The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-03-07
POTTER AND PRYOR I.
a NEW ACCOUNT or A NOTED AZ
FAIR OF i1ONOR."
4 nGcl of lwrnty. Five Years Ago, Which
nsI Not rake Place Row. knivos
az Four tect-A TIucky
wife.
lCroffut IN New York World. !

4 Chicago newspaper the other day pub
h>hoi Letter from Wisconsin speaking OF
the town whore .IoAn f. Potter liyos aad the
farin which he works, and then it gave au
editorial version of tha duel which was
tareiy prevented at the beginning Of ths
war hctwoen him AID Roger A. Pryor, of
Virginia the popular and false version Of
course. - on Monday | called on Mr.
Pryor, n hts Office on Wall street, U0 get his
version of tuo st.ry. Re has boan an active
lawyer ~ tins city For .Fome Fifteen years
uo", ana has II cn 10 large practice his
black eyc., tAWuy complexion AMI long black
shaggy name being CUnspil uCus in all our
rourts found hm IN, but when hrolched
The matter he ,ail, Il ulust decline 10 reopen
;bo matter of that quarrrl For quarter
nt century tho people of tha north have
preferred "A lie to the truth, aud / do not
care % go into particulars ut this late day
Fortunately can get along without Mr..
Pryors testimony | was in Washington
during the tArea years subsequent to the
affair. aud | know tie facts from Mr., Potter
aun of and from other participants. II was
the Ire ,irning OF RBchauaus hast year lor
70 year or TWO northern congressman had
haan hnt.miiatoi hy those from tie south.
the lqtt Uejng generally expert swordsmen
with either weapon ,na brought up o. regard
3ucln1 with adherence. Two or threo
uor;htuers ha3 boen insulted posted" and
tuui.d, replying simply that they would
Hght ii otAchei There was a growing
iaeIins am0os Mr. Lincom's friends that
It was neco ,ary for som9 Yankee TO
fight
Mr.. Pryor roSo to question Of privilege
one morning, saying that at Tho Congress
Sioum Globe cilce he had found that Mr.
Potter had iasorted ut the end OF biz, Pot
t"r'a, speech the words: "Tho Republicans
nsA he bsarl Len the consequences be what
they may - such words, Mr. Pryor said,
hGi cen uttered ln debate
Mr. tu't"r replied that no had urod the
WORT, referral -, aud that Pryor had erased
tLc3 from tho record, and added: "H8 had
no RI eht 90 d. it, II was none of tho gentle
mans Nrs,asl ! stand by what said q"
dcaht II these WORDS ale properly chai-
ianEeahia, hut those Uclu hot times, and
Pryor soat a cba.lcnSs AMI escaped 30 Vir.
Einja to avoid arrest. Potter answered
tarousA his fcunl Col T. w Lander,
Tat h3 would hSat with bowie knives,
ia th7 presence ot -four friends of the
porti5i who hoUd D. armed with navy re-
vols 10 sec fair play. Distance four feet
et canmenoenent II ongagemunt Knives
Of slual We cght anl length of blade. Fight
% commence 30 the word three Ii was
aa.cd, "lheGc terms are such as viii alone
enable my principal, who is unacquainted
with the usual weapons Of duellists to meet
ysur frioli on equal terms Mr. Chisman,
whom Pryor had left 10 represent him. took
tue strange 0cceptaGca to several Of his pr.n-
ctpa,s fr.cids, koltt Hindman and others.
Iley all agreed |hat the weapon was inad-
Hs4ho. and that Potter, instead Of being
tuUght, ahopid hc denounced as n barlariln
So IL CHI man answered that, "not rocog-
I.aius this vulgar, harharous and mhunan
E4J,a of settling difficulties he could not al.
low iIyO. b garage la it.
Next day Pryor came back from hiding in
Virginia, and, seeing what "A mistake his sec
onts Laa made sIrai3htway rcpudiated them
gnl asked that the matter Eo reOponci an
nounciug his willingness 10 accept the terms
ami lght with h0Wie-knives Tho seconds
declared raoponing mpract.caba. Lander
offered himself in Potter's place without re-
strictionS" but nobody had any quarrel with
him. Pryor sent word to Potter that he
would attack him at sight, and few hours
afterwald, Potter was arrested by the police
and put under bonds e. keep the poace
tOlpSf u p!dHh cbu'ti a. HTettJ IufOre at tue
north at n time WHOM pluck was at prem
ium; ani Pryor suffered from the outcome
IL il mainly because, in the heat of rassion
the fac.s were obscured, aud il was gensr-
ally believed tnat he had refused u fight
with low ,e knives. and had rather ignomini-
ously bccne out. II tho fSht had taken place
one or both would have been killed, and It
misat have done something to abolish the
savage ana prepostcrous custom of ducling.
I!cmambor "a talk had with Potter about
The AFFAIR in 1861. 81 always contjdo wholly
IN my wife, he sail, "and even in this
strange dilemma ! went % her the first thing.
/ showed her how We stood: that nal done
no wrong that tho north needed champion
and that our cauee was depressed because no
nam would fight, and then 1 asked her what
10 90. She had good crying spell,' a.
tie woman eau Il, but sie said my
duty was clcsr--I must fight him She
stood u Eo pluckily straight through.
E1t such Instructions in tho use of tho bowio
knife rs | could ard practiced for an hour
every day ] am very strong and quick
If we had fought | should certainly have
slain Mr Pryor II il better ms it is'
For MONTHS afterwards Potters friends.
somewhat against bis Will, hedgoi him
about with their vigilance, accompanying
him in biz walks 20 and fro. One Of these
wns Cob William s. King, of Minnesota,
who was az qacs as a cat and strong as
tig,r Whenever Potter started from his
scat to leave the house King rose at his side
like an apparitiJl