The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-03-31
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
A Fireside Chat With the venerable
Soldier Statesman.
IN. O. Picayune.1

Soldier statesman.
IN. o. Picayune.]
rne spring never fingered more en-
,r,uringly along the coast than yes.e''
day. when a Picayune representative
knocked at BaauVoir, the handsome
country seat Of Jefferson Davis, Whoss
door is always on the latch t" oo"t"-
erners.
Out of doors the high March "ind
swayed the long moss ON the live OAKS
standing sentinel about the mouse, out
inside was a vision OF CHEEKY homeH'
ness. with - pine knot fire burning on
the hearth, and great china bowls hlleu
With lunches OF delicious ptnk azaleas.
frto this pretty room, full OF all man
ner OF souvenirs of foreign travel ana
Of the honnrs shown him in his own
country, Mr.. Davis came presently,
thc same slight, soldieriy figure ana
refirea face, crowned with silvesy gray
hair. but looking stronger and hea'th-
,er than ne has for soma time past.
MIR Davis held in his hand news
paper slip cut from recent ieUer oy
:.Gath." which contained most sensa-
tionsi account of how he lost AN eye III
an u,cuunter with wild westerner,
wheo The famous eX-president OF the
confederacy was n young lieutenant
stationed il. the northwest.
tis,h asserted that the story was told
him by Colonel Smith, Horace Gree
Lewis SON -iu-law, who claimed as MS
informant an old army officer named
A. !. Center. The story was, in brief,
This. When Davis was lieutenant
!ststioned in Wisconsin, he and Center
were one day playing billiards when a
white man who was doing work at the
tort broke his OK yoke and asked Ma
;or rrwirgs, the officer in command, to
oct him out of his deprivation. Twiggs
said. s.Go over to the quarters and ask
Tieutenant Davis to give you one.'
Tbe man did as he was hidden, ana
GOING TO where Davis was playing bil'
r H,rds said, "I.ieutenant Davis, Major
Twirgs told me to ask you to give me
an ox woke for my team" Davis paio
: M attention to the man, being ap
n,rautlv absorbed in the game OF oil
l., ii.rds The request was several time
reneated without Lieutenant DavI
: Noticing in auy way the speaker, WIZ
nerceiviug he was being insuited re
y ra;d the snub by blow over the lei
ave which felled Davis to the ground
The countryman's blow stunned Da
S vic and after he was brought TO in
Hanmation set in and affected the ey
l. so IL hecame useless. Indeed, Cente
# said. it was thought for whi.e D"S
would 90 blind entirely, but 'he oau
aye was done with the loss OF ono ey'
" Such in substance is the story "hic
Gath tells in detail, and which M
NJ Davis read with an amusement Whic
overpowered any resentment no mig
have naturally felt at being so misrel
!, resented. it was so obviously ana pa
rs nahlv false. "Of course,' he sal
t. ..there il not word OF truth in it fro
or heuinning to end. He begins by ma
x ino his authority for the story Genie
is win was an efficer in the Fifth Unit'
id STATES Infantry, and gentleman
as capabls of telling tho falsehood attr'
al uted TO him. lie and l were mt we
k. point together, and although we serV
ut in the northwest later, at tho s"r
ed t;,re we were never in the same reg
,is mon, and never stationed at the sal
most. We never played billiards
nv ge,ner for several reasons, one OF whi
~. was I never played q game in my ii
ait and another was that there never
we billiard table at any place where
nv ever served. Major TwigGs was co
he mander Of the post when | was chare
les with the construction oI fort WIN
IT'S b,po. and while many OK teams w
rnnloycd in tho work, they all
raj Joured to the government, ana
nc. to,ms,ers were soldiers on extra dt,
md Thore was therefore no country II
raj who could have been sent for an
mi yoke and / would have required
did message to repair such an accident
tel. one of the OK teams OI "h'ch
bus charge. The report OF the attack IN
he on me by the snubbed countrymar
on i'm whole and part base falsehcod.
md The injury to one of my eyes WI
2, is now exists was caused by severe
per II animation which occurred IN wa
had incton when ] was United States 81
ract tor there. If this miserable slat
the oriyjna,ed with the son-in-laW
was Horace Greeley, it is pity that
bout and phile nthropic man should nhN
oirs. disgracefui u connection
case Mr.. Davis recalled with much 81
sive tudc the circumstances OF the sigi
niIy of his bail bond by Horace Gree
lent, ard of the self sacrificing devotion
K for principle he showed on that occa'
his II will be remembered that y
den Johnson refused to grant MI
him The benefit of the writ OF habeas co
This uuless sustained by some OF the
snit. prominent northern men, ana ma