Explanatory Notes
Apparatus Notes
MTPDocEd
[begin page 262]
56. A Duel Prevented
2 August 1863

“A Duel Prevented” was published in the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise on 2 August 1863. The Enterprise printing is not extant, but the sketch survives in the Sacramento Union of August 4, which attributed it to the Enterprise of August 2. In his History of Nevada Myron Angel also reprinted the latter third of the piece in a somewhat garbled form, and he attributed it to Clemens, who in August 1863 was still handling the local news for the Enterprise in Dan De Quille's continued absence.

Clemens' authorship is established by a brief telegram about the duel which he sent the San Francisco Morning Call on August 2, as well as by the straightforward news story he included in his signed Call letter, written on the same day:

a duel ruined.

The Virginia Union and the Territorial Enterprise have been sparring at each other for some time, and I watched the contest with great satisfaction, because I felt within me a presentiment that somebody was going to get into trouble. On the 30th of July, the thing culminated in an article in the Enterprise, headed “The Virginia Union—not the Federal,” which was extremely personal towards Thomas Fitch, Esq., editor of the Union. Mr. Fitch immediately challenged Mr. Goodman, the author of it, naming John Churchexplanatory note, Esq., as his “friend.” Mr. Goodman accepted, and appointed Thomas Peasley, Esq., to act with Mr. Church in arranging the preliminaries and bossing the funerals. Yesterday morning, I followed the parties to the foot of the cañon below the Gould & Curry mill, to see them destroy each other with navy revolvers at fifteen paces, but the officers of the law arrived in time to spoil the sport. They arrested the principals, and brought them [begin page 263] back to town, where they were placed under bonds in the sum of five thousand dollars each, to keep the peace.1

The quarrel between Joseph T. Goodman and the fiery Thomas Fitch presumably grew out of factional differences within the Union party in Nevada, but its precise origin and nature are not known. As Clemens said in his letter to the Call, the papers had been “sparring at each other for some time,” but the implication is that Goodman's July 30 editorial, “The Virginia Union—not the Federal” (not extant), struck a more personal tone than usual. The Virginia City Evening Bulletin of July 30 also noted the change: “The Enterprise this morning smelt of blood. In fact it was red all over. . . . While perusing the leading article we imagined we saw pistols, bowieknives, blunderbusses, and bludgeons issue from the face of every type.”2

Fitch's powerful command of the English language may have contributed to the heat of this quarrel. A month earlier Clemens had described Fitch's technique in his Fourth of July oration at Virginia City in glowing, albeit humorous, terms: “He lulls you into a treacherous repose, with a few mild and graceful sentences, and then suddenly explodes in your midst with a bomb-shell of eloquence which shakes you to your very foundations.” A native of New York State, Fitch came to California from Wisconsin. He worked as a journalist in San Francisco and Placerville, was admitted to the bar, and in 1862 won a seat in the California Legislature. He migrated to Virginia City in 1863 and that same year founded the Occidental, the literary weekly described in chapter 51 of Roughing It. He continued to be active in Nevada politics and journalism and was elected to Congress in 1868. On at least two occasions in the 1860s Clemens expressed a dislike for Fitch, but in later years the two men occasionally corresponded in a friendly way.3

Although Fitch's challenge on July 30 did not end in a duel the next day, two months later, on September 28, the men did fight in California, and Fitch was wounded in the right leg below the knee. Clemens may have written the September 29 report of this event in the Enterprise—a perfectly straightforward news account—since forty-five years later he recalled the [begin page 264] event with great clarity and some embellishment in his autobiographical dictation.4 By contrast, “A Duel Prevented” is an instructive example of Clemens' capacity for elaborating on a nearly insignificant news item, for inflating the circumstances surrounding a nonevent: “a duel that did not come off,” as the Sacramento Union said in introducing the Enterprise story. Less a news report than a story with ironic and burlesque overtones, “A Duel Prevented” is a personal account of much ado about nothing, a tale of comic frustration. The newsmen fail to get their bloody item and the “two desperadoes” tamely submit to “miserable meddling” lawmen, who return to a city left at “the mercy of thieves and incendiaries.” Especially in contrast with the factual report in the Call, “A Duel Prevented” reveals the incipient writer of fiction in the guise of the reporter.

Editorial Notes
1 “ ‘Mark Twain's’ Letter,” San Francisco Morning Call, 6 August 1863, p. 1. The telegram, “Tom Fitch in a Duel—Officer Interposes,” appeared in the Call on 2 August 1863, p. 1, and is reprinted in CofC , p. 286.
2 “Belligerent Controversy,” Virginia City Evening Bulletin, 30 July 1863, p. 3.
3 “ ‘Mark Twain's’ Letter” (no. 54); CofC , pp. 306–307 n. 107. Some eight letters from Fitch to Clemens, written between 1881 and 1890, are in MTP.
4 The Enterprise story is extant in two California papers: “The Fitch and Goodman Duel,” Sacramento Union, 1 October 1863, p. 2; and “The Washoe Editorial Duel,” San Francisco Alta California, 1 October 1863, p. 1. Clemens' recollection in 1906 appears in MTA , 1:350–354.
Textual Commentary

The first printing in the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise for 2 August 1863 is not extant. The sketch survives in two contemporary reprintings of the Enterprise:

P1       “A Duel Prevented,” Sacramento Union, 4 August 1863, p. 2.
P2       Untitled extract of the last part of the original in Myron Angel, ed., History of Nevada (Oakland: Thompson and West, 1881), p. 292.

