Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THURSDAY jtlLY fi. 1933 V STORY OF DUELLING IS ONE OF ROMANCE ' By C..A. ASHLEY, JR., Student in Journalism, University of.South Carolina was Kiiett’s denun<?iation of CalhounV f some excuse ' fqj- conduct April M, 1861 (the date of they decide nothin?,V said the surrender of Fort Sumter). Rhett “a man says .somethin? whiph another referred to Calhoun as a “damned tells^him is a lie. They fight, but puppy,"” and he couldn’t let .such art j whichever is killed, tl e point of dis pute is not settled.” , ^ This point is.illustrated by the fol lowing story that was told touring his time: proven itself the equal of arty sii product offered. J in.sulb pass unheeded. The day of reason finally came, however, when duelling went into dis- *card. Because it .served no real pur- 5:* po.se and because it did not settle, in Imost cases, the disputed point. imilarfweight and other disadvantages. TTie "I I mechanical condition wgs poor, requir- Official tests made by various states much labor in handling and use.‘ show that the new product averages j Anferican competition, better than 16 per cent nitrogen, or nitrate can rtow be obtained in good IV jWell over 19.45 per cent ammonia, giy- The bravery of South Carolina men has nWer been questioned. The long list of bloody duels in the palmetto sut, i, grim evidence »f Colonel William Shannon. The ^ gentleman in a quested another to sit fnv- lore ^ m" ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ in South Carolina thi-ew a bullet about , . , . c y- ii.- the size of .22'caliber. The barrel was' The last fatal duel m. South Caro- him. the smooth bore tyiie and was ab<.ulJi''» in Darlington coun-| "Why so,” he asked. The barrels of the ‘P V 'V ISbO, between F. B. C^h the physical couiag; of South Caro- higher priced guns were inlaid »;ith;»|jJ grerout of a'^riw of"l’awsrts,f'';f linians. This same couragecfus spirit and gold. By agreemen . ei .evolved. 1 . jf affront was shown on the battlefields in every drop raise ^ 1 f r’ u u cv, ' K 'fight me. could be used. The raise shot was con-1 The names of Cash and Shannon be-, “j ^jjj fight you if you insist,” the sidered surer, the drop shot quicker, came in.separably linked with duelling. ^ gentleman said, “but I do ,not F tf-'l h rl The duellers stood about 30 to 60 The affair caused a furor throughout, Rgg -how- that will mend the. matter, fhieirni^ apart with loaded pistols pointed the state. Colonel J?hannon wa&. killed p^r if you kill me, I shall stink too; towa-l the ground. The .seco'nd who-and. Cash was tried for murder and j and if i.kin you, you full and even weiglit bags, in a me chanical condition 'to meet the - de mands of the farmer. An even distri- is ing the farmer over one per cent mq^e ammonia than the old style nitrate^ of 1 . soda. After exhaustive tests to deter- hution is possible with the present coffee ho.Jse re- mine the value of the new product, it!new fonn and much laborjs saved by farther from'has been proven that “chemically j not having to crush or grind the ma- I j .^p^akir.g, pure ammonia and pure ni-j^®'‘*^h If better results are obtained trate, whatever their origin, are equiv-’ hy the u?e of one form of nitrate of alent in producing definite effects onj^n*^^’ shpuld be in favor of the Ar- plant life.” The new’ .American nitrate -and farmers are find.ng thisi is produced right in the^ south at .^o be true. stink,’’ replied the and you must war in which Sopth Carolina was in any way involved. South Carolina as an ony fa.fhioned her rules after those in use in the mother coun try. The main idea was to give the .seconds the power and respon.'^i’oility to settle (juarrels without blootl.^hed if possible to do so by honorable means. Failing in this obligation, it was the duty of the seconds to see • I that hostilities were conduete<i fairly and preci.sely according .0 the Fodt l>«ello.” The story of duelling in Sdiith Car olina is filled with scenes of tragedy. The affairs in which promising lives were lost to decide a trivial mat'lei were plentiful. The duel was a symp tom of the chivalr<*us s|)irit that per- w'ill stink, if ga V the word woubl say: i. ntlemen, are you ready?” They would reply. He would- then .'