The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-12-25
A CALIFORNIA DUEL.

How Lippincott Killed TeviS, at DOwnie-
VILE, in 1855.
calvin Mcdonald in the Sacramento Record.l
Some time in 1855 there came to this
State a female temperance lecturer,
Miss Sarah Pellet, a friend of Lucy Stone
Blackwell, Antoinette Brown, and that
confederation of lady reformers. She
was young, intelligent, good looking,
and pure, and will be kindly remem-
bered by many who shall read this
sketch. The writer of this was then
conducting the Sierra Citizen, at Dow
melville, and Miss Pellet having been sour
rilously referred to by certain other
papers, she there found defenders, came
TO Downieville, and we became fast
friends. Through her exertions a large
and flourishing division of the Sons OF
Temperance was there established and
all the respectable young men tenn
porarily stopped drinking and became
enthusiastic advocates total abstinence.
A temperance Fourth of July celebration
was projected, and we nominated our
friend Miss Pellet to make the Grafton,
and. Notwithstanding a strong prejudice
against women orators, succeeded in
procuring her the coveted invitation.
A short time before that Mr.. Robert
Tevis, promising young lawyer,
and brother of Lloyd Tevis,
of San Francisco, had come there
to run for Congress, joined the
TEMPERANCE Division, and was anxious
to make the speech, in order to present
himself favorably to the public. He was
hard to put off, and was never recon-
ciled to the disappointment, though, to
pacify his opposition to the lady speak
er.Ihe was appointed to read the Declar-
alton of Independence, with the privi-
leUe of making some remarks on the
illustrious document. The glorious
Fourth shone brightly on 1000 or 5000
people. The celebration began with a
salvo of all the anvils in town; the
primitive band blew the blast offreedOm
through the patriotic brass, and Mr..
Tevis, having read, began to comment
on the Declaration in a long speech,
greatly to the displeasure of the gallant
Sons. In order to terminate his mall
appropriate Grafton, the anvilS were set
TO firing with such laundering and
consecutive noise that nothing else could
be heard, and Mr.. Tevis, being very angry,
gave way for the orator and sat down.
The event made great talk and brought
the ambitious young man into very I'M
pleasant notoTiety instead of fame.
The Democratic party had procured
the use of two columns of the local pa
per. and had appointed an editor, the
Hon. Charles f. Lippincott, State Sena-
for from Yuba County. Lippineott had
a keen perception of the ludicrous, and,
as Teyis was KnOw-nothing, he took
occasion TO roast the unfortunate young
man in the Democratic corner of the
.naner. and it created a great deal of fun
h the town. The next day MIR. Tevis
came TO mel had no jurisdiction in the
Democratic side of the paper-and de-
manded the publication of a card, which
pronounced the author of Lippincott's
article (" liar and a slanderer de
was.wliite WITH rage and trembling ana
would not be reasoned with. knowing
the nature of the antagonist ana ms
deadly skill with arms, 1 tried to dis
shade Tevis from the rash and danger
Gus publication, and dwelt on the IN
evitable consequence. But he would
- III w D."