and that of his associates. Stating that 
 the Russian propositions were disapproved 
 by his country because of form only, not 
 because of their object, he concluded an 
 eloquent and feeling address as follows: 
 " We have, therefore, not been able to vote 
 for the Russian proposition, as it has been 
 formulated, and I state this fact with sin- 
 cere regret — I will say more — with 
 genuine sorrow. For, gentlemen, we are 
 about to terminate our labors, recogniz- 
 ing that we have been confronted with 
 one of the most important problems of the 
 century, and that we have accomplished 
 very little towards its solution. Let us 
 not indulge in illusions. When the re- 
 sults of our deliberations shall become 
 known, there will arise, notwithstanding 
 all that has been done for Arbitration, the 
 Red Cross, etc., a great cry: 'It is not 
 enough ! ' And this cry. ' it is not 
 enough,' most of us must conseientiouslv 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 571 
 
 acknowledge to be just. Our consciences,' 
 it is true, may also tell us in consolation 
 that we have done our duty, since we have 
 faithfully followed our instructions. But 
 I venture to say that this duty is not ful- 
 filled and that there yet remains some- 
 thing- else for us to accomplish. Permit 
 me to explain. The Czar's proposal (as 
 to armaments) has been strewn with all 
 the flowers of rhetoric by men much more 
 eloquent than I. It will sufiice for me to 
 say that, while his idea is grand and beau- 
 tiful, and while it responds to a desire felt 
 by thousands upon thousands of men, this 
 also is true ; it can not die. If the Czar 
 will only add to the nobility of heart and 
 generosity of spirit of which he has given 
 proof the virtue of perseverance the 
 triumph of his labors is assured. He 
 has received from Providence not only 
 the gift of power, but also that of Youth. 
 If the generation to which we belong is 
 not destined to accomplish the task, he 
 may count upon that which is coming to 
 take our places. The future belongs to 
 him. But, meanwhile, all of us who de- 
 sire to be, each in his little sphere of 
 activity, his humble and faithful co- 
 laborers, have the duty of seeking with 
 tenacity the means of doing better and 
 doing more, whether these means be found 
 in new conferences, in direct negotiations, 
 or, with all simplicity, in the setting of a 
 good example. This is the duty that is 
 left for us to fulfill!" This addrees is 
 reported to have created " a profound im- 
 pression " upon the delegates and under 
 its spell M. Bourgeois, of France, followed 
 with similar sentiments most forcefully 
 expressed. In conclusion he said: "If 
 sad necessity obliges us to renounce for 
 the ijresent a direct and positive agree- 
 ment on this proposition, we should en- 
 deavor to prove to public opinion that 
 we have at least sincerely examined the 
 problem presented to us. We shall not 
 have labored in vain if, in a formula of 
 general scope, we indicate the goal 
 towards which we desire, unanimously, I 
 hope, to see all civilized people advance." 
 In response to the President's request 
 that he should present his proposition in 
 
 writing for the consideration of the dele- 
 gates, M. Bourgeois offered the follow- 
 ing mild and inoffensive statement. " The 
 Commission believes that a limitation of 
 the military expenses which now burden 
 the world is greatly to be desired in the 
 interests of the ijrogress of the material 
 and moral well-being of mankind." This 
 declaration was adopted by the Committee 
 by acclamation ; and the deliberations con- 
 cerning the most impressive and import- 
 ant subject before the Conference were 
 at an end. The completed work Ol the 
 Conference, however, was expressed and 
 published in the form of six " Wishes," 
 three Conventions, and three Declarations. 
 These " Wishes " give expression to the 
 efforts of the Conference in distinction 
 from its achievements. The fourth Wish 
 supplemented .the proposition of M. 
 Bourgeois in these words : " The Con- 
 ference expresses the wish that the Gov- 
 ernments, taking into consideration the 
 proposals made at the Conference, may 
 examine the possibility of an agreement 
 as to the limitation of armed forces by 
 land and sea, and of war budgets." As 
 this question of Armaments was, in the 
 popular estimation, the imperative one be- 
 fore the Conference; and as no clear im- 
 pression has possessed public opinion as 
 to what was really done by the delegates, 
 it has seemed desirable to go into the pro- 
 ceedings somewhat in detail. That no 
 concrete results were achieved was de- 
 plored in every country. Peace-men and 
 the common people on whose shoulders 
 fall the burdens entailed by the enormous 
 military budgets of the nations awoke 
 from their dreams of the brighter days 
 about to dawn with a shock, and a sense 
 of wrong, if not of betrayal. But as 
 Baron de Bildt said of the Czar's pro- 
 posal, — " it can not die ! " It was a great 
 advance upon previously existing condi- 
 tions even to have got the subject before 
 a Conference of delegates representing 
 the leading nations of the whole earth. 
 To have " disarmament " and " limitation 
 of military budgets " in the air bodes 
 only good for the burdened nations and 
 
072 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 suffering- peoples, — and, most of all, for 
 Ijosterity. 
 
 The eighth of the subjects suggested by 
 the Czar for consideration was expressed 
 in these terms : " To accept in principle 
 the employment of good offices, of media- 
 tion, and facultative arbitration in cases 
 lending themselves thereto, with the ob- 
 ject of preventing armed conflicts between 
 nations ; to come to an understanding with 
 respect to the mode of applying- these good 
 offices, and to establish a uniform practice 
 in using them." Public opinion and de- 
 sire had been so centred upon the sub- 
 ject of disarmament that the possibilities 
 suggested by this article had received but 
 little thought and consideration. Yet it 
 was in the field of ai'bitration that the 
 most significant work of the conference 
 was accomplished. The last became first. 
 The third of the agreements formulated 
 by the delegates was entitled a " Conven- 
 tion for the Pacific Settlement of Inter- 
 national Disputes," which has since been 
 styled the " Mag-na Carta of Liternational 
 Law." Though even in this field the Con- 
 ference failed to secure as definite and 
 binding results as the lovers of Peace had 
 hoped, yet forces were set in motion and 
 principles accepted which would have been 
 regarded as Quixotic six months before. 
 A strong fight was made to have a con- 
 vention adopted involving the oliUgafory 
 submission of all disputed questions to 
 arbitration by the Powers; but this was 
 a step too far in advance at that time. 
 Many provisions, however, were made for 
 the peaceful settlement of disputes, and 
 the united sentiment of the delegates 
 favored their application. It is an un- 
 fortunate commentary upon the action of 
 the delegates at the Hague that two 
 horrible wars have occurred since the Con- 
 ference adjourned. It is, however, equally 
 true that two wars which threatened 
 the most serious results have been averted 
 by the application of the principles 
 of the " Convention for the Pacific Set- 
 tlement of Disputes," and that several 
 important international differences have 
 been settled by the Court of Arbitration 
 established; while a great number of 
 
 treaties looking toward the peaceful settle- 
 ment of all disputed questions have been 
 made between the leading nations of the 
 earth. So that, had the Conference of 
 1S99 done nothing more than to create 
 this arbitral sentiment, it would have been 
 one of the most successful and beneficent 
 of all the international conventions of 
 history. But it did achieve one positive 
 result which has already served a most 
 useful pvirpose. The crowning glory of 
 The Hague meeting: was the establishment 
 of a " Permanent International Court of 
 Arbitration," which is imquestionably 
 destined to become the most august and 
 influential tribunal of the civilized world. 
 In reporting the work of his Committee 
 to the Conference Chevalier Descamps 
 said of this creation: "When one seeks 
 through the history of international law, 
 from the day when that law was placed 
 upon a firm foundation by the man of 
 genius (Grotius) to whom America has 
 recently rendered brilliant homage on his 
 native soil, — when one seeks some page 
 eomparable with that which the Con- 
 ference of The Hague has just w'-itten, it 
 seems difficult to find one more fruitful ; " 
 and President de Staal in his final ad- 
 dress declared that the Convention which 
 established the permanent Court of Arbi- 
 tration, the rules which should govern it. 
 and the general principles of Arbitration 
 " opened a new era in the domain of inter- 
 national law " and established what 
 " would be called bj' posterity ' the first 
 international Code of Peace.'" Several 
 eases have already been brought before 
 this Court and acceptable decisions ren- 
 dered. But many critics have attempted to 
 minimize its importance by emphasizing 
 the fact that so few causes have been re- 
 ferred to it. It should be considered, how- 
 ever, that its whole principle was novel 
 and that it had no precedent ; and in ques- 
 tions of such supreme moment great 
 nations can hardly be expected to change 
 all their course of thought and action in 
 a decade. Even the Supreme Court of 
 the United States had been establishcil 
 two years before a case was brought before 
 it. 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 The true merit of the first Hague 
 Conference is to be found not so much in 
 its achievement as its prophecy. No 
 civilized people since it adjourned has 
 taken the same selfish views of its 
 " rights " and its methods of maintaining 
 them as it always before had done. A 
 new principle is in tlie air, which has af- 
 fected not only the plans and purposes of 
 sovereigns and statesmen but which has 
 mightily influenced and will continue to 
 influence the thought of every intelligent 
 man and woman on the globe. That this 
 is not theory merely was well evidenced 
 by the vast pressure of public opinion 
 upon the thought of the Second Confer- 
 ence. Deputations waited upon its mem- 
 bers, and addresses and petitions were laid 
 before them, from every part of the world. 
 Among the most important may be men- 
 tioned those from the International Coun- 
 cil of Women, with the signatures of two 
 million women living in twenty different 
 countries ; The Universal Alliance of 
 Women for Peace by Education, repre- 
 senting about five million women of all 
 civilized countries ; the International Fed- 
 eration of Students; twenty-three colleges 
 in the central west of the United States 
 representing twenty-seven thousand pro- 
 fessors and students; a petition for arbi- 
 tration bearing two and a quarter inillion 
 signatures collected through the efforts of 
 a single Boston teacher and iiresented by 
 her to the President of the Conference on 
 the Fourth of July; fifteen thousand citi- 
 zens of Sweden ; and innumerable Peace 
 Societies and organizations in every part 
 of the world. That the delegates to the 
 second Conference realized the importance 
 of this influence and were moved as well 
 as sustained by it was manifested in many 
 ways. In the course of an impressive ad- 
 dress M. Beernaert, of Belgium, reminded 
 his fellow delegates of their responsibility 
 to " that redoubtable Sovereign, public 
 opinion," declaring that it " is listening 
 to and watching us; and to-day there is 
 no assembly which must not sit with open 
 windows, listening to the voices fi'om out- 
 side." One of the most interested and 
 honored attendants upon the meetings of 
 
 both Conferences was the Baroness von 
 Suttner, author of that book which has 
 worked mightily for Peace, " Lay Down 
 Your Arms." Though engaged only as a 
 correspondent for the Press her wide ac- 
 quaintance among the delegates and famil- 
 iarity with every phase of the subjects dis- 
 cussed gave her a unique position among 
 those assembled at The Hague. Speaking 
 of the members of the Second Conference 
 she said: " That wdiich impresses me most 
 is their respectful obedience to the desires 
 of public opinion. If they oppose a re- 
 form, it is only because they are persuaded 
 that public opinion is indifferent to it. 
 If public opinion should express itself 
 with appropriate vigor, there is nothing 
 the Conference would not try to do. The 
 fact is that the delegates are only the 
 hands on a watch; their movements are 
 governed by a great invisible sjjring. 
 This spring is public opinion; not the 
 private opinion of individuals; but puhlic 
 opinion — opinion expressed, organized, 
 made palpable and even disagreeable to 
 those who oppose it. That is the master, 
 and even the god, of the Conference." 
 But the interesting fact regarding this in- 
 fluence of public opinion upon such a body 
 of delegates is that previous to the Con- 
 ference of 1899 it would hardly have been 
 seriously considered by statesmen and 
 diplomats in their consideration of inter- 
 national questions. The change in senti- 
 ment in this regard and the realization by 
 the people of the power they actually pos- 
 sessed if it was concretely expressed, es- 
 tablish a significant measure of the real 
 results achieved by that first Conference. 
 Shakespeare marked " how use doth » 
 breed a habit in a man ; " and another has 
 well said : " Habit in the individual or 
 custom in society is the dominant force in 
 all action." If few direct concrete results 
 can be traced to that act which history 
 will establish as the most significant, far- 
 reaching, and beneficent of all the royal 
 acts of the present Emperor of Russia, the 
 calling of the first Peace Conference, the 
 fact that it has made it habitual and 
 customary for all people of all lands to 
 think and talk of disarmament and arbi- 
 
574 
 
 PEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tratioii as not only desirable but possible 
 of attainment, is one of the most signifi- 
 cant achievements of modern times. A 
 seed was sown from ■which is growing- a 
 tree beneath whose branches all people 
 shall enjoy peace and " whose leaves shall 
 be for the healing of nations." 
 
 Phuto. Copyrighted 1905 by Rockwood, N. Y. 
 HORACE PORTER. 
 
 One of the leading factors in the peace 
 movement for several years has been the 
 organization known as the Interparlia- 
 mentary Union. This body is made up of 
 the elected representatives of the people 
 in the Congress of the United States, the 
 Parliament of Great Britain, the Con- 
 gresses of the American Republics, and, 
 with two exceptions, the Parliaments of 
 European States. Its object is stated to 
 be " to promote the spirit of peace and 
 friendliness among all the law-makers of 
 the world, and, by holding its meetings in 
 each of the countries in turn, to arouse 
 among the people themselves a genuine 
 love of international peace." At its meet- 
 ing at St. Louis in 1904, 'Mr. Richard 
 Bartholdt, of Missouri, founder of the 
 American group of the Interparliamentary 
 
 Union, oifered a resolution requesting all 
 the governments of the world to send dele- 
 gates to a second International Peace Con- 
 ference. The resolution was adopted unan- 
 imously, and a deputation of two hun- 
 dred members of the LTnion waited upon 
 President Roosevelt requesting him to 
 issue the call for such a conference. In 
 October, 190-1, Secretary Hay sent out a 
 circular note to the Powers embodying 
 suggestions as to the work of such a Con- 
 ference and suggesting The Hague as the 
 place for its meeting. As the Russo- 
 Japanese War was at its height, however, 
 other nations advised postponing the meet- 
 ing until it was ended. Early in 1906 the 
 Czar conveyed to President Roosevelt, 
 through the Russian Ambassador, his de- 
 sire to call the second Conference as he had 
 the first, provided it should be agreeable 
 to the President. As the latter graciously 
 yielded the honor to the Czar he soon 
 after sent out the invitations for the meet- 
 ing; but as the American Republics had 
 planned to hold the third Pan-American 
 Conference at Rio de Janiero in 1900, 
 the assembling of the delegates to The 
 Hague was postponed for the time, the 
 date of meeting being fixed later for June 
 15, 1907. 
 
 The delegates appointed to represent the 
 United States at the Second Hague Con- 
 ference were the Hon. Joseph H. Cheat e, 
 ex-Ambassador to Great Britain; General 
 Horace Porter, ex- Ambassador to France; 
 David Jayne Hill, the Minister to the 
 Netherlands; J. B. Scott, Professor of In- 
 ternational Law at Columbia University; 
 General George B. Davis, Judge Advocate 
 General of the United States Army; and 
 Admiral Charles S. Sperry, of the United 
 States Navy. 
 
 At the first Conference but twenty-six 
 nations, with their dependencies were 
 represented by one hundred delegates ; at 
 the second meeting two hundred and fifty- 
 six representatives of forty-four inde- 
 pendent powers assembled. This great in- 
 crease in the number of delegates necessi- 
 tated quite different arrangements from 
 those which were made in 1899. " The 
 House in the Wood" was not considered 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 0/0 
 
 large enough nor convenient for so 
 numerous an assemlilage. Consequently 
 one of the most historic buildings of 
 Europe was set apart for the meetings. 
 This Tvas the famous Eitter-zaal, the Hall 
 of Knights, which stands within the 
 " Binnenhof ," the old fortress of the city. 
 While, therefore, the first Conference met 
 in the famous House in the Wood, the 
 favorite residence of the young and beau- 
 tiful Queen, the second and larger body 
 assembled in a no less interesting building 
 about which clustered the memories of 
 many of the most noted and heroic events 
 of the earlier modern history. This was 
 the castle of the Counts of Holland, built 
 in the thirteenth century. Its great ban- 
 queting hall, where the Counts with their 
 Knights regaled themselves after their 
 hunting' expeditions, was restored in 1900, 
 and has since been used as the meeting 
 place of the States General of Holland. 
 
 As the work of the delegates in 1899 
 was facilitated by the hospitality and 
 social functions arranged by the generous 
 Nethcrlanders, so every effort was made 
 to meet the convenience and add to the 
 pleasure and comfort of the second body 
 of delegates. The government did not on 
 this occasion provide the agreeable lunches 
 which in 1899 did so much to promote 
 good fellowship among the delegates. 
 But the Queen graciously received all the 
 representatives at the palace in The 
 Hague, and gave an elaborate state dinner 
 to the delegates-in-chief at the palace in 
 Amsterdam. Excursions to various points 
 of interest were of frequent occurrence, 
 all of which tended to cultivate a friendly 
 spirit among the distinguished visitors 
 from so many countries. One of the most 
 elaborate and largest of the many recep- 
 tions was that given by the American 
 Minister and delegate, David Jayne Hill, 
 at the Hotel des Indes on .July 4. But the 
 most notable event outside the range of 
 official business was the laying of the cor- 
 ner stone of the new Temple of Peace, for 
 which Mr. Carnegie had generously con- 
 tributed a million and a quarter dollars. 
 The Netherlands government had donated 
 an attractive site for the building on the 
 
 most imposing avenue of the city; and 
 there is now approaching completion a 
 superb house for, and worthy of, the 
 sessions and library of the great Interna- 
 tional Court of Arbitration created by the 
 first Conference. At the laying of the 
 corner stone the disting-uished Nether- 
 lands' statesman, Jonkheer van Kamebeek, 
 delivered the principal address, as chair- 
 man of the building committee. M. Neli- 
 dow, of Russia, President of the Second 
 Conference, laid the stone and also made 
 an address. And to confirm the interest 
 of all nations represented in this great 
 work of establishing the principle of arbi- 
 tration Baron d'Estournelles, of France, 
 introduced a resolution at one of the meet- 
 ings of the general Conference " that each 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted im2 by J. S7 Purdy, Boston. 
 DAVID JAYNE HILL. 
 
 government represented at The Hague 
 should contribute to the erection of the 
 Palace of Peace by sending, after con- 
 sultation with the architect, materials of 
 construction and ornamentation represent- 
 ing the purest examples of its national 
 production, so that this Palace, an expres- 
 
5/6 
 
 iKOAI COLOAY TO WOliLD TOWER. 
 
 sion of universal good will and hope, may 
 be built of the very substance of all 
 countries." This sentiment was received 
 with marked enthusiasm and the resolu- 
 tion was at once unanimously adopted. 
 
 Of the delegates to the Conference of 
 1907 many had also represented their 
 countries at The Hague in ISilO, so that 
 methods of procedure had not to be 
 mapped out anew without jirecedents to 
 follow. The general routine order of the 
 previous Conference was followed, M. 
 Nelidow, the ranking member of the 
 Kussian delegation, being chosen i^resi- 
 dent of the body. The same plan was fol- 
 lowed as before in reference to the assign- 
 ment of subjects of discussion to com- 
 mittees and subcommittees. At the time 
 the Czar issued his second invitation to 
 the sovereign states to send delegates to 
 The Hague, as in 1S99, he suggested a 
 list of topics for discussion ; and in intro- 
 ducing the subject he said: "In taking 
 the initiative in convoking a second Con- 
 ference of the Peace, the Imperial Gov- 
 ernment has had in view the necessity of 
 giving a new development to the humani- 
 tarian principles which served as the basis 
 of work for the great international as- 
 sembly of 1899." After further prelimin- 
 ary remarks the circular concluded in 
 these terms: "Believing, then, that there 
 is reason at present for proceeding with 
 the examination of only those questions 
 which are especially prominent, inasmuch 
 as they have arisen from the experience 
 of recent years, and without raising those 
 which concern the restriction of military 
 or naval forces, the Imperial Goverjimcnt 
 proposes as the jirogrannne of the pro- 
 jected meeting the following principal 
 points." These points were under four 
 licads, with six subdivisions inider the 
 third whose general title was " The 
 Elaboration of a convention relative to 
 the laws and customs of ^laritime war- 
 fare." It is of marked significance that 
 from this programme the subject of arma- 
 ments is expressly eliminated, though it 
 lield the first position in the Czar's 
 previous scheme. Manifestly the results 
 of the war with Japan had materially 
 
 affected his Majesty's views upon this 
 subject. On the other hand arbitration, 
 which was the last of the eight subjects 
 jjroposed for discussion in 1899, is found 
 in the first place in 1907, and is intro- 
 duced in these words: "I. Improvements 
 in those provisions of the Convention rel- 
 ative to the settlement of international 
 disputes which have to do with the Court 
 of Arbitration and the International Com- 
 missions of Inquiry." As will be remem- 
 bered, at the meetings of 1899 the Baron 
 de Staal held the consideration of the 
 Conference strictly within the limits 
 established by the eight i^ropositions set 
 fdrtli by his sovereign. Doubtless mind- 
 ful of this fact several of the leading 
 nations, in accepting the Czar's invitation 
 to the Second Conference did so with the 
 reservation that the subjects to be con- 
 sidered and tlie range of discussion should 
 not be limited exclusively to the topics 
 suggested in Russia's note. The United 
 States, for example, reserved the right to 
 submit at least two other questions, the 
 r(>duction or limitation of armaments, and 
 an agreement to observe certain limita- 
 tions in the use of force for the collection 
 of ordinaiy public debts arising from con- 
 tracts. Great Britain declared that its 
 government considered it of great import- 
 ance that the subject of expenditures for 
 armaments should be discussed, and re- 
 served the right of introducing it. Spain 
 took a similar position upon the question 
 of armaments. Several countries also 
 declared their intention of refraining 
 from the discussion of any questions that 
 did not tend towards a practical result. 
 In this manner eleven countries reserved 
 the right to insist upon a variance of the 
 Czar's programme. 
 
 The Conference of 1907 was in session 
 from June 1.5 to October 18, eight weeks 
 longer than that of 1899, although it held 
 but one more plenary meeting. At the 
 first session which opened at three o'clock 
 on the afternoon of June 15, the Nether- 
 lands Minister of Foreign affairs wel- 
 comed the delegates to The Hague, 
 mentioning in his address the part played 
 in their convocation by the Czar and the 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 577 
 
 Queen. He also courteously referred to 
 the influence of the United States in 
 these words: "But I think it would be 
 improper' to omit at this hour the tribute 
 of our gratitude to the eminent states- 
 man who presides over the destinies of the 
 United States of America. President 
 Roosevelt has powerfully contributed to 
 the growth of the grain sowed by the 
 august initiator of the solemn interna- 
 tional assemblies convoked for the discus- 
 sion and better definition of the rules of 
 international law." As in 1899 M. de Staal 
 the head of the Russian delegation was 
 chosen president of the Conference, so in 
 1907 the same honor was conferred upon 
 the leading representative of the Czar, 
 M. Nelidow. After organization Lad been 
 completed, committees were appointed, to 
 each of which was assigned one of the 
 topics suggested in the Czar's circular. 
 These committees were variously subdi- 
 vided for the consideration of minor di- 
 visions of the general committee's sub- 
 ject. In all, more than one hundred and 
 sixty meetings of the delegates in plenary 
 Conference or in committees were held; 
 and as many of these meetings were pro- 
 tracted discussions of serious problems 
 which covered several hours each, it is 
 manifest that the delegates were not 
 idle at any time. 
 
 It is impossible to follow the work of 
 the Convention in detail. Several 
 volumes have been written upon the sub- 
 ject, among the most valuable of which are 
 ]\Ir. Holls's, " History of the Hague Con- 
 ference (1899); and W. I. Hull's, "The 
 Two Hague Conferences," to the latter of 
 which, particularly, we are indebted for 
 much valuable material. The President 
 of the American delegation to the first 
 Conference, Andrew D. White, kept a 
 careful private journal of his interests 
 and movements during- the sessions, 
 which he has embodied in the second 
 volume of his most interesting Autobiog- 
 raphy, recently published. In this work, 
 as nowhere else, one can get the view of a 
 most intelligent observer of each day's 
 proceedings, as well as familiar descrip- 
 tions of many of the leading statesmen 
 37 
 
 and diplomats assembled, and an enter- 
 taining account of the social life of the 
 delegates while the guests of the most 
 kindly and hospitable Netherlandors. 
 
 The discussion of the question of 
 Armaments, however, deserves some at- 
 tention, not because of concrete results 
 obtained, but for the sentiments so elo- 
 quently expressed by Sir Edward Fry, 
 Great Britain's first delegate. The 
 British delegation was particularly 
 spurred to action upon this subject by 
 public opinion at home, as a lively agita- 
 tion was being maintained by the members 
 of the Interparliamentary Union and 
 various peace societies. It was not until 
 the plenary session of August 17, how- 
 ever, that Sir Edward introduced the sub- 
 ject, first quoting the notable warning as 
 to increase of armaments contained in the 
 Czar's first circular letter of 1898. 
 Continuing, he said : " These words, so 
 eloquent and so true when they were first 
 written, are to-day still more real and 
 true. For, Mr. President, since that time 
 military expenses, alike for armies and 
 navies, have considerably increased. Thus, 
 according to the most exact information 
 which I have received, these expenditures 
 attained in 1898 (that is, the year im- 
 mediately preceding the first Conference 
 at The Hague) a total of more than two 
 hundred and fifty-one millions of pounds 
 sterling ($1,25.5,000,000) for the countries 
 of Europe, — with the exception of Turkey 
 and Montenegro, about which I have uo 
 information, — the United States, and 
 Japan; whereas the same expenditures 
 by the same countries in 1906 exceeded a 
 total of three hundred and twenty million 
 pounds sterling ($1,600,000,000). Such 
 are the excessive expenditures which could 
 be devoted to better purposes; such, Mr. 
 President, is the burden under which our 
 peoples groan; such is the Christian peace 
 of the civilized world in the twentieth 
 century. ... In the older days of an- 
 tiquity, Mr. President, men dreamed of a 
 golden age which was said to have existed 
 on earth in times long before. But in all 
 centuries and among all nations, poets, 
 sibjds, proijhets, and all noble and inspired 
 
578 
 
 FROM COLOi\y TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 souls have nourished the hope that that 
 K'olden age would return in the form of 
 the reign of universal peace. 
 " ' Ultima Cumaei venit jam earminis stas 
 
 Jlasnus ab iutegro sseculorum nascitur 
 ovdn 
 
 Jam redit et virgo: redeunt Saturnia 
 regiia.' 
 
 " Such was the dream of the Latin poet 
 of his age; but to-day the belief in the 
 solidarity of the human race is spread, 
 more than ever before, over all the earth. 
 It is this belief which has made possible 
 the convocation of the present Confer- 
 ence; and it is in the name of this belief 
 that I beseech you not to separate without 
 having demanded that the governmenis of 
 the world shall devote themselves reri/ 
 scrioiisly to the question of tnilitnrii ex- 
 penditures. ... In conclusion, then, 
 Mr. President, I have the honor of pro- 
 posing the adoption of the following reso- 
 lution : 'The Conference confirms the 
 resolution adopted by the Conference nf 
 fS99 in regard to the restriction of mili- 
 tary e.'ipenditures ; and, since military ex- 
 penditures have increased considerably in 
 nearly every country since the said year, 
 the Conference declares that it is highly 
 desirable to see the governments take up 
 the serious study of this question.' " After 
 the representatives of several states had 
 indorsed the position advanced by Great 
 Britain, the resolution was adopted by ac- 
 clannition; and the Second Peace Con- 
 ference had finished its consideration of 
 this vexatious question. 
 
 Tlinngh nuieh routine work was done 
 by the delegates and many new measures 
 of importance were inaugurated, a large 
 proportion of the time of the Conference 
 was spent in enlarging the scope and but- 
 tressing the foundations of principles 
 wdiieh were established in 1899. As has 
 alrea<ly been stated the emphasis of the 
 call i'cir the second meeting was placed 
 upon arbitration, and most of the dele- 
 gates had high hopes of securing marked 
 results. Even here, however, the results 
 were disappointing to the delegates and to 
 the i)ublic. Nothing less than ohligatonj 
 arhilralion was the goal at which the dele- 
 
 gates from the United States and a few 
 other countries aimed. But a recognition 
 of the worlli of Ihe principle was all that 
 could be secured. The subject was debated 
 long and acrimoniously, with the result 
 that the Conference finally voted with 
 practical unanimity that certain differ- 
 ences, especially those relating to the in- 
 terpretation and application of in- 
 ternational treaties, 'nay properly be sub- 
 ject to obligatory arb'tration without any 
 restriction whatever; while the delegates 
 congratulated themselves " that the diver- 
 sities of opinion revealed in the long de- 
 bate did not exceed the bounds of juristic 
 controversy." In its report to the home 
 government the United States delegation 
 said : " It may be admitted that the es- 
 liihlisliment of the principle of obligatory 
 arbitration is an advance. It is, however, 
 not the great advance so earnestly desired ; 
 for a concrete treaty embodying the prin- 
 ciple would have been infinitely more val- 
 uable than the declaration of obligatory 
 arbitration, however solemnly made." 
 Doubtless this is the most reasonable 
 view one can take; for much certainly was 
 accomplished when, after long and thor- 
 ough discussion, even the principle was 
 accepted. 
 
 As is well known the Conference of 
 1899 established a Permanent Court of 
 Arbitration, and adopted a Code of Pro- 
 i-edure for the conduct of causes before it. 
 Article XX. of the " Convention for the 
 Pacific Settlement of International Dis- 
 putes" read as follows: "With the ob- 
 ject of facilitating an immediate recourse 
 to arbitration for international difFer- 
 ences, which it has not been possible to 
 settle by diplomacy, the Signatory Powers 
 undertake to organize a permanent Court 
 of Arbitration, accessible at all times and 
 operating, unless otherwise stipulated by 
 the parties, in accordance with the Rules 
 "f Procedure inserted in the present Con- 
 vention." Then follow the stipulations as 
 to an " International Bureau, establishcil 
 at The Hague" which serves as the " rec- 
 ord office of the Court," and is the " chan- 
 nel for communications relative to the 
 meetings of the Court." Article XXVII. 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFEEENCES — 18!)9-1907. 
 
 57!) 
 
 of the same Convention reads: "The 
 Signatory Powers consider it their duty, 
 if a serious dispute threatens to break 
 out between two or more of them, to re- 
 mind these latter that the Permanent 
 Court is open to them. Consequently, 
 they declare that the fact of reminding 
 the conriicting jiarties of the provisions of 
 the present Convention, and the advice 
 given to them, in the highest interests of 
 Peace, to have recourse to the Permanent 
 Court, can only be regarded as friendly 
 action." The establishment of this Court 
 was a marked advance upon any com- 
 munity of interest among the nations of 
 the world that had ever existed before; 
 but it was far from being an ideal 
 measure. To avail themselves of its 
 beneficent action the parties to a dispute 
 must first agree together to submit their 
 grievances to its judgment, and to be 
 bound by its award. Then would follow the 
 somewhat troublesome, tedious, and expen- 
 sive process of selecting the judges from a 
 large number to be named. The Confer- 
 ence decided that in making up a list of 
 permanent judges " each signatory power 
 shall select not more than four persons 
 of recognized competence in questions of 
 international law, enjoying the highest 
 moral reputation, and disposed to accept 
 the duties of arbitration." When two con- 
 tending powers agree to arbitrate, each 
 must choose two arbitrators from the per- 
 manent list of judges, and these four shall 
 choose a fifth. It will be readily seen that 
 this measure did not provide a "Per- 
 manent Court " in any proper sense. As 
 the membership of the Court was finally 
 established in 1901, upward of fifty judges 
 were named, representing fifteen of the 
 great nations of the world. Those ap- 
 pointed by the United States were ex- 
 President Benjamin Harrison, Chief Jus- 
 tice Fuller of the Supreme Court, ex- 
 Attorney-General John W. Griggs, and 
 Judge George Gray of the United States 
 Circuit Court. The usefulness of this 
 Court was increased by one of the addi- 
 tional articles relating to its procedure 
 which were determined upon by the Con- 
 ference of 1907. By its provisions either 
 
 disputant, if an agreement to arbitrate 
 with its opponent cannot be reached, and 
 M-ithout waiting for the reminder from 
 the Powers, may of its own initiative re- 
 port its willingness to arbitrate to The 
 Hague Bureau, which shall then inform 
 all the Powers of the fact, leaving them 
 to perform their duty in the jiremises. 
 
 The Court as thus established, however, 
 was not satisfactory to the Powers, not- 
 withstanding the fact that it did notable 
 service to the world in four important 
 cases; and to cure its defects and weak- 
 nesses was the high purpose which tlie 
 United States delegation to the Confer- 
 ence of 1907 set before itself. Without 
 disturbing the Permanent Court estab- 
 lished in 1899, and leaving its use open 
 to all the Powers if they preferred its pro- 
 cedure, it was proposed in 1907 to es- 
 tablish a " Permanent Court of Arbitral 
 Justice." When the Conference came to 
 the consideration of the question both the 
 United States and Russia presented plans 
 for its organization ; but the American 
 plan was taken as the basis for discussion. 
 Before the question went to its special 
 Committee a preliminary discussion took 
 place which was opened by the eminent 
 jurist of the Netherlands, M. Asser. •' In- 
 stead of ■ a Permanent Court," he said, 
 " the Convention of 1899 gave only the 
 phantom of a Court, an impalpable spec- 
 ter, or, to speak more precisely, it gave a 
 secretariat and a list. And when two 
 powers, having a difference to settle. . . 
 demand that the doors of the Court at The 
 Hague be opened to them, the Secretary- 
 General, thanks to the munificence of Mr. 
 Carnegie, can show them a splendid hall, 
 but instead of a Court he can only pre- 
 sent to them a list on which they may 
 find a large number of names of persons 
 of a recognized competence, etc. . . . 
 You remember, gentlemen, how a great 
 monarch, — who was not only a famous 
 general but a iihilosopher as well, trained 
 in the French school of the eighteenth 
 century, — on the point of committing an 
 injustice, was struck by the exclamation 
 of a simple miller, who reminded him 
 that 'There are Judges at Berlin;' and 
 
580 
 
 FROM COLUXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 how, ' charmed that beneath his swaj^ jus- 
 tice was believed in,' he submitted to the 
 simple miller's suit. Then, gentlemen, 
 when some day a tribunal truly permanent 
 shall sit here ... it will not be with- 
 out practical result that the nations shall 
 invoke the famous article inspired by 
 France — the article of Duty, — and shall 
 say to a state on the point of committing 
 an injustice, ' There are judges at The 
 Hague.' " Other delegates followed in 
 the same sentiment ; but the address of 
 Mr. Choate, outlining and explaining the 
 plan of the United States, was the most 
 effective and received the most marked 
 attention. Referring to the defects of 
 the existing Court he said: "The fact 
 that there was nothing permanent or con- 
 tinuous or connected in the sessions of 
 the Court, or in the adjudication of the 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted 1902 t'lt Rockwood, A'. Y. 
 JOSEPH H. CHOATE. 
 
 cases submitted to it, has been an obvious 
 source of weakness and want of prestige 
 in the tribunal. Each trial it had before 
 it has been wholly indeisendent of every 
 other, and its occasional utterances, widely 
 distant in point of time and disconnected 
 
 in subject-matter, have not gone far 
 toward constituting a consistent body of 
 international law or valuable contribution 
 to international law, which ought to 
 emanate from an international tribunal 
 representing the power and might of all 
 nations. In fact it has thus far been a 
 Court only in name, a framework for the 
 selection of referees for each particular 
 case, never consisting of the same judges. 
 It has done great good as far as it has 
 been permitted to work at all. but our 
 effort should be to try to make it the 
 medium of vastly greater and constantly 
 increasing benefit to the nations and to 
 mankind at large. Let us. then, seek to 
 develop out of it a Permanent Court 
 which shall hold regular and continuous 
 sessions, which shall consist of the same 
 judges, which shall pay due heed to its 
 own decisions, which shall speak with the 
 authority of the united voice of the na- 
 tions and gradually build up a system of 
 international law, definite and precise, 
 which shall command the approval and 
 regulate the conduct of the nations." Mr. 
 Choate then outlined in detail the Amer- 
 ican plan, taking pains to declare that the 
 proposed Court was not intended to de- 
 stroy, but only to supplement the existing 
 Court, and that any nations which desired 
 to do so might still resort to the method 
 of selecting arbitrators provided in 1899. 
 In closing his address Mr. Choate made 
 a most earnest appeal for united and de- 
 termined action. " Mr. President," he 
 said, " with all the earnestness of which 
 we are capable, and with a solemn sense 
 of the obligations and responsibilities 
 resting upon us as members of this Con- 
 ference, which in a certain sense holds in 
 its hand the fate and fortunes of the na- 
 tions, we commend the scheme which we 
 have thus proposed to the careful consid- 
 eration of our sister nations. We cherish 
 no pride of opinion as to any point or 
 feature that we have suggested in regard 
 to the constitution and powers of the 
 court. We are ready to yield any or all 
 of them for the sake of harmony; but we 
 do insist that this great gathering of all 
 the nations will be false to its work if it 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1890-1907. 
 
 581 
 
 does not strain every nerve to bring about 
 the establishment of some such great and 
 permanent tribunal which shall, by its 
 supreme authority, compel the attention 
 and deference of the nations that we rep- 
 resent, and bring to adjudication before 
 it differences of an international char- 
 acter. Let us then, Mr. President, make 
 a supreme effort to attain, not harmony 
 only, but comijlete unanimity in the ac- 
 complishment of this great measure, which 
 shall contribute more than anything else 
 we can do to establish justice and peace 
 on everlasting foundations. . . . Gen- 
 tlemen, it is now six weeks since we first 
 assembled. There is certainly no time to 
 lose. We have done much to regulate war, 
 hut vf'i-y little to prevent it. Let us unite 
 on this great pacific measure and satisfy 
 the world that this second Conference 
 really intends that hereafter peace and not 
 war shall be the normal condition of civil- 
 ized nations." 
 
 When, however, the proposition got be- 
 fore its sub-committee the opposition be- 
 gan to develop. It was first voiced by M. 
 Beernaert, of Belgium, who replied to the 
 criticism of the existing Court, which he 
 prized highly and unhesitatingly expressed 
 his preference for. " The question at 
 issue," he said, " is the same as that long 
 debated in 1899, namely: Is it better to 
 establish a truly permanent tribunal, in 
 which judges few in number and immov- 
 able or nearly so, will have to decide the 
 disputes of the various states of the whole 
 civilized world ? " To answer this question 
 in the affirmative he considered in line 
 with those "vast projects, according to 
 which the reorganized world shall form 
 henceforth a single state, or at least a 
 federation of states, having a single par- 
 liament, a single executive, a single 
 superior court of justice. ... In my 
 opinion, this is lamentable exaggeration 
 of ideas which are true in tliemselves and 
 which do honor to our century. They are 
 moving across the world at this moment 
 in great waves of fraternity and solidar- 
 ity. Men of different races know each 
 other now, and are no longer enemies. An 
 assembly like this, of which our fathers 
 
 did not even dream, astonishes no one. 
 This is the result of the enormous prog- 
 ress of all the sciences, which have an- 
 nihilated distance, intertwined interests, 
 and mingled the races. But, on the other 
 hand, never has the feeling of nationality 
 been more alive, and old nations and old 
 tongues, which were believed to be asleep, 
 have been seen to arise and demand again 
 their place in the sunshine. None of us 
 would wish to renounce his country, — his 
 country fond and dear; and none of us 
 would consent to be governed from a great 
 distance. We must, then, I believe, dis- 
 card as a mere LTtopia the dream of a 
 world-state or a universal federation, of a 
 single parliament and a Court of justice 
 superior to the nations." M. Beernaert 
 then considered the method of selecting 
 judges, introducing the question about 
 which all hostility to the measure centred. 
 " The larger number of nations would not 
 have a judge of tlieir own on the tribunal," 
 he said, " and how can it command their 
 confidence ? " 
 
 M. Beernaert thus set up the issue which 
 proved to be the rock upon which the 
 Committee split. All the smaller nations 
 rallied about his position and made unan- 
 imity of action impossible. M. Euy Bar- 
 bosa, of Brazil, became the champion of 
 the cause of the smaller states, maintain- 
 ing his position with earnestness, elo- 
 quence, and great learning. He argned 
 forcibly against the establishment of a 
 Court which should supersede all others, 
 and esjiecially insisted upon the principle 
 of international equality in the constitu- 
 tion of the new Court. M. Bourgeois, of 
 France, earnestly supported the United 
 States delegation in its contentions. In 
 concluding an impressive argument he 
 said : " We shall hope for, and we shall 
 greet with joy, the day when, beside the 
 Court of 1899, or better, at its own fire- 
 side and perhaps created by itself, there 
 shall exist a permanent tribunal for af- 
 fairs of a judicial kind, under such condi- 
 tions that the smallest as well as the 
 largest states shall find in it equal guar- 
 antees for the definition and security of 
 their rights. The world desires peace. 
 
582 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 For centuries it clung solely to tlie motto, 
 ' If you desire peace, prepare for war ; ' 
 that is to say, it confined itself to the mil- 
 itary orgaiiizatio'ii of peace. We are no 
 longer at tliat stage of progress ; but we 
 must not be content with promoting the 
 more humane organization, the peaceful 
 organization of icar. The words i^'hich 
 have been uttered here have showed us the 
 progress of education in this respect, the 
 feeling, now and each day more urgent. 
 . of the solidarity of men and nations, in 
 the struggle with the fatalities of nature. 
 We have confidence in the growing activ- 
 ity of these great moral forces, and we 
 hope that the Conference of 1907 will take 
 a decisive step beyond the work under- 
 taken in 1899 hy insuring practically and 
 really the judicial organization of peace. ' 
 The sub-committee to which the con- 
 sideration of this question was referred 
 consisted of twenty-three members, rep- 
 resenting sixteen nations. M. Bourgeois, 
 of France, was its jiresident, and Dr. 
 Scott, of the United States delegation, 
 acted as its reporter. The subject was 
 earnestly discussed for five weeks and Mr. 
 Choate, particularly, exhausted evei-y re- 
 source of argument and diplomacy to se- 
 cure practical results. Thirty-five articles 
 were agreed upon, and were adopted by 
 the Committee and Conference. Provi- 
 sions were made for the term of office, 
 privileges, and salary of the judges; for 
 the name, place of meeting, sessions, re- 
 ports, jurisdiction, and procedure of the 
 Court. As Dr. Scott said: "We have 
 not only wished to erect the fine facade 
 of the Palace of International Justice; 
 we have built and even furnished the 
 structure in such fashion that the judges 
 have only to take their seats." But the 
 supreme question of how the judges 
 sliould be selected or determined upon 
 could not be settled. The smaller states 
 with their insistence upon the claims of 
 their nations balked every attempt to 
 solve it. Ever.v provision was made for 
 a Court without judges. " For the number 
 and method of selection of the judges 
 could not be agreed upon; and these 
 features of the proposed Court both its 
 
 advocates and opponents agreed in calling 
 its capital, its fundamental, its essential 
 ones." 
 
 A distinct achievement, however, of the 
 Conference of 1907 was the establishment 
 of an " International Prize Court." 
 Though this partakes largely of the char- 
 acter of the other actual achievements of 
 the two Conferences, which serve chiefly 
 to regulate the conduct of wars rather 
 than establish precedents for peace, it was 
 an accomplishment worthy of note. It is 
 hoped and believed, too, that its methods 
 of selecting judges and conducting its 
 functions will make easier the completion 
 in a satisfactory and harmonious manner 
 of the unfinished work of the Conference 
 in establishing the Court of Arbitral 
 Justice. 
 
 Before its final adjournment the Con- 
 ference considered a resolution, proposed 
 by the United States delegation, provid- 
 ing for the convening of a third Confer- 
 ence in 1914. After considerable delibera- 
 tion the delegates adopted a " wish," 
 which was incorporated in the Final Act, 
 in these words: "The Conference recom- 
 mends to the Powers the reunion of a 
 third Peace Conference, which shall take 
 place within a period analogous to that 
 which has elapsed since the preceding 
 Conference, at a date to be fixed by com- 
 mon agreement among the Powers, and it 
 calls their attention to the necessity of 
 preparing for the work of this third Con- 
 ference long enough in advance to insure 
 the pursuit of its deliberations with the 
 requisite authority and rapidity. To at- 
 tain this end, the Conference considers 
 it very desirable that about two years be- 
 fore the probable date of the reunion a 
 preparatory committee be charged by the 
 governments with the duty of collecting 
 the various propositions to be submitted 
 to the Conference, of investigating mat- 
 ters susceptible of future international 
 regulation, and of preparing a programme 
 to be approved by the governments soon 
 enough to i^ermit its serious study in each 
 country. This Committee shall also be 
 charged with the duty of proposing a 
 
THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES — 1899-1907. 
 
 583 
 
 mode of org-anization and procedure for 
 the Conference itself." 
 
 In his instructions to the delegation to 
 the Second Conference from the United 
 States, our distinguished ex-Secretary of 
 State, Elihu Root, referred to this propo- 
 sition in these words : " The immediate 
 results of such a Conference must always 
 be limited to a small part of the field 
 which the more sanguine have hoped ti.i 
 see covered; but each successive Confer- 
 ence will make the positions reached in 
 the preceding Conference its point of de- 
 parture, and will bring to the considera- 
 tion of further advances toward interna- 
 tional agreement opinions affected by the 
 acceptance and application of the pre- 
 vious agreements. Each Conference will 
 inevitably make further progress and, by 
 successive steps, results may be accom- 
 plished which have formerly appeared im- 
 possible. . . . Tlte most valuable re- 
 sult of the Conference of 1899 was that it 
 made the work of the Conference of 1907 
 possible. The achievements of the two 
 Conferences justify the belief that the 
 world has entered upon an orderly process 
 through which, step by step, in successive 
 conferences, each taking the work of its 
 predecessor as its point of departure, there 
 may he continual progress toward mahing 
 the practice of civilized nations conform 
 to their peaceful professions." 
 
 An effort has been made to give an out- 
 line sketch of the foundation, meetings, 
 and transactions of the two Hague Con- 
 ferences. It has been popular with a large 
 portion of the press and with many al- 
 leged statesmen to decry the usefulness of 
 these meetings and thereby to discredit 
 the whole theory of a world peace. No 
 one will claim that either Conference 
 achieved what was hoped would result 
 from its deliberations. But no reasonable 
 person can study the subject, even super- 
 ficially, without being convinced that a 
 mighty advance has been made toward the 
 unifying of the hopes and aspirations of 
 all mankind. Extended quotations have 
 been made from some of the notable ad- 
 dresses made at the meetings, not only to 
 give the reader an idea of the sincerity of 
 
 purpose and earnestness of the delegates, 
 but also to demonstrate how emphatically 
 these delegates, — easily the foremost men 
 of each of the nations represented, — rec- 
 ognized the imperative demands of the 
 people that ivars shall cease. Not in a 
 single address was the ultimate success 
 of this crusade for peace questioned. 
 
 Photo. Cuiiyrightcd by J. K. PuvcUj, Boston, 
 ELmu ROOT. 
 
 Vested and special interests, politicians, 
 and greedy seekers for wealth may decry 
 all peace movements and the futility of 
 all demands for disarmament and obliga- 
 tory arbitration of disputes between na- 
 tions; shouting old and discredited cries 
 such as " in peace, prepare for war," con- 
 gresses and parliaments may vote to in- 
 crease the military strength of their re- 
 spective countries and add to the burdens 
 of debt and taxation that the people must 
 bear. But no great conception like that 
 of universal peace has ever yet taken pos- 
 session of the minds of the people of a 
 single state, not to speak of the world, 
 without ultimate and not long-deferred 
 realization. The "Mills of God" may 
 
584 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD I'OWEIJ. 
 
 griiK.l slowly, but — they grind. And no 
 more encouraging proof of the approach- 
 ing fulfillment of the prophesy of the 
 Angels near two thousand years ago — - 
 "Peace on Earth; good will to men'' — 
 has ever been vouchsafed the weary 
 watchers for that consummation than was 
 furnished by the untiring, intelligent, ex- 
 alted purposes and labors of the distin- 
 guished delegates to the two Hague Con- 
 ferences, and by their constantly ex- 
 pressed conviction that the utmost they 
 could achieve would not reach the measure 
 of what they conceived the universal pop- 
 ular sentiment demanded. 
 
 One of the most earnest and intelligent 
 of the delegates at both Conferences was 
 M. Martens, of Russia, also one of the 
 highest authorities of the world on inter- 
 national law. In concluding an earnest 
 appeal for harmony at the last Confer- 
 ence he said : " Allow me a few words 
 more from the bottom of my heart. There 
 have always been in history epochs when 
 grand ideals have dominated and en- 
 thralled the souls of men; sometimes it 
 was religion, sometimes a system of phil- 
 osophy, sometimes a political theory. The 
 
 most shining example of this kind was the 
 Crusades. From all countries arose the 
 cry, ' To Jerusalem ! God wills it ! ' Ta- 
 day the great ideal which dominates our 
 time is arhitraiion; we hear the unani- 
 mous cry, ever since the year 1899, ' To 
 The Hague ! To The Hague ! ' If we are all 
 agreed that this ideal shall take body and 
 soul, we may leave The Hague with up- 
 lifted head and peaceful conscience; and 
 History will inscribe within her annals: 
 ' The members of the Second Peace Con- 
 ference have deserved well of humanity.' " 
 
 " ^len, my brothers, men the workers, 
 
 ever reaping something new; 
 That which they have done but earnest of 
 
 the things that they shall do ; 
 For I dipt into the future far as liuman 
 
 eye could see, 
 Saw the vision of the world, and all the 
 
 wonder that would be, — 
 
 Till the war-drum tJiruhh'd no longer, and 
 
 /he haltle-flaf/s were furl'd 
 In the Parliament of man. the Federation 
 
 of the world." 
 
 (Tennyson.) 
 
XLIX. 
 
 THE DESTEUCTION OF GALVESTON - 1900. 
 
 Sublime Faith and Heroism of Stricken Peoples. — Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, San Fran- 
 cisco. — Peculiar Location of Galveston. — Importance as Sea Port. — Converging Point of 
 Fifty-three Steamship Lines. — The " Oleander City." — The Terrible Hurricane of September 
 8, 1300. — Winds Began to Rise Early in Forenoon. — Constantly Changing Direction They 
 Covered Every Point of Compass. — Rapidly Increasing Velocity. — ''Every Building on 
 Island Trembled, Many Rooking Like Boats." — Velocity of Wind One Hundred and Ten 
 Miles an Hour in Evening. — Whole City Prepares for Death. — At Convent the Sacrament 
 Administered to All. — At Orphan Asylum Xuns Tied Little Charges in Bunches, Each 
 Sister Fastening Bunch to Herself. — All Perished Together. — Great Rafts of Wreckage 
 Hurled in Every Direction b.y Wind and Waves. — Veritable Battering Rams. — After Nine 
 P. M., Began to Subside. — Pastor and Family and Three Quarters of Entire Congregation 
 Drowned. — Within a Week Six Thousand Bodies Recovered. — Probably Another Thousand 
 AVashed Out to Sea. — Wonderful Recuperative Powers of People. — Committee of Safety. — 
 The Deep-water Commission. — New City Charter. — Mammoth Sea Wall. — Total Surface 
 Level of City Raised from Five to Eighteen Feet. — The New Government By Commission; 
 " Tlie Galveston Plan." — Result of Its Work in Relniilding and Redeeming Galveston. — 
 Adopted in Many Otlier Cities. 
 
 " Great things thro' greatest hazards are achiev'd. 
 And then they shine." — Beaumont axd Fletcher. 
 
 HERE is nothing' iu all histoiy more splendid and inspiring 
 than the record of the sublime faith and courage that has 
 been manifested by the people of American cities -^'hich 
 have by fire, or earthquake, or flood been practically de- 
 stroyed, only to rise again within a few months or years 
 more beautiful than before, and better equipped in eveiy 
 ■way for the conduct of the business of great commercial 
 centres. The story of the rise of Chicago, Boston, Balti- 
 more, San Francisco from wide-spread ruin and devasta- 
 tion to greater eminence and opulence savors of the tales 
 of the Arabian Nights, or the fertile imagination of Jules Verne. The American 
 fseople, engrossed in the struggle for commercial supremacy and wealth, have too 
 often been oblivious of the high moral and civic virtues whose constant exercise 
 can alone insure good government. But when brought face to face with dire 
 calamity, the g-rosser nature has at once given place to such superb exhibitions of 
 self-denial and moral and physical heroism as to make every American proud 
 that he is of one blood with men and women capable of such exalted faith and 
 endeavor. In all the cases referred to, however, many elements of stability were 
 untouched, so that courageousl.y facing the situation an immediate determination to 
 rebuild on broader and better lines seemed the natural course. In nearly all cases 
 great aggregates of insurance promised immediate working capital; the residence 
 sections of the cities were largely intact, the homes remained, and the loss of life 
 
586 
 
 FEOil COLON r TO WORLD I'OWEIi. 
 
 had been proportionately small; while 
 the ix'euliar physical conditions that 
 originally marked such localities for cen- 
 tres of trade and commerce, — all these 
 things remained to give courage to the 
 people and to nerve them to endure, with 
 the l>est cheer possible, the temporary 
 hardships and suffering. But when on 
 Sunday morning, September 9, 1900, the 
 survivors of the terrible hurricane that 
 dc^itroyed Galveston, Texas, began to 
 awake from the dazed condition in which 
 the horrors of the previous night had left 
 them, they faced infinitely more disheart- 
 ening conditions. The Sand-Spit on 
 which the city had been built did not 
 seem to offer any such natural advantages 
 for rebuilding as to warrant the rein- 
 vestment of capital there; the total of in- 
 surance was comparatively slight, while a 
 corrupt municipal government had al- 
 ready plunged the city deeply into debt; 
 and one in every six of the entire popula- 
 tion of the city had been killed or drowned 
 during the previous twelve hours, while 
 homes as well as business blocks were 
 totally destroyed. One must have a vivid 
 imagination, in<leed, to conceive of a more 
 heartrending and absolutely hopeless con- 
 dition than that which stared these 
 survivors in the face. Homeless, hun- 
 gry, poverty-stricken, heart-broken, and 
 crushed, they could not even communicate 
 with the outside world to make known 
 their terrible fate and receive the assur- 
 ances of the sympathy and aid of their 
 fellowmen. Yet before the gentler winds 
 and receding waves had made a single 
 street passable plans were being formu- 
 lated to raise a greater and better Gal- 
 veston on the very ground where six thou- 
 sand of their own people were then l.ying 
 unburied, and where vast piles of wreck- 
 age on every hand bore sad evidence of 
 the destruction of homes and the ruin of 
 business. 
 
 Built on the easterly end of a long, low- 
 lying island of sand, Galveston seemed 
 literally to rise from the waves. The sur- 
 face of the island, which is about thirty 
 miles long and from one to three miles 
 wide, rose nowhere above twelve to fifteen 
 
 feet, while its average elevation was only 
 about six feet above the sea. On the 
 southerly, or Gulf side, the coast line is 
 <iuite regular, and offers one of the finest 
 beaches of the world, about thirty miles 
 long. About two miles in an easterly di- 
 rection from the city lies Point Bolivar, 
 a part of the main land; and the channel 
 between this and the island is the en- 
 trance to Galveston Bay, — which cuts 
 into the mainland to the north for a dis- 
 tance of nearly thirty miles, with irreg- 
 ular width and depth, — and to Galveston 
 harbor. During the early part of the 
 nineteenth century this protected harbor 
 offered a safe refuge for the bands of 
 yiirates that infested the Gulf of Mexico, 
 wlio established a regular headquarters 
 there, under the leadership of the notori- 
 ous Lafitte. At the battle of New Or- 
 leans in 1815 these men under Lafitte 
 were of great service to General Jackson ; 
 and for some years they were not molested 
 in their retreat at Galveston. Between 
 1820 and 1825, however, they were driven 
 farther south, and eventually cleared 
 from the Gulf. The first permanent set- 
 tlement on Galveston island was in 1838; 
 but, owing to the undeveloped state of 
 the country back of it, the growth of the 
 settlement was slow, though the impor- 
 tance of its harbor was recognized. Dur- 
 ing the Civil War it was first seized by 
 Union troops, but was captured by Con- 
 federate forces in 1803. The growth of 
 the city has naturally followed the settle- 
 ment and the industrial and commercial 
 development of Texas and the great 
 southwest country, until now it has a 
 population of about 35,000 people, and has 
 in turn passed Baltimore and Boston and 
 become the third port of export in the 
 United States. Galveston is now the con- 
 verging point of fifty-three different 
 steamship lines, twenty-six of which are . 
 engaged in foreigii trade alone; and rall- 
 wa.v systems, with fifty miles of terminal 
 tracks. It has six miles of docks and five 
 great grain elevators, exporting about one- 
 third of all the wheat shipped abroad from 
 the United States; and even during 1003, 
 shipped 465,000 more bales of cotton than 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OF GALVESTON — 1900. 
 
 587 
 
 did New Orleans. The census of 1S90 
 gave the city a population of 30,000, which 
 had increased to 38,000 in 1900. It was 
 during that decade that railroad after 
 railroad hridged the wide, shallow bay, 
 and so gained entrance to the city. 
 Wealth increased and millionaires became 
 common. They were, too, men who took 
 pride in their home city, and spent their 
 money freely in its improvement and 
 adornment. Fine college and school build- 
 ings, churches, and hospitals were built; 
 and it was, to an imusual degree, a city 
 of homes. Its thirty-eight thousand peo- 
 ple had accumulated property valued 
 at upward of seventy-tive millions of 
 dollars. Moreover it was an attractive 
 and beautiful city. A walk of twenty 
 minutes took one from the bay shore to 
 the Gulf front, with its magnificent beach. 
 Orange and myrtle trees, delicate roses 
 and all the rich-hued blossoms of the 
 tropics charmed the eye on every hand; 
 while the Oleander was to be seen every- 
 where, and gave to Galveston its designa- 
 tion of the " Oleander City." 
 
 Its people rose on the morning of Sat- 
 urday, September S, 1900, to pursue their 
 ordinary avocations with no premonition 
 of the terrible fate that was awaiting 
 tliem. Though the busy season had hardly 
 yet set in, there were ready for transfer 
 from the elevators and warehouses to ocean 
 steamers two and a half nnllion bushels 
 of wheat, and moi'e than 1,500 bales of 
 cotton. Early in the forenoon, however, 
 high winds began to rise, the gale coming 
 from the northwest. Gradually a shift 
 of the wind to the north occurred, and 
 then toward the east ; and at two o'clock 
 in the afternoon it had reached a velocity 
 of thirty-six miles an hour. The bay 
 water was being driven over the city 
 front, and soon rising over the wharves 
 it flooded the Strand, as the wide front 
 occupied by the railroads and docks is 
 called, and crept up the streets among the 
 business blocks. By this time the surf on 
 the Gulf side was breaking over its front 
 with tremendous fury, and with a deafen- 
 ing roar, and the crests of foam were 
 carried far in among the cottages. Al- 
 
 though those who had never experienced 
 similar visitations began to be gTeatly 
 alarmed, the older settlers felt no anxiety 
 as they had weathered several similar 
 storms. The poorer whites and negroes 
 living in the frailer tenements, however, 
 began to desert them, and flee to more 
 secure buildings in the business section. 
 In the middle of the afternoon there was 
 a general cessation of business, as the 
 water was constantly growing deeper in 
 the streets and men waded home to be 
 with their families. By three o'clock the 
 wind had increased to forty-five miles an 
 hour, and was still rapidly rising and 
 piling higher and higher the waves that 
 were battering the city. At five o'clock a 
 velocity of seventy-four miles an hour was 
 recorded by the official anemometer, and 
 all began to realize that the situation was 
 becoming desperate. The air was filled 
 with pieces of tin-roofing, signs, cornices, 
 everything that the gale could wrench 
 away. Every building on the island 
 trembled, many rocking like boats. The 
 mild climate had encouraged a frail form 
 of architecture and the less securely 
 fastened buildings were being torn from 
 
 THE ROSENBERG LTBRARY (nEW). 
 
 their foundations. One who visited the 
 island just after the hurricane has said 
 that if one hundred survivors were asked 
 what was the most terrifying period of the 
 storm, ninety would say without hesita- 
 tion that it was from five to seven in the 
 evening, when people really awoke to their 
 terrible danger. Then thousands who 
 were in their homes anxiously waiting for 
 the hurricane to pass became terror- 
 
5SS 
 
 TEOM COLONY TO WOliLL) I'OWEE. 
 
 stricken, and rushed forth to seek com- 
 panionship in their distress, or some 
 promising refuge. Wading, swimming, 
 floating, cut and bruised by the hail of 
 Wood anil slate and glass, many reached 
 places of shelter, but many more were 
 drowned. Toward seven o'clock the wind 
 again shifted to the southeast, all the 
 time increasing in fui'y. At six o'clock 
 it had reached a velocity of eighty-four 
 miles an hour, when the anemometer was 
 carried away. While no further record 
 could bo kept, it was certain that the 
 velocity constantly increased until a rate 
 of from one hundred and ten to one hun- 
 dred and twenty miles hail been attained. 
 The conditions that prevailed during those 
 two fateful hours admit of no descrip- 
 tion. Wild despair gradually yielded to 
 a more or less calm resignation to in- 
 evitable death. Members of families bade 
 each other tender farewells, expecting each 
 moment would be the last. The whole 
 city was preparing for death. At tlic 
 Convent the Sacrament was administered 
 to all in anticipation of the end. At the 
 Catholic Orphan Asylum the nuns tied 
 their little charges in bunches, each sister 
 fastening a bunch to herself. And so they 
 were engulfed together. As the waters 
 rose families went to the upper story, or 
 attic, aud in darkness and silence waited 
 the end. Sometimes a cry from without 
 would gain attention, and willing hands 
 would draw in through the window a 
 floating waif. Just before seven a huge 
 wave rolled in from the gulf bringing in 
 its wake a solid wall of water more than 
 four feet high. This mighty flood swept 
 whole blocks of cottages from their foun- 
 dations; and in houses that withstood its 
 force the water rose from two to four feet. 
 p]very foot of ground on which the city 
 stood was now under water, with the ter- 
 rible hurricane from the Gulf side piling 
 1115 the waves higher and higher, and 
 battering every object in Its path. In the 
 rotunda of the Tremont Hotel, in the 
 centre of the business section, the water 
 was waist deep. Great rafts of debris 
 were constantly accumulating which were 
 hurled upon the east, north, and wept 
 
 sides of the city with a force that defied 
 resistance. At seven o'clock when the 
 wind had reached the highest velocity, and 
 the flood had gained its greatest depth, the 
 greater part of the buildings of the city 
 were still standing. By ten o'clock hun- 
 dreds of acres of the residence district 
 had been ^^wept of buildings, and more 
 than six thousand bodies of men, women, 
 and children had been mingled with the 
 ruins which were heaped up in vast hills 
 on the island, in the waters, and on the 
 mainland. As has been said : " Galves- 
 ton's visitation was not merely the sweep 
 of a cyclone, nor the sudden engulfing 
 work of a flood; it was the irresistible 
 attack of hurricane waves laden with 
 wreckage, which became enormous batter- 
 ing rams." — huge engines of destruction 
 impelled with terrific speed and resistless 
 force. 
 
 After nine o'clock the wind shifted to 
 the south and southwest, and began to 
 fall. Since early morning it had very 
 nearly covered the whole round of the 
 compass. About ten o'clock the flood began 
 to subside, and the wind continued to de- 
 crease; and early dawn showed the higher 
 streets above the surface of the water. 
 Not until then were the naked survivors 
 able to leave their shelter and seek cloth- 
 ing and nourishment. All the clothing had 
 been torn from the bodies of those who 
 had been exposed to the horrible condi- 
 tions that prevailed through the night ; 
 and in nearly every case the bodies of the 
 dead were found naked and badly cut 
 and scarred. Everywhere, floating and 
 driven by the wind and waves, were 
 splintered and jagged pieces of board and 
 timbers with shai-p protruding nails, and 
 evei-y conceivable kind of wreckage with 
 points that would pierce and edges that 
 would cut ugly wounds. Many survivoi-s 
 told how, while their houses went to 
 pieces, they were hurled hither and 
 thither by the currents, some remaining 
 in the water among the ruins for hours; 
 and all came out with their clothes 
 literally torn from their bodies, and cov- 
 ered with cuts and bruises. 
 
 Investigation proved that it was not 
 
THE DESTEUCTION OF GALVESTOK — 1900. 
 
 5S9 
 
 among the poorest classes that the great- 
 est loss of life occurred, but among the 
 middle class, those who had incomes from 
 salaries or good wages, professional peo- 
 ple, and store-keepers, — people who owned 
 the more modest homes. A large part of 
 the congregation of every church was de- 
 stroyed. Of one church the pastor and 
 his entire family and more than three- 
 quarters of the congregation were 
 drowned, while its parish was left a 
 barren wilderness of sand and ruins, not 
 a house remaining. That survivors could 
 have endured what these did and have re- 
 mained sane seems well-nigh incredible. 
 Momentarily expecting death, in total 
 darkness, cut off from all the rest of the 
 world, with the hurricane raging and the 
 waves roaring around them, and subject 
 to a continuous bombardment by the 
 storm-driven wreckage, their situation was 
 more horrible and terrifying than any 
 words can ever hint. Hapijily the sur- 
 vivors did not at first realize the extent 
 of their loss, either of life or property ; 
 and when on Sunday morning a com- 
 mittee put off in a sailboat for the main- 
 land, to acquaint the outside world with 
 their calamity and to appeal for aid, the 
 number of dead was reported as one thou- 
 sand-. But before Monday noon more than 
 one thousand bodies had been collected 
 from the streets and exposed places, and 
 taken to temporary morgues ; and two days 
 later when the mountains of ruins had 
 been only partially inspected, nearly two 
 thousand more bodies had been uncovered; 
 while before the week was over five thou- 
 sand in all had been found in the city 
 alone, which number continued investi- 
 gations raised to above six thousand; but 
 the exact number, of course, will never 
 be known, as a great many bodies must 
 have been carried out to sea by receding 
 waves. More intolerable really than the 
 terrors of the hurricane itself, were the 
 heartrending sights that met survivors 
 on evei-y hand. Some orderly course of 
 burial was attempted at first ; but the vast 
 number of corpses exposed to the hot rays 
 of a tropical sun made more hasty 
 methods of disposition imperative. Piles 
 
 of wreckage were at last turned into 
 funeral pyres, and thus thousands of 
 bodies were cremated. 
 
 Hunger and thirst, too, assailed the liv- 
 ing, and pestilence threatened worse de- 
 struction than the storm had wrought. 
 But as soon as communication with the 
 outside world was re-established aid of 
 every kind began to reach the sufferers; 
 and the sympathy of the whole world 
 poured in like another flood upon the 
 stricken people. Their response was 
 quick and emphatic; courage revived, 
 and a mighty recuiperative power became 
 manifest. On that never-to-be-forgotten 
 Sunday everybody was dazed, and all 
 faculties were benumbed. There was only 
 water-soaked food to eat, and a mixture 
 of rain water and salt spray to drink; 
 hardly a whole roof was left on any build- 
 ing in the city, while a very large pro- 
 portion, including many of the best 
 and most prominent buildings, churches, 
 schools, etc., were a mass of ruins. But 
 within twenty-four hours order began to 
 emerge from the chaos. A Committee of 
 Safety was organized; guns and ammuni- 
 tion were taken from the hardware stores; 
 martial law was proclaimed ; citizens 
 sworn to stand together for the common 
 good patrolled the sti-eets; and on Tues- 
 day the restoration of law and order was 
 an assured fact. On Wednesday the 
 banks opened for business; and mer- 
 chants began ordering new stocks of goods 
 as soon as the wires were in operation. 
 As an eye-witness of the scene has said: 
 " One week from the night when Galves- 
 ton was smitten the people, — some limp- 
 ing, many with arms in slings and heads 
 bandaged, all haggard from the strain but 
 with the fire of an indomitable spirit in 
 their eyes — were looking confidently fur- 
 ward." Within a week after the hurri- 
 cane vessels were loading with grain, 
 while carpenters worked above to repair 
 the shattered roofs of the elevators; and 
 within twelve daj-s trains were running 
 regularly to and from the mainland, 
 though it had been declared it would take 
 two months to rebuild the bridge. Home- 
 less, half-crazed by the loss of those dear 
 
5yo 
 
 FEOM COLOA'Y TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 to tliem and of property, without capital, 
 the peojale rose in the might of their in- 
 vincible courage and faith, determined 
 that from the ruins of the okl, a greater 
 and more beautiful Galveston should 
 rise. 
 
 But the problem that faced the people 
 was not a simijlo one. The established 
 government had for years been the same 
 as that of most American citi&s, — a 
 mayor, with a council composed of mem- 
 bers chosen from each ward. For a long 
 time the administration of the city's 
 affairs had been reckless and corrupt, 
 political rings and bosses being in control. 
 At the time of the flood, the city was bur- 
 dened with a floating debt of $200,000; 
 there were no funds in the treasury; 
 from eighteen to twenty million dollars' 
 Avorth of property had lieen destroyed ; of 
 the more than six thousand lives that had 
 been lost many were taxjsayers, while 
 many more tJian that number had been 
 left penniless; and, worst of all, confi- 
 dence in the city as a place for home- 
 seekers and for the investment of capital 
 had been destroyed. As a rule the Press 
 and the leading Scientific authorities 
 through the country, in discussing the 
 hurricane and its results, had taken the 
 ]insition that Galveston island was not a 
 fit place for the location of a city. The 
 leading men of Galveston, therefore, 
 recognized that they must work out their 
 own salvation, and not count upcju out- 
 side aid for the accomplishment of their 
 plans. Fortunately there had been in 
 existence in the city for some years a 
 " Deep-water Conunission " of seventeen 
 men, made up of the very foremost citi- 
 zens regardless of party or political con- 
 siderations, and men of independent 
 means. As its name indicates, the Com- 
 mission had been organized to secure 
 harbor improvements. It had been rep- 
 resented at Washinirton and at the State 
 capital for years, and had secured from 
 the national government the construction 
 of a series of stone jetties at a cost of nine 
 million dollars, which insured a deep 
 water channel into the harbor, and pre- 
 vented its being filled up bj' the shifting 
 
 sands of the Gulf bottom. This Commis- 
 sion at once took quiet control of the 
 situation. Its members realized that the 
 first step in any scheme looking toward 
 the rebuilding of the city must be the 
 establishment of a municipal government 
 which should be capable of conducting 
 great undertakings, and should be morally 
 above reproach. Without taking the pub- 
 lic into their confidence the Commission 
 recjuested a committee of leading lawyers 
 to draw up a new city charter, whose dis- 
 tinctive feature should be the abolition of 
 the old form of city government, and the 
 establishment in its place of a form of 
 government by Commission. Accordingly 
 (•he new Charter provided for a Board of 
 five Commissioners, one of whom should 
 act as mayor; two of these commissioners 
 were to be elected by the city, and three, 
 including the mayor, were to be appointetl 
 by the governor of the State. When the 
 scheme was fully worked out, the Commis- 
 sion went before the people with their 
 Charter. The old political leaders and 
 bosses fought hard; but a plain statement 
 of the facts to all the people, in the light 
 of their present situation and recent suf- 
 ferings, prevailed; and at an election 
 more than six-sevenths of the voters sup- 
 ported the new movement. No time was 
 Inst in getting the charter before the 
 Legislature, which quickly approved it; 
 and at the first meeting of the Commis- 
 sion government on September 24, 1901, 
 the Deep-water Commission urged im- 
 mediate action on certain plans for the 
 improvement of the city. Resolutions 
 were passed providing for the employment 
 (if an expert Board of Engineers who 
 should report a definite plan for the pro- 
 tection of the city, and the cost of the 
 ■work. Three of the best-known engineers 
 of the country were employed; and on 
 January 25, 1902, they reported a plan 
 calling for the erection of a solid concrete 
 wall along the entire Gulf front, and the 
 raising of the entire city's surface to a 
 level above the highest point reached by 
 the waters during the flood. The total 
 cost of the undertaking was estimated at 
 ifr,,5n5,000. This was the first step. 
 
THE DESTKUCTION OF GALVESTON — 1900. 
 
 591 
 
 Next it was requested through the 
 Commission's Court that the County 
 should undertake the buildint? of the Sea 
 Wall, at a cost of $1,500,000, the city to 
 bear the burden of raising the gTade, at 
 an estimated cost of $2,000,000. As 
 nearly all the taxpayers of the County 
 were residents of the city, they had to as- 
 sume the double burden. The proposition 
 to issue bonds by the County had to bo 
 voted on by the people, and three thou- 
 sand votes were cast for the issue with 
 only twenty-two against it, — a most posi- 
 tive expression of the unanimity of pub- 
 lic opinion, and conclusive proof that the 
 
 built. During the building of the wall the 
 outer protection called for by the contract 
 was put in place. This consists of a con- 
 tinuous breakwater along the sea side of 
 the wall twenty-seven feet wide, made of 
 rough blocks of stone, many of them 
 weighing a ton apiece, which protects 
 the concrete wall from the full force of the 
 waves. So admirably was the whole work 
 conducted that on July 29, 1904, the 
 entire wall was completed, — a colossal 
 structure resembling a huge fortress, and 
 a triumph of engineering ' skill. The 
 second part of the scheme was hardly less 
 formidable. It called for the filling in 
 
 THE SEA WALL 
 
 people were back of the movement, heart 
 and soul. 
 
 The contract for the building of the 
 sea wall was awarded September 19, 1902. 
 It called for a solid concrete wall sixteen 
 feet high, sixteen feet thick at the base, 
 and five feet at the top, and was to skirt 
 the Gulf for a distance of three and a 
 quarter miles. For the foundation creo- 
 soted timbers were driven through the 
 shifting sands from forty to fifty feet 
 until the clay bottom was reached. These 
 piers extended in four parallel lines, 
 three and one-half feet apart, each being 
 four feet from its nearest neighbor. On 
 this basis the solid concrete wall has been 
 
 with earth or sand of the entire city's 
 surface area, from a height of seventeen 
 feet at the sea wall to eight feet at the 
 bay front. To accomplish this stupendous 
 work the first step was to excavate a canal 
 two hundred feet wide and twenty-one 
 feet deep just inside the wall and exti'ud- 
 ing the full length of the city front. Four 
 immense suction dredges were brought 
 from Germany, each with a capacity of 
 1..500 cubic yards. These dredges steamed 
 out into the Gulf and dropped their suc- 
 tion mains to the bottom. The engines 
 were then set to work, and the semi-liquid 
 sand sucked into the immense hoppers of 
 the steamers. The heavy-laden dredge 
 
59: 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEK. 
 
 then steamed back within tlie wall and 
 entered the canal. As the canal had been 
 advanced, pipe stations were established 
 at the head of each street ending on it. 
 At these stations the dredges discharged 
 their loads forcing the liquid sand through 
 forty-two inch mains, extending through 
 each street. At the end of the mains 
 sand and water gushed out, the sand 
 settling, and the water flowing oil. After 
 the filling in was completed to the required 
 grade, the dredges filled in the canal in 
 the same manner, backing out as the work 
 advanced. What this great work involved 
 may be partially realized if one considers 
 that every building in the city had to be 
 raised from six to fifteen or eighteen feet; 
 that all arrangements for sewerage, light- 
 ing, water supply, etc., had to be read- 
 justed; that tracks for the car lines were 
 relaid, and streets repaved ; and scores of 
 incidental changes and improvements had 
 to be provided for, which only tlie partic- 
 ipation in such a revolutionary undertak- 
 ing could develop. But the rehabilitation 
 of the city was not even then complete in 
 the minds of the far-seeing directors of 
 its great improvements. A great cause- 
 way, to be constructed of cement and to 
 be five hundred feet wide, to connect the 
 cit.v with the mainland was planned, and 
 is now about completed, forming an en- 
 during and permanent connection with 
 the mainland. 
 
 But what of Government by Commis- 
 sion ( As has been said, the new city 
 charter j^rovided for a Board of five Com- 
 missioners, two of whom were to be 
 elected by the city, and three, including 
 the commissioner who should act as 
 mayor, were to be appointed by the 
 governor of the State. In 1903 such ap- 
 pointment of Commissioners was declared 
 unconstitutional by the State Courts, 
 since which time all five members of the 
 body have been elected by the people. The 
 mayor acts as a general manager, and the 
 four other commissioners head respec- 
 tively the departments of Finance, of 
 Water-works and Sewerage, of Streets and 
 Public Buildings, and of Fire and Police. 
 All power resides in the Commission, and 
 
 a majority vote of the body is final. 
 Previous to the great catastrophe of 1900, 
 Galveston had been, in the broadest sense 
 of the term, a " wide-open " town ; and 
 only one who is familiar with such con- 
 ditions in a place which is at once the sea- 
 side resort for all classes of excursionists 
 from a wide stretch of not too highly 
 civilized country, and the meeting place 
 of thousands of sailors and adventurers 
 from every part of the world, can under- 
 stand in some degree what that term 
 means. Saloons of the vilest character 
 were open seven days in the week and 
 twent.v-four hours of every day; gambling 
 and lottery devices of every kind were 
 openly conducted ; dance-halls and brothels 
 were everywhere in evidence. As one has 
 said: "Formerly Galveston was a slat- 
 tern, and a southern slattern at that, — 
 which is as far as language can go." But 
 a critical obsei"ver who recently studied 
 the situation on the ground summed up 
 his impressions as follows : " Galveston is 
 now beginning to reap the results of five 
 years of clean, able city government. She 
 was desperate and bankrupt ; now her 
 credit is good. She was unclean but now 
 she is clean; she was a town of vice and 
 license; :iow she is orderly. Uupaved 
 streets are well paved, there are good 
 sewers where formerly there were none, 
 there is an ample water-supply in increas- 
 ing use. The city is protected from 
 future danger from flood. But goo<l 
 government has meant more than its di- 
 rect service to the city. It has meant in- 
 directly industrial and commercial jiros- 
 perity. Property which fell dead, with no 
 bu.vers, after the storm, has regained its 
 former value, and in sections has exceeded 
 it. When the grade raising is cleaned up, 
 a nuirh largiT increase will undoubtedly 
 take place. The city is prospering in a 
 business way as it never did before. But 
 most imi^ortant of all, the shipping from 
 the port is increasing tremendously. It 
 has trebled since 1900. The government 
 of the town did not, of course, cause all 
 this growth; but the conditions it brought 
 about were a great factor." 
 
 But the working of the Commission 
 
THE DESTEUCTION OF GAL VESTOIS' — 1900. 
 
 593 
 
 plan of government is not to be measured 
 alone by its results in rebuilding and re- 
 deeming Galveston. The " Galveston 
 Plan " has now become one of the three or 
 four most considered and admired forms 
 of municipal government by all who are 
 elsewhere seeking to overthrow corrupt 
 political administrations, and make their 
 further existence impossible. The plan 
 has already been copied in several of the 
 largest cities of Texas, and in other 
 places, and its workings have everyn'here 
 proved most effective and salutary. 
 Surely the little band of earnest and 
 38 
 
 heroic men who faced the direst adversity 
 in Galveston in 1900, and undertook to 
 conquer circumstances, builded better 
 than they knew. And we know of no story 
 of intelligent and determined effort to 
 achieve great ends under the most ad- 
 verse conditions which may better inspire 
 all workers for the public good with a 
 glorious confidence, nor which more truly 
 merits the reverent admiration of all 
 worthy citizens of the whole countiy, than 
 the narrative of the arduous labors and of 
 the sublime achievements of the " Deep- 
 water Commission " of Galveston, 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL - 1903. 
 
 Early Si'arch for Strait Connecting Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. — Efl'orts of Cortez, Saavedra. 
 and Others. — Interest of Charles V. and P)iilip II. — Latter Decides, "Contrary to Divine 
 Will to Unite Two Oceans Wliich the Creator of World Had Separated." — English Become 
 Interested in Nicaragua in Seventeenth Century. — Visit of Humboldt to United States and 
 Central America. — Outlines Nine Routes tor \^'ater\vay from Atlantic to Pacific. — Views 
 of Goethe. — Remarkable Predictions as to Development of United States ; Also as to Canals. 
 
 — The Treaty of 1846 with Xew Granada (Colombia). — The Clayton-Buhver Treaty.— 
 French Interference Under Xapoleon III. — American Position Asserted by President Grant 
 in ISO!). — '■ Only American Canal, under Control of Americans Should be Built Between 
 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.'' — DeLesseps and tlie French Concession. — Appointment of Com- 
 mission to Investigate Merits of All Leading Routes. — Commission Reports in Favor of 
 Nicaragua. — Debate in Congress and .Spooner Amendment. — Clayton-Buhver Treaty Abro- 
 gated by Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, 1901. — The Remarkable Panama Revolution. — M. Bunau- 
 Varilla. — Treat}- with Panama Republic. — President Roosevelt's Attitude. — His Letter to 
 Dr. Shaw. — Transfer of All Rights and Property of French Canal Company for $40,000,000. 
 
 — Canal Comniissi<m Appointed. — Repeated Changes in It. — Whole Work Finally Placed in 
 Hands of Board of Army Engineers. — - Great Improvement in Its Prosecution. — Statistics 
 as to Present Conditions. — Original Estimates and Probably Final Cost of the Canal. 
 
 " Dids't thou never hear 
 That things Ul got had ever bad succi'ss? " 
 
 — Shakespeare, 
 
 S one finds the most illuminating accounts of nearly all sub- 
 jects of human knowledge, of all ages and all races, in the 
 writings of that prince of stoi-y tellers, John Fiske, we 
 naturally get from the first volume of his " Discovery of 
 America " the clearest statement of some of the causes that 
 first led men to search, unconsciously then, for a passage 
 from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific, Down to the 
 thirteenth century Ptolemy's geographical dictum that 
 Eastern Asia shaded off into an unknown land of illim- 
 itable extent, "full of reedy and impenetrable swamps," 
 was universally accepted in Europe. In the first quarter 
 of that century occurred the wonderful conquests of Genghis Khan, as a result of which 
 China became more accessible to western adventurers and explorers than it ever was be- 
 fore or has been since. In northern China they came in contact with a dynasty called the 
 Ivhitai ; and when this name became known to Europeans it assumed the form of Cathay, 
 the term by which China and the far East was best known for centuries. About the year 
 1250 two Franciscan monks were sent on missionary errands to the Grand Khan. 
 Both are described as men of " shrewd, and cultivated minds," especially one Rubru- 
 
THE PANAMA CA:NAL— 1903. 
 
 595 
 
 guis, whose narrative we are told " in its 
 rich details, its vivi<l pictures, its acute- 
 ness of observations, and strong' good sense 
 has few superiors in the whole library of 
 travel." Though neither of these men 
 visited China, at the Court of the Grand 
 Ivhaii they met many Chinese and ac- 
 quired much information regarding the 
 geography of Asia, learning, among other 
 things, that it did not terminate in a 
 land of "reedy and impenetrable swamps," 
 but bordered upon an Eastern ocean. 
 " Here," says Fiske, " we arrive at a not- 
 able landmark in the history of the dis- 
 covery of America. Here from the camp 
 of bustling heathen at Karakorum there is 
 brought to Europe the first announcement 
 of a geographical fact from which the 
 poetic mind of Christopher Columbus will 
 hereafter reap a wonderful harvest. 
 Since there is an ocean east of Cathay 
 and an ocean west of Spain how natural 
 the inference, — and albeit quite wrong, 
 how amazingly fruitful — that these oceans 
 are one and the same, so that by sailing 
 westward from Spain one might go 
 straight to Cathay." 
 
 It was in this century also that the dis- 
 covery of the Mariner's Compass was 
 made, or, rather, a knowledge of it became 
 somewhat common among European navi- 
 gators. Though tradition credits the 
 Chinese with a knowledge and use of the 
 compass for more than two thousand 
 years before this period, it is apparent 
 that the virtues of the needle were first 
 disclosed in Europe by some of the re- 
 turned Crusaders who had learned of it 
 from the Arabs, who, iu turn, had gained 
 their knowledge from the Chinese in the 
 course of their eastern voyages. That its 
 use was not common knowledge even 
 among- the learned at the middle of the 
 thirteenth century the following extract 
 from a letter will abundantly prove. In 
 12.58, Brunette Latini, the tutor of Dante, 
 made a visit to Friar Roger Bacon at Ox- 
 ford, an account of which he sent to his 
 friend, the poet Cavalcanti. He says: "The 
 Parliament summoned to assemble at 
 Oxford, I did not fail to see Friar Bacon 
 as soon as I arrived, and among other 
 
 things, he showed me a black ugly stone 
 called a magnet, which has the surprising 
 property of drawing iron to it ; and upon 
 which if a needle is rubbed, and after- 
 ward fastened to a straw so that it will 
 swim upon the water, the needle will 
 instantly turn towards the Pole star; 
 therefore, be the night ever so dark, so 
 that neither moon nor star be visible, yet 
 shall the mariner be able by the help of 
 this needle to steer his vessel aright. TJiis 
 discovery which appears useful to all who 
 travel by sea must remain concealed until 
 other times; because no master mariner 
 dares to use it lest he should fall under 
 the imputation of being a magician; nor 
 would the sailors venture themselves out 
 to sea under his command if he took with 
 him an instrument which carries so great 
 an appearance of being constructed under 
 the influence of some infernal spirit," — 
 a sentiment that draws from the his- 
 torian this philosophical comment: " Is it 
 not a curious instance of human perver- 
 sity that while eustomai-y usage from time 
 inunemorial has characterized as ' Acts of 
 God ' such horrible events as famines, pes- 
 tilences, and earthquakes, on the other 
 hand, when some jjurely beneficent in- 
 vention has appeared, such as the 
 mariner's compass or the printing press, 
 it has commonly been accredited to the 
 Devil I " 
 
 Tliough more accurate information re- 
 garding the situation of Cathay had been 
 obtained and the mariner's compass had 
 come into somewhat general use by the 
 end of the thirteenth century, yet for 
 two hundred years Europeans made little 
 practical use of such knowledge. Nor is 
 this wholly remarkable, as it was during 
 this period that the overland routes to 
 the east were more open than they ever 
 have been since. But when the " Un- 
 speakable Turk," whose career had been 
 cheeked by the Crusades, again, began his 
 descents upon Eastern Europe and, in 
 1365, establishing himself in the Balkan 
 peninsula, began slowly to close in upon 
 Constantinople, the main channels of 
 trade with the Orient, which were through 
 the Volga country or Armenia, were little 
 
d'M 
 
 iEOM COLO AY TO WOKLi) POWEK. 
 
 by little closed, and by tlie middle of the 
 tifteeiith century were effectually cut off 
 by the capture of Constantinople. Then 
 the demand for another route to the 
 Orient became imiierative, and it was to 
 he sought by sea, and not by land. As is 
 well known all the voyas'es of discovery, 
 both down the coast of Africa by the Por- 
 tuguese and later to the west by the 
 Spaniards, had the Indies and China as 
 their objective points: and the earliest 
 Spanish navigators naturall.y believed 
 when they discovered the Caribbean 
 islands and later the maiidand, that the 
 object of their quest had been gained. 
 lUit when in l.")12 Balboa crossed the 
 Isthmus and 
 
 " With eagle eyes 
 ITe stared at the Pacific, and all his men 
 J.,ooked at each other with a wild surmise, — 
 Silent, upon a peak in Darien," 
 
 it was realized that another barrier lay 
 between this newly discovered country and 
 the land of spices, of silks, and of gold ; 
 
 and from that day, — the first quarter of 
 the sixteenth century, to this, — the first 
 (piarter of the twentieth century, — the 
 ]n-oblem has been the same, to discover or 
 
 cut a short and safe route through the 
 Isthmus to the ancient and longed for 
 realm of Cathay. 
 
 What has generally come to be known 
 as the Isthmus of Panama is the long, 
 narrow neck of land connecting North 
 and South America, and extending from 
 Costa Pica in an easterly direction about 
 450 miles to the Atrato river, whose 
 course practically coincides with the 
 westerly boundary of South America. 
 The general form of the country is that 
 of a somewhat flattened letter " S " lying 
 on its face; and the average widih is 
 about seventy miles. The bays of Panama 
 and San Miguel on the south and of 
 Chiriqui and Uraba on the north fonn 
 three minor constrictions, having distinc- 
 tive names. Beginning at the west the 
 Isthmus of Chiriqui, opposite the bay of 
 that name, has a minimum width of 
 aliout forty-five miles; beyond this the 
 neck is broadened to about one hundrt'd 
 and twenty miles by the Azuero peninsula 
 on the south. The bay of Panama re- 
 duces it to about thirty miles opposite the 
 bay of San Bias, or about thirty-five miles 
 between Panama and Colon: this is 
 known as the Isthmus of Panama proper, 
 or San Bhis. The Isthmus of Darien is 
 properly the portion between the Gulfs of 
 Urabii and San Miguel, and has a mini- 
 mum width of thirty-five miles. An ir- 
 regular mountain chain runs the entire 
 length of the Isthmus, generally near the 
 northern coast; to the westward it has 
 volcanic peaks reaching the height of 
 seven thousand feet; but in the easterly 
 Ijart it subsides to a range of hills with 
 passes less than four hundred feet above 
 sea level. The coasts are generally low, 
 swampy, hot, and unhealthful. Pains are 
 very abundant during nine months of 
 the year, with frequent violent thunder 
 storms. The dry months are Februai-j-, 
 March, and April: while from August 
 to October the heat is intense, except in 
 the mountains. The latitude of Panama 
 is about 10° north, and it lies due south 
 of the centre of Cuba, the east coast of 
 Florida, and but a little west of south of 
 New York. 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL— 1903. 
 
 597 
 
 The early Spanish explorers on the 
 mainland all learned from the natives of 
 a fabled strait connecting the two oceans, 
 and for the first twenty-five years a large 
 share of their energy was expended in a 
 search for it, though they were not negli- 
 gent of pearls and gold which they found 
 in abundance. One of the most indefati- 
 gable of these searchers was Cortez, al- 
 ready distinguished as the Conqueror of 
 Mexico. In a letter to the King in 1524 
 he says " if the strait is found, I shall hold 
 it to be the greatest deed I have yet 
 rendered. It would make the King of 
 Spain master of so many lands that he 
 might call himself Lord of the whole 
 world." He sent out fleets on both oceans, 
 one ordered to search to the south, on the 
 Pacific, until it should come to the newly 
 discovered Straits of Magellan; and the 
 other to follow the east coast of North 
 America as far as Labrador, if necessary. 
 " Thus," said he in another letter to the 
 King in 1525, " on the one side or the 
 other I shall not fail to solve the secret 
 of the Strait." And after referring to 
 his wish to explore California and other 
 Pacific coast lands, which he believed to 
 be of great value, he further says : " but 
 being well aware of the great desire of 
 your Majesty to know the secret of this 
 strait and of the advantage the crown 
 would derive from its discovery I post- 
 pone all other schemes and interests, some 
 of them of the highest moment, to pur- 
 sue this object alone." Toward 15.30, 
 however, these earnest servants of the 
 King began to doubt the existence of any 
 Strait, and to consider the feasibility of 
 making one. One of the most intelligent 
 and determined of these men, a companion 
 of Balboa when he crossed Darien, was 
 Alvaro de Saavedra. Recalling the nar- 
 rowness and low elevation of the Isthmus 
 of Panama he prepared plans for a canal 
 at that point; and an early Spanish his- 
 torian laments his death on a voyage 
 across the Pacific from the Moluccas, be- 
 cause " if he had lived he meant to have 
 opened the land of Castilla del Oro and 
 New Spain from Sea to Sea, which might 
 have been done in four places." He then 
 
 proceeds to describe the Darien, Panama, 
 Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec routes, 
 showing that, even at that early date, 
 the Spanish explorers had decided upon 
 
 the i)ossible canal sites that have main- 
 tained precedence down to the present 
 day. Charles V. manifested the deepest 
 interest in these propositions, as did 
 Philip II. during the earlier years of his 
 reign. But upon receiving an unfavor- 
 able report from an engineer he sent out 
 he changed his attitude; and a little later, 
 his superstition getting the better of his 
 avarice, he decided that it would he con- 
 trary to the Divine will to unite two 
 oceans which the Creator of the World 
 had separated, and that such an impious 
 undertaking would surely call down the 
 vengeance of Heaven. 
 
 During the greater part of the next 
 century the Spanish were engaged in eon- 
 quest and in search for treasure, though 
 the canal project was never wholly alian- 
 doned. Toward the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century the English, who had for 
 many years been scouring the Atlantic 
 
598 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WOELD POWEK. 
 
 and Pacific Oceans for Spanish treasure 
 ships, became an important factor in the 
 canal problem. In 1(355 they seized the 
 island of Jamaica, and made attempts to 
 establish themselves in Central America. 
 Settlements were made on the coasts of 
 
 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 
 
 Honduras and Nicaragua, and a party of 
 adventurers went up the San Juan river 
 and explored the shores of Lake Nicara- 
 gua. Thus for the first time the English 
 realized the magnitude of that lake audits 
 immense value as a part of a canal route. 
 From that period date their determined 
 cfFnrts to get control of Nicaragua, while 
 forces were set in motion which should 
 only find their end in the Clayton-Bulwer 
 Treaty two hundred years later. The 
 space at our command does not admit of 
 detailed reference to the many canal 
 schemes and pi'opositions of the next one 
 hundred and fifty years; but the visit of 
 Alexander Humboldt to this country and 
 Central America at the opening of the 
 nineteenth century, and his conclusions 
 regarding the canal proposition, are of so 
 much interest that they must Iv briefly 
 noticed. In his work " Four Centuries of 
 the Panama Canal," Mr. W. F. Johnson 
 has given a full account of TTumb(<ldt's in- 
 
 vestigations and opinions, and it is to that 
 work that we are indebted for much in- 
 formation on this particular subject. As 
 a result of his observations, Humboldt 
 outlined nine different routes for water- 
 ways between the Atlantic and the Pa- 
 cific, the first of which is especially inter- 
 esting and amusing. It was to enter the 
 Mississippi river from the Gulf of Mex- 
 ico, and then reach the Pacific by that 
 river, the ^Missouri, the Peace, and the Col- 
 umbia rivers. He admits, however, that 
 this route might be impracticable because 
 of the barrier presented by the " Stony," 
 or Rocky Mountains, which, he was told, 
 in some places reached a height of 3,500 
 feet above the sea level. Each of the four 
 routes that have received favorable con- 
 sideration from the earliest times wore 
 fully indorsed by him, and he was con- 
 vinced that the building of such a canal 
 was "calculated 'to immortalize a govern- 
 ment occupied with the true interests of 
 humanity." Not the least notable result 
 of his observations, however, was the re- 
 markable comment and prophetic utter- 
 ance of the great Goethe, inspired by 
 reading Humboldt's account of his travels 
 and investigations. In the " Conversa- 
 tions with Eckermann and Soret," under 
 date of February 21, 1827, it is stated that 
 Goethe spoke much of Humboldt and of 
 his views as to the importance of water 
 communication between the two oceans. 
 " Humboldt," he said, " has with a great 
 knowledge of his subject given other 
 points where, by making use of some 
 streams which flow into the Gulf of Mex- 
 ico, the end ma.v be better attained per- 
 haps than at Panama. All this is re- 
 served for the future and for an enter- 
 prising spirit. So much, however, is cer- 
 tain, that if they succeed in cutting such 
 a canal that ships of any size can be nav- 
 igated through it from the Mexican Gulf 
 to the Pacific Ocean, innumerable bene- 
 fits will result to the whole human race, 
 civilized and uncivilized. But I should 
 wonder if the United States were to let 
 an opportunity escape of getting such a 
 ■worl- into their own hands. It may be 
 foreseen that this young state, with its 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL— 1903 
 
 599 
 
 decided predilection to the West, will, in 
 thirty or forty years, have occupied and 
 peopled the large tract of land beyond the 
 Eocky Mountains. It may furthermore 
 be foreseen that along the whole coast of 
 the Pacific Ocean, where nature has al- 
 ready formed the most capacious and 
 secure harbors, important commercial 
 to^Mis will gradually arise for the fur- 
 therance of a great intercourse between 
 China and the East Indies, and the 
 United States. In such a ease it would 
 be not only desirable but almost neces- 
 sary that a more rapid communication 
 should be maintained between the East- 
 ern and the Western Shores of North 
 America, both by merchant ships and 
 men-of-war, than has hitherto been pos- 
 sible with the tedious, disagreeable, and 
 expensive voyage around Cape Horn. 1 
 therefore repeat thai it is absolutely indis- 
 pensahle for the United States to effect a 
 passage from, the Mexican Gulf to the 
 Pacific Ocean; and I am certain that they 
 will do so. ... 1 should like to see 
 another thing, — a junction of the Danube 
 and the Rhine ; but this undertaking is so 
 gigantic that I have grave doubts of its 
 comijletion, particularly when I consider 
 our German resources. And thirdly, and 
 lastly, I should wish to see England in 
 possession of a canal through the Isthmus 
 of Suez. Would I could live to see these 
 three works. It would be well worth the 
 trouble to last some fifty years or more 
 for the very purpose." 
 
 During the period between 1810 and 
 
 1825 the Spanish possessions bordering on 
 the Caribbean Sea achieved their inde- 
 pendence, assuming Republican forms of 
 government. Immediately upon the es- 
 tablishment of these governments, canal 
 projects were almost daily broached. In 
 
 1826 Henry Clay, then Secretary of State 
 of the United States, ordered an official 
 survey of the Nicaragua route, and many 
 other canal schemes were advanced in this 
 country without results; while for the 
 next sixty years, hardly a year passed ■with- 
 out some real or pretended representatives 
 of foreign interests securing concessions 
 and rights of way across the Isthmus, or 
 
 from Nicaragua. The first pronounced 
 advance towards definite action by this 
 country came in 1846, when the now 
 famous treaty of that year was made with 
 New Granada (now Colombia), by which 
 the United States secured the exclusive 
 right of transit across the entire Isthmus 
 of Panama, from Costa Rica to the Atrato 
 river, guaranteeing in return " the rights 
 of sovereignty and isroperty which New 
 Granada has and possesses over said terri- 
 toiy." This Treaty became of great im- 
 portance when in 1903 it seemed neces- 
 sary to justify the Administration's course 
 regarding the alleged revolution in Pan- 
 ama. It was not long before American 
 capitalists under its protection built the 
 Panama railroad, which was opened for 
 public service in 1855. The famous, or 
 infamous, Clayton-Bulwer Treaty between 
 Great Britain and the United States was 
 concluded in 1850. The necessary limits 
 of this article preclude the possibility of 
 an effort to make clear the many intri- 
 
 cate and perplexing political considera- 
 tions which determined the character of 
 this most short-sighted and ill-advised 
 agreement. Sufiice it to say that its gen- 
 eral purpose was to bind the respective 
 governments never to obtain any exclu- 
 
600 
 
 TEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 sive control over au Isthmian Canal, nor 
 to maintain fortifications commanding 
 the same, nor to malie any use of an al- 
 liance or agreement with any Central 
 American state to obtain unequal advan- 
 tages in regard to commerce or naviga- 
 tion through any such canal. It is hardly 
 necessary to say that the treaty has been 
 a bone of contention and a prolific source 
 of misunderstandings and strife from the 
 day of its enai'tment until it was super- 
 seded by the Ilay-Pauncefote Treaty of 
 1901. 
 
 Between 1860 and 1870 the Emperor 
 Napoleon III. became a somewhat active 
 factor in canal matters, and not at all to 
 the satisfaction of the American people. 
 These movements, in connection with his 
 attempt to establish Maximilian as king 
 in Mexico, in 1864, gave birth to a strong 
 anti-French sentiment in this country. 
 And so many were the tlireatened foreign 
 complications that in 1869 President 
 Grant was moved to announce in no inv 
 ccrtain tones, for the first time, what has 
 come to be the attitude of the United 
 States, that only an American canal, 
 under the control of Americans, should 
 be anywhere built between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific Oceans. 
 
 In 1878, however, Lt. AVyse of the 
 French Navy secured from the Colombian 
 government a conc'ession for the con- 
 struction of a canal anywhere on the 
 Isthmus, provided he could make terms 
 with the Panama railroad. This he suc- 
 ceeded in doing, and returning to France, 
 disposed of his concession to the Sacic/e 
 Civile Internaiional du Canal Iiilrr- 
 oceanique, with Ferdinand de Lesseps, 
 the builder of the Suez Canal, as its 
 president. This company was organized 
 under a charter guaranteed by the French 
 Government. It had a capital stock of 
 600,000,000 francs. Books were opened 
 for a popular subscription at fifty francs 
 a share, and so great was the entlmsiasni 
 over the project that the number of sub- 
 scribers quickly reached 600,000. Al- 
 though there was no evidence that the 
 French Government had any interest 
 whatever in the undertaking, yet so \\n- 
 
 pleasant were the recollections of Napol- 
 eon's attempt to get a foothold in Central 
 America that people came to regard that 
 as a part of French policy; and it was 
 persistently rumored that the French Gov- 
 ernment was backing de Lesseps. Even 
 if this were not true, it was easily seen 
 that the Government had only to take ad- 
 vantage of some of the political disturb- 
 ances which are constantly arising among 
 the Central American states, and make of 
 it an excuse for assuming control over 
 any canal that the Company should have 
 constructed. The whcjle proposition was, 
 therefore, regarded with very unfriendly 
 sentiments by both the government and 
 the people of this country. To overcome 
 this opposition and to encourage Amer- 
 ican subscriptions to the Company's stock 
 de Lessejis came to the United States in 
 1880. lie appeared before a House Com- 
 mittee, addressed public assemblies, oc- 
 cupied a great deal of space in magazines 
 and papers, and in every way endeavored 
 to remove the misapprehensions of the 
 people; and in that, campaign he was re- 
 markably successful. LTnfortunately, how- 
 ever, the change of attitude of many 
 [irorainent papers and influential business 
 niciL and bankers was so complete and 
 sudden that their conversion was viewed 
 with considerable skepticism. The net re- 
 sults, however, of his efforts were ex- 
 tremely satisfactory to de Lesseps and his 
 company, notwithstanding the fact that 
 his visit was the occasion of President 
 Hayes sending a message to the Senate in 
 which he announced in the most em- 
 phatic terms the attitude of the American 
 p("oi)le towards every movement of that 
 natui'C. " The policy of this Country," 
 he said, " is a canal under American con- 
 trol. The United States cannot consent 
 to the surrender of this control to any 
 European Power or to any combination 
 of European Powers. . . . No Eu- 
 ropean Power can intervene for such pro- 
 tection without adopting measures on this 
 continent which the United States would 
 deem wholly inadmissible. An inter- 
 oceanic Canal across the American Isth- 
 mus will essentially change the geograph- 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL— l'JU3. 
 
 GUI 
 
 ical relations between the United States, 
 and between the United States and the 
 rest of the world. It will be the great 
 ocean thoroughfare between our Atlantic 
 and our Pacific shores, and virtually a 
 part of the coast line of the United States. 
 . . . No other great power would under 
 similar circumstances fail to assert a 
 rightful control over a work so closely and 
 vitally affecting its interest and its wel- 
 fare." 
 
 In the face of this warning, however, 
 the Trencli Company actively continued 
 its preliminary work, and its stock was 
 largely sought for. The plan which had 
 been adopted provided for a sea-level 
 canal, 29 1-2 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the 
 bottom, involving the excavation of 157,- 
 000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock at 
 an estimated cost of $127,000,000. The 
 canal was to be completed in eight years. 
 Work was begun in 1881 in the most spec- 
 tacular manner, Sara Bernhardt even go- 
 ing to the Isthmus to give a performance 
 in honor of the event. The subsequent 
 history of the Company is scandalous in 
 the extreme, though it was not until 1888 
 that the day of reckoning came. The 
 Company then suspended payments, and 
 went into bankruptcy, a receiver being 
 appointed shortly after. Instead of the 
 $127,000,000 which it had been estimated 
 would be ample to complete the work, it 
 was found that nearly $400,000,000 had 
 already been expended, and only about 
 two-fifths of the work had been completed. 
 Legal investigations followed, which dis- 
 closed the most shocking- extravagance, 
 misuse of funds, and bribery. More than 
 one hundred members of the French leg- 
 islature had received liberal bribes, as 
 had also several members of the Execu- 
 tive Government, the bureau of police, 
 and others; while the press had been richly 
 subsidized to prevent exposures. As a re- 
 sult of the investigations the two leading 
 financial agents of the Company com- 
 mitted suicide, and de Lesseps himself 
 became a mental wreck. Notwithstand- 
 ing the conditions which existed, however, 
 the public in France and throughout the 
 world believed that he was only techni- 
 
 cally guilty, and was not cognizant of the 
 rascality of his associates. He was, never- 
 theless, fined and sentenced to imprison- 
 ment for two years, — but the sentence was 
 never executed. He died in 1894, for- 
 tunately, perhaps, never having rallied 
 from his mental collapse and so probably 
 not conscious of the disgrace that had 
 fallen upon a great and honored name. 
 
 FERDINAND DE LESSEPS. 
 
 The Receiver appointed by the Courts 
 was authorized to cede to any new com- 
 pany all or part of the old company's 
 assets, to borrow money and to make new 
 contracts looking toward the completion 
 of the work. Three different extensions 
 of the time-limit on the concessions were 
 obtained from the Colombian Govern- 
 ment, the last carrying the term over to 
 1910. In October, 1894, the Eeceiver suc- 
 ceeded in forming a new company, and 
 assigned to it all the rights, property, and 
 assets of every nature of the old company. 
 This company secured the services of an 
 international technical commission, com- 
 posed of ten eminent engineers from the 
 LTnited States, Great Britain, Germany, 
 and France, which proceeded to the Isth- 
 mus and carefully studied every feature of 
 the work done and to be done; and in 
 1899 the Commissioners reported unani- 
 
602 
 
 FKOM COLOKY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 luously in favor of the feasibility and prac- 
 ticability of conii^leting- the canal. It was 
 estimated that $102,500,000 would be 
 needed for the work, and that it would 
 take ten years. The Company resumed 
 operations on a small scale; and \ip to 
 1900 had spent about $8,000,000, when the 
 work practically ceased. The subsequent 
 efforts of representatives of the company 
 were confined to schemes to centre the in- 
 terest of the United States on a canal at 
 Panama and to prevent, so far as possible, 
 the consideration of any other route, in 
 the hope that a sale of assets of the com- 
 pany might be made to Americans. To 
 this end an active lobhy was maintained 
 ill Washingfon and no opportunitij was 
 lost to Iceep public attention directed 
 towards Panama. 
 
 In the meantime the Maritime Canal 
 Company, which was an organization of 
 private capitalists, had secured a conces- 
 sion from Nicaragua, and in 1890 began 
 work in a small way by making surveys, 
 dredging the harbor of Greytown, etc. 
 This company became a most persistent 
 suitor for popular and government sup- 
 port; and for eight or nine years the dis- 
 cussions of the relative claims of the 
 Nicaragua and Panama supporters were 
 well-nigh continuous, — Senator Morgan 
 especially doing notable service in behalf 
 of the Nicaragua Company. Towards the 
 close of the last century public opinion 
 was considerably aroused upon the sub- 
 ject by the failure of the Panama Com- 
 pany, but more especially by the outbreak 
 of the Cuban War, and the innnediate 
 necessity of getting one of the newest 
 and best of the battleships, the Oregon, 
 from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. 
 Tier spectacular race around the Horn 
 against time and the enemy was observed 
 by the people with breathless interest; and 
 no greater object lesson could have been 
 presented of the need of an Isthmian 
 canal; while the sentiment first forcibly 
 voiced by President Grant, — " an Amer- 
 ican Canal under the control of the Amer- 
 icans," — became the universal popular 
 cry. 
 
 In 1899 President McKinley was au- 
 
 thorized by Congress to appoint yet an- 
 other Commission to investigate thor- 
 oughly the characteristics and merits of 
 all the leading routes, and $1,000,000, was 
 appropriated to cover all the expenses of 
 the commission. After visiting Nicaragua, 
 Panama, and Paris, as the powers of the 
 French Company and its disposition to 
 sell were important factors in reaching 
 conclusions, tlie Cummissioneirs reported 
 November 10, 1901, in favor of ilw 
 Nicaragua route. They estimated the 
 cost of a canal at that place at $189,864,- 
 062, while the cost of completing the 
 Panama Canal was placed at $144,233,- 
 358. To this latter sum, however, must 
 be added the cost of acquiring the rights 
 and assets of the French Company, which 
 had been offered to the United States Gov- 
 ernment for $109,141,500, which would 
 make the total cost of the Panama Canal 
 $253,374,858. The commission also ex- 
 pressed its opinion that the United States 
 should not pay over $40,000,000 for the 
 interests and rights of the new Panama 
 Canal Company, and its report closed 
 with these words : " After considering all 
 the facts developed in the investigations 
 made by the Commission and the actual 
 situation as it now stands, and having 
 in view the terms offered by the new 
 Panama Canal Company, this Commis- 
 sion is of the opinion thai the most prac- 
 ticable and feasible route for an Isthmian 
 Canal, la he under the control, manage- 
 ment, and oivnersliip of the United States, 
 is ihat known as ttie Nicaragua route." 
 This decision created the greatest con- 
 sternation in the Panama Company's 
 councils; and at a general meeting of the 
 stockholders it was decided to negotiate 
 for a sale to the United States on the 
 best terms to be secured. Accordingly 
 on January 4, 1902, a definite offer to sell 
 for forty millions was cabled to the 
 United States Commission; and upon the 
 receipt of the message that body at once 
 proceeded to reverse itself, in a supple- 
 mentary report, dated January 18th, rec- 
 ommending to the President the adoption 
 of the Panama route instead of the Nica- 
 ragua. In the meantime a bill had been 
 
THE TAXAMA CAXAL— l'J03. 
 
 introduced in the House providing for the 
 cunstruetiou of a canal through Nica- 
 ragua as recommended hy the Commis- 
 sion; and on January 9, 1!)02, more than 
 a week before the Commission made its 
 supplementary report, the hill was passed 
 hy an almost unanimous vote of 308 to 2. 
 When the House bill came before the Sen- 
 ate, Mr. Morgan labored strenuously in 
 its behalf. In a speech in its favor, how- 
 ever, he made a declaration that the Pan- 
 ama Company could not make a valid 
 transfer of its properties; whereupon Sen- 
 ator Spooner moved an amendment to the 
 bill, which was practically a substitute, 
 authorizing the President to acquire the 
 rights and property of the Panama Canal 
 Company at a cost not to exceed $40,000,- 
 000; to secure from the Republic of 
 Colombia perpetual control of a strip of 
 land, not less than six miles wide, extend- 
 ing from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific, 
 upon such terms as he might deem rea- 
 sonable; to proceed, upon acquiring these 
 rights, to construct a canal through the 
 Isthmian Canal Commission created by 
 this act. But should it not he possible to 
 obtain a satisfactory title to the property 
 of the French Company, and the control 
 of the necessary territory of the Republic 
 of Colombia, " within a reasonable time 
 and upon reasonable terms," then the Pres- 
 ident was instructed to secure control of 
 the necessary strip through Nicaragua 
 and proceed to construct a canal there. 
 The bill as amended passed the Senate 
 June 19, 1902, by a vote of 67 to 6. The 
 House at first refused to concur in the 
 Senate amendment; but after a confer- 
 ence the Spooner measure was adopted by 
 a vote of 260 to 8 and the act was signed 
 by the President June 28th. Probably no 
 other act of Congress has ever settled a 
 question that had been studied, discussed, 
 investigated and worked over for four 
 centuries ; for this " Spooner Amend- 
 ment " simply put in a form destined to 
 receive practical development the plans 
 that Saavedra and Cortez first laid before 
 their King in the first quarter of the six- 
 teenth century. 
 
 During the previous year the Hay- 
 
 Pauncefote Treaty had been ratified by 
 the Senate (December 16, 1901). By this 
 second draft of that treaty, the first hav- 
 ing proved objectionable to the Senate, 
 the old Clayton-Bulwer treaty was ex- 
 plicitly abrogated, and it was provided 
 that the United States might construct a 
 canal which should be under its exclusive 
 control and management. The principle 
 of neutralization was nominally retained 
 but under the sole guarantee of the 
 United States, with power to police the 
 canal; and the clause of the first draft, 
 forbidding fortifications, was omitted. As 
 a distinguished authority has well said, 
 " a unilateral guarantee amounts to noth- 
 ing; the effect, therefore, of the Hay- 
 Pauncefote treaty is to place the canal 
 politically, as well as commercially, under 
 the absolute control of the United States." 
 
 Photo, copyrighted 1902 by J. E. Purdy, Boston. 
 JOHN C. SPOONER. 
 
 Nothing seemed therefore to stand in 
 the way of a clear field for immediate 
 action. The Spooner Amendment had 
 distinctlj- outlined an alternate course for 
 
eui 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 the president to pursue, if he could not 
 " within a reasonable time and upon rea- 
 sonable terms " secure the necessary right 
 of way from Colombia. An investigation 
 uf the title of the French Canal Com- 
 pany, and of its powers to deliver all its 
 interests and as^ft* on the Tsthinus to the 
 
 Photo, copyrighted 190y by J. E. Purdy. Boston. 
 JOHN HAY. 
 
 United States, made by the law depart- 
 ment of the Government, had revealed no 
 flaw. Secretary Hay, therefore, at onco 
 began negotiations with Mr. Herran, the 
 representative of the Colombian Govern- 
 ment at Washington, which resulted in 
 the completion of the Hay-Herran treaty 
 and its signature on January 22, 1903. 
 By it the United States agreed to pay to 
 Colombia ten million dollars cash, and an 
 annuity of $2.'')0,000 for the perpetual lease 
 of a strip of land six mile; wide extend- 
 insi entirely across the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama. But the Colombian Senate whirh 
 met in extra session June 20th for the 
 purpose of considering the Treaty devel- 
 oped a soirit adverse to ratification, and 
 bv a final vote t.^ken August 12tli. it Avas 
 
 rejected by the unanimous vote of all the 
 Senators jsresent. Then followed another 
 of the unfortunate affairs that have been 
 too common in our history. A made-to- 
 order revolution was started, clearly with 
 the knowledge of the oflicials of the United 
 States Government, although, as a gov- 
 ernment, it had no part in its inception. 
 This movement belongs in the same eate- 
 g'oi-y with the acquisition of Texas, of 
 Hawaii, and the Philippines. In all these 
 cases all the rights of a weaker power 
 were ignored by the strong one which 
 wished to acquire territory belonging to 
 the weaker power, and determined to dic- 
 tate the method of acquisition, as well as 
 the terms. It is not a chapter of history 
 that any lover of his country and of fair 
 play, not to speak of common morality, 
 ran contemplate with any pride. 
 
 In consideration of this subject, three 
 points, should be kept in view. 1st — That 
 Colombia was an independent, sovereign 
 state with which the American govern- 
 ment was, and had for a long time 
 been, at peace. 2nd' — That under the 
 constitution of Colombia, just as under 
 ours, the sole power of accepting or 
 rejecting treaties lay with its Senate. 
 :ircl — Tliat under the Treaty of 1846, 
 this government bound itself to protect 
 the rights of Colombia on the Isthmus, 
 in these words : "x\nd in order to se- 
 cure to themselves the tranquil and con- 
 stant enjojanent of these advantages 
 (previously named) and as an especial 
 compensation for the said advantages, and 
 for favors they have acquired by the 4th, 
 .ith, and 6th articles of this Treaty, the 
 United States guarantees positively and 
 efficaciously to New Granada (now 
 Colombia), by the present stipulation, the 
 perfect neutralization of the before-men- 
 tioned Isthmus, with view that the free 
 transit from one sea to the other may not 
 be interrupted or embarrassed in any 
 future time while the treaty exists; and 
 in consequence of which the United States 
 also guarantees in the same manner the 
 rights of sovereignfi/ and property which 
 New Granada has and possesses over the 
 said territory." 
 
THE PANAMA CAXAL — 1900. 
 
 GU5 
 
 Our space is too limited to go into all 
 the details of this peculiar proceeding, 
 and they are of so recent occurrence that 
 it is hardly necessary. Suffice it to say that 
 on November 3rd, 1903, a revolution was 
 set down for Panama ; tliat all its details 
 were so well known in Washington some 
 days before that on the 2nd of November 
 despatches were sent to the commanders 
 of the naval vessels at Colon and Panama, 
 as follows : " Maintain free and uninter- 
 rupted transit. If interruption threat- 
 ened by armed force, occupy line of rail- 
 road. Prevent landing of any armed force 
 udih hostile intent, either government or 
 insurgent, either at Colon, Porto Bello, or 
 other point." As no one knew better than 
 the authorities at Washington that the 
 " insurgents " had no forces to land, the 
 order was simply that the United States 
 naval vessels should prevent the State of 
 Colombia from landing troops in its own 
 territory to protect its own rights and 
 maintain its own authority. The opera- 
 bouffe character of the whole proceeding 
 is illustrated by the despatches sent out 
 from W^ashington. Although it had been 
 arranged that the " uprising " should oc- 
 cur on the 3rd, there was a hitch in the 
 proceedings, the two or three leaders los- 
 ing their nerve. Consequently our State 
 Department got impatient, and at 3 :40 
 P. M. on that day telegraphed to the 
 American Consuls at Panama and Colon 
 as follows: "Uprising on Isthmus re- 
 ported. Keep Department promptly and 
 fully informed. Loomis, Acting." At 
 8 :15 P. M. the following reply was re- 
 ceived from Consul Ehrman at Panama : 
 "No uprising yet. Reported will be in 
 night. Situation is critical." As nothing 
 was known of the " Uprising " at either 
 Colon or Panama, it certainly seems 
 mysterious how Asst. Sec. Loomis got the 
 information which he wired from Wash- 
 ington in the afternoon. 
 
 The form of a revolution, however, was 
 later gone through with, as well as that of 
 establishing a " Eepublican " form of 
 government; and a most interesting and 
 interested actor in the events, M. Bunau- 
 Varilla, \e\y quickly appeared at Wash- 
 
 ington as the "Envoy Extraordinary and 
 Minister Plenipotentiary " of what Sen- 
 ator Teller aptly termed " The twenty 
 minute Republic of Panama." It was 
 the work of but a few days to draw up a 
 treaty such as the United States wanted, 
 which was at once executed. By its pro- 
 visions the Republic of Panama granted 
 to the United States, " in perpetuity, the 
 use, occupation, and control of a zone " 
 ten miles wide across the Isthmus, with a 
 long enumeration of other privileges 
 which amounted to a virtual cession of 
 the entire territory; and in return this 
 government agreed to pay to the Republic 
 of Panama $10,000,000 in gold coin upon 
 the execution and ratification of this 
 Convention, and an annuity of $250,000 
 in gold coin after seven years from the 
 same date. 
 
 Copyrighted 1909 by Underwood t& Underwood^ N, Y, 
 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 To the great surprise, apparently, of 
 the Administration this proceeding did 
 not furnish unalloyed pleasure to all the 
 citizens of the United States. A tre- 
 mendous storm of adverse criticism burst 
 forth as there were, happily, a vei-y large 
 number of the people who thought it 
 
606 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 would Lave been far better to have gone 
 without the Isthmus site, or at least to 
 have made its acquisition the subject of 
 future negotiation, than to have secured 
 it in what the President had himself, only 
 a short time before, declared to be an 
 " underhand way." For while the Eevo- 
 lution was " fomenting " in Xew York, he 
 had evidently been " sounded " to see how 
 far. he would sanction the course that 
 was being planned; and on October 10th, 
 about twenty-five days before the upris- 
 ing, he wrote the following letter to the 
 Editor of the Eeview of Reviews: 
 
 " jMy dear Dr. Shaw : I inclose you, 
 purely for your own information, a copy 
 of a letter of September 5th from our 
 ;Minister to Colombia. I think it might 
 interest you to see that there was abso- 
 luely not the slightest chance of securing 
 by treaty any more than we endeavored 
 to secure. The alternatives were to go to 
 Nicaragua, against the advice of the ma- 
 jority of competent engineers, some of the 
 most competent saying that we had better 
 have no canal at this time than to go 
 there, — or else to fake the territory hi/ 
 force, without any attempt at getting a 
 treaty. I cast aside the proposition at 
 this time to foment the secession of Pan- 
 ama. Whatever other governments can 
 do, the United States cannot go into the 
 securing, by such underhand means, the 
 cession. Privately I freely say to you 
 that I should he delighted if Panama ivere 
 an independent State or if it made iiitelf 
 so at this moment; hut to say so puhlichi 
 would amount to an instigation of a re- 
 volt, and, therefore, I cannot say it." 
 With great regard. Sincerely yours, 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt." 
 
 At first this criticism was treated veiy 
 cavalierly by the Administration; but as 
 its volume rapidly increased, and even 
 many Administration papers found the 
 transaction more than they could sup- 
 port and so joined the opponents of the 
 Administration's course, various efforts 
 were made to justify its action. A mes- 
 sage was sent to Congress endeavoring to 
 explain the circumstances satisfactorily, 
 
 and inspired utterances appeared in lead- 
 ing papers, but the strained construction 
 put upon precedents, and international 
 law, and treaties only made the whole 
 transaction more unpalatable. Just what 
 considerations led the President to deter- 
 mine upon the Panama route at all 
 hazards have never been made clear. 
 Under the Constitution, as executive of- 
 ficer of the Government, his course had 
 been clearly marked out for him by the 
 legislative department in the Spooner 
 Amendment; and its provisions were 
 carefully framed to meet just the emer- 
 gency that did arise. Under it the Pres- 
 ident was directed, if it was impossible 
 to obtain the " control of the necessary 
 territory of the Republic of Colombia 
 within a reasonable time and upon rea- 
 sonable terms," to drop further considera- 
 tion of the Panama route, and proceed to 
 build a canal at Nicaragua. More sur- 
 veys of that route by the most competent 
 engineers had been made than of any 
 other, and one has only to read their re- 
 ports covering a period of more than fifty 
 years, to see that it had been repeatedly 
 declared to be the most practicable and 
 feasible of the four great routes. The rea- 
 son that it had received less favorable 
 attention than the Panama route was 
 that heretofore the Clayton-Bulwer treaty 
 had presented almost insuperable ob- 
 stacles to the building of an American 
 canal at that point, as it was in Honduras 
 and Nicaragua that Great Britain claimed 
 extensive rights of sovereignty. But 
 with the abrogation of that treaty by the 
 Ilay-Pauneeforte treaty all such obstacles 
 had been removed ; and it would seem 
 that under such conditions the duty of 
 the President was clear. Had he gone to 
 Nicaragua, or deferred action at Panama 
 for further negotiations, the honor of the 
 nation would not have been smirched, and 
 the opposition of those who still believe 
 that " righteousness exalteth a nation " 
 would not have been aroused. 
 
