The story of Georgia, for Georgia boys and girls / by Katherine B. Massey and Laura Glenn Wood

JAMES EDWARD OGI-ETHORPE After the fiortra.it by Rarcnet

THE STORY OF GEORGIA
FOR GEORGIA BOYS AND GIRLS
BY KATHARINE B. MASSEY
AM)
LAURA GLENN WOOD
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY D. C. HEATH & Co.
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CONTENTS

CHAITER
I. The Georgia Indians ......

11. Three Indian Legends ......

III. The First White Men ......

IV. Oglethorpe ........

V. The Cargo of the Good Ship Anne ...

VI. The Seal of the Georgia Colony ....

VII. Tomochichi ........

VIII. Tomochichi continued .....

IX.

X. The Growth of the Colony ...

^VvIl . Spanish Troubles .......

XII. Silk Culture in Georgia .....

XIII. Georgia as a Colony ......

.YlY IIVV. The Bethesda Orphan Home

....

XV. Mary Musgrove .......

XVI. Georgia as a Royal Province . . .

XVII. The Stamp Act and the Tax on Tea .

XVIII. The Liberty Boys .......

.VA,TI AV.. The War of the Revolution .....

XX. The War of the Revolution continued

XXI. The War of the Revolution concluded

XXII.

XXIII. Georgia as a State ...;..

XXIV. The Yazoo Fraud ....... vw ^\^V V .

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TAGS
I
5 9 ii . 14 . 18
20
23 , 26
. 28
- 32
36
- 38 . 40
- 45 47 49
- S3 . 60 . 66 . 69
75 . 82 - 87 . 89

IV

CONTENTS

CHAITER
XX VI. XXVII.
XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII.
XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. XXXIX.

PACK
The .Mexican War ....... 94 The Three Sections ...... 96
Slavery ......... 100 Beginning of the Civil War ..... 104 Some Men Prominent in War Times . . . 106 The Civil War ....... 109 The War in Georgia ...... 112 What the War cost Georgia ..... 116 After the Surrender ...... 118 Reconstruction ....... 122 The Growth of the State ..... 129 Some Georgia Inventions . . ... .136 Georgia Schools ....... 141 Georgia Writers ....,*.. 146

THE STORY OF GEORGIA
CHAPTER I
THE GEORGIA INDIANS
IF we travel all over this great state of ours, \ve shall see citfes, towns, villages, and cultivated farm lands. The rivers and streams turn the wheels of busy mills, and there are signs of life everywhere. But it was not always like this. Years ago, before white people settled in this coun try, and even long after, dense forests covered the moun tains, hillsides, and valleys, and the level lands in the south. Numerous tribes of Indians lived under the tall trees and on the banks of the streams.
The most powerful of these tribes were the Cherokees, who occupied the northern part of the state among the mountains, and the Creeks, who lived farther to the south. They were a tall, straight, and strong people, generous and good-natured. They were brave in battle, kind to stran gers, and never forgetful of a favor, though very resentful when injured. . They loved their people and their homes, and were especially kind to the aged. It was their belief that a person gained more wisdom the longer he lived, and they greatly reverenced a wise man. One of the first les sons which the little Indian boy learned was that of respect for old age. The old men were the first to speak in the
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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

councils, while the young men listened reverently to their wise words.
No idols were ever found among these Georgia Indians. There were no oaths in their language. They believed in a Great Spirit, who made them and gave them the pure air to breathe and all the joys of this beautiful world. When they died, this same Great Spirit would take them to a glorious place called the Happy Hunting Grounds. There they could spend their lives in hunting and feasting.
These Indians were pleasure-loving people. They were fond of hunting, running, ball playing, and especially of dancing, in which the women frequently joined. Their feasts commonly closed with a dance.
It is no wonder that, with this gay, free life, many lived to a great age. Tomochichi, the chief of the Yamacraws, died at the age of ninety-seven. Old Brim, the emperor of the Creeks, lived to be one hundred and thirty.
The Indians did not know from what place they origi nally came. There was an old story among some of them that their forefathers had come from the banks of the Mississippi River. They had conquered the people whom they found living here, and had settled down, building homes and planting large orchards. Other tribes had strange ideas regarding their origin. One tribe claimed to have issued from a cave near the Alabama River; another declared that their ancestors had fallen from the sky.
These Georgia Indians were different in some respects from the tribes in other parts of the country. They did not like to move about constantly. They had towns, gar dens, and plantations. Near each wigwam was a little garden where the women raised com, beans, melons, pota toes; pumpkins, onions, pepper, and many other articles of

THE GEORGIA INDIANS

3

food. The men furnished the meat for the family. They

used to go hunting in the forest and fishing in the fresh

streams, returning home loaded down with all kinds of fish,

and the meat of deer, bear, wild tur

keys, and ducks.

Sometimes the women broke the

corn into small pieces and boiled it

into a kind of pudding, called hominy.

They barbecued their meat by hang

ing it over a fire until it was cooked.

When we speak of hominy and bar

becued meat we must remember that

the Indians gave us these words.

A GEOKCJA

There were all kinds of fruits and

WAR PAINT-

nuts to eat when fresh or to store away for future use.

There were peaches, locusts, persimmons, walnuts, pecans,

chestnuts, hickory nuts, and chinquepins. For sweets they

robbed the home of the honeybee in some old tree. The

grapevine clambered over bushes and trees, and, in its

season, was heavy with luscious fruit. Berries of all kinds

were plentiful. In the springtime, the ground was car

peted in places with the wild strawberry. The dogwood

and Cherokee rose blossomed in profusion, and the land

was filled with the singing of birds.

Such was Georgia in those days of long ago. It is not

strange that the Indians were content to spend their lives

in the midst of so much plenty and beauty. They loved

their grand forests and their clear streams, their mountains

and valleys, and gave them names which have lingered

with them and which we have learned to love. Each of

these names had some meaning to the Indians. Toccoa

meant the beautiful; Tallulah, the terrible; Hiwassee,

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

pretty fawn; Amicololah, tumbling water; Okeefinokee, quivering earth; Chattahoochee, flowered rock; Cohutta, frog mountain. The Indians told many beautiful legends about these places, a few of which have come down to us.
Though the red men left our state long ago, we have pleasant reminders of them in these musical names and interesting stories. The objects they loved are the objects we love. The Chattahoochee, as it hurries along to the Gulf, and the Savannah, gliding smoothly to the broad ocean, bring to us the same message of helpfulness that they bore to those simple savages. Toccoa is still the beautiful; Tallulah, still the terrible.

INDIANS BROILING FISH. After a drawing made in 1858 by John White.

CHAPTER II
THREE INDIAN LEGENDS
NACOOCHEE
MT. YOXAH stands in White County, lifting its two peaks darkly blue against the sky. Near by are the clear head waters of the Chattahoochee River. When the Cherokee Indians lived in this country, they told the following story about Mt. Yonah and the lovely valley of Nacoochee which lies at its foot.
A stern old Cherokee warrior had a daughter so beautiful that she was called Nacoochee, which means the Evening Star. It was said that she was like the smile of the Great Spirit; no form was1 so graceful, no footstep in the corn dance so light. Many suitors sought her hand in marriage, but she refused them all, in her heart preferring her lover Sautee. But Sautee was the son of a hostile chief. There was war between the two tribes, and the parents of both the young people objected to the lovers union. When Sautee and Nacoochee found that they could not gain the consent of their parents, they resolved to do without it.
So, in the fragrant summer time, when all the hills were green and fair, when the purple and white clematis filled the valleys, when the clear Chattahoochee murmured over its rocky bed and the voice of the mocking bird filled the land, they stole away together and made their home in a cave on the side of Mt. Yonah. There they spent the

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

long summer days, while her fierce old father, with a himdred braves at his back, was searching for them far and near. At last they were found and dragged from their hiding place to the edge of a precipice on the mountain side. There Nacoochee, held by her fathers arms, saw her lover hurled over the cliff to the rocks below. But love was stronger than death. Breaking away from the encircling arms, with a cry she flung herself over the edge, following her lover in death as in life.
A lone pine marks the spot where Nacoochee and Sautee lie buried; the Chattahoochee, which heard their vows of love, flows near their resting place, and over the blue crown of Mt Yonah the evening star looks down upon their grave.

THE CHEROKEE ROSE
Among the hills of north Georgia stood the lodge of a Cherokee chief. It was covered by a climbing rose vine, whose pure white blossoms with hearts of gold were set like stars amid the glossy green of its foliage. The chief tain had a beautiful daughter, whose heart was as gentle as her face was fair.
In one of their raids to the south, the tribe had captured and brought back with them a young Seminole brave, sorely wounded. Their purpose was to keep him until he recovered, and then tie him to a stake and torture him with hatchets and lighted splinters.
The maiden had compassion on the wounded man. She nursed him, bringing cool water from the spring to allay his fever, and preparing nourishing food to keep up his strength. As he began to recover, he learned to love the thoughtful nurse who tended him so kindly, and she in turn loved the object of her care.

THREE INDIAN LEGENDS

7

When he was strong enough to travel, she planned his escape. He refused to go without her, and she consented to flee with him to his own land. One dark night they started on their southward journey. In the gloom and stillness of the forest, she thought of her beloved home, which she would never see again, and begged that she might be allowed to return for some little token to carry away with her. He consented, and, stealing back through the darkness, she plucked a little spray of the rose vine. This she carried with her through the long journey over hills and valleys, across rivers and plains, until they reached his land and people. There, when the Seminole built a lodge for her, she planted the little twig of the rose vine beside it. As the vine grew and flourished, covering the lodge with shining green foliage and starry flowers, she called it, in memory of her home among the hills, her Cherokee rose.

THE EAST WATERS AND THE WEST WATERS
Once there was war between the Cherokees and the Catawbas. In this war a village of the Catawbas was de stroyed and its inhabitants carried away captive. Among the prisoners was the lovely daughter of the Catawba chief, whose name was Hiwassee, or Pretty Fawn. A young Cherokee warrior, Notley, loved the beautiful cap tive, and when she was restored to her father, he followed and begged her hand in marriage.
The proud Catawba chief heard him with scorn. " The Catawbas," he said, "drink the waters of the east, and you drink the waters of the west. When you can find a spot where the eastern and western waters unite, then a Catawba may wed a Cherokee."

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Notley was not discouraged. He spent days and weeks searching the mountain glens for the meeting place of the waters. He found many springs from which waters flowed down the eastern side of the mountain while only a few feet away springs were sending their waters westward; but he found no union of the eastern and western waters.
One sunny noon he lay resting in the shade, watching the gambols of three little fawns which were drinking at a clear lake from which a stream ran to the west. Creeping near to them, he stretched out his hand, and had almost seized one of the pretty creatures, too innocent to be afraid, when he saw something which made him forget the fawn. . It was another stream running from the same lake toward the east. He sprang forward in his joy, shouting, " Hiwassee! O Hiwassee! I have found it."
Taking one friend with him, he sought the Catawba village. On the way he met Hiwassee, and told her of his discovery. She said, " My father will never give me to you; but I will flee with you."
Notley pointed out the hollow of the mountain where the little lake lay, and told her to wait for him there.
As she had said, her haughty father refused to listen to Notley. " Because you were kind to my child in her captivity," he said, " I will let you depart in peace; but you cannot marry her. "
Notley found Hiwassee waiting for him on the mountain side. Her father never saw her again. Notley built a home near the western stream which he called Hiwassee, in honor of his wife. In after years he became a great and wise chief of the Cherokees.
The clear mountain stream that pours from the little lake is still called Hiwassee Creek.

CHAPTER III

THE FIRST WHITE MEN

IN the spring of 1540, De Soto with a band of Spaniards

left Tampa, Florida, and turned northward toward the

land of the Creeks and the Cherokees.

These Spaniards were men of rank and

wealth. They were richly clad and

mounted on fine horses. Their purpose

was to find gold. They felt no love for

the simple Indians, and treated them

cruelly. Their selfish hearts cared for

nothing but gold.

The Indians met the Spaniards at first

with friendly hospitality, giving them

guides through the forests, and food for

themselves and their horses. But when

the Spaniards had robbed them of their

treasures and burnt some of them at the

A SPANISH KXIGHTOF THEI6TH CENTURY.

stake, they began to see that these white

men were wicked and cruel, and then they were not so

ready to help them.

At one Indian village, the three guides refused to show

them the way to the next town. The Spaniards burnt one

of the guides at the stake. The other two, fearing a

similar death, promised to lead the travelers in the right

way. The Spaniards then set up a cross, and told the

Indians it was like the one on which the Savior of the

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

world suffered for our sins. They made the Indians prom ise to worship the cross, but the Indians obeyed simply through fear, and had no intention of keeping their word.
When they reached the large village of Cutafachiqui, on the Savannah River, twenty-five miles south of where Augusta now stands, an Indian princess welcomed De Soto, giving him and his soldiers food and lodging. She made him a present of a rope of pearls, and he in return placed on her finger a ruby ring. There seemed to be peace and harmony between the two races. But the cruel nature of the Spaniards could not help showing itself. They broke open the Indian tombs to steal the pearls which were hidden there; and when the party started away on their journey to the northwest, De Soto compelled the proud Indian princess, who was accustomed to be carried in a palanquin on the shoulders of men, to walk on foot in his train. In a few days she escaped to the woods, and the wicked Spaniards never saw her again. Doubtless her own people guarded her in some safe hiding place until the Spaniards were far away.
De Soto led his band to the spot where Rome now stands. The guides told them that there was gold to the north, but that the mountains were too high and the paths too rough to travel in that direction. They ac cordingly followed the Coosa River westward into Ala bama, and then marched on until they reached the Mississippi. De Soto found no gold, but he found sick ness and death, and finally a grave in the yellow waters of the great river. The selfish Spaniards met only dis appointment ; for although selfishness may seem to flourish for a time, it always ends in defeat.

CHAPTER IV
OGLETHORPE
ON the twenty-first day of December, in the year 1696, a little child was born in far-away England, whose name, James Edward Oglethorpe, has since become very dear to us. His parents, who belonged to a good old English family, lived in a beautiful home called Westbrook; about thirty miles from the great city of London. The house stood in a park of magnificent trees, and near by flowed a. peaceful river.
Oglethorpes father had been a soldier, and the boy inherited a love for arms. When about eighteen years old he went to Europe to serve under a great general, Prince Eugene of Savoy. The prince became very fond of the fearless boy soldier. Oglethorpe took part in many battles, and fought bravely. In after years he loved to tell his friends stories of those exciting days.
When he was nearly thirty years old, Oglethorpe be came sole owner of the family estate, his father and older brothers having died. He was a wealthy man, but his heart was full of love for his fellow-men. He was not content to settle down to a quiet, easy life, while there were others about him in distress.
At that time there was an unjust law in England, which allowed even honest men to be thrown into prison for debt, just like common criminals. Their wives and children wereleft to suffer and even die of cold, hunger, or sickness.
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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Oglethorpes heart was moved with compassion when he heard of the misery endured by the unfortunate prisoners, and the distress of their families. He was a member of Parliament the body of men whose duty it is to make the laws of England. Oglethorpe asked Parliament to ap point a committee to visit the prisons and inquire into their condition. He himself WPS made one of the committee.
The visitors were touched by the sad sights which they saw in the prison. Some of the prisoners were in chains. Many were sentenced for life because of a small debt. They had no power to protect themselves from the heart less wardens, who often treated them with extreme cruelty.
The English people were stirred with indignation when they heard what injustice was being done to their coun trymen. Some of the worst evils were remedied, and the prisons were afterward kept in a better condition. Almost all of the inmates were set free, but many of them had no homes and no way of earning a living.
Oglethorpe determined to help a few of these unfortu nate men to make a new start in life. There were vast lands in America, claimed by the English, which had not been settled by white men. They were covered with im mense forests, and inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians. Oglethorpe asked George II, king of England, to allow a number of these unhappy debtors to settle in a part of this land. The king gladly granted his request, and gave to him the territory lying between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers for this noble enterprise. He knew that a. col ony placed here would also serve to protect the Carolina province against the Indians.
No rogues were wanted in this colony; therefore the men were carefully selected, and, in every case, the creditor

OGLETHORPE

13

was willing to cancel the debt. The new colony was to be called Georgia, in honor of the king. Here every one could begin life afresh, free from the burden of debt. Oglethorpe and twenty other benevolent Englishmen were appointed trustees, to have control of the government of the colony.
Oglethorpe was selected to take charge of the colonists and settle them in their new home. For weeks before

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KINGS BENCH PRISON, LONDON, FOR POOR DEBTORS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
their departure from England, he saw that the men were drilled daily in the use of arms. The Spaniards in Florida were very hostile toward the English settlers in America, and there were many unfriendly Indians who resented the coming of the white men into their country. Oglethorpe wished, therefore, to prepare the colonists to defend them selves against enemies in the strange new land to which they were going.

CHAPTER V
THE CARGO OF THE GOOD SHIP ANNE
ONE morning in the month of November, of the year 1732, the good ship Anne left her safe English harbor and started on a long, perilous voyage across the broad Atlan tic Ocean. She carried a precious burden, for brave hearts are of greater value than rich jewels, and there were many resolute spirits in the little company grouped on the ships deck.
These people had not led happy lives in the homes that they were leaving. They were those unfortunate debtors and their families whom Oglethorpe had rescued from distress. The little band was composed of about one hundred and thirty men, women, and children, including their noble leader, Oglethorpe, who accompanied the party at his own expense.
The Sunday before had been spent at Milton on the Thames River. There the emigrants worshiped together and asked God to bless and care for them in their danger ous undertaking.
The long voyage was safely accomplished except for the death of two little babies, one eighteen months old and the other only six months old. General Oglethorpe says in one of his letters to England that they were " two delicate little boys." They were buried in the deep blue water, but we may be sure they" were not forgotten. Mothers are the
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THE CARGO OF THE GOOD SHIP ANNE

15

same everywhere, and they always carry in their hearts the memory of the dear baby faces.
In the latter part of January, 1733, a landing was made on the South Carolina coast. The governor of the prov ince and his hospitable people welcomed the newcomers warmly and entertained them at Beaufort, while their leader went ahead to select a suitable site for their new town.
After sailing about eighteen miles up the Savannah River, General Oglethorpe came to a high bluff in a curve of the

MAP OK ORIGINAL GRANT OK GEORGIA, 1732.
river. Here he landed and explored the region. The balmy breath of spring was beginning to quicken every thing into life. The fragrant yellow jessamine threw its green and golden garlands everywhere. The air was filled with the songs of birds. No wonder that Oglethorpe se lected this beautiful spot for the location of the new town, which he decided to call Savannah, in honor of the calm river flowing by. Hearing that a tribe of Indians lived near, Oglethorpe visited them and made a treaty of friend ship with their chief; then he returned to Beaufort, South Carolina.

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TDK STOKY Of GEORGIA

The Sunday following his return was set aside as a day of thanksgiving and feasting among the colonists. The kind South Carolina people sent them hogs, turkeys, beef, and quantities of all kinds of food. How the newcomers must have enjoyed their first thanksgiving dinner in the new country!
As the good ship Anne couid carry her cargo no far ther, the rest of the journey had to be made in smaller boats. On the I2th of February, 1733, Yamacraw Bluff was

OKIIUNAL PLAN UK SAVANNAH,
From a print dated 1741.
reached. The men worked so faithfully that four large tents were soon raised and ready to protect the entire party during their first night on Georgia soil. Oglethorpe wrapped a cloak around him and lay on the ground by the great fire, like a shepherd keeping watch over his sheep.
On the next morning he called the settlers together to give thanks to God for keeping them in safety through the long voyage. He spoke to them very earnestly, and told them that it was their duty to set a good example to the ignorant natives. It was his greatest wish that the settle-

THE CAKCO OF THE GOOD SHU ANNE

1?

mcnt of Georgia should prove a blessing and not a curse to the Indians.
The men went cheerfully to work to clear the land and build homes. For weeks everybody was kept busy. Oglethorpc was everywhere, helping and encouraging his com panions. He would not allow the men to build a house for him. His tent was placed under four tall pines, where he lived for nearly a year. Oglcthorpe himself planned the new town, and the beautiful city of Savannah stands foday, with her broad streets and open squares, as a lasting monument to the taste and judgment of her founder.
Hut there are always great hardships and dangers for those who undertake the task of settling a new country, and our colonists had their share in the years that fol lowed. It often required stout hearts to keep them from despairing, but the colony remained and grew, until it has come to be a great state of over two million people. While we speak with pride of our beloved state, we must remember to pay all honor to the brave company who made it possible for her to become the Empire State of the South.

