Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1864-01-02
THE PRIZE FIGHT.
SuIsicaI RfpOTt OF Heennn's Condition
and Injuries.


and In juries.
From the London lancet
As much misapprehension exists in the pub
lie mind respecting the condition OF Heenan
bef re and after his late contest with KING the
following authentic particulars may not be
without In terest.
the fight on the 18th Instant he arrived at a
friends house in London. Mr. ]. +. Clarke
saw lin immediately. He was then suffering
from great exhaustion. His face was cousid.
erably aisfgHred, and there was cut on the
right tide OF the upper lip about half an inch
in LEM Ia, which required stitch. There were
no bruises OF any consequence about the body,
but there were few scratches on the chest.
The action Of the heart was very feeble and
the pulse oarcely perceptibls. Suitable medi-
cines Were resorted to, under the inf uence OF
which he gradually improved until the 18th.
On the evening of that day he had a fainting
fit. On the i4fh DR. Tanner saw him in con.
sultat:on with Mr.. Clarke. He was then weak,
his ishts had been restless, and there was
considerable uneasiness on taking deep in.
splralon. On examining him all marks about
the chest bad nearly disappeared, while the
bruises upon his face were evidently quickly
taoiug- The cut i'll his upper lip had healed.
Tie right nasal bone was loosened from its
aftcuistions; but there was no fracture. On
carefully practicing auscula.tion, the hearts
action was found to be teeble, though there was
TO bruit, the valves acting efficiently. The
pulse was weak, very comprsssible, and rather
atoVe ItO The lett lung was healthy; but
over The apex of the right there was duIlness.
with evident signs Of congestion.
on t!tneT SIDE III the GacR or I e neck there
was coDsIdt able stiffness, which was ascer-
taint d 10 exist chiefly i'll the Jendinous attach
neEts OF the trapeZiUs muscle 10 the occipital
hone, ligamentum nuchr, d1rsaI yertebr;,,
and spine Of tie scapula. the immense de-
yeloTGCnt of The muscles about the shoulders
AVID chest v as very T. marka DE They stood
ont prominently, ard little iucumbered
with fat as if hey had been cleaned by The
scalp.i. In fImness they resem9led CARTILAGE.
The sGme conditions Were also apparent in thu
recti muscles OF the abdominal v all. the ten
O. ware ~ -
wEch were strongly marked But with all
the spI6nC cey elopmert il WAS eyiGpn: that
Ieenan had received a shock from which his
system was only slowly recovering; though
whether tn s less of power was due 10 the
punis ent received i'll the fight or u the hard
training which he Rad previously undergone
may be a disputed point.
AS physioiogis,s, it seems to us highly prob
"tle that his training had been too prolonged
and too severe. When Keenan, went into train
II Oh Wednesday, september 23-iust eleven
v Weeks leiore the mateE-hs weight was l5st:
lbs. AS he stepped into the ring the 10th
~ tant, he was exactly li>t. At the same time
King weighed 13st., though he was three quar-
teIs or an inch taller than Heenan, whose
height Is 1eet X inch. These who know
WHAT severe uelf ing means will, perhaps,
agree with US thst HCenan was probably in
better condition I'VE weeks before meeting his
Antagonist than he was on the morning OF his
Gefeat, althoueh when he stripped tor fighting
the lookeIs-on all agreed that ne seemed 10
premise himself an easy victory, while ex-
uitIng IN his fine proportions and splendid
proven that Heenan went into the contest with
muth more muscular than vital power. Long
before he had met with any we're punis hment-
indet d. as he states at the third round-he felt
faint, breathed with nulh h difficulty, and as
he otscrIbed It his respiration was s.roaTing
he declares that he received more severe treat
ment at the hands Of Say ers than he did from
King; yet at the termination of the former fight,
which lasted upwards OF two hours, he was so
f-tsh as 10 leap over two or three hurdles and
distance many OF his friends in the race.
1t was noticed On the present occasion that
his physique had deteriorated, and that he looked
much older than at his last appearance in the
ring. Without Offering any opinion as TO ths
merit OF the combatants, it Is certain that Hee-
nan was in state of very deteriorated health
when he faced his oppone Mt, and it Is fair to
conclude that deterioration was due in a great
measure TO the severity of the training whi n
he Lad undergone. AS with the mind, so with
the body. undue and prolonged exerton must
end in depression OF over. In the process OF
the ply sical education ofhe young, in the train
ing OF our recruits, or in the sports OF the ath-
lete, the case Of heenan suggests q striking
commentary ofgreat interest in physiological
point of view. While exercise, properly so
called, tends to development and health, ex-
cesslve exertion produces debility and decay.
In these times of over-excitement and over
competition in the race of life, the case we now
put on record may be studied with ad van age.