[View Figure]
TRUMBULL WHITE
AUGUSTUS LYNCH MASON LLD
JOHN CLARK RIDPATH LLD
EMINENT
AMERICAN HISTORIANS
(THE AUTHORS OF THIS BOOK)
TRUE STORIES
OF
OUR PIONEERS
THE HEROIC DEEDS AND DEVOTED LIVES
OF THE
FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF AMERICA
EMBRACING THE PRINCIPAL EPISODES
IN THE STRUGGLE OF THE WHITE
RACE WITH THE RED MEN FOR THE POSSESSION OF THE NEW WORLD
A TRUE AND VIVID ACCOUNT OF THE
DARK CAPTIVITIES AND THE
UNCONQUERABLE COURAGE OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO WRESTED THE AMERICAN FORESTS FROM THE
ABORIGINES AND GAVE THEM TO THE PLOW AND THE SICKLE
BYAUGUSTUS LYNCH MASON, LL.D.
DEAN OF THE LAW SCHOOL OF DE PAUW UNIVERSITY
WITH INTRODUCTION AND SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
BY
JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, LL.D.
AUTHOR OF "A CYCLOPÆDIA OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY," "THE GREAT RACES OF MANKIND," "HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES," ETC.
AND WITH ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS ON THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, THE GREAT NORTHWEST, THE PANAMA CANAL AND THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION
BY
TRUMBULL WHITE
AUTHOR OF "OUR WONDERFUL PROGRESS," "MARTINIQUE AND THE WORLD'S GREAT DISASTERS," "OUR NEW POSSESSIONS," ETC.
COPYRIGHT 1904
BY
E. A. MERRIAM.
PREFACE.
CIVILIZATION is a war—a war of light with darkness; of truth with falsehood; of the illuminated intellect and the rectified heart with the barbarism of ignorance and the animalism of the savage.
The present work portrays a single phase of this sublime conflict. It recounts one of the thousand campaigns of this war. It is an attempt to condense into a single volume, and give an adequate literary expression to, the thrilling history of the struggle between the White man and the Red man for the possession of this continent. It is also intended to be a memorial to a race of heroes. Other countries have esteemed their earliest heroes as worthy of the song of the poet and the praise of the historian. With us the deeds of our fathers are as yet unsung, and their very names are fading from our memory.
The author has aimed to make this book not only historical, but realistic. It is a truthful account of actual events, gathered from a vast mass of authorities. Yet the design has been pictorial rather than geometrical. The author has sought rather to paint a picture than to make a map. In the execution of this purpose he has been nobly seconded by the PUBLISHERS, who have spared neither trouble nor expense to procure for page: 8[View Page 8] him rare and valuable authorities. The large collections of the public libraries of the country were found inadequate, and booksellers from Boston to San Antonio have been called upon for books difficult of access.
To the vast number of painstaking and truthful writers from whom the author has thus drawn his facts, and perchance even the expression of them, an obligation exists for which no adequate return can be made. The author also takes this opportunity to express his deep obligations to PROFESSOR JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, the eminent historian, to whose generous aid he is indebted for suggestions, as well as for additions to the narrative. A similar recognition is due to HON. HENRY A. RATTERMANN, whose unequaled library of rare books on American Pioneer History—especially that part relating to the settlement of the Ohio Valley,—has furnished valuable data for this volume, without which much that is interesting would have been lost to these pages.
The liberality of the PUBLISHERS has extended not merely to the procurement of literary materials, but has also enriched the book with a collection of artistic engravings in every way worthy of the topic. Supplemented as his own efforts have been by these powerful and generous aids, it is not without confidence that the work is submitted to the public.
A. L. M.
DEER PARK, MARYLAND.
PUBLISHERS' PREFACE
This book is presented to fill a long felt want on the part of the public, for what may be called "Pioneer History."
Its educational qualities are instantly recognized by all readers who seek definite information and facts concerning the early settlement and first development of America. It is intended to serve and DOES serve all readers with that important part of American history not found in the numerous Histories of the United States. The question arises, "Who were the mothers and fathers of America?" Generally, they were small bodies of men and women, of sturdy and resolute character and sterling qualities. This volume tells you who they were and what part of our great country they originally settled, what they had to contend with—in many cases sacrificed their lives for the true principles involved.
