Mohave County miner., 1916-07-29
DRAMATIC EVENT AT DESERT INN THEATRE
 ENDS IN FAKE DUEL
IFrom oatman Section Daily Niusr.I

There were great doings at the Des- ert Inn theatre the other night, and news of the dramatic event is just now commencing to filter out to the dear public. While there were at least 200 people present and the house was packed as it never was before, there are very few who are willing to ad- init that they were there.
 So dramatic. in fact, were the two main events of the thrilling program that the one player entitled to be called a star has been i'll ever since. The player, not a frail, nervous wisp of a girl, either, but a strong, mus cular, though short, man -. an Englishman-and his name is Leo nard Barker. Since the realistic per formance he has been suffering from nervous prostration and is unable to attend to his duties at the Arizona Stores company's local establishment.
 Heinie Hand and J. W. Hill, of the Arizona Stores, have a lease on the theatre for a month. Their rent being paid, but having given up the picture show business after the Fourth, the use of the house is theirs. It seems that they understand a few wrinkles about filling a house, and to do it ef- fectively they passed the word out confdentially to a very few trust worthy male friends-about 50 to 50 of them-that there was to be big thing at the Desert Inn, but to not tell anybody. Naturally those who were told kept their promises and only told half a dozen of their confidential friends each, and the result was that it was all kept such a deep secret that there were only 200 people in the theatre, and a score of them women the latter soon left. Had it not been such a profound secret the crowd would have been so dense as to make it necessary to adjourn the badger and dog fght-fOr that is what it was-to the United Eastern Fourth of July grounds.
 It was given out, too, that no ad- mission would be charged, but that collection would be taken up. In the excitement the latter formality was clear forgotten.
 Mir. Hill acted the role of promoter of the fight, and some promoter is he. It now turns out, if this is not getting ahead of the story, that he has pro noted close to a hundred such badger and dog fights, many of them in as many places in Arizona, and all have ended in the same confusion as this one, but all, including this one, with complete success. Never two in the same town, however.
 The Arizona Stores bunch raised a fund of S100 to bet on the dog. Like lightning and true sports, as they are, the Lovin & Withers bunch covered the money with another hundred. Then the excitement grew and side bets of all kinds were offered and quickly cov- cred. Day after day the interest grew.
 G. R. Davis, barber, furnished the dog. It was huge black bulldog and some scrapper, it's owner being F. J. Phuger. Another barber in the Frank Tillmen shop was appointed to give daily exercise to the dog and give him ice water every 15 minutes. He led the animal about town with pride and his shoulders as erect as a broom handle.
 The evening came and eagerly they had waited. The house was jammed and ladies were present. Mir. Hill let things get kind of under way and then slipped back to where all the ladies were and whispered to them that there was going to be some rough stuff and that the men were liable to stampede out of the hall. The women decided to go at once and retreated to the outer balcony.
 Roy Shedd was holding the leash of the dog. Leonard Barker gripped the tether of the badger, the latter being hid in a can inside of barrel, all of this on the stage. George Ray and Harry Simmonds were chief managers for the two animals, respectively, with Joe Ryan, J. H. Hopkins and Bill Han sen as referees. Ray and Simmonds, with voices like thunder, shouted out-l it is hard to say which shouted first offering to bet S1OO of their money on the side. The other flashed out hun dred and covered the bet instantly.
 Excitement was so intense that both lost their heads and their tempers and whipped out guns. It looked like a duel and worst fears were to be req 1ized hut while they sWaggered and rent the air with their threats the dog NOTICE OF ADVERTISEMENT