Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-07-04

| iiiE DOEl- With RAJ HIDES.
half dozen young Spaniards who stood
! but shot distance from him conyersing
| in loud tones
| lie soon became aware that the young
| dons were talking at" him and were ut
| tcring uncomplimeRtary remarks about
| the United States navy and about Ameri-
| cans in general
Belts stood it rs long rs he could: then,
suddenly stepping up TO them he slapped
one of them on the check smartly, follow
! ing it by casting his glove at the fellows
feet. Before the crowd could recover their
surprise he had removed his other glove,
| struck the next nearest man in the face
and threw the glove at the mans feet.
The Spaniards Sunk away in confusion,
but early next morning he was waited on
in his room by two of the crowd, WHO pre-
sentea to him formal challenges to fight a
duel with each of The lnen whom he had
| met the night before
Lieutenant Belts demanded the choice
of weapons, which the friends OF thu chal-
lengeSs could not refuse In the FIST case
he named So inch pwhides of a certain,
! weight and thickness, and bucksk in sloves
| in the ether. The Sraniards protested.
Belts insisted that he was in earnest,
and, furthermore, told the Interpreter to
say to th0m that he would give them lust
one hotr in which to comply with his de-
mands, and il the tcrns were not COM
piled with at the expiration of that time
he would publicly brand them as towards.
After considerable parlcying they accepted
the young Americans terms.
Seven O'Clock the following morning
was named as the hour, and Chapultepec
hill, about three miles outside the city.
was selected as thoIspot where the duels
were to be fought.
Promptly at the appointed hour the fol-
lowing morning the challengeps and their
Seconds, the lieutenant and his friends,
a refcrcc and physician, We're at the an
pointed spot. A stick three feet in length
was fastened in the ground. Lieutenant
Belts placed his toe against one end of it,
the Spaniard No. taking the same posi-
ton at the opposite end of the stick.
Both Were armed with The s6 inch raw
hides and at the signal agreed upon went
at 1t. Belts is an expert swordsman, and
as the movements with the Mexican raw
hide and the sword are very nearly iden-
tical the young American was very much
at home. Add to this the fact that the
trousers of the Spaniard about the feshy
portion of his body were nearly skin tight.
and it may well be imagined that Belts
got along very nicely.
He rarried the angry, excited don's
blows off with his left arm, meanwhile
larruping him about the hips in such
manner as to make him fairly howl with
pain. y very hard cut brought out ter
rible yell, and at that moment, by swift.
upper cut, Belts caught his adversary IN
dor the chin with q blow that fairly lifted
him from his feet. Dropping his weapon,
the Spaniard started off with a yell for the
woods, and Belts has never seen him
since, so he presumed he must have been
fully satisfied.
The lieutenant then announced tina, he
was ready for No. =, who by this time was
in anything but satisfied frame of mind.
The gloves were donned and the two went
at it.
Here again the American was perfectly
Mt home, while the Sponiard had no skill
whatever in boxing Belts thumped him
several times in various portions of his
anatomy until good opening presented
itself, when he shot blow straight for the
nose and the don went to the grass. the
blood fairly streaming from his proboscis.
isiied, ardThe party separated
Lieutenant Belts and his American
friends returned TO the hotel for late
breakfast and that evening attended a
swell social function, as though nothing
unusual had occurred
Belts and his friends carefully guarded
the secret Of the ducls until. coming north
to join his command, he told the adiutant
general OF Ohio the entire story. For a
long time nothing was heard of it until
General Superintendent Whittlesey of the
Ohio Central lines got hold Of it and gave
II to newspaper man.
Lieutenant Commander Belts is a well
educated man and magnificent specimen
of manhood, is popular in society. a 80
degree Mason and Shriner, and has by his
own thrift accumulated a nice prope-tv.