The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1877-10-11
OH 8aIletiu.
AN ILLINOIS Renaissance.
Mew. Q Duel WAS Prevented Between
Paddy Shields aud Abraham Lin
81. Charles Cosmos.

| ". Charles Cosmos.
II was some where about the year 1910
that the writer, then o small boy, living in a
little village on the line Of the old state road
running from st. Louis to indianapolis,
met one morning as he was . going 10
market, one Of the colored boys who had
been house servant OF his fathers In the
state Of Alabama, seated upon lrst.class
carriage. asked Hiram for that was his
name where he came from and where he
was going to? lie replied "ir0m Spring.
aeld, cir, and am taking one or two gentle.
men down 70 Bloody Island TO light"
Bloody Island 10 now known as East
st. Louis, and from 1870 till ls47. under
the first constitution Of Illinois, there were
perhaps not less than one hundred duels
fought thereon. II turned out that the gen.
tlemen who were TO slaughter one another
upon this bloody field were none less than
Abraham Lincoln. OF "Black Hawk" war
fame, and the then Captain Paddy Shields,
who had seen service in the British army {.
And hence let me say that 1t was because
they stopped for breakfast at our little vii.
lage that perhaps lincoln was spared and
saved to make for himself such q grand
aud glorious. name throughout the world
that he afterw ards did, and that Shields be.
came true and honored soldier, not only
in the Mexican, but In the war TO preserve
the Union, for the circuit court was then
10 session Tor that county, and in attendance
were some Of the leading lawyers OF
tbs district, among them were Lincoln's
and Shields personal and political friends,
and as soon rs il was noised sbout-as 1t
was Immediately after bre skfast-t that they
had gone to Bloody Island to tight then 1t
was that stephen A. Douglss-who was
atths time prose cutting attorney for our
d!strict-R. w. English, our member Of
assembly, and A. W. Cavalry, our sc nator,
all three OF whom were warm political
friends OF Captain Shields; Col. John }.
Hardin, Afterwards killed ut Buena Vista,
aud Col. Edwin ID. Baker, killed At Balls
Bluff, friends Of Lincoln, started in hot
pursuit to overtAKe the duelists. In this
they did not succeed till they reached the
ground upon which the fight was 70 take
place.
Upon theirsrriysl, they found both Lincoln
and Shields ready for the combat. They
SOON succeeding in inducing Shields to
withdraw the challenge for five minutes, In
order that Lincoln might make an expla.
nation, and should this be satisfactory to
Shields, he tShields) should not in future
attempt TO find out or discover the author
Of the newspaper article from which the
trouble arose. As soon ss Captain Shields
withdrew the challenge Mr.. Lincoln at
once assured him, on his honor as q man,
that he had never seen or heard Of the arti.
Gle In question till he read the same In the
morning paper, and that lie was In no sense
responsible for the same, hut had simply
espoused the authorship Of it In order to
protect the good name Of q most estimable
young girl In Springfield This settled
what might have terminated in bloody at.
frsy. The would.be combatants shook
hands and were afterwards good friends.
But for years the quetion was, who wrote
the article, 1t is now an open secret in
Springfield.
IL seems that Miss Jane, who had re-
Gently graduated from Monticello semlna.
~ and was quits belle at the capital, had
three young lawyers as her admirers. Mr..
Lincoln was one and Capt. Shields was
another, and she had written the article
which the Irish soldier thought was re-
Election upon himself, for he, be 1t known,
was avery vain man, and considered him.
self handsome. Neither Shields nor Lin
coin married the girl, but she became the
loving and honored wife Of Lym Trum-
bull.