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E A. R L Y
INDIANA TRIALS-
AND SKETCHES
heminiscences by hon. o. h. smith.
CINCINNATI:
MOORE, WILSTACH, KEYS & CO., Printers.
25 West Fourth Street,
1858.
Aflen County Pubfic Ubrory
Ft. Wayne, tndiano
Entered according to Act of Congress, August 6, 1857, by
Hon. 0. H. SMITH
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
District of Indiana.
7147598
TO THE READER.
Part of the sketches contained in this book, were originally pub-
lished in the Indianapolis Daily Journal, edited by Berry R. Sulgrove,
Esq., and were extensively re-published by other papers in most of
the States ; these have been revised and corrected by the author.
Many of the sketches, all the letters, and part of the poems, have
never been published before. Each sketch is complete and requires
the reading of nothing previous to understand it.
THE AUTHOR.
Indianapolis, Ind., December 25th, 1857.
^
'i^ ^
111
EARLY INDIANA TRIALS;
AND SKETCHES.
REMINISCENCES BY HON. 0. H. SMITH.
[Fridat Morning, July 3, 1857.
The writer proposes to consume a leisure hour by calling upon his
recollections of the early trials of important eases in Indiana, which
may be interesting, at least to some of our pioneer settlers who are
yet living witnesses of the truth of his reminiscences. He proposes
to confine himself to the Third Judicial Circuit of the State, and to
the time when the Hon. Miles C. Eggleston was Presiding Judge of
Jhe circuit. The Third Judicial Circuit included what was then
known as the Whitewater country, and extended from the county of
Jefferson north to the State of Michigan, some two hundred miles in
length, and from the Ohio line on the east, to White River, some
seventy-five miles west. The country was new, sparsely settled, and
being on the western frontier, the towns and villages were filled with
Indians, trading their peltries, wild game and moccasins ornamented
with the quills of the porcupine, with the settlers, for calicoes, whisky,
powder, lead, beads, and such other articles as met their fancy. The
population of the country embraced by the circuit, was a hardy,
fearless and generally honest, but more or less reckless people, such
as are usually to be found advancing upon the frontiers from more
civilized life, and conseqiiently there were more collisions among them,
more crimes committed calling for the action of the criminal courts,
than is common in older settled and more civilized parts of the older
States.
The judiciary system at the time referred to was, like the country,
in its infancy. The Circuit Court was composed of a president judge,
elected by the Legislature, who presided in all the courts in the
circuit, and two associate judges, elected in each county by the people.
These " side judges," as they were then called, made no pretensions to
any particular knowledge of the law, but still they had the power to
(5)
6 EAKLY INDIANA TRIALS.
over-rule the presiding judge, and give the opinion of the court, and
sometimes they even " out-guessed " the president, giving the most pre-
posterous reasons imaginable for their decisions, as, in one instance, that
a writ of scire facias to revive a judgment, would not lie, unless it was
sued out within a year and a day. The decision of the associates was
affirmed in the Supreme Court, for other reasons of course. The
court-houses were either frame or log buildings, arranged to hold the
court in one end and the grand-jury in the other. The petit-jury
being accommodated in some neighboring out-building, used for a
kitchen of the neighboring inn, during vacation. The clerks had
very little qualifications for their duties. Still they were honest, and
the most of them could write more legibly than Rufus Choate, United
States Senator. The sherifis were elected by the people, as they are
now, and seemed to have been selected as candidates on account of their
fine voices to call the jurors and witnesses from the woods, from the
door of the court building, and their ability to run down and catch
ofienders. The most important personages in the country, however,
were the young lawyers, universally called "squires" by old and
young, male and female. Queues were much in fashion, and nothing-
was more common than to see one of these young " squires," with a
wilted rorum hat that had once been stifiened with glue in its better
days, upon a head, from the back part of which hung a queue three
feet long, tied from head to tip with an eel-skin, walking in evident
superiority, in his own estimation, among the people in the court-yard,
sounding the public mind as to his prospects as a candidate for the
Legislature. There were no caucuses or conventions then. Every
candidate brought himself out and ran upon his own hook. If he
got beat, as the most of them did, he had nobody to blame but himself
for becoming a candidate ; still he generally charged it upon his friends
for not voting for him, and the next season, found him once more upon
the track, sounding his own praises.
The court-rooms in those days were prepared and furnished with
much simplicity, and yet they seemed to answer all the purposes
absolutely necessary to the due administration of justice. The building,
as I have stated, generally contained two rooms — the court-room
being the largest, — at one end of which there was a platform elevated
some threefeet, for the judges, with a long bench to seat them. These
benches were very substantial in general, sufficient to sustain the most
weighty judges ; yet on one occasion the bench gave way, and down
came three fat, aldermanly judges on the floor. One of them, quite a
wag, seeing the " squires " laughing, remarked — " Gentlemen, this is a
mighty weak bench." The bar had their benches near the table of
EARLY INDIANA. 7
the clerk, and the crowd was kept back by a long pole fastened with
withes at the ends. The "crowds" at that day thought the hold-
ing of a court a great affair. The people came hundreds of mile.s
to see the judges, and hear the lawyers "plead," as they called it.
On one occasion there came on to be tried before the jury an indictment
for an assault and battery against a man for pulling the nose of another
who had insulted him. The court-room was filled to suffocation. The
two associate judges on the bench. The evidence had been heard.
and public expectation was on tip-toe. All was silent as death, when
my young friend, then " squire," afterward Judge Chas. H. Test,
rose and addressed the court : " If the court please." He was here
interrupted by Judge Winchell from the bench. " Yes, we do please ;
go to the bottom of the case, young man. .The people have come in
to hear the lawyers plead." The young squire, encouraged by the
kind response of the judge, proceeded to address the jury some three
hours in excited eloquence upon the great provocation his client had
received to induce his docile nature to bound over all legal barriers
and take the prosecutor by the nose. All eyes were upon him, and as
he closed. Judge Winchell roared out, " Capital ; I did not think it
was in him ! " The jury returned a verdict of" not guilty," amid the
rapturous applause of the audience. Court adjourned, and the people
returned home to tell their children that they had heard the lawyers
" plead." How different this from an incident that the writer witnessed
in the city of Baltimore in the year 1828. Happening to arrive at
Barnum's Hotel, too late for the Chesapeake boats to Philadelphia
(there were no railroads then), and having to lie over till morning, I
accidentally strolled around to the United States Court-room. Curiosity
led me to open the door and step in. The United States JIarshal politely
gave me a seat. There was a venerable judge on the bench, a lawyer
addressing the court, another taking notes of his speech. These
three, and the marshal composed every person but myself in the room.
They were all strangers. I asked the marshal who they were. " The
judge," said he, "is Chief Justice Marshal; the gentlemen addressing
the court is William Wirt, and the one taking notes is Roger B.
Taney." Three of the most distinguished men in the United States.
and yet in a city with a population of fifty thousand souls, they were
unable to draw to the court-room a single auditor. I heard the
arguments of these great men by mere accident, but I shall long
retain a distinct recollection of them.
8 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Saturday Morning, July 4, 1857.
TRIAL OF FULLER.
At the March term, 1820, of the Dearborn Circuit Court, Judge
Eggleston took his seat on the bench, as the successor of the Hon.
John Watts. The judge was a young Virginia lawyer, a cousin of the
Hon. Wm. S. Archer, of the TJ. 8. Senate. He was a fine scholar and
a well read lawyer. His integrity and his moral courage were above
suspicion, while his impartiality commended him to the approbation
of all. He will long be remembered by the writer, one of the young
members of the profession, for the judge was ever willing to hear all
that could be said by the humblest member of the bar, and when he
decided, even against him, his manner gave courage to increase prepa-
ration for the next case. I received ray license to practice law from
his hand, after a short examination in person. His remarks in
signing the license made a deep impression upon me. My means
were exhausted, and it was a question of life or death with me. The
judge kindly remarked, " Mr. Smith, I will sign your license, but you
are only prepared to commence the study ; don't be discouraged, but per-
severe in your studies and you may yet stand high in your profession."
The March term (1820) of the Dearborn Circuit Court was memo-
rable for the trial of Fuller for killing Warren. Palmer Warren, the
deceased, was my room-fellow at our boarding-house while I was a
student. He was a young, pleasant man, of good reputation. Puller
was his senior in years, also highly respectable. These young men,
it seems, became attached to a young, though not handsome girl, with
a broad English accent, and both proposed marriage. The young
lady preferred Warren, and rejected Puller, who, in the moment of
excited feelings, shot Warren with a pistol, first olfering him one to
defend himself, which Warren refused to accept. The ball entered
the left breast and penetrated the heart. Warren fell dead. I was
not there at the time, but saw his vest afterward, with the bullet-hole
through it. As these young men were highly respected in Lawrence-
burgh, especially Puller, who was a great favorite, the trial excited
unusual interest. I was present at the trial. The young judge took his
seat upon the bench for the first time. The prisoner was brought into
court by Capt. Thomas Longly, the sheriff', and took his seat in the box.
He was dressed in black, except his white vest; his countenance com-
'■ posed, and his eye steady. Amos Lane and John Test appeared for the
State, Daniel J. Caswell, Charles Dewey, Samuel Q. Richardson, John
Lawrence and Merritt S. Craig, were of counsel for the prisoner. The
jury was empanneled with some difficulty. The evidence was pos-
TRIAL OF o'bRIAN. 9
itive and conclusive, still the arguments of counsel occupied several
days. Every appeal that it was possible to make to the jury by the
able counsel for the prisoner, was fully met by the closing speech of
Mr. Lane for the State. The jury, after a short absence, returned a
verdict of "guilty of murder in the first degree." The judge, after
overruling a motion for a new trial, pronounced a most impressive
and solemn sentence of death, by hanging, upon the prisoner. The
court-room was filled to overflowing with both men and women. All
were much afiected, and many tears were shed. The pi'isoner looked
pale and agitated, yet it was apparent that he was not without hope.
The execution was fixed at a distant day by the court, to aiFord an
opportunity to test the legality of the conviction in the Supreme
Court. The judgment was afiirmed by the last judicial tribunal and
the record returned. The people in Dearborn almost in mass signed
a petition to the Governor for the pardon of Fuller ; and such were
his hopes that he refused to escape from his prison, when he could have
done so. Time rolled on, and brought the fatal hour, but no pardon ;
and Fuller was publicly executed in the presence of thousands. This
case will long be remembered in old Dearborn.
TRIAL OF O'BRIAN.
The mind of the reader and my own recollections, may require rest
from this deep tragedy, by relating other cases of a more comical
character. Shortly after the trial of Fuller, the court called the case
of Michael O'Brian, indicted for the larceny of a watch, the property
of Jemmy O'Regan. The prisoner appeared in the box. He was a
little pock-marked Irishman, who was evidently acquainted with the
" dear cratur," as well as the private resting-places in the out-houses
of the city. In the witness-stand sat Jemmy O'Regan, the prosecu-
ting witness — a small, rather good-looking Irishman with a flaming
red head, and one eye that looked as if it had been put in with red
putty ; the other eye had long taken leave of his countenance. Geu.
James Dill was the clerk of arraigns. The General was a distin-
guished connecting specimen of the last and present generations —
a perfect gentleman, with a fine ruflled shirt, white vest, buff pants
and a long queue down his back, with a solemn look and voice that
would almost arouse the dead. The General, speaking to the prisoner,
"Michael O'Brian, stand up and hold up your hand." "I will just
do that very thing as ye ask me." " You are indicted for stealing
Jemmy O'Regan's watch ; are you guilty or not guilty." Michael
bowing to the floor, "Not guilty, my lord!" This " brought down
10 EARLY INDIANA TEIALS.
the house," as the saying goes. The case was submitted to the court
without a jury. Jemmy was sworn and was the only witnes.s. He
went on to identify the watch ; gave the number and maker's name,
and then with tears in his eyes, " It is the same watch me ould mother
gave me when I left Ireland, peace to her sowl." The identity of the
watch was completely proved, but still the larceny was not traced to
Michael O'Brian. Judge Eggleston — " Jemmy O'Regan, did you
find the watch upon Michael?" "Sir, your honor?" Judge — "I
say, did you find the watch with him." Jemmy, with the most indig-
nant contempt in his eye, looking the judge in the face, '• Find the
watch upon him ? and didn't I tell yer honor that it was the watch me
ould mither gave me in Ireland. Had I found him with it, do ye think
I would have troubled your honor with him ? " Judge — " The prisoner
must be acquitted, on the ground that there is no evidence that he ever
saw the watch." Jemmy — " And how could he see it your honor,
when he was drunk and aslape on the flour all the while he stole it?"
FIRST FEE.
T LEFT Dearborn immediately after these trials with my license —
arrived at Versailles, Ripley county, the nest day, and fairly entered
into professional life. My shingle was exposed to the gaze of the passers-
by for some days, but no client called. My landlord of course looked
for his dollar and a quarter at the end of the week, his boarding
price, and I began to doubt whether the profession of the law was
what I had supposed, the joad to wealth and fame, when a loud knock
at the door aroused my attention, and in stepped a man of a most
herculean frame, apparently much excited, and asked if the " squire "
was within. I said " yes." Says he, " I have a very important case,
squire, and have come to fee you." This was indeed music to my ear, the
first of the kind I had ever heard. The case was stated ; a neighbor had,
without asking, bored one of his sugar trees. "If he had asked it,"
said my client, "he might have bored a dozen of them and welcome."
Here was a plain case of trespass qitare clausum /regit, as my Black-
stone told me. The advice was given, the action brought, and warmly
contested by Merritt S. Craig, my worthy competitor for wealth and
fame at Versailles. I had left the office of the justice after my first
speech and was eating dinner at my boarding-house when in rushed
my client and announced the result in his stentorian voice, " squire, we
have beat him, verdict 12J cents, good ; but squire I want you to stick
to him, as he now swears he will plunge it intoekkity ; here is your fee
of $2,50." This was my first client, my first case, and my first fee.
BEEF CASE. 11
[Tuesday Morxixg, July 7, 1857.
BEEF CASE.
In the spring of 1820 I left Versailles, and settled in Connersville,
in the beautiful Whitewater valley. John Conner, the proprietor,
lived there at that time, and as he had been many years in his youth
among the Indians, at their homes, Connersville was daily filled with
his first forest friends, The only hotel was kept by my distinguished
friend, Newton Claypool; the only attorney in the place was my friend
William W. Wick, who was soon after elected judge of the " new pur-
chase ciftuit," including the seat of government. Court was in session
when I arrived. The great case of Isaac Jones against Edward Har-
per was on trial. The facts of the case were simply these : Jones sold
Harper twenty-five cents worth of beef in the market; Harper had no
change to pay for it. Jones, some days after, called on Harper for
his pay. Harper refused to pay, alleging that the beef made his
family sick. Jones brought suit before Edmund Harrison, a justice
of the peace, laying his damages at $2. 50. Several hung juries fol-
lowed each other before the justice. At length a verdict for Jones
for twenty-five cents was had, from which Harper appealed to the
Circuit Court, where jury after jury, at successive terms had disagreed ;
and now came on the final trial. The people of the country in mass
were in the court-house, the jury in the box, and the lawyers in their
seats when I entered the room; the young judge, Eggleston, sitting
between William Helm and Edward Webb, his portly associates.
General James Xoble. John Test, Amos Lane, and James B. Ray, the
counsel for Jones, occupied one end of the long table before the jury,
William W. Wick, Daniel J. Caswell, and William C. Drew the other.—
Jones and Harper sat at the ends of the table, deeply anxious as to
the result, ready to give any required information to their counsel.
The evidence was heard ; the case argued some two days with great
energy by the able counsel ; the court charged the jury with the usual
ability of Judge Eggleston ; the outsiders seemed to doubt of the ver-
dict, as they took sides with the lawyers. The jury was out all night,
and at the opening of the court next morning, returned a verdict for
the defendant. Jones lost his beef; his only farm and home was
sola by the sheriiF to pay the costs — over SI, 100 ; and the last time I
*Baw him he was poorly dressed, riding a little pony, carrying a few
pecks of corn to a neighborhood horse-mill. Harper was broken up
in paying his lawyer's fees.
12 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
ROOT DOCTORS.
One morning I was introduced by my landlord to a small, black-
eyed man, wearing a plain coat and speaking tbe plain language of
" thee and thou," as Dr. Burr, from New Philadelphia, Ohio, who was
about to settle in Connersville, as a root doctor. Some days after,
there was nailed up to the weather-boarding of the hotel, an enor-
mous swamp-lily root, almost as large as a man, with head, eyes, nose,
ears and mouth nicely carved, arms and legs with feet stuck on, and
just above the sign on a board, marked with chalk, '• Joseph S. Burr,
Root Doctor ; No Calomel." The news of the arrival of the root
doctor spread over the country like wild-fire, and hundreds came
from all parts of the country to see the doctor and the big root. We
had in town at the time a first-rate Allopathic physician, by the name
of Dr. Joseph Moflitt, who looked upon the strange root doctor as a
quack, intending to gull the people, and spoke of him freely with the
utmost contempt,while on the other hand the root doctor openly charged
Dr. Moffitt with killing his patients with " calomel ". The people
soon began to take sides, some for roots and some for calomel. It
was a sickly season and a good many of Dr. Mofiitt's patients died ;
each case of death was referred to by the root doctor as evidence that
the calomel doctor was killing the people and many believed the slan-
der. Dr. Mofiitt was at length almost driven to despair, and called
upon me to bring an action of slander against Dr. Burr ; I objected
at first, but ultimately yielded at the urgent request of the Doctor.
The action was brought ; some five of the first attornej's of the circuit
were engaged on each side. The trial lasted more than a week ; the
lawyers distinguished themselves, the proof pro and con left the case
in doubt in the minds of the jury and bystanders whether the people
died " with the fever " or were killed by the " calomel doctors". The
widow of a man who had recently died was called as a witness by Dr.
Burr. Dr. Moflitt, who sat by me, whispered in my ear, " I have him
now ; I pan prove by a witness in court, that her husband died before
I got there." The jury failed to agree and was discharged ; the case
continued. The root doctor ran away, and the suit was dismissed by
Dr. Mofiitt at his own proper costs.
The efiect of this trial upon the practice of medicine in J'ayette
county, as well as upon the necessary qualifications to practice, was
prodigious. Dr. Burr granted diplomas to his students upon thre^
weeks' study. The country was soon filled with root doctors. One
of his graduates, by the name of Thomas T. Chinn, a constable three
weeks before, barely able to write his name, sallied forth with his
diploma to the then " new purchase " as Dr. Chinn. " Root Doctor and
ROOT DOCTORS. 13
no Calomel," flung to the public eye upon liis new-painted sign hung
upon the limb of a tree. A few weeks after, I met him in the street.
" Well, Doctor, how goes the practice ? " " Only tolerable ; I lost nine
fine patients last week, one of them an old lady that I wanted to cure
very bad, but she died in spite of all I could do. I tried every root I
could find, but she still grew worse, and there being nobody here to
detect my practice, like the other regular doctors, I concluded to try
calamus, and dug up a root about nine inches long and made tea of it.
She drank it with some difficulty, turned over in the bed and died.
Still, I don't think it was the calamus that killed her, as all the Cal-
amus doctors are giving it in heavier doses than I did." Such was
his ignorance that he knew no difference between calomel and calamus,
and yet he got patients.
SANG HOE.
Thf.re grew out of this root-doctoring matter another warmly con-
tested and exciting trial, after this wise ; Dr. Moffitt for the purpose
of ridiculing Dr. Burr, spoke to one Martillow Remington, a black-
smith, to make a " sang hoe " for Dr. Burr to dig roots with — directing
him to finish it nicely and present it to Dr. Burr. The blacksmith
knew that it was intended as a capital joke. The hoe was finished as
bright as a piece of Sheffield cutlery, and presented to Dr. Burr, as an
insult from Dr. Moffitt. Dr. Burr contrary to the expectations of Dr.
Moffitt, not only received the hoe, but returned to Dr. Moffitt his
warmest thanks for the present. Remington then called upon Dr.
Moffitt for his pay for making the hoe. The Dr. refused to pay, on
the ground that it was all a joke ; but Remington set up his labor on
the hoe as a consideration on his part, and hurled the joke part of the
transaction back upon Dr. Moffitt. An action soon followed by Rem-
ington against Dr. Moffitt, before a justice of the peace. The trial
was warmly contested, many witnesses testified, all stating the making
of the hoe by the plaintiff, but each giving it as his opinion that it
was all a joke. Next morning the opinion of the justice was to be
given. The office was crowded at an early hour. The time for the
decisiion to be delivered arrived, when the constable ordered " Silence
in the court-house." Squire Hazelrigg — " This is a very important
case, upon which I have thought much, and after mature deliberation,
my opinion is, that it was all a joke. I have looked through the statute,
Espinasse's Nisi Prius and Peak's Evidence, but can not find that an
action will lie for a ' joke ; ' judgment for the defendant of course." I
was congratulated by my client for my able defense — but the end
14 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
was not yet. The obstinate counsel for the blacksmith refused to sub-
mit to the opinion of the court, and took an appeal to the circuit court.
Costs accumulated, continuances were had for the absence of witnesses ;
a number of lawyers were employed on both sides. The case was
argued at great length by able counsel, and was ultimately submitted to
the court. Judge Eggleston decided, that so far as the blacksmith
was concerned it was no joke, and gave judgment for the plaintiiF for
$7 damages and over $300 costs. Dr. Mofiitt very good-naturedly
remarked, upon seeing the amount of the cost bill, " Judge Eggleston
was right; this is no joke."
m
DR. beadburn's trial. 15
[Thursday Morxing, July 9, 1857.
DR. BRADBURN'S TRIAL.
Among the first of the great tragic trials in this State, was that of
Dr. John Bradburn, of Fayette county, on an indictment for murder.
I was at the time County Prosecutor for the State. The ftiets of the
case were briefly these : Dr. Bradburn was an eminent surgeon, a
man of great muscular power and of the most indomitable personal
courage. I have scarcely ever seen a more athletic man, and I never
knew a man of greater bravery. He lived some four or five miles
from ConnersvOle. In general the Doctor was highly respected,
but it seems that he had given some real or imaginary cause of ofiense
to several young men of equal respectability in his neighborhood, who
took it into their heads that they would take the Doctor from his
house in the night, ride him on a rail to the water and then duck him.
The Doctor by some means got wind of what was going On, and
prepared himself with weapons for defense, among which was a long
dissecting knife with two edges. The young men, unaware of his
preparation, fixed upon a dark night to carry their plan into execution.
Capt. Robert L. Broaddus was selected as their leader. About twelve
o'clock at night the party silently approached the dwelling of the
Doctor and tried to open the door, but found it fast. The Doctor
was in bed in an adjoining room, wide awake, with his large knife
under his pillow, cool and prepared. The outside party placed an iron
crow-bar, which they had broiight with them, under the door, threw it
oflF its hinges and entered the room, carrying with them the ropes
' prepared to tie the Doctor before they took him from the house. In
the meantime the Doctor remained silently sitting upon his bed, with
his knife in his hands. The room was dark. The party advanced,
feeling their way, until the foremost, young Alexander, about eighteen
years of age, reached the bed, when he received a fatal stab with the
knife, turned, rushed to the door, stepped out, and fell dead in the
yard. Not a word was spoken. The next, young Caldwell, about
twenty years of age, advanced, evidently not knowing the fate of
Alexander, until he came within the grasp of the Doctor, when the
fatal knife was thrust through his side, penetrating his heart. He
uttered a loud groan, turned, fled to the door, passed a short distance
into the yard, fell and died near the body of Alexander. The groan
of Caldwell alarmed the others, who immediately retreated for the door,
pursued by the Doctor, and one other of the party received a severe,
but not a mortal wound. Capt. Broaddus told me that at one time the
Doctor was betweep him and the door, and as he passed to go out the
16 EARLY INDIANA TEIALS.
Doctor struck at him with his knife, and just grazed his side. It was
very evident that but for the groan of Caldwell, not one of the assailants
would have left the house alive. Such was the awful tragedy at the
house. The j'oung men killed were of the very first families of the
county ; indeed of the State. The excitement was intense ; the Doctor
.gave himself up, and was put in jail. While the inquest was sitting
over the dead bodies, he was calm and composed, and stated all about
the transaction, and I have no doubt truthfully, for he was a man of
truth, although his life was at stake. He had been my client, and on
this, the most trying occasion of his life, he insisted that I should
defend him. I told him I was the attorney of the State. " You get
but 6120 a year, and I will give you S500 for this case alone." I
however, at once told him that no fee could induce me to forsake the
State at such a juncture, and declined further conversation with him.
He sent to Brookville for John T. McKinney to defend him. The
court met; the grand-jui-y found a bill for murder ; the trial came on ;
the facts substantially as stated were proved, with the admission of the
Doctor. The court-house was crowded with an excited population.
General McKinney made a strong speech in the defense, but it evidently
fell upon unwilling ears. My closing speech was again and again
applauded by the crowd, and the applause as often reprimanded by the
Court and the sheriff. It was evident that the jury, and the audience
were with me, and had the case gone to the jury without any charge
from the Court, Doctor Bradburn would have been illegally convicted,
I have no doubt. But Judge Eggleston, as we say, had the " closing ''
or last speech, and nobly did he sustain his high character as a judge
on that occasion. He took up the case calmly but firmly ; examined
its principles, and laid down the law of self-defense, or excusable
homicide, that governed the prosecution, step ?jy step, until, I am
satisfied, there was neither lawyer, juror, nor bystander in the court
room that did not acquit the prisoner before the jury left the box.
The jury retired but a few minutes and returned a verdict of not
guilty, on the ground of self-defense. So ended this long-to-be-
remembered case in old Fayette.
TRIAL OF YOUNG.
In the year 1824 I was appointed by Governor Hendricks Circuit
Prosecutor for the Third Judicial Circuit, and for the succeeding two
years I rode with Judge Eggleston'into every county and attended
the courts twice a year. Our Southern Court at that time was held at
Vevay, and our Northern at Fort Wayne. The judge was rather
DR. BRADBURX'S TRIAL. 17
delicate, but I had an iron constitution. There were no bridges over
the streams, but we rode good swimming horses, and never faltered
on account of high water, but plunged in and always found the
opposite shore somehow. During the two years that I served as prose-
cutor, there was not a single court held or a grand-jury impanneled
in my absence on our circuit. On one circuit I heard nine men
sentenced to the penitentiary and four to be hung that I prosecuted.
In the continuation of these reminiscences I propose to sketch some
of these cases. Before doing which, however, let me present the
great and exciting trial of Alexander Young for killing John Points,
in the Rush Circuit Court. The case was prosecuted by James Whit-
comb and myself, for the State, and defended by Charles H. Test,
James Rariden and James T. Brown for the prisoner. The facts of
the case were these : Young was a justice of the peace of Rush
county, who had a beautiful and beloved daughter, about seventeen
years of age. Points was a fine-looking young farmer, the son of a
respectable man in the neighborhood, but somewhat wild and reckless,
lie had for some time been attached to the Squire's daughter and had
asked the consent of the father to their marriage ; but was rejected
and denied the privilege of longer visiting the house. The young
couple then arranged for an elopement, to get married at a neighboring
village ; the father got wind of their intentions and determined at all
hazards to prevent it. He loaded his rifle and hung it up at a con-
venient place, to be taken down at a moment's notice of the approach
of young Points. The Squire was absent one morning from his house,
when Points rode up on horseback ; the daughter was ready, stepped
to the block and sprang up behind him, and oflf they bounded on a
circuitous path round the fields to the public road leading to the village
where they were to be married, and their earthly joys to commence
for life. They left the house full of life, with bright hopes of the
future, and the ultimate reconciliation of the parents, as they had
both been readers of romance, and imagined this was to be a noted
adventure, like escaping from a castle by young lovers. But alas for
their dreams ! the Squire returned a few moments after they had left,
and seizing his rifle ran across the fields to the road, and took his
position near the roadside — behind some tree, where the young couple
had to pass. They soon approached at a rapid pace, wholly unconscious
of impending harm. As they were directly opposite the tree, where
the Squire was concealed, he raised the rifle, the crack was heard
at the house by the mother. The ball grazed the head of the daugh-
ter, and young Points fell from his seat a corpse, leaving the intended
bride in her seat on the horse. She returned to the house with
18 jcaely ixdiana trials.
her father, and was the principal witness against him on the trial.
The case created great excitement throughout the whole country.
The coroner's inquest charged Young with the murder of Points. The
Squire was arrested and confined in the jail of Rush county. The
grand-jury found a bill of indictment for murder in the first degree.
The clergy visited him in his cell repeatedly. He expressed the most
poignant regret, and the deepest sorrow, so as to make a profound and
lasting impression upon all who visited him — among the rest, upon
my venerable friend, the Reverend James Havens, who took a deep
interest in the trial. The court-house was crowded, and surrounded
at every window, during the trial, with the most anxious countenances
I ever saw on any occasion ; and while the daughter testified, the
crowd seemed almost to cease breathing, such was the silence that
surrounded us. The daughter related the whole fiicts and circum-
stances of the case briefly and calmly, but evidently with great feeling,
and so far as we could judge, without any disposition to withhold any
thing material because her father was on trial. However, the tragedy
proved too much for her strength. She gradually sank into a state
of partial alienation of mind, from which she was never relieved by
all the treatment of the most eminent physicians, and she is now
alive — a confined maniac.
The case was argued with all the ability the eminent counsel on
both sides could bring to bear upon it. Mr. Whitcomb for the State,
and Mr. Charles H. Test for the prisoner, especially distinguished
themselves. The appeals to the sympathy of the jury were not in
vain. A verdict of manslaughter, two years in the state-prison, and
a pardon from the Governor, were the final result, but I learned that
Alexander Youns never smiled afterward.
SLANDER CASE. 19
[Friiiay Morning, July 10, 1857.
SLANDERCASE.
As I was on my return home from Indianapolis, accomi^anieJ by my
friend, the late George H. Dunn, we stopped at a little shanty tavern
in the woods between Big Blue Eiver and Kushville, to stay for the
night. The landlord I call Perry Laden. We had a good open log
fire, a tolerable supper, and took our seats. "We were evidently
strangers at the inn. The landlord, who was a small, frisky, run-
about fellow, eyed us for some time, and at last drew up his " splint-
bottomed chair" and commenced: "Are either of you lawyers ? "
" Yes, both of us." " Then you are the very men I want to see — I
have a lawsuit for you." " What about ? " " The man that keeps the
tavern in sight down the road (whom I call Elzy C. Lee), has slandered
me the worst kind." " Indeed, what did he say of you ? " " He said
that I fed my travelers on stolen pork." " Perhaps he was only in
fun." " Not he, it was all done to get the traveling custom to his
tavern." This looked plausible, and as I practiced in the Rush Circuit
Court, the matter began to assume a serious, business-like character,
as I thought myself somebody in slander cases, although " Starkie on
Slander," in two volumes, had not then met the eye of the profession.
We generally carried with us, on the circuit, " Espinasse's Nisi Prius."
and " Peak's Evidence," with dog-ears turned down at each heading.
Judge Dunn was my senior in practice, and had some experience in
the difficulties that sometimes embarrass coun.sel upon the trial, when,
for the first time they learn that their clients only told the truth as
far as they went, but forgot to tell the whole truth, which alone would
enable them to meet the true state of the case before the court.
" One question more Mr. Laden," said Judge Dunn, " did you ever
kill anybody's hogs by accident and bring them home, out of which
your neighbor might have made up this story against you ? " "" Never !
I never killed a hog in the woods in my life ; besides I can prove my
character from a boy, by Captain Bracken." This settled the matter
in favor of the action. Judge Dunn, living at Lawrenceburg, and
not practicing in EushvLlle, the case was given up to me ; the fee
agreed upon, twenty dollars certain, and one half the damages contin-
gent. The case was brought at the next term of the court, and Capt.
Bracken subpenaed to prove the good character from infancy of my
client. My expectations were high of the large damages that I was
to divide with my client ; I had read of §20,000, 810,000, §5,000, and
such verdicts in aggravated cases of slander. The court came on,
my case was called. " A rule for a plea," says I. " Plead instanter,"
20 EARLY INDLiXA TRIALS.
says James Rariden for defendant. " Hand the plea to me, Mr.
Clerk," says I. The clerk handed over the plea. A single glance
satisfied me that there was trouble ahead. The plea was a "justifica-
tion " of the words, and charging the stealing of two hogs on my
client, the property of some one unknown. I told my client the sub-
stance of the plea. " It is all a lie, they can't prove it, and if they do
Capt. Bracken will clear up my character." Of course I took issue upon
the plea. A jury was called, and Mr. Rariden and Chas. H. Test called
to the witness-stand a girl that had lived with my client at one time, but
had been discharged some time before the trial. She swore positively
that my client had killed two hogs in the woods, skinned them, cut
off their heads and brought them home before daylight on a sled ; and
said that he could kill enough for his winter's meat for the whole
family. " How is this," I whispered in his ear. " Ask her what I
said when I came home." I put the question. " He said as he had
cut off the heads and legs of the hogs, and had skinned them, nobody
could tell whether they were deer or hogs." My client seemed pleased
with the answer to his question. " Now call up Capt. Bracken,
and he will give my character." " Capt. Bracken, stand up and be
sworn. Are you acquainted with the plaintiff, and how long have
you known him ? " "I have known him from a boy." " What is his
character?" Well, he always dealt fair enough with inc." '• But for
honesty ; you never heard any thing against him for honesty ? "
" Well, I can't exactly say that; he stole a fine hog from me that I
had killed and hung up in the smoke-house ; I tracked him the next
morning, and found the hog at his house, and he paid me for it."
Rariden laughed aloud, and my head fell at least forty degrees. The
case was closed before the jury. The proof was positive. I sprang
to my feet, and addressing the Court, " I ask the Court to instruct
the jury, that before they can find for the defendant the evidence
must be so strong that if the plaintiff was on his trial for stealing the
hogs, they would send him to the penitentiary?" "I admit that to
be the law ; let the jury take the case," said Mr. Rariden. The jury
retired to their room, and the Court adjourned. I walked silently
to the tavern, amid the jeers of the lawyers, and the exultation of
my competitor for the verdict. The jury were out all night, and
just as the Court met in the morning, returned with a verdict of
" one cent damages for the plaintiff." The defendant rushed up to
me and tendered the cent. jMr. Rariden most indignantly stepped up
to the foreman, " How could you find such a verdict? " '' Upon your
own admissions." "What did I admit?" "Mr. Smith said if we
found for the defendant, we must send the plaintiff to the peniten-
TRIAL OF MONROE. 21
tiary, and you admitted that to be the law ; so wc could not think of
sending a man well-oiF, and with a good tavern-stand, to the peniten-
tiary, for stealing two little hogs, and poor at that." Judgment was
rendered for one cent in damages, and over $300 costs. All my
imaginary income from the verdict vanished, and the next time I
heard from the parties, the tavern of the defendant was advertised
by the sheriff to pay the costs. This case has occupied more space
than I would have liked, but it contains a professional moral worth
remembering.
TRIAL OF MONROE.
Soon after the above case, came on, in the same court, the trial of
Hugh Monroe for murder. The case was prosecuted by James Whit-
comb, for the State, and defended by Charles H. Test, James Eariden,
James T. Brown, and myself Hugh Monroe was a native of North
Carolina, but had resided some time in Rush county. He and the
deceased had been for several months on bad terms, when they met
at a shooting-match. While the deceased was fixing the target on
the board, Monroe fired, and the ball passed through him, and he fell
and died without a struggle. Soon after the occurrence I was sitting
in my ofiice, at Connersville, one morning, when a venerable man,
uncommonly fine-looking, with hair as white as snow, finely but
plainly dressed, entered and took a seat. He informed me that he
was from North Carolina, and was the father of Hugh Monroe, then
confined in the jail at Rushville. " I have come to see you, and see
whether you think you can do any thing for him." " I can try."
" Oh, if I could have brought with me William Gaston, of our State,
I would have been satisfied. I offered him a deed to my farm to come
with me and defend my son, but he could not leave home. I must
take you, and hope for the best." I was the only counsel feed by the
father. My colleagues were employed by the son. Hugh Monroe
was indicted for murder. A strong case was made by the testimony
against him. It was at least a ridge case that would have justified a
verdict of guilty of murder. The venerable father sat by the side of
his son with his eyes suffused with tears. The argument lasted two
whole days. The counsel for the prisoner were well trained in
the field of advocacy, and I never, to this day heard a case more strongly
defended. The charge of the Court, though just, was against us,
and as the jury retired the old father rose from his seat and advan-
ced to where I was standing, took me by the hand, the tears rolling
down his furrowed cheeks, " Oh, Mr. Smith, if they hang my son I
22 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
shall go home and tell Lis old mother that Mr. Gaston could have
done no more for him than you have done." His utterance was
choked, and with the squeeze of the hand we parted. The jury
returned a verdict of manslaughter, sixteen years in the penitentiary,
so strong was the evidence against him. As the verdict was pronoun-
ced, the father said, " Thank God, his life is spared ! " and the tears
gushed from his eyes as he approached and threw his trembling arms
around the neck of the prisoner. Hugh Monroe was pardoned by the
Governor and returned to North Carolina to his aged parents, where
he was received like the returning prodigal.
TRIAL OF A REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER, ETC. 23
[Satcrday MoauiNO, July 11, 1857.
TRIAL OF A REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER.
Samuel Fields, a Revolutionary soldier, was indicted in the
Franklin Circuit Court for murder, for killing Robert Murphy. I
prosecuted the case, William R. Morris and John T. M'Kinney
appeared for the prisoner. The facts were briefly as follows : The
deceased, a constable, in the attempt to serve a writ of ca sa on the
body of Fields, received a mortal wound with a shoe-knife which
Fields had in his hand, of which wound Murphy languished for some
days and died. Fields was arrested and confined in jail at Brookville.
Court met, and the grand-jury found a bill of indictment for murder
against Fields. There was much excitement at the trial ; oiEcer Murphy
had many warm friends, and the services of the Revolutionary prisoner
plead strongly with the people. The jury that tried the case was one
of the most select that I have ever seen in one box. The evidence
was clear and conclusive, leaving no room to doubt. The defense
set up was that the crime was committed under a frenzied state of
excitement, to which it was answered by the prosecuting attorney and
charged by Judge Eggleston, who presided, that the knowingly killing
of an officer, in the discharge of his duty, armed with legal process,
and the fact made known to the execution defendant, is murder in
the eye of the law. The jury rendered a verdict of guilty, and the
court sentenced the prisoner to be hung ; the day of the execution
was fixed by the court. In the meantime a number of distinguished
citizens of the county sallied forth in every direction with petitions
for his pardon. Thousands signed them in consideration of his
Revolutionary services. The daj' of the execution arrived ; the couucy
in mass surrounded the gallows ; the last moment had come, when
Gov. James B. Ray stepped upon the scaffold, commanded silence and
handed the prisoner a pardon. Great was the sensation ; Fields
was taken from the platform and conveyed to his home, to live a few
years longer to repent of his deeds ; and the audience retired with
evident disappointment in their countenances at not seeing a man hung.
A GOOSE CASE.
Soon after the above trial I was distinguished by being employed in
one of the most interesting, if not important cases that ever occurred in
the county. It was an action for slanderous words spoken, charging
the plaintiff's wife with stealing the goose of the defendant's wife. The
parties were highly respectable. The neighborhood was about equally
24 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
divided, and separated into classes, holding no intercourse with each
other. The declaration charged that in consequence of the slander the
neighbors had refused to have any intercourse whatever with the wife of
the plaintiflF. Damages 85,000. The case was called. Col. Wallace,
Gen. Noble, and Gen. McKinney for the plaintiff; William R. Blorris
and myself for the defendant. Pleas " not guilty," and "justification."
Witnesses on separate sides of the court-house, a few to prove the
words ; some as to the good character of the parties, which nobody
disputed ; but the most of the witnesses were females, to prove the
identity of the goose in question, as that seemed to be the great point
of the case. The law was clear. The speaking of the words was not
denied before the jury; but who was the owner of the goose? It
soon became evident that the case must turn upon that question, and
the utmost tact and ingenuity were displayed by the attorneys,
with many side-bar remarks, as the trial progressed. The plaintiff
proved by a host of witnesses that he was the owner of the goose —
in fact that she was hatched his. We proved that the goose was
ours — that we owned her mother and her grand-mother, that they
were all white, and had a peculiar propensity to take to the water as
soon as they were out of the shell. The case seemed to be about
balanced. Court adjourned for dinner with the remark of the plaintiff's
counsel that they had but one witness to examine in rebutting. Court
met — the plaintiff called his witness, a very respectable looking
lady of some seventy years. She took the stand, all eyes were upon
her, for she seemed like the President of the Senate about to give the
casting vote upon a tie of that body. Plaintiff's counsel : " Madam,
how long have you been acquainted with geese, and do you know
who owns the goose in question?" It was a bold question and was
conclusive to our minds that the counsel knew before they put the
question what the answer would be. We felt that all depended upon
the answer. The witness raised her " specks " and rubbed the glasses
with her hands, and a strong firm voice answered : " I have been
more than sixty years acquainted with geese, and I know that this
goose belongs to the wife of the plaintiff." This was direct and
positive, and the counsel for plaintiff rested. " Take the witness,"
says Col. Wallace, the leading counsel, triumphantly. Now came the
trying question on our part. Should we ask a single cross question.
I thought not, but was overruled by my associates, and the fatal
question was put, " How do you know that that particular goose belongs
to the wife of the plaintiff?" " Because she was a white goose and
paced. I owned her great-grand mother, and she paced, and so did all
that breed." This was conclusive ; no more questions were asked.
KEEPING ORDER IN COURT, ETC. 25
The case was argued at great length and with unusual ability,
especially on the side of the defendant, but we were unable to get
over the evidence that this was a " pacing " goose. Verdict, one dollar
damages. The most remarkable fact in the case was that it did not
occur to one of the counsel for the defendant that there never was a
trotting goose, until it was too late, and our opponents had triumphed.
KEEPING ORDER IN COURT.
Before I left Versailles there was one other case in which I was
employed, but got no fee. We elected a big two-fisted Kentuckian
a justice of the peace. He had been a great fighter in his young
days. I call him John Lindsay. Soon after he was elected, there
was brought before him a man I call Jim Boice on a charge of assault
and battery. Jim soon became boisterous, and began to abuse the
justice. Squire Lindsay directed him to be quiet; but Jim grew
worse and worse until the Squire could stand it no longer. " Jim," says
the Squire, " I know little about the power the law gives me to keep
order in court, but I know very well the power the Almighty has
given me, and so shall you." At the moment the Squire sprang
upon Jim, knocked him down and kicked him out of the oiEce. Jim
got up, and went to Squire Hodges, his brother-in-law, made an
aflidavit of the assault and battery, and had Squire Lindsay arrested.
I went with him to the justice, and moved to dismiss the case, on
the ground that the justice was a brother-in-law to the prosecutor.
My motion was sustained, and the justice entered a judgment of
acquittal. Boice then went before Squire Leopard and filed another
afiidavit. Lindsay was again arrested and taken before Leopard. I
again appeared for Lindsay, and moved for his acquittal upon the
ground that he could not be put in jeopardy twice for the same ofiense
under our Constitution. The justice sustained the motion and the
Squire was finally acquitted, and. from that time forward there was
as good order in the ofSce of Squire Lindsay as in the Supreme
Court-room at Washington, where the marshal opens the court with
" yea, O yea," and closes with " God save the United States, and
this honorable court."
TEETH IN TESTIMONY.
In an interesting trial at Eushville, in which I was engaged as
counsel, my principal witness to sustain the case was a woman by
the name of Elizabeth Blaekstone. She had sworn positively to the
26 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
facts of the case. Messrs. Test and Rariden, the counsel on the
opposite side, saw that the case was with me unless they could impeach
her testimony. She was a stranger, and none knew her character,
good or bad. She had testified, however, that she was in the State
of Ohio at a particular time. This was taken down by the counsel,
and upon that point they expected to contradict and discredit her.
After she left the stand, they called a witness that resided in Illinois
to prove that at the time she stated she was in Ohio she was in fact
at a dance in Illinois, where the witness was. Elizabeth wore a
beautiful set of artificial teeth — a mouth full. She sat some distance
back from the witness-stand. -The witness from Illinois swore posi-
tively to her person, and that she was at the dance in Illinois at the
time, directly contradicting her. The counsel gave over the witness
to me. Elizabeth whispered in my ear : " Let me ask him a ques-
tion." " Certainly." She turned her head from the witness, slipped
out her false teeth and wrapped them in her handkerchief, stepped
quickly up to the witness, looked him full in the face, opened her
mouth wide exhibiting a few rotten snags : " Did you ever see me
before?" " No, I can swear I never did. Tou looked some like the
lady I saw, but I see you are not the same woman. She had beauti-
ful natural teeth." The triumph of " art " in Elizabeth was com-
plete. I afterward learned that she was at the ball, and the first
impression of the Illinois witness was correct.
A SMALL VICTORY DEARLY PURCHASED. 27
[Monday Morning, July 13, 1857.
A SMALL VICTORY DEARLY PURCHASED.
Soon after I commenced my circuit duties, in 1S24, I arrived at
Lawreneeburgli, and stopped at the hotel of John Gray. The Circuit
Court was to be held next day. After supper a well dressed, good-
looking man called upon me to give me a little appeal ease against
John Ackerman, a farmer living in the northern part of the county.
He told his story ; the case was in a uut-shell ; Ackerman had bought
groceries of him in Cincinnati to the amount of eight dollars, and
given his note for the amount ; had frequently promised to pay the
note, but having as often failed, the suit had been brought before a
justice of the peace against Ackerman to recover the eight dollars and
a few cents costs. — -Ackerman appeared, by his lawyer, and fileff%,plea
of " non assumpsit" upon oath, and there being no evidence to sustain
the case, judgment was entered for the defendant, of course.
Some three months afterward the plaintiff heard of it and appealed
the case, and had with him all the witnesses to prove it in court. The
next day the case was called, and Messrs. Lane and St. Clair moved to
dismiss the appeal, because it was not filed in time. Our statute then
required appeals to be filed within thirty days of the date of the judg-
ment to give jurisdiction to the circuit court. Judge Eggleston
remarked that he had no discretion, the appeal must be dismissed, but
considering the small amount involved, and the nature of the defense,
he would suggest that it would be better to let a judgment go. I then
proposed to defendant's counsel that if they would let me take judg-
ment for the eight dollars and costs, the case should there end.
After a moments consultation with their client my proposition was
rejected, and the appeal was dismissed by the court, at the costs of my
client, and Ackerman left the court-room laughing over his triumph.
But the end was not yet. The grand-jury was in session. I prepared
an indictment for perjury against Ackerman for his oath in swearing
to the plea before the justice. The evidence was clear and conclusive.
The bill was found and returned before dinner. I quietly took out a
bench-warrant and before Ackerman had left town he was arrested by
John Spencer, the sheriff, and brought into court. His counsel, Messrs.
Lane and St. Clair, immediately offered bail for his appearance from
day to day — during the term the recognizance was entered, and the
counsel remarked; "Ready for trial." "So is the State; let a jury
come." — The sheriff put a jury in the box. Walter Armstrong was
foreman. Court adjourned till morning. The trial came on early.
The evidence was heard. I opened the case briefly ; Mr. Lane followed
28 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
with a powerful speect, but the evidence had "prejudiced" the
jury against his client, and I had nothing to do but to sum up and
read the statute punishing the offense. The court charged — the jury
returned a verdict of guilty — two years in the penitentiary. Ackerman
was called to hear judgment, but failed to answer. The recognizance
forfeited, a capias ordered returnable to the next term. In vacation
Ackerman was arrested, a motion in arrest overruled by the court,
and Ackerman sentenced to the penitentiary at hard labor for two
years. His farm was sold upon the forfeited recognizance, and his
personal effects to pay his lawyers. I sketch this case for its moral.
A SHERIFF OUTWITTED.
In early times, before the first land-sales of the beautiful White-
water valley, where Connersville, Liberty, Cambridge City, Centcrville
and Richmond now stand, there lived upon the east bank of White-
water, a mile above Connersville, a most remarkable woman by the
name of Betty Frazier. She was a small, tough-looking, rather swarthy
woman ; her husband, George Frazier, was a poor cripple, and with
their children was entirely supported by Betty. They had settled
upon a small fraction of government land, intending to purchase at
the sales. The land-office was at Cincinnati, and General James Find-
lay was the Receiver. The spring of the year, after a severe winter,
had come ; the sales were to take place the nest winter, and Betty had
the season before her to raise the money to pay for her land. She
commenced with a young stock of hogs, caring for them daily, driving
them to the best mast, and preparing a good patch of corn for the fat-
tening process. She had one horse only to tend her crop, and to ride to
Cincinnati when she drove her hogs down to sell, and buy her land.
One day about mid-summer she saw a horseman ride up to her
cabin in full uniform. She met him at the bars : " Well, General
Hanna, how do you do?" "Very well, Mrs. Frazier." "What on
earth has brought you all the way from Brookville to my poor cabin ? "
" I am very sorry to tell you, Mrs. Frazier, that I am the sheriff, and
have an execution against your property." "Well, General, I always
submit to the law ; come with me to the stable and I will give you my
only horse as the best I can do." There were no " exemption laws"
then. Betty and the General proceeded to the stable. It was a strong
log building with a single door, no window, overlaid with a solid plat-
form of logs, and filled above with hay for the horse. The door fas-
tened outside with a large wooden pin in a log. " There, General, is
the horse — take him." The General stepped in and commenced
A BREACH OF PROMISE CASE. 29
untying the horse. Betty immediately fastened the door outside,
driving the pin into the hole to its full length, and left the General
to his reflections while she attended to her household affiiirs. Time
passed away ; night came on ; but no relief to the captured General.
Morning came, and with it came Betty. " Well, General, how did you
sleep last night." " Not very well. I am ready to compromise this
matter ; if you will let me out and show me the ford over Whitewater
(the river was muddy and high), I will leave you and the horse and
return the execution 'no property found.' " " Upon honor? " " Yes,
upon honor." Betty opened the door. The General mounted his
horse and silently followed Betty down to the river side. " There,
General, you will go in just above the big sycamore, and come out at
that haw-bush you see." The General started ; at the second step both
horse and rider were under water out of sight, and the chapeau of the
General was seen floating down the river. Still, he being one of the
pioneers, and his horse a trained swimmer, gallantly stemmed the cur-
rent, and exactly struck the haw-bush, his horse swimming to the very
shore, while Betty stood on the bank screaming — " I guess the Brook-
ville officers will let me alone now till I have sold my pigs and bought
my land." The General rode on dripping wet to, his brigade that mus-
tered that day. But the end was not yet. Time rolled on ; the pigs
grew to be well fatted hogs. Betty mounted her pony ; the little
boys started the hogs for Cincinnati ; they had ten days to get there
before the land-sales ; the distance was about seventy miles. Nothing
unusual occurred on the road until they arrived at New Trenton, at
8((uire Rockafellow's. The night was stormy ; the snow fell deep ;
next morning found Betty at the usual hour on the pony, well wrap-
pod, with an infant a few Jioiirs old in her losom. She arrived with
her hogs at Cincinnati the day before the sale, sold them for cash, and
the late General Pindlay told me that she stood by his side on the box
and bid off her land, with her infiint in her arms. Surely " truth is
stranger than fiction."
A BREACH OF PROMISE CASE.
Soon after the county of Union was organized, I was employed by
a little, hump-backed fellow, some twenty-five years of age, certainly
one of the most perfect libels on creation that I had seen, to defend
him against an action for bi'cach of marriage contract. I confess I
felt some curiosity to see the woman that would consent to marry him,
much less sue him for refusing to say " yes " to the question of the
Squire. Court arrived ; the usual declaration, laying special damages
for divers, to wit, one hundred suppers, and calico dresses too numer-
30
EAELY INDIA^-A TRIALS.
ous to mention, all preparatory for the wedding, was filed. It was a
pure breach-of-promise case, witliout the common aggravation. Plea
" non assumpsit;" James Perry and James Eariden for plaintiff, and
myself alone for the defendant. 3Iy client whispered " there she
comes." I turned my eyes and sure enough there she was, a most
beautiful girl, large, rather fleshy, raven hair, dark eyes, rosy cheeks,
a mouth filled with beautiful white teeth. She walked gracefully
forward and took a seat by the side of her counsel. A jury was
impanelled; Judge Perry opened, with an eloquent address to the
jury, and closed by asking the full amount of §5,000 claimed in the
declaration. The witnesses clearly proved the marriage contract,
which in fiict my client did not deny ; one white muslin and two red
calico dresses were positively proved, worth eight dollars, and there
was some evidence, but not satisfactory, of a gingham dress with
broad stripes. About the supper there was no question; it was
proved beyond controversy, or the powers of argument, or in the
language of Gen. Gushing it was a " fixed fact." Great preparations
had been made ; one turkey aud six chickens had been roasted whole,
large dishes of beans and potatoes, with a boiled ham, turnips and
boiled cabbage in profusion. The old lady dwelt with evident delight
upon the big custard pie that she had made « with her own hands, "
such as no other woman in the neighborhood could make, '■ thoueh
she said it herself " All this looked bad for my client and my case.
" We rest here. " " No evidence to offer, " said I ; all I had was before
the jury, in what the lawyers called "profert in curia. " The ease
was opened by Judge Perry, with a most brilliant speech of some two
hours. I followed and made only two points in the case; fosf, that
the plaintiff had sustained no damages in consequence of my client
breaking his engagement, as she could marry a much better looking
man any day; and' second, that the dresses would be needed in eoui^
ting other sweethearts, and the supper was eaten by the intended bride
and her friends, and my client got none of it. Mr. Eariden in the
close assailed with all his powers my positions, but seemed to press
upon the jury the dresses and the extra " fixens " for the supper. The
Court charged the jury with usual ability ; but the moment the judge
touched the extra dresses and the sujiper, I saw that it was all over
with my case. Foreman.—" We find a verdict for the plaintiff, eight
dollars for the dresses, and three dollars and a half for the supper, total
eleven dollars and fifty cents. " The Court.—" Judgment on the ver-
dict. " " Gentlemen of the jury, you are discharged till morning, with
the thanks of the Court for your just verdict in this important case. "
A lawyer's maneuver. 31
[Tuesday Morning, July 14, 1857.
A LAWYER'S MANEUVER.
At the first term I attended at Vevay, I was employed by John H.
O'Neal to defend him in an action of assault and battery by Thomas
Mount. My client was a stout young man, and Mount an old man of
quite inferior strength. — I was satisfied from the statement of my
client that it was an aggravated case. The counsel for the plaintiff,
John Dumont, Steven C. Stevens and Amos Lane, my client told me,
were to have half the damages as their fee. I knew, and had reason
to fear their powers in such a case, with the stimulus of a " contingent,"
especially if they had the close of the argument before the jury. The
case was called, and I filed the plea of " son assault " alone, to which
they replied " de wjuria," giving me the opening and closing of the
argument. The cause was continued and at the next term referred to
arbitration, and the term following an award was returned against my
client for §1,000 damages; but the arbitrators had neglected to be
sworn, ffhe award was set aside on my motion at the next term, and
the cause immediately called for trial. "Ready," said the plaintiff's
counsel. " Ready," said I. A jury was immediately impannelled. I
commenced the case without a word to the jury as to my expected
proof. " Sheriff, call William O'Neal." The witness was sworn and
took the stand. " William, will you state to the Court and jury what
you know of an assault and battery committed by Thomas Mount on
your brother John H. O'Neal, -in Dearborn county, about three years
ago ? " " Stop ! not a word ! " said Mr. Lane, rising and addressing the
Court. " We object to any evidence of any other assault and battery
than the one laid in the declaration, in Switzerland county, and espe-
cially of any one that took place more than two years before this suit
was commenced." Judge Eggleston — evidently without his usual
reflection — " The witness will confine himself to the case in Switzei-land
county." " I except." The witness knew nothing of the actual case
before the jury, and retired; The plaintiffs then proved a most aggra-
vated case, and the jury retired under the charge of the Court. Judge
Eggleston sat silent upon the bench, with his head resting upon his
hands, for a few minutes, then raising his head : Mr. Sheriff, bring
that jury into court." " Gentlemen of the jury, the Court erred in
rejecting the offered evidence of the assault and battery in Dearborn
county. This is not a local action. The statute of limitations is onlj'
a bar in a civil action where it is pleaded ; there is but one count in
the declaration, charging but one assault and battery, and that the
defendant has justified by his plea ; there is no new assignment or
32 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
replication of aggravation ; the proof offered should have heon admitted,
und under the circumstances, although somewhat irregular, although
the fault was with the Court, we will hear the evidence now." The
proof of the assault in Dearborn, on my client by the plaintiff, was
positive ; and the jury, under the charge of the Court, returned a ver-
dict for the defendant. In the mean time the statute of limitations
had run against the Switzerland case, and no other suit was afterward
brought. It is due to the distinguished counsel to say that they had
no idea or intimation that there had ever been any difficulty between
the parties, except the one for which the suit was brought. — That fact
was our only defense, and was kept a secret from the plaintiff's attor-
neys, or they would, of course, have defeated the defense.
A DOGBERRY.
Shortly after this case, came on to be tried before the associate
judges, Fugit and Atkinson of Decatur Circuit Court, a case against
a man for refusing to work his two days on a school-house, the statute
requiring each " able-bodied man " to work his two days. The case
■ came up on an appeal. The facetious James T. Brown for the defend-
ant, and I had the good luck to be employed by the school commission-
ers. The case was important, as there were several other refractory
cases waiting the result of this one. The case was submitted to the
Court; the evidence was conclusive, and I opened to the associate
judges, for the plaintiff; Mr. Brown arose with the greatest apparent
confidence, addressing the Court, " There is one point in the case that
is conclusive against the plaintiff." "What is that?" says I. "You
have not proved that my client is an able-bodied man." As he said
it his client walked up and stood directly fronting the judges. He
was a man about six feet high, square-shouldered, with an arm as large
as the leg of a common man, red head, wearing immense whiskers
(mustaches were confined at that day entirely to the French barbers).
"Mr. Brown," I said, " is that man your client." Brown gave him a
contemptuous look. " Yes sir." " Do you contend that he is not an
able-bodied man?" " May it please your honors, I do not wish to
pivot my case on that point." The argument closed ; the case was
with the Court. Judge Fugit, '■ Mr. clerk hand me the papers; the
jury will be discharged till morning, as it will take the Court all the
afternoon to decide this case." The judge spread the papers and
looked them over for some time, and at length began by reading aloud
the summons, the subpenas for the witnesses and returns of the con-
stable and sheriff. " There is some informality, but the Court thinks
A FAMILY DIFFICULTY — HOW IT WAS SETTLED. 33
they will do. We now come to the great question of the case : is the
Jefendant an able-bodied man? Yes, Mr. Brown, that is (Jie question.
You plead well on that, but it was nothing but the plea of a lawyer ;
you admitted that the man that stood before us was your client, and
the Court will take notice 'flshio,' as the law books say, that he is an
able-bodied man, and no mistake ; judgment for two dollars." This
was the great leading case, and settled all others. My clients paid my
fee of five dollars, congratulated me upon the result, and years after-
ward gave me their united support for Congress.
A FAMILY DIFFICULTY— HOW IT WAS SETTLED.
After I went to Connersville, I purchased a farm below town ; and
built the house the present residence of my friend, Samuel W. Parker.
The builder, Eiehard Miller, was laying the foundation one morning
when my next neighbor, Capt. Larkin Sims, who owned the flirms imme-
diately adjoining mine, came to where I was staudins;. •' Good morning
Mr.Smith; you are building a new house. It is said that lawyer."!' houses
are built on fools' heads, but you will never get my head under this
foundation." " I hope not. Captain," and he passed on. Some weeks
after the Captain came to my office, and reminded me of what he had
said ; " But," says he, " I have come to fee you — myself and wife can not
live together any longer." " Why Captain, what does this mean, you
have got one of the best wives I know among all my neighbors. I
will call down this evening and see you both- — there certainly can not
be any thing irreconcilable between you." The Captain left without
a word of reply, and that evening I walked down to his house. I was
met at the door by the Captain and taken into his parlor. Sally, his
wife, soon came in, and seemed glad to see me. Each party related
their disagreements, with the cause, not forgetting the most minute
particulars. The principal cause of the difficulty, at least on the sur-
face, was, that one morning Sally requested one of her sons to take up
the ashes from the fire-place. The Captain sent him off to plough,
and Sally took up the ashes herself. I decided that the Captain was
in the wrong. He smiled and said nothing, but Sally, perhaps too
warmly, applauded my judgment. I then began to suspect that there
was more at the bottom than the ashes. Some days after, the Captain
called and required me to file a bill for divorce, on the ground that
their difficulties were irreconcilable, and they could no longer live
together. They had ten grown children, several of them married, with
families. The bill was filed, the divorce granted, the property and
3
34 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
children equitably divided, and Sally moved to the house, and part of
the form assigned her. The Captain kept the homestead, soon after
married a young woman in Rush county, and brought her home ; but
the end was not yet. The Captain was soon laid low, as all believed,
upon a bed of death : his young wife refused to nurse him, and took
her household goods and left. Sally heard of his condition, went to
his house, nursed him by day and by night, watched over, comforted
and encouraged, as in their former days. The Captain was finally
restored to health, obtained a divorce from his young wife, and a few
weeks afterward, the second marriage was solemnized between those,
who should never have been separated. They sold their possessions,
and removed to Missouri ; the Captain was soon after taken sick, and
died, and his faithful wife, after nursing him through his last sickness,
closed his eyes, and followed his remains to his last earthly resting-
place.
VARIETY. 35
[Friday Mornino, July 17, 1857.
VARIETY.
Lest the variety of these sketches should invite criticism, let it be
remembered that one of the greatest mysteries presented to our
minds is the unlimited variety stamped upon all created things. Ask
the astronomer if he can point to two stars in the firmament of the
same magnitude and brilliancy. Ask the mineralogist if he can
find two pebbles precisely alike in every particular, and then step
into the Hall of the House of Representatives at Washington, and
after looking at those columns of beautiful pebble marble that sup-
port the dome, answer the question for yourselves. Ask the botanist
if he ever finds two flowers, or even two leaves, that would bear the
application of the microscope, and still be alike in every particular.
Ask the pilot at the helm if he ever crossed the Atlantic in succes-
sive voyages, with even the trade winds blowing upon his sails, with
precisely the same force. Ask the navigators of the polar seas, if
ever they saw two icebergs of precisely the same altitude and
dimensions. Ask the divine if ever he preached two sermons from
the same text precisely alike in manner and matter? Ask the farmer
if he ever saw two fields of wheat with precisely the same number
of heads of precisely the same length, and containing the same
number of grains of the same size. Ask the anatomist if ever he
saw two human skeletons alike in all particulars. Ask the surgeon
if he ever saw two fractures precisely alike. Ask the physician
if he ever had two cases that were entirely alike in every particular.
Ask the mental philosopher if he ever knew two minds precisely
alike ; and then ask yourself, reader, if ever you saw two faces that
were exactly alike, after you became intimately acquainted with
them. If these questions be answered as they must be. then it
follows that as mind governs the action of men, the same variety is
stamped upon all human actions, and hence the unlimited variety
of actions that are being tried in all the courts of the civilized
world.
The unwritten common law has long since been declared by Lord
Coke, a great English jurist, to be " the absolute perfection of rea-
son." It is understood by all courts, whose minds can arrive at that
perfection. The statute laws are continually changing, and present
a part of that endless variety that occupies the time of the courts.
Modern legislators are not content to let the established and well
understood statutes remain, but under specious pretexts, as to
" reform and simplify the laws," as in this State, introduce innova
36 EAELY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
tions that will take years to understand, and cost suitors millions
to pay the expenses of re-educating the lawyers. There never was
very great difficulty, on the part of a well-trained, legal mind, in
deciding what the law is abstractly. The great difficulty is in the
application of the law to the particular case. The same remark
applies with equal force to the medical profession. I had a beloved
brother, Moses B. Smith, M. D., of Philadelphia, whose remarks to
me some years before he died I can not withhold. I had been
absent from Pennsylvania — my native State — some eleven years, and
returned a member of the twentieth Congress from the Third Con-
gressional district of Indiana. The subject of the West naturally
came up, and with it the practice of medicine. My brother was a
physician of great experience and of a high reputation — a student
of Dr. Chapman, and a graduate of the Pennsylvania University.
" Brother Oliver, I learn that the Homeopathic physicians are getting
into the West." " They are, and some like them very well." " Let
me give thee (he was an Orthodox Quaker) a word of advice growing
out of my long experience." " I will gladly receive it." " In select-
ing your family physician, take a regular old-school graduate, but
of the best common sense. I would rather trust my life with a
strong, vigorous, common-sense Homeopathic or Thompsonian doctor,
as much as I am opposed to their system, than with the most scientific
Allopathist, who looks to his books alone, without the judgment
necessary to make the application of his reading. Almost every thing
depends upon the judgment in the application. Two physicians,
regular graduates, may take similar cases, and hold in their hands
the same medical work, describing and treating the disease. The
one will let his patient die, while the patient of the other will get
well. My next advice is, never employ a physician who does not
be punctual to the minute in his appointed calls. I owe much' of
my success to a strict observance of this rule. The mind greatly
controls the success of the remedy, and nothing afi'ects a patient
more than to be disappointed by his physician in his calls."
So it is in the practice of law. Every thing depends upon the
application of the law to the facts of the particular case, and the
variety of these facts, will continue to keep the courts in session
throughout the civilized world to the end of time. The best lawyer
is he who sees his case in all its phases, so as to distinguish it from
all other cases, and be able to point out clearly to the mind of the
court and jury, the difference or similarity in principle, between
his case, and some other ease in the reported decisions, that may
seem to be against him.
LORD MANSFIELD — SARGEA.NT TADDY. 37
LORD MANSFIELD.
While the profession should spend their lives in the study, it is
to bo regretted that too many of our young lawyers leave off before
they have fairly begun. Some years ago I was kindly invited by the
Senior class about to graduate, to deliver the address at the commence-
ment of the State University at Bloomington/- Dr. Wylie was then
President. I was at the time a United States Senator. A called
session was about to commence, and I had to decline the invitation.
But I took the occasion to address the young gentlemen in a note,
thanking them for tlieir invitation, in which I called their attention
to an anecdote of Lord Mansfield, and a young British lord, who
had recently received his diploma as a counselor at law. They were
sitting on opposite sides of the table at a hotel in London. Lord
Mansfield. — " My Lord, will you refresh my recollection of the time
the late murder was committed on London Bridge?" "I recollect
the time perfectly, it was the same night that I finislicd my studies."
" Indeed, and have you finished your studies. You must be a
remarkable young man, my Lord, to have finished your studies so
young. I have been forty years at the bar, and on the bench, and
I have scarcely begun my studies." The rebuke was deeply felt by
the young lord. Without a word, he rose, bowed to Lord Mansfield,
and retired from the room. This young Lord was at a late period
of his life one of the justices of the court of Kings' Bench, and a
profound scholar.
SARGEANT TADDY.
Pardon me, while my mind is across the great waters, for giving
a characteristic anecdote of Sargeant Taddy, one of the most eminent
practitioners of the King's Bench. The Sargeant indulged in a
glass of wine at dinner, but was one of the best read of the class of
students that applied to the court for admission with him. The
custom then was to examine the applicants for admission in open
court, before robed judges with their wigs and cocked hats on. The
judges asked the questions in person, selecting the most difficult,
and always requiring a perfect knowledge of the history of England
before a license would be granted. The court met to examine the
applicants. The class was composed of Taddy, Scarlett, and many
other of the first minds of the age. Sargeant Taddy. — " May it
please the court, will your lordships permit me to make a single
request before this examination commences? " Chief Justice. — " Most
certainly." " It is simply this : I hope your lordships will bear in
38 EARLY IJv^DIANA TRIALS.
mind in this examination, that it is easier to ask a question than to
answer it." The examination commenced and lasted hours. It was
thorough, and the class being able to receive their diplomas, presented
their lordships with a glass of wine, as was the custom of the day.
The Chief Justice. — "Mr. Taddy, we have not forgotten your
request ; do you think you could ask the court a question they can
not answer?" Taddy, bowing — -"Shall I try?" " Yes, we will hear
you with pleasure." " I will ask your lordships a question that
must be familiar to you all, as it is in the history of England, I
presume. Who was god-father to the first Prince of Wales ? " Their
lordships passed the question around, tried to refresh their recollec-
tions, and took another glass of wine. Chief Justice. — " We give
it up, Mr Taddy ; not one of us can tell. Who teas god-father to
the Prince?" Taddy, with a triumphant smile on his countenance —
" I have no knowledge whatever, my lords, upon the subject ; I merely
asked your lordships for information." Another glass, and Sargeant
Taddy was ever afterward a special favorite of the King's Bench.
At the time referred to it was the custom in England, and up to
a much later date in America, for both judges and lawyers to indulge
freely in rich dinners, wine parties and cards. When I commenced
riding the Third Circuit, it was the universal custom of the judges
and bar, to meet after supper, in some upper room of the tavern,
and play cards and drink, sometimes till near morning. I had never
played a card in my life, nor did I touch a drop of spirits, and
although I was one of the young attorneys, I set my face, my
example, and my kind reproofs of the brethren of the bar, against their
practice. I have lived to see it gradually give way, and finally cease —
I trust and hope for ever.
A MAL-PEACTICE CASE — A LEAENED WITNESS. 39
[Saturday Morning, July 18, 1857.
A MAL-PRACTICE CASE A LEARNED WITNESS.
At a term of the Rush Circuit Court, caiiio on for trial au important
case against Dr. Sexton for mal-practice, in failing to cure a case of
whitlow on the plaintiff's finger. The doctor was one of the first sur-
geons in the State. I was employed to assist my young friend, Charles
H. Test, in the defense ; Amos Lane and James T. Brown for the
plaintiff; damages claimed $10,000; Bcthuel F. Morris and liis "side
judges" on the bench. It was admitted that the fingers of the hand
in question were drawn to the palm, and entirely stiff, when Dr. Sex-
ton was first called. Preparatory to the trial, the doctor had placed
in my hands " Bell on Surgery," giving me an opportunity to under-
stand his case. The prosecuting witness was a little pock-marked
Irish doctor, whom I call by the uncommon name of Smith. He had
been but a few years from the Emerald Isle, with a " rich brogue "
upon his tongue, and a good spice of the blarney, and withal a very
laudable ambition to become the competitor of Dr. Sexton. — Like
death " he chose a shining mark." He professed to be a regular gradu-
ate from a college in Cork, and with the most significant look would
draw from his pocket a round silver medal, upon which was stamped
" Dr. Smith, diploma," and exhibit it to the gaze of the people. The
doctor would have succeeded well had he confined himself to a country
practice, and, as my ancient friend, Jeremiah Cox, of Richmond, said
in the senate, to " common doctoring with pills and powders, and let
surgenary alone." It seemed that he had heard of this whitlow case,
had got up the prosecution against Dr. Sexton, and now stood upon
the witness-stand as the main, and indeed only witness for the plaintiff.
He clearly testified to the mal-practice of Dr. Sexton, and most tri-
umphantly pointed to the stiff fingers. "What more do you want but
the hand ye see ? " The plaintiff rested, and my duty of cross-ques-
tioning the Doctor commenced. " Doctor, you say this was mal-
practice." " I do, sir." " Are you a regular surgeon ? " "I suppose
I am." " Have you a diploma ? " "I have, sir." Will you let me see
it?" "I will not, sir." "It is in your pocket, is it not?" "It is,
sir." " Then hand it out." Counsel for plaintiff. — •" We object; it is
a private document, and no notice has been given to produce it, nor
has a subpena chiccs te cum been issued." The Court. — " Objection
sustained." " Well, Doctor, is not your diploma silver, about the size
of a dollar ? " " Suppose it is — what's that to you." " You swear
that this was mal-practice ; do you understand that the muscles were
contracted and the fingers stiff, with the ends drawn into the palm of
40 EAKLT INDIANA TRIALS.
tlie hand, wlien Dr. Sexton first called ? " " I understand so." "Do
you think you could have straightened the fingers and given elasticity
to the joints in that state ? " " Certainly." " What would you have
applied to the case ? " "A poultice of slippery-elm bark." " Doctor,
what character of whitlow was this ? Was it seated under the cuticle
near the root or side of the nail, or in the cellular membrane under
the cuticle, or in the theca or sheath of the flexor tendons, or in the
periosteum." It was evident that this question struck the Doctor all
aback. It was, in the language of my facetious friend, Jas. T. Brown,
on another occasion, " all Greek and turkey tracks," to the witness.
Witness greatly confused, large drops of perspiration falling from his
chin, and looking imploringly at the Court, " Blust I answer such
questions ? I did not come here to be examined as if I was before
a College of Physicians asking a diploma ! " Judge Morris.- — " The
question is proper, the witness must answer." " I shan't answer —
the Court may send me to jail." It was apparent to me that the doc-
tor thought he could not make his position worse than it was becoming
on the stand, and that going to jail would be a fortunate escape. "You
could answer if you would, doctor." " Certainly I could, in a moment
of time." " But you wont do it? " " Not I." " Doctor, do you
think this was a case of Paronychia? " " Otwhat did you say?" " Of
Paronychia ? " "I shan't answer." " You could answer if you would.
Doctor." " Surely I could," stepping about on the floor, and becoming
more agitated. " Doctor, might not this have been a case of onychia
maligna ?" "I shall answer no such questions." " You could answer
if you would." " In a minute." " Don't some of the authors that
you have read, speak of the disease under the divisions I have named ? "
" I believe they do." " Which of them, Doctor ? " " I shan't answer."
" You could tell me if you would." " Yes sir, I could name fifty of
them." " Please name one?" " I shan't do it." "Doctor, do not
some of the authors you have read, say that in certain stages of the
disease, it is proper to use lunar caustic and other escharotics ? " "I
tell you I shall answer no such questions." " You could give me the
names of the authors if you would, Doctor." " Indeed could I, as long
as your arm." Here the counsel for the plaintifi" rescued the doctor.
" May it please the Court, we will press this case for the plaintifi" no
further ; let the jury find for the defendant in the box." Verdict and
judgment accordingly.
A QUEER CLIENT, ETC. 41
A QUEER CLIENT.
Judge Morris. — '' The case of Israel Cox is. James Greer."
" Keady, " says Mr. Charles H. Test, for the plaintiff. " Ready," said I,
for the defendant. This was an action of slander brought by Cos
against Greer for charging plaintiff with stealing defendant's hogs.
Plea, not guilty of speaking the words. Greer was an old, peaked-nosed,
lantern-jawed man, with a head resembling an old possum and an eye
as keen as a rat's ; he was generally about half drunk. The jury was
sworn, the plaintiff's witnesses proved equivalent words to those laid in
the declaration, but not the exact words. I had taken the words down,
and had the dog-ears turned down in Espinasse to show that the proof
of equivalent words will not do. The evidence was closed. Judge
Test had addressed the jury in a most eloquent speech of some two
Lours, repeating Shakspeare, " He who steals my purse steals trash,
but he who filches from me my good name takes that which naught
enriches him, but makes me poor indeed." The court-room was in a
little low log cabin on the west side of the public square, with only
one window, and a pane of glass out of the lower sash. I rose with
my back to the window, stated the issue, and in a loud voice, " Gentle-
men of the jury, the Court will tell you that proof of equivalent words
won't do ; I say you must find for the defendant ; there is no proof
that he^ever spoke the words." I paused and at the moment my voice
ceased in the room, old Greer, my client, run his head through the
vacant sash by my side, and roared out at the top of his voice, " Smith
don't lie ; I did say he stole my hogs and I will never deny it." I
turned to the court, " I do wish the court would send my client to
jail, he has been drunk and crazy ever since this case has been in
court against him." Judge Morris. — " Sheriff, take him to jail and
keep him there until the trial is over." " As I was saying, gentlemen,
there is no evidence before you that the words were ever spoken by
my client. You must be governed by the evidence given in upon
oath." My position was ably met and contested by the closing coun-
sel, but the Court charged with me, verdict and judgment for the
defendant, and I had my client discharged from jail after court
adjourned, without resorting to a writ of habeas corpus.
PREJUDICIAL EFFECT OF EVIDENCE.
Judge Morris. — " the State vs. Chas. Malory, for larceny." " Ready
for the prisoner," says James T. Brown. " Ready for the State," says
the county prosecutor. The charge was for stealing a horse. The
42 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
prisoner had assured Mr. Brown that there was not the least shadow
of evidence against him. Brown had taken, or rather heen promised, a
fee contingent upon his acquittal, and took his seat by the side of the
prisoner with apparent confidence. The jury was soon impanneled,
and the owner of the horse testified that the animal was taken out of
his stable at night ; that a light snow had fallen, and next morning
he tracked the horse from the stable door, followed the track some
ten miles at a rapid pace, and overtook the prisoner on the horse, tied
his legs under the animal, brought him back, and put him in jail.
The prosecutor rested, and waived the opening speech. Mr. Brown
arose. " May it please the Court, gentlemen of the jury, one short
hour ago I could have addressed you with pleasure and entire confi-
dence in the innocence of my client, but since that time the evidence
has been heard, and I must confess that it is well calculated to preju-
dice your minds against my client." Verdict of guilty — sentence two
years to the penitentiary.
EARLY PRACTICE — SPECIAL PLEADING, ETC. 43
[Monday Mokmnh, July 20, 1857.
EARLY PRACTICE-SPECIAL PLEADING.
Quite early iii the history of the courts in the Third Circuit, the
science of special pleading, as taught by the first edition of Chitty,
and Saunder's Reports, was made the daily study of the bar. Daniel
J. Caswell and his partner, William C. Drew, were at the head of
the special pleaders, and soon became a terror to all plaintiffs, and
their attorneys. It was said that on one occasion they pasted a
general demurrer on the back of the docket at Versailles, and got
five dollai's from each defendant for continuing each cause, with leave
to the plaintifis to amend by the next term. Such was the alarm,
when they were employed, that old John Allen, of Franklin county,
called up Judge John Test, his lawyer, about midnight one stormy
night, took him around the corner of the house, and whispered in
his ear— " John, beware of them demurrers; I heard Caswell talking
about my case." One of these demurrers was argued a whole day
by Charles Dewey and Harbin H. Moore, two distinguished lawyers,
before the associate judges of Clark county. Mr. Moore closed the
argument in a powerful speech. One of the associate judges, who
had just waked up — " Mr. Moore, do I understand that a demurrer
means a dispute ? " Moore, with great indignation and contempt —
" Yes, your honor." " Then the opinion of the Court is that the
demurrer go." Moore. — " Which way shall it go ? " " Mr. Moore, I
will let you know that you are not to ram your rascality down the
jaws of justice in this court ; take your seat." This was conclusive,
and the entry was " the demurrer go."
JOHN B. WELLER'S CASE.
While we practiced on the Indiana side, upon the strict rules
of pleading of the Kings' bench, on the Ohio side they were on
the other extreme, and maintained a kind of a quasi " oretenus "
system. A citizen of Wayne county went over to Hamilton, Ohio,
purchased several barrels of salt, and gave his note, under seal, for
the amount— some sixty dollars. Failing to pay the note, suit
was brought in the Wayne Circuit Court upon it. I was employed
for the defendant, and John B. Weller, now of California, appeared
for the plaintifiF. The rest of the Indiana bar agreed to stand off,
in word and deed, and see the result. I was to have five dollars for
each time I could continue the cause. The case was not reached
until near the close of the term, but was ultimately called. Mr
44 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
Weller. — " I demand judgment." " I ask oyer of the note." Judge
Eggleston. — " The oyer must be furnished." Mr. Weller. — " I forgot
to bring the note with me; I must continue the cause." "I consent
■without an affidavit," and cause continued. Case called at next term.
Mr. Weller. — " I have the note, and demand judgment." " I file ten
special pleas and ask a rule to reply." Weller. — " I ask copies of the
pleas, and ask the rule for replications to operate at next term." " I
shall not object." Cause continued and copies furnished. The next
term ; Case called. Weller. — " I file a replication to one plea and
demurrers to the other nine." " I join in demurrer." Case argued.
Judge Eggleston. — " Demurrer sustained to four pleas, and overruled
as to five." "I ask leave to amend the four pleas." Judge Eggle-
ston. — " Leave granted." By this time the case was so mixed up in
special pleading that my young Ohio friend was completely liors de
conibat, and came across to my seat with a compromising look : '■ Well,
Mr. Smith, what will you do to end this vexatious case ? " " Let the
cause be continued and you may take judgment at the next term
on the note." We had no defense — the note was just. " Agreed."
Cause continued, and at the next term judgment was entered accord-
ingly, but the end was not yet. Mr. Weller published me in one of
the Hamilton papers as one of the most troublesome litigious lawyers
he had ever met.
THE END OF THE MILITIA SYSTEM.
In the early history of Whitewater, the military spirit ran high
and all aspirants for honors and places were solicitious to make
stepping-stones of militia offices. But in time the military spirit
began to abate, and officers to resign. One instance I recollect : Our
statute required all inferior officers, to serve five years, unless the
brigadier general, for sufficient cause, would accept a resignation.
Capt. William R. Morris, of Brookville, tendered his resignation to
Gen. John T. McKinney, and assigned his reasons. " First, I am
not fit for the office ; second, the office is not fit for me." Gen.
McKinney. — " Kesignation accepted on the first ground." The whole
system seemed to be on its last legs, when all at once arose into
public notice, in the county of Wayne, the man for the occasion,
in the person of Major Lewis. He was a young man, like Julius
Csesar, of a weak body, but with the military ambition of a Charles
XII. Although but a lieutenant he became a candidate for major,
and having no opposition was triumphantly elected. The first step
of the Major was to provide himself with a splendid blue uniform
THE END OF THE MILITIA SYSTEM. 45
coat, covered with gold lace and large gilt-eagle buttons ; a coat tliat
Napoleon himself might have worn while commanding at Austerlitz ;
a chapeau, in imitation of the one worn by Gen. Jackson at the
battle of the Horse Shoe, surmounted by a towering red plume, with
a white tip ; epaulets that might have graced the shoulders of Blucher
as he led the Prussian army to the aid of Wellington at Waterloo ; a
ti-ue Damascus blade in its brilliant scabbard, reaching to the feet ;
boots of the Suwarrow order, reaching up to his seat, with a pair of
gold-plated spurs with shanks a foot long. The great military
parade, which was to revive the spirit of the revolution, was soon
to come off, near the east fork of Whitewater, under the command
of Major Lewis in person. Captains were required to be early in
the field, with their respective commands, " armed and equipped as
the law directs." The great and memorable day at last arrived.
The parade-ground was early filled with waving plumes and crowds
of anxious citizens. The aid-de-camp of the Major came galloping
into the field in full uniform, directly from head-quarters, and halted
at the marquee of the adjutant. In a few minutes the order from
the Major was given, in a loud military voice, by the adjutant
mounted on a splendid gray charger : " Ofiioers to your places,
marshal your men into companies, separating the barefooted from
those who have shoes, or moccasins, placing the guns, sticks and
corn-stalks in separate platoons, and then form the line, ready to
receive the Major." The order was promptly obeyed, in true military
style, when at a distance Major Lewis was seen coming into the
field, with his aids by his side, his horse rearing and plunging, very
unlike old " Whitey " at the battle of Buena Vista. The brilliant
uniform of the Major and his high waving jilume pointed him out
as distinctly as the military bearing of my friend James Blake,
when marshal of the day in after years at Indianapolis, marked him
to the eye of thousands, who were looking for General William 0.
Butler, and who recognized the General at once. The line was
formed ; the Major took position on a rising ground, about a hundred
yards in front of the battalion ; rising in his stirrups, and turning
his face full upon the line — -"Attention the whole." Unfortunately
the Major had not tried his voice before in the open air, and with
the word "Attention" his voice broke, and "the whole" sounded
like the whistle of a shrill fife. The moment the sound reached
the line, some one at the lower end, with a voice as shrill as the
Major's, cried out •' Children, come out of the swamp, you'll get
snake bit." The Major pushed down the line at full speed. " Who
dares insult me?" No answer. The cry then commenced all along
46 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
the line, " You'll get snake bit, you'll get snake bit." The Major
turned and dashed up the line, but soon had sense enough to see
that it was the militia system that was at an end, that it was not
Major Lewis that was the main object of ridicule. He dashed his
chapeau from his head, drew his sword and threw it upon the ground,
tore his commission to pieces, and resigned his office on the spot.
The battalion dispersed, and militia musters were at an end from
that time forward in the Whitewater country.
SHARP PRACTICE.
To the credit of the young lawyers in those days, they almost
committed to memory the few books we had, not forgetting the con-
stitution of the State. Among the most industrious and learned
■was my friend Cyrus Finch, of Centerville, who died young. We
had a little pass before the associate judges of Wayne county ; that
the profession will appreciate at this day. The case was an assumpsit.
I was for the defendant, and Mr. Finch for plaintiffs. He proved
that my client had promised by parol to pay a debt another person
owed his client. The evidence closed; I thought I "had" him,
and took up the statute and read to the associate judges from the
chapter on frauds and perjuries — " No action shall be brought to
charge any person upon any promise to answer for the debt, default
or miscarriage of another, unless the promise is in writing, signed
by the party to be charged." This I supposed settled the case, but
not so. Mr. Finch.^" Hand me that book. If the court please,
that law is void under the Constitution of the United States ; it
reads, ' No State shall pass any law impairing the obligation of con-
tracts.' " I saw I was gone. The Court. — " The Constitution of the
United States must prevail : judgment for the plaintiff."
A CASE OF ARSON — KENTUCKY PRACTICE. 47
[TOESDAT MOKNINO, JcLT 21, 1857.
CASE OF ARSON-KENTUCKY PRACTICE.
Before taking up tlie Fall Creek trials for the murder of the Seneca
Indians, I will continue the recollections of some lighter cases. I
have sketched an incident upon special pleading with a distinguished
member of the Ohio bar, and have stated that the Indiana bar, in that
science, were the closest practitioners. We had the pleasure often,
also, of meeting the gentlemanly lawyers from the Kentucky side of
the river, in our courts in Dearborn and Switzerland, and of seeing
their mode of practice. I found their forte to be in speeches to the
jury, and not in watching the evidence in its introduction, as we did
on the Indiana side. At a term of the Dearborn Circuit Court, a
colored boy was indicted for arson in burning the barn of General
Pike, near Lawrenoeburgh. I was attorney for the State, and Messrs.
Vawter and Armstrong, of Boone county, Kentucky, appeared for the
prisoner, under some understanding that they were to have the boy
for a term of years upon his acquittal. The evidence of the burning
was first given to the jury. I then proceeded to give evidence of the
confessions of the boy while the barn was burning. — The boy, being
suspected by the neighbors, was seized and threatened, that unless he
confessed and told all about it, he would be thrown into the flames
and burnt alive. Under these threats the boy confessed, and told
where he threw the chunk with which he had carried the fire to the
barn. While all this evidence was given, the counsel for the prisoner
sat quiet without making any objections, and when I closed, proceeded
to cross-question the witness. I then proved by another witness that
the chunk was found at the place described. The case here rested
until after dinner. Court met ; no evidence for the boy offered, and
the argument commenced. 1 had little to say. The proof, as the case
stood, was conclusive. Mr. Armstrong rose and spoke over four hours,
with great eloquence, appealing frequently to the sympathy of the jury,
but said nothing about the law of the ease. Col. Vawter, the senior
of the firm, then arose with Peak's Evidence in his hand, and com-
menced with the law of the case, that confessions extorted from the
witness by threats of personal violence were not evidence, and calling
upon the jury to reject it. Had he made the objection to the court at
the proper time, the evidence would have been excluded, and the
prisoner acquitted, but his practice in Kentucky had suffered him to
sleep upon the proper application of the law to his case at the right
time. Judge Eggleston charged the jury. The prisoner was convic-
ted and sentenced five years to the penitentiary.
48 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
A CASE OF MISUNDERSTANDING.
For the more immediate consideration of tbe profession, and to take
their legal opinion, a sketch of two cases that arose before the associate
judges upon the defense of '■ tender," may not be out of place. They
were cross actions, and came before the court at the same time, and
were submitted together. I call the parties John Jones and James
Backhouse. The facts : Jones was raised and educated in that part of
New York, called the Genessee country, and Backhouse was an Ohioan,
from near Cincinnati. In New York, where Jones came from, they
called " shell-bark hickory, " " shag-bark walnut," and " ground hogs "
" woodchucks." In Ohio where Backhouse came from they called
" shag-bark walnut, " " shell-bark hickory, " and " woodchucks, "
"ground hogs." The parties met accidentally and Jones proposed to
sell to Backhouse " ten nice walnut logs, " for his saw mill. Back-
house, supposing of course that they were " black-walnut logs, " agreed
to give a dollar a-piece for them on delivery at his mill-dam. Back-
house then in turn proposed to sell Jones two tame " ground hogs "
that he had at home for fifty cents each, which Jones agreed to give,
and to receive and pay for them when the first log was delivered.
Jones cut the logs, loaded one on his wagon and drove down to the
dam to unload. Backhouse happened to be there ; " What is that
you have there ? " " One of the logs. " " What logs ? " " Why one
of those walnut logs you bought of me. " That's no walnut log. "
" Yes it is, as fine a ' shag-bark ' walnut as grows in Indiana. " " It's
no such thing, it is nothing but a shell-bark hickory. " " Will you
receive it ? I tender it to you with the other nine, under our contract
and demand my pay. " "I shall not receive it, but am ready to receive
the black-walnut logs I bought of you." "Then let me have the
ground hogs I bought of you, I am ready to pay for them. " " Come
down to the house and you shall have them. " At the house — " There
they are, Mr. Jones." " What, them ground hogs, dew tell ! " " Yes,
a pair of as fine ground hogs as I ever saw, and perfectly tame. "
" They are no ground hogs, they are nothing but woodchucks. I
would not give a cent for them, the pestering things bored our ground
all hollow in York State." " I tender you the ground hogs and
demand the pay." " I shall not touch them woodchucks, but am
ready to receive and pay for the ground hogs under our contract."
The parties were strictly honest men, wholly incapable of the suggestio
falsi or the svpressio veri, as was admitted by the learned counsel that
argued the case. Associate justice Ogden. — " We have heard this case
with attention and unusual interest, and I must say that after years
of experience as justice of the peace and on this bench, I have never
A CASE OF MISNOMER, ETC. 49
had a more difficult case to decide. The case will be taken under
advisement to consult the lawyers and judges of the other courts."
Entry " curia advisare vull."
A CASE OF MISNOMER.
" MoFFITT VS. Flowers," said the associate judge, "are the parties
ready?" " Ready," says Mr. Henry C. Hammond for the plaintiff.
"Ready," says Flowers in person. The action was brought on a phy-
sician's bill for attendance on Lucinda, the wife of the defendant.
Flowers was a kind of country pettifogger, who came up to the opinion
of Judge Mills, of Kentucky, when granting a law license to Davis
Flournoy, who had failed to answer a single question, but who boldly
and impertinently persisted in urging the judge to grant him a license.
" Well, Mr Flournoy, make out your license, and I will sign it , you
have two of the qualifications of a village attorney. " " What are
they, sir?" "Impudence and ignorance, sir." Flowers, however,
had read " Espinasse on Misnomer." Mr. Hammond opened the
case to the court, aud then took up the account of his client and com-
menced reading. " To visit and anodyne ' " Stop, " says Flowers,
in a voice of thunder that startled the court and bystanders, " stop
reading;" and rising to his feet — "I demand a non-suit." The
Court. — " Upon what ground ? " '' Upon what ground ! why of mis-
nomer." "Of what?" "Of misnomer; her name is Lucinda and
not Anodyne." The Court. — " Was she ever called or known by the
name of Anodyne? " " Never that I ever heard of." This was a
damper — a perfect chevaux de frieze in the way of the plaintiff.
Counsel for plaintiff. — " We will suffer a non-suit and try him again,
as we see the Court is dead set against us." The Court. — " Let the
non-suit be entered, and the nest time bring the suit in the right
name."
THE BLARNEY STONE.
I WAS sitting in my office at Connersvilie, one day, when in stepped
an Irishman, whom I call John Wood, of Union county, and told me
he had been recommended to me for sound counsel in an important
case. He had arrived in America directly from Cork, Ireland, only
a few years before, bringing with him his wife and several children as far
as Hamilton county, Ohio, where by pure accident he and his " ould wo-
man " had somehow got separated and had not lived together for sev-
eral years, and his business with me was to employ me to file a bill
for a divorce in the Union Circuit Court. We soon agreed on the
4
50 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
fee, twenty dollars, and he left. I immediately filed the hill and had
the notice published in the paper for the nest term. The old woman
by mere accident, also, saw the advertisement and thereby found out
for the first time where the man had stopped after he had left her, and
came directly over to the residence of the old man. The whole mat-
ter was soon reconciled between them. Soon after the settlement the
old man called at my office in fine humor. '• Mr. Smith, the ould woman
and myself have made up.'' "Indeed ! well I am very glad of it, you
are both too old to separate." " I know you're glad ; you are a good
man ; I just came over to see what you intend to charge a poor man
like meself who has made up with me ould woman." " I charge you
twenty dollars, Mr. Wood." " Ah sure, Mr. Smith, you'll not charge
a poor body twenty dollars. The moment I landed at New York I
heard of you Mr. Smith, that ye was a kind-hearted man and a dis-
tinguished sargeant in the law, as ye are Mr. Smith." " I charge you
only ten dollars Mr. 'Wood." " Surely, Mr. Smith you will not charge
a poor body ten dollars for such a little matter as this. Mr. Smith, I
have been acquainted with all the great ban-isters of Ireland, with the
Ponsonbys, the Emmets, the Grattons, the Currans and the Burkes,
but there is not one of them that is aiqual to you, Mr. Smith ; you are
so approachable in court, and you can take such grand distinctions in
the law." " I charge you nothing Mr. Wood." " Ah ! you are a
gentlemanly man, Mr. Smith, surely yomcill pay the Printer^ Mr.
Wood was the only man I ever knew that always carried the " blarney
stone " with him and knew just how to use it.
THE IXDIAN MURDERS. 51
[Wednesday Mobsixo, Jcilt 22, 1857.
THE INDIAN MURDERS IN 1824.
At the time of tlie Indian murders on Fall Creek, the country was
new and the population scattered here and there in the woods. The
game was plenty, and the Indian hunting-grounds had not heen for-
saken by several of the tribes. The white settlers felt some alarm
at the news of an Indian encampment in the neighborhood, and
although they were all friendly, a watchful eye was kept on all their
movements. The county of Madison had been organized but a short
time before. Pendleton, with a few houses, at the falls, was the seat
of the new county ; Anderson, on White River, was a small village ;
Chesterfield and Huntsville were not then heard of. There were
only a few houses between Indianapolis and the falls, and still fewer
in other directions from the capital. Early in the spring of the year
1824, a hunting party of Seneca Indians, consisting of two men, three
squaws, and four children, encamped on the east side of Fall Creek,
about eight miles above the falls. The country around their camping
ground was a dense, unbroken forest filled with game. The principal
Indian was called Ludlow, and was said to be named for Stephen
Ludlow, of Lawreneeburgh. The other man I call Mingo. The
Indians commenced their season's hunting and trapping — the men
with their guns, and the squaws setting the traps, preparing and
cooking the game, and caring for the children — two boys some ten ye.irs
old, and two girls of more tender years. A week had rolled round,
and the success of the Indians had been only fair, with better pros-
pects ahead, as the spring was opening, and raccoons were beginning
to leave their holes in the trees in search of frogs that had begun to
leave their muddy beds at the bottom of the creeks. The trapping
season was only just commencing. Ludlow and his band, wholly
unsuspicious of harm and unconscious of any approaching enemies,
were seated around their camp fire, when there approached through the
woods five white men — Harper, Sawyer, Hudson, Bridge, sen., and
Bridge, jr. Harper was the leader, and stepping up to Ludlow, took
him by the hand and told him his party had lost their horses, and
wanted Ludlow and Mingo to help find them. The Indians agreed
to go in search of the horses. Ludlow took one path and Mingo
another. Harper followed Ludlow, and Hudson trailed Mingo, keep-
ing some fifty yards behind. They traveled some short distance from
the camp when Harper shot Ludlow through the body : he fell dead
on his face. Hudson on hearing the crack of the rifle of Harper,
immediately shot Mingo, the ball entering just below his shoulders
52 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
and passing clear througt his body. Mingo fell .dead. Tlie party
then met, and proceeded to within gun-shot of the camp, Sawyer
shot one of the squaws through the head. She fell and died without a
struggle. Bi-idge, sen., shot another squaw, and Bridge, jr., the other
squaw. Both fell dead. Sawyer then fired at the oldest boy but only
wounded him. The other children were shot by some of the party.
Harper then led on to the camp. The two squaws, one boy and the
two little girls lay dead, but the oldest boy was still living. Sawyer
took him by the legs and knocked his brains out against the end of a
log. The camp was then robbed of every thing worth carrying away.
Harper, the ring-leader, left immediately for Ohio and was never
taken. Hudson, Sawyer, Bridge, sen., and Bridge, jr., were arrested,
and when I first saw them they were confined in a square log jail,
built of heavy beech and sugar-tree logs, notched down closely and
fitting tight above, below, and on the sides. I entered with the
sheriff. The prisoners were all heavily ironed, and sitting on the
straw on the floor. Hudson was a man of about middle size with a
bad look, dark eye, and bushy hair, about thirty-five years of age in
appearance. Sawyer was about the same age, rather heavier than
Hudson, but there was nothing in his appearance that could have
marked him in a crowd, as anj' other than a common farmer. Bridge,
sen., was much older than Sawyer ; his head was quite grey, he was
above the common hight, slender, and a little bent while standing.
Bridge, jr., was some eighteen years of age, a tall stripling. Bridge,
sen., was the father of Bridge, jr., and the brother-in-law of Sawyer.
The news of these Indian murders flew upon the wings of the winds.
The settlers became greatly alarmed, fearing the retaliatory vengeance
of the tribes and especially of the other bands of the Senecas. The
facts reached Mr. John Johnston at the Indian Agency at Piqua,
Ohio. An account of the murders was sent from the Agency to the
War Department at Washington City. Col. Johnston and William
Conner, visited all the Indian tribes, and assured them that the gov-
ernment would punish the offenders, and obtained the promise of the
chiefs and warriors that they would wait and see what their " Great
Father " would do before they took the matter into their own hands.
This quieted the fears of the settlers, and preparation was commenced
for the trials. A new log building was erected at the north part of
Pendleton, with two rooms, one for the court, and the other forthe grand-
jury. The court-room was about twenty by thirty feet, with a heavy
" puncheon " floor, a platform at one end three feet high, with a strong
railing in front, a bench for the judges, a plain table for the clerk, in
front on the floor a long bench for the counsel, a little pen for the prison-
AN AXECDOTE. 53
ers, a side bencli for tlie witnesses, and along pole in front, substantially
supported, to separate the crowd from the court and bar. A guard
by day and night was placed around the jail. The court was com-
posed of Wm. W. Wick, presiding judge, Samuel Holliday and Adam
Winchell, associates. Judge Wick was young on the bench, but with
much experience in criminal trials. Judge Holliday was one of the
best and most conscientious men I ever knew. Judge Winchell was a
blacksmith, and had ironed the prisoners ; he was an honest, rough,
frank, illiterate man, without any pretensions to legal knowledge.
Moses Cox was the clerk ; he could barely write his name, and when a
candidate for justice of the peace at Connersville, he boasted of his
superior qualifications, " I have been sued on every section of the
statute and know all about the law, while my competitor has never
been sued and knows nothing about the statute." Samuel Cory the
sheriff, was a fine specimen of a woods' Hoosier, tall and strong-
boned, with hearty laugh, without fear of man or beast, with a voice
that made the woods ring as he called the jurors and witnesses.
The county was thus prepared for the trials. In the meantime the
government was not sleeping. Col. Johnston, the Indian agent, was
directed to attend the trials to see that the witnesses were present
and to pay their fees. Gen. James Noble, then a United States Sen-
ator, was employed by the Secretary of War to prosecute, with power
to fee an assistant; Philips Sweetzer, a young son-in-law of the Gen-
eral, of high promise in his profession, was selected by the General as
his assistant ; Calvin Fletcher was the regular proseciiting attorney,
then a young man of more than ordinary ability, and a good criminal
lawyer. The only inn at Pendleton was a new frame house near the
creek, still standing by the side of the railroad bridge.
AH ANECDOTE.
The term of the court was about being held. The Sunday before
the term commenced, the lawyers began to arrive, and, as the custe^
was in those days, they were invited out to dine on the Sabbath,
by the most wealthy citizens, as a favor and compliment, not to the
lawyers, but to their hosts. We had a statute in those days imposing
a fine of one dollar on each person who should " profanely curse,
swear, or damn," and making it the duty of all judges and magis-
trates to see that the law was enforced upon offenders in their presence.
Judge Holliday invited Calvin Fletcher, the circuit prosecuting attor-
ney, and his Indianapolis friend, Daniel B. Wick — the brother of the
judge — to dine with him. The invitation was accepted, of course,
54 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
there being no previous engagement in the way. Dinner was an-
nounced ; Judge Holliday asked a " blessing " at the table — Mr.
Fletcher declining. The judge had killed a fat goose for the extra-
ordinary occasion, which was nicely stuffed with well-seasoned bread
and onions, and placed in the center of the table. Mr. Wick, who
was not a church-member, fixed his eye upon the goose, and said by
way of compliment, " That is a damned fine goose, Judge." " Yes, it
is a fine goose, and you are fined a dollar for swearing." Not a word
more was spoken at the table. Dinner over. Judge Holliday said,
" Squire Wick, pay me the dollar." " I have not a cent, Judge, with
me." " Perhaps Mr. Fletcher will lend it to you." Mr. Fletcher. —
" I really have only enough with me to pay my tavern bill." Judge
Holliday. — " What is to be done ? " Fletcher. — " Lend him the money.
Judge, and take his note, or bind him over to Court." "I'll bind
him over; you'll go his security?" " The rules of the Court forbid
lawyers from going security for any one, but you can go it yourself;
just draw the recognizance that ' Daniel B. Wick, and Samuel Holliday,
appeared before Samuel Holliday, associate judge of the Madison
Circuit Court, and acknowledged themselves to be indebted to the
State in the penalty of twenty-five dollars each for the appearance of
Daniel B. Wick at the next term of the court to answer.' " The sea-
sonable proposition of Mr. Fletcher was at once accepted by all par-
ties. The recognizance was taken in due form, and forfeited at the
next term, by the absence of Mr. Wick. Judgvient icas rendered
against Judge HuJIidai/ for twenty-Jive dollars. A petition to the
Governor was drawn up, and signed by the whole bar : a remittance
soon followed. The trial of Hudson commenced the next day after
the Sabbath dinner, at Judge Holliday 's, and will be sketched in my
next.
TRIAL OF HUDSON. 55
[TiiDRSDAT Morning, July 23, 1857.
TRIAL OF HUDSON.
A WORD of explanation before my sketeli to-Jay commences. It
has already been asked whether I have quit the practice of law,
supposing that my whole time was occupied with these reminiscences.
While I was a student of law, my habit was to lay down heavy
reading the moment my mind was no longer able to understand
and retain the previous chapter, and take up works of a different
character — Plutarch's Lives, History, Travels, Voyages, and Adven-
tures — until my mind was sufficiently rested, and then resume my
Studies. At the time I commenced these sketches, I was preparing
some heavy briefs for the Supreme Court of the United States,
and my mind needed rest. Instead of reading, I employed the time
I have to spare in bringing up early incidents. I have kept uo
notes, and am drawing entirely upon my recollection, which in most
cases I find very distinct. Pardon this disgression.
The day for the trial of Hudson, one of the prisoners arrived.
A number of distinguished lawyers were in attendance from this
State, and several from the State of Ohio. Among the most prominent
I name General James Xoble, Philips Sweetzer, Harvey Gregg,
Lot Bloomfield, James Rariden, Charles H. Test, Calvin Fletcher,
Daniel B. Wick and William R. Morris, of this State ; General
Sampson Mason and Moses Vance, of Ohio. Judge Wick being
temporarily absent ill the morning, William R. Morris arose and
moved the associate judges — " I ask that these gentlemen be admitted
as attorneys and counselors at this bar ; they are regular practitioners,
but have not brought their licenses with them." Judge Winchell. —
"Have they come here to defend the prisoners?" "The most of
them have." " Let them be sworn — nobody but a lawyer would
defend a mui-derer."
Mr. Morris. — " I move the court for a writ of habeas corpus, to
bring up the prisoners now illegally confined in jail." Judge
Winchell. — "For what?" "A writ of habeas corpus." " What do
you want to do with it?" " To bring up the prisoners and have them
discharged." " Is there any law for that ? " Morris read the statute
regulating the writ of habeas corpus. " That act, Mr. Morris, has
been repealed long ago." " Your honor is mistaken, it is a con-
stitutional writ, as old as Magna Charta itself" " Well, Mr. Morris,
to cut the matter short, it would do you no good to bring out the
prisoners, I ironed them myself, and you will never get them irons
off until they have been tried, habeas corpus or no habeas corpus."
56 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Per curia, " motion overruled." Judge "Wick entered and took his
seat between the two side judges. " Call the grand-jury." All
answer to their names, and are sworn. Court adjourned for dinner.
Court met; the grand-jury brought into court an indictment for
murder drawn by Mr. Fletcher against Hudson. Counsel on both
sides. — " Bring the prisoner into court." The Court. — " Sheriff put in
the box a jury." Sheriff. — " May it please the Court. Dr. Highday
just handed me a list of jurors to call on the jury." Judge Wick. —
" Bring Dr. Highday into court." " Did your honor wish to see me ? "
" Dr. Highday is this your handwriting." " I presume it is." " Dr.
