, 1860-08-16
THE HEENAN FESTIVAL.


clouds that distifIed UNIV eicome showers in the
morning, hnted further euppiy OF moisture
before night, and faithfully fulfilled that hpVial
promise intermittently throughout the day
navigation extra hazardous, and perpetually
dispersed countless hats OF innumerable NOR.
tails in nd1tidfnous directions, and In spite Of
the authentic iutmation that seats would be
provided but for = favored few ot three OF TOUR
thousands, and that the reat ot the throng
securing places from which to witness the great
event of the day, an immense crowd co3gregated
yesterday at the Wood Of Jones to wltnessthe ill.,
auguratlye tistic tournament Of series which are
at once to commemorate the comoats and OIL
the purse Of the stalxart son Of Benecia. the
Pueltistic Champion Of the World, Mr. John 9.
Heenan. The tourney of mailed knights, the
resistless rush Of steel.c!ad battle. steeds, the
fatal translation Of The deadly lance, and the
crue! crush Of tue ponderous battle-ax, nre
plcasantries. n known IN our cold Northern
fatitudes, but Are eelicacies that only Tipen in
the sunny South.
In the gallant Knights who appeared yester-
dar On the renowned field of JoneE, a more sen.
eible system Of preparing for battle prevailed,
and the co1ubatants, instead Of loading them.
selves heayiiv with brazen armor, stripped, on
the contrary, from their sturdy frames SO much
Of conventional clothing as could be spared,
without shocking the sensibilities Of the new
tensive gloves. not stee!jointed and deadly,
like the massiye gauntlets Of the earlier knights,
but made Of pescefu. deerskin. drawn over
so.t superstructure Of curled hair. Ia
short, boxing gloves. The close. cropped
scalp was not protected from the ed
or gunrded the face; no coat Of mail shielded
the tender r;ba, nor were the susceptible shi1s
eucased in metal. The arms and hands were
the only instruments Of otlense in our new
grand tournament, nor were any more efficient
shields deemed necessary to protect the respcc-
tive champions from each others' attacks. Al
though there were no heralds, or men. 2taFms,
OF steeds, there were the lists, the triumphai
music, the enthusiastic throng OF spectators,
and the faithful fquires. And there were
Queens Of Love and Beauty, by scores and hun
dreds. They came from all quarters Of the
earth, and represented nearly Ill the nations
| thereon. Perhaps The round faced, light-haired
| Teutouic Queen WIS observed the oiteuesL
! She did not. perhaps, quatf delicate, sparkling,
| golden headed wines from golden cups, but
she punished nordinate quaint les Of lager. beer
| from the characteristic mug, or sometimes from
| tue elaborate twisted cup, ingeaiously contrivel
| fiom cows horn.
On this particular occasion III. lsd5, who was
! By some expected to reign Queen OF the Lists,
| Miss Ada lsaacs Menken, Who las claimed the
distinction Of biting tile wife Of the great 11ee
nau, WAS unaccountably absent. At an early
hour the grounds were thropged. Every ca1
whose course lay in the desired direction was
not only crowded, bu, piled pyramldically up
ir heaps. All the steamboats, plying in the di.
rection were over crowded to an extent that
rendered navigation not only difficult, but poti.
tiyely, In mauy cases, dangerous. The loud
mouthed cannons did their noisy utmost to
make furious TOW. and With eminent success
The place for the mimic combat was most ad.
1nirab}y selected, aGording not only an abun.
/ 1f ~ t11-
interested il the pug gilistic drama, bat giving
to the immense audience IN opportunity 10 kee
the " hole OF the imposing ceremonies, even to
the minutcst detail.
The crowd was such one Us ereu New York
can assemble but unlrequentlv. TO the man.
ayers the result was delightfully."- pleasant. TIE
number of tickets sold was not lar from 81, ,Ql0;
| md such is the wretched deprayity Of human
nn'ure, that doubtless several thousand surrep-
t'tious persons scaled the walls and saw the fun
! without pecaniary disbursement
| The band having achieved their musical ut.
most, and the multitude Laviug endured all that
compressed human nature can bear and survive,
the principals appeared. To their credit be il
said, they were punclual. In fact they were
ten inmates before the time. Al precisely ten
minutes before r. II. q carriage approached
the taE.cf multitude recognized the inmates
aud cheers; and the near By crowd took up the
cry and howled. The carriage contained Mr.
| h.
trainers Of Sir. Heenan at different stages ol
his preparation for the Furnboraugh Gght. Thi:
set.to was Of specitl interest, both men being
lsht-weights, and neither beirg in condition t.
do bis part.
