Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-10-19
No. 49,.
DUEL IN THE DARK.
A Thrilling Romance from a Texas
Mining Camp--HOW Ventriioquist's
Art Served him in Crises.

DALLAS, TEXAS, September 25.-The
Erening Times publishes letter from Car
rizo Pass, 600 miles west of Dallas, giving
an account of hostile meeting between two
miners in the Pecos Mining Company's camp,
twenty miles north of the American border,
last Monday night The duelists were
George Hollenbeck and William StrattOn,
| both New Workers, born and raised near
/ Palmyra They We're OF rich descent OF the
early Hollanders. They were educated at
Cambridge; the former graduated as a law
yer and the latter as a physician. They
came out of college about the same time OF
Lincoln's first call for volunteers to suppress
the Southern Rebellion. They enlisted and
went through the war, serving in Colonel
Gordon's One Hundred and Forty-tourth
New York Regiment. At the close OF the
war they returned home, but finding profess
sional pursuits too tame for them they. con-
cluded to 60 West Before they left home
a difficulty arose be tween them which was
prevented from ending in bloodshed by the
interposition of mutual friends. Before they
had chance to meet again Stratton sought
his fortune in the far West. He wandered
to California, where he went to work as 4
miner. Hollenbeck went in the some dlrec-
ton, but stopped at Colorado, where he also
became a miner. They never heard OF each
other after this. They have since followed
the business of mining, but have never be-
come as rich as they at first expected. few
days ago they met in the Pecos mining
camp and recognized each other. The school
and social polish had been rubbed off by the
trials and hardships incidental to life in the
mining camps. Hollenbeck was overjoyed
to meet Stratton, who repelled him and said
they would settle that little unfinished diff
ficulty which arose between them at their
last meeting Hollenbeck said he had for
gotten all about the difficulty referred to,
and entertained no i'll feelings whatever
against him. Stratton insisted upon set
tlement in accordance with the code. Hol-
lenbeck said if nothing short of that would
do he would accommodate him. According
ly, arrangements were consummated for
duel They were to fight with pistols in a
dark room. Each man was to announce
ready, after which a third party was to
count three, when they were to fire The
room was dark as Egypt They went intoit
and announced ready from opposite corners.
Zone, two three" and Stratton fired. STRAIT
ton fired second shot, but the only response
from Hollenbeck was groan. Stratton, be-
lieving he had wounded Hollenbeck, fired a
third shot in the direction Of the groaning.
The report of pistol came from a corner
directly opposite from where the groan ap-
peared to proceed from, and Stratton fell.
No more shots being exchanged, the miners
opened the room and entered. A light re-
vealed the fact that Stratton had been killed
while Hollenbeck was unhurt Holenbeck
is ventriloquist, and on entering the room
took his stand in a diagonal corner from his
| adyerSary and to make him believe he was
in the opposite corner, threw his voice in
that corner of the room, where the bullets
from his adversary's pistol harmlessly buried
themselves in the wall. 1t had been so long
since they had seen each other that Hollen-
beck's ventriloquism had entirely escaped
the memory of Stratton. The affair has
caused a great deal of excitement through
the camp; but as anything is called fair in
such business no fault is found by the min
ers with the strategy employed by Hollen-
beck.