The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-31
"But the question Of pistol dueling is

before lUe SccollllS " AO <%iC UNIV go
witnesses, of courage and bearing, show
ing that whatever the insult has been
it has not been taken with huIuilia-
ton, aud that both men are ready to
place their lives in Jeopardy, as they
both undoubtedly do.
THE first object in the duel with the
pistol is to place The two comhatants on
a level footing, so that neither the one
nor the other has any advantage, and
the first essential of that is the men
should have weapons which they have
never used before. That is the inevita-
BILE rule of the duel"
MORE SERIOUS DUEIS.
land when you want to make a
duel of a more serious nature?'
"Then," replied NJ. Gastiue-Renette,
Especial arrangements have TO he
made. When the case is a serious one,
then it may he arranged that there be
two shots fred from either side"
"What does the lazy say about?'
"Al one time the Courts were very
much against dueling, and it wss
sufficient to have had duel and to be
brought up for it, and severe sem
teuce was sure to follow. But since
the famous Dupuis case dueling was
in a way legaiized, its necessity ad-
mitted. Another of the arrangements
Of the duel is that after two balls have
been exchanged and no harm las
been done, the swords should be re-
sorted to. When the outrage is very
great the offended person has the right
to ask that the firing shall be done
with ready aim, instead of the arm
being brought up at the word OF COM
maud.
"As an ordinary thing the duel is
fought on the word of command, and
the rules carried out are these: The
two combatants are first of all asked if
they are ready. To this both mas' re-
ply in clear voice, Yes The pistol
must be held in The air or down to-
ward the ground. I am in favor of it's
being held upward, for then there is
no danger of its going off and ricochet-
ting and hitting one Of the seconds.
When the combatants are ready
they have previously been put upon
their honor not to fire until the word
is given-'Fire' is called; then 'One,'
Two Three is counted. The shot
must not take place before the word
'Firen has been given, and not until
after the three has been counted"
A DISCUSSED QUESTION.
"And what is the accepted rule
about firing in the air?" asked the cor
respondent. .-.. ..
''That is a question which has been
much discussed, and my opinion of it
is that under all circumstances an an
tagonist's fire should be returned.
The case came up in the duel between
NJ. Lareinty and Gen. Boulanger. On
that occasion the pistol of Gen. Bou-
LANCER missed fire. NJ. Deroulede in
sisted on his fire being returned. In
deed, Gen. Boulanger had to explain
matters, for it is adding ofense to
ofense when you do not return your
enemies fire. You SHOULD always do
so, because if you do not, and show it,
you are in the position of a man who
is wantonly despising his antagonist.
You are at liberty to shoot so as not to
hit your opponent, but not in an offen-
siye and evident manner.
But when pistol has missed fire it
is impossible to recommence, for it
would be unfair to let the combatant
who had missed fire have another shot,
and it " ould be equally unjust to let
each man have another shot"
what is the correct position for
pistol shot to stand?'
HOW TO GO TO WORK.
"For that you cannot do better than
refer to the words of the Prince de
Bibesco in his introduction to the book
on pistol duelling written by the Baron
de Vauz," he replied.
The counsel given by the Prince de
Bibesco is as follows:
"There are three questions Of the
highest importance to be considered in
pistol firing-the position of the wea-
pom in the hand, the position of the
body, the firing.
'"The frsr, placed in front of the
mark, should take the pistol from the
hand of the loader, the muszle high;
he turns the weapon toward the target
and seeks to fix the butt in the right
hand, but without stiffness. Accord
ing to the conformation of the hand,
they may hold the butt with the thumb
and the three last fingers, or with the
thumb and the last two fingers, and in
this latter case the centre finger is on
the guard; but the first method is pre-
ferable, because it still further iselates
the first finger, which is the principal
agent of the will.
The first finger is inserted as far as
the middle Of the second joint, and
should be in touch with the trigger,
avoiding all jerk, and TO feel it accord
ing to ones degree of sensibility.
Once the arm is we'll in hand, place
yourself as though you were holding
sword il the first position of the salute,
advance the right foot one sole's length,
az the saying is in fencing, SO that the
G.