The Philipsburg mail. [volume], September 01, 1899, Image 2

About The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current

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A REMARKABLE MAN.
HE WAS ONCE PRESIDENT FOR
ONE DAY.
David R. Atchison. the Missouri Senator
Who Occuples a Unique Place Ia
Amerlcan Blstory-The Story of His
Career.
(St. Louis Letter.)
David Rice Atchison was born at
Frogtown, Fayette county, Ky., Aug.
11, 1807, and died in Clinton county,
Mo., Jan. 26, 1886, in the 79th year of
his age.
His father was William Atchison, an
elder in the Presbyterian church, and
a wealthy farmer of Fayette county,
the center and garden spot of the Blue
Grass region of Kentucky, who when 6
years of age, moved with his father's
family from Lancaster county, Pa., to
the rich and magnificently improved
county in which young David Atchison
was born.
David R. Atchison in 1823 graduated
with high honor at Transylvania Uni
DAVID R. ATCHISON.
versity, Lexington, Ky., an institution
of learning which even at that early
day was of high repute. After receiv
ing the degree of bachelor of arts, he
determined to study law, and among
the eminent barristers whose instruc
tion he enjoyed were Judge Jesse Bled
soe, Charles Humphrey and William T.
Barry, the latter afterward postmaster
general under Andrew Jackson, 1829
35, and the first po:stmaster general
known to our laws. He was admitted
to the bar and practiced his profession
for a short time in his native etate.
Notwithstanding the flattering pros
pects that opened before him, and the
importunities of friends, he determined
to "go west and grow up with the
country," and in 1S30 selected Liberty,
Clay county, Mo., as his permanent
home. Clay county at that time did
not contain 6,000 inhabitants, and Lib
erty was a small straggling village.
The only resident lawyer of the place
was William T. Wood, now a venerable
and distinguished citizen (aged 90) of
Lexington, Mo., who several years ago
retired from the bar and bench with
"high honors thickly set upon him."
At a regimental muster at Dale's
farm, near Liberty, in the summer of
1835, a citizens' mereting was held.
which originated the project, of the
"Platte purchase," Gen. Andrew S.
Hughes addressing the meeting. A
committee was appointed to memorial
ize congress, consisting of William T.
Wood, David R. Atchison, A. W. Don
Iphan, Peter H. Burnett and Edward
M. Samuel. Judge Wood wrote the me
morial. Senator Benton introduced
the bill, and he and Senator Linn
urged its adoption, and in 1836 the
"purchase" was accomplished.
A few years after taking up his resi
dence at Liberty, Atchison was ap
pointed by Gov. Dunklin major general
of the northern division of the Mis
souri state militia, an honor to which
he is indebted for the prefix to hi.
came, "Ceneral."
H(n. Lewis F. Linn, one of the Unit
ed States Senators from Mli.+o+i:i, die:
in Ste. Gcenevieve Oct. 2, 181:1, who:reul,
on it .c~mrn the duty of Gucv. Re:
nolds to appoint a succu'e::,r to occulp
his :eat until the !h.'isialUle elected
somebody to f111l it. The governor ap
pointed Atchison, which was unexpect
ed and opposed by many of the gov
ernor's political friends. In fact, it
was roundly denounced, and the gover
nor severely criticlsed for making it.
Although a man of large experience in
official life and of recognized ability,
Gov. Reynolds was acutely sensitive to
public criticism, and therefore pos
sessed the weakness of being rendered
very unhappy by it. It was the cank
ering plague spot of his existence.
When therefore he committed suicide
by a rifle shot in his office on Feb. 9,
1844, many supposed that the chief, if
not the only cause of the sad catas
trophe was the abuse he had received,
principally on account of the appoint
ment of Atchison.
When he entered the senate in 1844
his colleague, Col. Benton, had served
the people as a senator for nearly a
quarter of a century and occupied the
front rank among the most distin
guished statesmen of that body. The
new senator's position, therefore, was
very embarrassing. He was overshad
owed by the colossal reputation of a
colleague whose fame was coextensive
with the English-speaking people of
the globe. Under this shadow he con
tinued to the end.
It is easy to see, because the logic
of Atchison's career in the senate and
out of it disclosed the fact, that he an
tagonized his colleague in h;! "appeal"
from the Jackson resolutio.: of 1848.
During the pendency of that issue in
the court in 1849 and while Col. Benton
was prosecuting his remarkable can
vass, Senator Atchison addressed the
people at various places, and generally
in company with Representative James
1. Green. Among his appointments
with Mr. Greene was one at Columbia
on July 21.- Both spoke at great
length and with acknowledged ability.
