The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-03-11
7. Ii. BENTON's FATAL DUEL.
Recalled by the Death of His Oppo-
nent's Granddaughter.

nents Granddaughter.
She Was Mrs e. L. Hager of San Francis
co-The Man Whom Benton Killed Was
Charles Lucas of st. Louis-Mrs. Ha-
gers Father Ret Land Worth $15000O
in Poker Game.
Mrs. E. J.. Hager of San Francisco,
who died recently Of paralysis, was the
widow of n millionaire politician who
was once United States Senator, and
later "a Collector of Customs at the San
Francisco port. In her youth Mrs. Hager
was internationally celebrated for her
beauty. and she broke many hearts befol
she was captured by the rich New Yorker,
who moved with her to the Golden State.
She was one of the daughters of a family
that is famed for it's good looks aud the
possession of other qualities that earn it
prominence. She was Lucas of st.
Louis. Like the Astors of New York,
the Lucases of St. Louis are real estate
holders in growing city. The unearned
increment of their lands is greater than
their spending capacity, although that Is
abnormally developed. The present head
of the family owns probably the most
beautiful country place in the South. 1t
is in a suburb of the city and is one OF
the show places of Missouri.
1t was Charles Lucas, grandfather OF
the society leader, whose tragic death
gave the name to "Bloody Island. :"
"Bloody Island'' no longer exists. 1t
has become merged with the mainland,
and is now a part of East St. Louis, SUBJ
ject to the jurisdiction of Illinois and rea-
sonably lawful territory. The duellists
of the old days were fond of facing each
other upon the sandbars of the Mississip
pi. The river is the dividing line be-
tween many States. and there was always
question Of jurisdiction over these bi
of jetsam. Charles Lucas was one of the
prominent young men of ST. Louis in the
early part of the century. He was politi-
oally opposed to Thomas HI. Benton, af.
terward the celebrated Senator, who pub
shed paper in St. Louis in 1920 and
made its editorial columns as warm as he
knew how. Lucas objected to certain par
agraphs printed by Benton. Benton
would not apologize or retract. The newt
able result WAS meeting.
The men faced each other in the early
morning. They were roWed to the sand
bar in small skiffs. Each was accom-.
panied by q second and physician.
They were within plain sight of the town,
and no effort had been made to keep the
duel secret Many spectators were on
the banks looking across at the combat.
No time was wasted in preliminaries.
the weapons were single barelled, hair
triggered iuelling pistols, as accurate as
mathematics and carrying an ounce ball.
"Onel Two! Threer' were counted, and
the men fired between 'sTwo!' and
"Threel'' Lucas sprang straight in the
air and fell dead, shot through the heart.
There was no attempt to prosecute the
survivor, although his victim had been
family was grief-strioken. 1t had been q
fair fight and the relatives of the fallen
were what Ia now called "dead game.
The result of this duel was the cause of
the bitterest regret to Benton, and the
shadow of it lay forever afterward upon
his life. He destroyed all of the private
papers relating to 1t, and could never be
brought to talk about it, Other duels OF
less Importance were fought on Bloody
Island'' The last encounter upon it's
soil was between Tom Allen. champion
heavyweight pugilist of the world, and
Mike McCool, the Irish giant.
James H. Lucas, father of Mrs. Hager,
fought no duels, but his nerve was as
steady as that of his forbears and his
heart beat as highly. He was fond OF des-
perate risks and bore defeat calmly. On
a summers night in 1859 he, "Old Man"
Doris and three others whose names are
forgotten were engaged in friendly
game of draw poker. In those days
"jsckpots'' were not played. This was
straight poker, four aces to beat any
hand in the deck. The game had pro-
crossed for some hours with the customary
high betting of the time and varying for.
tune. Lucas raised tine ante 500, and
Doris and another came in. Doris bet
500, the other man dropped out, and
Lucas raised 81 600. Doris came back
with 81, 800 tilt, and Lucas raised for
S., eco. Doris saw this, went $1,000 bet
ter, and remarked casually:
Jim, I think you're out on limb. I
Lucas flushed up. 1907" he said.
Glow much will you bet that I'm bluff
inga"
tWell,' was the response, "I'm out of
cash, but I'll bet my half block of land
at Eleventh and Olive streets and let
it go at s75, 900. It's worth Sl5O,ooO."
Without word Doris wrote check
for $75 200 and tossed it into the middle
of the table.
81 call, /" he said simply.
Lucas showed two aces and pair OF
tens. Doris held three deuces. Remark.
ing only, "That's enough for one time, .
Lucas put on his hat and went home.
The next morning he sent q title deed
to the land and received from Doris by
return messenger check for SIS, 900,
with a note saying that the ground was
worth $l5O,uC0. and that everything was
now square and pleasant, as it should be
between friends. The half BLOCK is now
a part of the Doris estate and is known
as the "Dorris block - There is large
business building upon it and it return 8
a handsome revenue. The corner of Elev-
enth and Olive streets in these days is in
the very heart of St. Louis. The property
is assessed at Sa50,000, and is probably
worth as muchmore.