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Show JACK JOHNSON'S BiCSAPIiY London newspaper accounts show that the British public is vastly interested inter-ested In John Arthur Johnson, once a roustabout on tho Galveston docks, but now one of the highest paid persons per-sons In the world. British aristocracy h.iB always shown a sporting interest in pugilists and thc more fact that Jack's cuticle is black does not cause him any embarrassment over there, where numerous peerB have sons-in- law wbpoe faces show no trace of Caucasian blood, Whllo some of the coster mongers refer to him as tho "blooming nagur," they do it out of his hearing, and when he passes by his gorgeous raiment rai-ment never fnils to-brlng out their reverence rev-erence for everybody who can afford things they cannot. Cab drivers nud policemen have many wordv discussions discus-sions ovor the chances oi Bombardier Wells with the black champion All London is thoroughly aware that tho champion pugilist of tho world i8 there and that no one disputes his right to the title. While easy Hfe in London Is making mak-ing Jack Johnson much too stout for a prize fighter, it has not affected his earning capacity yet. Besides being a star in London music hall3, ho has turned author and contributed the T following autobiographical sketch to' London "Answers:" (By John Arthur Johnson.) yValter Lewis waa quite a useful amateur boxor In a rough-and-tumblo sort of way, nad as ho was very keen about the""mltt" business, he nnd I Ubed to put on tho gloves quite often In his big room nt tho "liack of tho shop. I must confess at onco, that the displays dis-plays wo gave "voro anything but scientific, but still they were at least of au earnest kind, though chiefly characterized by- tho biff, bang, slug sort of boxing Still, I soon found that I could both givo and take pun-Ishmont pun-Ishmont and thus ono day. after wo had been enjoying a more than usually usual-ly hurricane ten minutes Iewis suggested sug-gested to mo that I might do far worso than take up the boxing business busi-ness In earnest. "It'B this way. Jack," ho said. "You'vo got tho physlquo and frame of a fighter, and thus If only you will study the ganio soriouBh that Is to say. will learn the scientific sldo of loxlng you should go far and make a doal sight moro money than you will at your pnlntlng Job " This adlco sunk in, and after pon-dorlng pon-dorlng over my prospects pretty deeply deep-ly Vc always been a believer in tho look-bofore-you-leap policy I decided de-cided to return to Galveatoii onco more and see whethor I could find some sportsman In tho neighborhood who would jut up somo monev to back mo against somo of the host lo cal men So once more I found myself my-self at home, and right glad my people peo-ple wore to seo mo, and even now I remember with pride the affectlonato hug with which my mother greeted me when I told her I had como back to stop a whllo My first veal regulation contest was with that well-known fighter Joo Ohoynskl Of California, an uncommonly uncom-monly useful heavyweight, who, at ono time and another took on such fistic celebrities as Peter JnckBon, Jim Corbett and Joe Goddard, the lnst of whom ho defeated. When wo met, Just over ten years ago, Choyn-skl Choyn-skl weighed about 1S2 pounds, whllo I tipped the beam at about thc samo poundage The match took place at Galveston and proved a very hard-hitting affair which ended hi a draw, as tho police intorfored in the third round and so perforce per polico force, in fact we had to retire. My showing with Choyniskl mado the world renllzo that I at least possessed pos-sessed considerable promise. This Is how ono sporting writer explains ex-plains my rlso, and maybo lt'8 as sound an account as could bo given: 'Kid Carter's temper gave Jack Johnson his chance to becomo a world's champion. It does seem a bit strange that a little thing like that would give a man such a chance, but that's true as anything that was ovor said, and old Billy Jordan, the famous Frisco announcer, was the ' i.l.Vl HVIIUCVU 111 HID OUlli, "It all came about when Kid Cnrter, the famous Brooklyn middleweight, was training at Croll's Gardons, In Alameda, for his contest with George Gardner, which was to take place In San Francisco. Carter had a big colored col-ored fellow for a sparring partner, and all we know of him was that his nnmo, like most other tar babies, wna Johnson. Ho waa a big, good natured fellow, who told the funniest stories we ever heard and "waB always kidding kid-ding with somebody. "One afternoon. Just before tho contest, con-test, a bunch of nowspaper men, went over to Alameda to seo Carter work out, it, was the last boxing stunt ho would do before the battle, and scribes from several Frisco papers took the tr.p The Kid worked tho pulleys, and then called for Johnson and the g!oes. Of course he wanted to make a showing and started to pummel his sparring partner, as most boxers do. The best tho sparring partner cCr gets is "Thank you!' Carter tore after Johnson with tho big gloves and Johnson took what was coming for a minute or two and then hooked the Kid on tho stomach rather rath-er hard. It was galling of tho sparring spar-ring partner to hit tho boss hard, and Carter toro off an oath and started start-ed to clean up tho 'gym' with his dusky antagonist. "He was given tho surprise of his life, and we almost lell off our chairs, the change was so great. Instead of beating Johnson, It was Carter himself him-self who was beaten, and but for the Intervention of Blllv Jordan, there mignt not have been anything left of Carter except a few black eyes. He was lKjaten at every turn, unable to laud on the clover colored fellow, and the more ho missed tho madder he got. "They stopped the battle and endeavored en-deavored to mnltrt nnnru linlwnnn th. two but Johnson lost his Job, and next day every sporting writer in FriBco told of the marvelous colored follow they had seen trim Carter, and he was given such a boost that after Carior had been beaten bv Gardner ho wns given thd noxt chance. "Three days before his contest Johncon wa3 taken sick, and only on the day the battle camo out of the hospital Ho went Into the ring and made Gardner look like an old woman. wom-an. After that tho big- fellows . there would have nothing to do with him, and only the foolhardy, such as Jack Jeffries Jim's brother and Joe Kennedy, would givo him a chance. Both were carried out of the ring. Johnson worked bis way oast thou, trimming all that he met, until there was no one to meet except Tommy Tom-my Burns." There you have an Impartial account ac-count of my rise in tho boxing world, and I give It because It is only natural na-tural that in icLitlng one's experience, onosolf, ono should well, what shall I say'' well, perhaps bo kinder to oneself than ono ought to be. For that reason I prefer to let others tell of my struggles to win fame and fortune. |