But history also is often written largely by accidents of climate and geography, making situations favorable or disastrous for the development of a human race. It must be acknowledged that people, in a large measure, are products of their environment. Hence it is essential for the understanding of Houston history that we describe briefly the land in which the family originated.

In the geological development of the earth, a group of large islands split off the west coast of the great Eurasian continent. The largest of these islands, measuring 550 miles north and south, became known as Britain. It is so constituted with hills and valleys, streams and natural harbors, and divided by a great barrier near the middle, as to provide room and natural resources favorable for the development of two healthy nations. But such a development came about only through many centuries of labor and struggle during which men suffered and died on almost every acre.

Rugged hills, called the Cheviots, near the center of the island of Britain form the barrier between the lands now called Scotland in the north and England in the south. In Roman times the two areas were called North Britain and South Britain. Without the protection of the barrier between the two, Scotland could never have developed as a free nation.

Netertheless, the geography of Scotland, though favorable