USA > Georgia > Floyd County > Rome > A history of Rome and Floyd County, State of Georgia, United States of America; including numerous incidents of more than local interest, 1540-1922, Volume I > Part 44
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"The grand prize of the exposition, offered to the county making the largest and best display of agricultu- ral products, was $1,000 in cash. The valleys of the Coosa, Etowah and the Oostanaula were put upon their met- tle, and for the county they bore aloft the banner and captured the handsome award. Also, the first prize for the best bale of cotton was awarded to Floyd, and so it was in the case of hay, wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, grapes, wine, cattle, hogs, etc., etc.
"Great interest centered in the min- eral exhibit, a new field for Floyd County. Our best-informed citizens had no conception of the great wealth that lay at our very doors. The min- eralogist had to go only a short dis- tance beyond the city limits to gather his materials for the contest. That our county secured the first premium against the efforts of boastful Birm- ingham, ambitious Anniston, hopeful Gadsden and other pretentious cities and counties naturally aroused the pride of our citizens, the wonder of people in the mineral districts of North Alabama and Tennessee, and the anx- ious inquiry of Eastern investors. Since the exposition, a large amount of money has flowed into the county, attracted by the superb qualities of the iron ore and manganese exhibited on that occasion.
"Finally, the first premium for the fullest and best display of forest prod- ucts was awarded to Floyd County. With 42 prizes and premiums, Floyd County scored almost a clean sweep.
"The Armstrong Hotel idea was born in the office of the Rome Land Co., and Capt. R. T. Armstrong, the builder, was attracted to Rome from Birmingham by the activities of the company. The Tribune-of-Rome and a large number of factories may be said to have received their inspiration from the activities of this wide-awake development concern."
THE CALHOUN-WILLIAMSON DUEL .- The people of Georgia and of Alabama and the governors of the two states-Jno. B. Gordon and Tom Seay -were furnished with quite an excite- ment in 1889 through a duel between Patrick Calhoun, railroad attorney, later prominent in street railway af- fairs of Cleveland, O., and Califor- nia, and Capt. Jno. D. Williamson, railroad construction genius, a native of Whitfield County and at the time stated a casual resident of Rome.
The prominence of the principals and the issue between them accen- tuated the interest in their affair. Mr. Calhoun's grandfather was John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina states- man. Capt. Williamson was also a man of education and remarkable will; he had spent four years in railroad de- velopment in Mexico, and had come back to Rome to develop her trans- portation enterprises, and had started the Rome dummy line as the first in the state. He lived part of his time at the Armstrong Hotel; his interests called him away frequently and he nearly always traveled in his private car.
A tilt before the railroad commit- tee of the Georgia Legislature at At- lanta led to the trouble. Mr. Calhoun stated that Capt. Williamson had so- licited him to become leading counsel for the C. R. & C. railroad, hoping to use the Calhoun influence to unload that property on the Central of Geor- gia. Capt. Williamson was present and denounced this statement as a falsehood. Correspondence transmitted through the hands of friends failed to bring an understanding, and they agreed to fight it out with pistols at the Alabama line. A boundary line was convenient because duelists could often step from one state into another and avoid arrest; incidentally, this was the last duel fought under the old style in the South.
That the duel was not fought on the line was due to the vigilance of Gov. Seay and Gov. Gordon, who kept the wires hot until a number of posses had been formed along the "border." They fought at the point of least re- sistance after several harrowing chases by the authorities; this was close to the R. & D. tracks, between Lawrence and Farill, Ala., on the Farill plantation, about three miles east of the place where Forrest cap- tured Streight's men in 1863, four miles west of the Georgia line and 18 miles west of Rome .*
*Authority : R. L. Haire, Atlanta, now an engineer on the Birmingham division of the Southern Railway.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY.
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FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS THERE IS GREAT FUN.
The children dance in glee when it snows or rains hard enough to send the rivers out of their banks. Wading, bathing and exploring furnish many an adventure. Boatmen of all ages do a thriving business. The third picture shows the Linton Dean home place on the Summerville Road nearly isolated. At the bottom are motor craft "riding easy" at their moorings.
