Show THE LIFE OF A SPANISH wy ww i i v f S t 0 f i S i 1 f V 1 y p T y y ay t ser law M f ay f y y r AX A 4 r v f z A wy v ij ULL fighting Is of very ancient and not strictly spanish origin the moors in spain in their rare intervals of peace practiced warlike pursuits from the tear not ungrounded as it j bt proved of becoming luxurious vi ly and effeminate in this way began bula e the moor 1 l W 1 f ish knight anxious to keep ahlm and his horse 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 criticized criticised by his friends and rivals it the rider was unhorsed he endeavored to kill the bull with his sword one marvels how he did it with a scimitar but possibly by this time the moors bad 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 cen the knight who lance in hand bad been hurled from the saddle might draw his sword and kill the bull bis vassals being allowed to place the 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 the professional bull fighter I 1 need not quote 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 aa time went on owing to opposition on the part of kings and queens and popes the aris of spain gradually tell away from the sport and the mounted armans 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 rider who was it not disgraced at any rate poorly thought of if his horse sustained damage in the contest Is replaced by the professional picador whose sorry nag Is never intended to escape the bulls horns As the hor semans 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 con damned by the church yet bull fighting still remains the sport of the people and consequently of the press shooting racing and polo have taken its place among the upper classes but la coreida 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 french and spanish jockeys a fashionable and crowded paddock police and troops to keep the course but no crowd to be kept in order so much for the importance of the sport of bullfighting 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 shor thorns and which we see in this country like the race horse he Is an artificial creature bred by alon tor generations for one purpose namely to fight and I 1 can assure the reader that with every circumstance against him be will fight from the tall of the flag to his last convulsive effort to get on his feet again when stricken to the heart in various parts of spain there are many stud farms which keenly compete with each other in producing the best fighting stock that of don alura Is perhaps at present the most famous fighting bulls are in appearance not unlike the old english longhorn breed on a smaller scale but as they vary in appearance they might equally be likened to jersey bulls 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 1 personally have seen most of this color the early days of are spent in luxurious idleness on the plains but at one year old some sort of trial Is held 1 believe this I 1 have not personally witnessed BO I 1 cannot give any details at two years old comes the second trial and of this I 1 will endeavor to give a short description I 1 personally witnessed a tenta dero trial trough glasses and from a sate and fairly corn for table position on top of the cabin of a yacht on the judging by the behavior of people who were at closer quarters the role of spectator would at times appear to call tor considerable ity and be unsuitable for a stout old gentleman on toot or even it mounted unless be were a good horseman and did not mind bucketing about on the occasion in ques alon I 1 did not notice any dismounted tors but I 1 am told they do attend on toot and as there Is no cover ol 01 any description the on looked must at times have amusement quite as exciting as those taking part in the trials the method of procedure at the tenta dero la somewhat as follows the herd Is rounded up on the plain and the cowboys gana deros 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 of the owner turn up well mounted tor the occasion though personally I 1 am not an admirer of the Andal oss the owner and his sporting friends now appear on the scene mounted and armed with the garrocha gar rocha 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 gana deros let a bull escape off it runs to its friends in the distance and after it gallop three horse men two in close pursuit and one following more leisurely the latter is a picador or professional fess ional spearman the two horsemen gallop on either side of the bull but I 1 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 side 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 oft side of the bull 1 e left handed when successful they turned the bull over in a cloua of dust like a shot rabbit ot infrequently the bull jinken jin ked BO that ii was not always the first man alongside who got first spear the bulls being young and active gave good little gallops and were B quick as cats very different from their later appearance in the ring I 1 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 bad been grassed twice he turned nasty and would gal lop no more but got up breathing heavily and faced his pursuers at this point up comes the picador called el ten tador correctly speaking with lance in rest he awaits the charge which usually comes promptly enough to be received on the point of the garrocha gar rocha and warded off it the bull charges twice he Is considered good enough for the ring but should he fall to charge and show a not unnatural desire to escape after coming off second best his fate la beef or aarl cultural work in plow or cart as a draft ox so the sport goes 03 until all the animals of both sexes have been tried the ladles apparently go through the trials to see if they will make fit and courageous enough mothers for future scions of the ous race for several years more the bulls graze at their ease on the plains guarded and guided by the ever watchful gana deros tor they are animals of considerable value by this time with prices rang ing from forty pounds to seventy pounds apiece the occupation of the panadero ganadero gana dero however seems likely to decrease it not vanish barb wire is changing the face of the earth in most places and in spain it Is bringing about the passing ot the cowboy strange that spain the originator of the cowboy should practically see the last of ahlm I 1 have often been asked it the bulls do not fight among themselves they do nalty and I 1 had a passing glimpse from the train of a gory battle which was fought in clouds of dust beside an almost dried up pool there Is I 1 am told always a master bull among the 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 flay him and haghig slain allm curious to relate stand and bellow mournfully round his carcase until tha latter Is taken away the removal of the fighting bull from the plains to the bull ring Is not without interest it the bull ring Is not far off the method Is as follows some few days before the fight decoy oxen with bells round their necks are turned out with the herd which soon get accustomed to their pros 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 lown and on to the bull ring for long distance journeys the bulls travel by rail and 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 tor a distant fight a description of the method by which the animals are boxed for transit will serve a dou ble purpose imagine a country railway station of the alve order on the right a dusty road leading through aloe hedges to a distant town with mar ket gardens in the middle distance on the left a single railway line stretching away in a not too straight line to infinity dehond you Is a large yard or corral surrounded by high walls and divided down the middle which Is entered by two massive wooden gates t A few idlers halt a dozen cowboys with their ponies hitched to posts a couple of guardia civile and probably a few tourists stand about outside in the distance are grazing the bulls and their aral brethren guarded by a single horseman presently there arrives on the scene a stout party presumably the overseer the cowboys mount their ponies doing a little showing off as they canter away to the als tant herd rounding up the bulls and oxen they bead them for the corral in front gallops a panadero ganadero gana dero 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 ol 01 the corral dehond with wild yells and wavley lances gallop the rest of the cowboys into the corral dashes ane decoy ox the horseman at his tall wheels at a gallop into the open stable doors on ats left coming up with a bang into the stall 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 gana deros 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 sec alon of the corral of which the doors stand open A bull looks toward the small boy who dives tor 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 prodding those cattle within reach with their lances from above presently the herd Is all in enclosure ro 2 at the right hand end of athla 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 tree daml the end door Is slammed in the second animal a face quickly turning around he rushes back but the door at the other end Is shut also round he comes again to find the middle door likewise closed he Is now in a trap and knows it with an angry bellow he charges the door sending the white splinters flying A cowboy leans over ad 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 tt leads to freedom his hesitation van ashes 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 come a sliding door and ha Is a prisoner ready to e sent by train to the bull ring and his fate |