The Story of Our Country

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THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY

Every Child Can Read

Edited by

REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D.

Illustrated

[Illustration: STEAM SHOVEL AT WORK IN CULEBRA CUT, PANAMA CANAL.]

[Illustration]

The John C. Winston Co. Philadelphia

Copyright, 1910, By The John C. Winston Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE A Talk with the Young Reader 9

CHAPTER I

COLUMBUS, THE GREAT SAILOR

Bold Sailors of the Northern Countries--The Northmen--Columbus the Little Boy--Columbus and the Egg--He Crosses the Atlantic, Braves the Sea and Discovers New Land 15

CHAPTER II

THREE GREAT DISCOVERERS

John and Sebastian Cabot--Balboa Discovers the Pacific--The Fountain of Youth and Ponce de Leon--The Naming of America 27

CHAPTER III

THREE EARLY HEROES

The Story of John Smith and First English Settlement--Miles Standish and the Pilgrims--Roger Williams, the Hero Preacher 36

CHAPTER IV

HOW THE DUTCH AND QUAKERS CAME TO AMERICA Captain Hudson and His Ship, the Half Moon--The Trip up the Hudson--Adventures with the Indians--William Penn and the Quakers--How They Settled on the Delaware River 48

CHAPTER V

THE CAVALIER COLONIES OF THE SOUTH

The Cavaliers and Lords of England--They Settle in Virginia--The Catholics Come to Maryland--Strange Form of Government in Carolina--Paupers Settle Georgia--An Old Spanish Town in Florida 59

CHAPTER VI

THE RED MEN, HOW THEY LIVED AND WERE TREATED

They Were the First Americans--Their Strange Customs and Manners--How They Followed a Trail--How they Fought--Indian Massacres 70

CHAPTER VII

ROYAL GOVERNORS AND LOYAL CAPTAINS

How the Governor was Treated in Connecticut--The Charter Oak--An Exciting Time in Virginia 81

CHAPTER VIII

OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES

When a Tallow Candle Gave the Light--Old-Time Houses--The Story of the Famous Hunter, and How he Escaped from the Indians 91

CHAPTER IX

A HERO OF THE COLONIES

Two Boys who Crossed the Mountains--Their Adventures with the Indians--George Washington, the Surveyor--Messenger to the French--An Old-Time Hero 101

CHAPTER X

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

The Acadians--Their Home in Nova Scotia--Their Sufferings--The Story of Evangeline--Why the Indians Helped the French--The Story of a Cruel War 112

CHAPTER XI

THE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION

How the Trouble Began--The Americans Object to Paying Taxes on Various Articles--The Famous Boston Tea Party--Battle of Lexington--Declaration of Independence 121

CHAPTER XII

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM

Washington the Commander-in-Chief--Bunker Hill--The Wonderful Christmas--The Americans Succeed--They Meet Defeat--"Molly Stark a Widow"--Help from France 133

CHAPTER XIII

PAUL JONES, THE NAVAL HERO OF THE REVOLUTION

Old-Time Warships--A Daring Deed--A Great Sea Fight--The British Captain Surrenders 143

CHAPTER XIV

MARION, THE SWAMP FOX

How the War Went in the South--The Patriots Hard to Find--The British Officers Eat Sweet Potatoes--Jack Davis' Adventure--General Greene and his Famous Retreat--Cornwallis Surrenders--The War at an End 153

CHAPTER XV

THE VOYAGE OF OUR SHIP OF STATE