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ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES
Although great care had been taken to keep the affair secret, the mothers and friends of several Romans who boarded Capt. Williamson's private car when it stopped a minute at Howard Street (Second Avenue) knew that something unusual was going on. A sudden demand was created for loco- motives, due to the fact that at Chat- tanooga junction, about two miles west of Rome, two of the newspaper correspondents, Hurtel and Barrett* were diplomatically kicked off the train, and had to foot it back to town. Capt. Seay and Dr. J. B. S. Holmes as- sisted in getting Engineer W. T. Do- zier off the dummy line and in charge of an engine. R. L. Haire and his brother, Paul Haire, rushed to For- restville (North Rome) and fired up the "Daniel S. Printup," the first en- gine built for the Selma, Rome & Dal- ton railroad. Evidently The Journal and The Constitution were determined not to be "scooped," and each repre- sentative had a pocket full of money to charter trains or anything else.
"The Printup" and the Dozier en- gine (believed to have belonged to the Rome railroad), reached Chattanoo- ga Junction about the same time, and there they found the Williamson en- gine and coach held up because the engineer was a stranger to the road. The newcomers proposed that they would furnish plenty of engines and engineers just so they were allowed to sit on the soft plush of Capt. Wil- l:amson's private coach. The offer was accepted, and the duelling lions and the journalistic lambs lay down together. Capt. Seay and Mr. Taylor came in when the bars were let down.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt by the duel. Mr. Calhoun thought he was to fire one shot, then look above his smoke to see the result, and if there was no hit, to blaze away again. Capt. Wil- liamson's understanding was that they were to fire at will, hence his weapon stuttered five times, also without hit- ting the mark. Then Capt. William- son's gun was empty, and Mr. Calhoun held four balls in reserve. What Mr. Calhoun did with his perfectly good four balls is told hereafter. Capt. Wil- liamson had stood close to a slender pine sapling, and Mr. Calhoun's single shot had knocked bark into his face. Undoubtedly the next shot would have laid the Roman out. It was never fired.
Some mischievous persons sought to represent the fight as a sham affair, particularly a "champagne lark." It is true that Mr. Barrett got a bottle of
wine from the train porter, and offered the others some going down. It is also true that the physicians ordered their champions to calm their nerves. Maybe some of the stuff was left for the re- turn trip; at any rate, Pat Calhoun and Jno. D. Williamson and everybody else were fast friends ere dark had settled on the expectant countryside. John Temple Graves took the position editorially that the affair was full of honor and that both principals ac- quitted themselves admirably. The duel was the subject of gossip for a long time; then duelling, already in a hope- less decline, petered out altogether.
For details the reader is invited to wade into the accounts by Barrett and Hurtel. Bruffey came to the duel walking on a crutch and at it got a finger shot off by accident, hence Bruf- fey relied on his colleague to do the heavy work. Hurtel's story appeared in The Atlanta Journal of Monday afternoon, Aug. 12, 1889. It is pre- ceded by the correspondence between the principals.
THE CORRESPONDENCE. - The following is the correspondence which led to the duel:
I. Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 8, 1889.
Mr. John D. Williamson, Kimball House :
Dear Sir :- Before the railroad com- mission of the house of representatives this afternoon, in the discussion of the Olive bill, you characterized certain statements which had been made by me as false. I request an unqualified retraction of this charge.
This communication will be handed to you by my friend, Mr. Harry Jack- son, ** who is authorized to receive the reply which you may see proper to make. Respectfully,
PAT CALHOUN.
II. Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 8, 1889.
Mr. Pat Calhoun, City :
Dear Sir :- Your note of this eve- ning has been delivered to me by Mr.
*Mr. Hurtel died in 1921 at Atlanta, and Mr. Barrett (then proprietor of The Age- Herald) at Birmingham in July, 1922. Mr. Bruffey, the other Atlanta scribe, died in At- lanta Friday, November 26, 1920. For many years afterward Mr. Hurtel was on The
Constitution, to which he contributed a rare column called "Police Matinee Pen Shots," and was Recorder Pro Tem. of the Atlanta police court when he died.
** Father of Marion M. Jackson, the late Tom Cobb Jackson, Mrs. Wilmer Moore, Mrs. Aquilla J. Orme and Mrs. Shepard Bryan, all of Atlanta.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
Henry Jackson. You stated before the committee that I had solicited you to act as general counsel of the Chatta- nooga, Rome & Columbus Railroad Company, and that my purpose was to unload that road upon the Central Rail- road Company of Georgia through your influence. This statement car- ried with it a reflection upon myself. It was without foundation, and I promptly pronounced it false. So long as this language, used by you, is not withdrawn, I must decline to make the retraction which you request.
This will be handed to you by my friend, Hon. J. Lindsay Johnson.
Respectfully,
J. D. WILLIAMSON.
III.
Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1889.
