Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1843-10-10
A FIGHT IN THE DARK,
nv rsr AUTHOR OF '.coLS cLrNK," "rExtAsA, ETC

ten upon until the very name, when seen
in print, bears very much the unsavory
character of a literary nuisance, | yet
venture to add another to the number
since i: may deservedly be considered the |
GROWING fight, both tor lis singuIarity |
and barbarity, Of all hitherto placed on |
record. Savage and deadly as is the
general character of duellng in the South
ern States of Amcrica-ep idemical as 1t is
decidedly stated to be in some places
Orleans, for instance increasing material
ly in the heats of summer, and declining
as the weather cools-and in the face Of
all we have heard concerning Kentucky
" gouging" and biting oirof ears and noses,
this Eight in the Dark which took place
IN Florida, stands prominent, alone. Ger
many cannot match ii, and by lis side, an
English duel is mere child's play! That
poor humanity should ever become excited
TO such an act will appea. marvellous
bu; i, is no less true. At least, it is no
fiction OF minc-and a very savage kind
of imagination must as novels, have pos
sessed who could have purely invented it.
The parties IN this affair were Colonel
lind young man, believe, a
SuTpeOut Wioiii TIC CHdiCcu uCCIucntalIy 10
meet, one evening, at liquor store
Whe her the colonel was of the Irregular
army" as Webb, of New York, desgnates
himself, or only one of those very numer-
Gus colonies in America who never either
handled a sword or rode in the field, even
of Il review, my informant did no: state;
though, from his nsolent and quarrelsome
disposition, should. as an EngIishman,
naturally conclude he was no soldier
This, however, at least he waS-one of
those not uncommon characters to be met
with in the South-a man who had acquired
for himself "frstrale" reputation as not
only dead shot with either pistol or rifle,
but also AS being equally al fat and for
mldablo in tho use of The bowie knife. -
Whichever he might fight with was mat
ter Of reriect indifference to him-as in
any one of the three cases, his antagonist
generally enjoyed some three or four
chances, to the colonePs one, of loosing
his life. Hence, few cared to receive
an insult from him, or, under almost any
circumstances, to offer him one. He be
came, in his nelghborhoou (and as far as a
man can become such, in that part of the
world, an object at once fearful, deleSia-
bic, aud arrogant in the extreme. Few
men but wished him killed oif.hand, or
hoped, that at the earliest convenient OPP
Portunity, he might find his match.
The young man, who, on the occasion |
am about 10 relate, eventually entered the
field with this uncivIIzed fellow, happened,
neither by reputation nor in fact, to pos
scss the horrible accomplishments of the
colonel He was n quiet, unassuming citi-
zen, with no further title to the character
of dueIlist than my attach to the ma
joriiy of his iclow-men in those fighting
regions.
The inn, or i1uor.store, in which the
scene took place stood by the forest, a.
though an extensive patch OF roughly clear
cd ground surrounded 1t, and the night o
It's occurrence having suddenly proved
very rainy and dark. many of those who
had previously assembled there were de-
tanned beyond their time, while occasional
waviarerS, TO avoid the storm, added tc
their numbers. Among these latter were
two individuals, ono of whom, before his
entrance, was overheard, BY some in the
entrance, TO say 10 his companion, with Il
fearful oath peculiar 10 certain people in
the South
Oily! major, Iii raise fight to-
night, before go"
mo. no, coluncl!' replied the other
'.stop moment Is there any man here
YOU have difficulty WITH"
No-not thai know of; but what doe
that matterF
Then why go into the bar for the SAX,
OF picking quarrel with n stranger, eithe
- kill him or get killed yoursellF'
xiii me! ha! ha! major. don't grin,
coffee on my nose! you couldn't do it your
self! Let any man try. and the way III
use him up shall be n caution, | tell your
Aud SO saving. the colonel strobe in
and made his way toward the bar. where
he ordered brandy, and while drinking it,
cast his eyes around upon respectable
body of meu there aSsembled-a bod,
commonly called, according to this kind o
classical American, "a talish kind Of
crowd"
Ills general insolcnce of demeanor soor
attracted attention, but for a while he fail
ed To fix upon any particular individual a,
his intended victim.
Meantime. his friend the maior-proba
bly, another such maj VI rs he himself
coonel--was observed to address him earn
es,y. but in a low tone of voice. though
seemingly with the intention of keeping
him quiet. These efforts t'ailed-and with
more brandy came more determination. 49,
Eventually, his eye fell upon two persons
one the Young man who was TO be saugh
tered, to whom allusion has already beer
made, and the other an aged one--perhaps
his father They were engaged in close
private conversation. the younger OF the
two being then the speaker. The colonel
seemed to listen attentively, aud having
drawn somewhat nearer, very soon eX-
Claimed aloud
1t is not the case!'
Many turned their heads towards the
speaker with q slight expression of sur
prise and being unconscious who he was
sGdreSslng his friend, who now stood aloof,
but Kept his eyes upon him, beckoned him
back, but in vain, while the individual