ELISHA KENT KANE. 17 



to the Bank of North America, to enable it to 

 furnish "Washington with the means necessary to 

 accomplish his masterly march to Yorktown; which 

 resulted in the fall of that fortress, in the capture 

 of the whole army of Lord Cornwallis, in the honor- 

 able and triumphant termination of the war, and 

 in the establishment of the liberty, the unity, and 

 the prosperity of this Confederacy. After peace 

 was proclaimed, Colonel Leiper refused to accept 

 any remuneration for his services except the thanks 

 of General "Washington. He afterward became one 

 of the most prominent Jeffersonian or Democratic 

 politicians of his native State, though he constantly 

 refused to accept any office of emolument or profit. 

 The peculiar disposition of Elisha Kane, as dis- 

 played in his early youth, furnished infallible prog- 

 nostications of the future man. He was remarkable 

 for his activity, his vivacity, his restless energy both 

 of mind and body. Although his physical frame 

 exhibited but an ordinary degree of strength, it 

 possessed an unusual proportion of hidden power 

 and vitality. His mental qualities corresponded with 

 the peculiarities of his bodily structure. He was 

 bold, daring, reckless, and resistive to a wonderful 

 extent. Any cautious and reflective individual of 

 the wiser sort, calmly observing for a moment the 



restless activity which he displayed in all his move- 

 B 