CHAPTER VI
THE SEAL OF THE GEORGIA COLONY
THE seal which was made in colonial days for stamping the legal papers of the colony of Georgia is an interesting one.
THE SEAL OF THE GEORGIA COLONY.
On the front face there are the figures of two men rest ing from their labors. Each holds a spade, for agriculture was to be the chief employment of the colonists. Two streams flow from the urns upon which they lean. These streams represent the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, the northern and southern boundaries of the colony. In the center sits the figure of a woman wearing a liberty cap. She is the genius of the colony. In one hand she holds a spear, while the other rests upon a cornucopia, or horn of plenty. The spear signifies the power of the colony
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THE SEAL OF THE GEORGIA COLONY

19

to overcome its foes. Over all is a Latin inscription, Colonia Georgia augcal, which means, " May the Georgia colony flourish."
The other face of the seal shows silkworms in various stages of their labor, with the suitable motto, Xon sibi scd aliis, which means, " Not for themselves, but for others." In this way did the trustees signify that silk culture was in tended to be an important industry in Georgia. The motto which they chose calls to mind the unselfish motives of the trustees in devoting their time and money to the planting of the new colony.
When Georgia ceased to be governed by the trustees, this first seal was defaced so that it could no longer be used, and another was adopted for the royal province.

CHAPTER VII
TOMOCHICHI
THE nation of Creeks lived in southern Georgia. From this manly race came Tomochichi, chief of the little tribe that Oglethorpe found living on Yamacraw Bluff. Tomo chichi had been a great warrior in his younger days. He was still tall and erect when Oglethorpe first saw him, though ninety-one years old.
Tomochichi was much loved by the Creek Indians; he had fought, fished, and hunted with the old men, their sons and grandsons. But a short time before the colonists came to Georgia he had been banished from the tribe, on account of some disagreement about the government. With a few devoted men who followed him into exile, the aged warrior wandered through the forests until he at length found a home on the banks of the Savannah River.
Tomochichi was greatly disturbed when he heard that the white men were going to settle near to his tribe. He was afraid that they would drive his people from their new home. But Oglethorpe was so kind and generous that the chief lost all fear, and freely gave his promise of friendship. He kept that promise faithfully, and became, next to Ogle thorpe, the strongest protector of the colony.
Oglethorpe was anxious to have the young colony on friendly terms with the other Indian tribes. Therefore Tom ochichi sent messengers to the Creek chiefs, and arranged

TOMOCHICHI

21

for a meeting with his new white friend. The convention assembled in one of the newly built houses in Savannah.
When the Indians were seated, a tall old man whom the English called Long King stood up. He made a lengthy speech, welcoming the strangers to the land of the red men. He said that the same Great Spirit who made both the poor ignorant Indian and the wise white man had sent the Eng lish hither to teach them, their wives, and their children. He and his brother chiefs were very thankful for this, and freely gave in return all the land which they themselves did not want. He thanked Oglethorpe for his kindness to Tomochichi and his band. He said that Tomochichi, who was related to him, was a good man and had been a great warrior. It was on account of his goodness and bravery that he had been chosen chief of the Yatnacraw tribe.
Then each chief came forward and laid a bundle of buckskins at Oglethorpes feet. This was the richest present an Indian could bestow. They gave the best they had with friendly hearts, wishing to live in peace with their white brothers.
Tomochichi arose, and, bowing low, told how poor and helpless he and his men had been, and how they had feared the coming of the English. But the white men had been good to them, and had taught their children. Turn ing to Oglethorpe, he said, " Here is a little present." It was a buffalos skin, painted on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. The eagle signified speed and the buffalo strength; the soft feathers of the eagle repre sented love ; the warm buffalo skin represented protection. As the English were swift as the bird and strong as the beast, he hoped they would love and protect the little families of their Indian friends.

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Each chief made some little speech, and Oglethorpe replied to them all in so kindly a way that he won their entire confidence.
When the meeting was over, Tomochichi invited the chiefs to his town, Yamacraw, where they spent the night in feasting and drinking. Oglethorpe gave the chiefs numerous presents, so that they went back to their homes with happy hearts.
When Oglethorpe felt that he could safely leave the colonists, he decided to make a visit to England. He took with him Tomochichi, his wife and nephew, and several chiefs, for he wished them to see how rich and powerful ihe English nation was.

CHAPTER VIII
TOMOCHICHI (continued)
THE Indians caused a great sensation in England. Crowds flocked to see them wherever they went, and they received many presents.
The king invited the party to visit him. They were carried to the palace in three of the kings coaches, each drawn by six horses. Tomochichi and his wife, Scenauki, were gorgeously dressed in scarlet, with gold trimmings.
The Indian chief presented the king with a bunch of eagle feathers. He said, "These are the feathers of the eagle, which is the s\viftest of birds, and who flyeth all around our nations. The feathers are the sign of peace in our land, and have been carried from town to town there; and we have brought them over to leave with you, O great king. O great king, whatsoever words you shall say to me, I will tell them faithfully to all the kings of the Creek nations."
The king was pleased with Tomochichis speech. He graciously accepted the token of peace and good will, and told Tomochichi that he would always love and protect him and his people.
Tomochichi made many friends by his manly dignity and his thoughtfulness for others. At one time he visited the famous school at Eton. He was pleased with the exercises, and, on leaving, asked that the students be given a holiday. You may be sure there was a loud hurrah at this, and that the boys remembered his visit with pleasure.
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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

While in London, Tomochichi and Toonahowi, his nephew, had their pictures taken together. This is the only picture we have of Tomochichi.
The Indians were happy and contented until one of their number died from smallpox, a disease common among In dians. They grieved for him greatly, and wished to bring him back to be buried in his native land. But that could not be done. He was the first Indian buried in English soil. His arms and blankets, glass beads, feathers, and silver money were put into the grave with him., Oglethorpe was very kind to the Indians in their sorrow. He took them to his country home where they could mourn after their own manner.
The loss of their friend made the Indians long for home. They had been in England four months, and Tomochichi now insisted on returning. They wished to see their own people and talk over the sights they had seen in the won derful country of their English friends.
On their return the chiefs told strange stories of the Englishmen and the great stone castles in which they lived. They generously distributed among their friends the pres ents which they had received in England. They never forgot that visit, but carried the news of the curious things they had seen into every wigwam in the Creek nation. Their visit made them more desirous than ever to live at peace with the powerful white men.
Tomochichi was especially grateful for the favors which had been shown him. He tried to return the kings kind ness to him by helping the colonists. When Oglethorpe came back from England, Tomochichi accompanied him on a long trip to the south. Then he settled down at Yamacraw to spend the rest of his days in quiet. It was only a

TOMOCH1CHI

25

short distance to Savannah, so that he could see the colo nists almost daily. Very often he sent them presents of fish or game.
Tomochichi became greatly interested in a little schoolhouse, the Irene, which the Moravians had built near Yamacraw for the Indian children. He was pleased to know that the children of his tribe could be taught the good word.
In the year 1739 Tomochichi became very feeble. He was then ninety-seven years old. One day in October, he called his men around him. He told them that the Great Spirit was going to take him from them. He wished them never to forget how kindly the English king had treated him, and urged them to remain on friendly terms with the colonists. He spoke tenderly of General Oglethorpe, whom he loved and trusted. He asked to be buried in Savannah among his white friends; he knew that his grave would make the town and her people dearer to the Indians, who held as sacred the tombs of their loved ones.
There was widespread sorrow over the death of this noble man. He was buried in Savannah, as he wished. General Oglethorpe and several prominent citizens of the town acted as pallbearers. His grave was made in the center of one of the principal squares. During the funeral service, guns were fired from the battery to show the deep respect in which the aged chief was held.
A block of granite has been placed in one of the public squares of Savannah to honor the memory of this strong friend of Georgias first colony. But his simple life of courage, faithfulness, and love for his fellow-men will stand as his greatest monument, more lasting than one raised by human hands.

CHAPTER IX
THE SALZBURGERS AND MORAVIANS
FAR away across the ocean, in the pleasant country of Austria, stands the little city of Salzburg. It fills a valley of the Alps Mountains, through which the Salzach River flows. Among these mountains and in this valley there once lived a simple peasant people, who worshiped God in the way which they thought was right, but not in the way of those around them. For this reason a fierce perse cution was waged against them, and thousands of these peasants were compelled to leave their homes among the mountains and to seek places of refuge in foreign lands.
A little band, seventy-eight in number, with their pastor, Bolzius, and their teacher, Gronau, fled to England in 1732. There they heard of the new colony of Georgia which Oglethorpe had just founded, and they determined to seek a home across the waters. In 1734, aided by a kindly Eng lish society, and by their own friends in Germany, they embarked for the land of promise.
At Savannah they were kindly received by Oglethorpe and his settlers. They did not wish to establish them selves in the level country near the sea. Remembering their own native mountains and river, they asked to be allowed to choose a land of hills and streams. A suitable spot was found for them about thirty miles from Savannah.
It was in the early spring, when all the country was bright with flowers and echoing with the songs of birds. When the Salzburgers had chosen a spot for their village, they
26

THE SALZBURGERS AND MORAVIANS

27

sang a hymn of praise to the God who had preserved them

in their trials and led them to this beautiful land. They

named their town Ebenezer, which

means, " Hitherto hath the Lord

helped us."

Being accustomed to hard work and

simple living, these people pros-

pered. They built a church of

brick which had been brought

from Germany. This

church is still standing

and bears over the door

the date of 1769. Their

settlementwas founded

in what is now called

Effingham County.

Their descendants at

the present day are

THE SAI.ZBURGER CHURCH.

among the best citizens of Georgia.

Another sect of persecuted Protestants found a home

in Georgia. They were a band of Moravians, who settled

between Ebenezer and Savannah. They were an indus

trious and thrifty people, and their settlement was a model

of neatness and prosperity. They established a school-

house for Indian children, and named it Irene. But when

the troubles with the Spaniards began, they refused to be

soldiers, because they thought that war was wrong. The

other colonists did not like them when they would not help

in the war against the Spaniards, and, finding their homes

in Georgia no longer pleasant when they could not agree

with their neighbors, they removed to Pennsylvania.

CHAPTER X
THE GROWTH OF THE COLONY
No band of colonists ever had a more unselfish leader than James Oglethorpe. He did not think his work fin ished when he settled his followers in Savannah, but tried in every way to lessen their hardships and bring the colony into a prosperous condition. The colonists carried all their difficulties to him and were satisfied with his decisions.
Although the Indians had professed friendship for the white people, Oglethorpe thought it necessary to provide further protection. He had a fort built on the Great Ogeechee River about eighteen miles from Savannah, which he called Fort Argyle. The fort stood just at the place where the Indians were accustomed to cross the river when they made trips into South Carolina. Oglethorpe sent thither a body of soldiers to guard the passage and ten families to cultivate the ground around the fort. Soon other emigrants found their way to Georgia and several small settlements were made.
When Oglethorpe returned to England, at the end of fifteen months, he found that the king and queen were highly pleased with the good work which he had done. He was not idle while in England. Besides the Moravians, he sent over a number of Scotch Highlanders to strengthen the colony on the south.
28

THE GROWTH OF THE COLONY

29

These colonists made a home on the Altamaha River and named their town New Inverness, a name which was afterward changed to Darien. They were a brave and hardy people, worthy to be put in so important a place. Some of the people of Carolina had tried to persuade them not to go so far south. They said that the Spaniards who occupied forts near by would shoot them upon the spot chosen for their homes. The brave

RUINS OF OCLETHORPES FORT AT FREDERICA.
Scots replied, " Why, then we will beat them out of their forts and have houses ready built to live in."
To strengthen the colony on the north, the town of Augusta was marked out in 1735. The next year a garrison of soldiers was placed there. Warehouses were built and furnished with all kinds of goods, and the town became a great center for Indian trade.
When Oglethorpe returned, he brought with him more than two hundred immigrants. He was kind and attentive to them during the whole of the long, stormy voyage and

30

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

was especially thoughtful for the sick. Among the pas sengers were two young men, John and Charles Wesley, employed to preach to the Indians. They became famous men in after years. John Wesley founded the Methodist denomination, while Charles Wesley was known as " the sweet singer of Methodism. "
Oglethorpe was warmly received in Savannah. Tomochichi had for weeks kept Indian runners ready to start out at a moments notice to carry the good news of his return to the different tribes of the Creek nation. But Oglethorpe stayed only a few weeks in Savannah. He set out for St. Simons Island, where he had decided to settle some of the fresh arrivals. In a few months Frederica was built, and Fort St. Simons guarded the island on the south. The town was named in honor of Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of the English king.
Oglethorpe visited New Inverness and quite won the hearts of the Scotch Highlanders. As a compliment to them he wore the Highland costume. A bed with sheets was prepared for him in one of the tents. Now, at that time, sheets were considered great luxuries in this part of the world. But Oglethorpe, who was never willing to be better provided for than those around him, declined this kindness. Drawing his plaid around him, he lay down near the watch fire with his sturdy friends and slept in the open air.
Shortly after the visit to New Inverness, Oglethorpe went on a journey to the southern part of the state, accompanied by Tomochichi, Toonahowi, and a party of other Indians. They explored the islands along the coast, and Toonahowi named Cumberland Island for the Duke of Cumberland, a son of the English king. When Toonahowi was in Eng-

THE GROWTH OF THE COLONY

31

land the duke had given him a watch. The grateful Indian now said that this island must be named for the duke so that he might be remembered while time lasted.
For the next few years Oglethorpe spent a great deal of time fortifying the colony. He knew that Georgia would need strong defenses in case of an attack from the Spaniards. Forts were built on the islands on the coast, and along the Altamaha River. So much interest was taken in establishing the young colony on a firm founda tion that in a few years the little band of one hundred and thirty settlers had grown to more than a thousand.

CHAPTER XI
SPANISH TROUBLES
SPAIN had always claimed the territory of Georgia. As the Georgia colony grew, the Spaniards in Florida became troublesome. They resented the settling of the land and the building of forts by the English, whom they hated. They would gladly have killed all the colonists if they could have done so. They tried again and again to turn the Indians against Oglethorpe, but were not successful. Indians from far and near offered him help in fighting the Spaniards. One tribe sent thirty warriors with their chief to make peace with Oglethorpe. They brought him a crown which shone with feathers of many colors and was ornamented with the horns of buffaloes. The Spaniards told the Indians that Oglethorpe was poor and could not give them presents. One Indian said : " We love him. It is true he does not give us silver, but he gives us every thing we want that he has. He has given me the coat off his back and the blanket from under him. "
The Spaniards offered a large reward for the capture of Oglethorpe. They thought that greed might overcome the love that the Indians felt for the man who had always dealt so fairly with them. But they were again dis appointed. Oglethorpe knew that a price was put upon his head, but he continued fearless in the path of duty and suffered no harm.
32

SPANISH TROUBLES

33

As more soldiers were needed to defend Georgia, Oglethorpe himself went to England for aid. The king gave him a regiment and made him commander in chief of all the forces in Carolina and Georgia. On his first trip to America, Oglethorpe had sailed with one little ship and a few distressed emigrants. Now he set out with five ships, two men-of-war, and a regiment of more than six hundred soldiers. The presence of the soldiers and their brave leader gave to the colony a feeling of greater security than they had enjoyed for many long months.
Oglethorpe had heard of an important meeting among the Cherokee chiefs to be held at Coweta Town, a distance of three hundred miles from Savannah. Seven thousand warriors were to be present. Oglethorpe wished to secure their friendship before they were bought by Spanish gold. He resolved to attend the meeting, and set out with a small company. The way was long and dangerous. The horses were often mired in the deep swamps. The men had to build rafts in order to cross many of the streams. At night Oglethorpe slept on the ground with his saddle for a pillow. There was no sign of a human habitation for over two hundred miles. But, as the party neared the town, they found that the hospitable Indians had placed food for them along their path. At the end of the journey, the warriors welcomed the travelers joyfully. Oglethorpe smoked the pipe of peace with the Indians, and made trea ties of peace and friendship, which were of the greatest value to the colony in the war with the Spaniards which soon began.
A party of Spaniards landed on Amelia Island; south of Cumberland Island, and killed two unarmed men who were carrying fuel. They hacked the bodies brutally, and

34

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

then fled to their boats and sailed away. Oglethorpe fol lowed with a large body of soldiers. He could not capture the fleeing Spaniards, but he drove them into St. Augus tine, and burned their boats.
Then Oglethorpe attempted an attack on St. Augustine, the Spanish stronghold in Florida, which proved unsuc cessful. A fleet from Cuba came to the relief of the fort. The climate was so hot that many of the English soldiers were ill. Oglethorpe gave up the undertaking and re turned to Frederica.
The Spaniards had determined to destroy the settlers. Accordingly they prepared a fleet of thirty-six vessels car rying five thousand soldiers, who were told to kill all the English along the Atlantic coast. The people of Georgia were terrified. But Oglethorpe did not fail them in their hour of danger. He gathered together seven hundred brave men to oppose the terrible enemy. The Spaniards landed on St. Simons Island. A bloody battle was fought near Frederica, and Oglethorpe, with his few hundreds, defeated the enemy and drove them from the land. The slaughter was so great that the place was afterward called Bloody Marsh.
Near Frederica stood the only home which Oglethorpe ever owned in Georgia. Here he had spent his quiet hours in the little cottage with its garden and its orchard of oranges, figs, and grapes. Like his beautiful English home, this dwelling was surrounded by magnificent oaks. In full view were the fortifications and white houses of the island town.
In 1743, the year after the battle of Bloody Marsh, Oglethorpe was called to England. He never came back to Georgia. He married and spent the rest of his days

SPANISH TROUBLES

35

quietly and peacefully among his friends, doing good wherever he found opportunity. He lived to see his colony grow and flourish, and after many years become an independent state. On the ist of July, 1785, he died, and was buried at Cranham, the home of his beloved wife. There is a marble slab in the Cranham church, bearing a long inscription which tells of the life of this remarkable man. The noblest monument to his memory is the state which he founded, the earlier history of which is full of his unselfish works.

CHAPTER XII
SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA
ENGLISHMEN could manufacture silk goods, but the white mulberry tree, whose leaves furnish the food of the tiny silkworm, would not flourish in the moist climate of Eng land. Therefore, her manufacturers had to send to the warm, dry regions of Italy, France, and China for the thread which they could not procure in their own land. Vast sums of money went for this purpose every year to foreign countries.
The trustees of the Georgia colony were informed that the climate of Georgia was even more favorable for grow ing the mulberry tree than that of Italy, the leading coun try of the world in the production of silk. They were gratified to hear this. If the raw silk could be obtained from one of her own colonies, the English nation would be saved a great expense. The silk-producing industry would also give employment to many of her needy people.
The trustees bought a quantity of silkworm eggs, and employed Mr. Amatis of Piedmont, Italy, to accompany the colonists to America. He taught them how to feed and care for the little insect, which must have pure air to breathe and the choicest mulberry leaves to feed upon. He also taught them how to wind off, at the proper time, the fine silken thread in which the little spinner wraps itself as a protection against the weather.
36

SILK CULTURE IN GEORGIA

37

All this undertaking required persevering and skillful hands. The Salzburgers, who were naturally a patient and industrious people, were more successful in the work than any of the other colonists. The raw silk which they sent back to England commanded the highest prices. On one of the kings birthdays, the queen wore a dress made from the Georgia silk. Every encouragement was given the colonists to make this their chief industry, and the re sults at first were promising. But a few years experience taught the workers that the climate was not so favorable for the raising of the silkworm as it was at first thought. Slight changes in the weather destroyed thousands of the tender insects. The price of labor was high, and the colo nists found that they could make more money by the cul tivation of cotton and rice.
A short time before the Revolution, silk culture was abandoned everywhere in Georgia except among the Salz burgers at Ebenezer. They continued to devote consider able time to the growing of trees and the manufacture of silk goods. But when the trouble came on between the colonists and the mother country, exren these untir ing Germans gave up the industry which had proved so unprofitable.

