The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1895-08-28
THE scoTcH-lRlsH.
Prominence Of This Strain of Blood In the
Pages of American History.

chusetts Historical society Mr.. Sam \
uel S. Green, librarian of the Worces-
ter Free library, has called atten-
tion to the singular degree in which
the Scotch Irish have illustrated in
America certain prevailing traits Of
character and genius. Indeed tho
most careless reader of our national
annals must often, in lighting on
the fact that such men as Patrick
Henry, Jay, Fulton, jackson, Cal
houn, Perry, Greeley, Morse, Sam
Houston and no end of others were
all of this descent. have raised in
wonder tho question, HAS anybody
ever done anything who was not
Scotch-Irish?" Mr.. Green's paper
makes one raise this question anew.
For centuries the Scotch We're iso-
lated in their own barren and noun
famous country. Then. when large
numbers of them were coloniZed in
the north of Ireland, they We're kept
equally isolated by position and re-
ligion. In this way they piled up
and set in adamant certain fixed and
salient characteristics. Hard strug-
giles to exc out a living had made
them shrewd and canny. Hard
struggles with fate had made them
heroic and indomitable. Their home,
whether in Scotland or the north Of
Ireland. was a grand place to get
starved in and so be forced to elni-
CRATE. So all over Europe they be-
came known as brave and ready
witted adventurous. The Scotch arch
ers, tho Scotch guardsmen described
by Walter Scott in Quentin Dur
ward" are tho same class of men as
tho Swiss papal guards. In tho wars
of Spain with Holland and Belgium
the Scotch linesmen proved a full
match for the terrible Spanish in
fantry, whilo under Gustavus the
Scotch pikemen won European re-
nown.
Sore beset in the north of Ireland
by hard times, failures of crops and
hostile legislation on the part Of
England against their material sue.
cess early in 100 the Scotch Irish
began to emigrate to America. Such
settlements in, New Hampshire as
Dublin and Londonderry show them
in the north. But soon they were
everywhere. Pennsylvania, Mary
land, Virginia. the Carolinas, Geor-
gia, found in them their leaders in
every enterprise Of the tide of ilnmi-
grafton into kentucky, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Missouri, they were al
ways in the van, fond Of frontier
life, great Indian fighters and then
equally ready to turn into SUCCESS
full farmers or manufacturers. Light
on Daniel Boone, and one may be
sure without consulting biograph-
ical dictionary that he was Scotch
Irish. But always they carried ideas
with them, Immense believers that
they were .in schools, churches, de-
batting societies, political clubs and
in religious freedom.
! Here, then, was just the environ
ment in which to develop a Patrick
Henry, himself but the highest crest
Of fame in a furnace that was burn
ing in the breasts of all his kindred.
Here, again, just theenvironment in
which to breed Witherspoon, who,
when the congress faltered whether
to adopt and promulgate the Decla-
ration of Independence, rose in his
place and declared that AS his gray
head must, soon bow to the fate of
all, he preferred that it should 60
by tho AK of the executioner rather
than that tho cause of independence
should not prevail" Equally wlcrl
the battles Of the Revolution came,
what list of generals the Scotch
Irish ADMINISTRATIONS. Sullivan,
Clinton, Howard, Campbell. Pickens,
Morgan, Mad Anthony Wayne, ali
as resolved as Stark at Bennington
to win before night or make Molly
Stark a widow.
Equally in tho war of 1912, Jack.
son at New Orleans, Millar at Lun-
dy's Lane and Perry on Lake Erie
were the three who did most to add
l,lster to the country. And the same
record holds true of the great edu-
Gators, inventors and divines of the
land. Strong in body and strong in
mind, self regulated in character,
yet fiery in passion, here wasa strain
} of blood as telling in it's impress on
the manhood of the country as the
importation of the Arabian stock on
the racers, hunters and cavalry
horses Of England. And the women
showed up as well as the men, n
: their admiration for the mother Of
: Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
the farmers Of Rhode Island criet
, out when the news came of the vic
I tory on Lake Erie, "This is Mrs
Perry's victory! "-Bosten Herald.
: just Willie's Way.
"You ought to have apologized t,
8 the lady for stepping on her foot,
said his mother after the caller hat
e gone.