The age-herald., 1897-10-03

and retraclt h.S he. words. AtteT two days Wiatters nepszted what he had said, sJnd added more concerning his opinion of Dr. W-temans chafacter. WI eman wrote a not Ito Wat. CTS saying that he would give him ten hours more to re- tract, and lhen if he still adhered to his statemeri s, the in,idenlt could be sat- tied only by the code. WaIateis tore Dr. W1.eman'ss note into shredS and blade the messenger be gone. The challenge ito duel was immediately sent and ac- cerlted. hs said Walters to the man who bore h m the challenge. ''Iell W1eman tha,. rifles am0 swords are my choice. Then we can make sure work of it, for he's get to kill me or I'll Kill him as sure as fate"
 They met at five o'clock the next morning. The seconds paced off thfn,y yards, the doUble-barrelled rifles were loaded and the toss was made for po- sIitions. When the principals were placed Walters showed his contempt of pr. Wfbeman by turning h's back upon him. Tine rifles were given to the men and the umpire read the conditions of the duel
 ''GenItlemen are you ready? Rlatse your weapons: cock them; now seNiy- one5fwo-three-ire called the umpire in falterfng accents.
 Dr. WI eman shot first and his ball went wide of It's ma rk. Wat Fers shot through Wbeman's shirt sleeve In a twfnkllng both men had again glanced along their gun barrels and thjs time they fired s1nuD aneously. Dr. Wt.e- man staggered and dr, ppad h s rife and Walters reeled but caught ms If. As he raised himself he called to a second:
 ''Jim, Jim, load that rifle quick. I've not had satisIa0a}on yet"
 While the cond m de hase to reload the weapon Dr. WGteIn5ln lunged f,r- ward on his face. and a stream of blood was seen pouring from his neck HIS seconds rushed Forward and found him shot through the jugular vein.
 "Don't be soared boys, I'm content 10 go. Watters's goit 10 go, too," he said fglrlsly. He died a moment later.
 Walters was shot through the lower lobe of the right lung. It was long be- fore he recovered. The most touching part of the affair came out later. It S ems that Dr. Witem was engaged to nairry Wal tsrs' favor te cous in Phila- delphia. The young lovers intendied 10 keep their troth saorfh from him unt1 his next birthday, when lhe was No be pleasantly surprised ito kncw that his chum and his cousin wetle soon to be- come man and wife and to live in the Ettle min Ing town with him. The news that Dr. WJtemsn had died et the hand of her cousin unS titled The mird of the bsitrcthed cousin in Ph1ladclphia for long time. Walters was "a changed man after the due1 He rraveled everywhere. He never married, and he was burned to | death in the Southern Hotel fine in St. Louis about twenty years ago.
 Duels among newspaper rnen were rta~ | ticuarly frequent in California in 1853 , a nd 1854. There were nine duels in San Francisco in 1854 alone. The code was so generally acknowledged thaI Bret Harte once sa,d "It took more courage for man 10 decline challenge to the field of honor than it took to accept" The man in politics or newspaper work who decD,ned to accept a challenge from an equal i'm those days bec7 7rne a partah. In June, 1854, Edward GIlbert, who came from Albany N. Y, and had been a member of the California Cons itu ion al Convention, was editor of the Daily A Ita of San Ft'aTcisco. He met in duea Gen. James w, Denver, who was then secre- tary of slate of California Mir Gilbert fell dead ar the second stcit. The edi or mad rdfculed a law passed by the CaIh- nornda legislature at the request of Gov ernor B1gler and General Denver, pro- vid1ng for giving help ito the $ aIvving inn migrants from across the plains. Gen. eral Denver was angry, and replied in card in a rival paper. Edh or G. loert gave she general another editorial shot although he had been warned that a challenge Ito fight would result But General Denver only retorted in harsher language th'an ever. Then Edi;or GIL pert himself sent a challenge to "a duel with rifles at forty paces. In 1880 Gem eraf Denver's name was mentioned by several New York papers in connac ion with the nomination by the democrat s for the presidency of the United States. where11pon sev5ral newspapers published a detailed ,slcry of the duel, showing. how the general had been compelIed ro shoot as he did.
 John Nugen;, a brilliant editor and pubiDc speaker in San Francisco, fought two duels in 1853 and 1854 He was se- verely wounded both times. The first time he and Alderman Cos .er. a cr'mg,rtaI lawyer whom he had criticised sharply. fought with pistols at a distance of twenty -four feet. Nugent fell with a shab.e9ed thigh, and was always lame thereafter. Ten months latter he was again challenged to fight, this time bv another San Francisco alderman bv. the name of Benjalmin Hayes. Rifles ware the weapons thap Nugera chose tn S time Nugent walked with his cane to the snot Where his seconds decided he shou- d stand during the duel and called oui to ms opponetrlc that he mea mt to have no 1GGohng Gg about the affair." He wounded Hayes in the fie,shy part of .the leo aH The first fire. but he ftniself sank to .ba ground at the second fire. He recovered and was a famous ed1 or in San Franehs- co more than Twenty-Five years,
 Tn July, 1853 Hammond EstEey. editor or the Santa Clara Banner and w e. Parker, editor of the Herald of Mon. terey exchanged four shots in A. duel near Benicia. They had bsen having a newspaper war for weeks. Both men were less than 25 years old, and were quick-tempered. Finally Estley public ly taunted Parker with personal cow ardice. and said that any one of cour- age would have challenged him (Est- ley) long before. Parker sent a courier on horseback at once to name the place where the code was to settle their diff ferences. Pistols at fifty feet were chos- en. The men exchanged four shots. Estley was shot through the arm once. and had finger of his left hand clipped away by-a bullet Parker was shot in the hip, and staggered back. He recov- cred himself and called for another shot. That one missed At the fourth fire he was shot in the abdomen. He died before sunset that same day. While he lay dying friend came from Estley with a request for an interview. The request was granted. Estley burst into tears when he was led into the cham Der of the dying man. and throwing himself as best he could, with the bandages about his arm wounds, at the bedside. he said:4