THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

NZ Truth, Issue 444, 20 December 1913, Page 6

THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

REMINISCENCES AND RECORDS.

1 (By "Boxer Major.")

Copyright : AH Rights Reserved by th« Author.

(CHAPTER XXE.)

Jackson's first really notable battle ended m disaster. Bill Farnan,, a Melbourne blacksmith, had been cleaning up everything over . that way and his friends sought a match elsewhere. He was no doubt a very good man of his kind, the one-punch kind; having a wallop to the body that nothing on two legs? could withstand if he got it fairly on. Bill weighed about fourteen stone, and was a rugged, honest fellow, and I very popular- m Melbourne. As there was nothing for him m his home city, ' Farnan' s friends ! matched him against Peter Jackson. They fought, m a little hall m the | Hayinarket, long since obliterated, \ and that was when Foley got the idea fixed m his head that Peter I "didn't like it." Acting on the time-honored belief that ! COLORED MEN ARE EXTRA SENSITIVE to body punishment — which is a myth, the offspring of ignorance,! and probably started by some lowbrow white who hadn't brains enough to think coherently; for did anyone ever see a white man who was fond of body punishment or who wouldn't wilt under a heavy punch on the mark ?— Farnan fought for Peter's mid-section, and as the youngster of twenty-four had not then developed the wonderful defence for that portion of his anatomy that ho became famous for later on, he landed that right-hander again and again; until fairly battered down and with the wind knocked out of him, Peter sank to the floor m the third round and could not rise. People who didn't like his color and others who wanted to appear wise, talked about "cockt^Jl and said he quit; but, as a matter of fact, I have it on good authority, that he was fairly knocked out and that the blow that sent him to writhe on the floor m the third round would have dropped and outed any white that ever shaped m a ring. Jackson's backers were not satisfied, and the pair were matched to fight again, this time m Melbourne. The stories of those who were present vary greatly as to which man had the better of it *hen. tUn sixth round, a disturbance arose among the spectators and tho POLICE STOPPED THE FIGHT. Some say that Jackson was getting it again and was practically beaten; others that he had got the measure of Farnan and was cutting him up nice and easy when the police interfered. Anyhow, it was called a draw, and backers and bettors drew down their money. After this little more was heard ql Peter Jackson till ho was matched to meet Tom Lees, a Melbourne xnan who had been dubbed champion of Australia by the Melbourne • 'Sportsman, "on the strength of his having beaten one Atkinson, who had beaten Farnan, and was the big noiso m the .Southern State about that time. This Lees was, until a couple or three yearn ago, keeping a publichouse m Auckland, after travelling many lands m many guises. The pair met at Foley's white i Horse Hotel Hall, on September 25, i ISSO, before a very large crowd, half the sports m Melbourne havinjr como ; over to see their man "wallop the nigger." Lees was a tall, wellshaped man, scaling about thirteen stone, and standing. six feet high. He was long m the reach, and undoubtedly clever; but if ever a UU\n ''didn't iiko it," thct man \vi»s Tom Lees. He was great when he had I the other fellow going; but when he found that the other, fellow was hurting' him, and likely to damage I him more, .he wouldn't fight for cither love or hate, fame or money. ; It was so m this case. The man who had gibed and jeered at poor Atkinson the moment he found he bad him safe, was himself m trouble very early m this fight with Jackson. The nogro had been perfecting his. -skill .ever since his briof battles with Farnan, and he was now AN ARTIST IN DEFENCE, and had made a study of utilising his long reach to the utmost. His guard for the body wos perfect, and be had practised Lorry Foley's m Uraw of the body— lenrnt originally from Jem Mace?— from a load thereat by the foe, till it was practically impossible to hurt him there. Even if tho blow got post tho covering forearm, or the. drooping elbow, it wns taken on tho muscles of tlm belly, just as a fusl-travoUing cricket ball is taken harmlessly hi the /swiftly-Indrawn hands of tho oxpert lioldsman. Tho fist or glovo found no resistance, for the target "gave" the instant it wns touched, and the blow could do no possible damage. I have (Seen Foley, when still spry and well m tho game, practise this trick, nnd have watched him teaching it. I have whacked away at hi» belly myself, and found the uselessness of trying to Inml solidly there, ovon whan ho stood Jinn on both feet. The retired champion had the game down fine; but PoU>r .lackson, his pupil, outvied even him m his inbond act to nullify body punishment. I have watched really clever and famouH boxers trying to hit Peter m the bolly, and 1 never Haw I one of them succeed to any effect. And almost invariably, o» i'elor Indrew the body, he shot out the left, stiffening it as ho straightened! the elbow, ii nU it didn't miss the. Incoming face once m a hundred j times, though the blow didn't travel; more tbnn 3l:< or oijrhl Inches from i its position m the man's usual box- \ in»f jKM<e, described already. Everybody tried TO "»KAT THE NIUGMR by body punishment"; it was an J obsession, und is yet for Umt mitt- 1 tor; aod everybody had tho earne ex- J pcrlence as PuUsy CnnlM and Sailor | llrovn, two of his American vie- i tlms. who both declared thut they ; thought tho Crowd was throwing | loadwl gloves at them, whim .inck-l von started to jnb nnd wallop tHom. j To fiecure hinutelf from any w»t?t- ! during punch lhat might. \n>nl hln guard, and nUio to stultify hlmnffif nnd hl« friend* Umt. Ur \vn*n't really ; afraid of. or nny more otn^nabin to. j body blows than any white boxer,

