Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 210, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1913 — THE LIFE OF A SPANISH FIGHTING BULL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE LIFE OF A SPANISH FIGHTING BULL

t V • fcrLL fighting is of very ancient * and not strictly Spanish origin, l/g j The Moors in Spain, in their I rare intervals of peace, pracL ticed warlike pursuits, from the Ip I W fear—not ungrounded, as it / B becoming luxurious <9 >a\ and -'efremihate. In this way M /7/t\ began bull flgbting - Tae Moor ' . f(J\) lsh knight, anxious to keep himself and hishorse “fit," pursued and speared the ■wild or semi-wild cattle of the plains. Probably the next step was the introduction of the bull into an arena, where the prowess of the knight could be witnessed and criticised by his friends &nd rivals. If the rider was unhorsed, he endeavored to kill the bull with his N sword. One marvels how he did it with a scimitar; but possibly by thlß time the Moors had adopted the straight swords of their rivals, the Spaniards, with whom, during intervals of peace, *they not Infrequently held combined fiesta de toros, in which both Christian and Moslem vied in friendly rivalry at. the slaying of mighty bulls. To quote Mr. Abel Chapman in "Unexplored Spain”: "At this period, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the knight who, lanoe in han{l, had been htu-led from the saddle might draw his sword and kin the bull, his vassals being allowed to place thd bull (by deft display of colored cloaks) in a position to facilitate the death stroke. Here doubtless originated the art of ‘playing* the bull, and incidentally sprang i. the professional bull fighter.” I need not qudtd Mr. Chapman further, as this is sufficient to show the origin of the "pro." matador, and the present decadence of the sport is not difficult to follow. , As time went on, owing to opposition on the part of kings and queehs and popes, the aristocracy of Spain gradually fell away from the sport, and the mounted spearman’s portion of the spectacle became of less and less importance as the knights withdrew from the contests. Thus, In due course, we arrive at the ghastly farce of the present day, when the skullful rider, who was, if not disgraced, at any rate poorly thought of If his horse sustained damage in the contest, 1b replaced by the professional picador, whose sorry nag is never intended to escape tne bull’s horns. As the horseman’s role in the show has shrunk, so has the footman’s part increased, until we come to the highly paid matador of the present day. Though not much patronized by the aristocracy or the army, and nominally condemned by the church, yet bull fighting still remains t£e sport pf the people, and consequently of the press. Shooting, racing and polo have taken its place among the upper classes; but La Corrida comes before everything in the popular estimation. You may go to a race meeting in Spain and see English and French thoroughbred horses, English, and Spanish jockeys, a fashionable and crowded paddock, police and troops to keep the coarse—but no crowd to be kept in order! So much for the importance of the sport of bull-fighting; now as to the animals employed in it and the method of training them. .It'must first of all' be borne in mind that the-Spanish fighting; bull is a very -different animal from the big, stolid and solid shorthorns and Herefordß which we see in this country. Like the race horse, he is an artificial creature, bred by selection for generations for one purpose, namely, to fight, and I can assure the reader that, with every circumstance against him, he will fight, from “the fall of the flag" to his last convulsive effort to get on his feet again when stricken to the heart. In vacjous parts of Spain there are many stud farms, which keenly compete with each other in producing die best fighting stock. That of Don Miura Is perhaps at present the most famous. Fighting bulls are in appearance not unlike the old English longhorn breed on a smaller shale; but as they ;rary iq appearance, they might equally be likened to Jersey bulla (with longer horns) or black Welsh bulls. They vary In color, as these comparisons suggest—white with black spots and patches, white with red spots and patches, or dark purple brown with light muzzle and ears and a light brown stripe down the backbone. (This last variety is said to be descended directly from the Aurochs.) The most common of all Is jet black all over; at least, I personally have seen most of this color. The early days of calfdom are spent In luxurious Idleness on th? plains, but at one year old some sort''of trial Is held, I believe. This I have not personally witnessed, so I cannot give any details. At two years old comes the second trial, and of this I will endeavor to give a short description. , * , I personally witnessed a tentadero (trial) through glasses, and from a safe and fairly com-

sortable position on top of the cabin of a yacht on the Quadalquivir. Judging by the behavior of people who were at closer quarters, the role of spectator would at times appear to call for considerable activity, and be unsuitable for a stout old gentleman on foot, or even If mounted, unless he were a good horseman and did not mind “bucketing” abont. On the occasion in question I did not notice any .dismounted spectators, but 1 am told

