The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1889-09-20

been conscious all day until about
a quarter of an hour before the
end. DR.. Lockwood was in attendance at
tho time. Nicholas Kearney, William
Hirschtield, two nurses, and two servants
were in the room. All knelt about the
bed. Mr.. Cox's last conversation was
about the four Territories whose statehood
he hoped to father. He mentioned New
Mexico and Arizona, and said something
about making a great effort in their behalf
at the coming session.
Two hours before he died his colored
servant, who had just come on from
Washington. went to the bed and Mrs. Cox
asked her husband if he recognized him.
He looked at him and patted him on the
shoulder. The colored mans eyes filled
with tears, while all were deeply affected.
In the afternoon, while DIR. Lockwood was
talking to him, Mr.. Cox made some witty
tors dignity. Later in the afternoon tcle-
grams were sent to Mr.. Cox three
sisters, two of whom live in GAINESVILLE,
Ohio, and the other in st. Louis. Mr..
Cox's nephew, who is the superintendent
of the Smithsonian institution, was also
telegraphed for. DR.. Lockwood said that
the immediate cause of death was heart
failure, and the cause r%eritonitis. Tele-
grams were sent to Sergeant-at-Arms of
the House of Representatives j.. P. L.eedom
and to Speaker Carlisle.
Mr.. Cox was taken ill four weeks ago
while OH a tour of the four newly acquired
States. He returned home and improved
for a few days, but took to his bed two
weeks ago and did not leave it. He re-
tanned his mental faculties to tho last, and
made q determined battle against death.
Mr.. Cox was the son of Ezekiel Taylor
Cox and was horn in panacvil1o Ohio
Sept..* {, 1924. He attended the common
school and afterward spent some time in
the Ohio university. He then entered
Brown college ut Providence, r.. l., and
graduated in the class of 1916. He studied
law and returned to Ohio to practice his
profession. He did not take kindly to the
work and made a trip to Europe, the story
of which he told in "a Buckeye Abroad"
Oh his return he lecllne editor of the
Ohio Statesman, published at Columbus.
In 1859 he was appointed secretary of
legation to Peru, and on his return was
elected to Congress from the Columbus
district. He stood by the Union in the
dark period just before the war, and was
returned to the NXNVIth, NXXVIIth,
and NN&N1lIth Congresses. In 1864 he
was defeated by the Republican candidate,
and the following spring removed to New
York.
In 1865 Mr.. Cox first appeared as a can
didate for Congress in Now York city and
was elected by a large majority over
Starr, his Republican opponent. The ma
jority was greatly augmented two years
after, when Horace Greeley ran against
him. III 1872, when he ran for Congress-
man-at-large against Lyman Tremaine,
he was defeated. He IVES u few months
after chosen to fill the sent made vacant
by the death Of James Brooks. He was
reelected to the ALIVth Congress, was
appointed speaker pro temporc June Z,
1876, and was elected speak cr pro tempore
June ~, 1876, serving until June "a. He
was elected to the NLVth, NLVIth,
NLV11th, and XLIXth Congress, and re-
signed to become minister to Turkey. This
position he resigned and took his seat in
the NLlAth Congress, filling the vacancy
caused the resignation Joseph Pulitzer.
he was reelected to the Lth Congress and
again to the List.
II. Cox was q frent talker and his
fund of humor was inexhaustible. AS a
story-teller he had few equals. He was
kind and generous to a fault and made
many friends.
Tho production which won for him the
sobriquet of ''Sunset' was q piece of de-
scrlptive writing which appeared in the
Ohio Statesman May 10, 1861. He was in
the composing-room of the Statesman the
evening before and witnessed an unusually
brilliant sunset. After viewing it for a
few minutes he sat down and wrote q
1iorid description of it. The article was
widely copied, and was often quoted by
Mr.. CoX's opponents during debates in
CONGRESS.