Mr. John D. Williamson, Kimball House :
Dear Sir :- Your communication of last evening reached me at half past 9 this morning. I cannot consent to a discussion of the correctness of a state- ment made by me before the railroad committee of the house, so long as your charge of falsehood stands. I must, therefore, repeat my request that you make an unqualified retraction of this charge.
Respectfully, PAT CALHOUN. IV. Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1889.
Mr. Pat Calhoun, City:
Dear Sir :- Your note of this morn- ing was delivered to me at 10:45 a. m. My communication of last evening was delivered to Mr. Henry Jackson about 10 p. m., and of course I do not know why it did not reach you before 9:30 this a. m. I have nothing to add to my communication of last evening, ex- cept to repeat that I decline to comply with your request for the reason stated in that communication.
This will be handed to you by my friend, Hon. J. Lindsay Johnson.
Respectfully, J. D. WILLIAMSON. V. Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1889.
Mr. John
D. Williamson, Kimball House :
Dear Sir :- Your communication of this date has just reached me. In re- ply I would ask that you name some place without the limits of the state
of Georgia, where this correspondence can be continued.
Respectfully, PAT CALHOUN.
VI. Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1889. Mr. Pat Calhoun, City :
Dear Sir :- I am just in receipt of your last note. As you know, Atlanta is not my home. I only requested Hon. J. Lindsay Johnson to act temprarily to prevent delay. A friend who has been fully authorized to represent me has telegraphed that he will be here at 6:30 this p. m. I will then commu- nicate with you for the purpose of ar- ranging the continuation of this cor- respondence outside of this state.
This will be handed to you by my friend, Hon. J. Lindsay Johnson.
Respectfully,
J. D. WILLIAMSON.
VII.
Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1889. Mr. Pat Calhoun, City :
Dear Sir :- My friend, Mr. J. King, of Rome, Ga., has arrived, and has been put in possession of contents of the correspondence between us. In conformity with your request in your last note delivered at 1:05 p. m. today, I will meet you in Alabama, at Cedar Bluff, on the Rome and Decatur Rail- road, tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, at 5 o'clock. Unless I hear to the con- trary, I shall expect to find you there at that hour.
Mr. friend, Mr. King, will deliver this note.
Respectfully,
J. D. WILLIAMSON.
The Journal narrative starts here: Captain John D. Williamson and Mr. Pat Calhoun fought a duel with pistols Saturday night at thirty-five minutes past seven o'clock on the Rome and Decatur Railroad somewhere near the state line, probably in Alabama.
The weapons used were the imt proved Smith & Wesson hammerless pistols.
Capt. Henry Jackson acted as Mr. Calhoun's second, and Mr. Jack King, of Rome, as Capt. Williamson's sec- ond.
Neither principal was hurt.
A Journal reporter* was on the field when the fight took place, having fol-
*Gordon Noel Hurtel.
ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES
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PROMINENT FIGURES IN THE DUEL.
Top, Jno. Temple Graves, "editorial observer;" Capt. Jno. D. Williamson, principal, and below him, Jack King, his second; Dr. J. B. S. Holmes, who obtained an engine, and W. T. Dozier, engineer; Dr. Henry H. Battey (in skull cap), Capt. Williamson's physician; Pat Calhoun, principal, and below him, Capt. Henry Jackson, his second; Gordon Noel Hurtel and Edward C. Bruffey, representatives, respectively, of The Journal and The Constitution.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
lowed the Williamson party from At- lanta. But for the lateness of the hour, nearly eight o'clock, and the re- moteness of the place from a telegraph station, the full particulars would have appeared in Saturday evening's extra.
The first authentic news which reached the city Saturday night was wired by The Journal representative, but it reached Atlanta too late to be used.
The Journal reporter, Gordon Noel Hurtel, gives a graphic account of the affair below:
"Follow the Williamson party and don't lose sight of them until the duel is fought or the men make friends," were my instructions when I left The Journal office Saturday morning.
And I carried out those instructions to the letter, as Journal men are known to do.
I boarded the outgoing Western and Atlantic train at the (Union) depot Saturday morning at 8 o'clock and found the Williamson party occupying the parlor car. The party consisted of Capt. Williamson, Mr. Jack King, his second; Judge H. B. Tompkins, and Maj. C. B. F. Lowe .*
Dr. Hunter P. Cooper was on the train, but not with the party, as he expected to act as Mr. Calhoun's phy- sician.
I paid my way to Marietta, and when I learned from the conductor to what point the Williamson party had paid their way I antied up more cash to carry me to Kingston.
