- "Here's Beans, Peas, Cucumbers, Cabbages, Onions, Potatoes, Here they go!"
In the summer time, you may see persons in carts, and others with hand-barrows, having a load of the above articles, that they cry along the streets, and sell to those families who live a distance from the markets. What a vast garden it would ake to raise vegetables enough for all the inhabitants of New-York! Long Island can be considered the garden of New-York: the produce brought to this city daily is very great. - "S-A-N-D! Here's your nice white S-A-N-D!"
This Sand is brought from the sea shore in vessels, principally from Rockaway Beach, Long-Island. It is loaded into carts, and carried about the streets of New-York, and sold for about 12 1/2 cents per bushel. Almost every little girl or boy, knows that it is put on newly scrubbed floors, to preserve them clean and pleasant. - "Radishes! Any Radishes! Here's your fine Radishes!"
In the sprint, we have the above cry along our streets, by children and women, who buy them of the gardeners, and for one cent a bunch profit, will trudge along the streets of New-York, with a large long basket hanging on their arm, full of radishes. They sell six radishes to a bunch, and sixpence will buy one to six of these bunches. They are esteemed en excellent relish at tea, and afford business for children most of the summer season. - "Carolina Potatoes! Heres your fine C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A-S!"
Great quantities of Potatoes of different kinds, are carried about the streets of New-York, for sale. None make so much noise as those people who cry the Sweet Carolinas. These are held in high esteem by most persons, and one can buy them ready boiled and roasted at the cook-shops. They are of an oblong form, of many sizes, and when boiled,taste much like a roast chestnut. The sell from 75 cents to 1 dollar per bushel. - "Any Oranges today?"
At the corners of our principal streets, and at the ferries, we may see men, with long baskets on their arms, full of fine yellow oranges, offering them for sale to the passengers for from 3 to 6 cents a piece. Many a one find their way to the girls and boys in the country, who always esteem them a fine present. They grow in the West-Indies, and the Floridas, and may be had in New-York at all seasons. - "Meeleck! Come Meeleck, Come!"
This wholesome beverage, is carried all round the city by men in carts, wagons and very large tin kettles. The cows are pastured on the Island of New-York,some along the New-Jersey shore, and large droves on Long-Island. Milk sells from 4 to 6 cents per quart, delivered at our doors every morning in the winter season and twice a day in summer. - "Will you have any Matches to-day? Twenty bunches for 6d"
To sell matches, is the employment of women and children, who make a few pence honestly, by splitting pine or cedar sticks, or procuring a long thin shaving, the ends of which they dip in brimstone, which when touched by a spark, will blaze directly. Though a small matter, it is a great convenience to house-keepers. This is a very humble business, but it is not to be despised on that account. - "Any Locks to repair? Or Keys to be fitted?"
This man may be seen with a iron ring, on which are strung a great many old keys, of various sizes, going about the streets of New-York, soliciting cusom in the way we observe in the picture. He has with him different tools, and is ready to repair Locks, or fit Keys where they may be broken or lost - What a pity is is, people are not all honest, then we should have no occasion either for locks, keys, bars or bolts. - "Here's your fine Rockaway Clams! Here they G-O!"
In the summer months, when it is not lawful to sell Oysters in New-York, we have clams in abundance, brought to our doors, by people, in carts. THe price is from 25 to 62 1/2 cents per hundred. They catch them principally on the shores of Long-Island, and Shrewbury River. - "Any Brooms or Brushes today?"
"Many ways to get a living!" some might think, when the broom-dealers are seen going about the streets, with a load of Brooms and Brushes, crying aloud. These useful articles, so much prized by the nice house-wife, are made of Broom-corn whisk, chiefly; and sell from 12 1/2 to 18 3/4 cents each. Those made by the people called Shakers, are much the neatest and best, and will command from 6 to 10 cents more. - Baskets
Basket Seller - Scissors to Grind!"
