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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1912)
DUELS INMISSOURI The Field of Honor Was a Com I mon Resort a Century Ago. BATTLES ON BLOODY ISLAND. This Notorious Fighting Ground Wa the Seen of the Two Duels Between Benton and Lucas Rules of the Gayer-Kennerly Meeting. The iM'ograplik's used In tlie schools today (1j not show Bloo ly isinnd. a one time notorious dueling resort lu the Mississippi river near St. Louis. The spot remains, but it is no longer an Island. It now Is a part of East St Louis. The opprobrious title was derived from the many sanguinary encoun ters which took place ou the island. Here It was that the fatal affaire d'honneur between Thomas H. Ben ton and Charles U. Lucas took place. One day In 1810 these two men en gaged In trying a lawsuit, one repre senting the plaintiff and the other the defendant Lucas was twenty-live (years old, son of a Judge and the dis trict attorney of the territory. Benton, too, was well known and later became United States senator. Lucas won the case. His opponent accused him of juggling with the evidence. The ac cusation was resented, and it was re sponsible for a challenge Issued by Benton. Lucas refused to fight, say ing that be could not be held account able for defending his client Bad blood ensued, and from time to time the two men the next year often engaged In harsh words. Finally on an election day Benton questioned Lucas' right to vote, saying that the other had not paid his taxes, it Irked Lucas, who later referred to his enemy as a "puppy." This appellation was too much for Benton, who again chal lenged Lucas to a duel. This time the 'Challenge was accepted. The two men, met on Bloody Island Ang- 12. 1817. The encounter took place at a distance of thirty feet. Lu cas fell with a bullet in his neck upon the exchange of shots. Upon the ad vice of seconds Lucas declared himself satisfied. The men shook hands and went to their homes. The wound was not dangerous. A few days later the two men met on the street again, and. like two schoolboys, another fight was planned. This time It was to be at a distance of only ten feet Lucas was mortally wounded. Benton was unin jured. He approached the dying man, according to custom, and expressed his sorrow. Lucas flashed forth an accu sation of murder, but a few minutes later before dying he recanted and ex pressed his forgiveness. But the first duel that ever took place on Bloody Island was fought In 1810 between Dr. Farrar and James A. Graham. One of Dr. Farrar's friends challenged Graham, but the challenge (was refused on the ground that Far rar's friend was not a gentleman. Dr. Farrar was then under obligation to defend the honor of his friend. This challenge was accepted, and as a re sult Graham was severely Injured and died after months of suffering. A second duel on Bloody island oc curred In 1810 between Captain Henry S. Geyer and Captain George H. Ken nedy, both veterans of the war of 1812. Captain Geyer was for many years a leader in Missouri politics and one of the state's most able lawyers. Kennerly was wounded at the second fire and remained a cripple for life. There were many other duels fought here between some of Missouri's early statesmen and pioueers. A few of the encounters were the Thomas Hemp-stead-Joshua Barton duel In 1816. the Martin-Ramsey affair in 1818. the Reynolds-Brown. Walker-Marmaduke and Fettus-Blddle. While duels would not be counte nanced under any consideration today. It must be remembered that at this time they were almost as common among men as fights among schoolboys. If a man felt that his honor had been im peached in any way the popular thing to do was to settle it by a duel, pistols being used in nearly every Instance. There was a certain unwritten "code observed. For instance, in the duel between Geyer and Kennerly the fol lowing were the rules: The ground shall be measured off to six paces. The gentlemen shall stand back to back at the distance of six yards from each other. At the word "March" the gentlemen shall Immediately step off three paces and turn and fire without further or der. If either party reserves his fire and continues to take aim after the other has fired he shall be shot Instantly by the dverse second. The seconds shall decide by lot which gives the word. The only words shall be. "Are yon ready?" and. being answered in the af firmative, the word "March" shall be the order for stepping off and turning and firing as above stated. . The weapons smoothbore pistols. The pistols to be delivered cocked to the gentlemen after they have taken their places and to be held hanging down by the side until after the word March." One can readily see why Blody Is land shonld become a popular spot for duels. First it was near St. Louis, the largpst town la the state. The t1nd. ting in the middle of the r1vr. was more or less winded, and also the ground was neutral, as neither MVoa rl nor Illinois ha Jurisdiction over K. fcloody island pawd out of existence ebout 1S00. when d!te were built d4 was linked with I1l5oois or East fit Jvouts. Kar.gas City TUae. COLD ONABIB SHIP How Bullion In Transit Is Guard ed on an Ocean Liner. , LOCKED IN ROOMS OF STEEL. After the Treasure Is Safely Stowed Away There Is Little Danger of Its Being Stolen During the