The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-04-02
PRIZE FIGHTS DESCRIBED.
THE PREfCHIN0 orr wELL-ENoWN
RETIRED RING CHAMPION.

TINT the Hon. John Morrissev Nceds-Mr. |
Howell Gnrdncr's Only whipping.
Howell Gardner having announced that |
In mis- lecture In White Plains Village on We'd |
nesday evening last he would tell about the |
mode Of training men for prize fighting, and de- |
scr De the fOrmalties and etiquette Of the prize
ring, some Of the good Methodists OF the village
turned their faces against him. They neither
went themselves to the lecture nor would they
permit their choir to attend and sing "The
Ninety and Nine" rs had been promised. But
there was, nevertheless. good audience, made
up Of very respectable persons, and Mr.. Gardner
sang the promised hymn alone.
After brief sketch OF the wild boyhood Of
his brothers and himself, Mr.. Gardner saldt
Toe frat prize fighters ever saw we're Sulli-
van and Lilly, who came out 10 Newark and gave
sparring exhibition. II pleased US NIGHTLY,
and wo could think Of nothing but sparring. l
came over 20 New York and bought a set Of
gloves for fourteen shiliinge, and my brother
Orville and me went to work practising together.
We used TO set to out In the orchard, irving to
do a. we had seen them do, dodving, feintins,
sparring, getting In and out again as lively We
could, and all that, and what with our constant
practice and what we learned by seeing Sullivan
and Lilly and Sweeny and other noted sparrers
who came out to Newark. we got so that we
Then my brother was matched TO fight man
that had never been whipped, and Orvills won.
Then went to New FORK, and about year after
that my brother Oryille followed me, aud the
nrst place OF resort for us w1s Yankee Sullivan's
at Al Madison street, and 1t wasn't long be-
fore our names got to be posted up
with the frs, In the lighting business,
and toll you was proud the
FIRST time I saw my name upon q
poster on a fence. At that time they used to
put US up as the The Bic Necksd brothers -
then they got US up as" Awful Gardner" and
Horrible Gardner" and then Awful Gardner"
and Young Gnrdn-r." 7 used TO think " was
awful smart to nave NY name stuck no That way
on fence. enl now' oie,isu De Jesus, d ~, ",
above the fence. up TO the Lambs book OF Life
aud rejoice In the confident hope that my name
pet pupil Tor four years. and then was tested to
see IL 1 nad the game for the ring. They don't
( ke every mAu that comes along and says
I'm a lghler." aud throw him into twenty
foot ring and pat their money on HIM. man
may say hes
FIGHTER
without being one. the same AZ good many
men saw they are Christian. when they amt. II
isn't ALWAYS the n me that's enough. for - the
/ BiOles - by their work. shall We Know them"
Rut To tell you how was tested. One night
there an exhioition At Al Madison street,
me Dry Dock 10 test nv brother Osvlle not for
me, but NV brother refused TO put the cloves on
NTH Nun because Ne ma 10 MlLl IN " I'D Nike
ward. So they HANGED II round, and sullivan
told me to put them on with nin. instead OF
Qrviile. aud We stripped ourselves aud came out.
He was at least twenty or twenty FIVE pounds
heavier than me. and lust as quick as we shook
hands, before We took positions, he gave me
! tremendous blow IN the face. right on the nose.
looked At him and smiled. aud Thought that
was very good. and we got 10 work, ana he gave
me several more until my brother got cut OF
know ~ Wa a wooden u Il to stand ub there
and let myself be pounded that way. Bv and
] hw ha FRA ifnA
let go my man went down. Then ne threw
on his gloves AMI wanted 10 ngnt me bare
up To come t. that TO test me, though |
DIDN'T know 1t ~ the time, and Yankee
! show what you're made Of IL was as bloody
u battle as ever saw. but TOOK that man into
camp, ana TOOK MN VI nicely, 700. 4 whipped
| that man, aud whipped him badly. Then
sullivan put me In training, and the nrst thing
ana be backed out, and paid $50 forfeit; and
then 1 " = matched against Nike Murphy, and
and was offered TO De matched with ny man
! of INV weight on fnrb island. and nobody would
| take me W. But tnat cont mean that W lsn't
! kept ~ hghttns Practice. h We fought IN NV
! lie over ION oaites, singis handed walked out
| nud fought, aud I'll give any man a hundred
dollars mat viii 6ud II on record that / was
| cVtr WHIPPED In my life. NJ, | never was
whipped, possibly because never got hold OF
the ught man perhaps " I'd stayed In the
| business long enough would.
