The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1858-02-17

Will it be believed tha: this arrange
ment was instantly agreed to ? but 20 it
was; /; and tolerable party immediately
proceeded upstairs, some to make the
needful arrangements. and others to lis
ten to this unseen fight, and await its
exciting result.
Savage as mems spirits may be, such
scene of preparation was enough to
silence, if not awe them. While it was
passing, no man spoke but all looked
curiously upon the fine, muscular per-
sons that were soon, in all probability,
about to cut each other up alive. 1r
All things being ready, the door,
which had cautiously been kept closed,
to prevent the interior of the place be-
ing seen by the duelists, was opened, and
they entered the room Of death togeth-
er. The old man, whose friend one of
them was, wept in silent bitterness but,
by an involuntary action, as the young
man passed out Of his sight, evidently
besought heaven to assist the innocent.
The door was closed. The time-keeper
drew out his watch, and kept his eyes
steadily upon it. The assembled party
employed that brief period in Offering
and accepting Tin whispers) bets Of
from one to five hundred or more dol
lars as to the result. According to
sporting phrase, the colonel "was the
favorite," though the hackers of neither
one or the other appeared inclined to Of
fer very long odds.
The time-keeper closed his watch,
and gave the signal; at the same mo-
ment, all the ights on the landing and
staircase were extinguished, in order
that no ray might pass through the
least crev,ce into the inside of the
room.
Everybody expected. upon the giving
of the signal, to hear the commencement
of the strife but they listened in dead
silence to no purpose-not the remotest
sound, even of footstep, could be
heard. And thus they waited Eve min.
utes, and ten. and twenty, and yet the
combatants gave no sign. After the
lapse, as near as might be conjectured,
Of half-an-hour. or thereabouts, one pis-
tol was discharged; and although the
listeners had been in continued expecta-
ton Of it SO long, yet, when it did come,
a sudden start Of surprise ran through
them, as though each man had Instantly
felt that he might have received the
contents himself. And then followed q
hasty step across the floor-another pis-
tol report-the clashing of knives, and
a brief, but seemingly desperate attempt
to wrestle, which quickly terminated.
and all again was quiet.
"It's all up" whispered one, "Ill
bet drinks for the crowd
"Taken p said another. II begin to
want julep."
FIFTY to forty the colonel has killed
him p remarked q third. HE was
very nice young man, but he can't come
in this time"
And thus they would have gone on,
had not the third report been just then
heard, followed by prolonged conflict,
hand to hand, knife to knife, in the
course of which the fourth pistol ex.
ploded. The strokes of the knives be-
gan to grow less frequent, and more
faint in sound but ere they had entire
ly ceased, a heavy body dropped with .
dead sound upon the floor of the room.
Another instant, and there followed an
other heavy fall. s5
Some individuals present were for
opening the doors Immediately; but
this proposition was overruled on the
ground that, if the fight was not yet,
over, the most able might take advan-
tage of the appearance Of the light to
kill the other even lying on the boards.
About half an hour was, if recol-
lect Alright, allowed to pass in close and
attentive listening, to catch the most
distant sound from within. None was
heard; and at the expiration of that
period, amidst crowd of the most hor-
rible of anxious faces, the door was
opened, and the whole party rushed in.
Towards the remoter end, and not far
from the wall, lay heap of red cloth.
It was composed of the gashed and
bloody bodies of the duelists |! One lay
across the other. They were taken up,
and something like distant murmur Of
applause followed when it was discover.
ed that the colonel was undermost.
But many who best knew him spoke
outright their gladness, when an exam.
ination proved that he was perfectly dead.
Both bodies were so mangled, that it
was next to impossible TO- handle them
without touching the wounds.
The best of it was, however, that The
conqueror of this fearful white savage
was found to be still alive. He was
taken down stairs instantly, stimulants
were given, and began to revive. His
body was then carefully washen after
which, being cautiously wrapped up. he
was conveyed away to the nearest SUR
geon's some time after midnight.
The room exhibited spectacle not to
be described.
The young man eventually recovered
entirely of all his wounds, and WAS
often congratulated of having rid the
country of monster whom few dared
to attack:
This was not all. During his con-
valescence, inquiries were frequently
made of him as to how the fight was
managed; and he accordingly gave the
following curious account, as nearly as
the writer can remember:
"When the door was closed, said he,
1--WE were surrounded by the most pro-
found darkness. It seemed for some
moments to confound the senses and ba
close to my eyes. During the three
minutes allowed before the battle might
begin. my principal aim was to get away
from my antagonist into another part Of