The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-06-29

Luther McCarty. the youthful giant
who surprised the world by tumbling
Carl Norris to the ring floor for the
count. is not the fortunate child of a
lucky punch. His victory over Carl
Morris was the climax of months of
training with the one object in view,
that of defeating the big engineer. At
no time had he any doubt of the re-
suit of the contest with Morris.
Luther McCarty first saw the light
of day March II. 1892. on a ranch
owned and operated by his father.
thirty miles outside of Lincoln. Neb.
The open-air life he enjoyed until his
ninth year implantd in him the love
Of freedom that m seldom to the
city broke chap. Luther was always
out doors, and most of the time as
tride a horse. Both of McCarty's par
ents were of great size. so he came by
his huge bulk naturally. Luther was
no freak. and his gameness is the re-
suit of being reared in an atmosphere
where fear is unknown.
His mother died when he was less
than 2 years of age. but it was not
until his father sold the ranch in 1901
that Luther struck out for the home of
a relative in Colorado Springs. Colo.
Here he stayed for nearly two years
attending school. much against his
wishes. as he longed for the open-air
life. He had no liking for the class
room. and to avoid it took French
leave in the night and started on
life's journey alone-and penniless.
He had not yet reached his twelfth
year. unacquainted with the ways of
the world and minus the good advice
necessary for the safe direction of the
young man seeking fame and fortune.
Having been raised on a ranch. he
naturally drifted into the cornfields OF
Kansas.
With the corn shocking season over.
McCarty ambled into Omaha and
landed a position as bill distributor for
an advertising concern. He held this
down for a few months. then landed a
berth" with the Western Union Tele-
graph company. He delivered mes
sages and the number on his cap was
1873" Strange coincidence. but it
was in his thirteenth ring engagement
that McCarty hung the "23" sign on
Carl Morris and made a leap into the
limelieht. The message he carried in
his punch hat night caused many a
messenger boy to be foot weary when
through his nights work. How the
heart of every n of them would nave
leaped had it been known the deliver
er of the wallop that settled Morris
had formerly run messages"
From the messenger service in
Omaha to a similar job in ST. Louis
was a short. cheap jump to the rowing
McCarty. After six months in the
Mound City the old wanderlust again
took hold of the big boy and he made
the long jump to Los Angeles. In the
southern California city McCarty spent
several months. then ~journeyed back
to st. Louis. but did not tarry long,
making tracks for Boston. Mass. He
longed to see some of the life on the
high seas. Once in the city of beans
wharves and shipped as IAN able
bodied seaman" He was able-bodied.
all right. but was not a m So on
his first day out was reduced to the
position of apprentice. The boat he
was on was an old-fashioned wind
TANNER" and it tool four months to
make the trip to Buenos Aires. From
this leading South American city he
shipped twice around Cape Horn. then
on a Norwegian bark he sailed for
China and Japan. 1t was off one boat
and on to another for three years,
with him finally landing back in
Buenos Aires and then making his last
trip on the water. jumping" the boat
on which he had shipped from the
Argentine capital to Boston when it
was outside of Mobile.
lawns seen the greater part of the
world. McCarty went back to his first
Overlooking after cattle on the wide
ranges of the northwest. Interfering
at a time when the ranch owner. Dick
Collins, was in trouble won for Nc
Carly the ownership of a fine saddle
horse. With his swift horse he start
ed out to do some" riding. He land
ed in the Sioux reservation and spent
about a month among the redskins.
then drifted into Montana.
Lack of funds caused McCarty to
sell the horse. and he took up with
an advertising concern, doing the
countrywide advertising for a we'll
known tobacco. When arriving at
Culbertson. Mont. he learned there
was to be a battle in the town he de-
cided to stick around and see the fuss.
He tied in with n of the principals
as the man to be knocked around. He
had from his earliest youth liked box
ing. and whether aboard ship or on
land never let pass an opportunity to
spar with the gloves. He fitted in we'll
as a human punching bag for the man
in training. some unknown. and was
liked by every one. 1t was seen thai
he was the master of the man he was
training, but he never let himself out.
This was in the fall of 1910. Luther