The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-30
ONE OF Gen. CLAWS FIGHTS.
His Desperate Encounter With Sam
Brown in 1914 Described by Specta-
From the New York Sun.


tor.
From the New York sun.
Il was present at the political meeting
at Russell's Cave, KY, in 1884, when
Cassius NJ. Clay had his sanguinary fight
with Sam Brown" said an old Kentuck-
ina, now in the east. Fiery Gen. Clay al
ways declared that the encounter was
provoked deliberately by friends Of Rob
ert Wickliffe. Jr.. with whom he had
fought a duel three years before. That
duel came about owing to a speech Wick
life had made in his campaign against
Clay. who was his opponent for a seat
in the Legislature. Clay challenged Wick
life. who was one of the best shots in
Kentucky. and WicklIffe accepted the chal-
lenge. They met near Louisville. and
shots were exchanged without effect
Clay demanded other shots, but Albert
Sidney Johnson, his second. refused to
agree to the demand, and that ended the
duel. The two principals remained bitter
enemies.
In 1884 Garrett Davis was the whig
candidate for congress In the Louisville
district. Wickliffe was the democratic
candidate. Cassius NJ. Clay entered the
canvass for Davis, and made practice
of interrupting and contradicting Wick
life at every meeting at which the latter
spoke. Wickhffe himself never paid any
attention to Clay on these occasions, and
that made the hot-headede abolitionist
all the more bitter. The democratic meet
ing at Russelps Cave I'm August 1854
was a big one. tRiGkliffe was the chief
speaker, and Clay was present las usual,
with blood in his eye. At a certain state
ment in Wickline's speech Clay shouted:
=" That is not so. and / have the docu-
ments to prove my words"
LAS he spoke Clay drew a paper from
his pocket Sam Brown, a government
officer of some kind, stood near Clay,
and exclaimed:
You're a damn liarP
AT the same time he aimed a blow at
Clay with a cane Clay had a riding whip
in his hand and struck Brown with its
butt. Then dropping the whip he made
a motion to draw a knife Instantly he
was seized by a dozen men who attempt
ed to drag him away. They nd drag
him several feet, but he fought himself
loose from them. Brown yelled:
Clear the way! I'll meet the damn
niger lover
''The crowd around Clay broke away
at once, exposing him to Brown, who
stood with a cooked pistol aimed at his
adversary. Clay advanced toward him,
with his terrible knife drawn. When
Clay was within two PAGES of Brown the
latter fired. The aim was good, and the
bullet would have gone straight into
Clay's heart and stopped his career then
and there, but the fiery Kentuekians
proverbial good luck saved him once
more. The slver-mounted scabbard of
HI
directed bullet struck the metal on the
scabbard and went no further. The shock
almost Knocked Clay down, but he quick
ly recovered himself, and before Brown
could fire again he was upon him like a
panther. He slashed his keen knife across
Browns head, but before he could use
it again he was seized by bystanders "A
second time. His arms were pinned TO
his sides, just above his elbows, prevent
ing him from using his knife as he would
have used it, but in spite of this inter
ference he continued hacking Browns
head and face, Brown all the while strug-
Cling to get at his terrible antagonist.
Clay inflicted frightful wounds on Brown
during the struggle. He cut out one of
his eyes, slashed off his nose, severed
one of his ears, and gashed his face In
so many places that there was scarcely
square inch of uninjurad flesh upon it.
All this time friends of Brown were ham
mering Clay with canes, chairs, cudgels,
and fists, but even by the force Of num-
bers they were unable to beat down that
greatest fighter that Kentucky ever knew,
or to tear him away from his foe Al last,
to save Browns life, his friends picked
him up, carried him away, and tossed
him over a high fence into a field. But
even then Clay pressed forward I'm the
fray and made a last fierce Iunge with
his knife at Brown as the latter went
over the fence. The knife missed him,
but the blade buried itself I'm the board
at the top of the fence, and the great
cash it made remained for years an OBJ
ject of interest that the natives proudly
pointed out to visitors at Russelrs Cave
After the disappearance of Brown Clay
pushed his way back among the crowd
and holding his knife, red with blood
above his head, shouted:
Il repeat it! The speakers statement
is false! And l defy any one here to dis
pute met
ut is hardly necessary to say that no
the crime of mayhem and tried, but was
acquitted on the testimony of Brown
himself Clay was so taken with the man
Illness and str aightforwardness on the wit
ness stand OF the man he had tried to
kill that he endeavored to make him his
friend. but Brown refused the offer. In
the Mexican war, only a little later the
warmest friend Clay had was Capt.
Charles Brown. an officer under him,
and a son of Sam Brown. Poor, dishg-
ured Sam Brown, a year or so after his
terrible encounter with Clay, had both legs
blown off in a steamboat explosion on the
Mississippi river, and lived only few
hours"