Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-05-16

Picturesque Portion of the New Orleans
Park Known as the Oaks.
Leslies Weekly.
One of the most picturesque and
beautiful spots in New Orleans and
replete with historical incidents, is the
Oaks, the Chenes d'Allard, as they
were called of old. They are now a
part of the city park and favorile
resort for the children of the creole
quarters, dozens of swings being at
tached to the massive oaks, which
shade several acres of ground.
The land was formerly the plantation
of Louis Allard, a very learned French
man of early New Orleans. 1t was
bought by the great philanthropis' =,
John McDonough, and finally passed
into the hands of the city and was ded.
icated as a park. Its most eventful
history was in advance of its park
days, when it was practically waste
land. Lying as it did on the shell road
to Bayou St. John and Lake Pontchar'
train, within easy distance of the city,
vet deserted and uninhabited, it az
forded the very spot for the duels so
frequent among the fiery creoles and
no less fiery Americans ofNew Orleans
in antebellum days. Here, under the
shade of primeval forest of gigantic
oaks, either with pistol or rapier, more
especially the latter, the difficulties
between "gentleman" were fought out
under the strictes rules of the code OF
honor.
At these times New Orleans, al
though to a large degree cosmopolitan,
was essentially a creole city and bound
by the creole habits and ideas, and one
of these ideas was that slight or af-
front could be wiped out only by blood
shed in q duel The result was to
produce the greatest punctillio among
men. A blow was strictly forbidden
and sufficient to debar the striker from
the privilege Of the duello. A gentle
man who would so far forget himself
as to strike another was exposed to the
ignominy of being refused meeting on
the field of honor.
Most of the duels had their origin in
the ballroom, where to brush rudely
against man was often deemed sutfi'
cient cause for exchanging cards.
Some were political, some the result
of breaches of politeness and etiquette.
Chevalier Tomasi fought duel with
native creole over the proposition that
there were larger rivers in Europe than
the Mississippi, each man being vii.
ling TO risk his life for his home
river. Several duels are reported
from mere excess of spirit, because
the night was so good for an assault
d'armes. In the winter of 1857 8
the opera produced an epidemic OF
duels. The two prima donnas then
in vogue had each her army OF
supporters, and to hiss his favorite
was supposed to justify any creole in
handing his card to the offender and
demand meeting at the Oaks.
Most of these meetings were secret,
known only to the friends of the prln'
cipals. 1t was only when someone
was killed or seriously hnrt-and not
always then-that the facts ofthe duel
became known. The duello continued
i'm Louisiana rs more or less custom
of the country until about 20 years
ago. An occasional meeting is held
even today, but they are growing
scarcer for the police now interfere
and arrest duelists, whereas of old
they kept out of the way. The oaks
are among the finest in the United
States, some of them shading nearly
an acre of ground, and each oak has
a dozen traditions of stories of the
duello attached TO it, romantic and
bloody.