| We became 80 noted as lighters after awhile
| that my brother anu me were hired In the emil
| grant business, an1 recsNed hundred dollars
a week apiece just for Icing nghters-J Just TO
| light II tnere was any lighting 10 be done. My
| brother Orvle ano Joan Morrissey were both
| hired by one ONCE at the same time Tor that
| pui pose. We used to 90 down on board a sui D
| and STAY there and see mat nobody drove our
| men OF the vessel or took tueir Passengers from
them. We had In our "ihue over one hundred
each, jus, for tnat sort OF business. Naturally
aood many people would think now could the
! mel Ia the eInigrant business make thai much
! money that they could al ri T. pay So much
Ihey couldn't IN any square, legitimate way, but
tney m-de II 10y
RoBBING THE EHIGRANrs.
| II they paid twenty cents "A mile for Transport
tation, theV'd chtfge the poor emigrants 81,
| aud everything else the same way, aud tue
| strangers Ia : range land IN the hands OF those
siaiks had no recourse or relief but just to give
~ All they had. An once here In New YuIk
would have branch ~ Albany and another IN
| ralo-Lghter- hired BY robners to furtner the
| game OF extortion at eacn place. Well, Wen
say lot oi pdssensers would ar i've flOm New
| YORK at Albany. waiting To get wet uV tue
canal. Tney wOul suipped oy our ofIce
here to TIE All ny gent. He'd teilthen tr m
port alton WAS SO scar .. no boats In. and he
couldn't send them vi for a few Gays. and ned
Delay them t.cre. WHINE the en- grant boarding
mans, Tor We only boarded German ships
they would just eat them up alive with
thelr eAt'ruonhte cnarges, untl the poor
cnierants would become fairly desperate
and would 20 TO tue agent ana declare
they must get away at any price. Tnen he'd say
ned 20 our lnd look a uuud and see II be could
get "A boat, ana mayoe, most iikeiy, he basin WAS
tun Of hoats pelonging 10 tue very ONCE he Was
wor1inR for He'd 20 up town and smoke a
cigar and take a drink OF two, and come back
aud 4 he couid Z t a boat, but the charge
would DO uwtdlly hlRn, because the TRANSPORTS
tlOn was 80 scarce, ANA II they could RAISE some
big sum he'd yet the boat for them. Well, they Il
be Just horror stricken with the tx they were In
and glad u get out anu away at any price, and
they'd club together and raise the money among
themselves somehow, aud away they'd go to
Buffalo, TO De met there by another band OF or
Ginized hArpies and heeced again In toe same
way. Alter that, they didn't generally nave
enough left b. make II worth while Co follow
them up any further. That's the way the enl-
grant business VS. man ged. and It's the sort oi
swlndlipR That got 50 Inauy vi tue men eng aged
In II into State prison.
50 we continued lighting for the emlgrant
swindlers, prize nghting md tr lining men for
prize q hts for several cars, until un .lly went
to teaching sparfing. | taught In Now YORK
and Newark and Philadelphia. l was matched
In Pnllldelphia to hght johnny Ling but
whipped aim one sunday afternoon IN a saloon
tn was during the time the Crystal Paac, was
IN New YORK. lie was man near liyers size
Then my brother was matcned 10 hgnt Allen
McAfee. They Tough on the Palisades an hour
ana II half and Orville won. Then no was
matched tn fight "Dubln Irlcks," and he Lost
Lnat by dislocating his shoulder elgh. times,
and Poole VS. the man VINO went into the rina
and stopped the Rght, and so my brother Isl
al ngnt. | was his DO, Tie holder in that nght
We were always together. cut MS har FOL
him moth times, aud II happened on both occs'
SONS tnat | cut IL with uair Of sneep snaars
The speaker, ir narraung AT length the expert
ence OF his lawless life IN Port Chester and
White Plains Village, sad