The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-09-29
DUELLING AT THE SOUTH.
From the Roston Commercial Bulletin.

fact among their local customs to those
where they do not prevail, because Of the
wonder and dramatic character of such a
custom; and to all, because 4 duel supposes
peculiar personal courage, and is sensation
al in the highest degree. It requires rosolu-
ton and animal pluck to stand up to be shot
at; but it by no means follows that u man
who fights 4 duel possesses any unusual
amount of personal courage, and, after all,
lighting duel is not so risky as most people
think. Either those who fight are wrctchcd
shots. or else their nerves are by no means
steady; for the firing is notably uncertain.
far more common than Il shot in the head
CULTIVATED DUELLIsTs
Among those who look upon the duel as
one of the reasonable possibilities OF their
lives, practicing with the pistol is regular
study, and is reduced to systems. Taking
am,' in the usual manner, by deliberate
sighting Of an object. is not the mode accept
ed. The whole thing is made a mechanical
method looking to the habit of bringing the
weapon to a certain line and level by long
practice and pulling the trigger with little
regard to the ''si@hts' Some men fire after
bringing the arm and pistol down to a level
with the antagonist; others by raising the
bow on the hip, and firing without sight, re-
lying upon long practice to hit an object.
The author once knew a gentlemen who
could cut q twine line at ten PAGES. without
sighting, and by firing from the hip" The
object Of firing from downward arm is
mainly to protect the boIy. In Henry y.
Wises duel with Cotton, he fired from a
raised weapons Colton's arm was broken by
the shot, but ii saved his life.
TIE POPULAR HAIR TRIGGER.
Regular dueists always use the 'hair-trig-
ger" 1t is Just possible that Brodcrick lost
his life in his duel with Judge Terry, in Cal
ifornia from this cause and carelessncss. lie
had glove on his hand, and before he could
raise his weapon it exploded. This left Terry
an undisturbcd shot. and his horrible accura-
cv and coolness We're shown by his remark
when he fired and Broderick dropped Il
struck him q little too much to the lclt." Ills
Shot, in his opinion. though fatal, was not
exactly artistic.
Duellin@ in this country prevails as 4 Gus
tom only in the Southern States, and is man
itestly, though slowly, dying out, There
We're men, however, formerly who were
known as proiessed duelists-that is, YOU
were constantly in danger Of being challen@-
cd by thcm for good cause or for mono at all ;
and to 90 ont with them was simply to ar-
range your mortal affairs and speak to the
sexton. for they were "dcad shotS''-thcy
could put dozen balls in the hole success
sivcly. Such men were naughty and inso-
lent, of course; and Of course were treated
with distinguished consideration. OF this
class was one Gholson, of Mississippi, and of
one of whose ducls we now propose to
speak.
TIE GHoLsON AND PEENTIss DUEL.
1t was somewhere about 1910 that an sun
pleasantncssn of 4 political origin occurred
between Gholson and 4 gentleman who had
never fought duel. named PrentisS. Ghol-
son had filled half q dozen graves with his
victims. He was Democrat. and PrcntiSS
was . Wing. A very large and highly re-
spectacle audience attended the fight and
betting was lively, Gholson having great
odds in the ''pools." Some bets We're made
that both would fall, rs prentiss had high
reputation for coomess and exhibited the
utmost calmness and sell-possesSon. especi-
ally in ''stripping" for the work in hand
while Gholson seemed less cool, and was airy.
At the first fire Prentiss fell, shot through
the hams; while Gholson lcapcd three feet
into the air and came down dead. shot
L
great quality, aimed at by all duclists that
is. lie fired quicker than Gholson-say about
the twenty millionth part Of a half second
ahead
AN EDITORIAL DUEL.
The recent death of Mrs. Anna Cora Mo-
watt Ritchie recalls the facts of duel which
her husband almost fought, but which finally
added, and which not only created great
sensation in Virginia at the time, but became
interviewer with subsequent events, which
terminated in Il bloody encounter and the
death of one of the principals in the affair At
the hand Of fRitchie's brother. The facts ncv-
or cot more than 4 casual notice in the pa
pcrs, and are detailed for the first time. Tc
understand the whole case it is necessary tC
say that Thomas Ritche-or Father Ritchic,
as he was generally callcd-was the edition
of the Richmond Enquirer, and welded
about the whole power Of the Democratic
party Of Virginia. John llampden Pleasant>
was the editor Of the Richmond Whig anC
the representative editor and writer OF his
party in that State. He was the son o
Governor Peasants, and Il bold, chivalrous,
and gcnerous-hearted man who held to ''thC
code of honor" Ritchic was not Il fighting
man.
a DEADLY INSULT.
For years i hot antagonism progressed
between these two editors, cngendcrln% M
intense bitterness at last, rs might have beer
expected About the year 1911, something
unusually heated arose in these papers; anu
in an editorial Pleasants said, subml>slVcly
the following: eve have been engaged III
controversy with the editor of the Enquirer
tor twenty years, and it shames our man
hood to know that we have never used any
weapon sharper than pen" According to
ssthe codc," this sarcasm wasa deadly insult
which nothing but pistols ten PAGES, and
blood could wipe out.
TIE INSULT RESENTED.
Ritchie had two sons-Wm. f., thc elder
who married Mrs Mowatt and Thomas, Jr
the younger-who killed Peasants in fight
about four years afterwards. The morta
offence was taken up by William; and ;
challenge sent to Peasants being prompt,
accepted and the terms settled everything
was lovely between the two gentlemen
Perhaps it would be as well here to spccu
late on what the result of the duel woul,
have been, provided it had been fought, Sc
as to decide how we would have bet on th
issue, if we had Il bet upon it at all, Th