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A WEEKLY PAPER s PUBLISHED IN CLEARFIELD, BY D. W. MOORE AND CLARK WILSON; DEVOTED TO POLITICS, LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE, MORALITY, AND FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.
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PADDfE YOUIt OWN CANOE.
BY MRS. BARAK T. BOLTON.
Voyager upon lifo’s boo,
To yourself bo true,
And whoro’oryonr lot may be,
Paddlo your own canoe.
Nov’r, though the winds may rave,
Falter nor look back,
But upon tho darkost wavo
Leave a shining track.
Nobly daro tho wildost Btorm,
Stem tho hardest galo,
Bravo of hoart and strong of arm,
You will novor foil.
When tho world is oold and dark,
Keep an him in viow,
And towards the beacon mark,
Paddlo your, own canoe.
Evory wavo that boars you on
Tn tho sllont sfioro,
From its sunny source has gone,
To roturn no rnoro.
Thon lot not an hour’s delay
Choat you of your duo,.
But, whilo it is callod to-day,
Paddle your own canoe.
If your birth donied you wealth,
Lofty state and power,
Honest famo and hardy health
Aro a bettor dower.
But if these will not suffico,
Qolden gain pursue,
And to win tho glittering prize,
Paddlo your own canoe. '
Would you wrost tho wonlth of famo
From tho land of fate;
7 Would you write a doathless narno
With tho good and groat;
Would you bloss your fellow men,
Hoart and soul imbue
With the holy task: nnd thon
Paddlo your own canoo.
Would you crush tho tyrant wrong,
In tho world’s froc fight,
With a spirit bravo and strongy
Battlo for tho right.
And to break the chains that bind
Tho many to tho few—
To enfranchise slavish mind—
Paddlo your own canoe.
Nothing great is lightly won,
Nothing lightly lost,
Every good dood nobly done,
Will ropay tho Cost
Leave to Hoavon in humfiTe trust,
All you will to do,
But if you euocood, you must
Paddlo your own canoo.
WE MIQftlT HAVE BEEN.
Tlloro is a whisper ringing clear
In evory sleepless listnor’s oar,
A whispor of but scantly oheor,
And heard distinctly ovory yoar:
“You might havo boon—you might have boon. ’
Breathing throughout the hush of night,
It shuns companionship and light:
A knell, a blessing, and a blight,
Wo profit if wo hear aright—
“ You might havo boon—you ihigkt havo been."
As memory bids tho past arise,
The soaring hopos that swopt tho skies,
(Each in its narrow gravo now lios r )
Wo hear, and not with tearless eyes,
“You might havo boon—you might havo bocn.
Wo might have won tho mood of famo,
Essayed and reached a worthier aim
Had more of joy and less of shnmo,
Nor heard as. from a tongue of flamo— w
“You might have boon—you might havo boon.
pete whetstone
The Prodigy of Arkansas Duellists.
On the second Monday in Sept., 1639,
all the people of Washington pounty were
in motion. The mammoth hive of west
ern Arkansas swarmed. It was note mus
ter for volunteers against a tribe of Indi
nns, nor a political meeting for stump ora
tors to eclipse lightning or use up
nor an election where the bono nnd siney?
of the frontier must save the republic at an
enormous expense pf gouged eyes and
bloody noses. Nor was it an execution,
by order of his honor, Judge Lynch, of
thieves, or coiners of pewter money.
It was only the first day of the second
week of the Circuit Court of Washington
r County—the day of taking up the crirni
niil aide of the docket that attracted the
whole population. But whnt to a stronger
would have seemed the most extraordinary
phase of the affair, the whole population
came armed—ns they would themselves
have expressed—«to the teeth and too
nails.” Big knives were as abundant as
snakes in-a cypress swamp. Evervcoat
pocket was a pistol battery: every shoul
der bristled with a rifle ; nnd some actual
ly bore two, to be prepared for an .emer
gency. It must not be inferred that such
.was the common equipment of the BPecta
lore for the inside of the court house. The
present was an exception, produced by the
Concurrence of unusual events. A brier
statement may serve to solve the mystery.
