THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORIXAJTD, APRIL, 10, 1910.
3
HEAVYWEIGHT CfiAMPiOH
OF THE WORLD
CHAPTEH xirr.
X Met Jim Corbett.
IF I live to be a hundred and mine is
a lonfr-llved family I'll never forget
that first day at Shaw's Springs.
WTen Billy and I left our rig we didn't
Ko Into tha hotel. They told us that
Corbett was In his handball court and
we went straight out to meet him.
It was a perfect day. I remember.
The eun was shining and the glare
from the snow that covered the ground
was blinding. Corbett had estab
lished a regular camp' at this little
hotel a few miles out of Carson City
at the edge of the hills. They had
built for him a barn-like structure con
taining a big handball court and a snug
dressing-room. Billy and I walked
down toward it through a deep path in
the snow. I looked curiously at the un
painted yellow pine walls and tried to
imagine the world's champion moving
about within. I had seen his picture
everywhere a tall, handsome, wiry fel
low with hair brushed back In a pompa
dour they called him "Pompadour
Jim" in those days. As .we ncared I
listened, but didn't hear a sound in
side. A bushwhacking photographer had
followed us down from the hotel, and
now he pranced off Into the snow with
his camera and held us up to get a pic
ture of Billy Deianey arriving with
Jim's new sparring partner. Seems
funny, looking back now. If that pho
tographer had known that he was tak
ing the first picture of a coming
world's champion, wouldn't his eyes
have- bulged out? His only idea was
to snap us because we were connected
In some way with the camp of the
champion he might have snapshotted
Corbett's Chinese cook with equal In
terest, and in fact. I think ho did.
Just as the photographer set up his
machine the handball court door opened
and a young fellow poked his head out.
He wore snow glasses and looked at me
curiously. He was a college athlete,
and was sparring with Corbett for the
fun of it and Incidentally writing stor
ies for a New York newspaper. We be
came great friends afterward. and
when I was champion' he had become
a sporting editor and once traveled
across the country to see me fight.
When the photographer had snapped
us we went inside. The handball court
was empty. I put my suitcase down
on the floor and looked around. That
sultoRse held about all I had in the
world at the time, a couple of changes
of clothes and a well worn sweater
with a neck stretched all out of shape
through being pulled over my head
bo often.
Deianey opened a little door In one
corner of the room, and then I had my
first sight of the great man I was to
work with and whose boxing skill was
lo have such an effect on my later con
tests in the ring. Corbett was just
getting dressed for his work.
It's strange how vividly every little
fletatl of an important event conies up
In a man's memory. I can shut my
pyes and sre that little dressing room
now and smell it. In onn corner a
email stove burned red hot Its pipe
runninjr straight up through the roof.
Behind the stove on both sides lines
were . stretched, and on them woolen
tights and underclothes were drying-.
The warm air was filled with a min
gled odor of sweaty woolens and fresh
fine wood and rundown concoctions.
Reside the stove, engaged in drying out
the clothes, was a squarely built,
rather fat fellow, wearing a mask that
exposed only hit mouth and nose and
eyes and that looked like a biff yellow
bologna curled around his countenance.
He turned to .Deianey and said,
"Hello, Bill," in a voice that was & kind
of husky squeak. This was Billy
"Woods, an old-time heavyweight from
Tenver. Tilted against the farther
wall was a round-jawed, big-shouldered
fellow with a grin on his face, wear
ing dark red tights. Con McVey, he
was. There were two or three others
- Juki reporters from the papers.
All of this T took in from the corner
nf my eye. The thing I really saw was
the champion. Ho was sitting on the
corner of his ruhdown conch carefully
lacing his boxing shoes. "Without wait
ing he jumped up and shook hands
with Deianey. Then he turned to
me. j
"So you're Pliancy's now giant, pre j
you?" ho asked, smiling in a friendly
way- "You look big enough." I
T was so busy looking Corbett over
that I almost forgot to answer. But I i
phook "hands and instinctively gripped
him hard to see what he was made
of. All the time I was wondering if this
slim, sinewy fellow could be the great
champion I had heard so much about.
