For this expedition all the horses were shod with iron, a thing
very unusual in Virginia where there were no hard or stony roads.
So as a remembrance of their pleasant time together Spotswood gave
each of his companions a gold horseshoe set with precious stones for
nails. Graven upon them were the Latin words, Sic juvat transcendere
montes which mean, "Thus it is a pleasure to cross the mountains."
Later all those who took part in the expedition were called Knights
of the Golden Horseshoe.
Up to about this time the people in Virginia had been altogether
English. Now a change came.
In France Louis XIV was persecuting the Protestants, or Huguenots,
as they were called. He ordered them all to become Catholics or
die, and he forbade them to leave the country. But thousands of
them refused to give up their religion, and in spite of the King's
commands they stole away from the country by secret ways. Many of
them found a refuge in America.
In the north of Ireland, which had been settled chiefly by Scotsmen,
the Presbyterians were being persecuted by the Church of England;
at the same time the English Parliament was hampering their trade
with unfair laws. So to escape from this double persecution many
Scotch-Irish fled to America.
In Germany too the Protestants were being persecuted by the Catholic
Princes. They too fled to America.
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