Such desperate valor was exactly after “Old Hickory’s” heart, and from that time forward, Jackson was Houston’s friend and patron.  In 1818, he managed to gain admittance to the bar, and his rise was so rapid that within five years he had been elected to Congress, and four years later governor of Tennessee.  Then came the strange catastrophe which nearly wrecked his life.

Houston was, after Andrew Jackson, the most popular man in the state.  He resembled the hero of New Orleans in many ways, being rough, rude, hot-headed and honest—­just the sort of man to appeal to the people among whom his lot was cast.  When, therefore, in January, 1829, while governor of the state, he married Miss Eliza Allen, a member of one of the most prominent families in it, everybody wished him well, and the wedding was a great affair.  But scarcely was the honeymoon over, when he sent his bride back to her parents, resigned the governorship, and, refusing to give any explanation of his conduct, plunged into the wilderness to the west.

Perhaps the most characteristic feature of frontier society is its chivalry toward women, and Houston’s conduct brought about his head a perfect storm of indignation.  No doubt he had many enemies who welcomed the opportunity to wreck his fame, and who gladly added their voices to the uproar.  From the most popular man, he became the most hated, and it would have been dangerous for him to venture back within the state’s borders.  Not until after his death, did his wife give any explanation of his conduct.  She stated that he had discovered that she loved another, and that he had deserted her so that she could secure a divorce on the ground of abandonment.  That explanation, lame as it is, is the only one ever offered by either of the principals.

Meanwhile, Houston had joined his old friends, the Cherokees, now living in Arkansas Territory, and asked to be admitted to the tribe.  The Indians expressed the opinion that he should have beaten his wife instead of abandoning her, but nevertheless adopted him, and for three years he lived their life, dressing, fighting, hunting and drinking precisely like any Indian.  The papers, meanwhile, were filled with surmises concerning him.  No one understood why he should have exiled himself, and it was reported that he intended to lead the Cherokees into Texas, conquer the country and set up a government of his own.  President Jackson wrote to him, protesting against “any such chimerical, visionary scheme,” which, needless to say, Houston had never entertained.  These rumors grew so annoying, that he issued a proclamation offering a prize “To the Author of the Most Elegant, Refined, and Ingenious Lie or Calumny” about him.