River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-03-01

you remember how yon walked RboNt
waiting for chance? Just one look
at what you'd come for? Remember
the jump that when through you in
the chest when you caught sight of it?
That's it; that's just the way | felt
when Corbett turned about and faced
me. and the fight was decided then and
there. made up my mind to mark
him on the body and leave his face
alone, for thai was the only way l
could get the steam out of his legs, and
II you don't know it, I'll tell you right
now, that punch in the stomach will
hurt man worse and make him want
to sit down to rest quicker than wal
lop on the nose. The first makes him
tired and the last only makes him mad.
When we got together in the first
round we were both feeling each other
out, and was telling him story. It's
a habit of mine to talk bit when
I'm fighting, and some of the things
said seemed to make Jim bit miffed
at me. but that was part Of the game.
Of the battle as it went, the newspa-
pers at that time gave a pretty ac-
dlS dCSOuut Vi IL DIS TSLuSHlptLs Dut
then things look lot different to the
boy on the outside to what they do to
the fellow that's doing the fighting.
seem to remember that was doing a
lot of humping up against Corbett's
left hand, and that it didn't annoy me
in the least, and then think began
to get busy. Along about the eighth
round-that was the one if you remem-
Der that it was said the job was to oc-
cur in--I got angry for the first time.
1t had been said pretty roughly that
I'd taken big piece of change and
was going to let Jim trim me in that
round. and it struck me that right
there was a good place to put a crimp
in that lie. know l got little buster
than before, and guess had Corbett
on the run for the first time in reality.
Somehow it seemed TO surprise him a
bit and I had little warm feeling
over it in my insides. He looked at
me once when / reached him on the
ribs, and new idea seemed to strike
him with the punch | was afraid he
had tumbled that was trying to plant
him on the body. so played awhile for
his face and worked the notion out OF
his head.
A lot of chaps who are fond of air.
ing their opinion and lack of knowledge
of the fighting game will tell you that
when the fourteenth round opened
hadn't a notion where was going to
plant Corbett, but then they didn't
know all about it. I'd been practicing
on the quiet for that solar plexus for
a good many days, and I'd figured out
to the dot just where it ought to land.
Then lead and follow for the face
and the right went over for the jaw,
and shifted bit and the left touched
Jim where I thought it would, and
crossed him quick with the other hand
just as he started TO fall. 1t was pref
ty hard for him to figure out just how
it happened, and don't blame him for
thinking he still had chance. know
what it feels like to lose the worlds
championship and guess he felt the
same way did later, but | won 1t fair
and square. and l think he'll acknow-
ledge it now.
Coming home from the fight was the
hardest part for me some way. | sup
pose I'm still boy in some things, for
I couldn't seem to get it right in my
head that there was on the top of the
heap, where I'd been aiming for good
many years, and maybe the lads who
travelled with me thought there was
something queer about Fitz, and I'm
going to tell something now I'd thought
| was going to keep locked up forever.
1t was when we drifted into Washing
ton-the first time I'd ever been there
and / went up to the capitol and
looked around a bit. l met a lot OF
men-senators, congressman and Office
holders and citizens, and just people
and we shook hands, and / went into
the senate chamber, and it was there
something hit me. You remember 1t
was just after the sugar scandal, and
stood there and thought to myself:
you've got lot to be thankful for,
old pal. There's some great men here,
and some good men. Some of them
have got their greatness in funny ways
mean ways, whole lot-and some
of them have been stealing their great
ness, and those that stole it and
worked their friends in tricky ways
for what they got must feel quite bit
ashaL.Id when they look themselves
IN the face nights | guess you've got
the Test of the lot of them old chap.
There's about as much talk Of you in
this country now as any of them, and
yoa've brought yourself np to 1t with
not thing but your two hands and
you've mover had to lie to lot nf wild
ows and kids and steal your friends
money to do it either. There are lot
of men here that will call you brute,
but I'd rather be a brute that way
than a gentlemanly crook their way"
Maybe you folks that read this will
think this was conceited, but it wasn't
meant that way. l meant 1t and l
still mean it, and I'm going to go on
trying to mean 1t, and it's the only bit
of real advice I'm going to put over
the plate. Next week I'm going to tell
you something about that Sharkey bus
mess out in Frisco. where they
trimmed me for my record and my
friends for their rolls with as pretty a
bit of crooked work as you'll find outside
a states prison, and can prove every
Dit of it. and that will help some. ss the
bow says.
A HINT.