Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-17

men who were admitted on all hands
to be the very best men in the county,
which in the Georgia vocabulary means
they could fog any other two men In
the county. Each, through many
hard fought battle, had acquired the
mastery Of his own battalion; but they
lived on opposite sides OF the court
house and in different battalions, con-
sequently they were but seldom thrown
together. When they met, however,
they were always very friendly |; in
deed, at their first interview they SEEM
ed to conceive a wonderful attachment
TO each other, which rather increased
than diminished as they became better
acquainted; so that, but for the cir
cumstance which / am about to men
tion, the question, which had been
thousand times asked, (which is the
best man, Billy Stations (Stallings)
or Bob Durham?" would probably new
er have been answered.
Billy ruled the upper battalion and
Bob the lower. The former measured
six feet and an inch in his stockings,
and, without a single pound OF cum
brous flesh about him, weighed hun
dred and eighty. The. latter was an
inch shorter than his rival, and ten
pounds lighter: but he was much the
more active Of the two. In running
and jumping he had but few equals in
the county; and In wrestling, not one.
In other respects they were nearly
equal. Both were admirable specimens
OF human nature in its finest form.
Billy's victories had generally been
achieved by the tremendous power OF
his blows, one Of which had often prov
ed decisive Of his battles; Bob's by his
adroitness in bringing his adversary
to the ground. This -.1"antage ne mad
never failed to ga.G at the onset, and
when gained he never failed to i'm
prove 1t to the defeat OF his adver-
sary. These points Of difference have
involved the reader in doubt as to
the probable issue Of a contest between
them. 1t was not so, however with
the. two battalIons. Neither had the
least difficulty in determining the point
by the most natural and irresistible
deductions a priori; and though oy
the same course Of reasoning, they ar
rived at directly opposite conclusions
neither felt its confidence in the least
shaken by this circumstance. The up
per battalion swore that Billy only
wanted one lick at him to knock MS
heart, liver, and lights out OF him, and
IL he got two at him he'd knock MIN
into a cooked hat" The lower battalion
retorted that he wouldn't have time
to double his fist before Bob would
put his head where his feet ought 10
be: and that, by the time he hit the
ground, the meat would fly of his race
SO quick that people would think 1t
was shook off by the fall" These dis
putes often led to the argumentum ad
hominem, but with such equality OF
success on both sides as to leave the
main question just where they founo
It. They usually ended, however, in
the common way-with bet; and
many a quart of old Jamaica (whisky
had not then supplanted rum) was
staked upon the issue. STILL greatly to
the annoyance Of the curious, Billy and
Bob continued to be good friends.
Now, there happened to reside In the
county Just alluded to little fellow by
the name Of Ransy Sniffle; sprout OF
Richmond, who, in his earlier days
had fed copiously upon red clay and
blackberries This diet had given to
Ransy a complexion that a corpse
would have disdained to own, and an
abdominal rotundity that was quite
unprepossessing. Long spells OF the
fever and ague, too, in Ransy's youth,
had conspired with clay and blackber-
ries to throw him quite out Of the or
der of nature. His shoulders were
fieshless and elevated; his head large
and fiat; his neck slim and translu-
cent; and his arms, hands, fingers; and
feet were heightened out of all pro-
portion to the rest Of his frame. HIS
Joints were large and his limbs small;
and as for flesh, he could not, with
propriety, be said to have any. Those
parts which nature usually supplies
with the most of this article-the
calves Of the legs, for example-pre-
sented in him the appearance OF so
many we'll drawn blisters. His height
was Just five feet nothing; and his
average weight in blackberry season,
ninety-five. l have been thus partic-
h tho nIrnnSn
of showing what a great matter a lit
tie fire sometimes kindleth. There was
nothing on this earth which delighted
Ransy so much as fight. He never
seemed fairly alive except when he was
witnessing, or talking about a fight
Then, indeed, his deep sunken gray
eve assumed something Of living fire,
and his tongue acquired Voluolllty
that bordered upon eloquence. Ransy
had been kept for more than year
in the most torturing suspense as to
the comparative manhood of Billy
Stallings and Bob Durham. He had
resorted to all his usual expedients to
bring them in collision, and had en-
tirely failed. He had faithfully report
ed to Bob all that had been said by
the people in the upper battalion "agin
him." and "he was sure Billy Stallings
started it. He heard Billy say himself
to Jim Brown that he could whip him.
or any other man in his battalion;
and this he told to Bob, adding, "Dod
darn his soul, If he was little bigger
II he'd let any man put upon his bat
TALON in such a way!" Bob replied
IF he (StaIlings) thought so. he'd bet
ter come and try it," This Ransy car
rfed to Billy, and delivered it with a
spirit becoming his own dignity and
the character of his battalion, and
with a coloring we'll calculated to give