 The transfer of its rights and property 
 to the United States by the French Canal 
 Company was completed in May, 1904. 
 Already the Commission of construction 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL— 1903. 
 
 607 
 
 provided for by the Spooner Amendment 
 had been appointed, with A(hniral J. G. 
 Walker, who had already served on two 
 Commissions, as Chairman. On June 1st, 
 an important change in plan was made 
 by the appointment of John F. Wallace 
 as Engineer-in-Chief of the whole enter- 
 prise. Before the year was over much 
 dissatisfaction with the work of the Com- 
 mission was manifested, and in March, 
 190.5, all its members resigned. On April 
 1st, a new Commission was appointed, of 
 which T. P. Shonts was made Chairman, 
 with Judge C. E. Magoon, as Governor 
 of the Canal Zone, and Minister to Pan- 
 ama. Mr. Wallace retained his office of 
 Engineer-in-Chief. In mid-summer, how- 
 ever, another trouble arose, and Mr. Wal- 
 lace resigned. The circumstances attend- 
 ing his resignation were very unpleasant, 
 coming as a shock to the public, as well 
 as revealing a disagreeable lack of har- 
 mony among the officials on the Isthmus. 
 In February, 1906, a committee of Con- 
 gress which had been appointed to inves- 
 tigate the Canal aSairs examined Mr. 
 Wallace as to his reasons for resigning. 
 He stated that it was the result of his 
 failure to get along with two men, — Mr. 
 Shonts and Mr. Cromwell. The latter 
 has not appeared in this narrative before, 
 but as tlie 2Tew York attorney for the 
 French Canal Company and of M. Bunau- 
 Varilla, he has had a great deal to do 
 with developments that have been re- 
 corded. In his testimony Mr. Wallace 
 complained in a general way that ilr. 
 Cromwell had too much influence with 
 the President and Secretary of War, and 
 was interested in too many things. " I 
 thought about him," he said, " as being 
 the man who hrought about the sale of 
 the Canal to the government; who hrought 
 about the revolution in Panama; ivho as- 
 sisted the government of Panama in mak- 
 ing its investments; who is carried on 
 the diplomatic list of that government ; 
 and who is interested in public utilities 
 in the Isthmus. I felt that a man mixed 
 up in so many things might have his 
 mind perverted, and at some time he 
 
 might give the wrong advice, and the 
 result would be a scandal."' 
 
 On May loth, 1905, Secretary Taft an- 
 nounced that all supplies of every kind 
 for the Canal Zone would be bought in 
 open market, — where they could be 
 bought cheapest. But as soon as Con- 
 gress took this matter up. such a course 
 was condemned and abandoned. Of course 
 the retirement of Mr. Wallace involved 
 other changes, and he was succeeded by 
 ]\rr. John F. Stevens. About the same 
 time a board of consulting or advisory 
 engineers was appointed, chiefly to de- 
 termine the character of canal that 
 
 Copyrighted by Clinedinst, Washington, D. C. 
 SIR JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE. 
 
 should be built. Five of the thirteen 
 members of this Board were, at the re- 
 quest of the President, appointed by for- 
 eign governments ; and it would have been 
 difficult to select a more distinguished 
 and experienced body. In their report, 
 which was made public January 10th, 
 1906, eight favored a sea-level, and five 
 a lock, canal. In submitting the report 
 to Congress, however, the President urged 
 a lock-canal, and, after considerable dis- 
 cussion, that plan was approved. In the 
 early part of 1907 still another change of 
 plan was made. It was announced that 
 
GUS 
 
 FEOAL COLOA'l TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 it had been decided to build the Canal 
 by private contract, and bids were called 
 for. Three contracting firms sent bids; 
 but upon investigation and further con- 
 sideration it was determined to cancel all 
 bids, and the announcement was made 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by Clinedinsi, Washington, D, C. 
 COLONEL G. W. GOETHALS. 
 
 that the canal would be completed under 
 direction of eng-ineers of the United 
 States Army. On January 29th, Mr. 
 Shonts had resigned from the Commis- 
 sion, and was succeeded by Mr. Stevens, 
 who, in turn, resigned on March 4th; and 
 on April 1st. Lt. Colonel Goethals be- 
 came Chairman of the Board, now com- 
 posed of officers of the army, and en- 
 gineer-in-chief. 
 
 The decision to place the construct inn 
 work in the hands of army officers seems 
 to have been a fortunate one. As con- 
 stituted at the opening of the year 1909 
 the Board consisted of Lt. Colonel G. W. 
 Cioethals, Chairman and Engineer-in- 
 chief, with a salary of $1.5,000 per annum; 
 Alajor W. L. Sibert, in charge of Depart- 
 ment of Locks and Dam Construction ; 
 Major D. D. Gaillard, Department of 
 Excavation and Dredging; H. LL Rous- 
 seau, Engineer in the Navy, Department 
 of Jlunicipal Engineering, Motive Power, 
 
 and Machinery; Hon. J. C. S. Black- 
 burn (the only civilian, retained on the 
 Board), Department of Civil Administra- 
 tion; Colonel W. C. Gorgas, Department 
 of Labor, Quarters, and Subsistence. All 
 members of the Board, except the chair- 
 man, receive a salary of $1-1,000 a year. 
 The Secretary, Joseph Bueklin Bishop, is 
 paid $10,000 a year. In addition to these 
 amounts each member of the Connnission 
 is provided with a furnished house, and is 
 allowed all expenses while in the United 
 States on official business. As soon as 
 the new commission became thoroughly 
 familiar with the work a marked im- 
 provement was manifest in the results ob- 
 tained. From May 1, 1904, to November 
 1, 1907, the total excavation amounted 
 to only 18,714,931 cubic yards; while 
 from jSTovember 1, 1907, to November 1, 
 1908, the amount excavated was 35,01G,- 
 Oi'4 cubic yards. This vast increase of 
 .speed in the conduct of the enterprise 
 gave rise to very optimistic conclusions as 
 to the date of completion of the canal ; 
 many writers and iDress correspondents de- 
 claring that it would be open by the 
 close of the year 1910. While in Wasli- 
 ington in July, 1908, Colonel Goethals 
 took pains to correct these too hopeful 
 prophecies, unofficially predicting that 
 ships would pass through the great water- 
 way on January 1, 1915. It is, however, 
 believed by those familiar with the work 
 that the Chief was too conservative in his 
 estimates and that the canal will be 
 opened at a considerably earlier date. 
 
 The labor problem has, of course, been 
 a most serious one. The force employe<l 
 in the Canal zone is divided into two 
 classes, — the first composed of all officials, 
 clerks, skilled laborers, mechanics, etc., 
 who are on the " gold roll '' — that is, arc 4 
 paid in the money of the United States; 
 the second class is made up of the labor- 
 ers, who are almost entirely Europeans 
 or West Indians, and are on the " silver 
 roll," — that is, are jjaid in the currency 
 of Panama, or its equivalent. Accord- 
 ing to official reports on September 1, 
 1908, there were actually at work on the 
 Canal 25,985 men, — 4,377 of whom b'.'- 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL— 1903. 
 
 609 
 
 longed to the first class, and the re- 
 mainder to the second. 
 
 As in the majority of such undertak- 
 ings, it is evident that the original esti- 
 mated cost of the work will have little re- 
 lation to the ultimate cost of the com- 
 pleted canal. By the Spooner Amend- 
 ment the limit of expenditure for the 
 Panama route was fixed at $1.33,000,000, 
 exclusive of the $40,000,000 paid for the 
 French rights and properties and the 
 $10,000,000 paid Panama. As early as 
 January, 1908, Colonel Goethals had ex- 
 pressed the opinion that the total 
 cost would be more than double the 
 amount named in the Amendment; while 
 the present indications are that it will be 
 nearer three times that amount, or more. 
 The total amount appropriated by Con- 
 gress for construction purposes alone 
 down to June 30, 1908, was $120,904,408, 
 that is, of course, exclusive of the amounts 
 paid the French Company and Panama. 
 When work was begun on May 1, 1904, it 
 was estimated that a total of 174,660,595 
 cubic yards of earth must be excavated. 
 Down to February 1, 1909, the whole 
 amount taken out was 62,751,925 cubic 
 yards, leaving 111,914,670 yards yet to be 
 removed. With these figures before him 
 anyone can form his own estimate as to 
 the date of completion of the great work 
 and its ultimate cost. 
 
 In accordance with the present plans 
 the canal will be of the lock type and will 
 be about fifty miles in length, from deep 
 water in the Caribbean sea to deep water 
 in the Pacific Ocean. As the distance, 
 however, from deep water in the Caribbean 
 sea to the shore line is about four and a 
 lialf miles, and it is five miles from the 
 Pacific coast line to deep water, the canal 
 proper will be about forty miles in length. 
 Its summit elevation will be eighty-five 
 feet above the sea, and will be reached by 
 a flight of three locks located at Gatun on 
 the Atlantic side, and one at Pedro Miguel 
 and two at Miraflores on the Pacific 
 side. These locks will all be in duplicate, 
 having two chambers side by side, each 
 one thousand feet long and one hundred 
 find ten feet wide. The summit level is 
 39 
 
 to be maintained by a great lake at Gatun 
 which will have an area of about one 
 hundred and sixty-five square miles. The 
 
 From Tfie Independent, April22, 1909, by permission. 
 RELIEF MAP OF THE CANAL ZONE. 
 
 bottom width of the canal will vary from 
 two hundred feet iu the famous Culebra 
 cut to an Indefinite width in the deep 
 
610 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 \\;iters of the lake. The approaches on 
 either side from the deep waters of the 
 ocean are to be five hundred feet wide. 
 The canal will have a minimum depth of 
 forty-one feet. Tliat the reader may com- 
 pare this g-reat undertakins' with similar 
 c(jmpleted works, general statistics regard- 
 ing- other great canals of the ■world are 
 given. The most famous of these is, of 
 course, the Suez Canal, connecting the 
 Mediterranean and Red Seas. This has a 
 total length of about one hundred miles, 
 with a width at the bottom of one hun- 
 dred and eiglit feet, and a depth of thirty- 
 one feet. Its total cost was about $100,- 
 000.000. The Manchester Ship Canal, 
 between the cities of Manchester and 
 Liverpool in England, is thirty-five miles 
 long, one hundred and twenty feet wide 
 at the bottom and twenty-six feet deep. 
 This great work cost $75,000,000. The 
 Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, connecting the 
 Baltic and North Seas, is sixty-one miles 
 long, seventy-two feet wide at the bottom, 
 and has a depth of twenty-nine and a 
 half feet. Its cost was $40,000,000. 
 
 Though serious opposition to the lock- 
 canal was manifested in Congress during 
 the winter of 1908-9, it seems probable 
 tliat the present plans will be adhered to. 
 The in-coming Taft administration seems 
 as detennined in its adherence to the lock 
 plan as is that of President Roosevelt. 
 It will be remembered tliat of the Expert 
 Commission of thirteen members, ap- 
 pointed by the President in 1905, five of 
 whom were distinguished foreign en- 
 gineers, eight reported in favor of a sea- 
 level, and five in favor of a lock, canal. 
 The chief argument with the Senators, 
 at least, was that the sea level canal 
 would be so much more costly, something 
 like $270,000,000 against $140,000,000, for 
 which sum the minority engineers 
 " pledged their reputations " that the lock 
 canal could be built. But already nearly 
 their total estimate has been covered and 
 the work is hardly one-third done. In 
 view of the fact that the lock typo was 
 evidently going to cost so much more 
 than the estimated cost of the sea level, 
 much discussion was given to the subject 
 
 in Congress, many of the leading senators 
 declaring their decided preference for the 
 sea level plan, and that they had originally 
 been led to vote for the other only be- 
 cause of the assured difference in cost. 
 Early in February another selected body 
 of engineers accompanied President-elect 
 Taft to Panama to make an exhaustive 
 investigation of conditions there, es- 
 pecially regarding the projected Gatuu 
 dam. As three of the engineers chosen for 
 this exi:)ert work were of the minority 
 who " pledged their reputations " upon 
 tlieir report of 1905, in much of which 
 succeeding- events have proved them so 
 entirely wrong that their " reputations " 
 should need repairing, it was well under- 
 stood before they -n-ent to the Isthmus 
 what their conclusions would be. Their 
 report to the President, which he embodied 
 in a message to Congress, was, tlierefore, 
 largely perfunctorj'. The crucial ques- 
 tion is the possible staljility of the pro- 
 posed Gatun dam. According to press 
 reports the Engineers spent eight hours in 
 studying the situation there, — an under- 
 taking which competent engineers the 
 world over have declared to be the most 
 complicated and serious engineering prop- 
 osition of the age. The manner in which 
 tlie whole subject has been treated by 
 those having the work in charge has 
 created wide-spread doubt and suspicion. 
 It is generally conceded at the present 
 t iiiie that the canal will cost at least $400,- 
 11(10,000; and a bill has been introduced 
 in Congress asking for authority to issue 
 $.".00,000,000— one-half billion dollars— 
 of canal bonds, in addition to $140,000,000 
 already voted and available. This is cer- 
 tainly most amazing trifling with public 
 confidence. But when many of the most 
 experienced authorities in the world de- 
 clare that it is utterly impossible to se- 
 cure a safe foundation for the Gatun 
 ilani, and that to construct a canal of 
 which that dam will be a vital feature is 
 to " invite the most dramatic catastrophe 
 ill the history of public works," it would 
 certainly seem the part of political -svis- 
 dom as well as sound business judgment 
 to delay further action initil more uii- 
 
THE PANAMA CANAL - 
 
 1UU3. 
 
 611 
 
 questionable and less partisan advice is 
 secured. The disgust with the muddled 
 manner in which the whole undertaking- 
 has been managed from the start which 
 dominates many thoughtful Americans 
 was voiced in an editorial of the New 
 York Herald of February 26, which said : 
 " If it should be decided to neither go 
 ahead on jjresent lines nor dig the sea 
 level canal as advocated, but to abandon 
 the whole enterprise, that might be the 
 wisest way out of the difficulty." So many 
 have been the peculiar transactions con- 
 
 nected with the undertaking from its in- 
 ception, so numerous the changes of mau- 
 agement and plans, and so doubtful even 
 now the ultimate success of the work that 
 one needs hardly be superstitious to agree 
 with Philip II. who four hundred years 
 ago, after various investigations by his 
 engineers, gave the whole scheme up as 
 impracticable, declaring that it was im- 
 pious and opposed to the Divine will to 
 attempt to join oceans that God had put 
 asunder. 
 
LI. 
 
 THE TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH - 1905. 
 
 Tlie liitrrests of Russia anil Japan in Mamluuia. — Position and Ininortance of tlie Province. 
 
 — Position of Korea. — Tlie Building; of tlie Siberian Railroad. — Japan's Vital Xeed of Man- 
 ehurian and Korean ^Markets and Products. — The Chinese-Japanese War of 1804-5. — Japan 
 Robbed of tlie Fruits of Victory by European Powers. — Russia's Agreement of 1902 to 
 Kvacuate Manchuria. — Xot Only Fails to Evacuate but Strengthens Forces. — Russia'.s 
 Interests on the Yaln. — Dignified but Forcible Protest of Japan in 1(103. — Russia's Dilatory 
 Tactics. — Diplomatic Relations Severed February 5, 1!X)4. — The Battles of Chemulpo Bay 
 and Port Arthur. — Unpiecedented Successes of Japan on Sea and Land for Fifteen Months. 
 
 — Final Battles of ilukilen and Korean Straits. — Movements Looking Toward Peace. — • 
 The Influence of the Hague Conference. — President Roosevelt's Identical Xotes to Czar and 
 Mikado of .Tune 7. 1003. — Conference Agreed Upon. — Ambassadors Named by Both Powers. 
 
 — Reception of Aniba-ssadors on the Mai/flon-er — President Roosevelt's Tact, and Amicable 
 Toast. — Reasons for Choosing Portsmouth as the Treaty City. — First Meeting of Enivoys 
 August 9. 1905. — Account of Deliberations. — Dark Days. — I'inal Agreement. — Result of 
 Compromises. — Treaty Signed September 5. — Interesting Interchange of Courtesies Be- 
 tween Envoys. — Notable Tc Dcvni Service in Episcopal Cluiroh at Portsmouth. — Reception 
 of News Througliout United States. — Cannons Roar, Bells Ring, Bonfires Everywhere. — 
 Hostile Reception by .Japanese People. — Results Achieved. — Happy and Proud Position of 
 President Roosevelt. 
 
 "A peace is of ihe nature of a conquest; 
 For thrn both parties nobly are subdued. 
 And neither party loser." 
 
 — Shakesteahe. 
 
 ^(>R nearly half a, century the eastern extremity of the gi-eat 
 territory uiiiler the dominion of China known as Man- 
 cliuria has been a bone of contention and a constant source 
 of friction between the surrounding- nations who have 
 wished to obtain a foothold, or zone of supremacy, within 
 its borders. During- the last fifteen years these contests 
 have become more acute, Ru.ssia having been constant and 
 unscrupulous in her aggressive efforts to dominate the 
 situation, while Japan, in proportion to her growing 
 strength and influence, has been as determined to block 
 the advance of Russia, and to preserve at least the " open 
 door'' policy for all the territory in question. China, of w-hose acknowledged sovereign 
 possessions Manchuria forms a part, has been an apparently disinterested observer, 
 yielding to either disputant concessions and territorial privileges in proportion to the 
 strength of the influence with which they have been demanded. And the peculiar 
 spectacle has recently been presented of two powerful nations conducting- the greatest 
 war. all things considered, of all history, for the control of, and within the confines 
 
THE TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH - 
 
 1905. 
 
 613 
 
 of, a Country to which and within which 
 neither had any territorial or political 
 rights that would bear scrutiny in law, 
 and certainly none that had any founda- 
 tion in justice. The physical situation is, 
 however, a most peculiar one and must 
 necessarily lead to political complications. 
 Manchuria is a country of about 365,000 
 square miles area, or about three times 
 the size of Great Britain and Ireland 
 combined. For more than four thousand 
 miles the great empire of the Czar of 
 Russia borders on the Chinese empire; 
 but the former only reaches the ocean in 
 a latitude where the bays and harbors are 
 frozen over for more than half the year. 
 Manchuria covers all the eastern part of 
 this territory from the Russian line and 
 east of the great Gobe desert to the Yel- 
 low sea, with the exception of the im- 
 portant peninsula of Korea, which puts 
 out from the southeastern extremity of 
 this great Manchurian province, from 
 which it is separated politically by the 
 Yalu river. From the Russian border in a 
 generally southern direction to the Yellow 
 sea is about one thousand miles; and 
 from the Khingan mountains on the west 
 to the Yalu river and Russian boundary 
 on the northeast averages about four 
 hundred miles. Manchuria is divided 
 politically into three provinces, of which 
 the southerly, Fing-tien or Shen-King 
 province, whose capital is Mukden, is the 
 most important ; while the distinctive 
 feature of this Shen-King province is the 
 important Liao-tung peninsula, extend- 
 ing far out into the Yellow sea, culminat- 
 ing in the headlands and bay about which 
 Port Arthur was built. The estimated pop- 
 ulation of Manchuria has been placed at 
 from ten to twenty-five millions ; and 
 there are at present about sixteen thou- 
 sand square miles of the country under 
 cultivation, an area that may be vastly 
 increased. This is one of the principal 
 features that make at least free trade 
 communication of vital importance to 
 Japan. 
 
 Korea, so long known as the " Hermit " 
 nation, extends for about five hundred 
 miles as a long peninsula from the south- 
 
 eastern limit of Manchuria, averaging 
 about one hundred and eighty miles in 
 width, — an almost exact reproduction, 
 physically, of Italy, in Europe, and hav- 
 ing about two-thirds of its area. Between 
 its west coast and the Chinese mainland 
 is the Yellow sea, while its easterly shores 
 make, with the curve of the Japanese 
 Archipelago, the great circular sea of 
 Japan. From its southern extremity to 
 the Japanese mainland, across the straits 
 of Korea, is less than one hundred miles. 
 The country has been but little developed 
 though known to possess very rich natural 
 resources; and it was the immense and 
 valuable tracts of timber lands along the 
 banks of the Yalu that appealed so 
 strongly to Russian avarice that Treaty 
 rights were ignored and trampled upon, 
 giving rise to one of the immediate causes 
 of the great war. Just how important a 
 part these timber lands played in promot- 
 ing hostilities between Russia and Japan 
 h.as been well shown in the first chapters 
 of " The Military and Political Memoirs 
 of General Kin-opatkin," as published in 
 McClure's Magazine for September, 1908. 
 
 Such are the physical conditions of the 
 countries the control of which, or at least 
 the neutralizing of which, has been the 
 prize for which Japan has fought twice 
 during the past fifteen years, ultimately 
 winning the cause, and at the same time 
 raising herself from an insignificant posi- 
 tion among the powers of the world to one 
 of the foremost j^ositions as an intelli- 
 gent, intensely patriotic, and fearless 
 nation. Let us try to determine what the 
 interest of the two great contesting 
 powers in this territory really were. 
 
 About 1890 the Russian government 
 decided to build the great Siberian rail- 
 road, whose eastern terminus should be 
 at Vladivostock, on the Japan sea. With 
 tliis determination new and most impor- 
 tant elements were at once injected into 
 the far eastern question, as Vladivostock 
 was wholly unfitted in every way to serve 
 as the terminal port of such a trans-con- 
 tinental road, especially as its harbor was 
 ice-bound for more than half the year. 
 The very announcement of the pui-pose 
 
(iU 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOliLD POWER. 
 
 to build suoli a road was, therefore, a 
 virtual notice to the various interests of 
 eastern Asia that other terminal arrange- 
 ments must eventually be secured; and 
 nature had made it possible that these 
 advantages could be acquired only through 
 concessions from China to construct a 
 branch of the road south through Man- 
 churia to an open harbor on the Yellow 
 sea. These concessions were secured, as 
 will be shown later, by diplomatic pro- 
 cesses familiar to Russia for many years, 
 but which were so " peculiar " that even 
 Bret Harte's " Heathen Chinee " would 
 have blushed at his simplicity. By a 
 secret treaty with China made in 1890 
 Russia gained all the privileges neces- 
 sary; and by 190o had invested more than 
 
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 MB 
 
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 Photograiili I'nfh'rtrond if- Underwood, A'. }'. 
 THE EMPEHOK OF JAPAN. 
 
 $;iOO,(J()(i.i»ni) in the railroad project, a 
 large proportion of which went into Man- 
 churia, where the enormous expenses were 
 incurred in the establishment of new 
 cities like Daliiy and Harbin, the latter 
 nt the junction of the main line with the 
 
 .side line through Manchuria to Port 
 Arthur. Harbin, about six hundred miles 
 from Port Arthur, and called the Moseovf 
 of Asia, is said to have had but a single 
 Chinese house in 1898, with a iwpulation 
 of 50,000 in 1903. Russia's interest natur- 
 ally centred in the development of this 
 railroad and in making the entire coun- 
 try tributary to it, which must result in 
 its becoming politically tributary to itself. 
 More than eighty so-called " depots " had 
 Ix'en established along the lines of the 
 Manehurian railway before the outbreak 
 of the war, of which Harbin was originally 
 one. each covering several square miles, 
 witliin which only Russians and Chinese 
 had the right of permanent settlement. 
 Russia's whole policy was that of the 
 " closed door ; " to exploit the country and 
 its i^eople solely for her own aggrandize- 
 ment. A natural result, too, of the in- 
 creased means of communication was the 
 influx of Russian speculators and ad- 
 venturers of every class, who were con- 
 stantly demanding protection from the 
 home government for real or alleged prop- 
 erty and property rights. Particularly 
 was this true of the great lumber com- 
 panies that were beginning to operate ex- 
 tensively on the Yalu river, among whose 
 members were the highest officials of the 
 Empire, even the Czar himself being a 
 heavy stockholder. The impelling ht (cr- 
 ests of Russia, therefore, were the com- 
 mon ones of territorial expansion, increase 
 t)f ttie Empire, and opening up of new 
 spheres of influence. 
 
 Quite other considerations directed the 
 course of Japan. During recent years 
 the increase of population in the Island 
 Empire has been very rapid, resulting in 
 a change from an agricultural develop- 
 ment to an industrial. The population, 
 which in 1828 was estimated at twenty- 
 seven millions had only risen to thirty- 
 four millions in 1875 ; while between the 
 latter date and 1904 it rose to upwards 
 of forty-seven millions, exclusive of more 
 than three millions in Formosa and the 
 Pescadores. At that time the average an- 
 nual crop of rice was estimated to be two 
 hundrccl and ten million bushels and of 
 
THE TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH— 1905. 
 
 615 
 
 other cereals ninety-five million bushels, 
 while the average consumption was re- 
 spectively two hundred and twenty-eight 
 and one hundred and ten million bushels, 
 showing an average shortage of eighteen 
 million bushels of rice and fifteen million 
 bushels of other grains, — in other words, 
 of the actual necessities of life. In 1904 
 less than thirteen million acres of the 
 country were under cultivation, and ex- 
 pert investigation proved that not above 
 ten million more could be made arable, 
 which gives, at the best, an average of 
 but one-half acre of land per capita. In 
 its great problem of existence even, it be- 
 comes evident, therefore, how important 
 a factor the control or neutralization of 
 Korea and Manchuria becomes to Japan, 
 as they together receive a large jjortion of 
 the cotton yarn and cotton textiles ex- 
 ported from *\ie country, besides several 
 other manufactured goods and coal, and 
 in r(?turn supply Japan with much of the 
 wheat and rice, and practically all of the 
 millet, beans, and oil cakes imported. The 
 imports for 1903 were valued at eighty- 
 five million dollars, about fifty-five per 
 cent of which came from Korea and Man- 
 c]mria in the form of cotton, wool, rice, 
 flour, beans, etc. Moreover, as has been 
 said, the exports of manufactured articles 
 from Japan has been constantly increas- 
 ing. Between 1890 and 1903 the volume 
 of business transacted between Japan and 
 Eastern Asia increased 643 per cent, — 
 from about $23,000,000 to upwards of 
 $148,000,000, while the American trade in- 
 creased 161 per cent, and the European 
 100 per cent, for the same period. Of 
 these exported goods a large proportion 
 went to Korea and Manchuria; as nearly 
 as can be estimated those countries tak- 
 ing for the year 1903 about 36 per cent of 
 tlie total export of cotton yam, and about 
 70 per cent of the total of cotton textiles 
 <-X]X")rted. Such statistics are uninterest- 
 ing for the general reader, but they serve 
 to show, as nothing else can, the vital in- 
 terest Japan has had in all the insidious 
 and aggressive attacks upon the integrity 
 and control of Korea and Manchuria, — 
 countries which supply her so largely 
 
 with the very necessaries of life, and take 
 in return so large a proportion of her 
 manufactured products; and they demon- 
 strate why she was forced to act, and to 
 act quickly, when affairs came to a crisis 
 in 1904, and not wait further upon Rus- 
 sia's dilatory tactics, which simjily meant 
 the tightening of the alien grasp upon the 
 very sources of her national life and whose 
 control by a hostile power meant paralysis 
 and ruin for the Empire. 
 
 Eor some time prior to 1894 internal 
 dissensions were constant in Korea, and 
 Japan, claiming that they were prejudi- 
 cial to her interests, sent a large force into 
 the country, taking steps which were 
 equivalent to a declaration of war against 
 China, which still claimed suzerainty over 
 Korea. Our space does not admit of refer- 
 ence to the events of that war, which was 
 formally declared by Japan August 1, 
 1894, during which, by a series of brilliant 
 engagements on land and sea, the Jap- 
 anese overthrew the power of China in 
 the eastern province and in Korea. 
 Early in the next year China began to sue 
 for peace, with the result that on April 
 17, 189.5, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was 
 concluded and signed, by which China 
 recognized the complete independence of 
 Korea and ceded to Japan " in perpetuity 
 and full sovereignty " the Liao-Tung 
 peninsula, which embraced the important 
 fortifications at Port Arthur, etc. This 
 cession to Japan of territory on the main- 
 land, however, greatly exercised the lead- 
 ing Powers of Europe; and Germany, 
 France, and Russia at once made vigor- 
 ous protest to the Japanese Emperor 
 against his taking such territory, a course 
 that would " endanger the peace of Eu- 
 rope." Accordingly on May 10, 1895, 
 the Emperor yielded to the demand of 
 tlie Powers, and in " the interests of 
 peace " re-ceded to China the Liao-Tung 
 peninsula, contenting himself with the 
 cession of Formosa and the Pescadores 
 islands, and the payment of an indemnity. 
 But even while these negotiations were 
 liending and the noble Emperor of Japan 
 was yielding to the influence of the 
 Powers, Russia was working secretly with 
 
G16 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELU POWER. 
 
 the Chinese govcriiineiit to secure- uiu'l- 
 sti-icted rights and privileges in the same 
 territory she had just forced the Japanese 
 to abandon; with the result that a secret 
 treaty was made granting to Russia for 
 thirty years exclusive rights to build rail- 
 roads in Manchuria and well-nigh exclu- 
 sive privileges of trade; also allowing 
 them to build up fortified towns, and re- 
 build and greatly strengthen Port Arthur. 
 In other words the entire territory of 
 Manchuria was virtually made a province 
 of Russia, to develop and exploit as she 
 would. The effect of this action upon 
 the Japanese mind can be more easily 
 imagined than described. Under this 
 Treaty the Russians at once proceeded 
 to establish their long coveted railroad 
 connections with the Yellow sea, and, 
 strengthened in their position b.v the 
 formal lease of Port Arthur and Talien- 
 wan in 1.S9S, to rebuild and strongly 
 fortify that port. In fact, all things 
 seemed to work together for the advan- 
 tage of Russia, her»Ambassador at Peking 
 having the most favorable attention of 
 the Chinese government, and securing 
 practically all the concessions and privi- 
 leges demanded. The " Boxer " troubles 
 in Peking naturally afforded an oppor- 
 tunity and excuse for Russia's pouring 
 troops into Manchuria, through which 
 she, of course, ajiproached the scene of 
 action. But toward the close of the long 
 negotiations following the attack of the 
 Allies on Peking influences were brought 
 to bear on China to force her to demand 
 that Russia should withdraw her troops 
 from Manchuria; and the conclusion of 
 the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the agree- 
 ment for which was signed at London on 
 January -30, 1902, boded no good to Rus- 
 sia's advance. The result was a some- 
 what remarkable agrc-ement between Rus- 
 sia and China, " done in Peking in dupli- 
 cate, March 26, 1902," in accordance with 
 whose terms the former goverinnent 
 agreed to evacuate certain districts within 
 certain periods, the whole movement to 
 be accomplished within eighteen months. 
 Events made it evident, however, that this 
 Convention was made solely to mislead the 
 
 P(]wers, as but few troops were with- 
 drawn, the majority being only shifted 
 from one place to another, while many 
 new troops were introduced as laborers, 
 who settled in the " depots " along the 
 lines, which were referred to above. Fif- 
 teen months of action under the agTce- 
 ment to evacuate seemed to have left the 
 Russians more firndy intrenched than 
 ever in Manchuria, and Japan's iMtience 
 was fast becoming exhausted and her 
 righteous indignation aroused. Accord- 
 ingly on June 23, 1903, the four principal 
 members of the Japanese Cabinet and 
 five Privy Councilors " met before the 
 Throne " and decided on the principles 
 upon which negotiations with Russia 
 should be opened; and having formulated 
 a policy to be pursued. Baron Komura 
 telegraphed to the Japanese Minister at 
 St. Petersburg on July 28, in substance 
 as follows: "The Imperial Government 
 have observed with close attention the de- 
 velopment of aifairs in Manchuria, and 
 its present situation causes them to view 
 it with grave concern. So long as it was 
 hoped that Russia would carry out, on 
 the one hand, the engagement that she 
 made with China, and, on the other 
 hand, the assurances she had given to 
 other Powers, regarding the subject of the 
 evacuation of Manchuria, the Imperial 
 Governmejit maintained an attitude of 
 watchful reserve. But the recent conduct 
 of Russia has been, at Peking, to propose 
 new demands, and, in Manchuria, to 
 tighten her hold upon it until the Im- 
 perial Government is led to believe that 
 Russia must have abandoned the inten- 
 tion of retiring from Manchuria. At the 
 same time her increased activity upon the 
 Korean frontier is such as to raise doubts 
 as to the limits of her ambition. The un- 
 conditioned and permanent occupation of 
 Manchuria by Russia would create a 
 state of things prejudicial to the security 
 and interest of Japan. The principle of 
 eqiml opportunity would thereby be an- 
 nulled, and the territorial integrity of 
 China impaired. There is, however, a 
 still more serious consideration for the 
 Japanese government. That is to say. 
 
THE TREATY OF POKTSMOUTII — 1D05. 
 
 617 
 
 if Russia was established on the flank of 
 Korea, it would be a constant menace to 
 the sepai'ate existence of that Empire, or 
 at least would make Russia the dominant 
 Power in Korea. Korea is an important 
 outpost in Japan's line of defense, and 
 Japan consequently considers her inde- 
 pendence absolutely essential to her own 
 repose and safety. The Imperial Govern- 
 ment, after the most serious considera- 
 tion, have resolved to consult the Russian 
 Government, in a spirit of conciliation and 
 franli'ness, with a view to the conclusion 
 of an understanding designed to comiiose 
 (juestions which are at this time the cause 
 of their anxiety. . . . You are ac- 
 cordingly instructed to open the question 
 by presenting to Count Lamsdorff, Minis- 
 ter of Foreign Affairs of Russia, a note 
 verhale to the following effect: 
 
 " ' The Japanese Government desire to 
 remove from the relations of the two em- 
 pires every cause of future misunder- 
 standing, and believe that the Russian 
 Government share the same desire. The 
 Japanese Government would therefore be 
 glad to enter with the Imperial Russian 
 Ciovernment upon an examination of the 
 condition of affairs in the regions of the 
 extreme East, where their interests meet, 
 with a view of defining their respective in- 
 terests in those regions. If this sugges- 
 tion fortunately meets with the approval, 
 in principle, of the Russian Government, 
 the Japanese Government will be prepared 
 to present to the Russian Government 
 their views as to the nature and scope of 
 the proposed undertaking.' 
 
 " In presenting the foregoing note to 
 the Russian Foreign Minister you will be 
 careful to make him understand tliat our 
 purposes are entirely friendly, but that 
 we attach great importance to the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 We have quoted quite fully these in- 
 structions of the Japanese Government to 
 its representative at St. Petersburg, cov- 
 ering also the note to be delivered to the 
 Russian foreign minister, because they 
 seem to illustrate so well the mental and 
 political attitude of the Japanese Govern- 
 ment as it enters upon the last ante- 
 
 bellum period, and begins the long-drawn- 
 out negotiations, exasperatingly dilatory 
 and conducted too often on the part of 
 Russia only to gain time, which ended 
 with the ultimatum of Japan presented 
 to the Russian Government early in 1904. 
 Not only were the scarcely courteous and 
 frequently long-delayed replies of the 
 Russian Government to the messages of 
 the Japanese Government such as would 
 excite the ire of any self-respecting peo- 
 ple, but evidences were accumulating 
 every day that the Russian Government 
 was taking advantage of the time they 
 were gaining by their dilatory tactics to 
 strengthen their various positions along 
 the Korean frontier. Early in January 
 large numbers of troops were moved from 
 Port Arthur and Liao-Yung to the Yalu; 
 and on Januai-y 28th Viceroy AlcxeiefF 
 ordered the troops on the Yalu to be 
 placed upon a war-footing; while on 
 the 3d of F'ebruary all the war vessels 
 located at Port Arthur steamed out of the 
 harbor. 
 
 The Japanese Government now con- 
 sidered that a crisis had been reached. 
 The Cabinet members and Privy Coun- 
 cilors held a conference " before the 
 Throne " on February 3d, and again the 
 next day, and on February .5th, at 2 
 P. M., two decisive notes were telegraphed 
 to Mr. Kurius at St. Petersburg, — one 
 communicating Japan's decision to break 
 off negotiations which had received scant 
 attention and had become useles^ and 
 the other severing diplomatic relations 
 with the Russian Government. These 
 notes were transmitted by the Japanese 
 Minister to Count Lamsdorff, on Feb- 
 ruary 6th at 4 P. M., — Baron Rosen, the 
 Russian Minister at Tokio, having already 
 been informed by Baron Komura of the 
 severance of the negotiations and general 
 diplomatic relations betwen the two 
 Powers. 
 
 As the news of Japan's unexpected 
 action was transmitted over the world 
 blank astonishment was everywhere mani- 
 fested. Public feeling was beyond ques- 
 tion strongly and warmly favorable to 
 Japan; and while there was an enthusias- 
 
GIS 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tir outburst of admiration loi- Ikt pluck, 
 it was accompanied by a general senti- 
 ment of regret at what seemed to be her 
 hasty action, which, it was generally con- 
 sidered, could oidy result in her total de- 
 feat and humiliation. Russia's military re- 
 sources had Ions' been considered as un- 
 limited; while the several " hi guess" of 
 
 Photoi/rapit Underwood £ Underwood, N. Y. 
 THE CZAR OF RUSSIA. 
 
 everything Russian had so impressed it- 
 self i>pon the popular imagination that 
 " little " Japan's action seemed foolhardy 
 and rash. But the world was to receive 
 many surprises before' the struggle was 
 over; and that the public attention should 
 not become wearied by waiting for the 
 <lrama to begin, almost before the press 
 had published through the land the facts 
 of the severance of friendly relations be- 
 tween the two countries, Japan had at- 
 tacked and destroyed the Russian vessels 
 in Chemulpo harbor, and followed that 
 little aifair up with the naval batile at 
 Port Arthur on the night of the second 
 day after; furnishing, as it were, an excit- 
 ing and interesting " curtain raiser '' for 
 the tragedy which was to follow, whose 
 
 beginning was formally announced by the 
 official declarations of war made by both 
 Emperors on the 10th of February, 19Ui. 
 Neither our space nor our purpose ad- 
 mit of a detailed recital of the events of 
 the Russian-Japanese war, probably the 
 greatest conflict between nations, consid- 
 ered in all its aspects, that history records ; 
 and it is not least remarkable in the fact 
 that from the attack on Port Arthur on 
 the night of February 8, 1904, down to the 
 destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet 
 in the Korean straits on May 27, 1905, 
 the war was, during its entire course of 
 fourteen months, one complete uninter- 
 rupted victory for one of the combatants 
 alone. Jai)an lost no engagement either 
 on sea or land, while Russia at the close 
 found her entire navy annihilated and 
 had not a single victory worthy of men- 
 tion to her credit. It has been authorita- 
 tively stated that Russia sent to Man- 
 churia about 900.000 men, of whom, 375,- 
 000 were killed or incapacitated; while 
 the Japanese forces were not much fewer 
 in number though their loss in killed and 
 wounded was much smaller, probably 
 about 250,000. The Official Gazette of 
 St. Petersburg placed the approximate 
 cost of the war to Russia at one thousand 
 million dollars; and the Japanese expen- 
 diture has been estimated at about one- 
 half that amount. An official statement 
 showed that the Russian naval loss was 
 seventeen battleships, twelve cruisers, and 
 many torpedo boats and destroyers, all 
 valued at $113,000,000. On the other 
 hand, notwithstanding her loss of nine 
 battleships, cruisers, and destroyers valued 
 at $20,000,000, Japan came out of the 
 contest with a gain of $30,000,000 value 
 in war vessels. Of officers of high rank 
 Japan lost but two generals while Rus- 
 sia lost six generals and four admirals. 
 But far beyond the value of these mili- 
 tary gains of the Japanese was the worth 
 of the moral and commercial position se- 
 cured. As was well said: " The prestige 
 in both Europe and Asia has been quietly 
 but absolutely transferred from Russia to 
 Japan. The ' Land of the Rising Sun ' 
 is now the first nation of the East, and 
 
THE TEEATY OF POETSMOUTH — 1905. 
 
 619 
 
 Eussia's Mancliurian venture is ended for 
 generations, if not forever." 
 
 There was hardly a month from the 
 first success of the Japanese forces on the 
 Yalu and the investment of Port Arthur 
 during which proposals looking toward 
 Peace did not emanate from some more or 
 less distinguished source. That this was 
 the case was doubtless largely the result 
 of the influence of the first Hague Con- 
 ference, though that was, perhaps, at that 
 time never recognized as the promoting 
 cause. It would, however, be idle to deny 
 that the attitude of all civilized rulers 
 and peoples had been affected by the at- 
 mosphere of that Conference, though 
 tangible results of its deliberations and 
 conclusions were not at first apparent. It 
 is certainly doubtful whether previous to 
 its meeting any sovereign or ruler would 
 have had the presumption to attempt to 
 intervene between two great contending 
 forces, unless on an intimation from the 
 contestants that such interference would 
 be agreeable. But the " Convention for 
 the Peaceful Adjustment of International 
 Differences," concurred in by the repre- 
 sentatives of all the Powers assembled at 
 The Hague, contained the following pro- 
 visions : 
 
 " Title II. Art. II. In case of serious 
 disagreement or conflict, before an appeal 
 to arms the Signatory Powers agree to 
 have recourse, as far as circumstances 
 will allow, to the good ofiices or mediation 
 of one or more friendly Powers. 
 
 "Title II. Art. III. Independently of this 
 recourse, the Signatory Powers consider it 
 to be useful that one or more Powers who 
 are strangers to the dispute should, on 
 their oivn iiiitiative and as far as circum- 
 stances will allow, offer their good offices 
 or mediation to the states at variance. The 
 right to offer good offices or mediation be- 
 longs to Powers who are strangers to the 
 dispute, even during the course of hostili- 
 ties. The exercise of this right shall never 
 he considered hy one or the other of the 
 parties to the contest as an unfriendly 
 act." 
 
 The way was thus paved for just such 
 humane and Christian efforts as Presi- 
 
 dent Eoosevelt undertook ; and what ten 
 years before would have been a gross im- 
 pertinence assumed rather the air of 
 gracious concern for the welfare of one's 
 fellow men, — not the least of the blessings 
 for which the world owes thanks to the 
 much abused and frequently ridiculed 
 " Peace Conference." As early as Sep- 
 tember, 1904, the great body of representa- 
 tives and distinguished men from all parts 
 of the world assembled at St. Louis, — ■ 
 The Interijarlianientary Union, — uttered a 
 formal and urgent call upon the Powers 
 Signatory to the Hague Conference to in- 
 tervene at the earliest possible proper 
 moment, and seek to end the horrible war 
 in the East. The great Peace Congress 
 held at Boston in the following October 
 voiced the same sentiment; and the ques- 
 tion of the offer of friendly offices had 
 been frequently the subject of considera- 
 tion by the leading rulers of the world, 
 through the usual diplomatic channels. 
 But however much the nations and their 
 peoples, shocked by the frightful slaughter 
 occurring in Manchuria, may have been 
 looking for and woi-king toward a peace- 
 ful solution of the great contest, it will 
 be a matter of gratification and honor- 
 able pride to every true lover of the United 
 States that to our own President fell the 
 lot of speaking the first word directly 
 tending toward peace ; and that it was to 
 our own friendly shores, consecrated to 
 the holiest rights of man, that the envoys 
 of the great contesting Powers chose to 
 turn their steps that they might in quiet 
 conference seek for some common ground 
 on which their sovereigns could meet, 
 and so end all the terrible struggle that 
 had been sucking the very life-blood out 
 of two great peoples for a year and a half, 
 and of which no end was in sight unless 
 through mutual concessions at such a con- 
 ference some friendly agreement could 
 be reached. 
 
 Happily, too, may the people of this 
 nation reflect that the exercise of the good 
 offices of the United States were not con- 
 fined to the close of the war. Nothing 
 seemed more certain than if such a strug- 
 gle began the integrity of China would 
 
620 
 
 PEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 bu seriously menaced. Ever since the 
 outbreak of the Powers on China in 1SU7 
 the future of that great empire had 
 seemed precarious, and the hostile atti- 
 tude of the most powerful nations of the 
 West was only aggravated by the " Boxer " 
 outrages of 1900. Like hungry wolves 
 the Powers debated the question of the 
 partition of the Empire, jealousy of each 
 other rather than any regard for China 
 only restraining them from hostile action. 
 At that time it was largely the result of 
 the efforts of that prince of diplomats and 
 christian gentleman. Secretary John Hay, 
 that the vultures did not seize upon their 
 prey. So, too, when it became evident 
 that Manchuria was to be the seat of a 
 vast war which, with the impulses of the 
 contestants unchecked, must have led to 
 the violation of the rights of China and 
 probably a general invasion of all her east- 
 ern territory, it was the circular note sent 
 by Secretary Hay on the day fcillowing the 
 outbreak of hostilities that led to the de- 
 termination of the strict neutrality of 
 China, and the agreement of the belliger- 
 ent governments to confine all land 
 actions to the territory in Manchuria ac- 
 tually in the hands of Russia at the out- 
 break of the war. 
 
 After the terrible defeat and slaughter 
 of the Russians at Mukden at the end of 
 February 1905 the faith and hope of Rus- 
 sia were centred in the movements of the 
 Baltic fleet, which was then Hearing Jap- 
 anese waters. But when that fleet was 
 completely annihilated in the Straits of 
 Korea atiihe end of May by Admiral Togo 
 in command of the Japanese fleet, it 
 seemed that the time for the injection of 
 " friendly offices " had certainly arrived. 
 Accordingly on the 7th of June identical 
 notes from President Roosevelt were pre- 
 sented to the Czar personally by Ambas- 
 sador Meyer, and to the Mikado, at Tokio. 
 After referring to the terms of the Hague 
 Conference which looked toward such 
 action, the notes continued: " The Presi- 
 dent feels that the time has come when, 
 in the interest of all mankind, he must 
 endeavor to see if it is not possible to 
 bring to an end the terrible and lamentable 
 
 conflict now being waged. With both 
 Russia and Japan the United States has 
 inherited ties of friendship and good will. 
 It hopes for the prosperity and welfare of 
 each, and it feels that the progress of the 
 world is set back by the war between these 
 two groat nations. The President ac- 
 cordingly urges the Russian and Japa- 
 nese Governments not only for their own 
 sakes, but in the interest of the whole 
 civilized world, to open direct negotia- 
 tions for peace with each other. The 
 President suggests that these peace nego- 
 tiations be conducted directly and e.xclu- 
 sively between the belligerents ; in other 
 words that there be a meeting of Russian 
 and Japanese plenipotentiaries or dele- 
 gates without any intermediary, in order 
 to see if it is not possible for these repre- 
 sentatives of the two Powers to agree to 
 terms of peace. The President earnestly 
 asks that the (Japanese) (Russian) gov- 
 ernment do now agree to such meeting; 
 and is now asking the (Russian) (Jaijan- 
 ese) government likewise to agree. While 
 the President does not feel that any in- 
 termediary should be called in in respect 
 to peace negotiations themselves, he is en- 
 tirely willing to do what he properly can 
 if the two powers concerned feel that his 
 services will be of aid in arranging the 
 preliminaries as to time and place of 
 meeting. But even if these preliminaries 
 can be arranged diixjctly between the two 
 Powers or in any other way the President 
 will be glad, as his sole purpose is to 
 bring about a meeting which the whole 
 civilized world will pray may result in 
 peace." 
 
 This proposal was received with more 
 or less cordiality by both Powers, and 
 after some consideration of prelimi- 
 naries it was agreed that the Conference 
 should be held at Washington during 
 August, though in view of the fact that 
 the heat is often so oppressive at that sea- 
 son the President suggested the possibil- 
 ity of holding the sessions at some cooler 
 northern port. The Envoys Plenipoten- 
 tiary finally selected to represent the two 
 Powers were for Russia Count Sergius 
 Witte and Baron Rosen, the then newly 
 
THE TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH — 1905. 
 
 621 
 
 appointed Ambassador from Russia to the 
 United States; and for Japan the Baron 
 Komura, and Mr. Takahira, the Japanese 
 vVmbassador at Washington. Late in July 
 and early in August the distinguished 
 representatives, with their suites, arrived 
 in this counti-A-, and were at once ac- 
 
 fully avoided; and in tliis regard it has 
 been universally agreed that President 
 Roosevelt showed marvelous tact and 
 good judgment. On Saturday August 
 5th, the iirst formal meeting of the En- 
 voys witli the President took place on 
 board the latter's yacht, the Mayflower, 
 
 From Stt-reograph, Copyright 1905, btj Underwood £ Underwood, N. Y. 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND ENVOYS ON THE MAYFLOWER. 
 
 corded a most generous and hospitable 
 reception by the Government as well as 
 the general public. The official recep- 
 tions were delicate affairs as all suspicions 
 of favoritisni or of granting precedence 
 to envoys or individuals must be care- 
 
 to which tlie Japanese delegates were 
 brought on the cruiser Tacoma and the 
 Russian, on her sister-«hip, the Chaf- 
 ianooga. The flag of each nation received 
 the regulation salute of nineteen guns as 
 the vessels approached the Mayflower. 
 
622 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 Alter formal introductions had been made 
 and the ceremonies demanded by official 
 oti(iuette had been concluded, an informal 
 lunch was served, during which the Pres- 
 ident proposed the only toast. Requesting 
 that there should be no response, he said : 
 " (icntlenien, I propose a toast to which 
 there will be no answer, and which I ask 
 you to drink in silence, standing. I drink 
 ti. the welfare and prosperity of the 
 Sovereigns and peoples of the two great 
 nations whose representatives have met 
 one another on this ship. It is my most 
 earnest hope and prayer in the interest 
 not only of those two great Powers, but 
 of all civilized mankind, that a just and 
 lasting peace may speedily be concluded 
 between them." 
 
 After this reception the President left 
 the Mayflower, the Russian Envoys pro- 
 ceeding on her to Portsmouth, N. H., 
 while the Japanese Ambassadors were 
 transported to the same city on the 
 Navy Department Yacht, the Dolphin, 
 both parties arriving at the Treaty 
 City August 8th. Portsmouth had been 
 selected as the place for holding the 
 Conference because of its seclusion and 
 the generally more comfortable condi- 
 tions that prevail there during the 
 summer months. The great Hotel Went- 
 wiirth, one of the finest of the smn- 
 mer hotels on the north coast, afforded 
 comfortable and convenient accommoda- 
 tions for each Embassy and its suite, 
 as well as for the large number of 
 press correspondents that had assem- 
 bled from all parts of the world. Thi: 
 government had recently finished a fine 
 naval building on the island at tlie mouth 
 of the river, and in it the sessions of the 
 Conference were held. On Wednesday, 
 August 9, 1905, the first meeting took 
 place, at which the details of procedure 
 were determined and credentials were ex- 
 changed. At subseiiuent meetings, after 
 some discussion as to the method of con- 
 sidering Japan's proposals, which were put 
 in the form of twelve distinct proposi- 
 tions, it was finally decided to discuss 
 each one separately; and the wise course 
 was taken of eliminating those to whose 
 
 terms Russia could assent without serious 
 discussion. In this way after six days 
 eight of the twelve articles had been 
 agreed upon ; the other four were those 
 about which the Russian opposition 
 centred, all of them touching upon, or 
 embracing, the questions of the payment 
 of indemnity or of cessions of territory. 
 Early in the proceedings Count Witte had 
 advanced the broad principle that Russia 
 would not "pay one dollar of indemnify, 
 nor cede one acre of ground." The dis- 
 cussion of these matters was most earnest 
 and uncompromising, neither party being 
 disposed to yield ; and the whole civilized 
 world was in anxious suspense, fearful 
 that after all the war must go on. But at 
 the darkest moment influences were 
 brought to bear which led the Envoys to 
 take a recess for a few days, during which 
 time the wires were kept busy between 
 Washington and St. Petersburg and 
 Tokio, the Envoys also going over the 
 whole matter with their respective home 
 governments. Representatives of each 
 Embassy were also invited to meet the 
 President at his summer home at Oyster 
 Bay. At the same time he held direct, 
 personal connnunications through our 
 ambassadors with the Emperors of each 
 country; so that it is the general belief 
 that it was duo to his hearty and active 
 interest and personal solicitations and 
 influence that the Mikado was led to yield 
 the point of an indemnity, and the Czar 
 to yield as to the cession of a part of 
 Saghalien island, which brought the 
 parties once more within the sphere of 
 friendly relations. Upon the reconvening 
 of the Conference occurred what has been 
 declared to have been the most dramatic 
 moment of the meetings, when upon 
 Count Witte's reiteration of Russia's po- 
 sition that not one cent would be isaid for 
 indemnity, Baron Komura quietly inter- 
 posed that he should withdraw the de- 
 mand for an indemnity; "it was the 
 ^[ikado's wish." Then in turn. Russia 
 yielded the point as to the cession of the 
 Southern half of Saghalien, which almost 
 touches Japanese territoi-y; and peace 
 once more reigned in Portsmouth and the 
 
THE TEEATY OF POETSMOUTII — 1905. 
 
 623 
 
 Envoys were in a position to proclaim the 
 good news to all the world. 
 
 During the proceedings protocols cover- 
 ing the conclusions under each of the 
 twelve heads of Japan's propositions had 
 been made; and at the close of the Con- 
 ference these protocols, each of which, as 
 concluded, had been signed by the En- 
 voys, were placed in the hands of Pro- 
 fessor Martens for Russia, and of H. W. 
 Denison, Japan's legal adviser, for the 
 preparation of the treaty itself. The 
 completed Treaty, of which four copies 
 were required, one in English and one in 
 French for each Embassy, was then 
 signed by the Envoys. This functiim 
 took place at 3.40 on the afternoon of 
 September 5, and was the occasion for the 
 other principal dramatic event of the 
 sessions. On tliis occasion there were 
 present in addition to .the principals the 
 Asst. Sec. of State, H. D. Pierce, rep- 
 resenting the President ; Admiral Mead, 
 Commandant at the Navy Yard ; Capt. 
 Wiuslow of the Mayflower; Gov. McLane 
 of New Hampshire; and the mayor of 
 Portsmouth. According to the account 
 of those present the scene was a most im- 
 pressive one. Without a word the four 
 plenipotentiaries in turn signed each of 
 the four copies of the treaty, a proceed- 
 ing that covered more or less ten minutes 
 of absolute silence. When his signature 
 had been afKxed to the last copy. Count 
 Witte threw his pen aside impetuously and 
 reaching across the table at which all their 
 business had been conducted he grasped 
 Baron Jvomura by the hand. This move- 
 ment was followed by all his associates, 
 all hands being warmly joined across the 
 table, but without a spoken word. Then 
 Baron Rosen, the junior Russian Envoy, 
 arose and said in French, in behalf of his 
 senior and himself: "As plenipotentiaries 
 of Russia we fulfill a most agreeable duty 
 in acknowledging that in negotiations 
 with our hitherto adversaries, and from 
 this hour our friends, we have been deal- 
 ing with true and thorough gentlemen, to 
 whom we are happy to express our high 
 esteem and personal regard. We earnestly 
 hope that henceforth friendly relations 
 
 between both Empires will be firmly es- 
 tablished, and we trust that his excellency 
 Baron Komura, as minister of foreign 
 affairs and one of the leading statesmen 
 of his country, will apply to the strength- 
 ening of these relations the wide experi- 
 ence and wise statesmanship which he so 
 conspicuously displayed during these 
 negotiations which have been auspiciously 
 concluded." To this Baron Komura re- 
 plied in English recipi'ocating all the 
 sentiments expressed by Baron Rosen, and 
 declaring that it would always be pleasant 
 to recall that throughout their long and 
 serious negotiations he and his colleague 
 had invariably received from the Russian 
 plenipotentiaries the highest courtesy and 
 consideration ; and he begged to assure 
 their Excellencies that it would be his 
 dutj' as well as his great pleasure to do 
 everything in his power to make the 
 Treaty " in fact what it professed to be in 
 words, — a treaty of peace and amity." 
 
 At the close of the ceremony of signing 
 the Treaty announcement of the fact was 
 at once made to the world over telephone 
 and telegraph wires, and joy and rejoicing 
 everywhere were manifested. Bells were 
 rung and cannons fired, for the people of 
 the United States had made the questions 
 at issue their own, and were truly jubilant 
 that success had crowned the efforts of 
 tlieir President and of the Envoys to end 
 the horrible strife that had disturbed the 
 peace of the world and disgraced civiliza- 
 tion for so long a time. One of the inter- 
 esting incidents of the general rejoicing- 
 was the Te Deiim service in the Episcopal 
 Church at Portsmouth, attended by the 
 Russian visitors, which was conducted in 
 part by Bishop Potter and in part by 
 Father Hotoviski of the orthodox Greek 
 Church in New York, which is said to 
 have been the first union since the days 
 of the early church of the Eastern and 
 M'^estern Communions in a single service 
 on an international occasion. 
 
 Thus were concluded in the sleepy old 
 town of Portsmouth negotiations that 
 were as momentous, probably, as any of a 
 political character that were ever con- 
 sidered by any representatives of the 
 
624 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD LOWER. 
 
 Great Powers. Limits were set, and di- 
 rection given, to the energies of great and 
 jealous forces which will deterniine for 
 many years their course of development, 
 and remove the causes of friction and un- 
 rest that were a constant menace to the 
 peace and prosperity of a great and rapidly 
 advancing part of the world; while the 
 swords of a million men in arms were 
 sheathed, joy and gladness were made to 
 brighten hundreds of thousands of weary 
 hearts and lonely homes, and the energies 
 of probably a half million men, outside the 
 regular armies, were diverted from the 
 evil and base uses of slaughter and devas- 
 tation to the pursuit, in their homes, of 
 the ennobling and civilizing arts of Peace. 
 That the Treaty was unsatisfactory to 
 both the Japanese and Russian people 
 counts for little, as they were in no posi- 
 tion to gain liroad views of the situation, 
 or comprehend the larger issues. The 
 Japanese, in particular, were riotously 
 mad because the indemnity feature was 
 abandoned, not realizing what the rest of 
 the civilized world as well as their own 
 Envoys saw, that if Japan should have re- 
 fused to make terms simply because 
 Russia refused to indemnify her for her 
 , losses and should thus have forced a re- 
 newal of the war, she would have placed 
 herself in the position of a nation fighting 
 for money considerations alone, and so 
 would have merited and received the 
 abhiirrent regard of the whole civilized 
 world. Shortly after the signing- of the 
 Treaty Baron Kaneko remarked, " Mili- 
 tant Japan passes, and industrial Japan 
 takes its place with the coming of peace." 
 And as a result of the treaty, and as a 
 basis for more successful prosecution of 
 the arts of i^eace, she secured far more 
 than any indemnity that Russia ever 
 could have paid. Not to speak of the 
 great prestige achieved as a result of the 
 proved valor and vigor of her people, of 
 their devotion to high principles and their 
 intense patriotism, of their superb mechan- 
 ical and industrial genius, of their keen 
 wit and quick intelligence, all of which 
 had been manifested in every way and 
 continually through the war, and which. 
 
 tlujugh recognized and appreciated by a 
 few, then first became patent to the whole 
 world, — Japan gained immense material 
 advantages under the Treaty and as a 
 result of the war which were hardly real- 
 ized at first. At the commencement of 
 the war she was obliged to pay 8 1-2% for 
 her first foreign loan; she made her last 
 at ,5%. Mr. Denison, the legal adviser of 
 Japan and her respresentative in framing 
 the Treaty, and also one of the best living 
 authorities on the far Eastern Question, 
 declared uneiiuivncally that Japan liad 
 gained much more then she went to war 
 for and much more than any indemnity 
 she could have exacted, as illustrations 
 only, estimating the value of the railroads 
 transferred by Russia to Japan at $150,- 
 000,000, and of coal mines at upwards of 
 $300,000,000; wliile the single item of 
 fishing rights along the Siberian Coast 
 secured to Japan by the Treaty were esti- 
 mated to be worth more than $10,000,000 
 annually. 
 
 The Treaty of Portsmouth marks a red 
 letter day in the history of the American 
 people. They had achieved glory and 
 honor in war, in commerce and industry, 
 in literature, in science, in art, in all 
 things that make for material and intel- 
 lectual advancement and uplifting; and 
 then was added tlie crowning honor and 
 privilege, through the humane impulse 
 and wise and earnest persistence of Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt, of being able to say to a 
 million men ready to jump at each others 
 throats, "Peace, be still." Rarely have 
 the people of this country ever become so 
 deeply interested in a proposition or ques- 
 tion which in fact concerned them only 
 in the most general and indirect way ; 
 and the sentiment everywhere manifested 
 was the best possible evidence that the 
 people, as a whole, are sound at heart. 
 What the Treaty meant to the people of 
 the great contesting nations no imagina- 
 tion can picture, much less any words 
 even suggest. Seven hundred thousand 
 men, hardened to the brutality and sav- 
 agery of war, stood read.y again to close 
 at once in deadly battle should the Envoys 
 fail in their efforts to arrive at a basis for 
 
THE TREATY OF POETSMOUTH — 1905. 
 
 625 
 
 peace. It is generally conceded that 
 Mukden was the most fiercely contested, 
 the bloodiest, and in all respects the most 
 terrible battle recorded in history; and the 
 next must have been even more horrible, as 
 both armies had been re-enforced, and the 
 demon spirit of war was more aroused. 
 T'nquestionably hundreds of thousands of 
 lives and millions of treasure were saved, 
 and untold mental suffering and sorrow 
 were averted, by that simple conference of 
 a few days at Portsmouth. There has 
 been no more emphatic evidence of the 
 folly of war, nor nobler illustration of the 
 value of arbitration, — of reasoning to- 
 gether; and though the outbreak of the 
 Russo-Japanese war so soon after the 
 meeting of the Hague Conference served 
 as a fruitful source for ridicule of the 
 ".vliole conception of Peace movements, 
 yet, taken as a whole, the war in its 
 various phases and ending has demon- 
 strated conclusively the wisdom and value 
 of every principle for which the represent- 
 atives of the nations contended at The 
 Hague. There has been much of the 
 " Jingo " and military spirit manifested 
 in our country during the last decade, of 
 which Mr. Roosevelt has been a leading- 
 apostle; and many, weary of its insist- 
 ence, have been prone to cry " O Lord, 
 liow long!" But the noble course taken 
 by the President in regard to the settle- 
 ment of the great war we have been con- 
 sidering e.xcites the highest enthusiasm 
 and admiration of his friends and his 
 critics alike, and savors of nothing but 
 clieer and encouragement. Certainly he 
 40 
 
 must be esteemed supremely happy to 
 whom is given the opportunity to serve 
 his fellow-men so royally, and the tact 
 anil wisdom to direct so truly movements 
 that make for righteousness and the 
 betterment of all mankind. A recent 
 writer has raised the question whether 
 President Roosevelt will go down in his- 
 tory as the hero of San Juan hill, or of 
 the Treaty of Portsmouth. We believe 
 better things of historians and of the in- 
 telligent American people than that thin- 
 will ever doubt for a moment on which 
 pedestal to place their hero. One is of 
 the earth, very earthy; the other has the 
 atmosphere of the divine. Surely the 
 Master Teacher of mankind had little re- 
 gard for military honors as a measure of 
 glory when he declared " Blessed are the 
 Peace-makers, for they shall be called the 
 children of God." 
 
 " In the years that have been I have 
 bound man closer to man, 
 And closer woman to woman ; 
 And the stranger hath seen in a 
 stranger his brother at last. 
 And a sister in eyes that were strange. 
 In the years that shall be I will bind 
 me nation to nation, 
 And shore unto shore," saith our God. 
 " Lo ! I am the burster of bonds and the 
 breaker of barriers, 
 I am He that shall free," saith the 
 Lord. 
 " For the lingering battle, the contest of 
 ages is ending. 
 And victory followeth me." 
 
 (Stephen Phillips.) 
 
LII. 
 
 THE EARTHQUAlvE AND FIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO — 
 DESTRUCTIUN OF THE CITY — 1906. 
 
 The Long Cliaiii of San Franciscan Missions in California. — Tlie Mission Dolores On the Site 
 of San Francisco. — Took Present Name in 1847, with Population of 450. — Discovery of Gold 
 on Sutler Ranch.- — The Early Vigilance Leagues. — C'liaracter of Early Citv. — -"A Free and 
 Ea.sy City, Bohemian to the Core." — Early " Baptisms of Fire." — Peculiar Location of Citv. 
 — Market Street and Van Xess Avenue.— The Fateful IStli of April, inOO. — Small Loss of 
 Life and Property from Eartliquake. — The Starting of the Fire and Causes. — Xo Water. 
 The City at the Mercy of the Flames. — Dynamite the Only Weapon with Which to Fight 
 the Fire. — "Shoot at Sight Anyone (aught Pilfering or Looting." — Sorrowful Flight of 
 Refugees to Suburban Towns, or The Presidio and Ciolden Gate Park. — Wonderful Fortitude 
 of Sufferers. — Progress of the Fire on the 19th. — Final Stand of Fire Fighters at Van Xess 
 Avenue. — -Sudden Cliange of Wind Saves the Rest of tlie City. — Tliree Quarters of a Mile 
 of Mansions Blown L^p. — Region Destroyed Covered About Four Square Miles. — 498 City 
 Blocks. — Month Following Fire Most Orderly City Had Ever Known. — The Bread Lines. — 
 "Neither Markets nor Money with Which to Buy." — -Glorious Outburst of Sympathy 
 Throughout tlie Country.— More than .$20,000,000 Contributed in Thirty Days.— Hon. .T. D. 
 Phelan's Review of the Situation. — Character of New Buildings. — Systematic Plans for 
 Rebuilding. — The Burnham Plans. — Labor Troubles and Municipal Rottenness. — The Case 
 of Mayor Schuiitz. — Widespread Sympathy With the Stricken People. 
 
 " Wise men ne'er git and wail their loss. 
 But cheerly seek how to redress their harms."- 
 
 ■ SIHKESI-EARE. 
 
 I NE of the objects of especial interest to tourists in South- 
 ern California is tlie long chain of Missions which extends 
 from the Mexican border to the Golden Ciate, and El 
 Camina Beal. the Koyal road, or King's highwa.v, wdiich con- 
 nects them. Originall.v discovered by Cabrillo, a Portugese 
 navigator in the Spanish service, — an enlarged reproduc- 
 tion of whose vessel made fast to the long pier at Venice, 
 one of the seaside resorts of Los Angeles, now serves 
 as a restaurant and hotel, — California was again visited 
 by Sir Trancis Drake in 1.578, and by the Spaniard 
 those explorers made only brief visits to conspicuous 
 coast points, without penetrating the interior. During the latter half of the 
 eighteenth century, however, the Spanish governors of Mexico began to take an 
 interest in the immense territory lying to the north, which was as yet an miknown 
 country, and interested the Franciscan Fathers in the work of exploration and 
 establishing missions among the native people. Accordingly, in 1769 the first 
 mission was founded at San Diego ; and during the next seven years six others 
 were established. The last of these, the Mission Dolores, was planted on the present 
 
 Viscayno, in 1602. But 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE A^'D FIKE AT SAN FEANCISCO — 1906. 627 
 
 site of the city of San Francisco, in 1776, 
 the very year in which the original thir- 
 teen states declared their independence of 
 the British crown. Gradually intermediate 
 Missions were established with the result 
 that early in the nineteenth century they 
 numbered twenty-six. They were from 
 twenty to twenty-five miles apart; and 
 the King's Highway was laid out to 
 connect them, and formed the only 
 road from Mexico to the entrance to 
 the great bay which 
 had named the Bay 
 cisco, in honor of the 
 their Order, St. Francis 
 
 last century the wealth of the California 
 ^Missions excited the cupidity of the new 
 Government, and they were soon nearly 
 all abandoned and their wealth in cattle 
 and lands was confiscated. 
 
 the Franciscans 
 of San Fran- 
 holy founder of 
 These missions 
 
 became thriving agricultural centres, and 
 the Fathers rapidly accumulated great 
 wealth in cattle, sheep, and the products 
 of the olive orchards and vineyards, as 
 well as from desultory mining ventures. 
 All the native Indians were brought under 
 their influence, and were taught the prin- 
 ciples of agriculture as well as, in a rough 
 way, the rudimentary arts of civilized 
 life. The Mission centres being estab- 
 lished just about one day's journey apart, 
 and on the only highway, they were the 
 natural stopping places for all travelers; 
 and open-hearted and open-handed hospi- 
 tality was generously offered by the 
 Fathers. Though most of these mission 
 buildings are now in ruins, a few are 
 still in a fair state of preservation, 
 notably those at Monterey, Santa Bar- 
 bara, Los Angeles, and San Diego; while 
 through the active interest of the His- 
 torical Society of California the King's 
 Highway has been made a state road, all 
 p(]ints of interest connected with the 
 Franciscan possessions have been marked 
 in an interesting and appropriate manner, 
 and to-day hundreds of automobiles are 
 constantly traversing the road, covering 
 the distance from San Diego to San Fran- 
 cisco by such stages as their owners wish, 
 the finest hotels of the world now extend- 
 ing to the tourists the hospitality that a 
 century ago was rendered by the missions 
 and the Fathers, — but not now, as then, 
 gratuitously. 
 
 When Mexico achieved her independ- 
 ence of Spain in the first quarter of the 
 
 THE DOLORES MISSION. 
 
 Then in 1836 the little settlement of 
 Yerba Buena succeeded the Dolores Mis- 
 sion, and in 1847 its name was changed 
 to San Francisco, which then boasted of 
 a population of 450 men, women, and 
 children. The next year, however, g-old 
 was discovered on the Sutter ranch, and 
 the face of every adventurer and restless 
 man or youth of the East was set toward 
 the golden West. By 1852 it was esti- 
 mated that 250,000 men were in the State 
 of California, nearly all of whom had 
 entered through San Francisco. There 
 were among them many men of sterling 
 integrity, possessed of all the virtues of 
 the best pioneers ; but these were greatly 
 outnumbered by a lawless crowd, who re- 
 belled against any restraint. Licentious- 
 ness of every kind prevailed and crime 
 was rampant. Twice, in 1851 and 1856, 
 when the ascendency of the criminal 
 classes made life in the settlement intol- 
 
6^8 
 
 FROM COLOXV TO WOKJ.D POWER. 
 
 erablf. vif;ilancc leagues were I'ornieil, 
 which took the administration of law 
 into their own hands, and by hanging- or 
 driving from the state the leaders of the 
 lawless element, re-established decent gov- 
 ernment. And it is interesting to trace 
 back many of the characteristics that have 
 made the modern city of San Francisco 
 both famous and infamous to the seeds 
 which were planted in the earliest days 
 of its history, and to note that advancing 
 civilization has been unable to root out 
 the tares, or keep them wholly in restraint. 
 It is unquestionably true that the city cast 
 a spell over those familiar with it which 
 was not approached by the influence of 
 any other locality. But it was largely the 
 result of a freedom bordering on license 
 which existed nowhere else. It was a free- 
 and-easy city, bohemian to the core. 
 Tourists went there expecting to see 
 
 heanl was. "Dear Old Frisco! She will 
 never be the same again." Even so digni- 
 fied and conservative a citizen as Ben- 
 jamin Ide Wheeler, President of the 
 University of California, cannot picture 
 the fairer city he sees about to rise on the 
 ashes of the old, without a touch of re- 
 gret that old things have probably forever 
 passed away. lie says : " The New San 
 Francisco will be far stancher and nobler 
 than the old, but we shall always miss the 
 old nooks and localisms and bohemian- 
 isms, and the variegated flavors of many 
 nationalities, ming'led with glimpses and 
 odors of Cathay, which blended in old 
 California's grace of freedom and love of 
 elbow room to make the dear old town so 
 inexhaustible a spring of human interest." 
 Naturally the early city was constructed 
 entirely of wood, and its "baptisms of 
 fire " were many and costly. As lias been 
 
 IN FRANCISCO IN 1855. 
 
 phases of life that were not to be seen 
 elsewhere, and they were not disaiipointed. 
 For weeks, of course, after the great earth- 
 quake and fire, it was the chief topic of 
 conversation among all men who were 
 traveling West of the Rocky Mountains; 
 and the most common expression one 
 
 •II 
 
 d: " Xo other city in the worh 
 
 has ever suffered a comparable loss by con- 
 flagration." Its first great fire occurred 
 D(>cember 24, 1849, with a loss of over 
 $1,000,000 in a town hardly a year old. 
 The second. May 4, 18.50, destroyed prop- 
 erty valued at $4,000,000, and the loss 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE AND EIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO — 1906. 629 
 
 from the third, June 14, 1S50, was placed 
 at the same figure. On May 4, 1851, oc- 
 curred the most destructive conflagration 
 of all, consuming $12,000,000 of property, 
 and on June 22 of the same year $3,- 
 000,000 went up in flames. Nor was the 
 city less familiar with earthquakes, which 
 had been of frequent occurrence though 
 rarely attended with serious loss of life or 
 destruction of property. As a result of 
 these experiences with fire and earth- 
 quakes, nearly all the buildings of the 
 rapidly growing city were constructed of 
 wood, and were but two or three stories 
 in height. Statistics showed that in 1906 
 more than ninety per cent of the stores and 
 houses of the city were wooden buildings. 
 About 1890, however, when the new steel 
 construction began to be common and the 
 " sky-scraper " began to rear its lofty bead 
 in all the large cities, some of the more 
 venturesome among San Francisco's capi- 
 talists erected a tew tall and elegant build- 
 ings along the new lines. These were, of 
 course, confined to a small area of the 
 busiest part of Market street, but the 
 manner in which these buildings with- 
 stood the effects both of the earthquake 
 and fire makes it certain that the new city 
 will be largely a steel and concrete city. 
 As President Wheeler said: "The old 
 architecture was mostly bad, — heinously 
 bad, as everybody knows. The earthquake 
 tried the works of men and found much 
 of the construction was also bad. Men 
 will not veneer any more wooden build- 
 ings with their skins of brick. Honest 
 wooden structures on the one hand, and 
 steel-cage and re-euforced concrete on the 
 other have come off triumphant." 
 
 The peninsula on the east side of 
 which San Francisco is located is about 
 eight miles wide, from the Pacific Ocean 
 un the west to the bay on the cast, with 
 the world-renowned Golden Gate as its 
 northern boundary. A range of high hills 
 extends along the ocean front which is 
 deflected to the east by the Golden Gate 
 Strait, and extends entirely around the 
 city on the west, north, and northeast. 
 (Jradually sloping to the east and south, 
 a level area is reached at distances vary- 
 
 ing from two to four miles from the ocean 
 and strait; and along the northerly edge 
 of this level tract the famous Market 
 Street extends in a southwesterly direc- 
 tion for about four miles. At the begin- 
 ning of Market Street at the bay are situ- 
 ated the great Ferry houses, forming 
 practically the only exits and entrances 
 to the city. About two miles from the 
 Ferry house the other celebrated street 
 of the city, Van Ness avenue, cuts Mar- 
 ket street, and extends in due northerly 
 line to the city limits; and it was within 
 the irregular quadrangle formed by the 
 (lolden Gate on the north, the bay on the 
 east, Market street on the south and Van 
 Ness avenue on the west that the devas- 
 tation by the fire was complete. This 
 area included the celebrated Nob Hill, 
 Telegraph Hill, and Chinatown; was the 
 location of all the famous hotels, of which 
 the city was justly proud; and here was 
 transacted practically all its banking and 
 wholesale and retail business. It is true 
 the fire started and burned over a large 
 area south of Market street before it 
 leaped across that wide thoroughfare; but 
 the buildings were of a cheaper character, 
 and chiefly of a poorer class of dwellings, 
 smaller factories, etc. 
 
 At about fifteen minutes after five on 
 the morning of April 18, 1906, the four 
 hundred thousand inhabitants of San 
 Francisco were rudely but etlectually 
 wakened by an earthquake shock which 
 literally threw many into the streets, 
 though many more were pinned firmly to 
 their beds by falling walls and debris of 
 every character. This destruction of 
 property and loss of life was chiefly con- 
 fined to the flimsy structures south of 
 Market street; and had the earthquake 
 not been followed by fire, the property 
 loss might have reached some five or eight 
 million dollars, with a death record which 
 has been ofiieially placed at 33.3. Such 
 results would have been slight in compari- 
 son with the seven thousand lives de- 
 stroyed in the Galveston flood, the one 
 thousand lost by the burning of the 
 " General Slocum " in the East river, at 
 New York, or the more than six hundred 
 
(i3() 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WORLD PO\VER. 
 
 instantly klllcMl at the Iroquois Theatre 
 tire in Chicago. So iueonsiderable. in 
 fact, was the direct loss of either life or 
 property as a result of the eartluinake 
 alone, that it would have hardly aroused 
 more than local interest, and would 
 scarcely have interrupted the daily rou- 
 tine life of the people of the city. But 
 
 From Stereograph, Copijrigltt 1906. Uiulerwood di- Under- 
 
 woodt Neiv York. 
 
 GEXERAL FUNSTON. 
 
 from the crossing- of electric vi'ires, or 
 breaking of gas mains, fire immediately 
 broke out among the ruins, and at several 
 different points. The fire department of 
 tho city had been brought to the highest 
 state of efficiency, as the combustible 
 character of its buildings made especial 
 attention to that protective force im- 
 perative. But as soon as the firemen 
 reached the scene of the conflagration the 
 horrifying discovery was made that there 
 was no water ; the force of the earthquake 
 had shattered the old wooden water mains, 
 and the people and the city were at the 
 mercy of the flames. The department had 
 lost its head, too, as its Chief was mortally 
 wounded in bed by a falling cupola in the 
 first moment of the shock, and passed away 
 four days later without ever learning of 
 the fire. 
 
 At the northwest end of the peninsula, 
 skirting the Golden Gate and stretching 
 back up the hills is the Presidio, the 
 United States Military Reservation, em- 
 bracing some fifteen hundred acres. Here, 
 in all the difl^erent arms of the service, 
 were stationed about eighteen hundred 
 men, with Gen. Funston as commandant 
 nf the department. As he has written, 
 when he came out of his house on the 
 slope of Nob Hill after the earthquake 
 shock and saw the fires breaking out over 
 south of Market street, he realized that 
 serious work was before the city depart- 
 ment, and of his own volition he at once 
 sent orders to the Fort and the Presidio, 
 instructing the officers to assemble all 
 the regular troops on Market street, to 
 lend any support to the fire or police de- 
 partments that might be needed. In the 
 absence of water, the only weapon left 
 was dynamite; and under the direction of 
 the artillery officers its use was kept up 
 throughout the next two days, but with no 
 appreciable effect. Early in the day the 
 troops were drawn around the burned and 
 burning districts to keep the crowds from 
 trying to enter buildings, or to rush into 
 localities made dangerous by weak walls. 
 Mayor Schmitz issued a proclamation in- 
 structing the police and troops to shoot 
 at sight anyone caught pilfering or loot- 
 ing, with the result that it is generally 
 agreed that, notwithstanding the terrible 
 strain the people were under, the city was 
 never more orderly than during the fire 
 and the thirty days following it. During 
 the first forenoon the flames broke across 
 Market street in several places and be- 
 gan rapidly to work into the best busi- 
 ness section and to threaten all the public 
 buildings, hotels, churches, and places of 
 amusement. All of the 18th and through 
 the night and during the 19th the fire 
 raged with terrible fury, the horror of the 
 situation, too, being constantly augmented 
 by the continuous explosions- of dynamite 
 and powder. The streets were filled with 
 refugees carrying or dragging every con- 
 ceivable kind of a burden from a bird 
 cage to a sewing machine or trunk. With 
 weary eves, too dazed to realize what was 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO — 190G. 631 
 
 really happening, they saw all that they 
 possessed in the world licked up by the 
 flames. Thousands sought refuge in flight 
 by the ferries across the bay to Oakland, 
 Berkeley, and other suburbs; while other 
 thousands were directed or drifted toward 
 the great open space aiforded by the 
 Presidio and the Golden Gate Park. All 
 spectators of the scenes bore witness to 
 the wonderful fortitude and good nature 
 disjjlayed by the sufferers. Under the 
 spell of the mighty forces that were con- 
 tending around them, they seemed to lose 
 all thought of the seriousness of the situa- 
 tion, and to act as though it was some 
 great celebration or monster picnic with 
 fireworks on a gigantic scale, which they 
 were attending. But hunger and thirst 
 
 widest street in the city, it was determined 
 to make the final stand against the fire. 
 Here all the remaining resources, — all the 
 dynamite, and powder, and a battery of 
 guns — were massed. Between the avenue 
 and the fire a line of mansions three- 
 quarters of a mile long was raked by the 
 artillery, and blown up with dynamite and 
 barrels of powder. This was by far the 
 most desperate fight of the two days. The 
 fire flanked the line at both eiids, leaping 
 the cleared space on the north and burn- 
 ing the five blocks bordering the woslern 
 side of Van Ness avenue, while coming up 
 from Market street at the other end. But 
 the centre held for several blocks; and 
 soon a most opportune change of wind 
 turned the flames back at either end; 
 
 A SECTION OF MAHKET STREET BEFORE THE FTOE. 
 
 are hard masters; and there was no water 
 and the bulk of all the provisions in the 
 city had been destroyed, so that all soon 
 began to feel the pinch of existing condi- 
 tions. By the evening of the 19th the 
 flames had swept over Chinatown, Tele- 
 graph Hill, and Nob Hill, and were work- 
 ing up to Van Ness avenue. At this, the 
 
 and that night the fire was under control. 
 The next day it dealt one last blow, the 
 changed wind turning it back upon its 
 course to wipe out most of the poorer 
 houses on Telegraph Hill which had been 
 passed on its first advance. The whole 
 region which had been destroyed covered 
 practically four square miles, — 498 blocks. 
 
632 
 
 IKOM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 — and a barren waste had been made of 
 about everything that to the outside world 
 constituted San Francisco. Most happily 
 the great steel ferry house, with its piers 
 and boats, had been saved, largely through 
 the exertions of the harbor fire patrol, and 
 of the sailors from vessels in the bay. 
 The situation would have been unspeak- 
 ably horrible had this building been 
 destroyed, as it was the only way left for 
 the thousands of desperate and destitute 
 people to leave the city, and the only 
 gateway through which the relief supplies 
 of all kinds could be brought in, the single 
 line of road running down the peninsula 
 to the south having been put out of com- 
 mission early on the first day of the fire. 
 Then followed four or five weeks of such 
 life as it rarely happens to one to ex- 
 perience. Fortunately a vast number of 
 tents and camping outfits were stored in 
 the various government warehouses, all 
 of which were at once placed at the dis- 
 posal of the city authorities. Vast ([uan- 
 tities of supplies, too, were immediately 
 turned over, so that few jirobably really 
 suffered from hunger at any time. The 
 month following the fire was by far the 
 most peaceful and orderly the city had 
 ever known. Every citizen, whatever his 
 wealth and position, submitted himself 
 and his family to the most paternal sort 
 of government. Everybody lived on free 
 food, which was given out, one ration at 
 a time, at the bread lines. Freedom of 
 action was surrendered for the public 
 good, and everybody did as directed by 
 the sentry. All cooking had to be done in 
 the streets; no lights were allowed in the 
 houses, and the most rigid sanitary regu- 
 lations were enforced. Business men were 
 not even allowed to open their own safes 
 until permission was given by the autlior- 
 ities. And the cheerfulness with which 
 all submitted to these irksome restraints 
 was the wonder of the day. As one has 
 said: "For one month there was a reign 
 of brotherly love such as poets and sages 
 have pictured. Laborers, professional 
 men, servants, and captains of industry, 
 served without compensation, or even 
 promise of any. The bitterest political 
 
 enemies worked harmoniously for the 
 connnon good, — worked hard and long, 
 day and night. ' Hand out ' methods took 
 the place of purchase and sale for there 
 were neither markets nor money with 
 which to buy." 
 
 And how gloriously the whole country 
 opened its heart and its purse for the 
 consolation and relief of the stricken 
 people! Before darkness set in on that 
 first day of the fire there was not a city 
 or town of an.v size throughout the whole 
 land where a relief committee was not 
 actively at work; and early on the morn- 
 ing of the 19th trains loaded with every 
 kind of provisions, clothing, medical sup- 
 plies, delicacies for the sick, and every- 
 ihing that the most sympathetic thought 
 and tenderest love could suggest, were 
 rolling towards San Francisco on pas- 
 senger train time, as all the roads center- 
 ing on the bay had announced that relief 
 trains should have the right of way over 
 all others. LIow quickly Boston, New 
 York, Chicago, and all the larger cities 
 wired amounts that would be a ransom for 
 a king! In less than a month more tiian 
 twenty million dollars had been gener- 
 ou.sly subscribed to feed, cloth, cheer, and 
 up-lift the homeless and penniless brothers 
 and sisters in the desolate city. One of 
 the most widely known Californians 
 sunnned it all up in these words: "Amid 
 all our money-making obession, amid all 
 the artificial excitation of amusement 
 whicli goes witli a commercial age, a 
 shock like this brings us all back to human 
 nature. It was lieautiful to read of the 
 swift response of Boston and New York 
 and the whole East to the unspoken need 
 of the city by tlie Golden Gate. It was 
 beautiful to see in the nearest large popu- 
 lation, which is Los Angeles, the dropping 
 of business to org-anize material relief — to 
 .see the busiest men neglecting their hanks, 
 and their stores, and working like navvies 
 to put money, food, and clothing into San 
 Francisco. But finest of all it was to see 
 the San Franciscans — the distinctions of 
 money and class all forgotten, the artifices 
 of civilization laid aside, and a great 
 i-onnnunity on a common footing, cooking 
 
THE EAKTHQUAKE AND FIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO — 1906. 633 
 
 by the curb-stoue, siiiiliny.- over the ashes 
 of their business and their homes, and 
 Ijlanning with unshaken heart for a better 
 to-morrow. Between two days, the Heroic 
 Afi-e came back to California." 
 
 But the " Heroic Age " was an anaelii'o- 
 nism, and its duration was short. By 
 the first of June individual and collective 
 interests began to assert themselves, and 
 a period of restless and nervous activity 
 ensued. Men were imi)atient to re-estab- 
 lish their business connections, and in 
 some way and upon some scale, to see the 
 wheels of traffic in motion once more. 
 But the city was a mass of ruins and no 
 stores of any character were available. 
 Property variously estimated at from 
 three hundred to five hundred millions of 
 dollars in value had been wiped out of ex- 
 istence ; but a new working capital of 
 close to two hundred million dollars was 
 being realized from the settlements made 
 by the Insurance Companies. Mayor 
 Sehmitz, who had lost the confidence of 
 all conservative business men and of the 
 leaders of public opinion before the fire 
 broke out, suri)rised both his friends and 
 enemies by rising to the spirit of the oc- 
 casion and developing a force, character, 
 and judgment of which he had been 
 deemed incapable. Before the fire was 
 under control, he had called about him as 
 an advisory and executive board, a com- 
 mittee of fifty of the men most prominent 
 in every line of the old city's activities, 
 who possessed in an unusual degree the 
 confidence of everyone in the community, 
 and the greater number of whom were 
 among- his bitterest and most active politi- 
 cal opponents. Day and night these men 
 labored in perfect harmony, administering 
 the relief funds and supplies so gener- 
 ously joouring in from every part of the 
 country; but also, and all the time, devis- 
 ing plans for the rehabilitation of the 
 city. One thing only, at the start, was 
 recognized by all the members of this 
 eonniiittee, and that was that the new city 
 must not repeat, in its construction and 
 laying out, the vicious defects of the old 
 city. The lessons of inadequate water sup- 
 ply, of cheap buildings and insecure 
 
 foundations, of narrow streets, and the 
 neglect of iirccautions of various kinds, 
 had been learned from the sad experience 
 through which they had passed; and it 
 was determined that before any rebuild- 
 ing should be allowed, certain definite 
 plans and laws should be established to 
 govern the work. The Hon. J. D. Phelan, 
 Chairman of the Finance Board of 
 the Committc-e of Fifty, and the one 
 who has done more than all others to 
 revive the confidence of capitalists and 
 investors in the new city, summed the 
 situation up as follows: " The recent 
 earthquake of itself did comparatively 
 little damage. It merely developed the 
 weak spots in the construction of our 
 buildings, and revealed the city's danger 
 rather than imperilled its life. Our 
 case is diagnosed and the remedy is 
 at hand. No more flimsy construction 
 will he permitted, and the foundations 
 will be laid strong and deep. A water- 
 supply will be procured to protect our 
 property, and wide streets will be laid out. 
 The city has jjermitted itself to be served 
 by a private corporation with water drawn 
 from near-by sources, carried in pipes over 
 marsh lands on rotten trestles, unsup- 
 ported by piles. These fell at the slightest 
 disturbance of the ground, having no sup- 
 port, and by reason of that fact the city 
 was left without water, an easy prey to 
 the flames. The people of San Francisco 
 are perfectly satisfied that by the observa- 
 tion of ordinary precaution, improved 
 building laws, and careful inspection the 
 mistakes of the past shall never be re- 
 peated, and that the new city will be 
 greater and better than the old." 
 
 As soon as financial arrangements could 
 be made building began on an extended 
 scale in many parts of the burnt district, 
 but especially on Market street, and its 
 immediate vicinity, from the Ferry Build- 
 ing, West. From five to twelve blocks 
 from the water front had been the centre 
 of the best class of retail trade. Pending 
 rebuilding, however, the retail merchants 
 took possession of the west side of Van 
 Ness Avenue, with a mutual understand- 
 ing that they would eventually together 
 
(;;;4 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 luuve to such a lucality for permanent oe- 
 eiipancy as the development of the city 
 along its new lines should make most de- 
 sirable. There seems to be little doubt 
 tliat they will return to the old centre as 
 soon as new stores now beins:; erected are 
 ready, which sliould be early in 1909 at 
 the latest. Already a great number of 
 fine buildings for commercial purposes, 
 along ilarket street for a mile from the 
 Ferry and to the nortli of it. are Hearing 
 completion. Xearly all of these take the 
 place as permanent structures of one or 
 
 heavy hanuners on the steel bolts is deaf- 
 ening. The proverbial " ant-hill " is tlie 
 most perfect simile, barring noises, that 
 one could use to represent existing con- 
 ditions. Of course desultory building has 
 been going on in other localities, and for 
 a mile or more north of Market street 
 toward Telegraph Hill, a large area has 
 lieen covered b,v wooden buildings for 
 cheaper homes. As far as the eye can 
 reach from Market street out over Nob 
 Hill and to Van Ness avenue, however, 
 there is vet a barren waste, much of it 
 
 A PORTION OF BUSINESS SECTION AFTER THE FIRE. 
 
 two story temporary affairs, which were 
 erected hastily after the fire. Those new 
 buildings are all of steel, and mostly of 
 concrete construction, and average from 
 ten to twelve stories in height. 
 
 It would be difficult to conceive of a 
 more apparently chaotic condition than 
 has existed in this district for the past 
 year, nor one whose noises were more in- 
 tolerable. On every hand are great piles 
 of steel trusses and heavy building ma- 
 terial, which enormous cranes are hoisting 
 into place, while the din of tliousands of 
 
 still made doubly hideous by the ugly 
 ruins left standing, but a larger part prac- 
 tically cleared. The many hills of San 
 Francisco are formidable obstacles to an 
 artistic development. Two years before 
 the fire the subject of city improvement 
 was earnestly agitated, and the renowned 
 architect D. H. Burnham, of Chicago, the 
 designer of the famous " White City," was 
 commissioned to work out a scheme for 
 the renovation of San Francisco. This 
 he did, and the " Burnham Plans " were 
 accepted as a basis along whose lines 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO — 1906. 635 
 
 future improvements should be made. 
 These plans provided for a great central 
 square, or circle, at the junction of 
 Market street and Van Ness avenue, about 
 whicli should be artistically grouped all 
 the municipal buildings. Court House, 
 Library, etc.; for the radiation from this 
 and other central circles of wide avenues ; 
 and for the change from the then exist- 
 ing rectangular arrangement of streets up 
 and down the sides of the steeijest hills, 
 which were practically impassable except 
 for mountain climbers and cable cars, to 
 winding avenues at easy grades. The 
 whole scheme was not unlike that origi- 
 nally designed for the City of Washing- 
 ton, the gradual development of which has 
 transformed that once " city of magnifi- 
 cent distances " and ugly wastes into what 
 is confessedly one of the most beautiful 
 capital cities of the world. Of course, 
 when Burnham's plans for the improve- 
 ment of San Francisco were accepted in 
 1905, no one anticipated that in so short 
 a time the ground would be wholly 
 cleared, and that they would serve as the 
 general outline for the reconstruction of 
 the city. Naturally, in view of the terrible 
 loss of property suffered, and of the im- 
 perative need of haste in rebuilding in 
 some sections, those plans cannot be fol- 
 lowed as closely as the best citizens would 
 have desired. The general scheme has, 
 however, so far been kept in mind by the 
 building department and property holders 
 in the work of reconstruction that its 
 ultimate development in all its beauty will 
 
 be much easier than it otherwise would 
 have been. It is probable that at this 
 time, the summer of 1908, about one-half 
 of the whole burnt district, or, say two 
 hundred and fifty blocks, has been cov- 
 ered with buildings which may be con- 
 sidered as permanent, though not all of 
 the buildings, as the great new Pacific 
 hotel, for example, will be ready for oc- 
 cupancy for some time. Unfortunately, 
 labor troubles, which have always been 
 sources of frequent disturbances in San 
 Francisco, have interfered very materially 
 with the work of rebuilding; while the 
 ashes of the burned city were hardly cold 
 before Mayor Schmitz was indicted, tried, 
 and sent to jail on charges of extortion 
 and bribery, all of which, however, ante- 
 dated the fire. But the rotten condition 
 existing in the city's affairs which was 
 brought to light during his trial and by 
 the antecedent investigations, and which 
 has been the occasion of some of the 
 fiercest legal battles of the past two years, 
 has grated upon the genial feeling that 
 everyone had toward the city after its 
 dreadful scourge. Certainly the people 
 of the whole country share the hope of 
 its best citizens, even if they cannot share 
 fully their faith, that the wonderful city 
 by the Golden Gate will rise from its 
 ashes not only more beautiful without and 
 fairer to look upon, but also more whole- 
 some within, and purged of the political 
 and social evils that have too frequently 
 smirched its good reputation, and tar- 
 nished its honored name. 
 
LIII. 
 THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 /\inl)er and the Lodestone. — Views of Ancient Philosophers and of the Church Fathers. — 
 The Chinese " South-Pointing Car." — Rise of Experimental Philosophy. — Dr. Gilbert the 
 Pioneer Experimenter. — Formation of the British Roya,l Society. — The " Roarings and 
 Crackings " when Electricity was Produced. — Earliest Comparison with Thunder and 
 Lightning. — Franklin's Experiments. — His " Electrified Bumpers." — His Demonstration 
 that Lightning of the Storm Same as He produced. — Lightning Rods.— Invention of Leyden 
 Jar. — Line of Jlonks, Nine Hundred Feet Long, Electrified. — Experiments of Cialvani and 
 Volta. — Humphrey Davy and the Arc Light. — Oersted's Great Discovery. — Faraday 
 Determines Relation of Electricity and Magnetism. — Joseph Henry's Distinguished Career 
 and Discoveries. — Morse and the Electric Telegraph. — Strange and Sad Vicissitudes of 
 Inventor. — First Telegraph Laid, Baltimore to Washington, Opened May 24, 1844. — First 
 Message, "What God Hath Wrought." — Cyrus Field and the Atlantic Cable. — Repeated 
 Failures. — First Perfect Connection Established, July 27. 1866. — Statistics as to Cable 
 Service. — Bell, and the Telephone. — Remarkable Characteristics of Invention. — The 
 Microphone.— Every Other Family in the L^nited States Has Telephone. — Development of 
 Dynamos and Motors. — Remarkable Transmission of Currents for Power and Light.— The 
 Electric Liglit. — Incandescent and Arc Lights Described. — Arc Light 3,000,000 Candle 
 Power. — Uses of Selenium. — Various Applications of Electricity in Railroad Service. — 
 Dr. Holmes's " Broomstick Train." — Hertz and the Hertzian Waves. — Ether. — Marconi's 
 Wireless Telegraph and Its Principles. — -Remarkable Invention of Orling and Armstrong. — 
 The Wireless Telegraph and the Republic Collision. — What Next, Telepathy ? 
 
 " .\n the myriad phenomena of the Universe are the manifestations of a single animating principle that 
 
 IB both infinite and eternal and eai-h art of scientific explanation but reveals an opening through which 
 
 shines the glory of the Eternal Majesty." — John Fiske. 
 
 the great forces of the Universe that have been so studied 
 nnd controlled as to be of infinite service to man. Electric- 
 ity has ahva.vs excited the most lively interest. Certain 
 of its proisertie? have been known since the dawn of civil- 
 ization, and the knowledge has been put to some practical 
 use; but until toward the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury hardly a hint had been g-iven of the marvelous trans- 
 forming- powers of the force, of which we really know 
 niiTluiii;, .vit can make serve our needs in such important and diversified ways. One of 
 the favorite jewels and decorative stones of the ancient world was Amber. Its color 
 and lustre appealed to the old Greeks, reminding them of the virgin gold in the sands 
 of some of their streams, and of the yellow sunshine. Later they came to apply the 
 same name to the compounds of metals which when burnished gave a golden glow, 
 all being classed as children of Elel-tor, — the Sun — and reflecting his radiance. Thus 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 30/ 
 
 Amber, in Hellenic speech, came to be 
 called Elektron; and to its peculiar prop- 
 erty of attracting light objects when rub- 
 bed, was given the name of Electricity. 
 The stone was found along the shores of 
 the Baltic Sea, and the early Phoenicians 
 did a thriving business in transporting it 
 to the Mediterranean and Aegean cities, 
 even before either Rome or Carthage was 
 founded. Amber beads were found in the 
 ancient tombs of Mycense, which are now 
 supposed to belong to a period at least 
 two thousand years before the Christian 
 era; while Homer, Hesiod, and all the 
 earliest writers speak of its beauty and 
 remarkable powers. Because when rubbed 
 it would " clutch " at. or draw, light 
 substances, Amber was used by all Syrian 
 women who could afford it for a spindle 
 in spinning, serving "to hold fast the 
 newly finished length of weft." This 
 seems to have been the first practical use 
 made of the electrical force and the first 
 intelligent operation of an electrical 
 etfect. 
 
 Equally ancient has been the knowledge 
 of the Lodestone, or Magnetite. This ore 
 (if iron was a frequent outcropinng on 
 the mountains aroinid the Aegean sea; 
 and one legend tells of the shepherd 
 blagues who, guarding his flocks on the 
 slopes of Mt. Ida, suddenly found him- 
 self held fast by the adhering of the nails 
 of his shoes and the iron ferrule of his 
 stafl^ to a stone, which was subsequently 
 called after him " Magnes' Stone," or 
 " Magnet." The two-fold phenomena of 
 the lodestone were early observed, — that 
 it not only attracts iron but also has 
 polarity; that is, exhibits opposite effects 
 at op])osite ends. By reason of this, when 
 in elongated form and supported so as to 
 turn freely, it will place itself nearly in 
 a north and south direction. This 
 prophecy of the mariner's compass was 
 used in various ways by the ancients 
 though it is impossible to determine the 
 direct origin or source of the compass it- 
 self. The " strange hunger of this mag- 
 netite for other iron," which it seized and 
 drew unto itself, was to the superstitious 
 Greeks a mystery concerning which the 
 
 uninitiated might not even think, for fear 
 of the anger of the Gods. From the 
 earliest legends it would appear that the 
 first miners of Greece came from Phrygia, 
 where magnetite was abundant, and set- 
 tled in Samothrace. There they intro- 
 duced their " mysteries ; " and as proof of 
 their supernatural skill exhibited the 
 celebrated " Samothracian rings." Later 
 the magnetite was termed the Hercules 
 stone because of its power of overcoming 
 iron, and of forcing that metal to come 
 to it. From the earliest times these won- 
 derful properties of amber and the lode- 
 stone filled the superstitious with profound 
 awe, while the philosophers sought in vain 
 for some explanation of the phenomena. 
 As a result of his study of the subject 
 Thales, the " Father of Philosophy," who 
 lived about 600 B. C, is said to have " at- 
 tributed souls to lifeless things, forming 
 his conjecture from the nature of the 
 magnet and the amber;" and, again, 
 Aristotle says: " Thales, too, as is related, 
 seems to regard the soul as somehow pro- 
 ducing motion, for he said that the stone 
 had a soul since it moves iron." Plato 
 jjuts into the mouth of Socrates this in- 
 teresting and beautiful comparison of the 
 magnetic powers with the inspiration of 
 the poet. "The gift you have of speaking 
 excellently about Homer is not an art," 
 said Socrates; " but, as I was just saying, 
 an inspiration ; there is a divinity moving 
 you, like that in the stone which Eu- 
 ripides calls a magnet, but which is com- 
 monly known as the stone of Heraclea. 
 For that stone not only attracts iron 
 rings, but also imparts to them similar 
 power of attracting other rings; and some 
 times you may see a number of pieces 
 of iron and rings suspended from one an- 
 otlier, so as to form quite a long chain ; 
 and all of these derive their powers of 
 suspension from the original stone. Now 
 this is lilce to the Muse, who first gives 
 to man inspiration himself, and from 
 those inspired, her sons, a chain of other 
 persons is suspended, who will take the 
 inspiration from them." For centuries 
 after Plato the Samothracian rings are 
 frequently described. i\[oreover, as the 
 
G38 
 
 PKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 popular belief lias always attributed won- 
 derful properties to any force which 
 shows wonderful effects, so the healing 
 and restoring properties of the magnet 
 and the magnetic rings were fully be- 
 lieved in. The priests of Saniothrace did 
 a great business as magnetic healers, sell- 
 ing magnets and rings, chiefly for the 
 cure of rheumatism and gout. Their 
 magnetized iron rings were recognized 
 as " cure-alls," were later worn by the 
 Roman priests of Jupiter, and, as Pliny 
 says, had in his time become the usual 
 pledge of betrothal. 
 
 When, and by whom, the magnet and 
 the needle were first wedded and became 
 the compass, will probably never be 
 known. The Chinese claims are very 
 strong and would establish a very ancient 
 use of that instrument. One sen'ice to 
 which we know the magnet was put at a 
 veiy early date was the directing of tlie 
 Chinese " South Pointing Car." These 
 cars resembled somewhat an old-fash- 
 ioned, heavily built chaise. Just in front 
 of the passenger's seat was a square box 
 on which stood a figure " made of jade," 
 about sixteen inches in height. Within 
 the right arm, which was always ex- 
 tended in front, was concealed a magnet, 
 whose force is supijosed to have been suf- 
 ficient to turn the figure on its pivot, and 
 so to have caused it always to point to the 
 South. There are records of these cars 
 as far back as the ninth century B. C, 
 though there seems to be no account for 
 several centuries later, when they again 
 appear in use about the fifth or sixth 
 century of our era. 
 
 To the Fathers of the Christian Church 
 the mysteries of magnetism were es- 
 pecially interesting, suggesting to them 
 symbols of the attractive powers of Divine 
 Love. " If the magnet and amber have 
 the strength to draw rings and seeds and 
 chaff," says St. Jerome, " how much the 
 more irresistibly can the Lord of all 
 created things draw unto Himself that 
 which He desires." And St. Gregory saw 
 in the united rings of Samothrace an il- 
 lustration of the binding power of the 
 Spirit. But most interesting of all is St. 
 
 Augustine's account of what ho had seen 
 and heard in this regard. Speaking of 
 the attraction of the magnet, he says: 
 " When I first saw it I was thunder- 
 struck for I saw an iron ring attracted 
 and suspended by the stone; and then, 
 as if it had communicated its own prop- 
 erty to the iron it attracted, and had made 
 it a substance like itself, this ring was 
 put near another and lifted it up; and 
 as the first ring clung to the magnet so 
 did the second ring to the first. A third 
 and fourth were similarly added, so that 
 there hung from the stone a kind of chain 
 of rings with their hoops connected, not 
 interlinking, but attached together by 
 their outer surface. Who would not be 
 amazed at this virtue of the stone, sub- 
 sisting, as it does, not only in itself, but 
 transmitted through so many suspended 
 rings and binding them together by in- 
 visible links? Yet far more astonishing 
 is what I heard about the stone from my 
 brother in the episcopate, Severus, bishop 
 of Milevis. He told me that the Count 
 of Africa, when the bishop was dining 
 with him, produced a magnet and held 
 it under a silver plate on which he placed 
 a bit of iron; then as he moved his hand 
 with the magnet, underneath the plate, 
 the iron upon the plate moved about ac- 
 cordingly. The intervening silver was 
 not affected at all, but precisely as the 
 magnet was moved backward and forward 
 below it, no matter how quickly, so was 
 the iron attracted above." This is said 
 to be the first record of the movement of 
 a magnetic body under the control of a 
 moving magnet. But St. Augustine more 
 than wondered at the things he saw and 
 heard ; he questioned ; and had the days 
 of inductive philosophy been at hand his 
 acute mind might have anticipated some 
 of the later discoveries in electrical de- 
 velopment. What most interested him to 
 discover was why the lodestoue should 
 move iron, and yet be powerless to stir 
 straws or light chaff; while amber drew 
 the straws and chaff but had no apparent 
 effect upon iron. This recognition of the 
 difference between amber attraction (Elec- 
 tric) and the lodestone attraction (mag- 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 639 
 
 netic) was to disturb the \vorld, so far as 
 the world gave any attention to these sub- 
 jects, for more than a thousand years be- 
 fore any reasonable theory should be ad- 
 yanced. 
 
 We are indebted to Mr. Park Beh- 
 jamiu's "Intellectual Rise in Electricity," 
 for much interesting matter relating to 
 the views of the ancients regarding this 
 subject; and he has given an entertain- 
 ing account of one of the curious myths 
 regarding the lodestone which lias been 
 very tenacious of life. This myth relates 
 to the magnetic mountain, variously 
 placed in different seas and oceans, whose 
 ores, as a vessel approached it, began to 
 draw all the nails from its timbers, so 
 that the ship fell to pieces. "One of the 
 most interesting accounts of this fabled 
 mountain is to be found in the "Arabian 
 Xiglits Entertainment," being a part of 
 the tale of the third royal mendicant who 
 ventured to sea. " After a long period of 
 calm the captain of the ship tells him, in 
 great perturbation, that ' to-morrow we 
 shall arrive at a mountain of black stone 
 called lodestone; the current is now bear- 
 ing us violently towards it, and the ships 
 will fall to pieces and every nail in them 
 will fly to the mountain and adhere to it, 
 for God hath given to the lodestone a 
 secret property by virtue of which every- 
 thing of iron is attracted towards it. On 
 that mountain is such a quantity of iron 
 as no one kuoweth but God, whose name 
 be exalted : for, from times of old, great 
 numbers of ships have been destroyed by 
 that mountain.' On the following morn- 
 ing as the ship approached the fatal stone, 
 the current carried us toward it with 
 violence; and when the ships were almost 
 close to it they fell asunder, and all the 
 nails and everything that was of iron 
 flew from them toward the lodestone." 
 
 But Electricity is the science that more 
 than all others depends upon experiment. 
 For more than fifteen hundred years the 
 ancients marvelled at its phenomena, but 
 stopped there. Its further advance must 
 await the awakening of the human under- 
 standing to the supreme importance of ex- 
 perimental and inductive methods, which 
 
 constitute the glory of modern philosophy. 
 Moreover, in other branches of scientific 
 development and industrial advancement, 
 individual tliinkers have worked out com- 
 pleted systems and inventions that have 
 revolutionized the particular industry af- 
 fected. Arkwright, Whitney, Fulton, 
 Watt, Stevenson, — each stands as the rep- 
 resentative of a practically unique and 
 completed work. But every advance, evea 
 by the masters, in electricity has been 
 upon a basis of a vast number of experi- 
 ments covering a period of more than five 
 centuries. So true is this, that a leading 
 writer on the subject, summing up the 
 work of Morse in establishing the electric 
 telegraph says : " In the Morse telegTaph 
 are found the battery, for which credit 
 must be given primarily to Volta, and 
 then to Daniell, who in 183'3 devised a 
 battery nearly constant in strength, — an 
 essential requisite to its application to the 
 telegraph; the key, or transmitter, which, 
 except in details of construction, is prac- 
 tically that in use since experiments on 
 electricity began; the receiving instru- 
 ment of which the essential feature is 
 the electro-magnet, due primarily to Stur- 
 geon, but modified and improved so as to 
 be available for this work by Henry; the 
 relay, by means of which the local cur- 
 rent is put in operation, which was used 
 by Henry and also by Wheatstone; the 
 line wire suspended on poles, a method 
 first practically used by Dr. W. O. 
 Shaughnessey at Calcutta, in 1839. While 
 it appears, therefore, that Morse cannot 
 justly claim priority in the aiseovery of 
 a single scientific principle involved in 
 the telegraph, it must be admitted on all 
 hands that he played a most important 
 part in its development." It will, there- 
 fore, be necessary and not without in- 
 terest, to trace the growth of these germ 
 princii^les which, in their combined benefi- 
 cence, have served to make all later life 
 so much more healthful and comfortable, 
 and have so materially increased the sum 
 of human happiness. 
 
 Experimental philosophy is generally 
 considered as beginning with Bacon early 
 in the seventeenth century. But the 
 
640 
 
 FKO.M COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 first experimental work of consequence in 
 the field of electricity ante-dates Bacon's 
 time some years, and was conducted by 
 William Gilbert, of Colchester, first 
 physician to Queen Elizabeth, and a man 
 of extraordinary learning and inventive 
 genius. lie is commonly regarded as the 
 creator of the science of Electricity and 
 Magnetism, and it is to him that the 
 science is indebted for its name. He 
 constructed an electroscope consisting of 
 a light needle resting on a point, and bj- 
 its use discovered that the power of at- 
 tracting light bodii s did not belong to 
 amber alone, but was possessed by many 
 other substances when they were properly 
 excited. This remarkable man's studies 
 and investigations covered the whole 
 range of the physical sciences, and were 
 not confined to the field of electricity. 
 But as the latter was absolutely virgin 
 territory, his labors and successes in it 
 were more noteworthy than those in other 
 fields. As the first experimenter in and 
 founder of the science of Electricity, a 
 summary of his achievements possesses 
 lasting interest. In recapitulating Gilbert's 
 contributions to physical science, Mr. 
 Benjamin says : " He was the first to in- 
 ■\-estigate natural phenomena philosoph- 
 ically and systematically, and by a true 
 inductive method, for he interrogated 
 nature by actual exiieriment and from 
 particulars thus ascertained rose tO' cor- 
 rect generalizations; to recognize elec- 
 tricity (as distinguished fmrn mag- 
 netism) as a new natural condition or 
 force, and to study and nami; it; to ex- 
 tract the facts and laws of magnetism 
 from the existing mass of speculation, 
 mysteries, and delusions, and to reduce 
 them to a science; to suggest the cor- 
 relation of gravit.v and magnetism with 
 other natural forces, and a relationship 
 between gravity, magnetism, and elec- 
 tricity; to formulate a definite conception 
 of the magnetic field of force, and to 
 attenipt to show its extent; to suggest the 
 re-aetion between two fields of force, and 
 mechanical motion of the inducing bodies 
 resulting therefrom; io reconnlzc ihai 
 the curlh is a great magnet, capable of 
 
 magnetizing iron and iron ore by induc- 
 tion; to determine the magnetic polarity 
 of the earth and in the directive tendency 
 thereof to reveal the true reason for the 
 vertieity of the compass needle; to dis- 
 cover magnetic screening, conduction, 
 and saturation, the compound magnet, 
 the mutual attraction or induction of 
 lodestone and iron, the polepieee or ar- 
 mature, the effect of induction on soft 
 iron, and magnetization by molecular dis- 
 turbance; and to discover electrical charge 
 and its permanence for a considerable 
 period of time, and that it can be retained 
 by covering the excited body with cer- 
 tain substances. He invented the first 
 electrical (as distinguished from mag- 
 netic) instrument, the first electrical in- 
 dicating device, the first magnetometei', 
 filar susjiension, and the ordinary method 
 of magnetization." 
 
 Following the initiative experiments of 
 (iilbert, new principles and new methods 
 of manipulating electricity were rapidly 
 discovered ; but our space will admit of 
 notice of only the determining factors in 
 the development. During the middle of 
 the seventeenth centurj- many men were 
 constantly e.xiierimenting, the most dis- 
 tinguished of whom were Robert Boyle 
 in England, and Otto von Guericke, the 
 celebrated burgomaster of Magdeburg, in 
 Germany. Boyle's work did not serve to 
 determine new principles of marked 
 value, but he developed many of the 
 theories and confirmed the ijositions of his 
 distinguished fellow-countryman, Dr. Gil- 
 bert. Boyle was, however, active in the 
 fcjrmalion of the Royal Society of Eng- 
 land, which was originally composed of 
 twenty-one persons who, in 1C60, regu- 
 larly organized themselves into a society 
 for the promotion of all kinds of experi- 
 mental philosophy. Charles II. a little 
 later greatly strengthened the society by 
 conferring on it a royal charter and by 
 himself becoming an active member. 
 This organization became of the greatest 
 importance in the advance of electrical 
 science, as investigators from all parts of 
 the world sent to it for consideration 
 jiapers announcing the results of their re- 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTKICITY 
 
 641 
 
 searches or investigations, wliieh were 
 then, if approved, published by the So- 
 ciety, and so made jjublic. In this way 
 the student in ahnost any part of the 
 world was enabled to keep in touch with 
 the w'ork of his fellows in other localities, 
 thus receiving a profound stimulus to 
 further research and being saved, doubt- 
 less, many useless and false steps by the 
 experiences of others. 
 
 Otto von Guericke was a most intel- 
 ligent and enthusiastic workman; and 
 his researches covered the whole field of 
 physics. His especial addition to the 
 cause of electrical science, however, con- 
 sisted in the establishment of the prin- 
 ciple of electrical conduction, — the 
 transference of electrification from an 
 electrified body to one not electrified, and 
 the appearance of the electrification in 
 a long conductor at the end opposite to 
 that at which it was produced ; in other 
 words, the apparent instantaneous trans- 
 fer of electricity from end to end of the 
 line. He also discovered that if he rub- 
 l>ed his sulphur globe with the dry palm 
 i:f the hand, and then took the globe with 
 him into a dark room and rubbed it, 
 especially at night, " light would result, 
 as when sugar is beaten," — a hint of the 
 electric light. Von Guericke was the 
 first, also, to recognize electrical repul- 
 sion, as such, a direct suggestion of the 
 identity of electrical attraction and grav- 
 ity; and he constructed and successfully 
 used the first machine for the production 
 of electricity. Speaking of his globe von 
 Guericke said : " There is likewise a vir- 
 tue of sound in this globe for when it is 
 tarried in the hand or is held in a warm- 
 hand, and thus brought to the ear, roar- 
 iiigs and crackings are heard in it." And 
 in 1708, Dr. Wall, an English physician, 
 refers to the same phenomenon. Rub- 
 bing a large piece of amber, and seeing 
 the sparks and hearing the noise, he said : 
 '■ Now, I doubt not, but on using- a longer 
 and larger jiiece of amber both the crack- 
 ling and the light would be much greater; 
 and it seems in some degree to resemble 
 thunder and ligldning." 
 
 About 1730, Stephen Gray, one of the 
 41 
 
 Pensioners of Grey Eriars' School, be- 
 came greatly interested in the subject of 
 electrical conduction. At the school he 
 had few tools; but in the poker, fire 
 shovel, hemi^en twine, etc., he found 
 enough to enable him to establish certain 
 principles which he afterwards elaborated 
 and tested at the country houses of two 
 wealthy men who had interested them- 
 selves in him and his work. After three 
 years of constant experimenting he con- 
 cluded that the " electric virtue " may not 
 only be carried from the tube by a rod 
 or line to distant bodies, but that the 
 same rod or line will communicate that 
 virtue to another rod or line at a dis- 
 tance from it, and by that other rod or 
 line the attractive force may be carried 
 to other distant bodies. He succeeded in 
 extending the transmission over lines 
 reaching twelve hundred feet, using silk 
 supports; and it was in his experiments 
 as to supports that he discovered and es- 
 tablished the existence of " conductors " 
 and "non-conductors." He was, more- 
 over, led to believe that " there may be 
 found out a way to collect a greater 
 quantity of it, and consequently to in- 
 crease the force of this electric fire, which 
 by several of these experiments seems to 
 be of the same nature with that of thun- 
 der and lightning." 
 
 One of the most indefatigable investi- 
 gators of this age was Doctor William 
 Watson, a leading member of the Royal 
 Society. While he made no important 
 discoveries, he carried the investigations 
 of others far in advance of the point of 
 the discoverer, and so threw much light 
 on the general development of electrical 
 knowledge. He did, however, as the re- 
 sult of years of investigation advance a 
 theory that has not been without influ- 
 ence. He affirmed " the existence of an 
 electrical ether, much more siibtle than 
 the common air, and passing to a certain 
 depth through all known bodies. It has 
 the property of air, of moving light ob- 
 jects, and is elastic, this fact being shown 
 by its extending itself around excited 
 electrics, by its increasing the motions of 
 fluids, by the apparent influx of elec- 
 
642 
 
 FKOil COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 trii'nl fire to all bodies, ami by its s'ivin^ 
 violent shocks to the human frame. 
 With this ether all bodies are normally 
 charged. If, however, a body be excited, 
 then the normal conditions are disturbed, 
 so that the ether in the nearest unexcited 
 
 BENJAMIN FRAKTCLIN. 
 
 non-electric tends, by its elasticity, to 
 move to the excited body, where it accu- 
 mulates. In so doing it carries lifjht 
 bodies with it, which accounts for elec- 
 trical attraction." 
 
 TJut investigators were satirized, ridi- 
 culed, and lauiihed at for their devotion 
 to science, and on all sides was heard the 
 cry of the " practical man," — What is the 
 use of all this labor and study? Whom 
 can it ever benefit ? In 1746 Watson 
 published his " Experiments and Obser- 
 vations " in book form, and in the pref- 
 ace urges the prosecution of similar in- 
 vestigations by other men, while in reply 
 to the prevalent cry, he says : " It must 
 be answered that we are not so far ad- 
 vanced in these discoveries as to render 
 them conducive to the service of mankind. 
 Perfection in any branch of philosophy 
 is to be attained but by slow gradations. 
 It is our duty to keep going forward ; the 
 rest we must leave to the direction of 
 
 that Providence which we know assuredly 
 has created nothing in vain. Rut I make 
 no scruple to iissert that notwitlistanding 
 the great advances which have been made 
 in this part of natural philosophy within 
 these few years, many and great proper- 
 ties remain undiscovered. Future philos- 
 ophers -(some perluips even of the present 
 age) may deduce from electrical experi- 
 ments USPS entirely heneficial to society 
 in general." 
 