The Lynchers had recently hung seven
men on, thosome gallows tree. They had.
reason to fear the commencement ol a
n prosecution for the barbarous deed; and,
consequently, the.ontiro band had. turned
out, so as, in case an indictment should be
1 found, to move to quash it at once with
j gunpowder nnd bullet?. But still a mom
1 prolific than this existed. A
[ numerous and well organized clique in
■Foyetterville—consisting of officers, local
officers and officers of the bank—aspired,
to complete an irresistible dominion over
the country. Tho leaders wore desperate
duellists, and their reign was truly one of
terror. Gradually, ;ho wever, a formidable
I opposition to the junto developed itself
among the farmers of tho country. These
applied to the Fayetteville clique the name
of aristocracy, or, ns they pronounced it,
‘‘horostocracyand the latter avenged
thomselves by caltlng their enemies “wood
rats,” after a pocljliarly misqhevious little
animal that. infestsAhe gardens and field 3
of Arkansas, The plebinns adopted tjus
■ term, and rallied under i,tas the appellative
[and watchword of their party. , i''
The “wood rats” had greatly thoadvan
tago ia point of numbers; but, unfortu,- <
nately, they were destitute of able and
honest chiefs, and sadly divided among l
themselves. The “horostocrats” monop. 1
olized tho bank, with every office, civil and i
military in the country. Besides, they i
possessed unlimited pecuniary moans to
buy up all the"bowie knives of the ties per- <
adoes of the frontier. Honco, in several
murderous affrays, tho “wood rats” had
been put to a bloody and ignominious
flight. Tothe general rule of ignomini
ous defeat however, there had been oflato
a single exception. A young “wood rat”
had slain one of the most celebrated cham.
pions of “horostocracy” for infamously
slandering his sister. Ho had been arrest
ed, chained, and cast in a dungeon; and
this second Monday of September, 1889,
was the day set apart for his trial. All tho I
“wood rats” of the region mustered in the!
court yard to see if their comrade had fair I
play, and had brought their trusty riflesas;
a corpse de reserve to be ordered up in a i
case of necessity. The last man of the
“horostocracy” also attended to keep the
prosecution in countenance; and thus all
. tho leaders and retainers on both sides
were thoroughly weaponed, nnd excited
nearly to madness by the fumes of pnssion,
and the deadlier fumes of alchoho!,' tho
most horrid consequences might be appre
hended.
The forum was on immense building, I late statute any body may prosecute orde
amply provided by galleries; and yet ero tho [ fend at the request of a party to the rec
morning sun had measured one-fourth of ord.”
its bright way to the blue zenith, hall and' “Will you please to entor your name?’ 1
galleries, door und windows seemed all' requested the Judge offering his docket,
crowded to one degree below suffocation. I Tho stranger scrawled in immense blot-
Nevertheles3,one great good resulted from ting capitals, “Pete Whetstone, of the Dev
the annoying evil. In the conglomerate ’ il’s Fork, Carroll County, Coon Tp.”
press, it would be impossible for the oppo- “Pete Whetstone! Pete Whetstone! —
sing factions to use fire arms; and should murmured the throng, passing tho singular
they renlly come to tho “tug of mortal name from lip to lip. “Wo thought it
strife..even bowie knives would bo terribly could not be Fent Noland.”
stinted for free space and full hand-sweep.' The stranger deposited his rifle in an
At the pre-nppoin*ed hour, Judge Tully' angle of the bar, and the sheriff, from the
ascended the bench—pale, and trembling door went on to call over the panel. The
in every nerve, and yet not during to risk scene of calling over the jurors was mdis
the imputation of cowardice by resorting to' cribably ludicrous, of which the following
a timely adjournment. brief specimens may suffice :
The prisoner, Henry Martin, was ush- , f .v „ '
ered into tho court room followed by the omon lu "• . . „„„
sheriff and guard. He was rather a hand- Juror ( rom a ncghbormg groce y
r toil screaming like a wild cat.) “Hero; tell
I-,
™ . 3 „„ Storm.) “Here; presently, as soon as I
Mary, two years younger than himself, | thras ,/ Bob We ’ ‘ J
for whoso sake ho had committed the act sheriff (excite o )’ “Crosbv Bell ”
r ” s "'
■***-**
2|»il.y, o, not 6 ui„ y r interrogated
* Tlmbold youth turned to the Court, and “A fool when sober,” shouted another,
said naively : finishing the sentence that might have
“Judge, I can’t tell you a lie : I did kill ended worse.
