| Show A muda or s ZV t wh AM MR A am 71 mom ave 11 fre ca ver 3 g q A M ina valt V y hY arta t aej ay by ELMO SCOTT WATSON history Is full of 0 lialo ifal in ALI stances when the fate ate of the notion nation scein d ta to hung hang in the tha balance a und n d when its destiny might have aae bee beon n different if certain in had done other than they did while it Is an idle pastime no doubt to speculate upon i what might have been it Is dev erth eless an interesting one consider tor for example the case of tiie the roan nian of whom it has been written renegade drunkard governor ot of two states president wit of a republic united states senator friend of 0 the union father of a confederate soldier poet lover duelist empire builder where to la thora another figure like alko sam sain houston in the tha pases pages of american history or of any other nation and what it if to that list there had find hren ben added president of the united states for sum sam houston might have been president Irest dent not just once but tw twice fee it if I 1 and tt it lie had been virginia would bould have had bad just aue one moro more reason bior tor her title of mother other of presidents foche aoi lie was boro boru in rockbridge county in the old dominion just years ago march larch 2 1701 1703 was the date another important event in sam houstons Hous tons life took place on march 2 on tits forty third birthday ho he was one of the signers of the declaration of independence which proclaimed the republic of texas free from mexico having done that the members of the die convention elected him film commander in chief of the armies of the nov new republic all lie he had find to do now was to malia make good that declaration and for that purpose lie was provided a force of less lesi than five hundred men men to load lead the well appointed army of commanded hy by general santa anna the if dictator march 2 la Is celebrated as n holiday in texas not as the birthday of sam sain houston hut but as texas independence day any but theo lone S star tar state also celebrates april 21 because it was on that day that sam ant houston won hta his astounding victory nt at sun sao jacinto which made tande good the tha declaration of march 2 and when those dates antes come around tills oita year americans americana in other states may wall well feel inclined to join with texas in honoring the memory of gain Houf ton especially if they have read a book recently published it to Is the raven a biography raphy of sam saia houston 1 written by blar marauta quis james until and published by the he hobbs bobbs merrall company critics and blat historians hare hailed it as one of the outstanding biographies of the past year one even going so far an to call it a muster master piece and their verdict Is in that it Is by tar far the most readable an n well as aa the most scholarly account ea of 1 houstons Hous tons life that has yet appeared As a youth sam houston was put to work in ft A tore store after he be showed a pronounced distaste or agriculture but tie he soon discovered that he preferred men measuring suring doer deer tracks track to tape and the wita wild liberty of f the red elod men to the tyranny of lite lit own brothers such was sams own way of expressing tits his fondness for jaunting hunting fishing and loafing fouling with tho the cherokee Chei Chet okee indians whose country wnm was across the tennessee river from the houston home finally lie ho ran away from homo home and spent three happy years with the cherokees lie ile was vas adopted as a son by chief oo 00 loo te ka and given tho the indian name of co lon ion aeh the haven nut but when the war of 1812 broke out sam returned to lite hla own people and enlisted under gen andrew jackson to light fight the creeks tho the story of ills fits heroism nt at tho the terrible slaughter of the creeks at to ho pe pha ka in northern alabama Is a familiar one mie ills hla reckless gallantry gallan iry there nearly cost him tits life alf but it also won him the approval of old hickory arid and that was waa to mean something n when hen hit he aspired to political honors army life proving bore somo after the war was over he obtained a commission na as an aa indian agent and was waa largely responsible for overcoming the objections of the cherokees Cherok ces to being removed to the west returning to tennessee houston went into pol itice and KB an a wholehearted whole hearted jackson democrat was elected to congress serving trout from 1823 to 1827 ills his career in the national legislature was not particularly distinguished but there were greater things ahead for him by this oils time jacksons star was waa rising rapidly in the political world true lie he had been defeated for the prest preal dency in 1824 by john quincy adams adauto and andio eo the Jackson lans amser asserted ted A corrupt bargain with henry clay hut but jacksons friends were wera still planning to make cinke him film pm aident and houston was otte one of the trio that jackson dubbed his literary bureau from the amount ot oi writing they did to keep the generals candidacy before the country so jacksons jack ons friendship helped elect IT houston governor of Tenn tennessee essm and when Jack jacksons sotos health fegan to full fall aggravated by the death of his beloved rachel kachel political observers began to speculate upon who was vas to be lit ht st successor lemor houstons Hous tons name took ita iy place on the inevitable list of possibilities distant parts of cf the country the gaze eixe foil fell upon the rising figure to in the west ivein tholof the politically consecrated 1 A 4 s awl 0 1 WE 6 N N 01 V ai X A ej 1 SAM HOUSTON A photograph by frederick of new york city made mada in 1056 when general houston was wa a member of the united states stales sen en ate copy from the original plate by courtesy of maj ingham 8 roberts of houston 2 SAM HOUSTON AT THIRTY THREE miti tary hero congressman of andrew jackson and Tennes sees young man of destiny A miniature on Ivory painted by J wood in washington 1826 the car earliest liest known likeness of houston at various times in the possession of hous tons it sister later eliza moore ellza eliza allen alien general jackson and mrs robert mcewen of nashville reproduced by courtesy of general houston houstons Hous tons granddaughter mrs robert A john of houston 3 PRESIDENT OF THE TE TEXAS REPUBLIC sam houston in or A miniature reproduced from a photographic copy owned by general houstons Hous tons grandson franklin williams of houston to n 4 ENSIGN HOUSTON AT TOHOPEKA an engraving approved by houston and first reproduced in sam houston and his republic 1843 1846 5 THE RAVEN