Their voyages, battles, and hardships in traversing and conquering the unknown territories of a new world By CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON Author of “Famous Scouts,” “Famous Indian Chiefs,” “Famous Cavalry Leaders,” “Famous Frontiersmen,” “Famous Privateersmen,” etc. Illustrated THE PAGE COMPANY BOSTON PUBLISHERS BOSTON PUBLISHERS Copyright , 1917 By The Page Company All rights reserved Made in U. S. A. Fourth Impression, September, 1928 Fifth Impression, March, 1932 THE COLONIAL PRESS INC., CLINTON, M

Chevy Chase, Maryland. August, 1917....

A voice came from the westward, it whispered a message clear, And the dripping fog banks parted as the clarion tones drew near; It spoke of shores untrodden, and it sang of mountains bold, Of shimmering sands in distant lands which were covered with glittering gold. It sang of hemlock forests, where the moose roamed, and the bear, Where the eider bred near the cascade’s head, and the lucivee had his lair. It praised the rushing water falls, it told of the salmon red, Who swam in the spuming ripp

“Ah, ha, that time will not be far distant,” said he, benignly. “You will wax tough and sinewy in this bracing air and by sailing in these blue fiords. And then, some day, one of the Vikings will want a stout fellow to man an oar. He will call upon Leif, little Leif. And I’ll warrant that little Leif will then be ready.” “I will be.” “And would you go far to the westward, to the land of the setting sun?” “Even so.” “And would you be willing to risk life and limb amidst ice and snow?” “I’d be gla

RE-DISCOVERER OF AMERICA, WHO GAVE A NEW CONTINENT TO THE WORLD. (1436-1506) THE good and genial friar Juan Perez was working, one day, in front of the convent of La Rabida, which had been dedicated to Santa Maria de Rabida, near the pleasant city of Palos, in Spain. It was a lonely place, built upon beetling cliffs which overhung the blue ocean. The friar, with his brown cassock tucked up around his fat legs, was busily engaged in hoeing some beans, when he saw a man standing at the little wick

Almost from his cradle the boy was destined to become a merchant. Yet he had a good schooling, too, and was educated at a private institution presided over by his father’s brother, a monk of the Order of San Marco, who, before the birth of Americus, had become famous as a teacher of the noble youths of the city. Here the boy was taught mathematics, astronomy, geography, and the classics. He became especially interested in geography and was ambitious to excel as a geographer. Amerigo, or Americus

DREAMER AND SEARCHER FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF PERPETUAL YOUTH. (1460-1521) ONCE there lived in the island of Porto Rico, which became the property of the United States in 1898, a Spanish Knight who had fought against the Moors in Spain and who had helped to drive them from his native country. His name was Juan Ponce de Leon, and he was rich in slaves, in plantations, and in money. The good knight was growing old. As he gazed in his mirror he saw that his once coal-black beard was now silvered with gr

DISCOVERER OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. (1475-1517) IT is something to be a discoverer of anything. It must give the one who has that happy fate a great thrill of satisfaction. He should know that his name will go down to history as a man of particular eminence. Yet, do you think that any of these early Spanish voyagers held that thought? I doubt whether either De Soto, or Balboa, ever had any extraordinary feeling of elation when they had feasted their eyes upon the two great sheets of water, which, a

CONQUEROR OF MEXICO. (1485-1547) TO the brave belong the spoils. To him, who ventures much, sometimes comes a great reward. Here is the story of a man who determined to conquer an empire with but a handful of followers,—and accomplished his purpose. Although it seems to be a romance, it is a series of facts. Strange, wonderful, almost unbelievable, yet true; for truth, they say, is sometimes stranger than fiction. Listen, then, to this tale of as valiant a soul as ever led fighting men on to vic

A little boy ran through the corridors of the palace of King John of Portugal as this cry rang out, and, kneeling at the feet of the Queen, kissed her hand. “That is a good boy,” said Queen Leonora, smiling. “Ferdinand, I wish to say that you need not accompany me this afternoon, but can go out hawking.” “Thank you, Your Majesty,” said the little boy, and, scampering off, he was soon outside the palace, where some of the men-at-arms took him hunting. This was much more to his liking than staying

But, ah! what is this! As the treasure ships and their convoys approached the shore, suddenly a fleet of six vessels could be seen boiling along under full canvas, and rushing to meet them. They were armed corsairs under Juan Florin, fitted out at New Rochelle, in France, and having on board a man who was to have some prominence in later years, as he was to be the first European to view the broad salt marshes of New Jersey. This was Giovanni Verrazano, a Florentine navigator, who, like all the m