Highday we have no jail to put you in, the one we have is full ; hear
your sentence, it is the judgment of the Court that you be banished
from these court grounds till the trials are over ; Sheriff, see the
judgment of the Court carried strictly into execution."
I digress to give the scene in court, published by General Sampson
Mason, in a Springfield, Ohio, paper. " As I entered the court-room
the judge was sitting on a block, paring his toe nails, when the sheriff
entered, out of breath, and informed the court that he had six
jurors tied, and his deputies were running down the others." General
Mason, with all his candor, unquestionably drew upon his imagina-
tion in this instance.
Hudson, the prisoner, was brought into court by the Deputy Sheriff
and two of the guard. His appearance had greatly changed since
I first saw him in the log pen with his comrades in crime. He was
now pale, haggard and downcast, and with a faltering voice, answered
upon his arraignment, '' Not Guilty." The petit-jury were hardy,
honest pioneers, wearing moccasins and side-knives. The evidence
occupied but a single day, and was positive, closing every door of
hope to the prisoner. The prosecuting attorney read the statute
creating and affixing the punishment to the homicide, and plainly
stated the sub-stance of the evidence. He was followed for the
prisoner, in able, eloquent, and powerful speeches, appealing to the
prejudice of the jury against the Indians ; relating in glowing colors
the early massacres of white men, women and children, by the
Indians ; reading the principal incidents in the history of Daniel
Boone and Simon Kenton ; relating their cruelties at the battle of the
Blue Licks and Bryant's Station, and not forgetting the defeat
of Braddock, St. Clair, and Harmar. General James Noble closed the
argument for the State in one of his forcible speeches, holding
up to the jury the bloody clothes of the Indians, and appealing to
the justice, patriotism, and love of the laws of the jury, not forgetting
that the safety of the settlers might depend upon the conviction of
A NEW MODE OF rROCURING A SIGNATURE. 57
the prisoners^as the chiefs and warriors expected justice to be done.
The speech of the general had a marked effect upon the crowd, as
well as the jury. Judge Wick charged the jury at some length,
laying down the law of homicide in its different degrees, and dis-
tinctly impressing upon the jury that the law knew no distinction
as to nation or color ; that the murder of an Indian was equally as
criminal in law as the murder of the white man. The jury retired,
and next morning brought into court a verdict of " guilty of murder
in the first degree," motion for a new trial overruled. The prisoner
brought into court, and sentence of death pronounced in the most
solemn manner, by Judge Wick. The time for the execution was
fixed, as is usual, for a distant day. In the meantime Hudson
made his escape from the guard one dark night, and hid himself in a
hollow log in the woods, where he was found and arrested.
Time rolled on, the fatal day for the execution arrived. JIultitudes
of people were there. Among them were seen several Senecas,
relatives of the murdered Indians. The gallows was erected just
above the falls, on the north side. The people covered the surround-
ing hills, and at the appointed hour, Hudson, by the forfeiture of
his life, made the last earthly atonement for his crimes. Such was
the result of the first case on record in America, where a white man
was hung for killing an Indian. The other cases were continued
until the next term of the court, and will be the subject of a distinct
sketch.
A NEW MODEOF PROCURING A SIGNATURE.
Before the court adjourned there occurred an incident that I
notice, not for its importance, but as a kind of relief reminiscence
after the narration of the tragedy of Hudson. The grand-jury was
still in session, and Mr. Fletcher, the prosecuting attorney, was
before them examining the witnesses. A case was presented against
an individual for selling whisky by retail without license. The proof
was positive. The question was put and the jurors unanimously
voted for a bill to be drawn. Mr. Fletcher drew the bill, presented
it to the foreman, and asked him to sign it. " I shall do no such
thing, Mr. Fletcher, I sell whisky without license myself and I
shall not indict others for what I do." " If you don't sign it I
will take you before Judge Wick." " What do I care for Judge Wick,
he knows nothing about such matters." Mr. Fletcher. — " The grand-
jury will follow me into court." In the court-room. — " This fore-
man of the grand-jury refuses to sign his name to a bill of indict-
ment against a man for selling whisky without license." Judge
58 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
Wick. — " Have twelve of the jury agreed to find the bill?" " Yes,
eighteen of them." " Foreman, do you refuse to sign the bill."
" I do." " Well, Mr. prosecutor, I see no other way, but to leave
him to his conscience and his God ; the grand-jury will return to
their room." In the grand-jury room, the foreman said, " I told
you that Judge Wick knew nothing about such cases." Mr. Fletcher. —
" I am only taking the legal steps to have the bill signed." " What
are you going to do now, why are you stripping off your coat?"
" The law requires the last step to be taken." " What step is that?"
" To thrash you until you do sign the bill." " Don't strike Mr.
Fletcher, and I will sign the bill." "Here it is, sign it." The fore-
man signed the bill, and the jury returned into court. Judge Wick. —
" Has the foreman signed the bill." " He has." " I thought his
conscience would not let him rest till he signed it."
I now have six months before me, before the other Fall Creek
trials came on, and with the consent of the reader, I will sketch some
intermediate scenes.
eegulator" case. 59
[Friday Mor-niso, July 24, 1857.
A "REGULATOR" CASE, ENDING BADLY FOR EVERY BODY.
Early in the summer of 1819, when the jurisdiction of the Fayette
Circuit Court extended over the whole White river country, some
seventy-five miles west, including what are now the counties of Rush,
Shelby, Johnson, Morgan, Marion and Hamilton, — Christopher Ladd
and William Eagan, while paddling their canoe above the bluffs on
White river, observed large collections of buzzards, or vultures, on a
sand-bar and the surrounding trees. Ladd had shot at a deer in the
woods the day before, and supposed it might have made for the river
and died. The canoe was directed to the sand-bar, where the buzzards
were, and there, entirely exposed, lay the skeleton of a man, nearly
stripped of flesh. Notice was given, and the whole neighborhood were
soon there, among others, a company of Regulators, by the names of
Statts, Awfield, Doneghy, Laughlin and Deweese. It was on the
Sabbath. A deep grave in a little adjacent island was dug and the
skeleton of the stranger was buried ; Ladd and Eagan standing at the
grave till the last. The Regulators retired in a body to the shade of
some cotton-wood trees ; after a few minutes earnest conversation, which
Ladd observed with some misgivings, returned to the grave and openly
charged Ladd with being the murderer. Ladd was taken into their
custody and his gun taken from him. Every man carried his gun in
those days, even to church. The Regulators with their prisoner soon
arrived at the cabin of Jacob Whitsell, the fiither of Cyrus AVhitsell,
■who gave me the facts of this sketch. Just below the bluffs a consult-
ation was had, and the question arose as to what they should do with
Ladd. The Regulators held their own courts, Judge Lynch presiding,
in that day. — Some were for hanging him, others for tying him up
and lynching him. So stood the case, when father Jacob Whitsell,
who was a man of influence with them, though he was not one of
them, stepped in and told them that there was no evidence whatever
against Ladd, that if he had been the murderer he would have either
buried the body, or thrown it into the river, and the Regulators would
never have heard of it ; besides, Ladd was a man of good character
and advised them to discharge him. The vote was taken, and Ladd
was discharged and set at liberty by the casting vote of the captain. —
But the end was not yet. Ladd immediately went to Brookville and
employed Caswell and Drew to bring an action in the Fayette Circmt
Court against the Regulators for false imprisonment. The suit was
brought. I was present at the trial in 1820. Gen. James Noble and
William W. Wick appeared for the defendants. There was a crowd
60 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
of witnesses in the court. The facts were clearly proved. I recollect
distinctly tte arguments of the counsel. It was an early case in my
professional life, and my school of practice has always been in closely
observing trials, too much neglected by law students. The case was
opened in a brief speech by Mr. Drew for plaintiff, Mr. Wick fol-
lowed for the defendants. His effort was to discredit the plaintiff's
witnesses and especially Hugh Ensley, one of the very worst looking
men that could be found in all the " New Purchase." Ensly had
sworn to some miraculous facts against the defendants. Wick took
up his evidence and in a loud voice, " Who do you learn these facts
from, gentlemen of the jury ? I answer, old Hugh Ensley, a man
whose countenance in any other country would hang him." Ensley
was standing just behind the railing near Wick. He jumped several
feet from the floor and bawled out, " Let me at him and I'll fix his
countenance." The Court.—" Sheriff, take Ensley out of the court-
house." The counsel closed their arguments, and Judge Eggleston
gave an able charge to the jury. — Verdict, §0i, damages, costs, §1,500.
Defendants all broken up upon execution, Ladd ruined in paying his
lawyers' fees.
JEMMY JOHNSON.
The ease of Dr. Byles against Jemmy Johnson may interest the
the reader. The Doctor was a rather testy Scotchman, a graduate of
the Edinburgh Medical University, and a pious Covenanter. He was
thought, in the neighborhood, to be a good physician, and something
of a surgeon, though in one case it was said he mistook the " os ischium"
for the ''os coccygis" the "nliia" for the " radius," and the ''dura"
for the "pia mater." The worst story that spread through the neigh-
borhood against Dr. Byles, however, was that he never permitted him-
self to be without a patient. If his last patient was likely to get well
before he could get another, a small dose of ipecac, night and morn-
ing, or a portion of calomel and jalap occasionally, would keep the
patient on hand a few weeks or months longer. These were all slan-
ders, of course ; but still many believed them, and no one more
strongly than Jemmy Johnson, the defendant, who was a large, pursy
Irishman of some two hundred and fifty pounds avoirdupois, with a
remarkable rotundity. Like many of his countrymen, he carried upon
his shoulders a good mathematical head, which enabled him at a
single glance to measure solids into cubes, liquids into gallons, quarts,
gills, drams and drops. Jemmy was a good Catholic and an honest
man. It happened one day that Jemmy was driving the oxen and
wagon of a farmer with whom he lived, past the residence of Dr. Byles,
JEMMY JOHNSON. 61
and when some miles below, seated on the top of a load of hay, fell
asleep and rolled off upon the ground. He was taken up for dead,
conveyed to a neighboring cabin, and Dr. Byles sent for to attend him.
The suit in question was brought by Dr. Byles for his medical bill
against Jemmy. The account ran — "To surgical and medical attend-
ance, $50,00." The case being called for trial before the associate
judges, Dr. Byles had to rely upon the evidence of Jemmy to prove
the account. "Swear Jemmy Johnson." Jemmy is sworn. "State
all you know about this case." " I will do that in short order. I fell
from the load of hay and was kilt." "You didn't die?" "How
could I be here if I had died ? " " Go on." " As I said I was kilt,
and they carried me to John Brown's, and brought Dr. Byles to see
me. Now thinks I, for a year's sickness. Dr. Byles came up to me bed :
says he, ' Jemmy, you were most kilt, was you afraid to meet your
Savior.' ' Not a bit of it,' says I ' it was that other fellow I was afraid
of.' The Doctor then emptied upon the table his medicine bags.
' There,' says he, ' is half a pound of salts in that paper, that is a box of
pills, that is a paper of powders, that vial is filled with drops. 'Now
Jemmy,' says he, ' mark well my prescription, and you may yet live.
You will take a pill each day, a powder every other day in the morn-
ing, a drop every night, and a spoonful of salts at dinner once a week,
until you have taken all I have left, when I will furnish you again.
I will visit you every day till all the medicine is taken.' The Doctor
left, and I made my calculation, and found that it would take three
whole years to follow the prescription till I had taken all the medicine,
and allowing him fifty cents a visit, his attendance would come to
§547.50, to say nothing of my lost time and suffering all the while.
So I called the ould woman, and told her to bring me a bowl and some
molasses, and to put all the salts in another bowl : I poured the drops,
powders and pills, into the molasses, and then turned in the salts,
mixed it all together, and drank the whole of it without taking my
breath at all, at all. The next day Dr. Byles came again, and says
he, ' Jemmy, have you taken the pills ? ' I told exactly what I had done.
Says he, ' I wonder it had not killed you.' ' Kilt me, says I — I was
well and at work in two days after: and how could it kill me? it only
worked one operation ; I could swallow your whole apothecary shop.
Dr., if you would bring it down here.' " No other testimony. The
case submitted on the evidence of the defendant. Manwaring, Associ-
ate. — " There is no evidence that the medicine was worth any thing.
The proof is that it was of no account or it would have killed the defend-
ant. There was no surgical operation performed. Two visits, however,
are proved, they must be allowed — judgment for $1.00."
62 EARLY INDIA?fA TRIALS.
"TROVER' FOR STEALING A LOG CHAIN.
In the Jennings Circuit Court, the case of the State against George
Washington Wren was called — the associate judges on the bench.
William A. Bullock for the State, and William Carpenter, of Madi-
son, an Irish barrister, for the defendant ; indictment for larceny for
stealing a log chain. Mr. Carpenter.- — " May it pie; je the Court, I
move to cjuash this indictment, on the ground that the action should
have been trover." " Upon what ground? " — " Why I say the action
should have been trover." " How so? " " The indictment says ' one
log chain, then and there heing found, the property of John Brady ' —
the very language of trover. How could he be charged with stealing if
he found it?" There were no law books in court giving forms of
indictment for larceny. The question was submitted to the Court
without argument. The associates consulted together some time —
read over the words aloud, again and again. " Then and there being
found." " Mr. Prosecutor, the Court thinks it should have been an
action for trover." Indictment quashed ; court adjourned ; the pros-
ecuting attorney in a rage ; and the Irish barrister bursting with
laughter.
LEGIBLE HANDS.
In the Fayette Circuit Court, State vs. Amos Henson. Indictment
for obstructing the highway with " hens and hogs," meaning, of course,
"trees and logs," but written as if it was hens and Jwgs, or so that it
might be so read. I was young and mischievous, and moved the asso-
ciate bench to quash the indictment on the ground that there was no
statute against " hens and hogs " running at large. Motion opposed
by Martin M. Kay, now of this city, prosecuting attorney, on the ground
that the words were " trees and logs " and not " hens and hogs." Re-
ply — " This must be decided by inspection, like a record on the plea
of ' nul ticl record,' as there is no reported case that touches the ques-
tion." Judge Webb. — " We think it is ' hens and hogs;' the indict-
ment is quashed, and hereafter let the prosecutor write a legible hand,
and cross his t's and dot his i's, and not be troubling the court with
such questions."
A HERO CHARGED WITH HOG STEALING. 63
[Saturday Morning, July 25, 1857.
A HERO CHARGED WITH HOG STEALING.
The American army bad reached Fort Meigs, uuder the command
of Gen. Harrison. Major Whistler was in charge of Fort Wayne.
The woods, on the Maumce, St. Joseph's and St. Mary's, were filled
with hostile Miami Indians. Fort Wayne was besieged on all sides,
and Major Whistler and his few men must soon surrender. The
news of the desperate condition of the besieged reached General
Harrison, and he determined at once to relieve Major Whistler.
Early one morning there was seen running toward the Fort a
small man, pursued by several Indians from the woods. The fore-
most of the pursuers was Joe Richardville, a Miami chief. The gate
of the Fort was thrown open, and in rushed Col. William Suttonfield,
and fell exhausted. He soon revived, took from one of his boots
a dispatch from General Harrison to Major Whistler, informing the
JIajor that he would promptly come to his relief, and requiring a
return dispatch of the forces and position of the enemy then besig-
ing the Fort. General Harrison had asked for a volunteer messenger
to carry the dispatch to Fort Wayne, but no one was willing to take
the hazard. Col. Suttonfield, then only a private, stepped forward
and offered his services. He was accepted by the General, furnished
with a fine horse, his dispatch concealed in his boot, and just at
twilight he left the army for Fort Wayne. His path led up the
Maumee river. His fine animal carried him rapidly forward, and
he seemed likely to reach the fort without even seeing the enemy,
when, entering a dense undergrowth, he found himself in the very
midst of the Miami chiefs and warriors. Chief Richardville, Joe
Richardville, Francis Godfroy, Lewis Godfroy, and young Lafountaine,
were there. The Indians sprang to their guns, and Colonel Sutton-
field put spurs to his horse. Several rifles were fired at the flying
Colonel. The chiefs mounted their fresh horses, pursued at a killing
pace, and were fist nearing the Colonel, when his horse ran into
a morass prairie, sank to his belly and could get no further. The
Colonel sprang to his feet and ran for his life. The fort was distant
some two miles. The horses of the Indians stuck in the same
morass. The most active of the chiefs dismounted and pursued
the Colonel. The fleetest, Joe Richardville, the favorite brave of
the old chief, was only about a hundred yards behind when the
Colonel entered the fort. The dispatch was read, giving great joy
to the Major and his men. The return dispatch was soon prepared,
64 EARLY I^fDIANA TEIALS.
and a volunteer messenger was called for Ly Major Wtistler to
carry it to Gen. Harrison. No one offered. Night was approach-
ing, when Col. Suttonfield stepped forward and offered to carry the
dispatch to Meigs if he was furnished with a fleet horse with untir-
ing bottom. He was directed to select for himself, and at once
made choice of a blooded sorrel mare, of the Major's. Night had
come — it was clear moonlight — -the gate of Fort Wayne was thrown
open, and out bounded Col. Suttonfield with the speed of a deer.
The eyes of the fort were upon him as he took the path down the
Maumee and entered the woods. The sound of rifles reached the
fort — the Colonel had again met the wily chiefs at a new encamp-
ment. His clothes were perforated with balls, but he and his horse
escaped without harm. The next day the Colonel took from his
boot the dispatch of Major Whistler and handed it to Gen. Harrison.
But the end was not yet. The Indian war was soon over, and the
Colonel married an estimable lady and settled in Fort Wayne,
where I first became acquainted with him. The reader will not ask
me whether he was a brave man, and I will not stop to say that he
was strictly honest. The Col. was a positive man in all he said or
did, and of course had some enemies. Among others, he had a
little squeaking neighbor, who had became offended at the Col., and
in his absence at Indianapolis, spending a few weeks at a session
of the Legislature, filed an affidavit before Eobert Hood, a justice
of the peace, against the Col. for marking his old sow with intent
to steal her. The Col. on arriving at home heard of it, and went
to the squire ready for trial. The squire only had jurisdiction to
hear the ease, discharge or recognize, as the case might warrant.
The prosecutor was present. The Col. looked upon him with perfect
contempt. " Squire, I demand a jury." Justice. — " Constable put
a jury in the box." " There are only eleven jurors present." The
Col., " Put the prosecutor on the jury." The prosecutor took his
seat in the box. The squire. — " How shall I swear the jury ?" The
Col. — " You do swear you will truly try and upon your oaths say
whether Col. William Suttonfield marked the sow with intent to
steal her or not." The jury were sworn, and the prosecutor examined.
The Col. — " Now squire, I demand the ayes and noes." The Col.
could neither read nor write. The squire. — " Each juror will answer
as his name is called, guilty or not guilty. Constable call the roll."
The jurors were called and all answered " not guilty," till the
prosecutor was called. He hung down his head and squeaked out
" guilty." The Col. gave him another look of contempt. " Eleven
DODGING A FEE, ETC. 65
to ouc, acquitted almost unanimously." Squire Hood.—" It is con-
sidered that Col. Suttonfield stands unanimously acquitted, except
by the prosecutor, who the Court considers was governed by malice
prepense and aforethought."
- DODGING A FEE,
At a term of the Circuit Court of the United States, I was
requested by Daniel J. Caswell to be employed for Nicholas Long-
worth, of Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the wealthiest men of the State.
I was highly pleased with the employment, looking forward, of
course, to a liberal fee, punctually paid, as I was assured by Blr.
Caswell would be the case. It was an action of ejectment brought
by David Close, of Rising Sun, against Longworth for a tract of
laud in Dearbon county. Judge Holman was on the bench. Mr.
Caswell had to leave for Columbus next day, and wished to deliver
over the case to me, as the sole attorney for Longworth. Mr.
Caswell left before the case was reached on the docket. The trial
lasted several days, and was warmly contested by both sides. Judge
Holman charged the law against us, and the plaintiff recovered
the land. I immediately informed Mr. Longworth, and requested
him to pay me a fee of fifty dollars, about one-fourth what I should
have charged him. He refused to pay me, on the ground that I
was not his lawyer. Mr. Caswell then called upon him, as he told
me, and Longworth refused to pay him, because he had not attended
to the case. This gave me enough of rich attorney clients, who
would refuse to pay for services rendered them. Mr. Longworth,
besides being wealthy, was at that time a cunning lawyer. He had
not then reached his high position of successful rivalry of French
vintners in Sparkling Catawba. His conduct in my case forcibly
reminded me of the man that went into the grocery. " Let me have a
glass of whisky?" "Here it is," handing it over. "You may
take back the whisky and give me crackers." " Here they are."
Eats the crackers and is about leaving. Grocer. — " Pay me for the
crackers." " I gave you the whisky for them." " Then pay me
for the whisky." "I gave the whisky back." "Well, hereafter
pay as you go, it may be all right, but it don't exactly look so to me."
FIRST SPEECH IN THE LEGISLATURE.
I HAD been at Connersville about eighteen months, when to my
surprise I saw my name announced as a candidate for the Legisla-
5
66 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
ture. Nothing was then further from my thoughts than to enter
the field of polities ; my ambition was to make myself a good
lawyer. I was elected, however, and the next winter found me at
Corydon — a representative of Fayette. It so happened that it was
the greenest Legislature ever convened in the State. The raw material
was not so defective, as the experience of the members. This
accounts for the fact that the speaker. General Washington John-
son, announced my name as chairman of the committee on the
judiciary. On the third day of the session we went into joint con-
vention to count the votes for Governor. William Hendricks was
elected. The secretary had opened the envelops, and the counting
had progressed till the county of Decatur was called. This return
was not sealed and directed as the constitution required. The
bodies retired^to their respective chambers to discuss the important
question. Mr. Basset Mr. Howk, Gen. Stapp, Col. Scott, Col. James,
Mr. Dumont and Dennis Pennington had spoken, when there seemed
to be a pause. All eyes were turned to me, as the chairman of the
judiciary committee, supposing, of course, that I knew all about it.
The house was filled with a distinguished audience, from all parts
of the State, and several from Kentucky. I arose. It was my
first effort in a legislative capacity, and much was expected by the
audience. " Mr. Speaker," said I. These were my only words. I
grew blind, and down I sank in my chair, almost unconscious, when
Maj. Henry P. Thornton, who was our clerk, a great wag, sprang
from his desk, ran to where I was seated, and whispered in my ear,
" My dear sir, you must have studied your speech at home ; jovl
have made a powerful constitutional argument."
A "DIVINELY commissioned" THIEF-CATCHER. 67
[■\VEnxEST)AY Morning, July 29, 1857.
A "DIVINELY COMMISSIONED" THIEF CATCHER.
One niglit in the spring of 1823, John Williams had his horse
stolen from his stable in Connersville. The woods for miles around
were scoured by the citizens, and the horse was found in a thicket
fastened to a tree. A watch was set, and William Boice was taken in
the act of feeding the animal. Boice was fried, convicted, and sen-
tenced to two years' hard labor in the penitentiary, at the next term
of the Fayette Circuit Court. I was attorney for the State at the
time. Boice w.as taken to the State's prison by the sheriff. The word
soon came from the keeper of the penitentiary that Boice had broken
jail and escaped, and offering a reward of one hundred dollars for his
capture and return to prison. The above common occiirrenee is merely
introductory to what follows. It so happened that at this very period
of time there lived not far from Connersville, a man I call Joseph
Abrams, who was laboring under a peculiar delusion. He believed in
"special providences — "' that all men were created for special purposes,
and set apart for the particular work by the Almighty ; that they had
no power to resist, nor could any harm come to them while engaged
in their particular calling. In his fiarticular case he believed that he
was specially created and commissioned to take horse-thieves ; that he
was required to be diligent in his calling. He had no doubt what-
ever, that he could take with his single arm any number of horse-
thieves, however armed, without any power on their part to do him
harm. He never went armed himself, but always carried with him his
pockets-full of ropes to tie the horse-thieves as he caught them. He
was a large, young, powerful man, as active as a cat and fearless as a
rifle. He believed, that as a part of his mission, he had the power
given him of recognizing a horse-thief the moment he saw him.
The news that Boice had escaped prison reached Abrams about
sun-set in the evening; he said nothing to any one, but left town
about ten o'clock that night. Squire Boss was traveling the road
leading by the cabin of Boice, when all at once he heard loud screams
ahead. Spurring his horse he soon arrived at the cabin. " As I rode
up to the fence," he said, " I saw Abrams dragging Boice out of the
door of the cabin, tied fast with ropes, and Boiee's wife beating
Abrams over the head and shoulders with a clap-board." It ap-
peared that Abrams had demanded of Boice to open the door, that
Boice had refused and armed himself with a butcher knife ; that
Abrams broke down the door, seized Boice and wrested the knife
from him, threw him upon the floor and tied him, while the wife of
68 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
Boice was belaboring Abrauis all llic time. Abrams placed Boice
upon his horse, tied his feet together and immediately started with
him for the penitentiary, and actually delivered him up to the keeper,
and received his reward. Boice was a powerful mai), weighing not less
than two hundred pounds and as courageous as a lion.
Soon after this occurrence, Abrams met John Willey, sheriff of
the county, took him off his horse, tied him and carried him to a
justice of the peace. I was sent for and had him discharged late at
night. The fact that I had appeared for Willey caused Abrams to
suspect me of being his accomplice, and the nest day on my way to
the Franklin Circuit Court, I met him in the road. I saw his pockets
were full of ropes. " You are a horse-thief ; get down and I will tie
you." ■ I smiled in his face, " Can't you wait until I come back and
then tie me?" " TTill you say upon honor, that you will meet me at
Connersville next Saturday ? " "Yes, I will." "Go then, but fail
not at your peril." We parted. I returned home on Saturday
morning ; Abrams was there. As wei met in front of the old court-
house, he gave me his hand with a fixed look, " You are discharged,
your are no horse-thief, you have kept your promise." " Thank you,
Mr. Abrams, I knew you would learn from the spirit of your mission
that I was not one of them." — He smiled and we parted.
A "POLITICAL PREACHER" IN A "FIX."
I WAS early initiated at Conner.sville into the mysteries of election-
eering, by several of the most adroit men of the country. Among
them I name Marks Crume, who afterward held several high offices,
and was one of the commissioners who concluded the treaty with the
Pottawatamies of the Wabash. He was a warm supporter of Gen.
Jackson, while I sustained Henry Clay. He had represented Fayette
county several times in the Legislature, and in 1836 was again a can-
didate. I was anxious for his success, as I was about to become a
candidate before the next Legislature for the United States Senate.
and I knew him to be my fast friend. His competitor was a nameless
Newlight preacher — long, lank and stoop-shouldered, wearing a blue
muslin gown, a queue hanging down to his waist, and his head covered
with one of these old-fashioned corn-shuck hats, with a rim extending
to his shoulders. He was a fair eleetioneerer, in open day. This
Crume could meet. But he also preached at night. Here Crume
entirely failed, although he was the son of the Kev. Moses Crume, of
Ohio, who was said to have borne a striking personal resemblance to
General Washington.
COEONEU COXNERY OUTDONE. 69
There remained but a week before the election. Crume became
alarmed. It was evidently to be a close contest. The next week the
Battalion Muster, at Squire Conner's, four miles below Connersville,
on Whitewater, was to come off. This was looked to by the candi-
dates with much interest, as the closing of the campaign before the
election. The preacher lived a few miles west of town, and having
no horse, walked down early in the morning, expecting to get one
there. Crume and his friends kindly offered to procure one, and
borrowed of Robert Griffis a very small jackass. The preacher
mounted when it was found his feet would drag upon the ground.
This they immediately remedied by taking up the stirrups, drawing up
the legs of the preacher like the letter K, his gown covering the whole
jack but his head and ears, and off they started for the muster.
Arriving at the field, the horsemen rode in at the bars, but the jack
of the preacher " took the studs," and in spite of all the kicking,
pounding and whipping, refused to budge an inch. The eyes of the
battalion were soon directed to the preacher and his jackass, when
suddenly the stubborn animal was seen to spring forward, and forcing
his head through the rails, the hat of the preacher towering over the top
of the fence, commenced braying at the top of his musical voice,
while shout followed shout from the field. This was too much for
the nerves of the candidate. With a great effort he forced back the
head of the jack from the fence and turned his countenance toward
town. A traveler met him slowly jogging up the road, evidently
ruminating on the vicissitudes of political life. The morning paper
gave us notice that he had declined. Crume was elected without
further opposition, and, best of all, he gave me his vote for United
States Senator.
CORONER CONNERY OUTDONE.
The recent mockery in the Dr. Burdell case at New York, before
Coroner Connery, which filled the papers of that city, and a gaping
public with morning news for two months, and ended in smoke,
brings to my recollection a case of equal magnitude in early Indiana,
except that no Mrs. Cunningham or Eckel, had been suspected of
spiriting away the immortal from the mortal part of the body, over
which the inquest was held. A man was found dead one cold morn-
ing with his skull broken, lying in the woods. He had been seen tBe
night before considerably intoxicated. The body was frozen. An
incjuest was held before noon of the same day before Coroner Clifford.
The jury formed a hollow square; the body in the center. Coroner
Clifford : — " Gentlemen of the inquest, there are three things to be
70 EARLY i:ndiaxa teials.
cousidered wLen a man commits suicide by killing liis neighbor.
First, did he come to his death by incidence. Second, did he come to
his death by accidence. Third, did he come to his death by the hands
of the incenduary. Look at the body, gentlemen, and return your
verdict." The jury counseled nearly five minutes. Inquest. '• We
the jury find that the deceased came to his death by incidence, having
put too much water in his whisky, causing him to freeze last night."
Inquest returned ; coSin made ; the body carried to the grave ; funeral
services performed before it was dark, and yet neither the New York
Tribune, the Journal of Commerce, the Express, nor the Herald ever
noticed the circumstance.
A CONCLUSIVE SPEECH ON THE IMPROVEMENT
OF THE WABASH CANAL.
I AM tempted, lest I forget it, to sketch an incident on the passage
through the House of Representatives of Indiana, of the Wabash
Canal Bill, by which the State was largely involved, and the Euro-
pean bond-holders, by subsequent legislation procured by their inde-
fatigable agents, Charles Butler, of New York, and Michael G.
Bright, of this State, were enabled to get possession of the Wabash
and Erie Canal. The bill had been engrossed, and was to come up
the next day on its final passage. The House and galleries were jam
full. At an early hour the aisles were seated with ladies, and the
doors and windows opened to give fresh air to the sufi"ocating audience.
The Speaker worked his way to the chair with difiiculty, and called
the house to order : not a sound was heard, all eyes were turned to the
opposition benches. The bill was announced by its title. " This is
the third reading of the bill, and the question is, shall the bill pass ? "
A pause ensiied, when Col. David Wallace, one of the most eloquent
men in the State, arose, his fine black eye fixed upon the Chair, and
with his musical voice and brilliant imagination, delivered a splendid
eulogium upon the measure. He took his seat amid applause from
all parts of the house. Mr. Rariden, his brother-in-law, the leader of
the opposition benches, followed against the bill, in a most powerful
common sense speech, that told with killing efi'ect upon its friends.
He took his seat; another pause, deep anxiety bordering on despon-
dency depicted in the countenances of his opponents, when there was
seen rising by the side of Col. Wallace, the tall and commanding
figure of Col. John McNairy, the chosen orator of the Wabash Valley,
and deeply identified with the passage of the bill. All eyes were
upon him ; it was known that he always stuck to the question, while
A COXCLUSIVE SPEECH ON THE CANAL BILL. 71
his speeches were brief as a telegraph dispatch. The Colonel added
to his fine person a loud, clear voice. Kaising himself almost on
tip-toe, at the very highest pitch, his eyes fell upon the Chair :
" Mr. Speaker, our population on the Wabash am great, but our
resources for salt am slim. Salt ! they can not emigrate up the
Wabash." The Col. took his seat with great applause from the
benches favorable to the passage of the bill. This speech was con-
clusive. No one asked for the floor to reply. The question was put
from the Chair, and the bill passed by a triumphant majority. The
cannon fired, the bells rang, the city was illuminated, and all was
joy and hilarity at the capital for weeks afterward.
72 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Wednesday Morning, August 5, 1857.
A POLITICAL JURY.
The Fayette Circuit Court was lield soon after the great contest for
President had terminated in favor of Gen. Jackson against Henry
Clay. There was perhaps never a more excited election in the coun-
try. Gabriel Ginn was the Jackson candidate for Sheriff, and Robert
D. Helm the Clay candidate.
A few days before the election John Murphy, a very respectable
citizen, and others, put in circulation a handbill against Helm, mak-
ing charges against his integrity. Helm was defeated, and employed
myself and Samuel C. Sample to bring suit for libel. The action was
brought, and came on for trial at the next court. Both the Sheriff
and his deputies were warm Jackson men, and it so happened that ten
of the regular panel of jurors were of the same politics. James Rari-
den, John T. Mc Kinney and Gen. James Noble appeared for the defen-
dant. The regular panel were called and all answered. The Court. —
" Does the plaintiff take the jury ? " " We are content." Gen. Noble
at once challenged, peremptorily, the two Clay men ; the sheriff imme-
diately filled their places with two leading Jacksonians. " We take
the jury," says Rariden. " So do we ; let them be sworn." My client
ran forward and whispered in my ear, " All is gone, they are all Jack-
son men." We proved the publication beyond question. 5Ir. Sample
opened very briefly for the plaintiff, and was followed by the defend-
ant's attornies with their usual force, upon the question of law and
fact. Each closed with a strong appeal to the politics of the jury,
and the fact that the defendant was a Jacksonian and the plaintiff a
Clayite, was pressed with all their power. My client whispered to me
to give up the case and suffer a non-suit.
As Gen. Noble closed his speech, about half past eleven in the fore-
noon. Judge Egglesfon, " Shall we adjourn now ? " "I prefer closing
before dinner." " You certainly can not do that." " I'll try." " Gen-
tlemen of the jury we are trying one of the most important questions
that has ever been tried in the county. I hold the affirmative of the
issue, the counsel opposed tp me the negative, and you are to decide
it by your verdict. It is, whether a Jackson mau will regard his oath,
and find according to the law and the evidence. You were selected
because the counsel for the defendant supposed you would perjure
yourselves to acquit their client. I believe that a Jackson man is just
as honest as a Clay man, and will be no more likely to perjure himself
to acquit a Jackson man, than would a Clay man to convict him.
Your names are on the record ; the eyes of the people are upon you ;
AN " infant" in court, ETC. 73
my client will not take a cent of your verdict ; I only ask you to give
his counsel fees, one hundred dollars." I occupied about fifteen min-
utes. The jury retired, and before Court adjourned returned a verdict
for the plaintiff of one hundred dollars damages. Judgment accord-
ingly- ^______
AN "INFANT" IN COURT.
The Case of the widow of Thomas Beard, against his heirs, for her
interest in his estate, was called. Mrs. Beard was an estimable widow
lady when she married Thomas Beard and became his second wife.
They each had large families of children, some married and some
single, at the death of Mr. Beard. The claim of the widow was warmly
contested by Mr. Rariden for the heirs, before the jury, in one of the
strongest speeches I ever heard him make. He appealed with all his
power to the jury, aroused their sympathy for the poor infanta about
to be wronged out of their father's estate by the plaintiff, and having
worked himself up to tears, left the jury weeping like children. As
he closed I sprang to my feet, and at top of my voice, " Mr. Frazier,
stand up!" John Frazier, about six feet two inches high, square
shouldered, large black bushy head, face covered with hair, about forty-
five years of age, not less than two hundred and fifty pounds avoirdu-
pois, stood up before the Court and jury. " That, gentlemen of the
jury, is one of the infiints that you and Mr. Fiariden are crying about."
It operated like a cold shower-bath upon the jury. The case was over,
and my client obtained a verdict for all she claimed, and to which she
was justly entitled.
PATHETIC SPEECH SPOILED.
The great numbers of criminal cases in the circuit adjoining the
Ohio Kiver, early invited to our side several young men from Ken-
tucky, who had been trained in the Grundy, Bowan, Clay, Pope and
Breckenridge school of advocacy, in which the success of the defense,
like that of the play at the theater, depended as much upon the stage
preparation, as upon the merits of the advocate or actor. One of these
young professional advocates, I call Letcher, was employed to defend
a young married man for stealing chickens, coop and all, and taking
them down the river on a flatboat. Letcher was a large, fine looking
young man, and of high order as a declaimer, but generally shot above
the mark, or in the language of James, T. Brown, he seldom brought
himself down to the comprehension of the Court and jury. This was
to be his debut as an advocate among us, and his every motion was
watched with interest.
74 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Early in the morning, before the case was called, there was seen on
the witness-hench, the wife of the prisoner in deep mourning, her infant
in her arms, and her little boy by her side, her mother, his mother,
and two of his sisters, all in mourning — the prisoner sitting in the box
nest them.
The ease was called, when Mr. Letcher rose and asked permission
to have a short consultation with his client in the jury-room. The
request was granted by the Court, with directions to the sheriff to see
to them. The sheriff left them in the room, and then put his ear to
the key-hole. Letcher to the prisoner. " You must be governed
strictly by my directions. My speech will be divided into four parts.
First, the historical ; Second, the argumentative ; Third, the reply ;
Fourth, the sympathetic. You must all sit quiet until I come to the
fourth, or sympathetic, part, and then you will all burst out aloud and
cry and groan as I proceed to a close ; the moment I stop, raise and
throw your arms around your wife's neck, and kiss the baby." They
returned into court. The jury impanneled — the evidence given. It
was conclusive against the prisoner. The prosecuting attorney opened
briefly. Letcher arose, all eyes upon him — " If the Court please,
gentlemen of the jury, look at my client ; look at his poor wife and
little babe ; look at their aged and alBicted parents, sinking to their
graves ! Oh ! gentlemen, can you find it in your hearts to send him
to the penitentiary?"
As he uttered the last word, the prisoner set up a loud howl, raised
up, stepped forward and threw his arms around the neck of his wife
and kissed the babe with all his might, while all the rest of the rela-
tives joined in the chorus. The Court. — " What does all this mean?"
Letcher. — " Only a mistake your honor ; my client mistook the histori-
cal for the sympathetic part of my speech ; that is all." But the play
was over, the curtain fell on a verdict and judgment of " guilty " — two
years in the penitentiary. Letcher returned to Kentucky, where he
said the prisoners could tell the difference between the " historical and
sympathetic " parts of a speech.
BAD CONSEQUENCE OF CHANGING SHIRTS.
The thousand and one amusing incidents that occurred on the cir-
cuit, with the bar, will never find their way to paper. I may be
excused, however, on account of the parties, for rescuing one of them
from the common fate. James Whitcomb, Calvin Fletcher, Harvey
Gregg and Hiram Brown, of the Indianapolis bar, " put up," as we
say in the West, at the tavern of Capt. John Berry at Anderson-
BAD CONSEQUENCES OF CHANGING SHIRTS. iO
towu. Whitcomb was a perfect gentleman in his person and dress.
Ho must shave every morning and put on a clean shirt ; but as it was
difficult to get washing done on the circuit, he put several clean shirts
in his portmanteau and carried a night-shirt to sleep in, always chan-
ging as he went to bed. Mr. Fletcher was a great wag, continually
annoying Mr. Whitcomb, and sometimes others, with innocent tricks.
Capt. Berry prided himself upon his tavern, and would often boast
that " there might be better houses in New York, so far as the table
was concerned, but as to his beds they could not be excelled in the
United States ; that he had been to the great Astor House, before he
opened, to see how things were done. He had not been at the table
a minute before they presented his bill, and an impudent waiter asked
him if he would have tea or coffee, and when he told him he would
take tea, he asked him what kind of tea; he said " store tea, to be sure."
The Captain had traveled the whole length of Broadway on Sunday ;
was invited into church while the organs were playing, but excused
himself on the ground that he " never danced, and if he did, he would
not dance on Sunday." A single word against his tavern, his table,
or his lodging room, was taken by the Captain as a great insult, and
immediately resented without regard to persons. Fletcher knew the
Captain well. They were intimate friends. Taking the Captain to
one side Fletcher said, " Do you know, Capt. Berry, what Mr. Whit-
comb is saying about your beds?" "I do not — what did he say?"
" If you will not mention my name, as you are my particular friend,
I will tell you." " Upon honor I will never mention your name —
what did he say?" " He said your sheets were so dirty that he had
to pull off his shirt every night and put on a dirty shirt to sleep in."
" I'll watch him to night." Bedtime came. Captain Berry was look-
ing through the opening of the door when Mr. Whitcomb took his
night-shirt out of his portmanteau, and began to take off his day shirt.
Captain Berry pushed open the door, sprang upon Whitcomb, and
threw him upon the bed. The noise brought in Mr. Fletcher and the
other lawyers, and after explanations and apologies on all sides the
matter was settled. But Mr. Whitcomb, years afterward, as he told
me, found out what he suspected at the time, that Mr. Fletcher was at
the bottom of the whole matter.
76 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Saturday JIornixg, August 8, 1857.
AN EARLY LEGISLATURE IN INDIANA.
In August 1822, I was elected to the Legislature from Fayette, and
late in November mounted my pony and started for Corydon, the tem-
porally seat of government. Jly way led by Madison, then a small
village. Late in the evening of the third day from home, I rode up
to a little frame house, about the center of the town, to which I was
directed as the only hotel. My horse was taken at the steps by a slim,
flaxen-haired youth of a hostler. I had a first-rate supper, a sweet,
clean bed, a good breakfast, and left on my journey in the morning,
the landlord, as I supposed, being from home. The next Monday the
House of Kepresentatives met in the old court-house at Corydon.
John F. Ross, the clerk, called the roll ; " County of Jefi'erson," when
to my surprise, my flaxen-headed hostler stepped forward, in the per-
son of Gen. Milton Stapp, in after years Lieutenant Governor, and one
of the most distinguished men of the State. The roll calling progressed,
as I stood by the side of the General he bowed and smiled. The
" County of Vanderburgh and Warrick : " I saw advancing a slender,
freckled-faced boy, in appearance eighteen or twenty years of age. I
marked his step as he came up to my side, and have often noticed his
air since. It was Gen. Joseph Lane, of Mexican and Oregon fame
in after years. The house was fcomposed mostly of new members, and
was said to be the greenest ever convened in the State, myself included.
We had, however, a few who would pass even at the present day.
Gen. Stapp, Isaac Howk, Horace Bassett, John Dumont, Isaac
Julian, Pinkney James, Gen. Burnett, William A. Bullock, Lucius
H. Scott, Dennis Pennington, Benjamin V. Beckes, Dr. Sylvanius
Everts, Nathaniel Hunt, and others. The session lasted six weeks,
and perhaps no Legislature ever met and adjourned in the State, doing
less harm. — There were a few measures, however, in which I took an
active part, that may bear mentioning. The poll-tax system was first
established, the exemption in favor of widows, of personal estate to
the value of one hundred doll.ars, from the debts of deceased hus-
bands ; and the act giving a representation to " the new purchase, " to
strengthen the middle and northern parts of the State, in passing the
law for the removal of the seat of government from Corydon to Indian-
apolis. This latter act was warmly contested, debated weeks and finally
passed by a very close vote. The first constitution provided that
" Corydon in Harrison county, shall be the seat of government of the
State of Indiana, until the year eighteen hundred and twenty-five,
and until removed by law." It further provided, " the General
AN ELECTIONEERING Ol'EUATION. 77
Assembly may, witliin two years after their first meeting, and shall in
the year eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and every other subsequent
term of five years, cause an enumeration to be made, of all the white
male inhabitants above the ago of twenty-one years ; the number of
Representatives shall at the several periods of making such enumeration
be fixed by the General Assembly, and apportioned among the several
counties." The question was whether it was competent for the Leg-
islature to take the census and make the apportionment at any inter-
mediate time, or whether it could only be done at the expiration of
every five years. We carried the bill in favor of the first construction,
and the seat of government was removed years sooner than it would
otherwise have been. We had little important business before us ;
Gov. Hendricks was inaugurated, and Judge Parke elected to revise
the laws.
AN ELECTIONEERING OPERATION.
An incident occurred in the election of Treasurer of State that may
be instructive to candidates. Daniel C. Lane was the incumbent. —
There was no tangible objection against him as an oflacer, but it was
rumored that he could see a short rich man over the head of a tall
poor man. His competitor was Samuel Merrill, then of Vevay, after-
ward for years Treasurer of State, and President of the State Bank.
The day for the election was not fixed. I was among the warm friends
of Mr. Merrill. Our prospects for his election were very poor —
chances as ten to one against us. Mr. Lane, as was the custom,
began his course of entertainments, and, as his house was small, he only
invited to his first dinner the Senators and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Gen. Washington Johnston, — intending, no doubt,
to feast the members of the House on some other evening before
the election.
Next morning the House met, and a few of us understanding each
other passed around among the uninitiated, and soon had them in a per-
fect state of excitement against Lane. The time had now come, and I
introduced a resolution inviting the Senate to go into the election
instanter. The resolution was reciprocated, and down came the Senate.
The joint convention was immediately held, and Mr. Merrill was
elected by a large majority, the Senators voting for Mr. Lane and the
members of the House for Mr Merrill, who made the State a first-rate
ofiicer. The Legislature adjourned, and I returned home through the
woods. This ended my legislative career in the State, as I was never
afterward a candidate.
78 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
A GREAT HYPOCRITE.
Mt youngest brotlier, afterward Judge Septimus Smitli, was a stu-
dent in my office at Connersville. On my return from Corydon, I
learned that his beautiful strawberry-roan horse had been stolen from
the stable in my absence. He advertised the animal in a number of
papers and traveled through the country in seai'ch of him, but got no
tidings of him until some six months afterward, when Jacob Eeed
happened to see the horse in a drove in North Carolina, knew him
at sight, and learned from the owner of the drove that he had bought
the horse at Urbana, Ohio, from a man from Connersville, and de-
scribed Charles Donovan, a school-teacher and Methodist eshorter.
Wc thought best, in consequence of the good character of Donovan
to say nothing about it. My brother went to Urbana and got the
horse. But the end was not yet. The Rev. James Conwell kept
store at Somerset now Laurel, on Whitewater; Donovan had ingra-
tiated himself into the good graces of Mr. Conwell, who was a good,
unsuspecting religious man, and an ardent Methodist preacher.
Donovan- would frequently attend the meetings of Mr. Conwell, was a
fine singer and often closed the meetings. Mr. Conwell had a clerk,
a respectable young man, by the name of Williams in the store, who
suspected Donovan of taking money out of the drawer of the store, and
named it to Mr. Conwell, in confidence. With some hesitation it was
suggested by Mr. Conwell, that they would bore an augur-hole over
the drawer, in the floor of the upper room, and the next time Donovan
came to the store the clerk should leave some counted change in the
drawer and step out, go up to the hole quietly, leaving Donovan in the
store. The plan was adopted, Williams saw Donovan take the change
out of the drawer and stated the fact to Conwell. I was the State's attor-
ney at the time. About midnight the same night I was called up by Mr.
Conwell and the facts stated. I recommended that another chance
should be given to Donovan, with another witness at the hole, as I
feared that Williams might be charged with taking the money, and
putting the theft on Donovan, and as the character of Donovan was
established, and Williams was but a young man, it might end in the
discharge of Donovan and the ruin of Williams. Mr. Conwell, how-
ever, urged the arrest of Donovan. I prepared the papers and Dono-
van was arrested before morning, in his bed. He protested his
innocence, charged Williams with the theft, gave bail for his appear-
ance, and brought suit against Conwell and Williams for slander.
Thus stood the case until within a few weeks before court, when
Donovan was missing. His bail followed him to Cincinnati and found
his name registered on a boat for New Orleans. The well-known
ANECDOTE OF GOV. WIIITCOMB. 79
voice of Donovan was heard in the drinking-saloon, cursing and swear-
ing, and, as the bail entered, he reeled against the side of the door and
fell drunk upon the floor. He was brought back by his bail, and
delivered up to the Sheriflf and put in jail. Court came on. He was
indicted, tried, convicted, and sent to the penitentiary two years.
The actions of slander were dismissed, and Donovan confessed to my
brother that he had stolen his horse and sold him in Urbana.
ANECDOTE OF GOV. WHITCOMB.
In the winter of 1823, as I was about to leave Indianapolis for home,
James Whitcomb told me he was going to Ohio, and wished to travel
with me. Of course I was glad to have company, as the path led
through the woods, and there were but three houses between Indian-
apolis and Whitewater. After an early breakfast we started, both
riding good horses, intending to reach Dille's, on Blue River, near
where Knightstown now stands. Some hours after night, to our much
joy we saw the light at the cabin, rode up, and as we dismounted the
sound of a fiddle saluted us. Entering the cabin, there sat before the
fire a lame young man by the name of Amos Dille, with an old violin
in his hand, scraping away, making any thing but music. He laid the
violin on the bed, and started with our horses to the stable. As he
closed the door, Mr. Whitcomb took it up, soon put it in tune, and
when Amos returned was playing light and beautiful airs. Amos
took his seat by me, seemingly entranced, and as Mr. Whitcomb struck
up '■ Hail Columbia, " he sprang to his feet. "If I had fifty dollars
I would give it all for that fiddle ; I never heard such music before
in my life." After playing several tunes Mr. Whitcomb laid the
instrument on the bed. Amos seized it, carried it to the fire where
he could see it, turned it over and over, examined every part, and
sang out, " Mister, I never saw two fiddles so much alike as yours and
mine." Gov. Whitcomb was one of the finest performers on the violin
I ever heard.
80 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Wednesday Morning, August 12, 1857.
ELECTIONEERING.
I HAVE sketclied tlie most important trials that were liad during
my two years as circuit prosecuting attorney, whieli ended with
the spring term of 1826, when I became a candidate for Congress
and resigned. Amos Lane was appointed my successor. The most
of .the sketches that will be given are of after occurrences.
My competitor for Congress in 1826, the Hon. John Test, was one
of the first men in the State, had been on the court bench, was
a fine lawyer, a good speaker, and had represented the district three
full terms. The contest on my part looked at first almost hopeless.
Stump speaking was just coming in fashion. The people met our
appointments by thousands. The judge had his high character to
aid him, and I brought to my aid a strong voice, reaching to the
very extremes of the largest crowds. The judge went for the
graduation of the public lands, and I went for home gifts to actual
settlers. My position was the most acceptable to the masses. We
met in AUenville, Switzerland county, on one occasion. The whole
country was there. The judge was speaking, and for the first time
introduced the new subject of railroads. He avowed himself in
favor of them, and said he had voted for the Buffalo and New
Orleans road, and then rising to the top of his voice, " I tell you,
fellow-citizens, that in England they run the cars thirty miles an
hour, and they will yet be run at a higher speed in America." This
was enough. The crowd set up a loud laugh at the expense of the
judge. An old fellow, standing by me, bawled out, " You are crazy,
or do you think we are all fools ; a man could not live a moment at
that speed." The day was mine. The judge had ruined his pros-
pects by telling such- an improbable story at that day. On another
occasion the judge was speaking in favor of the tariff in the highest
terms. The people knew but little about it, but what they had
heard was decidedly against it ; few knew the meaning of the
word, and fewer what it was like. One old fellow said he had
never seen one, but he believed " it was hard on sheep."
PERILS OF A CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN.
Theee was fun in those days. We had no parties then, and
there was some life in a contest — very different from after times,
when the candidates had to be engrafted into the party stock, and
drew all their life and strength from the party to which they belonged.
PERILS OF A CONGRESSIOXAL CAMPAIGN. 81
On one occasion in after years I Was speaking at a battalion mus-
ter in Ripley county, and had spoken over two hours. I noticed
an old man loaning against a tree in front of me. As I closed
he roared out, " Mr. Smith you have made one of the best speeches
I ever heard, I agree with all you have said. Will you answer me
one question before you leave the stand." " Most certainly." " Will
you vote for General Jackson ? " " No, sir, I shall vote for Henry Clay."
" Then you can't get my vote." The question was between Jackson and
Clay, and not between myself and competitor as to who should go
to Congress, with the old man then. The contest grew warm, and
more and more doubtful. My stock was rising, and with it my
spirits. My district covered one-third, of the State.
I had not, as yet, visited the county of Allen, some hundred
miles north of Randolph. There were no roads, nothing but Indian
paths, to travel at that day through the wilderness. In the early
part of May I turned the head of my pony north for Fort Wayne.
The streams were high and the path for miles under water in
places. I rode in that campaign a small brown Indian pony, a
good swimmer, a fine pacer, and a fine traveler. The first day after
I left the settlements at the Mississinewa, I reached the Indian
station at Francis Godfrey's. The chief was from home, but one
of his wives came out at an opening in the picketing, and pointed
toward Fort Wayne ; the chief was there. She could not speak
a word of English. I pointed to the stable, then to my horse,
then to my mouth, then laid my head on my hands, shut my eyes,
and commenced snoring. She seized the reins of the bridle ; I dis-
mounted and passed through the pickets into the house. My
fijithful pony was fed.- Night came on at length ; supper was
announced, by motions ; corn bread, venison, and sassafras tea, a
bear skin on the floor for a bed, and sound sleeping followed. Break-
fast of the same over, and I was about starting alone, when there
came up an Indian that could speak a little broken English. I
agreed with him for a guide for two dollars for a day to get me over
the Salamonia and the Wabash rivers. We were soon on our horsed,
and oS' went my guide at full speed on his pony, and was soon out
of sight. I overtook him, however, at the Salamonia. In we went,
he leading. The ponies swam beautifully ; and away we started
for the Wabash. The path wound around the ridges until the
river came full in sight. It was high, clear over the bank, and
the current very rapid. The sun was some three hours high, the
day warm and not unpleasant. I had neglected to provide any food,
or even a knife for defense. The moment we reached the river
6
82 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
the Indian jumped down, peeled some bark from a hickory sapling,
and spaneelled the fore legs of the ponies. I sat down on the bank.
The Indian was out of sight in a moment, in the woods, and I saw
nothing of him for an hour, when he returned with the bark of a
hickory tree, about twelve feet long and three feet in diameter,
A fire was soon made. The bark was metamorphosed into a round-
bottomed Indian canoe. The sun was about an hour high. The
canoe was launched ; my saddle, saddle-bag, and blanket placed in
one end, and I got into the other. With ra}- weight the edges were
about an inch above water. I took the paddle, and, by using the
current, landed safely on the other shore. The Indian swam the
horse over, and held up two fingers. I paid him the two dollars ;
he started back, and I mounted the pony and striking the path
went off at half speed. It was after twilight, when I came to a
large lake, directly in my way. Fearing to go in, I turned the
pony and rode out into the woods, to, the top of a beech tree that
had been blown down some time before. Dismounting, I tied the
pony to the brush of the tree, took ofi" the saddle-bags and blanket,
and laid down, without any thing to eat, and very tired. In a few
moments I heard the howling of wolves in every direction, some-
times close to me. The last thing I heard, as I fell a sleep, was an
old wolf barking some twenty feet from me. I slept soundly through
the night, and when I waked the sun was full in my face. At
dinner I was at the hotel table in Fort Wayne, with an excellent
appetite, having eaten nothing from early breakfast the day before.
I made a speech that day from the porch of the hotel, and returned
directly home. The election came on, and I received just ten votes
in the county of Allen, to reward me for my perilous trip, while my
majority in the district was over fifteen hundred.
A CHALLENGE.
The day after the election I was crossing the street at Conners-
ville, when I heard the sound of horns up Main street, and in a
few minutes I was ^rrounded by about fifty men on horseback,
with Michael Spencer among them. I saw in a moment that they
were political opponents, come to let me know that the vote of their
township had gone against me. Spencer. — " How many votes do you
think you got in our township ? " " None, if you had any sense."
" What do you mean by that ? " "I mean that when I go to Congress, at
least one-half of you will be in the penitentiary before I get back: nobody
else can defend such men." Spencer. — •" You shall account for that,"
A CHALLENGE. 83
A day or two afterward Spencer called on me to defend him
against an indictment in the Fayette Circuit Court, for challenging
a man to fight a duel ; by our laws at that time it was a penitentiary
offense. I remarked, " Just as I told you." The trial came on at
next term of the court, and Spencer was acquitted upon an "if."
The challenge was, " If you will get a second and meet me to-morrow
morning with pistols, I will meet you with my second and pistols."
Judge Pjggleston charged that it was not a challenge, but a mere
conditional proposition that required an acceptance to give it the
character at law of a challenge.
In my next I may sketch the trip of Gen. Noble and myself,
seventeen days on horseback, to Washington City in the fall of 1827,
and take some notice of the House, and of some occurrences that
took place during the session.
84 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Thursday Morning, August 13. 1857.
STATE ORGANIZATION AND DIVISION OF
PARTIES.
As I have already found that these Keminiscences can not be con-
fined to trials alone, and give to them the interest desirable, I have
concluded to take a wider range, and sketch other interesting incidents,
that the reader may look for as they appear.
I came to Indiana in the spring of 1817. The political affairs of
the State were then in the hands of three parties, or rather one party
with three divisions — the Noble, Jennings and Hendricks divisions —
which were all fully represented in the convention that formed the
constitution of 1816. Gen. James Noble and Jonathan Jennings were
delegates. Jennings was elected President and William Hendricks
Secretary of the convention. It was evident to these leaders that per-
sonal political conflicts must arise between them unless the proper
arrangements were made to avoid them. It was then agreed between
them to aid each other in making Noble United States Senator, Jen-
nings Governor, and Hendricks Congressman. An apportionment was
made in the constitution to suit all parties. It was provided, at the
close of Section 20 of Article 3, " Nor shall any member of either
branch of the General Assembly, during the term for which he is
elected be eligible to any ofiice, the appointment of which is vested
in the General Assembly. Provided that nothing in this constitution
shall be so construed to prevent any member of the Jirsl $essio7i of the
General Assembly from accepting any office that is created by this
Constitution, or the Constitution of the United States." There were
three judges to be appointed for the Supreme Court. Each sub-divis-
ion was entitled to one. Gen. Noble selected Jesse L. Holman, living
on the beautiful bights of the Ohio river, above Aurora, a good law-
yer and one of the most just and conscientious men I ever knew. Gov.
Jennings selected John Johnson, a fine lawyer and an excellent man.
He lived but a short time, and after his death, in the winter of 1822-3, 1
named the county of Johnson for him in the Legislature, and not for
Col. Richard M. Johnson, as some suppose. Gov. Hendricks named
James Scott, of Clark county, a Pennsylvanian, one of the piirest men
in the State, a good scholar, and a fine lawyer. The opinions of no
judge of our Supreme Court up to the present day, are I think entitled
to stand higher with the profession than his. A strong common sense
view of the case enabled him to select the grain of wheat from the stack
of straw, and say, holding it up to the parties without discussing the
chafi', '' It is my opinion that this is a grain of wheat. '
FIRST ELECTION OF OFFICERS, ETC. 85
FIRST ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
The Constitution was ratified, the election held, and the Legislature
met. Jonathan Jennings, was elected Governor ; William Hendricks
to Congress, General Noble and Waller Taylor to the Senate of the
United States ; Jesse L. Holmau, John Johnson and Jame.s Scott,
Supreme Judges. Judge Johnson lived but a short time, and Isaac
Blackford, of Vincennes, a young lawyer, from New Jersey, a gradu-
ate of Princeton, was appointed to the vacancy. Like Judge Story,
he looked too young for that high judicial station, but, to say the least,
he came fully up to the expectations of his friends, as his decisions
and reports conclusively show. He is now one of the judges of the
United States Court of Claims, sitting at Washington. The principal
characteristic of the mind of judge Blackford, is caution. He never
guesses. He is emphatically a " booJc judge." Declamation with him is
nothing, precedent and good authority, every thing.
MONROE'S SECOND ELECTION-GENERAL NOBLE.
TnE State organization and the distribution of offices went on swim-
mingly, the chiefs changing hands as in a country dance. Hendricks
left Congress, Jennings left the Executive Chair, and went to Con-
gress, and Hendricks was elected Governor ; Noble was re-elected to
the Senate, Waller Taylor died, Gov. Hendricks resigned, was elec-
ted to the United States Senate, over Judge Blackford, his competitor,
by one vote ; James B. Ray, President of the Senate, became ex-officio
Governor, Judge John Test was elected to Congress in the third dis-
trict, Jonathan Jennings in the second, and Ratoliff Boone in the first.
Thus stood political and judicial matters at the time the second elec-
tion of Mr. Monroe came on before our Legislature. There was no
opposition. The people knew nothing about it. The Legislature sit-
ting at Corydon, appointed the electors. The first notice I had that
there had been a Presidential election, was from an extract in our
Connersville newspaper taken from the Corydon paper, giving the
names of the electors, among which was Daniel J. Caswell, and the
giving of the vote of the State for Jas. Monroe and Daniel D. Tom-
kins, and yet as good and quiet an administration followed as any that
is likely to be produced by our exciting elections at this day. Gen-
eral Noble was, as the saying is, born for a leader. His person, his
every act, look, and motion suited the populace. He was emphati-
cally a self-made man — quick, ready, and always prepared. His taste
was quite military, and the old settlers of Whitewater will not soon
forget the General, in full uniform, mounted on " Wrangler " at the
86 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
head of his division. He served two full terms in the Senate, died a
Senator, comparatively a young man, and lies entombed in the Con-
gressional Cemetery at Washington.
GOV. JENNINGS.
Governor Jennings, I also knew well. His great forte, like that of
Martin Van Buren, was in managing the wires that controlled popular
elections. Still, he was by no means destitute of talents. His messa-
ges read well, and he made a useful business member of Congress.
As a public speaker he was not admired, but on paper he was a very
formidable competitor. The Governor has long since been gathered
to his fathers.
GOV. HENDRICKS.
GovEENOR Hendricks was my early friend ; gave me the first office I
ever held in the State, and although I was elected over him, in 183G,
to the Senate of the United States, we were personal friends till he
died. The Governor, in person, was large and commanding ; his man-
ners were very popular. He had a smile on his face and a warm shake
of the hand for all he met. He was not of the very first order of
talents, but made all up by his plain, practical, good sense. He never
attempted to speak upon subjects he did not understand. He made a
good Governor, and stood well as a Senator. He too, has left us, and
gone to his reward, at an advanced age.
JOHN TEST.
Judge John Test, the father of Judge Charles H. Test, was one of
the first circuit judges, and served four terms in Congress from his
district. He was one of the best lawyers of the State. His great forte
was in sympathetic and persuasive appeals to the jury, in which he
was eminently successful. He stood deservedly high, both as a law-
yer and statesman. The Judge wore a black suit, with his queue to
his waist. He died at a good old age, honored and respected by all
who knew him.
GOV. RAY.
James B. Rat, the successor of Governor Hendricks, was the young-
est man that had ever occupied the chair, at the time of his election.
In person, he was above the ordinary size, with a high forehead, rather
projecting, and a long queue. He was a popular stump-speaker, was
AMOS LANE, GOV. NOBLE, ETC. bl
never beaten before the people for Governor, at one time beating Judge
Blackford, at another Dr. Israel T. Canby and Harbin H. Moore. Ho
was a zealous lawyer, but entered the political field before his forensic-
powers were fully developed. The Governor died comparatively a
young man.
AMOS LANE.
Amos Lane was extensively known, both as a lawyer and a politi-
cian. His person was tall and commanding, of the finest mold, his
gestures easy and graceful, his enunciation distinct and deliberate.
He was strong before both court and jury. He was at one time Speaker
of the House of Eepresentatives and afterward represented his district
in Congress. Mr. Lane was the father of George W. Lane of Dear-
born, and of Col. James H. Lane of Kansas. He died in Lawrence-
burgh, in advanced age.
GOV. NOBLE.
Noah Noble succeeded Governor Eay, and served two full terms.
He was brother to Gen. James Noble, and one of the most popular
men with the masses in the State. His person was tall and slim, his
constitution delicate, his smile winning, his voice feeble, the squeeze
of his hand irresistible. He spoke plainly, and well, but made no
pretense to eloquence. As Governor he was very popular ; his social
entertainments will long be remembered. Gov. Noble died some years
ago of consumption, in early life, and lies entombed in the cemetery at
Indianapolis.
GOV. WALLACE.
David Wallace succeeded Gov. Noble for a single term. He was a
West-Point graduate, a good lawyer, with a brilliant imagination, a
clear, musical voice, and an eloquent flow of language. His person
was fine, his eye piercing, his manner and gestures unsurpassed. He
was in his early days one of the most eloquent speakers I have ever
heard." The Governor is the father of William Wallace, of this city,
and of Senator Lewis Wallace, of Montgomery, is still in full life, hold-
ing the ofiBce of Jud;;^ of the Court of Common Pleas at Indianapolis.
I may possibly continue these sketches of persons, until I have
touched all the Governors, and the subsequent Judges of the Supreme
Court, with a glance at the bar; but not yet. •^
88 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Friday Mokning, August 14, ]857.
A NEWMODE OF EFFECTING A RECONCILIATION.
The middle of November, 1827, liad come. I returned from
Indianapolis Saturday night, and the next Monday evening met
General James Noble at Blair's Hotel in Hamilton, Ohio, on our
way to Congress. We rode good walking horses, and at the end
of the seventeenth day dismounted at the Indian Queen hotel at
Washington, kept by Jesse Brown. There were no railroads across
the mountains then, stages were " all the go," and traveling on horse-
back fast going out of fashion. But the General stuck to the old
mode all his life. The usual variety of scenery and incidents
occurred on the route, interesting to me then, but of too little
importance to have a place here, until we came to the top of the Alle-
ghany one morning, where we stopped to breakfast. Just as we
were sitting down to the table, the stage drove up. I stepped out,
and found Gov. Jennings sitting on the back seat, the only passenger.
I was then full of fun and mischief, and being awai'e that Noble and
Jennings were at sword's points, not having spoken together for years,
I halloed out at the top of my voice, " General Noble, come out
here ; here is a friend who wants to see you ! " Noble left the table,
ran out to the stage, opened the door and thrust his Lead into the
face of Gov. Jennings, who was leaning forward. " Good morning,
Governor, give us your hand." " Good morning. General, I am
happy to see you." The stage drove on, and we returned to the
table. The General gave me an inquisitorial look, " Did you not
know that I never speak to Governor Jennings ? " But from that
time forth these leading politicians became reconciled, and continued
friendly while both lived.
THE TWENTIETH CONGRESS.
Eleven o'clock Monday morning had arrived. The Hall of the
House of Eepresentatives was filled with members, the old acquaint-
ances shaking hands, and we young ones looking on. Our State
was represented by Governor Jennings, Thomas H. -Blake, and
myself in the House, and General Noble and Governor Hendricks
in the Senate. I had heard and read much of the distinguished men
of the nation, and I was now about to see them for myself. I shall
long remember the deep interest I felt when Mathew St. Clair Clark
began to call the roll. Nor can I forget the impression made upon
me, as these distinguished men walked forward in front of the
THE TWENTIETH CONGRESS. 89
Clerk's desk, to be qualified ; nor yet the appearance of Judge Story
as he administered the oath to support the Constitution of the United
States. The reader will see by the few names my space will allow
me to give, that the House of Representatives of the Twentieth Con-
gress has never been surpassed, if equalled by any other since the
organization of the Government.
I name, leaving the reader to supply the States that had the honor to
elect them : John Randolph, Phillip P. Barbour, Andrew Stevenson,
William C. Rives, William S. Archer, John Floyd, Charles Fenton
Mercer, John S. Barbour, Alexander Smyth, James Buchanan, Richard
Coulter, John Seargent, Andrew Stuart, Samuel D. Ingham, Samuel
MeKean, George Wolf, Joel B. Sutherland, Charles Miner, George
Kreemer, Edward Everett, John Davis, Isaac C. Bates, John Reed,
Tristram Burgess, Dutee J. Pearce, Silas Wright, Henry R. Storrs,
Thomas J. Oakley, Gulian C.' Verplanck, John W. Taylor, Churchill
C. Cambreling, Ogden Hoffman, John C. Clark, Aaron Ward, Stephen
Van Rensellaer, Selah R. Hobbie, Peleg Sprague, John Anderson,
Gen. Ripley, Ichabod Bartlett, Rufus Mclntire, Benjamin Swift,
Rollin C. Mallory, Ralph J. Ingersoll, David Plant, Dr. Condict,
Dr. Swan, Joseph F. Randolph, George McDuffie, William Dray-
ton, William D. Martin, James Hamilton, Jr., Lewis Williams,
James K. Polk, John Bell, John Blair, Prior Lee. David Crock-
ett, Edward Bates, John C. Wright, Joseph Vance, Elisha Whit-
tlesey. James Findlay, Samuel F. Vinton, John Woods, John Sloan,
Mordeeai Bartley, William Creighton, William McLean, William
Stansberry, Edward Livingston, Joseph Duncan, Richard Buek-
ner, Charles A. Wickliif, Robert P. Letcher, General Thomas Metcalf,
Governor Clark, Henry Daniel, Robert jMcHatton, Austin E. Wing,
Joseph W. White, Wilson Lumpkins, Thomas P. Moore.
But enough. Think it not strange that I should have looked at
that day, upon such a body of men, with admiration, mingled with
awe. They were mostly just entering upon the verge of middle
life, with enough of youthful blood coursing their veins to give them
quick and rapid action, and enough of age to mature their judg-
ments in debate.
I wish my space would permit me to sketch some of the leaders,
as I can yet see and hear them. It was the last Congress under
the administration of John Quincy Adams. Gen. Jackson's popu-
larity had returned to the House a majority, and Andrew Steven-
son was elected Speaker over John W. Taylor.
90 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
THE TARIFF DISCUSSION.
The Tariff of 1828 was, that session, the jjromiuent measure. It
was debated long and ably. Two main ideas occupied the ablest
speakers, — whether there was constitutional power to enact a protec-
tive tariff, and whether duties should be imposed upon the ad valorem
or the specific principle. There were others equally important, as
incidental, — whether high duties or low duties, would raise the most
revenue. Some insisted that the duties laid by the bill were so
high that the overflowing treasury would introduce extravagance
and prodigality on the part of the administration, while others eon-
tended that it was low duties that would produce that result. The
wiser of the debaters held that the only way to keep down the
anticipated treasury jiletbora, was to lay high duties on articles of
extravagance, and increase the free list, so as to include the neces-
saries of life. The Northern members were supporting the bill, the
South opposing in mass, many "Western members with them. Still it
was likely to pass. Silas Wright and James Buchanan, leading
Democrats, were warm in its support, I voted with them. A
caucus of the opponents of the bill was held and next day a motion
was made to increase the duty on molasses ten cents per gallon,
being an increase of a hundred per cent, ad valorem. The object
of the amendment was to choke off the Northern members, and
indirectly to kill the bill.
SCENE BETWEEN BURGESS, OF R. I., AND DAN-
IEL, OF KY.
The moment the amendment was announced by the chairman, in
committee of the whole, Mr. Burgess, of R. I., arose and implored
the mover to withdraw it. He showed its effects upon the trade
between the Eastern States and the adjacent islands, in timber and
return cargoes of molasses, which was the daily food of the poor.
His speech was short and to the point. As he took his seat Henry
Daniel, of Kentucky, sprang to his feet and roared out at the top
of his voice, " Mr. Speaker, let the constituents of the gentleman
from Rhode Island sop their bread only on one side in molasses,
and they will pay the same duties they do now." Mr. Bartlett, of
New Hampshire, remarked to me, " Now look out for Tristram,
Harry will catch it." Mr. Burgess arose, with fire beaming from his
countenance, and addressed the chair. " The relief proposed by the
gentleman from Kentucky, is but adding insult to injury. Does not
that gentleman know that established habit becomes second nature.
m'duffie and bates. 91
and that all laws are cruel and oppressive that strike at the innocent
habits of the people? To illustrate, what would the gentleman
think of me if I should offer an amendment that neither himself nor
his constituents shall hereafter have more than a pint of whisky for
breakfiist instead of a quart? Does he not know that the disposition
of all animals partakes, in a greater or less degree, of the food on
which they are fed? The horse is noble, kind and grateful ; he is fed
on grain and grass. The bear (looking at Daniel, who was a heavy,
short man, dressed in a blue coat, with a velvet collar) will eat hog
and raw hominy. You may domesticate him, dress him in a blue
coat with a velvet collar, and learn him to stand erect, and to imitate
the human voice, as some showmen have done, but examine him
closely, sir (looking at Daniel some seconds); you will discover he is
the bear still. The gentleman told us, in a speech some days ago,
that his district produced large numbers of jackasses, hogs and
mules. No stronger proof of the truth of his statements can be
given than a look at its representative. I ask the gentleman to
keep this extra duty off of molasses, and commence its use among
his constituents, and as feeble as our hold upon life is, Mr. Chairman,
a man may yet, before we die, be permitted to go to his grave with
two eyes in his head in the gentleman's district." Daniel wilted
under the sarcasm, and few members afterward felt disposed to arouse
the eminent son of Rhode Island.
M'DUFFIE AND BATES.
George McDtiffie was chairman of the committee of Ways and
Means. The bill making appropriations to remove the Indians was
in Committee of the Whole. The previous question was confined
to the House, and there was no way of closing the debate and of
taking the bill out of committee but to sit it out till all the members
got tired of speaking, or some one could carry a motion that the
committee rise and report the bill. John Wood, of Ohio, had the
floor, but was immediately put down by the coughing and rattling
of spittoons in the neighborhood of Mr. McDuiEe, when Edward
Bates, of Missouri, then her sole representative, rose, and addressed
the Chair. The noise commenced. "I see that the Chair has not the
will to protect Missouri from insult in my person ; let the gentleman
avow himself and I will protect myself, sir." McDufEe rose, bowed, and
took his seat. " Is it the gentleman from South Carolina ? I will see
that gentleman another day." The debate closed, and Mr. Bates in
my presence wrote a challenge to Mr. McDuiEe, handed it to William
92 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
S. Archer who was sitting near us, who stepped across the hall ; as he
approached Mr. McDufBe pointed him to Mr. Hamilton as his friend.
The matter was afterward arranged by Mr. McDuiSe disavowing any
intention of insulting Mr. Bates, having merely resorted to that
means to get the bill out of committee.
There were several other interesting incidents during that Congress,
that I may on some other day take time to sketch.
KEV. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 93
[Saturday Mornino, August 15, 1857.
REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER.
The organ had been placed in the Second Presbyterian Church at
Indianapolis. Sabbath evening had come. The church was brilliantly
lighted up. The last bell was tolling when I entered the Church.
The Eev. Henry Ward Beecher was in the pulpit, Charles Beecher
seated at the organ, and A. G. Willard, John L. Ketchum, Lawrence
M. Vance, Alexander H. Davidson, Dr Ackley, Master Albert Wil-
lard, Mrs. Ackley, Mrs. Ketcham, Miss Graydon and Miss Merrill in
the choir. The house was crowded. The Organ played ; the choir
sang —
The voice of free grace cries, — "Escape to the mountain!"
For Adam's lost race Christ hath opened a fountain;
For sin and uncleanness, and every transgression,
His blood flows most freely in streams of salvation.
Hallelujah to the Lamb! he hath purchased our pardon,
We'll praise him again, when we pass over Jordan.
Te saints that are wounded ! Oh ! flee to the Saviour,
He calls you in mercy, — 'tis infinite favor, —
Your sins are increasing, — " Escape to the mountain " —
His blood can remove them — it flows from the fountain.
0, Jesus ! ride onward, triumphantly, glorious,
O'er sin, death and hell thou art more than victorious ;
Thy name is the theme of the great congregation.
While angels and saints raise the shout of salvation.
With joy we shall stand, when escaped to the shore,
With harps in our hands, we'll praise him the more,
We'll range the sweet plains on the bank of the river,
And sing of salvation for ever and ever.
Mr. Beecher rose in prayer; he was deep, pathetic, and closed in
tears. Gave out for the choir :
Hakk ! — ten thousand harps and voices
Sound the note of praise above,
Jesus reigns, and heaven rejoices —
Jesus reigns, the God of love.
See ! He sits on yonder throne,
Jesus rules the earth alone.
Jesus, hail ! whose glory brightens —
All above, and gives it worth ;
Lord of life ! thy smile enlightens,
Cheers and charms thy saints on earth.
When we think of love like thine.
Lord ! we own it love divine.
94 EAHLY INDIAjS^A TEIALS.
King of glory! reign forever —
Thine an everlasting crown ;
Nothing from thy love sliall sever
Those whom thou hast made thine own.
Happy objects of thy grace
Destined to behold thy face.
Saviour hasten thine appearing;
Bring — oh ! bring thy glorious day,
When the awful summons hearing,
Heaven and earth shall pass away.
Then, with golden harps we'll sing —
"Glory, glory to our King! "
The music ceased ; the eyes of the congregation were fixed upon
the youthful preacher as he arose and announced the text. " And I
say unto you, that many shall come from the East and West, and
shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom
of heaven." It was the evening sermon, and Mr. Beecher made little
use of his notes, but gave reins to his imagination. His mind took
in the whole race of man, as included in the test. The discourse
held the congregation over an hour and a half in deep feeling. The
great powers of the orator were brought to their highest pitch. He
closed — " Yes they shall come from the East and the West, from the
North and the South, from every part of the globe where man ever
lived, or died — of every color, nation, kingdom — of every sect, of
every tongue, from every congregation, from every people, and shall
sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob in- the kingdom of
heaven. If I should be there, and I trust that my great Master will
vouchsafe me that glorious blessing, if I should prove faithful to the
end, I shall expect to meet some of the misguided followers of the false
prophet, Joe Smith, the Mormon, who had come up out of great tribula-
tion with pure hearts and contrite spirits ; should I meet with one such I
should feel like the mariner at sea, in a dark night, when his founder-
ing vessel is tempest-tossed ; he casts his eye above and if he sees one
twinkling star peering through the darkness, he hails it with a thousand
times more joy than he would on a clear night the whole galaxy
of the heavens overspread." The sermon closed and the congregation
retired.
Mr. Beecher is below the medium size ; his complexion fair, his
eyes prominent, his forehead large, his features tine, his voice strong
and musical, well-trained and completely under his control. His
elocution is of the highest order, his command of the English lan-
guage seems to be perfect, indeed he plays upon the language as a
skillful performer does upon the keys of the piano. He is one of
the finest mental philosophers of the age, while his mind is stored
EEV. CHARLES WADSWORTH. 95
with knowledge drawn from all possible sources, his imagination is
brilliant. As a preacher, he is a landscape painter of Christianity.
Mr. Beeeher has no model. He is the original of himself He
is always new. He imitates no man and no man can imitate him.
The great power of Jlr. Beeeher over his congregation consists mainly
in the clearness of his mental vision, the range of his thoughts, and
the deep interest he imparts to whatever he touches. He speaks as if
conscious that he is telling the truth, and his audience believes he
thinks so. Mr. Beeeher is emphatically an off-hand man. His mind
is quick and impulsive, and should he never again write a sermon for
delivery he would lose none of his pulpit force. He was never
intended for the straight-jacket, nor the jacket for him. He always
makes the best use of his materials, and he has at command an endless
variety. Mr. Beeeher will always have a large audience, he holds his
own congregation, and draws to his church the traveling public. The
theater for his genius and talents was too circumscribed at Indianap-
olis. The Plymouth Church at Brooklyn, seating its thousands, is
filled to overflowing whenever he preaches. It may be safely said,
that Henry Ward Beeeher is this day among the most popular pulpit
orators of the United States.
REV. CHARLES WADSWORTH.
While on a visit to my brother's in Philadelphia, I attended the
Old-School Presbyterian Church in Arch street. The Rev. Charles
Wadsworth, the pastor, preached. I found the house filled when I
got there. A deacon kindly gave me a seat in front of the pulpit.
Mr. Wadsworth is a small, spare man, of dark complexion, good face,
hair and eyes black, musical voice, but I thought rather careless of
his gestures. His sermon was written, lying before him. He is
near sighted, and his eyes were too much upon the manuscript for
efi'ect.
The organ played, and the choir sang the beautiful hymn —
Rock of apjes, cleft for me !
Let me hide myself in thee,
Let the water iind the blood,
From ihy wounded side which flow'd.
Be of sin tlic perfect cure ;
Save me. Lord ! and make me pure.
Should my tears forever flow,
Should my zoitl no languor know,
This for .sin could not atone,
Thou must save, and thou alone:
In my hand no price I bring;
Simply to tliy cross I cling.
96 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eye-lids close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold thee on thy throne,
Rock of ages cleft for me !
Let me hide myself in thee.
The music was of high order, but I did not think it surpassed that
of the choir of the Second Presbyterian Church at Indianapolis, in
the days of Mr. Beecher.
Mr. Wadsworth pronounced the text in a solemn voice : " For
they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."
I had heard much of Mr. Wadsworth as an eminent, learned
divine. I expected much, and was not disappointed. He commenced
low, but silence reigned. " Can a man violate the laws of nature with
impunity ? Can he expose his body to the elements, at all times, with
safety? Can he take fire in his hand without burning? Can he
step from the steeple's top without falling ? Can he spend his days
and nights in dissipation and feel well ? Can he violate the com-
mandments of God and feel happy ? Let him try it, and he will find
in this life, that he has sown the wind and shall reap the whirlwind.
Think it not strange then, that we preach that those who sow the
wind in time, shall reap the whirlwind in eternity."
ITINERANT rREACIIEIiS. 97
[Wednesday Morntnc, AtJonsT 19, 1867.
ITINERANT PREACHERS.
I SHOULD be false to the history of Early Indiana were I to pass by
in silence the itinerant Methodist preachers who contributed so much
to the establishment of good order, quiet, intelligence, morality and
religion among the first settlers, and without intending to give offense
to others, I venture the remark, that early Indiana, nay, more, Indiana
to-day, owes more to the itinerant Methodist preachers than to all
other religious denominations combined.
Their system carried their churches into every settlement, and where
two or three were gathered together, there was a Methodist preacher
or exhorter in the midst. They were at the bed-side of the dying man
on their knees, and at the grave their voices were heard in Bongs of
praise. Other denominations waited for the people to come up
from the wilderness to worship, while the itinerant Methodist preacher
mounted his horse, and sought out their cabins in the woods, held-
his meetings there, carrying the Gospel, and leaving the Bible and
Hymn Book as he went.
The woods of Indiana were not settled without much sickness,
many deaths and great suffering among the people. Of course we were
too sparsely settled, and our towns too small, to be the subjects of such
awful epidemics as visited New Orleans in the year 1853, the last time
the yellow-fever made its appearance in that devoted city ; when the
waters of the Ohio and Mississippi had almost forsaken their channels,
when at intervals only there might be seen a solitary steamer, loaded
to the guards, with passengers leaving the city, and slowly wending
her way up the crooked channels of the rivers, leaving thousands of
citizens behind to perish ; when the hum of business ceased, and
nothing was heard in the streets but the sound of the lonely hearse
slowly and solemnly bearing to the grave the silent dead ; when the
levees were deserted and Commerce had spread her sails for happier
ports ; and when a Nation's sympathy mingled with her cries of
woe.
While we had none of these awful visitations, there were few
families some members of which were not laid upon the bed of sickness
and death. — Connersville was so sickly that I was advised by my friends
to leave it and fly for my life.' — Indianapolis was no better, indeed its
reputation was still worse, and the whole country was in the hands of
the physicians and nurses.
7
98 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
LORENZO DOW.
In the year 1819 I was one of a congregation assembled in the woods
back of Kising Sun, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lorenzo Dow.
Time passed away, we had all become impatient when in the distance
we saw him approaching at a rapid rate through the trees on his pacing
pony. He rode up to the log on which I was sitting, threw the reins
over the neck of the pony and stepped upon the log, took off his hat,
his hair parted in the middle of his head and flowing on either side to
his shoulders, his beard resting on his breast. In a minute at the top
of his voice he said : " ' Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with
me.' My subject is repentance. We sing, ' while the lamp holds out
to burn, the vilest sinner may retjirn.' That idea has done much harm
and should be received with many grains of allowance. There are
eases where it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a man to repent unto salvation. Let me illustrate :
Do you suppose that the man among you who went out last fall to kill
"his deer and bear for winter meat, and instead killed his neighbor's
hogs, salted them down and is now living on the meat, can repent
while it is unpaid for ? I tell you nay. — Except he restores a just
compensation his attempt at repentance will be the basest hypocrisy.
Except ye repent, truly ye shall all likewise perish." He preached
some thirty minutes. Down he stepped, mounted his pony, and in a
few minutes was moving on through the woods at a rapid pace to meet
another appointment.
SKETCHES OF PREACHERS IN EARLY INDIANA.
I MAT be excused for naming some of the itinerant Methodist
preachers of early times, to whom I allude in the commencement of
this sketch — James Jones, Augustus Jocelyn, John P. Durbin, James
Conwell, John Hardy, Aaron Wood, James Havens, Elijah Whitten,
John Morrow, Thomas Silvey, John Strange, and Allen Wiley. I
had the pleasure of frequently hearing all these eminent preachers.
John Strange had a brilliant imagination, and was a splendid preacher.
Sometimes I thought him a little too high in his thoughts for the
audience he was addressing. He would talk of the " zigzag forked
lightnings playing through the concave vaults of heaven, " and again
of " the cherubim and flaming swords guarding the paradise of God."
I loved to hear him.
Mr. Jocelyn was, at times, one of the ablest sermonizers of the age.
.\t others, he would lose the text, and forget his entire discourse. I
saw him at one time at Centcrville, standing silent before the congre-
SKKTCHES OF PREACHERS IN EARLY INDIANA. 99
gation, his eyes gazing at vacancy. " T am lost — tlio text and the
subject have left me, " and down he sat. A hymn was sung, the meet-
ing was closed, and the congregation retired. On one occasion he
was preaching at Connersville ; I was sitting just before him. He
seemed to preach long. I became uneasy about the fire in my office —
I could not tell why. The moment he closed, I stepped out and saw
the smoke issuing from the windows. I arrived barely in time to save
the building. I t-old him why it was I left so abruptly. He said he
noticed my uneasiness and closed the sermon sooner on my account.
James Jones lived at Rising Sun. He was what might be called a
good, sound old-fashioned preacher, who contributed his aid with all
his power to the cause of morality and religion. I have heard him
often, and was always one of his attentive listeners.
John Hardy and Thomas vSilvey were of the class known as " local
preachers, " though they traveled and preached up and down White-
water at times. They preached directly at the heart, leaving doctrinal
and controversial matters to others ; and yet I have often thought that
they did quite as much good as many others of much higher preten-
sions.
Allen Wiley was a preacher of a diffiirent cast. I have heard him
preach some of the most powerful sermons I ever listened to. He
commenced slow, deliberate, and cautious, feeling his way to the hearts
of his congregation until his feelings would take charge of his tongue,
and then he threw his whole soul into the subject, and closed with
such appeals to the congregation as left few dry eyes at the singing of
the closing hymn.
James Conwell was a zealous preacher, and at times I thought him
strong. His elocution was not very fluent, but his strong common
sense made him very acceptable to his congregations. He did much
good as a co-worker in the cause of morality and religion.
John Morrow was much of the order of Jas. Conwell. He was a
good preacher. I had heard him often, and had but one fault with him ;
he carried no watch, and sometimes, in his zeal, would forget the time
of day. While I was a candidate for Congress, I met Father Morrow
and several other Methodist preachers at Conwell's store, in Decatur
county. They were on their way to Conference. Our horses were
feeding, dinner not ready and we took a short walk to the spring, under
the shade of some spreading elms. Father Morrow proposed that I
should make a speech. The motion was seconded by all the preachers,
and I addressed them for about two hours, with as much sound as if
I had been speaking to thousands. At the close father Morrow
remarked that he liked the speech, but it was a little too long. " Ah,
100 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
father Morrow, I thought it was my last chance to .punish you a little
for what I have suffered under your long sermons." The other preach-
ers smiled, and I was told the remark was like seed sown on good ground.
John P. Durhin was a young, ardent preacher, but as I may notice
him again, I will pass him by and come to James Havens, the Napo-
leon of the Methodist preachers of eastern Indiana. I knew him well.
He seemed to be made for the very work in which he was engaged. He
had a good person, a strong physical formation, expanded lungs, a
clear and powerful voice, reaching to the verge of the camp ground,
the eye of the eagle, and both a moral and personal courage that never
quailed. His powers as a preacher were of a very high order. I never
heard but one man that was like him in his meridian days, and that
was father Newton, who visited this country yeare ago from England,
as the delegate to the American conference. — The great characteristic
of Mr. Havens as a preacher was his good common sense. He could
distinguish his audience so as not to throw his pearls before swine.
He could feed his babes with the "milk of the Word," and hurl the
terrors of the law at old sinners. He seemed to know that old blood
never runs in young veins which so many preachers and presidents
of colleges too often forget. Mr. Havens was one of the most powerful
preachers I ever heard, and I have no hesitation in saying that the
State of Indiana owes him a heavier debt of gratitude, for the efforts of
his long, and valuable life, to form society on the basis of morality,
education and religion, than any other man, living or dead.
Aaron Wood was young as a preacher when I knew him, but he was
of high promise. He had a good mind, a hapjjy elocution, and zeal
without bounds. I thought the last time I heard him. in the Court
House at Connersrille, that his work would soon be over, as he
preached with all his power until he was exhausted and fell into the
arms of a brother. The last time I saw him, however, he was in good
health, with a green old age upon him.
Elijah Whitten was one of the most energetic and ardent preachers
that ever traveled the Whitewater country. He was strong in doctrine,
but I thought his great forte was in exhortation. No man I ever
beard could bring more mourners before the altar, than he could.
He was highly respected as a preacher, and I have no doubt did great
good in his day.
I have now briefly sketched some of our pioneer itinerant Slethodist
preachers. It is intended to be the best portrait I can draw, but still,
no doubt, their relatives and friends may be able to discover many
defects which I have overlooked in my sketch. I hope, however, that
the general physiognomy of each may be recognized.
SCENE BETWEEN BURGESS AND m'dUFFIE. 101
[TlU'RSDAY MOKNINO, AU0U3T 20, 1857.
SCENE BETWEEN BURGESS AND M'DUFFIE.
The House of Representatives had been in session but a few days
after the appoiutiuent of the standing- committees, when Jlr. Mc Duffie,
chairman of Ways and Means, made his report, fully sustaining the
free-trade doctrines of the South, and repudiating protection in all its
phases. The report was read and Mr. Burgess arose and sarcastically
remarked — " I am glad the chairman has taken his cue from the Bos-
ton free-trade report," and sat down. Mr. Mc Duffie sprang to his
feet. " If the gentleman charges me with taking my report from the
Boston free-trade report, I pronounce it false, and call upon the gentle-
man to take back what he has said." The excitement in the House was
intense, when Mr. Burgess was seen rising on the opposite side of the
hall, his bald head, high forehead, and long hooked nose giving prom-
inence to his appearance. The House was as silent as midnight, and
all eyes were turned upon the old man. I can yet see him and hear
his voice. He began in the most subdued manner, in a low tone.
" Mr. Speaker, I rise to take back every word I said about the report
of the Committee of Ways and Means. The chairman says it is false
that he took his report from the Boston free-trade report. He says
he is the author and he is an honorable man. Now a word as to
myself. I beg to assure the House that I was induced to make the
statement by facts before my eyes that I thought at the time war-
ranted the charge ; but the gentleman says it is all false, and he is an
honorable man. The Boston free-trade report was published and sent
to the Members of Congress weeks before the session. I read page
after page of the report of the Committee and find it word for word
with the Boston report. I send to the Clerk these reports and ask
him to read from the marked pages." The Clerk read aloud from the
two, alike in word and letter. As he read the head of Mc Duffie sank
to his breast. The Clerk ceased. Mr. Burgess raised his voice to its
highest pitch, " I take it all back Mr. Speaker, the chairman says it
is false and he is an honorable man," and took his seat amid applause
from the galleries, and deep sensation in the House. Mc Duffie made
no reply and the Speaker proceeded to the business on his table.
GENERAL NOBLE AND MR. CALHOUN.
A FEW days after, I crossed the rotunda and entered the Senate
Chamber. Mr. Calhoun was in the chair and General Noble had the
floor. The subject seemed to be of a personal character and the Gen.
102 EAKLY INDIANA TRIALS.
was alluding to tlie relation tliat existed between Mr. Calhuuu and Mr.
Van Buren and tlieir standing witli Gen. Jackson. As I first caiigbt
the remark of Gen. Noble, " I tell you Mr. President the ' little Magi-
cian ' will spoil your disli with the old hero, he is as cunning as a ser-
pent and as harmless as a dove." " The Senator will confine himself
to the subject." " Which subject? " '• The one before the Senate."
" I am trying to do so. I see but one subject before the Senate, the
other is at the White House." " The Senator will take his seat." " As
I was saying, the little magician — " " The Senator was directed to
take his seat." " So I did, but the Chair did not expect me to sit there
the balance of the session." I have not sketched this scene merely
to show the sensitiveness of Mr. Calhoun at that time on the question
touched by Gen. Noble, nor to show the ready wit. and tact of the
General, but to record the fact that it was early known in political
circles that Mr. Yan Buren was winning his way to a position in the
regards of Gen. Jackson, destructive of the political relations between
the General and 5Ir. Calhoun. The breach between these great leaders,
as is known, became wider and wider, until the President'.'? proclama-
tion and Force bill, directed at Mr. Calhoun and the Southern Nulli-
fiers, was published and widely circulated. Gen. Jackson became
greatly excited, and fixed his eye upon Mr. Calhoun with a determina-
tion to bring the whole force of the Government upon South Carolina,
and Mr. Calhoun, as their leader, at the commission of the first overt
act. James K. Polk told me that he was the first person, one rainy
morning, that entered the audience-room of Gen. Jackson. " I
found the General up, early as it was, walking the room, evidently
under some excitement. ' Good morning, Col.,' said he, ' any overt
acts of Mr. Calhoun yet? ' " It is not my purpose here, to go further
in this matter : that belongs to Mr. Benton's '■ Thirty Years," or the
historian of the times. These are only intended to be sketches.
EXCITING SCENES IN THE HOUSE.
In the progress of the session there arose a most exciting and inter-
esting personal debate between John Kandolph, John C. Wright,
Alexander Smyth, Samuel D. Ingram and James Hamilton, Jr., in
which George Kreemer was at last involved. The powers of John
Randolph are widely known, and need no indorsement by me. The
other gentlemen were not entirely unknown to fame. George Kree-
mer had made himself famous as the author of the Card charging Mr.
Adams and Mr. Clay with a bargain that Mr. Clay should vote for Mr.
Adams for President, in consideration of which Mr. Adams should
EXCITING SCENES IN THE HOUSE. 103
appoint Mr. Clay, Secretary of State, an event the prognostication of
■wliieli was like predicting, as tlie sun sets behind the western hills,
that he will rise in the morning in the cast. It was like the guess of
another wise prognostlcator, that Martin Van Burcn would support
Gen. Jackson after he left Mr. Crawford, and that the General would
appoint him Secretary of State. These appointments grew out of the
nature and fitness of things, and not out of a corrupt bargain, as calum-
niators charged, and yet the charge stuck to Henry Clay through hi.s
whole life and is still like a poisonous miasma hovering over his tomb.
The debate had lasted days, when John C. Wright arose to reply ; he
had already placed himself at the very head of the House as a cool,
collected, pointed, sarcastic debater ; nothing could excite him or throw
him off his balance. As he arose I observed Mr. Randolph rise and
walk down the main isle toward the door. Mr. Wright, in a loud voice,
" I have a word for the gentleman from Virginia, the same gentleman
I now see retreating from the hall of the House." Mr. Randolph, turn-
ing and walking back to his seat, with his shrill voice, " I am not
retreating, I am not retreating." " No, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman
is advancing, I hope he will remain with us, I have much to say to
him to day." In the course of his remarks he was very severe, so
much so at times as to bring down the hammer of the Speaker. While
he was upon Mr. Randolph, Gen. Hamilton, of South Carolina, who
was one of the worshipers of Mr. Randolph, sprang to his feet and at
the top of his voice, under great excitement, " The most infernal tongue
that was ever placed in a man's head, and wholly irresponsible ; chal-
lenge him, and he will swear he can't see the length of his arm." This
idea grew out of the answer of Mr. Wright to the challenge of Romu-
lus M. Saunders — '•! have received your challenge, but can not accept
it ; owing to the imperfection of my vision I could not tell your honor
from a sheep, ten steps." The moment Mr. Wright took his seat,
George Kreemer rose, and with a voice like a newly-woaned mule colt,
" The gentleman reminds me of an old hen I have at home, that is
always cackling and never lays an egg." As flat as this was, there
was, evidently by preconcert, a roar of laughter over the House for the
moment. Mr. Wright rose in an instant. " I rise, Mr. Speaker, to a
point of order. I wish to learn from the Chair whether it would be in
order to read the record of an indictment for perjury which I hold in
my hand, against one George Kreemer?" The Speaker, much excited
— " Certainly not, certainly not." " I only asked for information, I
have no disposition to violate the rules of the House." The excite-
ment had now become intense. The House adjourned. Mr. Wright
and Mr. Vaughan, the British Minister, started down the Avenue arm
104 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
in arm ; when near Third street some one pushed them off the pave-
ment into the gutter. Mr. Vaughan always went well armed, and
turning his eye to Mr. Wright, " Who was that? " " Never mind it ;
he is an aggrieved member of Congress." The moment the House
met the next morning Mr. Kreemer rose to a matter personal to him-
self, stated the facts connected with the prosecution against him, showed
that he was acquitted, and had been twice elected to Congress from
his district afterward. The matter was passed by, and the House
proceeded to business.
I may spend a day of leisure in the Supreme Court of the United
States, with my next sketch.
COL. CROCKETT, ETC. 105
[Friday Morning, Augpst 27, 1857.
COL. CROCKETT.
There has been mucli said and written of Col. David Crockett,
who was a member of the twentieth Congress. He has been repre-
sented as an unlettered, uncouth, and ignorant man — a mere back-
woods buffoon. I knew the Colonel well. He was a large, muscular
man, with great bodily strength, and as brave a man as ever lived.
He was comparatively without education, it is true, but his strong
common sense gave him an efficiency greater than many of the higher
class of members could boast. The Colonel had a newspaper con-
troversy with his colleague, Col. Prior Lee, that became very bitter,
and I believe, ended in a challenge on the part of Mr. Lee. But no
duel followed, as Col. Crockett told me he was on principle opposed
to settling controversies in that way. The gallant Colonel and his
comrades afterward fell, covered with wounds, overpowered by superior
numbers, at the battle or massacre of the Alamo, by the Mexicans
under Santa Anna, while bravely fighting for the independence of
Texas.
NORTH CAROLINA INTELLIGENCE.
There arose a personal debate during the session, between Judge
Dorsey, of Maryland, and Samuel P. Carson, of North Carolina,
which became highly interesting to the House, as it was carried on
with the utmost good humor on both sides. It was evident, however,
that Judge Dorsey had decidedly the advantage of his North Carolina
competitor. The debate ultimately turned upon the comparative
intelligence of the constituents of these gentlemen. Mr. Carson
had charged the people of the eastern shore of Maryland with igno
ranee of the history of the country, owing to their inability to read
or write, and closed with a most ludicrous account of the subserviency
of the Marylanders to the supposed great men of the country. The
good humor of the House seemed to be on the side of North Carolina,
when Judge Dorsey rose to reply, his face covered with fun. John
Leeds Kerr, afterward United States Senator, whispered in my ear,
" Dorsey can say funny things." I give a sketch of his speech from
recollection. " The gentleman says my constituents are ignorant and
illiterate ; I will not retort upon those who sent him here, but relate
a few facts and leave the House to judge between us. Dates are im-
portant. The late war was declared in 1812, and the British army
ingloriously burned the capitol in 1814, to the lasting disgrace of that
106 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
nation. The whole scene was immediately published in the National
Intelligencer, and copied into every paper in the United States. The
war was over and peace restored by the treaty of Ghent. Just ten
years after the burning of the Capitol, my business took nie into the
gentleman's district. I was approaching the principal town, when I
heard the sound of a fife and drum emerging from a yellow-pine
woods near the town, where they were making tar and turpentine. I
saw before me the waving plume and marching, with quick step, of a
regiment of men, the stars and stripes borne aloft, with the motto
' North Carolina now and forever,' in large letters. I rode directly
up to the principal hotel, kept by a landlord that evidently lived well,
and knew how to entertain his guests if he was pleased with their
standing. The moment I was seated on the porch he addressed me.
' Have you heard the news ? ' ' What news ? ' ' Why the British
have burned the Capitol and our army is moving forward as you see to
meet the enemy.' ' When did you get the news ? ' ' We got it
last night abut seven o'clock. That you may understand how this
happened — just before the last war we held a great public meeting to
give information to the people. It was found that there was but one
man in the county that could read. He was elected county reader.
We had no newspaper. We then voted to take the National Intelligen-
cer, and that every Saturday afternoon the paper should be publicly
read, beginning at the first page and reading it regularly through,
advertisements and all ; since then our reader has kept constantly at
it every Saturday afternoon. Last night he read the burning of the
Capitol by the British. We at once flew to arms. The old Revolution-
ary spirit is completely aroused.' Dinner was announced and I took
my seat at the head of the table, when out sprang my landlord and in
a moment announced that the President of the United States was
approaching in a coach and four with out-riders, and sure enough up
drove the coach with four splendid grays, and out-riders in full livery.
The distinguished personage stepped from the coach, and was bowed
into the parlor by my landlord, hat in hand. Curiosity led me to
place one ear to the opening. The landlord bowing to the floor —
'The President of the United States, I presume.' 'Not exactly.'
' The Secretary of State ? ' ' Not exactly.' ' The Secretary of War ? '
' Not exactly.' ' The Secretary of the Navy ? ' ' Not exactly.'
' The Governor of North Carolina ? ' ' Not exactly.' ' Joseph Gales,
the editor of the National Intelligencer ? ' ' Not exactly.' Then
raising his voice and stamping his foot angrily on the floor, ' Who
in the thunder are you ? ' ' I am a merchant tailor from Wash-
ington City, and have come here to collect some bills.' ' You
CORWIN AND JENNIFEK. 107
can pass on, I have no room for you.' " The Judge closed amid thun-
ders of applause, his triumph was complete. Mr. Carson laughed
heartily, and the matter ended in the best of personal feelings.
CORWIN AND JENNIFER.
The above reminiscence induces me here, lest I forget it, to sketch
a somewhat similar contest between Daniel Jennifer, of the eastern
shore of Maryland, and Thomas Corwin of Ohio, in after years, in
which the Marylander met an opponent of different metal and came
off second best. It was at a social party. All was fun and hilarity.
Mr. Jennifer was a man of decided talents ; was many years a repre-
sentative in Congress from his district, and was ultimately sent abroad
by the Government as a first-class minister plenipotentiary. He was
full of wit and sarcasm and used them without mercy when an oppor-
tunity offered. That evening he was unusually severe. At length he
singled out Mr. Corwin and the State of Ohio for his remarks, con-
trasting Mar3dand and its intelligence, with Ohio and her ignorance,
not forgetting the fine oysters of the Eastern Shore and the " canvas
backs " of the Chesapeake. When the opportunity offered, Gov. Cor-
win remarked that he had no speech to make but he would relate a
circumstance that occurred some years ago in the District Court of
the United States of Ohio, at Columbus. A Revolutionary soldier
made application to the court for pension papers, and introduced an
old man as his witness to prove the services. The witness testified
that the services were performed, that he served in the same company
in the same regiment in the Maryland line. The proof seemed com-
plete. The judge was satisfied. The certificate was about to be
ordered, when the judge asked the witness how old he was. " I am
just thirty-five years old." "What do you say?" "I am just
thirty-five years old." "And you swear that you served in the
Maryland line in the Revolutionary War?" " I do." " Marshall, take
the witness into custody ; District Attorney, prefer a bill of indictment
against the witness for perjury in open court." " Stop, Judge, don't
be too fast, let me explain." " There can be no explanation, take him
to jail." " But, Judge, just hold a moment, I can explain to your
satisfaction if you will let me." " What have you to say?" " I was
born and lived on the eastern shore of Maryland until I was forty
years of age ; I lived so poor, and it was so hard to get along there,
that I never count them forty years at all. I came to the State of
Ohio thirty-five years ago ; I have lived so well, and it has been so
easy to make a living since, that I am willing to account for the
108 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
thirty-five years that I have lived in Ohio. Is not this explanation
satisfactory, Judge ? " " Perfectly. The prisoner is discharged."
All eyes were upon Mr. Jennifer, who looked as if he was satisfied
too, with the reply of the Governor.
FIRST SPEECH IN CONGRESS.
For many years one of the most important subjects for Indiana had
been the construction of the Cumberland road, starting at Cumberland
in Maryland, and running west through Wheeling, Columbus, Indian-
apolis and Springfield, Illinois, to St. Louis, its terminus. Congress
dealt out appropriations with a sparing hand annually, so as barely to
keep the work alive, but not sufiicient to prosecute it vigorously. The
main business of the Indiana delegation was to secure the annual
appropriation. Governor Jennings being the oldest member from the
State, was looked to by Col. Blake and myself to lead in support of the
Bill, and in reply to the opposition. The bill apportioning §100, 000
to the work, had been introduced and referred to the committee
of the whole. The House went into committee, the bill was called up,
Philip P. Barbour, of Virginia, one of the strongest men in the House,
rose and went into a long constitutional argument to prove that the
general government had no power to make appropriations to construct
the work. " I am in favor of a strict construction of the Constitution ;
I contend that Congress can do no act not expressly authorized by the
letter of the Constitution." His speech was able, and we greatly feared
its effect upon our favorite measure. My colleagues were not disposed
to speak ; I had not spoken, I felt much reluctance to speaking, but
duty seemed to require it. I got the floor for next day. The com-
mittee arose, and the House adjourned. I was in for my first speech
in Congress. I passed a sleepless night. I concluded to back out.
