The Red Cloud chief., 1884-02-01
West Indian Duels.


Dueling inthe West Indies, except
upon Hayti and the islands under Spanish
rule, used to prevail to a great extent
although the custom has pretty nearly
died out; and ''pistols and coffee ar,
not called for at the present day, either
by quarrelsome youth or s'old stagers,'
with that same reckless demeanOr they
used to be in days of yore. Upon the
small French islands, particularly. the
''code of honor" was held in high
esteem, both by foreigners and .'estateG
gentlemen" some thirty, forty and fifty
years ago; and it was no uncommon
thing, in those times, to witness two OF
more duels a month, on an average
only a few of which, however, were at.
tended by fatal consequences. Many a
hostile meeting has been precipitated
by the wine-cup at the Cirque" the
famous clubhouse of Bassetere (the
capital Of Guadaloupe), a resort OF
French army and navy officers, and by
resident planters and merchants OF
wealth and responsibility. There was
then no law in force against dueling; 50
the custom was practiced without mu-
nicipal restraint or fear Of legal conse-
quences. 1t was generally understood
throughout select society upon St. Martin
that every gentleman must have en-
phasized his polite breeding either by
having been ''called out" or of having
challenged his man. unless his social
life and business transactions had been
phenomenally serene and satisfactory.
There was al air of perfect refinement
and absence of crulty. however, in the
department of st. Martin duelists; and
the bowie-knife rifle. or doubled bar
relied shotgun was seldom ever used as
a weapon-the invitations were gener-
ally pistols and coffee" and the terms
ten PAGES and balls t%hirty-two to the
pound"
Among the various methods resorted
TO in different countries for the suppress
sion of dueling. non has. perhaps, been
so decisive as that of Christophe, the
black sovereign of Hayti: for in the
criminal code which was formed during
his reign. and t o which the name of
Code Henri" was given in honor of
him, 1.-The King particularly forbids, I'M
der any pretense whatever, the officers
of the army. and other individuals be-
longing 10 ii, TO make use of sword.
sabre, pistol, or other arms, against
each other, wherever they may be
quartered; and every officer, or other
individual of the army. or belonging to
ii. who shall be convicted of having
fought a duel. shall be shot as a rebel
against the King. a violator of justice.
and a disturber of the public peace: and
any officer. or other person, who shall
be convicted of having acted as second
or even third person in 4 duel, and to
have repaired TO the place appointed for
that purpose. in order to assist or sane
ton a duel. shall be considered as those
already designated, and shall be shot
accordingly In consequence of the
severity of this law, duels, which were
very frequent prior TO its taking effect,
were never known during the reign of
C~hristophe.
Hot-blooded as are the inhabitants of
Cuba believed to be. and as quarrelsome,
certainly, as any other class of Spanish,
they are known to be: still. there has
been comparatively but few individual
differences settled at the point of the
sword during the present century upon
the island, which state of things is, of
course, almost entirely due To the exist
ing Governmental restrictions upon
iueling in all its forms, and TO the
frowning majesty of a place of confine-
ment adjacent TO the Cuban capital
known as Moro. As a lesson to gentle
men of wounded sensibilities, the Cap
tain General of Cuba. in 1854. sentenced
senior Sartorius, the then postmaster of
Havana, and Senior Gomuiso, an officer
Of the customs at the Cuban capital. to
terms of Imprisonment in Moro Castle
and suspension from duties of their re-
spective offices for their participation as
principals in a duel, although both were
severely wounded (the weapons used
being swords).-Aha California.