Scotland and the Scots

•*v^^ :^: 7^" A -^ ^^ , o " a -^o , V - °o n. ,.< ^.^m' ,-iq. ^-^9^' v-^' V.^^^'"'^^ /\. .^^•V. SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTS. : : SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTS ESSAYS ILLUSTRATIVE OF Scottish Life, History and Character. RY PETER ROSS, Author o/^^A Life of Saint Andrew^'' etc. NKW YORK "Scottish-American" Oi^fice, it^ Rose Street. ^>^ Copyright, 1889, by Peter Ross. THE LIBMftTIBIUftTl or C01fOftM«ilfOftM«f \ V i PRINTED At THE OFFICE OF THE SCOTTISH-AMERICAN,' New York. I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME TO CAPT. J. B. WHITE, FORT WAYNE, IND., MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM FORT WAYNE, WHO, AS A MERCHANT, SOLDIER, AND LEGISLATOR, HAS PROVED HIMSELF A TYPICAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SCOT IN AMERICA, WHILE HIS ACTIVE INTEREST IN EVERYTHING RELATING TO THE LAND OF HIS BIRTH SHOWS THAT IT STILL RETAINS HIS REVERENT LOVE. PREFACE. In the following pages I have gathered together several articles concerning Scotland and Scotsmen which are likely to be read with some interest on this side of the Atlantic. The first article is a reproduction, with considerable additions, of an essay written for the Canadian-American of Chicago, and some of the others have appeared, in whole or in part, in the Scottish-American of New York. While a representative Scot in the present day has shown to the world what triumphant democracy has accomplished, it may not be out of place for another Scot to indicate how much his countrymen have assisted in bringing about that triumph, and also to demonstrate that, whether under the Stars and Stripes in the United States, or beneath the Union Jack in the Dominion of Canada, Scotsmen have taken, and are taking, an active part in all the movements that are designed to maintain the religious and political freedom of the people and to promote their material and intellectual progress. In connection with the article on the Union of 1707 I have reprinted in full the text of the famous Treaty. This important document is more talked about than read at the present day, but, as it is the charter on which the modern liberties of Scotland are based, it is deserving of being closely studied and thoroughly understood by every one for whom the history of Scotland has any attraction. It has several times been suggested to me that the pub- lication of these articles would prove acceptable to Scotsmen and their descendants, and in the hope that the suggestion is a wise one I send forth this little volume. PETER ROSS. New York, February, 1889. CONTENTS. Dedication v Preface vii The Scot in America i The Scot Abroad ...... 45 Scottish Characteristics.—Persevering—Ambitious —Logical—Thoughtful . S6 Some more Characteristics. —Religious—Poetic— Brave—Honest—Conservative . io8 Scottish Anniversaries and Holidays . 127 Scottish Superstitions 140 Scottish Sports 162 Robert Burns and Freemasonry . 179 201 The Union Treaty . .... Noblemen I have Known .... 235 SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTS. THE SCOT IN AMERICA. SINCE the year 1603, when James, "the sapient and sext," ascended the throne of England and became the first ruler of Britain, America has been a happy hunting ground for Scotsmen. The Scot has penetrated into every section of the continent and made himself equally at home in the glades of Florida, on the prairies of the West, or among the wilds over which the Hudson Bay Company once held almost sovereign sway. He is generally supposed to be a good, quiet, peaceable citizen, a sturdy upholder of civil and religious liberty, a firm believer in education, honesty, perseverance, and several other virtues necessary to build up a new country. He is also regarded as a man whose mere word is as good as his bond, an energetic yet cautious trader, with a stern, unbending spirit which enables him to overcome many difficulties, a man possessed of a cool, calculating brain which permits him to peer fur- ther into the future than many others, and inspires him to press ahead of his time and engage in schemes which seem ridiculous at the moment, but yield a rich return in the end. The railroad magnate of Milwaukee, Hon. Alexander Mitchell, who died in 1887, laid many a mile of road long before it could command traffic enough to defray even run- ning expenses. But he forecast the future, and his Aber- donian shrewdness brought him a golden return. So, too, " old Robert Lenox, when he bought his ^' Five-mile Farm in 1 81 7, and paid for it a price which appeared ridiculously extravagant, foresaw that New York had a grand future before it, and that his purchase was sure to be the centre of the city. How true this forecast was, every New Yorker of the present day knows. The farm consisted of about thirty acres, and lay between