The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-11-06
ace at the loss Of his booty.

| age at the loss of his booty.
Certainly" said Bowie, ~ said /
should kill you. In which way do
you prefer it? With knife or pistol?"
''Not with your weapon, replied the
man savagely.
$50 be it, them returned Bowie.
"Will some gentleman lend me pistol
and act as my second?'
A dozen were instantly offered and,
selecting one very carefully, Bowie
said:
''Let it be at once, on this boat.
Make the arrangements to suit your
selves. I will return in five minutes.
Lightly as panther he bounded up
the stairs, went to the young man 8
cabin, knocked, handed the contents
| of his hat to the wife, telling her that
two thirds of it belonged to her hus-
band and the rest to himself, and that
he would return in few minutes.
The seconds had arranged that each
of the duelists should stand on one of
the warehouses and that the signal
should be given, zone, two, three,
6re-stopl' They were to shoot be-
tween the words ''fre' and "stop" as
often as these words were uttered.
At the first call the professional
gambler fired before the word three
was entirely uttered. Bowie fred just
after, apparently without taking aim,
and his opponent, with shrek of
agony, turned a somersault backward
and fell into the river, just as the
great round face of the sun, like gol
den cannon ball, shot up from behind
the neighboring bluff.
Bowie blew the smoke out of his
pistol, shut down the pan and descend
ed from the wheelhouse as if little
affairs of this kind were his usual ap-
petizer before breakfast. Then he
divided the money with tho young
mans wife, and, in spite of their
affectionate solicitations, for they re-
garded him as their savior, clung
about him and wished to take him
home with them, he got off the boat
at Rodney, telling the young man that
he must never touch a card again as
long as he lived.
In the interests Of history and in
justice to this unusual man, it is we'll
to give away the Bowie myth, which
probably originated from duel which
he fought with the knife that bears
his name in the year 1927. This, too,
occurred near Natchez, on the opposite
bank
Bowie came on the field with several
friends, gentlemen Of good standing,
and so did his opponent. He received
five wounds, but killed his man with
long hunting dagger which had been
made by blacksmith out of worn
out file. It had a double edge and
curved point, and was afterward pat
ented and manufactured in Philadel-
phia. But this duel, unfortunately,
closed in deadly melee of the spec
tators-a pitched battle in which six
men were killed and Is wounded.
As the slory travelled it grew to be
believed that Bowie himself had at
tackled over a score of men single
handed. with this terrible numerical
result, and the name of Bowie in the
South and Southwest became terror
and spell.
The plain truth is that James Bowie
not only never provoked quarrel in
his life, but prevented great many.
He was a man of singular modesty
and sweetness of disposition, with
reverence for women, an extravagant
fondness for children, and calm read
mess to protect the weak in fine,
with nothing at all of the desperate
about him, except that, whenever it
happened to be needed, he had on
hand, to quote the fine phrase Of
President Jackson, ''that desperate
courage which makes one majority"
illustrated american.