St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-04
HOW GRAcEvILLE WAS WORKED.
Farmer Burns' Brilliant Money
Making Scheme

Farmer" Martin Burns, champion
catch-as-catch-can wrestler of the
world, is touring the Northwest in a.
series Of hippodron1e matches, says the
Chicago Inter-Ocean..
His latest successful attempt at con-
fidencing confiding public is just
week old. 1t took place at Grace
vile, Mimi. Dec. 81, when he burned
up" the Minnesota town with Duncan
Mcmillan, the Cornishman, who, trav-
cling under the alias of III. f. Run
dell" did much to assist the farmer"
in encompassing the coup.
The dead walls Of staid and quiet
Graceville for weeks had been plaster
ed over with bills announcing the
vile two weeks in advance of Burns
No one knew him. He had some fairly
good clothes and some money. He was
a wrestler, and had heard that Farm
er" Burns was somewhere around
those parts. He soon convinced the
sports of Graceville that he knew
whole lot about the game played on the
wrestling mat and announced that he
would challenge Burns.
"Mr. RundelP' did SO. OF course,
Burns accepted the challenge, and the
match was made. "Rundell" went into
training, as did Burns.
AS the time approached for hostili-
ties the excitement in Graceville be-
came of the consuming kind. Burns
did his work in one end Of the town
and "Rundell' at the other extreme.
1t was with the greatest difficulty
that the rivals were kept apart when
they met on Main street. They snarled
at each other, sen emissaries to meet
emissaries and wager large wads Of
money on their chances, and kept the
columns Of the local weekly aflame
with derisive taunts and charges of
cowardice.
The while the good people of Grace
vile were figuratively breaking their
necks to get at those 81, 81 and So
seats.
MIR. Rundell" had placed no money
on the result Of the match save into
hands which passed it right back to
him. But he did bet that he would win
the first fall, and again that he would
gain a fall in less time than the Farm
err" could
Well, the night of Dec. 81, as other
nights if you wait for them, finally
came along, and with it such a house
as Graceville had never seen before.
The village board, the justice of the
peace, the road commissioner for the
county, the town clerk, the sheriff and
marshal, poundkeeper, and all the rest
of the masculine elite of Graceville
came early and stayed late.
The first fall, amid the widest sort
Of uproar, went to "Rundell." A ham,
merlock and body hold did the work,
and coup No. 1 was registered. "Mr.
Rundell," in winning the first fall, Of
course won the money that the dense
ones of Graceville had laid to the con-
trary.
Then Farmer Burns won two falls
straight. The last one was won in less
than five minutes, and the Graceville
sports who had Burns for the quickest
fall felt that their money was secure.
1t was-for just ten minutes Imme-
diately after the rest which followed
the second fall that Burns won the
men went at each other, and in three
and one-half minutes Burns found that
an impending financial crisis made it
imperative for three points of his
wrestling anatomy to touch the mat
treSS
This was coup No. 2, and "Mr. Run
DELI again pocketed the gold of the
Graceville sports.
Waiting just long enough to 'cinch"
the quick-fall money for 'Rundell,"
Burns upset Mcmillan. The Farmer"
was still champion of the world, and
Graceville had seen wrestling match.