At Mare Island in San Francisco Bay, Old Smoke Morrissey fought and defeated the California state champion, George Thompson, in nineteen minutes for a purse of $4,000 and a side bet of $1,000. It was in San Francisco that Old Smoke also made his debut as a gambling impresario, running a popular dockside farro game from which he amassed a sizeable bank roll. One night, a local man named Jim Hughes claimed that he had been cheated. "I challenge you to a duel," Hughes said to Morrissey, "so that I may restore my lost honor." "So be it," replied Morrissey. "May I choose the weapons?" "Of course," said Hughes. The following night a crowd gathered in expectation of the agreed upon showdown, which never took place, for Jim Hughes fled in terror when Old Smoke Morrissey appeared on the field of honor with a pair of butcher's cleavers under his arms.
Filmed at the site of an explosion in King's Canyon National Park.
Video by JONSPOTZ
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