The Bossier banner., 1885-02-26

them out. The bull jams the horse
against the planks, two, three, four
times and then withdraws. The horse
lies bleeding, disembowled mass, and
the crowd cheers the dreadful spectacle.
The bull having given up all idea of
escape turns upon everything he sees,
and the second horse is ridden up before
him. No attempt is made to get the
animal out of the way; he was brought
there to be slaughtered, and took his
turn. Both horses being disposed of,
and the bull being completely ex-
hausted, the matadors enter the strug-
gle, and tease him with their scarlet
cloaks. At frequent intervals around
the arena are placed heavy planks, be-
hind which the matadors would run for
protection when they were pursued.
The bull had no chance at all. He
was there simply to be teased, and
then killed by slow degrees. One
matador, more agile than the rest.
bats the animal with his lance, and,
when the bull turns upon him, vaults
| over the down-turned horns by resting
his lance upon the ground. Then they
bring out the ornamental darts and
|
animal jumps and plunges with pain,
and tries to shake them off, but the
barbs cling to the hide, and the more
he struggles the further they penetrate
the flesh. His shoulders are covered
with them, and the crimson blood trick
les down his sides. He stands painting
with distress, his tongue hanging out,
and is thoroughly exhausted.
The Governor S trumpet sounds the
bulls death warrant. 1t means that
the cruel sport has lasted long enough,
and the chief matador comes forward
with red blanket and sword. He
approaches the bull, flaps the blanket
in his eyes, the animal plunges at him,
and with great dexterity the matador
whirls and thrusts the sword into the
animals heart. The bull plunges with
pain, and throws the sword out of his
body into the air. He staggers and falls
upon the ground, the chief matador
runs up, pierces his brain with pom
lard, and the mules are brought in to
drag the dead animal out. The band
plays, the crowd cheers, and the first
act is over.
The matadors bow to the Governor,
bow to the crowd, and rest while a
clown dances in the ring to amuse the
people in the interim. Pretty soon the
trumpet blows again, two more old
crow-baits are ridden in and another
bull is brought from the corral. The
same scenes reenr, the horses are
always killed, but the men are seldom
injured. Four bulls are usually dis
posed of each Sunday afternoon before
, the appetite for blood is satiated.
This cruel sport in Mexico is in it,
, decadence. 1t grew out of the lack O
other entertainment. Until two years
ago there was no horse-racing in Mex
leo, and this class of sport is unknown
, outside of the capital. The young mer
are not allowed to visit the girls, are
not permitted to walk with them in til,
parks, and have. in short, no amuse
| ments but billiards, cock-fghting am
t bull-baiting. The exodus of foreigner
into the Republic will break many 0
the barriers down. While the ''Grin
gos," as foreigners are called, general,
t conform to the customs of the country
J they refuse to accept all of them, AM
f the Mexican people are gradually tend
t ing toward a more modern civilization
City Of Merico Cor. Chicago Int
| = !.