The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-24 00:00:00

711 E PRIZE-FIGII7 IN VIRGINIA.

Frank Blair's assertion that Democratic success
is ordained by Heaven has lately received further
illustration, and the accumulation of evidence will
soon be so considerable that few can doubt its
truth. At the recent prize-fight for the light weight ,
championship in Virginia, when the pugilists were
stripped and ready for business, a well-known
thief shouted, " Before proceeding to business,
let us invoke the blessing of Providence by three
cheers for Seymour and Blair." Perhaps the steamer
llletamora never carried a larger gang of ruffians
than that she took on board at Baltimore on the
night of the 23d August to witness the fight on
Travers Island. A correspondent of the Spirit
speaks thus of the men :—" Around me was a sea of
faces expressive of ferocity, ruthlessness, and tho-
rough-paced ruffianism in its most virulent and
loathsome ugliness. The steamer was deep in the
water with her heavy load of poor humanity.'
Among the pleasant diversions pour passer le temps
were free fights in the crowd, characterized by play-
ful attempts at gouging or nose-chewing. Men
with their hair grown white in the service of evil
stood side by side with cunning, repulsive young
faces, that appeared worthy their parent stock ;"
but severe as is his language regarding them,
their conduct quickly proved that he did not
exaggerate. Here was an episode : Joseph
Beard, jun., of Baltimore, jokingly remarked to a
friend that a job had been put up to throw him
overboard, accompanying the remark with a play-
ful slap in the face. Immediately friends and foes
were ranged in hostile attitude, pistols sprang from
pockets, knives glittered, and before any explana-
tion could be made the " ladies" cabin, selected for
the entertainment, was the scene of a fierce conflict.
The Spirit's correspondent, while moralizing on the
horrid crowd by which he was surrounded, was in-
terrupted by the pistol shots :—" Hurriedly rushing
to the cabin door, the sounds of a suppressed melee
greet me, while on looking into the smafi space,
overcrowded and ill-ventilated, my eyes light on a de-
moniacal scene, to which it is impossible to do justice.
Firing, biting, struggling, fighting, scratching, and
stabbing occupy the attention of the occupants of

the cabin, and a slight set-to between two young
roughs has been the prelude for as bloody a free
fight as ever disgraced the gory annals of the Sixth
\Vnrd in New York. Among the weapons of
offence are slung-shot, knives, six-shooters, clubs,
knuckle-dusters, and other kinds of murderous-
looking weapons, the use of whi.;h is un-
known to your peaceable, correspondent. Mingling
with the imprecations and infuriwed yells of the
combatants are shrieks of terror from poor, pale-
facA women, whose faces and voices tell their tale
of degradatioa—ala3 ! too plainly. The gloom of
the dingy little cabin is dispelled for a moment or
two by the frequent flashing of the firearms." The
13,11tintue Commercial, whose reporter was also pre-

sent, says that this fight was stopped by James
Colbert and Barney Aaron, of New York, and Jas.
Henrietta, of Baltimore, who sprang in with cocked
revolvers in hand, and emphatically declared that
they would shoot the first man who move'l. Instandy
the firing and cutting ceased, when it was found
" that Patrick Mullen, residing at Canton, and
known as the captain of the 'Fountain
Wreckers,' htd been shot in the back, the
bullet glancing upwards and kidging in the

right shoulder blade and fracturing the bone.
lie was also cut on the left shoulder and in
the right side. The cuts, however, are of a trifling
character, compared with the wound inflicted by
the bullet, which it is thought will prove fatal.
Young Beard received an ugly cut in the right side,
but no serious results are apprehended. William
Carroll had the middle finger of his right hand shot
away, and a boy named Crisp was slightly injured
in the calf of his tight leg. Henry King, of New
York, and Jacob Meyers, of Philadelphia, fell over-
board during the melee and were drowned. These
constituted the casualties ; and it is a wonder that
more persons were not injured or killed, as the
saloon was filled with men when the fight began:"
It was among this lot that the ballot was taken,
when the vote was almost unanimous for Seymour
and Blair. Alluding to the Prize Fight, we may
mention that Edwards, the winner, is a native of
Birmingham, England, is 21 years of age, stands
5 feet 5 inches, being slightly taller than Collyer,
each weighing 1231b5. lie is a new man in the
ring, this being his first match, and the betting was
three to one against him ; but the knowing ones,
his backers, were well satisfied regarding both his
power and science, which he showed in the first
round, for after some skilful fencing he sent Collyer
down as if struck by a mallet. After 47 rounds,
Collyer being insensible, was unable to come up to
time, and Edwards, who is said to have the face of
a student, being the winner, notwithstanding his
hour and a half's work, tripped gaily down to the
boat.