# Maury's New Elements of Geography for Primary and Intermediate Classes/North America

NORTH AMERICA.
LESSON XXI.
1. Position and Boundaries.—North America is the continent on which we live. It is third in size among the continents. It is larger than Australia and Europe together, but is somewhat smaller than Africa and a little more than half as large as Asia. It lies between the Atlantic ocean on the east and the Pacific ocean on the west. On the north is the cold Arctic ocean; on the south are the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and of the Pacific ocean.
Coast-line.—The coast-line of North America is much broken by gulfs and bays on the north and east. Many of these make excellent harbors. The western coast has fewer good harbors than the eastern coast.
Sunset over the Pacific ocean.
2. Climate.—The map of the heat belts (page 17) shows us that our continent extends far into the Frigid zone on the north, while the southern end lies in the hot belt. The middle part of the continent lies in the Temperate zone. It has, therefore, almost every kind of climate and a great variety of plants and animals.
The winds have much to do with the climate. The southern half of the continent receives the warm winds from over the Gulf of Mexico, These bring an abundance of rain. The middle portion is swept by winds from the Pacific ocean, but much of the rain is kept out by the mountains along that coast. In winter, cold winds from the Arctic ocean sweep over the level part of the continent and make the climate very cold.
3. Mountains and Plateaus.—The entire western half of North America is a great plateau region called the Pacific highlands. If we look at this region on the map of North America (page 35), we shall see that this region is made up of many smaller plateaus and of long ranges, or rows of mountains, extending all the way from the Arctic ocean to South America. Many of these ranges together make up the Rocky mountains. These extend into Mexico where they are called the Sierra Madre (sē-er'rah mah'dray), or Mother range.
To the west of the Rocky mountains are shorter ranges called the Sierra Nevada (ne-vah'dah) and the Cascade.
Near the eastern shore of the continent is another plateau region containing the Appalachian ranges of mountains. But the plateau is not so wide, nor are the mountains so high as in the western highlands.
Mountain of the Holy Cross in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado.
4. Plains.—Now put your finger on the map at the mouth of the Mississippi river, and follow ​it up as far as you can. Then trace a line directly north to the shores of the Arctic ocean.
You will thus move your finger through the central part of the continent. In it there are some low mountains and many hills and valleys, but because of its generally smooth surface this region is called the Great Central plain.
The northern part of this plain is made up of many islands and peninsulas separated by bays, sounds, and straits. This land is so cold that nobody lives there and the waters around it are frozen most of the year.
Along the shores of the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico is a Coastal plain, which extends back to the foothills of the mountains. Along the Pacific coast the mountains often come down to the ocean, but in some places there is a narrow plain called the Pacific plain.
5. Rivers.—If you trace along the tops of the mountain ranges shown on page 35, you will find that many rivers begin there. The ranges are the great divides, or watersheds, of the continent and cause the water to flow in opposite directions. You will find also that many rivers flow through valleys, which they have cut out for themselves through the mountains. Others flow through the Great Central plain and have many branches. Near the center of the continent you find rivers flowing north and south. This means that there is high ground there which forms a watershed, dividing the Great Central plain into a northern and a southern slope. The southern slope is drained by the Mississippi river and its branches, which form the chief river system of the continent. The northern slope is drained by rivers which flow into Hudson bay and the Arctic ocean. Between the highland region and the coast are many short rivers.
The rivers of the plain are very useful for carrying the products of the country to the sea, where they may be sent in ships to foreign countries. Many of the shorter rivers have swift currents and are not navigable.
6. Lakes.—Find the St. Lawrence river and follow up its course until you come to a large lake. This is one of five lakes which are known as the Great Lakes. They are the largest bodies of fresh water in the world. Thousands of ships sail on them, carrying the products of the country. Northwest of the Great lakes are many others extending in a sort of chain nearly to the Arctic ocean.
The St. Lawrence river, looking to Lake Ontario.
For Recitation.—What is the size of our continent? Where is it situated? In what heat belts does it lie? How do the winds change its climate? Compare the coast-line on the east with that on the west. Name the mountain ranges of the Pacific highlands. What mountains are near the Atlantic coast? What can you tell about the Great Central plain? Where is the Coastal plain? The Pacific plain? Where are the largest rivers of North America? For what are they useful? Tell something about the Great Lakes.
LESSON XXII.
1. Divisions.—North America is divided into several parts, or countries. Our own country, the United States, is in the middle.
If we travel northward from the United States, we enter the Dominion of Canada. If we go northeast from Canada, we come to icy Greenland and Iceland (Danish America). If we go northwest from Canada, we come to Alaska which belongs to the United States.
​ 2. Discovery.—In the year 1492—that is, over 400 years ago—Christopher Columbus sailed from a country in Europe called Spain. He had three small ships. He sailed on the Atlantic ocean toward the west, until at last he came to land. It was one of the beautiful islands of the West Indies.
The Spanish Caravel, "Santa Maria," Columbus's flagship.
When Columhus reached the shore, the red men, dressed in feathers and decked with gold, came to meet him, offering him fruit and other provisions. Columhus had discovered America.
The continent was named America from Americus Vespucius, an Italian navigator.
3. Settlement.—After the discovery of the New World, a great many people from Europe came here to live.
A market scene in Mexico, where Spanish is the only language spoken.
If we should go to Mexico, Central America, or some of the West Indies, we should hear the people talking Spanish. This is because the Spaniards settled these parts of North America. If we should visit some parts of Canada, we should hear many of the people speaking French. The early settlers there came from France.
In the United States the people speak English. Most of the settlers here were from England.
For Recitation.—Name the divisions of North America. From what countries of Europe did most of the people come who settled North America? Where did the English settlers go? The French? The Spanish?
MAP STUDIES
What ocean is north of North America? What ocean is east? West? What ocean and gulf are south? What continents are separated by Bering (bee'ring) strait?
What are the divisions of North America? In what part of North America is Canada? Point in the direction of Canada. What bay and strait separate Canada and Greenland?
Where is Greenland? Point in the direction of Greenland. What island is east of Greenland?
Greenland and Iceland are a part of North America, but they are owned by a country in Europe called Denmark. They are therefore called Danish America.
What river flows from Lake Winnipeg into Hudson bay? Through what river do the waters of Great Slave and Great Bear lakes flow to the ocean?
Where is Newfoundland? What division of land is it? Point in the direction of it.
In what part of North America is the United States? What portion of the United States is nearest to Asia? What river crosses Alaska?
What division bounds the United States on the north? What country on the south? Point in the direction of Mexico. What gulf is east of Mexico?
What two countries nearly inclose the Gulf of Mexico? What peninsula is northeast of the Gulf of Mexico?
What division between Mexico and South America? Where are the West Indies? Name the largest of them.
What sea is south of the West Indies? Of what ocean is it a part? Where is Cape Race? Cape San Lucas?
Exercise with the Scale.—In the left-hand lower corner of the map, you will fniil a "Scute of Miles." Mark the length of the scale on a piece of paper. Use it as a measure, and tell how far it is from Newfoundland to Vancouver island. How far is it across the Isthmus of Panama? From New York to Havana?
STUDIES ON THE RELIEF MAP.
The map on the opposite page is intended to show North America as it would look if you were up so high in a balloon that you could not see the trees or houses, but could see only the mountains, hills, valleys, rivers and larger bodies of water. The waters would then look bluish or light in color, the low plains dark green, the mountain tops yellowish brown, and the deep valleys would be in the shadow, just as they are shown on the map.
In what zones or heat belts does North America lie? Turn back to Lesson XII. and read about the zones.
Put your finger on the water lying north of North America. What is its name? Put your finger on the water lying east of North America. What is its name? Put your finger on the water lying west of North America. What is its name?
Find the southern point of Greenland. Trace the Atlantic coast-line of North America as far as the Isthmus of Panama. Notice how many arms of the Atlantic are enclosed so as to form gulfs and bays. Name as many of these arms as you can. Name the peninsulas and islands that enclose them. Name the capes. Cross the Isthmus of Panama and follow the Pacific coast line of North America to the Arctic ocean. Notice the arms of the Pacific that form gulfs and bays. Name all that you can. Name the peninsulas or islands that enclose them. Which ocean has the greater number of arms? Which coast of North America is better suited for commerce?
Move your finger slowly westward from Cape Hatteras. You come first to a dark green strip which shows level land. This-is the Atlantic Coastal plain. Notice which way it extends. Go on slowly westward and you will come to a strip of dark gray color showing the Piedmont, or foothills. Go up these foothills and you come to the Appalachian mountains. Notice that there are several ranges. Can you tell the names of any of these ranges? Cross the mountains into the Great Central plain. Move slowly across the plain. Pass up the hills, and then you are upon the great plateau. There you find the Rocky mountain ranges. What are these mountains called in Mexico? What ranges are near the Pacific coast?
Find the Great Central plain. Find the river that drains the southern part of it. What is the name of the river? Find its mouth and follow it to its source. How many rivers do you find flowing into it from the west? Find the mouth of the first of these rivers and follow it up to its source. Find the second and trace it to its source. Find the third and trace it to its source. Where do you find the sources of these rivers? Find a great river flowing into the Mississippi from the east. This is called the Ohio. Trace it from its mouth to its source. What mountains do you reach? Find two large rivers flowing into the Ohio from the south. Trace these rivers back to their sources. The Mississippi river, with all the rivers that flow into it, makes a river system.
How many rivers can you find that flow down the eastern side of the Appalachian mountains? How many flow into the Atlantic ocean? How many flow into the Gulf of Mexico? How many rivers can you find flowing down from the Rocky mountains on the western side? Into what water do these rivers flow? Follow these rivers back to the mountain tops and notice how close together are the sources of those rivers that flow west and of those that flow east.
Again find the source of the Mississippi river. Just west of it, find the source of another river that flows north into a great lake. This river is called the Red river of the North. Into what lake does it flow? What river flows north from that lake into Hudson bay?
Find the mouth of a great river that flows into the Arctic ocean. Name this river. Follow it up to its source. Name two large lakes that it drains. Find a large river that drains Alaska. Into what water does it flow? These rivers are frozen over about half of each year. The upper part only of the Mississippi river is ever frozen over. Which of these rivers do you think is the more important to commerce? Why?
Start at the source of the Mississippi river; move slowly eastward and count the large lakes. Find the names of these lakes. Water flows from these lakes into a river. What is its name?
Put your finger on those parts of North America that lie in the frigid zone. What sort of climate do the people have there? What plants grow there? (See Lesson XIII.) What animals are found there? (Lesson XIV.) Point out the cold belt of the north temperate zone. What plants grow there? Point out the middle or temperate belt of the temperate zone. What plants grow there? Point out the warm belt of the north temperate zone. What plants grow there? Point out the part of North America that lies in the torrid zone. What sort of climate do the people have there? What plants grow there? Can you find any high mountains in that part of North America that lies in the torrid zone? What effect do these mountains have on the climate? What kind of plants grow half-way up their sides? Why? (See Lesson XII., last paragraph.) What kind of plants grow on their tops?
HOMES AND PEOPLE.
Turn to the relief map of North America. Pass your finger over the cold belt of the Dominion of Canada, of Greenland and of Alaska. This is the land of the Eskimos. Some Americans and Indians live in Alaska, a few people from Europe called Danes live in Greenland, and a few English and Indians live in the cold belt of Canada, but the country is the home of the Eskimos. You can read about them in Lesson XLV.
Look at the picture of the Eskimos on the opposite page. What sort of country do you think their land is? What sort of climate should you think it has? Put your finger on the dome-shaped house. It is made of snow and ice. It has no windows. Find its door. The Eskimos crawl through the door on their hands and knees. Why do the Eskimos build their houses of ice? Do trees grow near their home? Find the tents. The tents and the poles were brought there on sleds.
How many sleds can you see? How are they drawn over the snow? The Eskimo father is driving away on a sled. Find him. The Eskimo mother is sitting on the bundles. She is talking to her little boy. Eskimo women wear boots just as the men do. A big girl is sitting-on the sled, holding her baby brother. Another little girl is in the tent. You could not understand the language of the Eskimos, but many of them can speak a few words of English.
Find the picture of the Indians. These Indians are living in the United States. Some Indians live also in Canada and some in Mexico. What kind of houses do these Indians live in? How are they made? What are they called? Where is the Indian chief? Flow is he dressed? Can you find the squaws? How do they carry their babies? Where do they cook? Find the fire. What do you think they are cooking now? Would you like to live as the Indians do? Why? The Indians speak their own language, which you could not understand. But many of them can speak English, too.
