The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1891-12-10
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
A FIERCE AND BLOODY KNIFE DUEL
IN A MOUNTAIN TOWN.


1t Was the Colonization 81 Long Stand
Ing Feud, and Was rrecipitatcd by
Cur Dog sansutnary RESULTS OF Tn
bridled Feracity.
1t was Saturday and Grading day"
and tie little mountain town was filed
with scores Of both white and colored
people from up and down the valley.
There wa, considerable drinking, but
everybody seemed good natured to me.
could mot soc the slightest sign of I'M
easiness. but by and by the captain came
to me AS | stood in front Of the postofiice
and said.
Looks mighty like thar was gwine
To be bloodshed we're.
why, everybody seems peaceful and
serene, SO far is can see.
"Yo' doar' know these folks. See that
we're gathrrin over by the harness shop?
That's the jackson crowd. See that
other gatherin over by tine drug store:
That's the Berry crowd, They're jist
eyin each other like two bulldogs, and a
lcctlc mo whiskyll bring on fout."
is there any feeling between the two
crowds asked,
powerful bad. dun goes cl'ar back
to the wah The Jdeksous was Union
and the Bcrrv's was Cuufed Thar was
huusebnruin and rohbin and shootin,
and they doau forget. It's the fust time
the two crowds hcv bin in town together
fur m1re'n var, and doan like the
looks of things
Cant the officers of the law keep
them quiet:'
"Of1ieers of the law. Why, man, if
them crowds were 10 break loose fifty
officers of the law couldn't prevent blood
shed.'
The leaders of the respective factions
were men who must have been mere boys
when the war broke out. Each had
about dozen adherents, who were all
more or less closely related
HOW THE FIGHT STARTED.
They did not seem at ali anxious for u
conflict and might have gone their ways
without IA blow but for the action of u
dog He was n mean looking cur anil
belonged to the Jacksons. In wander
ing around he got into the Berry crowd
and one of the men sliced about six
inches of his tail off The dog rushed
back to his master, while the Berry
crowd Knocked his yelps Of pain and
fright.
All Of n sudden Steve Jackson stepped
to the middle of the street, flung down
his hat and shonted;
tom Berry, IF yo' haint coward
come out yere md fight mel'
The challenge was instantly accepted
and within sixty seconds ring was
formed and 800 people We're looking on.
| The men were pretty evenly matched as
to height and weight and age. 1t was
not to be battle with fists, but with
long, keen hunting knives and you could
tell Mt glance that it was to be fight
| to the death. At first there was much
| jostlinS and moving about, accompanied
| by shouts of encouragement to the men
but after IA few moments it was quiet
painfully quiet, | think there We're at
| least thirty women among the onlookers
and fully that number of boys and girls
| from ten to eighteen years of age
BOTH DUELISTS KILLED.
1t was the first and only time ever
saw men fight with knives, and it was
horrible thing to see As soon as their
friends fell back they rushed upon each
other with the greatest fury. Each
griped the other with his left hand and
stabbed and thrust, and each was
wounded four or five times before they
broke loose, Not person in the crowd
spoke above a whisper Every eye fol-
lowed tho men as they tented and
lodged like prize fighters, and men and
women shiyered and gasped for breath
rs one or the other of the knives drank
blood
The road was dry, but without dust.
Presently it was dyed with blood. The
men slipped little now and then as
they lodged about. Blood ran off their
finger tips, down their legs. trembled
like n leaf felt horrible disgust, and
yet | could not move away. | felt
must see the end.
When the fight had lasted quarter Of
an hour, and one man had eight stabs
and the other nine they suddenly
clinched each other, rs at first Neither
uttered cheer, curse or groan.
They stood square up to each other,
and hacked and cut ard thrust until
both sank down from sheer weakness.
Jackson died within ten minutes; Berry
lived about thirty. The one had thirty
three wounds, the other twenty-eight.
AS they were picked up by their friends
and carried into the drug store to breathe
their last, the hogs running about the
village came and disputed with the
dozen dogs over possession of the blood
pools. Free Press.