The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1870-07-02

| W iOiSS DO'S lllu Il Ii Ilu5 ubU bid' ~ Ia
been proposed that Slidell should insul
Douglas in the drinking saloon Of the Sen
1 ate, and if he resented it, shoot him down
wrote to Douglas at once, but KNOWN!
his habits SC well, ofleaving letters unopen
ed for days and weeks together, [ sent the
letter to friend, and commanded him tC
make Douglas open it and peruse it, thai
he might be prepared. And in this letter
said: IF you are pushed to the wall, tele
graph for Tom Hawkins, of Louisville.
well, [ came on from the South, soon
after that, and up with George Pugh tc
to see Douglas. There we found nobody
to pay much attention to us. Douglas
seemed absorbed with something else, and
looking out Of the library, across the hall,
saw Roger A. Pryor and Albert G..
Brown, of Mississippi, step into another
room. I asked no questions, but came away,
and soon afterwards started for New York.
When got to the Relay House there was
about three minutes delay as the Western
train had just come in, and [ saw get out
Cf it and step toward the Washington train
who but Tom Hawkins p
Tom l cried, what are you doing here.
what are you doing away from Wash
ington ? said Tom.
Going to New York
New York, what? Do you get me
here, and then run off to New York?
Douglas has sent for me. The fights on ?
Ill get off my baggage at Baltimore"
said |, and return to Washington tonight
And with that the trains steamed con-
trary ways.
Il found out the matter at Washington
that same evening. The consprators had
arranged TO force an insult upon Douglas.
and then, if he challenged. he would lose
the vote of the North. IF he refused, no.
body in the South would touch him. The
creature Of the conspirators to insult Doug
las, was G. n. Fitch, of Indana,--stll
alive, believe,-and he had done it in ex-
ecutiye session, the day before I reached
the city. Douglas had demanded retrac-
ton or fight, and Tom Hawkins had
been sent for.
Il found the Douglas household all warm
for the duel. Mrs Douglas and the Cutt-
ses and everybody was bound to see Ste
phen out His wife said he might lose the
Presidency or anything before he should
be beaten by Jesse Bright ana old Bucks
myrmidons. The Ji2H dour had been
passing all day betwixt the Buchanan head
quarters in the Vice Presidents room of
the Capitol, and one of the committee
rooms where the Douglas men sat in coun-
Gil. The messenger for Douglas was Rog-
er, Pryor, and for Fitch, Judah P Bepja-
min
"The Fitch gang were Slidel, who was
the arch conspirator, and bloodthirsty as a
bad ; Bright, who was jealous of Douglas,
and dispised him; Cobb, etc. When Ju-
dah p Benjamin, the second day, came
into the committee room with another let.
ter and, amongst Richardson, of Illinois,
Pugh, Pryor, Brown, and the rest, saw
Tom Hawkins glancing at him, they say
he shrank back and turned pale. Then
he put out his hand in sycophantish way
and said:
why, Mr.. Hawkins, I'm very glad to
see you
well, we all met that night, and Tom
went in place Pryor, to arrange the partic-
ulars, and force fight or peace. We knew
by his look that the thing was serious.
They knew it was coming to blood by Toms
big eyes. They wrote a retrocton. lie
had it in ten minutes.
'We arranged to try Douglas courage
by telling him that the duel was to come
off next morning. Tom, who vas a sim
pie hearted fellow, raised objection to this,
and refused to have anything to do with it.
We entered Douglas library, and there he
stood, with as pleasant smile as ever saw,
waiting to hear tie result.
"Mr. Douglas" said I, 'how do you feel ?
'Very well. What is the news?'
you are to go to the field tomorrow
at S o'clock, and fight with shot
guns
We all looked at him piercingly, to see
how he stood it.
very well,' he said. Make all the ar
ave watched him again, and he was
luiet as [ ever saw him. almost cheerful. |