Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-27

humanity that was fighting entirely
through the strength of nerves of iron
and dogged determination. Quit was
an ingredient entirely unknown in his
makeup. and he spurned the request OF
his seconds to throw in the sponge,
fighting hopelessly on.
1.-THE he1plessness of his bruised and
bleeding opponent seemed to arouse all
the dormant animalism in the negro,
who. with a fiendish look of exultancy
on his features, redoubled his eftorts
to inflict greater punishment, SEEM
ingly staying off the fatal end for that
purpose.
'0The end came in the twenty-third
round, when Johnson fairly smothered
his helpless antagonist with a shower
of blows as he stood In the center OF
the ring with dangling arms helpless
to defend himself. 1t was sight that
made strong men turn away, and the
police broke into the ring to put
stop to it as nature demanded its dues.
The huge form of the mighty fighter
slowly sank to his knees on the can
vas, then collapsing and gently slid
ing forward on the face, the referee
refraining from tolling the fatal sec
onds.
"With the reasing of Johnson's right
arm in token of victory, by the reteree,
his seconds and handlers were upon
him. Raising him to their shoulders
they commenced a triumphant march
around the square circle.
"But the march of victory came TO
an abrupt halt. Rumbling like spring
time mountain torrents, the vast at
tendance of the general admission sec
tions came pouring down the alsles
leading to the ringside, thorougnly m
fected with the mob fever and with
the smell of blood in their nostrils.
The men for the moment had lost their
reason, pouring forward with shouts
Of:
"Kin him!'
"'Down with him!
THE RIOT
"These cries of riot, mingling with
the pleadings of the rational and the
curses of the officers as they Valnly
attempted to stop the maddened men,
made a veritable hell scene of the pit
of the amphitheater.
1.-The police had formed clrcie
around the ring, where they valiantly
dubbed right and left, dropping men
with curses on their lips. But these
were quickly replaced with the on
crushing hundreds, and the thin line OF
blue was soon broken and ABSORBED IN
the general mixup.
THAT the police had fought VaIantly
many a bruised and aching head
vouched for after the lull of exchang-
ing blows-but before they had got
the situation under control, with the
help of the rational, the deed that was
TO act as the igniting torch to scenes IN
all sections of the Union where the
negro was a large factor in the popula
ton that would in intensity rival that
dark period in French history known as
the Reign of Terror, was done.
JOHNSON KILLED
"Johnson had been hit on the back
of the neck with a policeman's CLUB IN
the hands of a rioter. the blow break-
ing a vertebra in the spine and causing
instant paralysis, which soon after was
followed by death, while his powerful
form lay helpless, laboriously breathing
with protruded staring eyes in the arms
of his chief second.
Thus, suddenly, was the fire OF Iire
snuffed from a perfect athlete, WHO
only a few moments before had won
the undisputed title to the heavyweight
| championship of the world, with its at
tributes of wealth and honor.
"But-riot, wherein two races clasheo'
stalked with the snuffing of that life.
RIOTS SPREAD
"When the bulletins of the eastern
papers pictured the weakening of the
white champion during the latter
rounds of the battle the negroes that
peppered those seas Of humanity gave
vent to their feelings In the ultra
emotional so characteristic OF that race
with resounding slaps on the back
and embraces where space permitted
they triumphantly shouted:
lone mo- of dem uppe' cuts and de
po'k chops and bacon do come nome 10
| de colo'd man. :,
"'B'ing on de next jeff ies-da all
! look alike to ou' Jack.
"With the defeat of their champion
a certainty and these jubilant shouts
ranking in their ears--a sullen quiet
ness had settled over the whites, and
when the predominating shouts OF
who am the champion now? rumbled
from colored throts with the bulletin
ing of the message that informed the
multitudes of the knockout-each white
man seemed filled with the desire to
take up the contest where their cham
pion had failed. and bruising lists fell
with sickening rapidity.
"But the clash of fists was only as
the brush between the advance guards
of on-marching legions, following
which came q lull as before the storm,
which was soon broken by the call of
the newsboys:
"'Extra!'
"'Johnson killed by mob!
THE REVOLT
"These startling words climaxed the
existing feeling of oppression among
the colored race, effectively branding
their hope, All men are created equal,
a lie under existing conditions. The
throttle to riot had been thrown wide
open and it spread like flame through
the southern states.
| "'DoWn with the oppressors of the
negro was the slogan, and exagger-
ated speeches by orators who felt that
they had been inspired to lead their
race from beneath the yoke of oppres-
sion. They had the Union plunged into
another civil war wherein two races
clashed; one carried away with feel
ing of injustice blindly arising to as
sert its rights through mob force
"It took weeks before the govern
rnent troops that had been rushed to
the scenes of conflict and the state
rnilitias had the situation under con-
troll. During that period of riot streets
had run in blood in many of the cities.
and many revolving mob scenes had
been enacted.
"In Galveston, Texas, where Johnson
was born and where the populace had
come to proudly speak of him. as Our
Jack the rioting had been the fiercest.
Here the negroes had banded together
in a senblance of military order and a
pitched battle had been fought, where
in hundreds of both races fell.
END OF BOXING
"This dramatic climax to the result
of a prize fight induced the governing
bodies of the different states in the
Union wherein the sport had been per-
mitted by law to take immediate steps
| to stop the sport when the riotin~ had