It is worthy of record that among the effects of the Rev.Alexander Craighead, the famous teacher and organizer of Presbyterianism in Mecklenburg and the adjoining region prior to the Revolution, were found a punch bowl and glasses.
The frontier life, with its purifying and hardening influence, bred in these pioneers intellectual traits which constitute the basis of the American character.

The single-handed and successful struggle with nature in the tense solitude of the forest developed a spirit of individualism, restive under control.

On the other hand, the sense of sharing with others the arduous tasks and dangers of conquering the wilderness gave birth to a strong sense of solidarity arid of human sympathy.

With the lure of free lands ever before them, the pioneers developed a restlessness and a nervous energy, blended with a buoyancy of spirit, which are fundamentally American.

Yet this same untrammeled freedom occasioned a disregard for law and a defiance of established government which have exhibited themselves throughout the entire course of our history.