The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-13
How Mr.. Fielding Got It and
What 1t Cost Him
for the Same.
Also Some Valuable but Contra
dictory Tips on the Nc
Sweeny-Lynch Mill.
The Tuii-H lcodcd once Hoy and His
Influence Over tho Man He
Worked For.
Written for THE INpEpE.pxSr.l

Ase
my moral nature. l hold my Office boy pri-
marily responsible fol this. He started m 4
on tho downward path.
entered the Office one morning 4 little
late. Ralph, the boy (cailed Familiarity Sir
Ralph tho Rover, because he always goes
ton or a dozen blocks out Of the way when
send him N m errand), had attended to
his regular duties in his usual fashion;
He had busted my desk. using my Office cont
for the purpose, had sorted my mail. read
my postal cards, spilled my ink; and was
sitting with his feet on my private CORE
siondence. smokinga cigarette and glanc-
ing over tho morning papers. He looked
up from the sporting page as l came in.
md remarked: "Say. Pm telling yer that
Kid NcSweeney's got a cold cinch."
Everybody il getting a cold of some
kind" ! said. sympathstically. Who is
Mr.. McSweeney? A friend Of yours?"
"Who's Kid M~cSweeneyYo exclaimed the
Rover. "say. who's George Washington"
SOS dc Kid. Say. Mr.. FieIdin' it don't
make no difference wild me because | know
You're all right, sseY But if you should
expose your Ignorance thnt way before some
folks they wouldn't tin nothin' OF yer
afterwards. Say, If you should make u
uTfNk - tuNt ipA ~ lux ar
Jey'd t'row yer out. Who's Kid Nc
Sweeney? why he's de s~liclest an earnest
bantam that ever" the Koyer's feelings
oyercame him Mt this point. and le arose
and inflicted severe personal cliastissment
upon n messenger boy who has just entered
in response to q call ! had ruhg dnring the
previous week.
Oats DC way de kid will do up Patsy
Lyuch.'' said Sir Ralph, when he had fin
isbed rebuking the tardy messenger. "Oh,
! should like ter see that mill"
did not think seriously OF this incident
until about lunch time. when | noticed the
Rover discussing my case with the agent OF
n fiYearm manufacturing cOInpany who has
q desk in the Office.
Hasn't any sporting blood, ehY' said
the agent, referring to me-. Later in the
day | heard him telling a visitor that l had
asked the Office boy who Kid McSweeney
was. The visitor WAS q young man who
wore n scarf pin shaped like n horses head,
and nearly life size. and he evidently didn't
know whether to laugh at my Ignorance or
70 be downright sorry for me.
began to be ashamed of not having any
sporting blood. For several days l secretly
studied the pugilistie notes III the newspa-
pers. They were always entertaining and
vigorous, but they were evidently not in
tended for beginners. They alluded III .
familiar and affectionate way to Patty"
and "Baldy" and Jake" but on the whole
they were a good deal like II history by Car
lyle; it was necessary to know more than
ths writer in order to understand what he
was talking about.
But the subject interested me. PugiIism
seemed to be the only profession in which
there was a distinct standard of merit.
While thousands Of lawyers and almost all
doctors have nc equals III their lines, /
could not find over a hundred recognized
champions in any department of pugili Ii.
In order to straignten out my ideas a little.
r ooLaI Cir Ra1rh nna morning whgfhsr he
thought that Kid McSweeney could do
Jim Corbett in fou rounds. Fir Ralph had
an epileptic fit complicated with bronchitis,
and when he recovered be gave me to nm
derstand than bantams and heayyweights
did not, as q rule, modest each other. |
WAS glad to learn that their relations were
80 cordial, and ! said 80.
"say,' said the Rover, tits a pity you
don't say nuthin'. You're built just right
for 4 s~crapper."
asked him if he really thought that l
could learn to box.
''Sure,'' said he, lyon amt got no legs an
you don't need any. It's de long. %scra9gly,
unR~ainly-lookin' fellies that walk off with
everything nowadays. Dey reach right over
fellie's guard and bang him on dc bugle.
seer"
Sir Ralph hit the wall two or three times
to show how il was done.
''Do yon know any good teacher of box
inRY' / asked.
"DO | know him!" exclaimed Sir Ralph
d. j! Say, you go ter see Dave Baxter on
Dc Bow'ry,.. Is ne good? Say, he seconded
de kid in his fight wild young Pike. He
knows it all, see?''
have endcavored to do something like
Justice to the Rover's Conversations meth
DDS, because that style (which might be
called the stetica!-interrogatiye) is
place like the odor Of a Bowery cigar and
cotrupting al New York. There are men,
bers Of the 400 who are detected in the use
of "s.e?''
called upon Paxtsr the next day. His
Office 10 between the sawdust box and the
lunch counter in a well-knoTn Bowcry "a
loon. | found him in. He took me into a
large, bare room on the second story. where
he collected the price OF q dozen lessons IN
advance. / did not notice ANYTHING nnug-
ual about the room at first, but later / dIs-
covered that it had the hardest floor ever
laid dow by n carpenter. That ives after
Baxter had endeavored 70 instiH into me
the principles Of the art Of self defense. 1t
did not take me long to discover that one
of tho most important of those principles
was to avoid the company of men like Bax-
ter. However, after he had gathered up
my fragments into a chAir and put me
through the PROCESS of artificial respiration
for awhile, / felt we'll enough to say that
he hit a good deal too hard. He took this as
acomplimert.
III i Just patted yer couptendUce gently
like some o thebe dude up town professors
would do said he, you wouldn't think l
amounted to nuthin'. De first requisite is
ter convince de pupil that yer a good man;
seeI'
admitted an earnest conviction.
Yer took yer medicine like a man. said
he, FAN / think | can make something of
yer. Do you want ter see der McSweeney-
Lynch fight! lean get yer a ticket for
So. Is it cheap! Say, dere geliin' for S25
all over"
thought it might be q good idea to save
$40 by buying my ticket of Baxter, for / hal
made up my mind to zee this fight for the
were like. When Baxter sold me this ticket
he said that I ought to make a barrel of
money on the fight because he could give
me q straight tip and / could back ii AZ
heavily as ! pleased. He mentioned in an
od-hand, reminiscent fashion that several
gentlemen, whom he named, had given him
fifty or a hundred dollars after winning on
his tips.
! told him that didn't suppose it would
be possible to make q bet on this fight be-
tause the Kid was sure to win.
''Sure to winI' said Baxter. Say; ht
four rounds"
Baxter went on to assure me thai
his warm personal friendship for tbs
Kid Was poWsr.ess to warp bis infailiDit
judgment. He WAS sorry that the KiG
couldn't win; but, a. long as he couIdn'f
there was no harm in my making a doilsl
on my knowledge of the fact. He suggest
ed that perhaps we might find some ignor.
ant person in the saloon below who wa,