Peter used to get two no less formidable hitters and good boxers than Steve O'Donnell and Tom Taylor to batter away their best at his belly, while he stood inoffensivej and both, those real white men and dangerous fighters told me that they did batter, too, hit their hardest j and kept on slamming for a minute at a time, without being able to so much as make Peter flinch or ask for a cessation, J.YOU COULDN'T HAVE HURT HIM m the body ( witbj a sledge-hammer, m those" days, 'Major,'" was Tom Taylor's remark to me when we talked Jackson during the time the | big black was convincing the AmeriI cans. It came natural' to Tom to | cite sledge hammers, seeing that he is a blacksmith. Lees tried both fierce attack and rank bluff, m the first few rounds of ■the fight; and evory time he sprang m to land a wallop he dashed his face against Peter's rigid left, while the right played on his body and jaw like summer lightning cm a cloud. Tom taunted Poter about his color and threw slanders on his legitimacy. He tried every bluff his refined nature suggested; and to all Peter remained imperturbable. Ho had come thsre to fight for the championship of Australia, and ho wasn't going to let a little "bad language or abuse/" to quote W. S. Gilbert, interfere with his plans. Yet he showed that he heard and resented the cursings and revil ings by the manner he set about Leea at every slightest opportunity. After tho first five rounds, Lees made up his mind that he could not hit Jackson, and felt all too certain that Peter hurt' him every time he landed with either hand. So the Melbourne man started to run, and offer not a semblance of battle or defence. He kept this up for '25 rounds, while, the crowd hooted and yawned and jeered, and gradually thinned out. Jackson was pretty smart on his pins, and at that time could run a hundred yards jn. eleven seconds; but he couldn't catch Leea! Along about tho twenty-fifth round ! Dan McCauley, one of- the greatest j enthusiasts on boxing that even t ring-loving Sydney ever bred, got | full up of the farce, and was making | his way out of tho placo through the billiard room, '. i WHEN HE WAS BAILED UP • jby another enthusiast who hadn't ! the price of admission, and hung i about hungrily seeking bulletins from the more "lucky." " 'Ow's it goin', Mister McCau-' ley ?*'■ asked the impecunious enthusiast. "OO's .winnin* ?" And tho famous kidder and irrepressible joker replied: "Who's winning ? Well, I don't know who's winning. But Lees is thirty laps ahead." That was a grimly sententious tray of putting the situation, and it got so bad that when, after the thirtieth abbrtive round, Loes' seconds wore naked if • their man had come thereto light, or had he mistaken the match for a twolve-hours' go-as-you-please, they threw m tho towel m disgust, and Lees hud aavod his hide at the expense of his "bubble j reputation." He never got another i flight m Australia, and tho fame- 'of that wretched performance followed him round the world.

(To bo Continued.)