The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-11-30
A Bowie Knife Tournament.

On Tuesday, election day, Joe ant
Charly Bigger, brothers, Gus Norto,
and Tom jackson, who had beel
seen driving a herd of cattle into Mis-
souri,, passed through there on theiI
return home, IN Northern Texas. Tb'
men were all mounted and armed anc
each possessed of considerable money.
the proceeds Of the sale of their cattle
They stopped some two hours in this
place AMI l had n long converse
ton with them. On "Wednesday -af
ternoon they camped On the bank OF {
small stream in the Indian Territory
about forty miles from tere, and af-
ter stalking out their horses while cook
ing their supper, sat down TO q game
Of cards. They had hardly common
ced their game when Orostes Watrou;
(familiarlY known as Cock eyed Watt
The. Allison and Dick Bradford, no.
ted New Orleans gamblers, rode into
camp. These gamblers We're on a pro.
fessional tour from Fort Scott, and
were bound for Baxter springs and
Kansas City. The new comers were
gladly welcomed and invited to camp
with the herders, which invitation
vas quickly accepted.
The sun being some two hours high
it was suggested that there was plenty
of time to have a social game or two OF
poker before supper, and accordingly
Watrous, Bradford, Joe Bigger and
Jackson took a hand. At first Big
ger and Jackson won, but luck turn
ed, and Watrous and Bradford were
in a fair way of cleaning OF the others
when Bigger detected Wftrous cheat
ing.
\ row at once ensu'd, blows were
interchanCed and weapons drawn by
both PARTIES, when it was proposed, in
order to secure fair play, that Bigger
and Watrous should fight it out on
horseback, their weapons being bowie
knives. This at once agreed to, and
the men prepared for the bloody af-
fray. They were Invested of their
coats and shirts, and their knives
were bound to their right hands =
They were then placed sixty yards
apart, with orders to ride at each 9th
er full speed, passing CT the left side.
Both were splendid horsemen. Big
ger was mounted on a clean-limbed,
fiery pony, a little over fourteen hands
high, while Watrous rode a large,
watch eyed" vicious
At the word Ego" the comhatants
toward each other like the
wind, but passed without infiicting
any injury. A second and n third
joust was run, when Watrous' horse
received a slight cut on the flank. On
the fourth round Bigger, as he passed
Watrous threw himself on the off side
of his pony, so as to expose no per
ton of bis person, and his knife deep
into the back of his adversary's steed.
Watrous divining the m%anoeuvre,
wheeled as the blow was struck, and
attempted 10 hamstring Bigger's pony
but succeeded only in ~inficting a Sc
we're wound. This style of fighting
was then abandoned, and both men
and horses appeared to become in
furiaied at the sight of blood. As
they neared each other the fifth time
Bigger struck Watrous with his left
fist IN the face, at the same moment
cutting a fearful cash in his thigh;
but before he conld get away Wat
rous succeeded in driving his knife in
to Bigger's shoulder. The combat
ants and horses were becoming weak
from loss of blood, when Watrous
determined, if possible to end the com
bat by riding down his adversary,
he thought the superior weight
of his horse would enable him to do.
Accordingly on the sixth round, he
made directly upon Bigger's pony,
and Bigger in attempting to avoid
the collision, was severely cut in the
arm and face. The pony, however,
YVES game, and although very lame,
the o by the cheek, lacera-
it in q fearful manner.
At the seventh encounter the hor-
ses came together with fearful shock,
the pony being thrown, falling upon
his rider, but both Immediately re-
themselves. Watrous' horse
was fast bleeding to death from the
stah-in the neck, and Watrous him
self could scarcely keep his seat from
the wound in the thigh. Bigger sue,
ceeded in again sticking Wat~ous in
the thigh, and was struck in return in
the side. Several blows were inter-
changed and evaded, or fell only upon
the horses.
The fight had now lasted more than
half an hour, when DIR. Lawrence
rode up i'll time to witness the final
round. AS they came together, Wa,
trous endeavored to rise in his STIR
rups and threw himself upon Bigger,
but neither horse could stand the en-
counter, and both fell. Bigger was
streaming with gore from the cuts in
the face, back and arms, but was able
to extricate himself, and rushed upon
Watrous, who could not arise on ac-
count of the wounds in his thigh
Bigger threw himself upon Watrous
with the fury of a fend, and almost
in u moment his knife had reached
the unfortunate gamblers heart, and
Bradford, seeing the fate of his friend
raised his pistol, and fired, and Bigger
fell dead across the corpse of Wat
rous,
A free fight at once ensued, Char
ley Bigger, Norton and jackson fir
ing upon Bradford and Allison
Bradford was killed in the melee, aud
Charley Bigger and jackson severely
wounded. The wounded were taken
to a cabin about half a mile from the
battle field, and their wounds dressed
by DIR, Lawrence who pronounces
them in q fair way OF recovery.
This is one of the most remarkable
that has ever occurred, even