•ay; “Ready, fire, one, two, three, halt!” The firing had to take pbnee during :he counting — not before -bfire” or after "halt.” The seconds were armed and fire 'H(>pewell,' Va. It is known as Arcad ian nitrate of soda and is almost chemically pure. It i^OO per cent sol uble in water and it^ almost impos sible for it to be adulterated without the farmer knowing it. The chemical compound fqund here is the same .At the present time when farmers must make every dollar count in crop production, they are looking fc*r these things that will help them. For this rea.'on, progressive farmers iq thi.s section are insisting on. securing the most for their money by specifying 4 duellii^. A mistrial resulted but at the! iworse than you do at,pies- compound found in all nitrate [this new form of nitrate of soda, second trial he was acquitted. jent.” ^ Everything In duel anti-duelling sentiment, became' -SODA WINS 4I*I*ROVAL more- acute and a stringent gnfbrce- ^ ‘ ment of dhelling laws re.sulted. - Benjamin Franklin, in his common of soda w hatever the -origin. It has] rhe added advantage of being dry and j granular with no access of moisture, j and the condition of Arcadian nitrate is the highest to be had. This is the thing that should interest the farmer for -it is the thing he pays for and vaded the ]iv<'s iif the owners of big , . , , , ,, plantation, and palatial homes. The t<*o obstinate they shook hands and I b.woi clas.ses of society fought their " fLgJiis^.‘-Hfnl Hnelltng‘ iriunuahaixkt pistols were reserved for aristocrats. The development on a commercial ale^of nitrogenous fertilizer mate- if a principal fell from illegal | sense way, granted that in olden times | rials is a comparatively recent thing, jdant growth, his opponent was shot down "by’when duels w’cre fought to settle law-'especially nitrate of swla. In the few . . - , them. If either party was killed or (suits, from an opinion that providence years that this form of nitrate has, ^ wounded, no matter how slightly, the i would in every instance favor truth been produced it has come into gen- coul(i. be obtained only in heavy, un point of honor was settled, the insult | and right with victory, there wasjeral use among the farhiers and has even w’eight bags, ^ubject to loss of wified out with blood. If neither was hit the seconds negotiated again and unless one of the two iirincijials was FLOWERS Clinton Flower Shop Member F. T. D. Phone 33 SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHKONTCLB “The Paper Everybody Reads” \ When partisan ilav.' of iwilituTi! and fights were to feeling ran high in d .lorm edntroversies oe had for the ask ing. dtu’l' \Vr-ie of e«»mmon oeeurrenee. .^oiith Carolinian, alway.- took their fxditic- .*Miou>!y. ■’ll >Mor” wa> the moving prineijile in live, of Sciuthern gentlemen the mainti nance of which they placed atmve life itself. Word, were no sat i,sfact ion for works if a man felt he had been in sulted .\ l low avengetl an insult by word, and it was le.ft to the man re- i-eiving the bluvv Lu begin -proeee'tlrngs,. When’blows were given* to begin with the person i-eceiving the first blow made the demand. Intoxication \^•us not a full excuse for an jn.sult ,but would greatly mitigiate if thedffender apologized when he-i.sl — A getvtl himself insulted, if he acted accord ing to the ettde, called in a friend who was to serve as second. By him he W(»uld send a courteous note the offending party, hiaking clear his in juries and grievances. If the ex{>lana- tion demande<J wa.s not forthcoming or satisfactory, and after all aHiitra- tion had failed, a challenge was of fered to the offending party. If he valued hus honor he would accept. A man . who refused to accept a chal lenge and did not assign a good rea son for doing so was “posted.” That is, a t aul would be tacked up in a |Hil»li( pla(e on wbieb Would be writ ten. “ — — is a epward, a |)olf roon 'and an object of seoin to any honoiablc man." This is only a sanipl'- of the many epithet.s thrown at unaccommodating o|)poru‘nts. \fter a challenge ha<l heen made' and aciejiti d the secomls decided onj the time, plaee, weapon, umi condi tion. of firing. Thi weapon mo.t commonly used changi* (>f shots ensued. Advice on duelling, how to avoid a duel and how to fight a duel were^ topics of vita) inten^st. If a man in-, tended to he a politician, a journalist or a lawyer, he never wasted time ^ wlien he indulg«*d in target practice. T Many firominent South Carolinians of bygone days figured in duels. Hen- i ry l.HVirens several limes met ojipon- ents on