Senator Atchison was cool and dispas
sionate, indulging in no denunciation
or personal abuse, and often referred
to Benton as "your most distinguished
senator." He occupied much time in
defending the right of instruction as
a doctrine canonized in the traditions
and if:inciples of the Democratic par
ty, to which they both belonged, and
in seeking to show that Benton's "ap
peal" was at war with the doctrine.
Senator Atchison was a leading and
active anti-Benton and pro-slavery
Democrat, and during the pendency of
the Kansas-Nebraska question in con
gress, as well as after his retirement
from the senate, he had the courage
of his convictions and took a promi
nent and aggressive part in efforts to
enforce them. Ilis sympathies were
with the south during the civil war,
and he only declined a commission as
brigadier general in the confederate
army that was tendered him by Gov.
Jackson because the county was not
within the limits of the division.
Senator Atchison was a man of im
posing presence, 6 feet 2 inches high,
and straight as an arrow, florid com
plexion, and would weigh about 200
pounds. He was the soul of honor,
a member of the Presbyterian church,
a fine conversationalist and possessed
a great and exact memory. As a citi
zen he was plain, jovial and unostenta
tious and simple in his tastes. He
was not an aristocrat in dress, living
or life, but a democrat by nature and
education, with profound sympathies
for what Mr. Lincoln called "the com
mon people." HIe regarded himself as
one of the people, and therefore for
the people. He was not an orator,
and in his speeches to senate or peo
ple did not attempt to reach conclu
sions by curved line.s ornamented with
the flowers and festoons of classic dic
tion, but by straight lines that he re
garded as most ornamented when or
namented the least. His speeches
were not beautifully polished shafts of
Corinthian marble, but ragged col
umns of native granite. He was no
orator as Brutus is. but, as all the
people knew, a plain blunt man, who
only spoke right on. Atchison coun
ty, JMo., and the City of Atchison, Kan.,
were named in honor of him.
WM. F. SWITZLER.
THIS CAT DRINKS AND SMOKES
William Thompson of Glenwood,
Pa., has the most remarkable cat in
Pennsylvania. The cat came to Mr.
Thompson's house one stormy night
a year ago. T'he cat was so affec
tionate that he was adopted. After a
while the cat betrayed a strange fond
ness for the smoke that Thompson
puffed from his cigars. It became so
noticeable that Thomas' foster father
regularly shared his after-dinner
cigars with the cat, giving him the
smoke. For a joke a cigar was put
into the cat's mouth one day, and, to
Thompson's great astonishment, the
I,
THOMPSON'S CAT.
cat sat up on his hind legs and puffed
complacently. There was only one
drawback to his success. His teeth
were so sharp that they bit off the
end of the cigars. To remove this, Mr.
Thompson had a wooden cigar-holder
made for Thomas, and he is now able
to indulge his taste for tobacco. An
other accomplishment of the cat is
his ability to drink beer without dis
agreeable effects. Beer rfow forms one
of the chief articles of the cat's diet.
The Rocking-Chair lHabit.
Physicians are condemning the com
fortable American rocking-chair, and
they say that many of the nervous
diseases to which American womet_
are especially the victims are due to
it. A woman thinks she is resting
while really she is exercising as much
force of the lower muscles of the
back and legs as would suffice to run
a sewing machine for that length of
time. Very few women sit still in a
rocking-chair or are content with the
gently swaying motion which is only
mildly exhausting, but they rock vig
orously, and the amount of nervous
energy expended is incredible. Rock
ers are rare in England and this is
cited as one reason why middle-class
Englishwomen have fewer nervous dis
orders and superior general health to
our women.
A CHINESE NEWS REPORTER.
Ia Grange (Ind.) Correspondence.
The Sanderson murder case at Bat
tle Creek, in which, it is alleged, a
wife poisoned her husband by the use
of ground glass, has brought to light
a Chinese newspaper reporter. Battle
Creek claims the distinction of hav
ing the only Chinaman who writes for
newspapers for many states around.
William S. Lee is known to the citi
zens as the American Chinaman, and
is American in every particular, even
to having his queue cut off. His lan
guage is good and he speaks a clear
tongue. His work in the murder case
consists of translating the facts into
the Chinese language, which, he said,
is a very tedious undertaking. His let
ters are sent to Hongkong. He said
that there is an old tradition in China
that no Chinaman shall kill his en
emy; that the greatest curse any one
can have is to have a Chinaman kill
himself at the door of his enemy. Su
icide is popular to a certain extent
in China. but more so with women
than with men. As the woman is
/ /
THE CHINESE REPORTER.
considered inferior to the man, the
alleged killing of the husband by the
use of ground glass is causing a sen
sation in the Chinese metropolis. Mr.
