The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-05-13
Ks,he,io PusilIsm and tho Poetry Of Broken

Noses.
The only thing which at all redeems
brutality in the shape of professional pugil-
ism the odor Of heroism which has been
supposed to hang around it. As soon as that
Illusion is dispelled the public will have to
be content with some less sanguinary sensa-
ton, and large class Of rowdies and black
guards will find their occupation gone. In
vain has 1t been pulpitized and illegalzed; so
long as the principals, as they are defe-
rentially called, were ''game," there was little
difficulty In finding men willing to risk their
spiritual salvation and corporal liberty on the
chance of witnessing prize fight.
For some months past in the Hashy rum
holes of this city the dir has been poisoned
with blasphemies over the respective hitting
and enduring qualities of two bruisers, Mr..
Mace and Mr.. Coburn--Jem and Joe, as their
admirers lovingly and Familiarity dub them.
With as much precision as ever the Joint High
Commission higgled over the Alabama claims
were the ''prelminaries" of the encounter laid
down between the high contracting pugs, and
at last, to the delight Of every rufian in the
civilized world, and not q few of the more
highly moral, was it declared snatch" We
need not enter into the loving exchange of
sparring benefits and affecting mutual presen-
tations Of bull-pups which occupied the sue
ceeding days Of buferistic joy. Beautiful
specimens Of broken noses and shiv-
cred front teeth. the property of the
bruisers Of a past generation, turned
up, as it were, cut OF their graves, and
aired their adornments before the bars in the
homes of fisticuf humanity. A delirous joy
permeated their dry bones, accompanied by
fathomless horns of rotgut, when it was an
nounced that the linen" had s'gone into
training About this time the excitement
reached the respectable classes, and gray
headed old fools, who ought to have known
better, and decent young idiots who couldn't
be expected to, scanned the morning papers,
and even ventured into the sporting e } bucket
shops In search of information on the absorb
ing topic. The civil war in France, where
hundreds were daily murdered and mutilated,
lost all bloodthirsty interest beside the specu-
lation as to whether Joe had pluck or Jem
would whip him in five minutes. Enough to
say that amid the concentrated and unsub-
dued enthusiasm of the masses, the day before
the battle arrived.
The amount Of money which in every ina
ginable way had been staked on the encounter
was something fabulous. Jem and Joe were
reported to be in magnificent condition and
the smile Of dying Christian sure Of heaven
beamed over the disfgured countenance of
every pimp and bully who had secured his
transportation to the scene Of the coming
mill" To such of the fossil fighters or de-
cayed roysterers who could not raise enough
money to secure ticket it was sad purga-
torial trial. But they bore II bravely and be-
came the oracles of all the lower order of
liquor stores where colored prints Of pugil-
lists, gamecocks and trotting horses betokened
the votaries of the manly art. As a reward
for their misery, verdant youths con-
soled them with successive skinsful of
Brooklyn rum, while they related how
Humphreys and Mendoza, three-quarters
of century ago, pounded each other into jelly.
Those of Irish extraction who were blessed
with the husky remnants Of a vocal organ
chanted the glories of Donnelly and Cooper,
who fought upon the Curragh of Kildare, re-
lating how the Irish champion with one blow
knocked the Englishmans jaw out of joint
and himself out of the ring and out of time,
when certain patriotic Miss Kelly, who was
present, bet her carriage and horses on the
chicken of Erin Memories of the Upton
Slasher drew tears from their rascally old eyes,
and thus they waited for the dawn.
Toms visitto Crib, the champions, parlor
with childish delight, and dreamed of prize
fights until the morning sun arose that was to
look with his fiery eye upon the great set-to,
and probably take bright interest in the
struggle.
We shall now leave these, perhaps twenty
millions of people all over the Union, on the
tp-toe of expectation and hungering for
series Of such paragraphs as the following in
the papers,
ROUND 32-The Boy ca ne up lively and, after
lodging twice, goti heavily on poor Toms conk
tnosel opening fresh bin Of claret blood Tom
countered lightly on the whistler moutn), but q
spank from the Boys sinister mauley eft s;l above
TOMS dexter binker fright eye) sent MIN to grass
In jiffy suddenly Knocked him down.
We shall now carry the readers mentally to
the spot on the Canadian shore where the pri-
gistic mountain was in labor Picture
green field, fresh with the velvet verdancy of
spring; In the centre of this twenty-four feet
''rng"-that Is, square staked off with ropes
and poles, and around It some fifteen hundred
rowdies, chivalrously willing to see two
Of their class knock each other out of all
semblance of humanity. Inside the ''ring"
are two stripped bruisers and sundry bottle
holders referees, sponges, water bottles, and
so forth. This Is the picture itself; the
reeking, sem-drunken wretches out
ada Il The frarnn Iat Tho louora of4b h.