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WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1863
AN EDITORIAL APPRECIATION OF HOUSTON 1
It is with deep and heartfelt sorrow that we announce the death of General Sam Houston. It took place at his residence in Huntsville, on the 26th inst. at a quarter past 6 P .M. A let- ter from his physician says: "He died after an illness of five weeks. At one time during his sickness hopes were entertained of his recovery, but his improvement was only apparent, and it soon became evident that the hand of death was upon him. To his numerous friends it will doubtless be a matter of great sat- isfaction to learn that in his last hours he was sustained by the Christian hope that he died the death of the righteous." Thus has passed away one of the great men of the age. Say what we may of General Houston, we can but accord to him the merit of having filled his full share of the history of the last forty years. His life has been a remarkable one,-whether as Governor of Tennessee when he was but a little over thirty years of age, as chief of the Cherokees, or as hero of the Texas revolution, or still later in the political arena of these last past years, he has always occupied a high place in the public con- sideration. He has not always been right, nor has he always been successful, but he has always kept the impress of his mind upon the times in which he has acted. What were the springs of action in his mind, who dare under- take to tell? What drove him when he was on the high road to fame and the enjoyment of life, the Governor of a great State, the idol of a great people, to cast himself loose from them all and plunge into the wilderness of the West to become the companion of savages? What led him afterwards, reinstated in the paths of civilization, the honored Senator of another great State, and the beloved idol of its people, again to cast himself loose from their convictions of right, and in defiance of their feelings yield his assent to the designs of their enemies? Who can tell. What- ever it was, the ease with which he regained the confidence of his fellow-citizens, in both these instances, is among the most remarkable incidents of history. After being lost fo1· years in the wilderness, he revisited Tennessee, and was received with the most flattering attentions by the whole people. He entered Texas, and was made little less than a dictator. After being repudiated by the people of Texas, twenty years later, denied his seat in the Senate, cast off by many who had always before ,voted for him, he, only two
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