 It would have been impossible for so 
 many-sided a man as Franklin not to 
 have become intensely interested in elec- 
 tricity and the experiments that were 
 being made on the Continent as soon 
 as he should learn of them. While vis- 
 iting in Boston in 1746, a Dr. Spence, 
 lately arrived from Scotland, exhibited 
 to him some crude electrical experiments. 
 Though Spence's appai'atus was meagre, 
 and his skill the slightest, yet the subject 
 being new to Franklin surprised and de- 
 lighted him. Some years before, he had 
 founded a circulating library in Phila- 
 delphia which was incorporated in 1742, as 
 the Library Company of Philadelphia. 
 Of course practically all its books came 
 from England, where it had as a friend 
 rather than an agent one Peter Collinson, 
 a merchant A\ho had extended business 
 connections in America, and was also a 
 member of the Royal Society. The re- 
 lations between him and Franklin became 
 most friendly and mutually helpful. Im- 
 mediately after its publication, Collinson 
 sent over to the library, and Franklin, 
 a copy of Dr. Watson's book referred to 
 above, with such tubes as Watson had 
 described. Franklin at once became 
 deeply enthusiastic, and began to perform 
 all the experiments described in Watson's 
 papere, inviting a few of his friends to 
 share in his delight at the results obtained. 
 Soon the fame of his experiments spread 
 over the city and his house was crowded 
 with curiosity seekers. Not caring to de- 
 vote his time to a repetition of the old 
 experiments for the pleasure of the 
 curious, he had several tubes blown at the 
 glass house which he presented to many 
 who had become familiar wifh the pro- 
 
 '{ 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 643 
 
 cesses, inviting them to "divide a little 
 this eneumbrance with him." Very shortly 
 the most earnest inquirers drew closer to- 
 pether, and Franklin, Ebenezer Kinners- 
 ley, Thomas Ilopkinson. and Philip Sing 
 united their efforts instead of each ex- 
 perimenting in seclusion as had generally 
 been the case. Out of this little company 
 grew the American Philosophical Society, 
 of which Ilopkinson was the first presi- 
 dent. On March 28, 1747, Franklin wrote 
 Collinson : " For my own part, I never 
 was before engaged in any study that so 
 totally engrossed my attention and my 
 time, for what with making experiments 
 when I can be alone, and repeating them 
 to my friends and acquaintances who, 
 from the novelty of the thing, come con- 
 tinually in crowds to see them, I have 
 during some months past, had little 
 leisure for anything else." From that 
 time on Franklin began to send the re- 
 sults of his researches in letters to Col- 
 linson, with some degree of regularity, 
 and the papers were read before the Royal 
 Society, where, at first, they were not 
 favorably received, and none were con- 
 sidered worthy of publication. Some of 
 his reports were, however, published in 
 London, and at the instigation of Buffon 
 were translated into French ; and in Paris 
 they were at once received with favor, 
 with the result that the Royal Society 
 reconsidered its position, and in " The 
 Transactions " for 1751 gave a favorable 
 account of Franklin's experiments up to 
 that time, prepared by the same Dr. Wat- 
 son whose book had first aroused Frank- 
 lin's enthusiasm. Watson's report con- 
 eluded with these words: " On the whole 
 ^fr. Franklin appears in this work in the 
 light of a very able and ingenious man; 
 that he had a head to conceive and a hand 
 to carry into execution whatever he 
 thought might conduce to enlighten the 
 subject of which he was treating; and 
 though there are in this work some few 
 opinions in which the writer would not 
 agree with him, he thought scarcely any- 
 body better acquainted with the subject 
 of electricity than Mr. Franklin was." 
 To further atone for its early failure to 
 
 recognize his worth, when Franklin vis- 
 ited Europe in 17.55, he was received by 
 the members of the Royal Society with 
 evei-y honor, was elected a Fellow, the pay- 
 ments of dues being remitted, the great 
 Copley medal was bestowed upon him, 
 and the Transactions of the Society were 
 ordered sent to him, free of expense, dur- 
 ing the remainder of his life. A most 
 graceful and gracious recognition of the 
 great man's ingenuity and wisdom, even 
 if somewhat tardy. As we have seen, von 
 Guericke, Dr. Wall, and Gray all had 
 noted the " crackling and roarings " that 
 accompanied electrical action in some of 
 their experiments. Dr. Wall declaring that 
 they " seemed in some degree to resemble 
 thunder and lightning." It is not prob- 
 able that Franklin was in any way famil- 
 iar with the observations of these experi- 
 menters, as the only work he had seen up 
 to 1749 was Dr. Watson's. Y^et the 
 identity of electricity and lightning early 
 impressed itself upon him; and it is on 
 experiments developing this theory and on 
 making a practical application of the re- 
 sults of his discoveries, that Franklin's 
 great fame as an electrical discoverer 
 rests. As early as November 7, 1749, he 
 made the following memorandum in his 
 note book, which shows the trend of his 
 thought. " Electrical fluid agrees witli 
 lightning in these particulars : 1. Giving 
 light; 2. Color in the light; 3. Crooked 
 direction; 4. Swift motion; 5. Being con- 
 ducted by metals; (5. Crack or noise in 
 exploding; 7. Subsisting in water or ice; 
 8. Rending bodies it passes through; 9. 
 Destroying animals; 10. Melting metals; 
 11. Firing inflammable substances ; 12. 
 Sulphurous smell. The electric fluid is 
 attracted by points, — we do not know 
 whether this property is in lightning. 
 But since they agree in all the particulars 
 wherein we can already compare them, is 
 it not probable they agree likewise in 
 this? Let the experiment he made!" In 
 his " Life and Times of Franklin " Par- 
 ton gives a curious letter from Franklin 
 to Peter Collison, under date of April 29, 
 1749. " Chagrined." he says. " a little 
 that we have hitherto been able to pro- 
 
GU 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEK. 
 
 duce nothing- in tliis way of use to man- 
 kind; and the hot weather coming on, 
 when cleetrieal experiments are not so 
 ajj-reertble. it is proposed to put an end 
 to them fill- this season, somewhat humor- 
 ously, in a party of pleasure on the banks 
 of Scliui/Jkill. Spirits, at the same time, 
 are to be fired by a spark sent from side to 
 side through the river, without any other 
 conductor than the water; an exi^eriment 
 which we sometime since performed, to 
 the amazement of many. A turkey is to 
 be killed for our dinner by the electrical 
 shocb, and roasted by the electrical jack, 
 before a fire kindled by the electrified 
 holtlc; when the healths of all the famous 
 electricians in England, Holland, France, 
 and Germany are to be drunk in electri- 
 fied bumpers, under the discharge of guns 
 from the electrical battery." Franklin 
 explains that " an electrified humper is a 
 small thin glass tumbler, near filled with 
 wine and electrified as the bottle. This 
 when brought to the lips gives a shock, 
 if the party be close shaved, and does not 
 breathe on the liquor." 
 
 The year 1752 was a marked one in the 
 advance of electrical knowledge. Frank- 
 lin's deduction as to the identity of the 
 electrical fluid and lightning had greatly 
 interested the French investigators, who 
 at once began experiments to test their 
 truth; with the result that on May 10 
 M. d'Alibard, at Marley, succeeded in 
 ih'awing electricity from the cluuds, as 
 did another Frenchman in Paris a few 
 days later. But their experiments were 
 from rods not over seventy feet high, and 
 did not carry assurance to Franklin's 
 mind. They did. however, prove to him 
 that he must act at once, or the truth 
 of his theories would be established by 
 others, and the honor fall to iheni. With- 
 out taking anyone but his son into his 
 counsels he determined to draw the elec- 
 tricity directly from the clouds them- 
 selves, which, if he succeeded, must for- 
 ever settle the question. As the hot sum- 
 mer season was well on, he had not to 
 wait long for a thunder shower which 
 should afford him the necessary oppnr- 
 tunitv of testing his theorv. What this 
 
 experiment meant to the Scientist has 
 been little realized. He had seen the 
 terrible effects of the lightning stroke; 
 knew that men and animals had been re- 
 peatedly killed, and had himself repeat- 
 edly declared that if the electrical dis- 
 charge was potent enough, it must be 
 instantly fatal. And it was this force 
 that he had now determined to bring into 
 his own hand. Nothing was then known 
 of the laws of conduction ; so that he had 
 no means of estimating how much of the 
 lightning would descend the cord of his 
 kite, if it descended at all. " Every 
 presumption," as one has said, " pointed 
 to an outpour of living flame which 
 would infallibly kill. And yet, if his 
 theory was right, the electrical fluid should 
 be drawn from the cloud and flow down 
 with hannless vigor. No man ever con- 
 fronted what he must have believed to be 
 terrible danger with more superb heroism. 
 No man ever so calmly, so philosophically, 
 staked his life upon his faith." Mr. 
 Benjamin has so picturesquely described 
 this, one of the most notable of scientiti:- 
 experiments, and one so closely connecteil 
 with Franklin's fame in the popular mind, 
 that we shall quote his words. " The 
 great clouds roll up from the horizon, and 
 the gusts grow fitful and strong. As 
 Franlilin and his boy disentangled the 
 kite from its cords and tail, and get it in 
 position for ascent, the thunder mutters 
 nearer, and the rain begins to patter upon 
 the glass. A swishing blast comes over 
 the meadows, the kite feels it and rises 
 swiftly, swooping this way and that as 
 the air currents catch it. The rain falI-< 
 heavily, and the mist begins to close in. 
 There is a friendly shed at hand and 
 Franklin, drenched, takes refuge under it. 
 The kite, heavy with water, is sailing 
 sluggishly, cxcei^t when the gusts set it 
 moving in spirals. A huge low-lying 
 black cloud traveling over him suddenly 
 shoots forth forked flame, and a crash of 
 thunder shakes the very earth. The pour 
 is now in sheets; again the blaze, again 
 the rattling explosion. The kite is mov- 
 ing upward, for Franklin is (juickly un- 
 winding the cord. It is soaring int'^ the 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTEICITY. 
 
 645 
 
 black mass from wliich the flashes are 
 now rapidly coming, and iu "which it soon 
 becomes invisible. Quietly Franklin is 
 arranging the silk-ribbon and the key. 
 This done, he watches the cord close to 
 him. Has he failed? Suddenly he sees 
 the little loose fibres of the twine erect 
 themselves. He has not failed, but the 
 moment has come. Without a tremor he 
 advances his knuckle to the key. And 
 then a little crack, a little spark, the same 
 little crack and the same little spark 
 which he had taken a hundred times from 
 his glass tube — and the great discovery is 
 complete, his name is immortal. As the 
 kite dashes through the masses of vapor 
 hurrying over him, he touches the key, 
 and again and again the conquered light- 
 ning returns, as it were, a caress — even 
 submitting to be caged in the Leyden jar 
 like the common electricity from his 
 rubbed' globe. And as the storm abates, 
 the thuniler dies away on the horizon, the 
 clouds sweep off toward their ancient 
 enemies, the mountains, and the kite 
 moves lazily in the blue; while on the 
 thankful, upturned face of the man 
 gleams the glad sunshine which he had 
 thought never to behold again." 
 
 In 1749 Franklin had published a work 
 entitled " Opinions and Conjectures con- 
 cerning the Properties and Efl'ects of the 
 Electrical Matter, and the Means of Pre- 
 serving Buildings, Ships, etc., from Light- 
 ning, arising fromi Experiments and Ob- 
 servations made at Philadeljihia." Two 
 great topics of this treatise were receiving 
 practically all of Franklin's attention and 
 thought at this time. He had made a 
 miniature lightning-rod conduct harm- 
 lessly away the electricity of an artificial 
 thunder-storm, and described the experi- 
 ment in his work. The study of the in- 
 fluence of points in attracting the electric 
 fluid thus became of intense interest to 
 him ; and it seemed to him only necessary 
 to establish the identity of the electricity 
 manufactured by his instruments and that 
 of the clouds, to develop a principle that 
 should be of lasting benefit to his fellow- 
 men. Accordingly he suggests in a second 
 part of his paper experiments that might 
 
 set at rest all questions as to this identity, 
 and later performed his own experiments 
 and determined the question for himself, 
 as narrated above. Then followed the 
 practical application of his principles to 
 the protection of public and private build- 
 ings, ships, etc.; until lightning rods be- 
 came almost as much a part of material 
 for house or barn building-, as did beams 
 or lathes. In " Poor Richard's Almanac " 
 for 1753, one may read : " It has pleased 
 God and His goodness to mankind to dis- 
 cover to them the means of securing their 
 Habitations and other Buildings from 
 Mischief by Thmider and Lightning. The 
 Method is this: Provide a small iron rod 
 (it may be made of the rod-iron used by 
 Nailers), but of such a length that one 
 end being three or four feet iu the moist 
 ground, the other may be six or eight feet 
 above the highest x^art of the building. 
 To the upper end of the rod fasten about 
 a foot of brass wire, the size of a com- 
 mon knitting- needle, sharpened to a fine 
 point. The rod may be secured in the 
 house by a few small staples. If the house 
 or bam be long, there may be a rod and 
 point at each end, and a middling wire 
 along the ridge from one to the other. A 
 house thus furnished will not be damaged 
 by lightning, it being attracted by the 
 points, and passing through the metal into 
 the ground without hurting anything." 
 These positions of Franklin were ridi- 
 culed, and denounced. When it was de- 
 manded why these jjoints possessed such 
 peculiar power, he frankly confessed that 
 he could not tell, " nor," he adds, " is it 
 necessary that we should understand it. 
 It is of real use to know that china left 
 in the air unsupported will fall and break ; 
 but how it came to fall, and why it breaks, 
 are matters of speculation. It is a 
 pleasure, indeed, to know them, but we can 
 preserve our china without it." In his 
 " History of Harvard College," President 
 Quiucy relates that in Novem'oer, 1755, a 
 shock of earthquake was felt in New Eng- 
 land, and that a Boston clergyman 
 preached a sermon on the subject, in 
 which he contended that the lightning 
 rods by accumulating the electricity in 
 
64:6 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 the eartli, had caused the earthquake; and 
 in 1770 another Boston minister opposed 
 the use of the rods on the ground that, as 
 liglitning was one of the means of punish- 
 ing- the sins of mankind, and of warning 
 them from the commission of sin, it was 
 impious to prevent its full execution. 
 Not without reason does Franklin quaintly 
 observe : " It is well we are not, as poor 
 Galileo was, subjected to the Inquisition 
 for philosophical heresy." 
 
 During the two hundred years from the 
 early experiments of Gilbert to the close 
 of the eighteenth century, nearly all the 
 characteristics of the electric force had 
 been discovered, and its modes of action 
 and reaction had been pretty well dis- 
 closed; while hints of the great develop- 
 ments that were to follow hud been ob- 
 served. The history of electricity has 
 been one of continual development and 
 unfolding. As has been well said : " No 
 one man, nor any generation of men, can 
 be credited with all that is involved in 
 any one of the great inventions or memor- 
 able discoveries with which Science has 
 enriched the world. All have built upon 
 the labors of their predecessors, and to 
 understand the completed work it is neces- 
 sary to know something of the history of 
 its various stages." Progress during the 
 nineteenth century, marvelous as it 
 seemed, was chiefly along the line of new 
 and improved methods of producing and 
 handling the phenomenal force rather than 
 in original discovery. A very important 
 advance in mechanical devices was the in- 
 vention of the Leyden jar, in 1745, about 
 the time Franklin became deeply inter- 
 ested in the new science. This device was 
 hit upon by three men at practically the 
 same time, an experimenter named 
 Cuneus, a monk named Kleist, and Pro- 
 fessor Muschcnbroeck, of Leyden ; but as 
 it was first exhibited and experimented 
 with at Leyden the apparatus took the 
 name of that city, by which it has ever 
 since been known. As usually made the 
 Leyden jar consists of a glass jar, with a 
 wide mouth preferably, coated with tin- 
 foil within and without, to within a few 
 inches of the top. The mouth is regularly 
 
 closed by a disk of diy wood, through 
 which jiasses a wire reaching to the inner 
 coating. The outer end of the wire 
 usually terminated in a small metallic ball. 
 Its essential feature is that it consists of 
 two conducting surfaces, separated by a 
 nonconductor; and in the jar, as first 
 used by Muschenbroeck, the inner con- 
 ductor was water, the place of the outer 
 being taken by the moist hand of the 
 experimenter. It is " charged " by con- 
 necting either coating with the source of 
 electricity, while the other is connected 
 with the earth. Muschenbroeck described 
 his discovery and its results as follows : 
 " I wish to inform you of a new but ter- 
 rible experiment, which I advise you on 
 no account personally to attempt. I am 
 engaged in a research to determine the 
 strength of electricity. With this object 
 I had suspended by two blue silk threads 
 a gun barrel, which received electricity by 
 a communication from a glass globe which 
 was turned rapidly on its axis by one 
 operator, while another pressed his hands 
 against it. From the opposite end of the 
 gun barrel hung a brass wire, the end of 
 which entered a glass jar, which was 
 partly full of water. This jar I held in my 
 right hand, while with my left I attempted 
 to draw sparks from the gun barrel. Sud- 
 denly I received in my right hand a shock 
 of such violence that my whole body 
 was shaken as by a lightning stroke. The 
 vessel, although of glass, was not broken, 
 nor was the hand displaced by the commo- 
 tion; but the arm and body were affected 
 in a manner more terrible than I can ex- 
 press. In a word, I believed that I was 
 done for." The invention, or discovery of 
 this jar, became the subject of universal 
 wonder and interest among all the scien- 
 tists of Europe, Everywhere, and in 
 curious ways, its influence was the object 
 of countless experiments. The Abbe 
 Nollet entertained the French King by 
 transmitting the discharge through one 
 hundred and eighty of his guards, " who 
 were all so sensible of it at the same 
 moment that the surprise caused them all 
 to spring up at once." But this test was 
 far surpassed in every respect by that 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 G47 
 
 conducted by the Carthusian monks in 
 Paris. A line of monks nine hundred feet 
 long was made " by means of iron wires 
 of proportionable length between every 
 two. The eifect was that when the two 
 extremities of this long line met in con- 
 tact with the electrified vial, the whole 
 company at the same instant of time gave 
 a sudden spring, and equally felt the 
 shock." This instantaneous " spring " of 
 several hundred Carthusian monks must 
 have been as entertaining a sight, as it 
 was conclusive evidence of the marvelous 
 vivifying force of electricity. In Eng- 
 land the Leyden jar received prompt 
 recognition. Sir William Watson added 
 an outside metallic coating, and by its aid 
 was enabled to fire gunpowder and other 
 inflammables. In company with a number 
 of Fellows of the Royal Society he experi- 
 mented to determine the velocity with 
 which electricity was transmitted through 
 metallic conductors, and suceeetled in 
 sending it through more than twelve 
 thousand feet of wire, and concluded that 
 the transmission was instantaneous. 
 While many and various uses were made 
 of the Leyden jar at this time, the 
 greatest immediate value was that by 
 means of it the recognition of an electric 
 circuit was first established. 
 
 But little more of consequence was de- 
 veloped in the science of electricity down 
 to the nineteenth century, which might 
 well be called the Electrical Century, so 
 marvelous, varied, and vastly beneficent 
 were the applications and extensions of the 
 principles already established. In 1795 
 Tiberius Cavallo published a " History of 
 Electricity," in three volumes, giving a 
 quite complete and detailed account of 
 all that was then known of the subject, 
 and expressed serious doubt whether more 
 cuuld be accomplished. " In short," he 
 says, " nothing contributed to make Elec- 
 tricity the subject of the public attention, 
 and excite a general curiosity, until the 
 capital discovery of the vast accumula- 
 tion of its power, in what is commonly 
 called the Leyden phial, which was acci- 
 dentally made in the memorable year 1745. 
 Then, and not till then, the study of 
 
 electricity became general. Since the time 
 of this discovery, the prodigious number 
 of electricians, experiments, and new facts 
 that have been daily produced from every 
 corner of Europe and other parts of the 
 world, is almost incredible. Discoveries 
 crowded upon discoveries; improvements 
 upon improvements ; and the Science ever 
 since tliat time went on with so rapid a 
 course, and is now spreading so amazingly 
 fast, that it seems as if the subject would 
 be soon exliausted. and electricians arrive 
 at an end of their researches. But, how- 
 ever, the ne plus ultra is, in all proba- 
 bility, as yet at a great distance, and the 
 young electrician has a vast field before 
 him, highly deserving his attention and 
 promising further discoveries, perhaps 
 equally or more important than those 
 already made." 
 
 Galvani and Volta are two names that 
 have become permanently identified with 
 the subject of electricity. Galvuni was 
 Professor of Anatomy at the University 
 of Bologna, and in 1786 was actively en- 
 gaged in an investigation of the effect of 
 atmospheric electricity on animal organ- 
 isms, using the hind legs of recently killed 
 frogs as delicate electroscopes. He was 
 surprised, however, during these investi- 
 gations to find that when, as he be- 
 lieved, no electrical currents were passing- 
 through the legs of the frogs, they were 
 convulsed just as he knew they would be 
 if subjected to such electrical currents. 
 One day he happened to hang a bundle of 
 frog's legs bound together by a copper 
 wire against an iron railing, when he ob- 
 served that if a part of the exposed verte- 
 brae or backbone of the frog touched the 
 iron, tlie legs were powerfully convulsed. 
 Galvani believed that he had at last dis- 
 covered the "vital force " for which he, 
 in common with other anatomists, had 
 been searching, as he thought nervous 
 fluid existed in the animal, and passed 
 from nerve to muscle through the con- 
 ducting path offered by the iron; and 
 though he afterwards recognized that the 
 movements were due to electricity, he still 
 believed that the electricity was produced 
 by the frog itself. Hence arose the term 
 
()48 
 
 TKOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 " Animal Electricity," or. as some callc(l 
 it, Galvanism, a name wliieh liclJ its own 
 until quite recently. Galvaiii's experi- 
 ments and discoveries excited a most 
 lively interest among all scientists, and 
 especially in the mind of Alexander Volta, 
 Professor of Natural Philosophy in the 
 University of Pavia, Italy. At first he 
 accepted Galvani's conclusions that the 
 ])henomena manifested in the action of 
 the frog's legs were due to a vital fluid. 
 But continued experimentation jiroved to 
 him that wliat (lalvani liad clisclosed was 
 not a vital fluid nor animal electricity, 
 liut an entirely new source of electricity ; 
 that the convulsions of the frog's legs were 
 due to electricity produced by the mere 
 fiintact of dissimilar metals. He found 
 that two different metals were essential 
 to tlie successfxil performance of the ex- 
 l>eriment with the frog's legs, and he at- 
 tributed the appearance of electricity to 
 the disturbance of the electric equilibrium 
 brought about by their contact; and he 
 enunciated the general proposition that, 
 whenever two different metals are placed 
 in contact, one will become positively and 
 the other negatively charged. This was 
 the first statement of what came to be 
 known as the " contact theory " of the 
 Voltaic cell. When, however, the chemical 
 action of the voltaic current was studied 
 what is known as the " chemical theory " 
 was advocated by many, who believed the 
 scat of the electromotive force of the coll 
 was in the chemical aflinity existing be- 
 tween its elements. The conflict between 
 the adherents of these two hypotheses has 
 continued down to the present day; and 
 the conclusion of the most conqjetent 
 writers is that the real seat of the electro- 
 motive force of a voltaic battery is not yet 
 known, though the chemical theory has 
 undoubtedly come to be the more generally 
 accepted. 
 
 The result of Volta's study of the phe- 
 nomena presented by Galvani's experi- 
 ments was the invention of what is, prob- 
 ably, the best known of all electrical 
 instruments, the Voltaic battery, or 
 " pile." It was the direct outgrowth of his 
 reflections upon his " Contact theory." 
 
 Believing that electrical separation takes 
 place when two dissimilar metals come in 
 contact he argued that the effect of a 
 single pair should be magnified by increas- 
 ing the number. Yolta made his dis- 
 covery public in a letter to the Eoyal 
 Society, which was read before that body 
 June 26, 1800. After reviewing some 
 minor experiments and the results ob- 
 tained, he said: "The prineijial of these 
 results, which includes nearly all the 
 others, is the construction of an apparatus 
 which resembles, so far as its effects are 
 concerned, that is by the commotion which 
 it is capable of making one feel in the 
 arms, etc., the Leyden batteries, and still 
 more the fully-charged electric batteries. 
 It acts, however, without ceasing, and its 
 charge re-establishes itself after each ex- 
 plosion. It operates, in a word, by an in- 
 destructible charge, by a perpetual action 
 or impulse on the electric fluid. I will 
 here give you a description of this appa- 
 ratus. I obtain several dozen small round 
 plates or disks of copper, brass, or better 
 of silver, an inch in diameter, more or 
 less; for example coins, and an equal num- 
 ber of plates of tin, or what is still better 
 of zinc, of the same shape and size, ap- 
 proximately, having care only that we can 
 conveniently arrange them one over the 
 other in the form of a column, I prepare 
 besides a sufficiently great number of 
 disks of card-board, or cloth, or some other 
 spongy material, capable of imbibing and 
 retaining considerable water or other 
 liquid; for it is necessary for the success 
 of the e.xijeriment that they should be well 
 moistened. Having these x^ieces con- 
 veniently arranged and in good condition, 
 that is to say the metal disks clean and 
 dry an<l the non-metallic disks sufficiently 
 moistened with water, or what is still 
 better, salt water; they are then lightly 
 pressed in order to prevent the liquid from 
 running out. I have only to arrange them 
 as desired, and this arrangement is simple 
 and easy. I place on a table or other base 
 one of the metallic plates, for example, 
 one of silver; on this first, I then place 
 a second of zinc; on this, second I place a 
 moistened disk; then another plate of 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 G4!) 
 
 silver, followed immediately by another of 
 zinc, to. which I can make succeed a 
 moistened disk. I then continue in the 
 same manner, coupling a plate of silver 
 with one of zinc, and always in the same 
 direction ; that is to say, always the silver 
 above, the zinc below, or vice versa, ac- 
 cording as I have commenced, interposing 
 between each two of these disks a moist- 
 ened disk." The separate or alternating 
 plates or disks are firmly pressed together 
 and placed inside a suitable frame. This 
 instrument was called the Voltaic pile, 
 from the fact that the plates were thus 
 piled on one another. It was also called 
 a battery from the similarity of the ar- 
 rangement, from an electrical point of 
 view, to the Leyden-]'ar battery. The 
 Voltaic battery, however, possesses the 
 power of continually recharging itself on 
 being discharged, and thus producing a 
 continual discharge, flow, or current of 
 electricity so long as certain necessary 
 conditions are preserved. Volta later 
 modified the form of his apparatus by 
 placing the two dissimilar metals in cups 
 of water and then joining them together 
 by metallic conductors, thus putting his 
 battery in a shape which it has retained, 
 practically, to the present day. 
 
 The early nineteenth century is marked 
 by the appearance in the scientific world 
 of an Englishman destined to take the 
 foremost place among his fellow-workers, 
 Humphrey Davy. Appointed experimen- 
 tal chemist of the Royal Institution, 
 London, in 1801. he immediately began a 
 series of splendid discoveries which made 
 the Institution, founded a short time be- 
 fore by Count Rumford, famous, estal)- 
 lished his own reputation, and made him 
 more widely known than any other scien- 
 tist of his age. Davy studied the " pile " 
 in its theory and operation, but rather 
 with a view to its use in chemical experi- 
 ments than electrical, and early saw in it 
 a means of i^rodueing decomposition. 
 After extensive experimentation he at- 
 tacked the so-called "fixed alkalies," whose 
 composition was unkiaown, and soon had 
 discovered and produced the metal bases 
 of potash, sodium, barium, strontium, 
 
 calcium, and magnesium. The effecting of 
 these decompositions marks an epoch in 
 the history of physical science. Of so 
 much importance was it that Davy's ex- 
 periments were repeated and advanced 
 upon by the most eminent chemists of the 
 day, with the result that for twenty years 
 almost the sole use of the electric current 
 was for purposes of decomposition. 
 
 During previous experimentation the 
 heating power of electricity had been 
 noticed, but not much attention had been 
 given to this phase of the subject. It 
 early interested Davy, however, and it is 
 afiirmed that he produced the electric light 
 from carbon as early as 1802. So remark- 
 able were the results that he achieved with 
 his small battery of two hundred and fifty 
 cells, that the enthusiasm of patrons of 
 science enabled him to continue his re- 
 search with the use of one of the most 
 powerful batteries ever constructed, which 
 
 HUMPHREY DAVY. 
 
 was erected in the Royal Institution and 
 consisted of two thousand cells, with a 
 total surface of one hundred and twenty- 
 eight thousand square inches. The metals 
 of this battery were copper and zinc, and 
 the liquid was a mixture of water and 
 
G50 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 nitric and sulphuric acids. Before the 
 members of the Royal Institution, in 
 1810, he made the first production and ex- 
 hibition of the electric current and the 
 electric light on a large scale. This 
 momentous exhibition was described by 
 Davy as follows : " When pieces of char- 
 coal about an inch long- and one-sixth of 
 an inch in diameter were brought near 
 each other (within the thirtieth or 
 fortieth of an inch) a bright spark was 
 produced, and more than half the volume 
 of the charcoal became ignited to white- 
 ness; and, by withdrawing- the points from 
 each other, a constant discharge took place 
 through the heated air. iu a space equal 
 to at least four inches, producing a most 
 brilliant ascending arch of light, broad 
 and conical in form in the middle. When 
 any substance was introduced into this 
 arch, it instantly became ignited; platina 
 melted as readily in it as wax in a com- 
 mon candle ; quartz, the sapphire, mag- 
 nesia, lime, all entered into fusion; frag- 
 ments of diamond and jjoints of charcoal 
 and plumbago rapidly disappeared and 
 seemed to evaporate in it, even when the 
 connection was made in a receiver ex- 
 hausted by the air pump ; but there was no 
 evidence of their having previously un- 
 dei'gone fusion." Davy's apparatus con- 
 sisted essentially of two parts, — the 
 l)atteiy, as previously described for the 
 generation of electricity; and the lamp, 
 or carbon rods, for converting the energy 
 of the current into heat and light. Here 
 was the prophesy of the electric light of 
 the twentieth century, though it was to 
 take many years, filled with the labor of 
 many men, to bring it to the present stage 
 of perfection. It does not appear, how- 
 ever, that Davy or others made any special 
 effort to advance upon his achievements 
 in this line for several years; as students 
 of electricity were too much engrossed in 
 the multitude of interesting problems 
 that were constantly presenting them- 
 selves for investigation, to consider the 
 practical applications of any of their ex- 
 I^erimental discoveries. 
 
 Ever since the days of Gilbert, who first 
 made any scientific study of the magnet 
 
 and magnetism, the subjects had received 
 more or less continuous attention, though 
 the brilliant discoveries in electricity and 
 its marvelous applications secured for it 
 the closer observation of all students. It 
 would hardly have been possible, however, 
 that the many close resemblances between 
 the two classes of phenomena should have 
 escaped observation. As Colonel Menden- 
 hall, in his " Century of Electricity." sums 
 the matter up: "Both had been known 
 from the earliest times; both exhibited at- 
 traction, both repulsion, and under de- 
 cidedly similar conditions. In both cases 
 the law of attraction and repulsion wa^ 
 that of inverse squares. But nearly all 
 bodies were known to be capable of 
 electrification, while hardly more than one 
 or two could be magnetized. Electrifica- 
 tion could be produced under almost all 
 circumstances, and electricity made to 
 appear where none apparently existed be- 
 fore. Magnetism had to be borrowed ; and 
 although the touching or inducing magnet 
 lost none of its power in establishing 
 polarity in a piece of steel; and while it 
 was possible, by proper manipulation and 
 combination, to produce a magnet of 
 greater strength than that used as a 
 source, there was no known process by 
 means of which the condition of magneti- 
 zation could be created from the begin- 
 ning." One of the most interesting- and 
 fruitful results of all these long years of 
 experimentation, and especially of the 
 work of Rumford, Davy, and their asso- 
 ciates, was the rapid development in the 
 minds of the foremost scientific men of 
 the idea of ilie unity of the forces of 
 nature. A marked result of this convic- 
 tion was the belief in the close relationship 
 between magnetism and electricity, not- 
 withstanding their many apparent differ- 
 ences; and conditions were ripe for one 
 of the epoch making discoveries of the 
 nineteenth century, which fell to the lot 
 of Jean Christian Oersted, Professor of 
 Physics in the University of Copenhagen. 
 Like many others he had become firmly 
 convinced of the unity of the forces of 
 nature, and had often said the relation- 
 ship between magnetism and electricity 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTKICITY. 
 
 651 
 
 ^vould one day be determined, a consum- 
 mation he ardently labored and experi- 
 mented to establish. He was a brilliant 
 lecturer whose class-rooms were crowded; 
 and it was in the midst of one of his 
 lectures, with his students all about him, 
 that an inspiration seized him. A 
 battery of great power was on the table 
 before him, and nearby was a suspended 
 magnetic needle. Telling his hearers 
 what he was about to try, he seized the 
 wire joining the two poles and placed it 
 parallel and over the needle, but not so 
 as to touch it. Instantly the needle 
 swung out of position; and one of the 
 most remarkable discoveries of modern 
 science became an accomplished fact. 
 Oersted at once began to work up the 
 experimental part of his discovery, which 
 he published to the world in 1820. 
 
 Andre Marie Ampere, who was born at 
 Lyons, France, in 1T75, early in the 
 eighteenth century was a deeply inter- 
 ested student of physical science in Paris. 
 On the 11th of September, 1820, he 
 learned of Oersted's discovery ; and on the 
 18th of the same month, just a week later, 
 he read a paper before the Academy in 
 which he made public his experiments con- 
 firming and extending those of Oersted, 
 and also announcing the immensely im- 
 portant discovery that magnetic effects 
 could be i^rodueed from the current with- 
 out the use of the magnet; that parallel 
 wires through which currents were pass- 
 ing in the same direction attracted each 
 other. He also showed that movable con- 
 ductors through which electric currents 
 are passing, attracted or repelled other 
 active movable conductors according to 
 the direction in which the currents flowed 
 through both conductors, thus opening up 
 a new branch of electricity called electro- 
 dynamics, or that branch of the science 
 which treats of the force which one elec- 
 tric current exerts on another. Consider- 
 ing that all these experiments and de- 
 ductions and principles were conducted 
 and evolved in just seven days, it is safe 
 to say, in the words of a distinguished 
 electrical student, " that the science has 
 at no other time advanced with such 
 
 tremendous strides as during that memor- 
 able week. On this joint work of Oersted 
 and Ampere the whole structure of 
 modern electricity may be said to rest; and 
 with the establishment of this, its almost 
 ample foundation, their names will ever bo 
 inseparably connected." 
 
 
 |H| 
 
 
 r \^^^H 
 
 
 BCas^j^^^^^^^ 
 
 
 mBHI 
 
 wK^^M 
 
 ^m 
 
 
 1^1 
 
 MICHAEL FaKADAY. 
 
 The next great discovery of importance 
 was made by Faraday of whom Professor 
 John Tyndall has said : " Take him for 
 all in all, I think it will be conceded that 
 Michael Faraday is the greatest experi- 
 mental philosopher the world has ever 
 seen." Many before him had endeavored 
 to obtain electricity from magnetism, but 
 without success. Faraday reasoned " that 
 if a wire carrying an electric current acts 
 like a magnet, as Oersted has shown, then 
 such a wire should be able to produce 
 electric currents in conductors placed near 
 it. Moreover, since electric currents pro- 
 duce magnetism, so magnetism on its part 
 should be able to produce electric cur- 
 rents." For some time he was unable to 
 substantiate his position; but on August 
 29, 18.31, he made the discovery and es- 
 tablished the truth of his hypothesis. 
 This discovery made possible the dynamo- 
 electric machine, the induction coil, the 
 
(J52 
 
 IIIOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 electric motor, and the alternating current 
 Iransfonnci'. The instrument used to se- 
 cure these great results "was extremely 
 simple, consisting only of a disk so 
 mounted that it could be revolved between 
 the poles of an electro-magnet and having 
 the axis of the disk and its edge connected 
 witli a galvanometer. When the disk vpas 
 turned, the needle moved, showing the 
 presence of induced currents. " This was 
 the first dynamo-electric machine, the 
 parent of all that are to-day flooding with 
 light the cities and towns of the civilized 
 world." By liis various experiments 
 Faraday, and the Frenchman Arago at 
 about the same time, established the im- 
 portant fact that not only could a current 
 of electricity influence a magnet, but it 
 was also capable of producing magnetism. 
 As Colonel Mendenhall says, "the 1<mIi- 
 stone as a primary source of magnetism 
 was dethroned, and the cell of Volta 
 crowned in its stead." 
 
 A further notable step in advance was 
 the production by W. Sturgeon, in Eng- 
 land, of what is generally known as the 
 electro-magnet. His discovery was a 
 
 JOSEPH HENEY. 
 
 simple one, but of great value; and con- 
 sisted in the observation of the fact that 
 soft iron remains magnetic while under 
 the influence of magnetizing force, and 
 that it loses its magnetism as soon as it 
 
 is removed from the influence of this 
 force. Placing a bar of soft iron inside 
 the hollow coil through which an electric 
 current was jjassing, he found that the 
 strength of magnetism produced was mul- 
 tiplied to an astonishing degree. More- 
 over, a magnet of this character possessed 
 tlie valuable property of immediately ac- 
 quiring its magnetism as soon as the 
 current passed through the coils, and of 
 immediately losing it as soon as such 
 current ceased to pass. Sturgeon pro- 
 posed the name of electro-magnet for such 
 forms of magnet to distinguish them from 
 the permanent steel magnets. 
 
 But though the immense practical value 
 of Sturgeon's discovery was at once 
 recognized, it was also seen that a far 
 greater development of the principle was 
 necessary before it could be of much 
 practical use. At this point one of the 
 most noted of America's scientists be- 
 comes the leading actor in the long drama 
 of electrical development. Joseph Henry 
 was bom at Albany, IST. Y., in 1799, and 
 was educated, as his condition would per- 
 mit, at the public schools, though his 
 father dying while Heniy was still young, 
 he was obliged to earn his own living at 
 an early date. At the age of fifteen he 
 was apprenticed to a watchmaker and 
 silversmith, and became very active in a 
 local dramatic club, where his success in 
 many parts led him to decide upon an 
 actor's life. During- an illness, however, 
 he read Dr. Gregory's " Lectures on Ex- 
 perimental Philosophy, Astronomy, and 
 Chemistry," which so interested him that 
 he determined to devote his life to 
 scientific pursuits. L'pon his recovery he 
 secured private instruction during the 
 evenings from the teachers of the Albany 
 Academy; and later, after having secured 
 a small sum of money by teaching, he took 
 up a regular course of instruction at the 
 Academy. In 1825 he was appointed an 
 engineer on the survey of a road to run 
 through the state of New York from 
 the Hudson river to Lake Erie; and the 
 following year was made Professor of 
 mathematics at the Albany Academy. He 
 at once began the series of brilliant exper- 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 "653 
 
 iments in electricity which, as has been 
 said, " have linked his name with that of 
 Franklin as one of the two most original 
 investigators in that branch of science 
 that this country has ever produced." In 
 November, 1832. he removed to Prince- 
 ton, where he had been called to fill the 
 chair of Natural Philosophy at the Uni- 
 versity. In 1846 he was elected first secre- 
 tary, and then director, of the new Smith- 
 sonian Institution; and the organization, 
 equipment, and development of that great 
 scientific establishment occupied his chief 
 attention until his death. He was later 
 nominated to the chair of Natural Phil- 
 osophy at the University of Pennsylvania, 
 at more than double the salary he was re- 
 ceiving at Washington ; and efforts were 
 made to induce him to return to Prince- 
 ton, in 1853, as president of the College. 
 But " none of these things moved him." 
 He had devoted his life to scientific in- 
 vestigation, and not to money making; 
 and he remained as true to his purpose as 
 the magnet, on which he labored so long 
 and earnestly, is true to the pole. As 
 Professor Simon Newcomb said of him : 
 " He never engaged in au investigation or 
 an enterprise which was to put a dollar 
 into his own pocket, but aimed only at the 
 general good of the world." He was the 
 leading sj)irit in the establishment of the 
 National Lighthouse system, and a mem- 
 ber of the Light House Board from its 
 organization in 18.j2 until his death. 
 Through his entire career in Washington 
 he acted as confidential adviser to the 
 government on scientific matters, and the 
 composition of commissions for techni- 
 cal purposes was generally referred to 
 him. He died in Washington, in 1878, 
 after a life filled with arduous labor and 
 helpful service ; one of the truly great men 
 of whom the public scarcely ever hears, 
 but whose persistent efforts towards the 
 advancement of mankind along all lines 
 make all life richer and fuller, and a 
 nation truly great. 
 
 As will be remembered. Oersted discov- 
 ered that when a wire was stretched over 
 the magnetic needle it was deflected. Very 
 shortly afterward Schweigger, experi- 
 
 menting along the same lines, found that 
 if the wire be bent and brought back 
 under the needle and at the same distance 
 from it, the effect on the needle of the 
 current passing through the wire will be 
 doubled. If another loop around the 
 needle be made its effect will again be mul- 
 tiplied, so that by making many turns of 
 the wire the instrument becomes sensible 
 to currents which are exceedingly feeble. 
 It thus becomes a galvanoscope, and is of 
 the greatest value in electrical experi- 
 ments for the detection of minute cur- 
 rents; while the galvanometer was but 
 a step in advance upon the principle of 
 the galvanoscope. Galvanometers are em- 
 ployed for the purpo.se of measuring the 
 strength of an electric current by the de- 
 flection of a magnetic needle. In ex- 
 tremely sensitive galvanometers the num- 
 ber of separate turns of the wire reaches 
 many thousands. Such instruments, how- 
 ever, have a high electric resistance, and 
 are, therefore, suitable only for measur- 
 ing small currents produced by high elec- 
 tro-motive forces. Frequently, however, 
 when very large currents are to be meas- 
 ured, the galvanometer coil consists of but 
 a single turn of a good conducting wire. 
 When no current is passing through the 
 galvanometer coils its needle, when at 
 i-est, occupies a position parallel to the 
 plane of the coil. On the passage of the 
 currents the needle tends to place itself at 
 right angles to the length of the conduct- 
 ing wire of the galvanometer eoils. From 
 the amount of its deflection, measured in 
 degrees on a graduated scale over which 
 the needle moves, the strength of the cur- 
 rent may be determined. 
 
 In his work upon the electric magnet 
 Professor Henry introduced, or started 
 with, the principle suggested by Schweig- 
 ger. But instead of insulating the iron 
 core by varnishing or otherwise, and wind- 
 ing a single spiral of wire about it, he 
 insulated his wire by covering it with silk, 
 and then made many turns of the wire 
 about the core. Continuing his investi- 
 gations and experiments without interrup- 
 tion by 1829 he had exhibited electro- 
 magnets possessing greater power than 
 
(354 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 any before known, and had brought his 
 new method to a high degree of perfee- 
 tion. By 1831 he had constructed a mag- 
 net, the iron core of which weighed less 
 than sixty pounds, which was capable of 
 sustaining a ton weight; and hiter an- 
 other which carried thirty-six hundred 
 pounds. It was, in fact, the development 
 of Henry's " intensity " magnet which 
 made the electric telegraph a certainty ; 
 and in 1831, in a paper published in Pro- 
 fessor Silliman's " American .Tournal," he 
 suggested its use for that puii^ose. 
 " Neither the electro-magnet of Stur- 
 geon," he says, " nor any electro-magnet 
 ever made previous to my investigation 
 was applicable to transmitting power to a 
 distance." And to demonstrate the fact, 
 he constructed that same year the first 
 electro-inagiietie telegraph, transmitting 
 signals through a wire more than a mile 
 in length, and causing a bell to ring nt 
 the farther end of the wire. 
 
 Few decades have been richer in 
 scientific development in any particular 
 branch, than was that between 1820-1S30 
 in electricity. As Mendenhall has well 
 said : " It will be seen that in the decade 
 following Oersted's discovery the science 
 of electro-magnetism grew with wonderful 
 I'apidity. In the beginning the Danish 
 philosopher had shown the existence of a 
 relation between electricity and magnet- 
 ism of which the world had before been 
 ignorant. Within ten years a ton of 
 weight was sustained by means of a bat- 
 tery less powerful than that which had 
 first enabled him to deflect his delicately 
 suspendetl needle. The possibility of pro- 
 <lueing motion and doing work at a dis- 
 tance by means of the newly discovered 
 principle was clearly recognized and dis- 
 tinctly announced by many physicists, 
 and particularly by Joseph Henry. This 
 application of electro-magnetism to the 
 jn-oblem of telegraphy was suggested by 
 many, and the ingenious in several coun- 
 tries set themselves at work to accomplish 
 the desired end. In spite of the appear- 
 ance of many unexpected diflieulties, be- 
 fore another decade passed the thing was 
 really done, and through science the 
 
 world was put in possession of all inven- 
 tions destinetl to create a new industry', 
 which, by its influence upon the human 
 race, distinguished the nineteenth cen- 
 tury above those that j^receded it more 
 than all else." 
 
 But before the electric telegi'aph coulil 
 be made a commercial possibility another 
 great invention was necessary in addition 
 to that of the electro-magnet; and that 
 «'as a battery capable of supplying for a 
 practically indefinite time an electric cur- 
 rent of approximately constant strength. 
 As we have seen, the magnet had been sup- 
 plied by the inventive genius of Henry; 
 and in 1836, Professor J. D. Daniells, of 
 London, succeeded in producing a battery 
 which overcame all the evils resulting 
 from chemical action in the cells of 
 previous batteries, and so made certain a 
 current of constant strength to any cir- 
 cuit with which it is connected. Tliis 
 Daniells battery is the parent of all those 
 now in common use. though it has been 
 improved upon and made more effective. 
 But its invention made clear to the watch- 
 ful eyes of scientists the fact that new 
 fields were then opened for the practical 
 application of the electrical force, and 
 that not the least of these was the inven- 
 tion of an electric telegraph that should 
 be available for long distance communi- 
 cation. 
 
 ^lany interesting and learned works and 
 treatises have been written on the sub- 
 ject of the invention of telegraphy, and 
 the claims of many men have been ad- 
 vanced as its inventors. As has been said 
 previously in this chapter, however, no 
 one person can in any true sense be con- 
 sidered as the originator of the idea nor 
 of its application. For centuries experi- 
 menters have made their advanced steps 
 in the science, and a large proportion of 
 them have foreseen a use of the current 
 and some form of conductor for purjjoses 
 of communication between distant points, 
 and of transmission of power. Many in- 
 genious theories, most of them containing 
 germs of the future development, were 
 advanced by experimenters previous to the 
 nineteenth century, when the only mode 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTKICITY. 
 
 655 
 
 of production of a current was by friction. 
 But a distinct impetus was given to the 
 movement by the invention of the Voltaic 
 cell in the last decade of the eighteenth 
 century; while the discovery of Oersted, 
 in 1820, and that of Sturgeon shortly 
 after, turned the attention of all students 
 Ifoward the communication of intelligence 
 by electricity. It was recognized that 
 none of the many effects that an electric 
 discharge or current is capable of pro- 
 ducing lends itself so readily to the trans- 
 mission of telegraphic signals as do the 
 attractions and repulsions produced by 
 electro-magnets. Oersted himself was 
 early in the field, though the first prac- 
 tical application of his discoveiy was 
 made by Ampere. The latter's theory was 
 that if the needle could be deflected by an 
 electric current, if this could be accom- 
 plished by a wire or wires of great length, 
 and if these movements of the needle 
 could be converted into a code by means 
 of which letters or words could be ex- 
 pressed, then the eleetro-maynetic tele- 
 graph was possible. His scheme was to 
 employ a number of wires to deflect a 
 number of needles. This Needle Telegraph 
 was the first to be developed, and long 
 held the field on the Continent and in 
 England. Its earliest forms required a 
 wire for each needle and as many needles 
 as there were letters in the alphabet and 
 numerals; but the system was later sim- 
 plified so that but one wire was necessary. 
 Our space forbids any detailed account of 
 the various experiments and successes 
 made by European scientists; and it is 
 the less necessary as the Morse, or Amer- 
 ican system, easily came into most gen- 
 eral use, and has since practically dis- 
 placed all others. 
 
 Samuel F. B. Morse was born at 
 Charlestown, Mass., April 27, 1791, the 
 son of the Rev. Jcdediah Morse, whose in- 
 terest in geography and the text-books on 
 that subject, won for him the title of the 
 " Father of American Geography." Young 
 Morse graduated from Yale College in 
 1810, where his interest in electricity was 
 first aroused by the lectures of Professor 
 Jeremiah Day, and by those cf the elder 
 
 Silliman on chemistry and galvanism. In 
 1809 he wrote : " Mr. Day's lectures are 
 very interesting; they are upon elec- 
 tricity; he has given us some very fine 
 experiments, the whole class, taking linlil 
 of hands, form the circuit of communica- 
 tion, and we all received thy shock ap- 
 parently at the same moment. I never 
 
 S. F. B. .MORSE. 
 
 took an electric shock before; it felt as 
 if some person struck me a slight blow 
 across the arms." Art, however, claimed 
 his most serious attention. He devoted 
 much time even in college to painting; 
 and his ambition to become a painter soon 
 became fixed. He began his studies under 
 Washington Allston, whom he accom- 
 panied to London in 1811, where he was 
 soon after admitted to the Eoyal Acad- 
 emy. He made rapid progress in his work 
 under Allston and Benjamin West, and 
 in 1813 exhibited in the Royal Academy 
 a colossal work entitled the " Dying Her- 
 cules," which was classed by critics as 
 among the twelve best pictures exhibited, 
 while the plaster model that he made to 
 assist him in painting his picture gained 
 the gold medal of the Adelphi Society of 
 Arts. Being obliged to return to the 
 Unit^ed States in 1815, he opened a studio 
 in Boston ; but, while visitors udmired his 
 work exhibited, his orders were verv few. 
 
G5G 
 
 FEOM COLOXY TO WOULD POWER 
 
 In 1S18 lie went to Charleston, S. ('.. 
 where his reception was quite different, 
 orders for portraits fairly pouring- in upon 
 him. exceeding, it is said, more than one 
 hundred and fifty at one time; and the 
 following: winter he could write to his 
 old friend and teacher, W^ashington Alls- 
 ton. " I am painting from morning till 
 night and have continual applications." 
 Among other orders he received a com- 
 mission from the city to paint a portrait 
 of James Monroe, then President of the 
 United States, which, when completed, 
 was placed in the city hall of Charleston. 
 In 1823 he removed to New York, where 
 he opened a studio on " Broadway, oppo- 
 site Trinity Churchyard,'' and where con- 
 tinued success as a portrait painter at- 
 tended him. One of his first sitters was 
 the distinguished .I'urist, Chancellor Kent. 
 Soon after this he jiainted a picture of 
 Fitz-Greene Halleck, which is now in the 
 
 MORSE S ORIGINAL APPARATIS. 
 
 Astor Library, and a fnll-length ])ortralt 
 of Lafayette, for the city of New York. 
 In 1829 he again visited Europe for the 
 purpose of study, remaining abroad about 
 three years, most of the time being spent 
 in Paris and the art centres of Italy. 
 October 1. 1832, Morse sailed from Havre 
 for New Y'ork on the packet-ship " Sully." 
 
 having as a fellow-passenger Dr. Charles 
 T. Jackson, then twenty-seven years of 
 age. and fresh from the laboratories of the 
 most eminent French physicists, where he 
 had made special studies in electricit,v 
 and magnetism. Jackson later became 
 one of the most noted scientists of his 
 day. Very early in the voyage discus- 
 sions of electrical questions came up. and 
 Jackson detailed the recent experiments 
 of Ampere with the electro-magnet. There 
 is much uncertainty as to the information 
 that was shared b,v the travelers on this 
 voyage, the friends of Morse and Jackson 
 taking antagonistic positions. Morse is 
 reported to have asked whether the veloc- 
 ity of electricit.y was retarded by the 
 length of the wire; to which Jackson re- 
 plied that " electricity jjasses instantane- 
 ously over any known length of wire." 
 " Then," said Morse. " if the presence of 
 electricity can be made visible in an.v 
 liart of the circuit, I see no reason why in- 
 telligence may not be transmitted in- 
 stantaneously by electricity." The idea 
 is reported to have taken full possession 
 of him, with the result that before leav- 
 ing the vessel he had devised the "dot- 
 and-dash " alphabet, and the electro-mag- 
 netic and cheinical recording- telegraph 
 essentially as it now exists was planne<l 
 and drawn, though the working model was 
 not produced until 1835. By 1834 Dr. 
 Jackson had constructed and successfully 
 worked and exhibited among his friends 
 a telegraphic apparatus along the same 
 lines as those Morse followed, and ver.v 
 ^inlihlr to the model which the latter 
 patented a year later. Priority of inven- 
 tion was always claimed by Jackson and 
 liis friends. 
 
 Following his return to New Y''ork. 
 Morse's trials and disappointments for 
 several years were many. He at once 
 secured a room at the corner of Nassau 
 and Beekman streets, which he used 
 as studio, workshop, bed-chamber, and 
 kitchen. Here he first cut his models, 
 then making the moulds and castings, and 
 giving them finish and polish with the 
 graver's tools. He did not at once make 
 any public exhibition of his achievements. 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 057 
 
 jjartially, at least, for the reason set forth 
 in a letter to a friend. " Up to the 
 autumn of 1837," he wrote. " my tele- 
 graphic apparatus existed in so rude a 
 form that I felt reluctance to have it seen. 
 My means were very limited, so limited 
 as to in-eclude the possibility of construct- 
 ing an apparatus of such mechanical 
 iinish as to warrant my success in ventur- 
 ing upon its public exhibition. I had no 
 wish to expose to ridicule the representa- 
 tive of so many hours of laborious 
 thought. Prior to the summer of 1837, at 
 which time -Mr. Alfred Vail's attention 
 became attracted to my telegraph, I de- 
 pended upon my pencil for subsistence. 
 Indeed so straitened were my circum- 
 stances that in order to save time to carry 
 out my invention, and to economize my 
 scanty means, I had for months lodged 
 and eaten in my studio, procuring my 
 food in small quantities from some 
 grocery, and preparing it myself. To con- 
 ceal from my friends the stinted manner 
 in which I lived, I was in the habit of 
 bringing my food to my room in the even- 
 ings, and this was my mode of life for 
 many years." 
 
 In December, 1837, Morse made a 
 formal appeal to Congress for aid in con- 
 structing a line of telegraph from Balti- 
 more to Washington. The House Com- 
 mittee on Commerce, to which the matter 
 was referred, eventually took favorable 
 action on the appeal, but the matter got 
 no further. Chairman Smith of the Com- 
 mittee, however, became interested in the 
 subject, and formed some kind of a part- 
 nership with Morse, so that he was en- 
 abled to visit Europe in the hope of get- 
 ting patents there, and exciting an in- 
 terest in his invention. There he found 
 his rivals, Wheatstone in England and 
 Steinheil in Germany, receiving govern- 
 ment support in their work, and his ef- 
 forts to obtain practical recognition were 
 of no avail, though his apparatus was ex- 
 hibited under the auspices of the Royal 
 Society erf London and the Academy of 
 Sciences of Paris, and he was received 
 with honor by the scientists of each coun- 
 try. In May, 1839, he returned to New 
 42 
 
 York, " without a farthing in my pocket," 
 as he wrote Mr. Smith, " and have to bor- 
 row even for my meals; and, even worse, I 
 b.ave incurred a debt of rent by my ab- 
 sence." Then followed the four darkest 
 years of his life. In abject poverty, and 
 in such want that he frequently went en- 
 tire days without food, he persisted in his 
 appeals to Congress year after year, only 
 to be ridiculed and laughed at by its 
 members. " Morse's Telegraph " was the 
 standing joke of the Committees. At last, 
 however, a bill granting him thirty thou- 
 sand dollars for the construction of the 
 line between Washington and Baltimore 
 was passed by the House, February 23, 
 1842. It was, however, held up in the 
 Senate ; and on the last day of the session 
 Morse's friends urged him to go to his 
 room, and so spare himself the disappoint- 
 ment which seemed inevitable as a result 
 of the Senate's inaction. But late at 
 night on March 3, the bill was rushed 
 through the Senate ; and while Morse was 
 at breakfast the next morning, having no 
 doubt another year of delay and perhaps 
 worse was before him. Miss Ellsworth, 
 daughter of the then Commissioner of 
 Patents, rushed into the room and told 
 him the joyful news. The young lady 
 claimed at once the fulfillment of the in- 
 ventor's promise that, if the bill was 
 finally passed, the first message should be 
 transmitted to her, — a promise Morse care- 
 fully kept, as the first message over the 
 completed line was sent to her, in the 
 memorable words which she herself sug- 
 gested, " What God hath wrought." 
 
 Naturally the weaiy inventor and sup- 
 pliant was inspired with new life, and 
 energetic action was at once taken toward 
 beginning the novel undertaking. Un- 
 fortunately a mistake was made in the 
 plans at the start, and nearly a year and 
 the bulk of the thirty thousand dollars 
 were wasted in attemiits to place the wires 
 underground. The principles of conduc- 
 tion and insulation were not then well 
 enough understood^ to overcome difficul- 
 ties this course presented ; and at last 
 wires strung on poles were passed between 
 the two cities. On May 24, 1844, the day 
 
658 
 
 PEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 chosen for the first pubKc exhibition, Mr. 
 Morse invited Government officials and 
 friends to assemble in the chamber of the 
 United States Supreme Court, while his 
 assistant, Mr. Vail, was in charg-e at Bal- 
 timore. The message " What God hath 
 wrought " was transmitted to Baltimore 
 by Mr. Morse, and at once repeated back 
 b.v Mr. Vail, and the work was completed. 
 The strip of paper on which this first mes- 
 sage was printed was claimed by Gov- 
 ernor Seymour of Connecticut, on the 
 ground that Miss Ellsworth was a native 
 of Hartford, and is now preserved in the 
 Hartford Atheuffium. Thus was estab- 
 lished one of the most beneficent utilities 
 which the inventive genius of man has 
 ever devised for the enlightenment and 
 happiness of mankind. — unspeakably rich 
 not only in its own ministrations but also 
 in those which it portended. Its recep- 
 tion was not, however, hailed with iiar- 
 ticular delight by those who were to be 
 benefited by its service. It is popularly 
 supposed that the public is ever ready to 
 receive and welcome a meritorious inven- 
 tion; and sui'h as believe in this theory 
 will note with interest the rush to use the 
 ilorse telegraph. When the line from 
 Baltimore to Washington was opened tr> 
 public use, a rate of one cent for four 
 words was established for messages; and 
 the receipts for the first four days reached 
 the astonishing total of one cent! Then a 
 startling increase of twelve cents occurrtMl 
 in one day, and after a little time a max- 
 imum of one dollar and thirty cents in 
 one day was reached ! 
 
 While, as has been said, ^lorse coulil 
 not claim the original inveniion of any 
 scientific principle involved in the tele- 
 graph itself, he unquestionably played the 
 most important part in the development 
 and right application of those principles, 
 while his ingenious invention of the 
 method of reconling message? had never 
 been equaled. In Eurcjpe all investiga- 
 tion and experiment had been directed 
 toward the perfection of the needle system. 
 Morse was awake to the advantages of the 
 electro-magnet and the ease with which it 
 coidd be made to leave a permanent record 
 
 of the message. The simple armature 
 with its to-and-fro motion, fitted with a 
 style which marked the long or short lines 
 ou a moving slip of paper, and the alpha- 
 bet composed of these dots and dashes 
 were the evidences of his genius. The 
 value of his system is best measured by 
 the fact that it has already taken prece- 
 dence over all ethers in use in the world. 
 Not that it came from the master's hand 
 in a perfected form. While all the essen- 
 tial features of the original system still 
 hold the field many important modifica- 
 tions have been introduced in modern in- 
 struments and methods. Not the least in- 
 teresting of these is the fact that the reg- 
 ister for printing the signals as they were 
 received has fallen into disuse. Early 
 operators found that it was not only possi- 
 ble to read from the sound of the armature 
 as it moved from side to side, but also 
 that it was a vastly more expeditious and 
 convenient method than reading from a 
 printed slip, so that the ear has become 
 the receiving instrument instead of the 
 eye. 
 
 No language can measure the benefi- 
 cent: influence of tliis great achievement 
 of the American inventor, — an achieve- 
 ment illustrative not only of the quick 
 wit and active intelligence of the Ameri- 
 can mind, but also of the indomitable per- 
 severance and bull-dog tenacity with 
 which one holds to and presses to maturity 
 and acceptance an idea or purpose that 
 has once taken possession of his mind. 
 Reference has been made to the intense 
 mental and physical sufferings through 
 which Morse passed for ten years. But 
 these did not end with the completion, 
 and established success, of the line be- 
 tween Washington and Baltimore. He 
 offered his line to the United States Gov- 
 ernment for one hundred thousand dol- 
 lars, which was declined. The patents and 
 the Morse system then became the prop- 
 erty of a joint-stock company called the 
 Magnetic Telegraph Company. Gradually 
 the use of the telegraph was -spread all 
 over the United States, though in the face 
 of stubborn oiiposition. Morse's patents 
 were violated and assailed, his honor and 
 
THE STOEY OF ELECTKICITY. 
 
 65LI 
 
 integrity impeached, and for a time rival 
 companies destroyed all the profits from 
 the enterprise. But after a series of vex- 
 atious lawsuits his rights were estab- 
 lished by the United States Supreme 
 Court. As early as 1869 the following 
 statement was made by the Western 
 Union Company, the most important cor- 
 poration in its line in the world : " Nearly 
 all the machinery employed by this Com- 
 liany belongs to the Morse system. This 
 telegTaph is now used almost exclusively 
 everywhere, and the time will probably 
 never come when it will cease to be the 
 leading system of the world. Of more than 
 a hundred devices that have been made 
 
 in Twenty-second street, New York city, 
 where his winters were passed until his 
 death in 1872; after which a tablet of 
 stone was set into the house with the in- 
 scription " In this house S. F. B. Morse 
 lived for many years, and died." After 
 his success had been established foreign 
 liotentates vied with each other in con- 
 ferring honors and orders upon him. At 
 the instance of Napoleon III. representa- 
 tives from France, Austria, Sweden, Eus- 
 sia, Sardinia, The Netherlands, Turkey, 
 Holland, the Papal States, and Tuscanj' 
 met in Paris, in 1858, to decide upon a 
 collective testimonial to the distinguished 
 American inventor, and as a result of 
 
 ORDERS CONFERRED UPON MORSE. 
 
 to supersede it, not one has succeeded in 
 accomplishing its purpose, and it is used 
 at the present time upon more than 
 ninety-five per cent of all the telegraph 
 lines in existence." 
 
 After his many years of self-denial and 
 disheartening delays and ridicule, fortune 
 at last smiled upon Morse and his later 
 years were passed in comfort, while new 
 honors were continually heaped upon him. 
 About 1850 he was in a position to pur- 
 chase an estate on the Hudson, near 
 Poughkeepsie, where he dispensed a most 
 liberal hospitality, entertaining distin- 
 guished artists, and notable visitors to the 
 United States. Later he purchased a home 
 
 their deliberations voted him a gift of 
 four hundred thousand francs. On his 
 return from abroad in 1868 he received 
 an invitation to a banquet from his fel- 
 low citizens which read : " Many of your 
 fellow countrymen and iiimierous friends 
 desire to give a definite expression of the 
 fact that this country is in full accord 
 with European nations in acknowledging 
 your title to the position of the father of 
 the modern telegraph, and at the same 
 time in a fitting manner to welcome you 
 to your home." A banquet was given on 
 December 30, 1868, and was presided over 
 by Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the 
 Supreme Court. In 1871 he was further 
 
6GU 
 
 PKO.M CULONY TO WOKLJJ i-OWEE. 
 
 honored by the erection in Central Park of 
 a bronze statue of himself, of heroic size. 
 Ills last ijublif service was tlie unveiling- 
 of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in 
 Printing- House square, Januai-j- 17, 1873. 
 It was deemed especially tilting he should 
 do this for, as w-as said in the address : 
 " The one conducted the lightning- safely 
 from the sky; the other conducts it 
 beneath the ocean, from continent to con- 
 tinent. The one tamed the lightning, the 
 other makes it minister to human wants 
 and human iirogress." 
 
 During the early years of the connner- 
 cial use of the telegraph its business in- 
 creased, after being once well established, 
 with wonderful rapidity. At that time 
 only one message could be sent over a wire 
 at one time. The best telegraph operators 
 (■an hardly keep up a speed of over fifty 
 words a minute for a half-hour. The 
 Morse alphabet averag-es three signals for 
 each letter, and the average length of a 
 word is about si.x letters. Fifty words, 
 therefore, would mean about nine hundred 
 signals, or fifteen each second; and the 
 strain upon an operator of sending or 
 noting- so many signals for even a brief 
 period is most wearing. Although the 
 idea was at first ridiculed, it was not long- 
 before it was asserted that two messages 
 could be sent in cpjxjsite directions over 
 the same line, at the same time; and in 
 1872, Mr. Joseph B. Steams, of Boston, 
 devised a system that brought the sim- 
 ultaneous transmission, or duplex teleg- 
 raphy as he called it, into common use. 
 But the inventive genius never rests. It 
 was but a short time before it was shown 
 that four messages, two in each direction, 
 could be sent over the same wire at the 
 same time ; and the quadi-uple system suc- 
 ceeded to the duplex. Then followed the 
 Multiplex system. As of all developments 
 there have been many exhibitors in the 
 field, so there have been of this last. One 
 of the best known is the " Synchronous 
 System," invented by Delany, by which 
 the division of a single telegraph line has 
 been carried so far as to successfully es- 
 tablish thirty-six separate divisions of the 
 line, so that thirty-six separate messages 
 
 may be sent over it, in each direction, at 
 the same time. This service would require 
 thirty-six operators to transmit and the 
 same number to receive at each end of 
 the line, or one hundred and forty-four in 
 all. But at the ordinary rate of speed at 
 which an expert operator can transmit 
 Morse characters it has been found most 
 practicable to limit the division of the 
 line to the establislunent of six separate 
 Morse circuits in each direction. 
 
 The transmission of messages over long- 
 distances on land having been proved 
 feasible and profitable the question natu- 
 rally arose, "Why not under the sea? " As 
 early as 1842 Morse had experimented 
 w-ith a cable between Castle Garden and 
 Ciovernor's island in New York harbor, 
 with results that proved clearly the prac- 
 ticability of such undertaking; and he 
 had repeatedly expressed his conviction 
 that a " telegraphic communication might, 
 with certainty, be established across the 
 Atlantic Ocean." As early as 1839 sub- 
 marine cables were tried; but as the in- 
 sulating- material used consisted simply of 
 cotton or hemp, coated with asphaltum or 
 tar. such wires could be capable of trans- 
 mitting signals for a short time only. 
 Nor were any of the many attempts to es- 
 tablish such service successful until 
 Gutta-percha was used as an insulating- 
 material. The first submarine wire prop- 
 erly insulated, used in the United States, 
 was laid under the Hudson river between 
 Jersey City and New York, in 1848. The 
 wire was, however, given no protective 
 covering- and so quickly became useless. 
 The first strictly submarine cable was 
 laid under the English Channel between 
 Dover and Calais in 1850; but as it was 
 also um^rotected, consisting of a single 
 strand of copper wire covered w-ith 
 gutta-percha, it worked but one day. But 
 the following year another was laid, the 
 conductors being protected by an armor of 
 heavy wires on the outside, -^vhieh -n'as suc- 
 cessful. Before relating- the history of 
 such cables, it will be well to get a clear 
 idea of just what a submarine cable, such 
 as is laid under the ocean consists of. 
 This information Dr. E. J. Houston has 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 661 
 
 stated very clearly iu his interesting work 
 entitled, " Electricity in Every-day Life." 
 " The submarine cable," he says, " con- 
 sists of a central conductor, formed of a 
 number of strands of copper wire, and in- 
 sulated by gutta-percha applied in several 
 sucessive layers. On the outside of the 
 gutta-percha is placed a layer of hemp, 
 known technically as the bedding. This is 
 provided for receiving the outer, or pro- 
 tective, envelope, generally formed of iron 
 wires, and called the armor, or shield. A 
 submarine cable, therefore, consists of 
 four distinct parts : viz., the central con- 
 ducting wire, or core; the insulating ma- 
 terial surrounding such core; the bedding 
 of hemp; and, finally, the protective en- 
 velope. The core is now invariably made 
 of several strands, it being considered 
 that there is less danger of entire con- 
 tinuity being lost by an accident to the 
 cable. The size of the core will depend 
 on the length of the cable and the speed 
 with which the messages are to be trans- 
 mitted through it, — a small long core hav- 
 ing a much lower speed, or rate of trans- 
 mission than a short, thick core. The sub- 
 marine cables consist of two distinct 
 parts; the part which is to be laid in deep 
 water of the ocean, which is called the 
 deep-sea cable; and the part to lie in the 
 water nearer shore, called the shore-end 
 cable. Since tlie latter is exposed to the 
 action of the waves on a rocky bottom, 
 which might injure the cover by abrasion, 
 it is necessary to provide for this part of 
 the cable a heavier sheathing or armor 
 than for the deep-sea cable. This dif- 
 ference in weight may be nearly six and 
 a half times greater in the case of the 
 shore-end cable, the weight of each in the 
 case of one particular cable being twelve 
 tons to the nautical mile for the shore- 
 end and one and four-fifths tons to the 
 nautical mile for the deep-sea i^art of 
 the cable." Of the cable of 1857, which 
 was lost after about five Imndred miles 
 had been paid out. Sir William Thomp- 
 son wrote : " As much iron as would niake 
 a cube of twenty feet side was drawn 
 into wire long enough to extend from the 
 earth to the moon, and bind several times 
 
 around each globe. This wire was made 
 into one hundred and twenty-six lengtlis 
 of twenty-five hundred miles each, and 
 spun into eighteen strands of seven wires 
 each. A single strand of seven cop])er 
 wires of the same length, weighing in all 
 one hundred and ten grains per foot, was 
 three times coated with gutta-percha, to 
 an entire outer thickness of two-fifths of 
 an inch; and this was served outside with 
 two hundred and forty tons of tarred 
 yarn, and then laid over with the eighteen 
 strands of iron wire in long, contiguous 
 spirals and passed through a bath of 
 melted pitch." 
 
 There is, of course, no essential piin- 
 ciple imiidied in cable telegraphy that is 
 not found in land systems. So far as the 
 sending of messages was concerned the 
 only questions that were raised w-ere 
 whether communication could be estab- 
 lished through a cable long enough to 
 cross the Atlantic Ocean ; and whether 
 any satisfactory material could be found 
 for insulating the wires. In cables that 
 had been previously laid across bays or 
 channels the wires were simply covered 
 with hemp or cotton, which was saturated 
 with tar, asphaltum, or other insulating 
 materials then known. But these scon 
 lost their insulation, frequently after only 
 a day or two of exposure. Experiments 
 were constantly being made to find a 
 more perfect insulating material, but 
 without efFect, until in 1842 an English 
 surgeon stationed at Singapore, who had 
 been experimenting upon the properties 
 of a new substance, afterward known as 
 gutta-percha, forwarded specimens of the 
 material to the Society of Arts in London, 
 at the same time recommending it as 
 useful in making splints and other sur- 
 gical appliances. It was soon discovered 
 that one of its most striking properties 
 was its high insulating powers; and its 
 value as a covering for submarine con- 
 ductors was quickly realized. But for the 
 timely discovery of this most useful ma- 
 terial, the use of submarine cables must 
 have been jiostponed for many years. 
 
 About 18.53 Cyrus W. Field, who had 
 recently retired from active business. 
 
GGl 
 
 FROM COLONY TO \YOELD POWEE. 
 
 though but thirty-four years of age, be- 
 came much interested in a pro])Osition to 
 kiy an Atlantic cable that slmuld unite 
 the new ami the old world: and it is to his 
 indefatigable energy and perseverance 
 that the world owes the success of the 
 
 CYRUS W. FIELD. 
 
 subniarine cable, as it was to Morse's per- 
 sistent endeavor that it owes the most per- 
 fected system of telegraphy. As a busi- 
 ness man, Mr. Field first consulted the 
 highest authoritie.s< as to the practicability 
 of the scheme. Morse assured him that 
 it was entirely possible to establish tele- 
 graphic communication through cables of 
 the required length; and Lieutenant 
 Maury, then the highest authority on 
 oceanology, advised him as to the physical 
 ( onditions that would probably be en- 
 countered. In a letter to Mr. Field. Maury 
 pointed out the fact that the greater part 
 of the distance between Newfoundland 
 and Ireland, about sixteen hundred miles, 
 was occupied by a plateau eminently 
 suited to receive a cable. Moreover the 
 surface of this plateau is not covered with 
 rocks of granite, but with a fine ooze made 
 up of countless microscopic shells. Con- 
 tinuing, Maury says: "I do not pretend 
 to consider the question as td the possi- 
 bility of finding a time calm enough, a sea 
 smooth enough, a wire long enough, a 
 ship big- enough to lay a coil of wire six- 
 teen hundred miles in length ; though I 
 have no fear but that the enterprise and 
 ingenuity of the age, whenever called on 
 with these problems, will be ready with 
 a satisfactory and practical solution of 
 
 them. I simply address myself at this 
 time to the question in so far as the bot- 
 tom of the sea is concerned; and as far 
 as that goes, the greatest practical diffi- 
 culties will, I apprehend, be found after 
 reaching soundings at either end of the 
 line, and not in the deep sea. ... A 
 wire laid across from either Newfound- 
 land or Labrador will pass to the north of 
 the Grand Banks, and rest on that beauti- 
 ful plateau to which I have alluded, and 
 where the waters of the sea appear to be 
 as quiet and as completely at rest as at 
 the bottom of a mill-pond." 
 
 With these assurances Mr. Field at 
 once began the task of organizing a com- 
 pany, and securing capital for the great 
 undertaking; and by 18.57 he had so far 
 advanced the project that the necessary 
 cable was manufactured and stowed in the 
 holds of two ships, one the Niagara, an 
 American, the other, the Agamemnon, an 
 English vessel. The vessels met in 
 Valencia Bay, Ireland, on August 5, 1857. 
 and it was decided that the Niagara 
 should lay the first half, from Ireland to 
 mid-ocean, when the ends should be 
 spliced and the Agamemnon lay the re- 
 maining half. On August 11, when 
 aljout four hundred miles from the Irish 
 coast, the cable suddenly parted and 
 dropped into the deep sea ; and this effort 
 was abandoned. Nothing daunted, liow- 
 ever, by this great loss and disappoint- 
 ment, the Company determined to increase 
 its capital stock and continue the work; 
 with the result that the same vessels were 
 again equipped and started upon their 
 work. This time, however, it was de- 
 cided to meet in mid-ocean, splice the 
 cable ends, and then each vessel pay out, 
 one going to the east and the other to the 
 west. All went well until the Agamemnon 
 had laid about two hundred miles of cable, 
 when it was found that the cable had 
 again parted, only about twenty feet from 
 the stern of the vessel. The cable was 
 cut from the stern of the Niagara, and 
 both vessels proceeded gloomily on their 
 return. Again American enterprise and 
 pluck prevailed, in the person of Mr. 
 Field : and money was secured for a third 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 663 
 
 trial. On July 29, 1858, the same vessels, 
 witli the necessary amount of new cable, 
 again met in nnd-ocean, spliced the cable 
 ends, and began paj'ing- out, sailing in op- 
 posite directions. This time success 
 crowned the efforts of the i^ersistent pro- 
 moters of the enterprise, the Niagara 
 reaching Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, 
 August 5, 1858, and the Agamemnon ar- 
 riving in Valencia Bay at about the same 
 time. Naturally the successful comple- 
 tion of the great enterprise was heralded 
 on both continents with exultant joy. 
 Everywhere the wildest enthusiasm yre- 
 vailed. Public meetings and illumina- 
 tions were the order of the day. Con- 
 gratulatory cablegrams were at once ex- 
 changed between the two governments, — 
 the first message being sent by Queen 
 Victfiria and the second by President 
 Buchanan. Steadily the public interest 
 increased, and no praise was too great for 
 Mr. Field and his fellow workers. When 
 the celebrations were at their height, how- 
 ever, after seven hundred and tliirty mes- 
 sages had been sent, with a total of over 
 ten thousand words, the cable utterly 
 failed, and had to be abandoned, at a 
 loss of upwards of one and a quarter 
 million dollars. 
 
 There was at once a frightful revul- 
 sion of popular sentiment. Instead of 
 the honors and praises which had been 
 showered upon Mr. Field, he was de- 
 nounced in the severest terms, his honor 
 and integrity questioned, and it was 
 openly and frequently charged that the 
 whole affair was a stock-jobbing scheme, 
 many going so far as to declare that there 
 had never been any messages sent across 
 or under the ocean. Naturally the whole 
 matter had to lie in abeyance for a time; 
 but Mr. Field was not so disheartened as 
 to be diverted from his purpose. He was 
 simply more determined that a cable 
 should be successfully laid and opcrateiL 
 During the years immediately following 
 the lamentable failure of 1858, he made 
 several trips across the ocean to interest 
 English capital in the enterprise, as the 
 approach of the civil war and the general 
 skepticism regarding the whole proposi- 
 
 tion made it impossible to gain material 
 supi>ort in this country. Meanwliile the 
 British Board of Trade had appointed a 
 Committee, made up of the most eminent 
 electrical engineers of that country, to in- 
 vestigate the whole proposition. Fortu- 
 nately their report was most favorable. By 
 1805 the determined efforts of Mr. Field 
 had been so far successful, that on July 
 15 of that year the Great Eastern sailed 
 from Valencia Bay, with a complete out- 
 fit of cable embodying the latest improve- 
 ments that could be suggested, whicli she 
 iH'gan paying out. All went comparatively 
 well until eleven hundred and eighty-six 
 miles had been paid out when a serious 
 fault occurred. In the effort to take a 
 Ijortion of the sunken cable aboard ship, 
 the cable broke and sunk to the bottom 
 of the ocean. Efforts were made to 
 grapple for it, and it was caught several 
 times, and once even raised in sight above 
 the water when it again fell and was lost. 
 And again the enterprise had failed, at 
 a total loss of something like three million 
 dollars. But it was at once decided to 
 make another attempt to lay a new cable 
 from shore to shore, and to pick up and 
 complete the laying of the cable of 1865. 
 Again the Great Eastern was fitted out 
 with new cable which was successfully laid 
 from shore to shore ; and on July 27, 180(5, 
 telegraphic communication was estab- 
 lished between the two continents which 
 has since been maintained without inter- 
 ruption. The cable of 1865 was then re- 
 covered from the bed of the ocean, success- 
 fully spliced, and connected with the New 
 foundland shore. thus making available two 
 serviceable cables between England and 
 America. And the great work was com- 
 pleted, a monument to the untiring zeal, 
 indomitable faith, and invincible pluck of 
 one man. It is needless to speak of the 
 value of the service thus rendered to the 
 world, which cannot be measured even in 
 imagination. All men of every race and 
 nation have been brought into close rela- 
 tions by ocean cables, and distance has 
 been annihilated. As the great English- 
 man, John Bright, said of Mr. Field: 
 " He is the Columbus of modem times. 
 
664 
 
 IKOiM COLU.XY TO WOKLJJ I'OWEK. 
 
 who, by his cabk', has moored the new 
 woi-ld alongside the old." Within the 
 brief space of a half century ocean cables 
 have been laid in all parts of tiie world, 
 and the globe may now be girdled not in 
 forty days, but in less than a quarter of 
 an hour. A recent publication of the 
 Bureau of Statistics of the United States 
 Treasury Department contained the fol- 
 lowing information upon this subject. 
 " The submarine telegraphs of the world 
 number 1750. Their aggregate length is 
 nearly 200,000 miles. Their total cost is 
 estimated at $275,000,000; and the num- 
 ber of messages annually transmitted over 
 them at more than 0,t)00.000. All the 
 grand divisions of the earth are nov.' con- 
 nected by their wires, and from country 
 to country, and island to island, the 
 thoughts and words of mankind are in- 
 stantaneously transmitted. Beneath all 
 oceans the universal language which this 
 system has created flows uninterruptedly, 
 and man talks as face to face with his 
 fellowman at the antipodes. Darkest 
 Africa now converses daily with en- 
 lightened Europe or America, and the 
 great events of the morning are known in 
 the evening throughout the inhalnted 
 world. Adding to the submarine lines the 
 land-telegraphic system by which they are 
 connected and through which they bring 
 interior points of the various continents 
 into instantaneous communication, the 
 total length of telegraph lines of the world 
 is 1.180,000 miles; the length of their 
 single wires or conductors is over 3,!S00.- 
 OOO miles; and the total number of mes- 
 sages annually sent over them about 400,- 
 000,000, or an average of more than 1,- 
 000,000 messages each day," 
 
 The most useful of r.ll the electrical de- 
 vices, however, inasmuch as it touches the 
 personal or home life of so many people, 
 is the Telephone; and it is a happy illus- 
 tration of the fact that the enthusiastic 
 experimenters in electricity, though the 
 deiinite object of their study and work 
 may be established by another, do not, 
 therefore, discontinue their experimenta- 
 tion and investigation, but simply turn 
 it in other directions and then prosecute 
 
 their researches along the new lines as 
 earnestly as they had previously followed 
 the old. All the leading claimants for 
 priority of invention of the Telephone hail 
 originally become interested in the subject 
 ihrough an ambition to work out a suc- 
 cessful system of telegraphy; and, a satis- 
 factory system having been developed by 
 others, they simply changed the course of 
 their thought, or its object, and continued 
 to experiment. " There is, probably," 
 says Professor Houston, " not a single 
 ])iece of electric apparatus that contains 
 so many elements of the marvelous as 
 does the articulating or speaking tele- 
 phone. It is marvelous in the simplicity 
 of its construction; it is marvelous in its 
 operation, condjining as it does a dynamo- 
 generator driven by the voice of the 
 .-.peaker, and an electro-magnetic motor 
 that so acts as to exactly reproduce the 
 spoken words, and all this with apparatus 
 of the simplest type; finally it is mar- 
 velous in the simplicity of its action, be- 
 ing of such simple character that it 
 requires absolutely no training or skill 
 for its use. All that one is required to 
 do is to speak or to listen. It is able to 
 transmit any language that is spoken, no 
 matter what may be the character of its 
 phonetic elements, provided a fairly clear 
 articulate speech is employed. It will 
 operate as well for an uncultured savage 
 as it will for the most accomplished 
 electric engineer." So familiar have we 
 of to-day become with the instrument, so 
 much a part of the natural and necessary 
 furniture of the home or office does it 
 .seem, that it is difficult to realize that 
 thirty years ago it was just being in- 
 stalled in the larger cities; and still more 
 difficult to conceive how we ever " lived, 
 moved, and had our being " without it. 
 Like the greater part of such discoveries, 
 it is difficult to determine where or to 
 whom the honor of original invention be- 
 longs. As early as 1837, Dr. Charles 
 Page, of Salem, Mass., had proved that a 
 bar of iron could be made to emit sounds 
 when rapidly magnetized and demagnet- 
 ized, and tliat the pitch of the sound de- 
 pended on the rapidity with whicli the 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 665 
 
 changes were made. Following the lines 
 of Page's experiments, whose receiver he 
 is said to have used, Philip Reiss, in 
 Germany, produced an instrument in 
 18(30, which he called a Telephone, and 
 which it is generally claimed by scientists 
 did transmit articulate speech; and the 
 majority of students are disposed to award 
 him the honor of priority of invention. 
 But however that may be, the simple fact 
 is that Alexander Graham Bell was the 
 iirst to establish his claims as the inventor 
 of the Telephone, which have been main- 
 tained until the present time, and recog- 
 nized and established by the Supreme 
 Court of the United States. Bell had for 
 several years been a student of vocaliza- 
 tion, and had introduced into this country 
 his father's system of instruction for 
 deaf-mutes, later becoming a professor of 
 vocal physiology in Boston University. 
 lie was for years interested in the sub- 
 ject of transmission of sound by elec- 
 tricity, and had devised many forms of 
 apparatus to accomplish this end. His 
 application for a patent was filed at Wash- 
 ington, February 14, 1S76; and a few 
 hours later, on the same day, Elisha Gray. 
 M-ho was to prove Bell's most active com- 
 petitor, made aijxjlicatlon for a patent on 
 a similar device. Bell exhibited a work- 
 ing model of his telephone at the Cen- 
 tennial Exposition at Philadelphia, in 
 1S7G, which, though very imperfect, 
 proved that the problem of "talking by 
 telegraph " had been solved. Improve- 
 ments were, however, veiy rapidly made 
 so that the first line for commercial pur- 
 poses was set up in 1877. The Telephone 
 is too common an instrument, and in too 
 general use, to need any description, 
 though its principles may not be ■under- 
 stood. As has been said by a leading 
 electrical writer, " Nothing like it in 
 simplicity of construction, combined with 
 complexity of operation, is to be found in 
 any other human contrivance." It is an 
 interesting combination of a dynamo- 
 electric machine and a motor, tha two 
 being identical in construction; and its 
 working is based upon the fact that when 
 sound is produced, energy is expended in 
 
 the operation. " When a word is spoken, 
 the energy necessary to its utterance first 
 apx>ears as a series of waves of compres- 
 sion and reaction in the air, where most 
 of it is finally transformed into heat." 
 Solid bodies may be made to vibrate by 
 the sound of the human voice, and by a 
 suitable contrivance it may be made to do 
 work in running a machine, though al- 
 ways, of course, of little magnitude. 
 " In the telephone," says Professor ilen- 
 denhall, " the sound of the voice is made 
 to do work; this is converted inio the 
 energy of an electric current; and this, 
 in turn, is reconverted into mechanical 
 energy, resulting in sound." The original 
 Bell Telephone consisted of a long wooden 
 or ebonite handle, down the centre of 
 which ran a permanent bar-magnet, hav- 
 ing at one end a small coil of fine insu- 
 lated wire wound about it. The ends of 
 the wire coil are led through the handles 
 
 stereograph CopijrigliUti I'.'i)^ hii I'uih'rivuod il- J'lulcr- 
 
 irnnil, V. 1". 
 
 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. 
 
 to two terminals for connection with the 
 line wires. Very near the wire-wound pole 
 of the magnet is firmly fixed by its edges 
 a thin circular iron plate, covered by a 
 f\ninel-shapcd mouth piece. When at rest 
 the iron plate is concave, its centre teing 
 
6G(; 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 attrac-teil towanl the pole of the magnet. 
 When one speaks into the mouthpiece the 
 sound wave.s agitate the plate, causing its 
 centre to move inwards and outwards. 
 These movements of the plate affect the 
 mag-netism of the magnet, exciting elec- 
 tric currents of Yai-T,-ing strength in the 
 wire coil. These currents passing through 
 the line wires to a similar telephone ex- 
 cite the coil in it, and in tuni affect, the 
 magTietism of the distant magnet which 
 attracts or releases the plate near its pole, 
 causing undtilations of the air exactly re- 
 sembling those set up by the speaker's 
 words. Various improvements have, of 
 course, been introduced since Bell's first 
 telephone was perfected, esiiecially in the 
 way of transmitting instruments, by means 
 of which variations of current strength of 
 much greater intensity are transmitted 
 over the line, yet retaining the character- 
 istics necessary for the reproduction of 
 speech. In 1S7S, an Englishman, Pro- 
 fessor Hughes, discovered that if a piece 
 of carbon is allowed to rest lightly upon 
 another, and an electric current is jiassed 
 from one to the other in a circuit in 
 which there is a Bell telephone receiver, 
 the latter will respond to the faintest 
 sounds in the vicinity of the carbons. 
 This arrangement is called a " micro- 
 phone," which has now become an import- 
 ant feature in the successful telephone. 
 Mr. Edison later invented a transmitter in 
 which a small disk or button of soft car- 
 bon, prepared from lamp-black, is used 
 for the same ends as achieved by the 
 microphone. Our space does not admit of 
 even a reference to the many improve- 
 ments of this wonderful little instrument; 
 and, fortunately, they are too well known 
 and understood to make such reference 
 necessary. No other of all the applica- 
 tions of the electric force has done so 
 much to make the life of the mass of men 
 and women happier and more comfort- 
 able. It is not alone that the greater part 
 of the business of life can be conducted 
 without leaving one's office or home, thus 
 avoiding an enormous amount of travel, 
 and saving a vast amount of time; but for 
 social purposes the telephone is th(> most 
 
 beneficent of inventions. The amouiit of 
 comfort and cheer that is brought into 
 the rooms and the lives of the invalids and 
 tlie great communitj" of the " shut-in " by 
 tliis ever handy communicator with the 
 friends without, can never he estimated. 
 Since the perfecting of the long distance 
 service, too, communities hitherto isolated 
 luive been brought into close touch with 
 the active world from which they were 
 separated. In mining camps high up in 
 the mountains of the far West, a hundred 
 or more miles, perhaps, from any settled 
 community, tha telephone keeps alive the 
 social sentiment and breaks the monot- 
 on.y of camp life. The great farms and 
 ranches of the West, too, where the utter 
 desolation and weariness of the life not 
 infrequently made women insane, are now 
 very generally connected with tlie civilized 
 life from which they were shut off. Where 
 less than a decade agO' no human being 
 lither than members of one's family might 
 be seen for week after week, now the 
 lonely people can take down the receiver 
 and have a long taUc with friends at a 
 distance, which tends to annihilate space, 
 and to bring them in reality within the 
 range of social and civilized life. In the 
 use of the telephone the United States 
 has far out-run any other nation. Accord- 
 ing to the census of 1900 there were 14,- 
 474.777 " homes " in the United States, 
 and 16,239,797 families. On January 1, 
 1908, the number of instniments belong- 
 ing to the Bell Telephone Company hi the 
 hands of licensees was 7,544,105; and the 
 number belonging to independent com- 
 panies wais 3,500,000, malting a total of 
 11,044,105 telephones in use in the 
 (■(iuntry; so that, making allowance for 
 duplication of instruments in business 
 offices and for other special uses, it would 
 seem safe to affirm that at least- every 
 other family throughout the entire LTnited 
 States has availed itself of the unlimited 
 and beneficent service of this tireless 
 servant of humanity. According to the 
 latest reports the number of telephone 
 messages per annum in the LTnited 
 States is 9,000,000.000; in Great Britain 
 and Ireland, 723,246,388; in Germany, 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 667 
 
 1,207,446,753; and iu France, 205,085,37-1:, 
 showing- very clearly liovv mucli more gen- 
 erally the telephone is used in this than in 
 the other great countries of the world. 
 
 In leaving the field of Telegraphy and 
 Telephonj' for that of electric lighting, 
 heating, and power, we enter a different 
 territory, with its own peculiar adaptation 
 of electrical principles and devices. Here 
 the dynamo and the motor become the 
 most effective agents, the voltaic battery 
 not being able to produce the currents 
 needed unless built upon a scale that 
 would be too costly for commercial pur- 
 poses. The dynamo is a mechanically 
 driven machine, for which a water wheel, 
 or, more commonly, a steam engine fur- 
 nishes the power. Its general construc- 
 tion consists of an armature, or core of 
 iron wound with copper wires. When this 
 armature is rotated close to the poles of an 
 electro-magnet by a steam engine, a cur- 
 rent is set up. This armature is whirled 
 around its axis at a rate of from 350 revo- 
 lutions per minute in the giant dynamos 
 of Edison, to 3,000 or even 4,000 revolu- 
 tions in small laboratory machines. By 
 fixing on the same axle or shaft as that 
 of the armature a commutator, or device 
 for rectifying- the current, and allowing 
 copper brushes to rest lightly on this ro- 
 tating- conunutator, and connecting wires 
 with the brushes, a direct current may be 
 led off, and the greater part of the energy 
 received from the steam engine may be 
 delivered to a motor at a distant point, or 
 to a light circuit, or to heating apparatus, 
 or applied to any jjurpose for which the 
 current is useful. Two forms of current 
 may be produced by the dynamo, — the 
 direct, where the machine is supplied with 
 a commutator, — or an alternating current. 
 The latter is a current which is turned in 
 one direction and then in the opposite, 
 alternating commonly at the rat« of 7,200 
 times a minute, while the direct current 
 acts only in one direction. When two or 
 three alternating currents are combined 
 and transmitted to a distance on wires 
 the combination produces what is known 
 as a di-phase, tri-jAase or. in general, a 
 poljijhase current. Alternating currents. 
 
 by the use of transformers for raising or 
 lowering their pressure, can be delivered 
 very considerable distances at slight loss, 
 whereas the direct current is limited in 
 quantity, pressure, and distance. This fact, 
 that the alternating- current can be sent to 
 greater distances than the direct, has led 
 to great expansion of territory by users 
 of alternating- current dynamos, until 
 practically all companies have adojjted the 
 same general plan of generating current 
 with alternators of the polyphase type at 
 central stations, and transmitting- it at 
 high pressure to substations, from which 
 it is sent out under lower pressure, or 
 used to charge batteries for storage. 
 
 Not the least interesting- of these im- 
 proved processes for the transmission of 
 electrical force is its transfer to long dis- 
 tant points. In such cases tri-phase cur- 
 rents of very high pressure are sent out 
 from the central station. At the receiv- 
 ing end of the line " step-down transform- 
 ers " are connected, one to each phase, so 
 as to lower the pressure for use in an 
 apparatus called a rotary-converter, which 
 is employed to change the alternating 
 currents to the direct currents required 
 for local service at the far distant points. 
 A marked illustration of this process is 
 the generation of power at the water falls 
 in the Sierra Nevada mountains of East- 
 ern California, whence it is transmitted 
 more than two hundred miles to supply 
 the city of San Francisco with light and 
 power. Spokane, Washington, has a most 
 remarkable water power in the very heart 
 of the city. Within a distance of fifteen 
 hundred feet the Spokane river falls more 
 than five hundred feet, over a series of 
 steep rapids and two falls, the lower' of 
 which is nearly one hundred feet. At this 
 lower fall is a central electric power sta- 
 tion from M'hich all the pow-er is trans- 
 mitted to the mountains of Northena 
 Idaho, more than one hundred miles, to 
 work the famous Coeur d'Alene mines, — 
 which produce more than half the lead 
 used in the United States, — light all the 
 towns and camps of the district, etc. This 
 central station also supplies the power for 
 the electric trolley lines of the city, and 
 
6G8 
 
 FRo:yr colony to woeld power. 
 
 for a ]iiie running ilown the eastern part 
 of the state to Colfax and Moscow, Idaho, 
 the entire circuit covering about three 
 hundi-cil miles. 
 
 Tiiis electric transmission of energy is 
 bascil on the fact that when an electric 
 current, generated by an ordinary dy- 
 namo-electric machine, is passed through 
 (he circuit of a similar dynamo, this 
 latter is caused to rotate, becoming an 
 electro-motor. In other words, the elec- 
 tric energy of the first dynamo is con- 
 verted into mechanical energy by the 
 s(>cond, so that the second dynamo can be 
 employed to drive the machinery, just as 
 could a steam engine or water wheel. In 
 the case of the electric transmission of 
 energy, however, the distance between the 
 generator and the motor may vary from 
 short distances to several hundred miles, 
 as has been shown. " The remarkably 
 high efficiency and low cost of the elec- 
 tric motor," says Dr. Houston ; " the read- 
 iness with which it can be controlled both 
 as regards speed and power; the fact that 
 it can be automatically made to take from 
 the line wires or conductors only the 
 amount of current required for the work; 
 together with the numerous mechanical 
 advantages it possesses, have enabled elec- 
 tric transmission successfully to compete 
 with other methods of transmission, not 
 only at king- distances, but have even en- 
 abled it to successfully compete with 
 transmission by belt shafting- ami pidleys 
 in nianufaetories where the electrical gen- 
 erator is situated in the same building." 
 Since the electric transmission of power 
 is only rendered possible by the existence 
 of the electric motor, it is apparent what 
 an imiiortan: factor this machine has be- 
 come in the development of the rises of 
 electricity. It is not, in fact, a new de- 
 vice, as it was used in a small way for pro- 
 jjclling boats as early as ls;30. But the 
 batteries of that day were too expensive to 
 admit of any extended use of electricity as 
 a motive power. It was the discovery that 
 a reversed motor became a djniamo, and 
 the perfecting of the dynamo, that made 
 the present development possible. AVliile 
 the fact that the same machine is capable 
 
 of acting as a generator and a motor was 
 known as early as 1840, it was not until 
 the Vienna Universal Exposition of 1873 
 that the knowledge became general. Dur- 
 ing this exposition a Gramme dynamo 
 electric machine was driven as a motor by 
 means of the current produced by a 
 second Gramme dynamo. Though a con- 
 siderable showing of electric motors was 
 made at the Electrical Exhibition at 
 Philadelphia in 1884, they came into 
 practical use very slowly. From the cen- 
 sus of 1890 it appeared that only four per- 
 cent of the manufacturing power used in 
 this country was electrical. During the 
 decade between 1890 and 1900, however, 
 everj'thing changed, and the day of elec- 
 tricity dawned, the increased use of dy- 
 namos during the ten years being about 
 nineteen hundred per cent. The census of 
 1900 showed that <luring the period 
 covered by it, the railroads alone installed 
 about two million horse power of motors 
 on cars, and about one million of horse 
 liower of dynamos to run them ; while the 
 increase has been even more than pro- 
 portionally great during the years since 
 that census was taken. 
 
 It is a far reach from the rush-light 
 and pine knot to the arc and incandescent 
 light. First the rush-light, then the 
 candle, then the kerosene lamp, improved 
 by the Argand burner, then coal gas with 
 the later improvement of the Welsbach 
 burner, and then the brilliant lights of 
 to-day. which almost rival the sun- 
 light. The incandeseent light takes its 
 name from the red-hot carbon filament 
 inclosed in the glass bulb from which air 
 has been e.xhausted. The basic principle 
 of this form of lighting is the fact that 
 electricity heats a poor conductor. The 
 thread-like filament in the glass bulb is of 
 some form of carbon, or carbonized ma- 
 terial; and when the key is turned and a 
 current admitted to the filament its poor 
 conducting qualities make the passage of 
 the electric current so difficult that the 
 filament becomes red-hot instantly. One 
 of the great difficulties in developing the 
 light has been to secure proper material 
 for the filaments. Until Edison took the 
 
THE STOEY OF ELECTlilClTY. 
 
 669 
 
 matter up no such success had been 
 achieved as would tend to give the liglit 
 commercial value. His first efforts were 
 with various forms of platinum and other 
 metallic wires. He made his platinum 
 conductors in the shape of spirals because, 
 as is well known, the loss of heat is much 
 less in the form of a close spiral than with 
 the same length of straight wire. But 
 this was not a success as the life of the 
 lamps was very short when sufficient cur- 
 rent was sent through the spirals to pro- 
 duce high incandescence. In 1879 he 
 made his first horseshoe carbons of car- 
 bonized paper, which it was believed then 
 solved the electric light problem. But the 
 life of this lamja also proved very brief, 
 as the paper carbon was rapidlj' destroyed. 
 In 1880 he took out a patent for the use 
 of bamboo fibres as filaments. In the pro- 
 duction of the delicate thread the bamboo 
 was cut into strips, which vpere then car- 
 bonized by prolonged exposure to heat 
 while out of contact with the air. The 
 straight filament was then bent into a 
 horseshoe form and placed inside a glass 
 globe containing a vacuum. But even 
 these lamps burned out quickly and it was 
 feared by many scientists that the diffi- 
 culty could not be so overcome as to make 
 commercial lighting of this class practi- 
 cable. More attention was, however, then 
 given to the globe, in which a more posi- 
 tive vacuum was created with the result 
 that a lamp was eventually produced with 
 a life under normal conditions of upwards 
 of one thousand hours. The carbons 
 chiefly used to-day are known as squirted, 
 or structureless carbons, which have suc- 
 ceeded metals or carbonized cardboard, or 
 bamboo. As the little filament in the 
 globe of the incandescent lamp is so con- 
 stantly before the majority of peojjle, it 
 cannot be without interest to know what 
 it is and how it is made, and we cj^uote 
 Dr. Houston on this point. " When ordi- 
 nary raw cotton is placed in a solution of 
 zinc chloride, a substance obtained by 
 dissolving zinc in hydrochloric acid, the 
 cotton is dissolved, and a sticky, jelly-like 
 mass is obtained. By forcing this ma- 
 terial through a small hole in a plate, and 
 
 leading the thread which comes out into 
 a vessel filled with alcohol, it soon sets or 
 hardens sufiiciently to enable it to be 
 handled. When this thread is carefully 
 washed, and wound on a large drum and 
 dried, it produces a material strongly re- 
 
 Stereograph Copyrighted 1907 by Underwood £ Under. 
 
 wood, X. y. 
 
 THOMAS A. EDISON. 
 
 sembling catgut. The dried thread is 
 then cut into suitable lengths and carbon- 
 ized while out of contact with air, thus 
 producing the carbon filaments." 
 
 The success of the incandescent electric 
 lamp is abundantly evidenced by the 
 enormous and steadily increasing sales. 
 Even tbe census of 1900 showed that 
 more than twenty-five million incandes- 
 cent lami)s were manufactured in the 
 United States during that year, of which 
 more than twenty million were of sixteen 
 candle jjower. This enormous output, to- 
 gether with imisrovements in manu- 
 facture, has resulted in a reduction in the 
 selling price from seventy-five cents or 
 
G7(J 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 one dollar that was charged for them 
 about ISiJO to about fifteen cents, which 
 is the average price of a lamp to-day. 
 
 Earlier in this chapter reference was 
 made to Davy's production of the arc 
 light before the Royal Institution in 1810. 
 In his experiment, as there described, all 
 the principles involved in the prodaction 
 of this form of light were complete, im- 
 provements only having been made along 
 various lines. In producing the arc light 
 a very much stronger electric current is 
 used than for the incandescent, which is 
 directed through the two opposite finger- 
 like carbons of an arc lamp. If the car- 
 bons touched each other the current wouli 
 pass through both without making any 
 light; but they are placed a short distance 
 apart and the lamp is provided with 
 a mechanism for keeping them at 
 
 the current in any lamp for any reason, 
 that lamp is automatically cut out of the 
 series, and the current continues to flow 
 without interruption to the other lamps 
 of the circuit. Some idea of the exten- 
 sive use of the. arc lamp may be obtained 
 from the fact that in 1900, according to 
 the statistics oi the last census, one hun- 
 dred and seventy-five million carbon rods 
 for arc lamps were produced in the 
 United States alone. 
 
 A form of the arc light with whose 
 effects the (lublic is familiar, though not 
 
 the same distance as they burn. The 
 electric current jumps this slight 
 ^pace between the carbon points, pass- 
 ing in the form of an arc or curve of 
 light from one to the other. In thus 
 passing through the air it becomes, as 
 one has said, " a veritable streak of 
 lightning." In general use, arc-lamp 
 circuits may be from fifteen to 
 twenty miles in length, the electric 
 current passing successively through as 
 man.y as one hundred or more separate 
 lamps. In these constant-current arc- 
 lamp circuits it is necessary to employ a 
 device that will afford a continuous path 
 for the current past any lamp that might 
 fail to feed properly, or whose carbons 
 might be consumed. To meet this need 
 an automatic cut-out has been invented 
 by means of which, in case of stoppage of 
 
 SKAl.Tin li;HT OS \l:>--FI. \t sk\. 
 
 with the processes, is what is called the 
 focussing lamp. Such are the search- 
 lights used on war vessels, the lamps used 
 for the illumination of lighthouses, for 
 scenic effects in theatres, headlights of 
 locomotives, and for various other pur- 
 poses. As in these lamps it is desired 
 that all the light shall be thrown in one 
 
THE STOKY OF ELECTKICITY. 
 
 G71 
 
 direction only, the cai'bons are not placed 
 vertically over one another as in ordinary 
 arc lights, but are inclined away from the 
 direction in which the light is to be pro- 
 jected, so that the rays of maximum inten- 
 sity shall issue in a more or less horizontal 
 direction. These lamps are generally in- 
 closed in a cylindrical projector box, in 
 the rear of which is jjlaced a reflector 
 made of silvered coi^per or glass, — of the 
 latter in the case of all high-class pro- 
 jectors. Some of these focus lamjjs are 
 very large and have marvelous illumina- 
 ting power, the one on Mt. Lowe, near 
 Pasadena, California, for example, hav- 
 ing three million candle power, and is 
 visible, owing to its elevation, for more 
 than one hundred miles. 
 
 In 1817 a Swedish chemist, Berzelius, 
 discovered selenium, while engaged in the 
 distillation of sulphuric acid and iron. 
 Its properties were experimented with for 
 several years but without important re- 
 sults initil in 1873, May, a telegraph 
 operator at Valencia, discovered that in 
 its crystalline form selenium had less re- 
 sistance, — that is, was a better conductor 
 of electricity, — when exposed to the light 
 than in the dark, a quality that has been 
 made to produce many important results. 
 A selenium cell is now made by winding 
 a pair of conducting wires about a glass 
 tube. Selenium powder that has been 
 fused is then packed in the spaces of the 
 wires and the whole combination baked at 
 the temperature of boiling water for 
 about twelve hours, by which time the 
 selenium has so crystallized as to become 
 extremely sensitive to light. The selenium 
 cell made it possible for Professor Bell to 
 use beams of light instead of wires for the 
 transmission of sound in a telephone, or 
 photophone, as the new instrument was 
 called. But one of its most practical uses 
 is in the automatic lighting of buoys that 
 are necessary to mark the channel in a 
 harbor. The old method of lighting was 
 dangerous, tediims, and subject to failure. 
 These buoys were formerly lighted by gas 
 under pressure, as in the Pintsch light 
 used on railway trains. Before selenium 
 came into use, each light tank was filled 
 with gas and it was allowed to burn until 
 
 it went out, and an attendant came along 
 and replenished it. With the application 
 of the selenium cell, the gas is automati- 
 cally shut off during the day. As soon as 
 dawn brings light enough to act on the 
 selenium cell of the buoy, its resistance 
 is reduced and a magnet brought into 
 operation that closes the gas valve ; and as 
 darkness increases toward night the re- 
 sistance of the selenium is increased and 
 the current reduced, so that by means of 
 a relay magnet it ojierates in the oppo- 
 site direction, opening the gas valve. The 
 light may either be turned low, or put out 
 altogether, in which case it will bo re- 
 lighted at night by an electric spark. The 
 selenium cell has also found an interesting 
 use in astronomical work. The cell is so 
 much more sensitive than the eye to the 
 action of light that it has been employed 
 in the observation of eclipses and in re- 
 cording light changes which the eye could 
 not observe; and Professor Barnard, of 
 the Lick Observatory, has employed 
 selenium in a device for automatically 
 detecting comets. 
 
 The legion of devices to which elec- 
 tricity has given rise, for the comfort and 
 convenience of mankind, cannot be hinted 
 at in a work like this. How true this is 
 may be illustrated by the fact that the 
 catalogue of one well-known supply house 
 lists over two thousand separate and dis- 
 tinct articles, ajjart from the larger elec- 
 trical machinery. We shall, however, note 
 a very few of the important and interest- 
 ing applications of the electrical force, 
 availing ourselves of the more complete 
 resumes of such extended uses whicli Mr. 
 C. H. Cochrane has made in his interest- 
 ing work, " Modern Industrial Progress." 
 
 The application of electricity to the serv- 
 ice of various characters on steam rail- 
 ways is of exceeding interest. All the 
 fast trans-continental trains, limiteds, 
 now have in the baggage car a dynamo, 
 which supplies the train with light. 
 From the powerful searchlight of the loco- 
 motive, — which can be seen for many miles 
 along a straight track, and which makes 
 the engineer's course for a half mile ahead 
 as clear at midnight as at noonday, — to 
 the incandescent lamp at the head of each 
 
61 
 
 FEO.M COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 bci-th in the sleepers, everywhere a bright, 
 cheerful light helps to make the journey 
 on such trains at night a pleasure, while 
 a vast number of electrical devices have 
 well-nigh robbed it of all its dan;;ers. 
 Over many of the great trunk lines, es- 
 pecially Ijctween the large cities, one is 
 often astonished to note how smoothly the 
 trains run. Formerly there was a more 
 or less severe jolt as the wheels of the 
 cars went over the spaces between rails. 
 Now by an electric machine the rails are 
 easily and (luickly welded together, so 
 that one continuous rail from New York 
 to Chicago could be made, if it was de- 
 sirable. This, of course, secures an almost 
 absolutely smooth and even running of 
 the car. In the automatic block signal 
 system, too. is an application of vast in- 
 terest to every traveler. In most cases a 
 mile of track, sometimes twu miles, rep- 
 resents a block. As soon as a train enters 
 the block, its wheels and axles form an 
 electrical connection between the two 
 rails, on the ground, which are charged 
 with a current for operating signals. 
 When a train makes this connection an 
 electro-magnet is de-energized, forcing a 
 semaphore arm to take a stop-position 
 which notifies any following train that 
 there is already one in that block. As the 
 train passes out of the block, the electro- 
 magnet is energized and the semaphore 
 arm is pulled to the upright, or " all 
 clear " position. 
 
 One traveling over the country to-day 
 and seeing every where an established 
 electric trolley system in all the larger 
 cities and towns, and competing with the 
 steam railroads for interurban traffic, 
 finds it .difficult to realize that when the 
 young' num who reached his majority and 
 cast his first vote in 1908 was born, no 
 such conveniences for travel were in ex- 
 istence. We were still riding- behind bony 
 and %vorn-out horses in the small and rude 
 boxes that served as ears on all street rail- 
 ways. The first electric ears seemed un- 
 canny, and filled us with wonder and awe, 
 until Dr. Holmes so clearly explained 
 their philosophy in his poem entitled 
 "The Broomstick Train": 
 
 " Since then on many a car you'll see 
 A broomstick as plain as ijlain can be: 
 On every stick there's a witch astride, — 
 The string you see to her leg is tied. 
 Slie will do a mischief if she can. 
 But the string is held by a careful man. 
 And whenever the evil-minded witch 
 Would cut some caper he gives a twitch. 
 As for the hag, you can't see her. 
 But, hark ! you can hear her black cat's 
 
 purr. 
 And now and then as a car goes by 
 You can catch a gleam of her wicked eye. 
 Often you've looked on a rushing train. 
 But just what moved it was not plain. 
 It couldn't be those wires above. 
 For they could neither push nor shove; 
 Where was the motor that made it go — 
 You couldn't guess, hut noiv you know." 
 
 Many of these interurban lines now run 
 regular trains of cars as perfectly 
 equipped and appointed as the finest Pull- 
 mans, frequently with parlor cars at- 
 tached, and, in one or two instances, with 
 regular sleeping cars. Electricity is thus 
 encroaching upon the field of steam daily. 
 The great manufacturers of steam loco- 
 motives are now all producing po'verful 
 electric engines; and these are being 
 rapidly adopted for certain "hauls" by 
 all the leading steam railroad corpora- 
 tions. The great New York Central Rail- 
 road Company, whose central station in 
 New York city upwards of five hundred 
 passenger trains enter and leave every 
 twenty-four hours, has already electrified 
 its entire service to points varying from 
 twenty to thirty miles from the city, the 
 steam engines being changed at such 
 points for iiowerful electric motor engines. 
 The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has 
 recently awarded contracts for the elec- 
 trification of its New York and New Jer- 
 sey terminals, the first section to be from 
 Harrison, N. J. to Jamaica, Long Island, 
 including the tunnels under the rivers; 
 while the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany is proceeding with the electrification 
 of its Chicago terminal system. The 
 whole trend of development is in one di- 
 rection. The practicability of the use of 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 673 
 
 electricity for all passenger traffic, at 
 least, is no longer questioned, nor its su- 
 periority as a motive power over steam. 
 The enormous expense involved in the 
 change of power over the entire course of 
 the great trunk line systems, however, will 
 probably check any rapid advances. A 
 most ingenious application of electricity 
 to the service of railroads is not jDopu- 
 larly known. Doubtless many readers of 
 the daily papers have smiled as they have 
 read of the " tours of inspection " of rail- 
 road officials who travel over lon^ dis- 
 tances of their road in their private cars, 
 attached to the fast express trains. "A 
 critical inspection," this, one is inclined to 
 remark. But what the average man does 
 not know is that probably attached to the 
 same train is another car, known as 
 " Dudley's Dynagraph Car," which is 
 equipped with every sort of an electrical 
 device for testing the condition of the 
 tracks, etc. These devices automatically 
 trace curves on moving' strips of paper 
 which show minutely the condition of 
 every foot of the track over which the car 
 passes, at the same time marking the 
 rails with paint at every uneven place. 
 
 Wireless telegraphy occupies a itnique 
 position and can hardly be classed with 
 the applications of electric principles that 
 have been recorded above. \Vhat elec- 
 tricity is, no one knows. It is called a 
 " force," because scientists cannot better 
 describe it; and they talk of its flow, its 
 current, etc., simply because it is neces- 
 sary to express in familiar terras the 
 action of this so-called force. When we 
 enter the field of wireless telegraphy we 
 come in touch with another phenomenon 
 of nature in the form of a supposititious 
 substance or form of so-called matter 
 which scientists have named Ether. Xo 
 one can prove its existence, nor tell what 
 it is, nor describe its proiDcrties. Yet its 
 supposition becomes necessary when one 
 passes to the consideration of certain 
 phenomena. It is described as a " hypo- 
 thetical medium which is assumed to per- 
 vade all space, the interior of solid bodies 
 not excepted, and is regarded as pos- 
 sessing extreme tenuity and elasticiiv, and 
 
 as being the medium of the transmission 
 of light and heat, these forces being trans- 
 mitted by vibrations or undulations of 
 ether." When the ether is disturbed, 
 vibrations are set up. Some of these 
 vibrations come to our senses as light, 
 and some of them we know as electricity, 
 and when the disturbance is sufficiently 
 violent, heat is manifested. The existence 
 of these etheric waves was discovered 
 by Heinrich Hertz, of Carlsruhe, and have 
 since been called Hertzian waves. For 
 years experimenters in the electrical field 
 had operated by means of wires, choosing 
 good conductors, as copper, to convey 
 currents and transmit thought, light, and 
 motion to distant points. During the lat- 
 ter part of the nineteenth centurj', how- 
 ever, many began to experiment with the 
 Hertzian waves; and Marconi, who was of 
 the foremost experimenters, was soon able 
 to demonstrate that if the sender and re- 
 ceiver were tuned alike, and the instru- 
 ments delicate enough, he could use the 
 etheric waves to carry his messages. Mar- 
 coni was born at Bologna, Italy, in 1874. 
 his father being an Italian and his mother 
 Irish born, and was educated at Leghorn 
 and Bologna universities. lu 1890, when 
 only sixteen years of age, he began his 
 experiments on his father's estate, to dem- 
 onstrate the truth of his theory that the 
 electric current could be made to pass 
 through any substance, and if started in 
 any given direction, to follow an un- 
 deviating course without need of a wire 
 or other conductor. He early invented an 
 apparatus for wireless telegraphy which 
 attracted the attention of Sir W. H. 
 Preece, the chief electrician of the Eng- 
 lish Postal Telegraph, who tested the in- 
 vention with marked success in Eng'land. 
 After various successful public exhibi-. 
 tions in Italy and England, he came to 
 the United States in 1900, where he made 
 some remarkable records in reporting 
 election returns. Down to December, 
 1901, the greatest distance covered by the 
 wireless apparatus was two hundred miles. 
 During that month Marconi left his wire- 
 less station at Poldhu, in Cornwall, and 
 went to Newfoundland. He had left in- 
 
674 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 structions that after the time for his ar- 
 rival at Signal Hill, St. John's harhor, 
 the letter " S " should be signaled from 
 Poldhu daily from 3 to 6 P. M. No one 
 except his confidential assistants knew of 
 his plan. He was confident that w ith a 
 
 stereograph Copi/rigJiled by Underwood i- Vndenvood, 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 WILLIAM MARCONL 
 
 certain amount of electrical energy sent 
 out from Poldhu, the ether waves should 
 be strong enough to affect a coherer at St. 
 John's. But he felt he could not afford 
 to let the world know if he failed. As it 
 is necessary to have an elevated wire to 
 receive the Hertzian waves, he tried first 
 sending one up in a balloon, and later at- 
 tached to kites; and on December 12. 
 1901, he succeeded in keeping his kite 
 elevated above four hundred feet for more 
 than four hours, during which time the 
 letter "S " was recorded on the i\Iorse in- 
 strument twenty-five times; and the 
 youthful inventor and discoverer had 
 demonstrated the feasibility of wireless 
 telegraphy. In February, 1902, he made an 
 interesting and novel application of his 
 principle b.y receiving messages while on 
 
 board the steamship Pliiladelphia, bound 
 for New York, from Poldhu up to 1.5.")1 
 miles of the distance from England, and 
 signals up to 2099 miles. On January IS, 
 190.'!, Marconi sent from Cape Cod the fol- 
 lowing message to King Edward, which 
 was successfully transmitted twenty-five 
 hundred miles: 
 
 " His Majesty King Edward VII.. Lon- 
 don, by Marconi Transatlantic Wireless 
 Telegraphy :. In taking advantage of the 
 wonderful triumph of scientific research 
 and ingenuity which has been achieved 
 in perfecting a system of wireless teleg- 
 raphy, I extend, on behalf of the Ameri- 
 can people, most cordial greetings and 
 good wishes to you and to all the people 
 of the l>ritish Emijire. 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt. 
 
 Washington, D. C." 
 
 As a result of a warning from the 
 Anglo-American Cable Company that he 
 was interfering with their franchise in 
 telegraphing from St. John's Marconi 
 had sometime before removed his receiv- 
 ing station from that place to Glace Bay, 
 ( 'ape Breton Island, and had also estab- 
 lished another station at Wellfleet, Mass., 
 on Cape Cod. In .sending the message of 
 President Roosevelt, Marconi had in- 
 tended it should be transmitted through 
 the Glace Bay station. But while commu- 
 nicating with Glace Bay, the operator there 
 advised Marconi that he had just heard 
 from Poldhu that the instrument there 
 had received tho message at the time Mar- 
 coni was transmitting it for receipt at 
 Glace Bay. This remarkable performance 
 convinced all doubters that there was no 
 limit to the distance that might be cov- 
 ered by this system, and that its practical 
 service was established beyond question. 
 
 Many other inventors have, as is usual 
 in such cases, disputed Marconi's claims 
 to original discovery; but, as in the case 
 of Morse and the first telegraph, Marconi 
 has so far outstripped all others in the 
 success of his application of wireless prin- 
 ciples that few question the propriety of 
 his claims. As a most eminent authority. 
 Professor Elihu Thompson, has said: "T 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTEICITY. 
 
 675 
 
 believe Marconi is entitled to all the credit 
 he has been given for wireless telegraphy. 
 Tie has done all the practical work and de- 
 veloped the theory. Others have theo- 
 rized on it, but Marconi has put the thing 
 to practical use. I have given the matter 
 a good deal of study, and I am convinced 
 that Marconi deserves all he has got." A 
 Swedish electrician, Axtel Orling, how- 
 ever, who has operated with an English 
 engineer, J. T. Armstrong, has devised an 
 entirely different system. The high masts, 
 coherers, and insulation coils required for 
 the successful operation of the other sys- 
 tem are dispensed with and a remarkably 
 simple apparatus substituted. It can all 
 he inclosed in a box eight inches square 
 by four in height, and weighs but six 
 pounds. The case includes a battery of 
 eight volts, very little power being re- 
 quired. Two iron stakes are driven into 
 the ground to a depth of eighteen inches 
 find are twelve feet apart. A wire being 
 tied to each stake is carried to the posi- 
 tive and negative poles of the battery and 
 attached by contact screws. The operator 
 puts a telephone receiver to his ear and 
 can hear messages sent by similar appa- 
 ratus from a distance of twenty miles or 
 more. An application of this apparatus 
 has been tested in miniature by Orling 
 and Armstrong which is fertile in possi- 
 bilities. A model submarine boat about 
 six feet in length was equipped with the 
 apparatus and its movements were di- 
 rected from the shore. The operating in- 
 strument on the craft is made to control 
 the rudder instead of a Morse key, and 
 the man on shore operates a little steering 
 wheel that is connected with the earth, by 
 the sending apparatus. The bow and stern 
 of the iron boat act as positive and nega- 
 tive poles, and the water carries the cur- 
 rent even better than the ground. The 
 rising and diving of the boat may be di- 
 rected as readily as the right and left 
 steering. What those experiments of 
 Orling and Anderson may mean, as they 
 claim they do, in case of naval battles, has 
 been well summed up by Mr. Cochrane 
 in his work above referred to: "The ex- 
 periments show the practicability of di- 
 
 recting a submarine boat of good size 
 from the deck of a battleship; or, a tor- 
 pedo may be substituted for a submarine 
 boat and steered under water to the hull 
 of an enemy and there exploded. A har- 
 bor or coast may be protected with sub- 
 marine mines of dynamite, each earrj'ing 
 an apparatus tuned so that it can be set 
 cff only by its appropriate wave. The en- 
 gineer on .shore has a chart of the mines 
 and a set of apparatus each one tuned to 
 a corresponding mine. When a vessel of 
 an approaching fleet rides over a mine, ho 
 touches off the approjariate receiver, and 
 the enemy is no more. There are no wires 
 rmining down to the beach, as with the 
 systems now in use, to warn the enemy of 
 the probable nearness of mines, conse- 
 quently no safety can be assured by send- 
 ing a party ashore to cut such wires. The 
 enemy can avoid the danger only by keep- 
 ing away from the mines or capturing the 
 headquarters of the operator, and, as he 
 may be in any house within twenty miles, 
 that is out of the question." 
 
 It is, of course, impossible in the space 
 of this article to more than mark the gen- 
 eral outline of the development of the 
 Science of Electricity, and touch upon 
 some of its most salient features and in- 
 teresting achievements and possibilities. 
 A most notable service has recently been 
 rendered by the wireless system of teleg- 
 raphy, however, which should receive 
 notice, and which will go far toward 
 widely extending its adoption. It has. 
 moreover, set at rest all question as to the 
 range of its usefulness, even in ways that 
 had not suggested themselves to the peo- 
 ple. Early on the morning of January 
 23, 1909, the great White Star liner Re- 
 puhlic was steaming through a heavy fog 
 bound for the Mediterranean with a large 
 number of passengers. When about 
 twenty-five miles east of Nantucket is- 
 land, at about four o'clock A. M.. another 
 large ocean steamer, the Florida, bound 
 for New York, suddenly came out of the 
 fog and rammed the RepvMic about mid- 
 ship, cutting a fearful gash in her side. 
 Fortunately the White Star ship was 
 fitted with the wireless system; and at 
 
G76 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 4.10 A. M. the operator at the Siasconset 
 station on the shore of Nantucket re- 
 ceived a message whicli read " C. Q. D." 
 — tlie most imperative message an oper- 
 ator can get, — tlie distress signal of a ves- 
 sel in collision or other serious danger at 
 sea. Instantly, traveling at the rate of 
 180,000 miles a second, a message went 
 from the Siasconset operator which read : 
 " C. Q. D. Here. Sc. G.," which meant 
 " Distress signal received at Siasconset 
 wireless station. Go ahead." Hardly more 
 than a moment later the following reply 
 came from the imperiled vessel : " Were 
 struck hy an unknown boat ; engine- 
 room filled; passengers all safe; can 
 stay afloat; latitude 40.17; longitude 70. 
 Uppuhlic." The regulations of the ilar- 
 coni Company require that an operator, 
 whenever he shall receive the " C. Q. D." 
 signal of a ship in distress, shall, imme- 
 diately upon ascertaining her locality, 
 send out word of the ship's condition and 
 location to every vessel and station within 
 a radius of two hundred miles. Conse- 
 quently the Siasconset operator at once 
 prefaced his message with the alarm sig- 
 nal, and then carefully repeated the one 
 that had come from the Bepulilic. All 
 this liad taken hardly more time thaii one 
 will use in reading the account. The op- 
 erator had not long to wait before mes- 
 sages from land and sea began to pour in 
 upon him. From Boston came the v:cl- 
 come report that the revenue-cutter 
 Greshain had the news and was leaving 
 port. The revenue-cutters Mohawk and 
 Seneca replied that they had picked ni> 
 the message while cruising along the coast, 
 and were off for Xantucket light. Li a 
 sliort time it was known that eight dlf- 
 fei-ent vessels were steaming under high- 
 est pressure toward the Repuhlic. TCot 
 much later this message came in from 
 the big Baltic of same line as the Bc- 
 piihlic: "Baltic one hundred ami fifteen 
 miles east of Ambrose channel going to 
 assistance of Bepuhlic." At noon the 
 great Cunard liner Litcania added her 
 cheer b.y reporting: " Sixty-five miles east 
 of Nantucket. Hope to reach Repuhlic at 
 4 P. M." 
 
 It has for a long time been demon- 
 strated by statistics that a person is no- 
 where so safe as when traveling on the 
 ocean. But the experience of the Ee- 
 puhlic makes clear that even the minimum 
 of risk has been reduced, so that those 
 who would be most secure from the dan- 
 gers that beset our mortal existence under 
 prevalent conditions must at once plan to 
 " go down to the sea in ships," and so 
 tnjoy a safe and exhilarating life. Few 
 events have more profoundly affected the 
 popular mind than did this collision and 
 its romantic incidents. Immediately a 
 demand was made by Boards of Trade and 
 influential civic bodies that all ocean ves- 
 sels carrying passengers should at once 
 be fitted out with the wireless apparatus, 
 and carry an efficient operator. A bill was 
 also introduced in the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives within forty-eight hours after 
 the accident to secure the same wise pro- 
 tective measures. Such an object-lesson 
 moved public sentiment more potently 
 than weeks of argument or volumes of 
 theories could have done. 
 