Col Wallace, for he abused my sisterAtlength,twelve jurymen were selected
but I gave him fair fight. Every knows and sworn; and tho State proceeded with
t | iat » tho evidence, which was very clear and
The nlebinn party thundere-a enthusias- lucid, amounting only to this: That Henry
tic applause, and the Fayettervillc clique Martin challenged Colonel Wallace for
hissed an ominous murmur. , words s P° k< ; n a g o ' nBt . h Vn
‘Mr. Martin, have you any counsel? met, and Colonel Wallace fell at tho first
nS^No h sir!” d nnswered the prisoner; Pm The defence examined but one witness
too poor to fee lawyers: besides, they’ve (Mary, the beautiful sister,) who testified
nil been bought up by the ‘horostocracy.’ to a most revolting insult nt the hands of
Lawyers, like the buzzards, you know, the deceased. The State answered with
flock to the fattest carcases. rebutting testimony,attacked the character
“Will no legal gentleman volunteer for of the girl by the vilest nets of perjury
the accused ?’’ inquired' his honor glnnc Up to this time the strange counsel for
ing around the circle of‘green bags’ with- the prisoner had remained calm and appa.
* ih bar rently abstracted, putting but few cross
m “May it please tho Court, I am engag- questions, and those evincing no particular
ed” “And I.” “and I,” responded two ingenuity; but when the witnesses were
“Then Hear the case must bo postpon. as lhough he had received n
ed, remarked Judge TußywiA are shock of electricity; and his small eyes, of
ed look ofjoy, that said— In my heart 1 reddiah b j ue| ji lera i| y blazed until they
am really glad of it. . „ seemed to cast a blaze of livid light over
“Wail a few moments, Judge, entreat-, &ceB of , ho ndverBo attornoyB , thatmo
ed the young prisoner earnestly; l ex- mentnri , y blind£ . d thcm and made their
pect Fent Noland, ~ nuivering fingers wander to their dagger
V The Judge started half way from h.a g{J"Yn vain.
seat with astonishment. The bravest law- ( daro {o toucb her character, by
y er at the Fayottorvi le bar turned pale, shadow of impulation ” cried the
and the whole crowd hummed wuh og a- j i nd ig n ant young advocate, in tones rolling
tation, like a bee hive jarred b J\ t I ! ,e I sweetly loud, like tho richest peals of on
of a heavy stone. Font Noland I the orcan y .«i will set on your shameless brows
operated like a spell of witchcraft. Had’ho ff 1 senl 0 f infamy that you shall bear
prisoner said, “I expect the arch fiend to
appear in proper person and defend mo, . Gen ° ral sheabornly Sneed sprung
the announcement could not have inspired 1 exclaiming
a more intense panic. Ana yet, s“ ull fe m b j d you responsible for those
as it may seem no one individual know j 8,,. *
Fent Noland save by report and g ooo ™ l Ge neral Sneed was the bully of the Fa.
character. He lived at the furthest ex- H , r 0 . and perhaps, there was
tremity Of the State ; hut the name . self in lhe world that he really
was a thunderbolt of terror. He was fa- ‘ .
mous as a dead shot— a duellist whose aim „y ory we ]j. \ am a responsible man,”
was as sure ns death, and as quick at tne retorlfld vVhetstone, with nn icy sneer;—
lightning from the cloud. nnd lbo cago proceeded as, ifthere had been
•Are you acquainted with Fent Nolanq interruption. Such episodes were too
asked the amazed Judge. , common to excite serious, apprehension.
