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Show pggBendigo's Famous Third Battle With CaimtaSsHl M K""""""" " " ' . ' coming a clergyman. , ,' IHS10 bv the New York Her-AH Her-AH fights reserved.) -nd hounds when Uio day Jrflnal settlement of the long Z the two lending lighters of the pugilists, their attend-Sowd attend-Sowd of ten thousand chasing mi across county linos to Hollands of constables who l,"aoi tho sport. Up stakes Lithe word until the harried hak ewer at Suttiold Green, Ktlirough Oxfordshire. Bed-liBucKs. Bed-liBucKs. and hero the twen-rlris twen-rlris was pitched upon the ifBrltlsh style. 'Interest attached to thin it, 8shle from the fact that tbn was at stake. Both r .Nottinghamshire Bendlgo LjBty town and Caunt from tire his parents had been I Byron In trying out muds for the prize ring, jndoncr knew of the e.-li e.-li men, they had been each other. Bendigo In 1S3S, when both word rising, they had fought cnty-llvo-round contest, the decision on a foul. Igo had held and relln-and relln-and Caunt had won It. their third meeting, on isoii. tho challonger, was of three children at a ting name of Rend Igo contraction from the which he llrst appeared Some Irreverent, person triplets, who were all ly, Shadrach, Meshaeh For want of a better young Thompson, as a cd himself "Abednego of 1 the word, transformed emy of general use. rc-Ihrough rc-Ihrough life, ish Bendigo. le clown of the profes-: profes-: Irrepressible tendency ; and hoivo play did not m lighting when there iced of It. In many a had shown himself a I a boxer of endurance, ctter and loss favorably Icklness and his method no by dropping" to hands iclal moments. For tho inot inck science or strength. a? huge, slow-wlltcd. beef-!ct beef-!ct of tremendous physical Jwas never remarkable for ic'of the Hue points, but who tils prominence through sheer ,pluck. The nimble Bcndigo nffectcd to make a butt of lilm a "clodhopper" to ills bed him unmercifully In the itwo, Caunt had the better ng, was far the stronger and !lois accomplished pugilist, teen 0110 of the llrst boxers tour of America at a. time ort was regarded as a kind novelty on this side, and tat the Bowery theater in don." AL this time ho was four years younger than t inlnutos past 3 the men en- K, having first thrown their lie arena. Caunt was ut-wiig ut-wiig Molyncux, an American em" Turner as seconds, with argo of the bottles. Ben-ported Ben-ported by "Nick" Ward and an as seconds, "Jem" Ward lurn as bottle holders. The hook hands before stripping or corners Caunt won and age of position on slightly t, with his back to the sun. e wlth the articles. Spring, Icing Caunt. produced the big '.championship belt. Bendl-tTon Bendl-tTon with some" bravado, to said, that It would lit him, It to "Jem" Ward for safc-t safc-t men then tied their cojors e, blue and white spot for ;aa elaborate orange affair irdcr for Caunt. bearing the PitIon Caunt ""! Bcndigo, for 2d0 ' &Ulie ch"nPoshlp of Knslnnu. Uth I September, 3S45. May the best man win." There- was much confusion at -the lat moment, caused by the failure of the boxers box-ers to eel together In the choice of a retiree. ret-iree. Fortunately, some one espied the famous Gorgo Osbaldlaton, known throughout England as "V Auld Squire," who had retreated to his carriage to escape es-cape tho crush. Ho llnally consented to SCm'e aml tho hattlc was declared on. l he men presented a remarkable pic- ture of manly and athletic grace as they advanced to the mark. Caunt was six feet two and a half inches in height and trained to a point he had never before equalled, having dropped from IMS to l'J5 pounds, his weight on the morning before be-fore the light. He was nothing but bono and sinew, a hard hitting, bruising lion of a man. with an arm like a swinging uuam ana num nice a windmill. Bendlgo, slenderly but compactly formed, was about live feet ten inches In height and weighed 1SU pounds. Ho dragged his lofr leg slightly, part or the after effects of an Injury received while skylarking which had once effectually shelved him. Save for this he wns a handsome, rugged iiguie. in nis attitude atti-tude Caunt showed little science, standing stand-ing erect, with feeL near together. Bendlgo Ben-dlgo kept his right foot well advanced and brought his fists up and close, with head back. They came together togeth-er smiling, Bendlgo opening the usual lire of jests with a