The morning call., 1891-04-04
AT EXTREMELY CLOSE RANGE.
The Challenged Party to a Duel Demands
Rifles at Three Feet.

The Challenged Party to Duel Demands
Rifles at Three Feet.
81 noticed in your gossip yesterday" said
an old resident Of New Orleans to the Club
Man OF the Chicago Mail "a reference to
Major E. a. Burke, formerly of the New
Orleans Times-Democrat Did you ever
hear of Burke's duel with Parker, the
editor of the Picayune? Burke was the
proprietor of the Times-DemocraI, although
only n0lninally its ed tor. The actual work
ing editor OF the Picayune was a man named
Parker, who signed the call for last week
lynchiDg party-a thorough newspaper man
and Thereafter, One day while Burke was
in Washington there appeared in the Times
Democrat an editorial rejecting somewhat
severely upon u member of the opposition
faction. The next day the Picayune re-
sponded with ferociOus, scOrching leader,
declaring that the allegation upon which the
attack was based had been manufactured
out of whole cloth, that Major Burke
himself had done the manufacturing,
and that the Major was all the
different kinds of a liar which it
was permissible to allude to in the
chaste columns of newspaper. The man
aging editor of the Times-Democrat at once
telegraphed this screed to his chief, accom-
panying it with message to the effect that
he himself would accept the responsibility
for the editorial. The duel still fourished
IN New Orleans, and to accept the reSpOn-
sibility' was merely euphemsm for stand
ing ready to fight for his words, But Burke
was game, and in a few hours there came
into the Times Democrat Office this dispatch:
Challenge Parker in my name. l leave for
home tl-mOTTOw.'
The challenge. was duly prepared and
sent. Parker received the cartel with dig
nifty and referred it 10 his friend. The sec
Onds met and conferred.
As the challenged party we have the
choice of weapons said Mr.. Parker's repre-
sentatives, and we select rifles
Rifles! cried the others in unison.
why that's murderP
There was reason for the dismay of
Burke's seconds Parker was famous as an
expert shot with the rifle. His seconds
were frm, however, and Burke's friends
went away to prepare their mourning. A
deep. gloom settled down upon the Times
Democrat Office, and the foreman began to
cheerfully speculate upon the appearance
OF the paper when it should come out with
the column rules turned in memory of its
defunct proprietor
"a day or two later Burke arrived upon
the scene. He didu't like the situation.
Though man OF great personal bravery he
did not look with philosophy upon the pros
pect OF being snuifed out like candle by
PaTker's unerring rife. Yet there was no
doubt that the challenged party enioyed the
privilege Of naming the weapons and might
have chosen buZZ-saws if he had seen fit to
do SO. In this dilemma Burke took counsel
with Major John Augustan, q member of
one Of the oldest and most aristocratic
creole families of New Orleans, and later
known as the brilliant musical critic of the
Times Democrat Augustan pondered
while.
1 think l see way out said he; let
one OF your seconds retire and permit me to
act in his stead. Then leave yourself wholly
In my hands.
ut was done. Mr.. Parker's seconds were
only too glad to meet so famous an arranger
of affares d'honneur as Major Ausustan.
But they opened their eyes very wide when
the Major quietly remarked that by some
oversight the question OF distance had been
ignored ut the first meeting Of the seconds.
The fixing of the distance. he said. rested,
of course, with the principal, and he had
concluded that the duelists should fight at
three feet exactly. Now it was the time Of
Parkers seconds to cry murder, but Augustan
was iDflexible. He reminded his antagonists
that they had embraced their opportunity to
choose the weapons.
But you have no right to select such
distance that the meeting must infallibly
end in the death of both the principalsP
Fsserted the others.
Your pardon, gentlemen responded