Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-02-21
ment when the dealer would slip a


said serenely:
"Four kings and 10 take this pot"
Then he seized the gambler by the
wrist and added: "Show your hand as
it is. If it contains six cards, l shall
kill you"
The strangers voice was almost as
quiet as if be were speaking in lady's
parlor. But there was depth pur-
pose in it which the whole crowd felt
from head to foot.
AS the cards from the gamblers sud-
denly twisted wrist fell on the table,
there were seen to be four aces, a
queen and q knave.
There was a moment of deathlike
silence. Then roar like the breath
of prairie fire went up from the crowd
which was composed chiefly of plant
ers and honest travellers.
"Who the devil are you, anyway ?'
cried the baffled gambler when the
shouts subsidized.
"James Bowie" was the answer.
The voice was like velvet, but it cut
like steel into the hearts of the chief
gamblers confederates and deferred
them from any purpose or impulse they
might have had to interfere. They,
with the crowd, shrank back from the
table, smitten with sudden terror by
the name. Bowie softly swept the
bank notes into his large slouch hat
and lightly clapped it on his head.
"You must fight me for this" said
the chief gambler, recovering his cour-
age at the loss of his booty.
"Certainly," said Bowie, II said /
should kill you. In what way do you
prefer itp With knife or pistol ?"
"Not with your weapon" replied
the man savagely.
$50 be it, then 7" returned Bowie.
"Will some gentleman lend me a pistol
and act as my second ?"
"A dozen were instantly offered, and
selecting one very carefully, Bowie
said:
"Let it be on this boat, and at once.
Make the arrangements to suit your
selves. will return in FIVE minutes.
Lightly as panther, he bounded up
the stairs and went to the young mans
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 a few minutes.
The seconds had arranged that each
of the duellists should stand on one OF
the warehouses and that the signal, ,
lone, two, three, fire-stopw They
were to shoot between the words "fre'
and stop!" as often as these words
were uttered.
At the first call the professional gam
bier fired before the word three was en-
tirely uttered. Bowie fred just after,
apparently without taking aim, and his
opponent, with a shrek of agony,
turned q somersault backward and fell
into the river, just as the great round
face of the sun, like q golden cannon
ball, shot up from behind the neigh
boring bluff.
Bowie blew the smoke out of his
pistol, shut down the pan and descend
ed from the wheelhouse as if little af-
fairs of this kind were his usual ap-
petizer before breakfast. Then he d.
vided the money with the young
mans wife, and, in spite of their af'
fectionate solicitations, for they regard
ed 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 card again as long as he
lived.
In the interests of history and in
Justice to this unusual man, it is well
TO give away the Bowie myth, which
probably originated from duel which
be fought with the knife that bears his
name in the year 1927. This, too, oc-
Cured near Natchez, on the opposite
bank.
Bowie, came on the field with several
friends, gentlemen of good standing,
so did his opponent. He received five
wounds, but killed his man with a
long hunting dagger which had been
made by blacksmith out of worn
out file. 1t had double edge and a
curved point, which was afterwards
patented and manufactured in Phila-
delphia. But this duel, unfortunately,
closed in deadly melee of the spec
tators-a pitched battle in which 6 men
were killed and Is wounded.
As the story 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 a spell.
The plain truth is that James Bowie
not only never provoked a quarrel in
his life, but prevented a great many.
He was a man of singular modesty
and sweetness of disposition, with a
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
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