CHAPTER XIII
GEORGIA AS A COLONY
THE charter of the colony of Georgia was granted to the trustees for twenty-one years. During all that time they made the rules by which the colony was governed. Oglethorpe was intrusted with the powers of governor as long as he remained in the colony. But after he was called to England, the trustees appointed Colonel William Stephens president of Georgia.
The colony was not in a prosperous condition, and the people were discontented. In every other English colony the people could own slaves, buy rum, and dispose of their land as they pleased. The Georgia colonists alone were restricted in these matters by the rules of the trustees. Many crossed the river and made their homes in South Carolina, hoping to better their fortunes. Petitions were sent to the trustees asking them to change the rules, so that the people of Georgia might have the same privi leges that the other colonists enjoyed. The trustees for many years refused to grant this request, but they at last yielded, and rum and slaves, the two evils against which Oglethorpe had fought, were admitted into the colony. Very soon the people were given a free title to their land. This arrangement pleased them far better than the former plan of paying rent. Having obtained what they had so long desired, the colonists began to take fresh interest in cultivating the land, and Georgia grew more prosperous.
38

GEORGIA AS A COLONY

39

Upon President Stephenss resignation, Colonel Henry Parker was appointed president. Colonel Stephens was very popular among the people of the colony. On account of his faithful service the trustees granted him a pension for the remainder of his life.
During President Parkers administration a militia was organized, for Oglethorpes regiment had been disbanded and the colony was left without protection. The Indians were not so peaceable as under Oglethorpes wise manage ment, and the colonists frequently had reason to fear trouble from this quarter. The militia was composed of citizens who were drilled in the use of arms. Those who owned three hundred acres of land were ordered to appear in Savannah at a certain time on horseback, to organize the cavalry. The citizens who owned less property com posed the infantry. About two hundred and twenty men met in Savannah, in June, 1751, and paraded under the command of Captain Noble Jones.
In 1752 a body of people settled in Georgia who became prominent in Georgia history. They were wealthy Congregationalists from South Carolina, and were descendants of Puritans who had settled in Massachusetts more than one hundred years before. These newcomers made their home in what afterward became St. Johns Parish.
At the end of twenty-one years the trustees gave up the management of the colony, and Georgia passed under the direct control of the king. During all these years, the trustees had received no pay for their services. They had unselfishly given their time and money to the noble work of building up the colony.

CHAPTER XIV
THE BETHESDA ORPHAN HOME
THE Bethesda Orphan Home was founded by the Rev. George Whitefield, who came to Georgia in 1738, for the purpose of helping in the conversion of the Indians. But when he saw how many destitute orphan children were to be found in the colony, he determined to build a home where they could be cared for and educated. Feeling that God had appointed this as his life work, he set about it earnestly. He collected a few of the most needy chil dren, placed them in a rented house, and installed James Habersham as their teacher.
The undertaking required considerable money. Whitefield accordingly left the children in Habershams charge and went to England for assistance. The Georgia trustees received him kindly and granted him five hundred acres of land for the worthy enterprise. But, as Whitefield was obliged to raise the necessary funds by his own exertions, he began a series of ceaseless travels through England and America, preaching to crowds in the open air. At first only a few poor miners came to hear him. In a short time his audience had increased to twenty thousand people.
The singing of this vast congregation could be heard two miles away and the powerful voice of the matchless orator reached a mile. When he spoke in Philadelphia to a crowd near the river, people on the New Jersey shore
40

THE BETHESDA ORPHAN HOME

could hear his voice distinctly. Under the magic of his

eloquence, contributions for the orphanage rolled in. Even

the poorest gave their mite. At one time he received one

hundred dollars in half-pence, a load too heavy for one man

to carry.

No listener could leave the preachers presence without

feeling that he must give something. Once when White-

field was in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin attended one

of the meetings, resolved not to contribute a penny. He

had a pocketful of cop

per, silver, and gold.

As Whitefield preached,

Franklin decided to give

him the copper money.

Later on, becoming

ashamed, he decided

to give the silver; and finally, when the collector came around, the worthy

THE BETHESDA ORPHAN HOME.
The first building.

man was so moved that he emptied his pocket, gold and

all, into the plate.

The site of the orphans home was selected by James

Habersham, about ten miles from Savannah, and the first

brick was laid by Whitefield, on March 25, 1740. At the

same time he named the institution Bethesda, which means

House of Mercy. Forty orphans entered the home at first,

and the number afterward increased to one hundred and fifty.

It proved a peaceful place and seemed a haven of rest to its

founder, who always looked forward to the time when he

could be at his own beloved Bethesda among the happy

children. Before long the garden and plantation furnished

nearly all the provisions necessary for the home table.

42

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Whitefield kept up his work untiringly throughout his life. Wherever he went, shops were closed and all busi ness was suspended, while great crowds gathered to hear him. In 1770 he left Bethesda for the last time to travel through the Northern colonies. He was ill and feeble, but he persevered in his work. When on the return journey he reached Newburyport, Massachusetts, he found that he could go no further. He died on September 30, 1770, and was buried at Newburyport.
Whitefield left Bethesda to the care of a devout English lady, the Countess of Huntingdon. In the last years -of his life he had wished to convert the orphanage into a college, and Lady Huntingdon tried to carry out his plans. But in 1773 the Home was struck by lightning, and the fire which followed left Bethesda a complete wreck. Another house was built, but Bethesda was never again so prospered. The property passed into the hands of the state.
The war came on and the work could not be carried on during those troublous times. The building was allowed to fall into decay, and after the war part of it was used as a stable. During this unhappy time the poor children had been cared for in Savannah. In 1802 the home was repaired and the children moved back.
Again, in 1805, the building was destroyed by fire, and a hurricane desolated the rice fields. The trustees grew discouraged and sold the land, so that Bethesda at length became but a memory.
After forty-six years had passed, the land on which Bethesda had stood became the property of the Union Society, one of tb.2 oldest charitable organizations in America. They built a new house on the site of the old one and converted it into a school for boys. When the

THE BETHESDA ORPHAN HOME

43

Civil War broke out, the school was prospering; but Bethesda lay in the path of Shermans devastating army, and again the children were moved to other quarters. The house was used as a hospital, but the buildings afterward fell almost into ruins and were occupied by some of the negroes who had been recently freed.
The charitable people of Savannah, still undaunted,

OKTIIAN HOMK NKAK SAVANNAH. As rebuilt.
went to work some years after the war to rebuild the Home. Improvements were gradually made, and the old Bethesda has been transformed into a handsome brick structure fitted to accommodate more than a hundred chil dren. No orphan boy is turned from its doors. Hundreds of children have gone out from Bethesda fitted for a use ful life. Many of them have been counted among the best citizens of the state. Whitefields little Home, first

44

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

planted in the wilderness of Georgia, marked the beginning of a great work.
This Orphan Home and another, previously established by the Salzburgers, were the first of many charitable institu tions in which the people of the state have provided for the afflicted and needy. The same sweet spirit of charity which characterized so many undertakings in the early days of the colony has continued to spread over the entire state. The Academy for the Blind at Macon, the Deaf and Dumb School at Cave Spring, the State Lunatic Asylum at Milledgeville, and many orphan homes and refuges for helpless women and children have since been established.

CHAPTER XV
MARY MUSGROVE
WHEN Oglethorpe first visited Tomochichis village, he found living there a half-breed woman named Mary Musgrove. She had been educated in Carolina and could speak both the Creek and English languages. As she possessed a strong influence over the Creeks, Oglethorpe retained her as his interpreter. Her friendship was most valuable to him and his colony. With her husband, an Englishman named John Musgrove, she established a trad ing house at Yamacraw.
Shortly after Oglethorpe returned to England, John Musgrove died. Mary married a second and a third time; her third husband was Thomas Bosomworth. Bosomworth persuaded his wife that through her descent from an old Indian king, she was the real owner of all the Creek ter ritory and ruler over the Creek nation. He told her that the white men had no right to her land and that she must compel them to give it up.
Mary took the title of Empress of the Creeks. She made the chiefs believe that she was their empress, and they pledged themselves to see that her rights were re stored to her. She demanded that the English give up at once all the land lying south of the Savannah River, and threatened to destroy every settlement in that district if she was not obeyed. At the head of a large body of warriors she set out for Savannah.
45

46

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

The people were terror-stricken. When the Indians ar rived, the soldiers met them outside of the town and told them that they could go no farther unless they gave up their arms.
The chiefs were received in a friendly way, and the mat ter could easily have been settled with them alone. But Mary continued to excite the greater body of the Indians. President Stephens saw that nothing could be accomplished as long as Mary and her husband were free. He ordered them to be closely confined, and then explained to the chiefs that they had been greatly deceived. He said that the lands did not belong to Mary; they had belonged to the Creek nation until their wise rulers had given them
up to the white people. As the chiefs were perfectly satisfied with President
Stephenss explanation, it seemed probable now that every thing would end peacefully. But suddenly Mary made her appearance in their midst. She had escaped from her guards and was drunk and furious. Her sudden appear ance caused great commotion among the Indians.
At this critical moment, Captain Noble Jones, at the head of his soldiers, ordered the Indians to give up their arms, which had been returned to them. Subdued by the presence of the soldiers, they obeyed. Mary was securely locked up once more, and the Indians were persuaded to return to their homes in a peaceful manner.
Mary and her husband were kept in confinement for a month. She was finally allowed a large sum of money for her services as interpreter and was given the Island of St. Catherine, where she and her husband made their home.

CHAPTER XVI
GEORGIA AS A ROYAL PROVINCE
WHEN Georgia passed out of the hands of the trustees she became a royal province, and her form of government was changed. The king now appointed a governor and council to represent him in the province. There was also a lower legislative house in which the members were chosen by the people.
Georgia had only three royal governors, John Reynolds, Henry Ellis, and James Wright. Sir James VVright was particularly distinguished for his loyal service to the king. In the stormy days that preceded the War of the Revolu tion, he labored incessantly to prevent Georgia from uniting with the other colonies. At the same time he urged the king to listen to the appeals of his American subjects and see that justice was done.
Although a large province, Georgia was a weak one. The long western and southern frontiers were exposed to attacks from Indians and Spaniards. The forts were in ruins and there were not enough soldiers to resist the inva sion of an enemy. The royal governors did much to strengthen the province. The old forts were repaired, others were built, and new companies of soldiers were formed. Treaties of friendship were made with the Indi ans, and during the dreadful two years war which Virginia and the Carolinas waged with the Cherokees the settlers of Georgia were unmolested. The most important new
47

48

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

settlement made during this period was that of Sunbury. This town, beautifully situated on the Medway River, about twelve miles from the ocean, soon became a flourishing seaport.
In February, 1761, a ship arrived from England bring ing news of the death of George II, and of the coronation of his grandson. The new king, George III, was in most respects a good man, but stubborn and self-willed. This stubbornness proved the cause of much trouble between England and the colonists. But at the time of his acces sion the Georgia colonists, like true subjects, proclaimed him king with a great celebration. This is the only time that such a ceremony was held on Georgia soil.
In 1763 a treaty was made in Paris between England and her old enemies, France and Spain. By the terms of this treaty Spain gave up Florida to England, and France surrendered all claim to the Georgia land lying east of the Mississippi. The Spaniards moved away from Florida, and English friends took the place of Spanish foes. The king, moreover, added the land between the Altamaha and St. Marys rivers to the province of Georgia, so that the prov ince %vas benefited in many ways by this treaty.
Now that Georgia was no longer a frontier province, her people had a feeling of greater security. Many colonists came in from other provinces. The new lands were cleared and settled, and Georgia became more and more prosperous. England was very kind to her youngest child, and King George bestowed many favors on the province. Therefore under the kings governors Georgia was free and happy, and grew steadily in population and prosperity.

CHAPTER XVII
THE STAMP ACT AND THE TAX ON TEA
EVERY one feels resentment at an unjust act. Some times this resentment is kindled into open rebellion. This is what happened among the American colonists when Parliament tried to force upon them a law which seemed to them unjust.
England had been engaged in war with various enemies for many years. She had been obliged to borrow so much money that her national debt had become enormous. The French and Indian War which had just ended had cost the nation three hundred million dollars. Though the people were already burdened with a heavy tax, a new one must be imposed to pay off this last debt.
Parliament thought that the American colonies ought to bear the expenses of the war, as the money was spent in de fending them. The colonies replied that it was Englands duty to defend her children. They also said that they had aided England in the war as much as England had aided them. Furthermore, they claimed that it was not right to tax the colonists because the law stated that Englishmen should not be taxed unless they were represented in Parlia ment. The colonists were as truly English subjects as their brothers across the water, but they were not allowed a representative in the British Parliament. Therefore they would not submit to taxation.
49

THE STORY OF GEORGIA
In spite of their protests, Parliament, in 1765, passed a law called the Stamp Act, which required that the paper used in all kinds of business in the colonies should bear an English stamp. The stamped paper was to be furnished to the colonies by the English government. Newspapers must be printed on paper of this kind. Notes, deeds, and even marriage licenses were of no value unless the paper used bore the royal stamp. The price of the stamp was added to the cost of the paper, and in this way the tax was to be secured.
STAMPS DSHD IN 1765.
These were not like our modem stamps with gum on the back, but were Impressions on ihe paper, like a magistrates seal.
The news of the hateful act stirred the whole country. The people were wrathful. Groups of men surged excit edly into the towns. Everywhere societies were formed, called Sons of Liberty. The members pledged themselves not to use the stamped paper, nor to allow it to be dis tributed in the colonies. The cry all over the country was " Liberty, Property, and no Stamps."
The Liberty Boys in Georgia were filled with indignation, and determined that none of the stamped papers should be used in the province. When the kings ship Speedwell

THE STAMP ACT AND THE TAX ON TEA 51
arrived at Savannah, bearing the supply of papers for Georgia, it required the strictest vigilance to keep them out of the hands of the Liberty Boys. Governor Wright had the papers placed in a fort under strong guard. When the distributing officer arrived, he was landed secretly and taken under guard to the governors house, which he did not dare to leave. After two weeks Governor Wright sent him to the country for protection. The province now was thoroughly aroused. Six hundred armed men assembled and threatened to take the papers by force and destroy them. Governor Wright, alarmed for the safety of the precious stamps, was compelled to place them on board the ship, entirely out of the reach of the Liberty Boys.
So it came about that the English government could not force the colonies into buying her stamps. Parliament unwillingly repealed the obnoxious law in 1766. The colonists joyfully returned to their obedience to the mother country, and peace and order reigned.
But an obstinate king was on the throne of England. He thought that his royal authority had been abused and he never forgave the colonies for resisting the Stamp Act. He intended to show that Parliament could tax them and would do so when it wished. Accordingly a tax was levied on paper, glass, painters colors, and other articles manu factured in England. The colonists refused to buy all such goods. The Liberty Boys in Georgia held a meeting, in which they solemnly agreed not to use any articles of Eng lish manufacture. They resolved also to encourage the people to raise cotton and flax and to do their own spinning and weaving.
Parliament repealed the tax on everything except tea. It was so small an amount that they thought the Ameri-

52

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

cans would not notice it, or that they liked tea so well that they would overlook the tax. But England had not yet learned the spirit of the American people. They re solved not to drink tea. The women gave up the tea parties which they enjoyed CO much. Tea flavored by English tax was no longer refreshing; it was bitter and distasteful.
English vessels were loaded with tea and sent to the colonies. The Liberty Boys were ready for them. The ships that went to Philadelphia and New York were sent back home. In Charleston the chests were stored in damp cellars where the tea was soon ruined. Fifty of the Liberty Boys at Boston, dressed like Indians, boarded the ships and threw the tea into the water. This proceeding was known as the Boston Tea Party.
The city of Boston was severely punished for the bold deed. English soldiers were sent to guard the harbor so that no vessels might bring in supplies to the people. When the Liberty Boys of Georgia heard of this act, they at once started a subscription for the relief of the Boston sufferers. In a few hours nearly six hundred barrels of rice were contributed and sent to their distressed countrymen.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE LIBERTY BOYS
UNLESS the colonists were united, they were powerless to resist the oppressive acts of England. It was decided to call a Continental Congress to meet in Philadelphia, Sep tember 4, 1774. Every English colony was urged to send delegates to this meeting. Governor Wright succeeded in preventing Georgia from sending a delegate. Another Continental Congress was called for May 10, 1775. In January of that year a provincial congress was held in Sa vannah to elect delegates, but Governor Wrights influence was so strong that only five out of twelve parishes were represented and no delegate could be chosen. This is the reason that Georgia had no representative in the first and second congresses at Philadelphia.
The people of St. Johns Parish were indignant when they learned that Georgia could not stand by the side of her sister colonies in the general congress. The citizens of this parish were wealthy and influential and had inher ited from their Puritan ancestors a courageous and inde pendent spirit. They were determined to send a delegate from their parish, and elected Dr. Lyman Hall to repre sent them in the Continental Congress. He was admitted as a delegate from St. Johns Parish, but was not allowed to vote on subjects relating to the entire province.
The other patriots, or friends of liberty, in Georgia were greatly mortified at the failure of the provincial con-
53

54 "

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

gress to send representatives from the province. These patriots became more and more active in the cause. Geor gia was divided. There were many stanch royalists, or friends of the king, in the province, who thought that all these troubles could be brought to an end peaceably, and did not wish to break away from the mother country.
While affairs were in this condition, there came the announcement of the battle of Lexington, in Massachu setts. News did not travel fast in those days and three weeks had already passed since the battle. The tidings created profound excitement. There was no hesitation now. The blood of Americans had been shed by British soldiers. Loyalty to King George died out among the patriots, and Georgia, united in one opinion, cast in her lot with the other twelve colonies.
A call arose on all sides for supplies of powder. On the night of May n, a party of Liberty Boys broke open the magazine at Savannah and secured all the ammunition. Some of it was sent to Beaufort, South Carolina; some was hidden away in garrets and cellars; and it is said that a part was sent to Boston and used at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
On June 5, 1775, the kings birthday was to be cele brated in Savannah. A few nights before, the Liberty Boys spiked the cannon and threw them over th.t bluff into the river. The royalists drew them out, restored them to their proper places, and went on with the celebration. The Liberty Boys, not to be outdone in patriotism, erected a liberty pole in front of Tondees Tavern and afterward paraded the streets with shouting and music.
A council of safety was elected in Savannah to look after the affairs of the parish. A royalist who spoke

THE LIBERTY BOYS

55

slightingly of the acts of the council was tarred and feathered, paraded through the town, and finally made to drink a toast to the success of American arms.
Governor Wright became alarmed at the turn of affairs. He feared for his own safety if the Liberty Boys gained control of the province. He wrote to General Gage, com mander of the British troops, asking for help. But the

THE LIBERTY BOYS IN 1775.
Liberty Boys kept so close a watch over the mails that this letter fell into the hands of the authorities in Charleston. They took it out of the envelope and put in another, stating that everything in Georgia was peaceful and no help was needed. So no royal troops were sent to Georgia at that time. Years afterward, Governor Wright met General Gage in London, and for the first time found out why no soldier? had been sent to his aid.

