Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-01-15
oLp.sTYLE DUEL.
General Davis Describes an Encounter Tie
Once Had with n Judge.

Once Had with n Judge.
In his racy book, "Recollections o
Mississippi" General Reuben Davis
| gives the following account of persona
encounter he once had with Judge who
had fined him for contempt:
"My patience gave way, and felt my
self in q perfect blaze of sudden fury
l had in my pocket very fine knife
with long, thin blade. AS sprang tc
my feet drew out this knife, opened it.
and throw 1T point foremost into the bar
looking steadily at tho Judge all the
while. My object was to induce the
Judge to order me to jail, and then tc
| attack him on the bench. The knife
vibratod, and the weight of tho handle
broke the blade near the handle. Gen
| eral S. j. Gholson and several others
ran upon the bench beside the Judge,
ordered tho sheriff to adjourn court, and
carried the judge out of the courtroom,
whilc a number of persons seized me.
n \ Judge Howry being withdrawn.
prudent men among my personal friends
condemned my action, and appealed to
me to let the matter stop. l agreed to
this. Intending to pass straight to my
hotel, l saw Judge Howry como
forward toward the place where
was standing. awaited
his approach, and when close to me
asked him If ho had intended by his fine
to insult mo. He said, mo" l then
said had been guilty of no offense to
justify such an indignity, and requested
some explanation. He replied. 81 do
not, sir, explain my official conduct to
any man. In moment had slapped
him in the face with my open hand. BY
some accident a claw-hammer had been
left on the floor nearby; he seized this
and struck ut me violently, while / got
from my pocket the broken knife and
opened it. The blow of his hammer fell
upon my head, cutting through my hat
and several files of papers to the bone.
/ made another strike at his iugular
with the corner of my knife-blade. This
blow fell upon his jaw, and l seized him
with my left hand by the collar and
pushed my head into his lace He struck
again with the hammer, breaking and
depressing the outer blade of my skull
bone but not until had inflicted three
more cuts upon his jaw. AS we were pull
ed apart he gave me the third blow. I
went to my room and sent the Judge
message not to leave his room unarm-
ed as l would attack him upon sight
The court met again that evening.
had put on fur cap, with the back part
before, to conceal my wounds, and the
judge wore his overcoat, with the collar
well drawn up, to hide the tokens of
combat on his person. 1 did not meet
Judge Howry for seven years after this
affair had gone to Pontotoc to attend
the Federal court, and was sitting in a
room with Roger Barton and Chancellor
Chalmers when Chalmers was sent for
from below. He soon returned and said
to me: Il suppose, Davis, you caro- moth
ing now about that affair between you
and Judge Howry?' promptly replied
that 1 thought nothing OF it; that Howry
was gentleman, and that our difficulty
was casual and without malice. Chal- |
mers then said that Howry was below,
and would be glad to come up to Bar
toms room. He did so, and met him at |
The door, and we greeted each other in |
the most cordial manner. Until his |
teath no two men could be more sim
'erely friendly than we continued to be.
shall always believe that he went
iown to his grave without finding out
What led to our quarrel that day, and L |
In perfectly certain that / shall go
lown to mine in equal ignorance, unless
40 comes back to tell me-"