There are several men in New-York, who go about with a wheel-barrow, on which is a grind-stone, rigged in such a way as to be easily turned with the foo while the hands apply scissors or a knife to the stone. Another may be seen with his machine slung on his back, and when a customer hails, he will quickly set his grindstone in motion. They strike a bell, as they walk along,as a sign to those who may wish any knives or scissors ground. - Benjamin Franklin
It is hard to measure the men of one period of history with those in another. Some writers, even American writers, impressed by the artificial splendours of the European courts and by the tawdry and destructive exploits of a Frederick the Great or a Great Catherine, display a snobbish shame of something homespun about these makers of America. They feel that Benjamin Franklin at the court of Louis XVI, with his long hair, his plain clothes, and his pawky manner, was sadly lacking in aristocratic distinction. But stripped to their personalities, Louis XVI was hardly gifted enough or noble-minded enough to be Franklin’s valet. - American Indian Picture-Writing
Specimens of American Indian picture-writing No. 1, painted on a rock on the shore of Lake Superior, records an expedition across the lake, in which five canoes took part. The upright strokes in each indicate the number of the crew, and the bird represents a chief, “The Kingfisher.” The three circles (suns) under the arch (of heaven) indicate that the voyage lasted three days, and the tortoise, a symbol of land, denotes a safe arrival. No. 2 is a petition sent to the United States Congress by a group of Indian tribes, asking for fishing rights in certain small lakes. The tribes are represented by their totems, martens, bear, manfish, and catfish, led by the crane. Lines running from the heart and eye of each animal to the heart and eye of the crane denote that they are all of one mind; and a line runs from the eye of the crane to the lakes, shown in the crude little “map” in the lower left-hand corner. - The First Passenger Across the Brooklyn Bridge
Yet it was the first 'stitch' in the great web, and thousands of eyes were turned towards it on August 25th, 1876, when the very first passenger crossed along it from shore to shore. This passenger was Mr. Farrington, one of the engineers. He wished to encourage his men by a good example, for over that terrible gulf it would soon be necessary for many of them to go. His seat was a small piece of board such as we use for a swing in a playground, and it was attached to the wire by four short ropes. The perilous journey took more than twenty minutes, and the people below watched almost breathlessly as the slender thread swayed up and down with the weight of the traveller. To their eyes it appeared at times as if he was soaring through the air unsupported, so thin was the line by which he hung. - An Indian Pipe
An Indian Pipe - Map Illustrating the Battle of Long Island
It was a desperate undertaking. There were 10,000 men, and the width of the river at the point of crossing was nearly a mile. It would seem hardly possible that such a movement could, in a single night, be made without discovery by the British troops, who were lying in camp but a short distance away. The night must have been a long and anxious one for Washington, who stayed at his post of duty on the Long Island shore until the last boat of the retreating army had pushed off. The escape was a brilliant achievement and saved the American cause. - Nathaniel Greene
Nathaniel Greene Nathaniel Greene was born in Warwick, R. I., in 1742. His father, a Quaker preacher on Sundays and a blacksmith and miller on week days, brought up his son in the strictest Quaker principles, and trained him to work in the field, in the mill, and at the forge. Nathaniel was robust and athletic, a leader in outdoor sports. From an early age he was studious in his habits, and in his manhood, when the troubles with England seemed to threaten war, he eagerly turned his attention to the study of military tactics. - Lord Cornwallis
Lord Cornwallis General Cornwallis, in command of the British army in the South, detached Tarleton to march against Morgan.[Pg 215] Early on the morning of January 17, 1781, after a hard night march, Tarleton, over-confident of success, attacked Morgan at Cowpens. But the Americans repelled the attack with vigor and won a brilliant victory. The British lost 230 killed and wounded and 600 prisoners, almost their entire force. - General Francis Marion
When the British began to swarm into South Carolina he raised and drilled a company of his neighbors and friends known as "Marion's Brigade." These men, without uniforms, without tents, and without pay, were among the bravest and best of the Revolutionary soldiers. Old saws beaten at the country forge furnished them with sabres, and pewter mugs and dishes supplied material for bullets. The diet of these men was simple. Marion, their leader, usually[Pg 218] ate hominy and potatoes, and drank water flavored with a little vinegar. - Marion and His Men Swooping Down on a British Camp
