The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-08-20
wage. He took only the soft Jobs that

wage. He took only the soft Jobs tina
came along.
The champion had hardly lef
school before the name OF Coward
was attached to him. Many a DO,
smaller than Jack gave him a lacing
He didn't care for them. He prefer.
red to ramble away by himself.
When Jack was ~ years old h
lstarted to learn to ride a bicycle. bu,
even bike riding was too much work
and he quit. Next he picked up the
job of watching a milk wagon while
the dealer delivered the milk. He
was paid S1.25 a week. Six months
of that kind of work was sufdcien,
for him and he quit. His parents
found 1t impossible to make him
work.
Has Record for Cowardicc.
was % years of age before
he realized the need Of money. That
was when he fell in with a crowd of
fellows who worked and had money
to spend. So he got a fob on the
docks helping to load steamers.
His reputation for cowardice had
preceded him. and he soon was the
victim of taunts. 1t was then that he
One night after a steamer had been
loaded. the bully of the docks pilfer.
ed Johnson's coat and hat. When
Jack tried to get them back. the bully
landed a stinging punch on Jacks
head. Then johnson forgot his lazi-
ness and gave the bully a terrible
licking.
1t was a case of coward TO bully
In one night. for johnson was recog.
nized as the BOSS bully of EN- all aft
er that.
There were quite a few minor bait
ties after that and Jack forgets a lot
of them. but finally he took a trip
north in 1889 and landed in Chicago.
He didn't find the people there in
clined to look on ~laziness with favor
and he nearly starved.
The boxing game was open and he
got on a match with another negro
named "klondike." Jack quit in the
NTH round because he was SO weak
from hunger that he could hardly
stand up. He had a couple of other
lights before he returned to Calves
ton.
His friends there arranged a match
with Joe Choyn: XII. and Joe knocked
Jack IL in three rounds. johnson
says that C%hoynski hit him so hard
ne thought he was dead. They were
both Jailed for fighting.
AiioCkout ffeIpC0
II was that Choynski fight. howev-
er. that caused johnson to stick to the
ring. He figured that if he could
take the awful punch that Chovnski
handed him and live he ought to be
able to lick a lot of other fellows.
He had a good punch then and
u take punishment. So he start
e. out to take pugilism seriously and
moved down Frank Childs. George
Gardner, De Kennedy. Jack Jeffries
and man. others.
The tougher game. including Hank
Griffin. Sam Mcey. Denver Ed" Mar.
tin an dSandy Ferguson. came his
way in time and he disposed of them.
Johnson ran into an upset in 1905
when Marvin Hart was awarded a de-
clslon over him in 20 rounds. But
he came back after that and beat
such men as Joe Jeanette, sam
Langford, Bob Fitzsimmons, Bill
Lang and knocked cut Jim Flynn in
II rounds.
He chased Champion Tommy Burns
- Sydney, Australia. in 1905, where
he beat Burns in IA rounds thereby
winning the title.
Among his victims since that time
have been Stanley Ketchel, middle
weight champion, now dead, and Jim
Jeffries, in that fiasco of two years
ago at Reno. New, of which plenty
has been printed.
That brings this story up to John
sons last fight with Flynn. but before
the finishing QUO is put to this yarn
it might be stated that if ever a pugil-
list was good to the folks" that one
is Jack Johnson.
He has built a fine house in Chi
cago and given it to his mother. Jack
says he will see that she never is in
want.