Show NODUEL WAS FOilGHT Story of Killing of American S VNirV i a Pure Fabrication S 55 DURAYlT AlfiONte THE LIVING He Originated the Story Himself Possibly as a Loophole to Escape a Marriage With SIllo Mangin Ircttcrs Have 3eon Received in Paris and London From Durant Dated Since the Alleged Duel in WihchHo Was Said to Be Killed > Was Fought Paris March 7 The report that John Wilson Durant of Albany who liad been living during the last two years In Paris with his mother had beenkilled at Obtend In a duel with a Russian Count was aji Invention i of his own Mr Durant Is i still alive No duel wits fought The whole story was a pure fabrication S S S Thiswasdefinitely established last eveningwhen it became known that S two letters Jiad been reqel cd In Paris from Mr Durant one r dated OstendS March 3rd and the other London March 4th In the former he asks the recipient to make certain personal arrangements ar-rangements and to forward his mail to Glasgow care of P S Peat Kclvlde and In the latter he says after requesting request-ing that a change be made In the arrangements ar-rangements suggested in the first letter let-ter and that his mall be forwarded to S London You will understand that I officially died yesterday Keep up the illusion t SIS SI-S ANNOUNCES IHS DEATH These letters are in Durants own handwriting The evidenceorlghially appeared to eslabllsh conclusively the fact of a duel The firstrcluo was In the following1 cleah notice appcarlng fn the European edition ot the Now York Herald S S DURANT At Ostcml Belgium March SalJohn MacWIfstfit DCAant The attention ot the American Con sulatc was called to this nnd an Investigation In-vestigation was immediately opened which reveftlecl the following telegram written In French that Imd been received re-ceived by Uufant s S bethYothed Mile Laura Mangln yctserday morning Ostcnd undated My friend Durant Is dead Count ts vory seriously wounded LOUIS TIIERRfoTT > E GREFFIN The signature Is the name of one of Dinants friends and the supposition Is that Mr Durant sent the telegrams himself S TOLD ALLEGED TROUBLE Mile Mangln who was Interviewed last evening said Mr Durant told her of his trouble with a Russian Count at his hotel and said he was going to fight him at Ostend He had also talked freely at the hotel tofriends regarding thertlleged coming duel 55 Mr Stevens of Boston Mass urged him to abandon the Idea and endeavored en-deavored to persuadq him to return to thq United States with his mother Mr Durant replied No It Is a question of honor and I Intend to sec It through S Tho Count Is coming from Nice and the encounter will occur at Ostend CARRYING OUT DELUSION S Throughout Saturday hewas engaged In making the final arrangements He shaved off his moustache and declined to recognize friends whom he met ac cldently He left Paris Sunday for Os tend whence he sent the first letter and took the night boat for London sending the second letter on his arrival there The hotel people assert that some one telephoned Monday and asked wherlhcr Mr Durants body arrived NO DUEL AT OSTEND Up to last evening all the Information tended to show that lie had carried out his alleged Intention and been killed Doubts arose when a representative of the Associated Press who had started an Investigation at Ostend received dispatches asserting that there was no trace oC a duel at Osmond that nothing of the sort had been heard of by the police doctors or hotel people and moreover that no death had occurred there of any person named Durant or Carter the name under which Durnnt had announced he would travel or any other man DURANT STARTED STORY Investigation In Paris then brought to light the receipt of the two letters which revealed the fact that Mr Durant was responsible for the whole dramatic story lie has been without occupation occupa-tion and has lived extravagantly He I had an apartment at 95 Boulevard St S Mlcheal to which he sent the death telegram addressed to his betrothed I Mile Mangln belongs to a poor family He Introduced her among his friends as his betrothed and a notice appeared In Lo Journal February IGth announcing an-nouncing the betrothal In which It was stated that the marriage had been fixed for thd second fortnight In MYirch Possibly he reconsidered this Intention and conceived the duel story as a loop hole for separation 7 STUPID HUMBUG When Mile Mangin her sister and brotherinlaw were called upon yes terday regarding the matter the woman expressed the greatest astonishment I astonish-ment at the absence of any confirma tion of the death telegram Mile Man gins brotherinlaw who declares himself him-self a better judge of JDurant JiltXthe nail on the head by expressing his be lief that the telegram was a stupid Humbug S |