_To the Editor._
Sir,--The ready insertion given to my letter on the above subject, in
the second volume of the _Every-Day Book_, (p. 1009,) encourages me to
hope that you will as readily insert the present, which enters more
fully into the merits of this ancient sport, as practised in both
counties, than any other communication you have as yet lain before your
numerous readers.
Having been the first person to call your attention to the merits of
Polkinhorne, Parkins, and Warren, of Cornwall, (to which I could easily
have added the names of some dozen or two more, equally deserving of
notice,) I was much amused at the article you extracted from the London
Magazine, (into the _Every-Day Book_, vol. ii. p. 1337,) because I was
present at the sport there spoken of; and being well acquainted with the
play, and an eye-witness, I found the picture much too highly coloured.
I am neither a Cornwall nor a Devon man myself, but have resided in both
counties for the last ten years, and am really an admirer of Abraham
Cann, of Devon, whose behaviour in the ring no one can at all complain
of: he _is_ a fine fellow, but so is Polkinhorne, and, beyond doubt, the
latter is “much the better man;” he threw Cann an _acknowledged_ fair
fall, and I regret he left the ring on the _bad_ advice of those whom he
thought then his friends. Had he not, I am certain he would have thrown
Cann “over and over again.”
In a late number of the _Table Book_ (p. 416) is given an extract from
Homer, to show that Ulysses’ mode of wrestling was similar to that of
Abraham Cann; it may be so; but what does Achilles say upon the
subject:--
“Your nobler vigour, oh, my friends, restrain:
Nor weary out your gen’rous strength in vain.
Ye _both_ have won: let others who excel
Now prove that prowess you have prov’d so well.”
Now Abraham Cann, with his monstrous shoe, and most horrible mode of
kicking, has never yet been able to throw Polkinhorne, nor do I think he
has the power or skill to enable him to do so. His defeat of Gaffney has
added no laurel to his brow, for the Irishman had not a shadow of
chance; nor is there an Irishman or a Cornishman, now in London, that
would stand any chance with Cann; but he would find several awkward
opponents if he would meet those from Westmoreland, Carlisle, and
Cumberland, and play in their mode. In the match, however, between
Polkinhorne and Cann the latter very properly received the stakes, on
account of the former having quitted the ring on conceiving he had won
the day, by throwing two falls. The second throw, on reference to the
umpires, was after some time deemed not a fair back fall.--This,
however, is foreign to my purpose; which is to systematically explain
the methods of wrestling in Cornwall and Devon.
I have seen in Cornwall more persons present at these games, when the
prize has only been a gold-laced hat, a waistcoat, or a pair of gloves,
than ever attend the sports of Devon, (where the prizes are very
liberal--for they don’t like to be kicked severely for a trifle,) or
even at the famed meetings of later days in London, at the Eagle in the
City Road, or the Golden Eagle in Mile End. How is this? Why, in the
latter places, six, eight, and, at farthest, twelve standards are as
much as a day’s play will admit of; while in Cornwall I have seen forty
made in one day. At Penzance, on Monday, 24th ult.,[388] thirty
standards were made, and the match concluded the day following. In
Devon, what with the heavy shoes and thick padding, and time lost in
equipment and kicking, half that number _cannot_ be made in a day: I
have frequently seen men obliged to leave the ring, and abandon the
chance of a prize, owing solely to the hurt they have received by kicks
from the knee downwards; and let me here add, that I have been present
when even Cann’s brothers, or relations, have been obliged to do so. So
much for kicking.--To the eye of a beholder unacquainted with wrestling,
the Cornish mode must appear as _play_, and that of Devon
_barbarous_.--It is an indisputable fact, that no Cornish wrestler of
any note ever frequents the games in Devon; and that whenever those from
Devon have played in Cornwall; they have been thrown: Jordan by Parkins,
and so on.
At a _Cornish_ wrestling, a man’s favourite play can be seen by the
_hitch_ or holdfast he takes; as right or left, which is sure to be
crossed by left and right, and the struggle immediately commences. The
_off-hand_ play is that in which the men have each a gripe on his
adversary’s collar, or on the collar and opposite elbow, or wrist; when
by a sudden blow against the outside of the foot, by the striker’s
inside, (if strong enough,) or by a corresponding twist of the collar,
one lays the other flat on his back. This is called _playing with the
toe_; but they never wear any shoes, and are generally bare-legged from
the knee downwards.
