Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-02-04
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
: FIERCE AND eLooDY KNIFE DUEL
IN A MOUNTAIN TOWN.

1t Was the Culminstion Of q Long Stand
ing reud. and Was Precipitated by
Cur Dog-Sanguinary Results OF On
bridled Ferocity.
II was Saturday and trading day.
and the little mountain town was filled
with scores of both white and colored
people from up and down the valley.
There was considerable drinking, but
everybody seemed good natured to me.
/ could not see the slightest sign of un-
easiness, but by and by the captain came
to me as | stood in front of the pOstofice
and said:
Looks mighty like thar was gwine
TO be tloodshed yere!'
"Why, everybody seems peaceful and
serene, SO far as can see."
"Yo' doan' know these folks. See that
yere gatherin over by the harness shop:
That's the jackson crowd. See that
other gatherin over Sy the drug store:
That's the Berry crowd. They're jist
eyin each other like two bulldogs, and a
leetle mo- whisky'll bring on fout. :"
is there any feeling between the two
crowds?' | asked.
Powerful bad | dun goes cl'ar back
to the wah. The Jacksons was Union
and the Berry's was Confed. Thar was
houseburnin and robbin and shootin,
and they doan forget. It's the fust tim
the two crowds hev bin in town together
fur more'n var, and / doan like the
looks of things"
Cant the officers of the law keep
them quiet?'
.'Officers of the law, Why, man, ii
them crowds were to 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 hal
about dozen adherents. who were al
more or less closely related.
HOW THE FIGHT STARTED.
They did not seem at all anxious for a
conflict and might have gone their ways
without blow but for the action of
dog. He was 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 sudden Steve Jackson stepped
to the middle of the street, flung down
his hat and shouted:
tom Berry, eff yo' hain't a coward
come out yere and fight mel"
The challenge was instantly accepted
and within sixty seconds ring was
formed and 300 people were looking on.
The men were pretty evenly matched as
to height and weight and age. 1t was
not to be a battle with fists, but with
long, keen hunting knives, and you could
tell at a glance that it was to be fight
to the death. At first there was much
jostling and moving about, accompanied
by shouts of encouragement to the men.
but after a few moments it was quiet
painfully quiet. | think there were at
least thirty women among the onlookers
and fully tn number of boys and girls
from ten to eighteen years of age.
BOTH DUEIISTS 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. Eacl.
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 whisper. Every eye fol-
lowed the men as they feinted 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 leaf felt horrible disgust, and
yet could not move away. l 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, as 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.-Detroit Free Press.