their “culture of honor” was nothing to be ashamed of.rnI seriously doubt that Nisbett and Cohen intended theirrnstudy to contribute to the self-esteem of Southern Celts. Butrnperhaps there is more here than Yankee cracker-bashing. Notingrnthat a white Alabama boy is more likely to shoot someonernover an affaire d’honneur than is someone from Massachusettsrn(I’m reminded here of candidate Michael Dukakis’s responsernto a hypothetical question about what he might do to avengernhis wife’s rape), they seem to suggest that it is somehow unwisernto permit Southerners to exercise their rights under the SecondrnAmendment. Now, it is all right with me if the gentlefolk fromrnNew England and elsewhere above the Mason-Dixon line wishrnto perceive us as gun-totin’ cowboys. Perhaps this will stem therninflux of snowbirds (distinguishable by sandals over blackrnsocks), yuppies, and Yankee professors.rnThe really bad part of this study is the feminist propagandarnagainst the evils of testosterone. Convince enough females thatrnthey are really “equal” with males in all respects, and convincernenough males that their traditional role as protector is biologicallyrnaberrant, and you have created social chaos and revolution.rnIn the New World Order of Perfect Gender Equity liesrnthe justification for extermination of this biological anomaly. Ifrnno testosterone, then no males, no violence, no spouse andrnchild abuse, no rape, no war—the complete triumph of thernfeminist vision.rnAs the last of a dying breed of men. Southerners should wearrnthe “culture of honor” mantle proudly. Men who allow theirrnfamilies, friends, and society to be dishonored without so muchrnas a harsh word in response do not deserve to be called men,rnmuch less civilized men. While Yankees and Englishmenrnmight rightly ignore insults against Abe Lincoln and thernQueen, respectively, Southerners and their Celtic cousinsrnshould not be expected to react so passively to unkind wordsrnabout Jefferson Davis or Robert the Bruce.rnThe South has historically been home to gentlemen whorntook affronts to their honor seriously and who understood thatrnthe manlv arts of self-defense were necessary components ofrncivilization. Since the South was the most extensive frontier inrnantebellum America, the use of weapons was of peculiar importancernthere. If a young man wished to survive his teen years,rnhe had to devote a considerable amount of practice to the usernof hsts, blade, and gun.rnThree Southerners come to mind as archetypes of this frontierrnculture—John Smith (whom Thomas Fleming hasrncalled “the first American”), Andrew Jackson, and James (Jim)rnBowie. Smith (c. 1580-1631) made his mark as a soldier andrnadventurer, leaving his home in Willoughby, England, at agern15 to seek his fortune. He spent a good deal of time living alonernin the wilderness in primitive conditions to strengthen hisrnbody, intellect, and self-reliance, all the time longing for the searnand dreaming of “doings with the sword.” In 1599, aged 19, hernvolunteered for service in the Dutch wars, and his mettle as arnman was tested straightaway. On the voyage to the continent,rnSmith had his possessions stolen by a party of four cunningrnFrench rogues, who made away with them while the ship was inrnport. Smith determined to hunt them down and actually hadrnthe good fortune of meeting up with the leader of the pack ofrnthieves in Brittany. He drew his sword and without a word engagedrnhis adversary in single combat. Severely wounded, thernthief confessed, though Smith’s possessions were long gone byrnthat time. However, the young Englishman had shown himselfrna man of courage and honor.rnAfter serving as a mercenary in the Nethedands, Smith tookrnup arms in the service of the Hapsburgs in their struggle againstrnthe Turks in the Balkans in 1601, and it was in this Christian-rnMuslim conflict that he established his credentials as a soldier.rnJust 21 years old, Smith arrived in this bloody marshland at arntime when the fortunes of war were running against the forcesrnof Christendom. But he made his presence known immediately,rndevising an ingenious plan for the capture of the Turkishheldrnfortress of Alba Regalis in Hungary. By bombarding thernstronghold with “fiery dragons”—earthen vessels filled withrnpowder and shot and covered with pitch—such an alarm wasrncaused among the defenders that they sallied forth from theirrncover to be massacred by a Christian counterattack, which carriedrnthe city walls. Barring Smith’s daring plan, the fortressrnwould not have been taken except by a long and laborious siege.rnAs the Christians celebrated their victory, Smith noted: “Thernlamentable noise of the miserable slaughtered Turks was mostrnwonderful to hear.”rnBut it was at the siege of Regall, another Turkish-occupied redoubtrnin Hungary, that Smith exhibited the marks of a truernwarrior. The Turks were confident that they could hold out indefinitelyrnand, consequently, became haughty and overconfident.rnThe leader of the garrison, Lord Turbishaw, challengedrnthe Christian camp to put forth its best fighter to engage withrnhim in single combat; it was John Smith who won the honor. Inrnhis Life of Captain John Smith, William Gilmore Simms givesrnthe following account of Smith’s victory:rnSo admirably true was the aim, so firm the nerves of thernChristian champion, and so well-trained his steed, thatrnthe lance of Smith penetrated the beaver of the Turk,rnand passing through his eye into the brain, he fell dead tornthe ground at the first thrust, without so much as grazingrnthe person of his conqueror. Smith leapt to the ground,rnunbraced the helmet of his enemy, and finding him lifeless,rnsmote off his head, which he bore away in triumphrnto the Christian host.rnBefore his exploits at Regall were finished. Smith had metrnand defeated two more Turks in single combat: Turbishaw’srnpersonal friend, Grualgo, and Bonny Mulgro. As with the firstrnvictim. Smith also took the heads of his last two foes as trophiesrnof war. As a reward for his exploits. Smith was presented arnpatent of nobility by the Prince of Transylvania and thus wasrnentitled to a coat of arms which bore three Tiirks’ heads in arnshield with the motto Vincere est Vivere (“To conquer is tornlive”).rnThe John Smith who appears in American history booksrn(and in the stupid Disnev film Pocahontas) is rarely presented inrnlight of his accomplishments and travails (primarily as a slave ofrnthe Turks) before he set foot in the Virginia colony. His militaryrncareer indeed had prepared him well for the vagaries of thernAmerican wilderness, and where lesser men failed. Smith’srntoughness and determination helped assure that the Englishrnsettlement in Virginia would succeed. When he arrived inrnNorth America, he had already seen and done more than any ofrnhis companions.rnSmith virtually single-handedly saved the Virginia colonyrnfrom extinction by instituting an iron discipline among the laggardrnsettlers (many of whom had wasted precious energy andrnresources in a vain search for a Northern version of El Dorado)rn18/CHRONICLESrnrnrn