Part 200 (2/2)
He refused, saying he would shake hands with no such d----d rascal.
The rest answered in the same tone. Col. Ward remarked that they were not in a proper place for a difficulty, if they sought one. Col. Ward went from the room to the pa.s.sage, and was followed by the brothers.
He said he was unarmed, but if they would lay down their arms, he could whip the whole of them; or if they would place him on an equal footing, he could whip the whole of them one by one. Caesar told Chamberlayne to give the Col. one of his pistols, which he did, and both went out into the yard, the other brothers following. While standing a few paces from each other, Lafayette came up, and remarked to the Col., 'If you spill my brother's blood, I will spill yours,'
about which time Chamberlayne's pistol fired, and immediately Lafayette bursted a cap at him. The Colonel turned to Lafayette, and said, 'Lafayette, you intend to kill,' and discharged his pistol at him. The ball struck the pistol of Lafayette, and glanced into his arm. By this time Albert Ward, being close by, and hearing the fuss, came up to the a.s.sistance of the Colonel, when a scuffle amongst all hands ensued. The Colonel stumbled and fell down--he received several wounds from a large bowie knife; and, after being stabbed, Chamberlayne jumped upon him, and stamped him several times. After the scuffle, Caesar Jones was seen to put up a large bowie knife. Colonel Ward said he was a dead man. By the a.s.sistance of Albert Ward, he reached the house, distance about 15 or 20 yards, and in a few minutes expired. On examination by the Coroner, it appeared that he had received several wounds from pistols and knives. Albert Ward was also badly bruised, not dangerously.”
The ”New Orleans Bee,” Sept. 22, 1838, published the following from the ”Nashville (Tennessee) Whig.”
”The Nashville Whig, of the 11th ult., says: Pleasant Watson, of De Kalb county, and a Mr. Carmichael, of Alabama, were the princ.i.p.als in an affray at Livingston, Overton county, last week, which terminated in the death of the former. Watson made the a.s.sault with a dirk, and Carmichael defended himself with a pistol, shooting his antagonist through the body, a few inches below the heart. Watson was living at the last account. The dispute grew out of a horse race.”
The New Orleans Courier, April 7, 1837, has the following extract from the ”McMinersville (Tennessee) Gazette.”
”On Sat.u.r.day, the 8th instant, Colonel David L. Mitch.e.l.l, the worthy sheriff of White county, was most barbarously murdered by a man named Joseph Little. Colonel Mitch.e.l.l had a civil process against Little. He went to Little's house for the purpose of arresting him. He found Little armed with a rifle, pistols, &c. He commenced a conversation with Little upon the impropriety of his resisting, and stated his determination to take him, at the same time slowly advancing upon Little, who discharged his rifle at him without effect. Mitch.e.l.l then attempted to jump in, to take hold of him when Little struck him over the head with the barrel of his rifle, and literally mashed his skull to pieces; and, as he lay prostrate on the earth, Little deliberately pulled a large pistol from his belt, and placing the muzzle close to Mitch.e.l.l's head, he shot the ball through it. Little has made his escape. _There were three men near by when the murder was committed, who made no attempt to arrest the murderer_.”
The following affray at Athens, Tennessee, from the Mississippian, August 10, 1838.
”An unpleasant occurrence transpired at Athens on Monday. Captain James Byrnes was stabbed four times, twice in the arm, and twice in the side by A.R. Livingston. The wounds are said to be very severe, and fears are entertained of their proving mortal. The affair underwent an examination before Sylvester Nichols, Esq., by whom Livingston was let to bail.”
The ”West Tennessean,” Aug. 4, 1837, says--
”A duel was fought at Calhoun, Tenn., between G.W. Carter and J.C.
Sherley. They used yaugers at the distance of 20 yards. The former was slightly wounded, and the latter quite dangerously.”
June 23d, 1838, Benjamin s.h.i.+pley, of Hamilton co., Tennessee, shot Archibald McCallie. (_Nashville Banner_, July 16, 1838.)
June 23d, 1838, Levi Stunston, of Weakly co., Tennessee, killed William Price, of said county, in an affray. (_Nashville Banner, July 6, 1838_.)
October 8, 1838, in an affray at Wolf's Ferry, Tennessee, Martin Farley, Senior, was killed by John and Solomon Step. (_Georgia Telegraph, Nov 6, 1838._.)
Feb. 14, 1838, John Manie was killed by William Doss at Decatur, Tennessee. (_Memphis Gazette, May 15, 1838_.)
”From the Nashville Whig.”
”_Fatal Affray in Columbia, Tenn_.--A fatal street encounter occurred at that place, on the 3d inst., between Richard H. Hays, attorney at law, and Wm. Polk, brother to the Hon. Jas. K. Polk. The parties met, armed with pistols, and exchanged shots simultaneously. A buck-shot pierced the brain of Hays, and he died early the next morning. The quarrel grew out of a sportive remark of Hays', at dinner, at the Columbia Inn, for which he offered an apology, not accepted, it seems, as Polk went to Hays' office, the same evening, and chastised him with a whip. This occurred on Friday, the fatal result took place on Monday.”
In a fight near Memphis, Tennessee, May 15, 1837, Mr. Jackson, of that place, shot through the heart Mr. W.F. Gholson, son of the late Mr.
Gholson, of Virginia. (_Raleigh Register, June 13, 1837_.)
The following horrible outrage, committed in West Tennessee, not far from Randolph, was published by the Georgetown (S.C.) Union, May 26, 1837, from the Louisville Journal.
”A feeble bodied man settled a few years ago on the Mississippi, a short distance below Randolph, on the Tennessee side. He succeeded in ama.s.sing property to the value of about $14,000, and, like most of the settlers, made a business of selling wood to the boats. This he sold at $2.50 a cord, while his neighbors asked $3. One of them came to remonstrate against his underselling, and had a fight with his brother-in-law Clark, in which he was beaten. He then went and obtained legal process against Clark, and returned with a deputy sheriff, attended by a posse of desperate villains. When they arrived at Clark's house, he was seated among his children--they put two or three b.a.l.l.s through his body. Clark ran, was overtaken and knocked down; in the midst of his cries for mercy, one of the villains fired a pistol in his mouth, killing him instantly. They then required the settler to sell his property to them, and leave the country. He, fearing that they would otherwise take his life, sold them his valuable property for $300, and departed with his family. _The sheriff was one of the purchasers._”
The Baltimore American, Feb. 8, 1838, publishes the following from the Nashville (Tennessee) Banner:
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