 The story of Aladdin's wonderful lamp. 
 as recounted in the Arabian Nights, seems 
 to have become as real as the facts of 
 history. As will be remembered, Aladdin, 
 the son of a poor widow, came into posses- 
 sion of a priceless talisman in the form 
 of a magic lamp. When its owner rubbed 
 the lamp, a Genie instantly appeared and 
 asked: "What wouldst tliou have? I 
 am ready to obey thee as the slave of the 
 lamp. I and the other slaves of the lamp ; " 
 and, no matter what the demand, as the 
 story goes on, it was instantly obeyed. 
 Nothing was beyond its marvelous powers. 
 If Aladdin so demanded he was trans- 
 ])orted beyond the summits of the highest 
 mountains in China. If he so desired he 
 could hear the faintest whispers, even 
 though uttered hundreds of miles away. 
 At his command the choicest riches of the 
 physical world were laid at his feet, night 
 was turned into day, both time and space 
 were annihilated. Surely this would 
 seem an allegorical representation of the 
 story of electricity. Instead of the rub- 
 bing of the lamp we have the rubbing of 
 
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. 
 
 G77 
 
 the piece of amber and the whole sucees- 
 siou of blessings to the human race have 
 followed and are evidently destined to be 
 multiplied in the future. For the uni- 
 verse has yet greater secrets to unfold ! 
 First the telegraph by wire; then girdling 
 the earth by the cable; then wireless teleg- 
 raphy; and who shall say that the next 
 stej) shall not be — Telepathy — and the 
 
 time be not far distant of which the poet, 
 Stephen Phillips, has recently sung: 
 
 " In that day shall a man out of uttermost 
 
 India whisper 
 And in England his friend shall hear; 
 And a maiden in English sunshine have 
 
 sight of her lover 
 And he behold her from far Cathay." 
 
JjIV. 
 INTERNATIONAL COURTESIES. 
 
 Founder's Day at Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg. — Address of \V. T. Stead. — " Outlook for 
 Peace." — "You Have Only to Hang Twehe Newspaper Editors." — Inrtuence of More 
 Intimate Relations Between Peoples. — ^" Little Things that Make for Peace" — The Life and 
 Death of George Peabody a Link Between tlie English and American Peoples. — Editorial 
 Utterances. — The Geneva Arbitration. — The French Gift of Bartholdi Statue. — -Description 
 of Statue. — Educational Reciprocit}-. — Work of I'Alliance Francaise. — Exchange of 
 Lecturers by Harvard and The iSorbonne. — ^ Lectures of Charles F. Beach at University of 
 Paris Law School. — Work Extended to Other French Universities. — German Emperor and 
 American Ambassador Discuss Exchange of Professors Between L'niversities. — Emperor 
 Invited President Nicholas Murray Butler to Discuss Subject at Informal Dinner. — " The 
 Theodore Roosevelt Professorship" at University of Berlin — Gift of .Tames M. Speyer to 
 Columbia to Found Similar Chair. — English and American Universities. — Opinion and 
 Eflforts of Baron Kentaro, of Japan, Along Same Lines. — Cecil Rhodes and His Ambitions. 
 " A Good Understanding Between England, Germany, and United States, Will Secure Peace 
 of tlie World; and Educational Relations Form the Strongest Tie." — Tlie Rhodes Scholar- 
 ships. — Bryce and " The American Commonwealth." — Hannis Taylor and ''The English 
 Constitution." — " God Hath Created of One Blood All Nations of ilen." 
 
 " Tho stranger, as many languages testify, is apt to be the enemy. The chief reason why he is dreaded 
 and hated is tiiat he Is not known. Acquaintance allays suspicion and promotes sympathy and kindness." — 
 Washington gladdkn. 
 
 T the eleventh annual celebration of Founder's Day at the 
 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, Pa., in April, 1907, on 
 which occasion Mr. Carnegie gathered to the love-feast as 
 his guests all the distinguished men of Europe and America 
 whom he could influence, Mr. W. T. Stead, the veteran 
 London journalist and founder of the Review of Reviews, 
 made a notable address which was enthusiasticall.v re- 
 ceived. Among other things, he said: "I have made a 
 journey through ten countries for the iiu^iose of find- 
 ing out what is the next step toward international peace. 
 I have seen and talked confidentially with three kings, two 
 (]nccns, one jsrince regent, one imperial chancellor, and all the jirime ministers, 
 ambassadors, and public men worth seeing. I found them all unanimous on two 
 points; the first one was, that in whatever country I found myself, "the people of 
 that country, whether they were the subjects or citizens, rulers or ministers, were 
 quite clear that they in that country were the most devoted to peace of all the people 
 of the world. None of them would answer for the other nine countries, but for their 
 nwn, whether it was the Kaiser, or our own King, or the President of the French 
 
INTEENATIONAL COUETESIES. 
 
 G7y 
 
 Republic, the President of your own Re- 
 public, they were all absolutely sure that 
 the people at the head of which they stand 
 are absolutely devoted to Peace." 
 
 " On the second point they all agreed 
 also. The unanimity is quite as great in 
 the one case as in the other. They all 
 agreed that the greatest, if not the only, 
 danger to the peace of the world lay in 
 the existence of a large number of violent, 
 unscrupulous, and irresponsible newspa- 
 pers, which were constantly engaged in 
 mischief making. The Imperial Chan- 
 cellor of Germany, Prince Von Bulow, said 
 to me : ' The Emperor is for peace ; the 
 King is for peace; the parliaments are for 
 peace; the ministers are for peace; only 
 the newspapers are for war. We diplo- 
 matists have to spend our time in running 
 around with pails of water to put out the 
 fires which the newspapers kindle.' Some 
 years ago, when in St. Petersburg, I met 
 Gen. C. Von Schweinitz, the German 
 Ambassador at the Russian Court. He 
 said to me, ' Mr. Stead, I hear you are 
 anxious to preserve peace ? ' ' Yes,' said 
 I. ' I can give you a prescription which 
 will secure the peace of the world for all 
 time.' ' Oh ! give it to me, quick.' ' It 
 is veiy simple,' said he. ' You have only 
 to hang twelve newspaper editors, and let 
 me choose the editors. I would begin with 
 the editor of the Cologne Gazette, and 
 the second man I would hang would be 
 the editor of the London Times.' " 
 
 " The other day I was in Washington, 
 and an eminent American statesman told 
 me that the newspapers in the new world, 
 as in the old, rendered the task of the gov- 
 ernment in maintaining peace very diffi- 
 cult. ' Have you any remedy ? ' I asked. 
 ' Alas,' he said, ' I see no remedy except- 
 ing the use of the electrocution chair.' " 
 
 The popular oijinion has generally pre- 
 vailed that rulers and high state officials 
 are the prime movers in war, either to 
 gratify diseased ambitions, or for political 
 aggrandizement, or, basest of all, merely 
 for some commercial advantages and 
 financial gain, or to take advantage of the 
 distress of a weaker power and so secure 
 additional territory, or at least exact 
 
 tribute money; and that the people, moved 
 by the intense force of the sentiment of 
 loyalty, follow their lead blindly, ignorant 
 of the true causes of the movements, 
 though knowing well that they alone must 
 bear the needless burden of debt and 
 misery which war entails. But since 
 through the vastly increased means of 
 cunnnunieation of every character nations 
 have become more interdependent, even 
 for the necessaries and comforts of life; 
 and the destructiveness of the engines of 
 war has been so terribly multiplied, as 
 well as the expense of prosecuting the 
 war, it is undoubtedly true that, as Mr. 
 Stead has said, the conditions have 
 changed, and rulers and people alike de- 
 clare for peace unless the passions of the 
 people are wickedly inflamed by unprin- 
 cijiled leaders of opinion whose God is 
 gain, and who care not what millions may 
 suffer, so long as they get an increase of 
 influence or riches. It is, iserhaps, im- 
 possible to silence these powers without 
 violence to some of the dearest principles 
 of liberty, as the freedom of the press and 
 freedom of speech, — principles that have 
 become fii-nily established only after a 
 century of the bitterest strife and the 
 martyrdom of many heroic men. But 
 there is another method by which the same 
 ends may be secured, though it may be 
 slow and halting in its progress; and that 
 is, to bring the peoples themselves of the 
 diiferent nations into such close relations 
 with each other, and to establish such a 
 mutual understanding between them, that 
 the cry of the war vultures shall fall on 
 deaf ears, and they themselves shall be- 
 come recognized as the loathsome, ab- 
 horred, accursed creatures they really are. 
 As was said further in the address re- 
 ferred to above : " It is written, ' Blessed 
 are the peacemakers, for they shall be 
 called the children of God;' but I say 
 unto you, cursed are the mischief makers, 
 for they are verily and truly the children 
 of the devil." 
 
 For fully a hundred years, through good 
 or through ill rej^orts, chiefly through ill, 
 many noble men and associations have 
 been struggling to secure permanent 
 
680 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLU POWEE. 
 
 bases for peace between all nations, their 
 efforts culminating- in The Hague Con- 
 ferences, the great, permanent Peace 
 Tribunal, and the legion of arbitration 
 treaties that have been made binding dur- 
 ing the past few years. But all the time 
 there have been silent forces at work 
 touching the hearts of the common people 
 of the different nations, which have al- 
 ready become most potent, and which are 
 destined mightily to supplement the 
 actions of parliaments and conferences. 
 It is some of these events and movements, 
 not in themselves peace measures, which 
 we have classed as " International Cour- 
 tesies." or " Little Things that make for 
 Peace." that we consider in this chapter. 
 We can. of course, mention but a few of 
 many; but all tend to teach the people of 
 each country that the people of other 
 countries are men of like passions with 
 themselves, actuated by the same love of 
 home and family, the same desires for 
 
 people of the United States was very bit- 
 ter toward the government and people of 
 England; and the public speaker or states- 
 men who would gain the loudest applause 
 had only to denounce in the fiercest terms 
 the nation that had shown so little sym- 
 riathy for us in our great struggle to main- 
 tain the union, or, in other words and in 
 popular language, " to twist the British 
 lion's tail." Yet only four years after the 
 war. while political passions in both coun- 
 tries were at a white heat over the settle- 
 ment of the "Alabama Claims." George 
 Peabody died in London, — an American 
 b,v birth and training who had maintained 
 loyal allegiance to his native land through 
 more than thirty years of residence in an 
 adopted country, yet had won the highest 
 esteem of his British associates by his 
 generous, noble. Christian life; and when 
 after his death the gracious command of 
 the Queen of England ordained that his 
 remains should lie in state in Westmin- 
 
 THE MONARCH BEARING THE REMAINS OF GEORGE PEABODY TO AMERICA. 
 
 peaceful and harmonious lives, and the 
 same disinclination to consciously do an 
 unkindness or injury to any neighbor oi 
 fellow man. 
 
 It is unquestionably true that at the 
 close of our civil war the sentiment of the 
 
 ster Abbey, and then, in response to his oft 
 expressed wish to be buried in his native 
 town, should be borne to the American 
 shores on the newest and finest vessel of 
 the great British navy, a sympathetic 
 chord was touched in the hearts of mil- 
 
INTERNATIONAL COURTESIES. 
 
 681 
 
 lions of people on both sides of the Atlan- 
 tic, and one touch of sorrow made both 
 countries kin. There were no jjolitics nor 
 policy in the Queen's act ; it was the im- 
 pulse of a noble woman to honor the 
 memory of a noble, large-hearted, gen- 
 erous man ; and there was not a person in 
 either country capable of appreciating an 
 exalted sentiment whose heart was not 
 softened, — and things could never be quite 
 the same again. The resultant mental at- 
 titude was so well expressed editorially by 
 one of the leading London papers, " The 
 Telegraph," that we quote from it : " They 
 (the American people) w'ill say that we 
 have done ourselves and them virtue and 
 honor in thus reverencing the consum- 
 mate humanity which was in this king of 
 givers; and it will hapiien, as we have said 
 before, that the dead body of George Pea- 
 body will complete the work done by his 
 living hand and heart. There will arise 
 out of this funeral voyage of the Queen's 
 new iighting ship a thought calculated to 
 fake the trade away from fighling ships 
 altogether; a feeling which advances civ- 
 ilization with a voiceless charm of im- 
 pulse. Men will be set to meditating, on 
 both sides of the Atlantic, how much 
 wiser, better, and higher is the spirit of 
 peace than the spirit of war, and, above 
 all, liow shameful and strange in the eyes 
 of civilization the spectacle would he if 
 the land that sent home George Peahodi/'s 
 remains and the land which received the 
 ' noile heart that heats no more ' should 
 ever again handy words of menace or 
 hatred." 
 
 It need hardly be said that these lofty 
 sentiments were fully appreciated and re- 
 ciprocated by the American iieople, — an 
 appreciation that was voiced in the press, 
 in the many orations and sermons the sad 
 event occasioned, as well as in several 
 poems of merit. The closing stanzas of 
 one of these, a responsive note to Eng- 
 land's thought, were as follows : 
 
 " England, we take him from thine arms; 
 We thank thee for thy reverent care; 
 If thou and we were ever friends 
 Wo should be so beside his bier. 
 
 '■ Ilis memory should be a spell 
 
 To banish spleen and bitterness. 
 
 Have kindlier thoughts of us, — for he 
 
 Was tender unto thy distress. — 
 
 " As we have kindlier thoughts of thee 
 Because of honor done to him; 
 For while we weep, we turn to see 
 That English eyes with tears are. 
 dim." 
 
 When three years later the questions 
 concerning the depredations of the Ala- 
 bama and other confederate cruisers which 
 had brought Great Britain and the United 
 States to the very verge of war were 
 peacefully settled by arliitration, and that 
 great precedent of arbitration was es- 
 tablished from wliich we may well be- 
 lieve the two countries will never again 
 depart, who shall say how much of tlie 
 spirit of peace and amity that prevailed 
 at the Geneva Conference had its source 
 in the fact that the hearts of the people 
 of the two countries had been attuned to 
 more perfect harmony by a common grief, 
 and had come more etfectually to realize 
 the truth that they were " of one flesh," 
 through their contemplation of the vir- 
 tues of a life in which each claimed a 
 part. 
 
 It was doubtless the appreciation of 
 the truth that even the most idealized 
 friendship must sometimes give expres- 
 sion to itself to retain its full vitality 
 that sugg-ested to a few prominent Erench 
 gentlemtai the idea of giving voice in a 
 material way to the ancient regard of their 
 country and its people for the sister Re- 
 public on this side of the Atlantic. For 
 more than one hundred years hardly a 
 shadow of discord had been east upon the 
 friendly paths which the two Republics 
 had followed; and the recollection of the 
 invaluable services rendered by France to 
 the colonists when struggling for their 
 independence has ever been cherished by 
 their descendants, and has been made the 
 subject of countless notable recognitions 
 in prose and verse. As one writer has well 
 said: " Before our nation was, the demo- 
 cratic idea had been for many years ex- 
 isting and expanding among the French 
 
682 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 people; cruslied again and again by ty- 
 rants it ever rose, renewed, and fresh, for 
 the insuperable conflict. Through all 
 their vicissitudes the people of France 
 have upheld, unfalteringly, their ideal, — 
 Liberty, Equality. Fraternity. Our own 
 Republic exists to-day because France 
 helped us when England sought to crush 
 us." While, therefore, there seemed less 
 need of tangible evidence of regard and 
 kindly feeling from the French people 
 than from any other, it was a gracious 
 sentiment that prompted them to make a 
 practical demonstration of their hearty 
 sympathy with the people of the United 
 States in their rejoicing that the new 
 nation, whose eveiy aspiration for greater 
 liberty they had so warmly cherished and 
 (■ncouraged, had for one hundred years of 
 unbroken progress manifested clearly and 
 convincingly to all men the inherent 
 vitality and virtue of Republican institu- 
 tions. The design is said to have origi- 
 nated with M. Laboulaye, a noted pub- 
 licist and ardent admirer of the United 
 States, who had spent some time in this 
 covmtry studying its institutions and the 
 workings of its constitution, and who had 
 written much on these subjects for the 
 cidightenment of the French people. His 
 proposition was enthusiastically received 
 and endorsed by his fellow members of 
 the Franco-American Alliance, an associa- 
 tion of gentlemen whose membership in- 
 cluded such names as de Noailles, de Toc- 
 queville, deWitt, Martin, and deRemusat ; 
 and tile idea quickly took form in the de- 
 termination to appeal to the people of 
 France to contribute in small sums toward 
 the erection in the United States of a 
 monument which should worthily sym- 
 bolize the dominant ideal of both repub- 
 lics, — Liberty. What was considered an 
 adequate sum, two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, was quickly raised; and the 
 distinguished French artist and sculptor, 
 M. Bartholdi, who had entered with en- 
 thusiasm into the project, was commis- 
 sioned to design and execute the work. 
 The plan had been communicated through 
 the American Minister at Paris to the 
 United States, and the gift was condi- 
 
 tioned upon the furnishing of a suitable 
 site and pedestal by the people of this 
 country. Within a short time the people 
 contributed two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand dollars for the erection of a suitable 
 base, and the South end of Bedloe's is- 
 land, in New York harbor, was selected as 
 a site. 
 
 Bartholdi had designed a heroic statue 
 of a woman, holding a lighted torch in her 
 Iiand, which should represent the idea of 
 " Liberty Enlightening the World." For 
 ten years sixty men besides Bartholdi and 
 his immediate assistants (among whom 
 was Eiffel who later designed the famous 
 Eiffel Tower) worked upon the great 
 figure. The material of which it was con- 
 structed was three-fifths iron and the bal- 
 ance copper, and completed it weighed 
 over one hundred tons. It was shipped 
 to this country in three hundred and fifty 
 pieces, which were put together upon the 
 great foundation of granite that had been 
 prepared for it, the pedestal alone being 
 one hundred and seventy-seven feet in 
 height. The completed statue measured 
 one hundred and fifty feet from the base 
 to the top of the extended arm and torch, 
 making the entire elevation of the torch 
 three hundred and twenty-seven feet 
 above mean tide-level. In itself by far 
 tlie tallest statue in the world, on its ped- 
 estal it. overtopped all otliers by at least 
 two hundred feet. The figure is that of 
 a handsome, proud woman, the head 
 crowned with a diadem, whose right arm 
 is raised and holds aloft a blazing torch, 
 while the left hand and arm enfold a 
 tal)let on which is inscribed the date of 
 the Declaration of Independence. The 
 left foot is slightly advanced aud supports 
 the main weight of the body. The peplus 
 and tunic with which the body is lobed 
 fall in graceful and ample folds from the 
 shoulders and waist to the feet; and the 
 sweep of the tunic's folds as they fall, as 
 if spread out by the force of the wind as 
 the woman advances, make a base of the 
 most solid character, giving to the whole 
 statue an appearance of solidity and 
 firmness, and in reality a stability that 
 the fiercest hurricanes could not disturb. 
 
INTERNATIONAL COURTESIES. 
 
 683 
 
 One may get a better impression of the 
 colossal size of the figure from such facts 
 as that in the head, which is fourteen feet 
 high, forty persons can stand 'with ease 
 at one time; while the flame of the torch 
 ^yi^ accommodate fifteen ijeople, without 
 
 minister, to the United States in the per- 
 son of the Minister to Erance, Mr. Mor- 
 ton; and the dedicatory exercises in the 
 United States, on October 23, 1886, were 
 attended with elaborate ceremonies. There 
 was a great military and civic parade in 
 
 THE BAHTHOLDI STATTTE. 
 
 crowding or stooping. A gallery is built 
 just above the hand, at the base of and 
 around the torch, from which visitors 
 secure an unequaled view of the harbor 
 and the cities of New York, Brooklyn, and 
 of all the surrounding counti-j-. The torch 
 is illuminated at night by the most 
 powerful electric lights, which can be 
 seen for more than thirty miles, so that 
 the first light the incoming vessels sight 
 is from liberty's torch; and as every ves- 
 sel entering the harbor by day passes in 
 view of the statue the earliest greeting 
 that the traveler or immigrant receives on 
 approaching the new world is an expres- 
 sion of the highest ideal of American 
 thought, government, and institutions, 
 which is Liberty, — social, civil, and politi- 
 cal ; or as the French people would express 
 it, in the sentiment of their historic 
 watchword, is Liberty, Equality, FraterT 
 nity. 
 
 The statue was first formally presented 
 by M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, in the ab- 
 sence of ]\L Jules Ferry, the French prime 
 
 New York city, after which thirty-seven 
 steam-vessels bore the most distinguished 
 guests and national and state officials to 
 Bedloe's island. The exercises were 
 opened with prayer, which was followed 
 by an eloquent and scholarly address by 
 Senator William M. Evarts, in the course 
 of which he announced the presentation 
 of the statue to the United States by 
 France. The face and shoulders of the 
 figure which had been covered by tri- 
 colored flags were then unveiled amid the 
 terrific din of cannon from the forts in 
 the harbor, steam whistles, and bells. 
 President Cleveland then accepted the 
 statue on behalf of the American people 
 in a dignified address, reciprocating 
 cordially the sentiment of the French peo- 
 ple, and prophesying permanency for the 
 kindly relations that had existed between 
 the two peoples for so many years, of 
 which the noble statue they were then 
 dedicating would ever stand as an elo- 
 quent reminder. And it is certai?! that by 
 this courteous attention and generous 
 
G84: 
 
 FROM CULUXY TO WOKLIJ POWEK. 
 
 action of the French people, fhey and the 
 people of the United States, almost un- 
 conseiotisly, perhaps, were knit a little 
 more closely together, and the possibility 
 of political misunderstanding and strife 
 was pushed farther into the background 
 than it had ever been before. 
 
 Wo have for some years been ac- 
 customed to reciprocity treaties between 
 our own and other countries for the pur- 
 pose of removing obstructions to inter- 
 national commerce. But the reciprocity 
 treaties that have been quietly negotiated 
 between universities of this country and 
 those of the principal countries of Europe 
 are not so well known or understood by 
 the people. While the politicians have 
 haggled and disputed over the commercial 
 treaties, and an omniscient and omnipo- 
 tent Senate has either smothered or emas- 
 culated the majority of them, the scholars 
 of the various countries have worked in 
 beautiful harmony with the result that we 
 already have, and are to luive in the 
 future, reciprocal relations in higher edu- 
 cation with nearly all the greater institu- 
 tions of learning of Europe, — a movement 
 devoid of politics, and in which alleged 
 statesmen have no part, yet which will 
 surely and rapidly bring the best thought 
 and the highest aspirations of the peoples 
 of these countries into such intelligent 
 and affectionate union that the art of 
 diplomacy will find a constantly restricted 
 field for its activities, and will, we trust, 
 in the not distant future become one of 
 the "lost arts," never to be rediscovered 
 nor resurrected. The beginning's of this 
 form of international reciprocity are to be 
 found in the work of I'Alliance Fran- 
 qaise. With its headquarters in Paris, 
 this institution has for many years carried 
 cm everywhere an active propaganda in 
 behalf of tho French language, literature, 
 and civilization. It has been very active 
 in this country; and several years ago 
 French professors under its patronage 
 began to come to the United States to 
 lecture in their own language at Harvard 
 University, and elsewhere. Inspired by 
 this work, with which he had become ac- 
 quainted while a student at Cambridge, 
 
 ilr. James II. Hyde, in 1903, established 
 the foundation for an annual course of 
 lectures at the Sorbonne, Paris, by a 
 Harvard professor. This course was 
 inaugurated in the summer of 1904 by 
 Professor Barrett Wendell, who gave a 
 series of lectures that attracted wide 
 attention, on the general subject of Ameri- 
 can ideals as disclosed in American lit- 
 erature. The second course was given 
 the following year by Professor Santa- 
 yana on American philosophy; and the 
 work IS being carried on in regular 
 course each year by different members 
 of the Harvard faculty. By way of 
 reciprocity, similar work is now done each 
 year at Harvard by a professor from 
 the Sorbonne, — on each foundation the 
 lecturer speaking in his own language. A 
 distinguished French scholar who has 
 especially interested himself in this and 
 other movements tending to draw the peo- 
 ple of the different nations more closely 
 together, is Baron de Coubertin. He was 
 the inspiring spirit and liberal leader in 
 the revival of the Olympic games: has 
 established French prizes at Princeton, 
 Tulane, Leland Stanford, and California 
 Universities; and has written and spoken 
 persistently and devoted his enthusiasm, 
 time, and money to the furtherance of the 
 cause of closer international relations 
 outside the field of political endeavor. 
 
 In 1004 the Faculty of Law of the Uni- 
 versit.v of Paris invited Charles F. Beach, 
 Jr., one of the leading lawj'ers of New 
 York, a thurough student of Corporation 
 law and Equity jurisprudence with ex- 
 tended experience as a practicing lawyer 
 along both lints, to give in the Paris 
 School a course of lectures on American 
 law. Mr. Beach had graduated in law 
 both from Columbia and the University 
 of Paris, and so was founded in both 
 Common and Roman law, and eagerly 
 entered upon his work in Paris during the 
 University Session of 1904-5. The first 
 year's course was such a pronounced suc- 
 cess that at its close Mr. Beach was urged 
 to continue the work the next winter, 
 which he did, broadening the scope of his 
 subject by introducing a treatment of 
 
INTERNATIONAL COURTESIES. 
 
 685 
 
 American institutions as well as law. 
 That year, too, he was urged to repeat his 
 lectures at the University of Lille; and 
 in 1907 his field was still further en- 
 larged hy the inclusion of the Universities 
 of Bordeaux and of Toulouse, showing a 
 steadily increasing interest among the 
 students of the French universities in the 
 study of American social and political 
 life, as well as of its law. Owing to the 
 technical language that must so largely 
 pervade lectures on law, Mr. Beach de- 
 livered his main lectures in the French 
 language, closing each with a general talk 
 of about fifteen minutes in English. 
 When it is remembered that the Uni- 
 versity of Paris has annually upwards of 
 fifteen thousand students, and that more 
 than five thousand are registered in the 
 law department alone; and further that 
 these students come from every state of 
 Europe and the far East, it will easily be 
 realized that Professor Beach's work must 
 vastly influence the unification of thought 
 of many peoples. 
 
 At his oflicial diplomatic reception on 
 New Year's Day, 1904, the German Em- 
 peror, in conversation with the American 
 Ambassador, suggested the desirability of 
 an exchange of professors between German 
 and American universities as a means of 
 promoting a better understanding between 
 the two peoples and a wider knowledge of 
 their respective histories and institutions. 
 For some reason the matter was allowed to 
 lie dormant for the time. But in the 
 summer of 1905 President Nicholas 
 Murray Butler, of Columbia University, 
 went abroad, spending two weeks of his 
 vacation in quiet seclusion with Professor 
 Burgess, of the same university, at Wil- 
 helmshohe, Prussia. During this period 
 the Emperor came to the castle at Wil- 
 helmshohe, and gave President Butler a 
 most informal interview, at which he de- 
 tailed to his Majesty his plans. The 
 Emperor was greatly pleased to find that 
 his suggestion of the year before had been 
 so keenly appreciated, and invited both 
 President Butler and Professor Burgess 
 to dine informally with him at a later 
 day, when he would also have present Dr. 
 
 Althotf, the head of the Prussian Ministry 
 of Education; and at that second meeting 
 all final arrangements were made and the 
 matter closed. It was determined that a 
 professorship of American history and in- 
 stitutions, to be known as the Theodore 
 Roosevelt Professorship, should be estab- 
 lished at the University of Berlin by and 
 under the direction of Columbia Univer- 
 sity, the incumbents to be appointed by 
 the Prussian Ministry of Education, with 
 the sanction of the Emperor, upon nomi- 
 nation by the Trustees of Columbia. The 
 plan of the work covers definite treat- 
 ments not only of the subject of American 
 
 Photograph Underwood d- Underivoodt N. y. 
 
 EMPEROR WILLIAM II. OF GERMANY. 
 
 history and constitutional law, but also 
 of the fundamental and prominent prob- 
 lems and movements in this country in 
 economics and sociology, the industrial 
 problems, edncation, and later a consider- 
 ation of American contributions in the 
 
686 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tield of the Arts and Sciences. Provision 
 is also made by which the courses may 
 be repeated in other German nniversitics 
 if the faculties so request. The reciprocal 
 foundation of a chair at Columbia for 
 corresponding courses covering German 
 institutions and movements was made 
 possible by the liberality of Mr. James 
 Speyer, of New York, who gave fifty 
 thousand dollars to endow the professor- 
 ship. These lectures are naturally de- 
 livered in German at Berlin, and in Eng- 
 lish at Columbia. The first to occupy the 
 chair at Berlin upon the Columbia 
 foundation was Professor John W. Bur- 
 gess, the head of the department of 
 Political Science and Constitutional Law 
 at Columbia, whose course of lectures and 
 instruction covered the field of American 
 political history. 
 
 An interesting feature of the work on 
 the Speyer foundation has been the estab- 
 lishment at the University of Berlin of 
 an American library. A start was made 
 by sending from New York one thousand 
 volmnes on American history and social 
 and political questions, which will be in- 
 creased from time to time until a repu- 
 table collection is made. A separate room 
 has been set apart for these books in the 
 University library, and they are separately 
 catalogued. 
 
 It is not alone these actual achieve- 
 ments along the line of reciprocal educa- 
 tion that are impressive : but also the fact 
 that all leaders of public opinion and 
 statesmen of other countries are waken- 
 ing to the immense significance of the 
 movement and are anxious that their 
 people shall share in its beneficence. 
 Italy has already formed important con- 
 nections of a similar character with in- 
 stitutions in the United States, France, 
 and Germany. Between English uni- 
 versities and American there is hardly the 
 same need of interchanges as between our 
 own schools and those of Continental 
 nations, since English and American in- 
 stitutions, civil, political, religious, and 
 educational are more nearly alike than are 
 our own and those of any other nation. 
 Many interchanges have been made, how- 
 
 ever, between American and British uni- 
 versities, with the happiest results. In fact 
 the first suggestion of any step in this 
 direction was made as far back as 1864, 
 when Mr. Henry Yates Thompson, a 
 graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 England, proposed to endow a lectureship 
 at that University, the lecturer to be ap- 
 pointed each year by the President and 
 Fellows of Harvard University, and the 
 course and instruction to cover the broad 
 field of the history, literature, and insti- 
 tutions of the United States. The Cam- 
 bridge authorities, however, declined the 
 gift. Thompson afterwards came to this 
 country and laid his plans before the 
 President and Fellows of Harvard, by 
 whom they were considered. A proposal 
 to effect the purposes arrived at by Mr. 
 Thompson was made by the Harvard to 
 the Cambridge authorities ; but after con- 
 sideration the j)roposal was again rejected 
 on the ground, as it was afterward 
 learned, that Harvard was a " Socinian " 
 institution. 
 
 Even South America has been attracted 
 by this movement. Not long ago Dr. Carlos 
 Pellegrini, the eminent statesman of the 
 Argentine Republic, in conversation with 
 the American minister, Mr. Barrett, said: 
 " We have been having the opportunity 
 of seeing many of your diplomatic and 
 commercial representatives, but we have 
 not seen any of your educational author- 
 ities. We should like to learn more of 
 your educational methods, and we should 
 like to have you learn something of ours. 
 An interchange in this resjaect is a con- 
 sumjiiation devoutly to be desired. If one 
 of your great men were to come to us on a 
 visit of inspection he would get such a 
 reception as has never before been given 
 to anyone in South America." With this 
 thought germinating in the minds of some 
 of the leading men of the South American 
 states, it will not be long before educa- 
 tional reciprocity will be working in the 
 southerly direction also, as their repre- 
 sentatives are sure to find American edu- 
 cators very responsive to the desires of 
 those of other countries. 
 
 While the Baron Kaneko Kentaro, a 
 
INTERNATIONAL COUETESIES. 
 
 687 
 
 member of the House of Lords of Japan, 
 and the special representative of his na- 
 tion to the United States during the 
 Russian-Japanese war, was in this country 
 he interested himself greatly in its edu- 
 cational principles and methods. He was 
 given the degree of Doctor of Laws by 
 Harvard, and the subject of establishing a 
 chair of Japanese at that University was 
 favorably entertained by the authorities. 
 In an article in one of the magazines, re- 
 ferring to this subject, the Baron said : 
 " Nothing, in my judgment, would be 
 more gracious than this intellectual 
 alliance. Nothing would untangle more 
 effectually the sad knots of misunder- 
 standings which are resulting from racial 
 differences and racial prejudices. Nothing 
 would ivorh so ivell in smoothing a path 
 of friendly relations between the Nations 
 as this viove. In fact, I look upon to-day 
 as a golden age in which we may be per- 
 mitted to bring about a scholarly alliance 
 between East and West which, of neces- 
 sity, would inaugurate a better day of 
 friendly relations between the powers." 
 
 During the past two or three years 
 earnest and effective steps have been taken 
 in England to establish reciprocal service 
 between the great home universities and 
 the higher institutions of the various 
 colonies of the empire in all parts of the 
 world. This plan is rapidly taking form 
 as one of the institutions of the great 
 educational system, and it will unques- 
 tionably tend to bind the colonies in still 
 more friendly union with the home gov- 
 ernment and peoijle. Speaking of this 
 movement one of the leading English 
 statesmen recently said : " The real sig- 
 nificance of this federation of universities 
 is not its relation to education, though 
 that is of immense importance; but its re- 
 lation to a problem which has defined 
 itself in our time, — the consolidation and 
 unification of our Empire." 
 
 Certainly no other evidence need be in- 
 troduced to show that a new force mak- 
 ing for peace and good-will toward all 
 men has thus quietly become, and is be- 
 coming, effective. Its birth was heralded 
 by no pronunciamentos of Kaiser, King, 
 
 or President, nor by the sounding of 
 trumpets, and its growth has been as silent 
 as the growth of the flowers; yet we be- 
 lieve its results will prove the most domi- 
 nant influence in ultimately establishing 
 and making law the " Wishes " and the 
 
 Photo. Copuriffhted by ./. K. Pnrdy, Boston. 
 BARON KANEKO KENTARO. 
 
 Conventions uttered by the Peace Con- 
 ferences, and will also give to arbitration 
 treaties their strongest moral support. 
 
 When that remarkable man, the " Na- 
 poleon of South Africa " as he was called, 
 Cecil Rhodes, died, on the 20th of March, 
 1902, at the age of forty-nine years, he 
 left an estate of thirty million dollars. 
 From early youth his mind had been filled 
 with visions of the " Federation of the 
 World," and of universal peace because 
 there should be but one world power. 
 " The greatness of this dream," says a biog- 
 rapher, " is to be traced to a passage in 
 Aristotle which clung to his mind like a 
 burr. In his reading at O.xford he came 
 across the remark of the ancient Greek 
 philosopher that ' Virtue is the highest 
 
G88 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOELD POWEK. 
 
 activity of the soul living- for tlie highest 
 ohjeet in a perfect life.' To Rliodes this 
 seemed to contain in a nutshell the wisdom 
 necessary for the guidance of life. He 
 used to paraphrase it so as to make it read- 
 Hint the great thing at the heginning of 
 life was to have an oliject sufficiently lofty 
 Id iniil-c it wortli wJiile spending your 
 whole life in obtaining it. And having 
 got this master word, he was never at rest 
 until he could discover the object sufB- 
 ciently good to make it worth the dedica- 
 tiim of a life. He found it after much 
 hesitation, in the conviction which, once 
 formed, he never varied, that the highest 
 practical ideal was to leorl for fiie unity 
 of the English spealing race, in order 
 that, being united, it might extend over 
 all tlie world tlie beneficent influence 
 wliii-li ' tliis best of races' as he phrased 
 
 jm 
 
 
 
 ^^^M 
 
 H 
 
 
 «i 
 
 ^^H 
 
 H 
 
 Hftf 
 
 'A 
 
 IPiiH 
 
 w 
 
 ^W,''" 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 J 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 ,v..iB 
 
 CKCIL JciHN RHODES. 
 
 it, exercised for Justice, Liberty, and 
 Peace among the inhabitants of this 
 planet." With this key one can get some 
 better idea of, though he could never un- 
 derstand, the character and nature of the 
 man. Though apparently grasping and 
 
 avaricious, and not squeamish as to the 
 methods by which he got his wealth, he 
 seems ever to have despised money in 
 itself or for his own use, desiring to ac- 
 cumulate it for the purpose of furthering 
 the great Empire-making designs he ha<l 
 conceived. And a few years before he 
 died success seemed almost certain; for 
 had it not been for the fatal mistake of 
 the Jameson raid the chances were cer- 
 tainly in his favor that he would estab- 
 lish the sovereignty of Great Britain 
 over practically all of Africa south of the 
 Zambesi river. His was a life of mighty 
 contrasts, yet all its force and energy he 
 strove to exert in but one direction, and 
 that looked toward peace and the happi- 
 ness of all mankind ; and his last words, — 
 " so much to do ; so little done," — were the 
 cry of a broken heart, and were so charged 
 witli pathos as to excite the warmest sym- 
 pathy in every human breast. 
 
 When his will was opened it was found 
 tliat he had made a disposition of the bulk 
 of the estate in accordance with tallvs he 
 liad had with friends, and for the fur- 
 therance of his life purpose. The scheme 
 lie devised was a novel one, and was de- 
 signed to bring into the closest relations 
 the greatest possible numbers of picked 
 young men from Germany, the United 
 States, and the outlying dependencies of 
 Great Britain. To this end he established 
 a large number of scholarships at Ox- 
 ford University, each yielding fifteen 
 liundred dollars annually, which were to 
 be given to selected young men in each of 
 the districts named, and possessing which 
 these men were to remain for three years 
 associated with each other and witli the 
 picked youth of England, at England's 
 greatest university. "Eor," said Mr. 
 Rhodes in his will, " a good understanding 
 between England, Germany, and the 
 LTnited States will secure the peace of the 
 world; and educational relations form tlie 
 strongest tie." As is well known two of 
 these scholarships are allotted to each 
 state and territory of the United States, 
 and the privileges provided under them 
 have now been available for about three 
 years, so that at the present time there 
 
INTERNATIONAL COURTESIES. 
 
 689 
 
 are, and will be for the future, nearly 
 three hundred American students enjoy- 
 ing the advantages of Oxford, and be- 
 coming familiar with English people and 
 English customs and institutions. It has 
 not been our purpose to speak of the life 
 of ilr. Rhodes at length, nor to consider 
 the practicability of his scheme. But it 
 is unquestionably true that the working- 
 out of his plans is furnishing another 
 powerful argument in support of our 
 thesis that the " little things " from the 
 political standpoint, the quiet forces of 
 friendly relations between peoples, are a 
 more powerful leaven than diplomacy and 
 statecraft. 
 
 When in 1894, as a result of President 
 Cleveland's position regarding the al- 
 leged British aggressions in Venezuela, 
 the " Jingx) " spirit broke loose in Great 
 Britain and for a time war seemed immi- 
 nent, one of the most potent of the many 
 voices in England that demanded an ami- 
 cable settlement of the question was that 
 of the Hon. James Bryce. Knowing and 
 loving his own country and its people, 
 and hardly less familiar with and attached 
 to the people of the United States, he 
 realized that any war between the two 
 nations would be a fratricidal contest, 
 and a crime; and the later years of his 
 life have been largely devoted to estab- 
 lishing between the t^vo countries such an 
 appreciation of our mutual interests and 
 opportunities as should make the sugges- 
 tion of unfriendly and hostile relations 
 abhorrent to both peoples. So that when 
 it was announced two years ago that his 
 government proposed to send him as 
 Ambassador from Great Britain to the 
 United States the appointment was re- 
 garded as one of the most fitting that 
 could be made, and one tending to unite 
 in closer bonds of friendship the two 
 gTcat English-speaking races; and all in- 
 telligent and thoughtful Americans ex- 
 perienced a particular thrill of pleasure 
 and satisfaction. Having, as a student, 
 at the age of twenty-four, written one of 
 the most important historical works of 
 the nineteenth century — " The Holy 
 14 
 
 Roman Empire," — he took rank at once 
 as a historical writer of the first order, 
 and was so recognized by the foremost 
 historians of the world. Turning, early 
 in life, his attention and thought to this 
 country and its people be began the long 
 
 JAMES BRYCE. 
 
 Ijcriod of study and investigation whose 
 fruit was the publication in 1888 of 
 " The American Commonwealth," a criti- 
 cal yet friendly analysis of the National 
 and State Constitutions of our country, 
 and of their working as illustrated by the 
 actual conditions that obtained in our 
 national, state, and municipal life. Had 
 a partial or unfriendly hand written the 
 work it would, in many places, have been 
 unpleasant reading; but all readers recog- 
 nized the sympathetic student of actual 
 conditions, and realized that even un- 
 pleasant criticism was tempered by the 
 most kindly regard, with the result that 
 the author has come to be esteemed as one 
 of ourselves, and his work has been ac- 
 cepted and made the standard by all 
 scholarly men and learned institutions, 
 and has been honored with a sale almost 
 
690 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 equal to that of the popular novel of the 
 clay. We believe it will be admitted by 
 all well-informed and thouylitful men that 
 Mr. Bryce and his great work have been 
 most ijotent influences making for peace, 
 and that they are influences that will in- 
 crease in force for many years. It is a 
 happy coincidence, too, that an American 
 scholar has been able to reciprocate with 
 marked success Mr. Bryce's courteous and 
 friendly presentation of the truth regard- 
 ing the growth and influence of the 
 American constitutions and institutions 
 as the Hon. Ilannis Taylor has done in 
 his great work on " The Origin and 
 Growth of the English Constitution." 
 Since the day of the publication of its 
 first volume this study of the English 
 Constitution has taken first rank with all 
 scholars in this country and Great 
 Britain, and has now been given the same 
 honor by English institutions of learning 
 that American schools and colleges 
 awarded to the " American Common- 
 wealth," — that of being adopted as the 
 standard work and text-book on the sub- 
 ject of which it treats. And again " hands 
 have been joined across the sea " that shall 
 further insure the solidarity of the Eng- 
 lish-speaking races. 
 
 Believing that war is a crime, as well 
 as a wicked, stupid, and senseless way of 
 attempting to settle disputed questions 
 (it has rarely ever settled them), it is 
 pleasant to be able to chronicle so many 
 movements that are silently creating a 
 sentiment that will demand more reason- 
 able methods of overcoming any friction 
 that may occur between civilized nations; 
 and it is not less pleasant to make clear 
 how uniform is the sentiment among all 
 thinking men that the surest means of 
 securing the much-deeired end is the cul- 
 tivation of the more intimate acquaint- 
 ance of the peoples of the various nations 
 with each other. For if they can be 
 brought truly to realize " that God hath 
 created of one blood all nations of men " 
 the day will not be far distant when uni- 
 versal peace shall be the normal condition 
 under which all men shall live. 
 
 " If I knew you and you knew me — 
 If both of us could clearly see, 
 And with an inner sight divine 
 The meaning of your heart and mine, 
 I'm sure that we would differ less 
 And clasp our hands in friendliness; 
 Our thoughts would pleasantly agree 
 If I knew you and you knew me." 
 
 (Nixon Waterman.) 
 
LV. 
 
 EDUCATION IN THE COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 Education at tlie Time of tlie Great Reformation. — Tlie Renaissance. — Wyclif's Position. 
 Liitlier's Appeal to tlie German ilagistrates. — " The True Wealth of a City is to Have Many 
 Learned, Serious, Worthy, Well-educated Citizens.'' — Common Schools in Germany and Low 
 Ccnintries in Sixtoculh Centuiy. — Contact of Pilgrim Fatliers with Dutch System While at 
 Leydfn. — First School Established in Colonies of America. — Support of Dutch West Indift 
 Company. — The Boston Latin School. — Massachusetts Law of 1647. — "The Great Clurrter 
 of Free Education in the Commonwealth." — Early Schools for Boys Alone ; Girls Had Xo 
 Siiare in School Privileges. — Graduates of English Universities in Colonies. — .John Harvard 
 and the Founding of Harvard College. — Xo Knowledge of Harvard's Life. — $500 Offered for 
 Five Lines of Authentic Information. — Present Status of University, and Its New President. 
 — Foundation of William and Mary. — Elihu Yale and Yale College. — Tennent's "Log 
 College " and Princeton. — Lottery to Raise Money for King's College. — Present Status of 
 Columhia University. — Tlie "Dartmouth College Case." — Number and Resources of 
 "Colleges, LTniversities, and Technical Schools" in the United States. — Rise of Academies 
 and Notaible Preparatory Scliools. — Education of Women. — Growth of the High School 
 System. — Horace Mann and the Massachusetts .State Board of Education. — Establishment 
 of Normal Schools. — The National Educational Association. — Origin and Development of 
 State Universities.^ Post-Graduate Work. — Women's Colleges; Vassar, Mt. Holyoke, 
 Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr. — The Chautauqua and Summer Schools. 
 
 "The Schoolmaster is abroad! and I trust more to him. armed with his primer, than I do to the soldier 
 In fine niilitarv array, for upholding and extending the liberties of his country." — Lord Bkotj«ham. 
 
 OPULAR education has been the hand-maid of an en- 
 lightened religion and was the first fruit of the great Ee- 
 formation. The wonderful intellectual awakening which 
 we call the Renaissance, the direct result of the settlement 
 ill Europe, after the capture of Constantinople by the 
 Turks, of Greek scholars bearing priceless Greek manu- 
 scripts, and of the invention of printing, stimulated among 
 the scholarly men of the period a thirst for higher learn- 
 ing and broader culture; but the new light illumined only 
 the student class, none of its rays penetrating- the gross 
 mental darkness that enveloped the common people. All 
 through the Middle Ages, and down to the sixteenth century, outside the monasteries, 
 there were two sharply defined classes, — the nobility and gentry, whose whole life was 
 given up to the excitements of war, the chase, or tournaments and feats of arms; 
 and the serfs, who were little better than chattels, and confhied to the soil on which 
 they were born. " Without books," says Compayre, " without schools, without any of 
 the indispensable implements of intellectual labor, what could be done for the mental 
 
G92 
 
 TKOil COLOXT TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 life? It took refuge in certain monas- 
 teries; education flourished only in narrow 
 circles, with a privileged few ; and the 
 rest of the nation remained buried in au 
 obscure night." And even in these " nar- 
 row circles," the chief influence of the 
 Renaissance was to centre all thought and 
 study upon the Latin and Greek classics, 
 and not to widen the confines of general 
 learning by bringing within its range 
 philosophy, ethics, history, and the physi- 
 cal and natural sciences, the subjects 
 which alone effectually touch and in- 
 fluence the real life and practical thought 
 of a peciple. 
 
 A certain measure of liberty must bo 
 the forerunner of a desire for learning. 
 As one has said : " In order to comprehend 
 the need of study, that greater liberator, 
 one must already have tasted liberty." 
 And it is to the Reformation, and not to 
 the Eenaissance, that one must look for 
 this renovating influence. When Luther 
 struck at the autocracy, and denied the 
 infallibility, of the Pope, he was making 
 straight the way for the advent of the 
 new princiisles of civil and religious 
 liberty which were destined to transform 
 all religious, intellectual, and su<nal life. 
 As nearly two centuries earlier, Wyclif in 
 England had foreseen that the only way 
 to enlighten and uplift the masses of men 
 was to give them, in their own tongue, the 
 Gospel which makes all men free, so 
 Luther made it his first duty to translate 
 the New Testament into the language of 
 the people. And having done this, he 
 further saw that to give the spirit of the 
 Christian liberty free course all the peo- 
 ple, not a select few, must be taught to 
 read so that each should be able to learn 
 for himself, without dependence upon 
 priest or church, the great truth of man's 
 nobility as a child of the common Father, 
 and to appreciate, in some degree, the in- 
 finite worth of the individual soul. And 
 how gloriously and nobly, yet tenderly, he 
 plead with the civil authorities to assist 
 in this work of emancipation ! " Dear 
 Sirs." he wrote to all the councillors of 
 Germany, " we annvially expend so much 
 money on arquebuses, roads, and dikes ; 
 
 why should we not spend a little to give 
 one or two schoolmasters to our poor 
 children? God stands at the door and 
 knocks; blessed are we if we open to Him. 
 Now the word of God abounds. O, my 
 dear CJernwns, buy, buy, while the market 
 is open. Busy yourself with the children; 
 for many parents are like ostriches; they 
 are hardened toward their little ones, and 
 satisfied with having laid the egg, they 
 care nothing for it afterwards. The 
 lirosperity of the city does not consist 
 merely in heaping up great treasures, in 
 building strong walls, in erecting splendid 
 mansions, in possessing glittering arms. 
 If madmen fall upon it, its ruin will only 
 be the greater. The true wealth of a city, 
 its safety and its strength, is to have 
 many learned, serious, worthy, well-edu- 
 cated citizens." 
 
 Luther naturally placed first in his 
 order of instruction the teaching of re- 
 ligion. " Is it not reasonable," he asks, 
 " that every Christian should know the 
 (lospel at the age of nine or ten?" After 
 this he wished the languages taught ; but 
 unfortunately he had not yet so far eman- 
 cipated himself from the influences of his 
 monastic training and of scholastic 
 thought, as to realize that it is one's 
 mother-tongue that should claim pre- 
 cedence; consequently he recommends tlie 
 learned languages, Greek, Latin, and 
 Hebrew. The separation of the Latin, or 
 classical school, from the common school.^ 
 was to be the work of his immediate suc- 
 cessors, Eatich and Comenius. Of the 
 influence of Music Luther recognized the 
 force, declaring that it "is a half -discipline 
 which makes men more indulgent and 
 mild;" and that "unless a schoolmaster 
 know how to sing, I think him of no ac- 
 count." But it was not alone that the 
 great German reformer urged the neces- 
 sity of an tniiversal education that later 
 ages have been indebted to him. but also 
 because he was the first to advocate the 
 princiiile that the support of the schools 
 shouhl be incumbent upon the munici- 
 pality or the state, and that the civil 
 authorities should require that the parents 
 send their children to the schools. " It is." 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 693 
 
 he urged, " my opinion that the authori- 
 ties are bound to force their subjects to 
 send their children to school. If they 
 can oblige their able-bodied subjects to 
 carry the lance, and the arquebus, to 
 mount the ramparts, and to do complete 
 military service, for a much better rea- 
 son may they, and ought they, to force 
 their subjects to send their children to 
 school, for here it is the question of a 
 much more terrible war with the devil." 
 As a result of Luther's exhortations, 
 and of the convincing force of his argu- 
 ments, common schools sprang up all over 
 Germany and the Low Countries during 
 the sixteenth century, notwithstanding 
 the sadly unsettled condition of political 
 and social affairs which the Reformation 
 movement had occasioned. This develop- 
 ment was accelerated, also, by the intense 
 religious enthusiasm of the community 
 known as the " Brethren of the Common 
 Lot," which became an active force about 
 the year 1400. In the strictness of their 
 lives, their community of goods, their in- 
 tense devotion, and their tendency to 
 mysticism they resembled the Moravians; 
 but unlike the Moravians, they were 
 characterized by an earnest cultivation of 
 knowledge which they promoted wherever 
 they went by the establishment of schools 
 for primary and advanced education. By 
 the end of the sixteenth century they are 
 said to have established more than two 
 hundred branch houses and schools, 
 scattered over Northern Germany and the 
 Low Countries; and it was largely due 
 to these pioneers in learning that in 
 the Netherlands, especially, — the home 
 country of the order, — nearly every city 
 and town had its public school, and the 
 peasants of Holland could read and write 
 well. As Motley has said : " It was a 
 land of schools supported by the State; a 
 land where every child went to school, 
 where almost every individual inhabitant 
 could write and read, while even the 
 middle classes were proficient in mathe- 
 matics and the classics and could speak 
 two or more languages." Moreover the 
 first instance, apparently, of direct super- 
 vision of education by the state was the 
 
 decree of 1582 of the Estates of Friesland 
 that " the inhabitants of towns and 
 villages should within the space of six 
 weeks, provide good and able reformed 
 schoolmasters ; and those who iieglected so 
 to do would be compelled to accept the in- 
 structors provided for them." And it was 
 into this country, so devoted to the re- 
 formed religion and to a system of com- 
 mon schools supported by public taxation, 
 that the Pilgrim Fathers came in 1609 
 after leaving England where, as yet, the 
 iilea of popular education had gained no 
 foothold. It is not unnatural, therefore, 
 that historians of the Dutch Republic and 
 of the Low Countries charge to their 
 eleven years residence in Holland the 
 enthusiasm which the Pilgrims manifested 
 for the establishment of schools and the 
 spread of popular education, under the 
 support and direction of the state, as soon 
 as they had established a permanent settle- 
 ment in the land to which they exiled 
 themselves. 
 
 MARTIN LUTHER. 
 
 It is to Geneva, however, and not to 
 Holland that other students trace the 
 origin of public schools, though the fruit- 
 ful cause of their establishment and 
 nurture was the same, — the spread of the 
 knowledge of the Scriptures, — whether it 
 came to New England from Calvin or 
 
694 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOULD POVVEK. 
 
 Luther. As John Fiske says : " One of 
 the cardinal requirements of Democratic 
 Calvanism has always been elementary ed- 
 ucation for everybody. In matters of 
 religion all souls are equally concerned, 
 and each individual is ultimately respon- 
 sible for himself, without dependence 
 upon priests. Hence, it is one of the 
 prime duties of a congregation to insist 
 that all its members shall know how to 
 read, and, if necessary, to provide them 
 with the requisite instruction. In ac- 
 cordance with this Calvinistio idea some 
 form of universal and compulsory ele- 
 mentary education sprang up during the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
 wherever Calvinism had become domi- 
 nant. — in the Protestant parts of France 
 and Switzerland, in Scotland, in the 
 Netherlands, and in New England. Ob- 
 viously, therefore, it might he held that 
 free schools in New England were a 
 natural development of Calvinism, and do 
 not necessarily imply any especially close 
 relation with Holland." And George 
 Bancroft, in his " History of the United 
 States," apparently settles the whole ques- 
 tion by the dogmatic declaration : " The 
 Common School System was derived from 
 Geneva, the work of John Calvin ; intro- 
 duced by Luther into Germany, by John 
 Knox into Scotland; and so became the 
 property of the English-speaking nations." 
 But, impressive as this statement is, the 
 facts hardly support it. For Luther's 
 letters to the magistrates, urging them to 
 establish public schools in every com- 
 munity, and arguing that their right to 
 tax the people for the support of such 
 schools was as clear as their right to levy 
 taxes for the protection of their cities and 
 the maintenance of troops, was sent out 
 in the year 1524, when Calvin was but 
 fifteen years of age, and twelve years be- 
 fore he first visitc<l Geneva. That letter 
 showed clearly that Luther had already 
 worked out the plan of a public school 
 system, and had satisfied himself fully as 
 to the practicability and legality of the 
 municipal support; and it is evident that 
 his inspiration did not come from Geneva, 
 and that Calvin had no part in the con- 
 
 ception of the work. Moreover, in 1836, 
 on the occasion of the celebration of the 
 t\vo-hundredth anniversary of the found- 
 ing of Harvard College, the Hon. Edward 
 Everett, in a notable oration, referring to 
 the action of the ^Massachusetts General 
 Court in voting £400 " toward a school or 
 college," declared that this was " the first 
 body in which the people, by their repre- 
 sentatives, ever gave their own money to 
 found a place of education. If there is 
 such a thing as a precedent for such foun- 
 dation as is this day commemorated, it 
 must, of course, he in England." This 
 naturally implies a careful investigation 
 of the subject by the learned orator, and 
 no such precedent having been found in 
 English history he affirmed that on Sept. 
 8, 1036, by the General Court of Massa- 
 chusetts " this auspicious precedent was 
 established of making the support of edu- 
 cation a public charge." " This state- 
 ment," says John Fiske (" Beginnings of 
 New England ") " is incorrect, for before 
 1609, when the Pilgrims began their 
 sojourn at Leyden, the system of public 
 schools paid for out of the municipal or 
 parochial taxes, had become thoroughly 
 established in the Netherlands; the:-e were 
 not only public common schools, but 
 evei-y city and many rural places had their 
 public Latin schools." It seems clear, 
 therefore, that neither Luther nor the 
 Pilgrim Fathers owed to Geneva or 
 Calvin their conception of a common 
 school system ; and that it was not until 
 several years after the Pilgrims had be- 
 come established in the New World that 
 this system though, perhaps, " introduced 
 by John Knox into Scotland," became the 
 property of the English nation, — the in- 
 tercourse between England and Scotland 
 in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
 being far less free and familiar than was 
 that between England and the Nether- 
 lands. And it would seem no less clear 
 that it was during their temporary so- 
 journ of eleven years in Holland that the 
 Pilgrims became acquainted with the 
 principles an<l workings of the Common 
 School system, and that they borrowed 
 from that wondcrfid little country the 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 695 
 
 idea which they used so effectively iu es- 
 tablishing their educational foundations 
 in the New World. 
 
 It seems to admit of little question that 
 the first public school established iu 
 North America was that of the Reformed 
 Dutch Church in New Amsterdam, which 
 has maintained a continuous existence 
 from 1633 to the present time. From the 
 discovery by Henry Hudson, in 1009, of 
 the noble river to which his name has 
 been given, while taking part in the per- 
 sistent search of all early navigators for 
 the fabled northwest passage to India, the 
 interest of the Netherlanders in American 
 settlements became continuous and ag- 
 gressive. The few early settlers on Man- 
 hattan island were merely a handful of 
 traders with the Indians; but gradually a 
 more permanent settlement was estab- 
 lished, which was later nourished and 
 given greater stability by the Dutch West 
 India Company, chartered by the States- 
 General in 1G21, with a field of operations 
 which embraced Africa, the West India 
 Islands, and the continent of America, — 
 it being especially charged with the care 
 and colonization of the New Netherlands, 
 as the country about Manhattan island 
 and adjacent to the Hudson river had 
 been named. After purchasing Man- 
 hattan island from the Indians in 1624 
 for the princely sum of twenty-four dol- 
 lars, payable in merchandise on which an 
 enormous profit was made, the Company 
 in 1629 enacted a " Statute of Freedoms 
 and Exemptions," to encourage the estab- 
 lishment of colonies on their fertile river 
 lands. By this charter the colonists were 
 given freedom from taxation for a period 
 of ten years, together with special privi- 
 leges of land-holding (covering the Pa- 
 troon System) and of self-government. 
 In return for these liberal concessions the 
 beneficiaries were enjoined as follows: 
 "The patroons and colonists shall, in par- 
 ticular, endeavor to find out ways and 
 means whereby they may support a minis- 
 ter and a schoolmaster; that thus the 
 service of God and zeal for religion may 
 not grow cool and be neglected among 
 them;" and to accomjilish this purpose. 
 
 " each householder and inhabitant should 
 bear such tax and public charge as should 
 be considered proper for their mainte- 
 nance." At an early date in the history 
 of the settlement it had been ordered 
 that " no other religion should be publicly 
 admitted in the new province except the 
 lieformed as it was then preached and 
 practiced bj' public authority in the 
 TTnited Netherlands." Accordingly the 
 first school was established under the 
 auspices of that church, and has continued 
 under its supervision, though maintained 
 for the use of the general public. In 1633 
 Wouter Van Twiller, the second Director- 
 General of the new province, arrived from 
 Holland, bringing with him the first 
 schoolmaster, Adam Eoelandsen. This 
 was a rudimentary school, teaching only 
 reading, writing, and arithmetic, with 
 the doctrines of the church. But in 165S, 
 while the renowned Peter Stuyvesant was 
 Director, the citizens petitioned " for a 
 fit person as Latin schoolmaster, not 
 doubting that the number of persons who 
 will send their children to such a teacher 
 will, from year to year, increase until an 
 Academy will be formed, whereby this 
 place to great splendor will have attained." 
 The petition receiving favorable con- 
 sideration the first classified school in New 
 Amsterdam was established, its first prin- 
 cipal. Dr. Alexander Carolus, being paid 
 out of the public treasury five hundred 
 guilders (about two hundred dollars) 
 annually, besides which he was authorized 
 to collect six guilders from each pupil, 
 was allotted a house and garden, and was 
 allowed to practice medicine. 
 
 The salaries paid these colonial teachers 
 were meagre in the extremie, though, of 
 course, the great difference between the 
 purchasing power of a dollar then and now 
 must be considered. But the school- 
 master's duties were rarely confined to 
 teaching, as he was expected to take on 
 certain minor duties connected with the 
 church work, and frequently municipal 
 functions. This was the custom in all 
 the colonies. The Dutch teacher was also 
 the grave-digger, the court bell-ringer, and 
 church choir master; and it is evident 
 
696 
 
 FliOM COLONY TO WOULD POWEK. 
 
 fidiii a suit he brought in the courts to 
 tolk'i-t a hiundi'v hill, that Roelandscu 
 took in washing-. The New England 
 " Town Book " enumerated the following- 
 as the duties of the schoolmaster in IGCO : 
 
 1 — To act as Court ifossenger. 
 
 2-^To serve sunnnonses. 
 
 3 — To conduct certain ceremonial serv- 
 ices of the church. 
 
 -i — To lead the Sunday choir. 
 
 5 — To ring the bell for public worship. 
 
 6 — To dig graves. 
 
 Y — To take charge of the school. 
 
 S — To jierform ulher occasional duties. 
 
 JOHN COTTON. 
 
 In view then of the nuinlicr and varied 
 character of the duties the schoolmaster 
 had to perform, it is not surprising to 
 find that in Now Amsterdam, as early as 
 1650, one William Vertens. apparently the 
 first of a long- and nui.ier(ms succession, 
 petitioned for "an increase of salar.v." 
 
 In ir,30 .Tolm Winthrop with bis little 
 comimny arrived in the New AVorld on 
 the "Arabella," and proceeded to found 
 Boston. Three years later another com- 
 pany, arriving in the " GritRn,'" included 
 the foremost of the early scholars of the 
 colony. ,T(]hn Cotton, just frrsh from a 
 successful pastorate in Boston of Old 
 
 England. Cotton had been one of the 
 foremost scholars of his time at Em- 
 manuel College, Cambridge, and is 
 thought by many to have been the in- 
 spiring inliuence in the establishment 
 of the first school in New England, the 
 now famous Boston Latin School. How- 
 ever this may be, on the twenty-third 
 day of April, 1635, the people of Boston, 
 in town meeting assembled " upon pub- 
 li(]ue notice," generall.v agreed that " our 
 brother Philemon Purmont shall be en- 
 treated to become schoolmaster for the 
 teai-hing' and nourteuring of children 
 among' us." On the occasion of the two 
 hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the 
 founding of the school, April 23, 1885. 
 the Eev. Phillips Brooks, one of its many 
 distinguished graduates, delivered the 
 oration. Eeferring to the resolution of 
 the town meeting he said: "How simple 
 that short record is, and how unconscious 
 that short view is of the future which is 
 wrapped up in it ! By it the first educa- 
 tional institution, which was to have con- 
 tinuous existence in America, and in it 
 the public system of the land, came into 
 being." As we have alreadv endeavored 
 to show, it seems clear that on the mere 
 (luestion of priority, Boston must yield 
 precedence to New Amsterdam ; but the 
 little honor that young colony may lose 
 by taking second rather than first place 
 in the matter of time of foundation is 
 more than offset by the zeal and intelli- 
 gence that vi'as everywhere manifested in 
 the furtherance of the noble work so early 
 begun, and in the determination that every 
 child should have the opportunity, and be 
 required, to secure at least a i-udimentary 
 education. Charlcstown followed the 
 example of Boston, and opened its first 
 public school in 1636; Salem and Ipswich 
 in 1637; Cambridge in 1642; and Eoxbury 
 in 1645 ; while the Plymouth Colony, more 
 tardy in its recognition of educational 
 needs, did not come into line until about 
 1650. These schoels were not, in the 
 modern sense, " free schools." That term, 
 in colonial days, signified an institution 
 whieh was not restricted to any class of 
 students, but it looked forward to an idti- 
 
EDUCATIO^' IX COLONIES AXD STATES. 
 
 697 
 
 mate endowment. For the support of the 
 Boston School the town set apart the rent 
 of Deer Island, and of some of the other 
 islands in the harbor. All the prominent 
 citizens made contributions in its behalf; 
 and those who sent children to it, and 
 were able to pay for their instruction, 
 were called upon to do so. Indian chil- 
 dren alone were to be " taught gratis." In 
 1642 the General Court enjoined that the 
 selectmen of every town should " have a 
 vigilant eye on their brethren and neigh- 
 bors, to see that none of them shall suffer 
 so much barbarism in any of their families 
 as not to endeavor to teach, by themselves 
 or others, their children and apprentices 
 so much learning as may enable them 
 perfectly to read the English tongue, and 
 (obtain) a knowledge of the capital laws; 
 upon penalty of twenty shillings for each 
 neglect therein." And " if, after admo- 
 nition, parents were still neglectful of 
 their duty in these particulars," children 
 might be taken from their parents and 
 bound to such masters as the selectmen 
 might deem fit, to supply the place of the 
 " unnatural parent." But it is to the 
 gi-eat law of 10-17 that we must look for 
 the birth of the Massachusetts (and that 
 means of the New England) school 
 system, which has justly been called " the 
 great charter of free education in the 
 Commonwealth." " It being one chief pro- 
 ject," the law reads, " of that old deluder, 
 Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of 
 the Scriptures, as in former times keep- 
 ing them in an unknown tongue, so in 
 these later times by persuading from 
 the use of tongues, so that at last the 
 true sense and meaning of the original 
 might be clouded and corrupted with 
 false glosses of deceivers; and to the 
 end that learning may not he buried 
 in the graves of our forefathers, in church 
 and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our 
 endeavors: It is therefore ordered by 
 this court and authority thereof that every 
 township within this jurisdiction, after 
 the Lord hath increased them to the num- 
 ber of fifty householders, shall then forth- 
 with appoint one within their town to 
 teach all such children as shall resort to 
 
 him, to write and read; whose wages shall 
 be laaid, either by the parents or masters 
 of such children, or by the inhabitants in 
 general, by way of supply, as the major 
 liart of those who order the prudentials 
 of the town shall appoint ; provided that 
 those who send their children be not op- 
 pressed by paying much more than they 
 can have them taught for in the adjoin- 
 ing towns. And it is further ordered that 
 where any town shall increase to the num- 
 ber of one hundred families, or house- 
 holders, they shall set up a grammar 
 school, the master thereof being alile to 
 instruct youths so far as they may be 
 fitted for the University ; and if any town 
 neglect the performance hereof above one 
 year, then every town shall pay five 
 pounds per annum to the next such school, 
 till they shall perform this order." This 
 law was mandatory and aimed at universal 
 education. The schools were not to be 
 established for any class, rich or ijoor; for 
 the children of ministers or magistrates; 
 but were to be the common nurseries of 
 instruction where every child should be 
 taught the rudiments of a general educa- 
 tion; while in the " Grammar Schools," 
 for which this law made such notable pro- 
 vision, one sees the forerunners of those 
 preparatory schools which later became so 
 prominent a factor in the New England 
 educational system, some of which have 
 achieved a renown second only to that of 
 the great universities themselves. Similar 
 laws were early enacted in the neighbor- 
 ing colonies, the Connecticut law of 1650 
 covering the same points, and using al- 
 most the same phraseology as the Massa- 
 chusetts Statute, — the provisions for the 
 establishment of secondary, or preparatory 
 schools, being identical. As Maine was 
 not set off from Massachusetts until 1820, 
 and New Hampshire was subject to the 
 same laws until 1693, any movements in 
 those localities toward the establishment 
 of schools during the seventeenth century 
 followed the lines marked out by the Gen- 
 eral Court of Massachusetts. The size of 
 the colony of Ehode Island, which num- 
 bered only ten thousand souls, and those 
 widely scattered, in 1700, gave little en- 
 
G9S 
 
 JFROM COLONY TO WOliLD POWER. 
 
 eiiuragenieut for tlie establishment of a 
 sfhool system, though there were schools 
 at Providence and Newport before the 
 close of the century. Under such auspices 
 as these were set in motion the forces 
 v.liioh were later to give to New England 
 the distinction, which it has so well earned 
 and so richly merited, of being the highest 
 exponent of an enlightened educational 
 and intellectual advancement, whose in- 
 fluence is felt to-day to the remotest 
 bounds of our great country. None of 
 the other colonics succeeded in actually 
 establishing schools until the early part 
 of the eighteenth century, though there 
 were some sporadic attempts. 
 
 As has been said, none of these schools 
 were strictly public schools in the sense in 
 which the term is used to-day. In prac- 
 tically all cases a certain amount was paid 
 for the tuition of each child by its parents, 
 only the very poor and Indians ever re- 
 ceiving gratuitcus instruction. Nor was 
 the kind and amount of instruction given 
 such as to mark the common school sys- 
 tem with distinction. It was of the most 
 elementary character, usually limited to 
 reading, writing, and the simplest calcu- 
 lation. As Prof. Boone has said, in his 
 '' History of Education in the United 
 States," " Its contents can be best shown, 
 perhaps, by enumerating the schoolbooks 
 used. Prior to 1065 Richard Mather's 
 Catechism was, aside from the Bible, al- 
 most the only one known. Then and later 
 the New Testament was in common use, 
 and the Psalter, containing: 1 — the 
 Psalms; 2 — Proverbs; 3 — the Sermon on 
 the Mount; and 4 — The Nicene Creed. 
 The " Horn book " was very early em- 
 ployed in this country, as in England. 
 The historical " New England Primer " 
 was not introduced until near the close 
 of the seventeenth century, then taking 
 the place of the Catechism. These books 
 determined the organization of the school 
 as follows : 
 
 1 — Psalter class-beginners. 
 2 — Testament class. 
 3— Bible class." 
 
 It shoidd be remembered also that even 
 
 these meagre educational advantages 
 existed for boys alone, the girls having no 
 share in the school privileges. It is true 
 that the jjeople of Dorchester, Mass., in 
 1689, when ordering the establislimeut of 
 a school " left to the discretion of the 
 elders and the seven men for the time be- 
 ing whether maydes sltall he taugJit with 
 the hoys or not;" but there is no record 
 that any action favorable to the 
 " maydes " was ever taken. The prevail- 
 ing sentiment of the period was expressed 
 in the order which gave birth to the 
 famous Hopkins School in New Haven, 
 Ct., in 1684, which ruled that "all girls 
 be excluded as improper and inconsistent 
 with such a grammar school as ye law en- 
 Joins and as is the designe of this settle- 
 ment." Nor was there any general change 
 in this sentiment manifested until after 
 the Revolutionary War, when it ap- 
 parently began to dawn upon the male 
 intelligence that a little more considera- 
 tion for the mental culture of women 
 might not result in disaster to either the 
 civil or religious institutions of the 
 Commonwealth. Between 1780 and 1800 
 many town records show that in the 
 future it was the purjjose of the people to 
 allow the girls some share in the school 
 privileges which had heretofore been the 
 sole prerogative of the boys. Thus, the 
 town of Gloucester, Mass., in 1790, re- 
 solved " that the master be directed to be- 
 gin his school from the first day of April 
 to the last day of September at eight 
 o'clock in the morning and close at six 
 o'clock in the afternoon, or any eight 
 hours in the twenty-four as shall be 
 thought the most convenient ; and that 
 two hours, or a proportionable part of that 
 time, be devoted to the instruction of 
 females^ — as they arc a tender and inter- 
 esting hranch of the community, hut have 
 heen much neglected in the puhtic scliools 
 of this tou'n." As Grammar Schools be- 
 came more common during the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries there were 
 occasional but rare instances in which 
 girls w-ere admitted to their privileges, 
 though a distinguished educational au- 
 thority who studied the records of about 
 
EDUCATION IX COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 699 
 
 two liunJred New England towns found 
 less than a dozen such cases during 
 the seventeenth century. The "Dame 
 Schools " were, however, open to the girls 
 as well as boys; and any intellectual aspi- 
 rations that the " tender and interesting- 
 branch of the community " may have had 
 must perforce have found their realiza- 
 tion in the puerile instruction offered in 
 those educational nurseries. These so- 
 called schools were conducted by women, 
 usually in some room of their houses, and 
 were most primitive affairs. As one has 
 said, " There were no desks, maps, black- 
 boards, nor any other equipment for school 
 teaching', save a teacher, who, in many 
 cases, knew little beyond the letters she 
 was teaching, and, perhaps, a single copy 
 of the horn book." The Dame School was 
 usually a purely private venture ; but as 
 its usefulness was often manifest it came 
 to be occasionally supported in part by the 
 town, as is illustrated by the records of 
 Springfield, Mass., which show that in 
 1682 " the selectmen agreed with Goodwife 
 llirick to encourage her in the good work 
 of training up of children, and teaching 
 children to read, and that she should 
 have three pence a week for every child 
 that she takes to perform this good work 
 for." 
 
 The only text-book known to the youth 
 of the seventeenth and most of the eigh- 
 teenth centuries, except to those who were 
 preparing for the University, was the 
 Bible. Both in Old England and the New 
 it was the Puritan's library of religion, 
 philosophy, poetry, proverbial wisdom, 
 and physical science; and apart from the 
 ancient classics, with which only a limited 
 number could become familiar, there were 
 practically no other works. Remember- 
 ing these facts, it is not surprising that 
 the whole range of knowledge taught in 
 the Elementary and Grammar Schools, 
 apart from the College preparatory, down 
 to the Revolution was embraced under the 
 three heads of reading, writing, and re- 
 ligion. Even mathematics is rarel.v re- 
 ferred to until after 17.50, the first record 
 which points to its simplest forms being 
 a Pennsylvania contract of 1683 with a 
 
 teacher which provided that the children 
 under his charge should " learn to read, 
 write and cast accounts." And though 
 sijelling was probably taught to a limited 
 extent in connection with reading, it re- 
 ceived no separate mention as a branch of 
 study until toward the close of the eigh- 
 teenth century. Of course during the 
 early colonial days the same teacher 
 taught all grades of pupils, from those 
 just learning the alphabet to those pur- 
 suing the most advanced studies provideil 
 for. The schoolhouse was usually small, 
 and rough, and made of logs; and all the 
 children assembled in one room. As 
 Watertown was one of the larger of the 
 early settlements adjacent to Boston, its 
 schoolhouse would probably be quite up to 
 the average of those in rural communities, 
 if not among the best; and the town record 
 shows that in 1640 " John Sherman was 
 appointed to i^rocure the schoolhouse 
 built; and to have it built 22 foot long, 
 and 14 foot wide and 9 foot between 
 joints." 
 
 Theoretically, and well-nigh in reality, 
 the all-engrossing subject of thought and 
 conversation among the early Puritans 
 was Religion, and its text-book, the Bible. 
 While its primal truths could be taught 
 in the home and the school, there was ever 
 before the eyes of the elders the necessity 
 of preparing young men for the ministry, 
 who in due course should be able to open 
 up the " hidden mysteries of the Word " 
 to parents and teachers. In England, 
 Emmanuel College of Cambridge became 
 the Protestant Theological Seminary, and 
 nearly all the early New England minis- 
 ters, and some of the civil leaders, were 
 graduates of that College. In 1638 there 
 were in the four or five settlements of Mas- 
 sachusetts and Connecticut more than 
 forty graduates of Cambridge, and several 
 Oxonians; and it has been roughly esti- 
 mated that one of every two hundred and 
 fifty of the inhabitants had received a 
 college education, — a proportion three or 
 four times larger than that of the present 
 day. So numerous and influential were 
 the Cambridge graduates that Cotton 
 Mather wrote: "If New England hath 
 
rou 
 
 FROM COLO^'Y TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 been in some respects Immanuers land, 
 it is well; but this I am sure of, Immanuel 
 College contributed more than a little to 
 make it so." Naturally to such men it 
 was a matter of supreme concern that 
 " the lisi-ht of learning should not go out, 
 
 a school or college, whereof two hundred 
 pounds shall be paid the next year, and 
 two hundred pounds when the work is 
 tinished; and the next Court to appoint 
 when and what buildings." In harmony 
 with this action, the next General Court 
 
 
 ;^S>-~'^ 
 
 
 EMMANCEL COLLEGE. 
 
 nor the study of God's word perish ; " and 
 they very early turned their thoughts 
 toward the establishment of a college for 
 the higher education of their youth, 
 " dreading to leave an illiterate ministry 
 to the churches, when our i^resent mini- 
 >tcrs shall lie in dust." The General 
 Court of Massachusetts which sat in 103(5 
 was a small but notable body of repre- 
 sentative citizens, presided over by one 
 of the most remarkable men of the 
 century. Sir Harry Vane, later a leader 
 in the whole long contest between Charles 
 I. and Parliament, the intimate friend of 
 ^rilton, who possessed, as so conservative 
 a writer as Sir James Mackintosh de- 
 clared, " one of the most profound minds 
 that ever existed, — not inferior, perhaps, 
 to Bacon." On the records of the As- 
 scmlily for the eighth day of September, 
 IG.^O, this entry appears: "The Court 
 ;!gree to give four hundred pounds toward 
 
 appointed twelve of the most notable men 
 of the colony, including John Winthrop, 
 Shepard, Cotton, Stoughton, and Dudley, 
 " to take order for a college at Xew- 
 towne; " and a short time after the ap- 
 pointment of this commission, the Court 
 changed the name of ISTewtowne to Cam- 
 bridge, " a grateful tribute," as one has 
 said, " to the trans-Atlantic literary 
 parent of many of the first immigrants, 
 and indication of the high standing to 
 which they intended the institution they 
 were establishing should aspire." But the 
 money voted by the General Court was not 
 forthcoming, and it is uncertain whether 
 it was ever paid in; and down to 1G3S 
 nothing tangible had been done towards 
 establishing the college, though popular 
 interest in the undertaking had been 
 stimulated and was thoroughly aroused. 
 It is doubtful, however, whether definite 
 action would have been taken at that 
 
EDUCATION IX COLONIES AXD STATES. 
 
 701 
 
 time had not the death of Rev. John. 
 Ilai-vai-d occurred in 1638, who be- 
 qurathed to the proposed institution one- 
 half of his fortune, about eigiit hundred 
 pounds (equivalent to the purchasing 
 power of seven or eight thousand pounds 
 of our money), and all his library, which 
 wa.s probably by far the largest in the 
 Colony, and the best suited for college 
 uses. 
 
 It is a most singular fact that a young 
 man of good social and financial condi- 
 tion and of the highest moral and mental 
 character, could spend ten or twelve years 
 at one of England's foremost colleges; 
 come to the New England Colony and 
 commence his work as a preacher; and at 
 his death leave what was for that time a 
 royal gift to establish an institution of 
 learning destined to stand at the head of 
 all the educational institutions of the 
 Xew World, — and yet for nearly two 
 hundred and fifty years after his death 
 not the slightest detail should be known 
 of his ancestry or his family connections, 
 nor of his own life, even to the intelli- 
 gent and investigating minds of the 
 scholars who owed their early knowledge 
 and their inspiration for higher and con- 
 tinuous study to the institution which the 
 beneficence of this stranger had estab- 
 lished. Yet such was the state of knowl- 
 edge regarding John Hai'vard, the earliest 
 and in many respects the noblest of the 
 many founders of educational institutions 
 in the country, that so late as 1886 James 
 Russell Lowell speaks of him " as scarce 
 more than a name ; " and nearly as recent 
 a writer, paraphrasing the peculiar pas- 
 sage in Hebrews, said : " John Harvard 
 seems to be the ' Melchizedec ' of the first 
 age of the Colony of Massachusetts. He 
 is known to us only as a ' priest of the 
 Most High God ' and as one who ' gave 
 gifts.' So far as any certified facts con- 
 cerning his lineage or circumstances have 
 been presented to us, he is without father, 
 without mother, without descent, having 
 neither beginning of days, nor a known 
 resting place for his mortal dust." Even 
 so far back as 1842 James Savage, the 
 most distinguished authority on the gen- 
 
 ealogies of the earlj- settlers in irassachu- 
 setts, offered a reward of five hundred dol- 
 lars for five lines of information about 
 John Harvard, in any capacity, public or 
 private ; but no one ever claimed the re- 
 ward. And in the preface to his interest- 
 ing volume, " John Harvard and His 
 Times," bearing the date of 1907, Mr. H. 
 C. Shelley says : " This is a pioneer effort 
 to reveal the character of John Harvard. 
 It may seem incredible, yet it is never- 
 theless strictly true, that the ijresent vol- 
 ume is the first to be written on the young 
 minister whose generosity had such an im- 
 portant influence on the beginnings of ed- 
 ucation in America." The key that un- 
 locked the mystery surrounding the life 
 of this interesting man was the establish- 
 ment, beyond question, of the fact that in 
 documents and parish records of those 
 days the name " which we know certainly 
 to be intended for Harvard " is variously 
 spelt as " Harwood," " Hervy," " Hawar," 
 " Ha ward," " Herward," " Harvye," "Har- 
 vey," etc. ; and the discovery in the records 
 of St. Saviour's Church, in Southwark 
 Borough, London, of the entry of the mar- 
 riage of Robert Harvey, and later entries 
 regarding the birth of his children, etc. 
 From this single starting point a remark- 
 ably consistent and veiy interesting life 
 story has been evolved. Robert Harvey, 
 the father of John, settled in Southwark 
 in 1597, and commenced life as a butcher. 
 He was evidently successful in his busi- 
 ness and accumulated quite a consider- 
 able property in a few years. Southwark's 
 High Street was the main thoroughfare 
 from the end of London bridge, the only 
 bridge across the Thames at that time, to 
 the south and west of England. For quite 
 a distance from the river High Street was 
 lined with some of the most famous of 
 London's old historic Inns, including the 
 noted " Tabard Inn " immortalized by 
 Chaucer. These " Inns " were celebrated 
 for the feasts, and the quality and abund- 
 ance of the fare furnished, and naturally 
 made the butcher's trade a lucrative one. 
 Here, too, Shakespeare spent much of his 
 life as actor and playwright, the records 
 
702 
 
 FKOJVI COLONY TO WOliLD POWER. 
 
 showing that he was connected with the 
 St. Saviour parish, of whose church Kob- 
 ert Harvey early became a vestryman. As 
 Southwark was not then thickly settled it 
 would seem certain that he and the great 
 playwright must have been well ac- 
 quainted; and it is believed that after the 
 death of his first wife, it was Shakespeare 
 who took Harvey to Stratford-upon- 
 Avon, and introduced him into the Rogers 
 family, then one of the most i^rominent 
 families in that town of two thousand 
 population. The Rogers house, from 
 which Robert Harvey took away his sec- 
 ond wife, Katherine Rogers, was the most 
 pretentious one in the jilaee, as it is to- 
 day, being now known a^s the " Harvard " 
 house. The marriage took place in 1605, 
 and the following year the first child, Rob- 
 ert, was born, followed fifteen months 
 later, November 29, 1607, by the birth of 
 a second son, John Harvard. The family 
 life of the Harvards seems to have been a 
 peaceful and harmonious one, the family 
 in 1625 including besides the father and 
 
 JOHN' HARVARD MONUMENT. 
 
 mother, a child by the first wife, and five 
 children as the result of the second mar- 
 riage. In 1603 London had been visited 
 by the plague which for many years was 
 the scourge of Europe. One of its victims 
 was the wife of Robert Harvey. In 1625 
 
 tliere was a second visitation, and within 
 five weeks Rotert Harvey and four of his 
 six children had succumbed to its ravages, 
 leaving only the widow and two sons, 
 John and Thomas. Before John had 
 graduated from Cambridge in 1635, his 
 mother had become a widow for the third 
 time, the generous fortune left her by her 
 first husband being materially increased 
 by the estates of his two successors. In 
 1627 John entered Emmanuel College, 
 Cambridge, where he remained until 1635. 
 Nothing is known of his character as a 
 student, nor of his relations with the 
 family during these years. Leaving Cam- 
 bridge, he returned to Southwark, with 
 the happy anticipation, we may presume, 
 of a visit with his mother and brother, 
 only to find that his mother had passed 
 away shortly before he reached home. It 
 is evident from the tenor of her will that 
 John was her favorite son, though she 
 divided her estate between them without 
 manifesting partiality. There are evi- 
 dences that John spent the next year in 
 general study, giving a great deal of time 
 to the collection of the books which he 
 wished to take with him to New England, 
 which was no easy task in those days, 
 as all booksellers were under a careful 
 espionage by Archbishop Laud's minions, 
 and a constant watch was maintained for 
 books savoring of heresy against the 
 Church of England, or of criticism of the 
 Divine Right of Kings. In the spring of 
 1036 he married Ann Sadler, the sister of 
 an Emmanuel College friend; and a year 
 later they set out for the New World. 
 The first reference to him in the annals 
 of New England is the statement that in 
 1037, he was " admitted as townsman of 
 Charlestown." He was apparently early 
 installed as pastor of the first church 
 there; but, though he sui-vived the first 
 winter, the approach of the second found 
 him in a bad physical condition ; and, con- 
 sumption developing, he passed away in 
 the autumn of 1638. That he was buried 
 in Charlestown is considered well estab- 
 lished; but ju.st where, is unknown. For 
 nearly two hundred years no action was 
 taken to perpetuate his memory, the Col- 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 703 
 
 lege which he founded being his only 
 monument. But in 1828 Edward Everett 
 started a movement among the alumni in 
 Boston, to erect a memorial of him in 
 the old burying ground in Charlestown. 
 A plain granite shaft was chosen as the 
 form the memorial should take; and at 
 its dedication Everett delivered one of his 
 most scholarly addresses, eloquently em- 
 jihasizing the influence which the act of 
 the unknown minister in founding the 
 College had exerted over all the subse- 
 quent generations. It was not pretended 
 that the site of the monument marked the 
 exact place of Harvard's burial; and it is 
 as true to-day as it was in 1886, when Dr. 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes said in his poem 
 read at the two hundred and fiftieth cele- 
 bration of the founding of the University, 
 that 
 
 " In vain the delving antiquary tries. 
 To find the tomb where generous Harvard 
 lies." 
 
 Many loving memorials of Harvard 
 have been erected during the last quarter 
 of a century. In 1884, on the occasion of 
 the tri-centennary celebration of the estab- 
 blishment of Emmanuel College, a beauti- 
 ful memorial window was placed in the 
 renovated chapel of that institution by 
 Harvard Alumni, Professor Charles Eliot 
 Norton and Ambassador James Russell 
 Lowell representing the younger Cam- 
 bridge and making appropriate addresses. 
 The same year a fine statue of " John Har,- 
 vard, Founder," was erected on the Delta 
 of the LTniversity grounds. In 1904 a 
 brass memorial tablet was placed in Em- 
 manuel College by the University alumni, 
 and in 1905 our Ambassador to Great 
 Britain, one of Llarvard's most distin- 
 guished sons, Joseph H. Choate, presented 
 to St. Saviour's Church, Southwark, a 
 rarely beautiful stained glass window. 
 " Around John Harvard in New Eng- 
 land," says his biographer, " as he lay on 
 his death bed, were many ministers whose 
 names, he must have thought, were des- 
 tined to achieve a far greater and more 
 enduring fame than his own, little dream- 
 ing that such of them as would be remem- 
 
 bered would owe their renown to some 
 casual mention of his own name. In that 
 other England, too, he knew he had left 
 men, students at Emmanuel with himself, 
 whose names were to be carved deeply in 
 the history of his native land ; who, in 
 
 FIRST HARVARD COLLEGE. 
 
 the Senate, at the Court, and in the 
 Church, would infallibly rise to high 
 places and be accounted leaders in the na- 
 tion's life. Yet, while even the greatest of 
 these are known to few save the diligent 
 student of history, while their court- 
 honors have turned to dust and their 
 achievements are lost in oblivion, the dy- 
 ing inspiration of John Harvard has given 
 him an immortality which gathers 
 brighter radiance with every passing gen- 
 eration." 
 
 That the people of Boston made imme- 
 diate use of Harvard's generous bequest 
 is evident. Among the records of the Gen- 
 eral Court, for 1639, under date of March 
 13th, occurs the following entry: "It is 
 ordered that the college agreed upon form- 
 erly to be built at Cambridge shall be 
 called Harvard College." The first super- 
 intendent of the infant institution was 
 Nathaniel Eaton, a man of marked in- 
 efficiency, who was constantly in trouble, 
 and finally in 1640, was fined and dis- 
 missed from the service for unmercifully 
 flogging an usher. He was succeeded the 
 same year by Henry Dimster, who had 
 just arrived in the colony, on whom the 
 title of pj-esident was first bestowed. He 
 held the office for fourteen years, and by 
 untiring energy succeeded in giving some 
 stability to the foundation, and permanent 
 
7UJ: 
 
 PKOM COLOXY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 direction to the activities of the college. 
 The first class, consisting of nine men, 
 ^v;^s graduated in 1G-I:2, each receiving the 
 bachelor's degree. The oldest extant doc- 
 ument relating to Harvard is a pamphlet 
 bearing the title, " New England's Eirst 
 Fruits in respect to the Progress of Learn- 
 ing in the College at Cambridge, in Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay," etc., written in the form 
 of a letter dated at Boston, September 26, 
 1042, which was published in London in 
 lG4o. In it the writer or writers describe 
 the existing condition of the institution, 
 the requisites for admission and for the 
 taking of degrees, and give a detailed ac- 
 count of all the exercises of the first Com- 
 mencement Day. " The edifice is very 
 faire and comely within and without," the 
 letter says, " having in it a spacious hall 
 (where they daily meet at Commons, Lec- 
 tures, Exercises) ; and a large library with 
 some books to it, the gifts of diverse of 
 our friends, their chambers and studies 
 also fitted for and possessed by the stud- 
 ents, and all other rooms of ofiice neces- 
 sary and convenient, with all needful of- 
 fices thereto belonging, and by the side 
 of the Colledge a faire Grammar Schooll 
 f(ir the training up of young scholars and 
 fitting of them for Academicall learning, 
 that still as they are judged ripe, they 
 may be received into the Colledge of this 
 srhoolc." The writer further chronicles 
 " Master Dunster's " success in governing 
 and teaching the young men, he having 
 " so trained up his Pupills in the tongues 
 and arts, and so seasoned them with the 
 principles of Divinity and Christianity 
 that we have to our great comfort (and 
 in truth) beyond our hopes, beheld their 
 progresse in Learning and Godliness also; 
 insomuch that we are confident if these 
 early blossomes may be cherished and 
 warmed with the influence of the friends 
 of learning and lovers of this pious worke 
 they will, by the help of God, come to 
 happy maturity in a short time." The 
 requisites for admission to the college, and 
 for the granting of Degrees, are each de- 
 scribed, respectively, as follows: 
 
 " When any Schollar is able to under- 
 stand Tiilly, or such like classical Latine 
 
 author extempore, and make and speake 
 true Latine in Verse and Prose, suo ut 
 aiunt Marte; And decline ijerfectly the 
 Paradigms of Noinies and Verhes in the 
 Greek tongue; let him then and not be- 
 fore be capable of admission into the Col- 
 ledge." 
 
 " Every Schollar that on proofe is found 
 able to read the Originalls of the Old and 
 Neiv Testament into the Latine tongue, 
 and to resolve them Logically; withal be- 
 ing of godly life and conversation; And 
 at any publick act hath the approbation 
 of the Overseers and Master of the Col- 
 ledge, is fit to be dignified with his first 
 Degree." 
 
 "Evei'y Schollar that giveth up in writ- 
 ing a System or Synopsis, or summe of 
 Logiek, Naturall and Morall Phylosophy, 
 Arithmetick, Geometry, and Astronomy; 
 and is ready to defend his Tlieses or posi- 
 tions; withal skilled in the Originalls as 
 above said; and of godly life and conver- 
 sation; and so approved by the Overseers 
 and Master of the Colledge, at any pub- 
 lique Act, is fit to be dignified with his 
 2d Degree." 
 
 All through the seventeenth century 
 the history of the College was one of con- 
 tinuous struggle for financial support, the 
 outlook at times being most disheartening. 
 During this entire period the president 
 constituted the entire faculty, no tutor 
 having been appointed until 1G99, and no 
 professorship established until 1721; and 
 though this condition made it imperative 
 that the presidents should be men of great 
 learning, as well as possessed of executive 
 ability, as they in fact were, yet the salary 
 never exceeded two hundred pounds, and 
 frequently only reached one hundred and 
 fifty. The total grants made to the Col- 
 lege by the colony during the first century 
 of its existence amounted to only about 
 eight thousand dollars ; and at the close 
 of that century (1736) the total annual 
 income from all sources was only seven 
 hundred and fifty pounds. During the ad- 
 ministration of President Leverett (1707- 
 24) improvements in the curriculum were 
 initiated which, as they gradually lieeamc 
 effective, materially changed the efiiciency 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 705 
 
 and character of the colleg-e course. Down 
 to the early part of the eighteenth century 
 the only languag-e the students were al- 
 lowed to use while on the College prem- 
 ises, for any i^urpose of communication 
 with the officials or with each other, was 
 Latin. With the accession of President 
 Leverett this custom was abolished, and 
 English assumed its rightful position. 
 Virgil and Cicero entire were made a part 
 of the course, while Chaldee and Syriac 
 were dropped. By the time of the Eevo- 
 lution the instruction had been organized 
 
 which time its advance along all lines has 
 been steady and vigorous. About six 
 thousand students are now annually en- 
 rolled, who may elect their studies from 
 the five hundred or more courses that are 
 offered leading to the bachelor's degree, 
 while the teaching force numbers about 
 live hundred and fifty. The libraiT has 
 grown from the two or three shelves of 
 books presented to the prospective college 
 by John Harvard until it now ranks the 
 third in the country with over eight hun- 
 dred thousand volumes. LTufortunatcly 
 
 HARVARD COLLEGE CAMPUS, 1870. 
 
 into a system in four groups: 1. Latin; 
 2. Greek; 3. Logic and Metaphysic; 4. 
 Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, — 
 each group being put in the exclusive 
 charge of one man. During the year 1775 
 the library and classes were removed to 
 Concord, and the College halls were given 
 to the use of the Continental Army, the 
 president's house having been occupied for 
 a time by General Washington. The era 
 of the rapid development of the college 
 may be said to have begun with President 
 Kirkland's administration, in 1810, since 
 
 l)ut one volume of John Ilaiwanl's library 
 is in existence, a largo folio entitled the 
 " Christian Warfare." This book hap- 
 pened to be in the hands of a borrower on 
 the night of January, 1764, when Ilarvard 
 Hall was completely destroyed by fire, 
 and in it were burned all the other vol- 
 umes that belonged to the founder. Until 
 1S(J5 the College was nominally under 
 state control; but since that date the gov- 
 ernment has rested upon the shoulders of 
 the President and Fellows, under the gen- 
 eral supervision of the Board of Over- 
 
roG 
 
 FKO:\I COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 sccrs. " The gTowth of Harvard Univer- 
 sity under the administration of President 
 Eliot,'' saj-s Professor Dexter in his most 
 admirable History of Education in the 
 
 CHARLES W. ELIOT. 
 
 United States, " has been rapid and 
 healthy ; and it must probably be placed 
 at the head of the higher institutions of 
 learning in our country, not only in point 
 of age but of general influence." 
 
 During the autumn of 190S it became 
 known that President Eliot, who had so 
 nobly maintained the ho:;orable position 
 of the University and had been so active 
 in its advancement, had tendered his 
 resignation to the governing- board, to take 
 effect upon the completion of his fortieth 
 year of continuous and active service in 
 the Spring of 1009. So closely had he 
 been identified with the marvelous growth 
 of the institution during the last third of 
 a century, and so prominent a factor had 
 he been in all its distinguished achieve- 
 ments, that the announcement of his 
 resignation was received by the Alumni 
 
 with the sincerest regret, not a few feel- 
 ing that it would be next to impossible 
 to find a successor who might acceptably 
 take up his work. Early in 1909, how- 
 ever, the University authorities announced 
 that Professor Abbott Lawrence Lowell 
 had been selected as President Eliot's suc- 
 cessor, a choice that has given great sat- 
 isfaction to the Alumni and promises a 
 maintenance of the high standard and 
 ideals for the University which it was 
 ever President Eliot's ambition to estab- 
 lish. Professor Lowell comes of the best 
 of New England stock, his ancestors on 
 his father's side having for several gen- 
 erations been prominent in social, judicial, 
 and business life; while on his mother's 
 side he is a grandson of Abbott Lawrence 
 who was in his day one of the most prom- 
 inent and highly esteemed merchants of 
 Boston, after whom the city of Lawrence 
 was named, as the city of Lowell was 
 named after one of his paternal ancestors. 
 Professor Lowell was born in 1856 and 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1877, 
 and Law School in 1880. For several 
 years he was actively engaged in the prac- 
 tice of law, also serving as a trustee of 
 the Institute of Technology, and as sole 
 trustee of the Lowell Institute, founded 
 by his great-uncle, which is described in 
 the chapter on "Princely Gifts" in this 
 volume. Professor Lowell has long been 
 a student of European Continental poli- 
 tics, visiting Europe .several times to 
 prasecute such studies, and has given to 
 the world the benefit of his labors in the 
 form of several books on Government in 
 Europe, which are of such a high standard 
 that his work has been classed by critics 
 with that of Bryce on the " American 
 Connnonwealth." In 1897 he was ap- 
 pointed a lecturer at the University on 
 Government in Europe, and in 1899 be- 
 came Professor of the Science of Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 We have gone more fully into the early 
 history of Harvard not only because it is 
 the oldest and is now the most honored of 
 our Colleges, and because of the interest 
 that attaches to the personality of its 
 young and heretofore unknown founder; 
 
EDUCATIOxV IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 707 
 
 but also because that early history was that 
 of all the other of our noted educational 
 institutions founded previous to the mid- 
 dle of the nineteenth century. With 
 hardly an exception they were established 
 by men of positive and aggressive re- 
 ligious principles and policies, with the 
 prime object of training young men for 
 the ministry, so that the churches should 
 not lack learned and cultured teachers and 
 leaders. For all alike the early years were 
 years of financial distress and dishearten- 
 ing struggle, prosperity and material suc- 
 cess having come only during the life of 
 the last two or three generations. The 
 same general forms of government char- 
 acterized them all, and the advantages, so 
 far as the range of studies was concerned, 
 ofl:'ered by all were very similar. The in- 
 stitutions founded during the last fifty 
 years have differed materially from the 
 older ones, and from each other, in many 
 ways which will be noted later on. 
 
 It is, of course, well known that action 
 was taken by the home government look- 
 ing toward the establishment of a Univer- 
 sity in Virginia fully twelve or fifteen 
 years before the Puritans landed in Bos- 
 ton harbor. In 1616 the King (James I.) 
 ordered the bishops of London to collect 
 money for a college to be founded in Vir- 
 ginia, with the result that before 1620 
 about fifteen hundred pounds had been 
 raised. In 161S instructions sent to Gov- 
 ernor Yardley ordained " that a con- 
 venient place be chosen and set out for 
 the planting of a University at the said 
 Henrico in time to come, and that in the 
 meantime preparation be made for the 
 building of the said College for the chil- 
 dren of the infidels according to such in- 
 struction as we shall deliver. And we will 
 ordain that ten thousand acres partly of 
 the lands they impaled and partly of the 
 land within the territory of said Henrico, 
 be allotted and set out for the endowing 
 of the said university and college with 
 convenient provisions." This grant seems 
 to have been duly made, and included one 
 thousand acres for an Indian college; the 
 remainder to be the foundation for a sem- 
 inary of learning for the English. What- 
 
 ever hopes may have been raised among 
 the colonists by these measures, however, 
 were unfortunately frustrated by the In- 
 dian uprising aiid massacre in 1622, when 
 more than two hundred and fifty of the 
 settlers were killed, and the villages and 
 plantations utterly destroyed. This nat- 
 urally postponed any consideration of the 
 question of education, though the pro- 
 posed University was not lost sight of, 
 and it was ordered that " all the moneys 
 collected be deposited until the planta- 
 tion be so settled as there may be use of 
 a school there." 
 
 The difference between the conditions 
 of the settlement of New England and of 
 Virginia had, naturally, a great influence 
 in directing the respective school systems. 
 In the northern colonies, as we have seen, 
 active, bustling villages and towns sprang 
 up during the seventeenth century all over 
 Eastern Massachusetts and Southern Con- 
 
 ABBOTT LAWRENCE LOWELL. 
 
 necticut. But in Virginia the county, 
 and not the town, was the civil unit; and 
 the settlers who stamped their character- 
 istics of social and civil life on the state 
 
ro8 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 ■were the Cavalier families, who left Eng- 
 land after the execution of Charles I., and 
 settled in Virginia. They were generally 
 men of well-established and well-con- 
 nected families, who took up large tracts 
 in the new country, establishing the great 
 plantations. Under such conditions any- 
 thing- like an elementary, common-school 
 system such as gained an early foothold 
 in >^ew England was out of the question. 
 Thei'e were a few so-called " free " Acad- 
 emies established on private foundations. 
 Of such schools Eiske discovered five, the 
 Symnis School, founded in 1636 ; Cap- 
 tain ^Morris's in Hj.jo ; Richard Russell's 
 in 1667; and the Eaton school about 1(!.j9. 
 In speaking of the growth of Harvard 
 College we referred to a little pamphlet 
 published in London in 1643, entitled 
 "New England's First Fruits." In 1649 
 a similar pamphlet regarding Virginia 
 was also published in London ; and in 
 speaking of the many advantages which 
 the new country offered to settlers the un- 
 known writer says: "I must not forget 
 to tell j'ou we have a free school, with two 
 hundred acres of land, a fine house upon 
 it, forty milch kine, and other accommo- 
 dations; the benefactor deserves perpetual 
 memory; his name, Mr. Benj: Symms, 
 worthy to be chronicled : other petty 
 schools also we have." In 1671 the Lords 
 Commissioners of education, inquiring of 
 Sir William Berkeley, the governor, as to 
 what provisions had been made in the 
 colony for public instruction, received the 
 following tart reply : " The same course 
 that is taken in England, out of towns; 
 every man according to his ability in- 
 structing his children. But I thank God, 
 thero. are no free schools nor printing, 
 and I hope we shall not have them these 
 hundred years ; for learning has brought 
 disobedience and heresy and sects into the 
 world, and printing has divulged them and 
 libels against the best government. God 
 keep us from both." Of the wealthier 
 planter-colonists some sent their sons to 
 English schools and universities, while 
 others lird tutors and governesses sent out 
 from England to care for their children ; 
 and in still other cases the clergymen of 
 
 the parish also conducted a private school. 
 As is well known the Poor Debtor laws of 
 England imtil well into the nineteenth 
 century were relics of the most vicious 
 barbarism ; and frequently poor scholars 
 were imprisoned for nominal offenses. 
 These, with other convicts, were more or 
 less regularly shipped to the colonies ; and 
 in 1678 the Rev. Jonathan Boucher, rector 
 at Annapolis, Md., declared " that two- 
 thirds of the schoolmasters of Maryland 
 were convicts, working out a term of 
 penal servitude ; and," he continues, " not 
 a ship arrives with either redemptioners 
 or convicts, in which schoolmasters are 
 not re<jula,rly advertised for sale, as 
 weavers, tailors, or other trade; with little 
 difference that I can hear of except per- 
 haps that the former do not usually fetch 
 so good a price as the latter." 
 
 In 1725 the representative of the society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel located 
 in Delaware, in a report on the state of 
 education in his district, said : " There arc 
 some private schools within my respected 
 district which are very often put into the 
 hands of those who are brought into the 
 country and sold as servants. Sonvj 
 schoolmasters are hired by the year by a 
 knot of families who, in their turn, enter- 
 tain him monthly, and the poor man lives 
 in their homes like one that begged an 
 ahns, more than like a person in credit 
 and authority. When a ship arrives in 
 the river it is a common expression with 
 those who stand in need of an instructor 
 for their children, ' let us go and buy a 
 schoolmaster.' The truth is the office and 
 character of such a person is generally 
 very mean and contemptible here, and it 
 cannot be otherwise till the public take 
 the education of cliildren into their 
 mature consideration." While there is not 
 much evidence that the proud Virginia 
 Cavaliers were in the habit of getting 
 tutors for their families in this way, yet 
 it is hardly probable that the practice 
 should have obtained so commonly in the 
 adjacent colonies of ilarylnnd and Dela- 
 ware, and not have found some supporters 
 in Virginia. In fact John Fiske (Old 
 Virginia and her Neighbors) says: 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 roij 
 
 " Sometimes the schoolmaster or private 
 tutor was an indented white servant who 
 had come out as a redemjitioner, or even 
 as a convict." It would naturally be idle 
 to expect or look for any development of 
 elementary education in localities where 
 teaching was held in such low esteem, 
 even had the country been more com- 
 pactly settled, so as to admit of the es- 
 tablishment of schools. "As a matter of 
 fact," says Professor Boone (Education 
 in the United States), "however, there 
 was no school system in any colony south 
 of Connecticut before the Revolution, and 
 no enterprise of the kind to speak of be- 
 fore the nineteenth century. As else- 
 where, there were isolated and transient 
 schools througliout the provinces, which 
 had a commendable influence in forming 
 public sentiment. In both Virginia and 
 South Carolina, however, the sons of those 
 who could afford it were sent abroad to 
 be educated or put under tutors at home; 
 and parents assisted by settled clergymen, 
 and an occasional transient teacher, fur- 
 nished all the elementary instruction of 
 the period." 
 
 It is doubtless true that the lack of 
 elementary public schools and the en- 
 forced exjienso of maintaining them led 
 the Virginians to centre their regard and 
 enthusiasm more effectually upon their 
 famous college. At no time, since the mas- 
 sacre of 1622 had suspended the college 
 movement, had the plan been lost sight 
 of; and toward the close of the seven- 
 teenth century the colony was fortunate 
 in having among its churchmen a scholar 
 of distinction, as well as a man of great 
 energy and business sagacity, in the per- 
 son of James Blair. He was for many 
 years before coming to Virginia a minis- 
 ter of note in the established church of 
 England, and numbered among his close 
 friends and supporters no less distin- 
 guished officials than Tillotson, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, and Stillingfleet, 
 the learned Bishop of "Worcester. In 1668 
 Blair took up the project of establishing 
 the college with energy, first collecting 
 twenty-five hundred pounds from the 
 wealthy planters toward its foundation, 
 
 and then going to England where he en- 
 listed the cordial support of the church, 
 and raised additional funds. With great 
 confidence and zeal he made his appeal 
 directly to William and Mary for the 
 charter and royal suiii)ort, witli marked 
 success. The Treasury Commissioner, 
 however. Sir Edward Seymour, treated 
 
 JAMES BLAIR. 
 
 him with scant courtesy, declaring that 
 the nation had far greater need of it-; 
 money to prosecute the war against Louis 
 XIV. than to establish colleges in the 
 colonies. " But," said Blair, " you must 
 not forget that the people of Virginia 
 have souls to save, as well as those of 
 England." " Souls ! " shouted Seymour, 
 " damn your souls ! Make tobacco ! " But 
 notwithstanding this official rebuff, Blair 
 returned to Virginia with his charter and 
 about two thousand pounds additional to 
 establish the college. The charter stated 
 the object of the institution to be " that 
 the church of Virginia may be furnished 
 with a seminary of ministers of the Gos- 
 pel, and that the youth may be properly 
 educated in good manners, and that the 
 Christian faith may be propagated among 
 the western Indians to the glory of Al- 
 mighty God; to make, found, and estab- 
 lish a certain plan of universal study or 
 
no 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEK. 
 
 perpetual college of divinity, philosophy, 
 languages, and other good arts and 
 sciences." Financially, none of the load- 
 ing institutions of the country founded 
 prior to the niueteentli century was 
 launched under such happy auspices. In 
 addition to twenty thousand acres of the 
 best land in the colony, it was to receive 
 a tax of a penny a pound on all tobacco 
 exported from Virginia and Maryland, as 
 well as the fees of the Surveyor-General's 
 office. The College was opened in 1693 
 on the " Middle Plantation," between the 
 James and York rivers, with James Blair 
 as its first president, — a position he held 
 with success and honor for fifty years. 
 Shortly after the establishment of the col- 
 lege, Governor Nicholson decided to re- 
 move the capital from Jamestown, a ma- 
 larial and unhealthful place, to the higher 
 ground and more salubrious climate of 
 the " Middle Plantation," which was done 
 in 1699, the new town being named Wil- 
 liamsburg and having now the double 
 honor of being the capital city and the 
 seat of the college. The first commence- 
 ment exercises were held in ITOO; and it 
 was regarded as one of the most important 
 occasions in the early histoi-y of the 
 colony. " Not only were Virginians and 
 Indians present on that gala day," says an 
 old chronicler, " but so groat was the fame 
 of it that people came in sloops from 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, and even 
 from New York." Unlike Harvard, Yale, 
 and other northern institutions, the full 
 treasury of William and Mary enabled it 
 to have a faculty from the stfirt. it con- 
 sisting of the President, a grammar mas- 
 tor, writing master, and an usher until 
 1712, when a professor of mathematics 
 was added; and in 1729 the number of 
 professors was six. Though established on 
 a royal foundation, and directly controlled 
 in its government by the Church of Eng- 
 land, William and Mary soon became one 
 of the most prolific nurseries of liberty 
 and independence in the colonies. 
 
 The life of the students seems to have 
 been a free one, and when the legislature 
 was in session Williamsburg was the scene 
 of many distinguished assemblies, and of 
 
 a more formal order of social life than 
 could be seen elsewhere in the counti-y. 
 That the students were not devoted too ex- 
 clusively to study is evident from one of 
 the decrees of the faculty which ordered 
 " yt no scholar belonging to any school in 
 college, of w' age, rani?, or quality soever, 
 do keep any race horse at y* college, in 
 y^' town, or anywhere iu the neighborliood, 
 — y' they be not in any way concerned in 
 making races, or in backing, or abetting, 
 tliose made by others; and y' all race 
 horses kept in y*" neighborhood of y® col- 
 lege and belonging to any of y'' scholars, 
 be immediately despatched and sent oif, 
 and never again brought back, and all of 
 this under Pain of y'' severest animail- 
 version and punishment." Other similar 
 orders forbade " cock-fighting, betting, the 
 playing of billiards, and the bringing of 
 cards or dice into the college." 
 
 The influence of William and Mary in 
 the South, down to the time of the Revo- 
 lution, was marked and most salutary. On 
 the roll of its alumni will be found the 
 name of nearly every man from Virginia 
 prominent in the political events tliat led 
 up to the break with the mother country; 
 and the college has the further distinct 
 honor of having been the birthplace in 
 1776 of the first Greek Letter Fraternity 
 — Phi Beta Kappa — to whose membership 
 only men (and since 1S75 women) of the 
 highest scholastic attainments are ad- 
 mitted. John Fiske has so concisely and 
 sympathetically summarized some of the 
 distinctive characteristics and glories of 
 William and Mary that we cannot do bet- 
 ter than quote his words : " The College 
 founded by James Blair was a most val- 
 uable centre for culture for Virginia, and 
 has been remarkable in many ways. It 
 was the first college in America to intro- 
 duce teaching by lectures, and the elective 
 system of study ; it was the first to unite 
 a group of faculties into a iniiversity: it 
 was the second in the English world to 
 have a chair of Municipal Law, George 
 Wythe coming to such a profossorship a 
 few years after Sir William Blackstone; 
 it was the first in America to establish a 
 chair of History and Political Science; 
 
EDUCATIOiSr IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 711 
 
 and it was one of the first to pursue a 
 thoroughly secular and unsectarian policy. 
 Though until lately its number of students 
 at any one time had never reached one 
 hundred and fifty, it has given to our 
 country fifteen senators and seventy rep- 
 resentatives in Congress; seventeen gov- 
 ernors of states and thirty-seven judges; 
 three Presidents of the United States, — 
 Jefferson, Monroe, and Tyler; and the 
 great chief justice Marshalh It was a 
 noble work for America that was done 
 by the Scotch parson James Blair." 
 
 It is estimated that at the beginning of 
 the eighteenth century there were less 
 than one hundred thousand people in New 
 England, of which number Massachusetts 
 could claim about sixty thousand and 
 Connecticut about fifteen thousand. 
 Under such conditions there hardly 
 seemed to be a dejnand for a second col- 
 lege in New England. But the incon- 
 venience and expense of the journey from 
 Connecticut to Boston, coupled with tlie 
 desire of the ministers of that colony to 
 have a college of their own, led in 1698 to 
 a plan for a college to be founded and 
 directed by a general Synod of the 
 churches, which should be called the 
 Church School. In 1699 ten of the prin- 
 cipal clergymen of the colony were agreed 
 upon to be " Trustees to found, erect, and 
 govern a college." The next year, 1700, a 
 meeting of these trustees was held, and 
 each one brought an armfid of books 
 which he laid upon the table, repeating 
 the formula, " I give these books for the 
 founding of a college in this colony." 
 These volumes and the acts of the 
 Trustees at this meeting constitute the 
 beginning of Yale College. The follow- 
 ing year a charter was obtained, and Rev. 
 Abraham Pierson, a graduate of Harvard 
 of the class of 1668, was chosen the first 
 Rector. The School (it was not called a 
 College until some years later) was opened 
 in March, 1701, Jacob Hemingway being 
 the first and only student. For the first 
 sixteen years of its existence the School 
 had no home, one class being located in 
 one town, another, in another. " Tale 
 College was founded," says President 
 
 Hadley, " after a fashion at the beginning 
 of the last (eighteenth) century, along 
 the north shore of Long Island Sound. 
 For many years it was difficult to say what 
 it was and where it belonged." When, 
 however, in 1716 it was determined the 
 School must have a home somewhere a 
 bitter fight broke out between Hartford, 
 New Haven, and Saybrook for the honor 
 of being the seat of the colony's first insti- 
 tution of learning. The General Assem- 
 bly, however, the next year decided the 
 (luestion in favor of New Haven. Toward 
 the end of the previous century deter- 
 mined but unsuccessful attempts had been 
 made to establish religious tests at Har- 
 vard; and as a result of their failure in 
 this effort some of the leading divines 
 both of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
 
 ELIHU YALE. 
 
 became critical of conditions at the Cam- 
 bridge College, and espoused the cause of 
 the new Connecticut school. Prominent 
 among these malcontents were the two 
 Mathers, in Boston; and it has been sup- 
 posed that a letter of Cotton blather first 
 called the attention of Elihu Yale to the 
 struggling New Haven School. Yale, 
 
ri2 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 whose father came out to the Connecticut 
 Colony in 1C38, was born at or near Bos- 
 ton, in 1649. In 1052 the family returned 
 to England, where Elihu was educated. In 
 1678 he joined the East India Company, 
 making a large fortune while in the East, 
 and being the Govcrnnr of Madras from 
 16S7 to 1692. Between 1714-1721 he gave 
 
 TIMOTHY DWIGHT. 
 
 about eight hundred pounds to the new 
 School, as well as many books. This gave 
 the infant school a start and made its 
 foundation more secure. But its growth 
 was slow, and like all its sister institu- 
 tions, it was always in need of funds. In 
 1745 a new charter was granted, and the 
 name was formally changed to " Yale Col- 
 lege in New Haven." During the Rev- 
 olutionaiy war the College was again 
 broken vtp, some of the students going to 
 Wetherstield, others to Glastonbury; and 
 " the president visited the diiferent classes 
 as often as he could with convenience." 
 But with the inauguration of Timothy 
 Dwight as president, in 1795. Yale began 
 a new era of prosperity. At that tjjne the 
 whole number of students was less than 
 one hundred; and the faculty consisted of 
 the president, one professor, and three 
 
 tutors. Dwight was particularly success- 
 ful in strengthening the faculty, securing 
 witbin a short time men like Benjamin 
 Silliman, Jeremiah Day. and James Ken- 
 nedy, each of whom gave more than fifty 
 years of his life to the college. In 1846 
 regular graduate courses of instruction 
 were established, the first degree being 
 conferred in 1852. The Sheffield Scientific 
 School was founded in 1847, and in 1886 
 the name was changed to Yale University. 
 The growth of the institution has been 
 steady, though lately it has not been so 
 marked as that of Columbia and Harvard. 
 Tliere is now a regular average attendance 
 of about three thousand three hundred 
 students. — with a corps of about four hun- 
 dred instructors. The library contains 
 close to 375,000 volumes. 
 
 One of the most unique of the higher 
 institutions of learning was the " Log Col- 
 lege " of William Tennent, famous in it- 
 self and for its own work, but also as the 
 forerunner of Princeton College. Ten- 
 nent was an Irishman, a graduate of Ed- 
 inburgh University in 1695, who came to 
 America in 1716, and in 1727 was pastor 
 of a Presbyterian church at the " Eorks 
 of the Neshaminy," in Pennsylvania. lie 
 was a strong preacher, of great piety, and 
 of broad learning and culture, and a 
 teacher inspired with a love for his work 
 among young men. Realizing the dire 
 need of some school for higher learning, 
 even for his own sons, he built a log 
 house about twenty feet square, which, 
 with Tennent himself, constituted the en- 
 tire plant, teaching force, etc., of the Col- 
 lege during the twenty years of its exist- 
 ence. Whiteficld visited the school while 
 on his tour through the United States, and 
 in his journal said of it : " It is a log 
 house about twenty feet long, and near 
 as broad; and to me it resembled the 
 school of the Hebrew prophets. From 
 this despised place seven or eight minis- 
 ters of Jesus have lately been sent forth, 
 more are almost ready to be sent, and a 
 foundation is now being laid for the in- 
 struction of many others." Wlien. in 
 1742, Tennent withdrew from active labor 
 at the age of seventy, the school ceased to 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 "13 
 
 exist, but it had awakened in the Pres- 
 byterian denomination the purpose to es- 
 tablish a college for educating their young 
 men for the ministry, so that it should 
 not be necessary to send to the old coun- 
 try for their preachers. The result of 
 Tennent's work, and of the interest it 
 aroused, was the foundation of Princeton 
 College, whose charter was secured in 
 1748. Like Yale, it had at first no home, 
 the earliest work being done at Elizabeth- 
 town. Of the first trustees six were grad- 
 uates of Yale, three of Harvard, and three 
 nf Tennent's Log College. The require- 
 ments for admission, as well as the 
 courses of study adopted, were practically 
 the same as those of Harvard and Yale. 
 When in 1751 it was determined to build 
 a permanent home for the young college, 
 a lively contest ensued among the New 
 Jersey towns for the honor of having the 
 institution located within their limits. 
 New Brunswick seemed about to be 
 
 the one about which centre the richest 
 sentiments of devotion of all Princeton 
 graduates. The building was finished in 
 1757 and was then considered the finest 
 edifice of any character in the colonies, 
 and is to-day one of the most venerable 
 and imposing of all college buildings. It 
 was first occupied in 175G, when there were 
 seventy students; and at the commence- 
 ment of that j'car, twenty-two were grad- 
 uated. It was the following year that the 
 noted scholar and theologian. .lonathan 
 Edwards, was chosen president, but his 
 career was cut short by death only two 
 months after his installation. In 1768 
 John Witherspoon, destined to become 
 one of the great leaders in the national 
 struggle for independence, accepted the 
 call to the presidency, though he had de- 
 clined it two years before. On his moth- 
 er's side Witherspoon was descended from 
 John Knox, and was graduated from the 
 University of Edinburgh in 1742. He 
 
 y \i i: rni,i.i:i;i:, INHO. 
 
 selected when the people of Princeton 
 bestirred themselves, and outbade their 
 rivals, so securing the coveted prize in 
 1752. Two years later work was begun 
 upon Nassau hall, which is still the build- 
 ing of greatest interest to all alumni, and 
 
 >vas recognized in Scotland as one of thc^ 
 most learned and eloquent expounders of 
 Calvinistic doctrines, and was honored by 
 all the colleges of that faith in Great 
 Britain. He brought to the infant college 
 at Princeton a gift of the greatest value 
 
714 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOliLD POWEK. 
 
 at tliat time in the shaije of a library of 
 about six hundred volumes. Upon arriv- 
 ing' in this country he at once identified 
 himself ardently with the advocates of lib- 
 erty and separation, and by his writings 
 and addresses was a powerful influence in 
 bringing the Scotch and Scotch-Irish ele- 
 ments of the people into line as supporters 
 of the cause of the people. He was a 
 signer of the Declaration of Independ- 
 
 JAMES MCCOSH. 
 
 ence, and served twice in the Continental 
 Congress, — a man of the most pronounced 
 patriotism as well as of religious earnest- 
 ness. During his administration of the 
 affairs of the College a great advance was 
 made in the introduction of the latest 
 educational methods and improvements 
 in the system of teaching. He introduced 
 the lecture system, himself giving courses 
 on rhetoric, moral philosophy, history, and 
 theology. It was during his administra- 
 tion that Princeton was, for so long a 
 time, the very centre of the contending 
 forces of the Revolutionary War. Speak- 
 ing of the college at this time, and of its 
 one building, Professor Sloane has said: 
 " When first completed Nassau Hall was 
 
 visited by travelers as the largest build- 
 ing then in the colonies. Within the walls 
 of this now venerable and stately pile 
 were quartered the troops of contending 
 British and Americans in the Revolution- 
 ary War. The Continental Congress 
 used it for their sittings v.dien driven from 
 Philadelphia, and adjourned in 1783 to 
 attend the college commencement in a 
 body. Its walls still bear the imprints of 
 cannon balls used in the battle of Prince- 
 ton, and on them hangs a portrait of 
 Washington painted by Peale. It was 
 paid for by the money given as a personal 
 gift by the former for the use of the build- 
 ing by his troops, and fills a frame which 
 once contained an effigy of George II. 
 Nine signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence frequented its halls, and its win- 
 dows blazed with light in a grand illumi- 
 nation when the news of the signing 
 reached the town. Aaron Burr studied in 
 its class-room; and his body was borne 
 from its walls to a neighboring church 
 yard." Of course, the college suffered 
 greatly in every way during the Revolu- 
 tionary War, — its library was scattered, 
 its apparatus destroyed, and its routine 
 worlv sadly demoralized. After the war 
 the State of New Jersey voted six hun- 
 dred pounds a year for three years to aid 
 the College in rejilacing its lost or de- 
 stroyed property. When peace again set- 
 tled upon the land the college had a rapid 
 growth; and at the opening of the nine- 
 teenth century had about two hundred 
 students, with a graduating class of fifty- 
 four. Princeton has always been one of 
 the most conservative of the older colleges, 
 and for the last sixty years its growth has 
 been steady and its standards high. Dr. 
 MeCosh, who became its president in 1SG8, 
 holding the office for twenty years, was 
 one of the most influential and command- 
 ing figures in the educational world dur- 
 ing that period, — ^his administration and 
 influence greatly advancing the reputation 
 of the institution, and inspiring all its 
 departments with new life and energy. 
 Dr. McCosh was succeeded as president by 
 the Rev. F. L. Patton, who resigned in 
 1002 and was immediately succeeded by 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 ri5 
 
 the historian aud distinguished student 
 of Political Science, Woodrow Wilson, — a 
 succession that demonstrated to the public 
 that Princeton was disposed to keep pace 
 with its sister institutions in their recog- 
 nition of the fact that new forces were at 
 work in, and would characterize, the twen- 
 tieth century, and that all colleges and 
 universities that would share in these ad- 
 vanced movements must throw off the 
 shackles of sectarian conservatism which 
 had heretofore too frequently dominated 
 their courses. Princeton has no profes- 
 sional schools. The Theological Seminary 
 is a closely affiliated institution, but a 
 separate corporation. The average enroll- 
 ment of students is now about sixteen hun- 
 dred, and the teaching force numbers 
 about one hundred and sixty. The digni- 
 fied retirement of ex-President Grover 
 Cleveland to Princeton, where, though 
 not directly connected with the college, 
 he was an occasional lecturer on po- 
 litical history and civic questions, as well 
 as one of the most highly esteemed and 
 lionored friends of both officers and stu- 
 dents, added not a little distinction to the 
 later history of the College and the town. 
 Few of the early documents bearing on 
 the rise and advancement of learning, and 
 of academic institutions, in the colonies 
 were more interesting in their character, 
 or have been more fruitful of permanent 
 and notable results, than two announce- 
 ments that appeared in the issue of the 
 New York Mercury for May 31. 1754. 
 One of these stated that a "public Lot- 
 tery " would be held " as a further pro- 
 vision toward founding a college for the 
 advancement of learning within the col- 
 ony, to consist of five thousand tickets at 
 thirty shillings each, eight hundred and 
 thirty-two of which are to be fortunate." 
 The other announcement took the form of 
 a long and detailed advertisement, setting 
 forth the character, purpose, course of in- 
 struction, etc., of the " intended Seminary 
 or college of New York," over the signa- 
 ture of Samuel Johnson, who further ad- 
 vises the public that " The trustees have 
 thought fit to appoint me to take charge 
 of it." The lengthy statement which fol- 
 
 lowed, addressed " To such parents as now 
 have (or expect to have) children prepared 
 to be educated in the College of New 
 York," announced that it " was proposed 
 to begin tuition upon the first day of July 
 next, at the vestry room in the new school- 
 house adjoining to Trinity Church in 
 New York, which the gentlemen of the 
 vestry are so good as to favor them with 
 the use of in the interim till a convenient 
 Place may be built." After a lengthy 
 statement as to the standard of education 
 and character to be striven for, the adver- 
 tisement declares that " the Chief Thing 
 that is aimed at in this College is to teach 
 
 Photo. Cupi/i-iuhti'd by J. E. Furdj/, Boston. 
 WOODROW WILSON. 
 
 and engage the children to know God in 
 Jesus Christ, and to love and serve Him 
 in all Sobriety, Godliness, and Richness 
 of Life, with a jierfect Heart and a wil- 
 ling mind; and to train them up in all 
 Virtuous Habits, and all such useful 
 Knowledge as may render them creditable 
 to their Families, and Friends, ornaments 
 to their Coimtry, and useful to the Pub- 
 lic Weal in their generation. ... To 
 
716 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD PO\YEK. 
 
 wliicli good purposes it is earnestly de- 
 sired that Parents, Guardians, and Mas- 
 ters would train them up from their cra- 
 dles, under strict government, and in all 
 Seriousness, Virtue, and Industry. And 
 above all. that in order hereunto, they be 
 very careful themselves to set them good 
 
 
 ii 
 
 FIXST KIN(; s CO:_Ll-r,K. 
 
 examples of true Piety and Virtue in 
 their own conduct." " Vth and lastly," 
 the advertisement continues, " a serious, 
 virtuous, and industrious course of Life 
 being first provided for it is further the 
 Design of this College to instruct and 
 perfect the Youth in the learned lan- 
 guages, and in the Arts of Reasoning ex- 
 actly, of writing correctly, and speaking 
 eloquently, and in the Arts of Numbering 
 and Measuring, of Surveying- and Navi- 
 gation, of Geography and History, of 
 Husbandry, Commerce, and Government; 
 and in the knowledge of all nature in the 
 Heavens above us and in the Air, Water, 
 and Earth around us, and the various 
 kinds of Meteors, Stones, Mines, ajid Min- 
 erals, Plants, and Animals, and of every- 
 thing- useful for the comfort, the conven- 
 ience, and elegance of Life in the chief 
 Manufactures, finally to lead them from 
 the Study of Nature to the Knowledge of 
 Themselves, and of the God of Nature, 
 and their Duty to Him, themselves, and 
 one another. And everj'thing that can 
 contribute to their true Happiness, both 
 here and hereafter. This much, Gentle- 
 men, it is thought proper to advertise you 
 of, concerning the Nature and Design of 
 this College." Below Mr. Johnson's sig- 
 nature ;•< the following, " N. B. The 
 
 charge of Tuition is established by the 
 Trustees to be only Twenty-five shillings 
 for each quarter." 
 