Find the cowboy. He lives in Texas. How is he dressed? Why is he called a cowboy? Can you find his house? Do you see the cattle? Can you find the rope fastened to his saddle? Can you tell its name and its use?
Find the farmhouse in the United States. This house is in Pennsylvania. The picture is made from a photograph of it. There are many farmhouses like it in the United States. Who do you think the girl is? Where do you think the men are? What do the people that live on farms do to make money? What do you think grows on this farm? Did you ever see a farm? What grew on it?
Find the city home in the United States. This house is in New Orleans. The picture is made from a photograph of it. You will find houses very much like this in every large city in the United Stales. On page 88 find Boston, New York, Washington, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago, and San Francisco. On the relief map point out where each city is built. Why are there no cities in the cold belt of Canada? How do you go from one city to another? What do the people in cities do to make money?
What language do we speak in the United States? The people who live in the United States are called Americans. Some Americans have come here from other countries. Do you know any such Americans?
Turn back to the map of North America on page 88. Pass your finger north of the St. Lawrence river; go on north of Lake Superior, and westward to the Pacific ocean. This is the cool belt of the Dominion of Canada. The people that live here are chiefly English or French. They live on rich farms or in large cities, very much as we do in the United States.
On the relief map find the four islands that are called the West Indies. Put your finger on each island and tell its name. On which island is the home in the picture on the opposite page? What is this house built of? It is the home of a coffee planter. His farm lies behind his house. Is it cold or warm in Porto Rico? Porto Rico once belonged to Spain. What language did the people that lived there then speak? To whom does Porto Rico now belong? Turn to Lesson XLVI. and read about the West Indies. Do the gentlemen wear white suits where you live? Are white linen suits cool or warm? Why are they worn in Porto Rico? Turn to page 79 and look at the gentleman and the children in the picture.
Find the Mexican. Where does he live? Find Mexico on the relief map. Is it hot or cold in Mexico? How is it up on the mountains? What sort of saddle has the Mexican? Can you see his blanket? Can you see the silver trimmings on his clothes, on his hat, and on his horse's bridle? Can you find the gate and the house where he lives? Notice the trees growing near. What sort of trees are they? (See Lesson XIII.) Turn to Lesson XLVI. and read about Mexico. What is the Mexican farm called in the picture on page 77? The Spanish language is spoken in Mexico.
Homes and People of North America. Study these pictures in connection with the descriptions and questions on the opposite page.
THE UNITED STATES.
LESSON XXIII.
The Falls of Niagara.
1. Name.—Look at the map of the United States. You will find that it shows a large country made up of many parts. These parts are states; and because they are united into one country, they are called the United States. Our country is sometimes called the Union.
2. Size.—The United States reaches from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean. Nearly a week is required to go by rail from New York, on the Atlantic shore, to San Francisco, on the Pacific shore. The distance from east to west across the United States is about 2,800 miles. From north to south the distance is about 1,700 miles.
3. Rank.—The United States has more people than all the other countries of the Western hemisphere together. The products of its farms, mines, and forests are greater than those of any other country in the world. In wealth and power it also ranks among the greatest countries.
For Recitation.—Why is our country called the United States? What is the greatest distance across the United States from east to west? What is the greatest distance from north to south? What rank has the United States among the Countries of the world?
LESSON XXIV.
1. Where do we find mountains in our country, and where is the land level?
A Canyon in Colorado.
2. Appalachian Mountains.—Several mountain ranges are near the Atlantic coast. They extend nearly from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Taken together, they are called the Appalachian mountains.
From them we get much of the coal that we burn in our stoves, and iron from which the stoves are made. The sides of these mountains are covered with forests. In the long valleys between the ranges are rich farming regions.
On the east of the Appalachian ranges are foot-hills known as the Piedmont Belt. Between the Piedmont Belt and the Atlantic ocean is a strip of lowland called the Atlantic Coastal plain. West of the mountains are plateaus which slope down to the Great Central plain.
3. Rocky Mountains.—In the western part of the United States are the Rocky mountains. They cross the country from north to south. They are grander than the Appalachians. Many of them are more than two miles high.
The largest rivers in our country have their sources among these mountains.
4. Canyons (can'yons).—In the Rocky mountain region are the wonderful gorges called canyons. They are passages worn through the rocks by rivers. The canyons of the Colorado river are more than a mile deep.
St. Paul, Minnesota, on the Missisippi river.
5. Sierra Nevada Mountains.—Still farther west than the Rocky mountains is the Sierra Nevada range. It contains some of the highest mountains in our country, and on its western slopes are found the largest trees in the world. North of the Sierra Nevada is the Cascade range.
6. The Great plateau from which rise the Rocky mountains on the east, and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges on the west, is called the Pacific highlands. It slopes to the Mississippi river on the east, and to the Pacific ocean on the west.
A part of this plateau lying between the Rocky and the Sierra Nevada mountains is completely surrounded with a mountain wall. It is called the Great Basin, and in it lies Great Salt lake.
7. Mississippi Valley.—A vast region of nearly level land lies between the Appalachian mountains and the Rocky mountains. It is the southern half of the Central plain. The great Mississippi river drains it, and therefore it is called the Mississippi valley.
For Recitation.—What mountains are in the eastern part of the United States? What mountains are in the western part of the United States? Where is the Great plateau? Where is the "Mississippi valley?
LESSON XXV.
1. Mississippi River.—Let us now look at some of the rivers and lakes of our country.
The Missisippi river, flowing through the Great Central plain at St. Louis, Missouri.
A sugar plantation in Louisiana, on the flood plain of the same river.
The largest and most useful river is the Mississippi. This is the Indian name. It means Father of Waters, or Great River.
Look at the map. The Mississippi passes through the country from north to south. This is one reason why it is so useful.
Near its source grow great forests. A little farther south are the vast wheat and corn fields of the prairies. Near its mouth it flows through plantations of sugar cane.
The woodman, the farmer, and the planter need one another's produce. The Mississippi helps them to make the exchange. It is thus a useful highway of trade.
"The Father of Waters" has a great many rivers flowing into it. Such rivers are called tributaries. They flow down both sides of the valley, coming from the Rocky mountains in the west and from the Appalachians in the east. The Missouri and the Ohio are the most important. Steamboats carry goods up and down the Missouri, the Ohio, and other tributaries.
2. The Great Lakes.—In the northern part of our country are five great lakes. They are like little oceans. When we sail upon them, we are often out of sight of land.
They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Superior is the largest.
3. Niagara Falls.—Between lakes Erie and Ontario the Niagara river leaps over a precipice, which in one place is 164 feet high. This makes the famous Falls of Niagara.
For Recitation.—What is the largest river in our country? Name one of its great uses. Name the Great Lakes. Which is the largest? What waterfalls are between lakes Erie and Ontario?
Compare this map with the map of North America on page 33. Are they on the same scale? If not, which map is on the larger scale?
What distance does an inch represent on each map?
What ocean is on the east of the United States? What ocean is on the west?
What gulf and country are are on the south? What country is on the north?
What four great lakes lie between the Dominion of Canada and the United States?
Through what river do the waters of these lakes flow to the ocean?
What mountains are in the eastern part of the United States?
Name some of the ranges of the Appalachian Mountains. In what direction do they extend?
What great mountain range is in the western part of the United States? What three mountain ranges are near the Pacific coast?
What great river flows into the Gulf of Mexico? In what direction does it flow? Which is the largest eastern tributary of the Mississippi river? Which is the largest western tributary?
Among what mountains do most of the western tributaries of the Mississippi river rise? Among what mountains do the great eastern tributaries of the Mississippi river rise?
Suppose it should rain at the same time all over the United States; how would most of the rain-water find its way to the ocean?
How are the different states shown on the map? By what, kind of line are their boundaries marked? (When a river forms the whole, or part of a boundary, the line of the river alone marks the boundary.)
Which states border on the Gulf of Mexico? Which border on the Pacific ocean? How many border on the Atlantic ocean?
Washington is the capital of the United States. (Capitals are marked by a star.)
Which state is farthest from Washington toward the northeast? Which is farthest toward the southwest? Toward the west?
In what state do you live? In what part of the country is it located? Find the capital of your state on the map. Is your state among the mountains or in the level part of the country? Does it border on the ocean?
In what direction must you go from your state to reach the city of Washington? To reach the Atlantic ocean? The Gulf of Mexico? The Great Lakes? The Rocky Mountains?
Use the scale of miles and tell how far it is from the capital of your state to the city of Washington? From New York across the country to San Francisco? From Pembina, in North Dakota, to Brownsville, in Texas.
How could you go by water from Boston to Galveston? Find out from the scale of miles how many miles you would travel? How could you go by water ​from Chicago to New York? (The Erie Canal connects Buffalo with Albany.) On what waters would you pass in going from Albany to Memphis? From San Francisco to New York? From Portland, Oregon, to Sacramento t On what rivers would you sail in going from Pittsburg to Kansas City? From St. Paul to Nashville? From St. Paul to Buffalo?
What seaports do you find along the Atlantic Coast? Which of these are at the mouths of rivers? What seaports are along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico? What Seaports are on the Pacific coast? What cities are on the Mississippi river? On the Ohio river? On the Missouri river? What cities are on the shores of the four Great Lakes? Where is the Grand Canyon? In what state is the Great Salt Lake? Find five capital cities that are located on rivers.
1. Agriculture is the chief occupation of our people. Let us take a journey extending north from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and notice what the planters and the farmers are raising.
Raking and loading hay by machinery in Indiana.
First of all, we pass through the belt of warm Southern states, where snow and ice are seldom seen. Here we find groves of orange and lemon trees, and fields of sugar-cane, rice, and cotton. In some parts of this belt the pineapple and other tropical fruits are grown.
We enter next a belt where the weather is cooler. This belt begins a little above the line marked 35 on the map. We are now surrounded by fields of corn, tobacco, hemp, and wheat. In some parts of this belt grapes and peaches grow abundantly.
Carrying cotton down the Mississippi river.
Still journeying northward, we cross the line marked 40 on the map. We are now in a third belt, in which the winters are very cold. More wheat and hay are grown here than anywhere else in the country. Vast numbers of cattle are raised, and much fine butter and cheese are made. In the far north a great deal lumber is cut.
2. Manufacturing.—In the extreme east a large number of people are employed in manufacturing. Some of them make muslins and calico from the cotton that grows in the South; others make clothing, boots and shoes, watches, clocks, farming tools, and machinery.
3. Mining is an important occupation in the mountainous regions. The United States has silver, gold, and other metals. Its coal will last for many years.
4. Commerce and Transportation.—In all parts of the country, many of our people are engaged in commerce. Some of them buy things made or grown in one part of the United States, and sell them in other parts. This is called domestic commerce.
Some merchants sell to other countries the cotton, wheat, and petroleum that we do not need, and buy of them silks, linen, coffee, tea, and spices. This is called foreign commerce.
Loading cotton at Galveston, Texas, to send abroad.
The work of carrying goods and people from place to place is called transportation.
For Recitation.—What is the leading occupation in the United States? What crops are grown in the warmest belt? In the cooler middle belt? In the northern part of our country? Name some of our manufactures; some of our mineral products; our chief exports; our chief imports. ​
LESSON XXVII.
1. Washington is the capital of our country. It is named after General Washington. He chose the location of the place on which it should be built. Where the city, with its magnificent public buildings, now stands, there was in his days nothing but woods, marshes, and cornfields.
Washington is situated in what is called the District of Columbia, which was named after Columbus, in honor of his great discovery. Can you tell what that was? (See p. 32.)
The Capitol building at Washington.
2. Government.—Our country is a Republic. The highest officer is called the President. He is chosen by the people to serve four years. A certain number of men also are chosen by the people to go every year to Washington to make laws. These men form what we call the Congress.
3. History.—A little more than one hundred years ago there were thirteen colonies—that is, settlements—along our Atlantic coast, belonging to England.
The king of England did not govern these colonies well. The people became dissatisfied, and on the 4th of July, 1776, declared, in what is known as the Declaration of Independence, that they would not be governed by the king any longer.
War with England had begun. General Washington, who was one of the greatest and best of men, commanded our armies. The war lasted nearly seven years. We were victorious.
The thirteen independent states joined themselves together under one government. They called themselves the United States.
4. Growth.—Since that time millions of settlers have come here from various countries of Europe, and the United States has grown in a wonderful manner.
