This version attempts to mimic Datas' book. The paging and text follows
the book's layout as far as possible.
CHAPTER V
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS
I am not likely to forget my first landing in the
States, for it occurred on the same day as the
wreck of the excursion steamer General Slocum,
which caught fire whilst crossing Long Island
Sound. I remember seeing the blazing vessel
with its packed human freight, as we steamed
past, with the scores of vessels trying to render
what aid they could. But they were practically
helpless, for the fire had got a good hold.
Over one thousand lives were lost that day----
roasted alive in the grim furnace of the seas, an
sad to relate they were mostly children, whose
dying shrieks must have lingered long in the
ears of the unhappy skipper of the craft, who
was one of those saved. He, together with the
chief engineer, were afterwards brought to trial
on the grounds of negligence, and received very
long sentences. It was discovered when in-
quiries were made that the lifebuoys were all
67
68 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
perished, and the stuff with which they were
packed no better than so much sawdust. The
other life-saving apparatus was also in bad
condition, otherwise the loss of life would not
have been so great. It was a ghastly sight, and
one that arouses sad memories whenever I
recall that first trip to America, where I had
such a good time.
One of the outstanding figures of that time
was President Roosevelt, and I had the pleasure
of meeting him on several occasions both at
theatres and cabarets where I was appearing,
and also at private gatherings. It was at the
theatre that I first met him, when he was one of
the first to put a question to me.
"Who was the only President to be elected by
the whole of the people," he asked, and although
it was not in the exact form that I like questions,
a question of date, I was easily able to supply
the information with a little touch that pleased
Roosevelt mightily.
"George Washington," I replied, "who was
elected by the whole of the people in 1789 He
was again elected President in 1797, thus
serving two terms of four years each. He was
born on the 11th February 1732, according to
the old style calendar, and on the 22nd February,
1732, according to the new style. There were
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 69
eleven days put on to the calendar in 1752, to
make it come in line with the old Gregorian
calendar of 1582, and Russia is the only country
in existence which has not adopted the new style
of calendar to-day."
This reply brought forth roars of applause, and
after that I was firmly established with the great
President. He was not finished with me, how-
ever, and apparently he had been thinking out a
good one with which to catch me, for not long
afterwards he asked :
"Who was the only bachelor President?"
But he could not catch me napping.
"President James Buchanan," I replied, "who
was President from 1857 to 1861. He died on
the 1st June, 1868."
We had many long chats together, and on the
first occasion I met him privately, he gave me
many interesting details about the lives of other
Presidents which I could not possibly have got
elsewhere.
"Have a drink," was his first greeting, and
when he had seen me well supplied, he said :
"Datas----did any President die on the 4th
July, the anniversary of our Independence ?"
"Yes, sir " I commenced, when he cut
me short.
"Don't sir me," he said. "I'm just plain
70 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
Theodore Roosevelt. Have another drink."
I did, and then I replied to the question he had
asked.
"John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both
died on the 4th July, and both died on the same
day. President Munro also died on the 4th
July, 1836."
He was so tickled with the way I rattled this
off that I thought I would give him a bit of
information about himself.
"You were the first Vice-President to be
elected President of America," I told him
"and you were elected after the assassination of
President McKinley, who was stabbed on the
6th September, 1901, and died on the 14th
September, 1901."
At once he flashed back at me: "And who were
the three Presidents who were assassinated ?"
"The first was Lincoln," I answered, "who
was shot in Ford's Theatre, Washington, by
John William Booth, whilst watching a play
called `Our American'. The second was Presi-
dent Garfield, who was assassinated at Washing-
ton Railway Station by Jules Guiteau, a
disappointed job-hunter, who for months had
been plaguing the President to find him a
sinecure, because they went to school together
when boys. He was not particular what it was----
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 71
head of the Army, Navy, Post Office or Rail'
ways, as long as it was something with plenty of
money attached. `I am afraid there is nothing
I can give you,' replied the dignified Garfield,
whereupon Guiteau responded with a `Give me
an old pair of trousers then.' He attacked the
President on the station, stabbing him on the
2nd July; 1881. He died seventeen days later
at Elbron, N.J.
"The third one was President McKinley, who
was stabbed at the Exposition at Buffalo by
Leon Czloscloz, on the 6th September, 1901,
and died on the 14th. Booth, who murdered
Lincoln, was shot resisting arrest, whilst the
other two were duly executed."