"Where did he keep his fighting
strength? Ho was just about my own
height, but fully 40 pounds lighter, if I
was any judge of men. His eyes were
6eep set. The Fkin was drawn tight
over his cheek-bones, and was well
browned by the weather. He had a
cock-sure way about him. like a man
who knows he can fight and would re
cent any imputation to the contrary.
"Get ready, big fellows.' said he, and
we'll have a little tryout- Got your
tuff with you?"
I had, and in a few minutes I was
r-ady for work. Corbett looked me over
and sized up my strength and condition.
f "You ought to do if you have any speed,"
he said. "What I need is a fast man
who can make me go some." I made up
my mind right on. the spot that the cham
pion wouldn't find me lacking. Then
Woods and McVey dressed and after a
quiet talk with Corbett. Iolaney asked
the newspaper men and the rest of the
staff to go up to the hotel and leave him
alone with me. There was some argu
ment, but Jim insisted. He explained
that he wanted to have a private tryout
and see how wo would work together.
1-le didn't care to have any onlookers,
and he wouldn't. It would be as fair for
one newspaper man as for another, but
no one could see the bout.
At last the crowd left. We went from
the dressing-room into the big handball
court, whore the air was much cooler.
I looked around with, a little curiosity.
It was surely a line place to train a
mail in plenty of room and plenty of
air from the openings under the eaves.
There were no windows for curious
people to stare in through if you wanted
to have a private bout. This fact was
probably noticed by the people on the
outside, for I could hear them walking
around In the snow and speculating on
what was going to happen. I heard aft
erward that one large stout reporter with
much enterprise hunted up a saw horse,
and standing on it found a knot hole
through which he could see the bout in
spite of Corbett's objections.
He must have had a friendly feeling
for J im, or. prrha-ps. it was just the
natural inclination to boost a champion.
At any rate, I believe he sent a story
to his paper to the effect that Jim had
beaten me all over the place, and had
finally knocked me out. That was just
a joke, of course, for nothing of the sort
happened. Corbett didn't knock me out.
or knock mo down. I've never been
knocked down In my li?e. He didn't try
to. and if lie had tried I think he'd have
broken his fists without upsetting me. for
I was just about as hard as the iron
I'd been working with.
Billy Deianey did want Corbett to try
rue and fight several rounds, telling me
to cut loose .and fight as hard as I
wanted to. But Corbett had a different
idea. He had told "White- that if I was
a big. strong1 follow without speed
ecjOfiglk-to make -me useful tie could find
lt out without taking the trouble to
risk breaking his hands on ma. If I
was good enough to keep, as his spar
ring partner, then there was nothing to
be gained by trying to beat me up as
soon as I arrived in camp. That might
spoil my usefulness by making me
afraid of him. If I happened to be a
very dangerous fellow, he'd be taking
unnecessary risks almost at the begin
ning of his training. In any case, the
thing to do was to see how we'd work
together, and that was all he eared
U
about. He wanted to know how much
work he'd get out of me,
Andwe didn't fight. We boxed and
went at it good and hard. No doubt
they heard us banging up against the
sides of the handball court and heard
a lot of stamping around and gloves
landing.
In that few minutes I got a new
Idea of what a champion should be
like. Griffin was clever enough when
be fought me, but he was nothing be
side this Corbett. Jim danced in and
out so fast that it was hard to hit him
at all. He ducked under swings easily
and bobbed up again unhurt. He jabbed
me and Jumped away before I could
get him- Now and then he tried to
feint me out. but I never did fall for a
feint, even in those days. When a man
feints at me I just walk into him, and
h)e can punch away if he pleases.
