The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-08-11
THE FARO KING.
InHN MORRIsSEY.

BIRTH AND HARD-EARNED sUCcEss-His
FORTUNE AND MANNER OP LIVING
The correspondent OF the Chicago Tribune,
writing from Saratoga, gives the following
account of the life of John Morrissey, ex-
snemper of Congress: This celebrated glad
iator who keeps the club house, pool-room
and race-track. besides the chieftrestaUrant
in the place, is still the mystery OF Saratoga,
the stronger for standing in the social
shadows. We must go back to the model
of Beau Nash to find such a career, and fail
there. for man who has been so battered
as Morrissey so berated as Morrissay, almost
bv the nation; so accused of sinister work
with Pool and Heenan, and Sullivan; so
desired to be threshed and put out of the
way; so lmpersonified the representative
Qanester; 50 made reprOach Tor going to
Congress Ito be still alive and very nearly
respected, is greater anomaly than yon-
der pulpit silent and spiked after the years
of comforting .platitude 1t has Died. Inc
knocking bird of our Land, who uttered all
notes with equal facility, and was in one
the "a hole feathered choir, has closed his
song in mockery, while here this pugilist,
whose hair is growing gray, has nearly
ceased to be a scandal. There Is Just one
reason" SAYS Gen. Batchelle, the chief pub
lie man of Saratoga, "MOrrissey has been
everything but insincere." liz should seem
queer that dealing faro and turning roulette
can be attributed sincere pursuits; yet, again,
his man has been two or three times nearly
ruined at mis- own games, and, as Mr.. Conk-
ling, the chief real estate man of Saratoga
said to me: "He has made as high as $4,000
here season and lost as high as 100000.
Why" continued Conkling, "when such
PLAYERS az Ben. Wood and Jimmy O'Brien
come here loaded up with money, resolved
on nothing short of breaking that bank, &C
quainted with every point in the game, and
not to be fooled by any trick of the DEAL ii
is literally battle of DEVILS, They fight like
Wall street operators on the stake OF
chancesu To have been the champion of the
American ring required something more
than strength. It required
CONFIDENCE.
'sThat.D said Morrissey, yesterday, going
over his battles, 81 had great deal of /
came to New York astout lad, determined
10 fight, and to fight the biggest man that
could be found. My father lived in Troy.
j was the only boy in family of eight, and
had to support the girls, and looked around
me. very poor and very illiterate, and asked
wnat could do best of anything to get on.
There was. nothing / could think of but TO
fight, and i had TO think of that, for was
kicked ashore most every day from the
boat OF Capt Smith, who is now my father
in-law. 1 was riyer-boy, handling bag
gage and running for passengers, and very
ambitious with very little opportunity. /
had read of Hyer and Sullivan, and the great
pugilists in New York, and one day took
my bundle and came to the city determined
TO get fight out of them.
''It was at the Empire Club, on Park Row
where hunted them up. The first l saw
was Isaiah Rynders, famous political leader
in those days, and went up to him, sur
rounded by his crowd, and said: Mr.. Ryn-
Oars, I've come down here from Troy to
fight I've got no money, but will fight for
reputation. will fight Mr.. Hver, or you
or anybody you can pick OUT They just all
SET on me az once, and gave me a beating
that made my head sore for three weeks
After that laid for them individually. Said
l. Gentlemen, will lick your crowd, and
make You acknowledge me, ii ii takes me
years. was as poor as wharf rat, and
could barely pick up my food; but / kept
on the wharves, unloading steamers,
working with longshoremen, and get
ting beaten so often that was hardly ever
right well. As long as i was poor nobody
would do me the favor to fight me in the
ring, and I finally went to California
in the mining times to make stake There
fought Thompson and whipped him, and
returned t. New Yo-k with some reputa-
ton The da U landed challenged liver
ITO fight for $4,000. He came around with
Bill Poole to whip me before got out of
bed one morning, ana was 90 determined
about il that they saw ! wsulJ never leave
New 0ork III. udu tbt5 cSlf. Finally.
fought Sullivan al Bcst N Carners-the
hardest H. bt i ever had. Se vas an artist,
and be broke my nose, and clIi me all to
pferss; but / have always known that
could keep nay legs and stand up until any
of nv opponents were worn out. Ihst was
nv calculation with HeenGn-endurance
against strength. Hyer | never could bring
to the scratch. He had lost his moral fJrce,
and never would fight me, His f.lsnd
Poole as you know, set on me with SS"k
of his friends, and expected to briag ne so
near my end that I would loose stom-
get any of them TO meet me,
and went into business. All at once Heenan
came from California with a reputation, and
they said, Here is our man to give Morrissey
a logging at last 1 then declined to fight,
until 1 was worried and set upon in and out
OF print, and finally they whipped my old
father, and abused my family. Said / to
my wife: I can't live this way / shall have
to fight that man, My wife said: Yes,
you must fight him. / went into training
on my father-in-law's farm.
EVERY effort was made to bring the whole
sentiment of the United States up against
me. You can't tell how many years, and
how much pain have had to bear for that
perfectly unjust odium of seeking to chal-
1enge an American as an lrishman. Mr..
Heenan tied the American colors to the
ropes, and his coat, when he took it off,
was actually lined with the American flag.
had to laugh in his face. He broke
my nose a second time. and think he could
strike the most powerful blow OF any man /
ever saw; but won the battle and closed
them out. i followed him to England to
see the fight he had with Sayers; for by this
time j was angry az years of persecution,
and wanted to see the last man of the old
Hyer coterie closed out" Then, the still
powerful gladiator related how he came TO
play cards by profession. "A prize-fighter, -
he said, 'csn graduate with no other avoca-
tion equal to lis start. have always played
cards more or less. My general reputation
amongst Americans, 1 felt, required me to
do something to start my boy, for whose
aha live fr in A..