Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-02-27
THE ONLY DUEL In NEVADA.
CONDUCTED ACCORDING TO THE OLD
CODE OF HONOR.
Mix-up in Miners Politics P~recipitat-
ed a Row In Which a Blow Was
Struck-Bold Billy MulliEan
Vindicntes His Honor.



From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The fall of 1868 found Austin a booming
town of some 5000 inhabitants. A short
year before a pony express rider 1ouno
some rich chloride silver ore in Pony can
on, got drunk as a matter OF course over
his good fortune and boosted OF his nnd
and exhibited his specimens. Within a
month there were over IL hundred pros
pectors delving in the hillsides of Pony
canon, and within a year a town whose
lots were selling from slO0 to 5000 apiece
graced its banks. That silver ore running
from 500 to $1,000 per ton was found in the
recently discovered mines was undeniable,
for every store and saloon possessed spec
linens of it. To be sure, the vein was or
the razor blade" variety: that Is, while
many We're very rich they were also very
narrow. But none told the tiattering tale
that when depth was attained they would
increase in size. To be sure, the ore car
ried no gold, but this was before the per-
petration of the crime Of IS, and silver
was still good enough for anybody. so that
made no difference. In the the rush TO the
new FL Dorado along with the miner IND
the trader came the gambler and the gun
man. as the Nevada tough was called.
Pretty nearly every desperate of note on
the coast whose fame had not fickered
out with his life before its advent saw
Austin in 1S6S-64. Some even attained po-
litical and official prominence. Nose
Haynes, the chairman of the board OF
county commissioners of Lander county.
of which Austin was the county seat, was
an ex-highwayman who had escaped the
penitentiury by peaching on his pals when
arrested a couple of years before. HIS
fellow commissioners showed themselves
worthy coadjutors by assisting him TO
run the county over 500, 600 behind in Fix
months. with very little to show for it.
But that's another story.
The narrow lodges, running in all di-
r%ections and often intersecting each other,
led to endless disputes between the
miners. and here the gun men found their
opportunity. Nle or both sides would
hire hem to hold forcible possession of
the ground in dispute and there was a
the saloons nearly every day. With the
toughs and killers who came TO Austin
were two men who figure in this story.
One. Barney Mulligan, came from Sacra-
mento. where he had a local reputation
as a bad man." There was an underlined
impression among men of his ilk. how
ever. that he was more of a buffer than
a dead game sport. One Of Barney's
strongest claims to his reputation as a
fighter was that he was a brother of the
celebrated Billy Mulligan. of San Fran
cisco, Dave Scannell's old deputy when
sheriff, who was expatriated by the vigil
lance committee.
The Observation-Disclosures Feud.
" Z was AN NNAJ AiS NAoS 0AA'y
was a man of nerve and mighty handy
with his gun. Tom Coleman was a broad
shouldered. heavy-set Irishman. whose
pleasant smile and jovial manner did not
betoken the tough. He had won his spurs
on the levee at Sacramento as a steam
boat runner in the early days, and had
the reputation of being a bad man to run
up against.
That fall 1t wa reported that new min
eral had been found in a locality about
ten miles from Austin, and there was a
stampede to the new mines. 1t was de-
termined to organize a new mining dis
trict, and a miners meeting was called
for the purpose of enactins a code of
mining laws and of electing a mining re-
corder. Now the office of mining recorder
In a new and fiouriShing district was a
rich plum. and much sought after. There
were two candidates for the position, and
and election sure. had taken the precau-
ton of employing Barney Mulligan and
his band of rouShs to work for him at
the polls As the election was not gov
erned by laws n any one that claimed
to nave located a mine in the district
could vote, it enabled Barney to get in
some fine work, and up to noon every
thing was going his patrons way. Early
in the day the candidate who was being
showed under by these tactics dropped
or the game and posted off to Austin,
where ne secured the services of Tom
Coleman and his band Of toughs to offset
the efforts of the Mulligan gang. Shortly
after noon Coleman and his cohorts APP
peared. and the festivities began. a dis
pute arose as to the right of a voter to
cast his ballot, and Coleman slapped Null
Iican's face and dared him to resent it.
Barney weakened, and with his forces
withdrew from the field. From that time
it was easy sailing for the Coleman crowd,
and. of course. their candidate was tri-
umphantly elected. The talk of the town
was not the election. but of the insult
to Mulligan. and as to what he would do
about 1t. The consensus of opinion was
that he would do nothing-though some of
his admirers insisted that in good time he
would summon Coleman to the field OF
honor that the insult might be effaced IN
blood.
According to the Code.
Soon it was rumored that Billy Multi
| gan was coming by the overland stage to
| revisit the scenes of his former greatness
after his seven years of exile. and that
he would stop in Austin TO visit his
brother Barney. Shortly 1t was announced
that he was in town, and the crowd in
and about the big stone saloon showed
that something more than usual was on
the taps. 1t was Billy Mulligan holding
Il leyee. At first he was d disappoint-
mcnt. Barney was a burly, broad-shoul-
dercd ~ruffian, Weighing at least 1870 pounds,
while Billy was short and slight. and
would barely tip the scales at 40 pounds.
But n sight of his face changed all this.
a resolute jaw, Il cruel mouth. and a cold.
| snaky gray eye betokened a man whom
it would be unsafe to enraSe. and who.
once aroused. would go all lengths to
wreak his vengeance. Standing in the
midst of his woolen-shirted. unshaven.
red-faced admirers. he formed q marked
contrast. He was attired in the latest
New York fashion. with clean linen and
silk hat, and his dapper little figure show
ed the most careful grooming. 1t soon be-
came noised about that he was going to
call Tom Coleman to account for his in
suit to the House of Mulligan. Opinion
was divided as to whether it would be
a street fight or Il duel. The partisans of
the two factions were seen holding mys-
| FERROUS conferences in the back rooms OF
the principal saloons. and toward night
all doubts were set at rest. for Clint Pat
chen was called into the conferences of
the high belligerent parties. Now Clint.
] through his association with the chivalry
of California in early times. and having
| participated as n second in some of the
hostile meetings of that period. was rec
oGnized as IN authority on the code. Be
sides II was known that he would never
recognize anything so plebeian as a street
| fight to settle n difference between gentle
men. So a duel was to be. and the when
and where was known to the favored few
that night. 1t was to be at the foot Of
the grade. about Il mile and n half below
town the next morning at daylight.
On the battlefield.
There was no effort on the part of the
authorities to interfere The deputv