At the end of our bout I was pleased
AT THE EW-OF CUfC
&OUT X VJrXS VLffASt
enough with myself. Corbett had land
ed on me almost whenever he wanted
to, but he hadn't shaken me with his
punches. I didn't feel like trying to
get away from him. I had worked fast,
and I noticed that when I went after
him he took pains ,as a rule, to move
out of the way. That showed me some
thing. I didn't need to back away even
from a champion like Corbett. And he
had to back away from me. So all I
needed was to develop fast footwork
and some of his skill in hitting, and I'd
have at least an even break with him
or any one else. I determined to get
that speed before I left Carson.
It was naturally in me, for I could
outrun any man I had ever met, and
fast footwork In boxing was only an
other way of applying that swiftness
of foot that I used in running. When
they called us to dinner I went down
with the crowd, and I ate more than
any two men at the table. At last I
was started on the way to the top. I
was among the champions, even if
was only as a sparring partner. '
it
CHAPTER XIV.
My I,lfe fa (Corbett's Caiup.
Up to this time I'd always had -a hazy
Idea that it would be a fine thing to be
champion of the world. I remember the
first time the thought came to me. I
was Just about 34 years old and weighed
300 pounds. I'd been reading about John
L. Sullivan, and It always seemed funny
to me that a world's champion shouldn't
be any bigger than a schoolboy like my
self. One day as I was walking down
town with father we passed a couple of
boys fighting in the street. We stopped
a moment to look on, and father began
Improving the occasion by pointing a
moral. 'But my mind was all on the fight.
"Father," I said all of a sudden, if It
ONE' LfWE"SToUr REPORTS.
Found a. knothw-E . .
was only for two hours I'd like to wear
the beit."
"What belt?" he asked in a puzzied
way.
"The beit for the prize ring cbamplon
ebjp of tha M," i aald uutl-.
"Toa young rascal," said my father,
"if you talk like that I'll spank -you."
And he might have done it, too. for he
was a big strong man, as broad as a
house- and weighing well above 300, In
spite of the fact that he didn't carry an
ounce of fat.
I guess from that time on I always had
the idea back In my head somewhere, al
though I didn't waste thought on it. I al
ways felt sure that something good would
come to me, whether it was in the. ring
AAJMAOiED To GT
6ood MHrcrC..
or in business, in course of time. I wasn't
in a hurry-
But now, having felt the weight of a
champion's punches and having hustled
him around the floor when it was man to
man and the doors locked, the old ambi
tion woke up all of a sudden. From that
afternoon I knew the biggest Tionor In
the ring wasn't beyond my reach. That
night I ate a big dinner and went to bed
an hour later. iBut In the hour between
dinner and bedtime I thought the whole
thing over. Here was a chance for me to
work three or four weeks with the master
boxer of them all. There was no need
for hurry. I'd take my time and learn all
I could. I'd be patient and let Corbett
hammer me as much as he chose, but ev
ery day I'd tuck some new Information
away in the back of my mind. Then,
when the championship fight was over,
I'd go out and meet all the heavyweights,
whip them one by one, and finally fight
Corbett or Fitzsinimoris. I laid my plans
right there and kopt my mouth shut.
"When I went to bed that night I
'dropped off to slfep In a couple of sec
onds, as I always do. I slept without
moving until Billy Ielaney came and
shook me to wake me up for breakfast.
When we all sat down Deianey turned
to me with a solemn look on his face
an d said :
"You're a nervouo big fellow, aren't
you?"
"Why, no," I said. "I'm not nervous."
"You don't wint to be nervous just
about boxing with the champion," he
said, not paying any attention to my
denial. ""You aren't going to be hurt
much. You otu?ht to try to get in some
sleep. Don't lie awake all night, because
if yom do you won't be strong enough to
give Jim here any work." ,
"I don't lie awake a minute," I de
clared, feeling that 'Deianey wasn't giv
ing me a good reputation. '
"Then why did you get up in the mid
dle of the night as if you couldn't sleep
and sit in the window for a couple of
hours?" he went on, more solemnly still.
"I didn't," I said.
"Why, Bill and I both heard you cut
In Connio McVey.
"You must have heard somebody else,"
I said, wrathfully.
"Oh, now, don't get sore," put in Cor
bett, who had been keeping still up to
that time. "You'll get over being ner
vous when you've been with us for a
while."