“No sir,” rejoined the accused; but . the acumont opened. After
wo had all heard of hirn, and sister wrote £ k J for , be prosecution with
to him Tor mo;; and ho sent us a letter o p fdecency and rognr d to mod
promising to be hero to-day. , ~ , r t ; on General Sneed, oh the same side
At this moment, a person was seen el- b d nnd p oUre d forth, in the
bowing his way through the He burst nU b such a raorci
advanced towards the bar, and w h ! B* j 5 volley^ of abuse against the prisoner
“Your honor may proceed with tho|
case. I urn ready to defend Mr. Martin.” ■
“You!” exclaimed Judge Tully, in a
tone of mingled wonder and contempt.—
The appearance and garb of the stranger
might seem to warrant fully his honor’s
manifest emotion* He was a slight and
fragile frame, with golden curls floating
down his shoulders, and a complexion pale
and delicate as that of a girl ina consump
tion. In short, his personate was to the
last degree feminine; and henco served
to render more striking his extraordinary
costume. He was habited all over in a
smoky, greasy suit of buckskin. His small
feet were encased in bright beaded moca
sins, and he wore on his head a panther
skin cap with tail on. A shot pouch of
ample dimensions swung under his left
arrn, while a patent rifle—the deadly eight
shooter of Colt—lay poised in his snowy
little hand.
1 He answered the exclamation of ‘you’
with the comical grimace of a pantomi
mist: I
“Yes, I Judge! Why not? Does your
honor think my mamma don’t know I’m
out?”
He said this with an accent and empha
-1 sis of such inimitable drollery as to con
, vulso tho whole court house with laughter.
i “Are you a licensed attorney?” inquired
■ tho court.
I “That makes no difference, as, by the
many of the latter cocked their guns, yell
ing, “take it back, or we’ll shoot.” The
friends of the clique displayed equal activ
ity, and the forum instantly, assumed the
aspect of a battle field, when adverse le
gions were about to encounter the shock
of mortal strife. Then, had one gun been j
fired it would have been the death knell of
hundreds; but the awful imminenceof peril
caused both parties to pause. Then a voice
of majesty and command rose high above
the tumult of ihreatsnnd curses—
“ Fools! fools! do not render the wives
of your bosoms widows, and the children
of your loins orphans, for the sake of two
mercenary advocates, who woujd hang you |
all fprm hundred dollar fee! Leave me
and General Sneed alone, to settle our
quarrel after the adjournment."
It was the voico of the strange lawyer,
Pete Whetstone, and the wisdom of the ad
vice was so obvious ns to calm for a mo
ment the fury of faction. Besides many
of the clique bognn to have fearful misgiv
ings that the Pete Whetstone wa9 no other
than Fent Nolund in disguise. Thej
impression as to the incognilio deepened,
when the stranger camo toaddresstho jury, j
He began with such an arrow flight of j
mingled jest, anecdote and ridicule, that >
the very wnlls of the court house appeared |
to bo exploding with laughter. He chang- j
ed the scene and hurled such fiery wrath
and indignation upon the heads of the (
clique that they stood nil aghast, and many
of them stood ns if they heard the angel of
death calling them to judgment. Ho boldly
charged them with perjury and murder,
and enumerated every spot in the street
which had been-stained with the blood of
their assassinated victims; and what evinc
ed the boldest daring of all, he solemnly
accused them or robbing the bank—a fact
not publicly detected until two years after
wards.
Again he passed to another topic, and
urged the innocence r.nd depicted the mis
fortune of his client, and dwelt upon the
injuries of thnt beautiful sister, till scores
of eyes so lately heated with anger and
looking like globes of flame melted into
fountains of gushing tears. Hie face red
dened as his soul flew ; his form dilated;
there was lightning in his glance, white
foam on his lips, wildness in his gesture,j
and yet all the while the very echoes of
his voice, as they rolled through the galle
ries and died nwny in the vaolted ceiling
of the dome, were the ideal and ultimate
perfection of music.
