Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-07
]. POE WALLOPS
TONOPAH BULLY
FORMER FOOTBALL HERO IN
NEW ROLE
Little Princeton Man ForcibIy Calls
Down Big Foreigner Who OBJ
jects to the Way Our
Army Is Run

A recent number of the Cleveland
Leader contains a letter from San
Francisco purporting to describe a
scene at Tonopah in which Johnny Poe,
once famous. as a football player, fig
ured. A miner from Tonopah is rep
resented as telling about the gathering
of a lot of men in a resort for the
quenching of thirst. He continued as
follows:
Poe got to talking about his war
record and pretty soon big foreigner
chips in. His liquor wasn't agreeing
with him or something like that. 1t
wasn't any of HIS funeral, but the first
thing 1 knew this big leggy foreigner
began to talk down to Poe-ain't very
big, this fellow Poe-looks like a boy.
Maybe that's what got the other chap
started. He began to tell Poe where
HE had been and the fighting he had
seen, and to hear him tell it he hadn't
missed a fight Of any consequence in
twenty years. That would have been
all right but this peevish party began
to drag in the international issues. Poe
was polite enough-just let him run his
string out-but when this assisted emil
grant began to say things about the
United States army Poe began to light
up.
;" "'Huh' says this stranger, talk
instance. The Scots Greys could eat
'em alive every morning before break
fast
Poe began to edge up near this big
stranger. and / saw there was going to
be some stirring times The stranger
cooked his eye at Poe and sort of
sneered as he said
"'The trouble with the United States
army is that there are too many boys
L.. IA 1yn r1oNy
here, who
"BING!
"I never saw Poe let it fly, but I saw
where 1t landed-right on the angle OF
the jawbone where the whiskers COM
mence to turn the other way. When
the stanger come to Poe was sitting on
his chest with d foot on each armpit.
t'You were saying something about
boys in the United States army, says
Poe sweet as pie. Will you stand up
and fight like man or will 1 kick you
out of town"
1.-THE stranger said that he'd fight,
and while he was peeling his cardigan
Jacket he kept mumbling to himself.
He thought Poe took an unfair ad-
vantage of him-hit him while he
wasn't looking. Now, that just shows
how q man can go wrong He was
looking right at Poe, but 1t came on
so quick that he might have blinked
his eyes and missed the play completely.
1 was looking right at both of them and
I didn't see 1t until it landed.
"'Now, says Poe when they were
squared off, you say 1 took an ad'
vantage of you Just to make this al
even fight'-and there was nerve FOL
you, for the stranger was head tallel
than Poe and fair forty pounds heavier
Just to mako this an even fight II
| tell you now that the first thing In
going to do is to break that big nose
| Of yours. 1t amt much to look at
anyway, and any change in 1t Woulo
| be an Improvement
"The big fellow lunged out-Poe side
stepped, made a feint at his stomach,
drew his guard low and sent the right
across full on the nose. He made good
his word-in two places, and you never
saw anything bleed like it in your life
THAT was about all there was to the
fight. Poe fooled along until he had
him chopped to ribbons and then
stepped in with another right-hander
under the ear and when our friend
woke UP we taught him how to sing
The Star Spangled Banner and
'DiXie.'"