The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-18
The BIG FELLOWS AT WORK.
COrbett and FitZsimmOns Preparing to
Fight
Raising Chickens
Carnfv



Judge Newton's stable at Coney Island in
the rudy glow of the July sunset, stood
the naked figure Of a man who is de-
stined to excite more comment during the
coming three months then any king,
statesman or prelate now walking on the
crust of this old planet. He was entire
ly nude save for a small bFeech-cloth
and a pair Of yellow shoes and blue socks.
He was several inches taller than the av-
erage man, and oddly proportioned. A
six foot wedge of bone and sinew would
perhaps best describe him. Imagine the
breast, shoulders and arms of Hercules
welded to the waist, loins and legs Of a
mushroom youth of % and you will come
near to having a mental picture of Bob
| Fitzsimmons. the SS-year-old Englishman
who is matched to fight James ]. Corbett,
at Dallas, Tex, in October. for $1,000 and
the championship of the world,
AS he stood outlined against the glory
of the western sky there was a con-
seriousness of strength and skill in his
pose which suggested the possibility of un-
expected events. His sandy hair was clip
set close to his head. His eyes were blue
as old delft-ware and CLEANED with life
and intelligence as he told off on his I'm
gers how many noses of champions he
| had broken with a single punch. His
mouth was large, but well formed, while
his well preserved teeth were white as
| a surf washed stone.
FitzsimmOns has as yet only gone into
| h
| and-nan preparation for the great con-
| test will not begin for six weeks to come.
Meanwhile he passes his time mainly
| in the vicinity of the cottage at Coney
Island, which he has hired for the sum-
mer. For the past week his time has
been taken up in the building of chicken
coop and duck ponds. His stock of
| poultry embraces 40 chickens and 40
| ducks. His views on training shows
that he thinks for himself. 1t has been
the accepted rule Of prize-ring trainers
| from time cut of mind that a pugilist
| should drink just as little as possible
| of any kind of liquid. Even his food
must be eaten as dry as possible. Fitz-
simmons scouts all these notions. He
says they are foolish.
why" he said, when / was train
ing early in my lighting career 1 was
| often on the road running in the hot
sun with trainer behind me in a wagon.
| MY mouth was QTy DIS the OulSAuc VI d
furnace after a 15-nile trot, and my
tongue felt like cinder. l was almost
ready to faint from thirst. But behind
came the man in the carriage shout
ing: Go on. Bob! Go on" Well,
went on then, but I wouldn't do it to-
day If / were thirsty l would drink
a gallon if / thought 1 needed it"
He took another turn at the punching
bag until the sweat began to trickle down
/ his smotoh skin. Then he stopped eXer-
/ cising and began to talk again.
"There is a method of exercise in quite
| common use in this country to which
have strong objections. / refer to the
practice of using heavy dumbbells. find
| after practising with the heavy dumb
bells that my inclination is to move very
slowly when l strike a blow. So now l
confine all my exercising to movements
which promote lightness upon my feet
| and quickness in delivery. In this manner
| l keep my muscles loose and supple
| When asked how many prize-ring bat
ties he had fought, he replied that he had
| kept no record of the actual number, but
| he thought it would approximate to near
" 300 When it is considered that he has
never yet been defeated, it Will readily
be seen that he is a man who is entitled
to a high degre of respect as an ath-
lete.
Fitzsimmons has a peculiar faculty of
| twisting his arms in such a manner
about his head that he seems TO be prac-
| ticaHy invulnerable in that quarter. This
quality is brought out more particularly
| when he is punching the bag.
In Fitzsimmons' gymnasium there are
machines for strengthening the wrists,
Indian clubs, rowing machine and all the
latest appliances for developing muscle.
Judged as a man, aside from his pro-
fession, Fitzsimmons is as agreeable a
! fellow as one could meet in a month of
I kzr.- 1.
| larger portion of his life shoeing horses
! and whipping his rivals, with all that
| such associations imply, he is fairly well
informed. His chief social charm is his
voice. which is a tenor, of a peculiarly
sweet treble. He exercises it in the even
ing singing such popular favorites as
| oh Promise Me-" to the piano accom-
paniment furnished by his sister-in-law,
who is an adept on many musical instru-
ments.
Charles White, an affable young man,
who is helping the pugilist to get ready
for his encounter with Corbett, is an in
tense admirer of his hero. He tells many
interesting incidents about his eccentric
tiles. He says that while in Newark Fitz-
simmons occasionally amused himself by
| breaking the ribs of the beeveS hung in
front of the butcher shops with his fists.
This does not seem at all incredible when
the size and strength of the pugilist's
|
doubled, Fitzsimmons right hand looks
like a small sugar-wood horn. The kunck-
les bulge upward like door-knobs, and
present a surface hard as iron. His hands
and arms are covered with freckles, which
resemble gold dollars. 1T is a favorite
custom of his" said Mr.. White, ito dodge
into a blacksmith shop and shoe horse
or make half a dozen horseshoes. In the
craft he is an expert, being so slSillful
that he can make a horseshoe from a
horseshoe nail. He also has a very good
knowledge of the veterinarians art, and
he could make a good income by doctorine
/ horses and cattle. You will notice that
when he walks his knees have a slight in
clination to bend toward each other. This
comes from his former habit of holding
a horses leg between his knees while
shoeing the animal
Taken altogether. Bob Fitzsimmons is
much above the average of his class
He is naturally domestic in his tastes
does not drink to excess; does not boast
about his prowess, and is a manly
Straightforward, interesting fellow. The
nearest approach to egotism which he
exhibited while in the writer's company
was a remark he made when he de-
tached the punching-bag from it's cord
/ bxr bo at he CInSa Of bfc