Then there were thirteen states; now there are forty-eight states and two territories. Then our country was only a narrow strip along the Atlantic seacoast; now it extends to the Pacific ocean, and includes also many islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. (See maps of these oceans.)
Then there were no canals, railroads, nor steamboats; now steamers ply on every large river, and railroads have crossed the continent. Then there were only three million people; now there are about ninety millions, not counting those in our island regions.
5. Sections of the United States.—The states and territories are divided into the following groups or sections: The New England states, the Middle Atlantic, the Southern, the Central, and the Rocky Mountain and Pacific. The territories are Alaska and Hawaii.
For Recitation.—What and where is the capital of our country? What form of government has our country? Name the highest officer of our government. What body makes the laws of the United States? How many English colonies were once on the Atlantic coast? What did they do? How many states and territories in the United States?
THE NEW ENGLAND STATES.
LESSON XXVIII.
Building ships at Bath, Maine.
1. The New England States.—Now that we have glanced at the whole of our country, suppose we make a visit to the New England states.
2. Name.—One of the first things that will excite our curiosity is the name. Why are these states called New England? About three hundred years ago Captain John Smith, of England, when searching for whales, sailed to the coast of this region. He explored a part of the country, made a map of it, and called it New England after his old home, England.
3. Plymouth Colony.—In 1620, a few years after Captain Smith's visit to New England, a small band of brave men came over in a little vessel called the Mayflower. After a rough voyage they landed on the coast of Massachusetts at a place which they called Plymouth (plim'uth).
Here they made the settlement that is known as Plymouth Colony. They have been called The Pilgrim Fathers.
In the early years of the colony they endured great hardships. Sometimes they were almost starved. Still they persevered.
More settlers came. Boston and other towns were founded, and New England steadily grew in population.
4. The New England States are six in number. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. Massachusetts, Connecticut (kon-net'-e-kut), and Rhode Island.
They are in the northeastern corner of the country. Can you find them on the map of the United States?
For Recitation.—Why was this section called New England? Who made the most important settlement in New England? What colony did they found?
Copyright, 1894, H. G. Peabody. Crawford Notch in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.
LESSON XXIX.
1. Surface.—Most of New England is hilly. Parts of it are mountainous. The country is very unlike the level land of the prairies.
Winter on Boston Common. When Boston and other New England towns were first settled, a large tract of land was set aside in which all the settlers could pasture their cattle in "common." When the settlements grew into cities, the commons became parks, and Boston Common is a beautiful park. The dome of the state capital may be seen among the trees.
The mountains belong to the Appalachian ranges. In Vermont and Massachusetts they are called the Green mountains. In New Hampshire they are called the White mountains.
​The White mountains are the highest in New England. They are famous for their beautiful scenery, and are often visited by travelers.
2. Climate.—The winters of New England are long and very cold.
Ice-harvesting on the Kennebec river in Maine.
Many of the rivers, lakes, and ponds are frozen over, sometimes to the depth of two or three feet. Large quantities of ice are gathered. This is stored away until summer, when it is used at home or shipped to the warmer parts of our own country.
Maine is famed for its ice crop.
3. Productions.—Among the mineral products of New England, the granite of Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Connecticut, and the marble of Vermont are widely known.
The New England farms are small, but produce a great variety of crops. The chief products are potatoes, hay, oats, corn, and fruits. Wheat is raised, but not enough to supply the wants of New England itself.
Immense quantities of the potatoes grown are used for the manufacture of starch.
Quarrying marble at Proctor, Vt. The lines which you see on the sides of the quarry show where the blocks of marble have been cut out.
The horses, cattle, and sheep that pasture on the grassy hillsides of Vermont are famous. The butter and cheese made in this state are among the very best.
Making maple sugar in Vermont. Bringing sap in from the grove to be boiled. Notice how the pails are fastened to the trees to receive it.
4. Maple Sugar.—An interesting thing done by some of the farmers is the making of maple sugar.
In the spring the sap or juice of trees begins to rise. The farmers bore holes in the trunks of the sugar-maple trees, put in little tubes of wood, and catch the sap in pails placed to receive it. The sap is then poured into large iron kettles and boiled. A large part of the water is boiled away, and the sap becomes syrup. More boiling turns the syrup into sugar.
Logs floating down the Androscoggin river, near Berlin, N. H.
5. Lumbering.—There are great forests in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, where many people are employed during the winter months in what is called lumbering.
The lumbermen go into the forests and live in log cabins. They cut down the trees and haul the logs over the snow to the banks of the frozen streams. When spring comes and the ice melts, ​the logs are floated down the rivers to saw mills, where they are cut into boards.
Thousands of logs descend the Penobscot river to the city of Bangor, which is the greatest lumber market of New England.
For Recitation.—Name the principal mountains of New England. What can you say of the climate of New England? What do the New England farmers chiefly raise? How are maple syrup and maple sugar made? What states are famed for lumbering? Name the great lumber market of New England.
MAP STUDIES.
New England States: Capitals and Chief Cities.
| States. | Capitals. | Chief Cities. |
| Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island. | Augusta, Concord, Montpelier, Boston, Hartford, Providence. | Portland, Manchestor, Burlington, Boston, New Haven, Providence. |
In what part of the United States is New England? How many New England states are there? Which is the most northern? Which is the most southern? Which is the largest? The smallest? Rhode Island is also the smallest state in the Union. Which of these states has no seacoast? For this reason Vermont is called an inland state.
What mountains are in Vermont? In New Hampshire? Where is Mount Ka-tah'-din? Which is the longest river of New England? Between what two states does the Connecticut river run? Into what does it flow? The Connecticut valley has the best land in New England, and is famous for its tobacco crop. Which two of the rivers of Maine are the largest? The Kennebec river is noted for its salmon. What river forms a part of the northern boundary of Maine? What river is the outlet of Lake Winnepesaukee (win-ne-pe-sok'-ke)? The Merrimac river is famed for the number of factory wheels that it drives.
What cape is on the coast of Massachusetts? What body of water lies south of Connecticut? What island is south of this sound? Where is Massachusetts bay? What capital city is upon it? Cambridge, a city near Boston, contains Harvard University. Where is Narragansett bay? Newport, a famous summer resort, is on Narragansett bay. Where is Casco bay? What commercial city is on Casco bay?
On what river is Augusta? What city on the Penobscot river is the great lumber market? On what river is Concord? Montpelier?
In what state do you live? If not in New England, in what direction is New England from you? In what direction is Maine from Connecticut? Rhode Island from Vermont? Portland from Boston? Worcester from Boston? New York from Boston?
Suppose you were on a steamboat going up the Connecticut river, in what direction would you be going? In what direction do the Green mountains extend?
Scale.—Which is larger, the scale of this map or that of the map of the United States? What does an inch represent on this map? What does an inch represent on the map of the United States? Use the scale and measure the distance from Boston to Portland.
Map Drawing.—Connecticut has simple boundary lines, and it may be well to let the class copy the map on this state upon their slates, and afterward try to draw it from memory.
Review.—By way of review, four columns may be put on the blackboard; the first for the name of each state, the second for the largest river in each, the third for the capital, the fourth for the chief city. These should be called for from the class, and should be written in their appropriate columns.
LESSON XXX.
1. Manufacturing is the chief business of New England. Many of the rivers run swiftly down to the sea, and thus afford a great deal of water power. This has led many people to become manufacturers.
They have built mills and factories along the banks of many of the streams. Cotton and woolen cloths are made, clothing, boots and shoes, machinery and hardware, watches, clocks, and many other useful articles.
Cotton mills in Manchester, N.H.
shoes, cotton and woolen goods, bicycles, automobiles, lead-pencils, etc., are made in factories.
Scene in Newport harbor, R.I.
The weaving machines work almost like human beings. If a thread breaks, the machinery stops until somebody comes and mends the thread. Sometimes several thousand persons are employed in a single factory.
3. Manufacturing Cities.—Lowell, Lawrence, Manchester, and Nashua are all famed for their cotton mills. They are on the Merrimac river, which moves more machinery than any other river in the world.
Fall River is celebrated for its printed cotton cloths. Worcester (woos'-ter), manufactures more wire rope than any other city in the Union. At Springfield there is an armory where rifles are made for the armies of the United States. Holyoke is noted for paper mills. Lynn, Haverhill, and Brockton manufacture shoes; and New Bedford, Biddeford, and Lewiston, cotton cloth. Providence is the leading city in the United States for the manufacture of jewelry and silverware. Pawtucket has the oldest cotton mills in the United States. New Haven is noted as the seat of Yale University. Hartford is noted for its insurance business, and for the manufacture of firearms and automobiles. Waterbury has many brass foundries.
4. Commerce.—The long and jagged seacoast of New England affords many fine harbors. Wherever there is a good harbor, we find a town or a city, and the people actively engaged in commerce.
Ships are busy carrying ice, lumber, and numerous manufactured articles to various ports of the United States. Railroads also connect New England with every part of the country.
In Gloucester harbor. In the foreground are the racks on which the fish are drying.
"Boston Light" in Boston harbor, Mass.
Thus the cotton weavers of Lowell and Fall River, and the shoemakers of Lynn, can send their goods readily to cities and towns all over the land.
5. Commercial Cities.—The leading commercial city is Boston. It is the largest city in New England and noted for schools and libraries. It has a large trade in wool and leather, and exports many goods to foreign countries.
Portland has the finest harbor on the Atlantic coast. Grain and cattle are shipped to Europe through Portland when the mouth of the St. Lawrence river is frozen. Newport also has a splendid harbor, and is famed as a summer resort.
6. Fisheries.—Many people on the New England coast are fishermen. They catch large quantities of cod and mackerel. Gloucester (glos-ter) and Boston are the chief fishing-ports.
For Recitation.—What is the chief occupation of New England? Name the principal articles manufactured. What are the leading manufacturing cities? Tell in what state each of these cities is found. What are the chief occupations along the seacoast? Name the leading commercial cities. What are the principal fishing ports of New England?
THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES.
LESSON XXXI.
1. Middle Atlantic States.—Leaving New England, let us visit the Middle Atlantic states. All of them except two lie along the Atlantic coast, and are between the New England states on one side and the Southern states on the other. Hence they are called Middle Atlantic.
These states are New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, De1aware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. New York and Pennsylvania are the most populous states of the Union and are also first in manufactures.
View of the Hudson river, named for Henry Hudson, the first white man who ever sailed on it. It is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world
2. Early Settlements.—The first permanent English colony in America was the one established at Jamestown, in Virginia, in 1607. Virginia is thus the oldest of the states, and is sometimes called the Old Dominion.
The New Jersey shore, showing crowds of people at Atlantic City bathing in the waters of the Atlantic ocean.
In 1682, more than two hundred years ago, William Penn, an English Quaker, established a colony where Philadelphia now stands. The country was called Pennsylvania, or Penn's Woods.
In 1634 Maryland was settled by some English Roman Catholics sent over by Lord Baltimore, for whom the city of Baltimore was named.
Baltimore.—A view of Mount Vernon Place. The homes of some of the richest citizens are on that street.
For Recitation.—Where was the first permanent settlement made? By whom was New York settled? Who settled Pennsylvania? By whom was Maryland settled? Where did the Swedish colonists settle?
MAP STUDIES.
Middle Atlantic states. Capitals and Chief Cities.
| States. | Capitals. | Chief Cities. |
| New York, | Albany, | New York. |
| New Jersey, | Trenton, | Newark. |
| Pennsylvania, | Harrisburg, | Philadelphia. |
| Delaware, | Dover, | Wilmington. |
| Maryland, | Annapolis, | Baltimore. |
| Virginia, | Richmond, | Richmond. |
| West Virginia, | Charleston, | Wheeling. |
In what direction are the Middle Atlantic states from New England? Which two border on the Great Lakes? What states bound New York on the east? On the south? What two lakes and rivers are on the northwest?
By what river are the two lakes connected? In what direction does it flow? What makes Niagara river famous? What river forms the outlet of the Great Lakes? What is its direction?
What lake is between New York and Vermont? What lake is south of Lake Champlain (sham-plain).
Both of these lakes are famed for their beautiful scenery. Many travelers visit them every year.
A lake in the Adirondacks.
What mountains are in New York? What important river rises in the Ad-i-ron'-dack mountains? In what direction does it flow? Measure its length by the scale of miles. What is the principal tributary of the Hudson river?
What river and lake does the Erie canal connect? How then can a boatload of wheat be brought from Lake Erie to New York city?
What cities are at the ends of the Erie canal? Where is New York city? Point toward it.
