The record-union., 1897-12-15
JACKSON AND SEWER.
THE FAMOUS ENCOUNTER on
THE KNOXVILLE ROAD.
Goodness of General jackson and
Colonel SEWER on that Mem
Orable Occasion.

No two historians agree on the local-
ity where the personal explanation
between General Jackson and Colohei
Sewer occurred, but as my grandfather
was with General jackson, and as ne
has often shown me one of the nlnt-
locked pistols used on that occasion,
/ am in a position to assert that II was
just five miles out on the knoxville
road, says a writer in the ST LOUIS
Globe e-Democrat."
To have ridden along the knoXVlIle
road between s and 8 o'clock IN the
morning in the middle of May, Wnen
the Cherokee roses and sweetbrlars
blend their scent in the air with that
from the blossoms of the wild grape,
is to have fragrant memory that Will
last forever. Perhaps there are pluer
skies than those which overlook the
Knoxville road in May; perhaps there
are times in the Val d'Arno or in
Tempe when the sunlight slftlng
through the foliage falls on greener
grass and turns it more nearly to the
primrose gold which Ruslin loved to
gee on grass at morning. Perhaps these
things may be, but / do not know, and
neither did my grandfather and Gen
eral Jackson as they rode together with
loosened rein. 1t was the General who
was talking.
Il am not a religious man, as you
know Colonel Tipton," he was saying,
but you, sir, are a gentleman, man
of refinement, and I may speak on such
subjects without the danger of being
misunders tood. 1t is my misfortune to
be rough soldier, and to have lived
all my life among scenes Of violence,
but / assure you that on such morn
ing as this in the presence of so much
beauty, il is impossible for me not 10
feel the deepest reverence for its Gre
ator I am filled-ah.'
My grandfather knew that under the
Generals impetuous and fiery temper
there was a deep vein of religious feel
ing, peculiar in its manifestations, no
doubt, when manifested at all, and
generally carefully concealed; for, like
most sensitive men, General jackson
took pains to conceal what was finest
and highest in him from those he
thought likely to misunderstood him.
He was as genuine in his emotion un-
der the effects of the Tennessee May
morning, however, as he was When on
his deathbed he asked God to forgive
all his enemies-eXcept those who had
slandered Mrs. Jackson. Undoubtedly
he was a deeply religious man in his
way, though he allowed it to be known
only by the few who knew him inu-
mately. Being one Of these, my grand
father was not so much surprised at
the unusual nature of the grafton he
had begun as its sudden interruption.
Looking TO see what had caused 1t, ne
saw that General Jackson had pulled
up his horse suddenly, half-wheeling
to the right. and turning in the sad
die to face a horseman who had come
into view around the bend in the road
not more than fifty yards away. NO
one who knew Jackson had to look
second time TO understand that some
thing was about to happen. He sat
absolutely rigid in the saddle, holding
the reins with grip which long custom
in feeling the bit under his hand had
taught his horse to understand. 1t had
spread out its fore feet and backed its
ears in the position of strained nervous
concentration a well-bred horse learns
TO assume when it knows the least
movement may disturb its owners aim
and cause him to waste his fire when
everything depends on the result of the
thy between well-bred horse and its
rider is astonishing. Every motion Of
the wrist travels down the reins and is
interpreted through the bit to brain
so highly organized that the more /
study its operations the more fully am
convinced that Swift made no mistake
in his estimate Of the relative moral and
intellectual standing of the horse and
the yahoo
If the Generals roam understood the
situation at once my grandfather had
no difficulty in guessing it, for jack
sons lips were pulled down at the cor
ners and his forehead showed the fur
row between the eyes, which never APP
peared there except in a crisis. when he
was suddenly called on to concentrate
his faculties on the all-important point
of not wasting a shot.
The rider who had caused this sud-
den break in what promised to be
most edifying conversation, came on
at a good. round gait not hesitating in
the least when he saw that both Gener-
al Jackson and my grandfather had
stopped with the evident intention Of
passing the compliments of the season
with him. He was a tall man, smooth
shaven. as all who pretended to gentii-
ity were IN those days. He wore a blue
uniform coat, faced with white in the
French style, but without the heavy
gold epaulets which belonged to it. The
cooked hat. which dated back to the
Revolutionary period, and was then go
ing out OF fashion even among SOL
diers OF the border. showed that he was
one of the elder generation. and the
light French walking rapier which
swung at his side was IN further evil
dence Of the fact. His holsters had
the brace Of fint-locked pistols which