Roosevelt was greatly interested at this
example of memory, and afterwards introduced
me to Grover Cleveland, the President who
dedicated the famous Statue of Liberty to
New York Harbour on the 28th October, 1886,
and he laughed heartily when I told him that in
my view the figure was facing the wrong way.
"The figure holding the lamp looks out to sea,"
I remarked, and then went on to give him some
information about himself which he did not
know. "You are the only man who has been
twice elected President with only a four years'
interval," I told him. "Ben Harrison intervened
72 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
and you made your name by firm handling in
quelling the great railway strike in 1893,"
Mr. Cleveland was very interested, for he did
not know that he was the only President to be
elected twice with only a four years' interval.
Mr. Roosevelt gave me some interesting data in
connection with some of the battles of General
Grant, after I had given him the dates of the
most important. And he agreed with me when I
stated that the battle of Gettysburg was the
turning point of the War.
He then told me a story about some busybody
who told President Lincoln on one occasion
that Grant drank too much whisky. After
Gettysburg, Lincoln sought out this mischief
maker, and in a dry tone remarked: "I wouldn't
mind some of that particular brand of whisky."
It was President Roosevelt who introduced me
to Admiral Dewey and naturally enough the
latter asked me the date of the Spanish-American
War.
"The War was caused by the blowing up of
the U.S. ship Maine in Havana Harbour on the
18th February, 1898, and the greatest event of
your career, sir, was when you stole into Manilla
Bay and sunk the Spanish Fleet on the 3rd and
4th July the same year. Admiral Cerveras was
the opposing admiral, and as a token of their
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 73
admiration for your feat, the public subscribed
for the purchase of a house for you."
I might have told him that he fell into dis-
favour afterwards through having sold this gift,
but I thought it best to be discreet.
A few days after this meeting I was strolling
along Broadway when I saw a figure which I
well knew, having seen his pictures on many
occasions. I had just left the Knickerbocker
Theatre, and I crossed over to this man whose
name at one time was a household word.
"My name's Datas," I said, accosting him,
"and I wonder if you could spare me a few
minutes, Mr. Sullivan."
John L. Sullivan----for it was he----turned
round with a big, generous smile. "Guess I'll
be tickled to death, Datas," he replied. "I've
seen you a dozen times, and have wanted to
meet you: Heard you give my record out one
night, and there was only one item you missed.
Not many people know anything about it, and
it isn't mentioned in any of the sporting books;
but I'll tell you all about it."
So off we went to Rector's for some tea. John
was off the drink then for a bit, but I saw him in
merry condition on more than one occasion
afterwards. Once we were settled he told me
the story of his great fight with Tug Wilson.
74 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
"It was the most annoying thing that ever
happened," said John, "for it came soon after
my three hours fight with Charlie Mitchell.
Tug was one of your countrymen from Leicester,
and he was going around the States with a
sparring crowd. After my Mitchell fight my
manager used to offer 1,000 dollars to anyone
who could stand up against me for three rounds.
"Tug appeared on the scene one night, and
despite the warnings of his friends to the effect
that I should kill him, he stepped up to the ring-
side and asked the conditions of the challenge.
" `If you stand up against J.L. for three rounds
you get 1,000 dollars,' explained my manager.
" `When do I get it?' inquired Tug, and was
told that he got it right away at the ringside.
Still his friends tried to warn him not to take
me on, but he was a game 'un, that kid. To my
amazement, he never attempted to fight----he
simply ran round and round that ring, dodging
me every time I tried to get after him. He kept
this up for the whole three rounds, much to the
amusement of the audience, who cheered and
cheered him when they saw what his game was.
Sure enough he walked away with that thousand
dollars, and I felt as sore as Hell. I think I'd
sooner have taken a knock-out than be cheated
like that."
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 75
Strangely enough, I met Tug Wilson a few
years afterwards, when I was appearing at the
Leicester Palace, and when he asked me the
date of this unknown epic battle, he was very
surprised when I was able to give it to him
together with all particulars. I believe he is still
alive, bless him.
"J.L." and I were to meet frequently after
that, and whenever we did there was always a
story to tell, and from his own lips I heard the
stories of his greatest fights. The fight with
Charlie Mitchell exasperated him most, and
although they met now and again in the States,
they seldom did more than exchange the briefest
greetings; and I remember on one occasion
when old Jem Mace, J. L. and myself happened
to enter a saloon where Charlie Mitchell was,
there was every sign of trouble brewing until
Jem said with one of his cheery smiles: "No
rows, boys, while I'm about----think of my age.';
And such was the respect in which this great
old-timer was held that everything passed off
all right, but it was a near thing.
