New-York tribune., 1907-03-31
WALKER. FILIBUSTER.
Birthplace of "Gray-eyed Man OF
Destiny" TO Be Szcept Azcay.

Nashville Tenn, March 30 (SpeciaD.-Within
few weeks the tide of municipal progress win
sweep away from this place one of its land
marks-the birthplace and former home of Will
lam Walker, the gray-eyed of destiny"
who once sought to carve out an empire for
himself in Central America in the very region
where Nicaragua and Honduras are now claw
ing each others throats. Soldier and advent
urer. he met the same fate that so many sol
ders and adventurers have met-death in front
Of the rifles OF 4 firing party OF his enemies
The house whore this man. called by many
the greatest of all hlibusters. first saw the light
is a quaint building in the style used when
Jackson was trouncng the British at New or
leans II is in the heart of Nashvilles business
district and il must be torn down because the
city intends 10 run a street through to relieve
the congestion of traffic on the main business
thoroughfare. Its owners. who bought it from
Walkers relatives. are TO be paid $4,000 for IT,
Fer years il has been visited by persons Of
an adventurous turn Of mind. who have come
70 Nashville 10 see the place where Walker was
born and where he spent his youth. Several
years ago there q movement on foot 10
buy IL and preserve II Ike Mount Vernon.
Monticello tho Betsy Ross house. thI Lincoln
homestead and other homes where once lived
great Americans. But the effort came 10 moth
ing. Long ago the lonely grave where Walker
was burned. near IruNllO, In Honduras. was
eaten away by the enCr0achments Of the sea.
Walker was born in 1924 in Ihe house that
is to be DESTROYED. His father WAS "A Scotch
banker, who had married In Kentucky. and
Williams parents wanted aim TO be a Pres
byterian minister. But tAe youth had his own
ideas. lie studied law az the University OF
Tennessee ana medicine at Edinburgh and prac-
tised for a while. Then he took up the law
again. and hung out his shiHgle la New or
leana. Ihen ne became Il newspaper man IN
the same city. Next he went 10 California and
studied humanity IN the rough while the gold
fever ragged. serving as an associate editor on
The San Francisco Herald" All these things
were simply preparations for the mcteoric last
days Of his life.
Ii was in 1853 that the real william Walker
began 70 show himself Both the United States
ana Mexico We're troubled. the first over tho
question of slavery and the other over French
aggression. Southerner as he was Walker saw
his chance TO give his COuntrymen an outlet
for slavery into Mexico by conquest With nfty-
two men he invaded Lower California, then. as
still, Mexican territory. lie declared a republic
and assumed the title Of President Then Mex
leo got after him he secured some reinforce
ments. but disaster overlook him. Finally ne
had TO cut his way back across the border.
where he surrendered To American troous Ha
tried In California. but the government au-
thorites acquitted him of violating neutrality.
Defeated in his first fbusterinG attempt. he
the richer in experience
year later he turned his attention To Mica
ragua, where the usual revolution was In prog
ress. The fighters were the Legitimsts and the
Democrats, and Walker turned in for the latter
with fifty-seven flbusters he took with him
from California. and whom he called the Ameri-
can PhalanX. In the first night Walkers parry
was beaten, but in the next few things went
Walkers way and the Legitimists were COM
PEELED To seek an gnomiuious peace Walker
was made commander in chief Of the army and
adTenturers from pretty much all the world
foclSed TO his standard. one Of the men who
fought with him was Joaquin Miller, the poet.
little more than year after he landed In
Nicaragua Walker was elected President Of the
nation. His success and his obvious aim 10
conquer the whole of Central America and make
himself Emperor forced the otner Central Amer
ican republics to get together. They formed an
alliance and declared
Walker had 10000 men while his enemies had
21O0O, but this doubtless would have made little
difference had he not made his fatal mistake of
making an enemy of Cornelius Vanderbilt whose
steamship line 20 Central America meant the
transportation OF men and supplies Vanderbilt
withdrew his ships and Walker was left high
and dry. He had to quit and return to tho
United States The people received him as a
hero.
But in few months he was back I'm Central
America with more filibusters The next move
was Ike Napoicon's from Elba-it led to his
waterloo He found n local revolution going on
side The first thing he did was to CAPTURE
Trlxillo-and then began the end The British
government informed him by warship that II had
2 mortgage on the ports revenues but Walker
ignored the British claims While he was dick
ering with the warsnip'S commander a Honduran
army appeared on the land side OF the town II
threatened 10 storm The place and on the water
side the warship threatened 20 lombard If Walk
er did not surrender.
He and handful of men escaped but later
We're forced 10 surrender to the British COM
authorities. But the warshps captain steamed
back 10 TruYillo and gave Walker up to tho
H0ndurans. Their dctum in the matter was
that the only good Walker was a dead one ana
they took him down to the beach one morning
and twenty-three soldiers made n target OF hirn
When they looked at him he was still living and
a sergeant put pistol to his head and blew his
brains out. and he was buried where he fell