body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the same position, stood firm for a while, but were presently routed with a loss of two hundred men. The name of Bloody Marsh was given to this battle-field. Within a week the whole Spanish force reëmbarked and sailed for Florida.

11. The colony of Georgia was now firmly established. In 1743 Oglethorpe bade adieu to the people to whose welfare he had given ten years of his life. He had never owned a house nor possessed an acre of ground in the province. He now departed for England where he lived to be nearly a hundred years of age.

12. The regulations which the councilors for Georgia had adopted were poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had no titles for their lands. Estates could descend only to the oldest sons of families. The colonists charged their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the province. The proprietary laws became unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not enforced. Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for a hundred years. Finally, slaves were brought directly from Africa and sold to the planters below the Savannah. The new order of things was acknowledged by the councilors; and, in June of 1752, they surrendered their patent to the king. A royal government was established over the country, and the people were granted the freedom of Englishmen. For some time the progress of the colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder, but before the Revolution Georgia had become a growing State.

RECAPITULATION.

Georgia is founded by Oglethorpe.-He leads forth a colony.-Founds Savannah.-The friendly natives.-A treaty is made with the Muskhogees.-Immigrants arrive from Europe.-Oglethorpe goes to England.-Returns.-The Moravians.-The Wesleys.-And Whitefield.-Conflicting claims of Georgia and Florida.-Oglethorpe builds forts.-War breaks out.-The governor besieges St. Augustine. And fails.-The Spaniards invade Georgia.-Oglethorpe's stratagem.-The battle of Bloody Marsh.-The Spaniards are defeated.-The governor returns to England.-Slavery is introduced.-The prohibitory law is repealed.-Growth of the colony.

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

THE

CHAPTER XXX.

CAUSES.

HE time came when the American colonies began to act together. The final struggle between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a common cause against the foe. This is the conflict known as THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. Causes of war had existed for many years.

2. The first of these causes was the conflicting territorial claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast; France had colonized the interior of the continent. The English kings claimed the country from one ocean to the other. The French, however, began to push their way westward and southward along the great lakes to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French was to divide the American continent and to take the larger portion.

3. The first colonies and trading-posts of France in the Mississippi valley were established by the Jesuit missionaries. As early as 1641, Charles Raymbault explored Lake Huron and Lake Superior. In the following thirty years, missions were established in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. In 1673 the explorers, Joliet and Marquette, reached the Wisconsin, and passed down that river and the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas.

4. ROBERT DE LA SALLE carried the flag of France still farther. Sailing westward through the great lakes, he reached the mouth

of the St. Joseph, and then crossed the country to the Illinois. From this place he was obliged to return on foot to Fort Frontenac. Father Hennepin, one of La Salle's companions, explored the Mississippi as far as the falls of St. Anthony.

5. In 1682 La Salle explored Illinois and descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. The up-river voyage was successfully accomplished, and La Salle sailed for France. In January of 1685, he returned in command of four emigrant ships, and reached the coast of Texas, where a colony was established. Marching northward in the hope of reaching Canada, La Salle was murdered by one of his own men on the 20th of March, 1687.

6. The French soon established military posts at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the Illinois. Before 1750, settlements had been made on the Maumee, at Detroit, at Green Bay, at Vincennes, at Kaskaskia, at Natchez, and on the Bay of Biloxi. At this time the only outposts of the English were a fort at Oswego, and a few cabins in West Virginia.

7. The immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between the frontiersmen of the two nations in the Ohio valley. In order to prevent the intrusion of the French fur-traders into this country, a number of Virginians joined themselves together in a body called THE OHIO COMPANY. In March of 1749, they received from George II. a land-grant of five hundred thousand acres, located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela. But before the company could send out a colony, the governor of Canada despatched three hundred men to occupy the valley of the Ohio. In the next year, however, the Ohio Company sent out an exploring party under Christopher Gist, who traversed the country and returned to Virginia in 1751.

8. This expedition was followed by vigorous movements of the French. They built a fort called Le Bœuf, on French Creek, and another named Venango, on the Alleghany. About the same time the country south of the Ohio was again explored by Gist and a party of armed surveyors. In 1753 the English opened a road from Will's Creek through the mountains, and a small colony was planted on the Youghiogheny.

9. The Indians were greatly alarmed at the prospect. They

rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance was uncertain. In the spring of 1753, the Miami tribes, under the leadership of the Half-King, met Benjamin Franklin at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and made a treaty with the English.

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10. Before proceeding to actual war, Governor Dinwiddie dr. termined to try a final remonstrance with the French. A paper was drawn up setting forth the nature of the English claim to the valley of the Ohio, and warning the authorities of France against further intrusion. A young surveyor named GEORGE WASHINGTON was called upon to carry this paper from Williamsburg to General St. Pierre at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie.

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11. On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. The party reached the Youghiogheny, and passed down that stream to the site of Pittsburg. At Logstown, Washington held a council with the Indians, and then pressed on to Venango. From this place he traversed the forest to Fort le Bouf. Here the conference was held with

MILES 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300
FIRST SCENE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 1750.

St. Pierre. Washington was received with courtesy, but the general of the French refused to enter into any discussion. He was acting, he said, under military instructions, and would eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio.

12. Washington soon took leave of the French, and returned to Venango. Then, with Gist as his sole companion, he left the river and struck into the woods. Clad in the robe of an Indian; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush; guided at night by the North Star; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert; lodging on an island in the Alleghany until the

river was frozen over; plunging again into the forest, the young ambassador came back without wound or scar to the capital of Virginia. The answer of St. Pierre was laid before the governor, and the first public service of Washington was ended.

13. In the mean time, the Ohio Company had sent thirty-three men, under command of Trent, to erect a fort at the source of the Ohio. In March, 1754, they reached the confluence of the Alleghany and the Monongahela, and built the first rude block-house on the site of Pittsburg. After all the threats of the French, the English had beaten them and seized the key to the Ohio valley. 14. Soon, however, French boats came down the river; and Trent was obliged to surrender. Washington was now stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits. But it was too late to save Trent's men from capture. The French immediately occupied

the post, built barracks and laid the foundations of FORT DU QUESNE. To retake this place Colonel Washington set out from Will's Creek in May of 1754. The possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by war.

RECAPITULATION

The colonies begin to act together.-A sense of danger unites them.-The French and Indian war arises.-Causes considered.-Conflicting territorial claims.-English colonies on the sea-board.-French colonies in the interior.France proposes to confine the English to the Atlantic slope.-French settlements result from the efforts of the Jesuits.-Missions are established on the lakes.-Joliet and Marquette discover the Mississippi.-La Salle reaches the Illinois. Explores the Mississippi to the Gulf.-Sails for France.-Returns with a colony.-Reaches Texas.-Is murdered.--French posts are established.-The Ohio valley to be occupied. The frontiersmen of France and England come in conflict. The Ohio Company is organized.-Obtains a grant of land.-France claims the Ohio valley.-Gist traverses the country.-The French fortify Le Bœuf and Venango.-Gist makes a second exploration.-An English colony on the Youghiogheny.-The Indians favor the English.-The Half-King confers with Franklin.-Dinwiddie sends a despatch to St. Pierre.-Washington is chosen for the mission.-Sets out to the site of Pittsburg.-And thence to Le Bœuf.-Confers with St. Pierre.-And returns to Virginia.-Trent begins a fort at the fork of the Ohio.--The French capture the place.-And build Du Quesne.-Washington is sent to retake the post.