THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

NZ Truth, Issue 441, 6 December 1913, Page 3

THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

REMINISCENCES AND RECORDS.

flßy "Boxer Major.")

Copyright: All Rights Reserved by the vAuthor.

(CHAPTER XX.)

In my last chapter I wrote. "Dooley and Molldy— oh, ye gods, for "such a pair of Pals at ;any ; pinch ! : " But the amiable jinotyper knew better, and it appeared "such a pair of Pats" ; and now 7 I'.do'n't" fcnoW whether to duck under when I meet an acquaintance who is Irish, or stand my ground and wait, for' the glad hand and a compliment. I said that the o'ecasion at Bondi when ho mopped tha bay floor with half a dozen marine firemen who were looking. for trouble—^and, found it — was the only time m his car^r that /Peter- '.' Jackson lost ,'Hls'/; selfcommand and cut loose. pu&. there was ono other such moment ;_ in.* his life when .he cut loose, and. it was not for want of self-control. It was m Foley'g White Horse bar that this second affair happened > Paddy Slavin had come over from Melbourne with a bunch of Victorian sports, wRo wero kidding themselves they had "discovered" Francis Patrick, pnd that he was a Melbourne product; and they Were liko .that.extraordinary Biblical natural history specimen, the singing mud-turtle; u£ that their voice was loud m the land. They permeated tho White Horse, waving big rolls and uttering hoarse challenges through "bottun-thefeeuld"-worn tJiroata for. Slavin to fight Jackson. They wero a .weird mob of that class of bookmaker which thinks it shows uprtosnuffishness . and dpn'A-care- i a-damn-; ness -to assume - a ferocious •-. glare when addressed, and .convey^vbadlyi veiled ■,<;.-■''. -■• . ■* *»■.■;• •• .».>„".' ■.;>■ THREAT OF STJDDBN DEATH;, and diaembowelment to even. tho f.man who asAs them "What price Pink Toes ?" to say nothing of the. malignancy of demeanor and brutishness of language towards tho cowering wretch who happens* to strike 'em for a wager. the kind gods, most of thnt gang are; dead, .and those who survive took the -knock years ago and have reached their truer-and m most cases .'originaJL-r level. >: -- " , This gang talked of £5000 aside stakos and flashed £500 deposits to bind the match, and « generally endeavored to make the Sydney backer of pugs .feel his insignificance. .But there was always the proviso that Jackson should go to Melbourne to fight "Slavin, of Mel-, bourne," and , even a , proposal to make it a hojaie-ajuid-home match (Slavin had been ' m Melbourno abfeut six Jtnbjiths and was \a; Mftit-' ldm} native and a Sj'dney resident) arid let them: meet "at Al bury, waa met /with witiiering scorn and blus?, terous abuse. Oh, intlod^i, they were such nice-anannered men ! , So nothing, came dl thft blither and bellow, and affairs arrived at' ■'a Btato of deadlock. ... It was when this impasse was reached, and there mutual sore-" ness and real or pretended scorn between the barrackers for each. .'man,, that ■ Peter Jackson and Paddy . Slavin met m Foley's bar... There were only a few. present, despite the thousands who', will tell you this whole truth about the ericcmnter, and add, "Damn it ! I ought to know. I was "there." Slavin was a hottempered, • . IMPULSIVE YOUNG FELLOW .... m those days, and the feud between him and" Jackson had smouldered long. Paddy wasa great-man; but the knowledge that the blaok/waa considered a greater, and ~tbnt /oven ho himself felt m his heart that rhc was s&cotid.ta.Potbr, rankled alwaya, .. , , . . • ,\ . ■...•. v

