Omaha daily bee., 1890-09-22
A MEylCAN DUEL
Lassoed bya Rival ana Dragged TO
Death.

Death
Mr.. j. II. Johnson, travelling man
well known in this city, returned tho
other clay from n trip through New Mex
leo where he hos been in the nterests
of the Chicago house which he repre-
sents. He says he witnessed one of the
most horri be duels ever fought in that
land. Mr.. JOhn was in the sou Their n
part of New Mexico, taking wagon
III do with his sa les when ho arrived
at the little villagoof ScbollO, says II
dispatch to the Globe-Domo moCrat. The
wealth er washot, sultry and dry. The
q l,st in the rOadswaS many inches deep,
and evcryt hing com bined TO make the
trip about as unCOm Portable as could be.
His driver was Mexican and acted as
Interpreter. There was no n otel in the
place, but they succeeded in obtaining
accom- mod atoms In n house which was
u slightremOve from stable.
After ma king out supper as best he
could Mr.. johnson sat in front OF tho
house enjoying acigar, Insidehe could
hear the pretty daughter of his host
laughing and chattering. The girlwas
evidently the belle OF tho countryNnd
k new it, SHE was about fifteen years
old but had that peculiar development
of the southern races which gave her
cVoninga young Mexican rodoup. He
was triCked out In all the dncry affected
by the horscmen of that country, and
from [ he efTusi ye recept ion accorded bN
the girl he was evidently favortc
While the merrim ent was at It's n eight
another young man rode UP, dressed
enough like the TO play the twin
brotheract, IIo was as we'll received
as his pred eCessor, but it was plain that
each eyed the other with jealousy, a
few minutes later the driver informed
Mr. Johnsonthatth ere would bc trouble,
fOrthe mon were ri vals aud the z irl was
a thorough coquotte.
The two men had been in the hOuh
buta n short timewhcn loud talking and
quarreling was heard. Mr.. Johnson
went into the room, attracted by the
noise, and saw at once that there would
bea fl ght- The girl pleased to be the
cause OlsuCh q row, sh o we'd her pCarly
teeth, and her black eyes grow bri ghter
as the eXcitem ent increased. About all
MIR. j Johnson could under stand was the
cusing and the venomous looks OF tho
rivals. Finally they appeared to have
come to some agreement, and the inter-
prefer said they had decided TO fight Il
duel with their lassos. 1t was bright
noonli ight nigh tand about n dozenwere
in tn q party W n ich rode out into the
prairie, Mr.. Johnson tried opatch up
n peace, butts not sure that his inter-
prefer said just whathe was told to, for
the answer he received was to mind his
own business. A rapid ride took the
party far enough out into the plains to
ii How the duelistS free room inwhich to
ride. The rest Of the story can best be-
told in Mr.. job nSon IS own words:
"A lasso duel, in fact duel of any
sort. In h11t | hnd hnnn in,
the west SO lon e that knew the partici-
pants we're in d cad earnest | did not
know how terrible would be the ending
or orcertainl y wo ud never have remained
to witness 1t. The men were bare
headedand stri pped to the waist. There
was none ofthe iormality and politeness
which marks the sO-caled civilized
codes. They simply hated each other
and desired to kill. The last words
spoke nwere Gu rses- The horses we're
put facing each 9th close togeh er. At
II given word they rode slowly past each
other, wentabout twenty yards. tuned
and We're ready to begin. Lasso in
hand, they slowly circled about, keeping
a watchful eye on each other. Sud-
denly there was hiss and IL lassonew
through the air. An aort eye and a
q uick dOd ge caused it tohll short, and
before 1t could be recovered the other
nau thrown MS rope, but 1t, too, had
been guarded against. This continued
for Sc veral min utes, many throws being
made and avoided. The deadly loops
Were thrown by eX portS, but they we're
dodgedby men who had studied the art
allther ves
AT last the small Ter of the two men
sent his riata whs ing throu gh the air.
L saw the other throw uphis hand and
arm coward it off, hut / he loop settled
down over his head and arm and in a
flash it was drawn tight IL was all
done inthe twinkling of an eye. Both
horses were on the run while the loop
was fastening tight. He was jerk ed out
ofthe sad die, and tn en-, in some way his
boot caughtin the stirrupand he hung,
screaming with PAIN and the horses
strai led apart asif trying to tearhim
in two. 1t was simply awful. The VIC
torlou smanwas yelling like demon,
ashe urgedhis horse to greater e efTOrts.
[ could not stand the sight and rushed
forwa I'd to cut the rope, when the loot
slipped from tn estirmp and the other
started his horse across the moOnlit
plain, drag gine the imam mute bod V Of his
rival, which was fast being reduced to a
g haDe less mass. Round and round he
circle until | fa inted. When L recovered
consci iOusness i was lying on abench in
front OF the house and the party had
dispersed. Out on the plain lay tho
body Of the victim of the duel and in
the house we're the victor and the girl
aug h Ing and taking as il nothing had
happened.
Kaiser With q i'm IN an . bof