The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-12-03

Z. E. Van Loan writes the fourth
chapter on Jeffries, as follows:
The metropolitan frost encountered
by the young Jeffries set him back
nearly six months. In the first place.
the broken hand had to heal. In the
second place, it was plain that he need
ed coaching from man who could
teach him how to use his left nand.
About this time Robert, the red, began
to look about him for something to
fight. Fitzsimmons was happiest when
he was training for battle, and since
beating Corbett ne had done nothing
but travel around the country and ex-
hibit his personal beauty at so much
per exhibit. Poor old Bob. 1t was his
Tuck to win the heavyweight champion
ship; he was always willing to fight
everybody. They told the old Cornish
lion that this young Californian was as
big as a Percheron horse. "The bigger
they are" said Robert, "the arder they
fall. Where are them bleedin' articles
o. agreement" So the men signed up
and Jeffries went into training. Jeff
was always hard man to handle while
Many of them were wrong, but JEFF
stuck to them just the SINE. He in
sisted on taking off SO much weight
for Fitzsimmons that he was a haggard
looking specimen long before the week
OF the fight. He actually cut twenty
pounds off the bone for that fight. All
the time he was boxing with Tommy
Ryan, the fox. Tommy had 1t figured
out that a crouch and a straight left
would beat Fitzsimmons. The crouch
was to keep Jeff's precious jaw out of
reach OF Fitz's terrific wallops, for
Ryan remembered Peter Maher and
Hall and a few more who has been
Dashed to sleep with one upending
poke on the superior maxillary.
/ shall not worry you with much
about the fight itself but the really
clever work in that engagement took
place in Fitz's dressing room. Fitz
was always buffer. He. always tried
to buffalo the other fellow before the
bell rang. 1t was his custom to enter
the ring and whang his opponent over
the head with his horny mitt, or hit
him a resounding slap on the ear, or
hand him some other small token call
.culated to arouse wholesome respect.
If not to create fear. He usually had
the other fellow worried long before
time to put on the gloves. This time
the shoe was slipped on the other foot.
While Fitz was dressing before the
fight, somebody knocked at the door OF
his dressing room and in marched a
hairy giant with torso like bear
skin rug. (Ryan insisted that JEFF
should not wear bathrobe; he looked
more dangerous without one.) JEFF had
been properly coached. He wnacked
Fitz on the back, hard enough to kiln
an ordinary mortal. and said he had
come to talk about the rules and the
way they were to fight.
4 For instance" said JEFF, hauling
Fitz to his feet, how do you want to
do In the clinches? Break easy or
break like this?" At this jeff Rugged
Fitz until he grunted with pain, and
then suddenly slammed him away from
him, up against the wall of the dress
ing room. Fitz was so astonished at
this rough and .unceremonious treat
ment that he did not get his breath for
some time, and while he was getting
1t, jeff showed him few more things
about clinches. managing to tread on
Fitz's toes and elbow him over chair
or two. Then the JEFF advisers went
outside where they felicitated JEFF on
his very fine acting, They had thrown
a scare" into the champion, and bluffed
him at his own game. F'itz was favorite
at overwhelming odds. JEFF still wears
a diamond locket which was presented
to him by several men who got 8 to IL
for several thousand dollars.
Fitz dashed In against that CROUCH
and the straight left and early in the
fight ran into straight left poke that
knocked him head over heels. After
that he was beaten man. He nit the
giant as hard as he had hit any OF
them, but did not floor him-did not
even seem to annoy him; and with Jeff