To the teacher or student, this volume WILL TEACH American history and perhaps the most important part of American history, and furthermore that part which is not to be found elsewhere. To the parents its great value cannot be estimated. It paints for their children, character, courage, resolute endurance and firmness of mind. The stories are thrilling, yet true, and intensely interesting. It cultivates a desire for a closer page: [][View Page []] acquaintance with these men and women of the noblest and grandest period of pioneer history. It is a storehouse of essential information to young or old in any vocation of life.
To the foregoing facts must be added a mention of the illustrations. These were drawn and engraved on wood at an enormous expense. There never were any photographs of these scenes from which to make half tone or photographic pictures. Each one of these rare and renowned illustrations tells a story in itself. They make a lasting impression on the reader. We are proud to be able to present this excellent volume to all readers.
THE PUBLISHERS.
page: [][View Page []]ROBERT SIEUR DE LA SALLE.
BY LOUIS GUDEBROD.
The name of LaSalle is ever present in the
early history of the Mississippi Valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. His
wonderful voyages, his perils, his achievements, are all related in earlier chapters of
this volume.
PERE MARQUETTE.
Father Marquette's fame is immortal as one of the greatest of the
early French explorers of this continent, traversing its forests and rivers year after
year, laboring for the conversion of the Indians, and finally laying down his life among
them in Northern Michigan where much of his noble work had been done.
WILLIAM CLARKE
THOMAS JEFFERSON
MERRIWETHER LEWIS
President Jefferson
and the men sent by him under his administration to explore the great
Northwest—known in history as the Lewis and Clarke expedition.
STATUE OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM CLARKE
STATUE OF SACAGAWEA, THE INDIAN WOMAN WHO LED
LEWIS A ND CLARKE THROUGH THE INDIAN TRAIL OVER THE MOUNTAINS
STATUE OF CAPTAIN
MERRIWETHER LEWIS
Lewis and Clarke's expedition, covering nearly two years and a
half, gave the people of this country their first information concerning the immense
extent, vast wealth and natural wonders and resources of the Northwest.
CONTENTS
- CHAPTER I.
THE LEGEND OF POWHATAN.
Captain John Smith—His adventures in Turkey—Three single combats and as many victories—Prisoner of a princess—Her suspicious brother—Escape—The Jamestown Colony—Smith, sticking in a quagmire, is captured by Indians—Pocahontas, the king's daughter—She saves Smith's life and makes a pet of him—Follies of the colony—Coronation of Powhatan—Smith's fight with the big Indian—Starvation—A meal of powdered wife—Betrayal and capture of Pocahontas—Rolfe in love—The marriage and death of the Indian princess—Smith's hobbies—He dies neglected and in want Pages 33-81 - CHAPTER II.
THE TRIALS OF LA SALLE.
The greatest French explorer—His saint-like predecessor, Marquette—A grave in a wilderness—La Salle's ambition—Life in the fort—Building The Griffin—Up the lakes—Loss of The Griffin—La Salle journeys on foot from the Illinois to Montreal—Bankruptcy and ruin—Tonty's six gifts, and their significance—The second attempt—Down the Mississippi—The fort on "Starved Rock"—The simpleton of Versailles—French reinforcements—Four vessels set sail from France for the Delta of the Mississippi—Shipwreck of them all—Lost in a Texan wilderness—Suffering and treachery—La Salle attempts to reach the Illinois—His assassination Pages 82-123 - CHAPTER III.
ROGERS' RANGERS.
Captain Rogers—His fierce scouts—Their exploits on Lake George—English scalps worth sixty francs—The Rangers on skates give chase to nine sleds on the ice—A fearful race—The triumph of men over brutes—Fort William Henry—A debauch on Saint Patrick's Eve—Saved by the Rangers—Burning of the fort—Awful battle—Two-thirds of the Rangers killed—Rogers' leap—Lost in a wilderness of snow—An insane guide—The St. Francis expedition—A two hundred mile march—An Indian wedding feast—Destruction of the village Pages 126-149 - page: 10[View Page 10]
- CHAPTER IV.
THE AMBITION OF PONTIAC.
The mighty chieftain of the Ottawas—The conspiracy—Council of infernal peers—The plot at Detroit—Warned by an Indian girl—Guns hidden under blankets—Foiled—Presque Isle—An Indian mine—Fire and sword—Surrender of the haggard garrison—Michillimackinac—The game of ball—Success of the stratagem—Butchery of the garrison—The trader Henry's adventures—Hidden in a garret—Discovered—A friend in need—Carried away—The siege of Detroit—A vast fire-ship—A midnight sally—Attacked in a ravine—Bloody defeat—The fight around Campan's house—Retreat of the survivors—Boquet's expedition—The circular fight—Wreck of the Lake Erie expedition—The Paxton boys—A panic in Philadelphia—Peace—Pontiac's death Pages 150-209 - CHAPTER V.
