The record-union., 1893-09-16

SAChAM
stopped by fear of being called out. And
no man abused another behind his back
or in mixed company, because it the man
who was being maligned had friend
present that friend would declare that he
was willing to represent him and demand
to hear all that was being said. 1t was
because of this way that people had at
standing by each other that a private
quarrel would grow into feud. Smith
would back Brown, Jones would back
Smith, Thompson would back Jones,
and so it would go until the whole
town was divided into factions. Once
fellow named Shaw, who was
running a saloon and and a keno game,
was rated in the local paper. de
struck the editor. They tried him and
he was fined $50. Cheap at half the
money he yelled. and pulled out plug
OF bills that filled his fist. He took $50
out and slapped them down before the
Judge. Then the crowd filed out, know
ing there was going to be trouble. Prob
ably every man had knife or pistol IN
his clothes. At the foot of the stairs the
editor slapped Shaw's face, and in ten
seconds the stairs and hall and space in
front OF the door were filled with men
smuggling at each other and cursing anG
SHOUTING
for fear of hurting his friends, but several
men were hurt. When Shaw got to his
saloon he and his wife and brother started
in to shoot, but Saloon-keeper across the
way killed him with rifle and the muss
stopped right there. He was worthless
cuss, anyway, and out of 500 people en-
gagged IN the fight he was the only one
who was killed. The courts would have
settled it all now without tying up the
business of town.
''If a man threatened to shoot another
on sight, that was the same as a challenge
1t was legal, you might say. L never
knew man to be tried or punished In
any manner for doing it, because he had
given warning and he stood as fair a
chance of being killed as of killing.
There was man in Americus who was
threatened that way, ana day and night
he never allowed his pistols to be out OF
his reach. He came on the man who
promised to kill him one day and stepped
! to q lamp-pOSt to steady his aim, and then
he shot him dead. The ball splintered
the butt of pistol that the man carried
in his vest. / was going along the street
one dark night when l noticed that / was
followed. A fellow was pretending to
come on behind me carelessly, but |
could see that he was trying TO catch up.
} ust as he was few feet from me l saw
that it was Jim H, and, thinking that
there was some mistake, l said: Hello,
jim, what brings you out so late?' Inat
speech saved my life, for he had aimed
blow at me with bowie that must have
been foot long, but l caught his wrist
and he recognized my voice in time not TO
try to repeat the blow. He started with
an oath and insisted on my having a
drink of whisky and Of accepting his
apologies, for he had mistaken me for
man that he had sworn to kill at the frst
meeting.
Yes, dueling was brutal, but was it
more SO than prize fighting? In fist
fight men are unequal, and the largest
man wins. In duel-well, the big man
there is at a disadvantage because he
shows more surface to hit. You know
the joke about the big man who objected
to duel with pistols for that reason. The
smaller man said, 'pll mark off on you
| space as large around as am, and all
shots outside of the mark won't count
\ es, the skillful man was bound TO get
the best of the merely strong man with
/ pistols. You think you would run away
/ from a duel, do you? But you wouldn't;
/ you would be held right to your work. A
man who appealed to the law was q
! coward, and was run out OF the Delghbor-
! hood. The man who 'cTaWled would
! have trouble with his second, for If a man
| found that he had been acting for such a
fellow he would challenge MIN nlnSelI,
so that his principal would only get out
OF one fight into another. L knew a sec
ond who took a challenge to a chap who
suspected what it was and refused to take
it. You take IT. said the second, or the
the first time | meet you in the street I'Il
give you a caning.' That was a nice
predicament for a man who did not want
to fight; either get killed or get thrashed.
Well, well, the old days are gone. There'n
never be any more duels in the South.
They are even stopping them in Europe"