The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-08-02
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
(FRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT

"AehANdIoN, July Zo.-Ihe telegraph will give
you the latest Congressional news which is 80 far
aheaa OF the even quick progress Of the railroad
and would be stale even upon the wings of the
"iha nowadays. L can remember when Profess
BOZ MORSE was here, worn, and weary and poor.
trying to get Congress to consider bis telepranbo
scheme. can remember meeting him at q nartv
ana seeing him pointed out as an impracticable
enthuslast. II my recollection is not very mucb
aS 1ault, N. +. WILLIS, in his paper, stated that
PROFESSOR MORSE told him that at one time he was
30 poor and helpless and friendless, that he con-
templated suicide. Now he is one Of the rich
men OF the Countrywide greatest inventor of the
age.
The year OF General HARRIsons election and OF
my first visit to Washington, boarded with
widow lady, among whose boarders was a Mr..
COLT. had known the lady we'll in her married
life IN Cincinnati, and was the friend of her hus
pand and had her confidence. One day, in telling
me OF her difficulty in getting along she ask ed
me 70 ind out for her If her boar der, Mr. Colt,
would ever be able to pay her forty-three dollars
which he owed her for board, and which, she re-
marked, she could not afford to lose. That Mr..
Colt WAS the afterward famous Colonel Co1,r. the
celebrated inventor Of CoLTs famous pistol. who
died few years ago the possessor of millions.
Before I came to Washington, while living in
Cincinnati, one day Mr.. CoLT called upon me
with the request that would look over the proof.
sheets OF work on bookkeeping, which he pro-
posed to publish. declined, as was not good
proof-reader, and the request Was made Of me by
a stranger He WAS quite importunate that I
should undertake the task, and promised to re.
munerate me for it If would. I still declined,
for the good reason that could not read proof,
He was good-looking man, Of insnuating ad-
dress, about the middle height, slim, with quick
movements. He had prominent forehead and
nose, compressed lips, and restless, suspicioue
eye. After he left, my sister, ,.who WAS in the
back room, and overheard our conversation. re-
gretted that I had not complied with his request,
as he was her writing-master, and quite
gentleman. This was the Colt, the brother OF
the pistol inventor, who afterwards committed
the celebrated ADAMS murder in New York.
I remember well how earnestly and anxiously
his brother in Washington (for it was while I
was here the murder was perpetratedl tried to get
him Off, The murder was singular one which.
no doubt, some Of your readers particularly legal
ones well remember. Colt had an Office in New
York. He owed ADAMS sum Of money. Some
one told ADAMS that CoLT wae about to leave for
Philadelphia without paying him ADAa1o won't
Indignantly to CoLT's room and was missed there
after. vessel that was, for some cause or other
delayed in the New York harbor, became very Of
fensive to all on board from q stencil proceeding
from her hold. Search was made. A box WAS
found, which, on being opened disclosed the body
OF man, with the head and limbs apart, in q
state OF putrifaction in the box.
After great search and efforts by advertise
ments and otherwise, o drayman presented
himself who stated that he had taken the box,
which he instantly recognized, from CoLTs room
Colt was arrested, tried for the murder, and, my
Impression is, committed suicide in his cell Now
if ooLT, when he killed ADAMS, had gone forth to
mr. DIV
ADAMS had assaulted him, and he had killed him
in self-defenoe, what proof could ere have been
dition Of his victims body, and his attempt Sc
cretly to have 1t transported away, showed his
guilt JOHN Howard PAYNE, the author Of the
great friend Of CoLr and went from here to visit
him on his trial in New York, told me q little
anecdote Of his friend, which shows the great
suspicion OF CoLT's character.
PAYNE and Colt first met in st. Louis, and Colt
there made PAYNE the present OF q sword cane,
whioh hsd COLTS name upon its golden head.
have his name erased from the cane; for, said he
to PAYNE, II you should lose it, or it should be
stolen from you, and murder should be commit
ted with it, and it should be found by the body OF
the murdered man with my name upon 1t, I might
be accused OF the murder, and you might not be
here, by whom could prove that gave the cane
to you. How true what the great poet says:
'suspicon ever haunts the guilty mind
You remember that the PAnKMAN murder in
III
character as this Of CoLT; but in the WEBSTER case
he sought to burn the body Of his victim.
=, These murders have been called to my mind by
the great quarrel here over the award in the
Bo6TH case just made by Congress-: sat, last
night, An interested listener to the discussion OF
the award BY number Of sharp men, who seemed
more deeply Interested in It than in any other
matter before Congress, though they had no
pecnniary interest in the matter, yet by sym
psthy, It touched their pocket nerve. Late at
cnssion, and no two Of them had agreed as to a
two watches keep the same time, and finding that
he had been in trying to make two men think
alike.
Think alikeI Why the Babel Of opinion here on
award in the BooTH case-more so-yet note what
party and personal interests will do when we see
these Radicals held together by what Mr.. OA1o
HoUN called "the cohesive power or public plum
der" They will como right from the Halls OF
Congress, whore they have just voted to sustain
measure and say they knew II was not all right.
but that they had to sustain "the party"
Terrible is the tribulation Of men here who have
axes to grind, or irons In the fire, over the adj
journment Of Congress, and nothing done in there
easel Each man is the most injured individual
that the sun ever shone upon. Each will hint TO
you IL he does not tell you openly of the rascality
OF his neighbors claim or purposes. whatever
they may be- before Congress, but his own ia as
pure es the snow on Dian's temple, Immaouiate
meni
Lsst night, ringing my bell In vain, 7 called TO a
black fIald hand yuh hue kr,,, 1.