Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-18

A Desporato Combst In tho Presence ol
FIFTY Spectators.
Nelsonville, o., Correspondence OF Cincinnati
Commercial, May ;.
Orbiston is a mining settlement. 1t has
a population of some two hundred per-
sons, most OF whom are miners and fur
mace men. Love and Brooks are employed
at the furnace and have worked together
several years. Some time ago they became
engaged in \ quarrel, which originated at
q country dance and has lasted until Today.
They are both young men and Brooks has
been married little less than year, and
two days ago his wife bore him a child.
Last night Brooks celebrated this event
by getting on q spree, and returning to tie
furnace he met Love and the old feud was
rekindled Some hot words were used and
a fight ensued. Brooks picked up heavy
piece of cinder and struck Love on the
head, and the fight ended for time, Love
promising to renew hostilities in tho morn
ing. When morning arrived Brooks was
informed that Love had purchased re-
vOlver, and he too prepared himself with
a five shooter and proceeded with his
friends to the furnace. There he met
Love and crowd of hackers Both were
prepared for battle, and it did
not take long to find sufficient
cause. Followed by their respective
cliques the two principals walked along
together, calling each other hard names,
until Love finally picked up brick and
threw it at Brooks head. This Brooks
warled off. but received a severe bruise
on the elbow at the same time he drew .
six-shootins thiryt-two calibre revolver
and fired, the ball entering Loves abdO-
men, but he did not fall. "Give it to him
back" yelled one of the crowd, and Lo We
also drew and fired. There were probably
fifty men circled around the combatants,
each urging his favorite to fire and each
armed with knife or pistol. The princi.
pals needed no encouragement, however.
Long buried hatred had burst forth
in the bosom of each, ana frenzied
with excitement, they fully determined
to settle the matter then and there. The
crowd yelled and the fighting continued
undated. Love was firing little faster
than his opponent, but Brooks aim seems
to have been none the steadier for the
delay. The men were standing at short
range, each firing alternately and in com
parativcly good order. Finally Love be-
gan retreating, Brooks followed him, still
firing. Love backed as far as the engine
house corner, and, again standing his
ground, emptied his revolver at his oppo-
nent, who fell with bullet in each leg.
The crowd surged around the fallen man,
who was vainly attempting to reload his
emptied pistol. Brooks also called to his
friends for knife to remove the shells
from his weapon. Both men were now h0rs
de combat, but each was anxious to continue
the battle until one or the other would
acknowledge himself defeated. The
friends Of the parties now declared tho
battle ended. The combatants were taken
from the field and a telegram was at once
sent to Nelsonville for medical aid, and
DR.. William alderman, of this place. at
once responded. He found Love with a
bullet hole in his abdomen, about two
inches to the left of the umbilicus. To-
night he is said to be dying. Brooks was
shot through the lower portion of each
leg, one ball passed through the right le9
and another is buried in the feshy part of
the left. Both men have been placed
under arrest. Love is twenty-five years
old and unmarried.