Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-08-13
DON'T
Want To QUIT

CHICAGO, Aug. 13.-Battling Nell
sons mother wants him to quit fight
ing and invest his savings in a big
amusement park at Hegewisch, Ill.
Mrs. Nelson seems to realize that the
f1stic days of her son are over. She
is a shrewd little Danish woman, and,
besides, hse has a mothers instinct,
that wonderful innate seismograph of
Womanhood, to guide her. But it Is
hardly likely the young man will heed
the advice. When one has once been
master, has made the world of his ac-
Invites bend the knee of reverence,
there is natural dearth of humility
when the day of humiliations breaks
above the horizon. Nelson has been
one of the greatest little fighters the
world has known; it will be hard for
him to believe that greatness has de-
parted Where has it gone?" he will
argue. Il am still young, l have not
spent my days in idleness and my
nights in revelry. My muscles are as
large they feel as strong. My heart
Is still stout. l am not afraid to fight
l feel as good as ever / did. Why,
then, should l be a hasbeen?" They
all have asked it, Battling, old fellow,
and some of them have asked and re-
asked, the answer coming stronger and
stronger in it's sting until the end of
Questioning came in such a scene as
we had at Philadelphia the other night
the great Fitzsimmons helpless at
the feet Of burly negro.
Nelson now pays the price for never
learning defense. His has been the
endurance of steel. From the first his
endurance has been his main stock in
trade. Pitted against dub or cham
plon, the role of receiver general has
been his until the opportune moment
when, his opponent more tired from
hitting than he from receiving, he has
gone in and finished matters. In his
early days hereaboutsS he was pounded
mercllessly. Later on he was ham
mered by Spider WEIGH, by Martin Ca
mole, by Young Corbett, by Jimmy
Britt In those engagements he won.
For a time the victory was with him,
but the punches and jabs of WEIGH, Of
CanoIe OF Corbett, Of the others were
the taps that were weakening the rock.
Then came the terrible struggle of
hearts and fists with Joe Cans, a fight
to the finish, resulting in the white
man losing his head and fouling the
negro. II the others had weakened the
| rock, Cans ended by shattering 1t.
Thus there was no rock left for Britt
this week. only a willing but wild
slugger without a defense.
| Britt's' victory came as a surprise
as great as Young Corbetts first vic
tory over Terry McGovern. No one
seemed to be expecting it, and least of
all Nelson himself, who went merrily
along in his exercises, mixing training
with match making with Cans for a
future $4,000 scrap.
"Oh, it'll last eight or ten rounds"
said he an hour before entering the
ring. It'll probably take me that
long to cut him to pieces" 1t was the
Danes last bit of chestiness. An hour
and half later there was cutting
aplenty and to spare, but Britt was
doing all of it. He caught the Battler
hard on the chin in the first round and
the Battler reeled. Then for six or
seven sessions it was nip and tuck.
But Nelson was not fighting his fight
or two years ago. Britt, on the other
hand, was, If anything, better than
ever before. Gradually the Friscan
forged ahead to such purpose that long
before the twentieth round was reach
ed it was a one-sided skirmish.