The record-union., 1893-09-16


There is tall, slender man In town
who is just up from the South on a visit.
He talked the other evening about some
of his experience in Georgia IN the old
days. Running his fingers through his
long, lank whiskers, and smiling in a
genial manner, he told the New York
Recorder man the following story: Il
don't suppose there is town in Texas or
anywhere else in the United States that is
as tough now as the town of Americus,
Ca, was when I went there in 1856. 1
was born and schooled in Connecticut,
and 1t was a strange experience to be
flung into place like that. One of the
first sights that I was treated TO was
bowie-knife fight in the parlOr Of a hotel
where l was stopping. Two men set
upon another and they did slash him Un-
mercifully. l never saw a creature bleed
as he did, but although he was stabbed
in a dozen places they stitched him up
and he was around again in three
weeks. l had no desire to get
mixed up in affairs of that kind,
but 1t was impossible to live entirely
at peace in town OF such sort. Some
before me had been killed offhand, but
they had talked too much, 1 simply at
tended to the shop that 1 had started, and
did not preach abolition, so [ was not
troubled to anything like the extent some
people were. Still, it was necessary now
and then to assert yourself, and smartly,
too, or those fellows would ride right over
you."
Did you ever fight duel?"
The tall man looked at the Questioner
out of the corner of his eyes and flushed
family. After pause he said: ''That is
leading question. l may say that l have
seen duels. Not many men could keep
out of them whether they wished to or
not Laws against them? Why of course
there were; but what is law against pub
lie opinion? A law that doesn't reflect
the popular will is never enforced. Your
saloons are all open in New York on
Sunday, aren't they?"
The inquisitiYe one was forced to admit
that he had heard SO.
NO LAW COULD COPE WITH IT.
''WeIl it was the same with dueling.
Why, there wasn't policeman or Sheriff
or District Attorney or Judge or jury that
would have dared to interfere with it.
Besides, they all fought duels themselves.
Public sentiment has entirely changed
since those days, a result OF education, [
suppose you may say. Men were very
OF the bad things about the system that
they saw offenses in the nerest trihes or
in breaches Of etiquette that to-day would
only call for verbal reproof 70 illus
trate from my own experience-but
please remember that l was young
when il happened-I had invited d
young lady to go TO a bail. On
the evening of the affair 1 was
delayed, through no fault Of my own,
and was about an hour late in reaching
her house. There I learned that she had
given me up and had gone with her
brother. The code of honor obliged me
to resent the slight, for, as she had
promised to go with me, she was not at lib
erty TO go with anyone else, even il had
never got around; so I sent a challenge
to her brother. Next day heard ring
at the bell and found him at the door, l
said: This is not proper proceeding,
sir. Ny friend is acting for me, and you
ought to see him. lie explained that he
had already sent me an apology in writ
ing, and supposed that l had received
IL. He was. going out of town, he said,
and he merely wanted TO assure me that
he had no intention of offending. The
apology arrived so we were as good
friends as ever after that.
Another time l was calling on the
family of DR.. R, and We happened to
talk about the weight of metals. | said
that platinum was the heaviest. The doc
tor said that lead was. | said playfulIy:
'pll bet you $40 that platinum is heavier
than Lead Said the doctor: I'm no
gambler and lOafer to take a bet.' That
surprised me, for we had always been
good friends. L suppose he was a little
nettled at having somebody else know
more about anything than he did. an
swered that l did not like to hear him
talk like that and that his language was
offensive. lie turned away. saying: III
-.
in those days and in that town it had be-
come a habit for me TO 60 armed, Tor no
man was safe otherwise, and carried
couple of light, ivory-handled pistols in
my pocket. | drew them out, when the
doctors brother rushed up and held my
arm. For Gods sake, gentlemen said
he, remember where you are. Nv wife
is in the next room about to be confined
/ asked his pardon for my haste, and |
also asked him to represent me in arrang-
ing a meeting with the doctor. He con-
consented and l went home and
wrote challenge. Well, sir, for
twelve hours 1 was in hell, |
had never actually fought, but
this time 1 fully expected to, and, while
I knew there was chance that l might
be killed, l really expected to kill the
doctor. You see, [ was a crack shot. I
had so fully expected to have trouble that
l had spent q good deal of time in pistol
at dozen PAGES nine times in ten. | was
religious, also, and during that twelve
hours | was debating with myself as to
what my everlasting future was going 10
be if l killed this man, or if l was killed
in trying TO kill him, AT length my Sec
ond arrived and said that his brother was
sorry for what he had said, and wished to
Withdraw the remark. That warmed me
I'D again, and / declared that could not
accept his apology unless it was either
mt in writing or made as publicly as the
Insult. The result was that the doctor
asked the same people to call at his house
as were there on the night OF the trouble,
and in their presence he retracted his OBJ
starvation and we shook hands. am told
That my picture still hangs in his house,
Int the old friendship was, of course,
broken. and we were merely courteous 10
each other afterwards. The whole affair
9yas so quiet, ali the same, that L don't
+binlz the doctors SisteT-in-law, who was
IN the next room, ever knew anything
.sRut. as said, they were too punctil-
lions about tritles and they carried for
.naiity and etiquette to point where 1t
1acane merely silly. For instance, you
ESent To a ball with young woman and
1,on asked her for certain waltz. She
6sSan,fnad but directly aiterward offered
- ,,-aItz with a stranger. You had
riqat 10 challenge that stranger, unless
- aa,, first asked your consent. That
- ~ I,oca,sa she mad shown her prefer
,so,, !, eIa for him after accepting your COM
anv and the only way you could pun
II, 6er for q small perhdy was TO lnJure
L5ao because you couldn't nght with
xronan. 4 good many OF the women IN
ssad the practice Of dueLng. When
1Giso 1.I.l, H..as challenged by Calhoun he said,
10y N-l.-5 ,,,-o,,arly. that his life concerned his
NeLy ,o,ie - than it did himself and that he