The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-08-27
THE LOUISIANA DUEL.
A Political Quarrel Resulting n q
SanKulnary Meeting as Sunrise
BetA Contestants Killed sal the third
Fire.
Special D;spa,eb to the C..icago Times.

Special Dispatch to the C1icago Times.
New ORLEANS, Aug, lS.-In the parish
Of St. James to day, DR.. Gray, member
OF the Legislature, and NJ. Richard, Depu-
ty Sheriff, fought duel with Smirh Wes
con reviewers at fifteen PAGES. The first
two shots neither hit; The third shot both
fell, mortally wounded. Each man @as
hit in the right side under tie armpit.
Gray expired almost instantly, and Richard
"a few moments after.
The quarrel grew out Of the recent parish
Republican Convention. There was u
eplt in the party, and one faction was
driven from the Convention with black eyes
aud bloody noses.
After that those LEFT in the Convention
fought. ..among themselves. and when the
Deputy Sherifs rushed ID to make arrests
the convention turned upon the latter and
beat them terribly. After the Convention
L. johnson. editor of the st. James Seati
nel, and j. Helm, editor of the st. james
Repnbttcan, each espousing enc Of the fac
tons, opened a newspaper warfare, and
they became very bitter toward each other,
The division in the radical rauEs was thus
widened and encouraged by the respective
adherents, and johnson was at last urged
to make Il personal physical attack on Helm,
W hich he did, by beating him with stick
Safur1.r IaSt IVaIn all NJ r.sist ba
attack, nor did he afterward demand salts
faction. His puerile conduc. SO incensod
johnson that he challenged Helm to NOR.
tai combat; but Helm refused to fight
Richard, however, espoused Helms cause,
and publicly insulted Johnson for the pur-
pose of making him fight. johnson chal.
lenged him on Monday, and .he hour, place,
and weapons We're selected. The authori-
ties got wind OF it, arrested both men be-
fore they could meet, and placed tLem TN
der peace bonds. DR. Gray then came for
ward and loudly proclaimed in public that
both parties were towards, and were afraid
to fight. Richard would not submit to
such in suit, and determined, despite of his
peace bonds, to fight the man who had
traduced hin. lie sent a friend to him on
Monday night, and, the challenge being
promptly accepted, the hour for the fight
was Gzcd Ut half past six this morning. in
a wood near the river bank
At the appointed time both men ar pear
ed on the scene, each attended by two
seconds and Il surgeon. Both were calm
and collected and after the usual civil ties
and preliminarics, they took their places,
fifteen PAGES apart, armed with Saith i
Wesson siA-barrelel reguiyers. At tie
ously, and both shots ranged trife wide,
anu the combatants remained unhurt. A
second fire was demanded, and again did
the men firmly aud etolidly discharge their
weapons, Lut for the second time neither
shot took effect.
At this juncture the seconds sought to
effect cessation of hostlit.es, and protes
ted against further proceedings, rs enough
had been done to satisfy wounded nonor;
hut Gray demanded third fire, and declar-
ed that lac would continue to demand repe-
tition until one or both parties should fall
The seconds had, therefore, no recourse,
and once more the combatants faced each
other, still as firm of nerve as ever. At
TIE word the sound of both weapons rang
out upon the morning air together, and on
the instant both fell forward, fiat upon the
ground, as if they had been logs. The
seconds and surgeons ran quickly to them,
and saw at ono, that 10 each case the
deadly messenger had thoroughly done its
savage work. Both were struck in the
side, directly under the arm, and neither
spoke Il word after the fatal shat. Gray
died instantly, ard Richard b.cathed his
last less than two minutes afterward.
Both were white men, and life long resi-.
dents OF the parish Previous to their po-
litical differences they had been warm
friends, and their terrible erd has had an
exceedingly depressing influence in the
community where they lived.