By daylight I was up walking the pavement before my boarding-house,
when the newiiboy handed me the National Intelligencer, wet from
the press. I opened the paper, glanced over the congressional pro-
ceedings, looked under the editorial head, when oh ! hoiTor of horrors !
there it was, " The Hon. Oliver H. Smith will address the committee
to-day, in reply to the Hon. Philip P. Barbour, on constitutional
powers." Here I was ; there was no backing out without disgrace.
I could eat no breakfast. The hour arrived. The House was crowded.
Mr. Barbour was seated before me. My friends were around me to
give me courage. I grew more bold as I advanced, and never to
this day did I feel when L closed a two hours' speech, that I had done
myself more justice. The bill was passed by a large majority.
THE REV. GEORGE G. COOKMAN. 109
[Saturday Morning, Augpst 22, 1857.
THE REV. GEORGE G. COOKMAN.
It was Sabbatli morning. The last of the city church-bells was ring-
ing as I left my boarding-house on Capitol Hill, at Washington city,
for Wesley Chapel. It was quarterly meeting. The preacher had
closed his sermon, when there arose at the desk, a slender, spare man,
about five feet eight, dark complexion, black hair falling carelessly
over his high forehead, lean bony face, wide mouth, round-breasted
black coat, with velvet fiilling collar, black vest and pantaloons. Addres-
sing the congregation he said, — " We desire to take up a small collec-
tion for the relief of destitute, worn-out Methodist preachers and their
families. We appeal to-day to the hearts of the congregation," and
took his seat. A large collection followed. I whispered to Patrick
G. Good, of Ohio, who sat by me, " Who is that ? " " Don't you know
him ? It is George G. Cookman." The next Sabbath I was at the
chapel again. Mr. Cookman preached. I returned satisfied that ho
was no ordinary man. The election for Chaplain of the Senate came
on a few days after, and without the knowledge of Mr. Cookman, I
privately suggested his name to the Senators around me.' The most
of them had heard him preach. He was elected Chaplain by a decided
vote over the Rev. Henry Slicer, against whom there was not the least
objection; but we wanted to bring Mr. Cookman more prominently
before the public. The next Sabbath he preached his first sermon in
the hall of the House, to a very large congregation, from the text " The
sword of the Lord and of Gideon." He made a profound impression
on his hearers that day, which seemed to increase with every succeed-
ing sermon.
It is not my purpose to sketch the many sermons of Blr. Cookman
during the time he was chaplain of the Senate, the most of which I
heard. He was a clear, distinct, and powerful preacher. The remark-
able clearness of his mental vision enabled him to see and describe
whatever he touched so as almost to make Paul, Silas, Peter, 3Iark,
and John stand before you as he named them. His tone of voice, as
he warmed with his subject, and the tear stealing down his cheek,
were irresistible. As a pulpit orator, take him all in all, he had few
equals, and no supei-iors, that I ever heard. There was no place for a
choir where Cookman sang. His voice was melody itself. I heard
him in the Senate Chamber on the funeral occasion of Senator Betts,
of Connecticut. The Chamber was crowded. The President, Depart-
ments, foreign Ministers, Senators and Representatives were there. I'
distinctly recollect one of his figures of speech. " As the human
110 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
family come upon the great stage of life, tliey find at every fork of
the road the finger-board distinctly pointing to the grave — to the
grave ! There is no other road to travel from infancy to old age and
death but the road that leads to the grave." There was Dot a dry eye
in the Chamber when he closed his sermon of one hour, and sang alone
the first verse of the hymn —
And must this body die ? —
This mortal frame decay ?
And must these active limbs of mine
Lie mouldering in the clay ?
God my Redeemer, lives,
And often from the skies
Looks down and watches all my dust, —
Till he shall bid it rise.
Arrayed in glorious grace.
Shall these vile bodies shine;
And every shape, and every face,
Look heavenly and divine.
These lively hopes we owe
To Jesus' dying love;
We would adore his grace below,
And sing his power above.
Dear Lord ! accept the praise
Of these our humble songs;
Till tunes of nobler sound we raise.
With our immortal tongues.
The session of Congress was about to close upon the administration
of Mr. Van Buren. The inauguration af Gen. Harrison was soon to
take place. Mr. Cookman had all his arrangements made to visit
England on the steamer President. The first dispatch from the new
administration was to be confided to his charge. The next iSabbath
he was to take leave of the Members of Congress in his farewell sermon.
The day came. An hour before the usual time the crowd was seen
filling the pavements of the Avenue, and pressing up the hill to Repre-
sentative Hall, which was soon filled to overflowing, and hundreds
unable to get seats went away disappointed. I obtained a seat early
in front of the clerk's desk. John Quincy Adams sat in the Speaker's
chair, facing Mr. Cookman. The whole space on the rostrum and
steps was filled with Senators and Representatives. The moment had
come. Mr. Cookman, evidently much afi"eeted, kneeled in a thrilling
prayer, and rose with his eyes blinded with tears. His voice faltered
with suppressed emotions, as he gave out the hymn —
When marshalled on tjie nightly plain,
The glittering host bestud the sky;
One star alone, of all the train.
Can fix the sinner's wandering eye.
THE EEV. GEORGE G. COOKMAN. Ill
Hark ! hark ! — to God the chorus breaks,
From every host, from every gem ;
But one alone the Savior speaks, —
It is the Star of Bethlehem.
Once on the raging seas I rode,
The storm vras loud, the night was dark, —
The ocean yawned — and rudely blowed
The wind that tossed my foundering bark.
Deep horror then my vitals froze,
Death-struck, I ceased the tide to stem; —
When suddenly a star arose, —
It was the star of Bethlehem.
It was my guide, my light, my all;
It bade my dark forebodings cease;
And through the storm, and danger's thrall,
It led me to the port of peace.
Now safely moored — my perils o'er,
I'll sing, first in night's diadem.
For ever and for evermore.
The Star — the Star of Bethlehem !
The hjmn was sung by Mr. Cookman alone. I can yet in imagi-
nation hear his voice, as it filled the large hall, and the last sounds,
with their echoes, died away in the dome.
■' And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was no place
for them.
" And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the
books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the hook
of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works."
Mr. Cookman was more affected when he gave us the text, than I
had ever seen him before. He several times passed his handkerchief
over his eyes before he began. The first sentences are fresh in my
recollection. '■ When Massillon, one of the greatest divines that France
ever knew, wa.s- called to preach the funeral sermon of the departed
Monarch in the Cathedral at Paris, before the reigning King, the
royal family, the chambers, and the grandees of France, he took with
him to the sacred desk a little golden urn, containing a lock of hair
of the late King. The immense congregation was seated, and the
silence of death reigned. Massillon arose, holding the little urn in
his fingers, his hand resting upon the sacred cushion. All eyes were
intently fixed upon him. Moments, minutes passed; JIassillon stood
motionless, pale as a statue ; the feeling became intense ; many believed
he was struck dumb before the asgust assembly ; many sighed and
112 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
groaned aloud ; many eyes were suffused with tears, wlien the hand
of Blassillon was seen slowly raising the little golden urn, his eyes
fixed upon the King, as the hand was returned to the sacred cushion
the loud and solemn voice of Massillon was heard in every part of
the Cathedral, ' God alone is great !' So I say to you, to-day, my
beloved hearers, there is no human greatness, ' God alone is great.' "
The subject was the Day of Judgment. I had heard it preached before
many times, but never as I heard it then. The immense congregation
was held almost breathless with the most beautiful, sublime and power-
ful sermon I ever heard. He spoke of the final separation in the
great day of judgment, and fancied the angel of the Lord locking the
door that opened to the bottomless pit, stepping upon the ramparts,
letting fall the key into the abyss below, and dropping the last tear
over fallen and condemned man. He closed, " I go to the land of mj
birth, to press once more to my heart my aged mother and drop a tear
on the grave of my sainted father. Farewell, farewell." And he sank
overpowered to his seat, while the whole congregation responded with
sympathizing tears.
General Harrison had been inaugurated. The dispatches for the
British Government were signed by Mr. Webster and delivered to BIr.
Cookman. He took leave of his friends at Washington, and left for
New York. As we parted his last words were, " May heaven bless
you, Mr. Smith: if ever I return you shall see me in the West.''
A few days afterward there was seen passing Governor's Island the
splendid new steamer " President," on her outward trip to Liverpool,
with Mr. Cookman, Tyrone Powers, and a long list of other distin-
guished passengers on board. The flying steamer had left the light-
house far behind and moved gallantly on toward the open Atlantic,
with prospects of as speedy and safe a voyage as any vessel that ever
crossed the Ocean. Night was coming on. The clouds in the heav-
ens portended a storm. The winds blew and howled a dreadful hurri-
cane. The ill-fated vessel was seen late in the evening, struggling
with fate — now lying in the trough of the sea, now on the top of the
mountain wave, now upon her side, and again plunging, as it were,
into the abyss below. •
" The storm was loud, the night was dark.
The Ocean yawned, and rudely blowed
The wind that tossed my foundering bark."
Morning came. The sun rose on an open sea. — The " President,"
with all on board, had gone down, and was never heard of more. —
Thus perished, ere he had reached the meridian of life, one of the
eminent divines of our country.
citizens' meeting at masonic hall. 113
[Wedxespat Morning, August 20, 1857.
CITIZENS' MEETING AT MASONIC HALL.
On Jloudiiy evciiiiig 3r;isoiiie Hall was filled with our enterprising
prominent citizens to hear the address of the Hon. 0. H. Smith, of
which public notice had been given. James Blake, Esq., was called
to the chair. Mr. Smith being loudly called for, came forward and
took the stand. He said that he had been very unwell through the
day, and under other circumstances would not attempt to speak ; but
his friends had come out to hear him, and he could not think of dis-
appointing them. Mr. S. addressed the large audience near two hours.
At first his voice was weak, but rose with the subject, as he progressed,
until he filled tlie large hall distinctly. We do not propose to do more
than give to our readers, very briefly, the ideas embodied in the speech,
as we took no notes at the time.
He spoke of the State of Indiana ; compared her condition now
with what it was when he came to the State, in 1817, when she
had a population of 65,000 souls ; when the most of her territory
was a wilderness ; when her population was scattered sparsely over
only a portion of the State ; when the seat of government was
located a hundred miles south ; when there was not a mile of turn-
pike, railroad, or canal in the State ; when the Indian paths were
the only traveled road by the single horse and his rider ; when
there was no commerce in the State beyond the small retailer : when
Cincinnati was the emporium of trade for all Eastern and Central
Indiana, and the people of our State, and their trade and products were
tributary to the growth, wealth and prosperity of cities beyond the
State. He spoke of the quality of the soil, the mineral wealth, the
pure water, the healthy climate of the State. He said that the popu-
lation of the State was already fully one million and a half, and
would reach ten millions. That the State was yet to be one of the
most densely populated of any portion of the world, that its pro-
ductiveness is inexhaustible, and where the food is there will be
the mouths to eat it. He compared it with Asia Minor, Palestine
and Africa, and showed why it was that those countries were so
sparsely populated. It was because of the sterility and barrenness
of the soil, and not the unhealthiness of the climate. He contrasted
Indiana now, with what she is destined to be, if the people are true
to themselves. He spoke of the location of Indianapolis, in the
geographical center of the State, to be for all time the seat of
Government. He had seen the site of the city when it was an
unbroken forest. He contrasted the village as it sprung up in the
114 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
woods with the eity now containing twenty-five thousand inhabitants,
the spires of its twenty-seven churches pointing to the clouds, its
■wide streets, its public and private edifices, its colleges and semina-
ries of learning, its high and graded schools, its common ward-
schools. He said if he had never done any thing else worth remember-
ing, he should ever feel happy for being instrumental in establish-
ing our ward-school system in the City Charter, that he viewed it
as the great preservative feature in our social system, as the basis of
our educational policy, that would prove a lasting blessing to the
rising generation. He said much had been done in our educational
and religious departments of society, and in that respect we were
appreciated at home and abroad. Thousands would make Indianapolis
their home now, who would not do so but for the advantages of educa-
ting their children at one of our fine male and female schools, and
of attending the churches of their choice.
He spoke much and at length upon the great advantages of
Indianapolis, in point of location, as a commercial and manufactur-
ing city. The time was when she was inland, with no prospect
of rivaling the cities located on navigable waters, but that time had
gone by. Propelling power of steam on land, had revolutionized the
channels of Commerce, and our capital now stood at the very center
of her attractions, as the hub of the wheel, with the railroad spokes
pointing to the circle, including the whole field of Western produc-
tion, consumption, and demand. He urged upon the citizens to feel
rather thankful, than proud, of their position ; that while ours was
the capital of the State, every citizen of the State was interested in
her prosperity, that every other city, town, and village of the State
daily contributes to the growth and prosperity of our city, and their
citizens should be held, as even ourselves when among us, nor should
any invidious comparisons be drawn between the growth and pros-
perity of the capital and any other city in the State. We are ail inter-
ested in the welfare of each other. He said he had no doubt but
that Indianapolis would yet be among the largest inland cities of
the United States, commanding an immense inland commerce ; that
Bhe is surrounded by one of the best countries on the globe, with
rich mineral, coal, rock, iron, fire-clay, timber and hydraulic power
inexhaustible. He pointed to the great facilities to make Indianapolis
one of the first manufacturing cities of the United States. The con-
centration of railroads, and consequent radiation through the "\' alley
of the Mississippi, must give a demand equal to any supply. He
spoke of Indianapolis being one of the best points in the United
States for the first-class wholesale jobbing-houses. One or two such
citizens' meeting at masonic hall. 115
houses might do a fair business, but fifty would do a hundred times
as much. The whole country penetrated by our flying trains must
learn that they are throwing away both time and money, by passing
our wholesale dealers to visit Pjastern cities ; and that time will never
come until the supply here is equal to a fair demand, and the prices
shall be as low as Eastern prices, with the cost of transportation from
the Atlantic cities. He alluded to the importance of sustaining our
■ city mechanics and manufacturers ; spoke strongly against the prac-
tice of moneyed men refusing accommodations to struggling mechanics
and manufacturers, upon good and safe security, urged the necessity
of concentrated energy, and good feeling, to the common purposes
of aiding in the course essential to the prosperity of the city. He
spoke highly of the Board of Trade, and the course of its President
and leading members, and trusted that they would be sustained in
their laudable object of making Indianapolis known to the country,
with the advantages of her position. He appealed to the business
■len of the city to establish themselves at once upon principles
of the sti-ictest integrity and faith with their customers. Let the
price to the child be the price to the adult ; have but one price for
the article to all. Reputation to the dealer is as valuable as to the
divine. Let it once be understood that Indianapolis dealers are
honest in every particular and they will draw to them the surround-
ing country. The reputation of the Philadelphia merchants, for
fair dealing, has thrown upon them millions of dollars that would
otherwise never have reached that city. He noticed the article
that appeared in the Senlinel in the morning; said the author left
his tracks behind ; he was an old fogy that never voluntarily paid a
dollar toward the prosperity of the city.
Mr. S. closed by urging all to unite with the Board of Trade in
the good work in which they were engaged. He was frequently
applauded by the audience during the address.
116 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
[Wedxesday Morxixg, August 26, 1857.
EARLY CONDITION OF INDIANA.
While my mind is on Indiana, the reader will excuse me for defer-
ring my sketches of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the
Supreme Court and other matters at Washington, to a more convenient
season. And, as these sketches seem to he looked upon as a part of the
history of early Indiana, while I make no such pretensions, and refer
the public to the authentic history of the State by my valued friend
John B. Dillon, Esq., State historian, I may be excused for stating
some matters that will be only interesting to the citizens of our State
who would like to compare Indiana as she was, with Indiana as she is.
I shall not even attempt the comparison, but leave the reader to make
it for himself.
At the time I came to the State in March, 1817, there was not a rail-
road in the United States, nor a canal west of the Alleghany mountains.
The telegraph had not been discovered, fire was struck by the flint and
steel, the falling spark was caught in "punk" taken from the knots
of the hickory tree. — There was not a foot of turnpike road in the
State, and plank roads had never been heard of; the girdled standing
trees covering the cultivated fields, the shovel-plow the only cultivator,
no roads west of Whitewater, not a bridge in the State ; the traveling
a,ll done on horseback, the husband mounted before on the saddle,
with from one to three of the youngest children in his arms — the wife,
■with a spread cover reaching to the tail of the hoi'se, seated behind,
with the balance of the children unable to walk in her lap. We young
gentlemen retained the luxury of a single horse ; not a carriage nor
buggy in all the country. After some years Mr. Lovejoy brought a
buggy without a top, to Connersville, from New England. I borrowed
it to ride to Wayne county, but I gave up the buggy and took my
horse, for fear the people would think me proud, and it would injure
my election to Congress.
The finest farms around Connersville, in one of the most beautiful
countries in the world, cleared, with orchards and common buildings,
were S5 to $10 per acre. I bought the fine farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, adjoining Connersville, the same now the residence of my
friend Hon. Samuel W. Parker, of John Adair, of Brookville, for 89
per acre, in three annual installments without interest. The brick two-
story dwelling in which I lived when I was elected to Congress, in the
heart of Connersville, twenty-six feet front, well finished, with back
kitchen, lot 26 by 180, good stable, I bought of Sydnor Dale for 8325,
— which was considered a high price at the time. The excellent farm
A BRAVE IXDIAX, KTC. 117
over the river one mile below town, in 1S2S, I bought of William Den-
man for $5 per acre, in payments. There was very little money in
the country, and produce was equally low in proportion. I bought
the finest qualities of stall-fed beef, and corn-fed hogs, for family use,
at a cent and a half per pound ; corn ten cents, wheat twenty-five
cents per bushel, wood delivered and cut short at the door at a dollar
per cord; boarding at common houses, with lodging, from a dollar to
two dollars a week, and at the very best hotels two dollars and a half.
The first year I traveled the circuit, my fees fell short of two hundred
dollars ; and the second, when they increased to three hundi'ed, I felt
as safe as a Stephen Girard. All my wants were supplied, I owed
nothing, and had money in my pocket. — No white man had settled
more than five miles west of Connersville at that time.
A BRAVE INDIAN.
The country from Williams Creek, in Fayette, to the Wabash, one
hundred and twenty-five miles, was a wilderness, in the possession of
the wandering tribes of Indians. Connersville was filled with them
every day. Among them was a warrior they called John, a great
talker, telling the most miraculous stories of what he had done — in
killing bears single-handed and without arms. I informed another
Indian what John had told me. " My brother John pretty much lie
— he great coward."
It so happened that John's courage was tested that night, just at
twilight. The town was aroused by the cry of " bear, " and sure
enough along Main street came loping on one of the largest black bears
I have ever seen, pursued by a crowd of men and dogs. He had been
started out of the wet, bushy prairie north of town. He came to Cross
street, turned square off to the east in the direction of the river, where
several of us were standing, with Indian John close by. The moment
John saw him he came running to our company, greatly alarmed,
crying at the top of his voice — " Bear bite hard — kill Indian quick, "
and slid into our center. On came the bear. — Just before he reached
us one of our company, who had a rifle, shot him in the head. He
rolled over, stretched himself out with a growl and died. His hide
was soon off. and nest morning at breakfast the whole town was feasting
on bear meat.
THE LAWYERS OF EARLY INDIANA.
Our lawyers were what the world ^alls self-made men — meaning men
who have not had the advantages of rich fathers, and early education.
118 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
to wliom the higlier seminaries and colleges were sealed books.
Men gifted by nature with strong, vigorous, clear intellects, fine health,
and sound constitutions. Men who, like the newly-hatched swan,
were directed by nature to their proper elements, their proper profes-
sion. Few of them failed of success. Necessity urged to action.
With most of them it was '■ root or die." In ninety-nine cases out of
every hundred of the failures in the different professions and avocations
in life, charged by the world to '■ bad luck, '' it is nothing more nor
less than the selection of a profession, avocation or business that
nature never intended you for. The smallest teal, or duck, that swims
on the bosom of the Chesapeake Bay, would sink and drown in that
element the best-blooded and finest game-cock that ever old Virginia
produced in her most chivalric days ; while in the cockpit the teal, or
duck, would be nowhere in the fight. Our counties furnished too little
business for the resident attorneys ; we all looked to a circuit practice.
Some rode the whole circuit, and others over but few counties.
We sometimes had a little sparring in our cases in trials, but it ended
there, and we stood banded together like brothers. At the Eush Cir-
cuit Court my friend Judge Perry bargained for a pony for twenty-
five dollars, to be delivered the next day, on a credit of six months.
The man came vv'ith the pony, but required security of the Judge for
the twenty-five dollars. The Judge drew the note at the top of a
sheet of foolscap, and signed it. I signed it ; James Rariden signed
it and passed it on, and on it went from lawyer to lawyer around the
bar, till some twenty of us had signed it. I then handed it up to the
Court, and the three judges put their names to it. Judge Perry pre-
sented it to the man he had bought the pony of, but he promptly
refused to receive it. " Do you think I am a fool, to let you get the
Court and all the lawyers on your side ? I see you intend to cheat
me out of my pony." Up he jumped and ran out of the court-
house, mounted the pony and started for home at full gallop.
The great variety of trials and incidents on the circuit gave to the
life of a traveling attorney an interest that we all relished exceedingly.
There was none of the green-bag city monotony, no dyspepsia, no
gout, no ennui, rheumatism or neuralgia: consumption was a stranger
among us. An occasional jump of the toothache, relieved by the
turnkey of the first doctor we came to, was the worst. All was fun,
good humor, fine jokes well received, good appetites and sound sleep-
ing, cheerful landlords and good-natured landladies at the head of the
table. We rode first-class horses ; Gen. Noble on " Wrangler," for
which he gave $60; Drew on "Drew Gray," cost $70; Caswell on
"Blue Dick," cost .?65; Eariden on "Old Gray," cost §80; John
DOG AND DAMAGES. 119
Test on " Bay Filly," cost 650 ; Gen. McKinney on " McKinney
Roan," cost S45 ; David Wallace on " Ball," cost $40 ; Amos Lane on
" Big Sorrel," cost §60 ; Judge Eggleston on " Indian Pony," cost
S35 ; George H. Dunn on " Dancing Rabbit," cost $40 ; James B.
Ray on " Red Jacket," cost §60 ; Martin M. Ray on " John," coat
835 ; William R. Morris on " Jacob," cost ?50 ; Charles H. Test on
" Archie," cost ?40 ; John S. Newman on " Clay Bank," cost §60,
and I rode " Grey Pox," that cost me $90. These were the highest
prices at that day for the very best traveling horses in the country.
They were trained to the cross-pole mud roads, and to swimming.
Our attorneys were ready, off-hand practitioners, seldom at fault for
the occasion. Sometimes we had to meet attorneys from other States,
who would fling in the Latin and technical terms with a triumphant
air, but in most cases they were foiled by the quick retorts of our bar.
DOG AND DAMAGES.
On one occasion an action on the case had been brought by a learned
attorney from Ohio, by the name of Crouch, against an old widow lady
— damages claimed twenty dollars. It appeared in evidence that the
old lady had a beautiful daughter that the defendant was paying his
suit to. One dark night the plaintiff put on his new white Irish-linen
suit, fine ruffled shirt, with silk gloves, white stockings and morocco
shoes ; cane in hand he stepped up to the house of the old lady and
rapped at the door. At that moment a large St. Bernard dog belong-
ing to the old lady sprang around the corner of the house and jumped
at the lover with a growl. The young man, frightened almost out of
his moroccos, left the door in an instant and ran into a large mud-hole
a few rods off, of the existence of whioli he had no knowledge, and
fell prostrate, covering himself all over with dirty water, and leaving
the shape of his body in the mud.
The question before the advocates was as to the liability of the old
lady for the damages done to the dandy's clothes. The learned Ohio
lawyer opened for the plaintiff, and contended that the case came strictly
with the principles of " Qui fecit per alium, fecit per se." Mr. Caswell,
for the old lady, denied the position, and urged upon the Court that
the case was governed by the principles of" Damnum absque injuria."
The Court held the case over till morning. Judge Harlan. — " The
Court is of the opinion that this is not a case of ' Qui fecit per alium,'
but comes within the principles of ' Damnum absque injuria,' which,
if the Court understands herself, is a damnahje injury; but as the old
lady was in no way to blame, the judgment is given for the defendant."
120 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Thursday Morning, September 3, 1857.
A POLITICAL LIBEL SUIT--WHAT IT COSTS TO
CALL A MAN A "FEDERALIST."
In early times tliere was tried in the Franklin Circuit Court an
action for libel, of some importance to the reading politicians of the
country, and especially to those who have some recollection of the
great political contest between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
for President. I call the parties to the suit, Joshua Harlan, plaintiff,
and John Allen, defendant. Judge Sparks was at the time Presi-
dent Judge, but was not on the bench until after the verdict was
returned. The case was tried before the Associates. General James
Noble was counsel for the plaintiffs, and John Test for the defendant.
The declaration set out the libel at length. The only part necessary
to notice here read, " ' Joshua Harlan is an old federalist, ' by the
publishing of which false, scandalous and defamatory libel, the plain-
tiff has been brought into public disgrace, and his neighbors have
since refused to have any intercourse with him." The counsel for
the defendant filed a general demurrer to the declaration, insisting
that the paper was not a libel, if proved ; that it was not action-
able to call a man a " Federalist." The Coui't stopped Gen. Noble,
and held that they would submit the whole matter to the jury, who
were the judges of the law as well as of the fact. Demurrer over-
ruled ; plea of " not guilty " filed, and a jury impanneled with
great difficulty, after exhausting the regular panel, and setting aside
some scores of talesmen for cause, upon their answer to the question
dictated from the bench, " Have you formed or expressed any opinion
whether it is slander to call a man a Federalist ! " The jury were
sworn and put in charge of a sworn officer, with instructions by the
Court to suffer no one to speak to them, nor even to talk among them-
selves until they had heard the evidence and charge of the Court, as
the case was one of great importance. Court met in the morning;
motions dispensed with ; the court-house crowded with a deeply excited
audience ; looks of compassion directed to the plaintiff, who sat by
the side of Gen. Noble, his counsel, and of indignation and contempt
for the defendant, who was seated by his counsel on the opposite side
of the table. It was evident that the audience were all on one side,
and as jurors generally sympathize with the outsiders in feelings, the
result was easily anticipated. But under the rulings of the associates
the case had to be proved to the satisfaction of the jury. General
Noble. — " The plaintiff's witnesses will stand up and be sworn." Some
thirty rose from a long bench, looking very much like the men that
A rOLITICAL LIBEL SUIT. 121
composed Falstaff's company. Witnesses sworn. " We will examine
Mr. Herndon first." Herndon a man about seventy years of age,
raised in the woods of Kentucky, who came to the Territory of Indiana
before the army under Gen. George Roger Clark marched upon Post
Vinceut, took the witness-stand. Gen Noble. — " Mr. Herndon, do you
consider it libelous and slanderous to call a man a Federalist ? " "I
do." " Which would you rather a man would call you, a ' Federalist '
or a ' horse-thief? ' " "I would shoot him if he called me one or the
other," turning his eyes with much feeling on the defendant. " You
have not answered the question." " I would rather be called any thing
under the heavens than a Federalist." " What damages would you
say the defendant should pay for this libel in calling the plaintiff a
Federalist ? " " I would say a thousand dollars, at least." " Take the
witness." Judge Test. — " Mr. Herndon what do you understand by a
Federalist? " '■ My understanding is that it means a tory, an enemy
to his country." " Is that the common acceptation of the term ? "
" Yes, I have never heard any other from the first settlements in Ken-
tucky up to the present time." Xo more questions. General Noble. —
■' A single rebutting question ; Mr. Herndon, would you feel safe, with
a Federalist by your side, to meet the Indians in a bu.sh fight?" " I
would not ; I would just as soon have one of the hostile Indians with
his rifle and tomahawk by my side." A moment's private whispering
between the counsel. General Noble. — " May it please the Court, we
have sitting there twenty-nine other witnesses that we are ready to
examine ; but to save time, it is agreed by the counsel, that they will
each swear to the same ficts as those stated by Mr. Herndon, and that
the publication of the libel is admitted." No evidence was ofi'ered for
defendant. Lengthy and able speeches were made by the counsel on
both sides, covering in their range the history of the General Govern-
ment from its organization, with Gen. Washington at its head ; the
election of Mr. Jefferson over the elder Adams ; the close and exciting
contest between Jefferson and Aaron B^irr; the articles of confedera-
tion ; the adoption of the new Constitution ; the Cunningham corres-
pondence ; the visit of the citizen Genet to the United States ; the alien,
sedition and gag laws ; the impeachment of Judge Chase ; and the
examination of Aaron Burr for treason, before Justice Marshall. The
speeches closed near midnight. The jury retired. Next morning
the charge was to be given. An hour before the time for opening
the court the room was filled to a perfect jam. Sheriff. — " Silence in
the court ! " The jurors called and in the box. The Presiding Asso-
ciate. — " Gentlemen of the jury, this is an important case. You are
the judges of the law and the fact. This Court do not feel authorized
122 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
to invade tlie province of the jury; the whole case is with you." The
jury retired to their room, and in a few minutes returned into court.
Foreman. — " We find that to charge a man with being a Federalist is
libelous, and we assess the damages of the plaintiff at one thousand
dollars, the amount sworn to by Mr. Herndon, and would have been
by the other twenty-nine witnesses that were not examined, as was
admitted by the counsel." " The Court are well satisfied with your
verdict, gentlemen ; you are discharged to get your dinners, as you
have not yet breakfasted."
BRITISH AUTHORITIES IN INDIANA COURTS.
I SKETCH another case of high importance in the same court — names
of parties immaterial. A lawyer I call John Mattocks, Jr., one of the
most learned men in early Indiana, a graduate of old Yale, with Latin,
Greek, Hebrew and divers technical terms at his tongue's end, a partial
acquaintance with the legal learning of the old English authors at
ready command, for plaintiff, and General Noble for the defendant.
The action was what lawyers call "trespass quare clausum fregit;"
pleas " not guilty," and " liberum tenementum." The action was
brought by the plaintifi" against the defendant for entering the close
of the plaintift", cutting down a bee-tree, and carrying away the swarm
of bees ; damages, five dollars for the tree, and three dollars for the
bees. The plaintifi' was the owner of the land. The defendant was
in possession under a lease that had expired, but no notice to quit
had been given. The case submitted to the associate judges. The
evidence was heard, and next morning the argument commenced
between the learned Eastern lawyer, armed with his Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, and classical knowledge, topped oflF with an ornamented
diploma with large red ribbons and a seal as large as the palm of the
hand, and Gen. Noble, who had been raised in the backwoods, edu-
cated in the winter-time and at nights, in a little fifteen-by-twenty log
school-house in Kentucky, armed with a large amount of common
sense. Mr. Mattocks had before him an array of the old books. Coke
on Lyttleton, Blackstone's Commentaries, Jacob's Law Dictionary,
Wood's Institutes, Bacon's Abridgment, Strange's Wilson's and
Atkyn's Reports. Thus prepared he commenced the argument for
the plaintiff with a confident air. Gen. Noble sat silent while his
opponent read authority after authority, ease after case, and decision
after decision, many of them directly in point against the General.
His argument consumed the day, greatly annoying the Court, who
understood very little of it. The next morning Gen. Noble opened
BRITISH AUTHORITIES IN INDIANA COURTS. 123
for the defendant in one of the most conclusive speeches ever deliv-
ered in that court-house. He said, " If the Court please, I shall not
attempt to follow the learned gentleman, in his long speech, nor even
to read and comment on his authorities ; they may all be well enough
in the right place, in their proper jurisdiction ; but they have no bear-
ing whatever in this Court, in this jurisdiction. I hold in my hand
a book from which I will read a few extracts." The Court. — " What
hook is that. General Noble?" "It is the Declaration of Indepen-
dence." " Yes, that is coming to the point ; read it. General." The
General read, — " When in the course of human events, it becomes neces-
sary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con-
nected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station, to which the laws of nature and
nature's God entitle them " — " We, therefore, the representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world, for the rectitude of our intentions, do in
the name, and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies,
solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies, are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved
from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connec-
tion between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be,
totally dissolved." The General ceased reading. The Court. — " That
is conclusive. These British authorities were all cut off on the 4th
day of July, 1776. Judgment for the defendant."
124 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Saturiiay Mokning, September 5, 1857.
REV. JOHN P. DURBIN.
In the 'woods of early Indiana, there were assembled for worship
at a small log school-house one Sabbath morning, several of the
neighbors from the settlements around. It was getting late and there
■was no preacher yet. But in a few minutes there was seen riding up
on his pony, singing a Methodist hymn, a young preacher, a mere
youth, small of stature, young in appearance, spare in person, light
hair, blue eyes, high forehead, kind and benevolent in countenance,
■wearing a short frock-coat. It was John P. Durbin, commencing his
journey on his circuit. He preached, his zeal was great, his voice
strong for his appearance, but he seemed to forget that it required
care and training to preserve it in its volume and tone.
Time rolled on and when still a young man, Mr. Durbin found
himself involuntarily upon the superannuated list, his voice had given
way, while his mind was growing into the stature of a man. For
years he abstained from all ministerial labors, much against his will,
without any improvement of his voice. Under the advice of an elder
who encountered similar difficulties, Mr. Durbin commenced preaching
again, in his common conversational tone of voice. At first the con-
gregations were hardly satisfied ; but the more they heard him, the
better they liked him, until there were few who drew larger congrega-
tions, or held them with deeper feelings. Time rolled on.
We heard of Dr. Durbin at Augusta College, Kentucky, and after-
ward as President of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He
was about to sail on his tour to Europe and Asia, when I saw a notice
in a Washington city paper that he would preach his farewell sermon
in Wesley Chapel. Early in the evening I entered. The house was
so crowded that my seat was near the door. After a short and feeling
prayer, the hymn was read in a solemn tone :
Plunged in a gulf of dark despair
We wretched sinners lay.
Without one cheerful beam of hope.
Or spark of glimmering day.
With pitying eyes the prince of grace
Beheld our helpless grief;
He saw, and — Oh ! amazing love ! —
He ran to our relief.
Down from the shining seats above.
With joyful haste he fled,
Entered the grave in mortal flesh,
And dwelt among the dead.
REV. JOHX r. DURBIX. 125
Oh ! for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break ;
And all harmonious hnmau tongues
The Savior's praises speak.
Angels! assist our mighty joys;
< Strike all your harps of gold;
But wlieu you raise your highest notes,
His love can ne'er be told.
The hymn was sung, the whole congregation rising, and the text
announced. For the first half hour the preacher was very common-
place. His small figure, weak voice, and diflident manner, were
any thing but prepossessing. By degrees he rose with his subject
and became towering, sublime and powerful, above all my anticipa-
tions. His subject was Infidelity. He was surrounded by a large
number of the preachers of the Baltimore Conference. His discourse
seemed to be directed to the preachers. I was not prepared for his
questions and answers. " Brethren, we preach that men are infidels
because they make no profession of religion. Is this so '? I think
not. I doubt whether there ever was an infidel who had lived in a
Christian land under a preached gospel. I illustrate. Take a boat
with ten passengers, five of them professors of religion, standing at
the head of their churches, and five what the world calls infidels :
blind-fold, turn them out into the suck of the falls of Niagara, take
of the blinds and let them see the cataract before them, and know
that in a few minutes they must inevitably be dashed into the foaming
waters below, that there is no earthly hand that can save, and do you not
believe that the supposed infidels will 'be among the first on their knees
imploring mercy '? He is not dead but sleepcth, and it is the duty of
the preacher to arouse him from his slumber, to show him that his
little boat is tending rapidly to the cataract, and unless he awakes and
pleads for mercy ere it is too late, he must be lost forever."'
Time still rolled on, and in the early part of May, 1856, I was
sitting in my parlor at Indianapolis, when there entered with a light
step and pleasant smiling countenance, a small, graceful man, and
introduced himself as the Rev. John P. Durbin, come to stay with
me during the General Conference. He had greatly changed since
last I saw him, still I should have recognized him by his eyes and
mouth. He was a most welcome guest. I no longer looked upon him
as a mere Methodist preacher. As such, indeed he would have been
welcome at my house, but since I had seen him he had traveled over
Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Asia Minor ; had visited Naples, Cairo,
Memphis, the Pyramids, the Bed Sea, the Arabian Deserts, Mount
Sinai, Petra, Hebron, the Holy Land, Bethany, Mount Zion, the
126 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
Valley of JeLoshaphat, the Mountains of Lebanon, Horeb, Bethletemj
Nazareth, Gethsemane, the Tombs of the Pharaohs, the Pools of Sol-
omon, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Mount Tabor,
Damascus, Balbec, Smyrna, Ephesus, Laodicea, Sardis, Thyatira,
and Constantinople ; had rode the milk white Arabian steed or^ the
banks of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and given to the world his
observations on Europe and the East — such was Dr. Durbin as he
then stood before me. During the month he was with me, we often
passed over to Palestine. His fine conversational powers, the clear-
ness of his mind, the ample store of his knowledge, made our inter-
course of a character not to be forgotten.
The Sabbath was approaching, and it was announced that Dr. Durbin
would preach at Robert's Chapel. I went with him to church. I
had not heard him since his Washington sermon. The house was
crowded. The Doctor kneeled in prayer; it was short, and thrillingly
sublime and aifecting. The hymn was given out and sung by the
congregation, when the Doctor rose, and in a low tone of voice com-
menced his sermon. His subject was, " The Christian sacrifice without
the gates of Jerusalem, and the Jewish sacrifice within the temple."
I had frequently heard these subjects preached upon, but I confess
that the Doctor placed them in a new light before my mind. He
spoke of the time that these great events transpired ; showed from
Scripture and calculations that the crucifixion of Christ, without the
gates, which was the Christian sacrifice, took place at the same time
that the Jewish sacrifice in the temple was made, and at the moment
that Christ cried, '' It is finished," and expired on the cross, the veil
of the temple was rent asunder, the priesthood on earth was ended, and
the great high-priest was translated to heaven. He spoke of the
body of Christ, and answered his own question, " What was its
nature?" "I answer, he was of the nature of his parents, human
and divine ; his mother was I^Iary, and his ftither was God." As the
sermon progressed the Doctor grew in power, and closed as he had
done at Washington, the last half-hour in much higher strains of
pulpit eloquence than his beginning seemed to indicate. Take this
sermon all in all, there have been few such preached in our city, for
sublimity, beauty and power. Church over, we returned home. I
remarked to the Doctor that I thought he was too systematic for an
ordinary Methodist sermon. His reply was that it was his custom to
preach from short notes, that he believed in system order and prep-
aration, as well as fervent zeal, that from his notes he could repreach
any sermon he had delivered since his return from his Eastern
tour.
KEV. JAMES FLOY. 127
REV. JAMES FLOY.
The companion of Dr. Durbiu at the General Conference, was the
Rev. James Floy, of the city of New York, another distinguished
divine, who when but a youth was selected as the pupil from the
United States, of the royal gardens of London ; remaining years
abroad, and became one of the first horticulturists, botanists and
florists of our country, as he is now one of the first preachers in the
Methodist connection. Dr. Floy preached but one sermon during his
stay in our city. It was at night, at Wesley Chapel. His opening
prayer was very shoi't ; the congregation sang the beautiful hymn.
Children of the heavenly king,
As ye journey svveetly sing ;
Sing our Savior's worthy praise.
Glorious in his works and ways.
Ye are traveling home to God,
In the way the fatiiers trod;
They are happy now, and ye
Soon their happiness shall see.
Shout, ye little flock! and blest
You on .Jesus' throne shall rest;
There, your seat is now prepared, —
There, your kingdom and reward.
Fear not, brethren ! joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, your Father's Son,
Bids you undismayed go on.
Lord ! submissive make us go.
Gladly leaving all below;
Only thou our leader be,
And we still will follow thee.
The test — " And Peter answered him, and said, Lord if it be thou,
bid me come unto thee, on the waters. And he said come. And
when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to
go to Jesus."
From the text the sermon embraced the power of God, and the
power and duty of man to obey the divine injunction ; that when God
commands, he gives power to obey. " He said to Peter, ' come,' and he
walked upon the water. He said to the sick of the palsy, ' Arise,
take up thy bed and go unto thine house,' and he arose. He said
unto the sea, ' Peace, be still,' the winds ceased, and there was a great
calm. He said to the devils ' go,' and they went into the herd of
swine. He said, ' daughter be of good comfort,' and the woman w;is
128 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
made whole from that hour. He touched the eyes of the hlind, and
their eyes were opened. He said to the man with the withered hand,
' Stretch forth thine hand,' and he stretched it forth, and it was
restored like the other. He said to the hrother of Martha and Mary,
' Lazarus come forth,' and the dead arose. There is no excuse for
neglect of duty. God requires of man only what he gives him ahility
to perform, and if he is lost, God is not in fault — the consequences
are with disobedient man."
The General Conference adjourned, and these eminent divines
returned to the field of their labors in Philadelphia and New York.
EAELY INDIANA LAWYERS, ETC. 129
[^loND IT JIoRxixc, Septemhkr 7, 1857.
EARLY INDIANA LAWYERS.
Among the prominent young men of the early Whitewater bar was
Jud"-e Charles H. Test, a son of the Hon. John Test. He was a young
man of fine talents and great energy of character. At quite an early
age he took a high position among the ablest of the profession. In
person he was slender, about the medium hight, a small head, high
forehead, and teeth projecting. He was not a very handsome man,
and still his countenance lit up so well when speaking that he passed
without particular observation. One instance, however, that looked
like an exception to this remark I remember. James T. Brown had '
drawn an indictment against a man for gambling, but had forgotten
to charge a wagering for money or other valuable articles. Judge Test
moved to quash the indictment on the ground that it was " bad on its
face." Brown seeing the point, and knowing that he was gone, rising
with his peculiar waggish look — " Mr. Test, if every thing is quashed
that is bad on its face, what would become o^yottl" The forte of the
young Judge was before the jury upon facts. He made a strong argu-
ment, and his sympathetic appeals were unsurpassed. His habits were
strictly temperate. He held the oflSces of President Judge of the
Circuit and Secretary of State many years, and then returned to the
practice in the county of Wayne where he now resides, in fine health,
in the meridian of life.
A LAWYER FINED.
I HAVE several times introduced to the reader James T. Brown, of 'r"
Greensburg. He was of the youngest class of lawyers when I first
,knew him. By nature he was a man of fine powers, and yet a great
wag. I could fill an article with interesting incidents in which he was
a party. Let one sufiice to show the character of his mind. On one
occasion he was employed to defend a case before the Circuit Court.
The judge was not very learned in technicalities, knew but little Latin
and much less Greek. The jury were taken from the country, ordi-
nary farmers. The plaintiff's counsel had opened. Brown rose and
spoke two hours in the highest possible style, soaring aloft, repeating
Latin and translating Greek, using all the technical terms he could
bring to the end of his tongue. The jury sat with their mouths open.
The judge looked on with amazement, and the lawyers laughed aloud.
Brown closed ; the case was submitted to the jury without one word
of replv. Verdict in the bos against Brown. Motion for a new
9
130 EARLY INDIA>^A TRIALS.
trial. In the morning Brown rose and bowed to the Court, " May it
please your honors, I humbly rise this morning to move for a new
trial; not on my own account; I richly deserve the verdict; but on
behalf of my client, who is an innocent party in this matter. On
yesterday I gave wings to my imagination and rose above the stars
in a blaze of glory. I saw at the time that it was all Greek and
turkey-tracks to your honor and the jury. This morning I feel
humble, and I promise the Court if they will grant me a new trial,
I will bring myself down to the comprehension of the Court and
jury." The judge. — " Motion overruled, and a fine of five dollars
against 3Ir. Brown, for contempt of Court." "For what?" "For
insinuating that this Court don't know Latin and Greek from turkey-
tracks." "I shall not appeal from that decision, your honor has
comprehended me this time."
NEW ASSIGNMENT.
There came to Connersville in early times, a learned lawyer I call
Martin Hale, a fine scholar. He made high pretensions, wore a long
queue, a nicely-plaited ruffled shirt, and over all, a tartan plaid cloak,
the first I had ever seen. He was looked upon as altogether superior
to us woods' lawyers, and foolishly remarked that " He had come to
Connersville to settle because there was no talent there." I was
at work in my garden in my shirt sleeves, when I saw him approach-
ing. He inquired if Mr. Smith was about home. I told him that
was my namej " It is the Counselor Smith, I want to see." " I
am the man." He turned on his heel and walked on without a
word, and aftei'ward told a gentleman at the hotel that I could not
impose myself on him as a lawyer. Soon after he brought an action
of trespass, vi et armis, for a most aggravated assault and battery.
For the defendant, I filed a plea of "justification" — on the lot of my
client using no more force than was necessary to remove the plain-
tiff from the premises. Mr. Hale took up the plea, looked remarkably
wise, — " He thinks I have never read the doctrines of new assign-
ments, but I will show him." He sat down and filed a " new assign-
ment," that the assault and battery was committed in the highway,
and not on the premises of the defendant. I answered " not guilty
in the highway." The jury was sworn, the Court confined the proof
to the highway, and consequently there was no evidence in the
case, as the assault was really committed on the lot of the defendant.
Verdict for defendant. Mr. Hale left us soon after, with the remark
to the judg ' that he could not practice in a court that knew nothing
STOPPING EEPOPvTS, ETC. 131
of the science of " new assignments,'' that he was a first-class lawyer
tvhci-c he came from, but it would take him too long to get acquainted
with our i^ractiee. The judge was somewhat irritated, but I told him
that friend Hale was like the Irishman that hired for a ferryman,
and got on the wrong side of the oar. Employer. — " You told me
that you rfere a good ferryman." Patrick. — " And so I was in Ire-
land, but I have not got acquainted with this country water yet."
STOPPING REPORTS.
While I was a student of law I had a valued fellow by the name
of Merritt S. Craig, who settled and died young at Versailles, in
Ripley county. Mr. Craig was a Kentuckian, of the family of Craigs
of Boone county. In person large, with remarkably big protruding
eyes, and one stiif knee. Mr. Craig was a noble specimen of the
Kentucky character — open, frank, and hospitable. He was liberally
dealt with by nature, but his opportunities were not sufficient to bring
out his foren.sic powers. Like most young lawyers of his day he
entered the field of politics too young. Was many sessions a mem-
ber of the House of Representatives. He was a great eleotioneerer,
and never was beaten. Just before an election his chances looked
desperate. His defeat in the eyes of others was certain. All man-
ners of reports had been circulated against him through the county.
The last week had come, something must be done or all was over
with him. Craig saw his time, stepped into a grocery, turned over
the counter, broke all the bottles, took the faucet out of the whisky
cask, and threw the little grocer out of the door, but paid him for
his property. The news flew like wildfire over the country, all other
stories were merged in the grocery matter. The act was decidedly
popular, as drinking-houses were odious, and Mr. Craig was elected
by a larger majority than he had ever before received, although he
was not a Son of Temperance.
COL. JOHN DUMONT.
Let me not forget my valued friend Colonel .John Dumont, of
Vevay. I became acq^ainted with the Colonel in the Legislature
of 1822-3, at Corydon. He was one of the most talented men of
the body^always ready, but modest and retiring to a fiult. In
personal contests he had no equal in the House. On one occasion
the question was, " whether we should elect a reviser of the laws,
or revise them ourselves?" In the House, Mr. Dumont and myself,
132 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
witli others, had opposed a Legislative revision, on the ground that
we were not qualified to revise in session ; that the work would be
imperfectly doue. Our views ultimately prevailed, and Judge Benjamin
Parke was elected Kevisor. During the debate Dr. Childs, of Wash-
ington county, in reply to my remarks, insisted that we were qualified
to do the work ourselves. " Mr. Speaker, the wisdom of the State
of Indiana is on this floor." Mr. Dumont. — " The gentlemen says
the wisdom of Indiana is on this floor. I can hardly presume that
the wisdom of my county is here, and I should be very sorry, Mr.
Speaker, to think that the wisdom of Washington county is on this
floor." Mr. Dumont was a good lawyer, and an honest man. He
was a candidate for Governor against Col. David Wallace — ran on
the branch of the internal improvement system known as " Classifica-
tion," while Governor Wallace went for the construction simultane-
ously of the whole works. Col. Dumont was clearly right, but the
majority went with Gov. Wallace. The Colonel was the husband
of Mrs. Julia L. Dumont, a lady of high literary attainments, and
the father of Col. Ebeuezer Dumont, of the late Jlesiean War.
JOHN S. NEWMAN.
John S. Newman, of Wayne county, was another of my early
valued friends. Mr. Newman was a fine practical lawyer, with a head
as clear as a bell, a remarkably matured judgment at an early day in
his profession. His strong, vigorous intellect made him a safe coun-
selor and a valuable co-laborer in heavy eases. As a speaker, he
was above mediocrity, but he never attempted that kind of impas-
sioned eloquence that rises in some advocates to such hights as to
carry the jury and outsiders with rapturous applause with the speaker.
His talents are of the order called "useful," the most valuable in the
end. Mr. Newman is now president of the Indiana Central Eailway,
in fine health.
GEX. JACKSOX AXD HEXKY CLAY. 133
[Wkdnesdat MoRNiNfi, Septembek 9, 1857.
GEN. JACKSON AND HENRY CLAY.
Time has rolled on, since these great men filled the public mind,
and they have both gone to their fathers. I knew them personally —
was at one time an ardent personal and political friend and supporter
of 3Ir. Clay. I am avrare that I am treading on delicate groiind, and
that this sketch of these great leaders may be subjected to partisan
criticism. It matters not. These sketches are my own, and not the
opinions of others. Never were two men more alike than Gen. Jack-
son and Henry Clay ; and yet in some particulars they differed widely.
They were both poor boys, were self-made men ; neither liberally edu-
cated ; each the projector and accomplisher of his own fortune and
fame. Both were pioneers of the valley of the Mississippi. They
■were possessed of iron wills, born for leaders. Neither would ever
play second to any other mftn ; both would be chiefs or nothing.
Neither could brook opposition from friends or enemies. Each was
the original of himself, requiring implicit obedience to his will : nei-
ther ever quailed before an enemy. Each was jealous of the fame of
the other; both were ambitious, unquestionable patriots — true lovers
of their country, ready at all times to peril their lives for its honor
and glory. Each was the leader of a great party. The fame of each
filled the civilized world. In person they were alike, tall, spare, com-
manding, long necks, heads erect, complexion light, eyes gray and
sunken, faces long, foreheads high, features prominent and projecting,
mouths wide, arms and fingers long and slender, step easy and grace-
ful, private associations kind and courteous — both the admired, hon
ored and respected of their friends. Each graced his social parties to
the admiration of strangers as well as friends. Both, like Napoleon
the First, absolute in the execution of their purposes. Gen. Jackson
was one of the greatest military commanders of the age, upon the
scale of the field of his battles. He needed no Secretary of War to
instruct him how to marshal his army or when to strike the blow upon
the enemy. He combined the militai'y qualifications of Wellington,
with the bravery of Charles the XII., and the judgment of AYashington,
without their opportunities of bringing his high qualities, as a com-
mander, into action on extended fields. The battle of New Orleans,
when viewed through the glass of time, with no political prejudices to
obscure the vision, was one of the most brilliant military achievments
recorded on the pages of history. Henry Clay, too, like Gen. Jack-
son, was possessed of military talents of a high order, although they
■were not brought into action on the tented field. This was well known
134- EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
to tliose wlio knew him best. In 1812, Gen. Hai-rison, then in com-
mand of the Northwestern army, wrote to Mr. Clay, from Cincinnati;
" I infprm you that, in my opinion, your presence on the frontier of
this State would be productive of great advantages. I can assure you
that your advice and assistance in determining the course of operations
for the army, to the command of which I have been designated by
your recommendation, will be highly useful. You are not only pledged
in some manner for my conduct, but for the success of the war — for
God's sake then, come on to Picjua as quickly as possible, and let us
endeavor to throw off, from the Administration, that weight of reproach
which the late disasters will heap upon it," alluding to Hull's surrender
at Detroit. I had it from high authority, that Mr. Madison in 1812,
contemplated placing Mr. Clay at the head of the army, but was over-
ruled by his Cabinet, solely on the ground that Mr. Clay could not
be spared from the House of Eepreseutatives, as the efficient loader
of the friends of the Administration during the war. They were both
highly qualified by nature for great military commanders. Both aspired
to the first office in the gift of the American people. General Jackson
was successful, and Mr. Clay failed — here was a difi'erence as to results,
but not as to qualifications. No man in America was better qualified
for President than Henry Clay, and no other man would have filled
the executive chair with greater credit to himself or more honor to
the nation. Thousands in the United States and Europe will long
wonder why it was that Henry Clay never reached the Presidential
chair. Being connected with all his campaigns, in the press, on the
stump, and in private circles ; I answer, because Mr. Clay voted for
John Quincy Adams against Gen. Jackson, in the House of Repre-
sentatives, and then accepted from Mr. Adams the office of Secretary
of State. Gen. Jackson had received the highest vote of the electoral
colleges, John Quincy Adams the nest highest, William H. Crawford
the next, and Henry Clay the lowest, but no one received a majority
of the whole number. This threw the three highest, Gen. Jackson,
John Quincy Adams, and William H. Crawford, into the House of
Eepreseutatives, of which Mr. Clay was Speaker. The Constitution
of the United States, made the three equally eligible, but public opin-
ion had awarded the election to General Jackson, who had received
the highest vote, and the result of the vote of Mr. Clay for Mr. Adams,
however pure, and however justified by Mr. Clay, was never satisfac-
tory to the mass of the American people. It required explanations
continually, and threw upon the friends of Mr. Clay the defensive in
every field of political contest. I think the question is now settled
by the public voice, that no minority candidate of the three returned
GEX. JACKSOX AND HENRY CLAY. 135
to the House of Keprcsentatives will ever again be elected to the
Presidency.
Had the matter rested with the simple vote of Mr. Clay for Mr.
Adams,— rhad Mr. Clay retained the Speakership, and refused to take
office under Mr. Adams, his defense would have been far less difficult
for his friends, but most unfortunately the card of George Kreemer
had been published, charging bargain and corruption between Mr.
Clay and Mr. Adams, — that Mr. Clay had bargained with Mr. Adams
to give his vote to Mr. Adams for President, in consideration of his
appointment to the office of Secretary of State. However felse this
charge was — now admitted by the friends and enemies of Mr. Clay so
to be, Mr. Clay, by accepting the office of Secretary of State under
Adams, made the transaction hard of explanation, and in the minds
of thousands it never was satisfactorily e.xplained, but stuck in the
public mind, and affected every subsequent election in which the name
of Mr. Clay was before the people. — The results of the after contests
of Mr. Clay for the Presidency have been attributed to many causes,
but had he cast his vote for Gen. Jackson instead of Mr. Adams, or
had he declined to hold office under Mr. Adams after he was elected,
I entertain no doubt whatever that ]Mr. Clay would have succeeded
Gen. Jackson as President of the United States by a triumphant
majority.
Gen. Jackson was no speaker, much less an orator. Like Thomas
Jefferson, he was unable to debate the most common question. On
one occasion, while he was chairman of the Military Committee, in the
Senate of the United States, the bill he had reported was violently
attacked in a set speech by Mr. Cobb, of Georgia. The General listened
a few minutes to the speech, got up, walked around to the seat of
Gen. Harrison and asked him to defend the bill, which he did effec-
tually. Gen. Jackson said not a word on the subject. Such was the
case with Thomas Jefferson, the admitted draftsman of the Declara-
tion of Independence. He left the defense of that immortal instrument
to John Adams and others, without opening his mouth.
Of the eloquence and powers of Henry Clay, in debate, I may say
something when I come to sketch some of the Senators with whom I
served. One incident, however, I notice now. Mr. Clay, Mr. Critten-
den, Gen. Metcalf, and Mr. Harden paid Indiana a visit on one occa-
sion. They entered the State at Richmond, came on the line of the
Ciimberland road to Indianapolis where there was an immense gather-
ing. Mr. Clay addressed the people with his usual eloquence. His
comrades also made excellent speeches. The next day they left for
Madison. Several of us. in private carriages, accompanied them as
136 EAELY IXDIANA TRIALS.
far as Columbus. We arrived there about dusk. The road was dusty,
and Mr. Clay was almost exhausted. He determined not to speak, and
the rest of us went over to the court-house, leaving Mr. Clay lying on
the bed. The house was crowded to suffocation. The moment we
entered there was a cry for Mr. Clay, and we were compelled to send
for him. He entered and walked up to the stand, intending to show
himsetS'and retire ; but as he bowed, an old fellow in the back part of the
room bellowed out at the top of his voice, " Hurrah for Gen. Jackson ! "
I saw the fire flash from the eyes of Mr. Clay. He paused a moment,
raised himself up to his full hight, and with his highest volume of
voice replied, '"Hurrah for Gen. Jackson, that's your cry, is it?
and where's your country ? " — He followed the idea with one of the
most eloqueut, brilliant and thrilling speeches of thirty minutes I ever
heard him make : he spoke of Rome in the days of Csesar and Pom-
pey, the country lost, while some hurrahed for Csesar, and some for
Pompey; he begged of the audience to look to their country and not
become the mere followers of men. He retired amid the thundering
applause of the audience.
I may again notice Mr. Clay among the Senators, and Gen. Jackson
as President.
SUPREME COURT, UNITED STATES. 137
[Thursday Morning, September 10, 1857.
SUPREME COURT, UNITED STATES.
In January, 1S27, the House adjourned over from Friday to Mon-
day. I took Saturday to look into the Supreme Court. I Lad never
seen the court in session. The form of the court-room oblong, the
bar some three feet below the surrounding platform, one door only for
entrance. The floor of the bar handsomely carpeted, with a long
table standing in front of the judges ; cushioned, roller arm-chairs
for the lawyers ; the judges seated in a row, on a seat some few feet
from the wall, so as to leave a passage behind. The Attorney General
sat at the right of the judges, the clerk at the left, the marshal at the
platform on the left. The room plain, with side, cushioned sofas for
ladies and auditors. In front of the judges, on the opposite wall,
was seen the Goddess of Justice, holding the scales equally balanced,
while busts of Chief Justices Ellsworth and Jay, stand on either
side. These Representatives exhibited their sightless eyeballs as
emblems of the character of the court, which is blind to the parties, while
the scales are held in equipoise, as to the justice to be administered. I
entered the room as,the hand of the clock was pointed to eleven. The
judges were just coming in from their side-room. The marshal met them,
and robed them with long, black-silk gowns, tied at the neck and reach-
ing to the feet. I looked for the wigs to follow, like the representation
of Sir William Blackstone, and I had some expectation of seeing
the cocked hats surmounting the wigs, but the dress judicial did not
go that far. I had never seen any thing like it before. It reminded
me of the man who, having repeated several times that he would
die at the stake for the religion of his father, was asked, " What
was your father's religion ? " "I do not exactly know, but it was
some thing very solemn." So with me ; I did not exactly know what
the gowns were for, but I thought the Court looked very solemn ;
that is, I thought so, but I was careful to keep my own counsels,
as the marshal kept his eye occasionally in my direction. The judges
were all seated, and the marshal, in a kind of nasal tone, cried out,
" Yea, yea, yea, yea ! the Supreme Court of the United States is now
in session. All persons having business before the court will
be heard. God save the United States and this honorable court."
The court was opened. Chief Justice Marshal was seated in the
middle, on his right were Justices Story, Thompson and Duval ; on
his left, Washington, Johnson and Trimble. William Wirt, Attorney
General, was at his desk, and the Clerk at his table. I had a fine
opportunity for the first time to see these great judges in session.
138 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
I looked upon the Supreme Court of the United States as the con-
servative power of our government, uncorrupted and incorruptible,
standing aloof from popular excitements and partisan influences,
fwith no other motives than to transmit the judicial ermine to pos-
terity pure and unsullied. I had long heard of Chief Justice Mar-
shall ; had cited his opinions as of the highest authority ; had read
his life of Gen. Washington; and there he sat before me, aged and
venerable. He was above the common hight ; his features strongly
marked ; an eye that spoke the high order of his intellect. He wore
a short cue, black coat, breeches buckled at the knee, long black-
silk stockings, and shoes with fine buckles. His manner on the
bench was exceedingly kind and courteous to the bar. He heard
with the greatest attention the arguments and authorities of counsel.
Chief Justice Marshall deservedly stood first in the judiciary of the
United States, and I think of the world, at his day.
Judge Bushrod Washington, who sat at the left of the Chief
Justice, was a much smaller man than Judge Marshall, venerable in
appearance, with a face the index of a long life of laborious thought;
his reported opinions show that he had a sound legal miud, but not
of the very first order.
Judge Stort was at that time young looking, though the hair had
left the forepart of his head. He was of the common size of men,
fine features, and a countenance marking him as a deep thinker. He
was considered at that early day the commercial judge of the bench.
Judge Story went upon the bench quite a young man, and rose by
degrees until he filled America and Europe with his fame.
Judge Smith Thompson was in middle life ; he had been Secretary
of the Navy and was considered a sound lawyer. He was said to
have been a great student and a sound judge. His opinions read well.
Judge Gabriel Duval was the oldest looking man on the bench.
His head was as white as a snow-bank, with a long white cue,
hanging down to his waist. He did not impress me at the time as
being even up to mediocrity on the bench, and subsequent examina-
tions of his decisions have only confirmed my first impressions.
Judge Johnson, looked like a good-natured, fat Alderman of fifty-
five. I thought he would not kill himself by labor ; was rather a
surface than a deep judge. He was a good man, but never ranked
with the first intellects on the bench.
Judge Trimble was comparatively a young man at that time, to
all appearances of a robust person, and strong constitution. He looked
as if he would be one of the last to be called away, and yet he was
one of the first, and Judge McLean was appointed, by President
SUPREME COUUT, UNITED STATES. 139
Jackson as his successor. He was a man of decided talents, and
would, no doubt, have distinguished himself on the bench had he
lived. lie lies sleeping beneath the soil of his own Kentucky.
WiLLiAJi WiUT sat at his table, with his face to the bar, where I
was sitting. I looked upon him as one I had known before. I had
read his life of Patrick Henry, his British Spy, his speech against
Aaron Burr before Chief Justice Marshall. I had walked over, and
seen Blanuerhassett's Island, in the Ohio river, as it really was in
1817, and I had read it converted into classic grounds by the magic
power of his pen. In person Mr. Wirt was much above the ordinary size
of men. His face might be cast in the same mold with Thomas H.
Benton's — the eye, the nose, the forehead, the chin, the mouth, indeed
the whole bust of these distinguished men was very much alike, as I
thought at the time I saw them together.
The Chief Justice called a case in which Mr. Ogden, of New York,
was counsel for the plaintiff in error, and Hugh Lawson White, of
Tennessee, for the defendant. Mr. Ogden was absent. Judge Mar-
shall, — "What will you do with this case. Judge White?" "Mr.
Ogden is not here and I can take no steps in his absence." " You
can have the writ of error dismissed." " I am wholly incapable
of taking advantage of the absence of counsel ; let the case pass until
Mr. Ogden arrives. I understand from Mr. Foote that he will be
here in the course of two months." The case was passed ; I was
struck at the time with the professional courtesy of Judge White,
which I afterward learned was a part of his character. The case
of the United States vs. 350 chests of tea, was then called, and I
had an opportunity of' hearing William Wirt, Daniel Webster and
Richard S. Cox. The argument of the case lasted all day. It was
a great' professional treat to me, to hear the eminent lawyers before
the first judicial tribunal of the world. The case was opened by
Mr. Wirt. I expected much from him, but I soon found that I was
looking in the wrong direction for his forensic powers. I anticipated
when he rose that tropes and figures, classic allusions, beautiful say-
ings and high-toned eloquence would fall from his lips as he pro-
ceeded. How different was the William Wirt addressing the Court.
He commenced by distinctly stating the case in all its minutise, treat-
ing the Court as if they were entirely ignorant of the facts. When
he had done with the statement, to which the Court gave the most
profound attention, he made his legal points briefly, distinctly, and
then took up the argument — reading and commenting upon his
authorities as he went. His language was plain ; his argument
140 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
strong. Mr. "Webster and Mr. Cos sat taking notes. The William
Wirt of the " British Spy " was not there in that argument.
Mr. PiiCHARD S. Cox followed in an argument of some two hours,
showing that he had made himself master of the case. He spoke
with eloquence and power, meeting and combatting the authorities
of Mr. Wirt, as I thought, successfully.
Mr. Webster followed Mr. Cox. It was the first time I had ever
heard that great man. He was then in the pride of his years, and
to say that he came fully up to my expectations would not do justice
to the idea I wish to convey. It was the clearest and most powerful
law argument I have ever heard to this day. The powers of his mind
were brought to bear upon a full preparation. Like Mr. Wirt, his
manner was j)lain ; no flourish of language ; no attempt at eloquence ;
his power was in his thorough knowledge of his subject and the dis-
tinctness with which he stated his position. He spoke over two hours,
and was followed in the close by Mr. Wirt, in a speech of much greater
power than his first eflbrt. The argument over, court adjourned, and
T returned to my room highly pleased with my first day in the
Supreme Court of the United States.
SENATORIAL ELECTIOX. l-il
[Mo.vDAY JIOKXixG, September 14, 1857.
SENATORIAL ELECTION, 1836.
The August election of 18oG, for Senators and Eepresentatlves,
had resulted in a decided majority on joint ballot against the Demo-
cratic party. There was to be a United States Senator elected by the
next Legislature to succeed Gov. Hendricks, whose term was about to
expire. Gov. Hendricks and Gov. Noah Noble were supposed to be
the prominent candidates of the two parties. Gov. Boone was a can-
didate, and my name was spoken of. Previous to the meeting of the
Assembly I had seen my Whitewater friends, and ascertained that
they would stand by me in solid phalanx. I had counted my reliable
strength and found it to be only thirty-five out of a joint body of one
hundred and fifty, but I believed the friends of Gov. Noble and Gov.
Hendricks could not coalesce. My hopes were that the friends of
Gov. Hendricks, would, in the end, prefer me to Gov. Noble, and
unite with my friends and control the election. The Legislature met
on the first 3Ionday in December. Lieut. Gov. David Wallace, Presi-
dent of the Senate, Charles H. Test, Secretary. In the House, Caleb
B. Smith was elected Speaker, receiving 84 votes, and Jehu T. Elliott,
principal Clerk. The sixth day of December, 1S3G, arrived. Gover-
nors Hendricks and Boone were at Washington, Gov. Noble in his
room near the Hall. I was seated in the lobby of the House. The
Joint Convention met. The Journal of the House says :
" The Senate came in from their chamber and took their seats on
the right of the Speaker's chair, the President of the Senate on the
right of the Speaker, when both houses of the General Assembly
proceeded to the election of a United States' Senator to fill the vacan-
cy of the Hon. William Hendricks, whose term of service expires on
the 3d day of March next. Mr. Vawter acting as teller on the part
of the Senate, and Mr. Evans acting as teller on the part of the
House.
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CANDIDATES.
Noah Noble 50 49 55 60 65 58 59 64 63
William Hendricks 41 41 47 50 40 37 25 6 1
Oliver H.Smith 35 41 35 34 38 44 57 73 79
Ratliffe Boone 22 12 9 3 3 6^ 5 3 3
Tilghman A. Howard 1 '
142 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
" Oliver H. Smith having received a majority of all the votes given,
was, by the President of the Senate, in the presence of both Houses
of the General Assembly, declared duly elected United States Senator
for the State of Indiana, for and during the term of six years from
and after the fourth day of March, 1S37."
It will be seen by the balloting that my thirty-five friends stood by
me, except on the fourth ballot, when I fell off to thirty-four. This
brought on the crisis between Gov. Noble and myself. The friends
of Gov. Hendricks believed that if I went down. Gov. Noble would
rise. The night previous to the election, I was lying on my bed at
Brown's when a member came into the room and asked me to get up
and go to a room in Browning's Hotel. General Noble had been
there. I remarked " All right, ray friends are all generals." About
one o'clock at night my devoted friend, the young Speaker, Caleb B.
Smith, came to my room and informed me that Richard W. Thomp-
son, Thomas Dowling, James Collins, and other leading friends of
Gov. Noble, had proposed to hold a caucus of our friends to select
which one of us should be the candidate against Gov. Hendricks.
*' Please say to those gentlemen, that I am a candidate for United
States Senator before the Legislature, and not before any caucus of
the members." He left the room and soon returned. " The friends
of Gov. Noble now propose to leave it to the first ballot to decide
the question ; if he has a larger vote than you on the first ballot your
friends will go to him, and elect him on the second ballot; if you
shall have the most votes on the first ballot then his friends will go to
you and elect you on the second." •' Will you please say to those
gentlemen, as my answer to the proposition, that I leave it the LAST
ballot, whoever shall have the majority of all the votes cast on the
last ballot will be the Senator, I desire no further proposition on the
subject." Thus ended the matter. The election came on and resulted
as stated.
I shall always gratefully remember my friends on that trying occa-
sion, and especially the fact that upon every ballot I received every
vote from my Congressional District without distinction of party ;
that among my warmest and most valued friends, through the whole
exciting contest, I can name ray first landlord, at Connersville, New-
ton Claypool, then a State Senator, and my two law students who had
been members of my family, Jonathan A. Liston of the Senate, and
Caleb B. Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
General Assembly, that session, was composed of the first men of the
State. Gov. Noble numbered among his friends many of the most
talented of both Houses, Richard W. Thompson, Thomas Dowling,
SENATORIAL ELKCTION. I 143
Enoeh McCarty, Robert Dale Owen, Austin TV. Morris, James Collins,
Othniel L. Clark, David Guard, Henry P. Thornton, William T. T.
Jones, John Beard, John Duraont, Daniel Seigler, John Walker,
John Vawter, David H. Colerick and others. My friends were equally
talented. I name, Newton Claypool, William Watt, Caleb B. Smith,
Robert Hanna, Henry Brady, Marks Crume, William H. Bennett,
Thomas D. Walpole, David Macy, Austin M. Puett, George K. Steel,
Lott Bloorafield, John H. Cook, Richard J. Hubbard, Benjamin F.
Reeve, Jonathan A. Liston, Daniel Mace, Thomas Gale, Thomas D.
Baird, Thomas R. Stanford, William Elliott, Abner M. Bradbury.
Of the distinguished friends of Gov. Hendricks who came over to
my support, and to whom, with my original friends, I finally owed my
election, I gratefully name, David Hillis, George Boone, Samuel
Chambers, Thomas Smith, David W. Daily, David M. Dobson, Paris
C. Dunning, Samuel Milroy, Milton Stapp, Abel C. Pepper, John
P. Dunn, Joseph A. Wright, Delana R. Eckles, Joel Vandeveer, Wil-
liam Marshall, Joel Long, Gen. Depaw and George W. Ewing.
The election over, the convention adjourned "without day." The
members left the hall in a bustle. I lost my hat and walked up to
my room bare-headed. The nest night, early, the long room of Mr.
Brown's hotel was crowded ; they had a joyous time, in which 1 was
most happy to see the friends of my competitors participating. The
next morning I left for home on my horse ; the road was almost im-
passable. I arrived at home the second night, and the next morning
followed on tlie trail of five hundred hogs, that I had fed in my own
cornfield, on my Whitewater farms. Late in the evening I reached
Henrie"s Mansion House in Cincinnati, covered with mud. There
were many inquiries about the result of our Senatorial election ; I
was asked if there had been an election. " Which is elected, Hen-
dricks, or Noble ? " " Neither.' " Who then can it be ? " "I am
elected." "You! What is your name?" "Oliver H. Smith."
"You elected a United States Senator! I never heard of you before."
" Very likely." The next day I sold my hogs to Graham & Shultz,
for seven dollars per hundred, received over seven thousand dollars
cash and two days after was at home with my family.
144 EAELY INDIAXA TEIALS.
[Tuesday Mokxixo, September 15, 1867.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIANA.
The Supreme Court met at Corydon in May, 1817. Judges Scott,
Holman and Johnson on the bench. There -were at that term hut two
cases, on motion before the Court. The first motion was made by
Reuben Kidder, and the other by my distinguished colleague in Con-
gress, Thomas H. Blake, whom I shall notice again before these
sketches close. The second term was held in the fall of the same year
— Judges Scott, Holman and Blackford on the bench. Three eases
only were decided, one by each of the judges. I mention these facts
for the comparison by the bar of the business then, before the highest
judicial tribunal of the State, and the 800 causes now on the docket
of the Supreme Court. Then, as now, the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court was only appellate, and the state of the docket then, as now,
indicated the business before the lower courts. The spirit of change
ultimately attacked the bench ; there was no objection to the old
judges ; they had the confidence of the bar and the public in a high
degree. The reports of their decisions stood even higher than those
of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and were held as good authority in
most of the States. Gov. Ray, soon after his election, let it be
known that there would be a change upon the Supreme bench. At
that time the judges of the Supreme Court were " appointed by the
Governor, by and with the advice and conserit of the Senate." The
circuit judges were elected by the Legislature.
Soon after the inauguration of Gov. Ray, I was ofiered a seat
on the bench, but having no judicial ambition, and not being willing
to be laid on the bench at a salary of 700 dollars, I had the fortitude
to resist the temptation, and Gen. John T. MeKinney, Col. Stephen
C. Stevens, and Judge Blackford were nominated to the new bench,
and confirmed ultimately by the Senate. Many Senators strongly
objected to the change, and at first refused to confirm the nominees,
in the vain hope of forcing the Governor to nominate the old judges.
Judge Blackford at the time, I presume, believed he was nominated
because of his superior qualifications. But it was not to that circum-
stance he owed his continuance on the bench, but to the fact that he
had been the unsuccessful competitor of Gov. Ray, and the Gov-
ernor thought he could make friends in the Blackford ranks by nom-
inating him. I have already sketched my opinion of Judge Black-
ford.
SKETCHES OF SUPREME JUDGES. 145
SKETCHES OF SUPREME JUDGES.
Gen. McKixney was a fair lawyer, and gave good satisfaction
as a judge, but died before he had reached the meridian of his life,
or had been long enough on the bench to fully develop his judicial
character. His opinions in Blackford's Reports are sound law.
Col. Stevens stood high at the bar, was one of the strongest advo-
cates in the State, but the diffusiveness of his opinions supplied too
many ohi/er Jicla for other cases, in the opinion of many sound mem-
bers of the bar. He was one of the most laborious judges upon the
bench, and furni.shed Blackford's Reports with many valuable opin-
ions. Judge Stevens resigned his seat upon the bench to return to
the practice, in which he was perfectly at home, where I leave him.
Charles Dewev, one of the oldest and best lawyers of the State,
now took a seat on the bench. The Judge brought with him a
matured mind, and a large experience as a practitioner. Many doubted
at the time, whether he could sustain on the bench his high reputa-
tion at the bar. But, as his judicial powers were developed, he rose
as a judge and fullj' sustained himself in the opinion of the bar, who
are good judges and safe depositories of the judicial reputations of
the judges. Many of Judge Dewey's opinions will be found in
Blackford's Reports. He was dropped from the bench, with Judge
Jeremiah Sullivan, by Gov. Whitoomb, and Samuel E. Perkins and
Thomas L. Smith appointed, with Judge Blackford, to the new bench.
Judge Sullivan stood deservedly high at the bar. He was a fine
lawyer of many years standing, in one of the first schools of practice
of the State. The purity of his life and character gave him a reputa-
tion when he took his seat upon the bench, that stamped his opinions
with high authority. He retired from the bench to his practice, in
the meridian of life. Many of his valuable opinions are reported by
Judge Blackford in his volumes.
Judge Perkins went upon the bench when he was quite a young
man, and but little known beyond his Richmond locality, as a lawyer.
I had seen him a few times, but had no special acquaintance with him.
He was, however, well and intimately known to Gov. Whitcomb, from
whom he received his first appointment. The Judge brought to the
bench a sound discriminating mind, untiring energy, industry and
strict integrity. His character as a judge was molded very much
by those of Judges Blackford and Dewey, with whom he was first
associated. His close application and great research into authorities,
soon placed him high on the bench, where he has continued to labor
since he took his seat, with an ardor and laudable ambition, that has
proved almost too much for his feeble constitution. Many of his
10
146 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS. ,
opinions will be found in our reijorts. It is not my purpose to approve
or disapprove of tlie decisions of the Supreme Court ; they are reported,
and speak for themselves. It is proper, however, that I should remark
that the immense docket, with the change of the practice act, break-
ing down all the old land marks between common law and equity, and
repudiating the forms of pleading with which the Courts were fVimiliar,
have made the labor aud difficulties of the judges of the Supreme
Court a hundred-fold greater at this day than they were under the old,
settled practice, when the Court could look to precedents for their
decisions.
Judge Smith was considered a good lawyer when he was appointed
to the bench. He was possessed by nature, of a strong, clear and
vigorous intellect, well improved by reading. The Judge maintained
a high reputation on the bench. Many of his decisions compare
favorably, both in manner and legal accuracy, with those of his con-
temporaries. He delivered the opinion of the Court in the great
ease of the State of Indiana, against the Vincennes University in
error. The decision was afterward reversed by the majority of the
judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, but Chief Justice
Taney, and the minority of the Court, concurred fully with the opin-
ion of the Supreme Court of Indiana, pronounced by Judge Smith.
The Judge has returned to his practice, and is discharging the duties
of attorney for the new Bank of the State.
Judge Davisson brought to the bench a long and ripe experience
at the bar, with a good mind and great industry. The Judge is in the
meridian of life, and is rising rapidly in public estimation as a jurist.
His opinions, as reported, are well expressed, and show much research
into authorities.
Judge Hovey was one of the youngest men that has been placed
upon the bench. He was a good lawyer, and although not long enough
upon the bench to establish his character fully as a judge, his opin-
ions, as reported, show that he possessed judicial powers of no ordin-
ary character. Judge Hovey was a member of our late Constitutional
Convention, and is now District Attorney of the United States.
Judge Stuart came to the bench from a heavy practice, and
brought with him much experience. His mind is of a high order.
He is a close thinker, stands well as a judge, and has given many
important decisions, reported in our volumes of Eeports, but I think
he labors too much in the bark of his cases, sometimes stopping short
of the merits.
Judge Roache was quite a young man when he came to the bench.
He brought with him a good character as a lawyer. But he was not
UNITED STATES COURT. 147
long enough on the heneh to develop his judicial character. His
opinions, however, read well, showing that he possessed the qualifica-
tions to make a first-rate judge.
Judge Gookins came to the bench directly from a large practice,
and brought with him an enviable character for legal learning. His
mind was of a high order, clear, strong and eoncentrative. Many of
his opinions will be found in our reports. He is yet in the prime of
life, and must rise still higher in public estimation.
UNITED STATES COURT.
Judge Benjami.v P.vrke, first Judge of the District Court of the
United States, was a fair, but not a great lawyer. His honest mind
seemed to look through the technicalities of the case, and seize the
merits almost without an effort. His kind and courteous manner and
the respect with which he treated the bar, made him loved and res-
pected by all. After his decease, Judge Holman was appointed to fill
the vacancy. He made a first-rate judge ; patient, courteous and kind
in the discharge of his official duties.
Judge Elisha M. Huntington, then comparatively a young man,
Commissioner of the General Land Office, was nominated by Presi-
dent Tyler, to fill the vacancy, on the decease of Judge Holman, and
was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. I was a member of the
body at that time. Judge Huntington has discharged the duties of
the office to the entire satisfaction of the bar. His mind is of a high
order, his judgment good, and his courtesy to the bar such as to make
him highly esteemed by all. Long may he live, say the bar of Indi-
ana, one and all, so far as I have ever heard.
I need not say to the reader that these are only intended for " char-
coal sketches," and not for finished portraits of these distinguished
men.
148 EARLY IXDIAXA TEIALS.
[Saturday Mormixg, September 10, 1857.
JOHN TYLER.
How shall I sketcli John Tyler ? How shall I condense his brief
history? Mr. Tyler is a part of the history of the country. His
biography is written ou the minds of the people. He stands out in
bold relief on the promontory of his time, a warning to all ambitious
aspirants, while, at the same time, he furnishes a strong illustration of
the patriotism of all parties, which induced them to sustain au
Executive, in whom no party had confidence, and who was repudiated
by all parties. He stands alone, since the Revolution, a solitary
monument of his own perfidy and disgrace. To the credit of the
statesmen and politicians of the United States, he has no compeer in
high places. John Tyler was not entirely unknown in Virginia, he
had been Governor and a United States Senator, when by some strange
fatality he was elected at the Harrisburgh Convention for Vice-
President, and put upon the Whig National ticket with Gen. Harrison.
I was at Washington at the time, but was never able to learn why he
was thought of, unless it was because he had left Gen. Jackson, and
it was supposed that he would give strength to the cause in Virginia.
If such were the inducements of his nomination, a greater mistake
was never made. His State was one of the few that went largely against
the ticket, and he proved recreant to the party that took him up and
elected him the moment a good opportunity ofiered. It is not my
purpose to review the memorable contest of 1840 for President, which
resulted in the election of Gen. Harrison over Mr. Van Buren. That
is a part of the recorded history of the country. It was one of the
warmest political struggles, resulting in the most signal party triumph
that was ever achieved in the United States. I was in the midst of
the contest, riding and speaking day and night, to the assembled
thousands. The dying thunders of the campaign, and the shouts of
victory, had scarcely ceased, when we met at the City of Washington,
on the -Ith of March, 1841, to inaugurate Gen. Harrison as President,
and Mr. Tyler as Vice-president, of the United States. The hour
arrived. The Senators were all in their seats when Gen. Harrison
entered the chamber, and took his seat in front of the Secretary's desk,
followed by the representatives of foreign nations. Judges of the
Supreme Court, members of the House and crowds of citizens. Gen.
Harrison appeared more infirm than when I had last .seen him at North
Bend. The General was a small, slim, spare man, some five feet ten
inches high, long, bony, narrow face, dark hair, falling carelessly over
his forehead, dark eyes, and dressed in a plain cloth surtout coat.
JOHX TYLER. 149
His manner was graceful and easy as he bowed, and took his seat.
Mr. Tyler was taller than the General, slim and spare, narrow forehead,
long, hooked, high-bridged nose, projecting chin, wide mouth, long
neck and small, narrow head. Ilis countenance indicated to me, the
moment I first saw him, the character of the man, about a medium
Virginia politician, since the days of the giants have passed away from
that ancient commonwealth. The inauguration took place from the
east front of the capitol. The assemblage was immense, much larger
than those on the occasions of Gen. Jackson's and Mr. Van Buren's
inaugurations; both of which I had witnessed. Gen. Harrison read
his address in a loud, clear voice. As he came to that part which spoke
of the policy to be observed in our foreign relatidVis, he turned and
bowed to the foreign ministers, which they courteously returned.
The scene was very imposing. The address closed ; Chief Justice
Taney administered the oath. The crowd dispersed. We returned
to the Senate Chamber ; Mr. Tyler took his seat, having been sworn
into office previously ; the Senate adjourned. Nest day at twelve
o'clock we met in executive session, received and unanimously
confirmed the Tiominations of the Cabinet ; Daniel Webster, Secretary
of State, Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Treasury, John Bell, Secre-
tary of War, George E. Badger, Secretary of the Navy, Francis
Granger, Postmaster General, and John J. Crittenden, Attorney
General. Never was a Cabinet more highly approved by the Whigs.
Indeed our opponents conceded their ability, and the whole country
acknowleds;ed that the Whig party and its principles would be fiithfully
represented in the executive branch of the Government, while the
same party had a large majority in the Hovise of Representatives and
Senate, as the election of Speaker and committees showed. The Whigs
elected the chairmen of all their committees in the Senate. I was elected
chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, by a decided vote over
Robert J. Walker, the late chairman. There was little other business
done at the executive session. We adjourned, with the understanding
that there would be a called session during vacation. I called on the
President elect ; met Mr. Tyler there ; all things looked right. I
took leave of both and returned home, bringing with me to our Whig
friends the gratifying news of the harmonious and able cabinet that
was installed into ofiice, and of the decided working majority of the
party in both Houses of the next Congress. Soon after my return I
received the proclamation of the President calling a session of Congress
to convene on the 21st of May. The proclamation bore date ]March
17th. How uncertain are all human prospects ! how frail this earthly
tenement ! I left Gen. Harrison well, in fine health, with a green old
150 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
age upon him, on the 10th of the month ; before its close, he was
stricken by a fatal disease,' and on the 4:th of April, just one month
after he was inaugurated, he was gathered to his fathers. His body
was borne in solemn procession over the mountains, to his last earthly
resting-place, at North Bend, on the Ohio river, five miles above the
mouth of the Miami, where the passenger on the steamer as he looks
to the Indiana shore, may see the white tomb, on the high ground of
a beautiful grove, surrounded by a plain white fence. There sleeps
the body of Gen. Harrison ; the beloved of the West ; the true patriot
and brave man. — Peace to his ashes !
The extra session came, and with it political treason in high places.
It has been asked a thousand times, and will continue to be while
history" records the deed, why was it that John Tyler turned against
the party that elected him ? Why did he reward confidence with
treachery '? Why forsake the standard that had waved over his head
when he marched, by the side of the hero of Tippecanoe, to triumph
and victory ? Had Gen. Harrison lived to serve his time, would Mr.
Tyler have de.serted him as he did Gen. Jackson ? Was it principle
growing out of the bank question that caused him to turn round upon
the party that elected him ? These and other questions have been
asked, again and again, in my presence. The facts have never been
controverted, but the cause that produced them has been subject to
many opinions. I have had but one upon the subject. Had Gen.
Harrison lived Mr. Tyler would never have forsaken him. The motive
would have been wanting. He had left Gen. Jackson and the Dem-
ocratic party, and had nothing to expect from that party. He had
no temptation to break his faith with the Whig party until Gen.
Harrison died, and he had succeeded to the Presidential chair, nor do
I believe he had the most remote idea of cutting loose from the party
that elected him, and of setting up for himself, until the meeting of
the extra session. He and his Cabinet were united and harmonious
up to that time, and, as I have already said, a truer set of Whigs the
party did not hold, than this Cabinet. Was it the bank question that
caused him to leave his party ? I answer, no ; that was one of the
pretexts only ; the celebrated letter of Mr. Botts was another. " What
then was the cause?" I will be asked. I answer, the cause was that
Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, was not selected for ^'peaker in place of
John White, of Kentucky, by the Whig caucus. Henry Clay was
unjustly suspected of producing this result. Mr Wise had been up
to that event, from the very first, one of the most violent of all the
Whig politicians of the United States. It was he who gave the
celebrated toast, that went the rounds of the Whig press, " The union
I
JOHN TYLER. 151
of the Whigs, for the sake of the Union." He had been, during the
contest, with other chivalrous spirits of the South, who had taken
conservative grounds, in the front of the great political battle that had
just terminated in the most triumphant and overwhelming victory in
the annals of our country. It is natural that he should have looked
to the Speaker's chair, as due to his eiforts in the Whig cause, and for
which he was admitted to bo eminently qualified. John White, of
Kentucky, was elected over him by the Whigs. I was there at the
time, and without any preference individually, as between Mr. Wise
and Mr. White, I regretted the choice on party grounds. Mr Wise
was perhaps the only Whig in the House who had Tyler proclivities.
It is proper that I should introduce Mr. Wise here more directly to
the reader. He was a spare, slim man, under the common hight,
large head, brown hair, hanging on his shoulders, parted on the sides.
falling carelessly over his high forehead, remarkably large mouth, dark,
piercing eyes ; he dressed plainly, generally wore a black frock coat.
Mr. Wise possessed talents of a high order, with debating powers among
the very first in the House. He was an ardent, impulsive, and some-
times vehement speaker, very characteristic of the Virginia and
Southern school. He was the man to mold John Tyler, a Virginian.
The private and political friend of Mr. Tyler, he had with him left the
Jackson standard, and gone over to the opposition. Possessing a
mind in every respect superior to Mr. Tyler, with a full knowledge of
his weak points, goaded on by disappointed ambition, suspicious of
Mr. Clay, and with the probable political prospects before him, he
thought to establish a Tyler dynasty upon the ruins of the Whig party.
and such additions from the Democratic party as might be allured from
their allegiance by the " loaves and fishes " of the "rising sun."
Mr. Tyler, in my opinion, was but an instrument in the hands of
Mr. Wise, the superior Virginian. Mr. Wise had, in the instrument
before him, one string upon which he could play, sure of harmonious
sounds, the vanity of John Tyler. He was aware that Mr. Tyler,
during the campaign, while seated on the popularity of General Harri-
son, deluded himself with the idea of his own importance, like the
prairie fly, safely nestled in the shaggy mane of the bounding buffido,
pursued by a flying band of Camanohes, which imagines itself the
object of the pursuit, and feels able to leave the noble animal and take
care of itself at any moment. Mr. Tyler was vanity itself. Mr. Wise
had only to play upon that string, to hold up the perpetuation of the
Tyler dynasty in the succession of Mr. Tyler to the Presidential chair.
This could not succeed while Henry Clay stood first — the acknowl-
edged leader of the Whig party. Mr. Tyler must cut loose from Mr.
152 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Clay and set up for himself. Congress was in session. The measures
of the Whig party were well known to both Mr. Tyler and Mr. Wise.
That they would be proposed by the leaders of the Whig party was as
well known before as after their introduction. — Among them was the
question of a National Bank. Here was the first pretext, no doubt
anxiously looked for by the leaders of the Tyler movement. I do not
mean to confine that deep-laid scheme to Henry A. Wise alone ; far
from it. There were Cushing, Wise, Upshur, Gilmer, Irwin Spencer,
Profiitt, and others known to the country as " the Corporal's Guard,"
who played upon the same instrument, flattered Tyler's vanity, inflated
his self-importance, and ministered to his delusion.
Before any bank bill had passed either House, I happened at the
White House one evening. There were few in the audience-room. Mr.
Tj-ler was promenading arm in arm with two Democratic Western Sena-
tors, Mr. Tappan and Mr. Allen. I sat quietly on a side sofa, noticing
their movements. The conversation appeared earnest, with such nods
and gestures as satisfied me as to what we had to look for. I left, and
on the way to my boarding-house, on C. street, I called at Jlr. Clay's
room. He was alone. The moment I was seated he asked me if there
was any news. — " Yes, Mr. Clay, I stopped to tell you that Mr. Tyler
will go over to the Democratic party." " How do you know ? Did
he say so, or did anybody tell you so ? " " Neither." I then told
him what I had seen. '• Strong symptoms, Mr. Smith, but it can not
be possible that after all we have done for him he will desert us."
"You will see." So he did see. The first bank bill was passed and
received the veto of Mr. Tyler. Many of the leaders of our party
attributed it to his Constitutional scruples. I did not. Mr. Webster
and Mr. Ewing gave our party strong assurances that Mr. Tyler would
approve of a bill modified in some particulars. It was thought best
on party grounds, to yield to his whims without departing from prin-
ciples. Another bill was carefully drawn, and submitted to him in
advance, so as to insure his signature. He kept it several days, modi-
fied, corrected and interlined it with his own hand, and handed it back
to the committee of the party as entirely satisfactory to him, and faith-
fully promised to approve it.
I met Mr. Berrien next morning and asked him if he thought the
President would approve the bill, if we passed it. " I think so, but
let us pass it as it came from his hands, and he can not veto it." " This
is all gammon on his part ; he never will approve of it, or of any other
bill of the kind that will hold him in public opinion longer identified
with Henry Clay." And the result proved that I was correct. While
the bill was pending, Mr. Botts wrote his foolish letter to " head Cap-
JOHN TYLER. 153
tain Tyler or die," wliicli was seized upon with avidity, by Mr. Tyler
and his friends, as another pretext for his veto. Some pretended to
believe that the letter had something to do with his course. I do not
believe one word of it. His course was settled the day after Mr. Wise
was rejected by the Whigs, and John White selected for Speaker.
Bank bill, or no bank bill, Botts letter, or no Botts letter, he was lost
to the Whig party. The bill he had interlined with his own hand,
and passed without changing a letter, after the reflections of the Sab-
bath day, shared the same fate with the other. A veto followed.
The eyes of the whole Whig party were opened. Mr. Tyler and his
guard were seen fortifying themselves, by the Executive ofiices and
patronage, in their little circle around their Chief, to become as they
vainly imagined, the nucleus of the gi-eat Tyler party that was to be.
All was joy in the Democratic ranks. Not at the defection of Mr.
Tyler alone, but at the anticipated eifeets of the treason on the Whig
party. On the other hand, the Whigs were deeply affected. They
saw all their hopes blasted, the labors of the campaign lost, the Exec-
utive department, and its co-operation, torn from them by the perfidy
of the man they had elected. There were but two courses to be pur-
sued. The one was to stand still, and let Mr. Tyler and his allies
govern the great AVhig party and control its action, while the respon-
sibility of the administration would rest upon them in the national
mind. And the other was to cut loose from the Executive, and repu-
diate all responsibility for his acts. The latter course met the approval
of the whole party, except a very few, who had tasted, or were looking
for, the crumbs that fall from the Executive table, small and great.
The Whig manifesto followed. I was honored by being associated
with John Mc Pherson Berrien, and Nathaniel P. Talmadge, of the
Senate, as the Committee of the Whigs of that body. Horace Everett,
of Vermont, Sampson Mason, of Ohio, John P. Kennedy, of Mary-
land, John C. Clark, of New York, and Kenneth Rayner, of North
Carolina, acted as the Committee of the House. The Joint Committee
reported the manifesto to a mass meeting of the Whigs of both Houses.
Many speeches were made by distinguished Whigs, a sketch even of
which I have not space to record, among which were two of uncommon
power, the one from Millard Fillmore, and the other from Thomas
F. Marshall. The vote was taken, — the manifesto adopted without a
dissenting sound, that I heard.
Two days after the second veto all the Cabinet resigned, except Mr.
Webster, Secretary of State, who retained his position, for reasons
satisfactory to himself at the time, no doubt, but which were far from
being so to the Whig party, and which even Mr. Webster had to abandon
154 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
at a subsequent period, and give place to Mr. Calhoun, not how-
ever, until after he had made his Faneuil Hall Speech, which, for his
sake, I always regretted. The most of the Tylerites soon made their
appearance in the executive nominations to our body for high office,
and were all promptly rejected, neither party having any confidence
in Mr. Tyler or his nominees. Mr. Wise was nominated for Minister
to France, I voted against him with much reluctance. Had he been
nominated to any other Court, even by President Tyler, I should have
voted for him. Our relations at that time with France were of an
inflammable character, and I thought Mr. Wise was not the man for
that Court. During the extra session it was given out that Governor
Bagby, of Alabama, would on a certain day show up the Whig pai-ty
in its true light. At an early hour the galleries and side sofas of the
Senate were filled. Judge Upsur, Gilmer, Gushing, Wise, Irwin, Profit,
Robert and John Tyler, Jr., in front and around the Governor as he
rose from the seat next to Col. Benton. Gov. Bagby, was of the large
size of men, fine features, bald head, strong, musical voice, and withal,
one of the severest tongues in the Senate, exceedingly sarcastic and
bitter, and yet pleasant in his social intercourse. As we all expected
the Governor commenced upon the Whig party. 1 was sitting at the
time directly before him, looking him in the face. He said all and
more than all that I had ever heard from any other source, against the
party to which I belonged, to the infinite delight, visible and unre-
strained, of all the Tylerites present. He had worked himself up to a
fine strain of impassioned eloquence, when looking in my ftice, at the
highest pitch of his strong voice, " Why don't you Whigs keep your
promises to the American people. I pause for an answer." I said,
" Because your President won't let us." He leaned back against the
railino', paused a moment, and then in the most contemptuous manner
exclaimed, " Our President ! our President ! Do you think we would
go to the most corrupt party that was ever formed in the United States
and then take the meanest renegade that ever left that party for our
President? " From that moment the Whig party was lost sight of and
Mr. Tyler became the text for the balance of the discourse. The seats
of the Tylerites were vacated in a few minutes, aud their occupants
were seen leaving the chamber, any thing but smiles resting upon their
countenances. The session was about to close, when I called into the
Vice President's room near midnight to get a nomination of a land
officer for a vacant office. I found Mr. Tyler seated at the table and
Mr. Webster sitting beside him. The other Cabinet officers had resigned.
I was received formally, but coolly. Mr. Tyler looked uncomfortable,
and Mr. Webster appeared ill at ease in his position. I staid but a
JOHN TYLER. 155
moment and returned to the chamber, then in executive session. The
nominations were fast falling" on the President's desk, and as they
were announced over and over again, as promptly rejected. Cushing,
Wise, Spencer followed each other in rapid order, and were each retur-
ned with the message, " We do not advise and consent to the nomina-
tion." Congress adjourned. The Tyler convention of his office-hold-
ers and aspirants for office under him, was held at Baltimore, Mr.
Tyler was unanimously nominated for re-election. The nomination
fell still born. Not a State formed an electoral ticket for him. Long-
before the Presidential election, Mr. Wise was leading the Democratic
forces against his late brethren, but poor Tyler was left shivering at
the door of the party, with the voice of the watchman, " We know you
not," ringing in his ears.
" Who would rise in brightest day.
To set without one parting ray?"
156 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Monday Morning, September 21, 1857.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
A FEW yeai's since I visited tlie Supreme Court a second time.
What a change since I first saw that dignified tribunal in the year 1827 !
The court was in session when I entered and took a seat on the sofa
in front of the judges. Where were Marshall, Washington, Duvall,
Thompson, Story, Baldwin, Johnson, Trimble ? Gone in the few
years of my absence, gone forever ; and there sat in their gowns
Chief Justice Taney in the chair of Blarshall, the young Judge
Curtis in the seat of Story, Judge Nelson in the chair of Thompson,
Judge Grier in the seat of Baldwin, Judge Wayne in the place of
Johnson, Judge McLean in the seat of Trimble, Judge Daniel in
the place of Washington. Caleb Cushiug sat at the table of William
Wirt. Every thing looked strange, except the familiar face of Judge
McLean, the presiding judge of the Circuit Court of the LTnited
States for the District of Indiana.
It is not my purpose to institute a comparison between the judges
that composed the court in the year 1827, and those of after years.
The moment my eye struck the bench I said to myself, the two
strong men are Chief Justice Taney and Judge McLean. Nature so
declared. Their powers of mind were stamped upon their faces, and
their high judicial character distinctly marked upon the whole external
man, and yet in person they were not alike. The Chief Justice was
tall and slender, considerably bent with years, his face deeply furrowed,
his hair hanging carelessly over his high forehead, which he frequently
wiped away. His arms and fingers were long and bony, not unlike
those of John Randolph. His countenance was marked by the
study of many years. His dress plain black. He sat pen in hand
attentively listening to Mr. Gushing addressing the Court, frequently
taking notes, as the argument progressed. Judge McLean sat near
him; his large head, inclined to baldness, gave him a remarkably
prominent forehead. In person ijill six feet, well made, quite fleshy,
large, expanded chest, features prominent, countenance open and noble.
I know no living man with whom to compare him. He always reminded
me of my idea of the appearance of Gen. Washington at the same age.
The Judge sat quietly listening to the argument, with a printed brief
in his hand. I looked at these distinguished judges with the highest
veneration for their age and high judicial standing. I felt that the
one was Chief Justice, and that the other would grace that high judicial
position, or any other under our free institution, with credit to him-
self and honor to the nation. Chief Justice Taney, it was said,
UXITED STATES SUPREME COURT. 157
received his appointment from Gen. Jackson as a reward for his
services in removing the deposits from the Bank of tlie United States,
as required hy the President. He was at the time Secretary of the
Treasury. He was a sound hiwyer of many years practice at Balti-
more, and a good Catholic, when he was taken into the Cabinet of
Gen. Jackson. His mind was of a very high order, and bringing with
him a ripe professional experience, with long reading, he stood at
once fairly in the judicial shoes of his illustrious predec^essor. Judge
McLean had been mauy years a member of Congress from Ohio,
afterward Supreme Judge of that State, when he was transferred
to the office of Postmaster General of the United States. It may
he said with entire confidence that no man ever filled that highly res-
ponsible office more to the satisfaction of the people of the United States.
He was respected, feared, and beloved, by contractors and deputy
post-masters, over the length and breadth of the land. He required
promptness, diligence, and faithfulness of them ; a slight excuse would
atone for slight errors, but dismissal promptly followed intentional
neglect or willful unfaithfulness. I was at Washington at the time
Judge McLean was transferred, by Gen. Jackson, from the Post
Office Department to the Supreme Bench. It was whispered in
political circles, at the time, that the Judge had been requested to
make certain post-office appointments on political grounds, to reward
partisan senices, and had declined to do so, setting up the Jeflfer-
sonian qualifications as his standard. " Is he honest, is he capable,
is he faithful to the Constitution ? " The seat on the bench became
vacant by the death of Judge Trimble. Judge McLean accepted the
nomination to the bench, and was at once unanimously confirmed.
His long and invaluable services can only be appreciated by an
examination of his opinions, in the reports of the Supreme Court,
and McLean's Circuit Court reports. I have not had an opportunity
of comparing the Chief Justice with Judge McLean, presiding on
the circuit, but from his kind, aifable manner of presiding in the
Supreme Court, I have no doubt of his high character in his circuit.
Of Judge McLean I may speak from personal observation, having
practiced in his court, in this State, for the last thirty years. Judge
McLean on the bench is a model — plain, courteous, affiible, dignified,
patient and prompt. His mind is of a highly comprehensive order,
always in search of truth, and the merits of the legal controversy ;
the cobweb forms that are too often interposed by ingenious counsel
in the path of justice, are swept away by a brush of his judicial mind,
and the merits of the case seized with a strength that carries con-
viction with him : his opinions given in a plain, direct manner, are
158 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
intelligible to the commonest legal mind, more like the decisions of Lord
Mansfield than any living jurist. With all, his high moral and
religious character stamp his opinions with great weight upon the
public mind.
The high estimation I had been accustomed to place on the opinions
of these two eminent judges, led me to look with deep interest to
their opinions in the late Dred Scott case. I saw that their local
positions and political associations would be charged on either side
of Mason's & Dixon's Line, as influencing their minds and controlling
their opinions. That is a matter that politicians may dwell upon, but
with which I have nothing to do, as I expressly eschew politics in
these sketches. The opinions of Chief Justice Taney and Judge
McLean in that exciting case are published at large, and have been
read by the American people. I have neither time, space, nor incli-
nation to review them. But I do not feel willing to pass the cjues-
tion by without a single word of my oyyn. I give to the judges the
same unqualified credit for honesty, impartiality and love of country —
the same determination to confine the judicial functions of the
Supreme Court of the United States to their Constitutional boun-
daries ; I strip the case from all outside pressure — all external political
influences; I seat the judges in their robes upon the bench judicial,
with the Constitution of the United States and those of the several
States open before them, and put to them the following rjuestions :
First, Have the people of the several States the right to adopt their
own constitution, allowing, or inhibiting slavery, under the provisions
of the Constitution of the United States?
Secoitd, After the constitution of a State is approved by the people,
and the State is admitted into the Union by Congress, and the act
of admission has been approved by the President, can either the
President, Congress, or the Judiciary, interfere with, or annul, any
of the fundamental principles of the constitution without the assent
of the people of the State, expressed in the way and manner provided
in the State constitution ?
Third, If the Supreme Court has the power to say that slavery may
exist an Jioiir in a State whose constitution prohibits slavery, may it
not fix the time that slavery may exist in such State?
Fourth, If the Supreme Court can say that slavery maj- exist in a
State for an hour against the express provisions of the State Constitu-
tion, may it not say, with equal authority, that slavery shall not exist
in States whose constitutions expressly recognize the institution of
slavery? Does not the exercise of the power over the subject cross
Mason and Dixon's line with equal authority, if it exists at all?
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. 159
Fifth, If the position be true, that the slave carries with him to
the free States his condition in the slave States, for any other pur-
pose than that of being reclaimed under the Constitution of the
United States, when he has escaped without the assent of his master,
then are not the express provisions of the constitutions of the free
States inhibiting slavery impliedly repealed, at the will of every slave-
holder ?
Let these questions be fairly answered by the reader, let him be a
slave-holder or non slave-holder, then let him read the opinions of
Chief Justice Taney and Judge McLean in the Dred Scott case.
160 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[ToESDAT Morning, September 22, 1857.
HORSE-THIEVES-JUDGE CLARK'S MODE OF PRE-
VENTING NEW TRIALS.
There are a few more cases tliat I desire to rescue from the hand
of time, which must soon sweep all others from the recollection of the
living, before I proceed to sketch more important reminiscences of the
men and thino;s of my day.
Indiana was a territory. The country was a wilderness, except a
few posts and settlements. Fort Harrison, had been successfully
defcnde4 by Gen. Taylor. Gov. Harrison had removed to Vincennes,
as the executive of the Territory. The country was filled with Indians,
friendly and hostile, when a gang of desperate horse-thieves from Ken-
tucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Yirginia, began to cross the river and
steal and drive away the horses of the white men and Indians, indis-
criminately. Gov. Harrison was waited upon, and consulted. The
settlers were for lynch law and hanging, or at least whipping ; but the
opinion of the Governor, that the laws should be enforced upon the
oifenders, prevailed, and many thieves were taken and confined, ready
for the sitting of the Court. At the next term, trial after trial, with
conviction after conviction, were had, but the attorney for the United
States was a young, green lawyer, and every conviction was followed
with successful motions in arrest of judgment for some defect in the
indictments. The judge being a good lawyer, decided no doubt, cor-
rectly, according to the written law ; but the decisions gave neither
protection nor satisfaction to the people. The clamor against the
Court reached the ears of the judge, and he resigned, when Gen.
