fensive earthworks.* Similar ruins are found in various other sections of the United States. The largest forest trees are often found growing upon them. The Indians have no tradition as to the origin of these structures. They generally crown steep hills, and consist of embankments, ditches, &c., indicating considerable acquaintance with military science. At Newark, Ohio, a fortification exists which covers an area of more than two miles square, and has over two miles of embankment from two to twenty feet high.

Mounds, seemingly constructed as great altars for religious purposes or as monuments, are also numerous. One, opposite St. Louis, covers eight acres of ground, and is ninety feet high. There are said to be 10,000 of these mounds in Ohio alone.

A very peculiar kind of earthwork has the outline of gigantic men or animals. An embankment in Adams Co., Ohio, represents very accurately a serpent 1000 feet long. Its body winds with graceful curves, and in its wide extended jaws lies a figure which the animal seems about to swallow. In Mexico and Peru, still more wonderful remains have been discovered. They consist not alone of defensive works, altars, and monuments, but of idols, ruined temples, aqueducts, bridges, and paved roads.

THE SERPENT MOUND.

The Mound Builders is the name given to the people who erected the mounds of North America. They seem

*It is a singular fact that banks of earth grassed over, are more enduring than any other work of man. The grassy mounds near Nineveh and Babylon have remained unchanged for centuries. Meantime massive buildings of stone have been erected, served long generations, and crumbled to utter ruin.

to have emigrated to Central America, and there to have developed a high civilization. They built cities, wove cotton, worked in gold, silver, and copper, labored in the fields, and had regular governments.

The Indians who were found on this continent east of the Mississippi, by the first European settlers, did not exceed 200,000 in number. However, in Mexico, Peru, and the Indies, there was an immense population. The Indians were the successors of the Mound Builders, and were by far their inferiors in civilization. We know not why the ancient race left, nor whence the Indians came. The former may have been driven southward by these savage tribes from the north.

Indian Characteristics.*-Arts and Inventions.-The Indian has been well termed the "Red Man of the Forest." He built no cities, no ships, no churches, no school-houses. He constructed only temporary bark wigwams and canoes. He made neither roads nor bridges, but followed foot-paths through the forest, and swam the streams. His highest art was expended in a simple bow and arrow.

Progress and Education.-He made no advancement, but each son emulated the prowess of his father in the hunt and the fight. The hunting-ground and the battle-field embraced everything of real honor or value. So the son was educated to throw the tomahawk, shoot the arrow, and catch fish with the spear. He knew nothing of books, paper, writing, or history. ›

Domestic Life.-The Indian had no cow, or domestic beast of burden. He regarded all labor as degrading, and fit only for women. His squaw, therefore, built his wigwam, cut his wood, and carried his burdens when he journeyed. While

*This description applies to the Indians inhabiting the present limits of the United States.

+ Some tribes and families seem to have been further advanced than others, and to have instructed their children, especially those young men who hoped to become chiefs, in the history and customs of their nation.

he hunted or fished, she cleared the land for his corn by burning down the trees, scratched the ground with a crooked stick, or hoed it with a clam-shell, and dressed skins for his clothing. She cooked his food by dropping hot stones into a tight willow basket containing materials for soup. The leavings of her lord's feast sufficed for her, and the coldest place in the wigwam was her seat.

Disposition. He rarely spoke to his wife or children. He would sit on the ground for days, leaning his elbows on his knees in stupid silence. He was crafty and cruel. His word was no protection. False and cunning, he never hesitated to violate a treaty when his passions prompted him to hatred.

Endurance.-He could endure great fatigue, and in his ex

peditions often lay without shelter in severest weather. It was his great glory to bear the most horrible tortures without sign of anguish.

Religion. His religion varied with his civilization. The Indians of New England had no word for God, and there is no evidence on record of a truly religious ceremony among them. The Iroquois (ir-o-quoy') Indians of Central New York possessed a rude civilization, and believed in a Great Spirit, and in happy hunting grounds, where the departed warrior would hunt and feast forever. Southward, the Indians gradually increased in civilization, as well as in the belief of a future life. In Central America they had cities with temples, altars, and an established priesthood.

The Indian of the present.-Such was the Indian two hundred years ago, and such he is to-day. He opposes the encroachments of the settler, and the building of railroads. But he cannot stop the tide of immigration. Unless he can be induced to give up his roving habits, and to cultivate the soil, he is doomed to destruction. It is to be earnestly hoped that the red man may yet be Christianized, and taught the arts of industry and peace.

The Northmen (inhabitants of Norway and Sweden) claim to have been the original discoverers of America. According to their traditions, this continent was seen first about the year 1000, by one Biorne, who had been driven to sea by a tempest. Afterward other adventurers made successful voyages, established settlements, and bartered with the natives. Snorre, son of one of these settlers, is said to have been the first child born of European parents upon our shore.* The

* Snorre's father emigrated from Iceland, which was then a republic where the Christian religion had been made national. Thus, through his parentage, Snorre was a member of a Christian republic.

He was also founder of an illustrious family. One of his descendants is said to have been Albert Thorwaldsen, the great Danish sculptor of the present century.

Northmen claim to have explored the coast as far south as Florida. What credit is to be given to these traditions is uncertain. Many historians reject them, while others think there are yet traces of the Northmen remaining, such as the

TOWER AT NEWPORT.

old tower at Newport, R. I., and the singular inscriptions on the rock at Dighton, Mass. Admitting, however, the claims of the Northmen, the fact is barren of all results. No permanent settlements were made, the route hither was lost, and even the existence of the continent was forgotten. The true history of this country begins with its discovery by Columbus in 1492. It

FIRST EPOCH.

EARLY DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS.

This epoch extends from 1492, the discovery of America,

to 1607, the settlement at Jamestown, Va.

During this

period various European nations were exploring the continent, and making widely scattered settlements.

SECOND EPOCH.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONIES.

This epoch extends from 1607, the settlement at Jamestown, Va., to 1775, the breaking out of the Revolutionary

The beautiful photographs of Thorwaldsen's "Day," "Night," and "The Seasons," which hang in so many American parlors, thus acquire a new interest by being linked with the pioneer boy born on New England shores so many centuries ago.