JOSEPH BRANT AND THE MOHAWKS.
An American castle—A symmetrical maiden—Sir William Johnson—The Five Nations—A terrible wrestling match—Conquests of the Iroquois—The Revolution—Brant and the English landlord—A gay rider in the dust—Old Fort Schuyler—A faithful dog—The siege—Battle in the swamp—Brant's cruelties—Massacre of three hundred whites—Invasion of the Indian country—An ear of corn twenty-two inches long—Burning of Ellis's mills—An amour of a Dutch trader—Brant in old age Pages 210-266 - CHAPTER VI.
THE CONFLICT IN THE OHIO VALLEY.
Transformation—The escape of McConnel—Capture—Sleeping in bonds—The knife—Killing his captors—A race for life—A fight in a fog—Old Morgan's strength—Biting off a finger—An American Meg Merrilles—The black horse—Through the wilderness—The great fight of Poe and Big Foot—Five Kentucky boys and their pluck—Drawing the claret—The boys kill their keepers and escape—A strange story—The first Chickamauga—The attack on Widow Scraggs's cabin—"Keep the door shut!"—Driven out by the flames—Mrs. Merrill's bravery—The sufferings of Massy Harbison—One hundred and fifty thorns in her feet and legs—The blood avenger—The wizard's punishment Pages 267-318 - page: 11[View Page 11]
- CHAPTER VII.
THE COURAGE OF KENTON.
Simon Kenton—The tortures of love—Flight to the wilderness—Stealing horses from the Indians—Unable to ford the Ohio—Captured and whipped—Eight times exposed to the gauntlet—Three times tied to the stake—The burning-glass story—Old age and disappointment Pages 320-334 - CHAPTER VIII.
BRADY THE BACKWOODSMAN.
Father and son—A rum experience—Talking by the roadside—Three rifle-shots—Scalped—Sam Brady—A dull Dutchman—Touching elbows—Brady's Leap Pages 335-344 - CHAPTER IX.
THE DAYS OF DANIEL BOONE.
Westward, ho!—A ruined cabin—Devoured by wolves—A flask of whisky—Thirsty squaws—Boone's family—Capture of the girls—The rescuing party—An uplifted tomahawk—Haggard with hunger—Siege of Boonesborough—Tracked by a bloodhound—Boone swallows a butcher-knife—Frightened women—Bringing in the water—The terrible battle of Blue Licks—Later years Pages 345-369 - CHAPTER X.
THE CRUELTIES OF GIRTY.
The renegade—Frightening the Moravians—The beautiful Katy Malott—The attack on Dunlap's Station—Relief party from Cincinnati—Blind, drunken, and wretched Pages 370-381 - CHAPTER XI.
THE DOOM OF CRAWFORD.
The Sandusky expedition—The army on the march—A bad omen—A deserted village—Indian spies—The enemy in sight—The first day's battle—A hat for a water-bucket—The second day—The attack at nightfall—Rout of the whites in the grove—The fatal cranberry marsh—The retreat—Shot on the river bank—The poisoned kettle—A Russian noble—Slover and Paull—Painted black—The Gauntlet—Tossed to the dogs—Sentenced to be burned alive—Interruption by a thunder-storm—Miraculous escape—Naked and bleeding—Seventy-five miles in eleven hours—Dr. Knight—The foolish Tutelu—His lies—William Crawford—Stake and flames—"For God's sake, shoot me through the heart!"—The spirit released Pages 382-420 - page: 12[View Page 12]
- CHAPTER XII.
THE ROMANCE OF RED EAGLE.
The Emperor Alexander—Red Eagle as a boy—A rich man's home—The idol of the people—Tecumseh—A false prophet—Red Eagle's sweetheart—Love and War—The massacre of Fort Mims—Card playing and drinking among the garrison—The growing sand-heap—The attack—The hopeless defense—"To the bastion!"—Red Eagle's nobility—Searching the heaps of corpses—The dog charge—Jackson's campaigns—Dale's famous canoe fight—Mutinies—The battle of the Horseshoe—Surrender of Red Eagle Pages 421-450 - CHAPTER XIII.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE PROPHET.