Marston G. Clark, a cousin of Gen. George Rogers Clark, and after-
ward agent for the Kansas Indians, was by consent appointed judge
to fill the vacancy on the bench. The General was no lawyer — was
raised in the woods of Kentucky, where there were no schoolhouses ;
could scarcely read a chapter in the Bible, and wro*.e his name as large
as John Hancock's in the Declaration of Independence. He was
about six feet in his stockings, of a very muscular appearance — wore
a hunting-shirt, leather pants, moccasins and a fox-skin cap, with a
long cue down his back. Court came on ; Judge Clark on the
bench. The jail was full of horse-thieves. The penalty was not less
than thirty-nine lashes on the bare back. The grand-jury returned
into court indictments against each of the prisoners. Judge Clark. — ■
" We will try John Long first, as he seems to be a leader in this busi-
ness. Bring him into court." Sheriff. — " There he sits ; I brought
him with me." " John Long stand up. You are indicted for stealing
TUEKEY IX COURT AXD OX THE TABLE. 161
an Imlian pony; guilt}' or not guilty ? " Counsel. — " l\Iay it please
the Court, we plead in abatement that his name is John 11. Long."
" That makes no difference ; I know the man, and that is sufficient."
" We then move to quash the indictment before he pleads in chief."
" State your objections." — " First, There is no value of the horse
laid. — Second, It is charged in the iudietment to be a horse, when he
is a gelding." " I know an Indian pony is worth ten dollars ; and I
shall consider that a gelding is a horse; motion overruled." Plea of
not guilty ; jury impanneled ; evidence heard ; proof positive ; verdict,
guilty ; thirty-nine lashes on his bare back. Counsel. — •' We move
in arrest of judgment, on the ground that it is not charged in the
indictment that the horse was stolen in the Territory of Indiana."
" That, I consider a more serious objection than any you have made
yet. I will consider on it till morning. Sheriff, adjourn the court,
and keep the prisoner safe till court meets." The judge kept his
seat till the sheriff returned from the jail. "Sheriff, at 12 o'clock
to-night you and your deputy take Long into the woods, clear out of
hearing, and give him thirty-nine lashes on his bare back, well laid
on, put him in jail again ; sai/ nothing, but bring him into court in the
morning." The order was obeyed to the very letter, and next morning
Long was in the box when court opened, his counsel ignorant of what
had taken place. Judge Clark. — " I have been thinking of the mOition
in arrest in the case of Long ; I have some doubts, as the evidence
proved that he did steal the horse in this territory, and I think I
ought not to sustain a motion that I understand will discharge the
prisoner after he has been found guilty by the jury ; but I feel bound
to grant a new trial." Long, springing to his feet, " Oh, no, for
heaven's sake ; I am whipped almost to death already. I discharge my
attorneys and withdraw their motion." Judge Clark. — " Clerk, enter
the judgment on the verdict, and mark it satisfied." The other
prisoners were brought up in succession, and convicted. No motion
to quash, or in arrest, was afterward made. The prisoners were
whipped and discharged, carrying with them the news to all their
comrades. Xot a horse was stolen in the territorv for vcars afterward.
TURKEY IN COURT AND ON THE TABLE.
In the third circuit our prosecutions were technical, the criminal
law describing crimes and prescribing punishments, strictly construed,
and the forms of Chitty's criminal law with the statutory definitions
adhered to, as I have sometimes thought, beyond the requirements of
justice. On one occasion I had indicted a man for stealing a horse
n
162 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
and the evidence proved the animal to have been a gelding. The
variance was held fatal on the trial. In another case the indictment
charged the stealing of a hog, and the evidence proved that the animal
was dead and dressed, hanging upon the hook. The Court held that
the variance must defeat a conviction, as it was " pork " and should
have been so laid, and not a " hog." I had been a good deal annoyed
with these cases, when there came up for trial a prosecution against a
man for stealing a turkey of the value of one dollar. The proof was
that the fowl was dressed, hanging up in the smoke-house of the prose-
cutor. Judge Eggleston ruled that the variance was fatal on the
ground that it was " fowl, " and the prisoner was acquitted. Court
adjourned, and dinner was announced at the hotel. As we entered, I
saw about the middle of the table a fine, large, roasted turkey, of which
the Judge was uncommonly fond. It fell upon me that day to carve.
I had just finished the operation. Judge Eggleston. — " Mr. Smith,
will you please help my plate to some of that turkey." " To what? "
" A part of the turkey — a wing, a side-bone, or some breast." " Judge,
I don't know what you mean, I see no turkej', will you have some
fold ? " The Judge " took, " as the saying is. " "Well, Mr. Smith, you
rather have me, bvit you must recollect that there is a wide difference
between a turkey in an indictment, and one on the dinner table."
PROMINENT MEN OF EARLY INDIANA. 163
[Wedneshat Morning, September 23, 1857.
PROMINENT MEN OF EARLY INDIANA.
I AM uuable yet to leave for Washington, as there are a few more
persons that I wish to iutroJuce to the reader as my early friends.
There lived in early times, near Brookville, two families from which
sprang individuals of considerable note, known as the McCarty and
Hanna families. Judge Benjamin McCarty was one of the first
judges of the county courts under the territorial government. He
was a man of Herculean frame, and or a strong mind. I barely
knew him. His two sons, Enoch and Jonathan, I knew well. Enoch
was a member of the first convention that formed the State Constitu-
tion ; of the Legislature repeatedly, and many years clerk and judge
of the Franklin Circuit Court. He was a cool, strong-minded man,
of the very first standing in society, and contributed largely to the
mass of mind that controlled early Indiana — cast all his influence on
the side of morality and religion. Gen. Jonathan McCarty, his
brother, was one of the most talented men in the State. He was
defective in education, but had great native powers. He early became
a politician ; represented the county of Franklin in the Legislature,
and procured the passage of the law laying oiF the county of Payette ;
soon after which, he removed to the new county, and when I arrived
at Connersville, in 1S20, I found him clerk of the court. Gen.
McCarty represented his district in Congress for several years with
ability. As a stump speaker he was ardent and effective ; his person
was above the medium size ; his head and face of fine mold ; his voice
strong and clear ; and his action good. At one time he was receiver
of public moneys at Fort Wayne, but soon voluntarily left his office
for the more feseinating, but less profitable field of politics, and was
ultimately defeated by Mr. Rariden. He removed from the State to
Keokuk, Iowa, where he died some years since. The General left
many warm friends behind him in the Whitewater country.
Gen. Robert Hanna, of Franklin, was among the very first men in
early Indiana. He was in person below the common size, strong and
firmly built up, his head large, his forehead high, his eyes light and
well set in his head. His walk would point him out as a drill officer
of the regular army, and his appearance in full uniform at the head
of his brigade was truly en militaire. The General represented his
county in the Legislature, and in the Convention of the State that
formed the Constitution of 1816. On the death of Gen. Noble, he
was appointed by Gov. Ray to fill the vacancy in the Senate of the
United States for the balance of the term. He was highly respected
164 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
in tliat body and voluntarily retired to private life at the close of the
term, honored and respected by all.
George H. Dunn, of Lawrenceburg, and James Perry of Liberty,
were two of my early friends. They were both fine lawyers, very
much alike, both well acquainted with their books, both fine special
pleadci's, both under the medium hight. As debaters, the same simi-
larity was observed. They were neither what we call advocates, whose
powers control the Court and carry away the jury. If they gained
their cases, it was because they wei« on the right side, and they sel-
dom failed when they were. As commercial and chancery lawyers,
they ranked high.
James Rariden I have noticed so frequently, that it seems only
necessary to say here, that he was one of the strong men of the State.
He represented Wayne county many years in both branches of the
General Assembly, was an efficient member of the last Constitutional
Convention, and served two terms in Congress from his district. Mr.
Eariden was for years my circuit companion ; we rode through the wil-
derness together, ate together, slept together, and were just as near one
man as two could be. Mr. Rariden was a strong, common-sense man,
always ready at retort. He made no religious pretensions, though he
said he was " brother-in-law to the Methodist church." During the
time he was in the House, I was in the Senate. It became necessary
for the Secretary of State to designate two newspapers in his district
to publish the laws of the United States. Mr. Forsyth, then Secre-
tary, wrote to Mr. Rariden to make the selection of " two papers that
inculcated correct doctrines." Mr. Rariden in answer, '-would the
Secretary consider a paper that supported Gen. Harrison as inculca-
ting correct doctrines ? " Mr. Forsyth. — " I would not." " Then I
have no recommendation to make." The Presidential election of 1840
was approaching ; the contest grew warmer and warmer ; both sides
seemed to be sanguine when by accident Mr. Rariden and Mr. Francis
P. Blair, then the editor of the Globe, met in the hall of the House
of Representatives. A bet was proposed by Mr. Blair of one thousand
dollars that Van Buren would be elected, and one hundred dollars on
each State that Van Buren would get the electoral vote over Gen.
Harrison. Rariden promptly took the bet ; stakes to be put up in a
few days. I happened over in the House when the two parties met.
Mr. Blair. — " Mr. Rariden, I would rather not bet ; I am the editor of
the organ of the Government, and it may injure my influence if it is
known that I bet on the election." "Then you give up, do you?"
" I give up that your party can out lie us." " Do you give that up ?
I consider that giving up the election ; that is the only strength your
XEWTOX C'LAYrOOL. 165
party ever had." The bet was carried no further. One day Gen.
Garrett D. Wall of the Senate asked me to introduce him to Mr.
Rarideu, stating that he wished to bring him over to the Democratic
party. An opportunity soon offered, and the General remarked, " Mr.
Eariden, I believe you are an honest man." " That is my character.
General." " I can not see then why you remain attached to the corrupt
Whig party." '• What better can I do, what corruption do you refer
to? " '■ I refer to the corrupt and folse certificates, by which the New
Jersey members have got their seats." " Are you sure. General, that
the certificates were false and corrupt?" "I am." Rariden, laugh-
ing, " That is the first ray of hope I have had for our party, for a
long time ; there's where we always failed before ; your party has
beaten us all the time in getting up these spurious certificates. Now
we seem to have some chance." We parted, and as Gen. Wall and
myself walked up the avenue, he remarked, " Your friend is the
most incorrigible man I ever met." Mr. Rariden died within the last
year. A meeting of the bar was held in the Supreme Court room,
and I was honored with the solemn duty of presenting the proceed-
ings to the Supreme Court of the State and the Circuit Court of the
United States.
NEWTON CLAYPOOL.
When I arrived at Connersville, in May of the year 1820, I stop-
ped at the hotel of Newton Claypool. He was about my age. I had
been licensed to practice in March before, and was looking for a loca-
tion. My last dollar had escaped from the top of my pocket. Break-
fast over, I met Mr. Claypool in the bar-room ; as we met I remarked —
" Look at me and see whether you will risk me for my board a year."
" Who are you ? where did you come from ? what is your trade ? and
how do you expect to pay for your board ? " " My name is Smith ; I
am from Lawrenceburgh ; I am a young lawyer, and I expect to pay
you from my practice." " Rather a bad chance, but I will risk you."
That day my acquaintance with Mr. Claypool commenced, and I
found him my friend in need, as well as in deed. An intimacy grew
up between us, which has lasted thirty-seven years, without the
slightest interruption, and which I have no doubt will continue while
we live. He never wa.s a candidate for office that I did not support
him, nor was I ever before the people or the Legislature, that he was
not my fast friend. Mr. Claypool represented the county of Fayette
many yiars in both branches of the General Assembly, with signal
ability. He voted for me for LTnited States Senator when I was
166 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
elected. His greatest forte was in liis practical knowledge applied to tlie
subject by his strong common sense. He was one of the most effi-
cient men of the Legislatiire for many years. The boarding was paid,
and in after years I had both the honor and pleasure of receiving his
son, Benjamin F., into my office as a student.
JOSEPH G. MARSHALL.
Joseph G. Marshall was another of Indiana's distinguished sons.
In person, he was large and fleshy, his hair red, like that of Thomas
JeflFerson. As a lawyer, Mr. Marshall stood among the very first in
the State. His great forte as an advocate was in the power with
which he handled the facts before the jury. He seemed to forget
himself in his subject, and at times, I have thought him unsurpassed
by any man I ever heard, in impassioned eloquence. He had a large
practice of heavy cases, requiring all his forensic powers. Mr. Mar-
shall was also one of the leading politicians of the State, many times
a Representative and Senator from Jefferson, was the nominee of the
Whig party for Governor, but was defeated by Gov. Whitcomb. He
was a great speaker before the people, frequently exhausting his
whole strength on the stand. Like many others he neglected the
preservation of his voice, and by repeated irritation of the bronchial
organs, his lungs ultimately became affected, and he closed his life ere
he had reached its meridian. I was again honored with the presenta-
tion to the Courts of the proceedings of the bar on the solemn occa-
sion.
GEN. TILGHMAN A. HOWARD.
Gen. Tilghman A. Howaud, another of our distinguished dead,
was one of the great men of the State — I have sometimes thought not
fully appreciated, as he richly deserved to be. A purer man never
lived in Indiana. He was a native of Tennessee, and was a student
of Hugh Lawson White, who spoke to me in the highest terms of the
General after he came to this State. In person the General was tall
and commanding, his complexion dark, and his hair and eyes coal
black. His voice was strong but not musical. As a lawyer he de-
servedly stood high — among the very first. As a politician he was
the leader of the Democratic party of the State, loved and honored.
He left his seat in Congress, as he told me at the time, with great
regret, at the command of his party, to make the race in 1840, with
Gov. Bigger. The popularity of Gen. Harrison was irresistible.
GEN. TILGHMAN A. HOWARD. 167
Mr. Van Buren was no where, and Gen. Howard fell with him. He
afterward was sent as minister to Texas, fell a victim to a contagious
disease, and closed his valuable life before the sun of his usefulness
had reached mid-day. His bod}- was brought to the Capitol on its way
to its last resting-place ; I discharged the melancholy duty of drawing
up and presenting to the courts, the proceedings of the bar of the
Supreme Court on the affecting occasion. He sleeps in the family
vault at Rockville, Parke county.
168 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[TiuiRSDAT Morning, September 24, 1857.
TRAVELING THE CIRCUIT IN EARLY TIMES.
The fall term of the Circuit Courts, 1825, found Judge Eggleston
and myself well mounted, once more on the Circuit. The Judge upon
his pacing Indian pony, the same that I afterward rode through an
electioneering Congressional campaign; I then rode my gray "fox."
We were joined at Centerville by James Rariden, mounted on " Old
Gray," one of the finest animals I have ever seen. Our Court was to
be held on the next Monday at Fort Wayne. We reached Winches-
ter late in the evening and took lodgings at the hotel of Paul W. Way,
but no newspaper heralded the arrival. How diiferent was a circum-
stance that occurred when I was in the Senate of the United States.
Silas Wright, Thomas H. Benton and James Buchanan, for recreation,
ran up to Philadelphia; the next day the Pennsylvanian announced
that Senators Benton and Buchanan had arrived in that city and taken
lodging at the United States Hotel. A few days after the three dis-
tinguished Senators were in their seats. I sat at the time in the next
seat to Gov. Silas Wright ; turning to the Gov., " I see by the papers
that Mr. Benton and Mr. Buchanan have been in Philadelphia and
taken lodgings at the United States Hotel ; how did it happen that
your name was not announced, as you were with them ? " "I did not
send my name to the printer." So it was with us.
After early breakfast we were once more upon our horses, with
one hundred miles through the wilderness before us. There were two
Indian paths that led to Fort Wayne, the one by chief Francis God-
frey's on the Salamonia river, the other in a more easterly direction,
crossing the Mississenawa higher up and striking the " Quaker trace "
from Richmond to Fort Wayne, south of the head waters of the
Wabash river. After a moment's consultation, Mr. Rariden, who was
our guide, turned the head of " Old Gray " to the eastern path, and
off we started, at a brisk traveling gait in high spirits. The day passed
away ; it was very hot, and there was no water to be had for ourselves
or horses. About one o'clock we came to the Wabash River, nearly
dried up, but there was grass upon the bank for our horses, and we
dismounted, took off the saddles, blankets and saddle-bags, when the
question arose, should we hold the horses while they grazed, tie them
to bushes, spancel them, or turn them loose ? We agreed that the
latter was the best for the horses and easiest for us, but I raised the
question of safety, and brought up the old adage, " Safe bind safe find."
Mr. Rariden. — " You could not drive Old Gray away from me." Judge
Eggleston. — " My Indian pony will never leave me." I made no prom-
TRAVELING THE CIRCUIT IX EARLY TIMES. 169
ises for luy "Gray Fox." The bridles were taken off, and the horses
turned loose to graze. A moment after, Old Gray stuck up his head,
turned to the path we had just come, aud bounded off at a full gallop
swarming with flies, followed by the pacing pony of the Judge, at his
highest speed. Fox lingered behind, but soon became infected with
the bad example of his associates, and away they all went, leaving us
sitting under the shade of a tree that stood for years afterward on the
bank of the Wabash. Our horses were, a week afterward, taken up
at Fort Defiance, in Ohio, and brought to us at Winchester on our
return. It took us but a moment to decide what to do. Ten miles
would take us to Thompson's on Townsend's Prairie. Our saddles and
blankets were hung up above the reach of the wolves. Each took his
saddle-bags on his back, and we started at a quick step — Eariden in
the lead, Judge Eggleston in the center, and I brought up the rear.
The heat was intense. None of us had been much used to walking.
I am satisfied we must all have broken down, but most fortunately
there had fallen the night before a light rain, and the water lay in the
shade in the horse tracks. We were soon on our knees, with our
mouths to the water. — Tell mo not of your Croton, ye New Yorkers,
nor of your Fairmount, ye Philadelphians, here was water " what icos
water." Near night we reached the prairie worn down with heat and
fatigue. The thunders were roaring and the lightnings flashing from
the black clouds in the west. A storm was coming up on the wings
of a hurricane, and ten minutes after we arrived at Mr. Thompson's
it broke upon us in all its fury, and continued raining in torrents
during the night. We were in a low, one story log cabin, about twenty
feet square, no floor above, with a clapboard roof. Supper, to us din-
ner, was soon ready. Three articles of diet only on the plain walnut
table, corn-dodgers, boiled squirrels, and sassafras tea. — Epicures at
the 5 o'clock table of the Astor, St, Nicholas, Metropolitan and Revere,
how do you like the bill of fare? To us it was sumptuous and thank-
fully received. Supper over, we soon turned in, and such a night of
sweet sleep I never had before or since. The next morning our sad-
dles and blankets were brought to us from the Wabash. The landlord
provided us with ponies and we set forward at full speed, arrived at
Fort Wayne that night, and took lodgings at the hotel of William N.
Hood. In the morning court met. Judge Eggleston, President, and
sidp judges, Thompson and Cushman on the bench. Fort Wayne
contained about two hundred inhabitants, and the county of Allen
some fifty voters. There were no cases on the docket to try of a crim-
inal character. Court adjourned early, and we all went up the St.
Mary river, to Chief Eichardville's to see an Indian horse race.
170 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
AN INDIAN HORSE RACE AND A WISE DECISION.
The nags were brought to the ground, a gray pony, about twelve
hands high, and a roan, rather larger, like Eclipse and Henry, to con-
test the superiority of stock between the bands of Miamis and Potta-
watamies. Six Indians were selected as judges — two placed at the start-
ing point, two at the quarter stake, and two at the coming-out place.
'• Riders up — clear the track," and away they went under whip and spur.
The race over, the judges meet, the spokesman, a large Miami, says
"Race even, Miami grey take first quarter, Pottawatamie roan take last
quarter," and all are satisfied. In the evening the grand-jury brought
in a bill against Elisha B. Harris for stealing an Indian pony. Judge
Eggleston. — " Any more business before you, Mr. Foreman ? " Gen.
Tipton. — " None sir." " You are discharged."
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
Judge Eggleston. — " There is but one ease on the docket for trial,
an appeal case, damages claimed five dollars. I feel quite tired, and will
be obliged to my associates to try the case," Judge Cushman. — " Cer-
tainly." The case was called. Henry Cooper for the plaintiff, and
Hiram Brown for the defendant. Case submitted to the Court. The
action was for damages, five dollars claimed, for killing the plaintiffs
dog. The witness swore that he saw the defendant running with his
rifle across his yard ; saw him lay it on the fence ; saw the smoke ;
heard the crack ; saw the dog fall ; went to where the dog lay, and saw
the bullet-hole just behind the fore leg. Here Cooper rested with a
triumphant air, and indeed, to a common eye, the case seemed to be
beyond hope, but to the mind of the skillful advocate, capable of draw-
ing the distinction between positive and circumstantial evidence, a
different conclusion was come to. — Breckenridge's Miscellanies, and
Phillips' Evidence, stating the danger of listening to circumstantial
evidence, and enumerating many lamentable cases of convictions and
executions for murder upon circumstantial evidence, when the con-
victs were afterward proved to be entirely innocent, had been widely
circulated and extensively read by courts and lawyers until the tend-
ency of the courts was to reject circumstantial evidence. My friend
Mr. Brown, an ingenious attorney, of fine talents, and, by the way,
rather waggish, said : " A single question, Mr. Witness — Can you
swear that you saw the bullet hit the dog ! " "I can swear to no such
thing." " That's all, Mr. Cooper; a case of mere circumstantial evi-
dence, your Honors." Cooper's countenance fell ; defeat stared him in
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 171
the face ; the case was submitted to the Court without further evidence.
Judge Cushman. — " This is a phiin ease of circumstantial evidence.
Judgment for the defendant." Cooper, with great indignation, with his
eye upon Brown ; — " When I die I wish it engraved upon my tomb-
stone, here lies Henry Cooper — an honest man." Brown, rising as
quick as thought : — " Pope says an honest man is the noblest work of
God. There have been Atheists in the world — Bolingbroke of England,
Voltaire of France, and Tom Paine of America, with a host of other
infidel writers who may be named : they have all done nothing
against the Alm'.ghty. But let Henry Cooper be held up in the mid
heavens, by an angel, for the whole race of man to look upon ; and let
Gabriel, with his trumpet, announce to gazing worlds, this is God's
iwhlest work, and all the human race would become Atheists in a day."
We returned to Winchester on our borrowed ponies, took our horses
that had been brought from Defiance, and reached the Wayne Circuit
Court in good time.
172 EARLY I^^DIAIs^A TEIALS.
[Friday Mohjiing, September 25, 1857.
BALL ROOM MUSIC IN EARLY TIMES.
In the early part of the winter of 1818, in the midst of a snow
storm I arrived at Lawrenceburgh from Rising Sun, where I had
lived from the time I had come to the State in 1817. The evening
after my arrival, General Dill. Clerk of the Circuit Court, was to have
a party at his house, and had promised fine music for the occasion.
I was favored with an invitation. I started early from the hotel.
Before I had got vrithin a scjuare of the house of the General the
fife and drum were distinctly heard in that direction. Stepping up
to the door I knocked several times but got no answer. Entering the
main hall I saw upon the platform of the stairs the musicians, one
playing the fife, one beating on the small drum, and the other on a
huge bass drum with all their might, making as much noise as if
they had been at the head of the army at the battle of Germantown,
the General and Captain Vance marching to the music. The General
told me afterward that it was as fine music as he ever heard. I was
introduced that evening to Capt. Samuel C. Vance and Gen. Harrison.
Gen. Dill and Gen. Harrison were warm friends. They had both
acted as aids to General Anthony Wayne in the Indian Wars in
Pennsylvania.
DISTINGUISHED PIONEERS.
Capt. Vance held his first commission in the Army from General
Washington, was in many hard fought battles, the " bravest of the
brave," was present in the midst of St. Clair's defeat, fought with
Gen. Anthony Wayne in his campaigns against the Indians, and
afterward commanded Fort Washington. The war over, Captain
Vance returned to civil life, married Miss Lawrence, a grand-daughter
of General St. Clair, became proprietor of Lawrenceburgh and named
the town for his wife. The person of Capt. Vance was tall and com-
manding, his face large, his nose of the Roman cast, his eye light, his
hair sandy, with a cue hanging down his back, his forehead high
and slightly retreating : his nature was frank, noble, magnanimous and
generous. He was the father of Lawrence M. Vance, of Indianapolis.
Capt. Vance died years since, honored and respected by all who
knew him.
General James Dill was my preceptor. He was frank and open
in his intercourse with others, about the common hight, wore a long
cue, dressed with taste, features good, eyelids heavy, hair thrown
DISTIXGUISHED PIONEERS. 173
back in front. The General uiarrieil a daugliter of Gen. St. Clair,
vras many years Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of tlie Dearborn
Circuit Court. The General has long since left us.
Of General Harrison I will speak in his proper connection.
About the same time I became acquainted with Judge Isaac Dunn,
of Lawreuceburgh, a native of New Jersey, one of the prominent
men of the State. The Judge was Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives, and many years Associate Judge of the Dearborn Circuit
Court. He married a sister of John H. Piatt, of Cincinnati. Judge
Dunn was one of the most energetic men the State ever had in it,
good common sense, clear intellect and sound judgment, with a pure
moral and religious character. He still enjoys a green old age.
Judge John Watts, another of the pioneers of Indiana, I must
number with my early friends. Judge AVatts was a Baptist preacher.
His person was largo and fleshy. He was the predecessor of Judge
Eggleston on the circuit bench ; was plain in his dress and manners,
of a strong, clear mind, hospitable and liberal, friendly to all, and
always courteous to the bar. He was the father of Col. Johnson
Watts, of Dearborn, and Judge John S. Watts, of New Mexico.
Judge Watts has years since gone to his reward, beloved by all who
knew him.
Morris Morris, of Indianapolis, was one of the prominent early
emigrants from Kentucky, that settled in the woods where the Capital
now stands. The first time the court was held at Indianapolis, I
became acquainted with Mr. Morris, then residing in a small cabin
on Pogue's Kun. In person Mr. Morris was tall, over six feet high,
fine form, dark complexion, good eye, fine features. Mr. Morris was
many years Auditor of State, and discharged the duties with great
fidelity. He was an ardent Methodist, and his door was ever hospita-
bly open to the itinerant ministers who called upon him. Mr. Morris
is the father of Austin W. Jlorris, Col. Thomas A. Morris, and John
Morris, of Indianapolis. He still lives. I saw him yesterday, vener-
able and aged, trembling, as it were, on the brink of the grave.
Let me not forget my early friend, Colonel TnoMAS H. Blake,
whose residence in Indiana dated back to the territory. Col. Blake
came to Indiana from Washington City, where his father was at one
time mayor. The Col. held the offices of Judge of the Circuit Court,
Eepresentative in Congress, colleague of mine, Commissioner of the
General Land Office, in all of which he most faithfulty discharged his
duty. The person of Col. Blake was fine, very fine, of the first class
mold ; six feet high, straight as an arrow, head erect, grace in every
movement, intelligence beaming from his countenance, a smile on
174 EARLY mDIANA TRIALS.
his face, and a warm grasp of the hand. In the whole range of my
personal acquaintances I never knew a more perfect gentleman, nor
a man of a higher sense of honor. The Col. died comparatively a
young man.
Jonathan John, of Connersville, can not be forgotten. He was
one of my early cherished friends. A word to his memory. Mr.
John was an early settler, a noble Kentuckian, honest, frank, kind,
sincere, a good farmer, his house a welcome home to all who sought
it. He was the intimate friend of John Conner, the proprietor of the
town. Mr. John died years ago ; for his kindness to me, I sketch
this short tribute to his memory.
John Conner, the proprietor of Connersville, was one of ^fature's
strong men. Taken by the Shawnee Indians when a mere youth,
he was raised and educated in Indian life, language, and manners.
When dressed in their costume, and painted, it was difficult to dis-
tinguish him from a real savage. On one occasion, as he told me, he
came to Andersontown, then the lodge of a large band of Indians,
under Chief Anderson. He was dressed and painted as a Shawnee,
and pretended to be a Kepresentative of Tecumseh. As is usual with
the Indians, he took his seat on a log barely in sight of the Indian
encampment, quietly smoked his pipe, waiting the action of Anderson
and his under chiefs. After an hour he saw approaching the old
chief himself, in full dress, smoking his pipe. I give his language.
" As the old chief walked up to me I rose from my seat, looked him
in the eyes, we exchanged pipes, and walked down to the lodge smoking,
without a word. I was pointed to a bear skin — took my seat, with
my back to the chiefs. A few minutes after, I noticed an Indian by
the name of Gillaway, who knew me well, eyeing me closely. I tried
to evade his glance, when he bawled out in the Indian language, at
the top of his voice, interpreted, ' You great Shawnee Indian, you
John Conner.' The next moment the camp was in a perfect roar
of laughter. Chief Anderson ran up to me, throwing off his dignity.
' You great Representative of Tecumseh,' and burst out in a loud
laugh." Mr. Conner was an active, prominent, honest man, repre-
sented his county in the Senate, and gave the casting vote in favor
of the ballot system of voting. He was father of William W. Conner,
of Hamilton county. He long since departed this life.
His brother William Conner was taken and educated by the
Indians at the same time — was intimately acquainted with the great
Shawnee chief, Tecumseh. He spoke the language of many of the
tribes, acted as interpreter at several treaties, was with General Harri-
son at Fort Meigs, marched up the Maumee with the army, was in
DISTINGUISHED PIONEERS. 175
the battle of the Thames, and was the first man that recognized the
dead Tecumseh on the battle-field, after the action. I have often
heard him tell the story of the battle. To the question, " who killed
Tecumseh?" his answer invariably was, "General Harrison and Col.
Johnson, the commanders ; no one ever knew who fired the gun that
killed him." This, I have no doubt, was the truth. Col. Johnson,
in my presence, always avoided the question, and I have yet to learn
from any reliable source that he ever said he shot the Shawnee
chief, in person. William Conner, like his brother John, was a man
of great good sense, of indomitable energy in early life. He was
many years a llepresentative in the Legislature from Hamilton, of
strict integrity and high honor. He was the father of Richard J.
Conner, and Alexander H. Conner, of Indianapolis. Mr. Conner
died a few years since at an advanced age, highly respected by his
numerous acquaintances.
JtTDGE William Helm, of Fayette, was another of the first settlers
of the Whitewater Valley. I class him among my most valued early
friends. The Judge was a Kentuckian, deeply imbued with the
hospitality of his countrymen. He was a strong and a good man.
The Judge was many years on the circuit bench of his county ; his
judgment was sound, and his integrity above question. He was the
father of Meredith Helm, of Fayette, Dr. Jefi'erson Helm, of Rush,
and Robert D. Helm, of Wabash. The Judge long since departed
this life.
With these brief charcoal sketches of individuals, I must ask the
reader to excuse me from noticing others. My space will not permit
me to extend them, as I design hereafter to sketch scenes and persons
of more general interest.
176 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[Saturday Morning, September 26, 1857.
"ACCIDENTS BY FLOOD AND FIELD."
In the winter of 1824-5, after the conviction of Hudson, the Leg-
islature attached the county of Madison to the Third Judicial Circuit,
making it the duty of Judge Eggleston to preside, and of myself , to
prosecute the other prisoners — Sawyer, Bridge, Sen., and Bridge, Jr.,
at Fall Creek. I was notified that Gen. James Noble and Phillips
Sweetzer would assist me in the trials. Col. John Johnston, the
Indian Agent was to be there, with funds to pay the witnesses and
counsel for the State, as he had done upon the former trial with Gen.
Noble and Mr. Sweetzer. The Court was to meet the next Monday.
On Thursday morning, I mounted young " Grey Fox." The only
traveled route between Connersville and the falls of Fall Creek was
then by Indianapolis, a small village in the woods. I arrived at the
Capital on Saturday night, and early next morning started alone on
the path that led up Fall Creek, on the east side. The main track lay
on the west side; but the water was high and muddy, and I thought
it safest to go up on the east side without crossing. There were no
bridges over any of the streams in that day.
The day was dark and drizzling. My path ended some ten miles
above Indianapolis, in a thicket. I could get no further in that direc-
tion. Turning the head of Fox, west, the creek with its muddy
waters and rapid currents overflowing the opposite bottoms was soon
in sight. I had twenty miles to ride, and no time to be lost. Giving
Fox the rein he approached the bank, and without a moment's hesita-
tion, with a quick step, plunged in, and swam beautifully across the
main channel ; but the moment he struck the overflowed bottom on
the opposite side^ — the water about four feet deep — he began to sink
and plunge. The girth broke. I seized the stirrup leather, to which
tny saddle-bags were fastened, with one hand, the long mane of Fox
with the other, disengaged my feet in a moment, and was gallantly
dragged through the mud and water to the dry land. My hat was
gone, but it was too early in the season for mosquitoes, and it made
little difference, hat or no hat, so that I got to court. I had no mir-
ror with me, or I might have been reminded of the description of
Ovid, as the waters resettled and the earth arose from the flood :
"Nature beheld herself and stood aghast —
A silent desert and a dismal waste."
All matters were soon adjusted. Fox bounded on as light as a rein-
deer, and before dark I was in lively conversation with the other law-
yers, before the large log fire at the hotel of Mr. Long.
TRIAL OF SAWYEE. 177
TRIAL OF SAWYER.
Monday morning came. Court met. Judge Eggleston, in fine
health, on the bench in the center ; Adam Winchel on his left and
Samuel Holliday on his right. Moses Cos at the clerk's desk ; Sam-
uel Cory on the sheriff's platform ; and Col. John Berry captain of
the guard, leaning against the logs. The grand-jury were called,
sworn and charged, and Court adjourned for dinner. In the afternoon,
the evidence of the main witnesses was heard. I had prepared the
indictments in my office and had them with me. The foreman signed
the bills on his knee, and they were all returned into court before the
adjournment. That night. Col. John Johnston, the Indian Agent,
called at my room and offered me 100 dollars on behalf of the United
States. I informed him that I was a State ofheer and could not accept
the money ; however tempting it might be under other circumstances.
The Court met in the morning. We agreed to try Sawyer first, for
shooting one of the squaws. The prisoner was brought into court by
the sherifi". He appeared so haggard and changed by his long con-
finement, that I scarcely knew him. The court-room was crowded.
Gen. James Xoble, Phillips Sweetzer and myself for the State ;
James Rariden, Lot Bloomfield, William R. Morris and Charles H.
Test for the prisoner. Judge Eggleston. — " Sheriff, call the petit-jury."
Judge Winchel. — " Sheriff, call Squire Makepeace on the jury, he will
be a good juror ; he will not let one of these murderers get away."
Judge Eggleston, turning to Judge Winchel, " This will never do.
What, the Court pack a jury to try a capital ease?" The jury was
soon impanneled. The evidence was conclusive that the prisoner had
shot one of the squaws at the camp with his rifle, after the killing of
Ludlow and Mingo by Harper and Hudson in the woods. — The jury
were a hardy, heavy-bearded set of men, with side-knives in their
belts, and not a pair of shoes among the whole of them ; all wore moc-
casins. Mr. Sweetzer opened for the State, with a strong matter-of-
fiiet speech ; that was his forte. He was followed in able speeches by
Mr. Morris, Mr. Test and Mr. Kariden for the prisoner. Gen. Noble
closed for the prosecution, with a powerful speech. The General was
one of the strongest and most effective speakers before a jury, or a
promiscuous assembly, I have ever heard. The case went to the jury un-
der an able charge from Judge Eggleston and Court adjourned for dinner.
At the meeting of the Court in the afternoon, the jury returned a
verdict of " guilty of manslaughter," two years at hard labor in the
penitentiary. Mr. Eariden sprang to his feet, " If the Court please,
we let judgment go on the verdict, and are ready for the case of Saw-
yer, for killing the Indian boy at the camp." " Ready for the State."
12
178 EARLY IXDIANA TRIALS.
The same jury were accepted by both sides — being in the bos. They
■were immediately sworn. The evidence was heard, again conclusive
against the prisoner. Gen. Noble opened for the prosecution, and
was followed by Charles H. Test, William R. Morris and James Eari-
den, with powerful speeches. The jury were referred to their verdict
in the previous case, aud their judgment was warmly eulogized. This
was. by arrangement, my case to close. I saw my position, and that
the only point I had to meet, was to draw the distinction between the
two cases, so as to justify the jury in finding a verdict for man-
slaughter in the one case, and of murder in the case before them. In
law there was no difference whatever. They were both cold-blooded
murders. The calico shirt of the murdered boy, stained with blood,
lay upon the table. I was closing a speech of an hour. Stepping
forward, I took up the bloody shirt, and holding it up to the jury,
" Yes, gentlemen of the jury, the cases are very different. You might
find the prisoner guilty of only manslaughter, in using his rifle on a
grown squaw ; that was the act of a man, but this was the act of a
demon. Look at this shirt, gentlemen, with the bloody stains upon
it; this was a poor helpless boy, who was taken by the heels by this
fiend in human shape, and his brains knocked out against a log! If
the other case was manslaughter, is not this murder?" The eyes of
the jury were filled with tears. Judge Eggleston gave a clear and
able charge upon the law. The jury, after an absence of only a few
minutes, returned a verdict of " murder in the first degree." The
prisoner was remanded, and Court adjourned.
TRIAL OF BRIDGE-SCENES AT THE EXECUTION
The next morning, the case of Bridge, Sen., for shooting a little
Indian girl at the camp, was called. The prisoner entered with the
sheriff. He was more film in his step, and looked better than Sawyer,
though a much older man. A jury was impanneled. The proof was
positive. The case was argued by Mr. Morris and Mr. Rariden for
the prisoner, and Mr. Sweetzer and myself for the State. The charge
was given by Judge Eggleston, and after a few minutes absence, the
jury returned a verdict of " murder in the first degree." The only
remaining case — of the stripling. Bridge, Jr., for the murder of the
other Indian boy at the camp — came on next. The trial was more
brief, but the result was the same — verdict of murder in the first
degree, with a recommendation, however, to the Governor for a par-
don, in consequence of his youth, in which the Court and Bar joined.
The trials closed. Pro forma motions for new trials were overruled.
TRIAL OP BRIDGE — THE EXECUTION. 179
the prisoners remanded, to be brought up for sentence next morning,
and the Court adjourned.
Morning came, and with it a crowded court-house. As I walked
from the tavern, I saw the guard approaching with Sawyer, Bridge,
Sen., and Bridge, Jr., with downcast e3'es and tottering steps, in their
midst. The prisoners entered the court-room and were seated. The
sheriff commanded silence. The prisoners rose, the tears streaming
down their faces, and their groans and sighs filling the court-room. I
fixed my eyes upon Judge Eggleston. I had heard him pronounce
sentence of death on Fuller, for the murder of Warren, and upon
Fields for the murder of Murphy. But here was a still more solemn
scene. An aged father, his favorite son and his wife's brother — all
standing before him, to receive sentence of death. The face of
the Judge was pale ; his lips Cjuivered ; his tongue faltered, as he
addressed the prisoners. The sentence of death by hanging was pro-
nounced, hut the usual conclusion, " And may God have mercy on
your souls," was left struggling for utterance.
The time for the execution was fixed at a distant day ; but it soon
rolled around. The gallows was erected on the north bank of Fall
Creek, just above the falls, at the foot of the rising grounds you may
see from the ears. The hour for the execution had come. Thousands
surrounded the gallows. A Seneca chief with his warriors, was posted
near the brow of the hill. Sawyer and Bridge, Sen. ascended the
scaffold together, were executed in qaick succession, and died without
a struggle. The vast audience were in tears. The exclamation of
the Senecas was interpreted — '■ We are satisfied." An hour expired.
The bodies were taken down and laid in their coffins, when there was
seen ascending the scaffold. Bridge, Jr., the last of the convicts. His
step was feeble, requiring the aid of the sheriff. — The rope was
adjusted. He threw his eyes around upon the audience, and then
down upon the coffins, where lay exposed the bodies of his fother and
uncle. From that moment, his wild gaze too clearly showed that the
scene had been too much for his youthful mind. Eeason had partially
left her throne, and he stood wildly looking at the crowd, apparently
unconscious of his position. The last minute had come, when James
Brown Bay, the Governor of the State, announced to the immense
assemblage that the convict was pardoned. Never before did an audi-
ence more heartily respond, while there was a universal regret that
the executive mercy had been deferred to the last moment. — Thus
ended the only trials, where convictions of murder were ever had,
followed by the execution of white men, for killing Indians, in the
United States.
180 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
[IxDiASAPOLis Daily Jouknal.
HUSBAND AND WIFE-SKETCH OF THE SPEECH
OF HON. OLIVER H. SMITH.
We give a brief sketch of the speech of the Hon. Oliver H. Smith
in a recent divorce case in this city :
" The distinguished gentleman from New York, Matthew Hale Smith,
■who opened this case for the plaintiff, in an able argument, spoke
of the Garden of Eden, a most unfortunate allusion on his part. Yes,
gentlemen of the jury, there was a Garden of Eden, the paradise of
God on earth, created by him, to receive the parents of the human
family. You who have seen the Panorama of the Bible lately
exhibited in this city, can have a very imperfect vision of its gran-
deur and sublimity. Our first parents were placed in this garden
by tte hands of the Almighty, as pure as himself, were declared to
be husband and wife, and as such, one flesh. There were no human
priests there to solemnize the marriage, no altars erected before which
to consecrate the relations of husband and wife ; that holy relation,
with all its train of blessings to the human family, was created by
the Almighty, and marked divine. Among the trees of that paradise
there stood one, more prominent to the eye than any other, called the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the fruit of which our first
parents were forbidden to eat, with the declaration of God, ' that the
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' This tree and its
fruit I liken to the relation between husband and wife ; they who shall
seduce either the one or the other, to violate the sacred marriage vow,
shall surely die.
" Our parents, so placed in the garden, were content and happy, and
knew no evil. The Almighty walked with and watched over them.
They were not only in his own image, but they were a personification
upon earth of his purity, honor and glory. Still, not like him, they
were mortal, subject to temptation, and to fall from that high estate
of purity in which they were created. Direct your mind's eye to
the moving canvas of the panorama, look at the serpent, stretching
his length around the trunk of the forbidden tree, and protruding his
accursed head from the branches, with the fruit of the tree in his
mouth, oflFering it to Eve, while he quiets her fears by sounding in
her ears — ' Thou shalt not . surely die.' We see no more of the
serpent, but Adam and Eve hid themselves among the trees of the
garden when the voice of God walked therein in the cool of the day.
I need not speak of the penalty that was entailed upon the human
HUSBAND AXD WIFE. 181
race ; but the serpent was accursed by the Almighty above all the
beasts of the field, and condemned to go upon his belly, and to eat
dust all the days of his life. Such is the Bible account of the first
transgression. Yes, gentlemen of the jury, there was a serpent; a
seducer, there, to interfere with the happiness of our first parents ;
and there is a serpent here, who has dared to intrude upon the holy
relations of husband and wife.
The difference between the location of the Paradise of the Scriptures
and that of these parties can not change the nature of the transgres-
sion. That garden was planted, watered, protected, and cherished by
the Almighty himself. The garden in which these parties were
domiciled was the City of Washington, inhabited and visited by the
upper crust of society, where perhaps the moral sense, though greatly
higher than that of the Court of Lewis the XIV. of France, or Charles
the II. of England, is not at that high and pure standard that should
commend itself to our highest approbation. The Eve of the garden
of God, after she had transgressed, hid herself from the eye of the
Almighty ; while the Eve of this garden comes unblushingly into
court, and meets the gaze of a crowded house. The serpent of the
Bible went away from the scene of his seduction, upon his belly,
eating the dust of the earth ; and his progeny, to this day, continue
to drag their slimy bodies upon their bellies, under the curse of both
God and man, while this serpent has the effrontery to present himself
upon the witness-stand — a living monument of his own disgrace, and
of the ruin of a once happy family. The serpent of the Bible obtruded
himself into the presence of our parents, while the serpent of our
garden was introduced by a confiding husband to a then innocent wife.
What shall I say of the seducer, under such circumstances ? Who
shall I compare him with ? Tell me not of the highway robber ! Tell
me not of the midnight assassin ! — of the fiend that administers the
poisoned cup. They but rob us of some money, or of a few years
of life. They leave the character untouched, to be cherished and
honored by our friends.
The family relations — the holy relation of husband and wife, are the
greatest blessings that were ever conferred upon man by the Almighty,
and whoever attempts to violate them, commits a crime against the
most sacred of all the institutions of God upon earth, and may read
his fate in that of the serpent in the garden. I have often thought
of the beautiful idea of Phillips, the Irish orator, when speaking of
the state of mind of the disconsolate husband, after the serpent had
entered, and alienated the aflFections of the wife : the orator said, " The
silent doors on their hinges were elocjuent of his woe."
182 EARLY IN^DIANA TEIALS.
I read only this morning in a city paper an extract from a speech
of tlie Hon. Rufus Choate, of Boston, on flirtation. I know Mr.
Choate well, lie is one of the most eloquent men of this or any other
country. I read the sketch of his speech, and while I was delighted
with his style, I could not but feel that it was hut the effort of a
brilliant mind struggling with truth. He, too, was dealing with the
holy relation of husband and wife, and his great efibrt was to prove
that there may be flirtation without crime, but even in that he had to
admit that crime is the general rule, and flirtation without crime the
exception — that the one as a general rule is the premonitory symptom
of the other. But Mr. Choate seemed to forget that the premonitory
symptom, flirtation, is equally efi"ectual to poison and destroy the
tender tie that unites husband and wife, if continued against the
wishes and request of either, as is the consummation of the crime.
Shakspeare says, " I would rather be a toad and live upon the vapors
of a dungeon, than keep a corner in the thing I love for others uses."
I am told by the gentleman, as an excuse, that his client has a kind
of universal love for all mankind. I suppose he means the kind of
love that the rays of the sun bear to this globe, warming and fructify-
ing the whole vegetable kingdom, not even forgetting or neglecting
the polar seas. If so, I have only to add to the figure, — and holding
in her hand the sun-glass, concentrating her universal love upon the
serpent in our garden, whom she had permitted to destroy the rela-
tion of husband and wife between those who were once happy in the
enjoyment of its blessings.
But it is said that these parties have been protected from criminal
improprieties by the presence of the aged mother of one of them.
Vain delusion I Virtue in projjer places needs no protection, while
vice can not be watched where the will concurs with the consummation
of crime in secret places.
We learn from heathen mythology that Jupiter was enamored of
the princess whom to escape the jealousy of Juno, he changed into
a heifer. Juno set Argus with his hundred eyes to watch her, two
of which were to keep awake and constantly to stand guard while the
other slept by turns. Mercury, by direction of Jupiter, by the music
of his lyre lulled Argus to sleep and slew him ; Juno to reward his
services while living, and as a memento of his fidelity, transferred his
eyes to the Peacock's train, and forever after gave up the delusion, that
willing vice could be watched and guarded by tardy virtue.
Gentlemen, the human passions were given to man for wise and
holy purposes, and so long as they are kept under his virtuous will
and control, and directed to the purposes designed by the Almighty,
HUSBAND AND WIFE. 1S3
they are a blessing to hiin and tend to his happiness on Earth. But
when they are suffered to run riot, govern and control his being,
they become the greatest curse that can meet him in his journcj-
through life. Such a man may be likened to one of our majestic
steamers, crowded with passengers, crossing the Atlantic. She is
built with all the modern improvements ; her cabin a beautiful moving
palace ; her engines have the necessary power to propel her through
the mountain waves like a bird of passage ; the steam is up ; the
officers and crew upon duty ; the passengers seated by the cabin fires ;
all is joy, hilarity and good feeling. But hark ! — The cry of fire is
heard from the lower deck. All start as if the knell of death had
sounded. They rush above ; all is confusion there ; dismay and despair
are depicted in every countenance. The noble ship is on fire !
That dreadful element is no longer the servant of officers and
crew, but now in turn has become master. What shall be done?
Escape from the burning vessel is the only hope. The life boats
are lowered, filled and foundered the moment they meet the waves,
and those who had taken refuge in them are all consigned to
an ocean grave. And still the fire rages, the vessel is enveloped in
flames ; she is soon consumed to the surface of the briny deep, and
lies a blackened hulk, or sinks into the abyss below, carrying with
her the charred remains of all on board. That most useful element,
fire, had violated the object of its creation and use, and destroyed
the magnificent steamer with all her passengers and crew within the
time that it has taken me to describe the thrilling calamity.
This, gentlemen, is but a faint resemblance of the dreadful con-
sequences of permitting our passions to become our masters. Having
said thus much, preliminary to the argument of the facts of the case,
I will relieve you for the present and direct your minds to the appli-
cation of what I have said, to the case before you.
184 EARLY INDIANA TEIALS.
[Monday Morxixg, September 28, 1857.
LAW PRACTICE.
I YIELD ttis sketch, at tlie request of my young friends, to the legal
profession. With some preparatory study, and thirty-seven years prac-
tice in the courts of the State and of the United States, it may be pre-
sumed that the subject I touch is somewhat familiar to me, and, as
the title of the sketches indicate that they are more or less directed to
the bar, this will be considered as appropriate. The profession of the
law is of high import and of great responsibility, involving more for
deep reflection and mature consideration before it is entered into than
any other. AVhy is it that so many of the profession fall by the way-
side ? Why so many hangers-on to the skirts of the profession ? Why
so many who never reach a medium position at the bar? Why so few
who acquire wealth and fame in the profession ? These are important
{(uestions, in which the young man designing to make the law his pro-
fession — the father who thinks of the profession for his son — the young
professional man, and even the more aged practitioner, is more or less
interested.
It is not generally understood that the profession of the law is one
of the most laborious that man was ever engaged in ; that the proper
preparation of the body and mind for eminent success is found only
in the few, and whenever found with the proper habits, integrity, and
industry, success will as certainly follow as that effect will follow cause.
There never was a greater error, in ftict, than that committed by devo-
ted parents when selecting professions for their sons. The most fee-
ble, the tenderest, and those who are supposed to be unable to struggle
physically with the out-door labors of other professions, trades, occu-
pations and businesses, are consigned to the seclusion of a professional
office. My experience and observation teaches me that all such should
be directed in their youth to some active out-door employment, trade
or avocation, giving constant exercise to the body and mind. The
student-at-law can not have too firm a constitution ; his chest and lungs
can not be too much expanded ; his voice can not be too clear and
strong ; nor his health too good. If he practices the profession only
half as long as I have, he will find that he will have use for all the
bodily qualifications I have named.
Good common sense is essential. It is the foundation upon which
the superstructure of education must rest. And if it is defective, you
may build the superstructure to the skies, and it will crumble and fall.
If nature has not done her part to make the lawyer, in vain will he
struggle, to sink at last into some other profession or avocation whiclf
LAW PRACTICE. 185
nature has designed him for. The student should have a good, sound
English education ; he should spell well, read well, and write well,
and understand the principles of arithmetic and English grammar.
The higher branches may be added, but I do not hold that in this
country a knowledge of the dead languages, and a familiarity with
the classics is essential to the student, nor even to his success as a
practitioner, although I do not object to their study where a favora-
ble opportunity has been aiforded. — But I do mean to say that I have
known many graduates of colleges who were so deficient in the English
department of their education as to be disqualified for students in my
office. A fine-looking young man called upon me one day, desiring
to study law with me. I inquired of him as to his education. " I am
a graduate of an Eastern college ; I understand Latin, Greek and
Hebrew ; I stood No, 2 in a large class of graduates." " Do you spell
well ? " "I presume so, but I never thought much of that." " Spell
balance." '■ Bal-lance." "That won't do. Do you read well?"
" Certainly." " Read this." " My name is Nerval on the Grampian
hills." "What was his name uff the Grampian hills? — Do you write
well ? " " No, I never could write much ; indeed I never tried to learn.
Our great men East can scarcely write their names so that they can be
rea'd." " Let me see you write." He scratched off some caricatures
looking like Greek, or turkey tracks. " That is sufficient; your edu-
cation is too imperfect for a lawyer ; the dead languages may be dis-
pensed with, but spelling, reading and writing can not be." I advised
him to go to one of our common schools and begin his education over
again, and he might yet qualify himself for the study of law.
The license or diplomas to practice obtained is the test time in the
whole of the young lawyer's career. If he thinks that the license quali-
fies him, that his studies are ended, that he can then indulge his ease
upon his cushioned sofa, smoke his scented cigars, cultivate his whis-
kers and mustaches, drive his fine horses, give his wine parties, spend
his nights at the card-table, and still become eminent in bis profession,
he will be disappointed in the end. His license will prove his curse,
and he will sink to his grave unnoticed and unknown as a lawyer.
On the contrary, if he views the matter in the proper light, that his
license is only intended to authorize him to unite the study of the
books with the practice of his profession, that he is just entering upon
his studies that are never to end but with his life, that he will be every
day better and better qualified to read and understand, he may with
proper habits and perseverance rise high in his profession. After
thirty-seven years of reading and practice, I feel that I am, as it were,
just beginning to learn my profession.
186 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
The student will learn as he enters the courts, and begins to try
his cases, that the learning of the books alone will not sustain him,
without a knowledge of the world of men and things. He will have
occasion every day to draw upon outside knowledge, and to bring to
bear the circumstances that surround him, upon the cause of his client.
He should come to his case thoroughly prepared with the facts and the
law, as both Court and jury are ignorant of his case. He should be
ready to place it fairly and truly before them. To do this his library
should be looked to as to the law, and his client should be examined
and cross-examined as to the facts, and then held responsible if he
should have stated them too favorably to himself, as too many will do.
The lawyer should maintain the strictest integrity, and the nicest sense
of honor. His character is his capital. No personal security is required
of him by the public. His faith, his honor .stand pledged, and if once
violated, he is bankrupt, and his profession only points to his disgrace.
A young lawyer has it in his power to surround himself with friends,
or to cut himself off from the sympathy of his brethren. If in his
intercourse, his arguments, his competitions, with the other members
of the bar, he treats them with the respect and kindness he would like
them to observe toward him, it will be reciprocated, and his practice
will pass smoothly and pleasantly on. The golden rule applies with
great force to the bar. The members are perhaps too sensitive, always
ready to repel supposed aggression, and frequently disposed to carry
the war further than the occasion warrants. But let the practitioner
assume the character of the hyena, and he will always find that there
are lions and tigers in the menagerie as well as these of his species.
The great point to be considered before impanneling the jury is to
make up the true issue, to try the merits of your case, to which your
evidence is applicable, so as to give your client the full benefit of his
cause of action, and defense. The right of challenge of jurors for
cause will of course be seen to by the practitioner. The peremjitory '
challenge, although a valuable right, should be exercised with great
caution. In one case my client went to the penitentiary because I
peremptorily challenged the only juror that knew the prosecuting wit-
ness, and who would have saved my client, who was afterward clearly
shown to be innocent. — I challenged the juror because I thought he
did not like me. I had argued a case against him. At another time
I had taken the jurors; they were standing up to be sworn, when I
saw one of them wink at the opposite party. I challenged him, and
learned afterward that I had saved the case of my client by it.
In questioning and cross-questioning witnesses, counsel frequently
do great injustice to the witness, without in the least benefiting their
LAW PRACTICE. 187
cause. The jury is composed of men in all respects like tlie witness,
and if his character stands unimpeached, they are disposed to give him
credit for a disposition to tell the truth, unless they see his position
or motives would lead him to side with one of the parties. A lawyer
inconsiderately looks upon the witness sworn on the side of his adver-
sary as hostile to his client, and attacks him in manner, voice, and
with a thousand useless questions, plainly showing to the jury the
state of the mind of the lawyer, to the prejudice of the cause of
the client. As a general rule there are too many questions asked the
witness, depending upon the clearness or obscurity of the legal vision
of the attorney. He who sees his case clearly can put his questions
to the witness so as to come directly to the point in issue. I have
known many cases lost by counsel crOss-questioning their own wit-
nesses after the case was made out. In criminal cases, resting on cir-
cumstantial evidence, I have never found it diiBcult to point to the
real criminal wherever presence, motive, and opportunity combine.
In the absence of stronger outside proof, I fix the criminal. The
murder of Dr. Burdell, in New York, although, in the eye of many
for a time, a mystery, never looked so to me. I fixed the crime upon
those who had the opportunity and the motive. Mrs. Cunningham
was there. Mr. Eckel was there. Dr. Burdell was a single man and
rich. Mrs. Cunningham, a widow without reputation, pretending to
have married Dr. Burdell secretly, would be entitled, if his wife, to a
widow's share of his estate upon his death. The " presence " was
there, the " motive " was there, and there was no outside circumstance
to rebut the violent presumption that Eckel was the tool of Mrs. Cun-
ningham, to personate Dr. Burdell at the pretended marriage, and to
murder him on the fatal night in Bond street. Such, I believe, is now
the universal opinion. The pretended marriage has been declared by
the court fraudulent. The procured heir has been returned to its
mother, and the author of the crime is now in the tombs.
188 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
THOMAS H. BENTON.
Col. Benton has been so long identified with the history of the
country, as a public man, a Senator and Author, that I will be excused
for making this sketch brief, referring the reader to the published works
of the Col. for the history of his public acts. To say that Col. Benton
was among the first men in the nation is only what is universally
conceded to him. I served in the Senate of the United States sis
years with him, and enjoyed his intimacy during my entire term. In
person Col. Benton was large, and powerfully made, above the ordinary
bight, deep expanded chest, broad square shoulders, large head, high
prominent forehead, thin short whiskers, wide mouth, projecting chin,
large nose, blue eyes well set, inclined to baldness, hair brown and
thin on his head. As a speaker the Col. was strong, clear, forcible,
imperative, seldom persuasive, never submissive, sometimes eloquent.
He always spoke like a man conscious of his facts, and he was seldom
or never mistaken, as he spoke with the documents before him, to
which he often referred, and by which he would stand corrected, but
in no other way. His iron will was indomitable, like all great men he
succumbed to neither friend nor foe. Col. Benton was well qualified
for a military commander. He scorned to play second to any man.
He gave his opinions in debate frankly, openly and fearlessly, main-
taining them with a firmness, sometimes called obstinacy', if he stood
alone. On one occasion in Executive Session, Mr. Tyler had nominated
a Democrat to a land-ofiice, the nomination was announced. Col.
Benton never whispered when he spoke from his chair but it was so loud
that I could hear him on the opposite side of the chamber. Mr. Walker
was soliciting the Col. to vote for the nominee, it was supposed that
the vote would be close, the Whig Senators not being remarkably
partial to Mr. Tyler's nominations just at that time. Col. Benton
whispered " A Democrat, and the nominee of John Tyler, so much the
worse, it is bad enough for Tyler to send us a Whig without qualifica-
tions, but to send us such a Democrat, is too bad." " I vote no." The
nominee was rejected. The Col. constituted within himself his own
dynasty. He was one of the most laborious men in the Senate, never
idle, always writing with his books upon his desk, and his documents
under his table. He seldom took part in the common debates, but
as seldom permitted any important question to leave the Senate until
he was heard. He never made a speech without documentary prepara-
tion, and always addressed the Senate fortified with the documents to
sustain him. His printed speeches under his own supervision, wher
ever they are, will be found stufled with the proof to sustain his
COL. BENTON. 189
positions. Unlike Mr. Calhoun, he was never satisfied with his own
declamations merely, it was not enough for him to say " I say it is so."
But "here are the documents to prove it." I always listened to the
Col. with much interest. I thought him often very eloquent, still
his was the eloquence that held the undivided attention of the Senate,
but not of that exciting character that fills the galleries, and crowds
the aisles with ladies. It has been said of Col. Benton, that he was
on too good terms with himself; that may have been his fault, but if
so, he shared it with the most of the other distinguished Senators.
No Western man will ever doubt that Col. Benton was true as steel to
AVestern interests ; indeed, if he had that fault, it was not one for which
I could censure him. He may have loved his own West but too well,
a failing common to Western Senators. I must refer the reader to
his own '■ Thirty Years " for his political views, and his speeches on the
many subjects before the Senate, giving here an extract from one of
them, merely to show the character of his mind, and style of bis pen.
EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH OP MR. BENTON.
'■ To make this clear, it is necessary to refresh our minds with some
recollections of the Mexican Eevolution, a subject which has been
referred to by the speakers in a manner which would seem to indicate
great ignorance on their part. I know that many look at the
events of Iguala, in February, 1821, as the beginning of the
Revolution. Nonsense, Mr. President, that event was at the end of
the Revolution, which bad commenced eleven years before. It began
on the 15th day of September, in the year 1810, and in the manner
which had been foretold by Gen. (then Lieutenant) Pike, four years
before. It began with the lower orders of the hierarchy, with the native
clergy, all condemned to wear out their lives in curacies while the
princely endowments of the great dioceses were bestowed upon exotics
imported from old Spain. The Revolution began in this class, the
native and the lower clergy, and never did popular movements have a
more marked, a more imposing, a more grand, or a more auspicious
commencement. It burst at once, without premonition, like a bla-
zing comet on the view of the world. It was on Sunday, the 15th
day of September, 1810, that the curate Hidalgo, in the village of
Dolores, in the province of Guanaxauto, at the close of the celebra-
tion of the high mass and after having preached a sermon in favor of
Independence, issued from the door of his parish church, the crucifix
in bis hand, the standard of revolt borne before him, and calling upon
the children of Mexico to follow him ; and never, since the days of
Peter the hermit, was a call so answered. The congregation followed,
190 EAKLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
the village followed, the parish followed. Cities, towns, provinces
followed the crucifix of the curate, and crushing all resistance, a mass
of 70,000 men appeared on the hills which overlooked the city of
Montezuma, and which, since the days of Cortez, had never beheld an
army with banners. The brave curate, with that instinct of generalship
which knows when to leave old rules behind, was for instant attack ; and,
if he had done so, in three hours the city was his, and the Revolution at
an end ; but a fatal delay of three days was allowed. Treason had
penetrated his camp. The Viceroy had sent traitors to whisper in
every ear the impossibility of the undertaking, that the priest was no
general and would be whipped, that he could not take the city, and
that himself and followers would all be ruined. Bribes followed, and
treason and corruption dissolved in three days the patriotic army
which no force could resist, and which was on the point of giving
liberty and independence to its country. But the Revolution did not
stop. The brave curate carried it on till he was killed, and statues
have been erected to his memory. Other leaders appeared. The
patriots kept the field, or rather the mountains, and at the end of
eleven years the events of Iguala put an end to the contest. It had
been a struggle, not between the mother country and the colony, but
between the diiferent classes of the Mesican population, the native
against the European. These two classes, in the persons of their
chiefs, united at Iguala, joined their arms together, proclaimed the
independence of their country, and from that day (21st February,
1821) the Revolution was terminated, the independent government
was established, and the power of Spain had ceased forever. The
plan of Iguala. of which Iturbide was the hero, was the work of
■united Mexicans. It was the union of Mexicans in the cause of inde-
pendence, and both declared and established independence. It was a
great act in itself, putting an end to the Revolution of Mexico, but was
speedily followed by another act putting the seal upon it. This was
the treaty of Cordovaconcluded on the 24th of August of the same year,
in which the extinction of the Spanish power in Jlexico, and the estab-
lishment of its independence was formally and fully acknowledged
by the Spanish king's representative in the Vieeroyalty of Mexico.
There is a Spanish copy of this important act in our Congress Library,
but in the haste of the moment, I have not been able to find it, I only
find a copy in French. I find it in the ajipendix to the memuircs of
the some-time Emperor Iturbide, among the vouchers of which the
French call pieces jusiijicatives."
JAMES BUCHA:fAX. 191
JAWES BUCHANAN.
1 NEED not say, that these are not intended for biographies, they
are mere sketches, of persons, incidents and things, and assume no
higher grounds. James Buchanan, the subject of this sketch, has
been so long among the most prominent of tlie distinguished men of
the United States, and so recently filled so large a space in the public
eye, that it may seem to some that I might pass him by in these remi-
niscences ; I can not do so, my mind's eye is upon the distinguished
men with whom I was associated during a term of six years in the
Senate of the United States. I know no party lines in these sketches,
nor am I governed in the least by the opinions of others, I am record-
ing my own. I speak of Mr. Buchanan as a Senator, his official
transactions in the high places he has filled at home and abroad, are
before the nation, and will go dowu as a part of the history of
the country to posterity. I served sis years with Mr. Buchanan :
I was most fortunate in getting a seat directly between him and
Silas Wright of New York, and consequently in becoming intimate
with both these distinguished Senators, which was never inter-
rupted a moment by our political positions ; besides being a native of
eastern Pennsylvania, it was but natural that my position should be
very agreeable socially, to me.
Mr. Buchanan in person is tall and strongly built. He was the
largest Senator of the body during the time he served his State, and is
now the largest man that has filled the Presidential chair since Gen.
Washington ; his head is well proportioned to his body, his forehead
is broad and high, his eye rather sunken, his hair twenty years ago
was well silvered o'er with grey, it is now white as snow. He carried
his head leaning to one shoulder. I have seen that some writer speaks
of this as owing to his eyes, but I think it is an acquired inclination
of the head from some physical cause. As a debater, Mr. Buchanan
stood high, among the first, perhaps not the very first. Mr. Clay, Mr.
Calhoun and Jlr. Webster by common consent, in point of eloquence
and power, seemed to occupy the very first position in that body
of great men ; still it was very difficult for me to see the difference
between that trio and Mr. Buch.inan, Silas Wright and Mr. Benton.
Mr. Buchanan always spoke well, sometimes eloquently, his mind was
stored with facts, his preparation was always commensurate with the
importance of his subject, and he never spoke unless he was prepared,
as he often told me ; he believes in preparation, as essential to success.
I have heard him again and again, when he seemed to speak off-hand,
upon the impulse of the moment, but before he closed, he gave con-
192 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
elusive evidence tliat lie was drawing from previous preparation. He
was always familiar, gentlemanly and courteous, yet not obsequious.
I recollect on one occasion, Mr. Dickens (Boz) sat on the side sofa,
immediately behind our seats. Senators from all parts of the cham-
ber were pressing forward to take the distinguished English writer by
the hand. Mr. Buchanan sat writing, I asked him why he did not rush
forward like the rest. " I am in no hurry, let the time come itself
and the occasion be suitable." On another occasion, there sat behind
us a red-faced, red-eyed, small man. evidently dissipated. Mr. Bu-
chanan asked me if I knew him. " Certainly I do, so do you, as you
voted for him yesterday as our charge to Texas." " I voted for him?
you must be mistaken ; if you are not, I say that if ever I get to be
President of the United States, which I do not expect to be, I never
will send any one abroad to represent this Government, without seeing
him, and approving his personal appearance." During the personal
debate between Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun that turned upon the consis-
tency of Mr. Calhoun as a politician and states-right man, Mr. Calhoun
had been struggling all day with accumulated facts, against his consist-
eDcy, in the hands of his adroit and powerful competitor. As he rose
the last time, to reply to Mr. Clay, Mr. Buchanan turning his eye to me,
" What a fool Calhoun is, to labour to prove his consistency through
life. I should think myself a great dunce if I was not wiser to day
than I was twenty years ago," For the purpose of placing Mr. Bu-
chanan before the reader, as to his style as a debater, I select an extract
from his reply to Mr. Clay, on the veto cjuestion, delivered in the Sen-
ate of the United States on the 2nd of February, 1842.
" Sir, the Senator from Kentucky, iu one of those beautiful passages
which always abound in his speeches, has drawn a glowing picture
of the isolated condition of kings, whose ears the voice of public
opinion is never permitted to reach, and he has compared their con-
dition in this particular, with that of the President of the United
States. Here too, he said, the Chief Magistrate occupied an isolated
station, where the voice of his country and the cries of its distress
could not reach his ear. But is there any justice in this comparison?
Such a picture may be true to the life when drawn for a European
monarch, but it has no application whatever to a President of the
United States. He, sir, is no more than the first citizen of the free
Kepublic. No form is required in approaching his perstin, which can
prevent the humblest of his fellow-citizens from communicating with
him. In approaching him, a freeman of this land is not compelled
to decorate himself in fantastic robes or adopt any particular form of
dress, such as the court etiquette of Europe requires. The President
JAMES BUCHAXAlSr. 193
iutermingles freely witli his fullow-citizens and hears the opinion of
all. The public press attacks him — political parties iu and out
of Congress assail him, and the thunders of the Senator's own
denunciatory eloquence are reverberated from the Capitol, and reach
the White House before its incumbent can lay his head upon his pil-
low. His every act is subjected to the severest scrutiny, and he reads
in the newspapers of the day, the decrees of public opinion. Indeed
it is the privilege of every body to assail him. To contend that such
a Chief Magistrate is isolated from the people, is to base an argu-
ment upon mere fancy, and not upon facts. No sir, the President
of the United States is more directly before the people, and more
immediately responsible to the people, than any other department
of our Government. Woe be to that President who shall ever affect to
withdraw from the public eye and seclude himself in the recesses of
the Executive Mansion."
EXTRACT FROM HIS SPEECH,
On Mr. Walker's amendment to the loan bill. " I hope the Senate
will pardon me for a word of disgression. Thanks to the all-pervad-
ing arrogance and injustice of England, each portion of our Union
has now a sepai'ate just cause of quarrel against that nation peculiarly
calculated to arouse its feelings of indignation. We have the North-
eastern Boundary question, the Carolina question, the Creole question,
the Northwestern Boundary question, and above all, the right of search.
Should we be forced into war in the present state of the controversy,
we shall be a united people, and the war will be conducted with all
our energies, physical and moral. In the present attitude of our
affiiirs, I say, then, let uf: settle all of these questions, or none. All or
none, ought to he our motto. If we insist on going to war, we could not
desire a more favorable state of the questions than exists at present
between the two nations. If all these questions except one should be
adjusted, we shall be in as much danger of war from the single one
which may remain, as we are at present, while we would incur the risk
of destroying that union and harmony among the people of this
country, which is the surest presage of success and victory. On all
the questions in dispute between the two nations, except the right
of search, I would concede much to avoid war and to restore our
friendly relations provided they can all be adjusted. It is my firm
conviction that it is due to this country, and to its tranquillity and
prosperity, that all these questions should be settled together. All or
none, I again repeat ; without this, you weaken your own strength — -
you play into the baud of your adversary — you destroy to some extent
194 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
the unanimity of your people; — and, when at last you may be
compelled to go to war, you will commence the contest with divided
counsels and interests. I trust and hope that all these agitating
questions may he settled. I should gladly review each one of them,
but I feel that at the present moment it would be discourteous toward
the distinguished stranger (Lord Ashburton), whom England has
deputed to negociate upon them. I would not say a word which
could by possibility interfere with the negociation.
" I hope he has come among us bearing the olive branch of honor-
able peace. If he has, there is no man in this country more ready to
welcome his arrival than myself."
#
SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD. 195
SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD.
An intimacy for years in the Senate between the subjett of this
sketch and myself, enables me to speak of him as his high position
deserves. Samuel L. Southard was long New Jersey's ftivorite son.
He held the highest offices within the power of the State and people
to confer upon him. Governor, Supreme Judge, United States Senator.
He was made Secretary of the Navy by Mr. Monroe, when quite a
young man, and was continued by Mr. Adams through his administra-
tion. I became acquainted with Mr. Southard in the Senate. At
the session after the death of General Harrison and the constitutional
elevation of Mr. Tyler to the Executive chair, Mr. Southard was
elected president pro tern of the Senate and served as such until his
death, with occasional absence on account of his last illness. In
person he was under the common hight, stout built, expanded chest,
dark hair falling carelessly over his neck, high, retreating forehead,
eyes dark and piercing, long, straight nose, wide mouth, projecting
chin. His manners in private circles, were gentlemanly, courteous
and easy. He was an accomplished scholar, and ranked with the
finest speakers of the Senate. His voice was clear, musical, and full
toned. His eloquence was of the impassioned, impressive character,
sometimes lofty and sublime, often argumentative, always clear and
distinct. He seldom took part in the small debates, never spoke
without preparation, and was always heard by the Senate with marked
attention. As a presiding officer Mr. Southard gave entire satisfaction,
prompt, impartial in his decisions, courteous and pleasant to all. He
was a great favorite in the body. As we saw him sinking under his
protracted disease the sympathy of the whole body was enlisted. The
circumstances of Mr. Southard were far from being easy ; although mil-
lions had been subject to his control, not a misapplied dollar ever tarnish-
ed his fair fame. During the time I was with him in the Senate he made
many able speeches upon important subjects. I never had any special
conversation with him on the subject, but judging from one of his
speeches on the land question, he was a strong American. I only
knew him as a Whig. Under the rules of the Senate the president is
authorized to substitute a presiding officer, day by day, in case of
sickness. It was understood by the Senate that Mr. Southard desired
the priviledge of substituting a Senator to preside during his illness,
and on the 22d. of April, 1842, I was requested by his son to visit his
father in the room of the Vice-President. I found Mr. Southard lying
on the sofa, very weak, barely able to rise. As I entered he made
known his business, requested me to preside during his illness. I
196 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
agreed to do so, the Senate consenting. He then handed me a note
that he had prepared, ivhich I copy here to show the form he adopted.
" Hon. O. H. Smith.
Dear Sir — Increased indisposition will prevent me from attending
the meeting of the Senate this morning, and I therefore request, that
you will perform the duties of the chair. A'"ery respectfully
Washington, Ajrril 22d., 1842. Samuel L. Southard."
The indisposition of Mr. Southard increased daily, and by similar
appointments I continued to preside, with the approbation of the
Senate, up to the 11th. of May, 1842, when I received my last note
from him.
" Hon. 0. H. Smith.
Dear Sir — Being worse indisposed than I was yesterday, I find
that I am unable to attend the Senate this morning, and must therefore
request that you will preside for the day. I am respectfully
Washington, JLy 11th., 1842. Samuel L. Southard."
Mr. Southard passed rapidly away. His death was announced in
both Houses, and appropriate ceremonies took place. I was present
in the House of Eepresentatives, when the melancholy announcement
was made, and appropriate resolutions proposed by the Eepiresentativea
of the State of New Jersey. The resolutions were read; when I saw
rising from his seat the venerable form of John Quiucy Adams, his
head bald to his ears, his thin white hair scarcely covering the back
of his head, addressing the chair. " I rise Mr. Speaker to second the
resolutions : " his lips quivered, his tongue faltered, his voice failed,
the tears trickled down his furrowed cheeks, he stood motionless like a
statue : the House caught the feeling, and in a second there was not a
dry eye in the Hall. Mr. Southard had been associated with Mr.
Adams in both Monroe's and his own Cabinet, their friendship was
deep and abiding. The rush of feeling passed off, Mr. Adams became
composed, and delivered one of the most beautiful and thrilling addresses
I ever heard ; brief, sublime, beautiful, such a eulogy as none but Mr.
Adams could conceive. Mr. Mangum was elected the successor'of Mr.
Southard, and acted as president pro tem until a Vice-President was
elected and qualified.
extract from his speech on the land bill.
Then came the Federal Constitution which created the Union ; and
what does it teach ? Its first words are, " We the people of the Uni-
SAMUEL L. SOUTHAIU). 197
tod States." Wlio were ?/»»/? TJiii/ v;ct& the ciiir.ens of tho United
Staler. The honorable Senator from South Carolina, said he would
like to hear a definition of what a citizen is. I have no skill at defi-
nitions ; but I think I can describe who are, and who are not, citizens.
At the time the Constitution was adopted, the People of the States
formed it. The mere holding of land, did not constitute a man a
citizen, or one of the People of the States. A State may, if she
pleases, allow«n alien to take land, and hold and transmit it by her
laws, and yet he may not be a citizen of the State, or of the United
States, he must go beyond that. The moment you allow a man the
power to vote, the moment you give him poicer to vote in the political
government, j-ou make him a citizen — one of the People. We need
not go back to Rome on this matter. The man who possesses political
power, united to the common rights of person and property, is your
citizen. He must owe his allegiance here, be subject to all duties,
possess all rights, or he can not be a citizen with us. The language,
" We the People of the United States," meant such, and none others.
They formed their Government for themselves — not for Englishmen
or Frenchmen — but for themselves alone, and such as they chose
to admit, upon terms which they should, in their joint capacity pre-
scribe. The power to prescribe these they could not leave to the
States. Would you have Maryland say to New Jersey, you shall
receive this man because I have made him a citizen ? There was,
therefore, a necessity of some common rule, and the authority to pre-
scribe it must be placed somewhere; and it could be placed nowhere
but in the common councils ; and accordingly, the Constitution declared
that Congress should have the power " to establish a uniform rule of
naturalization." Could it be uniform, and yet leave the power to the
States? Naturalization is the investing of an alien with the rights
and privileges of one who is native-born. That is the whole idea.
AVhen, therefore, the Constitution says that Congress shall have
power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, it means this, and
this only : Congress shall prescribe the terms on which a foreigner,
an alien, shall be admitted to the rights of a native — be one of "We
the People." Can there be a uniform rule, unless it is prescribed by
some common central power, and by that alone ? There obviously
can not. The very object to be attained, requires that the power
should be vested exclusively in one body, in the Federal (xovernment.
I hold, therefore, the Constitution of Illinois and so much of the Con-
stitution of Michigan, as undertakes to admit foreigners to citizenship,
to be null and void — a violation of the compact. We entered into
the Union on certain terms and conditions, relative to representation,
19#
EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
taxation and other matters. It was necessary for us to say who should
be admitted as co-partners. But if an individual State may say this,
the relative position of the States is changed- — the conditions at once
broken and destroyed. Illinois admits, we will suppose, 10,000 per-
sons to vote, who are aliens not naturalized, whom she has not had
the consent of other States to admit. What is the effect upon New
Jersey ?
It is this : that foreigners, strangers probably to our principles of
government, our habits, our interests, — to our very language, may
out-weigh and overcome the citizens of New Jersey in the choice of
Chief Magistrate, and in all the management of all our public affairs.
Is this fair? Is it right? This doctrine puts it in the power of cer-
tain States so to arrange, as that foreigners shall send enough to make
up the majority of Representatives on the floor, in the other House,
and may decide the choice of President. The States it is said, are too
wise and just and will not do this. I do not say they will, but I
would rather stand by the Union, and trust the princijjles of the Con-
stitution than them. We agreed that there should be a uniform rule
of naturalization — a uniform rule in New Jersey and in Michigan,
in Delaware and in Illinois. But is the rule now uniform ? No. —
And if the other States should proceed after the example set by Illin-
ois and Michigan, we shall soon have as many rules as there are States.
I am not willing that such an unconstitutional and pernicious doctrine
shall pass without giving it my condemnation. I insist that it is a
violation of the Constitution. Bead the powers granted in that instru-
ment to Congress, and see if, where similar language is used, the power
is not always exclusive. This point has been brought before the
Supreme Court, and there was no dissentient voice iu regard to it. I
dread the consequences of this doctrine, more especially when I see
such a bill as this, tempting aliens to come, giving them our lands,
that the States may make them citizens. I am not willing that the
members of the House of Representatives shall represent aliens, for
in process of time, aliens may come to be a majority, and may choose
any Chief Magistrate. This law may make them so numerous in
Wisconsin and Iowa as to control your native vote and make laws for
your States. I will not leave it to one State to say, that they shall be
permitted thus to control the general interests of all the States. Whom
may not some of the States make citizens ? Cast your eyes in certain
directions, and you can readily see what might be done. And recol-
lect that the moment a State has pronounced a man a citizen, the
•shield of the Constitutioa is placed over him for his protection, and he
must be protected as a citizen, every where in all the States.
SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD. * 199
I entreat gentlemen to pause before they establish this doctrine.
For myself, I will not hold out inducements either to our own citizens
or to aliens to come and take possession of our public lands. It is a
proposition obnoxious to the laws and to the Constitution, and to all
the fundamental principles of our Government and Union, and I must
resist it. I am willing foreigners shall come and enjoy all the privi-
leges which I do — I am willing to have them as neighbors, and as
friends, and let them stand by our side in battle — hict they must cease
to he Aliens first.
200 ' EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
VISIT TO MEMPHIS.
Late in June, 1853, 1 left home for Mempliis, Tennessee, on matters
connected with tlie contemplated line of railroad from Indianapolis
South by Evansville, and Henderson, Kentucky, to Memphis. When
I arrived at Henderson the great barbecue was just coming off, in
the grove back of the city, upon the occasion of the commencement
of the Henderson and Nashville Railroad. I accepted the offer of a
ride to the grove where I found a very large assembly of ladies and
gentlemen already seated under a beautiful bower, bands of music
playing, companies of infantry marching, and counter-marching,
troops of horse parading, and cannon firing, as I walked up to the
bower. The president of the day invited me to take a seat on the
stand ; of course I could not decline ; but the moment I reach the
seat, he announced to the large audience that " A distinguished son
of Indiana would address the audience." I was taken wholly by
surprise, entirely unprepared, but there was no backing out, and I
went ahead with an extemporaneous speech of some hour and a half.
The attention was all I could have desired and the appilause more than
I could have expected under the most favorable circumstances. The
speaking closed. I received the thanks of the President, and his arm
to the table, at the barbecue out in the grove. It was the first time I
had ever seen a Kentucky barbecue ; I confess it come fully up to my
expectations, — three tables some hundred yards in length, each covered
from end to end with roast beef, mutton, whole pigs and calves, pies
and puddings, bread and butter, indeed with all the substantial of
life and the luxuries of the season, while good humor, hilarity, and
pleasantness reigned. Henderson is a beautiful place located on a high
bluff on the Ohio river some twelve miles below Evansville ; on the
Kentucky side, it is the residence of the Dixons and Powells, and
other distinguished men of Kentucky.
The next morning our steamer stopped at Paducah at the mouth
of the Tennessee, where I landed and met my old friend Lynn Boyd,
Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives in Congress. It was
arranged that I should speak that evening in the court-house ;
posters were soon up over the city, and at candle-lighting I met a
crowded house, spoke some two hours. Got aboard of the boat before
she left, at daylight stepped ashore at Cairo, ran down the Mississippi
a day and night, and landed safely at the beautiful city of Memphis.
This is one of the finest locations on the Mississippi river between
St. Louis and New Orleans, and is destined to become one ef the
largest cities in the Southwest, especially since the completion of the
VISIT TO MEMPHIS. 201
great Memphis and Charleston Railroad. On the evening of the first
of Jul}', by request, I addressed a large audience of the citizens of
Memphis over two hours in one of their halls. It vras beginning to
be feared that the yellow fever would visit the city, the news from
New Orleans had for a few days become alarming ; I determined to
leave on the first boat for home, but learned that there would be no
boat up before Saturday night, the third of July. Saturday morning
had come, when Col. Williamson, president of the Little Rock Rail-
road, invited me to ride out with him on the train of the Memphis
and Charleston Railroad to La Grange, where there was to be a cele-
bration of the opening of the road to that place. I consented and we
took our seats on an open, hind car, where we had a full view of the
surrounding country as we passed. The country from 'Memphis to
La Grange was beautifully picturesque, — fine groves surround the
dwellings of the planters, extensive cotton-fields were just coming
in bloom, the first I had ever seen. The day was pleasant and the ride
delightful ; at eleven o'clock we reached the station at La Grange, and
left the cars for the grove where the stand was erected on rising
ground, with the extensive shaded seats in front. Col. Williamson
and myself were walking toward the stand when we were met by
the president of the day. " Good morning, Col., I am glad to see you,
we are in a bad fix." " How so." " We have an immense assembly,
the ladies are seated, our orator has not come and we have nobody to
address them." " You are not so badly off as you think, here is a
man that can speak to your audience," pointing to me. The president. —
" Can you speak ? " " Yes, a little." " Will you address that audience ? "
" If you say so." " What is your name, and where ai'e you from? "
" My name is Oliver H. Smith, I live in Indiana." " That will do,
how soon can you be ready to speak ? " "I am ready now." We
walked to the stand, ascended the steps to the platform, and before I
reached the seat, the president at the top of his voice, " Ladies and
gentleman, I have the pleasure of introducing General Smith, of the
State of Indiana, who will now address you." I made no such pre-
tensions to military title ; but in the South, military men stand all the
time a head and shoulders higher with the people than common men, and
it is proper for the president in introducing a total stranger, in his own
justification, in case I had failed, to have my military title to fall
back upon. I immediately arose and bowed to the audience. As I
threw my eyes around me from the stand, I beheld the most splen-
did preparations I had ever seen for a celebration. We were in the
midst of a beautiful grove, the front bower covering the extended
seats, overhung with bushes, and evergreens the fine companies, the
202 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
city guards, the infantry in full nniform stationed in front, and on
the sides, the dragoons defiling, and moving around the bower with
their beautiful horses, and splendid uniform. The bands of music,
on either side of the stand, on the right at a distance the smoking
barbecue in an adjoining grove was plainly in sight. My eye measured
ten thousand on the ground. The bands were playing Hail Columbia,
the music ceased.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am a stranger in the State of Tennessee.
I am a candidate for no office, and politics is not my theme, therefore
you have nothing to expect from me to day but the truth, and I have
nothing to ask of you but the courtesy of a hearing. You have a great
State, rich in all that nature can bestow upon you, if you are not pros-
perous and happy it is your own fault. I have listened to your bands
of music, as they played the national air of Hail Columbia, but the
still more delightful music to your ears should be the rumbling
of the cars and the whistling of the locomotives of the flying trains
as they greet your ears, that should speak in a language not to be mis-
understood, that Tennessee is rising from her long slumber, resolved to
enter the field of enterprise with the Northern States. You now stand
upon the same platform the Northern and Eastern States stood on years
ago ; then the great men were merged in politics, as you are, now they
are engaged in the great enterprises of the day, and the country is
rising in population and power. The time was when the patriotic sons
of Tennessee rallied under the standard of their hero and repelled the
enemy, in the glorious battle of New Orleans. A greater enemy to the
State of Tennessee than the British army, has long fettered her pros-
perity, commanded by a greater general than Packenham, — I mean
Gen. Apathy, Gen. Indifference. And a greater general than Gen.
Jackson, may command your forces, — I mean Gen. Will, Gen. Deter-
mination." This is but a sketch of the commencement of the speech.
The speech lasted an hour and a half, and was frequently applauded.
Col. Haskell, Mr. Lindsay, Mr. Tresevant, Mr. Prior, and Dr. Booth,
made short speeches, the bands played Yankee Doodle, and we all
went to the sumptuous table in the adjoining grove, where every thing
was done up in the finest style of a Tennessee barbecue. I returned
that evening to Memphis and at twelve o'clock at night stepped from
the wharf-boat upon the Steamer Columbus, direct from New Orleans,
upward bound, with a number on board low with the yellow fever;
several died on the passage. That dreadful epidemic was then just
making its appearance in New Orleans. As connected with this
sketch I give the notice of the celebration that appeared in the Mem-
phis press, on the next Tuesday, the 5th of July.
VISIT TO MEMPHIS. 203
THE RAILROAD CELEBRATION.
Saturday last was a great day for La Grange, and will mark a new
era in the history of that thriving village. The number of persons in
attendance is variously estimated at from sis to eight thousand, and
but for the heat and dust, the time would have passed off most delight-
fully. The preparations were commodious and ample, and not a sin-
gle accident occurred to mar the harmony of the occasion. Speeches
were made by Hon. 0. H. Smith, of Indiana, Cols. Haskell, Lindsay,
Tresevant, Pryor and Dr. Booth, after which the vast multitude repaired
to the grove where the tables were spread, and partook of a most ele-
gant dinner, prepared gratuitously by the public-spirited citizens of
La Grange and vicinity. Memphis was largely represented on the
occasion in the persons of the City Guards, Fire Companies, and last,
though not least, a goodly number of her fair daughters. Three trains
of cars left during the morning, every one of which seemed a living
mass of human beings, and it is estimated that at least two thousand
of our citizens took passage upon them. It was our fortune to get a
stand (for we could not get a seat) on the 8 o'clock train which carried
up the Guards and Fire Companies, who, with their engines, banners,
uniforms and gay plumes, made one of the most imposing spectacles
it has ever been our good fortune to witness.
Mississippi was also represented by a splendid company of horse-
men from Lamar, who in connexion with the City Guards, went through
some very fine and striking evolutions during the day, adding greatly
to the interest of the occasion. We left the ground on the first train
after dinner, and are unable to speak of what tran.5pired afterward.
Altogether it was, to us at least, a most pleasant day, and we can not
ascribe too much praise to the public spirit of the citizens of La Grange,
and to the interest which they have manifested in aiding and pushing
forward one of the greatest works of the age, the Memphis and Charles-
ton Railroad. May they in due time reap their reward.
204 EAKLY INDIAJ7A TRIALS.
SILAS WRIGHT.
The subject of tliis sketcli was oue of the greatest nieu in the nation.
I had the pleasure of sittiug by his side for six j'ears in the Senate,
and the honor of a close, personal intimacy with him; we diflfered
politically, but personally we were friends. In person, he was about
a fair, medium size ; strongly made, full, ample chest, large head, capa-
cious forehead, inclining to baldness, hair thin, amber light, eyes dark-
blue ; features fiue ; dress plain, manners retiring, almost to dilEdence.
Gov. Wright possessed a mind of the first order in the body. As
a sjjeaker, he was plain, strong, clear, sometimes eloquent ; not what
the galleries call eloquence, his was the eloquence growing out of facts,
plainly, forcibly presented, soft words and hard arguments. His
mind was not the Niagara pitching over the cataract, raising clouds,
and creating i-ainbows to the mental vision of his hearers, but rather
the steady flow of a strong current of the Mississippi, bearing upon
its bosom the wealth of nations. Gov. Wright had great weight
with his party, he really led, while he seemed to follow. His great
attachment to Mr. Van Buren was well known ; while he was chair-
man of the Committee on Finance, a Senator charged him with taking
his cue from Mr. Van Buren, at the White House. Mr. Clay rose
and jocosely remarked, " I rise, Mr. President, to correct the Senator.
I do not know that there is any cue in the case, but if there is it is
more likely that the White House took the cue from the chairman of
the Committee of Finance." Gov. Wright, bowing, '-A high compli-
ment, Mr. Clay."'
Gov. Wright had one advantage over most Senators, he was always
cool and collected, nothing could disturb him or throw him off
his balance. I never saw him so excited as even to appear so, much
less to make him lose sight of the proprieties of debate. He was said
to love his ease, and to spend his vacation in the country, at his home,
fishing and gunning; this may be true, but if so, his active mind was
no doubt drawing to it and arranging the materials for the next ses-
sion, of which he always had at command an inexhaustible store.
As I became familiar with him, he indulged in first-rate anecdotes,
with which I could fill the space I have allotted for this sketch. On
one occasion he was in the Senate of New York with Gen. Erastus
Boot. The General was fond of personal display in his dress. One
morning he came to the Senate with buff breeches, white silk stock-
ings, knee and shoe buckles. Gov. Wright bet a bottle of wine
that he could make the General go home and take ofi" the breeches,
and put on plain piintaloons, without speaking to him on the subject;
SILAS WKIGHT. 205
It seemed to be a very fearful risk, but to the sequel. The Governor
stepped up to the General, and taking him kindly by the hand, said,
" Good morning, General," then turning his eyes upon the buff
breeches, and looking them over for a minute, " how do you do ? " then
re-examining the breeches with a quizzical look, paying no attention to
what the General said, but continuing his remarks, now a word, then
a look at the breeches. The General at length left abruptlj% was
absent some minutes, and returned dressed in a plain pair of black
pantaloons. The wine was drunk with a hearty laugh, in which the
General joined.
On another occasion, while the Governor was Comptroller of New
Tork, a penny paper, every morning for months, had been publish-
ing scurrilous articles against him, without his having taken the least
notice of them. One morning the Editor met him, and, apologizing
for the article of that morning, remarked that he had ascertained that
it was not true. '■ I do not understand you." "Why I have found
out that the article I published this morning about you was not true."
" Me ! you haven't been writing against me, have you? " " Yes, for
six months." " I have not heard of it." '' Then 111 write no more."
The Governor told me how he got along with his enemies when they
wrote against him : "If they publish the truth about me, I say nothing ;
one half of the people will say it is all a lie, one fourth will never see
it, and the current aifairs of the next day will cover it up from the
sight of the other fourth. If it is a lie, I let it bury itself, unless the
author is worthy of my attention, and I think I can make capital by
exposing him."
It is known that Gov. Wright declined accepting the candidacy
for Vice President of the United States, on the ticket with Mr. Polk,
for the reason that his friend, Mr. Van Buren, had been defeated at
Baltimore by the two-thirds rule, and the friends of Gen. Cass, and
Col. Polk had then been nominated over him. Had Gov. Wright
continued to stand aloof from that contest, and refuse to let his name
be used as a candidate for the office of Governor of New York, at that
time, no one doubted but that Mr. Clay would have carried the State
against Mr. Polk, but the great popularity of Gov. Wright, who
was opposed by Millard Fillmore, and the election coming on for Gov-
ernor and President at the same time, the tickets became identified,
and the Polk and Wright ticket succeeded over the Clay and Fillmore
ticket by an inconsiderable majority. I have good reason to know
that it was on his part, a great sacrifice to party, that he made with
great reluctance, preferring to remain in the Senate. He died while
filling the office of Governor of New York, in the meridian of his years.
206 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Had he lived, it was evident that the eyes of the Democratic party were
looking to him as their candidate for the Presidency.
I give for the eye of the reader, as I have of other Senators, a few
extracts from one of his great speeches, on Mr. Clay's resolutions, to
show his style of argument.
EXTRACTS FEOM HIS SPEECH.
"A single other preliminary remark would bring him to an exami-
nation of the resolutions themselves, and of the merits of the questions
raised by them. He was relieved from some of the most serious diflS-
eulties which had, upon some former occasions surrounded this subject
of an adjustment of our tariif of duties upon imports, by being able
to approach the discussion with the conviction that two great, and
leading, and important principles in regard to it, were now perfectly
settled and universally admitted, by all men of all parties, in this coun-
try. They were the following :
" 1. That revenue should be the object and inducement for the
imposition of duties upon imports, and that every other consideration
should be merely incidental to this gi'eat and necessary object.
" 2. That the wants of the Government, economically and properly
administered, should be the measure of revenue to be raised from any
source, or in any manner. There had been a time within his remem-
brance, when both these principles were strongly contradicted, and
when protection to domestic interests was the ground upon which
imposition of duties were urged, and the revenue to be derived was a
merely incidental consideration. Indeed, when these plain principles
were first announced, in the message of a late President, as those which
should guide and govern this branch of legislation, they were looked
upon by many as hostile to domestic interests, if not unpatriotic in
themselves. They soon, however, came to be more carefully and
maturely considered, and the consequence has been their universal
adoption. They are enacted by the Compromise law. They are found
soundly and distinctly put forth in the Finance Ecport of the pres-
ent Secretary of the Treasury, and he was glad to meet with their
strong repetition in a late report from a committee of the House of
Representatives, on the subject of a fiscal agent. These great and
leading principles he hoped he might consider as ' stakes ' already set,
and they should be kept carefully in the eye and mind of every states-
man who attempts to mark out future action upon this all important
subject." * * * * * * * * * *
Mr. W. said, " Gentlemen might suppose these were opinions of his
own, theoretically formed. They were not so, solely ; but he had
SILAS WEIGHT. 207
already facts to rest them upon. A correspondent in New York, had
transmitted to him an extract of a most sensible letter from capitalists,
in Holland, who had already made investments in American securi-
ties. It showed a minute understanding on the part of these saga-
cious gentlemen, between cause and effect, in these matters of credit
here, which, he regretted to believe, were much too limitedly known,
and mxich too little appreciated, by ourselves. Senators must not for-
get that money-lenders are the most cautious of men — that they watch
the policy and providence of those to whom they give credit ; and that
confidence in them, once wounded, is a sickly plant, and can only be
restored to vigor and health again, by the most careful and faithful
culture, and the most active and substantial nutriment. * * =i=
"Another, and still more important consideration, weighed heavily
with him. The practice of sending Congressional speeches had in-
creased within the last few years to an enormous extent, and had come
to be a matter expected by the constituent and demanded from the rep-
resentative, as a part of his official duty. It had gone to such excess
within the last few years as, in his judgment, to have become injurious
instead of being beneficial, to the constituent body, and most palpably
so to the business of legislation here. The great mass of Congres-
sional speeches now take their character from this practice. They are
made not to be listened to by the body to which they are addressed,
but to be read by the constituents to whom they were sent. Hence
they are necessarily political and partisan to much too great an extent,
and much beyond what they would be, if simply intended for the
legislative body. The debates are protracted too in length by this
practice, for the speaker is well aware that the debates upon the ques-
tion can never reach those whom he wishes to address, and hence he
is compelled, in his single speech, to give so full a view of the whole
ground of debate, as to enable the reader to appreciate the force of his
remarks and his views. This, too, must be repeated by each speaker,
because his speech is to go to a different class of readers. Mr. W.
had not for a long time entertained a doubt that this practice of circu-
lating the Congressional speeches under the franks of the members,
had contributed more than any one single cause to the constant increase
of the duration of the long session."
208 EAELY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
ST. LOUIS CONVENTION.
In the month of October in the year 1849, the great Pacific Eailroad
Convention was about to be held at St. Louis. The Eastern stage
arrived with several distinguished men, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Lowe, Mr.
Vancleve from Dayton ; and we all left together for St. Louis in the
stage. Our ride over a bad mud road was not very pleasant ; but we
made all up by good humor and hilarity. The second day we entered
the Grand Prairie, stretching across the State of Illinois ; it was the
first time I had ever seen it; to say it was grand, would not convey an
idea, it was magnificent to my eyes, one grand view all around us, not
a tree to obstruct the sight to the horizon ; here and there in the dis-
tance, was seen the cabin of the settler, with its curling smoke ; now
and then, the deerand the prairie-wolf would spring up and run away
at the top of their speed ; flocks of prairie-chickens flew whizzing
through the air, and occasionally, wild turkeys, with their straight necks
and upright heads, were seen above the grass of the prairie. I had
seen the broad waters of Erie and Michigan, the Atlantic ocean, the
Falls of Niagara; but thought the Grand Prairie scarcely surpassed
by either. What is it yet to be, when settlement and cultivation shall
mark it for their own ? In the evening, St. Louis with her steeples
and towers, was seen in the distance across the Father of Waters —
Bloody Island, as it were in the channel, between Illinoistown and the
city. We were soon at the Planters House, a first-class hotel,
crowded with guests from all parts of the United States and Europe,
of every, language, kindred and tongue. St. Louis was even at that
day a great commercial city, but she was only the infant in the cradle,
giving promise of the future man.
The next day the convention was to meet in the rotunda of the City
Hall. I went over early, and was gratified to find myself in the midst
of my friends — Col. Benton, Edward Bates, Gen. Hill, Col. Bowlin,
Col. Curtus, Judge Birch, Judge Douglass, Solomon W. Koberts, Col.
Darcie, Kiehard W. Thompson, Albert S. White, William K. Edwards,
Charles F. Cruft and others. The time for organization came, and
Judge Stephen A. Douglass was unanimously elected President, Judge
Geyer one of the Vice Presidents, and a full complement of ofiicers
were selected. The circular tier seats in the rotunda, holding some
5000, all filled with the separate delegations from the different States ;
the central platform was occupied by the officers and invited guests.
Judge Douglass in taking the chair, made a strong explanatory speech,
statinsr fully the object of the convention. The Judge is a short, thick,
well-set man, lartrc head, broad high forehead, dark hair and eyes.
ST. LOUIS COXVENTIOX. 209
wide mouth, good features, broad expanded cliest, powerful voice,
delivery good aud distiuct to the largest audience ; his manner is ardent,
impulsive and inflammatory, he is well adapted to large audiences, and
must continue to be one of the popular speakers of the United States.
The committees were appointed, resolutions referred, when Col. Ben-
ton took the main stand aud delivered one of the most beautiful
addresses I have ever heard. He pointed out the route of the Pacific
Kailroad, making St. Louis the starting-point ; gave a graphic descrip-
tion of the country, through which the road must pass ; he most beau-
tifully painted to the imagination, Columbus standing upon the top
of the Kocky 3Iountains, with one hand pointing to the Atlantic, aud
the other to the Pacific, while the trains with their thousands of pas-
sengers from Europe and Asia were flying by. I had often heard the
Colonel, but I thought he surpassed himself that day. The conven-
tion adjourned. Nest morning the committees were to report; quite
early the convention was called to order by the president; the com-
mittees were still out, when Col. Curtus of Iowa, rose and ofiered a
resolution in substance, that to avoid all Constitutional difiiculties in
the construction of the Pacific Railroad, it should commence out-side
of the States, in one of the Territories, over which Congress had
unquestionable jurisdiction ; this seemed to be forestalling the report of
the committee on that subject. The resolution was read by the secretary.
The president rose to put the question. I looked around me to see
if any other person was rising to speak, but no one rose. It was not
my intention to say any thing before the report of the committee came
in, but the test question was before the convention. I rose and ad-
dressed the chair. Theaudience. — "Whoisit?" One of the Indiana
delegation said, " Mr. Smith of Indiana." — " The main stand." I left
the central platform, walked over to the main stand near the chair,
from which Mr. Benton had spoken the day before, and addressed the
convention for some hour and a half, upon the general subject of the
Pacific Railroad, its location, its construction, its preservation, the Con-
stitutional powers of the Government over it, and its great importance
as a national work ; I felt that I had the ear of the convention, I main-
tained that St. Louis was the natural starting-point for the main line,
that there might be two diverging branches on the east side of the
Rocky Mountains, the one finding its terminus at Memphis on the
Mississippi, and the other at Chicago on Lake Michigan ; that on the
west side of the mountains, there should be two lines, the one termin-
ating at San Francisco, California, and the other at the mouth of the
Willamette Valley in Oregon. The Constitutional power was touched
in the speech ; I held that it could make no possible diflFerence whether
14
210 EARLY INDIA>"A TRIALS.
the road commenced in tlie State of Missouri, or west of the States in
the Territories, as these Territories would become States before the
road could be constructed, besides, it would require a* great an exer-
cise of Constitutional power to keep up and run the road, and take tolls
upon it, as it would be to construct it in the first place by Government.
As I closed. Judge Douglass called Vice President Geyer to the
chair, and resigned the presidency for the purpose of taking part in
the debate on the floor. lie replied at once to my speech with much
warmth, and in the opinion of many with conclusive success. I did
not feel that my Constitutional argument was met by the distingui.«hed
Senator ; he suggested that a provision could be inserted in the State
constitution of Territories on the line when admitted ; that the Uni-
ted States shall have the power to construct and operate the road
through the State, after it was admitted into the Union. The sugges-
tion looked plausible, but was it sound ? I suppose not, as additional
Constitutional powers can only be conferred upon Congress by an
amendment of that instrument, in the manner provided in it, and can
not be given by the constitution of a State.
The majority of the committee reported in accordance with the views
of Judge Douglass; my friend Richard W. Thompson, who concurred
with me, dissented from the majority, and moved to strike out the major-
ity report, and insert a resolution placing the matter on the ground we
maintained. Mr. Thompson addressed the convention upon his motion
in a speech of some two hours with great eloquence and power, and
was followed by Solomon W. Roberts and Col. Darcie in strong
speeches, all maintaining the St. Louis commencement for the main
line, and Chicago and Memphis for the termini of the branches. Mr.
Thompson's motion prevailed without a count, and the convention
adjourned to meet at Philadelphia the next summer. A large number
of the delegates went down the river, to attend the Memphis Railroad
Convention the next week. I ran down the Mississippi next day to
Cairo, took a steamer for Louisville, and reached home in safety.
The convention at Philadelphia, was held the next summer, and
resolutions similar to those adopted at St. Louis, were passed with
great unanimity. The subject has been before Congress at every ses-
sion since, but nothing has been done, except some explorations and
reports. It seems now to be pretty well settled, that the great Pacific
Railroad, will be constructed on the central route, through the south
pass of the Rocky Mountains, by associated enterprise, with the col-
lateral aid of the Government, in the shape of grants of lands. The
great importance of this national work must ultimately secure its con-
struction, and I yet look forward to its completion in my aay.
POETS OF INDIANA. 211
POETS OF INDIANA.
Is there one other State in the Union, that has produced finer
poets than John Pinley, Esq., of Richmond ; Mrs. Julia L. Dumont.
of Vevay ; Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton, Rev. Sydney Dyer, John B.
Dillon, Esq., Rev. James Greene, aijd Henry W. Ellsworth, Esq., of
Indianapolis? They have all delighted the public with their prose
and poetry. The Rev. Sydney Dyer has published a neat volume
of songs and ballads, a casket of beautiful gems. Mrs. Julia L.
Dumont has given us her interesting " Life Sketches from Common
Paths." Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton will, no doubt, publish in book
form, her poems and interesting letters from Switzerland. The
poems of Henry W. Ellsworth, Esq., were written while he was our
C^ar^e at Stockholm. The " Hoosier's Nest" was wi'itten by John
Finley, Esq., as a New Year's address in 1830, for the Indiana Journal.
It has never been published entire in any other form I believe, the
latter verses have run through the press in America and England. I
give it entire.
THE HOOSIER'S NEST.
BY JOHN riNLEY, ESQ.
Untaught the language of the schools,
Nor versed in scientific rules.
The humble bard may not presume
The Literati to illume,
Or classic cadences indite,
Attuned "to tickle ears polite ; "
Contented if his strains may pass,
The ordeal of the common mass,
And raise an anti-critic smile.
The brow of labor to beguile.
But ever as his mind delights
To follow Fancy's airy flights.
Some object of terrestrial mien
Uneourteously obtrudes between.
And rudely scatters to the winds
The tangled threads of thought he spins.
Yet why invoke imagination
To picture out a new creation,
When Nature with a lavisli hand
Has formed a more than Fairy land
For us ? An Eldorado real,
Surpassing even the ideal !
212 EARLY IXDIAJS-A TRIALS.
Then who can view the glorious West,
With all her hopes for coming time,
And hoard his feelings unexpressed
In poetry, or prose — or Pihyme ;
What mind and matter uurevealed,
Shall unborn ages here disclose?
What latent treasures long concealed,
Be disinterred from dark repose ?
Here science shall impel her car,
O'er blended valley, hill and plain,
While Liberty's bright natal star
Shines twinkling on her own domain.
Yes, Land of the West, thou art happy and free !
And thus ever more may thy hardy sons be.
Whilst thy ocean-like prairies are spread far and wide,
Or a tree of thy forest shall tower in pride.
Blest Indiana ; in thy soil
Are found the sure rewards of toil,
Where harvest, purity and worth
May make a paradise on earth.
With feelings proud we contemplate
The rising glory of our State ;
Nor take offense by apjjlication
Of its good-natured appellation.
