The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-08
SULLIVAN is IN BUTTE
He Was Greeted by a Large
Crowd of Admirers.
JOHN Is ABOUT THE SAME
When Slade and the Ex-Chamnion Met
in Butte in 1884 = Regarded
To-Day as the King
of the Ring

John L. Sullivan arrived in Butte yes
terday. When he alighted from the
hack which conveyed him from the de-
pot he found a large crowd of admirers
standing in front of the Butte hotel.
Rubber was in demand for a minute,
but soon John L. disappeared up the
stairway and the crowd had nothing
more to do, so it dispersed SulIivan's
face has lest all those wrinkles and
signs of dissipation so conspicuous the
last time he was here. Time has not
been too harsh in it's treatment of the
ex-champion, although the gray hairs
seem to be too plentiful on the head of
a man Al years of age. Aside from The
gray hairs and enlarged adipose tissue
John is about the same John that was
here on four previous occasions
The first time Sullivan visited Butte
was on Jan. IA, 1884 Then he was in
the prime of his career; healthy,
hard muscled, agile young man, He
was the crowned hero of the worlds
prize ring. He was the whole thing.
John l.. was on everybody's lirs. He
exhibited himself in the Thomas skat-
ing rink in West Park. The Large room
has since been turned into store rooms
now occupied by Lutey Bros, the Utah
market, McRae & Solverson and others
Long before the hour for opening the
doors men stood on the sidewalks, out
in the streets, crowding and iostIing
and trying to get TO the door first. Fiji
teen minutes after the door was opened
the immense room was full. A brass
band dtscoursed music and Tommy Ro-
gan, long since dead, was master of
ceremonies. John L. was rendered an
ovation when he appeared on the raised
platform in the center of the room.
Men yelled and screamed and literally
tore the air into shreds. John l.. ac-
cepted it all with modest grace. He
spared with Steve Taylor and punched
that transformations individual for a few
minutes, after which Pete Mccoy, who
later defeated Dune Mcdonald in a
61-round battle at the race track near
the city, and another celebrity of lesser
note spared. Shade, the Maori giant,
was also on exhibition. He had only
recently been defeated by Sullivan, and
when these two giants came together
the big crowd formed some sort of an
idea of the battle that had been fought.
1t was clever sparring exhibition, vet
1T was clearly apparent that Slade
never was nor ever could he expect to
be any match for the great Sullivan,
VINO was unqueStlOnably the best man
that ever stepped into ring John L.
is to-day a vanquished champion of the
prize ring, but the majority of men are
ready to testify to- his qualities as
fighter. and will always regard him as
the king of the ring--they regard him
as such to-day. 1t was dissipation that
lent valuable assistance to j. J. Cor
bett, who wrested the belt from John
L. This agent added more force to the
blows than Corbetts muscles did
OF course the crowd yelled Speech"
and Sullivan responded in his charac-
teristic fashion. Then he did net en-
joy the faculty of speech which he has
since acquired through prolonged study
of the histrionic art and consequent APP
plication to Evolutionary efforts; hence
his speech was delivered in THE crude
Said he: "Gents-1 am ready and will
ing to meet any man in \ four round
go. If l don't put him out inside of
four rounds 1 will give him $1,000" This
was the substance of his stereotyped
speech in every city he VISITED Some
times a man could be induced to stand
up and try for the prize, but Sullivan
never lost any $1,000 bills in that way.
A young man named Fred Robinson,