The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-10-21
THE CODE DOELLO.
a SHOCKING ENCOUNTER IN At
LANTA,

The Wrong Man Shot, as Usual, and In
tho Wrong Way.
The Atlanta papers of Saturday contain
long and graphic accounts OF a duel which oc-
Cured between two young gentlemen of that
place on last Friday. We condense the fol-
lowing particulars Of the causes which led to
the duel, and of the encounter itself:
It appears that on Monday evening last,
while VI the Episcopal Bazaar In Atlanta, ar
Wallace Haskell, OF that city, In q playful
manner slightly pinched the arm OF q young
lady, well-known and very popular In Atlanta
society. The Young lady Was very indignant
at this act, which was certainly reRrenensl-
BILE, and az once informed a gentleman OF
her acquaintance that she had been INSURED.
The gentleman Immediately sougnG MI. has.
kell and demanded an apology. Mr.. Haskell
asserIs that be made the apology, and sup.
posed that the matter had been satisfactorily
arranged. The story of the insult, however,
reached the ear of Mr.. Houston I. Force, VINO
was afaanced 10 the young lady, and ne at
once sought Haskell and took him 10 Task LOT
che affronL. When the parties separated no
pleasant feeling existed between them, ana
on Tuesday morning, about ten O'Clock, Force
met HASKELL on Whitehall street and assault
ed hlm with q stick while he held q revolver
In the other haad. This led to q challenge
from Haskell, which was sent by the nanos OF
hta friend. Mr.. ]. Il. Townsend. Mr.. j. b.
Hart. representing Mr.. Force, declined 70 re-
ceiye the challenge on the ground lnaL has.
Kell was not q gentleman, but declared Una
his principal was ready To give TOWNSEND any
sat,sfectIon ne might demand. Townsend de-
cIared his readiness to take the place OF Has
Kali. and soon afterwards sent Force q letter by
a friend, Harr-Force's f-iend-declined 10
receive the challenge trcm the gentleman,
and Haskell Immediately posted Force as "a
miserable %scoundrel and poltroon." Colonel
W, s. Townsend, father Of Mr.. D.: d. ToWn-
send, had all the parties concerned, including
his son, bound over to keep tne peace. u
posing that tAe matter was now ended, ne
ave himself but little further trouble about IL.
It appears, however, that The parties were ILL
advised. and Mr.. Townsend and Mr.. Force
on Friday morning. mel IN an office, together
with their respective friends, and completed
arrangements for q duel TO take place ID the
evening. The weapons agreed upon were
double-barreled shot guns, loaced Win elgnt
buckshot In each barrel, and the distance was
ixed OF forty PAGES. The place selected for the
meeting was In front OF the cemetery
gate. within the limits Of the city.
Mr.. Hunt being indisposedi, Mr.. e.,
a gentleman temporarily eo)ournln9 10
Atlanta, consented to act as Mr.. Forces second,
while Mr., W., of Atlanta, appeared IN the
same capacity for Mr.. Townsend. On reaching
the place Oh meeting, the surgeon VINO accom-
panied the party endeaVored TO elect a recon-
cIlIation between Force and ToWnsenu, out
his efforts were In vain. The proper distance
was measured off and The principals placed 10
position. They were both cool and COLLECTED,
and wore an air OF courage and determinallon
IL was rumored that one Of the parties laoorec
under the influence OF liquor, but this wa,
afterwards emphatically denied. orlel
pause ensued after the principals took their
places. Mr.. W., the second upon whom de-
volved the duty of giving the word, hesitated,
but finally he said: 'Are you ready, gentle,
mem" An affirmative reply was gwen, anu
he then called out lone, Lwo, three" forget
ting In his agitation TO use the WORD nre,
which should have been spoken before the
numerals. Mr.. Force levelled bis gun and fired.
Mr.. Townsend failed TO turn 10 lime He was
inst In the act of turning when he received
Three of the eight buck-shOt In his left elbow,
and list beneath his lett shoulder blade. He,
however, turned completely round and nred,
instinctipsly. but wildly, as he fell TO tne
ground seriously wounded. As soon as Town
send fell, Force ran to him, and a reconclila-
tIon took place between the two. Mr.. Iown-
send declared himself satisfied with inc man
ner in which his opponent acted, while mr.
Force expressed the deepest regret at having
been compelled TO fight him. MI.
was carried to his fathers house IN Atlanta.
AZ eight o'clock Friday hight he was dellrl.
Gus, and seemed to suffer much pain. The
physicians, however, were hopeful Of his
recovery. A warrant was issued for the ar
rest OF Force, but up to midnight Friday he
had not been found. Mr.. Townsend and MI.
Force are both well known young lawyers OF
Atlanta.