Year: 1876

TRAINING PRIZE s.-Howell
Gardner, the reformed prize fighter. in
lecture tells how man is trained for
the ring as follows:


When a man is matched to fight, the
first thing he is put under medical treat
ment and his system is got into good
order. Then after that rigid system
of diet is prescribed for him, in which
mutton is a principal feature, and all
he eats is with a view of building up
good, solid, healthy muscle for him.
Then they make him wear a pair of
shoes weighing about three pounds
the heavier the better for him-to ex-
ercise IN. They get him up early in
the morning, give him walk of about
three miles as hard as he can go and
back. They then fetch him in and go
at him with the gloves and spar him as
long as they can stand; and then they
put him at swinging bag of sawdust
or tan, and let him 90 at that as hard
as he can bang, striking it and lodging
it, and following it up as it swings from
him, and so bringing into constant ac-
tive play every muscle of the body
Then they strip him and rub him with
coarse towels, rub him as hard as they
can, until every drop of perspiration has
been rubbed off, and he's perfectly dry
and in healthy glow. Then he lays off
and rests about an hour, after which he
eats his breakfast. For breakfast he
will have a cur Of tea, good beefsteak.
not.raw, but cooked rare, just SO that
the blood will follow the knife.


Sometimes they will give him a glass
of good ale-Scotch ale-poured right
on top of the steak. But they never
let him use any coffee, nor any tobacco,
and no liquor, except it may be glass
of ale once in while. But especially
no coffee and no tobacco. Why a good
trainer will not even let his man sit in
room or car where other people are
smoking. After breakfast he'll take a
walk around, easy at first, and after a
while they will get him to running, and
jumping forwards and backwards; and
he will take the dumb bells-small,
light ones-and practice hitting with
them. For this business a man has to
hit straight out from the shoulder. and
as soon as his arm begins to drop he
has to stop. When he comes in again
| he is once more rubbed down with
coarse towels; and so thev go on with
him, exercising and feeding him on
mutton and beef, rubbing him down Of
ten, keeping sometimes two or even
three men at work on him. one taking
hold when another is tired out, until
when he is ready to 60 into the ring,
there is not an ounce of supertiuous fat
or flesh on him. the blood rises almost
to the surface of the skin, he has an
eve like hawk, and the elasticity of a
mountain goat, and from head to foot
he's as fine and smooth as silk. That's
man in perfect physical training.


OF course such work reduces a mans
weight. but in good hands he doesn',
lose ANYTHING that he is not better with.
out. Nv brother has beer worked down
from 200 pounds to $50 through such
exercise. / had almost omitted to say
that another good thing in training j:
going to bed early. The man who is in
training must retire at eight or nine
o'clock in the evening. So the result
is achieved of bringing man, by the
time he is ready To enter the ring, into
as near the condition as perfect piece
of machinery as is possible. And al
for the brutal purpose of being ham
mered or hammering somebody else on,
of the semblance of manhood.