The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-29
DIAMONDS CAUSE A DUEL.
THEY WERE FALSE GEMS, But II
WAS A REAL FIGHT.
Science Itself Was Defeated-Dra-
matte Tale of Early Arkansas Told
by an Old Settler After sip of
Wooughfue
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
St. Louis. Dec. IS-One day last sum
mer was waiting for stage in one Of he
back settlements in Fulton county. Ar
kansas. when one OF the old settlers Of
the community addressed me. Il see in
Leetle Rock paper thu-her day" he
said, tibet there's bin some drmonds
found over in Africky"
There's nothing new in that" 1 re-
piled But the field has broadened. in
speculation at least. until The excitement
has grown tremendously"
Wen. I don't keer none" the old fell
low remarked. 4 amt goin'. I only had
an idee that it might be all a hoax like
a dimOnd find we Oncet had was a hoax"
did you think that there were dia-
monds in this part of the mountains" /
inquired
Think? We knowed it fer awhile; but
after a scientific Teller come here and
after a dooel Of some size we learned diff
frunt." The old man climbed to the top
Of q barrel in the one store Of the town
in which the conversation took place.
There was a long silence. The lank. slip
shod storekeeper brought out a bottle of
moonshine whisky. The old man took
drink.
Them things looked ike diamonds.
anyway he remarked, as he smacked
his lips. Tibet was in the forties, / reck-
on, and the few of US as was here didn't
know much about the country. There
was no newspapers and no railroads. Onct
an awhile there was a steamboat and
thets the only way We ever got much
word from the outside The dimond find
I'm telling about come around in funny
way. The Pearsoll boys was the liveliest
young fellers in the settlement, and onct
a year one Of them would go to Moo Or
leans and sell some hides. When he was
down there he'd get idees of things that
We didn't know nOthin' about.
"Onct, jest after Ollie Iears0ll he'd come
hack from Moo Orleans, he got TO tellin'
about man who he'd paid fortune for
a shirt stud. Thet was the fust time the
most of us he'd ever heered about di'
monds. oil Pearsoll described the things
carefully an told us they was found on'y
in few parts of the world. When ne ned
fhSet wasn't a worked up as eff he'd
heered a ghost story.
While Ollie Pearsoll was standing at
one side. kinder restin' after his talk
RELY playin' the hero-BiN Sims slipped
around to him and took him to one side
/ heered afterward thet he took little
stone outen his pocket an asked Ollie ef
IL looked like emmy Of them dt monds
he'd been tellin' about. They strolled off
together j didn't think no more OF 1t
until the next evenin when ollie come
to me all excitement and sed: See here,
Tom, I'm I'm trouble
" You remember what I sed about the
dimonds last night? he went on. Well,
Bill SIMS has q whole bed of them out
in the new timber an he won't tell me
where. 'AIebbe he wants them hisself.
/ said, thinking it all joke. In course
he does ollie exclaimed, an ] claims
my rights fer havin' told him what they
was He ought to give you somethin',' l
sad. Yes, and he wiIl-he'n give me
hat, or by -, I'll know why;
Then he went away. Next heerd that
DGaTgOil Pete he'd
gone over to Bill Simms' house and took
scmethin' tibet he he'd. 1 hustled over to
Simms, an I found Bill, stormin' up and
down, tellin' his dad, who died the next
/ year, what he was goin' TO do. 1t seems
/ that the Pearson boys rode right over TO
the Simms place, and without goin' IN,
/ looked all over the new timber and found
/ the place where Bills dfmonds was. They
put all they could get in a sack and then
/ went canterin' past the Simms shanty out
/ en- pure devilment Bill sees EN-, but they
/ got away and back home. Thet evening
I Pete Pearson went over to the river 10
1 ketch the boat tibet was doc about tibet
/ time of year. Thet left, Ollie ct home tc
/ fight 1t out with Bill.
THE trouble wasn't long in comm. Oh
i lie Pearsoll knowed that Bill would be
I over to demand his rights. and so he fixed
/ for him. He loaded the old family gun an
put it in a handy place: IT wasn't much
| after sunrise when Bill hallooed out in
! front of the PeersOll place.
g Air We goin' to keep them dfmonds|
1 Bill asked.
! III " htSP my SA-oANs NeN'N ~
you've got no share Bill answered
They're all mine, an you, like the sneal
tibet We air, hev come along an stole
You'll eat them words Ollie said. and
| turned back into the shanty. Bill raised
his gun to fire, but old Mrs. Pearsoll pu
Don't Biz she exclaimed. Eff y,
must fight, do it fair. My boy amt afear(
of We; he'll meet We when an where "
| say. On the old camp-meeUn' ground
then, at daylight tomorrow
! told me thet there was scientific fel
Ter from London prospectin' around tht
country, and 1 looked him up, and late
Der back Of the Simms place and took G
| look at the di'mond fields 1t didn't take
tibet man long to bust out in laff,
g 'Thet's form Of quartz, he said, an
when l heard the Teller say thet TOLD
him of the dooel. We agreed thet it would
\ house Bill was settin' in the back room
by a knot light, fixin' his gun. Put Il
up, Bill says I; there amt goin' to bt
no fight Has he backed out? Bill
asked. Haven't seen him. l said; but
I this man here and me has bin over tc
your di'mond mine, and he says they aim
/ dfmonds at all. He knows, fer he is from
I London. where dfmonds grows on trees.
- Guess you folks is in with the Pear
soils Bill said, careless-like, blowing
| down his gun an lookin' along the barrel
| Wen, we talked, an pied, an arSied UNI
ii it began to be daylight, and then Bill
he got up an sed he'd hev to go. We
f0llored. 1t wasn't long till we got tC
where Pearsoll was. He he'd jest come
alone, and was lookin' at his gun when We
'sThe two men glared at each other fel
a minute, and then Bill blurted out: All
ye ready?' 'Allus ready Ollie replied
/ back.
Then the man from London stepped VI
and began to talk. He used words that no
body understood, talked about the field o
honor and the abusin' of it, and the Lore
/ knows what else but when he got through
Bill and Ollie looked kinder disguised. ant
Bill said: Course we feels glad tibet We
so interested, but no game like that XII
stop business of this sort. I've bin robbed
an I'm goin' after the robber.' AT least,
said the man from London, ven let u
act fer YER? Say the word. We mean
Ollie asked, I don't see why not
'sOut there under the trees of that pretty
place, on one of the finest mOrnin's eve
see, them two men stood twenty page
apart The man from London held
handkerchief above his head. When
drop this he said, begin
He dropped the rag a minute later an'
out shot come. 1 thought that one of tn
guns had missed, but when Bill and Olli'
tumbled ford on their faces, / knowet
thet they had fired together.
q" This is one time said the man from
London, tibet science didn't go no goos
/ aFaT lrafpff a no nropH after %