The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-02-27
GParis Kentuckian.1
HARD ON FOOTE.
The Story Of His Two Duels with Sar.
geant s. PrentisS.

The Story Of His Two Duels with Sar.
geant s. Prentiss.
The brazen effrontery of Henry s.
FOote in exposing his willingness to
fight a duel with jefferson Davis, is
only surpassed by the malignity of the
! motive by which he was stimulated.
1t is but too patent that he is vainly
striving to attain consequence and cap
| ital with the black Republican party.
TO those who know, and who are ig-
| norant of the fact, that he foistel him.
self upon the State which placed him
| in the Confederate Senate as a true and
| firm Southerner, while in all his pur
poses and conduct he was marplot,
| working the destruction of the South
and that in the last gloomy days of
Southern depression and distress, that
he secretly slipped from his Senatorial
| seat and slyly passed the lines of Gen.
Lee, into Washington City, with intent
to betray his comrades; that he was
coldly and ignominiously repulsed at
Washington, and he again returned
secretly to Richmond and audaciously
essayed to resume his seat as Confed-
crate Senator, it is not surprising that
| in his desperation he snatched at every
palm " save Ills 1IIS
| friends of Jefferson Davis know well
that he will not soil his character as a
statesman, a General aud Christian
gentleman, by q conflict with any such
man as Foote, and some of his friends
think he should not have even conde-
scended to publish the card in which
he declines to notice him. If Foote
really wants, in his old age, to fight
another duel, he had better look down
among the rcnegades and traitors who
were so numerous between the lines of
the late contending armies.
In speaking of Henry S. Foote, we
are reminded of the account which the
late talented Sergeant s. Prentiss gave
of the causes of the two duels between
him and Foote.
This is the substance of the matter
we have heard as detailed by Prem
tiss:
A friend of Prentiss was at the point
of death from an attack of mania q lootu.
For week his physicians had essayed
every known remedy to put their pa
tient to sleep, but in vain. Prentiss
knew that Foote had made Il visit to
Texas. He was nursing his sick friend,
when a consultation of the doctors was
held, and they announced that the
case was hopeless unless the patient
could be put to sleep, but that they
would exhaust all the means known to
the profession.
Prentiss sprang from his tseat, and
said to the doctors, ssdap1n it, give him
Foote'S book on Texas to read, and 1
will insure its soporific effect" The
remark of Prentiss was too good joke
| to be kept, and it reached the ears of
Foote, who challenged, and Prentiss
| was too much of a Southern cavalier
to decline, and they met, and Foote
was wounded and the parties made
friends.
1t happened that the meeting was SO
notorious that a very large collection
crossed the river at Vicksburg to wit
ness it, and among them a number of
boys, who were so anxious to get u full
sight that they climbed up many trees
about the grounds. When the seconds
had planted the parties, Prentiss looked
around and saw the boys in the trees,
and jestingly remarked, "boys, you
had better take care, EOotc shoots
mighty wild.' This remark was pub
lished in the papers, and annoyed
Foote to such degree, that he again
challenged Prentiss, who met him Il
second time as gentlemanly solacc to
Foote'S wounded spirit. At the mcet-
ing Foote fired and missed, and Prcn-
tiss fired his pistol in the air, and the
parties were again reconciled.
Foote'S Texas dropped still-born
from the press, and it is believed it
would be hard to find Il copy, valuable
as it might prove as n narcotic.
Mr.. Thomas Carlyle has made Il char
acteristic contribution to the capital
and labor question, as presented to him
now in the shape Of a letter to Sir J
Whitworth. He says:
The look of England is to me at this
moment abundantly ominous, tho
question of capital and labor growing
ever more anarchic, ,insoluble altogether
by the notions hitherto applied to it
pretty sure to issue into petroleum one
day, unless some other gospel than that
of the "Dismal Science" come to illumi.
nate it. He declares that there is nc
hope unless all decide upon doing thcil
work faithfully throughout as men o
conscience and honor. All England
shop-keepers, workmen, all manner o.