What mountains do you find in Pennsy1vania? What river separates Pennsylvania from New Jersey? Into what does it flow?
What river rises in New York and crosses Pennsylvania? What two rivers form the Ohio? What city is at their junction?
The Natural Bridge, Virginia.
The Allegheny river passes through the region from which we get petroleum, or rock-oil.
On what river is the capital of the state? What great city is at the junction of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers? Its name means—brotherly love. It was founded by Quakers. What city is on Lake Erie?
What river is between New Jersey and Pennsylvania? What cape forms the southern extremity of New Jersey? Where is Branch? (See small map.) Long Cape May and Long Branch are popular watering places. What large city of New Jersey is opposite New York city? Where is Newark?
On what river is Wilmington? As you pass down Delaware bay to the ocean, what state is on your right hand? On your left? Suppose you go westward or southward from Delaware, what State do you enter?
What mountains cross this state? What bay and river divide it into two parts?
What two cities are on the bay? Which of them is the capital? Where is Cumberland? Frederick?
What river separates Maryland from Virginia? What district is situated on this river? What state is on three sides of the District of Columbia?
What noted city does this district contain? Point toward Washington,
Crossing the Potomac from Washington, what state do you enter? What mountain range separates Virginia from Kentucky?
What mountains are between Virginia and West Virginia? What range crosses Virginia?
What rivers break through the Blue Ridge? What city is on the Appomattox river? What large city is on the James river? Suppose you sail in a steamer from Richmond, Va., to the Atlantic ocean, what two seaports would you pass? What bay would you cross?
Between what capes would you sail? In what state are these capes? In what directions would you sail in going from Richmond to New York city?
Cross the Alleghenies from Virginia: what state do you enter? What river forms the northwestern boundary of West Virginia? The southwestern? On what river is Wheeling? Where is Charleston? Parkersburg?
LESSON XXXII.
1. Surface.—Along the ocean the land of these states is level. Some distance from the seashore it begins to rise, and we find ourselves at first among hills, then among mountains.
We rise higher and higher until we reach at last the tops of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny ranges. In New York are the Catskill and the Adirondack groups, famous as summer resorts for people from the cities.
The level land along the ocean is a part of the Atlantic coastal plain, and the hills that rise from it belong to the Piedmont plateau region. The mountain ranges are part of the great Appalachian system, which extends on southward, and are the watershed. Going down the western slope of the mountains, we reach another plateau and descend to the Central plain, which borders Lakes Erie and Ontario.
James river and Blue Ridge mountains, Va.
Several rivers that flow into the Atlantic have cut gaps in the mountains called water gaps. The scenery about them is very beautiful. The most remarkable are those of the Hudson at West Point, the Delaware at Delaware Water Gap, and the Potomac at Harper's Ferry.
3. Climate.—In the northern portions of these states, the climate is very much like that of New England. In winter the snow is often very deep.
As we go farther south, the climate becomes milder, and along the Atlantic coast in the southern part of Virginia snow is seldom seen.
Delaware Water Gap, Pa.
4. Farm Products.—Farming is a more important industry in the Middle Atlantic states than in New England.
The principal crops are hay, potatoes, oats, wheat, corn, and buckwheat. These grow in all the states.
Maryland and Virginia are noted for tobacco.
New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware are famed for their peaches and strawberries.
Many farmers have large peach orchards, from which they send thousands of baskets of peaches every season to New York and Philadelphia.
New Jersey is a great market garden.
As we pass through the state, we see vegetables cultivated everywhere. They are grown for the markets of New York, Philadelphia, and the neighboring cities.
The market gardens near Norfolk, Virginia, also supply the northern markets with early vegetables.
New York and Pennsylvania are especially noted for cattle, butter and cheese, hay, grain, potatoes and orchard fruits.
For Recitation.—What mountain ranges cross the Middle Atlantic states? What mountains are in New York? What are the most, important rivers of this section? What are the principal farm products of the Middle Atlantic states? For what crop is Virginia noted? For what crops are New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland famed? What states are noted for grazing products?
LESSON XXXIII.
1. Minerals.—The mountainous parts of these states abound in coal and iron, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are great coal and iron states.
In some of the Pennsylvania coal mines the passageways from which coal has been taken are miles in length.
In the coal mines of Pennsylvania.
2. Iron.—As we travel through the mountains of Pennsylvania, we often see tall chimneys rising up among the tree-tops.
At night these chimneys are like giant lighthouses, with a flame many feet in length coming out of them.
They belong to smelting-furnaces. In such furnaces iron ore is smelted. The iron is then run off into little channels made in sand. Here it cools in bars about two feet long, and becomes what we call pig-iron. The "pigs" are melted again and made into steel, and the steel is at last rolled into rails for railroads or made into other useful things.
3. Petroleum. or rock oil, from which kerosene is made, is obtained in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia.
Here are to be seen wells from which petroleum is pumped up instead of water. Sometimes, when an oil well is first opened, the oil spouts up in a column twenty-five or thirty feet high.
Pennsylvania and New York are famed for their natural gas.
Interior of a sewing-machine, factory at Newark, N.J. In this room the machines are put together.
4. Manufactures.—Many of the cities and towns of the Middle Atlantic states are extensively engaged in manufacturing.
In their foundries and machine shops, railroad engines and machinery of all kinds are made. There are also manufactures of cotton, silk, and woolen goods.
Manufacturing Cities.—New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore take the lead in manufacturing. Pittsburg is celebrated for its iron and glass works; Buffalo, for its enormous shipping business. Rochester, near the falls of the Genesee, manufactures large quantities of clothing, Troy makes railroad cars, stoves, and shirts, collars, and cuffs.
Newark manufactures rubber, sewing machines, and leather-goods; Jersey City, glassware, lead pencils, and a great variety of metal goods.
Paterson is noted for its silk manufactures. Wilmington is famed for its manufacture of gunpowder, cars, and iron and steel steamships.
Wheeling, W, Va., showing factories along the Ohio river.
Norfolk, in Virginia, has one of the best harbors in the United States. It manufactures cotton and ships oysters and vegetables.
Wheeling, on the Ohio, contains large iron and glass works.
For Recitation.—What are the chief products of the Middle Atlantic states? From which of these states do we get much of our coal, ironware, and petroleum? What are the leading manufacturing cities of the Middle Atlantic states? Mention other cities in this section.
LESSON XXXIV.
1. Commerce.—The commerce, both domestic and foreign, that is carried on in the Middle Atlantic states is very great.
The railways and canals are constantly carrying wheat, cotton, and other produce into the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Here these products are placed in ships and steamers and sent all over the world.
Lower New York city, photographed from the roof of the Produce Exchange. On the left is Broadway. In the center is the U.S. Sub-Treasury, a low building with columns. Three of these columns can be seen. West of it is Nassau Street. In front is Broad Street and the Mills Building. Wall Street runs east and west in front of it.
Philadelphia, Pa.
2. New York is the largest city in America. It contains about five million inhabitants. Its manufactures are vast; its commerce is immense. In its harbor we may see ships from every part of the globe.
Lying in great piles on the wharves are boxes of tea, silk, and fire-crackers from Asia; coffee from South America; sugar, bananas, and pineapples from the West Indies; raisins, currants, and figs from the Mediterranean.
What has made New York such a great commercial city? First, it has a fine harbor, deep and wide. Second, it is at the mouth of the Hudson river, and this river and the Erie canal connect it with the great farming region of the country. Third, numerous railways also bring into it immense quantities of wheat and other produce.
Brooklyn, now a part of New York, is noted for the shipment of grain and for sugar refining.
Wheat is brought here in canal barges and railroad cars and placed in storehouses. It is afterwards put into ships and sent across the ocean.
3. Philadelphia is a great commercial city, and one of the leading manufacturing cities. It is on the Delaware river, and has easy access to the ocean through the Delaware bay.
4. Baltimore, on the Chesapeake bay, is the largest city of Maryland. Its manufactures are important, and it carries on a large domestic and foreign commerce.
The oysters of the Chesapeake bay are sent from Baltimore to distant parts of this country, and even to Europe.
5. Other Cities.—Buffalo, on Lake Erie, is a very busy place. It has an enormous trade in wheat, flour, cattle, and lumber.
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, at the falls of the James, has large iron works and an extensive tobacco trade.
Capitol grounds, Washington monument and St. Paul's church, Richmond, Va.
For Recitation.—For what are the Middle Atlantic states famed? Why has New York become a great commercial city? What is said of Philadelphia? For what is Baltimore noted? Name other important commercial cities.
THE SOUTHERN STATES.
LESSON XXXV.
1. Southern States.—Leaving the Middle Atlantic states, and journeying south, we enter the Southern states.
They are North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Texas is the largest state in the Union. It is about six times the size of New York state.
Picking cotton near Anniston, Ala. The frost has killed the leaves.
2. Early Settlements.—The first attempt to form a settlement in North Carolina was made in 1585, by Sir Walter Raleigh, after whom the capital is named.
The first permanent settlement in South Carolina was made by English people in 1670. Georgia was colonized by English settlers, who founded Savaannah in 1733.
Florida was settled by Spaniards, and purchased from Spain by the United States. Saint Augustine, in Florida, is the oldest town in the United States. It was founded in 1565.
Louisiana is so called from the French king, Louis XIV. With Arkansas and a large tract lying to the north and northwest, it was bought by the United States from France.
Texas was once a part of Mexico. We are reminded of this by the number of Spanish names in the state—San Antonio, Rio Grande, etc. San means saint; Rio, river; Grande, great. After a hard fight Texas gained its independence. It was a republic from 1836 to 1845, when it was made one of the United States.
For Recitation.—Name the Southern states, with their capitals. Who first settled North Carolina? Who settled South Carolina? Who colonized Georgia? Who settled Florida? Which of the Southern states was settled by the French? To what country did Texas once belong?
LESSON XXXVI.
1. Surface.—The land of the Southern states is mostly level. Along the coast it is low. In some parts of Mississippi and Louisiana it is below the surface of the Mississippi. The country would be flooded but for the great banks, or levees, built on both sides of the river.
The nearly level land is the coastal plain and extends to the Piedmont region at the foot of the mountains.
The Cumberland mountains, the Blue Ridge, and the Alleghenies extend into this section.
Mt. Mitchell, in North Carolina, is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi.
2. Swamps.—If we should travel along the shores of the Southern states, we should often find ourselves in the midst of swampy lands, where the vegetation is most luxuriant and beautiful.
Mosses hang from the trees. The magnolia, the jessamine and many gay-colored flowers fill the air with fragrance.
3. Climate.—The Southern states have a warm climate. In those which lie south of Tennessee the winters are scarcely colder than early autumn in the Middle Atlantic states. In Florida the orange tree blossoms all the year around. Florida means flowery.
MAP STUDIES.
The Southern states, with their Capitals and Chief Cities.
| States. | Capitals. | Chief Cities. |
| North Carolina, | Raleigh (raw'-le), | Charlotte. |
| South Carolina, | Columbia, | Charleston. |
| Georgia, | Atlanta, | Atlanta. |
| Florida, | Tallahassee, | Jacksonville. |
| Alabama, | Montgomery, | Birmingham. |
| Mississippi, | Jackson, | Meridian. |
| Louisiana, | Baton Rouge (bat'- on roozh), | New Orleans. |
| Texas, | Austin, | San Antonio. |
| Arkansas, | Little Rock, | Little Rock. |
| Tennessee, | Nashville, | Memphis. |
| Oklahoma, | Oklahoma City, | Oklahoma City. |
Which four of the Southern states border on the Atlantic? Which border on the Gulf? Those last are often called the Gulf States. Which state is farthest east? Farthest west? Which two states extend farthest south, and have therefore the warmest climate? Which Southern state is the largest? The smallest?
What three capes on the coast of North Carolina? The coast near Cape Hatteras is very dangerous.
What two sounds are nearly enclosed by the coast? Albemarle Sound is famed for its herring fisheries.
What mountains cross the state? Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Find it on the map. What large city just north of Cape Fear?
What is the chief seaport of South Carolina? Name the principal rivers. If you cross the Savannah river from South Carolina, what state do you enter?
Which is the mountainous part of Georgia? In what part of the state is Atlanta? What is the chief seaport? On what river?
What state is south of Georgia? For what fruit is Florida famed? In what direction do most of the rivers of this and the other Gulf states flow?
What state lies west of Georgia? What two rivers of Alabama unite, and flow into Mobile bay?
