Omaha daily bee., 1900-02-07

ThriiIinG Incident i'm the Life or the
LmL- L...n-.l ELn.Lnn

THRILLING lnCtdCnt in the Lire OF the
Late General stanton.
The sounding Of taps" over the grave
Of General r. II. stanton ia Arlington
evoked many tender, apprcciativc tributes
to the memory OF that gallant soldier.
whose death was a national as we'll as a local
loss. The story Of his varied carecg i'm the
service Of his country is familiar to readers
OF Tho Bee, but one thrilling incident OF
his record in the civil war was not de-
tailed, because the Fighting paymaster''
was rarely mentioned. General Stanton
related the facts TO Mcgargce CT the Phila-
deiphta Times and are included in that
writer's tribute to the deceased, as follows:
When Richmond was ahlaze General stan
ton had the most thrilling experience Of his
lifc.
He was a modest man. lie hesitated to
speak about himself. Under pressure he
gave the narrator one day this tale about
the Richmond episode: Il travelled" he
said, from Baltimore to Richmond with an
armed escort and with $3.50, GEO Of govern
mont money in my charge. which | had
been ordered to carry to Richmond to pay
soldiers then on duty at that place. When
| got there Richmond was in flames. I
took the chest containing the money to
army headquarters and relieved myself Of
the obligation of its security. had Moth
ing to eat all day and was very hungry.
Food was not very easy to procure. |
finally ascertained that | could obtain a
neal in Ford's hotel, which occupied one
side of the public square. | registered there,
went to my room, washed my hands and
face and then went to the dining room be-
low, where amid the sound Of The turmoil
Of battle / partook of a very meager repast.
| ia tipol avl t4pr,- ln.,,- ~ s =,
ately returned to my sleeping apartment.
| had in my personal possession about 81,
having, as l heretofore said. deposited I'm
Gle Sans cash at the department head
quarters. There was no gas in the hosiery
and | was given a lighted candle to show
me my way. When l reached my room /
noticed on the mantelpiece the scabbard Of
9 dagger which in that day we knew as
the INL brand'-which meant a very long
and wide weapon made by a Yankee firm.
1t was well known in war times. | did not
know what to make Of its presence there.
The thought occurred to me that it had
rot been there when | had previously been
in the room. However, l was so tired and
sleepy that l did not lay particular stress
upon its presence.
My room was located on the second floor.
ard it's two windows opened upon a bal
cony and reached from top to bottom CT
tho apartment. They had inside shutters.
! closed these, blew out the candle, and
went to bed and to sleep. 1t was then about
10 O'Clock in the evening. At about 2
o'clock in the morning l awoke and was
turning over on the other side from that
on which l had been resting, when l saw
the inside shutter of the far window open.
My hair stood on end. | thought at once
of that empty sCabbard, and expected every
moment to feel a knife thrust into nv
vitals. Bear in mind that the room was in
complete darkness. From beneath my pill
low | drew my revolver and cooked it and
sat up in bed and then stood upon the floor
with the revolver drawn, expecting every
minute to feel the touch of the knife. Just
then l saw a mans leg put within the far
window. He made no noise. Again A.
hair stood on end. l could not tell. owing
to the darkness, whether or not there was
another in the room. But pointed my pis-
tol towards the window and began pulling
the trigger. There was a scurry, a scuffle,
a tumult of mems voices; the leg disap-
peared. l kept advancing, still shooting.
got to the window. There were men flying
in both directions. l fired right and left,
without regard to aim. l saw a man pros
trate on the ground. l heard fists beat
ing on the door of my apartment. I turned
back and opened the door and found there
the landlord of the hotel in his nightgown,
a%gitated. | said to him: There's a man
out on the veranda that I think is hurt.
You should send for a DOCTOR l jumped
into my clothing as quickly as possible,
and when | was dressed they had carried
the man into the next room. I walked in
there and found him stretched upon a bed.
AS | looked upon him he died. On his body
| found the dagger that fitted the IXL'
scabbard which had been left upon the
mantelpiece in my room. How it came there
| never knew. His companions escaped. |
afterwards that they had followed
from Baltimore, and imagined that
the government money about my
person. How the scabbard was left where
I found it is a problem l have never been
able to solve. My surmise is that the rob
hers entered the room to assassinate me
when | was at supper, and not finding me
there departed and accidentally left the
scabbard behind"