1807]

FULTON'S GREAT INVENTION.

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Full of the thought, Fulton went to Paris, and there, amid discouragements of various kinds, devised an engine adapted to the purpose. In 1806, he returned to New York; and, aided by Mr. Livingston, whom he had met in France, he commenced on the East River the construction of the first steamboat. It was 100 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. The work went on, though it was prophesied on all sides that it would

be a failure. At last the boat (originally named the Clermont, but af terwards the North River) was completed, and removed to the Jersey shore. On the

2nd of September,

FULTON'S CLERMONT.

1807, Mr. Fulton invited his friends to join him on a trial trip. The word was given, but it was found that the engine Iwould not move. Who can conceive Fulton's anxiety, as he hastens below to ascertain the cause of the difficulty? Is the cherished project of years after all but a dream? Is he to incur loss and ridicule by the utter failure of his plans? No! he finds the obstacle, removes it. The wheels revolve, and the boat glides freely over the waters of the Hudson. Honor and fortune are his: a giant stride has been taken in the march of intellect.

The Clermont plied for some years between New York and Albany. Before this the passage had been made in sloops, and required from six to ten days. The Clermont performed it in 36 hours, at a charge of $7 to each passenger. For several years the Hudson could boast of the only steamboat in the world.

whom was it made? What is said of Fulton's previous history? What had Darwin written shortly before? Where did Fulton devise his first engine? Where did he then go? By whom was he aided? Where did he commence the construction of his boat? What were its dimensions? What was its name? Give an account of the trial trip. What became of the Clermont? What is said of the time and price of a passage be

458. In the summer of 1809, Thomas Paine, whose writings had been of great service to the patriot cause in the Revolution, died in his 73rd year. He was born in Norfolk, England, received an imperfect education, and in early life followed his father's vocation, which was that of a stay-maker. A political pamphlet, of which he was the author, introduced him to the notice of Franklin, by whose advice he went to America. He arrived on the eve of the Revolutionary struggle, and, by his famous pamphlet entitled "Common Sense" and other publications, helped to impress on the minds of the people the necessity of an entire separation from the mother country. The legislature of Pennsylvania recognized his services by presenting him £500. Congress voted him $3,000; and from New York he received 500 acres of land. Paine subsequently took part in the French Revolution, but was arrested and imprisoned, and narrowly escaped with his life. At the age of 65, he returned to America; but his attacks on religion, added to his intemperate habits, prevented him from being treated with the consideration which he would otherwise have received, and his life closed in obscurity and wretchedness.

CHAPTER IV.

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION, FROM 1809 TO 1812.

459. JEFFERSON was succeeded, March 4, 1809, by James Madison of Virginia, who appointed Robert Smith, of Maryland, secretary of state. George Clinton was reëlected vice-president. The difficulties with Great Britain first en gaged the president's attention. The non-intercourse act,

tween New York and Albany? How long did the Clermont remain the only steamboat in the world? 458. Who died in the summer of 1809? Where was Thomas Paine born? What vocation did he follow in early life? What introduced him to Franklin's notice? What services did he render in the Revolution? How were these services rewarded? What was Paine's subsequent history?

459. By whom was Jefferson succeeded? Who was elected vice-president at the same time with Madison? What subject first engaged the president's attention? Give

1811] THE PRESIDENT AND THE LITTLE BELT.

339

passed just before his inauguration, was still in force, but did not afford a sufficient remedy. The popular cry of "Free Trade and sailors' rights" was

heard all over the land; and government at last made peremptory demands of England, the refusal of which, it was understood, would result in war. No concessions could be obtained. Mr. Pinkney, disappointed in his ne

gotiations, left London on the 1st of March, 1811; and shortly afterwards Mr. Madison dismissed the British minister.

460. Waffairs were in this position, Captain Bingham, of the British p-of-war Little Belt, discovered at a dis tance the American ship President, under Commodore Rodgers, and gave chase. As he neared the President, Captain Bingham began to doubt whether he was authorized in making an attack, and i finally altered his course. The American commodore now in turn pursued. As he approached, a gun was fired from the Little Belt, and an engagement followed. The British vessel was severely injured, and thirty of her men were disabled. On the President, but one was

wounded.

