 Chapter 33 of Hero Tales from History. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hero Tales from History by Smith Burnham. Patrick Henry, the Firebrand of the Revolution. Pat Henry is a Go-For-Nothing fellow, just lounges about his father-in-law's tavern telling stories and fiddling. This was the verdict of the people of Hanover Courthouse, Virginia, when Patrick Henry was a young man. When he was but a youth, he had married the tavernkeeper's daughter. He had tried farming and failed, people said, because he was too lazy to do anything but go a fishing. But he was a great reader and had studied law in a random, listless way. The door of opportunity opened one day before this young man of whom the neighbors had so little good to say. There was a case in court called the Parsons Cause. This famous lawsuit arose in the following way. An old law required each church in Virginia to pay its minister 16,000 pounds of tobacco as his yearly salary. Later, the legislature of Virginia passed another law which permitted each parish to pay its minister a smaller salary and money. The King of England set this law aside and then the Parsons, as the clergy were called, brought a lawsuit to collect the unpaid parts of their salaries. Young Patrick Henry's sympathies were with the men who were sued, and he offered his services in their defense. When the people of Hanover Courthouse heard of this, they laughed as if it were a huge joke. The Go-For-Nothing, what can he do with this low tavern talk, they asked and scorn. His stories may do for a bar room, but for such a fellow to speak in such an important case will be an insult to the court. The courtroom was well filled on the day of the trial. The opposing lawyers had promised to make short work of Patrick Henry and teach him a lesson he would not soon forget. There was a strange stillness when the young man rose to speak. At first he seemed unable to control his voice, and some of those present nudged each other and whispered, he's going to break down, I told you so. He ought to have known better than to attempt a big case like this. Then young Henry's will seemed to come to his rescue. He straightened up, his face flushed eagerly, his eyes blazing with indignation. His words soon came in a torrent of eloquence. He declared that the people of Virginia had the right to make their own laws, and that if the king interfered he was no longer the father of his people, but tyrant whom they need not obey. The jury carried away by the young lawyer's fiery appeal, decided that the Parsons should have only one penny more money. The people who had come to sneer now began to cheer. They carried the young lawyer out of the courthouse on their shoulders. That success showed that the near do well was really a great lawyer. After that Patrick Henry spent his time in his law office instead of going fishing or loafing about the hotel. He studied to improve his mind and practiced in correcting his errors of speech, while learning to make good use of his new found gift of speaking in public. Honors was showered, thick and fast on the fiery lawyer. Other cases were brought to him, and he won them right and left. Soon he was sent to the House of Burgess or the legislature of Virginia. When other leaders hesitated to take the steps necessary to obtain their rights, Patrick Henry did not falter. He seemed to see farther than other men into the future. He made the halls of the lawmakers ring for liberty, beginning his great liberty speeches ten years before the colonies were prepared to meet and declare their independence. When Virginians were sent to the first Congress of the United Colonies in Philadelphia, Patrick Henry was one of those chosen to go with George Washington and Richard Henry Lee. Here in a fiery speech, Patrick Henry exclaimed, I am not a Virginian. I'm an American. He had to leave Congress before signing the Declaration of Independence. But soon after, he became the first governor of Virginia, which is now no longer a British colony, but a new state. He was four times elected governor of the state. Patrick Henry was the firebrand of the revolution, that is, his burning words spread like a prairie fire from south to north and inspired the people with a burning zeal for liberty, which cannot be quenched till all 13 colonies had gained their independence and have become the United States of America. It has been said that Patrick Henry rocked the world with his voice. The best known of his speeches was made just a few weeks before the Battle of Lexington, which was the first skirmish of the revolution. Here are the closing words of that great speech. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war has actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms, our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we here idle? What is it the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. Chapter 34 Nathan Hale, who spoke the bravest words in history. Nathan Hale was a country boy, the sixth of ten children. When he was twelve, his mother died. It had been her wish that Nathan should study to be a minister, so the lad entered Yale College when he was only fourteen. Young as he was, Nathan became president of the debating society. He was a big, strong, handsome fellow, full of fun and fond of sports. He was best at what was known as the broad jump. For many years the Hale jump made the record for the college. He was a strong swimmer and excelled in shooting at the mark. In going about the college grounds, Hale was often seen placing one hand on top of a six-foot fence and vaulting over it with ease. One of his chums has told how Nathan would stand in one hog's head with his hands on his hips and jump up out of that into the second hog's head, then in the same manner leap into the third hog's head and from there out on the ground, all without touching. His athletic feats were so wonderful that the boys used to boast of the things Young Hale did for old Yale. When he was seventeen the young athlete also showed himself such a ready and eloquent speaker that he was chosen for the highest honors of the debating society. One address of his is still kept in the records of Yale University. One of the questions he proposed and took part in debating was, is it right to enslave the Africans? Right after his graduation at the age of 18, Young Hale began to teach school and do tutoring besides to pay his way while studying to be a minister. But early in 1775, when he had been teaching less than two years, the news of the first battles in the War for Independence fired the fervent soul of the young patriot, and he joined the army. Nathan Hale was appointed lieutenant in a company sent by Connecticut, his native state, to become part of General Washington's army, which was trying to take the city of Boston, then in the hands of the British. The army then was without uniforms, proper arms, or training. During the summer, Lieutenant Hale turned twenty-one and was promoted to the rank of captain. When the time for which the Connecticut men had enlisted was nearly up, the young captain was shocked and hurt to find that some of the men in his own company were not willing to serve a little longer. Here is a short signed entry he made in his camp book in November. Twenty-eight Tuesday. Promise the men if they would tarry another month they should have my wages for that time. Nathan Hale. The youthful Connecticut officer and some of his men were among the few who stayed till the British were driven out of Boston by sea. After this, the commander in chief, foreseeing that New York must be the next point of attack for the British, sent all his soldiers on ahead to that city. In the first brigade to go was Captain Nathan Hale, with as many of his little company as he could command. While officers like Hale were recruiting new soldiers and drilling the raw recruits, Washington went to consult with the Congress then in session at Philadelphia. During this visit, he designed the first American flag and ordered it made. It was the summer of the Declaration of Independence. Washington and his untrained troops, less than fourteen thousand in number, had to defend and hold New York City, Brooklyn, and the surrounding country against an army nearly three times as large. The British troops under General Hale were well fitted out and trained and were aided by a fleet of warships commanded by the General's brother, Admiral Lord Hale. The Hale's and their regular soldiers thought it would be an easy matter for their army, numbering three to one of their enemies, to capture the American army and carry Washington and the other ringleaders of the rebellion back to England to be hanged for treason. When late in August, Washington learned that Hale was landing his army on Long Island from Staten Island, he sent General Putnam to meet and hold the British back. As the British outnumbered Putnam's army five to one, this was impossible and the Americans retreated to their defenses. This engagement was called the Battle of Long Island. At nightfall, the British encamped around the cornered Americans and the commander told his staff that they would take that nest of rebels in the morning. A dense fog came in from the sea and Washington, under cover of it, got as many boats together as his sailor soldiers could manage and they rode away from Long Island in the silent watches of the night. Next morning, when Hale came to capture the nest, the birds had flown. Washington was now forced to fly with his army from place to place and the danger of being captured was greater than before, so he needed to learn, if possible, what General Hale's plans were. Captain Nathan Hale was selected for this dangerous service. There were some people in the colonies who believed that Washington was a traitor and that his men were rebels. These people called themselves loyalists, but others called them Tories. Because of Nathan Hale's frank face and sincere manner, it was thought that he could make friends with these Tories and find out what was desired through them and their friends, the British officers. Also, he was an educated gentleman. He could take a position as tutor in the family of a rich Tory. British officers visited these loyalists and often discussed plans with them. Captain Hale, a college friend of Captain