Some details on the Sandbar Fight
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbar_Fight#Brawl
On September 19, 1827, both Bowie and Mr Wright attended a duel on a sandbar outside of Natchez, Mississippi. Bowie supported duelist Samuel Levi Wells III, while Wright favored Dr. Thomas Harris Maddox, both of Alexandria, Louisiana. About 16 men were present. Wells had also brought supporters, including Major George McWhorter and General Samuel Cuny. Maddox was supported by Colonel Robert Crain, Carey Blanchard, Alfred Blanchard, and several unnamed others.
Wright was late, and had not yet arrived when the duel began.
The duelists each fired two shots, and, as neither man was injured, resolved their duel with a handshake.
As the duelists turned to leave, Bowie came forward to meet them. Seeing this, Maddox’s friends ran forward to join the group. Cuny, who had previously fought with Crain, is recorded as having called out to him, “Col. Crain, this is a good time to settle our difficulty.”
Crain fired, missing Cuny but striking Bowie in the hip and knocking him to the ground. Cuny and Crain then exchanged fire, with Crain sustaining a flesh wound in the arm and Cuny dying from a shot to the chest.
Bowie, rising to his feet, drew his knife and charged at Crain, who struck him so hard with his empty pistol upon the head that it broke and sent Bowie to his knees.
Wright appeared, drew a pistol, and shot at the fallen Bowie, missing. Wright then drew his sword cane and stabbed Bowie in the chest, but the thin blade was deflected by his sternum.
As Wright attempted to pull the blade free, Bowie reached up, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him down upon the point of his Bowie knife.
Wright died quickly, and Bowie, with Wright’s sword still protruding from his chest, was shot again and stabbed by another member of the group. As Bowie stood, pulling the sword cane from his chest, both Blanchard brothers fired at him, and he was struck once in the arm. Bowie spun and cut off part of Alfred’s forearm. Carey fired a second shot at Bowie, but missed. As the brothers fled, Carey was shot and wounded by Major McWhorter.
The Battle of the Sandbar lasted more than 10 minutes, leaving Samuel Cuny and Norris Wright dead, and another four men—Alfred Blanchard, Carey Blanchard, Robert Crain and Jim Bowie—wounded.
Crain helped carry Bowie away, with Bowie recorded as having thanked him, saying, “Col. Crain, I do not think, under the circumstances, you ought to have shot me.” One doctor reputedly said “How he (Bowie) lived is a mystery to me, but live he did.” The doctors who had been present for the duel managed to patch Bowie’s wounds.
My comment: Carter Hall and Anton Hastor have attempted to explain the intricacies of reincarnation to me, in such situations where the same two rivals reappear age after age, but the matter is dizzying to the intellect.
Readers are no doubt puzzled that I arrived late at the duel, shot and missed, and then died on the point of Col. Bowie’s knife on September of 1827 and yet am a science fiction writer in 2001 and after, still armed with the same sword cane, and, ever since resigning as a member of SFWA, having no access to the Wells Time Machine kept in the basement of the lavish SFWA mansion in New Jersey?
Nonetheless, I can explain. I am always late whenever I go anywhere, since I have an incurable habit of attempting to finish one last task before I turn to the next, and underestimate my travels times considerably. I had gotten so used to using the Wells machine to skip back the fifteen minutes or so whenever I arrive late, I merely got out of the habit of punctuality.
And anyone could miss that shot.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
