Sam Houston State University - Alcalde Yearbook (Huntsville, TX)

Page 16 text:

SAM HOUSTON

Page 15 text:

HISTORICAL

Page 17 text:

SAM HOUSTON The Mcdsiire of a Ujc }s Us Service On the second day of March in the year of Our Lord, seventeen hundred ninety-three, a tiny infant, compounded perhaps of a ray of starlight and a bit of earthen clay, entered the home of Elizabeth and Sam Houston. He was named for his father. Major Sam Houston. As he grew, he mingled with a nearby tribe of Cherol:ees, acquiring their love of nature and of the out-of-doors, — was accepted as one of them. Then came political ascendency — after a campaign against the British in the War of 1812 — and in 1827 he was elected Governor of his adopted state, Tennessee. Seemingly, however, tragedy overtook him. In 1829 he married Miss Eliza Allen, but within a few weeks after the ceremony he left her and retreated to live with his Indian friends. Countless have been the speculations advanced as to his reason — the answer lies locked in his breast beneath the waving pines of this, his beloved home. . . . Three years after his retreat, — in 18. 2, — a handsome, keen-eyed, 39-year-old pioneer sat astride his horse at the line dividing the Mexican territory of TejdS from that of the United States. Suddenly, with eyes which looked ever forward and onward, and a mind which contemplated the majesty of the hills and valleys, the plains and forests before him, the man who held in his hand the opening chrysalis of the destiny of one of the greatest states in the Union, penetrated inward. Toward the stars, — toward San Jacinto, — toward immortality; — to avenge the yet unperpetrated horrors of the Alamo and Goliad; the deaths of Travis and Fannin; — to give unto Texas a heritage of glorious freedom for all eternity. After freeing the state from Mexico and nurturing its precious life in its early existence. General Houston, in later years, defended his beliefs as to what course the young state ought to pursue with the same fortitude he had displayed in risking his life amidst thunder and fire, shot and shell, at her conception. In 1861, he abandoned his office as Governor of Texas rather than lead her against the Union in civil war. It was a bitter step — one which called forth hisses, epithets of Traitor! , turning friend into foe. Yet, forgetful of self, he sturdily opposed even his friends for Texas. Two years later, he gently fell asleep, with his beloved wife, Margaret Lea Houston, by his side. The Golden Cord Was Broken and the Said Returned Unto God Who Gave It — C. C. Springfield.