Hale's, was now an army comrade also. When he heard that Hale was chosen, he called to beg him not to go as a spy. He argued, your nature is too frank and open for deceit and disguise. General Washington, nor any commander, has a right to ask you to assume the garb of friendship for the betrayal of others. Hale hesitated a moment at this, but when he spoke his voice was clear and firm. I think I owe it to my country to do the thing which seems so important to General Washington and I know of no other way of getting the desired information than by assuming a disguise and passing into the enemy's camp. But urged his friend almost in despair, think of the disgrace of it. If you were caught you would be hanged as a criminal. Dear Nathan, I beg of you don't go. Nathan Hale could not help being deeply moved. He said gently, he took upon himself the disguise of the men he came to live among for the good of many and the cause of the right. He was arrested and hanged on a cross. Who am I that I should set up my judgment against his example and General Washington's will? Still Captain Hale could not give up. He has left on record his last attempt to persuade the young man whose love of country had become a religion. I urged him for the love of country for the love of kindred to abandon an enterprise which would only end in the sacrifice of the dearest interests of both. He paused then affectionately taking my hand. He said I will reflect and do nothing but what duty demands. He was absent from the army and I feared he had gone to the British lines to execute his fatal purpose. Naturally very little is known of the spy in the few weeks that followed. Sergeant Hempstead has told of going with him to the point chosen for crossing on a waiting sloop to Long Island many miles from the British camp. Hempstead says Hale was then dressed in a brown suit of citizens clothes with a round broad brim tat. When the Captain and the Sergeant rung each other's hands in farewell, Nathan Hale gave into Hempstead's care his private papers and letters and his shoe buckles. The letters were to Hale's aged father and to the girl whom he expected to marry. At the end of several weeks Nathan Hale had succeeded in carrying out General Washington's instructions, even to making a number of sketches. So far as he knew he had not been suspected. This he thought was rather surprising for there were Tories everywhere. It was late in September in the dark of the moon when Hale slipped away from the British on Long Island and strolled down to the water's edge where he was to meet the sloop and sail back to his own army. He waited some time for the ship but it did not come. After some delay a sailboat came in sight and made up to the shore. He was greatly relieved for it did not occur to him that there was anything wrong. As the boat drew near he hailed it with a happy shout. When it was too late Hale saw that some of the men in the boat were in British uniform. In a moment more he was their prisoner. He had been betrayed it was never known by whom. He had a Tory cousin who was blamed at first but his innocence was proven in time. He was taken to General Hale's headquarters. The tell-tale sketches and data were found in his shoes. He did not attempt to deny that he was a spy. It was not necessary to try him after he confessed. He was turned over to the provost marshal to be hanged next day. Of course no one knows what Nathan Hale thought that last night but it may well be believed that he did not waste his last hours in despairing regrets. If he was permitted to write farewell letters that night they were never delivered. In the morning Hale asked if he might speak with a minister but that was curtly denied him. Will you lend me a Bible a moment then? Was his dying request. No snapped the marshal. A kind hearted British officer who noticed the pure honest face of the young American spy offered him shelter from the sun in his tent during a brief delay. The heart of this enemy captain was touched and it was he who preserved Nathan Hale's noble words for future ages. If the young spy could have known that his death would strengthen the hearts of patriots to fight for liberty and that what he was about to say would go resounding down the ages it would have added to his joy that hot September day a poet has described the moment when they came and led him out. To drumbeat and heartbeat a soldier marches by there is color in his cheek there is courage in his eye yet to drumbeat and heartbeat in a moment he must die. They led him to an apple tree near at hand while they were fastening his arms behind him and tying a rope around his ankles he gazed up into the tree. On his handsome face rested the resigned expression which is shown in the bronze and marble statues of Nathan Hale in the Yale yard where he used to play and in the park before City Hall in New York. Well have you any confession to make asked the marshal. This called Nathan Hale's mind back. He smiled at the needless question for he had confessed the night before and had thus made a trial unnecessary. Hesitating only a moment he answered the officer with simple courtesy in the bravest words ever uttered by mortal man. I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. Chapter 35 of Hero Tales From History This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Betty B. Hero Tales From History by Smith Burnham. Lafayette, the boy hero of two worlds. In a great stone building among the tree covered hills in the south of France there lived a little boy who at birth received 14 names and titles. He belonged to the noble French family of the Lafayettes who had been knights for at least 700 years. The boy never saw his father or shortly before the child was born. His brave young soldier father was killed in a battle with the English. The home in which this fatherless boy lived was a castle but it looked like a great prison or modern storage warehouse with a huge round tower at each end. Across its few small windows were iron bars. Out of all the Lafayettes boy's names the family called him Gilbert. When he was 11 years old Gilbert was sent to a school in Paris where sons from French gentlemen's families were taught the things that was thought proper for young nobles to know. First of all they studied heraldry which explained the coats of arms of their royal and noble relations and was really a sort of family history of France. The boys also learned to ride and to fence and to talk politely even wittily if they happened to be bright enough. Besides their own French language they learned Latin so that they could write and even speak it. Then the youths who had a taste for history were instructed in that study not the history of the whole French people but the records of the royal and great families and the battles and schemes of the kings and princes. In this boy's college the rooms were very small dark and narrow like prison cells and the pupils were locked in at night. Gilbert was never allowed a holiday. If his mother came to see him she was permitted to talk with him in the presence of a tutor almost as if he were a prisoner. The masters feared that a good motherly chat with her son would distract the boy's mind from his studies. Madame de Lafayette wished to do all she could to help her son in his future life so she moved to Paris and was presented at court. That is she was introduced to the king and queen and the highest nobles of France. When Gilbert was 13 his mother died leaving her son almost alone in the world. He had a rich uncle who might have been his guardian but he also died leaving young Lafayette another fortune and making him a very wealthy marquis. Boys and girls in French noble families were often betrothed in infancy and brought up expecting to marry each other when old enough. Marriage seemed to be rather a question of the family fortunes than of the young people's real love for each other. When young Marquis de Lafayette was left without parents to plan a proper marriage for him a rich Duke who was a great favorite with King Louis decided to arrange for the orphan boy to marry his own daughter Adrienne. In order to bring this about Adrienne's parents invited Gilbert de Lafayette to come and live in their palace where they all could care for him as a son until it was proper for him to marry their daughter. There was a wonderful wedding when Lafayette was 16 and Adrienne 14 years old. From that time besides all the wealth of the Lafayettes the riches of his father-in-law the Duke gave the young Marquis a splendid position at the court of France. If the boy bridegroom only had enjoyed that sort of high life he might have been very happy but the things which interested the young noblemen were of quite a different sort while he was at a dinner in honor of a younger brother of George III King of England he heard that the American people had started their fight for independence. Lafayette's sympathies for the unhappy people across the sea were so aroused that he began at once to plan to leave his palace home his lovely young wife and his baby daughter in order to help the American people in their struggle. To find out how best to do this he went to see Dr. Franklin and Silas Dean the agents for the United States in France. Knowing how much the American people needed Lafayette's money and influence these statesmen encouraged him in every way. The young Marquis fitted out a ship and made ready to start taking with him several Frenchmen of high rank who also expected to be made officers in the American army but Lafayette's father-in-law did not predict the idea of fighting for the common people against kings and nobles so he persuaded the king to order the Marquis not to leave the country. In spite of King Louis' command Lafayette walked on board his own ship under the detective's noses disguised as the body servant of a stranger from another country who also was going to fight for American liberty. The Marquis de Lafayette reached the American army near Philadelphia after many dangers and hardships General Washington could not help smiling at the earnestness of Major General Lafayette age 19 who could command only as much of the English language as he had learned while crossing the Atlantic. Though the Marquis has everyone learned to call him volunteered to serve anywhere