 Later in the same year (1754) a charter 
 incorporating- " the governors of the col- 
 lege of the Province of New York in the 
 city of New York, in America," was 
 granted by George II., and the actual work 
 nf instruction was begun. Shortly after, 
 a building thirty feet wide by one hun- 
 <lred and eighty feet long was erected on 
 land in the " skirts of the city," being on 
 the lots now bounded by Church, Barclay, 
 and Murray streets. This building was 
 the college home for more than one hun- 
 dred years. For the first year of the col- 
 lege's existence President Johnson was 
 the sole member of the faculty; but with 
 the incoming of the second class his son 
 was appointed a tutor. In 17.58 the first 
 commencement was held, eight men re- 
 ceiving their bachelor's degrees; and in 
 1767 the Medical Department was estab- 
 lished. During the Revolutionary War 
 the work of the college was virtually sus- 
 pended, the college building was con- 
 verted into a hospital, and the apparatus 
 and books were stored. After the evacu- 
 ation of New York by the British troops, 
 however, the State Legislature passed " an 
 act for granting certain privileges to the 
 college, hitherto known as King's Col- 
 lege, for altering the name and charter 
 thereof, and erecting a University within 
 the State;" and in 1787 the new charter, 
 similar to the old one, was granted and 
 the name changed from King's to Colum- 
 bia College. One of the most important 
 of the early acts of the Trustees was the 
 establishment in 1798 of the Professorship 
 of Law, with the Hon. James Kent as its 
 first incumbent; and it was as the head 
 of this department that he prepared and 
 delivered to the students of Columbia the 
 remarkable course of lectures which con- 
 stitute his learned " Commentaries on 
 American Law," — conferring upon Ameri- 
 can students not only of Law, but also 
 of Political and allied Sciences, the same 
 great boon that Sir William Blackstone 
 had given to the English people forty 
 years before in his " Commentaries on the 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 717 
 
 Laws of England." The Medical School, 
 established in 17(i7, was made independ- 
 ent of the college in 1814, as the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, but was re- 
 annexed to Columbia in 1860, and fully 
 reincorporated as the Department of 
 Medicine in 1891. In 1864 the School of 
 Mines was established; and it is not too 
 much to say that down to about the last 
 decade of the nineteenth centurj' the col- 
 lege proper was little more than a New 
 Tork city institution; while its three 
 great schools of Medicine, Law, and Mines 
 attracted students from all parts of the 
 countiy who far outnumbered the students 
 attendant upon the usual college courses. 
 By 1857 the college had entirely out- 
 grown its old buildings and site, and a 
 move was then made, again to the " skirts 
 of the city " at the corner of Madison 
 avenue and Forty-ninth street, where it 
 remained until, about forty jears later, 
 another move was made to the present 
 superb site on Morningside Heights, — 
 commanding the finest and most enchant- 
 ing views of the Hudson valley and Long 
 Island Sound, — and the erection of new 
 and thoroughly modern buildings, equip- 
 ped with every facility for the conduct of 
 the best collegiate work, was begun. One 
 of the most conspicuous of these, the Li- 
 brary building, costing one million dol- 
 lars, was the personal gift of President 
 Seth Low to his Alma Mater, as a memo- 
 rial of his father, one of New York's most 
 distinguished merchants. In 1901 Mr. 
 Low resigned the presidency to engage in 
 the mayoralty contest, in a determined 
 effort to redeem the city from the clutches 
 of Tammany ; and Nicholas Mun-ay But- 
 ler was elected his successor, assuming 
 the duties of the office, January 1, 1902. 
 Mr. Butler, who was forty years of age 
 when made president, had probably had a 
 larger experience in pedagogical work, 
 and had studied its philosophy and en- 
 gaged more extensively in its practical 
 development, than any other living edu- 
 cator in the United States except that 
 Nestor of teachers, and wisest and most 
 venerated of college presidents, — to whom 
 instructors and scholars alike gladly yield 
 
 supreme honors, Charles W. Eliot, of 
 Harvard. Under the liberal policies that 
 now obtain at Columbia, the wide outlook 
 and the keen scent for new avenues of 
 educational, political, and civio influence, 
 the institution is forging ahead and as- 
 suming a masterful position at an un- 
 precedented rate, and with a most bril- 
 liant prospect for material growth, and 
 a more pronounced influence in all things 
 that make for higher culture and for 
 righteousness. At the beginning of 1908 
 its roll of instructors numbered more 
 than si.x hundred, while about fifty-two 
 hundred students were sharing in the ad- 
 vantages offered by the university, not the 
 least of which is the library with upwards 
 of 450,000 volumes. 
 
 Of course our space will not admit of 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by J. E. Pin-fiy, Boston. 
 NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER. 
 
 any detailed account of the early history 
 of the many colleges and universities, too 
 many of them only so-called " Universi- 
 ties," which are now scattered over the 
 entire counti-y, most of them blessings to 
 the communities in which they have been 
 established, and rich in uplifting influ- 
 
718 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 o:ices. In addition to the five oldest and 
 most representative institutions already 
 described nineteen others were established 
 before the opening of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. In connection with the early his- 
 toiy of two of these interesting questions 
 arose. When in 1793 a charter was sought 
 for Williams College, in Massachusetts, a 
 vigorous and formal remonstrance was 
 filed by Harvard, which urged that it 
 " was properly a college of the whole gov- 
 ernment ; and that the Commonwealth 
 would do its people an injury by taking 
 the support from one old and established 
 institution, and encouraging a new and 
 feeble school." And though the protest 
 failed, the question was raised which is 
 still an open and much-discussed one, as to 
 the advisability of creating so many new 
 schools. When one considers that there 
 are now, for example, in Massachusetts 
 thirteen; in New York, twenty-sis; in 
 Pennsylvania, thirty-three; in Virginia, 
 
 JOILN .MARSHALL. 
 
 fourteen ; in Tennessee, twenty ; in Ohio, 
 thirty-four; in Illinois, thirty-one; in 
 Kansas, twenty; in Washington (State) 
 six; in Oregon, eight; and in California, 
 
 twelve colleges whose charters empower 
 them to bestow the academic degrees, a 
 large proportion of them maintaining a 
 most precarious existence simply to con- 
 serve sectarian prejudices, one may well 
 question whether money, energy, and 
 talents are not frittered away in seemingly 
 futile efforts to bolster np weak and 
 struggling institutions, which would be 
 much more effectually used, and would 
 realize for the people of the states con- 
 cerned far greater benefits, under a wise 
 concentration of endowment and endeavor. 
 Dartmouth College, growing out of the 
 efforts of the Rev. Eleazer Wheelock to 
 Christianize the Indians (beg-un in 175-t) 
 iiad for many years a checkered and 
 troublous existence. In 1769 a royal 
 charter was secured for the school with 
 the title of Dartmouth College, in honor 
 of Lord Dartmouth. Early in the nine- 
 teenth century internal troubles developed, 
 and in 1815 the State Legislature ousted 
 the trustees of the old institution, incor- 
 porating a new College, with a new Board 
 of Trustees. To determine the legality of 
 this act the old Board brought suit in the 
 State Courts with the result that the 
 course of the Legislature was sustained as 
 valid. An appeal was then made to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, 
 which was heard in March, 1818, Daniel 
 Webster, who liad graduated from Dart- 
 mouth in 1801, appearing for the appel- 
 lants. The gist of Mr. Webster's argu- 
 ment was " that the charter of Dartmouth 
 College created a private corjioration for 
 administering a charity; that in the ad- 
 ministration of such uses the trustees 
 have a recognized right of property; that 
 the grant of such a charter is a contract 
 between the sovereign power and the 
 .grantees and descends to their successors; 
 and that, therefore, the Act of the New 
 Hampshire Legislature in taking away the 
 government from one board of trustees 
 and conferring it upon another was a vio- 
 lation of contract," and so repugnant to 
 that clause of the Constitution of the 
 United States which refused to any state 
 the power to pass a " law impairing the 
 obligation of contracts." In this conten- 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 '19 
 
 tioH every position taken by Mr. Webster 
 was fu'iiy sustained, the distinguished 
 chief justice, John Marshall, delivering 
 the opinion of the Court. And the prose- 
 cution of this, the famous " Dartmouth 
 College Case," not only at once placed 
 Webster in the • front rank of constitu- 
 tional lawyers, but the decision of the 
 learned court, as voiced by Marshall, has 
 always been considered the most far-reach- 
 ing, in all its effects, for weal or for woe, 
 of all the judgments that Court has 
 rendered during its entire history. 
 
 Although, as we have said, it is im- 
 possible to give here any detailed account 
 of the great number of Colleges and Ilni- 
 • versities that are now established in this 
 country, yet, as the totals probably so far 
 exceed any conceptions of those not 
 familiar with the facts, before leaving the 
 subject of colleges vre shall give the latest 
 available statistics as presented by the 
 Bureau of Education, and W'hich may be 
 relied upon as practically correct for the 
 present time. There are in the United 
 States 493 " Universities, Colleges, and 
 Technical Schools," which employ 18,520 
 male and 2,571 female instructors, and 
 have an enrollment of 177,560 male and 
 51,792 female students. The total income 
 of these institutions (1905-6) was $40,- 
 705,120; their libraries contained 11,310,- 
 509 bound volumes; their scientific ap- 
 paratus was valued at $25,626,268; and 
 their grounds and buildings at $236,- 
 253,175; while the total of their produc- 
 tive funds was placed at $236,613,929. 
 Whatever other suggestions these un- 
 paralleled summaries may convey, they 
 proclaim more emphatically than any 
 words could do that it is no less the pur- 
 pose of the sons of the twentieth century, 
 than it was of the Pilgrim Fathers of the 
 ^eventeenth, to make sure that the " light 
 of learning may not die out, nor the study 
 of God's word perish." 
 
 That a more or less well-defined system 
 of Collegiate education should have been 
 early worked out in the colonies is not 
 surprising, as a very large number of the 
 settlers from the date of the first arrivals 
 were graduates of English or Continental 
 
 Universities. They brought with them 
 clearly defined ideas of what the higher 
 institutions of learning should be. But of 
 primary or secondary systems of schools 
 there were no examples existing in Eng- 
 land, and none on the Continent that seem 
 to have so impressed themselves upon the 
 colonists as to endure the process of 
 transplanting. Their first essays in the 
 direction of the nurture of education 
 looked uniformly toward the establish- 
 ment of colleges, with but little practical 
 thought as to the sources from which the 
 College must derive its student support. 
 Consequently for two hundred years after 
 the foundation of the Virginia, Massa- 
 chusetts Bay, and Connecticut settlements 
 the Colonists were experimenting as to 
 elementary and secondary education with 
 very dubious results. So obstinate seemed 
 the conditions to be overcome, and so un- 
 successful their early ventures, that for 
 the first half century preceding the Revo- 
 lutionary War there was a general decline 
 along these lines throughout the colonies. 
 This was attributed in part, perhaps, to 
 the unsettled social and political condi- 
 tions that prevailed as a result of the 
 many Indian wars, and to the growing 
 troubles with the mother country; but it 
 was more especially due to the lack of a 
 lively appreciation of the need of such 
 schools, and of the vital relation they bore 
 to the colleges they had labored so enthu- 
 siastically and devotedly to establish, and 
 of which they were so justly proud. Even 
 so early as 1701 the Massachusetts Gen- 
 eral Court complained that the funda- 
 mental law of 1647, which required every 
 town of fifty families to open an ele- 
 mentary school, and every town of one 
 hundred families, a grammar school was 
 " shamefully neglected by diverse towns 
 and the penalty thereof not required." 
 As the penalty for non-compliance with 
 the statute was fixed at the low sum of 
 five pounds, many localities found it 
 much cheaper and far less troublesome 
 to pay the fine than to maintain the 
 school. After the war an effort was made 
 in Massachusetts to remedy the evils that 
 had crept in and to meet new conditions 
 
720 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLU POWEK. 
 
 by the passage of the school law of 17S0. 
 By that act, among other things, the Dis- 
 trict Scliool System was established to 
 meet the needs of rural populations too 
 far removed from tlie town to enjoy the 
 benefits of its sehool. Towns of fifty 
 families were to support an English 
 school at least six months during the 
 year, at which reading-, writing, the Eng- 
 lish language, arithmetic, orthography, 
 and decent behavior were to be taught, 
 which was a marked enlargement of the 
 curriculum of the existing schools. The 
 terms of schools in towns of one hun- 
 dred, one hundred and fifty, and two hun- 
 dred families were fixed so that sessions 
 should be more continuous; while the 
 penalties for failure to comply with the 
 provisions were raised to ten poinids in 
 the case of elementary, and thirty pounds 
 in the case of grammar schools. The 
 law required that all teachers should be 
 college graduates, and should "produce 
 satisf actoiy evidence thereof ; " and fur- 
 ther made citizens of the United States 
 alone eligible as teachers, a reflection of 
 the animosities resulting from the war. 
 This law continued in force until 182C. 
 when the system of control of school 
 affairs in each locality was placed in the 
 liands of School Committees of not less 
 than five persons, who were to be elected 
 at the annual Xovm meetings. In 18.37. 
 however, the greatest step in advance was 
 made by the creation of the State Board 
 of Education, of which the distinguished 
 Horace !Mann was made the first Secre- 
 tary. Then followed the development of 
 the general system of primary and 
 secondary education which has made of 
 the schools of the state models that 
 nearly every other state in the Union has 
 copied. 
 
 The decline in the efficiency of the 
 grammar schools in the latter part of the 
 eighteenth centui-y, however, gave rise to 
 another class of institutions which has 
 exerted a far-reaching influence. These 
 were the Academies, which were the di- 
 rect successors of the grammar schools, 
 and the forerunners of the present day 
 High Schools. Many of these Academies 
 
 were local affairs, and so not possessed of 
 great i^ermanency or influence; others 
 were institutions of broad scope and well 
 founded, which drew students from all 
 parts of the country. The first of these 
 institutions to become well established 
 and to take out a charter was the Ger- 
 mantown Academy, near Philadelphia, in 
 175.3. The first to incorporate in Massa- 
 chusetts was the Phillips Academy at 
 Andover, Mass., in 17S0; and at about the 
 same time the Phillips Academy at Exe- 
 ter, ]Sr. H., was also chartered. The third 
 to be established in New England was the 
 Dummer Academy, which was chartered 
 in 1782, though it had been in successful 
 existence since 17G1, and was the pioneer 
 Academy of Xew England. In the latter 
 .year Lt. Gov. Dummer bequeathed his 
 mansion and three hundred and twenty 
 acres of land for the establishment and 
 support of the school which was opened in 
 Byfield, Mass. It achieved marked suc- 
 cess from the start, which was largely due 
 to the personal influence of its principal. 
 Samuel Moody, who was one of the most 
 noted educators of his century. Under 
 his wise and intelligent supervision the 
 Dummer Academy early became, accord- 
 ing to a historian of these institutions, 
 " the best type of an English grammar 
 school that had existed on American soil.'' 
 Mr. Mood.v was a graduate of Harvard, 
 and his appointment as principal of the 
 Academy was for life, and he could only 
 be removed in case the Overseers of 
 Harvard College adjudged him " inuuoral 
 and incompetent." These academies mul- 
 tiplied rapidly all over the country, and 
 before 1820 there was hardly one of the 
 older states where they were not to be 
 found, doing the best educational work 
 that had been done; and many of them 
 with established reputations that reached 
 far beyond the confines of their own 
 states. Some of these, in addition to 
 those already named, were the Leicester, 
 Mass., Academy (1784); the Newark. 
 N. J. ; the Wilmington. N. C. ; the Warren. 
 R. I.; the Philadelphia, and thy renowned 
 Moravian Academies at Bethlehem and 
 Nazareth, in Pennsylvania. At first th? 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 schools were chiefly open to boys alone, 
 public opinion not yet having advanced 
 to the more enlightened plane which 
 would admit of the highest school advan- 
 tages common to both sexes. But the 
 rapidly growing popularity of these 
 Academies began early to excite among 
 the girls a desire for school advantages 
 which rapidly developed into a demand, 
 so that during the latter part of the 
 eighteenth and earlj' part of the nine- 
 teenth centuries many of these institu- 
 tions became coeducational, while others 
 were chartered for the exclusive use of 
 women. In 1784 Leicester Academy threw 
 its doors open to both sexes, with equal 
 advantages for all. The Penn Charter 
 School of Philadelphia had been coeduca- 
 tional from its foundation. The Dwight 
 School for Girls at Greenfield, Ct., was 
 opened in 1785. In 1803 the celebrated 
 Academy at Bradford, Mass., was founded 
 for both sexes; but after a few years the 
 boys were forced out, and it has since 
 been, and is now, one of the best and most 
 distinguished of the higher schools for 
 women alone. Between 1820 and 1870 the 
 Academies and Seminaries devoted exclu- 
 sively to women multiplied on every hand. 
 In 1821 Emma Willard founded her re- 
 nowned Female Seminary at Troy. N. Y., 
 which was chartered in 1837: in 1822 
 Catherine Beecher opened her girls' school 
 at Hartford, Ct.; in 1823 the Adams 
 Academy at Derry, N. II., was estab- 
 lished, — the first school in New England 
 to be chartered for the exclusive benefit 
 of girls. Mary Lyon, who later founded 
 that most beneficent institution, Mt. Hol- 
 yoke Seminary, was a teacher at the 
 Adams Academy. In fact so rapid was 
 the spread throughout the country of 
 these Seminaries and Academies devoted 
 exclusively to the higher education of 
 girls that in 1875 they numbered more 
 than three hundred. This number has 
 since that date gradually declined be- 
 cause of the greater privileges accorded 
 girls in the development of the High 
 School system. These Academies, as a 
 class, were generally styled " Free 
 Academies," although in practically all 
 46 
 
 cases fees were required for attendance, 
 and they rarely received any state or 
 municipal aid. The earliest founded 
 institutions of the class, which gave to 
 the later ones their general character and 
 direction, had for their prototypes the 
 great so-called public schools of England, 
 such as Eton and Rugby. These English 
 schools are richly endowed, the salary of 
 the head-master of Eton being twenty-five 
 thousand dollars a year; and admission to 
 them has generally been dependent upon 
 connection with some particular church, 
 high social position, or some other form of 
 caste or class distinction. And it is only 
 in the sense that the American Academies 
 were open to " all sorts and conditions " 
 of youth that they have been " free," in 
 contrast with the exclusiveness of the 
 English Schools. Prof. Dexter has pre- 
 pared a tabulated statement of the 
 Academies in active operation in all the 
 states in 1850. New York heads the list 
 with 887, having 49,328 pupils; Pennsyl- 
 vania follows with 524, and 23,751 schol- 
 ars; and in all the states there were 6,085 
 such Academies, having a teaching force 
 that numbered 12,260, and an enrollment 
 of 263,096 pupils. 
 
 Though an account of the development 
 of the High Schools would seem naturally 
 to follow a consideration of the Academies 
 which the former so largely superseded, 
 yet no intelligent idea of the rise of the 
 High School system, nor of the latter day 
 common-school system, can be obtained 
 unless one is somewhat familiar with the 
 revolution in educational theories and 
 methods which began in the third and 
 fourth decades of the nineteenth century. 
 This was in harmony with the general 
 awakening along all intellectual lines 
 that characterized that period. Its influ- 
 ence was dominant in Science, Literature, 
 the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. 
 As we have endeavored to show, for the 
 fifty years previous, Colleges and Acade- 
 mies had multiplied rapidly, and had been 
 steadily though slowly raising their 
 standards of scholarship; but these were 
 the schools for the few, all of them de- 
 manding fees for tuition and subjecting 
 
122 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 the scholar to other expenses, which only 
 a limited number of the people were able 
 to meet. And all the time the facilities 
 afforded the many, the schools for the 
 people, had been deteriorating in char- 
 acter and had become almost entirely 
 neglected, in many places. Prof. Dexter, 
 
 HORACE MANN 
 
 in his " History of Education in the 
 United States," has so well summarized 
 these conditions, that we quote his words: 
 " In 1837 the State of Massachusetts was 
 paying but $2.73 per pupil for the educa- 
 tion of its children, a sum only about 
 one-tenth that of the present cost, and 
 less than even the poorest communities of 
 the South are now devoting to it. There 
 was absolutely no such thing known as the 
 jjcdagogical supervision of the schools, 
 and not a public institution for the train- 
 ing of teachers in the country. Such were 
 the educational conditions in the East, 
 when, in 1S37, Massachusetts first organ- 
 ized its State Board of Education. The 
 far-reaching influence of this move was 
 due to two things: first, the fact that 
 general conditions were ripe for a period 
 of educational jirogress; and, second, that 
 
 the right man was at hand to become its 
 leader. Neither one could have accom- 
 plished much without the other, but the 
 combination was a most happy one. To 
 it we may ascribe the tremendous growth 
 in common-school education which the 
 country has since seen." What Luther 
 was to the religious reformation ; what 
 Cromwell was to the political revolution 
 in England, Horace Mann has been to 
 the public common-school system which 
 now pervades every part of our country, 
 and of which all the American people are 
 justly so proud. He was born in Frank- 
 lin, Mass., in 1796, and, left a fatherless 
 lad at the age of thirteen, his boyhood 
 days were days of hardship and continued 
 struggle. As he was not able to attend 
 school more than a few weeks in a year, 
 the meagre advantages open to youth 
 situated as he was impressed themselves 
 upon his mind. Speaking of his instruct- 
 ors later in life he said, " they were 
 very good people, but very poor teachers." 
 Mann was an insatiate reader and had 
 such reverence for books that, as he once 
 said, " I would as soon stick a pin into 
 ray own flesh as into the pages of a book." 
 At the age of nineteen he came in con- 
 tact with his " first real teacher " and 
 fitted for college in six months, entering 
 Brown University, from which he gradu- 
 ated in the class of 1819. After gradua- 
 tion he taught Latin and Greek for two 
 years at Brown, then took up the study 
 of law, and was admitted to the bar in 
 1823, opening an office in Dedham, Mass. 
 In 1827 he was sent to the Legislature and 
 represented Dedham in that body until 
 1833, when he removed to Boston, and was 
 the same year elected to the State Senate. 
 From his first entry into political life he 
 took a lively interest in every measure of 
 reform. It was through his personal 
 exertions that the State Lunatic Asylum 
 was established at Worcester, and he was 
 the first chairman of its board of trustees. 
 He was president of the State Senate 
 when the State Board of Education was 
 established ; and, though higher official po- 
 sitions were certainly within his grasp, 
 he resigned his offices and gave up a 
 
educatioin IX colo:nies axd states. 
 
 lucrative law practice, to become the first 
 Secretary of tlie Board in order that 
 through the opening thus afforded him he 
 might work out an entire change in the 
 whole system, or lack of system, in pub- 
 lic education. 
 
 As has been said, " During twelve years 
 of his secretaryship Mr. Mann's accom- 
 plishments were little short of stujx^ndous. 
 Rarely have great abilities, unselfish de- 
 votion, and brilliant success, been so 
 united in the course of a single life." 
 And in a " Supplementary Report " made 
 after his election to Congress in the 
 Spring of 18-18, Mr. Mann said : " From 
 the time I accepted the Secretaryship in 
 June, 1837, until May 1, 1848, when I 
 tendered my resignation of it, I labored 
 in this cause an average of not less than 
 fifteen hours a day. From the beginning 
 to the end of this period I never took a 
 single day for relaxation, and months and 
 months together passed without my with- 
 drawing a single evening to call upon a 
 friend." In Congress Mr. Mann was, 
 from the first, a fearless and pronounced 
 champion of anti-slavery principles, and 
 early saw the true trend of the conflict ; 
 for in his first speech he said : " I think 
 the country is to experience serious 
 times. Interference with slavery will 
 excite civil commotion in the South. But 
 it is hest to interfere. Now is the time to 
 see whether the Union is a rope of sand or 
 a hand of steel." Nominated for gov- 
 ernor by the Free Soil party in 1852, he 
 was the same day elected president of the 
 new Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, 
 Ohio ; and failing of election as governor, 
 he accepted the presidency of the college, 
 devoting the remainder of his life to the 
 further expansion of his educational 
 ideals, and espousing especially the prin- 
 ciple of coeducation, which Antioch had 
 adopted, being a close second to Oberlin 
 College, which first opened its doors freely 
 to both sexes. Mr. Mann was also most 
 happy and fortmiate in his married life, 
 his wife, Mary Tyler Peabody, and her 
 sister, Elizabeth Preston Peabody, both 
 being leaders in all movements looking to 
 the betterment of social and educational 
 
 conditions, both skillful and interesting 
 writers and sjieakers, and pioneers in the 
 Kindergarten work in this country. We 
 believe it is not too much to say that no 
 other great cause has ever been more dis- 
 tinctly marked by the impress of the 
 thought and activities of one man, than 
 has the cause of elementary and second- 
 ary education, in fact of education in gen- 
 eral during the past forty years, received 
 its impulse and taken its direction from 
 the life-work of Horace Mann; and not 
 the least evidence of this, nor the least 
 of the tributes to his memory, is the fact 
 that even now not a year passes without 
 his name being given to some new elegant 
 school building in the grow-ing cities of 
 the middle and far West, — the affectionate 
 and reverent homage of thoughtful and 
 intelligent men and women to a wise, 
 earnest, and unselfish public benefactor. 
 
 The chief principles for which Mann 
 contended when he took up his work as 
 Secretary of the Massachusetts State 
 Board of Education and for which he 
 labored throughout his term, may be 
 roughly summarized as follows : 
 
 1 — The abolition of the District School 
 System as established by the Act of 1789, 
 which he characterized as " the most un- 
 fortunate law on the subject of Common 
 Schools ever enacted in the State." He 
 advocated the town as the unit of admin- 
 istration, and intelligent supervision. 
 
 2 — The apportionment by the State of 
 adequate public school funds. 
 
 3 — The extension of the school year. 
 In 1837 one-third of the children within 
 the state were without any school advan- 
 tages whatever, and a large proportion of 
 the remainder attended school only two or 
 three months in winter, or a few weeks 
 in summer. In 1839 the minimum school 
 year for all districts was fixed at six 
 months, a term which has been steadily 
 lengthened until now every child in the 
 state must take at least seven full years, 
 of forty weeks each, in school. 
 
 4 — The establishment of Normal 
 Schools for the training of teachers. 
 
 5 — The building of good, clean, sani- 
 
7:i4 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 tary schoolhousos, — " fit temples of 
 science." 
 
 C — The uniformity of text-books. When 
 Mr. Mann began his labors lie found over 
 three hundred different sets in use in the 
 state. 
 
 7 — The establishment of public libraries 
 as the adjuncts of the school system. 
 
 What Mann achieved along these lines 
 during his eleven years of service can 
 hardly be hinted at here. But there was 
 hardly a point which he aimed at that was 
 not approximately reached during that 
 period, or such permanemt direction given 
 to educational thought and administra- 
 tive forces that tlie results were secured 
 later on. In 1839 two Normal Schools 
 were established, for the education of 
 teachers. In 184C Special Agents of the 
 Board of Education were appointed, add- 
 ing greatly to its efficiency. In 1854 city 
 and town superintendents were author- 
 ized. In 18G9 to'svns were empowered to 
 expend public funds for the conveyance 
 of children to schools, in an effort to 
 settle the question of the consolidation of 
 rural schools. In 1882, after fifty years 
 of controversy, the District School Sys- 
 tem was finally abolished. In 1883, even- 
 ing schools were authorized, and in 1884 
 absolute uniformity of text-books was 
 secured by enactment of the free text- 
 book law. In 1891 a law was passed re- 
 quiring of evei-y town free High School 
 instruction and the school year was ex- 
 tended to eight months ; and in 1902 a law 
 became operative which required every 
 town and city to employ a superintend- 
 ent of schools, either singly or in com- 
 bination with other towns. This brief 
 though imperfect summary of school leg- 
 islation will serve to show ho\\ clearly the 
 development of the educational system of 
 the state down into the present century 
 has been along the lines laid down by 
 Horace Mann nearly seventy years ago. 
 
 It is an interesting coincidence that in 
 1837 Connecticut, and in 1843 Rhode Is- 
 land, established Boards of Education 
 similar to that of Massachusetts, of each 
 of which, in turn, Henry Barnard became 
 Secretary, — a man whose place in the ed- 
 
 ucational history of the country, both in 
 the aim and sincerity of his work and in 
 the light of results achieved, is second 
 only to that of his great contemporary 
 and fellow-worker, Horace Mann. And we 
 have considered so fully the development 
 of the common-school system of these 
 New England States simply because it 
 marks witli considerable exactness the 
 trend of development in all the Eastern 
 States as well as in the newer states of 
 the West, — subject, of course, to varia- 
 tions made necessary by individual local 
 conditions. 
 
 One of the earliest results of the new 
 spirit that was pervading educational 
 movements was the establishment of Nor- 
 mal Schools. The need of these schools 
 as nurseries for teachers had been recog- 
 nized for years, but no direct legislation 
 had been taken in any state looking 
 toward their establishment. The father 
 of the movement was Mr. James F. Car- 
 ter, who, in 11^20, published an essay treat- 
 ing of an " Institution for the Training 
 of Teachers," and endeavored to test his 
 principles by the founding of a private 
 school at Lancaster, Massachusetts. Tliis 
 was not a success, but Mr. Carter's enthu- 
 siasm was not checked; and when in 1853 
 he was elected to the Legislature he at 
 once began a campaign in the interests of 
 a public seliool for the same purpose. As 
 he was the author of the bill creating 
 the State Board of Education, he had 
 abundant opportunity to press his measure 
 in debate, with the result that, in 1839, 
 the State opened two public normal 
 schools, one located at Lexington for 
 women and the other at Barre for both 
 sexes. 
 
 In nearly all cases the Normal Schools 
 are open to both sexes, though women 
 largely predominate. A distinctive feature 
 of all these schools is the Practice 
 School, in which the prospective teachers 
 constituting the student body are given 
 an opportunity to observe the work of 
 expert teachers, and also to give instruc- 
 tion themselves. In many of the larger 
 cities the municipal governments have es- 
 tablished training schools for teachers and 
 
EDUCATION IX COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 725 
 
 are in this way able to supply their own 
 needs. The earliest of these schools was 
 the Girls' Normal, of Philadelphia. The 
 Boston Normal was established in 1852, 
 and the Chicago Normal under the 
 direction of Colonel Francis Parker 
 achieved an enviable reputation. In addi- 
 tion to these classes of Normal Schools 
 many of the leading- colleges have estab- 
 lished complete pedagogical departments, 
 with elaborate equipment; and later still 
 has come the distinctive Teachers' Col- 
 lege, of which the most highly developed 
 examples are the New York State Normal 
 College, at Albany, N. Y.; the Teachers' 
 College connected with the Columbia 
 University, conducting the Horace Mann 
 School; and the School of Education of 
 the University of Chicago. The sys- 
 tematic study of methods and interchange 
 of thought is maintained among teachers 
 by a variety of Institutes, State Educa- 
 tional Associations, with stated annual 
 meetings usually lasting through a week; 
 and, over all, so to speak, the National 
 Educational Association, — " The N. E. 
 A.." — whose annual meetings, usually of 
 a week to ten days in July, are events of 
 national importance. 
 
 One of the mooted questions in the 
 whole history of educational growth has 
 been what amount of education, or opjaor- 
 tunities for procuring' an education, a 
 city or state is bound to provide for its 
 children. It has been generally con- 
 ceded that every town or city should make 
 it possible for every child to get the rudi- 
 ments of an education; but beyond this 
 many taxpayers have been indisposed to 
 go. But a vast growth of liberal senti- 
 ment has been manifest during the last 
 forty years, with the result that every 
 self-respecting community now demands 
 that the state shall provide a sound edu- 
 cation for all its children. Hence we have 
 in every city and town the High Schools, 
 cflfering the best advantages whether one 
 wishes to fit for college, or to make the 
 High School course round out one's 
 student life. As has been said before, 
 the place of the Academies which, a half 
 century ago, were the only finishing and 
 
 college preparatory schools, has now been 
 taken by the High Schools, though many 
 of the older and more historic Acad- 
 emies still survive, and are doing noble 
 work. But the tendency has been to go 
 even farther, and have the state furnish 
 all its children who will avail themselves 
 of it, the highest University education. 
 This purpose has been accelerated, too, 
 by the fact that so many of the so-called 
 private colleges were the schools of a sect, 
 or some particular faction or party. Con- 
 sequently the State Universities are non- 
 sectarian and non-partisan, and some of 
 them have taken foremost positions as 
 educational institutions. One of the most 
 active spirits in this movement was 
 Thomas Jefferson, who was the direct 
 cause of the founding of the Virginia 
 State University at Charlottesville, which 
 became the model on which many others 
 were constructed. These Universities 
 have been mostly confined to the Western 
 States, — the State in being carved out of 
 the public domain receiving allotted lands 
 for educational purposes. The movement 
 was greatly strengthened by the passage 
 in 1862 of the Morrill Act, which pro- 
 vided a grant of thirty thousand acres for 
 each senator and representative in Con- 
 gress. The amount realized from the 
 sale of these lands, varying from $50,000 
 to $750,000, was to be devoted to the sup- 
 port in each state of a higher institution 
 of learning, at which technical and agri- 
 cultural branches should be taught. 
 Many states have made their Agricul- 
 tural College a department, in reality, of 
 their State University; others have estab- 
 lished an entirely separate and distinct 
 institution, usually in a different part of 
 the state. Prominent among these state 
 universities are those of Michigan, Wis- 
 consin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Cali- 
 fornia, which take high rank among the 
 foremost Universities in the land in every 
 respect. 
 
 As a typical representative of these in- 
 stitutions a brief sketch of the history of 
 the University of Michigan, located at 
 Ann Arbor, will in a general way tell the 
 story of all. In 1826 the United States 
 
26 
 
 PKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 Congress set apart two entire townships 
 in the then Territory of Michigan for the 
 foundation of a future college. This was 
 established by the first legislature of the 
 new state in 1S37, though not oi^ened to 
 receive students until 1841. The Univer- 
 sity is practically entirely supported by 
 the state, and is open to all youth of the 
 commonwealth, of both sexes, upon the 
 payment of a matriculation fee of five 
 dollars, though an annual charge of from 
 twenty to thirty-five dollars is made for 
 incidental expenses. In 18.50 a Medical 
 School was added; and in 1859 the Law 
 School was opened, which has developed 
 into one of the most thorough and re- 
 nowned law schools of the West. The 
 grounds surrounding the buildings em- 
 brace about fifty-five acres. A fund es- 
 tablished by the sale of lands yields ap- 
 proximately forty thousand dollars a year, 
 which is supplemented by a state tax of 
 one-sixth of a mill ; while the legislature 
 
 JAMES B. ANGELL. 
 
 has ever been generous in its appropria- 
 tions to meet the further needs of the in- 
 stitution. The faculty now numbers 
 about three hundred and sixty, and close 
 to five thousand students were in attend- 
 ance during 1908. The government of 
 the institution is vested in eight regents 
 
 elected by the people. The high standing 
 and scholarly reputation of this LTniver- 
 sity are in a marked way a monument to 
 the intelligent and untiring devotion of 
 its President, James B. Angell, who has 
 been its directing spirit since 1871; while 
 he, in turn, by his notable services to the 
 whole country in various official positions, 
 and his vigorous support of all movements 
 making for good citizenship, has con- 
 ferred no less distinguished honor upon 
 the L'niversity. Dr. Angell celebrated 
 his eightieth birthday January 7, 1909, at 
 about the same time resigning his office. 
 This resignation the governing- Board de- 
 clined to accept, except in form, creating 
 a new office of Chancellor of the Univer- 
 sity especially in honor of the retiring 
 president, so that he should be relieved of 
 the active duties and cares of the presi- 
 dency while at the same time his wise 
 supervision and invaluable exijerience 
 should be retained in the service of the 
 institution. His successor as president 
 has not yet been named. The most prom- 
 inent possible candidate talked of is 
 United States Senator Beveridge, though 
 it is not known to the public whether he 
 would accept the honor. 
 
 Another development along- the line of 
 advanced education has been the gradual 
 establishment of schools for post-graduate 
 work. In most cases provisions have been 
 made by way of extending academic work 
 for such advanced study; while in the 
 ease of the younger of the Universities, — ■ 
 as Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Chicago, the 
 graduate departments have received the 
 most careful attention and consideration 
 from the beginning. During the first half 
 of the nineteenth century it was consid- 
 ered necessary to go to the European L^ni- 
 versities if one wanted to take a higher 
 than the bachelor's degree. Edward 
 Everett is said to have been the first to 
 take such a foreign degree, he having re- 
 ceived his Ph. D. degree from Gottingen, 
 in 1819. Later the custom became some- 
 what common, and so our own Universi- 
 ties were led to provide opportunities for 
 advanced study with a view to securing 
 the higher degrees. Yale seems to have 
 
EDUCATION IX COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 727 
 
 led off in this work and conferred the 
 Ph.D. degree on three men in 1S61, though 
 no distinct graduate school was organized 
 until 1872. The Harvard Catalogue of 
 18G0 was the first to announce any definite 
 plans for graduate instruction there, 
 though the M. A. degree was the only one 
 conferred until 1872, when the Doctor's 
 degree hegan to be regularly conferred 
 on students who had pursued definite pre- 
 scribed courses of study for three years 
 after graduation, and had presented a 
 satisfactory thesis. Down to about this 
 time it had been the custom to give the 
 M. A. degree to all applicants two or three 
 years after graduation, who had read any 
 general course, and were willing to pay the 
 fees for the same. But with the increas- 
 ing appreciation of gxaduate work came 
 the determination to make its titles more 
 valuable, so that it became universal to 
 require specified advanced study with an 
 examination before the M. A. degree 
 could be conferred, the same as in the 
 case of the Doctor's degree, — the deter- 
 mined effort of all institutions, as well as 
 of all graduates, being to make these two 
 degrees represent actual work done, and 
 to take from them every element of merely 
 honorary distinction. A report made by 
 the Federation of Graduate Clubs showed 
 that out of 3,204 graduate students in 
 twenty-four leading universities, 35.4 per 
 cent were taking literature and language 
 studies; 20.6 per cent historical; 14.2 per 
 cent natural science; IS per cent phil- 
 osophical studies; 11.1 per cent mathe- 
 matics. 
 
 The most important advance of all, 
 however, of the last century has been in 
 the provision of advantages for the educa- 
 tion of women, either in co-educational 
 institutions, or in Women's Colleges. The 
 first steps in co-education were taken in 
 the early days when girls were gradually 
 given some of the advantages boys alone 
 had previously enjoyed. Then the neces- 
 sities of the occasion forced towns to ed- 
 ucate the boys and girls together. Later, 
 school buildings were erected with a 
 strong partition wall extending the entire 
 length and one was the " girls' side," and 
 
 the other, the " boys' side." Developing 
 a little further, finding that no serious 
 results followed this closeness of contact, 
 the walls were gradually knocked out of 
 the old buildings, and omitted in the 
 new ones; and the boys and girls in com- 
 mon shared equal privileges. As the 
 
 .MARV LYON. 
 
 many prejudices, physically and morally 
 founded, against the higher education of 
 women began to disappear under the in- 
 fluence of an enlightened public opinion, 
 many of the old Academies added some- 
 what to their courses, and so became 
 " Seminaries," or even " Colleges." This 
 was especially true in the Southern 
 States, where twenty such Colleges were 
 founded before 1850, while there were 
 only two in the Northern States, Mt. 
 Holyoke Seminary, at South Hadley, 
 Mass., and Eockford College, at Eockford, 
 111. Mt. Holyoke was opened as a Sem- 
 inary in 1837, and 1893 took on a full 
 college organization. Its founder, Mary 
 Lyon, was one of the most distinguished 
 teachers, as well as noblest women of her 
 generation. With its beautiful and health- 
 ful location, its fine new buildings and 
 equipment, Mt. Holyoke is now doing 
 superb work of the highest character. Of 
 the later institutions for the higher educa- 
 
728 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 tion of women two classes exist — one, like 
 the State Universities, offering the women 
 exactly the same advantages and facilities 
 that the men have; and the other, the 
 Women's Colleges, established upon dis- 
 tinct and separate foundations. The 
 oldest of these, undoubtedly, is Elmira 
 College, of Elmira, N. Y.. which was 
 founded in 1855, and gave from the start 
 
 has never been large compared with that 
 of its sister institutions. Th? year 1875 
 was a red-letter one in the matter of 
 women's education, for then both Smith 
 and Wellesley Colleges opened their doors, 
 and both have since taken and main- 
 tained the foremost rank among similar 
 institutions, and have also become the 
 most popular as demonstrated by their 
 
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 II ^ 'ifii ■•■ ■ 3H 
 
 |^^H^^^Hj^9 
 
 HgUM 
 
 ^H 
 
 ^^B 
 
 IQ 
 
 VASSAR 
 
 a course of instruction as extensive and 
 thorough as that given by the men's col- 
 leges of the period. The first of the high 
 grade, distinctly women's colleges, how- 
 ever, was Vassar, which was founded in 
 1865 by Matthew Vassar, a wealthy brewer 
 of Poughkeepsie, New York. It was his 
 intent that this institution should be for 
 women what Harvard and Yale were for 
 men ; and from the start the requisites 
 for admission, as well as the curriculum, 
 have been maintained at a high standard. 
 About the same time Wells College, at 
 Aurora, New York, was established, start- 
 ing as Wells Seminary in 1808, but taking 
 a charter in 1870, since which time it has 
 maintained a high standard. For many 
 jears the number of students was limited 
 to seventy-five, though this ninnber has 
 been exceeded latterly ; but its attendance 
 
 COLLEGE. 
 
 constantly growing classes. Wellesley 
 was founded at Wellesley, M;issachusetts, 
 by Heni-y F. Durant, who had been one 
 of Boston's most noted lawyers, the part- 
 ner of Gen. B. F. Butler, but who was so 
 affected by the death of an only son that 
 lie gave up his practice, and devoted the 
 remainder of his life, and his wealth, to 
 religious causes, — among which he classed 
 the College he founded, — a " College for 
 the glory of God by the education and 
 culture of women," as he expressed it. 
 Early in its career Wellesley was most 
 fortunate in securing the services of 
 Alice Freeman as president, whose devo- 
 tion to all measures looking toward the 
 uplifting of her sex, in every walk of life, 
 gave her a unique and most honorable 
 position among the many noble American 
 women. The college rapidly assumed a 
 high standard of excellence under her wise 
 
EDUCATION IN COLONIES AND STATES. 
 
 729 
 
 administration, and its rei^utation as an 
 educational institution of the noblest 
 ideals and achievements was firmly es- 
 tablished. In 1S87 she resigned the pres- 
 idency to become the wife of Harvard's 
 distinguished professor of moral phil- 
 osophy, George II. Palmer. Though with- 
 drawn from official positions, she main- 
 tained her active interest in the cause of 
 education, and in the intellectual and 
 social advancement of women, until her 
 seemingly untimely death, in the midst 
 of her many activities, in 1901, at the age 
 of forty-six. During the early years of 
 that institution she served as Dean of the 
 Women's department in the new Univer- 
 sity of Chicago, giving it the benefit of 
 her wide experience and rich culture in 
 the establishment of its system of coedu- 
 cation. TVellesley has a beautiful campus 
 of over four hundred acres, and a fine 
 lake for boating. Smith College, sit- 
 uated at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 
 the beautiful Connecticut ■( alley, was 
 founded by Sophia Smith, who gave four 
 hundred thousand dollars for that pur- 
 pose. Smith, unfortunately, has a small 
 campus, which is already comparatively 
 crowded with buildings, — a feature in 
 which it compares very unfavorably with 
 Vassar, lit. Holyoke, and Wellesley, all 
 of which have ample and beautiful 
 grounds. The success of Smith has, how- 
 ever, been marked from its first year, and 
 its classes now number from three hun- 
 dred to four hundred each year. Though 
 now thirty-four years old it has had but 
 one president, L. Clark Seelye, formerly 
 professor of English Literature at Am- 
 herst College. A later and most promis- 
 ing aspirant for honors among Women's 
 Colleges, is Bryn Mawr, founded at the 
 town of the same name a few miles from 
 Philadelphia, in 1885, by Joseph W. Tay- 
 lor. By many educators Bryn llawr is 
 given first rank among the women's col- 
 leges. Its productive funds are larger 
 than those of any other of this class of in- 
 stitutions, and its equipment, especially 
 along scientific lines, is unsurpassed; and 
 it is said to have a larger number of 
 
 women taking advanced worit than any 
 other of the exclusively women's colleges. 
 
 ALICE FREEiMAN PALMER. 
 
 In addition to these independent insti- 
 tutions there is a class of Women's Col- 
 leges of a very high order, affiliated with 
 universities for men. The best known of 
 these are Eadelitfe College, affiliated 
 with Harvard; Barnard College, affiliated 
 with Columbia; the H. Sophie Newcomb 
 Memorial College, holding a similar re- 
 lation to Tulane University in New Or- 
 leans; also the College for Women at 
 Western Eeserve University, Cleveland, 
 Ohio ; and the Women's College of Browm 
 University, at Providence, R. I. Cer- 
 tainly a most remarkable growth is here 
 recorded as well as a most remarkable 
 change in public sentiment. That " ten- 
 der and interesting branch of the com- 
 munity," which the good people of 
 Gloucester in 1790 thought had been 
 much neglected in their schools, has come 
 into a rich heritage. 
 
 The many and varied educational ideas 
 that have been adopted within the last 
 third of a century are nearly bewildering. 
 
■30 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLU POWER. 
 
 There is hardly a good beacli anyT\'liere 
 on the Atlantic or Pacific coast that does 
 not know the Summer School. Many of 
 these have unquestionably been estab- 
 
 Fhot'2. Copyrighted by J. E. Pttrdy^ Boston. 
 WILLIAM R. HARPER. 
 
 lished for commercial purposes only, and 
 liave been financial schemes. But the 
 majority have been honestly conducted 
 
 study centres, where the summer vacation 
 has been used to the gi-eatest advantage 
 and benefit. The pioneer in this move- 
 ment and the most conspicuous example 
 of its beneficences has been, of course, 
 The Chautauqua. The outgrowth of a re- 
 ligious camp meeting at Lake Chautau- 
 qua, near Jamestown, N. T., in 1874, the 
 development into a summer school was 
 gradual but most comprehensive in its re- 
 sults. For more than a quarter of a cen- 
 tury thousands have attended its meetings 
 and followed its courses of study, which 
 have been most wisely directed by Bishop 
 J. H. Vincent and the late President W. 
 1\. Harper, of the University of Chicago, 
 (leneral culture has been the end aimed 
 iit rather than special instruction or train- 
 ing. Oratory, music, art have been the 
 drawing attractions, — all of the highest 
 character, and so productive of the hap- 
 piest results both from the educational 
 standpoint, and from that of recreation. 
 We have endeavored to give a general 
 review of the lines along which Education 
 has been developed in this country; and 
 the study is a most interesting one. So 
 long as the spirit and enthusiasm which 
 are so characteristic of the common 
 thought of the people of our country shall 
 continue, we can certainly look for the 
 permanency of those political institutions 
 which demand a higher average of educa- 
 tion than can be found elsewhere. 
 
LVI. 
 AN ERA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 Contrast Between Early Gifts and Those of To-day. — Different Sources of Wealth. — Total of 
 Gifts Above .$5,00U for 1003-1907 Inclusive Upward of .$1,100,000,000. — Animating Impulse 
 in Such Gifts. — "There is Something Pathetic About a Great Gift."— Stephen Girard and 
 His Benefactions. — His Estate Valued at $9,000,000. — Girard College and Its Peculiar 
 Restriction as to Ministerial Visitors. — Notable Gift of John Lowell. — The Lowell Institute 
 and Its Work.— The Lyceum Lectures in Xevv England. — Estimate of Value of Lowell's 
 Beneficence by Hon. Edward Everett. — George Peabody and His Royal Liberality. — Letter 
 of Thanks from Queen Victoria. — The J. F. Slater and Daniel C. Hand Bequests for the 
 Freedmen. — Beneficent Action of Miss Anna T. Jeanes. — Tlie Enoch Pratt Library. — Johns 
 Hopkins; His University and Hospital. — Influence of Deatli of Son on Leland Stanford and 
 Wife.— "The Children of California Shall Be Our Children."— The Leland Stanford Junior 
 University. — " The Lolita Armour Institute of Bloodless Surgery." — ■ The Newberry and 
 Crerar Libraries in Chicago. — Peter Cooper and Cooper Union. — John Jacob Astor's 
 Gift to City. — James Lenox and His Library. — " The Finest Collection of Books and Art in 
 New World." — J. Pierpont Morgan's Many Liberal Benefactions. — Samuel J. Tilden's 
 Notable Gift to New York. — The Tilden Library Foundation. — Joseph Pulitzer Gives 
 $2,000,000 to Establish His School of Journalism.— Peculiar Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage.— 
 The True Measure of the Value of Gifts. — Carnegie and His Many Notable Gifts. — 
 Rockefeller's Beneficence; The University of Cliicago, and General Education Board. — 
 Influence of Robert G. Winthrop on Direction of George Peabody's Great Benefactions. — 
 Indirectly, also, of Those That Have Followed. — Opinions of President Daniel Coit Gilman. 
 
 " Gi'nerosity once aroused cannot remain inactive; for it is a quality wliose beauties are enlianced by 
 exercise." — Plinx. 
 
 NE of the earliest settlers in Boston, writing to friends in 
 old England, in 1643, said: "After we had bnilded our 
 houses, provided necessaries for our liveliliood, reared con- 
 venient places for worship, and settled the civill govern- 
 ment, one of the next things wee longed for and looked 
 after was to advance learning and to perijetuate it to pos- 
 terity; dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the 
 Churches, when our present ministers shall lie in dust. 
 And as wee were thinking and consulting how to effect 
 this great work it pleased God to stir up the heart of one 
 Mr. Harvard (a godly gentleman and lover of learning, 
 then living among us) to give the one-half of his estate (it being in all about £1700) 
 toward the erecting of a college, and all his library. After him another gave £300 ; 
 others after them cast in more, and the publique hand of the State added tlie rest." 
 In the year 1907, Mr. Eockefeller added by one act thirty-two million dollars to the 
 eleven million he had already given to establish the " General Board of Education of 
 the United States." These gifts of John Harvard and of Mr. Eockefeller illustrate 
 well the extremes of a generous system of beneficence that has characterized the 
 
FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 American jicople. In the earliest days 
 nearly all the gifts were for educational 
 purposes, " that the light of learning 
 might not go out, nor the study of God's 
 word perish; " as hospitals, homes for the 
 destitute and afflicted, and similar institu- 
 tions which have latterly been so liberally 
 endowed, wore comparatively unknown 
 until the last century. During the period 
 covered by this volume hardly a decade 
 has passed without some princely gift for 
 the public good, while during the last two 
 decades the prodigality of a few men has 
 been simply bewildering. This era of lib- 
 eral benefactions divides itself naturally 
 into two periods, the dividing line chron- 
 ologically being about the year 1890. Pre- 
 vious to that date the men who opened 
 their purses and their hearts bestowed 
 upon worthy causes the accumulated sav- 
 ings of earnest and wise endeavor in the 
 business or the professional world, the re- 
 sults of their own untiring industry, sup- 
 plemented by careful economy, and un- 
 ostentatious living. Since then, by the 
 peculiar change in business methods and 
 conditions, a few men have amassed 
 enonnous wealth under systems of monop- 
 oly and special in'ivilege, so that even the 
 income from their investments and busi- 
 ness holdings has become a burden, and 
 many have apparently felt forced to give 
 in order to quiet the stirrings of con- 
 science, or to temper the severity of a hos- 
 tile public criticism. So vast has the 
 volume of these great donations become 
 that a careful statistician has placed the 
 total of known gifts in amounts exceeding 
 five thousand dollars during the years 
 1903 to 1907, inclusive, at upwards of 
 eleven hundred million dollars; and this 
 is exclusive of all private charities, of 
 sums given by churches and societies for 
 missionary or other causes, and of all spe- 
 cial contributions like those for the relief 
 of the sufferers by the destruction of San 
 Francisco and similar calamities. During 
 1907 the known gifts of three persons, Mr. 
 Eockcfeller, Mr. Carnegie, and ilrs. Sage, 
 reached the enormous sum of $156,- 
 459,928. 
 
 It would be a most interesting study 
 
 could we trace to its source in the mind 
 and heart of the giver the occasion of each 
 of these noble benefactions. In many 
 cases it has imdoubtedly been the desire 
 to make an ostentatious display of great 
 wealth, which shall achieve for its pos- 
 sessor a world-wide notoriety; in others, a 
 religious purpose to wisely use the talents 
 that have been entrusted to the holder by 
 the Creator; in others vanity, and an am- 
 bition to perpetuate one's name; while 
 in others, a larger number we are prone 
 to believe, a heart touched by sorrow has 
 been the impelling force to benevolent 
 action. Dickens wrote : " There is noth- 
 ing innocent or good that dies and is for- 
 gotten. All infant, a prattling child 
 dying in the cradle, will live again in the 
 better thoughts of those who loved it, and 
 play its part through them in the redeem- 
 ing actions of the world. Oh! if the deeds 
 of human creatures could be traced to 
 their source, how beautiful would even 
 death appear; for how much charity, 
 mercy, and purified affection would be 
 seen to have their source in dusty graves." 
 In her book entitled " Famous Gifts and 
 Tlieir Givers," Mrs. Bolton has said: 
 " There is often something pathetic about 
 a great gift. The only son of Leland 
 Stanford dies, and the millions which he 
 would have inherited are used to found a 
 noble institution on the Pacific Coast. 
 The only sou of Henry F. Durant dies, 
 and the soiTowing father and mother use 
 tlieir fortune to build Wellesley College. 
 The only son of Amasa Stone is drowned 
 while at Tale College, and his father 
 builds Adelbert College of Western Re- 
 serve University, to honor his boy and 
 bless his city and state." And we know 
 tbat one of Mr. Rockefeller's noblest gifts 
 of millions to establish an institution to 
 further medical research was the impulse 
 of a heart burdened with grief over the 
 death of a favorite grandson from 
 diphtheria. 
 
 In 17.")0, near Bordeaux, France, a son 
 Stephen was born to Pierre Girard and 
 his wife Anne Marie. The family was pos- 
 sessed of considerable wealth, and Louis 
 XV. had knighted Pierre for bravery on 
 
AN ERA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 733 
 
 board the squadron at Brest during- the 
 war between France and England. When 
 Stephen was eight years of age his right 
 eye was destroyed by an accident; and as 
 his playmates ridiculed his appearance he 
 became morose and ill-natured. The 
 death of his mother, too, during his early 
 youth further affected his disposition, so 
 that he became subject to fits of extreme 
 ill temper. His step-mother having chil- 
 dren of her own had little love to bestow 
 upon the unfortunate lad, and she be- 
 came very impatient with Stephen's re- 
 bellious disposition. After a stormy scene 
 iu the home when the boy was about four- 
 teen, he was ordered by his father to sub- 
 mit or leave his home, to which the 
 motherless boy replied, " Give me a ven- 
 ture on any ship that sails from Bor- 
 deaux and I will go at once where you 
 shall never see me again." The matter was 
 soon arranged and Stephen started out 
 in life as cabin boy. From that time until 
 he was twenty-three he sailed from Bor- 
 deaux and was then given command of a 
 vessel. His father had given him about 
 three thousand dollars, and with this he 
 had traded judiciously, considerably in- 
 creasing the amount. In 1774 he sailed 
 away from his native city never to return. 
 Reaching New York he traded from there 
 with the West Indies until 1776 when, on 
 a return trip, he ran into Delaware Bay 
 in a fog only to learn that a British fleet 
 was lying outside. Getting into Philadel- 
 phia he opened a store in Water street, 
 and disposed of the cargo he had brought 
 in to good advantage. During that win- 
 ter he fell in love with and married the 
 beautiful young daughter of a ship- 
 builder with whom Girard was planning 
 for new vessels to continue his trade after 
 the war should be over. His married life 
 seems to have been a happy one, though 
 the wife was eleven years younger than 
 he, and hardly more than a child. In 
 1785, when Girard was thirty-five, came 
 the great sorrow of his life; for then a 
 melancholy settled upon his young wife 
 which resulted in hopeless insanity. His 
 grief was aggravated, too, by the birth of 
 a daughter shortly after his wife's afilic- 
 
 tion, — named for her mother, llary 
 Girard, — who lived only a few months. 
 Girard then became a recluse, working 
 day and night to kill his grief. He was 
 uniformly successful in his ventures, and 
 made money rapidly for those times; but 
 he allowed himself no rest nor any 
 pleasures. In 1793 Philadelphia was vis- 
 
 STEPHEN GIRAKD. 
 
 itcd with a scourge of yellow fever, and 
 the situation became deplorable in the ex- 
 treme. All who could get away from the 
 city fled to other places, and great num- 
 bers of those who remained sickened and 
 died without care. Then the cold and 
 unapproachable Girard came forward and 
 volunteered his services; and for two 
 months he spent from six to eight hours 
 evei-y day in the hospitals and the rest of 
 the time, frequently all through the night, 
 he helped to remove the dead from the 
 houses, and eared for the sick. To a 
 friend he wrote : " The deplorable condi- 
 tions to which fright and sickness have 
 reduced the inhabitants of this city de- 
 mand succor from those who do not fear 
 death, or who at least do not see any risk 
 in the epidemic which now prevails here. 
 
(34 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 This will occupy me for some time; and 
 if I liave the misfortune to succumb, I 
 will have at least the satisfaction to have 
 performed a duty which we all owe to each 
 other." Busy as he was as merchant and 
 visitor of tlie sick, for he rendered similar 
 services throujjli two subsequent seourg'es 
 of the fever, Mr. Girard found time to do 
 his duty as a citizen, serving several 
 times in the City Council and for twenty- 
 two years as W^arden of the Port. When 
 the charter of the Bank of the LTnited 
 States expired in 1811, Girard had about 
 a million dollars on deposit with Baring- 
 Bros., in London, and innnediatcly used 
 the whole of it to buy stock of the bank. 
 He then opened in Philadelphia the Bank 
 of Stej^hen Girard, with a capital of $1,- 
 200,000. On two occasions he made im- 
 portant loans to the governnient when in 
 financial distress^ and his money and 
 credit were ever at the service of the 
 Treasury Department. During the war 
 with Great Britain he was really the 
 mainstay of the government, continually 
 making large advances down to the estab- 
 lishment of the second United States 
 Bank, of which he became a director, and 
 whose policy he largely influenced. In 
 1814, when the government could obtain 
 only twenty thousand of five million dol- 
 lars that were needed he promptly fur- 
 nished the entire amount ; and when later 
 the interest on the public debt could not 
 be paid, he wrote the Secretary of the 
 Treasuiy that he would' wait for his 
 money or take it in treasury notes. In 
 1815 his wife passed away, and his heart 
 was again sorely bruised. " I shall never 
 forget the last and closing scene," wrote 
 a friend, "when Mr. Girard, filled with 
 emotion, stepped forward, kissed his wife's 
 cheek, and his tears moistened his face." 
 Work, work was the only panacea for 
 his grief. " I do not value fortune," he 
 wrote to a friend. " The love of labor 
 is my highest ambition. I observe with 
 pleasure that you have a numerous 
 family; that you are happy in the posses- 
 sion of an honest fortune. This is all 
 that a wise man has to wish for. As for 
 myself, I live like a galley-slave. When 
 
 I rise in the morning my only efi'ort is to 
 labor so hard that when night comes I 
 may be enabled to sleep soimdly." 
 
 After a long and active career, gen- 
 erally regarded as a recluse and con- 
 sidered miserly, though his quiet benefac- 
 tions were numerous and liberal, Girard 
 was attacked by an influenza which de- 
 veloped into pneumonia, and he quietly 
 passed awa.y on the 26th of December, 
 1831, just a short time before his eighty- 
 second birthday. Having been born a 
 Catholic he remained within that com- 
 munion until his death, believing it was 
 " better for a man to die in the faith in 
 which he had been bom." He often ex- 
 pressed his admiration for the Friends, 
 however, and acknowledged that he strove 
 to model Iiis life after their virtues. The 
 city accorded him a public funeral, and 
 the press of the day declared that so great 
 a concourse of people had never before 
 been seen on any similar occasion in the 
 city. When his will was opened it was 
 learned that the memory of his sufferings 
 as a motherless and homeless boy had re- 
 mained by him and that his quietly borne 
 griefs had directed the course of his 
 benevolence. His estate was valued at 
 $9,0()0,000. In his will he said : " I have 
 been for a long time impressed with the 
 importance of educating the poor, and 
 placing them, by the early cultivation of 
 their minds and the development of their 
 moral principles, above the temptations 
 to which, through poverty and ignorance, 
 they are exposed; and I am particularly 
 desirous to provide for such a number of 
 poor male white orphan children as can be 
 trained in an institution a better educa- 
 tion, as well as more comfortable mainte- 
 nance, than they usually receive from the 
 application of public funds." Accordingly 
 after making a long list of bequests to the 
 City of Philadelphia, and the City of New 
 Orleans: to numerous hospitals, notably 
 the one that carefully protected and 
 cared for his lamented wife for so many 
 years; to numerous relatives, captains of 
 vessels, and employees, he left two million 
 dollars and the residue of his estate to 
 trustees to erect and maintain " a college 
 
AN EEA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 735 
 
 for poor white male orphans." He en- 
 tered into the most minute details as to 
 its buildings, directing that they should 
 be " constructed of the most durable ma- 
 terials and in the most permanent man- 
 ner, avoiding needless ornament." The 
 material to be used was marble or granite, 
 and he even specified the size of the 
 stones that should be placed in certain 
 parts of the structures. The trustees, it 
 is feared, hardly followed out the spirit of 
 the donor's instructions, as they proceeded 
 to erect one of the most beautiful and 
 ornamental buildings, of Greek architec- 
 ture, in the country. The main building 
 is surrounded by a colonnade formed by 
 thirty-four Corinthian columns, each of 
 which is said to have cost thirteen thou- 
 sand dollars. Four other buildings of 
 white marble were erected for dormi- 
 tories, recitation rooms, etc., the whole 
 being completed in 1847, at a total cost 
 
 which is a large source of revenue for the 
 institution. The college was opened Jan- 
 uary 1, 18-18, when one hundred orphans 
 were admitted to its privileges. In the 
 fall one hundred more were admitted, and 
 the following April a third hundred. By 
 his will Mr. Girard had directed that the 
 college should be open to all fatherless 
 white boys, but preference should be given 
 to those born in Philadelphia; then to 
 those born in the State of Pennsylvania ; 
 next, to those born in New York, where 
 the founder first landed in the United 
 States ; and lastly to the fatherless boys of 
 New Orleans, with which city Girard had 
 carried on a lucrative business. He di- 
 rected that the boys must enter between 
 the ages of six and ten years and must re- 
 main until they were from fourteen to 
 eighteen, when they were to be bound out 
 by the mayor until they were twenty-one 
 to learn some useful trade, or to become 
 
 GHiAHD COLLEGE. 
 
 of close to two million dollars. Happily 
 the residue of the estate, invested chiefly 
 in Philadelphia real estate, has increased 
 rapidly in value, and is now estimated at 
 from eighteen to twenty millions, so that 
 the college is richly endowed. Mr. Girard 
 also owned valuable coal lands outside the 
 city which are said now to produce an- 
 nually about two million tons of coal. 
 
 trained in Agricvdture, — the tastes of the 
 boys to be consulted in this regard. Each 
 boj' has three suits of clothes while in the 
 institution, and on leaving is given a 
 ti-unk containing clothing and books to 
 the value of from seventy-five to one hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 In accordance with the instruction of 
 the testator the entire grounds, originally 
 
736 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 embracing forty-five acres, -n-ere to be sur- 
 rounded by a brick wall " ten feet big-h 
 and sixteen inches thick, coTered with a 
 heavy marble capping." The seclusion 
 thus enforced, coujiled with one clause of 
 the will, has given many an erroneous 
 idea of Girard's religious attitude. " I 
 enjoin and require." reads the will, "that 
 no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of 
 any sect whatsoever shall ever hold or ex- 
 ercise any station or duty whatsoever in 
 said college, nor shall any such person 
 ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a 
 visitor, within the premises appropriated 
 to the purposes of said college." For this 
 requirement, the donor has been assailed 
 and vilified by clergymen and church 
 members all over the land until it became 
 true that the average person who knew 
 of tlie college regarded it as little better 
 than a pagan or heathen institution, from 
 which God and all religious influences 
 were barred, simply because luinisters 
 were excluded. This restriction is, of 
 course, peculiar and unnecessarily rigid. 
 But Mr. Girard had had peculiar expe- 
 riences and was, by common consent, a 
 very peculiar man as well as eccentric, 
 and possessed of very positive convictions. 
 There are, nevertheless, jarobably few col- 
 leges or schools in the country where, in 
 accordance with tlie founder's will, more 
 careful attention is paid to the religious 
 and moral teaching of the students. Re- 
 ferring to this clause in his will, Mr. 
 Girard said: "In making this restric- 
 tion I do not mean to cast any reflection 
 upon any sect or person whatsoever; but 
 as there is such a multitude of sects, and 
 such a diversity of opinion amongst them, 
 I desire to keep the tender minds of the 
 orphans who are to derive advantage from 
 this bequest free from the excitement 
 which clashing doctrines and sectarian 
 controversy are so apt to produce. My 
 desire is that all the instructors and 
 teachers in the college shall take pains to 
 instill into the minds of the scholars the 
 purest principles of morality so that on 
 their entrance into active life they may, 
 from inclination and habit, evince benev- 
 olence toward their fellow creatures, and a 
 
 love of truth, sobriety, and industry, 
 adopting at the same time such religious 
 tenets as the matured reason may enable 
 them to jjrefer." There is on the grounds 
 a handsome gothic chapel where the 
 students gather for worship morning and 
 evening, the exercises being non-sec- 
 tarian in character, and consisting of a 
 hymn, reading from the Bible, and prayer. 
 On Sundays the boys assemble in their 
 class-rooms at nine in the morning and 
 two in the afternoon for religious reading 
 and instruction; and at 10:30 A. M. and 
 3 P. iL they meet in the chapel for wor- 
 ship, addresses being made by the presi- 
 dent, or some invited layman. 
 
 Many thousands of fatherless boys have 
 shared the blessings of Mr. Girard's 
 beneficence, and have been prepared for 
 a more intelligent appreciation of their 
 privileges and duties as citizens of this 
 great Republic. We have dwelt at greater 
 length upon the character of the founder 
 and of the institution he founded because 
 of the peculiarity of both, and because it 
 was the first great gift for public uses by 
 a citizen of the United States. And 
 there is certainly much of interest in the 
 fact that a practically orphaned French 
 boy, a lonely wanderer during his youth 
 in many lands, whose every association 
 and surrounding were such as to lead him 
 from the paths of virtue and hig'h pur- 
 pose, should preserve noble ideals and 
 purity of life, and become one of the most 
 useful citizens of a great and renowned 
 city of our country, as well as one of the 
 staunehest supporters of our national gov- 
 ernment in its hours of sorest financial 
 need. Xo man born on the soil and 
 nourished in all the noblest sentiments of 
 patriotism ever showed more devotion to 
 his native land than did this exile from 
 his homeland manifest for his adopted 
 country. Just west of the main college 
 building is a monument erected to the 
 memory of graduates from Girard college 
 who gave their lives for their country dur- 
 ing the Civil War. On one side are the 
 names of those whom the college de- 
 lighted to honor; on the other are en- 
 graved these words from Mr. Girard's 
 
AK EKA OF PRINCELY GIETS. 
 
 will : " And especially do I desire that by 
 every proper means a jjure attachment to 
 our Republican institutions and to the 
 sacred rights of conscience, as guaranteed 
 by our happy constitutions, shall be 
 formed and fostered in the minds of the 
 scholars." 
 
 The first of the many noble benefac- 
 tions that have made the United States 
 the most disting'uished nation, and the 
 last century the most notable period in 
 the intellectual and social history of the 
 world, to become available for instruction 
 as well as the entertainment of the peo- 
 ple, was the unique betjuest of John 
 Lowell, Jr., of Boston, of two hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars to establish what 
 has since been known as the Lowell In- 
 stitute. During the second quarter of the 
 last century Boston and New England 
 were pre-eminently the centres of culture 
 and intelligence in this country, whose in- 
 fluence was radiated throughout the land, 
 so that down to the present day it is mani- 
 fest even in the lately settled portions of 
 the far West. One of the most popular 
 and common methods of gratifying the 
 thirst of the people for a more intimate 
 knowledge of the Creator and His created 
 universe was by lectures which were de- 
 livered weekly or oftener in every town of 
 any size throughout the eastern states, 
 which had for their purpose not entertain- 
 ment merely but the imparting of useful 
 and stimulating information to all who 
 came within the range of their influence. 
 During the winter of 1837-8, twenty-six 
 distinct courses of lectures were delivered 
 in Boston alone, and that count does not 
 include courses of less than eight lectures; 
 and it was estimated that upwards of 
 thirteen thousand people attended the full 
 number of lectures in the several courses. 
 While the greater part of these entertain- 
 ments were designed for popular instruc- 
 tion, the live questions of thfe day were 
 also frequently discussed, so that their in- 
 fluence in the realms of politics, religion, 
 and sociology was far reaching. As a dis- 
 tinguished Unitarian minister who had 
 large experience in the formation and 
 management of these courses has said: 
 47 
 
 " The Lyceum rose to a great power and 
 fell away and practically died within a 
 quarter of a century. But it killed 
 slavery; it broke the power of superstition 
 in theology; it made women free; it 
 created a universal demand for higher 
 culture." 
 
 No one so intimately and intelligently 
 acquainted with the trend of the thought 
 and aspirations of the times as was ilr. 
 Lowell could fail to see that here was a 
 field which afforded opportunities for the 
 accomplishment of vast good by any per- 
 son or persons who should occupy it and 
 work along well-considered and carefully 
 prepared lines, with abundant financial re- 
 sources at their command. Few men better 
 understood all the elements that combined 
 to make up the distinctive life of the New 
 England of his time, than did the gener- 
 ous founder of this Institute; and few 
 families had more actively contributed to 
 its material, intellectual, and moral well- 
 being than had his. His grandfather. 
 Judge Lowell, was one of the staunehest 
 patriots, even in Boston, during the Revo- 
 lutionary War, was a member all through 
 those trying years of the General Court, 
 and in 1779 was chosen a member of the 
 Convention for framing the constitution 
 for the State; and, with James Bowdoin 
 and John Adams from the Boston dele- 
 gation, was placed upon the committee of 
 twenty-four who were chosen to report on 
 a Declaration of Rights, and the form of 
 a constitution. In 1781 he was chosen a 
 member of the Continental Congress, and 
 on the adoption of the Constitution he 
 was appointed by President Washington 
 to the bench of the District Court of 
 Massachusetts. In 1801 he was further 
 honored by an appointment as Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Circuit Court for the First 
 Circuit, under the new organization of 
 the judiciary which then was made. He 
 was for eighteen years a member of the 
 Coi-poration of Harvard College, to whose 
 interests he was ever warmly devoted. 
 Judge Lowell was not more distinguished 
 for his legal and Judicial ability than for 
 his fine literary taste, his active benevo- 
 lence, and brilliant and charming social 
 
(38 
 
 FROM COLO^"Y TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 qualities. The maternal grandfather of 
 the founder, Jonathan Jackson, was 
 hardly less eminent than Judge Lowell, 
 and was one of the most successful and 
 influential of the class familiarly known 
 as " Old Boston Merchants." But his ac- 
 tivities were not confined to commercial 
 affairs. He was a member of Congress, 
 and having inherited a large property for 
 those days, he contributed liberally to 
 sustain the credit of the Commonwealth 
 during the dark days of the Revolution, 
 and at its close was a large creditor of the 
 State. During the latter part of his life 
 Mr. Jackson was Treasurer of the State, 
 as well as of the University at Cambridge, 
 — holding the latter office until the time 
 of his death in 1810. Judge Lowell had 
 three sons: John, who, after graduating 
 from Harvard College and law school, de- 
 voted most of his time to literature, both 
 as student and writer; Charles, after 
 graduating at Cambridge, first studied 
 law and then theology, and was for more 
 than fifty years pastor of the famous AVest 
 Unitarian Church of Boston, and was the 
 father of one of the most noted of all 
 America's writers and statesmen, James 
 Russell Lowell ; and Francis Cabot, the 
 father of the subject of this sketch, who 
 distinguished himself, in association with 
 his brother-in-law Patrick Jackson, by 
 early introducing cotton manufacture into 
 the LTnited States, and who was the 
 founder of the City of Lowell, which was 
 named in his honor. John Lowell, Jr., 
 therefore, entered life surrounded by every 
 blessing and influence which generations 
 of the highest culture, integrity, and 
 wealth could furnish. Nor was he un- 
 worthy of the noble traditions he in- 
 herited. Born in 1799, even as a boy he 
 was thoughtful and studious, and at the 
 age of eleven accompanied his father to 
 England and Scotland, where the latter 
 wished to study the process of cotton 
 manufacture. Upon his return to the 
 United States in 1813, young Lowell 
 entered Harvard, but his health did not 
 permit of his completing his college 
 course. Three years later he made two 
 voyages to India, the first to Batavia, re- 
 
 turning by way of Holland and England, 
 and the second to Calcutta. His favorite 
 reading during his early life was accounts 
 of voyages and travels, and his knowledge 
 of the geography of the world is said to 
 have surpassed that of men of finislied 
 education. He had a passion for travel 
 and in early life made plans to explore 
 Africa and the far East. After return- 
 ing from India he engaged in commercial 
 pursuits; but as all his ventures were in 
 Indian trade, and at that time all connec- 
 tion with those distant ports was by sail- 
 ing vessels only, he found abundant time 
 to follow up his favorite lines of read- 
 ing and study. " He spared no time," 
 says his biograi)her, " for the frivolous 
 pleasures of youth, less perhaps, than his 
 health required for its relaxations and for 
 exercise. Few subjects in science or litera- 
 ture escaped his attention ; and an un- 
 commonly retentive memory rendered 
 available for future use all the knowledge 
 which he was so diligent in acquiring. 
 He rapidly formed one of the best selected 
 and most expensive private libraries in 
 the city, and acquired a familiarity with 
 its contents not alwa.ys jxissessed by the 
 owner of many books." But he also 
 believed that he owed a duty to his city 
 and Commonwealth and served several 
 terms in the Common Council, and the 
 State legislature, where " he was distin- 
 guished for his assiduous attention to his 
 duties, and for the practical and business- 
 like view he took of every subject under 
 discussion. Indeed, it was his character- 
 istic to do thoroughly whatever he under- 
 took." In the years 1830 and 1831, within 
 a few months, his whole life was changed 
 by the sad loss of his wife and two 
 daughters, his only children. As soon as 
 he had recovered somewhat from the 
 shock his thoughts turned to travel, and 
 in the fall of 1832 he started on a long 
 journey, which proved to be his last. He 
 seems to have had a foreboding that his 
 life would not be a long one ; and so, with 
 no one now dependent upon him, before 
 leaving his native land, he set aside by 
 will a large portion of his estate to estab- 
 lish the Lowell Institute. The object of 
 
AN ERA OF PEINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 739 
 
 Iiis bequest, as set forth in the original 
 will, " is the maintenance and support of 
 public lectures to be delivered in Boston 
 upon philosophy, natural history, the arts 
 and sciences, or any of them, as tlie trus- 
 tee shall from time to time deem ex- 
 pedient, for the promotion of the moral 
 and intellectual and physical instruction 
 or education of the citizens of Boston." 
 He had, apparently, no definite plans for 
 his tour when he first started out, his 
 chief aim being to secure diversion from 
 his overwhelming grief. But as he pro- 
 ceeded his plan took more definite form, 
 and in an early letter he mentioned his 
 purpose, if jaossible, to enter the Chinese 
 Empire by way of the Indian frontier; 
 and alluding to the distant prospect of 
 his return home, he said " I must first sec 
 the circle of the earth." Leisurely he 
 traveled across Europe, visiting unusual 
 places and scenes, and eventually arrived 
 in Egypt, where he proceeded to study all 
 the conditions of the country, and inves- 
 tigate its ruined cities and temples. Here 
 he was attacked by an intermittent fever 
 which was long continued and sapped his 
 vitality. But regaining his health in a 
 measure he pressed on toward India. 
 "While crossing the Eed Sea his little 
 vessel was wrecked on an island, and he 
 nearly lost his life, while the hardships 
 and exposure to which he was subjected 
 caused a recurrence of his fever. He and 
 his little company were rescued after a 
 few days, and reached iloeha, January 1, 
 1836 ; and it was from there, on the 17th, 
 that his last letters were written. Leaving 
 ilocha Januai-y 23d he reached Bombay 
 February 10th, where, after an illness of 
 three weeks, he passed away, March 4, 
 1836, being a little less than thirty-seven 
 years of age. 
 
 While in Egypt, after a partial recovery 
 from his illness, Mr. Lowell, amid the 
 ruins of Thebes, wrote a codicil to his 
 will, giving more explicit directions to 
 his Trustee as to the administration of 
 his trust, of which the following are the 
 most important and interesting: "As the 
 most certain and most important part of 
 true philosophy seems to me to be that 
 
 which shows the connexion between God's 
 revelations and the knowledge of good and 
 evil implanted by Him in our nature, I 
 wish a course of lectures to be given on 
 natural religion, showing its conformity 
 to that of our Saviour. For the more per- 
 fect demonstration of the truth of those 
 moral and religious precepts, by which 
 
 JOHN LOWELL, JR. 
 
 Copy of only portrait extant. Painted in Egypt 
 at the time of the execution of will endowing I.owell 
 Institute. 
 
 alone, as I believe, men can secure happi- 
 ness in this world and that to come, I 
 wish a course of lectures to be delivered 
 on the historical and internal evidences in 
 favor of Christianity. 
 
 "As the prosperity of my native land, 
 New England, which is sterile and unpro- 
 ductive, must depend hereafter, as it has 
 heretofore depended, first, on the moral 
 qualities, and secondly, on the intelli- 
 gence and information of its inhabitants, 
 I am desirous of trying to contribute to 
 this second object also; and I wisli 
 courses of lectures to be established on 
 
74U 
 
 FROM COLON r TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 pliysics and chemistry, with their applica- 
 tion to the arts; also on botany, zoolosy. 
 geology, anj mineralogy, connected with 
 their particular "utility to man. 
 
 " After the establishment of these 
 courses of lectures, shonlil disposable 
 funds remain, or, in process of time be 
 accumulated, the trustee may appoint 
 
 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 
 
 courses of lectures to be delivered on 
 the literature and eloquence of our lan- 
 guage, and even on those of foreign na- 
 tions, if he sees fit. He may also, from 
 time to time, establish lectures upon any 
 subject that, in his opinion, the wants 
 and taste of the age may demand." 
 
 Upon this foun<lation the first lecture 
 was delivered December 31, 1839, by the 
 Hon. Edward Everett, one of the most 
 distinguished orators and statesmen of 
 Massachusetts. His address was chiefly 
 a memorial of the founder, though the 
 general jiurposes of the trust were out- 
 lined. This lecture was immediately fol- 
 lowed by a course on the " Evidences of 
 Christianity," by the Eev. J. G. Palfrey; 
 and from that day to this most valuable 
 courses have been given by the most dis- 
 tinguished scholars and leaders of thought 
 of this country and Europe. Mr. Lowell's 
 ample provision for the expense of this 
 
 work admits of the payment of such 
 amounts for the lectiu'es as shall attract 
 the most notable men from any part of 
 the world, and amply repay them for all 
 expenses of travel, as well as for the prep- 
 aration of the best work they can pro- 
 duce. To name the men who have occu- 
 pied the platform on this foundation is 
 to call the roll of all the men distinguished 
 in science, literature, philosophy, theol- 
 ogy, and art of the whole English speak- 
 ing world during- the last seventy years. 
 Xot only have the lectures themselves 
 served to advance the cause of learning, 
 but vmexpected and indirect benefits have 
 resulted. At the suggestion of Sir 
 Charles Lycll, the eminent geologist, who 
 had just completed a course of lectures 
 on Science, the trustee was led to invite 
 Louis Agassiz to come to this country, 
 and lecture upon Comparative Embryol- 
 ogy. This course was so well received, 
 and the lecturer so highly appreciated, 
 that he was induced to deliver another 
 course on the subject of " Glaciers," 
 which was the first series of illustrated 
 scientific lectures ever given here, — Pro- 
 fessor Cooke of Harvard having assisted 
 Professor Agassiz by the use of a lantern 
 which he had invented to illustrate his 
 own lectures on Chemistry before the In- 
 stitute. Agassiz -was so much pleased 
 with his reception and the lively interest 
 manifested by the people in scientific sub- 
 jects that he became desirous of remain- 
 ing permanently in the country; and to 
 make such a course possible, Mr. Abbott 
 Lawrence founded the Lawrence Scien- 
 tific School in connection with Harvard 
 College, guaranteeing Professor Agassiz's 
 salary as professor of Zoology and Ge- 
 ology. In 1872 Professor John Tyndall 
 delivered a course of lectures before the 
 Institute on " Light and Heat," for which 
 he was paid ten thousand dollars; but 
 so delighted was he with the character o£ 
 his audiences and with the interest in 
 scientific studies he found prevailing here, 
 that he gave the entire amount he had 
 been paid for his services to establish 
 scholarships at Harvard, Columbia, and 
 the University of Pennsylvania, with the 
 
AN ERA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 rii 
 
 result that each of these institutions has 
 since had men studying abroad, as the 
 outcome of Professor Tyndall's interest in 
 higher education here. In all, more than 
 six thousand lectures have now been de- 
 livered since the beginning of the Insti- 
 tute's work in 1839. Moreover, as the 
 reputation of the Institute is now as great 
 in Euroiie as in America, and it is recog- 
 nized as a distinguished honor to be in- 
 vited to address its audiences, the lectur- 
 ers make elaborate and careful prepara- 
 tions; and many of the best published 
 books on all subjects of knowledge are 
 lectures which the writers had prepared 
 at the invitation of the trustee. By the 
 terms of Mr. Lowell's will ten iser cent of 
 each year's income is added to the princi- 
 pal which, with judicious investments, 
 has more than doubled the original gift. 
 As a result it has been possible to make 
 many other provisions to extend the in- 
 fluences of the Institute. By arrange- 
 ment with the Massachusetts Institute of 
 Technology any persons, male or female, 
 may attend, without expense to them- 
 selves, the same courses of lectures that 
 are given to the students of that college, 
 thus securing for outsiders the same privi- 
 leges, in effect, which it accords to its own 
 students. These courses are generally 
 given in the evening so that men and 
 women employed during the day may at- 
 tend. For many years, too, instruction in 
 science has been given to the teachers of 
 the city, both by lessons and lectures, 
 under the supervision of the Boston 
 Society of Natural History. In 1872 the 
 Lowell School of Practical Design was 
 established for the purpose of promoting 
 Industrial Art in the United States, which 
 has proved a most beneficent development 
 of Mr. Lowell's comprehensive scheme. 
 This school has a drawing room and a 
 weaving room. The course of study 
 covers three years, and students are taught 
 the art of designing ana making patterns 
 from prints, ginghams, silks, laces, car- 
 pets, oilcloths, etc. In the weaving room 
 are chain looms for dress-goods, woolens, 
 cassimeres, ginghams, and; one Jacquard 
 loom. This branch of the work has fitted 
 
 hundreds of students to fill most profitable 
 positions as designers. 
 
 The management of the entire Lowell 
 fund, with the power to select lecturers, 
 was left by the founder to one trustee, who 
 should choose his successor; and he di- 
 rected that such trustee should be " in 
 preference to all others some male de- 
 scendant of my grandfather, John Lowell, 
 provided there be one who is competent 
 to hold the office of trustee, and of the 
 name of Lowell." For several years Pro-, 
 fessor Abbott Lawrence Lowell has seiwed 
 with marked ability as such trustee. He 
 has also for many years been an efficient 
 trustee of the Massachusetts Institute of 
 Technology, and in June of tlie current 
 year (1909), upon the retirement of 
 President Eliot, he will become President 
 of Harvard University. 
 
 In his address referred to above the 
 Hon. Edward Everett said of Mr. Lowell's 
 bequest : " The sum generously set apart 
 by him for this purpose is, with the ex- 
 ception of the bequest of the late Mr. 
 Girard of Philadelphia, the largest, if I 
 mistake not, which has ever been appro- 
 priated in this country by a private in- 
 dividual for the endowment of a literary 
 institution. The idea of a foundation of 
 this kind, in which, unconnected with any 
 place of education, provision is made, in 
 the midst of a large commercial popula- 
 tion, for annual courses of instruction by 
 public lectures, to be delivered gratui- 
 tously to all who choose to attend them 
 is, I believe, original with Mr. Lowell. I am 
 not aware that among all the munificent 
 establishments of Europe there is any- 
 thing of this description upon a large 
 scale." And estimating the beneficent in- 
 fluences that would radiate from Mr. 
 Lowell's gift, and mindful of the eager 
 desire of the lonely, ill, and bereaved 
 traveler that his bequest should have the 
 most far-reaching influence for good, as 
 manifested by the codicil to his will writ- 
 ten among the ruins of Thebes, the dis- 
 tinguished orator said : " The few sen- 
 tences penned, with a tired hand, by our 
 fellow citizen, on the top of a palace of 
 the Pharaohs, will do more for human 
 
r4- 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 imijrovement than, for aught that ap- 
 pears, was done by all that giooruy dynasty 
 that ever reigned. I scruple not to atiirm 
 that, in the directions given by him for 
 a course of jxipular instruction, illustra- 
 tive of the great truths of natural reli- 
 gion and the evidences of Christianity, 
 and unfolding the stores of natural science 
 and useful knowledge, to be dispensed 
 without restriction to an entire commu- 
 nity, there is a better hope that mental 
 activity will be profitably kindled, thought 
 put in salutary motion, the connection of 
 truth with the uses of life traced out, and 
 the condition of man benefited, than in 
 all the councils, rescripts, exijloits, and 
 institutions of Sesostris and his line. Let 
 the foundation of Mr, Lowell stand on the 
 principles prescribed by him and no lan- 
 guage is emphatic enough to do full jus- 
 tice to its importance. These are bless- 
 ings which cannot die. They will abide 
 when the sands of the desert shall have 
 covered what they have hitherto spared 
 of the Egyptian temples, and they will 
 render the name of Lowell, in all wise and 
 moral estimation, more truly illustrious 
 than that of any Pharaoh engraved on 
 their walls. These belong to the empire 
 of mind, which alone of human things, 
 is innnortal : and they will remain as a 
 memorial of his Christian liberality, 
 when all that is material shall have van- 
 ished as a scroll." 
 
 Of late years much attention has been 
 given to free education in the South and 
 many notable gifts have been made to 
 further the good cause. The pioneer, how- 
 ever, in this movement was a distin- 
 guished son of Massachusetts, George 
 Peabody. Born at Danvers in 179.5, after 
 receiving only a common school educa- 
 tion, he became a clerk in a store at 
 the age of fourteen. Five years later he 
 removed to Georgetown, D. C, to take 
 charge of a store belonging to his uncle, 
 John Peabody. Shortly after, he became 
 a partner of Elisha Riggs in the dry- 
 goods business, the headquarters of the 
 firm being removed to Baltimore the next 
 year, and in 1822 branches were estab- 
 lisl-ed in Philadelphia and New York. 
 
 By the retirement of Mr. Eiggs in 1829, 
 Mr. Peabody became the head of the 
 house. Having accumulated great wealth 
 for that time, he transferred his interests 
 to London, England, in 1837, establishing 
 the banking house of George Peabody ifc 
 Co. He had previously formed important 
 financial connections there, and in 1835 
 had successfully negotiated the sale of 
 eight million dollars' worth of the bonds 
 of the State of Maryland, thus sustaining 
 the credit of the Commonwealth, His 
 commission of two hundred thousand 
 dollars he returned to the State, for which 
 a vote of thanks was extended to him by 
 the legislature. This was his first large 
 gift. He materially served his native 
 land by furnishing the funds required to 
 arrange and display the exhibits from the 
 United States at the great London exhibi- 
 tion of 1851 ; and the same year he estab- 
 lished his custom of giving Fourth-of- 
 July dinners, the first of which was at- 
 tended by the Duke of Wellington and 
 many other distinguished persons, while 
 the Quc^n sent portraits of herself and 
 Prince Albert to adorn the halL Mr. Pea- 
 bcHly always derived great satisfaction 
 from these annual banquets, convinced 
 that they contributed materially to a bet- 
 ter understanding between the people of 
 his native and adopted country. In 1852 
 he gave $30,000 to establish the Peabody 
 Listitute and Library at South Dan- 
 vers, subsequently adding $170,000 to this 
 amount, and giving $50,000 for a similar 
 institution in Danvers; and in recogni- 
 tion of his munificence the people of 
 South Danvers in 1868 changed the name 
 of their town to Peabody. In 1857 Mr. 
 Peabody revisited the United States, and 
 while here gave $300,000 to found the 
 Peabody Institute of Baltimore, an amount 
 which he later raised to $1,000,000. He 
 also made various gifts to educational 
 institutions at that time. In 1S62 he 
 prepared plans for lodging houses which 
 he proposed to erect for the poor of Lon- 
 don, donating for that purpose $2,500,000 
 in all. In 1866 he again visited the 
 ITnited States, and his departure from 
 England called forth the following inter- 
 
AN EEA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 743 
 
 esting letter in recognition of his ser- 
 vices to liis adopted country : 
 
 " The Queen hears that Mr. Peahody 
 intends shortly to return to America, and 
 slie would be sorry that he should leave 
 England without being assured by herself 
 how deeply she appreciated the noble act, 
 of more than princely munificence, by 
 which he has sought to relieve the wants 
 of the poorer subjects residing in London. 
 It is an act, the Queen believes, wholly 
 without parallel; and which will carry its 
 best reward in the consciousness of hav- 
 ing contributed so largely to the assist- 
 ance of those who can so little help them- 
 selves. The Queen, however, would not 
 have been satisfied without giving Mr. 
 Peabody some public mark of her sense 
 of his munificence; and she would gladly 
 have conferred upon him a baronetcy or 
 the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 
 but that she understands Mr. Peabody to 
 feel himself debarred from accepting such 
 distinctions. It only remains, therefore, 
 for the Queen to give Mr. Peabody this 
 assurance of her personal feelings; which 
 she would further wish to mark by asking 
 him to accept a miniature portrait of her- 
 self which she will desire painted for him, 
 and which when finished can either be 
 sent to him in America, or given to him 
 on the return which she rejoices to hear 
 he meditates to the country that owes him 
 so much." 
 
 To this letter Mr. Peabody replied: 
 
 "Madam: — I feel sensibly my inability 
 to express in adequate terms the gratifica- 
 tion with which I have read the letter 
 which your Majesty has done me the high 
 honor of transmitting by the hands of 
 Lord Russell. On the occasion which has 
 attracted your Majesty's attention of set- 
 ting apart a portion of my property to 
 ameliorate the condition and augment 
 the comforts of the poor of London, I 
 have been actuated by a deep sense of 
 gratitude to God who has blessed me with 
 prosperity, and of attachment to this 
 great country, where, under your Maj- 
 esty's benig^i rule, I have received so 
 much kindness, and enjoyed so many 
 
 years of happiness. Next to the ap- 
 proval of my own conscience, I shall al- 
 ways prize the assurance which your Maj- 
 esty's letter conveys to me of the appro- 
 bation of the Queen of England, whose 
 whole life has attested that her exalted 
 station has in no degree diminished her 
 sympathy with the humblest of her sub- 
 jects. The portrait which your Majesty 
 is pleased to bestow on me, I shall value 
 as the most gracious heirloom that I can 
 leave in the land of my birth, where, to- 
 gether with the letter which your Majesty 
 has addressed to me, it will be regarded 
 as an evidence of the kindly feeling of 
 the Queen of the United Kingdom toward 
 a citizen of the United States. I have 
 the honor to be 
 
 Your Majesty's most obedient servant, 
 George Peabody." 
 
 GEORGE PEABODY. 
 
 Shortly after arriving in the United 
 States on this occasion Mr. Peabody pre- 
 sented $150,000 to Harvard University to 
 establish an Institute of Archseology, and 
 a like amount for the department of 
 physical science at Yale University; and 
 he laid the foundation for the endowment 
 most closely associated with his name, 
 The Peabody Education Fund, by a gift 
 to trustees of $2,100,000, which in 18G9 
 
744 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLJJ POWER. 
 
 was increased to .$3,500,000. He also gave 
 upward of $200,000 to various charities 
 while on his visit. The letter of Mr. Pea- 
 body aunouncing the creation of the Ed- 
 ucation Fund exijlains the objects he had 
 in view. After referring to the educa- 
 tional needs of " those portions of our 
 beloved and common country which have 
 suffered from the destructive ravages, and 
 the not less disastrous consequences, of 
 civil war," he said: "With my advancing 
 years, my attachment to my native land 
 has but become more devoted. My hope 
 and faith in its successful and glorious 
 future have grown brighter and stronger; 
 and now, looking forward beyond my stay 
 on earth, as may be iiermitted to one who 
 has ijassed the limit of threescore and ten 
 years, I see our country, iniited and pros- 
 perous, emerging from the clouds which 
 still surround her, taking- a higher rank 
 among the nations, and becoming richer 
 and more powerful than ever before. But 
 to make her prosperity more than super- 
 ficial, lier moral and intellectual devel- 
 opment should keep pace with her ma- 
 terial growth ; and in those portions of 
 our nation to which I have referred, the 
 urgent and pressing physical needs of an 
 almost impoverished people must for some 
 years preclude them from making, by un- 
 aided effort, such advances in education, 
 and such progress in the diffusion of 
 knowledge among all classes, as every 
 lover of his country must earnestly de- 
 sire. I feel most deeply, therefore, that 
 it is the duty and privilege of the more 
 favored and wealthy portions of our 
 Jiation to assist those who are less for- 
 tunate; and, with the wish to discharge, 
 so far as I am able, my responsibility in 
 this matter, as well as to gratify my de- 
 sire to aid those to whom I am bound 
 by so many ties of attachment and regard, 
 I give to you, gentlemen, most of whom 
 have been my personal and especial 
 friends, the sum of one million dollars to 
 be by you and your successors held in 
 trust, and the income thereof used and 
 applied in your discretion for the promo- 
 tion and encouragement of intellectual, 
 moral, or industrial education among the 
 
 young of the more destitute portions of 
 the southern and southwestern states of 
 our Union; my purpose heing that the 
 benefits intended shall he distributed 
 among the entire population, without 
 other distinction than, their needs and the 
 opportunities of usefulness to them." 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Peabody made his last 
 visit to the United States, at that time 
 giving $150,000 to found the Peabody 
 Museum at Salem, Mass., and $165,000 
 to other institutions and to charities. 
 Shortly after returning to London he was 
 taken suddenly ill, and passed away on 
 the 4th of Xovember of that year. By 
 command of the Queen the remains were 
 laid in Westminster Abbey, where funeral 
 services were held on the 12th of Xovem- 
 ber, it being the first time in history that 
 the gates of that venerable and historic 
 edifice had been opened for the obsequies 
 of a private citizen of another country; 
 and it was there that it was the wish of 
 the Queen as well as of the English peo- 
 ple tJiat his remains should find their final 
 resting place, surrounded by those of the 
 noblest and most distinguished of Eng- 
 land's dead. But his oft-expressed wish 
 to lie beside his mother in his native land, 
 and his cry of "Danvers! Danvers! don't 
 forget," which were almost the last words 
 he said, were respected and his body was 
 conveyed to American shores on the new- 
 est and finest frigate of the British Navy 
 — the " Monarch," from which it was re- 
 ceived by an American squadron under 
 the command of Mr. Peabody's long-time 
 friend, Admiral Farragut, the interment 
 being made at South Danvers, now Pea- 
 bodj'. Mr. Peabody had never married, 
 and notwithstanding his vast liberality 
 left an estate valued at upward of $5,000,- 
 000, which was bequeathed to relatives 
 and friends. 
 
 When it is considered that Mr. Pea- 
 body was also a most liberal and generous 
 giver in a private way; and when one 
 further considers the vastly changed con- 
 ditions under which the great fortunes of 
 the last twenty years have been accu- 
 mulated, it may certainly be questioned 
 whether this distinguished citizen and 
 
AN EEA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 745 
 
 benefactor of two countries should not, 
 even now, be placed at the head of the list 
 of America's princely givers. In his 
 eulogy of Mr. Peabody on the occasion of 
 the funeral services at Danvers, the Hon. 
 Robert C. Winthrop said : " It would af- 
 ford a most inadequate measure of his 
 munificence were I to sum up the dollars 
 and pounds he has distributed. Tried 
 even by this narrow test his beneficence 
 has neither precedent nor parallel. But 
 it is, as having attracted and compelled 
 the attention of mankind to the beauty, 
 the nobleness, the true glorj' of living and 
 doing for others; it is, as having raised 
 the standard of munificence to a degree 
 which has made it a new thing in the 
 world ; it is, as having exhibited a wisdom 
 and a discrimination in selecting the ob- 
 jects, and in arranging the machinery, of 
 his bounty; it is, as having discarded all 
 considerations of caste, creed, nationality, 
 in his world-wide philanthropy, regard- 
 ing nothing human as alien to him; it is, 
 as delighting as much in devising modes 
 of bestowing his wealth, as he had ever 
 done in contriving plans for its increase 
 and accumulation, — literally throwing out 
 his bags like some adventurous aeronaut, 
 who would mount higher and higher to 
 the skies, and really exulting as he cal- 
 culated, from time to time, how little of 
 all his laborious earnings he had at last 
 left for himself; it is, as having fur- 
 nished this new and living and magnetic 
 example, which can never be lost to his- 
 tory, never be lost to the interests of 
 humanity, never fail to attract, inspire, 
 and stimulate the lovers of their fellow- 
 men as long as human wants and human 
 wealth shall coexist upon the earth, — it 
 is in this way that our lamented friend 
 has attained a pre-eminence among the 
 benefactors of his age and race like that 
 of Washington among the patriots, or that 
 of Shakespeare or Milton among poets." 
 One of the earliest of the Scientific in- 
 stitutions of the United States was the 
 " Smithsonian Institution " at Washing- 
 ton. James Smithson, the founder, the 
 natural son of Sir Hugh Smithson, later 
 the Duke of Northumberland, and Mrs. 
 
 Macie, a niece of the Duke of Somerset, 
 was born in 1754. He graduated from 
 Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1786, with 
 the reputation of excelling all others in 
 his knowledge of Chemistry, and in 1787, 
 as " a gentleman well versed in various 
 branches of natural philosophy and par- 
 ticularly in chemistry and mineralogy " 
 he was recommended for election to the 
 Royal Society, later serving as its vice- 
 president. He spent most of his life in 
 travel and on the Continent, everywhere 
 making minute observations of the 
 climate, physical conditions, and geologi- 
 cal structure of the locality visited, as 
 well as the character of its minerals, and 
 the methods employed in mining and 
 smelting ores. He was a frequent con- 
 tributor of important papers to the trans- 
 actions of the Royal Society and of the 
 French Institute, of which he was also an 
 active member for many years. It is said 
 to have been his purpose to leave his en- 
 tire fortune to the Royal Society; but as 
 a result of some misunderstanding he 
 changed his plan and shortly before his 
 death in 1829 made a brief will giving 
 the income of his entire estate to his 
 nephew during his life, and the estate it- 
 self to his children should he marry. In 
 case he should not marry, the entire prop- 
 erty was bequeathed " to the United 
 States for the purpose of founding an 
 institution at Washington for the in- 
 crease and diffusion of knowledge among 
 men." The nephew dying unmarried about 
 five years later, the property fell to the 
 United States, and in 1838 there were 
 paid into the National treasury $508,- 
 318.45. "Mr. Smithson," says Professor 
 Simon Newcomb, " is not known to have 
 had the personal acquaintance of an 
 American, and his tastes were supposed 
 to have been aristocratic rather than dem- 
 ocratic. We have thus the curious spec- 
 tacle of a retired English gentleman be- 
 queathing the whole of his large fortune 
 to our government to found an establish- 
 ment which was described in fen words, 
 without a memorandum of any kind by 
 which his intentions could be divined, or 
 the recipient of the gift guided in apply- 
 
74G 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEII. 
 
 ing it." Smithson's illegitimate birth 
 aroused in him a strong desire for post- 
 humous fame; and he wrote at one time, 
 " The best blood of England flows in my 
 veins ; on my father's side I am a North- 
 umberland ; on my mother's I am related 
 to kings ; but it avails me not. My name 
 shall live in the memory of man when 
 the titles of the Northumberlands and the 
 Percys are extinct and forgotten." And 
 it is surmised that it was in some degree 
 to realize that ambition that he made the 
 peculiar disposition of his fortune. What 
 form or scope the " institution for the 
 increase of science among men " should 
 take was the subject of long and serious 
 deliberation by the national Congress, but 
 in lS-i6 an act was passed establishing 
 the " Smithsonian Institution," and Re- 
 gents were appointed. It was directed 
 that the institution should have a library, 
 a museum, and a gallery of art, while the 
 regents were empowered to take such 
 other steps as slmuld tend to promote the 
 objects of the beiiuest. By gradual de- 
 velopment along comprehensive and 
 broadening lines the benefits radiating 
 from Smithson's bequest have become of 
 inestimable value, and supplement almost 
 every phase of educational activity 
 throughout the country. Some years ago 
 the library became a part of the Congres- 
 sional library while the art museum be- 
 came an adjunct of the Corcoran gallery; 
 Init in 189(5 it was withdrawn from that 
 gallery and re-established in more suit- 
 able quarters in the Institute buildings. 
 It was then judicially declared to be the 
 National Art Gallery, and has since re- 
 ceived gifts of several notable collections 
 containing, particularly, specimens of the 
 best work of the most distinguished Amer- 
 ican artists. The work of the Institute 
 has been chiefly directed toward the mak- 
 ing and encouragement of original re- 
 search along all lines of Natural Science 
 in the broader sense of the term. It has 
 become a sort of educational clearing 
 house; and the humblest citizen of this, 
 or any other country, may freely apply to 
 it for information upon practically any 
 subject of knowledge, — except, perhaps, 
 
 the languages, literature, and history, — 
 with the assurance that his communica- 
 tion will be received and given careful 
 consideration, and that the desired infor- 
 mation will be forthcoming if available. 
 It is, in fact, hardly too much to say 
 that on Smithson's generous foundation 
 has been built up the most useful, all 
 things considered, single educational 
 foundation in the United States. And it 
 is a most gratifying consideration that our 
 government is intelligently and wisely ex- 
 ecuting the trust imposed upon it by this 
 generous foreigner and stranger " to 
 create an institution for the increase and 
 diifusion of knowledge among men." 
 
 In his eulogy on George Peabody, the 
 Hon. Robert C. Winthrop estimated that 
 not the least of the beneficent results of 
 Mr. Peabody's munificence would be that 
 it would attract and compel " the atten- 
 tion of mankind to the beauty, the noble- 
 ness, the true glory of living and doing 
 for othere ;" and there are at least five of 
 the later " princely givers " whose bene- 
 factions can be traced with considerable 
 directness to Mr. Peabody's inspiring ex- 
 ample. The conditions of the people of 
 the South at the close of the civil war 
 excited feelings of the warmest sympathy 
 in the hearts of their brethren at the 
 North; and Mr. Peabody's principal gift, 
 as has been said, was the foundation of 
 the " Educational Fund " whose benefits 
 were to accrue " to I he entire population 
 (of the South) witlwut other distinction 
 tlian tlieir needs and the opportunities 
 of usefulness to them." To many, how- 
 ever, the intellectual and moral condition 
 of the freednian particularly appealed, 
 and two notable gifts soon followed Mr. 
 Peabody's for the uplifting of the colored 
 race. John F. Slater, born at Slaterville, 
 R. I., in 1815, was the son of Samuel 
 Slater, who was the pioneer in the es- 
 tablishment of cotton mills in this 
 country, having started his first mill 
 in December, 1790. John entered the mills 
 at an early date and becoming familiar 
 with every detail of the business was 
 placed in charge of one of his father's 
 mills at Jcwett City, Ct., when only sev- 
 
AN EEA OF PEINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 747 
 
 enteen years of age. As a result of close 
 application to business, strict integrity, 
 and rare judgment be soon became tbe 
 bead of tbe entire business, bis father 
 baving died in 1835, and rapidly accu- 
 mulated an ample fortune. During the 
 civil war be became interested in the 
 cause of the freedmen, contributing liber- 
 ally for their relief; and later be deter- 
 mined to give to trustees one million dol- 
 lars for the purpose of " uplifting the 
 lately emancipated population of the 
 Southern states, and their posterity, by 
 eonfening on them the blessings of 
 Christian education." When asked just 
 what he meant by " Christian Education " 
 he explained " that in tbe sense which he 
 intended, the common school teaching of 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut was 
 Christian education. That is, leavened 
 with a predominant and salutary Chris- 
 tian influence." This gift aroused great 
 interest in tbe United States. Tbe Con- 
 gress passed a vote of thanks and caused a 
 gold medal to be prepared and presented 
 to Mr. Slater. The income from this gift, 
 which has averaged above sixty thousand 
 dollars a year, has been used in Normal 
 schools to fit students for teachers, and 
 for industrial education. Among tbe first 
 trustees were ex-President Hayes, the late 
 Bishop Phillips Brooks, and ex-Governor 
 Colquitt, of Georgia. 
 
 Closely following Mr. Slater's benefac- 
 tion for the poor blacks came that of 
 Daniel C. Hand, who was born at Madi- 
 son, Ct., in 1>>01. At the age of sixteen 
 be moved to Augusta. Ga., and entered 
 the store of an uncle who had a large 
 business in that city, and in Savannah. 
 He eventually became his uncle's suc- 
 cessor, and one of the most prosperous 
 merchants of the South. During early 
 manhood be lost his wife and their young- 
 children, and for more than fifty years 
 lived a lonely and secluded life. Though 
 strongly attached to the Southern people 
 from bis long residence among them, he 
 ever abhorred slavery; and realizing the 
 helpless condition of the emancipated 
 slaves, in ISSS he transferred to the Amer- 
 ican Missionary Society $l,000,89i to be 
 
 known as the " Daniel Hand Educational 
 Fund for Colored People," tbe income 
 from which should be used " for the pur- 
 Ijose of educating needy and indigent 
 colored people of African descent, resid- 
 ing, or who may hereafter reside, in the 
 recent slave states of the United States 
 of America ; " limiting, as he directed, the 
 sum to be given to any one person in any 
 one year to one hundred dollars. At Mr. 
 Hand's death in 1891 it was found that 
 be bad made the Missionary Society his 
 residuary legatee for the purpose of in- 
 creasing the same fund, and about five 
 hundred thousand dollars was turned over 
 to that body; while it is believed that the 
 termination of certain life-uses will add 
 two hundred thousand dollars more to the 
 fund, which will make the total of bis 
 gifts to the worthy cause about $1,750,0110. 
 Another and recent benefaction for the 
 uplifting of the negro in the South was 
 tbe gift of a Philadelphia Quakeress, Miss 
 Anna T. Jeanes. She had for many years 
 been a generous giver in large and small 
 amounts to local institutions and causes, 
 her larger benefactions being $200,000 to 
 the Spring Garden Institute; $100,000 to 
 the Hicksite Friends; $200,000 to schools 
 maintained by tbe Quakers in her native 
 city ; and $200,000 to the " Home for 
 Aged Friends," where she spent the later 
 years of her life. In 1907 she trans- 
 ferred to Booker T. Washington, of the 
 Tuskegee Institute and H. B. Frissell, of 
 the Hampton Institute, one million dol- 
 lars to be known as tbe " Fund for Kudi- 
 mentary Schools for Southern Negroes." 
 to be used " in assisting in the Southern 
 United States community, country, and 
 rural schools for the great class of 
 negroes to whom the small rural and com- 
 munity schools are alone available." Miss 
 Jeanes was, the same year, the innocent 
 cause of a somewhat extended discussion 
 of tbe question of intercollegiate athletics, 
 as she offered to the President and Trus- 
 tees of Swarthmore College the residue of 
 her estate, upward of a million dollars, 
 provided tbe students of the college 
 should not thereafter ever engage in intei-- 
 collegiate sports. After long deliberation 
 
748 
 
 TEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWEE. 
 
 the Trustees declined to accept the pro- 
 posed gift on tlie ground that they had no 
 right to determine the future policy of the 
 college hy any such binding- agreements. 
 The establishment by Mr. Peabody of 
 the Institute in Baltimore, whose service 
 is limited to students and those making 
 special research, — a reference library, — 
 
 JOHNS HOPKINS. 
 
 prompted a wealthy merchant of that city 
 to confer a like benefit on the general pub- 
 lie; and in his benefaction Enoch Pratt 
 was not only the follower of Peabody, but 
 was also the forerunner of Carnegie. Mr. 
 Pratt -was born in North Middleboro, 
 Mass., in 1808. After graduating from 
 the Bridgewater Academy, he entered a 
 store in Boston. In 1831, when twenty- 
 three years of age, he removed to Balti- 
 more, establishing himself in business 
 there as a commission merchant. A large 
 measure of success attended all his busi- 
 ness career, and he became one of the 
 most prominent business men and influen- 
 tial citizens of his adopted city. In 
 1882 he gave to the city $1,058,000 to es- 
 tablish a free public library, $223,000 of 
 which should be devoted to the building, 
 and the remainder to be invested by the 
 city for the purchase of books. In con- 
 sideration of the gift the city bound itself 
 
 to raise fifty thousand dollars annually 
 for maintenance of the library; and Mr. 
 Pratt later provided fifty thousand dol- 
 lars for four branch library buildings. 
 
 Mr. John W. Garrett, who was presi- 
 dent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
 from 1858 until his death in 1884, left 
 among his papers a long account of a 
 dinner he gave to bring George Peabody 
 and Johns Hopkins together; and he em- 
 phasizes the fact that at the feast Mr. 
 Peabody dwelt long and lovingly upon the 
 theme of how much the pleasure of giv- 
 ing transcended the pleasure of making 
 money. And Johns Hopkins University 
 and Hospital were the results. Mr. Hop- 
 kins was of Quaker descent, and was born 
 in Anne Arundel County, Md., in 1795. 
 His early life was sipent on the farm, 
 though he obtained a good education at a 
 private school. At the age of seventeen 
 he went to Baltimore to become a clerk 
 in his imcle's grocery store, and in a few 
 years he had saved enough money to es- 
 tablish himself with a partner in the same 
 business. Three years later with his two 
 brothers he founded the grocery house 
 of Hopkins and Brothers. He amassed 
 wealth rapidly, retiring from business in 
 1847, when he became president of the 
 Merchant's Bank, and a director of the 
 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, being chair- 
 man of the road's finance committee from 
 1855 until his death in 1873. He was one 
 of the staunchest friends that the cor- 
 poration had, and on two or three oc- 
 casions staked his entire fortune to carry 
 it through financial crises. From early 
 life he was a lover of good books, and 
 until its end kept in touch with the best 
 literature. He was also an intelligent 
 and constant student of the Bible. In 
 1867 he obtained from the State a char- 
 ter for a corporation under the direction 
 of a board of trustees " for the promotion 
 of education in the State of Maryland." 
 To further this cause he gave to the trus- 
 tees the sum of $4,500,000 to found a Hos- 
 pital which should be " free to all, re- 
 gardless of race or color," and $3,500,000 
 to endow a LTniversity. Just what form 
 this new University should take was left 
 
AN EKA OF PKINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 749 
 
 to the determination of the trustees, which 
 proved to be a serious question for them 
 to decide. A careful investigation of con- 
 ditions, however, led that body to believe 
 that the imperative need was an institu- 
 tion where young men could pursue 
 courses of study in advance of the or- 
 dinary college courses, particularly in 
 those branches of learning not provided 
 for in the schools of law, medicine, and 
 theology. The opportunities then afforded 
 in this country for post-graduate study 
 were meagre in the extreme, and most 
 students wishing to take higher academic 
 degrees were driven to the German uni- 
 versities. It was, therefore, determined 
 that Johns Hopkins should be primarily 
 a University with advanced courses of 
 lectures and efficient laboratories, the 
 undergraduate department being a sec- 
 ondary consideration. In few cases have 
 results so emishatically demoubtrated the 
 wisdom and confirmed the judgment of 
 trustees. The University, under the able 
 direction of the President, Daniel Coit 
 Gilman, at once took a position as the 
 first institution in the country for post- 
 graduate work, and has ably held that 
 position down to the present day, although 
 since about 1890 Harvard, Yale, Colum- 
 bia, and Chicago, have offered such vastly 
 increased facilities for advanced study 
 that Johns Hopkins no longer has the free 
 field that it had during the first fifteen 
 years of its existence. Its department of 
 History in particular, which was organ- 
 ized, developed, and presided over by 
 Professor Herbert B. Adams from 1877 
 until his death in 1902, has done most 
 efficient work; and it is undoubtedly true 
 that at the beginning of this century 
 more professors of history in the other 
 colleges of the country had done their 
 advance work and taken their doctor's de- 
 gree at Johns Hopkins, than at all the 
 other universities of the country com- 
 bined. Unfortunately the University has 
 suffered materially at times from lack of 
 funds, as the bulk of its endowment con- 
 sisted of securities of the Baltimore and 
 Ohio Railroad; and as the value of these 
 has fluctuated greatly in the past thirty 
 
 years, and dividends have been somewhat 
 uncertain, the results to the College have 
 been dei^lorable. Since the rehabilitation 
 of that road, however, the income has 
 been more certain and abundant; and in 
 1907 Mr. William Wyman of Baltimore 
 donated a valuable tract of sixty-five 
 acres in the suburbs for a new site to 
 which the University could be moved 
 from its present cramped quarters, con- 
 ditioned upon its other friends raising 
 one million dollars, which was quickly 
 done. This, happily, promises renewed 
 activity and increased efficiency for the 
 years to come. Of all the great gifts for 
 the advancement of learning which this 
 chapter records few have been more ef- 
 fective or produced more lasting results 
 than that of Baltimore's princely mer- 
 chant, Johns Hopkins. 
 
 The Leland Stanford Junior Univer- 
 sity is the noble expression of the grief 
 of its founder and his wife for the loss of 
 an only and dearly beloved son. Indeed 
 all tlie accounts of the father's and 
 mother's love for this son savor rather of 
 worship than of a natural, jwrental love; 
 and the benefaction of the parents took 
 its form from the early avowed purpose 
 of their son. In conveying the estates to 
 the trustees, Mr. Stanford said : " Since 
 the idea of establishing an institution of 
 this kind for the benefit of mankind came 
 directly and largely from our son and 
 only child, Leland, and in the belief that 
 had he been spared to advise us as to the 
 disposition of our estate he would have 
 desired the devotion of a large portion 
 thereof to this purpose, we will that for 
 all time to come the institution hereby 
 founded shall bear the name and shall be 
 known as the Leland Stanford Junior 
 University." 
 
