406 FIRST YEAR SCIENCE 



Another instance was that of the fatal invasion of 

 Russia by Napoleon. The Russians, unable to find a 

 strategic place to make a stand, retreated farther and 

 farther into the plain. The depletion of Napoleon's army, 

 due to the extent of territory which must be held in his 

 rear, the distance from his base of supplies and the rigor 

 of the Russian winter, forced him to begin that disastrous 



HERD OF BISON. 



retreat, the fatal results of which probably led to his final 

 overthrow. 



The effect of plains on the distribution of population is 

 shown in the early settlements on the coastal plain terri- 

 tory south of Philadelphia. Here there were almost no 

 towns containing as many as twenty houses until the 

 colonies had been settled for nearly two hundred years, 

 and even now cities of considerable size are rare, but on 

 the more rugged lands to the north the tendency to build 

 towns began at the beginning of settlement. 



189. Plains in History. Plains have always played an 

 important part in history. Here armies can march and 

 countermarch with comparative ease. Large bodies of 



