New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-28
NATIONAL SPORTS.

Mankind have had divers and sundry ways of
amusement in all ages and olmes Our copper
coored predecessors hunted for a livelihood
ished from necessity, and fought for fun yet they
never experienced the full blaze and glow of pleas
ure until they danced around burning prisoner
to the tune OF their own yelling. The stately
danes of old Rome loved poetry, applauded ora
tory, rejoiced in fine apparel, grew eloquent over
an Apioian dinner, and went wild with joy at sight
of the chained prisoners and the gorgeous spolia
of a triumph; but the noble ladies were never
entirely and thoroughly carried away with mex
pressible delight until they saw prisoners of war
and convicts cutting each others threats in the
gladatorial arena, or torn in bloody fragments by
the tawny lions of the amphitheater. The Hindoos
have their various pleasures, mental and physical
but they never positively enjoy anything but feed
ing the ailigators of the Ganges with nyalids and
babies, frcoasseeing live widows in q bonfire along
with their dead husbands, or throwing themselves
into Everlasting smash under the rumblng
wheels of the Juggernautic car In Japan they
amuse themselves with singular duel in which
each belgerent spites his antagonist and heals his
wounded honor by fatal sword thrust into his
own viscera. In China the heads of prisoners and
culprits are sliced off for the edifcation of the
common people, while for the special benefit of
select circles malefactor is sometimes carved up
alive, limp by limb, and muscle by muscle. In
! Spain they dance, sing, play and converse for
ordinary pastime, but for genuine pleasure they
depend upon the bull.fght. They enjoy other
forms Of amusement, but they are never tiokled
to death y except when the horns Of the bull and
the weapons Of his antagonists drip with blood.
But the national sport of the English is the pugi
listia mill Y in which eyes, noses, muscles skin
and bones are ground into bloody pulp for the
amusement OF bystanders. 1t il designated as o
sport by the people who invented the society
/ fol The prevention Of cruelty to animals ~ even
has the preference over the sublime pleasures Of
the chase where forty men Oh Cine horses, vitl o
score of dogs, run after poor, sickly, little
scared fox for half day together. The pleasure
of the mill is greatly enhanced by the prohib
tons of the law, and the ofcious intermeddling Of
the police, which compel tn admirers of fsticuf
to scamper at midnigh over plowed fields, dtches
hedges, walls and hahas to some secluded spot
where the ring can be fixed without molesta
ton. Here two trained shiftess athletes dance
into the pen and proceed to punish, thump and
pummel each other by the hour, until one or the
other Of the oombstants falls blinded,
bleeding, swollen and mangled into the
arms Of his second, unconscious, Or unable
longer to stand up before the victor. Thousands
of pounds wagered and all the minute details Of
the pounding match are spread before the people
in the daily journals.
Falling somewhat into diarepute in England,
the mill has been transferred to this side Of the
Atlantic, where by the encouragement q the
non-licentious y press it seems to grow in popu-
lar favor. Respectable journals here generally
ignore the existence Of a nuisance which evades
the law, but sensational journalists contrive to
report all the disgusting particulars of prize
fights, introduced by brief moral lectures and Gov
cred with transparent gauze of feigned reluc-
lance. This covert but kindly encouragement Of
the press, coupled with general success in evad-
ing or cabling the police will raise the "box
into permanent institution.
Seriously speaking, if thousand loafers choose
to steal away into the swamp to see two other
oafers maui, punch, whale, wallop and cudgel
one another for an hour or two, the direct injury
to decent people does not seem to be very great
It is the notice and countenance of the press
which do more damage than the evasion of the
law.