 Leland Stanford was born at Water- 
 vliet, N. Y.. JLarch 9, 1824. His father 
 was a prosperous farmer, but was also 
 deeply interested in construction of roads, 
 bridges, etc., and was an ardent supporter 
 of De Witt Clinton's scheme for the Erie 
 canal to connect the great lakes with New 
 York harbor, — a characteristic interest 
 which Leland seems to have inherited. 
 
iM 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 The boy worked on the farm during his 
 youth attending the local sehool and oc- 
 casionally making extra money by some 
 shrewd youthful venture. When eighteen 
 years of age his father bought a piece of 
 woodland and told Leland he might have 
 all he could make from the sale of the 
 wood if he would cut off the trees. From 
 this undertaking, he cleared twenty-six 
 lunidred dollars. He went to school at an 
 Academy in Clinton, and later studied 
 law in an otfice in Alliany and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar. During the gold fever 
 of 1848-50 two of his brothers went to 
 California, and were making money rap- 
 idly in merchandising, when in 1852 Le- 
 land determined to follow them. For 
 four years he managed a store at Michi- 
 gan Bluffs. He quickly established a rep- 
 utation for strict integrity and honesty, 
 as well as for kindness and generosity, 
 and made strong friends wherever he 
 went, among all classes of men, and was 
 thoroughly trusted by all. Previous to the 
 Civil War Califurnia had been strongly 
 Democratic; but Stanford had adopted the 
 principles of the new Republican party ; 
 and in 1860 he was elected a delegate at 
 large to attend the National Convention, 
 where he earnestly supported Lincoln. 
 After the latter's inauguration, at his and 
 Secretary Seward's request, Stanford 
 spent several weeks in Washington, advis- 
 ing as to the best means to keep Cali- 
 fornia loyal to the Union, as the Southern 
 leaders had hoped to create the same con- 
 ditions in the frontier states of California 
 and Oregon that existed in the border 
 states of Missouri and Kentuck.y, which 
 would necessitate the detachment of 
 large bodies of troops from the Northern 
 armies to control the situation on the Pa- 
 cific Coast. In 1861 Stanford accepted 
 the nomination for governor of California 
 on the Republican ticket ; and though lie 
 had been badly beaten in the contest for 
 the same office in 1859, he was elected 
 this time by a large majority. He early 
 realized the importance of a trans-con- 
 tinental railroad; and his interest was 
 most heartily fostered at Washington, as 
 the imperative need of some means for 
 
 quickly transporting troops to the West 
 Coast, in case of an emergency, was 
 strongly felt. Although the undertaking 
 to construct a road over the Rocky and 
 Sierra Nevada mountain ranges was gen- 
 erally regarded as wholly impracticable, 
 yet his enthusiasm and energy finally en- 
 listed the co-operation of C. P. Hunting- 
 ton, a hardware merchant of Sacramento 
 and his partner Mark Hopkins. Later 
 Charles Crocker, who was then also a mer- 
 chant in Sacramento, agreed to join 
 forces with them, and the Central Pacific 
 Railroad Company was organized, in 
 June of 1861. Our space does not admit 
 of any detailed account of the progress of 
 that stupendous undertaking; only to say 
 Governor Stanford turned the first shovel- 
 ful of earth early in 1863, and drove the 
 first spike that connected the Central 
 with the Union Pacific at Promontory 
 Point, Utah, May 10, 1869, thus estab- 
 lishing through rail connection from 
 Omaha, Neb., to the Pacific Coast. It 
 was no easy matter to raise money for 
 such an enterprise during the Civil War, 
 and this difficulty had led the government 
 to make unusually liberal land grants to 
 encourage investment. At first alternate 
 sections of land for ten miles on either 
 side of the road were granted to the Com- 
 pany, and $16,000 per mile in bonds for 
 the easily constructed portions of the 
 road, and from $32,000 to $48,000 per 
 mile for the difficult portions over the 
 mountains. In 1864 Congress increased 
 the land grant to alternate sections in a 
 belt extending twenty miles on each side 
 of the track, making a total of 12,800 
 acres per mile of road, and putting the 
 company in possession of an aggregate of 
 close to nine million acres. Of course 
 the original contractors realized immense 
 fortunes from the undertaking, and their 
 wealth has since dominated all political 
 and economic conditions in the state. Mr. 
 Stanford, realizing the bright future be- 
 fore California, invested heavily in large 
 tracts in the fertile valleys, holding sixty 
 thousand acres in one, twenty-two thou- 
 sand in another, and smaller tracts in 
 various localities. But his favorite ranch 
 
AN ERA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 '51 
 
 was the Palo Alto Estate of 8,400 acres in 
 the beautiful Santa Clara Valley, about 
 thirty miles south of San Francisco. Here 
 he made his home, erecting a costly house 
 and great stables and conservatories. He 
 was especially fond of his horses, and the 
 Palo Alto stable soon became one of the 
 most noted in the land. Here were raised 
 some of the most royal members of the 
 horse kingdom, as Electioneer, Arion, 
 Sunol, Piedmont, and others, who were al- 
 most literally worth their weight in gold. 
 Mr. Stanford loved his horses as he loved 
 his family; and Gen. Frank Walker once 
 described a visit to the stables where he 
 was struck by the gentleness of the horses, 
 who would rub their noses all over their 
 master, and fearlessly come up to visitors 
 to be petted. Asking Mr. Stanford how 
 he contrived to keep his horses so gentle, 
 he replied, "I never allow a man to speak 
 unkindly to one of my horses ; and if a 
 man swears at one, I discharge him." 
 
 Shortly after the death of his son, to 
 turn the father's thought from his grief 
 and enforce a change of scene, his friends 
 urged him to allow his name to go before 
 the Legislature as a candidate for the 
 United States Senatorship ; and being 
 elected, he took his seat March 4, 1885. 
 
 The relation between Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stanford and their only child seems to 
 have been one of rare love and affection, 
 as well as one of companionship. Born 
 in May, 1868, Leland Junior was a bright 
 and affectionate child, but was never 
 strong or of good health. He was blessed 
 with a sunny and bright disposition, and 
 showed intellectual qualities that promised 
 future usefulness. He was kind and gen- 
 erous to a fault, and tender and con- 
 siderate of everyone, and of animals. 
 Many interesting stories are told to illus- 
 trate these characteristics; and his collec- 
 tion of stray, lame, and homeless dogs was 
 a rare one. His father and mother were 
 disposed to yield to his every impulse, 
 and many of their earlier large benefac- 
 tions were made at his suggestion. When 
 an effort was being made to establish 
 Kindergartens in San Francisco, a lady 
 having the matter in charge called on 
 
 Mrs. Stanford in the city home, where she 
 told of the needs of the poor children; 
 and it is related that Leland put his hand 
 in his mother's, saying, " Mama, we must 
 help these poor children." " Well, Le- 
 land," said his mother, " what do you wish 
 me to do?" "Give Mrs. Cooper five hun- 
 dred dollars now and let her start a school, 
 and then come to us for more." The 
 money was at once given, and the account 
 further states that between 1879 and 1892 
 Mrs. Stanford gave one hundred and sixty 
 thousand dollars as a fund for the San 
 Franciscan Kindergartens, and that her 
 name was down for eight thousand dol- 
 lars a year for their support. 
 
 Early in life Leland realized that he 
 would sometime become possessed of great 
 wealth, and he formulated many plans for 
 its useful exijenditure ; and while yet a 
 boy he had considered the founding of a 
 great institution of learning. He was 
 
 LELANIi STAXIuHD. 
 
 greatly interested in a museum for which 
 he earlj- began making collections, for 
 which his parents gave him two large 
 rooms in their San Francisco home; and 
 he became deeply interested in art and 
 archaeology. He was nearly ready to enter 
 Yale when his parents decided to make a 
 long trip abroad, of which he should have 
 
FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 the benefit; and in Athens, Eome, and all 
 the art centres his father and mother al- 
 lowed him to buy liberally of treasures for 
 his museum and for the larger institution 
 he ever had in mind. While in Home 
 symptoms of the fever developed and he 
 was hurried to Florence ; but in spite of 
 all that medical art could do he passed 
 away ilareh 13, ISS-i. The grief-stricken 
 parents brouglit the body back to his first 
 home at Palo Alto, where it was laid away 
 in a costly tomb that had been prepared, 
 on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1884. 
 Then declared the father, " the cliiUlren of 
 California siiall he our children." 
 - " From this crushing blow," says Mrs. 
 Bolton, " Mr. Stanford never recovered. 
 For years young Leland's room was kept 
 ready and in waiting, the lamp dimly 
 burning- at night, and the bed clothing 
 turned back b.y loving hands as if lie were 
 coming back again. The horses the boy 
 formerly used were kept unused in pas- 
 ture at Palo Alto and cared for for their 
 young owner's sake. The little yellow 
 dog whose broken leg he had set was left 
 at Palo Alto when the boy went to Eu- 
 rope. When his body was brought back 
 the dog knew only too well what had hap- 
 pened; and after the body was placed in 
 the tomb the faithful creature took his 
 place in front of the door, from which he 
 could not be coaxed even for his food, and 
 where one morning he was found dead. 
 He was buried near his devoted friend." 
 And Congressman Sibley of Pennsyl- 
 vania has told how, three years after the 
 death of Leland, he and Mr. Stanford 
 " went together to the tomb of the boy, 
 and the father told amid tears and sobs 
 how, since the death of his son, he had 
 adopted and taken to his heart and love 
 every friendless boy and girl in all the 
 land, and that, so far as his means af- 
 forded, they should go to make the path 
 of every such an one smoother and 
 brighter." This love for young people 
 was manifested during their life in Wash- 
 ington while Congress was in session. 
 They gave an annual dinner to the Sen- 
 ate pages, with a gift for each one. and at 
 Christmas each received a five-dollar gold 
 
 piece. A dinner was given every winter to 
 the telegraph and messenger boys of the 
 city, with gifts of money, gloves; etc. 
 Evei-y Orphan Asylum and Charity Hos- 
 pital in the city was also liberally remem- 
 bered at Christmas. And Mr. Sibley fur- 
 ther relates that he and his partner bought 
 a young colt of the Senator for which 
 they paid $12,500. He immediately took 
 out his checkbook, and drew two checks 
 for $0,250 each f(n' two different Homes 
 for friendless children; and with a twinkle 
 in his eye, he said, " Electric Bell ought 
 to make a great horse, he starts in making 
 so many people happy in the very begin- 
 ning of his life." 
 
 The bereaved father and mother lost no 
 time in preparing their plans for the 
 great monument to the memory of their 
 beloved son and on the nineteenth anni- 
 versary of his birth, May 14, 1887, the 
 corner-stone of the first building of the 
 University was laid at Palo x\lto; and in 
 a little over four years, Oct. 1, 1891, the 
 doors of the institution were opened for 
 students of both sexes, the donor declar- 
 ing to his trustees that " the rights of one 
 sex, political or otherwise, are the same 
 as those of the other sex, and this equality 
 of rights ought to be fully recognized." 
 And in reference to his imrpose in found- 
 ing the University Mr. Stanford said: 
 " The object is not alone to give the 
 student a technical education, fitting him 
 for a successful business life, but it is 
 also to instill into his mind an apprecia- 
 tion of the blessings of this government, 
 a reverence for its institutions, and a love 
 for God and humanity." 
 
 Mr. Stanford lived to see his Univer- 
 sity opened and doing successful work. 
 The old Spanish Mission architecture, 
 so common in Southern California, was 
 adopted as the prevailing style for the 
 buildings, the plans having been originally 
 drawn by Richardson, the distinguished 
 Boston architect. " The plan contem- 
 plates a number of quadrangles in the 
 midst of a great park of 8,400 acres. The 
 central group, consisting of two quad- 
 rangles, one entirely surrounding the 
 other, is completed; and its twelve one- 
 
AN EEA OF PKINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 753 
 
 story buildings are connected by a con- 
 tinuous arcade facing a paved court five 
 hundred and eiglity feet long and two 
 hundred and fifty vride, with an area of 
 three and a quarter acres. This court is 
 adorned with palms and many of the 
 bright flowers that grow in such profu- 
 sion in that country. The buildings are 
 of a buff sandstone." 
 
 Mr. Stanford and his trustees were for- 
 tunate in being able to secure the services 
 of the distinguished educator and natu- 
 ralist David Starr Jordan for president of 
 
 Francisco bay, and directly opposite the 
 Golden Gate, has been the recipient of 
 many valuable gifts from Mi-s. Phaba 
 Hearst: and it is generally understood 
 that it will later become an object of far 
 greater benefaction from the same source. 
 A notable gift was made to this Univer- 
 sity by C. F. Doe, of San Francisco, in 
 1907, he bequeathing si.x million dollars 
 to the Regents to establish a memorial 
 library. This sum becomes payable in in- 
 stallments as the estate may warrant, but 
 two and a half million dollars were set 
 
 .^.^. — f t^"^^ tii ff ((wr"i(Bflit i i!liy ^¥ iimMM 
 
 i3f?Jf:J6 
 
 THE GREEK THEATRE, UNrVERSITT OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 the University, who is still doing noble 
 work in that office. At his death Mr. 
 Stanford left all his estate in his wife's 
 control, as he always considered all bene- 
 factions as much her interest as his own. 
 She provided liberally for its needs until 
 her death, when the entire estate passed to 
 the University. The value was estimated 
 at about thirty millions, making Stanford, 
 for the present, the most liberally endowed 
 educational institution in the world. 
 
 The University of California, most 
 beautifully situated at Berkeley on San 
 48 
 
 apart as the first installment, and a 
 superb library building of majestic pro- 
 portions is now being erected. 
 
 Of course the most notable of the many 
 princely gifts that are connected with the 
 name of the city of Chicago, is the estab- 
 lishment and endowment of its great 
 T^niversity. As this has been so largely 
 the work of one man, however, it will be 
 more particularly referred to in connec- 
 tion with Mr. Rockefeller's many bene- 
 factions. The career of the Armours, and 
 the development of their enormous pack- 
 
754 
 
 TKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 ing business, is too well known to call for 
 any mention here. One of the well-known 
 institutions of the city is the Armour Mis- 
 sion, of which the founder of the house, 
 P. D. Armour, was a constant and liberal 
 supporter. The Mission also has a free 
 kindergarten, and a free dispensarj' ; and 
 to insure for this work a constant 
 revenue, Mr. Armour built the "Armour 
 Flats " near it, having two hundred and 
 sixteen apartments that rent from seven- 
 teen to thirty-five dollars a month. Mr. 
 Armour's principal gift, however, was a 
 million and a half dollars to build and 
 endow the "Armour Institute," a techni- 
 cal school of high order which has done 
 excellent work. His later gifts, and 
 those of his sons, have increased the en- 
 dowment to upwards of three million 
 dollars. 
 
 A few years ago extended accounts ap- 
 peared in the papers of the visit to this 
 country of the renowned Dr. Lorenz, of 
 Germany, whom Mr. J. Ogden Armour 
 had induced to come here in the hope that 
 the doctor's system of "bloodless surgery" 
 might restore to normal condition his 
 little crippled daughter, Lolita. While in 
 this country Dr. Lorenz treated also many 
 cases of poor people gratuitously, and all 
 his work, including that in the family of 
 Mr. Armour, seemed to be uniformly suc- 
 cessful. As a thank ofFering for the bene- 
 fits received by his little daughter Mr. Ar- 
 mour, in 1902, provided grounds and a 
 building, and set aside three million 
 dollars for the endowment of the " Lolita 
 Armour Institute of Bloodless Surgery," 
 under the direction of Frederick Mueller, 
 an advanced student of Professor Lorenz, 
 who had been his assistant in the opera- 
 tion on Mr. Armour's daughter. 
 
 One of Chicago's most generous givers 
 has been Dr. D. K. Pearsons, who was 
 born at Bradford, Vt., in 1820; and 
 after graduating from college and the 
 medical school, began the practice of his 
 profession in Chicopee, Mass., in 1849. 
 In 1857 he moved to the middle West, and 
 was engaged in farming in Illinois for 
 three years when he settled in Chicago, 
 engaging in the real estate business. 
 
 Having accumulated a large fortune he 
 retired from active business in 1887, and 
 has since interested himself in the wel- 
 fare of many of the smaller colleges of 
 the West, which he has helped liberally by 
 donations ranging from fifty thousand 
 to three hundred thousand dollars. In 
 nearly every case, he has conditioned his 
 gifts upon the raising of a considerably 
 larger amount by the friends of the in- 
 stitution to be benefited. In this way 
 he has given during the last twenty years 
 upwards of three and a half million 
 dollars, placing him high up on the roll 
 of liberal benefactors of educational 
 institutions. 
 
 Chicago has been particularly fortunate 
 in the matter of endowments for libraries, 
 and will soon have three of the finest 
 libraiy buildings in the United States, 
 with collections of books worthy of the 
 buildings that house them. Walter L. 
 Newberry, who was born at East Windsor, 
 Ct., in 1804, having fitted for the Military 
 Academy at West Point, was rejected on 
 account of physical conditions. He then 
 turned toward the West, engaging in the 
 dry-goods business in Detroit from 1828 
 to 1834, when he removed to Chicago, 
 then a city of three thousand population, 
 and started in the banking business. 
 Shortly after settling there he invested a 
 small amount of money he had brought 
 with him in forty acres of land on the 
 North side, in the very centre of the dis- 
 trict that early became the aristocratic 
 residence section of the city, and still re- 
 tains that distinction. At his death, in 
 1868, he left an estate valued at five 
 million dollars to his wife and two 
 daughters; if the daughters died un- 
 married, lialf the property after the death 
 of his wife should go to brothers and 
 sisters, and half to found a library. 
 Both daughters died unmarried, and the 
 widow in 1885, so that the trustees came 
 into possession of $2,500,000 for library 
 purposes. As a result the " Newberry 
 Library " was established on the North 
 side, the building being three hundred by 
 sixty feet, though the plan calls for the 
 doubling of the latter dimension. There 
 
AN ERA OF PKIXCELY GIFTS. 
 
 100 
 
 is now room for one million books, wliicli 
 will be increased to space for ft)ur million 
 when the addition to the present library 
 is made. The trustees made a most happy 
 selection of a librarian, securing the serv- 
 ices of Dr. William F. Poole, very 
 familiarly known for his useful service to 
 all students in the preparation of " Poole's 
 Index " to periodical literature. Upon his 
 death, in 1894, John Vance Cheney, the 
 distinguished author and poet, was se- 
 lected as his successor, — a case where its 
 two librarians have conferred distinction 
 upon the institution which they served. 
 As the City Public Library was already 
 well established and equipjied, it was de- 
 cided to make the Newberry a public 
 reference library. 
 
 John Crerar, the son of Scotch parents, 
 was born in New York and at the age of 
 eighteen became a clerk in a mercantile 
 house. In 1802 he went to Chicago and 
 engaged in the iron business, as well as 
 having interests in several railroads. He 
 was never married, but lived quietly at 
 the Grand Pacific Hotel until his death, 
 in 1889. He was a very liberal man dur- 
 ing his later life, and at his death left 
 various sums ranging from five to fifty 
 thousand dollars to several friends; 
 "$20,000 to each of his first, $10,000 to 
 each of his second, and $5,000 to each of 
 his third cousins; " one hundred thousand 
 dollars to his church (the Second Pres- 
 byterian), and a like sum to its missions; 
 to ten charitable organizations, fifty 
 thousand dollars each; one hundred 
 thousand dollars for a statue of Abraham 
 Lincoln ; and from ten to twenty-five 
 thousand dollars to each of several other 
 organizations. The residue of his estate 
 was left to trustees to establish the John 
 Crerar Library on the South side of the 
 City, the Newberry being already deter- 
 mined upon for the North side. Referring 
 to this bequest Mr. Crerar said in his will : 
 " I desire the books and periodicals se- 
 lected with a view to create and sustain 
 a healthy moral and Christian sentiment 
 in the community. / do not mean hy this 
 that there shall not le anything hut hymn- 
 hooks and sermons; hut I mean that dirty 
 
 French novels, and all sTceptical trash, 
 and works of questionahle mo7-al tone, 
 shall never he found in this lihrary. I 
 want its atmosphere that of Christian re- 
 finement, and its aim and ohject the huihl- 
 ing up of character." For tl\e home of 
 
 JOHN CRERAR. 
 
 this library a magnificent marble building 
 will soon be completed on the Lake Front 
 Park (Michigan Avenue) near the Art 
 Museum, and but about four blocks from 
 the City library. The trustees of the 
 Crerar have adopted more particularly 
 the scientific line for its development, 
 while the special field of the Newberry is 
 the arts, literature, and the humanities, 
 with the City library to meet the ordinary 
 demands of general readers. The libraries 
 of the three institutions work together in 
 perfect harmony, and by this arrangement 
 each is enabled to do more in its particu- 
 lar line than if it was obliged to attempt 
 to cover the whole range of knowledge. 
 As the distance from the Crerar to the 
 Newberry is only about half a mile, with 
 the City library situated on the direct 
 line between them, together they practi- 
 cally form one foundation not unlike the 
 
756 
 
 PKOM CULOXY TO WOliLD POWER. 
 
 Astor-Lonox-Tili'eri Foundation of New 
 York ; but, we are disposed to believe, 
 better able to serve the student public 
 more conveniently in their separate quar- 
 ters than will the New York Foundation 
 be able to do in its one great building. 
 
 The Washington University at St. 
 Louis, ilo., was especially favored by 
 many of its frieiuls toward the close of 
 the last century. To further this move- 
 ment two St. Louis merchants, E. S. 
 Brookings and S. Cupples, transferred to 
 the trustees of the University a business 
 property known as Cupples Station, which 
 was paying an income of ten per cent on 
 five million dollars. As a recognition of 
 his services in this undertaking, Mr. 
 Brookings was made an honorary graduate 
 
 PETEK COOPEK. 
 
 of Yale in 1899, " in acknowledgment of 
 services rendered to the cause of higher 
 education as president of tlie Board of 
 Trustees of Washington University, St. 
 Louis, in which capacity he succeeded in 
 interesting many citizens to contribute 
 funds necessary to practically refound the 
 University, including a site of more than 
 
 one hundred acres, new buildings of the 
 highest class and equipment, increased 
 endowment, etc." 
 
 One of the oldest and most useful in- 
 stitutions of New York for the purpose of 
 advancing technical education is the 
 " Cooper Union for the Advancement of 
 Science and x\rt," founded by Peter 
 Cooper. It would be almost easier to 
 enumerate the different enterprises that 
 Mr. Cooper did not engage in during his 
 early life than to name those that he did. 
 His father was by trade a liatter, and 
 Peter, born in New York in 1791, " as 
 soon as his head could be seen above the 
 table " began to assist in the work. After 
 many experiments, in all of which he was, 
 in a measure, successful, he purchased a 
 largo glue factory located between 31st 
 and 34th streets. New York ; and when 
 a few years later the lease on the land ex- 
 pired, he bought ten acres of land in 
 Brooklyn, and moved the business there, 
 where it has since been profitably con- 
 tinued. In 1828 he bought three thousand 
 acres within the city limits of Baltimore 
 and erected the Canton Iron works, which 
 was the first of the great works in this 
 industry in the country. He determined 
 to dispose of his Baltimore interests, and 
 a part was bought by Boston capitalists 
 who reorganized the Canton Iron Co., 
 Cooiier taking a large part of his price 
 for the property in stock of the new com- 
 pany on the basis of forty-four dollars a 
 share, which he afterwards sold at the rate 
 of two hundred and thirty. He was also 
 largely identified with the development of 
 the iron industry throughout the eastern 
 part of Pennsylvania. But not alone in- 
 dustrial and commercial affairs received 
 his attention, for he was identified with 
 all the movements in his native city look- 
 ing toward better civil conditions and the 
 advancement of learning; and being a 
 trustee of the first Public School Society 
 founded to promote public schools in New 
 York, when that body was merged in the 
 Board of Education, he was made a 
 School Commissioner. He has, however, 
 been most widely known for his interest 
 in industrial education, of the need of 
 
AN ERA or PRIISfGELY GIFTS. 
 
 757 
 
 which his own experience had profoundly 
 convinced him. With the idea of furnish- 
 ing a home for the proper instruction of 
 tlie working classes he purchased the block 
 bounded by Third and Fourth avenues and 
 7th and 8th streets; and from his own 
 plans the Cooper Union was formed. The 
 corner stone was laid in 1854, and five 
 years later, upon the completion of what 
 was then one of the remarkable buildings 
 of the city, Mr. Cooper transferred the 
 property in fee simple to six trustees, who 
 were empowered to devote the rents and 
 income to a scheme of education which 
 should include, in the founder's own 
 words, " instruction in branches of knowl- 
 edge by which men earn their daily bread; 
 in laws of health and the improvement 
 of the sanitary conditions of families as 
 well as individuals; in social and politi- 
 cal science, whereby cominunities and na- 
 tions advance in virtue, wealth, and 
 IJower ; and finally in matters which affect 
 the eye, the ear, and the imagination, and 
 furnish a basis for recreation to the work- 
 ing classes." Free courses of lectures on 
 social and political science were estab- 
 lished, also a free reading room; and col- 
 lections of works of art and of scientific 
 subjects were provided, and a school for 
 the instruction of women in the arV of de- 
 sign, by which they may gain a liveli- 
 hood. The building with its improve- 
 ments has cost nearly $750,000, and an 
 endowment of $200,000 was provided to 
 maintain the reading room and library. 
 The annual expense of the schools and 
 lectures, varying from sixty to seventy- 
 five thousand dollars a year, has been 
 largely covered from rents derived from 
 parts of the building not occupied by 
 the Union. More recently endowments 
 amounting to a half million dollars or 
 more have been provided by Mr. Cooper's 
 heirs, the Coopers and Hewitts; and the 
 sphere of the Union's influence has been 
 greatly enlarged. Few institutions in any 
 city have a more enviable record for the 
 real benefits conferred upon those most 
 needing such assistance and entertain- 
 ment, and for more than fifty years its 
 great halls, and reading and lecture rooms. 
 
 have nightly been filled to overflowing by 
 an interested, eager body of men. Some 
 few years since a large bronze statue of 
 the venerable founder, executed by St. 
 Gaudens, was set up in the little triangu- 
 lar park in front of the building, between 
 the junction of Third and Fourth avenues. 
 It is hardly necessary to relate any in- 
 cidents of the life of John Jacob Astor, 
 so much has been written about the 
 family. Born in the little town of 
 Waldorf, near Heidelberg, Germany, in 
 1763, he helped his father, a butcher, until 
 he was sixteen, when he determined to 
 join an elder brother in London, who 
 worked in the piano and flute factory of 
 an uncle. Having no money he set out 
 on foot for the Rhine; and resting under 
 a tree on his iirst day's walk he formu- 
 lated his resolutions for his future life, 
 it is said, in a brief sentence, — " I will 
 he honest, indusirious, and never gamhle." 
 Eventually reaching London he renuiined 
 there until 1783, working with his brother, 
 and learning the English language. Hav- 
 ing saved seventy-five dollars, he invested 
 twenty-five in seven flutes, purchased a 
 steerage passage to New York for a like 
 amount, and put the balance in his pocket. 
 On the passage he fell in with a furrier 
 who told him that nioney could be made 
 by buying furs from the Indians on the 
 frontier and selling them to dealers. As 
 soon as he arrived in New York he 
 entered the employ of a Quaker furrier, 
 and learned all he could about the busi- 
 ness, in the meantime selling his flutes 
 and using the money to buy furs. How 
 his business grew the whole world knows. 
 As he accumulated money he invested it 
 in real estate in the city; and as a result 
 of his simple living, profitable business, 
 and rapid advances in real estate values, 
 he was worth twenty million dollars when 
 he died in 1848. Wishing to leave some 
 bequest of value and use to his adopted 
 city he consulted his friends Washing- 
 ton Irving, Dr. Cogswell, and Fitz-Greene 
 Halleck, the poet, who advised him to 
 found a public library. Accordingly he 
 bequeathed to trustees the sum of four 
 hundred thousand dollars for that pur- 
 
'o8 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 pose. His eldest son, William B. Astor, 
 left and gave during his lifetime the 
 further sum of live hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars; and in 18S9 Julm 
 Jacob, the grandson, gave eiglit hundvrd 
 and fifty thousand dollars further to en- 
 
 JOHN JACOB ASTOE. 
 
 large the building and increase its use- 
 fulness. The completed building has a 
 frontage of two hundred feet on Lafayette 
 street, in 1848 far up-to\vn, but now in 
 the heart of the wholesale business dis- 
 trict of the city. The library was for 
 many years the most used anJ most use- 
 ful library in the country; and at the 
 time of consolidation under the Tilikii 
 foundation had about three hundred and 
 fifty thousand volumes. It has many very 
 rare and costly books, one of which is a 
 copy of "Wyclif's translation of the New 
 Testament made in 1390 A. D.. before the 
 age of printing, which, sa.ys the learned 
 librarian, Mr. Saunders, " so closely re- 
 sembles the black letter tyi^e as almost 
 to deceive a practiced eye." Here also is 
 the second jn'inted Bible, on vellum, date 
 14G2, for which nine thousand dollars was 
 paid. 
 
 Robert Lenox, a Scotch merchant who 
 had accumulated a fortune, came to this 
 country and settled in New York in 1784. 
 Among his early ventures here was the 
 purchase of a farm of forty acres whose 
 centre would be approximately where 
 Fifth Avenue and Seventy-second street 
 meet to-day. For this he paid altogether 
 about ten thousand dollars, which he con- 
 sidered too much, but he forbade his heirs 
 selling it for some years as he believed 
 there " would ultimately he a village 
 there." His only son, James, was born 
 in New York in 1800, was educated at 
 I'rinceton and Columbia, and studied law 
 though he never practiced his profession. 
 He went to Europe soon after completing 
 his education and began to collect rare 
 and curious books, which became the pas- 
 sion of his life. He was hardly less de- 
 voted to art than to literature; and gave 
 fifty years of his life to the making of a 
 library and forming a gallery of art which 
 unquestionably surpassed any collection, 
 in its combined features, which has been 
 seen in the new world. He had fallen in 
 love with, and proposed marriage to. a 
 young lady who, for some reason, re- 
 jected him; and both remained single for 
 the remainder of their lives. Mr. Lenox 
 then made his libraiy his mistress, be- 
 coming a confirmed recluse and retiring 
 entirely from the social world. In 1839 
 his father died, leaving him several 
 million dollars, which enabled him to 
 gratify his tastes without stint. In IsTo 
 he conveyed to his native city his library 
 and art collection, together with the 
 magiiificent building he had erected to 
 contain them. This, the Lenox Library, 
 covered the block on Fifth Avenue be- 
 tween Seventieth and Seventy-first streets, 
 the building being of limestone with a 
 front of two hundred feet and depth of 
 one hundred and fourteen feet. The 
 Library and art collection were valued at 
 one million dollars, and the building and 
 grounds were worth as much more, mak- 
 ing, all its features considered, one of the 
 most royal gifts ever made to any city. 
 The library is one of the richest in the 
 world in Bibles, containing one of the 
 
 1 
 
AN EKA OF PRINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 r59 
 
 three or four existing copies of the 
 Mazarin Bible, the first book printed 
 from movable type; and there are in all 
 twenty-two hundred English Bibles, dat- 
 ing from 1493, and twelve hundred Bibles 
 in other languages, including five copies 
 of Eliot's Indian Bible. It is hardly less 
 rich in Americana, Shakesperiana, and 
 the works of, and about, Milton. In 1887 
 the last surviving sister of Mr. Lenox 
 gave to the trustees ten lots adjoining the 
 Library, which are of great value; and in 
 1879 Eobert Lenox Kennedy, a nephew 
 and president of the Board of Trustees, 
 added to the Art Gallery Munkacsy's 
 great painting, " Milton Dictating Para- 
 dise Lost," which is said to have cost one 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 James Lenox, the founder, was an ex- 
 ceptionally peculiar man, though a most 
 useful citizen. He was for several years 
 president of the American Bible Society, 
 to which he gave most liberally. Prince- 
 ton College and Theological Seminary 
 were each also greatly enriched by his 
 bounty. In addition to these gifts which 
 could hardly be kept from the public 
 knowledge, he was constantly giving to 
 worthy causes, but on condition that the 
 name of the donor should be kept abso- 
 lutely secret. On one occasion he gave 
 seven thousand dollars to a lady for a 
 charitable purpose, exacting from her the 
 usual pledge of secrecy. But she failed 
 to keep it. Sometime after she appealed 
 to him to aid another worthy cause, which 
 he acknowledged he was disposed to do, 
 but declined because the lady had exposed 
 him on the previous occasion. His home 
 life, if such it may be called, was most 
 secluded. Many distinguished people of 
 this country and coming from Europe, in- 
 cluding the Marquis of DufPerin when he 
 was Governor General of Canada, desired 
 to call on him, but he declined to see one 
 and all. And it is related that a distin- 
 guished and widely known scholar who 
 was prosecuting some researches for 
 which he could not find the material out- 
 side of Lenox's collection appealed to him 
 to be allowed access to it. The request 
 was granted, but the scholar was not per- 
 
 mitted to cross the threshold of the 
 library. A large and convenient room was 
 set apart for him in the spacious Lenox 
 mansion for such time as should suit his 
 pleasure to use it, and books were taken 
 to him as he needed them by the private 
 librarian ; but though his work continued 
 for some weeks, the writer saw neither the 
 library nor Mr. Lenox. And as he 
 neared the end of life, his request was 
 that no details should be given out for 
 publication, nor even the hour of his quiet 
 funeral announced. 
 
 In 1886 Samuel J. Tilden, one of New 
 York's most noted lawyers and most in- 
 fluential citizens, died, leaving an estate 
 valued at upwards of five million dollars. 
 It was his intention that practically the 
 whole of this, together with his private 
 library of twenty thousand volumes, 
 should go to the city to establish a public 
 circulating library, which up to that time 
 was practically unknown there. His will 
 was contested, however, with the result 
 that the library fund amounted to only 
 about one-half of the original amount. 
 
 SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 
 
 x\.s the long legal battle delayed the exe- 
 cution of the trust, the subject of a con- 
 solidation of the Lenox and Astor libraries 
 with the Tilden foundation came to the 
 front, and it was finally decided to take 
 such a step, and create one great central 
 
rGu 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 library. Accordingly the New York Pub- 
 lic Library — Astor, Lenox, and Tilden 
 fiiundations, — was established by consoli- 
 dation on Jlay 23, 1895. The new cor- 
 poration had an endowment of $3,440,500 
 and owned besides the very valuable sites 
 of the Lenox and Astor libraries. It pos- 
 sessed at that time about four hundred 
 
 J. PIERPONT MORGAN. 
 
 thousand volumes, a number that has been 
 nearly doubled up to the present day. 
 Steps were successfully taken to secure the 
 old reservoir site on Fifth Avenue between 
 Forty and Forty-second streets as a loca- 
 tion for a new library building; and au- 
 thority was secured from the State legis- 
 lature to issue bonds to the extent of five 
 million dollars to erect a library building 
 wiirtliy nf the city, and of the treasures 
 that would be stored within it. Work on 
 the new building was begun in 1902, and 
 it is anticipated that it will be completed 
 and read,y to open to the public in 1909. 
 The structure is a massive and imposing 
 edifice, built of white mai'ble, 366 feet 
 long and 240 feet wide. As at present 
 planned there will be shelf rooiu for a 
 million and a half volumes; but an ample 
 vacant Irit in the rear will admit of an ex- 
 
 tension that would accommodate from 
 four to five million volumes. In 1901 
 Mr. Carnegie proposed to give to the city 
 $5,200,000 to establish sixty-five branch 
 libraries, on condition that the city would 
 provide sites, and bind itself to raise ten 
 per cent of the amount annually to sup- 
 port these branches. The gift and con- 
 ditions were both accepted, and several of 
 the branches are alread.y in use, and others 
 are being provided as fast as suitable sites 
 can be iJrocured. 
 
 A very generous giver of whom the 
 world has heard little was Mrs. Mary 
 Macrae Stuart, widow of Robert L. 
 Stuart, the head of one of the old firms 
 of sugar refiners. At her death in 1891 
 she bequeathed the R. L. Stuart Fine 
 Art Collections, valued at a half million 
 dollars, to the Lenox Library, on condi- 
 tion that the collection should not be ex- 
 hibited on Sunday; and to various 
 religious and charitable societies con- 
 nected with the Presbyterian Church, and 
 to hospitals and relief societies in New 
 York city, she distributed more than six 
 million dollars. It was her wish to give 
 largely to the Museum of Natural History 
 and the Museum of Art ; but her deadly 
 fear that they would be opened on Sunday 
 restrained her. 
 
 One of New York's liberal benefactors, 
 and with good reason, has been and 
 is Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. Various 
 amounts from fifty thousand to a quarter 
 of a million have been given by him to 
 aid several good causes of which we have 
 no record. But his known gifts during 
 the past few years have amounted to more 
 than six and a half million dollars, and 
 have been distributed somewhat as fol- 
 lows: To the University of the South, 
 $2,000,000; to the Hai-vard Medical 
 School, $1,000,000; to establish the Lying- 
 in Hospital near St. George's Church, 
 New York city, $1,350,000; to St. 
 John's Cathedral, $500,000 ; to the Young 
 Men's Christian Association of New 
 York, $100,000; to the Loomis Cancer 
 Hospital, $500,000; to a fund to preserve 
 the Palisades of the Hudson, $125,000; 
 for a library at Holyoke, Mass., $100,000; 
 
AN EEA OF PKINCELY GIFTS. 
 
 161 
 
 for a Parish House and Rectory for 
 St. George's Qiureh, $300,000; and to 
 the New York Trades Training School, 
 $500,000. St. George's Church is one of 
 the great democratic churches of the 
 Episcopal communion, with a widely ex- 
 tended parish embracing thousands of the 
 poor on the east side. The mission work 
 of the church covers a wide area and is 
 lovingly prosecuted. Mr. Morgan has for 
 years stood back of this work and has been 
 liberal in its support. Many and costly 
 have been his gifts to the Metropolitan 
 ]\Iuseum of Art, of which he is now the 
 president; and while there is no public 
 record of his liberality toward that insti- 
 tution, it would undoubtedly represent at 
 least another million dollars. 
 
 The Vanderbilts have given in all over 
 a million dollars to the Vanderbilt Uni- 
 versity of Nashville, Tenn., and it is 
 known that the gifts of the family to 
 various hospitals in the city have been 
 large. Difierent members of the family, 
 too, have been generous benefactors of 
 Yale University, having given the money 
 for several of the finest buildings on the 
 campus. For many years the Rev. Dr. 
 Greer, of St. Bartholomew's Church, 
 acted as the almoner of the private chari- 
 ties of the family, which it is understood 
 have been very liberal. 
 
 A somewhat novel foundation was laid 
 by Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, owner and mana- 
 ging editor of the New York " World," 
 when, in 1902, he gave two million dollars 
 to establish a School of Journalism in 
 connection with Columbia University. 
 The donor had had this purpose in mind 
 for many years, and as early as 1892 had 
 laid his plans before President Low of 
 lhe University, who rejected them. After 
 studying the subject more carefully for 
 several years Mr. Pulitzer again ap- 
 proached the President, then Nicholas 
 ilurray Butler, and his scheme was ap- 
 proved and his gift accepted. In the 
 North American Review for May. 1904. 
 Mr. Pulitzer outlined his plans and ex- 
 plained his purpose. " Before the century 
 closes," he said, " Schools of Journalism 
 will be as universally accepted as features 
 
 of a general education as are schools of 
 law and medicine. It is objected that the 
 journalist must be born, not made; but the 
 only position that it occurs to me a man 
 in our Republic can successfully fill by 
 simple fact of birth is that of idiot. The 
 objection that everything needed is now 
 taught in the regular college course ap- 
 pears to have some force. It is possible 
 that it may be advanced with sincerity by 
 intelligent newspaper men who know noth- 
 ing of colleges, or by intelligent college 
 men who know nothing about newspapers. 
 But it is superficial. It is true that many 
 of the subjects needed for the general edu- 
 cation of a journalist are already covered 
 in college; but they are too much covered. 
 The spirit of specialization is everj-where, 
 and there is specialization in newspaper 
 offices. The editor of a New York paper 
 confined to the editorial page is as much 
 surprised as the reader when in the morn- 
 ing he reads the news column. The news 
 editor does not know what editorials there 
 will be ; the musical critic could not write 
 of sporting events; the man with the 
 priceless sense of humor could not record 
 and interpret the movements of the stock- 
 market. The men in all these fields are 
 specialists. The object of the School of 
 Journalism will be to dig through this 
 general scheme intended to cover every 
 possible career or work in life, every pro- 
 fession, to select and concentrate only 
 upon the things which the journalist 
 wants, and not waste time on things he 
 does not want." 
 
 One of New York's richest men had 
 long held an unenviable reputation for 
 niggardly and even miserly character- 
 istics, and that was Russell Sage. Though 
 interested financially in many railroads, 
 banks, and financial institutions, one of 
 his chief sources of great profits in recent 
 years has been the loaning of money " on 
 call " to brokers and others who get into 
 tight places when there is a panicky condi- 
 tion or crisis on the stock market. For 
 such loans enormous rates of interest are 
 charged, running sometimes as high as 
 fifty per cent, or even, in extreme cases, 
 to one hundred per cent. For this pur- 
 
i62 
 
 FKOM COLON V TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 pose Mr. Sage, of course, always kept 
 millions of ready money in the banks, and 
 could act at once. These transactions, 
 coupled with general hardness in busi- 
 ness relations, scarcely tended to establish 
 a position of honor and esteem among his 
 business associates, nor to make for him 
 a warm place in the hearts of his fellow- 
 men, though his integrity and public and 
 private life were above reproach. He had, 
 f o • some reason, been led to make some 
 gifts to Cornell LTniversity, amounting in 
 all, perhaps, to half a million dollars ; but 
 beyond that, so far as we can learn, he 
 had not opened his heart or purse to 
 further any public causes. Consequently 
 when he passed away there was but little 
 public mourning, and few regrets were 
 expressed ; but an eager curiosity was 
 
 Photo. Copyrighted by Rockwood^ N. T. 
 
 MRS. RUSSELL SAGE. 
 
 manifested to know what disposition he 
 had made of the very many millions of 
 dollars he was known to possess. It was 
 somewhat of a disappointment, therefore, 
 when it was learned that all had been left 
 to his wife, without public bequests of any 
 significance. In 1907, however, Mrs. Sage 
 
 announced gifts to various institutions 
 and organizations aggregating $4,180,000, 
 at the same time stating that she had 
 set aside ten millions for the perpetual 
 endowment of the " Russell Sage Founda- 
 tion," whose object was stated to be the 
 " improvement of social and living condi- 
 tions in the United States^" The means 
 to be employed in this beneficent work 
 are very broad, including " research, pub- 
 lication, education, the establishment and 
 maintenance or aid of charitable or benev- 
 olent activities, agencies, and institu- 
 tions." With its extensive resources and 
 freedom in the range of means to be em- 
 ployed, it is anticipated that the Founda- 
 tion will take up the larger and more 
 difficult problems connected with the 
 " cause of adverse social conditions in the 
 LTnited States, including ignorance, pov- 
 erty and vice." The administration of 
 the Fund is ^'j the hands of eight trustees 
 who are responsible for the expenditure of 
 the income, and who are permitted to in- 
 vest any part of the Fund " in plans for 
 social betterment which themselves pro- 
 duce income." At the end of the year 
 only the more general plans for the ad- 
 ministration of the Fund had been formu- 
 lated ; and it was expected that some 
 montlis would be required to survey the 
 tlehl, determine lines of policy to be fol- 
 lowed, and to organize working ma- 
 chinery. The Board of Directors is 
 unique in the proportion of women it 
 includes, and is as follows: Mrs. Russell 
 Sage, Pres., Robert W. DeForest, Cleve- 
 land H. Dodge, Helen Gould, Robert C. 
 Ogden. ilrs. W. B. Rice, and Louisa Lee 
 Schuyler. 
 
 Lowell wrote: 
 " Not what we give but what we share. 
 
 For the gift without the giver is bare." 
 If the poet's measure of the value of a 
 gift is the true one, then it is difficult to 
 classify Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Carnegie 
 as " great givers " in the same sense that 
 we have classed nearly all those mentioned 
 in the preceding record. Of course, 
 everything that is given is a gift; but the 
 virtue of the act is popularly felt to lie 
 in the fact that the gift has cost the 
 
AN ERA OF PKIXCELY GIFTS. 
 
 763 
 
 giver some little sacrifice, or lias per- 
 ceptibly cut into his wealth if the gift is 
 a great one. In other words, the essence 
 of the gift-idea seems to be lacking if one 
 only turns over to another what he can- 
 not under any circumstances use, and the 
 parting with which he cannot under any 
 circumstances feel. In nearly all the 
 cases we have described above the donor 
 parted with the bulk of all his property, 
 with the result that it meant something 
 to him, though he may still have retained 
 enough to enable him to live in affluence, 
 and have an ample residue to divide 
 among relatives and friends at his death. 
 But in the case of the great so-called 
 philanthropists just named it is hardly 
 possible that either should ever in any 
 degree have felt the loss of the amounts 
 they have distributed during the past fif- 
 teen years. Indeed it would probably bo 
 found true, if the facts could be known, 
 that, averaging the amounts donated by 
 these men over the years during which 
 they have been indulging in their pro- 
 digality, neither of them has ever given 
 more than a good jjercentage of his income, 
 without touching the principal at all. 
 Moreover, as we have before suggested, the 
 conditions under which the great givers 
 previous to about 1890 acquired their 
 wealth were vastly different from those 
 which have since obtained. Then fifty 
 or even sixty years of earnest, self-deny- 
 ing, unceasing struggle barely seiwed to 
 accumulate a few million dollars under 
 tlie most favorable circumstances ; while 
 latterly a few years have sufiiced to en- 
 able the especially privileged to roll up 
 more millions than the rich merchant of 
 thirty or forty years ago had thousands. 
 And it is not unreasonable to look upon 
 Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Carnegie and 
 their class, who have acquired millions 
 of dollars as the result of special legis- 
 lation and privilege, as self-appointed 
 trustees to collect from the people of the 
 country great amounts which they take 
 great satisfaction in returning to them 
 in a measure, but in such a way as may 
 suit their particular fancies, or most 
 effectually exalt the trustees themselves 
 
 in the estimation of amazed and admir- 
 ing peoples. That this is not mere fancy, 
 Mr. Carnegie himself has boi'ne witness. 
 At the great celebration in 1907 of the 
 eleventh anniversary of the founding of 
 the Carnegie Institute at Pittsburg, wlien 
 the distinguished founder had gathered 
 about him noted men from all parts of 
 the world as his guests from thi.^ time each 
 left his home until he should reacli it 
 again, Mr. Carnegie made a somewhat re- 
 markable address. Referring to the 
 grandeur of the buildings and the mag- 
 nificence of all their appointments and 
 accessories, he said : " I have been in a 
 dream all the moi'ning and I am not 
 awake yet. I really cannot understand it 
 all. I confess to you as I have had 
 to confess to several, that I am totally 
 unable to realize that I have had any 
 part in creating tliis Institute (up to 
 that date he had given it nineteen million 
 dollars). Yesterday when I was telling 
 Mrs. Carnegie that I felt that Aladdin 
 and his lamp had been at work, that genii 
 had created this Institute, she said: ' Yes; 
 and we did not even have to rub the 
 lamp ' . . . I said to myself, ' Yes, 
 you gave Mr. Frew (president of the 
 Board of Trustees) a little piece of paper 
 addressed to Mr. Franks, saying he wouhl 
 honor the draft. Very well, I did, but I 
 have never seen the bonds which they tell 
 me I possess, — never ! I know Mr. Franks 
 says he has them, and that is all . . . 
 As far as I know 'there are as many bonds 
 lying in tlie vault as there were before." 
 This being Mr. Carnegie's mental attitude 
 there can be but little of the giver in the 
 gift, which, measured by Mr. Lowell's 
 dictum, must be very bare. 
 
 Mr. Rockefeller first achieved the repu- 
 tation of a great benefactor by his gifts 
 to establish and help maintain the Uni- 
 versity of Chicago. There is one admi- 
 rable feature in his disposition of his 
 riches and that is the modest manner in 
 which it is done. There are no great ban- 
 quets, there is no sounding of trumpets, 
 nor any noise ; and so far as we can learn 
 he has never but once allowed his name to 
 be made a -part of the title of any fund 
 
iGi 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWKK. 
 
 that he has created. As a devoted member 
 of the Baptist Church, yery many of his 
 lariicr benefactions have taken the direc- 
 tion of its activities. His custom in giv- 
 ing to the University has been to provide 
 funds alone, others being looked to to pro- 
 vide the buildings and the working para- 
 phernalia of a great university; and it is 
 
 Tlwto. Copyrighted by XJnderwood d> Underwood^ N. T. 
 JOHN D. HOCKEKELLER. 
 
 only on rare occasions or emergencies tliat 
 he has departed from that usage. The 
 total of his gifts to the University to date 
 is not far from twenty-four million dol- 
 lars. Mr. Eoekefeller's. methods in mak- 
 ing his donations have been most sys- 
 tematic and are based on the following 
 rules : 
 
 1 — The gift must be proportionate to 
 the need of the cause. 
 
 2 — Gifts are practically always condi- 
 tioned upon the raising of an equal or 
 larger amount by other parties interested 
 in the beneficiary institution or cause. 
 
 3 — A rigid investigation of the worth of 
 the cause is made by an expert before the 
 gift is made. So true is this the case that 
 before he would contribute toward tlie 
 erection of the new buildings of so old and 
 well-known an institution as the Harvard 
 Medical School he required a written re- 
 port from his agent as to every feature 
 
 of the work of the school, its equipment, 
 and its measure of usefulness in its field. 
 
 In 1902 President Harper of the Uni- 
 versity of Chicago reported gifts to the 
 amount of eight million dollars from 
 anonymous benefactors to establish and 
 endow the Rush Medical School as a de- 
 partment of the University. It was later 
 made public that Mr. Rockefeller con- 
 tributed six million dollars of this 
 amount. 
 
 As his benefactions have been so 
 numerous in sums ranging from fifty 
 thousand to five hundred thousand dollars, 
 chiefly to colleges, theological seminaries, 
 and professional schools in all parts of the 
 country, it is only possible for us here 
 to refer to his most notable gifts. These 
 include $1,000,000 to the Harvard Medical 
 School ; $3,600,000 to establish the Rocke- 
 feller Institute of Medical Research; 
 $2,000,000 to the Louisville, Ky., Univer- 
 sity; $2,000,000 to the City of Cleveland 
 for a park; $500,000 to the Teachers Col- 
 lege of New York City. His most re- 
 markable benefaction, for which the 
 foundation was laid by a gift of $1,000,- 
 000 in 1902, has been the endowment of 
 the General Education Board. His origi- 
 nal donation was supplemented by one of 
 ten million dollars three years later; and 
 in 1907 the world was astonished by the 
 announcement that he had turned over to 
 the Board of Trustees a further sura of 
 thirty-two millions. This was, of course, 
 the greatest single gift ever made, and 
 brought the total of his benefactions for 
 that cause up to forty-three million 
 dollars. 
 
 ]\Ir. Carnegie's great donations have 
 been directed toward the erection of fine 
 library buildings all over the country. In 
 every case he has a representative look 
 the field over to determine about how 
 much the existing conditions in any town 
 or city, and the outlook for the future, 
 would warrant his giving. The size of 
 the gift is proportioned to the size of the 
 city or town to be benefited and under 
 all circumstances a guarantee is required 
 that the city will annually raise an 
 amount equal to ten per cent of the gift 
 (in some cases fifteen per cent) for the 
 
AN ERA OF PRIXCELY GIFTS. 
 
 ■65 
 
 maintenance of the library. These dona- 
 tions have varied in amount from the 
 $5,200,000 given to New York City, the 
 $3,000,000 given Philadelphia, and the 
 $1,000,000 given to St. Louis, down to the 
 ten or fifteen thousand dollars that build 
 the modest but attractive library building 
 in the smaller cities and towns, — in the 
 far West particularly. It is impossible to 
 get any reliable estimate of the total 
 amount that has been dispensed in this 
 way but it must be upwards of seventy- 
 five million dollars. In nearly all cases 
 the name " Carnegie " appears on the face 
 of the building, so that the benefactor has 
 enduring monuments in every part of the 
 land to perpetuate his name. 
 
 The most favored recipient of Mr. 
 Carnegie's bounty has been the Carnegie 
 Institution at Pittsburgh, Pa. Starting 
 in 1889 with the modest donation of 
 $500,000 for a library in that city, his 
 total gifts to it aggregate more than nine- 
 teen million dollars, — the purpose and 
 scope of the original institution having 
 been steadily broadened, until it has now 
 become a very important institution of 
 learning. Including this foundation the 
 total of Mr. Carnegie's gifts to the City of 
 Pittsburgh now exceed thirty-two million 
 dollars. In 1901 « The Carnegie Institu- 
 tion for Higher Research " at Washing- 
 ton, D. C, was endowed with $10,000,000, 
 and the same year the fund of $4,000,000 
 for the super-annuated and disabled em- 
 ployees of the Carnegie Company was es- 
 tablished; in 1903 he gave $10,000,000 to 
 the Scotch universities; $2,500,000 to his 
 native city of Dunfermline; and $1,500,- 
 000 for the " Temple of Peace " at The 
 Hague, as a home of future Peace Con- 
 ferences and the permanent Board of 
 Arbitration ; and in 1904, the " Hero 
 Fund" was endowed with $5,000,000. 
 Among his more recent benefactions, also, 
 should be mentioned one of $1,500,000 for 
 a club house in New York City for the 
 American Society of Engineers, and one 
 of $750,000 to erect in Washington a head- 
 quarters and office building for the Bureau 
 of American Republics. In 1905 Mr. 
 Carnegie created the Teacher's Pension 
 Fund, giving to trustees $10,000,000 for 
 
 the purpose, which carried joy and re- 
 joicing to the faculties of many American 
 colleges. By the deed of gift teachers 
 in State institutions are exempted from 
 its provisions, as, also, are those of any 
 institution requiring that a majority of 
 its trustees, faculty, or students should 
 belong to any specified sect, or which im- 
 pose in any way theological tests. Ex- 
 cluding these classes it was found that 
 ninety-three colleges and technical schools 
 could derive benefits from this fund. 
 These institutions have now about thirty- 
 nine hundred professoi-s, whose salaries 
 
 photo. Copyrighted by Rockwood, N. Y. 
 ANDREW CAHNEGIE. 
 
 aggregate $7,720,000; and the effort will 
 be made to give to each professor upon 
 retirement an annuity equivalent to one- 
 half of his salary. 
 
 We have endeavored to give some idea 
 of the men and women who have been the 
 chief actors in the great movement of 
 beneficence that has so distinctly marked 
 the last century of American life as 
 
"66 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 unique in a high sense, as well as a brief 
 account and summary of their notable 
 benefactions. We are prone to look upon 
 the last quarter of the period ijarticularly 
 as one of pure commercialism, character- 
 ized by a waning of the nobler sentiments 
 and aspirations that dominated the earlier 
 era of more simple life. But the thought- 
 ful regard for others that has led so many 
 
 ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 to give largely of their means that un- 
 known thousands — yes, millions — may be- 
 gin life in greater comfort and become 
 better equipped for its strifes, is reassur- 
 ing and prophetic of a more extended cul- 
 tivation of the sympathetic spirit that 
 makes all life brighter and more whole- 
 some. As was stated in the beginning of 
 this chapter, however, even the great sum- 
 maries made of gifts covered only the 
 known henef actions in excess of five 
 thousand dollars. How many more 
 millions have been given in smaller 
 amounts, where the giver has more truly 
 been given with the gift, is only known 
 to Omniscience and the parties directly 
 concerned. But surveying the whole 
 movement, it is certainly an uplifting and 
 
 cheerful oncj and touches the heart of the 
 reader as it has moved the affections 
 of the recipients of the blessings flow- 
 ing from the beneficence of the givers. 
 If one has read this record of noble 
 generosity with any attention, he will 
 have been impressed with the far- 
 reaching influence of George Peabody's 
 liberal impulses and acts. Many have 
 acknowledged that their inspiration came 
 directly from him, while the character of 
 the gifts and the methods of giving of 
 many others look back to the same source. 
 President Daniel C. Gilman, who, as the 
 head of Johns Hopkins University for 
 twenty-five years, then as president of the 
 Carnegie Institute in Washington, and 
 as trustee of two or three of the great 
 benefactors, has had the wide&t opiior- 
 tunity to study and become acquainted 
 with the motives and thoughts of great 
 givers, has suggested an interesting 
 point. In a brief paper on five benefac- 
 tions, which appeared in the " Outlook," 
 he said : " To the present writer it has 
 always been a matter of curiosity to dis- 
 cover who was the author of the instru- 
 ments by which Mr. Peabody completed 
 his endowments. It is his belief that 
 much is due to the Hon. Robert 0. Win- 
 throp, of Boston, whose wise counsels, un- 
 usual foresight, and remarkable gifts of 
 expression are shown in all the provisions 
 laid down by Mr. Peabody. He was an 
 admirable ally of that great benefactor. 
 Freedom from political and ecclesiastical 
 control, large liberty of action as to the 
 methods to be employed, and confidence 
 in the integrity, wisdom, and experience 
 of the men selected to be trustees are 
 among the chief characteristics, first, of 
 Mr. Peabody's gifts, and then, of all that 
 have followed in their train." 
 
 If this be true, and no one can read the 
 life of Mr. Peabody without being im- 
 pressed with his close reliance upon Mr. 
 Winthrop's advice and help, then a place 
 high on the roll among the " princely 
 givers " should be made for the cultivated, 
 refined, eloquent. Christian gentleman, 
 whom fifty years ago Boston and Mas- 
 sachusetts ever delighted to honor, Robert 
 C. Winthrop. 
 
LVII. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 Polar Exploration Prosecuted for nearly Four Centuries. — Its Historj- Divided Naturally 
 into Three Periods. — Characteristics of Each. — Importance of Ancient and Medireval Com- 
 merce between Europe and the Orient. — Early Trade Routes. — Tlie " Wealth of the 
 Indies." — Effect of the Mohammedan Conquests. — Europe Shut in upon Herself. — Birth of 
 Polar Exploration in Commercial Distress that Followed. — Significance of Voyages of 
 Columbus and ilagellan. — Beginning of the Search for a Northwest or Xortheast Passage 
 to Cathay. — History of Early English and Dutch Ventures. — Well Determined Routes 
 for Exploration at Beginning of Nineteenth Century. — Most noted Expeditions of the 
 last Century. — Sir William Parry's Four Ventures. — Sir John Franklin's Notable 
 Achievements and Melancholy Fate. — Great Number of Relief Expeditions. — Discovery 
 of the Northwest Passage. — Amundsen and the Gjoa. — Exploits of the Three Noted- 
 American Explorers, — Kane, Hayes and Hall. — Terrible Experience of the Crew of the 
 Polaris.^— De Long and the Jeannette Expedition. — Nordenskifild Makes the Northeast 
 Passage. — Nansen's Famous Drifting Expedition in the Frain. — Notable Expedition of 
 the Duke of the Abruzzi. — Attempts to reach the Pole by Balloon and Air Ship. — An- 
 nouncements of Cook and Peary that They had Reached the Pole. — Previous Experiences 
 of Each. — The Voyage of the John R. Bradley. — Dr. Cook's Dash for the Pole. — His return 
 and Reception. — The 'Roosevelt and Commander Peary's Remarkable Achievements. — 
 Some Considerations Regarding the Controversj^ Over the Claims of the two Explorers. 
 — Both Successful, though Dr. Cook first at the Pole. — Only Alternative. — Chronology of 
 Arctic Exploration. 
 
 " It is not what Man does which exalts him. but what Man would do," — Bhownino. 
 
 OME thirty years ago an English historian of Arctic ven- 
 tures, himself an explorer of considerable note, wrote as 
 follows: " While scientific research is the actuating mo- 
 tive now-a-days for expeditions toward the polar regions, 
 it has not always been so. Various causes have impelled 
 men in this work during past ages. The hopes of finding 
 an open northwestern or northeastern route to the Orient, 
 the formation of colonies, reported mineral discoveries, 
 fisheries, and other commercial speculations have been the 
 direct causes of hundreds of ventures. Now, the motive is 
 nobler. We have no need for an icy route to Cathaia; we 
 have no expectation of commercial advantage from the 
 exploration of the North Pole. We simply hope once and 
 forever to settle a scientific problem, or set of problems. 
 If it is to be done, England will do it." The writer was then inspired with the en- 
 thusiasm which possessed all Englishmen of the period over the preparations, already 
 about completed, for the departure of the Alert and Discovery for the North Pole, — 
 an expedition which was designed as the supreme effort of the greatest naval i>ower of 
 the world, the " ruler of the seas," to surmount all obstacles, and " settle forever " aU 
 the scientific problems connected with polar research, including the discovery of the 
 
768 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 Pole itself. This was a government un- 
 dertaking, and represented tlie best ma- 
 terial and the highest intelligence of the 
 Royal Navy, as well as the accumulated 
 experience of a long succession of re- 
 nownel explorers of Arctic seas. It was 
 the full flowering of a period of heroic 
 endeavor that spanned fully three cen- 
 turies. Every detail of the preparation 
 was supervised by men of long experi- 
 ence in frozen zones. The Alert was a 
 Royal Navy steam sloop of seven hundred 
 and fifty tons, and one hundred horse 
 power, which had been greatly strengi^h- 
 ened for this particular service. The 
 Discovery was a powerful whaling-bark 
 purchased by the government, and fitted 
 with auxiliary steam power; while a third 
 vessel, the Valorous, accompanied the 
 other vessels to Greenland as a storeship 
 and base of supplies. The chief com- 
 mand of the expedition was given to the 
 then Captain, later Admiral Sir George 
 Nares; while the other one hundred and 
 twenty officers and men who constituted 
 the crews of the vessels were " selected 
 from the very pick " of the whole British 
 Navy. No expedition designed for polar 
 research ever set out with a more com- 
 plete and expensive equipment of every 
 character than did this; and never did a 
 a people place their entire confidence in 
 the complete and absolute success of an 
 imdertaking apparently with better rea- 
 son than did the English people base their 
 hopes on the ultimate success of this ven- 
 ture. But when., after fifteen months of 
 by no means fruitless investigations in 
 the Arctic region, the Alert anchored at 
 Queenstown, October 27, 1876, the first 
 message her commander wired to the 
 British Lords of the Admiralty contained 
 these words : " The Pole is impracticable." 
 During the week ending September fi, 
 1909, however, each of two American ex- 
 plorers announced to the President of the 
 United States the results of their separate 
 endeavor, in practically the same words: 
 " I have the honor to place the North 
 Pole at your disposal." 
 
 Polar exploration has now been prose- 
 cuted for nearly four hundred years. AH 
 
 through these centuries expeditions have 
 followetl each other with considerable 
 regularity; yet there have been inten'ala 
 when constant and repeated disasters have 
 dulled the spirits of the keenest adven- 
 turers. Hardly a decade has passed, how- 
 ever, without one or more efforts being 
 made to penetrate the frozen seas of the 
 Arctic or the Antarctic zone; and the un- 
 paralleled sufferings and hardships en- 
 dured by survivors have seemed only to 
 whet the appetites of hardy navigators 
 for ever more dangerous enterprises. 
 But, paradoxical as it ma.v seem, the far 
 greater number of these ventures have not 
 aimed at reaching the Pole, nor, appar- 
 ently, have even had its existence espe- 
 cially in mind. The history of Arctic ex- 
 ploration divides itself quite naturally 
 into three periods, — the first, from the 
 early part of the sixteenth century to the 
 nineteenth; the second, covering the first 
 three quarters of the nineteenth century; 
 and the third ending with the arrival at 
 the coveted Pole of Cook in 190S, and 
 Peary in 1909. The ventures of the first 
 period were purely commercial, represent- 
 ing efforts to find a route north of Amer- 
 ica or Asia to the Orient. In studying 
 the record of these expeditions one hardly 
 finds a reference to the Pole itself, except 
 as it may be mentioned in the sailing di- 
 rections of a navigator, just as a reference 
 would be made to any other point of lati- 
 tude or longitude. During the second 
 period the search for the northwest and 
 northeast passages was continued and re- 
 warded: but the interests of Science 
 rather than of Commerce began to re- 
 ceive the chief consideration, though 
 towards the end of the period incidental 
 reference is found to the determination 
 to reach the Pole. In the third period, 
 scientific research is still the nominal pur- 
 pose of the numerous and costly expedi- 
 tions, and the search for the Pole is in- 
 cidental ; whereas, in fact, the moving 
 consideration with the explorers them- 
 selves has been a keen ambition to be the 
 first at the Pole, with the claims of 
 Science as incidental. The " Call of the 
 Wild " has never been made to deaf ears; 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NOETH POLE — 1909. 
 
 769 
 
 and it is ■well that curiosity and ambition 
 have at last been gratified, and the con- 
 ditions existing at the " top of the world " 
 have been investigated. The real situa- 
 tion has been well summed up by one of 
 the most distinguished of the recent ex- 
 plorers, Nansen. " Of itself," be aays, 
 " that mathematical point which makes 
 the northern termination of the axis of 
 our earth is of no more importance than 
 any other point within the unknown polar 
 area; but it is of much more importance 
 that this particular point be reached, be- 
 cause there clings about it in the imagina- 
 tion of all mankind such fascination that 
 till the Pole is discovered all Arctic re- 
 search must be affected, if not overshad- 
 owed, by the yearning to attain it. For 
 this reason I want the Pole discovered, 
 and it ought to be discovered, that we may 
 get it out of the way, and leave a clear 
 field for pure scientific exploration." Cer- 
 tain it is, that the expeditions that have 
 been truly fruitful in discoveries of bene- 
 fit to humanity were those of the second 
 period, with a few scientific explorations 
 of the third. The othera have been spec- 
 tacular, and have borne about the same 
 relation to the true interests of polar ex- 
 ploration that the races for the America's 
 Cup bear to the real interests of ocean 
 navigation. 
 
 Much of the romance of early history 
 is associated with the active trade rela- 
 tions which existed for more than thirty 
 centuries prior to the discovery of Amer- 
 ica between the far East, and the lands 
 bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. 
 Tyre and Sidon were but the earlier repre- 
 sentatives of this intercourse, and their 
 names were for centuries the synonyms of 
 commercial power and wealth; while the 
 glories of Solomon's kingdom but reflected 
 the advance in civilization which this 
 commerce had fostered. Though this in- 
 terchange of Oriental and Occidental 
 products had gone on for hundreds of 
 years, the conquests of Alexander the 
 Great (B. 0. 336-323), extending to the 
 far confines of India, greatly accelerated 
 the means of intercourse and the facilities 
 for trade. Very early three or four dis- 
 
 tinct trade routes were established be- 
 tween the Indian and Mediterranean 
 ports, which were hardly varied for nearly 
 two thousand years. Of these, one led 
 from the Mediterranean across the Isth- 
 mus of Suez, and thence to Ceylon and 
 India by the Red Sea and Indian Ocean; 
 a second reached the Indian Ocean by 
 way of Antioch, Bagdad, and the Persian 
 Gulf; a third followed the coast of Africa 
 by land from Tangiers to Egypt, and 
 thence by Damascus to Bagdad ; while the 
 fourth, which from the seventh century of 
 our era onward became the one most used 
 by Christian nations, passed farther to 
 the north through Asia Minor and south 
 of the Caspian Sea, thus avoiding con- 
 flict with the " infidel Mohammedans." 
 Over these various routes vast caravans of 
 merchants with their wares were con- 
 stantly passing, bringing to Europe the 
 riches of India, as well as of the far East, 
 which Chinese traders brought to the 
 Indian ports. The first three of these 
 caravan routes have an interest apart 
 from their commercial importance; as it 
 was to traders traversing one of the first 
 two on their way to Egypt that Joseph's 
 brethren sold him, while the third route 
 passed through Galilee and down the 
 plain of Esdraelon to the Phoenician 
 coast. Over it were constantly swarming 
 the merchants of all nations and tongues 
 to whom such frequent reference is made 
 in the Gospels, and in the history of the 
 very early Christian Church. 
 
 After the rise of the Mohammedan to 
 power the northern route became vastly 
 the most important and rich cities grew 
 up all along its course. During the tenth 
 and eleventh centuries the Byzantine 
 country was the richest in the world, and 
 probably the most hig'hly civilized. " Con- 
 stantinople," says Finlay, the Greek his- 
 torian, speaking of this period, " was as 
 much superior to every city in the civil- 
 ized world, in wealth and commerce, as 
 London now is to other capitals." 
 
 But during all these centuries Europe 
 could produce for its people little more 
 than the bare necessities of life. Every- 
 thing savoring of luxury, whether for 
 
I i 
 
 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 food, clothing, or house comforts and 
 adornment, came over these trade routes 
 from the Orient; and it is but natural 
 that the eyes of the civilized world were 
 largely tuni'ed toward its shores. As one 
 has said : " Europe stood with her back 
 to the Atlantic;" that was. as it was often 
 described on the maps of tliat day. Mare 
 Tenelirositm, the "Sea of Darkness." It 
 was from the East alone that the people 
 looked for light, comfort, and culture. 
 There lay the spice islands ; the lands of 
 ivory, of ebony, and of gold; of diamonds 
 and pearls, sap]ihires and all preeious 
 stones; of cotton and silks, and all the 
 beautiful fabrics and fonns into which 
 they were worked ; of fragrant gums, and 
 all curious things a;nd curious arts. Into 
 this land of faliled wealth, riches, and 
 delight, no European was known to have 
 entered before the thirteenth century; 
 with the result that all scholars, geog- 
 raphers, and merchants gave free rein to 
 their imagination, picturing its .shores 
 and streams as dotted with beautiful 
 cities, all of whose buildings were of ivory 
 and marble and the rarest s'ones. roofed 
 with pure gold; while the very walks were 
 paved with rare and costly gems. Even 
 the apocalyptic vision of the New Jeru- 
 salem which entranced the vision of the 
 Seer of Patmos paled before the glory and 
 beauty of the cities of Cathay and Ci- 
 pango, as pictured by the credulous 
 writers of the Middle Ages. 
 
 But with the advent of the fifteenth 
 century a blighting change threatened the 
 commerce and civilization of Europe. 
 The Turk had begun his advance through 
 Asia Minor, and was slowly investing 
 Constantinople; and with his advance 
 came the obstruction of all means of com- 
 munication with the far east by land, and 
 the ruin of all the commerce of the great 
 western trade centres. Europe was more 
 shut in upon herself than ever before or 
 since; and Polar Exploration had its birth 
 in the commercial distress which followed. 
 The eager attention of kings, statesmen, 
 merchants, and navigators was directed 
 toward the discovery of a new route to the 
 Orient; and gradually the conviction grew 
 
 that it must be sought over the western 
 ocean, and not toward the east. Steadily 
 the belief gained streng-th that by sailing 
 due west across the Atlantic Ocean the 
 land of spices and of gold would be 
 reac'hed by a safe and easy route. Fortu- 
 nately, too, a wrong conception of the 
 geography of the earth favored this l>elief. 
 For. thoug'h the geog-raphers had esti- 
 mated the total circumference of the globe 
 with a good deg-ree of exactness, they had 
 so far over-estimated the extent of the 
 land area from the west coast of Europe 
 to the east coast of Asia as to reduce the 
 breadth of ocean to be traversed in going 
 west to Cathay to less than three thou- 
 sand miles. 
 
 It can hardly be questioned that the 
 two most momentous voyages in the 
 world's history were those of Columbus 
 and Magellan. One revealed to an un- 
 suspecting world the existence of a new 
 continent ; the other demon.strated beyond 
 question the sphericity of the earth, and 
 that in the southern seas, at least, one 
 sailing continuously in an easterly or 
 westerly direction must surely arrive at 
 the point of his departure. As is well 
 known Columbus died in the belief that 
 he had found the new route to the Indies; 
 and it was not until in l.'il2 Balboa, from 
 a " peak in Darien," discovered the broad 
 Pacific Ocean, that the truth began to 
 dawn upon the consciousness of Europe 
 that a new continent, and not Cathay, had 
 been reached, and that the way to the 
 coveted isles of spice and of pearls must 
 be sought anew. In 1.577-RO, the globe 
 was circumnavigated a second time by Sir 
 Francis Drake. Naturally, therefore, 
 when the full meaning of Magellan's and 
 Drake's achievements was realized, geog- 
 raphers and merchants began to draw the 
 inference that, if both the new continent 
 and Africa were surrounded at the south 
 by navigable seas, it was undoubtedly true 
 that the same conditions existed at the 
 north; and it was not long before the 
 search of three centuries for a Northwest 
 or Northeast Passage to Cathay and Ci- 
 pango (Japan) began. 
 
 As an extended chronological record of 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 771 
 
 arctic exploration is presentetl at the end 
 of this chapter, no attempt will be made 
 in our limited space to ^ve detailed 
 accounts of more than the especially 
 notable voyages of the second and third 
 periods, covering practically the last one 
 Inmdred years, those being selected 
 which most conspicuously illustrate the 
 sublime courage and heroic endurance of 
 the men who have, step by step, disclosed 
 the secrets of the Polar regions. But to 
 properly appreciate any narrative of the 
 conquests achieved by these hardy ad- 
 venturers, one should endeavor to get 
 some clear idea of the conditions tliat 
 really confronted them. Looking at 
 modem maps one sees the bays, straits, 
 islands, and capes of what is now known 
 as British North America, of Greenland, 
 and of northern Europe and Asia, all 
 clearly indicated, their connections and 
 bearings shown, and the latitude and 
 longitude of each locality definitely 
 marked. The so-called Arctic Explorers 
 of the present generation set out in large, 
 powerful, completely and comfortably fur- 
 nished and equipped steam vessels, to ex- 
 plore waters and lands that have all been 
 mapped out for them and charted, or, at 
 least, have been so thoroughly investigated 
 as to enable one to judge intelligently of 
 the conditions and obstacles that must be 
 encountered and overcome in any particu- 
 lar region, at any given season of the year. 
 But when the inquisitive navigators of 
 the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 
 started out to explore these regions, in 
 their little cockle-shells hardly larger than 
 the tenders of the modern vessels, ahso- 
 hitely notliing was Icnown of the entire 
 area north of Newfoundland on the east, 
 or of Columbia river on the west coast of 
 America. The same was true of all the 
 region north of the mainland of Europe 
 and Asda. The few majw and charts that 
 were in use simply misled those who 
 trusted to them in every case, as all their 
 drawings and data were imaginary and 
 bore no relation to the conditions that 
 were found to exist, as successive expedi- 
 tions gradually opened up the country. 
 Each explorer worked upon the basis of 
 
 the few facts which his predecessors had 
 established; and each in turn "added to 
 the known something from the unknown." 
 But the modern maps of North America 
 and of Asia could not be outlined as to 
 their northern lands and waters for nearly 
 three centuries after the explorations 
 chronicled here began. It is necessary, 
 also, that one should attempt to realize the 
 immense distances and areas that the 
 plans of these daring adventurers em- 
 braced. Greenland, for example, which 
 has stood across the path of so many ex- 
 plorers, is more than 1500 miles long, and 
 over 600 miles wide. The distance from 
 its east coast to Bering Strait is more 
 than 4000 miles; while from the southern 
 end of Hudson Bay to the northern ex- 
 tremity of Grinncll Land is upwards of 
 2000 miles. A roughly drawn parallelo- 
 gram, measuring 2500 miles from north 
 to south, and 3000 miles from east to 
 west, with an extension of another thou- 
 sand miles of its northern line, would 
 indicate approximately the area within 
 which North American exploration has 
 been conducted. Nor has the search for 
 the Northeast Passage been a less arduous 
 undertaking. From North Cape, the ex- 
 treme northerly point of Europe to the 
 eastern shore of Kamchatka, or to Bering 
 Strait, the distance is more than 5000 
 miles; while the northern cape of Siberia 
 projects farther into the Arctic region, 
 about 78° lat., than had been reached by 
 more than a half dozen expeditions prior 
 to the last quarter of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. Only by keeping such facts as these 
 somewhat clearly in mind can one value 
 rightly the magnificent courage and en- 
 terprise of the men who undertook these 
 ventures, or intelligently sympathize with 
 them in their indescribable sufferings, and 
 dismal and heartbreaking failures. 
 
 The expeditions that have been notably 
 successful in achieving beneficent results 
 during the last century have been those 
 of Parry, Franklin, Kane, McClure, 
 Hayes, Hall, Nordcnskiokl, Greely, Nan- 
 sen, Amundsen, Due d'Abruzzi, and Peary. 
 All of these have played distinguished 
 parts in determining the course of the 
 
772 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 long soufflit northern passajrcs to the East, 
 in the collection and classification of valu- 
 able scientific data, in mapping and chart- 
 ing hitherto unknown lands and seas, and 
 in settling beyond question the most avail- 
 able routes for Arctic exploration, and the 
 best methods of meeting and overcoming 
 the various obstacles that must be en- 
 countered. The expeditions that have 
 become most impressed upon the popular 
 mind, however, because of their unique 
 and original methods, or on account of 
 the unparalleled sufferings and hardships 
 endured, have been those of Franklin, 
 Hall (the Polaris), De Long (the Jean- 
 nette), Andree, and Nansen (the Fram). 
 William Edward Parry, who became 
 one of the most persistent and, in many 
 
 closing the bottom of the Sound," though 
 seen by few or none in the ship except 
 himself. These he named Croker Moun- 
 tains, and they have served to furnish one 
 of the very few humorous features of 
 Arctic exploration. Without attempting 
 to verify the existence of these mountains. 
 Ross put about, and returned to England. 
 The following year, 1819, Parry sailed as 
 commander of an expedition, in the 
 Hecla, with Lieut. Liddon, as second in 
 command, on the Griper. Their aim was 
 the common one of discovering the elusive 
 Noi-thwest Passage, and to this end they 
 entered Lancaster Sound, and, sailing 
 directly over the mountains seen by Ross 
 the year before, reached the south side of 
 Melville Island, where the ships were 
 
 IN WINTER 
 
 respects, one of the most successful ex- 
 plorers, was born in 1790, and at the early 
 age of thirteen entered the navy. During 
 the war of 1812 he served on the Ameri- 
 can coast, and in 1818 made his first Arc- 
 tic voyage under Captain Ross. The lat- 
 ter rendered a marked service to his fol- 
 lowers by confirming the accuracy of 
 Baffin's survey of the bay bearing his 
 name. But while entering Lancaster 
 Sound, Ross was arrested, as is reported, 
 " by a vision of a range of mountains 
 
 QUARTERS. 
 
 caught in the ice, and they were forced to 
 establish winter quarters. But this one 
 season's work had well nigh demonstrated 
 the existence of the passage they were in 
 search of, as reference to a large map or 
 globe will clearly show. Winter Harbor, 
 where the ships were locked in, was nearl.v 
 at the westerly limit of the many lands 
 and islands that lie between Baifiii Bay 
 and the broad expanse of ocean that 
 stretches away beyond Bering Strait. 
 But it was late in August of the follow- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 / 1, 
 
 ing year before the ships were released 
 from the ice, when it was determined to re- 
 trace their course and return to Eng-land. 
 This expedition reached a point farther 
 west within the Arctic Circle than had 
 been attained by any other explorer, and 
 so was awarded the prize of £5000 which 
 the English government had promised. 
 In 1821, and ag'ain in 1824, Parry led 
 other expeditions into the same regions, 
 discovering new channels and straits, 
 which ultimately made possible the south- 
 erly route to the west, that, when outlined 
 by the work of several explorers, became 
 the accepted Northwest Passage. In 1827 
 Parry made his fourth, and in many ways 
 his most celebrated, attack vipon the Polar 
 seas. On this venture he planned to sup- 
 plement the use of his vessel by t.he use of 
 small boats and sledges, — the first at- 
 tempt at a new inethod of exploration that 
 has since become universal. In the HerJa 
 he reached a safe haven in Spitzbergen on 
 June 18, and on the 22d set out on lii-» 
 journey in small boats, provisioned for 
 seventy-one days. With a few com- 
 panions he reached the ice after covering 
 about eighty miles, when the boats were 
 transferred to runners, and the advance 
 Continued. But the smooth ice they had 
 been led to expect by many reports did 
 not materialize; and the greatest speed 
 they could attain was nine or ten miles 
 in a day, being constantly delayed by 
 huge ice hummocks, and soft snow. The 
 party traveled by night entirely, when 
 the glare of the sun on the snow was less 
 blinding, and when its heat did not soften 
 the snow as at mid-day. The slow prog- 
 ress made forced him to abandon all idea 
 of reaching the Pole, though after a few 
 days smoother ice was gained. The effort 
 was then to reach the " farthest north," 
 which was eventually attained at 82° 45', 
 an altitude not gained by any other ex- 
 plorer for nearly fifty years. He had 
 thus placed to his credit the record both 
 for the " farthest west," and " farthest 
 north." In the meantime, however, the 
 prevailing winds changed, and Parry dis- 
 covered that however many miles they 
 covered each day, they did not get farther 
 
 north, as the ice was bearing them in the 
 opjx)site direction faster than they could 
 go forward. In fact, a summary of their 
 record showed that though they had 
 traveled more than three hundred miles 
 over the rough ice and through half 
 frozen water they had advanced but about 
 one hundred and seventy miles. He was, 
 therefore, forced to abandon the quest and 
 return. In recognition of his distin- 
 guished service, Parry was knighted in 
 1829, arid in 1832 was made a Ilear- 
 Admiral in the Royal Navj'. 
 
 SIB JOHN FRANKLIN. 
 
 Captain, or as he is more commonly 
 known. Sir John Franklin had a long and 
 varied experience as a seaman in every 
 part of the world before he entered upon 
 his career of Arctic exploration. As his 
 biographer says : " Like Cook, Dampier, 
 and Nelson, his first essay was on board a 
 merchant ship (into which he had been 
 sent to disgust him of the sea), and like 
 them the hardships of a sailor's life were 
 more than counterbalanced in his opinion 
 by the charms of its unceasing change, 
 novelty, and excitement." At the age of 
 fourteen, in 1800, he entered the Royal 
 Navy as a petty officer, participating the 
 following year in the famous sea-fight 
 at Copenhagen; and in 1806, as midship- 
 
774 
 
 FKOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 man on the Bellerophon, lie took part in 
 the battle of Trafalgar. During the fol- 
 lowing: years he served chiefly in the 
 Southern seas and the Pacific Ocean. 
 Though his fame rests mainly upon his last 
 expedition, his greatest results as an ex- 
 plorer were achieved on his land journeys 
 in 1819-22. and 1S2.5-27. Leaving York 
 Factory, the Hudson's Bav Company post 
 at the mouth of the Nelson River, in Sep- 
 tember, 1819, his party wintered at Fort 
 Enterprise. The ice did not break up in 
 the Coppermine River until June, when 
 the party descended it in birch canoes to 
 the Arctic Sea, which they found com- 
 paratively free of ice. Turning to the 
 east, the shores of a great bay, which 
 Franklin named " George the Fourth's 
 Coronation Ba.v," were ex]ilored, the party 
 reaching a cape at 110° W. longitude, 
 which was named Point Tumagain. 
 From this time until they arrived at their 
 old quarters at Fort Enterprise, and 
 secured relief from Chipewyan, the suffer- 
 ings of the party defy description. Day 
 after day, without food, with a tejni>era- 
 ture of from 30° to 50° below zero, they 
 endured tortures worse than death. 
 Mosses, old boots, leather clothing, were 
 their only subsistence for days. But even 
 under such adverse conditions, more than 
 .'JSOO miles had been covered by the part.v 
 before they again reached York Factory, 
 and a very important land area explored, 
 as well as one of the important parts of 
 what was to prove the true course of the 
 Northwest Passage determined. 
 
 One would suppose that the hardiest 
 adventurers would have been content with 
 these experiences. But in July 1825, 
 Franklin, Dr. Richardson, and Back, with 
 Kendall and Drummond, new members of 
 the part.v, again arrived at Chipewyan, 
 and at once proceeded to Great Bear 
 Lake, where the.y wintered. In the Spring 
 the.y descended the Mackenzie river about 
 1.100 miles to the sea. Franklin then took 
 a westward course, while Dr. Richardson, 
 with Kendall, went to the east. Frank- 
 lin explored the coast for more than four 
 hundred miles, until stopped by an im- 
 mense barrier of rock and ice, which he 
 
 named Return Reef. At the very time 
 that Franklin and his party were at Re- 
 turn Reef, Captain Beeehey, in the Blos- 
 som, who had been sent out to supplement 
 Franklin's work, was at Point Barrow, 
 only one hundred and forty miles farther 
 west. Beeehey had entered the Arctic 
 Ocean through Bering Strait. Leaving 
 Return Reef, Franklin made his way back 
 to Great Bear Lalie, where Dr. Richardson 
 and his party soon joined him, after hav- 
 ing explored the coast east as far as the 
 Coppermine river, thus uniting the dis- 
 tances explored by the Franklin parties on 
 their two expeditions. 
 
 Li 1845 the British Admiralty deter- 
 mined to make one more effort to find the 
 Northwest Passage. Two vessels, the Ere- 
 hiis and Terror, were accordingly fitted 
 out, furnished with auxiliary steam power, 
 and provisioned for three years. The com- 
 mand was given to Sir John Franklin, 
 then about sixty years of age. The expe- 
 dition sailed May 19, and reached Disco, 
 on the west coast of Greenland, early in 
 July. On the 26th of July the fleet was 
 sighted by a whaler, after which every 
 trace of the party was lost. For nearly two 
 years no fears were entertained as to their 
 safety. Then, however, English naval au- 
 thorities, many of whom had served in the 
 polar seas, concluded that the vessels were 
 probably fast in the ice of Melville Sound, 
 and movements were begun to rescue them. 
 More than forty relief and search expe- 
 ditions were sent out during the next 
 fifteen years, only two or three of them 
 finding any clues, or securing any evi- 
 dence of the fate of the Franklin party. 
 In 1853 Dr. Rae set out in the service of 
 the Hudson's Bay Company, and the fol- 
 lowing year incidentally learned from a 
 party of Esquimaux that six years before 
 about forty white men were seen dragging 
 a boat and sledges, who made signs to 
 indicate that their vessels had been 
 crushed in the ice, and that they were in 
 search of a place where they would find 
 deer, as their provisions were exhausted 
 and they were starving. Later, the 
 natives reported, they found more than 
 thirty bodies, and some graves, on the 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 775 
 
 mainland. Dr. Rae also succeeded in se- 
 curing many relics from the Esquimaux, 
 silver plate and other things that were 
 known to have been in possession of the 
 officers of Franklin's expedition. This re- 
 port, and the evidence of the relics Dr. 
 Rae brought back, was so conclusive that 
 the English nation was convinced as to 
 the fate of the great explorer and his com- 
 panions, and a reward of £10,000 that had 
 been long promised to any who should 
 furnish certain evidence of the fate of 
 the expedition, was given to Dr. Rae and 
 his party. 
 
 Notwithstanding this discovery, how- 
 ever, expeditions continued to be sent out, 
 in the hope that the remainder of Frank- 
 lin's much larger force might yet be found 
 alive. The most successful of these was 
 the one organized through the efforts of 
 Lady Franklin, which sailed from Eng- 
 land in June, 1857, in the Fox, under the 
 command of Captain McClintock. Early 
 in the fall the vessel was caught in pack 
 ice and drifted in it for 242 days, in 
 constant danger of being crushed. On 
 April 24 of the following year a storm 
 broke up the ice, and the Fox was re- 
 leased', and repaired on the Greenland 
 coast. McClintock then pushed into and 
 carefully examined Eclipse Sound, Peel 
 Strait, Regent's Inlet, and Bellot Strait, 
 where he was obliged to go into winter 
 quarters. In February he was able to 
 send out sledge parties in different direc- 
 tions. Little by little further evidence of 
 the loss of the Franklin party was dis- 
 covered; and it was not long before one 
 of the sledge parties found important rec- 
 ords of the expedition at Point Victory, 
 on King William Land. One item of the 
 record read as follows : " April 2.5, 1848- 
 H. M. Ships Terror and Erehus were de- 
 serted on 22 April, five leagues N. W. of 
 this, having been beset since 12th Sep- 
 tember, 1S46. The officers and crews, con- 
 sisting of 105 souls, under command of 
 Captain F. R. Crozier, landed here in lat. 
 69° 37' N., long. 98° 41' W. Sir John 
 Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847, 
 and the total loss by deaths in the ex- 
 pedition has been to this date, nine offi- 
 
 cers and fifteen men." This report was 
 signed by Captains S. Crozier and Fitz- 
 james. Below, a supplementary line was 
 added: "And start to-morrow, 26th, for 
 Back's Fish River." On that melancholy 
 journey, one by one they fell by the way, 
 and, as an Esquimau reported, " As they 
 fell, they died." Not one survived to tell 
 the tale of their exploits, nor of their 
 sufferings. It is most interesting to note, 
 however, that the point at which the 
 vessels foundered was not far from the 
 identical spot, Point Turnagain, which 
 
 A CONSTANT COMPANION. 
 
 Franklin had reached on his first land ex- 
 pedition; so that he was, in reality, the 
 first discoverer of the Northwest Passage, 
 though he did not live to report his dis- 
 coveries, and to enjoy the honors that 
 were his due. His fame has, however, en- 
 dured; and even down to the present day 
 it is unquestionably true that when one 
 speaks of, or discusses, Arctic exploration, 
 the name and distinguished services of 
 Franklin first come to mind. 
 
 Of the twelve vessels sent out from 
 England in 1850 to search for traces of 
 the Franklin party, two, — the Investi- 
 gator, under command of Captain Mc- 
 Clure, and the Enterprise, Captain Col- 
 linson, — were despatched by way of the 
 Pacific Ocean and Bering Strait. In 
 1852, among the six sent out were the 
 Resolute and the North Star. These 
 entered the Arctic Archipelago through 
 Lancaster Sound, then proceeding through 
 Barrow Strait to Melville Island. Im- 
 mediately upon going into winter quarters 
 
77(5 
 
 FROM COLOXY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 at Dealy Island, on the south side of 
 Melville Island, parties were sent out 
 from the Resolute to deposit provisions at 
 pertain points for the use of sledge par- 
 ties the following spring. One of these 
 parties found at Winter Harhor, where 
 Parry made his winter quarters in 1819, 
 records left by Captain McClure, which 
 showed that in April 18.51, he. with his 
 vessel, was in Mercy Bay, juat across 
 Banks Strait, thus demonstrating that the 
 discovery of the Northwest Passage had 
 been completed, after more than three cen- 
 turies of heroic endeavor. Of course, all 
 were ignorant of what Franklin had ac- 
 complished. The two discoveries, however, 
 in no way conflicted, as Franklin's route 
 was to the east and south of Prince Al- 
 bert Land and Banks Land, and much 
 more circuitous; though if either had 
 been practicable for navigation, the south- 
 erly would have been less obstructed by 
 ice as a rule than the other, as the experi- 
 ence of Amundsen later proved. Mc- 
 Clure's course had been very direct from 
 Bering Strait to Melville Island, whore 
 he reached from the east the " farthest 
 west " attained by Parry. The Investiga- 
 tor was held fast in the ic« for two years. 
 when, in 1853, assistance reached McClure 
 from the Resolute. Owing to the unusual 
 ice conditions both vessels had to be alian- 
 doned, and their officers ajid crews re- 
 turned to England the following year on 
 the North Star, McClure and his crew 
 thus being the first men to pass through 
 Bering Strait, traverse the Northern 
 Sounds and Straits, and reach the Atlan- 
 tic Ocean through Baffin Bay. This ac- 
 complishment of the Northwest Passage 
 was officially recognized by the English 
 government by the bestowal upon Mc- 
 Clure and his companions of the bounty 
 of £10,000 which had been pledged for 
 this purpose. 
 
 The first vessel, however, to make the 
 entire Northwest Passage was the little 
 Norwegian fishing smack, the Gjoa, under 
 command of Roald Amundsen. The Ojoa 
 was only seventy feet long, sixteen feet 
 beam, and of forty-seven tons burden. 
 
 She was cutter-rigged, and a small pe- 
 troleum engine furnished auxiliary power. 
 Amundsen's primary object was scientific 
 observation and investigation, though ho 
 had in mind the making of the North- 
 west Passage if the conditions should be 
 auspicious, just as, in 1907, Dr. Cook's ex- 
 pedition was fitted out primarily for hunt- 
 ing, but with an eye to a dash for the 
 Pole if conditions were favorable. Leav- 
 ing Christiania, Norway, June 16. 1903, 
 the little Gjoa passed from Baffin Bay 
 through Lancaster Sound to Beechey Is- 
 land, thence through Barrow Strait and 
 Peel Sound, to the west of Boothia Pe- 
 ninsula, and then through Ross Strait to 
 the east of King William Land, where 
 she found a safe haven in Gjoa Harbor 
 on the south side of King William Land, 
 September 17, 1903. As illustrating how 
 successive explorers have built upon the 
 observations of their predecessors, it is 
 interesting to note that Amundsen was 
 chiefly influenced in his choice of tho 
 course to the east of King William Land 
 by the observation of McClintock, some 
 fifty years before, that " perhaps some 
 future voyager, profiting by the experience 
 acquired by the Franklin expedition, may 
 succeed by this [the easterly] route in 
 carrying his ship from sea to sea." It 
 will be remembered that the Erehus and 
 Terror, Franklin's vessels, were held two 
 years in the ice and finally had to be 
 abandoned, in Victoria Strait to the west 
 of King William Land. As one of the 
 chief aims of Amundsen was again to de- 
 termine the location of the Magnetic Pole 
 which had not been attempted since it 
 was first established by Ross in 1831, he 
 went into winter quarters in Gjoa Harbor, 
 where he remained for two years, con- 
 ducting all the time the most careful 
 scientific experiments and researches. 
 This work was begun November 2, 1903, 
 and continued by a great number of 
 sledge journeys to various points until 
 August 13, 1905. The Gjoa had traversed 
 770 miles from Baffin Bay, leaving but 760 
 to be covered before reaching Cape Bath- 
 urst and the open sea. — technically the 
 end of the Northwest Passage. Leaving 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 77 
 
 (ijoa Harbor, Amundsen entered Simpson 
 Strait, and thence passing through Vic- 
 toria Strait, Dease Inlet, Franklin's 
 "Coronation Bay," and Dolphin and Union 
 Straits, on August 20. east of Cape Bath- 
 urst, lie fell in ■with the first American 
 whaler. Proceeding on his course, an ac- 
 cident to the Gjoa's propeller forced him 
 to winter at King Point, on the Yukon 
 coast. There he took a sledge and reached 
 Eagle City, Alaska, December 12, 1905, 
 from whence he sent out to the world the 
 news of his remarkable voyage; and re- 
 turning to the Gjoa, he passed on west 
 through Bering Strait to San Francisco, 
 the following spring. 
 
 All things considered, this was imques- 
 tionably the most remarkable and success- 
 ful Polar voyage ever made. Amundsen's 
 vessel was hardly as large as the twentieth 
 century racing sloop yachts, and he had 
 in his party only nine men, including the 
 scientific investigators. Dashes for the 
 Pole are spectacular, and appeal to the 
 popular mind; but one such voyage as 
 Amundsen's far outweighs in value all 
 the attempts that have been made to reach 
 the " top of the world." He possessed the 
 true scientific spirit, as well as the valor 
 and daring of the old Norse sea-kings. 
 But there was nothing theatrical in his 
 make up. No arctic clubs backed him, nor 
 did any press agents whet the popular 
 imagination with glowing accounts of 
 what he would accomplish. He was not 
 a lime-light explorer, and no costly expe- 
 ditions had to be sent out each year to 
 rescue him. Yet it is doubtful whether 
 any other expedition in the whole history 
 of Polar exploration has been more truly 
 successful in every sense of the word ; and 
 it is certain that few names will ulti- 
 mately stand higher on the long roll of 
 explorers than Amundsen's. 
 
 Aside from his purely scientific investi- 
 gations, his long stay in Gjoa Harbor en- 
 abled Amundsen to determine many 
 things of value to succeeding navigators, 
 as well as of popular interest. It was 
 demonstrated, for example, that the big 
 game is migratory, passing over the frozen 
 channels and straits from land to land. 
 
 and that the Esquimaux follow it in its 
 migrations. It was on King Williani 
 Land that Franklin's party perished by 
 starvation because no game could be 
 foiuid. Yet Amundsen's little company 
 killed in one month, October, 1903, one 
 hundred deer, shortly after which the 
 Esquimaux appeared. It was shown, too, 
 tiiat the climatic changes from season to 
 season are very marked. The winter of 
 1903^ was clear and vei-y cold, the aver- 
 age temperature for February being 41° 
 below zero, while a record of 79° below 
 zero was made. During that winter the sea 
 ice attained a thickness of from twelve to 
 thirteen feet. The winter of 1904—5 was, 
 however, much milder, the lowest tem- 
 perature recorded being 49° below zero, 
 while the thickness of the ice rarely 
 reached six feet. 
 
 After nearly four centuries of strenu- 
 ous eiforts one vessel had at last made 
 the northwest passage, and the quest of 
 hundreds of brave and hardy men had 
 been gained. In the meantime a like 
 success had attended the efforts of an- 
 other Scandinavian to make the North- 
 east Passage. The expedition of Norden- 
 skiold was a much more pretentious one 
 than tliat of Amundsen. Twenty thou- 
 sand pounds were subscribed to further 
 his work, and he had the active support 
 of the Swedish government. The Vega, a 
 full rigged bark of three hundred tons 
 register, with engines of sixty horse 
 power, was bought and especially fitted 
 out for the voyage, and provisioned for 
 two years. The party consisted of nine 
 officers, including two botanists, a zoolo- 
 gist, and an astronomer, and eighteen 
 seamen, selected from the best material of 
 the Swedish navy. Leaving Gothenberg 
 July 4, 1878, the Yega began her long 
 voyage, accompanied by three other ves- 
 sels, which were to make attempts to 
 enter the Siberian rivers. On the 19th 
 the party reached the most northerly point 
 of the eastern hemisphere, variously called 
 Cape Chelynskin, Cape Severo, and North 
 East Cape. But little serious ice inter- 
 ference was encountered through the 
 summer, and at various points along the 
 
778 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 coast landings were made to prosecute 
 scientific researcli. These delays resulted 
 most unfortunately, as at the end of Sep- 
 tember the atmospheric conditions sud- 
 denly changed, and the Vega was caught 
 in the ice at a distance of less than one 
 hundred and fifty miles from Bering 
 Strait, where she was forced to remain 
 until the following year. After 264 days' 
 detention in the ice, on the ISth of July, 
 ISVO. the vessel was released, and passed 
 through Bering Strait two days later, thus 
 having made for the first time the com- 
 plete northeast passage; and after cross- 
 ing to the American shore, where two or 
 three islands were visited, and scien- 
 tific investigations made, on the 22d of 
 September the battered craft dropped her 
 anchor in the harbor of Yokohama, and 
 news of Nordenskiold's great achievement 
 was proclaimed to the civilized world. It 
 seems, however, like the irony of fate that, 
 just as the routes were determined which 
 had been so eagerly sought for by gener- 
 ations of heroic men, the fast ocean steam- 
 ships and great transcontinental railroad 
 systems should have made their discovers^ 
 of no account, although it is probable that 
 under no circumstances could these Arc- 
 tic highways ever have possessed any 
 commercial value. 
 
 It was not until 18.50 that the Fnited 
 States began to engage actively in Arctic 
 exploration, and then it was through the 
 interest of one of its broad-minded mer- 
 chant princes in the fate of Sir John 
 Franklin. Henry Grinnell was born in 
 New Bedford in 1800, and passed his 
 >outh in that bustling centre of Arctic 
 commerce, the headquarters of the great 
 whale fishing industry. The adventures 
 of the hardy whalers naturally aroused 
 his enthusiasm, and he retained through- 
 out his life an active and practical inter- 
 est in all that concerned the welfare of 
 sea-faring men. Moving to New York in 
 1818, with his brothers he engaged in 
 the commission and whale-oil business, 
 rapidly accumulating a large fortune. 
 The three most notable Polar expe- 
 ditions of the third quarter of the last 
 century were all from the United States, 
 
 and all were made possible by the liberal- 
 ity of Mr. Grinnell. In 1850 he assumed 
 the entire expense of the expedition sent 
 out to search for Franklin, with Lieut. 
 Dellaven as commander, and Dr. E. K. 
 Kane, as surgeon and naturalist. Apart 
 from discovering the land to which the 
 name of the generous patron of the ex- 
 pedition was given, little was accom- 
 plished by this party. But in 1853 Mr. 
 Grinnell again financed an expedition, 
 with material aid from George Peabody, 
 of London, which was placed under the 
 command of Dr. Kane. This proved to be 
 one of the most noteworthy undertakings 
 in the whole history of Polar exploration. 
 It was the first of such expeditions to 
 start out with the deliberate purpose of 
 remaining one, two, or more years in the 
 Arctic regions, and was also the earli- 
 est to study the habits of the Esquimaux, 
 and to rely upon them for aid in the 
 prosecution of their work. Dr. Kane was 
 also the first to use dogs in sledge work, 
 the sledges of previous expeditions having 
 been drawn by the members of the parties 
 themselves. Dr. I. I. Hayes accompanied 
 Captain Kane as surgeon and naturalist. 
 Not only did this expedition arouse an 
 interest in that x>eculiar people, who have 
 ever since been of great service to Kane's 
 successors in Arctic work, but it also 
 added greatly to the knowledge of the 
 geography of the northern lands. Its 
 scientific obseiwations were considered 
 more valuable than those of any previous 
 exjiedition. Dr. Kane and his party were 
 given Arctic medals by vote of the Con- 
 gress of the United States, and the 
 Queen's medal was presented to all. while 
 the leader was honored by the British and 
 French Geographical Societies. 
 
 The mantle of Dr. Kane fell upon con- 
 secrated shoulders, and his countrymen 
 found another worthy representative, 
 when Dr. I. I. Hayes took up his former 
 leader's work. Again Mr. Grinnell 
 stepped into the breach, and made it pos- 
 sible for Dr. Hayes to purchase the United 
 States, a schooner of one hundred and 
 thirty tons, in which, with a party of 
 eighteen, he sailed from Boston, July 6, 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE- 
 
 ■1909. 
 
 779 
 
 1860. While with Dr. Kane in Kane 
 Basin, Dr. Hayes had convinced himself 
 that they were then at the very entrance 
 to an open Polar Sea ; and it was now his 
 determination to push farther North, 
 enter that sea, and try to reach the Pole. 
 But the ice did not admit of his getting 
 
 exhaustive search that had been made, he 
 firmly believed that some of the Franklin 
 party were still alive; and in 1800 his 
 enthusiasm led Mr. Grinnell and others to 
 give him a meagre support, wliieh enabled 
 him to spend two years in a fruitless 
 search for survivors. The knowledge he 
 
 ESQUIMAU WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 
 
 beyond Etah, where the party passed the 
 winter. From this point he made an ex- 
 ceedingly hazardous and rough sled jour- 
 ney across the Sound to Grinnell Land, 
 and passed north to 81° .35', from whence 
 he believed he again looked out upon the 
 Polar Sea. But he and his companions 
 were too weak to go farther, and barely 
 survived to reach the ship again, which 
 returned to the United States the follow- 
 ing summer. 
 
 Captain Charles F. Hall completes the 
 trio of famous American explorers of the 
 second period, and hia experience was 
 more varied and protracted than that of 
 all his predecessors. Notwithstanding the 
 
 gained of the language and habits of Es- 
 quimaux, however, proved most valuable. 
 On a second expedition Hall lived with 
 the Innuits, as he generally calls them, 
 five years, becoming more familiar with 
 them, and with their Arctic life, than any 
 other white man has ever become. So 
 great knowledge of the conditions exist- 
 ing in the Far North did he gain that 
 upon his return to the United States, in 
 1879, he was accorded the highest honors; 
 and Congress vei-y early made an appro- 
 Ijriation for a national expedition to be 
 placed under Hall's command. Before 
 starting on this third voyage Hall said: 
 " I have demonstrated in my own person 
 
780 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 that wiiite men can live, with no extra- 
 nrdinary snflFerings, for years in the 
 depths of the Arctic regions. I have lived 
 there for years, and can teach my associ- 
 ates liow to do so. Upon this new ex- 
 pedition I shall be amply provided with 
 all means for a tlioroug-h exploration. . . 
 Thus abundantly supplied, and aideil l)y 
 my own experience of more than ten 
 years, T tlilnk I shall be able to accomplish 
 sometliins worthy of the means placed at 
 my disposal." 
 
 On this third expedition Hall's party 
 numbered thirty-three, and they sailed 
 from New London, on the Polaris, July 3, 
 1871. This vessel had been esijeeially 
 strengthened and fitted out by the Navy 
 Department, and was the first steamship 
 to attempt to reach the Polar Sea. From 
 the start all conditions were most favor- 
 able, and Hall was aide without serious 
 opposition to pass through Smith Sound, 
 Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, and ILill 
 Basin, into a previously unexplored strait, 
 which he named Robeson Channel, in 
 honor of tlie then Secretary of the Navy, 
 and thence into the Arctic Ocean. On 
 August 30. however, his progress was 
 stopped by heavy pack-ice in 82° 10' lati- 
 tude, at a higher point than had ever 
 before been reached by a vessel. In en- 
 deavoring to return, the Polaris was seized 
 b.y pack-ice and carried fifty miles south, 
 where the expedition wintered in Thank 
 God Harbor. After establishing winter 
 quarters Hall set out on a sledge journey, 
 reaching Cape Brevoort, from which he 
 sighted the north shore of what is now 
 known as Grant Land. Shortly after his 
 return Hall was stricken with apoplexy, 
 and, dying November 8th, he was buried 
 among the iciPcliffs. Few explorers have 
 accomplished so much with such limited 
 means as did Captain Hall. His life 
 among the Esquimaux had endeared him 
 to them, and the uniform kindness Kane, 
 Hayes, and Hall ever showed them, es- 
 tablished a warm place in their hearts for 
 American explorers. Of the value of his 
 scientific work, one not over generous of 
 praise for the achievements of others. 
 Commander Peary, has said: " The geo- 
 
 graphical results of this expedition were 
 very important. Hall was the first civil- 
 ized man to look east and west along the 
 northern shores of Greenland and Grin- 
 nell Land, to reveal Hall Basin and Robe- 
 son Channel, and to see the ocean beyond 
 tliem. His surprising voyage, and sup- 
 posed sighting of land far to the north, 
 aroused renewed interest in this [the 
 Smith Sound] route." But his invalua- 
 ble service in studying the character and 
 habits of the Esquimaux, and in gaining 
 their friend^ihip and confidence, has not 
 been so frankly acknowledged by some of 
 his successors, who have placed to their 
 sole credit results that were made possi- 
 ble chiefly by Hall's wise, humane, and 
 Christian conduct and activities. His 
 British brethem were more generous 
 when, in 1876, the Nares E.xpcdition 
 placed over Hall's grave a stone, with an 
 epitaph proclaiming him as one " who 
 sacrificed his life in the advancement of 
 Science, and who has. by his experience, 
 benefited us, his followers." 
 
 Early in the autumn following Captain 
 Hall's death. Captain Buddington, the 
 .'ailing master of the Polaris, upon whom 
 the command of the exjiedition had de- 
 volved, attempted to steam south, but the 
 vessel was caught in pack-ice and slowly 
 drifted out of Smith Sound. Wliile oflF 
 Northumberland Island a terrible storm 
 disrupted the pack, and the vessel neai-ly 
 foundered. A part of the supplies and 
 a boat had already l>e^n transferred from 
 the ship to the ice floe, where Captain 
 Tyson and eighteen men were at work, 
 when they were suddenly separated from 
 the vessel. Then began a drift of one 
 hundred and ninety days, the party being 
 exposed to all the horrors of the long 
 winter night on a floating field of ice. 
 Down through Bafiin Bay, Davis Strait, 
 and out into the Atlantic they slowly 
 drifted, until, when over fifteen hundred 
 miles had been covered, the party was 
 rescued off Labrador on April 30, 1873. 
 by the whaler Tigress. The limits of this 
 chapter do not admit of any detailed ac- 
 count of this most marvelous experience 
 in the whole story of Polar exploration. 
 
THE COXQUEST OF THE XORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 781 
 
 and of the miraculous escape, after terri- 
 ble suffering's from exposure and hunger, 
 of the entire party. Not only was there 
 not a death while they were on the ice, but 
 their original number was increased by 
 the birth of an Esquimau baby. The 
 fourteen men who remained on the Polaris 
 wore forced to abandon her near Littleton 
 Island. In the spring- they attempted to 
 reach Uppemavik in small boats, and 
 were rescued off Cape York by a whaling 
 vessel. 
 
 Thus ended a most remarkable expedi- 
 tion, whether viewed from the standpoint 
 of its achievements, or of its unique and 
 varied experiences. When the survivors 
 had returned to the United States, and 
 the public became familiar with their in- 
 dividual stories, the criticism of Captain 
 Budding-ton's actions was sharp and hos- 
 tile. Many believed that Captain Hall 
 had not died a natural death; and Captain 
 Tyson and his companions on the ice 
 tloe were certain that Buddington had in- 
 tentionally left them to their fate, as on 
 two occasions the Polaris came -within 
 easy sight of the ice party, but no atten- 
 tion was paid to their signals of distress. 
 In due course an investigation of all the 
 circumstances was instituted by the Naw 
 Department; but the evidence produced 
 failed to prove more than that there had 
 been dissensions on board the Polaris be- 
 fore Captain Hall died. 
 
 There are few more pathetic cliapters 
 in the long record of three hundred years 
 of Polar navigation than that which tells 
 of the futile mission of the Jeannette and 
 the cruel disappointment of her com- 
 mander, Lieut. George W. DeLong. After 
 graduating from the Naval Academy, De- 
 Long became deeply interested in the 
 whole problem of Arctic research ; and 
 when, as Lieutenant on the Juniata, sent 
 north to search for the Polaris, he got his 
 tirst real taste of Arctic life, he did not 
 rest until he had succeeded in interesting 
 James Gordon Bennett, and had secured 
 his support for a new expedition to the 
 Pole. With his characteristic liberality 
 ^[r. Bennett gave DeLong a free hand in 
 tilting out the expedition, which sailed 
 
 from San Francisco on the Jeannette, 
 July 8, 1879. The party numbered thirty- 
 two persons, and the Bering Strait route 
 had been chosen because of DeLong's be- 
 lief that the warm Japan current must 
 somewhere create a practically clear pas- 
 sage to the Pole. But the whole record so 
 carefully kept by the Commander is one 
 of mishaps and accidents. He had pene- 
 trated the Arctic Ocean but a short 
 distance before the vessel was caught in 
 the ice, and carried north and west with 
 the movement of the slowly floating mass 
 for nearly two years. As one has said, 
 " instead, therefore, of a voyage of inter- 
 esting discovery and abundant incident, 
 the Jeannette and her company were 
 doomed to an Arctic prison." DeLong 
 had by far the best literary ability of all 
 the explorers who have written of their 
 experiences; and his journal supplies a 
 more vivid and fascinating view of the 
 explorer's life and thought than can be 
 found elsewhere. His descrijition of the 
 terrible monotony of his imprisonment, 
 the same that hundreds of others have 
 been forced to endure, is so realistic that 
 we quote it in part : " There can be no 
 greater wear and tear on a man's mind 
 and patience than this life in the pack. 
 The absolute monotony; the unchanging 
 round of hours; the awakening to the 
 same things and the same conditions that 
 one saw just before losing one's self in 
 sleep ; the same faces ; the same dogs ; the 
 same ice; the same conviction that to- 
 morrow will be exactly the same as to- 
 day, if not more disagreeable; the ahsolute 
 impotence to do anything, to go anywhere, 
 or to change one's situation an iota; the 
 knowledge that nothing has been accom- 
 plished thus far to save this expedition 
 from being denominated an utter failure; 
 all these things crowd in with irresistible 
 force on my reasoning powers each night 
 as I sit down to reflect upon the events of 
 the day; and but for some still, small 
 voice within me that tells me this can 
 hardly be the ending of all my labors 
 and zeal, I should be tempted to despair." 
 Early in the first winter the Jeannette 
 sprang a leak, and every in-jenious device 
 
782 
 
 FEOM COLO^'Y TO WOKLD POWER. 
 
 and grrcat labor only sei-ved to keep her 
 afloat. On June 12, 1881, the ice-pack 
 broke up enough for her to get free, only 
 to be seized again the next day, and so 
 badly damaged that she sank in forty 
 fathoms of water only five hours after the 
 party abandoned her. They were then 
 three hundred and fffty miles from the 
 barren Siberian coast. The party was at 
 once divided among three boats, which 
 were quickly separated in their efforts to 
 reach the mainland. On September 10, 
 Engineer Melville and Lieut. Danenhower 
 with their companions reached a small 
 fishing camp in the Lena Delta, and were 
 safe. The boat and crew in charge of 
 Lieut. Chipp were never heard from, and 
 all were iindoul)tedly lost in the open 
 ocean. Some time later Melville, who 
 had maintained an eager search for the 
 other boats, found two suiwivors of Pe- 
 Long's party, who had been sent ahead of 
 the others, who were too sick to walk 
 farther, to find relief, if possible. In this 
 way a clue as to the Captain's where- 
 abouts was obtained. But relief came too 
 late. As the Esquimaux briefly described 
 by a line the sad fate of Franklin's party. 
 — " They fell as they walked, and as they 
 fell they died." — so the closing entries in 
 DeLong's journal picture with marvelous 
 vividness the end that l>ofcll too many 
 heroes engaged in such x>erilous ventures. 
 The silence that follows the last record 
 is more eloquent than any written des- 
 cription could be: 
 
 "October 23d, Sunday, 13.3d day. 
 Everybody pretty weak. Slept or rested 
 all day, and then managed to get enough 
 wood in before dark. Head part of divine 
 service. Suffering in our feet. No foot 
 gear. 
 
 October 2-tth, Monday, 134th day. A 
 hard night. 
 
 October 2.5th, Tuesday, 135th day. 
 
 October 26th, Wednesday. 13(;th day. 
 
 October 27th, Thursday, 137th day. 
 Ivcrsen broken down. 
 
 October 28th. Friday. 13Sth day. Iver- 
 scn died during early morning. 
 
 October 29th, Saturday, 139th day. 
 Dressier died during the night. 
 
 October 30th. Sunday. 140th day. Boyd 
 and Gortz died during night. Mr. Collins 
 dying." 
 
 The remarkable drift of the Jeanneffe, 
 and the fact that it was alleged that some 
 articles belonging to the shij^ had been 
 found on the Greenland coast, led the 
 bold Norseman, Fridtjof Nansen, to at- 
 tempt the conquest of the Pole by a drift- 
 ing cxjiedition. He originally planned to 
 enter the Arctic Ocean by way of 
 Bering Strait, but eventually changed his 
 course, and started north by way of the 
 coast of Norway, through the Kara Sea. 
 He built for this service the little vessel 
 named the Fram, so constructed as to rise 
 iipon the surface of the ice when squeezed, 
 and so avoid being crushed. Leaving 
 Christiania in July, 1893, on the 25th of 
 September the Fram was pushed into the 
 ice off the northwest of the Siberian 
 Islands, and her long drift began. She 
 was provisioned for five years, and 
 carried a party of thirteen. After drift- 
 ing for nearly two years in a northwest- 
 erly direction, the intolerable montony 
 drove Nansen to take a sledge. With 
 one companion he left the ship March 
 14, 1895, while she was in lat. 84° 4', and 
 pushed farther north, reaching the farth- 
 est point yet gained in lat. 86° 14', on 
 April 7. He then turned southwest and 
 reached Franz Joseph Land late in Au- 
 gust, where he wintered. Starting south 
 the following' spring he arrived at the 
 headquarters of Jackson, the British Ex- 
 plorer of that region, and returned home 
 in the Fall. After Nansen left her, the 
 Fram continued to drift northerly and 
 westerly until in November, 1895, she 
 reached a northing only twenty miles be- 
 low that of Nansen. Her drift then 
 became southwesterly until, on Augrust 
 13, 1896, she was released from the ice 
 just south of Spitzbergen. The success of 
 this voyage placed Nansen high on the 
 roll of Arctic explorers, and gained a 
 strong following for his drift method. 
 The knowledge of conditions existing in 
 the Arctic Ocean was also materially in- 
 creased by the observations of the Fram's 
 party, and the absence of land through a 
 
THE CONQUEST OE THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 783 
 
 great area previously unexplored was 
 clemonstrated, as well as the existence of 
 a deep polar basin. 
 
 Franz Josef Land was discovered in 
 1873 by Wej-precht and Payer, command- 
 ing' an Austrian expedition in search of 
 the Northeast Passage. Their vessel, the 
 TcgpHhof, was caught in the ice off the 
 north coast of Nova Zembla in August, 
 1872, and the party drifted 375 days, " no 
 longer discoverers, but passengers against 
 our will," as Lieut. Payer stated the 
 conditions. But when the fog lifted on 
 the morning of August 30. 1873. a bold 
 coast line was revealed, hitherto unknown, 
 which they named Franz Josef Land in 
 honor of their Emperor. During the 
 spring of 1875, by sledge journeys, more 
 than four hundred miles of the land was 
 travereed and mapped. It was not until 
 1894, however, that the new land was 
 carefully explored by F. G. Jackson, who 
 spent three years there with a party 
 financed by Sir Alfred LTarmsworth. By 
 boat and sledge journeys they practically 
 determined the limits of what proved to 
 be an archipelago, rather than one con- 
 tinuous land, or island. In the years 
 1898-9 Walter Wellman, the celebrated 
 correspondent of the Chicago Becnrd- 
 Herald. made a strike for the Pole from 
 Franz Josef Land: but an accident to Mr. 
 Wellman forced him to abandon the 
 undertaking. 
 
 The name most closely, and probably 
 finally, associated with this route, how- 
 ever, is that of the Italian Duke of the 
 Abruzzi, and his navigator. Captain 
 Cagni. The Duke bought the Norwegian 
 whaler Jason, and had her refitted and 
 strengthened in Norway, after which she 
 was re-christened the Stella Polare. Sail- 
 ing from Christiania, in June, 1899, the 
 expedition easily reached the highest 
 Xwint attained by vessel over this route. 
 in lat. 82° 4'. and then wintered in Tep- 
 litz Bay, Crown Prince Rudolph Land, 
 close to the northern extremity of Franz 
 Josef Land. In the spring Captain 
 Cagni and a party, by a sledge journey 
 directly north, reached the highest alti- 
 tude attained by any person previous to 
 
 the twentieth century. 80° 34' N.. only 
 two hundred hundred and thirty miles, 
 direct distance, from the Pole itself. 
 This was an epoch making expedition. 
 As Commander Peary has said : " It 
 showed most conclusively what an efFec- 
 tive sledge party may accomplish when 
 starting from a base with a high north- 
 ing." It was thus the rare privilege of the 
 distinguished Italian nobleman, within 
 one year, to determine the limits of Franz 
 Josef Land and to prove the open sea 
 beyond ; and also to establish a precedent 
 
 THE DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI. 
 
 for future procedure, which, followed by 
 Cook and Peary in 1908 and 1909, added 
 the Pole itself to the knovm possessions of 
 Ihe human race. This, one of the most 
 successful of all exploring expeditions, 
 was planned, supervised, and directed in 
 evei-y detail by the Duke of the Abruzzi 
 himself, when only in his twenty-sixth 
 year. He has since placed many other 
 daring and scientific achievements to his 
 credit, the latest being the ascent of Mount 
 Goodwin-Austin in the Himalaya range, 
 when he reached an altitude of 25.000 
 feet, the highest ever attained by any 
 human being. Not without reason are 
 
784 
 
 FRO:\l COLONY TO WOULD I'OWEK. 
 
 the Italian people isroud of this member 
 of their royal family; and with equal rea- 
 son the American people have viewed the 
 Duke's attentions to the daug'hter of a 
 distingnished Senator of the United 
 States with more respect and kindness 
 than they usually bestow upon the quest 
 of titled foreigners for wives among the 
 rich American women. 
 
 The summer of 1009 was Just drawing 
 to a close, and the people of the country 
 were settling down to the routine work of 
 another business year, when that latest 
 of wonderful discoveries, the wireless tele- 
 graph, proclaimed to the world that on a 
 Danish steamship approaching civiliza- 
 tion was a comparatively unknown man, 
 named Cook, who claimed to have gained 
 the goal of centuries of endeavor, by 
 planting the flag of his countiy, the 
 United States, at the North Pole, on April 
 2L 1908. The familiar simile of a light- 
 ning- flash from a clear sky but faintly 
 suggests the astonishment and wonder 
 with which the announcement was re- 
 ceived. Probably not one in one thou- 
 sand of the American people had ever 
 heard of Dr. Cook, and a much smaller 
 number knew that he had been in the 
 Arctic seas, or had designs upon the Pole. 
 Peary, every one knew, had gone north 
 to seek the trophy; but a widespread spirit 
 of incredulity greeted- the story of the 
 unkno^^Tl adventurer. Upon his aiTival at 
 Copenhagen, however. Scientists, Arctic 
 Explorers, and a hundred or more of the 
 most famous press correspondents of the 
 ■n'orld seized him, and so pressed him to 
 obtain all his stoi-y that the embrace of 
 a Polar ice-pack would have been a relief 
 to the bewildered man. Very quickly, all 
 were convinced of his sincerity, and the 
 belief became well nigh universal through- 
 out the civilized world that Cook had dis- 
 covered the Pole. Friends of Commander 
 Peary, however, with rare lack of .iudg- 
 ment, did all in their power to check the 
 enthusiasm of the public, and to discredit 
 Dr. Cook's statement; and days of 
 frenzied discussion ensued. But all this 
 ■was as a calm before a storm compared 
 ■with the wild agitation which followed, 
 
 when, five days later, the wireless tele- 
 graph again electrified the world by a 
 message from Labrador, stating that 
 Commander Peary had reached the Pole, 
 and, as he claimed, had been the first to 
 plant the stars and stri[)es above the dome 
 of the world, on April 6, 1909. It is 
 doubtful whether any such feverish ex- 
 citement has possessed the American 
 jjeople since the day the telegraph an- 
 nounced that Sumter had been fired upon. 
 Sides were immediately taken and a 
 merry war ensued between the adherents 
 of the two explorers. An old Oreek his- 
 torian, describing the dominant character- 
 istics of his counti-ymen, places a dis- 
 putatious nature in the foreground. They 
 timk sides, he declares, on the most trivial 
 t;uestions, and argued and wrangled in- 
 cessantly. To illustrate his position, he 
 tells of a celebrated law suit that was 
 brought in the city of Abdera, over the 
 owmership of an Ass's shadow; and 
 naively i-emarks that the question was so 
 hotly discussed by the people, that every 
 Abderite became either an ass or a 
 shadow. And it certainly appeared for a 
 time, as if those of the American x)eople 
 who were not transformed by the discus- 
 sion of the Cook-Peary question into 
 quadrupeds with long ears, must inevit- 
 ably become shadows very quickly. Hap- 
 pily, however. Commander Peary came to 
 their rescue. By his offensive and inteni- 
 perate denunciation of a fellow explorer, 
 whose every word and act were proclaim- 
 ing him an honest man and a gentleman, 
 and were hourly winning for him friends 
 from among his most hostile critics, the 
 Commander so shocked the American 
 spirit of fair play that discussion soon 
 ceased, and a sentiment akin to disgust 
 became common. The so-called contro- 
 versy degenerated into a monologue by 
 the later claimant, which received only 
 painful attention from a few of his most 
 intimate friends and personal admirers. 
 During the iieriodi of comparative calm 
 that has followed, intelligent and thought- 
 ful men and women are studying the 
 claims of both explorers with as little per- 
 sonal bias as the peculiar circumstances 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 785 
 
 •will peniiit; and in the near future a 
 measure of certainty will undoubtedly be 
 reached which will be acceptable to the 
 g-reat public; though, as in the case of 
 all momentous discoveries, some will 
 never be convinced. It is probable that 
 the question, " Wlio was first at the North 
 Pole," will long be debated, and the 
 validity of the generally accepted con- 
 clusions be disputed by many. 
 
