[Pamphlets. American history]

31
I can liken it to nothing but our mighty Missouriq
which, springing in a silver thread from the melting side
of some arctic glacier, where the wild hunter catches it
in the hollow of his hand to slake his thirst, winds
along through open wastes and trackless prairies, widening and deepening on the way; descends to the region
of civilized man, dividing territories and states; and having gathered up the bounties of nature and the fruits of
man's toil from half a continent, pours at last into one
of the great gulfs of the ocean with a volume of water
scarcely less than its own.
II. The struggle for constitutional freedom was, as I
have stated, the first great act of the revolutionary
drama. Beyond this, the distinct purpose of those who
gave the impulse to the public mind does not appear to
have proceeded. The possible results of the struggle
must, of course, have presented themselves to ardent
minds; but a strong sentiment of loyalty still bound
the people to the mother country. It was the land of
their fathers; a living nerve connected every portion of
the colonies with their transatlantic home (as they fondly
called it;) family names, and kindred ties, and the mysterious sympathy of a common language still exercised
a controlling influence. The political life of the colo.
nies had been principally developed in the border warfare with the possessions of France, the hereditary enemy
(as she was regarded) of the Protestant faith and the
British name. This feeling was so strong throughout the
British colonies, that Arnold assigned, as a justification for
his treason, that Congress had formed an alliance with