Lee was born in Portland, Ore., and
has traveled extensively in many Eu
ropean and Asiatic countries. The
profits which accrue to him now from
his business will be used for a course
in navigation, which is his ambition.
THE PORTUGUESE IN INDIA,
On the 8th of July, 1497, Vasco de
Gama, the greatest of Portuguese nav
igators, put out from Lisbon with four
frail barks in quest of the Indies. He
sailed around Cape of Good Hope,
landing at Mozambique and Monbaca.
Thence he crossed the Indian ocean,
reaching the city of Calicut May 20,
1498. He returned to Portugal to con
firm in part the wonderful stories of
the east long before related by Marco
Polo. He pointed out the supreme op
portunity of Portugal to acquire a
trade of immense importance, a fact
which the government appreciated and
acted upon with that vigor and celerity
which contributed so largely toward
making this little nation the commer
cial queen of the age.
D'Almeida was despatched to India
as viceroy, and after earning a great
victory and establishing by brute force
and cunning the claims of Portugal,
he was supplanted in his office by Al
buquerque, the most illustrious of
Portuguese warriors. By the capture
of Socotra and Ormuz he closed the
routes to India of the Venetians and
Mussulmans. To the demand made by
the Shah of Persia for indemnity for
closing the route by way of Ormuz,
Albuquerque led the envoy to a heap
of bullets, pointing to which he made
the bold reply: "That is the kind of
money with which the King of Portu
gal pays his tribute." Hearing that
a Venetian fleet had been taken to
pieces at Cairo and transported by
camels across the desert, he made haste
to destroy the vessels before the own
ers had an opportunity of reaching the
Indian ocean.
Albuquerque conquered Goa and
made it the capital of Portuguese In
dia. Next he subdued Malacca, after
which he gained for Portugal an en
trance to Oceanica. His brain was
filled with vast schemes for the ad
vancement of his native land, one be
ing the turning of Egypt into a desert
by draining the Nile into the Red sea.
He also desired to destroy Mecca and
Medina in retaliation for the taking of
Jerusalem by the Mohammedans. In
that age retaliation and brute force
seemed to have obscured all feelings
of mercy and humanity; but, in jus
tice to Albuquerque be it said, he was
one of the few conquerors of this age
who was respected and loved by the
conquered. Long after his death the
East Indians were wont to go to his
tomb and pray for protection against
the cruelty and inhumanity of his suc
cessors.
He was too great a man not to in
spire the jealousy and apprehension of
his king; hence it is not surprising
that he died poor and in disgrace.
There is something very s;athetic in
the spectacle of this colossal figure,
who had given Portugal one of the
most splendid empires of the world,
crying out in the midst of his poverty,
neglect and disgrace, "To the tomb.
worn-out old man: to the tomb!" He
died in the year 1515. at the age of 72.
After Albuquerque. Soares made sev
eral important conquests, Ceylon be
ing among the number.
Tortol-e abhsl, as it comes to market
from the Vest Indies, is coarse, d'.rty,
",d lustertesc, and only the most skill
ful and patient maninulation makes it
the rich and heautiful material that it
eventually becomes.
A LONDON FREAK.
COMMEMORATES THE NAME OF
A PISTIC BRUISER.
By Bulding a Monument to Pagillst
Jackeon-Not to Our Petor, but to
"Gentleman John," of England, It Is
Reared.
(London Letter.)
If any of the noted pugilists of to
day, Sharkey, Fitzsimmons, Corbett or
any of the rest of the galaxy of flsti
ana, were to die, it is a serious ques
tion whether an admiring and reverent
populace would place over his remains
an imposing monument, bearing an
epitaph which set forth his worth and
expressing regret at his passing. Yet
in an English churchyard lies all that
is mortal of a man who was once the
champion of the English prize ring,
and the spot is marked by a monument
which shall tell to all generations his
virtues. Such is the decadence of the
prize ring. "Gentleman" John Jack
son, who for years held undoubted
sway in the roped arena, was still the
instructor and confidant of titled gen
tlemen of England, was honored by
royalty and was intrusted with the
athletic training of the sons of most
English gentlemen of his day.
