The Saint Paul globe., 1897-11-21

ceStry lived and died where he now
lives, owning at one time stretch Of
22G0 fertile acres. His education was
the best that could be had, and he was
graduated so long ago that many of
the Yale professors cannot even re-
member the date or anything that
happened at that time. A mob pre-
pared to lynch him in Lexington for
printing an abolitioniSt paper away
back in the '40s This was where he
first became known as an unsafe man
for an opponent. He decorated his ed
itorial sanctum with two small can
mons loaded with nails, and arranged a
keg of powder so that he could touch
the whole arsenal off at a moment s
notice. He freed his own slaves sooner
than any one else, and took up the
cause of freedom so terrifically and
desperately that some of the Northern
men declared that it would have been
a better thing for the movement had
he stood still on one occasion and Suf-
fered martyrdom rather than have
shot his antagonist in his tracks.
This man still delights in talking Of
the good old days when it was part Of
an American gentleman's right to fight
a duel. His first encounter was with
DR.. Declarey, who lived in Louisville
and wanted to marry the girl Mr. Clay
! had picked out. The doctor thought
to better his own case by Writing dis
paragingly of Clay to the mother of
the sweetheart. The mother gave the
letter to Clay, asking an explanation.
Clay got to Louisville as soon as he
could and took a second along. He
found DR.. Declarey and pounded his
head with a hickory stick. He thought
this would lead to fight with pistols.
1t did not. The doctor was so much
alarmed by the courage of the rival
that he took his own life. Gen. Clay
to this day says he does not under
stand how man who is afraid to fight
invariably has the courage to commit
suicide. The woman of this first duel,
siXty-fOur years ago, became his first
wife.
Clay next had a feud with Tom
Marshall They went to the Mexican
war and by strange coincidence
commanded two companies in the
same regiment. Clay by that time had
learned to carry two pistols in his
clothes and a long bowie knife in case
Of emergency. He tells that he knew
it was only a question of appropriate
meeting when one or the other would
die. He challenged Marshall while
they were in camp down on the Rio
always feigning drunkenness whenever
Clay wanted to talk duel to him.
They made a date for the shooting,
but when Marshall came on the field
he ran away. The very same night
Marshall tried to drown himself in the
river and was saved only under pro-
test by his men.
General Clay returned home from
Mexico and soon after had the cour-
age to run for congress on an anti
slavery ticket in the heart of Ken
lucky His canvass was made with
two more guns and a bowie knife. He
had most frequent use for all of them.
Sam" Brown, who boasted that he
had been in forty fights and had never
been hit, was a conspicuous man on
the side of his opponent. Wickliffe
was making a speech at joint debate,
when Clay stopped him to deny the
truth of some statements he was MAX
ing. Sam Brown jumped out with
the rather forceful but impolite re-
mark that Clay had told a 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
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 incidents 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 a 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 Wash
| ington and offered him anything he
wanted in the diplomatic service, ex-
planning that it was quite essential to
| the success of the war that capable
men should represent the government
in Europe. Clay wanted to go to Paris
or London, but Lincoln said they We're
promised Lincoln then wrote his name
| in the Spanish commission. Clay re-
! fused, and was getting ready to GO
back to the homestead when Lincoln
called him from a banquet one even
ing and ordered him to get ready to
start for ST. Petersburg. 1t is said
that he did much to keep Russia fav-
orable to the cause of the North, and
by holding Russia there kept France
and England from making any open
declarations in behalf of the South. His
attention was called actively to Alaska
through a proposition a telegraph COM
pany was making for a concession to
build an around-the-wo line by way
! of Siberia. He conceived the idea OF
| buying the territory and concluded all