He ceased ; and then the silence deep
as the grave, was broken by a shout that
seemed to shake the solid stones of the
pavement. It was an instinctive cheer.—
A spontaneous tribute to exalted genius
which no court, in a crowd of such passion
ate impulses as that, could possibly have
checked.
The closing speech of Col. Evans the
regular prosecuting attorney was a miser
ble failure. Ho cbuld not manage to get j
a hearing. The sworn panel gazed on him J
with vacant eyes, but their thoughts were |
far away. Every chord in every heart
still vibrated to tho tones of that divino'
melody that so recently had swept over
thorn, as tho wailing wind over the strings
of an ./Eolian harp. There was no space
in their souls for any other sound. They 1
returned a verdict of “not guilty” without
leaving their seats.
It was generally believed that the elo
quent stranger was Pent Noland in dis
guise, of whose marvellous oratory, rumor
had repeated so many wonders, and hence
General Sneed was earnestly employed in
excogitating some method of sheeting round
the dangerous responsibility of tho chal
lenge he had'publicly threatened. As the
court adjourned, however, an incident hap
pened to change the current of of opinion
as to the mysterious incognitib. Ike Alex
ander, a .well known sportsman rode up'
and exclaimed in a tone of surprise—“Ho 1
Pete Whetstone! You hero! I can scarce
ly credit my eyesight!” And then tho
I two exchanged familiar greetings, and the
young advocate retired to his hotel.
General Sneed,dying with curiosity and
impatience, approached Alexander : “Do
tell Ike, tell mo who is that!”
“Why! Pete Whetstone,” was the re
joinder.
“Where docs ho live?”
“On the Devil’s Fork, Ooon Township,
Carroll County.”
“What business does ho follow?”
“Gambling at high tide ; but pleading
law at the ebb of his sea fortune.”
“Is ho a sea fighter ?”
“When he can’t got room to run.”
“Bu.t he shall fight, though,” cried tho
General in a- fit of ecstacy at the consoling
intelligence he hud received, “He has da
red to instill me, and no man can do that
and live.” And away went tho bully hur
riedly to iqdjte his challenge and instruct
h : B second. -There was a mischievious
smile in Alexander’s eye, but ho said
nothing.; -
Fifteen mingles only, elapsed, and Cap
tain Lecper,. on the part of Major Gener
al Sneed, waited on Mr. Whetstone in his
room at the tavern.. He delivered the for
mat-note of his principal, expecting the
other to go off into a swoon, or jump out
of the window. No such comfortable de
wouemes/y however, resulted,
“Very good,” said Pete ; “and hero is
my second,” pointing to Alexander. Then
ho added instantly—“take up the pen, Ike,
and scratch my answer. Accept. Wca-.
pons, pistols. Place, the prairie in sight
oftown. Distance, twenty paces. Time,
one half hour from this minute. It’s pre
cisely four o’clock now.”
General Sneed was astonished at the
answer. Ho consoled himsolf that there
was one sign of cowardice in it. “The
distance, shows the white feather,” he re
marked, touching his nose with tho tip of
his little finger. “Why, Leeper, I couldn’t
hit a barn door at twenty paces. He’s no
duelist, you may be sworn.”
‘.‘Certainly not,” assented the second.
Immediately the news of tho approach
ing duel flew like fire on a prairie, and
| when tho moment d battle arrived, an im
mense crowd hnd arrived to witness the
exciting spectacle.
Pete Whelslono was standing at lus
place, apparently absorbed in the gloomi
est thoughts; but General Sneed was strut
ting, delighted, no doubt, with the melan
choly aspect of his antagonist. The self
' complacency of the bully, however, was
.doomed to a sudden, if not a tragic termi
' nation,
I James Pope, a celebrated lawyer of
Bntesvillc, chanced at that moment to be
passing nlong the road, and being attract
ed by tho sight of such a crowd, drew
! near, and. recognizing Whetstone,exclaim
ed—“Ho! Pent, youaroat your old tricks
1 again, ! see. What, another duel ? And
with General Sneed ?”
