San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-05-24

the neuIIh VI oii o"s
malevolent politicians. . ;,
"That is right" he replied ana
trpst that no untoward event vii
sever the growing cordial relations;
By and by we drifted into the sub
iect of war. 1t was Mr.. Davis who
cave Gen. Mcclellan his first upward
stems, and it was Mr.. Davis who APP
nointed Gen. Meade to tho Lake
Survey, and was sharply criticised ioi
his selection. He believed that NC
Clellan's cowpaign against Richmond
had he been permitted to carry 1t ou'
rs Manned, and received the hearty
support of the War Department
must have resulted disastrously to the
Confederates.
81 knew Mcclellan, Meade, Hum,
phrey and nearly all the Fedora,
Generals" said Mr.. Davis, land
many of them were my proteges'
Although they were fighting my ar,
mics, / could not resist a feeling OF
pride in seeing so many OF the young
men I had helped advance winning
fame and proving all that had been
predicted"
I asked him to name the best Fed
eral General, and he replied
"There were two--McClellan and
Meade. Mcclellan was a grand en-
gineer and a great General; Meade
was "a steady fighter, and his move
ments were more of an enigma to
Lee than those of any other Federal
General. -
AS we talked of this and that, the
names tof generals, governors and
government officials came up, and
many of them proved to be old &C
ouaintances of Mr.. Davis. In years
agone he and Ben Butler were on the
best social terms, and it was the same
with several other present governors
of Northern States, and with various
generals who won their laurels in war.
The ex-President had kind word
and good wish for each and every
one, and he seemed to believe that
those who had made their mark were
entirely deserving of their success.
In the State Library at Jackson,
Miss, is crayon portrait of MIR. Da.
Wis as he appeared when captured. l
asked him if it was correct, and ne
replied: :, :,
Il will tell you exactly how it all
occurred. 1 had lain down without
removing a garment. l had high
cavalry boots, pantaloons tucked into
the tops, gray blouse and a soft
hat. Upon the alarm being given, l
stepped out and saw Federal caval-
lyman thirty or forty feet away. He
ordered me to halt. At the same
moment Mrs. Davis threw over my
shoulders folded shawl. [ saw that
nv only chance of escape was to Sc
cure the horse of the Federal. l ad-
vanced straight upon him, feeling
that he would fire at me, but bellev-
ing that he would miss his target.
Had this occurred, there would have
been struggle for the possession OF
the horse. AS I approached the SOL
der, he lowered his carbine as If to
shoot, and at the moment Mrs. Davis
rushed up and threw her arms around
me. The soldier hesitated a mo-
ment, turned his weapon aside, and
1 walked back to the fire and stood
there until made prisoner.
Two hours passed swiftly by as we
talked, but before permitting me to
depart, Mr.. Davis ordered a luncl,
and was again the host instead of the
historian. One who takes him by
the hand and looks into his kind face
must respect him. One who sees his
white hairs and notices the evidences
of old age must feel glad that his few
last years are to be full of peace and
quietness. NJ. quad.