San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-02-08

ieoo'oteui anu which nnally
was the indirect cause of his death. He
never hlnched; took aim deliberately
ana pulled the trigger, but the pistol
was only ut halfcock; then cooked il.
aimed again and slew the man who had
dared to breathe word against the
fame OF an idolized wife. Leaving the
fatal field he walked some distance 10
house and asked for drink of but.
termilk. The woman who gave il
noticed the crimson stain upon his
shirt, and his second inquired if he was
hit. II believe l am" said jackson.
but L would not let Dickinson have
the satisfaction of knowing il. Iwonld
have killed him if he had shot me
through the BRAIN" The blood was
then running into his shoes. He rose
from the bed to which the wound had
sent him to lead the campaign against
the Greeks, and was so weak that he
could scarcely sit IN the saddle. At
New Orleans he coQld not bear the
weight of his sword. There, too, oc-
Cured the incident which showed
his liking for manly men. He had
ordered Shreve, steamboat captain.
we'll known in Mississippi annals, to
use his boat for certain purpose. The
order was not obeyed. jackson sent
for the offender, would listen to no ex.
cuses and damned him roundly. Shreve
replied in equally profane andsovigerous
style. Jackson bore the retort patient
~, and when SUBSEQUENT inquiry yidi-
Gated Shreve, made ample apology, and
was bis friend and patron from that
time forth. Peter Cartwright, in his
most amusing autobiography, tells us
that when preaching in fashionable
Nashville pulpit the clergyman behind
him pulled his coat and whispered,
"Gen. Jackson has just come into the
church" Old Peter, indignant at such
interruption, turned to the front, and
exclaimed is his loudest tones: who
cares fos Gen. Jackson? If he don't
repent and come to Christ, God
will damn him as quick as He would a
Guinea nigger?" At the conclusion Of
tie services Jackson approached Cart
wright and thanked him warmly for his
boldnes and independence.
"The iron willed soldier" as his
political antagonists called him, was not
all iron. When he walked into the
Nashville ballroom arm in arm with
Aaron Burr, the most elegadt courtier
of that day. the observers could not de-
eide who was the most elegant and
courteous of the two. When Living
ston introduced "the backwoods gen
eral" to his lovely and accomplished
Creole wife, SIZE said--after the guest
had gone-"Your 'backwoods general
is the finest gentleman / ever met. "
Childless himself, he loved children
fondly, and those he adopted had all of
fathers affection and care. His de-
votion to his wife ives as beautiful as
strange. She had no personal atGrac'
tions whatever--decidedly the reverse
nor were her mental charms above
mediocrity; but he loved this plain,
dull woman with passionate love
which neither time nor circumstances
could change or chill. Twice only, il
is recorded, he was seen to weep-once
when his position was such that he
could not avenge the insults flung at
her, and again when the clods fell upon
her coffin. Her miniature he wore next
to his heart until he followed her. ALI
women, however undeserving, were
sacred in his eyes for her sake, and bis
Quixotic attempt to compel the social
recognition of Mrs. Eaton was mainly
due to the hallowed memory of the
dead. They sleep side by side now, in
the garden of the Hermitage; she under
this epitaph written by him:
"Here lies the remains of
MRS. RACHAEL JACKSON,
Wife of President Jackson, who died
on the 22d of December, 1928, aged
sixty-one. Her face was fair, her
person pleasing, her temper anliable,
her heart kind. She delighted in re-
lieving the wants of her fellow creatures
and cultivated that divine pleasure by
the most liberal and unpretending
methods. TO the poor she was bene'
factor; to the rich an example; to the
wretched comfort; to the prosperous
an ornament; her pity went hand IN
hand with her benevolence, and she
thanked her creator for being permit.
ted to do good. A being so gentle and
SO virtuous, SANDER might wound, bus
could not dishonor. Even death, when
he bore her from the arms of her hus-
band. could but transport her to the
bosom of her God"
He under this, dictated by himself
''''''%
"GEN. ANDREW JACKSON,
ID NTorol, TX 1877