That last jab, and from the cham
pion himself, got my goat. I popped
a whole potato into my mouth to get
it out of the way, and nearly choked.
But by the time my tongue was cleared
for action I had a chance to do some
thinking. Instead of answering him I
You' RMOU"616
Ft LLC", neM,'x YOU T", AitTCD
BIW.V MtAHM . .-
went to work on my breakfast In
silence, inwardly determining to show
how "nervous" I felt over boxing a
champion just as soon as' I could get
the gloves on with 'him again.
While Corbett sat there selecting
carefully from the different dishes and
eating with what appeared to me but a
very moderate appetite for a big man,
and Billy Deianey who was always a
little dyspeptic nibbled, and the oth
ers took what they wanted, I managed
to get away with six or eight soft
boiled eggs and as many chops, with
vegetables of one sort or. another. In
fact. I was making out nicely when I
noticed that Billy Deianey had stopped
and was regarding me as solemnly as
before. I looked up for a moment while
i In the act of reaching for another chop,
j "Don't you feel a little sick Jeff?"
i Billy asked, solicitously.
I only stared at him.
"Last night you were too nervous to
sleep," he went on, "and this morning
something's the matter with your ap
petite. Why don't you brace up and try
to eat a bite or two? Tou can't give
Corbett any work on an empty stom
ach." Here the whole crowd began to laugh
and I hurriedly came to the conclusion
that they were having a little fun with
me. They were all just ordinary men
If they were in a champion's camp in
stead of in a boiler shop. Whatever
awe I had for them all dropped away
In a second and from that time on I was
"Jim" or "Big Fellow" to everybody in
camp. Many a time in my life I've been
in less pleasant company, and many a
time fait far less at boms among people,
0 w.
who wore boiled fchirts and patent
leather shoes.
That day Corbett and I boxd again.
Deianey and Charlie White were coach
ing me and telling me what to do for
they wanted me to fight as much like
Fltzsimmons as possible. They had me
shift my feet around,' pull my left hand
back a mtle and let drive witn it tor
Corbett's ribs. The first time I did it
the champion stepped in lightly and
shot his right across the point of my
chin, it was & good hard punch, but It
didn't daze me. It only drove my head
back a little. I went right on trying
the same blow, and every time Corbett
stepped in and landed on my chin.
"When I walked back to the dressing
room after the round Deianey said:
Jeff. I didn't think you'd be willing
to try that punch again after I saw the
way he landed on you the first time.
You must have a great jaw."
'Why. I thought that's what you
wanted." I said. "Let me use my left
hand in my own way and he won t
step In on me like that more than once
or twice."
'Time enough time enough, said
Billy. 'You're here - to help Corbett
train just now. You must box the way
you're told to for a few days. In a
week or so you can cut loose any way
you like."
So that Is what I am. At ursi 101-
lowed Instructions and tried the blow
they told me Fitzsimmone used. But I
nev.er could get the knack of it so tnat
I felt right in letting the punches go.
Every man - has his own instinctive
style of fighting. Fltzsimmons had
his. and it wasn't like mine at all. It
was a style designed to fit his own
build. Fltzsimmons had light, thin legs
and narrow hips. -e stood in a knock-
kneed position- His shoulders were very
wide and h had a long reacn. every
thing about his build helped him to
pivot at the hips and knees and swing
his whole body into the bjow. My style
was different. I didn't need to pivot
like Fltzsimmons. All I did was to
stick my left arm out like a piece of
scantling and let them run into me.
I could hold them off with the left and
could hit a hard blow with my arm
nearly straight, swinging it a few
inches like a club. I could whip that
arm down to the body in a good stiff
punch and plunge in with it. And the
right I used for a good dig into the
body whenever I came to close Quar
ters. I crouched a little and my chin
was partly protected by my left shoul
der. When I began using more of my
own stvle I did better, and especially
after I had begun to try to equal Cor
bett's fast footwork. That, I think, was
shout the most Important thing I
learned from Jim Corbett. My style of
hitting was natural and only needed
practice. Bat Corbett was a master of
footwork, and I picked up many a neat
trick through watching him.
