The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1869-03-03
e. Butler.


| HOW ACTS WHEs Is EXCITED
The New York Times Washington correspondent
thus sketches General Butler while he warning i
out with Messrs Bingham and Shellabarger on the pro
test against the manner o. counting the electoral votes
! Wonderful man is that Batter. CSol and selfpos
scssed saucy, defiant, active, wde-awake never at Il
loss for expedents always ready pound or be pound
ed at full of resources artui cunning and vet doing
everything apparently in the most natural and easy
/ manner Imaginable. " There never was a man bort,
like that Butler before" said spectator to-day At
least one after precisely the pattern You
can't cut him down permanently. He will up again,
I no matter how you trampe On him. ANY other man
would have been killed long ago, politically but Bat
Ter seems thrive opposition abuse and contuEe-
y and rise peg higher after each successive tilt
with his adversaries" It would seem So truly. To-
day when he got on the floor he was surrounded BY
Il crowd of members who favored his action yesterday
/ They all congratulated him. and even his opponents
| eyed him with an expression in which admiration pre-
| dominated over hostility and simulated disgust.
Ben sat il his seat listening to the remarks of those
who addressed him, while he bent his desk scan
ming with his single eve letter after letter newSpa
per after newspaper, occasionally popping his head up
suddenly like of those artificial figures on springs
that out of boxes When the are removed
Or jumping up altogether on bis legs and rushing to
other part Of the house, perhaps stop half way
and return again, if some den had struck its
predecessor mo cOckeu-nHb nPlOFP IL lau time 70
carry itself into execution Butler had curious coQl
fdgeness about, him. lie is never easy physically
but collected mentally always. H wirls and turns IN
his chair pins and needles were in bis Scat One seq
ond bis face is turned nqnstvelY toward the ceiling
the next it is bent dow inward his eye following his
nimblc fingers over a sheet of paper while he makes
some note with his pen. Now he is trong about like
a little spirited pony; moment after he is standing
in front Of the Speakers chair with his thumbs tasten-
ed in the armhUes Of his vest, while he listens for a
few moments to what some member may be saying |
He rarely seems to listen oF longer period at a !
stretch but strange enough, matter how busiy he
may be employed-whether writing reading, talking t
or walking-he never misses What is going on. When
he most a4stracted he is really most wide awake
and alert
These peculia.it;es of Ben Butler we're prominently
developed to day during the discussion. While Shell
labarger, Thomas, Woodward, E!rdge, Bingham.
Schenck, Colf.x and Garfield were speaking, Butler
was to be seen everywhere about the floor. Just at
the moment o! the speakers mi ght be pitching into
MIN III some WAY, Butler, perhaps would be flying
through ore of the aisles and would stop abruptly to
lstsn or to throw in word by way of interruption to
confuse worry the member having the floor Bine-
IAN, in his remarks Butler the severest Of any
II the speakers but the Essex member seemed to
are very little what the Oioan orator said and rat
led about quite uncomcernediy. sometimes planting
himself quite close to his assaan and eveing him with
cool defiance that induced Bingham to point his fin |
eF at him and shake it i'll high excitement, and veil
~, with increased fury and vigor words Of denuncia
ion such as Bingham well knows how to hur at his .
opponents While Bingham was worked up to the
highest pitch OF oratOrical ECSTASY it have put his
nOur prOpTe a to observe Butler stand
ng about wards off frigdy looking over piece
VI manuscript, as if not caring snap about Bingham
nd all " the gathered wisdom OF thousand wears"
hat was summoned to his demolition