Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-26


CONSTRUCTED as to cause the cornishman
great d~lhiculty Inc breathing. Clarke Ball,
Fitzsimmons' manager, expressed his opin-
ion that Bob was too confident.
Crowd Gathers EARLY.
Il was late in the afternoon when the
great canopy covering the octagonal ring
in which the battle took place vas finally
stretched. The grounds were then cleared
by the police and stragglers elected. Be-
fore shutdown long lines Of anxious men
formed on Valencia street and Julian ave-
nue. and awaited the opening Of the two
gates.
There was no disorder until 5 o'clock.
when the crush became heavy, but 240
burly policemen marshaled. under Chief
Nimand handled the crowd we'll. The arc
lights over the ring were turned on at
7:45 o'clock, by which time the bleachers,
holding fully 5000 people, were nlled. The
usual night fog did not prevail. and al
though the evening air was chilly there
was no discomfort. kid" Egan, repre-
senting the champion, Clark Ball for Fltz-
simmons and Alex Greggains for the San
Francisco Athletic club inspected the
promises at s o'clock and agreed that all
was In readiness for the fght.
The gates were opened at s o'clock and
the ticket holders began to flock in. The
gallery. consisted OF a series Of tiers, the
last one resting against the improvised
back wall or high board fence sloping
down to the ground level. The occupants
OF these seats really were afforded the best
view Of all that occurred In the ring. At
7.30 o'clock, The gallery" was full and the
doors leading to the more favored sections
were opened and the sections Immediately
behind the box seats gradually filled up.
A number Of well known faces were among
the early arrivals. George Siler occupied
q seat in the press row at the ringside,
close to Lou H~ouseman, the Chicago sport
ing writer.
In one OF the boxes to the west Of the
ring sat Mayor Eugene Schmitz, In COM
pany with other city officials. Louis Ezoll,
the racing man, sat near Jack Ringing,
the circus man. while Ed Rigner. Ed Kelly
and Sid Herman occupied choice seats. w.
w. Naughton, the sporting writer, same
early, as did also Lew Hawkins, the vet
eran actor. and George Bonifaee, jr., Percy
Williams OF Brooklyn, Ed Dunston of Chi
cago, James Morrisey and Frank McGrath
OF Milwaukee and William Carpenter
Kemp. Mike Kennedy, Henry Harrison
and Jules Markbright were other fasteners
occupying seats at the ringside. The ar
raRsements at the ringslde we're something
OF 4 departure from the usual lines fol-
lowed In such matters.
Description OF the Arena.
In q vacant lot at Fourteenth and valen-
ella streets a high fence was erected. In
the center Of the space the ring was built,
the hOer being three feet from the ground.
on the four sides Of the ring were ar
ranged the presa seats. and Immediately
back OF them the boxes," which were
simply spaces partitioned on and
twenty-four chairs placed in each com
partment. These rested on the ground
without the least elevation. Back OF the
boxea came long rows Of board seats oil
benches. all on the same level. with con-
veniently arranged a%isles.
To the rear and backed by the board
fence were placed the gallery benches
The ring was a substantially constructed
aiair Built upon a good foundation o
solid timbers. the hooT wa9 made OF
double thickness of inch boards, ovel
these there was a heavy padding Of boiler
felt. one inch In thickness
A heavy brown canvas. drawn Tight!
and fastened at the edges. completed
solid and safe ring.
The llghts we're suspended from foul
upright posts. one at each corner CT tn
ring. These uprights sloped gradually
toward the center and a succession o
crossbeams at the top held fourteen ar
lights. and over the whole canvas ten
covered the seats as far out as the gal
lerY'' seats.
The ropes Of the ring were Of the lates
thing In that line, consisting Of heavy