great mass movement, a little later, was in two main streams. The northern stream landed at Philadelphia and pushed past the Quakers and Germans to the dangerous Indian frontier on the edge of the wilderness. Among these pioneers was John Huston, Gent., ancestor of General Sam Houston. The southern stream landed mostly at Charleston, South Carolina, and pushed out through the settled country up the river valleys to the foot.hills of the Alleghanies. With these came John Houston, ancestor of Governor George S. Houston of Alabama.

Thus the Scotch-Irish reached the chain of mountains at the north and south, 700 miles apart. Gradually the Pennsylvania settlements moved southward and Carolina pioneers turned northward until they met after some years. forming a long, thin barrier against the Indian tribes. Theodore Roosevelt, in his "Episodes of the Winning of the West," describes these backwoodsmen as a "shield of sinewy men thrust in between the people of the seaboard and the red warriors of the wilderness." 2

They chose these remote areas for three reasons, accord.ing to James B. Woodburn: 3 In the first place, they sought freedom of worship without interference from any state church, such as the Church of England, the established church along the seaboard. Second, they wanted a minimum of governmental regulation, which to them, in Ireland, had meant only tyranny. The third reason was that the "land beyond the pale of civilization was cheap, and large families could be supported at small expense." By the time of the Revolution, the Scotch-Irish made up roughly one-third of the population of Pennsylvania, and substantial numbers in the other colonies.

Undoubtedly these tough, courageous Scotch-Irish proved the best pioneers in American history. Eventually they crossed the mountains and pushed the Indians back from the western side of the Alleghanies, opening up the fertile lands of Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.

Among these pioneers was a liberal seasoning of Houstons sharing the hardships, the adventures and the eventual triumph of the Scotch-Irish people in America. The Houston character and personality of this era was typical of the pioneers described by Roosevelt. Referring to the Scotch-Irish, he writes:

"A grim, stern people, strong and simple, powerful for good and evil, swayed by gusts of stormy passion, the love of freedom

2 Theodore Roosevelt, Episodes of Winniing the West.

3 Woodburn, p. 318. 118