Part 19

He had become a famous hunter and fighter. He thought he would try politics next. Instead of making political speeches, he went about from place to place telling stories. The people liked both him and his stories so well that they elected him to the legislature. A few years later they sent him to Congress.

[Sidenote: =Returns to the wilderness=]

[Sidenote: =Joins the fight at the Alamo=]

By and by Crockett grew tired of civilization. He wanted to get back to the wilderness. His old home was too well settled to suit him. So he wandered to Texas. Here he heard that the Mexicans were surrounding the Americans at San Antonio. "Davy" Crockett loved a good fight too well to stay away. He hastened to join the small band of brave men who were defending the Alamo. All could have escaped had they chosen to do so, but with iron courage these hundred and forty stayed and defied Santa Ana's thousands.

For several days the Mexicans were held at a distance. They dared not bring their cannon close to the building, for the concealed sharpshooters picked off the men who tried to man the guns. Old Crockett himself laid low five men in charge of one cannon.

[Sidenote: =David Crockett fights to the last=]

The fall of the Alamo was however merely a question of time. Little by little the walls were battered down, and finally the Mexicans were ready to storm. On they came, a great charging mass. The American riflemen shot them down by scores, but when one Mexican fell another took his place. One by one the fearless defenders fell. The last man to go down was Davy Crockett.

It is said that he stood with his back to the wall, fighting to the last, and that the Mexicans, afraid to meet him hand to hand, shot him down from a distance.

JOHN C. FREMONT, THE PATHFINDER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

[Sidenote: =His father a French refugee=]

=144. A Great Explorer.= Fremont's father was a Frenchman who was driven to America by the terrible French Revolution. John Charles Fremont was born at Savannah (1813) while his parents were on a journey through the South. His father died soon after, and his mother went to live in Charleston, South Carolina.

[Sidenote: =Goes to South America=]

After a time at a good school, Fremont entered the junior class in Charleston College (1828). After leaving college he spent two and a half years on a voyage to South America.

[Sidenote: =Becomes a civil engineer=]

On his return he joined a company of engineers sent by the governor to explore the mountains between South Carolina and Tennessee, in order to find a suitable place for a railroad. This work was through a region rough, wild, and full of beauty. It gave young Fremont a taste for exploration which never left him.

Fremont's longing for a wild life was gratified when he was made assistant to a famous Frenchman who was exploring the wild region between the upper Missouri River and Canada.

[Sidenote: =Marries Senator Benton's daughter=]

After this work Fremont returned to Washington and later married Jessie Benton, the daughter of the senator from Missouri. Thomas H. Benton was a great friend of President Jackson.

Fremont was now related to a powerful man who was deeply interested in the growth of the "Great West." Benton's repeated speeches on the "West" and on the "Oregon Country" called attention to the importance of the Pacific slope.

[Sidenote: =Receives permission to explore South Pass=]

In 1842 Fremont, now a lieutenant of engineers, received permission from the government to explore the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. With a party made up largely of French Canadians, and assisted by that famous guide, Kit Carson, he passed up the Kansas River, crossed to the Platte, went up this river, and thus reached the South Pass.

[Sidenote: =Unfurls the Stars and Stripes on Fremonts Peak=]

=145. On the Watershed.= Standing on the watershed of a continent, he saw the beginnings of rivers that flow into the Atlantic, and of others that stretched away through unknown regions to the Pacific. He took four men and climbed what has since been called Fremonts Peak, one of the highest of the Rockies, about 13,800 feet above the sea. At the top Fremont unfurled the Stars and Stripes in all its glory!

=146. A Pathway to the Pacific.= Fremont reported his discovery at Washington and immediately applied for orders to make an expedition to discover a more southerly route to California and Oregon.