Voyage. Shipping and Checking the Kegs. The natural assumption would be that in the safeguarding of the treas ure which the various countries are constantly sending one another by the big ocean liners there would be re quired the vtgllauce of uiany men. This, however, is not generally the case, since.' once the gold Is stored away In the rooms set apart for that purpose on the big ships and the ves sel Is well out at sea, no armed guards are necessary. Taking the specific case of one liner sailing under the British flag, we find that It has two strong rooms, the smaller of the two being In close prox imity to the captain's office. This one compartment has no doubt sheltered gold enough to pay the cost of the liner many times over. The walls, the roof and the celling are lined with two inch steel plate, and the room contains noth ing in the way of fixtures save shelv ing. The locks, which are of the dou ble variety, are rendered still more se cure by steel hasps coveriug the key holes, and they are provided with mas sive padlocks. The strong rooms, be ing in the most frequented portion of the vessel, where persons are passing them at all hours of the day and night, thus receive the best protection, after all. There are two sets of keys, one of which is retained by the agent in charge of the consignment of gold and the other of which remains with the captain. In the case of the British vessel men tioned there is another and larger spe cie room, situated next to the provi sion department This is about twelve feet in length by four in width. It frequently happens that both strong rooms are filled to their utmost capaci ty, and on one occasion this liner car ried some $50,000,000 in gold bullion packed in small kegs bound with steel hoops. fiold nsnallv is brought to the vessel on which it is to be shipped the day before the date of sailing, ana it is stored hwhv carefully before passen gers embark. It arrives at the pier in ordinary, trucks under the guard or armed men. The customary method of getting the gold on board is to haul the kegs up an Inclined chute to me deck by means of a bolstlng engine, but this method is not followed In variably. Sometimes each keg Is placed in a sling and carried on board by men detailed for this service. The receipt given by the steamship company sets forth that so many kegs have been received, for shipment, not for any stated amount of gold to the value of so much. .The kegs bear the government seal in many Instances, and In such enses. when they have been safely put in the strong room, the Iron doors thereof are sealed with gov ernment wax. the impression being broken only when the official on the other side oomes to receive the gold. The kegs are checked thrice when they are taken from the trucks, when tbey reach the gangway, and when they are placed In the strong room. Although no armed guard stands by the strong room, two men watch the room constantly so long as the ship is In sight of land. As a matter of fact, there Is little danger of any one steal ing gold in transit on a ship. It would be necessary that he should shoulder a keg weighing some 200 pounds and vanish with it without being seea Masters of vessels declare gold is the safest cargo of any to handle. The total weight of one consignment of gold shipped by the British vessel In question amounted to something like 36.000 pounds, or sixteen tons, and the freight charges amounted to $12. nnn nr ronuhlv sneaking, one-eighth of 1 per cent Specie thns shipped is insured" at its full value. rew xors Press. Mark Twain's Profanity. Wltltnm Dean Howells read the "Tom Sawyer" manuscript and thought it tni host storv be had ever read. Siem ens consulted him regarding the nse of a certain vigorous expieave. bow ells advised that It be cut out Clem ens wrote back: Mrs. Clemens received the mall this morning, and the next minute she lit intn the studv with danger In her eyes and this demand on her tongue: "Where l thA nrofnnltv Mr. Howells s pea us of?" Then I had to miserably confess that I had left It out when reading tne MS. to her. Nothing but almost In spired lying got me out of this scrape with my scalp. Does your wife give you rats like that when you go a little one sided? Harper's. Odorless. "Now, children." said the teacher, "who can tell me what the word 'odor less means?" Willie Jones was sure be knew. "WelL Willie, what does it mean?" "Odorless means without a scent," te piped. "Eight Now who can give a sen tence using the word correctly?" con tinued the teacher. "You may answer. Jlmmie." "Flease. ma'am, when yoo are odor less you mn not ride In the trolley cars." Youth's Companion. Ability doth hit the mark where pre emption overshooteth and diffidence tiiielh short Cuss. BUSY CELL TOILERS. The Marvelous Work They Constantly Perform In the Blood. The blood tells are linportunt mem bers of the cell community and are ex ceedingly numerous, there being over W.OOO.OOO.OOO of the red blood cells alone. These red ulood cells move in the blood currents, carrying through the arteries each Its little load of ox ygen, which It transports to the dis tant tissues that they may be Invlg orated and vitalized anew. and. re turning, carrying through the veins the debris and waste products of the sys tem to the great crematory of the lungs, where the waste is burned and thrown