The record-union., 1895-01-25
ONE OF GENERAL CLAY's FIGHTS,

His Encounter With sam Brown in
1874 described by spectator.
81 was present at the political meeting
at RusselPs Cave, KY, in lSt4, when Cas-
sius NJ. Clay had his sanguinary fight
with Sam Brown" said an old Kentuck-
ian, now in the East. Fiery General
Clay always declared that the encounter
was provoked deliberately by friends Of
Robert Wicklitfe, Jr., with whom he had
fought 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 1or seat in
the Legislature. Clay challenged Wick
life, who was one of the best shots in
kentucky, and Wickliffe accepted the
challenge. They met near Louisville
and shots were exchanged without effect
Clay demanded further shots, but Albert
Sidney Johnston, his second, refused to
agree with the demand, and that ended
the duel. The two principals remained
bitter enemies.
In 1914 Garret Davis was the Whig
candidate for Congress in the Louisville
district. WickIitfe was the Democratic
candidate. Cassius NJ. Clay entered the
canvass for Davis, and made a practice of
interrupting and contradicting Wickliffe
at every meeting at which the latter
spoke. Wickliffe himself never paid any
attention to Clay on these occasions, and
that made the hot-headed A Abolitionist
all the more bitter. The Democratic
meeting at RusselPs Cave in August,
1914, was a big one. WickIitfe was the
chief speaker, and Clay was present as
usual, with blood in his eye. At a cer-
tain statement in Wicklitfe's speech Clay
shouted:
"'That is not so, and 1 have the docu-
ments to prove my wordsr'
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 damn liar"
''At the same time he aimed a blow at
Clay with cane. Clay had a riding
whip in his hand and struck Brown with
its butt Then, dropping the whip, he
made motion to draw knife. In
stantly he was seized by dozen men
who attempted TO drag him away. They
did drag him several feet, but he fought
himself loose from them. Mr.. Brown
yelled:
"'Clear the way! PHI meet the damn
niger lover
The crowd around Clay broke awav
at once, exposing hlm 10 Brown, who
stood with cooked pistol aimed at his
adversary. Clay advanced toward him
with his terrible knife drawn. When
Clay was within TWO PAGES Of Brown the
u.
bullet would have gone straight into his
heart and stopped his career then and
there, put the hery kentuckian's pro-
verbal good luck saved him once more.
The sllver-mounted scabbard OF his
knife was IN his bosom. Browns we'll
directed bullet struck the metal on the
scabbard and went no farther. The
shock almost knocked CLAW down. hut
he quickly recovered himself, and before
Brown could ire again he was upon him
like panther. He slashed his keen
knife across Browns head, but before he
could use 1t again he was seized by by-
ISLANDERS second time. His arms were
pinned TO his side just above his elbows.
preventing him from using his knife as
he would have used it, but in spite of
this interference he continued hacking
Browns head and face, Brown all the
While struggling to get at his terrible an
tagonlSt. Clay inflicted frightful wounds
on Brown during the struggle. He cut
out one OF bis eyes, slashed OF his nose,
severed one OF his ears, and gashed his
lace IN so many places that there was
scarcely square inch of uninjured flesh
upon 1t. All this time friends of Brown
were hammering Clay with chairs. canes,
cudgels and fists, but even by the force
OF numbers they were unable to beat
down that greatest tigh hter that kentucky
ever knew, or to tear him away from his
foe. AT last, to save Browns life, his
friends picked him up, carried him away
and tossed him over high fence into
field. But even then Clay pressed for
ward in the fray and made a last fierce
lunge with his knife at Brown as the
latter went over the fence. The knife
missed him, but the blade buried itself
in the board at the top of the fence, and
the great cash it made remained for
years an object of interest that the ma
tlves proudly pointed out to visitors at
RusselPs Cave.
After the disappearance of Brown.
Clay pushed his way back among the