The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-09-30
DUELING AMONG STUDENTS.
CoMBATANTs Ar dA1'
MAI UNIvERS1TIES.
OF q Duel-Fighting In
which No Lives aHo Lost Dus
Ugly Gashes Given.

Description OF a Duel-Fighting IN
which No Lives aro Lost Dus
Ugly Gashes Given.
An American student at Gottingcn,
Germany, writes the following account
of recent student duel:
"a fight was just about to begin.
The combatants, surrounded by seconds,
umpires and friends, had already taken
their places on the floor. Their breasts
and thighs were protected by thick rads,
on which the black blood of former en-.
counters had gathered for years past.
The veins of the neck were guarded by
winding around it heavy scarf. Iron
goggles, with plate-glass windows, con.
cealed the eyes, and the arms were also
covered with wadding. The swords
were long and narrow, without points:
One of the pair of warriors, a member OF
the blue-cap corps, was a pale, slender,
good.looking youth. He never spoke
word or took his eyes off his adversary.
The latter, one of the red-caps, was
big, burly fellow, whom the pads seemed
to greatly Cypress. Perhaps he was
frightened; don't blame him.
THE surgeon stepped back, looking
like butcher, in his long white apron,
spotted with blood. There had been
another duel before we came. The time
keeper took his place at a little table.
The seconds jumped into position, each
at the left side Of his man, after po-
lite bows to each other in true German
fashion. The fifty or sixty corps stu
dents who were sitting at little tables
around the room eating breakfast and
drinking rose to see the fight. All was
solemnity, and the silence was only
broken by some digni6ed fellows call
ing to an acquaintance clear across the
floor and drinking his health, at the
same time bowling profoundly and
lifting his cap. There were few sharp
words of command repeated by one Sec
ond after the other, something like
.Make ready! Cor and in an instant
all one could see was the flashing OF
swords and the flying of sparks, and all
one could hear was the regular 'whack,
whack,' of the blows. There seemed. to
be only one kind of stroke, and each
met the other halfway. .Halt!' cries
the fat fellow, and tho seconds run up
to see where he is cut; but it was Q
false alarm. They rub him little and
let him sweat q moment, then at it again.
Dodging with the head or moving the
feet or body is not allowed, the left arm
must be kept behind the back. 'Whack!
whackl whackl' as before, but also q
clear swish! and the next moment the
blood is running from clean, perpen-
dicular cash in the big fellows left
cheek. ' ~ 'r'e- s.
"About this time wondered how the
hotel woman could stand it, for she had
been carrying meat and drink from table
to table all the time. I also had occasion
to see man who had for two seasons
been punished behind the bat on the
Princeton base ball nine, and who had
risked his life in one or two Thauksgiv-
ing day football games, walk with un-
certain step to the window for breath
of fresh air. It isn't pleasant to see q
mans cheek laid open deliberately. The
next round proved even more disastrous
for the plump red-cap, for he recei:ed an
ugly cash above the eye, which will go
with him as long as the eye itself. Next
time his chin suffered, and then his nose.
BE was out of breath and looked miser-
able. I went to the window and looked
at the clear blue sky and the golden
fields, and wondered why human society
must so torture itself with useless and
cruel conventionalities. But the fascina-
tion of the raining blows called me back
to the next round. A hum of interest
ran along the gallery front when the
cool little fellow was seen to get by far
the heaviest blow of the fight across his
brow, which was soon covered with
blood. .s E. -.
"They took off the goggles and tho
blood ran into his eyes. Then they
mopped it up and he was ready again,
and in the next round gave his opponent
another cash on the left temple. It
seemed to me about time to call o halt
for good, and presently they did. Under
the rules fight lasts fifteen minutes OF
actual fencing, pauses not counted.
With pauses reckoned in, this must have
lasted about forty minutes. The glad
iators carried their bloody heads into
another room to receive the doctors at.
tcntion, and preparations began for
another duel. l asked a student if either
of our bloody friends had fought before,
and he said laconically: "The little fell
low has fought nine this term" !.