na, in 1767, of poor
Scotch-Irish parents, who about two years before had come from Ireland. In
a little clearing in the woods they had built a rude log hut and settled
down to hard work.

But Andrew's father soon died, and his mother went with her children to
live in her brother's home, where she spun flax to earn money. She was
very fond of little Andrew and hoped some day to make a minister of him.

[Illustration: Andrew Jackson.]

With this in view, she sent him to school, where he learned reading,
writing, and a little ciphering. But the little fellow loved nature better
than books and did not make great progress with lessons. You must
remember, however, that he was far from idle and that he did many hard and
brave tasks, worth being put into books for other boys to read.

"Mischievous Andy," as he was called, was a barefooted, freckle-faced lad,
slender in body, with bright blue eyes and reddish hair, and was full of
life and fun. Although not robust, he was wiry and energetic, and excelled
in running, jumping, and all rough-and-tumble sports. If, when wrestling,
a stronger boy threw him to the ground, he was so agile that he always
managed to regain his feet.

While he was yet a lad the Revolution broke out, and there was severe
fighting between the Americans and the British near his home. He was only
thirteen when he was made a prisoner of war.

One day, soon after his capture, a British officer gave him a pair of
muddy boots to clean. The fiery youth flashed back: "Sir, I am not your
slave. I am your prisoner, and as such I refuse to do the work of a
slave." Angered by this reply, the brutal officer struck the boy a cruel
blow with his sword, inflicting two severe wounds.

Andrew was kept in a prison pen about the Camden jail. As he was without
shelter and almost without food, the wounds refused to heal, and in his
weak and half-starved condition he fell a victim to smallpox. His mother,
hearing of her boy's wretched plight, secured his release and took him
home. He was ill for months, and before he entirely recovered his mother
died, leaving him quite alone in the world.

In time, however, these early hardships passed, and some years later we
see Andrew, a young man of twenty-one, now become a lawyer. He is over six
feet tall, slender, straight, and graceful, with a long, slim face, and
thick hair falling over his forehead and shading his piercing blue eyes.
He has crossed the mountains with an emigran