Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-06-10

shut him up in room where wen man
must soon have suiIoeated.
Water Water In Coils name give me
water
Haven't you had any r asked
He told me no / threw open the windows
sent Cor q pail of ice-water and was on the
point of administering it when the old doctor
came in lie held up his hands in horror,
and told me it would kill the sick man. But
forced him back, and Kemp drank the
grateful beverage He drank deeply and
then slept The preparation poured from
him like rain, and when he awoke again his
...-.. was moist, and his fever turned. In
eight days from that time he sat in his saddle
by mr. side, and together we started for Lit
tie River. At Walton's Settlement found
my horse wholly recovered, and when of
fered to pay for his keeping the host would
tpke nothing. The story OF my adventure on
the river had reached there ahead OF me, and
this was the landlord gratitude,
The Beauchamp Tragedy in Kentucky.
From the Bottom TravellerI
We were led short time since to recall,
in connection with Die novel OF ". Gilmore
Simms, and review the circumstances con-
nected with the well-nigh forgotten Beau
champ tragedy, in which every body in the
country was interested thirty years ago
On the night of Sunday, the 9th of Noyem-
Der, 1926 Col Solomon F. Sharpe, one of the
foremost lawyers in Kentucky, formerly At
torney General of the State, some years ear
lie member of Congress, and at that time
a leader in the newly elected State Assem-
bly,, was murdered at Frankfort, under cir
cumstances of peculiar atroeity. He was
reused from his bed by some one knocking
at his door, and he was there seized by the
assassin, who after some words stabbed him
to the heart, almost in sight of his wife, who
flushed to his side. but TOO late to hear a svl-
liable from him, or to learn IN any wav who
was his murderer .
suspicion soon fell, however, on Young
lawyer named Beauchamp. who was arrested
tried, and condemned apparently on false ev
idence, but who was yet the real murderer
Party animosity then furiously excited thro'
out the State by some question relating to
the courts, ascribed the murder to political
hatred, for Sharpe was the leader of his par
ty, and the idol of the people; nor was it till
after the trial that the astounding story of
!}eauchamps actual crime and his reasons
for it were made public by his own ingenious
confession.
Some years before, apparently as early as
ISIS, Colonel Sharpe had seduced Miss
Ann Cooke, young lady ofrespectable fam
lily, educated and refined, and as appears
from her subsequent course, of unusual force
and severity of character, Proud, and in
tense Of feeling, she withdrew entirely from
the society where she had been courted and
admired, and with her widowed mother, her
books and her slaves, she hid her disgrace in
the complete scclusi0n of a Kentucky planta-
ton. -. ...+.
1t was here that young Beauchamp, in
fatal hour for both, sought her out, urged
himself on her acquaintance, fell passionate
ly in love with her, and, led on by his pas
sion, devoted himself, with barbarous mag
nanimty, to her dreadful thirst for vengeance
on her betrayer He cannot have been more
than nineteen years old at this time, and he
had been on the point of commencing the
study of law with Colonel Sharpe, when he
was repealed from sucn Il connection by the
story Of his villainy towards Miss Cooke,
Generous, though ungovernable of temper,
he looked with aversion on a man so stained
Regarding him as mo better than horse
thief," as he himself naively says
His natural pity for Miss Cooke was
strengthened by the praises bestowed on her
beauty and wit by a friend of his who had
been her former admrer. He visited her in
her self-imprisonment, she refused to see him;
he insisted, and she at last came forth, but
she received him coldly. He pretended Il
desire to use her library, and borrowed her
books, which gave him a pretext to call again
in II few days, when he again saw her. Lit
tie by little her reserve wore off, while his
enthusiasm for her grew into fcrvcnt love.
He urged his suit and besought her hand in
which she at first steadily refused,
and only yielded finally on condition that he
should first kill Colonel Sharpe.
This was in 1921 and in the autumn Of
that year he went to Frankfort for the ex-
press purpose of challenging Sharpe, and of
him if he declined The two walk
ed out together /! long the river at Frankfort.
and when they had come to retired place
outside the town, Beuuchamp disclosed to
Sharpe in what relation he stood to Miss
Cooke, and asked if he would fight him.
Sharpe said he could not fightin such cause
he would let himself be killed rather than
do it; and falling on his knees, he impiored
not to kill him The hate of the
HILL tSffueu w stOfu aC WHAT he
thought the most glaring CONFERENCE.-The
struck Sharpe in the face, called him by the
most insulting names, and swore he would
cane him in the streets every day till he for
ced him to a duel They parted, and early
next morning Sharpe left Frankfort, and
Beauchamp lost his opportunity. - Z,
Miss Cooke now resolved to kill her betray-
err with her own hand and together with
Beauchamp she contrived Il plot as artfuI as
that by which Leonore betrays LotLar, to
bring him to her house, where she could
shoot him This failed, and after a long
time she gave up her cherished plan and left
the murder again to Beauchamp, who, mean
while, by Il sophistry such as familiarity with
Il dreadful purpose often produces, had per
suaded himself that it would be right to kill
his enemy, not openly as he had at first pro-
posed, but by assassination.
Accordin Fly, after his marriage with Miss
Cooke, i'll June, 1925, he formed his plans
for the deed. Never was murder more de-
liber,itely committed For more hana year
he was busy making arrangements so that
no evidence could be brought against him.
lie even deferred the act till after an cleo
ton, hoping that Thompson, who ran for
Governor against Desha 1924, would pardon
MN IL he were cn0Sens as ne was not. UEs-
appointed in this, he determined to kill
Sharpe at such time that his death wocl,E
seem occasioned by political enmity; Cor
which reason he chose the beginning Of IL
session of the Legislature, i'll which, as we
have said, Sharpe was prominent man.
He travelled to Frankfort, as if on bust
ness, lodged at the house of a relative of Col
Sharpe, and disguised as negro, he iurked
about the house of his victim till he made sure
he was within. lie then knocked, called him
to the door, showed his face, that he might
have the agony of knowing who his murder
err was, and then stabbed him to his heart
The unfortunate man knew his assassin but
SO sure had been the blow, that the only
words he spoke were-'Pray, Mr.. Beau
champ" at the same time striving to throw
his arms about his neck; but no one heard
that exclamation, and Beauchamp had the
of seeing that no such evidence
as this could be brought against him. He
fingered near the house till he was seen by
Mrs. Sharpe, then went back 10 his lodgings.
After having resumed his own dress, and
with tranquil and satisfied heart, us he says
himself. he lay down to sleep.
T.. In the morning the whole town was in ex-
citement at the horrid deed. Reachamps
7