Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1878-02-23


of his foe, and upon a rencontre they
should fight to the death. Neither was
to be restricted in the weapon he used.
The duel came Of as arranged. 1t
was dark night. Precisely at mid.
night the two boats shot out from the
opposite shores, each bearing solitary
occupant The island was reached, and,
after an hour and a half, two or three
gun.shots were heard. At day-break the
island was visited and a search was insti-
tuted for the two duelists. They we're
found at length, both prone on the
ground. Jackson was lying next to the
ground, his opponent, stock dead,
stretched across his body Jackson was
alive and recovered from the effects of
the fight For years and years Jackson
was the idol of Georgia, and left behind
him posterity as brilliant and as brave
as he himself
1t is literally impossible to describe
the uncomfortable passion that moved
the actors in this period OF Georgis's
history. Men were colossal in their
hates, inexorable in ferocity. The
YazOo fraud divided the state into two
factions, that divided every hamlet in
the state. Speaking of the opposite
faction, Gov. Troup said, in a public
speech If ever forgive one of them
his sins, may the good God never for.
give me mine /" The Clarkes, John
and Elijah, were the leaders OF one fac.
tiOn, and VIM. II. Crawford, one of the
most distinguished men the nation ever
produced, led the other. The Clarkes
were for long time autoCrats of upper
Georgia. Their reign was at length
disturbed by the advent of a young
Virginian, who, by his ardent nature
and splendid talent, soon organized an
opposition to them. They could not
brook this interference, and determined
to put Crawford to the test. A young
man named Van Allen, an ardent fol-
lower of the Carkes, was very soon
thrown into a discussion with Crawford,
which resulted in the reception of a
challenge by the latter. The state then
stood stillto see what Crawford would do.
If he refused to fight he was ruined and
disgraced II be did fight his death was
a probability. He was very prompt in
the matter. He at once accepted Van
Aliens challenge. They met in the pres
enee of a large crowd. Crawford was
not known to be good shot, but was ex-
ceedinglY cool He walked to his posi-
tion with firm, measured step, biting
piece 'Of twig. When be reached the
stand he threw the twig to one side, turned
bis flank to his opponent, aud settled him
self into a statue. At the command his
arm rose slowly, but steadily, as if il
were part of machine. When it came
to dead level he pulled the trigger, and
Van Allen dropped dead. This action, of
course added to Crawford's reputation,
but the Clarkes only opposed him the
more bitterly. At length John Clarke
sent him challenge Crawford ac.
cepted, and went to the field. He
acted with the same cooluess as before,
but missed his man and received ball
in his own wrist. He had two other
affairs before he could shake his enc
mics of. He was strong advocate of
the code, and believed tito be vertable
peacemaker.
This teud gradually went beyond the
limits Of the state. The antagonism be,
tween Crawford OF Georgia and Calhoun
OF South Carolina soon arrayed the
states behind their respective champions.
The hatred between the people Of the
states was intense and personal 1t re-
suited, of course, in numberless chal-
lenges and meetings. Among the most
notable Of these was the quarrel between
Col, Cumming of Georgia and the great
McDuiiis OF South Carolina, who was
probably the finest orator the South ever
produced, The origin OF this du i is
quite amusing. Some articles signed
" G, =" rejecting severely upon Crawford,
appeared in the Augusta Chronicle. 1t
was believed that they were written by
McDufie. A reply to them was pre-
pared by Richard Henry Wilde, then
member of congress, attacking McDufiie
as the supposed author of the first artic-
les, 1t was assumed by &C." who was
not McDufie, that the writer of the reply
to his article was Col. Cumming. He
thereupon lampooned him severely.
Thus these two gentlemen had each
been attached because of an authorship
purely putative, and a challenge passed
between them 1t mattered not that
neither was originally at fault. Oue
was Georgian, the other Carolinian-t
was sufficient. The meeting took place
on the Georgia border. Col. Cumming
desired to fight in shirt sleeves McDuffie
suggested irock or surtout coat" The
suggestion was agreed to and the parties
met, Cumming being clad in a suit OF
linen and McDutlie in a full suit of silk.
When the parties came to their places
Cumming was notably cool and self
possessed; McDuffie was considerably
agitated but very determined. At the
word " fire " Cummings bullet went
straight to its mark, entering McDuffie's
back Just below the heart and lodging
against his spine while MCDuffie's bullet
struck the ground about four feet in front
of him. his pistol was fred at random.
The surgeons were then summoned, aud
it is said that the surgeons of both par
ties advised discODtinuance of the
fight .
This duel made a great stir. The
Georgia papers charged McDufiie with
disreputable conduct in several points.
They said that Cummings pistol was
loaded for the side and not for the back,
and for the resistance of common drapery
and not of several folds of strong silk"
These allusions were due to the fact that
McDuflie had turned triHe too far away
from his opponent, and to the popularity
of his dress. He was also upbraided for
leaving the field after a single shot
McDuffie's friends retorted that he lett
the field upon the advice of his surgeons
that his dress was of single fold of
silk, and that his position was accidental.
These controversies led to the appearance
of an anonymous piece that gave an ac.
count of the affair offensive to Col Cum
ming. Assuming that McDufie had writ.
ten orinspiredlt, he challenged him again,
McDuffie accepted, and the parties very
soon went to the field. Here the sec
'onds had difficulty about the terms,
and the meeting was adjourned to an
other day and another place. At this
third meeting Cummings bullet again
sped straight to its work, and shattered
McDuffie's arm and deranged his arm so
that his bullet went harmlessly into the
air, Colonel Cumming was a man Of
great strength of character, He always
protessed a contempt for northerners. At
the battle of Lundy's Lane he was