"That was the greatest fiasco of my career,"
declared Sullivan when describing the fight to
me. "First of all it was fixed over in Chantilly,
France, and I would have preferred to have
fought either in America or in England. We
76 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
went at it hammer and tongs, and Charlie gave
me as much as I could manage, for three hours
and eleven minutes it raged, and I was just
beginning to get the upper hand when it had
to be called off because darkness had inter-
vened so that we could scarcely hit each other.
That `draw' was the biggest blot on my career,
I reckon."
And then he told me about his historic fight
with Paddy Ryan that other indomitable Irish-
man who gave to John L. the championship of
America.
"I was only twenty-four at the time," said
John, "but I had met some good boys, having
earned the title of `The Boston Strong Boy'. I
had a good punch, and was afraid of nothing.
Ryan was taller, and a big, deep-chested fellow.
He was a great in-fighter, and I knew this. There
were over ten thousand people at Mississippi
City when we met there in 1882, and I was at
the top of my form.
"Paddy kept me waiting in the ring for a full
half an hour, and there I sat wrapped in a blanket,
trying to keep my feelings under control. That
is an old dodge, and I learned to play it myself
afterwards. Jim Corbett was the only chap to
put it across me in that respect, but I'll tell you
about that later.
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 77
"It was a fight from the beginning, for we
both leapt in at each other without any pre-
liminary, and there we stood toe-to-toe slam-
ming at each other with half-arm pokes and jabs.
I could tell I was the strongest, and very soon I
landed a smashing blow on the jaw which floored
Paddy, and he lay there groaning until they car-
ried him to his corner.
"The second round was another terrible mêlée
for we each grabbed the other by the throat with
one hand whilst we hammered away with the
other. By this time the audience were in a frenzy
of excitement, and they went wild when I landed
yet another to the jaw, knocking him down again.
But he was up in no time and came after me,
letting go with a left which would have gone
right through me if it had landed. I dodged,
however, and stopping his rush with a jolt to the
head, I rushed him across the ring. His face and
nose were bleeding, and I was feeling none too
good by the end of the fourth round, as you can
guess when I tell you that we were both carried
back to our corners in an exhausted condition.
"It was in the fifth round that I got well after
him, and having got home with another smash-
ing blow on the jaw, my seconds begged me to
go a bit light or else I should kill poor Ryan out-
right, they declared. But we were both Irish-
78 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
men, and neither would give way. I asked his
seconds to throw in, but Paddy would not listen.
He must have been suffering terrible pain, for I
learned afterwards that with one blow to the jaw
in the fourth round I had broken his jaw in two
places. I did not know it at the time or I would
never have gone on playing for it as I did. Again
and again he came at me, even when he was
rocking on his legs. I had to fight back, and even
then he twice shook me with blows which I never
believed him capable of giving in his weak state.
And still we went on round after round, batter-
ing, and struggling with each other, first at short
range, and then at long range.
"I could feel myself slowing up, for I was
getting some punishment, but in the ninth round
Paddy crumpled up. He had hurled himself at
me in one last attempt to bear me down and get
home with one of his mighty swings. It was the
attempt of desperation, and I could see the des-
pair in his eyes, as he approached in a wild rush.
I waited, stepped aside, and with one shattering
blow to his poor broken jaw, I fetched him down
unconscious, thank God."
From beginning to end, that fight, terrible as
it was, only lasted 11 minutes 7 seconds.
Even as he was telling me this story the eyes
of John L. Sullivan showed traces of tears, for
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 79
he loved gameness, and then before I could
speak he went on. "And Datas, my boy----I was
to know just what it all meant, for ten years later
I was to suffer the same humiliation at the
hands of Jim Corbett.
"Just ten years to the day it was. It was on
the 7th February, 1882, that I beat Paddy Ryan,
and it was on the 7th September, 1892, that
Corbett beat me at the Olympic Club, New
Orleans. In the meantime I had knocked out
some of the best. There was Jake Kilrain, whom
I knocked out in the 75th round, after a fight
lasting 2 hours and I6 minutes, for a purse of
œ2,000 a side.
"There was my scrap with Charlie Mitchell,
and many others, and every fight had only shown
me that my hitting powers were something
beyond the average, even in champions. I got
a bit too big for my boots, and I'm the first to
admit it. I thought I was unbeatable, and if I
had used my head as I used my hands and
strength, I believe I should have been. But Jim
Corbett, one of the prettiest boxers who ever
stepped into the ring, took it out of me. Once
I nearly had the fight. That was in the fifteenth
round, when I whizzed up an uppercut that
would have lifted his block off if it had got there.
