The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-01-06
How TOM FITCH FOUGHT A NEVADA
DUEL AND MARK TWAIN ESCAPED ONE
Ron Dags Made Marks Challenge So That the Other
Man Did Not Dare Meet LocaI Celebrities in Twans Auto
biography, Once Famous the Comstock Lode
mark Twain's Autography.)

| mark Twain's Autography.)
| North American Review: In those
early days duelling suddenly became
| fashion in the new Territory of Nevada
and by 1864 everybody was anxious to
have a chance in the new sport, main
| ly for the reason that he was not able
to thoroughly respect himself so long
| as he had not killed or crippled some
body in duel or been killed or Grip
pied in one himself.
| At that time I had been serving as
city editor on Mr.. Goodman's Vir-
GINA City Enterprise" for a matter
of of two years. I was tWenty-nine
wears old. / was ambitious in seyeral
ways, but / had entirely escaped the
seductions of that particular craze !
had had no desire to fight a duel;
had no intention of provoking one. |
did not feel respectable, but | got
certain amount of satisfaction out OF
feeling safe. I was ashamed OF my
self; the rest of the staff were asham-
ed of me-but I got along well enough.
l had always been accustomed to feel
ing ashamed of myself, for one thing
or another, so there was no novelty
for me in the situation. I bore it very
well. Plunkett was on the stan; II.
NJ Daggett was on the staff. These
had tried to get into duels, but for the
present had failed, and were waiting.
Goodman was the only one of us who
had done anything to shed credit up
on the paper. The rival paper was
the Virginia "Union." It's editor for a
little while was Tom Fitch, called the
lver-tongued orator of Wisconsin,
that was where he came from. He
tuned up his oratory in the editorial
columns of the Union" and Mr.. Good
man invited him out and modified him
with bullet. I remember the joy of
the staff when Goodman's challenge
was accepted by Fitch. We ran late
that night, and made much of Joe
Goodman. He was only twenty-four
years old; he lacked the wisdom which
a person has at twenty-nine, and he
was as glad of being it as I was that
I wasn't. He chose Major Graves for
his second Chat name is not right, but
it's close enough; I don't remember the
Majors name). Graves came over to
instruct Joe in the duelling art. He
had been a Major under Walker, the
"gray-eyed man of destiny" and had
fought all through that remarkable
mans filibustering campaign in Cen
trail America That fact gauges the
Major. To say that a man was a
Major under Walker, and came out of
that struggle ennobled by Walkers
praise, is to say that the Major was
not merely a brave man but that he
was brave to the very utmost limit of
that word. All of Walkers men were
like that. I knew the ellis family in
timately. The father made the cam
paign under Walker. and with him one
son. They were in the memora BILE
Plaza fight, and stood it out to the last
against overwhelming odds, as did also
all of the Walker men,. The son was
killed at the fathers side. The father
received bullet through the eye. The
old man-for he was an old man at
the time-wore spectacles and the bull
let and one of the glasses went into his
skull and remained there. There were
some other sons: Steve, George and
Jim, very young chaps-the merest lads
who wanted to be in the Walker ex-
dauntless spirit. But Walker wouldn't
have them; he said it was a serious
expedition, and no place for children
The Major was a majestic creature
with most stately and dignifed and
impressive military bearing, and he
was by nature and training courteous,
polite, graceful, winning; and he had
that quality which / think have en-
countered in only one other man-Bob
Howland-a mysterious quality which
resides in the eye; and when that eye
is turned upon an individual Or a
squad, in warning, that is enough. The
man that has that eye doesn't need
to go armed; he can move upon an
armed desperate and quell him and
take him prisoner without saying q
single word. I saw Bob Rowland do
that, once-a slender, good-natured,
amiable, gentle, kindly little skeleton
OF man, with a sweet blue eye that
would win your heart when it smiled
upon you, or turn cold and freeze it,
according to the nature of the occa-
sion.
The Major stood Joe I'D straight,
stood Steve ellis up fifteen PAGES
away; made Joe turn right side to-
wards Steve. cock his navy six-shooter
that prodigious weapon-and hold it
straight down against his leg; told him
nat that was the correct position for
ne gun-that the position ordinarily in
Use at Virginia City Chat is to say. the
gun straight up in the air. then brought |
slowly down to your mani was all |
wrong. At the word One" you must |
alse the gun slowly and steadily to |
ne place on the other mans body that
'ou desire to convince. Then, after a
ause' two, three-fire-Stop!" At the
'ord stop" you may fre-but not |
arlier. You may give yourself as
much time as you please after that
ord Then, when you fire. you may
oVance and go on firing at your leis-
re and pleasure. if you can get any
leasure out of it. And, in the mean
me, the other man, if he has been
roperly instructed and is alive to his
r1v1leges, is advancing on you. and fir
ls-and 1t is always likely that more
less trouble will result.
Naturally, when Joe's revolver had
sen to a level it was pointing at
le'es breast, but the Major said mo,
lat Is not wise. Take all the risks of
citing murdered yourself, but don't
IN anE riSlx Of