At Kingston, Capt. Williamson's private car was in waiting. It was placed next to the engine. I knew this meant a quick cut loose and fast run through Rome to avoid arrest, and to get rid of me, as I had been spotted. When Rome was reached, the train was stopped at the depot, and I ran to the private car and took my seat on the steps. As I expected, the special car was uncoupled and run through town at the rate of twenty miles an hour. Two miles the other side of Rome Mr. Jack King discovered me hiding on the steps. The train was stopped and I was put off like a tramp, and had to count the crossties for two miles through the hot sun.
Dr. Battey boarded the train at Rome to act as Capt. Williamson's phy- sician. Dr. Cooper got off.
In Rome I called upon Colonel John T. Graves, and Mr. Taylor, the city editor of his paper. Mr. E. W. Bar-
rett, of The Constitution, and myself went to work to secure a special en- gine to follow the Williamson party. We called upon Major Lawrence, of the Rome and Decatur Road. He in- formed us that the Williamson party had sent to him for permission to go over his road on a tour of inspection, and he replied that he had no engineer to pilot them. The Williamson party was then side-tracked at a junction two miles from the city.
"Having no engineer we cannot let you gentlemen have a special engine," said Major Lawrence.
But a wide-awake citizen of Rome, Maj. John J. Seay, to whom we had told the story, enlisted in our cause, and he procured an engineer from his dummy who knew the Rome and De- catur road.
We got the special engine and start- ed out in a hard driving rain. I had to help turn the engine on the turning board, and got soaking wet.
At the junction we found Capt. Wil- liamson's car. We offered them our pilot and they invited us into the pri- vate car, giving us a fine lunch and champagne and cigars. This was the car from which I had been fired like a tramp an hour before.
While waiting for Capt. William- son's engine to return, the party went into the woods and the captain prac- ticed handling his revolver by firing at a blazed pine tree. The blaze was the height of a man with a round place for the head.
Judge Tompkins would give the com- mand : "Are you ready? One, two three, fire!" And Capt. Williamson would raise his pistol and send five balls into the tree, many shots striking the blazed place.
Somebody ran into the woods and stated that the sheriff of Floyd County, with a deputy, was coming down the track. Hurriedly an arrangement was made and Capt. Williamson and Mr. King ran through the woods, with the understanding that the train was to pick them up two miles down the road.
*According to the Barrett narrative, it was W. B. Lowe. Capt. Wm. B. Lowe was about this time engaged in railroad construction and was a casual resident of Rome. He was the father of Miss Rebie Lowe, who married Baron Rosencrantz, of Austria. Capt. Jas. W. Eng- lish, of Atlanta, a business associate and close friend, states that Capt. Lowe was ill when the duel was fought, and in his opinion was not present. Practically all the principals in the duel are now dead. Exceptions are Mr. Calhoun, now a resident of Frankfort, Ky., and Dr. Henry Battey, of Rome.
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ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES
The sheriff produced a telegram from Governor Gordon instructing him to arrest certain gentlemen. He didn't find whom he wanted, and when the other engine arrived, the party pulled out. Two miles down the track Capt. Williamson and Mr. King got aboard, and we were rolling towards Cedar Bluff, the place of meeting, at thirty miles an hour. As we passed Raynes Station, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I left a telegram for The Journal, and two hours afterward found that it had not been sent off. The mail is better than telegraphing from a country rail- way station.
We reached Cedar Bluff at about 4 o'clock, and had to sidetrack for a pas- senger.
We had hardly stopped at Cedar Bluff when somebody cried out:
"Here comes the sheriff !"
There was a scramble for the pri- vate car and special engine, and the order given to "pull out."
We were in Cherokee County, Ala- bama, and the sheriff was one of those bushy, black-whiskered fellows with a broad-brim white hat on, who meant business.
The private car got off, but the spe- cial engine was stopped by the sheriff. However, the car did not get far when it met the regular passenger. Our car had to be backed to Cedar Bluff and into the hands of the bushy-whis- kered sheriff.
Mr. Calhoun and Capt. Harry Jack- son were on the regular passenger, having come from Atlanta by the way of Anniston. They got off, and there was Ed Bruffey, hobbling behind them on one crutch.
The sheriff made his way to Mr. Cal- houn and said :
"Mr. Williamson, consider yourself under arrest."
Capt. Seay, who was known to the sheriff, made affidavit that the gentle- man was not Capt. Williamson and Mr. Calhoun was released. Mr. Bruf- fey represented himself as Pat Calhoun and was arrested, but was released when the station master, who knew Mr. Calhoun, saw him.