When the hitch is collar and elbow, one mode of play is to lift with the
heel placed in the fork, with the back twisted round towards the other’s
front, and pulling him strongly by the elbow and collar, carry him
forward; but a back fall is then uncertain. Another way is to _heave_
forward or backward with the _crook_, or _inlock_, or with the hip.
But the _struggle_ is on what is termed the _closing_ play, which is by
hitching over and under. If righthanded, the over player has his right
hand on the loins, or over the right shoulder of his adversary, with his
right side towards him, and his left hand on the right arm, at the wrist
or elbow; he then throws forward with the hip, or backward and forward
with the _crook_, as before.
The _under_ player has his right hand on the left side of the collar,
his left crossing the loins on the back, or crossing the belly in front,
and facing his opponent’s left side. His defensive play is to stop the
hip by the _clamp_ and the crook; by pushing forward with his left hand
on the nape of the neck, and then _heaving_; which in the ring is
considered the best play. A good and sure heaver is a perfect player. It
must be done backward, if the arm crosses the back; but if it crosses
the belly, either backward or forward will do. Cann was thrown by
Polkinhorne backwards, which is dangerous to the heaver to attempt; for,
if he does not lift with sufficient strength, and keep himself clear of
his antagonist’s legs, he will not go far enough round, and instead of
throwing his adversary a fair fall, he may fall on his own back, which
is termed _throwing himself_; or his adversary may crook his leg within,
and overbalance the heaver and by a quick movement throw him. Thus was
Warren thrown by Cann. (See the _Every-Day Book_, vol. ii. p. 1337.)
The _forward heave_, if done quickly, is certain. Both arms must cross
the belly, and your adversary be lifted across your chest; then,
plunging forward, you fall on him crosswise; he has thus no chance, and
the fall is complete; but the _in-turn_, if adopted before the lift from
the ground takes place, baffles the heaver.
The _Cornish hug_ is a tremendous struggle for victory. Both grasp
alike, and not much science is required. It only takes place where each
conceives himself to be the stronger of the two. It is either right or
left. If right, each man has his right hand on the other’s loins on the
left side, and his left hand on the right shoulder; they stand face to
face, and each strives to draw his adversary towards him, and grasps him
round the waist, till the hug becomes close, and the weakest man is
forced backward--the other falling heavily upon him. This is a very sure
and hard fall. So much for Cornish play. Now for that of Devonshire;
which resembles in every respect (the toe and heel excepted) the
off-hand play of Cornwall, but goes no farther.
The _Devonshire_ men have no under-play, nor have they one heaver; and
they do not understand or practise the _hug_. Visit a Devon ring, and
you’ll wait a tedious time after a man is thrown ere another appears.
After undergoing the necessary preparations for a good kicking, &c. he
enters, and shakes his adversary by the hand, and kicks and lays hold
when he can get a fit opportunity. If he is conscious of superior
strength he “goes to work,” and by strength of arms wrests him off his
legs, and lays him flat; or, if too heavy for this, he carries him round
by the hip. But when the men find they are “much of a muchness” it is
really tiresome: “caution” is the word; the _shoe_, only, goes to work;
and after dreadful hacking, cutting, and kicking, one is at last thrown.
The hardest shoe and the best kicker carries the day. Cann is a very
hard kicker and a cautious wrestler. The Irishman’s legs bore ample
testimony of the effects of Cann’s shoe. He left him knee-deep in a
stream of gore.
The Devon men never close with a Cornish adversary, if they find he
possesses any science; because they have no underplay, and cannot
prevent the risk of being heaved: they therefore stand off, with only
one hand in the collar, and kick; the Cornishman then attempts to get
in, and the Devonman tries to confine one of his opponent’s arms by
holding him at the wrist, and keeping him from coming in either over or
under, and at every move of his leg kicking it. Here ends the
description; by which it will be plainly seen that a Cornishman cannot
enter a Devon ring on any thing like an equality.
Wishing well to both counties, and disclaiming undue partiality to
either, I remain a true lover of wrestling as a rustic sport, and your
obedient servant,