Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-09

paper man ever bet. for II he did here was
the chance Of a lifetime to win some money.
on the return journey when about flv,
miles from the training quarters a friend
Of Fitzsimmons came along driving a
good going trotting horse. The pugilis'
begged a ride for the newspaper man and
then romped alongside and finished with
a sprint which left him steaming when his
clothes were removed for a rundown. 1t
was only then that the marvellous makeup
Of the man was revealed. Here was ma
lures fighting man designed TO combat
with mankind's own weapons.
The long arms we're muscled in the way
that brings delight to the man who know
condition. There were none Of the knott
or Dubious formations of the muscl,
bound, only the long, snakellke develop
ment which betokens quickness. The tire
mendous hands and forearms with thei
covering of fiery red hair were bone
scarcely a vestige of flesh upon them anC
bone hard and dense as that of a thor
%oughbred horse.
The tremendous shoulders with the freck
led skin playing loosely over the network
Of muscle were those of a heavyweight
as was the chest. The waist was tina o.
the typical middleweight, the muscles oveI
the abdomen standing out In ridges as
thick as a mans finger when they were
contracted. The hips and lower limbs
seemed amazingly small and light and the
feet turned out too sharply at the toes to
please the fastldious.
After a rest of an hour or so a light
luncheon was had, and at 4 o'clock Carroll
invited the reporter to the tents to see his
man don the gloves and do the last rea.
heavy work before he stepped into tn,
ring. He was to fight three days lateI
and the object was to tire him thoroughly
and with this end in view it was arranged
to have three good men spar with him
One Of these, the man with whom he wa.
to wind up, was Johnny Cash, known tC
New Workers as a remarkably clever
sparrer. He had been chosen because he
had Dempsey's style Of fighting. He was
a middleweight OF much class in his day
and as a boxer was counted wonderfully
clever.
For upwards Of ~three-quarters of an
hour Fitzsimmons mixed 1t with the three
men, winding up with Cash in a bout
which left that man GREATNESS ami al
but out. 1t was enough to convince the
veriest tyro hat here was a champion
indeed. There was no part of the game
that he did not SLOW himself a master
at and he was apparently ready to star
all over again. lis adversarles, on the
other hand, were spent with their exer-
lions. They had. been clouted soundly and
were ready to call it a days work.
Fitzsimmons' foot work was on a PAL
with the skill he displayed with his hands
He shifted at the proper time, never an
inch too far, and when he struck his eye
was so true that the blow went home. His
short, ohoppy swings we're features of the
work and Something will be told Of their
efficacy later on in this story.
The performance of the lanky Antipo-
dean was a revelation to the newspaper
man, who took the evening train for New
Orleans and wired that night a story de-
scriptive of the newest fighting marvel
and foreshadowing the defeat of Dempsey.
It seemed like treason to do IL, but the mas
terful showing made by Fitzsimmons In
his work left no other course open.
When Dempsey arrived in the Crescent
City he hunted UP the reporter and ques-
toned him about Fftzsimmons, remarking,
You seem to be pretty sweet on himl''
Dempsey knew that the reporter was his
friend, and he was troubled at the news
the latter had to impart.
The evening Of the battle the newspaper
man sat just behind Dempsey's corner in
the seats reserved for the press. The Nom
pareil was the first to take his place and
he was white ana nervous. Nobody had
ever seen Dempsey afraid under any cir
~cumstances, for that element was foreign
to his makeup, but he was plainly dis
turbed when Fitzsimmons finally came
through the crowd elbowing his way as
he walked. He lowered inches above all
but the tallest. His form was enveloped
in a long bathrobe and as he ducked his
already partially bald head to crowd under
the ropes It was the first time that Demp-
sey had ever seen his adve lsary.
Dempsey had been chewing gum avidly.
He stopped now and sat bolt upright and
took Fitzsimmons' measure from head to
toe. The tall Australian. comparatively
unknown then to the world Of pugilism,
took his chair, threw back the folds of his
robe, stretched his gorilla-like arms along
the ropes, exposing his hairy chest and
terrific shoulders. Dempsey half breathed,
but 1t came to me plainly these two words;
oh, God!'
The man who had never known defeat
and who would have laughed anybody to
SCOIh IL ne Hbu Hluleu u rev hours DeIOfe
that his day had come, knew In that mo-
ment that he was b~eaten-beaten before
he had put up his hands.
Preliminaries were quickly settled and at
the call of time there was a murmur Of
surprise. F1tzsimmons lowered over his
boyish looking opponent and it seemed a
pity that the young New Yorker should
be asked to do battle with the newest
marvel of the pugilistic world, for such he
stood revealed at that moment.
Dempsey, always quick to get to work,
was the first to break ground. The tall
Australian side-stepped easily and shot
back a short-arm jolt that Jared the cham
plon from head to heel. 1t was Fitzslm-
mons fight all the way and the big Ami
podean won a warm place in the hearts Of
all who were close enough to hear him
when he whispered in a clinch during the
fifth round:
give up. Jack; l don't want to hurt
you'll
you'll have to knock me out" came
from Dempsey's white lips.
It was then up to Fitzsimmons to be as
merciful as he could, and the coup de
grace was administered neatly and effec-
lively shortly afterward.
That defeat at the hands of Fttzsimmons
was poor Dempsey's death blow. His pride
was hurt, wounded mortally, and he never
again was the same, dying a few years