The change of name—Mythical ancestry—The good elder brother—White scoundrels—Red villains—The great conspiracy—The rogue of a prophet—His miracles—The sun darkened—Tecumseh's love for his sister—His ambition—The night before the battle—Tippecanoe—Harrison's victory—Tecumseh's rage—Battle of the Thames—Who killed Tecumseh? Pages 451-484 - CHAPTER XIV.
THE SORROWS OF THE SEMINOLES.
The Seminole's curse—Blood-money—Exile or war—Massacred among the Palmetto trees—Reign of terror on the plantations—The "House of Blood"—Scalped in a parlor—The tragedy in the flower garden—Thirty skeletons in a row—Fever, flood, famine—The conspirators in the chief's wigwam—Knives glistening in the starlight—The flight—Osceola betrayed—"I feel choked; you must talk"—The caged eagle—The squeeze through the embrasure—A fifty-foot leap—Osceola's dungeon—Despair—Death—Bloodhounds used in the war—Killed in a cupola—Horrors of the Florida war—Coacoochee's capture—The departure into perpetual exile Pages 485-520 - CHAPTER XV.
BLACK HAWK'S HUMILIATION.
First chapter of an Indian Genesis—Battles of the gods—Tricked into a treaty—Willing to die for his brother—"Move"—Who is Black Hawk?—Stealing roasting-ears from one's own fields—A dog banquet—A squaw swims the Mississippi, carrying her child in her teeth—"Paint me as I am"—The princely Keokuk—Gall and wormwood Pages 521-536 - page: 13[View Page 13]
- CHAPTER XVI.
THE HISTORY OF KIT CARSON.
The Carson family—An old mare for supper—Monsieur Le Beaver—A tail for a shovel—Political and domestic life of the smart animal—The great Kit—The trappers—Winter life in a trappers' tent—The ace of trumps—A fight in the snow—Two men in a fort—The dash for life—Twelve hundred dollars' worth of horses stolen—Carson's pursuit—Shot through the heart—Terrible fight with grizzly bears—The summer rendezvous—The duel with the bully—The "surround"—Othello's occupation gone—The angry trader—The Kansas border war—The deserted home—Fremont and Kit—Through the Mexican lines—Bleeding feet—The runner—General Carson—Last sickness—"Doctor, compadre, adios!" Pages 537-585 - CHAPTER XVII.
HEROES OF THE LONE STAR STATE.
Nelson Lee, the Texan Ranger—A dollar a day to be shot at—Buckskin vs. Broadcloth—The Ranger's Horse—A "greeny's" first taste—Seven hundred Comanches—Tomahawks rising and falling—A bullet in a bridle arm—Bitten by a rattlesnake—The noble Black Prince—The cunning ranchero—His successful stratagem—On to the Rio Grande—The surrender of the Rangers to Mexicans—Lee escapes through a garden—In the dark river—Steep and slippery banks—Lee forces two Mexicans to guide him—The purchase of the watch—The night attack—Wonders of the watch—A god or a devil—which?—The awful torture—An Indian sweetheart—In the bushes—Recaptured—Lamed for life—The Sleek Otter—Lee kills Rolling Thunder, and escapes Pages 586-606 - CHAPTER XVIII.
HEROES OF THE LONE STAR STATE-—CONTINUED.
David Crockett—The wretched home—Dodging a drunken father—A child alone in a wilderness—Twice married—Walks fifty miles in one day—The flames of fever—Frontier justice—The candidate—In the Legislature—Moves west—The bear hunt in the storm—The coat with two pockets—"Half horse, half alligator"—Elected to Congress, when he could neither read nor write—The dinner with the President—Three terms—Then defeat—To Texas—The siege of the Alamo—Crockett bravely meets death—The fighting parson—A young teamster—A successful preacher—In the Confederate army—Attacked in the cañon—Peaceful days Pages 607-625 - CHAPTER XIX.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.
The greatest real estate deal in history—The Democrat and the Autocrat—Pioneers of peace—Exploration on a large scale—Some forgotten heroes—"The first American traveler"—"The greatest American traveler"—Cabeza de Vaca—John Law and the Mississippi Bubble—How we bought Louisiana—The Cabildo—The Santa Fe Trail—The Pony Express—Gold in the Black Hills—Custer's last fight—The Oklahoma "boom"—The pioneers of to-day Pages 626-635 - page: 14[View Page 14]
- CHAPTER XX.
THE GREAT NORTHWEST.