It missed his chin by the fraction of an inch.
80 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
"I learnt more about fighting in that scrap
with Jim, than I had ever learnt in my life before,
and I bear the great fellow no grudge for the
lesson he gave me, although it robbed me of the
championship. He played me from the begin-
ning. At first I demanded that he should enter
the ring first, and I would have kept him waiting.
Not for Jim, though. He simply smiled and said
he could wait, and after some delay I scrambled
through the ropes in a worse temper than I had
ever entered it before.
"I rushed in straight away. That was always
my game. Get a couple home quick to stagger
and shake them up. But this time I found Jim
was a bit too quick for me. He ducked and ran
round me, and for that first round he had me on
the chase until the audience were hissing and
booing him, telling him to get at me. But Jim
knew his game. He was using his head, and he
wasn't waiting for me to say how do with any of
my usual swipes. .
"He had the advantage of a longer reach, he
was in better condition, and he had more brains
than any man I ever fought. I tried to draw
him, but he would not be drawn. He side-
stepped, wriggled, squirmed and although I
landed several blows he timed their arrival so
beautifully that they lost half their sting. I
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 81
landed some that ought to have ended the fight,
but Jim knew just where not to be, and he wasn't
there.
"Like a ballet dancer he was----real pretty. I
don't mind admitting that for the first time in
my career I lost my head, and swung a bit wildly
now and again. This was the worst thing that
could possibly happen, for every now and again
Jim would slip in quick with a couple of jabs to
the jaw, or a neat right to the ribs that would
bring me up with a jerk. At last I rushed him
across the ring, landing them just where I
wanted, but to my surprise he took all that was
coming to him, and came back at me. Then just
as I landed a real knee shaker in the stomach he
replied with a spank on the jaw, following it up
with a jab in the stomach which knocked the
breath out of me. And before I could recover he
had slipped into me with a hurricane of blows to
the face and body which must have put anyone
else out but myself.
"He saw that he had me on the run that
round, and when the bell went, he dashed in
with his real stuff. It was a real mill, and I prob-
ably knew more about what happened in the
ensuing round than all the rest of the critics.
The crowd were still crying out for Corbett to
fight, but they little knew how terrible were those
82 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
punches he was landing on me. Just because he
kept leaping out of the way they thought he was
not fighting, but I knew better.
I knew that my only hope was wearing him
down, and getting one of my hardest punches
right home. He knew the same thing, and saw
that I did not carry out my intention. I rushed
him, feinted, tried every dodge I knew to get
him into position. I tried to wangle him into
a corner, and several times nearly succeeded, but
always he was too quick for me. Seemed to
divine what I was after, and with a grin would
slip under my guard at the very moment I
thought I had got him set. There was one round
I remember as being the hottest I ever fought.
I had gone after him, forcing him across the ring.
He steadied himself on the ropes, and caught me
on the jaw. I swung a fierce one with the right.
He dodged, and landed again right on the nose.
But this time I got one back just under the heart
which seemed to stagger him. Only for a
moment, though, for before I could get into him
again, he had jumped right at me and after
pounding my ribs with stabbing rights and lefts,
he jumped back, waited for me, stepped in under
my guard, and caught me square on the chin.
"I could see the danger signal, and I knew I
must finish the fight quickly. I went all out. So
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 83
did Jim. And Jim had the better of it. In one
round he got me fairly dazed. He landed one in
the stomach, and followed it up with a left and
right to neck and jaw, and then a wicked upper-
cut to the chin. The bell saved me. And yet
it was after this that I only missed gaining the
victory by the fraction of an inch, about which
I told you.
"I rushed out of my corner when the bell rang,
but again he got me with a straight left to the
mouth, and we fell into a clinch. It was then
that some of the crowd yelled `Foul' against him
and Jim paused for a second to tell them that he
intended to punish me so that there should be
no doubt as to the championship. It was in the
twenty-first round that he got home with the
blow that put me out, and----that was the end of
yours truly. I was all out, and that final smash-
ing blow was one of the greatest that ever won
a world's championship."
Long after this J.L. used to delight his pals
with his feats of strength, and I have seen him
seize a decanter in a restaurant and, holding it
in one hand, crush it to pieces with his mighty
grip and on one occasion when we took a trip
down to the Bowery, we went into a little café
there, only to be followed in by the cabby who
had driven us down. The latter complained
84 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
that the tip John had given him was not big
enough.
