The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-06-27
A Florida Tragedy.

A Tallahassee ella. letter TO the New
York World gives the particulars of a
deadly encounter between two brothers
in-law
Mr.. George Leden, of Doggy Bayou,
IN Walton county, had several times
been guilty OF the offense of clandes-
timely cutting cedar timber on Govern
ment land near where the killing oc-
CURED, for which he had been reported
by some Ito him) unknown party to the
Superintendent of the Navy Yard at
Warrington. Leden suspected the per-
son who was reporting him was his
brother-in-law, Capt. George Parish,
who lived near Leden, and was aware Of
his conduct. One fine afternoon
Capt. Parish took his little dinkey and
was going down the bayou some dis
lance on business for his wife, who was
lying sick at home, when, hearing some
one call from shore, he turned and saw
Leden sitting on log on the beach,
with double-barreled gun thrown
across his lap. Not suspecting any
thing, and fearing that perhaps Leden
had some message from his sick wife,
Parish at once pulled for the shore and
landed. Leden Immediately assailed
him with a torrent of abuse, telling him
he would now settle that little difficulty.
Parish protested his innocence of in
forming on his brother-in-law but Leden
raised his gun and made two deliberate
attempts to shoot Parish down in cold
blood, but both barrels of his gun
missed fire. Parish had no arms ex-
90 Il L
seeing Leden recapping his gun ran up
and gathered him with both hands around
the hips. In the scuffle that ensued
Leden discharged one barrel of his gun
within few inches of Parish's face, but
did him no harm. At length he sue
ceeded in throwing Leden to the ground,
but Leden was on his feet in an instant,
and clubbing his gun aimed blow at
the head of Parish, which would have
laid him out stiff if it had been well
directed but fortunately for Parish the
gun struck the log on which Leden had
been sitting, and was badly broken.
Leden, not to be baked in his MUIR
derous undertaking, thurst his hand in
his pocket to draw his knife, declaring
that he would finish Parish with that.
Parish now saw that Leden was deter
mined to kill him, Notwithstanding his
repeated declarations of innocence, and
constituting the difficulty into life and
death struggle, which complexion it had
certainly by this time assumed, raised
his old horse pistol and struck Leden
heavy blow on the head, in the region
of the ear, which felled him senseless to
the ground. Parish then inflicted sew
erai flesh wounds in the face of Leden.
Capt Parish then pulled his skifl
across the bayou to point where sew
eral persons were working who had been
witnesses of the bloody and fatal rem
confer. The parties at once recrossed
with Parish to the place of the difficulty.
They found Leden sitting up against
the log on the beach, and an examina-
ton showed his skull fractured behind
the ear, the bridge of his nose broken,
and his upper lip cut through and hang.
ing down over his mouth. Altogether
he presented a horrible spectacle, but
was sensible and able to talk some little,
though very indistinctly, on account OF
his wounded lip. He lived about three
hours after the fight, and died while
being carried to his home, short dis
lance off.