The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-08-30

SOCIAL Status oe 2axly 1nglioh
Pug1liGto-9koecAao AZ anma
oftho Hard Httteru-The
Marquis q e1neeos-
berry.

O081ys
Recent p0Galk9tjo evonts In New
York have aWakoned Q Temporary
pu6lic Interest In what itoOadmires1
eSaim 70 b the manly art Of self De.
lense. James Fieg + the flrst Brit
ieh P0gilst who aoQuirod fame b. hls
ekill With his Asts and oudeol play.
Fi&g's eompatriotD speak of hin IN
terms of the highest admiJatioo. and
the "young bleods'' among the een-
Try made FieE's headqusrtess p3ses
Of daily and nightly resost. Hoearth
painted hio postsait, and Co0ftey
hung aroaud him with Tie devotion
u Boswell 70 his Johnson. (sodffey
wrote booas about him, and the e.
sayist of the day gave him pEomi.
sent mention In the zatyer, the
Guardian and the Crqftsnsaa. The
we'll known expression Of coatempt,
- ng for this" or - ng for that"
sprung out q this pugiltst's fame, for
hiS eAStO0ns were hurried at the 0allic
Iaco with the motto attached: "A
Figg for the Fre1ch!" Figg's acad-
envy, - It was called, was opened In
T0ttenham Court road in 17l0, and
there the nobility and gentry were
aecustomed to expend their admiSa-
tion at the shrine Of brute force and
skill.
Cortraet one Of Figg's advertise
the present day announce q ''set-to"
In Nadison-square Garden, and the
contrast will mark . considerable dlG-
terenee In the times. After emitting
himself Master Of - noble Science
of defense On 70 right hand Of Oxford
road near Adam and Eve Court,
teacher Of gentlemen In ye ~ Of ye
small hack-sword, and quartersts6
at home and abroad," he Invites Ill
and sundry to attend his booth, "lof
money, . broken head. love, or . bel-
lyfull." Likewise, ''the booth b IT.
ted ~ In the most c0mmodious man
ner for the better reception Of ye gen.
tlemen." Figg fought many bats)ea
His most formidable antagonist va
''SuttOn, the Pipenakef 0f Graves
end" who fought him three times,
aud wa not fairly conquered until
the third. This champion died in
1874, and the press Of the day praised
his great POwess In ''stops and mar
ries." Hogartlis picture shows Figg
- . large. strUng-fsatursd man, with
square jaws, and . head - bald-
dOublless Il Was shaved-as . brook
pebble or Q Dutch cheese.
The next great hight In the British
6stic arena WaS Bob whitaker, whose
time was about 1888. His greatest tri-
umlph was achieved over the ''Vene.
tian Gond0lior." This Venetian had
been brought over to England by an
English nobleman, and Was remark.
able for his enormous strength and
reach Of arm. The Dobleman boosted
that Lis gondoliss giant VISA inv;nei-
ble. A company Of ''blooslb," anx-
ious to preserve the hoDor Of their
country, called . meeting In Slaugh.
ter's coffee house, and asked Figy II
he couldn't find . man who would
''knock out" the big Venetian. Fig
replied that he coUld do that easy
en0ugh-''FOr bis part ho was afraid
Of NO foreigner fellow" Fig then
arranged that Whitaker sheuld tackle
the giant. because he twas . man
whose law could not he broken with
. sledgehamner." Wittaker's jaw
must have been somethisg like Tug"
Wilson's head. The match came of
before . crowd Of n0ble0en and gen
try. The greatest excitement pre-
vailed, and money was bet to large
exteat. When the fight commenced
the gondOlier rushed at Whitaker -
II he intended to den,olish him with
one blow. Whitaker was knocked
clean Oh the platform and down .
considerable distance 70 the 600f BE-
meath, much to the ast0nishnleut OF
the pugilist and spectators, but TO the
intense delight of the noble lord who
had hired the Venetian. Whitaker
scrambled w the platform again. He
saw that his only chance with his long
armed foeman was 70 get TO cSeee
9uarten, 90 he ''sailed In" with . Wig
or which astonished the giant. A
spectator says: "Wittakef, with ono
English pee In the stomach, quite .
new thinx to f,reigners, breught him
(the Veuetisn) ITO his breech." A few
more rounds knocked the giant out Of
wind and time, and the Venetian's
backer threw up the sponge.
Tom Pipes and George GREETING |
were prominent pugilists between
l72l and 17s4. and between 1874 and
l75S George Taylor (by no means the
colored light weight OF that name !
now In New York. had champion
hOn0ry pretty much his own way, al-
though he Mad one severe tuso!e With !
"Prince Boswell" gypsy Of mag. |
niflcent physique but defective sta'i'
ina. But by far the most famous
pugilist ut this period was Jack |;
br0uGhton, who enjoyed . reputa- !
tiOn % great - FigE did In bis time. |
His memory b. still cherished by the |
prize fighters Of the present day. who !
regard him ~ the founder q the !
modern style Of pugilism. There !
Vas . neatncss and quickness In his
defense which far distanced his cont
petitors, and drew epormosls crowds .
To witness his exhibitions. He In.
troduced the art Of stopping" and
parrying blows, then getting away. |
before his time, fighting with the
0sts was scarcely anything e|ee but /
fpe-tO-face and toe-to-toe hammerin9. ,
He had = very effective "stomach !
blow" and his ''lunge under the ear
Generally produced terrible couse-
ouences to bis Opponents." His ex-
Sertness in the croas-buttock wss ALSO
great, while ''his attitudes In night
were fine and impressive" de set
mn business for himself In . new
buildinR adjoining the Oxford road:
near the spot where Hapway and
Oxford streets now meet. i:ere ne
fa,,uht vounr gentlemen how to use