His fame was such that his sobriquet
"Gentleman John" spread all over
Britain, and he never committed a
deed which disgraced that title. He
was beloved and honored through the
years of his active life, and the whole
country mourned his demise. He was
the idol of the British public eighty
years ago, the lion of the nobility and
the friend of the peasant and the toiler.
John Jackson won the championship
of England from Daniel Mendoza, and
so decisively that it was Jackson's last
fight, though for three years afterward
he was open to challenges, but none
was forthcoming, and the champion
ship was presented to one James Bel
cher.
Prior to passing over the champion
ship to Belcher Jackson had met and
HER SON MAY BE A KING.
DUCHESS OF AOSTA.
An heir to the throne of Italy has
just been born. His mother is one of
the loveliest women in Europe. The
child will be called Emanuele Filiber
to, with the title of prince of Savoy,
and if there are no boys born to his
father's eldest brother, the prince of
Naples, who is the king's nephew, and
none to King Humbert himself, this
small boy is bound to wear the crown,
if the Italian republicans do not spoil
his chances. This beautiful mother of
his was the Princess Helena of Or
leans until she married the Italian
duke of Aosta. She is one of the
defeated England's noted fighters. His
name was a household word, not only
for his athletic ability, but for his
many virtues. Indeed, in those days
it was positive neglect of education
if a youngster had not been a pupil
of John Jackson. It was part of a
gentleman's scholarship. Collegians
from the universities of England were
taught the act of self-defense as a mat
ter almost compulsory. It was in this
way that Jackson came in personal
contact with the highest in the land.
The list of his pupils embraced one
third of the peerage. Lord Byron was
an enthusiastic follower of Jackson.
All will remember the author of "Don
Juan" referring to the great professor
in a note to the eleventh canto of that
famous work. He wrote: "My friend
and corporeal master and pastor, John
Jackson, esquire, professor of pugilism,
who, I trust, still retains the strength
ind symmetry of his model and form,
together with his good humor and
athletic as well as mental accomplish
ments."
Was that not a eulogy from such a
source? But then Jackson was re
fined, courteous, intellectual and well
educated-a fit associate for the high
est in the land, and yet a professional
pugilist. Although everybody, even
the most enthusiastic admirer of pugil
isam, must admit that the ring has, and
always had, many unpleasant people
and matters associated with it, there
cannot be any doubt that when a man
like Jackson took the lead in the ranks
of pugilists it became an honorable
and gentlemanly pastime.
In about the year 1812 the Pugilistic
club was formed, which might be com
pared with the National Sporting club
JACKSON MONUMENT.
of to-day. The formatiun of this still
further tended to raise the tone of box
ing, for the highest in the land became
its supporters. Here are a few: The
dukes of York and Clarence, the duke
of Queensbury, the earl of Albemarle,
the carl of Sefton, the marquis of
Tweeddale, Lord Byron, Lord Berkeley
and others. For twenty-five years this
club floiurished, but was abandoned
about eight years before Jackson's de
mise.
To refer to some of the remarkable
episodes of Jackson's life, it is record
ed that in 1814, in honor of the peace
of Europe, after the fall of Napoleon
late Comte de Paris' daughters and is
very much like her sister, the queen
of Portugal, but she is prettier. She
was educated in England and can jump
fences and ride across country with
the best of them. Her roses are by
no means without thorns, dor the
French are not popular in her adopted
country and the great majority of
Italians hope she may never be queen.
The celebrated duel that occurred last
year between the duke of Orleans and
the prince of Naples meant to Helene
that her brother and brother-in-law
were trying to kill each other.
Bonaparte, there were great rejoicings
throughout England. Among the
visitors were the emperor of Russia,
the king of Prussia and a numerous
train of distinguished generals, the
guests of the prince regent.
On the programme of amusement for
the visitors was an exhibition of Brit
ish pugilism, which was stated to have
been organized expressly at the request
of these illustrious foreigners. Lord
Lowther invited the emperor of Rus
sia, Generals Platoff and Blucher, with
other distinguished persons on June
15, 1814, to his house in Pall, Mall,
where they witnessed a set-to with the
gloves.
Jackson passed away in 1845 and wa3
sincerely mourned by the British na
tion. Above his last resting place was
erected a monument bearing a statue
of the fighter and the following in
scription:
"Stay, traveler," the Roman records
said,
To mark the classic dust beneath it
laid;
"Stay, traveler,' this brief memorial
cries,
Hast thou a lion's heart, a giant's
eyes.
And read the record with attentive
strength?
Exult not, for these gifts must yield at
length.