What city is on this bay? What river crosses the
northern part of Alabama? On what river is Montgomery? Where is Birmingham?
What state is west of Alabama? What rivets form its western boundaries? Where is Meridian?
What two rivers separate Louisiana from Mississippi? In sailing up the Mississippi, what large city would you reach about 100 miles from the mouth of the river? Where is Shreveport?
Crossing the Sabine river from Louisiana, what state do you enter? What river separates Texas from Mexico? What is the chief seaport?
Name the two longest rivers wholly within Texas. On which one is the capital?
What state is north of Texas? What river separates it from Texas? What boundaries of Texas are formed by New Mexico? What states are east of Oklahoma?
What river forms the eastern boundary of Arkansas? What large river crosses the state?
On what rivers might you sail from Chattanooga to New Orleans? What mountains are in the eastern part of Tennessee?
Name the two principal rivers of Tennessee. What large cotton-port is in the southwest corner of the state?
Review.—Let the Southern states be reviewed in the same manner as the New England states. See page 44.
Map-Drawing.—The state of Tennessee will be found an easy one to draw. Let the pupils copy it on their slates, and show the Cumberland mountains and the Tennessee river. Let them write in the proper places the names of the eight different states that bound Tennessee.
​4. Agriculture—The chief employment of the people is agriculture. The land is generally divided up into large plantations.
A cotton compress in Mississippi. The loose cotton is pressed into bales. These are then covered with bagging and bound with iron bands. A finished bale rests on the truck.
Corn, wheat, tobacco, and many other crops are raised. Tobacco is produced extensively in North Carolina and Tennessee. But the Southern states are especially noted for their cotton, sugar, rice, fruits, and early vegetables.
5. Cotton is the most valuable of all the products. It grows on a plant. The seeds are inclosed in pods called bolls. Each seed is wrapped in the soft, downy substance that we call cotton. As the seeds ripen, the bolls burst open, and the fields are white with snowy cotton.
The seeds are separated from the cotton by a machine called the cotton gin, and the cotton is then packed in great bales and sent to market.
From cotton seed is pressed an oil that is as pure as olive oil. A hard cake is left, which is ground into cotton-seed meal and used as a fertilizer or as feed for cattle.
6. Rice is raised chiefly in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina.
It grows both on prairie and lowland. The grain is very hard, and when first sown it needs to lie under water; so the rice grower floods his fields. Afterwards the water is drained off and the ground kept dry. Rice when growing looks something like wheat.
A Carolina rice field. Notice the canals, through whivch water is brought in; and the gats, which are raised or lowered at will.
7. Sugar-cane.—Traveling in Louisiana, we see great fields covered what we might suppose to be giant corn plants. These fields are sugar plantations. The plants are sugar-cane.
At the proper season it is cut down, carried to a mill, and crushed between iron rollers. The sweet juice is thus squeezed out. It is boiled a long time, until at last the solid sugar forms. Most of the cane-sugar made in the main body of the United States comes from Louisiana.
For Recitation.—Describe the surface of the Southern States. What kind of climate have the Southern states? What is the chief occupation of the Southern states? For what products are the Southern states noted? What is the most valuable crop of these states? Where does the South send its cotton?
Atlanta, Ga.—The tall buildings are in the business part of the town.
LESSON XXXVII.
1. Pine Forests.—Immense pine forests are found in these states, from the Texas prairies to the Dismal swamp in Virginia. Besides lumber, great quantities of tar, pitch, turpentine, and rosin are obtained from them.
The largest supplies are gathered in Georgia and North Carolina. Savannah and Wilmington are noted for the export of these products.
Where the pine forests have been cut away, we see truck farms upon which fruits and vegetables are grown and shipped to the North. Strawberries, tomatoes, beans, and peas grow here while Northern gardens are still covered with snow.
​2. Stock-raising is an important occupation in Texas. On its grassy prairies immense herds of cattle and sheep find pasturage all the year; and the winters are so mild that no shelter is needed. Oklahoma also has fine herds of cattle.
The cattle are sent to the markets of the Eastern states, and are even shipped to Europe. The great stock farms are called ranches.
Gathering strawberries on the Coastal plain in North Carolina.
3. Oranges.—Florida is too hot for apples to thrive, and so, instead of apple orchards, we see here groves of orange trees.
The raising of oranges and other fruits is one of the important industries of this state.
4. Minerals.—Iron is mined in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia; coal in Alabama; salt and sulphur in Louisiana; phosphate in Florida and South Carolina; coal and petroleum in Texas and Oklahoma, and some gold in Georgia and the Carolinas. Marble is quarried in Georgia and Tennessee.
Forty-seven teams of mules plowing on a cotton plantation in Mississippi.
5. The Manufactures of the Southern states are many and valuable. There are many furnaces,
Herding cattle on the plains of Texas.
foundries, sawmills, and cotton and woolen mills. In leading cities are cotton-seed-oil mills and ice factories—the latter supply most of the ice used in these states. Memphis manufactures cotton-seed oil and lumber; Nashville, flour and lumber; Atlanta, cotton goods, and foundry and machine shop products; Birmingham, iron and steel; Chattanooga, iron goods and lumber; Dallas, saddles and harness; Augusta, cotton goods; Houston, cottonseed oil.
6. New Orleans, on the Mississippi, is one of the greatest cotton ports, and sugar markets in the world. It is the largest city in the South, and is also the first city in manufacturing and commerce.
Steamships being loaded with cotton at the wharves of Galveston, Texas.
Galveston is now the largest exporting city in the South. Savannah, Charleston, and Mobile ship cotton and lumber. San Antonio and Little Rock are important inland cities.
For Recitation.—What is obtained from the pine forests of the South? What part of the South is famed for stock-raising? For what is Florida celebrated? Which of the Southern states are noted for manufactures? What are the great cotton markets?
MAP STUDIES.
The Central states: Capitals and Chief Cities.
| States. | Capitals. | Chief Cities. |
| Ohio, | Columbus, | Cleveland. |
| Kentucky, | Frankfort, | Louisville. |
| Indiana, | Indianapolis, | Indianapolis. |
| Illinois, | Springfield, | Chicago. |
| Michigan, | Lansing, | Detroit. |
| Wisconsin, | Madison, | Milwaukee. |
| Minnesota, | St. Paul, | Minneapolis. |
| Iowa, | Des Moines (day-moin), | Des Moines. |
| Missouri, | Jefferson City, | St. Louis. |
| Kansas, | Topeka, | Kansas City. |
| Nebraska, | Lincoln, | Omaha. |
| North Dakota, | Bismarck, | Fargo. |
| South Dakota, | Pierre, | Sioux Falls. |
In what direction are the Central states from the Southern? From the Middle Atlantic?
If you do not live in the Central states, point toward them. Would you cross either the Alleghenies or the Rocky mountains in going to them?
Which of the Great Lakes is wholly within the United States? Which four states border on Lake Michigan? Which three border on Lake Superior?
Which states are bordered by the Mississippi on the east? Which on the west?
What three states have the Ohio for their southern boundary? What states does the Missouri river separate?
What state lies south of the Ohio river? What mountains form part of the eastern boundary of Kentucky?
On what river is the capital? What is the largest city? On what river? What state is separated from Kentucky by the Mississippi?
What great river crosses Missouri? What great city is just below the mouth of the Missouri?
On what river is Jefferson City? At the junction of what two rivers is Kansas City?
What mountains are in the southern part of the state? Where is Iron mountain? Pilot Knob?
What state is west of Missouri? On what river is the capital of Kansas? Name the largest city. On what river is it?
What state is north of Kansas? What river forms the eastern boundary of Nebraska? What river crosses the state? What is the largest city?
Suppose you cross the Missouri eastward at Omaha, what state will you be in? What river borders Iowa on the west? On the east?
On what river is Des Moines, the largest city? On what river is Dubuque (du-buke')?
What river forms the western boundary of Illinois? What and where is the largest city? On what river is Peoria?
What state is partly separated from Illinois by the Wabash?
Where is Evansville? Fort Wayne? What state lies to the east of Indiana?
What is the largest city of Ohio? On what river is it? Where is Cleveland? What state consists of two peninsulas?
Which four of the Great Lakes border on Michigan? Which two lakes are connected by the St. Mary's river?
Which two by the Strait of Mackinac? Name the largest city. On what river is it?
What state lies between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi? What lake-port is the largest city in Wisconsin?
What great river rises in Minnesota? In what lake does it rise? What river forms part of the western boundary? In what direction does it flow?
What is the largest city? Near the junction of what rivers is it?
What two states lie west of Minnesota? What great rivers crosses them?Name the largest cities. Where are the Black hills? What town is among them?
Routes.—On what lakes would you sail in going by water from Chicago to Cleveland? From Detroit to Duluth? How would you go on a steamboat from St. Paul to Cincinnati?
Map Drawing.—Let the pupil draw on his slate the outline of Kansas, insert the Kansas river, and locate the capital and Leavenworth. Let him write in their proper places the names of the states that bound Kansas.
Review may be conducted as directed heretofore.
THE CENTRAL STATES.
LESSON XXXVIII.
1. Central States.—To the north of the Southern states lie those that are called the Central states. If we look at the map of the United States, we shall see that they occupy the north central part.
They are Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
2. Settlement.—About 100 years ago only a very few of the many hundred towns now in the Central states had been founded. The prairies were covered with long waving grass that no one cut, and beautiful flowers that no one gathered.
The prairies were the grazing fields of millions of buffaloes and wild deer, and were the hunting grounds of the Indians.
As the Atlantic states became more thickly settled, people crossed the Allegheny mountains in search of better and cheaper lands for farming.
​Often a whole family packed in a wagon everything that they had, and traveled on and on through the pathless forests and over the grass-covered prairies, sleeping in the wagon at night, and continuing their journey the next morning, until they reached a spot that seemed a suitable one for their new home. Other settlers joined them, and more and more were added, until the little settlement grew into a town; and in very few years some of the towns, like Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, became large and prosperous cities.
For Recitation.—Why are the Central states so called? What was the condition of those states 100 years ago? What is the condition of these states to-day?
LESSON XXXIX.
1. Surface.—The Central states are generally level. A large portion of them consists of treeless prairies, covered with a deep, rich soil. (Describe a prairie.)
The only mountains in these states are in Eastern Kentucky, Southern Missouri, and South Dakota.
2. The mammoth cave in Kentucky is the largest cavern in the world. It has been explored to a distance of ten miles.
Beautiful shapes of limestone, that glisten like diamonds when the torchlight of the visitor rests upon them, hang down from the roof. It is like a little fairy world.
In the cave are three rivers and a fresh-water lake, the home of fish that have no eyes.
3. Agricultural Products.—The prairie lands are the great agricultural region of the United States. Enormous crops of wheat, corn, oats, flax, and tobacco are raised.
Hemp is grown very largely in Kentucky. The fibers of this plant are made into rope.
The sugar-beet, from which large quantities of sugar are made, is becoming an important crop, especially in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.
The grapes and wines of Ohio and Missouri are celebrated.
A harvester at work on a large farm in the wheat belt. This machine cuts the wheat, threshes it, cleans the grain, and puts it into bags. :
| | A field of beets in Michigan ready to be made into sugar. |
| Cutting a field of hemp in Kentucky. ||
4. Wheat.—The northern part of the Central states is one of the greatest wheat-growing regions in the world. It supplies almost the whole of the United States with wheat, and sends large quantities also to the countries of Europe. Much wheat is made into flour and exported.
* Courtesy of the Sanders Publishing Co.
* Harvesting corn on a large farm in Nebraska. Corn is planted, cultivated, and harvested entirely by machinery.
A tobacco plant.
5. Corn is raised in even greater quantity than wheat. The region in which corn grows best is sometimes called the corn belt. It extends across the middle portion of the Central states. Here for miles and miles the fields are planted with corn.
6. Tobacco is one of the important crops. Kentucky raises more than any other state.
When white men came over to the New World, they saw the Indians smoking tobacco, and learned this habit from them. Sir Walter Raleigh made it fashionable in England.
7. Stock-raising is an important industry. Many cattle are raised and many are brought in from the West. Fresh beef is sent in refrigerator cars to the East and in refrigerator ships to Europe.
Many horses and mules are raised in these states. The thoroughbred horses of Kentucky are famous all over the world.
8. Pork-packing—Millions of hogs are killed in these states. Much of the pork is salted. Bacon and hams, as well as salt pork are sent to various parts of the Union and are also exported to other countries.
