Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-09-26
PUGILTSTIC KNIGHTS.l
HOW THEY SOMETIMES FIGHT OUT
... SIDE THE RING.

Mike Donovan's Defense of n Lady-A
Safe Rule-Jack Dempsey's Control of
Temper Man Who Knew Billy |
Edwards-The Truckman.
There could be no more interesting story
than that told by Thackery, that veracious
and delightful chronicler, of how the homely
Dobbins unexpectedly licked the gilt edged
Reginald Cuff, the bully of Dr. Swishtail's
school, rescued little Osborne from his ty
ranny and established new order of things
among the boys. And no reader of Bulwer's
| books has failed to follow with absorbing in
| terest the scientific fashion in which kenelm
| Chillingly disposed OF the hulking swaggerer
| of the village and relieved the surrounding
| country from reign of terror under which
it had been living And there are stories of
today in real life where the man handy with
his fists appearing on the scene has straight
ened matters out as they should be straight
ened as was amply demonstrated by Demp
sey recently at Rockaway beach when a
gang of toughs and roughs got into hotel
down there and began to run things to suit
| themselves
Dempsey, Mike Donovan and Billy Ed
wards have written some of their experiences
where they have come in on time like the
hero in the melodrama, and we print them
here
MIKE DoNovAN's EXPERIENCE.
Whether a man is a pugihS or a preacher
he has lots of opportunity to use his fists.
Wrongs are often righted this way and in
justice prevented The CONSCIOUSNESS that a
man is master of the art of self defense is ap.
to inspire the possessor with a nerve and as
sertion that frequently prevent actual fisti-
cuffs A case of this kind occurred to me the
other day in going up town in Sixth avenue
elevated train While we were getting
aboard at q down town station big over
dressed fellow attempted to push past little,
pale faced lady and force his way into the car
ahead of her prevented his doing so. He
got very angry all at once and gave me a
push | confess il angered me, and when he
followed it up inside the car with an uupleas-
ant epithet took hold of him and slammed
him into a corner seat in manner meant to
be Enthusiastically emphatic He began to
buster and a crowd of his friends didn't help
matters any by eggfng him on. ! addressed
myself TO the whole crowd and said: ''Gen.
temen, want you to understand that I'm >
peaceful man. but if its necessary in order
to secure peace TO have fight you can count
me in every time. Your friend was rude tC
/ a lady and interfered TO protect her, just a:
any other gentleman would"
would have doubtless had to fight th'
! whole crowd right there if a man who wa
personally unknown to me hadn't jumped VI
= and said; MIR. Donovan, if there's going Il
be fight I'm with You" Two or three othel
| Foi1 80 ~
bully subsidized
1t can be laid down as a safe rule that il
" ninety nine cases out of hundred in wha
are known as street fights the aggressor is
larger man physically than his opponent. |
this is not plain enough proof that the as
gressor is a coward l don't know what it is
1t is very seldom you see small man wal
up to big one and strike him in the face.
STORIES BY JACK DEMPSEY.
Fighting in the ring is business with mt
but fighting outside of it is not. If occs
sionaily am forced into little unpleasant
ness here and there, l am keeping myse
inside the truth when | say the fault is nc
mine. | do it either for the purpose {
assisting the weak, who are being impose
upon, or to defend myself.
| was once sitting in my place in Fror
street discussing the question as to wheth'
or not puSilists are easily provoked int
fighting, when a man came up and insulte
me in the most fragrant way. II ever ma
deserved a thrashing he did. There
scarcely a business man in New York wi
would have submitted to what did withol
d. resenting it. | simply got up and wake
- away. No better answer to the questions n
friend had been asking me could possib
- have been made.
The fact is that before he will be draw
into free fight professional pugiist W
take about everything in the way of an
suit save slap in the face. When he strik
person, even under the greatest provoc
tion, he is viewed as bully and coward, pl
suming on his strength and superior skill
abuse his physical interiors When l ref
to pugilsts | mean those of reputation a
admitted ability, and not to the Bowe
toughs, VINO make it part of their businf
to swagger around, insulting inoffensi
people and generally making themselves
disagreeable as they know how. In what
known as a free fight pugilist has nothi
I to gain and everything to lose. Apart frt
: every other consideration, the question
! policy alone is enough to make hIm pea
~ lover. If pugilist were to kill a man no
professional fighter, eytl under strong p
vocation or in self defen there is not a ju
that could be gos toge;. that wouldn't
strongly prejudiced against him, even af
the facts were brought out.
Il WHAT BILLY EDWARDS TELLS.
One day several wears ago l was crossi
N from Booklyn to New York, by the Han