ROUGH AND TUMBLE FIGHTING CONTESTS ON THE FRONTIER IN EARLY NORTH CAROLINA
“In 1746, four deaths prompted the governor of North Carolina to ask for legislation against ‘the barbarous and inhuman manner of boxing which so much prevails among the lower sort of people.’ The colonial assembly responded by making it a felony ‘to cut out the Tongue or pull out the eyes of the King’s Liege People.’ Five years later the assembly added slitting, biting, and cutting off noses to the list of offenses.”
Cited by Gorn from Tom Parramore, “Gouging in Early North Carolina,” NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE JOURNAL, 22 (1974)
As quoted in:
Elliott J. Gorn, “Gouge and Bite, Pull Hair and Scratch” The Social Significance of Fighting in the Southern Backcountry.” JOURNAL OF MANLY ARTS [April, 2001]; this monograph by Mr. Gorn first appeared in THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, Vol. 90, No. 1 (Feb., 1985): 18-43. Copyright by The American Historical Association. Available for reading online at:
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_gorn_0401.htm