The Brookhaven leader., 1883-07-12

excited the Chief-Justice became as he
rushed up and down the line, swinging
his arms and crying to the crowd:
Keep out of the line of fire, gentle
men; keep out of the line of fire." At
last the word was given, both pistols
cracked, and Walker spun around on
his heel and fell into Folsom's arms.
They tore open his clothing and found
that the ball had entered the body Just
where the white line of vest showed be.
low the coat 1t was supposed of COURSE
that it had passed through the bowels
rs it came out on the opposite side, but
it was afterward ascertained, upon
careful examination, that by a most
fortunate accident it had glanced and
run around the lining of the abdomen,
just under the skin, so that the wound
was in reality but slight. Both were
satisfied and became warm friends.
Graham accompanied Walker on his
Nicaragua expedition and was killed
there.
The mania for dueling became gener-
al. There was recklessness of human
life and savagery born of this bring no
together of adventurous spirits from all
parts of the world, something like the
old gladiatorial days of Rome. The
greed for gold, the absence of womanly
influence, the open defiance of the law.
and the lack of healthy public senti-
ment, without which the law can not be
inforced. brought about a state of things
heretofore unparalleled in this country.
Hostile correspondence was often car
ried on in the newspapers, and when
meeting was determined upon the en-
tire town was on the qui vive. 1t was
made a sort of holiday, the people
turned out en- masse as they do in Spain
to see bull fight, and the amusement
was not considered entirely satisfactory
unless one or both of the parties were
slain.
The next duel recall was fought be-
tween Colonel Wodlief, a noted Texan
duelist. who was reported to have killed
several men, and a young man from st.
Louis named Achilles Kewen, who went
out with John Tracy, of this city. The
difficulty which caused The meet NC was
an un'mportant affair-a dispute of
some kind in restaurant. Both had
been drinking wine, and Wodlief made
-
en-, and he drew his glove under the
fiery Texans nose, and the next morn
inc he rece we'd challenge. An i'm
presslon prevailed that Kewen would
not fight, but he accepted the challenge,
and selected rifles at seventy yards. DR..
Wake Br.arly, formerly of the army, and
John Tracy were Kewen's friends. The
fight took place at Contra Costa, across
the bay. | knew both parties. Wodlief
had been with us in Mexico. The
cause of the d liculty seemed so trivial
that tried my best to bring about an
amjcable settlement. but it was of no
use. kewen was ready to apologize,
but the Texan claimed that thrusting a
glove under his nose was the same as a
blow, for which no apology could be
accepted. The news of the affair was
soon known throughout the city, and
the relative qualities of the men were
freely discussed. When the time came
there must have been from fifteen to
twenty thousand people on the ground.
Every available steamer was pressed
into service, and w tn bands playing
and colors flying all headed for the
fighting ground. OF course, the gam
bling fraternity were out in full force,
and the betting was largely in favor of
the Texan, and some were willing to
wager that kewcn would not come to
the scratch. When all the parties were
on the ground, the Sheriff of the coun-
ty and a posse made their appearance
TO arrest the principals and their sec
onds, but the crowd interfered and
gave him TO understand that they had
come to see fight, and they did not
propose to have it interfered with, law
or no law, and if Mr.. Sheriff wished to
save himself trouble, he had better
make no attempt at arrests. He saw
that he was powerless against such
mob, and gu etly joined the crowd as
spectator. So confident was Wodlief
of killing his man that his wife accom-
panied him in a carriage, intending
to bear her husband back in triumph.
Kewen was kept in a close carriage,
and the entire assembly were anx-
ious to see how he would carry
himself. There was some delay in ar
ranging the preliminaries, and the i'm
preston was whispered about that the
st. Louis boy was going to show the
white feather. Finally, everything was
in readiness, the ground measured, the
pegs driven, and kewen sprang from his
carriage and took his place, looking
with the utmost sang froid upon the
assembled thousands. The moment
Wodlief saw the face of his antagonist
the expression of his own changed. He
saw that at last he had foe worthy of
him. Whatever hopes he may have
built upon the youth, inexperience and
lack of nerve of his enemy vanished
when the time of trial came. The
weapons were placed in their hands.
Kewen turned upon his opponent a
steady gaze, and at the word both rifles
cracked. The Texans ball grazed the
hair of Kewen's head just above the ear,
while WodGef leaped into the air and
fell to the ground a corpse, shot through
the heart. From that hour Kewen was
a hero, and, singularly enough, he, too,
became intimate with Walker, accom-
panied him on his filibustering expe-
dition into Nicaragua, and perished
there with the others.
You see, duels became so common.
and the demands upon the army and
navy surgeons, Drs. Hitchcock and
Hastings, were so frequent, that in self
protection they made it a rule to attend
no duelist in such an affair unless a re-
tainer fee of FIVE hundred dollars was
paid in advance. This made upper
tendon little careful about sending
and accept ng challenges.-St. Louis
(IIOhe- Dp111nr1.0f