The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-06-18
A Valuable Second
lorirlnall

loriginall
My friend Dawes was as gentle a
being as / ever knew. One day he sur
! lrised me by making reference to a
duel he had once fought In the south.
Your exclaimed do you mean
to tell me that you have fought a
sucl?1
Once
Il thought you were opposed to duel
/ ing
Il am 1t happened this way: When
q young man lived IN Ohio, state, as
you knew, which then bordered on
slave states. A gentleman from Ken
4 lucky, Chester Gay, came across the
Ohio river and persuaded me to en-
bark some capital with him in raising
blooded stock ID the blue grass region.
! was pleased with the idea of an open
air occupation was not IN very good
lhealth--and accepted his offer. He was
twenty years my senior aud In every
4 way a fine man. But he was modest
and never told me what I learned in
! time that he was very neryy. He was
afterward killed leading a Confederate
regiment at the battle OF shiloh
I'VE had stocked our farm and every
thing was running smoothly when
4 Abraham Lincoln was elected president.
4 The announcement was a signal for an
opening Of those secession guns that
doomed sharply and successfully for
some months. Gay was opposed to SCI
cession, and would have had no trou-
BILE had ii not been for red mouthed
man. one OF the numerous colonies
Of the south. called Plummer who.
knowing that / was a northern man,
perfectly satisfied with the existing ma
s tional status, made It his BUSINESS to
drive me out OF the state. | learned
afterward that he wished to marry a
girl had met and to whom / was be-
I coming much attached. He was good
deal of gambler, as some of the i. r.
KS were In those days, and a noted
4 duelist--that Is. he had been out d
number of tfmes was dead shot.
Il kept my mouth closed as 20 politics.
but that did not save me One evening
( In the office room Of hotel Colonel
Plummer approached me and fred n
number of Insulting remarks that
called for resentment | paid no at
] ten;ion TO him, for saw his intention
4 to force rae into q fight. but went inn
4 mediateiy 10 Mr. Gay for advice in the
/ matter. He sat thinking for few
minutes. then said quietly;
You're one the horns of q dilemma.
\ One horn Is that you must give UP
your interest In our stock farm and
this love affair of yours, for you would
not be justified In marrying q girl with
your reputation sinirched as it would
be among her associates and her fam
lily unless you resent public insult.
The other horn IL to challenge Plum
mer. My advice is for You to challenge
him. After that you can leave the
state, If you like, with ain unsullied
reputation
That is. II leave 1t at all Be
sides, am bitterly opposed to dueling.
sob, | don't think there will be much
danger
There was an unbelievable expires.
sion on my friends face questioned
him further, but could get no satisfac-
tory explanation of his meaning. His
wish that | should fight aud the belief
that failure to do SO would cost NE
the girl Idesircd to make my wife de
clded me. Besides, didn't like such
treatment and was seized with the de-
sire to bore a hole in plummer. had
never bean OUT, but | was no mean
shot with either rifle or pistol | sent
Plummer a challenge through Cay
"a meeting was arranged to take
place IN the carlx morning. at a seclud-