humorous greeting and Caunt responding respond-ing easily, then, after aft-er touching hands, both snapped on guard. Bcndigo flew Instantly Into his tactics, all bounce and dash, hopping In tnd dancing out. feinting here, there and here again liko a shadow box- I Mm ("BENDIGQ") v Vfi cr. Caunt knew his man and waited for his chance, suddenly letting out with a humming left swing. Bendlgo ducked and grinned like an imp. tapping In lightly light-ly to the body willi left and right, getting get-ting out again, and acting altogether like a mischievous schoolboy. Caunt went after af-ter him doggedly and swung again, when Bendlgo. coming up under his guard, smacked him hard under the left eye. Caunt drove wildly and the challenger repeated re-peated the blow, opening an old scar on Ca unt's check and drawing first crimson. Bcndlgo's friends went wild at his cleverness clever-ness and Bendlgo. dancing away, laughed openly at hla adversary. Caunt closed furiously, mlsslnp with his left once more, and Rrapplod for a fall. Bendlfjo was no match for him at this and was forced down In a corner by the slant. Could Do No Damage. Tho pecond round was almost a repetition repe-tition of the llrst. save that DcmHo could do no damage- Caunt was apparently laboring- under hla delusion that Ju was lighting a man of hla own size, and his terrific, roclc crusher swings passed where Bcndigo could dodge them easily. Meanwhile Mean-while tho little follow -was boring In re-" pcalcdly to face and ribs, and at tin- end of the round parried right and loft drives that would have foiled an ox. Bendlgo exercised his usual Khlftness In slipping quickly to his lences when threatened by one of Caunt's bruising clinches. dlgo by main strength and fell heavily upon him. Led a Merry Dance. Bcndigo seemed to lmvo suffered no III effects at the opening of tho eleventh round. In fact, Caunt had barely touched him and his skin was still fresh, lie resumed hla Jigging tactics and led his huge antagonist a merry dance, Jumping Jump-ing In and uway with the speed of light. As usual, ho tormented Caunt Into lifting lift-ing his guard and swinging high, then swept In like a Hash, Jammed his left to the Jaw and his right to the ribs and rell out of barm's way, Caunt was furious and followed him. dropping on his knees beside him. Luckily the giant restrained his temper In time and Bendlgo Ben-dlgo mocked him while both were being bQ'o "way by their attendants. At this Into a corner and It looked serious for a moment. Bcndigo could not light out again and was hard put to It to dodge and parry the blows that sung about him. Finally he had recourse, as usual, to dropping, but the -evasion was patent and tho ring rang with Jeers nnd catcalls. The many expressions of disapproval drove Bendlgo out of his nippant attitude for a time and ho came more soberly Into the thirteenth round. For all his shlftlnoPH and fondness for plavlng the clown he 'bad a punch that "Jem" Belcher Bel-cher In his best days might have envied, and he was looking for a chance to use It now. Ho crept around Caunt warllv, talcing every chance ami parrvlng the swings and drives launched by tho other by straightforward parrying and warding. ward-ing. Caunt slammed a wicked one with his left that Just grazed the top of Ben- Caunt Saw Him Comtag'and Deliberately Sat Down. Instantly ':Lvv Bendigo's Friends .Claimed the Decision for Htm on a "Foul"' Caunt was very quiet and there was no trace of a smile upon his lips when he came up for the third round. Jio went after his man from the start with venom ven-om and resolution, smashing Bendlgo out of his hopping tricks with a right to the head and driving him. Bendlgo had all he could do to cover himself, and on the retreat was caught hi Caunt's powerful pow-erful arms. They wrestled a moment, whon Bendlgo. wriggling to release himself, him-self, brought both tottering to the ropes. Bcndigo fell across them on his back, and Caunt, still eager, threw him clear out of the ring, falling on top of him. Tho exertion of tho struggle had blown the big fellow and he was glad of his second's knee and the spraying of his bottle holders during the Interval. Ills huge cheat was laboring when he came lo the suratch and Bendlgo. with a grin, ilrcled him with Incredible swiftness, whirling, ducking, dodging. Jabbing; then suddenly slammed his left In under Caunt's guard with a telling hook