CHAPTER. XV.
,Vbat 1 Learned at Carton.
One of the flrst things I noticed when
I began sparring with Corbett was that
unless I could find Corbett's toes I might
as well throw a stone at a flying duck
as try to hit- him. When we first boxed
he was as hard to reach as a shadow. I
soon grew tired of wasting my blows on
the air and determined to force my way
to close quarters before letting go a sin
gle punch. So I went after him steadily
while he jabbed and hooked and danced
(lW)-riRW it
A Stcovi TJOTT
way. -At last. In closinsr. I struck my
toes against his, and. lunging at the
Batne moment, managed to get home a
ood whack on his ribs. As soon as I
started forward again I tried the same
trick, feeling around for him with my
toea of my loft foot and then shooting
out one hand or the other. As soon as
I felt him I knew he must be within
striking distance. White laughed at me
after that round and asked me if I
waa trying to step on Corbett's feet to
hold him there so he couldn't get away,
but I kept my own counsel. Corbett knew
what I was doing, as I could see plainly,
for when we boxed again he took care
to keep shifting about rapidly to oonfuee
me.'
Another thing was the feinting. Cor
bett was the best man I've ever seen at
that. He was like a fencing master,
feinting to draw you into a position that
would leave an opening Somewhere else
and then taking advantage of it. I had
an advantage that few men have at this
$:ame, however. An ordinary blow
doesn't affect me at all. and even. a.
heavy smash doesn't shake me. So all
that I needed to do when Corbett feinted
was to pay no attention to it, but step
right in toward him and lash out with
either hand, according to his position.
This I've always found to be very dis
concerting to a boxer. It makes half of
his cleverness of no use at- all.
"When a clever boxer can feint a man
out he has the match all his own way.
Put when lie can't, then he has no great
advantage In being clever. Corbett had a
i trick of holding his left arm straight out
from the shoulder, drawing it back, and
either feinting rapidly with it or drop
ping it In with a sort of half jab and half
hook. If the feint drew your guard high
he was likely to step in with a hard
right hand hook over the kidneys. When
I stepped in at the moment or his temt
and punched straight at his Jaw with my
left hand he changed, his tactics and
Jabbed oftener.
The part of the training that I liked
best was the work on the road. I never
tired of that, Corbett and I. sometimes
with the other sparring partners trailing
along, went out every day for a 10 or 12
mile spin. Sometimes we walked and ran
alternately, sometimes I ran the whole
way at an easy trot, finishing with a
200 or 300-yard spurt as we came near'
the handball court. Jim Corbett was very
proud of his running ability, and natur
ally I ran even with him at iVie finish,
although there never was a day when I
couldn't have left him far behind. I was
a natural runner, and while Oorbett was
spending months on the road with a
theatrical troupe I had been Tunning
over the mountains getting perfect wind
and legs as enduring as steel. Hunting
in all my spare time for years had given
me a. lot of speed too. An Indian, they
say. can start on the trail of a fresh,
lively deer and run it down in tho course
of a day. I grew up with about the same
sort of training that tho Indians had.
.Besides that there may have been
something in my build that gave me
speed in spite of my size and weight.
Walter Christy, the great professional
sprinter and coach of the University of
California athletic teams, looked me over
carefully when I was training for a
fight years later, and said that if I had
taken to running instead of fighting he
could easily have made a "ten-second
man" of me have drained me so that I
could cover a hundred yards In 10 sec
onds. He said that my muscles were
verv long and supple and extended close
to tha joints, eiving great cprins and en-
durance, and thai my knee was .formed
for speed, having a large knee cap and
the sinews attached in a way that pro
duced he greatest possible leverage.
So, either on a long jog or in a fast
sprint, at the finish I could hold Cor
bett even. I let him beat me now and
then because It seemed to please him.
As for the others, they never finished
anywhere near us, and we always had
to leave one . or two in camp to attend
to the champion the moment he got In.
