The record-union., 1897-08-18
A KENTUCKY FEUD.

ters, tall, long haired, dignifed; women
have looked wonderingly at him, and
in the rotundas of the hotels people
have asked: Who is that man?' He
carries his head high, as if looking for
some one in the hills; the movements
OF his body bespeak great strength, aad
yet his football is almost as soft as the
spongy tread Of cat. At any sud-
den noise he wheels about with his chin
up. His name is Doc Sizemore, and
his earliest memory is an afternoon
when he lay behind a log, with his
father waiting for one Of the Hightow-
ers TO show his head in the timber
across the ravine. He is the only sur
vivor of a Kentucky feud. And how
fondly does his mind cling TO the rude
shocks Of his early home, the thicket
wherein his people lay upon their guns,
the spring under the hill, once REDEEMED
by the blood of an uncle.
A few years ago he came TO Chicago,
He sought a wilderness, he said, IN
which he might be alone. But men
marked him, branded him an oddity,
strove to peep at his life-not that they
cared for him, but that they were seek
ing relief from the strain Of a fevered
existence, striving after something new
this curiosity Knowing not the ways
of a city, he fancied that rudeness must
be a part of its life. And so he formed
acquaintance.
The other night he came into the
club with a friend. Among the COM
pany was an Englishman. Upon the
politeness shown him, the care taken
to entertain him, he had looked with
cool Indifference; he had yawned at
an d-timer's'' story of the great fire
surely a daring impertinence in Chi
cagO-and with pardonable wearine=s
had turned chilly shoulder toward a
blank verse recitation. But when this
long-haired, strange looking man was
introduced, the Briton folded his re-
serve-his boorishness if it be nearer
the truth-and tucked it away
"Ah, did I understand that you are
the only survivor Of a Kentucky feud?"
he asked.
4 don't know what you understood"
Sizemore answered. That's what I
said"
"Ah, I dare say"
$50 DO t.
But tell me. what am I to under
stand by Kentucky feud?"
Il don't know what you are to un-
derstand by it"
''Ah, I dare say"
80 do T."
But really" said the Englishman.
Il would like to know something about
1t. I have been in this country six
weeks, you know, and am rather famil-
lar with American life, but 1 must con-
fess that I don't understand the nature
of a feud- 1 ran across none in New
York, you know But they told me
that nearly everybody was out of town,
and that was probably the reason.
Still J. know what a feud must be. The
Scotch used to have them. At one
time they We're quite fashionable in the
Highlands. Tell me about your feud."
Yes, If you honestly want to hear
about it. It began over a fiddle string
You see, my grandfather when he was
a young fellow, was at a dance one
night and a fiddle string broke. Of
course everybody knew that a fiddle
string was bound to break, but no one
had thought to bring an extra one.
Well, it became necessary to send some
one to store six miles away to get
another string. I don't know anything
about the society in your country. but
away out in Kentucky the man that
marked
with A certain sort Of distinction. Ny
grandfather said that he wanted to go.
and young fellow named Hightower.
as naughty a buck as ever lived, reck-
oned that he would go himself. Well.
a dispute arose, and 1t was finally de-
cided that they both should go. And
they did. But when they got to the
store, another difficulty came up as 20
who should take the string. bf~ grand
father said he reckoned he would take
it, and Hightower lowed that if he did
he wouldn't take his ears with him.
Even the most liberal construction
would have made this an insinuation
At least my grandfather took it rs
such. The upshot was that he took
the string, together with both of his
ears, back to the place where the
dancers We're waiting; but afterward
It was observed that some people had
more ears than HightOwer could boast
Of This naturally brought about an
embarrassed relationship between the
two families, which at the time. 1 must
add, consisted of only the two. my
grandfather and the other fellow. But
what did they do, go at each other to
end the affair? Oh. no; that would not
have been proper. They had sowed
the seeds of a feud and now were to
wait for the haryest-in fact, they were
10 marry, bring up families and engage
in war. They married about the same
time. They wanted their wives to hate
each other, so they married two girls
that had been devoted friends. The
two families prospered, and when my
father was twenty years old the war
broke cut. It lasted along in a. snap
shot way until another generation
came, and then il broke out in earnest
At that time I was seventeen years. old.
There had been a long lull. and the
neighbors said that they hoped that the
difficulty was settled. but they knew it
wasn't and indeed they hadn't hoped
that it was. Luke Hightower and I
went to the same school-sat together.
It was intended that We should both
study medicine, for you know that each
branch of a feud has a doctor. one
day my brother Ned came to the
school house and told me that I was
wanted at home; and about that time
Iuke's brother came after him. We
knew what was up. Luke asked me for
q chew of tobacco and lowed that he
might see me again. / laughed pleas
sntly and answered that 1 might take
q close look at him through the sights
of rifle. This tickled him nightly
1t was so good a joke. and he swore
that if he hadn't agreed, after shaking
dice, to let his brother Tall have the
first crack at me he would shoot me
on the spot. Well. the next day we all
arrayed ourselves in the latest STYLES Of
fire arms and went to the county seat