Part 9 (1/2)

The colony settled on an island near the sh.o.r.e, and here was born the first English white child of the United States. The new baby, whose grandfather was Governor Dare, was called Virginia like her home, but sad to say, no one knows how long she lived nor what befell her, for Governor Dare went back to England for a time, and when he returned little Virginia and her people had disappeared and there was no one to tell where they had gone. Perhaps the Indians had killed them, or had made slaves of them and taken them far inland. At any rate, none of the neighboring red men would tell what had happened to the white strangers who had come to live among them.

Other English settlers followed soon afterwards, however, and built villages among the Indians; and among the oak forests of Virginia little white children were born in rough log houses and played on the beaches along the sh.o.r.e. Their fathers planted fields of corn, and tobacco which they had learned to smoke. They hunted deer, hares, and wild turkeys in the forests.

These early English settlers built walls around their villages in case of sudden attack, for they could not trust their red neighbors, who were not pleased to have the white strangers settling in the country around them.

The little English children were generally happy. The country around them was beautiful, the birds sang sweet songs in the trees near by, and there were flowers and fruits in plenty. When Christmas came they watched the Yule log burn in the big fireplace, and gathered around tables loaded with roasted turkeys, venison and other good things to eat.

Years pa.s.sed by, and other settlers came to America. Most of them were from England, but there were some from Holland and Sweden and other countries of Europe.

Among the newcomers were the Quakers under William Penn, who called their new home in America Pennsylvania, meaning, Penn's woods. They were gentle and peaceful and had little trouble with their Indian neighbors.

Then there were the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in New England one bleak November day. They were quiet and sober-faced. They left their old home to seek one in which they would be free to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d in the way they thought best. As it happened, they chose for themselves the coldest corner of the United States in which to settle and they had before them years of struggle and hard work.

They found the winters in New England colder than those they had known in England and the sharp winds crept in between the cracks in the walls of their rough log houses, chilling their backs even when they were gathered around the blazing logs in the big fireplaces. The crops of corn and beans were often scanty, because the soil was poor, and around them not far away were the Indians, some of whom scowled and muttered ugly words when they spoke of the white settlers who were hunting the game in the forests, and planting gardens on the land to which they thought they alone had the right.

The children of the Pilgrims were taught to be very quiet and sober in their ways. They loved to listen to the squirrels chattering in the trees, and to watch the rabbits scamper across the paths. They gathered blueberries and blackberries in summer and chestnuts and hickory nuts in the autumn. The boys dragged their sisters on rough sleds over the snow in winter and waded with them in the brooks as the days grew warmer, and at such times they laughed and chattered like all happy children. But when they reached home their faces became sober and their voices low, for they were taught that among older folks children should be seen and not heard.

When evening came they sat in straight chairs in the big kitchen which was the ”living room” as well, while the men talked over the day's work, and the women knit socks for the family.

Sometimes as the little Pilgrims settled themselves for the night's sleep they were roused by the howling of wolves outside. They shuddered as they thought, ”Suppose that had been the war whoop of the Indians coming to attack our village.”

On Sunday when the Pilgrims went to church the men led the way armed with muskets which might be needed at any moment in defending their families.

After the Pilgrims, the Puritans came to New England. They were even more sober and strict in their ways than the Pilgrims, and they, too, had trouble with their Indian neighbors.

Perhaps the jolliest people who came from Europe were the Dutch, who settled on the Hudson River in New York. You remember poor Henry Hudson who was left to his sad fate in Hudson Bay. Before he went there he discovered the beautiful river of that name, and when he went back to Europe he told the king of Holland about the Indians he had met, and of the loads of rich furs which they brought home from their hunting trips.

His words were not forgotten, and so it came to pa.s.s that the thrifty Dutchman made settlements in that part of the New World which they claimed through the discovery of Henry Hudson. They were not poor, like the Pilgrims east of them. They brought chests of linen and silver from Holland, and they built comfortable homes for themselves on the banks of the Hudson River, with porches where they sat with their children on summer evenings, telling fairy stories and laughing together in their own jolly way. The children's eyes grew bright as they listened to the stories, and as they looked out on the woods and fields in the silvery moonlight, they fancied they could see fairies in gauzy green robes dancing on the gra.s.s and little brown gnomes stepping out from under the rocks.

The Dutch children had the grandest time at Christmas. They hung up their stockings by the fireplace the night before and then, as they lay in their beds, too much excited to sleep, they fancied they heard the reindeer of the good Santa Claus pawing away the snow on the roof overhead. Of course there were presents the next morning and a lovely Christmas tree, followed by a feast of all good things that grew about the new home. Yes, Christmas was the best day in all the year to the rosy-cheeked roly-poly Dutch children with blue eyes and flaxen hair.

While they were having such good times, their fathers were trading with the Indians with whom they had less trouble than the Pilgrims and Puritans. They sold the red men beads and blankets, guns and trinkets, and in exchange took furs of the marten and mink, the beaver and otter, which the Indians shot or trapped in the country around. Once in a while a big s.h.i.+p from Holland sailed into New York Harbor, bringing tea and sugar, blankets and dress-goods for the Dutchmen and their families, and were then reloaded with the furs obtained from the Indians.

As time pa.s.sed by the settlements along the sh.o.r.es of the United States grew larger and more numerous. The Indians scowled more and more deeply and there were dreadful wars between them and the white men. In their spare time the settlers made roads through the country and cleared away some of the forests. In the north they traded with the Indians for furs and planted fields of corn and other grains and vegetables. Farther south tobacco and cotton were raised on the plantations. Sheep were tended on the hillsides and the wives of the settlers carded and spun the wool and wove it in hand-looms into clothing for their families.

Cargoes of Negro slaves were brought from Africa to work on the plantations. The cotton that was raised there was sent across the Atlantic to be made into cloth in the factories of Europe.

During all these years the white men did not move far inland because of the Indians, and of mountains which must be crossed. At last, however, some brave men ventured out alone into the wilderness beyond. They found there were valleys between the mountains, and through these they pa.s.sed to the other side. They often had to hide from the watchful Indians, not daring even to make camp-fires lest they should be discovered.

These explorers found that on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains, for that was the name given to them, was a beautiful country, richer by far than that on the eastern side where they had been living.

There were also many rivers flowing westward, making the soil rich and fertile. Forests of maple and elm trees, as well as pines, spruces, and oaks which were abundant along the coast, were to be seen there.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Picking Cotton on a Georgia Plantation.]

When the explorers returned home they told such bright stories of the country to the west that the families of some of them agreed to go there and live. In those days there were no trains to carry them and not a single road through the mountain pa.s.ses. The journey had to be made on foot or on horseback, and few household goods could be carried. At any moment the travelers might be surprised by Indians, so the men were obliged to keep their muskets loaded and ready to shoot every moment of the way.

When the place for the new home was reached the men and boys set to work to cut down the trees and make a clearing, while the women prepared the meals. Everyone must eat and sleep outdoors while a rough log house was being built. All through the night a big fire was kept blazing to keep the wolves and other wild animals at a distance.

The new house was easily furnished. A few chairs, a rough table, and some bedsteads were made from the trees that had been cut down. The feather beds brought from the old home were spread on the slats of the bedsteads; the family Bible was laid on the table; the kettles, also brought from home, were hung on cranes over the fireplace, and housekeeping in the wilderness began.

Notwithstanding the hard life, the girls and their brothers grew up brave and strong and ready to push still farther into the wilderness than their fathers had done. West of them,-far west as it seemed then-was a mighty river flowing from north to south through the country.