Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-08-27
DAILY SHORT STORY
A VERY LONG DUEL.
IOriginal.l


inclined TO tell OF the singular episode,
and hairbreadth escapes he had ex-
| perienced: indeed he sat with look of
suspicion on his face that some of the
adventures We're tinGed with the priS-
| matte hues of the magination. After
each man had told from three TO q
dozen yarns and the silent one had not
opened his mouth the rest set up u
| cIamor for Il story. After much APP
parent unwillinCness he consented.
I'm a kentuckiau by birth, gentle
men, and when the war came on was
engaged TO a Kentucky girl You know
that in Kentucky we We're divided in
our SympathieS between Union and
Confederate, and my girl happened to
be OF the other side. However, that
didn't separate US, but something else
did-a Union officer. / was with Bragg
when he went into Kentucky in CO,
and we passed through the town where
my fiancee lived. She was very good
10 me, but after our retreat, while we
We're confronting ROsecrans. the sum-
mer after the battle of Stone River,
went up in disguise to see her (riskinS
death by the halter in doing sol To dis
cover her one moonlight night in the
garden in the arms OF Il Yankee cap
tain. / was informed that his name
was Sullivan-a redheaded lrishman-
and that he had taken my girl right of
her feet the moment he looked at her
l got back TO camp and vowed that ii
ever 1 met Captain Sullivan one of us
should bite the dust.
"RosecranS followed us down through
Bridgeport to Chattanooga. and we only
stopped him Mt Chickanauga. During
that fight your General Thomas held
in for some time. checked by planting
his artillery around the famous Horse
shoe ! was blazing away at his posi-
ton with my guns when an aid rode
up and, pointing to Yankee battery,
gave me an order to silence 1t. They
say it's SulliVans battery and one OF
the best i'll the Yankee service he said
That was all the spur / wanted. and l
poured in all the ammunition ! had.
Coming to the last shell. l pointed the
gun myself and plainly saw the red
headed Irish captain pointing gun
at me- Both pulled the lanyard ut the
same instant. His shot ricochetted be
fore my gun, sprinkling the soil in my
eyes, SO that l couldn't see what dam
age | had done, and when L could see
the Yankee battery had been with
drawn.
ION the Atlanta campaign I learned
that Captain Sullivan was still com
handing his famous battery. Some
thing told me that the day would sure
" vet come when l would get even
with him. but the war ended without
my coming again in sight Of him. l
drifted away from Kentucky and mar
ried-not the girl Sullivan had robbed
Inc of. nor did he. She married man
who had never smelled powder.
We'll. when it was proposed by the
government to make q national park OF
the Chickamauga backgrounds par
" of us ex-Confederatcs went there
with Il camp kit TO spend a week look
ing the ground over and locating places
where disputes had taken place. l had
a fancy TO note the ground where Sui
Ivan and | had had our little duel and
hit the spot exactly. l knew it by
peculiarly shaped rock that was Ill
rcctly in line with his gun and about
twenty yards behind it. | knew this
because Sullivan's guns were lined up
along n road. Our party reached the
spot at nightfall. and we concluded.
water being handy, TO camp there.
THE next morning as soon as we
had turned out we were visited by
party OF cX-Union officers, a commits
sion sent down by the government,
who. having got separated from their
wagon. asked us for Il breakfast. |
think we were all introduced, but my
hearing isn't good and l seldom catch
names. We had a cook with us who
built Il fire, and we were soon listening
to the sizzlc of bacon and smelling the
odor of coffee. While waiting for
breakfast | was noting the position
and observed that the fire was built
lust ten yards behind where l calcU-
lated had stood Captain Sullivan's gun
when l fired at him so many years be
fore was sitting on the rock by
which l had located the spot and saw
one of the government commissioners
go up to the fire and stand with his
back to 1t, his coat tails parted, warm
ing himself, for the morning was
quite chilly. l was thinking or that
day of the battle when l had missed
killing the man who had robbed me of
my sweetheart and even at that late
date regretting that l had missed him.
Suddenly there was a terrific ex-
plOsion right under the fire. | was hit
by a burning brand. but not before
had seen the man warming himself
blown twenty feet into the air He
was the only one of the party injured,
though pieces OF iron cut their way
through the trees near by, and when
he came down we all rushed toward
him, expecting, Of course, TO find that
he had been killed.
Sullivan cried one of his party,
a man with an Irish brogue, are ye
dead?
"'Divil a bit And he got up and
shook himself free from the dirt on
his clothes.
Gentlemen, the identical shell / had
sent at Captain Sullivan had been
buried in the ground for thirty years
unexploded and had at last reached