The Project Gutenberg EBook of Good stories for great birthdays, by Francis Jenkins Olcott This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Good stories for great birthdays arranged for story-telling and reading aloud and for the children's own reading Author: Francis Jenkins Olcott Release Date: September 21, 2017 [EBook #55592] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOOD STORIES FOR GREAT BIRTHDAYS *** Produced by Chuck Greif, MFR and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) GOOD STORIES FOR GREAT BIRTHDAYS {i} {ii} {iii} {iv} BREAKFAST WITH THE CHILDREN AT MOUNT VERNON Contents Appendix I. Programme of Stories from the History of the United States Appendix II. Story Programme of South America’s Struggle for Independence Subject Index: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y. GOOD STORIES FOR GREAT BIRTHDAYS ARRANGED FOR STORY-TELLING AND READING ALOUD AND FOR THE CHILDREN’S OWN READING BY FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge The Riverside Press Cambridge COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Riverside Press The Riverside Press CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. {v} {vi} GRATEFULLY DEDICATED TO FRANCES MARY JENKINS OLCOTT January 25 One in whose eyes the smile of kindness made Its haunt, like flowers by sunny brooks in May, Yet at the thought of others’ pain, a shade Of sweeter sadness chased the smile away. William Cullen Bryant FOREWORD Here are over 200 stories celebrating 23 great birthdays of patriot-founders and upbuilders of the Republics of both North and South America. In the stories are more than 75 historical characters, men, women, and children. The arrangement follows the school-year, beginning in October with Columbus. The book-cover is dressed in George Washington’s colours, scarlet and white. TREATMENT OF HISTORY FOR CHILDREN These tales are not packed full of dry facts and dates, boring to children. Instead, they treat history in a manner appealing to boys and girls. For it is the strong personalities that moved in the big events of the world, it is the forceful lives of the men themselves, their preparation in boyhood for successful careers, their struggles for right, their heroism, devotion, and high adventure, as well as the why and wherefore of things, which make history an intense reality to children and young folk. American history treated after such a fashion, may be used educationally to develop a fine, true type of Americanism. So most of the tales presented here are ones of personality, human and alive. They are full of action. Many of them relate deeds of courage, kindness, self-sacrifice, and perseverance. They are of just the right length to read aloud or tell without fatiguing the children. They deal scarcely at all with battle, murder, or sudden death. They stress the intimate, human side of our Patriots, the side not often found in textbooks. SOME OF OUR HEROES Here are stories of Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, and John Marshall showing them not cold and wooden, but warm and vital; also tales of great-hearted Lincoln, and of America’s very human hero, Roosevelt. And exceedingly human, too, are Light Horse Harry, the Sage of Monticello, Old Hickory, Brother Jonathan, Old Put, and the Great Commoner, who, with words as powerful as sword-strokes, fought America’s battles. Among the women, the mothers and wives helping to win the Wars for Independence in both North and South America, are Mary and Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Andrew Jackson’s mother, the mother of John Marshall, and the wife of San Martin. And the children of our foreign born, with how much greater pride may they say, “We are Americans!” when they read about Lafayette, Kosciuszko, Steuben, Haym Salomon, Pulaski, De Kalb, and Irish Moll Pitcher. Then, of course, Columbus the Italian is here, sailing under the gold and crimson banner of Spain. Our school children, too, may be surprised to learn, that there are 20 robust American Republics to the south of us, with aspirations like our own, and having devoted Patriots. Among their national heroes, are Miranda “the Flaming Son of Liberty,” San Martin the great and good, Bolivar the brilliant and victorious, O’Higgins the soldier-citizen, and Brazil’s patriot Emperor, Dom Pedro the magnanimous. All Spanish accents have been omitted—as is sometimes done in English books—so that the names of South American Patriots may not seem strange and foreign to our school children. NO HISTORICAL FICTION There is no historical fiction here. The larger number of the stories are original, written purposely for this volume. Every detail is historical, and every conversation is based on an authority. A partial list of the histories and biographies consulted while writing the stories, may be found on page xiv. When historians have not agreed as to dates and facts, the most reliable sources have been followed. Of the stories attributed to authors, some have been recast to meet the requirements of storytelling; others are given verbatim. This provides a selection of tales varied both in style and in treatment. Some of the tales are for children, and some for young people. The book may be useful in all Grades. No living Americans are celebrated. Those whose birthdays are kept, have passed into history. And since one small volume cannot hold stories about all of our Patriots, a careful selection has been made of tales about Americans whose contributions to the founding of free Government are of vital importance. It is deeply regretted that lack of space precludes the use of other birthdays. Because