Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-02-01

SlSnt Oh DOln dTITlSS, the 1TOJdHS Aiohi
within the ramparts of their city.
Hector at first was brave, but he
lost courage and tried to escape from
Achilles, who, however, pursued him
and made him fight. They fought
with spears and swords, and the bat
tie lasted for hours. Achilles could
not find a vulnerable point in Hector's
armor, while he himself was being
worsted in the exchange Of blows. At
last, though, he found a spot between
Hector's throat and neck. Straight
he plunged his sword into that open
ing, and Hector fell. Then, before he
was dead, Achilles tied his body to
chariot and drove it ten times around
the walls Of the city.
Horatius was a Roman warrior,
whose feat of holding a bridge over
the river Tiber against the advancing
Tuscans has made him famous. There
was an incident in that exploit great
er than the main feat itself, and that
was the personal combat with Astur,
a great hero Of the Tuscans. After
Horatious had killed hundreds Of the
Tuscans, who could not pass him on
the bridge, and who had been desert
ed by the two companions who at first
had stood with him, Astur advanced
with the intention Of himself killing
the hero. They met with swords, and
a furious battle ensued, in which Ho-
ratius finally slew Astur and flung his
body into the river.
The knights of King Arthur's court
were great fighters, and among them
the battle between Sir Lancelot and
Sir Gawain stands out as wonderful
affair which would have been worth
seeing at any price seat. Lancelot
was practically champion Of the court
but he and Gawain were deadly rivals,
and the latter was great fighter HIM
self. Finally 1t was settled that they
must meet and fight it out. So they
did, with the king and all the MOBILES
as an audience. Gawain had received
from Merlin a specially prepared coat
of mail which was supposed to make
him impervious to the wounds OF
lance for three hours. With this coat
he was sure Of standing out against
Lancelot's attacks and probably OF
killing his adversary. But Lancelot
learned of this coat Of mail and was
ready for 1t.
They made the attack, and Gawain
was for a quick battle, but Lancelot
STALLED" as the modern expression
has it, and managed to keep Gawain
guessing for the whole Of the three
hours during which his coat Of mail
would have any efficacy. The time up,
Lancelot got his lance ready and went
to work. It Is said that he made short
work of Gawain then and killed him
with a lance thrust that went clear
through him, mail and all and left
the dead knight spitted on the wea-
pom like a chicken on a skewer.
1t is far leap from the court OF
King Arthur to Natchez, Miss, but the
next great fight Of real consequence,
in that 1t employed only modern wea-
pons, was that between Col. Jim Bowie
and Major Morris Wright, in August,
1927. 1t was a great melee. The af-
fair started as duel between Dr..
Maddox and Samuel Wells, both
prominent men, in which two shots
were fired with no damage. Then the
adherents of the principals got mixed
up in a general row, in which Bowie
was wounded. But he singled out the
man who had shot him, a Major
Wright, and, though he had no gun
himself, went at the latter with short
knife that he had made with his own
hands from a blacksmith's file. The
major emptied his revolver and then
grabbed a sword, and they went at It.
They cut and slashed each other un-
mercifully, and both Bowie and Wright
were bleeding terribly from their
wounds before Bowie could do fatal
work with his short knife. Finally he
plunged it up to the hilt in Wrights
heart. Wright fell dead. The battle
had lasted for more than an hour, and
had been fought outdoors and in a
shed by the side Of the field.
The efficacy Of this short knife was
so we'll shown in this fight that 1t was
put on the market and called the
Bowie knife" after its inventor.
Bowie was afterward killed in the
massacre in the Alamo, in Texas.
One Of the greatest fights in history
was that between John Fleasants and
Col. Ritchie, of Richmond, Va, in
that city in 1S46 Ritchie was the
editor Of a newspaper that had said
some unkind things about Peasants
a politician, which only blood would
wipe out. An ordinary duel even
would not suffice. They decided to go
to the field Of battle armed In every
way possible, and their weapons In
cluded four pistols each, while Pleas
ants took a sword cane and Ritchie
had a short knife in his pocket. They
began firing at 200 PAGES and emptied
their pistols as they drew near each
other. Ritchie was struck several
times with Peasants bullets, but kept
on firing, and the men drew close to
each other. Finally their pistols were
emptied and it became matter OF
personal combat. Ritchie drew his
knife and Peasants his sword cane,
and they went at it. They fought
covered with blood, giving terrible
wounds to each other. Ritchie had a
horrible cash across his face from
Peasants sword cane, and the bullets
in his body weakened him terribly;
but he fought on and finally managed
to thrust his short knife into vital
spot in Peasants anatomy. The lat
ter fell dead. The duel had lasted
nearly two hours, and Ritchie barely
survived his wounds.
We have today a hero Of the old
style fighting in Col. William F. Cody
Buffalo Bill His greatest fight was
the duel with Yellow Hand, Chey-
enne chief and a terror in 1875.
Cody, then a scout with Gen. Mer-