Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1900-10-18
ALICE or Old YIaCEHHES.
1 Romance Of the sing sf the North
west Territory = 10 aeysiutian.

vest Tsrritary i <hs asysiutien.
From i iquls asssl5
The story that Maurice Thomp-
son has told in ak1ioe Of Old VIM
cennes', needed e. telling VAL
orous deeds have keen themes Of
many novels. sd many readers
hare haa their rs illuns~
mated by stories of the great
achievements OF. brave men. We
have had the novel of the Revolu-
tion we have heard stories of how
this or that hero fought his way to
fame, bat We have not been inform
ed about the tremendous odds
against which the men who held the
great West for freedom fought. In
fact, few readers and students of
history have had adequate know
ledge of some of the most import
ant facts of Revolutionary history.
The value of the achievements
of American patriotism in the
South, in the Revolution, is not so
much exploited as it observes. How
much less, then. the work of the
men of the extreme frontier.
The settlers of the backwoods of
America in the time of the Revolu-
ton not only had the redcoats to
fear. bat the red men of the forest.
Down in the eastern edge of Ken
tucky and Tennessee John Sewer
and James Robertson and Isaac
Shelby maintained q living wall of
courage and endurance against the
savages who, iustigated by the
knowledge that war was in progress.
and inspired by hope of reward
from the British, wished to clear
the land of these hardy white men.
This was on the southern from
tier. To the North and West came
another man, Virginian, of the
same strain. of blea2as .heseheroes
OF Kentucky and Tennessee, who
compelled the British to lower their
flag and who saved the great North
west territory for American free.
dom.
AT least one reader of "Alice of
Old Vincennes" is glad to welcome
o romance of the brave days which
knew George Rogers Clark and the
heroic band Of Americans who fol-
lowed him through cold, through
miles OF swamp and through ice-
caked rivers, with insufficient food. !.
across the country from st. Louis
and Kaskaskia to Vincennes. That
march of Clark and his men how
its grips the imagination 1t
brought defeat to the British and
victory to Americans. Il caused
the lowering of the British flag and
the waving Of the Stars and Stripes
over that great stretch of territory
now known as Ohio, Indiana, IlIi-
nois and Michigan. The Louisiana
Purchase brought to the govern
ment of the United States the
States west of the Mississippi and
east of the Rockies, but George
Rogers Clark and SEWER and Shelby
and Robertson, and the men who
fought with them, saved the States
east Of the Mississippi and west Of
the Appalachian Chain. 80
This is vast theme-this story
of the conquering of the West. 1t
is too large for one novel. Mr..
Thompson, in his new book, which
has just come from the press of the
Bowen-Merrill Company. has told
the story Of Vincenues as it was in
the days of the Revolution-as it
was when George Rogers Clark
came, with less than two hundred
men, to break the power of the
chair buying General" Hamilton,
who paid Indians for white men 8
scalps.
As all good stories should, this
romance of old Vincennes has for
central figure a brave aud beauti-
ful woman. Alice Is well worth
the care and love which the author
has spent upon her. The mystery
of her history has q charm, bnt the
girl herself 10 more charming.
How well Mr.. Thompson has fol-
lowed history will be shown by q
reading of the records OF the time.
His story begins with a view Of AL
ice under famous cherry tree-a
tree which stood until the year 1925,
when it gave place to the modern
belongings of city. To this same