the high ground down below the mouth of the Embarrass river, so as to make the water to be crossed as narrow as possible. Then they began to make canoes.

Here the French began to give up from fear of starving to death and from the cold and wet. But the Americans were made of sterner stuff. They had horses that could be eaten even if game could not be found.

They marched all day through water sometimes up to the waist and without any food, and slept on a little island in the flooded lowlands. That night there was a hard frost followed by a bright sunshiny day.

But the men still had nothing to eat and were faint from hunger. Clarke himself fell down in the water from faintness. So he ordered the canoes to keep going along the line to pick up the men who could not stand up. The stronger men held up the weaker. Some of the shorter men had to be taken up in the canoes, as the water was sometimes up to Clarke's shoulders and he was a tall man. They finally got to an island of ten acres, almost dead with hunger and cold and fatigue. The fires they built did no good to many of the men, but two strong men had to take a weak one by the arms and march him around till he was warmed up a little. A canoe load of squaws was captured and some buffalo meat and tallow, corn and kettles were taken. There was enough to give every one in the little army a bowl of soup. But the stronger gave their shares to the weaker, so that they should be able to go on with them.

It was afternoon of a bright winter's day, February 23d. They had still a narrow, deep lake to cross. This they did with the canoes by going and coming many times. They hid behind a bit of timber two miles from town. Several French from the village were shooting ducks near by. Their own Frenchmen captured one of these and learned that there were many Indians in town but that one of the chiefs had declared himself in favor of the Americans.

Clarke wrote a letter to the French in Vincennes and sent it by the prisoner. He asked them to stay in their houses and those that wished to help the English to go to the fort. Strange as it may seem no one told the English, and when after dark the Americans moved up into town and began firing at the fort, the English did not at first know what to make of it, but thought it was drunken Indians amusing themselves by firing guns.

The Americans were short of powder and bullets, because their boat had not come up the river, but the French traders supplied them

from their stores which they had hidden from the English. The friendly Indian chief offered the help of a hundred Indians but Clarke declined their assistance.

The other Indians slipped out of town under cover of the night and got off as fast as possible. The French young men of the village got out their rifles and helped besiege the British. We may suppose that the hungry new comers got some food of the French, but the excitement kept them up. Every British soldier who showed himself on the walls or at the portholes to fire a cannon, was instantly shot by the skilled backwoods rifle

men.

A party of English who had been out on a scouting trip kept trying to get into the fort. Clarke finally ordered his men to let them get in, his object being to take the whole garrison prisoners at once.

In the afternoon of February 24th, the British commander, Hamilton, agreed to surrender the fort, but the surrender was not actually made till the next day. Clarke allowed the soldiers to go on taking an oath not to serve against the United States during the war, but he sent the officers prisoners to Virginia. The usual way in war had been to parole the officers and hold the soldiers prisoners, but the democracy of the American frontier asserted itself here. The reason Clarke gave was that the officers had been responsible for sending Indians to scalp women and children on the frontier, but that they had no good way to keep so large a number of prisoners as the soldiers would make, nor could he transport them to Virginia.

That night of course there was a truce, and after the guards were set, the rest of the little band took their first full meal and their first regular sleep for four days. Many were sick the rest of the year, and some died of their hardships.

A few days after a body of British coming with supplies for the fort were captured by an expedition largely made up of French from Vincennes.

ammunition needed for such an expedition so the idea was reluctantly given up. The Illinois country was held till the close of the war. As soon as the news came of its capture the legislature of Virginia made it into the county of Illinois, and as such it remained a part of Virginia till that state ceded it to the United States to form a part of the Northwest Territory.

In the treaty of peace made in 1783, England acknowledged the independence of the United States and agreed that the great lakes and the Mississippi river should be the boundaries. The country between the lakes, the Mississippi and the Ohio would not have been ceded by England if the Illinois country had not been conquered by Clarke in the way we have told. As it was, the English, notwithstanding the treaty, did not actually give up the control of the lakes and the posts at Detroit, Mackinaw and elsewhere on the lakes till more than ten years later.