to the ribs and onco more away. Tho giant followed him, eyes ablaze, and rushed for close quarters, smashing in with the left and catching the elusive Bendlgo a pretty rap on the mouth, though missing miss-ing with his right. Bendlgo tried to light out of the corner, but Caunt was seeking trouble and brushed his feints aside, whirling Into a mill. Bendlgo, as usual, reached Caunt's body to save himself, him-self, then slipped down on tho ropes, bringing tho round to an end and grinning grin-ning at his own excessive brilliance. Feel of a Solid Blow. Caunt again opened the action in the fifth round and seemed anxious to get the. feel of a solid blow, but Bendlgo would give him no chance and danced away from the tremendous right and left swings launched by the champion. Caunt tried to stop and draw Bendlgo In pursuit, pur-suit, looking for a swift come back, but the challenger was noL lo bo tempted and Caunt, furious again, lashed out. though unable to gauge fils man, Bendlgo Ben-dlgo found tho vicinity warm and drew off in order, Caunt pursuing llercely There was some prolty sparring, when Caunt let go right and left hard. Bendlgo. Ben-dlgo. still smiling, bobbed his head and the blows whistled harmlessly by. Caunt forced again, when Bendlgo, diving quickly to a hold, slipped onco more to his knees. Caunt was to tho front again at Ihe sixth round, pining and evidently distressed, dis-tressed, but waiting at the scratch for Bendigo with undiminished eagerness. II was tho belief of his friends that he had been trained too line and that. Ihe desperate des-perate and unavailing efforts of the early rounds hud sapped him greatly, 1 lo wont after Ihe jumping Jack Bendigo and chased him about tho ring, vainly seeking seek-ing to laud. Thrashing out with right and left ho grazed Bendigo's ear. when that skilful shifter promptly plumped down to the ground out of danger. On opening tin. seventh round Bendlgo seemed ready Lo try conclusions, having hav-ing craftilv played to tire his man, and thev milled It vigorously. Bendlgo smashed home his left on Caunt's head and the big fellow returned the compliment compli-ment with Interest, rocking Bendlgo. who found close quarters painful, Caunt drove again right and left, but allll loo high ami Bcndigo repealed his tricks by dropping. Bendigo's Skill. It had -been the champion's part to force the pace throughout, but lie sparred awav at opening tho eighth round and Bendigo, quito as unexpectedly, leaped into the fniv with a dash and abandon I peculiarly his own. Caunt stood upon the defensive, but was much too deliberate delib-erate In his movements, and Bendigo, sklllfullv working up lo his advantage, llnallv slipped through tho other's guard with a remarkable display of science and ripped his left to the big fellow's cheek. Tho crowd clu-ered and cheered again. Caunt, unable to get In a smash, closed with violence and rushed his man lo tho ropes. He was unprepared for the sudden sud-den ehf.ek and. borne forward by his own Impetus, missed balance) and turned a cartwheel over tho ropes- falling on his head. The cheers for Caunt were derisive, de-risive, as well ihey might be. Bendlgo waded into the ninth round rlefullv, footing a kind of Improvised hornpipe about tho champion and parrying parry-ing tho other's determined swings with eus". Apparently bo van care ess. but at an opening he spin ng upon the oflen-slvc. oflen-slvc. jolted through lo the ribs and got In another slashing cut to Caunt s face. When Caunt tried lo retaliate Bcndigo was not there, the sprightly boxer haying hay-ing taken the opportunity to drop to his knees. It was the Jumping Jack again in the tenth round. Bendlgo giving hla man no chance, but hammering all over C'mnt with 1 sly tuns and feints, foellng for "ndvuntiRo. AiUln. when his tin.o came ho whirled In and peppered Ui champion's face, which was now chopped to ribbons. But he was a trifle too euro and Caunt caught hjm fn rly In his maa-arms maa-arms Tin- gl't waited for just such an opportunity and lllllo Ben-rilco Ben-rilco v.ni a puppet In his arms. He huggfd llko a C'ornlsMnan, threw Ben- t stage of the light both adopted the customary cus-tomary course of refraining from tho leust unnecessary exertion after falls, allowing al-lowing seconds and bottle holders to lift them bodily into their corners. The twelfth round opened with a charge by Caunt, who looked and