The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-23

--~ fore fathers, II IS a comfort 70 llllhh
,rat We may refuse a pinch of snuff or ask
o,- table neighbor TO pass the pickles
,5-bout running the risk of being called
ant before breakfast TO have our heart
e-frtsd upon a rapier OF our bodies I'M
-or,rorfably perforated with little balls of
lead
n was the custom in the old time-a GUS
cor, that we can very well spare-to bring
,re code duello into requisition on what
,rs consider mighty small provOcatiOn
scarcely more than fifty years ago an Of
e. in the British army lost his life over
simple dispute about what was trumps
@, cards while an American lieutenant
1t.s MANNED for life in duel resulting
from a controversy as TO the proper way
ro cat an ear OF corn.
tJa dtal ever fought on American soil was
tbat between j. b. HickOck, a famous
,out better known as Wild Bill, and Col
orado Jack. out i'm the Deadwood region.
T5irkock I'm spite of his Widness was a
GOOD fellow at heart, and the cause of the
duaI was his opponents abusing helpless
INV An hour after the quarrel the men
met Their seconds talked together, and
tben wandered into the thick sagebrush
and began poking with a stick INTO the
burrows of the prairie dogs. These holes
are favorite places of resort for the deadly
0presertlv coming up to their principals
one of the seconds gave the terms of the
incl colorado jack said he, lit is well
known to us that you are not Wild BilPs
equal either with pistol or knife; So in
order to make the chances square, we
have decided that you two shall place
YOUR barred arm up to the shoulder in the
hole of a prairie dog. such hole being Sc
lected by us as seconds; the one who es-
capes being bitten by a snake to DE the
Strike me blind, if I do?' yelled Colo
NV VIA Kin smiled and said simply: 81
agree" ,r
shoot the one who refuses. You will draw
for choice of holes. black for the right,
white for the left"
Colorado Jack sullenly reached out his
hand and drew the black. The men were
then placed in position. With white face
and trembling limbs, the desperate thrust
his arm into the awful oritice: Wild Bill,
having first lighted a cigar, did the same.
In this position they remained for half
an hour. When the time had expired
Hickock rose calmly to his feet Colo
RADIO Jack did not stir. When they rails
ed him they found that he was dead. Yet,
strange to say, there was no mark of
bite upon his arm. He had died of sheer
One of the most extraordinary duels
ever fought in Europe took place in 1913.
between two Frenchmen. The quarrel
arose about a lady who was unable TO
decide which of the two suitors she pre-
ferred. but promised to wed the one which
was victor in a duel for her hand. After
much deUOerdtlOn the lovers u6Clueu On
fighting their battles in two balloons, and
on the appointed day each SCARED aloft,
accompanied by his seconds, and armed
with a blunderbuss, the agreement being
that they were to fire, not upon one an
other, but upon the balloons. They rose
half a mile, and the preconcerted signal
was given. One of the opponents fired and
missed. The other discharged his blum
derbuss, hitting his rivals balloon, col
lapsing it and sending its occupants to
earth where they were instantly killed.
Annfhnf
created a profound sensation at the time,
was that between Henri Delagrave and
Alphonse Riviere. This also was an &C
count of a lady. On the appointed morn
ing the men met in a quiet wood, when
one of the seconds drew from his pocket
little box in which were four black pei
lets, in appearance exactly alike. In
few words the seconds explained that in
one of the pills was quantity of prussic
ac.d, sufficient to cause almost instant
death. coin was tossed, ana TO Dela-
grave fell the lot to choose the first pellet
and swallow it. This he did, washing it
down with a glass of claret. Then Ri
Were did likewise. Three minutes were
now allowed to await the result, after
which the box was again presented to Del
agrave for choice. He paused for mo-
ment looking in silence at the two balls
before him. The closest scrutiny showed
not the slightest difference between them;
vet one was harmless, while in the other
was certain death. With a start he drew
his eyes from the box and plunging in
his finger and thumb drew forth one of
the remaining pills. His opponent took
the last and both men simultaneously
gulped down their fate. A few seconds
passed without any perceptble move
ment on the part of either
Of them, and then Riviere threw up his
hands and fell fiat upon the grass. He
turned half round, gave one convulsive
shudder and breathed his last.
there is an aneedote related of an en-
critic who had censured his work The
dramatist fired and missed, but the 9TH
ef' WIZ, Who was an excellent shot, aimed
with the utmost precision. At this the
gramaust grew wroth, protested that
It was unfair, and exclaimed: "Confound
you, sir; if you had told me what you
were going to do, l would have put on an
that in which Sainte Beuve was engag-
ed. It began to rain after he had taken
up his position, WhereupOn he called for
rs umbrella, and opening it, held it over
ms right he held is pistol. The seconds
1m o}I but in vain. 1T IS all very
yen to be killed. said the famous es-
ssylst, but object to catching cold
The actor Rossi and a young man whom
ne had offended fought a duel in a pitch
uafk room, the only indication of each
3tners whereabouts being given by their
nshted cigarettes Rossi's bullet shat
Tered his antagonists shoulder.
When Byron, CALLED at certain severe
structures upon his character and writ
ihgs, announced his intention of calling
upon Southey, their writer. for the salts
faction due to q gentleman, the latter
wrote the following very sensible and
amusing letter:
Dear Sir-I have the honor of acknowl-
eIslng the receipt of your letter, and do
myself the pleasure of replying without
uelay. In affairs of this kind the partici-
pants ought to meet upon equal terms. But
70 establish the equality between you and
me- there are three things which ought
10 be done, and then a fourth also be-
zones necessary before L can meet you
on the field:
tFIrst-You must marry and have four
GuIdren. Please be particular in hav-
ing them all girls
Secondly-You must prove that the
greater portion of the provision which
2eu ma Ike for them depends upon your
rie; and you must be under a bond of
lty7 not to be hanged, not to commit sui
we and not to be killed in a duel-which
ere me conditions upon which ! have eff
4gCled an insurance of my own life for
'ug 4eneht of my wife and daughters.
l. lhrdly-I must tell three direct false
loous concerning you upon the hastings,
I IN some other not less public assem-
tLy; and shall neither be able to do
, r1S nor to meet you afterward in the
raLine~ you propose unless you can per-
urn the fourth thing, which is that YOU