This bluff and counter-bluff over a match that would decide tho question as to which was the best man had irritated both principals, but especially Paddy, who was not blessed with Peter's placid, equable disposition, and they were pretty cranky and ready for an outbreak, when they thus came together. Slavin always' had been an outlaw, as regards Foley's autocratic rule; land Larry was nono too slow to sool his champion, Jackson, on in 1 a wordy war that waa started by Paddy's savage remarks about "backers" who were not game to back a cart, or words to that effect. It was a dramatic spectacle. The bar was only a narrow one, not one pf these great halls that contain the liquor counters and are, "therefore, called "bars nowadays; and a. bench along, the wall facing the bar and across" the' George-street end took from its si^e. At one end < stood Slavin, the perfect white athlete; six feet m his socks and with high cheek-bones; deep-sunk-, bluegrey eyes, slightly curling hair, thick over the forehead, and, a'Jieavy light brown moustache. In any company, Francis Patrick Slavin would have been notable and his profession "stuck out a yard 1 ' to the observant eye. He looked a pugilist anil a great, one, and he was ! Absolutely tho' best white heavy-weight of the period, was Paddy Slavin: wl\q, when he went to England and swept the board, the "genteel" — haw — "English reporters re-christened "Frank." They considered "Paddy" was TOO DEMNTTION VULGAH a title for so fine-looking a man. i For that Frank P. Slavin certainly i was, I Facing him stood Jackson, sable I of face and lowering of eye. Heady of tongue to reply m sibilant syllables to the ex-blacksmithi's fierce arguments, and accusations. By Jackson's side stood Foloy, the doininaI ting factor, and it was Larry's egging on .of Jackson that presently caused Slavin to forget that he was m the fistic gam© for money and j fame and riot for private brawling, and ho called Jackson an oppro-. brious name and made a whack at him. Instantly they were at it hammer and tongs. . But Slavin was m a white fury, while the towpr- ! ing negro was as cool as a polor- ! bear's overcoat, and inside ten seconds Slavin vraa under the end seat with a badly-split lip and an eye that filled while you looked. When .they got him up. and had - punched tho creases out of Paddy's belltop- • c per and brushed down his long frock j coat, he was led away like a. lamb;whilo Peto said; m his volvetty 'voice, full of deep regret, "I'm realj ly sorry he was so headstrong* and | more so that I hit him so hard." A tinge of. blood, among his lower teeth waa all the, sign of the assault '. — for such it wasr-rthat Jackson ; bore. Which goes to * show that ifc is wise to keep yojofr nut if you want to hit so as to do the most jgood. I always considered that it was the disaster of the White Horse bar that led Slaviu to go to l£ngland instead of following, Jackson to America; and soveral years passed after that rough-up before the mighty pair faced each othor m the, roped arena at tho National Sporting Club, London. I mentioned Slavin's silk hat and frock coat and theroby hnnga n . littlo reminiscence. When I first' { saw Paddy he used to dross m true "bold Colonial boy" fashion, Hi.s trousers lit ted hia beautifully-shaped ! and SPLENDIDLY-DEVJ3LOPED LKGS liko tho skin itself, and they "bell- i cd" ovor tho high-heeled boots iv a stylo we all used to asnuino and do- j light m, a fow years before that j period and which still survives m the interior of Australia. His vest j was cut low and he woro n.. broad, | turn-down collar and a flowing bow tie. Ilis short tall-coat fitted his splendid shoulders and clung to his ! enormous biceps liko tho paper on j tho wall. A saucy little hard hut was cocked jauntily over tho left oar, aud ho stepped tho streets with a challenging air that fairly shout- j ed, "I am Paddy Slavin; who the hell aru you ?" As there was no room for two r champions m Sydney, and Jackson "held tho iioor." Slavin hied him to Melbourne, and when ho camo back, as described above, ho was a Bondstreet beau, tailored to death, and wearing that alter abomination, a plug hat. It was the style at tho time iv Melbourne, and the "toils" who "took tho big bruiser up hud decreed that he must "look a gentleman." Strange to say, both Jackson and Hob FifcwUamions fell into tho same ridiculous rut when they went abroad. Peter no sooner walloped out George Godfrey, the colored ehompion of America, than ho accepted the gift from an admirer, who h*wl won over him, of a -£'-0 suit of clothes that took tho shape of im-rmyiße-ijkirtcd frock coat, long vest cut low, wide, light-colored pants, I and the whole surmounted with A GLEAMING, SILK BI3LLTOPPKH. He waa immediately photographed m tliis disguise, along with Hill Naughton nnd « hugo wreath of white (lowers inscribed. "!', .Jackson, the Champion" m violou, und sent several 18 x is "panels" to frlonds m Sydney. That which I received is *UIJ to my possession, and much prized. Bob Fitzsliiimon* was even more obscssc*! by the Plus hat mibjt, for, no sooner hod ho whipped BlUy MeCnrthy than ho borrowed a Hjtmlar rigout— though, m bi*» c»«e, the til« wok a queer chimney pot with a narrow rUn that bud not tho broadleaved Hhceny glory of PeU-r's iropressh**? lid— and uwny ho rushed to tho photcmropher, I fancy I posbosh the only copy of Uuvt photograph i» AuHiralirt. and I have ofU*n reproduced it— ln print. Kowadoyn the ch»mplon», arid especially the litilo men, po In for "the glass of I fnnhion" oct— -n»d prcnriouH funny «ome of them appear m It too.!— but J thoy don't go m for a shop-walker 'a

coat and a 'Churchwarden's stovepipe hat. l; •!' ■ But, to get liack to Jackson and his work. In a, previous chapter 1 told how Peter came . into the .game, and will now proceed to discuss his. record. He. liad tried out a number of men, brought up f to Foley's to "test his mettle," iielv ascertain if he was "game," orwhether he had what. the Yankees riqw call "a yellow streak, " whicli, iii turn, stands for a man who is a Avai'rior on the exterior, but a coward at bottom.: Pet^r answered tho. question satis- , factorily, and, after- he hivd stopped a few dozen of theso embryo John L. Sullivans, he was, matched '"with Jack Hayes m ISB3, but, owing to Jack's superior ring 4 knowledge and Peter's "greenness," the result was, a draw. Larry Foley- was satisfied ho could mako Jackson do better, and besides Imvinsr him thoroughly trained, he "fought" with him and taueht him tho way to administer "the real ointment": with,- the result that when he and Hayes mot again, Pet<r knocked his man out m seven rounds. Sam tfitton (not "Britten." as frequently printed) was his next opponent, and he, like Hayes, had a pretty good reputation, but Jackson stopped him m the seventh round. His next fijrht was with Mick (really "Nick," short for his given name, Nicholos, but corrupted by the "talent") Dooley, a man who was to becomo famous as one of the cleverest big men who ever lived. aiui;one of tho least fortunate m his profession. As thero is n story afceoched to tho Jackson-Doo-ley"n«rht, I will leavo it to another chapter. .

(To bo Continued.)