The system caused such horrible suffering in England that the pity of all good men was stirred. Among these was James Edward Oglethorpe, one of the most admirable characters in modern history. He was a brave and skillful soldier, eminently just, of the highest social position and a member of Parliament. He determined to do something practical for the perishing debtors in English jails. He, therefore, asked George II. to give him a grant of land in America to which the imprisoned debtors could be sent, and the king, whose heart also seemed to be touched, promptly did so. It was said of Oglethorpe that the universal respect felt for him made certain that any favor he asked of his own associates or friends would be willingly granted. [Illustration: ANCIENT HORSESHOES PLOWED UP IN SCHENECTADY CO., N.Y. (In the New York State Agricultural Museum.)] The king not only presented him with valuable equipments, but Parliament granted him a liberal sum, to which wealthy citizens added. He had the best wishes of his entire country when he sailed for America with one hundred and fourteen persons. He named the new colony Georgia in honor of the king, and began the settlement of Savannah in 1733, Darien and Augusta being founded three years later. It need hardly be said of such a man, that, like Penn and Baltimore, he bought the lands anew of the Indians and retained their friendship from the start. On one of his visits to England he took a party of red men with him, entertained them at his country place and presented them at court. The Spaniards claimed Georgia as their own territory, and raised a large force with which to expel Oglethorpe, whose colony had been increased by the arrival of other immigrants, but the English officer handled his men with such extraordinary skill that the Spaniards were utterly routed. [Illustration: A COLONIAL FLAX-WHEEL.] It would be supposed that Georgia would have been one of the most successful of the original colonies, since seemingly it possessed every advantage, but such was far from the fact. One cause for this was the "coddling" the pioneers received. They were harmed by too much kindness. Had they been compelled to hew their own way, like their neighbors, they would have done better. They were like children spoiled by being granted too many favors. [Illustration: HIAWATHA, FOUNDER OF THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE The Iroquois League was composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations, who founded in the New York wilderness a barbaric republic, with bonds of union that might serve in many respects as a model for civilized nations.]