Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-07-18
A VERY FAST DUEL.
STRETCHED FROM REAL LIFE.

bet a ~sixpence to a kid Of mush, tina
you never heard of the fast duel.
1t occurred ten OF twelve years ago
yes, thirteen CT them-when l was
youngster aboard the sloop-of-war Bos
ton, in the West Indian Squadron.
We had just got in from a cruise VI
among the Windward Islands. an,
hadn't had much fun for some time, 10
twas in the hurricane season, and we
had seen heavy weather enough to sat
isiv any old blowhard that even smell
salt water.
The very day VIZ came to anchor a
Pensacola, however, we had a God-seno
in the shape OF q fresh caught midship
man, who coming from the backwood$
of Alabama, had never seen anything
higher than a tiat-boat, and was as
green as a prairie colt in harness, and
pretty near as wild. His name was
Ezra Blizzard, and the Commodore or
dercd him aboard of us, as we had a
couple Of vacancies, one of Our mess
having been shot in a duel, and another
did worse by falling in love with an
heiress and marrying her, and resign
ing.
Mr.. Blizzard, therefore was, as 1 said
before, a perfect 6od-send. He was
o initiated into the duties of keeping
his OWL watch, a watch for some of the
rest of us occasionally taught how to pay
over his mess-money, persuaded out Of
q dozen Of wine for his footing" and
made the victim of o few harmless
tricks; such as having his hammock
cut down by the head, when he was
asleep in it-being baptized by a sailor,
by getting a bucket full of salt water
poured over him when he was sleeping
with his mouth open-fnding a dead
rat Or two occasionally in his pockets,
or salt instead Of sugar in his coffee,
etc, all of which he bore so mildly that
we began to consider him a regular
spoony, and not calculated to become o
credit to his mess in particular or the
service in general.
To settle the point and determine his
quantum Of spunk, it was voted that he
must be made to fight a duel, and the
plot was made up between three of us,
that it should be a harmless one, lust to
Try his spunk.
Accordingly Hogan b, one of the
best shots III the squadron, by the way,
insulted him in due form, and, much to
our astonlshment. was knocked down
for his pains. He arose as wrathv as a
mad bull, and would have pitched into
his opponent on the spot had we not in
being settled according to the code of
honor" Hogan therefore challenged
Blizzard, at the same time insisting
with US that the fight should be real,
and not in fun, with cork balls as first
proposed. But we overruled him, mas
much as the insult he had given was
uncalled for, and the youngster declined
the writer's volunteered service to act
as his second.
Must | fight him with pistols?" he
asked. II could wollup the life out Of
him in my own way!!"
Gentlemen only use pistols-you
struck him, and Of course must give
him gentlemanly satisfaction. I hope
you are a good shot-he isl" I replied.
Il never shot off a pistol in nv life.
but I'm some with a ritie!"
"Rifes are not allowed in the code
pistols are the only weapons, and Ho-
gan has a first-rate pair, has killed two
REFERS with them already" | could
see that Blizzard didn't like this news.
but he tried to look calm, and asked
when he would have to fight.
L told him he would have it out that
afternoon, as it was bad to let the
blood cool yer such affairs, and accord
ingly in an hour afterward we, man
aged to get ashore, with the case of
pistols wrapped MP out of sight in an
old pea-jacket.
We Immediately went out to the old
Spanish graveyard. back of the town,
to heighten the effect, and as lucl,
would have it, we found a freshly. dug
grave, which was probably to be ten
anted on the morrow. Blizzard looked
at it, and wanted to know what that was
for. We told him that the death of one
or the other party only could atone for
the blow, and that the grave had been
prepared for the n that fell, or for
both, in case both were killed. The
youngter turned O shade paler as he
heard this, but still he gave no stronger
signs of backing out.
Reaching a little orange grove near
the new-dug grave, we halted, picked
out, and measured the ground. Myself
and the other second now opened the
pistol-case, and commenced preparing
the weapons. Hogan coolly lighted a
cigar, looking as ferocious as a meat
axe at his opponent, who ~nervously
watched our movements.
BLAST the luck!" I exclaimed, pre-
Tending to try the lock of one Of the
pistols. "The handspring of the pistol
is broken-what shall we do?"
Eight with the other-toss up which
shall have the first shot" growled Ho-
gan in a fierce tone.
EYES," said his second, "that's fair"
mo, it amt! S'pose he gets the first
shot, he'll kill me without my getting a
shot at him!" cried Blizzard.
Yes, sure as winking!" I added,
shut then if you get the first shot you're
safe. Trust to luck: my boy, you'll
stand as good a chance as he"
Very reluctantly B. consented, de-
claring that he had never had any luck.