CONQUEROR OF PERU. (1475-1538) THERE was a Spaniard once, who lived in Panama and who had the high sounding name of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Like all of the adventurers in the early days, he was ever on the lookout for gold. Do you wonder, therefore, that his brown eyes glittered and gleamed when an Indian chief came to him and said: “If this yellow gold is what you prize so greatly that you are willing to leave your home and risk even life itself, for it, then I can tell you of a land where they

DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. (1496-1542) IN the old Spanish town of Seville, at the time when Pizarro and his numerous brothers were conquering the gentle Peruvians, the streets were often filled with the adventurers who had returned from Mexico, Panama, and South America, laden with the treasures of plundered cities. Among these successful cavaliers, no one had a more gallant bearing, or a more captivating presence, than Hernando de Soto, who had been with the Castilian troops in their

EXPLORER OF THE CANADIAN WILDERNESS. (1567-1635) UPON the north side of the river St. Lawrence, in Canada, and five hours’ journey by steamer from the quaint old city of Quebec, nestles the little village of Murray Bay. It is a picturesque, peaceful collection of houses, where many of those who have wealth and leisure journey in summer to enjoy the champagne-like air and the rugged scenery. Now a great, modern hotel rises majestically from the hemlock-covered river-bank; but if some of the fashi

DISCOVERER OF HUDSON BAY AND EXPLORER OF THE MAGNIFICENT RIVER WHICH BEARS HIS NAME (15??-1611) WE had been plowing along over the great Atlantic on a clear and starlit night. The Mauretania was as steady as a pier in the East River, so we were expecting no disaster, yet, when we tumbled from our cots upon the day following, we were startled to see that the great, steel hulk had ceased to move with her accustomed vigor. The resounding poom, poom , of her giant propeller-shaft was no longer heard

FIRST EXPLORER OF THE WEST AND NORTHWEST. (1651-1710) IT was at the trading post of Three Rivers on the St. Lawrence River, the year 1662, and the time, early in the morning, when the wood thrush had just begun his call. Strange things happened then, but these were frontier days when strange things used to happen, so do not be surprised when you learn what befell Pierre Radisson, son of a French emigrant to Canada, and then a youth of about seventeen years of age. With two companions, young Pier

TRUE MAN OE GOD, AND EXPLORER OF THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI. (1637-1675) MANY, many years ago, when the Indian tribes inhabited the wilderness of North America, a good priest came among them to teach them the ways of Christ. He was a Frenchman called Père, or Father Marquette, and he had been born at Laon, France, June 1st., 1627. Early choosing the profession of priesthood, he entered the Jesuit College at Nancy, where he finally graduated, a man of saintly character, accurate learning and distingu

FRENCH ADVENTURER, AND EXPLORER OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. (1643-1687) WHILE good Father Marquette was gliding over the muddied waters of the Mississippi, gazing at wonderful sights which no Frenchman had dreamed of heretofore, a man lived upon the banks of the St. Lawrence who brooded over projects of peril and adventure and gazed wistfully towards the Far West. This was no other than Robert, Chevalier de La Salle, a Frenchman who had come to Canada about the year 1667. He had been born

DISCOVERER OF THE NORTH POLE. (1856-) IMAGINE the sensation which was caused when there suddenly appeared in the newspapers the following telegram: “April the 6th., 1909. Stars and Stripes nailed to the Pole. Peary. ” People were astonished and looked amazed. Could it be possible that the North Pole had at last been discovered, after hundreds of years of effort upon the part of numerous adventurers, many of whom had never come back to tell the tale? Was it true that, after twenty-three years of

THE BLUE BONNET SERIES A TEXAS BLUE BONNET By Caroline E. Jacobs . BLUE BONNET’S RANCH PARTY By Caroline E. Jacobs and Edyth Ellerbeck Read . BLUE BONNET IN BOSTON By Caroline E. Jacobs and Lela Horn Richards . BLUE BONNET KEEPS HOUSE By Caroline E. Jacobs and Lela Horn Richards . BLUE BONNET—DÉBUTANTE By Lela Horn Richards . BLUE BONNET OF THE SEVEN STARS By Lela Horn Richards . BLUE BONNET’S FAMILY By Lela Horn Richards . “Blue Bonnet has the very finest kind of wholesome, honest, lively girli

BLUE BONNET KEEPS HOUSE BLUE BONNET—DÉBUTANTE By Lela Horn Richards . BLUE BONNET OF THE SEVEN STARS BLUE BONNET’S FAMILY “Blue Bonnet has the very finest kind of wholesome, honest, lively girlishness and cannot but make friends with every one who meets her through these books about her.”— Chicago Inter-Ocean. “Blue Bonnet and her companions are real girls, the kind that one would like to have in one’s home.”— New York Sun. THE HENRIETTA SERIES By Lela Horn Richards ONLY HENRIETTA “It is an insp