River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-03-29

corner. There were 20 men hanging on
to my hands, congratulating me, and
then Corbett rushed over. While bad
my hands locked he punched me twice
in the face. | couldn't have got away
if III wanted to. In desperation
showed my face out and said to him:
eco on and punch. You can't hurt
me anyway"
Then Jim's seconds got him away
and the crowd commenced to push up.
There wasn't policeman or Pinker-
ton man anywhere in sight. They'd
been put there to keep off anything
that looked like trouble, but they care
fully kept out of it. There had been
lot of bluff about 1t being death to
the first man over the ropes, but
didn't see anyone try to make good. As
soon as the crowd started forward
again, felt something cold against my
left cheek and voice said:
Cali right, Fitz. Don't one OF you
boys move or I'll drill you. Back
there!"
l looked down, and there was the
blue barrel of A resting on my
shoulder. Behind it was Wyatt carp,
and when he met my eve he said:
Don't worry, Fitz did you a dirty
trick in Frisco at the Sharkey fight
but I'm with you here, and I'll kill the
first duck that lays hands on YOU"
I told him to take that gun away,
that I could look after myself, and be-
SIDES didn't want to have anything to
do with crook. and he stood for it
and went off. He's a nervy man, is
carp.
That's only part of what l was
going to say. They've all called Corbett
q fair fighter. I'll leave it to you folks
who read this. I got it bad from the
jump. | wasn't in shape to begin
with. Sparring with Ernest Roeber be-
fore the fight, he showed out his elbow
and caught it with my forearm. The
arm swelled up to twice Its size and
wasn't so much use. I'd caught cold.
and / was all choked up with 1t. I'd
hurt my foot and couldn't use 1t the
way should have. That was bad
enough. but my cook had turned me
down and / went into the ring about
as sick as a man could go.
Jim split my lip in one OF the early
rounds, and every time we came to-
gether he'd take his left glove and rub
il backwards and forwards across that
LID as hard as he could, until 1t would
break out afresh and felt as big as a
leg. | didn't kick much, because there
wasn't any use, but it wasn't falr
fighting at that got lot OF otner
misuse that the average fighter won't
stand for, but we'll let 1t go.
There has been a lot OF talk about
my weight. I've got one letter WITHIN
a few days that tells me l was weigh
ing ten pounds more than Corbett did
That's about as idiotic as anything
can think of. / went into that ring
weighing 1861 pounds, well under the
middleweight limit, and I've fought
every fight ever had under that limit,
too Corbett weighed 1877, and those
weights can be proved any time.
Another paragraph in the letter re-
for IN saws Corbett was a sick man.
That's foolish, too, or Jim told an un-
truth for he acknowledged a few days
after the battle, over his own sigma
ture. that he was in fit condltion 10
make the fight OF his life.
I've had to tell these things, ana
didn't want to, but I'm not going 10 let
anv four-hush come up and tell me
TIM ont Of order. I've been trimmed
several times. and l want to say right
here that I'm quite handy with my
head and can see just as far through a
brick wall as anyone else. Every time
I'VE had it handed to me, 1t has Deen
by friend, or somebody thought was
q friend. and every time I've found out
all about it. and whole lot more than
I'VE talked about. I've been worked
for a good thing and easy mark, ana
because I'm not revengeful to the point
of bitterness, some of these almost
fighters and crooked sporting men
think they're going to do it always.
I'm saving few little incidents that
will look rather pretty In cold type,
and maybe I'll use them when the
time comes. Next week I'm going to
tell you about another dose of bad
medicine got from some friends down
in New Orleans, where they worked me
for $4,000 in cold cash the night 1
fought Tom Hail.