THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

NZ Truth, Issue 570, 20 May 1916, Page 11

THE AUSTRALIAN RING.

Reminiscences and Records. (BY "BOXER-MAJOR.") - — — — * ■ Copyright: All Rights Reserved by th» Author. 8008 II.— CHAPTER LXXXIII. I had a call last week from a friend of many years whom I had not seen much of latterly, and it waa a real pleasure to shake him. by the honest hand once more. My caller was Bill May, the worldfamous diver, the man who put u^ a record for deep-diving 1 , m salvage work, when he went down twenty-eight fathoms and recovered th«s boxes of sold coin that sank with the steamer Ohatterihun, what timo h<jr captain tried to take a short cut through tho Seal Rocks on his way to Brisbane. Tho feat was considered impossible till the underwriter consulted May, who boldly undertook the terrible risk and carried his perilous undertaking to a splendid success, arousing admiration aud; envy everywhere that sea-dogs foregather and insurance-sharks congregate. If I am not mistaken, Bill's record still stands unbroken, that is, for real salvage diving. Pearl-divers go deeper, but a pearl-diver has not to find his way about the innards of a hugo mailsteamer. m momentary danger of crashing down utx open hntcli. entailing the fouling or -even breaking ot his air > plpo and the awfulncss of death /by suffocation while panned helpless ia hia diving: suit. Neither has the pearl diver to gut his way through steel wall after steel wall to reach tho , object of his search. All he has to do, when below, is to gather as many oysters as he can m tha time-limit of his stay m the murky moisture, and signal to be hauled up» I am not bolittllng the splendid work ot the pearl-diver; I am merely showing by Comparison the strenuous nature of the salvage -.diver's toil, To go down such depths was, m Itself, a great feat* but to locate and burgle the Chatterthuri'B etfbhg-rootnj anQsentt up box after bos of sovereigns! woe an achievement that oftn best bo appreciated by men who have themaelvea used tools Under water. The fleep-aea diver earns his pay harder than any other worker m the world;- and 1 always feel inclined to tiike off my hat to Bill May. I first met tho sturdy fellow wh6u he \raed to train uhtt second boxers for fights at Jm-ry tfoley's White Horso Hall, ami his bluff inatflinesa appealed to mo immediately. jfaddy Gorman was, I think, tho first man ho trained and seconded here, And another was bravo JHtlo Jim Bttrge. It waa to BUI May, his second m those two famous fights at Koley's, with George Pawaon. that- Burgo mado that historic appeal. His left eyebrow was terribly split, nnd every time! -his corner staunched the blood nud plastered it up, Dawson would knock tho plaster off and Start tho rUrtdy stream agiUn* while the brow actually foil over the eye, Burgo wus Jmpationt of nil this patching: and moitdinflr, while tho flow of blood more than lmlfUtllnded him. and when Ins wtaritto hl« earner and May Miiu'toi)- tinkorinir with the wound again, Jim got n-al angry, and. ..turning to look up at hl,a secpnd, lie remnrk&u, "Aw, slick a pin iii it; phi tho blanky thjujj up!" ■, . I havo told this story before, but it will bear repeating,, n» illuafeillni the Into Ironburk Jim Burgo'a cnllbufittcns to pain. No wdn'dor betttr boxers usetl to break tholr bands on Jimmy's ijrinnlnsr dial and thick henOJ Xlorebver. t had not previously., mentioned May boing tlwveecoml to Burge on ihat metnomblo opt-asion. May himself took part In n cbupls* of Here* and {rory fights at Foioy'a; particularly pile with tho |at« Eddjo Walsli. Hill was a U?.ltlb'!e hitter and v dotnred, i tlotennincd fisrhtor, but he was a bit too slow m his movements to become a , champion. Ucfirardlnj? that spilt cyo" of Burge'ft, BUI reminded mc» tfuit, ut l.h«« close of the fight. >tr. Sytl Broomfiokl gavo him a lartre »Uk handkerchief with a brown border, to tie Jimmy's head- together till he could obtain medical alii. May pot a. cab and they drovo to the Sydney Hospital, wh<>n» .7 J rn p.'M /rrlntiln;,' and JokJnjr while t »><•«. doctor «UU:lu«ii tliat awful wotthQ. Thfii Bill drbVo h\a

charge away to his hcaie rr: Red fern. Burge talked merrily enough, hie indomitable courage sustaining him, but wn.cn they readied his owp door had to lift him ami carry him inside. His legs had completely "'gone," find he was unable to stand, let* alone walk. Bill told me that lie kept that handkerchief, and it lasted till Just about a year ago, when the material "perished." j I ani sorry to say that May has only just come out of hospital, having been laid up with a bad attack of pneumonia; but he Is making 1 very satisfactory reI cQvery. He has not done any diving since he went clown to the wreck of the Pericles, off the Leeuwin, and that ship -^something beginning With an "S," I forget her queer name — that was wrecked at Port Royal, South Australia, some year or more ago. He was engaged at a high figure to assist m refloating the Emden, but the scheme fell through when the Defence Department decided that the salvors should not bo permitted to exhibit the vessel beforo soiling tier to ttio Government And then the gales came along and j broke her up. . Looking through some old papers the other day, I dame across the brief report of one of sturdy Bill Jennlngs's fights at Sam Matthew's California Club. It appeared to me that it would be an Interesting item to republish, as it now only stages Bill (now a steadygoing and valued Water and Sewerage i Board road-buster), but has reference to other interesting personalities of the past, three of whom, at least, have long since joined tho great majority, namely, Stewart (killed m a Sight ut Sam Marthmvs's later on), Jim Quigloy, and Jack Melaney. Here is a brief account of an exciting occasion, the date being July 30, 1892: The best programme put on for many a day was that gone through at*-' the California Club last night, before a very large assemblage^ , Melaney and Stewart boxed four rattling good rounds, of whieh'"Scotty" had all the best. Jim Qulgley trjted hard .to got the knock on Peter Felix, the % giant negro, but the latter showed surprising skill, quite astonishing people. Jennings and Rogers then came out for their llnish light, and it is safe to say that never before; if we except tho Goddard-Choynskt trouble, has such a fiercely exciting and awfully punishing oontest been battled m Sydney. Jennings felled Rogers twice m the first' round with beautiful left swings on the point, ond he took his ton seconds on each occasion. In the second Rogers floored B»ll with a s;eal beauty from the right on vho Jaw. Coming up, he fought better than ever, and again sent Rogers down for ten seconds with a superb left and right on both, points. Both were 1101 V bleeding, and Jennings received a terrlflo right m a furious rally, which laid his left eye open badly, and completely closed It. H6 . was tho fresher qf two nearly done men at the end. In the third they fought all the, way, giving and receiving tremendous 'punishment. Rogers was almost done, but slrugfflod on gamely, and Jennings was not able to llnish him. Round four found Rogers fought down on tho ropes, and seeming finished, but he rose and ho knocked Jennings down m liirn. Bill, for tho first time, taking his ton seconds. Rogers swung- hlinsolt down trying a big right . h wing, and took seven seconds, and was fought down ] once more. Both were like .butchers In the shambles, and neither would quit, though Jennings was nlmost entirely blind und Rogers fearfully weak. Tho fifth they fought all tho way, 'and neither could make an end beforo, crimson all bver and with soggy gloves, they reeled to their corners. Before round six began the police Interfered, and the men cut the purse, a draw being daolarod. t <To l?e Continued.)