ple of the people at Boston, who had seized and imprisoned Andros, they began to make preparations to depose the governor, whose name was Nicholson. Alarmed at this, he fled by night, and the chief magistracy was assumed by a militia captain, whose name was Leisler. He was a weak man, and managed the affairs of the colony very badly. 12. While the settlement was suffering from the troubles occasioned by Leisler's administration, war was declared between England and France, and it extended to the French and English colonies in this country. It is known in history as King William's war, the principal incidents of which will be related in the history of New England. 13. Count Frontenac was at this time governor of Canada. In the winter of 1690 he sent a party of French soldiers and Indians to attack Albany. They concluded to destroy Schenectady first. The people of Schenectady had been warned of their danger; but they would not believe that men would come from Canada, a distance of two or three hundred miles, through the deep snows of winter, to molest them. 14. They were, however, fatally deceived. On a Saturday night the enemy came near the town. They divided themselves into small parties, so that every house might be attacked at the same instant. Thus prepared, they entered the place at about eleven o'clock. The inhabitants were all asleep, and stillness rested upon the place. With a noiseless step, the enemy distributed themselves through the village, and at a given signal the savage war whoop was sounded. What a dreadful cry was this to the startled fathers and mothers of this unhappy town! 15. It is scarcely possible to describe the scene that followed. The people, conscious of their danger, sprang from their beds, but were met at the door, and slaughtered by the savages. Every house was set on fire; and the Indians, rendered frantic by the wild scene, ran through the place, slaying those they chanced to meet. Sixty of the people were killed, and twenty-five were made prisonSome attempted to escape; but as they were naked, and the weather was extremely severe, and as they had a considerable distance to go before they could reach a place of security, a part only arrived in safety, while twentyfive lost their limbs by the cold. ers. 16. To avenge these cruelties, and others of a similar nature committed in New England, an attack upon Canada was determined upon. An army, raised in New York and Connecticut, proceeded as far as Lake Champlain ; but finding no boats to take them across, they were obliged to return. Thus the whole expedition failed, and this was attributed to the imbecility of Leisler. 17. It was about this time that King William sent Colonel Henry Sloughter to be governor of New York. But he was totally unfit for the office. When he arrived, Leisler refused to give up his authority. He sent two messengers, however, to confer with Sloughter, who were immediately seized by the governor, and put in prison as rebels. This alarmed Leisler and his associates, and they attempted to escape. But he, with his son-in-law Milborne, was taken, tried, and condemned to death, for high treason. The governor, however, refused to sign the warrant for their execution, as he did not wish to sacrifice two men who had been rather weak than wicked. 18. But the enemies of Leisler and Milborne contrived a plot for their destruction. They made a great feast, and invited Governor Sloughter to go and partake of it. He went; and when he was intoxicated with wine, they asked him to sign the death warrant of the two prisoners. This he did, and before he had recovered his senses, Leisler and Milborne were executed. Thus, through his folly and wickedness, two men suffered an ignominious death. 19. In 1691 Governor Sloughter died. The same year a man by the name of Peter Schuyler, at the head of three hundred Mohawk Indians, went to make an attack upon the French settlements at the north end of Lake Champlain. A body of about eight hundred men were sent from Montreal against him. With these Schuyler and his Mohawks had several battles, in all of which they were successful. They killed more of the enemy than the whole number of their party. 20. In 1692 Colonel Fletcher was made governor of New York, and in 1698 he was succeeded by the Earl of Bellamont. About this time the American seas were very much infested with pirates. These bold men attacked such ships as they met with on the ocean, plundered them of whatever they wanted, and either murdered the crew and took the ships, or sank them both together. 21. Governor Bellamont was particularly charged by the English government to clear the American seas, if possible, of these desperate men. But the necessary ships not being furnished, he and some other individuals determined to fit out a vessel on their own account, and send it against the pirates. They accordingly procured a ship of war, and gave the command of it to a sea captain, whose name was Robert Kidd. But when he got out upon the water, Kidd determined to become a pirate himself. He proposed the plan to his men, and they consented to it. 22. Kidd became one of the most infamous pirates that was ever known. He attacked many vessels upon the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and after three years returned. After burning his ship, Kidd went to Boston, where he was seer. in the streets. He was soon seized and carried to England, where he was tried, condemned, and executed. A great many stories have been told about Captain Kidd. It is said that he buried a great deal of gold, in pots, somewhere along the coast, and a great many attempts have been made to find this gold, but without success; but Kidd and his sailors probably spent all the money so wickedly got, and never buried any of it. 23. Several governors were sent over from England from time to time, but most of them were unworthy of the office. In 1743 George Clinton was sent over as governor, and was warmly received by the people. His administration was, on the whole, acceptable to them. In 1745, during the war of George II.,' New York was much distressed by the incursions of the Indians. Saratoga was destroyed, and other parts of the colony suffered very much. Some of the Indians came to Albany, and concealing themselves in the neighborhood, lay in wait to take prisoners. One savage, bolder than the rest, called Tolmonwilemon, came within the city itself, and carried off people by night. 24. In 1746 New York united with the eastern colonies in an expedition against Canada; but the project totally failed. In 1748 the welcome news of peace between England and France arrived, and the colony was relieved from the distresses brought upon them by the war. 1 Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, died in 1740, and was succeeded in his dominions by his daughter, Maria Theresa, who was married to Francis of Lorraine. Charles, Elector of Bavaria, asserted his claims to the throne, and, by the aid of Louis XV., was elected emperor. This gave rise to a war which involved the principal states of Europe, called the war of the Austrian succession. It extended to the French and English colonies in America, and in this country was called the war of George II. 25. We have now related the principal events in the history of New York up to the time of the French war, which commenced in 1755. From that time the colonies acted in concert; and we shall therefore leave the separate history of New York here, and give a view of what remains to be said of it in the general account of the French war and the American revolution. IV.-SETTLEMENTS. PLYMOUTH COLONY; COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY; MAINE; NEW HAMPSHIRE ; CONNECTICUT; RHODE 1. MORE than two hundred years ago there were in England a great many people called Puritans. They were not happy in England, for they had peculiar opinions about religion. They were cruelly treated, and some of them at length fled from the country. They went first to Holland, but finally they concluded to go to America. 2. They set out in two vessels, but one of them was leaky, and went back. They all entered the other ship, the May Flower, and after a long passage they reached a broad harbor. They then sent some people ashore, to examine the country. These found some Indian corn in baskets, buried in the sand. They also discovered Indian burialplaces, surrounded by sticks stuck in the ground. 3. One night the exploring party built a fire in the woods, and slept by the side of it. In the morning, some arrows, pointed with eagles' claws and sharp pieces of deer's horns, fell among them. These were sent by some Indians who came to attack them. The white men fired |