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[Illustration: BATTLE OF ANTIETAM.]




  Edition d'Elite


  Historical Tales
  The Romance of Reality

  By
  CHARLES MORRIS

  _Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," "Tales from the
  Dramatists," etc._


  IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES
  Volume II


  American
  2


  J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
  PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON




Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.

Copyright, 1908, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.




  _CONTENTS._

                                                         PAGE

  PONCE DE LEON AND THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH                   7

  DE SOTO AND THE FATHER OF WATERS                         13

  THE LOST COLONY OF ROANOKE                               23

  THE THRILLING ADVENTURE OF CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH            29

  THE INDIAN MASSACRE IN VIRGINIA                          40

  THE GREAT REBELLION IN THE OLD DOMINION                  49

  CHEVALIER LA SALLE THE EXPLORER OF THE MISSISSIPPI       62

  THE FRENCH OF LOUISIANA AND THE NATCHEZ INDIANS          76

  THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE                      88

  HOW OGLETHORPE SAVED GEORGIA FROM SPAIN                  95

  A BOY'S WORKING HOLIDAY IN THE WILDWOOD                 104

  PATRICK HENRY, THE HERALD OF THE REVOLUTION             113

  GOVERNOR TRYON AND THE CAROLINA REGULATORS              124

  LORD DUNMORE AND THE GUNPOWDER                          135

  THE FATAL EXPEDITION OF COLONEL ROGERS                  145

  HOW COLONEL CLARK WON THE NORTHWEST                     153

  KING'S MOUNTAIN AND THE PATRIOTS OF TENNESSEE           166

  GENERAL GREENE'S FAMOUS RETREAT                         171

  ELI WHITNEY, THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON-GIN             185

  HOW OLD HICKORY FOUGHT THE CREEKS                       193

  THE PIRATES OF BARATARIA BAY                            206

  THE HEROES OF THE ALAMO                                 217

  HOW HOUSTON WON FREEDOM FOR TEXAS                       225

  CAPTAIN ROBERT E. LEE AND THE LAVA-BEDS                 231

  A CHRISTMAS DAY ON THE PLANTATION                       241

  CAPTAIN GORDON AND THE RACCOON ROUGHS                   252

  STUART'S FAMOUS CHAMBERSBURG RAID                       261

  FORREST'S CHASE OF THE RAIDERS                          277

  EXPLOITS OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER                           291

  FONTAIN, THE SCOUT, AND THE BESIEGERS OF VICKSBURG      302

  GORDON AND THE BAYONET CHARGE AT ANTIETAM               311

  THE LAST TRIUMPH OF STONEWALL JACKSON                   319

  JOHN MORGAN'S FAMOUS RAID                               331

  HOME-COMING OF GENERAL LEE AND HIS VETERANS             347




  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

  AMERICAN. VOLUME II.


                                                    PAGE

  BATTLE OF ANTIETAM                       _Frontispiece._

  ALONG THE COAST OF FLORIDA                           9

  DE SOTO DISCOVERING THE MISSISSIPPI                 19

  POCAHONTAS                                          32

  JAMESTOWN RUIN                                      54

  COALING A MOVING BOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER      73

  OLD SPANISH FORT, ST. AUGUSTINE                     98

  HOME OF MARY WASHINGTON, FREDERICKSBURG, VA        108

  HOME OF PATRICK HENRY DURING HIS LAST TWO
    TERMS AS GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA                    114

  ST. JOHN'S CHURCH                                  122

  OLD MAGAZINE AT WILLIAMSBURG                       138

  VIEW IN THE NORTHWESTERN MOUNTAINS                 155

  COTTON-GIN                                         186

  JACKSON'S BIRTHPLACE                               198

  THE ALAMO                                          218

  COTTON FIELD ON SOUTHERN PLANTATION                242

  COLONIAL MANSION                                   262

  GORDON HOUSE                                       316

  TRIUMPH OF STONEWALL JACKSON                       323

  LEE'S HOUSE AT RICHMOND                            348




_PONCE DE LEON AND THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH._


A golden Easter day was that of the far-away year 1513, when a small
fleet of Spanish ships, sailing westward from the green Bahamas, first
came in sight of a flower-lined shore, rising above the blue Atlantic
waves, and seeming to smile a welcome as the mariners gazed with eyes of
joy and hope on the inviting arcades of its verdant forest depths. Never
had the eyes of white men beheld this land of beauty before. English
ships had sailed along the coast to the north, finding much of it bleak
and uninviting. The caravels of Columbus had threaded the glowing line
of tropic isles, and later ships had borne settlers to these lands of
promise. But the rich southlands of the continent had never before been
seen, and well was this unknown realm of beauty named Florida by the
Spanish chief, whether by this name he meant to call it the "land of
flowers" or referred to the Spanish name for Easter, Pascua Florida.
However that be, he was the first of the discoverers to set foot on the
soil of the great coming republic of the United States, and it is of
interest that this was done within the domain of the sunny South.

The weight of half a century of years lay upon the shoulders of Juan
Ponce de Leon, the discoverer, but warm hope burned in his heart, that
of winning renewed boyhood and youthful strength, for it was a magic
vision that drew him to these new shores, in whose depths he felt sure
the realm of enchantment lay. Somewhere amid those green copses or along
those liquid streams, he had been told, a living fountain sprang up
clear and sparkling from the earth, its waters of such a marvellous
quality that whoever should bathe in them would feel new life coursing
through his veins and the vigor of youth bounding along his limbs. It
was the Fountain of Youth he sought, that fabled fountain of which men
had dreamed for centuries, and which was thought to lie somewhere in
eastern Asia. Might not its waters upspring in this new land, whose
discovery was the great marvel of the age, and which men looked upon as
the unknown east of Asia? Such was the new-comer's dream.

