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and promptitude; but such was the im- | confederacy was shattered into fragments; petuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry, that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from their coverts in so short a time, that, although every possible exertion was used.

LITTLE TURTLE.

by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd, and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, only a part of each could get up in season to participate in the action, the enemy being driven, in the course of one hour, more than two miles, through the thick woods, by less than onehalf their numbers. Thus did this powerful horde of savages, who had assumed to dictate terms and throw down the gauntlet to the American nation, abandon themselves to flight, and flee in terror and dismay, before Wayne and his victorious army. They were compelled to sue for peace on the conqueror's own terms; their 7

their power was forever annihilated. On the return of Wayne to Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, there was a cessation of all business, as on some great holiday; the military turned out in legions to meet him; the bells rang out their merriest peals, cannon boomed from every hill-top, and the plaudits of the multitude attended him at every step. General Harrison's defeat of the Indians under Tecumseh, at Tippecanoe, in 1811, was another victory of similar brilliancy and importance, deserving of mention here.

It only remains to add to this chapter, General Jackson's crowning achievement in the work of grinding to powder the military prestige of the Indian race in North America. The Creeks and Seminoles had long disputed the intrusion of the white race, and, though dreadfully cut to pieces in the battles of Talluschatches, Talladega, Emuckfaw, Énotochopco, and others, determined to make one more great and final struggle in the field. Accordingly, with consummate sagacity and skill, they selected a position at the great bend of the Tallapoosa, called by them Tohopeka, and by the whites Horseshoe Bend. Here, strongly fortified, were collected together the proudest, fiercest, most victorious warriors, of all that race and region. On the 27th of March, 1814, Jackson advanced and attacked them with tremendous energy, the troops leaping over the walls of the fort, and engaging in a hand-to-hand combat with the savages, the latter fighting with characteristic fury and desperation.

Of the nine hundred warriors,-the flower of their tribes,-who defended the fort, seven hundred and fifty were killed or drowned; for, seeing no chance of escape, and scorning to surrender, they fought with bloody energy until nearly all were slain.

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XI.

WHITNEY'S EXTRAORDINARY COTTON-GIN INVEN

TION.-1793.

Amazing Impetus Given to the Culture, Uses and Consumption of Cotton.-Revolution in the Industrial Prospects and Political Power of the South.-How Cotton Became "King."-Its Relation to the Great Themes and Events in American History.-Ingratitude to Whitney.-His Brilliant Change of Fortune in Another Sphere.-Whitney's Obscure Circumstances.-His Early Mechanical Genius. -Determined to Get an Education.-Goes to the South as a Teacher.-Change of Pursuits.-Befriended by General Greene's Widow.-Amateur Inventive Efforts.-Low State of Southern In

dustry.--Objection to Cotton-Raising.Mrs. Greene's Apt Suggestion.-Whitney's Characteristic Resolve.-Secret and Persevering Toil.-Exciting Rumors as to His Purpose.-Great Expectations Entertained.-Triumphant Success. - Enthusiasm of the Cotton-Growers.-His Machine Stolen from Him.-Infringements upon His Patent.-Law-Suits, but no Redress for Him.-His Pathetic Letter to Fulton.-He Invents a Valuable Firearm.-Southern Strides in Wealth.

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"What Peter the Great did to make Russia dominant, Eli Whitney's invention of the Cotton-Gin has more than equaled in its relation to the progress and power of the United States."-LORD MACAULAY.

RESULTS OF THE COTTON-GIN.

EYOND all doubt or question, the invention of the cotton-gin, just at the close of the eighteenth century, was an event which most wonderfully accelerated the high career of the United States, in an industrial point of view, and, indeed, revolutionized, by an extraordinary impetus, the manufactures and commerce of the world. It may be regarded, in a word, as the first key which was applied to the unlocking of those wondrous natural capabilities of the new-born republic, the continued development of which has given her such a foremost place, in respect to material and political power, among the nations of the earth. So direct is its identity with the facts and causes which have led to the country's prodigious progress during the hundred years of its national history, that he who would trace to their primary scurce-with even ordinary philosophical acuteness of judgment-those momentous events, whether material, political, military, or social, which have distinguished the greater part of that century, may well pause longest and take his latitude at this point. Such, indeed, is the great national consequence accorded by historians to this machine, that, of

the thousands upon thousands of inventions and discoveries recorded in the patent office at Washington, many of them, of course, of almost incalculable value, only some half a dozen, or less, are comprised in the chronology of important dates,' in the New American Cyclopedia, that marvelous portrayal of man and civilization during the known ages. First among the triumphs of American ingenuity thus made conspicuously historical, is the invention and introduction of the cotton-gin, in 1793, which is the subject of this article. That it should have a place among the few of its kind capable of coming within the plan and scope of this volume, will be at once apparent.

Before entering into the more elaborate details pertaining to this remarkable machine and its bearing upon American industry and commerce, it may be useful to give, in the first place, a sketch in brief of the career of Eli Whitney, whose genius gave to his country, and to mankind, this great boon. At an early age, he gave indications of that mechanical and inventive talent, for which he was afterwards so greatly celebrated. His father was a farmer in Westborough, Massachusetts, a village where only the ordinary advantages of a common-school education were available. But Mr. Whitney was desirous of the benefits of a more complete course of instruction, and at the age of twenty-three entered the college in New Haven. He received the honors of this institution in 1792, and soon after went to Georgia, in the expectation of opening a private private school, and devoting himself to that profession. In this expectation he was disappointed, for, on arriving at the place of his destination, he was informed that another tutor was already filling the station he expected to occupy.

