THE RAVEN | TEACHER | SOLDIER | INDIAN SUBAGENT
CONGRESSMAN | GOVERNOR | BIG DRUNK

"I prefer measuring deer tracks in the forest to tape and calico in a country store."

Houston's early years in Virginia were filled with fishing, hunting, and very little formal schooling. This lifestyle appealed to the free-spirited, independent child, who spent many hours reading classics from his father's library. One of his favorite classics that he studied later in childhood was the Iliad. This heroic tale may have fueled in the young Houston romantic notions of doing great deeds.

After Houston's father died and the family moved to Tennessee, Houston was asked to help establish the farm and work in the family store. Rebelling against his overbearing older brothers and the chores now required of him, the fifteen-year old ran away.

Houston joined a band of Cherokee Indians that lived across the Tennessee River on Hiwasee Island. The leader of the tribe, Chief Oolooteka, became Houston's adoptive father and bestowed on Houston the Cherokee name "Colonneh"—The Raven. The Cherokee lifestyle suited Houston's tastes and beliefs and he immersed himself in it—adopting the tribe's dress and speaking the tribe's language. Houston's appreciation and support of this Indian culture continued when he returned to the white world and throughout his life.

Sources:

Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).

The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/HH/fho73.html

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
http://www.shsu.edu/~smm_www/

TIMELINE | HOUSTON IN TN | PEOPLE | QUIZ
RESOURCES | THE DOCUMENTARY
WEB CREDITS