The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-04
A KENTUCKY TYPE.
Simon Bolivar BuckRer Lives in the
Cabin Where He Was Born.

tStDEn W mere ne w lS Born.
General Simon Bolivar Buckner is seven
ty-five years old and was born in Hart
county, in the southern part of Kentucky,
and still lives in the log cabin in which he
was born. This log cabin was built by the
Generals father over a hundred years ago.
and the only time that he has lived away
from his birthplace was when he was Gov
ernor of his native State. The General
has added to the original cabin and he
now las of the most picturesque
homes in the State. 1t stands the top
of hill, along one side of which flows
the Green river, and it is no great distance
from the celebrated Mammoth Cave The
country in this vicinity is very picturesque
and filled with scenery of romantic in
terest, Astounding in caverns and steep
bluffs that present endless variety of
interesting features that appeal to the
lover of nature. General Buckner is q
farmer. and he lives upon a, rich piece of
land containing one thousand acres, and,
despite his age, is very active in super1n-
tending the affairs of his place.
A visitor to the place will learn on enter
ing the Generals home that the room
which he uses as his library is the room
in which he first breathed the atmosphere
of Kentucky. The walls are bare, though
hung with silk curtains, and these the
General will separate for the visitor and
show him that the walls have not been
altered, but remain the same as they were
the day that he was born. over one of
the doors can be seen hanging a huge old
fashioned f1intlock pistol, which looks long
enough to be fowling piece. 1t is an his
torical relic and the fact is well estab
lshed that it is the identical firearm with
which Aaron Burr killed Hamilton. The
Senator Blackburn. The furniture in the
library is antique, it being the same furni
ture that once furnished the home of Will
liam Henry Harrison.
THE SAGE OF GLEN LILY"
The home is called in that vicinity "Glen
Lily and the General is known as the
Sage of Glen Lily" Another title by
which he is known in the neighborhood is
the Grey Eagle of Glen Lily and in
recognition of this title he has placed in
the hall an eagle measuring eight feet
from the tip of one wing to the tip of the
other and he fired the shot which brought
down the monarch of the air about two
years ago. The house is encircled by a
large boulevard, one side of which over
looks steep bluff on Green river, and
the General planned and personally super
intended its construction.
When a boy General Buckner attended
dt
fordville, about eight miles from the place
where he now lives, and he gave express
sion to the love he still bore for the place
by a recent gift to the town. The gift took
form in a water works, the engineering of
which was done by the General, and he
personally superintendent it's construction.
The work plainly shows that he has not
forgotten the lessons in engineering which
he learned at West Point where he gradu-
ated in the same class with General Grant
General Buckner has been married twice
and his present wife is a direct descendant
of of the oldest settlers in this coun-
try, and her family is one of the most
aristocratic families of Virginia. The Car
ter genealogical tree, to which her family
belongs, can be traced back for three hum
dred or four hundred years. The General
was Governor of Kentucky for four years
and it is conceded by all the people of
the State, both by the Republicans and
Democrats, that he was of the most
popular Governors the State ever had and
there has never been blot upon his name.
He has a clean record in politics. After
his term Governor had expired he re-
turned to the home where he born
He was the Democratic sound-money cam
didate lor United States Senator in Ken
lucky last winter. but owing to the troub-
lous times he withdrew from the race and
no one was elected.
HE IS A MILLIONAIRE.
Until recently General Buckner owned
about 81, 900 900 worth of property in Chica-
go. but the most of this has been dis
posed of. He is worth something over
81 0o0. 600, nearly all of which is invested in
farm lands and real estate. and none of
his money is invested in bonds or is lying
idle in the banks. He is land owner and
is also quite a poet, having written a num-
Der of very creditable verses. He can re-
cite poetry we'll write it. He is also
a very versatile writer in prose and has
written many articles on the financial
question, quite number of which nave
been printed in pamphlet form by the Ken
lucky sound-money committee and are be-
ing circulated through the State. He is a
great Shakspearean scholar and it is re-
puted to be able TO quote the plays from
beginning to end.
1t was in 1874 General Buckner graduated
from West Point, two years previous to the
Mexican war. He entered the army