The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-22
FORMER INDIANA LAWYERS.
There We're Giantsin Those Days, Named
Hiram Brown and Hugh 0Neal.
Browns Opinion of the Hon. David S. Good
ing-HoW O'Neal Effectually Silenced the
Son of Harry of the West.

nent members OF the Indiana bar, answering the
reporter. He was, in many respects, great
man. He died in the spring of 1852 or 1853 I
saw enough Of him to know that he was one of
the most finished advocates at the bar His
style was remarkably fine and often held para
graphs as eloquent and rythmical as the choicest
blank verse. He had happy faculty of gener-
alization and presented every question of his
case tersely and eficaciously, SO that his adver-
sary felt, while he was speaking that his own
force was being constantly diminished, and that
the chances to win his case grew less with every
word the old man spoke. He was sometimes
severe on his adversary, witnesses and the adj
verse party, and always witty They used to
plague Mr. Brown upon the pretense that on one
occasion, when examining witness touching the
malicious shooting Of dog, he asked the plain
tiffs witness whether he saw the bullet leave
the gun and hit the dog. The question pro-
voked a good deal of mirth at the time, and was
long afterwards resorted to by members of the
bar who desired to make point upon It's author.
This warfare on the old man was carried to such
an extent that it became bore to him and
provoked his anger. On one occasion, at
Noblesville, when brother attorney was
closing his argument in SANDER case, in
anticipation of Mr.. Browns reply, cautioned
the jury against the cunning of his adversary,
and in illustration cited the story of the bullet
and the dog, MIR. Brown rose up to reply, and
said Mr. G., one thing is very certain;
when your client employed you he hit dog.
This vigorous blow destroyed the whole effect of
his adversarys peroration, and evoked roars of
laughter at his expense. That evening the bar
unanimously voted that Mr. Brown was never
again to be twitted with his question, and the
joke fell into dsuse.
In 1852 Mr. Brown candidate for prose
cutting attorney in this circuit, which included
Hancock county, and made canvass as Wing
for the Office. He was very severe upon his OPP
ponent, Mr.. Reuben A Riley, the father of the
poet, who was himself fine speaker, and man
of wit-almost genius. After having disposed
of Mr.. Riley in speech at Greenfield, Mr. Brown
turned to another distinguished gentleman, then
running for the Office of common pleas judge
David S. Gooding). and after giving apocry-
phal history of that gentlemans operations in
another office. he concluded by saying I think
you ought to elect this man to the Office for
which he is now a candidate. 1t will produce
fare of your county; am sure it will promote
the health of your people Indeed, it will con-
duce to their longevity. Men will live much
longer if he should be elected than otherwise,
for certainly sensible man will ever consent
to die knowing that his estate will have to pass
through the court Of David S. Goodng.'
''Ths pungent assault stuck in the minds of
the people, but the election of the gentleman re-
ferred to did not bring about any extra lease of
life to the people of Hancock county.
MIR Browns clients were not always of the
most desirable class, and the kindness of his
nature led him to bear with their impertinent
intrusonS often when other men would have
PEELED them, even at the sacrifice of business 1t
is said that on one occasion in our courthouse
man of q low order of manners and character
pressed himself impertinently upon Hugh
ONeal. who, turning with great vehemence and
Feasibility. remarked: D you: do you
think am Hiram Brown
Gin 1852 Mr.. ONeai left indianapolis, and
sailed for San Francisco, with the intention of
making that his future home Up to that time
he had participated largely in the legal contro-
VERSES of central Indiana, and been distin-
guished leader in Wing politics. was with him
the night before he left the city, and between II
o'clock and in the morning, having collected
more than bushel of letters written to him in
past years, on various subjects, by distinguished
men and women Of the State, he carried them
all out into Washington street. in front of his
Office and made bonfire declaring that no man
should ever be injured by even
an accidental betrayal of confidence on his part
Three years and more he was gone, but his sue
cess in his new home was not commensurate
with his talents or his legal preparation and the
revolution in politics which took place while he
was in California destroyed his usefulness as
politician. While in San Francisco he ran for a
seat in the General Assembly on the Wing
ticket after that party had virtually ceased to
exist, and was, of course, defeated. He ranked
himself among the Conservatives, and was
deadly hostile both to Democracy and the Pro-
gressives who organized to oppose the Democracy.
A leader of the Progressive party twitted him
in a crowd one day, saying O'Neal. have YOU
heard what they say in the East of the Conserv-
ativesT No. Mr.. Love-, was the reply, what is
it, They say they are worth nothing except as
weights to hold down the skirts of the Progress
ives Said O'Neal: That's right; the hussy
needs weights To her skirts to keep her from ex-
posing her nakedness at every step she takes
when he returned to Indianapolis in the fall
of 1885, he found his party to be thing of the
past, and that he was alone among the poll
ticians. / met him first upon his return on the
corner of Meridian street, on tho south side of
Washington and talked with him. At the close
of the conversation l asked him: 'ONeal,
to what party do you belong = or
with what party do. you affiliated
fiber of his being. 4 have no party. am the
sole survivor Of the glorious old Wing party, and
feel that there is nothing left henceforth for me to
do, but like Old Mortality to go through the
grave-yards where sleep our mighty dead, with
mallet aud chsel in hand, removing@she moss
from their tombstones and cutting the inscrip-
tions deeper Before I could say word in re-
Spouse he had darted from me- his eyes filled
with tears and was gone.
sO'Neal was so intense that in his legal and
political controversies he very often became
offended at men who did not maintain their own
opinions with half his enthusiasm. He ill
brooked even judicial decision that crossed one
of his established opinions. A decision of the
late Gov. David Wallace, as judge of the Com
mon Pleas Court. on one OCCASION stung him to
anger at the Judge and when, as it happened,
they left the court house together, he would not
speak to tho kind-hearted and courte-
They walked nearly a square together
the Judge all the time endeavoring
to overcome bis illtemper and restore the former
amicable relations. At last Governor Wallace,
who was of the most polished manners and del
-. -o-:- 4lau- ....G Ia.