the duelling groqnds. Hisj eliaracteristie riianmo’ of duelling w'as to stand and be shot at and then fit’ll* his pistol into the air. I “.More than once I had the hravery ^ to stand and he shot at,” l^urems, (»nee said, "hut was too great a c »w- ^ ard to kijll any man except by neces-, sitv ” It seems that there coidil rzot: lie a more nece.ssary time to kill aj man than when he is taking a crack I at you‘With a pistol, but Laurens j‘ 30,000 MILES AND MORE WITHOUT GRINDING VALVES when he-i.'i|td)ere<l up. mra, when - he eon^ideml,'i*‘*'^ ^ . , • ! ^ John Tzanren» did not fight diitjis in the manner of his father. In his en- j counter with (Jen. Charles Lee he shot! to kill. Fortunately, however, General I U*e was only wounded. [ Izee had been tried for his conduct j at the battle of Monmouth and in his published defense had made detri-| Suental statements concerning General! I Washington. Laurens was an officei , on W'ashington’s staff, so he felt he j should defend his chief’s reputation by ! 'calling l.ee to account. Lee had taken jiart in nwiny duel,S| 'and offered no objections to meeting young Laurens. They agreed to ad-' vunee on each other and fira wh<*n they pleased. .After they had come within five or six paces of each other' they fired together. Lee was wounded. Igiurens offered ussistanee hut the wound jiioved negligible. For a while It .seiMiied that hostilities would be re sume I. The seconds, however, per- .suaded the principals to settle the muttei without further exchange of shids. , .-V .shor't lime after this enctilirtter Lee eliallengcil William Henry Dray ton, at that time chief justice of South Carolin^. to a duet because of his crit- ' ieisni of l,ee’s conduct at Monmouth. I Drayton refused to accept the chal lenge because “he did not feel himself bound to .sacrifice his public reputa tion and outrage his public character, merely t<» gratify General Lee in his profession.” Frequently ixdittcians used the dtttd to silence criticism or to stop investi-j gallon, tien. .lames Blair had this I hal)it. He came within an ace of hav-1 ing an encounter with .lames H. Ham-' mond, afterw aid governor of South ( arolina. Bbaii Vvns known as the] "Hero of Lynch’s Creek,” became a at eungi'eji&,^ nearly kiJJedl |l)u! f Green With a cuduL and ’ finally ’ blew out his owh'lirains in TVa^ing-'’ ^-ton-. I , , I 1 liomas Kvuns, a young lawyer and eilitor rtl Camden, took (K’casion to | vritieize Blair’s campaign methods. | j^The general promptly replieil with a challenge. The young editor had no o\el powering longing to meet the big 35n-pound politician and soldier, but I he telt compelled to <lo So. The duel j was held at Sand Bar Ferry, near .Au-, gusta, Ga., perhaps t^he most famous* luelling ground for earIy~South Caro linians. Great crowds sometimes at tended the contests. ; The principals took their places. ".lust tiefore the word was given to fire,” said F!vans later, “I heard spectator say: ‘By God. Bob. I will bet you $.’) the big m^^n kill.s the little one. j I The word "fire” was given, j “When 1 looked into the muzzle of , I Blair’s pi.siol,” Kvans said, “it .seemed to me a.s large as a flour barrel.” Both| fired. Kvans’ arm was shattered. De spite the fact that General Blair w'as! (only ten paci^s w^eighed 350' I pounds, and was as broad as a barn jdoor, Kvans missed him completely. . I John C. CalhouiC did not fight a ; duel, but hfs son and grandson engag ed in affairs of honor. William Ran- !,som Calhoun, while in Paris as .secre-i ' tary of legation, fought a duel, and t iin September, 1862, he was killed by* .\lfred Rhett in an engagement at] Charleston, Both weiie Confederate' officers. They hud been enemies for a' long time. The occasion of the duel I # The big new Dodge Six does more than talk economy — it GIVES you economy! A;i amaz ing new invention, called the* “inserted valve seat”, made of fine chromium alloy, saves gas and cuts operating expense. Valves don’t need grinding for 30 thousand miles or more.* And that’s only one of the sensational features of the big new Dodge Six — just a few dollars more thRn the lowest nriced cars! DODGE “6 wUh Floating Powmr angina ntoiinflngs ff ^595 AND UP j Dodge Eight $1115 to $1395. aA prices f. o. b. factory, Detroit. EASTERBY MOTOR CO., INC. UAURENS, 8.-C. Phone 603 Quality Job Printing Let Us Dp Your Printing! 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