General Ulysses Simpson Grant (or, as he was originally named, Hiram Ulysses Grant) was born on the 27th of April, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clement County, Ohio; and is a descendant, in the eighth generation, of Matthew Grant, who came from England, in 1630, and was a first settler of Dorchester, Mass., and subsequently of Windsor, Conn. His father, Jesse Root Grant, a tanner by trade, and his mother, Hannah Simpson, were both natives of Pennsylvania, who had removed to Ohio, and were there married in June, 1821. The child grew to be a sturdy, fearless, and pertinacious urchin, whose good nature made him a general favorite, and whose “ruling passion,” almost from the time he could go alone, was for horses. At school, he was faithful, diligent, and painstaking, showing an appreciation of the value of an education, but developing no especial eminence, except, perhaps, a fondness for mathematics. But, out of school, he was to be found not far away from the horses. He learned to drive alone at the age of seven and a half years, and harnessed horses when he was so small that he had to get up into the manger to put the bridle and collar on, and then turn over the half-bushel and stand on it, in order to throw the harness on. And when a circus, or travelling show, came through the village where he was, or into its neighborhood, he was inevitably “on hand.” If the ring-master called out for some boy in the audience to try and ride the pony, little Ulysses would present himself, eager to seize the opportunity, “and,” says his father in the “New York Ledger,” “whatever he undertook to ride he rode.” This practice he kept up, until he got to be so large that he was ashamed to ride a pony.
Note.—Supposing many readers of this volume would like to read something of the life of General U. S. Grant, we insert this sketch for their benefit.—Publisher.
“Once, when he was a boy, a show came along in which there was a mischievous pony, trained to go round the ring like lightning, and which was expected to throw any boy that attempted to ride him.
“’Will any boy come forward and ride this pony?’” shouted the ring-master.
“Ulysses stepped forward, and mounted the pony. The performance began. Round and round the ring went the pony, faster and faster, making the greatest effort to dismount his rider. But Ulysses sat as steady as if he had grown to the pony’s back. Presently out came a large monkey and sprang up behind Ulysses. The people set up a great shout of laughter, and on the pony ran; but it all produced no effect on the rider. Then the ring-master made the monkey jump up upon Ulysses’ shoulders, standing with his feet on his shoulders, and with his hands holding on to his hair. At this there was another and a still louder shout, but not a muscle of Ulysses’ face moved. There was not a tremor of his nerves. A few more rounds, and the ring-master gave it up; he had come across a boy that the pony and the monkey both could not dismount.
“Ulysses had the habit of riding our horses to water, standing up on their bare backs. He began this practice when about five years old. At eight or nine he would ride them at the top of their speed, standing upon one foot and balancing himself by the bridle reins. The ground over which he used to make these performances was a little descending towards the river; a near neighbor’s boy who undertook to rival him in speed, although without standing up, was unfortunately thrown from his horse and killed.”
He early acquired the habit of breaking horses to the harness, and developed a peculiar faculty for training them to pace. “It became known in the neighborhood,” says his father, in the article from which we have already quoted, “and people used to apply to him to break their horses to pace; but he had an idea that it was degrading, and would never undertake it.
“One day a neighbor came to me and said, ‘Ulysses has a remarkable faculty to teach a horse to pace. I have a fine young horse; now how can I get Ulysses to teach him to pace?’
“Said I: ‘You mustn’t say a word to him about it, but send him on a mission to some place, and get him, while he is gone, to teach the horse to pace.’
“Said he, ‘I will do it.’ So he came over again and said to Ulysses, ‘I want to send a letter, in a hurry, thirteen miles to Decatur, and I will give you two dollars to get on my horse and carry it.’