56

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

The provincial congress met in Savannah on July 4, 1775, and elected a council of safety for the entire prov ince. Even at that late hour a petition was sent to the king beseeching him to withdraw his fleets and armies. Thus to the very last did the peace-loving people of Georgia cling to the hope that the growing estrangement between England and her colonies might be checked. But, while she desired peace, Georgia also prepared for war. News came that a British ship, loaded with powder for the royalists and Indians, would reach the province in a short time. The Liberty Boys banded together and seized the vessel when she arrived. They kept nine thousand pounds of the powder as Georgias share of the prize, and sent five thousand pounds to help their friends in the North. This was the first naval capture of the War of the Revolution.
Georgia was now in the hands of the council of safety. As several vessels from Boston bearing British troops were in the harbor, the council ordered the arrest of Governor Wright, to prevent communication on his part with the British officers of the ships. It was a daring thing to lay violent hands on the kings representative, but Major Joseph Habersham, with a small party, undertook the task. He went to the house of the governor, who had assembled his council to consider what should be done in this trying time. Major Habersham passed the sentinel who was guarding the door and entered the council room. Walking up to the governor, he placed one hand on his shoulder and said, " Sir James, you are my prisoner." The council, thinking they were surrounded by a large force, fled panic-stricken through doors and windows, leaving their governor to the mercy of the patriots. He was kept

THE LIBERTY BOYS

57

a prisoner for a few weeks in his own residence, but one night he slipped out of the back part of the house, and was soon safe on board a British man-of-war. In this way the government of King George was overthrown in Georgia.
The provincial congress met in January, 1776, and drew up a set of laws by which Georgia was to be temporarily governed. She was now a state and prepared to defend her rights as such. Archibald Bulloch was elected first president of the new state. The congress also chose five delegates to represent Georgia in the next Continental Con gress. The men who received this honor were Archi bald Bulloch, John Houston, Dr. Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton.
Eleven ships loaded with rice were lying at the wharves at Savannah waiting for the British men-of-war to depart before " fhey vent out to sea. The British soldiers who were in need ot-ujjpfcs determined to capture the rice ships. They came up the river one night and took posses sion of some of the vessels. Fearing that an attack would be made on the town, the patriotic citizens of Savannah resolved to burn their homes rather than leave them in the hands of the British. South Carolina sent soldiers to help them repel the enemy. After four hours of right ing, the council of safety decided to burn the vessels. The ship Inverness was first set on fire and put adrift among the others, which were soon in flames. Terror and con fusion reigned among the British troops. They leaped from the ships into the water. Many were drowned; others, reaching the land, fled across the marshes and rice fields, pelted by the shot of the patriots. This conflict, March 3, 1776, was the first battle of the Revolution fought on Georgia soil.

58

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

In June three of the Georgia delegates took their seats in the most famous Congress that ever convened in America. The other two were detained at home, and so missed the honor of representing their country on
this memorable occasion. On July 4 this august body assembled in the old State
House in the city of William Penn. The Declaration of Independence lay upon the table. These earnest men had carefully considered the step they were about to take; and now they solemnly pledged themselves to support the principles laid down in this important doc ument. The old bell-ringer had been in the steeple from early morning, waiting for the good news. At two oclock in the afternoon the Declaration of Indepen dence was adopted. Immediate}1 the triumphant chimes proclaiming freedom rang out to the peopis.^ .^"fmbled below. They caught up the sound, ij*&!!..r-ine quiet Quaker city resounded with the shouts of the overjoyed multitude.
The glad news was sent in every direction. Messengers posted southward from one town to another, until on August 10 the tidings reached the expectant inhabitants of Savannah, who were wild with delight.
The Declaration of Independence was read to a great crowd at the liberty pole. Thirteen salutes were fired in honor of the thirteen states. A grand dinner was served, at which all of the guests drank a toast, " To the United. Free, and Independent States of America. " In the after noon there was a great funeral procession, when, with solemn tread and muffled drums, the government of King George of England was buried in the youngest of his American colonies. At night the whole town was illu-

THE LIBERTY BOYS

59

minated, and the greatest day that the people of Georgia had known since February 12, 1733, closed with bonfires and rejoicing.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia were Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton. These names will ever be illustrious in the history of their state and country.

FACSIMILE OF SIGNERS XAMES.

CHAPTER XIX
THE \VAK OK Tin; REVOLUTION
THE colonies knew that Kngland would not give up her power over them without a stubborn fight, and accordingly they began to prepare for the dreadful conflict which must follow. Of all the provinces Georgia was the largest and the weakest. The British held the seacoast and Florida on the south was their stronghold. The Indians on the southern and western borders of the state sided with the British because the colonies could not afford to buy them with presents. There were many deserters from the Amer ican cause who took refuge in Florida. They were called Tories, while those who were faithful to the cause of liberty received the nameof Whigs. Some of the Tories were lawless men who had seized this opportunity to gratify their desire to rob and murder. Uniting with the British and Indians, they formed plundering parties which kept the inhabitants of south Georgia in a constant state of terror. From time to time the murderous outlaws swept down upon them, burned the houses, ruined the fields, and killed the defense less people. One of the most daring Tory leaders was Daniel McGirth, who became notorious for his cruelty to the patriots.
Congress gave Georgia all the help that it possibly could, but soldiers and money were needed everywhere and Georgias share was not large enough to secure protection from the enemy. At last food became so scarce that the
60

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION

61

governor forbade the exportation of any kind of provi

sions. Up to this time Georgia had frequently sent

supplies of food to her countrymen in the North. Two

battalions of minutcmcn were raised to guard the frontiers

against the raids of the British, Tories, and Indians. The

colonial volunteers were given this name because they were

expected to be ready at a minutes notice

to pursue and punish marauders.

For two years the great battles of the

Revolution were fought in the Northern

states. At the end of that time the

British held only New York City and

Newport, Rhode Island. Fearful lest

all of America should be lost to them,

they determined to gain possession of

Georgia. This end accomplished, they

intended to advance northward, conquer

all the Southern states, and then win

back what they had lost in the North.

In 1778 General Clinton, commander

of

the

British

army

in

the

North,

A MIM7TF.MAN OK THE REVOLUTION.

planned two expeditions against Georgia.

Colonel Campbell was to sail from New York with a. large

fleet and take Savannah; General Prevost, who was in

command of the British in the South, was instructed to

send an army from Florida to take possession of the south

ern part of the state. General Prevost divided his army

into two parts, one going by land and one by sea. The

two forces were to meet at Sunbury and capture the fort

there. But the plan did not prove successful, and both

divisions retreated to Florida, greatly disappointed by the

failure of the enterprise. The unfortunate patriots whose

62

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

homes lay in the path of the army suffered severely. AH their property was destroyed, and the people were obliged to leave their once beautiful and comfortable homes to seek charity among sympathizing friends.
General Howe was in command of the American army in the South. When he heard of the plan of the British to attack Savannah, he strengthened his fortifications and prepared to repel the enemy. The state records were taken to Charleston, South Carolina, for safe keeping.
On the 23d of December the British fleet appeared at Tybee. The vessels sailed up the river, and by the 27th were anchored near Savannah. What a dreary Christmas that of 1778 must have been in Georgia! Colonel Campbell landed a short distance below the town with an army of more than 2000 men. General Howe had only 672 men. He formed his soldiers in battle line and waited for the British to approach. The Ameri cans were strongly protected on their front, left, and right, but General Howe had neglected to guard the rear. It was a fatal mistake. The British commander learned of a path through a swamp leading to the rear of the Ameri can army. Guided by an old negro, part of the enemy made their way through this path and attacked the Ameri can force in the rear, while the British artillery opened fire upon their front. The gallant little army was taken by surprise. They fought bravely, but their numbers grew steadily less under the relentless British fire, until they were obliged to retreat.
In a panic, they made their way back through Savan-nah, fleeing before the enemy. The once quiet town re sounded with the cries of those who fell, pierced by the British bayonets. Many of the Americans were killed;

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION

63

many were taken prisoners. All that was left of the army crossed over into South Carolina, and Georgia was given up to the British. The prisoners were put into foul prison ships, where their suffering was intense. Numbers of them died, and those who lived to return home after weary months were broken down in health. They were carried from the ships by strong arms and tenderly nursed, but the horrible life they had led in those floating dun geons had left lasting marks.
Colonel Campbell pushed on northward. He took Ebenezer and established an army post there. The brick church, which was the pride of the Salzburgers, was first converted into a hospital, and afterward used as a stable. General Prevost now succeeded in capturing Sunbury. The cannonading was so heavy that it was heard by the American army encamped at Purysburg, on the Carolina side of the Savannah River.
About the middle of January, Augusta fell into the hands of the British. Forts were placed all along the Savannah river to guard against a return of the American army, and Georgia, north and south, was overrun by the enemy. Unhappy days followed for those who would not swear allegiance to the king of England. Their arms were taken from them. If any weapons were found con cealed, the severest punishment was meted out to the culprits. Rewards were offered for the capture of pa triots, and no trading was allowed with those who were not friendly to the British. All of the inhabitants who were able to do so, moved their families from the state. Those who were left suffered cruelly from poverty and abuse.
General Lincoln succeeded General Howe as commander

64

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

of the American army in the South. He spent the ear lier part of the year 1779 in strengthening the army. Though too weak to drive the British from Georgia, the patriots could prevent them from crossing into South Carolina. They were near enough to keep a close watch on the enemy, and to harass them at every opportunity. When they had once placed their families in security, many of the men of the state joined Colonel John Dooley, who guarded the river below Augusta. Parties of Ameri cans sometimes crossed the river, attacked foraging bands of British, captured horses and provisions, and then re treated to their camp. Many daring deeds and hairbreadth escapes attended these bold raids. The quiet river proved a friend and protector to those who were fighting for a cause dearer than their lives.
In February Colonel Pickens of South Carolina and Colonels Clarke and Dooley of Georgia, in a fierce fight at Kettle Creek, scattered a large Tory band under their noted leader, Boyd. Boyd was slain, and the members of his band who were not killed or captured, fled from the state and took refuge with the British. This battle broke up the Tory force in north Georgia and put fresh courage into the hearts of the patriots. Colonel Campbell, alarmed by the success of the Americans, abandoned Augusta and moved farther south, nearer the main army in Savannah.
The success of Kettle Creek and the fact that the American army had now increased in numbers, made General Lincoln feel that the time had come to rid Georgia of the enemy. But the first detachment of men which he sent over the river was disastrously defeated on Brier Creek in March. This defeat was a great disappointment to the Americans. They realized more than ever that

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION

65

General Prevost was determined to keep possession of Georgia, and that they could not drive him away. They had to be content with guarding South Carolina from the British and protecting the people left in Georgia.
After Augusta was abandoned by the British, many of the inhabitants of that region returned to their homes, hoping for better times. Every male from sixteen years of age upward was armed. Colonels John Dooley and Elijah Clarke were untiring in their watchful care over the fron tiers, which were continually threatened by Indians and Tories. Colonels John Twiggs, Benjamin and William Few, and other brave men hovered about the outposts of the enemy, annoying them in every possible way. Their zeal encouraged the people in their homes and kept the spirit of liberty alive in the hearts of the sorely tried natriots.

CHAPTER XX
THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION (continued)
THE bravo Revolutionists wore not to he loft unaided in their long, weary struggle. In 1778 France recognized the independence of America, and sent a large fleet under Count dHstaing to her assistance. It was important for the American cause that Savannah bo taken from the British. Count dKstaing was persuaded to help in this undertaking. On September the first, 1779, the French fleet arrived off the Georgia coast. General Provost has tened to fortify Savannah, working his men day and night.
Count dFstaing sailed up the river and landed his force. He camped below Savannah and sent a letter to General Prevost demanding the surrender of the city to the king of Fn-nce. But General Prevost was not quite ready, and asked for a truce of twenty-four hours. Count dKstaing unwisely granted the request of the British general, who took advantage of that time to complete his fortifications. Reinforcements also arrived, and, when the truce expired, General Prevost refused to surrender.
The American army joined the French, the city was surrounded, and the siege was begun. The bombardment, which began at midnight of October the third, was kept up for five days. There was great suffering among the un fortunate inhabitants. Shot and shells riddled the houses. Helpless women and children, and old men who could
66

THE WAR OK THE REVOLUTION

67

not join in the fight fled into cellars. They were not safe even there, for many were killed by shots intended for the enemy.
On October the ninth Count dHstaing attempted a bold assault on the city. He tried to keep his plan a secret, but the British were informed of the proposed attack by a deserter, and they were prepared. The American and French troops were received with a deadly fire. As the foremost soldiers fell, their comrades took their places.

SKRflKANT JASIKR AT KOK I Moil.TRIK.
only to suffer the same fate. Count dEstaing was wounded twice and was borne from the field.
Some of the men in the American column pressed on until they reached the parapet, and there set up the colors of South Carolina. But their triumph was a short one. A heavy shot broke the flagstaff and drove the brave men back. Fearful lest the beloved flag should fall into the hands of the enemy, Sergeant Jasper sprang forward, rescued it, and carried it back to his regiment. But this act cost him his life; he received a wound, which in a

68

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

short time proved fatal. Faithfully had the gallant hero served his country, and he entered into his rest like a true soldier.
While the battle was raging, Count Pulaski attempted a daring feat. At the head of a detachment of two hundred men he charged through an opening in the enemys works. The little company rode at full speed, following their fear less leader. But as they were passing between two bat teries, a shower of shot poured upon them, throwing their ranks into disorder. Count Pulaski was mortally wounded. He was carried from the field and placed on a ship about to sail for Charleston. In a few days he breathed his last, and was buried in the ocean.
It is sad to think of the precious lives that were lost in the bloody assault and the hopes that were crushed in the hearts of the friends of liberty. Their dead and wounded lay about them; the British still held Savannah, and the French and American armies were broken up. The dead were buried; the French sailed away, and the American army retreated, for the second time, into South Carolina and left unhappy Georgia to the enemy.

CHAPTER XXI
THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION (concluded)
GEORGtA was in a worse condition now than she had ever been. The patriots were discouraged, and the Brit ish delighted more than ever in persecuting them barba rously. The country was infested with the worst class of British soldiers and Tories. The inhabitants were robbed even of their clothing; rings were taken from the ears and fingers of the women ; and little children were beaten to make them tell where valuables were hidden. Men who had stayed at home and tried to protect their property and families were now driven from the state. Almost every means of conveyance was taken away, and women and children were compelled to make the long journey to their new home on foot, and often without shoes.
Elated by the British successes in Georgia, General Clinton sailed southward with a large fleet to gain posses sion of South Carolina. Charleston fell into his hands in May, 1780, and before long the state was filled with Brit ish soldiers. This was a heavy blow to the Americans. A British force was sent to occupy Augusta, in order to keep the patriots in that region in subjection. Two Tory officers, Colonels Brown and Grierson, were put in com mand. A worse selection could not have been made: both were notorious for their cruel treatment of men, women, and children.
69

7O

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

In the early days of the Revolution, Brown was living in Augusta. He would not join the Liberty Boys, but remained loyal to the king. Some remarks which he made offended the patriots, and, to punish him, an angry mob collected, tarred and feathered him, and carried him through the streets in a cart drawn by three mules. He vowed to avenge this insult on every American citizen, and he fulfilled this vow to the uttermost when the com mand in Augusta was given to him. His murderous bands made their raids in every direction. Georgia was to be forced into submission by fire and sword; no mercy was to be shown to any one who gave assistance to a patriot. One of these bands entered the house of the brave soldier Colonel John Dooley, and tried to force him to swear allegiance to the king. When he refused, they killed him in the presence of his wife and children.
It seems that these long-continued atrocities would have crushed every idea of resistance in the hearts of the people of Georgia. But when Colonel Klijah Clarke returned from North Carolina, where he had been fighting, five hundred men joined him in an attempt to take Augusta from the enemy. Just when the British were about to surrender, reinforcements came to them, and the Americans were obliged to retreat.
Colonel Brown received a wound which confined him to his room. He gave orders that some of the prison ers who fell into his hands should be hanged on the stair case just outside his door, where he could witness their sufferings. Others he gave up to the Indians, who tor tured them to death.
In December, 1780, General Nathaniel Greene took command of the American army in the South. That was

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION

Jl

a sad winter. The army was poorly organized and in utter want As Congress had no money with which to pay the soldiers, they were without food or clothes. Patriotism was sorely tried. But General Greene reorganized the army and in the spring began a brilliant campaign which resulted favorably for the Americans.
General Greenes success revived the drooping spirits of the patriots in north Georgia. Numbers who had been

COLONEL HEXKV LEE.
fighting for their country, in other states, now returned. They came in small groups, to avoid attracting the atten tion of the British. What a sad home-coming that was! Everything was in ruins; many loved ones had been cruelly murdered; others were confined in foul prisons. Those who were left were living in rude huts and eking out a bare existence.
In May, 1781, General Greene sent General Pickens and

72

THE STORY OK GEORGIA

Colonel Henry Lee, the father of our beloved Robert E. Lee, to make another effort to capture Augusta. Colonel Lee was called Light Horse Harry, because he was the leader of a band of fast riders known as the Light Horse Legion. He first captured Fort Galphin, about twelve miles below Augusta. Here he secured a store of valua ble supplies, such as arms, ammunition, salt, and blankets, which were sorely needed in the American army. He then hastened on with his forces fo join General Picken? and Colonel Elijah Clarke near Augusta.
Colonels Brown and Grierson had taken refuge in the two forts which guarded the city. Fort Grierson was soon captured, and its commander, Colonel Grierson, was shot for his inhuman treatment of the patriots who had fallen into his hands. Fort Cornwallis held out for sixteen days; but at the end of that time Colonel Brown was obliged to surrender. He was so much hated by the patriots that he had to be placed under a strong guard for protection and sent to Savannah. General Pickens and Colonel Lee, having accomplished their object, left Major James Jack son in command at Augusta and took their men back to South Carolina.
The capture of Augusta brought hope to the heart of every patriot. Savannah was now the only important place in Georgia held by the British. The American army in the state was under the command of General John Twiggs and Major James Jackson. The force was strong enough to keep the enemy near the seacoast. Encouraged by the hope of protection, many more citizens returned to the state.
On the nineteenth of October, 1781, a great battle was fought at Yorktown, Virginia. The American army under

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION

73

General George Washington was victorious, and Lord Cornwallis, the British commander, was forced to surrender his entire army of seven thousand men. The joyful news spread throughout the entire Jand. Success was now as sured to the patriots. England stopped sending troops to America, though nearly two years passed before the country was entirely rid of the enemy.

GENERAL ANTHONY \VAYXE.
In January, 1782, General Anthony VVayne was sent to the relief of Georgia. General \Vayne had distinguished himself throughout the war in the North and was called Mad Anthony VVayne on account of his daring. He kept such a close watch on the British that their plundering parties seldom ventured out of Savannah. The region around Savannah had been so devastated by the British that General Wayne found it very difficult to supply his army with food. The soldiers were ragged and barefooted, but the example of their cheerful leader inspired them to continue faithful to their duties.
In May, 1782, the British received orders from the king

74

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

to surrender Savannah and return to England. The British troops evacuated Savannah on July the twenty-first. That afternoon General VVaync entered with his troops and took possession of the city. Three and a half years had passed since the patriots were expelled from Savannah.
At last Georgia was free from the hated British soldiers. Not a single person acknowledging allegiance to the king remained on Georgia soil. The people gradually returned to their homes and former occupations. But the state was in a deplorable condition. Property of every kind had been swept away; the fields were uncultivated; there was no food and no money. But the patriots, rejoicing in their independence, did not sit down and brood over their troubles. They set about repairing their shattered fortunes, looking forward to better and happier days.
The legislature made grants of land to soldiers who fcrx1 served the state during the war. In this way many set tlers from other states were attracted into Georgia. Gen erals Greene and Wayne were each presented with a large plantation, and became citizens of the state. Count dEstaing was granted twenty thousand acres of land. Thus did Georgia endeavor to show her appreciation of those who had helped her in her hour of need.

