FROM 1607 TO 1775 HIS Epoch THIS traces the early his tory of the thirteen coloniesVirginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The Cavaliers land in Virginia, and the Puritans in Massachusetts. Immigration increases and the settlements multiply along the whole coast. The colonies, however, have little history in common. Each by itself struggles with the wilderness, contends with the Indian, and develops the principles of liberty. Questions on the Geography of the Second Epoch.-Locate Jamestown. Salem. Boston. Swansea. Providence. Bristol. Hadley. Hatfield. Portsmouth. Dover. Hartford. Wethersfield. New Haven. Windsor. Saybrook. New York. Albany. Schenectady. Elizabethtown. Wilmington. Philadelphia. St. Mary's. Charleston. Savannah. Haverhill. Deerfield. St. Augustine. Quebec. Louisburg. Locate Fort Venango. Oswego. Presque Isle. Fort Le Boeuf. Crown Point. Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Niagara. Fort Duquesne. Fort William Henry. Fort Edward. Describe the Ohio River. Monongahela River. French Creek. Chowan River. Ashley River. Cooper River. River St. John. Potomac River. James River. Hudson River. Connecticut River. Mohawk River. Delaware River. River. Penobscot River. Miami River. St. Lawrence River. Kennebec Locate Manhattan Island. Alleghany Mountains. Cape Breton. Massachusetts Bay. Chesapeake Bay. I. VIRGINIA. The Character of the colonists was poorly adapted to endure the hardships incident to a life in a new country. The settlers were mostly gentlemen by birth, unused to labor. They had no families, and came out in search of wealth or adventure, expecting, when rich, to return to England. The climate was unhealthy, and, before the first autumn, half of their number had perished. John Smith* saved the colony from ruin. First as a member of the council, and afterward as president, his services were invaluable. He persuaded the settlers to erect a fort, and to build log huts for the winter. He made long voyages, carefully exploring Chesapeake Bay, securing the friendship of the Indians, and bringing back boat-loads of supplies. He * Captain John Smith was born to adventure. While yet a boy he leaves his home in Lincolnshire, England, to engage in Holland wars. After a four-years service he builds a lodge of boughs in a forest, where he hunts, rides, and studies military tactics. Next we hear of him on his way to fight the Turks. Before reaching France he is robbed, and escapes death from want only by begging alms. Having embarked for Italy, a fearful storm arises; he, being a heretic, is deemed the cause, and is thrown overboard, but he swims to land. In the East, a famous Mussulman wishes to fight some Christian knight "to please the ladies"; Smith offers himself and slays three champions in succession. Taken prisoner in battle and sold as a slave, his head is shaved and his neck bound with an iron ring; he kills his master, arrays himself in the dead man's garments, mounts a horse and spurs his way to a Russian camp. Having returned to England, he embarks for the new world. On the voyage, he excites the jealousy of his fellows and is landed in chains; but his worth becomes so apparent that he is finally made president of the colony. His marvelous escapes seem now more abundant than ever. A certain fish inflicts a dangerous wound, but he finds an antidote, and afterward eats part of the same fish with great relish. He is poisoned, but overcomes the dose and severely beats the poisoner. His party of fifteen is attacked by Opechancanough (Op e kån ́ka no), brother and successor of Powhatan, with seven hundred warriors; Smith drags the old chief by his long hair into the midst of the Indian braves, who, amazed at such audacity, immediately surrender. He is shockingly burned on a boat by the explosion of a bag of powder at his side; but he leaps into the water, where he barely escapes death by drowning. These and many other wonderful exploits he published in a book after his return to England. Historians very generally discredit them. His services were, however, of unquestionable value to Virginia; and his disinterestedness appears from the fact that he never received a foot of land in the colony his wisdom had saved. |