Assassination Attempt (1866)
Last Saturday, while Col. M. C. GALLOWAY, editor of the Memphis Avalanche, was at the office of Monsarrat, Lanier & Co., Assessor M. H. WOOD, who had taken offence at publications made in the Avalanche, took the occasion to call Col. GALLOWAY to account for the same; a difficult ensued, during the course of which WOOD thrust a walking cane at his intended victim – the cane was an ingeniously constructed weapon, combining the qualities of a rifle and common walking stick – knowing that it would be seized, and when Col. GALLOWAY has grasped it, WOOD pulled the trigger of the well masked weapon and discharged its contents into the Colonel’s hand. Had it not been for the prompt action of a by-stander who thrust the cane aside, a more serious result of this attempted assassination, in all probability, would have to be recorded. WOOD was taken in charge and handed over to the proper officers, who placed him in lock-up.
The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.), 01 Sept. 1866, Page 2. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.