The Coming of the White Men: Stories of How Our Country Was Discovered — John Shaqi
The Coming of the White Men: Stories of How Our Country Was DiscoveredWade, Mary Hazelton Blanchard
History
The Coming of the White Men: Stories of How Our Country Was Discovered
Wade, Mary Hazelton Blanchard
America -- Discovery and exploration -- Juvenile fiction; Discoveries in geography -- Juvenile fiction
The sailors blamed him for bringing them there and were very angry
with him. They thought, "We shall all lose our lives through him."
They were not even moved by his tears. When they had eaten the bread,
they seized him and put him and some sick sailors into a small boat.
Then they sent them adrift in the cold, dreary waters of the great bay.
They were never heard of again. This is all we know of the last days of
that very brave Englishman, Captain Henry Hudson.
As for the wicked sailors, some of them met with better fortune than
they deserved. Soon after they had treated their captain so badly,
birds came flying by. The men shot some of these and saved themselves
from starving. After that they had a fight with Indians on the shore
and several of the sailors were killed. The others managed to gather a
small supply of food with which they started for home.
Even then they suffered a great deal from hunger. They were so weak
they had to sit down to sail the vessel. All of them would have died if
they had not met another ship, which took them aboard and carried them
home.
Long before Uncle Sam had finished the story, the thunder-storm had
passed by.
"I hardly noticed it. I was thinking all the time about Henry Hudson,"
declared Lucy.
"I suppose Hudson never met his old friend John Smith after he got the
letter," said Uncle Sam, thoughtfully. Then he went on, "They were both
Englishmen, yet those who settled in Virginia with John Smith made a
very different home for themselves from those made by the Dutch who
followed Henry Hudson.
"The Dutch had their own ways; the English had theirs. The Dutch
planted gardens. They raised flocks of sheep, which furnished wool for
the women to card and spin. They gave beads and blankets of red wool to
their Indian neighbors. They took in return game and beautiful furs.
They sent the furs to Holland.
"They got up in the morning at sunrise, and went to bed at sunset. They
ate dinner at eleven o'clock in the morning, and tea parties were often
given at three in the afternoon.
"They had grand times at Christmas and New Year's, when feasts were
spread and everyone dressed in his best clothes.
"It was the Dutchmen who gave Santa Claus to American children. They
brought the dear old fellow from Holland along with their chests of
linen and pewter dishes."
"Hurrah for the Dutchmen! I say," exclaimed Joe. "Christmas wouldn't be
half the fun it is without Santa Claus. Do you know, Uncle Sam, last
year was the first time Lucy and I knew he was not a real man. Why, we
used to think he came down our chimney every Christmas Eve with his
pack of presents. We talked up the chimney to him when we went to bed
and told him what we wanted. I know now that you and father and mother
are the only Santa Claus."
"Now I think of it, the pictures of Santa Claus make him look like a
fat and jolly old Dutchman," said Lucy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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