The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-04-10
TOM BUFORD.
The Assassin of Appellate Judge Elliott, of
Kentucky.

Kentucky.
| from the Louisville Courier-Journal.l
Buford's history shows him to be a
man utterly regardless of law, of his
own life, or that of others, when his
vindictiye passions were aroused.
Somewhere in the fifties Buford was
the hero of an afray on the Lexington
Fair Grounds, which had a great deal
of notoriety at the time. He and a
gentleman named Thomas, of Mount
Sterling, had quarreled, and, meeting
on the fair grounds, Immediately opened
fire on each other. Buford displayed
characteristic GOODNESS and recklessness,
changing his position once while Thomas
was firing to avoid shooting in the direc-
ton of some ladies, and at another time
deliberately taking pin from the lapel
of his coat and picking the tube of his
pistol, which had failed to go off. He
wounded Thomas and escaped unhurt
himself A gentleman of Lexington,
named Ferguson, rather noted dandy
of the period, who afterward went to
Paris, married French lady, and was
known among his acquaintance as
Count Ferguson, was keeping Thorn
as, who fired much more rapidly than
Buford, supplied with pistols. A friend
of Buford's, according to our recollec-
ton his brother, Gen. Abe Buford, en-
ragged at Ferguson's interference, made
at him with bowie-knife, and, making
a slash at his throat, Ferguson ducked
his head, and the knife shaved his
beard, taking off a good-sized piece of
his scalp, which fell into the possession
of Mr.. Mulhgan, of Lexington, who ex-
hibited it for some time in his store
window as curiosity.
Another characteristic incident of
Buford's career happened at the time
when the three Colonels were editing
the Times, in this city. Buford, for
some reason, had sent noted belle in
this city, from his home near Versailles,
bucket of fresh sausage. Theodore
O'Hara, author of the famous "Bivouac
of the Dead, one of the three Colonies,
made the present subject for ridicule
in his paper. AS soon as the paper
reached Versailles, in the afternoon of
the same day, Buford, taking friend
with him, got in his buggy, and by driv-
ing rapidly, and taking fresh horses
from time to time, reached 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 the au-
thorship, O'Hara acknowledged it, and
Buford at once struck him. They
struggled, clinched, and fell, O'Hara
underneath. O'Hara had small pistol
in his pocket, which he drew, and,
reaching around Buford, 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 separated before any damage, be-
yond good beating for O'Hara was
done, and Buford Immediately got into
his buggy and started homeward.
Another incident, attended with
worse results, was his assault on Mr..
Ulysses Turner, of Woodford, a brilliant
young lawyer, and at one time mem
Der of the banking firm of Taylor, Shell
by & Co., of Lexington. Buford had
some business controversy with him, at
tackled him, and beat him SO brutally
about the head that his life was des-
paired of, his health wrecked, and his
sight permanently destroyed. Mr.. Tur-
ner died only short time ago, after
years of suffering and blindness.
His last violent exploit before the
murder at Frankfort was his defiance
of the authority of the Sheriff of Henry
in the earlier stages of the suit, the final
decision in which was the cause of his
assassinating Judge Elliott.