A friend has handed to us a private letter from
New Orleans, dated the 2f21 September last; for the following account of bloody and bar- barous practices which it contains.
" We have had very few duels here this season. Summer is the time for them ; but to make amends, we had an affair which caused no little talk a short while since. A young clerk in a .eounting-house here had a quarrel with a French Creole named Gignel, which resulted in a challenge. Instead of accept. ling the challenge, the Creole went to the Mayor and had his opponent bound over to keep the peace. They met in the sheet shortly afterwards; had some altercation, and Gignel shot the other dead. This was considered a deliberate murder : he was apprehended, applied to be released on bail, which was re- fused ; but he moved his case before another Judge, who released him on bail-- 15,000 dollars. This the friends of the murdered man considered a baying off of justice, these bonds never being collected ; and a number of them assembled to prevent the escape of Gignel. He had already fled ; when it was 'proposed to _Lynch the Judge. They proceeded to his house, and three of the party en- tered it. The Judge succeeded in fighting his way back to his bed-room ; when his wife handed him a sword, with which he killed one of his opponents ; his wife prevented another from stabbing him ; and a friend, who had got into the house, shot him dead; the third made his escape. There was an immensely large funeral of the deceased ; and many of the assistants seemed anxious to avenge their friends' death. The Judge went out of town, and I do not know if he has yet returned."
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