A WINTER WITH THE LUMBERERS 187 



Great preparations were made : a ring roped off in the 

 regular order, and the freshly fallen snow trod down hard 

 and levelled ; and plenty of whisky and water, and more 

 without water, got ready for the refreshment of the com- 

 batants and spectators ; and about noon the two men 

 entered the ring, stripped to their waists, in the orthodox 

 way. M'Cullough at once made a rush at Finnock, clearly 

 hoping to bear him down and finish the fight off-hand ; 

 but the latter skilfully gave ground, and held himself 

 with an easy defence that showed he was no novice, and 

 surprised as much as it delighted me. Jeamy, seeing it 

 necessary to mind his p's and q's, altered his tactics, and 

 went to work more cautiously. There was considerable 

 sparring between the men ; but at length Jeamy got in 

 with a nasty blow on the chest that knocked my man flat, 

 and for a moment I feared that he was done for. How- 

 ever, I got him on his pins to time, and whispered him to 

 fight for time to recover his breath. The next round was 

 a short one. Jeamy again got in on Finnock's left peeper 

 (eye) and closed it, the blow being again a knock-down 

 one. Matters began to look very bad for the boss, but 

 the third round changed the aspect somewhat. Finnock 

 struck his opponent a heavy blow on the chin. I heard 

 Jeamy's teeth snap sharply, and blood ran from his mouth, 

 showing that he was badly cut. Some of the surround- 

 ing rascals laughed, and Johnny Chinaman clapped his 

 hands and yelled with delight : " Goee, goee, Master 

 Finny ! Dat's him ; goee, goee ! " 



The next round was a long, roundabout one, both men 

 fighting cautiously, and evidently afraid of punishment. 

 Ultimately they closed, and Jeamy threw his opponent 

 over the ropes, but was himself dragged over among the 

 spectators. Neither man was much hurt in this round. 

 In the next, James went down to avoid chastisement. 

 The blow on his chin had evidently upset him. He 

 continually mouthed and twisted his lips about ; and I 

 hinted to my man that if he could land him another in 



