£20,000 WRESTLING GATE 



the match, and was struck with him, just as some of us 

 can go into a paddock and pick out a horse who by 

 his appearance looks unbeatable. It was then that I 

 would not put a shilling on " Hack." In fact, twenty- 

 four hours before the event some self-constituted 

 authority, I think the referee, declared all bets off, but 

 by this time Jack Curley had sold over twenty thousand 

 pounds' worth of tickets. The match was to take 

 place in the open air at a baseball ground. Fancy 

 bets being declared off ! It was the most impudent 

 thing to imagine, but winners and losers took it like 

 lambs — although I wrote dead against it. 



There could not have been a better day for the 

 match, which began about three-thirty and was 

 finished in twenty minutes. " Hack " never made any 

 show at all, and from the very moment the men got to 

 grips it was any odds on one ; it could be plainly seen 

 in the face of Mrs Gotch, who Avas sitting near me. 

 " Hack " told me the next day that he had not w^ished 

 to go into the ring ; in fact, had offered a forfeit to go, 

 but they wouldn't let him. That's what he had to 

 tell me. Yet I shall always think Gotch a real good 

 man. Hackenschmidt went two days after. He has 

 made plenty of money to live on, so why should he 

 bother about it again ? 



After all the excitement it was a meaningless 

 business, and showed what an absurdity it was to 

 suppress other sports which had some real significance. 

 This all made Chicago a dull place during the day. 

 We had work to do, which relieved the monotony, and 

 in the evening there was little trouble to fill in every 

 hour. The theatres were good and comfortable, 

 nearly all the best shows from New York coming west. 

 Then there were also picture shows and perpetual 

 vaudeville (music hall) in the ten-cent show. Some 



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