Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-05-05
Arkansas Politics.

Arkansas Politics.
About the year 1890, politics ran very
high in Arkansas. Col. A. H. Sewer was
a candidate for the Office of Delegate to
Congress, and Ben. Desha was his oppo-
nent.
Judge Andrew Scott was warm friend
of Desha, and bitterly hostile to Sewer.
He had a neighbor, living about fifteen
miles from him, on the "far" side of Gal
ley Greek. named Logan, commonly call
ed "stuttering Logan" who was exactly
"wice wersy" in his politics; and so fire.
quentehad been their encounters that the
two neighbors had come cordially to hate
each other.
One pleasant morning in the Spring,
when the sun shone out warmly, and Ma
ture was green and fresh after heavy
rain of two or three days duration, Logan
went down from his house, through the
little strip of creek bottom, to the bank of
the creek; and sat himself down on slick
log musing, perhaps, as Col. Jack Nc Car
ty once said, "even on the end of all sub
lunary things"
The creek was about twenty yards wide,
and the rain had raised it, so that it was
swimming, covered with foam, and run
ming like mill-raee with full head of
water. Where the road crossed, on the
edge of which Logan was sitting, was the
only opening in the woods, which fringed
the stream on each side. Above and be-
low the trees leaned over, and their bran
ches hung gracefully in the water, and
swung to and fro in the swift current.
After Logan had sat there little while,
Judge Scott came riding down the road
OH the other side. but halted when he
reached the waters edge, and looked
across, without saying anything, but look
ing as if he thought, "D-n you, if it's
swimming, why don't you say so ?" Lo-
gan took out his jack-knife, split piece
off from the lick log, and commenced
whiting it, looking steadily across to-
wards Scott all the while.
Logan was large, stout, heavy look
ing man; Scott, small, why, passionate,
petulant, and as brave rs bull dog.
After waiting moment-for each ha-
ted the other too much 70 speak-Scott
frightened the reins and rode into the water.
His horse had not taken more than six
steps, before korchug! he plunged in over
head and ears. In moment more Scott
was washed from his back the rider went
one way, the horse tho other, and the sad
do bags third. The horse turned to-
wards the side on which he went in, and
got ashore some little way below the
saddle bags foated on down stream, and
Scott managed to reach Logan's side of
the creek, and caught hold of the swing
ing limb of a sycamore which dipped into
the water.
"Hclp. Logan, helpF' cried Scott. ST
shall be drowned Help!'
"S-s-s say you'll v-v-votc for Sewer !"
bawled Logan.
Help p
"S-s-s say you'll v-v-vote for Sewer p
again bawled Logan, not rising from the
lick-log.
Just then the sycamore limb snapped,
and the same moment Scott sung out
"Ill see you id first, you Internal
old rascal, p and away he swept round
the tree and out of sight below.
Luckily, the current made sweep be-
low, sddying round in the eoncavity at
the upper edge of sand bar, upon which
Scott was flung, and scrambled out. He
walked up the bank, and towards Logan,
suffering with rage, and streaming with
water. Luckily he had no weapons but
a pistol, and that, of course, was unfit for
service and Logan was too big to be
whipped by him in fist fight.
cd d--nit |" cried Scott, as he
got pretty near him, edo you stop to ask
man how he's going to vote before you
save him from drowning ?"
Logan never stopped whiting, but
looking composedly up, slowly said
Every g-g-gentleman has a right to
v-v-vote as he likes, and d-d-drown when
he likes and don't suppose any body's
bound to dive into the creek and Fish
out vote to k-k-kill his own"