CHAPTER XXII
SOME REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTERS
GENERAL JAMES JACKSON came from England, a penni less boy of fifteen, and made his home in Savannah. He began the study of law, but when the troubles arose be tween the colonies and England, he put aside everything to join the Liberty Boys. He became one of their most earnest workers, and his devotion to the state will ever be gratefully remembered by Georgia people.
After the British took Savannah, in 1778, James Jack son and John Milledge went to South Carolina, where they joined the forces of General Moultrie. They were ragged and barefooted, and excited the suspicion of some Ameri can soldiers, who arrested them as British spies. Some one recognized the two men just in time to prevent their being hanged. Both of these men fought all through the war, and both, in time, became governors of Georgia.
General Jackson had a share in the siege of Savannah. He afterward distinguished himself in North and South Carolina, when those two states were overrun by the Brit ish. During the siege of Augusta, in 1781, the Carolina and Georgia troops became worn out with waiting for the reinforcements which were daily expected under General Pickens and Light Horse Harry Lee. As the weary days passed and no help came, hope died in their anxious hearts, and the men were about to return to their homes. Genera]
75

76

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Jackson rode among the exhausted soldiers, speaking en couraging words. His own zeal inspired them with hope, and when relief came at last, these men were among the first to make the attack under their gallant leader. When Augusta was taken, General Jackson was left in command there. The British were forced to give up Ebenezer, also, and move nearer Savannah.
General Jackson took up his station between Savannah and Augusta, where he might keep a ceaseless watch upon

GKNKKAI. JAMRS JACKSON.
the enemy. Some discontented members of his company who were jealous of their leader formed a conspiracy to kill him. But a friendly soldier, suspecting that evil was afoot, pretended that he, too, hated his commander. As soon as he was admitted into the secret, he disclosed the plot, and the leaders of the conspiracy were put to death. When the war was ended, the state legislature gave this faithful soldier a horse, saddle, and bridle, and five hundred acres of land, as a reward for his noble service.
One of the proudest moments of General Jacksons life

SOME REVOLUTIONARV CHARACTERS

77

came just after the surrender of Savannah, when General Anthony Wayne selected him to receive the keys of the city. This honor was granted him on account of his brave conduct, and the once penniless boy rode in state into the recovered capital.
General Jackson held nearly every high office which a. grateful and loving people could bestow upon him. His upright character was always opposed to fraud. He thought that men should so live that they would not be ashamed to let the whole world know of their slightest acts. The stand that he took in the famous Yazoo Fraud case made him the idol of the people.
General Jackson was representing his "state in Washing ton, as United States senator, when he died in March, 1806. In his last moments his thoughts turned to his beloved state. He said: "If after death my heart can be opened, there will -be found written on it the word Georgia." His body rests in the burying-ground of Congress. On his tomb these words are written: " To the memory of General James Jackson, of Georgia, who deserved and enjoyed the confidence of a grateful country
a soldier of the Revolution."

Another of the conspicuous figures of the Revolution in Georgia was General Elijah Clarke, who was born in North Carolina and came to Georgia in 1774, when nearly forty years old. He settled in Wilkes County, and was among the first to take up arms when the war broke out.
General Clarke was uneducated, but he knew how to manage men. He became the leader of a regiment raised in north Georgia, which kept the Tories in constant fear. A fearless fighter, he went promptly wherever he

/8

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

was needed. It was General Clarkes regiment that kept back the Tories and Indians on the frontier. He annoyed the enemy at every opportunity, and protected the patri ots from the plundering bands which roamed through the country. While he was thus engaged, the Tories burned his home and drove his wife and children from the state.
We hear of this tireless leader in Florida, and in the two Carolinas. His foresight and bravery won the day at Kettle Creek. After the siege of Augusta, General Clarke disbanded his men, that they might visit their homes. When they met again the following September, four hundred women and children begged him to take them to a place of safety. For eleven days he and his company guarded the weary travelers, and at last found a refuge for them among the friendly people of Kentucky.
General Clarke was wounded many times. Each time, upon his recovery, he took up his untiring work again, and for seven long years his name spread terror among the redcoats, as the British soldiers were called. At the end of the war the legislature granted him a plantation for his noble services in behalf of the state.

Many stories are told of Nancy Hart, a remarkable woman who lived in Elbert County in Revolutionary days. She was nearly six feet tall, ugly, rough, and uneducated. She had a fiery temper, and the strength of a man, so that the Tories stood in great fear of her. The Liberty Boys called her Aunt Nancy. She hated all the kings soldiers, and took every opportunity to outwit them. But she loved and befriended the Liberty Boys, and would take great risks to save any of them from the British. She cheerfully divided her small stock of provisions with

SOME REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTERS

79

a hungry patriot; but woe to the British soldier who fell into her hands! If she pretended to be friendly, it was only that she might be able to divert his attention until her friends could come and carry him off captive to some American camp.
When many of the women and children in her neighborhood left their homes to escape the cruelties of Colonel Brown and his la\vless bands, Nancy Hart refused to ac company them, and remained to protect the little property that was left to her. She was always on the lookout for Browns raiders, and whenever she saw a British redcoat, she began planning how to get the best of him.
A conch shell was kept at the spring near her house, to give warning to her husband and his patriot friends that the redcoats were near, and to tell them whether to come to her assistance or to stay in hiding. One day a party of five Tories rode up to Nancys log cabin and asked for something to eat. She said that she had nothing except an old gobbler, and besides she didnt want to feed Tories. This answer made them angry. One of the Tories shot the gobbler and ordered her to cook it. She stormed and scolded for a while, then picked up the turkey and went about preparing it, apparently in good humor. The Tories stacked their guns and sat down to rest and talk. Nancy talked and laughed at their jokes while she cooked the meal. She sent her daughter to the spring and signed to her to blow the conch, as a signal of the enemys presence.
While she served the meal, this clever woman managed to keep the Tories interested. She had purposely used up all her supply of water in cooking, and when her guests called for some to drink, she had to send again to the

80

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

spring. This time her daughter was instructed to signal for help to come immediately. While the Tories were eating and talking, Nancy slipped two of their muskets through a crack between the logs without being seen. But suddenly they found out what she was about. They sprang up and rushed toward her; but the bold woman pointed the musket which she held in her hands toward them and said she would shoot the first man who came a step nearer.
This wac an awkward position for the intruders. Five British soldiers kept at bay by one woman! Finally one soldier gathered up the courage to step forward. Nancy, true to her word, shot him down and seized another mus ket. A second Tory was treated in the same manner. The daughter, who had returned from the spring, handed her mother another musket. The remaining Tories dared not move. Forced to surrender, they now wished to make friends with her. But Nancy stood in the doorway ready to fire again if they advanced. At last the patriots came to her help, and the other three Tories were taken out and hanged.
Nancys large family of sons and daughters used to have merry times crowded around the big open fire on cool evenings. Their mother often told them of her daring adventures, and, in their enjoyment of the stories, they forgot the dangers that were always near. On such an evening, one of the children discovered an eavesdropper peeping through a crack in the stick chimney. He caught his mothers attention and signed to her that some one was listening to their talk. Nancy was vigorously stirring a pot of soap that was boiling on the fire. She kept on with her work, laughing and talking all the time. Suddenly

SOME REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTERS

81

she dashed some of the boiling soap through the crack in the chimney. The howls of grief and rage which followed told her that her aim had been true, and one more Tory had received a severe punishment. This courageous woman went out and bound him, and kept him prisoner until she could hand him over to some of her patriot friends.

There lived in Liberty County a famous patriot by the name of Robert Sallette. Very little is known of him except that he roved about the country and that he lost no chance of striking a blow at the British. He was dreaded by the Tories. One of them, wishing to get rid of so formidable a foe, offered a reward of one hun dred guineas to any one who would bring him the head of Robert Sallette. When Sallette heard that he was thought to be worth so much, he determined to have the money himself. He disguised himself, placed a pumpkin in a bag, and went to the Torys house. He told the Tory that he had brought him the head of Robert Sallette and wanted the reward. As he spoke, he shook the bag, which he had put down on the floor, so that the pumpkin struck the boards with a thump. The Tory, believing what his visitor said, counted out the money and laid it on the table. He asked Sallette to show him the head, and you may imagine his dismay when Sallette took off his hat, tapped his forehead, and said, " Here is the head of Robert Sal lette !" The Tory did not wait for a second look, but dashed from the room. Sallette pocketed the guineas and went away, highly pleased with his success.

CHAPTER XXIII
GEORGIA AS A STATE
WHEN Georgia threw off the royal yoke in 1776, she became a state, but her form of government was only a temporary one. A convention met in Savannah in 17/7 and established a permanent government. A written con stitution was adopted and a new seal. The convention abolished the twelve parishes and divided the state into eight counties, Wilkcs, Richmond, Burke, Effingham, Chatham, Liberty, Glynn, and Camden. Liberty County was so named as a tribute to the patriotic citizens of St. Johns Parish. The other counties were named for seven English statesmen who had nobly befriended the colonies in their struggle to obtain their rights.
It was the duty of the legislature to elect the governor, who was to serve for one year. The first legislature of the state met in Savannah on May 8, 1777. John Adam Treutlen was the first governor. The council of safety was dissolved and an executive council elected.
When Savannah fell into the hands of the British, in 1778, the governor and council moved to Augusta. The British soon followed, and the state officers fled to South Carolina. During all the war the state government was in a disordered condition. The legislature met when and where it could. At one time Georgia was divided into opposing parties, and there were two governors. At other times the state had no chief executive. Governor Wright
82

GEORGIA AS A STATE

83

had returned after the defeat of the Americans at Savan nah. So Georgia was ruled partly by a royal governor,

MAP OF THE FIRST EIGHT COUNTIES.
partly by a state governor, and at times by the executive council. When the British left Savannah in 1782, that city again became the seat of government. The legisla ture of 1783 elected Dr. Lyman Hall governor.

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

Georgia was the fourth state to adopt the Constitution of the United States, January 2, 1788. The first two United States senators from Georgia were James Gunn and William Few. The first representatives were Abram Baldwin, James Jackson, and George Matthews. As it was necessary to make some changes in the state consti tution, a convention met and adopted the constitution of 1789. This provided that the governor should be elected to serve two years instead of one. The executive council was abolished, and our present senate was established. On November 26, 1789, the people of Georgia observed the first national Thanksgiving Day.
In 1798 the constitution was again changed. The new one lasted until 1861, although it was amended in 1824, so that the governor might be elected directly by the people. Our present constitution was adopted in 1877. In 1799 a new seal was made, which is the one still in use. The seal bears on one side the Georgia coat of arms, consisting of three pillars supporting an arch on which is engraved the word " Constitution." This design signifies that the constitution of the state is upheld by the three depart ments of the government, legislative, executive, and ju dicial. The words engraved on the streamer entwined around the pillars indicate that wisdom should be shown by the legislature in making the laws; moderation, by the executive officers in administering the laws; and justice, by the courts in their decisions. The figure of the man with the drawn sword represents the strong military power of the state.
On the other side of the seal there appears a boat which has brought down produce from the interior of the state. On the shore a man is plowing, and a flock of

GEORGIA AS A STATE

85

sheep is grazing in the distance. A ship loaded with the produce of Georgia soil, and carrying the flag of the United States, seems ready to sail. Under that sacred banner, she can ride unharmed on the waters throughout the entire world. This side of the seal represents the two most important industries of the state, agriculture and commerce.

OBVERSE.

REVERSE.

GEORGIA STATE SEAL. 1799.

The first Georgia flag was adopted in 1789. It was slightly changed in 1902, during Governor Candlers ad ministration. Finding that some of the state troops were parading under the United States flag alone, the legislature of 1902 made a law that they should thereafter use the state flag also.
The Georgia flag has a vertical band of blue next the staff, occupying one third of the entire flag. The remainder of the space is divided into three horizontal bands; the upper and lower bands are scarlet, while the one in the center is white. On the blue field next to the staff is stamped, painted, or embroidered the Georgia coat

86

THE STORY OF GEORGIA

of arms. The old flag was similar to this, except that the coat of arms did not appear.
Georgia has had five capitals. After the state began to grow, Savannah became unsatisfactory as the capital, because it could not be conveniently reached by the peo ple in the newly settled lands. As the population spread toward the west, the capital was several times moved in that direction. In 1786, Augusta was made the capital; in 1795, Louisville in Jefferson County, on the Ogeechee River; in 1807, Milledgeville, so named in honor of John Milledge, then governor of the state. Finally, in 1868, the seat of government was moved to Atlanta.

THE FLAG OF GEORGIA

CHAPTER XXIV
THE YAZOO FRAUD
WHEN a man makes a mistake, he shows wisdom by has tening to repair it. This is what our fathers did in connec tion with the famous Yazoo Fraud.
When the war of the Revolution ended in 1783, the land belonging to the state of Georgia extended westward as far as the Mississippi River. Speculators saw how valu able this wild land was, and formed companies to buy it from the legislature. In 1794, land was sold to these companies at a very low price, about two cents an acre. The legislature had no right to sell the states property for so little; but the members were either bribed or frightened by the agents of the companies, so that they did what they knew was wrong. Governor George Matthews at first refused to sign the bill, but was finally persuaded to do so.
When the people learned about the sale, they were very angry. James Jackson, who was then senator from Georgia at Washington, resigned his high position and came home to try to have the unjust law repealed. He was elected to the new legislature of Georgia, which met at Louisville in January, 1796, and began at once to work fpr the repeal of the law. The whole state was aroused and angry. People everywhere held indignation meetings and sent petitions to the legislature.
In a few days the law was declared void. The legisla ture thought it such a disgrace that the law. had been
87

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

passed that they decided to burn all the pipers relating to the shameful sale. They gathered in the public square, where a pile of wood had been prepared. In order that the disgraceful records might be burned with fire from heaven, the flames were kindled by the rays of the sun, through an old-fashioned sunglass. The secretary of state brought out the papers, which he handed to the president of the Senate. After examining them, the president handed them to the speaker of the House of Representatives. They were then passed to the clerk and the messenger. This last officer laid them upon the fire, crying in a loud voice, " God save the state! and .long preserve her rights! and may every attempt to injure them perish as these wicked and corrupt acts now do! "
Thus did our fathers wipe out the record of a shameful act and show that they were trying to protect the rights of the people.

CHAPTER XXV
THE DEPARTURE OF THE INDIANS
IT is always a difficult matter for two races, possessing different customs, traditions, and feelings, to live together in the same country. If all the white men had been as kind and considerate as Oglethorpe, and all the Indians as wise as Tomochichi, there would have been no trouble. But some white men cheated the Indians, and some Indians killed the white men, and both sides were treach erous and false in their dealings. This unfair dealing began almost with the time of Oglethorpe, and grew worse as the years passed.
In the war of the Revolution the British kept the friendship of the Indians by fair talk and presents. There fore, in addition to their other troubles, the patriots suf fered from Indian attacks, the burning of their houses, and the capture of their wives and children. When the long war was over, the Indians were divided in feeling; some remained hostile to the government of the United States, while some became friendly.
The earlier grants of the territory of Georgia extended west to the Mississippi River, embracing the present states of Alabama and Mississippi. In 1802 Georgia ceded all her land west of her present boundaries to the United States. The national government promised, in return, to remove all the Indians from Georgia to the country west of the Mississippi River, and to give the land which
89

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

they had occupied to the white settlers; for by this time almost everybody had become convinced that white men and Indians could not live in the same region.
When crimes were committed on the Indians land, the state of Georgia punished them, and this made the Indians angry. They did not wish to be ruled by the laws of Georgia. They continued to attack the white settlements, and affairs grew worse from year to year. The United States government neglected to fulfill its agreement to move the Indians out of Georgia. The hostility of the Indians was made worse through the influence of a few bad white men who had settled among them and inflamed their feelings against the state of Georgia.
At this time England and France were at war. Much of the fighting was done at sea, and each country claimed the right to seize vessels trading with the other. But when English ships seized several American vessels and carried off their seamen, the United States declared war, and once more we were involved in trouble with the mother country. This was called the War of 1812. The Indians were aroused and again sided with the British, giving Georgia much trouble. Attacks were so frequent from the Seminoles on the south and the Creeks on the west that Governor Mitchell was compelled to call out the militia to protect the state.
On the thirtieth of August, at noonday, the Indians at tacked Fort Mills on the Chattahoochee. The inmates were completely surprised, and nearly three hundred, in cluding women and children, were massacred. This bloody deed was avenged by an attack on the Indian towns of Autossee and Tallassee, at daybreak on the twenty-ninth of November, 1813, when two hundred Indians were killed.

THE DEPARTURE OF THE INDIANS

91

The next year peace was declared between the United States and England, and the Indians were more quiet. But the feeling of hostility against the whites remained, and the wise men of both races were eager for a separation.
Among the Creeks were some Indians who were friendly to the white men. Their leader was a half-breed named William Mclntosh. He was tall and handsome, and had acquired fine manners from mingling with the Southern officers. He kept a house on the Chattahoochee Rivei where travelers passing through the Indian nation stopped for rest and refreshment. His followers, the Lower Creeks, wished to leave their lands in Georgia and go fax away to a country where they would not be molested by the white men. The Upper Creeks, on the other hand, declared that they would never leave the beautiful land of their forefathers.
In the month of February, 1825, a meeting of the Indians and the United States Commissioners was held at Indian Spring. A noted chieftain of the Upper Creeks, Hopothleyoholo, was present, and exerted all his influence to pre vent the signing of a treaty. He and his party went home on the night of the eleventh, and on the next day the treaty was signed by Mclntosh and his company. The agreement was that the government should move the Indians far away to the west, where white people could not interfere with them, and should also pay them for the lands they left.
A great deal of trouble arose regarding this treaty. The governor of Georgia, George M. Troup, insisted on survey ing the Indian lands at once, while the President at Wash ington forbade it, so that there was a conflict of authority. Governor Troup contended for the rights of the state of Georgia, and the President maintained the power of the

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

central government, until people began to fear a war. But the matter was adjusted, the Indians were taken west, and the lands were surveyed in 1827 and afterward divided by lottery.

GOVERNOR GEORGE M. TROUP.
One sad result of the treaty of Indian Spring was the death of brave William Mclntosh. He knew that he was in danger, and went to Milledgeville, which was then the capital of Georgia, to ask for protection from the state. It was promised to him, but never given. The Upper Creeks held a secret council and decided to put him to death. One hundred and seventy of the bravest warriors were selected, who marched cautiously to Mclntoshs neighborhood and waited for the darkness of night. About three oclock in the morning they surprised the sleeping family, set the house on fire, and danced around the burning building, shrieking: "Mclntosh, we have come! we have come! We told you if you sold the land to the Georgians we would come ! Now we have come!"

THE DEPARTURE OF THE INDIANS

93

Mclntosh kept firing at his enemies until he fell, riddled with bullets. One of his friends, Toma Tustenuggee, was killed at the beginning of the attack. Chilly Mclntosh, his son, escaped by jumping from a window and swimming the Chattahoochee River. The Indians dragged Mclntoshs body from the burning house, and stabbed him to the heart, in the presence of his two wives. They also killed his son-in-law, Hawkins. They took off the scalps of their victims in the cruel Indian fashion, and on their return to their village exposed them on a pole, while young and old danced around them in savage joy.
But this bloody deed did not prevent the thing the Upper Creeks feared. The treaty had been signed, the lands were sold, and the Indians were obliged to leave their dearly loved hills and streams in Georgia for a distant home be yond the Mississippi.
It was several years later before the Cherokees of North Georgia could be persuaded to take the same step. In 1838, after much talk, the families of the Cherokees were collected into camps, preparatory to their long march west ward. About fourteen thousand commenced the journey. Every possible arrangement was made for their comfort on the march, but, so great was their sorrow at leaving their beloved land, that four thousand died of broken hearts before they reached their western home.
Of all the Indian tribes, the Cherokees have prospered most. They have established schools, have a government of their own, and are more civilized than their brethren. Doubtless it was hard for them to leave this beautiful land which once was theirs, but they are happier now than they ever could have been here where selfish and unscrupulous . white men continually annoyed them.