without pay Washington offered him a place on his staff. Once when the commander-in-chief asked Lafayette how to improve the discipline of the American troops the noble youth replied I am here General to learn not to teach. General Lafayette received his first wound in the battle of Brandywine where he fought hard to keep the British back from Philadelphia while riding his horse at the head of his men he was shot in the lake he recovered from his wound in time to come to Valley Forge and suffer with Washington the hardships of the long bitter winter there. While at Valley Forge the young general was sent to keep the British from coming out from Philadelphia and attacking the American camp Lafayette took his station at Barron Hill near the Skook Hill River when the British commander had word of this he sent out three companies to surround the boy general from three directions and make him their prisoner. So sure were they of making this capture that they planned a dinner in honor of their noble French prisoner and invited their friends in Philadelphia to be present and meet the Marquis de Lafayette but the boy general was too shrewd for them all because of flash he saw a way out of the trap they had set for him ordering the heads of his columns to stand in the edge of a grove where they could be seen as if in battle array he ordered a retreat by a secret path when the three British lines marched up the hill even the Americans in the edge of the woods had disappeared and the companies only met one another and looked sheepish as they marched down again their game had gotten away and they had to eat that dinner without their prisoner guest. How and his men soon heard that the French were sending ships and men to help their American friends so they went away from Philadelphia as quickly as possible on the way to New York Washington met them and gave battle at Monmouth, New Jersey he appointed general Lafayette second in command but general Charles Lee was offended because that French boy was placed above him to relieve his chief Lafayette gave up the command this was the battle in which Lee disobeyed Washington's command and prevented the American army from winning a real victory it was Lafayette who saw that something was going wrong and helped to save the day for the Americans hearing of his wife's illness and his little daughter's death Lafayette asked leave of absence to go home to France he returned to America as soon as he could after persuading the French government to send more money more men and more ships to help bring the long war with England to an end soon after his return the marquis was sent with his regiment to meet Cornwallis and defend Virginia Cornwallis left when he saw that the boy had been sent against him but the boy was more than a match for the British commander in the south he kept retreating and advancing up and down the James River one day Cornwallis would think he was trapping Lafayette but the next day he found himself only moving farther from his base of supplies the boy did this just to gain time for he had learned that the expected fleet was in American waters with the French army on board and that Washington was on his way down from near New York to meet the French ships and men and surround Cornwallis it was now the British general's turn to retreat he retired to Yorktown where he was surrounded by the Americans and French and was soon forced to surrender as soon as the fighting was ended General Washington gave a dinner to the French officers and their English prisoner Lord Cornwallis the defeated general was so well treated by Washington and his men that the two commanders became good friends when the Americans had gained their independence general Lafayette returned to France where he was received as a hero even by the king whose command he had disobeyed by running away to help America the people were so fond of the brave young marquis that King Louis appointed him a marshal of France though he was only 24 the French Revolution soon broke out but it was very different from the American Revolution because the people of France had the wrong idea of liberty they killed the king the queen and many of the nobles in a savage and cruel way they even imprisoned and put to death some of their early leaders who love liberty but who were not willing to do such savage deeds to obtain it Lafayette was one of the lovers of liberty who suffered much from the French people during the revolution because he did not believe in going to extremes Washington and Lafayette did not forget each other they wrote devoted letters to each other as if they were father and son the French nobleman named his son for Washington who during the troublous years in France received and cared for the boy as if he were a grandson nearly 50 years after Lafayette's first coming to America he made his fourth voyage to our country bringing with him his son George Washington to Lafayette he came at the invitation of President Monroe and Congress as the guest of the United States because of the enthusiasm with which he was welcomed all over the country his visit was remembered as one of the brightest times in the history of the United States 140 years after the Marquis de Lafayette's first coming to help America four millions of American young men were enrolled to rescue Republican France from her brutal enemy a million soldiers had crossed the ocean and another million were on their way when a company of Americans visited the last resting place of Lafayette as they laid a wreath upon the tomb of the friend of America General Purging the commander of the American forces exclaimed Lafayette we are here end of chapter 35 chapter 36 hero tales from history this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox dot org recording by Rita Butros hero tales from history by Smith Burnham 1866 to 1947 chapter 36 the immortal reply of John Paul Jones of the millions of boys who have had sea fever perhaps none suffered with it more than John Paul a bright sandy haired scotch led his father was a gardener on the estate of a noble lord John went to school but little yet he studied hard while he was there he had learned to sail a boat quite well when he had a chance at 12 years old to go to America as a cabin boy when the owner of the ship soon after failed in business John Paul entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman he learned all he could in the short time he was a midi but as his father was poor he saw no chance to get ahead there he left the Navy and found work on a merchant ship running between Scotland and the West Indies coming back from a voyage to Jamaica the ships captain and mate both died and John Paul though still a mere boy sailed the ship home so he became a captain before he was 20 in those days ship masters treated their men roughly and once young captain Paul had to flog the ship's carpenter the man died sometime afterward of fever and to spite the young ship master he claimed that he had been fatally injured by John Paul's cruelty after that on another voyage the sailors mutinied or turned against their captain and tried to kill him in self-defense the young master knocked the leader downstairs and he died of the fall the next time John Paul was heard from he was living in America with a wealthy man named Jones it was just at the beginning of the war for independence and the young scotchman was so in love with liberty and the new country that he decided to become an American in doing this he took the name of his new found friend Jones instead of John Paul the British subject he now called himself Paul Jones American he went to the Congress in Independence Hall Philadelphia in May 1775 to offer his services he was promptly given command of several ships to defend the colonies against Great Britain the next year the Declaration of Independence was signed on the 14th of June 1777 the Congress appointed him to the command of the American ship of war Ranger on the same day the Congress adopted a flag and made this record resolved that the flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white and that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation Captain Paul Jones had a silk flag made at once and raised it on the Ranger on the first birthday of the United States July 4th 1777 the first voyage of this ship was to France and the young United States captain announced to the French Admiral in the harbor he was about to enter that he would expect the French fleet to salute the new American flag after some delay the French officer consented and the Ranger sailed into port between two rows of French ships of war which had French flags flying and French sailors and soldiers manning the yard arms and cannon booming all along the line in honor of the stars and stripes that was a great day for the United States for this was the first time a foreign kingdom recognized the new Republic of America France not only treated the United States as an equal but she went to war with England and helped the Americans win their independence Captain Jones was a little peppery man and had been an American only two years but he was trying to make up for lost time he believed so much in the people's right to be free that he considered being an American citizen the highest honor in the world he begged the high French officials and Dr. Franklin who represented the United States in France to let him take the Ranger out and fight England all by himself the British had taken American prisoners and treated them as spies and traitors instead of as prisoners of war Captain Jones wished to capture some British prisoners and teach the enemy how prisoners of war should be treated when the Americans in Paris and the French tried to convince the brave little captain that it would be dangerous for him to go out with but one ship he replied that he liked nothing better than going into harm's way and he finally went he waited outside an English port till the warship Drake came out the British commander stared at the new flag for he had never seen it before what ship is that he asked it is the American ship Ranger someone on the Drake made fun of the new flag saying it looked like a patchwork quilt very well retorted Captain Jones we will cover your union jack with it then the battle between the ranger and the