1907-01-04 The Buffalo Enquirer (Buffalo, NY) (page 8)
"I will never forget a story on Jeff told during his first appearance in my training camp as a sparring partner," says Jim Corbett. "He was a green lad, who stood for a lot of fun and punishment. In fact, nothing feazed him and he was always ready for more.
"In the training camp of a fighter two things are more essential than all others. They are good food and fresh air. The latter can always be had, as a rule; but the former is sometimes hard to get, especially if the fighters' camp is in some out-of-the-way place.
"When I was preparing for the Fitzsimmons fight at Carson City I secured a chef myself to cook our steaks and there was no limit to them. The best that could be had was always on hand.
"Jeff's first day was marked by many incidents, but this one has never been told. After the hard day's work Jeff and the rest of us were all hungry and we sat down to one of the most delicious steak dinners I have ever had.
"Jeff was given a fine big cut and told to go ahead with it. He waited for all of us to get busy and then he started. I think it was Billy Delaney who asked for the tabasco sauce. Jeff watched him use it and then asked for it himself. He covered his steak with it and got busy.
Jeff, by the way, remarked that he had never seen catsup in so small a bottle before, but paid no further attention to it until he got the first bite of steak into his mouth. He was game for a few seconds and kept right on chewing. He noticed we were all watching and he was determined to pass it over if possible. We noticed, however, that he was weakening, and all at once Jeff turned around and spat on the floor.
The big fellow looked at the bite of meat for a minute and then said: "Burn, dam't, burn now."
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