CHAPTER XXVI
THE MEXICAN WAR
TEXAS was for a long time a part of the republic of Mexico. It was settled by people from the United States, who wished to have the privilege of governing themselves. They were not like the Mexicans, who were principally of Spanish descent. So when Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, refused to allow the immigrants self-government, the settlers rebelled against the Mexican government and declared themselves independent. A company of soldiers, under Colonel William Ward of Macon, went out from Georgia to help the Texans.
When the soldiers were leaving Georgia, a flag was presented to them, made of white silk, and bearing on one side a blue star and the inscription, " Liberty or Death." The company called it the " Flag of the Lone Star." When Texas gained her independence she adopted this flag, and for that reason is still called the Lone Star state.
The men who started so gallantly to follow the Flag of the Lone Star met a very sad fate. The Mexicans sur rounded Colonel Ward and forced him to surrender. He did so on condition that he and his men should be sent back to the United States. They were taken to Fort Goliad, where Colonel Fannin and a regiment of United States soldiers were already confined. The next morning they were marched out into the sunlight. Being prisoners, they had no guns. They were ranged in line, and shot
94

THE MEXICAN WAR

95

down by the Mexicans. That was the tragic end of the Georgians who followed the Lone Star.
Several years later, when Texas had freed herself from Mexico and had been annexed to the United States, a dispute arose about the boundary line, which at length caused a war between the United States and Mexico. The government at Washington called on Georgia to furnish a regiment of soldiers, and the state promptly responded. The first regiment was sent out under Colonel Henry R. Jackson of Savannah, and other companies followed. The men fought bravely, and many of them were killed. Com modore Josiah Tattnall of Georgia commanded a fleet called the " Mosquito Division," because it was small, active, and annoying, like a mosquito. On his return to Georgia the legislature voted Tattnall a beautiful sword for his gallant services. The same compliment was paid to General \V. H. T. Walker, Lieutenant William M. Gardiner, and Gen eral David E. Twiggs.
The Mexican War was ended by a treaty of peace in February, 1848.

CHAPTER XXVII
THE THREE SECTIONS
IF you could rise with the wings of a bird, and, starting from the border line where Georgia joins Tennessee and North Carolina, fly southward to the coast, you would see that our state does not have the same appearance through out its whole extent. In the north stand the tall moun tains, with wooded valleys between. All the country is rugged and broken, the scenery is wild and beautiful, and the homes of the people are small and far apart. Next you would pass over a country of long, rolling hills, covered with a magnificent forest growth of oak, pine, chestnut, and hickory. Here the towns are larger, and more busi ness is transacted. It is a country of prosperous farms, large mills, and flourishing settlements. Farther south you would reach the level pine lands and the coast region where sea-island cotton and rice are cultivated.
Our state is thus naturally divided into three sections, the mountains, the hills, and the plains. These three sec tions were settled in the long peaceful years before the terrible Civil War. The difference in the face of the coun try made a difference in the lives and habits of the people, so that the mountaineer was as unlike the dweller on the coast as if they belonged to two separate nations.
Among the mountains, where the land was poor and rocky and the roads rough, there was a class of people scattered in little inaccessible houses, far from each other.
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THE THREE SECTIONS

97

The dwellings were log cabins, each furnished with beds, a

table, a few split-bottomed chairs, a churn, and a frying

pan. These people had few schools and churches, and

were consequently ignorant of books; but their life in the

open air and freedom from restraint gave them a sturdy

strength of character-that we may well envy them. Their

clothing was of the poorest, and even the women ordinarily

went barefooted. They had a dialect of their own, which

strangers found hard to understand. In this same section

were many resi

dences built by

people of wealth

and refinement,

some of whom

spent their win

ters in Charles

ton, Savannah,

or New Orleans.

This section was then, as now,

Ax EARLY HOME is MIDDLE GEORGIA.

called North Georgia. From its homes have come some

of the strongest men of our state.

Middle Georgia embraces the greater part of the state.

It was settled by emigrants from Virginia and the Caro-

linas, a sturdy, self-reliant race, who came poor into this

land of plenty, founded their homes in the wilderness,

and throve on account of their energy and pluck. They

established towns and villages, became slave owners, built

railroads, and prospered until the u-ar swept all of their

property away. They founded many schools, the most

noted being Franklin College, Emory, Mercer, and \Ves-

leyan, the oldest womans college in the world. Cotton

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

raising was the prominent industry. They were a hospita ble, light-hearted people. Plenty flourished in their land, and life in middle Georgia was pleasant before the war.
In the flat lands near the coast lay the large plantations on which sea-island cotton and rice were raised. As white men could not endure the deadly malaria of these lowlands all the year, the necessary labor was performed by hun-

A HOME is SOUTHERN GEORGIA.
dreds of negro slaves. The families of the planters lived part of the time on the farms and the remainder of the year in such towns as Savannah and Darien. Most of the land owners were immensely wealthy; their hospitality was lavish and their manners princely. The mild climate and freedom from the necessity of labor made life easy; the days were spent in a succession of picnics and entertain ments. These people spoke the soft, low-country dialect which falls so musically upon the ear. They sent their

THE THREE SECTIONS

99

sons north to be educated, and thought themselves superior to all those who lived farther north in their own state.
Back of the coast the plains extend into the south western part of the state. This also was a country of large plantations and many slaves. There was much culture and refinement among the people, and this section of the state produced many prominent men.

DINING ROOM IN THE HOME OF A WEALTHY PLANTER.
All over the state was scattered a class of people called Crackers. This name is supposed to have been given to them because their principal article of diet was cracked corn. They were idle and shiftless, extremely poor, and yet strictly honest. They possessed no slaves, and seldom owned the land on which their little cabins stood. In the midst of wealth and plenty they lived in careless poverty, and dreaded nothing so much as work.
This was the condition of our state before 1861, when the great war came to ruin these peaceful homes, leaving desolation and poverty in place of comfort and plenty.

CHAPTER XXVIII
SLAVERY
WHEN the colony of Georgia was first established, no negro slaves were allowed. It was to be a community of free white men. But the colony did not prosper under the administration of the trustees. The culture of rice and cotton required more endurance than white men pos sessed, and as the neighboring colony of South Carolina, where the people had slaves, grew rich and prosperous, the Georgia settlers became discontented. They sent a petition to the trustees, asking to be allowed to own slaves, and finally the trustees, believing that negro labor was needed to develop the country, granted the petition in 1750. From this time the colony began to prosper. The cotton and rice plantations along the coast were tilled by the negroes, who could toil without injury in the burning sunand could resist the malaria of the swamps. Sometimes one master owned several hundred slaves. The plantations in Middle Georgia were not so large as those on the coast, and consequently fewer slaves belonged to each owner. Among the mountains of North Georgia there were very few slaves.
With the exception of the house servants, the slaves lived in a row of cabins called the quarters, several hun dred yards from the planters house. On the large farms a white man, called the overseer, was engaged to super-
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SLAVERY

I0r

intend the work of the field hands. In the morning each hand was given a certain amount of work to do, called his task. When this was finished, he could work in his own little patch of ground, and all the money he made in this way was his own. In the evenings the quarters resounded with the music of the banjo and quills, and the sound of laughter and merriment. The white children thought it a great privilege to be allowed to visit the quarters and witness the frolics that went on there.
The slaves were strongly attached to the children of their masters. The old nurse, usually called Mammy, was ten derly loved by the little ones she had reared. She wore a large white apron and a bandanna handkerchief twisted around her head like a turban. Each little boy, when he grew too old to be nursed, had a body servant given to him. This was a negro boy, whose duty it was to follow him everywhere, wait on him, and take care of him. To gether they went rabbit hunting, fishing, and swimming. In the same way, each little girl had her own maid, whose duty it was to help dress her, to be her playmate and pro tector, and to be ready to come and go at her will. In the cruel war which followed these happy times, many of the negro servants followed their young masters through all the hardships of army life; and sometimes it was the lot of the faithful slave to bring back the lifeless body of his dearly loved master from the field of death to the mourners waiting at the old home.
The great time of the year on the plantation was Christ mas. Then the negroes came early in the gray dawn of the morning to catch the white folks " Christmas gift!" Each servant received a present from the master and mis tress, and a week of feasting and merriment followed.

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

The boys, white and black, spent nearly the whole week in hunting.
Almost equal to Christmas was hog-killing time. When the first cold weather came, the fattened porkers were slain, scalded in great vats of heated water, and cut up into vari ous parts for present feasting or future supplies. Sausage meat, haslet, spareribs, backbone, crackling bread, and other good things loaded the table day after day. The hams, shoulders, and sides of bacon were hung in a smoke house, where they were slowly cured in a constant smoke from a smoldering fire. Provisions were laid up for the household for a whole year.
Another happy time was what was called a " corn shuck ing." The slaves from several adjoining plantations used to meet at the corncribs of one neighbor, divide themselves into two companies, and race to see which band could shuck the larger pile of corn. They accompanied their work with hearty songs. The owner of the strongest voice improvised a solo, and at the end of every line the chorus came in, shouting some such words as " Bally-melango! " or " Win ter time ! winter time! " When the work was finished, the fiddle was brought out, and dancing and feasting ended the evening.
The slaves were sometimes cruelly treated, but not often. As a rule, masters took good care of their servants, fed and clothed them comfortably, nursed them when ill, and required no more work from them than they could easily do. The mistress gathered the little negroes around her on Sunday afternoons, and taught them the truths of the Scriptures. In every church a place was set aside for the negroes. They had their own churches, too, where they sang their wild, beautiful songs and got happy, as

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103

they called it, when they fainted away from too much reli gious emotion. They were a music-loving race, and every where, in the field and on the river, at the church and in the corn shucking, they sang with all their might the weird melodies they loved so well.
It is a good thing that there are no slaves now; but it is a pity that the white race and the black race do not love each other as they did in that old time before the war.

CHAPTER XXIX
BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR
Ax the end of the War of the Revolution there were slaves in all of the thirteen states. But in the North their labor was not profitable and the climate was not suited to them ; so they were gradually set free or sold to the South. On the other hand, the cotton fields of the South gave work to thousands of negro laborers, who throve well in the mild Southern climate. Thus it came about in time that there were no slaves at the North and many at the South.
The Northern people believed that slavery was wrong, and determined that the slaves should all be set free. The Southern people did not think that it was wrong, and when they found that the people of the North were going to take their property from them, eleven of the Southern states decided to secede from the Union.
After the War of the Revolution, the states had united to form a nation under the Constitution of the United States. Each state had entered the Union voluntarily. Be cause the North and South could not agree on the question of slavery, and because for years the people of the South ern states had held that each state had the right to decide for itself whether it would or would not obey Congress, the South now thought it best to withdraw and form a separate nation. The North said, " The Union must be preserved."
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IOS

This brought on the dreadful Civil War, in which many brave men were killed.
South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama se ceded in December, 1860. Early in January, 1861, a con vention met at Milledgeville, to decide whether Georgia should secede. Speeches were made supporting each side of the question. On the nineteenth of January the vote was taken, and Georgia seceded from the Union. The vote was not unanimous; but after it was cast even those who did not think that secession was the wisest course decided to remain loyal to their state.
Other states followed, until eleven had seceded. A convention of delegates from these eleven states met at Montgomery, Alabama, to frame a constitution. They called themselves the Confederate States of America, and we speak of them as the Southern Confederacy. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected president, and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, vice president.
Just before the war, the state of Georgia was wealthy and prosperous. It was a country of rich plantations, thriving towns, and growing railroads. The state had built the Western and Atlantic railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga, which paid yearly into the state treasury the sum of four hundred thousand dollars. The people were happy and contented, and extreme poverty was almost unknown among them.

CHAPTER XXX SOME MEN PROMINENT IN WAR TIMES IN April, 1821, a boy was born in Pickens district, South Carolina, who was destined to act a great part in the his tory of Georgia. This boy was Joseph Emerson Brown.
JosF.iii EMERSON BROWN
His parents, who were poor, moved to Gaddistown, Georgia, during his boyhood. He grew up on the farm, plowing and hoeing and reaping, having little opportunity to go to school, but gaining all the sturdy strength which belongs to the country boy. At nineteen he had learned only reading, writing, and some arithmetic, but a burning desire for an education was in his heart. One spring his father gave him the pair of steers, Buck and Tom, with which
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SOME MEN PROMINENT IN WAR TIMES 107
he had plowed all the winter, and he left home to seek an education. He went to Anderson, South Carolina, sold the steers for enough to pay his board for a year, and began a course of hard study. At the end of the year, he assumed a debt for board for a second year, and continued his work. He paid off this debt by teaching, then studied law, and in time became a judge. At the age of thirtyfour he had accomplished all this without help, through his own energy and strength of will.
One summer afternoon, he walked out to his fields to watch the work of the hands, who were cutting wheat. Finding that the cutters were getting ahead of the binders, he took off his coat and went to work binding. Late that afternoon, when he had returned to the house, a friend rode up on horseback, and told him that the convention at Milledgeville had nominated him governor of Georgia, At the very hour when his name was before the conven tion he was binding wheat in the field.
He was elected and made an able governor. Because he had been poor, he understood and sympathized with the common people, and always took their side against those who tried to oppress them. He was so stern and unyield ing in the path of duty that he made many enemies, but the common people trusted him because they felt that he had a wise head and a tender heart. Under his wise and skillful management Georgia became the richest of the Southern states. He was governor of Georgia during the war.
Another prominent man of this important period was Alexander Hamilton Stephens. He was so small and feeble in body that people called him " Little Aleck "; but he had a great mind and a loving and generous disposition

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Even when he was a member of the legislature, he was often mistaken for a schoolboy. His father and step mother died when he was fourteen years old. But in spite of poverty and sickness he contrived by his own efforts to secure a good education, and became a famous lawyer. He was an eloquent speaker, and people listened in amazement as this feeble, beardless boy, for such he

ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS
seemed to be, pleaded with such persuasive power that the jury frequently shed tears.
He was a member of Congress at the beginning of the war, but resigned his place and came home to help his state. He did not want Georgia to secede, for he thought it was best to preserve the Union. Many other leading men, among them Benjamin H. Hill and Herschel V. Johnson, thought the same thing. But Governor Brown, Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, and other leaders in the state favored secession.

CHAPTER XXXI
THE CIVIL WAR
IN April, 1861, the war began. It lasted four years. During this time Georgia furnished more troops than any other Southern state. She sent one hundred and twenty thousand men, twenty thousand more than her number of voters at the beginning of the war. They fought on many a bloody battlefield, and thousands of them never came home again. One of the bravest, General Francis S. Bartow, said when he started, " I go to illustrate Georgia;" and nobly did he fulfill his words, falling at the head of his troops in the very first battle. And not only Bartow, but every other Georgian who wore the gray uniform illus trated Georgia. Vice President Stephens, endeavoring by wise counsel to er.d the war and secure peace; Governor Brown, managing prudently the affairs of the state; our gallant generals and other officers in the field; every private soldier in the ranks, and the noble women at home, bearing hardship and poverty, yet keeping brave hearts for the sake of the soldier boys, all, with patience, loyalty, and heroism, " illustrated Georgia."
The soldiers of the North were called Federals; they wore the blue uniform of the United States. The uniform of the Southern troops was gray, and they were called Confederates. But the terms Federal and Confederate were not used so commonly as the nicknames Yankee and Rebel.
109

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Those were dark days. On the battlefield our bravest and best fell, yielding up their lives in defense of the state they loved; at home the women sat making clothing and knitting socks for the soldiers, and whenever a battle took place, dreading to hear the report, lest the name of hus band or father or brother should be upon the list of the wounded or killed.
The Federal armies cut us off from communication with the rest of the world, so that we had to make at home many things which we had been accustomed to obtain from abroad. The fingers of the women grew very skillful in fashioning all sorts of contrivances, and in spite of the grim horrors of war, there was many a laugh over the funny substitutes for useful articles. Hats were made of corn shucks; buttons of persimmon seeds; when leather grew scarce, shoes were made with wooden bottoms. Coffee was replaced by sweet potatoes, cut into dice and browned in the oven, or parched wheat and rye, and the family was fortunate that had syrup with which to sweeten this drink.
Common salt was the article most needed and hardest to get. It seems strange to think of salt as precious, and yet the people could not cure their meat without it. Many farmers dug up the dirt floors of their smoke houses and washed out of them the salt which had accumulated there. When salt grew very scarce, speculators bought up all that could be found, and sold it at so high a price that poor people could not get it at all. Then Governor Brown seized the supply in the name of the state, sold it at a reasonable price to those who could buy, and gave it away to those who could not.
Many of the Federal soldiers who had been captured.

THE CIVIL WAR

III

by the Confederates were confined at a place in South Georgia called Andersonville. This place was selected because of its mild climate. But the Confederate govern ment needed all its troops to fight battles and could spare very few men to guard the prisoners. The prisoners were crowded in order to need as small a guard as pos sible, and they suffered severely. The Confederates had not food and medicine enough for their own men; what they had they shared with the prisoners, but it was not enough to prevent hunger and disease. Many of the Federal captives died, as did many Southern captives in Northern prisons. The Confederate government tried to arrange an exchange of prisoners with the United States government, but the offer was refused, because the Fed erals did not need their men, having plenty of others, and did not want the Confederates to have theirs back to put into the army again. The terrible hardships endured by the men in prisons, both in the North and South, formed one of the saddest parts of the war.
During the four years of war, the slaves behaved remarkably well. When their masters had gone to the army, they stayed at home and worked, obeying the mis tress and supporting the family by raising crops. They had formed the habit of obedience, and could not realize that one result of this great war would be their freedom. The people at the North thought that the slaves would rise in rebellion, kill the white people, and destroy their property; but they did not. When the Unicn army came near their homes, many of the negroes left their owners and followed it. Some of them were organized into com panies to fight in the Union army; but most of them made poor soldiers, for fighting is not the instinct of their race.

