The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-10-06
a Duel with s'otmtoe..

.sThis seems tn br "a year Of ducls," said
DIR. Morrison of the First Methodist church
tn an Atlanta Journal reporter. 'but l no
tice there are far more dtIcls than blood.
II reminds me of n famous duel fought i'm
Kentucky i'm 1s4s.
.Bill Bowman was a noted preacher
who lived near Millcr~burg. He was a
typical Kcntuckian, tall, angular and
muscular. Like Sam Jones, he always
said what he Thought. In the mids of "a
revival meeting ~ weli-known desperate
came into the church and began making
indignation Bill Bowman arose and in "a
ringing voice publicly rs,proved the dcs-
pcrado. who at once retired from the
1.-THE next morning the desperate sent
a challenge to Bowman to light HIM IA
duel. Bowman accepted the challenge,
and there was no f~onr.coluinn newspaper
CORES pondeucn; no railroad trips to- an adj
joining state. nothinR hut two little notes
One "a challenge and u other AN accept
ancc-lnd then all was ready for the
light. The town was terribly excited. FOR
such "a thing as "a preacher fighting IA duel
had never been heard at before.
'Oid Bill BOWMAN being the challenged
man had the choice of He
selected "a half b,Ishcl of Irish potatoes
AS big as his fist for each man, and stip'-
lated that his opponent must stand fifteen
PAGES distant, and only one potato at u
time tai be taken from the measure. The
town WAS wild with delight. for everybody
knew that Bill Bowman could throw, with
his long muscular arms. as straight and
almost as swift as a rifle cotliu SEND "a null
lot singing toward the Target.
1.-The despcrado was furious at bcinR
thus freshly insulted and made AN indig-
IaDt protest against such q fight, but Bill
Bowman insisted that he was the chal-
lengcd man and had u right to choose his
own and threatened to- denourlce
the desperate as n coward ii he failed tn
coiuc tn time. As thers. was no way out
of the box hut to fight the desperate final
~ c~onscnte,i tn face the preacher.
"Thc fight took place OH the outskirts
of the town. Everybody i'm Millcrsburg
WAS present to- see the fun. The seconds
arranged the two men in position. Ivy the
side of each being u half-bushcl Dncassrc
filed with large Irish potatoes as hard as
"a brick.
"Bill Bowman threw the first potato. Ii
struck his opponent "a central shot. and
flew into IA thousand pieces. A yell of de-
light went mp from the crowd, which rat
tied the dcspcrado, and his potato flew
wi.c of the tall. bony preacher:
"Bill Bowman watched his chances and
every time his stopped fora lo-
tpto another one hit him i'm the side , leav-
ing n wet spot ol his clothes and then scat
tering itself to the four winds of heaven.
Old Bill hit the desperate about five times
and then the sixth potato struck him I'm
the short ribs. knocking the wind conn
plctely out Of him and doubling him mp on
the grass.
The people were almost crazcd with
laughter, but Bill bowman looked as sobcr
AS IL he had just finished preaching u
funeral Sermon. The desperado was taken
home and put to bed. and thcrs, he staid
for more than IL week before he recovered
"The old men i'm MillcrsburY still talk
about that celebrated duel, but ID was the
means of breaking up duelinR i'm that Sec
tion."