[Sidenote: =Beholds Great Salt Lake=]

He left the little town of Kansas City with his guide, Kit Carson, in May, 1843. In September, after traveling seventeen hundred miles, the little party beheld the shores of Great Salt Lake. What feelings must have stirred the breasts of men shut in for months by mountains, at seeing what appeared to be an ocean, here in the midst of a continent! Little did they dream of that hardy band of immigrants, so soon to follow, who would make the shores of this sea blossom like a garden. Fremont wrote: "As we looked over that vast expanse of water and strained our eyes along the silent shores, over which hung so much doubt and uncertainty, I could hardly repress the almost irresistible desire to continue our exploration."

[Sidenote: =Reaches Fort Vancouver=]

After making preparations, the party crossed over to a branch of the Columbia River. Down this stream they traveled until Fort Vancouver was reached on November 4. Here Fremont was the guest of the governor of the British Hudson Bay Company.

[Sidenote: =Travel in deep snow=]

[Sidenote: =Crossing the Sierra Nevada=]

November 10, on the way home, the little party started to make the circuit of the Great Basin, a vast depression beyond the east wall of the Sierra Nevada. But very soon they found deep snow on the mountains. Turning to the west at about the latitude of San Francisco, Fremont determined to cross the Sierra Nevada into the valley of the Sacramento. The river was not many miles distant.

But what miles! Up and down, up and down that snowy mountain range, which the Indians told him no man could cross in winter, with snow lying upon it as deep as the dark forest trees were high, and places where, if a man slipped off, he would fall half a mile without stopping!

[Sidenote: =In the Valley of the Sacramento=]

They attempted to cross without a guide, in the dead of winter. In forty days the men and the surviving horses--a woeful procession crawling along one by one, skeleton men leading skeleton horses--arrived at Sutter's Fort (Sacramento) in the beautiful valley of the Sacramento. Here genial warmth, trees in foliage, grassy ground, and flowers made a fairy contrast to the famine and freezing they had met on the mountains they had climbed.

After enjoying the hospitality of Colonel Sutter, Fremont again crossed the mountains farther to the south, where the beautiful San Joaquin River makes a gap or pass.

[Sidenote: =Sees the Mohave Desert=]

When he reached the top of the pass Fremont beheld the plains of the Mohave Desert. An Indian said to him: "There is neither water nor grass--nothing; every animal that goes upon them dies."

[Sidenote: =End of second expedition=]

Pushing forward with great energy, he reached Utah Lake, thus having nearly made the circuit of the Great Basin.

Fremont hastened to Washington with the story of his discoveries. General Scott now recommended that he be made captain.

[Sidenote: =Third expedition=]

Fremont's third expedition, with Carson as a helper, began in the spring of 1845, and aimed to explore the Great Basin and the coast of California and Oregon.

[Sidenote: =War breaks out=]

=147. In the Mexican War.= Little did Fremont--or any of his men--think what fortune had in store for them. On his way to the Oregon Country Fremont received news that the Mexicans were planning to kill all the Americans in the Sacramento Valley. War had already broken out between the United States and Mexico, but he did not know it. He returned, reaching the valley in May, 1846. The settlers rushed to join him, and in one month northern California was declared independent.

[Sidenote: =Conquest of California=]

Fremont then marched to Monterey and joined Commander Sloat, who had raised the American flag there, July 7, 1846. This practically finished the conquest of all California in sixty days.

[Sidenote: =Fourth expedition=]

[Sidenote: =Elected to United States Senate=]

=148. Becomes a Private Citizen.= Soon after this event Fremont returned to Washington, gave up his place in the regular army, and went to live in California. His journey to California made up his fourth expedition. But the people would not let him long remain in private. The state elected him to the United States Senate. Fremont was not long in Congress, but was of great service in giving advice concerning the long-talked-of railroad to the Pacific.

Early in 1848 gold was discovered in the sand near the American River at Sutter's Mill, the site now occupied by Coloma. As the news spread, great excitement arose, and everybody wanted to dig gold. This was the "gold fever" of 1848 and 1849. The rush to the coast was tremendous. It made the building of a railroad urgent. Fremont made his fifth expedition to survey three routes to the Pacific. After great hardships he returned to Washington to report what he had found.