Home of a wealthy ranch in Dakota. :
| | From photo by Sanders Publishing Co. Poland-China hogs on a farm in Iowa. |
| From photo by Prof. H. Garman. A stock farm in Kentucky, where the finest breeds of horses are raised. ||
Lard and lard-oil are made from the fat. The bristles are used in making brushes.
Chicago, Cincinnati, Kansas City (Kansas), and South Omaha are noted for pork-packing.
A lump of pure copper from Rockland, Mich., cut from a mass weighing 36 tons.
9. The Minerals of the Central states are very valuable. The copper and iron mines of Michigan are very rich. The iron mines of Minnesota are among the richest in the world. Missouri, Kansas, and Wisconsin abound in lead and zinc.
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri have coal-beds. South Dakota has mines of gold and silver; Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas, wells of oil and natural gas. Michigan and Kansas are famous for their salt.
For Recitation.—Describe the surface of the Central states. What is the leading occupation of the Central states? What are the great crops of the Central states? What animals are largely raised in the Central states? What are the chief mineral products?
LESSON XL.
1. The manufactures of the Central states are important. Large sawmills are busily employed in the great forests of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Those of Minneapolis, at the Falls of St. Anthony, are the largest.
​The flour mills grind immense quantities of wheat. Minneapolis produces more flour than any other city in the world Milwaukee and St Louis are also famous for their flouring mills.
The river front at St. Louis. Compare the river boats with the lake boats at the wharf in Chicago. Notice the wharf boat, where the steamers land instead of at a wharf.
2. Commerce.—The commerce of the Central states consists chiefly in sending away their own great products, especially wheat, corn, and meat, and in bringing in articles that they need.
The Mississippi and Ohio rivers can be used to float produce to market. Railways connect all the cities and towns with other parts of the country.
3. The Great Lakes have thousands of steamboats and other vessels plying upon them, and carrying cargoes from place to place. These lakes are all connected by rivers and canals; and vessels loaded at Duluth, Chicago, or any lake port, and sailing into the St. Lawrence, may enter the Atlantic and go directly from the heart of the United States over to Europe.
You may wonder how these vessels manage to avoid the Falls of Niagara and the falls of St. Mary's river. Ship-canals have been constructed around these falls.
The harbor at Chicago near the mouth of the Chicago river. This river has been widened and deepened and connected with the Illinois river by a canal so that boats may go from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi.
4. Chicago is the second city in population in the country. About eighty years ago it was only a small village. It now contains more than two-million people. It has an immense trade in grain, pork, lard, beef, lumber, and cattle.
Night and day railway trains and steamboats are carrying goods to Chicago, or taking them away from this city to other places. It is, therefore, what we call a great center of trade.
5. St. Louis is the largest city on the Mississippi. It is connected with all the Central states either by navigable rivers or by numerous railroads. Like Chicago, it also is a great center of trade. It manufactures more tobacco than any other city in the world.
6. Cincinnati is the largest city on the Ohio. It is noted for its large trade and manufactures. Louisville is a busy and beautiful city on the Ohio. It is our greatest tobacco market and has an extensive trade.
A grain elevator commonly seen along the Great Lakes. The grain is lifted from boats and cars by an endless belt with buckets attached, and stored until ready for shipment.
7. On the Great Lakes there are large cities besides Chicago, all extensively engaged in lake commerce. Cleveland is noted for its great iron works and its beautiful avenues. Detroit was once a French trading ​port, but it is now a fine city, and its manufactures are varied and extensive. Milwaukee is a great grain market, and so is Toledo.
The city of Milwaukee, at the mouth of the Milwaukee river.—Notice the "whale-back" steamer on the right, the lake steamer and the grain elevator and brewery in the background.
Duluth and Superior ship grain, and are the ports of rich copper and iron districts.
On the Mississippi are Minneapolis and St. Paul in the center of the wheat and lumber districts. Minneapolis is the largest flour and lumber market in the country. These two cities are built near the Falls of St. Anthony. These falls furnish water power for mills.
Near the Western Border, convenient to the cattle ranches, and in the center of the farming district, are Kansas City, which is largely engaged in shipping beef and pork, and Omaha, which is also engaged in this business.
Cadillac Square and public buildings in the city of Detroit.
In the Interior of these states there are many fine cities surrounded by a rich country and extensively engaged in manufacture. Columbus, Indianapolis, Peoria, Topeka, Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Dayton, and St. Joseph are among these cities.
For Recitation.— What are the principal articles manufactured in the Central states? Describe the commerce of the Central states. How are the products of these states sent to other parts of the country? What is said of Chicago? What is said of St. Louis? What great cities are on the Ohio? Name the great lake-ports. Name other important cities. In what state is each of these cities found?
The "Soo" canal, through which ships pass the falls of the St, Mary's river, between Lakes Superior and Huron. Find the lock and the gate. See the falls of the river under the railroad bridge. The falls are called the Sault (Soo) Sainte Marie, a French name for the leap or waterfall of St. Mary's. The canal and the city lake the name of the falls.
MAP STUDIES.
The Rocky mountain and Pacific States: Capitals and Chief Cities.
| States. | Capitals. | Chief Cities. |
| Colorado, | Denver, | Denver. |
| Wyoming, | Cheyenne (shi-en'), | Cheyenne. |
| Montana, | Helena, | Butte. |
| Idaho, | Boisé (boi-zay'), | Boisé. |
| Washington, | Olympia, | Seattle. |
| Oregon, | Salem, | Portland. |
| California, | Sacramento, | San Francisco. |
| Nevada, | Carson City, | Reno. |
| Utah, | Salt Lake City, | Salt Lake City. |
| New Mexico, | Sante Fé, | Albuquerque. |
| Arizona, | Phœnix, | Tucson. |
| Territory. | Capital. | Chief City. |
| Alaska, | Juneau, | Nome. |
What country borders this section on the north? On the south? What ocean is west of it? What states border it on the east?
What states border on the Pacific ocean? What states are crossed by the Rocky mountains?
What river forms part of the eastern boundary of California? What two mountain ranges are in this state? Can you find Point Conception? Name the largest city in California. Where is it? On what river is the capital? Where is Oakland? Los Angeles?
On the narrow coast plain of California. The city is Santa Barbara, situated on the coast northwest of Los Angeles.
What state is north of California? What river forms part of the eastern boundary of Oregon?
What river forms part of its northern boundary? The Columbia river is famed for its fisheries. On what river is the capital? Name the largest city. Where is it?
What state is north of Oregon? What river crosses Washington and forms part of the southern boundary?
What sound penetrates Washington! Where is the capital? What and where is the largest town?
What island is north west of Washington? This island is a part of the Dominion of Canada.
Where is Alaska territory? What is its capital? What river flows through it?
What state lies east of Washington and Oregon? What state lies east of California?
Name the largest city of Nevada. In what part of the state is it? Virginia city is famed for its silver mine, 3,000 feet deep.
Name the capital of Utah. What is its largest lake? What mountains are in Utah?
What state is south of Utah? What river crosses northwestern Arizona? The Colorado is noted for its canyons. Some are more than a mile deep.
What state is east of Arizona? What two rivers cross New Mexico? Name the largest city in New Mexico. Santa Fé is more than a mile above the level of the sea.
What state is north of New Mexico? What four great rivers rise in Colorado?
Pike's peak is nearly three miles high, and is crowned with perpetual snow. A government weather station is on the top. The view is one of the grandest in the country.
Leadville is noted for its mines of silver. It is more than two miles above the sea, and is the most elevated town in the United States.
What state is north of Colorado? In what part of Wyoming is Cheyenne (shi-en')? What great park is in Wyoming?
What mountains form part of the western boundary of Montana? What two large rivers run eastward through Montana? Name the largest city.
Salt Lake City.—The large building in the background with four towers is the Mormon temple.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN AND PACIFIC STATES
LESSON XLI.
1. West of the Central states are the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states. These are so called because the Rocky mountains cross them from north to south and the Pacific ocean borders them on the west.
They are Colorado (col-o-rah'-do), New Mexico, Wy-o'-ming, Monta'na (mon-tah'-nah), Arizo'na, Utah, Idaho, Nevada (ne-vah'-dah), California, Oregon, and Washington. The Territory of Alaska (see map of North America, p. 33) also is classed with this group.
2. Early History.— About eighty years ago Indians and Spaniards were almost the only inhabitants of this part of our country.
It is easy to tell where the Spaniards were. On the map we find the names San Francisco, Santa Fé (fay), and many others beginning with San or Santa, which is the Spanish for saint. Sierra Nevada, too, is a Spanish name. Nevada means snowy, Sierra means saw. Where these Spanish names are found, the settlers were Spaniards.
In California, the Spanish settlers were very prosperous. They were stock-raisers and fruit-growers. They had immense flocks of sheep, and the vineyards and orange groves planted by them are still productive.
In 1848 gold was discovered in California, and people flooked there from all parts of the United States. Some time after this, silver was found in Nevada, and since that time rich mines of gold, silver, copper, and lead have been discovered in various parts of the Rocky mountains.
Zuni Indian village, New Mexico. The houses are built of sun-dried brick or of stone. The entrance to the houses are reached by ladders.
In 1867 the United States bought Alaska from Russia. The only inhabitants were Indians, Eskimos, and a few traders. Since then gold has been found in that region and thousands of people have gone there.
Digging and washing gold in Alaska at Cape Nome.
3. Indians.—Many of the Indians still remaining in the United States are found in the Rocky mountain and Pacific regions. They are slowly learning to live like white men, and schools have been established for them. Lands called reservations are set apart for the tribes to live on.
4. Animals.—Many people from the Eastern states, and even from Europe, go every year to this part of our country to hunt. They kill grizzly and black bears, deer, wild goats, and other animals.
For Recitation.—Who were the first settlers in this section? What led to the rapid settlement of this part of the country? What population besides the white settlers has this section?
LESSON XLII.
1. Surface.—In the Rocky mountain and Pacific states are to be found the highest and most mountainous parts of our country. Here are ​the Rocky mountains, with many peaks nearly three miles high, the Great plateau, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascade range. Some of the towns among the mountains ace more than two miles above the sea.
Alaska is crossed by mountain ranges. Here is Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.
2. The Great Salt lake lies at the bottom of a deep basin or depression in the Great plateau. Its water is so salt that one cannot sink in it. It floats a man as brine floats an egg. The length of the lake is seventy-five miles. Steamers sail on it.
Yellowstone lake in the National park.
3. The Yellowstone National park is in Wyoming. It is a large region set apart by Congress to belong forever to the nation. Find it on the map.
It is famed for its geysers (ghi'-sers), canyons, and waterfalls. The geysers are springs that spout up hot water. One of them sends up a column of water 200 feet high.
Castle Geyser in eruption.
The park contains also the canyons of the Yellowstone river. What are canyons? On page 38 is a picture of a canyon.
4. The scenery of these states is very grand. In California are the wonderful Yosemite (yo-sem'-i-te) falls. The water makes three leaps. The first of these is nearly a third of a mile, and the whole distance through which the water descends is about half a mile.
The Yosemite valley, through which the river runs after leaping the falls, is one of the grandest scenes in the world. It is shut in by walls of rock nearly half a mile high.
Yosemite Falls.
The "big trees" of California are among the largest in the world. Some of them are more than 300 feet high, twice as high as a very tall church steeple, and more than 100 feet around.
For Recitation.—Which are the most mountainous parts of our country? Name the principal mountain ranges of this section. For what is the National park noted? What natural curiosities are found in California?
One of the "Big Trees" near Fresno, California. We see a troop of United States cavalry drawn up along the tree and on top of it to be photographed.
LESSON XLIII.
1. Climate.—The Sierra Nevada and the Cascade ranges divide this section into two portions, which have very different climates. To the eastward very little rain falls, and the climate is very dry.
Making raisins in California. The grapes are spread out on large trays and dried in the sun.
Westward there is more moisture. Oregon and Washington have a climate like that of Maryland. In California there is a wet season and a dry season. For six months (from November to May) there is abundance of rain; for six months again (from May to November) there is hardly any rain.
2. Irrigation.—In many parts of this section no crops can be raised unless the fields are watered. The farmers, therefore, dig ditches to conduct water from the rivers to their farms, so that they can flood the fields. Some of these ditches are miles in length. Watering land in this way is called irrigation.
3. Products.—In the states bordering the Pacific there is a rich agricultural region. The finest wheat, barley, hops, and oats are raised. In California fruits and vegetables grow to a wonderful size. Oranges, lemons, grapes, prunes, and pears are produced in great abundance. This state is famed for its wines and raisins.