Marion's Brigade" of farmers and hunters seldom numbered more than seventy, and often less than twenty. With this very small force he annoyed the British beyond measure by rescuing prisoners and by capturing supply-trains, foraging parties, and outposts. One day a scout brought in the report that a party of ninety British with 200 prisoners were on the march for Charleston. Waiting for the darkness to conceal his movements, Marion with thirty men sallied out, swooped down upon the British camp, captured, the entire force, and rescued all the American prisoners. It was the custom of Marion's men when hard pressed by a superior force to scatter, each one for himself, and, dashing headlong into the dense, dark swamps, to meet again at the well-known hiding-place. Even while the British were in search of them they sometimes darted out just as suddenly as they had disappeared, and surprised another British party near at hand. Well did Marion deserve the name of "Swamp Fox," given him by the British. - Daniel Boone
One of the most noted of these pioneers was Daniel Boone. He was born in Bucks County, Pa., in 1735. Caring little for books, he spent most of his time in hunting and fishing. The woods were his special delight, and naturally he became an expert rifleman. The story is told that when a small boy he wandered one day into the forest some distance from home, and built himself a rough shelter of logs. There he would spend days at a time with only his rifle and game for company. The rifle served to bring down the game, and this he cooked over a fire of logs. A prince might have envied his dreamless slumber as he lay on a bed of leaves with the skin of a wild animal for covering. This free, wild life trained him for his future career as a fearless hunter and woodsman. - Indian Costume (Female)
Indian Costume (Female) - Indian Costume (Male)
Indian Costume (Male) - Daniel Boone in his Cabin
Daniel Boone in his Cabin - A Hand Corn Mill
A Hand Corn Mill - A Wigwam
A Wigwam - Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Through the achievements of early pioneers and settlers, of whom Daniel Boone is the type, the region lying between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi River came into the possession of the United States. In a very different way did the territory lying between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains become a part of the national domain. It was acquired not by exploration or settlement, but by purchase, and the man most intimately associated with this purchase was Thomas Jefferson. - Indian Implements
Indian Implements - Monticello
At twenty-nine years of age he married a beautiful young widow of twenty-three. After the wedding festivities, he and his bride started out in a four-horse carriage to drive to his home, Monticello, more than 100 miles away. It was in the month of January, and a heavy snow-storm overtook them, compelling them to abandon the carriage and continue the journey over the rough mountain roads on horseback. - Map of Louisiana Purchase
Map of Louisiana Purchase; also United States in 1803. - Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton [1765-1815] Robert Fulton was born of poor parents in 1765, in Little Britain, Pa. His father having died when the boy was only three years old, his mother took charge of his education. She taught him herself until he was eight and then sent him to school. But he had no liking for books, and made slow progress. Drawing and mechanical devices absorbed his interest, and nothing gave him greater delight than to visit the shops of mechanics and there with his own hands to work out his new ideas. - A Pack Horse
A Pack Horse - A Flat Boat
A Flat Boat Another illustration of his [Robert Fulton] inventive gift belongs to his boyhood days. He and one of his playmates used to go out fishing in a flat boat which they propelled by the use of long poles. Getting tired of this method of navigation, Robert made two crude paddle-wheels, one for each side of the boat, connecting them by a sort of double crank, which the boys united in turning. They could then easily propel the boat in their fishing trips to various parts of the lake, and keenly enjoyed this novel and easy way of going a-fishing. - The Clermont
The Clermont Fulton returned in 1806 to America, where, with money furnished by his friend Livingston, he began to construct another steamboat which he called the Clermont, after the name of Livingston's home on the Hudson. This boat was 130 feet long and 18 feet wide, with a mast and a sail, and on each side a wheel 15 feet in diameter, fully exposed to view. One morning in August, 1807, a throng of expectant people gathered on the banks of the North River at New York, to see the trial of the Clermont. Everybody was looking for failure. People had all along spoken of Fulton as a crack-brained dreamer, and had called the Clermont "Fulton's Folly." "Of course the thing would not move." "That any man with common-sense might know," they said. So while Fulton was waiting to give the signal to start, these wiseacres were getting ready to jest at his failure. Finally, at the signal, the Clermont moved slowly, and then stood perfectly still. "Just what I have been saying," said one onlooker with emphasis. "I knew the boat would not go," said another. "Such a thing is impossible," said a third. But they spoke too soon, for after a little adjustment of the machinery, the Clermont steamed proudly up the Hudson. - Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson [1767-1845] the sixth President of the United States - A Spinning Wheel
A Spinning Wheel - Jackson at the battle of New Orleans