of copyright restrictions, the Roosevelt section is somewhat limited. A number of well-known tales which are omitted, may be found in Good Stories for Great Holidays. {vii} {ix} {x} {xi} {xii} TEACHING AMERICAN SOLIDARITY In as far as possible, all tales of sectional differences, of political animosities, and of civil strife, have been avoided. The emphasis in this book is upon American Solidarity. Pioneers of progress inevitably arouse bitter antagonists. It would require a large volume indeed, to treat of the derogatory statements and written attacks which have been levelled at most of the men whose birthdays we are celebrating. We know that Columbus suffered severely from attacks by enemies, that Washington was one of the “most vilified of men,” and that Lincoln’s detractors were merciless. To-day we may perceive the process of vilification still going on around us. Happily, time has shown that much of the detraction of the past was public slander and clamour, and has consigned it to the rubbish heap of history. In a book of this kind, detractions have little or no place; and it is against the good sense of the best educational principles, to impress the children’s plastic minds with such matters. When the children are older, they will be better able to judge of them intelligently. HELPFUL TO TEACHERS May it be said right here, with emphasis, that this book is not intended to take the place of suitable biographies of the men whose birthdays we are celebrating. Entertaining, lively tales should, on the contrary, lead boys and girls to want to know more about their favourite heroes. And the teacher may use these short stories not merely to illustrate American history textbooks, but to strengthen the children’s love of Country, to teach them the meaning of American Unity, and to give them a more intelligent reverence for the Constitution. To aid the teacher and story-teller there is appended on pages 465-483 a Subject Index, by means of which any story on a given topic may be quickly found. The Study Programmes, on pages 451-462, are chronologically arranged to illustrate the day’s lesson. FOR MOTHERS, ALSO But above all else, may this book, day by day, help mothers and educators to bring to the children’s remembrance on these great birthdays, something of the devotion, the patience, the sufferings, and the personal sacrifice of the noble men, who, under the good hand of God, laid the foundations of American Liberty and Self-Government. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Grateful acknowledgments are due the following Publishers and Authors, for material from their books:— To Houghton Mifflin Company for material from books by Edward Arber, Albert J. Beveridge, John Fiske, Henry Cabot Lodge, John T. Morse, James Parton, James B. Thayer, William Roscoe Thayer, and John Greenleaf Whittier. To the New York Evening Post for stories written for its columns by the author of this book. To the New York Times for “A Lock of Washington’s Hair,” by T. R. Ybarra. To D. Appleton and Company for extracts from the Poems of William Cullen Bryant, and material from William Spence Robertson’s Rise of the Spanish-American Republics. To Charles Scribner’s Sons for material from Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography. To Harr Wagner Publishing Company, San Francisco, California, publishers of the complete works of Joaquin Miller, for permission to use his Columbus. To J. B. Lippincott Company for material from Charles Morris’s Heroes of Progress. To Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Company for “Nellie and Little Washington,” from Harriet Taylor Upton’s Our Early Presidents, their Wives and Children. To the Missionary Education Movement for “Dom Pedro,” from Margarette Daniels’s Makers of South America. To the Macmillan Company for material from James Morgan’s Theodore Roosevelt, the Boy and the Man. To Dr. Sherman Williams for “The Boy of the Hurricane,” from his New York’s Part in History, published by D. Appleton and Company. To Mr. Wayne Whipple for “The Little Girl and the Red Coats,” from his Story-Life of Washington, published by John C. Winston Company. To the Brooklyn Public Library, Montague Branch, for the use of its remarkably fine collection of volumes on early American history, many of which are rare and out of print. To the Staff of the Brooklyn Public Library, Montague Branch, for most helpful co-operation. . . . . . . . . . . As this book of Great Birthdays was several years in the making, it is not possible to cite the many authorities, histories, and biographies which have been consulted. The following titles may give some idea of the kind of research work done, in order to make Great Birthdays of value in teaching American History:— Fiske, American Revolution; Garden, Ancedotes of the Revolutionary War; Green, Short History of the English People; Journals of the Continental Congress; Lossing, Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution; Elkanah Watson, Men and Times of the Revolution; Select Letters of Christopher Columbus, with other Original Documents (Hakluyt Society); Memorials of Columbus ... translated from the Spanish and Italian; Lives of Columbus by Irving, Lamartine, and Winsor; Story of the Pilgrim Fathers (Arber Reprint); Mourt’s Relation; Old South Leaflets; George Washington, Journal of my Journey over the Mountains, also his Writings; Ford, Washington and the Theatre; George Washington Parke Custis, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, by his Adopted Son; Headley, Illustrated Life of George Washington; Irving, Life of Washington; Lossing, Mary {xiii} {xiv} {xv} {xvi} {xvii} and Martha, the Mother and the Wife of George Washington; Lodge, George Washington, (American Statesmen Series); John Paul Jones’s Letters, also lives of him by De Koven, Headley, and Mackenzie; Lives of William Penn, by Dixon, Hodges, Janney, Stoughton; Lives of John Marshall, and addresses in his memory, by Beveridge, Binney, Flanders, Rawle, Sallie E. Marshal Hardy (in The Green Bag), Justice Story, and Chief Justice Waite; Peters, Haym Salomon; Franklin’s Autobiography; Humphreys, Life of the Honourable Major General Israel Putnam (material obtained largely from Putnam himself); Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, by his descendant Jonathan Trumbull; correspondence, diaries, and speeches of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams, Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Lafayette, Pitt, Lincoln, and Webster. In writing the South American stories, the following have been most useful: Biggs, History of Don Francisco de Miranda’s Attempt to Effect a Revolution in South America; Palacio Fajardo, Outline of the Revolution in Spanish America; Encyclopedia of Latin America; Koebel, British Exploits in South America, also his South America; Captain Basil Hall, Extracts from a Journal; Larrazábal, Simón Bolivar; Mahoney, Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela and New Grenada; Mehegan, O’Higgins of Chile; General Miller, Memoirs in the Service of the Republic of Peru; Bartolomé Mitre, Emancipation of South America; Pan- American Union, Bulletin; Petre, Simón Bolivar; Robertson, Rise of the Spanish-American Republics, also his Francisco de Miranda (American Historical Association); Smith, History of the Adventures and Sufferings of Moses Smith; also a number of volumes of travel including Lord Bryce, South America; and Winter, Argentina, and Chile. CONTENTS October 12 COLUMBUS AND DISCOVERER’S DAY Columbus, Joaquin Miller 2 The Sea of Darkness 3 The Fortunate Isles 5 The Absurd Truth 7 Cathay the Golden 10 The Emerald Islands 12 The Magnificent Return 13 The Fatal Pearls 15 Tierra Firme The Pearls The Curse of the Pearls Queen Isabella’s Page 21 The Twin Cities 24 The Pearls Again 26 October 14 WILLIAM PENN, THE FOUNDER OF PENNSYLVANIA Within the Land of Penn, John Greenleaf Whittier 30 The Boy of Great Tower Hill 31 He Wore It as long as He Could, Samuel M. Janney 32 The Peacemaker 33 Westward Ho, and Away! John Stoughton 34 The City of Brotherly Love 36 The Place of Kings, Samuel M. Janney 38 Onas, W. Hepworth Dixon 41 October 27 THEODORE ROOSEVELT, AMERICA’S HERO The Square Deal, Theodore Roosevelt 44 The Boy Who Grew Strong, James Morgan 45 Not in a Log Cabin In the Wide Out-of-Doors Busting Broncos Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt 50 The Children of Sagamore Hill, William Roscoe Thayer 52 Off with John Burroughs, Theodore Roosevelt 53 The Big Stick, William Roscoe Thayer 54 A-Hunting Trees with John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt 55 The Bear Hunters’ Dinner, Theodore Roosevelt 56 Hunting in Africa, Theodore Roosevelt 57 The Ever Faithful Island 59 {xviii} {xix} The Colonel of the Rough Riders, William Roscoe Thayer 61 The River of Doubt, William Roscoe Thayer 65 Theodore Roosevelt, William Roscoe Thayer 69 October 30 JOHN ADAMS, THE SON OF LIBERTY Independence Day, John Adams 74 A Son of Liberty, Benson J. Lossing 75 The Adams Family 76 Aid to the Sister Colony, James Parton 77 A Famous Date 80 What a Glorious Morning! 81 John to Samuel 82 A Gentleman from Virginia 83 The Boy Who Became President 85 How Shall the Stars be Placed? 88 The Mysterious Stranger 89 His Last Toast 91 November 15 WILLIAM PITT, DEFENDER OF AMERICA He at once breathed his own lofty spirit, John Richard Green 94 This Terrible Cornet of Horse 95 The Charter of Liberty 98 America’s Defender 101 The Sons of Liberty 103 A Last Scene, John Fiske 105 December 2 DOM PEDRO THE SECOND, THE MAGNANIMOUS, THE BEST REPUBLICAN IN BRAZIL Freedom in Brazil, John Greenleaf Whittier 110 The Brazils Magnificent 111 The Empire of the Southern Cross 112 Making the Little Emperor, W. H. Koebel 113 The Patriot Emperor 115 I. Viva Dom Pedro the Second! II. My People III. Emancipating the Slaves, 1888 IV. The Empire of the Southern Cross—No More! Margarette Daniels The United States of Brazil 120 December 20 WILLIAM BRADFORD, AND THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS So they left that goodly and pleasant city, William Bradford 124 The Father of the New England Colonies 125 The Savage New World 128 Welcome, Englishmen! 131 Lost! Lost! A Boy! 132 The Rattlesnake Challenge 136 The Great Drought, Governor Edward Winslow 138 January 7 GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM, “OLD PUT” There was a generosity and buoyancy about the brave old man, Washington Irving 142 Seeing Boston 143 The Fight with the Wolf 144 From Plough to Camp 146 He Made Washington Laugh 148 A Generous Foe 149 Putnam not Forgotten! 