The pseudo Polo made signs and grim
aces, but Pope would not take, and finally
completed the mischiefby another unlucky
1 exclamation —“Why, Noland, what’s tho
j matter with you? You cut more signs
than a Choctaw Indian !”
At the word “Fent” Gen. Sneed had
started as if stung by a hornet; but when
the full word “Noland” rung in his jar,
he reeled as if struck by a hammer, and
turnod os pale as any stage Hamlet that
ever shuddered nt his fathers ghost.
Leeper exerted himself to the utmost to
rally his principal’s spirit, but all to no
purpose. Tho only sound that the crest
fallen bully’s lips seemed capable of uttor
ing, were comprised in one single sentence.
“Compromise it 1 for God’s sake compro
mise it!”
The Major General’s second hastened
to the other party with the proposition of
compromise.
“Tell vour' principal that I make it an
unalterable rulo never to compromise after
my big toe touches the battle-field,” was
Fent’s brief answer, which drove General
Sneed almost distracted ; so that forgetting
pride, shame, dignity, r everything, in his
ungovernable terror of that brute instinct
which make cowards cling to life ns their
all, he rushed towards Noland to supplicate
in person.
“Mr. Noland,” cried the affrighted chief
of all the Arkansas state militia, “ennnot
this matter be postponed until to-morrow?
I would esteem it a great favor, as my
wife is dangerously ill.”
“Bah !” retorted Fent, scarcely able to
restrain his laughter. “I won’t keep you
a moment, as I never have occasion to re
peat my fire.”
Defeated in his last manoeuvre, the old
bully determined to try a different tack. —
Accordingly he proclaimed in u loud voice
so as to be heard throughout the vast
throng, “Fellow Citizens, I came hore to
fight a gentlemen ; but I have made the
discovery that my present adversary does
not belong to that class, as he presented
himself under an assumed name—l am
forced to decline any further communica
tion with him forever.
Hardly had tho general finished his
pompous manifesto, when Fent snatched
a horsewhip from his coat pocket, and
commenced belaboring the other’s bnck
furiously, shouting at every blow—“ This
for the pettifogger! This for the assassin?
This for the bully 1 This for the liar !
And this, and this, and this, for tho pol
troon !”
A thousand spectators stood looking on,
and yet not one interfered to arrest tho
avenger’s hand, and for two reasons
First, because the avenger was Font No
land ; and secondly, because everybody
felt that the victim richly deserved all that
he received.
I will closo my hasty sketch with a brief
addenda, for the beuefit of those who wish
to know something of Fent’s character and
history.
We have seen him with two of his pho
nes—ns the pow’crful orator and the all
dreaded duellist——but he has a hundred
others, and is equally master of them all.
A more expert hand, unless it were a
professional one, never invoked the sou}
of the heart-strings ofa violifi. He isaliko
a favorite in the saloons of the ladies of
fashion; a connoisseur in the temples ded
icated to the ‘manly art;’ and a- matchless
interlocuter in the debating circjes nrouud
the fireside, whether composed of doctors,
divines, statesmen, or philosophers. Be
sides, all this, he wields one of the most
versatile pens in America, considering its
minimum of practice! Ho writes poetry
sweet as hja own voice, -and: strong as his
pw.n courage, ' •,
nrt re-c\T>~> ga D 5»
Ho dashes off articles for the public
journals with tho rapidity of a transcribing
clerk. Ho.lets forth humorous effusions
with the natural ease of spontaniety.
But why has he not become celebrated
beyond the limits of Arkansas? Why does
ho not aspire to the achievement of a world
wide fame.
