Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-01-15
BRuTAL spoRr N CAMDEN.
Two Miners Kicking Each Others Shins
for $3.50 a Side.

Fhttd0ctphtd Special, 18th.
A "purring" match was fought at an
early hour this morning. The contestants
were Robert lavish an examiner. who
keeps saloon in Manayunk. and David
New Williams, a miner of Plymouth, Luz
zerne county. A "purring" match is a
shin-kicking contest. and most brutal
sport it is. lavish has some reputation
as boxer and wrestler. He is the man
I who wanted to wrestle Sam Actor,
the English Demon" for $1,000 a
side last fall. He has wOrsted man in
Pittsburg and another in Scranton, and
was beaten at Shenandoah by McWilliams.
| The contest was so close, however, that
lavish thought he should have won, and
his friends agreed with him. The fight
this morning was for $3.50 side. Arthur
Chambers, John Clark, Mike Cleary, and
other prOprietors Of sporting houses re-
| fused to allow the 'purring" to be done
in their establishments for fear of the pO-
lice, and a room in Camden was rented.
Soon after midnight the fight began.
lavish weighed $50 pounds and McWil-
liams 142. Both wore knee-breeches, and
were barelegged from knee to ankle. Nc
Williams insisted on ''purring" with reg
ulatiOn shoes. lavish objected on the
ground that he did not desire to be
| crippled for life for $3.50. The proper
purring shoe is a brOgan with
the toe. McWilliams facetiOusly said that
the horn would "scPape meat whenever
il touched a leg" The referee exhibit
ed Il pair of demonstrating hOrn-tOed
shoes, and lavish shuddered. The arti-
Giles of agreement said nothing about the
kind of shoes that were to be used, and
Thomas V. Perrine, the pedestrian, who
was Tayish's hacker, insisted that the
men should purr with pair of new No.
brOgans. After much haggling and a
! great deal of sampling of the contents of a
black bottle, this was agreed to, and the
kickers dOnned the shoes and faced each
| other.
! The object Of each man was to kick his
/ opponent on the shin and escape without
| being paid back i'm the same coin. lavish
/ hoped around like a dancing master
McWilliams kicked with his right foot,
/ but lavish was out of reach. For five
minutes they danced around each other,
! exchanging kicks which did not take eff
] feet. In the second round lavish kicked
/ his opponent on the side Of the left leg,
! drawing blood. In the third round
| lavish scraped twO-inch piece of skin
/ from his opponents right shin and kicked
| him twice on the same leg. McWilliams
! was playing waiting game.
/ however, and his friends backed him at
! double odds. lavish had the best of the
/ fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, and Me
/ Williams shins bled so freely that they
had TO be washed in vinegar.
In the seventh round McWilliams
kicked lavish twice on the left leg, danced
around, and repeated the dose. When
time was called, lavish had four bruises
on his left leg. In the next round McWil-
liams opened the ball, and forced the
kicking. lavish tried to get away, but
his efforts were useless. He ended the
tenth round by slipping and falling,
| and when he arose the floor
was marked with blood which
| came from his shins. McWilliams had
| everything his own way during four sue
| ceeding rounds. lavish rallied in the
fifteenth round, and, by terrific kick,
took twO-inch slice of skin from McWil-
liams' left leg. This was the worst single
kick of the match, and, stOut-hearted as
McWilliams was, he WINGED and dropped
in the arms of ''BrOcky" Dawson, who
was secOnding him.
Both men were very much exhausted
after an hours dancing and kicking.
! lavish wanted to quit, but his friends in
sisted that he should go on. McWilliams'
shins were badly cut and bruised, but
they were nothing compared with Tay-
| ish's. In the next four rounds McWil-
liams went as he pleased, and every time
he kicked he made an ugly cut or bruise.
In the twenty-second round Tavish's
| SecOHus cOulu NOT SIOp Ine now
of blood. They wanted to apply
bandages, but REILLY would not permit it,
| McWilliams kicked lavish five times in
the twenty-third round, and then the lat
ter dropped like log and refused to go
on. His legs, from knee to ankle, We're
covered with cuts. McWilliams got the
stakes. Tavish's legs were washed in
applejack, and he was driven to the ferry.
*Both Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable
Compound and Blood Purifier are prepared