150 January 11 ALEXANDER HAMILTON, DEFENDER OF THE CONSTITUTION He gave the whole powers of his mind, Daniel Webster 154 The Boy of the Hurricane, Sherman Williams 155 Call Colonel Hamilton 157 A Struggle 158 “He Knows Everything” 159 January 17 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, THE AMERICAN SOCRATES Our Country, Benjamin Franklin 164 The Whistle, Benjamin Franklin 165 The Candle-Maker’s Boy 166 The Boy of the Printing Press 167 The Three Rolls 168 Standing Before Kings 169 The Wonderful Kite Experiment 170 The Rising Sun 171 To My Friend, Benjamin Franklin 172 February 12 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE GREAT EMANCIPATOR Oh, slow to smite and swift to spare, William Cullen Bryant 174 The Cabin in the Clearing 175 How He Learned to be Just 176 Off to New Orleans 177 The Kindness of Lincoln 178 The Little Birds Rescuing the Pig Opening Their Eyes Lincoln and the Children 181 Hurrah for Lincoln! Only Eight of Us, Sir He’s Beautiful! Please Let Your Beard Grow Three Little Girls The President and the Bible 183 Washington and Lincoln Speak 185 Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln 186 February 22 GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY Lincoln on Washington’s Birthday 190 The Boy in the Valley 191 Washington’s Mother, George Washington Parke Custis 194 Washington’s Wedding Day, Henry Cabot Lodge 197 Washington and the Children, Grace Greenwood 197 The Little Girl and the Red Coats, Wayne Whipple 200 Nellie and Little Washington, Harriet Taylor Upton 200 Seeing the President, George Washington Parke Custis 203 Nelson the Hero, George Washington Parke Custis 204 Caring for the Guest, Elkanah Watson 205 Thoughtful of Others 206 The Cincinnatus of the West 206 Brother Jonathan 208 The Bloody Footprints, George Washington Parke Custis 210 An Appeal to God, Benson J. Lossing 211 Friend Greene 213 Light Horse Harry, Washington Irving 216 Captain Molly, George Washington Parke Custis 218 The Soldier Baron 220 Father Thaddeus 223 The Little Friend in Front Street 228 Farewell! My General! Farewell! J. T. Headley 230 From “Washington’s Legacy” 232 A King of Men, John Fiske 233 When Washington Died 234 February 25 JOSE DE SAN MARTIN OF ARGENTINA, THE PROTECTOR San Martin, the Great Liberator, Joseph Conrad 236 The Boy Soldier 237 The Patriot Who Kept Faith 238 When San Martin Came 240 Argentina’s Independence Day 243 A Great Idea 243 The Mighty Andes, Bartolome Mitre 245 The Real San Martin 247 The Fighting Engineer of the Andes, Bartolome Mitre 248 The Hannibal of the Andes, General Miller and Bartolome Mitre 249 Not for Himself 254 Cochrane, El Diablo 255 Our Brothers, Ye Shall be Free 256 The Fall of the City of the Kings, Captain Basil Hall 257 San Martin the Conqueror, Captain Basil Hall 261 A Retreat The Mother and Her Three Sons The Little Girl Who Was Bashful Another Little Girl The Best Cigar Duty Before the General Lima’s Greatest Day 265 Hail, Neighbour Republics! 266 America for the Americans 268 What One American Did 271 The Amazing Meeting 272 What Happened Afterward 274 The Mystery Solved 276 March 15 ANDREW JACKSON, OLD HICKORY I want to say that Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt 280 Mischievous Andy, James Parton 281 Reading the Declaration 282 Out Against Tarleton, James Parton 283 An Orphan of the Revolution, James Parton 285 The Hooting in the Wilderness, James Parton 286 Fort Mims 289 Davy Crockett 290 Chief Weatherford, James Parton 291 Sam Houston 295 Why Jackson was Named Old Hickory, James Parton 297 The Cotton-Bales 299 After the Battle of New Orleans, James Parton 300 April 13 THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE FRAMER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE The Fourth of July, Hezekiah Butterworth 304 The Boy Owner of Shadwell Farm, James Parton 305 A Christmas Guest, James Parton 306 The Author of the Declaration 308 Proclaim Liberty 309 Only a Reprieve 310 On the Fourth of July 313 May 29 PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE To the Reader, Patrick Henry 316 The Orator of the War for Independence, Charles Morris 317 A Surprise to All A Failure That Was a Success Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death! Facing Danger 322 June 9 FRANCISCO DE MIRANDA OF VENEZUELA, THE FLAMING SON OF LIBERTY The Prince of Filibusters, William Spence Robertson 326 The Spanish Galleons 327 The Romance of Miranda 331 The Mystery Ship, James Biggs and Moses Smith 335 The End of the Mystery Ship 339 The Great and Glorious Fifth 341 A Terrible Thing 343 End of the Romance 344 June 23-24 ROGER WILLIAMS AND THE FOUNDING OF PROVIDENCE God makes a Path, Roger Williams 348 Roger, the Boy 349 Soul Liberty 350 What Cheer! Z. A. Mudge 352 Risking His Life, Charles Morris 354 July 6 JOHN PAUL JONES, AMERICA’S IMMORTAL SEA-FIGHTER Paul Jones, Ballad 358 The Boy of the Solway, J. T. Headley 359 Don’t Tread on Me! J. T. Headley 360 The First Salute, Alexander S. Mackenzie 361 The Poor Richard 364 Mickle’s the Mischief He has Dune, J. T. Headley 365 Paul Jones Himself, J. T. Headley 367 Some of His Sayings 369 July 24 SIMON BOLIVAR OF VENEZUELA, THE LIBERATOR Bolivar, Barry Cornwall 372 The Precious Jewel 373 The Fiery Young Patriot 376 Seeing Bolivar, By a Young Englishman 378 Uncle Paez—The Lion of the Apure 382 Angostura 384 The Crossing, By One who Accompanied Bolivar 385 Peru Next 388 The Break 389 Bolivar the Man, William Spence Robertson 390 August 20 BERNARDO O’HIGGINS, FIRST SOLDIER, FIRST CITIZEN OF CHILE The Name of O’Higgins, W. H. Koebel 394 The Son of the Barefoot Boy 395 The Single Star Flag 397 The Hero of Rancagua 398 Companions-in-Arms 400 The Patriot Ruler 400 First Soldier, First Citizen 402 Chile as She Is 403 One of Twenty 405 The Better Way 406 September 6 THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE, THE FRIEND OF AMERICA After the sacrifices I have made, Lafayette 412 I will Join the Americans! Edith Sichel 413 In America 414 On the Field Near Camden 414 The Banner of the Moravian Nuns 416 Loyal to the Chief, John Fiske 418 We Are Grateful, Lafayette! 420 Some of Washington’s Hair, T. R. Ybarra 421 Welcome! Friend of America! 