they do attend on foot, and as there is no cover of any description, the onlooked must at times have amusement quite as exciting as those taking part in the trials. The method, of procedure at the tentadero Is somewhat as follows: The herd 1b “rounded up” on the plain and the cowboys (ganaderos) then divide it, cutting out a large number of decoy cattle, which they drive some few hundred yards away. When the two herds are safely rounded up, each under ! the charge of silent, watchful horsemen, the sport is ready to begin. The farm is en fete (open house, in fact), and lots of friends 6t the owner turn, up, well mounted sor 1 the occasion (though, personally, I am not an admirer of the Andalusian ’oss)r The owner and his sporting friends now appear on the scene, mounted and armed with the garrocha (lance), which is twelve feet long and has a small, blunt point about a couple of inches or less in length. When the owner gives his signal, the ganaderos let a bull escape. Off it runs to its friends in the distance, and after it gallop three horsemen—two ip close pursuit apd one following more leisurely. The latter Is a picador, or professional spearman. The two horsemen gallop on either side of the bull, but I could not make out whether the rider on the left spears to the right and vice versa, or whether the spearing Is done from one Bide only, and the other horseman merely rides to keep the .bull going straight. It seemed to me the horsemen usually tried to spear -high up and behind the flank, and from the off side of the bull, 1. e., left-handed. When successful, they turned tbe bull over in a cloud of dust, like a shot rabbit Not Infrequently the bull “jinked,” so that it was not always the first man alongside who got “firet spear.” The bulls, being young and active, gave good little gallops, and were as quick as cats (very different from their later appearance in the ring). I saw one horseman bowled over, but could not see how it happened, as he was between me and the bull. Generally speaking, after the bull had been “grassed” twice be turned nasty and would gallop no more, but got up, breathing heavily, and faced his pursuers. At this point up comes the picador (called el tentadon correctly speaking). With lance in rest he awaits the charge, which usually comes promptly enough, to be received on ther point of the garrocha and ,warded off.' If the bull charges twice, he Is considered good enough for the ring, but should he fall to charge and show a hot unnatural desire to escape, after coming off second best, his fate Is beef or agricultural work In plow or cart as a draft ox. So the sport goes on until all the animals (of both sexes) have been tried. The ladies apparently go through the trials to see If they will make fit and courageous enough mothers for future scions of the illustrious race. For several years more the bulls graze at thejT ease on the plains, guarded and guided by the ever-watchfu) ganaderos, for they are animals of considerable value by this time, with prices ranging from forty pounds to seventy pounds apiece. The occupation of the ganadero, however, seems likely to decrease. If not vanish. Barb wire is changing tbe face of the earth In most places, and In Spain It is bringing about tbe passing of the cowboy. Strange that Spain, the originator of the cowboy, should practically see the last of him! I have often been asked If the bulls do hot fight among themselves. They do occasionally, and I had a passing glimpse, from the train, of a gory battle, which was fought In clouds of dust beside an almost drled-up pool. There is, I am told, always a master bull among tbe herd, who tyrannizes over the rest; and in the “Encyclopedia of Sport” there is an account of how the herd, unable at last to stand his tyranny any \ longer, unite to slay him, and having slain him, curious to relate, stand and bellow mournfully

round his carcase until the latter is taken away. The removal of the fighting bull from the plains to the bull ring is not without interest. If the bull ring id not far off the method is as follows: Some few days before the fight, decoy oxen, with bells round their necks, are burned out with the herd, which soon get accustomed to their pres--1 ence. A little before dawn on the appointed day, by the light of the moon, the herd of decoys and bulls are hurried along by side roads and lanes into the town and on to the bull ring. For longdistance journeys the bulls travel by rail, aqd as the ultimate sorting out of bulls and decoys is much the same, whether it be at the bull ring near by, or'at the railway station for a distant fight, a description of the method by which the aniqaals are boxed for transit will serve a double purpose. Imagine a country railway station of the primitive order; on the right a dusty road leading through aloe hedges to a distant town, wfth market gardens in thb middle distance; on the left a single railway line, stretching away in a not too straight line to infinity. Behind you Is a large yard dr corral, surrounded by high walls and divided down the middle, which is entered by two massive wooden gates. A few porters, idlers, half a dozen cowboys with their - ponies hitched to posts, a couple oY guardia civile, and probably a few tourists stand about outside. In the distance are grazing the bulls and their traitorous brethren, guarded by a single horseman. Presently there arrives on the scene a stout party—presumably 4he overseer. The cowboys mount their ponies, doing a little "showing off" as they canter away to the distant herd. Rounding up the bulls and oxen, they head them for the corral. In front gallops a ganadero, with lance in rest, driving before him a decoy ox. At his heels thunder the herd. Faster and faster they come, Into the post and rail lane, which narrows down to the entrance of the corral. Behind, with wild yells and waving lances, gallop the rest of the cowboys. Into the corral dashes the decoy ox; the horseman at his tail wheels at a gallop Into the open Btable doors on his left, coming up with a bang into the stqll, as a small boy hastily slams to the door behind him. Meanwhile, the entire herd has poured into the corral and the gates are fastened behind them. The ganaderos dismount and come up on to the walls, lances in hand. The small boy pops out of the stable, cracking a whip, and the herd "gets a move on” towards the next section of tbe corral, of whioh the doors stand open. A bull looks toward the small boy, who dives for cover like a rabbit; but in a second he is out, once more and again cracking; his whip. , The cowboys aid his efforts by leaning over the rails and prqddlng those cattle within reach with their lances from above.. Presently the herd Is all in enclosure No. 2. At the right-hand end of this Is a lane leading backward in the direction from which the cattle came. Having been through the mill before, a decoy ox promptly trots off down this lane to freedom. He is followed at a more leisurely pace by a bull—but not to freedom! The end door is slammed in the second animal’s face. Quickly turning around, he rushes back, but the door at the other end is shut also. Round he comes again, to find tbe middle door likewise closed. He Is now In a trap and knows it. with an angry bellow he charges tbe door, sending the white splinters flying. A cowboy leans over and prods him with his lance. With a savage grunt he turns round once more, to see facing him a* small opening In the wall. Perhaps it leads to freedom? Hls hesitation vanishes as he receives several prods from above, and he dives Into the darkness, to find himself In a box on wheels in which he cannot turn around. Before he has time to back out, down comes a sliding door and he is a prisoner, ready to be sent by train to the bull ring and hls faf%>