The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-05-05

it caused every hearer to start. At the instant,
his lips were livid, and clenched between ms
teeth till the blood ran His eyes were req as
mad dogs, and the muscles oil his race qulV-
cred; but his body and limbs seemed to have
the rigidity of marble. :.
"He will fight now" rung in an eager WINS
per through the excited crowd, as they saw the
terrible tokens of the fiend arcused-the fend
which turks, at different depths, In all human
natures. -,
sIf YOU are not coward, why will you not
fight ?" asked the duellist, somewhat struck, IN
! spite of his thorough desperation, hardened In
the hot gore of dozen murders.
'T viii fight, if you wish it," was the loud
ringing answer. o,
'Then you accept my challenger
sI do. Will any one present be so good as
to act as my seconds" inquired the lawyer, sd
dressing the spectators.
For a minute or two no one spoke, SO great
the dread of the arch>duellist, Mike Johnson.
| feWill no one in such mass OF generous men
be nv second ?" repeated the lawyer, In loud
er tone. :,
81 will" said shrill, trumpet-like voice, on
the outskirts of the crowd, and tall, COM
manding form, with bravery written on his
brow, and the eagles eye beneath it, made his
way to the center of the scene OF contention,
and stood close fronting johnson, with sml-
ling glance, before which the latter, for an in
slant, quailed.
"The question "Who is he? who is he?" cir
culated among the lockers on. But no one
could answer; no one had ever seen him be-
fore, and yet everybody would have sworn to
his courage, so bold yet tranquil was his bear
ing; o., ~, a,o,,;,+ ro
covering his presence of mind.
ga stranger from Texas"
ssBut who will vouch for your respectabiltyP
"I can give you vouchers sufficient" replied
the stranger, frowning till his brows looked
frightful and then stopping forward he whis-
pered something in Johnsons ear, audible
alone to him.
iI am satisfied" said the duellist aloud, and
trembling perceptibly. Colonel Morton, will
you serve as my friend ?'
The individual last addressed gave his as
sent.
'tNow, let us adjourn to some private room
to arrange the preliminaries," remarked the
stranger; and the principals and seconds LETT
the crowd, then increasing every minute, ana
excited nearly to madness by the thlck-crowd-
| ing events of the hour.
The meeting took place the following night,
in dark room, with the door locked, and the
two seconds on the outside. The principals
were placed in opposite corners of the apart
ment, which was twenty feet square, and each
was armed with large bowie-knife-no more.
It was midnight night without moon or
stars. Black pitchy clouds enveloped the sky,
and slight sitting mist rendered the shadows
of the earth more intense. Hence, the room
where the duel was about to begin was wrapped
in rayless darkness. The combatants could not
even see the blades of their own knives
At first, they both stopped and stealthily un-
tied and took off their shoes, so as to make the
least possible noise in walking over the floor.
The same thought had struck them at the same
| time-to maneuvre for the yantage-ground.
Thomas moved in a circle, softly as cat,
around the apartment, till he got within few
feet of the corner where his enerny had first
been placed, and then paused to listen. For
four or five seconds he could hear nothing In
the grave-like silence but the quick beats of his
own busy heart. Presently, however, there
crept into his ear scarcely audible sound, as
of suppressed breathing, in the corner OF the
room which he had previously left; and then
he knew that his foe was trying the same STRAIT
agem. The ruse was repeated thrice, with
like result. At length Thomas concluded to
stand perfectly still and await Johnson,s ap-
proach. Motionless now HIMSELF and all ear,
soon he could distinguish soft rustling noise,
like the dropping of fakes of wool, circling
around the floor and gradually advancing to-
ward him.
At last, when the sound appeared within
about three feet of the lawyers position, he
suddenly made bounding plunge with his
knife, aimed in the dark air, where he supposed
the bosom of his foe to be. His blade struck
against that of the other, and few sparks of
fire rolled at the fierce collision, and fell expi-
ring on the floor.
And then, for an instant, the seconds without
the door heard sharp ringing of steel, groan,
a fall, and all again was silent as the tomb
The duel at midnight had ended; but how :
| They were appalled, at the horrible question.
Waiting some minutes, and hearing nothing
more, Col. Morton and the stranger prepared
light, unlocked the door, and entered. The
spectacle was most affecting. There lay the
| bloody corpse of the duellist, johnson, mangled
dreadfully, and above it stood the erect and
imposing form of the lawyer, Thomas-unhurt,
not q cut on his skin or rent in his clothing,
but weeping as if his heart were broken.
He started back as the flashing light dazzled
his eyes, and, growing pale as the dead at his
feet, exclaimed, in accents OF immeasurable
anguish-"Oh, God how shall endure to
meet my dear wife, with this murderous gore
on nv hands Such stains would defle the
very gates of heaven, and blacken the floor of
hell itselfp
He did. however, afterwards meet Emma and
her babe but we shall not attempt to paint
the scene. A week subsequently, he was shot
to pieces in his own office, while employed in
writing after night. The assassin was not
known, but supposed to be younger brother
of the duellist, 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,
and was the bravest man, perhaps, that ever
drew the breath of life-James Bowie, who fell
knife was drunk with the blood of Mexicans.
At one of the recent concerts at the Tuil-
cries. cone of the most beautiful women" of
] De- attracted much attention by the Empress