CHAPTER XXXII
THE WAR IN GEORGIA
FOR more than two years there was very little fighting on Georgia soil. Our men were in the army in Virginia under General Robert E. Lee, and also in Mississippi and Tennessee; but until 1863 our state hardly felt the scourge of war within her borders. In September of this year, a fierce battle was fought at Chickamauga. General Longstreets weary men arrived from Virginia in time to turn the victory to the Confederates. But in a few days another battle was fought at Missionary Ridge, in which the boys in gray were defeated.
In May, 1864, the Federal general, William T. Sherman, left Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a large force to march toward Atlanta. He was opposed by General Joseph E. Johnston with an army not half as large. General Johnston knew that he could not afford to wage an open battle, because when a Federal soldier fell there were others to take his place, while every Confederate slain meant one man less to fight for the South. So he wisely hung around Shermans army, retreating when necessary, hindering the enemys progress as much as possible, attacking when everything was in his favor, and showing masterly skill in handling a small army against a large one. From early May till late in July, through the beautiful summer weather, the hills of North Georgia echoed to the tramp of armies, and the blue and gray columns wound along the red roads
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THE WAR IN GEORGIA

113

and among the green woods. The flashing bayonets glit tered in the summer sunshine, and the roar of the cannon mocked the beauty of woods and hills. Steadily retreat ing southward, the Confederate soldiers left behind them their homes and wives and children in the track of the armies. Many of these families abandoned their homes, taking with them only what they could carry in a wagon, and fled to places of safety. They lived in tents or unused freight cars or wherever they could find a place. They were called Refugees.
There was fighting all along the line of retreat, when ever General Johnston saw that he could risk an engage ment. The most serious battle was at Kennesaw Mountain, near Marietta, where many men were killed. Oh the ninth of July, Johnston crossed the Chattahoochee River and en camped near Atlanta.
President Davis and his advisers thought that General Johnston ought to fight a battle. Johnston knew it was not best to do so, because his army was so much smaller than Shermans. He was removed from the command, and General John B. Hood was put in his place. Hood was as brave as Johnston, but not so wise. Two days after he assumed the command, on the twentieth of July, he met the Federals in a battle northeast of Atlanta, in which he was defeated with great loss. The same thing happened two days later, and again on the twenty-eighth; and then, after another defeat at Jonesboro, Hood retreated north westward toward Alabama and Tennessee with the small, remnant of an army left to him, and Atlanta was in Sher mans hands.
Sherman compelled the people, most of them women and children, to leave the city, and then burned their

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homes. Very few houses were left standing in Atlanta in that sad autumn of 1864. Sherman said that the quickest way to end the war was to make it horrible; and he cer tainly did make it horrible.
In November, Sherman started on his famous march through Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah. There was no army to oppose him; Hood with his fragment of an army was in Tennessee, and the state militia, consisting of boys under sixteen and old men, could do little to check Shermans strong forces. All along their path the Federal army burned the houses, stole the silver, trampled the crops, killed the stock, and sent women and children flee ing from their homes. From Atlanta to Savannah, over a tract forty miles wide, they left behind them ruin and desolation. For years afterward lone chimneys could be seen marking the spot where happy homes had been ; the people called these chimneys Shermans Sentinels.
The legislature was in session at Milledgeville at this time. They had adjourned for dinner when word came that Shermans army was approaching. They fled at once, using all the carriages, buggies, and wagons that could be found. Governor Brown tried to save the records and other property of the state, but no one could be found to load the cars with them. The penitentiary was at Milledgeville, and Governor Brown remembered the strong men confined within the frowning walls. He called the convicts together and made them a talk, promising free dom and pardon to all who would help load the cars and then enlist as soldiers of the Confederacy. They responded gladly, gave the desired help, and then organ ized a company with one of their number as captain. A gun and uniform were furnished to each man and they

THE WAR IN GEORGIA

"5

were ordered to report to General Wayne, who commanded a small body of militia. A few of these men afterward deserted, but most of them served faithfully and were honorably discharged at the end of the war.
Late in December Sherman entered Savannah, and sent a telegram to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, telling him that he made him a Christmas present of that city. For the second time in the history of Georgia, Savannah was taken by a hostile army just at Christmas time.

CONFEDERATE MONUMENT AT SAVANNAH.

CHAPTER XXXIII
WHAT THE WAR COST GEORGIA
O\ the ninth of April, 1865, General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court-House in Virginia, and the war was at an end. In men and wealth it had cost Georgia more than any other Southern state. Three-fourths of her prop erty was swept away. But that loss, great as it was, seemed nothing compared with the precious lives that had been sacrificed and the sorrow of the widows and orphans all over the land.
Georgia had given all that she had for the Southern Confederacy. Her statesmen had guided in council, her generals had led in battle, her men had fought bravely, her women had worked and suffered. She had furnished powder, guns, and cotton and woolen cloth. Her machine shops and iron works had produced cars and machinery. As she was the richest Southern state af the beginning of the war, so she had been the most important in furnish ing supplies; and Shermans march had destroyed all her prosperity.
General A. R. Lawton, a Georgian, was quartermaster general of the Confederacy. His work was to provide the supplies of ammunition, food, and clothing to the sol diers, and to control the moving of the army from one place to another. His means were so limited and his man agement so skillful that it was said of him that he made one mule or one yard of cloth serve for three.
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WHAT THE WAR COST GEORGIA

117

Georgia was represented in the war by three lieutenant generals, W. J. Hardee, John B. Gordon, and Joseph Wheeler; seven major generals, David E. Twiggs, A. R. Wright, Pierce M. B. Young, LaFayette McLaws, Howell

HOWKLL COBB.

JOH.V B. GORDON".

Cobb, David R. Jones, and VV. H. T. Walker; and fortytwo brigadier generals.
The most distinguished Georgians who died on the battlefield were General Francis S. Bartow, General T. R. R. Cobb, and General W. H. T. Walker.
The youngest major general in the South was General John B. Gordon, who has since been governor of the state.

CHAPTER XXXIV
AFTER THE SURRENDER
IN less than a week after Lee surrendered, a dreadful thing happened at Washington. Abraham Lincoln, the great and good President of the United States, who wished for peace and would have treated the South kindly, %vas assassinated by a madman, John VVilkes Booth. The fact that Booth was a Southern man and thought that he was serving the South by killing the president made the North very bitter against the South. Andrew Johnson, the vice president, became president at Lincolns death. He was neither so wise nor so kind as Lincoln.
Though the war was over, the leaders of the Southern Confederacy were not out of danger. President Davis and his cabinet left Richmond, which had been the capital of the Confederacy, and traveled together southward to Wash ington, Georgia, where Robert Toombs lived. They carried with them in wagons a great sum of gold and silver money, which was left in the Confederate treasury at the close of the war. The cabinet held its last meeting and agreed to give part of this money to buy food for the poor soldiers returning from the war. It was a kind thought, but the country was so disturbed and affairs were in such confusion that the plan was a difficult one to carry out. They gave $26.25 each to as many soldiers as they could reach, and sent $40,000 to a Federal officer at Augusta to be distrib uted among the need). There is no record that this dis-
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AFTER THE SURRENDER
tribution was ever made. The rest of the money was captured by the Federals and put into the United States treasury.
The cabinet then separated, and a few days later,""on May the tenth, President Davis was captured at daybreak by a band of Federal cavalry, at a little place called Irwinville. He was taken to Fortress Monroe, where he was loaded with chains like a common criminal, by order of General Nelson A. Miles, who claimed that he was acting under instructions from E. M. Stanton, secretary of war. The chains were soon removed, but President Davis was kept in confinement two years. After this time he was released without a trial, and spent the rest of his life peace fully at Beauvoir, his beautiful home in Mississippi.
Alexander H. Stephens was also arrested, and sent to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor, where he was at first con fined in a room partly underground. He suffered much on account of the dampness until he was given a more comfortable place. His younger brother, Linton, was al lowed to be with him, and he was treated with great -kind ness during his confinement; but he was too feeble to undergo the hardships of prison life without pain and sickness. It was May when he was arrested, and when he was released in October, his beautiful dark hair had turned almost entirely gray.
As the members of the Confederate cabinet were leav ing Washington, Georgia, a soldier on horseback galloped back to General Toombss house, threw into the yard a bag containing five thousand dollars in gold, and rode swiftly away. Like everybody else in those days, General Toombs needed money very much, but he was too proud to accept this gift from an unknown friend. He had it turned over

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

to a Federal officer with instructions to use it to buy food for Confederate soldiers.
When the Federal soldiers came to arrest General Toombs, he saw them coming and escaped from the back of the house while Mrs. Toombs met them at the front door. She detained them, on pretext of having them

ROBERT TOOMBS.
search the house, for half an hour, while the general gained a place of safety. That night a faithful friend led out to him his famous mare, Gray Alice. This animal had carried him during his campaigns, and now on her back he fled from his pursuers. The Federal cavalry guarded every ford and ferry so closely that it was six months before he could escape from Georgia. All this time he wandered from place to place on Gray Alice. Finally he

AFTER THE SURRENDER

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made his way to Mobile, where he was received into the house of Mrs. Augusta Evans Wilson. She was so afraid that he would be discovered and captured that she dis missed her cook and waited on him with her own hands. He escaped to England, where he remained for several years, until it was safe for him to come home. He then returned and was never molested; but he refused to take the oath of amnesty to the United States government, and was an " unreconstructed rebel" to the day of his death.

BENJAMIN H. Hii.n.
After Lees surrender, Governor Brown surrendered the state troops at Macon and returned to his home, the execu tive mansion at Milledgeville. Here he was arrested, being given only half an hour to make his preparations and to take leave of his family. He was carried to Washington, where, after a weeks confinement, he had an interview with President Johnson and was allowed to return home.
Ben Hill and Howell Cobb were also arrested, but were released after a short imprisonment.

CHAPTER XXXV
RECONSTRUCTION
WHEN the armies of the South surrendered, Congress said that the Southern states were no longer states, be cause they had seceded from the Union. They could not be readmitted to their rights as states and members of the Union until they had agreed to certain things. These were that the negroes should be free; that they should be allowed to vote, hold office, and have all the rights of white citizens; that the states should refuse to pay the debt they had assumed in carrying on the war; atvd ^at people who had held any office before the war and then taken part in the war should not be allowed to hold office again until pardoned by Congress.
President Johnson did not agree with Congress on these matters and an angry quarrel took place between them over the reconstruction of the Southern states. Georgia resisted the interference of Congress in her affairs long and bitterly. Georgia people have always believed that it is the right of a state to govern itself. They were not willing to submit to generals of the United States army and provisional governors, as they were called, appointed by the president or by a general. Because Georgia would not yield without resistance, she was the last state to be readmitted. The reconstruction struggle lasted five years, and it was nearly two years later before the government was actually in the hands of the people of the state.

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General Wilson was the Federal general commanding in Georgia at the close of the war. He would not allow the legislature to assemble, or the state officers to exercise authority. Governor Brown resigned, and President John son appointed James Johnson provisional governor. Then a new legislature was elected, which assembled at Milledgeville, and Charles J. Jenkins, a true son of Georgia, was elected governor by the people and permitted by the

CHARLES J. JENKINS.
president to assume the office. But as the legislature refused to do all Congress required, Georgia was declared to be no longer a state, and together with Alabama and Florida was formed into Military District No. 3, over which General Pope was commander.
About this time Governor Brown went to Washington to see if anything could be done to help the Southern people. On his return he told the people that there was nothingto do but to submit, agree to all the demands of Congress, and wait for better times. This made the

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Georgia people angry, because they could not bear to yield tamely and see their right of self-government taken from them. Governor Brown, who had been so loved and hon ored for his services to the state, was hated and abused. This unpopularity was very intense while it lasted, but he lived to see it all pass away and to find himself once more respected as one of the greatest of Georgians.
Governor Jenkins and Ben Hill took the other side and advised the people not to submit. Indeed, submission was very hard. The acts which the state legislature was required to pass put the slaves on an equality with their former owners, and made it impossible for the wisest and best men of the state to hold office until pardoned by Congress.
At this time there came to the South many poor, un scrupulous politicians from the North, called carpetbag gers, because each carried all he possessed in a single carpetbag. But if poor when they came, they did not long remain so. They put false ideas into the negroes minds, made them dislike the white people, got themselves elected to office, and grew rich by cheating and swindling. The poor negroes heads were entirely turned by freedom. They thought that being free meant never to have any more work to do. They used to sing with great delight:

" No mo Monday mornin; No mo lioein1 in de cornfield; No mo waitin on de white folks;"

and so on, for many verses. In every town, the Republican party established what was called a Freedmens Bureau, where help was given to those negroes who could not or would not support themselves. This only made them

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125

more idle. The carpetbaggers taught them that all the property of the white people would be divided among them; they promised each negro forty acres and a mule. Under these circumstances the negroes became lawless and reckless. They flocked to the towns to live in idle ness. Stock was stolen every night; no property was safe; rioting and murder became common.
Some white men, seeing that the laws for the control of the negroes were not enforced, and knowing how super stitious the black people were, formed a secret society for protection, calling it the Ku-Klux Klan. The members of the Klan never appeared in the daytime; they rode at night, clad in black robes, with black masks over their faces. Their horses were shod with leather or had their feet wrapped with hay to deaden the noise of their hoofs. The riders never spoke if they could make their wishes known by signs. They seemed to be always thirsty; they drank whole buckets of water. Whenever a negro was unruly or thievish, he was sure to receive a visit from the Ku-Klux Klan. Their silence, their blackness, their thirst, made them objects of awe and terror to the ignorant blacks. Nothing else could have checked the negroes lawlessness as did this dreaded Ku-Klux Klan. Sometimes they were cruel to the negroes, and to the white people as well, but in many cases their influence was good.
A convention, ordered by General Pope, was held in Atlanta. It contained a few good men, but the majority consisted of negroes and carpetbaggers. They framed a new constitution to be submitted to the people. The members of the convention were eager for their pay, and demanded forty thousand dollars from John Jones, the

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

state treasurer. He replied that the law forbade him to pay out money except by order of the governor. Gen eral Meade, who had just been appointed military com mander in place of General Pope, told Governor Jenkins to write the order.
But Governor Jenkins was a Georgian of the same kind as Troup, Jackson, Cobb, Brown, and others who had preceded him. He replied that such a use of the states money was contrary to law. General Meade immediately removed him from his position as governor of Georgia, and appointed Colonel Ruger to fill the office. He also appointed Captain Rockwell to be treasurer in place of Mr. Jones. But they found no money to pay the con vention, for Governor Jenkins had taken four hundred thousand dollars, all that was in the treasury, and the great seal, and had left the state. He deposited the money in a bank in New York; then, determined that no military despot should profane the great seal, the symbol of author ity of a free people, he carried it with him to Nova Scotia, where he remained until it was safe for him to return.
An election was held, and by the vote of negroes and carpetbaggers, Rufus B. Bullock became governor. This election also made Atlanta the state capital. The very month when Bullock was inaugurated governor, Georgia was readmitted to the Union.
Immediately the legislature expelled its negro members. Congress retaliated by refusing to allow the Georgia sena tors and representatives to be seated, and making Georgia a military district under the command of General Terry Orders were sent to Governor Bullock to reorganize the legislature and reseat the negro members. This was done, but in a most disorderly way, without regard to law or

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127

right. The attention of Congress was called to the illegal acts of the Georgia legislature. The judiciary committee of Congress held an investigation, and at length reported that the proceedings of the legislature \vere improper and contrary to law. Georgia was finally admitted to the Union, July the fifteenth, 1870.
One of the saddest features of this sad time was the con tinual misunderstanding between the North and the South. The Southern people believed that the whole North was hostile, whereas the politicians in Congress were making all of the trouble. The North was filled with wild tales of what happened in the South, of cruelty to the negroes and Southern hatred of the Union. Thus, while the good men both North and South grieved over the state of affairs, they were deceived by the falsehoods of the poli ticians. Governor Bullock helped to spread these false and cruel tales and to make the Northern people believe that the white citizens of Georgia hated and oppressed the negroes.
In October, 1871, fearful that his fraud and extravagance would be discovered, Bullock resigned and fled from the state. He had been gone a week before his resignation was made public. Benjamin Conley, president of the sen ate, acted as governor until an election could be held.
On the twelfth of January, 1872, James M. Smith, who had been elected by the people, was inaugurated governor. Once more Georgia was a free, self-governing state. The long misrule of reconstruction was at an end, and the people rejoiced. Our senators and representatives were now seated among the other lawmakers at Washington, taking part in the councils of the nation. The stars and stripes floating above us no longer represented an enemy,

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

but the glorious Union, the sisterhood of states of which Georgia was a part.
Ex-governor Jenkins came home from Nova Scotia, bringing back the seal of the state. He delivered it to Governor Smith with the statement that it gave him great satisfaction to know that the state emblem had never been desecrated by the grasp of a military usurpers hand, never used to authenticate the official misdeeds of an upstart pretender. The legislature presented to Governor Jenkins a facsimile of the seal, bearing a Latin motto, IN ARDUIS FIDELIS, which means FAITHFUL IN DIFFICULTIES.

CHAPTER XXXVI
THE GROWTH OF THE STATE
THE Georgia people were not satisfied with the consti tution which had been framed by the carpetbag convention. Moreover, the question of the state capital had never been definitely settled ; both Milledgeville and Atlanta eagerly desired that honor. A convention met in Atlanta in rS/7 and framed a new and satisfactory constitution, which was adopted by the people in December and is in use to this day. At the same election Atlanta was made the per manent capital.
A handsome capital building of limestone, finished within with Georgia marble, was erected in this city. One remarkable fact about this statehouse is that it cost less than the money which the state had appropriated to build it, and when all the expenses were paid, a small balance was returned to the treasury by the commissioners %vho had the work in charge. Such a thing has never happened in connection with the building of any other state capitol. The legislature gave the commissioners a vote of thanks for their honesty and economy in the use of the states money.
From 1872 to 1894, a. period of twenty-two years, Georgia had a series of governors who had served the Confederate cause. The first of these was James M. Smith. He was succeeded by General Alfred H. Colquitt, who had won fame for himself in Florida, where he was
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GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL, ATLANTA.

THE GROWTH OF THE STATE

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victor at the battle of Olustee. Next came the brilliant Alexander H. Stephens, who was elected governor at the age of seventy years. But he died after he had held the office only a few months, and the whole state mourned for him. In spite of a delicate body and constant ill health, he had enjoyed every honor that his fellow-citizens could bestow upon him, having been chosen member of the legislature, member of Congress, United States senator, vice president of the Confederacy, and governor of the state. Honor still folknvs him, even since his death, for his statue will be placed in the National Hall of Fame together with that of Dr. Long. These two Georgia men, on account of the service which they have rendered their state, have been deemed most worthy of this honor.
James S. Boynton, president of the senate, filled the office of governor for a short time after the death of Stephens, until an election could be held. Henry D. McDaniel, another Confederate veteran, was then chosen by the people. After him came General John 33. Gordon, who had been General Lees most efficient helper in those last trying days in Virginia just before the surrender at Appomattox. The next governor was William J. Northen, who closed for a time this honored list of soldiers, for William Y. Atkinson, who succeeded him, was too young to wear the gray uniform. But Alien D. Candler, who came next, had been a brave soldier and had lost one eye in battle. He was followed by Joseph M. Terrell, who now holds the proud position of governor of Georgia, and who, like Atkinson, was too young to be a Confederate soldier.
These governors were men of whom Georgia is justly proud. They have upheld the honor of the state, have

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administered the laws with justice, and have been worthy members of the long and splendid line which began with Oglethorpe.
Governor Brown outlived his unpopularity, and again served his state as judge and as United States senator. Ben Hill made the walls of the senate chamber at Wash ington ring once more with his fiery eloquence. Another son of Georgia, Charles F. Crisp, has filled with credit the position of speaker of the national House of Representa tives, to which he was elected in 1890; and still another, Hoke Smith, has shown great efficiency as secretary of the interior in President Clevelands cabinet.
Between the years of 1880 and 1890, a young Georgian, Henry W. Grady, made himself very popular, both in the North and the South, by his persuasive eloquence. His silver tongue, preaching love and harmony, did much to bring the two sections into friendlier relations. He origi nated the name " The New South," by which is meant the new spirit of enterprise which is building up the South. Unfortunately, his gifted life was cut short just when he seemed to be doing the most good. After a brilliant speech at Boston, Massachusetts, which won the hearts of all his hearers, he returned home to die of pneumonia con tracted during the journey. His death occurred just at Christmas time, and the mourning for him saddened the Christmas joy in every home in the state.
In 1898 the people of the South had an opportunity to show that they could follow the stars and stripes as valiantly as they had followed the Confederate flag. The island of Cuba, which belonged to Spain, was so badly governed that the inhabitants determined to shake off the Spanish rule. They appealed to the United States for help. The

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United States battleship J\fainc, anchored in the harbor of Havana, was blown up by an explosion, under rather sus picious circumstances, and most of her crew were killed. The United States declared war against Spain, and called on the various states for soldiers. Three Georgia regi-

MONUMEST TO HENRY W. GRAINY.
ments were quickly enlisted, and while most of the soldiers were young men, a few gray-haired veterans of the lost cause showed their loyalty to the Union by volunteering. The most conspicuous among them was General A. R. Lawton. But this war lasted only a few months. A treaty of peace was made with Spain in August, 1898.
Since that glad day in January, 1872, when James M.

