New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-24
souETBJyG NEV IN KENTUCKY


proach Kentucky for originality. When a Ken
tuckian tries to distinguish himself he fails.
And Kentucky has art as well as genius. When
the country is quiet, when there is no Johnstown
disaster or National election, or other important
event TO take up the attention of the people,
wise student of current affairs keeps his eye on
Kentucky-nine times out of ten she will report
n blowing well or fresh feud new race-horse
OF a shower of fish.
Rut the Oldest observer scarcely thought to see
n Kcntuckan bring forward any new plan or in
strument for inflicting great bodily injury
fellow-man. II was supposed that Kentucky had
sounded the whole gamut OF human weapons,
from the humble piece OF an old scythe with
corncob handle which the law-abiding citizen of
Pike County inserts in his bootleg, to the silver
plated self-cocking revolver which the Speaker Of
the Kentucky House uses as gavel. Even the
late memorable feuds which swept over Kentucky
developed nothing new in the way of arms, though
Judge Lewis, of Harlan County, pu6 the double
barrelled shotgun to a somewhat novel use when
he employed it in the guise of writ of mandamus.
But few days ago, when the whole country was
ouiet. and the last echo of the latest breach-of-
promise suit had died away, there came a little,
unassuming account of an occurrence near Louis
vile which must awaken as much interest in Ken
lucky as did the announcement concerning the
new smokeless gunpowder-the story told OF
recent unfriendly meeting between prominent
citizens at Newcastle, in which one struck tho
other a heavy blow with surgical instrument
Certainly here is something new in the way OF
weapons. and it will not surprise us to hear that
Kentuckians, all the way from Hickman to the
Big Sandy, are disposng of their automatic
action pistols and doube-edged bowie-knives and
,tritI ipcfr1
At the future Rowan County wedding, instead Of
the walls being blackened and disigured by pow
der-smoke. the groom, and best man, and grand
father of the bride, and justice of the peace, and
others present. may reach down the back of their
respective necks and draw out surgical instru-
merts. and all 90 ahead resolutey and settle the
matter then and there We do not know what
kind of surgical instrument employed by the
original Newcastle man, but that 1t was
effective we gather from the fact that the other
man. provided with only the usual Kentucky side
arms. was taken to the hospital in a demoraiZed
condition As a matter Of record, it should be
stated that the man who welded the surgical in
strument is practising physician and surgeon,
but whether or not he will read paper at the
next meeting of his county medical society on
The Use of Heavy Surgical Instruments in Cases
of Political Debate" we cannot say. He is de-
scribed as of more than average ability, and
as being popular and well liked in the community
where he lives. We are convinced, however, that
there must be n vein of sarcasm in his mental
composition, when we remember Brown, of Gala
yeras a man who must have been of similar char
ncter, of whom we read
He was most sarcastic man, this quiet Mr. Brown.
And several occasions he had cleaned out the town.
And it occurs 10 us that the trouble which fol-
lowed at the meeting of the scientific society
wherein Brown figured though fragments of old
red sandstone the skull Of a mammoth and other
remnants of n palaeozoic age" were used, no men,
ton is made by Mr.. Harte of the employment Of
surgical instruments TO remove members inter-
ast in the subsequent proceedings But it
would, of course after ALL be wrong to say that
surgical instruments were never before used to
produce even greater bodily harm than in the re-
cent instance in Kentucky: as witness the his
torisal dispatch which announced that the opera
ton WAS a complete success. The man is dead"
But their use in this case and in all others like
it was, of course, strictly professional, and though
the Kentucky man is himself in the profession he
made a purely popular use of the instrument when
he pulled it out of his pocket the street and
struck personal friend back Of the with it.
In closing we must congratulate Kentucky on
hCT discovery of way to vary the monotOny of her
personal encounters. When Kentuckians all begin
the practice of carrying surgical instruments up
down there every county court day.