Our hardy yeomanry can smile.
At tourists of " the sea-girt Isle,"
Or wits who traveled at the gallop.
Like Basil Hall, or Mrs. Trollope.
' Tis true among the crowds that roam.
To seek for fortune, or a home,
It happens that we often find
Empiricism of every kind.
A strutting Fop, who boasts of knowledge,
Acquired at some far Eastern college ;
Expects to take us by surprise,
And dazzle our astonished eyes.
He boasts of learning skill, and talents.
Which in the scale, would Andes balance.
Cuts widening swathes from day to day.
And in a month he runs away.
POETS or INDIANA. 213
Not thus the honest son of toil,
Who settles here to till the soil,
And with intentions just and good,
Acquires an ample livelihood :
He is (and not the little-great)
The bone and sinew of the State.
With sis-horse team to one-horse cart,
We hail them here from every part.
And some you'll see sans shoes or socks on,
With snake-pole and a yoke of oxen :
Others with pack-horse, dog and rifle,
Make emigration quite a trifle.
'The emigrant is soon located —
In Hoosier life initiated —
Erects a cabin in the woods,
Wherein he stows his household goods.
At first, round logs and clap-board roof, ■ «
With puncheon floor, quite carpet-proof,
And paper windows, oiled and neat.
His edifice is then complete,
When four clay balls, in form of plummet,
Adorn his wooden chimney's summit ;
Ensconced in this, let those who can
Find out a truly happier man.
The little youngsters rise around him.
So numerous they quite astound him ;
Each with an axe, or wheel in hand,
And instinct to subdue the land.
Ere long the cabin disappears,
A spacious mansion next he rears ;
His fields seem widening by stealth,
An index of increasing wealth ;
And when the hives of Hoosiers swarm,
To each is given a noble farm.
These are the seedlings of the State,
The stamina to make the great.
' Tis true her population various.
Find avocations multifarious ;
But having said so much, ' twould seem
No derogation to my theme.
w
214 EAEIiY INDIANA TRIALS.
Were I, to circumscribe the space,
To picture but a single case ;
And if my muse be not serapbic
I trust you'll find her somewhat graphic.
I'm told in riding some where West,
A stranger found a Hoosier's N^est,
In other words a Buckeye Cabin,
Just big enough to hold Queen 3Iab in.
Its situation low, but airy.
Was on the borders of a prairie ;
And fearing he might be benighted
He hailed the house, and then alighted.
The Hoosier met him at the door.
Their salutations soon were o'er.
He took the stranger's horse aside
And to a sturdy .sapling tied.
^ I I'hen having stripped the saddle off,
He fed him in a sugar trough.
The stranger stooped to enter in,
The entrance closing with a pin ;
- ' And manifested strong desire
To seat him by the log-heap fire.
Where half a dozeu Hoosieroons,
With mush and milk, tin-cups and spoons.
White heads, bare feet and dirty faces,
Seemed much inclined to keep their places ;
But madam, anxious to display
Her rough but undisputed sway,
Her offspring to the ladder led,
And cuffed the youngsters up to bed.
Invited shortly to partake.
Of venison, milk and Johnny-calce,
The stranger made a hearty meal.
And glances round the room would steal.
One side was lined with divers garments,
The other, spread with skins of varmints;
Dried pumpkins over head were strung,
Where venison hams in plenty hung ;
Two rifles placed above the. door,
POETS OF INDIANA. 215
Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor —
In short the domicil was rife
With specimens of Hoosier life.
The host, who centered his aiFections
On game, and range and quarter sections,
Discoursed his weary guest for hours
Till Somnus' all-composiug powers.
Of sublunary cares bereft ' em ;
And then — No matter how the story ended,
The application I intended,
Is from tbe famous Scottish poet.
Who seemed to feel as well as know it,
That burly chiels and clever hlzzies,
Ai'e bred in sic a way as this is.
BACHELORS' HALL.— (Irish Imitation.)
BY JOHN PINLET ESQ.
Bachelors' Hall ; What a quare looking place it is I
Kape me from sich all the days of my life !
Sure, but I think what a burnin' disgrace it is,
Niver at all to be gettin' a wife.
See the ould Bachelor, gloomy and sad enough,
Placing his tay-kettle over the fire ;
Soon it tips over — Saint Patrick ! he's mad enough,
If he were present to fight with the Squire.
Then like a hog in a mortar -bed wallowin,
Awkard enough, see him knading his dough ;
Troth ! If the bread he e6uld ate widout swallowing,
How it would favor his palate, you know.
His dish-cloth is missing — the pigs are devouring it,
In the pursuit he has battered his shin ;
A plate wanted washing — Grimalkin is scouring it,
Tunder and turf! what a pickle he's in !
His meal being over, the table's left setting so.
Dishes, take care of yourselves if you can !
But hunger returns, — then he's pining and fretting so
Och ! Let him alone for a baste of a man !
Pots, dishes, pans, and such greasy commodities.
Ashes and pratie-skins kiver the floor;
His cupboard's a store-house of comical oddities,
Sich as had niver been neighbors before.
216 EAELY .INDIANA TRIALS.
Late in the niglit then, he goes to bed shiveriu'
Niver the hit is the bed made at all !
He crapes like a tarapin under the kiverin ;
Bad luck to the picture of Bachelors' Hall.
PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE.
BY MRS. SARAH T. BOLTON.
Voyager upon life's sea,
To yourself bo true,
And wher'er your lot may be,
Paddle your own canoe.
Never, though the winds may rave,
Falter or look back ;
But upon the darkest wave
Leave a shining track.
Nobly dare the wildest storm,
Stem the hardest gale.
Brave of heart and strong of arm
You will never fail.
When the world is cold and dark.
Keep your aim in view ;
And toward the hcacon-work.
Paddle your own canoe.
Every wave that hears you on
To the silent shore,
From its sunny source is gone
To return no more.
Then let not an hour's delay,
Cheat you of your due,
But, while it is called to day,
Paddle your own canoe.
If your birth denied you wealth,
Lofty state and power.
Honest fame and hardy health,
Are a better dower.
But if these will not suffice,
Golden gain pursue ;
And to gain the glittering prize,
Paddle your own canoe.
POETS OF INDIANA. 217
Would you wrest the wreath of fame
From the hand of fate ?
Would you write a deathless name
With the good and great ?
Would you bless your fellow-men ? —
Heart and soul imbue
With the holy task, and then, —
Paddle your own canoe.
Would you crush the giant wrong,
In the world's free fight?
With a spirit brave and strong,
Battle for the right.
And to break the chains that bind
The many to the few, —
To enfranchise slavish mind, —
Paddle your own canoe.
Nothing great is lightly won,
Nothing won is lost ;
Every good deed, nobly done.
Will repay the cost.
Leave to Heaven, in humble trust.
All you will to do :
But if you succeed, you must
Paddle your own canoe.
A HOME ON THE MOUNTAIN.
BT REV. SYDNEY DYER.
Let others sigh for a valley home.
Where the brooks run murmuring by,
I'll build my cot on the mountain's dome.
Where it leans to the deep blue sky.
I love to dwell where the eagles soar,
And perch on its starry crown.
The wild winds howl, and the thunders roar,
As the storm comes rattling down ;
Then sigh who will for a valley home,
Where the brooks run murmuring by,
I'll build my cot on the mountain's dome,
Where it leans to the deep blue sky.
'218 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Let others pine for the vale below,
Though a home is more genial there,
I love the drift of the mountain snow,
And the health of its bracing air.
• We '11 bound away on the chamois' track,
Or mark as the noble deer
Leaps high in air, as our rifles crack ;
Hurrah! for our mountain cheer.
Then sigh who will for a valley home,
Where the brooks run murmuring by,
I'll build my cot on the mountain's dome.
Where it leans to the deep blue sky.
WASHINGTON'S TOMB.
BY REV. SYDNEY DYER.
Immortal and sacred, untouched by decay.
The tomb of the hero in glory appears ;
And nations their homage unceasingly pay.
To his ashes that hallow the place of their tears.
Though he sleeps in the grave, still, enraptured they greet.
The banner of stars which his valor unfurled.
And hither, as pilgrims, they hasten to meet,
And Washington's tomb is the shrine of the world.
The deeds of the warrior, the tongue of the sage.
The strains of the poet, though others may claim,
The glory that dazzles the world's brightest page,
Is the halo that circles our Washington's name.
While a freeman shall live, his devotion will greet
The banner of stars, which his valor unfurled,
And hither, as pilgrims, the nations will meet.
And Washington's tomb be the shrine of the world.
While others for glory have fought and have bleed,
His heart and his fame to his country he gave.
And here, as the feet of the pilgrim are led.
Each heart is enshrined in our Washington's grave ;
And the gaze of the freeman with rapture will greet.
The banner of stars, which his valor unfurled.
And the hearts of all ages in unison meet,
At Washington's tomb — the first shrine of the world.
POETS OF INDIANA. 219
While sacred, immortal, liis resting shall be.
And nations, admiring, shall covet his fame ;
May the bonds of onr Union be lasting and free,
And dear as the love of our Washington's name.
By the tomb of our hero united we'll greet, •
The banner of stars which his valor unfurled ;
We'll stand by its honor, its foemen defeat.
And save from pollution the shrine of the world.
MY DAUGHTER NURSE.
BY MSS. JULIA L. DUMONT.
I HEAR her still— that buoyant tread.
How soft it falls upon my heart ;
I've counted since she left my bed
Each pulse that told of time a part.
Yet in a dreamy calm I've laid.
Scarce broke by fitful pain's strong thrill.
As one who listening waits some strain,
Wont every troubled thought to still.
And o'er me yet in visions sweet.
The image of my precious child,
Plying e'en now with busy feet,
Some tender task — for me has smiled.
Oh ! youth and health ; rich gifts and high
Are those wherewith your hours are crown'd ;
The balm, the breath, of earth and sky —
The gladsome sense of sight and sound.
The conscious rush of life's full tide,
The dreams of hope in fairy bowers ;
Action and strength, their glee and pride.
Are portions of your laughing hours.
But, still to dim and wasting life,
Thou bringest dearer gifts than these :
Gifts, that amid pale sufi'ering strife.
Love, filial love, beside me wreathes.
220 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
Sweet draughts fresh drawn from love's deep spring,
Still lulls my many hours of pain,
And not all summer joys might bring
A draught so pure from earthly stain.
Why is it, that thus faint and prone
I may not raise my languid head? —
A daughter's arms around me thrown
Yet lift me from my weary bed.
* And what have flowers or skies the while
To waken in a mother's breast,
Soft gladness like the beaming smile.
With which she lays me back to rest ?
Those smiles, when all things round me melt
In slumberous mist, my spirit fill :
As light upon closed eye-lids felt
Beneath their curtaining shadow still.
And still in happy dreams I hear,
While angels' forms seem o'er me bent,
Her tones of ever tender cheer,
With their high whisperings softly blent.
But hush, that is her own light tread.
It is her hand upon my brow ;
And leaning silent o'er my bed,
Her eyes in mine are smiling now.
My child, my child, you bring me flowers —
Spring's fragrant gift to deck my room ;
But through the dark drear winter hours.
Love — love alone has poured perfume.
TWILIGHT.
BY REV. JAMES GREENE.
I love the thoughtful hour when sinks
The burning sun to rest,
And spreads a sea of flowing gold
Along the illumined west ;
POETS OF IXDIANA. 221
When nature seems as if from toil,
Slie found a glad release,
And breathes through all her works the breath
Of harmony and peace.
That twilight hour attunes the soul
To nature's minstrelsy,
And leaves the temple of the heart
From passion's discord free ;
The music of the world without
Pervades the world within.
And sweetly drowns the jarring notes
Of vanity and sin.
I can not prize in hours like these
E'en friendship's sacred voice,
Nor do I need a kindred heart
To share these mystic joys ;
For 'tis an hour to be alone —
Not in the cloister walls,
But forth mid forest, hill and stream,
In nature's glorious halls !
Yet never am I less alone,
Than when alone " I " stray
Abroad for quiet converse
With the gentle closing day ;
The very stillness of the hour
Is eloquent with thought.
And every zephyr floating by,
With speechless language fraught.
I hold cfcimunion with the stream
That gurgles through the vale,
And find companions in the flowers
That scent die passing gale ;
And when I Test, where spreads the grove,
Its deep, inviting shade.
Forgotten thoughts come back in tones
By trembling leaflets made.
Those tones unuttered, bring again,
In pageantry of light,
The roseate hours when life's gay morn
Was beautiful and brisht ;
222 EAELY ITs^MANA TKIALS.
And words of kindness sweet as if
By angel voices sped,
Float from that stadowy land where rest
, The loved and early dead.
Nor can I feel alone when all
Around me speaks of God —
When arching sky, and flowering earth
Proclaim his praise abroad ;
And soft as fall the twilight dews,
From pearly stores above,
I hear a voice in every breeze,
That whispers God is love.
If in these faintly pencilled lines.
His glory shines so clear,
To those who gaze upon his throne
What vision must appear ?
What fancy's ardent wing shall soar,
To gain that viewless hight,
Or tongue describe, or heart conceive
That world of fadeless light !
BURIAL OF THE BEAUTIFUL.
BT JOHN B. DILLON, ESQ.
Where shall the dead and the beautiful sleep?
In the vale where the willow and cypress weep ;
Where the wind of the West breathes ^ts softest sigh :
Where the silvery stream is flowing nigh,
And the pure, clear drops of its rising sprays
Glitter like gems in the bright moon's rays —
Where the sun's warm smile may never dispel
Night's tears o'er the form we loved so well —
In the vale where the sparkling waters flow ;
Where the fairest, earliest violets grow ;
Where the sky and the earth are softly fair.
Bury her there — bury her there !
Where shall the dead and the beautiful sleep?
Where wild flowers bloom in the valley deep :
POETS OF INDIANA. 223
Where the sweet robes of spring may softly rest
In purity over the sleeper's bi-east :
Where is heard the voice of the sinless dove,
Breathing notes of deep and undying love ;
Where no column proud in the sun may glow,
To mock the heart that is resting below ;
Where pure hearts are sleeping, forever blest;
Where wandering Peris love to rest ;
Where the sky and the earth are softly fair.
Bury her there — bury her there !
LINES TO AN ABSENT WIFE.
BY HENRY W. ELLSWORTH.
Shall we meet again together,
As in happy days of old, —
When around our winter fireside,
Many merry tales were told ?
When the yule-log sparkled brightly
And still brighter every eye,
As we recked not of the tempest,
In its wild wrath shouting by ?
Shall we meet again together.
On the green and sunny plain,
With the tall grass round us waving.
And the billowy ripened grain, —
Where we soared the timid rabbit.
And the speckled prairie hen ; —
From the morning "till the twilight,
Shall we wander there again?
Shall we hear once more together,
The soft ripple of that stream,
Whose tones were wont to gladden us,
Like the music of a dream ?
Where, in forest-paths, we lingered,
Or with arm-in arm stole on,
'Till the silver stars had faded,
And the witching moonlight gone?
224 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
Shall we meet again, sweet mother,
Willi tliat dear one by our side.
Whom our hearts have loved to cherish
In the fulness of their pride ;
Wliom we oft have watched together,
In each sunny hour of glee,
While we blest the glorious Giver
That such gentle ones could be ?
Shall we meet again together,
For the loved and early gone.
As with noiseless steps we linger
Near each dear sepulchral stone ; —
Watching long till evening draweth
Her dark pall around their bed.
And with folded hands above them
Breathe our blessings on the dead ?
Shall we meet yet, love, together.
In that spirit clime on high.
Where the blest of earth are gathered.
And the heart's best treasures lie ; —
Where each deathless soul retaineth
All it knew or loved of yore ; —
Shall we — father, son and mother —
Meet above to part no more ?
THE CHOLERA- KING.
BY HENRY W. ELLSWORTH.
He Cometh ! A conqueror proud and strong
At the head of a mighty band
Of the countless dead, as he passed along,
That he slew with his red right hand ;
And over the mountains, or down the vale.
As his shadowy train sweeps on.
There stealeth a lengthened note of wail,
For the loved and early gone !
He Cometh ! The sparkling eye grows dim.
And heavily draws the breath,
Of the trembler who whispers low of him,
And his standard-bearer death, —
15
rOETS OF INDIANA. 225
He striketh the rich man down from power.
And wasteth the student pale,
Nor 'scapes him the maid in her latticed bower,
Nor the warrior armed in mail !
He Cometh ! Through ranks of steel-clad men
To the heart of the warrior brave ;
Ye may count where his conquering step hath been
By the spear in each nerveless hand.
Wild shouteth he where on the battle plains,
By the dead are the living hid,
As he buildeth up from the foemen slain,
His skeleton pyramid !
There stealeth 'neath yonder turret's height,
A lover, with song and lute,
Nor knoweth the lips of his lady bright
Are pale, and her soft voice mute, —
For he dreameth not, when no star is dim,
Nor cloud in the summer sky,
That she who from childhood loved him
Hath laid her down to die !
She watcheth ! A fond young mother dear !
While her heart beats high with pride.
How she best to the good of life may rear.
The dear one by her side;
With a fervent prayer, and a love-kiss warm.
She hath sunk to a dreamy rest.
Unconscious all of the death-cold form.
That she claspeth to her breast !
Sail Ho ! For the ship that tireless flies,
While the mad waves leap around.
As she spreadeth her wings for the native skies.
Of the wanderers homeward bound, —
Away through the trackless waters blue.
Yet ere half her course is done.
From the wasted ranks of her merry crew
There standeth only one !
All hushed is the city's busy thron".
As it sleeps in the fold of death.
Like the desert o'er which hath passed alono-,
The pestilent Simoon's breath ;
226 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
All Lushed ! save the chill and stifling heart
Of some trembling passer by,
As he looketh askance on the dead-man's cart,
Where it waiteth the next to die !
The fire hath died from the cottage hearth, —
The plow on the unturned plain
Stands still, while unreaped to the mother earth,
Down droppeth the golden grain !
Of the loving and loved that gathered there,
Each form to the dead hath gone,
Save the dog that howls to the midnight air,
By the side of yon cold white stone !
He Cometh ! he cometh ! No human power
From his advent dread can flee, —
Nor knowetli one human heart the hour,
When the tyrant his guest shall be ;
Or whether at flush of the rosy dawn,
Or at noon-tide's fervent heat.
Or at night, where with robes of darkness on,
He treadeth with stealthy feet !
BATTLE OF TIPrECANOE. 227
BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.
As the passenger on the train from St. Louis to Cincinnati, upon
the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, crosses the Wabash bridge at
Vineeunes, if he will look out of his window, on the left-hand side
he will see standing there a square, two-story brick house surrounded
by a porch. That house was the residence of William Henry Harri-
son, when Governor of the Indiana Territorj- ; directly in front of the
Louse he will see a few old locust and elm trees, in a group. There it
was in the midst of those trees that General Harrison was seated
with an open file of men under arms before him many years ago,
waiting the approach of Tecumseh, the great war chief of the
Shawnces. Dark and portentous clouds had been gathering over
the settlements on the Wabash. Tecumseh, the brave but wily
chief of the Shawnces, and his brother the prophet, had ranged the
woods and planted the war posts from tribe to tribe, and the rifle
and tomahawk of Indian warfare were ready for their dreadful
work upon the frontier settlers. Could it be staid? Gould not a
treaty of peace be made? Gen. Harrison resolved to try. He asked
of Tecumseh, through a messenger, a personal interview, privately
between themselves, to see if they could not avoid the sacrifice of
human life that must follow war. Tecumseh accepted the proposed
interview with apparent satisfaction, the time for the meeting was
fixed, and Vincenne.s the place agreed upon. General Harrison
soon after learned that Tecumseh instead of meeting him alone, would
bring with him a chosen band of warriors, prepared to seize and
carry ofi' the General a captive, and then fall upon the frontier set-
tlers with all their savage fury. The General prepared to meet his
wily foe ; selecting a few brave men, doubly armed, at the appointed
hour he took his seat, his chair leaning against the large old elm, you
see in front of the little grove ; his men in open file facing in, with their
arms in perfect order, at shoulder, ready for the word of command.
Tecumseh and his warriors came in sight, but seeing that his plot had
been discovered, and that the General was prepared, leaving his
warriors behind, he stepped boldly forward, his blanket thrown
over his shoulders, his breast bare, leggins tied at his knees, moccasins
on his feet, bare headed, face painted, and eagle feathers sticking in
his hair, his black eye looking vengeance, as he marched with proud,
defiant step up the open file to the seat of the General. As h&approached,
the General rose and offered his hand. Tecumseh stepped back, stood
erect, and silently fixed his eyes upon the face of the General, with-
out moving a muscle. The General, speaking to his interpreter,
228 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
'■ Tell liim his great fatliei- oifers him a chair, to be seated upon."
The moment the interpreter communicated the message, Tecumseh
with his eyes still resting on the fiice of the General, spoke in a
loud, firm tone of voice : " My father ! the sun is my father, and the
earth is my mother, and I will recline on her bosom," and sat down
on the ground directly in front of the General. The General. — " Inter-
preter, ask him if he will make peace, or if he is bent on war." Tecum-
seh. — " I am sick." The known meaning of which was that he was dis-
satisfied. "Will you make peace or will j'ou have war ? " This he
answered by a look that told his meaning. " Tell him if he will
have war to spare the women and children, let it be a war of men."
Tecumseh, rising from his seat, stretching out his arm to its full
length, with his fist clinched. '' Your women and children are safe.
My warriors against your men." He turned and marched proudly down
the file, joined his warriors and left for his forest home ; the tocsin
of war was sounded and the Indians began to concentrate in their war
lodges. Tecumseh and the Prophet were every where rallying their
red brethren and arousing their war spirit. General Harrison was
not idle, he saw the coming contest not without some alarm for the
safety of the frontier settlers. He soon raised an army, composed
of as brave men as ever drew a sword, or fired a rifle — volunteers
from Kentucky and Indiana, men who understood Indian warfare,
and were anxious to meet the savage foe.
About nine miles above the city of Lafayette the Tippecanoe
enters the Wabash river ; the passengers on the trains from Lafayette
to Chicago, will notice about seven miles from Lafayette, on the left
hand side of the cars, a beautiful inclosed white-oak grove, widening
from the point they first pass to the north, on the west side skirted
by a narrow prairie, on the east by a wide, low prairie, and on the
north by level woods. The spot is known as the " Tippecanoe Battle
Ground ; " now the property of Indiana, by donation from the late
John Tipton. It was on that spot the dreadful battle was fought
between the American forces, under the command of General Harri-
son, in person, and the combined Indian warriors, commanded by the
Shawnee prophet, brother of Tecumseh, who had inspired his warriors
with the superstitious belief that they would be invincible.
The American army had encamped early in the evening on that
elevated open wood. Near the south end. the company of the brave
Capt. Spencer, the father-in-law of Gei), Tipton, was stationed. Gen.
Tipton was at that time ensign of the company. Near the upper end
of the ground was the temporary marquee of Gen. Harrison. I refer
to the report of the battle for the plan of the encampment, this sketch
BATTLE OF TIPPECAXOE. 229
is from recollected private conversations with Gen. Tipton and Gen.
Harrison. Gen. Harrison rode a beautiful fleet gray mare, that he
had tied with the saddle on. to a stake near his marquee, to be ready
at a moment in case of alarm. Major Owen of Kentucky rode a bay
horse. After the gray mare was hitched, it became necessary in order
to pass a baggage wagon, to remove her and tie her at another place ;
without the knowledge of Gen. Harrison, the bay horse of Major
Owen was afterward tied to the post where the gray mare had been.
A dark night came on. It was probable that the Prophet would
strike that night if at all, the men lay upon their arms, the officers at
their respective commands. Hark! the sound of rifles. The sentinels
were either shot or driven in ; the attack was made over the east and
west banks of the high lands, bordering the prairies. The moment
the alarm was given, every soldier was upon his feet, and the mounted
officers in their saddles. Gen. Harrison ran to the post where he left
his gray mare, finding Maj. Owen's bay horse he mounted, leaving the
gray for the Major if he could find her. The General dashed down
to where he heard the firing, rode up to Capt. Spencer's position, at
the point of the high ground around which the prairies meet; there
the enemy had made the first main attack — deadly in eflfect. There
stood the brave ensign John Tipton, and a few of the surviving men
of the company. Gen. Harrison. — "Where is the captain of this
company?" Ensign Tipton. — "Dead." '' Where are the lieutenants?"
" Dead." " Where is the ensign ? " " I am here." " Stand fast my
brave fellow, and I will relieve you in a minute." Gen. Tipton told
me in after years, that a cooler and braver man, on the field of battle,
than Gen. Harrison, never lived. It was a deadly night, the Indians
with rifles in their hands, concealed from view, in the darkness of the
night, fighting to desperation, under the inspiration of their supersti-
tion, — being the attacking party, and knowing where their enemy lay,
had great advantages, which nothing but the indomitable courage of
our brave men could have met and finally repelled. The moment the
alarm was given, the brave Maj. Owen ran to his stake, but his horse
was gone ; near by he found and mounted the gray marc of the General.
He was scarcely in the saddle, before he fell mortally wounded, pierced
with rifle balls, which were intended no doubt for Gen. Harrison,
as the Indians knew he rode a gray, and must have been in ambush
near. The men and officers that fell that dreadful night were the
bravest of the brave. Their names are not only recorded upon the
records of our country, but will ever be treasured in the memory of
every Indianian, with heartfelt gratitude, and undying sorrow. I
visited the common grave of these brave dead, who fell in that terrible
230 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
battle, only a few years since. You will find it in a grove of white-
oak trees perforated by balls, standing near the center of the inclosed
grounds. The victory was dearly bought, but it secured a lasting
peace to our frontier. Tecumseh remained our deadly enemy while
he lived, but soon after fell at the battle of the Thames. This is only
intended for a charcoal sketch of those memorable scenes. The brave
Gen. Tipton will be noticed among the United States Senators, before
these sketches close.
THE CULBEHTSON CASE. 231
THE CULBERTSON CASE.
Among the civil trials of the State, there have been perhaps, none
of greater interest, or involving more important^ legal principles than
the ease of Samuel Culbertson against Abner T. Ellis, John M. Cook,
Joseph Bowman, Joshua Beall, Samuel Wise, William Butch, Thomas
Bishop, and Sj-lvanus Lathrop, in the Circuit Court of the United
States, in the year 1850. It was an action upon the case in the nature
of a conspiracy, brought under the following state of facts. The defen-
dants were the president, directors, and engineers of the Wabash
Navigation Company, incorporated to improve the navigation of that
river, at the rapids below Vineennes, by the construction of a dam,
and look, for the passage of steamers. The plaintiff, Culbertson, and
his brother, citizens of Pennsylvania, made a written contract with
the corporation, to construct the work in a given time, upon agreed
terms. The contract contained a provision that whenever the con-
tractors were not pushing on the work, in good faith, without any
reasonable excuse, to the satisfaction of the company, the engineer
should be authorized to declare the contract forfeited, which should
be final between the parties. The contractors had progressed with the
work for some considerable time. The waters of the river were occa-
sionally so high as to obstruct the work. The season was sickly, the
brother had died, and the plaintiff was laid low with fever ; the work
was not pressed as fast as the company desired, when the engineer
under the advice of the president and directors, declared the contract
forfeited, and demanded possession of the works, which Culbertson
refused to give. The company then procured an affidavit to be made,
a warrant to issue, and Culbertson, just able to walk, to be arrested,
and kept in custody until they got possession of the works, materials,
and tools.
In the year 1849, Culbertson brought an action of assumpsit on the
contract, with the common counts, for work, labor, and materials,
against the Navigation Company in the Circuit Court of the United
States, Judge Huntington presiding. The case was warmly contested.
The trial lasted a week. Joseph G. Marshall, and Randall Crawford,
counsel for the plaintiff. Samuel Judah, Jeremiah Sullivan, and
Abner T. Ellis, for the defendant. The able counsel employed, indi-
cate the character and ability of the prosecution and defense. The
main question, the facts being admitted was, for what was the plain-
tiff entitled to recover. It was admitted by the plaintiff's counsel, that
if the contract was declared to be forfeited upon sufficient ground by
the engineer, then they were only entitled to recover the balance
232 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
due them for work, labor, and materials. But if tlie contract was
declared to be forfeited on insufficient grounds, tlien they could recover
the reasonable profits of the contract in addition. Judge Huntington
in his charge, held that the plaintiif could only recover for the work
done and materials furnished up to the time the contract was declared
to be forfeited by the engineer, whose decision on that question was
final between the parties. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiflF
for $ 9.985, damages ; costs § 482. The company appealed to the
Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Jiulah appeared in that
court for the company, and I presented a printed argument for Mr.
Culbertson. The case was afiirmed by an equally divided Court.
In the year 1850, Mr. Culbertson employed me to bring an action
against the indiiuluah composing the president and directors of the
company and the engineer ; in tort, for declaring the contract for-
feited without just and reasonable cause. It was to me a new ques-
tion. I was able to find no reported case in the books directly in point;
but, reasoning from the analogy of cases I came to the conclusion that
the action would lie, and brought the suit. The case was tried at the
next term, before Judge Huntington on the general issue. Joseph
L. Jernegan appeared with me for the plaintiff, and Samuel Judah
and Kandall Crawford were for the defendants. Judge Huntington
presided. The result was a heavy verdict for the plaintiff, which the
the Court for reasons satisfactory to them, set aside, and granted a new
trial, costs to abide the final result.
At the next term, before Judges Mc Lean, and Huntington, the
defendants obtained leave to file a plea of former recovery, setting out
the case that had been tried and afiirmed in the Supreme Court. 1
demurred to the plea, and after full argument the Court sustained the
demurrer, and the cause was continued. At the next term before
Judge Huntington, the jury was impanneled, and the trial occupied
near a week, resulting in a disagreement and a discharge of the jury
by the Court, after having been out all the night, and the cause was
again continued. '
At the next term, the case was tried before Judge Leavitt, District
Judge of Ohio, who presided in the absence from sickness, of Judge
Huntington. Great preparations were made, on both sides, for the
final trial, and both came fully prepared. Mr. Jernegan had left the
State, and Judge Kilgore appeared in his place, with me : the defen-
dants, to insure success, sent to Kentucky and employed John J.
Crittenden to assist their able counsel. The case was called, and a
jury impanneled. Next morning I briefiy opened the case to the
jury, and the evidence was introduced on both sides, occupying two
THE CULBERTSON CASE. 233
days. After the evidence of the plaintiff was partly given, Mr. Critten-
den moved to non-suit the plaintiff, on the ground that a conspiracy
was charged in the declaration, but no proof to sustain the charge had
been given. I placed my opposition to the motion upon the grounds
that it was premature, as all the plaintiff's evidence had not been
offered, and that proof of conspiracy was not required; that this was
not an action for conspiracy, but an action on the case where any one
of the defendants might be convicted, and the others acquitted. That
it was not like an indictment for conspiracy at common law, where
more than one must be convicted, or at least, the one before the court
with others, where the conspirary is the gist of the prosecution.
Judge Leavitt sustained my objections, and overruled the motion ; the
evidence closed before noon, and the Court adjourned to dinner.
Judge Kilgore opened to the jury in the afternoon in a speech of
some two hours, Court adjourned. Next morning, Mr. Crawford
opened for the defendants, some four hours ; Court adjourned for
dinner. Mr. Crittenden was to speak in the afternoon, public expec-
tation was on tip-toe, the court-room was crowded before the meeting
of the court with the elite of the city, it was evident that the great
Kentucky orator was taxed high in public opinion. Much was
expected of him. As we walked down to the court from the hotel,
I remarked to Mr. Crittenden, that I had decidedly the advantage of
him. " Why so," he said. " Because in the first place I have the best
side of the case, and in the next, I am at home. The people expect noth-
ing from me, and will not be disappointed, while you are already taxed
as high as you can be, and may disappoint your audience." He denied
the first, but admitted the last to be true. He arose, his head whitened
over by years, his high forehead overspread by his silver locks, his
projecting mouth, prominent chin, and manly features, reminded me
of the days when he was combating in the Senate of the United
States, the mighty men of the land. Like others around me, I was
about to hear him for the first time in a forensic effort ; I confess I
had some fears, lest he should cause the jury to forget the evidence,
and the Court to overlook the law. He spoke some three hours in a
strain of impassioned eloquence, but I thought he kept too much
away from the facts of the case. He spoke about and around the case,
and not at, and upon it. I said to myself, he either thinks the case too
heavy for him to carry, or too light to carry him. It was evident
that the facts did not suit him, but he had declaimed beautifully.
" Let me say to the plaintiff go home to your native State, dismiss
your suit, betake yourself to some honest employment. You are
engaged with some of the first men of the State, in a controversy
23-4 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
that must end in both disgrace and ruin to you, unless you abandon
it at once. Let me say to my friend the counsel that is to follow me,
yon. have no case, it is the baldest case that was ever brought in a
court of justice. No action ever was sustained in England or America,
on facts like these ; an action has already been brought and a recovery
had against the corporation, and now you are seeking damages against
the president, directors and engineers, as individuals for the very act for
which you have already recovered damages. Will you magnify this case
to the conspiracy of Cataline without proof? " Mr. Crittenden closed
near four o'clock. He was listened to by the jury and crowded stands
with profound attention. I rose at once, and closed the argument
before the jury in a speech over three hours. My friends said I was
fully myself; the fact was, the case was with me, and was sufficiently
strong to carry me triumphantly before the jury. Judge Leavitt
gave to the jury a clear and able charge upon the law of the case,
which may be found in McLean's reports. The jury retired and
after a brief absence returned a verdict finding the defendants guilty
as charged, and assessing damages at $750, costs |610. The moment
the verdict was announced Mr. Crittenden rose and asked the jurors
upon what ground they had found their verdict. I objected to
the question, and told the jurors not to answer : the Court was appealed
to. Judge Leavitt. — " The question is improper, you can poll the
jury." Mr. Crittenden. — "I waive the question." Verdict entered,
motion for new trial. Court adjourned. Next day motion for new
trial withdrawn and judgment on the verdict. Thus ended this warmly
contested, important case.
RUFUS CHOATE. 235
RUFUS CHOATE.
Mr. Webster had resigned his seat in the Senate of the United
States, to take the office of Secretary of State, under Gen. Harrison.
Rufus Choate of Boston, was elected to the vacant seat. I remember
well with what curiosity I looked for the appearance of Mr. Choate
in the Senate. I had long known him through the press ; and from
Mr. Webster and Mr. Bates, as the first lawyer at the Boston bar. It
is characteristic of Massachusetts, to always have one great man in
every department, and by a common consent, he can have no success-
ful rival in his day. Mr. Webster stood in Massachusetts alone, as a
great statesman ; not exactly as it was said of Mr. Calhoun, in South
Carolina, that when he took snuff, all South Carolina sneezed. Judge
Story stood at the head of the judiciary; and Rufus Choate stood at
the head of the bar, as he does at this day.
I heard Mr. Choate in the Senate, the first time he addressed the
body, with much interest ; as I did his after speeches. He was in a
new field for the display of his powers. He had to meet a body of
the most distinguished men of the world — the first minds upon earth,
on the very field of their training and triumphs in the great contest
of mind with mind. I had heard him but a few minutes, before I
became satisfied that he had nothing to fear; that Massachusetts had
sent to the Senate in the person of ^Ir. Choate, a worthy successor of
Mr. Webster, her favorite. Mr. Choate possesses a brilliant imagina-
tion ; a sound and matured judgment; a happy elocution ; at times, I
thought too rapid for efieet upon his audience ; words flow from him
without a seeming efl'ort ; his gestures are peculiarly his own ; the jerk
of his arm while speaking would remind you of the whip-arm of a
coachman touching up the leaders of his team. He was one of the
most brilliant orators in the Senate ; and was listened to by the body
with profound attention, sometimes filling the galleries. Mr. Choate
stood among the first of the National Whigs, a strong and firm friend
of the Union of the States, now and forever. I give an extract from
one of his speeches, showing his .style, and the cast of his mind.
EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH OF MR. CHOATE, MAY, 1842.
" But the honorable Senator is against your jurisdiction in all forms
and in all stages. Sir, I can not concur with him ; I would assert the
jurisdiction, on the contrary ; on the same grand, general reason, for
which it was given to you. It was given as a means of enabling you
to preserve honorable peace, or to secure the next best thing, ' a just
236 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
war,' a war into which we may carry the symjiathies, and the praise,
and the assistance of the world. Accept and exert it for these great
ends. Do not be deterred from doing so, and from doi^g so now, by
what the honorable Senator so many times repeated to you; that
negotiations are pending with England ; that she has insulted and
menaced you, and withheld reparation, and withheld apology, and that,
therefore, the passage of the bill at this moment, would be an unmanly
and unseasonable courtesy or concession to her. How much England
knows or cares about the passage of this bill; what new reason it may
afford to the Foreign Quarterly Review for predicting the approach of
his monarchial millenium in America ; we need not, I believe no one
here, need know or care. But does it work unmanly fear of England,
an unmanly haste to propitiate her good will, because I would commit
the cjuiet and the glory of my country to you? Where should the
peace of the nation repose, but beneath the folds of the nation's flag?
Do not fear either, that you are about to undervalue the learning, abili-
ties, and integrity of the State tribunals. Sir, my whole life has been
a constant experience of their learning, abilities, and integrity ; but I
do not conceive that I distrust or disparage them, when I have the honor
to agree with the Constitution itself, that yours are the hands to hold
the mighty issues of peace and war.
'• Mr. President, how strikingly all things, and every passing hour,
illustrate the wisdom of those great men, who looked to the Union ;
the Union under a general Government, for the preservation of peace
at home and abroad, between us and the world, among the States, and
in each State. Turn your eyes eastward and northward, and see how
this last, but restrained and parental central power, holds at rest a
thousand spirits, a thousand elements of strife ! There is Maine.
How long would it be if she were independent, before her hardy and
gallant children would pour themselves over the disputed territory,
like the flakes of her own snow-storms ? How long, if New York
were so, before that tumultuous frontier would blaze with 10,000
' bale fires ? ' Our own beautiful and beloved Rhode Island herself,
with which the Senator rebukes you for interfering ; is it not happy
even for her, that her star instead of shining alone and apart in the
sky, blends its light with so many kindred rays, whose influence may
save it from shooting madly from its sphere ?
" The aspect which our united America turns upon foreign nations —
the aspect which the Constitution designs she shall turn on them, — the
guardian of our honor, the guardian of our peace, — is after all, her
grandest and finest aspect. We have a right to be proud, when we
RUFUS CHOATE. 237
look on that liappy and free empress-mother of States ; themselves free
uuagitatcd by the passions, unmoved by the dissensions of any one of
them, she watches the rights and fame of all ; and reposing, secure
and serene among the mountain summits of her freedom, she holds in
one hand the fair olive-branch of peace; and in the other the thunder-
bolt and meteor flag of reluctant and rightful war. There may she
sit forever ; the stars of Union upon her brow, the rock of independ-
ence beneath her feet."
238 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS. *
LEWIS F. LINN.
The State of Missouri was ably reiiresented in the Senate by Thomas
H. Benton and Lewis P. Linn. Senator Linn being the junior from
the State, near my own age, and having a great deal of business
before the Committee on Public Lands, of which I was chairman, we
became intimately acquainted. The more I saw, heard and knew
him, the more I became attached to him. In person, he was about
the medium hight ; strongly made, broad, deep chest, full breast,
expanded lungs, round head, black hair, beautifully curled o%er his
head and around his forehead ; features perfect ; white, beautiful
teeth ; eyes coal-black. He was a ripe scholar. He always dressed
tastefully. One morning he came into the Senate with a pair of light
check pantaloons on. I remarked, " That is a new style." " Why
don't you know, Mr. Smith, that I am just from England? While
there, I was in the House of Lords, and was introduced to the Duke
of Wellington ; he had check pantaloons on ; they looked so comfort-
able that I raised these." " I thought you would be the last man that
would pattern after the English dukes." He laughed, and I passed
on my way.
As a speaker, he was plain, direct, and intelligent ; imparting to
his subject a high degree of interest ; he made no pretensions to that
kind of eloquence that excites the Senate and fills the galleries, still
he was always listened to with attention by the Senate. The mind of
Senator Linn was West, and while his own Missouri was never absent
from him, the still further AVest, the great slope between the Kocky
Mountains and the Pacific, was ever present with him ; the Territory
of Oregon, thfe country on the Columbia River, the valley of the Wil-
lamette, were cherished objects of his Senatorial regards.
It gives me pleasure to present to the reader an exta'act from one
of his beautiful speeches, in answer to Mr. M'Duffie, on his favorite
Oregon question. This extract gives Senator Linn's style, and will
be read with interest as his views at that early day. The swelling tide
of population has since spread over that great slope of our continent,
including California, without a parallel in the history of our country.
The infant Oregon then, will soon be one of the States of the Union.
The unknown Washington Territory then, will, in a few years, add
another star to our national galaxy. California then belonged to
Mexico, her golden sands barely known to the explorer, her rich
quartz a part of her Nevada cliffs, her empire city a village of fisher-
mens' huts on the sands of the Pacific, her shipping a few Indian
canoes, and now and then a clumsy junk from the neighboring
LEWIS F. LIXX. 239
Islands. Look at California now ! one of the most flourishing States
in the Union, soon to rival our Eastern empire States in population
and wealth. See her great city, San Francisco, with its teeming
thousands, its astonishing growth, its shipping filling its capacious
harbor with the commerce of every nation and every clime.
MR. LINN, OP MISSOURI, IN REPLY TO MR. m'dUFFIK ON THE
OREGON BILL.
" These are the views of those who look only to the earthly rewards
of hazardous enterprise. But the Ea.stern States furnish others,
whom a sacred call has led to trace the pathless wilderness, careless
of all human protection ; who, in the true spirit of Christian philan-
thropy, have braved every privation and danger to carry to the vallies
of the Oregon and the Willamette the light of the Gospel, and its
attendant, civilization ; accomplishing there by their devotedness,
those noble benefits which it was your part to have performed. The
Christian spirit of men has outstripped the tardy policy and goodness
of the Government, and these Gospel-bearers have at once formed a
paradise, where your statesmen imagine nothing but sterile sands, or
a surface blackened by volcanic fires.
" Of the horrors of such a sojourn, the Senator from South Carolina
(Mr. M'Duffic), seems to have formed a particularly lively conception,
and has conveyed it (as was to be expected) in a very powerful form.
Had he (he said) an honest or deserving son, who desired to immigiate
thither, he would say to him, ' Don't go ; stay where you are.' But
had he one fit for a convict-ship or Botany Bay, he would tell him
without hesitation, ' Go, by all mean.s.' Now, for the Senator's
information, I beg to read a few well-authenticated descriptions of this
blasted land of his. The reports of the missionaries, and the narra-
tives of Capt. Wilkes and of Mr. Peale, the naturalist, give a very
difierent picture. They agree that for picturesque beauty, for exube-
rant fertility, and for salubrity of climate, no region of the earth, of
equal extent, surpasses the vales and the table-lands of the Oregon.
There, too, they tell you, instead of the dissoluteness of such a popu-
lation as the Senator thinks it only fit for, are seen gentleness, piety,
intelligence, and peace, which seem to have their chosen seat in the
beautiful valley of the Willamette. They are law-abiding and law-
loving ; they are active, yet quiet ; no strifes or broils, suicides or
murders. No compulsion of the law is needed to make them pay
their debts — a coutrast, on this verge of civilization, as the Senator
supposes it, at which a portion of his constituents, not to say my own,
240 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
might well blush. He is not less mistaken as to the mercenary
motives whioli, he thinks, can alone have led these wanderers so far.
Was it such that brought our sturdy ancestors to the rock of Ply-
mouth? May not their descendants speed to this furthest West with
like visions of some noble futurity to be realized ? There is a fasci-
nation in these half- real dreams which I have witnessed and felt ; and
had I wealth to pay, or could such things be bought, I know not
what I would give to have felt the wild and strange rapture with which
Boone must have gazed, for the first time, from the summit of the
Cumberland Mountains over the matchless plain of Kentucky ; or, yet,
again, when he had passed through that Eden-like wilderness, and,
from the top of one of the mounds of a departed race, look, in bewild-
ered delight, over the magnificent banks and streams of the Ohio.
These, sir, are sensations not to be purchased. There is in them no
touch of any thing mercenary ; and they animate men to ventures
which no gain can repay, but which surely, in finding or founding
empires for us, deserve encouragement and protection, as much as
any labors of that more sordid kind which seek and make themselves.
in safety, rewards at home. There are men who go forth to the wilder-
ness like our first parents, when God sent them forth from the garden
of Eden to subdue the earth. Such feelings, to our own immediate
ancestors, shed an ideal beauty over the barren rock of Plymouth ; one
day, under their all-subduing spirit, to blossom like the rose. The
same impulse yet animates their race, and will bear them across
deserts, as of old across the deep, — give them only the protection of
your laws and the countenance of the Government. I recollect, Mr.
President, at the last sessign of Congress, to have heard a venerable
and respected lady say that, when she removed, at the close of the
Revolution, from Annapolis to Cumberland, in Maryland, she was
looked upon as having gone out of the world, and as about to become
a semi-savage. In such a light were your forefathers (Mr. Bates, of
Massachusetts, in the chair) viewed when, in their forlorn search for
freedom, they abandoned the ease of civilized life, and, for freer homes,
braved the dangers of the deep and the terrors of a savage shore.
They but obeyed the instinct of our peculiar race — that invincible
longing for liberty and space which impels those of Anglo-Saxon
descent to trace the rudest tracts, the wildest seas, range the Atlantic
and Indian waste of waters, explore the vast Pacific, and break through
the icy barriers of the Polar oceans. With a spirit renewed from our
virgin soil, and from Nature itself in this untamed continent, it looks
back to the land of our forefathers half ready to spread there the
regeneration which constantly agitates itself Other nations may
LEWIS F. LIXX. 241
enlarge themselves by physical conquests; but we (I thank God
for it!) can subdue only by the dominion of mind, the moral empire
of institutions. If neighboring' countries are, at any future time,
to be added to our Union, it will be they who will have sought the
blessings of our free institutions ; not we who will have coveted the
enlargement of our territory by conquering fleets and armies.
•' Sir, I confess that this wealth of the surface, and the still vaster
natural treasures that lie beneath, unmined but not unknown, have
awakened in me, and seem to me to justify, the expectations which
the Senator considers so visionary. Over such a region, the passage
from the richest valley in the world, — that of the Mississippi — to a
new and wide commercial empire, that must presently start up on the
Pacific, I can not think railroads and canals mere day-dreams. The
wonders which have within the last twenty years been achieved in
these things, may well excuse those who look upon the results I have
mentioned as possible, even within the compass of the present genera-
tion. All predictions, even the most sanguine, have in this country
been so distanced by the actual progress of its prosperity, that gentle-
men who fortell the other way should beware of the error of the Mil-
lerites, and not lay the accomplishment of their prophecies too close
at hand. Even in the faith of the bold enthusiasts who landed at
Plymouth Rock, was there one ardent enough to imagine that their
descendants would, in five centuries, perform what has been effected
in two ? It was said by Gen. Cass, in his discourse before the Histo-
rical Society of this city, ' That he had conversed with those who had
talked with the children of the pilgrims.' In that small space of time,
what amazing changes ! What an empire has risen up, like an exha-
lation from the earth ! A new people has been added to the great house-
hold of nations, and is already among the first in the world. There
are those among us who have talked with Daniel Boone, that overland
Columbus who first explored the recesses of that immense wilderness in
which we now count many States, teeming with population and wealth,
and glad with all the gifts of civilization. What imagination has
yet outstripped the gigantic pace at which improvement marches
among us? Sir, I can well conceive the tumult of delight which
must have swelled the bosom of Clarke, when from the bluff he had
gained, he first beard the roar of the great ocean, and saw the surges
of the Pacific bathing the territory he had explored. In the vision
of that moment, he saw through the dim vista of the future, rising
States of his country, men spreading along that shore, and the white
sails of their commerce wafting along the bosom of that peaceful sea'
the barbaric wealth of the East, in return for the more solid fruits of
16
242 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
our own industry. One can not read the warm and striking descrip-
tion of what he saw and felt, without sharing in his enthusiasm.
Some of us now here have shaken hands with Boone, with Clarke,
and with Cass, who have often conversed with a relative, a cotempo-
rary, of the first-born of the Pilgrim Fathers. What a picture does
this present for the contemplation of the statesman and philosopher !
The chain is complete from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans — from
the first-born of Massachusetts to Clarke on the borders of the western
ocean.
ROBERT J. WALKER. 243
ROBERT J. WALKER.
There are few men, now living who have filled a larger space in
the public eye, than Robert J. Walker, at this time Governor of
Kansas. I found Mr. Walker at the head of the Land Committee in the
Senate of the United States, when I entered that body in 1837, and
became passingly acquainted with him. In 1841 I was selected as
the chairman of that committee, and elected by the party vote over
Mr. Walker, who remained a member of the committee, during the
balance of my term ; we consequently became intimate. In person
Mr. Walker was the lightest man in the Senate. Some five feet six
inches high, rather stooping as he walked, small bones, little flesh,
narrow chest, large head for the size of his body, bald to behind the
crown, high, retreating forehead, large nose, wide mouth, projecting
chin. Weight some hundred pounds before he visited Cuba for his
health, rather heavier after his return. Still I never saw him, that
his health did not appear to be very delicate. So much so, that it
was a matter of surprise with me that he could perform the immense
labors that were thrown upon him, as Secretary of the Treasury, and
in his other public professional positions. Mr. Walker was a good
speaker, his voice rather shrill to be pleasant. He was argumentative
and very formidable in debate. To say that he stood among the first
of his party, would be doing him only justice, and I am incapable
of doing him less. Mr. Walker spoke perhaps as often on important
subjects as any other Senator, indeed he scarcely ever let a question
escape from the Senate without hearing from him. I see Mr. Benton
in his " Thirty Years," speaking of the Bankrupt Law states truly :
" This measure, then, which had no place in the President's Message,
or in Mr. Clay's schedule, and to which he was averse, took precedence
on the calendar of the vital measures for which the extra session was
called." So far I agree with Col. Benton, but when he puts Mr.
Henderson in advance of Mr. Walker in support of that measure,
I totally disagree with him. I was there, I saw every movement, and I
heard every argument. The truth is and let it go to posterity as the
truth, of that part of history, the Bankrupt bill never could have
passed the Senate but for the great exertions of Robert J. Walker,
and Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, the Representatives of Mississippi and
New York. Mr. Walker was more than himself upon that bill. He
met every argument against it with all his power, and when he touched
the poor debtor, and his family, in the hands of the inexorable creditor,
he moistened many eyes. The bill was on its passage. ?irr. Buchanan
had closed a powerful speech against it that seemed almost to seal its
244 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
fate. I turned my eye to Mr. Walker, lie rose, addressed tlie Chair
in a low tone of voice, and turning to Mr. Buchanan who sat near me,
as the Congressional Globe of the 25th of July, 1841, in giving a
mere epitome of his speech, says : .
" Mr. Walker replied to Mr. Buchanan's arguments contending for
the principles of the bill and its details. He pointed to the Bank-
rupt law of Pennsylvania, the great complaint ag'ainst which was
that it was compulsory and partial in its bearing ; and that was
why it had been repealed. He denied that the passage of this bill
could have a tendency to expand credit; but, on the contrary, would
have a reverse action. He thanked the Senator for the sympathy he
had expressed for unfortunate debtors ; but he would rather have his
vote than his sympathy ; and he should have respected that sympathy
much more if the Senator had not made the powerful speech he did
against the bill. If this law was not passed the thousands of unfortunate
debtors in this country would either have to wear the chains of the
slave, or become exiles from their native land. The argument that
the law could not be executed, was an argument against the Constitu-
tion of the United States. There was no diiSculty whatever in the
execution of the law, all the details were left to commissioners, as to
the testimony of witnesses at a distance, depositions could be taken. •
As to the law of 1800, on the repeal of which so much stress was
laid, the principal cause of objection against it was that it was a com-
pulsory law. As to the Philadelphia law of 1812, it conferred a privilege
on the citizens of Philadelphia, in the discharge of their obligations,
which was denied to the citizens of the interior of the State, and this
privilege was considered so odious as to lead to the repeal of the law.
Instead of being a stimulus to excessive speculation he contended
that its operation would be precisely the reverse. In stating the
unequal operation of State laws, which released debtors in some States,
while they who were equally honest, and equally unfortunate, re-
mained bound in others, the strongest argument was adduced in favor
of the passage of a General Bankrupt Law uniform in its operation.
No man could doubt that Congress has the power to grant the relief
so loudly called for, and the States had not the power."
He closed, the bill passed by a very close vote. BIr. Walker as
Governor of Kansas will have need of all his judgment, discretion
and firmness. As his personal friend, I tremble for him, so many
have so signally failed, but I hope and trust that he may discharge his
duty faithfully to his own credit, and the best interest of the people
he governs.
JOHX. C. CALHOUN. 245
JOHN C. CALHOUN.
Among the eminent men of the United States, John C. Calhoun,
the c;reat Cotton commoner of the South, will ever stand high and
distinguished. I had the-pleasure of an acquaintance with him in the
Senate of the United States, during the time I served in that body.
Had Mr. Calhoun lived north of the Cotton States, his great mind
would unquestionably have been more national than it was. I have
read the most of his speeches. I have heard every speech he made in
the Senate, openly before the world, and in executive session, including
that on the Ashburton treaty, placing our line upon the 49th parallel
of latitude. I could distinctly see that the great cotton interest was
the main idea in them all. Was the question Internal Improvements
by the General Government, States Rights, Tariff, Protection, Revenue,
Commerce, Manufactures, Navy, Finances, Public lands. Assumption
of State Debts, Banks, Annexation, Peace, War, the election of Presi-
dent, triumph of Party, consistency of himself, — Cotton^ Cotton, the
interoRt of the Planter, prompted to action, and controlled the mind
of BIr. Calhoun. Negro Slavery, with him, was secondary, merely
instrumental in the success of his darling cotton interest. The strug-
gle only terminated with his life, between his patriotism and his
beloved cotton interest, as was evident to his friends and ardent admi-
rers, as his Presidential aspirations received check after check, blow
after blow, from the great parties to which he connected himself. His
great mind became less and less attached to the Union, and more and
more prepared for a separate Cotton confederacy, to be composed esclu-
sively of States holding slaves, which Mr. Calhoun always maintained
as essential to eminent .success of the cotton planter. No leading poli-
tician in the nation ever changed position with less compunction than
Mr. Calhoun. Still he was remarkably sensitive on that point, and
would labor for days to prove the consistency of his political life.
I recollect on one occasion in the Senate, after he had separated from
Mr. Clay, a reference to his Fort Hill letter, brought on an interesting
personal contest between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Clay. Mr. Webster
ultimately took part, in which Mr. Calhoun maintained to his own
satisfaction, the consistency of his whole life, against fearful odds of
facts ; indeed, in the face of facts brought against him by those able
Senators, that seemed to me incontrovertible at the time. While pre-
paring this sketch, I accidentally met one from the pen of a writer
unknown to me, from which I make some exti-acts agreeing substan-
tially with my own recollection of the scenes as I witnessed them from
my seat near Mr. Clay at the time.
i46 EARLY lADIAXA TRIALS.
The struggle between tlie two ehampions was no holiday pastime.
The blows exchanged were such as only giants could give, and such
as only giants could withstand. The contest was like that described
by Milton between the superhuman spirits, who picked up hills for
missiles, but found even such weapons unavailing. Mr. Clay led off
in a speech that we thought must inevitablj^ crush Mr. Calhoun. He
spoke of the contest which for years Mr. Calhoun and himself had,
side by side, been waging against the " usurpations " of that " extra-
ordinary man," Gen. Jackson. He told how the " boding fancies "
of '' my quondam friend " could in the various stages of that struggle
see nothing but gloom iu the future — nothing but tremendous and
fast-coming disaster to the country. The blows which he struck were,
in consequence, given with the energy of despair, rather than the ani-
mation of hope. He, Mr. Clay, had preferred to look upon the brighter
side of things. He had even sought in their many interviews and
consultations, to administer comfort to his gallant comrade inarms;
but, like Rachel of old, he refused to be comforted. — Kind fortunes,
however, had smiled upon their good cause. The battle was bravely
fought. The victory was already won, and was in their grasp. The
patriotic heart was beating high ; rejoicings began to swell up all over
the land. The consummation long labored for had been almost reached.
Executive usurpation was under the frown of an indignant people,
and the country was almost safe.
Where now was his gallant friend from South Carolina? Where
was he in this moment of triumph, when a few more brave efforts
would have finished the work in which fur years he had been toiling ?
Was he exchanging congratulations with his comrades? Was he
cheering on his followers ? Alas ! no. Instead of the proud battle-cry
which he was wont to utter, suddenly he sounded a retreat ! In that
auspicious, long-prayed-for, that critical moment, he called to his
legions, and bade them retreat from the field? Aye, more; he bade
them follow him to the enemy !
He, Mr. Clay, heard the news with deep alarm. He well knew the
commanding and the deserved influence of the gentleman. — He knew
the multitudes that followed him as faithfully as ever clan followed
chieftain, and he trembled lest the weakened ranks of the Whig army
should no longer be able to cope with the disciplined and strengthened
forces of the administration. He had waited, therefore, with much
anxiety to see the extent of the defection. The rolling of the retreat-
drum finally ceased ; the dust raised by the retiring squadrons cleared
away — the company led off by the gentleman from South Carolina
became visible. " He himself, sir, constituted horse, foot and dra-
JOHN C. CALHOUN. 247
goons ! In the language of his hite principal opponent, but now his
most distinguished ally (Col. Benton), " he went over sol-i-ta-ry and
A-LONE." lie went over, sir, and left to posterity to discover his
motives.
While Mr. Clay was .speaking, Mr. Calhoun was generally in motion
— walking much of the time in the lobby, in the rear of the presiding
officer's chair. He listened attentively, but did not inteiTupt the
speaker. When Mr. Clay concluded the Senate adjourned.
Two weeks afterward Mr. Calhoun replied. He had studiedly
arranged his argument, and his pathway was a stream of light. He
reviewed his political career ; showed how the charges of inconsistency
brought against him by weak minds grew, in fact, out of his very
consistency, a consistency which would abandon party before principle.
He said he had always been ready to co-operate with those who would
act with him, in achieving a public good ; that such an object was
the only bond of party union which he recognized ; that with this
view he had co-operated with the Whigs, with the majority of whom
he disagreed on important political questions, for the purpose of break-
ing down the dangerous usurpations of executive power. That object
was now accomplished, and the alliance ended with its purpose.
Further co-operatiou with the Whigs would, by placing them in power,
install principles to which he had ever been opposed ; for the State
Rights portion of the Whigs, being the weaker wing, could not expect
the advantages of victory to inure to the benefit of their principles.
This was what he meant by that remark in which the Senator, pi'ompted
from within, sees a longing after the vile spoils of office, instead of a
laudable patriotic sentiment.
Mr. Calhoun, while speaking, maintained a stern attitude, and
stood in the aisle by the side of his desk.- His gesture was short
and nervous, and chiefly with the right hand. His articulation was
rapid, but not so much so as to be at all indistinct, as we had been
led to expect. His pronunciation of some words was faulty ; '^ point, "
for example, he pronounced "pint." His keen eye was unwaveringly
fastened upon Mr. Clay, who sat upon the opposite side of the chamber,
and to him rather than to the Speaker of the Senate he addressed all
his remarks.
When Mr. Calhoun concluded, Mr. Clay immediately rejoined. He
rose under an excitement, such as he at one time had manifested in his
first speech, like a stalwart warrior not weakened or dismayed, but
goaded and smarting from wounds which he was not permitted to avenge.
He commenced by saying that when he was assailed — when his career
was called under review — it did not take him two or three weeks, of
248 EAKLT INDIANA TRIALS.
loii^ seareies and midnight toil, to prepare his defense. He stood
ever ready, arrayed as he was iu the panoply of conscious integrity,
to vindicate his fair fame against all assaults from whatever quarter.
He continued in a speech, the conclusion of which we were not
priviledged to hear, hut which gave great satisfaction to his ad-
mirers.
But the end was not yet, as the distinguished Senators seemed to
retire from the contest, each apparently satisfied with the result, there
arose from the seat before me, Daniel Webster ; and in his powerful
voice, addressing the chair, — his black, piercing eyes fixed upon Mr.
Calhoun — " Where am I? Is this the Senate of the United States?
Am I Daniel Webster? Is that (pointing to Mr. Calhoun), John C.
Calhoun of South Carolina, the same gentleman that figured so largely
in the House of Representatives in 1816, at the time the Bill creating
a National Bank passed that body ? What have I heard to-day? The
Senator attempting to maintain his consistency before this Senate in
my presence ? Does the Senator remember, that when Eufus King
moved his amendment to the Bank Bill, providing the bonus that was
to be appropriated to works of internal improvement within the States
should not be so appropriated without the consent of the States, the
Senator from South Carolina then took the floor against the amendment
of Mr. King, and made one of his strong and conclusive speeches,
maintaining that the federal arm could not be stricken down, or paral-
yzed by the States ; and that the powers of the General Government
were ample to construct works of national importance. Where were
the State Rights doctrines of the gentleman then ? " and took his seat.
Mr. Calhoun rose instantly. •' I recollect the facts stated by the Sen-
ator from Blassachusetts well, and let them warn all young Senators
never to violate the Constitution." He took his seat, other matters soon
occujjied the Senate, and we moved on as usual.
At another time, Mr. Calhoun was struggling with all his powers of
mind, to maintain his consistency on the question of a home valuation
of ad valorem duties, with James F. Simmons, of Rhode Island, one
of the strong men of the body, and whom I am highly pleased to see
is returned to the Senate for another term from his State.
Mr. Simmons was speaking, Mr. Calhoun sitting near him. " I am at a
loss to account for the reason why it is insisted that such a rule of valua-
tion is impracticable, or why it will not insure the certainty of collection
as well as to have specific duties. So far as it is important that any
duty should bear a due proportion to the value of the article taxed,
it is far better than specific duties, and if there be a real desire to carry
out the Compromise Act on the part of the Senator from South Caro-
JOHX C. CALHOUX. 249
lina, I can not account for his opposing this provision of that hill ■
He knows that the bill itself could not have passed without it ; but
upon an incidental debate. Upon the appointment of a clerk the
other day, he insisted that this part of the law was unconstitutional.
It appears to me to be a singular objection for him to make, against
carrying into effect a provision of the act which he voted for himself and
one too, without which the Compromise Actitself would not have passed.
Mr. Calhoun, interrupting Mr. Simmons, " the Senator from Rhode
Island is mistaken as to my voting for that amendment." " I can not
be mistaken, he voted for it, and at the time, stated how it should be
carried into effect." ''I hope the Senator does not intend to misrepre-
sent me, I voted against the amendment, but for the bill." " And I
am quite certain that the Senator voted for the amendment." — "If the
Senator persists in his statement, I must appeal to the Journals."
Mr. Calhoun got the Journal, turned to the amendment, and stood
quietly looking at the names. Mr. Simmons. — " Will the Senator read
or hand me the book? " Mr. Calhoun handed over the journal with-
out a word. Mr. Simmons.- — •" those who voted in the affirmative were
Messrs. Clay, Calhoun ; was that the Senator ? so he sees he was mista-
ken." Calhoun. — " I made a speech at the time, explaining my vote."
And so the matter ended.
Mr. Calhoun in person was not less than six feet, as straight
as a gun-barrel, head erect, hair turned back, countenance stern,
austere. I never saw him smile. As a speaker he was the model
of himself, unlike all others ; his style was terse, sentences short and
pointed, mind eminently concentrative, he stated his positions with
great clearness, and marched directly at them in the argument. He
made no pretensions whatever to eloquence, if imagination he had,
it was only to create the facts upon which he commented ; wholly
unlike Mr. Benton, he had little to do with documents, he spoke from
his own authority, scorned to lean upon others ; had he sworn by any
man on earth, it would have been by himself Mr. Calhoun was easily
flattered. He -had made his great speech in favor of the Ashburton
treaty, in executive session of about an hour. He seldom spoke more
than an hour; never more than two hours, on any subject. I met
him as he closed, and congratulated him on the ability of his speech ;
from that time forward, he treated me with unusual kindness. I give
an extract from one of his great speeches to show the reader both his
style and the truth of my statement that his whole mind was upon
the cotton interest of the South.
" But I am not ignorant that we must rely for holding the cotton
market on our superior skill, industry and capacity for producing the
250 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
article. Nearly if not altogether, one-half of the solid contents of
the globe is capable of producing cotton, and that too in the portion
the most populous and where labor is the cheapest. We may have
rivals every where in a belt of 70 degrees at least, lying on each side
of the equator and extending around the globe. Not only the far
East, but all Western Asia, quite to the 35th or even the 40th degree
of latitude, a large portion of Europe, almost all Africa, and a large
portion of this continent, may be said to be a cotton-producing region.
When the price of cotton rises high, a large portion of that immense
region becomes our competitor in its production, which invariably
results in a great fall of price. Then a struggle follows for the
jnarket. In that struggle, we have ever heretofore succeeded, and
I have no fear, with fair play on the part of our own Government, we
will continue to be successful against the world. We have the ele-
ments of success within us. A favorable soil and climate, a plenty
of cheap land, held in fee simple, without rent, tithe, or poor rates.
But, above all, we have a cheap and efficient body of laborers, the best
fed, clothed, trained and provided for, of any in the whole cotton
growing region, for whose labor we have paid in advance. I say paid
in advance, /or our property in our slaves is but wages purchased in
advance, including the support and supplies of the laborers, which is
usually very liberal. With these advantages we may bid defiance to
Hindoo and Egyptian labor, at its two or three cents a day. Ours_
being already paid for, is, as far as the question of competition is
concerned, still cheaper, to say nothing of its superior efficiency, its
better and more skillful direction under the immediate eye of intelli-
gent proprietors, of cheap, unincumbered land, favorable soil and
climate, and greater facility and cheapness of transportation to the
great markets of the world. But this is not all. We have another
and great advantage. There is not a people on earth who can so well
bear the curtailing of profit as the Southern planters, when out of
debt. A plantation is a little community of itself, which, when hard
pressed, can furnish within itself almost all of its supplies. Ours is a
fine provision country, and, when needs be, can furnish most of its
supplies of food and clothing from its own resources. In prosperous
times, when the price of our staples is high, our labor is almost
exclusively directed to their production, and then we freely and
liberally part with their proceeds in exchange for horses, mules, cattle,
hogs and provisions of all description from the West, and clothing
and all the products of the arts with the North and East ; but when
prices fall and pressure comes, we gradually retire on our own means,
and draw our own supplies from within.
COPIES OF LETTERS. 251
COPIES OF LETTERS.
It is not my purpose to publish many of the letters I have received
from distinouisheJ meu iu the course of an extensive correspondence,
but I have thought a few of them might be sufficiently interesting to
the general reader to find a place here.
LETTER FROM HENRY CLAT.
" Ashland, 14th September, 1839.
" My Dear Sir :
" I am desirous to obtain as accurate information as may be practica-
ble in' respect to the probable course of your State, in the approaching
Presidential contest, and I know of no one who will be more likely to
communicate it than yourself. I therefore take the liberty of applying
directly to you, and if you will indulge me, I will state the points on
which I should be glad to be informed, in the shape of the following
interrogation.
" Was the result of your late elections owing to the use of my name
in connexion with the Presidential office?
" Is it likely that it would have been otherwise, if my name had not
been before the people as a candidate. In the event of a contest
between Mr. Van Buren and me, for which will the vote of your State
be probably cast. Is there any other name, and if so whose, that would
more probably obtain the suffrage of your State than mine ?
" Is there any reason to believe that the issue of your late election
was influenced in any degree by the use of public money?
" Will your State be represented in the N. Convention which is to
meet at Harrisburgh in December next?
" The information which I seek is intended as well to guide my own
course, as to enable me to form some reasonable conjecture, in respect
to the final issue of the existing contest. I request therefore that you
will communicate with me in the utmost frankness and sincerity. I
can hear accounts unfavorable to myself, with as much composure, if
not with as much pleasure, as those of an opposite character. I do
not wish to limit you to a strict and formal response to the above inter-
rogations. Whatever form you may choose to give to the information
with which you may favor me, will be acceptable, and thankfully
received ; and if you should think proper to add any which is not
called for by this letter, you will increase my obligations to you.
" With great respect, I am your friend and obt. serv't.
H. CLAY."
The Hon. Oliver H. Smith.
252 EAELY IXDIANA TRIALS.
"Indianapolis, Ind. September 28th, 1839.
" Hon. Henrt Clay :
" My Dear Sir. — Your letter of tlie 14tli inst. wliieh liad arrived
during my temporary absence, was received by me last evening, and
I lose no time in answering its contents. I need scarcely premise
that I shall with the utmost candor, and without concealment, give
you my opinion on the subject of your communication. I am aware
that you would be as incapable of asking, as I would of giving any
other response. Still I am not unapprized of the delicacy of the task
you impose upon me. Having long cherished for you the most friendly
feelings, private and political, I have looked with an anxious eye,
to the result of the late elections in this and other States, for the pur-
pose of drawing conclusions from them, indicative of public opinion,
relative to the approaching Presidential canvass, and the probable rela-
tive strength of the prominent Whig candidates, whose names will
likely be presented to the Nation.\Ij Convention. The late elections
in this State are little understood abroad, they did not turn mainly
upon general politics. Our system of internal improvements, and the
consequent high taxes, with which the Whig cause is unfortunately
identified to a great extent, although both parties have been instru-
mental in bringing the system upon us, has had a controlling influence
and it may continue for years. The name of neither of the candidates
for the Presidency had much to do with the matter, either for or against
the Whig cause, still, candor compels me to say, that I greatly fear
that your name would not be sufficiently potent to stem the current
that has set, and is still running against us. No name under heaven
would be so well calculated as yours, to stimulate your original sup-
porters of our party to a desperate contest. But on that class who
joined us under the Harrison flag we can not rely, should you be
the candidate. They have not forgotten the old contest when their
idol Gen. Jackson and yourself were in the field. They still retain a
deep-rooted prejudice against you, repeating the oft-refuted charge
of bargain, intrigue and management, between you and Mr. Adams,
and they are beyond the reach of reason or arguments. ]n a contest
between you and Mr. Van Buren in this State, it will require despe-
rate exertions to insure our success. The party opposed to us seem
to be united and moved by one common impulse, while their watch-
word is Democracy, understood by few, but powerful with the masses,
and however little the party is entitled to its name, it has it, and we
have to meet the false issue made for us, with the additional and equally
false cry of federalism ringing in our ears.
COPIES OF LETTERS. 253
" You ask me whether there is any other name that would be more
likely than yours to obtain the suffrage of this State against Mr. Van
Buren. I must answer this question in the affirmative. I have no
doubt but that General Harrison could get a majority of this State
against Mr. Van Buren. We contemplate sending delegates to the
Harrisburgh Convention in December next. 1 have been named as a
delegate, but have declined, thinking it impolitic to do so ; besides,
the Senate will be in session, and I have not thought it proper to leave
my seat while the body is in session, when I could avoid it. Having
briefly answered your interrogations, I might here close my remarks,
and would most certainly do so, were it not for the indulgent request
in the latter part of your letter, and the fact that I know you will fully
appreciate the motives that prompt the few additional thoughts which
I submit for your consideration. Your friends in this State, with
whom I have conversed, and no man ever had more ardent ones, are
looking with painful anxiety to the determination of the Whig National
Convention, in the selection of the candidate. If they thought your
success probable, they would not hesitate in warmly soliciting your
name to be placed before them as their candidate; but, they can not
bear the idea of seeing you placed in a doubtful and desperate con-
test at this time. Still if it must be so, they will do all in their power
for you, though their own political fate may be involved in the ques-
tion. The opinion of your friends, here, so far as I have been able
to learn it, is that you and the party have much to gain and nothing
to lose by your indicating in such terms as your own good sense may
suggest, your willingness or desire that Gen. Harrison may be the
nominee of the Convention, he standing pledged to a single term, and
by your cordial support of the General, manifested in such manner as
not to cool your friends, but increase their ardor, you could do more
to identify yourself with his friends in another contest at the expira-
tion of the term, than all the electioneering your friends could do for
you; while your old supporters would rally again to the standard of
their first choice, now and hereafter. We have seen the result of the
late Pennsylvania Whig Convention, but the sentiments above expressed
were held by us before that convention was held, and are not promp-
ted by it. If I have been more frank than the occasion required, I
hope you will attribute it to an honest conviction of duty imposed
upon me by your letter, connected with the portentous approaching
crisis, and not to any abatement on my part, of the private and politi-
cal friendship I have ever entertained for you.
" With great respect, your friend and Obt. Servt.
O. H. SMITH."
254 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
REPLY OF HENRT CLAY.
"AsuLAXD, October 5th., 1839.
" Db.ui Sir.
" I duly received yonr favor of the 2Stli. ult., and cordially thank
you for its interesting contents. The views which it presents will
receive from me attention and deliberate consideration.
" It has been the misfortune of the Whig party, that it has so long
delayed the designation of its candidate for the Presidency : that has
been my opinion. The danger, increased greatly by indiscretion, now
is, that when it makes a nomination, no matter of whom, some of the
friends of the persons not nominated will not go for the candidate
designated. This is declared to be the case with some of the friends
of Gen. Harrison, without their seeming to anticipate, that it may be
also the case with some of the friends of other persons who have been
spoken of. Another consequence of delay, is that our party has
been broken ofFinto fragments, for if its leaders will not act, the mem-
bers of the party will act for themselves ; when the officers will not
steer the ship, the crew will assume the command ; accordingly we
perceive, that not content with one General in the field, our friends
have brought out another, and I assure you from all the information
which I have, lam inclined to think that the last is the stronger of the two.
" I hope these unfortunate divisions will be reconciled, and that we
shall unite heart and hand in supporting the person nominated by
the Convention, whoever he may be ; that body bringing, as its members
will do, information from all quarters of the Union, must be much
better qualified, than any individuals, however patriotic and enlightened
they may be, to make a judicious selection. As for myself, I have no
wish to be the candidate, if there be any other Whig more acceptable
to the greater number than myself, nor without a high degree of
probability of success. It is proper to add, that the rumors which
have been circulated of my intention to withdraw are unfounded. I
have resei'ved to myself the decision of the question, whether I will
consent to the use of my name as a candidate. I mean to avail myself
of the lights I can in guiding my judgment, and when I have formed
a determination it will at the proper time, and in some authentic form
be publicly announced. I repeat the expression of my thanks for
your frank and friendly communication : and remain faithfully
" Your Friend and obedient servant,
H. CLAY."
COPIES OF LETTERS. 255
LETTER FROM MR. CLAY.
"Ashland, September 7, 1840.
"Mt Dear Sir:
" Along with an invitation from the committee to attend the celebra-
tion of the Battle of the Thames on the 5th October, I received your
favor of the 2d inst., uniting in requesting my attendance. I should
be most happy to comply with wishes thus kindly expressed, but it is
really and unaffectedly out of my power ; no old plough or coal-horse
ever wanted rest more than I do ; and my private affairs, and my pro-
fessional engagements are all needing my attention, for they have all
Buffered by my long absence. I have also contingently contracted an
engagement to attend a celebration at the late residence of Gen. Shelby
on the anniversary of the Battle of the Thames. I must therefore
pray you to aid me in rendering acceptable the considerations which
deprive me of the pleasure of visiting Indianapolis this Fall.
With great regard, I am respectfully yours,
H. CLAY."
The Hon. 0. H. Smith.
Mr. Clay, accompanied by Mr. Crittenden, Gov. Metcalf, Gov.
Letcher and Mr. Harden, at a subsequent time, visited Indianapolis,
and was met every where by the enthusiastic thousands of the people ;
indeed his route through the State was a perpetual ovation, all seemed
to forget party, to do honor to the great man of the nation. Mr. Crit-
tenden was my guest, and Mr. Clay was frequently with us during his
short stay at the Capital.
letter from gov. JOHN DAVIS.
"WoKCESTEE, Mass., October 20, 1842.
" Mt Dear Sir:
" I have received your welcome favor of the 10th, which was exceed-
ingly acceptable, as I had long had it in my mind to write you, and
invite a correspondence. I thought I saw a gleam of the rays of 1840
in the west, and my letters from Ohio, assured me in the most undoubt-
ing confidence of the success of the Whigs. Judge then of the mor-
tifying disappointment which followed the confidence inspired by our
friends. I assure you that so far as my name was concerned in the
matter, it has no share in exciting these feelings, for no expectation
had been raised, or desires created, that could in the smallest degree
influence my sentiments. But I looked upon a successful move in
Ohio as the augury, shadowing forth the future policy of the country;
as in some measure settling the question, whether Tyler was to sue-
';eed in breaking up the Whig party, and carrying us back to subtreas-
256 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
ury and all the disasters of loco-policy or not. I thouglit the election
was to turn upxjn the question 'whether we should cherish the cotton
policy, or go for the labor of the free States. I thought if Ohio came
in well, the policy which you have labored with great ability to sustain
in Congress, would gain strength and permanence. How gloomy and
unfortunate is the opposite of all this. But so it seems to be, and our
friend Clay must feel deeply the result. It forebodes any thing but
prosperity to the country ; but if the people will have it so, all I can
say is, that in my opinion they do not understand their true interests.
" Our election comes in a very short time, and if Ohio had encouraged
us, we should have stood well, but as things are, what with this defeat
and Mr. Webster's speech throwing cold water upon all our exertions,
I can not say that a favorable result is by any means certain ; we are
pretty nearly balanced. The election of 18i0, is not by any means a
fair test, as such a number can only be got out by such excitement ;
and the stay-at-home voters are generally Whigs. We shall do what
we can, and are pretty well drilled in contending against majorities.
You may hope for the best ; but our people have been so discouraged
by events, that they feel as if they could see nothing to rely upon.
The tariff is gradually inspiring confidence, and business will soon
revive, if the prospects are not overshadowed by the probability of a
return to Locofoeoism. I shall be most happy to hear from you, and
to know your views of the actual state of things in the West. Why
is it that Mr. Clay is not sustained there? It seems as if the rank
and file preferred any thing and every thing to him. I will soon write
more leisurely to you, and state to you my views of things in this part
of the country. Yours with great regard,
J. DAVIS."
LETTER FROM JUDGE M'LEAN.
"Louisville, Et., April 23, 1840.
" Dear Sik :
" Some weeks ago I received a report by the judiciary committee of
the Senate in relation to the Western circuits, which you had the kind-
ness to inclose to me, and I should have written to you on the subject,
had I not received a bill from Mr. Corwin, reported in the House of
Representatives, which proposed a diflerent arrangement of my circuit.
Having lived in Ohio from the time I was ten years old, I should
regret very much now to be divorced from the State in the discharge
of my judicial duties, unless the change should be desired by the bar.
and the people of the State, and you must pardon me for expressing
a hope that the proposed arrangement will not be insisted upon.
I am not aware that Congress has at any time thrown a judge from
COPIES OF LETTERS. 257
his own State, which originally constituted a part of his circuit ; and
I hope that I shall not be made the first victim of such an arrange-
ment. If Michigan be taken from my circuit, and Missouri or Ken-
tucky substituted, I shall not complain of the labor : when a vacancy
shall occur in either of the circuits, of Baldwin, Taney, or Barbour ■
they can be reduced to two and a third judge given to the West. Such
an arrangement will meet the wants of the country, for thirty years
to come ; and until the above contingency shall occur, the arrangement
proposed by the bill reported in the House of Eepresentatives will be
sufficient for the public service. In going to and returning from
Mobile, Wayne will have to travel some 1400 miles. The court at
that place in a year or two, will not require more than two weeks, and
Mobile is within twelve hours sail of New Orleans. Florida must of
course in a short time, be added to Wayne's circuit.
"I shall be satisfied with any arrangement that does not banish me from
my own State. My residence in the vicinity of this place at my son-
in-law's, is temporary. I have no intention of abandoning my citizen-
ship in Ohio. Very truly yours,
Hon. 0. H. Smith. JOHN McLEAN."
LETTER FROM JUDGE STORY.
" Washington, March 5, 1838.
" Dear Sir :
" I return you my thanks for your kindness in sending me a copy
of your late speech in the Senate upon a topic of national interest,
and which you have treated with the ability and comprehensiveness
belonging to its merits. I should have done so before, but my engage-
ments in the business of the court allow me but little leisure, while I
am here t« read any thing but law j I am usually compelled to postpone
the perusal of other things until my return home. Mr. T. A. Howard
addressed to me a letter which you were so good as to transmit to me
this morning. May I ask the favor that you would transmit ray reply,
as it concerns matters interesting to him. I have the honor to
remain with the highest respect. Yours,
JOSEPH STOKY."
The Hon. Oliver H. Smith.
LETTER FROM GENERAL CASS.
"Detroit, May 24, 1847.
" Dear Sir :
" Since I wrote you a few days since, respecting the purchase of
goods for the Indians, circumstances with the details of which I need
17
258 EARLY mDiA:j«rA trials.
not trouble you, but arising out of imputations, with wbieli I may
be assailed, if I interfere with, the direction of these purchases, as I
am informed by letter received yesterday from Indiana, have induced
me to transfer the whole matter to Gen. Tipton. I have been
authorized by the war department to turn the money over to him,
and to refer the subject to his discretion. He is upon the spot, and
is able to manage as well, and in fact better without my interference
than with it. I have endeavored to apportion the amount to be
purchased among the various applicants, and had so informed Gen.
Tipton. But this is now annulled, for I can not consent to subject
myself to imputations where I am too little known to derive any
protection from my life and character, and whence I am too far
removed to meet and repel them. I therefore wash my hands of the
whole transaction. Gen. Tipton will no doubt manage it zealously
and faithfully. After asking your advice upon this subject I con-
sidered this explanation due to you.
" With much esteem I am sir, your ob't. serv't.
LEWIS CASS."
Hon. 0. H. Smith.
LETTER FROM HENRY CLAY.
"AsilLAXE, lOth-July, 1842.
"My Dear Str:
"I thank you for your kind letter which affords evidence of your
friendly recollection. I am delighted to hear of the fine spirit which
prevails among the Whigs in Congress, notwithstanding the perfidy
of the President. I am also gratified to learn that they will pass a
good permanent Tariff. I sincerely hope, in the new aspect which the
question has assumed, that is whether laws shall emanate from Con-
gress, or from Mr. Tyler — our Georgia friends will rally around the
independence of the Legislature. I think that if this permanent
tariff also sh.all receive the veto, the next step which I understand
is in contemplation, that of passing a tariff, limited to 20 per cent,
with a provision for a good home valuation is wise and judicious. I
think Congress ought not to adjourn until it passes a tariff, or demon-
strates to the country that it can not pass one without a surrender of
its constitutional independence. You will be threatened with a veto.
But disregarding all such threats, I would vote for that measure
which according to my own sense of duty, I thought right, whatever
may be the opinion of Mr. Tyler : that is the only course by which you
can secure your own approbation, and the support of the country.
COPIES OF LETTERS. 259
Present my best respects to your colleague, and to your neighbor
Mr. Huntington, of Connecticut. I am truly
H. CLAY."
The Hon. 0. H. Smith.
LETTER FROM A. C. DODGE.
"BiTKLiNGTON, Iowa Territory, May 26, 1841.
" Mt Dear Sir :
" I am charged by many enemies, with not having stood up for the
rights of Iowa, while acting as her delegate last winter, in regard to
the disputed boundary between our Territory and the State of Missouri,
and some of them have even gone so far as to contend, that I am
unqualified for delegate because of the relationship which exist between
Senator Linn, of Missouri, and myself. It has also been charged
in one of the newspapers opposed to me, that I should have, but
did not, protest against the passage by the Senate of the bill sub-
mitted by the Legislature of Missouri ; though her Senators and
Representatives entitled a bill for the final and peaceable settle-
ment of the boundary difficulty between said State and the Territory
of Iowa, and further, that I did not exert myself to have its provisions
made more favorable to Iowa than they were as drawn by the Legis-
lature of Missouri, or in a few words, that I was wholly derelict in
my duty and allowed Dr. Linn to say and do what he pleased uncon-
troverted by me. This you know to be untrue and unjust to me, and
I do therefore most earnestly request that you will please favor me
with a letter giving a candid statement of my course, in reference to
the subject above mentioned, so far as it came under your observation.
This I feel the more emboldened to ask of you because of your
uniform, kind and gentlemanly treatment during our brief acquaint-
ance ; you having been a member of the committee of the judiciary
of the Senate. And for your kindness and friendship toward my
Territory I shall feel the utmost gratitude. You are enabled to speak
knowingly on the subject of my conduct, as it came under your
observation ; and your observations and declarations will have no little
weight with the people of Iowa, many of whom know you personally,
and I may say that all do by character, and that they would repose the
utmost confidence in any thing coming from you. All that I ask
is justice. Please let me hear from you soon.
" I am sir, with high considerations of respect and esteem, your ob't.
serv't. A. C. DODGE."
Hon. Oliver H. Smith.
260 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
The answer to the above letter placed the distinguished gentlemen
referred to, upon grounds of honorable iudependence of each other
in the matter referred to, no two Representatives of these different
interests could have acted more firmly and independently than they
did. Dr. Linn has long since deceased, and General Dodge is at this
time the representative of this government near the Court of Spain.
LETTER EEOM HENRY CLAY.
"AsHLAN'p, 11th Nov., 1P42.
" My Dear Sir :
" I have this moment received your friendly letter. Your sugges-
tions as to the cause of our defeat at recent elections are I think
weighty and just. There is good reason to believe that when there is
a single and direct contest between two candidates and only two, a
different result will happen ; we shall then be aided too by all
intervening measures of our opponents, in States where they have
acquired the Legislative ascendency.
'• I am truly concerned that any doubt should remain of your elec-
tion. When I left you, I had other hopes and impressions, and shall
trust that your apprehensions may not be realized ; although I agree
with you that at present, a private station is the post of honor and
profit.
" I expect to go in eight or ten days to Louisiana, where I expect to
remain the greater part of the winter, and where I shall be glad to
hear from you at Washington. In the meantime, I remain,
" Truly your friend,
H. CLAY."
The Hon. 0. H. Smith.
The result of the senatorial election referred to by Mr. Clay shewed
the correctness of my anticipations. I was defeated by Mr. Hannegan
succeeding over General Howard and myself; that election will be
found in a separate sketch.
«
i
ISAAC HELLER. 261
TRIAL OF ISAAC HELLER.
The trial of the State of Indiana against Isaac Heller for the mur-
der of his wife and three small children, came on at the spring term,
1S3C, of the Union Circuit Court, Samuel Bigger president judge,
Swan and Ogden associate judges. William J. Brown, circuit prosecu-
ing attorney, assisted by James Perry, for the State. Martin M. Ray
and Samuel W. Parker appeared, by appointment of the Court, for the
prisoner. The jury was obtained with much difficulty. The case was
brought on for trial at the first term after the killing took place, of
which the counsel for the prisoner loudly complained, on the ground
that the public excitement had not time to subside, and beside suffi-
cient time had not been given to counsel to prepare for such a defense.
The facts were incontrovertible ; there was a single ground of defense
only that could be set up, that of Insanily. The case was prosecuted
with great ability, and defended with all the power of the able coun-
sel for the prisoner. Mr. Parker at that day was young, ardent, zeal-
ous and eloquent ; for over two hours he addressed the jury, in the
most impassioned, pathetic eloquence, showing the impossibility of
the mind of the prisoner being sane, when he killed his own beloved
wife and dear children. The prosecuting attorney, Mr. Brown, had
the closing speech ; the bloody clothes of the wife and children lay on
the table before the jury, the last appeal to the jury was conclusive.
The Court charged the law ably and clearly, but the die was east, the
fate of Heller was sealed. A verdict of guilty of murder in the first
degree followed ; motion for a new trial overruled ; judgment on the
verdict, and Isaac Heller was publicly executed at Liberty, on the 29th
day of April, 1836.
As this is a case of importance to the courts and bar, I give the
facts as received from Mr. Parker, one of the counsel engaged on the
trial ; I was not present myself I do this the more willingly, as the
facts now stated will revise and correct the brief statement I made,
when presenting this case in my published sketches in the Indianapolis
Daily Journal.
"On Saturday, the 27th of February, 1836, the village of Liberty,
Union County, was shocked with the intelligence that Isaac Heller, a
man living about a mile and a half east of the place, had killed his
whole family, wife and three small children ; after completing their
destruction, he had fled from the house. The neighbors soon learned
the fatal occurrence, set ofi' in pursuit, and overtook him about eight
imiles from his house ; apprehended him, he making no resistance, and
without the least hesitation acknowledging his guilt.
262 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
" Pleller had been tried once before, in the State of Pennsylvania, for
murder, and had been acquitted on the ground of insiniift/. He was
then an unmarried man ; jumped from his bed in the night time,
alarmed the family where he lived, screaming ' the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.' The fated girl had concealed herself under the bed;
he searched, found her, went up stairs, took his pocket-knife from
his pocket, returned, pulled the little girl fi'om her hiding-place, and
severed her head from her body with the knife. Telling the facts of
this case to one of his neighbors shortly before the last killing, he
said, ' I have long had it in my mind to kill my family, but have not
as yet quite made up my mind to do it. If I should, I think it very
likely I should come right off and kill you and your family.'
" After he was acquitted in Pennsylvania of the first killing, on the
plea of insanity, he came to Indiana, married, had three children, was
much attached to his family. For some years he appeared entirely
sane; joining the church of the United Brethren, he took part in their
meetings, made repeated efforts to preach, neglected his business,
was soon without property, and neglected to provide for his family.
During the last two years he frequently acted like a wild man — was
twice taken into the care of the overseers of the poor, and pronounced
on these occasions insane by the physicians. During the last six
months, he almost entirely quit labor, except chopping a little wood
for his own fire. Would sit day and night in his cabin with his head
down, apparently in a deep study, picking his finger nails, and occa-
sionally the flesh of his hands, until the blood came. He frequently
expressed to his wife and some neighbors, great horror of the poor
house, stating he would rather die than be separated from his family.
On the morning of the killing, a neighbor called to see him, and
found things looking much more cheerful than usual. Heller seemed
much more free to talk, and did talk considerable about his feeling
better than he had for some time, and about renting some land, and
going to work on it. A sister of Mrs. Heller, about nine years old,
was living in the family. After the neighbor left, a man passed along
the road ; Heller watched carefully until he got out of sight. Mrs.
Heller was sitting by the fire with a sun-bonnet on, nursing her
infant, about a month old. Heller took his ax from under the bed,
went to the fire-place, rubbing his fingers over the edge ; his wife
asked him what he was going to do. He replied, he was going to
chop wood. The wife then told the children to get some apples out
from under the bed; the little ones crawled under the bed; the little
sister-in-law stood near, looking at Heller. She saw him raise the ax
and strike his wife a full blow about the chin and neck. Seeing this,
I
ISAAC HELLER. 263
she sprang to the door, opened it, and fled to the next neighbor's,
crying murder as she ran. After she had got some two hundred j-ards,
she saw Heller coming round the corner of the house looking for her.
" Heller told how he went back to the house ; his little son was coming
to him ; he split him down with the ax, and chopped his head off; dragged
his little daughter from under the bed, placed his foot upon her breast,
and as she raised her hands for protection, at one blow severed the
fingers from one hand, and nearly took off her head. He then rolled
the mother oflF her infant, cut its head oif, and fled. There was snow
on the ground ; his bloody tracks were easily traced for some distance —
his steps showed that he had fled in a run. After going about one
hundred and fifty yards, he fell down, got up, and continued his
rapid flight some quarter of a mile ; having reached the highway, he
kept it some three quarters of a mile, then took a lane a short distance,
then took through a strip of woods, again entering the highway ; and
was arrested near the Ohio State line. Made no resistance ; returned
without objection, confes.^ed the whole matter, expressed no regrets,
assigned no cause for the bloody deed, nor did he ever assign any
particularly. He then talked, and continued to talk, about the mat-
ter, without the least hesitancy or compunction. A number of clergy-
men attended him on the scaffold. The Kev. Mr. Beswick prayed,
and the Kev. Mr. Ball preached an impressive sermon. Heller then
addressed the crowd for the space of twenty-five minutes ; his voice
was loud and clear, and his manner bore every indication of compo-
sure. He gave a short history of his life, condemned the crime for
which he was about to sufier, as one of the most aggravated, and hor-
rible that human nature could perpetrate. Spoke in the highest
terms of his wife and family, and warned the crowd in the most
impressive manner to avoid even the first inducement to crime, and
not to sufi"er themselves, as he had been, to be drawn from the path of
virtue to the scafi'old, by listening to the suggestions of the Evil One.
He expressed a hope that he had received pardon from his God for the
crimes he had committed, although his crime was as great as it was
unnatural."
The editor of the " Star and Banner " of Liberty, in giving the above
statement of the scene at tlie execution, adds, "Perhaps the deed for
which he has suffered stands unparalleled in the annals of crime, yet
he has now attoned for his offense. Justice is satisfied ; and will not
his fellow-beings be also ? Let the grave close over him, but let not
his fate, and the solemn warning he gave on the scaffold, be forgotten."
My friend, Mr. Samuel W. Parker, in giving me the facts of this case,
very justly says, " More than twenty-one years have passed since this
264 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
trial ; the plea of insanity is now better understood and appreciated
than it was then. The worse feature in the case, it has always struck
me, was the short time from the killing to the trial, and then to the
execution ; but the prisoner was without money or friends, his crime
chilled the heart's blood of all around him, and the cry of crucify him,
was relentless, though the Court, jury and counsel were cool, calm,
and patient throughout the trial. But, I confess, I never felt right
about the matter. I was then quite young in my profession, had not
a moment for preparation, but I never made a two hours argument to
a jury in my life, with more zeal, and more to my own satisfaction,
than on that occasion. And so I labored again with the Court on the
next morning for a new trial. My struggle, and that of Mr. Kay, the
senior counsel, throughout, was to establish the plea oi in&anity of the
prisoner."
No person at this day can look over this case, without at once con-
curring with the able counsel for Heller, that he was not an accounta-
able being under the laws of the country, that he should have been
acquitted on the ground oi insanity. The Court should have set aside
the verdict, granted a new trial, and continued the cause until the
next term, to give time to the people to quiet their feelings, and come
up to the trial under the majesty of the law, rather than that of retal-
iatory justice. I knew the judge well; he intended to do right, but
he was young on the bench, the jury had convicted Heller of murder
in the first degree, and he did not feel that he ought to set aside the
verdict, merely because he differed from the jury. He was wrong, and
Heller suflTered death on the scaffold for an act committed in a state of
insanity !
#
COL. WILLIAM C. PRESTOJT. 265
COL. WILLIAM C. PRESTON.
Among tlie distiuguished Senators who composed the body while I
was a member, it affords me pleasure to introduce to the reader, Col.
William C. Preston of South Carolina ; the colleague of John C. Cal-
houn. In person he was tall and commanding, over six feet, face of a
fine mold, hair sandy, flowing gracefully over his broad high forehead,
eyes gray, and rather sunken, walk majestic, though stooping slightly.
Col. Preston stood among the finest speakers of the Senate, a little
inclined I thought to declamation. Still, with the galleries and those
who are charmed with the highest class of declamation, he stood first
among the first of that distinguished body. The Colonel received a
classical education, was a matured and finished scholar, and always
spoke in high terms of his Alma Mater. He was president of the
South Carolina College, many years.
I had become very intimate with the Colonel. He abounded in
anecdotes and fine stories. AVe were frequently together in the passage
back of the president's chair. On one occasion, Mr. Clay, Mr. Web-
ster and Col. Preston were seated in conversation, when I joined them.
The subject was " true eloquence." I heard each of those distiuguished
Senators define it, as he understood the term. Col. Preston, turning
to me — " Mr. Smith, what is true eloquence ? " "I am not able to
define it satisfactorily to myself, but if you will pardon me, I will tell
you what the world thinks it is not, by referring to your speech the
other day, on the bill for the relief of the heirs of Hall." Mr. Clay.
— " let us hear it." " You know Col. Preston, as chairman of the
committee of military affairs, made an eloquent speech last week, in
support of a bill granting relief to the heirs of Hall, for the use of
his improved rifle, by the United States.
" While he was speaking, the agent of the heirs was sitting in the
gallery, listening to the speech. The vote was taken, and the bill
received just six votes ; I voted against the bill. The .Senate adjourned.
I had dined, when the agent called at my room, and earnestly requested
me to move a reconsideration. I told him it would do no good, as the
bill could not pass; he looked imploringly at me. 'All I ask is, that
you will move to reconsider, and just toll the Senate what the merits
of the bill are.' ' Did you not hear the eloquent speech of Col. Pres-
ton?' ' Yes, I heard it; but the truth is. Col. Preston is so eloquent
that the Senate can not understand him.' " With a hearty laugh we
separated. The Colonel often asked me afterward, with a smile, when
he closed his brilliant speeches, if I thought his eloquence beyond
the comprehension of the Senate.
266 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
I deem it proper to give to the reader of these sketche's, brief extracts
from speeches of these distinguished men, showing the character of
their minds, and their style in debate. Their politics are another
matter.
EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH OF COL. PRESTON.
" Mr. Preston said, that in the course of the discussion on the loan
bill, he did not think that the facts which occasioned its introduction,
and made its passage necessary, were sufficiently borne in mind. They
were of a very important and imperious character, and could not be
put with too much emphasis. The Government is out of money, and
out of credit — it is in a bankrupt condition. Its paper has been pro-
tested, and its indorsers held responsible for ruinous liabilities. Treas-
ury notes are at a discount of five per cent, and the creditors of the
Government are thus paid in a depreciated paper, a less amount than
they have earned, and we have stipulated to pay. It is at once tyranny
and fraud — a violation of contract by the force of power. We should
understand our position, and not mince words in stating it.
" The Government stands discredited and dishonored. The person
and the property of an individual, under such circumstances, would
be seized by the minions of the law. This disgrace has penetrated,
and is felt throughout all the ramifications of the Government, and
taints every agent of it, even in foreign countries; for drafts of our
functionaries abroad have gone back protested, proclaiming to the
world our shameful condition. This is a serious injury to our country.
We all — every one of us — are soiled by it ; and feel our citizenship with
a less proud and lofty sentiment of patriotism'. The pride of country
is a main pillar of republics. National honor is a very substantial
thing, and ought to be cherished and preserved not less scrupulously
in discharging the homely duties of good faith and honesty, than in
the presence of foreign nations, or on the battle-field. From some
cause or other we have permitted it to be touched, and we should has-
ten, with eager solicitude to redeem it. I could have hoped sir, that
in this acknowledged condition of things, under a pressure of disas-
trous emergency, we should have addressed ourselves with one consent,
to the application of the remedy, without wasting time in ascertaining
the cause, or denouncing the authors of the evil in bitter and unavail-
ing recriminations, when it is manifest that, whosesoever the blame, it
. If'.
is a common calamity of our common country, which should be redeemed yi
by a united and vigorous efi"ort of all who love that country or value
its honor.
" The case is hardly less pressing, than if our flag was borne down in
the tide of battle, and we paused in the rescue, to settle some personal
ft
COL. WILLIAM C. PEESTOX. 267
differences. I am sorry to see this, like every other occasion seized
upon to indulge in partisan assaults and common strifes; and that the
gentlemen of the opposition should think proper to assail us, and throw
themselves upon us, and incumber us with difficulties, and call off our
attention, by taunts and reviliugs, at the instant we are advancing with
all possible speed to so sacred an object. I will pause a moment, and
but a moment to dispose of these assailants, so much more intent on
attacking us than relieving the country. They say that all this is our
doing; that our prodigality has created the debt; that our want of
forecast has failed to provide for it ; and that it is we who have
destroyed the public credit. If it were so — if our folly or our crime
has brought on this state of things — can the Senators of the opposi-
tion find, in reason, humanity, or patriotism an excuse for their leth-
argy, or rather active hindrance of our exertions?
'■ But what shall be said or thought of their conduct, when it is known
as everybody does know, that the country is brought to this pass, by
their own mismanagement, by years and years of misgovernment,
prodigality and recklessness, and that we, the "Whigs, have been but
this moment sent, by an indignant and suffering people, to relieve the
body politic from the ruinous course of their empiricism ? Both the
Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Buchanan), and the Senator from
New Hampshire (JMr. "Woodbury), charge upon us the mighty evils
which oppress the people, and that we, in thirteen months, and not
yet at the end of the first Constitutional Congress, have done all this.
Sir, this vigorous and young republic could not be thus struck down
at one blow ; these gray hairs are not of one night's growth ; this
decrepitude, is not of paralysis, but of long and wasting disease, aggra-
vated by unskillful treatment and deleterious drugs, requiring time as
well as potent remedies to effect a cure. Where is that country which
the mistaken confidence of the people intrusted to them five years ago?
Where that overflowing Treasury, that cornucopia of commerce ; that
abounding agriculture ? Did you give them back to us as you received
them, or in their stead chaff and husks ?
" One thing at least is clear, that the wretched system of Government
paper which is now terminated, as all systems of Government paper
must terminate inevitably, in depreciation and bankruptcy, was of
their begetting and nourishing. They began it — they instituted the'
system of Treasury notes. The late administration is the first in the
history of our Government, that in time of profound peace, was com-
pelled to resort to borrowing, and chose that most fallacious, dangerous
and ruinous mode of borrowing by the issue of Treasury notes. They
destroyed the equilibrium between expenditures and income, and thus
268 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
deranged tlie whole financial order. From the beginning, they have
lived and had their being on Treasury notes. To use the word of the
Senator from New Hamiishire, more expressive perhaps than pure, they
fed their spendthrift-nest throughout on this paper. Session after ses-
sion they rushed into this hall, proclaiming that the country was in
danger ; that the Treasury was empty ; that credit would fail ; and beg-
ging and supplicating for a few more Treasury notes. They were
always in debt, and paid by giving their notes. After the first terrific
explosion in 1837, the Treasury was a mere crater, which no man
might look into, throwing up at irregular periods, masses of Treasury
notes, with flashes of lurid light from the agonized Secretary, who
writhed below like the giant under Etna.
" It is curious and mournful to see what an amazing extent of wide-
spread and multifarious embarrassments they transmitted to us — a gen-
eral pressure and bankruptcy ; a deplorable relaxation of morals ; a
rotten navy; an army exhausted by ineffectual toils, and thinned by
malignant diseases ; a treasury empty and discredited ; a system of
finance exploded ; a miserable, inglorious and most expensive war with
savages, and all around the horizon of our foreign relations, angry and
darkening elements. Yes sir, in respect to our foreign relations every
difficulty has been inherited from our predecessors — every one.
" The Senator (Mr. Buchanan), whispers the Creole case ; even that
is not new. Here are the northeast boundary and the northwest boun-
dary questions, of many years standing, and with difficulties which
necessarily augment by time and neglect. Here is the Caroline case,
in regard to which the patriotic wrath and fury of the gentlemen, after
having been securely bottled up for three years, has lately burst out
with so much foam and splutter. You saw your vessel in flames — you
saw the smoking blood of your murdered citizen — you looked down on
his mutilated body, whirled about in the eddies of Niagara, and calmly
referred for redress to distant and equivocal negociation ; and when
years had passed by, and indignation cooled, and sorrows subsided,
and you were no longer responsible, your wailings broke forth ; your
indignation burst into spontaneous combustion, and you were ready ' to
weep, to fight, to tear thyself, to drink up Eisel and eat a crocodile.
"As to the Creole, you left us that too ; for precisely the same ques-
tions and principles were involved in the Bermuda cases of the Comet
and the Enterprise, the negociations upon which (ably conducted no
doubt), by a distinguished and lamented Secretary, terminated in a re-
jection by the British Minister, of a proposition to permit our vessels un-
der certain circumstances, to lie in the roadstead under the guns of Brit-
ish forts, because such service would be dishonorable to British afi'airs.
THE SWORD AND STAFF. 269
SWORD OF WASHINGTON AND STAFF OF FRANKLIN.
I H.WE thought the reader might like to see a sketch of the presen-
tation of the sword of Washington, and the staff of Franklin, in the
House of Eepresentatives, of the United States, in February, 1843. I
witnessed the scene, it was truly imposing. The House was filled to
overflowing, the galleries a jam, the President and Cabinet, the Supreme
judges, the foreign Ministers, and crowds of citizens, filled every aisle.
George W. Summers, one of the most distinguished representatives
of Virginia, was selected by the donors to present the sacred relics to
Congress, and John Quiney Adams was expected to second BIr. Sum-
mers. The address of Mr. Summers, and the remarks of Mr. Adams,
were so brief and full of interest that I give them entire to the reader.
PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OP REPRESENT.iTIVES OP THE
UNITED STATES
Washington, Februarv 7th, 1843.
Mr. Summers, one of the Representatives from the State of Vir-
ginia rose, and addressed the House as follows :
" Mr. Speaker ; I rise for the purpose of discharging an office not con-
nected with the ordinary business of a Legislative assembly. Yet,
in asking permission to interrupt for a moment the regular order of
parliamentary proceedings, I can not doubt that the proposition which
I have to submit will prove as gratifying to the House as it may be
unusual.
Mr. Samuel T. Wilshington, a citizen of Franklin county, in the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, and one of my constituents, has honored me .
with the commission of pre.senting in his name and on his behalf, to the
Congress of the United States, and through that body to the people of
the United States, two most interesting and valuable relics connected
with the past history of our country, and with men whose achievments
both in the field and in the Cabinet, best illustrate and adorn our
annals. One is the sword worn by George Washington, first as a
colonel in the Colonial service of Virginia, in Forbes' campaign
against the French and Indians, and afterward during the whole period
of the war of Independence as Commander-in-chief of the American
army. It is a plain couteau or hanger, with a green hilt and silver
guard. On the upper ward of the scabbard is engraven, ' I. Bailey,
Fish Kill.' It is accompanied by a buckskin belt, which is secured
by a silver buckle and clasp, whereon are engraven the letters ' G. W.'
and the figures ' 1757.' These are all of the plainest workmanship,
but substantial and in keeping with the man and with the times to
270 EAELT IXDIAXA TRIALS.
wtich they belonged. The history of this sword is perfectly authen-
tic, and leaves no shadow of doubt as to its identity. The last will
and testament of General Washington bearing date on the 0th day of
February, 1799, contains, among a great variety of bequests, the fol-
lowing clause.
