Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-02-22
FlzzLE OF FIzztEs.
Continued from page /. !

man to his corner. 1t was several minutes
before he realized what had happened to
him. Fitz walked over to his corner and
shook him by the hand. Fitz also shook
hands with Quinn and the seconds in
Potter corner.
| Barring slight bleeding at the nostrils
occasoncd by Maher's left hand jab, the
| Cornish man showed no marks OF injury
and appeared as fresh as at the opening OF
| the hostilitios.
| Maher showed no signs of punishment
except slight break in the skin just
above the joint Of the left chin, where
Fitz $ master stroke landed.
When the cheering Of the people around
the ropes subsidized, Julian took the center
Of the ring and said: Gentlemen, Mr..
F'itzsimmons has worked himself up from
the bottom of the ladder, and by the de
cision of the referee is now champion OF
the world He is ready to defend the title
against all comer5 at any time o. place.
No man is barred and all comers VIII re-
ceive recognition"
Then came shouts of warning that the
pontoon bridge was IN danger Of being
washed away by the strong current The
fighters and assistants hastily gathered
their traps together and the crowd rushed
for the Texas side All got over safely.
Maher and his following were "A disip
painted looking lot of individuals as they
tramped back over the rocks and sand To
the train Mahcr said
Wei, it was ~ chance blow that did
the work | did the best / could under
the circumstances. Ny condition was not
Of the best, but rs % further postpoueincnt
was not to be considered by the Fitzsim
mons crowd, was obliged to 20 into the
ring My eyes ", p in worse condition
than believed them TO be and found my
euage Of distance at fault. I still believe
that ! am able to whip FltzsInmons or
any other man In the world.
" II Fitz proves himself champion. !
will challenge him again and will b.
ready 10 mect him AT any spot or any time.
I was not bit over confident. / knew
my condition better han anyone else. and
fought FiZsinmons only when his arhi
trary action made II necessary to do So or
be proclaimed coward
Immediately after the fight Nj Rector,
on behalf Of the Kinetoscopc people offered
t!tzsimmons aud Maher a purse Of $4,000
10 be battlad for. tomorrow. Fitzsimmous
declared that he would agree TO put Msher
out in SIX rounds, hut insisted on select
ing his own time and place He declared
that under no circumstances would De
fight before the kinetoscope unless for
purse of SO, GO0 and 50 per cent. Of tht
profits. Nothing came Of the proposition
ana the negotiations are of for the pres
ent.
After returning to the depot Fitz was
p1sH } Of tt1ty, -t..,i
shook his hand aud Congratulated him
lie bore his newly made honor with
characteristic self satisfaction and re-
minded the newspaper men that he said
all along that his opponent was only
stiff ana would be done up without diffi
Guilty. He admitted thar the battle was
almost too short for his liking and he
would have been glad of a little more OPP
portunity of showing his shape. Julian
was in high 2lec.
At 6, the train bearing the pugilists anG
crowd of sports started back for FL Paso.
leaving only the representatives OF the
press associations stalled in the hamlet fcr
the next p hours.
The departure signal was a discharge of
csrbines as q salute from the Texas Rang
ers, who from their point of vantage in
the Texas mountains, witnessed the con
test The Fftz party had already twisted
the necks of half Il dozen wine BOTTLES, ana /
everything gave promise Of a hilarious
nigh; S ride.
Before the train started Fitzsilnmons
created panic by r1shing over to the ell
closure, in which was coUfned a Mexicau
lion, and attempting to pull down the |
bars. The crowd hurriedly sought safety |
in the coaches and Julian finally induced
the Cornish man to return to his car
Three cheers for Mexico aud her tight 1
ing grounds were given with will as the I
train sped away.