Fraternity-Testvériség, 1966 (44. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1966-05-01 / 5. szám
FRATERNITY 11 your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressor . . . We are not enemies, but friends; we must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” These solemn and urgent words were unavailing. The civil war began only a few weeks later — on April 12th — with the bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate artillerymen. — (A. C. N. S.) DAVY CROCKETT — DEFENDER OF THE ALAMO On March 6, 1836 — 130 years ago — Davy Crockett, whose life in the pioneer West has become, died defending the Alamo. The Alamo was an old Franciscan mission in San Antonio, Texas, turned into a fort by the men who were fighting for the independence of Texas from Mexico. Surrounded by some 3,000 Mexican troops, 188 Texans held out for nearly two weeks, but were finally overcome and slaughtered almost to a man. Their heroic defense, however, inspired their comrades-in- arms who, with the battle cry of “Remember the Alamo”, rode to victory and made Texan independece a fact. Davy Crockett’s death was a fitting conclusion to a colorful and fantastic career. He was a noted Indian fighter and a great game hunter. He was the hero of many stories, both the tall tales he used to tell of his own exploits, and the books that were written about him after his death. — (A. C. N. S.) DOROTHY DARE'S AUTOMOBILE RIDE On May 5, 1896, the New York World printed a story of the daring exploit of one of its reporters, Dorothy Dare, who was “the first woman to take a spin through the streets of New York in a horseless carriage.” Miss Dare’s vehicle at one time attained the speed of thirty miles an hour, but for the most part proceeded at a third of that rate. Although the automobile finally broke down and had to be towed to a livery stable, the story made exciting copy for the press. The speed attained by Dorothy Dare on her automobile ride was not to be scoffed at, since only the year previously — in 1895 — the winner of the Gordon Bennett long distance road race in France, from Versailles to Bordeaux and return, averaged barely 15 miles an hour. — (A. C. N. S.) JOSEPH JENKS — FIRST AMERICAN IRON MAKER On May 6, 1646 — 320 years ago — Joseph Jenks was granted a patent for the making of scythes and other edged tools. Jenks, who was the first founder to work in brass and iron in the New World, made by hand the first models and the first castings of many domestic implements and iron tools. Jenks’ forge was set up at Lynn, Massachusetts, on land owned by Thomas Hudson, a relative of Henry Hudson, the discoverer of the river which bears his name. — (A. C. N. S.)
