the battle of the Thames (temz), beating the British and Indians, and killing the dreaded Tecumseh. This chief, as you may remember, was the principal leader of the Indians, so when he fell they were ready to give up the struggle. Before dying in Canada, however, Tecumseh had gone south to stir up the Creek Indians in Al-a-ba'ma. As they did not seem inclined to rebel, they made Tecumseh very angry. He finally cried: "Your blood is white. You have taken my red sticks and my talk, but you do not mean to fight. I know the reason; you do not believe the Great Spirit has sent me. You shall believe it! I will leave directly and go straight to Detroit. When I get there, I will stamp my foot upon the ground and shake down every house in Toock-a-batch'a!" The Indians, somewhat awed by this threat, counted the days after his departure, and when an earthquake took place one night shortly after, they rushed wildly out of their dwellings, crying: "Tecumseh is at Detroit; we feel the stamp of his foot!"

After this, and the appearance of a comet which also terrified them, they no longer dared disobey Tecumseh's orders, and, rising up, they murdered the garrison at Fort Mimms. To punish them for this cruel massacre of men, women, and children, General Jackson soon after met and defeated the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend. So many savages were slain in this battle that the rest were glad to lay down their arms and beg for peace.

In 1813, a British fleet began ravaging our coast, landing here and there to do damage. Thus they set fire to towns and shipping, robbed churches, and behaved everywhere with great cruelty. But although the enemy rav

aged the Southern coast, they spared New England, because they thought the Northern states might yet offer to rejoin England.

Disappointed in this, the next year they ravaged the coast both north and south, until commerce came to a standstill. The Americans, perceiving that their beacons served only as guides to the British, ceased to light them every night as before.

A British force landed in Scit'u-ate, Massachusetts, intending to set fire to the shipping. All the men were away, but we are told that two quick-witted girls managed to frighten off the enemy by seizing a fife and drum, and hiding behind a sand bank. There they cleverly beat the drum and played the fife, beginning very softly and then playing louder and louder. The British, fancying that a large force was coming, beat a hasty retreat before this 'army of two."

During the War of 1812, an inspector of army supplies. at Troy marked all the boxes and bales with the initials. of the contractors and the letters " U. S." Of course the latter meant that the goods belonged to the United States government. But as the inspector was known as "Uncle Sam" by every one in town, and as he took a great interest in the army, a joker said that he always put his own initials on every parcel to let the Troy soldiers know he had not forgotten them and was sending them food and clothing.

The Troy soldiers repeated this joke until it was known by all the army, and the men got in the habit of calling the government " Uncle Sam" instead of " United States." This custom soon spread beyond the army, and gave rise

STO. OF GT. REP.-6

to the funny picture which you will often see, dressed in garments cut after the fashion of 1812, but striped and starred like our national flag. Thus, while in poetry and art our country is generally personified by Columbia or Liberty, in politics and prose it is more often represented Uncle Sam."

as "

XVI. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER.

WO exciting engagements took place in the North, in 1814. One was the battle of Lun'dys Lane, or Niag'a-ra, so near the falls of that name that the roar of the water rose above the din of battle. Here, one of the offi

cers under General

Scott pointed out a battery to Colonel Miller, asking him if he could take it. The young officer modestly said: "I'll try, sir," and, marching fearlessly on,

tried to such good

purpose that the

battery was taken, and a victory won soon after. Still, as the British recovered possession of the

battlefield on the next day, both nations claim the victory at Lundys Lane.

Another American force, under Mac-don'ough, encoun

tered the British on Lake Champlain. We are told that the first shot fired by the British in this battle broke a chicken coop on one of the American vessels. A rooster, thus freed from his cage, flew out, and, perching on the rigging, flapped his wings, crowing defiantly. The American sailors, delighted with the rooster's spirit, laughed and cheered, saying that they too meant to crow over their foes. They went into battle with such vigor after this little episode that they soon won a brilliant victory.

But while our forces were thus winning laurels in the North, a great misfortune had happened farther south. The British fleet, sailing up Chesapeake Bay, landed soldiers, who suddenly appeared near Washington and defeated the raw American troops at Bla'dens-burg. Hearing of this, and knowing the British would soon be masters of the capital, the people fled.

Beautiful Dolly Madison, the President's wife, alone retained enough presence of mind to carry off the Declaration of Independence and a fine portrait of Washington. But she escaped only at the last minute, leaving her dinner table all decked for a party she intended to give that evening.

The British, marching into the deserted city, swarmed into the Capitol, and, after breaking all the windows, seized torches and set fire to the "harbor of the democrats." Next, they went to the White House, where they gayly ate the dinner prepared for the President's guests. When their hunger had been satisfied, the soldiers rambled all over the house, sacking and ruining everything, and finally setting fire to the building.

Indeed, they destroyed all the public buildings except

the Patent Office. They spared this place only because the man in charge convinced them that it held the records and models of inventions which had been made for the benefit of all mankind, and not for the Americans alone.

The burning of the public buildings at Washington was not approved of by the greater part of the English people, although their government praised the commanders Ross and Cockburn for what they had done. Indeed, it ordered that the former should have a monument in West'min-ster Abbey, where the best and greatest Englishmen are laid at rest.

It is said that the British thus destroyed our costly buildings to avenge the burning of New'ark, a village in Canada. Others claim that they did it because York (To-ron'to) had been taken and ruined by the Americans some time before. However this may be, the fact remains that many priceless relics were thus lost, together with many important state papers.

Not content with burning Washington, the British next attacked Bal'ti-more, where they shelled Fort McHenry for more than twenty-four hours. When their ships first drew near the fort, some Americans came on board with a flag of truce, to arrange for an exchange of prisoners. But fearing that these men would betray their plans, the British held them, and it was from the enemy's vessels that they saw the whole battle.

One of these Americans, the poet and patriot Francis S. Key, stood there, anxiously watching his country's flag, to see whether the fort would surrender. But although hidden by smoke from time to time, the flag waved proudly on all day, and when the sun rose on the morrow it still