Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-07-11

ator from Mississippi, with whom
had slight acquaintance. Tho 9th.
erS Wer" strangers to me. | sent NJ,
my card to Colonel Lakes room. and
was soon ushCrcd into the apartment
ne hali dozen or more gentlemen
Oh the party were drinking wine and
having jolly time together. Sena.
Tor Brooks introduced me, and I sot
with them for half an hour, convers.
ing on general topics of the day.
hen | arose to take leave, Colonel
Lake accompanied me to the door.
ana | told him IN a low tone that 7
mad called on behalf Of NV
friend, Mr.. Chambers. Lake, in the
courtIiest manner imaginable, ex.
pressed his qualification at the fact
that MIR. Chambers had selected me
as his representative. and referred
me to Senator Brooks, who, he said
would arrange with me for meet
ing.
at once wrote to Chambers tell.
ing hlm to come on to Memphis. A
week passed, and learned nothing
from him, and ms | was meeting the
Lake party nearly every day, the sit
uatlOn became decidedly embarrass-
ing for mo. There was scarcely any
tclcgraphic communication with the
interior of Mississippi those days,
and | could not have reached Cham
bcrs, even if | had known where to
hnd him. At last, on the ninth day
alter opening the matter, Chambers
arrived by boat. His first words
were, Il suppose it's all arranged -
Arranged nOthing,' said |. How
the devil could | do anything when
you have not yet begun the cores
pondcnce? We must get to work at
once Well, to shorten long story,
the correspondence was opened in
due form, and the meeting was
agreed on, to take place on the Ar
kansas shore opposite the city week
later. l was nearly paralyzed when
Chambers told me, in answer to nv
question, that he was no marksman,
and had not handled firearms i'm
years, especially as report said Lake
was Il dead shot. But | took nv
man under my wing and began train
ing him. | hired a shooting gallery
and setting up a board with the fig
ure of man Chalked on it made
Chambers practice at it with rifle
and pistol, knowing that the other
side would choose one or the other
of the two weapons. At first Cham
bers couldn't hit anything but the
back fence, but he improved right
along, and at the end of the week
was shooting like house afire.
Meanwhile | heard of some very
pretty scores that Lake was making
in his practice, and it occurred to me
that the affair would be a combat to
the death.
'All right he said, cool as a GU
cumber. That's what we are going
out for, amt it? You win the word,
Matt, and I'll hit him, sure. Pm
used to your way OF giving it,
'I'll do my best said |, but
you'll do him anyhow
That was to encourage him, you
know, for ! wasn't sure, not by
long shot.
AS l had expected the other side
chose rifles, and it was agreed that
the distance should be forty PAGES.
Everything was arranged without
the least trouble. Brooks was per-
feet gentleman, and so was Lake,
though his violent disposition some
times led him astray.
The morning of the duel dawned
clear and cold. Frost lay on the
and tho Dir III
chilly for the time of year. The at
fair was to begin at 9.30 O'Clock. l
had my man on the ground by eight.
1t was as pretty spot for meeting
as the most exciting Galway expert
could have wished fora smooth,
oblong grassy plat, about fifty PAGES
long and thirty wide, as level as a
floor, and shielded from the sun by
tall forest trees. At one end of the
space two oaks had grown up to a
height of about seventy-five feet,
and only six or eight feet apart.
IF win the choice Of positions, ,
said / to Chambers, Il am going to
place you just opposite those two
trees. That will bring Lake imme-
diately in front of them, and the
space between them will guide your
eye in taking aim
Fortune favored us in this respect,
as you will hear.
We had taken IA couple of rifles
along, and, while waiting for the
other side to put in an appearance, l
put my man through his exercise
again. Taking positions as in real
duel, we fred blank cartridges at
each other. That was an idea of my
own, and intended to get my man
used to looking into a gun barrel.
Rather neat, wasn't it ?"-and the
Colonel paused in his narrative t0
receive the tribute due to his shrewd-
ness.
"At $50 O'Clock" he resumed,
"the other side had not shown up,
but we were not impatient. A half
hour or so is no great matter when
YOU know your adversary means
business. And, sure enough, about
ten O'Clock we saw them coming
across the river in a skitf, as fast as
two stout Oarsmen could pull them,
and, by George, sir, there was a
whole fleet of boats following them
two steamers and any number Of
skiffs, all loaded with people coming
TO see the duel. There were fully a
thousand of them altogether, and
we had some trouble in persuadine
them to take position at a proper
distance. Among them was a cousin
of LaKe's, whom | knew. 1t was
contrary to rule for him to be there
but we raised no objection, knowing
that the crowd would see fair play
if necessary.
Senator Brooks, on reaching the