"Sorry, boy," said the ex-champion in apolo-
getic tone, "hand it over, and we'll see what we
can do ."
The cabby handed it back, thinking it was
going to be increased, but J.L. put it in his
pocket and turned away.
"Hi----what the so-and-so do you mean ?"
demanded the irate cabby, but John took no
notice, whereupon the cabby called upon several
of his companions outside to come in and de-
mand justice. There were about seven of them
altogether, and I saw a pretty glint in the fighter's
eyes as he saw them approaching. ,
"What's the trouble ?" he inquired mildly, and
when the spokesman described what would hap-
pen if he did not "tip it up", he just stepped out,
and I saw those men going down like so many
ninepins. At least those of them who had not
flown after the first three were floored. He had
cleared that bar in less time than it takes to write
about it, and when they heard that they had
tried to "touch" the great J.L. those who were
conscious insisted on treating us all.
After his fighting days were over he used to
travel with a circus, and one of his favourite
stunts was to pull against two cart horses en-
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 85
gaged from the neighbourhood where the circus
was showing. A great fellow was J .L. if ever
there was one.
I had already met Jim Corbett when I went
out to the States. It was at a special dinner given
in honour of two great boxers over here at the
Hotel Cecil, and I had been engaged to give a
show. This was in 1903, and Jim Corbett and
Jim Jefferies were both over here. There had
been a difference between the two men of some
long standing. Happily it was settled when they
met in this country, settled over a jolly little
banquet.
Thus it was that I met Corbett, who was one
of the most gentlemanly fellows one could meet.
Of course I had to give out his records, and those
of that other great fighter, Jim Jefferies, and the
latter simply gasped when I reeled off his vic-
tories over Joe Goddard, Peter Jackson, Peter
Everett, Tom Sharkey, and Bob Armstrong all
in one year----1898, giving the dates, the places
of the fights, the number of rounds they went,
with a few other details thrown in.
Corbett was a most unassuming man, very,
very quiet. He was a Francisco bank clerk before
he took to the ring, and was always immaculately
dressed. The second time I met him was when
I appeared at the New York Roof Garden
86 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
Theatre, whilst later on I was to meet him once
more in this country, when he came across to
appear in the play written around his gripping
personality, called "Gentleman Joe". They had
a real Derby winner on the stage in it.
Just as Paddy Ryan had fallen to the great
John L., and just as John L. had fallen to Jim
Corbett, so was the latter to fall to Bob Fitz-
simmons on the 17th March, 1897, just five years
after he had wrested the title of champion from
Sullivan. And there again lies one of those epic
stories which will go down in the history of prize
fights, as one of the most memorable that was
ever staged, with handsome Jim Corbett, the
idol of a million hearts, male and female, writh-
ing on the ground in an agony of despair and
pain until a merciful unconsciousness overtook
him. A year before he fought Sullivan, he had
been engaged in one of the most memorable
fights in history, when he drew with Peter Jack-
son at San Francisco, in May, 1891, after 6I
rounds of terrific fighting, and it was this which
gave him the right to challenge J.L. Then, fol-
lowing that fight, he had been challenged by
Charlie Mitchell, whom he knocked out in the
third round at Jacksonville, on the 25th January,
1924. In the meantime there was another fighter
who had appeared on the horizon.
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 87
This was none other than Bob Fitzsimmons
who, after a number of smaller fights, defeated
Jack Dempsey at New Orleans, on January 14th,
1891, after a fight lasting fifteen rounds. Then
in 1896 Bob beat Peter Maher in one round, and
it was after this that he decided to challenge
Corbett, the fight taking place at Carson City, on
March 17th, 1897, before some thousands of
people.
Bob was no stripling even then, for he was
thirty-four years of age, prematurely bald, with
thin, spindle-shanked legs, but tremendous shoul-
ders. Jim Corbett, on the other hand, was sleek
and handsome, the very embodiment of youth,
and as active as ever he was. He stepped into the
ring against Fitzsimmons a bare two stone
heavier in weight, but with that long reach which
had given him many an advantage over an adver-
sary. So that weight and reach were in his
favour. There was more than this, however, for
there was tradition. He had piled up victory on
victory which had given him a confidence which
was in itself a part of the battle to come. Yet he
did not make the mistake of under-estimating
the powers of Bob, and when the gong rang for
the first round he was wary in his approach,
dancing around on those nimble feet of his,
flashing in a blow here and a blow there, whilst
88 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
Bob was content to get about the ring, sizing up
his opponent and dodging the stabbing punches
which came his way.
