Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-08
TWAIN AS A DUELlST.

How IA Tiny Bird Made Marks Or
ponent Decline Encounters.
Mark Twain in an installment of his
autobiography in the North American
Review for December gives his expert
ences as duelist in his early journal
istic days in Nevada. He describes
the preparations made for duel be-
tween him and Mr.. Laird, proprietor
of the Virginia Union, as follows:
The boys were jubilant beyond ex-
preston. They helped me make my
Will. Then they took me home. l
didn't sleep any-didn't want to sleep.
1 had plenty of things to think about
ard less than four hours TO do it in,
because 3 o'clock was the hour APP
pointed for the tragedy, and 1 should
have to use up one hour-beSinning at
Ain practicing with the revolver and
finding out which end of it to level at
the adversary. At 4 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 q visit-and we
set the barn door up and stood Il fence
rail up against the middle of it to rep
resent Mr. Laird. But the rail was no
proper representative of him, for he
was longer than a rail and thinner.
Nothing would ever fetch him but
line shot, and then as like as not he
would split the bullet-the worst ma
terial for dueling purposes that could
be imagined. l began on the rail. l
couldn't hit the rail. Then / tried the
barn door. but | couldn't hit the barn
door. There was nobody in danger eX-
cept stragglers around on the TANKS of
that mark. | was thoroughly diScour-
aged, and I didn't cheer up any when
we presently heard pistol shots over in
the next little ravine. / knew what
that was-that was Laird's 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 l was making-see what their
chances We're against me. Well. L
hadn't any record, and l knew that If
Laird came over that ridge and saw
my barn door without scratch on 1t
he would be as anxious to fight as I
was. or as I had been at midnight be-
fore that disastrous acceptance came.
Now. just at this moment little
bird no bigger than n sparrow flew
along by and lit on Il sage bush about
thirty yards away. Steve ellis whip
ped out his revolver and shot its head
off. Oh. he was a marksman-much
better than l 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 |
rs. And when Laird's second saw that |
bird with its head shot off he lost |
color. he faded. and you could see that !
le was interested. He said:
"'Who did that?
Before l could answer, Steve spoke |
up and said quite calmly and in a mat
ter of fact way:
"'Clemens did It,
''The second said: why, that is Won
lerful. How far off was that birdY
Steve said. oh, not far-about thir-
y yards
1.-The second said: We'll. that is as
shooting. How often can he
10 that?
"Steve said languidly, oh. about
our times out of fiver
81 knew the little rascal was lying.
1ut 1 didn't say anything. The second
'aid: Why, that is amazing shooting.
supposed he couldn't hit church,
''He was supposing very sagaciously.
tut 1 didn't say anything. Well. they
aid Good morning The second took
DR.. Laird home, a little lottery on his
egs, and Laird sent back n note in his
'wn hand declining to fight n duel
With me on any terms whatever"