acted the goaded bull. No drove at Bendigo, swung at him, slammed and volleyed and milled, all to no purpose, for Ihe nimble boxer would not stand to him and was as hard to ilnd as a flying Insect. Finally Final-ly Caunt. In desperation, drove his man digo's head wlwn ho bobbed. Bendlgo stood up to it fairly and Jolted heavily to the ribs. Caunt got back at him with right and left body drives, but tho little chap brolfe their force. Bcndigo was plainly after trouble and offered himself frcclv, watching watch-ing for the opening. It came when Caunt whirled up his arms for another attack. Suddenly Bcndigo circled In, drew off his left and smashed Caunt flush upon the right cheek a- blow with every ounco of his tcrritlc lighting power behind It. The tremendous Impact lifted Caunt clear of the turf and sent him down full length. So great was Bcndigo'!; effort that the recoil of bis own blow threw him back upon Die stakes. Caunt was almost senseless when borno to his corner. Nodding Over His Prowess. Rondlgo was Ihe mountebank again when ho pranced Into the fourteenth round, grinning and nodding over his prowess. lie evaded Caunt's rush and slammed in with Ills left, but was slow and the champion caught him. They struggled or. the ropes, when Caunt wrenched his man forward, threw him and fell upon him. The champion had recovered at tho fifteenth round and tried to answer Bendigo's continual mockery with some witticisms of his own. They .mixed it prettily. Caunt missing left and right drives. Caunt then closed and was wrestling when Bendigo slipped cleverly from lifs grasp, reached an arm around his neck, hung at the back and pulled the giant to the ground. In the sixteenth round Bendlgo missed a blow and slipped through a clinch to his knees. Having tasted tho success of ills dangerous dan-gerous left swing. Bendlgo sought further use for it. Ho crept in catwlse, leaping from side to side to avoid Caunt's powerful pow-erful drives, and finding his distance snapped through with a smash 'to the mouth lhal split the champion's upper Hp. Caunt staggered and went down amid applause ap-plause for the little lighter. Tho next four rounds were terminated In short order by Bendigo's shiftiness. Caunt. hammered and distressed, but still hungry for lighting, could not pin tho othor once. The agllo "Bendy" wriggled away from him, stung him nbout the faco and dropped when tho glont threatened mischief. In the twenty-second round Caunt, cxasperalcd by his Inability to got at the artful dodser, tried to coax his man within range, but Bendlgo would have none of It and Caunt rushed him, pounding pound-ing right and loft. Bendlgo dodged and slipped down when lightly touched. In the next session the challenger again waltzed around .10 big fellow, suddenly lashing one to Caunt's damaged mouth. The champion had his chance here and slammed one to the head that served as a hint lo the cautious Bendlgo lo make a drop of It. ack came the irrepressible Bendlgo ror more foot work in tho twenty-fourth round, but he was very nearly too clever. He Hung In a reaping hook to. the ribs that chocked Cnunt and promptly sat down without waiting for a return blow. This was too obvious and clearly In contravention con-travention of the London prize ring rules. Cries of "Foul!" were raised in behalf of Caunt. but the referee, after some hesitation, hesi-tation, pronounced "Fair." and timo was called amid tumultuous uproar and much disorder. , . , , At this point "Nick" "Ward, exhausted by his untiring efforts In lifting and treating treat-ing Bendlgo. was overcome and had to bo taken out of the ring. Ills place was taken ta-ken by "Nobby" Clark. Count rushed the next session with left and right. Bendigo Ben-digo stood up to him for some wild exchanges, ex-changes, thou slipped with his usual cunning cun-ning and fell. Cleverly Tripped. The challenger wen' upon the offensive In the twentv-slxlii round and whirled ids left once more to Caunt's mouth. Ihe champion pursued him determinedly and drove him Into a corner with swings that stopped when ho hit one of the stakes. They closed and wrestled, Bendlgo tripping trip-ping cleverly and falling on his man. Caunt was growing more cautious, having lost strength nnd suffering from a pufre. right hand. Me awaited Bendigo in the next session and tho challenger, working through a clever rnlly. planted his left to the face and dropped as usual. 