No. 359
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
May 02, 2017

A Duel on Horseback.

Two rivals for the affections of an Arkansas belle fight a desperate battle with knives.
May 2, 2017
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A Duel on Horseback.

Duel on Horseback

Two rivals for the affections of an Arkansas belle fight a desperate battle with knives and are horribly mangled near Bear Creek. 

Two young men, cousins, named Austin Guthrie and Franklin Meyers, near Bear Creek, Ark., rivals for the affections of a young girl, quarreled and proceeded to blows. Both were on horseback, and drawing their knives they commenced a contest which lasted several minutes, both receiving fatal wounds. Meyers's arm was almost severed from the body and he was horribly about the face and breast. Guthrie was fearfully wounded in the head and body. Both fainted and fell from their horses. They were found unconscious in a pool of blood by the roadside.


Reprinted from National Police Gazette, October 27, 1883.