The French and Spanish governments saw clearly enough that they were creating an empire by giving the infant republic the country between the mountains and the Mississippi, and tried to restrict our boundaries to the Alleghanies. But Franklin, Jay and Adams, our envoys, so worked with the English government as to defeat this intrigue and to secure the whole country between the mountains and the Mississippi for the United States, and to thus make Clarke's conquest effective in securing the Northwest to American settlement and civilization.

A. O. WRIGHT.

BOOK TABLE.

American Book Company.

-DANA'S REVISED TEXT-BOOK OF GEOLOGY, edited by Wm. N. Rice (482 pp.), follows essentially the general plan of the original work, but has been considerably expanded by the addition of new matter, and many parts of it have been entirely re-written. The classification of animals and plants is introduced before dynamical geology. In addition to the large number of illustrations in the former editions, a number of new figures and revised maps, taken from the government surveys, are given in this edition. The theory of evolution receives appropriate recognition, and the bearing of paleontology upon evolution is thoroughly discussed. The book is well balanced, treating adequately structural and dynamical geology, and giving due prominence to historical geology, neglected by other writers. As now published the work combines the ripe scholarship and profound learning of Professor Dana, accommodated in spirit and in fact to the most recent researches.

-AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, for the use of high school, academy, and college classes, by W. M. Baskerville and J. W. Sewell, (349 pp.), attracts attention as aiming to supply a text for advanced instruction in the grammar of our own tongue. That advanced instruction in English must be inaugurated we are all agreed, but as to what it should be there is yet no such accord. This book attempts only technical grammar, and that from the formal rather than

the historical side. We welcome it as a clear and strong effort to introduce into our schools some of the results of modern study. Our grammar texts are not only elementary-they are for the most part antiquated; they follow on in the ruts which custom has established. If any one wishes quickly to realize how different a scholarly treatment is let him turn for example to page 176 and note the treatment of words in ing, where instead of the old "present participle" treatment he will find six kinds, according to use as well as meaning. The passage will illustrate well both the strength and the excess of the new teachings, for he will question the difference between ''gerunds, which express action and may govern and be governed,'' and ''verbal nouns, which name an action or state, but cannot govern." The very statement, by the use of "may" in the first formula, shows the difficulty of the distinction, and thus forces us to ask, of what importance is it? We have noted some other instances of this disposition to excessive distinctions, but they are only small blemishes upon an excellent and scholarly work. It is worthy of note that there are few "made up" examples of principles or exceptions. The examples are carefully chosen from classical authors and usually properly credited. We commend the book as a text for advanced high school instruction.

-INTEGRAL CALCULUS, by Daniel A. Murray, (302 pp.; $2.00), belongs to the publishers' Cornell Mathematical Series. It is designed primarily for students in engineering, whose purpose in studying the Integral Calculus is to acquire facility in performing easy integrations and the power of making the simple applications which arise in practical work. While the requirements of this special class of students have been kept in mind, care has also been taken to make the work suitable for any one beginning the study of this branch of mathematics. It contains little more than can be mastered by a student of average ability in a few months, and an effort has been made to present the subject matter, which is of an elementary character, in a simple manner, the object being to give the learner a clear idea of what the Integral Calculus is, and of the uses to which it may be applied.

-STORY OF CESAR, by M. Clarke, (173 pp.; 45c.), tells in a clear and interesting narrative the career of one of the most remarkable men of the world. It is preceded by a rapid sketch of Rome before Cæsar, and followed by Shakspeare's story of the death of Cæsar, and a chapter of opinions of eminent writers on the character of Cæsar.

-PLATO'S APOLOGY OF SOCRATES, CRITO, AND PART OF THE PHAEDO, by Rev. C. L. Kitchel, (188 pp., $1.25), makes an interesting Greek reading book, containing as it does a full account of the last days of Socrates. A brief introduction outlines the life, character and works of the master, and his epoch making work.

-TALKING WITH THE PENCIL, primary lessons in language, by William Swinton, (boards; 125 pp.; 30c.), built upon the principle of learning to do by doing, seeks to furnish material and suggestions for the oral instruction which prepares the way for written exercises. Primary teachers will find this an exceedingly helpful book in the lines in which they most eagerly look for help.