 Doctor Frederick Albert Cook was born 
 at Callicoon. Sullivan County, N. Y., June 
 10. 1865. His family name was Koch. His 
 father was born in Hanover, and his 
 mother in southern Germany. About the 
 middle of the last century the family 
 migTated to the United States, the father 
 commencing the practice of medicine in 
 the little country town where his now 
 famous son was born. During the Civil 
 War the father joined the army, and on 
 the roll of the medical service, by the 
 carelessness of a Government clerk, bis 
 name was entered as Cook, instead of 
 Koch, and the name was retained, though 
 all the father's family are still Koch«. In 
 1870 the father died, the mother being 
 left without means, and with five children, 
 of whom the present Doctor was the 
 youngest. In order to gain better facili- 
 ties for educating her children, and 
 greater opportunities for work, the family 
 removed to Brooklyn, N. T., where Fred- 
 erick received his early education in tin- 
 public schools. Later he earned enough 
 to take a course at the LTniversity of New 
 York, from which he received his degree 
 of Doctor of Medicine in 1890. As he 
 was without means, the waiting for a 
 paying practice became intolerable to 
 him; and while chafing under such con- 
 ditions, about six months after bis grad- 
 uation, he saw in the papers that Peary 
 was organizing an expedition to explore 
 the Arctic regions, and that a surgeon 
 was wanted to accompany the party. He 
 made application for the position, was ac- 
 cepted, and spent the greater part of the 
 next two years in that service. Of his 
 fitness for this work, and adaptability to 
 the necessary conditions of Arctic life. 
 Commander Peary has said (Northward 
 
 Over the Great Ice): "To Dr. Cook's 
 care may be attributed the almost com- 
 plete exemption of the party from even 
 the mildest indispositions, and personally 
 I owe much to his professional skill, and 
 unruffled patience and coolness in an 
 emergency. In addition to his work in 
 
 FREDERICK A. COOK. 
 
 his special ethnological field, in which he 
 has obtained a large mass of most valu- 
 ahle material concerning a practically 
 unstudied tribe, he was always helpful, 
 and an indefatigable worker." In speak- 
 ing of this expedition at a later day. Dr. 
 Cook said: "There was no money in it, 
 but there was a living, honor, and — ■ 
 what I did not expect to find — a new 
 and absorbing passion." We have before 
 iu this chapter spoken of the irresistible 
 charm of the Arctic region for all who 
 have once been subject to its spell. No 
 matter what hardships and dangers have 
 been encountered, all through the history 
 
786 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 of Arctic exploration wo find survivors 
 seizing the first opportunity to return. 
 In speakiu": of his own surrender to this 
 Wanderlust, Dr. Cool': has said: "It is a 
 mystery, but it is a fact. Often and 
 often I have asked myself what are the 
 pleasures of the Polar seas. Privation, 
 cold, hunger, peril of frostbite and of 
 death, solitude, increasing and sustaining 
 exertion, — these are manifest enough. 
 In themselves they are not very fascinat- 
 ing. You sometimes revolt from them 
 and wonder why you ever pushed into the 
 great wilderness of ice. You escape, vow- 
 ing never to return. But after a time 
 something revives in you. Your mind 
 dwells more and more on the indefinable 
 delights of the Arctic. Something keeps 
 calling, calling, calling, night and day. 
 
 JOHN R. BRADLFA'. 
 
 until at last you can stand it no longer, 
 and you return, spell-drawn by the magic 
 of the North." 
 
 It is hardly to be wondered at, there- 
 fore, that, though he had commenced to 
 practice his profession in Brooklyn after 
 his return from Greenland, when in Sep- 
 tember, 1897, he received a cablegram 
 from the commander of the Belgian 
 Antarctic Expedition just about to start 
 
 from Ostend, asking if he could join the 
 Ijarty at Montevideo late in the month, 
 Dr. Cook at once cabled " Yes." " I had 
 only a few days," he says, " to prepare 
 myself and my outfit for a journey which 
 might take one year, or ten, or a life- 
 time." Like many another, he did not 
 find in the Antarctic region the fascina- 
 tion that has lured so many to return to 
 the North. Though the Antarctic had 
 been one of the dreams of his life, and 
 " to be on the way to it was then my 
 ideal of happiness; to he on the way from 
 it was an ambition quite as strong two 
 years later." 
 
 After returning from this cruise. Dr. 
 Cook resumed his professional duties, and 
 in 1902 married Mary Fidell Hunt. In 
 100^, the old cry rang in his ears, and a 
 sop was thrown to the Siren in the form 
 of a summer expedition to Alaska to try 
 the ascent of Mt. McKinley. After three 
 months of effort-, however, the undertaking 
 was abandoned. But three years later he 
 returned, and after a long period of in- 
 vestigation he struck a route that took 
 him to the sunmiit of the mountain, 
 20,390 feet above sea level, in September, 
 190(>. ITis experience in this arduous un- 
 dertaking stood him in splendid stead for 
 his subsequent attack on the Pole. As he 
 said : " IJfy forty pound kit per man was 
 the pioneer of my irreducibly minimized 
 outfit for the run to the Pole. We started 
 three men for the summit of Mt. McKin- 
 ley and three for the Pole." 
 
 Dr. Cook's Arctic journey, which has 
 resulted so gloriously, was made possible 
 by the liberality of a wealthy young man 
 of New York, John E. Bradley, who has 
 found his pleasure in exploration and 
 hunting in obscure portions of the globe. 
 Mr. Bradley has been in the interior of 
 Africa, in out-of-the-way parts of South 
 America and India ; and in casting about 
 in his mind for some new field to visit, 
 he was directed toward the Arctic regions 
 by the preparations that Peary was then 
 making to go north again. Just at that 
 time he happened to meet Dr. Cook, with 
 whose susceptibility to the " call of the 
 wild" Bradley was familiar; and the lat- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 787 
 
 ter at once proposed the expedition to the 
 Doctor, as a summer hunting trip, ^\-ith 
 the possibility of Cook's making a dash 
 for the Pole, if everything seemed to 
 favor such an effort. Dr. Cook at once 
 said the only obstacle veas the expense, 
 about which Mr. Bradley assured him he 
 need have no concern, as he would stand 
 hack of him in any expenditure he might 
 think it necessary to make. Not a day 
 was lost, but both men entered heart and 
 soul into the project. A Gloucester fish- 
 ing schooner was purchased, and refitted 
 for Arctic work. Every conceivable thing 
 that could minister to the necessities of 
 either a hunting or Polar expedition was 
 provided, though the vessel was not en- 
 cumbered with anjrthing that savored of 
 luxury, or that a most careful foresight 
 did not consider absolutely requisite. As 
 Dr. Cook has said : " I had everything 
 that could be carried on such a small ex- 
 pedition. My friend, Mr. Bradley, gave 
 me carte hlanche. I had twice as much 
 money placed at my disposal as I cared to 
 spend. If I had had a million dollars 
 and an army of men, I could not have 
 been better equipped." 
 
 The expedition left Gloucester, Mass., 
 harbor on July 3, 1907; and after some 
 days spent in hunting in the far north, 
 reached Etah, where they learned that the 
 Eskimos were assembled at Annootok, 
 about thirty miles farther north, and just 
 inside Inglefield Cape, for a hunt. The 
 Bradley party immediately made for that 
 point, where Dr. Cook found so many 
 men and dogs, as well as food and furs, 
 that he decided to make the attempt to 
 reach the Pole. The veteran English 
 journalist, W. T. Stead, who met Dr. Cook 
 upon his arrival at Copenhagen, and re- 
 ported a detailed interview with him in 
 the October issue of the American Re- 
 view of Reviews, quotes a letter written 
 by Dr. Cook at this time to Herbert L. 
 Bridgman, Secretary of the Peary Arctic 
 Club, of New York City, which has an 
 important bearing in this case. As re- 
 ported, under date of October 5, 1907, 
 Dr. Cook wrote : " I have hit upon a. 
 new route to the North Pole, and will 
 
 stay to try it. By way of Buchanan 
 Bay and Ellesmere Land and northward 
 through Nansen Strait over the Polar 
 Sea, seems to me to be a very good route. 
 There will be game to the 83d degree, 
 and here are natives and dogs for the 
 task. So her© is for the Pole." This let- 
 ter not only gives the reasons why 
 Dr. Cook determined to make his attempt 
 to reach the Pole, but also shows that in 
 the fall of 1907, nine months before 
 Peary left New York, Mr. Bridgman was 
 advised of Dr. Cook's purpose; and it is 
 certain that what Mr. Bridgman knew 
 was the common knowledge of Com- 
 mander Peary and the members of the 
 Peary Club. Moreover, the letter would 
 be hardly intelligible, unless Dr. Cook 
 had previously talked the matter over 
 with Mr. Bridgman, and told him of his 
 intention to strike for the Pole if he 
 found conditions in the north favorable. 
 This should certainly negative all the 
 charges that have been persistently made 
 by Peary's friends that Dr. Cook's move- 
 ments and plans were secret, and that the 
 expedition was organized in an " under- 
 hand " manner. 
 
 Early in October, the Bradley, with all 
 the party except Dr. Cook and Otto 
 Francke, returned to New York. The lit- 
 tle party at Annootok, with the aid of 
 the Eskimos, at once erected a hut for 
 their winter quarters. The winter night 
 was fast setting in, and all were busily 
 engaged preparing for the projected jour- 
 ney. Furs were collected and made into 
 garments suitable for the trip, sledges 
 made, and many jKJSsible contingencies 
 provided for. At length, on February 19, 
 1908, the main expedition, consisting of 
 eleven men, with eleven heavily loaded 
 sledges, and one hundred and three dogs, 
 left the Greenland coast, crossed Smith 
 Sound on the ice, thence proceeding over 
 Ellesmere Land to Heiberg Land, from 
 the northern point of which the dash for 
 the Pole was made. This first part of the 
 undertaking was hardly less diifieult than 
 the run over the ice of the Polar Sea; 
 as the ice conditions in Smith Sound are 
 always of the worst character, and the 
 
7S8 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 most intense cold was encountered, the 
 thermometer once registering 83° below 
 zero. Before the Polar Sea was reached 
 Dr. Cook had been able to test his men 
 and dogs; and for the final and crucial 
 run of more than five hundred miles to 
 the Pole, two young men. Etukishuk and 
 Ahwelah, each about twenty years of age, 
 were chosen. Twenty-six dogs were se- 
 lected, and supplies for eighty days were 
 
 well nigh worn out. But when, on the 
 morning of April 19, the obsei-vations 
 showed that they were but two average 
 marches from the " tigi shu " (the big 
 nail), a new spirit possessed the Eskimo 
 beys, who danced and shouted for joy. 
 Even the dogs caught the enthusiasm, the 
 Doctor tells us; and all set out to cover 
 the few remaining miles with high spirits 
 and light feet, the Eskimos singing and 
 
 RECONNOITERING. 
 
 loaded on two sleds. Early on March 
 18 the other Eskimos, with the remain- 
 ing dogs and sleds, were sent back to 
 Annootok, after a cache had been estab- 
 liNhed, at which a sled was also left. 
 Then, as soon as a heavy wind and storm 
 had somewhat subsided, the little party 
 of three faced the unknown north. It 
 is impossible here to give any details of 
 the journey, which Dr. Cook has so in- 
 terestingly described in the story pub- 
 lished in the New York Herald. Before 
 reaching the Pole, however, the party had 
 endured great hardship, and the men were 
 
 shouting, the dogs barking and howling 
 as they ran. On the morning of the 21st 
 the pedometer showed that they had cov- 
 ered the distance necessary to reach the 
 Pole, as shown by their last observation ; 
 and anxiously they waited for the time 
 to determine their exact position, which 
 proved to be only a quarter of a mile 
 from the boreal centre. This was quickly 
 covered, and with mingled feelings of ela- 
 tion and weariness, an igloo was built, and 
 preparations made to pass two full days 
 at the apex of the earth. After the first 
 excitement of victory had subsided, how- 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1900. 
 
 789 
 
 ever, their abounding- joy slowly yielded 
 to the depressing influence of the place. 
 Not a sign of life in any direction, not 
 a spot to break the monotonous outlook 
 over endless fields of purple snows, and an 
 absolute silence that could really be felt ! 
 Everywhere was a barren, dead world of 
 ice. Added to the dreariness of the place, 
 too, came the gradual realization of the 
 diiBculties still to be encountered. The 
 supreme tests of strength and endurance 
 were yet to come. After two full series 
 of observations had been taken, to make 
 certain that they had really reached the 
 Pole, the little party turned their faces to 
 the south, and began the homeward march 
 April 23. Seven days later they had cov- 
 ered one hundred and twenty-one miles. 
 Wearily they worked their way south, the 
 ice conditions constantly becoming worse, 
 and the drift more pronounced as the sea- 
 son advanced. It soon became evident 
 that they were being carried too far west 
 to admit of the return to Annootok, or, 
 what was more serious, to reach their 
 caches on Heiberg Land. And after tragic 
 weeks of suffering from hunger, exposure, 
 and disappointment, the three brave men 
 were forced to go into winter quarters in 
 September near Cape Sparbo, on Jones 
 Sound, fully two hundred and fifty miles 
 south of Annootok, the drifting ice hav- 
 ing carried them far to the west and 
 south of Ellesniere Land. Having built 
 an underground den of stones and turf, 
 with bows and arrows, and other prim- 
 itive weapons (their ammunition had al- 
 ready been exhausted), they killed bears, 
 musk-oxen, and other animals, so procur- 
 ing food and skins as well as fuel, by 
 which death by famine was averted. The 
 winter night of 1908-9 was spent in pre- 
 paring food and equipment for the re- 
 turn; and on February 18, 1909, with 
 remodelled sled, the start was made for 
 Annootok, where the party arrived about 
 the middle of April. But before reach- 
 ing camp their provisions had again be- 
 come exhausted, as they had not been 
 able to get any game during the later 
 weeks of the march; and some miles from 
 tbe camp the three weak and starving 
 
 men were forced to abandon their sledge, 
 and make the last desperate struggle to 
 reach Annootok. About eight miles from 
 the place the weary strugglers, mutually 
 supporting and dragging each other over 
 the ice, were met by Mr. Whitney, who 
 was hunting in the region with a party 
 of Eskimos, and were carried to the camp 
 and tenderly cared for. After a very 
 few days of rest, dniring which he told 
 Mr. Whitney of his route and what he 
 had accomplished, Dr. Cook, anxious to 
 get back to civilization and to acquaint 
 the world with his achievement, proceeded 
 by sled and boat to LTppernavik, where 
 he caught a Danish steamship which took 
 him to Copenhagen, reaching the Danish 
 capital September 4th. 
 
 HOBEHT E. PEARY. 
 
 Robert Edwin Peary was bom at Cres- 
 son, Pa., May 6, 1856. During his early 
 youth the family removed to Maine, 
 where young Peary received his educa- 
 
790 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 tion, graduating' from Bowdoin Colloge. 
 in 1877. In the year 1881 he entered the 
 I'nited States Navy as Civil Engineer, 
 and sei-ved as Assistant Engineer of the 
 Nicaragua Ship Canal in 1884-5. In 
 1888 he married Josephine Diehitsch. of 
 Washington, who has iigured only less 
 prominently than her husband in the an- 
 nals of Arctic exploration. Mrs. Pear>' 
 accompanied her husband as far north as 
 the vrinter quarters in Greenland on his 
 expeditions of 1891 and 1893, and was. 
 so far as known, the first white woman 
 to winter within the Arctic Circle. Wliile 
 in Greenland, a daughter, Marie Ahnighi- 
 to, later familiarly known as the " Snow 
 Baby," was born to Lieut, and Mrs. Pear;\', 
 — the infant gaining the distinguished 
 honor of having reached, while in Arctic 
 swaddling clothes, the " farthest north " 
 of any of the millions of white babies 
 born in modern times. Mrs. Peary again 
 went north in 1900 with her child, to 
 meet her husband. The vessel was caught 
 in the ice, and mother and child passed 
 the long winter night in lat. 78° 42'. 
 
 Even during his college days Peary is 
 credited with having been deeply inter- 
 ested in all that pertained to Arctic ex- 
 ploration. In the introduction to his 
 '■ Northward over the Great Ice." he says : 
 " One evening, in one of my favorite 
 haunts, an old book-store in Washington, 
 I came upon a fugitive paper on the In- 
 land Ice of Greenland. A chord, which, 
 as a boy, had vibrated intensely in me at 
 the reading of Kane's wonderful book, 
 was touched again. I read all I could 
 upon the subject, and felt that I must 
 see for myself what the truth was of this 
 great mysterious interior. My summer 
 reconnaissance of the Inland Ice was the 
 outcome." 
 
 Commander Peary's Arctic experience 
 now covers twenty-three years, about eight 
 of which have actually been spent within 
 the Arctic Circle. He has, during this 
 period, worked under particularly favor- 
 able conditions, as he has been carried 
 upon the rolls of the Navy Department, 
 and been paid a liberal salary, though he 
 has done no active service for eighteen 
 
 years. This has allowed him to prosecute 
 his ambitious schemes without anxiety as 
 to his own support, or that of his family, 
 an enviable position that has been the lot 
 of no other American explorer for any 
 long ix?riod. In 1886 he made his first 
 investigation of the ice of Greenland, in 
 which country nearly all his work had 
 been done down to 1905. On that expe- 
 dition he started from a point near Disco, 
 and sledged across the ice to within fifty 
 miles of the eastern coast. In 1891-2 he 
 was in charge of the exploring expedition 
 of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of 
 Philadelphia, and visited North Green- 
 land for the first time. It was on this 
 expedition that Dr. Cook served as sur- 
 geon of the party, which left New York 
 in June, 1891, on the Kite, and wintered 
 in McCormiek Bay, southeast of Smith 
 Sound. The following spring a sledge 
 journey was made over the inland ice 
 to the northeast, a distance of six hun- 
 dred and fifty miles and return. The 
 north coast of Greenland was discovered, 
 demonstrating that it was an island, and 
 that an archipelago of islands lies to the 
 north, separated from Greenland by In- 
 dependence Bay and the Peary Channel. 
 In 1893 Commander Peary again went 
 north, remaining in North Greenland two 
 years, during which time he made a sec- 
 ond sledge journey across the ice-cap, as 
 well as a detailed sun'ey of the Whale 
 Sound country, and discovered the great 
 Cape York meteorites. Up to 1885 prac- 
 tically nothing was known concerning the 
 interior of Greenland, and Commander 
 Peary's account of what he discovered is 
 so interesting that we quote his words 
 (Introduction, " Northward Over the 
 Great Ice"): "All there is of land, as 
 we understand the term, in Greenland, is 
 a ribbon five to twenty-five (and in one 
 or two places sixty to eighty) miles in 
 width, along the coast, made up of mount- 
 ains and valleys and deep branching 
 fiords, surrounded by the Arctic Sea, 
 jilayground of the iceberg and the pack 
 ice, and itself in turn surrounding and 
 supporting, like a Titan dam, the great 
 white ice-cap beneath which the interior 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 791 
 
 of the country is buried. . . . There 
 the accumulated snow precipitation of 
 centuries, in a latitude and altitude where 
 it is practically correct to say that it 
 never rains and the snow does not melt 
 even in the long summer day, has gradu- 
 ally filled all the valleys of the interior, 
 until it has leveled them even with the 
 mountain summits, and still piling higher 
 through the centuries, has at last buried 
 the highest of these mountain summits 
 hundreds and even thousands of feet deep 
 in snow and ice. The interior of Green- 
 land to-day is simply an elevated, un- 
 broken plateau of snow, lifted from five 
 thousand to eight, and even ten, thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea; a huge 
 white glistening shield some twelve hun- 
 dred miles in length and five hundred 
 miles in width, resting on the supporting 
 mountains. It is an Arctic Sahara, in 
 comparison with which the African Sa- 
 hara is insignificant. For on this frozen 
 Sahara of inner Greenland occurs no 
 form of life, animal or vegetable; no frag- 
 ment of rock, no grain of sand is visible." 
 
 During the summers of 1896 and 1897 
 Peaiy made excursions to Greenland, and 
 on the second succeeded in bringing back 
 to this country the great meteorite dis- 
 covered at Cape York, said to be the larg- 
 est in the world. In 1899-1900 he made 
 his first strictly Polar expedition, reach- 
 ing the north of Greenland and surveying 
 its shores, but was unable to advance be- 
 yond lat. 83° 54'. In 1902, in another 
 attempt to reach the Pole, he attained lat. 
 84° 17'. His most successful etiort, pre- 
 vious to the 1908 expedition, was made 
 in the Roosevelt in 1905-6, when he 
 skirted the north coast of Grinnell Land, 
 and in a dash for the Pole attained lat. 
 87° 6', on April 21, 1906, the farthest 
 north ever reached until Dr. Cook gained 
 the Pole, exactly two years later. 
 
 Commander Peary had planned to leave 
 for the Arctic regions again in the Roose- 
 velt during the summer of 1907; but the 
 steamer's boilers and machinery could not 
 be put in proper condition, so the start 
 had to be postponed until the following 
 year. For this expedition the Commander 
 
 was most completely equipped, the Peary 
 Arctic Club, and others, having responded 
 liberally to his persistent solicitation for 
 funds. A dramatic send-off was given by 
 President Eoosevelt, the steamer having 
 gone to the President's summer home at 
 Oyster Bay for that purpose; while the 
 expedition and the movements of its 
 Commander were the all-absorbing theme 
 
 THE ROUSEVliLT. 
 
 of the summer season. Commander 
 Peary went by rail to Sydney, N. S., 
 where he joined the steamer and the 
 party on July 17, and all arrived at Cape 
 York about the end of the month. They 
 left Etah August 18, reaching Cape 
 Sheridan, on the north coast of Grant 
 Land, September 5, when the vessel went 
 into winter quarters. On February 15, 
 1909, the removal of supplies from the 
 Roosevelt to Cape Columbia, a few miles 
 west of Cape Sheridan, which was to be 
 the point of departure for the Pole, was 
 begun ; and by the 27th the transfers had 
 been completed, and the start was made 
 March 1. The Polar party consisted of 
 seven members of the expedition and sev- 
 enteen Eskimos, with one hundred and 
 thirty-three dogs and nineteen sledges. 
 As Dr. Cook's account of his adventures 
 has been published in the New Yorh Her- 
 ald, so the New Yorh Times secured " ex- 
 elusive rights " to publish Commander 
 Peary's personal account of his exploit; 
 but while the former is replete with in- 
 teresting details regarding the progress 
 
792 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 made and the perils encountered, as well 
 as with informing accounts of the ice 
 and atmospheric conditions experienced, 
 the latter contains little more than a de- 
 scription of the masterly manner in which 
 the Conunandor handled and turned back 
 his supporting parties, with occasional 
 reference to the gaining of a new paral- 
 lel, and particularly to the dates when 
 he passed the " farthest north " of pre- 
 vious explorers. Of any enlightening de- 
 scription of the physical features of the 
 
 informed, however, that at various pointa 
 " supporting parties " were sent back, the 
 last to return being Captain Bartlctt's, 
 which turned about at 87° 48', about one 
 lumdred and fifty miles from the Pole. 
 The remaining party consisted of the 
 Commander, his negro servant, Henson, 
 and three Eskimos; and then followed 
 the most phenomenal runs that have ever 
 been recorded in the annals of Polar ex- 
 ploration. The distance from Cape Sheri- 
 dan to the Pole is close to four hundred 
 
 area covered, or of lively interest as a 
 narrative of travel, it is as barren as the 
 fields of snow and ice which the party 
 traversed. It is, too, lacking in data 
 which would enable one to follow the 
 party's course intelligently. While Dr. 
 Cook gives the results of ten or more ob- 
 servations at different points as he ad- 
 vanced, with the latitude and longitude 
 shown in each case. Commander Peary 
 gives but three, including the first made 
 at the Pole; and in no case does he give 
 any longitude, so that it would be im- 
 possible for one to determine his course 
 with any measure of exactness. We are 
 
 and eighty miles. To cover three hun- 
 dred and thirty miles of this distance it 
 had taken the party from March 1 to 
 April 2; but the remaining one hundred 
 and fifty miles, after his supporting par- 
 ties had all returned, the Commander 
 covered in four days, although all his 
 dogs must have been well nigh worn out, 
 and his sleds in far from perfect condi- 
 tion. So far as one can judge from his 
 narrative, he found practically the same 
 conditions at the Pole, which was reached 
 April 6, 1909, that were noted by Dr. Cook 
 the year before, — an unspeakable desola- 
 tion. Dr. Cook, however, was moved by 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 793 
 
 the iinvisual occasion and the magnitude 
 of the event, and gave utterance to senti- 
 ments that one reads -with interest. But 
 Commander Peary, though commonly so 
 generous in his expressions of apprecia- 
 tion of unusual sitviations, seems to have 
 found nothing in the surroundings nor 
 in the achievement of especial note, 
 though he does quote from his journal a 
 prosaic and commonplace entry "made 
 some hours later," to the effect that the 
 Pole, the prize of three centuries, his 
 dream and goal for twenty years, was his 
 at last. And he gives, with evident ap- 
 proval, the sublime and poetic sentiment 
 expressed by Bartlett Just before he turned 
 back, " it's just like every day." 
 
 After remaining at the Pole about 
 thirty hours. Commander Peary and his 
 little party began the marvelous run back 
 to Cape Columbia, which was accom- 
 plished in sixteen days, at an average 
 rate of over thirty miles a day, they hav- 
 ing left the Pole April Y, and arrived at 
 the Cape on the 23d. With reason, it 
 would seem, one of the Eskimos re- 
 marked : " The devil is asleep or having 
 trouble with his wife, or we never should 
 have come back so easily." After some 
 time spent in gathering up provisions 
 left at the caches, and in getting members 
 of the party together, the Roosevelt left 
 her winter quarters July IS, and reached 
 Cape Sabine August 8. At Etah Harry 
 Whitney was taken on board, but was re- 
 fused permission to bring with him some 
 instruments and papers which Dr. Cook 
 had left with him; and clearing from 
 Cape York August 26th, the party reached 
 Indian Harbor September 5th, " whence," 
 as Commander Peary has said, " the mes- 
 sage ' Stars and Stripes nailed to North 
 Pole ' was sent southward through the 
 crisp Labrador air." 
 
 While Dr. Cook was receiving the con- 
 gratulations of the world in general, and 
 of the people of Copenhagen in particu- 
 lar, the message from Commander Peary 
 was received, which called from the Doc- 
 tor a spontaneous expression of pleasure 
 that his rival had also been successful in 
 his quest for the Pole. But within two 
 
 or three days the wireless messages from 
 Labrador began to proclaim Dr. Cook a 
 liar, and negotiator of gold bricks, and 
 a spirit wholly " unbecoming an ofBcer and 
 a gentleman," not to say a sportsman, 
 was manifested by Commander Peary. 
 The details of the controversy that has 
 since been maintained are so widely 
 known, and the occurrences so recent, that 
 no recital of them here is necessary. 
 Unfortunately every one who has ever 
 seen an iceberg or a dog sledge, or has 
 at any time lived in the same county 
 with either of the explorers, constituting 
 himself an expert on Arctic explorations, 
 or a competent authority as to the honor 
 and veracity of the two leaders, has rushed 
 into print to commend or criticize their 
 actions: with the result that the real is- 
 sue has become so befogged by these liter- 
 ary efforts, and by the loose utterances 
 of newspaper men anxious to make rec- 
 ords, that it is well for the general reader 
 to analyze the various charges made, and 
 so endeavor, in some measure, to arrive 
 at just conclusions. 
 
 The attitude of the press, and of some 
 scientific societies, has been that no proof 
 whatever is needed of any statement or 
 claim Commander Peary may make; but 
 that Dr. Cook must establish every posi- 
 tion he may take by the most detailed 
 and convincing evidence, — a proposition 
 that is hardly consistent with the boasted 
 Anglo-Saxon love of fair play. Justice 
 and law both assume that a man is hon- 
 est and innocent, until the negative is 
 proved; but with the powerful interests 
 supporting Commander Peary, as well as 
 with the Commander himself, the assump- 
 tion has been that Dr. Cook was dishon- 
 est from the start, and mu.st establish his 
 innocence. It is interesting to note, 
 however, that, notwithstanding the search- 
 ing investigation his enemies have made, 
 no evidence that would carry weight with 
 a judicial mind has been produced to im- 
 peach the Doctor's standing as an honest 
 man; while eveiy one who has met him 
 during these trying days, even those dis- 
 posed to question his achievement, have 
 been convinced of the man's simple. 
 
794 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWER. 
 
 straishtforward, manifest sincerity. Such 
 beinf>: the attitude of the press, and of 
 Commander Peary's adherents, however, 
 it could but follow that his rival explorer 
 should become the storm centre of a most 
 virulent and hostile criticism; and in 
 view of this fact, it seems but just that a 
 few of the positions taken by his adver- 
 saries should be briefl.v considered. Such 
 a course may serve somewhat the cause 
 of .iustice, and clear the hazy atmosphere. 
 Great stress has been laid upon the 
 character and material of Dr. Cook's out- 
 fit, as well as upon what is assumed to be 
 the totally inadequate amount of provi- 
 sions he carried on his dash for the Pole. 
 In this connection it is necessary for one 
 to recognize that an orthodox standard 
 for Arctic exploration has been set up in 
 this countn', from which one may not 
 vary without subjecting: himself to all the 
 inquisitions and penalties heres.v entails. 
 For twenty years Commander Peary ha? 
 had no American competitor in the field 
 of Polar research, with the result that, 
 in his own estimation and that of his im- 
 mediate supporters, his methods and plans 
 have been accepted as those in accordance 
 with which all similar work must be pros- 
 ecuted. Unlpss one iises his style of 
 sledge, his particular harness for the dogs, 
 his personal fancy for a- tent or boat, and 
 adopts his estimate as- to the kind and 
 quantity of provisions requisite for any 
 proposed undertaking, all results achieved 
 are open to suspicion, if not at once de- 
 nounced as necessarily fraudulent claims. 
 A grand campaign of two or three seasons 
 of i>reparation has come to be considered 
 an absolutely essential condition of suc- 
 cess. Bases for work must be established 
 by preliminary expeditions; caches dug 
 at various points, and filled with provi- 
 sions; an imposing array of "supporting 
 parties" must accompany the chief: and 
 every detail of the proposed expedition 
 must be exploited in magazines and news- 
 pajiers. These are now the orthodox pre- 
 liminaries for any Polar explorations. A 
 McClellan rather than a Napoleon is the 
 ideal commander of the orthodox party. 
 And the head and front of Dr. Cook's 
 
 offending has been that he achieved suc- 
 cess in an unorthodox manner. Scant 
 attention has been given to the fact that 
 he spent two years in the Arctic with the 
 Master, and two more in the Antarctic 
 with competent explorers, and so might 
 reasonably have gained some knowledge 
 that would entitle him to an independent 
 opinion. Unfortunately he bad not learned 
 that there is no place in the American 
 economy of Arctic exploration for ideas 
 that do not bear the orthodox imprint. 
 Consequently he selected the style of 
 sledge, the character and quantity of food, 
 and the number of men for his party, 
 ihat his own study and experience had 
 taught him were the most fit, and would 
 prove the most efficient. A leading critic 
 has stated emphatically that it would be 
 absolutely impossible for one to carry ou 
 two sledges provisions sufilcient for three 
 men and dogs on a dash to the Pole, or 
 for any sledge journey of seventy days. 
 The critic had proved it by his own expe- 
 rience in Siberia. But. impossible or not, 
 that was all Dr. Cook and bis two com- 
 panions had for over thirteen months; 
 and he and his companions returned to 
 Annootok alive, though very hungry. His 
 theory was that the lightest equipment 
 and the smallest possible party, best met 
 the conditions that he was to face; and 
 the results prove his theory correct. Had 
 Dr. Cook had at his command a powerful 
 steamship that could have taken him to 
 the north of Grant Land, as had Com- 
 mander Peary, so that he could have com- 
 menced his dash for the Pole earlier, he 
 would unquestionably have reached his 
 starting point the same summer, and have 
 returned to the United States in August 
 1908, instead of 1909. But the precious 
 time he was forced to consume in cover- 
 ing the four hundred miles from Annoo- 
 tok to the extremity of Heiberg Land 
 delayed his start for the Pole fully three 
 weeks beyond the date of Commander 
 Peary's departure the following year; with 
 the result that when he neared the con- 
 tinent on his return the summer sun had 
 broken the ice badly, and he was carried, 
 an unwilling passenger on the moving 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 795 
 
 masses, so far to the west that an entire 
 year was lost. Dr. Cook's methods were 
 similar to those demonstrated by Captain 
 Cagni to be the most effective; and Com- 
 mander Peary's own indorsement of them 
 we have quoted in our account of the ex- 
 pedition of the Duke of the Abruzzi. 
 
 It should also be recognized that, as 
 has been intimated before, during the last 
 two decades the race for the Pole has 
 reduced itself, or has been reduced, to a 
 great sporting event. An effort has gen- 
 erally been made to give dignity to the 
 expeditions by associating with the ven- 
 tures some attempts to secure scientific 
 data ; but this research has been so very 
 incidental that it hardly deserves serious 
 consideration. Commander Peary, Dr. 
 Cook, Nansen, Lieut. Shackleton, and 
 others have repeatedly acknowledged this 
 in their writings, and it is well that the 
 public should realize it. The various ef- 
 forts to reach the " top of the world " 
 have, too, at bottom, been those of purely 
 personal ambition. Expeditions have been 
 undertaken by nearly every man who has 
 once been far north, and so become in- 
 oculated with the Arctic bacillus, who 
 could secure such financial backing as 
 would enable him to advance his ambi- 
 tious interests. No one will question that 
 hardships have been endured ; but they 
 have been so eagerly courted by men thor- 
 oughly familiar with them, that direct or 
 covert api^eals by friends of the explor- 
 ers, through press interviews and other 
 channels, to the sympathy of the public 
 merit little consideration. Sportsmen in 
 all other fields accept dangers and perils 
 as part of the game; they exult in vic- 
 tory, and cheer the victor. They accept 
 defeat with outward complacency, though 
 it may be with inward pain and heart- 
 break. And it is difficult to understand 
 why the same standards of honor and gen- 
 tlemanly conduct should not obtain among 
 sportsmen engaged in the race for the 
 Pole. 
 
 It has been clearly implied, if it has 
 not been directly claimed, that the Arctic 
 polar region, so far, at least, as Ameri- 
 can endeavor is concerned, has become the 
 
 private preserve of one individual; with 
 the result that any attempt by another to 
 reach the coveted goal must necessarily 
 constitute a breach of honor, and do vio- 
 lence to the " ethics " of Polar explora- 
 tion, whatever that may mean. But one 
 has only to state the proposition to make 
 its absurdity apparent. It is an untracked 
 waste; and for three centuries prior to 
 1908 no one had been able to get within 
 two hundred miles of its centre, though 
 daring men of nearly every civilized na- 
 tion had made the attempt. At the open- 
 ing of that year, the Pole was, as it had 
 ever been, the fair and honorable prize of 
 anyone who might first reach it. In view 
 of this fact it seems passing strange that 
 one should seriously undertake to be- 
 smirch Dr. Cook's reputation by raising 
 the question of " courtesy," or " ethics." 
 The game was an open one; and such 
 questions have no more bearing upon the 
 case than they would in a fairly contested 
 yacht race, or ball game. In the winter 
 of 1906-7 Lieut. Shackleton, on his second 
 expedition to the Antarctic regions, 
 reached a point within one hundred and 
 eleven miles of the South Pole, at least 
 one hundred miles nearer that Pole than 
 Conunander Peary ever got to the North 
 Pole prior to 1909. It is well known, too, 
 that Shackleton is organizing another ex- 
 Xicdition, and has no doubt that he will 
 this time reach the Pole. If any explorer 
 might have a valid claim on such a terri- 
 toi-y he certainly could establish one. Yet 
 at least two other Englishmen are organ- 
 izing exi^editions for the same purpose, 
 without public criticism; and it is cer- 
 tainly curious to note that the same ethi- 
 cal critics who have denounced Dr. Cook's 
 action, see no impropriety in the proposed 
 attempt of Captain Bartlett, or Com- 
 mander Peary, to make an assault on the 
 South Pole, thus, on their own theory, 
 poaching upon the sporting ground of 
 Lieut. Shackleton. But such tactics are 
 ancient. As far back as 1840, Sir James 
 Ross was shocked at the lack of courtesy 
 and honor displayed by Lieut. Wilkes, who, 
 with a fleet of five American vessels, had 
 made explorations in the Antarctic coun- 
 
796 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 try, as it happened, in a region Sir James 
 was planning: to invade. In the published 
 narrative of his explorations, Ross wrote: 
 " I would have expected the national pride 
 of the American Commander to have 
 caused him rather to choose any other 
 path for penetratins southward than the 
 place for the exploration of which my ex- 
 l^edition was preparinfr." And hardly any 
 better reply could be made to the captious 
 criticism of Dr. Cook's course, than was at 
 that time made to Ross' contention, by a 
 friendly writer in the North British Ro- 
 ripw. "We cannot," he says, "concur 
 with our excellent author in blaminp: the 
 American Commander. The British ex- 
 pedition might never have sailed or mir/ht 
 never have reached its destination : and in 
 such an event the Commander could never 
 have justified himself to his Government, 
 liad he omitted, from any feelings of deli- 
 ency, to tal-c the hest path to the Anfarc- 
 iic Pole." 
 
 Recoarnizing the validity of these con- 
 siderations, one may brush aside the mass 
 of irrelevant matter that has been pul>- 
 lished, and fairly face the only question 
 at issue, which is. whether the claims of 
 the individual contestants for the honor 
 of being firs;t at the Pole can be substan- 
 tiated by their official records, which must 
 bo examined and passed upon by compe- 
 tent scientific bodies, and the claims of 
 both should receive the same impartial 
 scrutiny. No testimony of i responsible 
 Eskimos, nor affidavits of interested gnides, 
 nor the incomprehensible record of runs 
 made, should prejudice an intelligent i>er- 
 son in his consideration of the STibject. 
 All such evidence is too clearly tainted 
 with personal animosity, if not by money 
 considerations. That both Dr. Cook and 
 Commander Peary reached the Pole we 
 believe will be ultimately established be- 
 yond a reasonable doubt, by rational and 
 conclusive evidence. That Dr. Cook 
 placed the Stars and Stripes above the 
 dome of the world a year before Com- 
 mander Peary evidenced his loyalty to the 
 flag in the same manner, we believe will 
 bo as clearly demonstrated. Otherwise, a 
 large niche must ultimately be reserved 
 
 in some Hall of Fame for the bust of the 
 most colossal imaginative genius, as well 
 as the most consummately realistic actor, 
 the world has ever known. 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF ARCTIC 
 EXPLORATION DOWN TO THE TWEN- 
 TIETH CENTURY, TAKEN. WITH PER- 
 MISSION. FRO.AI LARNED'S HISTORY 
 FOR READY REFERENCE. 
 
 1553. — Voyage of Willoughby and Chan- 
 cellor from London, in search of a northeast 
 passage to India. Chancellor reached Arch- 
 angel on the White Sea and learned that he 
 was in the dominions of the sovereign of 
 Muscovy or Russia. Witli much dilKculty 
 he obtained permission to visit the court at 
 Moscow, and made the long journey to that 
 city by sledge over the snow. There he was 
 admitted to an interview with the Tsar and 
 returned with a letter which permitted the 
 opening of trade between England and Rus- 
 sia. Willougliby. with two vessels and their 
 crews, was less fortunate. His party, after 
 wintering on a desolate shore, perished the 
 next year in some manner, the particulars 
 of which were never known. The chartered 
 company of London merchants which sent 
 out tliese expeditions is believed to have been 
 tlie first joint .stuck corporation of share- 
 licilders formed in England. As the Russia, 
 or Muscovy. Company it afterwards became 
 a rich and powerful corporation, and its 
 success set other enterprises in motion. 
 
 1576-1578. — Voyages of Frobisher to the 
 coast of Labrador and the entrance to Davks 
 Strait, discovering the bay which bears his 
 name, and which he supposed to be a strait 
 leading to Cathay; afterwards entering Hud- 
 son Strait. 
 
 1585-1587. — Three voyages of John Davis 
 from Dartmouth, in search of a northwestern 
 passage to India, entering the strait between 
 Greenland and Baffinland which bears his 
 name and exploring it to the 72nd degree 
 north latitude. 
 
 1594-1595.— Dutch expeditions (the first 
 and second under Barentz) to the northeast, 
 passing to the north of Nova Zembla, or 
 Novaya Zemlya, but making no progress 
 beyond it. 
 
 1596-1597. — Third voyage of Barentz, 
 when he discovered and coasted Spitzbergen, 
 wintered in Nova Zeml>la with bis crew, lost 
 his ship in the ice. and perished, with one 
 third of his men. in undertaking to reach 
 the coast of Lapland in open boats. 
 
 1607. — Polar voyage of Henry Hudson, for 
 the Muscovy Company of London, attaining 
 tlie northern coast of Spitzbergen. 
 
 1608. — Voyage of Henry Hudson to Nova 
 Zembla for the Muscovy Company. 
 
 1609. — Voyage of Henry Hudson, in the 
 Half Moon, for the Dutch East India Com- 
 pany, in search of tlie northeast passage. 
 Finding the ice off Nova Zembla impassable, 
 he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to try for a 
 western passage, and discovered the river 
 
THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE — 1909. 
 
 797 
 
 which now bears his name, which he explored 
 as far as the present site of Albany. 
 
 1610. — Voyage of Henry Hudson, in Eng- 
 lish employ, to seek the northwest passage, 
 being the voyage in which he passed through 
 the Strait and entered the great Bay to 
 which his name has been given, and in which 
 he perished at the hands of a mutinous crew. 
 
 1612-1614. — Exploration of Hudson Bay 
 by Captains Button, Bylot, and Baffin, prac- 
 tically discovering its true character and 
 shaking the previous theory of its connection 
 with the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 1616. — Voyage into the northwest made by 
 Captain Baffin with Captain Bylot, which re- 
 sulted in the discovery of Baffin Bay, Smith 
 .Sound, Jones Sound, and Lancaster Sound. 
 
 1670. — Grant and charter to the Hudson 
 Bay Company, by King Charles II. of Eng- 
 land, conferring on the Company possession 
 and government of the whole waterslied of 
 the Bay, and naming the country Prince 
 Rupert Land. 
 
 1728. — Exploration of the northern coasts 
 of Kamtschatka by the Danish Captain 
 Vitus Bering, in the Russian service, and 
 discovery of the Strait which bears his name. 
 
 1779. — -Exploration of the Arctic coast, 
 east and west of Bering Strait, by Captain 
 Cook, in his last voyage. 
 
 1789. — Ex|doring journey of Alexander 
 Mackenzie, for the Northwest Company, and 
 discovery of the great river flowing into the 
 Polar Sea, which bears his name. 
 
 1818. — Unsatisfactory voyage of Com- 
 mander .John Ross to Baffin Bay and into 
 Lancaster Sound. 
 
 1819-1820. — First voyage of Lieutenant 
 Parry, exploring for a northwest passage, 
 through Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, Lancaster 
 Sound, and Barrow Strait, to Jlelville Island. 
 
 1819-1822. Tourney of Captain (after- 
 wards .Sir John) Franklin, Dr. Richardson, 
 and Captain (afterwards Sir George) Back, 
 from Fort York, on the western coast of Hud- 
 son Bay, by the way of Lake Athabasca, 
 Great Slave Lake, and Coppermine River, to 
 Coronation Gulf, opening into the Arctic 
 Ocean. 
 
 1820-1824. — Russian surveys of the Si- 
 berian Polar region by Wrangel and Anjou. 
 
 1821-1823. — Second" voyage of Captain 
 Parry, exploring for a northwest passage to 
 the Pacific Ocean, through Hudson Strait 
 and Fox Channel, discovering the Fury-and- 
 Hecla Strait, the northern outlet of the Bay. 
 
 1824^1825.— Third voyage of Captain 
 Parry, exploring for a northwest passage, by 
 way of Davis Strait. Baffin Bay, and Lan- 
 caster Sound, to Prince Regent Inlet, where 
 one of his sliips was wrecked. 
 
 1825-1827. — Second journey of Franklin, 
 Richardson, and Back, from Canada to the 
 Arctic Ocean. 
 
 1827. — Fourth voyage of Captain Parry, 
 attempting to reach the North Pole, by ship 
 to Spitzbergen and by boats to 82° 45' north 
 latitude. 
 
 1829-1833. — Expedition under Captain 
 Ross, fitted out by Jlr. Felix Booth, to seek 
 a northwest passage, resulting in the dis- 
 
 covery of the position of the north magnetic 
 pole, southwest of Boothia, not far from 
 which Ross' ship was ice-bound for three 
 years. 
 
 1837-1839. — Expeditions of Dease and 
 Simpson, in the service of the Hudson Bay 
 Company, determining the Arctic coast line 
 as far east as Boothia. 
 
 1845. — Departure from England of the 
 government expedition under Sir John Frank- 
 lin, in two bomb vessels, the Erebus and the 
 Terror, which entered Bafiin Bay in July and 
 were never seen afterwards. 
 
 1850-1851.— United .States Grinnell Expe- 
 dition, sent to assist the search for Sir .John 
 Franklin and his crew. 
 
 1850-1852. — Franklin search expedition un- 
 der Cajitain CoUinson, through Bering Strait 
 and eatsward into Prince of Wales Strait, 
 sending sledge parties to Melville Island. 
 
 1850-1854. — Franklin search expedition un- 
 der Captain McClure, through Bering Strait 
 and westward, between Banks Land and 
 Prince Albert Land, attaining a point within 
 25 miles of Melville Sound, already reached 
 from the East ; thus demonstrating the exist- 
 ence of a northwest passage. 
 
 1853-1855. — Grinnell expedition, under Dr. 
 Kane, proceeding straight northward through 
 Baffin Bay, .Smith Sound and Kennedy Chan- 
 nel, nearly to the 70th degree of latitude. 
 
 1857-1859. — Search expedition sent out by 
 Lady Franklin, under Captain McClintock, 
 which became ice-bound in Melville Bay, Au- 
 gust, 1857, and drifted helplessly for eight 
 month.s, over 1,200 miles. 
 
 1860-1861.— Expedition of Dr. Hayes to 
 Smith Sound. 
 
 1868. — Swedish Polar expedition, directed 
 by Professor Nordenskiiild, attaining latitude 
 81° 42', on the 18th meridian of east longi- 
 tude. 
 
 1869-1870. — German Polar expedition, un- 
 der Captain Koldewey, one vessel of which 
 was crushed, the crew escaping to an ice floe 
 and drifting 1,100 miles, reaching finally a 
 Danish .settlement on the Greenland coast, 
 while the other explored the east coast of 
 Greenland to latitude 77°. 
 
 1871-1872. — Voyage of the steamer Polaris, 
 fitted out by the U. S. Government, under 
 Captain Hall. 
 
 1872-1874. — -Austro-Hungarian expedition, 
 under Captain Weyprecht and Lieutenant 
 Payer. 
 
 1875-1876.— English expedition under Cap- 
 tain Nares. in the Alert, and the Discovery, 
 attaining by ship the high latitude of 82° 27', 
 in Smith Sound, and advancing by sledges to 
 83° 20' 26", while exploring the northern 
 shore of Grinnell Land and the northwest 
 coast of Greenland. 
 
 1878-1879, — Final achievement of the long- 
 sought northeast passage, from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific ocean, by the Swedi-sh geog- 
 rapher and explorer, Baron Nordenskiold. 
 
 1879-1882. — Polar voyage of the Jeannette, 
 fitted out by the proprietor of the New York 
 Herald and commanded bv Commander De 
 Long. U. S. N. 
 
798 
 
 FEOM COLOoS^Y TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 1881-1884. — International undertaking of 
 expeditions to establisli Arctic stations for 
 simultaneous meteorological and magnetic ob- 
 servations: by the United States at Smith 
 Sound and Point Barrow, by Great Britain 
 at Fort Rae; b3' Russia at tlie mouth of the 
 Lena and in Nova Zembla ; by Denmark at 
 (iodliaab, in Greenland: by Holland at Dick- 
 son's Haven, near the mouth of the Yenisei ; 
 by Germany in Cumberland Sound, Davis 
 Strait; by Austro-Hungary on Jan Mayen 
 Island; by Sweden at Mussel Bay in Spitz- 
 bergen. The United States expedition to 
 Smith Sound, under Lieutenant Greely, es- 
 tablished its station on Discovery Bay. Ex- 
 ploring parties sent out attained the highest 
 latitude ever reached, namely 83° 24'. After 
 remaining two winters and failing to receive 
 expected supplies, which had been interce]ited 
 by the ice, Greely and his men, twenty-five 
 in number, .started southward, and all but 
 seven perished on the way. The survivors 
 were rescued, in the last stages of starva- 
 tion, by a vessel sent to their relief under 
 Captain Schley, U. S. X. 
 
 1886. — Reconnoissance of the Greenland 
 ice by Civil Engineer R. E. Pearv, U. S. N. 
 
 1891-1892.— Expedition of Li'eut. Peary, 
 U. S. N., with a party of seven, including 
 Mrs. Peary, establishing headquarters on 
 McCormick Bay, northwest Greenland; 
 thence making sledge journeys. 
 
 1893. — Exjjedition of Dr. Xansen, in the 
 Fram from Cliristiania. 
 
 1893-1894.— Expedition of Lieut. Peary 
 and party (Mrs. Peary again of the number), 
 landing in Bowdoin Bav, August, 1893. 
 
 1894.— Expedition of Mr. Walter Wellman, 
 an American jovirnalist. purposing to reach 
 Spitzbergen via Xorway, and to advance 
 thence towards the Pole, with aluminum 
 boats. The party left Tromsoe ilay 1. but 
 were stojjped before the end of the month bj- 
 tlie crushing of their vessel. They were 
 ]iicked up and brought back to Norway. 
 
 1895. — ^ Return of Peary relief expedition 
 with Lieut. Robert E. Peary and liis com- 
 panions. In spite of great difficulties Lieut. 
 Peary had again crossed the ice-sheet to In- 
 dependence Bay, determined the northern 
 limits of Greenland, charted 1,000 miles of 
 tlie west coast, discovered eleven islands and 
 the famous Iron Mountain (three great 
 meteorites), and obtained mucli knowledge 
 of the natives. The purely scientific results 
 of the expedition are of great value. The re- 
 lief expedition was organized by Mrs. Peary. 
 
 1897. — Seventh Peary expedition to Green- 
 land. Accompanied by parties for scientific 
 
 research. Relics of Greely's expedition found 
 on Cape Sabine, and the great meteorite at 
 Cape York brought away at last. 
 
 1897. — Balloon voyage of Salamon August 
 Andree and two companions, Mr. Strindberg 
 and Mr. Fraenkel, starting from Danes' 
 Island, north of Spitzbergen, in the hope of 
 being carried to the pole. 
 
 1897. — Return of Jackson-Harmsworth ex- 
 pedition from three years' exploration of 
 Franz Josef Land and the region north of it. 
 Franz Josef Land was resolved into a group 
 of islands and almost entirely mapped. Small 
 parties journeying northward over the ice, 
 establishing depots of supplies, the most 
 northern in latitude 81° 21', discovered and 
 named Victoria Sea. the most northern open 
 sea in the world. 
 
 1898-1899.— Second attempt by Walter 
 Wellman to reach the north pole. Wintered 
 in Franz .Josef Land, establishing an outpost, 
 called Fort McKinley. in lat. 81° N. In Feb- 
 ruary Mr. Wellman, with three companions, 
 started northward and seemed likely to suc- 
 ceed in their undertaking, but a serious acci- 
 dent befalling Jlr. Wellman. and an ice- 
 quake destroying many dogs and sledges, a 
 hurried return to headquarters was neces- 
 sary. Here important scientific observations 
 were made. The 82d parallel was reached 
 bj' the explorer. 
 
 1898. — Carefully planned expedition of 
 Lieut. Peary, purposing to advance toward 
 tlie pole by west coast of Greenland. 
 
 1898. — Expedition of Capt. Sverdrup to 
 northern Greenland — Lieut. Peary's especial 
 field. Having planned a polar expedition 
 similar to Peary's he sailed up the west coast, 
 but the Fram was frozen in near Cape Sabine. 
 Sverdrup therefore explored the western part 
 of Ellesmere Land, then sailed again in an 
 attempt to round the northern coast of Green- 
 land. 
 
 1899-1900. — Arctic expedition of the Duke 
 of tlie Abruzzi, His ship, the Stella Polare, 
 was left at Crown Prince Rudolf Land during 
 the winter. The Duke became incapacitated 
 by a fall and by the loss of two joints from 
 tiie fingers of his left hand, incurably frost- 
 bitten; but a small party under Capt. Cagni 
 pushed northward till provisions were ex- 
 hausted. Xansen's record was beaten, the 
 Italian party reaching lat. 86° 3,3', at about 
 56° E. long! No land was found north or 
 nortliwest of Spitzbergen. Three men were 
 lost from Cagni's party. 
 
 1900. — Seward peninsula, the most west- 
 ward extension of Alaska, explored and sur- 
 veyed by five government expeditions. 
 
LVIII. 
 THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER - 1909. 
 
 Influence of Catch-words and Plirases on Sentiment of People. — Old Ideas of World Powers. ■ 
 
 \\liat Constitutes tlie \\'orld Power of To-day. — The " Powers " of the Nineteenth Century. 
 — The Concert of the Powers. — " Spheres of Intiuence." — Europe No Longer the World. — 
 The Recognized World Powers; England, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. — 
 Riches of China. — Outbreak of European Nations in 1897. — Murder of French and German 
 Missionaries. — "The Battle for Concessions." — Attitude of Administration Leaders Toward 
 Spanish War. — Despatch to Commodore Dewey at Hong Kong. — " Offensive Operations in the 
 Philippine Islands." — The Annexation of Hawaii. — Underlying Purpose of Many Congress- 
 men. — "Point of Vantage for Acquiring Dominion in Far East." — Causes of War. — 
 Political and Commercial and Xot Merely Humanitarian. — Terms of the Protocol 
 Concluding Peace. — The American Commissioners to Paris. — Proceedings of the Joint 
 Commission at Paris to Agree upon Treaty of Peace. — " The Cession Must Be of Whole 
 Archipelago or None."— Change in Public Sentiment as Result of War. — Views of Senator 
 Hoar. — The Teachings of the Fathers Become "Glittering Generalities." — "Those Nursery 
 Rhymes that were Sung Around the Cradle of the Republic." — ■ Deljate Over the Spanish 
 Treaty. — Possessions Acquired by the Treaty. — ^Increasing Responsibilities and Ex])eiises 
 as Result of War. — Already More than One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Million 
 Dollars Directly Chargeable to that Cause. — "The Parting of the Ways." — Contrasted 
 Views of World Powers. — The One Militant and Aggressive ; the Other Peaceful and iloral. 
 T— United States Always a World Power in Latter Sense. — Illustrations of that Fact. — • 
 The Outlook. 
 
 " If, drunk with sight of power, we loose 
 Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe. 
 Such boasting as the Gentiles use 
 Or lesser breeds, without the Law — 
 Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. 
 Lest we forget. — lest we forget! " 
 
 — KlPLINQ. 
 
 force 
 
 T would bo a most interesting study to trace through history 
 the influence upon its development of phrases and catch- 
 words. There have been few periods of political, social, 
 or religious ferment when some phrase uttered casually, 
 j^erchance, by a leader of public opinion, or a natural 
 growth based upon some ideal, has not caught the popular 
 ear, and had a more potent influence than studied argu- 
 ments, or eloquent appeals. Such, in a sense, was the high- 
 sounding title the " Holy Eoman Empire," which Voltaire 
 declared was neither Holy, Roman, nor Empire. Though 
 in fact only an ideal, it was the most powerful political 
 in the world for centuries. Based upon the concept that as God rules the 
 
 spiritual world through his representative the Pope, so there must be a representative 
 of his authority in the material world who should be supreme in all matters of state, 
 there gradually grew up a guasi-universal National Power, under the rule of an 
 
800 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOULD POWER. 
 
 emj)eror, to whom all other states and 
 rulers were theoretically subject ; and 
 though even the appearance of an entity 
 which the phrase suggested became practi- 
 cally inoperative three hundred years ago, 
 the title itself appealed to the imagination 
 of rulers and peoples alike until early in 
 the last century; so that even Napoleon's 
 proposal to re-establish the Holy Roman 
 Empire aroused an enthusiasm that for a 
 time went far toward stifling an opposition 
 to the crimes which his ambition led him 
 to perpetrate. When the Fathers of our 
 American Commonwealth enunciated one 
 of the basic principles of Democratic 
 Government in the pregnant sentence 
 " No taxation without representation," 
 they gave currency to one of those xArases 
 which have never failed to arouse and stir 
 the popular mind, whether the principle 
 underlying the phrase has been compre- 
 hended or not. The latest of these effec- 
 tive catch-ijhrasos is " World Power," — 
 an idea that touches the pride of a people, 
 and puts in the hand of the political 
 leader and the demagogue a powerful in- 
 strument wherewith to fire their thought, 
 for good or evil, however little they ai)- 
 preciate what the phrase really stands for. 
 There have, of course, been World Powers 
 since the dawn of history, but in such an 
 application the term had a different sig- 
 nificance. Rome in the first century of our 
 Era and Spain in the sixteenth were 
 rightly called World Powers because in 
 fact they controlled the destinies of the 
 whole or greater part of the then known 
 world. But in the twentieth-century use 
 of the term another idea is conveyed. 
 The World Power of to-day does not of 
 necessity embrace a greater part of the 
 territory of the earth than other nations; 
 hut it is that power which with greater or 
 less interest in various parts of the world, 
 is so dominant and influential by virtue 
 of its own material and moral resources 
 that its voice is listened to with respect, 
 perhaps with fear, by all the other nations 
 of the earth. This modern use of the term 
 is new, having become common only 
 within the last fifteen years, as the result 
 
 of the phenomena] political changes that 
 have characterized that period. 
 
 As the nations revived after the disin- 
 tegrating and crushing blows of Na- 
 poleon's restless activity, five of them came 
 to the front as the controlling forces in 
 the reconstruction of Europe, — England, 
 France, Russia, Prussia, and Austria. 
 These became " The Powers," and a sixth 
 was added after the unification of Italy, 
 while after a process of mighty develop- 
 ment the German Empire succeeded in the 
 early seventies to the place of the Iving- 
 dom of Prussia. Europe during the first 
 three-quarters of the nineteenth century 
 was politically the World; and these 
 Powers directed its affairs. The United 
 States, the lusty and growing youth, even 
 though its material strength and moral 
 influence before the end of the period had 
 surpassed those of some of the European 
 States, was held aloof from interference 
 in European affairs by its i^olicy as voiced 
 in the Monroe Doctrine. The united ac- 
 tion and interests of these great European 
 States gave rise to another catch-phrase, 
 the " Concert of the Powers," which be- 
 came a favorite expression with journal- 
 ists and popular speakers, though the 
 manner in which they referred to it too 
 often indicated that they had little knowl- 
 edge as to whether it stood for a political 
 or musical combination. vSo effective was 
 this phrase that the " Concert of the 
 Powers " gradually assumed in the public 
 opinion of the nineteenth century the 
 force of an entity, and meant to it much 
 the same that the Holy Roman Empire 
 meant to the people of the middle ages. 
 England, it is true, had been a World 
 Power in the latest sense for many years, 
 as its flag floated over territory in every 
 part of the world; but the interests of the 
 other Powers, excepting Russia, were 
 centered in Europe. Suddenly, however, 
 during the nineties, a fever for territorial 
 expansion became epidemic, and all the 
 Powers entered upon a wild scramble for 
 land in all parts of the world, wherever it 
 was not already strongly held, or in the 
 hands of competing powers. The rapid 
 development of home industries, usually 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 801 
 
 fostered by excessive protective tariffs, in 
 each state, was the chief moving factor in 
 this scramble, as new marliets became 
 necessary as au outlet for the overproduc- 
 tion at home; and the scheme involved 
 the marking out and establishing a con- 
 trol over great portions of the globe, which 
 were either annexed in some form to the 
 particular state, or were brought within 
 its exclusive " sphere of influence." This 
 implied that within that " sphere of in- 
 fluence " only the nation establishing its 
 supremacy should be consulted in internal 
 affairs; that only the goods, machinery, 
 etc., manufactured by its factories and 
 merchants should be sold; and that in all 
 internal developments its bankers should 
 first be applied to for necessary funds. 
 Much of the territory seized, or brought 
 under the controlling influence of many 
 of these states, was uncivilized and, for 
 the time at least, incapable of being made 
 a productive asset of the aggressive na- 
 tion. Thus, France included within her 
 sphere of influence in Africa a great part 
 of the Desert of Sahara ; but claims have 
 been made as extensive and comprehensive 
 as possible in the hope that at some time 
 they would become rich markets for home 
 produce, or in some other way prove of 
 value. The whole procedure has been 
 aptly described by a leading English 
 statesman as " pegging out claims for the 
 future." 
 
 This great change of national policy 
 marks a new epoch in the world's history. 
 The " Powers " of the flrst eighty years 
 of the nineteenth century have ceased to 
 be the dominant influence in world's 
 politics, as such. Europe is no longer 
 the world. England, France, Germany, 
 Russia are all more practically interested 
 in affairs outside of Europe than they are 
 in those within the old limits. By a 
 strange succession of events, too, the 
 United States has become active in the 
 same direction, for good or for ill, and, 
 inoculated by the expansion bacillus, has 
 stretched its land-grabbing arms around 
 the world, with the result that instead of 
 the " Powers " of the nineteenth century, 
 — ^England, France, Germany, Russia, 
 
 Austria, and* Italy, — the twentieth century 
 counts only the " World Powers," — 
 England, Russia, Germany, France, and 
 the United States. 
 
 As the nations of Europe began to 
 study the map of the world to see what 
 territory was available for conquest or 
 pre-emption, hungry eyes were fixed upon 
 China. That the country was infinitely 
 rich in mineral resources, and that the 
 wants of her three or four hundred million 
 I)eople offered unlimited possibilities as a 
 market for European goods, had long been 
 recognized. Richthofen, one of the 
 world's most learned geologists, had de- 
 clared that the region around Tsechau was 
 the richest mineral land in the world. 
 This district, known as the Shanse, is 
 about two hundred and thirty miles long 
 by thirty wide, and is able, as this expert 
 estimates, to furnish coal and iron for 
 the world's manufactures, at the rate of 
 consumption for the year 1900, for two 
 thousand years. Mr. Brooks Adams, a 
 learned and ingenious authority on poli- 
 tical movements, especially in their con- 
 nection with economic needs, has found 
 the immediate cause of the outbreak of 
 the European powers upon China in 1897 
 in the formation of the first Steel Trust 
 in the United States, which took place on 
 March 17 of that year. Realizing the 
 natural results of this movement the 
 great manufacturing nations of Europe 
 were convinced that they must look else- 
 where for cheap coal and iron. Un- 
 happily for China the easy victory which 
 Japan had gained over that country in 
 1894 made evident the political weakness 
 of that great and rich nation ; while by 
 their action in robbing Japan of the 
 fruits of her victory, nominally in the 
 interests of China but truly to serve their 
 own, Germany, France, and Russia had 
 apparently established a prior claim to 
 the consideration of the Chinese Govern- 
 ment and people. How sincere the pre- 
 tensions of at least one of the intermed- 
 dling nations were the secret treaties 
 which Russia immediately exacted from 
 China afterwards made clear. Jealousy 
 of each other, however, kept each from 
 
802 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOELD POWEE. 
 
 overt acts for a time; but in 1897 the 
 vultures could no longer be kept from 
 their prey. Happily for them during the 
 summer of that year one French and two 
 German missionaries were killed by the 
 Chinese, and quite justly as the investi- 
 gations afterward made proved. Separa- 
 tion was at once demanded of the govern- 
 ment by these powers, not, however, in 
 the way of punishment of the offending 
 natives, or money payment, but in the way 
 of railroad and mining concessions. 
 Eussia pressed down from tlie north, 
 seized Port Arthur, and endeavored to 
 establish her control over practically all 
 the territory to the north of Peking; Ger- 
 many forced from the Go\-ernment a 
 ninety-nine year lease of the important 
 strategic point and port of Kiao-Chau, 
 with several miles of adjacent territory, 
 and extended her " sphere of influence " 
 over the rich Shantung province which 
 extends to the borders of the mineral zone 
 in the Shanse province; and later Eng- 
 land demanded and received the lease of 
 Wei-hai-Wei, with contiguous lands, on 
 the same terms that had been granted Ger- 
 many in the lease of Kiao-Chau. Then 
 what Lord Salisbury called the "Battle 
 for Concessions " began. Within a year 
 each of the nations named had established 
 a well defined " Sphere of Influence," and 
 together they had practically forced the 
 decrepit Chinese government to grant 
 over thirty separate and valuable conces- 
 sions involving mining claims and the 
 rights-of-way for the building of railroads 
 wherever their individual interests would 
 be advanced. Well docs Professor Eeinsch, 
 in his " World Politics," say : '• Never be- 
 fore, perhaps, has so much material value 
 been attached to ministers of the Gospel 
 in foreign lands; and the manner in 
 which, after their death, they are used to 
 spread civilization is somewhat foreign to 
 our older ideas of the functions of the 
 bearers of Spiritual blessings." And 
 again, in speaking of the exorbitant de- 
 mands of the French Government in con- 
 sequence of the murder of the French 
 priest, the same writer says : " The man- 
 ner in which religious, industrial, and 
 
 political considerations are combined in 
 this case produces a somewhat incon- 
 gruous result. . . . Small wonder that 
 the Empress dowager in a recent (1898) 
 decree enjoined all officials of the Empire 
 to give missionaries and churches special 
 protection. The murder of a European 
 missionary is one of the most expensive 
 indulgences the Chinaman can nowadays 
 permit himself." 
 
 Of course the attention of the great 
 European nations, with the exception of 
 Eussia, was not directed toward China 
 alone during this period. That was sim- 
 ply the richest fruit and seemed ripe for 
 picking. New spheres of influence were 
 established in Africa and the islands of 
 the seas, until in 1900 there seemed to be 
 no land on the globe subject to foreign 
 aggression that had not in some form 
 been pre-empted. We have considered the 
 movements in China more in detail simply 
 because they had a direct bearing upon 
 the course the LTnited States was led to 
 pursue. 
 
 The real causes of the Spanish war have 
 never yet been clearly set forth, and per- 
 haps will not be for a generation. Osten- 
 sibly they were chiefly humanitarian, and 
 the Eesolutions of the Congress, and the 
 declarations of the Executive branch of 
 the Government, were directed toward a 
 confirmation of this theory. The first of 
 the Eesolutions adopted by Congress, 
 April 19, 1908, which were the virtual 
 declaration of war, declared " that the 
 people of the Island of Cuba are, and of 
 right ought to be; free and independent ; " 
 and the last of these Eesolutions stated 
 " that the United States hereby disclaims 
 any disposition or intention to exercise 
 sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over 
 said island, except for the pacification 
 thereof, and asserts its determination, 
 when that is accomplished, to leave the 
 government and control of the island to 
 its people." This was understood by the 
 people of the United States and by for- 
 eign governments to disavow all purposes 
 of aggression, — our sole aim being to es- 
 tablish order in Cuba instead of the 
 anarchy that had so long prevailed in the 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WOELD POWER — 1909. 
 
 803 
 
 island, and to remove the distress of its 
 people; and it was understood that when 
 these beneficent purposes were achieved, 
 our work was done, and the contest would 
 end. Moreover President McKinley had 
 declared during- the summer that " Forci- 
 ble annexation, according tO' our American 
 code of morals, would be criminal aggres- 
 sion," — a sentiment that received enthu- 
 siastic endorsement throughout the land. 
 On another occasion, at about the same 
 time, he said: "Human riglits and Con- 
 stitutional privileges must not be forgotten. 
 in the race for wealth and commercial 
 supremacy. The government of the peo- 
 ple must he hy the people, and not hy a 
 few of the people. It must rest upon the 
 free consent of the governed and all of 
 the governed. Power, it must he remem- 
 hered, which is secured hy onpression or 
 usurpation or hy any form of injustice is 
 soon dethroned. We have no right in law 
 or morals to usurp that which helongs to 
 another, whether it is property or poiver." 
 But while the popular mind was stirred 
 by conflicting purposes, a mingling of a 
 beneficent impulse excited by the reports 
 of the sufferings Spanish rule in Cuba 
 was causing and a spirit of revenge 
 aroused by the loss of the Maine, igno- 
 rantly ascribed to Spanish treachery, it is 
 only too evident that the motive forces 
 that were directing the representatives of 
 the people at Washington were political 
 and commercial. — not at bottom human- 
 itarian or beneficent, but purely material. 
 Mr. McKinlej' and his party had 
 triumphed at the polls in 1896 after a 
 hard-fought battle upon the financial ques- 
 tion alone, — no other was seriously dis- 
 cussed. But after being elected and as- 
 suming office the Administration ignored 
 the issue on which it was raised to power, 
 and no efforts were made to enact any 
 measures looking toward the establish- 
 ment of the currency on a sound basis. 
 On the contrary, one of the President's 
 early acts was the appointment of a com- 
 mission to sound the great money powers 
 of Europe on the subject of bi-metallism, 
 — a move looking toward the return to the 
 party fold of the rebellious silver-party 
 
 men. But the very first measure to re- 
 ceive legislative and executive attention, 
 a measure on which the people may truly 
 be said to have expressed no opinion by 
 their votes so thoroughly was it kept out 
 of sight by the money question, was the 
 revision of the tariff, the Dingley Bill re- 
 ceiving immediate and favorable con- 
 sideration, adding largely increased pro- 
 tection to the already over-protected in- 
 dustries of the country. This seemed to 
 many Republicans, even, much like a 
 breach of trust ; and as the months passed 
 it became evident that a spirit of rebellion 
 was abroad in the party, and the Con- 
 gressional election of the Fall of 1898 was 
 looked forward to with not a little alarm. 
 It did not, therefore, take remarkable 
 legislative acumen to see t'le political 
 value of a war with Spain, which would 
 distract the attention of the people from 
 home issues, and hold them united in sup- 
 port of the party conducting the war. 
 General Grosvenor, an administration 
 
 wiLLi.-VM Mckinley. 
 
 leader and close friend of the President, 
 asked in the House on March 31, nearly 
 a month before war was determined upon, 
 " Do you think that this great party in 
 power to-day is going to be unfaithful to 
 a trust which, as the gentleman from 
 
804 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 Texas intimates, -will, if properly dis- 
 charged, bring glory to ihe administra- 
 tionf Will the administration now in 
 power run away from the most brilliant 
 opportunity that any administration since 
 the days of Abraham Lincoln has had to 
 establish itself and its party in the praise 
 and honor and glory of a mighty people ? " 
 And a week later he declared in the same 
 place: " This war will be fought under 
 the banner of the Republican administra- 
 tion of this Government, or it will never 
 be fought at all." On April 16, similar 
 sentiments were expressed in the Senate, 
 — Senator Hale, of Maine, proclaiming 
 that " if war must come, its conduct will 
 not be in the hands of the Democratic 
 party; it will not be by the Democratic 
 party that the flag of the LTiiited States 
 ■will be borne; that great soldier and 
 statesman, the President of the United 
 States, will conduct the war and bring it 
 to a successful end ; " while that distin- 
 guished statesman. Senator Piatt of New 
 York, found the great compensation for 
 the war in the fact that " it would pre- 
 vent the Democratic party from going 
 into the next Presidential campaign with 
 ' Free Cuba ' and ' Free Silver ' em- 
 blazoned on its banner, and prevent the 
 possibility of Populistic success in 1900." 
 While such sentiments indicate clearly 
 that political considerations chiefly an- 
 imated a large proportion of the mem- 
 bers of Congress, there is hardly a hint to 
 be found in the debates of the influence 
 of commercialism; nor is there manifested 
 any ulterior purpose to seize new territory 
 as a result of the war. It is generally 
 stated, and as generally believed, that 
 the course which events took, at length in- 
 volving the subsequent acquisition of the 
 Philippines, did not enter the mind of the 
 Administration or any of its supporters. 
 Professor Reinsch, in his " World Poli- 
 tics," notes the " remarkable coincidence, 
 to say the least, that the United States 
 should have entered upon war, the out- 
 come of which placed it unexpectedly in 
 the centre of Asiatic affairs, just at the 
 time when the resources of the celestial 
 empire were first beginning to be really 
 
 opened to foreign enterprise and when 
 Eurt)ix'an nations were beginning to make 
 territorial encroachments upon various 
 portions of China." And in another place 
 he says : " At the beginning of the war 
 there was perhaps not a soul in the whole 
 Republic who so much as thought of the 
 possibility of his nation becoming a sov- 
 ereign power in the Orient." Professor 
 Coolidge, in his " United States a World 
 Power," declares this last statement of 
 Professor Reinsch to be a " bit em- 
 phatic ; " but he considers it " safe to say 
 that when orders were sent to Commodore 
 Dewey to proceed to Manila, President 
 McKinley and his cabinet had no thought 
 of getting possession of the three thou- 
 sand odd islands which have since come 
 into American hands." Yet the order sent 
 to Dewey under date of February 25, two 
 months before the opening of hostilities, 
 was in these words : " In event of declara- 
 tion of war with Spain, your duty will be 
 to see that the Spanish squadron does not 
 leave the Asiatic Coast, and then offen- 
 sive operations in Philippine islands." 
 
 It is certainly difficult to see how the 
 last phrase of this order can be made to 
 comport with the ijosition of the two 
 writers quoted, or with the statements gen- 
 erally made in this regard. But light on 
 vexed questions frequently comes from un- 
 expected sources. One of the most illu- 
 minating books recently published on 
 many questions in American politics is 
 the "Autobiography " of Senator George 
 F. Hoar. No one will question Senator 
 Hoar's political orthodoxy; among the 
 staunch Republicans in Congress during 
 the last thirty years he has been " the 
 noblest Roman of them all." On two or 
 three occasions he has differed seriously 
 with his party in its policies, and has 
 strenuously endeavored to turn it from the 
 course it was pursuing, — notably, and for 
 similar reasons, on the whole question of 
 Chinese Exclusion, and the acciuisition of 
 the Philippines; but when a vote has been 
 taken his name has always appeared in 
 the party column. For nearly a year be- 
 fore tlie Cuban affairs came to a crisis the 
 i]uestion of the annexation of Hawaii had 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 805 
 
 been before Congress. When that body 
 assembled in December, 1897, the advo- 
 cates of annexation were sure the measure 
 would pass without serious opposition; 
 but strongly opposing forces soon mani- 
 fested themselves ; and though the measure 
 was more or less constantly debated all 
 through the winter it steadily lost support 
 and was dropped until the war was well 
 on. Senator Hoar goes quite extensively 
 into his connection with this subject, re- 
 citing first the previous attempts to annex 
 the islands and the positive position he 
 had taken and advocated in favor of such 
 treaties. As will be remembered the 
 treaty negotiated by President Harrison 
 was withdrawn from the Senate by Pres- 
 ident Cleveland and not resubmitted. 
 Another treaty was negotiated soon 
 after President McKinley assumed office. 
 " Meantime, however," says Senator Hoar, 
 " the controversy with Spain had assumed 
 formidable proportions, and ihe craze joy 
 an extension of our empire had her/un ils 
 course. Many Bepublican leaders were 
 advocating ihe acquisition of the Ha- 
 waiian Islands, not for the reasons I have 
 just stated, hut on the avowed ground that 
 it was necessary we should own them as a 
 point of vantage for acquiring dominion 
 in the Far East." (This was early in 
 1898). "Under these circumstances the 
 question of duty came to me : Will you 
 adhere to the purpose long formed, and 
 vote for the acquisition of Hawaii solely 
 on its own merit ? Or will you vote against 
 it for fear the had and mischievous reasons 
 that are given for it in so many quarters 
 will have a pernicious tendency only to 
 be counteracted by the defeat of the 
 treaty itself ? " He says that he hesitated 
 long. One day President McKinley sent 
 for him to come to the White House, " as 
 was not his infrequent habit." " He said 
 he wanted to consult me upon the ques- 
 tion whether it would be wise for him to 
 have a personal interview with Senator 
 Morrill, of Vermont. He had been told 
 that Mr. Morrill was opposed to the 
 Treaty. The President said : ' I do not 
 quite like to try to influence the action 
 of an old gentleman like Mr. Morrill, so 
 
 excellent, and of such exi^erience. But it 
 is very important to us to have his vote.' 
 I said, ' I ought to say, Mr. President, in 
 all candor, that I feel very doubtful 
 whether I can support it myself.' I told 
 the President that I favored then, as I al- 
 ways had, the acquisition of Hawaii. But 
 I did not like the spirit with which it was 
 
 GEORGE F. HOAR. 
 
 being advocated hoth in the Senate and 
 out of it. I instanced several very distin- 
 guished gentlemen indeed, one a man of 
 very high authority in the Senate in mat- 
 ters relating to foreign affairs, who were 
 urging publicly and privately the Ha- 
 waiian treaty, on the grounds that we 
 must have Hawaii in order to help us get 
 our share of China. President McKinley 
 disclaimed any such purpose. He ex- 
 pressed his earnest and emphatic dissent 
 from the opinions imputed to several lead- 
 ing Republicans, whom he named. I left 
 the President, after the conversation 
 above related, without giving him any as- 
 surance as to my action. But I deter- 
 mined, on full reflection, to support the 
 acquisition of Hawaii in accordance with 
 my long settled purpose, and at the same 
 time to make a clear and emphatic state- 
 ment of my unalterable opposition to ac- 
 
806 
 
 I'KUM CULOXV TO WUiiLD POWER. 
 
 quiring dependencies in the East, if we 
 did not expect, when the projier time 
 came, to admit them to the Union as 
 States. Afterward, July 5, 1898, (more 
 than a month before the capture of Ma- 
 nila), I made a speech in the Senate on 
 the joint resolution for the acquisition of 
 Hawaii, in which I said that I had enter- 
 tained j^rave doubts in regard to that 
 measure; that I had approached the sub- 
 ject with greater hesitation and anxiety 
 than I had ever felt in regard to any other 
 matter during my whole public life. I 
 went on to say: 'The troulile I have 
 found with the Hawaiian business is this: 
 not in the character of the ixipulation of 
 _the Sandwich Islands, not in their dis- 
 tance from our shores, not in the doubt 
 
 Photo. CopyrighteO bi/ J. E. Pitrdi/, Bosion. 
 WILLIAM P. FBYE. 
 
 that we have an honest right to deal with 
 the existing government there in such a 
 matter. I have found my trouble in the 
 nature and character of the argument by 
 which, in the heginning and ever since, a 
 great many friends of annexation have 
 sought to support it . . . If this be the 
 
 first step in the acquisition of dominion, 
 over harbarous archipelagos in distant 
 seas; if we are to enter into competition 
 with the great powers of Europe in the 
 plundering of China, in the division of 
 Africa ; if we are to quit our own to stand 
 on foreign lands; if our commerce is here- 
 after to be forced upon unwilling peoples 
 at the cannon's mouth; if we are ourselves 
 to be governed in part by peoples to whom 
 the Declaration of Independence is a 
 stranger; or, worse still, if we are to gov- 
 ern subjects and vassal states, trampling 
 as we do it on our own great charter which 
 recognizes alike the liberty and the dig- 
 nity of individual manhood, then let us 
 resist this thing in the beginning, and let 
 us resist it to the death. I do not agree 
 with those gentlemen who think we should, 
 wrest the Philippine Islands from Spain, 
 and take charge of them ourselves. I do 
 not think we should acquire Cuba, as the 
 result of the existing war, to be annexed 
 to the United States.'" In the light of 
 these statements, coupled with the order 
 sent to Commodore Dewey, it would seem 
 impossible to deny that there were many 
 and influential men in Congress and out 
 of it who had the acquisition of the Phil- 
 ippines in mind even before the outbreak 
 of the war with Spain; and that the real 
 causes of that war were political and com- 
 mercial, and not simpl.v humanitarian. 
 
 Hostilities between Spain and the 
 United States were terminated by the 
 Protocol signed August 12. By article 
 I., SiJaiii agreed to relinquish all claim of 
 sovereignty over and title to Cuba. By 
 the second article. Spain ceded to the 
 United States Porto Rico and all other is- 
 lands then under her sovereignty in the 
 West Indies, and also an island in the 
 Ladrones. By the third article it was 
 agreed that the United States should oc- 
 cupy and hold the city, bay, and harbor 
 of Manila, pending the conclusion of a 
 treaty of peace, tvhich "shall determine 
 the control, disposition, and government 
 of the Philippines." The next two articles 
 provided for an appointment of commis- 
 sioners for the purpose of carr.ying out 
 the details of the evacuation of Cuba, 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 807 
 
 Porto Rico, etc., and for the appointment 
 of five commissioners on each side to meet 
 at Paris not later than October 1st to 
 negotiate a treaty of peace; while the 
 sixth and last article provided that upon 
 the signing of the protocol, hostilities be- 
 tween the two countries should imme- 
 diately be suspended. The Peace Commis- 
 sioners met at Paris October 1. The 
 United States delegation was composed of 
 William R. Day, who resigned the office 
 of Secretary of State to head the Com- 
 mission ; Cushman K. Davis, Chairman of 
 the Senate Committee on Foreign Rela- 
 tions; William P. Frye, president pro-tem 
 of the Senate; Senator George Gray of 
 Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid, editor of 
 the New Tork Tribune. Professor John 
 Bassett Moore, Assistant Secretary of 
 State, acted as Secretary of the Commis- 
 sion. At the first meeting of the Joint 
 Commissioners, the Spanish commission- 
 ers demanded a restoration of the status 
 quo of August 12 in the Philippines, Ma- 
 nila having been attacked and captured 
 the day after the signing of the Protocol. 
 This subject the American commissioners 
 refused to discuss, claiming that it had 
 been considered in the negotiations that 
 resulted in the Protocol, and so was not 
 properly within their powers. Waiving 
 the point for the time, the Spanish repre- 
 sentatives reserved the right to bring it 
 up later. The entire month of October 
 was consumed in a discussion as to the 
 cession of Cuba, the troublesome subject 
 being the arrangement of the Cuban debt. 
 The Philippine question was taken up 
 October 31, and occupied the time of most 
 of the meetings during the entire month 
 of November. The President's mind was 
 not made up on this question when our 
 commissioners left for Paris, so that it 
 was practically an open one. The general 
 instructions which the President gave the 
 Commissioners under date of September 
 16, referred to the subject in this manner: 
 " Without any original thought of com- 
 plete or even partial acquisition, the pres- 
 ence and success of our arms at Manila 
 imposes upon us obligations which we 
 cannot disregard. The march of events 
 
 rules and overrules human action. Avow- 
 ing unreservedly the purpose which has 
 animated all our effort, and still solicitous 
 to adhere to it, we cannot be unmindful 
 that, without any desire or design on our 
 part, the war has brought us new respon- 
 sibilities, which we must meet and dis- 
 
 CUSHMAN K. DAVIS. 
 
 charge as becomes a great nati(;n on whose 
 growth and career from the beginning the 
 Ruler of Nations has plainly written the 
 high command and pledge of civilization. 
 Incidental to our tenure in the Philip- 
 pines is the commercial opportunity to 
 which American statesmanship cannot he 
 indifferent. It is just to use every legit- 
 imate means for the enlargement of 
 American trade; but we seek no advan- 
 tages in the Orient which are not common 
 to all. . . . The commercial oppor- 
 tunity which is naturally and inevitably 
 associated with this new opening depends 
 less on large territorial possession than 
 upon an adequate commercial basis and 
 upon broad and equal privilejres. 
 The United States cannot accept less than 
 
808 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 tlie cession in full rig-ht and sovereignty 
 of the island of Luzon." During the dis- 
 cussion of the question sharp differences 
 of opinion arose among the Commission- 
 ers, and their several views were submitted 
 to the President by cable on October 25, 
 with a request for explicit instructions. 
 At the time of their appointment as com- 
 missioners. Senators Frye and Davis and 
 Whitelaw Reid were known to be earnest 
 in their purpose to acquire territory in 
 the far East, while Secretary Day was 
 thought, and Senator Gray known, to be 
 utterly opposed to the policy of expansion. 
 The first three commissioners favored the 
 acquisition of the entire Philippine Ar- 
 
 WHITELAW REID. 
 
 chipelago ; Secretary Day expressed no op- 
 position to the retention of Luzon, but he 
 objected to a peremptory demand for the 
 whole Philippine group, thereby, as he 
 said, " leaving us open to the imputation 
 of following agreement (in Protocol) to 
 negotiate, with demand for whole subject 
 matter of discussion for ourselves." Sen- 
 ator Gray cabled his objections at length. 
 Among other things he said: "The 
 
 undersigned cannot agree that it is wise 
 to take Philippine islands in whole or in 
 part. To do so would be to reverse ac- 
 cepted continental policy of the country, 
 declared and acted upon through our his- 
 tory. Propinquity governs the case of 
 Cuba and Porto Eieo. Policy proposed 
 introduces us into European politics and 
 the 'entangling alliances' against which 
 Washington and all American statesmen 
 have protested. It will make necessary a 
 navy equal to the largest of powers; a 
 greatly increased military establishment ; 
 immense sums for fortifications and har- 
 bors; multiply occasions for dangerous 
 complications with foreign nations, and 
 increase burdens of taxation. Will re- 
 ceive in comixnisation no outlet for Amer- 
 ican labor in labor market already over- 
 crowded and cheap ; no area for homes for 
 American citizens; climate and social con- 
 ditions demoralizing to character of 
 American youth; new and disturbing 
 questions introduced into our politics; 
 church questions menacing. On whole, 
 instead of indemnity, injury. . . . 
 (There is) no place for colonial admin- 
 istration or government of subject people 
 in American system. So much from 
 standpoint of interest ; but even conceding 
 all benetits claimed for annexation, we 
 thereby abandon the infinitely greater 
 benefit to accrue from acting the part of 
 a great, powerful, and Christian nation; 
 we exclidiige the moral grandeur and 
 strength to he gained hy heepiiig our word 
 to nations of the world, and hy exhibiting 
 a magnanimity and moderation in the 
 hour of victory that becomes the advanced 
 civilization we claim, for doubtful mate- 
 rial advantages and shameful stepping 
 down from high moral position boastfully 
 assumed. H'e should set example in these 
 respects, not follow in the selfish and vul- 
 gar greed for territory which Europe has 
 inherited from mediaeval times. Our 
 declaration of war upon Spain was accom- 
 panied by a solemn and deliberate defini- 
 tion of our purpose. Now that we have 
 achieved all and more than our object, 
 let us simply keep our word. Third article 
 of Protocol leaves everything concerning 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 809 
 
 control of the Pbiliiipine islands to nego- 
 tiation between the parties. It is absurd 
 now to say that we will not negotiate hut 
 will appropriate the whole suhject matter 
 of negotiation. At the very least let us 
 adhere to the President's instru'ctions, and 
 if conditions require the keeping of Luzon 
 forego the material advantages claimed in 
 annexing other islands. Above all let us 
 not make a mockery of the injunction con- 
 tained in those instructions, where, after 
 stating that we took up arms only in obe- 
 dience to the dictates of humanity and in 
 the fulfillment of high public and moral 
 obligations, and that we had no design of 
 aggrandizement and no ambition of con- 
 quest, the President, among other things, 
 eloquently says : ' It is my earnest wish 
 that the United States in making peace 
 should follow the same high rule of eon- 
 duct which guided it in facing war. It 
 should be as scrupulous and magnanimous 
 in the concluding settlement as it was 
 just and humane in its original action.' 
 This and more, of which I earnestly ask 
 a reperusal, binds my conscience and gov- 
 erns my action." 
 
 Between the date of his first instruc- 
 tions to the Peace Commissioners and the 
 report of their differences by cable. Pres- 
 ident McKiuley had made a western tour, 
 at all points discussing war questions, and 
 feeling the popular pulse. The people 
 were everywhere intoxicated by the great 
 victories of the war, and under the in- 
 fluence of that " pest of glory,'' as Frank- 
 lin called it, — " the thirst for glory which 
 is an epidemic that robs a people of their 
 judgment, seduces their vanity, cheats 
 them, of their interests, and corrupts their 
 consciences." At all places he was en- 
 thusiastically received, and every refer- 
 ence to the disposal of the Philippines 
 elicited a popular demand for the reten- 
 tion of the whole group. Unfortunately 
 no opportunity was afforded him to test 
 the sober sense of more thoughtful- 
 minded citizens. It is not strange, there- 
 fore, that the day after the receipt of the 
 cable messages from the Commissioners, 
 the Secretary of State replied as follows: 
 " The information which has come to the 
 
 President since your departure convinces 
 him that the acceptance of the cession of 
 Luzon alone, leaving the rest of the is- 
 lands subject to Spanish rule, or to be the 
 subject of future contention, cannot be 
 justified on political, commercial, or 
 humanitarian grounds. The cession must 
 be of the whole archipelago or none. The 
 latter is wholly inadmissible, and the 
 former must therefore be required." Nat- 
 
 GEORGE <;KAV 
 
 urally, when the American Commission- 
 ers, acting upon these instructions, de- 
 manded the cession of the whole Philip- 
 pine group, the Spaniards were greatly 
 surprised, and claimed the demand was a 
 direct violation of the Protocol. After 
 further consultation with the home gov- 
 ernment, though the President insisted 
 that the claim by right of conquest be not 
 yielded, as "the destruction of the Span- 
 ish fleet on May 1 was the conquest of 
 Manila, the capital of the Philippines," 
 an ultimatum was issued to the Spanish 
 Commissioners, November 21, demanding 
 the cession of the entire group, but offer- 
 ing to pay twenty million dollars into the 
 Spanish treasury for the same. A reply 
 
810 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEE. 
 
 was demanded by the 28th; and as Spain 
 was helpless and realized that this last de- 
 mand was intended as a final one, the Gov- 
 ernment yielded on the date named and 
 nothing remained to complete the pro- 
 ceedings of the Joint Commissioners but 
 the draughting of the articles of the 
 treaty and the affixing of the signatures 
 of the Commissioners, which was done on 
 December 10, 1898,— and the United 
 States became a World Power. 
 
 It is true that there were many, very 
 many Americans who had regarded their 
 country as a World Power for many years. 
 From the day when, as Emerson has it, 
 " the embattled farmers " stood at Con- 
 cord bridge 
 " And fired the shot heard round tlie 
 
 WILLIAM E. DAY. 
 
 down to President Cleveland's bold atti- 
 tude on the Venezuelan situation, hardly 
 a year had passed without manifest evi- 
 dences of the world-wide influence of the 
 United States. In its suppression of the 
 Barbary Corsairs; in its successful mis- 
 sion to Japan, as a result of which that 
 country was ox)ened to the world; in the 
 
 important additions to, and revisions of, 
 International Law which it has secured in 
 its constant insistence upon the principle 
 of arbitration of diflieulties with Eu- 
 ropean states; in its general continental 
 polic.y, — the influence of the United States 
 as a World Power has been constant and 
 effective. But beyond and above all these, 
 its influence as a moral power had been 
 the greatest among all the nations of the 
 earth, and had to be reckoned with by 
 every continental government. Ever 
 since the proclamation of the Declaration 
 of Independence there had been raised be- 
 fore the vision of the oppressed of all the 
 earth an ideal government of the people 
 by themselves; a government whose foun- 
 dation principle was the equality of all 
 men before the law, and which guaran- 
 teed to every man who came under its 
 beneficent influence the greatest amount 
 of personal liberty. Within fifty years 
 after the Declaration of Independence by 
 the United States, eveiy one of Spain's 
 colonial possessions on the Western Con- 
 tinent had declared their independence, 
 and adopted constitutions almost identical 
 with that of the United States; and the 
 chief motive force in all the revolutions 
 of Europe during the nineteenth century, 
 which resulted in the overthrow of abso- 
 lutism and the establishment of Constitu- 
 tional government, was the spirit of the 
 Declaration of Independence of 1776. So 
 that, though the United States as a nation 
 had not directly and by material force in- 
 terfered in the concerns of European gov- 
 ernments, yet this moral force was one 
 more dreaded by Emj^erors and Kings 
 than were the armies and navies of their 
 neighbor royal sovereigns, and was the 
 leaven that was silently working every- 
 where to undermine their power, to en- 
 large the freedom of the people, and ex- 
 tend their powers as factors in national 
 governments. But when the treaty of 
 peace with Spain came before the Senate 
 for approval on January 4, 1899, where it 
 was fiercely debated for a month, the char- 
 acter of the speeches made, and the tone 
 of the press throughout the country as it 
 discussed debates, made it only too evi- 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WOELD POWER — 1909. 
 
 811 
 
 dent that the events and movements of 
 the preceding year had worked a marvel- 
 ous, and, as it seemed to many, a most 
 lamentable change in the sentiment of the 
 majority of the people of the United 
 States. A distinguished foreign Ambas- 
 sador at Washington is said to have re- 
 marked in 1901 that, though he had been 
 in this country but a few years, he had 
 seen two different countries, — the United 
 States before the war with Spain, and the 
 United States since the war with Spain. 
 Though the change in sentiment had been 
 more gradual than this Ambassador's 
 picturesque statement would indicate, still 
 it was the cleavage that was establislied 
 by that war that made it distinct and evi- 
 dent to every thoughtful citizen. The 
 great charters of Liberty to which the 
 faith of the people had been pledged for 
 more than one hundred years lost their 
 force and seemed to the later legislators 
 stumbling blocks in the path of progress. 
 The reverence of the older statesmen for 
 their principles could hardly be better 
 stated than they were by Senator Hoar in 
 a speech on the Chinese Exclusion Act, 
 in 1880. "I believe," he said, "that the 
 immortal truths of the Declaration of In- 
 dependence came from the same source 
 with the Golden Bide and the Sermon on 
 the Mount. IIV can trust Him who pro- 
 mtdgated these laws to Tceep the country 
 safe that obeys them. The laws of the 
 universe have their own sanction. They 
 will ntjt fail. The power that causes the 
 compass to point to the North, that dis- 
 misses the star on its pathway through 
 the skies, promising that in a thousand 
 years it shall return again to its home 
 and keeps His word, will vindicate His 
 own moral law. As surely as the path on 
 which our fathers entered one hundred 
 years ago led to safety, to strength, to 
 glory, so surely will the path on which 
 we now propose to enter bring us to shame, 
 to weakness, and to peril." And in com- 
 menting upon the changed conditions he 
 said later: "Certainly the Chinese Ex- 
 clusion Bill and the Chinese Treaty, the 
 Spanish Treaty and the war against the 
 Philippine fieople, could not have lived an 
 
 hour before the indignation of the Amer- 
 ican ijeople at any time from the begin- 
 ning down to the time when, in 1876, they 
 celebrated the centennial of their Inde- 
 pendence." But " a nevv' King had arisen 
 who knew not Joseph." To this new ele- 
 ment in legislation and in popular thought 
 the Farewell Address of Washington, the 
 Declaration of Independence, even the 
 principles so earnestly advocated by Lin- 
 coln, whose voice, warning his country- 
 men that they should take care " lest the 
 government of the people, by the people, 
 and for the people should perish from the 
 earth," was hardly yet silent, — all these 
 great statements of the founders of free 
 government were but as " sounding brass 
 and tinkling cymbals." During the debate 
 on the Spanish Treaty these " teachings 
 of the Fathers," as they have usually been 
 reverently called, were variously referred 
 to as " glittering generalities," and 
 " those nursery rhymes that were sung 
 around the cradle of the Republic." They 
 were good enough for tlieir day; but we 
 had outgrown all that. A leading writer 
 in favor of expansion has even stated un- 
 equivocally that Washington's true atti- 
 tude has been so far misunderstood that, 
 if he had been alive, he would in our day 
 have been the leader in all movements 
 aimed at the acquisition of foreign terri- 
 tory and dependent colonies in far distant 
 lands. Even the old songs of the poets in 
 praise of liberty have been placed on the 
 shelf, and the grand old anthem " My 
 Country, 'tis of thee. Sweet land of lih- 
 erty," is rarely sung even in our churches. 
 In view of all these facts, the statement 
 of the foreign Ambassador quoted above 
 that he had known two distinct countries 
 during his brief sojourn in Washington 
 seems hardly exaggerated. 
 
 During the debate on the Spanish treaty 
 three quite clearly marked shades of 
 opinion were manifested. One of these 
 was voiced in the Resolution introduced 
 by Senator Vest, two weeks before the 
 treaty was submitted to the Senate, but 
 when the senators had a full knowledge 
 of the final terms the President had dic- 
 tated to our Commissioners at Paris. 
 
812 
 
 FROM COLONY TO WORLD POWER. 
 
 That resolution, ■whieli set the discussion 
 of the whole question in motion, was in 
 these words : " That under the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States no power is 
 g'iven to the Federal Government to ac- 
 quire territory to be held and governed 
 l»rmanently as colonies." About the prin- 
 ciples of this resolution the opponents of 
 the treaty gathered their forces and raised 
 their standard. The position of one wing 
 of the expansionists was embodied in the 
 resolution of Senator Piatt, of Connecti- 
 cut, who said : " I propose to maintain 
 that the United States is a nation; that 
 as a nation it possesses every soiwreign 
 power not reserved in its constitution to 
 the States or the people; that the right to 
 acquire territory was not reserved, and is 
 therefore an inherent sovereign right." 
 An interesting point establisiied in this 
 resolution was the entirely new view of the 
 Constitution enunciated by the learned 
 Senator. He finds that the " Nation pos- 
 sesses every sovereign power not reserved 
 in its Constitution to the states or the 
 people ; " whereas that immortal document 
 distinctly declares that the Naiion has no 
 powers hut such as are delegated to it li>/ 
 the states. Article X., of the Amendments 
 adopted in 1791, reads: "The powers not 
 delegated to the United States by the Con- 
 stitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
 states, are reserved to the states respec- 
 tively, or to the people." But, as a dis- 
 tinguished Democratic congressman once 
 remarked, when told that some measure 
 he wanted to introduce was unconstitu- 
 tional, " What is a little thing like the 
 Constitution among friends?" The third 
 position set up regarding the conditions 
 involved in the approval of the treaty was 
 the " don't worry " one, — let things take 
 their course. This was expressed by the 
 junior senator from Massachusetts, Henry 
 Cabot Lodge, in these words : " Suppose 
 we ratify the treaty. The islands pass 
 from the possession of Spain into our pos- 
 session without committing us to any 
 policy. I believe we can be trusted as a 
 people to deal honestly and .iustly with the 
 islands and their inhabitants thus given 
 to our care. What our precise policy shall I 
 
 be I do not know, because I for one am 
 not sufficiently informed as to the condi- 
 tions there to be able to say what it will 
 be best to do; nor, I may add, do I think 
 anyone is." This sentiment received 
 wide endorsement, and had much to do 
 with the fijial approval of the treaty, a 
 majority of the Senators agreeing that, 
 as they had eventually worked cut of more 
 or less disagreeable positions in the past 
 with a greater or less degree of honor, so 
 they undoubtedly would work out of this 
 dilemma. The general feeling was that 
 the baby had been left upon the doorstep, 
 and in some way they must make provi- 
 sion for its sustenance. Nevertheless 
 there was a hearty response to the state- 
 ment Senator Spooner made during the 
 debate : " The Philippine proposition is 
 one of the fruits of the war. To me it 
 is one of the bitter fruits of the war. I 
 wish with all my heart we were honorably 
 quit of it." 
 
 Perhaps no other question has been so 
 seriously and fiercely debated since the 
 civil war as was the Spanish Treaty, and 
 the result was in doubt up to the last 
 moment. When the treaty was received 
 by the Senate it had been agreed that the 
 final vote should be taken ou February 6. 
 An unlooked-for event came to the aid o£ 
 its supporters at the last moment. On the 
 evening of February 4 a quarrel broke out 
 between what was styled the Insurgent 
 army of Filipinos and the American 
 troops, which resulted in a pitched battle 
 and the loss of American lives. Many at 
 once took the position that an insurrec- 
 tion having become a fact, no other course 
 was oiwn to us but to approve the treaty, 
 and postpone any action as to the stand- 
 ing or rights of the jseople of the islands 
 until the insurrection was put down. Yet 
 even then the Administration had not the 
 majority of votes required. But at the 
 last moment Mr. Bryan, who was still rec- 
 ognized by the Democrats as their party 
 leader, appeared on the scene and urged 
 his followers to vote for the treaty; with 
 the result that it was approved February 6, 
 by a vote of 57 for and 27 against. Of 
 those voting in favor of the treaty 40 were 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 813 
 
 Republicans, 10 Democrats, 3 Populists, 
 2 Silverites, and 2 Independents. Of 
 those who voted against it, 22 were Demo- 
 crats, 3 Republicans, and 2 Populists. 
 
 As a result of Dewey's victory at Ma- 
 nila and the general progress of the Span- 
 ish war, it was made more easy for the 
 advocates of the annexation of Hawaii to 
 press their interests. The treaty which 
 President McKinley had submitted to the 
 Senate in June, 1897, constantly lost 
 friends as the debate upon it was dragged 
 along through the following winter. By 
 March, 1898, the Administration saw that 
 there was no hope of securing a majority 
 in favor of the treaty, and dropped it, de- 
 termining to resort to a Joint Resolution 
 of both houses to accomplish their pur- 
 pose. The new measure passed the House 
 June 15, and the Senate July 6, and was 
 signed by the President the following day. 
 
 It is a recognized opinion among 
 twentieth century publicists that quan- 
 tity rather than quality counts in the 
 determination of " World Powers." As a 
 result of the treaty with Spain the United 
 States acquired, for twenty million dol- 
 lars and other considerations, 3,141 islands 
 in the Philippine Archipelago and about 
 8,000,000 subject people. Of the islands, 
 however, only 1,668 are listed by name, 
 and only 342 are inhabited. The total 
 area of the archipelago is 11.5,000 square 
 miles, of which Luzon constitutes 40,000, 
 and Mindanao 36,290, while the area of 
 2,800 islands is less than a square mile 
 each. The islands are mostly momitain- 
 ous or very hilly, and of volcanic origin. 
 The entire population, according to the 
 census of 1903, was 7,635,426, of which 
 number 6,987,686 were classed as civilized, 
 about 650,000 as wild. Of the civilized 
 inhabitants practically all are adlierents 
 of the Catholic Church ; while of the wild 
 tribes about one-half are Mohammedan 
 Moros. The most important of the other 
 acquisitions from Spain is the island of 
 Porto Rico, the fourth in size of the West 
 Indian islands, with an area of about 
 thirty-six hundred square miles. Accord- 
 ing to the last census taken its population 
 was 953,243, of which number 589,426 
 
 were classed as white, 304,352 as Mestizos, 
 59,390 as blacks. It must be borne in 
 mind, however, that the term white as 
 used here is a very uncertain quantity and 
 a somewhat variable color. The island of 
 Guam, one of the Ladrones, also acquired 
 from Spain, is of importance only as a 
 coaling station, being about thirty miles 
 long and six bi'oad, with a population of 
 about nine thousand. The territorial pos- 
 sessions, not annexed to the home-land, 
 which serve to establish the position of 
 the United States as a " World Power," in 
 the latest sense, may be summed up as 
 follows: Alaska, The Philijipine Archi- 
 pelago, Hawaii, Porto Rico, Guam, the 
 small island of Tutuila in the Samoan 
 group, and the strip of territory across 
 the Isthmus of Panama. The acquisition 
 of this territory has not been made, how- 
 ever, without the assumption of great 
 financial burdens, and vast responsibili- 
 ties. Lord Salisbury expressed the opin- 
 ion, after the American occupation of the 
 Philippines, that the appearance of the 
 United States as a factor in the Eastern 
 question would greatly help the interests 
 of Great Britain, but was " not in the 
 interests of peace." As was illustrated in 
 our war with Spain, in the event of a war 
 with a European or Asiatic power, our de- 
 pendencies would be the weak point, which 
 would first be attacked by the enemy. So 
 long as the policy is continued, therefore, 
 of holding widely separated lands, there 
 will be a demand for a constantly increas- 
 ing navy and a large standing army. The 
 increased expenditures of the government 
 which can be traced directly to the Span- 
 ish war amount to more than 1,250 
 million dollars; while incidental expenses 
 as truly traceable to the same source 
 would vastly increase this amount. Al- 
 ready the annual military and naval ap- 
 propriations of the United States are 
 painfully close to those of the great mil- 
 itary states of Europe ; while if our an- 
 nual pension disbursements V7ere classed 
 as military expenditures, as they are in 
 Europe and should be here, the present 
 total expenditures of the United States 
 each year for military and naval purposes 
 
814 
 
 FEOM COLONY TO WOKLD POWEK. 
 
 would exceed that of any of the great mil- 
 itary powers of the world by at least forty 
 per cent. The curse of militarism in 
 Europe, from which the American people 
 have always gloried in being free, has been 
 well expressed by the adage that in those 
 countries " every laboring man carries a 
 soldier on his back." Under existing ten- 
 dencies it would be well for every labor- 
 ing man in the United States to consider 
 well how long it will be before he must 
 take up a similar burden. The crown of 
 glory is the most costly ornament a nation 
 can wear. 
 
 We have referred to the nineteenth cen- 
 tury period as the Youth of this great 
 nation, — the United States. The colonial, 
 may be regarded as its childliood days. 
 With unfailing admiration we have tried 
 to depict the glory of that youth, — as of 
 a young man gradually becoming con- 
 scious of his powers, and ever and anon 
 testing them in new fields of endeavor. 
 Ever actuated by high and noble purposes, 
 though sometimes erring, the youthful 
 nation advanced step by step to honor, 
 power, and influence; until on the thresh- 
 old of its mature life it faced " the part- 
 ing of the ways." The one path was broad, 
 easy to traverse, as it had been well worn 
 by the older nations of the world, an<l 
 promised generous, if not always har- 
 monious, companionship. The other way 
 the young nation must largely mark out 
 for itself through the coming years as it 
 had through the past — " isolated," per- 
 haps, yet glorious and of mighty benefi- 
 cence in its isolation. Over the entrance 
 to the one way hung a banner ou which 
 was inscribed as a maxim 
 
 " The good old rule, the simple plan, 
 That they should take who have the 
 
 power. 
 And they sliould keep who can." 
 
 Over the other entrance were simply the 
 homely truths taught by the Fathers and 
 their later followers, which warned 
 against the temptation to make " en- 
 tangling alliances " abroad, and whose 
 spirit breathed only freedom, good will 
 to all men who willed good, a sturdy self- 
 
 respect, and the same consideration for 
 the rights of others that was expected 
 from them in return. For good or for ill, 
 intoxicated by victory in an unexpected 
 struggle, the nation turned its eyes toward 
 the alluring heights of glory, and was 
 bound fast by its sijell. Almost in a day 
 a revulsion toward old policies and pre- 
 cepts and enthusiasm for the new trans- 
 formed its people, and thought and en- 
 deavor were turned to new and strange 
 channels. The travelers over the old and 
 beaten road said, " He has become as one 
 of us," and were reasonably jubilant. Hap- 
 pily, though hardly a decade has passed 
 since the enthusiasm for bigness rather 
 than for goodness took possession of the 
 popular mind, there are already abun- 
 dant evidences that a constantly increasing 
 number of the people and of their leaders 
 are looking back with a higher regard for, 
 and desire to return to, the old ways. In 
 the course of a serious expression of his 
 regret that he had on two or three oc- 
 casions been obliged to radically dissent 
 from positions his party had taken, Sen- 
 ator Hoar in his Reminiscences consoles 
 himself with the recollection that his 
 political associates and the majority of 
 the people later came to take the same 
 views. While the reaction regarding the 
 subjugation of the Philippines had not 
 proceeded far enough before his death to 
 enable him to claim that endorsement for 
 his views on that subject; still he was able 
 to write : " I have been told by many 
 Senators who voted for the Treaty that 
 they regretted that vote more than any 
 other act of their lives. Enough Senators 
 have said this to me in person, not only 
 to have defeated the Treaty, but if they 
 had so voted, to have defeated it by a 
 majority. A very eminent Eepublican 
 Senator told me that more than twenty 
 Senators who voted for the Treaty had 
 given the same assurance to him. But 
 they are very unwilling to make the dec- 
 laration public." Everyone who has fol- 
 lowed the debates in Congress knows full 
 well that a question relating to the gov- 
 ernment of the Philippines rarely comes 
 before either branch of that body with- 
 
THE UNITED STATES A WORLD POWER — 1909. 
 
 815 
 
 out eliciting- from some speakers an ex- 
 pression of impatience or disgust, — as in 
 the case of Senator Hale, of Maine, who, 
 under such circumstances, recently petu- 
 lantly exclaimed in the Senate, "would 
 that we were quit of the whole business ! " 
 It is, perhaps, unfortunate that the claim 
 of the United States to the position of a 
 " World Power " in the popular sense 
 hinges so absolutely upon its occupation 
 of, and course in, The Philippines. As 
 it is, more and more of the people see 
 neither glory nor honor in its application. 
 We have referred above to the silent, in- 
 tangible, but uone the less effective power 
 of this nation all through its youth as 
 the standard bearer of the cause of Free- 
 dom and an enlightened civilization, and 
 of the influence throughout Europe of 
 the gospel it proclaimed. That this is not 
 a mere fancy, a letter from " an emi- 
 nent Hindoo Scholar " in the Japan 
 Times, June 17, 1902, bears abundant tes- 
 timony. Referring to Senator Hoar's 
 powerful statement of the principles 
 underlying our government, that writer 
 said : " The speech of Mr. Hoar, though 
 an address to his own countrymen, is a 
 message of hope to the whole world, which 
 sank in despondency at the sight of Re- 
 publican America behaving like a cruel, 
 tyrannical, and rapacious Empire in the 
 Philippines, and particularly to fhe heart - 
 hrokeii people of Asia, who are heginning 
 to lose all confidence in the humanity of 
 the white races. Or is it that they have 
 lost it already? Hence all papers in Asia 
 should reprint this speech, translate it, 
 and distribute it broadcast. Let it be 
 brought to the Asiatic people so that they 
 may work and worship their champion and 
 his forefathei-s. Thanks to the awaken- 
 ing in America, thanks to the forces that 
 are at work to chase out the degenerating, 
 demoralizing passion for territorial ag- 
 
 grandizement from the noble American 
 mind and save it for itself and for the 
 world at large from the Cancer of Im- 
 perialism." 
 
 Here is an expressed recognition of 
 America's World Power by even an 
 Oriental, such as every lover of his 
 country may contemplate with pride and 
 holy satisfaction, — a power that never 
 strikes to humiliate or oppress, but whose 
 every action looks toward the uplifting 
 and enlightenment of every sort and con- 
 dition of men, of whatever race, creed, 
 or color. Now, as in Solomon's time, 
 "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but 
 sin is a reproach to any people." When it 
 shall come about, and there are many in- 
 dications that the time is not far distant, 
 that this great Republic shall free itself 
 from the temptations and snares of Im- 
 perialism and shall again walk in the old 
 paths, practicing, and not preaching only, 
 good faith and the highest and most 
 honorable treatment of all nations and all 
 peoples; then, blessed with its immense 
 resources, energy, and intelligence, the 
 manhood of the Nation shall present the 
 unique spectacle of a country so truly a 
 " WORLD POWER " that its very moral 
 force in world movements will place it in 
 a position which no enemy, however 
 powerful materially, may successfully 
 assail. Then, as with one voice, fearlessly 
 and unblushingly looking every fellow- 
 man in the face, may the whole i>eople 
 join with renewed reverence and devo- 
 tion in the grand anthem : 
 
 My country 'tis of thee. 
 Sweet land of liberty. 
 Of thee I sing: 
 Land where my fathers died. 
 
 Land of the Pilgrim's pride. 
 From every mountain side. 
 Let freedom ring. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Achievements of nineteenth eentury greater than those 
 of all preceding centuries, 32. 
 
 Adams, Brooks, theory of, as to outbreak of European 
 Nations in China, 769. 
 — , Henry, History of the United States, quoted. 36. 
 — , John, earnest advocate of Independence, 66 ; 
 urges selection of Washingt^m as Cr-mmaEider-in- 
 Chief of Continental Army, S9 ; appointed first min- 
 ister to England. 96; interview with George HI.. 
 97; results of his mission. 100; elected first vice- 
 president of the United States, 116; death of. on 
 Independence day. 1S26, 192; sk'etch of his life and 
 distinguished services, 192. 193. 
 — . John Quiney, farewell address of, as President, 
 to Lafayette. 190; defender of the Right of Peti- 
 tion, 206-215; presents fifteen petitions to Congress 
 praying for the abulition of slavery In the District 
 of Columbia, 207; bittci opposition of Southern rep- 
 resentatives, 208; details of fierce debate of eleven 
 days. 208-214; triumph of Adams, 214; contest over 
 the organization of tlie House. 215; his wonderful 
 proplu'cy of the Proclamation of Emancipation, and 
 its effects, 306 ; announces principles of the Monroe 
 Doctrine, 512 ; opposes alliance of any sort with 
 Great Britain, 512. 513; spicy retort to Canning's 
 protest against settlements on the Columbia river, 
 518. 
 — , Samuel, pays $2,000 for suit of clothes, 46. 
 
 Agassiz, Louis, lectures at the Lowell Institute, 740. 
 
 Agriculture, the chief source of wealth of the Colonies, 
 62. 
 
 Alaska. 7S1. 
 
 Alexander I., of Russia, commanding position of, at 
 close of the Napoleonic wars. 502; his meeting with 
 Mme. de Krudener, 503 : her influence over his 
 thought and action, 503. 504 ; great review of Rus- 
 sian army, and Tc Deinn service. 503 ; opinion of 
 Sainte-Beuve, 504 ; Emperor's declared purpose in 
 farming the Holy Alliance, 504, 505; his influence 
 with his allies, 505. 
 
 Alexander the Great, effect of conquests of, 33. 
 
 Alexandrinus, the Codex. 407. 
 
 AlexieflF. Ru*!sian viceroy, 617-619. 
 
 Allies, the Holy, the Emperors of Russia and Austria 
 and King of Prussia, 505 ; original purposes of, 
 506; degeneracy of. 507; ultimate plan to crush the 
 Spirit of Democracy, SOS. 
 
 Alvey, R. H., 522. 
 
 Altgeid, Governor, pardons Chicago anarchists, 456. 
 
 Amber, and its properties, 636. 637. 
 
 America, the Yacht, victorious race of, 250-258; opin- 
 ions of Englishmen regarding the boat, 252 ; scenes 
 at Cowes before the start, 252 ; details of the race, 
 253-257 ; Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visit the 
 yacht, 258; description of the vessel, 258; summary 
 of all races for the America's Cup, 258. 
 
 American and French Republics, close relations of, 
 6S1. 682. 
 
 American and Spanish governments, communications 
 between, prior to the Spanish war, 4G9. 470. 
 
 American Bible Revision Committee. The, and its 
 work. 441; their revision published In 1901, 441. 
 
 American people. The; their pride in the nation's 
 
 history, 468. 
 — Philosophical Society, founding of The, 643. 
 
 Americus Club, The, 377. 
 
 Ames, Fisher, view of conditions existing in 1800, 47; 
 remarkable speech on the Jay treaty, 55S. 
 
 Amicis, Edmondo de, quoted. 562. 565. 
 
 Ampere, Andre, establishes principles of electro- 
 dynamics, 600. 601. 
 
 Anarchy, princiiiles and development of. 445-456 ; 
 causes that led up to the revolutionary movements 
 of the last century, 445 : the " rights of man " 
 versus the " divine rights " of Kings and institu- 
 tions, 445; position of dominant powers in Church 
 and State, 447: influence of the French Revolution 
 on social movements. 447 ; of the transcendental 
 movement, 447 ; St. Simon. Fourier. Proudhon. — 
 their principles and schools. 448 ; differing super- 
 structures built upon their teachings. 44S ; sketch 
 of Proudhon's life and writings, 448 ; influence of 
 his great disciples, Biikunin and Kropotkin. 448. 
 449; the celebrated trial of Anarchists at Lyons in 
 1883. 449 ; development of destructive anarchism 
 in Russia, 450; murder of Alexander 11. and its re- 
 sults, 450 ; Anarchist leaders driven to the United 
 States, 450 ; labor organizations in America not 
 Anarchistic, 451 ; the great strike at the McCor- 
 mick Harvester Works, Chicago, in 1885-1886, 451. 
 452 ; wild actions of Anarchist leaders and pr'ess. 
 452, 453 ; the Haymarket meeting and riot. May 4. 
 1886. 453; arrest and trial of eight Anarchist lead- 
 ers, 454, 455; attitude of trial judge. J. E. Gary. 
 455; execution of four of the leaders, November 11. 
 1886, 455; public opinion and position of Governor 
 Altgeld, 456; revulsion of popular sentiment. 456. 
 
 Angell, James B.. president of L'niversity of Michigan. 
 726. 
 
 Anglo-Japanese Alliance, The, 614. 
 
 Annexation of Hawaii. The. 525-556; early legends re- 
 garding the islands, 525 : unknown until close of 
 the eighteenth century, 526. 527 ; arrival of Captain 
 Cook and his dealings with the natives. 526. 527: 
 names them Sandwich Islands, in honor of his 
 patron, the Earl of Sandwich, 527: location and de- 
 scription of the islands, 527 ; the great volcanoes. 
 528; description of Kilauea. 528; daring action of 
 Princess Kapiolani, 529. 530; history of islands di- 
 vides itself into thi''ee periods. 530 ; early migra- 
 tions of the Polynesians. 530; the Sawainris. 
 531 : description of the social and religious life of 
 the people, 531-534; Kamehameha I., 535, 536: 
 overthrow of the native religion, 536. 537; arrival 
 of missionaries, 537; introduction of learning with 
 the new religion, 537-539 ; creation of a written 
 language and alphabet, 540: constant friction with 
 visiting naval commanders, 540-546; expulsion of 
 Catholics. 541; the Great Revival. 542. 543; recog- 
 nition of the island government by Great Britain. 
 France, and the United States. 543; establishment 
 of constitutional government, 543-545 ; astounding 
 mortality among the natives, 544, 545; rise of a 
 for'eign party In politics, 545-547; Queen Liliunka- 
 lani's statement of the situation. 545. 546; acces- 
 sion of King Kalakaua. 54S ; he makes reciprocity 
 
INDEX. 
 
 817 
 
 troaty wltb the rilited States. 549: cession of Pearl 
 barbor, 549 ; accession of Liiiuokaiani, 550 ; quar- 
 reis between the Que'en and the foreign party, 551, 
 552 ; peculiar course of the American minister, .T. L. 
 Stevens, 552 ; Committ'ee of Public Safety formed, 
 552 : troops landed from the Boston to aid in over- 
 throwinft the government of the Qui-en, 552 : Com- 
 mitt'ee of Safety gains control of the government. 
 55.3 : embassy to Washington to secure annexation, 
 553; protest of tlie Queen, 553; action of the Har- 
 rison administration. 554; President Cleveland with- 
 draws the treaty from tlie Senafe, 554 ; his 
 remarljable message. 554, 555 : he institutes thor- 
 ough investigation of conditions in Hawaii, 555 ; 
 President JIcKinley submits new treaty to Con- 
 gress. 555 ; fails to receive support. 555 ; islands 
 annexed to the United States by Joint Resolution of 
 both houses of Congress, 555 : ceremonies attendant 
 upon the transfer of the islands, 555, 556 ; policy of 
 leading Republicans as to annexation, 773. 
 
 Antonines. The, age of, 32, 
 
 Appropriations, generous, of Congress for the Navy, 
 495. 
 
 "Arabian Nights, The," quoted, G39, 676. 
 
 Arbitration between nations, inception of the principle, 
 558: prominent subject before the Hague Confer- 
 ences, 572-582 ; the Permanent International Court 
 of Arbitration, 574; proposed Permanent Court of 
 Arbitral ,Jnstic'e, 579-582. 
 
 Arc lights, electric, described, 668-670, 
 
 Architecture, colonial, 56. 
 
 Armour. J. Ogden ; founds Institute of Bloodless Sur- 
 gery. 754. 
 — . P. D. ; founds th'e Armour Mission, and the Ar- 
 mour In.stitnte. 753. 754. 
 
 Armstrong and Orling system of wireless telegraphy 
 675. 
 
 Army, the, transportation of, from Florida to Cuba, 
 
 490 ; astonishing lack of preparation for service, 490, 
 
 491 ; movements and actions about Santiago, 491 ; 
 El Caney and San Juan hill. 491 ; embarkation for 
 Montauk Point, 494 : General Miles invades Porto 
 Rico, 494. 
 
 Arnold, Matthew, appreciation of the Bible. 442, 443. 
 
 Aryans, Persian and Greek. 33. 
 
 Asia. Ptolemy's description of. 594. 
 
 Asiatic despotisms overthrown by Alexander. 33. 
 
 Assa.ssination of President Lincoln. 344-355 ; review of 
 events that bad crowned his career with glory. 344. 
 345 ; incidents of last day of the President's life. 
 345. 34G; the party to witness the *'.\mcrican 
 Cousin " at Ford's theatre, .346; details of the 
 events that followed. .347-349: consternation and 
 grief of the people. 349 ; the funeral obsequies. 350, 
 351; capture of the assa.s.sln. 352; trial and sen- 
 tences of the conspirators. 354, 355, 
 
 Astor, John Jacob, and th'e Astor library, 757, 758, 
 — , Lenox, and Tilden foundation. The, 760, 761. 
 
 Atlanta. Ga., captured and burned by General Sher- 
 man, 327. 
 
 Atlnnla, The. 479. 
 
 Atlantic cable, laying of the. 661-664. 
 
 Authorized, or King James. Version of the Bible, re- 
 sult of many previous revisions, 401 ; history of its 
 preparation and reception, 431 ; long rivalled by the 
 Geneva Bible, 434. 
 
 Autonomy granted to Cuba by Spain. 470. 
 
 Awakening, The Great, in the Religious World. 276- 
 288; influence of the great panic on the movement. 
 277 ; vast audiences assemble all oVer the country. 
 277. 27S; the John Street and Jayne's Hall daily 
 prayer meetings. 279 ; group of noted revival preach- 
 ers. 280 : requests for pra.vers. 2S1 ; work of Moody 
 and Sankey. 284 ; character of immense m'eetings 
 conducted by them. 2S6. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bakunin. Michael, disciple of Proudhon, 448; leading 
 exponent of destructive anarchism, 448 ; terrible ex- 
 periences and sufferings, 448, 449, 
 
 Baltimore, Md.. in 1800, 40; rise of the later city 
 from ashes, 585. 
 
