The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-21
# this first duel, sixty-fOur years ago. be-

Of this first duel. sixty-four years ago, be-
came his FIRST wife
Clay next had a feud with Tom Mar
shall They went to the Mexican war and
companies in the same regiment. Clay by
that time had learned to carry two pistols
in his clothes and long bowie knife in
case of emergency. He tells that he knew
il was only question OF appropriate meet
ing when one or the other would die. He
challenged Marshall while they were in
camp down on the Rio Grande, but Mar
shall had a way Of always fegning drunk
enness whenever Clay wanted to talk duel
to him. They made date for the shoot
ing, but when Marshall came on the field
he ran away. The very same night Mar
shall tried to drown himself in the river
and was saved only under protest by his
A MEMORABLE CAMPAIGN.
General Clay returned home from Mexico
and soon after had the courage TO run for
Congress on an anti-slavery ticket in the
heart of Kentucky. His canvass was made
with two more guns and bowie knife. He
had most frequent use for all of them.
Sam" Brown, who boosted that he had
been in forty fights and had never been hit,
was a conspicuous man on the side of his
opponent. Wickiffe was making a speech
at a joint debate. when Clay stopped him
to deny the truth Of some statements he
was making. Sam" Brown jumped out
with the rather forceful but impolite re-
mark that Clay had told lie. The crowd
at once divided itself into two sections.
There were guns all over the house. Clay
went at Brown, and remembers in his old
age that he cut off his nose, amputated both
ears cut him badly over the eye, and would
have stabbed him to death had not friends
held him. The debate ended then and there.
When Clay got home he found the bullet
from Browns gun had lodged in the. silver
tip of the sheath to his bowie knife-directly
over his heart. There were many other in
cidents of this kind during the campaign,
| and he wears on the palms of his hands
scars made by wounds he received in a
hand-to-hand knife contest with a man
named Turner-Turner having disagreed
with him in the discussion of political
issue.
1t was in the other phase of his life that
he was a power among the men OF the
North. He was sent to Russia in the cause
of the Union by President Lincoln Lincoln
called him to Washington and offered him
anything he wanted in the diplomatic Serv-
ice, explaining that ii was quite essential
to the success of the war that capable men
should represent the government in Eu-
rope. Clay wanted to go to Paris or Lon
don, but Lincoln said they were promised.
Lincoln then wrote his name in the Span
ish commission Clay refused, and was get
ting ready to go back to the homestead
when Lincoln called him from q banquet
one evening and ordered him to get ready
to start for ST. Petersburg. 1t Is said that
he did much to keep Russia favorable to
the cause Of the North, and by holding
Russia there kept France and England
from making any open declaration in behalf
of the South. His attention was called ac-
lively to Alaska through a proposition a
telegraph company was making for a con-
ceSSion to build an around-the-wor line
by way of Siberia He conceived the idea
of buying the territory and concluded all
the preliminary negotiations. Secretary
Seward claimed much of the credit of the
bargain Clay insists that he did it.
He returned home from Russia in 1869 and
has not held high office since. He was an
ardent supporter of Greeley and an equally
ardent opponent of Grant on the third term
question The latter end of his days has
been devoted to study and agriculture at
whitehall, not great way from Richmond
He has held about three hundred acres for
himself, the balance of the original tract
having been parceled out when Mrs. Clay
the first one-applied for a divorce be-
cause OF the presence of a woman from
Russia His present hobby is sheep, dogs
and fine cattle His pastimes during the
last two years have been books and the
young wife who has now gone. parhans
never to return.