The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1818-03-11
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES
xaoM fAuLniSe's "LIrrERs saoM THE SOUTH.
The batfeauEman and Wagner.

IEe bdtfe0uTm0n ana Wagoner.
Yesterday We laid by at che IitIe town OF
w. ltwas court time, and two lawyers,
she pick of the whole country round, were 10
take the 6eld against each other, in suit be-
tween wagner and bsueauxmsn, IN sease
oj assault and battery. You orc To understand
the beautiful river Shenandoah passes not tar
from this town, and is navigable Tor bafteaux |;
wb,ie at no great distance runs the great
we,tcrn road, which Is travelled by the west
County wagono,s--soms of whom, you know
are f" half horse, half alligator - others +" part
cntthquah axe, and iittbc Of the steau,boat;" and
othe,s compound, according to their own ac
counts .of ing, edients altogether different from
the onmon constituent parts OF the rest ei
mankind. The batteavxv man are for the most
pa, composed ut materials equally combusti
Die; and the consequence is, that occasionally
when they meet, they s0ke 6ro, and blow up
the powds, magazine each carries about him
In the form oil heart.
The history OF the present contest, 90 de-
tailed by the counsel for the plaintiff is as fol-
lows :--One summer evening, when the mild
eli. the purple light, the green earth, snd the
blue sky, all seemed 10 invite to peace and &c
pose, tho batteauxmso fastened his boat TO the
stump Of tree, lighted his FIRE to broil HE be-
Con, and began to sing chat famous song Of
Tho opposum up the gum.tree." BY and by,
a vest county wsgoner chanccd to come jing-
ling bis bells ,ha' way, and stopping his wag.
on unlocked mis- horses, carried them round to
che little trough at the back of his vehicle,
-Rave them some shorts, sat himself down AZ
sb., top Of the bank, below which the batteaux.
nan was sitting 10 his boat, begun to wis
Ne Tho batteauxmao eobbcd the old wo-
mans hen-roost." Tho ba,teauxman cooked
40 his eye at the wsgoner, and the wagner
looking askance down on the baueaux man,
30 ,k chew Of tobacco with a leer ,ha, was
.par,icalarIy Irritating. The baueauxmao
dros nut his whiskey bottle, took drink, and
pu' the cork IN again, at tho sauie time 'hu's.
ting his tongue in his cheek in . manner not
to be horne. The wsgonor Tapped his hands
agsins his hips & erowed iikoa cock; the bat.
scauxmsn curved his neck, and neighed like a
horse. Dsing, however, men of rathcr phlcg.
'matic HABITS, they kept their tcmpe,s 80 far
as no, TO come TO blows jus, then. IN q few
minutes the wsgone, swore he had the hand
somes, sweetheart Of any man in oil G., ,eenbri-
ar" The batteauxman jumped up in pas.
sion but eat down again, and took drink
IL few minutes the wagoner swo'c [" he had
the 6asst horse Of soy maa 10 hundred
miles," The bat'esuxmsn bounced up, p0l.
led the wsistband of his uowscrs, took another
t!t,nk, snd bounced down agaio. A minute
afict, the WAGNER swore "he had better RI
f. han any man that over wore blue jack.
q, "--rbis was 100 much--for the ba,esux.
man woce jacket Of thst colour, and Of course
this amounted TO pc, sonal insult. Besides
TO attack mans rife He could have borne
any reflection ou his sweetheart, or his horse
but TO touch his rife, was to touch his honour.
OFF went the blue jacket; tho battsauxmap
scrambled up the bank, + set TO commenced
that csded In the total discomGture Of the wag.
oner, With the loss Of three Of his grinders,
and the gain Of "divers black aod bloody
bruises" as homes, Lithgow ssys. Tho bat.
tcsaxmsn waited ill the moon ress, when ne
went visiting down tho stream to carry the
news OF his victory to Old Potomaek {; an9 the
poor wsgonef went "to take the Iaw," asa
man sa.s1whsn tho Law 10 about 70 take bin,