drake lasted just one hour and four minutes when it was over the drake had lost her captain and first lieutenant and 38 men killed and wounded while the loss on the ranger was only two killed and six wounded when Captain Jones returned to the shores of France he brought with him the Drake as a prize with a goodly crew of British prisoners to exchange for Americans as he had promised the stars and stripes were at the Drake's mast head over the British flag there was no trouble then about saluting the American flag all France and America went wild over this victory in fact nearly every nation under heaven accepting Great Britain was greatly pleased with the escapade of brave little Captain Jones of course Captain Jones had just had enough to make him long to be going into harm's way on a larger scale but France now had her own troubles with England she needed all the ships and men she could raise to make a navy able to beat the big fleet Great Britain was getting ready for a great naval battle still Captain Jones would not be put off with Dr. Franklin's help the French found him a poor old ship which they told him to arm and man and go ahead with Jones did his best but the foundry did not fill his order for cannon and he was obliged to take some old guns which were too heavy for the positions he had to give them it was bad enough to be forced to fight the whole British Navy with a poor slow rotten old hulk without of date guns but the men he had to take to do the fighting were worse among them were Portuguese and Malays who could not understand orders in either French or English but worst of all there were a hundred or more English prisoners who would watch their chance to stab or shoot the few Americans in command and surrender the ship to their own countrymen Dr. Benjamin Franklin's poor Richard Almanac had been published as a French book under the title of Bonhomme Richard or Goodman Richard so Jones in compliment to his genial friend and helper named his newly made over ship Bonhomme Richard before he got this craft ready several French commanders and crews wished to join him these men were not capable commanders but they had better ships and crews than Captain Jones the one man best able to use them to advantage when Jones started out with the Richard he was followed by a sort of private fleet among which were the alliance and the palace the commanders of the other ships refused to obey orders unless they happened to feel so disposed most of the other ships got lost or started off like pirates after prizes for themselves so that when Jones met the leading ships of the British there were only the Richard the alliance and the palace left when the three ships came around a high point called flamborough head and saw there the British men of war Serapis and Countess of Scarborough commander Jones ordered the palace to engage the countess while he with the Richard tackled the Serapis the commander had one lieutenant Richard Dale an American who had escaped in the most mysterious way from an English prison without the heroic aid of this officer Jones might have lost the day or the night for the battle did not begin until dark there were hundreds of people on the shore watching the fight at the very beginning they saw and heard the old cannon on the Richard bursting and killing nearly all the gunners and powder boys serving them meanwhile the Serapis which was a brand new ship with twice the number and weight of guns that Jones had was raking the Richard for and aft and shooting great ragged holes in her sides the sea came pouring into the ship and the British prisoners came running up yelling frantically we are sinking by sheer force of will and fear of eye Paul Jones and Richard Dale drove those excited Englishmen back into the hold to work the pumps as though they would pump the North Sea dry Jones sailed his ship close to the Serapis intending to catch hold of its side with hooks called grappling irons this made it possible for the men on both ships to fight hand to hand the Richard came alongside with such force that a spar which stuck out at the side called the jib boom was driven into the ropes which held the mast nearest the stern of the Serapis called the mizzen mast the grip which captain Jones now had on the Serapis was like that of a Boston bull dog who has an English mastiff by the throat if one ship went down the other would have to go to well done my brave lads we have got her now shouted Jones and he ordered the sailing master to haul the Richard's cable over and tie the jib boom of the Serapis to his own mizzen mast when the cable caught and became tangled the master uttered an oath don't swear said Jones calmly in another moment we may be in eternity but let us do our duty the ropes and spars of the two ships were now so tangled that the men in the top of the Richard scrambled across into the rigging of the enemy like monkeys in two treetops in spite of all the captain's efforts the Richard was now on fire in a dozen places the people on shore cheered for it looked as if the English were burning the pirate ship the master at arms hearing a report that the captain and Dell had both been killed started with two others to surrender to the commander of the Serapis all three shouting quarter the commander of the Serapis hearing the cry asked Jones if he was ready to give up no shouted the American commander I have not yet begun to fight by this time even the mass of the Richard were burning but an American sailor saw a chance to do great harm to the enemy seizing a hand grenade or bomb he crept across the yard arms of both ships and threw it down upon the deck of the Serapis the bomb fell and burst on a train of gunpowder scattered by broken cartridges the flame blazed along past several of the big guns ending in a terrific explosion this turned the tide of the battle the Americans swarmed on board the Serapis and took possession of it the English commander surrendered by pulling down the flag of his ship in giving up his sword to Jones he said with a sneer it is painful to me that I must resign to a man with a halter around his neck the American captain seemed not to notice the intended insult every American boy and girl has a right to be proud of Paul Jones for his noble reply sir you have fought like a hero the palace had captured the countess of Scarborough after an hour's fighting the Bonhomme Richard when cut loose from the Serapis sank to the bottom of the sea before the rest of the enemy's fleet could stop them Jones and the commander of the palace sailed away with the Serapis and the countess to a safe neutral port in Holland the British now offered a reward of more than fifty thousand dollars for Captain Paul Jones dead or alive the people of Holland begged him not to fly the American flag as there were two British fleets waiting outside that Dutch harbor to capture him but Paul Jones insisted on flying the stars and stripes not only in that port but when he came out and ran the gauntlet of more than 40 British men of war he passed them all with colors flying and reached a French port in safety Captain Paul Jones was one of the heroes of the world the French made him a night and King Louis presented him with a magnificent gold handled sword the United States Congress voted him a gold medal in honor of his greatest victory and passed a resolution commending his zeal prudence and intrepidity assigned him to the command of a new ship of the line then being built and proposed to create for him the rank of rear admiral until then unknown in the American Navy General Washington wrote him a letter of congratulation in which he said you have won the admiration of the world thus the son of a poor gardener became our greatest naval hero in the war of the revolution but above all the honors he received at home and abroad this was Paul Jones proudest boast I have ever looked out for the honor of the American flag end of chapter 36 chapter 37 of hero tales from history this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Wayne Cook hero tales from history by Smith Burnham General Marion the Carolina Swamp Fox a hundred years ago when boys had but few books of any kind the life of general Marion was their favorite book of adventure because of its short stories of rare bravery and hair breath escapes general Francis Marion of whom the book tells was a southern man born the same year as general Washington and a commander of some of the American troops in the war for independence during that war when the british found the take a decomplete little in the northern states they decided to carry the war into the south Lord Cornwallis was the british commander under him a colonel Tarleton was a cavalry officer notorious for bullying and cruelty who became a terror to the whole region another commander of british troops in the south was a former american general Benedict Arnold the traitor who joined the british after he had failed to deliver west point into the hands of the enemy General Horatio Gates was sent by congress to defend the south against the british but general Gates was not a great or brave commander he was defeated by Cornwallis at Camden South Carolina he lost two thousand men and the rest of his soldiers were scattered because of this terrible defeat the worst in the whole war for independence the southern people were deeply discouraged what was to be done in the south there were many Tories as the people were called who believed that those who fought against England for liberty were rebels besides fighting in the british campaigns the southern Tories went about in bands shooting and injuring all the rebels they could so the southern patriots gathered together in small companies to defend their families from the british and the Tories and to prevent the british from capturing the whole southern country before washington could send down a better general and another army during the months after the defeated Camden the fight was carried on in what was called guerrilla warfare guerrilla being spanish for little war small bands of americans hid in the woods and swamps and when they caught the british off guard suddenly pounced on them taking or rescuing prisoners the greatest leader of this kind of warfare on the american side was general marion these southern soldiers had very poor weapons