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Smith was inaugurated, the growth of Georgia in wealth and prosperity has been constant Men set to work with new energy ; farms were cultivated, vineyards and orchards set out, bridges and railroads built, cotton mills erected, and all the resources of the state developed by a happy and industrious people. At first the white people de pended too much upon negro labor, not realizing that they must go to work themselves; many failed because they went into debt to furnish rations to the negro hands whom they employed in the cultivation of cotton. When the cotton was sold at a low price, the planters could not pay their debts. Sometimes too much cotton was raised, and not enough corn and meat, sometimes farms were mort gaged and sold, some people did not know how to manage their business, some were idle, and some were unfortunate. But the majority soon learned to stop relying upon negro labor and to work with their own hands. So the state prospered, until now(rgO4) her wealth is nearly as great as before the war.
Georgia, so long a distinctly agricultural state, has in the last few years given much attention to her manufacturing interests. It has proved the more economical plan to manufacture cotton goods in the country where the cotton is raised. The excellent water power of the various rivers has been utilized, and many large mills have been estab lished. Besides cotton mills, there are knitting, hosiery, and woolen mills in the state. In the large cities, machin ery, farming implements, and furniture are manufactured. A great commercial and manufacturing interest has arisen, and numerous small industries add to the wealth of the state.
The mining interests have also received considerable attention in recent years. The finest quality of marble is

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<]ua/ricd in Pickcns and Chcrokce counties. Stone Moun tain furnishes an inexhaustible supply of building granite. Iron, coal, gold, and bauxite arc also mined in Georgia.
During the last few years the culture of silk in Georgia has been revived. The northern sections of the state have been found to be better adapted to the growth of the silkworm than the southern regions. Factories for the manufacture of silk goods have been built in many states. The demand for raw silk is increasing, and it is probable that in the near future silk culture will be an im portant industry in north Georgia.
These varied industries arc changing the character of the population from a purely agricultural people to one engaged in many and busy pursuits; but raising cotton is still, and will probably be for some time, the chief occu pation of the state.

CHAPTER XXXVII
SOME GEORGIA INVENTIONS
IT sometimes happens that two or more men, in differ ent parts of the world, have their minds fixed on solving the same question, and at length the same idea comes to each of them, so that it is difficult to toll which one was really the first to make the great discovery. It was so with the invention of the steamboat and the discovery of anaesthesia.
Robert Fulton is usually regarded as the inventor of steam navigation, but one year before he launched the Clcrmont on the Hudson River, William Longstreet of Augusta, Georgia, had made a successful trip with a steamboat on the Savannah. He believed that boats could be propelled by steam, and had been making experi ments for a long time. His neighbors laughed at his idea, and called him foolish, but he persevered in his trials until, in 1806, he announced to his friends that he was ready to show them that he had been right.
A few of the bravest of these friends embarked with him; some others followed in a rowboat, to pick up the adventurers from the water if the steamboat should ex plode. Longstreet carried his passengers a few miles down the river, then turned and steamed up the river some dis tance beyond the point of starting, and returned to the landing. The boat did not blow up, and his experiment was a success.
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137

William Longstrcet was a modest, retiring man, and did not care to take out a patent of his invention, although his friends urged him to do so. Some of them decided to go to Washington and press the matter for him, but while they delayed, they heard that Robert Fulton had made his successful attempt and taken out a patent. Longstreet would not contend for his rights. He was content to have accomplished his purpose, and did not care to receive credit for it. It is engraved on his tombstone that " All

THE " SAVANNAH."
fn 1819 the SaTannah made the voyage from Savannah to Liverpool, thence to St. Petersburg. It was the first vessel to cross the ocean by the u*e of steam.
the days of the afflicted are evil, but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."
The second inventor, or rather discoverer, of whom Georgia has great reason to be proud made a valuable con tribution to medical science through his investigation of anaesthesia. Anaesthesia is that insensibility to pain which is produced by some such medicine as ether or chloroform. Before its discovery, patients undergoing surgical opera tions had to bear the horror of feeling every stab of the knife. Dr. Crawford W. Long, a physician of Jefferson,

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Jackson County, Georgia, conceived the idea of render ing patients unconscious of pain during surgical opera tions. He had noticed that inhaling sulphuric ether made people unconscious. In 1842 he administered sulphuric ether to Mr. James Venable and removed a tumor from his neck, thus performing the first painless surgical opera tion. Thousands of precious lives have been saved and an untold amount of suffering prevented by this discovery, which is one of the greatest blessings ever conferred on the human race.
Several other men made the same discovery soon after 1842, and claimed all the credit for it; but it is now proved beyond a doubt that the operation performed by Dr. Long was the very first in which an anaesthetic was used. He is one of those two sons of Georgia who have been honored by having their statues placed in the Natiooa Hall of Fame.

After it was found that the soil and climate of Georgia were suited to the production of cotton, a difficulty pre sented itself which rendered the cotton crop of small value. The process of separating the lint from the seed by hand was a tedious one. To separate one pound of lint was a good days work for a negro woman.
In 1793 a young man from Massachusetts, Eli Whitney, was living at Mulberry Grove, the estate of General Greenes widow, on the Savannah River. Several planters were speaking of the difficulty of separating cotton from the seed, when Mrs. Greene suggested to them that they ask Mr. Whitney to make them a machine to perform this labor. He readily consented to try, and devoted that whole winter to the work. In 1794 he announced to a few friends

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that the cotton gin was ready. It is hard to estimate the immense importance of this invention. We may begin to understand its value when we remember that in 1791 the South shipped to England only 379 cotton bales, while ten years after the cotton gin came into general use, 82,000 bales were shipped. The production of cotton brought wealth to Georgia, and gave her citizens political position and prominence in the affairs of the nation.

WHITNF.VS COTTON GIN.
After the original model.
But the people who derived so much benefit from Mr. Whitneys invention did not treat him well. The building in which his machine was hidden was broken open and his gin was carried away and used as a model by unscrupulous people, who put his invention into use. Mr. Whitney spent several years in lawsuits, contending for his rights, and then turned his attention in other directions. His work in making arms was successful, and his other inventions prospered, so that he became very wealthy, but the sad truth remains that some of the people of Georgia robbed and cheated him, and he never received anything in this state for the cotton gin which made Georgia rich.

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Another Georgia invention is the sewing machine. Our grandmothers used to sit stitching with patient fingers for long hours to accomplish what a sewing machine does in a few minutes. Rev. Frank R. Goulding watched his wife sewing to provide the necessary clothing for a large family of children, and to lighten her labors he invented the sew ing machine, which she was the first woman to use.

CHAPTER XXXVIII
GEORGIA SCHOOLS
WHEN the settlers of Georgia built their homes in the woods and began to cut down the forests and cultivate the land, one of their first cares was to establish schools for their children. The first schools were very simple, and the boys and girls of this day would find many strange things in the old-field schools, as they were called.
Our grandfathers and grandmothers went to school in a little log cabin, set somewhat back from the road, usually on a hill near a spring. In winter the chinks between the logs were filled with red clay to keep out the cold. In spring the daubing was knocked out for the sake of venti lation, and the fresh air, sweet with the smell of the pine woods, came in through the cracks, as well as through the door and window.
To this place the children came in the early morning, when the shadows were long and the dew lay on the grass. They sometimes came from houses four miles away, for a tramp of four miles in the morning air was a trifling mat ter to the barefooted boys and girls of those days. And such pleasures they had on the way! The mocking bird sang to them from the top of the black gum tree; the gray squirrels scampered along the rail fence by the roadside; in the fence corners grew blackberries and muscadines; there were " branches," as they called them, where bare feet might wade; and throwing stones was not forbidden,
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as it annoyed no one. There was no such thing as being tardy. They left home after breakfast and arrived at school when they could, yet they did not loiter on the way.
Inside the school there were long benches without backs, on which the children sat while they studied, boys on one side of the room, girls on the other. Against one wall stood the writing desk, where eight or ten pupils could write in their copy books at one time. The teacher set all the copies and made all the pens from goose quills brought by the children. Everybody studied the blue-backed speller. It was named Websters Elementary Spelling Book, but it was called the blue-back from its dark blue cover. The larger boys, who ciphered (that is, did work in arithmetic), were allowed to sit out under the trees and study. They came into the schoolroom only to recite lessons. When fresh water was needed, two of the boys went to the spring, carrying the bucket between them on a pole. When they returned, the water was passed around, and each pupil helped himself with the long-handled gourd.
There was no clock or watch, but when the sunlight, falling through the open door, reached a certain mark on the floor, books were laid aside and the school swarmed out for its playtime of two hours. Then tin buckets were opened, and the dinners which had been put up in the morning by thoughtful mothers were eaten under the trees or down at the spring. These pupils had no schoolyard ; to keep them from straying too far, certain bounds were appointed by the teachers. Any orchard within those bounds was open to the children, for fruit was as free as spring water in those days. If the children did not break the trees, they might eat what fruit they wished.

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There was no bell. At the proper time, the teacher came to the door and called " Books! " in a loud voice, and the children returned to the schoolroom. Those were the times when people believed in the switch. It was a rare day at school when some boy did not get a whipping. When the teacher saw a boy in mischief, he picked up the switch, which always lay ready at hand, and pitched it toward the offender. The boy at whose feet it fell had to pick it up and bring it to the teacher; and he usually had to take his whipping then and.there.
When the shadows were long the other way, the children started home down the winding red road, carrying their empty tin buckets to be filled with roadside treasures,
blackberries, persimmons, chinquepins, each in its sea son.
Sometimes the larger boys planned to turn the teacher out of school and compel him to give them a holiday. They managed to arrive at the school first and to bar the door. If the teacher could break in, the holiday was lost; but sometimes the teacher was good-natured, and did not try very hard.
It was the deadliest insult that could be offered the school for a passer-by to call " School butter!" Then all the boys raced after him, and he had better run fast, for if they caught him, they gave him a beating or a ducking.
In course of time, academies for teaching the higher branches were established in the various towns. Governor John Milledge gave the state 630 acres of land, where the city of Athens now stands, for a state university. It was first called Franklin College. When the college was opened in 1801, with Josiah Meigs as president, there

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were only two houses in Athens. The first commencement was held three years later under an oak tree.
The name was afterwards changed to that of State University, and its president is now called chancellor. Other schools were founded at Athens, so that the city has become an educational center of considerable impor tance. The State University embraces not only the cen tral institution at Athens, but the Medical College at Augusta, branch colleges at Dahlonega, Milledgeville, Cuthbert, and Thomasville, the Technological School at Atlanta, the Normal School at Athens, the Girls Normal and Industrial School at Milledgeville, and the Industrial1 College for negroes at Savannah. These all belong to the state and are under the supervision of the university chancellor.
In 1833 the Baptists established at Penfield a manual training school which afterwards grew to be Mercer Uni versity. The school was named for Jesse Mercer, a noted Baptist preacher, and one of its main purposes was to train young men for the ministry. Billington M. Sanders was its first president. The school opened with thirtynine students in two double log cabins with a garret in earb.. These served for study, dining room, and dormitory. The university was chartered in 1839. In 1871 it was removed to Macon, where its beautiful buildings are an ornament to the city, and its elevating moral influence is felt throughout the state.
In 1837 the Methodists founded Emory College at Oxford, named for Bishop Emory. Its first president was Ignatius A. Few. Emory College was founded with the especial purpose of helping young men of limited means to secure an education.

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To the Methodists also belongs the honor of having established the first college for women in the world. This is the Wesleyan Female College at Macon, established in 1839. Bishop George F. Pierce was its first president, and much of the success of the college is due to his tireless efforts.
The Presbyterians had a school at Midway called Oglethorpe College. Like all the Georgia colleges, it was closed during the war, and could not be successfully re vived afterwards.
These are only a few of the most prominent schools of the state. There are many others, for both young men and young women, scattered over the country from the mountains to the sea.
Money has been freely spent in Georgia by Northern people for the higher education of negroes. Clarke Uni versity, the Atlanta University, Spellman Seminary, and the Morris-Brown Institute, all in Atlanta, as well as the Payne Institute at Augusta, offer superior advantages to them.
In 1871 the free-school system was first put into opera tion in Georgia. Five months schooling each year is furnished every child, white or black. Besides, all the cities and larger towns have local systems which keep schools open for nine months in each year; and in many country districts where only five months are provided for, parents are so anxious to have their children well taught that private schools are carried on after the public term is ended.

CHAPTER XXXIX
GEORGIA WRITERS
WHILE the state of Georgia has been growing from the little settlement at Yamacraw Bluff to its present wealth and power; while farmers have been toiling in the field, and business has kept the cities stirring; while war has desolated the land, and peace has afterwards healed the wounds; all this time men have been putting into books the life of the people, with its beauty and its sadness, its laughter and its tears. So now we can learn to know our state in two ways: we can travel through it from Tallulah Falls to Okefinokee Swamp, and see all its rivers and cities, and talk with merchants, farmers, lawyers, and factory people; or we can read the books that our best writers have made for us, and so learn what kind of lives the people of Georgia have lived during the one hundred and seventy years of our history. These books are of four kinds: they are histories, stories, poetry, and humorous writings.
Charles C. Jones has given us a faithful and accurate account of the state from the first settlement until the end of the Revolution. George White, in two books called " His torical Collections of Georgia," and " Statistics of the State of Georgia," has brought together all the story of the early days of the state. Alexander H. Stephens, in the midst of his busy life, and in spite of constant sickness, found time to write several histories. Another statesman, Thomas E.
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147

Watson, has recently contributed some historical works to the literature of the state.
Augusta Evans Wilson, the famous novelist, was born at Columbus, but her family removed to Texas when she was a young girl. She spent most of her life in and near Mobile. Some of her books are very popular, although they have been severely criticised for the learned style in which they are written.
Dr. F. R. Goulding, who invented the sewing machine for his wife, wrote for his children a charming story called "The Young Marooners." The characters in this book are the children of his own family ; he read it to them as it was written, chapter by chapter, giving his own boys and girls the first opportunity to enjoy a story which has given, pleasure to so many children.
Mrs. Mary E. Bryan, though not a native of this state, has spent much of her life in Georgia. She now lives at Clarkston. She has written largely for periodicals, and she has also published several novels.
Our most famous poet is Sidney Lanier, who was born in Macon in 1842. From his earliest childhood he showed unusual fondness for music. He could play on several instruments, though the violin was his favorite. Some times the boy became so overcome with the passionate sweetness of his music that he fell into a sort of ecstatic trance. This tendency alarmed his father, who persuaded Sidney to give up the violin. He then began playing the flute, and became the finest flute player in America. The hardships of army and prison life in the Civil War wrecked the poets health and gave him consumption. With heroic determination he struggled against disease. He supported himself and his family by playing the flute in concerts

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in Baltimore and by lecturing on literature. All the time he was writing his beautiful poems. Finally his strength failed, and in September, 1881, he died among the mountains of North Carolina. Not until after Laniers death was his poetry fully appreciated; but now he is regarded as one of the greatest poets America has ever
produced.

SIDSEY LAMER
The brave Henry R. Jackson was equally gifted with the sword and the pen, for he fought gallantly in two wars, and wrote some good poems, one of which is the universal favorite, " The Red, Old Hills of Georgia."
Lanier and Jackson were natives of Georgia; we have besides several poets who were not born in the state, but whom we claim because they lived a part of their lives among us. Richard Henry Wilde, who wrote the little song, " My Life is like the Summer Rose," was a native of Ireland and came to this country in his early childhood. He lived in Augusta, as did also Father Ryan, who has been called the " Poet-Priest-Warrior of the South," and

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James R. Randall, the author of " Maryland, My Mary land." Paul H. Hayne wrote many beautiful poems. Though a native of South Carolina, Hayne spent many years at his home called Copse Hill near Augusta.
In recent years a group of poets has grown up in Atlanta, among whom may be mentioned Charles W. Hubner, Orelia Key Bell, Montgomery M. Folsom, and Frank L. Stanton.
Georgia people have always been fond of a joke, and Georgia has produced her share of humorous writers. Judge A. B. Longstreet, son of William Longstreet, the inventor of the steamboat, wrote among other things a book called " Georgia Scenes," a series of sketches of Cracker life and manners which has afforded amusement for many readers. Judge Longstreet, who was successively lawyer, judge, preacher, and college president, was ashamed of his book in his later years, and tried to suppress it; but a book so full of fun could not be suppressed.
Colonel William Thompson, a native of Ohio, who edited newspapers in several Georgia towns, was the author of a humorous story of Georgia life called " Major Joness Courtship."
Richard Malcolm Johnston, a native of Hancock County, has also written a series of Cracker stories which have been greatly admired. Like Longstreet, he was a teacher, and had a school near Baltimore until a few years ago.
Charles H. Smith, or Bill Arp, as he called himself, has written much for the newspapers, and has published sev eral books. He is sometimes called the Cherokee Philos opher.
The prince of Georgia humorists is Joel Chandler Harris, or Uncle Remus. Every boy and girl knows the

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THE STORY OF GEORGIA

story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, and all the other tales which Uncle Remus told the little boy by the cabin fire. Mr. Harris was born at Eatonton. In his childhood he heard from the negroes themselves the stories with which he has delighted children all over the United States and even in England. He has lived in Atlanta during much of his life and has been engaged in newspaper work in connection with the Atlanta Constitution. His home is in the beautiful suburb of West End.

GOVERNORS OF GEORGIA

Colonial
Gen. James E. Oglethorpe . 1732 William Stephens (Acting) . 1743 Henry Parker (Acting) . .1751
Provincial
John Reynolds. .... 1754 Henry Ellis ...... 1757 James Wright ..... 1760
Provisional
Archibald Bulloch, President 1776 Button Gwinnett, President 1777
State
John A. Treutlen .... 1777 John Houston ..... 1778 John Wereat ..... 1778 George Walton .... 1779 Richard Howley .... 1780 Stephen Heard .... 1781 Nathan Brownson. . . .1781 John Martin ..... 1782 Lyman Hall. ..... 1783 John Houston ..... 1784 Samuel Elbert ..... 1785 Edward Telfair. . . . .1786 George Matthews .... 1787 George Handley .... 1788

George Walton .... 1789 Edward Telfair..... 1790 George Matthews .... 1793 Jared Invin ...... 1796 James Dickson ..... 1798 David Emanuel .... 1801 Josiah Tatnall . . . . .1801 John Milledge ..... 1802 Jared Irwin ...... 1806 David B. Mitchell .... 1809 Peter Early ...... 1813 David B. Mitchell. . . .1815 William Rabun . . . .1817 Matthew Talbot, President
of Senate ..... 1819 John Clark ...... 1819 George M. Troup .... 1823 John Forsyth ..... 1827 George R. Gilmer. . . . 1829 Wilson Lumpkin . . . .1831 William Schley. . . . . 1833 George R. Gilmer. . . . 1837 Charles J. McDonald . . . 1839 George \V. Crawford. . .1843 George W. Towns . . .1847 Howell Cobb . . . . . 1851 Herschel V. Johnson. . . 1853 Joseph E. Brown .... 1857 James Johnson, Provisional
GoT.'ernor ..... 1865

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GOVERNORS OF GEORGIA

Slate, (Continued)
Charles J. Jenkins . . . 1865 Gen. T. H. Ruger, U. S. S-,
Military Governor . . 1868 Rufus H. Bullock . . . .1868 Benjamin Conley, President
of Senate ..... 1871 James M. Smith .... 1872 Alfred H. Colquitt . . .1876

Alexander H. Stephens . . 1882 James S. Boynton, President
of Senate ..... 1883 Henry D. McDaniel . . .1883 John B. Gordon .... 1886 \V. J. Northen ..... 1890 W. Y. Atkinson .... 1894 A. D. Candler ..... 1898 Joseph M. Terrell.... 1902