" ' To each of my nephews, William Augustine Washington, George
Lewis, George Steptoe Washington, Bushrod Washington and Sam-
uel Washington, I give one of the swords or couteaux of which
I may die possessed ; and they are to chose in the order they are
named. These swords are accompanied with an injunction not to
unsheathe them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be for
self-defense, or in defense of their country and its rights, and, in the
latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in
their hands to the relinquishiuent thereof.'
" In the distribution of the swords hereby devised among the five
nephews therein enumerated, the one now presented fell to the share
of Samuel Washington, the devisee last named in the clause of the
will which I have just read.
" This gentleman, who died a few years since, in the county of
Kanawha, and who was the father of Samuel T. Washington, the
donor, I knew well. I have often seen this sword in his possession,
and received from himself the following account of the manner in
which it become his property in the division made among the devisees.
He said that he knew it to have been the side-arm of General Wash-
ington during the Revolutionary War ; not that used on occasions
of parade and review, but the constant service sword of the great
chief; that he has himself seen Gen. Washington wear this identical
sword, he presumed for the last time, when, in 1794, he reviewed the
Maryland and. Virginia forces, then concentrated at Cumberland
under the command of General Lee, and destined to co-operate with
the Pennsylvania and New Jersey troojis, then assembled at Bedford,
in suppressing what has been called the ' Whisky Insurrection.' Gen.
Washington was the President of the United States, and as such was
commander-in-chief of the army. It is known that it was his inten-
tion to lead the army in person upon that occasion had he found it
necessary, and he went to Bedford and Cumberland prepared for that
event. The condition of things did not require it, and he returned
to his civil duties at Philadelphia. Mr. Samuel Washington held the
commission of a captain at that time himself, and served in that
campaign, many of the incidents of which he has related to me. He
was anxious to obtain this particular sword, and preferred it to all
the others, among which was the ornamented and costly present from
i
m.
THE SAVORD A>fD STAFF. 271
the great Frederick. At the time of the division among the nephews,
without intimating what his preference was, he jocosely remarked,
' that inasmuch as he was the only one of them then present who
had participated in military service they ought to permit him to take
choice.' This suggestion was met in the same spirit in which it was
made, and the selection being awarded him, he chose this, the plainest,
and, intrinsically, the least valuable of any: simply because it was
the ' Battle Sword.' I am also in possession of the most satisfactory
evidence furnished by Colonel George C. Washington, of Georgetown,
the nearest male relative now living of General Washington, as to the
identity of this sword.
This information, as to its history, was derived from his father,
William Augustine Washington, the devisee first named in the clause
of the will which I have read ; from his uncle, the late Judge Bush-
rod Washington, of the Supreme Court; and Major Lawrence Lewis,
the acting executor of General Washington's will— all of whom con-
curred in the statement that the true service sword was that selected
by Captain Samuel Washington. It remained in this gentleman's
possession until his death, esteemed by him the most precious me-
mento of his illustrious kinsman. It then became the property of
his son, who, animated by that patriotism which so characterized the
' Father of his Country,' has consented that such a relic ought not
to be appropriated by an individual citizen, and has instructed me,
his representative, to offer it to the nation, to be preserved in its public
depositaries as the common property of all, since its oflSce has been
to achieve and secure the common liberty of all. He has, in like
manner, requested me to present this cane to the Congress of the
United States, deeming it not unworthy the public acceptance. This
was once the property of the philosopher and patriot, Benjamin
Franklin. By a codicil to his last will and testament, we find it thus
disposed of:
" ' My fine crab-tree walking-stick, with a gold head, curiously
wrought in the form of the cap of liberty, I give to my friend, and
to the friend of mankind. General Washington. If it were a scepter,
he has merited it and would become it.'
" General Washington, in his will, devises this cane as follows : Iletn.
' To my brother, Charles Washington, I give and bequeath the gold-
headed cane left me by Dr. Franklin in his will.' Captain Samuel
Washington was the only surviving son of Charles Washington, the
devisee, from whom he derived, by inheritance, this interesting memo-
rial ; and having transmitted it to his son, Samuel T. Washington, the
latter thus seeks to bestow it worthily, by associating it with the battle
272 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
sword, in a gift to Ms couDtryinen. I cordially concur with Mr.
Washington in the opinion that they each merit public preservation ;
and I obey, with pleasure, his wishes in here presenting them, in his
name, to the nation. Let the sword of the hero and the staiF of the
philosopher go together. Let them have place among the proudest
trophies and most honored memorials of our national achievements.
" Upon that staff once leaned the sage, of whom it has been said,
'He snatched the lightning from heaven, and the scepter from tyrants.'
A mighty arm once wielded this sword in a righteous cause, even unto
the dismemberment of empire. In the hand of Washington, this was
'the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.' It was never drawn except
in the defense of public liberty ; it was never sheathed until a glori-
ous and triumphant success returned it to the scabbard, without a
stain of cruelty or dishonor upon its blade ; it was never surrendered
except to that country which bestowed it.
Mr. John Quinct Adams, one of the Kepresentatives from the
State of Massachusetts, then addressed the House as follows :
" In presenting the resolution which I hold in my hand to the House,
it may, perhaps, be expected that I should accompany it with some
remarks suitable to the occasion ; and yet, sir, I never rose to address
this House under a deeper conviction of the want of words to express
the emotions that I feel. It is precisely because occasions like this
are adapted to produce universal sympathy, that little can be said by
any one, but what, in the language of the heart, in tones not loud but
deep, every one present has silently said to himself. My respected
friend from Virginia, by whom this offering of patriotic sentiment has
been presented to the Bepresentative Assembly of the nation, has, it
seems to me, already said all that can be said suitable to this occasion.
In parting from him, as, after a few short days, we must all do, it will,
on my part, be sorrowing that, in all probability, I shall see his face^
and hear his voice no more. But his words of this day are planted in
my memory, and will there remain till the last pulsation of my heart.
The sword of Washington ! the staff of Franklin ! Oh ! sir, what
associations are linked in adamant with those names ! Washington
the warrior of human freedom — Washington, whose sword, as my
fi-iend has said, was never drawn but in the cause of his country, and
never sheathed when needed in his country's cause ! Franklin, the
philosopher of the thunder-bolt, the printing-press, and the plough-
share ! What names are these in the scanty catalogue of the bene-
factors of human kind! Washington and Franklin! What other
two men, whose lives belong to the eighteenth century of Christen-
dom, have left a deeper impression of themselves upon the age in
THE SWORD AND STAFF. 273
whicli they lived, and upon all after time ! Washington, the warrior
and legislator ! In war, contending by the wager of battle for the
independence of his country, and for the freedom of the human race;
ever manifesting, amid its horrors, by precept and example, his rev-
erence for the laws of peace, and for the tenderest sympathies of hu-
manity ; in peace, soothing the ferocious spirit of discord, among his
own countrymen, into harmony and union, and giving to that very
sword now presented to his country, a charm more potent than that
attributed in ancient times to the lyre of Orpheus. Franklin ! the
mechanic of his own fortune, teaching in early youth, under the
shackles of indigence, the way to wealth, and in the shade of obscu-
rity the path to greatness ; in the maturity of manhood, disarming the
thunder of its terrors, the lightning of its fatal blast, and wresting
from the tyrant's hand the still more aiBietive scepter of oppression :
while descending into the vale of years, traversing the Atlantic ocean,
braving in the dead of winter the battle and the breeze, bearing in his
hand the charter of Independence, which he had contributed to form
and tendering, from the self-created nation to the mightiest' monarchs
of Eui'ope, the olive branch of peace, the mercurial wand of commerce,
and the amulet of protection and safety to the man of peace on the
pathless ocean, from the inexorable cruelty and merciless rapacity of
war. And finally, in the last stage of life, with fourscore winters
upon his head, under the torture of an incurable disease, returning to
his native land, closing his days as the chief magistrate of his adopted
Commonwealth, after contributing by his counsels, under the Presi-
dency of Washington, and recording his name, under the sanction of
devout prayer invoked by him to God, to that Constitution under the
authority of which we are here assembled, as the representatives of the
North American people, to receive, in their name and for them, these
venerable relics of the wise, the valiant, and the good founders of our
great confederated republic — these sacred symbols of our golden age.
May they be deposited among the archives of our Government ! and
may every American who shall hereafter behold them, ejaculate a min-
gled offering of praise to that Supreme Piuler of the universe, by
whose tender mercies our TTuion has been hitherto preserved through
all the vicissitudes and revolutions of this turbulent world, and of
prayer for the continuance of these blessings, by the dispensations of
his Providence, to our beloved country, from age to age, till time shall
be no more !
18
274 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
LEVI WOODBURY.
I BECAME personally acquainted with Judge Woodbury the sub-
ject of this sketch, when he took his seat in the Senate of the United
States, as the colleague of Franklin Pierce. Judge Woodbury brought
with him to the Senate, a high reputation for industry, strong common
sense, and great financial ability, with a long and matured experience
on the Supreme Bench of his own State, and as Secretary of the Treas-
ury of the United States : as a speaker, he was not known. In per-
son Judge Woodbury was about the common bight, heavy and
strongly built, large chest, broad across the shoulders, short neck,
capacious brain, head bald, retreating forehead, thin hair on the back
of his head, fcatiires fine, eye-lashes heavy, blue sunken eyes. His
countenance expressed much study and continued mental labor. The
first time he rose to speak, all eyes were upon him. 1 listened to him
with much interest. I had heard all the other distinguished Senators,
and I was then about to hear one of the favorite sons of New Eng-
land.
He commenced calmly and slowly, clear, plain, and distinct in
his annunciation, and without the least attempt at what is termed
eloquence ; as he progressed he warmed with his subject, his voice rose,
higher and higher, until he filled the chamber ; he became more and
more interesting as he developed his powers : they were not those of
impassioned eloquence, his was the eloquence of facts and conclusions,
presented in plain, vigorous language, understood by all. His mind had
so long dwelt upon figures and finance, that it was not expected that
he would plunge into the whirlpool of exciting political debate, that
sometimes rocked the Senate from center to circumference. His was
the field of usefulness. He was emphatically a working utilitarian,
■with little imagination, except what was closely connected with the
facts with which he was dealing. Judge Woodbury, like all the other
great men of our nation was made so by self-labor, no man is created
great, any more than the main-spring of the watch is created by nature
alone. It is labor that makes both. I have often thought that Mr.
Wirt's life of Patrick Henry had done much injury, as it seemed to
say, that study and preparation, were not essential to true greatness. If
Patrick Henry was an exception to the rule, which I very much doubt,
it was one that it will not do for our young men to follow, unless
they are sure that they are by nature Patrick Henrys.
I give an extract from a speech of Judge Woodbury, that the reader
may see his style.
LEVI WOODBURY. 275
EXTRACT FROM HIS SPEECH ON THE LOAN BILL.
Mr. President: — All admit that this is an alarming exigency in
our financial affairs. The bill on your table, as well as the proposed
amendment to it, both look to the dire necessity of borrowing some-
thing, not only in a period of profound peace, but at a moment when
our credit has suddenly become depreciated ; friends and foes must,
therefore, be anxious to effect a loan on the best terms which are
practicable. As a general rule, the loan should be small in amount
as possible, and the best terms would certainly be the lowest rate of
interest and the shortest period which are attainable in so critical a
position. We can hardly appreciate the change, in that position and
its present deplorable character, unless we advert to our situation one
short year ago, with no permanent debt of our own, with a small tem-
porary one of only five or six millions, and that above or at par, with
a reduced and reducing expenditure, with a revenue from lands and
customs, ample under slight re\'isions in the latter to meet such an
expenditure, and extinguish the whole debt, and with a national credit
untarnished, undepreciated, and unsuspected.
If more in sorrow than in anger, or in party reproach, we contrast
that lofty position with what now stares us in the f ice — a hideous
mass of large permanent debts, and a still larger temporary one —
greatly increased expenditures, depreciated stocks, and protest on pro-
test for non-payment of ordinary demands, as well as temporary loans,
our hearts must recoil at the sight. When we look further, and see
the whole land-revenue squandered, and an impossibility of getting
onward in such a ruinous career, without further disgrace — further
acts of Isankruptcy, or further loans at rank usury — it all admonishes
us solemnly that something wrong must have produced such disasters,
and tliat something new and efficient must be adopted to remove them.
Let us examine the subject, then, in a manner which an emergency
so calamitous demands, rising for oncQ above party or the mere poli-
tics of the day, and forgetting every thing but what is required of us
as statesmen, patriots, and Senators. I shall, therefore, forbear to crimi-
nate or recriminate ; and in such a condition of peril to the country,
and its high character, I will devote my whole efforts to discover the
best mode of relief through a loan, which appears to comport with
public honor and public safety ; and which, at the same time, bids
fair to be crowned with success. Hence, I am willing to overlook
every consideration of form in this bill, and every subordinate objec-
tion, if only the main features of it can be made such as are most likely
to insure a creditable escape from present ignominy. I say nothing,
276 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
then, as to the extension of the time for a year or two, within which
the loan must be made, if made at all. Nor will I be captious con-
cerning the amount which the Executive is authorized to borrow,
though, in one view, it is much too large, and in another, it is not
large enough, by several millions to carry out the policy now in force.
Nor will I dwell on the better reasons which exist for a monthly pub-
lication of what is done under this bill, as in the case of all our Treas-
ury note bill, rather than a report of it to Congress hereafter, which,
of course, could call for it without provision. Nor am I tenacious as
to the form of advertising and of accepting offers, though, in some
respects, exceptionable. Nor will I stop to expose the great danger
of issuing certificates virtually to bearer, and also in sums as small as
fifty dollars or fifty cents, and thus open the door to infinite diflScul-
ties, as frauds and forgeries in respect to the payment of interest, and
create a paper circulation, not redeemable at all for twenty years, and
fbr discharging which not even the one dollar of specie to three of
paper is required to be kept, which the original exchequer project
provided for.
Nor will I, ou this occasion, so pressing and momentous, indulge
even in reply, and at any length, to many party strictures, made in
the course of this debate, by Senators on the other side. They have
been such as swelling the real expenses of the last administration to
thirty-five millions, on an average, yearly, when all who examine with
care, know and admit them to have been but twenty-seven and a frac-
tion. Such as taunting us with the Florida war, when our opponents
engaged to end it in a single month, but have not yet finished it,
though more than a year has elapsed ; and such as asking for the
monuments over the country of our expenses, and declaring that none
exist, when all the civil, foreign, judicial, legislative, military, and
naval operations of the country, have been promptly sustained; im-
mense removals of Indians made to give place to Christian civilization
— large pension payments continued to the survivors of the Revolu-
tion — numerous public buildings erected — arsenals, armories, barracks,
and forts built — roads extended, rivers and h^irbors in many cases
improved, and peace maintained in a most perilous crisis on both our
Northern and Northeastern, as well as Southwestern frontiers.
IDENTITY OF A HORSE. 277
IDENTITY OF A HORSE.
At a term of Marion Circuit Court, William J. Peasley presiding,
there came on to be tried an action of replevin, brought by James
Musgrove against William Martin, for a brown horse. Gov. Wallace
and myself for the plaintiflf. Wick and Barbour for the defendant.
The only question in controversy before the Court and jury was, as
to the identity of the horse : both parties claimed him, the defendant
Martin was in possession, and had been for two years. Our client
had lost his horse about the time that Martin purchased the horse in
question. There were some forty witnesses, good substantial men,
reliable as to truth, and of unquestionable veracity : men who would
not have sworn ftilse knowingly for ten such horses. We had the
opening and close before the jury, and of course led off with our testi-
mony by the examination of some twenty witnesses. We proved the
horse positively to belong to our client, tracing our title back to the
man that raised him. He was a brown horse, fifteen hands high, no
white marks, a scratch near his hip. We asked our witnesses how
they identified the horse, they answered promptly that he had been
scratched near the hip by a sharp root of a blown-up tree when he
was ploughing in the field. They had examined the horse in question
and found the scratch ; they further identified him by the fact that he
was taught when a colt to lean his ears when a finger was pointed at
him ; he also had a shuffling pace : our identity was complete, the horse
we felt sure was ours. Gov. Wallace rather waggishly winked at
Judge Wick, as much as to say " do you give it up." It looked to
me, that the day was ours. The witnesses for the defendant swore
just as positively as ours had, that the horse belonged to Martin, the
defendant. They proved him up from a suckling colt, beyond a shad-
dow of a doubt in the minds of the witnesses. The scratch under the
hip was proved to have been made by a nail in the stable door. The
pacing was proved to be the slow gait of the defendant's horse, and
the lean of the ears, was proved to have been conti-aeted when a colt.
Thus stood the proof about equally balanced — positive on both sides,
when Mr. Barbour asked one of our witnesses how old our horse was.
He answered he would be seven years old that fall. This fixed the
ag^ of our horse. They then proved that their horse was only five
years old. Our client insisted that the witnesses were mistaken as to
the age of the horse of the defendant, and we sent experts to look at
his teeth, but unfortunately, they testified that the horse was five years
old in the fall. This turned the scale against us, and the jury found
the horse to be the property of Martin the defendant.
\
^ 4
278 EA.RLT INDIAXA TRIALS.
JOHN FREEMAN.
In the month of June in the year 1853, during my absence from
home, the citizens of Indianapolis were surprised by the arrest under
the fugitive slave law, of John Freeman a negro man, upon the affi-
davit made by Pleasant Ellington of Kentucky, before commissioner
William Sullivan, claiming Freeman as his slave. Freeman had resi-
ded with his family many years in Indianapolis, was known to most
of the citizens as an honest, industrious, sober man : claiming at all
times to be a free man from Georgia. No one suspected him to be a
slave. Freeman by his counsel obtained a writ of habeas corpus
from Judge Major of the State Circuit Court, and he was taken out
of the custody of commissioner Sullivan, and brought before the
Judge. Joiiathan A. Liston, and Thomas D. Walpole appeared for
Ellington, and John L. Ketchum, Lucien Barbour, and John Coburn
for Freeman. The Judge decided that he had no jurisdiction over
the case, and remanded Freeman into the custody of the United States
Marshall, who committed him to the jail of the county to await the
decision of commissioner Sullivan, who postponed the hearing to give
time to the parties to procure testimony, especially upon the important
point of the identity of Freeman as the slave of Ellington. There
was no question but that Ellington's negro Sam had escaped some
years before, and Ellington had sworn that Freeman was his slave Sam. '
Pending the continuance of the cause, Ellington brought to Indiana-
polis three witnesses from Kentucky, who were admitted into the jail
by the marshall. Freeman was stripped, a sear found on the left leg
about an inch and a half in diameter, by which the witnesses identi-
fied him, and swore positively, that he was the identical negro Sam of
Mr. Ellington. This looked bad for Freeman, but Ellington himself
had said that Sam had a large scar on the side of his right leg, run-
ning down to, and covering the top of the foot, made by a burn at
Hanging Rock, Kentucky : also, a scar on the back part of his shoul-
der, made by a bite of another negro at the same place. Freeman,
upon examination, had no scar on the shoulder, nor upon his right
leg, and the scar on his left leg was proved to have been made by a
cut. These facts, with the positive statements of Freeman, satisfied
both his counsel and the public that the Kentucky witnesses were
mistaken, to use the mildest term, as to the identity of Freeman as
Sam. that the real Sam might be found, and after short search in Ohio,
they found his line of travel, traced him to Canada, and found him
there. He acknowledged that he was Ellington's Sam, told how he
escaped, the rout he traveled, and all about his Master Ellington and
JOHN FREEMAN. 279
his family. The counsel returned and procured two of Ellington's
Kentucky neighbors to go to Canada and see Sam. The moment they
saw him, they identified hira as he did them, as his old acquaintances.
This was the real Sam, the fugitive. He had escaped in the year 1834,
he had the scars on the right leg and the shoulder, but how could the
mistake he honestly made ? Sam was a tall, straight negro ; jet black,
full chest. Freeman was a low, heavy-set man, muddy brown, by uo
means black like Sam, and at least six inches shorter : they were about
the same age. Conclusive as this proof seemed to be, to leave no stone
unturned the persevering counsel for Freeman went to Georgia, and
learned there, that the statements of Freeman, were strictly true ; that
lie had removed from Virginia to Georgia in the year 1831 ; had liv.ed
in Georgia until the year 1844, when he removed to Indianapolis.
Lero Pattillo of Georgia, who had been the guardian of Freeman,
came to Indianapolis. The moment he and Freeman saw each other.
Freeman burst out crying, and ran to Mr. Pattillo overjoyed. Several
other gentlemen of Georgia came with Mr. Pattillo, all of whom recog-
nized Freeman the moment thoy saw him. Thus stood the case in
the evening ; next morning the examination before the commissioner
was to be had. Ellington arrived after dark, learned from his coun-
sel the liopeless state of the case, locked himself up in his room, and
in the night left the city and walked to a station on the Madison rail-
road ; got on the cars, made the best of his way to Kentucky, and has
not returned since. The commissioner promptly discharged Freeman,
who still resides at Indianapolis with his family. In the meantime
Freeman brought a civil action for trespass and false imprisonment
against Ellington, and the process served while he was at Indianapolis,
and obtained a judgment upon compromise for two thousand dollars
and costs, not a dollar of which has been paid, as I learned from one
of the counsel. This case presents much for reflection ; it shows the
great caution that should be observed on the part of slave-holders in
pursuit of fugitives, in making aflSdavits, and the vast importance of the
commissioner issuing the writ, giving full time to the parties after
the arrest to get the proof of identity before a certificate is obtained.
"While it is right and proper, that the Constitution and laws should be
enforced in such cases, it is highly important that every safeguard
should be thrown around the free man of color.
280 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
JOHN QUinCY ADAMS.
The distinguislied subject of this sketch, stands acknowledged
amoug the first men of his times. His name, and public services,
form an essential part of the history of our country ; indeed, they
could not be torn from it without greatly mutilating the record. He was
the only son of his distinguished Revolutionary sire, who stood by the
side of Thomas Jefferson on the memorable occasion, when a great
nation was born, to astonish the civilized world. It is not my pur-
pose to speak of the many high offices that were filled by BIr. Adams,
nor of the ability with which he filled them, nor is it any part of my
purpose to speak of his administration. I may be permitted, how-
ever, to say what is now usually conceded, since the public eye
sees through national, and not through partisan glasses, that his
administration was a model one, — pure, patriotic, economical, American.
John Quincy Adams was small of stature, not over five feet eight
inches high, well made, good chest, fine features, large head, high,
retreating forehead, thin hair, bald to his ears, weak, watery eyes,
effected by cold caught on his European tour. I speak of John
Quincy Adams, after he had left the Presidential Chair, and had been
returned to the House of Representatives from his native district in
Massachusetts. He was the only Ex-President, that had taken a seat in
that body, since the organization of our Government. Mr. Monroe,
after he had retired from the Presidency, held the office of Justice
of the Peace, and of member of the House of Delegates of Virginia,
but no other Es-President has ever appeared in the House of Repre-
sentatives, and I much doubt, whether any other could have sustained
himself in debate in the popular branch of Congress. It was there
that I knew him best. As a speaker, he was clear, cool, self-possessed,
strong, a mind of the highest order, his head a diary of facts and
dates, always prepared, a fine classic scholar, a professor of rhetoric,
he was an able, prompt debater, and in personal contests which he
seldom avoided, he was a competitor to be dreaded by the ablest
debaters in the House. On one occasion, Henry A. Wise had made a
personal attack on him, using language that Mr. Adams thought
unbecoming the occasion. After Mr. Wise took his seat, Mr. Adams
sat quietly writing at his desk without noticing him, until his silence
became painful to Mr. Wise. Dr. Mallory, the friend of Mr. Wise
came round to the seat of Mr. Adams and told him that he could get
the floor to reply to BIr. Wise. Mr. Adams in a loud voice, that
could be heard over the House, " No sir, the young man has let him-
self down entirely below reply from me," and continued writing.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 281
"Without attempting to sketch many of the smaller incidents con-
nected with Mr. Adams, in the House, I come at once to one of the im-
portant ones which I witnessed. He was known throughout the United
States, as the avowed friend of the Constitutional right of petition,
for redress of real or supposed grievances. On the occasion to
which I allude, he received a petition, praying a dissolution of the
Union, and introduced it in the House accompanied by a resolution.
"Resolved that the prayer of the petitioners ought not to granted."'
Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, one of the ablest debaters in the
House, with more zeal than discretion, immediately rose and moved
that Mr. Adams be expelled from the House. This motion created
great excitement ; but Mr. Adams sat writing at his desk cool and
collected ; the debate took a wide range, and occupied the morning
hour as the priviledged question for weeks.
I entered the House one morning during the debate, while Mr.
Adams was speaking. Lord Morpeth sat by him, with his fico turned
up, closely watching every gesture, and attentively listening to every
word of Mr. Adams. I had a full view of both at the time, and was
afterward introduced to Lord Morpeth. In person, he was a fine
model of a man; about the common hight; light complexion, flush,
carnation cheeks ; blue, cheerful eyes ; fine features ; English dialect ;
plainly dressed ; manners plain and unostentatious. He remarked to
me, " Mr. Adams is a remarkable man, a most sarcastic debater." It
was apparent that Mr. Adams had the best of the contest. His oppo-
nents keenly felt their position. Mr. Adams had wisely maintained
the Union, while he admitted the right of petition of the citizen in its
enlarged sense. Mr. Marshall, without noticing the resolution of
Mr. Adams, moved to expel him for introducing the petition ; this
gave Mr. Adams such vantage ground in the debate, that his oppo-
nents could not resist him. With many others, I always regretted
that the petition and resolution had not been referred to a select com-
mittee, with Mr. Adams at the head, that he might have reported on
the value of the Union. No man in the nation was so well qualified
to draw the report as Mr. Adams. The result of the matter was, that
Mr. Adams gave way for a motion to lay the petition, resolution and
motion on the table ; which was done unanimously, where they still lie.
While the debate was in full blast, I returned to the Senate cham-
ber. Mr. Clay asked me what was going on in the House ? I told
him that Mr. Adams was using up Mr. Marshall, of Kentucky.
"Ah! just as I expected. I told the young men to let him alone.
The truth is, Mr. Adams is too much for any of them ; the sooner
they get rid of him and the subject, the better for them."
282 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Mr. Adams, with all his powers, was far from being a pleasant
speaker. He was very interesting, because of his facts, but to my
ear, he could not be called eloquent.
Mr. Adams had strong pretensions to being a poet, as well as a
jurist, philosopher, and statesman ; but I believe he had little if any
miisic in him. Indeed, the anecdote he related to Sir. Robert C.
Winthrop, of Boston, would seem to divorce him from all musical pre-
tensions. It was at Ghent; the American and British plenipoten-
tiaries had met to form the treaty of peace between the two countries;
the authorities of the place proposed to give a grand musical enter-
tainment in honor of the occasion. The chief musician was directed
to call upon the American ministers and get their national song, with
the air to be played by the band. He was introduced to our ministers
and the object of his visit stated. The question was, what was the
national song of the United States, and what the air? 8ome were
for " Hail Columbia," and some for "Yankee Doodle." The latter
prevailed, and was decided by the plenipotentiaries of the United
States to be the national song. The chief musician. — " Please give me
the air." Mr. Adams, looking at Mr. Clay, " I can not do it ; I never
sung or whistled a tune in my life." Mr. Clay, looking at Mr. Bay-
ard, " Nor I." Mr. Bayard, " Nor I." The other ministers also dis-
claimed all knowledge of music. Mr. Clay, always quick at expedients,
"Call John," his colored man. John came in. "What massa?"
"John, whistle Yankee Doodle for this gentleman." The musician
took his seat, with paper and pencil, and, as John whistled, took the
air, noted the tune for music, and next day " Yankee Doodle," with
its variations, was played by the band, in splendid harmony, to the
admiration and delight of the assembled multitude. This establishes
forever " Yankee Doodle " as our national song and air.
Mr. Adams continued to discharge his arduous duties in the House
of Representatives, with a punctuality and industry worthy of all
praise. One day he caught his foot in the carpet and fell, breaking
his arm ; the next morning, at the meeting of the House, he was in
his seat, with his arm in a sling. He said, " I have made it a rule
through life, never to be absent from my post, unless it is hnpossihle to
be there." This venerable patriot was at last stricken with death in
the Hall of the House, while discharging his duties. He fell and
expired, surrounded by the Representatives of the nation, as his ton-
gue whispered, " This is the last of earth," and his immortal spirit
took its flight.
AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 283
ADDRESS,
Delivered at Imlianapolis, at the Agricultural Fair, September, 1856.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Members ob^ the Marion County Agricultural Society :
I had but one oljjeot in view, in acceptiug the kind invitation of
your Society to deliver the Annual Address on this occasion, and that
was, to contribute so far as I might, to the practical results essential
to the prosperity of the Society, and the progress and permanent useful-
ness of knowledge, when applied to Agricultural, Horticultural, and
Mechanical pursuits, in the affairs of life.
I might entertain you to-day, for the brief space allotted to this
Address, with fine sayings, classical allusions, and metaphysical dis-
quisitions upon subjects surrounding and even germain to the main
object of your Association; but such an address, however it might
seem to elevate the author, would fall far short of the object I have
in view. Let others range the fields of fancy, and cull from the
gardens of classic literature their flowers of rhetoric, while I direct
j-our thoughts to the useful, to the main object of the formation of
Societies like yours, and to some practical considerations connected
with the operations in which you are or may be engaged ; and if I
should not give many extracts from written works to sustain my sug-
gestions, you will rather attribute what may seem to be a neglect of
authors, to the impossibility of confining myself within reasonable
bounds, if I should attempt to analyze, or give even proper views
from the books and writings of others. I wish to condense iny remarks
into a readable length, as I have long since noticed that, as a general
rule, the writers of large books, like the authors of long, prosy
addresses, must expect to be their chief readers.
We have met at the Capital, on this anniversary of the Agricultural
Society of the county of Marion, in the year 18.56, for the purpose of
adding our annual contributions to the store of knowledge, and other-
wise furthering the important objects of our Association. It would
be time uselessly occupied in this address, for me to attempt to prove,
at this day, the utility or benefits of Agricultural Societies. The effect
of this congregation of onr citizens, bringing with you the annual
fruits of your industry and experience, for the inspection of each other,
and for the improvement, in kind and quality, of the several products,
will not be fully appreciated until its more matured results shall be
presented, on like occasions, in after years. Since the commencement
284 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
of this annual fair, I have walked over these beautiful grounds, so
handsomely appropriated to this laudable purpose, both for the County
and State. I have looked -with true delight at the annual products of
cultivated nature, and of art, that have been brought up and spread
before us, and I have said to myself, what wonderful progress the
hands of civilized industry are making? Truly, the late wilderness is
blossoming as the rose ; but above all, my heart has been filled with
gratitude, when looking at the cheerful and happy countenances, and
the entire absence of all appearance of want or distress, of the assem-
bled citizens of our county ; and when reflecting upon the blessings we
enjoj", in this fertile, salubrious, and beautiful portion of the great
Valley of the Mississippi, under the best government on earth, where
we can worship as our own consciences may dictate, where we are gov-
erned by laws of our own making, and where labor of both sexes is
honorable. I can not dismiss this idea without saying, that one of
the happiest effects of these annual associations, is to bring the people
from all parts of the county together, and by introducing them to each
other, strengthen the bonds of friendly neighborhood and county
society, that should be maintained and cherished by us all.
It aflbrds, perhaps, the only pleasant opportunity in the year for
our citizens to meet upon a common platform, and exchange the salu-
tations of the season, in rational, virtuous, innocent, and useful con-
versation, unalloyed by the presence of a privileged aristocracy, or any
other distinctions of society than the true line that should be drawn
between the virtuous and the vicious. Our Agricultural Fair should
ever be held as our annual county jubilee, and its members, and all
others, should zealously contribute to its perpetual prosperity.
It may not be improper, as a further preliminary remark, to direct
your thoughts to our beautiful, fertile State and county, to inquire
what they were? what they are ? and what are their prospects ? And
here let me be understood, once for all : I mean no invidious com-
parisons between Marion and other counties. Our State, as a great
agricultural section of the West, will compare favorably with any
other, while her mineral resources are of the first order, and inex-
haustible. She lies in the trough of the Great Mississippi Valley,
stretching from the Northern Lakes to the Ohio river on the south,
and bounded by the great States of Ohio and Illinois, on the east and
west. She lies directly across the track, for all time, of all the great
artificial improvements that can ever be made connecting the Eastern
Atlantic cities with the Pacific Ocean, over the Valley of the Missis-
sippi. She is highly favored in point of climate, soil, minerals, wood,
water, rock — in a word, Indiana combines all the elements of a great
AGRICULTUKAL ADDEESS. 285
and growing State, and being blessed with a free Constitution, she
must yet contain as dense a population as any part of the globe. She
was born in the year 1816, with some sixty-five thousand inhabitants —
only about forty years ago. A few counties only were then organized.
The whole middle, north, and north-west portions of the State were
an unbroken wilderness, in the possession of the Indians. Well do I
remember when there were but two families settled west of the White-
water Valley — one on Flatrock, above where Rushville now stands,
and the other on Brandywine, near where Greenfield was afterward
located. When I first visited the ground on which Indianapolis now
stands, the whole country, east to Whitewater and west to the Wabash,
was a dense, unbroken forest. There were no public roads, no bridges
over any of the streams. The traveler had literally to swim his way.
No cultivated firms, no houses to shelter or feed the weary traveler,
or his jaded horse. The courts, years afterward, were held in log
huts, and the juries sat under the shade of the forest trees. I was
Circuit Prosecuting Attorney at the time of the trials at the falls of
Fall Creek, where Pendleton now stands. Four of the prisoners were
convicted of murder, and three of them hung for killing Indians.
The court was held in a double log cabin, the grand jury sat upon a
log in the woods, and the foreman signed the bills of indictment
which I had prepared, upon his knee ; there was not a petit juror that
had shoes on — all wore moccasins, and were belted around the waist,
and carried side-knives used by the hunter. The products of the
country consisted of peltries, the wild game killed in the forest by the
Indian hunters, the fish caught in the interior lakes, rivers and creeks,
the papaw, wild plum, haws, and small berries gathered by the squaws
from the woods. The travel was confined to the single horse and his
rider, the commerce to the pack-saddle, and the navigation to the
Indian canoe. Many a time and oft have I crossed our swollen
streams, by day and by night, sometimes swimming my horse, and at
others paddling the rude bark canoe of the Indian. Such is a mere
sketch of our State when I traversed its wilds, and I am not one of
its first settlers.
Such is a brief view of early Indiana, but it is suSicient for my
present purpose, my object being merely to direct your thoughts to
the rise and progress of the State generally, before I come to speak
of our cs ; it is much
easier to keep your stock out of your grain fields by good fences,
before they become breachy, than it is to drive them out as your
crop is being destroyed, and protect your fields against them afterward.
Farm no more ground in corn than you can tend well, and put the
rest in small grain and grass. If you want to provide against drouth,
plow deep. If you fear a wet season, plow deep. If your corn ground is
flat and naturally wet, plow and plant in ridges, until you can drain
it, but be careful not to plow when the ground is too wet. If you
wish to be considered a neat, pattern farmer, plow straight. The
beauty of the corn-field is the straight rows, at equal distances, and
the success of the crop depends upon its cultivation. Plow and
cultivate thoroughly and timely. Keep the rows free from weeds and
grass, for if ever you let the corn be overshadowed, so as to turn the
stalks yellow, the crop is ruined. And my observation is, that a
farmer who has not pride or ambition enough to keep good fences,
clean out his fence rows, trim and sprout his orchard, plow his
grounds deep, lay oS' his corn-fields in straight rows, keep his barn
in repair, his gates and bars in order, glass in his windows, care for
292 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
liis stock in winter, and salt it well in summer, plant shade trees in
his dooryard, and educate his children, is in great danger of falling
below the standard of a patterA farmer.
The labor-saving implements of husbandry, the invention of late
years, with their improvements, have revolutionized the process of
cultivating the earth, in which three-fourths of the civilized world
are now engaged, and have enabled the farmer to dispense with much
of the manual labor that would be otherwise required. While in
England, France and Germany, farming operations have been brought
to much higher perfection than in this country, still, when we see
where we now stand, and then look to many parts of the Old World,
we have no cause to despair of ultimate success. I recently read a
very interesting work, entitled " Observations in the East," by John
P. Durbin, D. D. His description of the state of agriculture in the
valley of the Nile, in Egypt, places us on high grounds in the com-
parison. He notices the manner of breaking up the ground there,
which, if done here, would create some amusement among our far-
mers. The Doctor says : " The plow, which is too rude to be described,
is commonly drawn by a camel and an ugly buffalo, yoked by a pole
about nine feet long, the ends of which lie on their necks ; one man
guides the wooden stick, which seems to scratch the ground, while
another drives and guides the team." And this in the ancient valley
of the Nile, at this day.
I have remarked upon the selection of stock. The same idea
applies to the grains and seeds for your fields and gardens ; the seed
corn should be selected in the fields, from the best kinds, adapted to
the climate, from the most vigorous stalks, taking the largest, early
ripe ears, with not less than two ears on a stalk, and before planting
taking off the small grains at the end of the ear. By this process,
if continued, you will bring yoiir corn crop to a high state of perfec-
tion. The same remarks apply to the potato, the tomato, the beet,
the parsnip, the radissh, the melon, the pumpkin, the squash, and
indeed generally to the garden ; and still in a more extended degree
to the orchard. Let the best fruit, adapted to the different seasons
of the year, of its kind, be selected for your orchards, and reproduced
by budding or grafting ; it requires no more ground, nor greater
expense, to have an orchard of the choice, fine, cultivated fruit, than
it does to have one of the poorest seedlings — this every farmer knows,
but every farmer does not practice upon his knowledge. It may be
difiicult to select the best fruit for our climate, in all cases ; still wo
have some knowledge on this subject, and as it is a matter of opinion,
I give my preferences without intending to dispute the taste of others.
AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 293
Apple Orchard. — 1. Yellow Sweet June ; 2. Bougli ; 3. Townsend ;
4. Rambo ; 5. Golden Russet ; 6. Holland Pippin ; 7. Yellow Bell-
flower; 8. Baldwin; 9. Prior Red; 10. Spitzenburgh ; 11. Romauite;
12. Smith's Cider; 13. Newton Pippin; 14. Wine Sap; 15. Red
Winter Pearmain ; 16. Jeunetain ; 17. Vandeveer Pippin. An
orchard that contains these several varieties will amply reward the
farmer, if the grounds shall be kept loose, and the trees well sprouted
and trimmed.
Pears. — The variety of this fruit is not so great as the apple. I
place the choice kinds in the following order: 1. the Sockel ; 2. the
Bartlet ; 3. the Feaster ; 4. the Sugar ; 5. the Butter ; 6. the Catharine.
There are other fine varieties, that will do well in this climate, that
may be selected from printed catalogues.
Peaches. — The crop of this delicious fruit, owing to our severe
winters and late frosts, has become very precarious. Still, I hope
our farmers will not despair, and abandon the cultivation. I would
suggest that fresh trees be planted each spring; bud them with the
choice varieties, so that you may have a progressive orchard to meet
the fruit seasons, as, perhaps, the only means of keeping up our
peach orchards.
Plums. — I fear that the CurcuUo has disposed of our best kinds,
and left us to cultivate a small damson ; and when it fails, to look to
the wild varieties of the red and yellow, of our native thickets.
Cherries. — Whether it is owing to our climate, or to a want of care
in the cultivation, that we see so very few fine cherries in our market,
I am unable to say. The Eastern May Duke, Ox Heart, Red Heart,
Black Heart, Carnation and other choice vai-ieties, are unknown to
our markets ; while the Sour Morella engrosses the stalls. Why is
this ? Let our fruiterers answer, as it is their business to look to it.
The Papaw. — Can this fine fruit, of our river and creek bottoms be
cultivated, so as to improve its size and quality, is a question that
ought to be answered hereafter by others.
A word as to your beasts of burden ; " muzzle not the ox that tread-
eth out the corn." Keep your work animals well, and properly pro-
tected from the winter weather at night, and they will repay you in
extra services. Such are always ready for the road or the draft. And
here let me remark, from my experience on my father's fiirm, when but
a youth, that if you expect true draft animals, never overload them.
The ox or the horse, should never learn that he can not draw any
thing he is hitched to. The secret of balky animals, lies in their hav-
ing been at some time, loaded beyond their strength. Treat your work
animals kindly, and they will feel and repay your care. Many I fear,
294 EARLY I^'DIANA TRIALS.
are too much in the habit of underrating the sagacity of their dumb
beasts. They are capable, if not of loving and hating like human
beings, certainly of something of a very kindred character. I owned
a riding-horse once, that I attached to my person so closely, that he
would never leave me when we were from home, if he could possibly
help it ; and on one occasion, the carriage in which my wife and myself
were riding, broke down before, throwing us upon his heels. I spoke
to him kindly, calling him by name ; he turned his head, looked
directly at us, and quietly kept his place until we got out and released
him — and yet, he was a horse of high mettle.
May I be excused for referring to a matter that I deem sufficiently
important to be noticed in this address. I allude to the kind of houses
to insure health to the family. In our climate, with our luxuriant
vegetable growth, the earth upon which our houses are necessarily
built, becomes damp, and emits a miasma, producing our intermittent
fevers, so distressing to our people. My suggestion is, that whether
your house be large or small, high or low, of one or more stories,
built of brick, frame or logs, raise the basement at least four feet from
the ground ; and give a free, open circulation of air beneath, by windows,
to be closed in cold weather. While such houses may not prove an infal-
lible remedy against the climate, and causes referred to, I am satisfied
that they will alleviate the present distress in the fall season of the year.
I should do injustice to the object of my address, were I to omit a
word to the women, who are taking so much interest in the success of
this association, and who form the life of our families, and give char-
acter to the domestic household. Much, very much of the success of
the farmer, depends upon the domestic qualities of his wife, to cheer
him on through life, and make his home the center of his and her
happiness. This is especially true in a country like ours, where the
joint labor and care of the sexes seem to be required, to insure suc-
cess and happiness to the family circle. When a stranger enters the
dwelling of our farmers, his eye at once embraces the order of the
room ; he sees whether it looks clean, and the furniture in its proper
place and well dusted ; and should he be invited to a meal with the
family, as of course he will be if it is meal-time, although he may not
expect any thing extra, he will look for such table comforts as the
farm and the garden may yield, without extra cost, to be served up in
a plain, neat and clean manner. He has a right to expect good, sweet,
well-worked butter, and milk, the safely cared for and kept fruits of
the garden and the orchard, with the more substantial products of the
barn-yard and the fields. No class of our citizens can live so well, at
so little expense, as the Indiana farmer ; and none can be so entirely
AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 295
independent of supplies from others, for the table. I do not wish to
be understood that the mere fact that the farmer's wife is provided
with inileh cows, is sufficient to expect at her hands, good, sweet, well
worked butter, such as commands the highest price in market. She
must be provided also with sufficient help ; with a good milk-house,
where the milk and cream can be kept cool, and where solid butte
and good cheese can be made. I am satisfied that much of the iufc*
rior butter and cheese that reach our markets, is owing to the fact that
a proper milk-house has not been provided. There is no sufficient
excuse for not having a good milk-house at the residence of each far-
mer. Every family must have cool drinking-water ; if they have a
natural spring, there is the seat of the milk-house ; if a well is used,
supply the milk troughs from the pump, but be sure to have a good cold
place to keep your milk and butter, so as to keep them cool and sweet.
The Garden. — Among our farmers, where horticulture is not much
looked to, and where the labors of the field are exclusively in the
charge of the men, the garden is usually attached to the house afikirs
and left to the women. I am not speaking of those large gardens
that are cultivated near our large cities, by men, to supply the market;
would that we had many more of them around Indianapolis. I refer
to the ordinary farmer's garden. In Europe, the splendid gardens are
in charge of salaried officers, well versed in scientific horticulture;
indeed, trained from youth to the science, as a profession. The chief
gardener of one of these splendid resorts for the grandees of the land
receives a much higher salary than our Governor, and has under him
a large corps of inferior officers and laborers. The whole vegetable
and floral kingdom, in all their varieties, from every part of the earth,
are spread before the eye in all their luxuriant perfection. We may
have such gardens in this country when our citizens shall become as
wealthy as the millionaires of Europe. This we shall not see in our day.
The object of our farmers should be to make the garden tributary
to the family comforts in the first place, and profitable as to the sur-
plus. I would not introduce into the gardens of our farmers the green-
house, but let it find its appropriate location near our large cities, to
furnish to the votaries of Flora's kingdom the tender, beautiful and
sweet-scented flowers, shrubs and roses. But the farmer's garden may
contain the hardy rose, the peony, the dahlia, the pink, the tulip, the
snow-ball and the lilac for the eye ; currant, pie-plant, tomato, cucum-
ber, beet, parsnip, ocre, pea, bean, lettuce, radish, asparagus, egg-plant,
early cabbage, parsley, horse radish, carrot, celery and onion for the
table ; and I would have it large enough to add a good Isabella and
Catawba grape bower, a strawberry bed, of the large kind, a patch of
296 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
the mountain sweet watermelon, and fine nutmegs and cantelopes, with
rows of the best hearing raspberries on the sides, and a good bee-stand
to furnish honey for the family. The garden should be well manured ;
there is no danger of making it too rich. I prefer putting on the
manure in the fall, and letting it lie till spring, by which time it can
be raked off, and the garden made without incumbrance.
I do not wish to be understood as advocating any extraordinary or
lavish expenditures, either upon the farm or garden. I only contend
for what is within the power of our farmers to perform, by using indus-
try and economy. I insist that our farmers, being so bountifully
supplied with the elements of comfort, shall, by their industry, enjoy
the blessings providence bestowed upon them. I am the advocate of
strict economy in every department of life. The farmer and the me-
chanic should be patterns of economy, as they are of industry. They
get their means by the sweat of the brow, and they should learn how
to use and take care of their money when obtained. The secret of
wealth is not in the knowledge of the way to get money, but how to
keep it when obtained. The thrifty farmer or mechanic, will avoid
going in debt beyond his probable means, never relying upon next
year's crop or labor to extricate him from debt. Next year may never
come to him, or it may come, not with healing or prosperity, but with
drouth, blight, and disappointment in its wings. Avoid the tempta-
tion of buying more land than you can pay for ; remember that the
farmer's thrift does not depend so much upon the size as upon the
manner of the cultivation of the farm. There was much force in the
remark of the farmer, that he intended to make a great addition to his
farm, by making it smaller and taking better care of it.
Woods and Shade Trees. — There is nothing that strikes the in-
telligent traveler, and especially those from the South, with more sur-
prise, when passing through our beautiful timbered country, than to
see the indiscriminate and wanton destruction of our lovely forest
trees. The contrast between the North and South in this respect, is
too marked to escape observation. In the South, the buildings of the
farmers are uniformly placed in the midst of a grove of native forest
trees, giving shade, health, and beauty to the mansion, the moment it
becomes the family residence ; while in the North, our towering for-
est trees are cut down in hot haste, to make way for the farm-house,
and their place supplied with little switches, that may, or may not, as
they happen to live or die, in the course of the next generation, come
about as near the native trees that have been destroyed in beauty,
grandeur and shade, as the sunflower does to the great luminary from
which it takes its name.
AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 297
It is too late for our farmers to correct this great error, but it is not
too late for every {\irmer to supply the best substitute he can for the
forest trees he has destroyed, so as to shield his dwelling from the
scorching meridian sun, so oppressive in our hot summers.
The same train of thought applies to the destruction of our timber
trees at the present day. The marked distinction between a timbered
nd a prairie country is, that the former is preparei' for the second
generation by the labor of the first, while the latter may be used and
cultivated by the first occupant, to advantage. Marion county is just
passing the first stage of improvement; the time was when it was
necessary to clear off the woods, and convert the land into cultivated
fields. This has been done in most cases to a sufficient extent, and it
now behooves our farmers to preserve their woodlands from further
destruction. This can be done by fencing, clearing out the under-
growth, and sowing in blue-grass, making the woods ornamental and
profitable, and securing to our farmers the enjoyment of the superior
advantages of a cultivated timbered country over a widespread prairie
region, like that which stretches west of our State to the Rocky Moun-
tains.
Remember, that this is a government of the people, through the
oallot-box, and consequently that it is the duty of every voter to
exercise his elective franchise. The Constitution of the United States,
and those of the several States, are but as dead charts for our guid-
ance, without the impelling power of the ballot-box. Our admirable
form of government, based upon the will of the majority, supposes
that each voter will take part in its administration. Never fail to cast
your vote for the men of your choice, and never forget that the suc-
cess of our great experiment of self-government, and the perpetuity
of our glorious Union, may depend upon the manner of the exercise
of the elective franchise.
May I say, in closing, that after looking at the condition of man in
all parts of the world, I am well satisfied that the citizens of Indiana,
and especially the farming community, are in the enjoyment of as
much real prosperity and happiness as has ever fallen to the lot of our
race upon the earth, and that we see to day but the beginning, if we
prove true to ourselves.
May each succeeding anniversary, as time rolls on, bring with it new
evidences of the virtue, intelligence and industry of our citizens; of
the growth, usefulness and prosperity of this Society, and of the on-
ward march of our beloved State and country to their destined great-
ness, under the protection of our free institutions and the kind regard
of an overrulinsr Providence.
298 EAELY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
THE OTHER SIDE OF"FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE."
The pamphlet entitled " The Other Side of ' Facts for the
People,' " by Hon. 0. H. Smith, was published and widely circulated
in the midst of the political campaign of 1843, and may still be read
with some interest. It is therefore republished here :
A pamphlet, recently published and widely circulated in this State,
evidently intended as a political text-boot-' in relation to the tariff
policy of the United States, has rendered it due to the people of this
State that the other side of that important question should be fairly
and candidly presented to their consideration. That publication, by
the leaders of the modern Democratic party, is not complained of. We
are gratified to see our political opponents come out in the full blaze
of day with their party doctrines, that the people may understand
them. The principles and policy now openly avowed, have been
charged upon them by us for years, and the charge has been as often
denied. This is the first time, it is believed, in the history of Indi-
ana, that a political party has raised aloft, and flung to the breeze a
flag inscribed with the Free Trade doctrines preached by Great Brit-
ain and South Carolina. It is, therefore, due to the leaders of the
party that avow the policy, as well as to the people, that the subject
should be fairly presented on both sides. The pamphlet referred to
having presented one side of this question, with some other matters,
we proceed to give some thoughts and facts on the other side, for the
consideration and reflection of the people. It is not proposed to fol-
low precisely the order adopted by the writer of the pamphlet : we
intend, however, to cover, substantially, the ground occupied by him ;
to state his propositions fairly, and to give our views upon them can-
didly. We have no other motive than to state the true issue between
the parties, and to show upon which side of the Hue the American
policy lies.
" What is a Tariff?"
This question is put and answered in the pamphlet, to suit the
writer, and the use he makes of his definition in the argument. We
answer, with all financial writers on the subject, that a tariif is a rate
of duty established on imports by law. That duty may be higher or
lower ; levied for revenue, or for the protection of American industry
or for both united. It may be levied upon a horizontal ad valorem
scale, applying the same rate of duty to all imported articles indis-
* Written by James Whitcomb, Esq., and read by him after his nomination as
their candidate for Governor, before the "Democratic" Convention, held at
Indianapolis, in January, 1843.
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 299
criminately ; or it may be levied upon principles of discrimination
between different articles, as to the duty imposed, exempting some
altogether from duty; or it may be what is called retaliatory, or coun-
teracting foreign restrictions, even to the point of prohibition. It is
understood that the writer of the pamphlet, with the rest of the free-
trade school of politicians, deny and repudiate the powers maintained
by us, derived from the Constitution, and indicated in the definition
we have just given, and contend, Fimt, That there is no Constitutional
power to pass any tariff-law that shall include the protection of Amer-
ican industry, above the point absolutely necessary for revenue, or, in
the language of one of their most distinguished men, " That if we did
not need money for the support of Government, we should have no
tariff, and whenever the necessity ceases the tariff should cease."
Secondly, That it would be inexpedient to exercise the power, if we
possess it, although a tariff for revenue might fall below the point of
protection ; and of consequence.
Thirdly, That the free-trade doctrines, preached but never practiced
by Great Britain and South Carolina, present the true policy of the
United States.
The Whigs, with the old Kepublican party, maintain the Constitu-
tionality and expediency of protecting American industry by tariff-
laws, even above the revenue point, if it should be necessary to go
above that point; and they repudiate the British free-trade doctrines,
as being a mere delusion, and wholly impracticable.
Have we the Constitutional power to enact a protective tariff, above
the revenue point, if necessary ? What is underistood by protection ?
It is the right of self-defense possessed by individuals in a state of
nature, and carried with them into society, modified only by the laws
that are thrown around them by the sovereign power. It is a right,
in a national point of view, of defending the flag, the honor, the citi-
zens, the property, and the industry of the nation, against the policy
and laws of other nations, aa well as against force without law. The
power to pass laws for the government of a nation is of high preroga-
tive, let the laws emanate from what source of power they may. The
power to levy imposts is incident to all governments possessing sover-
eignty, and without which power no government could long prosper.
As it is in the power of self-defense, all independent nations maintain
and exercise it. Great Britain exercised it for herself and her colo-
nies, and the States that formed the Confederacy, after they threw off
their allegiance to the mother country, exercised it in severalty. But
when the Federal Constitution was formed, the States gave up the
power to the General Government, and it was inserted in express
300 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
language iu the Constitution of the United States. No one entertained
a doubt but that the right to exercise this power in the most ample
manner was essential to the prosperity of the people, and the inde-
pendence of the nation ; hence, in order to give it more efficiency, and,
among other objects, to enable the General Government to protect and
promote the interest of the whole, so far as the exercise of this with
the other delegations of power would enable her to do, it was expressly
granted in the Constitution, that the Congress shall have power to lay
and collect taxes, duties, imposts, etc., etc.
WHAT SAY THE WITNESSES ?
We are aware that, in these heated party times, assertion is not
always taken as proof; hence we prefer to bring before our fellow-
citizens witnesses who will doubtless be credited by them, in support
of our position. We shall not be able to present much of the testi-
mony in the brief space allotted to this side of the question ; but what
we lack in quantity we will endeavor to make up in quality. We may
be pardoned for supposing that at least some of our witnesses might
compare not unfavorably with the leaders of the modern free-trade
Democracy of Indiana.
GENERAL WASHINGTON,
Who presided over the Convention, and who knew, perhaps as well
as any man who ever lived, the object of forming the new Constitution,
in his first annual message to Congress, on the 8th of July, 1790, said,
" The safety and interest of the people require that they should pro-
mote such manufactures as tend to render them independent of others
for essentials." The first act of Congress on the subject was approved
by him, and its preamble declares, " Whereas, it is necessary for the
support of Government, for the discharge of debts of the United States,
and the encouragement and protection of rnamifaclures, that duties be
laid on goods, wares, and merchandise imported, therefore," etc. That
great man, and benefactor of mankind, continued through his whole
administration to encourage and protect the industry of his country-
men, as did the succeeding administration of Mr. Adams.
MR. JEFFERSON,
The apostle of the old Republican party, came into power iu 1801,
borne on the current of popular opinion. This whole subject, in all
its bearings, was familiar to him. Hear him testify. In his annual
message, in December, 1802, he laid down the following among the
imperative duties of Government : " To cultivate peace, and maintain
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 301
comiuorce and navigation in all their lawful enterprises, to favor our
fisheries as nurseries of navigation, and to protect the manufactories
adapted to our circumstances. » o o By continuing to make
these the rule of our action, we shall endear to our countrymen the
true principles of the Constitution, and promote a union of sentiment
and of action, equally auspicious to their happiness and safety." At
another time he wrote : " When a nation imposes high duties on our
productions, or prohibits them altogether, it may be proj)cr for us to do
the same bij theirs, first burdening, or excluding those productions
which they bring here in competition with our own of the same kind."
The writer of the pamphlet says : " The names of Washington and
Jefierson are sometimes claimed as favorable to a high protective tariif."
Is it possible ! ! We say, that Mr. Jefferson not only goes to the point
of protection by a high tariff, but to the still higher point of " exclu-
sion," or prohibition in self-defense, and by way of counteracting
foreign restrictions.
MR. MADISON
Is a worthy witness ; no one can doubt his testimony on this ques-
tion. He was conversant with every step of the Revolution, its cause,
and the desired object of a change of government. No man, at any
period of our history, surpassed him in soundness of judgment, or in
Constitutional learning; he was the avowed head, in his day, of thei
great Republican party ; the national vessel was steered under his
direction through the perils of the late war, and his country's flag, in
all its glory, at the close was seen streaming in the breeze, from the
mast-head. Hear him. In his first message to Congress, in May,
1809, he said : " The revision of our commercial laws proper, to adapt
them to the arrangement which has taken place with Great Britain,
will doubtless engage the early attention of Congress ; it will be
worthy at the time of their just and provident care, to make such fur-
ther alterations in the laws as will more especially protect and foster
the several branches of manufacture." In his message of 1815, he
says : " There is no subject which can enter with greater force into
the deliberations of Congress, than a consideration of the means to
preserve and promote the manufactures which have sprung into exist-
ence, and attained an unparalleled maturity throughout the United
States, during the period of the European wars; this source of national
independence and wealth I anxiously recommend, therefore, to the prompt
and constant guardianship of Congress."
ME. MONROE
Says in his inaugural address, " Our manufactures will likewise
302 EARLY INDIANA TKIALS.
require the systematic and fostering care of Government ; possessing,
as we do, all the raw materials, the fruit of our own soil and industry,
we ought not to depend in the degree we have done on the supplies from
other countries ; while we are thus dependent, the sudden event of
war unsought and unexpected, can not fail to plunge us in the most seri-
ous difficulties. It is important, too, that the capital which nourishes our
manufactories should be domestic, and its influence in that case
instead of exhausting, as it may do in foreign lauds, would be felt
advantageously on agriculture and every other branch of industry ;
equally important is it to provide a home marhet for our raw materials,
as by extending the competition it will enhance the price and protect
the cultivator against the casualties incident to foreign markets."
Such was the judgment of that wise and patriotic republican, Mr.
Monroe. Mr. Adams, his successor, held the same doctrines ; and, it
is a remarkable fact, that while the different chief magistrates of this
nation here differed as to other great matters of public policy, with
regard to the constitutionality and expediency of protecting Ameri-
can industry, they have held but one language. Some of our readers
may be ready to ask us whether General Jackson agreed with the
others in this matter : we know the potency of his name with many,
and it therefore gives us pleasure to answer the question in the affirma-
tive. We give you the testimony of
GENERAL JACKSON.
In his message of December, .1830, he says : '■ The power to
impose duties on imports originally belonged to the several States.
The right to adjust these duties with a view to encourage domestic
branches of industry is so completely identified with that power,
that it is difficult to suppose the existence of the one without the other.
The States have delegated their whole authority over imports to the
General Government without limitation or reservation. * * *
The authority having thus entirely passed from the States, the right
to exercise it for the purpose of protection does not exist in them,
and consequently, if it be not possessed by the General Government
it must be extinct. Our political system would thus present the
anomaly of a people stripped of the right to foster their oicn indmtry,
and to counteract themosi selfish destructive policy which might be adopted
iy foreign nations. This surely can not be the case. This indispeusa-
Me poicer thus surrendered by the States, must be within the scope
of the authority or the subject expressly delegated to Congress."
We shall for the present dismiss General Jackson as a witness, but
will bring him to the stand to testify several times before closing this
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 303
side of the question. To tlie authorities cited, and to the witnesses
already introduced, any number of the prominent men of the nation,
as well as Congress after Congress of the Kepubliean school might
be added. Mr. Clay has been referred to by the writer of the pam-
phlet as favoring a high tariif, while he has' omitted the vote of Mr.
Van Buren for the high tariff of 1828, called by him the " bill of
abominations." This does injustice to Mr. Van Buren, unless he has
changed his opinions, and fallen in with the British free-trade doc-
trines, to reconcile the South to " the Northern men with Southern
feelings." Having fully sustained the Constitutionality of a protective
tarifl', we ask the reader to follow us into the question of the expedi-
ency of the measure. Is it good policy to levy imposts for protection,
or, in other words,
SHALL WE PROTECT OUR INDUSTRY?
The expediency of aifording ample protection to American indus-
try, is maintained by the AVhigs of Indiana, adhering to the old
Republican doctrines; while the leaders of the modern Democracy of
Indiana go for revenue alone, whether the industry of the country is
sufficiently protected by the levy or not, following in the footsteps of
the British and South Carolina free-trade school of politicians. The
doctrine avowed and maintained by the Whig party is, that American
legislation should foster and protect American industry ; while the
leading modern Democrats contend, that no protection beyond the
revenue point should be afforded in any event, and, consequently, that
our manufacturers, mechanics, and artizans, must remain subject to
the operation of European competition, with its pauper labor under
foreign legislation, against the free labor of America ; putting our
labor by necessity, in order to compete with the foreign, at the starv-
ing prices paid to European serfs. The whole policy of protection
has been assaulted by the pamphlet referred to, with an ingenuity and
fertility of imagination worthy of a better cause ; yet in it little can
be found that is new. The British pamphlets and free-trade essays of
the South give sufficient evidence that the writer does not stand alone
as the disciple of this anti-Ameriean doctrine, but they preach it for
ics to practice upon, while they keep up their restrictions. We will
proceed to examine some of the main points in controversy.
The writer sets out with the assumed position that a tariff is a tax
on imported articles, and that the consumer pays tlial tax, and by tak-
ing this position as granted, he may readily arrive at the conclusion
to which he wishes to come, that if we should import $100,000,000 of
foreign articles in a year, at an average duty ad valorem of 30 per
304 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
cent., of course tlie people have paid iu the single year §30,000,000
of a tax, beside the profits and charges on the imports ; he is then
enabled to cry out, is it thus that the Whigs are oppressing you with
their high tariff? He is then prepared to show at once, that direct
taxation is the best mode of raising revenue, because least expensive;
and, indeed, it may be safely affirmed, that were it not for the unpop-
ularity of the position, the whole school of these leading free-trade
modern Democrats would come out like McDuffie, Pickens, and Rhett,
of South Carolina, in fovor of direct taxation to raise revenue for the
General Government ; for if they really believe that the consumer pays
the duty, the next step follows, of course, and the very moment you
take from them tliis sandy foundation, their whole superstructure of
free-trade falls to the ground.
DOES THE CONSUMER PAT THE DUTY.
Unquestionably, says the writer of the pamphlet ; let us see. If
this were so, why should Great Britain complain of our tariff? If our
citizens pay the duty, of what importance is it to her how much they
pay, so that her merchandize is not prohibited ? If the consumer pay
the duty, of what importance is it to us how high the rates are in
Great Britain, so that our produce is not excluded ? Is such the
understanding of the two nations? If so, would not each look on
with perfect indifference while the one was levying high duties on her
subjects, and the other burdening her own citizens with high taxes ?
On the contrary, is it not the universal understanding of all civilized
nations, that the resti'ictions and duties imposed by their tariff laws
on foreign imports operate in a very great degree against the producer
of the foreign articles, and not against their own citizens or subjects.
The position that the consumer pays the whole duty or tax, as a gen-
eral principle, reverses the whole order of commerce, and strikes at
the vitals of all imposts ; but it is not true as applied to any other than
imports of articles that neither come into competition with domestic
articles, nor with articles admitted at a less rate of duty from abroad ;
as the article of coffee, which is now duty free when imported in
American bottoms ; and even that is doubted, as there never has been
any identity between the price of coffee and the duty ; but suppose
we should send coffee to Rio or Java, and there should be a duty
levied upon it, where it would come into competition with the domes-
tic article, would the consumer pay the duty ? or would the producer
pay it before he could bring his article into market in competition
with the Java or Rio coffee ? Illustrate the idea further, by taking
an article from the British tariff which will be found under the free-
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 305
trade head of this side of facts. Hams from the British colonial posses-
sions pay in Great Britain three fourths of a cent per pound duty,
while United States hams pay two and three-fourths cents per pound
duty. These hams come into competition in the Liverpool or Man-
chester market. Would the British consumer pay two cents per
pound more for the American ham of the same quality than he would
for the other, merely to sustain the theory that the consumer pays
the duty, or would the American producer pay into the British excheq-
uer the duty himself, before he could sell his hams and the consumer
eat it at the price he whould have to pay for the colonial ham, paying
two cents per pound less duty ? So thinks John Bull, and so it would
seem. The same idea may be illustrated by a grievance complained
of by the Indiana boatmen, through a legislative resolve at the last
session that their boats were taxed wharfage, and they had to pay a
license to sell their produce at the towns on the Mississippi. This
was to be sure a tax, but leading modern Democrats of the free-trade
school would say that the boatmen had no ground to complain, as the
whole loss fell at last on the consumer of the produce, and the boat-
men in fact paid nothing. We ask those engaged on the river if they
believe this doctrine. Two vessels land at Liverpool at the same time,
one is loaded with Hindoostan, and the other with Carolina cotton ;
the India cotton pays only eight cents per cwt. duty, while the Carolina
cotton pays seventy-two cents by the British tariff; the cotton is of
the same quality, to be sold in the same market : who pays the sixty-
four cents per cwt. the diiference of duty, the British consumer or the
American producer ? Would the British manufticturer give sixty -four
cents per cwt. more for the American article, so as to pay the duty,
than he could buy the India article for? No, says the leading mod-
ern Democrat, but the India article would sell for the increased price
of the duty paid on the American article. If this be true, then the
duty of seventy-two cents might just as well have been levied indis-
criminately on both articles, so far as the British consumer was con-
cerned.
Such is the fallacy of this doctrine.
DOES THE DUTY RAISE THE PRICE.
Certainly it does, says the leading modern Democrat, precisely to
the extent of the duty imposed. If it were not so, why do the man-
ufacturers demand high duties? This question is altogether satisfac-
tory to the person who puts it and is deemed by him entirely conclu-
sive of the matter, when in truth it is just as great a fallacy as the
other, as all our experience has fully demonstrated ; even at this very day
20
306 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
and under the higt tariff of last year, goods were never lower, as every
one knows. If the position of this free-trade school was true, the price
of goods would immediately have risen upon the passage of the tariff
of 1842 : then how do you account for the desire of the manufacturers
to have duties high ? We answer, that they may be protected in a
fair domestic, as well as foreign competition ; without being subjected
with their limited means, to be overpowered by the co-ncentration of
the capital and the pauper labor of Europe to crush them, that those
monopolists may have the exclusive markets of America for their own
goods. The moment they can destroy our manufactures the field is
open, hence they can afford to make a temporary sacrifice to reap the
reward in the end. Hear Lord Brougham on that very point, and
see how precisely he sustains these views. The imports to this
country of 1815 amounted to $113,000,000, while the exports were
but -552,000,000. The embargo and the war had proved to be nur-
series for our domestic manufactures, and they were fast rising to the
point of supplying the demand at cheap rates. Great Britain saw
this, and at once applied the power she possessed through her vast
capital and cheap labor to crush the American manufactures ; hence
the excessive exports from that country to this in 1815. These exports
were made, beyond a question, at a great sacrifice on the part of the
British manufacturer, but their object was to destroy our mannfactui'es
at a blow, and not to make profit on their goods. Lord Brougham in
his speech in Parliament let out the secret. He .says, " The peace of
America has produced somewhat of a similar effect, though I am very
far from placing the vast exports which it occasioned with those of the
European market the year before ; both because ultimately the Ameri-
cans will pay, which the exhausted state of the continent renders very
unlikely and because li icas well worth while to incur a loss iqMii the
first exportation^ in order hy the glut to STIFLE IN THE CRADLE those ris-
ing Manufacturers in the United States." It is one object of the pro-
tective laws to prevent this. The American manufacturer requires
only to be protected in a healthy and uniform competition with others.
The tariff for protection gives this, while the external and internal
competition bring down the manufactured article to the lowest price
for which it can be afforded ; the supply at all times being greater than
the necessary demand of any given article, the manufacturer ;;s well
as the merchant or trader, being in direct competition with oiher man-
ufacturers and traders at home and abroad, it is impossible that any
article can remain a day above its lowest minimum. But Manufac-
turers are
FACTS FOR THE FEOrLE. 307
MONOPOLISTS,
Say our leading, Democratic, free-trade men, and they as Democrats,
are opposed to all monopolies. If this were so, it were indeed a gen-
erous objection ; but can there be a monopoly in any trade or busi-
ness, whether it be a cotton or woollen manuftictory, a mechanic's
establishment, a mercantile concern, or a house of public entertain-
ment, so long as these employments are left open alike to the compe-
tition, capital, and industry of all ? Will not capital find its level in
its investment, and is it pretended that any particular business can
enjoy an excess of profit in a country like this, open to free competi-
tion ? If one employment is more profitable than another, others
will immediately resort to it. If the Washington Hall is supposed to
be making too much money as a house of entertainment, there arises
at the nest square the Palmer House to divide it. If a cotton fac-
tory at Richmond is supposed to be doing well, Mr. West establishes
an extensive cotton factory at Indianapolis to share the market and
divide the profits. Let us sujipose that these manufactures are, as
the leading modern free-trade Democrats contend, odious monopolies,
will it be contended that the British manufactures are less so? Most
certainly not ; but, on the contrary, if a large amount of capital con-
centrated at a given point, and employed in a single manufactory,
constitutes a monopoly, then the British manufactories as far surpass
ours, as the amount of their investments exceed ours. The question
' then arises, seeing that we have to sustain manufacturing monopolies
at last, which shall we maintain and support, the American monopoly
that purchases our corn, beef, pork, flour, and other agricultural pro-
duc:ts, to support the labor of our own citizens, while they mauufao-
tijire our cotton, wool, flax, hemp, and other materials that enter into
the diflerent articles in domestic use, or the British monopoly, sus-
tained by British labor, British raw materials, and British produce,
to be paid for either by American gold or silver or American produce,
after deducting a heavy duty to be paid by the American producers ?
We ask a candid answer. But it is said that the British manufactured
ar-.icles may be bought cheaper than the same article can be made for
here ; and hence it is argued that the tarift' should be reduced. We
have already stated how this matter stands, but let us illustrate it here
again :
Whether an article is cheap or dear depends upon circumstances ;
the price may be low, and yet the medium of payment render it dear.
At the present time, a farmer can afi'ord to pay a higher nominal price
for any article, in the produce of the farm, than he could get the same
308 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
article for in money : the one be has to spare, and the other he hag
not. A farmer and a hatter join lands, the former needs hats fur his
use, and the hatter needs corn, beef, and pork for his family ; it suits
these persons to exchange these articles. Now it is not very material
what price either puts on his articles — it is but an exchange at last;
but suppose at the moment that these industrious men were making
the exchange, a pedlar should drive up with a load of English hats,
and offer to sell one to the farmer for fifty cents less than the hatter
asked for his, but required cash, instead uf produce, in payment ; would
the farmer, by taking the cash from his drawer and paying for his hat,
while his produce lay upon his hands without a market, get the article
cheaper than if he had bought it from his neighbor? But suppose
he bad in fact bought the hat for fifty cents less than his neighbor
asked, and was able to sell his produce, so as to replace the cash he
had paid out for the hat, how then would the account stand next
year ? The hatter must quit his business because his customers could
buy cheaper hats ; of course, he must turn flirmer. The amount of
produce would be doubled, and so would the demand for hats. The
pedlar arrives again with his British hats; he now has two families to
supply iustead of one ; his competitor has been driven from his busi-
ness to farming, by the cheap hats, and he now puts not only the
other half dollar on the price of his hats, but adds fifty per cent., so
that in the two years the farmer has paid a higher nominal price for
hats than if he had bought them from his neighbor, and the price of
his produce has been diminished by the increased quantity raised by
two farmers instead of one.
Our limits will not permit us to give the many cases that might be
put to sustain our position. We leave the reader to supply the defi-
ciency, and proceed to inquire whether a protective tariif gives to the
farmer, for his agricultural products,
A HOME MARKET.
This is an important question, but it is not a new one ; it has for
many years engaged the time and talents of the best men and ablest
statesmen of every civilized nation on earth; we have the experience
of ages, and the enlightened views of the statesmen of most countries,
to aid us in coming to a just conclusion. The writer of the pamphlet,
to which this side refers, treats the idea as a follacy. He says : " Those
who contend that it will, say that there are too many tilling the earth,
and that we must Jiire some of them to manufocture, by promising to
give them more for the articles than we should have to give to others."
For this statement we have the word of the writer of the address.
FACTS FOR THE TEOPLE. 3^)9
We have not seen the assertion coming from any friend of a protec-
tive tariff; it is the language of the anti-tariff, free-trade, British
school, utterly denied by the friends of protection. As we prefer to
give the grounds of the belief upon which we maintain the affirmative
of the position in the least questionable shape, we will introduce to
the reader a few witnesses upon this point, and then present some brief
views of our own. We have already presented extracts from Mr. Jef-
ferson, fully sustaining our position, we add the following, written by
him in reply to Mr. Austin, in 1816, after the late war. " You tell
me I am quoted by those who wish to continue our dependence on
England for manufactures ! there was a time when I could have been
so quoted with candor. * * * We must now place the mamifac-
turcr hi/ the side of the agriculturalist." Why so, Mr. Jefferson?
The answer is obvious ; that they may be a mutual benefit to each
other; the one furnishing the agricultural products, and the other the
manufactured articles in exchange.
MR. CALHOUN,
In 1816, was the champion of a protective tariff, and one of his
strong grounds was, that it created a home market for agricultural
products. He said : " When our manufactures are grown to a certain
perfection, as they soon will under the fostering care of GoiKrnment,
we will no longer experience those evils. The farmer icill find a ready
market for his surplus produce, and what is of almost equal consequence,
a certain and cheap supply of all his wayits."
MR. GALLATIN,
The practical statesman and distinguish financier, long at the head
of the Treasury Department, may be introduced to the reader upon
this question with advantage. It was in 1810 the extract was written,
and the reader will of course make the allowance for the increase
since, but he will find the position fully sustained. Mr. Gallatin, in
his able report to Congress, urging the protection of our manufactures,
estimated the annual product of American manufactures to exceed
$120,000,000, and that the raw materials used, and the provisions and
other articles, the produce of the United States consumed by the manu-
facturers, created a, market at home for our agricultural productions,
not much inferior to that which arose from the whole foreign demand.
MR. DALLAS,
Secretary of the Treasury, who was also one of the Fathers of the
Kepublican party, in his very able report in 1816, says: "The agri-
310 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
culluralist whose produce and wliose flocks depend for their value upon
the fluctuations of a foreign market, will have no occasion eventually
to regret the opportunity of a ready sale for his wool or his cotton, in
his own neighborhood, and it will soon he understood that the success
of American manufacturers, which tends to diminish the profits, often
the excessive profits, of the importer, does not necessarily add to the
price of tlie article in the hands of the consumer."
MR. MADISON,
In his annual message in 1815, urges the protective policy in strong
language. '' It will he an additional recommendation for particular
manfactures, when the materials for them are extensively drawn from
our agriculture, and consequently impart and insure to that great fund
of national prosperity and independence, an encouragement which can
not fail to he rewarded."
We might fill a volume with extracts from the messages of our
Presidents, from the Father of his Country down, from the reports of
the Secretaries of the Treasury, and the speeches of our distinguLshed
statesmen of all parties, sustaining fully our position ; but we forbear
to press the evidence further, except to give one more extract from
a document that is too important to be omitted. We call the atten-
tion of the original Jackson men to it; we ask them to compare it
with the pamphlet written by one who professed to be his follower,
even in the proclamation against the nullifiers, but who now joins
hands with these same nullifiers in opposition to the doctrines on this
subject maintained by
GENERAL JACKSON.
In his letter to Dr. Coleman, dated on the 26th of April, 1824,
he speaks on this subject the language of an American — the language of
truth and sound wisdom. He says : " I ask what is the real situation
of the agriculturalist? Where has the American farmer a market
for his surplus produce ? Except for cotton, he has neither a foreign
nor a home market. Does not this clearly prove when there is no
market at home or abroad, that there is too much labor employed in
agricultui-e ? Common seii^e at once points out the remedy. Take from
agriculture in the United States, 600,000 men, women and children ;
and you will at once give a market for more hread-stuffs than all
Europe now furnishes us. In short, sir ; we have been too long suhject
to the policy of British merchants ; it is time we should become a little
more Americanized ; and instead oi feeding the panpers and laborers
of England, feed our men, or else in a short time (by continuing our
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 311
present policy), ice shall he rendered j^eiiqiers ourselves." In the letter
of Gen. Jackson to Gov. llay in 1828, he re-affirmed and adopted with
approbation this letter and its doctrines. And yet, to all this the new
allies of the Jackson party turn up their noses and sneeringly remark
that those who contend that a protective tariff, will create a home mar-
ket for our produce, say '• that there are too many engaged in tilling
the earth, and that we must hire some of them to manufacture by
promising to give them more for their articles than we should have to
give others." With what grace does the writer of the pamphlet cast
this stigma on the motives and policy of Gen. Jackson, we leave the
people to say.
NUMBER OF MANUFACTURES.
The writer of the address says : " The census of 1840 shows, that
there were engaged in trade and manufactures in the United States,
including every description of mechanics, white and black, slave and
free, only 791,74^ ; while the number of the tillers of the soil was
3,719,951." From this he argues, that the home market is inconsid-
erable in comparison with the agricultural products, and therefore not
worth preserving or protecting. Let us see how this matter stands.
He must concede that the 79il,749 are supported upon American pro-
duce, and are engaged in the manufacture of the American raw
material ; suppose we ti'ansplant them to Europe and buy their manu-
factured articles ; whose produce would they then consume — whose
raw materials would they then operate upon ? Not ours, but European,
as restrictions are thrown around the introduction of our articles, and
in that event, we should lose to the farming interest, the market for
all the raw materials, and all the produce that these 791,749 persons
would consume ; or if we fed them and furnished the raw materials, it
would be under their tariff.
But this is not all, you can not transplant the men, women and
children, you can only drive them from their employment to agricul-
tural pursuits, and then after having lost the market for the produce
and raw materials consumed by the 791,749 persons, you add that
number to 3,719,951 now engaged in agriculture ; making the agricul-
turalists 4,511,700, and increasing the agricultural products and affect-
ing the price in the same proportion. But even this is not all ; the
moment you have driven your own tradesmen and manufiicturers from
their employment, foreigners left without competition, here, would
make you pay their own price for their articles, and exact what they
please in payment. Let us make an estimate of this: for round num-
bers, says 800,000 manufacturers to the agricultural interest of the
United States ; at a very low calculation they must consume each of
312 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
agricultural products at least the value of fifty dollars per annum : this
amounts to §40,000,000
House rent and fuel, 12 000 000
§52,000,000
Making §52,000,000 annually in these items, without looking to the
more important and costly ones of the raw materials, wages of labor
and other domestic articles which enter into the price of the manu-
factured articles ; these we leave for the reader to estimate. These are
some of the gains to the agricultural interest, by having the seat of
the manufactures in this country, instead of England, where our lead-
ing free-trade modern Democrats desire to transplant them, or are wil-
ling to see them transplanted by the operation of their policy of
FREE TRADE.
This is certainly in sound, a most fascinating doctrine — free-trade —
who could oppose it ? say our opponents. It only means to sell where
we can sell highest, and buy where we can buy cheapest, say its advo-
cates. Such is their definition of free-trade. A British lord recently
gave another definition that suited him better; it was, freedom of bar-
ter and sale of British goods in the ports of other nations, and high
duties and restrictions in British ports of the produce of these nations.
We would give it still another definition as being more applicable to
the actual state of the case ; it is the surrender by the United States
of the right to other nations, to control the industry of this by their
legislation ; for if we omit to pass protective laws, we may preach
free-trade as much as we please, and it will avail us nothing ; the pro-
ducts of other nations will press down upon us, until our labor will
be brought to three-pence a day, and our produce to prices ruinous to
the farmer, while not a port of any other country will be relaxed in
the duties and restrictions imposed upon our produce. One error of
this free-trade school consists in this : that they forget that we have
no power to legislate for other countries. As well might a farmer
declare in favor of free-grazing of cattle, and open his gates and fake
away his fences from his pasture-fields, while all his neighbors secured
and protected their pastures by good fences; we need not tell our far-
mers how they would come out with such a project in the end. The
principle is the same — that of self-protection, and so long as all the
civilized nations of the earth keep up their restrictions and duties,
just so long we must meet them on the same platform, or sink under
the weight of their legislation. Upon this part of our inquiry, we
might quote all the distinguished statesmen of the nation, who have
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE.
313
taken part in our political affairs. We deem it, however, unnecessary
to do so.
There is one distinguished American who has not been heretofore
prominently before the peo'ple, whose opinions are entitled to much
weight ; it is, therefore, with pleasure that we give an extract from a
letter, written by the hero of Lundy's Lane,
GENERAL SCOTT.
Recently, to a committee, the General says : " from a familiarity
with the principal writers on political economj', I was early much
smitten with the doctrines of free-trade ; but between the years 1824
and 1828, being stimulated by the discussions of the period to recon-
sider first impressions, I soon became thoroughly persuaded that
that theory of wealth, however beautiful, would impoverish this coun-
try in its free-trndc icith the maiii/, whose rival products are shielded
by duties generally high, and in many cases prohibitory ; until, there-
fore, the other great commercial nations can be forced to practice upon,
as well as to propagate in speeches and writings, these liberal doc-
trines, I should be in favor of cotmtervailing and retaliatory duties at
home." The force and justice of the views of Gen. Scott will appear
most manifest from an examination of the following extract from the
BRITISH TARIFF.
OF OR FROM BRITISH
POSSESSIONS.
FOREIGN PRODDCE.
Bacon, per cwt,
Beef salted, not being corned
beef, per cwt
Tongues, per cwt
Butter, per cwt
Cheese, per cwt
Eggs, per 120
Hams of all kinds, per cwt
Lard, per cwt
Pork salted, not ham, per cwt..
Cranberries, per gallon
Pot or pearl ashes
Oil-seed cakes, per ton..
Linseed, per cwt '..
Kapeseed, per cwt
Beeswax, per cwt
Stearine candles
Tallow, per cwt
Castor oil
Cotton
3 6 about J per ft.
about 4 per ft.
6 about .} per ft.
about f per ft.
6 about } per ft.
2J n't quite 1 for 2
dozen.
6 nearly J per ft.
6 not 1 per ft.
about 4 per ft.
2 or 44 0..
3 2 nearly | per ft.
1 3 about J- per ft.
8 cents per cwt
14 about 2 per ft.
8 about li per ft.
10 about 2' per ft.
20 nearly 4 per ft.
10 6 a little over 2 cts.
per ft.
10 about 2Jperdoz.
14 about 2| per ft.
2 about i per ft.
about 2| per ft.
1 about 1 5 pr. bus.
6 when for homo
consumption.
10 or 22 cents.
1 or 1 J cents.
1 or 1 J cents.
or 22 cents.
2 J or about 4 cts.
3 or about 5 J cts.
72 cents per cwt.
314 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
We wisli our readers to examine this table, taken from the able
report of Mr. Ellsworth, commissioner of patents. Although it does
not contain many articles of American export, still it gives a fair
average of British duties on American products. Such is the practice
of the free-trade school of Great Britain, and yet the leaders of the
modern Democratic party in Indiana would meet these restrictions
and discriminations with free trade in our ports, unless for revenue ;
and even then, as we have shown, their doctrine leads to direct taxes
to raise it. That there should be found advocates for this doctrine,
in Indiana, is passing strange; from the Southern cotton-planter it
might be more reasonably expected. He may reason after this wise :
WHY IS THE COTTON PLANTER FOR FREE-TRADE?
May he not answer the cjuestion by saying ; " My staple is cotton ;
the home market is secured to me for the article, by a duty of three
cents per pound, about fifty per cent ad valorem ; my crop is made by
my own slave labor ; I only pay seventy-two cents per cwt. duty on
the crop in England, while the produce of bacon pays two dollars per
cwt. ; my cotton is worth six dollars per cwt. in Charleston, the bacon
of Indiana is worth four dollars per cwt. at New Orleans; so that I
pay one dollar and eighteen cents less for six dollars worth of my pro-
duce than the farmer of Indiana pays for four dollars worth of his.
The price of my cotton in the English market does not depend upon
the price of the products of Indiana, upon which I feed my slaves to
make the crop, hence my policy is to bring down the price of meats
and bread-stuffs, or slave food, as low as possible, which will give me
the greatest profit on the crop ; and to do this I require free-trade, or
low tarifis of duties on British manufactured articles, so as to enable
them to give me more for my cotton, to sell to us again manufactured ;
while, by the same operation, slave food is brought down to the lowest
price by the destruction of the home market, and the increase of pro-
duce, turning our manuficturers into farmers." Would this reasoning
satisfy an Indiana farmer that such was his policy, even if it should
the British and Southern free-trade school.
HIGH TARIFFS PRODUCE SMUGGLING.
This objection is frequently urged against high tariflfs. The writer
of the pamphlet has but repeated the arguments of others on this
point. That reckless persons and freebooters should be willing to
risk the consequences of forfeiting their goods in an attempt to evade
the vigilance of our revenue oiEcers, is, perhaps, to be expected,
whether the rates of duties be high or low. Little prejudice to the
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 315
revenue, however, was experienced from that source, by the Govern-
ment, under the high tariff duties of 1828, as the amount of revenue
collected at that period will satisfactorily demonstrate. However,
with this very position of the danger of smuggling in his mouth, the
writer introduces the' low duties imposed by the tariff of 1842, on
jewelry, etc., articles tliat are of little weight and bulk, and of great
value, which to the amount of thousands of dollars could be smuggled
about the person of each passenger from abroad, and intimates that
the low duties imposed was to benefit the rich, when he must have
known that it was to get some revenue from these articles of import,
and, if possible, to make them contribute something to the National
Treasury. What had become of his dread of smuggling when he con-
demned Congress for not levying higher duties on such articles? the
effect of which would have been to place the whole trade in the hands
of smugglers. It is easy to find fault with a particular duty on a
selected article, without knowing the reasons for its imposition, as the
writer of the pamphlet is well aware, which might have prompted him
to seek for some other motive than the unworthy one he charges, for
the imposition of a low duty on these articles. He seems hard to
please.
MARKET THROUGH CANADA.
The free-trade modern Democratic party point us to the channel
through Canada to the British market, and tell us here is free-trade
for the produce of the North-Western States. This is one of their
opposing arguments to the doctrines of protection, and the necessity
of fostering an American market for American produce. We will
briefly examine this boasted boon. We have given a table showing
the duties levied in England on American as well as Colonial produce.
The following extracts from high authority, will place the matter in
its true light : " The colonists have been incessantly urging the
demand on the mother country, for free admission of their bread-
stuffs, but have been denied this boon on the ground that such an
arrangement would enable Americans to send in their grain free
from duty ; accordingly, last session of the Canadian Parliament a
duty of 3s. sterling per imperial quarter, or 4i-d. sterling per impe-
rial bushel was imposed on American wheat, which act was resei'ved
for the assent of the Imperial Government, that unless the latter
admit Canadian grain free of duty the act will not take effect. The
provincial Parliament will probably impose duties on fresh meat, on
cattle, and all sorts of grain ; the articles of pot or pearl ashes, flax,
hemp, hams, bacon, hay, hides and meat pay an additional duty to
that levied by Sir Robert Peel's tariff under the provincial act. If
316 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
the new law enacted by the Canadian Government goes into operation
in July next, the following will be the duties charged on American
produce landed in Liverpool in British vessels ; with regard to pro-
visions, a duty of 3s. per cwt. has been imposed on salted meat, 8s.
on butter, 5s. on cheese, and 2s. per barrel on flour. These duties are
all paid in sterling money, at the rate of 4s. 4d. the dollar, equal to 5s.
Id. Canadian currency, or nearly 102 cents. (See Mr. Ellsworth's
valuable report.) This is the Boon, should the English Parliament
accede to it, that we are to receive for ' free trade ' in our ports of
British goods. This trade is to pass through Canada, ice are to pay
the duty to the Cmiadian Government instead of the English Govern-
ment ; our ichcaf is to be ground at their mills ; the flour is to be car-
ried by their conveyances at our expense, to their ports, and then to be
shipped to England in British Vessels, excluding our vessels altogether.
Such is the political view of free-trade in Great Britain."
IMPORTS .\ND EXPORTS.
The writer of the pamphlet thought proper to quote Mr. Adams to
prove that in a series of years the imports and exports between this
country and Great Britain have nearly balanced ; this he introduces
as an argument to show that it is not necessary to protect and foster
our American market for American produce. That proposition, inclu-
ding bullion and specie, may be admitted for the sake of the argument
without prejudice to our positions. The imports or exports or
trade, between two countries may balance each year, and yet the
one impoverish the other in the operation. The yearly account
current is genei'ally balanced between the master and servant, while
the one rides in his coach and the other is covered with rags ; so with
the landlord and tenant, the farmer and his laborer, 'the manufacturer
and his operatives ; still one may be enriched and the other impover-
ished by the terms and modes of adjusting and balancing the account.
A farmer buys British goods of a merchant, for which he agrees to
pay fifty dollars in produce in the fall : the time for payment arrives,
the farmer calls with his produce, and is informed that the price of
wheat is ten cents per bushel, corn six cents and other produce in pro-
portion ; the payment is made at these prices, but the whole year's
labor of the farmer is exhausted ; the merchant has made a profit
on the goods — the inqmrls from the store, and the c.rports from the
/firm have precisely balanced ; still the farmer is impoverished. About
62i per cent of all the exports of this country to England is in the
article of cotton, at something like eight cents per pound, while the
return imports consist of manufactured goods, at from 500 to 2000
FACTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 317
per cent advance on the cost of the raw materials. This advance is the
price of British produce, British hihor, and the interest on British
capital ; we have thus hmight British icheiit at 81.50 per bushel, and
British corn at 81.00 in the shape of manufactured goods, while we
have sold our wheat at 25 cents and our corn at 10 cents per bushel ;
or in other words, they have bought our wheat at 25 cents, and sold
it back to us in goods at $1.50 per bushel, to "keep up the balance of
trade." But for the last four years together the balance of trade has
been 818,000,000 against us in favor of England. (See Mr. Ells-
worth's report.)
TARIFF OF 1842.
The censures of the writer of the pamphlet on the subject of the
tariflf of 1842 have quite as frequently fallen upon his friends as his
supposed enemies, for whom they were intended. The writer says,
'• In vain do we look into this bill for protection to the farmer of
Indiana. We beg pardon, to preserve appearances of impartiality, it
is most graciously provided in this bill, that any beef, pork, wheat,
flour, oats and corn imported from abroad shall pay a duty, as if we
were afraid that the half-starved of foreign countries could spare these
articles, send them here and under-sell us. -i= * * This is nothing hut
the mockery af protcrtiuti to the farmer." This is certainly a happy
hit at the tariff of 1842, even if it should not be so complimentary
to the candor of the writer, for he well knew at the time he penned
the article, that the tariff of 1842, as well as that of 1828, contained
the very same provisions, and that they were merely copied into the
tariff of 1842. Let us place this matter in a position from which the
writer can not escape.
We copy from the tariff of 1824 : •■ On which wheat, 25 cents per
bushel ; oats, 10 cents per bushel ; wheat flour, 50 cents per cwt.; pota-
toes, 10 cents per bushel." A motion was made to strike these items
from the bill, and upon the yeas and nays it was decided in the nega-
tive — -Andrew JacJcson, John H. Eaton, Richard M. Johnson, and
Martin Van Buren, voting against striking out. (See Senate Journal,
1824.) Was this •' the mockery of protection to the farmer? " Again :
The writer says : " Mark the deception ; it is provided in another part
of the same bill, that all cotton cloth which is not worth more than
twenty cents a square yard, should be valued up to twenty cents ;
now there is a great deal of that article that costs only from six to
eight cents to make it at the factory, and this is what is generally used,
especially by the laboring part of the people ; and yet by this unjust
laio this is valued as high as the superior article, that is, at twenty
318 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
cents a yard." This statement is made by the writer as if these min-
imums on imported goods were first introduced by the tariff of 1842.
Why did he not inform the people, that they were introduced by Mr.
Calhoun, in 1816, to prevent fraud on the revenue? Why did he not
inform his readers, that in every tariif since the same principle had
been maintained ? Why not give the following extract from the
tariff of 182-4? " That all unbleached and uncolored cotton twist,
yarn, or thread, the original cost of which shall be less than sixty
cents per pound, shall be deemed and taken to have cost sixty cents
per pound, and shall be charged with duty accordingly." The same
principle was adopted as to woollen and cotton goods ; and yet, strange
to tell, this high protective tariff, containing all these odious provis-
ions in the eyes of the writer of the pamphlet, was passed by the votes
of AyiJrew Jackson, JaJin IT. Eaton, RicJiard M. Johnson, Thomas H.
Benton, and Martin Van Buren. The same principle is enacted in
the high tariff of 1828, the bill of " abominations " spoken of by the
writer of the pamphlet ; all this he unfortunately forgets, as well as he
does the very unimportant fiict that the tariff of 1828, the highest
tariff that ever was enacted in this country, containing the same odious
principle, was passed by the votes of Martin Van Burcn, Richard M.
Johnson, John IT. Eaton, Thomas II. Benton, Silas Wright, Jr., James
Buchanan, and William. Hendricks. So much for these important
discoveries in the tariff of 1842. But the writer has made another
equally candid charge against the action of the Senate, pending the
progress of the bill. He says : " On the 2d day of August, 1842, Mr.
Tappan, one of the Senators from Ohio, moved to amend the bill, by
providing that whenever our corn, flour, and salted provisions, should
be received free of duty into any nation of Europe, that the President
should make proclamation of the fact to the people of the United
States, and that three months afterward, the articles made in that
nation should be admitted into the United States at only twenty per
cent tax on the value. Every Whig Senator voted against the amend-
ment, including the Senators from Indiana, Smith and White; every
Democratic Senator voted for it." Here again the memory of the
writer, or rather his industry, failed him before he got through with
his story. We will finish it for his edification. The vote he speaks of
was given in the Senate as in committee of the whole, the amendment
was re-offered in the Senate, when Mr. Evans, of JMaine, read the
treaty of 1815. between the United States and Great Britain, showing
that if the most inconsiderable nation of Europe should let our articles,
enumerated in the amendment of Mr. Tappan, into their ports duty
free, that very act, by the operation of the treaty, would let the whole
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 319
^ of the British imports into this country at the 20 per cent, ad valorem.
So soon as the point was made, Mr. Wright requested Mr. Tappan to
withdraw his amendment, and he did so with the approbation of the
whole Senate. So much for that discovery, which was long since pub-
lished in the Slate Sentinel, and exposed in the Indiana Journal.
THE SALT DUTY.
The writer of the pamphlet h.as selected the duty levied on salt, by
the tariflF of 1842, as especially objectionable. He is welcome to all
the capital he can make out of the salt question. But hear him. He
says : " Salt, that prime necessary of life, which the wealthy inhabit-
ant of the city only uses on his table, but which the Western farmer
uses so extensively to save his pork, and beef, and bacon, and to salt
his stock, this article even in tax-oppressed England is admitted tax
free ; it is there regarded, like the air we breathe, as an absolute neces-
sary. But in this land of liberty, where we have so many stump pro-
fessions for the poor, the poor man's salt is sorely taxed ; aye, taxed
by this boasted tariff, this poor man's best friend." Would not the
reader be led to believe, from the above, that the tariff of 1842 was the
first act that levied a duty on imported salt? vSuch, certainly, was the
impression the writer intended to make: How then stands the case?
Under the tariff of 1816 a duty of twenty cents per bushel was col-
lected on imported salt; by the tariff of 1824 the same duty was con-
tinued ; and this act, passed by the votes of Andrew Jaehson, Martin
Van Buren, Richard M. Johnson, John H. Eaton, and Thomas H.
Benton. When the tariff of 1828 was under consideration, an attempt
was made to modify this duty. Mr. Chandler, of Maine, in the Sen-
ate, moved on the 6th of May, to amend the bill as follows : " That in
lieu of the duties now imposed by law on imported salt (20 cents per
bushel), from and after the 30th day of June, 1829, the duties on
imported salt shall be fifteen cents per bushel weighing fifty-six
pounds, until the 30th day of June, 1839, and after that day the duty
shall be ten cents per bushel weighing fifty-six pounds." Upon this
amendment, striking off one-fourth of the duty on salt at once, and
one-half after the 30th of June, 1839, the following Senators voted in
the negative : Martin Van Buren, Riehard 31. Johnson, Mahlon Diclc-
erson, and Tr?ii. JTendrieLs. The salt duty was left at twenty cents
the bushel, and from that time until it fell under the operation of the
compromise act, it stood at twenty cents. Such was the tax levied and
collected upon this article during the whole of the administration of
General Jackson, while the Democrats hold the Government, except
as it was modified by the Compromise Act. Had the writer of the
320 EARLY IIS^DIANA TRIALS.
pamphlet forgotten all this? That is the most charitable view of the
subject, or he surely would not have omitted so important a part of
the history of the salt duty.
A word as to the act of 1842, at which the writer of the pamphlet
looks with such holy horror. That act levies a duty of eight cents on
the article — less than one-half as much as Gt-n. Jackson, Mr. Van
Buren, Col. Johnson, and Win. Hendricks had decided was just and
proper, and the Indiana Senators, "Smith and White," voted to strike
that out, and make salt free, while Mr. Wright, the immediate repre-
sentative of the State and views of Mr. Van Buren, voted to retain it
in the bill. Why did not the writer of " facts " state these facts, if he
desired to give all the facts to the people of Indiana? The writer
complains that we have to pay a high duty on foreign salt, to salt our
beef and pork to send abroad, as the domestic salt will not answer.
Surely, we pay no duty at all, if the doctrines of the writer of the
pamphlet, and his school of politicians, be true — " The consumer pays
the duly." This is his position ; let him see how it cuts up by the roots
his salt tax, so far as it applies to salted provisions not consumed in
Indiana, or the State or country where they are packed.
A " HIGH TARIFF DEFEATS ITS OBJECT,"
Says the author of the pamphlet. Its object is revenue, he says :
and that object is defeated by high duties. He admits that the tariff
of 1828, was the highest that has ever been passed in this country ;
and he tells us that the Compromise Act was passed to bring down the
rate of duties to the revenue standard. Was it because we collected
too much, or too little revenue ? Let him answer. Mr. Calhoun con-
tends that it was the high tariff of 1828, that not only paid off the
National Debt, but was the cause of an overflowing Treasury. The
fact is beyond controversy ; that we had money enough in the Treasury
and to spare, under this high tariff; while under the low pressure, ad
valorem, twenty per cent duties of the Compromise Act, which is the
favorite of the writer of the pamphlet, our Treasury was empty, the
Government bankrupt, our industry paralyzed, and our produce with-
out a market. These are " facts for the people." So much for that
objection to protection.
"DEMOCRATIC POLICY AS TO A TARIFF."
" In the first place it is to reduce the National Expenses," says the
writer. Precisely so, we say. That is certainly the doctrine they
preach, but it is not the "policy" ihej piraclice. Unfortunately for
the writer and his party, we have some evidence on that point also,
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 321
anil we are prepared to compare notes. How .stands this matter ? We
presume it will scarcely be questioned, that the administration of Mr,
Van Buren was a Democratic administration in the modern accepta-
tion of that term ; and we are prepared freely to admit, that the iidmin-
istration of Mr. Adams was purely a Whig administration. We will
therefore take these administrations, by which to test this preaching vs.
practice. This will of course be entirely satisfactory to the writer of
the pamphlet.
NATIONAL EXPENDITURES.
Four years of the administration of Mr. Adams, ^95,805,446. Four
years of the administration of Mr. Van Buren, §142,561,945. So that
the Democrats in four years reduced the expenditures of a Whig
administration from ?95,805,446 to $142,561,945, and still " the Demo-
cratic policy as to a tariff is in (lie first place to reduce the National
Expenses." These are facts for the people. The administration of
Mr. Tyler is spoken of by the writePj as being a Whig administration ;
this is doing us over-much kindness. Mr. Tyler is one of the " mod-
ern Democratic " candidates for the Presidency, disclaiming all connec-
tion whatever with the AVhig party, and standing in direct opposition
to their measures. We claim no share or lot in his administration, so
far as the executive department is concerned ; but we do claim for a
Whig Congress, however, a very great reduction of the " National
Expenses " from those of Mr. Van Buren's administration, as the offi-
cial reports will finally prove.
TREASURY NOTES AND PUBLIC DEBT.
The author of the pamphlet is exceedingly anxious to charge upon
the AVhigs, the issue of Treasury notes to sustain the Government.
He seems to have forgotten altogether that they were resorted to by
the administration of Mr. Van Buren, to keep its sinking fortunes
afloat until its close ; notwithstanding Mr. Van Buren found a National
Debt of only §1,879,312, and cash in the Treasury, when he came into
power, §18,606,792, and received in the course of his term, the dues
from the Bank of the United States, and from the merchant's sus-
pended bonds of New York, amounting together, over and above the
whole National Debt, to about §25,728,480, besides all the ordinary
receipts from customs at a high rate of duty, and §19,165,289, from
public lands, and yet he expended all this and left a debt, as offi-
cially reported, of §6,488.748, but which did not include the annuities
payable by the Government, or the outstanding appropriations. Gen.
Howard, in his Zion letter, is conclusive as to the issue of these Treas-
ury notes, and that they are the Democratic currency. He says : " I
21
322 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
was in favor of Treasury notes, and voted in favor of issuing them,
when I was in the last Congress. I am yet of the opinion that they
furnished, and would continue to furnish, a most valuable currency,
and with one modification would enter the general circulation, and
would be a valuable medium in the transactions of society. I refer to
their denomination ; they should be reduced so as to enter into the
smaller dealings." The writer of the pamphlet in his zeal to charge
the Whigs with creating a National Debt, says : "In less than two
years, the National Debt has been increased hy them, to about $16,000,
000 ! " Now, it so happens that this statement requires proof. That
there was a National Debt to the specified amount, may be admitted
without touching the Cjuestion between us ; the charge is, that it was
created hy the. Whigs. This we deny. We say that Mr. Van Buren
expended over §25,000.000 in bis four years, more than the ordinary
revenues of the Government ; that he left an ofiicially reported debt
of 86,488,748, for his successor to pay, besides leaving a considerable
amount of annuities to pay to Indian tribes, as well as a large amount
of outstanding appropriations to provide for ; that he left the tariff at
the lowest minimum of the Compromise Act, producing much less
revenue than was received from imposts during his administration ;
and, what was worse than all, he left the currency deranged and depre-
ciated, and the industry of the people paralyzed, so that they were
unable to contribute to the National Treasury as they had done before.
The Whigs have created no National Debt ; they found one which was
rapidly increasing under the administration of Mr. Van Buren, which
they have done all in their power to arrest, but have been prevented
by obstacles and circumstances, over which they have had no control,
and for which they are in no wise, responsible. This article, like oth-
ers, we are compelled to close without going so much into detail in this
matter as we could desire ; but we have said enough to show that there
are two sides to this matter, of a National Debt and Treasury notes.
REMEMBER
That " The mandate went forth in the message to Congress of Gen.
Jackson, December, 1829, to destroy the credit and financial system
of the United States. The first experiment resulted in the inordinate
multiplication of irresponsible State banks, and the consequent excess
of their paper led to the issues of most of the stocks of the Western
and South-Western States, and to the creation of the greatest portion
of their present heavy indebtedness. For we can not be too often
reminded of what shall never be forgotten, that during the ten years
of 1820 to 1830, while a National Bank existed, only twenty-two
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 323
State banks were chartered with $22,000,000 of capital ; whereas,
from 1830 to 1840, during the period of the State bank system, the
authors of which now call themselves the supporters of a specie cur-
rency, and charge all the misfortunes and embarrassments of the
country to the policy of their opponents, three hundred and forty-
eight new banks were created, with §268,000,000 of capital. During
the years 1835 and 1836, and part of 1837, while the system was at
its hight, more than one-half of the whole amount of existing State
bonds was created, comprising nearly the whole of the stocks of the
States whose situation is becoming too critical." All this was done
under the reign of our opponents, and now they desire to make the
people believe that the condition of the country is chargeable to the
Whigs.
IS IT TRUE?
The writer of the pamphlet puts the following inquiry to the peo-
ple : " What would have been Mr. Webster's course on the tariff bill
passed at the last session of Congress in 1842, if he had been there
as a member from Indiana ? He would have found scarcely a single
article raised or made in our State which is protected by that bill."
This was no doubt intended as a censure of the vote given in favor
of the bill by the Representatives from Indiana. So far as they are
concerned, it is not very important to attempt a justification of the
vote, nor is it of any deep interest to the people of Indiana to know
how Mr. Webster would have voted as one of the Representatives of
Indiana : but as the principles maintained by us are involved in the
interrogatory, it may be proper to inquire whether it is true, in point
of fact, that '■ scarceli/ a single article raised or made in our State is
protected hy that hill.'' Such statements should not be lightly made,
and if made, should, at least, be substantially true. As this is an
issue of fact between us and the writer of the pamphlet, to be decided
by the people, we give the following extracts from the tariff of 1842,
and then leave the reader to decide whether " a single article raised or
made in our State is protected by that hill."
EXTRACTS FROM THE TARIFF OF 1842.
