The Modern Pistol and How to Shoot It Part 27

CHAPTER x.x.xVI

REMARKS ON DUELLING (_Continued_)

The person considering himself aggrieved sends two of his friends as his seconds, to see his adversary. The latter if he accepts the challenge appoints two of his friends to act as his seconds.

These four seconds meet and agree as to the conditions of the duel. If the matter is serious, the duel is fought till one of the combatants is either killed, or is so seriously injured that he cannot continue.

Otherwise the seconds take the first opportunity to declare that their man is unable to continue, owing to his injury having placed him at a disadvantage. This means, practically that first blood drawn ends the combat.

If the provocation is a very grave one, the challenger tells his seconds they must insist on the combat continuing to the end.

The seconds should be taken into the challenger's confidence, and he should tell them exactly what he really wants. He cannot interfere after they and the adversary's seconds have arranged the terms, and he may find himself bound by his seconds to something quite different from what he had intended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE 9. ORNAMENTAL DUELLING PISTOLS BY GASTINNE-RENETTE

The property of the Author]

He may be let into a fight to a finish over some trivial nonsense, and have to kill a man he does not want to kill, in order to save his own skin. Or, wishing to kill a man who has done him an unforgivable wrong, the duel may end with a flick of cloth cut out of his sleeve and his enemy unscathed.

Combatants are not allowed to use their own weapons. The pistols of the regulation pattern (muzzle-loaders shooting a regulation load of smokeless powder and round lead bullet, see Plate 9) are provided by a gunmaker, are loaded by the gunmaker in the presence of the seconds, and sealed up in their case. The seals are only broken and the pistols apportioned by lot to the combatants when on the duelling ground, by the director of the duel chosen by the seconds.

In Paris you are absolutely safe as to your pistols. M. Gastinne-Renette generally supplies the pistols, but in an out of the way place where you do not know the gunmaker, and do not trust your opponent or his seconds, it is advisable to instruct your seconds to be very careful what gunmaker is chosen, and if they are the least bit dubious to insist on M.

Gastinne-Renette being telegraphed to, asking him to send a representative with pistols.

A doctor has to be present at the duel.

Lots are drawn by the seconds for position. It is very important to have at least one good practical shooting man as second or your seconds may give away advantages to your opponent's seconds, and place you facing the sun.

The distance is twenty-five metres (26 yards 1 foot 2 inches). The opponents stand facing each other and holding the pistol with the b.u.t.t _touching their right thighs_.

The director of the duel, after giving the caution _attention_, says "_feu, un, deux, trois_." After the word "_feu_" the pistol may be raised and fired, but not fired later than the word "_trois_."

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE 10. PISTOLS BY GASTINNE-RENETTE

1. Shooting Smith & Wesson, .44 cartridge. 2. Modified Ira Paine to shoot .44 or .22 ammunition. 3. Saloon pistol, .22 bore, weighing and balancing like a duelling pistol]

To lift the pistol from touching the thigh _before_ the word "_feu_" or to fire after the word "_trois_," is a very grave offence, and if your opponent is killed, it is murder.

The seconds draw up a "Proces Verbal" or report, of the proceedings, which they and the doctor sign, and this is at once submitted to the police. If there is any irregularity reported in it, such as lifting the arm too soon or shooting too late, it is a very serious matter indeed to the guilty one.

If a duellist is killed, his adversary must stand by the body till the police arrive, and deliver himself up to them.

If all is in order, he will probably get off, or at the worst get two years' imprisonment.

If he has infringed the regulations----??

CHAPTER x.x.xVII

DETAILS AS TO DUELLING

The following remarks on duelling apply only to countries where duelling is permitted.

In duelling the challenged has the right to choose what weapons are to be used, pistols or swords.

The pistol is the weapon for any one deeply wronged, provided he is anything of a pistol shot.

In a sword duel the duellist can parry; in a pistol one, he cannot parry, but he can shoot first. If his adversary is a good shot and intends to kill him, his best chance is to hit him before he can fire. A man who knows he is in the wrong and also knows he has a man in front of him, determined to kill him, is very apt to shoot too hurriedly and wildly.

Suppose A. who is a good pistol shot and an indifferent fencer, wishes to fight a duel to the death with B., who is a good swordsman but a bad pistol shot.

It would be very bad policy for A. to send a challenge to B. It would be equally bad policy for B. even if he does not want to fight, to refuse A.'s challenge, if he knows A. wants to kill him.

The reason A. makes a mistake in challenging is that B. when challenged, can choose swords as the weapons, which gives him the advantage.

If B. does not want to fight, having nothing to gain by killing A. and objecting to have A. try and kill him, refusing to fight avails him nothing. It puts him in a worse position. A. has merely to take the opportunity when B. is in a public place to insult B. and compel B. to challenge him else B. is publicly branded as a coward. A. now being the challenged can select weapons and chooses pistols, thus signing B.'s death-warrant.

The most important thing of all in a pistol duel, is _not to lift the pistol before the word_ "_feu_."

There is very little danger of shooting too late, each wishing to hit the other first prevents that, but there is a very serious risk of lifting the pistol _before the word_ "_feu_."

The best way to avoid this risk is to be determined, at whatever cost, _never_ to lift too soon either in practice or compet.i.tion, so that in case of having to fight a duel there is no risk of lifting too soon; it should become so mechanical to wait an appreciable interval before lifting the pistol after the word "_feu_," that there can be no shadow of a doubt that the pistol has not been lifted too soon.

It is an unpardonable fault to get into the habit of lifting the pistol too soon in compet.i.tion.

The best way to cure this fault if acquired (the most difficult of all faults to eradicate, it being one of nerves) is to lift _just before the word_ "_un_," not after the word "_feu_," and get into the habit of treating the word "_feu_" as you do _attention_, as just an order to get prepared to lift, not as the order to lift.

In time you will entirely lose all desire to lift at the word "_feu_." You may be a shade slower in your shots, but this is counterbalanced by the absence of the dread of being too soon.

A man who has been several times disqualified in compet.i.tion for being too soon, may get very slow in lifting and wild in his shooting, as his whole attention is fixed on the words of command instead of on doing good shooting.

Some men adapt a slightly forward lean in shooting, like pigeon shots or a runner on the mark. I do not think there is any advantage in this as there is no recoil to stand up against in a duelling pistol as in a pigeon gun.

The objection to this position is that it does not give the appearance of absolute ease and confidence, so necessary in duelling. It looks like anxiety.

Now half the battle, as any one who has boxed knows, is to "get a healthy funk" in his adversary before the fight begins.

If you draw yourself up slowly to your full height, plant your feet firmly and look your opponent well over, it will have much more effect on his nerves, than if you stand in an eager excited att.i.tude.

Carpentier has this gift to perfection, better than any other fighter I have seen. He has such an air of perfect reliance in himself and confidence and contempt for his adversary, that the latter seemed almost to quail before him.

When the pistol is handed to you, you are not allowed to test the trigger-pull, but you can make a shrewd guess of its strength as you c.o.c.k it, if you lift the hammer high and let it drop clean back into the bend.

A heavy trigger-pull gives a much louder click in c.o.c.king than a light one. I bought Ira Paine's hair trigger Smith & Wesson revolver, which he used for his dangerous feats on the stage, and I hardly hear any sound in c.o.c.king it,--the trigger-pull is so light.