most of their guns were the kind used in shooting birds and were loaded with shot instead of bullets for swords they had wooden handle saws with the teeth ground down to a smooth edge they had but little to eat often only potatoes which they could bake in the ashes of their campfires their horses however with the finest and fastest in all the country although these men had to deny themselves food and clothing their horses were well fed and groomed for often the masters lives depended on the fleetness of their steeds and the horses sometimes acted as if they understood and enjoyed the terrible game of life and death their masters were playing some of the bravest men in the south saying no other way to save or to serve their country came and offered themselves to general marion to fight under the greatest hardships and risks in the most dangerous adventures among these was the famous sergeant jasper who was one of the first to risk his life for the flag nine british ships of war attacked a fort in charleston harbor they shot away the staff on which the american flag was flying but jasper jumped out caught the banner before it touched the ground and climbed up and nailed it in place while the guns were aimed at him as well as a starry ensign while sergeant asper was under general marion he was often sent out on scout and spy duty he had a natural talent for disguising himself he went once to visit a sergeant in a british regiment while he was there a number of american prisoners were brought in taking it for granted that a guard of ten british soldiers with these prisoners would pass a certain spring jasper left the british camp to obtain help he found only one american who could go with him the two hid themselves near the spring surprised the ten redcoats disarmed them and then with the former prisoners marched gaily back to marion's headquarters with the ten captured british soldiers once when general marion came to a river ferry he heard that a company of 90 british regulars were taking more than 200 captured americans to the prison ship at charleston the prisoners already in the hold of the ship were starved and neglected besides smallpox had broken out among them and many of the best men among the patriots were dying of that loathsome disease so general marion ordered his men to ride through the darkness to the ford where the british and their prisoners had crossed the river a few hours before here they learned that the redcoats and their charges were going to stay that night at a country tavern called the blue house the americans approached this place with great caution when they came to a wooden bridge they took horse blankets and laid them down on the bridge to dead in the sound of the horses hooves before deciding how to make an attack general marion sent several scouts to find out the lay of the land with tread ashore and silent as that of moccasin indians the scouts returned and whispered this report the officers of carousing in the house some of the men are outside many of them must be asleep as we could not get a glimpse of them a few sentinels are lounging about without a thought of being attacked marion told his men to lie down under the trees for a little rest very early in the morning when all the british including the sentinels seemed to be asleep he roused the men and ordered the attack the odds were over three to one against them but marion's men were used to that they were taking a great risk but there was much to be gained guns equipment and british prisoners who could be exchanged so as to release americans from the prison ship best of all each man of the 30 might be the means of setting 10 other americans free when the men were well awake general marion sent a lieutenant ahead directing men's follows take a few men with you make a wide circle and come in behind the house get as close to them as you can and wait till i give the signal then close in on them and see that no one gets away we must make quick work of this see that your gun's all right to the men waiting with him he said are you ready ready sir they whispered back come on then he commanded follow me don't make any noise don't speak watch me don't fire till i say the word they crept around the blue house like indians testing every twig lest it snap and feeling their way in the darkness suddenly a shot rang out in the early morning air a sentinel on the other side of the house must have seen the lieutenant's men the british soldiers roused from a sound sleep jumped about peering this way and that in the darkness no one knew what had happened or what would happen next the officers came tumbling out swearing and yelling as the americans came rushing in from all sides shouting and shooting the british sat there attacked by an army instead of by 30 guerrillas marion's men grabbed the rifles of the british soldiers shooting some and knocking others down some of the british shouted quarter and general marion ordered his men to stop firing there was a wholesale surrender and the hundreds of american prisoners were set free many of them joined marion's men when the british saw how they and their prisoners had been taken in 10 to 1 they looked sheepish but the british leader the bullying colonel tarleton had made his escape his motto seemed to me he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day he ran away at least though he did not do any fighting first five months after the battle of camden there was another battle at kelpans the british army commanded by tarleton was only a little larger than the american the red coats were so badly beaten that they lost over 900 men and the american loss was only 72 one day not long after tarleton was bullying a southern woman in her home where he and some of his officers recorded there was on the american side a colonel washington a distant relative of the commander-in-chief in his insulting way tarleton asked when the lady said this officer was a relative of hers what does this colonel washington look like i've never had the pleasure of meeting him you might have seen him said the lady swedely if you had looked behind you at the battle of kelpans this polite way of calling him a coward made tarleton very angry but he was no match in wit for a brave and brilliant southern woman though many of the wealthiest people of the south were tories some of them were true patriots a widow named mott had just built a beautiful home on hilltop and had furnished it elegantly when the british decided that it would make a fine fort and promptly took possession of it general maryon and his guerrilla band surrounded the mansion and told mrs mott who was then staying at a neighbor's house that if he could set her house afire he could smoke out the british and capture them that woman patriot was glad to sacrifice her lovely home for the good of her country so maryon burned down the mansion and made the red coats his prisoners end of chapter 37 chapter 38 of hero tales from history this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org hero tales from history by smith bernum wolf and mondcom the rival heroes of kebek more than 100 years after champlain returned from france to his beloved kebek france and great britain were at war in america this struggle was called the french and indian war because the english colonists had to fight against the french and their indian allies who came down from canada to keep the english out of the country along the ohio river in europe this strife in which several other nations took part was known as the seven years war during this war young george washington was first heard of he was sent into the western wilderness in the dead of winter to carry a message from the english governor of virginia to the french commander at a fort in western pennsylvania a few years later general braddock came over with an army of british regulars to fight the french and their allies in the region where the young messenger had been major george washington was on the english general staff and saved many of the british regulars after braddock fell defeated near fort du cane where pittsburgh now stands the british attacked the french also at louisburg in novus scotia and at ticonderoga near the southern end of lake champlain but the most important point to attack was kebek the jeb ralter of america which champlain had built nearly 150 years before the general then in military command at kebek was the marquis de malcom a true frenchman devoted to his king and to his mother wife and children from all of whom he was separated because of his warm love of country in his frequent letters to his mother and his wife montcom told all his troubles with the governor of canada and the canadian volunteers he had brought from france to kebek an army of regular soldiers they looked with scorn upon the french canadian raw recruits who seemed about as rude as their indian neighbors the canadian governor on his side saw with jealous eyes the french marquis who had come from old france to command the canadian companies along with his own french troops it needed rare tacked and true love of country for montcom to keep friendly with the canadian governor who pretended to be the friend of the marquis while secretly turning everybody he could against him when the general won a great victory at oswego hundreds of miles away the governor who was not there wrote to his friends and the men over him in france about my victory and what i planned and i did with such great success but though montcom wrote about his trials and troubles to his wife and mother he managed to keep on good terms with the governor and to prevent an outbreak between the french regulars and the canadian soldiers and indian warriors general montcom knew that the british would attack the french stronghold of kebek to keep this fortress at the narrow point in the st laurence river might mean the saving not only of all canada but also of the french forts and territory along the wabash and mississippi rivers more than a thousand miles away to the southwest the fortress at kebek seemed impossible to take for it was on top of a high steep cliff looking over the st laurence the lower part of the town lay along the level of the river far below but the town would be of no use whatever to an enemy that could not take the fort frowning directly overhead