Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-01-31

ron might as well fight Cooley and
have 1t over"
"But / have no second" was
Rhett's reply, ''and don't know
what weapons to choose.
1 What sort Of pistol shot are
you:" General HAYS asked.
81 never shot dueling pistol a
dozen times in my life,'' said Rhett.
al am vestryman in my church
and eommunicant. but ] can't be
called coward. II you say fight,
/ will"
. You come to my house this after
noon." General Hays said II will
ask very competent man 70 meet
you and be second for you."
DUEL WITH sHoTGUNs.
When Rhett returned to General
! Hays house in the afternoon he
found Hays in deep conversation
with a scldierly looking man, whom
he was presented to as the friend
who had been selected to act for
him. 1t is doubtful il in all the
city better adviser in a case like
that pending could have been found
than Colonel &. McCrea Selph. He
had served through the entire war
with distinguished credit as a staff
officer of the Seventh Louisiana;
then with General Albert Sidney
johnson, and after that officers
death Major Selph was ordered to
General K. Kirby Smith, as assis-
tant Adjntant General. thence to
General Penn berton, and afterwards
t" Lieutenant General Richard Tay-
lor. Selph soon settled matters.
Il think you had better choos.
double barreled sho:snns. loaded
with single bullet. This will give
Cooley, who is a dead shot with a
pistol or rifle. no advantage over
YOU" So it was agreed. Selph
accepted Cooley's challenge. The
men were to fight over in Missis-
sippi. just across the line, at 2
o'clock oil the following day. Now.
of all fatal weapons ever used in the
duel, a double e-barreled shotgun has
been the deadliest. 1t has never
been used i'm Louisiana that one of
the antagonists has not fallen.
With a bullet fitting tightly, when
lightly patched, at 80 or 40 PAGES,
this weapon is almost as accurate as
n rifle. The writer knew General
HAYS very well and Colonel Sclph
slightly. Though it was not the
usage to allow a newspaper man to
be present officially at such an event,
yet the New York Herald wanted
good report, and Colonel Selph
made no objection to my being on
the ground as a witness.
RELATED BY AN EYEWITNESS.
1t was a gloomy day, went over
TO Bay st. Louis on the early morn
ing train and was on the ground
when the party arrived. Cooley
bad come over the evening before,
as soon as the preliminaries were
arranged. Rhett arrived on the
ground promptly at the hour. The
spot was well chosen. 1t was q
perfectly level space, clear of un-
dergrowth, but surrounded by tall
pines, distant about 800 yards from
the railway. Cooley looked dark
and torbidding. He was dressed
in full black, with a coat of the
Prince Albert pattern, buttoned
close to the throat, not showing q
particle of white at which to aim.
Rhett was attired in the same fash
ion. A gunsmith named Gerteis
had procured two fine Manton 12.
bore double guns, Of the same
weight, length and trigger pull. In
presence of the two seconds he load
ed the right barrel OF each with 81
drams Of fine powder, then a heav,
wad. and last the big bullet, wrap
ped in bit of fine kid skin slight,
creased. 1 observed that the bull
let's went down very hard. The
powder came well up into the tubes,
which were capped, and the weap-
ons, each on the half cock, wer.
handed to the seconds. Selph won
the word on the toss OF coin. The
men were stationed 30 PAGES apart.
the cooked guns were given them,
which they held at q "present
arms"
"Gentlemen," said Selph, stand
ing about midway between them,
and Is PAGES to the left, 81 will give
the word thus: care you ready!
Fire. one. t~o, three. Stop" Four
seconds will elapse between each