Copies: PH of P1 and first edition of P2 from Bancroft. The sketch is a radiating text: there is no copy-text. All variants are recorded in a list of emendations and adopted readings. In this case there are no I-C emendations.

P1 is by far the more complete text, and was ostensibly set from the “Virginia Enterprise of August 2d.” P2 reproduces little more than a paragraph from the original text and shows obvious signs of editorial tampering. It begins at 266.14 with three asterisks to indicate the omission of most of the first two paragraphs; it rearranges and conflates two sentences and omits a paragraph break between them; and it omits four sentences without inserting ellipsis points before its concluding sentence.

Despite these deficiencies, both P1 and P2 radiate independently from the lost Enterprise, and each preserves authorial readings among its variants. Printer's copy for P2 may have been an Enterprise clipping, an unidentified reprinting of the Enterprise, or even a handwritten transcript of the original (or a reprinting): it is therefore possible that P2 stands at somewhat greater distance than does P1 from the lost original. We have for these reasons accorded P1 slight preference when the variants are nearly indifferent. Yet P2 clearly does contain two variants that must be preferred on qualitative grounds, as well as one sentence that is manifestly authorial and is not preserved at all in P1.

The diagram of transmission is as follows:

[begin page 265]
A Duel Preventedemendation

Whereas, Thomas Fitch, editor of the Union, having taken umbrage at an article headed “The Virginia Union—not the Federal,” written by Joseph T. Goodman, our chief editor, and published in these columns; and whereas said Fitch having challenged said Goodman to mortal combat, naming John Church as his “friend;” and whereas the said Goodman having accepted said challenge, and chosen Thos. Peasley to appoint the means of death—

Therefore, on Friday afternoon it was agreed between the two seconds that the battle should transpire at nine o'clock yesterday morning (which would have been late in the day for most duelists, but it was fearfully early for newspaper men to have to get up)—place, the foot of the cañon below the Gould & Curry mill; weapons, navy six-shooters; distance, fifteen paces; conditions, the first fire to be delivered at the word, the others to follow at the pleasure of the targets, as long as a chamber in their pistols remained loaded. To say that we felt a little proud to think that in our official capacity we were about to rise above the recording of ordinary street broils and the monotonous transactions of the Police Court to delineate the ghastly details of a real duel, would be to use the mildest of language. Much as we deplored the state of things which was about to invest us with a new dignity, we could not help taking much comfort in the reflection that it was out of our power, and also antagonistic to the principles of our class, to prevent the state of things above mentioned. All conscientious scruples—all generous feelings must give way to [begin page 266] our inexorable duty—which is to keep the public mind in a healthy state of excitement, and experience has taught us that blood alone can do this. At midnight, in company with young Wilsonexplanatory note, we took a room at the International, to the end that through the vigilance of the watchman we might not be suffered to sleep until past nine o'clock. The policy was good—our strategy was faultless. At six o'clock in the morning we were on the street, feeling as uncomfortable in the gray dawn as many another early bird that founded its faith upon the inevitable worm and beheld too late that that worm had failed to come to time, for the friends of the proposed deceased were interfering to stop the duel, and the officers of the law were seconding their efforts. But the two desperadoes finally gave these meddlers the slip, and drove off with their seconds to the dark and bloody ground.emendation Whereuponemendation young Wilsontextual note emendation and ourselfemendation at once mounted a couple of Olin's fast horsesexplanatory note emendation and followed in their wake at the rate of a mile a minute.

Sinceemendation thenemendation we enjoy more real comfort in standing up than sitting down, being neither iron-clad nortextual note emendation even half-soledtextual note emendation. But we lost our bloody item at lastemendation—for Marshal Perry arrived early with a detachment of constablesemendation, and alsoemendation Deputy Sheriff Blodgettexplanatory note cameemendation withtextual note a lot of blastedtextual note emendation Sheriffs, and the battle ground lying and being in Storey county,emendation these miserable,emendation meddling whelps arrested the whole party and marched them back to town. And at the very moment that we were suffering for a duel. The whole force went off down there and left the city at the mercy of thieves and incendiaries. Now, that is about all the strategy those fellows know. We have only to add that Goodman and Fitch were obliged to give bonds in the sum of $5,000 each to keep the peace, and if anything were lacking to make this robbery of the reporters complete, that last circumstance furnished the necessary material.emendation In interfering with our legitimate business, Mr. Perry and Mr. Blodgett probably think they are almighty smart, but we calculate to get even with themtextual note.emendation

