The Van Buren press., 1896-02-08
ARKANSAS DIAMONDS.
Worthless Bits of Quarts and the
Duel They Caused.

been able to find even suggestion OF
one of the best stories on this subject
that ever heard. Accountable for this
are two facts-the incident had oc-
currence many years ago and the scene
Of 1t was in place that, even in this
day Of railroads, is not overly accessi-
BILE.
was waiting for stage in one of the
back settlements in one of the noun
tain counties of Arkansas one day last
summer, when one of the old settlers of
the community addressed me:
81 see in Leetle Rock paper thuther
day." he said, that there's bin some
di'mands found over in Afriey."
"There's nothing new in that" I re-
piled. "But the field has been broad
ened, in speculation at least, until the
excitement has grown tremendously
"Wall, | don't keer none," the old fell
low remarked. 81 amt goin-I only
had an idee thet it might be all hoax
like a di'mand find we oncet he'd was a
hoax"
.eDid you think there were diamonds
in this part of the mountainsf" | in
quired.
"Thinkl We knowed it fer awhile,
but after scientific feller come here,
and after dooel of some size we learned
diffrunt."
The old man climbed to the top of a
barrel in the one store of the town in
which the conversation was taking
place, and as he mentioned the duel
half a dozen of the loungers who were
more interested in me than they
were in the old mans talk, craned their
necks and almost in u chorus exclaimed:
'Tell erbout thet dooel."
Then one of them said: eyer allus
tallxin about it, but it amt often ye say
much more'n it jest happened"
The old man appeared to be fattered.
He looked at me with the air of one who
had an undisputed position in the COM
munity and was proud of it. took up
the cause of the native mountaineer
boys who were lounging about the
place.
"Go ahead with the story" I said.
"We'll have drop from the proprietor
to wet your whistle properly and then
We'll listen"
'I never talk about thet dooel," the
old man said. "These young tcllers hev
all heered their daddies talk about it,
anyhow"
There was long silence. In the
meantime the lank, slip-shod back
woodsman who was running the store
| had brought out bottle of whiteliquor,
better known as moonshine whisky
with rusty tin cup, out of wbichevery
one took drink. One hears much talk
of bad whisky sold over bars in large
cities, but one never knows what liquid
fire and birthstone are until he has had
swallow of the whisky that is to be
had ar the backwood's stills of the
mountain districts of this country
| Revenue officials have cleared out many
an Illicit distillery, but they exist even
now in some parts of the south in Q
thriving way.
"Them things looked like diamonds
anyway" the old man remarked, as he
thoughtfully smacled his lips and
passed the cup to the next one. "Thet
was in the '40's, | reckon, and the few
of us as was here didn't know much
about the country. Our folks had come
to the uplands after the sinking of the
land over at New Madrid 30 years be
fore, and here they stuck, just as he'
stuck seence thet time. There was M
noospapers and no railroads Onct al
awhile there was a steamboat anC
thet's the only way we ever got mucl
word from the outside world. Th'
Pearsoll boys was the liveliest feller
in the settlement, and onct year one 0
them would go to Moo Orleans and sci
some of the hides that we got together
When he was down there he'd get idee
Of things thet we didn't know nothin
about. One of the boys would go on
time and one another, and each tim
thet they went there was big tim
around, I'll tell you. Onct, jest afte
Ollie pearsoll he'd come back from No
Orleans, he got to tellin' about seeini
man who had paid fortune for
shirt stud. That was the fust tim
most of us had ever heerd abou
di'monds. Oh Pearsoll described tn
things keerfully an told us thet the
was found only in n few parts of til
world. When he he'd got done ther
wasn't Teller in the crowd that WASH
, as worked up as ef he'd heerd ghos
story. While Ollie Pearsoll was staGC
ing at one side kinder restin' after hi
talk-reely playin' the hero-anothf
of our fellers, Bill Sims by nam
slipped around to him and took hil
TO one side. / heerd afterward thet h
/ took leetle stone outen his pocket al
asked Ollie ef it looked like emmy {
) them diamonds he'd been tellin' abou
l seen Ollie put his hand TO his mout
t and tell Bill to be quiet, and then the
strolled off together.
, 81 didn't think no more of it unit
the next evenin', when 0sie come TO II
! nll excitement and sed: See here, Ton
! I'm in trouble
"What's up?' asked, seein' tibet
; was somethin' big.
"'You remember what I Eaid about q
drmond last night9 he went o
Well, Bill Sims has a whole lot ef the
out in the new timber, an he won't te
me where
"'Mehbe he wants them hisselfg'
said, thinkin' it oil a joke.
"In course he does. Ollie exclaimc
an [ claims my rights fer havin' To-