Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-06-18


FCopyright, 1870 by Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate. Copyright in Canada and
Great Britain. All rights reserved.1
CHAPTER XIV.
ny RETIREMENT AND HOME LIFE AND
THE MATCH WITH JOHNSON.
- SETTLED down now to a quiet
family life-no more stage work,
no more fighting. | believed
that I'd never put on a fight
ing glove again. bought a fine
ranch of 145 acres near Los Angeles.
with a country house on II, and be-
came farmer again. For two years
l worked hard on my ranch. clearing
away the brush and then putting a
hundred acres in alfalfa, which grows
eight crops year In my country. l
did the heavy work myself, and i
never enjoyed life more than down on
the ranch. l was tired of fuss and
publicity. Here ! was just a farmer
again, and it was great
From time to time, Of course, | went
TO see a good fight somewhere or other
or took a good hunting trip to the
mountains or went fishing at Catalina,
where we have the best fishing in the
world. was as healthy as man
could be- 1t used to make me laugh
when some one sent me the papers
and read stories of my "dissipatca
life" Why. no man since Noah's time
ever lived cleaner life than did, up
early and to bed early after a hard
days work.
After two years on the ranch | built
a fine town house, with everything in
It that one could want and everything
the best could buy. ! won't say what
1t cost. but It's insured for $15,500, so
it's something of a house. In the same
year bought tract of land near the
town, cut II up into lots and sold again
with profit OF $4,000 A friend of
mine and myself cleared $4,000 on
another tract, so didn't need to fight
to earn money, In the next year |
went into partnership with another
friend. and we got one Of the 200 bar
licenses in Los Angeles and built the
finest cafe west Of New York. That
was a big money maker too, Fitting
It up cost over $4,000. moved into
town now to my big house and attend
ed to the cafe. Because was there
so much OF the time the old stories
about my drinking broke out again |
never did drink to any extent. NY
limit WAS usually glass of charged
water with about spoonful Of claret
IN II, and only few of those.
When not hunting or working / mix
ed up with the fighting game little,
often refereeing important fights. One
OF these was the Hart-R Root fight up In
Nevada, The promoters asked me to
officially present" the, heavyweight ii.
tie 20 the winner. | refused. Nobody |
can give away championships But |
they told everybody ! had given" the |
title to Hart after he stopped Root, |
and didn't take the trouble to deny It, |
While ! was in retirement Bill |
Squires came over from Australia. |
Billy Delaney went TO work and sign
ed for fight with Squres. But /
hadn't given him the right to repre-
sent me, and l refused the match.
That broke up my old association with
Delaney
One disagreeable thing happened
about this time. My reputation has
always been clean In ring affairs, aud
II any crooked work has ever been
planned In connection with any OF my
lights I've never known about It. In
fact. don't think any ever was plan
ned. for people have known that I'd so
out TO win and would win. But while
4 was at home In Los Angeles GER
tain heavyweight, who shortly after
ward became notorious through the ex-
posure OF his trickery, came to my
house 10 see me. He talked little
while and beat about the bush, and
then he said
II have just been over In Nevada.
One OF the promoters over there put
up a proposition TO me that sounded
like a lot OF money, He said that bed
give purse OF $4,000 for. tght be-
tween you and me. then he'd put
$4,000 IN the bank with the purse, and
you could have the whole $4,000"
Here he stopped and looked at me
queerly for moment.
'.Yesy' / said.
"Of course" he went on, "the pro
moter would have 70 make his money
Out OF the match some way besides at
the gate aud ia have TO make mine.
too, II YOU got the whole purse and all
that money TOO. Wed have to make
II out OF the betting, II YOU won we
couldn't make anything betting, you
'Go on" I said quietly
SWELL" be said. Bdgeiing around