4. Stock-raising is a leading occupation in many parts of this section. Colorado and Wyoming are noted particularly for their cattle. California is a great sheep-raising region. Its wool is famous for fineness and excellence.
A cattle ranch in Colorado.
5. Mining is another leading industry. The mines are chiefly among the mountains. Gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, and lead are mined. California is noted for its oil wells.
Quicksilver is a curious metal that runs like water. We see it in the bulbs of most thermometers. The mine of New Almaden, in California, is one of the richest known.
Hydraulic mining in California. A powerful stream of water is directed against the banks of gravel containing gold. In this way the banks are washed down and the gold is afterwards sorted out.
6. In Oregon and Washington lumbering and salmon-fishing are valuable industries; in Alaska salmon and seal-fishing are important industries.
A fish-wheel in Oregon. To the outside of this wheel nets are fastened which dip underneath the the water when the wheel is turned. In this way the salmon are caught and landed in the boat.
7. The commerce is important. Machinery and other supplies for miners, and articles for home use are brought from the manufacturing states; gold and silver, wool and fish are exported.
8. Cities.—San Francisco is the largest city on the Pacific coast It carries on much of the foreign commerce of this section. It imports silks and tea, and exports wheat, lumber, and the precious metals. We enter the harbor by a passage remarkable for its beauty. It is called the Golden Gate.
In the harbor at San Francisco.
Los Angeles is the second city of the state in size and importance. There are many oil wells near, and fruit canning and drying are leading industries.
Sacramento, the capital of California, is noted for its magnificent capitol .
Portland, the largest city in Oregon, is the chief shipping port for the wheat and lumber of this state.
Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia river, has a large business in canning salmon.
The city of Denver.
Denver is the great business city of Colorado, and a favorite place of residence. Supplies for the mines, railroads, and ranches are bought here.
Colorado Springs, near the Rocky Mountains, is a health resort. Cripple Creek is noted for gold mines.
Seattle, the largest city of Washington, is an important shipping point. Three great railroads that cross the continent end there.
Tacoma, the second city in size, has a splendid harbor and large lumber mills.
Lumber mills at Tacoma.
For Recitation.—What can you tell of the climate of this section? What are the chief products? What parts are noted for stock-raising? What are the mineral products? In what parts are lumbering and salmon-fishing important? What are the chief exports? For what is Alaska famed? Describe the chief cities. ​REVIEW OF THE UNITED STATES.
In what continent is the United States? In which hemisphere? What country lies north of it? What country south? Why is our country called the United States? How long is the country from east to west?
Groups of States.—Where is each group? Of what states is each composed? What is the capital of each state?
    (1) New England. (2) Middle Atlantic. (3) Southern. (4) Central. (5) Rocky Mountain and Pacific.
Islands.—Near what part of the coast?
    Long Island. Nantucket. Florida Keys.
If you were on any one of these islands, upon what water would you look?
Capes.—On what part of the coast?
    Cod. Hatteras. Henry. Lookout. Fear. Sable. Mendocino. Montauk Point.
Mountains.—Where are they, and in what direction do the ranges extend?
| Appalachian: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Allegheny, | White, |
| Appalachian: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Blue Ridge, | Green, |
| Appalachian: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Cumberland, | Adirondacks. |
| Rocky: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Bitter Root, | Pike's Peak, |
| Rocky: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Wind River, | Fremont's Peak. |
| Sierra Nevada. Cascade. Coast Range. Mount Whitney, Mount Hood. ||||
What grows upon the sides of the Appalachian mountains? What minerals are found among these mountains?
Bays, Sounds, and Gulf.—Where is each? Is it of commercial importance? Why?
Penobscot. Massachusetts. Narragansett. Delaware. Chesapeake. Long Island Sound. Albemarle. Pamlico. Puget. Gulf of Mexico.
Rivers.—Where does each rise? In what direction and into what does it flow? Through (or between) what states does it flow? Can you name a city upon its banks? What is produced in the country through which it flows?
| Mississippi: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Missouri, | Tennessee, |
| Mississippi: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Ohio, | Arkansas. |
| Mississippi: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Red, |
Platte. Yellowstone. Hudson. James. Savannah. Brazos. Colorado. Kansas. Columbia. Yukon. Merrimac. Penobscot. Connecticut.
Cities.—Where is each? On what water? For what noted?
| Seaports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | New York, | New Orleans, | Portland, |
| Seaports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Philadelphia, | San Francisco, | Norfolk, |
| Seaports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Boston, | Charleston, | Galveston, |
| Seaports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Baltimore, | Savannah, | Wilmington. |
| Lake Ports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Chicago, | Cleveland, | Detroit, |
| Lake Ports: | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Buffalo, | Milwaukee, | Duluth. |
| Inland Cities| | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | St. Louis, | Pittsburg, | Denver, |
| Inland Cities| | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Cincinnati, | Louisville, | Indianapolis, |
| Inland Cities| | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Washington, | Minneapolis, | Des Moines, |
| Inland Cities| | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Atlanta, | Rochester, | Worcester, |
| Inland Cities| | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Memphis, | San Antonio, | Kansas City. |
MISCELLANEOUS REVIEW.
Of how many states did our country first consist? Where were they? How many states are there now? Name the groups. What different kinds of people would you find in different parts of our country?
What is the capital of our country? What is the title of the highest officer in the United States? Of the highest officer of a state? Of the highest officer of a city?
In what direction must we travel from New York to enter Canada? What state would you enter if you traveled directly south from your home? Name some of the largest cities of the United States.
Suppose you should take a trip up the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Paul, what principal crops would you see by the way?
Where do you find the highest mountains in our country? If you should make a journey from Boston to San Francisco, would you see more level land on the way or more mountains? Would you notice very great changes of climate?
How many and what seasons are there in the year in your state? In what state is the year divided into a rainy and a dry season?
Where would you find the largest river in our country?
The largest fresh-water lakes? A salt lake? Where would you find the highest waterfall? Where the grandest?
In what state or states would you see sugar-cane growing? Cotton? Rice? Oranges? Where would you see the largest wheat and corn fields? The largest tobacco fields?
Where and at what time of the year would you find the farmers making maple sugar? What states produce coal? Salt? From what states do we get petroleum? For what is petroleum used?
What part of our country yields the most gold and silver? Where are the richest copper mines? In what states are the people most largely occupied in manufactures? In commerce? Fishing? Stock-raising? Lumbering?
What articles sold in a grocery store are produced in the United States? Which of them might be raised by New England farmers? By southern? By western?
Do you know of any natural curiosities in your own state? If so, where are they? What is remarkable about them? From what states are precious metals obtained? Which do you think the more important, the mineral or the vegetable productions of our country? Why?
In what part of the United States do the Indians chiefly live? If a boy should lose his boat upon the Allegheny river, on what waters might it float to the Atlantic ocean?
THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
LESSON XLIV.
In the fields of the Saskatchewan.
1. Crossing the northern boundary of the United States, let us make a visit to the colder countries of North America.
2. The Dominion of Canada is about as large as our country. It extends from the Great Lakes to the Arctic ocean, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Canada is not only near us, but quite like us. Just as the United States is made up of states and territories, so Canada is made up of what are called provinces and territories. The provinces are Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
The Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, and Labrador, taken together, are sometimes called British America.
3. How Governed.—Laws are made for all the provinces by the Canadian Parliament, which is like our Congress. It meets at Ottawa, the capital of Canada.
The chief officer of the Government is not a president elected by the people, but a governor sent out by the sovereign of England.
4. Early Settlers.—Canada was first settled by the French. More than one hundred years ago England and France fought with each other for the possession of the country. England was victorious.
The descendants of the old French settlers still speak the language of their forefathers. Many of them speak English also. They are noted for their gayety of disposition and their adherence to old customs.
Logging scene in Canada.
5. Surface.—Along the Pacific coast Canada is mountainous. The Rocky mountains extend through it from north to south.
Most of Canada, however, is level. South of the Sas-katch'-e-wan river are prairies like our own.
These prairies and the valley of the St. Lawrence are the most fertile parts of Canada. They yield abundant crops of wheat, barley, and oats.
6. Climate.—The climate of the seaboard provinces is like that of New England; the in-land provinces are colder; Manitoba has a climate like that of North Dakota; the climate of Southern British Columbia resembles that of Washington.
As we approach the Arctic region, the summers grow shorter and shorter until the year is nearly all winter. If we should travel northward from Lake Winnipeg, we should pass at first through immense forests. Then we should notice that the trees are more and more stunted, until at length even the fir-tree, which is a lover of cold and snow, disappears.
We should be in the midst of a treeless waste, where the ground is seldom free from ice and snow.
Of course we should see no houses in this part of our journey. Who would like to live in such a region?
MAP STUDIES.
What ocean is on the east of Canada? What ocean is on the west? What lakes are on the southern border?
What great bay is in the interior? By what strait is this bay connected with the ocean?
Which of the provinces of Canada borders on the Great lakes? On what river is Ottawa? On what lake is Toronto?
What province east of Ontario lies along the St. Lawrence? Name its two largest cities. On what river are they? Which is the capital?
What province is east of Maine? Name the capital. In what direction from New Brunswick is Nova Scotia? What bay separates these provinces? This bay is famed for its high tides. What is the capital of Nova Scotia? Prince Edward island is in what gulf? Name the capital. What province is intersected by Lake Winnipeg? Name the capital. What two provinces are west of Manitoba? Name their capitals. What province is west of Alberta? What province is on the Pacific ocean? What large island is southwest of British Columbia? This island belongs to British Columbia, and contains its capital. Name the capital.
What division of Canada contains the famous Klondike gold mines? Yukon Territory. North of the provinces is a vast extent of territory which comprises the great fur hunting regions.
What large island is east of the gulf of St. Lawrence? Name the capital. Where is Labrador? Labrador and Newfoundland together form a British colony distinct from the Dominion of Canada. ​of silver, copper, and iron. and valuable coal mines. Nova Scotia has large and valuable coal mines.
A smelter in British Columbia.
8. Lumbering.—The forests of Canada are very large, and are full of fine trees. Lumbering is one of the most important occupations.
Great rafts are floated down the St. Lawrence, as upon our own Mississippi. They are brought to Quebec, where they may be seen along the river bank for a distance of several miles.
9. Fur-bearing Animals.—Canada is one of the great fur-producing regions of the world. Foxes, wolves, sables, minks, martens, and other fur-bearing animals are found in abundance in the forests.
Hundreds of men, chiefly Indians, are employed in trapping the animals. They travel miles and miles through the forests in dog-sledges, or sail up and down rivers and lakes in canoes of birch bark, to visit their traps and skin the animals caught.
The skins are sold to the Hudson Bay company. This company has more than one hundred trading posts, called "forts", where the trappers bring the skins and sell them to the traders. York Fort formerly received all the skins collected at the other forts, and every year, when the ice in Hudson bay melted, ships came from England and took away the skins. Now the skins are sent to Winnipeg, which is the headquarters of the Hudson Bay company.
The home of a Canadian farmer. During the winter he cuts logs in the forest and hauls them to the banks of the streams. In the spring they are floated down to mills, where they are sawed into lumber.
10. Cities.—Montreal is the chief commercial city of Canada. It exports wheat and cattle.
Quebec is like a quaint old European town. It is built partly on the heights overlooking the St. Lawrence and partly on the river bank. It has an extensive commerce, and is a great timber market.
The great battle that gave Canada to England was fought in 1759 before the walls of Quebec. General Wolfe commanded the English troops; the Marquis of Montcalm the French. Both commanders lost their lives. A single monument has been erected to their memory.
Toronto has important manufactures, and is noted for its schools. Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, and St. John, in New Brunswick, have fine harbors. Their chief exports are lumber, fish, and potatoes.
Parliament buildings at Ottawa.
For Recitation.— What provinces does the Dominion of Canada contain? Who first settled Canada? What kind of climate has Canada? What are the leading products of Canada? What are the leading cities of Canada?
LESSON XLV.
1. Newfoundland.—Five years after Columbus discovered the New World, the English sent John Cabot on a voyage of discovery, to try and find a short passage to Eastern Asia. He sailed westward and discovered what he called a "new-found-land", a name which the island still retains.
Newfoundland has a cold climate. ​ Off the coast the densest fogs prevail. They are often so thick that the sailors cannot see from one end of their vessel to the other. Here, too, are seen those grand and beautiful, but chilly visitors, the gigantic icebergs, that float down from the shores of Greenland.
The fisheries of Newfoundland are the greatest in the world.