sarn houston as ambassador of the cherokee Cherok se nation of indians indiana to the seat of the great white father A min miniature lature pointed painted on slik silk at browns indian qua queen an kotel hotel washington march 1839 and presented by houston to phoebe phoeba moore his niece reproduced from the original owned by general central houstonia houstons Hou Hous stona tons granddaughter miss mis marlon marian lea williams of houston lace face of 0 tennessee lie ile seemed to be the wan blau ot of destiny that many were svere lo looking oldrig for ula his e ligi billay was waa further increased by his bis nin marriage Inge early in n I 1 1820 to miss katza allen alien daughter of a rich and powerful tennessee family six weeks later houston astounded the country by resigning his position sal as governor deserting ills his bride and returning to the cherokees Chero keea across the mississippi lie ile had bad thrown away hla his chance fur for the presidency I 1 ills reasons for doing so ao were for a long time a mystery throughout hla his lifetime houston r refused to discuss the matter other than to say y that it was a matter of personal honor to hint him one rev reviewer lower tins has suggested that mr bir jumes might have called hla his book Il honor ellonor rather than the haven because it Is the story of an empire jint was won because of one mans notion of honor the scandalmongers immediately got busy but houston refused to affirm or deny an any y of the reasons which they assigned for his bis action although alt houch he did otter to fight whenever ho he heard of any aspersions being cast upon the name of jila his wife despite all the legend that has gathered around this incident it now seems clear that eliza allen alien was persua persuaded dej by an ambitious family to marry houston instead of the man she really loved and when houston discovered that fact he left her tho the next three years represent the lowest ebb in the tha career of this alan man of destiny among the cherokees he soon won the nickname of nip big munk drunk A poll political outcast he gave up lila ills auter american can citizenship to become an adopted member of the Che cherokee roWee tribe and a renegade rene white man then lite its rehabilitation began in when he went to texas to aid in the fight for texas liberty that part of tits his career Is a familiar story fits appointment na as commander la in chief of the little army which ilitch defeated santa anna at san jacinto and his bis election as the first president of the new republic houston next proved himself an able diplomat ile he desired that texas be an dered by the united states but the north tearing fearing the extension of slavery by the addition of now new southern territory was lukewarm toward that idea and van huron buren a northern otan man was waa president so houston concealing tits real plans from every one solicited french and british support for a project to conquer arizona yew new mexico and the tha Vior northern thern tier tice of mexican states sates it was be llevad that the ri new w texas republic would attract the slave states out of the american union and thus lead to a comfortable balance of power in north america the federal authorities were completely deceived by houstons Hous tons maneuvers and ana in a sudden diplomatic panic voted the annexation of texas so ho houston was happy to replace the love lone star flag with the stars and stripes and go to washington as the first united states senator from texas ills career as a senator proved that the lesson of tha federal union anlon it must be preserved 1 which he had learned from andrew jackson was well vell learned tie he showed tittle little enthusiasm for the war with mexico lie ile supported support edthe alie compromise of 1850 at the completion of 0 his term as senator he returned to texas in 1859 and was elected governor and once more governor houston was wa tall tallied ed oras ofas a presidential possibility in IWO 1850 the democrats of new hampshire had bad endorsed him tor for the presidency and endeavored to stampede the country for his nomination but the general had no party behind him film but in 1800 the chances looked better political sentiment throughout the tha country was waa divided in many directions As it a result the regular democrats nominated stephen staphen A douglas the southern balters bol nom no m john 0 breckenridge the new can party nominated abraham lincoln but there was another new party which called itself the national union party that was yet to make its nomination the choice of name was a happy one national nul union expressed precisely the sentiment of the vast independent dependent ln voter group whose ideas had not been met by any or of the tha three nominations preceding houston was the logical candidate of this group because his texas triumphs were fresh in the public mind ile he had strength in n every part of the country lincoln douglas anil and Brecken rl dge were ench each one the choice of a section but bat the he IV whigs digs who had find joined the national union party rallied behind senator john bell of tennessee it a man with a good mediocre record but in no sense a tender or a figure of national caliber the houston mav managers agers seem been to have been outmaneuvered by hells bells supporters who took the leadership in the new party and tried to play safe by putting up ap their colorless candidate lie ile won the nomination and AS a result lincoln the unknown candidate of the radical republican party won the election and southern secession was assured it if sam houston had bad been nominated it Is almost certain that he would have been elected and if lie he had been elected a secession and its terrible aftermath of civil war might have bare been averted so houston returned to te texas tas his hope for saving the union defeated when the TO teras con voted for sec secession enlon houston refused to swear allet allegiance lance to the confederacy and allowed himself to be deposed from bis position as aa governor rather than to turn against the union ile fie did not live five to see the union saved for he died of pneumonia to in ISM Ins inide de the ring his mother gave him when he enlisted for the creek war wa was found engraved a single ward honor ills his alf life had been an exempt I 1 flea tion of that word tie he had risen to the heights and descended to the depths hut but he never broke bilth with any human being indian or mexican nian man or woman white man or black and he was vas true to himself lie once said of himself that he was the last of hi bt ram race ile ho spoke truly tor he was the last of asce race of f slants giants |
