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Show (' gaff ' ;;r ' BC I i I yv ajALKINO tho bird' put-yO put-yO ting a gaipo cock r through a courso of f athletic training to nt him for a main In tho J - pit preparation f o.r I J one of tho oldest sports j sSaO In which man lndulgos 1 la now In full swing. It Is a matter to be Intrusted only to an expert, one who has had r long and successful cxpcrlcnco In preparing cocks for their battles; for upon tho prelim inary training and hardening, as much as upon their Instlnctlvo gamenoss, depends the rcsult- I It 13 not a Blmplo matter, by any means, al though tho directions and Instructions may Bound' UiaV,way.-Gonstant'-,attCTtlonli'bnb of, - Itho first requirements, and thero aro many things that have to bo watched for and pro-vented, pro-vented, as well as tho things which havo to bo done. Llko many other things, "walking tho bird" requires, more or less, a certain "knack," and it 13 thoso who possess thl3 "knack" who mako successes. And It takes a long tlmo to properly train a fowl. Tho majority of Americans of lato years have come to tho belief that cock-fighting was practically prac-tically extinct, and that tho only mains hold wero Illegal gatherings In soino out-of-the-way place, hlddon from tho eyes of tho law. That was bocauso thero has been no publicity given the mains that actually aro hold in largo numbers num-bers In all parts of tho South, the West, and In somo of tho Central States. Nothing Is further from tho truth than to Bay that cock lighting is nearly extinct, or that it Is carried on sub rosa. As a matter of fact, thero are thousands of breeders and fanciers Interested in tho sport, among them being many f wealthy and prominent men. Ono of tho blg- gest brooders 13 a former United States sena tor, and thero aro bankers, ranchmen, operators oper-ators of big estates and many other responsible and respected people connected directly with tho cport. I Nor Is there nny lack of mains. "Beginning with Thanksgiving Eve, and continuing until tho Fourth of July, thero Is a constant round of meetings, many of them Interstate, and some oven national in character, which carry tho !dovotccs of this sport to all parts of tho coun-t coun-t try. Just as horso racing draws Its crowds from I ono track to another throughout tho year. 1 Thon, too. It la an open and above-board I BporU But It 13 not advertised and tho public Is not Invited, because thoso who engage in ? pitting cocks aro not doing so for the money Wt they can collect from the public, but for tho ' Kl sport and satisfaction they get out of it pcr- .1 ft tonally. Thoy pay 'their own expenses; tho ' H question of attendunco at a main Is not con- i LJl' sldcrcd at all from a monotary standpoint, be- i causa tho fanciers engaged do not expect to Hi mako a profit from spectators. (0. Whatever gato receipts thero may bo aro used '. HA to pay general expenses; If thero Is anything r mgj' left over, well and good; It Is divided equally IBKh botwecn tho contestants. If thero should bo no MSrj excess, thoy will be Just as well satisfied. mmo t Thero aro hundreds' of -fanciers m tho United Bli Stales, and, It 1h Hkclyeach ono of them has PHtjl an Individual system of "walking tho bird." None of these, however, Is radically different rlH from tho others, tho only variations bolng In jfH minor details of tho training. L JH Tho gaffs aro steel spurs, designed to take tho f placo of tho natural spurs of a cock. When ho Is first brought in from the range, a cock Is dc- IHI prlved of his natural spurs; they aro sawn oft -HI " to that Just about a quarter of Tin Inch remains, till, on which to fasten tho steel HUbstltutcs. Theso 1M gaffs aro round, polished bits of atccl, with IWl' points sharp as needles, and are curved In lml- WH tatlon of tho natural spur. Tho short ones aro BjB an Inch and a quarter long; other lengths may H3 bo used by ngrccmcnt of both aides, up to doublo fH that length. LHB If tho bird Is to flgbt with long gaffs, ton days of tho rigorous training are considered nufll-VH nufll-VH dent; but If tho shorts aro to bo used (as they tR generally are), tho training may bo extonded-to HHk. thrcu weeks. During this period the bird Is con- fH fined to a box, which has an opening sufficient ibM only to permit the cock to stick out his head, B and ho Is kept penned up thero for tho greater H portion of the time. But at least onco each day BFii he Is talcon out for a course at exorcising and bHHj hardening, which consists of throwing tho cock Hl up into tho air, generally ( or 5 feet high, und Hf, permitting him to fall on a mattress covorod K with a carpot or blanket, which has been pro- HjU pared to'CKtch him. ftHfT A cock light chiefly with his spurs. Tho bill lHj, l UBcdbut only, for holding. Tho -wlng-fcath- 1 . I crs aro sharpened, also. Two birds In a pit, after they have been pitted by tho handlers, goncrally got a bill hold bofofe striking. As a general rule, not a great deal of damage 13 dono with the bills, though It is quite possible. Cock fighting Is ono of tho oldest sports known. Tho llrst authentic rvport of a main being held comos from ancient Greece, whero kh emperor, whoso name has boon lost in tho passing of ages, called togethor his army , nnd bad thorn witness a cock tight, to demonstrate demon-strate to thorn how a soidlor should persist in ' : hla opposition to.aa-onomy'untll death actually v overtook him. This Is tho foundation of tho bravery that afterwards Inspired that raco arid madf tho term "Snartan" known over tho cri-tlro cri-tlro world. When Greccp was overrun by tho Romans, apparently, the' Latins did .not jfaro greatly for tho sport; but It survived, nevertheless, to appear ap-pear again in England, whoro rt was taken up oxlcnslvoly, and whero It still 10 followed. Wlth( tho. colonization of America by tho English,' cock fighting was Introduced ljto this country, and many of the early colonials carried their. - game-cocks' across -tho sooa "wth them, even holding mains aboard ship for tho entertainment entertain-ment of the passengers during tho long voyages. Trio first main on tho soil of tho Now World of which thero Is any record took placo In 1S15, although thero Is evidence to show that mains must have been hold even before tho revolutionary revolu-tionary war. This main was fought betwoon birds owned by officers of n British raah-o"-war bnd thoBo belonging to peoplo of Whitehall, tho American birds winning. Later,, thero ,was .a slnglo battle between a fowl owned by Jacques" I Zlmmor of Now York and a Spanish 'cock bl loiiging to ono of tho ofllcors vbf -.tho' ship,'- li f '.' ' J - y v.hicb the Si.inicrd whs beten. . yincc that ttmo tocre riavo Decn ngnts m.aii parts of the United Statos. At tho prosont timotho season generally opons at Monroo, l!n., during October, and thpre a big touma-mcnl3 touma-mcnl3 fought, with birds from, all tho Southeastern South-eastern States and somo from tho Central States Vnd from Now York, . From Monroo tho flghicra go to Montgomoo'. Alal. and during succeeding weeksmalna aro hold Jn various ports of Nortn' Carolina, South Cnrolfhn. Georgia Geor-gia and Florida, , upto Thanksgiving wook. 'From thon on, ' fightlnar; lo general throughout , . . , ."' thes mates untU about Now Year E;e, whon VBj the' fanciers -aiid breeders gather for. tho ojwn- -Ing light Jn- Illinois notour, om , St. Louis. Hpj FT'om'tliat tlmo on, thco" Is a flghcqvory Satuc- day .cloning vat soma cpnvonloiu .IUlnols point. vpj tho season winding u'7l6i;Ji5 rxfnwooe last'lng from tho, JVc tbdth of July. Tnls drawn birds frdm W&rU, of frjn h.cagourlfngtoj. ( $Ugf H 'nr.tl Eastorn' clilos: . n E P2r rn1To.vMa , |