The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-01-07
WHY FRENCH DUELS
ARE SO HARMLESS

paris Corr. St. Louis Globe Democracy
-HERE are duels every week in Paris
Sword. saber and pistol are at work
amid a pOint-Of-honor population of
army officers, journalists politicians and
Young men. How comes It. then, that
they so seldom get hurt7
When Lieutenant Flury-Herard had his
arm almost hacked off by Lieutenant
Auriol at MeluH last week there rose a
CRY Of horror from all France. In mod
eTn French duels it is unusual to get
huFt- because OF certain humane frauds
/ practiced in the interests of life and in
tegritV Of members.
1T / had been there to arrange it the
meeting would have passed harmlessly.''
mourned Daniel ClOutier. OF the Intransi-
geant- testitying as a duel expert at the
1 trial of a recent tragic accident: and he
proceeded to give the judges few exam
pies of benevolent trickery- On this Occa-
SION there rose cry of laughter in all
France But the cause was soon forgot
ten. and the good people continue to hug
an illusion.
The usual 'exchange of balls without
result OF pistol dUels does not have its
| eXDianation-52s has been so often insin-
uated bv the French themselves-in the
employment of false bullets. Cork bull
lets be.Ong 10 the infancy of the art.
TICK bullets. composed of an alloy OF
mercury and lead. are not unknown to
the armuriers of Paris. In weight and
general appearance they are almost per-
/ rect cOuntertefts, except for a slightly
.
/ heavy and solid looking. they DO not re-
[ sist the first blow OF the ramrod, which
/ DutVeTizeS them II ought TO be stated
I IN lhlS connection that IN france pistol
dueis are never with revOlvers. or pistols
/ res eirlnE cartridges. Cartridges. being
made 10 beforehand with their charges
/ etc, concealed. do not present the neces-
/ sly guarantees. Pistol duels are fought
/ with old fashioned dueling pistols per
cusslon CAPS and Notwithstanding. with
I measured charges and compared balls.
I Indeed. it is not unusual for the seconds
: to agree on some celebrated armUTier like
/ Ciastine- Rennettc. who shall furnish a
sealed box of weapons. to be opened only
on the field Of honor. In It are to be
I found two pistols. sealed and certified a
number of charges of powder. sealed and
/ certified. and the same number of bullets
-5edled and certified. Trickery would
/ seem impossible.
In spite of these precautions the be
nevolent fraud goes on. There are usually
| four seconds. two for each combatant
/ As il Is easier tor two good men to come
/ TO an understanding than four. the pair
/ that has agreed TO prevent blOOdshed
marriages to take charge of the loading.
| while their cOuferees are listening to the
1 laSt nervous recommendations of the
/ PRINCIPALS. The most frequent trick is TO
/ have a pocketful of real bullets OF lit
/ tie smaller caliber than tho pistol en-
Dloved. A child could effect the sub
stitutiOn- Such bullets, at their best
| cannot be sped with a force sufficient to
/ penetrate the clothing of the victims
should they reach them. because too much
/ of the gas generated by the exploding
DoWer will have escaped around the loose
fitting bali But as the custom to hold
! tho pistol with its muzzle pointing to the
Eround Until the command Fire. is
/ given has become all but universal, these
! balls OF too small caliber regularly fall to
J the ground and are lost in the grass n
| few seconds after the pistols are placed
in the hands Of the combatantS. The two
/ seconds who load tho pistols. of course.
may prevent this by Tamming wads on top
I of the balls. But why risk bloodshed?
/ | recentlv heard A Paris doctor noted
/ for his willingness to go out'-as doctor.
not as principal-explain why he always
4 looked forward TO a jolly breakfast Of
! reconciliation after the morning s eX-
! ercise 1t was the breakfast that drew
him, he admitted And then the cOun-
/ try IS so freshly beautiful in the early
/ morninEi 7 am sentimentalist." was
4 his expression. His experience is that
\ two Of the seconds can always come 70
an understanding, while he seemed TO
4 think the ''chaTgette. or too feeble
I charge of powder. their most common re
I source. II is about the third of the
normal charge of about three and three
: quarter grains Of black powder. The ball,
I even though Of proper caliber, has
/ scarcely more penetration than that other
/ popular fraud. the bail of too small cal
/ fber. There is also a remarkable deviation
/ downward. This physician told me that
! he had seen more than one duel relieved
I OF practical danger when proper pistols
had been properly charged with proper
quantities of powder and the right calibeI