-THE RATIONAL SPELLING-BOOK, by Dr. J. M. Rice, (part I, 80 pp.; 15c.; part II, 128 pp.; 20c.), is the result of an extended investigation to discover what words of those really used are liable to be misspelled, and of an earnest effort to provide a definite remedy for the failures revealed. It is called "The Rational Spelling-Book," because it has been constructed on rational principles and represents the results of actual experience in teaching children to spell. It is therefore a spelling book pure and simple. It has been prepared on a definite psychological plan, based upon an examination of the schools of nearly all the large cities of the country, and a careful study of the actual spelling of many thousand pupils. The high reputation of the author and his exceptional qualifications to deal with the subject of spelling gives this new spelling book unusual interest, not only to teachers but to all interested in the education of the young.

The Macmillan Company.

-HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY, for teachers and pupils of elementary schools, by D. Lange (329 pp.; $1.00), com

Vol. XXVIII.

JOURNAL

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO

OF EDUCATION, 208 East Main Street, Madison, Wis.

Brief Comments-An Irrational Economy-Ideals of Teaching English-The New Reading. THE MONTH.....

Wisconsin News and Notes-English Hostility to Popular Education-Some Pictures of ManilaGeography Reference Books for Grammar Schools -Needs and Opportunities of the Indian School Service-An Isolated Race in Jamaica- Santo Domingo, the City of Columbus. THE SCHOOL ROOM.....

Common School Arithmetic-A Reading LessonClass Teachers-The American Flag-Suggestions in Nature Study-Aiding the Pupil-Grammar and Rapid Addition-Stubborn Natures Must be LedChildren's Money Sense-Study Childhood-Seat Work in Spelling-About Composition-Way to Heaven-Her Awful Dream-Wanted: A Teacher. THEORY AND PRACTICE..

PAGE.

169-172

172-181

181-187

187-192

THE Western School Fouanal says: "Of the 3,030 soldiers in the three Kansas regiments raised under the president's first call, every man signed his own name, in a legible manner, to the muster roll. Is there another state in the union in which this would be possible? If there is, we shall be glad to give it credit." A personal inspection of the muster rolls of of the three Wisconsin regiments, of twelve companies each, shows that every man but one signed his own name to the oath of allegiance. This man was a native American from the county in which the writer was formerly superintendent. Of the large number of foriegn born or sons of foreign born citizens, every one signed his own name. One company was composed entirely of Poles from Milwaukee, of whom every one signed his own name. There are about fifty thousand just as good men in this state waiting for another call, and anxious to go as soldiers.

No. 8

WASHINGTON, as was expected, proved a magnet to draw a crowd in connection with the National Educational association. This was made only too apparent by the relatively small attendance upon the meetings, notwithstanding the large enrollment. The crowd was sight-seeing in the national capitol, a very profitable experience for them without doubt, probably more profitable than attending the sessions. "The crowding of papers one upon another," said one who was present, "with the interest in meeting old and making new acquaintances and getting adjusted to new surroundings, is so confusing that after all one must depend upon the volume of "Proceedings" for his knowledge of the occasion." This probably becomes a little clearer year by year, so that people go to the gatherings to meet others, to see distinguished men, and to have an outing. The warm weather and the unhealthy summer conditions at Washington, developed an unusual amount of temporary illness among the excursionists.

DISCUSSION of election of studies in the high school is evidently at hand, and indeed in May the Educational Review devoted more than half the space given to general articles to this subject and it formed an important topic of discussion in the university convocation of New York, held at Albany, June 27-29th. The order of development seems to be from elective courses, now for some time established, to the larger freedom implied in election of studies. It is possible within limitations one might, for example, take different studies out of several courses as now offered in the schools. But after all the range of choice would be small, and the average pupil is indifferent as to studies, ready to go where his teacher tells him to. Some flexibility might be advantageous, might help towards adjusting the school more closely to individual needs. dividual needs. Perhaps in time elective studies might develop in the schools, as they have in the colleges, a more serious attitude towards studies, more thoughtfulness as to the relations of studies to life, an earlier effort on the part of boys to find out their work and place in the world.

place in the world. Perhaps thru electives we may find the means of breaking up the