1 he champion sought rovengo in the twenty-eighth twenty-eighth round and lashed out, driving Bendlgo Ben-dlgo to the ropes, where ho closed with him- They struggled, hnngliig on tho lower rope and Bendlgo hitting up at his man. until released by the seconds. The following session saw some wild lighting mill! Cnunt. taking a loaf out of "Gen-dv's" "Gen-dv's" book, slipped to bis kneos. in tho thirtieth round they mixed It with equal good will, taking body Jolts and taps to tho hood. Caunt got home a good lefthander, left-hander, slamming Bondlgo over tho right oye and cutting him severely. Bendlgo countered lo the nose and fell, lie was In need of patching In tho Interval. Tho next two rounds were brief. Bendigo's Ben-digo's hitting and dropping methods bringing bring-ing repeated protests from Caunt's backer. back-er. At tho thirty-third round Caunt. rushing In angrily, caught his man and hurled lilm over tho ropes, falling on hltn. It was tho nimble dancing pugilist to the fore again during four moro rounds, but In tho thlrty-clghth Caunt was himself again for a moment. He forced Bcndigo Into a corner, where the sly one had no excuse for slipping, and pounded him over the head with hard swings Bcndigo found the interview oxpariHi,e and closed, when Caunt with a sudden exertion of strength plucked him on IiIk feet ami tossed him over th ropes, falling himself on the Inside. Another futllo session was followed by Bendigo's usual left to the face, right to the ribs and drop. In the forty-flrst round Bendlgo again peppered Caunt's mouth, but retreated before the big fellow's rush. Caunt caught him at the ropes, thiew him nnd fell upon him. A short, shifty session followed fol-lowed and la the next Bondlgo by scientific scien-tific maneuvering got through a neat lunge to the throat and .went down to escape a receipt. Bespito From Hard Smashes. Tho champion had had some respite from Bendigo's hard face smashes and seemed quite Xrcsh when ho came up for the forty-fourth round. Ho forced tho lighting vigorously and Bendlgo after tal:-Ing tal:-Ing a blow to cover himself dropped. 1 Hencauot Caunt. Indignant at being foiled whenever when-ever about to seize an advantage, leaped after him, but unfortunately un-fortunately foil on his kneo beyond lilm, The move was taken to mean tho Intention Inten-tion of foul tactics ind brought loud llsapproval. Bcndigo aad recourse again lo lils Hop o' My rhumb methods and -.ripped his fancy steps Into tho forty-fifth forty-fifth round, seeking a way for his left wallop. Caunt, enraged, en-raged, Hung the crook of an arm around his neck and swung him around twice clear of the ground. Bondlgo 1 twisted and caught a lock with his laft leg. when Caunt threw his weight upon him and brought him dpwn underneath. The big fellow won tho fall In the next session. Caunt was stronger and waded Into the forty-seventh round with renewed resolution, reso-lution, lie was dangerous, and Bendlgo broke ground. The champion followed and they milled, taking and giving short-arm short-arm Jolts and slashes. With bettor aim than he hsul yet displayed. Caunt whipped through a powerful blow to the forehead. Bendlgo gave way. milling desperately des-perately on the retreat and footing It swiftly. As Caunt rushed In Bendlgo smashed a pretty one to his usual target, tar-get, tho faco. and slipping through Caunt's grasping hands fell and grinned derisively at his baflled adversary. The next ten rounds woro fought by Bcndigo with variations on his Morry Andrew oud llghlfoot tactics hit and drop. The practice wns perfectly per-missable per-missable so long as ho received a blow before falling, but the old-timers sighed for the days of Spring and tho knee to knee millers who know how to give and take with science. Caunt stood .the or-dcal or-dcal well nnd Bendlgo was growing weaker under his repeated falls and thi broiling sun. At the fifty-eighth round Bcndigo was ( nil over his man, dealt him a stinger to , ' the noso and dropped. In the next, Caunt went after lilm hard, right and left, and . Bcndigo slipped on the ropes. Caunt, . IH considering the other down, was walking i for his corner when Bcndigo pursued him, j bit him and they wrestled until both I were down. Tho following round was a I lilt to the mouth and a fall for Bendlgo. IH Ono hour nnd twenty-four minutes had I now pusscd, but the men were solid on 1 H their