A drave of seals on the coast of Labrador. These seals are not valuable for fur.
In the spring and summer codfish come here in immense numbers, and thousands of fishermen come to catch them. As many as 200,000 seals are killed every spring for their oil.
The Newfoundland dog, so famous for saving people from drowning, is a native of this island.
Labrador belongs to Newfoundland. Very few people live there; the climate is too severe. The coast is visited by fishermen and seal-hunters.
2. Greenland, a vast ice-covered island, is the largest in the world. In summer a strip of land along the coast is green with grass and flowers. For this reason an early explorer named it Greenland.
The trees are not more than six feet high. Buttercups and dandelions are found. A few vegetables are sometimes raised.
Snow falls in every month during the year except July.
The few inhabitants are occupied in hunting seals, catching whales, and gathering eider-down.
A group of Greenlanders and their home. The house is build of stones and earth and has a chimney in the middle to let out the smoke.
The whale is furnished with a coat of fat several inches thick, which keeps him warm as he swims through the icy waters. This fat, or blubber, is melted down into oil. From the whale's mouth we get what is called whalebone, though it is not really bone. It is the whale's trap with which he catches thousands of little animals on which he feeds.
Eider-down is one of the most valuable products that we get from these icy regions. It is taken from the nest of the eider-duck. The mother bird plucks the down or soft feathers from her breast, and lines her nest with them to keep the ducklings warm. During the season the down is gathered every few days, and the poor duck plucks a fresh supply from her breast.
Upernavik (oo-per-nah'vik) is nearer the north pole than any other town in the world. Find it on map, p. 33.
A scene in the Arctic regions. White bears hunting for seals on the ice. Notice how low the sun is in the sky, although it is in the middle of the day.
3. Iceland is an island not far from Greenland. Both islands belong to Denmark, a country in Europe, and are called Danish America.
Iceland is famed for its volcanoes and geysers, or boiling springs.
The Great geyser sends up a ​stream of water 100 feet high. Mount Hec'-la is the most noted volcano.
Eskimos building a winter hut out of blocks of snow.
The climate of Iceland is far milder than that of Greenland. The people fish, raise sheep, and gather eider-down and Iceland moss. They export wool, salted fish, Iceland moss, and eiderdown.
Reykjavik (rāk'-yah-vik), the chief town, is only a small hamlet.
4. Eskimos.—In Greenland and all along the Arctic shores—in Alaska and in northern Labrador—are the curious people called Eskimos.
They live in huts which are partly underground and which are often built of stones and earth. Sometimes these huts are made of blocks of snow, with sheets of ice for windows. To give heat and light in their huts, the Eskimos burn the oil of the seal or whale.
The Eskimos do nothing but hunt and fish. They travel in sledges drawn by four or eight dogs. The runners of the sledges are made of driftwood, or of the bones of the whale. In catching whales, they use a line with a harpoon at one end and an inflated sealskin at the other. Pulling this skin through the water tires out the wounded whale.
For Recitation.—For what is Newfoundland famed? What can you tell about Greenland? What have you learned of Iceland? What can you tell about the Eskimos?
Eskimos hunting the walrus in their canoes, or kayaks. One of them is just about to throw a harpoon with a rope tied to it.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA.
LESSON XLVI.
1. Mexico.—Leaving the snow huts of the Eskimos, let us now visit the warm countries of our continent.
Homes of native Mexicans.
First of all let us glance at Mexico, our nearest neighbor on the south. Here it is seldom cold enough for ice to be formed, except high up among the mountains.
2. Surface and Climate.—Along the coast is a strip of lowland. Most of the country, however, is a great plateau, about a mile high.
The lowland is the hot region. The plateau is the temperate region.
A large Mexican "hacienda", or farmhouse.
The climate of the plateau is delightful. No fires are needed to keep one's house warm, roses and violets bloom, and green peas are in season all the year. Most of the people of Mexico live here.
3. The agricultural products of the plateau are very different from those of the lowland. ​On the plateau the same grains and fruits grow as in our own country, only that in Mexico as fast as one crop is ripe and gathered, another is planted. Three or four crops of corn are harvested in the year. The cotton-plant with us dies as soon as frost touches it, but in Mexico there is a kind that goes on producing for years.
In the lowlands sugar-cane, oranges, bananas, pineapples, coffee, and vanilla are grown. Here, too, are plantations of the evergreen cacao (ka-ka'-o) tree, the seeds of which, when roasted, ground, and mixed with sugar, make chocolate.
The maguey (ma-gway'), or Mexican aloe, is a native of Mexico. The sap of this plant is collected and allowed to ferment. It is then a drink like cider, and forms the national beverage, which is called pulque (pool'-kay).
MAP STUDIES.
What river is between Mexico and the United States? From what one of the states does this, river separate Mexico?
What ocean bounds Mexico on the west and south? Where are the Sierra Madré mountains? Sierra is a Spanish word meaning saw.
Where also in North America are mountains called Sierras? This reminds you that Maxico, like California, was settled by Spaniards. Where is Yucatan?
Where is lower California? What other California is there? Two of the volcanoes of Mexico are Po-po-cat'-e-petl and Jorullo (ho-rool'yo).
What is the capital of Mexico? The city of Mexico is farther south than Havana. It should therefore be hotter than Havana. But it is not. The city is high up among the mountains, and for this reason is never very hot. Where is Vera Cruz?
What sea is northeast of Central America? What ocean on the south? In what zone is Central America? (See map, page 17.)
Name the capital of each of these countries. * British Honduras, * Guatemala (gwah-te-mah'-la), * Honduras (hon-doo'-ras), * Panama (pan-a-mah'), * Nicaragua (nik-ar-ah'-gwah), * Costa Rica (kos-tah ree'-kah), * Salvador (sahl-va-dore').
Which is the most northern country of Central America? The most southern? Where is Lake Nicaragua? How is it connected with the Caribbean sea? Where is the volcano of Coseguina (ko-say-ghee'-nah). ​
The leaves of the maguey plant are six or eight feet long. They are used for boards and shingles. The sharp thorns at the ends of the leaves are used to serve for nails, needles, and pins. The fiber is twisted into rope and string.
Rich Spanish-Americans build their homes around three sides of an open court filled with flowers and called a patio. Through this patio people enter and leave the house.
Gathering pulque in Mexico.
The cochineal cactus was formerly cultivated very largely, but is not so important now because other dyes are used. Upon its thorny leaves countless numbers of the cochineal insect feed. They are gathered, killed with hot water, and dried in the sun. When ground into powder, they make a beautiful scarlet dye.
4. The mineral wealth of Mexico is very great. Its mines of silver are the richest in the world. In the gulf of California pearls are found.
5. In government Mexico is a republic, like our own country. It consists of a number of different states, united under one president.
6. Early History.—When Europeans first came to the "New World", the king of Mexico was Mon-te-zu'-ma.
In 1519 a Spaniard called Cortes went to Mexico with 600 Spanish troops. Montezuma treated him kindly; but the Mexican people felt sure that Cortes wished to take their land. They attacked his troops, and when Montezuma begged them not to do so, they stoned him. In a few days he died. Cortes captured Mexico, and it belonged to Spain until 1821. Then it became independent.
7. Cities.—Mexico, which stands on the site of the old capital, is a beautiful city. It is surrounded by majestic mountains, two of which are always snow-clad. The climate is delightful. The houses are built without chimneys, and the gardens are fragrant with flowers all the year round.
Vera Cruz (vay'-rah-krooz) is the principal seaport. It is a very unhealthful city.
8. Central America lies between Mexico and South America. It contains six republics, and the colony of British Honduras.
The country is mountainous, and its climate is like that of Mexico.
Many of the mountains are volcanoes. Coseguina is one of the most remarkable. In 1835 it threw out such a shower of ashes that the air was darkened, even at places fifty miles distant. Friends could not recognize one another, and chickens went to roost.
The most important products are coffee, cacao, sugar, vanilla, and mahogany.
The forests yield mahogany, which is much used in making furniture.
Shipping bananas in Costa Rica.
but that which comes from Guatemala is best known. From the lowlands along the coast we buy fine tropical fruits.
9. The Isthmus of Panama connects South with North America. This isthmus is an independent Republic.
A ship canal is being cut through the isthmus which will enable ships to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific by a route thousands of miles shorter than the one now followed. The strip of land through which the canal will pass is known as the Panama Canal Zone, and is controlled by the United States.
MAP STUDIES.
Name the four largest islands of the West Indies in the order of their size. What is the group called to which these four islands belong? The other islands belonging to the West Indies are the Lesser Antilles, a number of small islands lying east of the Caribbean sea, between Porto Rico and South America. In what direction from Cuba are the Bahama islands? Where is St. Thomas?
What sea is south of the Greater Antilles? What ocean is northeast of the West Indies? What bay is west?
What channel separates Cuba from Mexico? What passage separates Cuba from Haiti? Haiti from Porto Rico? What strait is between Cuba and Florida?
Where is Cape San Antonio? Cape Maysi?
Where is Havana? Santiago do Cuba? Matanzas? Port au Prince? Santo Domingo? San Juan? Ponce?
10. West Indies.—Let us take a steamship and go from Central America north across the Caribbean sea. We shall come to the West Indies, a number of islands that are part of North America. We study these last, but they are the part of America which Christopher Columbus visited first, and which Europeans first settled.
For many years they belonged to Spain, but in time other nations gained most of them. England captured Jamaica; Haiti, after belonging for a while to France, finally became independent and is now made up of two negro republics.
Spain held Cuba and Porto Rico until 1898. At that time a revolution was going on in Cuba, and our country sent troops and vessels to aid the Cubans. By this means the independence of the island was assured under our protection. We also forced Spain to give up Porto Rico, which is now a part of the United States.
Native homes in Porto Rico.
11. In the interior of the large islands are ​mountains and fertile valleys, but near the coast we find plains.
The climate and products are much like those of Mexico. Sugar, coffee, tobacco, and fruit are sent to the United States.
Native homes in a Cuban village.
Obispo street, the principal shopping street in Havana.
12. Cuba.—Cuba, the richest of these islands, contains about as many acres of land as New York state. It is about twice as long as New York from east to west, but is so narrow that no portion of it is more than fifty miles from the sea.
The population is about half as great as that of New York city, and about one-third of the people are negroes.
Cuba contains many sugar plantations, and has long been the chief country of the world in the production of cane sugar. Much fine tobacco is grown, and Cuban cigars are everywhere famous. Mahogany and fruits, also, are exported, and flour and cloth are imported.
Havana, a large city on a fine harbor, is the center of a system of railroads. Matanzas is an important seaport. At Santiago de Cuba the United States captured the Spanish fleet and army.
13. Porto Rico.—Among the Porto Ricans are many people of wealth, but the working class are very poor. There are about two hundred miles of railroad in the island. San Juan is on a land-locked, harbor. Ponce (pohn'tha) is the second city in importance, and Mayaguez (mi-ah-gwāth') is the third. The chief exports of the island are coffee, sugar, and cocoanuts.
A street in Kingston, Jamaica.
14. Jamaica.—The white people of Jamaica are English, but there are many negroes. Kingston is the chief town.
REVIEW OF NORTH AMERICA.
Countries.—In what part of the continent is each? Name the capital.—Dominion of Canada. Newfoundland. United States. Mexico. Central America (each state).
Islands.—Near what part of the coast? To what country does each belong?—Greenland. Iceland. Newfoundland. Cuba. Haiti. Vancouver. Queen Charlotte.
Capes.—On what part of the coast?—Farewell. Race. San Lucas. Sable. Point Barrow.
Mountains.—Where are they, and in what direction do they extend?—Rocky. Sierra Madré.
Bays, Gulfs, and Sea.—Where is each? Is it of commercial importance?—Baffin Bay. Hudson. Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of California. Caribbean Sea.
Straits.—Each connects what waters? Separates what lands?—Davis. Hudson. Bering.
Rivers.—Where does each rise? Into what does it flow?—St. Lawrence. Mackenzie. Yukon. Columbia. Saskatchewan. Nelson. Rio Grande.
Lakes.—Where is each? What outlet has it?—Great Bear. Great Slave. Winnipeg. Superior. Michigan. Huron. Erie. Ontario.
Cities and Towns.— In what country? On or near what water?—Quebec. Montreal. Sitka. New York. San Francisco. Panama. Vera Cruz. Havana.
* ↑ There are practically seaports.
* ↑ Note.—In Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline", many interesting allusions to the old French settlers and their customs are found.