St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-06-21
SwDAY pOG FIGHTING
Witnessed by Il Crowd of Sports
Just OH the Outskirts.

Just OH the Outskirts.
"a dog fight has charms to sooth the
the savage heart" is an aphorism of Mark
Twain's which expresses a well-known
human weakness. For several weeks
past the sporting fraternity of
Minneapolis have been considerably
exercised over the prospect of dog fight
between a couple OF prominent opponents
of canine pugilsm. Yesterday morning
was the time set, and South Minneapolis
Junction was the indefinite locality named.
At , o'clock. at least twenty hack-loads of
sporting men left the city. The route was
carefully noted and within an hour later
every vehicle in Minneapolis that could be
pressed into service at such an unSeemly
hour was loaded to its fullest capacity. The
drive to the spot was along University avenue
and the place was within a short distance
of the glass works, located near the bridge
over the Mississippi, near Merriam Park.
At 4 O'Clock a miscellaneous crowd, in
which the lower strata" was a visible
component, gathered about a small frame
dwelling. Here the dogs We're both housed,
and here it was that the
CEREMONY OF WEIGHING
was to take place. The size of the crowd
not only surprised the committee on
arrangements. but almost deferred them
from allowing the fight to go on.
1t was precisely 4:l5 a. m. when
a pale-faced man, whose eyes were
ablaze with excitement. admitted the
GLOBE reporter to the house. "We
wouldn't let you in," he said, "only that
we know as you represent a good, fair
paper as gives the facts, 10 matter who it
hits" This was the half apologize intro
duction which served to present the re-
porter into the charmed circle of a half
dozen priZe-ighterS and gamblers.
billie" continued the pale-faced young
man, as he addressed a young mulatto,
go out and give de crowd de steer" The
subcommittee on arrangements at this hint
Went outside and throwing out a coil of
rope, casually remarked: ''Ketch on, You
fellers as want to go to de fight" Catch
on! Why meh
ACTUALLY FOUGHT
for place on the bit of hemp that had evil
IDENTIFY done service Oh more than one occa-
sion to support one honest family washing.
Hanging on to this slender line 500 men
formed into sinuouS procession. whose
right rested on cow barn and whose line
of march laid directly over the prairie,
through shaded grove t.
an open shade which formed
sort of natural amphitheater. Here the
leader of the procession halted: and the
rope was made to form a rude circle, with
the nondescript adherentS.
In the meantime. to revert to the cottage
the dogs were brought out and weighed.
by Daniel Nixon, proprietor of the Falls
hotel. When placed on the scales Dan"
weighed 3915 pounds and evinced dis
position to devour the entire roomful of
sports. His white coated body seemed to
show the results of careful training
and as for game-Why, hell die
a fighting" was the universal verdict.
Hardly had Dan, his owner. trainer and
admirers left for the scene Of battle than
Jumbo, red Irish bull, belonging to Frank
Goss, a well known saloonkeeper, was
trotted out. This dog weighed forty-three
pounds and evinced a disposition to go to
sleep. Hes only years old and Dan is
z, an I'll bet an even hundred that he
wins" remarked his owner. No one
seemed inclined to take his offer.
AT THE GROUND
the two dogs faced each other for th> first
time. Here it was announced that Jerry
Murphy. the well-knOwn lightweight pu-
gilist, had consented to act as referee, and
that the fight was to be to a scratch"
The fourteen-round fight, lasting fifty-nine
minutes, that ensued was more than inter
esting-it drove the adherents of the canine
contestants to frenzy and made the spec
tators fairly howl with excitement. Dan
had the fight for the first eight rounds. His
age and experience i'll four previous con-
tests, in which he had occasioned as many
dog funerals, evidently helping him. He
was lighter and ''about ten pounds quicker"
as his trainer expressed it, In each of these
rounds he got the first grip and hung to
JumbO'S throat with vice-like tenacity.
While he succeeded in hanging, he failed
to infict much injury, and although he had
the best of it, his contestant
did not appear to be disconnected. The four
rounds that followed averaged from two to
five minutes, with two minutes rest be-
tween acts. During these intervals the
dogs were rushed back to their corners,
sponged, famed ana even given whisky.
AFTER THE ELEVENTH
round Dan was plainly whipped dog, but
he seemed disinclined to own it and hung
on for ten rounds longer. He yelped pitt
fully as Jumbo shook and worried him,
and his cries of distress seemed as music to
the ears of his admirers. When the four
teenth round was called it was Dams
scratch, but he did not spring
forward but on the contrary
skunk between his handlers legs. This set
tied the fight, and a wild cheer of eXulta-
ton went up from the Jumbo" crowd.
The darkey's seconds almost Rugged them
selves with delight. howled and cheered IN
til they were hoarSe. Jumbo" was bathed
in bay rum, patted and even kissed. Finally
he was rolled up in a soft blanket and car
ried as tenderly from the ground as though
he was tw0-month infant
The fight was all on the quiet" and in
justice to the police authorities it should be
stated that it was hardly within their power
to prevent it.
The TURNER'S, PICNIC.