The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-04-10
Buford's Career.

The Cincinnati Enquirer devotes an
article to Henry Buford, the Kentuckian
who shot and killed judged J. M. Elliott
of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, in the
streets of Frankfort. The Enquigcr says
Bufords history shows him to be u
man utterly regardless of law, of his own
life or that of others. when his passions
are aroused. Somewhere in the sos Bu-
ford was the hero of an affray on the Lex
ington fair grounds, which had a great
deal of notoriety at the time. lie and a
gentleman named Thomas, of Mt. Ster-
| ling, had quarTeled, and meeting on the
fair grounds, Immediately opened fire on
each other. Buford displayed Character
istic GOODNESS and recklessness, changing
his position once while Thomas was
firing, to avoid shooting in the direction
of some ladies, and ut another time de
| liberately taking a pin from the lapel of
his coat and picking the tube of his pis-
tol, which had failed to go off. He
wounded Thomas, and escaped unhurt
himself. A gentleman of Lexington
named Ferguson was keeping Thomas
supplied with pistols. Gen. Abe
Buford made at him with bowio-knife
and slashed at his throat. Ferguson
ducked his head and the knife shaved
his beard, taking off good-sized piece
of his chin, which fell into the posses
sion of Mr.. Mulligan, of Lexington, who
exhibited it for some time in his store
window as a curiosity.
Another incident in Buford's career
happened at the time when the three
colonels were editing the Times, in
Louisville. Buford sent a noted belle in
that city u bucket of sausage from his
home near Versailles. Theodore O'IIara.
author of the famous "Bivouac of the
Dead" one of the three colonies, made
the present subject of ridiculc in his
paper. AS soon as the paper reached
Versailles, Buford, taking friend with
him. got in his buggy, and by driving
rapidly and taking fresh horses from
| time to time arrived in Louisville early
in the night. Reaching the Gait House
and going in, he found O'Hara at the
bar taking a drink. Stepping up to him
and inquiring as to his authorship,
O'llara acknowledged it, and Buford at
once struck him. They struggled.
clinchcd and fell, O'IIara underneath.
| O'llara drew a pistol, and reaching
around Butord tried to shoot him; but
his sense of humor prevailing over his
wrath, he got to laughing SO that he
could not discharge it. They were sepa-
rated before any damage was done be-
yond a good beating for O'Hara, and
Buford returned home.
I Still another, attended with worse re-
suits, was his assault on Mr.. Ulysses
Turner, of Woodford, brilliant young
lawyer, and at one time member of the
banking firm of Sayor, Shelby e. Co.,
of Lexington. Buford had some bust
ness controversy with him, attacked
him. and beat him so brutally about the
head that his life was despaired of, his
health wrecked and his sight permanent
ly destroyed. Mr.. Turner died short
time ago, after years of suffering and
blindness. ........
Buford's last violent exploit before the
present murder was his defiance of the
authority of the sheriff of Henry county
in the earlier stages of the suit, the final
decision of which was the cause of the
assassination.