The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1884-09-10

Psris?'
1.-The Seminary was destroyed, was it not?''
Eyes, and the College at Blue Lick, too.
Something of coincidence, isn't it2 Blaine
figured conspicuouslY in the events which
wound up both institutions, and both build
ings persisted by the same agency-fre. A
hotel stands in the place Of the old College
at Blue Lick, and here very handsome and
where the Johnson Academy stood up to
1880. when it was burned down. \ part of
the ell is all that is left OF it.n
The story as above given seems 70 be
pretty faithful account of
GREAT MANS ROMANCE.
Daniel Smith, q venerable resident of the
town, who lived directly opposite the Semi
nary, and still lives there, corroborates the
story in the main, especially as to its most
important point, he having seen the heroine
as often, probably, as any citizen of Millers-
burg.
Mrs. Sue Sandusky's recollection agrees
entirely with the recital in so far as she has
any recollection at all. She is very friendly
to the McKim family, however, and does not
care to indulge in "reminiscences. She was
present in church one Sunday in 1850 when
the young lady in question became suddenly
i'll, and the efforts to relieve her discovered
what had up to that time been her own Sc
cret.
In Paris, which is a far more busy and
modern town, DR.. Kenner was met He
laughed when the shooting affair of Blue
Licks was mentioned, and remembered with
great distinctness how Blaine drove iuto
Millersburg with horse completely blown,
and turned the patient over to him. The
bullet wound be said, was very ugly one,
and Johnson was exceedingly fortunate in
his recovery.
"As to the young lady," said he, Il have
seldom in my life been more surprised than
/ was that afternoon when l saw her come
along and enter the Lexington stage in front
OF the PuTnell House, at Millersburg. OF
course had heard the gossip, but you know
what village gossip is-starts from nothing
and lives on nOthing-so l had never given
a second thought to anything heard. You
can imagine my amazement- then, when 1
saw her come along with unmistakable evil
dences that her confinement was close at
hand. 1 did not think it the right thing for
her to start On that journey, and said so to
some OF my friends who were there. /, Of
course, don't know where she was going,
but she came toward Lexington, and at that
time Lexington was connected with both
Louisville and Cincinnati by turnpikes, and
was about equi-distant from them both. So,
II she were to be joined by Blaine from
DrennOn Springs, she could have come on
to Lexington or Frankfort, ard then pro-
ceeded north to Louisville or Cincinnati by
STAGE"
did you ever hear that Blaine and the
lady were married in Millersburg@'
meyer, till saw that that brilliant fell
low. Ike Purnell had been interviewed over
at Richmond, Ind, and stated that he saw
Blaine married in the parlors of the semi
nary at Millersburg. Now, l can't under
stand what Ike PurDell meant by telling
such a story as that. In the first place, if
any such wedding had occurred it is not
probable that Ike Purnell was one of the
guests, as he was not strictly fashionable
society young man while in Millersburg
In the next place, such an event as that
would have been talked about all over town
in such q place as Millersburg. no matter
how secretly itwere conducted. In the next
place, the law required that all marriages
should be under license issued by the State
and should be entered in the State records
There is no such entry, In the next place,
Ike Pu-nell says the party, Immediately
after the wedding, took carriage and drove
to Cynthiana or Paris where they took the
train. Now, as a matter of fact there was
no railroad built in this region at all till
four years later. In the next place, Ed Bet
son, who is a neighbor to Ike in Richmond,
Ind, is right here in Paris to-day, and he
says that Ike told him the whole story of the
scandal four years ago, and that he remarked
in that same connection that If Blaine ran as
well for President as ne did for MilleTsburg
the time the Holidays got after him, all
- couldn't beat him. No, that story won't
do. / have no interest in this matter at sll,
but it does seem TO me very short-sighted in
Blaine to deny that story when he knows
how many of the old citizens down here
would be bound to substantiate it if they
were put upon the stand"
In Paris was also meS Colonel Craddick,
editor of the Paris Kentuckian, which in
March, 1869, published a protest against
Blaines preferment backing the protest by
the story OF the scandal, including the SHOT
gun. A few days after that publication Colone
Craddick published semi-retraction, which
fact was heralded abroad as vindication of
Mr.. Blaine. The history of these two publ
cations was given by Colonel Craddick quite
briefly. He published the first article be-
cause be had strong evidence that 1T was
true, and to this day has seen no reason to
change his mind. Stoddard Johnson, editor
of the Frankfort Yeoman, had made refer
ence TO the same story, and as Colonel John
son was regarded as authority on journalistic
ethics, Colonel Craddick had no hesitancy in
following suit. A day or two after the publ
cation, however, Colonel ID. Howard Smith
brought to him from Congressman ]. B. Beck
an article of retraction, and begged that it
be published. He Represented that Beck was
engaged in an attempt to remove the disa-
bilities of number OF prominent Kentuck-
| ians, among them being State officer who
was a friend of Colonel Craddick'S aud
whose status had been endangered by recent
State legislation. In this work Mr.. Beck de-
| sired Mr.. Blaine's assistance, and believed he
could obtain it If retraction of the unpleas.
ant story of few days before were pub
lished. Colonel Craddick, at first point
blank refused to retract what he believed to
| be true, but, at the same time, he hated to
hazard the political safety of prominent
citizens by any act of his, so he consented to
| leave the matter to Governor Halves and
abide by his decision. Accordingly Govern
or Halves was sent for, and he, after hearing
| the case in full, gave much deliberation to
! the work of drafting such an article as
would, while offering some little consolation
| to Blaine, leave it plain to those who were
acquainted with the facts, that it was not a
denial of the correctness of what had been
said about him.
| THIS WAS PRINTED.
The original article and the ''retraction"
are here given:
"ALL THE DECENCY AND MORALITY.
"The Radicals have elected James g..
Blaine, of Maine, Speaker of the United
| States House of Representatives. Some years
/ ago this man Blame was Professor in the
Military Institute at Blue Lick, and his wife
was at the same time teacher in the Female
School at Millersburg, in this county. AT
that time they were unmarried, but lived to-
gether very much as man and wife, as they
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