I remember one fine day when we
took" a great run. Corbett was in
trim by that time, fast as lightning,
and able to box or run all Any long.
We walked out about eight miles and
ran all the way back at a fairly good
pace. The roads were covered with
hard-packed snow. The sky was clear.
The air was rare, as It always is in
Carson, so high up above the sea. and
there was something bracing about it.
We only met one or two people on
the road, for it left the main track be
tween camp and town and trailed
away off along the edge of the hills.
As we walked on the outward trail I
looked the snow-covered hills over and
wished a deer would hop up and go
over a ridge, so that 1 could start a
chase on foot for the fun of it. But
no game showed' except a rabbit that
started up just ahead of us and ran
into a culvert to hide.
Coming back we cut out a pretty
lively pace, Corbett leading and I trail
lng at his heels. Near Shaw's Springs
we struck the main road again. A
couple of hundrod yards from the
handball court the road led a little up
hill, and herewe began our spurt.
"Come on," yelled Corbett. we ran
neck and neck to the finish. Up by
the training quarters Billy Woods and
McVey were waiting. As soon as ve
came within a few yards they dashed
In and held the door open for us. In
second we were in the warm little
dressing-room. Corbett was panting
but concealing as well as he could the
fact that he was tpretty well winded.
He flopped into a chair and held out
his legs to let Billy Woods unlace his
shoes and pull them off. I took
couple of deep -breaths, tore off my
wringing wet clothes and jumped into
some dry ones. By that time I was as
fresh as a daisy, and I turned around
-to help rub Jim down. Of the two of
us. I think I was in the better condi
tlon, and I was only a trainer. Char
ley White took me aside half an hour
later and asked me what sort of a man
we had. I told him all about it. White
seemed anxious.
"You were fresher than Jim when
you came in," he said.
"Sure." said I. "but he cut a hot pace
all the way and I only had to follow.
lies one of the best runners I ever
saw."
Billy Deianey thought that Corbett
was doing too much road work, es
pecially when he went out for a long
slow Jog on the day before he was to
meet Kitzsimmons. "He's leaving his
fight on the road," Ielaney com
plained. But Jim was a nervous big
fellow. He had to be doing something
all the time. With me it never made
much difference how I killed time just
before a fight as long as I knew my
work had been done and that I was
fit. A game of croquet or a couple of
hours' poker playing was good enough
to fill in. Corbett was different. He
was of a worrying mind, always think
ing he had to do a little more to get
himself exactly right, and perhaps
actually losing more strength through
nervousness than he gained by the
hard work. Fltzsimmons, they told us,
finished his training a few' days be
fore the scrap and spent the rest of
his time chopping wood- and putting
an Iron hot with the ranchers who
came around to see him box.
CHAPTER XVI.
My First Meeting Wlta FitKulinnioni.
Only a few more days stood between
ub and the great event. The hundred
c ao of newspapermen- gathered In
Carson were on tiptoe for some new
sensation. They had written up every
thing from Corbett's food schedule to
the way he brushed his hair, and they
were always around looking and lis
tening and asking questions of every
body. A certain biinch of these re
porters from a San Francisco news
paper had the Inside track in a way.
Corbett having accepted an offer of
$5000 for exclusive interviews. One "of
these men. on a dull day, thought up
a scheme to make a good story. He
jfJ'UrAfT 't o set
proposed to Corbett that he take a
run over Fltzsimmons' road and meet
the Australian face to face. Corbett
had no objection to looking at Kltz-
simmone. Every day Fltz' run tooK
him from Cook's ranch, where he was
training, down past the big stone
buildings of the state prison, mere
was a good excuse for Corbett's en
croaching on his territory, tor tne
prison yard was one of the greatest
curiosities in the country, and he hadn t
seen it yet. In leveling the stone bluff
that was to be the prison site the
workmen struck a strata that was
covered with millions of tracks of all
kinds of animals and birds. The sci
entists estimated that these tracks
were made about . two hundred thous
and years ago. on the clay shore of
a lake, and that freshets brought down
mud and covered them, and that in
time the whole thing turned to stone.
