Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1909-02-20
JOHNSON FOUGHT WITH GRIN
THAT WOULDN'T COME OFF

! THAT WOULDN'T COME OFF
i The following story OF the John
Son-Burns fight is republished from
Sydney paper and is the First Aus
tralian story OF the battle to be-
published here.
Johnson grinned.
The first thing that struck the
huge assembly about the big negro
was his grin-an everlasting. conf
dent. self-possessed. defiant grin. He
took it into the ring with him. ne
! carried IL unimpaired through the
fight mixing IL up occasionally with
some terrific blows, and an almost
ceaseless chatter of a deem busl,v
voice, and when the depressed crowd
last saw him. he still had Il: and
there was something else. with Il. the
triumphant CLEAN OF the victor. 1t
was not savage. ferocious grin. hut
the simple, good old pains-taking.
faithful smirk of the negro that
would not leave it's native home
Times have been when the multitude
mas roared its sides out at that tyne
or grin, but on Saturday morning Il
gave thousands the heartache. And
Burns could not drive II away. and
therein was the dependency OF the
people.
In It's way Saturday morning in
the stadium provided great human
drama On the one side a huge de-
scendant OF Ham. full OF humor.
almost tickled TO death with the situ-
alton. lively as a kitten, dancing
prancing, endowed with magnificent
physical attributes. showing the
strength OF the Nemean lion: on the
other, acknowledging. huge-shoul-
dered, terribly determined. steelv
eyed white man. IL was a Joke 10
one; tragedy TO the other. The
one battered his way TO tbe
championship with a smile on his
lace and Joke on his lips: the other
! received the terrible punishment
with a suilen, stony silence that
sent the sympathy OF thousands ont
TO him, as IL always will 60 out To
the beaten man who takes hts Cruel
uncomplainingly unwaveringly. as
Burns did on Saturday.
But yet IL was not the black mans
iault that the world was not made
gay. he did his best with quip and
crank and quiddity. He talked ana
Joked with a tireless iuencv AZ
or about Burns. or the spectators
The gong had no sooner sounded the
summons 10 arms than he
greeted Burns with grin and
addressed him as mother
would an impatient child. IAN
right, "Tahmy." he soothingly said
A Few seconds later he witheringly
criticised the absence of Burns hit
ing power Why. thought you
could hit Tahmy." he chirped. I'm
tones or shocked pleasantly. Later
on he invited his dearly beloved
brother TO come in" He also in
CURED scornfully as TO all this IN
hghting he had heard about.
Take chance, Tahmy," he coax
rinsiy murmured, and then, in a voice
or supreme disgust. with eyebalIs
roiiing and a row OF gold and white
teeth revealed, he asked, "Whar's
mat rib hit OF yours, Thomas?"
When he got tired OF making unap-
preciated speeches TO his foe. who
had no time for debate. ne turned
ms attention to Burns's party and
the spectators. There was a code
can from Burns's seconds-'Twen-
ty-three-lower down" Thirteen
5000 boy. Tommy" they cried.
Johnson rolled his goo-goo eyes,
srihheo, welted Burns. and took I'm
Sne story- Fourteen--put that
uo"n. When the angry spectators
resented his talk, he glared at them
over Burns's shoulders, threw
another grin at them-what a stock
ne mad or them, OF all shapes and
sizes-and besought them TO keen
their eyes on "Mistah Johnson"
put IL was not all speech-making.
ms lce-cooi, biaring, dark-skinned
sisuIa.or round more deadly work to
40. between the speeches. and some
elnes accompanying them. there was
some terrinc punishment, for Burns.
Inc big negro distributed some sicI,-
enihg punches In the stomach. They
sounded like a well-kicked football
hanging against a waIl-whoomnbi
Ihen there would be a sharp. grind
Ing click-that was the prtnner
sending his long, brawny arm ioIt-
Ing upward to the Canadian's chin
But, worse than all for Rurns os
the men were locked together the
long reach OF the negro enabled his
right arm TO have free plav over
the smaller mans back. II was
raised deliberately, and descended
with gathering force. battering and
crushing on the flesh in tie region
OF Burns kidneys. Human endur-
ance has its limits, and Burns had
to be beaten. '
one other feature OF the contest
impressed itself-the ferceness 81
tne negro when he dropped his
grin and smashed into his opponent
right and left. This was johnson, a
response to the charge that he mad
a yellow streak"-the cause of the
terrible bitterness OF the contest
inese enraged responses OF the me-
gro were one OF the real physical
surprises OF the contest. and the