The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-11-21

/ ed by Nike johnson, with his cooked pistol IN one
/ hand and uplifted covhideiu the other The ~
sault was the more aggravating5 as the place Wa
/ throneed with spectators.
eCoward and villain q exclaimed johnson, q did
/ not tell you thatI wound cowhide you every week
until whipped the courage Of man and a gentle
man info your Yankee hide ~
g 7 am not coward, arstorted Thomas, - hai-
low tome so unearthly fierce and wild that II caused
every hea4eT to start A. the instant, his lips were
hud, and clenched between his teeth tlli the blood
ran His ewes were red as a mad dogs, and the
muscles Of his face qdivered; but hls body and limbs
seemed to have the dgidity qf marble
thronghthe excited crowd, as i.sy saw the te1rols
tokens Of the fend aroused--ths Tend which iti.a
at different depths in al humaH natufe.
+ Il Won are not coward why VIII yoe hes
Eight ~ asked the dnsIlisi, somewhat struck, ~
spite Of his thorough desPerattoni hardened y lie
hot gore Of dozen murdefs.
81 viii fight, you wish it, was the loud fln-
ing answer.
Then you accept my challenge y
. 81 do Wi any one present be 50 good a % &C.
As my second22 inqaired The lagyefs addressing the
spectators.
For a minute or two no one spoke, 50 great was
the dread Of the aIeh-dusllist Mike Johnson
/ (" Will no one IN such a mass Of generous men be
my second q, repeated the lawyer in louder tone
viii, said shrill, truInpet-hke voice, On the
Outskts Of the crowd and tall commanding FORM
with bravery written on his brow, and the eagle
eye beneath IL made his way 70 the centre q the
scene Of contention and stood close fronting john
son, with smiling glance, before which the lattsls
for sn3instant, quailed-
The'question g who IS he2 who is he ?" eiTeula-
ted among he COOKERS on But no one could an
swer no one had ever seen him before ane yet
everybody would have then sworn to his courage
20 bold yet tranquil was his bearing.
60 Who are yois ?" inquired the duellis recover
ing bis presence Of mind
stranger from Texasp
But whoWilf vouch for your respectabilitys"
80 can give you vouchers sufficient" replied the
stranger, frowning til his brows looked frighttulj
and then STOPPING Forwards he whispered soue~
thing in Johnson s ear audible alone 70 him
Z" / am satisfied said the duellist aloud, and
trembling perceptibly. Col. Morton, will you
serve my friend ~
The individual last addressed gave bis assent
Now, let US adjourn to some private room 70
arrange the preliminanes,s remarked the stranger
and the principals and seconds left the crowd, then
increasing every minute and excited nearly to mad
ness by she thiek-crowding events Of the hour
The meeting took place the following night, in a
dark room, with the door locked, and the two
seconds on the outside. The principals were placed
in opposite corners Of the apartment, which was
twenty feet square, and each was srnsd with a
large bowie kHife--nothiBg more Il was midnight
Ia night without moon stars Black pltehy
clouds enYeloped the sky, and slight sitting mist
Hence the room where the duel was about 70 begin
was wrapped in raylass darkness, Ihe complaints
could not even see the blades Of theHown knlves-.
At first they both stopped and stealthiiy united
and took Oh their shoes, SO as TO maze ne isaF
possible noise ih.walIng over the door. Ihe same
thought had struck them at fhe same tme--to
manGuvFe for the vantage-gFound-
Thomas moved in circle, softly as a eat, around.
the apartment til he got within a few leet Of the
corner where his enemy had FIST been placed and
then paused to listen For four or i've seconds he
could hear nothing 10 The gTayeliSe silence. but the
quick beats Of his own busy heart Presently
however, there crept into his scarcely auol3is
sound, Of suppressed breathing, IN the corner Of
the room which he had previously left; and then
heknea that Is - was trying the same stratagem-
The Fsss ted thrice with like result.
A. lspgih Ahef''aa Concluded 10 stand perfectly
still and await lotnsoas Aurfnaek NotinnIass
now HIMSELF and an eay, son " o6aid distinguish
soft rustling noise, ike the dropping aakes Of
5 wool Clrclng around the Coos, and gradually i'd
vaneiug towards him.
# AT last, when the sound appeared within about
5 three feet Of Che lawyers position, he suddenly
f made bounding plunge with his knife, aimed in
the dark air, EEherehe supposed the bosom of his
foe 10 be. His blade struck against that Of the
li otHeTtand few Sparks Of fire rolled at the fierce
collision, and fell expiring on tie floor.
! And then, for an instant, the seconds without
the door heard sharp ringing OF steel a groan, a
II sll, and all again was silent as the tomb The
, duel at midnight had ended, but hotg They
were appalled, at the horrible question
fl Waiting some minutes, and hearing nothing
more Col Morton and the stranger prepared a
light, unlocked the door, and entered. The spec
tacle was most affecting. There lay the bloody
corpse Of the duelst, johnson, mangled dreadfuill
and above II stood the erect and imposing form y
the lawyer Thomas-unhurt, not cut on BIS stin
or rent in hrs clothing, but weeping as if his
heart were broken.
He started back as the flashing light dazzlsd his
| eyes, and growing pale as the dead at rs fset.
exclaimed in accents Of unreasonable anguish
ooh, God how shall l endure to meet nv dear
Emma, with this Ihurderous gore on my hands &
4 Such status would defe the very gates of heaven,
and blacken the floor of he'll itsefn'
He did, however afterwards meet Emma and
her babe; but we shall not attempt to paint the
scene. A week subsequently, he was shot ia
pieces in hisown office, while employed in writing
after night The assassin was not known, but
was supposed 20 be younger brother of the duel
list, johnson,
The stranger who acted in the combat as the
| second Of Thomas, was indeed, as he said from
Texas, and then travelling through Mississippi
apd was the bravest man perhaps, that ever drew
the breath Of liieJ ames Bowie who fell only with
the fall Of the Alamo, when his red knife was
dunk with the blood 'o Mexieans.
Reader.-But the moral You promised Us a
! moral.
II Wrifsr-The same moral which lies at the hot.
tom of all true stories, if they be read rightly
give you this, and can give no more=-that the cir
/ cufnstanoes which make men make also thef
actions, as the history Of manYs New Englandel
besides poor Thomas, in the South, can attest
aA4lcIei'fes newer Strongly cQnueLuM tne deeds
your brethren Of the common humanity, until vol
shall have realized their material and spiritual stu
ationsin all its mathematical and moral dimensions
This lesson, studied WE'LL may render YOU wiser an
p probably happier men.
PUNNINe.-The Freshmen at old Dartmout
are reported to have made themselves quite rnerr
:: Of late at Sophomore expense by the followin
! eonundrum, which the mathematical student Wi
= understand:
IS Why is the Sophomore class studying triq,
nometry, like the Scribes and Pharisees OF ola
l. Because, it as wicked generation seeking aft,
e | SINE etc.
The Sephs retari by the following
Why is the Freshmen recitation-roon like III
e remarkable tree whose leaves quiver in the lhte
id i breeze
Y Because it is an ass psH-- (aspen)
VI LITERARY DIseovERY-An ancient panvru
= on which part Of the Had is written. has be,
q found in the. hand Of 2 mummy at NIontaiour,
= Egypt.
he CoNJUeATroN AND. AeRERMENT.--In a hess,