Do health and symmetry adorn thy
frame?
The moldering bones below possessed
the same.
Does love, does friendship, every step
attend?
This man ne'er had a foe, ne'er lost a
friend.
Here is a model for the modern pu
gilist. If the prize fighter wishes to
remove from his profession the stigma
of brutality and coarseness and all the
other characteristics attributed to it
let him but follow the course of "Gen
tleman John" Jackson.
A ROYAL ROMANCE.
As old King George II. was taking
the air in Kensington Gardens one fine
summer morning in the middle of the
last century, says the writer of an in
teresting article in the January num
ber of the Cornhill, a little girl of five
years, who was walking with her sis
ters and the Swiss nurse, broke away
from the party, skipped up to the
king, dropped a curtesy, and greeted
him with the remark: "Comment vous
portez-vous, M. le roi? Vous ayes icd
une grande et belle maison, n'est-ce
pas?" The old king, familiar, and per
haps bored, with the pomp and eti
quette of his usual relations with his
subjects, was pleased beyond measure
at the originality of the introduction.
He took notice of the child, often
had her to visit him at the palace
afterwards, even romped with her, and
put her in a large china jar, where,
instead of showing fright, she sang
"Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre" at
him from under the lid. The little girl
was Lady Sarah Lennox, and, as
daughter of the Duke of Richman, a
great officer of the court, she and her
sisters had the privilege of being in
the gardens to see the royal prome
nade. It was the prettiest entrance
imaginable to the great world where
this young lady was destined for a
time to play a great part. Ten or a
dozen years later all fashionable Lon
don was agog with excitement, wrote
letters, reported every movement and
every rumor of Lady Sarah, for it was
the question of 1761 whether she was
or was not to become queen of Eng.
land.
In 1758 Lady Sarah entered London
society, and returned to the care of
Harry Fox and his wife at Holland
House, a tall, beautiful shy girl of
fourteen. Two years later the town
was in raptures, in fact, and all the
young men were making sheep's eyes
at the beauty of sixteen. There was
my Lord Carlisle; my Lord Errol,
whom she refused; my Lord Newbot
tie, with whom she flirted desperately;
Mr. Thomas Bunbury, whom she after
wards married, and no doubt a score
of others whose' names are not record
ed. Last of all, there was the Prince
of Wales, now become George III. of
England, who was a willing victim.,
He saw Lady Sarah often.
There was no flirtation here; the
king was in deadly earnest. There was
no stupid royal marriage act in force;
this the king, perhaps in the light of
his own experience, thoughtfully pro
vided for his relations when they be
gan to marry into Horry Wolpole's
family. But at present the king knew
his own mind, and there is no doubt
that if Lady Sarah had known hers,
she might have ascended the throne
in 1761 as Queen of Great Britain and
Ireland.
Shortly afterwards Lady Sarah went
into Somersetshire, rode out, fell with
her horse, and fractured her leg. The
faithless : wbottle made some unfeel
ing remark when told of the accident;
the faithful king was all solicitude for
the suffering young beauty. The young
girl at last, perhaps, knew her mind;
but it was too late. There was more
in the rumor in the princess from
Mecklenburg than Fox thought. It
was all over; there was no doubt about
it at all. The king summoned the
council to announce the marriage, and
Lord Harcourt went over for the
princess, and the little, self-possessed
lady came across the Channel to Har
wich, and was not seasick for above
half an hour, but sang and played on
the harpsichord nearly all the way.
Poor Lady Sarah!-and her troubles
were not over yet, either.
The king selected her as one of the
bridesmaids, "all beautiful figures,"
says Mr. Walpole, "but with neither
features nor air; Lady Sarah was by
far the chief angel." The marriage did
not take place till 10 o'clock at night.
There were the pretty bridesmaids,
with Lady Sarah at their head, all in
a row, and the king had more eyes
for Lady Sarah than for his bride all
through the ceremony. When it was
over, up comes my Lord Westmore
land.
And then the old Jacobite, who
has hardly any eyes at all, mis
takes Lady Sarah for the queen, drops
on one knee, and takes her hand to
kiss it. Lady Sarah has to draw back
with a blush, and cry: "I am not the
queen, sir," and George Selwyn utters
that bitter jest: "You know he always
loved Pretenders." Did ever romance
end in such embarrassment for a poor
young girl of sixteen?
It takes a police force of 7,461 men to
protect the interests of New York's
population against crime and disorder.
Icebergs in the Atlantic sometimes
last for 200 yeers