it seemed that the only way this fort might be reached by an enemy was by way of the st charles river just below the town troops might be taken up this river and reach kebek by going a long distance around back of the city montcom had logs chained together making a boom and threw that across the st charles where it flows into the st laurence then no ship or large boat could enter there and land soldiers behind the fort not only was the st laurence river narrow at kebek but there were many rocks in the swift channel below so that no ship without a skilled pilot could pass up to the town montcom however wishing to make kebek doubly safe posted most of his army below the town to prevent the approach of the enemy meanwhile william pit the british prime minister decided as montcom had foreseen that kebek must be taken pit made up his mind also that a young british officer named wolf was the right man to place in command of the british army to capture the canadian fortress wolf's father had been a general and from the age of sixteen the son had been a soldier as a colonel under general amherst at louis berg james wolf had shown himself so fearless as to be even rash and so devoted to his duty that he seemed not to care for his own life he was so daring and reckless that someone tried to warn the king of england by saying that young wolf is mad mad is he snapped king george then i only hope he will bite some others of my generals colonel wolf was as keen and wise as he was brave so the king appointed him general and commanded him to capture kebek james wolf was as devoted to his mother as montcom was to his even more so for wolf had neither wife nor child to divide his affection he wrote home often about his army life his hopes and his aims with all his successes and honors general wolf was a very modest young man he sailed up the saint laurance with a small army only nine thousand men of these he wrote to william pit our troops are good and if valour can make amends for the want of numbers we shall probably succeed to the astonishment of montcom and the french army and people the british ships sailed up to the isle of or leon opposite kebek as if there were no dangerous rocks in the rapid river there wolf had taken some canadian pilots on board farther down the saint laurance and had threatened to hang them if one of the ships ran upon a rock still montcom told the people that there could be no danger the hated english had only run into a trap they could go neither upstream nor down and when winter came their ships would be frozen in the ice and become an easy prey so the french general refused to risk an attack he decided to play a waiting game and let time and nature fight for france on the day when wolf's fleet arrived a violent storm came up and several british ships and floats were dashed on the rocks and badly damaged after that montcom sent out burning ships to set fire to the english fleet and destroy it but wolf's men bravely towed the french fire ships out of the way and the only men lost were the canadian captain in charge of the fire ships and six of his sailors who were burned to death next wolf tried to enter the country on the kebek side of the river near the falls of montmorency where the water falls 250 feet over high cliffs these falls are so beautiful that some of the english risked being shot by the canadians in order to see them the region between the falls of montmorency and kebek was so well guarded by french and canadians that montcom was sure the english could never get behind kebek he sent word to the british general you we did no doubt demolished down but you shall never get into sadavit wolf answered back i will have kebek if i stay here till the end of november but every english attack failed and even the brave young commander became discouraged he had never known good health and he was now quite ill when he was urged to attack the english general and capture or drive him back montcom said with a smile let him amuse himself where he is if we drive him off he may go to some place where he can do us harm but the french made another attempt to set fire to the british fleet with 70 rafts small boats and schooners again they failed and the french themselves explained that this was due only to the courage of the english sailors who swarmed out in little boats to fight the fire before it could do any harm to their fleet in august general wolf was ill in bed and it was reported in the british army that he was not likely to live long but even while he was so ill the young commander's one thought was the capture of kebek on the last day of august he said to his physician that he now had a plan to carry out if he could only live to lead his army in person i know too well that you cannot cure me he continued but pray make me so that i may be without pain for a few days and able to do my duty that is all i want in his letter to his mother that day he wrote the enemy puts nothing to risk and i can't in conscience put the whole army to risk he has wisely shut himself up so that i can't get at him without spilling a torrent of blood and that perhaps too little or no purpose the marquis de montcombe is at the head of a great number of bad soldiers and i am at the head of a small number of good ones that wish for nothing so much as to fight him but the wary old fellow avoids an action early in september wolf seemed himself again though he realized that he had only a few days to live the french saw the british fleet pass their fort on the way up the river at night although the cannon of the fort belched lightning and bellowed thunder at them montcombe wondered what the english were going to try to do after all they mean to learn somewhere he said wolf did mean to land somewhere and that somewhere was the very place montcombe did not dream of a steep cliff back of the town when anyone spoke of the danger of the capture of kebek the french general would shrug and smile and say but the english cannot fly one night when it was very dark 1600 british soldiers came floating down the river in their ships boats till they came opposite the town wolf was with them in person as he had hoped and prayed to be as they were slowly floating the young commander repeated the familiar lines by gray the boast of heraldry the pomp of power and all that beauty all that wealth air gave a way to like the inevitable hour the paths of glory lead but to the grave i would rather have written those lines he said with deep feeling then take kebek tomorrow as their boats stole into the shore a sentinel called out in french who goes there france answered a voice in french what retchiment the queens again in good french by a scotchman who had seen service in france a little later another sentryman challenged them what is that the scotchman whispered provision boats the english will hear us in this way they reached a point at the foot of the steep cliff 24 men started to climb up where it seemed impossible as they kept on others started up after them then came others general wolf among the number in a short time quite a large company in red coats and scotch kilts had reached the top and dragged several small cannon after them the french felt so safe from attack that the small guard on the planes of abraham as the level top was called was taken by surprise and easily overcome an alarm spread a frenchman on horseback came dashing over to montcom's headquarters gasping the english on the planes of abraham there was a great fight on top of that cliff wolf was seen here there everywhere but before the british drove the french back the young general had fallen shot three times shall i go for a surgeon asked an englishman there's no need wolf whispered it's all over with me a little later a man shouted see how they run who run repeated wolf opening his eyes the enemy sir they are given way everywhere wolf roused up long enough to send a brief order to the next in command telling him just how to go ahead and capture the fort then he'd lay down weirdly smiling as he closed his eyes now god be praised i shall die in peace he said the french hero of kebek also was shot through the body in that last short fight how long have i to leave he asked not more than 12 hours said the surgeon in charge so much the better said the dying montcom i am happy that i shall not leave to see the surrender of kebek end of chapter 38 recording by rick rodstrom chapter 39 of hero tales from history this is a leber vox recording all leber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit leber vox.org recording by maryland rakes hero tales from history by smith bernum daniel boon the great indian fighter of kentucky of all the great american hunters trappers and indian fighters daniel boon was the leader he was born in pennsylvania but while still a boy he moved with his parents to north carolina besides learning to do farm work and help his father at the loom and the forge the boon boy found time for trapping hunting and learning the arts of a woodsman father boon though of quaker descent encouraged the son to go hunting and to learn the woodcraft of the indians when the lad was 12 his heart was delighted by the gift of a light rifle from his sensible father of course daniel did not have much chance to go to school but he acquired mathematics enough to fit him for the business of backwood's life and to make him a fair land surveyor but he never had the gift of spelling for many years a giant beach tree was pointed out where he had had a bear fight it was a kind of monument to daniel's poor spelling in the bark high on its trunk he had cut these crooked letters d boon killed the bar on this tree in the year 1760 yet although he did not spell even his own name correctly daniel boon was one of the best educated of all the pioneers for he had just the kind of knowledge that this country needed most at that time when daniel was 21 a call came to north carolina for men to help the soldiers of general braddock who had been sent by the king of england to fight the french and indians the english wished to keep control of the country north and south of the ohio river young boon volunteered and was in the battle of fort ducane when braddock was defeated and killed and when young major george washington led the colonial troops who fought indian fashion and saved