The hospitality of the Fair Play settlers is particularly stressed by the journalists who traveled in the West Branch Valley.[61] Despite the limitations of rooms and furnishings, the frontier cabin was ever open to the weary traveler, and spirited conversation and beverages were always available to revive him. Good food and fine friends could be found on the frontier. The frontiersman took great pride in his hospitality. Dependent upon outside travelers for news, the latest remedies for ailments, and mail, the inhabitants of the frontier opened the doors of their cabins and their hearts to visitors. Taken into a home, the weary traveler often found himself treated to the best in food and comfort which the limitations of the frontier permitted. Generally sharing the one-room cabin, like any member of the family, he soon learned that he was a welcome guest rather than a stranger in their midst. The loneliness of the frontier stimulated the hospitality of the frontiersman. Although no "frontier philosophy," as such, existed, the conduct of its inhabitants demonstrated their faith, their patriotism, their spirit of mutual helpfulness, and their temperance. The pioneer was not a philosopher or a thinker, because the rigorous struggle for survival, which was his, did not permit the leisure to develop these traits. He was a doer whose values and beliefs were reflected in his behavior. The favorable, but not always eager, reception of itinerant pastors, the religious instruction which took place in the home, and the frequent references to "the Creator" in the wills testify to the relevance of faith in influencing the character and behavior of these early Americans. Faith was not only relevant but also a matter of choice, and freedom of worship was practiced on this frontier. Here again, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian influence may have been significant.[62] Patriotism, with few exceptions, was characteristic of the frontier. But loyalty to what? On this frontier it seems to have meant devotion to an America which developed through New World experience. Like Topsy, "it jus' growed," and no frontiersman wanted it taken away. The enthusiastic reception of the Declaration of Independence by the Fair Play settlers combined with the legend of their own resolutions on the question indicate this patriotic feeling. Despite their political differences with the settled areas, the West Branch pioneers were overwhelmingly loyal to the patriot cause in the American Revolution.[63] Their loyalty, however, was more to the ideal of freedom, or "liberty" as they termed it, than to any organization or state. They believed in and supported the liberty which their own hard work and the circumstances of the frontier had made possible.