The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-20
Seventeen " Sports .
Arrested.
ARE CAUGHT RED HANDED
OFFICERS FIND THEIR GAME
IN A DINGY BASEMENT.
"Chalk" Casey, Leader of the Gang,
Deplores the Fact That CANNES
Get More Consideration
Than Bicycle Racers.

The police neglected the six-day racers
yesterday, but they raided d dog fight,
which, in the opinion of the public, is
quite as brutal a sport, even though rea-
sonless dogs are the contestants.
Seventeen sport" promoters, who re-
side along the line from Tar Flat to the
Barbary coast, and two bulls
muscles and bones seemed about to burst
through the skin, were gathered in by
the police and crowded into the little
boxes at the Seventeenth street police sta
ton.
The gang was fathered by Chalk"
Casey a recognized authority on dog
fighting, and John Baxter, the proud own
er of the brindle dog. Andrew Shew-
bridge, who was, some five months ago,
mixed up in the killing of Tom Grady;
John JemIning. who gave his name as
James Williams, the dapper little book
agent Of Benhayon case fame, and a
host of similarly prominent luminaries
were among the captured, and, like the
man with the iron mask, bewailed their
fate The captured dog fighters lined up
and gave the following names, many fic-
titious, and claimed the occupations set
forth:
John Brown, hack driver; Dan Scullen,
shoemaker; Alex McYicker, Felix Des-
mond, teamster; Henry Pare, laborer;
John ONeil, plumber; Andrew Shew-
bridge, laborer; Chris Sverson, teamster;
James Casey, bartender; James Mack,
Iaborer; John Baxter, horseshoer; John
Hogan, laborer; James Wilson, Steyedore;
Thomas Smith, laborer; James Williams,
blacksmith; Peter Mencont, laborer;
Frank Smith, teamSter; John wilson,
hackman.
The match so rudely ended by the po-
lice was arranged several days ago. The
store, Sixteenth and Church streets, was
secured for the battle, and the dogs put
on reduced rations. Three doors and a
few planks were secured and pit six by
ten feet erected in the basement and the
invitations to the event sent out
This last move proved fatal to the sue
cess of the affair. An invitation fell into
the hands Of man who refuses to sane
ton either dog fighting or six-day bicycle
racing and c. 3. Holbrook, secretary of
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
Gated with Captain Gillen of the Seven
teenth street Police Station, and Detec-
tives Robert Graham and John Fitz-
gerald were put on the case. 1t was
day a squad of policemen, appointed to
raid the game" assembled under the
command of Sergeant Campbell. Besides
the sergeant and detectives mentioned,
oficers James Belyea, h L. Folsom, NJ
S. Cooney, "A. Tracy and Con He'll Of
the regular police, Mr.. Holbrook and his
officers, Hooper, McCurrie and Walton,
made up the squad.
At 6 o'clock the advance was ordered.
A rush was made and the basement doors
were burst in just as the ferocious look
ing dogs were being dragged into the pit
by their handlers.
It was useless to resist, and the sur
prised and sorrowful dog fighters were
bundled into the patrol wagon and hur-
ried off to jail. Subsequently the sports
and dogs, now tagged as exhibits for
evidence, were jaunted off to the City
Prison to await bail.
Chalk" Casey remarked when he
reached the City Prison:
There will be dog fighting as long as
there are dogs" he said and although
I've done time for promoting a scrap /
necessary. But it's funny how the ladies
like six-day races and how the law max
ers hate dog fighters"