Alter these two men came Mr. Ell. Price o,
Boston and Mr.. Aaron Jones Of Philadelphia
This was purely scientific affair, and would
have left uoshlng to be desired, Is an e1bibi
tion Of true scienre and grace, but for one cir
cumstance. Mr. E. Price had met with an acc
dent the day before tnat had disabled his right
hand, which was swollen to an enormous size
Nevertheless, he fought with his left had ouly
and made contest so manly as to bring dowt
| Wastruly beautiful exhibition.
After these cosnbats, and during tbs perform
ance Of an appropriate piece of music, carri
age appeared, containing the distinguishes
champion. Three times he drove round ths
Fiag, and then reaaccnded the stage. Then au
other vehicle OF aristoeratic pretensious ap
peared With Charles ottignon, the opponent o
n.enan IN the mimic fight.
ueenan WIS dressed IN tight silk shirt, fan
mel breeches aud fighting shoes. Ottignon wa
similarly attIred. These two mighty mortal
having stepped into the ring. sll preparations
naked List. instead Of with the innocuous gloves
Seconds, uupires and Bottle e.hoders were ap
pointed, alter tlie usual requirements For til
Champion, Messrs. Macdonald and Cusick otli
ciated in the capacity Of seconds; on the par
Of ottignop, Messrs. Ed. Price and Aaro,
Jones presented themselves. The colors o
Heenau and Sayers were tied to the prope
posts, and g1rded about the enthusiastic waist.
by. the eager seconds. The seconds and th'
principals at the call Of 'At1 ready," sbool
hands in the customary formal manner. The,
came the set-to, consisting Of seven rounds
occupying seventeen minutes. The battle va
OF varying success, but the people seemed to b.
I veil aaffstiaa with fha rhu rur;on
| Then an al !journment 10 lne hotel, drinkiut
OF vine. and finally presentation to ueeuai
Of certified check for $4,000 In presentip,
thla handsome present Mr. Edmond Dlankmaii
said:
AT FRIENDS AND Fellow CITIZENS: hay,
been selected BY tbs Committee to present Il
Mr. Heenan, in token Of the hixh appreciat,o,
in which our champion-I may say tie world
champion Is held-hy bis countrymen, this tes
t1monlal Of esteem and regard to John C, uee
nan fer bis manly courage and spirit in coirt
across the Atlantic to contend tor the Champ
on's Belt; and although, my friends, be did no
bring BACK TINT particular bslt, yet be left
and laughter: Although he did not bring bacI
that particular belt. nevertheless, the vnaui
nous verdict not ouly Of hi. own countrymet
bns Of erety honest and fair. minded man il
the world is: that be was the real conqueror il
lhe battle Of the l7sh Of April. [Cheers.}
To Nm. uEESAs.-In the lrst place, Sir,
have to present to you this ring, with tue &C
company'ng litter. Let this ring always re
mind you Of the unbrcken circle Of friend.
around you to-day. [Cheers] | hare, in th,
second place, 10 present you this inclosure, con
tanning chiek representing the proceeds Of th'
voluntary contributions Of Jour friends and ad
mirers, amounting altogether to ten Thousand
and thirty odd dollars. Immense cheering.
And NOW in behalf Of the Committee, aud .
this vast assemhlage, | hare great pleasure il
welcoming. 5eu to your native shores. Tire
meudous chcerc.l Ten thousand welcomes II
you, and may curse begin at the root of hi
heart who is not glad 10 SEQ you. Prolonged
eheers1
ueenan made modest and suitable reply
Two beautiful rings were also presented to Gu
sick AID Macdonald, with speeches, TO which thel
replied in person..
The whole Affair was most completely success
fu1, snd will net to Messrs. Nixon aud woo,
about $4,000.
| On Saturday, Mr.. Heenau received a beauti
ful gold ring, with the subjoined letter:
NEW Yonk, Aug. 13, 1861
JonS G. HEESAS-De1r Sir take this op
postunity, being appropriate to the occasion o
friends and admirers, Of presentingto ycu il
miniature on solid gold ring the much coveted
knglish champion belt, which, Il strict justice
had been rendered By the umpire, would nov
be in your possession. In rendering you thil
"pr:zs ring" emb!ematic of your profession
allow me to offer you my congratulations tba
your honorable and gentietnanly conduct Will.
representing your profession abroad, won ths
esteem and good will of all with when 80,
came in contact Respectfully yours,
JonS D. BEAros.
| WHOLESALE AGENCY Fer