422 September 24 JOHN MARSHALL, THE EXPOUNDER OF THE CONSTITUTION He had a deep sense of moral and religious obligation, Justice Joseph Story 426 The Boy of the Frontier, Albert J. Beveridge 427 In a Log Cabin Off to the Blue Ridge Making an American Give Me Liberty! The Young Lieutenant, Horace Binney 433 Serving the Cause, Henry Flanders 434 At Valley Forge, William Henry Rawle 435 Silver Heels, J. B. Thayer 436 Without Bread, John Marshall’s Sister 437 His Mother, Sallie E. Marshall Hardy 438 His Father, Justice Joseph Story 438 Three Stories, James B. Thayer 439 What Was in the Saddlebags Eating Cherries Learned in the Law of Nations The Constitution 442 Expounding the Constitution, Chief Justice Waite 444 The Great Chief Justice, Horace Binney 446 Respected by All The True Man What of the Constitution? Washington, Bolivar, Webster, Lincoln 448 Envoy 450 Appendix I. Programme of Stories from the History of the United States 453 II. Story Programme of South America’s Struggle for Independence 460 Subject Index: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y. 465 ILLUSTRATIONS Breakfast with the Children at Mount Vernon Frontispiece Columbus examines the Pearls 18 Roosevelt breaking “Devil” 50 John Billington brought on the Shoulders of an Indian 136 Franklin and the Kite Experiment 170 “He’s beautiful” 182 “‘Treason! Treason!’ cried some of the excited Members” 318 Paul Jones hoisting the Stars and Stripes 362 Drawn by Frank T. Merrill OCTOBER 12 COLUMBUS AND DISCOVERER’S DAY The Very Magnificent Lord Don Cristobal Colon, High Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the Islands and Tierra Firma. COLUMBUS “My men grow mutinous day by day; My men grow ghastly wan and weak.” The stout Mate thought of home; a spray Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. “What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, If we sight naught but seas at dawn?” “Why you shall say at break of day, Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! and on!” Then pale and worn, he kept his deck, And peered through darkness. Ah, that night Of all dark nights! And then a speck— A light! A light! A light! A light! It grew, a starlit Flag unfurled! It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. He gained a World, he gave that World Its grandest lesson— “On! Sail on!” From Joaquin Miller’s Columbus Christopher Columbus was born in Italy, about 1451 First landed on an island of America, October 12, 1492 Sighted South America, 1498 Was sent in chains to Spain, 1500 Returned from his Fourth Voyage, 1504 He died, May 20, 1506 His name in Spanish is Cristobal Colon. THE SEA OF DARKNESS {xxxii} {1} {2} {3} Before America was ever heard of, over four hundred years ago, a boy lived in Genoa the Proud City. He was just one of hundreds of boys in that beautiful Italian town, whose palaces, marble villas, and churches climbed her picturesque hillsides. The boy’s name was Christopher Columbus. Whenever he could leave his father’s workshop, where he was learning to comb wool, for his father was a weaver, how eagerly the boy must have run down to the wharfs and sat there watching the ships come and go. They came from all those parts of the world which people knew about then, from Iceland and England, from European and Asiatic ports, and from North Africa. Caravels, galleys, and galleons, and sailing craft of all kinds, came laden with the wealth that made Genoa one of the richest cities of her time. The sailors, who lounged on the wharfs, spun wonderful yarns. They told how beyond the Pillars of Hercules which guarded the straits of Gibraltar, there rolled a vast, unknown sea, called the Atlantic Ocean or the Sea of Darkness. No one, they said, had ever crossed it. No one knew what lay beyond it. All was mystery. And any mariners, the sailors said, who had ventured far out on its black waters had never returned. Fearful things had happened to such mariners, the sailors added, for the Sea of Darkness swarmed with spectres, devils, and imps. And when night fell, slimy monsters crawled and swam in its boiling waves. Among these monsters, was an enormous nautilus large enough to crush a whole ship in its squirming arms, and a serpent fifty leagues long with flaming eyes and horse’s mane. Sea- elephants, sea-lions, and sea-tigers, fed in beds of weeds. Harpies and winged terrors flew over the surface of the water. And horrible, they said, was the fate which overtook the ship of any foolhardy mariners who ventured too far out on that gloomy ocean. A gigantic hand was thrust up through the waves, and grasped the ship. A polypus, spouting two water-spouts as high as the sky, made such a whirlpool that the vessel, spinning round and round like a top, was sucked down into the roaring abyss. These frightful sea-yarns and many like them, the sailors told about the Atlantic Ocean, and people believed them. But the eyes of the boy Columbus, as he sat listening, must have sparkled as he longed to explore those mysterious waters of the Sea of Darkness, and follow them to the very edge of the world. For all that lay to the west of the Azores, was a great and fascinating mystery, when Columbus was a boy, before America was discovered. THE FORTUNATE ISLES Listen now to some of the stories that the Irish sailors who visited Genoa, told when Columbus was a boy. And people in those days, believed them to be true. They told how far, far in the West, where the sun set in crimson splendour, lay the Terrestrial Paradise from which Adam and Eve were driven. And other wonder tales the sailors told. One was the enchanting tale of Maeldune, the Celtic Knight, who seeking his father’s murderer, sailed over the wide Atlantic in a coracle of skins lapped threefold, one over the other. Many