Suddenly he leapt in, but Jim was out of the
way again, and then, in Bob s own words, as he
told it to me as we sat one night in Rector's after
I had given a show, "he swung a left against my
old bald pate, which made me rock where I
stood, but I was after him, and landed a couple
in that first round which would have put him
down but for his wonderful footwork. There
was never anyone like Jim for taking the ginger
out of an attack. It got very hot after that, and
although I managed to land now and again, Jim
was the faster, and slammed a nasty couple of
jabs in the stomach which didn't make me too
comfortable.
"I tried with my left for his jaw, and he coun-
tered with another stomach punch which made
me close with him, punching wildly, trying to
get back on him in the same place. The fight
was a ding-dong one so far as it went, but savage
all the time. We were both putting all we knew
into it, and we both got a lot of punishment,
although I admit I got the worst of it during
those early rounds.
"In the sixth round I was dazed with a wicked
uppercut following one of the prettiest mix ups
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 89
you ever saw, with both of us bashing away with
rights and lefts to head and body, and the crowd
were on their feet with excitement when Jim
caught me that wallop. He followed it up with
one after another, and the crowd thought that
it was all over and that their favourite had won.
I was down on one knee at one period, and there
stood Jim with legs arched ready to spring at me
the moment I rose, whilst the referee slowly
counted. Not slow enough for me, though, I can
tell you. The blood was streaming down my
face over my chest, and my second dashed in to
beg me to rise, but I was going to get all the
time I could, for that last rally had taken it out
of me.
"At last I sprang to my feet, and although I
was still dizzy I made at Jim, who stopped me
with jabs and uppercuts that would have para-
lysed a less strong man than myself, but I took
it all, and landed back one or two that caused
Jim to think a bit before coming back for more.
He began to box more carefully again, and
although I was nearly reeling with what I had
taken, I followed him round doggedly, getting
home a shattering half-arm poke now and again,
and waiting for that opening for which I had
been working all the time----the opening which
seemed as though it would never come. And
90 DATAS: THE MEMORY MAN
Jim still danced around me, with his irritating
grace and liveliness.
"I have always said that it was a smack on the
mouth in the eighth round that gave me the
victory. Jim landed it just after one of my own
missed him, landed it flush on the mouth, split-
ting my lip, and loosening a tooth. By this time
we were both bloodstained and battered a bit,
and if it had not been for his unerring quickness
of foot, he would have gone down long before
he did. I saw the signs of distress, and with that
smack on the lip I got renewed energy. The
rounds went on, and Jim was having by far the
worst of it. I whipped an uppercut which just
glanced his chin as it slid off, and I nearly fell
over with the force of my own blow.
"The spectators were in a fever of excitement
for they had never seen a fight like it. They told
me afterwards that I was grinning----grinning like
the very devil. I don't remember that. All I
could see was Jim Corbett, champion of the
world, and all I could feel was that swelling lip
of mine where he had got me in the eighth round.
I went after him some more, and in the four-
teenth round, I think it was, landed a poke that
you could have heard two blocks away, clean in
the solar. Jim grunted----his face got all twisted,
and I jumped in with an uppercut that sent his
PRESIDENTS AND PRIZEFIGHTERS 91
knees wobbling. He shot out a quick one with
his deadly left, but I was too quick, and as I
swung round him to dodge it, I got home with
a beauty to the neck. Still he came on with
hammering blows that shook me from head to
toe, yet did not hurt me. The crowd were
equally divided by this time, for the old man was
putting up a dandy fight, they thought. Anyway
there was another slamming match for a few
moments, and then----it came, that opening for
which I had played. I caught Jim with his guard
down for a fraction of a second. In that fraction
I jumped in with a terrific right to the body
which bent him double . . . he reeled and tried
to recover, but before he could do so I had fol-
lowed it up with a left that nigh went through
him. It was true to the solar, and poor Jim
crumpled up . . . in that moment I almost felt
sorry for him . . . he flopped on to his hands
and knees, tried to get up, groaning and snorting
with funny little breaths which could be heard
in the silence with which the crowd awaited the
finish. Once more he tried to rise, but . . . it
was the end, he lolloped over and lay there
whilst the ref. counted him out. I was cham-
pion."
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