Where and why pioneers advance into the wilderness—Effect of climate—Rivers the highways—The thirst for gold—The desire for freedom—Great names in the Great Northwest—The first American sailor on the Pacific Ocean—Lewis and Clarke expedition—Astoria—How Marcus Whitman saved Oregon—The Mormons and their journey to Utah—Gold in California—The Pacific railways Pages 636-660 - CHAPTER XXI.
PANAMA AND THE CANAL.
A new republic—Panama in history—The greed for gold—Character of the Spanish settlers—Discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa—Spain attempts to keep her discoveries a secret—The Buccaneers—Plunder of Panama by Morgan and his men—The Route to the California gold fields—Opening of the railway—De Lesseps and the Panama Canal—Present condition and future Pages 661-674 - CHAPTER XXII.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.
The Leap of a Century—One hundred years of progress—The rise of a great nation—Invention changing habits and methods of life—A fitting commemoration of the acquisition of the Mississippi Valley—The landscape beauty of the Exposition—Immensity and beauty—The palatial buildings—The wealth of exhibits—The treasures of art—Intellectual achievements—The attractions of the Midway—Significance of the Exposition Pages 675-704
INTRODUCTION.
- THE PIONEER was a rugged seer
- As he crossed the Western river,
- Where the Copper Man called the INDIAN
- Lay hid with his bow and quiver.
As for the pioneer, his days are numbered. As for the Indian, there he stands, a specter on the horizon!
The conflict has been irrepressible. There could be no compromise; the races were too unlike. The red man had no beauty that our spirits could desire him. The verdict of civilization has been, that his room is better than his company. It is an edict issued from the court of Progress—that ferocious Titan who strides from East to West—that the Indian shall disappear, shall be remanded to the past, shall evanish.
In those great movements by which the populations of the world are transformed, History is blind, cruel, remorseless. She is the least sentimental of all the divinities. She neither smiles at human happiness, nor weeps at human sorrow; she merely attends to her syllogism. When she finds a tribe of nomads living in a valley adapted to the cultivation of corn, she sends the news to some corn-raising race, and leaves the rest to cupidity and the casuists.
And the casuists make a muck of the whole business. They seek a design. They find it in this—that the soil is intended for those who will cultivate it. They fix on this correlation. The hint of nature is, that the clover-field and the orchard must take the place of the brake and the wilderness. It is all very page: 16[View Page 16] beautiful. The designated race comes in; and the gray squirrel, after gibing at the business for a season, goes over the horizon followed by a bullet.
But how about the other side of the question? It is well for the supplanters—but the supplanted? The red deer is designed for the cane-brake, and the cane-brake for him. Both are designed for the hunter. Is Nature not as well pleased to be tracked by a buck of ten spikes, as to be wounded in the breast with a hoe?
In this world there is one law: the weakest goes to the wall. Men may as well expect a weight on the shorter arm of a lever to lift a greater weight on the longer, as to suppose a reversal of this law. There is such a thing as a science of Historical Physics, which it is time for thinkers to consider. The fundamental maxim in the dynamics of progress is, that the greater force overcomes the less. They who will, may complain of the result and try to explain it.
The movement of civilization westward, from Babylon to Rome, from Rome to London, from London to San Francisco, has furnished a succession of eras in which the stronger, more highly developed races, have flung themselves in heavy masses upon the aboriginal populations. The latter have yielded, have perished, are perishing. In Greece, the Hellenes came upon the Pelasgians, and the latter were either exterminated or absorbed. Again, in Southern Italy, the Œnotrians were overwhelmed by the aggressive colonists of Magna Græcia. The Gaulish and British Celts sank into the earth under the tremendous pressure of the Roman and the Saxon. The American aborigines, forced back from the seaboard through the passes of the Alleghanies, are swept across the great valley of the Mississippi, and thrown up like pebbles on the plains of the West.
In the great march which has thus substituted the wheat-field for the cane-brake, and made the White man the exterminator of the Red barbarian, there is this that is peculiar: in America the work has been done by a class of men unknown page: 17[View Page 17] in Europe—THE PIONEERS. Europe was peopled by large bodies of men moving from one country to another. In many regions the antiquarian finds the Age of Stone suddenly cut off by the Age of Bronze, without any intervening Age of Copper. This means that a bronze-bearing soldiery overwhelmed the people of the Stone Age before the latter had developed into a capability of working the metals. The Hellenes came from the east as migrating tribes. The original peoples of the peninsula were extinguished by the invaders. The Gaulish nations were trodden under foot by Cæsar's armies. The followers of Hengist and Horsa, before whom the Celts of Britain perished, were an innumerable horde. Everywhere, except in our own country, the movement has been en masse. But in America the work has been accomplished by a different process. Here we have had the gradual approach of civilization, and the gradual recession of barbarism. Population has been flung westward in a spray, which has fallen far out beyond the actual line of the column. Hence the pioneers.