" On unmanufactured hemp, §40 per ton ; on ready-made clothing,
etc., an ad valorem duty of fifty per cent. ; on tanned sole or band
leather, six cents per pound ; on all upper leather not otherwise
specified, eight cents per pound ; on vessels of cast iron, one cent and
a half per pound : on all skins, five dollars per dozen ; on men's boots
and bootees of leather, wholly or partially manufactured, one dollar
and twenty-five cents per pair ; men's shoes and pumps, thirty cents
324 EAELY IXDIANA TEIALS.
per pair ; women's shoes or slippers, twenty-five cents per pair ;
on rifles, two dollars and fifty cents each ; on axes, adzes, hatch-
ets, etc., thirty per cent ad valorem; fur hats, caps, etc., thirty-
five per cent ad valorem ; hats of wool, etc., eighteen cents each ; on
bank, folio, quarto, posts of all kinds, and letter and bank note paper,
seventeen cents per pound, etc. ; on foolscap, imperial, medium, etc.,
writing paper, fifteen cents per pound, etc." This list might be
greatly extended, but we are content to submit the issue upon these
items. Is scarcely a single article of them " raised or made in our
State ? " If not, then the writer of the pamphlet is correct in that
statement. But suppose it were true that the bill did not protect
" scarcely a single article that was raised or made in this State," would
that render it obnoxious to the censure of the writer ? Have we no
interest in protecting the manufactures of other States? Have wo
not material, water-power, and other facilities for manufacturing our
raw materials, that they have in any other State, and is the act merely
to operate on manufactories in existence at the time the bill passed ?
Is it not rather to encourage capitalists to make investments in
that business, and by the domestic competition to bring the articles
of domestic use to the lowest price to the consumer ? It is true that
Indiana is most essentially an agricultural State, capable of producing
almost any given quantity of agricultural products ; still she abounds
in the material of a manufacturing State also. But suppose she was
never to manufacture a single article, is it not a desirable object to
give to the farmer a ready, safe, and good home market, for the sur-
plus produce of his farm? Give him a market for his produce, and
he will prosper. We deny that we go for protection for the benefit
of the manufacturer alone, and contend that the farmer, the person
who raises the raw material upon which the manufacturer operates,
and who furnishes the corn, beef, pork, flour, and other produce upon
which he subsists, and which he is prepared to receive in exchange
for manufactured articles instead of money, is quite as much benefited
by protection as is the manufacturer. The views of the writer of the
pamphlet, if founded in fact, it is submitted, are entirely too limited
for the subject. We repeat what we said on another occasion, that
" There is not a country on the face of the globe where the difi'erent
interests are so dependent upon, and useful to, each other as they are
in the United States. It really seems that Nature's God had des-
tined this great nation to remain forever one in interest, one in prin
ciple, and one in glory — the climate, the soil, the products, in a word,
the intercut of the whole, and the interests of the parts, all point to
the same great vital principle, Union, now and forever. The South
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 325
and South-West, from climate and soil, are especially adapted to the
culture of rice, cotton, tobacco, and indigo, and the manufacture of
Bugar and molasses from the cane ; these products will always be
demanded for the consumption of the other sections of the TTnion.
The Middle States abound in mineral wealth, which they arc prepared
manufacture in sufficient quantities to supply the consumption of
tlie whole Union. The pjast and the North have the power, the capi-
tal, and the manufacturing skill, to prepare the raw staple of the
South, as well as the wool of the other sections, for the use of the
whole ; while the West, the fertile West, can furnisli a supply of flour,
corn, beef, and pork, to feed all the operatives of the Eastern,
Northern, and Middle States, as well as all the planters of the South
and South-West. The East may bear the same relation to the South
in interest, that the island of England does to the East Indies, in the
manufiicture of their great staple ; while the home market will be
furnished for the products of each section of the Union." Shall
these great national and individual interests be left to the tender
mercies of foreign legislation ? We say not. What say the people
of Indiana?
WHIG PROMISES.
There are few subjects connected with political events to which the
leaders of the modern Democracy so frequently advert, as to what
they are pleased to call violated Whig promises. The writer of the
pamphlet seems to have caught the contagion for this kind of politi-
cal argument, as he has infused a goodly portion of it into his politi-
cal text-book. They tell the people that not a single promise made
by the Whigs, when they came into power in 1841, has been per-
formed, and still they pretend to hold the Whig party responsible for
the condition of the country. Is this fair? Is it candid? If the
Whigs have carried out none of their measures, and have performed
none of their promises, as they tell the people, then most assuredly
the nation has been running down under the measures and policy of
the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and the Whigs are in no other-
wise responsible than that they did not arrest the deleterious policy
of that Democratic administration. If their position be true, and
they believe in their own measures, they ought to rejoice that the
Whigs had fulfilled none of their promises, and they should hold
themselves responsible for the present condition of the country. But
suppose the Whigs have not carried out all their measures as they
hoped to do, does it lie in the mouth of our opponents who joined in
with President Tyler in opposing our policy, to upbraid us with our
failure, and then hold us responsible? If they wish to state facts,
326 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
why not tell the people that in a short month after the inauguration
of our beloved Harrison, and before any of our measures were adopt-
ed, he was taken from us by death, that the administration of the
General Government was no longer in accordance with the views of
the Whig party ; that President Tyler, listening in an evil hour to
the suggestions of the enemies of the party that had elected him Vice
President, turned against the Whigs and their measures, and by the
exercise of the veto, as effectually deprived them of the power to enact
their measures as if they had been in a minority in both houses of
Congress, as they had not two-thirds to carry a bill over his veto.
How then can the Whigs be held responsible? Give us a Whig
Congress, and a good Whig for President, and we will cheerfully hold
ourselves accountable for the success of our measures and the pros-
perity of the nation ; and if the Whigs will do their duty and come
up to the polls, they have nothing to fear ; but they must vote to insure
success.
MANUFACTUKING POPULATION.
The old statement that the manufacturing population of a coun-
try is low, degraded and miserable, is revived by intimation in the
pamphlet. This argument against encouraging American manufac-
tures was put forth in 1816, and the manufacturing population of
Great Britain was referred to in proof of the position. Mr. Calhoun,
who was then a zealous advocate of the protective policy, gave to the
argument an answer that silenced those who had been urging it. He
said the question was not what was the condition of the population of
England with her manufactures, but what would it be without them,
leaving the men women and children, thus engaged without employ-
ment. The answer is conclusive. It is like objecting to a man as a
bad member of the church, without reflecting what kind of a man he
would be if removed from its salutary and protective influence. We
have tested the matter in the United States. Let any one go to the
extensive factories of Lowell, Massachusetts, and he will there learn
lessons of economy, order, sobriety, and correct moral and religious
deportment that he could scarcely learn elsewhere. A few years ago
the spot where that Manchester of America now stands, was a solitary
farm ; now it is a beautiful city, containing over twenty thousand
inhabitants, industriously employed, beneficially to themselves and
country. Nor is their intellectual improvement neglected ; at a very
recent date the writers for an excellent periodical published there were
fectory girls ; so that it does not follow that a manufacturing popula-
tion is necessarily less respectable 'than any other, nor do the causes
which operate upon a dense' European manufacturing population exist
FACTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 327
here, wbere all are at liberty to select their occupation, and where all
can follow their employment with ftiir prospects of success, if econo-
mic;il and industrious.
DISTRIBUTION POLICY.
The policy of distributing the proceeds of the sales of the publi
lands among the States, to relieve the people from direct taxes, is als
opposed by the writer and the other leaders of his party. To go into
this question at large, at this time, would occupy too much space, but
we may be permitted to say, that it is astonishing to find any citizen
of Indiana opposed to a policy to relieve the people from embarrass-
ments in any degree. Do our people need relief? Is money in Indi-
ana too plenty? Are our taxes no burden? Is our share of the
public lands not worth contending for ? Shall all the money from
the West be drawn into the National Treasury through imposts and
the land-offices, and we have no return ? Shall the expenditures of this
money be on the sea-board, and the West be excluded? Shall we
tamely yield all our interest in the public domain, as well as in the
deed of session from the States, without a struggle ? So say the mod-
ern Democrats. We say otherwise. Let the people judge.
'' POOR MEN."
The writer of the pamphlet has professed great compassion for the
poor. We do not wish to be understood as questioning his sincerity;
but as a general rule we would say, when you see a candidate playing
the gentleman at large, living on the hard earnings of others, whether
he be rii-h or poor, reading homilies in the street or elsewhere, about
the " nch and poor," professing to be " the poor man's friend," — watch
him — keep your eyes upon him — he has some design upon your vote,
your person, your property or your labor ; set him down as an enemy
to the peace, good order and prosperity of society. Look upon him
in the same light as you would a disturber of the harmony of families,
or mischief-maker between members of the same or different churches.
We acknowledge no distinction among our fellow-citizens, except that
which is drawn in legible characters between vice and virtue. We
deny the position that there are distinct interests among the people,
Standing in opposition to each other, if rightly considered, and main-
tain that we are mutually beneficial to and dependent upon each other;
that the interest of one class can not be effected injuriously without
producing a corresponding injury to every other. The material of
society has been so wisely constituted that its parts harmonize and act
beneficially together, like the human body and the limbs, and a riot
328 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
among the latter on the ground of separate antagonist interests, would
be no more destructive of the health and happiness of man, than is
this suicidal doctrine, that the members of society have separate and
distinct opposing interests. The truth is, we are sailing the voyage
of life, in the same political vessel, and are subject to the same tem-
pests and storms ; they may injure some more than others ; but at last,
if the vessel is stranded, wrecked, or sunk to the bottom, the officers,
passengers, crew and cargo must all be victims of the catastrophe. If
we felt disposed to follow in the train of thought of the writer of the
pamjihlet, we might ask the laboring man whether he gets along easier,
has better employment and higher wages now, when improvements are
suspended, than when times were progperous, improvements being
made, and capital energetically employed, by those whom the writer
calls rich, and against whom he would willingly excite your prejudice.
We presume not.
FEDERAL MEASURES.
Names are all powerful in political contests. Well do the leading
modern Democrats know the force and truth of this remark, hence
they not only hold on to the respectable name of Democrat, but with
one voice they stamp their opponents with the name of federalist, and
their measures as federal measures. Tliey abanilun and ailojjt measures
themselves at pleasure; — at one time for a National Bank, at another,
against it ; at one time for the pet bank system, at another, against it;
at one time for the issues of State and Local Banks, at another, against
all bank-paper ; at one time for Treasury notes, at another, specie ; at
one time for distribution, at another, against it ; and still /hey are
Democrats, and each measure ichile they support it, is Democratic. But
the moment they abandon it for some nctv expedient, it becomes a vile
federal measure, and all who support it federalists.
" WHIG POLICY."
The general policy of the Whigs of Indiana as to national measures
is to protect by a tariff, American industry, thereby stimulating and
rewarding the manufacturer and mechanic, and giving to the fiirmer a
sure and safe home-market for at least a portion of the surplus pro-
ducts of his farm, leaving him to compete for the balance with the
produce of other countries in foreign markets. To supply the National
Treasury with money sufficient for an economical administration of
the Government from imposts. To foster our commerce by confining
the trade as much as possible to our own vessels, and making up for
any partial loss of the foreign, by the domestic coasting trade.
To furnish to all classes of industry a sound and uniform circulating
FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 329
medium of specie, and paper money convertible into specie at the will
of the holder, emitted by a National Bank under the supervision of
the representatives of the people ; and acting at the same time without
charge, as the fiscal agent of the Government, in the receipts and dis-
bursement of the revenues ; as the Bank of the United States did for
twenty years, while it remained a national institution, without the loss
of a dollar. To aid the Slates and people, through the public lands,
in paying their debts, and especially their taxes, and by that means to
bring back to the West a portion at least, of the money that is yearly
carried away through the imposts and the land offices. All these doc-
trines are denounced by the leaders of the modern Democracy as rank
federal measures.
" FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE."
No one controverts the facts that are present and felt by all, that
the nation and people are greatly embarrassed in their finances, that
the Treasury is only enabled to meet the demands upon it by tempo-
rary appliances, that the industry of the people goes unrewarded, while
ctstress and bankruptcy pervade the land. Why is this so, and what
is the remedy ? A few thoughts on these questions may be accepta-
ble. We are practical men, and therefore direct our attention to the
matter in a practical, common-sense manner, testing our views by expe-
rience, the best and wisest of teachers, although not always the
cheapest.
THE TRUE POLICY.
Reflect upon the following undeniable facts and their results, and
then decide for yourselves as to the true policy to be pursued :
This is not the first time we have been thus embarrassed. In 1815,
at the close of the war, the nation owed a public debt of 8132,103,472 ;
our citizens owed at least as much more ; our industry was paralyzed,
our Treasury empty, and our currency deranged and depreciated. Such
was the state of our national afiairs when Congress assembled in De-
cember, 1815. That Congress was composed of the patriots and sages,
some of the Revolution, but more of the second war of independence ;
they were the staunch Republicans of the day, with Mr. Madison
at the head as President. The desperate condition of public affairs
demanded and received their immediate attention ; efficient measures
vere essential. Mr. Madison recommended a protective tariif, pre-
cisely the same measure that the Whigs contend for now, and strange
to tell, that '■•federal measure" and a National Bank were immedi-
ately adopted with great unanimity by a RcpuhUcan Congress^ as the
true remedy for the embarrassed state of the National Treasury, as well
as for the prostrate condition of the industry of the people and the
330 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
depreciated state of the currency. The protective tariiF of 1816 was
passed; the Bunk of the United iStates was chartered for twenty years.
In 182-1 the tariiF wa,s increased, and in 1828, brought up to its maxi-
mum. In 1833 the Compromise Act was passed, providing for period-
ical reductions of dutj'. The tariif fell below the protective point,
and the charter of the Bank expired with the close of the administra-
tion of Gen. Jackson. With a recollection of these facts, the reader
will be prepared for the results under
PROTECTION AND A BANK.
At the time those great national measures were adopted, as we have
already said, the National Debt was §132,103,472. At the close of the
administration of Mr. Adams, it was §59,144,413. At the close of
the administration of Gen. Jackson it was §1,379,312, and there was
cash in the treasury §18,606,792. So that at the close of the admin-
istration of Gen. Jackson in 1837, the nation was actually out of debt,
and we had a surplus in cash in the treasury of §16,728,480, besides
having deposited with the States §28,101,644. Mr. Van Buren then
came into power with a nation free from debt, $16,728,480 in the Treas-
ury, about §9,000,000 due to the United States from the Bank and
from suspended merchants' bonds in New York, which he received
during the term, making about §25,728,480 at his command, besides
the proceeds of the customs and the public lands. But the Bank fur-
nishing a national currency was no longer in existence, and the tarifiF
had run down below the protective point ; or in other words, the AVhig
or Republican measures had been abandoned by the modern Democ-
racy. And what was
THE RESULT?
Mr. Van Buren administered the Government only four years, and
at the end of his term, the §25,728,480, besides the proceeds of the
customs and lands was all expended, and the nation owed a debt as
officially reported of §6,488,784. So that if BIr. Van Buren had been
compelled to rely on the ordinary revenues derived from imposts and
public lands, he would have left the Government in debt §32,217,264,
in his four years. — These are " facts for the people." Now we leave
it to the leaders of the modern Democracy to say whether Mr. Van
Buren mal-administered the Government, or whether these financial
disasters should be attributed to an abandonment by them of those
national measures adopted and maintained by the true Republicans,
the Whigs.
We have only given the general financial results, the reader can
contrast the condition of the pecuniary affairs of all interests, under
.J(»»?*
FACTS FOR THE TEOPLE. 331
the former and late policy. The benefits of the tariff of 1842 have
not yet been much felt, owing to the short period it has existed, and
to the pecuniary embarrassments of the people ; nor can it ever be of
so much benefit to the industry of the country, without, as it would be
with a sound, uniform, paper circulating medium to aid its operation.
Without such a currency, experience has taught us that this nation
must continue to be embarrassed. The general laws of a country
require time to develop their blessings, however wise they may be ;
and more especially does this principle apply to tariif laws — they
should never be disturbed for light causes. We hold, that the same
measures that were adopted by the llepublican party, at the close of
the war, to pay off the national debt, replenish an exhausted treasury,
and lift the prostrate industry of the country from the dust, are the
true measures of this nation at this time. They produced the desired
effect, and shall we turn a deaf ear to the voice of reason and experi-
ence ? Shall we prove, in our persons, that man is the only animal
that will rush madly against the lessons of experience, to his own
destruction? Are we so much wiser than those patriarchs and states-
men who have preceded us, that we should repudiate the measures
which they adopted, and which proved to be wise and judicious,
exactly adapted to the genius of our people, their habits and pursuits
in life, under which we have prospered, without a parallel in the his-
tory of the rise and progress of any other nation on the face of the
globe ? Let the people answer.
CONCLUSION.
We need not tell our fellow-citizens, that we ardently desire to see
our beloved country marching onward to her destined greatness. Shall
we tell you that we hope to see Indiana rise to her true position in the
galaxy of States ? Are we required to say, that we wish to see our
fellow-citizens of Indiana prosperous and happy? How could it be
otherwise ? If there were no other ties to bind us, the fact that " wife,
children, and friends" are among the passengers and crew of the gal-
lant vessel, would be a sufficient guaranty of our devotion to Indiana,
and all that is dear to her. We hope enough has been said to give
the people at least a glimmering of the other side of the questions
involved in the pamphlet which we have cursorily noticed. We
believe that the doctrines advanced and maintained by the writer of
that pamphlet are adverse to the best interests of the nation, and
people. We have deemed it right to present the matter to our fellow-
citizens, calmly, frankly, and candidly, and we only regret that our
332 EARLY INDIANA TEIALS.
limits do not allow us to do more justice to the subject. "We have,
throu;j;hout, drawn a distinction between the modern Democratic party,
and tlio old Eepublican party, and have shown how far that discrim-
ination is justified by the measures of each. We have also maintained
the distinction between the leaders and the people of the self-styled
modern Democratic party, believing, as we do, that the great body of
the people hold no fellowship with the doctrines advocated by these
professed leaders. We have plainly and freely laid our principles and
policy before you. We ask you to examine them for yourselves, as
we can not doubt but that you will, by so doing, arrive at the conclu-
sion to which we have come, as to which is the true American policy
of the Government.
BUCKWHEAT STRAW PRINCIPLE. 333
BUCKWHEAT STRAW PRINCIPLE.
Forty years ago, there resided suiiie miles back of Rising Sun, in
Dearborn county, a small farmer, by the name of John Payne, an
emigrant from the State of New York. Mrs. Payne was a neat, clean,
fine housekeeper. Her table looked nice, the cloth, and every thing
neat and clean ; in fact, hers was one of the best places in the woods
to get a meal, as we ranged in our gunning excursions. I had noticed
some half a dozen lively little flaxen-headed daughters running
around, occasionally assisting their mother with her domestic affairs.
1 remarked to her one day, " Who would not be proud of such fine
daughters." I touched the right string, it vibrated with a flash.
' " Yes, Mr. Smith ; they arc my jewels, if I have nothing else to be
proud of, I can look at my little daughters and feel happy." My
gunning days were soon over, and I never visited 3Irs. Payne's again.
Time rolled on, the Misses Payne, as they grew of age, were married
one after another, to the very first young men in the country. I met
Mr. Payne, years afterward, at court, at Lawrenceburg, and inquired
after his family. " The old lady is well, and my daughters are all'
married." " Yes, I noticed their marriage in the papcr.s ; they married
well." " Of course they did ; I married them off on the hiicJcivhcaf
straw principle." " How is that." " You may let your buckwheat
straw lie in the open field, where your cattle run, without fence as
long as you please, and they will never eat a straw of it; but just put
a light, rickety fence around it, let the cattle break over, and dog them
out a few times ; still mend up the fence, and they will break down your
fence again, and eat up the straw clean ; so with the young men and
the girls. My daughters were well raised, good-looking, smart, and
finely dressed; they attended public gatherings, and were much
admired. I kept my eyes on them, and whenever one of them was
accompanied home by a young man just such as I would like, I would
privately tell some of his associates that he must never be seen about
my house again, or it would not be good for him ; the principle never
failed to operate, a clandestine marriage soon followed, the new son-
in-law was forgiven, and all things moved on smoothly, until another
daughter was marriageable." I laughed at the idea, still there may
be more in it than meets the eye.
A PANTHER.
Many years ago, while our frontier counties were a wilderness, the
settlers lived far apart. It had been whispered about in private cir-
334 EAELY ODIANA TRIALS.
cles, that some boys had seen a panther looking out of a hole in a big
black-walnut tree. The story was doubted by many, still it was suffi-
ciently alarming to induce settlers to prepare themselves with rifles
and large packs of hounds. Among the settlers there was a man, for
the sake of a name, I call Dodridge Alley, a neighborhood leader.
He had often been elected captain of one side at log-roUings and corn-
ehuekings. Dodridge had one of the severest packs of hounds in the
settlement, of which he often boasted, especially of old " Ring." The
county in which Dodridge resided was entitled to a Representative in
the State Legislature ; a number of candidates brought themselves out,
Dodridge among them. There were no caucuses, or conventions in
that day, every one run upon his own hook, and mounted his own
hobby. Dodridge believed strongly in love at first sight, and early
man-iages ; he selected the idea of authorizing constables in their
several townships to solemnize marriages, so as to tie the hymeneal
knot, before the first love could have time to cool, while they were
sending to town for the preacher. Dodridge had, no doubt, seen the
first verse in " Love at first sight," but had not read the last.
" Oh there's naught in the wide world like love at first sight,
I've said it — I've sung it — and am I not right?
Oh yes, and I'll prove it. I Iiappened to note
Last night on the river a beautiful boat.
A maid sat within it — how paint what I feel;
I saw her jet ringlets — I saw her profile I
I knelt on the bank — I was wild with delight :
Oh ! there's naught in the wide world like love at first sight.
"This morning I sought her — I stated the case;
She rose to receive me — I saw hei full /ace !
She looked all the love that one eye can express, —
She couldn't do more, and she didn't do less;
And, oh, when I called her, she limpingly came,
Just as if, little darling! she hadn't been lame !
Her ringlets wore false, she was four feet in hight ;
Oh there's naught in the wide world like love at first sight."
The contest was very close, but Dodridge triumphed, the session of
the Legislature was approaching, a new suit of clothes would be
needed, the yarn was spun, the cloth wove, and colored with butter-
nut bark, a kind of yellowish brown. The neighboring tailor had cut
and made the suit, coat, vest and pantaloons ; they hung in folds
upon him, but still he looked pretty well, and felt right comfortable,
as the blood had free circulation. All things were ready for his depar-
ture for the capital ; business required him to go to one of the upper
A HYMN IN THE LEGISLATURE, ETC. 335
settlements. He dressed up in his fine new butter-nut suit for the first
time, promising to be back to supper. Time passed on and no Dod-
ridge. His hidy became uneasy, the story of the panther came fresh
in her mind, the clock struck ten, still no Dodridge. The dogs had
not been seen for an hour before dark. Hark ! the sound of hounds
are heard in the distant forest. A panther, no doubt. Night wore
away, the morning dawned, no Dodridge. The lady left the cabin,
and directed her course through the woods by the distant baying.
The spot is reached at last ; there perched on a leaning tree, some fifty
feet up, sat Dodridge in his butter-nut suit, the very image of a
panther, old Eiitg tearing the bark from the root of the tree, the rest
of the pack baying at the top of their lungs. A word from the well-
known voice of their mistress was enough, Dodridge came down, old
Ring took the lead for home, and away went the whole pack, leaving
Dodridge and his rescuer to walk home together, deadly enemies to
butter-nut bark, while there were panthers in the woods.
A HYMN IN THE LEGISLATURE.
Weeks afterward, Dodridge rises in the Legislature. " Mr. Speaker, I
hold in my hand a bill to authorize constables to solemnize marriage ;
it is laid oiF into sections of four lines." A member I call Hugh
Barnes, with a powerful sing-song voice, " I am opposed, Mr. Speaker,
to that bill ; marriage is a solemn thing, it ought never to be entered
into without the greatest deliberation, and the maturest reflection.
Why all this haste to tie the knot. Constables ought to have nothing
to do with it, except when they get married themselves." As the
speaker progressed, he became more and more animated ; his voice
rose to its highest tones, not unlike Old Hundred. As he closed, all
eyes were upon Dodridge ; the speech sounded very much like the
funeral services of the bill, and Dodridge looked like chief mourner.
Dodridge sprang to his feet as quick as thought : " Mr. Speaker,
would it be in order now to sing a hymn ? " The speaker hesitated,
the House roared, the triumph of Dodridge was complete, the ses-
sion closed, the bill was left for the next Legislature. Dodridge
returned home, the hounds were di.sposed of, and there was never an
ounce of butter-nut bark used for dyeing purooses in the family of
Dodrid<re afterward.
WAS IT A FIGHT?
At a term of the Circuit Court, the case of the State vs. John
Stump, a small, pock-marked Dutchman was called. A large, power-
336 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
ful Dutchman was the prosecuting witness. The indictment was for
assault and battery. Henry C. Hammond, State's attorney, Benjamia
S. Noble, for the prisoner. Case submitted to the associate judges,
without a jury. The big Dutchman sworn. Mr. Hammond. — '■ State to
the Court all you know about it." Witness. — " That little Dutchman
and I were in the saloon. We bought a mug of beer together, and
were drinking together. I drank first. The beer was so good, that I
did'nt quit quite as soon as I ought. That little Dutchman said I
had drank it all up. I told him he lied ; he told mo I lied.
I spit in his face ; he spit in my face. I slapped him in the
face ; he slapped me in the face. I kicked him ; he kicked me. I
tripped him up ; he tripped me up. I struck him and knocked him
down ; he got up and knocked me down. I then got mad ; he got
mad, and we were just agoing to fight, when the saloon-keeper got
between us. That is all." Mr. Hammond. — " This is a clear case of
assault and battery; the defendant must be convicted." Benj. S.
Noble. — " It is an afi'ray, and the defendant can not be convicted
until the prosecutor is before the Court." Associates. — " We think
they are both guilty, and fine each a dollar and costs."
TRIALS OF DAVIS AND WOODS. 337
TRIALS OF DAVIS AND WOODS.
In the afternoon of the 4th day of July, in the year 1844, the citi-
zens of Indianapolis were aroused by the cry of murder. John Tucker,
a quiet, peaceable negro man, had been killed in the street, by Wil-
liam Ballenger, others being directly or indirectly concerned. Nicho-
las Woods had brought on the fight. One had hit him with a brick,
and Ballenger killed him with a single-tree. I saw Tucker on the
pavement a few minutes after, entirely dead. Ballenger made his
escape. Nicholas Woods and Edward Davis were arrested and held
for trial. The excitement in the city was very high. A public meet-
ing was held by the citizens, and Judge James Morrison and myself
were retained to assist Judge Abram A. Hammond, the regular prose-
cutor, on the trials. The prisoners and their friends employed Ex-
Governor David Wallace, John H. Bradley, William Quarles, and
Hugh O'Neal, distinguished advocates. Every possible preparation
for the trials was made. The fall term, 1844, arrived, William J.
Peaslee, the able judge of the circuit, presiding. Bills for murder
were found against Ballenger, Woods, and Davis. Ballenger could
not be arrested, and has ever since evaded the justice of the law. The
trial of Davis came on first, and was prosecuted by the regular prose-
cutor. Judge Hammond, and Judge Morrison, his associate, for the
State, with their usual abUity ; and defended in able speeches by the
distinguished counsel for the prisoner.
It was cleai', when the counsel for the defendant closed, that there
was no ground, whatever, for the charge of murder to rest upon. It
could be at most but a ease of manslaughter, as there was no evidence
of malice aforethought, and the killing was evidently under excite-
ment and hot blood. Judge Morrison, in bis closing argument,
abandoned the charge of murder, and claimed a verdict for man-
slaughter only. The jury, however, took a different view of the case,
under the able charge of the Court, and found a verdict of not guilty,
generally. The defendant was acquitted, and has since resided in
Indianapolis, sober, industrious, and respected by all who know him.
Nicholas Woods was next put upon his trial. Great preparations
were made for his defense. The court-house was filled to suffocation.
Many of his friends, male and female, occupied the seats near the wit-
nesses. Judge Hammond opened the case, before the evidence was
heard. The proof showed that the defendant had commenced the
fight with the deceased, and continued it until the final blows were
given by Ballenger, with the single-tree, and the deceased fell, a
corpse. Judge Hammond opened the argument to the jury, in an<
22
338 EARLY INDIAT^A TRIALS.
able speeeli of some two hours, plain and to the point, without any
affectation of eloquence, as his manner and address always were. He
was followed by Gov. Wallace, in an effective and eloquent speech.
Mr. Quarles, in one of the ablest speeches of his life^ followed Gov.
Wallace, appealing with all his powers to the sympathy of the jury.
As he closed I noticed a female friend of the prisoner in tears. Mr.
Bradley followed, in a brilliant effort of over three hours, perhaps
. the ablest speech of his life. I closed the argument before the jury.
Gov. Whitcomb was present during the whole trial, giving constant
attention to the evidence and arguments, to enable him to decide for
himself, as he told me, should a conviction bo had, and an application
for a pardon follow.
The jury retired, after the charge of the Court, and in less than an
hour returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter — -three years at
hard labor in the penitentiary. Motion for a new trial overruled, and
judgment on the verdict. A petition, numerously signed, for a par-
don followed, but the Governor had decided that the conviction was
right, and refused to interfere.
TRIAL OF HIRAM GASTON.
Toe trial of Hiram Gaston, for the unfortunate killing of his
apprentice, Lezar Luse, at the April term, 18-iS}, of the Marion Cir-
cuit Court, before Judge Peaslee, created great excitement at the time.
I saw the deceased a few minutes after he was killed. Hiram Gaston
was a highly respectable coach-maker, working in his shop, on the lot
where the Bates House now stands, at the time of the lamentable occur-
rence. The deceased was his apprentice, about twenty years of age,
quite as stout as Mr. Gaston, and a highly esteemed member of his
family. He was a good young man, and a strict member of the Bap-
tist Church. Gaston and Luse, at the moment of the occurrence,
were fitting a plate on a buggy. Luse appeared awkward, and Gaston
took hold of one end of the iron, and asked Luse to let go, and he
would fix the iron on the buggy. Luse refused, and Gaston pulled
the iron, but Luse was too strong and drew Gaston forward across the
anvil. Gaston reached back, with his eyes forward on Luse, and took
from the block, upon which there were many light hammers and loose
handles, a small hammer, by the handle, without seeing it, with no
probable intent to do any great bodily harm, much less to take life,
struck around, a side blow, that would have hit the body of Luse,
below the shoulder, without injury, had he stood erect ; but at the
TRIAL OF MARTIN L. COYNER. 339
very instant of time Luse stooped, and the small point of the hammer
struck the yertebrsc of the neck, near the head. Luse^ell and
expired instantly. Gaston caught him in his arms, had him conveyed
to his house, sent for a surgeon, exhibited the deepest possible sorrow
and agony over the body, voluntarily gave himself up, and was taken
before Samuel Henderson, Mayor. I was sent for, and advised with
Gaston before the Mayor. The excitement was intense, the office
crowded, the street in front filled with people. I waived an examina-
tion, and offered bail. The Mayor iixed the bail at one thousand
dollars. Gaston was left in custody till morning. That night the
crowd was clamorous, the Mayor denounced, and Gaston threatened.
I feared for the safety of his person. Next morning the Mayor's
office was crowded early. Governor Wallace, the prosecutor, moved
an increase of the bail, and supported it with a speech that was loudly
applauded by the excited aijdience. I replied, and stated that the
Mayor could fix the recognizance at his own figures, as Mr. Gaston
would never leave the ground till he was tried by a jury of his coun-
try. The Mayor required bail in five thousand dollars for his appear-
ance at Court. William Quarles was then employed with me in the
defense. We thought it be.st for Mr. Gaston to dec-line to give bail,
and go to jail until the storm blew over, although he could have given
any amount of security. Gaston was confined some time, the excite-
ment began to subside, and before court the people were able to speak
of the transaction with their ordinary coolness.
The trial of Gaston for murder came on at the next term : David
Wallace, assisted by Hiram Brown, prosecuted on behalf of the State,
and William Quarles and myself appeared for the defendant. The
evidence before the jury was substantially as I have stated the fects.
The case was opened by Hiram Brown, in one of his strong, matter-of-
fact speeches. I followed in a speech of three hours. Mr. Quarles
closed the defense, in one of the best efforts of the life of that able
advocate. Governor Wallace closed the prosecution with a speech
worthy of his high character, and best Whitewater days. Judge
Pcaslee gave to the jury a clear and able charge. The jury retired
but a short time, and returned a verdict, " not guilty." Mr. Gaston
returned to his business, and has since resided in the city, with the
good feelings and well wishes of even those who blamed him at the
time.
TRIAL OF MARTIN L. COYNER.
Martin L. Coyner was tried at the Hendricks Circuit Court for
killing James Crow. The indictment was for murder in the first
340 EAELY INDIANA TKIALS.
degree. Judge David S. Gooding appeared for the State, Christian C.
Nave, Hugh O'Neal, and myself, for Mr. Coyner. The facts were few
and simple, although fatally tragical. Mr. Coyner was the superin-
tendent of a section of graduation, on the Terre Haute and Eichmond
Railroad, in Hendricks county, upon which there were a number of
laborers ; Crow, a large, powerful, overbearing, dissipated, quarrelsome
Irishman, among them. Crow became incensed against Mr. Coyner,
and had frequently threatened his life. Coyner had been informed
of the threats, and prejjared himself with a long, sharp knife, for
defense. The morning of the rencounter Coyner saw Crow coming,
and to avoid a personal difficulty went into the woods and hid in the
bushes, until Crow left, and then returned to his men. Crow saw Coy-
ner, and went to where he was standing, on the bank of a cut in the
road, with his back to a rick of wood. Coyner held his knife down
his side as Crow approached, and again ;ind again warned him to go
away. Crow still advanced with a knife in his hand, swearing he
would have the life's blood of Coyner. At the moment Crow was
about striking, Coyner struck him one blow with his knife, under the
arm. Crow fell, crying " Hurrah boys, I'm kilt." He bled profusely,
and expired in a few minutes.
The case was opened before the jury by Judge Gooding, in a brief
speech for the State ; 3Ir. O'Neal followed for the defense, in an able,
conclusive argument, placing the ease on the ground of self-defense ;
Col. Nave followed in one of his happiest eiforts, maintaining the same
ground ; I closed for the defense in a speech of some two hours ;
Judge Gooding replied in one of the strongest speeches I ever heard
him make. The Court charged clearly upon the law of self-defense.
The jury returned a verdict of '• not guilty," and Coyner was dis-
charged, to the satisfiiction of the entire community, and is now
amons; the most industrious of our citizens.
A TIGHT FIT.
In early times there lived in Indiana a man by the name of George
Boone, a descendant of the celebrated Daniel Boone, who should not
be overlooked in these sketches, although I have not space to pay the
same respect to many others whom I would be pleased to notice.
George Boone would have stood well in those days when there were
giants in the land. He was near seven feet high, with large bones
and muscles ; his hands were large, but his feet were beyond any
thing of the kind I have ever seen in length, breadth and depth. I
A FIGHT IN THE SENATE. 341
can best give some idea of them by relating an incident that George
used to relate with a gusto, after he became one of our State Senators.
" I was about eighteen years of age, when, for the first time, I took it
into my head to go a sparking. One of my neighbors, a few miles
oflF, had a large, pretty daughter that, I thought, would just suit me.
It was late in the fall, and the weather pretty cold; still it was too
early to put on shoes. The Sunday evening had come ; I dressed
in my best butter-nut colored suit, made some six months before, but
soon found that the pantaloons reached only just below my knees, and
my coat stretched over me as tight as an eel-skin dried on a hoojj-pole.
I started barefoot, wading the 'creeks and muddy bottoms till I
reached the house. They were about sitting down to supper, and
invited me. Sally sat by my side. We had mush and milk, and
plenty of it. The old lady handed me a large bowl. T thought
politeness required me to meet her, at least half way, and stretched
out my hand to take it ; but I had made no calculation of the size of
the table, the space between the milk pitcher and the bowl, nor of the
width of my hand. I struck the big milk pitcher on one side, and
out went the milk over the table. Sally jumped up, and went roaring
with laughter into the other room. The old lady merely remarked :
' It will all rub off when it gets dry,' and the old gentleman said :
' There had greater accidents happened at sea.' But it was all over
with me. I saw that all was lost. Not a word more was spoken. I
saw nothing more of Sally. The clock struck ten. ' Mr. Boone,
wont you wash your feet and go to bed?' said the old lady. 'Yes
ma'am.' ' Here is an iron pot — all I have suitable.' I took the pot
and found it so small that I could only get my feet into it by sliding
them in sideways ; but I got them in, and soon found them swelling
tighter and tighter, until the pain was so great that the sweat rolled
off my chin. The clock struck eleven. ' Mr. Boone, are you not
done washing your feet? ' said the old lady. 'What did this pot cost?
I must break the infernal thing.' ' A dollar.' ' Bring me the ax.'
' Here it is.' I took the ax, broke the pot to pieces, handed the old
lady the dollar, opened the door, and never saw her afterward. I met
Sally at a husking several years afterward, and as we met she roared
out laughing."
A FIGHT IN THE SENATE.
But the end of George was not yet. He grew up to be a man and
a colonel, and, like Saul of old, was chosen to lead the people. He
became a State Senator and an able debater. His figure was so tall
and commanding, his voice so strong, loud and clear, his manner bo
342 EAKLY INDIANA TRIALS.
plain and unassuming, his coolness and known courage such, that he
was both respected and dreaded as an opponent. While he was in
the Senate a warmly contested question came up for debate, Ratcliff
Boone, Lieutenant Governor, in the chair. The Colonel was the
leader of one side of the question, and a Senator, about four feet ten,
limbs in proportion, with a voice like a " katydid," lead the other
side. The chamber was crowded. The Colonel rose with his eye
upon the Chair, and was speaking at the top of his voice. " That's
a lie," squeaked out the little opposition Senator. " As I was saying,
Mr. President — " " That's a lie." "As I was saying — " "That's a
lie," in the same squeaking voice." " As I was saying — " The little
Senator could stand it no longer ; sprang over the railing, ran round
to where the Colonel was standing, and struck him with all his might
on the back. " As I was saying Mr. President — ; " the blows repeated
several times, while the Colonel, without taking the least notice of it,
continued to address the Senate until lie closed his speech ; then turn-
ing his eye upon his opponent, " What are you doing?" "What am
I doing ; I'm fighting." " Who are you fighting?" "I'm fighting
you." "Me! I had no knowledge of it whatever." The sergeant-at-
arms stepped up and carried the little Senator away in a state of
exhaustion. A glass of wine and the friendlj' hand of the Colonel
soon put all things to rights, and the debate proceeded.
A SLAVE CASE-"DRED SCOTT" DECISION ANTICIPATED.
In the summer of the year 1822, a gentleman from Georgia called
on me, late one night, to get my aid in securing a fugitive from labor
by the name of William Trail. He was a light mulatto, had left his
master with leave to go where he pleased, paying the one-half he
could earn annually for the privilege of working from home and trav-
eling. He had always paid up, but had come to a free State, and his
master now wished to reclaim him. Trail was considered in the
neighborhood a quiet, inoffensive, industrious man. He was arrested,
and a writ of habeas corpus sued out, returnable next day. The
excitement was very great through the night, and in the morning I
learned that my client had taken the alarm and left, forgetting to pay
my fee. Trail was discharged, and afterward married a colored
woman and settled east of Connersville, joined the Baptist church,
bought and paid for a small piece of land, and was raising and edu-
cating his children — when about midnight the large barn of James
Smith, the preacher at the church to which Trail belonged, was seen
in full blaze, and soon burned down. Smith openly charged Trail
A SLAVE CASE, ETC. 343
with the arson, but there was no evidence whatever of his guilt, and
very few believed the charge.
Trail employed me to bring suit against Smith for slander. The
suit was brought, and came on to be tried before the Fayette Circuit
Court, Judge Eggleston presiding. Gen. Noble and Daniel J. Caswell
appeared for the defendant. The trial lasted three days, and was one
of unusual excitement. I was threatened, and indeed, I lost a good
many votes for the Legislature, for which I was then a candidate, on
account of my employment. The able counsel for defendant, without
denying the speaking of the words, or attempting a justification, took
the ground that my client could not sustain the action ; that he was a
slave, and that by the laws of Georgia no slave can sue ; that he could
not be a citizen of Indiana and at the same time a slave of Georgia ;
that he brought with him to Indiana the laws of Georgia, by which
he was a slave; that the color of his skin would he j)rima facie proof
of his being a slave, if he were in Georgia, and as he brought the
constitution and laws of Georgia with him, the same consequences
followed here. In brief, the arguments at that early day of these able
men, in the defense, assumed all the grounds of the recent decision
of the majority of the Supreme Court of the United States in the
Dred Scott case, except that of the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts,
I replied for the plaintiff, that slavery was a local institution, confined
to the States whose constitutions and laws upheld it ; that this was not
a contract where the lex loci contractus would govern, and where the
laws became a part of the contract ; that the laws of Georgia could
not operate beyond the limits and jurisdiction of the State ; that the
state and condition of Trail, as a slave, ceased whenever he passed
the line of the slave States, except for the single purpose of reclama-
tion under the Constitution of the United States ; that the general
pass, without restriction as to time or place, was obligatory on the
master; and the day that Trail set his foot on the free territory of
Indiana, he was a free man ; that no State in the Union, and especially
no State admitted before 1816 — the date of the admission of Indiana
— could interfere with or deny the provisions of our State Con-
stitution, " that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi-
tude within this State, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted ; " that our consti-
tution containing that provision, was ratified by the people and sub-
mitted to the other States in Congress assembled, upon an application
on our part to join the Union, was unanimously accepted, and we
became one of the United States upon the same footing as the original
States ; the compact became complete, and from thenceforth, neither
344 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
the United States, nor any one State, nor any human power, except
the people of the State by convention or resolution, could say that
slavery or involuntary servitude could legally exist a single day in the
State of Indiana, had the Constitution of the ' United States been
silent ; and under that instrument only where the slave had escaped,
without the assent of his master, into our State, can the relation exist
for a moment, and then for the purpose of reclamation and no other ;
that neither the United States in their united or several departments,
executive, representative, or judicial have any control over the ques-
tion, any more than they have to say that slavery shall not exist in
States admitted into the Union, with constitutions authorizing it.
I retained no copy of the able opinion of Judge Eggleston, in
which he covered the whole ground, and I was gratified to hear him
sustain each of my positions, and especially as he was a Virginian,
and an able expounder of the Constitution and laws of the country.
The jury found a verdict for twenty-five dollars for the plaintiflF.
Judgment according.
INAUGURATION OF VAN BUREN. 34'
INAUGURATION OF VAN BUREN.
About the middle of February, 1837, I left Connersville for TVasli-
ingtoii City, to attend tlie Executive Session of tlie incomiug Admin-
istration, upon the summons of President Jackson. The Ohio river
was frozen over at Cincinnati, and the traveled route was by land
through Ohio. At Wheeling, we found the ice broken up between
Zane's Island and the city of Wheeling, and were detained two days
before we could cross. The eve of the second of March, we arrived
at Washington City, found the hotels and private boarding-houses all
full, and were compelled to go to Georgetown, where we obtained
accommodations. The City of Washington was crowded fi'om all parts
of the United States. Martin Van Buren was to be inaugurated on
the fourth, as the successor of Gen. Jackson. The fourth of March,
twelve o'clock, came. The Senate met. Richard M. Johnson, Vice
President, took the Chair. The new Senators were qualified, and the
body stood organized, every Senator in his seat, when the side doors
of the Senate chamber were thrown open by the sergeant-at-arms, and
I saw approaching down the wide aisle of the Senate chamber, the
stately form of Gen. Jackson, and the smaller figure of Jlartin Van
Buren, the outgoing and incoming Presidents arm-in-arm. Gen. Jack-
son looked much older than when I saw him inaugurated, eight years
before, on the eastern portico of the Capitol before thousands. His
hight was full six feet, his person spare, rather stooping, his eyes
sunken, covered by glasses, his hair as white as snow, thrown back in
front, as he always wore it ; his cheeks furrowed, his brow marked with
care, his step faltering with age. As he took his seat, he placed his
hands on his knees to steady himself down where he sat, until the
procession retired from the chamber. Mr. Van Buren presented a
great contrast to the old hero. He was a small man, some five feet
six inches in hight, light complexion, sandy hair and whiskers, mixed
with white, eyes gray, head bald to the ears. He stepped with all the
elasticity of youth to the chair, and seated himself by the side of Gen.
Jackson with the ease and grace of a miss of sixteen.
The representatives of foreign nations followed in the procession,
and as they entered the main door in single file, and passed down the
main aisle, they defiled to the right of the seat of the president of the
Senate, and took the seats prepared for them in a row in the order
of the admitted grade of the nation they represented ; Mr. Fox, the
British Minister, at the head, then followed the French, Spanish, Rus-
sian, Prussian, Austrian and down to the representatives of the little
powers accredited by our Government. The fact struck me forcibly
346 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
as these distlnguislied foreigners sat before me, that the grade of the
government they represented, might be easily distinguished by the
dress of their Minister. The highest, the British Minister, was dressed
in plain black cloth, with nothing to distinguish him from any other
gentleman. The French Minister wore a blue frock coat, with only a
golden star on the collar. As the grade fell the splendor of the dress
increased, until the smaller powers were reached, — their representatives
were covered with gold lace from head to foot, splendid side-arms and
the most gaudy apparel ; their attaches by their sides in similar court
dresses. It reminded mo of the character of the men who govern the
world. It is not those of the most outside show, but the men of com-
mon sense and plain dress, who look upon the external covering of
the man as the least part of him, and not as the Indian, who values
his horse by the splendid saddle and trappings with which he is cov-
ered. I may be pointed to William Pinckney as an exception to this
remark ; if so, upon the general rule I suggest the names of Dr. Frank-
lin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Jladi-
son, James Monroe, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson and a host of
other American statesmen.
After being seated for a few minutes. Gen. Jackson and Mr. Van
Buren rose and proceeded to the east portico of the Capitol, followed
by the foreign Ministers, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Vice
President of the United States, the Senators and Representatives, and
were seated. Mr. Van Buren then arose, stepped between the two
large columns, and proceeded at once in a low tone of voice to read
his inaugural address. He closed, when Chief Justice Marshall
administered the oath to support the Constitution of the United States,
and the oath of office, before the immense crowd that filled the steps
and grounds east. The President and Gen. Jackson left for the Exec-
utive mansion in an open barouche ; the Senators returned to their
chamber, the judges to their room, and the crowd dispersed. Such a
body of men as composed the Senate at that time, I have no hesitation
in saying, were never associated together before. Such was my opin-
ion of them when I took my seat in the body, and a close and intimate
acquaintance with them afterward, only tended to increase my admira-
tion. The strong men of the nation were there. I name, Henry
Hubbard, Franklin Pierce, Daniel Webster, John Davis, Samuel Pren-
tiss, Benjamin Swift, Neheraiah Knight, Asher Eobbins, John M.
Niles, Perry Smith, Silas Wright, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Garret D.
Wall, Samuel L. Southard, Richard H. Bayard, Thomas Clayton,
James Buchanan, Samuel McKean, Joseph Kent, John S. Spence,
William C. Rives, William H. Roan, Robert Strange, Bedford Brown,
INAUGURATION OF VAN BUREN. 347
Jolin C. Calhoun, William C. Preston, John P. King, Albeit Cnthert,
William R. King, Clement C. Clay, Robert J. Walker, John Black,
Alexander Mouton, Robert C. Nicholas, Hugh Lawsou White, Felix
Grundy, Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden, William S. Fulton, Ambrose
H. Sevier, Lucius Lyon, John Norval, Thomas H. Benton, Lewis F.
Linn, William Allen, Thomas Morris, Richard M. Young, John M.
Robinson, John Tipton, Ruel Williams, Benjamin Ruggles.
Of these great men two were Presidents of the United States, two
Vice Presidents, fourteen Governors of States, niue Cabinet oiScers,
five first-class foreign Ministers. Twenty years have passed away, and
how have the mighty fallen ! Of the fifty-two Senators that formed
the body, thirty-five are no more with us ; and of the other seventeen
there is not one, save John J. Crittenden, at this time a member of the
body.
Mr. Van Buren nominated for the new Cabinet, John Forsyth, of
Georgia, Secretary of State ; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire,
Secretary of the Treasury ; Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, Secre-
tary of War; Mahlon Diokerson, of New Jersey, Secretary of the
Navy ; Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, Post Blaster General. The Sen-
ate went into executive session, the first I had ever been in, with closed
doors. The nominations were taken up and all confirmed, with my
vote in the affirmative. The rule I adopted for my action, and by
which I was governed on executive nominations, was to take the nom-
ination as prima facie correct, and not to vote against it unless I was
satisfied the public interest required a rejection, which was not the
case in these Cabinet appointments. There was little business before
the Senate, and we adjourned in a few days, with the understanding,
however, that the President would call an extra session of Congress,
to replenish the Treasury, by a loan of money direct, or the issue of
Treasury notes. Our State was represented in the House that year,
by Ratcliff Boone, John Ewing, William Graham, George H. Dunn,
James Rariden, William Herrod and Albert S. White.
Col. Richard 51. Johnson, then Vice President of the United States,
was about the common size, heavy set, large head, with sandy hair
standing out in every direction. He was one of the most companion-
able, hospitable men in Kentucky, and one of the bravest of the brave.
Still it was said that he had not sufiicicnt moral courage to protect him
from suits for security debts or indorsements for others. As presiding
officer of the Senate, the Colonel was much respected. He was liberal
and courteous to a fault. Still he was firm when necessary. I became
much attached to the Colonel, and on one occasion we were returning
home together in the stage. The snow was deep on the mountains ;
348 EARLY INDIA?rA TRIALS.
it had commenced raining and freezing. About daylight the driver
stopped on the top of Laurel Hill, above Uniontown, and informed us
that he was afraid to drive down the hill, that it was all ice, that the
water had frozen, inclining to the precipice on the lower side of the
road. The passengers all got out but the Colonel and myself. We
concluded to risk it, the Colonel turning to me, " If we go over be
careful not to foil on me." '■ You are on the upper side, I am in the
most danger." " The stage may roll over." Putting his head out of
the window, " Driver, keep the horses out of the way of the stage."
Away we went at full speed, the stage at times sliding to the edge of
the precipice below, and seeming to hang on the tree-tops. We reached
the bottom in safety, and were at breakfast at Uniontown, when the
foot-passengers came down.
JUDGE BIGGER AND GENERAL HOWARD. 349
JUDGE BIGGER AND GENERAL HOWARD.
The summer of 1840 had come. General Harrison and Mr. Van
Burea had been nominated for President by their respective parties;
the notes of preparation for the great party struggle were heard over
the nation. Indiana was among the first of the States to put on the
political armor. In August, preceding the Presidential election, a
Governor was to be elected. Both parties believed that the Presiden-
tial election would be affected by the result of the State election, and
both resolved to put forth their whole strength. The conventions to
nominate the candidates were held at Indianapolis. The delegates
came up from all parts of the State, full of spirits, and full of confi-
dence. To the lasting credit of both parties, each resolved to select
their best man as their leader, as it ever should he. The Whig party
unanimously selected Judge Samuel Bigger, then on the circuit bench,
one of the purest and best men in the State. He had been for years
my law partner, and I well knew his great worth. He was most
acceptable to the people, and would of course receive the entire vote
of his party. He' was over six feet high, well proportioned, fine face,
blue eyes, prominent forehead, a very commanding appeai'anee, a fixir
stump-speaker, plain and candid in his statements, leaving a lasting
impression upon his audience, always closing with an eulogy on the
life and character of General Harrison.
The Democratic party, with equal unanimity, selected Gen. T. A.
Howard as their candidate. Gen. Howard was in Congress at the
time. I saw him a few minutes after he received the news of his
nomination, and have reason to know that it was cast upon him, and
not sought by him. I had known him long and intimately. Though
not a member when I was elected to the Senate, he was my warm
friend, and I was his. We so continued till he died our Charge d '
Affaires in Texas, and I had the melancholy duty assigned me by the
courts and bar at Indianapolis of preparing for the records of the
courts, and the use of his family, a brief address upon his life and
character, on the return of his remains from Texas. Gen. Howard,
like Judge Bigger, was large and commanding in appearance. His
hair and eyes black, his forehead remarkably high, his features large
and prominent, his complexion dark, his manners good, his mind of
the first order, his private life pure and unsullied. As a public
speaker he stood high ; in a word, I thought him then the first man
of his party in the State. He was so considered at Washington. His
friends there reluctantly saw him leave the House to enter upon the
Gubernatorial contest. Still, they seemed sanguine of his success.
350 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Gen. Butler, of Kentucky, proposed to guess a thousand dollars with
me on the result, and Mr. Van Buren told me at his table that Judge
Wick and Gen. Carr had informed him that there was no doubt of the
election of Gen. Howard, — looking in my face, " What do you say?"
"1 say, if Gen. Howard carries Indiana over Judge Bigger, you will
beat Gen. Harrison in the State." The conversation dropped.
The candidates were a noble pair of men, more alike in age, size,
appearance, talents, learning, high moral and religious worth — the
one a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church, and the other
of the New — than any two competitore that ever contested an elec-
tion in the State. It was an open, honorable contest, and both of the
candidates came out of it with fresh laurels on their brows. The
popularity of General Harrison was irresistible, and Judge Bigger
was elected by a heavy majority, which was largely increased in fiivor
of Gen. Harrison over Mr. Van Buren in the fall. This was the
greatest and most exciting political contest I ever witnessed in the
State. At that time I was chairman of the Whig Central Committee
— made the appointments for the meetings over the State, appointed
the speakers, attended many of the meetings, and spoke continually
by day and by night. Our best speakers were filled with enthusiasm
and untiring zeal. We had on our side such men as Joseph G. Mar-
shall, George G. Dunn, Albert S. White, William Herod, William
Grahm, Caleb B. Smith. Richard W. Thompson, Henry S. Lane,
Othniel L. Clark, John Beard, Newton Claypool, Samuel C. Sample,
Jonathan A. Li-ston, John D. DeFreos, Douglass Maguire, Edward
MoGaughey, Thos. J. Evans, Hugh O'Neil, Martin M. Ray, Schuyler
Colfax. Thomas D. Walpole, William Mc K. Dunn, Daniel D. Pratt,
Henry Walker, John Vawter, Milton Stapp, John Dumont, Stephen
C. Stevens, Jeremiah Sullivan, Joseph C. Egglcston, Wm. S. CoflSn,
William T. Otto, William G. Ewing, David Kilgore, David P. Hollo-
way,. Samuel W. Parker, Henry P. Thornton, James Collins, James
Rariden, James H. Cravens, Joseph L. White, Jonathan McCarty,
John Ewing, George II. Dunn, John Pitcher, Samuel Judah, James
Perry, John Yaryan, Lewis Burk, P. A. Hackleman, Abner T. Ellis,
Randall Crawford, Thomas 11. Blake, Elisha M. Huntington, Thomas
Dowling, Judge DoBruler, Charles Dewey, John W. Payne, Conrod
Baker, and others of the same character. Our opponents could name
an equally strong set of .speakers — Edward A. Ilannegan, James
Whiteomb, Merinius Willett, Pindley Bigger, James Lockhart, Amos
Lane, Thomas Smith, Gen. John Tipton, Thomas L. Smith, Robert
Dale Owen, John Law, Joseph A. Wright, John G. Davis, Paris C.
Dunning, Willis A. Gorman, Delana R. Eckles, Alvin P. Hovey, An-
GOVERNOK WHITCOMB. 351
drew Kennedy, Marks Crume, Williain Watt, Jeremiali Smitli, Henry
Secrest, John Spencer, Elislia Long, William Rockliill, Nathaniel
West, Nathan B. Palmer, Gen. Drake, John Carr, William W. Wick,
William J. Brown, Henry Brady, James Brown Ray, Joseph Holman, -4- +"
Samuel E. Perkins, Ross Smiley, Wilson Thompson, and others. The
campaign closed with a grand torch-light procession at Indianapolis :
the first of the kind I had ever seen in the State. The parties vied
with each other in the brilliancy of their transparencies, the bands
playing beautifully, the whole heavens lighted up with rockets and
the streets filled with bonfires. Gov. Whitcomb occupied the stand
on the north side of Washington street, and I addi'essed the crowd on
the south side; biit the sounds of music, singing, explosions of
rockets, and huzzas of the multitude rose above our voices. We loft
our stands and became silent spectators of the 'scene till near mid-
night. Tims ended the memorable contest of 1840, by the election
of Judge Bigger, Governor, and Gen. Harrison, President, both by
overwhelming majorities.
GOVERNOR WHITCOMB.
Gov. Bigger served but one term, and was succeeded by James
Whitcomb, by a close vote. I had known Gov. Whitcomb for years.
We had practiced together on the circuit in many important and hard
contested cases, sometimes as associates, and at others on different
sides. We were friends while he lived. Gov. AVhitcomb was about
medium size, dark complexion, black hair and eyes, good features,
wide mouth, e3'es prominent, his hair nicely combed slick on his head,
and well perfumed. He was a fine scholar, had a mind of a high
order, well matured and disciplined. He was cool, se!f-pos.sessed in
debate, and on the stump ; rather hard to find out, except by his par-
ticular friends. He was a strong, shrewd party leader. As was said
of Martin Van Buren, '-he preferred going fifty miles to see a man
on political matters, to writing him a letter on the subject." Gov.
Whitcomb made a fair Executive, and was " rotated " by his party
from the Governor of the State to the Senate of the United States,
where he remained but a few years, until he fell a victim to a chronic
disease, and died in the meridian of life. He was succeeded in the
Executive chair by Joseph A. Wright, over John A. Matson. Here,
again, were worthy competitors in the field.
352 EARLY INDIAIS^A TRIALS.
GOVERNOR WRIGHT AND JOHN A. MATSON.
I HAD long intimately known both the candidates. Mr. Matson
was a law student of mine. I had with great pleasure seen him rise
in his profession, and the esteem of the people, until he was chosen
the standard-bearer of his party. The candidates both belonged to
the Methodist connection; they were both good stump-speakers,
ardent, and untiring, canvassing every part of the State. Governor
Wright succeeded by a decided vote, and served the first term to the
general satisfaction of the people.
GOVERNOR WRIGHT AND NICHOLAS M'CARTY.
Gov. Wright was nominated for re-election by his party, and was
opposed by Nicholas M'Carty, the nominee of the Whig party. Here,
again, the parties had put forth their best men. I had long been
acquainted with Nicholas M'Carty. He was among the best men in
the State, and strictly honest. His talents were not of the brilliant,
but of the useful kind. He was eminently practical, plain in his
manners, social, frank and open in his intercourse. He was below
the common bight, heavy set, with nothing very prepossessing in his
general appearance. As a speaker he was plain, deliberate, and dis-
tinct, made no pretense of eloquence, but always spoke sensibly.
Mr. McCarty has years since been gathered to his fathers, and lies in
the family tomb in the Indianapolis cemetery. Governor Wright
served his second term as Governor of the State, to the public
approval, and soon after his office expired, was appointed by Mr.
Buchanan our Minister to Prussia, and is, at this writing, upon his
ocean voyage, crossing the Atlantic. In person Governor Wright is
tall and commanding, with a large head, remarkably high forehead,
hair light-colored and thin on his head, large blue eyes, wide mouth,
long nose, good features ; his mind is clear, vigorous and impulsive.
As a stump-speaker, he has had few, if any superiors in the State.
His voice is strong and dear, when not too much used; but like the
most of our public speakers, he forgets his voice, and even himself,
in his subject and his audience. Governor Wright is one of the most
untiring, persevering eleetioneerers the State ever had in it. I heard
him the last night before the election of Governor Willard, on the
steps of the Wright House. He was completely worn down, his
voice gone, and his strength exhausted. He will now have leisure to
recruit his strength, rest his voice, and improve his mind in foreign
lands, as the representative of his Government.
^
SENATOEIAL ELECTION IN 1842. 353
SENATORIAL ELECTION IN 1842
I HAD served the State as United States Senator. My term was
about to expire. The next winter the election of my successor was to
take place. The members of the Legislature were elected with direct
reference to the Senatorial contest. The two great parties of the State
iiad been very active. Each had its candidate for Senator indirectly
oefore the people. The ^Vhig party, to which I belonged, were united
on my re-election. The Democratic party were equally united upon
Gen. T. A. Howard, as its candidate. In fact no other candidate was
thought of by either party. As was the custom, in some counties the
people ran candidates pledged to support the choice of their constitu-
ents for Senator, although differing in political sentiments. This was
the case in the county of Wayne, one of the old Whig counties of the
State, giving at 'that time some two thousand majority for the Whig
Legislative candidates. A Senator was to be elected from that county.
David Hoover, an old and highly respectable citizen — a known Demo-
crat — became a candidate, and, to secure his election, pledged himself
to the Whigs of the county to support me in good faith for United
States Senator ; and such was the confidence of the Whig party in
his scilemn pledges, that they elected him by a large majority. The
county of Switzerland, another Whig county, elected Daniel Kelso, a
upposed substantial Whig, as he openly avowed himself to be.
The returns were all in and the figures footed up — Whigs, counting
Hoover's pledged vote, and Kelso, 7G ; Democrats, 74 ; insuring my
election on the first ballot. It was, however, so close, and my sense
of propriety not permitting me to leave my seat, and be present at the
election, that I had doubts as to the result, as I wrote to Mr. Clay.
It was the custom at that time for the candidates to ride around
and see the members of the Legislature at their homes. I availed
myself of the privilege, and visited Mr. Hoover, at his residence north
of Richmond. He received me kindly. I took dinner with him.
He assured me, again and again, in the most positive and unequivocal
terms, that he would not only vote for me all the time, but would, in
good faith, carry out the will of his constituents, and his pledges
before he was elected, by doing all in his power to secure my election.
I left him with entire confidence, but at Richmond met with the other
Senator, Lewis Burk, and was told by him that Hoover was not to be
relied upon. I kept this to myself; I felt like Mr. Clay did, when
he first became suspicious that Tyler would deceive the Whig party :
" I can not believe that any man can be so deceptive."
A few days before I left for Washington, to attend to my Senatorial
23
354 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
duties, I met Gen. Howard at Indianapolis, when the election of
Senator came up in conversation. The General, like myself, was far
from sanguine of the result. He said he knew well that one of us
ought to be elected, if the will of our parties was to be carried out ;
"But," said the General, with his eyes fixed upon mine, " the vote will
be so close, that a man or two may be found, who, like Judas, would
sell his party for a few pieces of silver. There is nothing certain."
After the election was over, and we had both been defeated by the
base treachery of Hoover and Kelso, the General reminded me of
what he had told me. I arrived at Washington, took my seat on the
first day of the session, and was never absent a day until Congress
adjourned. The election came on ; both parties sanguine as to the
result, as I learned from my friends, who apprised me every day of
the prospect of affairs. Both Kelso and Hoover had given the most
positive assurances of their fidelity to the party, and to myself as the
Whig candidate — and even to the very last their treachery was not
suspected. The joint convention met. The first vote showed the
state of affairs. Gen. Howard received 74 votes — precisely what he
should have received. I received 72 votes — four less than the party
vote, with Hoover's added. Edward A. Hannegan received three
votes, and Joseph G. Marshall received one vote. Kelso voted for
Hannegan, and Hoover voted for me, knowing that his vote would not
elect me, as Kelso did not vote for me, the next was his last vote for me.
Gen. Howard received 74 votes ; I received 75 votes. Hannegan
received Kelso's vote ; had Kelso voted for me I would have been
elected. Hoover voted for me, knowing that Kelso would not, and
that I could not be elected without the vote of Kelso. This was the
last time Hoover voted for me, and Kelso never voted for me at any
time. The third vote Gen. Howard received 73 votes ; I received 73
votes ; and Mr. Hannegan received the votes of Kelso and two demo-
crats. The fourth vote Gen. Howard received 73 votes ; I received 73
votes ; Mr. Hannegan received two votes ; and Hoover voted for Gov.
Hendricks. The fifth vote Gen. Howard received 73 votes ; I received
70 votes, and Mr. Hannegan received two votes. Hoover and Kelso
voting against me, and voting for Mr. Hannegan.
The Convention adjourned, and then it was that both Gen. Howard
and myself were sacrificed to a temporary party triumph, procured by
the treachery of David Hoover, of Wayne, and Daniel Kelso, of Swit-
zerland. The vote in the afternoon was taken : Gen. Howard received
one vote ; Edward A. Hannegan received 76 votes, and was elected,
both Kelso and Hoover voting for him ; I received 69 votes ; and there
were four scattering votes. Gen. Howard was sacrificed by his party,
SE:N^AT0RIAL election in 1842. 355
while my party stood by me, for which I shall ever thank them.
While (ion. Howard was sacrificed by his party, I was defeated by the
treachery of Hoover and Kelso. I do not know who cast the one
vote for Gen. Howard ; he ought to be known. I would rather be that
man than any other man who voted against me.
I was lying in my bed at Washington, late at night, when I received
the news from the post-office that I had been defeated by the treason
of Hoover and Kelso. The next day the Committee on the Public
Lands, of which I was chairman, met. I had a number of bills pre-
pared that met the approval of the committee. As I rose from my
seat in the Senate to report my bills, I noticed Mr. Benton. Mr. W^alker,
Mr. King, and Mr. Buchanan, on the opposite side of the chamber,
looking toward my seat. After I had made my report. Col. King
came over to my seat, and asked me if it was true, that I had been
defeated. I told him it was. " That was what we were talking about,
as you saw us looking at you ; we could not believe it. You are the
first man that I ever saw that went on with his business in the Senate,
immediately after the news of his defeat, just as if nothing had hap-
pened." " I feel that I am worth as much to myself as I am to my
State ; if the State desired the severance of the connection, it is not
for me to complain. My only regret is, that the result had not been
by the free choice of a majority of the people of the State. However,
I bespeak for my successor the kind offices of you all."
I know that Gen. Howard never got over the mortification of his
defeat by his own party. For myself, I have lived and prospered in
private life, and am now writing these sketches, at the age of sixty-
two, in fine health, without glasses. Kelso and Hoover have lived to
feel as comfortable in the presence of those who once respected them,
as Gen. Arnold did when introduced, in England, to the friends of
Maj. Andre.
356 EARLY INDIANA TEIALS.
THE RACE TRACK.
The treaty between the United States and Great Britain was in
progress. Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, and Lord Asbburton,
■were busily engaged in arranging its provisions. I was sitting in my
seat in tbe Senate Chamber, about twelve o'clock one day, when Gov.
Fulton asked me if I would not go out to tbe race-track with him and
Franklin Pierce, to see the great race between Boston, Cippus, and
Prince George. He said the Senators were all going. I accepted the
invitation, and we started down the Avenue for the race-ground —
Gov. Fulton Gen. Pierce and myself in one hack, Col. King, Mr. Man-
gum and Col. Sevier in another, and other Senators in other hacks.
About two miles north of the city we passed up a rising ground to a
hill that overlooks tbe far-stretcbing Potomac, the cities of Washing-
ton, Georgetown and Alexandria, with the surrounding country on
the south. Just at the foot of the bill in full view on the north lay
the Washington race-course, inclosed with a high board fence. On
one side was the judges stand, near which was tbe covered stand for
ladies, and others, giving a full view of the horses on every part of
the course. The course was a mile in length, and the heats of four
miles by their rules were run four times round, with a rest of thirty
minutes between each heat, and requiring one horse to win two heats
to take the stakes. Carriages entered the front gate and had the privi-
lege of the whole ground, inside the track. We drove in, and took
our stand on the high ground, near tbe center of the circle. There
were some fifty carriages, and as many on horseback, but very few on
foot. Throwing my eye on the back-ground, I saw two large, heavy-
set men walking quietly along, apparently in deep and close conversa-
tion. I kept my eye upon them ; as they approached our carriage
Mr. Webster, in his blue coat and bright metal buttons said, " Gentle-
men, let me make you acquainted with Lord Asbburton." We had a
few minutes pleasant conversation, when they passed on to the carriage
of Messrs. King, Mangum and Sevier. Our attention was immedi-
^A ''''^'y called to the opening of the gate from the stables to the track,
('and the entry of the horses. The driver was directed to move forward,
to give us a better view of tbe animals that were to contend for the
prize. " Boston " I bad heard of, but tbe others were strangers to us,
if not to the Spirit of the Times. The horse •' Cippus," from the Nevy
Orleans course, was a long, slick black, a beautiful animal. He looked
to me as if he could fly, almost like a bird. We learned that his owner
and backers were confident in his speed and endurance. He passed
on led by his groom. Then came " Prince George," the pride of
THE KACE COURSE. 357
Maryland, a beautiful blaod bay, witli black legs, mane and tail, led
by bis groom. Col. King renjarked as he passed by, " There is a horse
that has the running points ; ho will win." I said nothing, for I knew
nothing about the ''running poi^nts,' and as the Colonel lived in a
racing couotry I supposed he knev^ all about it, of course. " Prince
George " passed on, and then came " Boston," the great racer. Boston
that was never beaten, until he was nine years old, and then by Fash-
ion a five year old of his own blood, over her own Union Course, he
carrying weight for age. Boston was a light chestnut sorrel, about fif-
teen hands high, bald face, white feet, long body and nefk, light mane,
ribs plainly visible, strong bone, deep chest, protruding eyes, large
open nostrils, elastic pasterns, strong hoofs, firm limbs, long switch
tail brushing the ground. He was ridden by the celebrated jockey,
Gill Patrick, who afterward rode him when he ran the great race against
Fashion, and who recently rode Prioress, on the Goodwood course, in
England. The horses had passed to the stand : the jockies and sad-
dles weighed ; riders up ; the drum tapped, and oif they went. Cippus
took the lead, closely pressed by Prince George, Boston far behind-
Around they went at a flj^ng pace ; they passed the stand, Cippus
ahead. Prince George lapping him, Boston thirty feet behind. Away
they went on the second mile, the pace increasing. They passed the
stand again, Cippus still ahead, Prince George pressing closely, Bos-
ton, under a hard pull, thirty feet behind. Around they go on the
third mile, maintaining their positions till they pass the stand and
enter upon the fourth mile. Prince George passed Cippus, a shout
rent the air from the Marylanders. Poor Cippus ! It was all over
with him. His rider reined him off the track. The contest for the
last mile was then even-handed between Boston and Prince George —
Virginia and Maryland. As they passed our carriage, Col. William
R. Johnson, the Napoleon of the turf, galloped up, his white locks
floating over his shoulders. " Gentlemen look at Boston, as he comes
down the last quarter. I told Gill to let him run. He is the best
four-mile horse on earth." They pass the last quarter-post head and
head — Prince George goaded to the top of his speed. Gill Patrick gave
Boston the rein ; he seemed to lie along the track, as he stretched him-
self, in imitation of an old red fox crossing the valley from mountain
to mountain, before the pack. His speed increased ; he seemed almost
to fly ; he passed the winning-stand some thirty feet ahead. Prince
George was withdrawn. Boston walked over the track alone for the
next heat. The race over, Mr. Webster and Lord Ashburton entered
their carriage, and we all drove back to the city, after my first and
last day on the race-track.
358 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
THE ASHBURTON TREATY.
Soon after in executive session, the treaty between the United States
and Great Britain, known as the Ashburton treaty, came up for rati-
fication. The pressing objects of the treaty were to establish the boun-
dary line between the United States and Great Britain, known as the
North-Eastern boundary, which had not been previously ascertained,
and also to provide for the reciprocal surrender of fugitives from jus-
tice escaping across the line. The treaty fixed the boundary upon the
parallel of 49 deg. to the end of the established line east of the Rocky
Mountains. The line was extended by a subsequent treaty on the
same parallel of latitude to the Pacific ocean. The questions arising
upon the treaty in the Senate were debated at great length, and with
signal ability by the distinguished Senators who took part in the dis-
cussion. Mr. Clay led off in favor of the ratification in an able speech.
Mr. Allen of Ohio, replied, directing his objection to the boundary not
being far enough north to include our claim to territory. Some South-
ern Senators thought that the treaty should contain a clause providing
for the surrender by Great Britain of fugitives from labor as well as
from justice. The debate continued for weeks in executive session,
with closed doors, with great power and unsurpassed eloquence. The
whole line of our foreign policy and extensive relations with the civil-
ized world, and especially with Great Britain, including the Impress-
ment question, the Caroline case, the Creole slave case, the BIc Loud
ease, the extended boundary question west of the Rocky Mountains,
were discussed at great length. Mr. Benton opposed the treaty on
many grounds, in able speeches, as will be seen by reference to his
" Thirty Years." The debate had seemingly closed, the final question
was put by the Chair, when Mr. Calhoun rose and addressed the Senate
in one of the most powerful speeches he ever delivered on that floor.
He maintained every clause of the treaty, passed a high eulogy upon
Lord Ashburton, and did Mr. Webster full justice. The vote was
taken, and the treaty ratified. With Mr. Benton, I thought there were
several matters that might have been included in the treaty, but as it
contained much that was essential to the peace and good understand-
ing of both nations, I did not hesitate in voting for it.
GEORGE H. PEOFFITT. 359
GEO. H. PROFFITT.
It seems to be desirable to some of my friends that my sketches
should visit Southern, Western and Northern Indiana. I very much
wish to gratify the desire, and may yet look over those fields for sub-
jects of sufficient importance to interest the general reader. I am
sure I can find many such. This sketch I direct to the South. ;
In the great camjiaign of 1S40, which resulted in the triumph of
General Harrison, there were few speakers of greater prominence than
George H. I'roffitt, of Petersburgh, Pike county. He was in person
below the medium size, short, slim, and spare, a good mouth, head
small, high forehead, cheeks bony, dark eyes, light brown hair. He
was quick and ready, his voice remarkably loud and clear, possessed a
fluent elocution, and a fertile imagination. The great power of Mr.
Proffitt was on -the stump before the people. I first became acquainted
with him at Washington City, while he was in the House of Repre-
sentatives. He very soon made his mark in the House, and rose to a
highly respectable position as a ready debater. As a popular speaker,
in addressing the masses, few stood higher in the East. One evening,
after dark, I was passing down the avenue from Capitol Hill, at Wash-
ington, when I noticed a large gathering up at the City Hall. I
walked up, and found it to be a political Harrison meeting. Many
transparencies were exhibited. General Walter Jones, the president,
was seated on the platform, surrounded by his vice presidents. Just
as I reached the skirts of the crowd. Gen. Jones rose, and at the top
of his voice, " Is the Honorable George H. Profiitt, of Indiana, in the
assembly? If so he will come forward and address the audience."
A voice in the crowd, " Mr. Proifitt is unable to speak to-night. He
exhausted himself at.Wilmingtou last night.'' Gen. Jones. — " We are
sorry to hear it — the people want to hear jMr. Proffitt. Is Caleb Gush-
ing, of Massachusetts, in the crowd?" A voice. — " Yes, Mr. Gushing
is here." " Let him come up to the stand." I was much gratified to
see our Proffitt stand higher with the multitude as a speaker, than
Mr. Cushing, the distinguished orator of Massachusetts. Mr. Gush-
ing took the stand and spoke over an hour. I heard few such speeches
during the campaign. He was rather taller than Mr. Proffitt, inclined
to baldness, wide mouth and dark hair. He was fluent, loud, rapid
and animated. The only fmlt I could find at the time with his
speech, was its extreme bitterness against the Democratic party. I
had been much on the stump in that contest, had heard many dis-
tinguished men, and my observation had satisfied me that soft words
360 EAELY INDIANA TEIALS.
and bard arguments was the true policy. The sun, and not the wind,
made the traveler part with his cloak.
Mr. Proffitt abandoned the Whig cause with his friends— Gushing,
Wise, Upshur, Gilmer, Spencer, Irwin, and a few others, in 1841.
His name was more fortunate than theirs, in not being rejected by
the Senate. The reason, however, was that Mr. Tyler wisely withheld
the nomination of Mr. Proffitt, until after the Senate adjourned, and
then sent him to Brazil as our Charge. The Senate at the next ses-
sion refused to confirm the nomination, and he returned soon after,
in very bad health, lingered for some time, and died at the city of
Louisville. The last time I was at Petersburgh I visited his tomb
alone. As I stood silently by his grave, he seemed to rise as in the
days of his pride before me, and then sink back to his mother earth.
How soon we pass from active life to slumbering death !
JAMES LOCKHART.
While writing this sketch, I heard of the death of my friend Judge
Lockhart, of Evansville, the former and present representative to
Congress from that District. I had known Judge Lockhart for many
years. In person he was much above the medium size, large and
portly, forehead prominent, hair and eyes dark. He was a man of
acknowledged talents, a forcible speaker, a sound lawyer and a good
judge ; made no pretense to what is called eloquence, but was rather
a matter-of-fact, straight-forward speaker, and much endeared to his
friends. I part with him as I do with all my early friends, with
feelings of deep regret. The Judge was a most valuable member of
the late Constitutional Convention of our State. He stood by the
ancient landmarks with great firmness. I give an extract from his
speecli on the grand-jury question in the Convention to show his
style. On the consideration of the resolution of Hon. John Pettit
to abolish the grand-jury system in the new Constitution, Mr. Lock-
hart said :
" There is perhaps no question that has been or will be submitted
to the consideration of this Convention, of more importance to the
people 9f this State, than the one now under consideration. The
question for decision is — shall the grand-jury, an institution which
has prevailed for so long a series of years in the country from which
we have derived so large a portion of our present laws and institu-
tions, and which has been so long and so successfully in operation in
this country — be abolished? This, sir, is an import;ant, a grave ques
GEOEGE G. DUNN — ^JOHN LAW. 361
tion, and one which demands the serious consideration of this delih-
erative body. The gentleman from Tippecanoe, the Hon. John Pettit,
has taken a bokl stand in presenting this proposition. He proposes
to change essentially the organic law of the State, and upon a point,
too, which has not attracted the attention of Constitutional Conven-
tions in other States of the Union. He desires to abolish the grand-
jury system, and to substitute in its stead public examinations before
justices of the peace."
Mr. Lockhart combated the proposition at length, and closed :
" During my brief career at the bar X have prosecuted for the
State, and can bear testimony to the high and honorable bearing of
the citizens who usually compose the grand-juries. Let them receive
the charge of the Court, examine the statute law of the State, hear
the evidence of the witnesses, and, my word for it, ninety out of a
hundred of their decisions will prove correct. Malicious prosecu-
tions, to be sure, may sometimes be preferred, but abolish the grand-
jury system and there will be ninety-nine malicious prosecutions pre-
ferred to one made by the grand-jury."
GEORGE G. DUNN.
And yet another ! The same paper that announced the death of
Judge Lockhart, brought the melancholy intelligence of the decease
of George G. Dunn, of Bedford. I knew Mr. Dunn long and well.
His was among the first intellects of the State. In person he was tall
and slim, light hair and eyes, good features, prominent forehead, pro-
jecting chin. He carried upon his physiognomy evidence of talents
and great perseverance. As a speaker at the bar, on the stump, in
the State Senate, and on the floor of the House of Representatives in
Congress, Mr. Dunn stood deservedly high. I thought him among
the strongest advocates before the jury I ever heard. His model was
his friend Joseph G. Marshall ; like him, he forgot himself in his
cause, disregarded his voice, taxed his bronchial organs too frequently
beyond their endurance, and brought on premature affection of the
lungs, which closed his valuable life at the very period when he was
in its prime.
JOHN LAW.
I CAN not overlook Judge Law, with whom I have been on the most
social terms of friendship for more than thirty years. Judge Law is
a noble specimen of our race — large, portly, fine-looking, urbane, kind,
362 EARLY INDIANA. TRIALS.
hospitable and generous. He is a native of Connecticut, settled
in Indiana in early times, has contributed largely to the mass of
mind, that has brought our State up to its present standard of pros-
perity and general intelligence. The mind of Judge Law is of a
high order. As a la-wyer he stands deservedly high. As a judge of
the Circuit Court he was kind, courteous and popular. He was of
.that class of judges who hear the case before they decide it, and when
he did decide, he was not found sticking in the bark of the case. He
looked to the merits and decided, as law and justice in his opinion
required, with the strictest impartiality. He felt and acted like a
judge who was blind to the parties, and just to their case. Judge
Law is in the bloom of life, and in fine health ; long may he live.
Such men can not stay with us too long, to cheer us on while our little
barks are buffetted by the winds of time.
JOHN EWING
How shall I sketch my early friend, John Ewing, of Knox? Mr.
Ewing was by birth an Irishman, small of stature, with a rich brogue
upon his tongue. To say that he was among the prominent men of
the State would be only doing him justice. Mr. Ewing was possessed
of talents of a high order. As a speaker he had few superiors. Hig
manner was ardent ; his tongue at times sarcastic and bitter. His
frankness was proverbial, indeed if he lacked any thing to give him
power and efficiency, it was a prudent discretion that would have saved
him from the assaults of enemies. But such was the character of 5Ir.
Ewing, that he would neither conceal his thoughts nor cover them
with palliatives to save his life. He was a devoted and true friend to
those he held as such, and a bitter enemy to those he considered his
enemies. He practiced upon the principle of reciprocity for good and
for evil : an " eye for an eye " was the rule of Mr. Ewing. He served
his district many years in the Senate of the State, and in Congress,
with decided ability. The last time that I saw Mr. Ewing, his head
was as white as the driven snow. He will never see the isle of his
birth again. His sun will soon set, leaving many rays behind.
FOX AND ASHBURTON. 363
FOX AND ASHBURTON.
For many years Mr. Fox represented Great Britain near our Gov-
ernment. He wa.s under the commou size, witli a good old English
face, very large eyes and remarkably heavy brows ; his manners were
bland and rather prepossessing, his dress very plain, his conversation
interesting. His talents were not of the highest order. He was quite
a favorite in 'Washington circles, but so far as I have any knowledge,
he was never instructed by his Government to make any important
treaties with us. Mr. Fox was a relative of the celebrated Charles
James Fox, of England, who was said to know every thing by weight
and measure, though like our Webster, he paid no attention whatever
to his pecuniary afi'airs, or rather like Cardinal Woolsey, he was " rich
in promises but poor in performances," so far as his monetary affairs
were concerned. On one occasion, he sent for his Ministerial as.soci-
ates on important business, with directions to enter his mansion by a
back window. Several of them arrived. Mr. Fox informed them of
his embarrassed circumstances, and asked their advice. One of them
frankly advised him to reduce his est»ablishment and dismiss at least a
part of his servants. " As we came to your house, we saw over twenty
at the front door with staves in their hands." Mr. Fos roared out in
a loud laugh. " They are all tip-staffs waiting to arrest me for debt
the moment I open the door." The complex relations between the
United States and Great Britain, had asisumed a character greatly em-
barrassing to both nations, when it was determined on the part of the
British Government to create a special mission to the United States,
to act directly with our Administration at Washington, with full pow-
ers to negotiate a treaty between the two nations. On the part of
Great Britain, Lord Ashburton, of the house of Baring & Brothers,
who had married an American lady, and entertained friendly feelings
toward the United States, was appointed, who with Blessrs. Mildmay,
Bruce and Stepping, formed the legation. Mr. Webster, Secretary of
State, received full powers from President Tyler to enter into negotia-
tions with Lord Ashburton upon his arrival.
Matthew St. Clair Clark, of Washington City, in the days of his
highest prosperity, had built a splendid mansion across the open square
in front of the north portico of the President's house, at a cost of some
875,000, and furnished it finely. Lord Ashburton requested Mr.
Webster to rent him furnished lodgings for the reception of himself
and suite, on their arrival at Washington. Mr. Webster rented Mr,
Clark's mansion, furniture and all, and agreed to pay SIOOO per month,
and keep it one year, with the refusal for another, and also to pay all
864 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
damages done to the property and furniture. Lord Asliburton took
possession of the house, held it ten months, paid $12,000 rent, and
$1,000 damages, for breaking some lights of glass, tearing and soiling
the paper of one of the rooms ; all this Mr. St. Clair Clark told me.
About the close of the mission, I was invited with other Senators,
by Lord Ashburton, to his dinner party, at the hour of six o'clock in
the evening, the common hour for dinners at private parties, from the
President down, at Washington City. Punctually at the hour. Sena-
tor Huntington of Connecticut, rang the bell at the door of the foreign
Minister. In a second the door opened and there stood before us one
of the finest dressed gentlemen I had seen for many a day ; fine black
coat, white vest, white neck-handkerchief neatly tied, black breeches,
tied at the knees, long white silk stockings, morocco shoes, tied with
black ribbons, white silk gloves, powdered whiskers, gold watch-chain
across his breast; bowing politely, "your names, gentlemen?" Judge
Huntington gave him our names, which he announced in a loud voice
to the gentleman who stood at the door of the audience-room in the
hall, dressed precisely like the first. We approached, he bowed politely,
opened the door and announced our names. As we entered. Lord
Ashburton took us by the hand with great cordiality, and introduced
us to the few guests present. So the form continued until all were
present, some thirty Senators, the President, his Cabinet, and the for-
eign Ministers.
I felt some curiosity of course, to see how the dinner of a British
lord, with such distinguished guests would pass ofi". I soon perceived
that Lord Ashburton had uncommon social powers. Every body wa3
made quite at home. His manners were so free and easy, his conver-
sational powers so fine, the notice he took of all his guests so pleasant,
his dress so plain, much more so than his servants, that I never saw a
party enjoy themselves better, Lord Ashburton was about five feet
ten in bight, heavy made, about the size of Mr. Webster, black hair,
dark eyes, hea\'y brows, large head, broad, high forehead, fine features,
open free countenance. He was evidently a man of a very high order
of talents, and I may say with entire confidence that no other foreign
Minister ever impressed himself more favorably upon the American
mind. Mr. Mildmay was slim, with a light complexion, blue eyes,
pleasant spoken and gentlemanly. Mr. Bruce was of the Home De-
partment, fleshy, black hair, eyes and whiskers. He was a very inter-
esting gentleman, and with his high conversational powers contributed
much to the entertainment. Mr. Stepping, the last of the legation,
was small, fair complexion, and light, laughing eyes. His countenance
looked like fun lit up. He could keep the table in a roar.
rOX AND ASHBURTOX. 365
Nine o'clock had come. One of the gentlemen servants passed
around with a cup of pui-e Mocha coifee to stay us for dinner. The
hum of conversation filled the long room for another hour. The clock
struck ten. The folding-doors were thrown open. Lord Ashburton
led to the table and took his seat at the center of the right side as we
entered. Mr. Bruce took his seat directly opposite, Mr. Mildmay-took
the head, and Mr. Stepping the lower end of the table. I had the
honor of a seat at the left hand of his Lordship, while Mr. Webster
was seated at his right. The servants, or rather waiters, dressed as I
have described, were stationed back of the chairs — the chief at the
head of the table. I heard not a word among them during the repast,
all went only by motions, silently, like clock-work. Turtle-soup, about
a spoonful, the first course. The whole service was silver. I saw no
gold plate, that evening. I was struck with the courtesy between the
waiters and Lord Ashburton. A waiter approached with a charlotte
n/sse, " Will your Lordship be helped?" "No, I thank you, sir."
We went through twelve changes at the table ; dinner lasted two hours ;
we rose and retired to the drawing-room. The clock struck twelve,
the waiter entered with strong Mocha cofl'ee. We drank a^arting cup,
took leave of the British Minister and the members of his legation,
impressed with the truth that great men are^lways found to be plain
gentlemen. I visited Lord Ashburton on another evening, at his invi-
tation, which I may notice before these sketches close.
366 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
DOUGLASS MAGUIRE.
Among the early and prominent settlers at Indianapolis, from Ken-
tucky, was the subject of this sketch. He was long my near neighbor
and friend. I called at his door this morning, and learned from his
son *hat the doctor had advised his friends not to visit his room ; that
he could survive but a few days. Thus pass away the enterprising
pioneers of the State. We have had but few more useful men than
Douglass Maguire. He has filled many important offices in the State,
to the entire satisfaction of the people. He was one of the most con-
scientious men I ever knew ; strictly honest in every sense of the word.
An ardent friend of Henry Clay, personal and political. In person
he presented a strong resemblance to that distinguished man — tall and
slim, wide mouth, high forehead, prominent features. His health was
for years very delicate, but his noble spirit seemed to animate and keep
up his weak body, until within the last few days. Mr. Maguire was
a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, from the county
of Marion. As a delegate he came fully up to the just expectations
of his frienUs. Mr. Maguire took a very active part in the business
of the Conveutioj ; was among the best speakers of the body — plain,
practical, direct to the c^estion, never wasting his time in circumlocu-
tion. He will leave a wide void in the society in which he moved at
the capital.
WILLIAM J. BROWN.
Few men of his age, in the West, have filled so many high posi-
tions as the subject of this sketch, and few were so well known to so
many. Mr. Brown was a man of untiring industry, and of great
energy of character. He held the high offices of member of the Legis-
lature, member of Congress, and Assistant Postmaster General. He
had always at command an inexhaustible fund of wit, humor, and
interesting anecdote. For many years he was one of the most formid-
able Democratic public speakers in the State. In person Mr. Brown
was under the medium hight, of rather delicate constitution, his head
and shoulders slightly stooping, high, capacious forehead, light brown
sandy hair, prominent features. Ere he had passed the meridian of
life he fell a victim to a fatal bronchial disease, contracted by exposure
while discharging the duties of mail-agent, for the Post-Office Depart-
ment — in which capacity he rendered great and valuable services in
detecting mail robbers, and having them punished. Mr. Brown was
HENRY P. COBURX — JOHN HENDRICKS. 367
the father of Austin H. Brown, of Indianapolis, and of Lieut. George
Brown, of the United States Navy. His hody lies in the Indianapolis
Cemetery.
HENRY P. COBURN,
One of the valuable men of early Indiana, was the subject of this
sketch. I became acquainted with jNIr. Coburn in the year 1822, at
Corydon, where he was Clerk of the Supreme Court. Our intimacy
grew into friendship in after years, when we had both become citizens
of Indianapolis. Mr. Coburn was, for many years, clerk of the court,
one of the most fiithful officers in the State. Of all the men I have
ever known, Mr. Coburn was one of the most conscientious ; punc-
tiliously honest in all things. He took a very active part in the cause
of education, in carrying into effect the graded system of schools of
Indianapolis, and was among the best exhibitors at the fairs, of fruits
from the orchards he had cultivated with his own hands. He was a
•worthy member of the Second Presbyterian Church for years. Mr.
Coburn stood among the most esteemed citizens of Indianapolis, died
lamented by all, and lies sleeping in the family vault, in the cemetery
at Indianapolis. He was the father of John Coburn, of Indianapolis,
and of Augustus Coburn, of Lake Superior.
JOHN HENDRICKS.
In early days the counties of Decatur and Shelby were in the woods.
The counties had just been organized ; the first term of the courts were
about to be held. William W. Wick was president judge. The Court
met at Greensburgh, in a log building on the north side of the public
square. The Court and bar stopped with Thomas Hendricks, a brother
of Gov. William Hendricks. There were few cases on the docket.
Court lasted only two days, when the judges and lawyers left for
Shelbyville, where the term was to commence on Thursday of the
same week. We started in fine spirits from Greensburgh, after break-
feast ; the day was cloudy, dark, and drizzling ; there was no road cut
out then between Greensburgh and Shelbyville ; there were neighbor-
hood paths, only, in the direction between them. Judge Wick rode
a spirited animal, and at once took the lead. Away we went, at a
rapid traveling gait ; all at once the judge stopped at a little log cabin,
at the forks of the paths, upon the gate-post of which hung a rough
368 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
board, with tlie word '' "Wliisky " marked upon it with chalk. The
judge hallooed at the top of his voice, the door opened, and out came
the woman of the cabin. The Judge. — " Have you got any whisky?"
'• Yes, plenty ; but we have no license to sell, and we will be prose-
cuted if we sell by the small. You can have a gallon." " A gallon !
I don't want a gallon ; a tincupful, with some sugar, will do." " You
can't have it.'' " Fetch it out. I am the president judge of the Cir-
cuit Court, and this is Mr. Smith. He can quash any indictment these
woods' prosecuting attorneys can find against you. Fetch it out, there
is no danger of prosecution." Thus assured the old woman returned,
brought out the whisky and sugar ; the Judge took the lion's part, and
on he went, but took the path that led to Brookville, instead of the
one to Shelbyville. We all followed, but soon becoming aware that
we were on the wrong road, we turned, came back to the whisky board,
struck the Shelbyville trace, and just at night rode up to the residence,
in the woods, of Col. John Hendricks, near Shelbyville. The Colonel
received us with a hearty welcome, turned our horses out in his pas-
ture-field, and we all walked over to town, about half a mile.
There were some three or four houses in Shelbyville ; only one
public house in the place, kept by a man of the name of Williams.
Next day court was held, some four or five cases for selling whisky
without license were tried, and the Court adjourned. Col. John
Hendricks was a younger brother of Gov. William Hendricks. He
was one of the finest looking men in the State — six feet high, as
straight as a. rifle barrel, well built up, head large and erect, high
forehead, hair dark and thrown back in front, good features, eyes
light blue, sparkling and intelligent; he was a noble specimen of the
Anglo-Saxon race. The Hendricks fiimily were early settlers of the
State, from one of the central valleys of Pennsylvania ; were all fine-
looking men, in character hospitable, noble, magnanimous, and gener-
ous — and none of them more so than the subject of this sketch. I
have known him long, and among all my acquaintances, I know of no
man possessing a higher sense of honor, or a greater degree of .high-
toned moral and religious integrity. I saw him on yesterday, still
erect, with hair as white as the drifted snow, his step firm, his coun-
tenance wearing the smile of former years. May he live long to enjoy
a green old age. He is the father of Thomas A. Hendricks, Com
missioner of the General Land Office.
WILLIAM HEROD — MICHAEL G. BRIGHT. 3G9
WILLIAM HEROD.
For years the subject of this sketch, William Herod, of Columbus,
stood among the prominent men of the State, a leading member of the
Senate, an active Member of Congress from the Indianapolis district.
I knew him well, both in the State Senate and in Congress. Mr.
Herod was a good, but not a brilliant speaker ; rather a plain matter-
of-fact, common -sense man. He stood well at the bar, and very fair
in Congress ; he made no attempts at eloquence, but confined himself
to the question he was discussing. Mr. Herod is still living ; he is
above the ordinary size, well made, large, round head, dark Lair and
eyes, good features. When last I saw him he looked as if he had
many years before him. May he live to enjoy them.
MICHAEL G. BRIGHT.
The subject of this sketch, has long been numbered among the promi-
nent men of Indiana. Self made, with only an ordinary common Eng-
lish education, obtained far from seminaries and colleges, he has risen,
by his own native energy of character, to a high position at the bar,
and in the political circles in which he moves. He is a warm Demo-
crat. The great characteristic of Mr. Bright is energy. He never
stands still, he never tires, possessed of a strong, vigorous, common-
sense intellect, great physical force, and incessant application, he is
always formidable. As a speaker he is plain, direct, clear, emphatic,
forcible, interesting and effective. In person Michael G. Bright is
above the common size, strongly built up, large head, broad forehead,
full face, dark hair and eyes. Mr. Bright was an active, valuable mem-
ber of our last Constitutional Convention, and contributed largely to
the formation of our present constitution. I have selected from the
Debates an extract from one of his speeches, to let the reader see his
style ; he is now in the bloom of life, in fine health.
"Every member of the community holds his property, whether real
or personal, subject to the rights and requirements of the State. It is a
duty which the State owes to herself and to all the members who com-
pose it, to maintain its sovereignty and its authority inviolate. It is
a right inherent in sovereignty to take private property for public use
without compensation being first made. The State is amenable to no one
save to a sense of right. Although this right of the State to condemn
private property for public uses is undoubted, yet we provide that com-
pensation shall be made, but not when, to be made. And this is a point
24
370 EARLY IXDIANA TRIALS.
to wliich I invite tlie attention of gentlemen. The old constitution does
not provide a time when this compensation is to be made by the State,
and now shall we so frame this organic law that a jury shall be impan-
neled, and damages assessed and compensation tendered, before the
property can be taken, and must the public interest suffer? Why the
case put by the gentleman from Tippecanoe is a strong one. Suppose
the State involved in war, an invading army is marching upon our
frontiers ; the public service is in pressing need of horses or cattle, or
perhaps of stone and timber for the construction of fortifications ; must
the vState wait until a jury has assembled and assessed the damages
to the owner for the taking of this property ; surely we have no pre-
cedents of individual hardships suffered through the neglect of the
State to make ample remuneration for private property condemned for
public uses, that we should go to the other extreme and engraft a pro-
vision like this upon the new constitution. I undertake to say, that
in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, where private property is taken,
the owner receives more than a fair and just compensation. But be
this as it may, no instance can be found, where compensation has not
been made according to law. The State was never so poor, involved
as she has been, in embarrassment and debt, that she could not pay
every dollar of compensation awarded as damages for the conversion
of private property to public uses. It is of comparatively small mo-
ment to the citizen, whether this compensation is made now, or at
another time, before or after the property is taken ; but, it is of great
consequence to the State, that the progress of her public works should
not be retarded a day."
ROBERT DALE OWEN.
The name of Robert Dale Owen is associated with much of the his-
tory of modern Indiana. He is a son of Robert Owen of Scotland, the
founder of the Social Community at New Harmony, Indiana. Robert
Owen left behind him two sons, when he returned to his native coun-
try. Robert Dale the subject of this sketch, and David Dale, the dis-
tinguished Geologist of the West. Robert Dale Owen is small in
stature, large high forehead, light hair and eyes, prominent features of
the Scottish cast. His mind strong, comprehensive and vigorous,
highly improved by education and reading. He had been for years a
prominent member of the Legislature of our State, and an active mem-
ber of Congress from his district, when he was returned a delegate to
the Convention of 1850 to form our State Constitution. It was there
that his powers were fully developed to the people of Indiana. The
"rights of married womex." 371
published volumes of debates of the Convention are filled with his views
upon the important questions that arose in the construction of the
organic law of the State. Mr. Owen however threw his main strength
upon the question of the rights of married women. I have therefore
selected from his speeches in convention, an extract from the one on
that subject. He is now the representative of the Government at the
Court of the two Sicilies, in the meridian of life.
" RIGHTS OP MARRIED WOMEN."
" I CONFESS to my anxiety regarding the fate of the sections that
have just been read. No subject of greater importance than that to
which they refer has come up since we met here. No subject of greater
importance will engage our attention till we close our labors and go
hence. As in estimation, next to the right of enjoying life and liberty
our Constitution enumerates the right of acquiring, possessing, pro-
tecting property. And these sections refer to the latter right hereto-
fore declared to be natural, inherent, inalienable, yet virtually withheld
from one half the citizens of our State.
" Women are not represented in our legislative halls — they have no
voice in selecting those who make laws and constitutions for them.
There may be good reasons for that. I enter not on the inquiry.
One reason often given for excluding women from the right of suf-
frage, is an expression of confident belief that their husbands and
fathers will surely guard their interests, and see fair justice meted out
to these, the special objects of their care.
" I should like to have a little more confidence in this opinion than
experience has given me. I should like, for the honor of my sex, to
believe that the legal rights of woman are, at all times, as zealously
guarded as they would be if women had votes to give to those who
watch over their interests, and to withhold from those who pass by
and neglect them. I impute to no gentleman the deliberate intention
to render less than justice to the other sex, merely because they have
not the right of suifrage. I but say that self-interest is a marvelous
sharpener of the wits, and causes us to think of, and enables us
to discover many things, which, without its quickening influence,
might escape our observation. But let us turn to the question more
immediately before us. Let us pass from the case of the widow and
look to that of the wife ; and let us inquire whether the interests of
the one are better cared for by law than those of the other. The old
doctrine of the common law, that the legal existence of the woman
is suspended during the marriage — the same doctrine that has existed
for centuries in England — still substantially regulates, in a majority
372 EARLY INDIATfA TRIALS.
of the States, the relation of husband and wife, as to property in a
general way. The legal effect of marriage is :
'^ First. The husband becomes entitled, from the instant of the mar-
riage, to all the goods and chattels of the wife. His right is absolute,
unconditional. He may sell every part of the wife's personal prop-
erty', whether owned by her before marriage, or coming to her after
marriage, except only her necessary apparel. A married woman can
not, therefore, legally sell the smallest article of personal property ;
she can not legally give away the most trifling trinket, no matter
whether it was inherited, or the produce even of her own labor. A
farmer's wife can not, in her own right, sell the poultry she has raised,
or the butter she has made, even if a husband neglect to provide for
his children, and the wife, by her labor, support them, the produce of
her labor is his. Say that he has squandered what money he had in
dissipation ; and that, in the meantime, his wife, faithful to her home
duties, has contrived, by constant labor as a seamstress, perhaps, or a
washerwoman, to supply his place. Suppose that she has laid by in
her trunk, — the same trunk, perhaps, in which her mother had packed,
with careful hands, on her daughter's marriage day, the little property
she had to give her, — suppose that the wife had laid by in that trunk
a few dollars, hardly and bitterly earned, saved with difficulty as a
scanty fund, to furnish clothing for her children against the inclem-
ency of the winter. And suppose (alas! how often is the case a real
one), suppose that the drunken husband comes home in the evening,
breaks open the trunk and carries off the money; is that larceny?
Has he stolen ? By no means. He broke open his own trunk ; he
took — so the law declares — his own money. * * * But in secur-
ing to married women rights of property, we must bear in mind that
those rights bring with them duties. The laws of New York, Wis-
consin, and other States, seem to have been framed in forgetfulness of
this ; but the civil law admits and provides for it — requiring that the
wife shall bear a portion of the marriage expenses. This proportion
varies according to the necessity of the case and the means of the
wife. To meet this the constitutional provision should declare that
the property of married women shall be declared to them, wider equit-
able conditions. It is for the law afterward to determine, in detail
what these conditions shall be."
JESSE D. BRIGHT. 373
JESSE D. BRIGHT.
The reader at. this day must be familiar with the subject of this
sketch. Jesse T>. Bright is emphatically a self-made man. In
despite of the obstacles he has had to encounter for the want of an
early education, he has, by the force of his native powers, risen step
by step, from obscurity to the high position of the President of the
Senate of the United States. In person he is large and muscular, a
strong physical formation, full breast, large expanded chest, full face,
large square forehead, hair and eyes dark, five feet ten in hight,
mouth wide, head large. Mr. Bright possesses great energy of char-
acter, with good common sense, and an iron will, giving a strong
impetus to his movements. Nature has done much for him, and he
has done much for himself. He stands, perhaps, first among the
leaders of the Democratic party in the States. It is understood that
he was offered and declined a seat in the Cabinet of Mr. Buchanan.
As a speaker, Mr. Bright is strong, loud, forcible, impulsive, some-
times eloquent; his forte, however, is in dealing with facts, and pre-
senting them in a strong, common-sense point of view to his hearers.
He always commands attention, by his earnest manner and strong
array of facts.
I have already said, in these sketches, that I have no political ends
to serve, and entirely exclude politics from them. My great object is
to be faithful to the truth of facts and of history, for after times as
well as the present. Mr. Bright has been rather a business than a
speaking member of the Senate. He is now in fine health, scarcely
having reached the meridian of life.
374 EARLY INDIAXA TRIALS.
HENRY CLAY.
No MAN in the United States, since the days of Gen. Washington,
has filled a larger space in the public mind than Henry Clay. From
the mill-boy of the slashes of Virginia, he rose, by the force of his
great native powers and his untiring energy, to fill the civilized world
with his fame. From my earliest recollections of the prominent men
of the nation, the name of Henry Clay has been familiar. I read of
him in 1812, while at the head of the great Republican party, leading
the friends of the administration of Mr. Madison, in support of the
war with Great Britain : I had noticed him in 1816 still leading the
Kepublioan party in support of a sound national currency, and the
protection of American industry : I had marked him at the treaty of
Ghent, as one of the leading spirits in restoring, by treaty, an honor-
able peace between Great Britain and the United States : I had read
his speeches ; — when, for the first time, I saw him on the fourth day of
July, in the year 1817, on the public square at Lexington, Ky. The
next day, I heard him argue a ease before the jury, in opposition to
Mr. Breckenridge. He was then comparatively a young man, tall,
slim, light hair, high retreating forehead, large wide mouth, promi-
nent features, narrow chest, long neck, head erect, step elastic, intelli-
gent grey eye, smiling countenance, warm grasp of the hand. I was
introduced to him, and from that day forward to his death, I was one
of his devoted personal and political friends. It was not, however,
until March, 1837, when we met in the Senate of the United States,
that I became personally intimate with Mr. Clay. Our position was
such, as members of the Whig party, as to bring us much together,
not only in open Senate, but in the executive sessions and Whig
caucuses, where he spoke freely, with no possible restraints upon him.
I can truly declare that I never heard a word from him inconsistent
with true patriotism and love of country ; his very soul seemed
attuned to lofty strains of patriotic devotion to our glorious Union
and love for the American people.
In my sketch of Gen. Jackson and Henry Clay, I have given to
the reader the characteristics of the mind of both these great men.
As an orator, Mr. Clay stood pre-eminent among the distinguished
men of the Senate. There was a strong infusion of declamation in
his style, that gave to his speeches a charm of delivery, which no
other man could imitate. His manner was always suited to the
subject. He was aware that true eloquence is the child of knowledge.
He asked me one day, while Mr. Webster was speaking, in what
greatness consisted. I tried to answer him. He interrupted me :
HENRY CLAY. 375
" In preparation. No speaker was ever great wittout preparation. I
seem to speak off-hand, so does Mr. Webster ; yet we both speak with
preparation, and never without it on important subjects." At times
Mr. Clay was very uncommon ; then his voice would raise, his eye
flash, his cheeks color, his system become animated, and he would
pour forth a flood of impassioned, high-toned eloquence that would
hold the audience spell-bound.
