The record-union., 1892-05-19
BESELENAiO LETTER.
She interviews the Gentleman PugiIist,
James ]. Corbett.
He Tells How He Became a Prize
Fighter and How He Feels When
He Enters the Arena.

have seen and talked with James ].
Corbett, the man who is going to try to
hurI the Hon. John L. Sullivan from the
pedestal that worthy now poses upon, as
the champion "sloggeI'' of the world. /
am not accustomed to the sight of "prides
OF the ring" SO am not prepared to pass
criticism on either their general appear
ahce or their points," from a pugilistic
standpoint; but must say for Professor
Corbett that his personal appearance is
strongly in his favor. Never having
spoken to gentleman in his profession
before was at first little bit afraid, but
that's wore off and L found Mr.. Cor
oett very pleasant and well-mannered
gentleman. He has nothing of the 'ani-
mar about him; in fact, he impressed
me as being distinctly human.
"Mr. Corbett," said l, as starter
show do you feel when you enter the
ring?'
well, I have no particular feeling for
anything; just think of things as they
come along. For instance, | think of
getting my gloves on and having them
tied all right, and / think OF shaking
hands with my opponent. When the
battle begins / have no time to think of
anything, except TO find the weak parts
OF my opponents body, and of firing him
out. \ S, those are my tactics. l get
him angry and determined to beat me,
and keep him coming after me; then,
when he is thoroughly fatigued, / go after
him and win. No, / have never been
beaten, and have fought in forty battles.
My fight with Peter Jack son was stopped
because his (Jackson's) hackers saw he
cd la ctr. 1ip,rr y,F
that fight was against all rules, and l lost
heavily by il. l don't understand Sulli-
vans talk about me. / always thought
he was friendly to me. II / win | will
join my wife, who is travelling in Eu
rope, for time, then | viii join some
troupe and travel with them, but it must
be tiTst-claSs show.
Always supposing | win, / will not
fight for a year after the battle and then
only with the best of challengers. and
where big money is concerned. Why. if [
should whip Sullivan | would be good for
twenty years yet. If | lose, well then,
my reputation as a fighter will be zone
How did get the fight with Sullivan?
Well, some friends of mine saw me while
i'll New York, at the Madison Square
Gardens, whip three men in succession.
One of them weighed over two hundred
and ten pounds, and they were all bigger
men than ! am. No one thought / could
90 II, and when did they talked so much
about 1t that sullivan challenged me.
Il will train in Asbury Park. New Jer-
sey. l weigh one hundred and ninety
pounds now; that is the weight at which
/ will fight. l could be ready for the
coming contest in three weeks time.
How do IL fell when | draw blood 2
Not bit nervous with a pleasant smilel.
Why, it does the fellow good, though
some people seem to think he is getting
killed. No one is ever killed in a fipht if
he is in good physical condition. Sullivan
could not kill me, no matter how hard he
hit. OF course, if you are troubled with
heart disease, or any weakness of the
chest or lungs, you must run your
chances, IL you are foolish enough to fipht
The coming contest involves S45 OO0 for
the winner-the loser gets nothing
Now tell me something about your
self, please"
We'll, l am % years old, stand six feet
one and half inches, and am native
Californian. No, there is no truth in the
rumOr shat | was educated for the priest
hood. am from an Irish Catholic family.
My uncle, for whom | am named, is a
priest and because | was the most re-
Hgious one of my family, people thought
i must follow in my uncle's footsteps [
was clerk in the Nevada Bank in
san Francisco. When only 10 L ran
away with my wife. That was the best
thing ever did in my life and soft.
tender look crept into his eyes. Then |
went into an insurance company. / was
always considered a good boxer among
the boys, and was offered the position of
boxing master at the Olympic Club
which accepted From there / gradually
dritted into the ring. My family were at
first strenuously opposed to it, but their
opposition soon wore away.
NO, my wife never feels nervous abOut
me. She thinks l can whip any man on
earth. From here l 60 to Victoria. Van
couver and Tacoma, leaving for the bay
city on Monday night"
Then CorbetU looked at his watch, and l
saw he had nice, well-shaped hands. not
bit like John LIS big milling paws.
Il am awfully sorry, but will have to
say good-by, as l must catch the 10
O'Clock train"
With this he arose, shook hands and
ran quickly down the stairs. Tins
ended my first interview with a pugiIist.
We have girl at our house who is a
genius in her way. She said to me the
other morning:
IF l were writing for the papers I'd
say something about carpet sweepers."
What would you say, Ella?'I asked
in surprise. She replied: They say a
rolling stone gathers no moss, but the
more carpet-sweeper rolls the more
moss it gathers"
us life worth living?" has been and is
still much mooted question-one
which has agitated the brains of much
wiser people than 1. Nevertheless / am
going TO try and give my little opinion
upon the subject. In the first place.
human nature is naturally dissatisfied.
1t was put into the world in that state,
and therefore cannot help itself We ali
crave for riches, honor or fame. If not
for all, then for one or the other. If we
are successful, and have them all within
our grasp, we cry out like spoiled
children for more. We live and die in 3
perfect fever of excitement-in a desire
for the unattainabIe. That which we
cannot have we crave; what we have we
DO not care for. We are never satisfied.
and we still strive to climb higher. We
are like Alexander, of old, who went
because there were no more worlds to
conquer. Life only is worth living by.
onr own efforts toward happiness.
Take the goods the gods provide" and
leave the rest to that inscrutable fate
which shapes the end.and aims of our
deStinieS. BESFIENA
Seattle, May 18th.