Bccauso he is poor and in Arkansas.—
Ho is too remote from the centre of intel-
ligence —too far west. Could an Arab in\
tho great desert, though gifted with the ge
nius of on archangel, make his voice be
heard througout the great family of na
tions ? '
But a stronger reason than any that is
to be found in a local position or the tin-
conquerable bar of poverty, may be as
signed for Noland’s obscurity, in the pe
culiar character qf his organization. He
is constituted passionally, without one sin
gle particle of desire for fame. He has
no life of memory for the past, and no
vivid life of imagination 7 for the measure-,
less ages of the mighty future. His whole
life lies in tho present —hangs on the min
ute hands of his own good watch. v
Such a fact may seem incredible in a
duellist, a class that are generally suppo
sed to do battle, if not for renown at least
for notoriety. But when it is thoroughly
comprehended what causes concurred to
render Pent a duellist, and what motives
operate to keep him one, tho enigma solves
itself. Fent Noland emigrated to Arkan
sas when only eighteen years of age. He
was very friendless, and had no Resources
I save in the treasures of his native, though
then, undeveloped genius. This ha now
turned to a good account, his
prohfiic pen to the publishers of party
journals. Ilis sharp wit and biting sar
casm, and, more than that, his splendid
talents, soon created enemies. At that pe
riod Arkansas was cursed with trained
bands of detestable bullies, who sought to
govern everything by the terrors of the
pistol and dagger. Every rising man
was to encounter such of those profession
al desperadoes, or.relinqulsh the attempt
to. ascend, such was tho horrible stale of
public opinion. If the new aspirant refu
sed the challenge, he was degraded forev
er in the estimation- of the community.—
If ho fought and was killed, he was got
rid of, and the matter ended summarily.
If, on the contrary, he slew his antagonist
he ghined one chnnco for ascension.
Accordingly, ns soon as young Noland’a
name began to ring, his foes determined
to test his mettle in tho accustomed fiery
ordeal, and they selected one of their shots
to despatch him a challenge to' the field of
honor. Fent, though utterly opposed to
the murderous practice of duelling, as the
choiCo of necessity took up the gage.—
They met; the youth threw nwny his own '
fire, received that of his foe in his side,
and bravely escaped with his life.
He was scarcely convalescent when he
was called out by another antagonist; and
this time he shot his enemy through the
heart. This event appears to have parti
ally changed his nature. He did not, it is
true, become cruel or quarrelsome. He
never acquired n tinge of misanthrophy;
but all the burning passions of his bold im
pulsive heart, assumed the fixed foim of
concentrated'hatred for tho whole class of
bullies, and thenceforth he was a sort o(
Don Quixoto, uncrazed; whose life-mis
sion embraced one object only —the extir
mination of duellists; and to do this effec
tually, he learned all their arts. Since
the day ho slew Pope, no sun has ever
measured the radient circuit ol the heavens
without beholding that pale, enthusiast in
the cause of death at his post before the
target, with rifle or pistol levelled at tho
centre. The consequence of such inces
sant practice- has been that, os a skilful
shot, he realized the exploits of romance,
and seems endowed with the powers of
magic; and hence the universal terror
which wo have seen inspired even by his
name.
A Remnant of Ancient Supersutiqn.
A Gorman known ns Dutch Charlie, was
recently murdered in Colorado co., Texas.
As the body was surrounded by people
un Irishman proposed that tho9o present
should successively place their httuds up
on the deceased—believing that wherever
the murderer touched it,-the wounds would
commence bleeding anew. The sugges
tion was acted upon, and, says p corres
pondent of the Richmond (Texas) Inqui
rer, as soon as a man mimed Hillebrant
applied his hnnd, the blood began to flow.
Hillebrant was arrested,.and shortly after
wards committed suicide by hanging him
self.
Fast Woman.— A woman named Mrs..
Hamersly, in Lawrence county, . New
York, was a few days ago'divorced, from
her husband-after hair-past 7 o’clQCßßnd
her originul name restored, her husband
being in court and resisting the application.
At lO o’clock the same day she was mar
ried to a Mr. Wikle—thus being twice a
wife and once single, and legally entitled
to bear the names of M* 3 - Hamersly; Miss
Colton, and Mrs. Wikle J all in the space
of half an hour. This woman wilt pass.
Know-Nothings figured largely
-In the late election in Lancaster, city.
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