Some
others told of Old Put and his doings are perhaps not entitled to
credence. Among these latter may be the tales of his dueling days, as,
for instance, the story of his challenge by an English officer on
parole, who, when he came to the place appointed, found Old Put seated
near what appeared to be a keg of powder, serenely smoking his pipe. As
the officer reached the rendezvous, Putnam lighted a slow-match from his
pipe and thrust it into a hole bored in the head of the keg, upon which
were scattered a few grains of gunpowder. Viewing these sinister
preparations for the "duel," the Englishman concluded that the best
thing he could do was to run away, which he did very promptly. "O ho!"
shouted Putnam after him, taking his pipe from his mouth. "You are just
about as brave a man as I thought, to run away from a keg of onions! Ha,
ha, ha!"
No date is given to this occurrence, nor to another account of the
"duel" he didn't fight with a brother officer whom he drove from the
field at the muzzle of a loaded musket. In fact, the "field of honor"
was not much frequented by Putnam, who preferred the field of battle,
where he always gave a good account of himself.
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