Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1876-04-12
A Wonderful Escape.

The only mellt L claim Tor the fol
lowing narrative is that it is true
story. 1t has a moral on the end OF
it, but l claim nothing on that, as it
is merely thrown in to curry favor
with the religious element.
After had reported a couple of
years on the Virginia City (Nevada)
Daily Enterprise they promoted me
to be editor-in-chief and lasted
just week by the watch. But l
made an uncommonly lively paper
while did last, and when / retired |
had duel on my hands and three
horse whippings promised me.
The latter l made no attemput to
collect; however, the history concerns
only the former. 1t was the old 'Hush
times" of the silver excitement, when
the population was wonderfully wild
and mixed; everybody went armed
to the teeth, and all Sights and in
suits had to be atoned for with the
best article of blood your system
could furnish. In the course of my
editing l made trouble with a Mr..
Lord, the editor of a rival paper. He
flew up about some little trihe or
other that said about him-I do not
remember now what it was. | sup
pose | called him a thief, or a body
snatcher, or an idiot, or something
like that | was obliged to make the
paper readable, and | couldn't fail in
my duty to whole community of
subscribers merely to save the exag-
gerated scnsitiveness Of al individual
Mr.. Lord was offended and replied
vigorously in his paper. Vigorously
means great deal when it refers to
personal editorial in a frontier news
paper. Dueling was all the fashion
among the upper classes in that coun-
try, and very few gentlemen would
throw away the opportunity of fight
ing one. 10 kill one man in duel
caused a man to be even more looked
~ = = ,-:u --- wen in the
ordinary way. Well, out the.~'".
abuse man and that man did not
like it, you had to call him out and
kill him, otherwise you would be dis
graced. So I challenged MIR. Lord,
and did hope he would not accept ;
but knew perfectly we'll that he did
not want to fight, and 50 challenged
him in the most violent and implac-
able manner. And then / sat down
and snufed and snuffed till the answ.
er came. All the. .boys-the editors -
were in the office "helpin." me in the
dismal business, and telling about
duels and discussing the code with a
lot of aged rufiians, who had expert
ence in such matters, and altogether
there was a loving interest taken in
the matter that made me unspeakably
uncomfortable. The answer came
Mr.. Lord declined. Our boys were
furious, and so was | on the surface.
/ sent him another challenge, and
another, and another, and the more he
did not want to fight the more blood
thirsty / became. But at last the
mans tone began to change. He ap-
peared to be waking up. 1t was be-
csming apparent that he was going
to fight me after all. | ought to have
known how it would be-he was
man who could never be depended
upon. Our boys were jubilant. l
was not, though l tried hard to be.
1t was now time to go out and
practice. 1t was the custom here to
fight duels with navy six-shooters a,
fifteen paces-load and empty till the
game for the funeral was secure. We
went to a little ravine just out of town
and borrowed barn door for target
borrowed it from gentleman who
was absent-and we stood this barn
door up, and stood a rail on end
7 against the middle of it to represent
Lord, and put squash on top of the
) rail to represent his hea6. He was
very tall, lean creature, the poorest
. sort of material for duel nothing
but a line shot could fetch him, ant
even then he might split your bullet
Exaggeration aside, the rail was, Q
: course, little too thin to represen
the body accurately, but the squasl
l was all right. If there was any intel
lectual difference between the squasl
and his head 1t was in favor OF lh'
squash.
Well, practiced and practised a
the barn door and could not not hit it
] and I practised at the rail and coul'
y not hit that and l tried for tn
= snnash aud could not bit that.