Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-11-27
The Battle on the sands.

ms BaCIlo on the San0S
The other day one of the walters al
our hotel made some sudden move in
the serving room which brought his
elbow against the worries of another
waiter, and the face of the moon was at
once covered with blood. Some of Us
noticed their belligerent demeanor, and
now and then we caught such expires.
sions as:
"Yo' ar no gem'lan, sahl"
%An' yo' is only a nigger!"
Il soon yo', sah-sco'n yo' fur low
trashl"
"Hu! I'd like to be shet up in room
wild yo' bout two minutes"
We were not, therefore, greatly sur
prised when we were waited on by
third party, who was a mutual friend,
who asked US to arrange a meeting be-
tween the hostiles and see the affair
through according to ship-shape rules.
1t wasn't to be duel, but a set-to,
with gloves, and as we were tired OF
fishing, grabbing, sailing and shooting
pOrpoises, he hailed the new departure
with glad relief.
"Yo' white folks dun knows all bout
it, an yo' go right ahead an fix it up, +"
said the mutual friend.
We borrowed gloves, bought rope
enough for a ring, made stakes, and the
site selected was in the sand behind
the scrub. The tip was given, and
when the hour came about seventy-five
spectators had assembled. The rivals
were on hand in good time, but it was
noticeable that both were trying hard
to look pale, and there was movement
of the chin which betrayed much men
tai anxiety. They were known only as
Jim" and "Tom," and while we were
putting the gloves on Jim he arose and
called across the sands:
docs you 'pologiZe to me, sab ?"
Il dun 'pologize if you 'pologize, too, F"
was the reply.
Den I dun"
But we stopped him and braced him
up, and two or three minutes later they
faced each other in the center of the
ring. Each mans teeth were chatter
ing, each ones eyes were all white, and
there was a webbing of the knees.
"Look out, now, yo' niggerl Pze
gwine to bust yo' head off %
Look out yo'self! If hits yo' in de
lung yo' won't git over it in two weeks ="
why doan' yo' hit ?"
why doan' yo' hit?"
"Yo's skeert O. mel"
"So's yo' skeert! !"
They were walking around each
other, pushing at arms length, and it
>Eould have stopped there but for the
timekeeper, who shouted to them to
go in.
"If I hit yo' in de eye look out !"
"If I hit dat nose you'll be dead I"
Size comm fur yo' purity quick"
"T'n be right around dar!"
The referee shouted again, and,
moved to sudden resolution, Jim flung
off the gloves and grabbed Tom by the
ankles and lifted him off his feet and
dumped him on thesand. Toms gloves
fell off as he rolled over, and he had
scarcely struck when Jim made break
through the ring. running like a rab
bit. Tom scrambled up with ~Hu !"
and broke through the other side, and
while one legged it for the hotel the
other sought safety behind the sand
dunes, and the great match for blood
ended in water. AS [ had acted as
Jim's bottle-holder felt called upon
to reproach him that evening at the
kitchen door, and he came out into the
moonlight and explained:
deed, sab, but I didn't dun mean
to do it. I meant to stan right up dar
an fight dat niger one millyon rounds
'cordin' to Miss Quee'sberry rules, but
when I got de gloves on my sand went
right away. sah-went right off down
de coast a flynn, and afore knowed it
I was back heah in de hotel a-wipin'
spoons an a-sayin' dat if 1 cher caught
dat niger out in de dark I'd smash him,
sah-Pd smash him till his own mud
der wouldn't dun remember his sad re.
mains l"-NetU York sam.