begins to grapple with him, trying to take him to the
ground.7
Although
overmatched in size and strength, the small man is no weakling, and he
knows how to fight. Like his father before him, the small man is an
accomplished wrestler. Using his own considerable strength and his supe-
rior knowledge of grappling, the small man throws the big man. The vic-
tory is short lived. The big man arises, grabs the small man, and throws
him to the ground. Mounting the prostrate body of his foe as one would
mount a horse, he begins to pummel the small man. He does not need
the whip and does not use it. Bystanders intervene and pull the big man
off his
victim.8
The big man is not finished. He tries to restart the fight, but others
intervene again, and he goes off, perhaps to sleep, perhaps to bully others.
He fights at least one other man on this evening, and possibly more.
Testosterone and alcohol form a lethal combination, and the loser of such
a fight often will not let things stand. Retribution must be exacted, and
that retribution sometimes gets meted out when the loser arms himself
and strikes unexpectedly. It is a common pattern of behavior re-enacted
countless
times.9
Later that night someone takes vengeance on the big
man.10
Using a deadly weapon, the attacker strikes. Although he does
not intend to kill, he has dealt the big man a mortal injury. The big man
A camp meeting. (From Camp Meeting Manual: A Practical Book for the Camp
Ground by B. W. Gorham, 1854)
