What
is said about the "Holy Ground." What about Jackson and Weathersford?
Tell about the great battle of New Orleans. Who gained the victory?
When did we buy Florida? What were the four steps in Andrew Jackson's
life? What is said about railroads?

PROFESSOR MORSE
(1791-1872).

220. How they sent the news of the completion of the Erie Canal to
New York City; Franklin and Morse.--The Erie Canal, in the state of
New York, connects the Hudson River at Albany with Lake Erie at
Buffalo. It is the greatest work of the kind in America, and was
completed many years ago. When the water was let into the canal from
the lake, the news was flashed from Buffalo to New York City by a
row of cannon, about five miles apart, which were fired as rapidly
as possible one after the other. The first cannon was fired at Buffalo
at ten o'clock in the morning; the last was fired at New York at
half-past eleven. In an hour and a half the sound had travelled over
five hundred miles. Everybody said that was wonderfully quick work;
but to-day we could send the news in less than a minute. The man who
found out how to do this was Samuel F. B. Morse.

[Illustration: HOW THEY FLASHED THE NEWS OF THE COMPLETION OF THE
ERIE CANAL IN 1825.]

We have seen how Benjamin Franklin[1] discovered, by means of his
kite, that lightning and electricity are the same. Samuel Morse was
born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, about a mile from Franklin's
birthplace, the year after that great man died. He began his work
where Franklin left off. He said to himself, Dr. Franklin found out
what lightning is; I will find out how to harness it and make it carry
news and deliver messages.[2]

[Footnote 1: See paragraph 119.]

[Footnote 2: Messages: a message is any word sent by one person to
another.]

221. Morse becomes a painter; what he thought might be done about
sending messages.--When Samuel Morse was a little boy, he was fond
of drawing pictures, particularly faces; if he could not get a pencil,
he would scratch them with a pin on the furniture at school: the only
pay he got for making such pictures was some smart raps from the
teacher. After he became a man he learned to paint. At one time he
lived in France with several other American artists. One day they
were talking of how long it took to get letters from America, and
they were wishing the time could be shortened. Somebody spoke of how
cannon had been used at the time of the opening of the Erie Ca