Editorial Emendations A Duel Prevented
 A Duel Prevented (P1)  ●  not in (P2) 
  Whereas . . . ground. (P1)  ●  not in  (P2) 
  Whereupon (P1)  ●  [¶] *** Whereupon
  young Wilson (P1)  ●  “Young Wilson” (P2) 
  ourself (P1)  ●  ourselves (P2) 
  horses (P1)  ●  horses, (P2) 
  minute. [¶] Since (P1)  ●  minute, since (P2) 
  then (P1)  ●  when, (P2) 
  nor (P2)  ●  or (P1) 
  we . . . half-soled (P1)  ●  being neither iron-clad nor even half-soled, we enjoy more real comfort in standing up than sitting down (P2) 
  at last (P1)  ●  not in  (P2) 
  constables (P1)  ●  Constables (P2) 
  also (P1)  ●  not in  (P2) 
  came (P2)  ●  not in  (P1) 
  blasted (P1)  ●  blarsted (P2) 
  the . . . county, (P1)  ●  not in  (P2) 
  miserable, (P1)  ●  miserable  (P2) 
  And . . . material. (P1)  ●  not in  (P2) 
  In . . . them. (P2)  ●  not in  (P1) 
Textual Notes A Duel Prevented
 young Wilson] The P2 reading, “ ‘Young Wilson,’ ” is rejected as a sophistication of the Enterprise. Compare Mark Twain's style earlier in the text (266.3) and in other Enterprise printings where “young Wilson” is referred to—for example, “Letter from Mark Twain” (no. 58).
 we . . . half-soled] P2 reverses the order of the two clauses as they appear in P1. P1 has been preferred because it seems somewhat more like Mark Twain's usual style, and because P2 also edited out the paragraph break and changed “then” to “when,” perhaps in a general effort to shorten and condense.
 nor] While P2 prints “nor,” P1 gives “or,” which could reflect the Enterprise reading: Webster's 1828 dictionary recommended allowing “neither” to apply its negative force “to both parts of the sentence” by following it with “or.” But when the Californian printed “either . . . or” in “Answers to Correspondents” (no. 109), Mark Twain altered them to “neither . . . nor” in the Yale Scrapbook, thereby expressing his own practice at this time. We have adopted the P2 reading as more like the author's practice, and as potentially the reading of the Enterprise.
 and also Deputy Sheriff Blodgett came with] P1 omits “came” and P2 omits “also.” Perhaps the Enterprise had neither word—that is, the clause may have been elliptical (“and Deputy Sheriff Blodgett with”), depending on the previous verb (“arrived”). If so, the situation might have seemed unsatisfactory to both P1 and P2 compositors, who each mended the matter according to his own lights, adding “came” or “also” to emphasize or repeat the verb. On the other hand, it may be that the Enterprise had both words, and that this seemed redundant to each compositor, who then omitted one of the two as he saw fit. The crux cannot be safely resolved on the present evidence, but on balance it seems somewhat more likely that Mark Twain wanted the slightly redundant effect of “arrived . . . and also . . . came,” perhaps anticipating the rhetorical device he used in the last part of the sentence, “the battle ground being and lying in Storey county.”
 blasted] P2 gives “blarsted,” an affectation not seen elsewhere in Mark Twain's early writing: we have preferred P1.
 In . . . them.] This sentence appears only in P2, where it comes last and follows the one ending “town.” (266.23), while P1 omits it entirely without adding ellipsis points. But P2 omits at least one sentence (“And . . . duel.”) which must have intervened between “But . . . town.” and “In . . . them.”—also without adding ellipsis points. Therefore no documentary evidence establishes the position of the sentence in the Enterprise. It seems simplest, however, to suppose that P1 omitted the sentence because it came at the end of the sketch and perhaps seemed superfluous; and that P2, which aimed at foreshortening elsewhere, included it precisely because it was the last sentence.
Explanatory Notes A Duel Prevented
 young Wilson] Clemens' friend, twenty-two-year-old Adair Wilson from Missouri, was the junior local editor of the Virginia City Union. He was admitted to the bar in 1860 and practiced law in San Francisco from 1861 to 1863. He left the Union in October 1863 to become editor of the Reese River Reveille, and then local reporter on the San Francisco American Flag in 1865. Eventually he became a Colorado state senator (1887–1890), president of the Colorado Legislature, an associate judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals, and a member of the Democratic National Committee (Angel, History, p. 304; Langley, Directory for 1865, n.p.; Frank Hall, History of the State of Colorado, 4 vols. [Chicago: Blakely Printing Co., 1895], 4:610; Portrait and Biographical Record of the State of Colorado [Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1899], pp. 321–325).
 Olin's fast horses] Ansel S. Olin owned the Pioneer Stables on B Street near Taylor in Virginia City (Kelly, First Directory, p. 156).
 Deputy Sheriff Blodgett] Deputy Sheriff Henry L. Blodgett had his office on South B Street. When Clemens was commissioned a notary public in the spring of 1864, he and Blodgett set up as “Blodgett and Clemens, Notaries Public” in the Virginia City post office building. The firm's advertisement last appeared in the Virginia City Evening Bulletin on April 16. By April 22 Clemens had resigned his commission (Kelly, Second Directory, p. 175; daily advertisements in the Virginia City Evening Bulletin, 1–16 April 1864; “Still Another,” ibid., 22 April 1864, p. 3).