Having traveled from the north, to Savannah, in company with Mrs. Greene, the widow of the revolutionary general and hero of that name, he received from that lady a courteous invitation to make her house his home, while engaged in his

course of studies preparatory to entering the legal profession. This most favorable offer, so timely in view of his shattered. health and scanty means, he gratefully availed himself of.

It was on the occasion of a social gathering of some neighbors and others, one afternoon, at the residence of Mrs. Greene, -a party including several planters of distinction, a few of whom had served as officers under General Greene's command, -that Whitney first resolved to rouse his genius to its utmost accomplishment. Among other remarks made by the gentlemen present, on the occasion referred to, was one in regard to the depressed condition of the agricultural interests of Georgia, namely, that since all the lands in that region, not suitable for the cultivation of rice, were eminently favorable for the production of heavy cotton-crops, it was exceedingly to be regretted that no means existed of cleansing the green seed-cotton, or of separating it from its seed, in a manner sufficiently thorough to make it profitable,-it being almost useless, in the absence of such a method or contrivance, to undertake to grow cotton-crops for sale, because only a pound of this green seedcotton could be cleaned and made merchantable, per day, by a single laborer, and the price obtainable for it, when thus prepared, was but a few cents per pound.

In response to these suggestions, Mrs. Greene, with true womanly perceptions, and knowing Whitney's ingenious turn of mind in the sphere of mechanics, naively remarked, "Well, gentlemen, apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney, he can make anything;" and, suiting the action to the word, she led them into the room where her tambour or embroidery-frame was kept, together with some other ingenious contrivances, and exhibited them to the company as evidences of Whitney's singular skill. On being introduced to these gentlemen, and entering into conversation with them on the subject, Mr. Whitney was obliged to inform them that he had never seen cotton nor cotton-seed in his life!

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In a few months, he had advanced so far and so successfully with his machine, as to leave no doubt of his having achieved a complete triumph. In acknowledgment of Mrs. Greene's many and valued attentions to him during his labors, and her steadfast interest in his fortunes, the gratifying privilege was accorded her, on a day duly appointed, of exhibiting to an invited assembly of guests, principally planters, a model of the saw-gin that was to produce such a mighty change. Their astonishment was almost unbounded, when, on examining the principle and working of the instrument, they found that more cotton could be separated from the seed in one day by the labor of a single hand, than could be done, in the usual manner, in many months. Enthusiasm over such a result, and in view of such a prospect, was very natural.

The report of Mr. Whitney's invention spread very rapidly throughout the South, exciting intense interest, and the planters in especial were eager to see a machine that promised such incalculable benefits to themselves and to the nation. For a time, however, Whitney declined showing the gin, as it was not entirely perfected, and because it might be imitated by others, and he be deprived in that way of his right to a patent. But, so great was the excitement to which the people had been wrought up, and so tempting was the chance which presented itself to the unprincipled, to appropriate to themselves the fruits of other men's toils, that the building in which Whitney carried on his labors was actually broken into, one night, by a party of lawless individuals, and the instrument secretly carried off. Thus it was that several machines were constructed on the basis of Whitney's invention, and indeed varying but little from the original, though it was artfully attempted to have the deviation sufficiently obvious to escape the penalties of imitation.

It may well be supposed that the various lawsuits growing out of the infringements upon his rights, was an exhausting draft upon Mr. Whitney's funds. But, in

addition to this drawback upon his enterprise, there befell him the successive calamities of prolonged sickness, the destruction of his manufacturing establishment by fire, and, worse than all, the assertion on the part of certain unfriendly persons, that the use of the machine ought to be abandoned, because it greatly injured the fiber of the cotton. The testimony of some of the British manufacturers was industriously circulated, to the effect that the old roller-gin, which ground the seed to impalpability, was preferable to that which separated the seed from the staple, at the sacrifice of its quality! And here it may be of interest to state, that, in order to overcome the difficulty of separating the seed from the wool by hand, a rude hand-mill, or roller-gin, was at an early period substituted, in some parts of India and China, by which from forty to sixty-five pounds could be cleaned in a day. After this, the cotton was further cleaned from dirt and knots by bowing.' A large bow being placed in a heap of cotton, the string was made to vibrate powerfully, thus dispersing and cleaning the heap. These means, employed from remote times in eastern countries, were also formerly used by American growers. Much of the sea-island cotton is still separated from its seeds by rollers constructed on a large scale, and worked by horses, steam, or water. These rollers are of wood, and revolve rapidly in contact with each other; as they do so, a sort of comb with iron teeth acts on the cotton as it passes between them, and detaches the seeds, which fly off like sparks in all directions. Particles of seeds which escape and pass through with the cotton, are removed by hand. The cotton is then whisked about in a light wheel, and, when well winnowed, it is conveyed to the packinghouse, and forced into bags by means of screws, until each bag contains the requisite number of pounds. But short-stapled cotton cannot be properly cleaned by this process; the seeds are so firmly attached to the wool, that a more powerful machine is needed, and here the utilty of the saw

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