Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-05-07
Porter and Butler.
The Two Veterans Busy Grind
ing Their Knives
PREPARATORY TO RAISING HAIR.

| anu NOPOoco ~ DO IN u lnf66
| Weeks Campaign-Butler Going About
| His Case with Blood in His Eye-A
Timber Culture Decision-General WASH
ington News.
| WASHINGTON CITY, May Admiral Por-
ter has been interviewed again on the charge
Of Gen. Butler that he ran away at the battle
Of New Orleans. After quoting letters from
Secretary Welles and others, Admiral Por-
ter said it was all nonsense to say that 1--WE
forsook our duty for an hour.
Says Butler Was Drunk.
"The forts surrendered to me, and Butler
knows it. His position is untenable, and he
| never would have attacked me had he been
sober. That speech of his was a drunken
| speech, you know. I'll give him enough of a
| reply, however. I'll fire it at him for the
next three weeks, and then he'll let me alone
for five years. l shall not hear any more from
him during my lifetime for don't expect to
live another five years. suppose he was
| celebrating his % capture of New Orleans
He claims it, l understand, although the
city was in the possession of the marine
| corps for fully three days before Butler and
his troops got there. know that, because
| towed them"
A Bird of Iil-Omen.
! when that bird of ill-omen," he said,
takes offense at any one he BOTTLES up his
venom until in one of his maudlin intervals
| he eXpels it. On my first acquaintance with
| Butler at New Orleans he sent me an imperti-
| nent message, upon which / wrote to him
that if he did not send me an ample apology
l would take personal satisfaction. He had
to make the opology after doing all he could
| to dodge the issue. Since then we have not
been at all like Damon and Pythias.
Going to Lay Him Out.
about once in every five years, after one
| of his drunken bouts, Butler makes spas
modic rush at me like mad bull but l have
| always caught him on my horns and thrown
| him fat on his back. 1 wonder the public
| should notice what the old imbecile says
and except for the fun of laying him out
again | would not notice him now. He is the
| only man ever heard of who could outlive
| the contempt of the whole nation, and could
| always run away in time of war and yet
| flourish. l came very near thrashing him
| while he was military governor of New Or
leans and am sorry l did not do it.
An Offer to the General.
"The general is going to write volume of
| "reminiscences. If he will come to me l will
give him book full about himself which
will enlighten the public, who may have for
gotten the time when he went by the name
| of Beast Butler among the children in the
streets"
Belligerent Ben Preparing His Thunder.
Gen. Butler, fortified behind ponderous
| legal tones and immured in huge piles of
| manuscripts, sat in.his Office on Capitol hill
yesterday afternoon engaged in the prepare
| ton of a reply to Admiral Porter.
| He has enlisted the assistance of his law
| partner O. d. Barrett, and business of every
sort will be subordinate to the work which
| was inaugurated by the generals utterances
| at the recent banquet at Boston.
Laying" for the Admiral.
When a representative of the United Press
Intercepted Gen. Butler as to the course he
would pursue concerning Admiral Porter,
he replied: "When Porter will say that he
did not go down the river with his fleet be-
low the head of the passes on the day that
Farragut passed the forts l will prove he
| lies. He has not said that yet. J"
| MIR. Barrett was preparing a charge
| against the admiral that he demanded nearly
$500, 900 in prize money for two vessels he
| did not capture, and which were sold for
| S., 600
Going to Prove the Charge.
| MIR. Barrett said: Il think Admiral Porter
| Will find 1t necessary to consume more than
three weeks in settling Gen. Butler, and the
| prize money case is only one instance that
we will cite against him in this controversy
1t is not upon hearssy evidence that Gen
Butler has made the statement that Porter
ran away from floating dry dock and two
| small confederate steamers After Farragut
went from the Passes, and ran by the forts
| to New Orleans, Gen. Butler followed him in
his headquarters boat, and was thus between
| Porter and Farragut and able to see and
| judge what transpired. This con-
troversy will not be settled by pooh-poohing
on the part of Admiral Porter, as he will
| find out before we are done with it. d"
As to the Timber Culture Law.
WASHINGTON CITY, May 7.-Secretary
Noble rendered an important decision yes
Il &c. awv