Arriving in Alton at 11 A.M., Lincoln and friends cross Mississippi to duelling ground. Shields and party follow. Without Shields' knowledge, "his friends withdraw his first note to Lincoln, whose friends then read Lincoln's apology, and the duel is called off."Sangamo Journal, 14 October 1842; Beveridge, Abraham Lincoln, 1:352; Missouri Republican, 3 October 1842; Register, 4 November 1842.