Jackson at the battle of New Orleans The British army consisted of 12,000 veterans fresh from victories over the great Napoleon. Naturally enough they despised the American backwoodsmen. Their confidence seemed reasonable, for they numbered twice as many as the Americans. On January 8, 1815, the British made a vigorous assault on the American lines. But they were mowed down with such terrible slaughter that at the end of twenty-five minutes, they were forced to retreat with a loss of 2,600 men in killed and wounded. The Americans lost only twenty-one. The resolute courage and unwearied action of "Old Hickory," as Jackson was fondly called by his men, had won a signal victory. Through his military reputation Jackson soon became very popular. His honesty and patriotism took a strong hold on the people, and in due time he was elected President of the United States. - Marshfield—Home of Daniel Webster
Marshfield—Home of Daniel Webste - Samuel Finley Breese Morse
Inventor of the Electric Telegraph In a short time he had worked out on paper the whole scheme of transmitting thought over long distances by means of electricity. And now began twelve toilsome years of struggle to devise machinery for his invention. To provide for his three motherless children, Morse had to devote to painting much time that he otherwise would have spent in perfecting the mechanical appliances for his telegraph. His progress therefore was slow and painful, but he persistently continued in the midst of discouraging conditions. - Telegraph and Railroad
Telegraph and Railroad - Lincoln's Birthplace
Lincoln's Birthplace - Map of the United States showing the Southern Confederacy
Map of the United States showing the Southern Confederacy, the Slave States that did not Secede, and the Territories. - Slaves on a cotton plantation
Slaves on a cotton plantation But the war was not without its good results also. One of these, embodied later in the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, set free forever all the slaves in the Union; and another swept away for all time the evils of State rights, nullification, and secession. Webster's idea that the Union was supreme over the States had now become a fact which could never again be a subject of dispute. The Union was "one and inseparable." - Ulysses S. Grant
With the news that the Southern troops had fired upon the flag at Fort Sumter, Grant's patriotism was aroused. Without delay he rejoined the army and at once took an active part in the preparations for war. First as colonel and then as brigadier-general, he led his troops. At last he had found a field of action in which he quickly developed his powers as a leader. - Meeting of Grant and Lee
While suffering from a severe sick headache, General Grant received a note from Lee saying that the latter was now willing to consider terms of surrender. It was a remarkable occasion when the two eminent generals met on that Sunday morning, in what is known as the McLean house, standing in the little village of Appomattox Court House. Grant writes in his "Personal Memoirs": "I was without a sword, as I usually was when on horseback on the field, and wore a soldier's blouse for a coat, with the shoulder-straps of my `rank` to indicate to the army who I was.... General Lee was dressed in a full uniform which was entirely new, and was wearing a sword of considerable value—very likely the sword which had been presented by the State of Virginia.... In my rough travelling suit, the uniform of a private with the straps of a lieutenant-general, I must have contrasted very strangely with a man so handsomely dressed, six feet high and of faultless form. - The McLean House
The McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia is within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Then owned by Wilmer McLean and his wife Virginia, the house near the end of the American Civil War served as the location of the surrender of the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865, after a nearby battle. [Wikipedia] - General R. E. Lee
General R. E. Lee - The Wreck of the Maine
On the night of February 15, 1898, one of our battle-ships, the Maine, was blown up in the harbor of Havana, and 266 of our sailors were killed. Many believed that this awful deed was the work of Spanish officials; and this conviction deepened when a careful investigation was made by a court of naval inquiry. In all parts of this country the excitement of the people increased until they were ready to go to war with Spain if she would not change her policy toward Cuba. But Spain was so stubborn that President McKinley, after trying in every possible way to prevent hostilities, was obliged to say in a message that "the war in Cuba must stop"; and on April 25, 1898, Congress took the momentous step of declaring war. - Admiral Dewey
Our Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Long, lost no time in sending a despatch to Commodore Dewey,—who was in command of an American fleet of six war-vessels at Hong-Kong,—directing him to proceed at once to the Philippine Islands and capture or destroy the Spanish fleet stationed there. Two days later Commodore Dewey's fleet was steaming southward toward Manila Bay, in search of the Spanish squadron of ten war-vessels and two torpedo-boats. It was extremely important that these ships of war should be captured or destroyed before they could make their way to our Pacific coast and attack American cities - The 'Boston Tea Party.'
