The San Francisco call., 1896-06-21

a sound. Of striking a drum on poor Hart's
well-flled paunch. 1t was cruel blow after
dinner, and the canyasback as well sundry
other dainties began stirring around as if to
move out of range.
From being as red as lobster Hart's face
began to pale. 1t was evident that another
such visitation would be DISASTROUS
Stanton lost little time in taking advantage
of the situation and this time a left jab in the
shape OF an upper cut at close quarters went
chasing after Harts ducks.
That ended the battle. Feeling i'll, Will
opened the door leading to the adjoining room
where he knew there a sink 1t was quite
dark in there and he miscalculated positions
or locations. Cropping his way he suddenly
came up against the dissecting table, where
his outstretched palms rested upon the body of
q subject operated on few hours previous.
Stanton was declared q winner.
Hart was one of the best writer's on pugilistic
affairs in this State that time, but he did not
know enough to fight on an empty stomach.
Still, his opinion was always sought as fore
cast whenever boxing contest was on the
tapis.
Two of Harts best friends, Al Murphy and
Eugene Hahn, held contrary opinions as to
Hart's merits rs fighter Hahn holding that
Murphy, though a smaller man than Hart,
could do him in four rounds. Murphy was
modest and said he did not believe he could
"Well, if you can't whip Hart, 1 can, " stated
Hahn who never has made much of hit as ro-
bust man.
II don't believe it," answered Murphy, 'for
I'm sure you couldn't stop me-"
In another few minutes the two principals
accompanied with big, good-natured Joe Ward,
then city editor of the Examiner, dropped in
on Manager Seymour of the California Club on
Grant avenue. Charley Mitchell, the cham
pion OF England, since knocked out in three
| rounds by Jim Corbett, was present and was
| Murphy's second Seymour acting in q like
| capacity tor Hahn.
The battle was fierce while it lasted The
contestants did more execution i'll two rounds
than the ordinary pugilist would in ten, but
not single blow landed on a vital spot
Whether cleverness in getting away from pun
! ishment was pre-eminent or that the fighters
! closed their eyes and sawed the air will never
! be known. But they worked hard, and both
/ were satisfied to call the affair draw, while
| chewing cracked ice to keep down their rebel
! lious stomachs.
! These two gentlemen also were highly con-
sidered as authorities on pugilism.
Andy Lawrence once thought he could
handle his fists in pretty good shape and while
on police duty one night in the old City Hall
/ invited a brother reporter across the street to
the upper floor of the Morgue. The gloves
were there and they went at it. The pace was
/ a bit hot and both men tired quickly. Law
renee had not landed a single blow but was
rather receiver general. Sorry, no doubt, that
he had undertaken q bad job, any excuse
would have been. acceptable to quit,the game.
| At this moment, two employees of the Morgue
packed in receiver one of those big coffin
shaped boxes used to pack away the unknown
dead, and stood it up against the wall in
! Lawrence's corner. That was his excuse for
| quitting
"Well, boys" he said, "this thing don't look
| right, fighting here in the Morgue with cofins
and the dead all around us. Let us be decent
and stop. We can have it out at the club to-
morrow"
Lawrence has never put on the mittens since
tics than fighting.
There were two other newspaper men who
| ism. f. Duprey, who has achieved some fame
| in New York playwright and Fred Klein,
| brother OF Klein, "the American"
Duprey was quite a lad smooth-faced and
not over 10 years old. He had just landed
| here from Honolulu and worked for the old
| Alta.
In a discussion about fighters they came to
| blows were separated, and at midn light with q
| dozen other newspaper men they made their
way to the observatory on Telegraph Hill. In
couples and in bunches of threes and fours
they reached there by different routes, believ-
| ing that they would attract less attention in
! that way