The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1849-12-12
THE DUEL IN THE DARK.
A True Incident in the Annals of Ficks.
burgh.

4 True Incident In the Annals OIL sIcks-
burgh.
Every traveller who has descended
the Mississippi within the last twenty
five wears. mus; remember Ficksburgh,
so singular in its situation for town, on
the shelving declivity of hlgSa, rolling
hills, with its houses scattered in groups
on the terraces. Every reader of Ameri-
can newspapers during any one of the
last twenty-five years, must remember
Vicksburgh, so rich has been the fund
of material it has supplied for the circu-
lating libraries of 'horrible murders,
duels, ARRAYS, and executions, by all
sorts of summary process" The pub
lie will not likely soon forget the hang
ing of the gamblers and steam-doctors.
In fine, everybody knows that the place
has been noted since its earliest settle
ment for the belligerent character of its
inhabitants, and the number and atrocity
of the violent deeds which may be as
serted, with literal truth, to have stained
its every street with the blood of human
hearts
Ii is not our present purpose, however,
to sketch any of these more celebrated
brute battles, that prove nothing beyond
the wilful wickedness of the respective
combatarts. But we will select, for the
sake of its mournfui moral alone, soil
tary tragedy, which was briefly chroni-
cled by the press of the day, and then
faded from the recollections of all, save
one from whom the writer received the
story in all its particularly. She, of
course, could meyer forget. The wife of
the murdered hero wept at the sad remi-
niscence twenty years after the date of
the catastrophe.
In the year 1927, n young lawyer,
whom we shall call Thomas, to avoid
narrowing the memory of some relative
or friend who might chance to skim over
these columns, emigrated from Worces-
ter, In Massachusetts, to the State of
Mississippi. He was poor, had recently
married beautiful, accomplished wo-
man, who had renOunced wealthy pa
rents for his sake, and hence was anx-
ious to better his fortune in as little time
as possible. This consideration deter
mined the legal adventurer to locate at
Vicksburgh, then considered throughout
the West, as the paradise of the bar
In very short time the new lawyer
had ample reason to congratulate him.
self on the choice of his position. His
bland demeanor, studious habits, and
more than all, his eloquence in debate,
won him patronage; and he rose, almost
at single bound, to the first place in
his profession. He was employed in all
the land suits, and in most Of the still
more numerous and equally lucrative
cases of homicide, so, that in the brief
period of two years after his advent, he
had cleared the round sum Of thirty thou
sand dollars. Let no sceptical disciple
of Lord Coke, deem this statement in
credible. S. S. Prentiss, now of New
Orleans, realized, cash in hand, forty
thousand dollars by his opening speech
in Vicksburgh.
During his career thus far, young
Thomas was remarkable in one respect.
He never went armed, and although in
the fierce and fiery alterations of the
forum, he necessarily made some enc
r.ies, no attack had hitherto been ven
tured on his person. The athleticism of
his form, and the look of invincible de-
termination in his keen blue eyes, had
doubtless warned the desperadoes that
'sthe Yankee orator." as he was gener-
ally termed, could hit as hard blows in
the court yard as he did in the court
itself. However this may be, two years
elapsed, years too Of eminent success,
before the peaceful attorney was ever
insulted. Alas! this haicyon period was
ldoomed to change alike sudden and
terrible.
| There resided at that time in the town
a notorious duellist by the name of John
son, whose matchless prowess inspired
universal ifear He had slain half a
dozen foes on the public "field of hon
or" and as many in private and irregu-
lar encounters All the members of ''ihe
bloody fancy club" spoke of Mike john
sons feats with rapturous enthusiasm.
But all good men, all lovers of peace,
when the "brave wretch" passed, turn
ed pale and were silent.