The 'Boston Tea Party' - Benjamin Franklin
American independence, the beginnings of which we have just been considering, was accomplished after a long struggle. Many brave men fought on the battle-field, and many who never shouldered a musket or drew a sword exerted a powerful influence for the good of the patriot cause. One of these men was Benjamin Franklin. He was born in Boston in 1706, the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen children. His father was a candle-maker and soap-boiler. Intending to make a clergyman of Benjamin, he sent him, at eight years of age, to a grammar-school, with the purpose of fitting him for college. The boy made rapid progress, but before the end of his first school-year his father took him out on account of the expense, and put him into a school where he would learn more practical subjects, such as writing and arithmetic. The last study proved very difficult for him. - Franklin in the Streets of Philadelphia
The next day, which was Sunday, they reached Philadelphia, and young Franklin, poorly clad and travel-soiled, with only a little money in his pocket, was making his way alone through the streets of Philadelphia. But he was cheerful and full of hope. His health was strong, and he was hungry for his breakfast. Going to a baker's shop he bought three large rolls, and, his pockets being already stuffed with shirts and stockings, he tucked one roll under each arm, and walked up Market Street eating the third. His ludicrous appearance afforded much amusement to a certain Deborah Read, who stood at the door of her father's house as he passed by. Little did she think that this strange-looking fellow would one day become the greatest man in Philadelphia and even in Pennsylvania. Little did she think that one day, not many years after that morning she would become his wife. Both these things came to pass. - Franklin Experimenting with Electricity
When the kite rose high into the air, Franklin watched intently to see what might follow. After a while the fibres of the hempen string began to move, and then, putting his knuckles near the key, Franklin drew forth sparks of electricity. He was delighted, for he had proved that the lightning in the clouds was the same thing as the electricity that men of science could make with machines. It was a great discovery and made Benjamin Franklin famous. From some of the leading universities of Europe he received the title of Doctor, and he was now recognized as one of the great men of the world. - Lafayette Offering His Services to Franklin
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, he was sent to France to secure aid for the American cause. The French people gave him a cordial reception. There were feasts and parades in his honor, crowds followed him on the streets, and his pictures were everywhere displayed. - Richmond Residence
Residence of General Lee in Richmond - Pickett's Return
Picket's Return after the battle of Gettysburg - Lee Leaving Appomattox
Lee Leaving Appomattox Court House So Lee fell back towards Lynchburg, but on April 9th, 1865, being entirely surrounded by Grant’s vast army, he and his few ragged men surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court-House. Lee had only eight thousand men, while Grant’s army numbered about two hundred thousand. - Johnny Reb and Billy Yank
Johnny Reb and Billy Yank Lee’s lines were so close to Grant’s at one point that the men would often call over to each other. The Federals called the Confederates Johnny Rebs, while the Confederate name for the Federals was Billy Yank. - Engineer
Robert E. Lee, Lieut. of Engineers. In 1829, when twenty-two years old, Robert entered the Engineer Corps of the United States, and thus became Lieutenant Lee. It is the duty of these engineers in time of peace, to plan forts, to change the course of rivers which make sand-banks at wrong places, and to do other work of the same kind.