The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-21

ton to wayside objects, pretending to study
the shape of shrubs or the habits of wing
ed insects but all the while keeping
Windward eye open, then suddenly rush
TO the encounter like vicious rams and
meet in mid-career with a resounding
crack, though not a slckening' one,saS
far as the principals of the duels We're
concerned. Custom even made il a point
of honor not TO rub the. bruised scalp, but
plant the hands akimbo and step back
again with a staggering gait, till one or
the other dissembler collapsed all of a sud
den, like Holmes one,horse shay
of the Achinese (the natives Of SUMMARY
assimilation becomes Supertiuous; eX-
element acts like an aesthetic, and the
victor often rises and struts away fur
long before he begins to staggbr under
the effects of deadly wound. Cavalry
soldiers confess to have noticed sUCn
wounds as a shot in the leg only when
they attempt to rise in their stirrups, and
after the repulse of Torres Nedras Mar
shall Massena congratulated the surviv-
ors of his staff, and boasted his own al
most unfair good luck, when the remark
of surgeon caused him 70 put his hand
devil did l get that?' he asked with I'M
feigned surprise, and could recollCct only
that he had once notlcSu blood on his
sleeve and pitied the condition of his scar
The natives of the Cape Verde Islands
have a better chance TO repent. They
fight duels with Sings, opening hostili-
ties at long range and then stepping
nearer, hurting stone after stone and
ponent If he ducks his head. they ann
the next missile little lower, if he leaps
aside his trick can be checkmated by a
teinT, or by firing two stones at once, The
critical moment approaches when short
range shot make good aim announce
itself by the crack OF splintering bones,
without any premonitory whistle. Prac-
tice enables these specialists to fling
eight-ounce stones with astonishing acCAl-
raCy sufficient to hit running rabbit and
thick leather caps cannot always save
their adVerSaries from sharing the fate of
Goliah. Luck, however, is an important
factor, even in a contest of champions,
and the victim of a hard hit on feeling
his strength fail may yet turn the scales
by rushing to close quarters and turning
his sling into a slung-shot.
Jean Jasques Rousseau wonders why we
do not fight with our feet, since the aver
age man can kick harder than he could
possibly strike, and shoes mights ssbe
weighted like the boxing gloves of the
East Indian pugilists. The natives of the
Landes, at the foot of the French Py-
renees, seem, however, to have anticipated
his hint Their duels, from immemorial
times, were fought out on the kangaroo
plan, by leaping and running kicks, EN-
phasized by heavy sabattes or wooden
shoes with spikes and sharp edges
maitre sabatte can kick as high as his
head and print his foot notes on the chest
the throat or the face of his adversary
and would ask no better luck than a
chance of gate money in contest with
the cestus fighters of Baroda. The court
pugilists of the Guicovar. or boss COW
herder, as their prince still styles him
self, could smash the skull of a steer with
their heavy brass fist rings, but would not
be in 1t with the professional clog dancer
who would prance all around them and
score twenty hits to their one They
might match the force of his blows but
would be outclasSed, for the simple reason
that a mans foot with a litte practice
can be made to reach further than his
hand. Tho Marquesas islanders, before
their conversion. used TO engage their adj
Versaries in deep water, trying to inhict
ripping wounds with short, crooked
knives. The tactics of those aquatic com
bats were complicated by the trick of div
ing and reappearing at unexpected mo-
ments, and in perhaps equally unexpected
places, since an expert swimmer could
tackle his rival from below But a stin
stranger ordeal was that of the Hovas in
Northern Madagascar, where the abund-
ance of noxious herbs had suggested the
idea of poison contests. What will YOU
ask a critic of his statements. The dose
agreed upon was mixed by professional
drug mongerS, served in two cups of equal
size, and, to prevent trickery, the choice
of cups was decided by the cast of dice
Witnesses before a court of inquiry could
similar manner, and the native magis-
trates rather favored the PLAN 1t simpli-
fed litigation. A lawyer could carry the
documents of his client in his vest pocket
The persistent efforts of European mora
lists have since led to the adjustment OF
that idyllic custom, but without affecting
the frequency of duellos, for the native
hotheads now fight out their quarrels with
the ugly SaW-toOth daggers of MOzambi-
que, that will tear a mans ear off at
one rip; and, If Kaiser Willie should sue
coed in stopping pistol matnees, his mill
other to undergo full cycle Of Wagners
operas