The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-11-14
BLUFFING THE sCRAPPERS.
How a Slim Young Mar Intimidated the
Sports.

How a Slim Young Man Intimidated the
Sports.
Il saw a funny thing III Cheyenne
a few weeks ago" said a Detroiter who
returned from a Western trip the
other day. Il was wandering around
town to see the elephant and chance
led me into a big saloon where all the
scrappers made their headquarters.
Back of the saloon was a building
where a professor Of the manly art
gave instructions, and where the 'pugs'
thumped each other at exhibitions.
They were trying cut a new arrival
That cay AMI l should say there were
lofty fifty tough looking chaps in
NE ace. Soon after I entered 8
young man who had come through
from Denver in my car dropped IN.
lie couldn't have been over a years of
age, while he was over six feet tall and
his weight only about 100 pounds. He
was long faced, thin and long legged
and reminded you of nothing so much
as a boy On stills. Two men were
getting ready to go on when long-legs
peeled off his coat, vest, tie and collar,
put them in my charge, and climbed
upon the platform"
THAT was a defiance to the crowd?"
Exactly, and in about a minute
they put q man up to punch his head
off. They gave long legs a second and
the first thing he did was take the
glasses off the young mans nose The
latter reached for them and said:
"'Excu8e mo, but l slways fight
with my glasses on
"'But they'll get knocked off or
famed into your fa;e.'
"'Don't you believe it! It's
happened yet, and 1 don't think it will
now
The scrapper over in the o.her
corne couldn't make it ou5, Here
was a man so sure of himself that he
was going to put up his dukes with a
pair Of eye glasses on his 0 He
must, perfOrce, be a knOcker out from
Knocksville, and it was better to re
treat than to carry around a broken
jaw. He therefore retreated. Several
others came forward, bat when they
saw long legs seated cross legged in
his corner with those glasses poised
so ~jauntly they didn't want anything
of him. Then he got up and said:
"'Gentlemen, there is no limit to
weight. always fight in glasses, as I'm
a little near sighted. 1 will, however,
remove my glass eye and false teeth if
deemed best. Will your best man step
up here for a couple Of rounds9'
But no one stepped. He waited a
minute or two and then pulled off the
gloves with a look of disappointment
and got into his clothes and we went
out together. He didn't look to me at
all like a scrapper, end as we walked
down the street I said:
"'What sort Of o deal were you Civ
ing that crowd2'
"a gigantic bluff, he answered with
a laugh.
"'Are you a fghter9'
~ never struck a blow III my life,
not even in fun
But suppose one of those scrappers
had tackled you2'
81 should have backed down and
asked 'em all up to drink. But there
was no danger. I've tried it half a
dozen times before, and the glasses
always settles EN-
"IHow about the glass 9! e and the
false teetb?'
"I simply rung 'en in to help On
the bluff. Haven't got a false tooth in
my head, and both eyes are perfect,
It's a bluff of my own invention and
works like a charm. Please don't
give it away"
And that afternoon, said the De-
trOiter in conclusion, when we took
the train east there were a hundred
sports down at the depot to see long
legs off, and I'm a duffer if they didn't
present him with a bottle of wine and
give him three cheers and a tiger?"-
Detroit Free Press
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