Fourth and Fifth avenues and 2 SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTS. 68th and 74th streets. The price paid was $6,920. On it now stands a large number of the most magnificent mansions in the city. On it are also the Lenox Library, the Presby- terian Hospital, the Presbyterian Home for Aged Women, and the Phillips' Memorial Church, all evidences of the generous disposition and public spiritedness of the owners of the old farm. The property to-day is estimated as being worth not less than $14,000,000. It is gratifying to know that so val- uable a property fell into the hands of such prudent, careful managers, as the Lenox family proved. They certainly gave abundant evidence by their generous bequests to litera- ture, education and charity, that the Scottish instincts of their ancestors in the old Stewarty did not die out when transplanted to this side of the Atlantic. One of the earliest attempts at settlement, in which Scots- men took part, was that which was organized in 1622 under the auspices of the Earl of Stirling. That '* philosophic poet " was one of the most subservient followers of the British Solomon, James I., and so far as paper grants, or as the Duke of Argyll would call them '' Land Charters," were concerned, was probably the most extensive land owner the world has yet seen. Between them. King James I. and his son, Charles L, gave him grants of territory which included Acadia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, Province of Quebec, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the greater part of Pennsylvania and New York. The titles were vague enough in defining the western boundaries of his estate, that he might, had he so chosen, have written his name on the map, as far away to the west as the Pacific. The end of this great Scotsman affords a good instance of a man being land-poor, for, in spite of his vast estate, he died at London a bankrupt, in 1640. In 1622, however, he was at the height of his success, and persuaded a ship load of emigrants to cross the Atlantic with a view of settling in Nova Scotia. According to Dr. Charles Rogers, in his '' Lives of the Earls of Stirling," the emigrants were mainly from Kirkcudbright. The inducements held out were very meagre and only one artisan, a blacksmith, and one person of education—a Presbyterian minister—joined the expedition. The other emigrants were agricultural laborers of the poorest grade. A storm sent the vessel to Newfound- land, where a large number of the travelers engaged in the THE SCOT IN AMERICA. 3 fisheries. Next year several of them managed to get as far as Nova Scotia, and after a few weeks of inspection returned to Britain and circulated very favorable accounts of the new country. Lord Stirling himself published a volume in 1625 under the title of '*An Encouragement for Colonies," in which he lauds his domain of Nova Scotia to the skies. His son, Lord Alexander, often visited Canada in the promotion of his father's and his own interests. In 1633 he received a royal patent for thirty-one years '' for the sole trade in all and singular the regions, countries, dominions and all places adjacent to the river and gulf of Canada, and the sole traffic from thence and the places adjoining for beaver skins and wool and all other skins of wild beasts." It is interesting to note in passing that in one of the patents or charters issued to this enterprising young Scot, Long Island was ordered to be called henceforward '^ the Isle of Stirling." In the more southern part of the continent we find many traces of the Scotch among the early planters and settlers. In Boston, Mass., as early as 1657, twenty years after the city was founded, the Scotch were numerous enough and wealthy enough to organize a benevolent society, for the purpose of aiding any of their fellow-countrymen who might be in distress. That organization, the Scots' Charitable Society, still exists, and continues to carry on a grand work of charity. The Scottish population of early Boston was once augmented in a curious way. In 1652 the ship "John and Sarah " arrived in the harbor, having on board 272 Scotsmen who had been taken prisoners, at the battle of Dunbar, by Oliver Cromwell. They with some 800 others had been shipped to the American colonies as the shortest and easiest way of disposing of them. Those who landed in Boston soon recovered their freedom and many became prosperous citizens, prosperous enough to entertain a kindly thought in their hearts for those of their number who had been less fortunate. In speaking of this society, the Scots' Charitable, at an anniversary meeting in 1882, Hon. F. O. " Prince, ex-Mayor of Boston, said : It is a remarkable fact that this society should have been founded at a period so early in the history of Boston.

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