BOXING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 994, 25 March 1909, Page 12

BOXING.

JACK JOHNSON. “ Tad,” the “ New York Evening Journal’s ” caricaturist, opened up a story of Jack Johnson’s life, told by himself, as follows: — (By LIL’ ARTHA JOHNSON.) CHAPTER I. I was the original tar baby. All others are imitations. I was born in Galveston, Texas, a long time before Bryan began to run for President. I was never a mussy boy. My sister used to fight all my battles. She would mingle with anyone at the drop of tihe hat, and never run second. She beat everyone in Texas, and one day started for me. I left home. I joined “ x.,e Uncle Tom’s Cabin” show, and played the part of a bloodhound for three years. I was a good bloodhound, too. The El Paso “ Gazette,” in speaking of the show, said that the bloodhounds were all right, but they had poor supportI was raised from the part of the bloodhound to that of the child which Eliza carries over the frozen water.

After playing the stage for a while I met all-comers in pie-eating contests, and always held my own. I was very thin when a child, and often had to stand twice in the same place in order to make a shadow. For a while I was hard up and out of work, but finally succeeded in getting a job down at the gasworks going through the pipes.