The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-01-04

SSts up Tue LH0II1L
from cold that be would III
tnree or Tour times before he "a
6ls legs TO hold him up. One sh
ms face was badly frozen In the
paign and later In life be lost the
OF the eye on that side, as he aIE avs
oelieVed, from that injury. His expe.
riehce was no worse than that of the
pher omcers in the field, but whfist
Mr.: Davis escaped most of this by his
assignment TO garrison duty, no was
also assigned the pleasant duty of es :
coriing the Indian agent, Gen. Joseph
M. Street. my grandfather, as he came
down to st Louis, and ent TO the
eastern cities with Black Hawk and
the other chiefs. My father was A
friend to Mr.. Davis, bnt said that Ali
the young officers who went through
those terrible hardships thought from
this that Taylor favored rather than
disliked Dayis.
Ii Ia alleged In further proof of Tay.
lor's dislike to Davis that the latter had
to elope with Miss Taylor on account
OF her fathers opposition to his mar
rage with her. The 'patent outsides"
have stereotype edition of the
story OF the elopement that an.
pears here and there over the country
from time to time. 1t relates the dis
covery of the Disappearance from Fort
Crawford OF Davis and Miss TAYLOR,
and the further discovery of the elope-
ment OF another young lieutenant, viii.
sou. with the Indian agents daughter.
No part Of the story is true. Taylor
never consented to his daughters mar
rlaUn IN nauto 70 &.
were married at the house of Taylor's
brother, in Louisville, decently and in
In order. Mise Taylor was a young
girl OF rare loyeliness of character and
great personal attractions. have been
told by my mother, whose most inti-
mete friend and bridesmaid Miss
Taylor was. She said Miss Taylor
once told her that she felt that her life
was to be short one. She lived, il |
remember rightly, bnt q few weeks
after her marriage. | have a printed
copy Of love letter stolen during the
war from Mr.. Davis plantation that he
wrote from Fort Gibson, /. T., to Miss
| Taylor at Fort Crawford, wherein.
among other inquiries, he asks about
the case OF my parents, who were
meeting with the same opposition from
the "old folks" that he ana Ma
Taylor did. In both caae8 s1Io <jjsf155I !,
lion was on the same xfo(}<stf = mi s3r5
fault found with tfosl sli8<ffe1I1< ia - i6el,
but becanse the fathers ~ tho Young
ladies knew the hard INte of tbe wives
of young officers, theft husbands or
dered sometimes suddenly to distant
posts or again separated by orders that
sent their husbands from their wives
aud children into the field.
| Mr.. Davis told me some 10 years ago
in Memphis that as he started from
Prairie du Chen to st. Louis, escorting
Black Hawks party, he was the bearer
of note from Lieut. Wilson 10 the
agents daughter, whose father was
taking her to school IN Jacksonville.
and managed to smuggle the note to
its destination by brib:ng the chamber
maid OF the boat. He and my father
more than once fnrthered each others
plans this way, and each won his
bride despite OF opposition. The wis
dom OF the parents was vindicated, l
think, in both cases. Certainly I'm one,
as evidenced by my fathers diary,
from the time OF leaving wife and child
in Wisconsin till reaching New Orleans
under orders 10 take the field in Flor
ida against the Seminoles. In il he
mentions meeting nr. Davis In New
Orleans. IL would make s.. Louisan
of to day smile to read his entry telling
OF changing his quarters from the City
Hotel with his roommate, DIR. Emer-
son, the owner of the slave Dred Scott,
because all the plastering was knocked
off the walls, all the glass out of the
windows and there was no fire In the
| room.
To those who may think that vanity
prompts this note, would say that the
reason is devotion to historic truth.
Mc. Davis was q thoroughbred: he
ne.ser "6ew the track" As old John
Hstper said OF his horse, he ran s'from
eend to eend." My father, who knew
Davis so we'll, once said to me, "I
never knew man OF sterner integrity. !"
ALI the actions of his life were charac-
terized by steadiness aud unfaltering
devotion TO duty as he saw 1t, and were
free from spasmodic Irregularities,
| such as an elOpement would have been.
Taylor was stern and unyielding, and
ii is likely that the marriage against
his wishes, followed so soon by the
death OF the child SO dear TO him, by
the very association of ideas made him
remember Davis with little pleasure
aud the reconciliation on the bloodv
field of Buena Vista seems strongly
probable.
II would be well for those whose
hate follows Davis to the grave if they
would turn To the last age of his book
and read his wish that this republic
may be perpetual. GEO. WILSON.