The sheriff swore he would hold the special train and engine. Both trains were searched. Mr. Calhoun and Capt. Jackson were locked up in a closet in the private car. Capt. Williamson and Mr. King were in a closet on the regu- lar passenger. An arrangement had been made for as many of the party as possible to leave on this train. When
the passenger train pulled out, it car- ried off Capt. Williamson, Mr. King, Dr. Battey, Capt. Williamson's private secretary, Capt. Seay and myself. The rest of the party were left behind on the private car.
We ran down to Raynes' Station, five miles nearer Rome than Cedar Bluff, and there got off.
The passenger train coming from Rome was an hour late when it reached Raynes' Station. Dr. Cooper was aboard. Myself, Capt. Seay and Capt. Williamson's private secretary got aboard and returned to Cedar Bluff. The bushy-whiskered sheriff of Chero- kee County was still on hand, and he had been made to believe that the en- tire duelling party had gone to Raynes' Station on the regular pas- senger. He was anxious to know what happened. He was told that mutual apologies had been made and every- thing satisfactorily settled. This ex- planation induced him to let the spe- cial train and engine move off.
At Raynes' Station everybody got off and the seconds had a talk. The sun was just setting, and I wired The Journal that the fight was about to take place.
While the seconds were arranging preliminaries, there was a loud clatter of horses' feet, and four men on mules and carrying shotguns came in sight.
"Everybody to the train!" came the order.
"If anybody moves I'll shoot!" came from one of the four men, as he cov- ered the crowd with his gun.
This only increased the scramble for the coach and engine.
"Move that train and you are a dead man!" came from the four Alabama cowboys, as they brought their guns to bear upon the engineer.
Dodging down in his cab, the en- gineer pulled the throttle wide open, and away we went.
The special engine was behind, but no effort was made to stop it.
After a run of three miles we stop- ped by the side of a beautiful green valley, and the party disembarked again.
It was nearly dark and we had left the only telegraph station between Cedar Bluffa and Rome behind us. I knew the lateness of the hour and the remoteness of a telegraph station would make it impossible for me to reach The Journal with the news in
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY.
1
SOME DAY MAN WILL CONQUER WATER.
Vigorous steps have been taken by Rome leaders to frustrate the freshets, or get above them. One plan is to dam up ravines far above Rome, and rlease th water when the rivers are low. Another is to have the city grow northward on the hills and use the abandoned river fork land for a park. (Near the bottom of the picture is Hamilton athletic field sub- merged.)
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ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES
time for its publication Saturday aft- ernoon.
A greensward was selected as the field, and the seconds were holding their last private interview, when- "Look out! Everybody on the train !"
The warning was none too soon. Down the railroad the four men with shotguns were coming at a dog trot. Everybody jumped aboard and the train moved off toward Rome before the men got in shooting distance.
Another run of four or five miles was made and we were very near the line which divides Georgia and Ala- bama.
Once more everybody disembarked and preparations were made for the fight.
A small natural clearing in an oak grove was selected as the spot for the meeting.
Capt. Seay, who was a disinterested party, interfered and tried to make the men come to a settlement. His efforts were fruitless.
It had to be a fight.
No written challenge passed.
Capt. Williamson had the choice of weapons and selected the hammerless Smith & Wesson five-shooter. Mr. King was to give the command as follows: "Gentlemen, are you ready?"
And without waiting for a reply was to continue:
"One, two, three, fire!"
At the command "fire," each princi- pal was to raise his weapon and shoot five shots and to stop when their re- volvers were empty. The command and the manner of firing was not that laid down in the Code, and some ob- jection was made at first by Capt. Jackson. But, as Mr. Calhoun didn't seem to care, the arrangement was ac- cepted as satisfactory. Capt. Jackson thought the men should fire one shot at a time, and that the command should be "Gentleman, are you ready? Fire. one, two, three,-stop!"
At thirty-five minutes past seven o'clock, the principals were placed in position twelve paces apart. Only the principals, seconds, doctors, reporters and Capt. Seay were allowed on the field.
The last rays of daylight were fad- ing out of the western sky, while in the east the full moon was rising above the tree tops. Each man stood facing the other against a background of un- derbrush. Not a breath of wind stirred the leaves, and the only sound that
broke the stillness was the subdued voices of the seconds as they made the final arrangements.
Capt. Williamson stood facing east and Mr. Calhoun facing west.
Mr. King produced two new nickel- plated pistols and Capt. Jackson se- lected one and went over to his prin- cipal to show him how it had to be fired.
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