St. Paul daily globe., 1889-07-28
DEVOTED TO THE RING.
Women Who Have Fallen In Love With
Prize Fighters.
JOHN L. SULLIvAN'S WASHES,
He Is Chased ALI Over the Country
by Some Of His Fair Ad-
mirers.

The recent struggle between John l..
Sullivan and Jake Kilraln for the
championship of the world has aroused
as much interest in the ranks of the
weaker sex as among those of the
stronger.
From time immemorial women have
worshiped and adored magnificent
specimens of manhood, whose very
strength and muscular development
have commanded admiration from the
weaker nature.
1t has not mattered that the objects of
their reckless infatuation were men of
the lowest mental caliber, with no idea
or pretensions at refinement. Roman
empreSSeS set such an example with
their slaves. The more perfect in phys
ical development the man the more his
attraction to this class of women. Who
IS more perfect as a specimen than John
L. Jullivan?
Coarse, uneducated, as he is known to
be, with the department of the street
laborer's gang, in which he used pick.
still clinging to him, his rough hands
have toyed with the arching necks and
prize-fghting is mentioned in their pres
ence. His huge ears have listened
to love-songs sung by the ruby
lips of those to whom it were
social death should the object
of their admiration betray them
To man of low order of intelli-
gence this alteration is perfectly nat
ural, and is the greatest cause of the
deep-seated self-conceit that follows
the sudden elevation of such species
of animal.
Another, and by far the larger class
of women, carried away by the enthu-
siaSm of their male friends and the
glowing reports sent to the newspapers
of Sulliyan's pr0wess, have gone so
far as to lay money ON the champion.
Even Mrs. Harrison is quoted as ha "
ing expressed the hope that Kilrain
would win the fight if he was all that
he had been represented to her.
A certain woman just outside the
pale of the Four Hundred, wealthy and
able to snap her fingers at fate should
she lose, wagered $4,000 at odds on Sulli-
van, and made minute and expensive
arrangements to have detailed accounts
of the battle sent to her house. No one
in the city was more jubilant than she
over the fact that the Boston man won.
All during Sullivan's reign in Boston
he was actually chased by the women
who resided Oh the Back bay.
1t is to the big fellows credit that he
never opened his mouth regarding any
of these adventures.
1t is related that on one occasion
husband thought that he had detected
his wife in correspondence with the
fighter. The husband was plucky and
demanded the truth from the idol of the
populace, who calmly lied about it, and
even succeeded in convincing the hus-
band that his suspicious were un-
founded.
Another case was that of the daugh-
ter of wealthy merchant residing on
Commonwealth avenue, in Boston,
reached such point that she was sent
abroad under the eye of a vigilant
''chaperone."
There was a veiled woman, also, who
by following Sullivan when he was
touring the country, almost piqued him
into the error of making the first ad-
YanceS toward an acquaintance, but he
restrained his impatience and she finally
made herself known to him. She was a
wealthy widow, residing on SiXty-SiXth
street, in this city, whose family thought
she was in California This fact only
leaked out through New Yorker, who
accidentally ran across the pair driving
in a secluded road near Cleveland, 0.
Annie Livingston is devoted to John
L., and he owes his life almost to her,
as she nurSed him back to oconyalescence
after his late sickness, when the phySi
clans had given him up.
So infatuated were the pretty creole
nf n,tn N rrln
ator's huge muscles and brawny shoul
ders that they resorted to all kinds of
schemes in order to have personal inter
views with Sullivan, but his guardians
would not permit it, and John himself
preferred to postpone lovemaking uutil
after the fight.
One young woman sent note TO Char
lie Johnston offering $500 if she could
have an uninterrupted interview OF an
hour with the fighter, but this was, of
course, refused.
Muldoon tells good story about one
woman who almost succeeded in reach
ing Sullivan. He had secured an old
cOlored ''aunty" to cook the chickens,
etc.. for his charge, but one day when
he went to give her some instructions
she was gone and lovely octoroon girl
of nineteen was in her place. Muldoon
instantly suspected some trick and queS-
toned ner.
She broke down and confessed that
she had bribed the cook to leave and in
stall her in her place. She offered to
cook, wash or do anything, in fact, but
the trainer was obdurate and sent her
away.
These were not all the cases in New
Orleans by any means, for there were
too many to repeat.
The wife of one of the bosses of the
Chinese Six Companies in San Francisco
became enamOured of John l.. and sent
him costly native jewelry, silks and
packages of the finest tea. John has
seen her, but never spoken to her, for
the husband shipped his almond-eyed
wife to China as soon as he discovered
the state of things.
A most beautiful silk umbrella, with
two clasped hands beautifully wrought
in silver for handle, and undeciphera-
bic monogram, is something Sullivan is
very proud of, and admits that it was
given him after mysterious amatory
adventure. but refuses TO say by whom.
Many more incidents could be related
of the admiration paid to the champion
by handsome women. and Sullivan could
tell many tales if he chose. But the
character of the man is such that he
would not open his lips under any cir
cumstances, and his motto seems to be,
.'Silence to the DEATH"