The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-26
ANACONDA NEWS.
As TOLD BY TRAVELLERS
Quaint Tales of Life in the Wild
and Woolly West.
MAN WITH THE IRON NIT
A Slippery Floor as an Adjunct of Pu-
gilism-Heartless Practical Joke
sI Played on British Col
umbia Barkeeper.
MAN WITH THE IRON NIT

3 Astoria III new 1OTk
OF course everybody gave it up, and
then the wholesale drug man explained:
Because he is Deer (dear) LEDGER
That started it. The little crowd Of
bored travellers in the rotunda of the Mon
tana hotel promptly filed in to look at the
famous picture of Taumany, the drug
man being compelled, for his sins, to act
as conductor and host. Once under the
spell of the splendid work of art, story
telling commenced.
They told wierd tales of the race track
Of incidents similar to that in the Subur-
ban, when the public judgment went
wrong on Banastar, and finally drifted
to the ring and the tremendous striking
powers of Jeffries as compared with those
of the once redoubtable John L. Sulli-
van.
"Once upon a time unused the hard
ware man, when l was a telegraph OPP
orator out in one of the coast towns, we
had lineman in the office who was the
heaviest hitter 1 ever saw in my life. He
was hard citizen, a tough mug, and he
licked everything that came along. He
could actually fell a horse with one blow.
Out back of our office we had shed
which we boys had fitted up as gym
nasum, and where we used to box. or
course, after one or two trials, no one was
willing to put on the gloves with Frenchy
as we called the lineman-he was a
French Canadian-unti another tough
mug struck the office. He was from Los
gansport, Ind, and as bad as they make
'em. The gang of us didn't have any
more use for him than we had for
Frenchy, so we laid ourselves out to get
the two together. 1t didn't take much
work. One day they got into an argu-
ment which speedily turned into a quar-
rel. They were about to go at each other
then and there, when we interposed and
cried: Put on the gloves They were will
ing enough, and we all adjourned to the
shed, where the men stripped. chose sec
onds, referee and time keeper and went
at it. To make long story short, the line
man, after fierce fight of two and half
rounds, landed square on the jaw of the
tough boy from Logansport. knocking
him through the door and out so hard that
he didn't come to for an hour.
"After that Logansport was meek as n
lamb for a few days. One morning l
came down early. Curiosity led me to the
shed. where / found Logansport busily
at work. He swore me to secrecy before
showing me what he was doing. He had
two big chunks. Of cast-iron and these he
was sewing into a pair of the gloves.
Along in the middle of the morning
gansport!' said he, clapping him on the
back with a fist like a pile driver. How
dye feel. eh?'
"'Go to - said Logansport.
'In minute they were going and we all
yelled, put on the gloves. No one knew
why smiled so much as we went out to
the she'd Well, it didn't last. long
Frenchy thought he had cinch and
started playing with Logansport. when
suddenly the boy rushed him and landed
left and right full in the face. Did
Frenchy go out? You bet he did. He
dropped like a log. Talk about your
slaughter pens! You ought to have seen
the way he bled. Two hours later. when
he came to, the first thing he said was:
Amt the savette barred?' We told him
1t was, but that no one had used it on
him Yes, he did, Frenchy persisted. He
jumped right up in the air and kicked me
In the nose
After that Logansport owned the town.
He got record as a heavy hitter that no
one wanted to dispute.
There was young fellow named Pat
sy Carroll about that town who was quite
a scrapper himself. By the way, he is
down in San Francisco now, and ranks
pretty high as professional. Patsy used
to hang around our gymnasium and box
with US now and then. One day he was
feeling pretty gay when he and I were
boxing, and just for fun he damned his
left square between my eyes for knock
down. l saw solar eclipses, are lights,
trolley cars and all sorts of fiery things
for a minute. When 7 got up didn't say
much, but I medtated revenge We had
just put a new floor in the gymnasium
and that gave me an idea. All of us did
our boxing in ordinary shoes. Patsy.
noticed, wore an especially clumsy pair.
and besides was little awkward In his
footwork. went over to a butcher shop
the next morning, bought a quarters
worth of lard and when no one was
around creased up half the floor in good
shape.
THAT afternoon Patsy came around
feeling gay again, and bantering me for
another 60. He was a little surprised
when took him up so readily but was
not at all suspicious. We went at it, I in
nicely rosned shoes. and he in his bro
gans. Every time he would lead he would
slip, and every time would land he would
go down. Trying to keep his balance he
would forget his guard and leave an
opening, and then 1 would land. For
about 10 minutes we kept it up. I'll bet it
was funnier than any boxing kangaroo or
boxing gorilla act you ever saw. Patsy
was going around like lunatic on roller
skates, fighting mad but unable to do
anything. Finally I uppercut him just
as he was slipping and he went down so
hard his head pretty near broke the floor
After that he wouldn't box in that gym
nasium any more until he had pair of
rubber soled shoes"
Speaking of the coast" said the rail-
road man, "Were you ever in Victorian
He didn't care whether or not they had
ever been there, but he wanted a chance
to tell his story. and got it. II am not go
ing back there he continued, until get
news that a barkeeper up there is dead
He has several carloads of trouble stored
up for me, and I don't want to sign a
contract for them until he has had time
to cool down.
"There was crowd of us travelling men
in Victoria one time, all rairoaders. and
we had pretty gay old time. This bar
keeper was in a cozy little place in an al
ley just off the main street. He knew
more about mixing cocktails and punches
than any man I ever met. We patronized
the place pretty literally, but we used to
bother him by the way we would descend
on his dainty free lunch. We used to eat
to, rl,f H,ao ls,.E 1,n Tr,t