HUGH HENRY BRACKENRIDGE (1748-1816) The battle of Bunker's Hill was an event which stirred whatever dramatic activity there was in America at the time of the Revolution. Therefore, a play written on the subject should not be omitted from a collection supposed to be representative of the different periods in American history and in American thought. The reader has an interesting comparison to make... more...

MRS. MERCY WARREN (1728-1814) Most of the literature—orations as well as broadsides—created in America under the heat of the Revolution, was of a strictly satirical character. Most of the Revolutionary ballads sung at the time were bitter with hatred against the Loyalist. When the conflict actually was in progress, the theatres that regaled the Colonists were closed, and an order from the... more...

JAMES NELSON BARKER (1784-1858) In a letter written to William Dunlap, from Philadelphia, on June 10, 1832, James Nelson Barker very naïvely and very fully outlined his career, inasmuch as he had been informed by Manager Wood that Mr. Dunlap wished such an account for his "History of the American Stage." From this account, we learn that whatever dramatic ability Mr. Barker possessed came from... more...

I. Discovery of the species. The discovery of the American bison, as first made by Europeans, occurred in the menagerie of a heathen king. In the year 1521, when Cortez reached Anahuac, the American bison was seen for the first time by civilized Europeans, if we may be permitted to thus characterize the horde of blood thirsty plunder seekers who fought their way to the Aztec capital. With a degree of... more...

PREFACE. The primary object of the present work, is to give as correct and comprehensive a view of the animals composing the Ox Tribe, as the present state of our knowledge will admit, accompanied by authentic figures of all the known species and the more remarkable varieties. Although this genus (comprising all those Ruminants called Buffaloes, Bisons, and Oxen generally,) is as distinct and well... more...

CAST Jim Weston A young man and the town bully (A Methodist) Dave Carter The town's best hunter and fisherman (Baptist) Joe Clarke The Mayor, Postmaster, storekeeper Daisy Blunt The town vamp Lum Boger The Marshall Walter Thomas A villager (Methodist) Lige Moseley A villager (Methodist) Joe Lindsay A villager (Baptist) Della Lewis A villager (Baptist) Tod Hambo A villager (Baptist) Lucy Taylor A... more...

MORDECAI MANUEL NOAH (1785-1851) Mr. Noah was born in Philadelphia, July 19, 1785, the son of Portuguese Jewish descent, it being stated by some sources that his father not only fought in the Revolutionary Army, but was a sufficient friend of George Washington to have the latter attend his wedding. In his early years, he was apprenticed, according to the custom of the day, to a carver and gilder, but... more...

Act I Scene 1 [An old park with avenues of trees leading away in all directions. Directly in background of stage there is a sheet of water fringed by willow and poplar trees. On the right and left is a high box hedge formed in curves with the top clipped in grotesque shapes mostly of birds. A statue is placed in the centre of each hedge, and beneath the statues are seats. When the curtain rises several... more...

CHAPTER I. PARLEY TELLS HOW AMERICA WAS FIRST DISCOVERED, AND ABOUT COLUMBUS THE DISCOVERER. Now that I have given you an account of European cities in my "Tales about Europe," I shall now furnish you with some description of America, with its flourishing cities, and its multitude of ships, its fertile fields, its mighty rivers, its vast forests, and its millions of happy and industrious... more...

JOHN LEACOCK Among the elusive figures of early American Drama stands John Leacock, author of "The Fall of British Tyranny," published in 1776, in Philadelphia. Even more elusive is the identification, inasmuch as his name has been spelled variously Leacock, Lacock, and Laycock. To add to the confusion, Watson's "Annals of Philadelphia," on the reminiscent word of an old resident... more...