The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-01-03
MARK TwAIN's BLooDLEss DUEL
How q Most Fortunate Shot Prevented
BIoodshed by Participants
North American Review.

North American Review.
Mark Twain tells the story Of his
dueling experience in Nevada back in
1864. He was at that time an editor
of the Virginia City Enterprise. He
roasted a man named Laird, the editor
of rival journal, who replied in kind,
and Mark was prevailed upon by his
friends to send him a challenge. It
was accepted.
Then they took me home. 1 didn't
sleep any-didn't want to sleep. I had
plenty of things to think about, and
less than four hours to do it in-be-
cause o'clock was the hour appointed
for the tragedy, and I should have to
use up one hour-beginning at l. to
practicing with the revolver and find
ing out which end Of it to level at the
adversary. At We went down into
a little gorge, about a mile from town,
and borrowed a barn door for a mark
borrowed it of a man who was over
in California on visit-and we set the
abrn door up and stood a fence rail up
against the middle of it, to represent
Mr.: Laird. But the rail was no proper
representative of him. for he was
longer than a rail and thinner. Moth
ing would ever fetch him but a line
shot. and then as like as not he would
split the bulet-the worst material for
dueling purposes that could be imag-
ined. | began on the rail. couldn't
hit the rail- Then l tried the barn
door but l couldn't hit the barn door.
There was nobody in danger except
stragglers around on the TANKS of that
mark. l was thoroughly discouraged,
and l didn't cheer up any when we
presently heard pistol shots over in
the next little ravine. 1 knew what
that was-that was Lairds gang out
practicing him. They would hear my
shots, and, of course, they would come
up over the ridge to see what kind of
a record | was making-See what their
chances were against me. Well, l
hadn't and record; and l knew that it
Laird came over that ridge and saw
my barn door without a scratch on it,
he would ne DIS dIlXlOuS W liz III DIS L
was-or as l had been at midnight, be-
fore that disastrous acceptance came.
"Now just at this moment a little
bird, no bigger than a sparrow, flew
along by and lit on sage brush about
80 yards away. Steve whipped out his
revolver and shot its head off. oh, he
was a marksman-much better than I
was. We ran down there to pick up
the bird, and just then, sure enough,
Mr.. Laird and his people came over
the ridge, and they Joined us. And
when Laird's second saw that bird,
with it's head shot off, he lost color, he
faded. and you could see that he was
interested. He said:
"'Who did that?'
Before l could answer, Steve spoke
up and said, quite calmly, and in a
matter of-fact way:
"'Clemens did it,
"The second said, why that is Won
derful How far off was that bird?'
Steve said, oh, not far-about 80
yards
1.-The second said, We'll, that is as
tonishing shooting. How often can he
do that?'
"Steve said. languidly, oh, about
four times out Of five
81 knew the little rascal was lying,
but l didn't say anything. The second
said, why. that is amazing shooting;
supposed he couldn't hit church.
He was supposing very sagaciously.
but l didn't say anything. Well, they
said good morning. The second took
Mr.. Laird home, a little lottery on his
legs, and Laird sent back a note in his
own hand declining to fight duel with
me on any terms whatever.
well, my life was saved-savel by
that accident. I don't know what the
bird thought about that interposition of
Providence. but 1 felt very. very COM
Portable over dissatisfied and content.
Now, We found out later, that Laird
had hit his mark four times out of six,
right along. If the duel had come off,
he would have SO filled my skin with
bullet holes that it wouldn't have held
my principles