It is surprising that no State of the great sisterhood, west of the influence of the Atlantic tides, has been colonized. Every commonwealth has been peopled by the scattered scouts of progress—the pioneers. They have come by twos and threes. The individual, unable longer to endure the hardships of civilization, has moved out to find the comforts and conveniences of the wilderness. At the first he consisted of himself, his dog, and his gun. A little later he consisted of himself, several dogs, one wife, and many children. Afterwards he consisted of himself, with the concomitants last mentioned, and a neighbor of precisely the same definitions.
We have thus had in America a race of men, sui generis—the pioneers—the hardiest breed of adventurers that ever fore-ran the columns of civilization. They belonged, like other heroes, to the Epoch of the Dawn. The Old World knew them not. They are our own—or were; for the pioneer type is in process of extinction. Like the red tribes, pressed back page: 18[View Page 18] by their energies, the rugged adventurers who made ourselves possible, are seen only in the glow of sun-down. The line of pioneer life has swept westward from the Connecticut to the Hudson; from the Delaware to the Ohio; from the Ohio to the Wabash, the Wisconsin, and the Illinois; from the Father of Waters to the Rockies and the Plains. In a few more years there will be no place on the continent, or any continent, that can properly be called THE WEST. The pioneer has always lived in the West. He will disappear with his habitat, and never be seen more.
The pioneers were a people of heroic virtues—and no literature. The situation forbade it. The actual life of the men who made civilization possible in the larger part of the United States was remanded at their death to tradition. The pioneer bard starved. The pioneer annalist left his notebook to his son, who lost it while moving further west. The next generation repeated the story of frontier life as it had been received from the fathers. A few wrote. From Canada to the lagoons of Louisiana a traditional lore grew up and was perpetuated. Then came books, most of them written with little skill and no dramatic quality, often garrulous, sometimes dull. In them, however, were portrayed the incidents and accidents of that daring life which was soon to sink behind the horison.
A few of these frontier books were written by the actors; others, by those who had not participated in the scenes described; most, by persons of little scholarship or wit. Until the present time few works on pioneer life and adventure have been produced which have exhibited artistic merit and literary ability. The flash of life through the cumbrous drama has been obscured by dull conception, coarse diction, ungainly style, and unnatural arrangement. It is important at the present epoch, when the sun of our heroes' fame is setting, but has not set, that a true and vivid picture should be preserved of the life which they led, and the deeds which they performed.
As it respects this preservation for posterity of the annals page: 19[View Page 19] of our Pioneer Age—the story of our great adventurers and heroes—there is thus presented an alternative between the now and the never. What is not presently accomplished in the way of an authentic record of the daring exploits of the fathers will never he accomplished at all. It is a question of immediate photography. The pioneer may still be sketched ere the sunlight fades into darkness; but the evening cometh, when no instrument, however delicate its lenses, can supply the want of a living subject for the picture. In another generation the sketch of the American adventurer will be but the reproduction of a wood-cut, instead of a photograph from nature. Whoever by genius and industry contributes to fix in our literature an adequate conception of the lives and deeds of our heroes will make himself a favorite of the present and a friend of the coming generation.
Such a work requires the skill of a dramatist. It is not enough that the story of the men, "who by their valor and warcraft beat back the savages from the borders of civilization, and gave the American forests to the plow and the sickle," should be told even passably well; it must be told with the fervor and living power of the drama. Shakespeare is now recognized as the prince of historians. If we would study the story of the struggles of York and Lancaster, we shall do better in the three Henrys and the two Richards than in the flat and lifeless pages of Hall and Hollinshed. It has remained for our times to discover that the historical imagination is better than the historical microscope. The former discovers men; the latter, insects. The former composes the Drama of Life; the latter the Farce of Particulars.
The present work is a series of dramas in prose. It gathers and relates the exploits of our national heroes. The characters live and act. The material is gathered from the wild, but not extravagant, annals of frontier life. Every scene in this book is a true photograph from Man and Nature. The incidents are real. They are sketched with a dramatic power page: 20[View Page 20] which can be paralleled in no other book devoted to the romance and tragedy of American adventure. The author has precisely that kind of fervor which is requisite to make alive the very pages whereon his characters are marshaled for our interest. The book conforms emphatically to the prime conditions of narrative: it is interesting and true. The interest is maintained by the vigor and enthusiasm of the treatment; the truth has been elicited by a careful culling and comparison of the various traditions, which are thus given a new lease of life.
