Duellists With Short Names Have Better Success

1889

Duellists With Short Names.
[Atlanta Constitution.]

A short man is said to be quicker on trigger than a tall man, and a man with a short name is said to come out best in a duel. Colonel Cash, the South Carolina duellist, used to say that in every regular duel fought in the United States the man with the fewest syllables in his surname always killed his antagonist. He mentioned the cases of Burr and Hamilton, Barton and Decatur and others, and said that it had been true ever since David killed Goliath. A few months later Colonel Cash added to the record by killing Shannon in a duel.

—The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, April 20, 1889, page 5.