Bisbee daily review., 1907-10-01
M'SWEGAN GIVES VERSION OF
 DUEL
Bisbee Doctor Was Surgeon
 For Hamilton, One Of The
 Principals In Affair of Honor That Didn't Happen,

Under date of Friday. SeptembAr 19. the Review reprinted a story of famous bloodless duel of early days, l clipped from the Tucson Star. The narrative was given the Star by Dr. Goodfellow, one of the principals in the dnel Learning that the surgeon for the opposing party. Dr. McSwe- gan. resided in Bisbee, a reporter looked him up. and found that he re l called clearly all of the incidents re- lating thereto. and gave an entertain .ng account of the noted event in Arizona's early history-one, too, whose participants have nearly all passed the Great Divide" Dr. Mo Swegan said:
 Your request for the pincipal in- cidents connected with the Hamilton Purdy duel, which at the last mo- ment failed to materialize. is cheer fully complied with. have a good recollection of all that occurred. al though it happened just a quarter of q century ago this month.
 At that time both Hamilton and Purdy were in the newspaper busi- ness in Tombstone. A dispute arose over local issues and the epithets hulltu dl CdCn OluGI DF Int TlNdi tu- dors were picturesque, if not con ciliatory, and the modern - to de note an especially endearing term was not resorted to-plain, English was used.
 "The result was challenge from Purdy to Hamilton. for a duel Ham ilton accepted. Immediately the whole town was aroused and every body took sides. Purdy chose for his seconds Judge Ned McGowan and Johnny Seyenoaks. and for his sur geon Dr. Geo. F. Goodfellow: Hamil- ton chose for hss seconds Billy Milli- ken and Big Jim Burke, and myself for his surgeon.
 Preparations for the duel went on apace. the interest growing hourly. For in those days a duel was as rare as Sunday School conventions. When men iffered the affair was settled on the spot, each man drawing his gun and taking shot at his opponent
 Judge McGowan and Billy Milf ken, accompanied by Dave Nagle, sheriff, repairer to a hardware store and selected the weapols of warfare. The two parties agreed to take the trail as far as Hereford in order to avoid publicity. Purdy's party, in car riages and buggies. left first. Hamil- ton leaving his paper in charge of Colonel Herring, now Tucson Attor- ney for the Copper Queen company, left soon afterward with his party, and reached Hereford first On the way they (the Hamilton party) en- eountered band of armed men and at once prepared for fight with the Indians. A scouting party was sent forward to reconoiter and was met with cries of Amigos Amigos They proved to be a lot of contra bands smuggling goods to the United States. Hamilton's party while wait ing for Purdy's crowd learned from a morsemen that they were having a good time at Charleston, in violation of the agreement to take the trail.
 Both parties camped at Hereford for the night and early next morning started for Mexico. All but the prin- cipals, seconds aid surgeons were left on American soil, and over Q score of sympathizers ready to break into open conflict, were thus left on the border.
 Arrived, the seconds measured off ten paces, Purdy's second, McGowan then chose one of the weapons. The trigger was too stiff to suit Purdy and he was given the other gun. This, too. required too much muscular ef- fort in firing. Purdy then produced two pistols and offered Hamilton his ;>A. -l.--rr rr,hIe.-- -14a1ifad IIan4iIfaul bnf his seconds objected. claiming Purdy had been practicing with them. Words were banded back and forth. Hamil- ton offered to fight with anything rather than go back to Tombstone and be the laughing stock of the town. but his seconds still objected. And an anxious crowd on the border awaiting a corpse or two. was pre- scented with a roaring farce Instead of bloody tragedy.
 Both of the principals and all four of the seconds are dead. only the two physicians surviving. Interest was increased because of the fact that the seconds and surgeons were en- emies, and the parties waiting on the border were ready to participate at the first 5ndication of irregularity. The principal actors in the tragedy comedy never became friends"