The book is a work of art. It is composed with a skill worthy of the highest species of literary effort. The arrangement of the several parts, and the adaptation of style to subject, show on the part of the author a rare combination of brilliant fancy and artistic taste. Mr. Mason has made the happy discovery that dullness in a book is never commended, except in the columns of a magazine called the Owls' Own Quarterly.
To all classes of people THE STORY OF THE PIONEERS will recommend itself. The book will be read carefully—which is an important consideration in the premises. The American boy will take fire as he turns these pages. The mild-eyed youth in the bubble-stage of sentiment will wonder that such things could be and not o'ercome the actors. He who has reached the zone of apathy in the Middle Age of Man will find in these thrilling stories of the life that is setting a-west food to revive the adventurous spirit; and the nonagenarian may chance to be re-warmed to hear again so graphically related the traditions that hovered about the fountains of his youth.
A book so well conceived and admirably executed—so vivid in its delineations of the lives and deeds of our national heroes, and so picturesque in its contrasts and surprises—can hardly fail of a hearty reception by the public.
JOHN CLARK RIDPATH.
page: 21[View Page 21]List of Illustrations.
- Captain Brady and His Chickasaw Scout Frontispiece
- The Great Powhattan 24
- Sufferings of the Vrooman Family 25
- Pioneer Women Inciting Indians to Violence 26
- Alice Thompson's Appeal for Mercy 27
- Red Jacket Pleading for Peace 28
- Carson Conducting Emigrants across the Sierra Nevada 29
- Carson Parleying with Cheyenne Scouts 30
- Cheyenne Braves on the War Path 30
- The Sioux Massacre at Big Stone Lake, Minnesota 31
- Frontier Settlers in Minnesota—the Boelter Homestead 32
- The First Day at Jamestown 37
- Captain Smith Amuses Pocahontas with Toys 44
- French and Indian Hunters of the Blue Juniata 55
- An Indian Scout Reconnoitering 55
- Battle of Captain Smith and the Indian Chief 57
- Captain John Smith 74
- Pocahontas 76
- Baptism of Virginia Dare 79
- Marriage of Rolfe and Pocahontas 80
- Escaping from Brant's Indians 89
- La Salle and His Companions 90
- Marquette and Joliet Preaching 99
- La Salle Proclaiming the French Empire in America 106
- Murder of La Salle in Texas 115
- Torture of a Prisoner by the Iroquois 124
- page: 22[View Page 22]
- Death of Braddock 125
- Rogers' Rangers on Lake George 145
- Catherine Reveals the Conspiracy to Gladwin 159
- Roger Williams Opposing the Pequot Emissaries 163
- Arrival of Dalzell with Supplies 186
- Panic of the Philadelphians at the Approach of the Paxtons 203
- The Baronet in Council with the Mohawks 216
- The Battle near Fort Schuyler 238
- The Summons at Captain Mann's 243
- Struggle of a Frontier Militiaman with a Mohawk Brave 254
- Joseph Brant 262
- Capture of David Morgan's Assailant 282
- The End of Vengence 282
- Conflict of the Linn Boys with the Indians 293
- The Defense of the Scraggs Cabin 304
- Mrs. Harrison and Her Captors 309
- Witchcraft at Salem Village 316
- Killing an Indian Scout in the Ohio Valley 319
- A Western Mazeppa—Simon Kenton a Prisoner 331
- Death of James Brady 336
- Brady's Leap 343
- Boone Rescues the Calloway Sisters 348
- Boone Rescues His Daughter 369
- Slover's Companion Running the Gauntlet 401
- Assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday 422
- Tecumseh Entering the Council 426
- Region of the Creek War 432
- The Dog Charge 438
- Andrew Jackson 439
- Red Eagle's Leap 443
- Plan of the Battle of the Horseshoe 447
- Tecumseh 454
- Capture of Boone by the Indians 459
- Tecumseh as a Deer Hunter 464
- Fort Harrison 473
- General Harrison's Cavalry Horses Stampeded 481
- Battle of Tippecanoe—Where Jo Daviess Fell 481
- The Seminole War—Massacre of the Motte Family 492
- Osceola 500
- Zachary Taylor 504
- Rescue of Lucy Cornells by Red Eagle 519
- Black Hawk 528
- Keokuk 535
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- Carson and the Trappers in Camp 544
- Carson Killing the Horse Thief 552
- Carson Attacked by Grizzlies 554
- Encounter Between Carson and Shunan 556
- The Rescue of Cotton 563
- Carson and His Favorite Horse "Apache" 568
- The Rangers Pursuing the Comanches 588
- Spotted Leopard, the Comanche Chief 601
- Colonel David Crockett 616
- Attacked by the Nez Perce Indians 642
- Fremont on the Rocky Mountains 668
- Robert Sieur De La Salle 673
- Pere Marquette 674
- Pierre Laclede, First Settler of St. Louis 675
- The Destiny of the Red Man 675
- Emblematic Group "Georgraphy and Society" 676
- A Corner Entrance of the Varied Industries Palace 677
- Machinery Palace in Foreground, Electricity Palace Beyond 678
- Main Entrance and Portion of West Facade of Educational Palace 679
- A Corner Entrance of the Education Palace 680
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THE GREAT POWHATAN.
