The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-08-30
NOVEL DEATH FIGHTS.
SOME QUEER WESTERN METHODS
OF SETTLING DISPUTES.

ling In a Gulch ruled with Rattlesnakes.
Fatal Lariat Throwing.
The RATA duel is not new thing on
the Mexican frontier Indeed, there is
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 sldllful and quick do these rope
throwers become that such dnel not
unfrequently lasts for hours.
Probably the best remembered fight of
this sort was that between Texan,
known as Kid Long, and little Mexi-
can who was only spoken Of as "Gabilan"
-hawk-on the great Lievre range. They
circled around each other, lodging the
rapid throws from 10 in the morning
until after sunset. When the horses had
almost given out the Texan threw at his
adversary, who threw back so that his
moose passed right over the other mans
lasso and hand and caught him fair
around the neck and under the arnpit
In almost no time Kid was out of his
saddle and being dragged over the ground
at a 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.
KING or THE CAMP.
That between Farmer 4 ,el and
soldier, near 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 rifles, revolvers and bowie
knives The men principals We're placed
on opposite sides of hillock, around
which ran a road and started to meet.
The curve Of the hill prevented their see
ing one another until they were within
a hundred yards. AS soon as they saw
one another both fired. Though part of
the rim of Peels hat was cut off, and
the soldiers sleeve was pierced, neither
was hurt. Then they pulled their pis-
tolls 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 a short time swearing. Then
Peel, who was so badly hurt that he
could not advance even ON his hands and
knees, began to wriggle toward the fallen
soldier. He pulled himself along with
his elbows and with his one uninjured
hand finished the soldier 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 he
went over to Nevada he received every
where the homage of lesser lights.
pUELING IN coMsTocK MINE.
They have lots of deadly encounters
up there ON the Comstock There was
one number of years ago fought over
half mile under ground. According to
the evidence given at the inquest by the
survivor, the two miners were working
alone in drift They were rivals over
the affections of woman, and in quar-
rel one made drive at the other with
his candlestick A miners candlestick
consists of metal socket attached to a
sharp steel spike, so that it can be stuck
in the face Of the drift anywhere. The
second miner defended himself with his
candlestick and there, thousands 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 off shift others went down in
search of them. They found one dead
and the other unconscious through loss
of blood. The jury, of course, had to
take the survivors, story of the affair
and he was acquitted
A strange duel was fought in a sparsely
settled part of Sonora, Mexico, about
fifteen years ago. Capt. Villenueva and
a lieutenant of battery of light artil-
lery belonging to one Of the posts had
some trouble about who was the best
shot with the mountain howitzers.
They quarreled and agreed to settle it
with the howitzers at 500 yards. They
took neither seconds nor assistant gun
ners, but from the top Of small hillocks
they fired explosive shells at one an
other The captain was wounded by a
fragment of shell, but they fred ten
shots before either was disabled, though
each was covered with dust. Finally
the captain landed shell fairly under
his adyersary's gun and the explosion so
mangled the lieutenant that he died be
fore they could remove him to the post.
AN APACHE SNAKE FIGHT.
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
off hand they repaired TO this gulley,
and while the remainder of the tribe
stood around and watched from the
hills ON either side the combatants went
together to where the serpents were
thickest. There stark naked and weap-
onless they would wrestle. This would
wake up every rattler in the glen. The
aim of each was 70 force the other on to
the angry snakes. 1t was not unusual
for both TO be bitten while they strug-
gled and rolled around among the rocks.
Each was bound TO remain and wrestle
as long as his adversary had life OF
strength enough to struggle with him.
A most remarkable duel was fought al
Las Carnitas n NJ, many years ago,
An under sized stranger came to the
town and picked a quarrel with "Hand-
some Harry" gambler renowned as a
dead shot, They got out into the road
and both fell mortally wounded. 1t was
discovered that the stranger was a wom
F an, and though she never spoke aftel
She fell the story became known thai
she was "A sister Of girl whom Hand
SOME Harry had wronged years before
-San Francisco Examiner