The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-01-31
HON. HORACE HEFFREN.
lore "reminiscences Concerning His Ca.
reer.
All About the Famous HeRren-Moody Due
OF 1861.

Itseens that In the regular session of the Legis-
la:ure of 1861, Mr.. Heffrea. Ia the course Of a
heated political debate, severely denounced and
finally stigmRtized q coward one Gideon C..
Moody. tneu representing Jasper and Pulaski
Counties. afterward Colonel in the Ninth In-
in weight. knowing his physical Inability to cope
with an antagonist who tipped the beam at
nearly 200 pounds, in a personal encounter YET
smariing under the insult, challenged Heffren %
fight duel. The challenge was accepted and
seconds being chosen Moody calling upon his
Rensselaer,. to act in the capacity for him. the
party set out on horseback for Kentucky. fol-
lowed by squsd of reporters, who. in turn, as
they neared the State line, we're followed By
increasing crowd OF cuTious c0untrymen
anxious TO witness the bloody saay.
called upon TO make choice OF weapons-be
the challenged Terty-instesd OF choosing pistols
and TO the ssionishment of Moody's second,
the disadvantages under which Moody would
labor in attempting to fight with such weapons,
MilrOy promptly refused TO agree 10 their us,
and demanded that Hefffen make further gelec-
ton. After some delay Hefffen's second reported
that he was willing to fight with broadsW ords
Here again. because Of the disparity In szo OF the
two principals the offer was prom pity rel ected.
hsnren rsLussu 70 nake eholce on any Otner
message back to Heffren, by his second, telling
him thst he was miserable coward and that he
(Milrcy) would take Moody's place now aud fight
him (Hefffen) with either oroadswOrds or thirty
pound rifles, or even bowie knives, II he chose.
NilrOy in size aud physical strength, was the
equal of Heffre1. hence that gentleman very
wisely refused the offer, saying he had no quar-
rei win Sliroy, ana Ieit LOT lnalsna without
reporters and excited cOuntTymen.-Delphi Jour
nal.
The above is given in extenso as a sample
of Republican journalism of these times. A
more bare-faced tissue of falsehOods could
not be put in print. All the letters
thot kcfV-pen 1acRnd3 n q r.
fair were published at the time in Cincinnati
and Indianapolis newspapers, and they pre-
sent history OF the case entirely at variance
with the statements the Delphi Journal.
The facts as gathered from the CORES
pondents of the seconds" and of some gen
tlemen who we're personally cognizant of all
that transpirei, are simply these: When
Mr.. Heffren received anote from Moody ask
ing where, outside of the State, a further COM
mUnication would reach him, he handed il
to his next friend and forthwith took a train
for Cincinnati. Mr.. Moody was in due time
informed that Mr Heffren would be pleased
to receive q further communication from
him at the Burnett House in the city above
mentioned. On the following day. which was
Saturday the expected challenge came and
was promptly accepted. The weapons Sc
lected by Mr.. Heffrsn were rifles, The place
wellknown valley about eight miles south
east OF COvingson, 10 Kentucky, and the
time the following Monday morning az sun
rise.
1t then became the duty of Mr. Heffren's
second 20 produce the guns, from which Mr. |
Moody should choose the one that best |
pleased his fancy. The rifles presented |
weighed fourteen pounds each: but Judge |
MilrOy, on behalf of Mr.. Moody, per |
.emptOrily refused TO accept either OF the |
weapons on account OF their weight Two
twelve pound rifles were then supplied, of |
same make and caliber as the heavier guns, |
with offer TO Moody that he should select |
one of the four, leaving Mr.. Heffren to |
choose from the three that would remain |
This offer was refused becaue, as alleged, |
the heavier gun which Mr. Hefffen would |
select might carry a bullet tsixty ysrds) |
more steadily than the lighter rifle VIII cl |
would be selected by Moody. These concas- |
sions On the part of Mr.. Heffren were ell in |
violation of the rules of the code" but |
he was determined that Moody should |
that Mr.. Moody should take |
one of the light rifles and he would take the |
other. To the utter establishment of Mr.. |
Heffren and his friends, an answer then |
came back that Mr.. Moody would not &C
copt any of the terms offered by Mr.. Hef- |
fren, but that Heffren must take one of the |
light rifles offered and that Mr. Moody |
would use gun OF his own, which turned |
out to be sort of hybrid between q shot |
gun and rifle, with caliber that would |
accommodates ball weighing over an ounce |
1t was at this point that Mr.. Heffren's second |
advised him to publish Moody as a coward |
aud return TO Indianapolis Judge Milroy |
spoke privately to Mr.. Heffrens second |
about taking the fight upon himself, but he |
made no formal proposition to do so. Mr.. |
Hefren was unwilling that Moody should |
have even so slight pretext for getting out
of a ight which he had challenged. An an
swer was therefore dispatched TO Mr.. Moody |
that he would be at liberty 70 make use of |
his own gun and that Mr. Heffren would |
accept the rife selected for him by Mr. |
Moody.
The Monday morning came with rain and |
thunder and lightning. and the Kentucky |
clay was half way up 10 the horses knees; |
but the carriage containing the Heffren |
party arrived upon the ground selected for
the combat at the appointed time and i'm |
patiently waited until after o'clock for |
Moody and his friends. Finally the latter |
party arrived, Mr.. Moody looking as if he
had Iust arisen from an attack OF typhoid |
fever. He was accompanied By General |
Fitch and MaiO Terrell, the latter of whom |
informed Mr.. Heffren's second that to force
Moody to fight would be nothing but muir
der, and begged that he should be "let
down" as easily as possible. Accordingly
letter was dictated for Moody by Mr.. Hef
frens second in which Moody retrscted the
offensive language which had provoked Mr.
Heffren's retort, upon which Mr.. Heffrens
retortfell to the ground, whereupon Moody
Withdrew his challenge. Those who were of
Mr. Ee<fren's party. and especially his sec
ond in this affair, most positively assert that
he (Heffren) was ready end more than will
ing to fight from first to last, ard came
home deeply chagriued that the affair had
t0end in a fiascO.