off from the body. Like the ships that sail the sea. each cell carries Its outgoing cargo uud re turns with another one. Some of these cells perform the office of special re pairers, forcing their way through the walls of the blood vessels and pene trating the tissues in order to perform their special tasks. There are several other kinds of cells in the blood besides the carriersV Just meutloned. There are the wonderful soldier and police cells, which maintain order and fight battles when necessary. The police cells Hre on the constant lookout for germs, bacteria and other microscopic disturbers of the oeace of the body. When these tiny policemen discover vagrant germs or criminal bacteria they rush upon the intruder and. ty ing him up In a mesh, proceed to de vour him. If the intruder be too large or vigorous a call for assistance Is sent out, and the reserve police rush to the assistance of their brothers and overpower the disturber of the peace Sometimes when the vagrants are too numerous the policemen throw them out from the body by means of pim ples, bolls and similar eruption, in case of Infectious diseases an army corps is ordered out in full strength, and a royal fight is waged between the invading aitny and the defenders of home and country. William Walker Atkinson In Nautilus. CHINESE SIGNBOARDS. Poetie Gems to Attract Business to Shops In Peking. W. Simpson In "Meeting the Sun" writes: "I saw In Peking a list of signboards, and a few samples of them will illustrate their general character: Shop of Heaven Sent Luck,' "Shop of Celestial Principles.' The Nine Felici ties Prolonged,' 'Mutton Shop of Morn ing Twilight' The Ten Virtues All Complete,' 'Flowers Rise to the Milky Way.' "In these signs we can see that the Chinese can combine the soul of a poet with the pocket of a shopman. Con trast such efforts with The Noted Eelple House' of the London streets, and one must feel that we are outer barbarians. Carlyle quotes a Chinese signboard, 'No Cheating Here.' but I could not find anything like It In the list "Good and Just According to Hear en' ought to satisfy the ideal notions of the author of 'Sartor Resartus.' " "The Honest Pen Shop of U" Implies that other pen shops are not honest The "Steel Shop of the Pockmarked Wang" suggests that any peculiarity of a 'shopman may be used to Impress the memory of customers, snub noses, squint eyes, lame legs and hump backs might all be used in this way. A charcoal shop calls Itself the "Fountain of Beanty," and a place for the sale of coal Indulges In the title of "Heavenly Embroidery." An oil and wine establishment is the "Neighbor hood of Chief Beauty." a description the realization of which It Is hard to conceive anywhere in Peking. "The Thrice Righteous" one would scarcely expect from an opium shop. London Globe. Blocked by an Iceberg. Discussing the Iceberg question. Pro fessor John Mllne of London writes that the year he visited Newfoundland one of these ice mountains had stuck in the Narrows, which is the entrance to St John's harbor. The capital of Newfoundland was bottled op. "A fort pounded at the Intruder for a time, but It might as well have pounded at the Karakoram mountains The monster stopped alt traffic either in or out On the third day. however, it heeled over and sailed away." Awful Ignorance. Young Man With Lavender Tie. Pink Shirt and Bright Purple Socks Say. Jim Lawrence is a queer duck. He pronounces his words so queerl The other day be was telling some girls about going to the Blank inn for a "tahbledote" dinner. As soon as we left the girls I asked him what he meant and come to And out be meant table de hoteyl Ha, ba, hal-Chicago Tribune. Her Discourse. "My dear," mildly expostulated her husband, "1 said only half a dozen words and yon have talked about there for forty-five minutes." "Well." snapped Mrs. Vtck-Seno, "the preacher does that sort of thing every Sunday morning and you never kick about It" Chicago Tribune. At Sixes and Sevens, "I married my first husband for mon ey and my second for love." Then you are very happy now. 1 suppose?"' "No. Alas, no! Ton see. my first husband married me for love and my second for money." A Special Favor. Customer I want a ton of cost Dealer Yes. sir. What site? Cus tomerWell. If Ifs not asking too much. I'd like to bare a 2,000 pound ton. Brooklyn Life. MA&IC WATER TOYS. Wonderful Play Toys That Amuse the Children of the Orient. Europe and America turn out for the edification of their children ninny In genious toys, but the occidental young sters have nothing to compare with the strange expanding water toys with which the children of the far east have for centuries amused themselves. These are placed in small wooden boxes similar to the little paint boxes so often seen In our own country. They have the appearance of soiled shavings, broken matches and dilapidated tooth picks, but when thrown into the water the ingenious toys at once exhibit prop erties that show them to be considera bly more than mere bits of stick. The wood of these toys hus been kiln dried, and Immediately It touches the wnter' it begins to absorb the water and to expand almost indefinitely. As )t lncrenses In size It separates and suddenly opens, becoming a very pret ty toy. One stick will, change into a flowerpot containing, it may be. a rose bush in full bloom. Another