Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-12
TIE ROMANCE OFADUEL.
A Brooklyn Girls Two Secret
Marriages.
what Brought About the Recent
Bloody Encounter in Cuba.
New York Sun. Juuee

t what Brought About the Recent
bloody EneouHtsr in Cuba.
0 New York Sun, June9,
The duel which on Friday last, near
6 Havana, resulted in the death Of Sal
! TadOr Cortereal and the severe wound
t ing Of DR.. Algernon Sidney Curtis was
melted, it seems, by the Jealousy with
which Cortereal regarded his wife's
actions. She is an American, and a
native Of Brooklyn From fifteen to
eighteen years ago a DR.. King resided
on Court street, IN a neighbOrhOOd
which had grown up around him. He
had two daughters, one of whom,
Sarah Frederika, was a bright, black
eyed, coquettish girl of fifteen. She
was not beautiful, nor even pretty, hut
was petite, vivacious, and attractive.
Nearly opposite her fathers house
lived DR.. Appleton Wheeler, a young
dentist, whose attentions to the young
girl and her manner Of receiving them
OccasiOned much scandal. Her father
opposed her course bitterly, and her
stepmOther still more strenuouslY; but
Sarah continued the intimacy until a
family quarrelforced extreme measures,
and she and young DR.. Wheeler were
MARRIED SECRETLY.
This step alienated her from herfam.
| lily, and though after few years her
father forgave her, and visited her in
her home, she was never able TO return
his visits on account of the enmity of
her stepmother, who never recognized
Mrs, Wheeler as a member of her fam
/ lly. DIR. Wheeler was in no condition
to marry, and his eight years of mar.
rled life were spent In his efforts to
maintain his wife well. In 1867 he
died, leaving little or no provision for
the future support Of his widow. DR..
Jarvis had been the partner, and be-
came the successor of DR.. Wheeler. He
! collected the few debts which were due
/ to the firm, amounting IN all to only
5000, and shared the money with the
widow. Then she sold her little stock
OF furniture by auction, and was ready
70 begin life again as young widow.
She sought and obtained a position as
housekeeper in a gentleman's family
on Carroll street, Brooklyn, but soon
opened an intrigue with married man
living in the house, so that her en-
plOyer felt obliged to discharge her.
She had some money, and she came to
New York to board, but the coquettish
manner which she had worn 80 pref
tily as a young girl had become more
marked and fragrant with her age, and
she was compelled TO move IN quick |
succession from one boarding place to
another.
CORTEREAL FASCINATED.
In 1869 she went to Bergen Point, |
n. J., and there met COrtereaI for the |
first time. He was a large, handsome |
Spaniard, engaged then, as at the time |
Of his death, as the Havana buyer of |
a large tobacco importing house in this |
city-and was something Of an adven- |
turer. He was fascinated by Mrs. |
Wheeler, especially when she told him |
she had money, and that a large fortune
had been left her by her first husband. |
She told him she could not control it
herself, but she named the person who |
was her trustee. Cortereal was salts
ned, and the two were married. This,
too, was a secret marriage, and the hus-
band and wife did not live together.
boarded at what was then 238 Henry
street, while she took a back parlor in
a marble front house on First place,
where Cortereal frequently visited her.
His Untimely hours for calling excited
the household, until at last hewas turn
ed out of the house at O'Clock in the
morning, and she was obliged to follow
IN the course Of the day; for though
they both declared that they we're mar
ried, they had no evidence Of the fact
70 offer. From that time Mr. and Mrs.
Cortereal dweltstCgether as man and
wife, living generally in this city,
though twice she accompanied him TO
Havana on his business trips. Since
her marriage with Cortereal she inner
tied from her father some valuable
property, among other pieces of real
estate the handsome house on Schermer-
horn street, inwbich he died a few years
ago.
THE ACQUAINTANCE WITH DIR. CURTIS.
The last home she had in this city
was in a boarding house in Nineteenth
street, where she and her husband met
DR.. Curtis and his family. The wives
/
and though DR.. Curtis removed from
the city he frequently returned to call
on Mrs. Cortereal. He seems to have
been a weak man, easily infatuated and
without prudence. Mr.. Cortereal was
called to Havana by his business en- |
a few months ago, and about
the middle of May his wife went to Join
him. Immediately after her departure,
DR.. Curtis told his wife that he was
going out Of town to be gone several
days, and without farther explanation |
he packed his bag and started for Ha-
vana. The result was told IN yester-
there about fortnight, when last Fri
day Cortereal burst into his room early
in the morning, awOke him violently,
and accused him Of having held illicit
with his wife. Curtis de-
MED the truth 6f the charge, an excited
meeting followed, and few hours later
the two drove together, without wit.
nesses, to MaTlanaO, and there fought
THE DUEL.
At the fifth fIe Cortereal saw his
fall, and then, under some
either Of fear or despair, he
turned and shot himself through the
head. His acquaintance here describe !
COrtereal as a man Of high passion,
but Of no moral courage, and they say
that he would not have dared to fight
had he waited for his frenzy to cool.
la moments Of passion he became ex-
even to arrangement, and it !
was under such an impulse that he
must have stood up in this duel. When
be was in the Henry street boarding
house IN Brooklyn be at times, when
lispleased with the management Of the I
house, proceeded to his room and vent q
I'd his anger on the furniture, which he /
wrecked and threw from the window.
This he did three times, each time alb
3enting himself from the house for
several days. Then he returned with
apologies for his conduct and a new set
f furniture for his room. !
VARIOUS claiTvoyants,t trance artists, and :
he like have proposed to furnish Informal I