[Sidenote: =Nominated for president=]

He now took up his residence in New York City and became a member of the party opposed to the extension of slavery. The new party, the Republican, nominated him as its first candidate for president (1856). He was defeated after a most exciting time, yet he carried all the northern states but four.

[Sidenote: =A major-general in the Civil War=]

During the Civil War he was made a major-general, but after a year or two he resigned. He was talked of for president in 1864, but did not make the race.

After the war was over he was interested in a great continental railroad. From 1878 to 1881 he was governor of Arizona. Congress voted him a pension just before he died in 1890.

SPANISH MISSIONS IN THE SOUTHWEST

[Sidenote: =Spanish missionaries baptize Indians=]

=149. How the Franciscans Ruled the Southwest.= Centuries before Fremont or Kit Carson or any other American had seen the wonders of our western country, Spaniards made their homes there. Before the _Mayflower_ landed at Plymouth, Spanish missionaries had built many churches in the Southwest and had baptized thousands of Indians into the Christian faith.

[Sidenote: =Franciscan friars friends of the oppressed=]

The story of the Spaniards in New Mexico, Arizona, and California is not of victories won by the sword, but by the cross. The men who ruled this country were not soldiers, but pious Franciscan friars.

Many years ago there lived in Italy a godly man, St. Francis, who looked upon all poor and oppressed people as his children and devoted his life to their care. His followers, who are called Franciscan friars, have gone into all parts of the world to be missionaries to the poor and the heathen.

[Sidenote: =Serra builds a mission at San Diego=]

Greatest of the Franciscans who worked in the Southwest was Junipero Serra. One warm day in 1769 he came riding into San Diego on mule-back, a tall, thin figure, wrapped in a long gown. There were no missionaries at this time in California. He had come from Mexico with a small party to convert the Indians. At San Diego he saw "valleys studded with trees, wild vines covered with grapes, and native roses as fair and sweet as those of Castile."

Here was just the place to build a mission. First he set up a great wooden cross and said mass. There was no organ music, so the soldiers fired their arms instead. The simple Indians stood by in wonder and awe. Junipero Serra was a man of energy and action, and in a short time he had his first mission built. From San Diego he went northward and planted mission after mission as far north as San Francisco. When he died the Franciscan missions controlled practically all of southern California.

[Sidenote: =Mission buildings surrounded by gardens=]

Wherever the friars built a mission they made sure the soil was good and that there was plenty of water near by. For in much of that country little rain falls and many crops grow only when watered by irrigation. Having found a suitable place, they would then build a church. This was always the largest building of the mission. Some of the churches were very beautiful. Around the church clustered the houses of the friars and the huts of the Indians. Each mission was surrounded by beautiful gardens and orchards. A little farther away were the fields in which the grain was grown. All of these were watered by irrigation ditches that drew their water from some mountain stream. Beyond the cultivated land lay the ranches on which cattle and sheep grazed in great numbers.

[Sidenote: =Indians taught useful occupations=]

All the Indians in the neighborhood were made to live at the mission, and here they were taught the Christian religion. They were also taught many useful occupations. The men were shown how to farm, to make saddles, work at the forge and the carpenter bench, and other useful trades. The women were instructed in spinning and weaving.

In the morning the angelus called every one to mass. After breakfast the day's work began and each Indian was sent to his task. Some cultivated the fields, some took care of the stock, some worked in the shops. Each one had to do his share of the work, and was punished if he disobeyed. He had to work, pray, and live as the friars told him.

[Sidenote: =Missions fall to ruin=]

When Mexico freed itself of Spanish rule, California became a part of Mexico. The new government put an end to the missions. The friars were forced to leave, and the Indians drifted back into their old wild life.

