, 1897-03-06
Frontier
Sketches.

lhlllN-SeNen years ago tomorrow the
mos memorable duel in the history OF
Denver was fought. 1t took place be-
tween he acting governor of the terri
tory, secretary l.. w. Bliss, and DR.. J.
5. Some, a member OF the territorial leg
islltIE" assembly. Mr.. Conklin gave a
dinner At the Broadwell house on March
9Th. Dir. Stone passed the door, and was
invited in by Mr.. Conklin who present
ed him to his guests. After dinner,
while toasts were being made. Cover
nor Bliss made some remarks rejecting
upon DR.. Stone. lie arose instantly TO
his feet and said: Governor Bliss, do
yOu refer to me personally in thai
toaSt?' Governor Bliss replied emphat-
iCally, Il do-do you wish to see me-
DR.. Stone replied that he did not care
to see him ut once. but wished merely
10 know to whom the governor referred.
Bliss responded with, 1T had reference
10 YOU, sir" DIR. Stone hen left the
room, asking Captain William H. Bates
20 accompany him. Governor Bliss then
asked e. w. Wynkoop to act for him.
During the afternoon Captain Bates
called on Wykoop, accompanied by
Colonel Thomas II. Warren, bearing a
written challenge, which Wynkoop nc
copied. The next morning Wynkoop
sent a letter-the challenge had been
accepted notwithstanding that Cover
nor Bliss authorized the acceptance and
proposed as terms that they meet at 80
PAGES, with shotguns, loaded with slugs,
one or more shots to be fired as circum-
stances required, the duel to take place
at 3 p. m, on The banks Of Cherry creek,
800 yards above the claim house of Mr..
Clancy. Stones second accepted these
terms, and J. b. Caven was asked to as
sist Wynkoop.
AT 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon n
large crowd of citizens gathered on the
high grounds opposite Denver, Oh the
north side of the Platte, to which place
the meeting had been changed. Stone
and his seconds with surgeons arrived
in carriages, while Bliss and his party
came on foot. The men came together
and the articles OF agreement were read,
including, among other things, a clause
to the effect hat the principals were to
be allowed TO wear their Usual clothing.
but to be subject TO an examination in
order to ascertain If any undue advan>
tage was taken, and no such advantage
should be allowed.
DR.. Stone Won the toss for both posi-
ton and word to fire. When the word
was given. he fired about a second in
advance of Governor Bliss. When Bliss
parently MORALLY wounded, the ball en-
tering the left thigh. penetrating the
bladder and passing through his body.
His own ball struck the ground about
ten feet in front of Governor Bliss. He
declined another shot, and the princi-
pals were removed. His injuries kept
him lingering in pain for two months
before they caused his death. Some six
Or eight hundred spectators were pres
ent who were r~''c..y did peaceable,
without the slightest demonstration
just as though the matter was a familiar,
everyday occurrence, necessary and
proper. Dueling, it will be remember
ed, was much more in vogue in those
days than now and al event was looked
upon as a plain matter of fact.
freed by a Dead Bear: when | came
out to Colorado in 1865" said an old
mo%untaineer. Il located in the Middle
park. There were hundreds Of bears in
the pine woods on the adjoining hills.
| was green and fresh then, even il | had
just come from the war. One morning
| was out alone for deer in the foothills.
when ! saw a whopping big bear way
upon the side of a mountain. l went
right after it without realizing the risk.
| crept cautiously up the mountain,
keeping out of sight Of the bear as much
as possible. l got within 100 yards of
liti, ~ luhlhS NalCi"l uliI Juot I ~
back OF the shoulder. l let drive. The
zeal fell at the crack of the gun. but
was on his feet again in an instant, and
came tearing down the mountain in a
Decline for where l stood. My rifle was
a muzzle-loader, and l had no time to
reload. l was not half so anxious to
kill the bear as l was to save my own
bacon. A tree stood below me and with
out stopping to measure its size or to
consider what sort of a place OF refuge
1t was, l sprang to it and went up like
a coon chased by a pack OF hounds.
Il had reached the lower branches,
about ten feet from the ground, and had
not yet thought of looking down, when
| heard the bear scratching at the foot
of the tree and imagined he was coming
after me. Well, he didn't come, and
when l had climbed about as high as I
could get I straddled a limb to await de-
velopments. The bear stood on his hind
legs. scratched and growled and snarled
while my heart was right between my
teeth, | must confess. After an hour,
when the bear Gained down, l felt east
er. l thought the bear would 1907 get
tired of keeping watch, and would get
up and go away. He did nothing of the
kind, however. and hour after hour 1
sat there in that tree watching the bear.
| imagined l saw him move occasional