, 1873-07-06
GERMAN STUDENTS DUELS.
Correspondence Qf Ths Chicago Tribune.

!
tho UniyerBitieB hero arc apt to be
noted ns fighters. An old friond Of mino
ut tho Sl,oi!lolds School, who is now ut Frobcrg,
| IN called ono OF tho best duosta thoro. There
is only q Polytechnic School horo, but IL hau
some 860 atudonts. 10 Of whom hclong to tho
tlifforont OorpH or " vorbindungs" and arc for
ovor slashing oach other. Whom man ia elected
to a VorbindunR, an older student takcs him In
charge md Teaches him how 10 fight. Ho Ia llis
Instructors Heibosfuohs 80 Body Fox, ,".-and
tho Grandson Of his toaohors teacher. II
he doesn't insult somobody, or got insnltod
within a year, ho is warned 70 do
30, and to fight tho consequent duol
Tho warning Is Of raro occurrence, hoWovor, for
these learned goose regard aoa1s IS ornaments,
and, aftor roooiving them, drink hugo quantities
Of boor for couple Of months, and 60 mako tho
scars rod foroyor. Tho eoldior>aon OF our hnd-
! lady was traipol as duelist by a hero who had
elt si1toen noses without getting Borntohl
| Hohas been sucoesBful hlmsolf, and hia Heibea-
fuchs" hna rc1ectod credit on tho family. Tho
Bon was to tako mo to 500 match Of five f8hta
| between his corps, "Thalia, md anothor, /" H.
.tonia, but could not got loavo Of absonoo; 60
hc introduced his "Body-Tox" 10 mo, and
started OF undor his protection, last Tuesday
morning.
We had a hard walk, through wind md min,
Tor halt q (Germnn) milo (sevon English mi1es),
to village in tho outskirts Of Drosdon. Tho
place WAS chosen bccauao tho police hAvo ro-
Gently boon aotive in catching duelist% and tho
| penalty Ia years. restriction and ak months In
I prison. Aftor passing throo or four sontinols
aud giving satisfactory statements As to tho
why and whoroforo Of my coming, wo were ad-
mittod into ballroom, tho windows Of which
commanded the road oyor which tho police
would como, II they came at all,-whioh thoy
didn't. In tho room werc about forty students,
rather fatter that Ynle crowd, but otherwise
much tho Bame, except for tho parti-oolored
caps and sashoa which the majority woro.
Evon this might find q parallel in Now
| Havcn Just before tho Freshman.aupper.
Chairs and tables woro rang around tho sidor,
and waiter was continually bringing up coffee.
soda-wator, and boer, from tho Inn below. 4
part Of tho floor, some twenty feet long by hfteon
wide, WAS sprinkled with saw-dust. Through
this, two lines of ohalk were drawn, to show
whore the combatants must etapd. At either
| end Of the Raw-tiust were two ohnir8.
Just as NO entered, two baroheadel mon carno
forward from opposite sides, struggling under
| tho weight Of their acooutromoutB. Each lad
heavl1y-nadded cloth-covoring from neck to
kneos, and over tho loft arm to tho
elbow. This arm was held behind him by
ono Of tho many straps that kops
this uncouth gear tight. Around Ills neck
wns heavy band, above which his hoad moved
with difficulty. Ills right hand was protected by
q thick buokskin glove, and BY tho basket-hi1t
Of tho sword; and tho wrist was gay with
manr-colorad ribbons. Tho right arm was D
! mass Of cloth, lenthor, and chain-wrappings,-
go thoroughly protected, in fact, that 1t Was
used q guard and the Bword-blows foil on 1t
| MI
reBtod lis clumsy right arm On tho shoulder OF
ono of Ills &c Verbindung," who Hat by him. Tho
doctor-tho samo ono ID always engagcd-camo
forwardan creased their oyobrows, go that blood
should notflow downinto the oyos. Iron spectacle
cases, without glasses, were bound on; baskot-ht-
ed swords, somo feet long, with tho two odgou
aharponed for IL inches, and tho whole lhst
inches shining like razor, were put in their
| hands; md tho umpire. Froiborg student,
| who woro tho ribbons Of both Corps, roee and
read from little book tho information that Herr
Of stTitonin," wore to fight out q question
Of honor during tho noxt tiftcon minutes. Tho.
fighters totterod towards each other, their friends
! still up1oillng thoir ar1ns and the two regular
| socnnIs-who we're the Same for MI tho tluols,
| aud who had Rhort aprons, with the society
oEablema thereon, and ornamonted swords-alao
| advanced.
Tie four swords crossed each other; QUO OF
the seconds sail two or three worda tho arm
holders darted bnck tho seconds stepped to tho
loft OF their principals, holding their swords so
% to parry any unfair ATTACK there vas mo-
ment'a si1onco; thon u cling-oling-clash for
minute or two, whilo the swords cut and thrust,
and slashed then CRY Of " Halt from ono
or the other second !; and tho two principal fools
led baek to ther seats Then while they
straight again, their opponents' seconds e1an-
| ined their heads with care to Ree whotlor they
had not received thereon wounds which they
sa ponsa to snos soaaS Whin sh h sa '''fpss ea
scanned their fingers in tho hope
Of finding thereon tracea Of blood "a wound,
however severe, does not "count" ,lnloas 1t
fight re-began. This frat duel progressed with
little harm to either party until Tho last minute,
whom the Ttonian. with 2 terrific arn-aweep,
sent his sword undor tho Thalian's guard, and
mouth to ear. It was terrible" and "unpre-
| cedentod" wound,-- every body said and tho
| Titoniaus clapped, aud shouted, and danced in
Joy thereover. The poor fellow-a saxon, May
nard by nnme, who had come out Of two dgels
before without o scratoh-had bis 1aco sewufup
without finehing, and stayed in the room
two houra thereafter, . bundle Of banda
ges;, soon nfter the nght nnw him chatting
is always tho signal for hhake-hands, and CO.
oasionally for kieB.
The four other duels were repetitiona Of this,
except that there were no sorlous wounds. Ii
| ono OF thom, ono Of the combatantB, BRAZILIAN,
lost control OF his head and elashod 80 violently
in every direction that he put his opponent, tho
doctor, and both seconda, TO flight, aud had to
be torcibly constrained to fight according to rulo.
were gained, two and two, 50 that honors wezo
easy, aud everybody walked homo oontentedly.
Besides this sort Of light, thoro are two others,
with cavalry sabres and with pistolB,-upd, Ia
both cases. without bandsges. The student with
whom went is to fight an American at Froiberg,
next weok, with sabres; and such duo]s arc not
| very uncommon, although they arc rarely at
tended with serious roBult1. When gross In
suit brings pistols into play, death is Of courso,
very possible issuo. road in this mornings
paper Of tho killing Of ono 8trasbourg student
by another, in pistol-duel.
!. My friond says that some mon fight thirty
times . year. although this is always an oxcep-
ton. 4 man may, however, DO obliged to tako
| up anothor'a 1uarrel-for lrandfathar