were the wonder-islands that Maeldune and his comrades visited—the Island of the Silvern Column; the Island of the Flaming Rampart; the Islands of the Monstrous Ants, and the Giant Birds; the Islands of the Fierce Beasts, the Fiery Swine, and the Little Cat; the Islands of the Black Mourners, the Glass Bridge, and the Spouting Water; the Islands of the Red Berries, and the Magic Apples; and the islands of many other wonders. Many were the strange adventures that Maeldune had in enchanted castles with beautiful Queens and lovely damsels, with monstrous birds, sleep-giving potions, and magic food. And the Irish sailors told, also, of good St. Brandan who set sail in a coracle, and discovered the Fortunate Isles. There he dwelt in blessed happiness, they said:— “And his voice was low as from other worlds, and his eyes were sweet; And his white hair sank to his heels, and his white beard fell to his feet.” And still another tale the Irish sailors told, a tale of Fairy Land, called the Land of Youth. Thither once went Usheen the Irish Bard. It happened on a sweet, misty morning that Usheen saw a slender snow-white steed come pacing along the shore of Erin. Silver were his shoes, and a nodding crest of gold was on his head. Upon his back was seated a Fairy Maiden crowned with gold, and wrapped in a trailing mantle adorned with stars of red gold. Weirdly but sweetly she smiled, and sang an Elfin song; while over sea and shore there fell a dreamy silence. Through the fine mist she urged on her steed, singing sweeter and ever sweeter as she came nearer and nearer to Usheen. She drew rein before him. His friends saw him spring upon the steed, and fold the Fairy Maiden in his arms. She shook the bridle which rang forth like a chime of bells, and swiftly they sped over the water and across the sea, the snow-white steed running lightly over the waves. They plunged into a golden haze that shrouded them from mortal eyes. Ghostly towers, castles, and palace-gates loomed dimly before Usheen, then melted away. A hornless doe bounded near him, chased by a white hound. They vanished into the haze. Then a Fairy Damsel rode swiftly past Usheen, holding up a golden apple to him. Fast behind her, galloped a horseman, his purple cloak streaming in the still air, a sharp sword glittering in his hand. They, too, melted mysteriously away. And soon Usheen himself vanished into the Land of Youth, into Fairy Land. These are some of the wonder tales that folk used to tell about the mysterious Atlantic Ocean, when Columbus was a boy. {4} {5} {6} {7} THE ABSURD TRUTH When Columbus was a boy, there was a story told that the Earth was round. Nearly every one who heard it thought it foolish— absurd. “The Earth round!” they said; “do we not know that the Earth is flat? And does not the sun set each night at the edge of the World?” But young Columbus had a powerful, practical imagination. He believed there were good reasons to think that the Earth was not flat. He attended the University of Pavia. He studied astronomy and other sciences. He learned map-making. He read how the ancient philosophers thought the Earth to be a sphere and how they had tried to prove their theory by observing the sun, moon, and stars. Then, too, there were scholars in Europe, when Columbus was young, who agreed with the philosophers. But no scholar or philosopher had ever risked his life in a frail ship and ventured across the terrible Sea of Darkness to battle with its horrors, and prove his theory to be fact. The surging billows of the Atlantic with angry leaping crests of foam, still guarded their mystery. Young Columbus became a sailor, cruising with his uncle on the Mediterranean, sometimes chasing pirate ships. When older, he made long voyages. He learned to navigate a vessel. He visited, so some historians say, England and Thule. They say, too, that Thule was Iceland. Then if he visited Iceland, Columbus must have heard the strange tale of how Leif, son of Erik the Red, the bold Northman, sailed in a single ship over the Sea of Darkness, and discovered Vinland the Good on the other side of the Atlantic. Columbus talked with sailors about their voyages. He heard how the waves of the Sea of Darkness sometimes cast upon the Islands of the Azores, gigantic bamboos, queer trees, strange nuts, seeds, carved logs, and bodies of hideous men with flat faces, the flotsam and jetsam from unknown lands far to the west. Columbus’s imagination and spirit of adventure were fired. He became more eager than ever to explore that vast expanse of water, and learn what really lay in the mysterious region, where the sun set each night and from which the sun returned each morning. “The Earth is not flat,” thought he, “much goes to prove it. India, from which gold and spices come, is assuredly on the other side. If I can but cross the Sea of Darkness, I shall reach Tartary and Cathay the Golden Country of Kublai Khan. I shall have found a Western Passage to Asia. I will bring back treasure; but more than all else I shall be able to carry the Gospel of Christ to the heathen.” For Columbus, you must know, was one of the most devout Christian men of his time. And he signed his name to letters, “Christ Bearing.” Christopher in the Greek language, means Christ-Bearer. Perhaps, he was thinking of the beautiful legend of St. Christopher, who on his mighty shoulders bore the Christ Child across the swelling river, even as he, Christopher Columbus, humbly wished to bear Christ’s Gospel across the raging waters of the Sea of Darkness. CATHAY THE GOLDEN Where was Cathay the Golden? Who was Kublai Khan? One of Columbus’s favourite books was written by Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who served Kublai, Grand Khan of Tartary in Asia. Cathay was the name which Marco Polo gave to China. In his book, Marco Polo told of many marvels. In the chief city of Cathay the Golden, ruled over by Kublai Khan, stood the Grand Khan’s palace. Its walls were covered with gold and silver, and adorned with figures of dragons, beasts, and birds. Its lofty roof was coloured outside with vermilion, yellow, green, blue, and every other hue, all shining like crystal. To this city of Cathay, were brought the most costly articles in the world, gold, silver, precious jewels, spices, and rare silks. The Grand Khan had so many plates, cups, and ewers of gold and silver, that no one would believe it without seeing them. He had five thousand elephants in magnificent trappings, bearing chests on their backs filled with priceless treasure. He had also, a vast number of camels with rich housings. At the New Year Feast, the people made presents to Kublai Khan of gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, and rich stuffs. They presented him, also, with many beautiful snow-white horses handsomely caparisoned. These and other wonderful things, did Marco Polo write about in his book, and Columbus read them all. . . . . . . . . . . At last the time came, when Columbus was fully determined to discover a Western Passage, and thus open a path through the Ocean from Europe to Asia. The Spanish courtiers laughed at Columbus; they called him a fool and madman to believe that the Sea of Darkness might be crossed. But as the years of waiting went by, Columbus grew stronger in his determination. The story of his many years of patient but determined waiting in Spain, of his pleadings with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, for money, men, and ships with which to cross the Ocean Sea, is told in “Good Stories for Great Holidays.” And in “Good Stories for Great Holidays,” it is told how at last Columbus was befriended by the Friar Juan Perez. There also may be found the stories of Columbus and the Egg, of his little son Diego at La Rabida, of Queen Isabella pledging her jewels, of Columbus’s sailing across the Sea of Darkness, of the mutiny, of his faith, perseverance, and wisdom, and how at last he sighted a cluster of beautiful green islands, lying like emeralds in the blue waters of the Atlantic—all these stories may be read in “Good Stories for Great Holidays.” THE EMERALD ISLANDS Columbus’s Day, October 12, 1492 {8} {9} {10} {11} {12} It was with songs of praise, that Columbus first landed on one of those emerald islands of the New World. And what delightful islands they were, sparkling with streams, and filled with trees of great height. There were fruits, flowers, and honey in abundance. Among the large leaves and bright blossoms, flocks of birds sang and called. There were cultivated fields of Indian corn. And there were savages, naked dark-skinned folk, who peeped from behind trees, or ran frightened away. Later they grew bolder, and traded with Columbus and his men. Some of the savages smoked rolls of dried leaves. This was the first tobacco that white men had ever seen. Thus Columbus and his men discovered Indian corn, and tobacco. As Columbus sailed along the shores of the islands, he watched anxiously for the crystal-shining domes of Kublai Khan’s Palace to rise among the trees. But no Cathay the Golden gleamed among the green, no elephants in trappings of cloth-of-gold, paced the sands. Instead, all was wild though so beautiful. The only people were the dark-skinned ones, whom Columbus named Indians; for he was sure that he had come across the Sea of Darkness by the Western Passage to India. THE MAGNIFICENT RETURN It was a day of great rejoicing when Columbus returned to Spain. The whole country rose up to do him honour. Bells were rung, mass was said, and vast crowds cheered him as he passed along streets and highways. No one called him a fool and madman then. Had he not crossed the Sea of Darkness and returned alive? Neither nautilus, gigantic hand, nor polypus had dared to harm him. The Sea of Darkness was a mysterious gloomy sea no longer, instead it was the wide Atlantic Ocean, a safe pathway for brave mariners and good ships, a pathway leading to new lands of gold and spices far toward the setting sun. And so all Spain did honour to Columbus. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella eagerly awaited him at Barcelona. He entered that city with pomp and in procession. Balconies, windows, roofs were thronged. Crowds surged through the streets to gaze in wonder on that strange procession, so spectacular, so magnificent. First came the dark-skinned savage men, in paint and gold ornaments; after them walked men bearing live parrots of every colour; then others came carrying rich glittering coronets and bracelets, together with beautiful fruits and strange vegetables and plants, such as the people of Europe had never dreamed could exist. Then passed the great discoverer himself, Christopher Columbus, a-horseback, and surrounded by a cavalcade of the most brilliant courtiers of Spain. He dismounted, and entered the saloon where the King and Queen sat beneath a canopy of brocade. He modestly greeted them on bended knee. They raised him most graciously, and bade him be seated in their presence. After they had heard his tale with wonder, and had examined the treasures that he had brought with him from beyond the Sea of Darkness, the King and Queen together with their whole Court knelt in thanksgiving to God. To reward Columbus, his Sovereigns bestowed upon him the titles of Don