San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-17

ner.
YES" said FiHsimmons, that is
all there is to him. l only want to
land once on him."
While passing the penitentiary lust
beyond the outskirts of the city very
little was said ,FitzSimmons being sill
ent. He had visited the institution
and he saw the footprints of the pre-
historic people supposed by biologists
to have been fourteen feet high. While
walking in the vicinity the feet of
FiZsimmons had not made as large an
impression in the mud, but the other
end Of him is so organized that it is
not impossible that he thought he was
just as big a man as his predecessor
who took his road exercise there more
than 100000 years ago. 1t was pretty
generally known about what time the
fighters were due and the sidewalks
were crowded when the Fitzsimmons
party drove by. There was no par
ticular enthusiasm, merely How
are you FitZ," or "Wish you luck" or
limited cheer or two from an ac-
Quaintance or an admirer.
No time was lost inside the city linn
its, the horses going at a good jog
reached without a miShap.
AS FitZSimmOnS reached his dressing
room he was rubbed down and in a
short time was prepared to answer
the summons to face his antagonist
in the ring.
DESCRIPTION OF ARENA.
The arena in which the great fight
was pulled off is situated about one
third of mile from the main street
Of the town and is located in the CEN
ter of the race track. The structure
is entirely of undreSsed lumber and
has not top. Arrangements were
made for canvass covering in case
of Indictment weather, but unless the
snow came down in great force and it
rarely comes down in any other way
in CarSOn-the men were to be COM
PEELED to fight practically in the open
air. The arena is Il 12-sided affair.
each of the sides being Il section and
each section containing about 100
seats. The seats in each section were
divided into three classes. those nearest
the ring held at $40; the ones next
| above them ut $40 and those at the
| top which were not numbered, were
sold at s.. All of them were good.
| although the view from the cheapest
| ones was somewhat distant and the
fine points of the fight could not be
seen from them. The ring was rails
ed about four feet from the floor and
at each corner vas an iron post which
was carefully bound up in cotton bat
TING to protect the men in the event
of their falling against it. The floor
of the ring was covered with canvass
although COrbett preferred to fight on
the bare boards as the canvass, he
said, was likely to hinder the foot
movement of the fighters.
The entrance to the arena was
through one gate only and this was
the main one which was used for sim
liar purposes when racing is in prog
ress. From the gate to the side Of the
arena stretched a sidewalk of loose
planking which affords the spectators
passage over the mud that during the
last few days had been turned into al
most a Quagmire by the many people
who had been trampling around to see
how it looked. There are four tun-
nels in the side of the building, one
each from the north, east, south and
these were placed last night a large
white cloth bearing in black letters
the letters of the section which could
be reached by the passageway under
meath. Four stairways on the out
skirts Of the building led up to the 80
seats. Big ushers each armed with a
huge cane were located at the en-
trance to each paSsageway and at the
bottom of each stairway and it was
hard lines for the men who attempted
to enter the arena without the proper
credentials. No mercy would be
shown to the buffer and he was IN
tremendously hustled off the grounds.
In justice, however, it must be said
that the police arrangements were eX-
cellent and that there was very little
trouble in getting spectators to their
seats. The ushers, for the most part,
knew their business and there was no
more difficulty in hadling than there
would have been in handling metro
pOlitan theatre of smaller size. I'm
der the seats at the west end of the
arena was a small shed about ten by
fifteen feet which was set apart
for the use of FitzsimmOns as a dres-
sing room. The dressing room Of Cor
bett was at the south side of the are
ma. The passages by which the men
entered the ring were at right angles
to each other The dressing rooms
were so located in order that there
would be no possibility of the men or
their trainers coming in contact and
causing trouble.
AT THE RINGSIDE.
Carson Civ March 17-10.I5 n m
As early as O'clock this morning
there was n small crowd gathered at
the gates of the arena. No one was
however, and the crowd
increased
At 1920 a. m. the great arena is
rapidly filling up and the adjacent