Sistersville oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901, 1898-03-30


|'whip Tom Benton at sight," that he
undertook to carry out this threat, was
opposed by Benton and his brother
Jesse, shot in the shoulder by the lat
ter, brought to the ground with shat
tered arm and nearly died from loss OF
blood.
jackson and Benton.
1t was Jackson's first defeat, and he
smarted under it as only one Of his in
tense nature could. The wonder is that
these two rash and fiery fighters ever
became reconciled. But they did, to the
great disgust of brother Jesse, and there
after their friendship was of the closest
and most intimate kind. In that mon-
umental work prepared by Benton IN
his declining years, the "Thirty Years
View of his public life, he magnani-
mously says, alluding to De Tocque-
ville's assertion that General jackson
was man of violent temper: II ought
to know something about that, as my
contemporaries will understand, and l
can say that General Jackson had a
good temper. He was kind and hospita.
BILE to everybody. y"
In the heat of his passion. previous to
their reconciliation, Benton had said,
eff General jackson shall be elected
president, he will surround himself with
a pack of political bulldogs to bark at
all who dare to oppose his measures. !"
Truer words were never spoken, but the
queerest thing about this prediction Is
that Benton himself became the leader
of that "pack of bulldogs and barked
for his favorite ON every occasion. He
barked for him as against the United
States bank, he barked for him when he
removed the public moneys from the
bank, and he continued to bark and
growl until that famous resolution Of
censure was expuuged from the journal
of the senate. in 1897, by which the old
general was made supremacy happy and
retired to The Hermitage with this last
and best token Of his stanCh friends de-
votion.
Henry Clay tainted Benton with this
when they were battling over the re-
charter of the bank, and the latter re-
torted that, while he and General Jack
son had once been bitter enemies, they
Were now friends, and that there was
"uo adjourned question of veracity" be
tween them, as between Jackson and
Clay. This was all allnsiOn to the
charge against Clay that he had sold his
influence for a seat i'll Adams cabinet:
20 Von
was defeated in his first campaign fOs
the presidency. But Benton denied that
he had made the remarks attributed to
him, at which Clay rose and said, IL
the presence of the august body of sen
ators, "Can you look me i'll the face and
say that You never used that language
out of the state of Missouri
Close Fire.
81 look, sir, - replied Benton, "aud
repeat that it is an atrocious calumny,
and 1 will pin it to him who dares to
repeat it here!''
"Then l declare before this senate,
rejoined Mr. Clay. THAT you said TO
me those very wordsp'
"False, false, falsep roared Benton
fin rage, and said Clay, 81 fling back
upon the senator from Missouri the
charge of atrocious calumnyW
They seemed about to spring upon
zach other when friends interviewed
and they were induced to take their
seats. Each apologized to the senate,
but neither would apologize to the 9th
er, and the wonder is that duel was
not the sequence of this verbal warfare,
for both were duelists Clay's meeting
with John Randolph on the "field Of
honor" is a matter of history, while
Benton had participated in several
duels, in one of which he killed his
man.
Henceforth there was condition Ct
armed neutrality between these two
doughty fighters, each man of convic-
tions, each ready to battle to the death