The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-09

sicaI Courage to Face an AntagOn-
ist Could Commit Suicide.
From the Philadelphia Record.
Lexington. KY, Dec. 4-Gen. Cassius
,rarcelIus Clay-statesman, thinker, duel
iz+ minister to Russia during the first
administration of Abraham Lincoln, a
relic of the days that are past-whose re-
cent troubles with the chld-wife that left
him alone in mis- fortified castle White
Hall in Madison county, Kentucky, has
cola-blooded way of alluding to the num-
erous bloody affrays in which he has been
a principal.
An old friend of his said he met the
battIe-scarred warrior not long ago, after
q long separation. He congratulated Gen.
CLAY on his robust health.
yves" the sage of White Hall replied,
81 have not been confined to bed for
over thirty years, except once, which was
from a slight indisposition occasioned
nv an encounter with a man named
Turner, at Foxtown."
Cen. Clay killed Turner with bowie
Knife in the ''recounter," and the Slight
,ndisposition'' was caused by sixteen knife
wounds. his antagonist having repeatedly
driven his bowie to the hilt in Clay's
breast and side. Turner died in an hour,
confidently believing that his foe had pre-
ceded him to the unknown beyond.
My first duel" Gen. Clay said, occur
red when was % years old-nearly sixty
five years ago-and terminated without
either party firing a shot. 1 was engaged
to be married, and a rival sutton, who had
been disappointed wrote a letter to my
sweethearts mother The man was
doctor. and his name was Declarey. L went
TO Louisville to find him, and took my
friend James S. Rollins, who became Gen.
Rollins during the war, with me. AS soon
as [ went there 1 got a good, tough hick-
ory cane about as thick as your finger.
''Weu, sir 1 saw Mr.. Declarey on the
street I went up to him and asked him
If his name was Declarey. He replied that
it was and then told him that 1 would
like to have talk with him. This was
on one of the main streets of Louisville,
and, although I intended to cane him did
not intend to do 1t where crowd would
rush in and prevent my giving him the
punishment he deserved. So quietly turn
ed our promenade off into side street
In the meantime my friend walked
along the other side of the street and
watched me. When we reached side
street I said: Or. Declarey, 1 am Cas-
sius M. Clay about whom you have taken
the trouble to write in this letter, and 1
would like to know if you can give me any
explanation of your action.
He said nothing, so / raised my cane
and began to strike him. He cried out, and
a crowd soon collected, but Rollins, by
spreading out his arms and running in
again and again, pretending to separate
us, actually kept the crowd back until
hi limo
"A few hours later l got challenge
from him. We fixed a place in Indiana.
lust over the river, and the next day
was there on time. A great mob of De-
clarey's friends were on the ground, and
Gen. Rollins refused to allow the fight to
90 on. We thereupon chose another place,
but Declarey's mob followed us there.
1.-THE next day was to be my wedding
day, and / had to be on hand. Declarey
wanted me to come back after L was mar
ried, but 1 had decided objections to break
ing up my honeymoon in that way He
afterward said he intended to cowhide me
the next time he saw me, and L went to
Louisville to give him chance.
81 went into the dining room of his no.
tel and leaned against a pillar to wait for
him. As 1 stood there l heard some one
behind me rise. turned and saw Declar-
ey. He was as pale as death, and 1 saw
the coward in his eye. He walked out of
acted like that could not, in those days, be
respected in Kentucky, and Declarey COM
mitted suicide the next morning by cut
ting his arteries.
Curious, isn't it," unused the general,
''that a man will have the bravery to
commit suicide and still not have enough
physical courage to fight?
Il have had a number of such instances
in my life. It was so with Tom Marshall,
who was so famous as an orator in Ken
lucky. There has been for years a feud
between the Clays and the Marshalls.
Henry Clay, you know, had a duel with
Humphrey Marshall and Tom Marshall
and myself were enemies for years. My
first trouble with him was at the time I
was editor of the True American, and
Marshall headed the mob which was rails
ed to kill me and demolish the paper.
Well, the mob attacked me, but was not
killed.
Soon after this I went to the Mexican
war as captain of another company of the
same regiment, and decided to settle my
trouble with him before We got through
the war. He was drunk about half the
time, and 1 believed he often cultivated
drunkenness in order to say mean things
and not be called to account for them. 1
expected to have a duel with him, and 1
got a stone and sharpened my sword I'M
til it shone like silver and had an edge like
a razor 1 gave him one or two chances
to challenge me, but he did not do so, and
al last one day, when we were pitching
camp, Marshall rode into my quarters. He
may have been drunk and he may have
mistaken my company for his.
AT any rate, he came up to me and
made some insulting remark. rose and
said: Tom Marshall we may as well
settle our feud and now is as good a time
as any. Get down from your horse and
We will fight il out"
He replied: Not now. Some other
time
- here drew my sword and said: The
time for men who wear swords is now
You chose your own time to mob me at
Lexington, and you are coward If you
refrain on account of your surround
ings."
Marshall hereupon rode over to his
tent In a few moments he came back
with his pistol. l saw him and went into
my tent and got mine. l came out with
one in each hand. They were cooked, and
said, I am ready for you
He was a coward and he was afraid
TO fire. He turned his horse and rode back
to drown himself in the Rio Grande