Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-22
FIGHTS TO THE DEATH.

1uhI gnu Dtl"etn L drulcr reel anu
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 camps. The weapons
were rifles, revolverS and bowie knives.
The men principals were placed on oppo-
site sides OF a hillock around which ran a
road, and started to meet The curve of
the hill prevented their seeing each other
until they were within hundred yards.
As soon as they both saw each other they
both fired. Though part of the rim of
Peel's hat was cut off, and the soldier
sleeve was pierced, neither was hurt.
Then they pulled their pistols and ad-
vanced firing. Both dropped badly
wounded when less than twenty yards
separated them. They lay there squirm-
ing and shooting until both lad emptied
their weapons. Feel was desperately 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 wiggIe toward
the fallen soldier. He pulled himself
along with his elbows. and with his unin-
Jured hand finished the soldier with his
bowie knife.
A DUEL HALF \ MILE UNDERGROUND.
There was a duel upon the Comstock
which was fought over half a mile under
ground. According to the evidence given
at the inquest by the survivor, the two
miners were working alone in a DRIFT
They were rivals over the affections of a
woman, and in quarrel one made drive
at the other with his candIestick
A miner candlestick consists of metal
socket attached to small steel spike. so
that it can be struck in the face of the
drift anywhere. The second miner de
Tended himself with his candestick. and
there, thousands of feet underground,
they wrestled and stabbed until ones life
was gone.
As they did not come 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 survivor story Of the affair. and he
was acquitted.
A DUEL WITH HOWITZERS.
A strange duel was fought in a sparse
ly settled part of Sonora, Mexico. about
fifteen years ago. Captain ViIenueva
and a Lieutenant of battery of light
artillery 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 second nor assistant gunners.
but from the tops of small hillocks they
fired explosive shells at each other. The
Captain was wounded by fragment of a
she'll, but they fired ten shots before either
was disabled, though both was covered
with dust
Finally the Captain Iandeda shell under
his adverary's gun, and the explosion so
mangled the Lieutenant that he died be-
fore they could remove him to the post
a RATTLEsNAKE DUEL.
A little blind cannon on the Sierra
Madre used to furnish the Apaches with a
means of formally settling their disputes
This guIch Is fairly alive with rattle
snakes
When two bucks had quarrel that
they did not wish to settle off hand they
repaired to this gully, and, while the re
malnder OF TIE tribe stood around and
watched from the hills on either side, the
combatantS went together where the SER
penis "ClC bulChtSI, iHtIt- SGIiIh
naked and weaponless, hey would
wrestIe. And this would wake up the
rattlers 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 around
among the rocks Each was bound to re-
main and Wrestle as long as his adversary
had life or strength enough to struggle
with him.
DUELING BLINDFOLDED.
A favorite form of dueling among the
Mexicans is to fight blindfolded with
knives. Occasionally a man refused to
fight. on the ground that the other fellow
vastly exceeds him in skill with the knife.
They equaiize this by blindfoldiug both
parties. Sometimes they fight over sash
held tout by the seconds, while a referee
stands by and sees that the bandages over
the eyes are kept in place
Then the principals slash away. So nx-
pert do the cid knife fighters become that
they seem almost as well able to parry Il
thrust simply through the sense e feeling