The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1905-02-24
Some Florida Incidents
BY MRS.
ELLEN CALLLoNG
ITO Die With Boots On"

1t was Sunday afternoon in the
early spring when flowers were bloom
ing, birds singing and love and peace
seemed all alive, even in he atmos-
phere. that / was playing around a
recently married couple, when an In
dian approached the stoop (now the
residence of Judge Whitfield, Talla-
hassee) Offering a basket of early
fruit for sale, and Mrs. Campbell was
about to bargain for them when her
husband said: Don't buy them for
/ must leave home tomorrow on
urgent business, and 1 wish you to
stay with your uncle's family (that of
Gov. Duvals') while I am gone" In
twenty-four hours from that time the
young husband was brought home
dead, killed in duel, and the wife
was told that his death was owing to
a fall from horse, and the facts of
the case she did not learn for year
or more, but finally gathered them
from an old newspaper, and it was
long after that l learned The cause of
the duel myself, which was that
three brothers (Ham5Iy) had sworn
to challenge this man "a lawyer) for
advocating the extreme use of the
law in case of prosecution for debt,
which result ruined them financially,
and the brothers pledged themselves
to kill Mr.. Campbell in consequence,
one failing, the second and third
should challenge him to duel. These
brothers were merchants of MagIO-
liza, town southeast of Tallahassee.
The youngest, not married, claimed
the privilege of the first encounter.
story went that on the morning of
the Sunday first referred to. The
challenged man accompanied his
wife to the church door. and then
left her unsuspecting and proceeded
to an adjacent forest to practice with
the pistol, the wife as unconscious of
the contemplated deed as the hus-
band was resolute in preparing for
the fatal meeting.
Another tine l remember hearing
shot not very far away, on another
Sunday morning, it was sharp and
quickly followed by two or three
mere and at the sound. my mother at
my side, fell back fainting. Later d
wounded man, bloody and weak, was
brought into an outer office of the
yard accompanied viii doctors and
friends I was little child, not five
years old and moreover delicate
girl with curiosity | mingled with
the crowd, straining my little body to
catch sight Of what could not under
stand. Later in life | learned it was
a duel fought between brother of
Delegate White and Leigh Reed, the
latter demanding satisfaction for re-
marks made upon his friend, Richard
Keith Call, by young White.
The son of the king OF Naples,
Prince Achiie Nlrat, also fought a
duel with Judge Baltzell previous to
his seat on the bench. 1t resulted in
the loss of a little finger 10 the prince
r. X. Call was his second, and to
took his stand: Il want you to know
that I believe in no future,' but
when death really came, twenty years
later, the Catholic priest was at his
bedside.
And then there was another duel,
the particulars of which do not re-
| member; but he wife of one of the
party, suspecting the absence of her
husband, pursued, to find the con.
tenders for honor arrayed face to face
1t is enough to say that her precipi-
! tation arrested further progress. And
there were others, among them one
| Hackley, Virginian, rendered help.
| less for long years of life
| But duelling in Florida ended with
the desperate feuds and fights con.