Ponce de Leon was a soldier and cavalier of Spain in those days when
Spain stood first among the nations of Europe, first in strength and
enterprise and daring. Brave as the bravest, he had fought with
distinguished courage against the Moors of Granada at the time when
Columbus was setting out on his famous voyage over the unknown seas of
the West. Drawn by the fame of the discovery of the New World, De Leon
sailed with Columbus in his second voyage, and proved himself a gallant
soldier in the wars for the conquest of Hispaniola, of whose eastern
half he was made governor.

To the eastward lay another island, the fair tropic land ever since
known as Porto Rico. De Leon could see from the high hills of Hispaniola
the far green shores of this island, which he invaded and finally
subdued in 1509, making himself its governor. A stern oppressor of the
natives, he won great wealth from his possessions here and in
Hispaniola. But, like many men in his position, his heart was sore from
the loss of the youthful vigor which would have enabled him to enjoy to
the full his new-found wealth.

[Illustration: ALONG THE COAST OF FLORIDA.]

Could he but discover the wondrous fountain of youth and plunge in its
life-giving waters! Was not this the region in which it was said to lie?
He eagerly questioned the Indians about it, and was told by them that
they had often heard of such a fountain somewhere not far to the north.
It is probable enough that the Indians were ready to tell anything,
false or true, that would rid them of the unwelcome Spaniards; but it
may be that among their many fables they believed that such a fountain
existed. However that may be, De Leon gladly heard their story, and lost
no time in going forth like a knight errant in quest of the magic fount.
On March 3, 1513, he sailed with three ships from Porto Rico, and, after
threading the fair Bahama Islands, landing on those of rarest tropic
charm, he came on Easter Sunday, March 27, in sight of the beautiful
land to which he gave the name of Florida.

Bad weather kept him for a time from the shore, and it was not until
April 9 that he was able to land. It was near the mouth of the St. John
River, not far from where St. Augustine now stands, that he set foot on
shore, the first white man's foot to tread the soil of the coming United
States since the days of the Northmen, five centuries before. He called
his place of landing the Bay of the Cross, and took possession of the
land for the king of Spain, setting up a stone cross as a sign of
Spain's jurisdiction.

And now the eager cavalier began the search for that famous fount which
was to give him perpetual youth. It is not likely he was alone in this,
probably most of his followers being as eager as he, for in those days
magic was firmly believed in by half of mankind, and many wild fancies
were current which no one now accepts. Deep into the dense woodland they
plunged, wandering through verdant miles, bathing in every spring and
stream they met, led on and on by the hope that some one of these might
hold the waters of youth. Doubtless they fancied that the fountain
sought would have some special marks, something to distinguish it from
the host of common springs. But this might not be the case. The most
precious things may lie concealed under the plainest aspect, like the
fabled jewel in the toad's forehead, and it was certainly wisest to let
no waters pass untried.

Months passed on. Southward along the coast they sailed, landing here
and there and penetrating inland, still hopeful of finding the enchanted
spring. But wherever it might lie hidden, they found it not, for the
marks of age which nature had brought clung to them still, and a
bitterly disappointed man was Juan Ponce de Leon when he turned the
prows of his ships away from the new-found shores and sailed back to
Porto Rico.

The Will-o'-the-wisp he sought had baffled him, yet something of worth
remained, for he had made a discovery of importance, the "Island of
Florida," as he called it and thought it to be. To Spain he went with
the news of his voyage, and told the story of his discovery to King
Ferdinand, to whom Columbus had told his wonderful tale some twenty
years before. The king at once appointed him governor of Florida, and
gave him full permission to plant a colony in the new land--continent or
island as it might prove to be.

De Leon may still have nourished hopes in his heart of finding the
fabled fountain when, in 1521, he returned to plant the colony granted
by the king. But the natives of Florida had seen enough of the Spaniards
in their former visit, and now met them with arrows instead of flowers
and smiles. Fierce fights ensued, and their efforts to establish
themselves on the new shores proved in vain. In the end their leader
received so severe an arrow wound that he withdrew and left to the
victorious Indians the ownership of their land. The arrow was poisoned,
and his wound proved mortal. In a short time after reaching Cuba he
died, having found death instead of youth in the land of flowers.

We may quote the words of the historian Robertson in support of the
fancy which led De Leon in the path of discovery: "The Spaniards, at
that period, were engaged in a career of activity which gave a romantic
turn to their imagination and daily presented to them strange and
marvellous objects. A new world was opened to their view. They visited
islands and continents of whose existence mankind in former ages had no
conception. In those delightful countries nature seemed to assume
another form; every tree and plant and animal was different from those
of the ancient hemisphere. They seemed to be transported into enchanted
ground; and, after the wonders which they had seen, nothing, in the
warmth and novelty of their imagination, appeared to them so
extraordinary as to be beyond belief. If the rapid succession of new and
striking scenes made such impression on the sound understanding of
Columbus that he boasted of having found the seat of Paradise, it will
not appear strange that Ponce de Leon should dream of discovering the
fountain of youth."

All we need say farther is that the first attempt to colonize the shores
of the great republic of the future years ended in disaster and death.
Yet De Leon's hope was not fully amiss, for in our own day many seek
that flowery land in quest of youthful strength. They do not now hope to
find it by bathing in any magic fountain, but it comes to them by
breathing its health-giving atmosphere and basking in its magic clime.




_DE SOTO AND THE FATHER OF WATERS._


America was to the Spaniards the land of gold. Everywhere they looked
for the yellow metal, more precious in their eyes than anything else the
earth yields. The wonderful adventures of Cortez in Mexico and of
Pizarro in Peru, and the vast wealth in gold found by those sons of
fame, filled their people with hope and avarice, and men of enterprise