Today you can see every track as
plainly as If it were only an hour
old. The prison yard is covered with
them, all in hard stone.
So it was fixed up that Corbett was
to visit the prison quietly in the morn-
"We v6JT out
EVeW DAY FoRjA3loiow,
ing, just about the time Fitz would be
out on his run. With Homer Daven
port, the cartoonist, and a couple of
writers in a rig, Corbett and I started.
Corbett's camp was on one side of
town, and Fitz' on the other, several
miles' apart. We skirted the town care
fully, and at last were walking briskly
down the road to the prison.
It all came out right. After a while
we saw Fitzsimmons' head bobbing up
and down in the distance. He came
running along, swinging a stick in his
hand. Ai he reached us he started to
go by without paying any attention to
our party. But the reporters' called to
him and he stopped. Corbett and Fitz
SHtimons were face to face. If any
thing the Cornishman was the cooler
of the two. 1 knew that they had met
before in the East, and that they were
bitter enemies. They hardly looked at
ThF CKPlOti SHOT Ht$
RlfcWT ACROSS To THE fbMT
OF. rAY CHIfs.
each other now, until one of the writ
ers said: "Shake hands, gentlemen.
Corbett held out his hand.
But fltzsimmons stepped quickly
back and refused.
"Last time J offered to shake hands
with you," he said, 'you struck me in
the face. The only time I'll shake with
you now Is after i v whipped you."
"Then you'll never shake with me,"
said Corbett, flushing up angrily. "This
Is your last chance."
For a moment it looked as if they y
would come to blows riiht there on '
the road .and I thought I'd see a good
fight. But the others interfered. Fitz
elmmons went on his way and we kept
on to the prison.
Corbett was in a rape. "He'll shake
hands after he's whipped me, will he?"
he growled.
Fltzsimmons made quite an lmpres
son on me that day. Tie- looked like
a Hsrht man to fight for the heavy
weight championship, for although his
shoulders were nearly as broad as my
own. any one could see at a glance that
he was just a mass of wiry sinew from
head to heels, with no big muscles
worth mentioning. And yet he had
knocked out a lot of good men in a .
punch or two. and he was a cool fel
low, who evidently liked to fight. Fitz
was a funny combination of fighter
and practical joker. Even over at
Shaw's we heard of his pranks in
training quarters. On this day. so I
heard later, he continued his run to
Carson, and, going into one of the
temporary newspaper offices there,
spent half an hour trying to break all
records on a punching machine that
they had brought'to Nevada to try out
the fighters with. And alter tnat, wnen
he saw a lot of photograpners wan
ing for him in the street, he tried to
escape through the back window for a
loke. lost his balance and fell neati
first Into a snow drift, where ho stuck
with both legs waving In the air like
a signpost until they pulled him out,
after photographing him first.
When we came back that day it was
to one of the roughest bouts of the
training season. Corbett could hardly
wait to get the gloves on with me. He
seemed to think every man In front of
him was Fltzsimmons. Poor Billy
Woods, in spite of his pneumatic mask,
had his mouth cut up so badly that ho
couldn't eat dinner that night.
It was a day or two after this, if
I remember right, that White and De
ianey decided that Jim needed a tryout.
So I was told to go up and fight him
four rounds as hard as I knew how.
Then I had the first real glimpse of
Corbett's best work. He surely sur
prised me, for I had come to think he
couldn't hit. Now he let me come at
him, timed me perfectly and drove his
right across to my Jaw so hard that
I could hear my teeth grinding and
my jawbone snap In the sockets. I
went right after him and he showed
some respect for my left hand by care
fully keeping away from it. I got in
a few good punches for all that. Walk
ing back to the dressing-room after
the first round (for we nearly always
alternated, three mon boxing vltli Cor
bett in turn). I passed the college
athlete coming out with the gloves on.
"HoV is he today?" he asked with
a grin.
