The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-02-26

Spotted Dog, kept by Joe Parrish a re.
tired pugilist. He made a precarious
living by attending to the boats at
Strand stairs, but. under the guidance
Of Joo Parish, he was ambitious to he.
come a pugilist, and had already dis.
played much gameness and some sci.
ence in bouts with other boys. The
Irish lad had been partially deaf from
infancy. In speech he had the anus.
ing and original popularity OF always
putting words In the plural.
The exploit OF Jem Burke made him
famous. and scores OF mobiles aud men
OF wealth flocked to the Spotted Dog
to see the hero. They showered gold
coins upon him. and encouraged hin,
to continue his pursuit Of pugillstie
glory. The money he received seem,
ed like fortune to Jem Burke, but
every penny Of 1t went to his old moth.
er, whom he had supported from his
earliest boyhood.
The Spotted Dog was famous
sporting hosiery in those days, aud
Joe Parish conducted a boxing school
in connection with the tavern. Thence.
forth he devoted much time to dcyel
optng his proteke, and Burke WINS soon
matched to fight a local celebrity
Fitzmaurice. "the East End Chicken
Jem was victorious after 166 rounds
OF fighting. lasting nearly three hours
Thanks TO the celebrity he had gain
ed by. his heroic exploit In Excite,
street, tho Deaf I'm" az he was now
known to the fancy, was well started
along the road which, was to lead him
10 the championship. Many times
crooked sportsmen sought TO lure him
from the straight and narrow path
but Burke always rejected their pro
posals with scorn. He had one invari.
able answer:
EMO; there's q God above us what
sees US and. Hes wants us to fight.
straights. won't have it's
It was quaint philosophy for a
prize.fighter. but 1t. animated Burke'a
whole ring career.
Within eight years after he had first
tasted fame, deaf" Burke was recog
niEed as the best fighting man In Eng
land and claimed the championship
although lem Ward still chung to the
title and refused to defend II against
Burke. Disguised. the Deaf 'un, de
cided to try his fortunes in America. .
AZ: that time another freshman, Sam
o'Rouke, was claiming the American
championship. He had fought and
won fourteen battles on, this, side Soi
the, Atlantic and had q. big following
| Burke believed that he could easily
whip o'Rouke, and thus win in u the
New Tldtthe laurels which had been
denied him in the old. 4. 8,
:, Arriving In America, Jem was &el
coined by William Fuller, an ex.pug
hist who conducted q gymnasium Il
that, city, and also visited Philadelphia
under the patronage Of Andrew Mac
lean, Ia noted Philadelphia bruiset
In New York, Burke mades.a Bit o,
money.by posing as Giving statues! II
a:theater. - tJ'.: ~.
I o'Ronkeg was then IN New Orleans
where he was running a saloon, iant
although he challenged he was taker
back when that worthy appeared Ii
the Crescent City, prepared to do bat
tie. SAINT refused to fight for lesl
thanla Thousand dollars, and poor Jem
had no such sum. but he found a cou
pie OF angles IN. James. Caldwell. Sther
proprietor Of the st. Charles Theatel
lin New Orleans and William Brand
ram, an English eotton4huyer. S0Fl a
, n The ring. was pitched on the shoret
Of sthe hiississippi, a few miles from
the city, and thitherj on the day OF ltht
battle swarmed o. motley. crowd
"Creoles. hslf.hreeds, French gam
,bier1( Yankee sharks, Irish rougha
aid rowdies Sof every nationality IN
der the SIM" ~ r.. ti..< Ut ~,
o'Ronke was the favortte Of the
crowd. and It was soon eyident that
II pistols. Slung. shots tbludgeons and
bowie knives could 'intimidate Jem, he
was doomed to- lose. After 3 few
rounds II was so evident that Burke
was the better man that the mob at,
tackled him, but Jem, escaped. and hail
naked as he was, jumped upon a horse
and dashed away for New Orleans. He
managed to reach the police station,
where he remain In hiding for three
days before he was spirited away and
escaped from the Crescent City. on q
steamboat. Y Burke returned to Eng,
land and after q few years ID the lime:
HIGHT, died Of stuberculosis. oRouke
did not long survive being murdered
on the Ottawa by aEman named Brady,
With whom he had aunrreled in i1s4s.
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