The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-27

tervening time in arranging his bus
mess affairs, while, according to album
dant evidence, Burr spent hours each
day practicing with his pistol at
mark, thus preparing with malice
aforethought what was to be a DELHI
crate murder, however leniently social
custom might regard it.
On the morning of July II, 1904, when
Hamilton appeared at the appointed
place of meeting. a secluded spot on the
bank of the Hudson under the nights
of Weehawken, he found Burr and his
second busy in clearing the ground.
| When Pendleton, Hamilton's second,
asked him if he would have the hair
spring of his pistol set he replied quiet
~. Not this time" for he had decided
not to aim at his antagonist, at least
in the first fire. Are you ready? said
/ Pendleton, and as he gave the word
| Present" Burr took deliberate aim
and fired. Hamilton fell on his face,
| his pistol going off in the air. AS the
| surgeon who had been hiding. hurried
| TO the spot BurFs second held an UNI
brella over his principal to screen him
| from detection, and both hurried off.
When raised to a sitting position, Ham
| lton said feebly: This is a mortal
wound" and tainted. In the boat he
said, "Pendleton knows I did not intend
to fire at him. He died the next day.
From that scene Aaron Burr passed to
his frrevocable destiny, to become ere
| long an outcast from his native land
and a wanderer on the face of the
earth.
Such was the vogue of dueIing at that
day that Burr evidently believed that
| the death of Hamilton would create
only brief passing excitement. But
| when at noon bulletin board in the
| city presented this announcement,
| Gen. Hamilton was killed this morn
| ing by Col. Burr in a duel" the hearts
| of all men were strangely moved. The
| death of so eminent a statesman, whose
L services to the republic were valued by
discerning minds next to those Of
4 Washington himself, was an event not
4 TO be lightly forgotten. All but a few
! firm friends fell away from Burr. He
was indicted for murder both IN New
/ York and New Jersey, and he wrote
4 to his daughter: The subject of dis
I pute between the two states is, Which
| shall have the honor Of hanging the
/ Vice PRESIDENT"
/ Avoiding these states, he went at
/ once TO South Carolina, where dueling
( was lightly regarded, and In the fol-
/ lowing December resumed his duties as
/ Vice President, of which notice has al
| ready been taken. In April. 1906, ne
turned westward, sailed down the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers, and In June ar
| rived at New Orleans. Whatever adj
! venturOus or REASONABLE designs he
/ may have formed at this period, he
seems to have relinquished them for a
! time. for he spent the following winter
! in Philadelphia, and in the spring of
1906 applied in Washington for for
e!gn appointment, which President JEFF
ferson wisely refused to grant on the
ground that the applicant had forfeited
1 public confidence. II is not improbable
that If Burr had secured a foreign po-
gition .he would have secretly used II as
a vantage ground in the furtherance Of
his unpatriotic schemes. Be this as IL
may, this rebuff seems to have cast
the die, and he at once turned with re-
newed energy to prosecute the perilous
adventure which, as he fondly dreamed,
was to raise him to the dizzy eminence
Of Emperor Of Mexico"
In August he started again down the
Ohio, and purchased in the far South
west on a branch of the Red river a
tract of 100000 acres, on which to plant
a colony, in the event Of failure or de-
lay in his more ambitious plans. The
price of this tract was 10 be S40. 900, on
which 5000 was paid down. 1T Is es-
timated," says biographer. that Burr
raised in all about $50, 900, most of this
7
atiyes. In letter Jefferson speaks OF
Mr.. Alston's having Endorsed Burr's
notes TO a large amount. 1t is certain
also that Burr intended to take advan-
tage of the western hostility 20 the
Spaniards 10 drive them out OF Mexico
and 10 establish an hereditary empire
there. with himself on the throne and
Theodosia's boy as the heir apparent
II is possible that be expected 20 in
clude Louisiana and some OF the West
ern states IN HIS new dominions. Hen
~ Adams cites a letter written by the
British minister At Washington 10 the
foreign Office at London, ia which he
states that Burr, whose term a. vice
president was then about 70 expire, had
offered his services 70 the British gov
eminent, particularly IN rndeayoring
10 ehect a separation 81 the Western
part Of the United states from that
which lies between the Atlantic ana
the mountains This points 10
reasonable designs formed 81 an early
period
Burr found "a confederate 10 Herman
Blennefhassett. an EnAnshnan N some
means. who lived on ~ ISLAND in the
ohio uYef. and ~ tempered with Gen.
Wilkinson, shsn E9YeFlgE 81 ne terri