Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-11-13
QUEER WESTERN DUELs.

0Ts u,
hardly big cattle range anywhere that
has not its stories of hard fights with
the lasso. Such duels are bound to be
fierce. But SO skillful and quick do
these rope-throwers become that such
duel not unfrequently lasts for hours.
Probably the bestremembered fight
of this sort, says the San Francisco Ex-
aminer, was that between a Texan
known as Kid Long and little Mexican
who was only spoken Of as ''Gabilan"-
hawk-on the great Lievre range. They
circled around each other, lodging the
rapid throws from ten in the morning
until after sunset. When the horses
had almost given out the Texan threw
at his adversary, who threw back 80
that his moose passed right over
the other mans lasso and hand and
caught him fair around the neck and
under tho armpit. In almost no time
Kid was out of his saddle and being
dragged over the ground at rate that
knocked the life out of him before he
had gone a hundred yards. --
The West, during its wild and woolly
days, and the Mexican frontier have
had many remarkable duels. That be-
tween Farmer Peel and a soldier
Lear one of the forts in Utah is among
The classics OF the field of honor-or
what has answered for that in the cow
towns and mining camp. The weapons
were riff es, revolvers and bowie-knives.
The princi pals were placed on opposite
sides Of hillook, around which ran
road, and started to meet. The curve
of the hill prevented their seeing one
another until they were within hun
dSed yards. AS soon as they saw one
smother they both fred. Though part
Of the rim Of Peel's hat was cut off and
the soldiers sleeve was pierced, neither
was hurt Then they pulled their pistols
and advanced, firing. Both dropped
badly wounded when less than twenty
yards separated them. They lay there
Squirming and shooting until both had
emptied their weapons. Peel was des-
perately hurt, and his adversary had
one ball through the stomach and
several others distributed all over his
anatomy. When they could shoot no
more they lay for O short time swear
ing. Then Peel, who was 80 badly hurt
that he could not advance even on his
hands and knees, began to wrigglo
toward the fallen soldier. He pulled
himself along with his elbows, and with
his ore uninjured hand finished the SOL
der with his bowie-knife.
Farmer Peel already had the biggest
private graveyard of any man in the
vicinity. This encounter spread his
fame all over the coast, and when be
went over to Nevada he received every
where the homage OF lesser knights.
They have lots of deadly encounters
up there on the Comstock. There was
one number Of years ago fought over
nalf mile Underground. According TO
the evidence given at the inquest by the
survivor, the two miners were working
alone in drift. They were rivals for
che affections Of a woman, and in quar-
rel one made a drive at the other with
his candlestick. A miners candlestick
consists Of metal socket attached to o
sharp steel spike, so that it can be
stuck in the face Of the drift anywhere.
The second miner defended himself
with his candlesticlS, and there, thou
sands Of feet under the ground, they
wrestled and stabbed until ones life
WAS gone. AS they did not come up
when they should have gone of shift
others went down in search of them.
AuOy IOuuu Ou0 u0bu duu Guo OCn0C uIl-
conscious through loss of blood. The
jury, Of course, had to take the sur
vivor's story Of the affair, and he was &C.
quilted.
A little blind canyon in the Sierra
Madre used to furnish the Apaches with
the means Of formally settling their dis
putes. This gulch is fairly alive with
rattlesnakes. When two bucks had a
quarrel that they did not wish to settle
of hand they repaired to this gully, and
while the remainder, of the tribe stood
around and watched from the hills on
either side, the combatants went to-.
gother to where the serpents were thick
est. There, stark naked and weapon.
loss, they would wrestle. This would
wakc up every rattler in the glen. The
aim of each was to force the other on to
the angry snakes. 1t was not unusual for
both to be bitten while they struggled
and rolled among the rocks. Each was