I was present during the memorable intellectual contests in the
Senate, of Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and Mr. Calhoun, known as the
" war of the giants." I had every opportunity of seeing and hearing
these great men in the warmth of the excited debates of the session.
Mr. Clay always rose with the occasion, and came fully up to the
high expectations of his friends. He possessed great moral and per-
sonal courage, and never, for one moment, rested under what seemed
to him to be unjust personal allusions, or imputations. On one occa-
sion Mr. Webster alluded to the absence of Mr. Clay on the passage
of Gen. Jackson's force bill, against Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Clay, with
evident feeling, rose, and fixing his eyes on Mr. Webster, said : "It is
tj-ue, Mr. President, I was arguing a case in the Supreme Court when
that bill passed. Had I been here I should probably have voted for
it ; but sir," glancing fire at Mr. Webster, who had made a speech in
favor of it, " no new-born zeal could have induced me to be seen
'standing on this floor making speeches for that administration." Mr.
Webster evidently quailed under the stern, defiant rebuke of Mr. Clay.
At another time, William K. King had repeated some severe
remarks he had heard from others against Mr. Clay. The moment
Mr. King took his seat, Mr. Clay rose, addressed the president, and
in a loud, firm voice, said : ■" I pronounce the statement of the Sen-
ator from Alabama false." Mr. King sprang to his feet. " Mr. Presi-
dent, the Senator from Kentucky," and without proceeding further,
took his seat, and immediately wrote a note, and handed it to Senator
Lewis F. Linn, who stepped across to Mr. Clay, just as the Senate
adjourned. I happened at the moment to be standing by the side of
Mr. Clay. As Mr. Linn approached Mr. Clay remarked : "Ah ! a
challenge, I presume. My friend, Mr. Archer, will attend to that."
and passed out of the side door of the Senate chamber. The result
was, that the remark of Mr. Clay was construed to mean, that the
information Mr. King had received was false, not that Mr. King had
stated a falsehood ; such was Mr. Clay's own version of the matter.
The challenge was withdrawn, and BIr. Clay and Mr. King continued
friends while both lived.
Mr. Clay evidently felt himself entitled to be the leader of the
876 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
Whig party ; the measures of the party were his measures, the cur-
rency question, the protection of American industry, the distribution
of the proceeds of the public lands among the States ; these were his
measures, and he felt, as did many of his friends, that he ought to
have been elected to represent them. Mr. Clay never fully acquiesced
in the result of the Whig convention that nominated Gen. Harrison
in 1840, nor of the subsequent nomination of Gen. Taylor. He said
to me that they were sacrifices of the Whig party to a supposed avail-
ability ; still, after the election of Gen. Harrison, no man in the
nation was more warmly the friend of his administration. He often
conversed with me about his political life, and especially in relation to
his vote for Mr. Adams, in the House of Representatives, for Presi-
dent, over Gen. Jackson. He spoke with feeling of the influence of
that vote, of his taking office under Mr. Adams, and upon his subse-
quent political life. We were alone one evening in his room, when
he brought up the subject, and remarked : "In voting for Mr. Adams
I followed my own matured and deliberate judgment. I believed, all
things considered, he would make the best President ; his great
experience, pure life, high character, thorough acquaintance with our
foreign relations, pointed him out as the man for the times. I was
not mistaken in him ; he made a first-rate President. In accepting
the office of Secretary of State under him, I acted upon the advice of
others and against my own wishes. The political consequences to
myself never weighed a feather, it was solely a question of duty to
the country. Mr. Adams was taken from New England. I had
voted for him. The West required a member in the Cabinet. The
eye of both parties was turned to me. I was solicited, urged by dis-
tinguished men of both parties to take the position, for the benefit of
the country. I yielded, and the moment I had taken the office, the
cry of bargain, intrigue, and management, between Mr. Adams and
myself, was raised by the very men opposed to me, who had urged me
to take the office. A partisan press seized upon the charge, connect-
ed it with the infamous Kreemer cards, every word of which was
false, so far as it charged bargain and corruption, or improper motives
between Mr. Adams and myself; and although it has been refuted
again and again, I suppose it will follow me to my grave, Mr. Smith.
My conscience is clear, and that is worth a thousand times more to
me than the applause of the world unjustly obtained." Mr. Clay was
greatly rejoiced at the success of the Whig party in 1840. He looked
upon the result as the triumph of his long cherished measures, and
when the extra session commenced, after the decease of General Har-
rison, and the accession of Mr. Tyler to the Presidency, he boldly
HENEY CLAY. 377
laid down the measures of the party for the action of the members of
the party. This was called by some dictation. It was no more so
than the messages of the President to Congress ; it was merely sug-
gestive and advisory.
No man ever felt more keenly, than did Mr. Clay the desertion of
Mr. Tyler j he had set his heart upon the party measures to be carried
into efl'ect at the extra session, which had been called by Gen. Har-
rison a few days before his death. He had entire confidence in Mr.
Tyler and his Cabinet, as he frequently expressed himself to me in
our conversations. Mr. Clay was the fast friend of the American
policy, the internal improvement of the country, within the powers of
the Constitution. He denied the salt water doctrine on the subject,
that all improvements must be made in aid of commerce, upon the
seas and lakes, or below ports of entry. He maintained that it was
Constitutional to protect the industry of the American people, by
levying duties upon importations of like kinds of foreign articles, if
necessary, whether for revenue or not. He maintained this doctrine,
as necessary and proper in self-defense, against foreign restrictions.
He insisted that by protecting our home industry we would have a
home market, and would keep our specie at home, as a circulating
medium, instead of sending it abroad to pay for foreign luxuries,
breaking our banks, and impoverishing our people. Mr. Clay was a
warm friend of a National Bank. He did not believe that we could
do the business of the country with a metallic circulation alone, nor
that the local banks could be confided in, for a sound circulating
medium, of uniform value. His model bank was the old Bank of the
United States, chartered by Congress. He always regretted that the
Bank of Pennsylvania was called the United States Bank, as the
identity of name misled the public ; the one had discharged the
duties of a bank of issue, discount and deposit, for the Government
and people ; had received and transmitted the funds of the Govern-
ment over the length and breadth of the Treasury requirements with-
out charge, and without loss ; had paid every dollar of deposits,
redeemed all its issues with specie, without the loss of a dollar to the
Government or people ; had aflforded a circulating medium of par
value co-extensive with the metallic bases. Such was the bank that
found f\ivor with Mr. Clay and the Whig party : the Bank of the
United States, of Pennsylvania, of which Mr. Biddle was president,
was brought forth in fraud, sunk under the weight of its own iniquity,
and wound up in bankruptcy. This bank neither Mr. Clay, nor any
of his party, sustained for a moment.
I have sketched under the head of John Tyler, some of the causes
378 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
that produced the final party catastrophe, in the separation of the
executive department of Mr. Tyler from the great body of the Whig
party. The Whig manifesto, on that occasion, by which Mr. Tyler
was declared no longer to be worthy to be associated with the Whig
party that had elected him, was highly approved by Mr. Clay, as was
the resignation of the Cabinet of Mr. Tyler. He told me at the time
that no honorable man could remain associated with Mr. Tyler, with-
out incurring a portion of his disgrace. I remarked, " What then
will become of Mr. Webster, who stays with Mr. Tyler." " Mr. Web-
ster has a large capital to go upon ; his friends will believe that he
has excusable motives to keep him there ; the treaty with Lord Ash-
burton will be good apology, but Mr. Webster will not be able to
remain there long without becoming Tylerized himself." And so it
turned out, Mr. AVebster resigned and Mr. Calhoun took his place.
Mr. Clay had concluded to resign his seat in the Senate, and retire
for the balance of his days to his own Ashland : the day of the resig-
nation was fixed, at which he would deliver his farewell address to the
Senate. The day arrived, before the hour the Senators were all in
their seats, the aisles, side seats and galleries crowded. The time had
come, Mr. Clay rose from his seat, on the outside circle, near the
south-east end, calmly, and without even his usual gestures, delivered
a most thrilling and afifeetiug farewell address to the body, taking
leave of the Senate, and of public life forever. The immense
audience were as silent as death, many manly cheeks were suifused
with tears. Mr. Clay took his seat. Senators from all parts of the
chamber, without regard to politics, gathered around him, and for the
last time grasped his extended hand. Thus retired from the service
of his country, one of her noble patriots, after having devoted his
long and valuable life at home and abroad, to sustain her honor and
promote her glory, breathing with his parting words nothing but
kindness to all the Senators with whom he had been so long associated,
— " May the blessings of Heaven rest upon the heads of the whole
Senate, and every member of it ; and may every member of it advance
still more in favor, and when they shall retire to the bosom of their
respective constituencies, may they all meet there that most joyous
and grateful of all human rewards, the exclamation of their country-
men, ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' Mr. President
and Messrs. Senators, I bid you, one and all, a long, a last, a friend-
ly farewell." A few years after the coflGin that contained the remains
of Henry Clay was seen silently and solemnly moving from the Na-
tional Hotel at Washington city, on its way to his own Kentucky, that
he loved so well ; where he now sleeps. Peace to his Manes.
HENRY S. LANE. 379
HENRY S. LANE.
Long before the campaign of 1840, the subject of this sketch had
become distinguished among the first men in the State of Indiana, both
as a lawyer and statesman. In that campaign, however, he rose still
higher as a public speaker. Mr. Lane served his county in the State
Legislature, and afterward his district in Congress, with signal ability.
His mind was of a high order, and his eloquence of the nei'vous,
direct, impassioned character. He held his audience spell-bound by
his powers. His speeches were always too short for his hearers,
although often too long for his voice, which was never strong. He
was always listened to with great attention, and impressed himself
strongly upon his audience.
Mr. Lane was a warm, devoted friend of Henry Clay, personal and
political ; as he was of Gen. Harrison, after he became the standard-
bearer of the AVhig party. No man rendered greater services to his
party, in the presidential campaigns of 1840, and subsequently, than
Mr. Lane. He presided over the convention that nominated John
C. Fremont, as the Kepublican candidate against Mr. Buchanan. In
person, Mr. Lane was tall and slim, light hair, gray eyes, large fore-
head, sunken mouth, thin lips, long arms, slim, long fingers. While
in Congress he made many characteristic speeches, well remembered
by those who served with him. Among them, was one in reply to the
attack of Judge Dean of Ohio, on Gen. Harrison, which I have not
been able to find. I give, however, an extract from another of his
Congressional speeches, to show his style and spirit:
" Mr. Chairman ; — I regret very much the necessity which imposes
upon me the duty of addressing the committee at this time. It is
known to you and to this House, that I very rarely trespass upon its
time and attention ; but the very singular character of the debate upon
this bill, and the magnitude and importance of the subjects embraced
in it, will, I trust, aft'ord an ample apology for me. The present alarm-
ing crisis in our financial affairs, is well calculated to fill the mind of
every true patriot with gloom and apprehension. Our National Treas-
ury is bankrupt, our national credit and honor prostrate, the States of
this LTnion borne to the earth by an enormous load of debt; the
people every where cursed with a rotten and vitiated currency, and
threatened with bankruptcy and ruin ; the annual revenues of the Gov-
ernment insufficient by many millions of dollars, to meet its ordinary
expenses under the most rigid system of economy consistent with the
public interest. Sir, in the present condition of National, State and
individual embarrassment and distress, let us pause and calmly look
380 ' EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
back upon the history of the past, for the causes which have produced
such mighty and disastrous effects.
" But a few short years ago we had an overflowing Treasury, the best
currency known to the world — every home was filled with comfort and
plenty, every heart with joy and gladness. Why is it that your Treas-
ury is empty ? Why is it that this Congress is now laying the founda-
tions of a great National Debt? The reasons for the present deficit
in our revenue are many and obvious ; a feic of which I shall attempt
to enumerate. It has become a part of the history of the country,
and is known to the whole world, that Mr. Van Buren's administra-
tion expended annually about S8,000,000 over and above the annual
revenues of the nation : that that administration, after expending a
large surplus which they found in the Treasury, and after availing
themselves of every means of revenue within their power, temporary
and permanent, were hurled from place and power by the people for
their extravagance, profligacy and corruption, leaving a debt to be dis-
charged by their successors of about §16,000,000 ; that they, instead
of laying a tariff of duties sufiiciently high to meet the wants of the
Government and discharge its debts, resorted to the miserable policy
of issuing Treasury notes, for the double purpose of relieving their
present wants, and at the same time hoodwinking and deceiving the
people as to the true condition of the Treasury, and concealing as far
as they could, the evidence of their waste and extravagance. If the
party lately in power, had had the wisdom, patriotism and moral cour-
age to have passed a proper revenue-bill at the proper time, and to
have curtailed their expenditures within reasonable limits, we should
not be laboring under those evils which curse and afflict our common
country. The currency of a country must always be most intimately
connected with its credit and prosperity. I shall not detain you, Mr.
Chairman, by going into a history of those measures by which the
currency was reduced to its present deplorable condition ; it is enough
for my present purpose to say, that the Bank of the United States
furnished the people with a sound currency of uniform value, every
where conversible into gold and silver; that the people were satisfied
with their currency ; that the Bank was popular; but Gen. Jackson,
in the fullness of his power, and in the pride of his overshadowing
popularity, willed its destruction, and it was destroyed. The Demo-
cratic party then determined that State banks should furnish the only
paper cui-rency for the people, and through their instrumentality the
State bank system was fastened upon the country ; and the evils and
abuses of that system, have been the fruitful source of countless and
untold calamities.
HENRY S. LANE. 381
'* So much, Mr. Chairman, for the agency of our Democratic friends
in producing the present state of things. Differ as we may, Mr.
Chairman, as to the causes of our bankruptc}', and utter prostration
of confidence and credit, the fiict at least is undeniable and confessed
that the Crovernment needs, and the public service imperiously
demands, all the money provided for in this loan bill. At the extra
session, we passed a law authorizing a loan of $12,000,000. 85,500,
000 of that loan was negociated ; the balatfce, owing to the state of
the money market and to the terms of the loan, was not negociated.
The bill now before us proposes to extend the time of the original
loan, and restricts the Secretarj"^ of the Treasury from selling any of
the bonds issued under this bill at less than par value. The amend-
ment of tjie gentleman from Virginia, now under consideration,
requires the Secretary to redeem those bonds so soon as they shall
depreciate below par in the market. The gentleman doubtless, intends
by this amendment to keep the bonds from depreciation ; but, Mr.
Chairman, how can the amendment effect that object? On what basis
rests private and public, national and individual credit? Upon the
twofold foundation of the will and ability of the debtor to pay the
debt. And what evidence, let me ask you, do we give by the proposed
amendment of our ability to pay this loan ? We anticipate a deprecia-
tion of our bonds, and legislate with an eye to that event. The amend-
ment, if adopted, is an open annunciation to the whole world that we
ourselves distrust our own solvency and our own credit. How that is
to prevent a depreciation of our stocks passes my ability to comprehend.
" But, Mr. Chairman, how does this amendment affect the question
of our willingness to pay? What will capitalists say of the honesty
and morality of the amendment ? We propose first to sell our bonds
at par, or to pay them to the creditors of the Government at par, and
then to authorize and require the Secretary of the Treasury to enter
the stock market, and compete with brokers, shylocks and shavers, for
the purchase of our bonds at any rate of discount which they may
bear. What are the pledges of security which we can give to lenders
for the payment of our bonds? First, the vast and inexhaustible
sources of wealth and power contained in our country , and secondly,
an open, honest and cctnsistent course of legislative action — any
departure from which must impair rather than strengthen our credit.
But we are told, that in order to sell our bonds at par, and to retain
their par value, we must set apart and pledge a specific fund foi their
payment. Is this necessary? Let the experience of the past answer.
What security did we give our creditors for the immense debts of the
Revolution and the last war? What security did we give for the
382 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
redemption of the vast amount of Treasury notes, we from time to
time have issued ? The highest security which man can give or ask —
the plighted faith and honor of this great nation. Yet no specific
fund was pledged for these debts. But in the very act of borrowing,
do we not pledge all our means of payment until the obligation is
discharged? The President in his last message to us, says, that a
want of confidence is the great evil under which we labor. This is
true. And before I resuine my seat, I shall endeavor to show who it
is that has inflicted the fatal stab upon the character and credit of the
nation. Sir, let the President respond to the calls of a suffering
country ; let him cast off those evil advisers who darken his mind with
adulation and flattery, and poison his heart with envy and malice ; let
him carry out faithfully, the principles upon which he was elected ; let
him return again to his first love ; in a word, let him become an hon-
est politician — and then, neither he nor the country will have cause
to complain of the want of public credit. But how is it possible that
capitalists and foreigners can confide in him in whom no one trusts —
in him in whom ninety-nine hundreths of the whole nation, place no
reliance? What! trust in him who has shown himself so unworthy
of political station — so recreant to all public confidence ! The idea
is absurd and ridiculous.
"I now come, Mr. Chairman, to the charges made upon the "Whig
majority in Congress, as well by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wise) as by the hired and prostituted presses in the interest of the
Administration, from one extremity of the Eepublie to the other.
What are those charges? We are told that the majority in Congress
factiously oppose every measure and recommendation emanating from
the President, regardless of the welfare of the country ; that the
Whigs have determined to pass no measure of relief lest Mr. Tyler
shall get the credit of it ; that we are deaf to the cry of distress
which comes up to us from every quarter of the land ; that we are
legislating with the view and for the object of advancing the interests
of Mr. Clay, and securing his election to the Presidency ; that we are
the do-nothing Congress. Sir, a sense of duty to myself, to my con-
stituents, to my country, to the cause of truth, justice, and patriotism,
impels me, upon this occasion, to show the utter groundlessness of
these charges, and once for all, to disavow the base, groveling, and
unworthy motives, so unjustly attributed to myself and to those with
whom I act. I regret alike the charge and the motives which
prompted it. What has been the course of the Executive since his
coming into power, and what has been the conduct of the Whig ma-
jority in Congress? Let us go back to the history of the extra ses-
HENEY S. LANE. 383
sion. Mr. Tyler, in his first message to Congress, hints most une-
quivocally that the extra session was no measure of his, and that he
was opposed to it, and in no wise responsible for its success. He
speaks in that message of a hank so mysteriously, that almost every
one who read it put a diiferent construction upon his language. In
that message he holds the veto power in terrorem over the indepen-
dent action of Congress. But the Whig party, mindful of the objects
for which they had been convened, and intent solely upon advancing
the great interests of the nation, set about the improvement and the
correction of the disorders of the currency, and the replenishing of
the Treasury of the nation. Mr. Clay introduced a bank bill in the
Senate, and it was soon understood that the President was giving out
his dark hints and innuendoes against the bill. The friends of the
country became alarmed, and, in order to avert a veto, the celebrated
compromise section was introduced and passed by the Whig Senators.
Thus they, for the purpose of conciliation, gave up and abandoned
their long cherished principles, yielded what they believed to be the
true construction of the Federal Constitution, and waived what they
believed to be their undoubted power under the Constitution — the
right to establish a bank to operate 'p^r se all over the Union.' This
concession, it was understood and believed by all, would satisfy the
President and secure his sanction to the bill. The Whigs understood
him as being fully committed to the measure. The bill was passed
and sent to him for his approval, and he, in the arrogance of his
nature, in the intoxication of his accidental power, vetoes the meas-
ure. Why? Because it bore the impress of the giant intellect and
lofty patriotism of the great Kentuckian, Henry Clay. In him he
recognized the fearless champion of truth, the noble advocate of lib-
erty, the idol of his party, the pride and hope of his country. It was
enough that the bill originated with Mr. Clay to insure the Presi-
dent's opposition.
" Base envy withers at another's joy,
And hates that excellence it can not reach,"
"Thus we see that the President, impelled by hatred and envy of
Mr. Clay, and prompted by the restless demon of his unholy ambi-
tion, defeated that first great measure of relief, proposed and passed
by a Whig Congress. The Whigs then, although deceived and
betrayed by their President, and stabbed ' in the house of their
friends,' were unwilling to adjourn without another efi'ort to carry
out the groat objects for which they had met. Another bank charter
was proposed, framed expressly with the view of securing his approval,
and to which his sanction, after a full and explicit knowledge of all
384 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
its provisions, was most unequivocally pledged, not only to tis Cabi-
net, but to members of this House and of the Senate. That bill was
also vetoed by the President, thereby fixing upon his character the
double stain of hypocrisy and treachery ! In view of all these facts,
I ask the country to decide who has defeated all measures of relief,
the Whig Congress or the President ? After the last veto, five out
of sis of his Cabinet advisers, feeling that a longer association with
him could add nothing to the interests of the nation, or to their own
personal character — that ' his touch was pollution, his contact death '
— abandoned him; and notwithstanding all the persecution, and
all the calumny which has been heaped upon that retiring Cabinet,
they, by that retirement, gave an instance of lofty, devoted, and self-
sacrificing patriotism, unsurpassed in the annals of man. One mem-
ber of that Cabinet is soon to take his seat as a Senator from the
proud and patriotic State of his nativity ; another most worthily and
ably represents a portion of the Empire State upon the floor of this
House. They all were followed into retirement by the gratitude and
blessings of thousands ; their tombs in after times shall be shrines for
the pilgrimage of freedom's votaries, and upon their graves the future
patriot shall relume the dying flame of liberty. Sir, who would not
rather be one of that persecuted Cabinet than to play the automaton
part of the present accidental head of the nation? The gentleman
from Virginia says that, at the close of the extra session, the Whigs —
as he styles them, the manifesto Whigs — declared war upon the Presi-
dent ; that the thirteen Whigs who prepared and signed that address
were usurpers, by assuming to act for the whole Whig party in Con-
gress, when, in fact, a majority dissented from the doctrines of that
address, and that many Whigs now are sorry for their agency in rela-
tion to that address. Sir, it is time that the country should know the
facts in relation to the getting up of that address. At the meeting
which determined upon that manifesto, between ninety and one hun-
dred Whig members of Congress attended ; and if there was opposi-
tion to or dissent from the facts stated in the address, surely I did not
hear it, nor can I believe that it existed. And if there be one Whig
upon this floor who attended that meeting, who disapproves what waa
there done, I ask, demand, defy him to get up now and proclaim his
dissent and his recreancy. No one rises. Then I am to infer that
no such person exists ; and I hope that we shall hear no more of the
charge of usurpation against the committee whose names are signed
to that noble Whig document. Sir, I have thus briefly glanced at the
history of the extra session. And does any thing in that history go
to show that the Whigs were actuated by a spirit of factious opposi-
HENRY S. LANE. 385
tion to the President? Who are they who, pretending to he Whigs
and friends of the President, have thwarted every Executive recom-
mendation and every measure of relief to the country ? The gentle-
man from Virginia and his friends and allies of the guard.
" Sir, in view of the evils and calamities brought upon the country
by the President, may not the patriot from his heart of hearts invoke
the poet's curse upon him ? —
'Oh for a tongue to curse the slave,
Whose treason, like a deadly blight,
Comes o'er the counsels of the brave,
And blasts them in their hour of night ! '
" So much I have thought it necessary to say of the President and
his official conduct. I now pass to the consideration of other matters
connected with the honor and independence of Congress. We are told
by a gentleman in the city of New York, in an address to a meeting
of merchants, brokers, and bankers of that city, gotten up for the
purpose of glorifying Mr. Tyler's administration, and heaping abuse
upon a Whig Congress, among other things, ' that beggars should
not be choosers ; that we can get nothing else, and therefore we must
take whatever Mr. Tyler is pleased to give us ! ' Sir, is there any
member upon this floor, of any party, who can listen to this language
with other than feelings of deep and burning indignation ? Beggars,
forsooth ! Who are beggars ? The People and the People's repre-
sentatives — the American Congress! And of whom shall they beg?
Of John Tyler, into whose nostrils the Whigs breathed the breath of
political vitality — of him whose treachery has ruined the party who
placed him in power, and blighted and blasted the prosperity of the
nation for long, long years to come !
" What is the American Congress that it should be thus degraded ?
Who gave force, efficiency, and impulse to that mighty, moral, intellect-
ual, and political revolution which freed this country, and shook to their
center the hereditary thrones of Europe's despots? An American
Congress. Who devised means for paying off the immense debt of the
Revolution ? An American Congress. Who, when our national exis-
tence was threatened, our honor invaded, our seamen impressed, our
flag insulted, grappled successfully with the first power in the world —
Napoleon's conqueror? An American Congress. Who devised those
beneficent measures, the good effects of which every where beautify
and adorn our country ? An American Congress. To what point has
the patriot turned his eye in every dark period in our national exis-
tence? To the people's representatives, who stand erect in the con-
sciousness of their honor, their power, and their patriotism, above the
386 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
blandisliinents of flattery, iinallured by tlie hope of gain, unseduced
by the dreams of ambition, unawed by the frowns of power. We are
told here, and the charge is repeated in every hired press from Maine
to New Orleans, that we arc determined to do nothing — that this is
the do-nothing Congress. Why this effort to disparage Congress, and
throw the odium of foilure of every measure upon the body ? The
reason is apparent — they seek to divert public attention from their own
conduct, and to direct it to Congress. But they shall not escape in
that way ; the People shall be the judges between us. The People
will, when they understand the facts, determine who have adhered to
their principles through every change, ' through evil as well as through
good report,' and who have basely abandoned their party, their prin-
ciples, their country. Mr. Tyler's friends in their great devotion to
their great chief, have compared him to Napoleon. ' Ye gods and
little fishes ! ' John Tyler and Napoleon Bonaparte !
" Mr. Chairman, is it not surprising that, in casting about for some
one to compare their great leader to, the fame of one of Philadelphia's
great military men should have escaped their memory — I mean the
immortal Col. Pluck? He, with his bantam feather, his tin sword
and his bullet buttons, surely resembles their idol as much as their idol
resembles the hero of Austerlitz, Jena, and Lodi's bridge. And Mr.
Chairman, is it not wondrous strange that they have overlooked the
claims of one of Shakspeare's commanders — I mean Col. John Fal-
staff? Can you not recognize the resemblance between him and their
chieftain? You remember Falstaff's regiment of ragged recruits. Who
are Mr. Tyler's recruits? Office-holders, office-seekers. Government
contractors, hired editors, and those who are called ■ the guard ' upon this
floor. Palstaff was ashamed to march through town with his regiment ;
it remains to be seen whether Mr. Tyler has an equal sense of shame.
'■ But again : We are told by gentlemen that, if the President and his
Cabinet can not get good laws pas.sed, they will at least recommend
good measures, and present good issues to the country ! Before I stop
to inquire what good measures the Cabinet have recommended, let us
inq.uire what their recommendation is worth ? What importance let
me ask, can be attached to the recommendation of the Secretary of
State — Mr. Webster? What was his conduct at a time when this
country was engaged in a war with England ? I refer to his votes,
from an inspection of the journals of this House. I have had but little
time to devote to their examination, but am satisfied with the correct-
ness of my references. July 1, 1813, he voted against a bill for asses-
sing and collecting taxes to sustain the war. July 9th he voted against
laying a tax on refined sutrar and sales at auction — a measure intended
HENRY S. LANE. 387
to raise revenue. July 7tli, 1814, against a bill to sustain the Navy.
The 11th of the same month, against a bill which, among other things
provided for punishing spies. The 22d of .January, he voted against
a bill to enlist troops during the war, in a minority of seven. On the
25th of January, 1814, against the nonimportation law. February 8,
1814, against raising five regiments. March 29, against calling out
the militia to repel invasion. December Ist, against providing reve-
nue for sustaining the public credit. December 10th, against calling
on the States for their quotas of militia to defend the frontiers. On the
19th of December, against a bill to provide for the expenses of the war.
He also voted against a bill to provide for rebuilding the Capitol, after it
was burned by the British. Sir, I leave the record of these votes with-
out comment, and pass to Mr. Webster's present position. But, if it
is asked why I have not brought Mr. Web.ster's votes up in judgment
before this time, my answer is, that after the war, for a long period of
time, Mr. Webster seemed devoted to the best interests of the country,
and I in common with hundreds of others, hoped and believed that he
had repented of his former errors, and changed his opinions and prin-
ciples ; but his recent conduct has proved to me that he remains
unchanged, and that his seeming change of course, was only affecta-
tion. He was appointed to office by Gen. Harrison, and when the
other members of the Cabinet resigned their stations with scorn and
disgust, Mr. Webster loved his office better than his country — his
emoluments more than honor. That Mr. Webster is a man of great
intellect and transcendent abilities no one will deny ; but what shall
we think of that man who remains part of a Cabinet whose head vetoes
two bank charters, while he is the great bank champion ? Does the
Secretary of State dispense the patronage of his office so as to merit
or receive the support of Whigs ? No, sir ; look to his selections of
newspapers to publish the laws. He selects the most vindictive parti-
san presses in the Locofoco party. Witness the papers selected in
Illinois, the St. Louis Bulletin, the Nashville Union, the New Orleans
Advertiser, and a great many others which might be enumerated. All
the editors patronized by Mr Webster, so far as I know, with but few
exceptions are either Democratic, or they are renegades from the Wliig
ranks to the Tyler party ; and his appointments to office are even worse
than his selection of newspapers.
"Mr. Chairman, let me suppose a case, for the sake of illustration.
Suppose that Mr. Webster wished, at one time, to silence the thunders
of the Globe against the Administration ; and, to effect that purpose,
sent Mr. Weaver to employ the editors of that paper to print certain
census paper.i, and that Mr. Weaver did so employ the said editors;
388 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS
but that the editors did not choose to support the Administration, and
then Mr. AVebster repudiated the contract, and hired the editor of the
Madisonian to print the same papers : and then let me suppose, that
Mr. Weaver was summoned to go before a committee of this House,
to testify in relation to the matter ; and that Mr Webster, upon learn-
ing the fact that Mr. Weaver was to give his evidence before the com-
mittee, told him to beware what he did : and then suppose, that Mr.
Weaver was a clerk in Mr. Webster's office, and that he construed
Mr. Webster's language into a threat to dismiss him from office, if he
told the truth ; and that Mr. Weaver, like an honest man, immediately
resigned his office. If this supposed case is founded in truth, what
confidence can we have in Mr. Webster's recommendations?
" Now for the balance of the Cabinet. Mr. Spencer, for instance : he
it was who wrote the call for the Syracuse Convention, after the extra
session, breathing daggers and ratsbane against the President ; yet,
in less than two weeks after denouncing the President, in the most
indignant strains, he becomes a Tyler man and accepts the office of
Secretary of War. To go no further, what can his recommendation
be worth ? Take, if you please, Mr. Secretary Upshur, the metaphys-
ical abstractionist, and disunion hero of the Old Dominion : his
recommendation can be worth nothing to me, until I can believe that
he is the best friend of the Union who is ready, at any time, to destroy
it. I have not time to speak of the other members of the Cabinet ;
but it is enough for me to know, that if they are the friends of John
Tyler, in his present position, they can not be, in my judgment, friends
of the country. And now, sir, aside from the force of the recom-
mendations, what are the measures recommended by the Administra-
tion? The President recommends, in his late most extraordinary
message, the repeal of the bill of the last session which provides for
the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands. For the last ten
years the Whigs have steadily contended for that measure ; and
now, as soon as it is passed, Mr. Tyler gives an earnest of his Whig-
gery, by recommending its repeal. And because we do not choose to
follow him blindly, we are to be taunted with factious opposition.
The President tells us, in his message, that at the time he recom-
mended in his message, last June, the passage of the act he now pro-
poses to repeal, he had reason to believe there would be a surplus in
the Treasury. Now, sir, how can that be, when, at the very time he
recommended the passage of the distribution act, the Secretary of the
Treasury showed, that so far from there being an excess of revenue in
the Treasury, there would be a deficiency of at least $10,000,000?
And at the very time, when the distribution bill was pending in this
HE\RY S. LANE. 389
House, there was a bill pcndhip; for a loan of $12,000,000, ami that
loan asked for by the Administration. Now, one of two things is
true : either that the President at the time he says he apprehended a
surplus in the Treasury, was most grossly ignorant of the true condi-
tion of our finances, or that he stated, in his last message, what he
knew to be untrue, and what this House and the world know to be
untrue. Now, I do not accuse the President 'of falsehood, but his
friends may choose for him which ' horn of the dilemma' they prefer.
" The distribution act has been opposed by its enemies, on the ground
of its supposed unconstitutionality. How stands that objection ?
Congress, by the Constitution, has, by express grant, this power, to
wit : To dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respect-
ing the territory, and other property of the United States. This
grant of power, like many others which might be enumerated, in the
Constitution, has no limitation, except the enlightened wisdom and
sound discretion of Congress ; and so it has always been considered
and practiced upon, by every Administration, and evei-y party since
the foundation of the Government.
" During the administration of Washington, many laws were passed
by Congress, and approved by him, upon the subject of the public
lands, based upon the idea that the General Government had the sole,
exclusive, and unlimited control of these lands. During Washing-
ton's administration, a grant of public lands was made by Congress
to private individuals, without consideration. And during the ad-
ministrations of all his successors, numerous donations of the public
lands have been made to States, corporations, and individuals, for
almost every conceivable object. Now, if we have no such power, all
those grants must fiiil, and the title of the grantees is worth nothing.
No one, I suppose, will contend for that doctrine. Well, if we have
the power to give away the lands themselves, have we not the power
to dispose of their proceeds ? A distinguished Senator from South
Carolina (Mr. Calhoun), at one time proposed to cede these lands to
the States in which they lie, depriving the old States of any interest
in them ; yet, in his opinion now, we have not the power to divide the
proceeds of the public lands among all the States of this Union, upon
principles of equity and justice. Mr. King, a distinguished Senator
from Alabama, said, as early as 1832, that the public lands should no
longer be looked to as a source of revenue to the United States. Gen.
Jackson approved the act distributing the surplus revenue among the
States, and recommended that measure to Congress. And did not
that surplus arise from the sales of the public lands ? If that act was
Constitutional, and no one doubts it, surely the act of the last session
390 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
was equally Constitutional. The distribution policy is not only Con-
stitutional, but liighly expedient, and in strict accordance with the
deeds of cession, by which most of the public lands were ceded by the
different States to the CTcneral Government ; and also in exact con-
formity to the uniform practice of the General Government, from its
origin to the present time. The act proposed to be repealed is, at this
time, of great and especial importance to the States, many of them
being largely indebted, mainly for internal improvements, which they
were first forced, or at least induced, to enter upon by the action of
the General Government ; for when Gen. Jackson vetoed the Mays-
ville Road bill, and the policy of internal improvement was abandoned
by the Federal Government, we were told that the States alone should
engage in that work. In pursuance of that policy, and further stimu-
lated by the distribution of the surplus revenue, systems of improve-
ments were commenced, splendid and magnificent in their conception
and design, but far beyond the power of the States to complete at
present. The act of the last session would go far to relieve the people
of the States from taxation, and to sustain their failing credit.
" In another point of view it is but just to distribute the proceeds of
the public lands among the States. The great source of revenue is,
and always will be, in this country, duties on foreign importations.
The power to tax foreign merchandise has been surrendered by the
States to the General Government; and their only remaining means
of revenue is the power of direct taxation. To this repeal of the Land
Bill I am opposed, not from any factious opposition to the Adminis-
tration, but from an honest conviction of its impolicy and injustice.
" Mr. Chairman, there is another measure proposed by the Executive,
to which, in the most brief manner, I desire to give my objections. I
mean the Exchequer Board recommended to us by the President in
his annual message, and submitted to us by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury. This is neither the proper time, nor occasion for a lengthy anal-
ysis of that measure ; but, inasmuch as other gentlemen have referred
to it, I will be pardoned, I trust, for stating some of the most promi-
nent objections to the plan. I am opposed to it, because it is an
abandonment of our position, that Congress has the power to incorpo-
rate a National Bank, and for the truth of which position we have
contended for twelve years — and at length the people, by an immense
majority, have decided in our favor; because it has its origin with the
President, and not with the people ; because it proceeds on the great
error which was so signally rebuked in the election of 1840 — that
it was the duty of the Government to take care of itself, and leave the
people to take care of themselves, i. e.,the interests of the people should
HENRY S. LANE. 391
be divorced from the interests of the fioveniiiient. I oppose it, because
of the dangerous increase which it brings to Executive influence,
patronage, and power, by giving to the President a direct and irresist-
ible control over the whole financial operations of the nation, public
and private ; because it combines, substantially, all the features of
that monarchical, odious, and thrice condemned .Sub-Treasury scheme
(which brought defeat on the past Administration), together with a
vast and overshadowing Government Bank, which, in the hand of a
weak Executive, would be liable to great abuses, and in the hands of
an ambitious, and corrupt one, would be converted into an instrument
to enslave the people, and in the end would lead to the aristocracy of
the purse, or to the despotism of the sword ; because I believe, in its
operation it would prostrate every State bank in the Union ; because I
can not see any possible benefit which would arise from it to those
whom I represent ; because its adoption will elevate the power of the
President above the power of the people, and substitute his will for
the will of the nation ; and, lastly, because public sentiment in my dis-
trict, so far as I have heard, or believe, is most decidedly opposed to
the whole scheme ; and I am accountable to my constituents, to whom
I am under so many obligations, and not to the President, to whom
neither myself nor the country owes any thing.
" Mr. Chairman, I have spoken only of the political conduct of the
President and his Cabinet ; of their private character I know little,
and say nothing.
"Mr. Chairman, if I know myself, I do not, and have not factiously
opposed the President. I would to God that his administration had
been such as to have left it possible for me to have supported it.
Neither are the Whig party factionists. Have we not voted for, and
passed every measure recommended by the Administration, with the
solitary exception of the Exchequer Board, and that most extraordi-
nary measure, the repeal of the Land Bill ? The gentleman from
Virginia asks. What are the measures which the ultra Whigs of this
House, as he is pleased to call us, are in favor of, and intend to sup-
port? I answer for myself, one of the humblest members of that
party, that I am in favor of a Bank of the United States ; that I am
in favor of a tarifi' which will furnish an ample revenue for the Na-
tional Treasury, and at the same time afi"ord incidental protection to
American enterprise and capital, American labor and industry ; and
I am in favor of the distribution, among the States, of the proceeds
of the public lands. And, in the honest advocacy of these measures,
I had rather have the martyr's deathbed of glory, than to purchase
the loftiest human elevation by their abandonment. But we are told.
392 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
that unless we take whatever measures Mr. Tyler recommends, we
shall have nothing, or that we can get nothing, which is the same.
" I will not, Mr. Chairman, consent to humble Congress at the feet
of the Executive. I will not, by any action of mine, violate the Con-
stitution of my country, and revolutionize the whole frame of its
Government, by giving to the President, in addition to all his other
great powers, the almost omnipotent attribute of national legislation.
Give him the monstrous and alarming engine of political power which
he now asks, and what arm shall stay, what human power resist, the
swelling waves of corruption, venality, and despotism, which threaten
even now to whelm in ruins the blood-purchased Government of our
noble ancestors ? Are the Whig party prepared to sacrifice all their
claims to honor, independence, and patriotism, at the bidding of one
man ? Sir, I see around me those veteran Whigs who resisted the
demigod of party fame in his palmiest days — the hero of New
Orleans ; those who looked upon the real lion in the pride of his
prowess with an unblanched cheek and an eye that quailed not ; and
shall they consent now to receive law at the hands of any man, and,
least of all, at the hands of the present Executive ? Can we, with all
the historic glory of our young Republic clustering around us, thus
early in our history abandon our duty, our Constitution, our country ?
Sir, before that act of self-immolation shall be consummated, remove
from this hall that proud national eagle — it is not the fit emblem for
a nation of slaves ; remove from these walls the portrait of that noble
Frenchman who shed his blood in a land of strangers for that liberty
which we trample upon ; remove the portrait of the Father of his
country, for bondsmen can never be its guardians. But I will not
for a moment sufier myself to think that liberty shall receive its death-
wound in this proud hall —
' We will not be the traitor slaves
While Heaven has light, or earth has graves.'
" One word, Mr. Chairman, in relation to the intimation contained
in the President's last message on the subject of a foreign war. My
thanks, and the thanks of the whole country, are due to the President
and to Mr. Webster, his Secretary of State, for the ability, zeal, and
manliness with which they have conducted all our negotiations. I
hope the calamity of war is yet afar off, but if the national interest
and national honor require it, let it come ; and in that event all the
true friends of the country will stand together in defense of the
Administration. To me it matters nothing who shall be our standard-
bearer, so that he bears aloft the noble banner of the Eepublic.
S. C. SAMPLE — J. G. REED — JOHN A'AWTEE. 393
SAMUEL C. SAMPLE.
My acquaintance with the subject of this sketch, commenced in the
year 1820, at Connersville, when he became a student at law in my
oflSce. I knew him intimately while he lived. Mr. Sample was no
ordinary man, plain, practical in all his acts. He represented his dis-
trict in Congress with decided ability, was always at his post, among
the working men of the body. At the bar, and as presiding judge
of the circuit courts, he stood high, among the most efficient and able
practitioners, and one of the purest judges that has graced the bench.
His person was fine, his head, and forehead large, hair dark. He was
taken from us in the middle of life, while discharging the duties of
president of the State Bank, at South Bend, and reposes in the cem-
etery there. ■ Peace to his remains !
JAMES G. REED.
Among the early citizens of Indiana, I take pleasure in naming
James G. Reed. He was for many years one of the prominent Dem-
ocratic politicians of the State, and held high and important offices
under the General Government. I became early and intimately
acquainted with him, while he was canvassing the State as a candidate
for Governor. Mr. Reed was a member of the State Senate for years,
stood among the very first. As a speaker he was loud, impressive,
impulsive, at times eloquent. He was always fortified with his facts,
and brought them to bear with all his powers upon his audience. In
person he was below the common hight, but strongly formed, head
large, hair and eyes coal black, complexion dark, features good, I
saw him lately, in good health, looking young for his age.
JOHN VAWfER.
The journals of the Senate, and House of Representatives, in early
sessions of the Legislature of Indiana, will be searched in vain for a
more prominent and active member than John Vawter. He deserves a
notice here as one of the strong, practical men, who aided largely in
the enactment of the early laws of the State, and in the formation
of society, upon that moral and religious basis so essential to its pros-
perity and the happiness 'of the people. Mr. Vawter, as a speaker,
was plain, straight-forward. He always spoke to the question, not
around, or about it ; was heard with marked attention by his audience.
He was a strong Whig, attended all the conventions, and frequently
394 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
presided over tliem. !Mr. Yawter vras a Baptist preacher, of good
standluo;. A few years ago, I was on the ears, at Morgantown, between
Martinsville and Franklin. We stopped to take in passengers. Look-
ing out of the window, I noticed a neat brick church, and learned
from a passenger that it was built and donated to the Baptists by Mr.
Vawter ; that he preached there now. in advanced life, when the pul-
pit was not supplied. Long may he live to dispense his benevolence
to his fellow-citizens.
DENNIS PENNINGTON.
I SHOULD be unfaithful to the history of the early settlers of Indiana,
were I to overlook the subject of this sketch. The journals in the
State Library are full of the acts, in a representative capacity, of Den-
nis Pennington. Like John Vawter, his cotemporary, he stood
among the most valuable men of the State. I first became acquainted
with him when we were members of the Legislature, at Corydon, in
the year 1822. He was plain, honest, firm, direct, open, frank. His
mind was of a fair order, well stored with facts. As a speaker, he
was strong, without any pretense to eloquence. He was a warm per-
sonal and political friend of Henry Clay, and during his life con-
tributed his whole powers to his support. Mr. Pennington has gone,
with most of his co-laborers of early Indiana, to meet the reward of
the well-doer in time.
GEORGE K. STEEL.
I CAN not pass by without a word to the memory, in after times, of
my personal friend, George K. Steel, of Park county. I have long*
considered him among the most valuable men in this State. For many
years he stood very high as a member of our Legislature; frank, clear,
strono-, firm, honest, with a mind of no ordinary character ; he was at
all times listened to with close attention by his audience. The main
characteristic of Mr. Steel was energy — untiring energy. He never
rested — always pushed forward with his whole strength, and with all
his powers. I saw him yesterday, leaving the State Fair, in fijie
health, in the summer of his life.
JAMES L. RUSSEY. 395
JAMES L. RUSSEY.
The melauclioly fate of my early fi-iend, James L. Russey, of
Muncie, prompts a word to his memory. Among the energetic,
active, and persevering men of the State, he stood well with his
neighbors and acquaintances. Soon after the fever for California
gold broke out, he became infected, like many others, left his young
family, and, taking his life in his hands, left for the gold region.
He was a large, atliletic, powerful man, in the morning of life, accus-
tomed to out-door exertions, prepared for fatigue, and as brave a man
as lived. After the usual incidents, dangers, and trials of a journey
to California at that early day, he arrived with his companions in the
gold regions, aad commenced the operation of mining, at a rich placer,
with every prospect of success before him. The country, at that time,
among the diggings, was infected with small bands of Indians, who
were strolling through the country in search of plunder. Mr. Russey
it seems, left one day on a gold exploring expedition, intending to
return in a few days. Time wore away ; days, weeks, mouths, years
passed, but James L. Russey never returned. His fate is yet uncer-
tain ; but still the better opinion is that he was killed and robbed by
the Indians, and his body concealed or destroyed. He added but
another to the thousands who have fallen victims to a thirst for gold,
without realizing their anticipated treasure.
396 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
SIMON YANDES.
These sketches will live and be read by tbousands when the author
and his subjects shall sleep together in the silent tomb. This idea is
my apology, if any were wanting, for speaking of those who are still
in active life. The subject of this sketch has scarcely passed the
spring-time of life. The summer, the autumn, the cold blasts of win-
ter are still before him, but I can not pass him by without a word
due to worth and private friendship. He was for years my partner in
the practice of the law at Indianapolis. I knew him intimately and
well, by weight and measure. He was one of the few men in life,
upon whose word, faith, and integrity I could rely under all circum-
stances. Surrounded by all kinds of temptations, Mr. Yandes was
one of the most conscientious men, in professional and private life, I
ever knew. He was a fine lawyer, one of the most industrious and
energetic of the profession. In person, he was tall and slim, over six
feet high, lai-ge head, retiring forehead, light hair, grey eyes, wide
mouth, large lips, rather sallow complexion, narrow chest. As a
speaker at the bar, he was clear, strong, seldom eloquent; he dealt
with facts and figures with power, and let fancy sketches alone. I
saw him to-day in fine health, with a bright future before him.
WILLIAM C. RIVES.
Among the j)rominent men of the United States, the subject of this
sketch stands deservedly high. I had the pleasure of an intimate
personal acquaintance with Mr. Rives during the twentieth Congress,
when we were members of the House of Representatives. Our associ-
ations were renewed in the Senate of the United States when we met
in that body in 1837. Mr. Rives was a noble specimen of the Ancient
Dominion that he repre.sented. I am not prepared to say, that Mr.
Rives occupied the high position of Virginia's intellectual giants,
who filled the world with their fame in their day, but I do wish to be
understood that Mr. Rives in modern times has had few equals in Vir-
ginia and no superiors. In person, he was below the common hight,
but he was a model of a man ; his head finely proportioned, eyes black,
features fine, hair dark brown. As a speaker, Mr. Rives had few equals
in the Senate, his style was nervous, emphatic. He always spoke in
full earnest, his mind was of a high order, he always gave it full play,
by ample preparation in advance. I thought him among the finest,
and most efiective orators of the Senate. He was our minister to France
WILRIAM C. RIVES. 397
at one time, stood deservedly high at that Court. I have selected for
the reader, from his many published speeches, a few extracts from his
speech on the subject of irapi-essment of seamen, placing that import-
ant national question, about which so much has been said and written,
on the true national ground : it will be read with profit as well as
interest.
" I had supposed, that if any principle of the maritime code had been
triumphantly vindicated and upheld by the labor of American states-
men, it was this — that, in time of peace, there is nn right in any case,
on the part of a foreign cruiser, to interrupt or detain the vessels of
another nation upon the high seas ; that a vessel of a nation upon the
high seas, in time of peace, partakes of the inviolability of her territory,
and that any entry on board such vessel without consent, is in the eye
of the law a .trespass. If a vessel, under the circumstances supposed
in the message, be suspected of being a pirate, a foreign cruiser may,
upon her responsibility, stop and examine her ; but she does so at her
peril. If the suspected vessel be really a pirate, no harm will have
been done ; but if on the other hand, she prove to be a hona fide ves-
sel of the nation whose flag she bears, a trespass will have been com-
mitted, involving both responsibility and indemnity, according to the
circumstances of the case. It would not be diflScult to show that these
principles have in other times — and those too, not distinguished by
any peculiar favor shown to the maritime rights of other nations, been
recognized in the fullest manner by the highest British authorities.
In a well known case brought before him as judge, the celebrated Sir
William Scott (afterward Lord Stowell) emphatically declared that he
' could find no autliority that gives the right of interruption to the naviga-
tion of States upon the high seas, excejut that which the right of loar
gives to belligerents against neutrals. ' But the whole doctrine upon
this subject has been stated in so lucid and comprehensive a manner,
and with such self-evident reason, in a despatch of Mr. Monroe, while
Secretary of State under the administration of Mr. Madison, that I can
not forbear to quote here what was said by the American Government
with so much weight of authority, on that occasion. In the instruc-
tions to our plenipotentiaries for treating of peace with Great Britain,
dated the 15th April, 1813, the American doctrine — the matured and
carefully considered result of our long discussions with that power on
the subject of maritime rights — was thus closely and deliberately
summed iip.
" ' That the vessels of a nation are considered a part of its territory,
with the exception of the belligerent right only, is a principle too well
established to be brouErht into discussion. Each .State has exclusive
398 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
jurisdiction over its own vessels. Its laws govern in them ; and offen-
ses against those laws are punishable by its tribunals only. The Jlag
of a nation protects every tiling sailing under it in time of peace ; and
in time of war, likewise, with the exception of the belligerent rights
growing out of the war. An cntrij on board the vessels of one power
by the cruisers of another in any other case, or the exercise of any
other authority over them, is a violation of right, and an act of hostil-
ity.' It is incumbent upon us to maintain this principle of the law
of nations inflexibly, and in its undiminished integrity. The inviola-
bility of the deck of an American vessel on the high seas, under all
circumstances, in time of peace, and in time of war, with those limited
exceptions only which are established by the acknowledged laws of
war as affecting neutrals — is a doctrine indissolubly connected with
our national honor and security. To admit a right of entry on board
an American vessel on the high seas, in any case in time of peace, is
to surrender the principle, and to open a door for the most dangerous
abuses. On this subject, we may learn useful lessons from the history
of the past. In our long and bitter controversy with Great Britain
respecting imjyrcssmenf, unable to find any principle of the law of
nations which gave her the right to enter on board American vessels
in quest of British seamen, she defended the practice under cover of
a right to entry, acknowledged to exist in time of war, for a wholly
different object. She said, that by the acknowledged rules of inter-
national law, we have a right to board and search neutral vessels in
time of war, for contraband and enemies property ; and being, in the
exercise of this unquestioned right, lawfully on board an American
vessel, if we find British seamen there, we may lawfully impress and
carry them away ; though we had no right in the first instance, to go
on board for such an object. This was the British argument, in jus-
tification of the impressment of seamen on board American vessels,
gravely put forth to the world in the memorable declaration of the
Prince Eegent of the 9th of January, 1813.
" Now, Mr. president, if, contrary to the whole current of doctrine
and authority by which we have been heretofore guided, on this sub-
ject of maritime rights, we yield a right of entry into an American
vessel in time of peace in any case, upon the plea of suspected piracy
or any other — do we not afford a cover, under which Great Britain, if
her pride or policy should dictate, may be emboldened to renew her
claim of impressment, even in a time of general peace? She might
well say (after the formula of the Prince Regent's declaration), that
being rightfully on board, upon suspicion of piracy by your own
admission, and finding there those we claim to be our seamen, we will
WILLIAM C. RIVES. 399
impress tliem, in the name and by virtue of that natural allegiance
which our laws declare to be permanent and unchangeable, and which
is due in peace as well as war.
" Of all the pretexts for the violation of our flag, the loosest and
most susceptible of abuse in practice, would be the plea of suspected
piracy. What are the external indices of a pirate ? A loic, long,
black-looking vessel, we are told: and. under this description, every
Baltimore schooner would be subject to be boarded and overhauled.
In what, in the modern use of language, consists piracy itself? In the
plastic hands of diplomacy and power, nothing is susceptible of a
greater variety of protean shapes. We can not have forgotten, that
in a solemn official communication which the late British Principal
Secretary of State for foreign affairs (Lord Palmerston) caused to be
addressed to this Government, in justification of the destruction of the
Caroline, within the limits of our territory, the citizens of the United
States who took part with the inhabitants of Canada in the late insur-
rection in that province, were gravely characterized as ' American
pirates ;' and an elaborate argument from Mr. Webster was necessary
to prove that this application of the term was not proper. In the dis-
cussions which took place between the same Minister and our Kepre-
sentative in London,- on this very subject of the right of visit, he
habitually denominated vessels supposed to be engaged in the slave
trade, as 'slave-trading pirates;' and he repeatedly and emphatically
appealed to the denunciation of the trade as jiiraci/ by the laws of the
United States.
" It is easy to foresee therefore, how, under an admitted right of visit,
and search also, according to the message, upon suspicion of piracy,
with a little of the dexterity and boldness of diplomacy in the use of
language, the whole of our growing and important commerce on the
coast of Africa, might be driven from those seas by insupportable
vexations. The only security to the rights of American navigation
on the ocean, and for the honor of our flag, is to adhere inflexibly to
the doctrine which was maintained by our fathers, and which has been
delivered down to us from the great oracles of public law in Europe
and America — that in time of peace there is no right in any case what-
ever, on the part of a foreign cruiser, to enter and detain on the high
seas (whether under the name of visit or search), a vessel which bears
our national flag; by which, of course is meant the legitimate and
bona fide flag of the United States."
400 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
PACIFIC RAILROAD.
Abstract of the speech of the author, at the St. Louis Railroad
Convention in October, 1849, Judge Douglass, President.
Mr. President, I listened with all the attention due to the subject,
to your opening speech, and also to the able speech of Col. Benton,
yesterday. 1 am complimented by the request of the convention that
I should tate the main stand, showing a disposition to hear me. This
is a great national question, and involves the practicability of building
a railroad that shall be for all time the connecting link, inland, between
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This question being settled, we come
to the minor questions, whether there shall be more than one road con-
structed, at which point shall the Eastern terminus be, and how the
means shall be raised to construct the work. I desire to address a
few remarks to the convention upon these questions ; and, first, Mr.
President, let me say a word upon your suggestion that to avoid Con-
stitutional difiSculties, the commencement of the work should be in
one of our territories, beyond the States of Missouri, Iowa, and Wis-
consin. This is assuming that the road will be built, as a Govern-
ment road, or under authority of the General Government, and that
there is no Constitutional power to construct it in the States; and,
therefoi'e, to secure the power, the road must be made through terri-
tories exclusively, if this position is maintained. If this road can
not be placed on national grounds, so as to relieve it from all Consti-
tutional objections, it at once ends the question, and all argument in
favor of its ever becoming a national work. It drives it from Con-
gressional action, and leaves it to private associated enterprise, like
all the other works in the States ; for it is very clear that it requires as
strong an exercise of Constitutional powers to keep up, and run the
road, and take tolls, after the road is built, as it does to construct it
in the first place ; and it is equally clear that to commence the road
in a territory will not relieve it of the difficulty, as these territories
will soon be States, and if the State sovereignty shall strike down the
arm of the Government, for the want of Constitutional power in the
Government to uphold it, the question is settled. It never should be
undertaken by the Government. This is a question that has divided
the Statesmen of the United States. I have held, that wherever the
main question is settled, that the work is of national importance, the
power of the Government to construct it, under the enumerated Con-
stitutional powers, follows as much as to build a light-house, establish a
post-road, or a military road, in a State. Having said thus much,
Mr. President, on the question of power on the part of the Govern-
PACIFIC RAILROAD. 401
ment to construct the work, if it shall be of a national character, I
proceed to say something on the other questions involved.
It seems to me but as yesterday that the Eastern press announced
the completion of the then wonder of the age, the Pennsylvania
Mauch Chunk railroad. Far and wide was the news spread, and
thousands from every part of the country came to see the first rail-
road ever constructed in the United States. The road was about eight
miles in length, built upon an inclined plane, without cross-ties, heavy
cast-iron chairs, a foot apart, bolted to rocks ; cars holding six pas-
sengers, drawn up the grade at the rate of two miles an hour by
mules, to be returned in the cars of the down train. The idea of
steam engines had not then entered into the brain of any one as a
propelling power on land.
From this embryo idea have the railroads of the United States pro-
gressed, until we have more miles of railroad than all the world
besides. We now have seventeen thousand eight hundred miles of first-
class roads, costing over five hundred millions of dollars, and traversing
twenty-three States, in full operation, while the railroad spirit is push-
ing its enterprises into every part of the nation. In lieu of the six-
passenger ear drawn by mules, at the rate of two miles an hour, we
now have lightning trains with their thousand passengers propelled
by their flying locomotives.
From the mere local operations of that small beginning, our rail-
roads have already passed the barriers of the Alleghanics, the Ohio,
and the Mississippi, and are soon to connect the Atlantic with the Pa-
cific, almost annihilating time and space, and binding the States
together in bonds of common interest as durable as the Union — but
a few years ago a band of pilgrim exiles on a rock-bound coast in the
New Woild ; now, a mighty nation, whose flag floats in every commer-
cial port, whose fame fills the world, and whose temple is dedicated to
the true and living God.
The great valley of the Mississippi, whose fertile soil, if properly
cultivated, would feed the inhabitants of the globe, is rising in wealth,
population, and power at a rate unparalleled in the history of our
race, giving conclusive evidence that it is yet to contain a more dense
population than any other part of the earth. Where the bread is,
there will be the mouths to eat it. Indiana, with a population barely
enough to be admitted into the Union as yesterday, now numbers over
a million and a quarter. From a western frontier State, she now occu-
pies the central portion of the nation ; from a single delegate in Con-
gress, she now has eleven representatives ; and from being without a sin-
gle mile of railroads, she now has some twelve hundred miles in full
26
402 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
operation, and others in process of construction. Such was her begin-
ning, and such has been her progress. How greatly have the rela-
tive positions of that State changed within a few years. A very short
time since, the valley of the Mississippi was viewed as our western
boundary, and none were so visionary as to look further west for prac-
ticable purposes. Now that vast country on the Pacific embraced by
Oregon and California — that land of gold and of promise, is rising in
wealth and importance, with a rapidity without precedent in the his-
tory of the world. We in the East are united to that distant part
of the Union by all the ties of common interest, common brother-
hood, and a common country. It is not strange, then, that the pub-
lic mind, both in and out of Congress, should be turned to the impor-
tance of a railway connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific ?
The ocean route around Cape Horn has long since been abandoned as
too tedious, and attended with perils too great. The Panama and
Nicaragua route, now principally traveled, can be tolerated only until
the more direct route shall be prepared for the public. The overland
emigrant route is one of great diflSculty and peril. It is obvious,
therefore, that neither of these routes will answer our purposes. As
was to be expected, the enterprise of connecting the Atlantic with
the Pacific by direct railway, has called forth the great minds of the
nation. Some favor the idea of making it exclusively a national
work ; others of making it a joint work between the Government and
individuals; others of building it by a joint-stock company. All these
plans have their advocates, and while all agree as to the grand idea
that a road should be built, the danger is that any work will be
defeated by the number of plans and routes that will be brought for-
ward. There are some who think that the Government will make the
work, and that it is unnecessary to invoke associated enterprise. If
there were no other objections to this view, the question of route
alone will always defeat any efiicient action of Congress in making it
a national work. Many ro-utes and many plans will be proposed. Sur-
veys and reports will be made ; politicians, great and small, will ride
and fall on the hobby of a national Pacific railroad, and hopes deferred
will sicken the soul so long as it remains a subject of political conten-
tion. The final result will be, that the Pacific railroad will be built
just as the other great enterprises of the day have been — by associated
stockholders, either with or without the collateral aid of the Government
in the shape of lands or otherwise. In the hands of such a company,
actively, energetically, and honestly engaged at an early. day, a com-
pany that could command the confidence of the public at home and
abroad, the work, however immense and however costly, can be built;
PACIFIC RAILROAD. 403
and when in operation, no human foresight can measure its impor-
tance to the stockholders and the public.
There are three routes already prominently before the country, —
the Northern, or Whitney route, adopted by Governor Seward ; the
Missouri route insisted upon by Col. Benton ; and the Southern, or
Gila route, favored by Robert J. Walker, Senator Gwin, and their
associates. The Northern route makes Chicago its eastern terminus ;
the Missouri route St. Louis ; and the Southern route Memphis. All
these routes are maintained by their friends, as practicable. The
fiiends of the Southern route, however, claim for it great advantages
over either of the others, in view of the mild latitude of its probable
location, being so far south as to be protected from the deep snows
that cover the northern mountains. They say that passes through
the Rocky Mountains, on their route, with moderate elevations, can
be obtained, through which the road can be constructed upon easy
grades. These matters should be fully tested before any route is
adopted.
The friends of the Pacific railroad are much indebted to Mr. Whit-
ney for his untiring eflForts to arouse the people of the United States
to its importance. He visited the most, if not all, of the States, held
public meetings, delivered able addresses, obtained memorials and
petitions to Congress favorable to his plans, procured reports from
committees in Congress strongly advocating his views, enlisted for a
time the advocacy of the ablest presses in America, including the New
Tork Tribune. He visited England and laid his plans before com-
mittees there with some prospect of success, and at one time it really
looked as if his plan would meet the favor of the nation. But the
more closely it was examined, the less favor it obtained, until at this
day there are very few who openly avow themselves in its favor. The
radical objection was two-fold. The first was, that its location was too
far north to make it a national work ; its starting point was at the
Northern Lakes : the route was upon a highly northern parallel of
latitude liable to be incumbered by deep snows ; it passed extensive
■wastes between the Lakes and Rooky Mountains, uninhabitable by
man, without timber, and destitute of water. Its route lay far from
any traveled part of the country, and therefore the whole road to the
Pacific would have to be constructed before any part could be made
profitable.
These and other objections seemed to rise against the route. But
the other and still more prominent and fatal objection to the plan of
Mr. Whitney, was as to the inadequacy of the means with which he
404 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
proposed to construct the work. While the matter lay simply in
petitions and resolutions to Congress, the cost to the people was
nothing, Wr. Whitney went on swimmingly. But when the question
of means was examined, the matter took a more serious turn ; and here,
perhaps, is the important point of all enterprises, great and small.
It is not so difficult to find routes for railroads as means to build
them. If Mr. Whitney's route had even met the approbation of the
nation, it was easy to see that his means were wholly inadequate to
the proposed end. The building of a railroad to the Pacific is a Her-
culean work ; will require much time, and a very large amount of
means — not less, evidently, than one hundred millions of dollars, and
even that sum might not accomplish the enterprise. Mr. Whitney
and the committees of Congress proposed that the work should be
built out of the proceeds of a strip of sixty miles of the public lands
on the route of the road. It was clear that the sales of the whole of
the public lands of the United States, located to suit purchasers, did
not exceed over three or four millions of dollars annually, upon the
ground that public lands are governed by the principle of supply and
demand, like other articles in the market. Then supposing Mr.
Whitney to receive annually one million of dollars from his strip, it
would take one hundred years to build the road out of these means, if
every tie and every rail were as durable as the granite rock. The plan
of Mr. Whitney does not seem to be longer urged upon Congress ;
yet he certainly gave strength to the idea of connecting the Atlantic
with the Pacific by railwaj-, and caused thousands to investigate the
subject who otherwise would never have looked into it. I take pleas-
ure in referring to this pioneer Pacific-railroad man, and in com-
mending his zeal and untiring eiforts to those who shall follow in that
great enterprise.
I am fivorable to a single road to the Pacific, to run through the
South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, branching on the Pacific side to
San Francisco and Oregon City, with branches on the Atlantic side
from Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago, uniting at or near the mouth
of the Kansas. Such a line, with such branches, if as practicable as
to grades, snows, and other obstructions, I believe, would be of a
more national character, and accommodate more of the Atlantic States
than any other.
The question of means to construct this great work, is still of th
highest importance. It has been already observed that this can never
be solely a political road ; but it does not follow that if a private
stock company should take hold of the work in a spirit of faithful
PACIFIC EAILROAD. 405
determination to construct it, Congress should not give at least as
much incidental aid as has been given to other works in the States.
Are the United States less interested in the construction of the Pacific
Eailroad than in the works they have already aided by grants of pub-
lic lands? Most assuredly not. Indeed it may be assumed, that
■were there no Constitutional objections ; no questions of route ; no
questions of precedent, this great enterprise would demand the
immediate action of Congress in its construction. No work of the
kind, in this or any otlier country, has ever been so important to the
whole nation. No work so essential in times of peace or war. If
constructed, it would at once become the great artery of the nation,
through which would flow the life-blood of commerce. It would
become the import channel for the transportation of our great mail
JTom the Atlantic to the Pacific. ,It would afi'ord the most rapid pos-
sible facilities for throwing our army and munitions of war into the
distant parts of the Union, in cases of sudden emergency. It would
add immensely to the value of the public domain in the region of
country through which it might pass. It would be the means of set-
tling remote sections, and protecting the immigrants between the
Atlantic and Pacific. It would remove, in a great degree, the dan-
gers to our citizens of traveling by other routes from the Atlantic to
the Pacific : and, above all, it would bring the remote States of the
Union into the same neighborhood, remove all inducements to a
Bepkration, and perpetuate the Union for all time. Such would be
some of the advantages of the road to the nation : there are others
of scarcely, if any, less importance.
The commerce of the United States is completely severed — not
only internally, but externally. There is no common intercourse
between the States. The Atlantic and Pacific sections must remain
as foreign nations to each other, until a direct avenue of connection
is opened between them, the efiect of which will not only be to unite
them together in commercial relations, but to draw to them those
nations with whom they are separately united by commercial ties.
The islands of the Pacific, China, and Japan will follow Washington,
Oregon, and California, with their commerce through the direct chan-
nel to the Atlantic cities ; and England and France will meet them
there, and, in turn, pass through the great highway to the shores of
the Paoifi'c. It requires but a single glance at the map to see, that
whenever this grea* thoroughfare shall be opened across the United
States, it must become, like the ocean, the highway of nations, con-
necting, not only the Atlantic with the Pacific, but Europe with Asia,
406 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
by a direct and mueli shorter route than was ever dreamed of by
modern navigators. If this be so, then indeed are the United States
more deeply interested in this jrreat enterprise than in any and all
others that have received their countenance and regard ; and may it
not be hoped, that the high importance of the work may call forth so
united an expression on the part of Congress, favorable to such collat-
eral aid in the grant of lands contiguous to the line that may be
adopted, as to enable a company, with the stock that may be obtained,
to construct the work? This road will have to be built in continuous
sections, from the eastern and western terminus, carrying forward the
materials over the finished sections, populating the country, and mak-
ing the road profitable to the stockholders as it advances, until the
ends shall meet, and the whole line be thrown open to the world.
The influence of our railroads upon the wealth and prosperity of
the nation admits of no estimate ; it may be safely said, that we are io
advance of where we would have been without them, more than fifty
years; and that the increase in value of the real estate within the
direct influence of their operations, is more than three hundred fold.
The number of miles of railway now in operation upon the sur-
face of the Globe, is 35,264; of which 16,180 miles are in the eastern
hemisphere, and 19,084 miles in the western : and which are distrib-
uted as follows : In the United States, 17,811 miles; in the British
Provinces, 823 miles ; in the island of Cuba, 359 miles ; in Panama,
31 miles ; in South America, 60 miles ; in Great Britain, 6,976 miles ;
in Germany, 5,340 miles ; in France, 2,480 miles ; in Belgium, 532
miles ; in Russia, 422 miles ; in Sweden, 75 miles ; in Italy, 170
miles; in Spain, 60 miles; in Africa, 25 miles; and in India, 100
miles. The longest railway in the world, is the New York Central,
which is 621 miles in length ; the number of miles of railway in the
United States, exceeds the rest of the world by the amount of 358
miles. The total number of railways completed, in the United States,
is 264 ; the number in course of construction, is 134 ; the number of
miles in operation, is 17,811, which have been constructed at a cost of
$508,588,038 ; the number of miles in course of construction, is 12,898.
The average cost of the railroads of the United States, per mile, has
been only a fraction over $28,000 ; there were opened in the United
States, in the year 1851, 1,278 miles; in 1852, 2,282 miles; and in
1853, 3,964 miles.
The estimated cost of the Pacific Railroad, is one hundred mill-
ions of dollars. This appears at first blush to be an enormous sum
for a single work, but when we reflect that we have already built
PACIFIC RAILROAD. 407
more railroads than all the world beside, and that the Erie Bailroad
alone cost nearly the one-third of that sum, and then take into con-
sideration the magnitude and importance of this work, and that it will
enlist in its construction the capital of Europe as well as America,
the questioa would seem to be no longer debatable, whether or not it
can be constructed, by the right kind of men using proper energy at
the proper time. The work will have two important advantages over
ordinary roads. It will not have to meet the hypocritical cry from
persons interested in completed works, that we are building too many
railroads, and the heavy cost of its construction will protect it from
any rival work for years, giving it the direct business overland between
the oceans.
I would like, Mr. President, to say something upon the question
of route, noticed by Col. Benton, but I see the Committee on Resolu-
tions are coming, and I will not longer occupy the stand. I am
greatly obliged to the convention for the courtesy of a hearing.
408 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
CALEB B. SMITH.
Few men in the West have filled a larger space in the public eye
than the subject of this sketch. One day I was sitting in my oflSce
at Connersville, when there entered a small youth, about five feet
eight inches high, large head, thin brown hair, light blue eyes,
high, capacious forehead, and good features, and introduced himself
as Caleb B. Smith, from Cincinnati. He stated his business in a lisp-
ing tone. He had come to read law with me, if I could receive him.
I assented to his wishes, and he remained with me until he was admit-
ted to practice, and commenced his professional, as well as political
career, at Connersville. He rose rapidly at the bar, was remarkably
fluent, rapid, and elocjuent before the jury, never at a loss for ideas or
words to express them ; if he had a fault as an advocate, it was that
he suffered his nature to press forward his ideas for utterance, faster
than the minds of the jurors were prepared to receive them ; still he
was very successful before the Court and jury. He represented his
county in the Legislature of the State; was Speaker of the House;
twice elected to Congress from his district ; stood high in that body as
a member, and an eloquent speaker. He was one of the most elo-
quent and powerful stump-speakers in the United States, a warm and
devoted Whig ; was on the commission, after he left Congress, with
Corwin and Payne, under the Mexican treaty ; since which he has
retired to the practice of his profession in Cincinnati. I saw him a
few days ago, in fine health, but how changed; age had marked him
visibly ; his head was bald, his cheeks furrowed, his eyes sunken,
covered with glasses. I give to the reader an extract from his speech
upon the Constitutionality of the act of Congress, requiring Congress-
men to be elected by districts. Some of the States had elected by
general tickets, disregarding the act of Congress as unconstitutional.
" This is the first time, since the organization of the Federal Gov-
ernment, that the House of Representatives has been called upon in
this manner to decide upon the Constitutionality of an act of Con-
gress. From the decision of the House there is no appeal ; its action
is final, and can not be reversed. The Constitution having made each
branch of Congress, respectively, the exclusive judge of the validity
of the election of its own members, the Cjuestion can not be presented
to the judicial tribunals of the country, for their decision. It becomes
us, then, to be the more cautious and circumspect in our deliberations,
and the more careful of the precedent we may establish. Before we
assume the responsibility of declaring an act of Congress unconstitu-
tional and void, it should be made clear and palpable that the Consti-
CALEB B. SMITH. / 409
tutiou lias been violated. Should the question be cue of doubt, it is
our duty to regard the law as binding, and to conform our action to
its provisions. Without further preliminary remarks, I will proceed
to the examination of the question now before the House. The last
Congress incorporated in the act to apportion Representatives among
the several States, a provision that the Representatives from each
State should be elected by districts, but one member being elected
from any one district. All the States have complied with the requisi-
tions of the act of Congress, and elected their Representatives in
conformity with its provisions, except the States of New Hampshire,
Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri. These States have elected their
Representatives by general ticket, in direct violation of the law. The
House is now called upon to determine whether the Representatives
thus elected in violation of the law are entitled to seats upon this floor.
If the act of Congress requiring the Representatives to be elected by
districts is Constitutional, it is clear they have no right to be admitted
as members, and they can only retain their seats upon the supposition
that the law is in violation of the Constitution. A decision of the
Constitutional question is then unavoidable, as upon its determination
rests their right. Much has been said during the discussion, of the
relative advantages of the district and general ticket systems of elect-
ing Representatives, and-also of the propriety of Congress attempting to
control the action of the States upon this subject. This argument
has certainly no relevancy to the subject now under discussion.
When the bill containing this provision was before Congress, the expe-
diency of the measure was a legitimate subject of argument. But
having become a law, the cjuestion of its expediency is at an end. It
is now recorded upon our statute-book as a law of the land, and as a
law-abiding people, we are bound to yield implicit obedience to its
behests, unless it is clearly in violation of the Constitution. The
second section of the apportionment act of the last Congress, the Con-
stitutionality of which is denied, is as follows :
" ' And be it further enacted, That in each ease where a State is
entitled to more than one Representative, the number to which each
State shall be entitled under the appointment shall be elected by dis-
tricts, composed of contiguous territory, equal in number to the num-
ber of Representatives to which said State shall be entitled ; no one
district electing more than one Representative.'
" Had Congress the right to make this regulation in regard to the
manner of electing Representatives? That clause in the Constitution
under which the power is claimed, is found in the fourth section of
the first article, and reads in these words : ' The time, place, and
410 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall
be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, hut the Con-
gress may at any time, hy law, make or alter such regulations, except
as to the place of choosing Senators.' The power is here expressly
conferred upon Congress, either to make regulations in regard to ' the
time, place, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Repre-
sentatives,' or to ' alter such regulations as may be made by the State
Legislatures.'
" The position advanced by a majority of the Committee on Elec-
tions, that the act of Congress, requu-ing the Representatives to be
elected by districts, is a nullity, because it does not define the district
and prescribe all the i-egulations necessary to complete the election,
could only have been conceived in the desperate efi'ort to nullify an
act of Congress, in the absence of any reasonable or plausible pretext
to do so. That CongTess has the power under the Constitution to
district the States, and regulate, in every other respect, the 'manner'
of the elections, is not denied. It was never supposed, however, by
those who framed the Constitution, that Congress would enter into the
details in prescribing the manner of election. These it was undoubt-
edly supposed, would be left to the legislation of the States. Mr.
Madison, in speaking of the action of the convention, as I have
before quoted, said: ' It was thought the particular regulations should
be submitted to the States, and the general regulations to Congress.'
The action of Congress in this respect, is strictly in conformity with
the opinion of that distinguished statesman. It aspires only to pre-
scribe the general regulation, that the election shall be by districts,
while the particular regulations of defining the districts, and the mode
of conducting the elections and making the returns, is left to the
States. If the States choose to elect their Representatives in conform-
ity with the general regulations thus prescribed, and the act of Con-
gress, 'i'?i pursuance thereof,' their Representatives may claim to be
admitted on this floor. But if they refuse to elect in conformity to
these regulations, those claiming to be their Representatives have no
more right to be admitted as members of this body, than would the
same number of persons elected in Canada or Texas. Should there
be a continued refusal on the part of the States to conform to the
regulations prescribed. Congress might be driven to the necessity of
exercising more fully the power which it possesses of regulating ' the
time, place, and manner ' of the elections, in order to secure a repre-
sentation from the States, and insure the continuance of the Govern-
ment.
" It is, Mr. Speaker, unfortunate for the country that party-spirit
CALEB B. SMITH. 411
has attained the alarming ascendency we liave witnessed for some
years past. If we have reason to fear for the permanency of our
Government, and the prosperity of our institutions from any cause, it
is from this. Tlie danger of party degenerating into faction is immi-
nent and alarming. The history of the past appeals to us, in solemn
and warning tones, to avoid this evil. It is the fatal rock, upon
which most of the republics which have heretofore existed, have split.
And can we expect to pursue the same course, and yet avoid the
results which have heretofore uniformly sprung from it? Can we
expect to nourish the viper in our bosom, and not feel his fangs?
Let us not lull ourselves into a false security by any such anticipa-
tions. Human nature is in all ages of the world the same ; and the
same causes which brought destruction upon the republics of the old
world, must work out the same bitter fruits with us, if not counter-
acted, notwithstanding all our boasted intelligence and patriotism.
The hideous spirit of faction has indeed already, to a most alarming
extent, been developed in this country. The rigid discipline oi party
has already, to an extraordinary degree, destroyed every thing like
independence of opinion. Like the iron bed of Procrustes, it admits
of no latitude and no variation from the party standard. The expan-
sive or contracting power is applied, until the opinions of its votaries
are brought to range with the party lines. Opinions of the most dan-
gerous character and the most anti-republican tendency are advanced
by party leaders, and being incorporated into the party creed, receive
the cordial support of all the party adherents. I fear, sir, that the
history of this country will furnish additional evidence of the truth
of the remark, that the ' spirit of party is stronger than the spirit of
liberty.' It sweeps over the country with the resistless power of the
tornado, prostrating its institutions and sacrificing its best interest.
The voice of patriotism, as compared with its powerful tones, is but
as the gentle whispers of the evening breeze to the hoarse thunders
of the resistless whirlwind. The laws and Constitution become as
powerless to arrest its course, as the mere parchment upon which they
are written. Have we not reason to believe that this spirit has given
birth to the violent opposition which has been made to the apportion-
ment act of the last Congress? For the first time in many years, the
Whigs had a majority in both branches of the last Congress. The
party which has been driven from power by the voice of the people
in 1840, smarting under the irrecent defeat, assailed the Whig Con-
gress with every species of abuse and vituperation. No sooner had it
exercised the clear and unequivocal power delegated to it by the Con-
stitution, to require the election of Representatives to Congress to be
412 EAELY INDIANA TRIALS.
made by districts, than a regular and systematic party organization
was adopted to resist and nullify its action. Notwithstanding the
almost universal sentiment throughout the country, of the great
advantages of the district over the general ticket system of election,
several of those States in which the Whig party was in the minority,
while they conformed their action to the law, and laid off the Con-
gressional districts in pursuance of its requisitions, protested against
the right of Congress to make this regulation, and hurled defiance to
the Federal Government.
" The decision of this question will be looked for with deep and
anxious solicitude. iShould this House treat this law as unconstitu-
tional, although its decision may meet with the approbation of a
strong political party, yet, sir, when the spirit of party shall subside
(if in the wisdom of Providence we shall ever be permitted to see
that period), and the American people shall see, and think, and act,
uninfluenced by party shackles, its decision will meet with universal
condemnation. Had the construction now attempted to be placed on
the fourth section of the first article of the Constitution been sug-
gested in the days of Madison, of Jefferson, and of Hamilton, it
would have excited a smile and provoked ridicule : and in after times,
when no interested or party feelings shall obscure the judgment or
becloud the understanding, men will wonder at the delusion which
could sustain such a construction."
THE TELEGKAPH. 413
THE TELEGRAPH.
It was in the year 1842, about 12 o'clock of the day, when 1 was
notified in the Senate Chanlher by the Sergeant-at-Arms, that Profes-
sor Morse wished to see the Senators in a committee room for the pur-
pose of showing the operation of his magnetic telegraph. I repaired
to the room at once, and found the Professor there alone. In a few
minutes Senators Linn, Huntington, Merrick, Berrian, Woodbury, and
Davis came in. He then proceeded to show us his invention and to
point out the mode of operation. I watched his countenance closely, to
see if he was not deranged, as that very morning I had been met in the
rotunda by a middle-aged man with long hair hanging over his face,
and as we met he remarked : " Are you a member of Congress ?" "I
am." " Are you as big a fool as the rest? " " Perhaps so, and perhaps
not." " Do you believe any thing that you don't see ? " " Yes, I have
a good deal of faith." " I am the inventor of the flying fish, do you
believe in that?" '• I never supposed that there was any ditficulty in
flying; I thought the trouble was in lighting; can you light easy?"
" I understand you. The question you ask is, whether I can over-
come gravitation. I see you are just as big a fool as the rest of
them," and he passed on. He was evidently deranged, and I looked
upon Prof. Morse, and his wild talk about electricity, and the cer-
tainty of the success of his plan, in the same light, and I was assured
'by the other Senators after we left the room, that they had no confi-
dence in it. There was not at that time a mile of stretched wire for
telegraphic purposes in the United States. Soon after there was an
operation very satisfactory between Capitol Hill and Bladensburgh,
some five miles, which was followed by an extension of the wire to
Baltimore, with entire success. Such was the beginning of the system
of telegraphs in the United States, that has extended over the length
and breadth of the land, and will ultimately, by the submerged wires,
connect Europe with America, Asia, Africa, and Oceanica, anni-
Tiilating time and space, overcoming all natural obstruction upon land
and under the ocean, and our mighty rivers. It is not my purpose to
describe the instrument, nor to trace the embryo stages of the idea
that led to the perfected telegraphic wire with the battery, by which
our words are carried with the speed of lightning, and the certainty
of truth. The object of this sketch is to show the reader the skepti-
cism of good minds, after full explanations on this great invention.
Professor Morse was above the medium hight, well made, dark hair
and eyes, large square forehead, prominent nose, wide mouth, project-
ing chin, hair thrown up on one side of his head, dressed plain, wore
414 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
no hair on his face. His countenance indicated deep thought and
long study. His mind during the time I was with him seemed to be
entirely absorbed with the telegraph. I find in the Western Demo-
cratic Review, a notice of Professor Morse and the telegraph, from
which I take some extracts that will be read with interest :
" Mr. Morse acquired a vast fund of knowledge in his European
tour, having familiarized himself with the best models in the world;
and he quit England, in 1832, with every prospect of winning, in a
few years, a splendid fame.
" Up to this period, according to the most reliable information in
our possession, Mr. Morse seems not to have indulged even a remote
idea of such an invention as that which has since enrolled him on the
list of the first scientific men of all ages. His whole mind appears to
have been occupied upon matters bearing no relation even to the sub-
ject of electricity, in any of its various modes. It is doubtless true
that his reading had been so extensive, and his habits of thought so
rigid and methodical, he could easily have transformed himself from
a painter to a sage, but it is not in evidence that any such disposition
as he afterward made of lightning was a part of his daily meditation.
Indeed, if he be constituted like the generality of the votaries of the
' fine arts,' a prophetic development of his future course would proba-
bly have subjected the scientific Elijah to silent imputations on the
part of Morse not very creditable to the inspiration of the former.
The privilege is not allowed even to genius in this world to inspect
its own elements, and read its own destiny, and it is perhaps well for
mankind that it is so. Could we lift the curtain which hides our
future lives, and glance hastily at the misfortunes, the vexations, and
the disappointments which await us, we should be discouraged from
attempting the performance even of such deeds as are destined even-
tually to crown us with honor. Could Prof. Morse have foreseen the
trials through which he has passed, and believed that he would be
called to prove to the scientific world so obvious a fact as his exclusive
right of property in the magnetic telegraph, this great invention
would probably not have ranked among the improvements of the
nineteenth century. But we have not space to digress from our sub-
ject.
" The word telegraph is from two Greek words, rrj.t and yoimw — ■
the former signifying ' distant,' and the latter -write,' referring to a
contrivance by which intelligence may be communicated to a distance,
and generally to a method of communicating by preconcerted sig-
nals. Different names have been applied in different countries. In
France, the denomination Simaphore is often used. Telegraphing is
THE TELEGRAPH. 415
almost as old as the world, having been considered a very important
adjunct, in every age, of the machinery of war. Perhaps a tliousand
kinds of signals have prevailed among the various nations of the
earth, and a history of their gradual improvement, though void of
value, would not be destitute of interest. One of the most complete
and simple methods which we remember was practiced by John Smith,
the ' father of Virginia,' while a prisoner of war in Turkey. Most
of the telegraphs of olden times consisted of boards or wooden arms,
which signified the letters of the alphabet, according to the positions
in which they wore placed. A singular telegraph was used in France
toward the close of the last century, by which intelligence was com-
municated, letter by letter — only sixteen letters constituting the entire
alphabet. A piece of machinery of this description was in operation
between the Louvre, in Paris, and Lisle, enabling the Committee of
Public Safety and the combined armies in the Low Countries to com-
municate with each other. So great wore the advantages derived even
from the use of this bungling apparatus, all Europe, and particularly
the British Empire, set about effecting some radical improvement. A
great number of plans was proposed, which may be reduced to two
classes : first, shutters, which open or close certain apertures made to
receive them ; secondly, ai-ms niovable on pivots. A shutter-appara-
tus was adopted by the Admiralty in the first Government line of tele-
graphs established in England, in the year 1796. between Loudon and
Dover. This machinery continued in use until 1816. In this year,
it was determined to adopt the semaphores of France, which had been
in use on the French coast from 1803 ; and, as materially improved
by Sir Home Popham, they were found of very great service. Pop-
ham's telegraph consisted of two arms on one post ; but, as they were
mounted upon separate pivots, each could assume six different posi-
tions, and was capable of affording twenty-four signals. This appa-
ratus, with some modifications, lasted until the introduction of the
electric telegraph. The greatest facility ever attained in si'tjnal com-
munication was by the method invented by Col. Paisley, of France,
in 1822 : ' It consisted of upright posts of moderate hight, having
two arms moving upon a common pivot, each of which could be put
in seven positions, and each position indicated a word or sentence.
The posts were placed from three to five miles apart ; but each was
visible to the nearest on either side. When the arm of the first was
put in a given position, the man at the second put his in the same
position, and the third, fourth, etc., did the same, and a word was thus
run through the line at the rate of about a mile in a second ; then
another word was conveyed in the same way, and then another, and
416 EAELY IXDIAXA TEIALS.
so on, till the whole message was communicated. It could be used,
of course, only by day-ligbt. There were twenty-seven of these signal
posts between Calais and Paris, 152 miles; a word was conveyed
through the line in three minutes, and a sentence of ten word in half
an hour. There were eighty signal posts between Paris and Brest,
325 miles, through which distance a word was conveyed in ten min-
utes, and a sentence of ten words in one hour and forty minutes. It
will be seen at once, that this mode of conveying intelligence was very
expensive ; it required more than eighty men to convey ten words 325
miles, and kept them occupied one boor and two-thirds. And yet it
was deemed so important to be able to convey it in this speedy man-
ner, the government of France supported them at the cost of §210,000
annually. England paid S15,000 a year to sustain 72 miles of tele-
graph, between Portsmouth and London.'
" Methods of telegraphic communication without machinery, have,
at various periods, been devised and used in conducting military ope-
rations ; and these have been found particularly valuable in time of
war. One is by ' disks of wood, held by men in certain positions ;
another, by a white handkerchief, varied in position ; another, by two
small flags; and another, by stationing men in pre-arranged positions,'
etc. Naval signals have been found absolutely necessary, at all times.
They have consisted usually of flags, of various forms and colors, some-
times numbered in signal books. The best system of flag telegraph-
ing is perhaps that invented a few years ago by Mr. ^"atson. But
we must proceed at once to the consideration of the Electro-Mag-
netic Telegraph.
" While on his way to the United States, in 1832, upon the packet-
ship Sully, a gentleman referring to the experiments which had just
been made in Paris with the electro-magnet, a discussion arose in
regard to the time occupied by the electric fluid in passing through
a wire of a hundred feet in length. Upon the intimation that the
passage is instantaneous — recollecting the experiments of Franklin —
Mr. Morse suggested that the electricity could be carried to any dis-
tance, and be made a means of conveying and recording intelligence.
The idea took deep hold of his mind, and before the end of the voy-
age he had draughted and written a plan of the greatest invention of
the age. ' The electric telegraph, invented by Prof. Morse, of Amer-
ica, in 1837, was essentially a registering instrument, the various
signals being traced on a strip of paper. An electro-magnet was so
placed as to be within attracting distance of any armature fixed to the
shorter arm of a lever, of which the longer end carried a pencil, pro-
jecting sldewise from it, and pressed lightly against a sheet of paper.
THE TELEGRAPH. 417
This paper was made to travel slowly beneath the pencil. So long as
no attractive power was exerted by the electro-magnet, the pencil
would continue to trace a straight line, as the paper moved onward :
but on momentarily making the circuit with the battery, the armature
was drawn to the electro-magnet, and the pencil, carried by the arm
of the lever upward, made an angular mark, like the letter V reversed,
on the paper. These angles might either be joined in groups, by
rapidly succeeding completions of the circuit, or they might be sepa-
rated by longer or shorter spaces of straight line. The nine digits
were represented by corresponding numbers of angles, and these were
combined so as to form all possible numbers. In the telegraph con-
structed by 3Iorse, in 18-44, between Baltimore and Washington, a
different mode of recording the signals was adopted. The use of the
pencil was found objectionable, from its so frequently requiring fresh
pointing, and from the risk of breakage. The same arrangements
were retained in regard to the paper, but it was made in its course to
pass under a roller having a groove around it. , The long arm of the
lever carried a blunt steel point, standing out from its upper surface
vertically, under the groove in the roller. When, therefore, the arm
of the lever was elevated, by the attraction of the magnet upon the
armature, the steel point pressed the paper into the groove, and pro-
duced an indentation. If the attraction were momentary, a depressed
point was produced ; but if the act were continued for a longer time,
a lengthened depression was the result, as the paper was drawn on.
The combinations of these two kinds of marks denoted the various
letters and figures. In his first instrument, Morse produced the
requisite groups of angles by means of types having as many project-
ing ridges, or teeth as there were to be angles. These being arranged
in a fi-arae, as required for the message, made the successive contacts
with the battery, as they were drawn under the lever, or spring. Sub-
sequently, however, a single key was used, by depressing which with
the finger the circuit might be completed when necessary.'
The above extract is from the " National Cyclopaedia," published in
London, in the year 1850. The article may be denominated a labored
attempt to prove that the telegraph is not an American, but an Eng-
lish invention. It will be in vain, however, to attempt to satisfy com-
ing generations that the electro-magnetic telegraph is not the product
of American genius. Wheatstone, in England, and Steinheil, in
Bavaria, about the year 1837, invented telegraphs, differing from
Morse's, and from each other. Wheatstone's is a very inferior one,
not of the recording kind, but requiring to be watched by one of the
attendants — the alphabet being made by the deflection of the needle.
27
418 EARLY IXDIAXA TRIALS.
That of Steinheil, though a recording telegraph, is so complicated and
delicate, as to be unfit for extended lines. Wherever Morse's instru-
ment has been carefully examined it has been pronounced the best.
Already, it has been approved by most of the Governments of the old
world. In 1851, at a convention held by Austria, Prussia, Saxony,
Wirtemburg, and Bavaria, for the purpose of determining upon a
uniform system of telegraphing for Germany, Mr. Morse's instrument,
by the advice of Steinheil, was selected and declared to be superior to
any other that had ever been invented. The first foreign acknowl-
edgment of his invention was by the bestowal of a niskan, or order —
the " order of glory " — by the Sultan of Turkey. Next comes a gold
snuff-box, from the King of Prussia, containing the Prussian gold
medal of scientific merit. Last, from the King of Prussia, the
" Wirtemberg Gold Medal of Arts and Sciences." In 1838, Blorse
went to England to secure a patent in that country, but was refused,
upon the pretext, manufactured by Wheatstone and his friends, that
his invention had been published. The only proof which could be
adduced was the publication of an extract of the New York " Journal
of Commerce " in an English periodical devoted to science.
The first electric telegraph completed in the United States was
erected between Baltimore and Washington, in 1844, and the first
public message transmitted was the announcement of the nomination
by the Baltimore Convention, of James K. Polk, as the Democratic
candidate for the Presidency. More than twenty thousand miles of
telegraph have since been erected in this country, and but a few years
will pass until all parts of our vast domain will be bound together by
iron wires.
Many important improvements have been made of late in tele-
graphing. Whether the system of placing the wire under the ground,
or that of suspending it upon poles, will ultimately prevail, can not
be predicted. The most interesting feature of telegraphing, and that
likely to be attended by the most important results, is the Submarine.
It has been satisfactorily demonstrated that wires may be so coated
with gutta percha and other materials as to act under water. " A
tube," says the National Cydopadia, " so constructed, has been carried
under the sea between Dover and Calais ; and the first communication
by electric telegraph was made from Cape Grinez to Dover on August
28, 1850. Tha length from Dover to Cape Grinez is 21 miles. The
copper wire is one-tenth of an inch in thickness, and is inclosed in a
solid cylinder of gutta percha half an inch in diameter. The entire
length of wire is 25 miles, and its weight is one tun, two cwts., 1
quarter, lOi lbs. The weight of the gutta percha is about four tuns."
THE TELEGRAPH. 419
The electric printing telegraph will, perhaps, be regarded rather
more curious than valuable by genuine mechanics. The machinery is
complicated, and, we believe, expensive; time, however, may demon-
strate its practical utility.
The latest species of telegraphing of which we have heard, is the
Atmospheric. It is thus described by the Washington correspondent
of the Detroit " Free Press: '" " Mr. Eiehardson, the inventor of the
Atmospheric Telegraph, has erected a working model of his invention
in the room of the Senate Committee on Pensions, where it is visited
daily by admiring crowds. There is much more in this than I had
supposed. Indeed, 1 think it is hazarding little to say that in a few
years our friends, Coleman & Stetson, of the Astor House, New York,
or Willard, of tfiis city, may order a fresh salmon from your Macki-
naw fishermen, and have it placed on their larder in less than ten
minutes, ' alive and kicking.' It seems difficult to believe this ; and
j'et the means by which such a result is to be accomplished are far
less extraordinary, and more simple than those by which the magnetic
telegraph operates, as any one will be satisfied who gives five minutes
attention to Mr. Richardson's model. This model consists of a tube
or pipe, having an inch bore, in which runs back and forth a plunger,
or easily-sliding plug. A miniature mail bag is attached to the back
end of this plunger, which, by the way, is so constructed that little
or no air can pass between its edge and the inner surface of the tube.
When the load has been attached to the plunger, the openings in the
pipe between the plunger and the point of destination are all closed,
and made air-tight. A little air pump is then applied, which exhausts
the atmosphere in this part of the tube, creating a vacuum into which
the plunger rushes, followed by its load, impelled by the pressure of
the atmosphere in the rear. It will be seen that just so fost as the
atmosphere is withdrawn from the tube, and the vacuum is created,
just so fast the load will follow; and that, therefore, the precise rate
of speed desired may be acquired, whether that is one mile per hour
or a thousand.
" I gave the model a very thorough examination, and raised every
objection I could think of; but the inventor has a perfectly satisfac-
tory argument in reply to every objection, and I really can not see
why the heaviest mails and all express matter may not be carried
with perfect certainty and ease, and unheard-of rapidity, b}- means
of this invention. A company has already been formed, I under-
stood, for the construction of one of these telegraphic lines, with a
tube two feet in diameter, between Boston and New York. The
420 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
experiment lias already been tried with a tube a mile long, and witb
perfect success."
Professor Morse still indulges the idea of returning to his old pro-
fession — painting ; so much of his time, however, will necessarily be
devoted to the business to which he has given so much attention for
twenty years, an opportunity will probably never arise for him to grat-
ify his ardent wish to become once more associated with the beautiful
and classic models of Italy and the Louvre. We only do him justice
when we assert that he is one of the most intellectual and refined
characters of the age. His genius, or his learning, alone, would con-
stitute him an ornament to the proudest galaxy of literary and scien-
tific men, in the world ; and it is with pride and pleasure we claim
them both as the property of our country. The period is near at
hand when the universal voice will pronounce in his favor, and when
the miserable pretenders of Great Britain that have attempted to
usurp his honors, will sink to merited oblivion.
Professor Morse resides at Locust Grove two miles south of Pough-
keepsie, on the banks of the Hudson.
RAILROADS OF INDIANA. 421
RAILROADS OF INDIANA.
As the prosperity of our State is so intimately identified with our
railroads on the one hand, and the success of our railroads for all
time is so closely and inseparably connected with the prosperity of
the State on the other, I have thought it proper to occupy some space
in the consideration of our railroads, and their eflFects upon the future
growth and prosperity of Indiana.
In order to understand and appreciate the efiieets of our railroads
upon every branch of industry and production, as well as upon the
value of real estate, it is necessary to look at the geographical position
of the State, the character of the country, the quality of the soil, the
climate, the mineral wealth to be developed, the susceptibility of the
lands to cultivation and improvement, the kind and extent of local
productions, the natural facilities in aid of commerce, and products,
and whatever may tend to the prosperity of the State, and the suc-
cess of her public improvements.
Indiana is bounded on the east by the State of Ohio, on the north
by the State of Michigan, on the west by the State of Illinois, and on
south by the Ohio river. She is 276 miles in length, by an average
width of 142 miles ; contains 33,803 square miles, or 21,637,760 acres.
She is situated between latitudes 37° 51' and 41° 46'. She contains
ninety-one counties ; was admitted into the Union in the year 1816,
with a constitution prohihiting slavei-y. The general features of the
State are level, or slightly undulating. There are no mountains or
high hills in the State, except the hills that fringe the Ohio river.
The general soil of the State is composed of rich river-bottoms, tim-
bered uplands and prairies, adapted to all kinds of grain and grasses
grown in this climate. The State is entirely free from surface stone,
and the wild lands are generally well timbered with oak, poplar, wal-
nut, hickory, beech, and sugar upon the uplands ; and with sycamore,
walnut, hackberry, and elm, and an undergrowth of pawpaw, haws,
and grapevines on the first bottom. The whole soil may be said to
be easy of cultivation and eminently productive. The State is well
watered with living springs and running streams, mostly over pure
gravelly beds, abounds in mineral wealth, of iron, coal, building rock,
fire clay, and salt springs. The staple products of Indiana, as best
adapted to the climate and soil, are wheat, rye, corn, oats, barley,
buckwheat, tobacco, potatoes, flax, hemp, and garden products, fruits
of all kinds, cattle, horses, mules, hogs, sheep, and indeed whatever
422 EARLY ir^DIAXA TRIALS.
tlie climate and seasons will mature, the soil will abundantly produce,
if properly cultivated. In a word, Indiana yields to no State in the
Union in point of soil, timber, water, rock, mineral wealth, and gen-
eral productiveness.
The character of the State, of her institutions, and the healthiness
of her climate, may be inferred from the constant and rapid increase
of her population. In 1800, she contained 4,875 inhabitants; in
1810, 24,520; in 1820, 147,178; in 1830, 195,853; in 1840, 685,-
866 ; in 1850, 988,416, and at this time not less than 1,500,000. The
progressive improvements have fully kept pace with the increase of
population, and at no former period have the manifestations of the
onward march of the State to that high destiny that awaits her, been
stronger than at present.
The value of taxables of the State, as appears by the report of the
Auditor for the year 1855, was 8301,858,474. The Auditor estimated
that a new valuation at that time, would probably have given 8380,-
000,000. At this time, in round numbers, we may safely set down
the taxables of the State at 8400,000,000. The product for the year
1855 was, wheat 6,658,952 bushels; corn, 34,811,902; oats, 8,041,-
919; rye, 226,559; potatoes, 1,170,290; horses, mules, and asses,
304,028: cattle, 798,419 ; sheep, 882,797; swine, 2,668,572, and this
with not one acre in ten of the State in cultivation, and not one
acre in twenty properly tilled.
Without designing to raise and agitate the vexed Cjuestion of slav-
ery, as a State institution, it will not be out of place to say, that the
growth and prosperity of Indiana, from the wilderness of her territo-
rial condition, has been owing mainly to her free constitution, and
the consequent character of her population. The grand secret of
which is, that free white labor is honorable, bringing into the field of
enterprise, the active and persevering industry of the Anglo-Saxon
race, and holding out inducements to the hardy and industrious
laborers of foreign countries, to make Indiana their home, where,
from the freedom of her institutions, the equality of her citizens, the
salubrity of the climate, the fertility of her soil, the facility of her
communications with the markets for their surplus products, they are
insured health, comfort, and happiness by their own industry.
Indiana may be called an inland State; for although she is washed
on the north by Lake Michigan, on the south by the Ohio river, and
on the west by the Wabash river, yet no navigable waters penetrate
her interior. She combines all the elements essential to the suc-
cess of railroad operations. Lying across the track of all the rail-
roads connecting the eastern Atlantic States with the Valley of the
RAILROADS OF IXDIAXA. 423
Mississippi, and the still further west to the shores of the Pacific, her
railroads must ever continue to do a heavy, thorough business,
increasing from year to year, as new roads are added to those already
built, extending the lines of travel and business into new and more
distant fields ; while the vast productions of the State, as her
resources are developed by railroad facilities, must, at all times, fur-
nish heavy and profitable local freight for the oars.
It is a matter of regret that while we have in the United States
more miles of railroad than all the world beside, even to this day we
have no connected chains of railroads uniting the North and East
with the South, in the valley of the Mississippi, but still rely upon
the tardy movements of steamers, running only when the rivers are
open and at navigable stages, and then contending against rapid cur-
rents and obstructed navigation. Our railroad enterprises have been
mostly constructed upon the same parallels of latitude, where the
fruits ripen at the same time, forbidding an exchange of the same kind
of products, for the use of the consumers. But the time is coming
when New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Augusta, Charleston, and Gal-
veston will be connected with Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleve-
land, through the capital of our State, by iron rails. When Indiana
will be on the great railroad highway between the North and the
South, as she now is between the East and the West ; when the rapid
transit of the flying cars will exchange the tropical fruits of the South
for the more substantial products of the North. The citizens of the
devoted cities of the South, in times of epidemic, like those that vis-
ited New Orleans a few years since, when commerce bent her sails for
happier ports, when the silence of death reigned unbroken, except as
the sound of the lonely hearse was heard, carrying to the grave the
recent dead, will have rapid facilities to migrate from the presence of
disease and death, to the healthy North. The railroad system of the
United States will never be complete until the Northern Lakes and
the Southern Gulfs, the Atlantic and the Pacific, are united by unbro-
ken chains, and rapid transits.
For the information of persons seeking homes in this great valley,
and who would prefer locating near railroad facilities, it may be pro-
per to say something of our railroad system, and of our roads, more
in detail. Indiana has not, like Illinois and some other States,
received the patronage of the General Government in the shape of
lands to aid in the construction of her railroads. Still we may claim
for our associated enterprise, perhaps, as much credit as any other
State in the Union. Much, very much, has already been done for the
State by the construction of railroads by private capital and enter-
424 EARLY INDIANA TRIALS.
prise, while mucli more remains to be done. The city of Indianapo-
lis, the capital of the State, is located within five miles of its geo-
graphical center, in the midst of one of the most beautiful and fertile
regions of the West ; contains 25,000 inhabitants ; the country, for
one hundred miles in diameter around the city, may be termed an
improved plain, admirably adapted to the construction of railroads in
every direction, — so much so that Indianapolis and our railroads pre-
sent upon the map, an appearance not unlike the hub and spokes of
the wheel of a wagon — the roads, like the spokes, running from the
center to the circumference in every direction. The city is sur-
rounded on three sides — the East, the South, and the West — by what
is called the Union Track, under the charge of a central company,
composed of the presidents of all the roads centering at the capital.
Near the center of the city on the south side, the Union Passenger
Depot is located, 420 feet in length, by 100 feet in width, with five
tracks inside, handsomely lit up with gas by night. All the passen-
ger trains of all the roads receive, discharge, and interchange passen-
gers in this central building. The time each train leaves is shown by
a stationary Director. Tickets for all the roads are sold at the office
by a single person, who expresses no preference for any particular
route over another. The entering and leaving of the trains are regu-
lated by the superintendent of the station, and they move in and out
with the regularity of clock work at the precise time. The freight
depots of the several roads are located on their own tracks, and the
trains switch on and oif the Union Track as required.
This central railroad system, which for simplicity and convenience,
especially to the traveling public, may challenge the admiration of
all, was devised, planned, and carried into effect by myself, as presi-
dent, Austin W. Morris, treasurer, and Thomas A. Morris, chief en-
gineer of the Bellefontaine, John Brough, president of the Madison,
and Chauncey Rose, president of the Terre Haute railroad compa-
nies ; Thomas A. Morris being the chief engineer in the construc-
tion of the track and buildings. The other railroad companies sub-
sequently came into the central arrangement, which is found to work
admirably.
The roads completed at this time, forming radiating lines from the
common center, are the following :
The Terre Haute and Richmond, running from Indianapolis to
Terre Haute, through the counties of Marion, Hendricks, Putnam,
Clay, and Vigo, seventy-three miles in length, connecting with the
Alton and Evansville roads.
The Madison and Indianapolis, running from Indianapolis to
INDIAXA EAILKOADS. 425
Madison, through the counties of Marion, Johnson, Bartholomew,
Jennings and Jefferson, eighty-sis miles in length, connecting with
th'e Ohio River.
TuE Jeffersonville and Indianapolis, running from Indian-
apolis to Jeffersonville, over the Madison road to Edinburgh, thence
through the counties of Johnson, Bartholomew, Jackson, Scott, and
Clark, one hundred and twenty miles, eouueeting with the Ohio
River.
The Indianapolis and Cincinnati, running in this State from
Indianapolis to Lawrenceburgh, through the counties of Marion,
Shelby, Decatur, Ripley, Franklin, and Dearborn, ninety miles, con-
necting with the Ohio River, and the Ohio and Mississippi road to
Cincinnati.
The Indiana Central, running from Indianapolis to Richmond,
through the counties of Marion, Hancock, Henry and Wayne, seventy-
five miles in length, connecting with railroads to Dayton and Cincin-
nati.
The Indianapolis, Pittsburg and Cleveland, running in this
State from Indianapolis to Union, through the counties of Marion,
Hancock, Madison, Delaware and Randolph, eighty-four mi 
