The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-10
and told me that INV statement was a lie.

and told me that my statement was a lie.
saw at once that 1t meant fight, and
a fight 10 the death. / had a long, sharp
bowie knife in the breast of my coat, and |
terked this out. but before l could strike
Browns friends grabbed my arms from be-
hind and hauled me back about fifteen feet
from Brown. Brown now pulled his revolver
and told them to get out Of the way and let
him Kill me. The crowd got back, and
stood alone. Brown had his pistol pointed at
me, and started toward him. / could see
him looking along the barrel of the revolver.
lie TOOK aim and waited until he thought
was near enough to give him a sure shot,
and then fired. / felt the ball strike me In
the breast and thought ii had gone through
me, and determined to kill him IL could
before died. came down on his head with
a tremendous blow of the bowie knife, but
did not split open the skull | struck him
again and again and stunned him so that he
was not able to fire. With one cut of the
knife sliced his nose right in two, so that
it separated in the middle and came out as
fiat as pancake. With another blow | cut
off his ear so that it hung by a shred, and
with third put out his eye. The conspira-
tors now seized me. and was struck with
hickory sticks and chairs, some OF the blows
Of which / still feel.
Il broke loose from my captors and again
made for Brown, and they, to keep him
out of my way, picked him up and threw
him over stone fence about seven feet
high. and this ended the fight. Though |
was the assaulted party, they afterward
tried me for mayhem, and at his trial
Brown confessed the conspiracy and Henry
Clay defended me- OF course was not con-
victed, but felt very friendly to Brown,
and wrote him a note thanking him for
his evidence, and telling him l was willing
to be friends with him if he cared to be
SAVED BY HIS DIRK SHIELD.
HE refused. however. to bury the Ratchet.
and when 1 remembered his condition I
did not wonder at it. The doctors had
patched him up pretty well, but he was a
oh nd 7
he would insist upon a duel with me- or
would attack me and have his revenge. 1
met him several times afterward, however.
and he never touched me- have no doubt
that he stayed in Lexington intending to
kill me, but that the probability is that
he had not the moral courage to attack
me-"
where did Browns ball strike you
General?"
ut struck me just over the heart" re-
piled General Clay, land 1 would have been
killed but for one thing. The scabbard of
in Jerking the knife pulled this scabbard
up so that 1t was just over my heart
Browns bullet struck the scabbard and
Embedded itself in the silver and we found
the ball there There was a red spot just
over my heart, and the whole seemed al
most Drovidential."
Although General Clay never Travelled
without a brace Of pistols in his satchel,
his favorite weapon was a bowie knife.
which he always carried concealed under
his coat. During a fight at political meet
ing once he was stabbed in the lung. He
drew his bowie knife and rushed upon the
man who had been responsible for the out
break. The crowd got out of the way. and
he found clear path to the man who had
melted the riot. With shout of anger he
plunged the knife into the mans abdomen,
and then, exclaiming, 81 die for my coun-
try he fell fainting to the floor. He was
carried home and for many days hung
between life and death. Upon the day that
he was able for the first time to leave his
bed the man whom he had stabbed died.
General Clay'S political career his
speeches, his election to the Kentucky Leg
islature, his part, as minister to Russia, in
bringing about the annexation of Alaska,
all belong to the history of the Nation.
The few incidents above narrated belong
exclusively to himself