The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-11-11

It was said that Clinton approached
Swartwout as he sat on a stone under
the hands of the surgeon, and said. 81
am sorry / have hurt you SO much. !"
Then to Col. Smith he remarked, st
wish had his principal here" meaning
Col. BURY will meet him when he
pleases. !" That meeting, however, was
not to fall t. the lot Of Clinton.
AS a result, in part, of the foregoing
encounter, and partly from political
quarrels, another duel occurred in 1903
between Robert Swartwout and Richard
Riker. The latter afterward became
Recorder of this city, and was familiarly
known as "Dickey Riker.'' At this
time he was Attorney General Of the
State. He fell at the first fire, receiving
a severe wound in his leg.
The poets Drake and Halleck, who
published g The Croakers'' in the Even-
ma Post in 1919, amused themselves
and the city about this duel in the fol-
lowing lines: a8 sg
EsThe Riker, like Bob Acres, stood
Edgeways upon field of blood,
The why and wherefore Swartwout knows,
Pulled trigger as a brave man should,
And shot-God bless hm-his own toes -
In 1904 followed the fatal meeting be-
tween Burr and Hamilton, when the
great statesman fell; and amid the gen
eral grief these political duels ceased.
Passing by the fatal encounter between
Isaac Gouverneur and William Ell. Max
well in 1916, and of others who after
weird fell beside Hamilton's monument,
we come to the year 1918, when Commo-
dore Oliver III. Perry, the hero Of Lake
Erie, had a meeting there with Capt.
Heath of the United States Marines.
With their seconds, Commodore Stephen
Decatur and Lieut.. r. M. Desha, they
met on Oct. 10. In 1916 quarrel had
occurred between them in the Mediter-
ranean, when Perry gave Heath blow.
A courtmartial ensued, but Heath after
ward sent Perry challenge. Several
months previous to the meeting the lat
ter had addressed letter to Decatur,
saying, Although I consider from the
course he (Heath) has thought proper
to pursue, that / am absolved from all
accountability to him, yet as did in a
moment of irritation, produced by strong
provocation, raise my hand against 6
person honored with commission, /
have determined, upon mature Iefec-
ton, to give him meeting, should he
call on me; declaring, at the same time,
that cannot consent to return his fire,
as the meeting on my part will be en-
tirely as an atonement for the violated
rules of the service. / request, there
fore, my dear sir, that you will act as
nv friends on this occasion.
In accordance with this, Perry re-
ceived Heath's fire without returning it
Then Decatur stepped forward with the
letter, which he read, and said he pre-
sumed the aggrieved party was satisfied.
Capt. Heath asserting, the quarrel was
ended.
In 1927, William G. Graham, formerly
of Catskill, was an associate editor OF
the New York Courier and Enquirer.
At friends house he quarreled with
Mr.. Barton, son of the naturalist, DR..
Barton, of Philadelphia. On Nov. 2s
they fought aG the Weehawken grounds.
Lewis Asbury and VIM. MLeod we're
the friends of the parties, and DR.. r.
Pennell was the surgeon.
The night previous, Mr.. Graham wrote
this letter to his associate, Maj. M. M
Noah:
! ELEVEN O'CLOCK.
DEAR SIR: What may be the result of tn,
unhappy renconter which is to take place il
the morning between Mr.. Barton and myself
cannot of course be predicted by me. In thu
supposition that it will be fatal, I bid you fare
| well in the only language that is now left Il
me. am perfectly Indifferent as to myself
but trust most earnestly that Mr.. Barton ma,
escape. admit that am in the wrong-tha
| by giving him blow have forced him int
the cor dition of a challenge, and by not doins
what he has he would have blasted his charac
ter as gentleman forever. In common justice
I am bound thus to absolve him from all sus
picion of unbecoming conduct respecting the
challenge. The provocation, though slight
was still provocation which / could not over
! look. 1t is out of the question for me to ex
| plain, retreat or apologize.
mr. Barton is talking man who dwels very
complacently on his own skill as marksman
on his experience as duelist, and on his accu
racy as person of ton. pretend to none Of
these and therefore must oppose the most in
| flexible obstinacy. After he is perfectly salts
fed may, perhaps, apologize is in case
am fatally wounded. It is needless for me tt
say I heartily despise and detest this absurd
mode of settling disputes and salviug The
wounds of honor. But what can a poor dew
do, except bow to the supremacy of custom
= < God bless you y
On the fatal Monday morning, both
parties reached the ground before
o'clock. The first fire was without in
jury to either. Then Graham's SECOND
proposed that the principals should eacl
advance one step. They did so anc
fred. Graham exclaimed: 81 am shot
I am a dead man. Barton, I forgive
YOU" On being taken down the rocks
to the boat and laid in it, he said only
CT am in great pain, " and in few min
utes he was dead. The ball had passed
through his body. The surgeons Ger
tificate of the cause of death stated mere
ly that "Wm. G. Graham, aged "a, dice
on the 23d, of vatlnus.'' .s
Between 1886 and 1889 several en-
counters took place, and Sept. %, 1845
witnessed the last ON record, when, by
the kindlTcare of the seconds, the pts
tolls were loaded with cork.