a small part of braddock's army from being killed and scalped this fight proved a turning point in the life of the north carolina soldier for he met in the ranks a scout named john finley who had been on a hunting trip in the wild country south of the ohio finley drew a picture of this wild region that warmed the heart of daniel boon one of the chief beauties there for the born hunter was that the indians did not inhabit the country they only went back and forth across it so that they did not kill or scare away the game daniel went home to north carolina and married a beautiful girl of 17 and they kept house in a cabin the young husband had built with his own hands he lived there several years with his wife and little boy near his father's family but he was restless going on hunting trips farther and farther from home until he had followed the game over the mountains into the regions of the tennessee river the friend of the french and indian war john finley came to visit the boons one fall and they made him stay all that winter the call of the wild was too strong to let boon stay at home long after that in the spring he and finley with four other men on six horses with bedding and a small cooking outfit on six pack horses started off early one right morning on their wonderful shooting and trapping trip they were armed with hunting knives tomahawks and their trusty rifles when they had crossed the mountains they hunted the bear buffalo elk and deer and trapped little fur animals with such success that they soon had quite a fortune in furs as they prepared to start east with these a band of indians appeared on the scene broke up their little camp and captured everything they had the savages spared the white men's lives but they made signs that they would kill them all if they found them there again and they took boon and another man prisoner the rest of the party badly frightened took up their weary march for home empty handed boon and his companion when they escaped only went far enough to make the indians think they were also afraid then they came back and hunted alone in all that wild region after long lonely months boons brother came and brought gunpowder and supplies and the boons hunted and trapped there two years longer they started home with a rich store of furs but some indians came along and robbed them again the red men afterward killed the brother but daniel after hair breath escapes reached north carolina safe and sound but poorer than when he went away still daniel boon was rich in wood lore and indian craft he gave such attractive accounts of the beautiful country and the chances to get rich quickly that quite a number of heroic people were persuaded to go back with him and settle in the land he started over the mountains again with 10 in his own family besides neighbors and friends no one could have followed the way but a cunning scout like daniel boon to whom every leaf every sound every mark in the earth had its own secret message during the journey the party were attacked by indians and boons eldest son a lad of 17 was killed this experience discouraged the others and they tried to induce their leader to go back with them he sturdily refused saying there are nearly a hundred of us we can beat the indians yet nevertheless it seemed wiser to wait a while before pushing on across the mountains so they went back a little way and settled for a year or two on a little mountain river by this time many people in the carolinas and virginia had heard about the promised land of daniel boon he was engaged to mark the way or blaze the trail through to kentucky this trail was afterwards traveled so much that it was called the wilderness road taking 30 men with him boon once more set out on the way to settle kentucky they came to a halt in the heart of that country and built a stockade on the kentucky river this enclosure a little longer than a square with a fort at each of the four corners and eight smaller cabins in the space inside was surrounded by a high fence of sharpened logs standing upright to this strong stockade the rest of the party gave the name of boonsboro in honor of the kentucky pioneer later boon returned for his family and brought them to their new home many and exciting were the adventures of the settlers one afternoon two girls went out canoeing on the river with the daughter of daniel boon when the three girls had passed a bend in the river and were too far away for their shrieks to be heard at the fort a fierce looking indian sprang out from the bushes on the farther bank and pulled in their canoe other savages stifled the girls cries and plunged with them into the darkening forest before long the absent ones were missed and the alarm was given the empty canoe was found and a search party was formed led by the fathers of the missing girls the hunt lasted two days and two nights on the morning of the third day the anxious father saw smoke rising from an indian camp as the camp was over 50 miles from boonsboro the savages had become careless boon and two other men crept up near the camp and shot the two indians guarding their three white captives the other red men jumped and ran for the woods the happy fathers and their friends returned to their anxious families at boonsboro with the daughters unhurt while washington and his little armies were waging the war for independence along the eastern coast daniel boon and his pioneers were fighting just as bravely for their country though they did not realize it then the backwoods territory formed by far the greater part of the future united states boon was the leader who remained on guard while others did the things which are often described in the history of the country he helped the pioneers with his advice and defended the families of the men who went out and fought in the historic battles one reason why the indians feared and revered this white chief was that daniel boon as if by magic had often escaped death at their hands but once his good fortune seemed to fail him near boonsboro was a salt lake or a spring of salt water where salt was left spread around the spring like frost or a white powder on the ground dear buffalo and other animals often came there to lick up the salt and pioneers often hid nearby and shot them boon and 30 men had come from the fort to gather a supply of salt to have on hand in case they should be attacked by indians boon and his men were surrounded and captured and as this was during the war for independence they were taken to detroit to be dealt with by the british governor hamilton on the way through deep snows and zebra weather they were all in danger of starving at a solemn council some of the indians proposed to get rid of their prisoners by torturing and burning them to death there were 120 of the savages and the vote stood 59 for the killing to 61 against there was no doubt that the indians regard for daniel boon saved the lives of all those white men though this seemed to have been done by a single vote it was a strange thing that 61 hostile savages were willing to keep alive and feed their prisoners at the risk of starving themselves at detroit hamilton offered the indians $500 if they would let daniel boon go free as he wanted to use him as a british scout the savages refused and took him to their cheap village in the ohio country boon knew their language but he pretended not to understand a word they said among themselves he seemed to be very fond of their mode of life and acted pleased when they told him they were going to make him a chief he won their goodwill by not wincing when they tortured him to see if he could prove himself worthy of that great honor the white chief was the best marksman in all the tribe when they let him go off hunting by himself they counted the bullets and measured the gunpowder they gave him but he cut the bullets in two and used very small charges of powder thus saving nearly half to use when he should find a chance to escape hearing the others talking of an attack they were going to make on boonsboro he slipped away one morning well out hunting when he would not be missed till night not daring to shoot game for food nor wishing to waste time to dress and cook it he was nearly starved when he reached the kentucky fort after going 160 miles through a region full of hostile tribes the indians must have wasted many days searching for him as it was six weeks before his adopted tribe and other savages arrived at boonsboro daniel boon held the fort for 10 days with 50 white men and boys and 25 women and children against 450 red men several times the indians set fire to the fort but the brave white men put out the fire at great risk to their lives the indians tried to tunnel under the log fence but the cunning white chief met and beat them back at every point at last the savages gave up the fight and slunk away now that so many settlers had moved to kentucky the old hero found that country too crowded to suit him so he and his family moved to a wilder region on the Missouri river to find elbow room he said after hundreds of thrilling adventures and narrow escapes the indian hunter died in bed with his wife and three children around him a friend who was near him in his latter days said of daniel boon never was old age more green nor gray hairs more graceful end of chapter 39 chapter 40 of hero tales from history this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox dot org recording by betty b hero tales from history by smith bernham george rogers clark the young hero with a great idea soon after the beginning of the war for independence george rogers clark a tall broad-shouldered red-haired blue-eyed young man of 24 left his home in virginia and went over the mountains to join the settlers in kentucky he had already had some adventures in the wilderness along the ohio river hunting wild game and fighting wilder indians not long after clark's arrival the pioneers joined together and sent him and another man back to virginia to see if they could have kentucky adopted as a county of that state virginia had just been declared one of the 13 united states clark and his companion were also to try to get the legislature to grant them money enough to buy gunpowder which was now the greatest need of the kentucky settlers in fighting the indians when the two young delegates