feet and fresh, though Caunt's fact was a pulp. Up to the seventy-fourth i round there was no change. Bendlgo ' evading punishment wherever possible and contenting himself with worrying Caunt's head'. Tho champion came up strong for thi IH soventy-fourth round and 'charged, mill-ing mill-ing llercely. Bcndigo was forced to the corner and took right and left to tho jaw. Suddenly taking the offensive ho repeal- jH cd Ills earlier tcrrlHc left swing to thi face. Caunt tottered, but saved himself and was coming back when the chullen- B gcr fell. Both men were wild and Iticf-foctlve Iticf-foctlve for the next eight Tounds and IH time was slightly regarded in cither cor-nor, cor-nor, the seconds working over their & charges long after the half minute. Strain Began to Tell. By the eighty-third round the strain had begun to tell upon Bendlgo. He was IH no longer so ready to play Pierrot and when Caunt lumbered up. flailing upon H his guard, he gave. Tho champion ad-vanccd ad-vanccd Incautiously nnd Bendlgo, ever IH alert for Just a chance, shot through a IH nasty uppcrcut to the Jnw. Caunt camo 1 back with surprising strength, walloped jH his man with a flush drive to tho mouth, caught him before he could get down IH and fell upon him. The challenger wa.t greatly shaken by this fall and had lose his smflo when ho hit and slipped through the next session. The referee was forced to warn both men about "time" for tho three next Intervals and both wcro weak H In the exebnnges. At the eighty-eighth ll round two hours had elapsed. Bendlgo dragged himself Into tin eighty-eighth round slowly, but Caunt seemed lo be fresher. The champion was. IH all for coming to close quarters, whero his erratic aim might And tho target, but Bcndigo. lighting hard, kept him at n distance and proved ho was still 1 tM keen-eyed for openings by slipping over two smashes -with his left to tho battered jH face of his adversary beforo going down. In tho next session he again worked past Caunt's guard and 'got homo with a hay-maker hay-maker to the ribs thnt looked like a knockout. The champion, rendered cuu-tlous. cuu-tlous. came to a close Immediately In ll the ninetieth round and threw his man. The following session was an inglorious 'H scramble, during which the disorder about Ihe ring greatly increased. In tho jH ninety-second round Bendlgo In falling VM hit Caunt below the belt, but the blow was IH held to be unlnlontloual. Both lighters came to the center Jaim-tily Jaim-tily for the ninety-third round, which jl was to provo the last. and. incidentally. VM to turn loose a controversy never quit') decided. Caunt set the pace and pitched In right and left, forcing Bcndigo to tho rope's, where h! hung. He scrambled up, . when Caunt hit him down again. Tho champion now repeated a mistake which he had made earlier In the fight, belle-Ing belle-Ing that Bendlgo was down for good and the round therefore at an end. Ho turned his back and walked for his corner. Ben-digo Ben-digo got up nnd rushed in pursuit. Caunt saw him coming and deliberately sat down. Instantly Bendigo's friends IB claimed tho decision for him on a "foul," vM declaring that Caunt had fallen beforo being struck. The referee decided that such was the case and rendered tho do-clslon. do-clslon. carrying title, stakes and bell, lo Bcndigo. .So ended the only famous battle of a period which added little to tho reputa-tlon reputa-tlon of the sport. The decision was hoi-ly hoi-ly attacked. It was said that Bendlgo, had no right to riso again and that Caunt sat down to escape being surprised or laken at disadvantage until "time" wasi H called again. It was openly charged that the refcrco had been Intimidated by tho fM cudgel bands about the ring. No precise settlement of the question was ever reached, but the decision stood, reflecting no particular credit upon either contes-taut. contes-taut. Caunt was undoubtedly the stron-, gcr at the end. but his utter inability tot land a decisive blow left the ultimate. result of a llnlsli flght a question. Caunt retired from the ring after this) official defeat, returning once years after-ward after-ward to decide a family iuarrcl Bendi-go Bendi-go enjoyed the honor for live years audi retired. The Incorrigible Jokestcr woundl up his erratic career by a solemn refer-' mallon and turned dissenting clergyman. jH dylnir in the odor 'of sanctity at the aga1 of CS years. |