University of Virginia Library

THE CODE DUELLO.

From Esmarelda, the scene of his mining exploits, Mark went to Virginia City. Here he held a reportorial position on one of the papers for three years. After deserting the mining speculation, and the collapse that followed it, he said: "That was a singular town. They had some of the strangest customs — some of the most curious customs. When I finished reporting on that paper they made me chief editor. I lasted just a week. I edited that paper six days, and then I had five duels on my hands. I wouldn't have minded that if it had been the custom for those other people to challenge me. Then I would have simply have declined with thanks. But it was not so. If you abused a man in the paper, if you called him names — they had no rights there such as we have here — it the men didn't like it, you had to challenge him, and shoot him. Of course I didn't want to do this, but the publisher said it was the custom — society must be protected. If I could not do the duties of my position, he would have to hire somebody else.

"I didn't mind the first three or four men; but the other man — I was after him. I knew he didn't want to fight so I was going to make all the reputation out of him I could. He got touched at something I said about him — I don't know what it was now — I called him a thief, perhaps. He fought very shy of me at first, and so I plied him with bloodthirsty challenges all the more. At last be began to take an interest in this thing. It seemed as though he really was going to enter into it at last. All our boys were delighted at the prospect, but I was not. This was not a turn I was expecting in things.

"I had taken for my second a fiery, peppery little fellow, named Steve, full of fight, and anxious to have this thing fixed up right away. He took me over into a little ravine beyond the town to practice. It was the custom to fight with Colt's navy revolvers at five steps. We borrowed a stable door for a mark from a gentleman who was absent. We set up that stable door, and then we propped a fence rail up against the middle of it to represent my antagonist, and put a squash on it to represent his head. He was a very light thin man, very thin — the poorest kind of material for a duel — you could not expect to do anything with a scattering shot at all. But he made a splendid line shot, and it was the line that that I practiced principally.

"But there was no success about it. I could not hit the rail, and there was no need that I should hit the rail; the rail did not really represent him. It was a little too thin and narrow. But the squash was all right. Well, I could not hit the rail, and I could not hit the squash, and, finally, when I found I could not hit the door either, I got a little discouraged. But when I noticed that I crippled one of the boys occasionally, I thought it was not so bad — I was dangerous with a pistol, but not reliable.

"Finally, we heard some shooting going on over in the other ravine. We knew what that meant. The other party was practicing. I didn't feel comfortable. They might straggle over the ridge, and see what was going on, and when they saw no bullet-hole in that barn door, it would be too much encouragement for them. Just then a little bird, a little larger than a sparrow, lit on a sage bush near by. Steve whipped out his revolver and shot its head off. The boys picked up the bird, and were talking about it, when the other duelling party came over the ridge, and came down to see what was going on. When the second saw the bird he said, 'How far off was that?' Steve said about thirty steps. 'Who did that?' 'Why, Twain, my man, of course.' 'Did he, indeed! can he do that often?' 'Well, he can do that about four times in five.'

"I knew that little rascal was lying, but I didn't like to tell him so. I was one of those kind of men that don't like to be too frank or too familiar in a matter like that, so I didn't say anything. But it was a comfort to see those fellows under jaws drop; to see them turn blue about the gills and look sick. They went off, and got their man and took him home, and when I got home I found a little note from these parties, peremptorily declining to fight. How sore the boys were! How indignant they were! And so was I! But I was not distressed about it. I thought I could stand it, perhaps.

"Well, I was out of that scrape, and I didn't want to got into anymore of them. I turned the other four duels over to Steve, who wanted them. But when those people found out afterward that he did that shooting, he didn't get any good out of his duels. They wouldn't fight him.

"All that was in my younger days, when I didn't know much — which I do now. I didn't know any better then, but now I am bitterly opposed to duelling. I won't have anything to do with duelling. I think that duelling is immoral, and has a bad tendency, and I think it is every man's duty to frown down and discourage duelling. I do. I discourage it on all occasions. If a man were to challenge me now, I would go and take that man by the hand, and lead him to a quiet, private room — and kill him!

"Ladies and gentlemen, after thanking you very heartily for the attention you have given me this evening, I desire to wish you a very pleasant good night, and at the same time assure you earnestly that I have told nothing but the truth to-night, and I have hardly exaggerated that." [Laughter and applause.]