St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-18
!, CURRENT CHAT.

Said sport-loving gentleman. in talking
| of the Moth-King wre SLING match: After
1 seeing these athletes at work one can easily
understand the idolizing of gladiators in the
| heroic days of Greece. Wrestling on a
padded floor is surely the essence of pure
consultative sport leaving out betting on.
the result. Any parlor in st. Paul might
| have been the scene of that long struggle, SO
! far as the wrestlers were concerned. And
| any one who admires tests of power and en-
| durance as every properly constituted man
| and woman does, might watch the exhibit
| ton without blush or a fear.
TT
SIT is pity. in my opinion, that this sport
| is not more publicly developed in all it's hui
| man beauty. Recall the scene: A generous
| square of white, strong canvas nailed down
| over thick bedding of sawdust; score or
| TWO of men surrounding it on three sides; in
| front hundreds of cleaning, expectant faces
| At one side of the stage sits rather hand
some, bulky. but trim and agile youth
| smooth-faced, with no sign of nervousness
| barring a somewhat anxious CLEAN in the
| eyes. developed in a sweater he looks like
an extra player on base ball or football
team waiting call for his services. Across
| the stage is his opponent sitting with his
| legs extended, looking confident and easy,
| but watchfal as a fox. He also wears
| sweater which deceiyes the careless locker
as to his real upper-body development.
TIT
presently the referee is agreed on and in
| terviews the men to establish mutual I'M
| Outstanding as to rules, points, ETC. The
sweaters are removed on the settlement of
preliminaries. and the wrestlers advance to
the center of the padded square There is no
hurry. no rush to close quarters. As they
shake hands let US size them up bit The
older, but taller and lighter, man is swarthy,
slightly bald. with messy breast, 1.-the
| and springv of step, handles him
| self like the master at the game
he undoubtedly is, and every fiber of
his frame looks alert and ready. The legs
are long and trife thin seemingly but the
feet are moving quickly, and with a sure rest
| on the cloth. The upper body is satisfying
| to critical eye, above the loins FACILITATING
with muscles that will not ache under strain
| of the engagement: branching from the pow
| erful shoulders are two arms that have stood
| the test of hours in contests with highly
| developed athletes in many parts OF the
| world. Charles Moth. dark faced, with small
| black mustache. restless eyes and in position
| to play for hold. looks fit to last through
many hours of trying play.
| tel
| Reaching out his hand to the German Is
an entirely different type of perfect mani
| hood. The head is OF good shape, the face
| engaging in repose. eyes well set and kindly
| in expression. Cleaning white flesh, OF
| marmorean firmness, covers great clusters OF
muscle and sinew which go to make up a
| trunk good to look at The arms are shorter
than Moths, though stouter; the upper body
| is much heavier and the legs more pillar
like, but the feet lack something in sinewy
| movement and hold that is very noticeable
in the other man. Attached to the waist
band of his black trunks on either side are
the British and American colors. The old
wrestler disdains sentiment; the young ath-
lete caters to it enough to please those who
love flag AS he stands with the right
hand grasping his opponent S, the left swing
| ing al ease, Jack King looks the ideal Anglo
Saxon neutrality-suspicious. confident in
mien, with courage enough TO outlast even
| great bodily strength.
TIT
1.-THE men begin to play for hold at once,
with open hands smartly catching each other
| about the body, arms and neck Presently
| the two heads come together, and from now
| on the contest has a good deal of headwork
| in it. intellectually and in reality. few
| feints, breaks and fruitess grips bring the
! interlocked men to the canvas, and here the
cat-like play of the tawny-skinned veteran is
seen to perfection. Kind-looking as Kitten
| King makes reaches, clinches and locks, but
| Moth knows every trick at this game of
| giants, and several exciting turn-ups
| win deafening applause, in recognition of
| the powerful play of the one and the agile,
| lightning-like work of the other. The darker
body begins to perspire freely, and the hard.
| of thn haax eli eli
from every hold that is not bound by a lock.
! Around and around, head to head, arms
never at rest, the chords of power ever at
! high tension. not uttering word, the wrestl-
ers move, with hands clasped oyer each
others necks VIXEN not on all fours. An
hour and fifteen minutes with no fall
allowed, though King hBs thrice put Moth
one shoulder down by grand efforts OF
strength. Then a rip in the carpet gives
| chance for rest.
Friends in readiness take possession Of
the parting men and vigorously slap and rub
the muscle centers with open hands Arms
| outstretched and legs extended full length,
| the wresllers look bit worried in wind, but
| bear little sign of exhaustion. With the rip
sewed, the referee calls time, and once again
| the men shake hands. There are few min
| utes of work with both standing, then the
white skinned chap gets partial grapevine
pauses moment, tightens the twist bit
both gather themselves, and the spectators
| can forward excitedly. Pipestem Ii mbs
| lWoul1 break here, but not the interlocked,
trained legs of these physical wonders.
Closely locked. every chord straining. the
| two men become one in a hot, quick and ex-
| citing movement King has the call for
moment, while the action is yet incomplete.
| but Moth has all his wits about him, an
| turns when 10 turn seems impossible under
| the impetus of the giant who grips him, re-
verses position like flash, an arm shoots
| out legs untwine. the white skin of two OK
| like shoulders presses the canvas for mo-
| ment right in front of the eyes of the crouch
| ing referee. and Moth has won fall.
t++t
''That moments hot work has set all hearts
| beating but on catching their breath the
spectators send up shout of acclaim for the
victor, mingled with cries of No from
some who were not as close as Referee
| Barnes when man and canvas came to-
| getner Again the slapping and rubbing
| process is gone through for ten minutes. and
when they meet this time Kings head is ach-
| ing His eyes betray the fact, but he gives no
| sign. A long series of quiet but dangerous
movements are HOW WltnesSeu' lHeH tue
man with the colors at his waist goes into
action Struggling for position i'll the stout
| chaps embrace. Moth goes down. He
| falls hard on one shoulder, but that wonder
full head and neck are his safety, as he
spins over King has raised his weight for
moment and MS opportunity is lost. At
another time ne lifts the tricky German bod
! lily, with no seeming effort, but the latter has
taken possession of one of those admirable
| legs in a close wrap and he must perforce be
| let down. On the canvas he is safe, and
though the younger man tries many move
| to secure leverage he is baked at every
| turn. 1t is wearying game OF watch and
wait now, and after resting inactive for
| many minutes the men agree to call it a