The Red Cloud chief., 1878-06-27
RecOllectiOns Of Aaron Burr.

Ut Ephraim tlurk, OF staten Island,
N. T., who was n consulting physician
called in Burr's last illness, gives some
recollections of that once great man.
The venerable Doctor. In a recent inter-
view with a representative of the New
York Times says:
He had n grand head-with the most
brilliant eyes ! ever saw. but below the
head he was little NOR than IA helpless
skeleton. ! cant say what was the
matter with him. any more than gen
eral debility, but what was the cause of
that debility | cannot say. as | was not
his attendant physician and never thor
oughly diagnosed his case. DIR. Har-
rison attended him regularly. but I
never asked him any questions. aud I
never gave MIR. Burr any medicines ex-
cept two or three times, when I was
called in consultation, aud prescribed
anodynes to relieve the great pain in
which q .seemed tn be all the time. |
v saw him stand up. Always in his
Dol he was lying upon his bed or
couch. and when In "a carriage he was
supported by pillows In II semi-rccum-
bent position. He had q very strong
Irishwoman In constant attendance upon
him, and when IL was accessory To move
him, even 10 carry him down To the car.
riage. she would just pick him up In
her arms and take him along. He could
not have been a very heavy load to
carry. for he was fearfully emaciated.
reduced. seemingly. to little or nothing
nut skin aud bone. All power of NOV
ing his lower extremities seemed to have
been lost. Was he religiousr Well,
judging from the profanity no would
pour out ut that woman when her hand
ling hurt him, ! should say not, deci-
dedly not. No. I don't think l ever
knew of bis evincing any tendencies in
that direction. But although his phys
ical being was such = wreck. he seemed
To retain his intellect to the last. l do
not think that | v heard q more bril-.
liant conversationAlist, or that I ever
mot . man who more profoundly i'm
pressed me ut my first interview with
him. At this lapse Of time I cannot
say what the topics Of conversation
were--l only remember the general i'm
preston made upon me. don't think
we ever talked about politics. and I am
sure the duel between him aud Hamil-
ton was = subject. l have heard
that he expressed profound regret for
the fatal results of that encounter, but
he never did no In my presence, never
indeed alluded to /: In ANY way that |
q rcmember--either To that or the
the wild dreams Of q Southwestern
empire which he WAS said to have cher
ishcd in his younger days. But I recol-
lect that there was u gentleman, a very
intimate and warm personal friend Of
his; I can't recall his name now, but he
used to edit the Spy, In Washington.
All! yes l do remember, Il was Matthew
L. Davis who talked to me about that
duel. and urged very strongly that Burr
was not to blame, that he had sought
TO avoid the pushing Of matters to an
extremity, that he had opened the door
for his opponent to step out Of the af-
fair h%Onorably without q meeting IL he
had chosen 10 do so. and that he TBurrl
had always suffered unjustly a great
deal Of blame for that matter.
MIR. Davis was with him q great deal.
We used To call him the old boy in
specs l think he told me he was Burr's
friend In the duel; ! will not be posi-
tive. but that is my impression. I be-
lieved what he said about Burr's con-
duct Ia that affair, and learned to look
more leniently upon him than l had
before l know him; but the first time |
took his hand-thin, weak. wasted away
II was until II was like the claw of a
bird could not help thinking Of the
deed that hand had done, and a strange
feeling passed over me. not u shudder,
perhaps, but something very much like
1t. Although he must have been near
or quite 80 years old, II seems to me as
| remember him now his hair was not
at all gray. but black or q very dark
brown. His face was always smoothly
shaven. With the exception of Judge
Edwards, who SO kindly took care Of
him, and the friends that gathered about
him down there Mt the hotel-all Judge
Edwards personal friends except Mr..
Davis, l believe--Aaron Burr seemed
to be all alone; horribly alone for q man
who had been Vice President Of the
United States and had held the social
position that he once did. His first wife
had died several years before. and his
daughter by her, his only legitimate
child, II IL reported. who married Gov.
Allstone, Of South Carolina, WAS lost nj
sea more than 20 years befora this time.
He had married q second wife, the ia