Stories such as these here told of Indian life, of frontier peril and escape, of adventures with the pirates and kidnappers of colonial times, of daring Revolutionary feats, of dangerous whaling voyages, of scientific exploration, and of personal encounters with savages and wild beasts, have become the characteristic folklore of America. Books of history rarely know them, but they are history of the highest kind,--the quintessence of an age that has passed, or that is swiftly passing away, forever. With them are here intermingled sketches of the homes, the food and drink, the dress and manners, the schools and children's plays, of other times. The text-book of history is chiefly busy with the great events and the great personages of history: this book seeks to make the young American acquainted with the daily life and character of his forefathers. In connection with the author's "Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans," it is intended to form an introduction to the study of our national history. It has been thought desirable to make the readings in this book cover in a general way the whole of our vast country. The North and the South, the Atlantic seaboard, the Pacific slope, and the great interior basin of the continent, are alike represented in these pages. CONTENTS. A White Boy among the Indians The Making of a Canoe Some Things about Indian Corn Some Women in the Indian Wars The Coming of Tea and Coffee Kidnapped Boys The Last Battle of Blackbeard An Old Philadelphia School A Dutch Family in the Revolution A School of Long Ago Stories of Whaling A Whaling Song A Strange Escape Grandmother Bear The Great Turtle The Rattlesnake God Witchcraft in Louisiana A Story of Niagara Among the Alligators Jasper Song of Marion's Men A Brave Girl A Prisoner among the Indians Hungry Times in the Woods Scouwa becomes a White Man again A Baby Lost in the Woods Elizabeth Zane The River Pirates Old-fashioned Telegraphs A Boy's Foolish Adventure A Foot Race for Life Loretto and his Wife A Blackfoot Story How Fremont crossed the Mountains Finding Gold in California Descending the Grand Canyon The-Man-that-draws-the-Handcart The Lazy, Lucky Indian Peter Petersen The Greatest of Telescope Makers Adventures in Alaska STORIES OF AMERICAN LIFE AND ADVENTURE. A WHITE BOY AMONG THE INDIANS. Among the people that came to Virginia in 1609, two years after the colony was planted, was a boy named Henry Spelman. He was the son of a well-known man. He had been a bad and troublesome boy in England, and his family sent him to Virginia, thinking that he might be better in the new country. At least his friends thought he would not trouble them so much when he was so far away.