Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863Miles, Henry Downes
History
Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863
Miles, Henry Downes
Boxing
thoroughly devoid of malice, and whose object was so entirely wrapped
up in the desire of fame; the one being influenced by a wish to wipe
out the prejudices excited most unjustly from a former defeat, and the
latter by anxiety to excel in a profession which from his boyhood was
the darling object of his ambition. With all his roughness, however,
Burke has given traits of an excellent disposition he has on more than
one occasion risked his own life to save the lives of others. He is
also strictly honest and sober, and altogether his character stands so
high that this alone has led to his obtaining backers.”
The inquest was held on Byrne on the Monday after the fight, before
Mr. Blagg. Some of the witnesses deposed that the men were often
carried to the scratch; and that towards the conclusion of the battle
they did not think they could have gone up alone.[18]
Mr. Kingston, a surgeon of St. Alban’s, who attended the deceased,
stated that he bled him, and applied leeches to his head; that there
was concussion of the brain, but that the deceased was occasionally
sensible. Witness attended him constantly until his death. On a _post
mortem_ examination he found a great deal of extravasated blood about
the left side of the head. The brain and dura mater were also
distended with blood. The heart, liver, and intestines were perfectly
healthy. Deceased was a fine, muscular man, and witness attributed his
death to the congested state of the brain, combined with prolonged and
violent exertions, and the mental suffering under defeat.
The Coroner: “Then deceased came by his death from the blows?”――Witness:
“In my opinion, had the deceased been the victor instead of the beaten
party there would have been a chance of his recovery. There was not
sufficient injury on the head to account for death.” The Coroner
attempted to find out the names of the time-keeper and referee, but
without avail, and at length summed up, and the jury returned a
verdict of “Manslaughter against Deaf Burke as principal in the first
degree, and Tom Spring, Jem Ward, Dick Curtis, and Tom Gaynor, and the
umpires and referee as principals in the second degree.” The coroner
then made out his warrant for the committal of the parties against
whom the verdict was returned.
The body of poor Simon was buried at St. Alban’s, on the Tuesday after
the inquest. He was 32 years of age. An appeal was made by the Editor
of _Bell’s Life in London_ for the poor fellow’s widow, which was
headed by himself with five guineas, and to this, the same week, the
Deaf’un, Spring, Ward, Gaynor, and Curtis each added a similar sum,
and in a very short time the sum of £262 was raised for the
unfortunate woman.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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