Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-11-06
EDITORS FOUGHT A DUEL.
Ncsui,s wcro Not Particularly Disastrous
TO tho ParttclDan.a

hes"ta Wcro NOT EarticutarIy Disastrous
to the Participants.
The old editor had the inside track.
and " rs doing the talking.
ii never had more than one duel" ks
legan.
You speak us if one were mott
cnoEgh." interrupted the listener.
ut was an ample YuGicicncy," con-
iinued the cdisor, Titl, Il smile. II was
Ut t.ie tine Of its Occurrences 90 years.
OF nge and the editor of the Smuyv!llc
Niraicator. l was alau = hot-heaGcd
you;h. with ycagning for gore aui
glory. In the county adjoining mhic
wax 'oathsome contemporary of
mine, built on about the same Ines I
was, ind 1t wasn't more than Il ycpr
after we had been contemporaries until
we were In " inc TOW, lie would write
Hcathing editorials. and so would +,
and tina2y we dropped our pens erI
took up pistols. That is. we agreed to
fight II duel.
Fortunately for W. we had friends
who were more sensible than we were,
who took charge of MI arrangements
Tor tho bloody nfrray. IL TWAS decided
by them that the duel should take place.
pnd TINT we shoull fire two shots at
each other, the weapons being doublr-
parreled shotguns and the distance ten
pnccs. Tint suited us exactly. for ws
were extremely bloodthirsty and
wanted each others gore IN large a,ian
titics. The fight was TO take place nt
six o'clock IN the morning, In IL sc.
cluhcd spot, aud wo wore there promp,-
ly with our seconds. Onr instructions
/ IL,
ing three. and if one or both survived
another shot might be fired rs quickly
as the principal could get his gun ready.
THAT mnde II II regular rough,ard
tumble for half the fight, and also made
II moro interesting. II isn't necessary
for me so go into details OF what I
thought "juHt before the battle. moth
err" hu.,icc II 10 say thought writing
rcnthing editorials was preferable 10
, shotguns ut six n. IN. However, we
kept our rcrvo and tool; our places
ready for business. And think we
meant blG,ncrs. for we took r.m ri~,,,
1t each other, Then came the count
Ing. and finally the deciding three
,.l,i L"a%! went both gums at orce. |
felt na if had caught an entire car
load of shot from my face down. and
1 tumbied over on the erusa, What had
become of my opporcnt did notrrrcatly
concern me at that supreme moment.
for l was WONDERING; why l was net
dead.
"In half n minute the doctor WINS feel
inE mo. and nfter u minute or two moro
he said / had bccn mIrnculously envcd,
ard pulled me 20 my feet. Evidently
my opponent Ind also been mirnculous-
" snycd, for he wns standing about ten
feet away from me with his doctor.
and tho sight lie presented mndc Iu,
forget all nbout the duel ard breals
Into tears of laughter, 1t appeared 10
have tho aarne eject on him, md he
began laughing at me. Then we both
got mad. and in five minutes we had
licked secoTls, doctors and everybody
else on hand and run them clean ont nj
tho woods.
This being accomplished, we shook
hands and took look ut ourselves I'm
glasa, which had evidently beer,
brought for our benefit. Permit mn
TO OMIT nm elaborate description OF what
we looked like. Those confonndcd scc.
cnds had loaded our uns to the muzzle
with printers Ink, nnd the way II wus
splattercd over us was enough to have
made us laugh at first, and then Iiris
the crowd that had put up the job ON
u.s. However. we had showed we had
sand, and the io.crs kept in hiding
until wc announced IN cur respective
papers that NIL was forgiven and the
hntchct was dead and buried. That was
MY cniy duel" continued the editor.
and nm extremely glad that the guns
we're londcd with Ink instead of buck
shot. Washington Star.