 Baltimore, The Second Council of, decree regarding 
 the authorized text of Scriptures for the Catholic 
 Church. 436. 437, 
 Bancroft, George, quoted, 694. 
 
 Baptist Young People's Union. The, organization of. 
 389: general scope of its work, 390: all Baptist 
 Young people called out of the Endeavor societies, 
 390; organ, and watchword, of the society, 390. 
 Barnard College. 729. 
 — , Henry, and his educational work, 724, 
 — , Professor E, E,, use of selenium cells by, to 
 detect comets, 671. 
 Bartholdi statue, history of the, 682-684. 
 Barthoidt. Richard, 574. 
 Battery, The, New York city, in 1800, 37, 
 Battleship fleet, remarkable cruise of, around the 
 
 world, 496-499. 
 Beach. Charles F., courses on American law at French 
 
 universities, 684, 685. 
 Beaufort. M. W. II. de. 567. 
 
 Bede. the Venerable, makes translations of the Script- 
 ures, 412. 
 Bell. Alexander Graham, and his telephone, 665-667, 
 
 — , The Liberty. 66. 
 Benjamin, Park, quoted, 639, 644. 
 Berkeley. Sir William, opinion on early education In 
 
 Virginia, 70S. 
 Berzelius, J. J., discovers selenium. 671. 
 Bible, curious and rare editions of the, 436, 437. 
 — on which Washington took oath as President, de- 
 scription and history of, 121. 
 — . Revision of the. 401-444. See Revision of the 
 Bible. 
 Biddle, Captain Nicholas, 474, 475. 
 Bildt. Baron de, Swedish delegate to the Hague Con- 
 ference, 570. 
 Birth of the Xew Navy. 479. 
 Bishops' Bible, The. history of, 430. 
 Blaine, James G.. 516. 549. 
 Blair, James, founds William and Mary College, 709- 
 
 711. 
 Blizzard. The Great. 457-406; wonderful material de- 
 velopment of New York city, 457 ; origin and course 
 of storm that paralyzed all movement In the city, 
 458 : ofljcial report of the Weather Bureau regard- 
 ing it, 458 ; unparalleled severity of snow fall and 
 gale for two da.vs, 459-482 ; thrilling experiences of 
 people exposed to storm's fury, 460-462 ; all traffic 
 of every kind suspended, 462 ; experience of ex- 
 Senator Roscoe Conkling, 463 ; scenes after the ces- 
 sation of storm, — loss of life and property, 464 ; 
 messages of sympathy from Dakota, 465 : limited 
 area covered by the storm, 466. 
 Blockade of Cuban ports established. 483; effective 
 
 blockade of Santiago harbor, 482. 483. 
 Bolton. Mrs. Sarah K.. quoted. 732. 
 Boh Homme Iticliard, The. battle with the Serapis, 72. 
 Boone, Professor R. G.. quoted. 698. 
 Booth. J. Wilkes, shoots President Lincoln in Ford's 
 theatre, 347 ; flight, and shooting of the assassin by 
 Boston Corbett, 352, 
 Boston Latin School. The, 696. 
 — . Mass.. reception of news of the declaration of 
 independence, GS : population and general character 
 of the town in 1800, 39; becomes a city in 1822, 
 39: effects of the great September gale in, 176; 
 rise of the city from ashes. 585. 
 — News Letter, The, first paper published in the 
 
 Colonies, 62. 
 — . The, pioneer vessel of New Navy, 479. 
 Bottome. Mrs. Margaret, organizes the Society of 
 
 ■' King's Daughters," 385. 
 Bowdoin, Governor, and Shays' rebellion, 104. 
 Bowling Green, destruction of statue of George HI. 
 
 in. 68. 
 " Boxer " outbreak in China. The. 616. 
 Boyle. Robert, and the Royal Society, 640. 
 Bradford .\cademy. The. 721. 
 Brethren of the Common Lot, The, 693. 
 Brewer. David J.. 522. 523. 
 
 Brookli/ti, The. 480; flagship of Admiral Schley. 486; 
 on blockade and in battle off Santiago, 487, 489, 
 492-494. 
 
 u 
 
818 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Brooks, Reverend Phillips. 696. 
 
 Brotherhood of St. Andrew. The. 390 ; Its early or- 
 ganization, principles, mottoes, etc., 390; the "St. 
 Andrew's Crn.ss." 390. 
 
 Rr.van. William J., urges support of the Spanish 
 treat.T. 780. 
 
 Br.vce, James, quoted, 557 ; his friendship for the 
 United States, 689 ; a might.v Influence for peace, 
 689; his Anterican Coynmuuwfnith, 689, 690; ambas- 
 sador to the I'liitert States, 689. 
 
 Br.vn Mawr College. 720. 
 
 Buchanan. Franklin, commander of the Mcrrimac in 
 her fight with the Munitor, 298, 302. 
 
 Bug Bihie. The. 4:i7. 
 
 Buoys, Electric, automatically lighted by use of selen- 
 ium, 671. 
 
 Burke. Edmund : his appreciation of the Bible. 443. 
 
 Burnham. D. n. : his plans for beautifying San Fran- 
 cisco. 6.',4. 
 
 Burr, Aaron; duel with Hamilton, 144; sketch of his 
 career, 145: origin of his hatred for Hamilton. 146; 
 his shooting of Hamilton regarded as wilful mur- 
 der, 150. 
 
 Butler, Nicholas Murray, interviews with the German 
 Emperor, 685 ; president of Columbia University. 
 717, 
 
 c. 
 
 Cable, submarine, description of. 661. 
 
 Caedmnn. sings paraphrases of the Scriptures, 411. 
 
 California, discovery of po'iil at Sutter's Mill. 242- 
 249 ; early explorers of. 626 ; the University of, 
 753. 
 
 Calvin. John, and popular education, 694. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass.. name clianced from Newtowne. 700. 
 
 Canal, The Nicaragua, ^vr Panama Canal. 
 — , Panama. See Panama Canal. 
 
 Canals, noted, of the world, description and cost of 
 the, 610. 
 
 Candles, early use of, 59. 
 
 Canning. George. 508. 512. 513, 518. 
 
 Capeflgue, M., historian of the Restoration, quoted. 
 505. 
 
 Capital, founding and establishment of the first na- 
 tional. 129-135: previous migrations of the national 
 government, 129; compromise which led to perma- 
 nent establishment on the Potomac. 130; corner- 
 stone of the oapitol laid. September 18. 1793. by 
 Washington. 132; archives of the government re- 
 moved from Philadelphia to Wa.shington. In summer 
 of 1800, 133; grand plan on which new city was 
 laid out. 135. 
 
 Capitol, the national, comer-stoie laid at Washing- 
 ton. 132. 
 
 Cardinal, consecration of the first. In the United 
 States. 365-370; the conclave of cardinals, 365; 
 John McCloskey, Arch-bishop of New York, hon- 
 ored, 366; details of the ceremony of consecration. 
 366-370 ; papal documents conferring the honor, 
 369; description of St. Patrick's Cathedral. New 
 York city. 370. 
 
 Carlyle. Thomas; his reverence for the Bible, 443. 
 
 Carnegie, Andrew ; his numerous gifts. 763, 764 ; ad- 
 dress at the Pittsburg Institute, — professed igno- 
 rance of his wealth, 763; general conditions upon 
 which his gifts are m.Tde. 764 ; the teachers' pen- 
 sion fund, 765 ; the Temple of Peace at The Hague. 
 765. 
 — Institute. Pittsburg. Pa., founder's day at the, 
 678. 
 
 Caroline Affair, The. 205. 
 
 Cars, electric, 672, 673. 
 
 Corter, J. F., the " Father of Normal Schools," 724, 
 725. 
 
 Cathay, origin of the name, 594. 
 
 Catholic churches, the Bible used In, 432. 
 
 Cavallo, Tiberius: " History of Electricity." quoted, 
 647. 
 
 Cavlte. Manila bay. battle off, 484-486. 
 
 Central Pacific railroad, opening of the. 750. 751. 
 
 Cervera, Admiral Pascual, and his fleet. 486; enter 
 Santiago harbor, 487 ; description of his vessels. 
 
 487, 488 ; his dash for liberty, and the destruction 
 of his fleet. 492-494. 
 Challoner, The. revision of the Douay Bible, 436. 
 Charles I.; his contest with Parliament. 34. 
 Charleston, S. C, population and status of, In 1800, 
 
 42. 
 Chatham, Earl of; his estimate of the Continental 
 
 Congress. 70. 
 Chautauqua. The. 730. 
 Cheney, John Vance. 755. 
 Chicago, rise of the city from ashes, 585. 
 — , the University of. 726. 764; approximate totr.l 
 of gifts from J. I>. Rockefeller. 764. 
 Childhood of the Nation, The. 782. 
 China and pewter, use of, during colonial days, 57. 
 China, results of the war with Japan, 615; Integrity 
 of the nation secured by Secretary Ilay. 620 ; im- 
 mense mineral wealth of the country, 769 ; out- 
 break of European Nations In, 769. 
 
 Chinatown. San Francisco. 629. 
 
 Chinese South Pointing Car, The, 638. 
 
 Choate, Joseph H., delegate to Hague Conference, 
 674 ; places window in St. Saviour's Church, 
 London. In memory of John Harvard. 703. 
 
 Church Life in the Colonies, 59; in New England ^dd 
 Virginia compared, 60. 
 
 Clenfuegos. Cuba, blockade of. 483. 487. 
 
 Citizens* Industrial Association of America, The, 399. 
 
 Civil War. <-oiiditIon of the Navy after the. 479. 
 
 Clark, Captain C. E., commander of the Oregon, 482. 
 See Oregon, The. 
 - — . Reverend F. E. ; organizes the flrst society of 
 Christian Endeavor, .386; character of the man and 
 his work. 386 : resigns pastorate to become presi- 
 dent of the United Society ot Christian Endeavor, 
 387 ; establishes the Society paper, the " Golden 
 Rule." 388; message on the twenty-eighth birthday 
 of the Society. 388. 
 
 Clay, Henry. 514. 599. 
 
 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, The. 599; Its abrogation, 603. 
 
 Clergy, character and influence of the Colonial, 60. 
 
 Clermont. The, Fulton's first steamboat, 153. 
 
 Cleveland, Grover; message to Congress on the Cuban 
 situation. 468; bold position regarding the Venezuela 
 boundary dispute. 519. 520 ; message to Congress 
 regarding the same, 520 ; his " Presidential Prob- 
 lems " quoted. 520; message to Congress withdraw- 
 ing the treaty for the annexation of Hawaii. 514, 
 515 ; address at the unveiling of the Bartholdl 
 statue. 683. 
 
 Cochrane. C. H. ; his " Modem Industrial Progress " 
 quoted. 671. 
 
 Codex, meaning and description of, 406 ; Codes 
 Sinai ticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinns, Ejihracmi, de- 
 scribed. 407. 408. 
 
 Coffee Houses, noted ones about 1800. 38. 
 
 Collins. Sir Richard. 523. 
 
 Collinson. Peter, association with Franklin. 642, 643. 
 
 Colombia, relations with United States regarding the 
 Isthmus. S(e Panama Canal. 
 
 Colonial Days. In, 31-64. 
 
 Colonies, lack of common Interests In the, 44 ; 
 chaotic conditions in, following the Revolutionary 
 War. 45. 
 
 Columbia College and University, 416. 417. 
 
 Comets, use of selenium cells in detecting, 671. 
 
 Commission of Washington as Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Continental Army, 89. 
 
 Committee of Seventy, The, investigates the Tweed 
 Ring. 380-382. 
 
 Compass, the mariner's, first knowledge of, in Europe, 
 595. 
 
 Concas, Captain, describes plan of action for Cervera'a 
 fleet. 492. 
 
 Concert of the Powers, The. 768. 
 
 Conclave of Cardinals. The. 365. 
 
 Congress, the Continental. 66. 
 
 Congressional Resolutions establishing war with Spain, 
 473. 
 
 Conkling, Roscoe. experience in the Great Blizzard. 
 463. 
 
 Connecticut, The, flagship of battleship fleet. 499. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 819 
 
 Connolly. Richard B., 376-380. 
 
 Constitution, formation and adoption of the Federal, 
 lOS; proceedings and events that led up to the cun- 
 vention at Philadelphia, 109; character of the load- 
 ing delegates to the convention. 110 ; submission 
 of the Constitution to tbe States, and its final 
 adoption. 114. 
 — , The, United States frigate, captures British frig- 
 ate Guerriere 157 : " Old Ironsides," ir>7 ; de- 
 scription of the battle. 158-162; effect of victory on 
 the American people, 163. 
 
 Continental Congress, opinions of its members as to 
 a standing army and navy. 474. 
 
 Cook, Captain James, 526, 527. 
 
 Coolidge, Professor A. C. ; his critical estimate of 
 pride of the American people, 468 ; quoted, 772, 
 
 Cooper, Peter, and the Cooper Union. 756. 757. 
 
 Corbett. Sergeant Boston, shoots murderer of Lincoln, 
 352. 
 
 Cornell University, 726. 761. 
 
 Cortez ; his efforts to discover the secret strait across 
 the Isthmus. 596. 597. 
 
 Cotton. Reverend John, 696. 
 
 Cotton, first production of, in the United States, 44. 
 — Gin. The. invention of, 44, 122; conditions pre- 
 vailing previous to Whitney's Invention, 125 ; de- 
 scription of the machine. 126; Its effect upon cotton 
 production, 128. 
 
 Coubertin. Baron de, Interest of. In educational re- 
 ciprocity. 684. 
 
 Coudert. Frederic R.. 522. 
 
 Council of Trent, The; decree regarding the Vulgate 
 text of the Bible. 433. 
 — . The Vatican. 1870. 436. 
 — . The Second, of Baltimore. 436. 
 
 CoverdalG. Myles ; his translation of the Bible, 424, 
 425. 
 
 Creator, The, revelation of the purposes of. 34. 
 
 Crerar. John, record of his princely gifts, 755 ; founds 
 the Crerar library in Chicago, 755. 
 
 Crisis, Terrible, in the business and financial world, 
 267-275 ; the Great Panic, 267 ; causes of the 
 disaster. 268. 269; rapid succession of bank failures, 
 268. 269: amusing incidents. 270; consternation and 
 despair of the people, 271, 272; fortunes swept 
 away like ashes, 273. 
 
 Crocker, Charles, 750. 
 
 Crozier. Captain W., delegate to The Hague Con- 
 ference, 567. 
 
 Cuba, relations of the United States with. 468; hor- 
 rible devastation and suffering in, 469. 470 ; au- 
 tonomy granted by Spain. 470; United States de- 
 clares war in behalf of, 473 ; blockade of Cuban 
 ports, 483; details of the war in, 486-494; inde- 
 pendence secured by the signing of the Peace 
 Protocol. August 12. 1908, 494. 
 
 Cuban Junta, The. 469. 
 
 "Cup of All Nations." The, 250, 256. 
 
 Curious and rare editions of the Bible, 436, 437. 
 
 Currency, the Continental. 45. 
 
 Currents, transmission of electric. 667-669; direct and 
 alternating. 667; polyphase, 667. 
 
 Cursives, description of, 406. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dakota sends messages of sympathy to New York 
 city. 465. 
 
 Dame Schools. The. 699. 
 
 Dana. Charles A., " there Is no book like the Bible." 
 444. 
 
 Daniells, J, D., inyentor of the constant current bat- 
 tery. 654. 
 
 Danville, Va., temporary capital of the Confederacy, 
 341. 
 
 Dark Day, the wonderful, 79. 
 
 Dartmouth College, and the " Dartmouth College 
 Case." 718. 719. 
 
 Davis. Cushman K., 775. 
 — , General George B.. 574. 
 
 — , Jefferson, flight from Richmond and capture of, 
 341. 242. 
 
 Davy. Sir Humphrey, discovers the arc light, 649, 
 650. 
 
 Day. William R.. 775. 
 
 " De Jure Belli ac Pacia/* 564, 
 
 Debate between Webster and Hayne, the great, 197- 
 205 ; events that led up to it, 198 ; Webster's 
 oration the masterpiece of modern eloquence. 205. 
 
 Declaration of Independence. The; committee appointed 
 to draft it. 66; Fiftieth Anniversary of its pro- 
 mulgation, 191-196. 
 
 Deep-Water Commission of Galveston. The, 590. 
 
 Democracy, criticisms of. about ISOO, 47 ; cause of, 
 injured by colonial and state jealousies, 46. 
 
 Demologos. The, Fulton's, the first steam vessel of 
 the American navy, 477. 
 
 Dennie, Joseph, and his Portfolio, 03. 
 
 Dewey, Admiral George; text of order sent htm to 
 prepare for emergencies, 473; mobilizes fleet in 
 Asiatic waters, 483 ; details of the battle of Manila 
 bay, 483-485 ; effect of his victory upon the Amer- 
 ican people. 485. 
 
 Dewey Arch, The. 501. 
 
 Despotisms, Asiatic, overthrown by Alexander, 33. 
 
 Dexter, Professor: History of Education in the United 
 States, quoted, 706. 
 
 Dickens. Charles ; his reverence for the Bible and the 
 Christian religion. 433. 
 
 Dinners. Colonial, 58, 
 
 Distaff. The, 31. 
 
 Doe. C. F., great gift of, to the University of Cali- 
 fornia. 753. 
 
 Dole, Sanford B., 555. 
 
 Dollar, value of. in 1780, 46. 
 
 Dolores Mi-ssion. The, 627. 
 
 Dolphin. The. 479. 
 
 Douay, or Rheims-Douay, Bible, The, 435. 
 
 Douglas, Stephen A. ; bis great debate with Lincoln, 
 289-295. 
 
 Drake. Sir Francis. 626. 
 
 Drama of the development of the race, 33. 
 
 Drunkenness, prevalence of, in the eighteenth century, 
 61. 
 
 Duel, The, between Burr and Hamilton, 144-150. 
 
 Dummer Academy, The, 720. 
 
 Dunster, Henry ; first president of Harvard College, 
 703. 
 
 Durant. Henry F. ; founds Wellesley College, 728. 732, 
 
 Dwight, Timothy, president of Yale College, 712. 
 
 Dynagraph car, the Dudley, 673. 
 
 Dynamo- Electric machine, the first, 652, 667. 
 
 E. 
 
 Earle. Alice Morse, on Colonial customs. 52. 
 
 Earthquake at San Francisco, loss of life from, 629. 
 
 Eaton, Nathaniel, 703. 
 
 Edison, Thomas A., improves the microphone, 666 ; 
 experiments and achfevements In incandescent light- 
 ing. 668, 669. 
 
 Education, in the Colonies and States. 691-730; pop- 
 ular education the handmaid of an enlightened re- 
 ligion, 691 ; effects of intellectual awakening of 
 fifteenth century. 691 ; all learning confined to 
 narrow circles, 692 ; a measure of liberty essential 
 to desire for learning. 602; the Reformation, not 
 the Renaissance, the renovating influence. 692; 
 Luther's appeal to the German magistrates. 692 ; 
 his contention that schools should be supported by 
 municipality, or State, 692 ; rapid rise of common 
 schools all over Germany, 693 ; first statute requir- 
 ing general education. 693; influence of the German 
 and Dutch systems of education on the Pilgrim 
 Fathers, 693 ; claim that common school system 
 came from Calvin and Geneva disproved. 693-695; 
 opinions of John Fiske, Bancroft, and Edward 
 Everett, 694 ; first public school established In 
 North America, 695 ; efforts of the Dutch West 
 India Company to advance cause of education, 695; 
 the first schoolmaster in New Amsterdam, and first 
 Latin school, 695; salaries and duties of early 
 Colonial teachers, 696 ; influence of Emmanuel Col- 
 lege, Cambridge, upon early New England educa- 
 
820 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 tion. G9fi : John Cotton and the Boston Latin school, 
 696; opinion of Phillips Brooks upon value of the 
 foundation, 606. 697 ; early New England schools 
 not " free" schools. 696; Indian children alone 
 '* taug:ht gratis," 697: decree of the Massachusetts 
 General Court, of 1G42; and the law of 1647, called 
 the " Great Charter of free education in the Com- 
 monwealth," 697; conditions in other New England 
 Colonies, 697 ; character of the early teaching, and 
 test-bonks. 698 ; public schools for boys alone down 
 to near the end of eighteenth century, 698 : the 
 Dame Schools, 699; down to Revolutionary period, 
 whole range of teaching in elementary schools was 
 confined to reading, writing, and religion, 699 ; 
 arithmetic and mathematics rarely referred to prior 
 to 1750, 699; character of the early schoolhouses, 
 699 ; number of university graduates in Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut in 16:iS. — one to every 
 two hundred and fifty of the population, 699 ; first 
 appropriation of public money " for a school or 
 college." 700; early history of Harvard College. 
 701-706; timely gift of John Harvard. 701: sketch 
 of his life. 701. 702: history of William and Mary 
 College. 707-711 ; Elihu Yale and Yale College. 711. 
 712; Tennent's "Log College," 712. 71.1; histr>ry 
 of Princeton College, 712-715; founding of King's 
 College. 715. 716; history of Columbia College, 
 716, 717; Williams College, founding of, 718; re- 
 monstrance of Harvard authorities against the es- 
 tablishment of a second college in the State, 718; 
 early history of Dartmouth College, 718, 719; the 
 "Dartmouth College Case." 719; summary of 
 " universities, colleges, and technical schools " In 
 the United States. 719; decline of elementary and 
 secondary schools during the eighteenth century. 
 719, 720 ; rise of academies, 720 ; academies and 
 seminaries devoted to women, 721 ; rise of system 
 of co-education. 721 ; summary of academies, co- 
 educational, in 1850, 721 ; the Massachusetts State 
 Board of Education and Horace Mann, 722-724; 
 establishment of High Schords. 724; rise of Normal 
 schools, 724, 725 ; establishment of Teachers' col- 
 leges. 724, 725 : the state universities, 726 ; de- 
 velopment of post-graduate work, 726, 727; rise of 
 women's colleges, 727, 728 ; the Chautauqua schools, 
 730. 
 
 Education, reciprocity in, 6S4-6S6. 
 
 El Caney. tlie fight at. 491. 
 
 Electricity. The story of, 636-677; early knowledge 
 and uses of Amber, 6.36, 637 ; the lodestone, mag- 
 netite, or Hercules stone, 637-639; the Saraothra- 
 c!an rings. 637, 638; opinions of Thales and 
 Socrates. 637: the Chinese South-pointing Car, 638; 
 the wonder of the early Church Fathers at mag- 
 netism. 638; St. Augustine's account, 638, 639; 
 the Arabian Kiohts story of the lodestone, 639 ; 
 advance in knowledge of electricity dependent upon 
 experiments, 639; birth of experimental philosophy 
 639; Doctor William Gilbert, and his wonder£ul 
 experiments. 640; summary of his achievements, 
 640; work of Robert Boyle and Otto von Guericke, 
 640; foundation of the Royal Society of England, 
 640; von Guericke hints at the electric light, and 
 the relation of the electric spark to lightning, 641 ; 
 Doctor Wall's experiments, 641 ; investigations and 
 deductions of Doctor Watson. 641; he affirms the 
 existence of an electrical ether. 641; incredulity of 
 the public, and the *' practical man," 642; Franklin 
 first becomes acquainted with electrical phenomena, 
 642 ; the Library Company of Pliiladelphia, 642 ; 
 Influence of Peter CoHinson, 642 ;" formation of the 
 American Philosophical Society, 643; honors heaped 
 npnn Franklin by the R.iyal So<.-iety, 643; details 
 of his experiments to determine the identity of the 
 electrical fluid and lightning. 643-645; his curious 
 letter to Collinson. the "electrified bumper," 643; 
 his discovery of the uses of lightning rods, 645 ; 
 attitude of the Church toward his experiments. 
 645, 646 ; invention of the Leyden jar, 646 ; 
 Muschenbroeck's account of his experiment. 646 ; 
 Cavallo's account of achievements to close of eigh- 
 teenth century. 647; Galvani and "Animal Elec- 
 
 tricity," or Galvanism. 647, 648; Volta and his 
 deductions from Galvani's experiments, 648 ; the 
 Voltaic battery, or pile, 648, 649 ; Humphrey Davy 
 and the electric light, 649, 650 ; Count Rumford 
 and the Royal Institution, 649; development of the 
 idea of the unity of the forces of nature. — hence 
 the belief in the identity of magnetism and 
 electricity, 650; epoch making discoveries of Oersted 
 and Ampere, 651 : important discoveries of Fara- 
 day, 651. 652 ; the first dynamo-electric machine. 
 652; Sturgeon discovers the electro-magnet. 652; 
 remarkable development of the electro-magnet by 
 Joseph Henry, 654 ; the galvanoscope and galvanom- 
 eter, 654 ; Henry's " intensity magnet," 6.14 ; the 
 Daniell's battery, 654 ; early experiments in teleg- 
 raphy, 655 ; Morse and the electric telegraph, 655- 
 659; early submarine cables, 660; description of an 
 ocean cable. 600, 661 ; Cyrus W. Field and the 
 Atlantic cables, 601-664 ; summary of the Bureau 
 of Statistics of ocean telegraphs. 664 ; invention of 
 the telephone, 664-667 ; marvelous achievements of 
 Alexander Graham Bell, 605-667 ; the principle of 
 the telephone described. 665 ; Hughes' invention of 
 the microphone. 660 ; Edison's improvements. 660 ; 
 statistics as to the use of the telephone. 666; 
 electric lighting, heating, and power. 667-671 : the 
 dynamo and motor. 667 ; transmission of power, 
 667; incandescent and arc lighting, 668. 669; per- 
 sistent efforts of Edison to perfect carbons, 669 ; 
 the arc light, and its uses, 670, 671 ; discovery and 
 uses of selenium, 671 ; many applications of elec- 
 tricity, 671-673; Dr. Holmes' "broomstick train." 
 672; adaptation to transportation, 672. 673; the 
 Dudley Dynagraph car, 673 ; discovery of ether. 
 673; Hertz and the Hertzian waves. 673; wireless 
 telegraphy and its principles. 673-675 ; remarkable 
 experience of the steamship Republic, practical uses 
 of wireless telegraphy demonstrated, 675, 676; de- 
 mand of civil and political Itodies that wireless 
 apparatus be installed on all vessels, 676 ; what 
 next — Telepathy? 677. 
 
 Electro-dynamics, principles of, established, 651. 
 
 Electro-magnet, first discovered by Sturgeon, 652. 
 
 Eliot, Charles W., president of Harvard University. 
 706. 
 
 Elmira College, first women's college. 728. 
 
 Emancipation, The Pmelamation of, 305-314; Presi- 
 dent Lincoln's views as to the occasion for, 305, 
 306; views of his cabinet officers, 307; early state- 
 ment of principle and effect of such an act by 
 John Quincy Adams, 307 ; the preliminary proc- 
 lamation, 308; scope of the final proclamation, 310; 
 its reception at the North and South. 311. 312; 
 disposition of the original draft of the proclama- 
 tion, 313 ; the precursor of the Fifteenth Amend- 
 ment to the Constitution, 313. 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo; his appreciation of the Bible, 
 442. 443. 
 
 Emma Willard Female Seminary. The. 721. 
 
 Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England, 696, 700. 702. 
 
 Employers and employees, history of their relations, 
 392-396. 
 — • of labor, organizations of, 399, 400. 
 
 Endeavor, Young People's Society of Christian, 386- 
 388. 
 
 English language, gradual formation of new. 414. 
 
 Ephraemi. The Codex, described, 407. 
 
 Epochs in historical development, six great. 33. 
 
 Epworth League. The; withdrawal from the Christian 
 Endeavor Union. 389 ; meeting of representative 
 Methodists at Cleveland, O., in 1S91, 389; call 
 upon all Methodist Societies to come out and be 
 separate, '* To your tents, O, Israel," 389 ; im- 
 mediate success of the movement, mtmbership in 
 1909, and motto of the society. 389. 
 
 Era of Princely Gifts, An. 731-766; gifts of John 
 Harvard and John D. Rockefeller crmpared. 731 ; 
 different conditions under which wealth was ac- 
 cumulated at the middle and close of the nineteenth 
 century. 732; enormous total of public benefactions 
 of the last five years. 732 ; inciting causes of great 
 
INDEX. 
 
 821 
 
 gifts, 732; sketch of the life of Stephen Girard, 
 732; the establishment of Girard College, 735, 736; 
 John Lowell. Jr.. and the founding of the Lowell 
 Institute, 737-742 ; text of clauses of his will 
 creating the trust. 739; noted lecturers, 740, 741; 
 founding of the Lawrence Scientific School, 740; man- 
 agement of the trust fund, 741 ; remarkable career 
 of George Peabody. 742-745; his royal gifts. 742, 
 743 ; the Peabody Education Fund, 743, 744 ; found- 
 ing of the Smithsonian Institution. 745; peculiar 
 character of the gift, and its uses. 745, 740; great 
 gifts traceable to the example and influence of 
 George Peabody. 746; The John F. Slater Fund, 
 746; the Daniel C. Hand gifts to aid poor blacks 
 in the South, 747; the munificence of Anna T. 
 Jeanes. 747. 748 ; founding of the Johns Hopkins 
 University, and Johns Hopkins Hospital, 748, 749 ; 
 novel university established by his trustees. 749; 
 the Leland Stanford Junior University, 749-753; 
 the munificence of Leland Stanford. 749-751 ; groat 
 gift to the University of California, 753 ; its Greek 
 theatre. 753 ; Armour Institute, and the Armour 
 Mission. 754 ; the " Lolita Armour Institute of 
 Bloodless Surgery," 754; liberal benefactions of 
 D. K. Pearsons, 754; establishment of the New- 
 berry library, Chicago. 754, 755 ; the John Crerar 
 library, and its founder, 75G ; munificent gift to 
 endow Washington University, St. Louis, 756 ; 
 Cooper Union and its benevolent founder, 756 ; 
 Robert Lenox and the Lenox library, 758, 759 ; the 
 generous bequest of Samuel J. Tilden, 759 ; the 
 Astor. Lenox, and Tild^-n fiMindutions. 760; notable 
 gifts of millions by Mrs. Mary Macrae Stuart, 760; 
 benefactions of J. Pierpont Morgan, 760; his rich 
 gifts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 761 ; 
 Immense gifts of Mrs. Russell Sage, 762 ; com- 
 parison of gifts of Carnegie and Rockefeller with 
 those of other princely givers. 762 ; the essence of 
 a " gift." — " the gift without the giver is bare." 
 762 ; Carnegie's own statement as to what his 
 gifts cost him, 763 ; J. D. Rockefeller and the 
 University of Chicago. 763; conditions upon whi4'h 
 the Rockefeller gifts are dependent, 764 ; the en- 
 dowment of the General Education Board. — the 
 greatest single gift ever made, 764 ; Andrew 
 Carnegie's enormous bent-factions, 765 ; summary of 
 his principal gifts. 765 ; the lesson of such lavish 
 generosity, 766; opinion of Daniel C. Gilman, as to 
 the influence of George Peabody on later benefactors. 
 766 ; the position and influence of Robert C. 
 Winthrop. 766. 
 Erasmus, the Greek Testament of, 418. 
 Ericsson. John, influence of. In the construction of the 
 
 new navy. 478. 
 Estournelles. Baron d', 575. 
 
 Ether, discovery of. 234-241 ; claimants for priority 
 of discovery, 236; opinions of Doctors Holmes and 
 Warren, 236 ; account of first surgical operation 
 upon an etherized patient. 237 ; monument erected 
 to commemorate the discovery, 240 ; general effects 
 upon patients, humorous anecdotes, etc.. 237-241. 
 European Press, The, on the Monroe Doctrine, 511. 
 
 512. 
 Evans, Robley D., commands the Iowa at Santiago. 
 492-494 ; in command of the battleship fleet, 496. 
 497. 
 Everett, Edward, quoted, 604. 703 ; first American to 
 take the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from a 
 German tiniversity, 726; inaugurates the Lowell 
 Institute lectures. 740, 741. 
 Evolution, discovery of the law of. 32. 
 Execution of the Chicago anarchists, 455. 
 Expense, comparative, of the naval establishments of 
 
 the great powers. 496. 
 Experimental Philosophy, birth of. 639. 
 Explorers of California, the early, 626. 
 
 r. 
 
 Factory System. The, and the Industrial Age, 395. 
 Family life in the colonies, 56. 
 
 Faraday. Michael, makes first dynamo-electrical ma- 
 chine, 652. 
 Farewell to the Army, Washington's, 88. 
 Fatherhood of God, Christ's revelation of the. 34. 
 Fathers of the early church, writings of, as sources of 
 
 our Bible. 406. 
 Federal Constitution, formation and adoption of the. 
 
 108. 
 Federation of Labor. The. 399. 
 Ferry houses of San Francisco. The, 632. 
 Fever, scourges of yellow, 35. 
 
 Field, Cyrus W., and the Atlantic cable. 661-664. 
 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The; result 
 
 of the Proclamation of Emancipation. 313. 
 Fiftieth Anniversary of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, 191-196 : popular enthusiasm checked by the 
 deaths on that day of ex-Prcsidents Adams and 
 Jefferson. 191 ; sketches of their lives. 192. 
 First American Naval Victory. The, 72-78. 
 Fish. Hamilton. Secretary of State. 516. 
 Fiske. John; his theory of evolution. 32; quoted. 33. 
 
 594. 595. 694. 
 Flag, first, of the United Colonies. 476; John Paul 
 
 Jones first floats it in European waters, 477. 
 Flying Squadron, The. 486. 
 Ford's theatre. Washington ; assassination of President 
 
 Lincoln in. 347-349. 
 Forks, introduction of table, 58. 
 Fourier, and his teachings, 447. 
 France recognizes the independence of the American 
 
 Colonies, 70. 
 Franco- American Alliance. The. 682. 
 Franking privilege, origin of the, 50. 
 Franklin. Benjamin ; his influence at the French court. 
 70 ; pleads for harmony at the Constitutional Con- 
 vention, 112 ; first becomes acquainted with elec- 
 trical phenomena, in 1746, 642 ; his experiments, 
 based on Watson*s " Observations," 642 ; honors 
 heaped upon him by the Royal Society of England. 
 643 ; detailed account of his experiments to de- 
 termine identity of lightning and the electric fluid, 
 643-645 ; the renowned kite experiment. 644 ; dis- 
 covery of the uses of lightning rods, 645 ; attitude 
 of clergy toward his experiments, 645. 
 French and American Republics, The, close relations 
 of. 681. 682. 
 — • Panama Canal Co., The. See Panama Canal. 
 — Revolution. Influence of, on the social movements 
 of the last century, 447. 
 Fry. Sir Edward, address of, at the second Hague 
 
 Conference, 577. 
 Frye. William P.. 775. 
 Fuller. Melville W.. 523. 
 
 Fulton, Robert; story of his early life. 151; first ex- 
 periments with steamboats, 152 ; builds the CJer- 
 mont, 153; first successful trip to Albany, 154; 
 builds first steam vessel for the American navy, 
 the Drmologos, 477. 
 Funding Act of the first National Congress. The, 46. 
 Funston. General Fred. 630. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gale, the ever-memorable, in New England, 173-180; 
 known as the great September gale. 173; peculiar 
 atmospheric conditions preceding it. 174; women 
 and children saved from second story windows in 
 boats. 175; destructive force of the gale at Boston, 
 176; general destruction of crops, 178; origin and 
 course of the hurricane. 179; pecuniary loss, 180; 
 records of previous terrific gales. 180. 
 
 Galvani. and "Animal magnetism." or Galvanism. 
 647. 64S. 
 
 Galveston. Texas, destruction of, 585-593 ; wonderful 
 courage shown by survivors of great disasters. 585 ; 
 rise of Chicago. Boston, Baltimore. San Francisco, 
 from ashes. 585 ; different conditions that obtained 
 in Galveston. 585. 586; early history of the city, 
 586: description of it. and of its commerce. 587; 
 origin and development of the hurricane. 587; ter- 
 
822 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 riblo destruction of life and property as storm in- 
 creased. 588 : detailed description of its ravages, 
 5S8-590 : wind covered every point of compass dur- 
 ing twelve hours, and attained a velocity of over 
 one hundred and twenty miles, 589 ; more than six 
 thousand dead, 589 ; funeral pyres made from the 
 wreckage, — thousands cremated, 589 ; financial con- 
 ditions that faced the city after the storm. 590; 
 the Deep-water Commission, 590 ; the new city 
 charter and its original features, — the Galveston 
 Plan, 590, 591 ; the great sea wall, 591 ; elevatiun 
 of grade of the entire city, 592; results secured, 
 592 ; the resurrected city, and its prospects, 592 ; 
 success of the new form of government, 592. 593. 
 
 Gary, Judge J. E,. 445. 
 
 Gatun Dam, The, 610. 
 
 General Court of Massachusetts, The. 700, 703. 
 
 Geneva Bible. The, history of, 428 ; the Bible the 
 Pilgrim Fathers brought to America, 428. 
 
 Genghis Khan, effects of the conquests of, 594. 
 
 Germantown Academy, The. 720. 
 
 Gettysburg, the battle of. 315-324; General Lee's 
 purpose to transfer the seat of war to the Northern 
 States. 315 ; description of General Meade's army. 
 315; details of the great battle. 316-320; descrip- 
 tion given by Whitelaw Reid, 320; notable acts of 
 bravery, 322; terrible losses of individual brigades 
 and regiments. 322. 323 ; President Lincoln tele- 
 graphs result of the battle to the country on morn- 
 ing of July 4, 323 ; the soldiers' monument at Get- 
 tysburg. 323. 
 
 Gibbs, Major-General, succeeds Pakenham in command 
 at New Orleans, 170; is mortally wounded, 170. 
 
 Gilbert, Dr. William, earliest experimenter in elec- 
 tricity. 640. 
 
 Gilinsky. Captain ; Russian delegate to The Hague 
 Conference, 569. 
 
 Gilman, Daniel C, 522; quoted, 766. 
 
 Gllmore, P. S., originator and director of the great 
 Peace Jubilees. 356-304. 
 
 Girard, Stephen : sketch of his life. 732 ; founds 
 Glrard College, 734-736. 
 
 Gladden. Rev. Washington, quoted. 400. 768. 
 
 Gloucester, The ; formerly J. P. Morgan's yacht Cor- 
 sair, 488 ; in blockade and fight off Santiago, 487, 
 492. 493. 
 
 Goethe; his testimony to the worth of the Bible. 442- 
 444; wonderful prophecy as to canals. 597. 59S. 
 
 Gold, discovery of. at Sutter's Mill. Cal.. 242-249; 
 previous production of precious metal. 243; Captain 
 Sutter's account of the discovery. 246; tremendous 
 rush of adventurers to California, 248 ; results of 
 the discovery. 249. 
 
 Golden Gate, The. 629. 630. 
 park, San Francisco, 631. 
 
 Gompers, Samuel, 305. 
 
 Graduate Clubs. Report of the Federation of, 727. 
 
 Grant, General U. S.. meets General Lee, and re- 
 ceives his surrender, 339. 340 : as President, re- 
 asserts the Monroe Doctrine. 516. 
 
 Granville. Lord, 518. 
 
 Gray, George; protests against the seizure of the 
 Philippines. 775. 
 — , Stephen, discovers principles of electrical con- 
 duction, 641. 
 
 Great Bible, The, of Cromwell. 425; ordered set up, 
 to be read in every church of the British Kingdom, 
 425. 
 
 — Blizzard. The, 457-466. 
 
 — Eastern. The. 663. 
 
 Greek Theatre, The, of the TTniverslty of California, 
 
 753. 
 Green, J. R. : his account of influence of English 
 
 Bible upon the people, 427. 
 Gregg. W. R., quoted, 32. 
 Gregory. Professor C. R., 401, 409. 
 Gridley. Captain, commander of the Olympia, 484. 
 Grnsvenor. General C. 11., 772. 
 
 Grotlus. Hugo, tribute of Andrew D. White to. 564. 
 Guam, island of, 781. 
 
 Guericke, Otto von, experiments of, in electricity, ( 
 Guerricre, The, captured by the Constitution, 157. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hadley. A. T., president of Yale University, quoted, 
 711. 
 
 Hague, The. See The Hague. 
 
 Hall, A. Oakey, member of the Tweed Ring. 376-380. 
 — , W. I. ; his *' Two Hague Conferences '* quoted, 
 577. 
 
 Hale, Rev. Edward Everett ; publishes *' Ten Times 
 One is Ton," 384; apostle of the " Lend-a-hand " 
 gospel, 384; establishes the " Lend-a-hand " Jour- 
 nal. 385. 
 — . Senator Eugene, on the Spanish war. 772. 
 
 Hamilton. Alexander: his criticism of Democracy. 47; 
 duel with Aaron Burr. 147 ; profound grief over the 
 result of the meeting. 148; distinguished honors 
 paid him, 149. 
 
 Hamitic races, supremacy of, 33. 
 
 Hammurabi. King of Babylon, 31. 
 
 Hampton Roads, battle between Monitor and Mcrrimac 
 in. 296-304. 478; battleship fleet sails from. 496; 
 return of fleet to, 498, 499. 
 
 Hantl. Daniel C. ; munificent gifts of, 747. 
 
 Harper. William B., late president of the University 
 of Chicago. 730. 
 
 Harvard College and University, history of. 700-706. 
 
 Harvard, John ; his bequest to establish a college, 
 701 ; sketch of his life, 701-703 ; his probable con- 
 nection with Shakespeare. 701 ; General Court or- 
 ders new college named after him. 703; memorials 
 erected. 703 ; earliest of America's princely givers. 
 731. 
 
 Havana. Cuba ; visit of the Maine to, 471, 472 ; 
 bl«H-kade of. 483. 
 
 Hawaiian Islands, The. See Annexation of Hawaii. 
 — — , position of leading Republicans as to the an- 
 nexation of, 773. 
 
 Hay, John, Secretary of State ; note to the Powers 
 suggesting Second Hague Conference, 574 ; secures 
 the neutrality and integrity of China, 620. 
 
 Hay-Herran treaty. The. 604. 
 
 Hay-Pauncefote treaty. The, 603. 
 
 Ha.ves. President R. B.. states position of the United 
 States as to a French Panama canal. 600. 601. 
 
 Haymarket riot. The. Chicago, 1886, 453. 
 
 Hayne, Robert 1'., In debate with Daniel Webster, 
 197-205. 
 
 Hearst, Phoebe, and the University of California. 753. 
 
 Henry. Joseph; sketch of his life, 652. 653; invents 
 galvanoscope and galvanometer, 653; his "intensity 
 magnet." 654. 
 
 Hercules stone. The. 637. 
 
 Hertz, Heinrich, discovers the existence of etherlc 
 waves. 673. 
 
 Hertzian waves. The, 673. 
 
 Hill, David J., delegate to The Hague Conference, 
 574. 
 
 Hoar. George F. ; his autoblc^raphy. 772 ; his posi- 
 tion regarding the annexation of Hawaii. 773; in- 
 terviews with President McKinley. 773 ; speech In 
 the Senate on the question. 774 ; notable speech on 
 the " principles of the fathers." 779. 
 
 Hobson. Lieut. R. P. ; takes the Merrimac into San- 
 tiago harbor, 488. 489. 
 
 Holland, or The Netherlands; description of the coun- 
 try. 562. 563 : remarkable ascendency of, in six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries. 564. 
 
 Holls. F. W. ; historian of the First Hague Conference. 
 566. 
 
 Holmes. Dr. O. W. ; his "broom-stick train." 672; 
 quoted. 703. 
 
 Holy Alliance, The, 504 ; text of the compact be- 
 tween the Emperors, 505. 506; McMaster's opinion 
 as to the sincerity of the allies, 506; secret arti- 
 cles added to the treaty at Verona In 1822. 507; 
 purpose to restore the revolting Spanish colonies to 
 the mother country, 507. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 823 
 
 Hopkin:?, Johns, founds university and hospital, 748. 
 
 — . Mark. 750. 
 Horse, The. in the colonies, 51. 
 Hotels, Famous early, 54. 
 Houston, Dr. E. J., quoted. 660, 664, 66S. 
 Howe. Elias, Jr., invents the sewing-machine. 226- 
 
 230; story of his life and trials, 227; wonderful 
 
 success achieved. 230. 
 Hudson. Henry. 695. 
 
 Hughes, Professor, invents the microphone. 666. 
 Hull. Captain Isaac; commands the Cunsiitution In 
 
 fight with the Guerriere, 156; details of the battle, 
 
 15S-162; his notable reception in American ports, 
 
 165. 
 Humbnldt, Alexander von ; explores Central America, 
 
 598. 
 Huntington, C. P., 750. 
 Hyde. James H., establishes American lectureship at 
 
 The Sorbonne. 684. 
 
 " In His Name," watchword of *• Lend-a-hand " 
 Clubs. 385. 
 
 Inauguration of Washington as first President at New 
 York, 119; description of the attendant ceremonies 
 and rejoicings. 120. 
 
 Incandescent lights, electric, described, 668-670. 
 
 Independence; committee appointed to draft Declara- 
 tion of, 66; rejoicings upon adoption of the Declara- 
 tion of. 67 ; Washington causes it to be read to the 
 army, 68 ; reception of the Declaration in France 
 and England. 70. 
 
 — Hall. Philadelphia. 71. 
 
 — of the United States acknowledged by foreign 
 powers, 71. 
 
 — . fiftieth anniversary of Declaration of, 191-196. 
 
 Industrial age. and the Factory Ssystem, 395. 
 
 Inns, character of colonial, 53. 
 
 Intemperance, prevalence of. among colonial clergy, 60. 
 
 International Cmirtesies, — " Little things that make 
 for pi'Hre." 67S-690 ; Founder's day at the Carne- 
 gie Institute, 678; notable address of W. T. Stead. 
 678 ; " The world for peace. — only * yellow jour- 
 nals * for war." 679 ; influence of Peace Societies 
 and Conferences. 6S0 : little things that make for 
 peace. 680 ; effect of death of George Peabody upon 
 the settlement of the Alabama claims. 681 ; senti- 
 ment of the London Telegraph, 681 ; close relations 
 of the French and American republics, 681, 682 ; 
 the Bartholdi statue and its significance. 682. 683 ; 
 detailed description of the statue, 683 ; imposing 
 exercises at its imveiling. 683, 684 ; reciprocity 
 among scholars, 684, 687; work of rAUiance Fran- 
 gaise. 684 : Harvard professors lecture at the Sor- 
 bonne. 684 ; work of Charles F. Beach at French 
 law schools. 684 ; proposition of German Emperor 
 to establish an exchange of lecturers between uni- 
 versities. 685 ; his interview with President Butler, 
 of Columbia, and Us results. 685, 686 ; the Theo- 
 dore Roosevelt professorship at Berlin. 685 ; similar 
 movements between other nations. 686; opinion of 
 Baron Iventaro. 686. 687 ; Cecil John Rhodes and 
 his scholarships, 688. 689 ; influence of James Bryce 
 and bis American Commoniccalth, 689; reciprocal 
 service of Hannis Taylor. 690 ; mighty influence of 
 intimate acquaintance between the peoples of the 
 world. 690. 
 Interparliamentary Union , The, 574, 619. 
 Isthmian canal. See Panama Canal. 
 Itinerary of cruise of battleships around the world, 
 500. 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, defeats British troops at Pensacola. 
 167: decisive victory at New Orleans. 167-172; de- 
 scription of his personality at that time, 172. 
 — , Dr. Charles T., claims to have discovered ether. 
 236, 241. 
 
 Japan; naval expedition to. 259-266; purpose of the 
 expedition and description of the vessels, 262 ; ex- 
 periences with Japanese officials, 262. 263 ; execu- 
 tion of treaty between Japan and the United States, 
 265; interesting interchange of courtesies, 264; in- 
 terest of Japan in Manchuria and Korea. 613, 614 ; 
 manufactures, exports, and imports of, 615; results 
 of her war with China, 615; alliance with England. 
 616; calls upon Russia for understanding as to posi- 
 tion in Manchuria, 617 ; declares war against Rus- 
 sia, February 10, 1904. 618; sends envoys to meet 
 those of Russia at Portsmouth conference, 620 ; final 
 compromises result in treaty, 622 ; national gains as 
 result of the war. 624. 
 Japanese navy, presentation of loving cup to, by offi- 
 cers and men of the battleship fleet. 497. 
 Jay, John, ambassador to England, 557. 
 
 — treaty, The. 558. 
 Jealousy between the colonies, 44. 
 Jeanes. Anna T. ; notable gifts of. 747. 748. 
 Jefferson, Thomas ; writes the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, 66 ; death of, on Independence Day, 1826, 
 194 ; sketch of his life and distinguished services, 
 192 ; his appreciation of the Bible. 443. 
 Jerome, Saint, makes revision of the Bible, 410. 
 Jesus, and the Apostles, — only Scriptures known to, 
 402 ; his connection with the synagogue worship, 
 402. 
 Johns Hopkins University, The; history of, 726. 74S. 
 Jones. Jdhn Paul, sketch of his life, 72 ; hoists first 
 American naval flag, 73 ; famous battle with the 
 Scrapis, 73; his account of the action. 76; interest 
 in fiirmation of the early navy, 475 ; floats first 
 American flag in European waters, 476. 
 Jordan, David Starr, 753. 
 Journalism, The Pulitzer School of. 761. 
 
 Kaahuraanu, Queen, 536, 540. 
 
 Kalakaiia, King, 548-550. 
 
 Kamehameha I., 535. 
 
 Kapiulani, Princess, defies the goddess Of volcanic 
 fires, 529, 530. 
 
 Keane, Major-General, 170. 
 
 Kent. James: " Commentaries on American Law." 716. 
 
 Kentaro, Baron Kaneko; on the future of Japan, 624; 
 urges educational reciprocity between Japan and the 
 United States. 686. 687. 
 
 Key W^est, general rendezvous for navil vessels. 488- 
 490. 
 
 Kiao-Chau. lease of. extorted from China by Germany, 
 770. 
 
 Kilanea ; description of the volcano, 528. 
 
 King James, or authorized, version of the Bible, his- 
 tory of. 432. 
 
 King's College, history of. 715. 716, 
 — Daughters, The ; organized by Mrs. Bottome, 
 385; based on Dr. Halo's Ten-Times-One Clubs, 
 385; men admitted and name changed. 386; state- 
 ment of principles of the society, and of its work, 
 3S6. 
 
 Kingly office proposed for Washington. 91. 
 
 Kirkup : " History of Socialism," quoted, 448. 
 
 Kissing Bridge, The. 55. 
 
 Knights of Labor, The. 398. 
 
 Knox, John, 694. 
 
 Komura, Baron : envoy from Japan to Portsmouth Con- 
 ference. 621-623. 
 
 Korea, de.scription of. 613. 617. 
 
 Kropotkin. Prince Peter ; disciple of Proudhon. 449 ; 
 experiences in prisons, and as a leader in destructive 
 anarchism. 449; trial at Lyons, 1883. 450. 
 
 Krudener, Mme. de ; account of her early life. 502- 
 503 ; her conversion and religious devotion. 503 ; 
 her influence over Alexander L, 503 ; grand review 
 of Russi.qn array and Te Deum on Plains of Vertua, 
 504 : her part in drawini: up the Holy Alliance. 
 505 ; separated from the Emperor. 503 ; death 
 among poor colonists in Crimea, 503. 
 
824 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Labor Organizations, development of. 391-400; histori- 
 cal attitude of emi>Io.vers and employed. ^92: origiTi 
 and rapid spread of slaver.v, 392; the gradual merg- 
 ing of slavery into serfdom, and of serfdom into 
 legal freedom. 393 ; influence of Wyclit and his 
 Bible tracts. .303; effect of the great Reformation. 
 394; rise of modem labor organizations. .394; John 
 Mitchell's statement of the case of organized labor. 
 . — the basic principles of all unions, 39G. 397 ; the 
 Knights of Labor. 398 ; politics a disintegrating 
 force. 398 ; the Federation of Labor, 399 ; its basic 
 principles. 399 ; organizations of employers. 399, 
 400 : the Citizens' Industrial Association of Amer- 
 ica. 399 ; its official principles. 399 ; hostility to 
 unions, and all rights of labor, 400; the outlook. 
 400 ; labor organizations of America not anarchistic, 
 451. 
 Lafayette. Marquis de; his visit to America as the 
 guest of the nation. lSl-190; sketch of his life, 
 and of his services to America. 182: his first meet- 
 ing with Washington, 183; their intimate relation- 
 ship, 184; his experiences during the French 
 Revolution. 184; arrival in New York. August 15. 
 1S24. accompanied by his son George Washington 
 Lafayette. 184; tremendous enthusiasm throughout 
 the States, 185; participates in laying conier-stone 
 of Bunker Hill monnment. 187 ; tumultuous recep- 
 tions from Boston to Charleston. S. C. 187; visits 
 the tomb of Washington. 189; tou'-hing farewell 
 address of President Adams, in behalf of the Ameri- 
 can people. 190, 
 Lambert. Major General. 171. 
 
 Larned. J. N. ; " Seventy Centuries." quoted, 33. 
 Law of Nations. Roman concept of the. 34. 
 Law School of the University of Paris. 6.84. 685. 
 Lawrence. Abbott, founds the Lawrence Scientific 
 
 School, 741, 
 Lee, Fitzhugh, consul-general at Havana, 470. 471, 
 
 , General Robert E., surrenders to General Grant, 
 
 339, 340. 
 — . R. H.. resolutions of. as to independence. 66. 
 Leicester Academy. Tlie ; first co-educational school in 
 
 New England. 721. 
 Leiand Stanford Junior University, founding of. 751- 
 
 753. 
 Lcnd-a-hand Clubs, organization and principles of, 384, 
 
 385. 
 Lenox, Robert, and the I*nox Library, 758, 759. 
 Lesseps, Ferdinand de, and the Panama canal, 600 ; 
 his visit to America, 600; formally presents the 
 Bartholdi statue to the United States, 683, 
 Leverett, John, president of Harvard College. 704. 
 Leyden jar. invention of the. 646. 
 Lianconrt. Due de ; his opinions of life In America 
 
 about 1800. 35. 
 Liberty Bell. The. 66. 
 
 Library Company of Philadelphia. The. 642, 
 Libraries in tlie United States. Early. 64. 
 Light. diiTerent forms of artificial. 668; incandescent 
 and arc lights described. 668-670; searchlights, etc., 
 671. 
 Liliuokalani, Queen, 545, 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham: his debate with Douglas, 289-295; 
 his personal appearance and manner, 291 : elected 
 President, 295 ; is.sues the Proclamation of Emanci- 
 pation. 305-314; visits Richmond the day after its 
 capture. 340 ; his assassination. 344-355 ; solemn 
 funeral obsequies. 350, 351. 
 Literature in the United States; i^Mas of, at close of 
 
 the eighteenth century, 62. 
 Little Things that Make for Peace. — International 
 
 Courtesies. 678-690. 
 Livingston, Chancellor; Interested student of u.ses of 
 steam, 152; greatly aids Fulton, 152; with Fultoa 
 opens service on the Ohio river, 156. 
 Lodestone, The, Magnetite, or Hercules stone, 637, 
 
 638. 
 Log College. The, of William Tennent, 712. 
 
 London Telegraph, Tlie, quoted, 681. 
 
 Long. Jolin D.. Secretary of the Navy. 481. 
 
 Lorcnz. Doctor, introduces bloodless surgery, 754. 
 
 Low. Setb. didegate to the Hague Conference. 567 ; 
 president of Columbia University, 717, 
 
 Lowell, Abbott Lawrence, president of Harvard Uni- 
 versity, 706; trustee of the Lowell Institute. 741. 
 — . Charles. 738. 
 — . Francis Cabot, 738, 
 — , James Russell, 738; quoted, 762, 
 — , Judge John, 737, 
 
 — , John, Jr., founder of The Lowell Institute, 737- 
 742, 
 
 Lovelace, Francis ; establishes the first mail service in 
 America, 48 ; his letter to Governor Winthrop, 48. 
 
 Luther, Martin ; translates New Testament into Ger- 
 man, 418; the pioneer advocate of popular educa- 
 tion, 602, 693. 
 
 Luzon. Island of. 781. 
 
 Lyon. Mary; founder of Mt. Holyoke College, 727. 
 
 Lyons, France, remarkable trial of anarchists at, 1883, 
 449. 
 
 M. 
 
 Macanlay. 'a. B. ; his appreciation of the Bible, 442, 
 443. 
 
 Maclay. E. S.. historian of the United States Navy, 
 quoted, 476, 493. 
 
 Magnetism, the identity of, with electricity estab- 
 lished. 651. 
 
 Magnetite. G'.i', 63S. 
 
 Mahan. Captain A. T., 567. 
 
 Mail, the first ever dispatched In America. 48. 
 
 Maine, The; visit of the battleship to Havana harbor, 
 471 ; her complete destruction, Fetirnary IS, 1898, 
 471. 472: '■ Remember the Maine/' 472; first bat- 
 tleship of the " Xew Navy.'* 479. 
 
 Man. the brotherhood of. revealed. 34 ; emancipation 
 of. 35. 
 
 Manchuria, description of, 613, 614. 
 
 Manliattan island, the purchase of. 695. 
 
 Manila bay. the battle of. 483-485. 
 
 Mann, Horace, his life and work. 722-724. 
 
 Manuscripts as sources of our Bil)le. 406. 
 
 Marconi, William, develops the wireless telegraph, 
 673-677; his early experiments, 673; first message 
 across the ocean, 674. 
 
 Marine Corps, The, estaldishment of, 476. 
 
 Mariner's compass, first knowledge of, in Europe, 595. 
 
 Maritime Canal Company, The, 602. 
 
 Marshall, James W., discovers gold at Sutter's Mill, 
 
 Cal.. 247. 
 — . John, decision in tlie " Dartmouth College Case." 
 719. 
 
 Martens, Frederic de. 523. 
 
 Massachusetts, population and taxable valuation of, in 
 ISiiO. 37. 
 
 Mathew. Father, the Apostle of Temperance, 222-224. 
 
 Maury. Lieut. M. F., describes the bed of the Atlan- 
 tic ocean, 662. 
 
 Mayflower, The; the President's yacht, 500; meeting 
 of the President and Japanese and Russian envoys 
 on board of. 021. 
 Mazarin Bible, The; first book printed from movable 
 
 types. 417. 
 McCloskey. John, consecrated first cardinal in the 
 
 United States. 365-370. 
 McCormick harvester works, great strikes at, 451, 
 
 452. 
 McCosh, James ; experiences as a young pastor, 61 ; 
 
 president of Princeton College. 714. 715. 
 McKinley, President William, inaugural address of, 
 468; submits treaty for annexation of Hawaii. 555; 
 appoints committee to investigate canal proposition, 
 602 : statement of principles underlying the war 
 Wi*"h Spain. 771 ; general instructions to the Peace 
 Commissioners at Paris, 775 ; his Western tour, and 
 Its results, 777: demands cession of entire Philip- 
 pine archipelago, 777. 
 McMahon, Rev. Bernard, revises the Douay Bible, 
 43& 
 
INDEX. 
 
 825 
 
 MtMaster, Professor J. B., quoted, 506, 508. 
 
 Meade, General G. G., victorious at Gettysburg, 305- 
 314. 
 
 M<*ilford rum and the slave trade, 40. 
 
 Medical science, condition of, about 1800, 62. 
 
 Merchant vessels added to navy for Spanish war, 481. 
 
 Mcn-imac, the Confederate ram, in battle with the 
 Monitor, 29G-304. 
 — , the collier, sunk in Santiago channel, 488, 489. 
 
 .Metternich, Prince, 506. 
 
 .Mexico, French occupation of, 515; General Sheridan 
 with fifty thousand veteran troops sent to Mexican 
 fmntier, 515; effect on the French government, 515. 
 
 Michigan, the University of, 725, 726. 
 
 Microphone, invention of the, 666. 
 
 Miles. General N. A., commands the army in war 
 with Spain, 490 ; leads expedition into Porto Rico, 
 494 ; at surrender of General Toral, 494. 
 
 Militarism, the curse of. 782. 
 
 Milton, John ; testimony as to value of the Bible, 442. 
 
 Mindanao, island of, 781. 
 
 Mitchell. John, states the case of organized labor, 
 395. 396. 
 
 Mohammedan Moros. 781. 
 
 Monitor, The, in battle with the Merrimac, 296-304; 
 history of the Mirrimac. 290 ; her depredations in 
 Hampton Roads, 300 ; arrival and appearance of 
 the Monitor, 300, 301 ; details of the memorable 
 battle, 300, 301 : condition of both vessels after 
 the fight, 302 ; influence of the battle upon naval 
 construction, 478 ; later battleships only highly de- 
 veloped monitors. 478, 479. 
 
 Monroe Doctrine, The, 502-524 ; the Holy Alliance. 
 504-508 ; purpose to restore her revolted colonies 
 to Spain, 508 ; Russian settlement on the Cali- 
 fornia coast, 507 ; awakening of American states- 
 men to the situation, 507, 508; Canning's proposal 
 to interfere with the plans of the allies, 508 ; 
 Jefferson's opinion of Canning's proposal, 508 ; 
 strenuous opposition of John Quincy Adams, 509 ; 
 he proposes to establish an American doctrine, and 
 adhere to it, 509. 510; principles of the doctrine 
 as enunciated in President Monroe's message, 1S23. 
 509-511 ; European opinion of the proclamation. 
 510-512 ; duplicity of Canning established, 513 ; 
 prevailing opinions in the United States, 513 ; 
 position of Henry Clay, while Secretary of State, 
 514 ; opinion of Polk as representative, and as 
 President, 514, 515 ; application of the doctrine to 
 the French occupation of Mexico, 515 ; President 
 Grant's position, 516 : the doctrine in party plat- 
 forms, 516, 517 ; President Cleveland's bold state- 
 ment of it, in regard to the Venezuelan contro- 
 versy, 519. 520; attitude of the British government. 
 523 ; present established position of the principle, 
 524. 
 
 Montauk Point, removal of the army from Cuba to, 
 494. 
 
 Montojo. Admiral. 483-485. 
 
 Moody. Dwight L., great revival movement under, 
 284-288. 
 
 Moore, John Bassett. 775. 
 
 Moore. Thomas, visits America in 1804. 62. 
 
 Morals, state of. at close of Colonial period, 61. 
 
 Moravian Academies, The. 720. 
 
 Morgan. J. Pierpont. notable gifts of, 760. 761. 
 
 Morley, John, on the Geneva arbitration, 559. 
 
 Morrill Act, The, 725. 
 
 Morse. S. F. B. ; sketch of his life, 655-660; de- 
 tailed statement of his development of the tele- 
 graph. 657-659 ; distinguished honors conferred 
 upon him, 659, 660; advises as to feasibility of an 
 rw^ean telegraph, 660. 
 
 Morton, Dr. W. T. C, claims to have discovered 
 ether. 236. 241. 
 
 Motley. J. L.. quoted. 562. 693. 
 
 Motor, the electric, 667. 
 
 Mt. Holyoke Seminary and College, The. 721. 727. 
 
 MouraviefF, Count, Russian Ambassador, 560. 561, 
 562. 569. 
 
 Mozart Hall, absorbed by Tammany Hall, 373. 
 Mueller, Frederick. 754, 
 Mukden, battle of, 620. 
 Murderer's Bible. The, 436. 
 
 N. 
 
 Napoleon HI. in occupation of Mexico. 515 ; his in- 
 terest in canal schemes. 600. 
 National Labor Union, The. 397. 
 
 — Peace Jubilee at Boston. 356-364. 
 
 — Road, construction of the, 51. 
 Nations, Roman concept of the law of, 34. 
 
 — , Settlement of the New, 34. 
 Naval Court of Inquiry, report of, on the destruction 
 of the Maine, 472. 
 
 — Victory, the first American. 72. 
 
 Navy, The New, 467-501 ; conditions In the United 
 States preceding the war with Spain. 467. 468; 
 pride of the people in the naval history, 468; 
 opinion of Professor Coolidge. 468 ; message of 
 President Cleveland to Congress on the situation in 
 Cuba, 468 : inaugural address of President McKinley, 
 468; platform of the Republican party. 1896. 469; 
 diplomatic relations of Spanish and American gov- 
 ernments. 469, 470; General Weyler recalled from 
 Cuba. 470; autonomy granted Cuba by Spain, 470; 
 visit of Senator Proctor to the Island, and his 
 report on conditions there, 470. 471 ; visit of the 
 Mai7ic to Havana, 471 ; her complete destruction, 
 February 15, 1898. 471. 472; rrpnrt of the Naval 
 Board of Inquiry. 472 ; results of the investiga- 
 tions by Spanish authorities, 472; "Remember the 
 Maine" the war cry. 472; Congressional resolu- 
 tions, the virtual declaration of war. 473; text 
 of order sent to Commodore Dewey. 473 ; history 
 of the Spanish war a record of the valorous 
 achievements of the Navy, 473; no place in Re- 
 publican governments for large standing army or 
 navy, 474 : opinion of members of the Continental 
 Congress. 474 ; origin of the navy of the United 
 Colonies, 474 ; early efforts to build a navy. 474 ; 
 the largest vessels of the first navy compared with 
 those of the new navy, 475 ; total salt-water navy 
 during the Revolutionary War. 475 ; careers of 
 John Paul Jones and Captain Biddle. 475 ; first 
 flag of the United Colonies. 476 ; creation of a 
 separate Navy Department. 1798. — Benjamin Stod- 
 dert the first Secretary. 476; story of the Navy's 
 development, 476. 477 ; critical opinions as to its 
 effectiveness, 477 ; Fulton's Dcmologos, 477 ; con- 
 struction of steam war vessels, 477 ; the adoption 
 of the screw propeller. 478; influence of John Erics- 
 son. 478; effects of the battle between the Monitor 
 and Mfrrimar, 478 ; later battleships only highly 
 developed monitors. 478, 479; the Navy after the 
 Civil War, 479; birth of the New Navy. 479; the 
 Dolphin, Atlanta, and Boston the first vessels. 479; 
 the Maine the first armored ship of the " White 
 Squadron." 479; the New York the Constitution 
 of the New Navy, 480 ; the story of the Oregon. 
 the *' Queen of the New Navy." 480; condition and 
 strength of the navy when war with Spain began, 
 481 ; remarkably efficient work of Secretary Long. 
 481 ; successful concentration of the scattered 
 fieets. 481, 482; detailed account of the Oregon's 
 race against time and the enemy. 482; Admiral 
 Sampson blockades the Cuban coast, 483 ; Dewey's 
 movements in Asiatic waters, 483 ; details of the 
 battle in Manila bay. 483-485 ; effect of his victory 
 upon the American people, 485 ; Admiral Cervera 
 and his fleet, 486; general account of the blockade 
 of Cuba and search for Cervera, 486 ; Schley's 
 remarkable maneuvers. 487 ; the blockade of San- 
 tiago, 487, 488; Hobson's daring adventure with 
 the Merrimac, 488, 489 ; departure of troops from 
 Florida to Cuba, 490 ; story of the assault on San- 
 tiago. 491. 492; Cervera's orders to leave the 
 harbor, 492 ; account of the total destruction of his 
 
826 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 fleet, 492. 493 ; the wonderful " loop " of the 
 Brooklyn, 493 ; grand race between the Oregon and 
 the Colon, 493; news of the victory received in the 
 United States and celebrated July 4. 494 ; the 
 famous " round robin " of the army officers, ad- 
 dressed to the Secretary of War, 494 ; removal of 
 army to Montauk Point, 494 : General Miles' in- 
 vasion of Porto Rico, 495 ; signing of Peace protocol, 
 August 12, 190S, 494 ; popular and Congressional 
 rei'ognition of the achievements of the sea forces, 
 495 ; summary of the development of the Navy from 
 1893 to 1909, 495; the proposed 26000 ton battle- 
 ships, 495; the ever present "war scare" as an 
 Incentive to further enlargement of the Navy, 490 ; 
 comparison of the expenditures of the World 
 Powers for their navies, 496; the great battleship 
 cruise around the world, 496-500 ; reception of the 
 ships in the various countries visited. 496, 497 ; 
 Admiral Sperry succeeds Admiral Evans in com- 
 maud, 498; itinerary of the cruise with distances 
 between ports visited, 500 ; departure of the fleet 
 from Gibraltar for home, 500 : reception by the 
 President in Hampt<m Roads, 500, 501 ; the pride 
 of the American people in the success of the cruise, 
 and the conduct of the officers and men of the 
 battleships. 501 ; the hope and prayer of the people 
 for the future. 501. 
 
 Navy Department. The. creation of. 476. 
 
 Nelidow. M., president of Second Hague Conference. 
 
 Netherlands. The. See Holland. 
 
 Netherlanders. The. grand hospitality of. 568. 
 
 New England; financial condition of, in ISOO, 39; 
 its rum and the slave trade, 40; wonderful dark 
 day in, 79. 
 
 's '• First Fruits," quoted, 704. 
 
 . Forms of Religious Activity, 383-390 : Edward 
 
 Everett Hale and the " Ten-times-one " clubs, 3S4 ; 
 mottoes and principles of the clubs, 384 ; Mrs. 
 Bottome and the King's Daughters, 385, 3S6 ; 
 principles of the organization, 386 ; inception of 
 the Young People's Society for Christian Endeavor, 
 386; account of Rev. F. E. Clark and his great 
 work. 386-388; enormous expansion of the society. 
 388 ; the Epworth League. 389 : the Baptist Young 
 People's I'nion. 3S9 ; the Brotherhood of St. An- 
 drew. 390 ; general influence of the entire move- 
 ment. 390. 
 
 . Granada, treaty of 1S4G with the United States. 
 
 599. 
 
 — Navy, The. See Navy, The New, 
 
 — Orleans, the battle of, 166-172; events that 
 led up to the action, 167; detailed account of the 
 battle, 170-172: effect of the victory, 172. 
 
 — York, The Cruiser, description and trial test of. 
 480 ; flagship of Admiral Sampson, 4S6 ; in tlie 
 blockade and battle off Santiago, 492. 493. 
 
 city, population and character of, in 1800, 
 
 37: the expenses of its government at that period. 
 37; character of its government when Twr>ed 
 entered politics, 371 ; Its new charter, 378 ; shock- 
 ing increase of indebtedness under Tweed's rule, 
 377-380; the great blizzard in. 457-466. 
 
 — . — State, population and taxable valuation of. In 
 1800. 37. 
 
 Times, exposes the Tweed ring. 380. 
 
 Newberry. Walter L.. 754. 
 
 Newman. Cardinal J. H. ; his estimate of the Chal- 
 
 loner and Troy revisions of the Douay Bible. 436. 
 Newspapers, character of the Colonial. 62. 
 Nicaragua Canal route. Sec Panama Canal. 
 Nineteenth Century, achievements of, greater than 
 
 those of all preceding centuries. 32 ; conditions in 
 
 the United States at the opening of the. 35. 
 Nob nill. San Francisco. 629. 631. 
 Normal Schools, history of the. 724. 723. 
 Norman Invaders ruthlessly destroy everything Saxon. 
 
 413, 414. 
 North Carolina, population of and conditions in, about 
 
 1800, 42. 
 
 0. 
 
 Odyssey, The, 31. 
 
 Oersted, J. C, discovers the identity of magrtietism 
 and electricity, 600, 601. 
 
 Ohio river, first steamboat on the. 156. 
 
 Old Latin Version of the Bible, The, 409. 
 
 0/(7 Ironsides, 157. 
 
 Old Testament the library of the Jews, The. 402. 
 
 Olympiay The, flagship of Admiral Dewey, 484. 
 
 Opinions, remarkable, regarding the Bible, 442-444. 
 
 Oregon, The, '* Queen of the New Nuvy," 4S0 ; con- 
 struction of. 478. 480; detailed account of her race 
 against time and the enemy from San Francisco to 
 Key West. 482 ; in the battle off Santiago. 492 : 
 thrilling run to overtake the Colon, 493; effect of 
 her trip around the Horn on the canal question, 
 602. 
 
 Oriental opinion of the influence of the United States, 
 783. 
 
 Origin of the Navy of the United Colonies. 474. 
 
 Orling and Armstrong develop a novel system of 
 wireless telegraphy. 675, 
 
 Pakenham, Sir Edward. British commander at New 
 Orleans, 170. 
 
 Palfrey. Rev. J. G.. 740. 
 
 Palimp.sests. description of, 407. 
 
 Palmer, Alice Freeman ; successful work at Wellesley 
 College. 728 ; Dean of Women's College at the 
 University of Chicago. 729. 
 
 Pan-American Congress, the third. 574. 
 
 Panama Canal, The. 594-611 ; Ptolemy *s description 
 of Asia. 594 ; origin of the name Cathay, 594 ; 
 effect of conquests of the Grand Khan, 504 , 
 knowledge gained in Europe from Cathay of ocean 
 east of China, 595 ; object of ail early ocean 
 navigators, 595 ; the Mariner's Compass, 595 ; 
 media'val trade routes. 59G; plans for an isthmian 
 canal follow closely the discovery of America, 506; 
 efforts of Cortez, and interest of Philip 11., 596, 
 597 : description of the isthmus connecting North 
 and South America, 596; Saavedra marks out the 
 four routes, about 1528. that have ever since been 
 accredited. 597 ; entry of the English upon the 
 scene, 598; explorations of von Humboldt; he marks 
 out nine possible courses for a canal. 598; interest 
 of Goethe in Humboldt's reports. 598 ; his won- 
 dt^rful prophecy of future canals, 597, 598; Henry 
 Clay. Secretary of State in 1826. orders a survey 
 of the Nicaragim route, 599 ; the treaty between 
 the United States and New Granada. 1846, 599; 
 the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, 599 ; opening of the 
 Panama railroad, 599 ; interest of Napoleon III. in 
 isthmian canal schemes, 600 ; the Colombian con- 
 cession to Lieut. Wyse, and organization of the 
 French company. 600, 601 ; de Lesseps. and his 
 visit to America, 600: attitude of the United States 
 toward foreign companies stated by President Hayes, 
 6<i0, 601 : bankruptcy of the French company and 
 horrible scan<lals, 601 ; receiver of the old com- 
 pany forms new French company, 601 ; efforts to 
 sell their rights to the United States. 602 ; the 
 Maritime Canal Company and the Nicaragua route. 
 602 : effect of the Oregon's famous run from the 
 Pacific coast on the canal proposition. 602 : com- 
 mission appointed by President McKinley to in- 
 vestigate the whole subject anew. 602 ; conclusions 
 of the commissioners in favor of the Nicaragua 
 route, 602, 603 ; Panama company offers to sell 
 for $40,000,000. 602; the Spooner Amendment. 
 603 ; the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, abrogating the 
 Clayton-Bulwer. 603 : the Hay-Herran treaty to 
 secure a strip of land across the isthmus from 
 Colombia. 604 ; rejected by the Colombian Senate. 
 604 ; the position of President Roosevelt. 604 : the 
 romnrkable " revolution " in Panama, 605 ; letter 
 of President Roosevelt to the Editor of the Hericw 
 of Reviews, 606; transfer of rights of the French 
 
INDEX. 
 
 827 
 
 company to the United States, 606. 607 ; eousitruf- 
 tion commission appointed under the terms of the 
 Spooner Amendment, 607 ; repeated changes in the 
 commission and its plans, 607; international board 
 of engineers appointed to determine the type of the 
 canai, 607 ; the President rejects its conclusions 
 and decides upon the lock type, 607 ; construction 
 finally placed in the hands of a board of army 
 engineers, 608; members of the board, their salaries, 
 etc., 608; results actually achieved to 1909, 609; 
 appropriation provided for by the Spooner Amend- 
 ment and probable cost of the completed work. 600 ; 
 description of the route of the canal, and profile 
 map, 609; descriptions and cost of other noted 
 oauals, 610 ; debate in Congress over the type of 
 canal. 610; the Gatun dam. 610; public sentiment 
 as to conditions on the canal and progress of the 
 work, 611. 
 
 Panic. The Great. 267. 
 
 Papyrus, how prepared and used, 404. 
 
 Paris. University of. Law Scboul. 6S4. 685. 
 — , meeting of Commissioners at. to arrange terms 
 of Peace between Great Britain and the United 
 States, 71. 
 — , meeting of Commissioners at, to arrange terms 
 of Peace between the United States and Spain, 
 775-778. 
 
 Parker. Francis, and the Chicago Normal Scnool, 725. 
 
 Parting of the Ways. The. 782. 
 
 Patton, F. L.. president of Princeton University, 714. 
 
 Peabody. George; influence of his life and death on the 
 settlement of the Alabama claims, GSl ; sketch of 
 his life, 742-745 ; summary of his princely gifts, 
 742-744 ; distinguished honors paid him, 743-745. 
 
 Peace Conferences at The Hague, The, 557-584 ; the 
 Jay treaty between England and the United States, 
 558 ; provided for the settlement of disputed ques- 
 tions by commissions, 558 ; inception of the prin- 
 ciple of arbitration, 558; the Treatj' of Washing- 
 ton. 559; opinion of John Morley. 559; reciprocal 
 action of the Congress of the United States and the 
 House of Commons, 559. 560 ; tlie first message of 
 the Czar of Russia, calling for conference, 560 ; 
 text of the document, and the response of the 
 Nations, 561 ; skepticism regarding the measure, 
 562 ; The Hague fixed upon as a place of meeting 
 for the delfirates. 562 ; description of the city ami 
 country, 502-565 ; organization of the first con- 
 ference, 566, 567 ; character and scope of the rep- 
 resentation at it. 567 ; the representatives of tlie 
 United States, 567 ; description of the place of 
 meeting, 568; magnificent hospitality of the Nether- 
 landers, 568; the attitude of Germany on the re- 
 duction of armaments. 569 ; address of Colonel 
 Gilinsky, outlining the proposals of the Czar, 
 569 ; hostile address of Colonel von Schwarzhoff, 
 of the German army. 570,; report of committee 
 against reduction of armaments, 570 ; notable ad- 
 dress of Baron de Bildt. of Sweden, 570; struggle 
 over the subject of arbitration, 572: the Permanent 
 International Court of Arbitration, 572 ; real 
 achievements of the First Conference, 573; pressure 
 of public opinion on the Second Conference, 573 ; 
 influence of the Interparliamentary Union, 574 ; 
 meeting of the Second Conference, 575, 576; dele- 
 gates from the United States, 574 ; comparative 
 representation at the two conferences, 574 ; laying 
 of the corner stone of the Carnegie Temple of Peace. 
 575; more independent attitude of the delegates to 
 the Second Conference. 576 ; subjects proposed for 
 consideration at the second meeting, 576; notable 
 address of Sir Edward Fry. 577; treatment of the 
 question of armaments. 578 : attempt to establish 
 a Permanent Court of Arbitral Justice. 579-5S2 ; 
 address of M. Asser, the noted jurist of the 
 Netherlands. 579; earnest efforts of Mr. Choate. 
 580, 581 ; opposition of the smaller states, 581 . 
 582 ; everything provided except the judges, 582 ; 
 the establishment of the International Prize Court, 
 582 ; recommendation of delegates as to future con- 
 
 ferences, 582 ; estimate of the value of The Hague 
 meetings by Secretary of State Root, 583 ; closing 
 address of the Second Conference, 584; Tennyson 
 quoted on the " Federation of the World," 584. 
 — Jubilee, The National, 356-364; conception and 
 execution of the idea by P. S. Gilmore, 356; the 
 opening exercises, 358 ; account of the separate 
 performances. 358-362; triumphs of Parepa-Rosa, 
 Adelaide Phillips, and others. 360; attendance of 
 General Grant, 362 ; the World's Peace Jubilee. 
 
 — Protocol, signing of the, concluding hostilities 
 363. 
 
 between Spain and the United States, 494. 
 
 — Societies, influence of, 680. 
 
 Pearl harbor, cession of, to the United States, 550, 
 Pearsons, D. K., notable gifts to American Colleges, 
 
 754. 
 Pele. the Hawaiian goddesa of volcanic fires, 529. 
 Pellegrini, Dr. Carlos, 6S6. 
 Penelope and her suitors, 31. 
 Penn Charter School, The, 721. 
 Pensacola. Florida; Jackson's engagement with the 
 
 British at. 167. 
 Perfection, the ultimate goal of the race, 33. 
 Pericles, The Age of, 32. 
 Perry, M. C, commands naval expedition to Japan, 
 
 259-266. 
 Persian Aryans overthrown by the Greek Aryans, 33. 
 Petition. Struggle for the right of. 206-215. 
 Pewter and China, use of, in Colonial homes, 57. 
 Phelan, ex-Mayor J. D. ; vision of a re-constructed 
 
 San Francisco, 633. 
 Phi Beta Kappa Society, the founding of the, 710. 
 Philadelphia, population of and life in, about 1800, 
 
 35: the National Capital until 1800. 35. 
 Philip, J. W., commands the Texas at Santiago. 
 
 493; describes the famous " loop '* of the Brooklyn, 
 
 493. 
 Philip II. of Spain : his interest in an isthmian canal, 
 
 596. 597. 
 Philippines, The, secret message to Commodore Dewey 
 
 regarding. 481 ; battle in Manila b.iy, 481-4.S6 ; 
 
 clause in the Peace Protocol as to the disposal of. 
 
 774; area and population of the islands. 781. 
 Phillips Academy, Andover. Mass.. The, 720. 
 
 . Exeter, N. H.. The. 720. 
 
 — , Stephen J., quoted. 625. 677. 
 Philosophy, birth of experimental. 639. 
 Pilgrim Fathers. Bible of the, 428 ; their departure 
 
 from Delft. 564. 
 Pine Knnts. early use of, for lighting purposes, 59. 
 Pittsburg, Pa., settlements about, in 1800, 44. 
 Plague, The Great London, 702. 
 
 Piatt. T. C, opinion of. as to the Spanish Wiir. 772. 
 Pole, North, Conquest of, 767-798. 
 Political Revolutions, The Era of, 34. 
 Polk, President J. K.. 514. 515. 
 Poole. Dr. William F., 755. 
 ** Poor Richard's Almanac " quoted, 645, 
 Port Arthur, 613. 616. 618. 770. 
 
 Porter, General Horace, delegate to the Hague Con- 
 ference. 574. 
 Porto Rico, invasion of. by the army under General 
 
 Miles, 495; its area and population. 781. 
 Portsmouth, The Treaty of. See Treaty of Portsmouth. 
 Post Office Department, early history of. 49. 
 Postage, rates of, established in 1792. 49. 
 Powers. The, of the nineteenth century, 768; concert 
 
 of the. 768. 
 President of the L^'nited States, the first elecrinn of a. 
 
 115: influences brouglit to bear upon Washington 
 
 to accept the office. 116: he is unanimously elected, 
 
 116. 
 " Presidential Problems." by Grover Cleveland, 
 
 quoted. 520, 521. 
 Presidio, The. at San Francisco. 630, 631. 
 Press. The European, on the enunciation of the Mon- 
 roe Doctrine, 511-513. 
 Princely Gifts. An Era of. See Era of Princely Gifts. 
 
828 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Princeton College and University, the history of, 712- 
 715. 
 
 " Printer's Bible," The. 436. 
 
 Printing, the story of the invention of, 417. 
 
 Proclamation of Emancipation, The, 305-314. 
 
 Proctor. Senator Redfiehl ; hi; visit to Cuba and re- 
 port on conditions existing there, 470. 471. 
 
 Propeller, The. or Screw ; tirst application of, to naval 
 vessels, 47S. 
 
 Protocol. The Peace. 494. 
 
 Proudhun and Anarchism ; sketch of his life, and 
 statement of bis princii)li-s, 447. 44S. 
 
 Ptolemy's descriptioa of Asia, 51*4. 
 
 Pulitzer, Joseph, founds School of Journalism, 761. 
 
 R. 
 
 Radcliffe College, 729. 
 
 Randolph, The. in the fight with the Yarmouth, 475. 
 
 Reciprticity anmng Scholars, GS4. 
 
 Reformation. The Great, free spirit of, 34 ; influence 
 of, upon the status of laborers, 394. 
 
 Reid. Whitelaw; his account of the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, 320; commissioner to the Peace Conference at 
 Paris, 775. 
 
 Reinsch, Professor: World Politics, quoted. 770, 772. 
 
 Religious Activity, New Forms of. See New I'^orms of 
 Religious Activity. 
 
 — World, gieiit awaliening in the. 276-278. 
 " Remember tlie Maine/' the war cry. 472. 
 Republic, The Steamship, rescued in rusponse to wire- 
 less telcgrapli. 676. 
 
 Repnl)lican Governments, no place in. for large stand- 
 ing armies or navies, 474. 
 
 — Party platform of 1S06. 469. 
 
 Resolutions of Congress, creating war with Spain, 473. 
 
 Results, essential, of Bible revision. 441, 442. 
 
 Revised Bible of the American Committee, The, 441. 
 
 Revisers of the Bible, wcu-k of. described. 441. 
 
 Revision of the Bible, The, 401-444 ; our authorized 
 version of the Scriptures result of many previous 
 revisions, 401 ; Old Testament and Apocrypha only 
 Scriptures known to Jesus and the Apostles, 402 ; 
 Old Testament the "library" of the Jews, 402; 
 the place of the Synagogue in Jewish worship and 
 life, 402 ; Jesus and the Synagogue worsliip. 402 ; 
 the chest for the Scripture rolls. 402 ; description 
 of the rolls and bow they were made. 4o;t. 404 ; 
 papyrus, how prepared and used, 404 ; character 
 and history of the Septuaijint translation of Hebrew 
 Scriptures, 404, 405; description of sacred writings 
 possessed by early Christian churches. 405 ; the 
 sources of our Bible. 405. 4(i6 ; Manuscripts, 
 Versions, and Writings of Early Church Fathers, 
 each class teclmically described. 406 : description 
 of Uncials, Cursives, and the Codes, 406 ; history 
 of the Codex Vaticnnus, Codex Sinaitictiit, Codex 
 Alexandrinus, 407. 408; the Palitnpsests ami Codex 
 Ephraemi, 40,S ; account of early versions. 41)9; the 
 Old I-^atin Version, 409; extreme corruption of texts 
 before fourth century, 410; Jerome's revision, 380- 
 400, A, D.. 410; becomes accepted version of the 
 Catholic Church, the Vulgate, 411; early Saxon 
 paraphrases of the Scriptures. 411 ; the Story of 
 Caedmon, 411: the Venerable Bede's translation. 
 412; he passes away as he finishes translation of 
 John's Gospel, 412; inlluence of Alfred the Great. 
 413 ; ruthless destruction of everything Saxon by 
 the Norman Invaders. 413. 414; gradual formation 
 of new English lancujise. 414 ; John Wyclif and 
 his translation of the Scriptures into English. 410: 
 portrait of Wyclif. 416; reception and wonderful 
 influence of Wyclifs Bible, 417; invention of print- 
 ing: the Jfazarin Bible the first book printed 
 frtiui movable types. 417 ; portrait of Giitenberg. 
 417; Luther's translation of the New Testami-nt 
 into German (1522K 418; the Greek Testament of 
 Erasmus. 418 ; portrait of Erasmus. 41S ; history 
 of Tj-ndale's translation. 419-421 : portrait of Tyn- 
 dale. 420: his final revision of same (l.'J34). 422; 
 character and supreme Influence of this translation. 
 
 — the basis of all subsequent versions, 425 ; descrip- 
 tiou of Coverdale*s {15;JG). Matthew's (1537). and 
 Tavcrner's (1.539) Bibles, 424. 425; portrait of 
 Myles Coverdale, 424; Cromwell's (Jreat Bible, 
 " authorized to be read and frequented In every 
 chur<'h in the kingdom," 425; the historian Green's 
 remarkable description of effect of English transla- 
 tion of the Bible on the people, 427 ; portrait of 
 J. R. Green. 427; the Oeneia, or Brfirlits, Bible, 
 its character and popularity, — the Bible the Pil- 
 grim Fathers brought to America. 428 ; compara- 
 tive page of translations of the tv.-enty-third Psalm, 
 429: the Bishops' Bible of 156S, supersedes the 
 Great Bilde in the English Ciiurch, 430 ; events 
 that KhI to the making of tlie King James, or 
 Authorized, Version, 431 ; character and portrait of 
 King James, 431 ; the Geneva and King James 
 Versions long-time competitors for popular favor, 
 434; the Bible used in the Catholic churches, 432; 
 decree of Council of Trent (1545) gives Jerome's 
 Vulgate Ecumenical authority. 433 ; oldest extant 
 copy of the Vulgate, the Codex Amiatinus, and its 
 history, 433 ; first Catholic translation into English, 
 
 — the Rheinis-Donay. or Douay, Bible. 435 ; the 
 Challoner and McMahon, — or Troy, — revisions of 
 the Douay. 436; opinions of Cardinals Newman and 
 Wiseman as to former, 436; position of the Vatican 
 Council of 1S70, 43fi; decree of Second Baltimnre 
 Council, 1860. relating to texts to be used in the 
 United States, 436, 437 ; descriptions of many 
 curious and rare editions of the Bible, — the Mur- 
 derers, the Wicked, the Printers', the Vinegar, the 
 Unrighteous^ the Bug, and others, 437, 438; causes 
 that led up to the revision of 1880, 439 ; work of 
 the Revisers desi_'ril)ed, 440, 441 ; the American 
 Committee and its work. 441 ; the revised version 
 for the United States, published by the American 
 Committee in 1901. 441 ; nothing essential lost In 
 late revisions but text now secured unquestionably 
 essentially same as that used in Early Church, 441, 
 442 ; Shakespeare's use of the Bible, — 540 direct 
 quotations or use of Bible figures, 442 ; remarkable 
 testimonies of Milton. Emerson, Macaulay, Matthew 
 Arnold, Goethe. JelTerson. Daniel Webster, Burke, 
 Carlyle. Ruskin, Scott. Dickens, Thackeray, and 
 many others, as to the supreme worth of the Bible, 
 442-444; Charles A. I)ana. — " there is no book like 
 the Bible," 444; quotation from WTiittier's Miriam, 
 444. 
 
 Revolution of 1688, The. and establishment of consti- 
 tutional government. 35. 
 
 Revolutionary movements of the last century, causes 
 that led up to the, 445. 
 
 — War, cost of the. 45. 
 Revolutions. Era of Political, 34, 
 Rheinis-Douay, or Douay. Bible, The, 435. 
 
 Rhodes, Cecil John, sketch of the life of, 687; his 
 great ambition in life. 087. 6SS : purpose in estab- 
 lishing his scholarships, 688; working of the plan, 
 688. 
 
 Ricbnumd, Va.. Fall of, 334-343; for four years prin- 
 cipal object of attack and siege, 335 ; effect of 
 Sherman's march to the sea on the downfall of the 
 city, 335; account of the final battles before the 
 city, 335. 336; President Lincoln's attitude as to 
 terms of peace. 338. 339; meeting between Grant 
 and Lee. and terms of surrender, 339, 340 ; occupa- 
 tion of the city by W'eitzel's brigade. 340; visit of 
 President Lincoln to the Confederate capital, 340 ; 
 incidents of the visit. 340, 341 ; circumstances at- 
 tending the flight of President Davis from Rich- 
 mond, 341 ; his capture and the close of the war, 
 341, 342 ; ceremony attendant upon the re-occupa- 
 tion of Fort Sumter, 342. 
 
 Richthofen, estimate of, as to mineral wealth of 
 China. 769. 
 
 Ride-and-tie System, The, 51. 
 
 Right of Petition, Struggle for the, 206-215. 
 
 Rights of man versus the " divine rights " of Kings 
 and Institutions, 445. 
 
 Rise of modern labor organizations, 394-398, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 829 
 
 Roach, John, shipbuilder; Initial contract with, for 
 New Navy, 479. 
 
 Roads, superiority of the Roman, 32. 
 
 Rockefeller, John D,, 731 ; summary of his notable 
 gifts. 763, 764 ; the University of Chicago. 764 ; 
 rules upon which his gifts are cuuditioued, 764 ; 
 the General Board of Education, 764. 
 
 Roelandsen, Adam, the first schoolmaster In America, 
 695. 
 
 Rome, effect of the conquests of, 34. 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
 490; Lieut. Colonel of the "Rough Riders," 490; 
 welcomes battleship fleet home, 500 ; proposes call 
 for a second Peace Conference. 574 ; connection with 
 the Panama canal. 603-607 ; famous letter to the 
 editor of the Hcvicw of Revuics, 606 ; sends iden- 
 tical notes to Japan and Russia urging a confer- 
 ence looking toward peace. 620 ; receives envoys 
 from Japan and Russia on the Mayflower, 621. 
 
 Rosen, Barou, envoy of Russia to Portsmouth Confer- 
 ence, 620, 622. 
 
 Rough Riders, The. 490. 491. 
 
 Round Robin of army officers to the Secretary of War, 
 The, 494. 
 
 Rum, New England, and the slave trade. 40. 
 
 Rumford, Count, founds the British Royal Institution, 
 649. 
 
 Russell, Lord Chief Justice, 523. 
 
 Russia, development of destructive anarchism In, 450; 
 murder of Alexander II., and Its results. 450 ; 
 schemes to control Manchuria and Korea, 612-614 ; 
 builds the Siberian railway, 614 ; efforts to secure 
 terminal on the Yellow Sea. 613, 614; character of 
 her interests in Manchuria. 614 ; leases Port Ar- 
 thur, 616; secret treaty with China, 616; drives 
 Japan to war by her dilatory tactics, 617 ; loses 
 every engagement, and her entire navy, in the war 
 with Japan, 61S ; seeds envoys to meet those of 
 Japan at Portsmouth. 620 ; cedes southern half of 
 Saghalleo island to Japan, 622. 
 
 s. 
 
 Saavedra, Alvaro de, plans for an isthmian canal, 
 597. 
 
 Sage. Russell. 761. 
 — , Mrs. Russell, princely gifts of, 762. 
 
 Saghalien island, southern half of, ceded to Japan by 
 Russia. 622. 
 
 St. Augustine on the powers of the magnet, 638, 639. 
 
 St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York city, 370. 
 
 St. Saviour's Church. Southwark, London, 701, 702. 
 
 Saint-Simon, and his teachings, 447. 
 
 Sainte-Beuve, quoted. 504. 
 
 Salisbury, Lord. 519-522. 
 
 Sampson, Admiral W, T., blockades the Cuban coast. 
 483. 
 
 San Francisco, destruction of, 626-635; early discov- 
 erers of California. 626: the Franciscan missions, 
 626; the Mission Dolores. 626. 627; effects of the 
 discovery of gold. 627 ; character of the early set- 
 tlers, 627, 62S; the vigilance leagvies. 628; early 
 baptisms of fire. 628, 629 ; general character of the 
 buildings of the city, 629 ; description of the geog- 
 raphy of the city. 629 : its peculiar cliarra, " Bohe- 
 mian to the core," 628 ; the earthquake of April 
 18. 1906, 629; city without water. 630: details of 
 the terrible fire of two days, 630-632 ; area cov- 
 ered, 631, 632 ; peculiar conditions that existed for 
 a month following the fire. 632 ; glorious response 
 of the nation to the city's need, 632; property loss 
 and insurance, 633 ; fine work of Mayor Schmitz and 
 his advisory board. 633 : summery of the situation 
 by ex-Mayor Phelan, 633 ; character of the new 
 buildings, 633. 634 ; the Burnhnm plans for beau- 
 tifying the city. 634 ; area of burned district now 
 rebuilt. 635 ; trial of Mayor Schmitz. 635 ; outlook 
 for the future. 635. 
 
 San Juan Hill, fight at, 491. 
 
 Sandwich. Earl of. 527. 
 — Islands. The. See Hawaiian Islands. 
 
 Sankey. Ira D., associated with Mondy in revival 
 work, 2S4-2SS. 
 
 Santiago, Cuba, blockade of, by the American navy. 
 4S2-493 ; investment of, by American troops, 490- 
 494 ; surrender of the city, 404. 
 
 Sawaioris, The, 531, 
 
 Saxon paraphrases of the Scriptures, 411. 
 
 Schley, Admiral W. S., engages in blockade of Cuban 
 ports. 487 ; his remarkable retrograde movemt-nt 
 fmni Santiago, 487; his cunduct in the tight with Cer- 
 vera's squadron, 493; the historical "loop," 493. 
 
 Schmicz, Mayor of San Francisco. 630, 633, 635. 
 
 Scholarships, The Rhodes, 687, OSS. 
 
 Schumburgk. Robert, 518. 
 
 Schoolliouse, the primitive. 699. 
 
 Schoolmasters. Colonial, salaries and duties of, 696; 
 character of meu selected for such positions, 708. 
 
 Science, meagre development of, at opening of the 
 nineteenth century, 62. 
 
 Scott, J. B., delegate to The Hague Conference, 574. 
 — , Walter; his reverence for the Bible, — "there is 
 but one book," 433. 
 
 Screw. The, or Propeller; Its first application to naval 
 vessels, 478. 
 
 Scripture rolls of the Jews, description nf, 403, 404. 
 
 Scriptures known to Jesus and the Apostles, 402. 
 
 Sea wall, the great, at Galveston, 591. 
 
 Searchlight on vessels, the, 670. 
 
 Selection, change of natural, from physical to psychi- 
 cal lines, 34. 
 
 Selenium, discovery and uses of, 671. 
 
 Semitic races, supremacy of, 33. 
 
 Septuagint translation of the Jewish Scriptures, his- 
 tory of the, 404, 405. 
 
 .SVrapjs, The, destroyed by the Boji Homme Richard, 73. 
 
 Serfdom, tlie merging of slavery into. 393. 
 
 Seventy, The Committee of, to investigate the Tweed 
 Ring. 379-3S2. 
 
 '* — Centuries," by J. N. Lamed, quoted, 33. 
 
 Sewall, Harold M., 555. 
 
 Sewing machine, invention of the. 226-233: sketch of 
 the life of Elias Howe, Jr.. 227; principles covered 
 by his patents. 230; other inventors and their ma- 
 chines. 230, 231 ; wonderful results of this Inven- 
 tion, 232. 
 
 Seymour, Sir Edward, 709. 
 — . Horatio, Democratic candidate for the Presi- 
 dency, 375. 
 
 Shaffer. General W. R., in command of the army at 
 Santiago. 490. 
 
 Shakespeare, William ; his use of. and dependence on, 
 the Bible, 442; his probable connection with John 
 Harvard. 701. 
 
 Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, 46; causes of, 101; 
 peculiar conditions existing in New England, 102 ; 
 Washington's letter regarding tlie situation, Ht3 ; 
 efforts of Governor Bowdoin to allay the excite- 
 ment, 104 ; the attack upon the Springfield armory. 
 106; surrender of the insurgents, 107. 
 
 Sheridan. General P. H.. 515. 
 
 Sherman, General W. T. ; his great march through the 
 South. 320-333 ; his personal statement as to the 
 conception of the campaign, 326: Atlanta his first 
 objective point, 326 : burning of the city. 327 : 
 Lincoln's view of the situation, 328; details of the 
 march, 328-332 ; interesting accounts of correspond- 
 ents, 330, 331 ; Sherman's Christmas present to the 
 President. 332 ; general results of the Invasion, 332. 
 
 Shimonoseki, Treaty of. 615. 
 
 Siberian railroad. The. 613. 614. 
 
 Sigsbee. Captain Charles D., in command of tbe Maine 
 at Havana, 471. 
 
 Sinaiticus. The Codex, described, 407. 
 
 Singer. I. M., an inventor of the sewing machine. 231. 
 
 Slater, John F. ; his noble gift for Freedmen. 746. 
 
 Slave Trade, New England's interest in the. 40. 
 
 Slavery, origin and rapid spread of, 392. 
 
 Slaves, nmnber of negro, In United States In 1800, 40. 
 
830 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Skmne. Pruft'sscir W. M., quoted, 714. 
 Smith College. 72S. 729. 
 ■ — . SopUia. founds Smith College, 729. 
 SmithsoD, James, founds the Smithsonian Institution, 
 
 745. 
 Social life In the Colonies. 42. 
 Socialism, influence of the French Revolution upon the 
 
 rise of, 447; relation between it and Anarchism, 
 
 447. 
 Socrates on the power of the magnet. 63S. 
 Sorbonne, The; establishment of American lectures at, 
 
 GS4. 
 Sources of our Bible. The. 405. 406. 
 South-pointing car. The Chinese. 638. 
 Spain, the war with. See Spanish war. 
 Spanish and American governments, communications 
 
 between, prior to the war. 469. 470. 
 
 — Colonies in America, revolt of. between ISIO and 
 1S20, 507; proposal of the Holy Alliance to reduce 
 them to subjection, 507 ; attitude of the United 
 States as expressed in President Monroe's message, 
 509, 510. 
 
 — fleet. The, under Cervera, description of. 4S7. 4SS. 
 
 — War, The. 468-474. 481-494; positions of Presi- 
 dents Cleveland and McKiuley as to Cuban affairs. 
 468. 469 ; report of Senator Proctor on conditions 
 In the island. 469, 470; diplomatic correspondence 
 between the American and Spanish governments. 
 470; destruction of the Maine. 471; the President's 
 message to Congress on the situation, 473 : resultant 
 resolutions of Congress, — a virtual declaration of 
 war. 473 ; cessation of diplomatic relatipns, 473 ; 
 mobilization of land and naval forces, 4S1 ; blockade 
 of Cuban ports by Admiral Sampson, 4S3 ; orders to 
 Commodore Dewey at Hong Kong. 483; destruction 
 of the Spanish fleet in Manila bay, 484-486 ; Ad- 
 miral Cervera nnis his fleet into Santiago harbor, 
 487; close blockade of the harbor. 487-489; the 
 sinking of the Mcrrimac in the harbor entrance. 
 489 ; assembling of troops in Florida. 490 ; em- 
 barkation of the Fifth Army Corps for Santiago. 
 490 ; land attack upon the fortifications about the 
 city. — El Caney. and San Juan hill, 491 ; the de- 
 struction of Cervera's fleet, 492-404 ; surrender of 
 Santiago. 494 ; the Invasion of Porto Rico, 494 ; 
 signing of the Peace Protocol, August 12. 1898. 
 494; the true causes of the war not clearly known, 
 770; cost of the war. 781. 
 
 Spears. John L. . historian of the Navy, quoted, 479. 
 
 Sperry. Admiral. C. S.. assumes command of the bat- 
 tleship fleet. 497 : his estimate of the value of the 
 famous cruise, 49S ; brings the fleet back to Hamp- 
 ton Roads. 498. 499 ; delegate to the Second Hague 
 Conference. 574. 
 
 Sppyer. James M.. endows a German professorship at 
 Columbia University. 6S6. 
 
 Spinning Wheel. The. 31. 
 
 Spokane, Wash. ; its remarkable water power. 667, 668, 
 
 Spooner. W. B., opinion regarding the settlement of 
 the Philippine question. 780. 
 
 — Amendment, The, 603. 
 
 Sitringfield, 111., burial of President Lincoln at, 350. 
 
 Springfield. Mass. ; its Court House seized, and Court 
 broken up. by insurgents under Shays. 106; the 
 T'nited States Armory attacked. 106; insurgents dis- 
 persed, with three killed, by the State troops, 106. 
 
 Staal. M. de, president of the first Hague Conference, 
 567. 
 
 Stage Coach, the early. 52. 
 
 Stanford. Iceland: sketch of his life. 749-752; princi- 
 pal promoter and builder of the Central Pacific 
 railroad, 750; account of his son Ijeland. and the 
 family devotion. 751. 752 ; the Palo Alto stock 
 farm and ranch, 751 ; lays the foundation of the 
 great university in memory of his son. 752. 
 
 Stead. W. T.. 678. 
 
 Steam, first successful application of. to navigation. 
 151. 
 
 — war vessels, first construction of, 477. 
 
 Steers, Captain George, designs the victorious yacht 
 America, 250, 252. 
 
 Stevens, John, and son ; their experiments in steam 
 navigation. 153; build the first boat to navigate the 
 <icean by steam, 156. 
 
 Stevenscin, Robert Louis, quoted. 467. 
 
 Stoddert, Benjamin, first Secretary of the Navy, 476. 
 
 Stuart. Mrs. Mary Macrae, great gifts of. 760. 
 
 Sturgeon. William, discovers the electro-magnet, 652. 
 
 Stuyvesant, Peter, 695, 
 
 Submarine cable, description of the, 661. 
 
 Summary of races for America's cup. 258, 
 
 Sumter. Fort, ceremony attendant upon the re-occupa- 
 tion of, 342. 
 
 SutclilTe. Robert; his account of a journey through tlie 
 states in 1804. 41. 
 
 Sutter's Mill, discovery of gold at, 242-259. 
 
 Suttner, Baroness von. on the Hague Conferences, 573. 
 
 Swarthraore College declines proffered gift of Miss 
 Jeanes, 747. 
 
 Sweeney. Peter B.. member of the Tweed Ring. 376. 
 
 Synagogue, the place of the, in Jewish life, 402. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabard Inn, The. 701. 
 
 Takahira, Baron, envoy from Japan to Portsmouth 
 
 Conference. 621. 
 Tammany Hall and the Tweed Ring, 371-3S2; charmed 
 
 life of the society, 382. 
 Tampa, Florida, embarkation of troops from, 490. 
 Taylor, Hannis, Minister to Spain. 469; his ** History 
 
 of the English Constitution," 690. 
 — , Joseph W.. founds Bryn Mawr College, 729. 
 Telegraph, invention and perfection of the Electric, 
 
 655-659; the wireless system. 673-676. 
 
 — Hill, San Francisco, 629. 631. 
 Telephone, invention of the. 664-667. 
 
 Temperance Reform Movement. The, 217-225; leading 
 actf^irs in. 218: organization of the Washington Tem- 
 perance Society. 219 ; the work of Father Mat hew 
 in America, 222 ; opinions of distinguished men 
 regarding the work. 224. 225. 
 
 Temple of Peace. The Carnegie, at The Hague, 575. 
 
 Tcnnent. William, and his Log College, 712. 
 
 Tennyson, AIfre<l, quoted, 35. 584. 
 
 Tenth Cavalry. The. negro regiment, valiant action of, 
 at San Juan Hil!. 491. 
 
 Testimonies, remarkable, concerning the Bible. 442- 
 444. 
 
 Teutonic nations, birth of the. 34 ; influence upon the 
 development of the race. 34. 
 
 Thackeray. W. M. ; his reverence for the Bible. 443. 
 
 Thaiidcj/s, The. missionary brig to the Sandwich 
 islands. 537. 
 
 Thales and the magnet. 638. 
 
 The Hague, description of. 562 ; its famous Art gal- 
 lery, 565; the House in the Wood, 565; Peace Con- 
 ferences at. 557-584. 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt Professorship at the University of 
 Berlin. The. 685. 
 
 Thompson, H. Y., pioneer In educational reciprocity, 
 6S6. 
 
 Tililen. Samuel J.. Chairman of Committee of Seventy, 
 380; founds New York city library. 760. 
 
 Tischendorf, Professor Constantin. discovers the Codex 
 Sinaiticus, 70. 
 
 Toral, General, surrenders Spanish army at Santiago, 
 494. 
 
 Tori<'S, treatment of the. during the Revolutionary 
 War. 69. 
 
 Trade routes. The mediaeval. 596. 
 
 — Unions in the United States. 395; John Mitchell's 
 statement of the case of, 395, 396. 
 
 Translations, comparative page of, of the twenty-third 
 
 Psalm. 429. 
 Transportation, electric. 672. 673. 
 Treaty of Portsmouth. The. 612-625; description of 
 
 Manchuria and Korea, 612, 613; the Siberian rail- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 831 
 
 road. 613; peculiar measures of Russia to secure 
 terminus on the Yellow Sea, 61-4 ; establishment of 
 Russian '* depots '* in Manchuria, 614 ; nature of 
 Russia's interest in the control of that country. 
 614; very different interests of Japan, 614, 615; 
 rapid growth of Japanese population and commerce. 
 614. 615; war between Japan and China and its 
 results, 615; Russia secures virtual control of Man- 
 churia for thirty years by secret treaty, 616; effect 
 of the " Boxer " uprising on the general situation. 
 616 ; Japan's last effort at peaceful negotiations 
 with Russia, 616; severs diplomatic relations, 617; 
 sudden attack of Japanese on Chemulpo harbor and 
 Port Arthur. 618; brief review of the Russo-Japa- 
 neso war and its results, 61S ; movements toward 
 intervention, 619 ; such a course made natural by 
 clauses of conventions adopted by the Hague Con- 
 ference, 619 ; early efforts of Secretary Hay to 
 secure the integrity of China, 620 ; conditions fol- 
 lowing the battle of Muliden, and destruction of the 
 Russian Baltic fleet, 620 ; identical notes sent to 
 both combatants by President Roosevelt, 620 ; en- 
 voys plenipotentiary appointed by the two Powers, 
 621 ; their arrival in America and reception by the 
 President on the Mayflower, 62 1 : Portsmouth, 
 N. H., selected as a meeting place for the envoys, 
 622 ; detailed account of the meetings of the en- 
 voys, 622, 623; final agreement and execution of 
 the Treaty, 623 ; reception of the treaty terms in 
 Russia and Japan, 624; real significance and effect 
 of the Treaty. 624. 
 
 Trencher. The. use of, in Colonial days, 58. 
 
 Trent. The Council of, decree of, as to Jerome's Vul- 
 gate. 433. 
 
 Trenton, N. J., grand reception of Washington at. lis. 
 
 Troy, The, or McMahon. revision of the Douay Bible. 
 436. 
 
 Trueblood, B. F. ; his *' Federation of the World " 
 quoted. 566. 
 
 Trust, the stage coach, 53. 
 
 Tutuila. 781. 
 
 Twenty-third Psalm, page of comparative translations 
 of. 429. 
 
 Tweed Ring. The, 371-382: character of New York 
 city government, 371 ; conditions that made or- 
 ganization of the Ring possible, 372-375 ; Tweed's 
 first entry Into politics, 372 ; election to the Na- 
 tional Congress. 373 ; his rapid rise in Tammany 
 Hall, 373; Mozart Hall and Fernando Wood. 373; 
 the new Wigwam, and the Democratic National 
 Convention of 1868, 374, 375; Horatio Seymour 
 forced upon the Convention, 375 ; Tammany's state 
 and city candidates all elected, 376 ; the city ring 
 complete, — Tweed, ** Oakey *' Hall, Sweeney, and 
 Connolly, 376 ; Tweed's new city charter. 378 ; the 
 combination of Fisk. Gould, the Tammany ring, 
 and the ring of the State legislature, 378 ; estimates 
 of the stealings. 378. 379 ; shocking increase in the 
 city's indebtedness. 379 ; Tweed declines proposal 
 to erect monument to him, 380; exposures of the 
 New York Times, 380. 381 ; the Committee of Sev- 
 enty, and its work, 380-382 ; Tweed's arrest, con- 
 viction, and sensational escape. 381 ; his capture 
 and re-trial under a special law, 381 ; his death 
 in Ludlow street jail, 381 ; summary of the mar- 
 velous operations of the ring, 381. 382; fate of its 
 other members. 382; Tammany's charmed life, 382. 
 
 Tyndale. William, translates the Bible into English, 
 419-421 ; character and supreme importance of his 
 translation, 425 ; his martyrdom and last words, 
 423. 
 
 Tyndall. John : his Lowell Institute lectures. 740, 
 741 ; establishes scholarships at American universi- 
 ties, 741. 
 
 u. 
 
 Ulysses, the return of. 31. 
 
 Uncials, the capital letter manuscripts, described. 406. 
 
 Union, The Interparliamentary, 574. 
 
 Unions, The Labor, 396-400. 
 
 United States, wealth and population of the. about 
 ISOO, 35, 44; conditions in, at the opening of the 
 nineteenth century, 35; state of atTairs in, preced- 
 ing the Spanish war, 467, 468. 
 
 ■ , Tlie. a World Power, 767-783; influence of 
 
 catch phrases and sentiments, 767, 768; the so- 
 called world Powers, 768 ; the ** Concert of the 
 Powers," 768; the great change in political senti- 
 ment toward the close of the nineteenth century. 
 709; influence of tariffs and ovcr-proiluction, 769; 
 Europe no longer the world, 7G9 ; outbreak of the 
 land-grabbing fever, 760; conditions in China. 769; 
 outbreak of the European nations in China due to 
 formation of the Steel Trust in the Uniti'd States, 
 769; tlie "battle for concessions," 770; n-al causes 
 of the war between the United States and Spain, 
 770 ; causes set forth by the resolutions of Congress, 
 770; the declarations of President McKinley, 771; 
 attitude of the dominant party in Congress, 771, 
 772 ; cause of the war fmm the Congressional 
 standpoint, political. 771 ; light thrown upon the 
 subject by the late Senator George F. Hoar. 772 ; 
 position of leading party men regarding the annexa- 
 tion of Hawaii. 773 ; real causes of the war politi- 
 cal and commercial, not humanitarian, 774 ; clause 
 of the Peace Protocol as to the disposal of the 
 Philippines. 774 ; delegates from the United States 
 to arrange terms of peace at Paris, 775 ; general 
 instructinns of the President as to the Philippines. 
 775; differences between the Commissioners at Paris 
 regarding the Philippine cession, 776; positive stand 
 taken by Commissioner George Gray. 776. 777 ; 
 President McKinley 's western tour and change of 
 position, 777; demands cession of the whole archi- 
 pelago. 777; payment of $20,000,000 for the .same. 
 777; treaty signed December 10, 1898; the United 
 States a World Power, 778; different views of the 
 influence of the United States, 778, 779; lack of 
 interest in the "principles of the Fathers," 779; 
 the debate on the Spanish treaty, 779. 780 ; changed 
 attitude of Senators regarding the question, 780; 
 opinion of Senator Spooner. 780 ; outbreak between 
 American and Philippine troops. 780 ; influence of 
 W. J. Bryan, 780 : Joint Resolutions of Congress an- 
 nexing Hawaii. 781 : the foreign possessions that 
 constitute the United States a WnrlJ Power. 781 ; 
 cost of the war with Spain. 781 ; the curse of 
 militarism. 782 ; the glorious development of our 
 nation, 782 ; the parting of the ways, 782 ; an 
 Oriental opinion of America's course, 783; the 
 brighter outlook, 783. 
 
 Universe, The, not a machine but an organism, 32; 
 an immense unit, 32 ; events of, not works of 
 chance. 32. 
 
 Unrighteous Bible, The, 437. 
 
 Vancouver. Captain George, 534. 
 
 Vanderbilts, benefactions of the, 76. 
 
 Vane. Sir Henry, 700. 
 
 Vassar College. 728. 
 
 Vatican Council, The, decree of, regarding the Vulgate 
 Bible. 436. 
 
 Vaticanus. The Codex, described, 407. 
 
 Venezuela, Boundary Dispute, The. 517-524; unsavory 
 reputation of Great Britain in regard to the acqui- 
 sition of territory, 517; her protest against Amer- 
 ican settlements on the Columbia river, 517; spicy 
 rejoinder of John Quincy Adams. 518; origin of the 
 trouble over the Venezuela boundary line. 518 ; 
 claims set up by Robert Schomburgk. 518 ; con- 
 stantly aggressive movements by Great Britain in 
 the face of Venezuelan protests, 518, 510 ; Vene- 
 zuela's appeal to the United States, 519; all rep- 
 resentations of both governments ignored by Great 
 Britain, 519 : President Cleveland's message to 
 Congress on the subject. 519, 520 ; prompt action 
 by both houses, 520 ; appointment of a commission 
 
832 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 by the United States to determine the true 
 boundary line, 522; Great Britain consents to arbi- 
 trate, 52^ ; distinguished list of arbitrators and 
 their decree, 523. 
 
 VersitJHs as sources of our Bible, technical meaning 
 of. 406, 
 
 Vertus. Plains of. 503. 504. 
 
 Vessels, the largest of the Revolutionary Navy com- 
 pared with thosf of the New Navy, 475. 
 
 Victoria. Queen, honors George Peabody. 743. 744. 
 
 Vigilance leagues. The Early California, 627. 628. 
 
 Vincent. Bishop J. H., and The Chautauqua, 730. 
 
 Vinegar Bible. The, 436. 
 
 Virginia, population of, and slaves, about ISOO ; 
 
 early schools of, 708. 
 — and Pennsylvania, early conditions In, compared, 
 41. 42. 
 
 Vladivostok, 613. 
 
 Volta. and the Voltaic battery, 64S. 
 
 Voltaire, (luotrd. 709. 
 
 Vulgate. The; Jerome's revision of the old Latin Bible, 
 411; decree <)f the Council of Trent regarding, 433; 
 oldest extant copy of, and its history, 433. 
 
 w. 
 
 Wainwrlght, R. D., commander of the GloitCCStcr, 
 492-494. 
 
 War. cost of the Revolutionary, 45. 
 
 Washington, George, the strenuous advocate of inde- 
 pendence. GG ; nominated and elected Coramander-in- 
 Chief of the Army, 89 ; assumes command at 
 Cambridge. July 2, 1775 ; causes Declaration of 
 Indepondence to be read to army, 68; conspiracy to 
 proclaim him King. 91 ; farewell to the Army at 
 Newburgh, and to the officers at Fraunces* tavern, 
 New York city, 92 ; grand ovation to, on his 
 journey to Mt. Vernon. 93 ; resigns his commission 
 to Congress, at Annapolis. Md., 93; made president 
 of the Convention to draft a Constitution. Ill; 
 unanimously elected first President of the United 
 States. 116; his journey from Mt. Vernon to New 
 York to assume office, 120; his position on the 
 question of locating the national capital, 131; hi3 
 last illness and death. 136-143; burial at Mt. 
 Vernon, 142 : estimates of his character and great- 
 ness, 142. 143. 
 — . the National Capital, in 1800. 40. See also un- 
 der Capital. 
 — • Temperance Society, The, 219. 
 — . Treaty of. 559. 
 — University. St. Louis, rehabilitation of the, 756. 
 
 Waterman. Nixon, quoted. 690. 
 
 Watson. Dr. William, affirms the existence of elec- 
 trical ether, 641 ; his *' Experiments and Observa- 
 tions.** and its influence on Franklin. 642. 
 
 Wayside Inn. The, 53. 
 
 Webster, Daniel, meets Hayne in great debate. 197- 
 205 ; description of his manner and the immediate 
 effect of his oratory, 201-205: his matchless fame 
 as a statesman established. 205 : Secretary of State, 
 and the "Caroline Affair." 205; his appreciation 
 of the Bible. 443 : his great argument in the 
 " Dartmouth College Case." 718. 719. 
 
 Hayne debate. The, 197-205; events that led up 
 
 to It. 198 ; Webster's great oration. 200. 201 ; 
 tremendous excitement attendant upon the debate, 
 2ft2. 
 
 Wei-hai-wai. leased by China to England. 770. 
 
 Weitzel, General, with his brigade first to enter 
 Richmond. 340. 
 
 Wellesley College. 723. 
 
 Wells Collegre, 728. 
 
 Wells. Dr. Horace, claims the discovery of ether. 
 
 230. 241, 
 Weyler. General, recalled from Cuba. 470. 
 " What God Hath Wrought," the first message orer 
 
 the Morse telegraph, 057. 
 Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, on the charm of old San 
 
 Francisco. 628. 
 — , General Joseph, 491. 
 White. Andrew D.. commissioner to determine the 
 
 Venezuela boundary line. 522 ; delegate to the first 
 
 Hague Conference, 5G4 ; notable tribute to Hugo 
 
 Grotius. 564. 
 
 — Squadron. The. 479. 480. 
 
 Whitney, Eli. and his cotton gin. 44. 122; sketch of 
 his early life. 123; base treatment of. by Southi^ru 
 planters, 125-127 ; bitter struggle of the inventor 
 to protect his rights. 127. 
 
 Whittier, J. G., and the Bible; quotation from his 
 Miriam, 444. 
 
 Wicked Bible. The. 436. 
 
 Wigwam. Tammany's New, 374. 
 
 Wilhelmina, Queen, sketch of her life. 565; her mes- 
 sage of welcome to the delegates to The Hague 
 Conference. 507. 
 
 William and Mary College, history of, 709-711. 
 
 Williams College, founding of, 718. 
 
 Wilson, Woodrow, president of Princeton University, 
 715. 
 
 Winthrop, John. 69G. 
 
 — , Robert C. quoted, 745; his influence in directing 
 the course of princely gifts. 760. 
 
 Wireless telegraph, tlie. a result of the discovery of 
 the etheric waves, 673 ; Marconi and his system. 
 673-676 ; detailed account of his experiments, 673- 
 675 ; the claims of other inventors, 674 : remarkable 
 invention of Orling and Armstrong, 675; the rescue 
 of the steamship Reiiublir. G7G. 
 
 Wiseman. Cardinal; his estimate of the Challoner and 
 Troy revisions of the Douay Bible. 436. 
 
 Witherspoon. James, president of Princeton College, 
 713. 
 
 Witte, Sergius. envoy of Russia to the Portsmouth 
 Conference, 620-623. 
 
 Women. American, beauty and accomplishments of, 36. 
 
 Wood, Colonel Leonard, organizes the " Rough Riders." 
 490. 
 
 Woodford, General S. L., Minister to Spain. 469, 
 
 Worden, Lieut. J. L., commander of the Monitor, 
 300-302. 
 
 World Power, src. United States a World Power. The. 
 
 — Powers, illustrations of, 7GS. 
 
 Wyclif, John, influence of, upon the status of laborers, 
 393 ; his translation of the Bible into the new 
 English tongue, 416; wonderful influence of his 
 translation. 417. 
 
 Wyman. William, makes gifts to Johns Hopkins T'ni- 
 versity. 748. 
 
 Wyse, Lieut., secures concession for a canal from 
 Colombia. 600. 
 
 T. 
 
 Yale College and University, history of. 711, 712. 
 
 — . Elihu. sketch of the life of. 711. 712. 
 Yaln river, the. 613. 614. 
 
 Yarmouth, The. in fight with the RandolpJt, 475. 
 Yellow fever, repeated scourges of. 35. 
 
 — Journals, the evil influence of. 496. 679. 
 Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, 386- 
 
 388; organization of the first society. 386; rapid 
 spread of the idea, 387 : the third annual conven- 
 tion of. 387: publication of the Christian Endeavor 
 World. 388: twenty-eighth birthday message of 
 President Clark. 388 ; seventy-one thousand societies, 
 with over four million members. 388. 
 Youth of the Nation, The. 782. 
 
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