To-day nothing remains of the work of the friars except the old mission buildings. Most of them are in ruins, but they still tell of the quiet by-gone days when the gentle Franciscans ruled in California.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ Houston had little schooling and went to live with the Cherokee Indians. _2._ Wounded at Horseshoe Bend; studied law in Nashville; was sent to Congress for four years; and was elected governor of Tennessee. _3._ Went to live with the Cherokees again, and then went to Texas. _4._ Houston won the battle of San Jacinto; was made president of the republic of Texas; and later elected to the United States Senate. _5._ David Crockett was born in Tennessee, had little schooling, and became an expert rifle shot. _6._ He fought the Indians under Andrew Jackson. _7._ Won an election to the legislature by telling stories; later elected to Congress. _8._ Crockett grew tired of civilization and returned to the wilderness. _9._ Fought against the Mexicans at the Alamo, where he was killed with all his companions. _10._ Fremont went to school in Charleston, but left for a voyage to South America. _11._ He worked for exploring parties; married, and thus became related to a great man interested in the Far West. _12._ Fremont explored the South Pass on his first expedition; on his second, saw Great Salt Lake, and crossed the mountains with great suffering. _13._ Fremont crossed a third time, and aided in conquering California; was made a United States senator, and became first candidate of the Republican party for the presidency. _14._ Franciscan friars, long before the landing of the Pilgrims, entered what is now New Mexico, Arizona, and California. _15._ They taught the Indians the Christian religion and many useful occupations.

=Study Questions.= _1._ What was peculiar in Houston's early life? _2._ What had he done before he began to study law? _3._ What made people like him? _4._ Where was the battle of Horseshoe Bend fought? _5._ How did the Cherokee chief welcome him? _6._ Why did Houston go back to Tennessee? _7._ What drew him to Texas? _8._ What were the first bad defeats of the Texans? _9._ Tell the story of San Jacinto. _10._ What kind of a general, a president, and a senator did Houston make? _11._ Where did Crockett spend his boyhood, and what fame did he gain? _12._ How did he win his way to the legislature? _13._ What made Crockett go back to the wilderness? _14._ Describe the fight at the Alamo. _15._ Who was John Charles Fremont? _16._ What of his youthful days? _17._ What experience in early days after college prepared him for his great work? _18._ Who was Kit Carson? _19._ Describe Fremont's journey to the South Pass. _20._ Tell what was seen and what was done there. _21._ What expedition did he now plan? _22._ Picture the scene on the discovery of the Great Salt Lake. _23._ Picture his exploration of the Great Basin and crossing the mountains. _24._ What was the contrast at Sutter's Fort? _25._ Describe the Digger Indians. _26._ At what was Fremont's third expedition aimed, and what did it really accomplish? _27._ Who was St. Francis? _28._ Describe Serra's arrival at San Diego. _29._ Why did he build a mission at San Diego? _30._ Describe life at a Spanish mission. _31._ What happened when Spanish rule was ended in California?

=Suggested Readings.= HOUSTON: Bruce, _Life of General Houston_.

DAVID CROCKETT: Crockett, _Life of Davy Crockett_; Lodge and Roosevelt, _Hero Tales from American History_, 171-181.

FREMONT: Bigelow, _Life of John Charles Fremont_, 1-216, 319-373, 379-466.

THE THREE GREATEST STATESMEN OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD

HENRY CLAY, THE FOUNDER OF THE WHIG PARTY AND THE GREAT PACIFICATOR

=150. The Rise of Henry Clay.= Henry Clay was born in Virginia in the year of Burgoyne's surrender (1777). His father was a Baptist preacher, with a fine voice and a graceful way of speaking. He died when Henry was four years old.

[Sidenote: =The "Mill boy of the Slashes"=]

Little Henry lived near the "Slashes," the name given to a low, flat region, and went to school in a log cabin. When not at school he worked on the farm, helping to do his share in support of the family. He could be seen walking barefooted behind the plow, or riding the horse with a rope bridle to mill. From this he was called the "Mill boy of the Slashes."