I moved my jaw from side to side
between my thumb arvdL fingers and
head it pop.
"Oh, he's hitting all right." I said.
He surely was, too. After my four
rounds I had a very sore jaw and a cut
over one eye. But I was perfectly satis
fied. If this was fighting and the kind
of fighting that a champion does in the
ring then I wanted more of it. I
wanted to go up against Just that kind
of work in the ring, for I know one of
my blows, if it landed, had more effect
than a dozen of Corbett's hard ones,
even if he did make my jaw pop after
ward. I had to acknowledge that Cor
bett's cleverness was a long way be
yond me. and that he often surprised
me by turning some new trick I'd never
thought of before. I had a lot of re
spect for him considering his size and
strength. But those four fighting"
rounds dMn't shake the new ambi
tion that had been growing up in me
from the first day in camp the ambi
tion to become a world's champion my-,
self.
Ul-Tlmed Applause Annoying.
New York Press.
Applause, the strongest tonic to the ac
tort sometimes annoys your true artist.
If it halts the action of the play too
long, or if it drowns the sentence just
begun, it Is exasperation to the judicious
in the audience. The brighter the dia
logue, the more irritating is anything that
distracts from it. It is the fashion at our
theaters, especially on firft nights, to
greet each player vociferously in such a
way as to mar the pleasure of the per
formance if it contains anj'.
Here is a practice from which the
thoughtless or the over-enthusiastic
should forbeer. It may take the mind
of the actor off his work in hand if he
is the object of a great deal of applause,
and may have the like effect on some
who do not receive any such mark of es
teem when others are getting a. too-generous
share of it.
There is plenty of time between acts
for this handclapping, which the players
can appreciate niuch better than when
they are taxing their memories for the
text of their parts and trying to concen
trate on their work.
IHning Fork Is Modern.
Indianapolis News.
Turkey's war minister has just or
dered forks for the convenience of sol
diers in barracks. The fork did not
appear In Europe as a common table
implement until the lith century,
though as early as the 13th century
grold and silver ones were made for
special purposes. The ordinary diner
was only provided with a trencher, a
napkin and a spoon. For knife he used
his own, which he carried about. There
was no second trencher, no second
spoon, when the several courses came
along- he exercised his ingenuity and
mopped his trencher with his bread.
When Baby Died.
AJonto Rlcts,
How brief the stay, ajs bautirul as fleetlnir.
The time that baby came with u to dwell;
Ju-t Ion? enough to clve a happy greeting-.
Just long- enough to bid uf all farewell.
Death travels down the thickly settled high
way. At shining mark they say he loves to aim:
How did he find far down our lonely by-way
Our little girl who died -without a nameT
9h seemed so like a tender bird whose wtng
lets
Are broken by the stress of rain and storm;
TVith loving care ve pressed the golden ring--letsv
And wondered could there be so fair a. form;
For death had chiseled without paiue or falter
Each feature that the sunny tresses frame;
No change of scene nor length of time can
alter
Our little girl who died without a nam.
We do not know the fond endearment spokea
To which she listened when she fc'.l asleep.
And so, beside s column that was broken.
We laid her to slumber ca-lm and deep.
TV' traced upon, the fftone with loving fingers
These simple words, affection's tear to
claim:
"In dreams, beyond all early sorrow, lingers
Our little girl who died without a name."
Close folded ther within the Bible bidden.
A flower faded that withered on her breast;
Upon the pafte where suoh" as he ere bidden
To aek the circle of HU arms for rest.
"Of uch ths kingdom, " comes to us so
sweetly.
Those little ones without a touch of blame;
We know He shelters la His love completely.
Our little girl who died without a name.
Bh sleeps where fragrant mossy willows
In sweet and wordless tunes forever wv,
Anrl Summer seas. In long and grassy billows.
Break Into bloom around hr lonely urave.
In memory's hall how many heroes slurr.b-r.
We glJd their deeds upon the scroll of far&a;
We treasure far .bov this mighty Dumber
Our little girl who dlod without name.