becomes an obese mandarin carrying an um brella. Still another will take the form of a sea serpent, very ferocious In Its tiny dimensions. Then, too, there are toys which show as whales, tigers, crocodiles, etc. The figures are colored and present a be wildering variety in design and treat ment Their manufacture is a trade secret kept inviolate by the guild that turns them out by the thousands. For older children there are provid ed larger and even more artistic fig ures, consisting of historical charac tersrulers, poets and soldiers and dwarfed trees and tiny houses, whose doors and windows are full of inmates, are also among this class. The more ordinary kind cost a mere song, but the finer toys are quite expensive. New York Press. FAR DISTANT URANUS. Oddities a Visit to This Gigantlo Planet Would Disclose. If Uranus, which Is a star of about the sixth magnitude, were a planet like those little ones called asteroids, which are being discovered by the dozen every year, it could not have much claim npon popular attention, but Uranus is really a gigantic world, more than sixty times as large as ours. Its vast distance, about 1.700.000,000 miles from the earth. Is what causes It to look so small. Uranus has four moons, which re volve backward In their orbits thnt is to say. they revolve from east to west around Uranus. , while Uranus goes, like all the other planets, from west to east around the sun. It Is believed that Uranus rotates backward on its axis also. Moreover, the axis of that great, strange globe lies In such a di rection that in the course of Its year, which is equal to eighty-four of our years, the sun shlneB almost perpen dicularly first upon one pole and then upon the other. Measured by our time standard, there are forty years of constant day light followed by forty years of un broken night, around the poles of Uranus, and the sun rises In the west and sets in the east there, but the sun looks very small when viewed from Uranus only one four-hundredth as large as it appears to us. Still it sheds upon that planet IfiOO times as much light as the full moon sends to the earth, so that daylight upon Uranus, while faint compared with the blaze of a terrestrial noonday. Is nevertheless a very respectable kind of illumina tion. k The Game of Life. The game we are all playing is a losing game at best Tet we must play. We cannot get up and leave the table knowing the dice are cogged and the cards marked against us. We must play on. losing our principal stake little by little or In splendid rouleaux, as chance or our disposition may urge, but knowing well that in the end. soon or late, whatever re mains of it will be swept from the board. Lucky the man who is tempt ed to play but the one staka Happy the man who In death loses only his life. F. P. Dunne in American Maga zine. ' Bluejacket's Black Neckerchief. It Is not generally known that the bluejacket's black neckerchief, a sur vival of the service mourning for Nel son, is the best British silk obtainable and that the admiralty is a very fas tidious customer. Two to each man are issued annually, and many thou sands of these discarded scarfs bare been subsequently worn by Jack's fem ininity. A pair of them make an ex cellent blouse. Pall Mall Gazette. Spoiled Her Enthusiasm. "Harry proposed lasj; nlghtl I was o"- "I knew he would. I played a Joke on him." "What?" "I told him yon would Inherit a for tune when you came of age." Houston Post Matrimonial. Three Germans were sitting at lunch eon recently and were overheard dis cussing the second marriage of a tnu tual friend when one of tbem remark ed: "I'll tell yon what A man what marries de second time don't deserve to hat lost bis first vlfe."-Llfe. Small Blaze. Mr. Dubb My brain is on fire I Miss Keen I hardly think we need call out the fire department Boston Tran script A lazy man is es useless as a dead man and takes op more room. Hubbard. MR. WHEAT MAN: The PALACE HOTEL wants to serve you and your men hauling wheat to Ileppner. Twenty-one meals for five dollars and seventy-five cents. We guarantee sat isfaction. Come Once You Will. Come Again. : : : : : : OE 2E 0 O A ma WrviB IDafrcfi"Brsiraf Mab O row Cnsily ? ' Are You Patronizing DHome Industry ? ffw E ARE MANUFACTURING Flour and Feed superior to any imported article. If you are not using our products call at our office on Main Street and get a testing sample. Our flour is made exclusively from selected Morrow County Bluestem Wheat. Seed Grain, Rolled Feed, Alfalfa Seed. We Solicit the Storage of your Wool MORROW WAREHOUSE MiiiiNn rn g I v I ft-1-1 1 VV-fe Isoesi oE o iy M. S. CORRIGALL. President J. B. NATTER, Vice Prei. J. H. McHALEY, Vice Pre. T. J. MAHONEY, Chier CLYDE BROCK, A.it. Cuhier FMST NATIONAL BANK OF HEPPNGiS We offer to the Public the services of a strong and well equipped Bank, with the experience of twenty-five years in this community. Accommodations extended to cus tomers consistent with safety, and balances carried with us. Licensed Erabalmor Lady Assistant J. L. YEAGER FUNERAL DIRECTOR Heppner - Oregon BUCKS FOR SALE Pure Bred Lincolns, Cotswold and Shrop Rams from the best flocks in the country. All orders promptly filled and delivered at Heppner. If you have anything to sell in the Sheep line send your list to me; I will find a buyer. T. F. BOYLEN, Pendleton, Or.