[Sidenote: =Read books when other boys played=]

Henry was a raw-boned and awkward lad. The other boys laughed at him, but he read books when not at work, and soon could speak far better than the boys who made fun of him.

At fourteen he was a clerk in a store. But he seemed made for other things. He was put in the office of a famous lawyer who was clerk in one of Virginia's courts.

The Chancellor of Virginia, a great judge, liked him and took him to be his private secretary. For four years Clay wrote down the judge's law decisions. The great man often talked with Clay on important subjects and advised him about the kind of books to read.

[Sidenote: =Leader in a debating club=]

After studying law for a year, Clay began to practice in Richmond. He had plenty of time, so he formed a debating club, in which he was easily the leader.

Finally he made up his mind to go to Lexington, Kentucky, and try his fortune in the West. There his rise in the law was rapid. His fame grew, and he became known as the lawyer who seldom lost a case.

He married a well-to-do young lady and lived near Lexington on a beautiful estate called Ashland.

[Sidenote: =Favors gradual abolition of slavery=]

Henry Clay's first work in politics was to favor the gradual abolition of slavery in Kentucky. Although beaten, he was always proud of his stand on this question.

[Sidenote: =Too young to be a senator=]

When too young, according to the Constitution, to take his seat, he was made a senator of the United States. But nobody called the attention of the Senate to his age. After his term as senator was out he was elected to the legislature of Kentucky, and was immediately made Speaker.

[Sidenote: =Speaker of the House of Representatives=]

Born during the Revolution, Henry Clay, like most Americans of his time, grew up with hatred toward England in his heart. He was sent to Congress in 1811, and was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. As Speaker, he did much to bring on a declaration of war with Great Britain, in 1812.

[Sidenote: =The War of 1812=]

Clay made speeches in Congress and over the country, stirring up the war spirit. "On to Canada!" was his cry. But the capture of Canada was not so easy. Many generals failed, and only Harrison and Perry made much headway in defeating the British in Canada.

[Sidenote: =The Treaty of Ghent=]

When the time for peace came President Madison sent Henry Clay and other noted Americans to Ghent, in Belgium, to meet the British agents. After many months of talking and disputing, they finally agreed on a treaty. This treaty has since been called the "Treaty of Ghent." Great Britain and America were both glad that peace had come.

[Sidenote: =The conflict over Missouri=]

From 1819 to 1821 Congress was debating over the admission of Missouri as a slave state. The North opposed, and the South favored, the admission of Missouri. The excitement spread to the state legislatures and to the people. Many meetings were held. Resolutions strongly favoring, or strongly opposing, the admission of Missouri as a slave state, were drawn up and voted upon.

[Sidenote: =The Missouri Compromise=]

Wise men thought the Union was in danger and Henry Clay, by his eloquence, succeeded in getting Congress to pass the famous Missouri Compromise. This resolution provided that Missouri should be admitted as a slave state, but that no other slave state north of the line of 36 degrees 30 minutes should ever be admitted. Both sides were pleased and the excitement died out.

We have seen how South Carolina threatened to refuse to pay the tariff in 1832, and how President Jackson hurried the army and the navy there to make her people pay it, as the people of the other states were obliged to do.

[Sidenote: =The Compromise Tariff Law=]

[Sidenote: =Henry Clay as a peacemaker again=]

Henry Clay came forward again and introduced the Compromise Tariff Law. It was called a compromise because it gave each side a part of what it wished. Calhoun and other Carolinians favored it, because by this law the tariff was reduced very greatly. It was carried through Congress. The law made unnecessary the warlike preparations of both the president and South Carolina, and again Henry Clay was hailed by the people as "pacificator" or peacemaker.

[Sidenote: =The founder of the Whig party=]

=151. Henry Clay the Founder of the Whig Party.= But Henry Clay was not only a peacemaker. He was now a great statesman, and like Hamilton and Jefferson he led in forming a part of the people into a political party. It was called the Whig party.