Graham guardian., 1901-03-01
JACKsoN'S LIFE MENACED.
Incident Which Ts Now Almost FOr-
gotten Was First Attempt AgainRt
the Life of "a President.

On March, 80, 1885, Gen. Jackson
was attending the funeral of Warren
II. Davis, member of congress from
South Carolina, at the capitol and
while walking in procession to take
carriage on the east front Of the
capitol he was approached by man
named Richard Lawrence, who pre-
sented a pistol within few feet of
him. The cap exploded, but did not
ignite the charge. Lawrence threw
the pistol away and drew another,
which also missed fire. Gen. Jackson
was on the arm of Mr.. Woodbury., sec
retary of the treasury, but pursued
the assassin with raised cane. Lieut.
Gedney, of the navy, knocked Law
renee down and the friends of the
president tried to restrain him, but
he said: Let me go, gentlemen;
am not afraid They can't kill me. I
can protect myself"
Lawrence was arrested, says the
Washington Post, and arraigned be-
fore Judge Cranch, and committed.
At the trial he behaved pretty much
as Guiteau did, interrupting the pro-
ceedings and talking all the time,
until the judge ordered him to be re-
moved from the courtroom. A COM
mission was appointed to examine
into his condition of mind, and DR.
Causin and DR.. Sewell reported him
of unsound mind. He was committed
fn inca q,
for many years. There was an at
tempt made to involve some political
adversaries of Gen. jackson in this
attempt on his life, but the examin-
alton and trial revealed nothing but
that it was the act of a madman.
Gen. Jackson's escape from death
was providential. The pistols were
loaded very heavily, and after the ar
rest of Lawrence were fired, the caps
exploding and igniting the powder
readily in the pistol and sending the
balls through several inches of plank.
1t was stated that Gen. jackson said
at the time that he knew where the
attempt originated.
In May, 1898, when Jackson was on
his way TO Fredericksburg to lay the
corner stone of the monument to the
mother of Washington, he was seated
in the cabin of the steamboat behind
table with Mrs. Thurston, the wife
of Judge Thurston, his private sec
retary, Maj. Donaldson and Capt.
Broome, of the marine corps. The
general was reading and smoking his
favorite pipe.
When the boat reached Alexandria
large number of citizens came
aboard to pay their respects to the
president, and with them was Ran
dolph, who had been an officer in the
navy, from which, for some reason, he
had been dismissed and was seeking
restoration.
He advanced toward the president
as if to address him, when he sud
denly put out his hand toward the
face of the president as though he in
tended slapping him in the face.
Capt. Broone siezed him and drew
him away, when Randolph's friends
hurried him out OF the cabin. The
president was so confined in the seat
behind the table that he could not
rise. When it became known on the
boat that an attempt had been made
to pull the presidents nose, for that
was the intention of Randolph, the
excitement was intense, and many Of
the crowd started in pursuit of Ram
dolph. He was caught some distance
from the boat, but was rescued his
friends. Randolph had made threats
against the president, and the old
gentleman said that he had known
it was Randolph he would have been
prepared to defend himself.