461. The charter of the Bank or the United States expired on the 4th of March, 1811. Its management had been judicious, and its effects beneficial; but, after a long discussion, which engaged the leading statesmen of the country, both houses refused to recharter it; the senate by the

an account of what passed between Great Britain and the United States in the early years of Madison s administration. 460. Give an account of the engagement between the Little Belt and the President. 461. When did the charter of the Bank of the U. States expire?

casting vote of the vice-president, the lower house by a majority of one.

462. The rapid strides with which the western Indians beheld civilization advancing upon them once more awakened their hostility, and made them ready, despite their fears of Wayne's threat, to unite under the first shrewd leader that should present himself. Such a leader was found in the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. This famous "king of the woods" was born on the Mad River, Ohio, in 1768. He was distinguished in childhood for bravery and endurance, and, when he grew up, took part in the various battles fought by his people in defence of their hunting-grounds. He had uniformly opposed the cession of territory to the United States, and had refused his signature to the treaty made with Wayne. Finding it for the time useless to resist, he had then tried to wean his countrymen from their intemperate habits, and to form such a combination among all the Indian tribes as would prevent any further sale of their lands. Partial success in these efforts encouraged Tecumseh to assume a bolder tone. He denied the validity of existing treaties; and, when the U. S. agent remonstrated with him for transgressing the bounds settled by Wayne, he replied that "the Great Spirit above knew no bounds, neither would his red children acknowledge any".

The efforts of the Shawnee chief were seconded by his brother, who pretended to be a prophet sent by the Great Spirit to reform his countrymen. While Tecumseh was engaged in visiting the frontier tribes for a distance of 1,000 miles, the Prophet was acquiring great influence among the adjacent nations. Crowds flocked to hear the new doctrines which he preached. He finally fixed his head-quarters at the mouth of the Tippecanoe (in the western part of Indiana), where he built a town for his followers. Supported by his brother's influence and encouraged by British agents, TeWhat is said of the attempts to recharter it? 462. What once more awakened the hos tility of the western Indians? Who appeared as their leader? Where was Tecumseh born? What is said of his early history? Finding it useless to resist, to what did he confine his efforts? Encouraged by his success, what ground did he finally take? By whom were Tecumseh's efforts seconded? What did the Prophet pretend? In what

1811]

TECUMSEH'S VISIT TO THE CREEKS.

341

cumseh in 1810 felt that the time for action had arrived. A messenger was sent to Gov. Harrison to ask for a conference, and the wily chief received permission to visit Vincennes with a small party of warriors. He came with 400. The suspicions of the general were awakened, and in making arrangements for the council, which was held in a grove near the town, he took care to provide against treachery. It was well he did so. While he was speaking in reply to Tecumseh, the latter insolently interrupted him, and the other Red Men made hostile movements as if for an attack. The decisive measures of Gov. Harrison, however, overawed them, and Tecumseh was allowed to depart with a rebuke for his perfidy.

463. In 1811, after paying Gov. Harrison another visit, and disavowing all hostile purposes, Tecumseh went to the South, to bring over the Creeks to his league. Some of the tribes willingly listened to his fiery harangues, and accepted the bundle of red sticks, which was the emblem of their union for a bloody war; but one of the Georgia chiefs received the sticks in such a way that Tecumseh distrusted his sincerity. Sternly eyeing the suspected warrior, he threatened the whole tribe with the vengeance of Heaven, and declared that when he reached Detroit he would stamp on the ground and shake down every house in their village. The Creeks counted the days; and by a strange coincidence, when the predicted time had about arrived, the whole southern country was visited by an earthquake. Trees that had borne the gales of centuries trembled and fell; the waters of the Mississippi were convulsed; and the town of New Madrid was swallowed up by its boiling waves. As the terrified Creeks beheld the earth shake and their wigwams totter and fall, they remembered the vengeful words of the Shawnee, and cried in consternation, "Tecumseh has reached Detroit!"

was he engaged, while Tecumseh was enlisting the more distant tribes? In 1810, what did Tecumseh do? Give an account of his interview with Gen. Harrison. 463. In 1811, where did Tecumseh go? For what purpose? How was he received? What passed between him and one of the Georgia chiefs? How was Tecumseh's threatening