Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1874-04-24
Selected ae|istellanu.
"reminiscences Of General wigfall.

n correspondent or the St. Louis ms
patch gives some interesting stories OF
the late Senator Wigfall:
| read with some interest your article
on the death of General Lewis T. Wig
fall of Texas, man who, to my mind,
was one of the most remarkable charac-
tiers the South ever produced, and have
thought some "reminiscences of him strung
together at random might not be unac-
ccptable at this time especially as his
death has brought his name once more
prominently before the public
In conversation he was one of the
most fascinating men it was ever my for
tune to be thrown into contact with -
Not only was he brilliant talker, but a
learned and profound talker as we'll
Possessed of wonderfully retcntive
memory, great fund of anecdote, a style
that was exceedingly picturesque, and a
gift in making mctaphors--for it cannot
be called by any other name--that was
inexhaustible, he could come as near
proving black to be white in an hours
talk as it was said Lord Macaulay could
Before an audience Of the people proper
he was irresistible. Once after the war;
and ia the mountains Of Colorado, Gen.
Wigfall happened to be passing through
some little mining town in the silver re-
gions. think it was in 1870. It was
raining hard and had been all day. The
vehicle in which he had taken passage
broke down a short distance from the
place, and this necessitated halt for
the night. Roughly clad, covered with
mud and wet to the skin, Wigfall strug-
gled up to the nearest hotel in the settle
ment and registered his name. No one
knew him. While drying his soaked
ed outside, and the news came that a
well-known character of the place, a
desperate called Texas Peter, had been
caught with sack of gold dust in his
possession that did not belong to him
and that the miners had formed them
selves into a court Of justice to try hin
for his life.
"Whcrc is the man from 2" Wigfal
asked of the landlord.
They say he is from Texas, but
don't know He has bad name here
abouts, and expect it will 60 hard witt
him. +"
Wigfall himself was from Texas, anC
perhaps some memory of the State, at Tho
time, was busy at his heart and earnest
ly at work upon his sympathies. Thu
soubriquet of Texas Peter, in all proba
bility borrowed one, arrested his at
tention at once. He rose abruptly from
his seat, went out among the miners, ga
thered together in the rain to pass
sentence upon fellow mortal who in
their eyes had committed the unpardona-
BILE sin. The culprit bad no friends. -
He was a gaunt man with scar across
the right cheek, iron gray hair, and q
face that was strongly marked yet sinis-
ter. His guilt was established beyond
doubt, and with all due formality he was
sentenced to death The rope was
brought, and from purple hue the mans
face turned ashen pale.
WigfalI leaned over near to him and
asked him gently if there was any one
in Texas who would be sorry to hear that
he had died ike dog. Yes, there was
one, wife whom he had once been hap
by with, but who, for all that, had been
cruelty treated and abandoned
"Will you 90 back to her and support
her if save your" Wigfall demanded.
The man sworc he would.
Then in twenty minutes speech. as
has been declared to the writer by three
truthful men who were present, Wigfall
did with that rough unshorn crowd just
what he pleased. They cried, laughed,
shouted, felt sorrow and rage and inf
mite pity by turns, and finally with
great yell released the thief and babe
him 60 in peace while the spell was on
them.
Before be left the town he drew up a
code Of laws for the miners intended for
their local self-government, had refused
the profits Of hundred claims if be
would stay among them and keep the
peace, and declined to take, with much
gentleness and many kind words, no end
of presents as an homage to bis eloquence
and the interest be had shown in the
welfare of the settlement.