ner, and I jumped in between and told them I
did all the fighting for both; and at it we went, and the result
was I did him up; for I always kept myself in good condition by
using dumb-bells and taking other exercise. When I was twenty-five
years old, I did not think there was a man in the world that could
whip me in a bar-room or on the street.

After I got away with this gambler, they made up their minds that
they would get a man who would make me squeal. We continued working
the boats and making plenty of money, and every time we got out in
the city both of us would lose a big sum of money; and then perhaps
I would have to fight, for they were looking for a man to start a
fuss with me. One night we had been down to the lake and had a
big supper, and we drove up opposite the St. Charles Hotel and went
in. There were about twenty-five gamblers standing in a saloon
called the Jewel. I saw at a glance they were drinking and full;
I also saw two of my men that I had whipped previously. Well, I
could not show the white feather, so I called for a basket of wine
and invited all to join me, when one of the party stepped out into
the middle of the room, took off his coat, and said: "I can whip
any man in the room." I looked around, and saw it was a job to
either kill or whip me. I saw at a glance I had only one friend
in the house; that was Captain Smoker, of the Vicksburg Packet
Company. I knew he could be of no service to me. The door was
locked. I turned to the challenger and said: "I know who you mean
this for," and I untied my cravat. I had a single stone on my
shirt that cost me $2,600. I took off my coat and vest, and handed
them all to the barkeeper. The enemy was a powerfully built man,
six feet and one inch high, and weighed thirty-five pounds more
than myself; at that time I weighed 195 pounds. Well, to tell you
the truth, it was a pretty hard fight; but I got one good lick at
him with my head, and that won the battle for me. It took all the
fight out of him. He said, "That will do." The doors were thrown
open, and in less than a minute there were 1,000 people in there.

We were both arrested and taken to the station-house, or calaboose,
where we gave bail, Captain Smoker going on my bond. While they
were signing our bonds, my opponent made some remark that I did
not like, and I hit him a good crack in the neck and brought him
down on his knees, but they parted us; and the next day, when we
a