in its place. The Indians listened, but
made no reply. Lieutenant Pike spoke again to the same effect. "Your
nation cannot have two fathers," he said. "You must be the children of
the Spaniards or else of the Americans." The red men sat in silence
awhile, then an old man arose, walked slowly to the door, took the
Spanish flag down, and put the American in its place. Then he gave the
flag of Spain to his followers, bidding them, "Never hoist this
again--while the Americans are here." Surely, the old chief must have
been akin to Dr. John Cotton of Colonial fame. This scene occurred in
what is now Kansas, and is thought to have been the first raising of
the United States flag in that State.

The banner of fifteen stripes and fifteen stars has a proud record,
for this was the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The
Star-Spangled Banner." Every one knows the story of the poem, how the
author and an agent for the exchange of prisoners went on board a
British vessel in 1814 to try to secure the release of a physician who
had been captured. The English admiral granted their request, but as
he was about to attack Fort McHenry, he told them that they would not
be permitted to return at once, but must remain on their own vessel,
with a British guard, until the fort was reduced. If this order had
been carried out, they would have been on board to-day, for the fort
never was reduced. All day the Americans could see the Stars and
Stripes flying over its ramparts, in spite of attacks by sea and by
land. Night came, and it was only by "the rockets' red glare, the
bombs bursting in air," that they knew whether the fort yet stood. At
length the firing ceased, and all was darkness. They could do nothing
but wait for the first rays of morning in the hope that "by the dawn's
early light" they could catch a glimpse of the flag and know that the
fort had not yielded, that "our flag was still there," and that the
British were retreating. Then it was that Key wrote, on the back of an
old envelope, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and put into it such a
thrill of sincerity that it is just as throbbing with life and
patriotism as it was on that September dawn a century ago. The banner
that inspired the poem is in the National Museum in Washington.

Francis Scott Key died in Baltimore in 1843, and is buried in
Frederick, Maryland. Over his grave a large national flag flies day
and night, never removed save when wear and tear make a new flag