in coon skin caps and leather leggings arrived at the virginia capital they found to their dismay that the legislators of the new state had just adjourned and gone home patrick henry the fiery orator who had shouted in that very capital building give me liberty or give me death was now governor of virginia the young men from kentucky went and told him they must not go back without that powder so governor henry got them 500 pounds and arranged to make it all right when the state legislature should meet again clark succeeded also in having kentucky made a county of virginia while the battles of the revolution were being fought along the atlantic coast there was a terrible state of affairs in the great valley of the ohio henry hamilton the british governor at detroit then in charge of the forts and trading posts on the wabash and mississippi rivers was doing one thing that made the settlers blood boil wherever they heard of it he had hired all the indians he could to fight on the british side by furnishing them with scalping knives and paying them a bounty or money prize on every scalp they brought in to prove that they had killed an american man woman or child the savages went everywhere on the warpath murdering as many people as they could to earn as much bounty money as possible in the midst of this horrible warfare a bright idea came to george rogers clark but he kept it to himself he sent two men across the ohio and up the mississippi and wabash rivers to see what was going on at the british trading posts there the word they brought back made the young man start at once for virginia this time alone he called again on governor patrick henry and on his old neighbor thomas jefferson both of those great patriots approved his plan and charged him on no account to let it leak out before he was ready to act for fear some wily indian or dishonest frenchman might give warning and spoil it all when george rogers clark started again from virginia he wore the badge of a colonel in the continental army and he had the promise support of the state he went west by way of the ohio river as far as what is now louisville the settlement he started there owes its name to the news which clark heard from some men who joined him there that the king and the people of france had pledged money men and ships to help the united states in the war for independence the new town was named in honor of the french king the first thing the young commander had to do was to raise a company of about 200 men for a secret purpose all he told his recruits was that they were to go on a mission to put a stop to the terrible outrages of the british indians upon the settlers it was not until they were again floating down the ohio river toward the mississippi that he told them that they were out to capture three towns on the mississippi and the wabash which as his two friends had found out for him were not well guarded by the british most of the people in these towns were french settlers but were under british rule when they had nearly reached the place where the ohio flows into the mississippi they left their boats and marched through tangled forests and across the plains toward cascassia the nearest of the three towns they arrived on the fourth of july 1778 the second anniversary of american independence they hid for a whole day in a clump of trees and bushes on the shore of the mississippi after nightfall clark detailed half his men to surround the village and led the rest of the fort where he found the french commander of the fort giving a dance by the flaring light of several torches some of the women of the settlement and several indians were present the young virginian went right in and stood there smiling it was so different from what he had expected when an indian spied him and gave an ear splitting war the dancer stopped as if shot all stared at the tall young officer with the keen but kindly eyes after a moment the newcomer raised his voice and said go on with the dancing but i wish to announce that you are no longer subjects of king george this fort and this place now belong to the state of virginia as he spoke his men burst in and took the french officer's prisoner clark added to the village people you can go to your homes but you must stay there all who leave their houses tonight will do so under pain of death the town is guarded by my men the french settlers spent the night in fear for clark disarmed the village at once some of their chief men came to him next day to beg him to spare their lives the young commander shook hands with them and told them that they need not be afraid of anyone but the british king louis of france he explained is the friend of america is going to help us in our fight for liberty the french were all glad to hear the good news and lost no time in swearing to be true to the united states government in his record clark went on the scene was changed from almost dejection to that of joy in the extreme the bells ringing the church crowded returning thanks in short every appearance of extravagant joy that could fill a place with almost confusion to colonel george rogers clark and his 30 pioneers this easy campaign so far seemed like a pleasure excursion they were well received also at fort cahokia on the mississippi across from st louis then a french volunteer took a few men to fort sackville at vincennes and placed them on guard there thus the three scattered strongholds of the british in the northwest territory came to belong to the new state of virginia when governor hamilton got word by indian runner of all that had happened he came down from detroit to vincennes on the wabash with 500 english and indians in canoes he easily retook fort sackville for clark had not been able to spare more than half a dozen men to hold it by that time winter had come on and the wabash began to rise and flood its banks the river overflowed this part of the country so regularly that the region was called the drowned lands the flood of course made it impossible for hamilton to march his men to the mississippi he announced that he would wait until spring before retaking the other forts so he sent away his indian allies and ordered part of his troops back to winter quarters at detroit when the young kentucky colonel heard of this he saw a chance to spring another surprise he started out with 170 men to travel 250 miles through rather than over trails almost impossible to pass because of snow ice and overflowing streams the worst part of all the journey was at the last near vincennes where the whole country looked like a large lake clark himself led the way feeling out the path with his feet he placed the tall stalwart men among those who were smaller and weaker sometimes they had to wait in the icy waters up to their necks only the hardiest of the pioneers could endure long hours in such cold water some of the men became numb and unconscious their robust companions carried them in their arms or held them on floating logs until they came to a dry knoll like an oasis in the desert there the active men would rub and warm the chilled bodies of the rest meantime a meal would be prepared of duck venison or other game which clark and his more able-bodied men had been able to shoot dress and cook in the ways best approved by hungry pioneers after they had eaten and dried their clothes they would make up lost sleep clark himself was a wonder of endurance cheerfulness intact he started his men singing the favorite songs of the frontier like keep your powder dry and encouraged and animated them by every means in his power it took five days to wait the last nine miles washington's crossing the Delaware in boats was a short and easy passage compared with this feat of george rogers clark but the humor of the american pioneer who made a joke of his hardest experiences saved the day clark wrote of the antique little drummer boy who floated across a river on his drum but he did not tell how a tall soldier took that drummer on his shoulder and led the way through deep waters while the boy beat a merry march for that shivering laughing company near vincennes they met a man out shooting ducks from him they learned that hamilton and his garrison did not dream of being attacked by this man clark sent into the people of the settlement this warning to the inhabitants of post vincennes gentlemen being now within two miles of your village with my army determined to take your fort this night and not willing to surprise you i take this method to request such of you as our true citizens and willing to enjoy the liberty i bring you to remain in your houses and those if any there be that our friends to the king will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair buyer general and fight like men those who are true friends of liberty may depend on being well treated and i once more request them to keep out of the streets for everyone i find in arms on my arrival i shall treat as an enemy signed g r clark as a result of this notice the indians took to the woods and the french villagers shut themselves in their homes clark and his men soon rushed into the town and surrounded fort sackville the next day a party of british indians came into town on their ponies grinning and shaking the scalps they had taken from a number of kentucky settlers these indians on the war path did not know of the presence of the little american army until some wrathful kentuckians fell upon and killed every one of them in plain view of hamilton and his soldiers the besieged garrison fought desperately for days but the pioneer sharpshooters with their deadly aim forced them to surrender the british never attempted to take the little river fortresses again and when the treaty of peace was signed between the young united states and old england that vast northwest territory was safe in the hands of the new nation but for the great thought so heroically carried out by george rogers clark and his men that western empire now occupied by the states of michigan ohio indiana illinois and wisconsin would at the end of the war have belonged to england as clark said to governor patrick henry when he outlined his plan of capturing the three river forts and holding all that territory for the united states of america a country which is not worth defending is not worth claiming end of chapter 40