The Opelousas courier., 1889-02-02
A NOTED DUELIST.
A Prominent Kentuckian Who
Killed Many Antagonists.
An Extraordinary Career Which
Ended In Suicide.

duced in the person of Alexander Me
Clellan, He was a native of Kentucky
who for many years was prominent in
politics and society. He was an ex-
| quisite in dress and manners, a brilliant
| speaker and a writer of tremendous pow
er, possessing the keenest wit aal sar-
casm. His attacks on the Van Buren,
Administration gave him a national &C.
lebrity.
He killed a great many men during
his career. AS an instance of his dead
illness, for he always killed the man he
fought, may be mentioned his duel with
Gen. Allen of Mississippi. He had
heard that Allen made some sighting
remark about him. After Allen had
accepted his challenge Mcclellan de-
clared he would shoot out the tongue
| that made the remark. The duel was
fought at forty PAGES with rifles, and he
literally cut Aliens tongue out as he
threatened.
Ole instance exhibits his courage.
One day he rode up to an inn in a little
Mississippi town. While he was dis
mounting a notorious bully aud desper-
ado of that country, who had killed
many men AMI was the terror of the
region, was inside with his revolver
cooked and a watch il his hand. He
had ordered the room cleared in five
minutes, and every man had gone, al
though all were fighting men. When
Mcclellan entered the bully faced him
and with a big oath, informed him of
the facts, and that there were only
three minutes left before he should kill
whoever remained. Mcclellan, without
moving a muscle or drawing a weapon,
produced his watch, glanced at it, and
said:
"My name is Alexander Mcclellan. l
give you ten seconds to get out of here
or you are a dead man."
The fellow yelled out
"By thunder, Colonel, ene-half Of that
time will do" and he was out in two
seconds.
Later on in his career he was haunted
by remorse. Man killing had left its
pains. His light was never out in his
room at night, and men said he slept
not. When the Mexican war broke out
he told the Rev. Peter Donan, father of
the now only Col. Pat, that he was
weary with life; that he had never
found any one who could kill him, and
he was going to battle to seek death on
the field, as he did not want to commit
suicide.
He entered the service as a volunteer,
and from the first placed himself in the
front point of danger, commanding at
tention for his absolute bravery. He
was promoted again and again until he
reached tho head of a regiment, when
he was shot through the body. Then
he returned home, saying he couldn't
be killed, and hazarded his fate IN sew
eral duels thereafter. He grew more
and more eccentric, and thought his
opponents abused his confidence by not
killing him. Then he met Mrs. Clay, a
beautiful girl Of her time.
She describes him as the most fascinat-
ing man to women she ever met, possess
ing that serpentine. power over women
which historians and romaneers attribute
to Aaron Burr--the same power thai
Matte Ould of Virginia had over men.
Mcclellan proposed marriage to Mrs.
Clay, but her friends objected pm ac-
count of his excessive duelling propensi-
ties and the fear that she would be
unhappy with him. She asked him to
wait six months before replying. and
during the interval did not dare to meet
him, on account of his power over her.
In the meanwhile she met Clement G.
Clay, and was satisfied that he was her
destiny. Shortly after the engagement
was announced she got n note sfrom Nc
C.ellan, asking for an Interview. Being
afraid Of his spell, and that he
might kill her, she declined. It
was only a few days later when
Mcclellan rode into the then little pine
town of Columbus, Miss. He was shown
to a at an inn, the floor Of which
was irregular, like those of all such
places. He poured water on the floor
and observed which way the incline ran.
Then dressing himself with the greatest
care and exquisite neatness, he lay down
with his head inclined with the floor.
He placed one hand ACCESS his breast,
and with the other the muzzle of his ia
vorite duelling pistol at the base of the
brain, where death is instantaneous.
He was found there dead, without a
stain of blood on his scrupnlously clean,
perfectly arrayed person, having real
lied his superstition at Iast-that find
ing nj one else who could kill him, he
became q felo de se.-[Town Topics.
A Cure for IVhooptng Cough.
A medical journal gives the following
cure for whooping-cough, which is said
to be most efectual. The method CON