River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-04-05

money he had saved into her hands
and said:
mons fights, place your money on him,
for he's bound to beat every man of
any weight he ever meets"
Poor Jack was wrong towards the
last, but it went then. Well, stories
like That had got about, and they
helped Ine a little in the netting, but
tie big a0ney was Oh Hail. Here
is where the fun commences, and
where fought myself out of hand
somG stake
jim and l got into the ring, and it
was all day Tor him, and he knew it.
He'd fourfsushed about long enough,
AID while I wanted to show him just
how much of ringer he was, | didn't
want the thing to get too short, for
believe in giving a crowd a run for
its money any time that's possible. 7
set it pretty stiff for Jim, and long
before the first round was over
knew l had him on Queer street
When the fourth round came in
Jim was a cinch, and / just handed
him his and began to count up that big
bit Of change in my mind. It's
good thing counted it there, for it
was the only counting / did While
I was putting a nice artistic finish on
Jim the good president of the club
was out. I'll give you five guesses,
and you'll never hit it, unless you've
heard the story. The president was
down the street putting up the purse
on Jim Hall. AS am living man,
that's just what came off. There we
were in the ring, getting warm and
bruisy, and the good president was
hiking from one place to another put
ting up the $4,000 ON a dead one.
That's where l fought myself out Of
a good bunch of ready stuff. If I'd
have been beaten, I'd have taken down
the short end, and that would have
been something, but l had to go and
whip Jim into a plug hat and just
because did, and the presidents judg-
ment had hole in it, / got financia!
slap that hurt.
Then l thought of that fancy little
speech I'd made about sticking to my
old friends in New Orleans, and
could have sat down and howled an
indian war song. l thought of the
$4,000 we'd been offered in New
York. and / could have hit some one
with an ak, but | had to stand and
take the medicine, though I'll never
forget how mean | felt when they
came in and told me that it was all
up.
where's the coin?" / asked.
There isn't any coin," said they
1T went up on Hail."
"All of it?" | wanted to know.
every red" said they, and then
kept quiet.
That was my good friend from New
Orleans. Say, but there are a lot OF
things they can hand you in this
sporting game, and it's a. new one
every minute. Think of me standing
up there to batter Jim Hall up and
dowr the ring for nothing. OF course
it was some satisfaction to have hand
ed James his, and to shut his trap
down about what he was going to 90
to me, but that money was bitter
wallop. I've got many a worse one
in the ring, but they never hurt like
that did. And me all but broke.
Wowl
However, it's good saying that it'll
all come out in the wash, and it did.
l got along somehow, but that les
| son taught me a lot of things.
In the newspapers sometimes you've
read something like this: Some de-
| lay was caused at the ringside by
| Fitzsimmons He wanted the money
put up in plain sight, and said he
wouldn't go on unless some reputable
man held the stake
Maybe you've thought it mighty
queer for man to- act that ay, and
perhaps you've felt little lit sore,
and had a whole lot of contempt for
a man that couldn't strust anybody
with the change he was going to
| fight for.
Well, now, do you blame Fitzsim-
mons? Do you think ne did that for
a joke, or because he didn't want any
one to get the hooks into him again?
It's the old story, once bit, twice
shy. and it's burnt child that breads
the French ball.
I'm going to know where / get my
| hands on that purse, no matter how
| things go, and if any more presidents
want to gamble, they can do it with
some other lads money. However.
that's where l have a laugh now
and then, when 1 think of me
working like mule, and the other fell
low running down the street with that
satchel putting it up on Hall.
T. is to laugh-now.