The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-03

public opinion, and I'm not shooting
wide of the mark when say that I've
had bit more than my share of ad-
verse criticism. In fact. I've been up
against II good and hard lot of times,
and while I've tried to hold my tenn
per In the face OF unjust charges and
still more bull-headed wrong opinion,
sometimes I've let go when ] couldn't
hold out any lOnger-and I've been sor-
ry for it.
Every man. woman and child has
been misunderstood at one time or an
other. so maybe what I'm going TO tell
now may get me a little sympathy,
though I'm not looking for il to any
extent, because I've always found that
I could take care Of Bob FitZsimmons
pretty we'll without any outside inter-
ference Still, d man sort Of looks
around the circle when he gets into
mean corner. and IL there's a friendly
look in the chaps eye IN the corner,
he feels that much better.
What / started out with IN my mind
this week was that little affair that
came of I'm San Francisco about nine
years ago. l mean the go l had with
Tom Sharkey out there, when a bunch
or pikers and lot Of sure-thing crooks
jobbed it to give me the worst of 1t
any way II hdpptheu 10 60
How 1t Feels to Be Robbed.
AS I said before. I'm not looking for
sympathy, but when a fellow has had
il handed to him IN the raYvest kind OF
way, it salves the sore spot a whole
lot to get a chance 10 tell just how il
happened Maybe some of YOU folks
who read this can remember how you
felt when a sneak thief belted you on
the nose as you walked down the
: street and took your weeks salary
Aout OF your right hand pocket just as
YOU were going home to hand it over
toAthe wife. Perhaps you can remem-
bet how YOU felt when some fellow
yoq thought was all the cards handed
YOU the double cross and set you back
hustling for the breakfast money, and
you never got a chance TO tell even
the sergeant at the police station how
il happened. Well, that's just the way
i feel about It, and the more | think
of IL, the sorer l get. I'd been working
pretty hard to get on d match with
Sharkey for some time, and IL was
pretty hard shedding TO get a wallop
like that for all my pains If I'd been
whipped, I'd never have said a word,
not a peep from yours truly, but to
be sandbagged. and by a gun fighter
at that was all the worse. OF course,
Ae al AtcApRNAlCd - EbbA W AAAC eA-Or Jul
it's like an old gun shot wound-it
aches on rainy days.
Men Fitz Has Whipped.
But I've been gassing about my
feelings long enough. AS l say, l
hadn't been over here 50 long. any
way. When I first showed up in this
country the FitZsimmOns stock was
selling a long way below par, and I
1f a TlgrhIfg had
an idea ii was watered stock at that.
That stacked me up against the Black
Pearl first as a sort of trial horse, and
when I put him away in four rounds,
it looked easy. Sharkey was coming
along then as the champion of the
navy, and he had his eye out for Jim
COrbett's scalp. 1 worked quite a
while to get a line on Sharkey. but 1
had To whip Jack Dempsey first and
then Abe Congle. After him they
trOtted out Pete Maher. and he tossed
up his arms I'm Il rounds. Jim Farrell
was handed over. and he remained
with me Just seven minutes. all told.
I thought Sharkey was I'm line. but /
had to make a chopping block of Joe
Godfrey for one round. / argued with
Jerry Slattery for d couple more and
they showed dead one named Millerd
Gender over the table at me and / ate
him in a round. So it went for four
more years. and then came the time
when / got Sharkey into a corner. and
he couldn't get away. There was a
neat little purse OF $4,000 up for that
mill, ana l thought 1t was mighty use
ful money. Anyway. l counted il as
good as mine. and the wake-up was all
the worse when ii came.
Job Was Tipped.
We drifted into the ring that night
out in Frisco, and the house looked
mighty good TO me. l saw a lot of men
l knew, and some Of them wagged the
finger at me to show they had q bit on,
and counted it already spent. That
made me feel little bit better, and ]
commenced to wonder about this ref
cree they had selected. I never was
much Of stickler for referees. Any
man that looked right 10 me was
plenty good enough and though I'd
heard something about this chap. Wyatt
carp, I didn't take much account of
what they said about him. One fellow
leaned over the ring as I loafed in the
corner. and said:
There's a job out 10 do. Bob, if
hey have 10 kill you to get away with
Il. Watch out for the gun"
And then some one dragged him off
the ropes. and / didn't get the rest.
I didn't pay much attention to it. any
way, because l never believed I was
going to be shaken down like come
on. and the tip the chap handed me
faded away. When Sharkey came into
he ring and we walked over to this
boy carp. l took a good look at him.
He didn't look crooked to me. though
he had a sort of a set eve that read
ike ii wouldn't stand for any argu-
ment. When he talked, he made 1t
pretty plain that what he said had TO
90. and l guess both Sharkey and my
self felt we'd be as good as a pair of
Sunday school lads
Solar Plexus Did 1t.
Wen, nearly everyone knows how the
fight went l had the sailor gassiug
about for seven rounds, and ] was
getting ready 20 hand him the wallop
hat would put him down in dream
and. That solar plexus punch was
coming along towards my way of
linking, and when the eighth was go
.ng along well, / just stepped I'm and
handed IL 10 Tom. He went down as
Il he'd been hit with a pile driver,
and then he began TO act 1t wasn't
50 much real acting. though, as a lot
1f folks think. That punch hurt him
because he got IL where and when he
wasn't looking for it. and then / got
The Jolt of my life. Toms seconds
hoped into the ring and claimed the
foul, and I was laughing at the way
they were going TO get fooled. when
this lad carp stood up and handed
ne mine. He allowed the foul and
gave the fight TO Sharkey. I'm not a
1uick mover. as far as the brain is
concerned, and perhaps | didn't think
L was as bad as il was. Anyhow,
sy the time ! got IL into my head that
"a heen frimmad there was a gang