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SUFFERINGS OF THE VROOMAN FAMILY.
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PIONEER WOMEN INCITING INDIANS TO VIOLENCE.
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ALICE THOMPSON'S APPEAL FOR MERCY.
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RED JACKET PLEADING FOR PEACE.
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CARSON CONDUCTING EMIGRANTS ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA.
[View Figure]
CARSON PARLEYING WITH CHEYENNE SCOUTS.
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CHEYENNE BRAVES ON THE WAR PATH
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THE SIOUX MASSACRE AT BIG STONE LAKE, MINNESOTA.
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FRONTIER SETTLERS IN MINNESOTA—THE BOELTER HOMESTEAD.
[View Figure]
The famous American trapper. He served as guide to Fremont in his Rocky Mountain
explorations and was an officer in the United States service in both the Mexican and
Civil Wars. The tombstone at top is at Taos, New Mexico.
[View Figure]
UPPER—COW BOYS, NORTH DAKOTA.
LOWER—EXHIBIT OF GAME.
[View Figure]
DAVID CROCKETT.
GENERAL SAM HOUSTON.
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UPPER—BEN HUR ROOM.
It was in this room that General Lew Wallace wrote his
famous book "Ben Hur." The room is in the Governor's Palace, Santa Fe, New
Mexico.
LOWER—TIPPECANOE AND TYLER TOO.
When General William Henry
Harrison was elected President in 1840, the watchwords "Log Cabin" and "Hard Cider"
were effectively used in winning votes.
[View Figure]
TINNEY TONE.
Kiowa Indian in war costume.
CAPT. JACK CRAWFORD, THE
POET-SCOUT, AND E. S. PAXSON, WITH CAMP PARAPHERNALIA.
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SIOUX INDIANS, SUN DANCE.
Exhibition at a reservation post.
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INDIAN CAMP, OKLAMOMA.
PRAIRIE SCHOONERS, SOUTH DAKOTA.
SIOUX INDIAN
TEPEES, SOUTH DAKOTA.
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KIOWA INDIANS DRAWING RATIONS, ANADARKO, OKLAHOMA.
CREE INDIANS, MONTANA.
[View Figure]
GERTRUDE THREE FINGERS AND PAPOOSE, OKLAHOMA. ASSINABOINE INDIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN,
MONTANA.
[View Figure]
COW-BOYS, TEXAS.
Man with hat off is Clay McGonigle, who in a test in 1903,
lassoed three and tied a steer in 23¾ seconds. Next to him is Miss Lucille
Mulhall.
NAVAJO INDIAN WEAVING.
INDIAN GRAVES, DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA.
[View Figure]
INDIAN LAUNDRY GIRLS, ANADARKA, OKLAHOMA.
INDIAN BREAD MAKERS, ARIZONA.
[View Figure]
BUFFALO ON THE RANGE.
MOUNTAIN SHEEP, COLORADO.
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UPPER—OUTFIT WAGON, INDIAN TERRITORY.
LOWER—SOD HOUSE. NORTH-WEST
NEBRASKA.
Former home of a now wealthy Alliance resident.
[View Figure]
STATUE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE, CHICAGO.
Black Partridge rescuing Mrs. Helm.
[View Figure]
FT. DEARBORN TABLET, CHICAGO, ILL.
[View Figure]
ZUNI INDIANA VILLAGE, ARIZONA.