Christopher Columbus, Our Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discovered in the Indies. They also promised to make him ruler over any other islands and mainland he might discover. Columbus immediately began to prepare for another voyage. With a fleet of seventeen ships, bearing supplies and colonists, he sailed across the Sea of Darkness once more to the islands of the New World. He planted a colony there. He discovered other islands. And he still kept on searching diligently for Cathay the Golden. Turbulent adventurers, rapacious gold-hunters, and vicious men, were among the colonists. And Columbus, in the name of his Sovereigns, with great difficulty ruled over them all. THE FATAL PEARLS Tierra Firme It was in May, 1498. The fleet of Admiral Don Christopher Columbus, in the name of the Holy Trinity, set sail from Spain for a third voyage across the Atlantic. It was no longer a Sea of Darkness to Columbus, but a sure pathway to golden lands. There he still hoped to find the Earthly Paradise from which Adam and Eve had been driven. And there too, he still expected to discover Cathay the Golden in Tartary, and Cipango, the great island of the western sea, which we call Japan. His ships sailed on, now plunging through the lifting billows, now lying becalmed on glassy waters under the fierce rays of the tropic sun, and now moving through a region of balmy airs and light refreshing breezes. July arrived, yet he had not sighted land. The fierce heat of the sun had sprung the seams of the ships. The provisions were rancid. There was scarcely any sweet water left in the casks. The anxious, watchful Admiral scanned the horizon. On the last day of the month, came a shout from the masthead:—“Land!” And Columbus beheld the peaks of three mountains rising from the sea, outlined sharply against the sky. Then he and his men, lifting up their voices, sang anthems of praise and repeated prayers of thanksgiving. As the ships drew nearer to the three peaks, Columbus perceived that they rose from an island and were united at their base. “Three in one,” he said, and named the island after the Holy Trinity in whose name he had set sail. For he had vowed before leaving Spain, to name the first new land he saw after the Trinity. That is why that island, to-day, is called Trinidad. They filled their casks there. Then onward they sailed, skirting the coast of Trinidad, hoping to find a harbour to put into while repairing the ships. Soon, they saw a misty headland opposite the island. “It is another island,” said Columbus. {13} {14} {15} {16} {17} It was no island. Wonderful to relate, Columbus had just discovered a new Country. It was the coastline of a vast southern continent. It was Tierra Firme. It was South America! The Pearls Young Indian braves, graceful and handsome, their black hair straight and long, their heads wrapped in brilliant scarfs, other bright scarfs wound round their middles, came in a canoe to visit Columbus’s ships. Soon after this visit, Columbus set sail again, not knowing that he had just sighted one of the richest and greatest continents on earth. Sailing past the mouths of the mighty Orinoco River, pouring out their torrents with angry roar into the Caribbean Sea, Columbus skirted what is now called Venezuela. Other friendly Indians came to his ships. It was then that Columbus saw for the first time the pearls which were to help ruin him, and which were to work wretchedness and death for so many poor Indian folk. Among the friendly Indians were some who wore bracelets of lustrous pearls. The gold and spices got by Columbus on his former voyages were of slight beauty compared with those strings of magnificent pearls. Columbus examined them eagerly. He longed for some to send back to Queen Isabella, in order to prove to her what a rich land he had just discovered. He questioned the Indians. Where had they got the pearls? They came from their own land, and from a country to the north and west, they answered. Columbus was eager to go thither. But first he sent men ashore to barter for some of the bracelets. With bright bits of earthenware, with buttons, scissors, and needles, they bought quantities of the pearls from the delighted Indians, to whom such articles were worth more than gold and jewels of which they had plenty. Then Columbus, hoisting sail, ran farther along the coast purchasing pearls until he had half a bushel or so of the lustrous sea- jewels, some of them of very large size. He named a great gulf, the Gulf of Pearls. He discovered other islands, among them the island of Margarita, which means a pearl. After which he turned his ships toward Santo Domingo, not knowing how tragic a thing was to befall him there, partly on account of the pearls. COLUMBUS EXAMINES THE PEARLS The Curse of the Pearls Those fatal sea-jewels had already begun their evil work. While Columbus was tarrying to collect them, a rebellion fomented by bad men who had taken advantage of his absence, had broken out in the Island of Santo Domingo. When Columbus reached there, he suppressed it. But his enemies hastened to send lying reports about him to the Spanish Court. And the courtiers, who were jealous of his high position, wealth, and power, urged King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to have him deposed. One of their accusations against him was, that he had held back from his Sovereigns their rightful portion of the rich find of pearls. So at last, the royal edict went forth that the very magnificent Don Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the Indies, should be tried and, if found guilty, deposed and returned to Spain. {18} {19}