Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-02-08
iron ne LIttle ReGk (Arf- NsfIonaI Demo
rary n.
Abe nT RIKE.


he tAlbert Pike wore his bsIr lorg. gener
ally reaching 20 his shoulders. or the coat col
lar. but not To his waist. HIS voice, for so large
. man, vas not vesy strong Ia fact, is Was
dehclsns IN that respect. for an orator
He vas a remarkable man, as combisng two
characters. almost essentially distinct The aa
thor OF the Hy mus to the Gods" and some Of
the finest pieces of poetry, would be pc
tured ss q pale and melancholy man. Pike Is
large, robust. and unlike Dreamy poet a.
possible lie had keen appreciation OF the
beautiful Some Of his writings betray Cell
cacy that borders on sensitiyeness, aud some OF
bis poems. more especially those Le wrote and
had published IN q limited number OF volumes,
Tor DESTRUCTION among bis personal friends. were
like some flowers whose exquisite aroma was
scarcely perceptible, except TO the educated
sense Yet Pike was sensuous, if not a sensual
lat. He Was coarse in some of his tastes The
man who could detect the vintage year Of 6ne
wines BY the taste. and whose govt unqaes
tonable. could drink his glass OF Cincinnati
whisky. and rough il on the judicial circuit, as
froniier lawyers had to do.
The country was full Of tales of Pike, and OF
his doings In the early history OF the state. he
vas the compeer and associate Of a number of
brilliant men. who have low passed away-such
as Orittenoen. Ashley. TrapeIl. Yell, and host
Of others. Some OF the earlier public men were
gifted. Daels we're common; street fights some
times occurred. and insults endet in fight. The
only duel fought by Pike was with John 5.
Roane, Afterwards Governor; man with not
much brains. but with a happy knack of making
the most of slender abilities That grew out OF
some censure OF Pixies in relation 10 the conduct
OF Rosne in the Mexican war, IN which both
were officers, and where. il was said, Roane
showed the white feather. Roane was the chal-
ha dtsos M of IN ha ia 10rr
site Fort Smith. Neither OF the parties was
wounded. Indeed Pike was somewhat short
sighted. and it Is doubtful ii he could have seen
Rosne at fifteen PAGES. Save one or two f5ti
cuffs the circuit, in early days, Pike appears
to have got along without much fighting, al
though he vas editor here in stormy times he
was too large a maD, physically, 10 be attacked
with impunity: his personal courage was ad
mitted. and then. We inclined to think, he
was to much OF gentleman. naturally, to be
brawler.
His command Of language was never excelled
by any man except Rufus Choate. Pike could
write anything from faDeilal eonceit. delicate
as n flower aud clothed in the dantiest words.
10 the sevesest invective that ever was poured
on the head of a man. We doubt whether any
thing ever written excelled in scorn and
sarcasm. in whitening objurgation. his letters TO
Holmes, the rebel general commanding the de
partsent of Arkansas. We may get these and
publish them some dsy, TO illustrate the power OF
Pike 70 denounce, and the history of Askansss
during part of the rebellion. As lawyer. he
was acknowledged TO be a good one. And
here another conuarieiy in his character sp
pears.
Pike. the poet and good fellow. whom, intro
duced TO, would give you the idea of clever,
social. jolly man. who took things easy. and let
then come, was. in reality, one OF the most
systematic men that ever lived. His cases were
prepared with the utmost care. he drew up his
bills la chancery. his plans. and all his law pa
pers. with the utmost accuracy. The ease with
which he did things wonderful We have
seer n long bill in-chancery. hundred psges in
manuscript, written in his neat and peculiar
STYLE with not a blot. or inteslineatiou, or cor
rection of any kind. Ard this was the first
draft, as he never re wrote such things. he
knew exactly what 10 say. ADD how TO say it..
In all his speeches aud writings, there Is an
case. flow, use OF plain words, and a style
that is char ming from It's ciesrness and compact
meas.
lie was not ambitious. He never sought pol
tic al preierment man of his abilities could
have achieved success. In politics he was a
wing. To our knowledge. Gen. Taylor would
have given him Office. would have rendered him
seat ia the cabinet. bat il was refused. What
ever aspirations for fame be may have had in
his youth, seemed to have sbated In midle age.
When young he achieved a reputation a poet.
and his poems appeared in Blackwoods Mag
szine. He wrote . good deal which was publish
ed. TIL the last dozen of years his poems were
published at his expense. and a limited edition
was distributed among his friends. He wrote
because he could not help it. or because il pleas
ed him-at least he wrote neither for fame nor
money.
Then he was fond of sporting. BE hunted
deer with the Indians on the western prairies-
he made one of party TO go moose hunting in
northern New York. We would hear OF him
catching cod with Webster in Massachusetts,,
then with party fishing for pickerel in the
great lakes, and we are not certain but he went
with an expedition 10 hunt buffaloes on the
plains. Oflate years. that is. for number of
years before the rebellion, be spent his winters in
Washington. where be prsctsed before TIE Su
preme and other courts. There. he was known
among the circle of wits, brilliant men. and con
Waists There. the poet, the lawyer. the sports
man. and the hard student Was well known as
the high liver and reveller. He 'boR ct
can't and yet no man could do so mnch intel
lectual work.
He VAS -proverbially careless in money mat
tiers. lie made vast sums. One fee in a case
for the Indians Was over a hundred thousand
dollars His house. as the letter writer says,was
fitted up elegantly His library. which we have
visited often, Was the best OF its size We ever
saw The selection of rare and standard
works. Many OF them were imported. IL ex-
celled In the standard English authors There
several thousand volu mes in French. Be
sides this be had some rare pictures and The
finest engravings ever published. Nor was this
all. One room was devoted 70 philosophical ap.
paratus. and the natural sciences we're familiar
10 him.
Many did not understand him. and dislikei, or
rather sleered at him. He has no common
sense" says one. Why7 He spends all his
money for books, pictures. wines aud sport An
other said there was something wrong or Pike
would have been-a great man in the politicl
world. The truth is, he cared nothing for wealth
except to spend Il; nothing for fame except as
il came. and nothing for political prefermen,
HIS sentiments on slavery were not ultra. lie
always believed and averred that slavery wss an
evil, but one that should DC go, rid Of as propos
ed by Henry Clay. he Owned few nominal
slaves as house servants. simply because white
servants could not be procured OF kept here. He
brought somSof the latter here. but the females
soon married, and white mea sought indepen3-
ent positions.
On the breaking out of the rebellion. Pike
vent into II more ii driven in than going vii
lngiy. He made speech here in the winter O.
1850 before the legislature. which portrayed the
dangers of secession in vivid colors. When &c
cession was resolved upon. ne weat with his
adopted state. He was appointed by the conven
ton A commissioner TO the Indians JET Davis