Morning journal and courier., 1885-05-20

| countries in which the noblest horses to be had are used by the spearmen. These thor oughly trained animals will wait until the critical moment when charged upon by 8 maddened bull, and then at the proper signal leap twenty feet to one side, allowing the rider to lance the bulls neck and thus fur ther infuriate him. These horses rarely get hurt and appear to relish the sport. But in Cuba the bonlest and most infirm horses are selected, and then their eyes are bandaged so that the poor brutes cannot see how to flee from the foe that they are too weak to con- tend against! It is thus foregone conclu- sion that several defenseless horses will either be killed or seriously gored at every fight. The bull has nothing to do but to overturn the trembling horse the moment the rider seeks to lance his neck. It is not only brutal arrangement, but one of such monumental in justice that my blood boiled repeatedly during the show through indigna- tion at those who had ordained such an un- fair contest. I could endure the deep bel lowings of the pain-racked bull but to see helpless horse gored and then lifted to his feet in order that he might be urged on to further mutilation-if, indeed, he was able to stand after the first attack-wrought upon my sense of justice nightly
 But l am getting in advance of myself. After these mounted knights strode forth six youths Tn gay silk stockings, gorgeous knee brooches of the same material and richly embroidered tunics, after the fashion of the Eizabethan period. At least the powdered, smooth-shaved faces seemed to impart semblance of youth to the actors Each mau had his hair done up in knot at the crown of his head, and carried in his right hand canoe-shaped black hat, while over the left arm was thrown long fabric of some brilliant hue These cloaks, as they ap- peared to be, were tossed up to the audience as matter of form and then returned. Last ly came the three mules, harnessed abreast, that had been engaged to drag off the car casseS
 Presently the various features of the pa geant were withdrawn with the exception of the SIX bull-hghters and three of the men with long barbed poles. The signal sounded, the gates opened and in rushed the first vic tim of Spanish brutality. The bull had rosette of colored paper pinned to his back, from which hoated streamers of the same material Rushing with snort across the arena, the bull pulled up at the palisade. Then he turned and started in another direc- tion, only to find himself again baffied. By their brilliant pieces of cloth began to ap- pear in the bulls path. Annoyed at the Haunting cloths, the bull would make a charge. But of course the agile performers would leap aside at just the right moment, permitting the bull to pass impotently All this helped to worry the bull and when he had got we'll aroused the mounted spearmen rode up to him with the intention of stabbing him in the neck. The result was invariably the sickening one which I have referred to, and usually the wounded horse had to be retired from the arena, and another brought on. This feature of performance was the tamest example of cruelty that ever saw included in the category of sports.
 Presently all the horsemen were with drawn, and the bull-fghters were left alone to torment the bull The whole six of them Iar1f 4la1 their cloths before him, and then eluding him when he charged. Then the men took in each hand sort of arrow about foot long covered with paper ornamentation of various brilliant hues, and advancing toward the bull, leaped aside i'll the usual way at the proper juncture at the same time hurl- ing the darts in such way that the barbed point caught in the hide and fastened itself more or less securely. Sometimes the bull would have dozen of these painful weapons fastened in his neck at time. In his dis tress the bull would shake his head, and paw the earth, and pant with perplexed rage. But fendish ingenuity had not by any means exhausted itself. Another install ment of the gay but cruel arrows was brought on, the barbed ends of these being loaded with explosives. As the barb caught in the hide the explosives would go off, burning and tearing the flesh pitifully The force of the explosion is illustrated by the statement that pieces of the paper flew up to the top seat where I sat.
 Then came the last, act of torture in this sickening melodrama. One of the six fanci- fully attired young men took long red cloth in his left hand and long slender pli- able sword in the other. Using the cloth as in the previous exercises, and springing aside at the critical moment of the onslaught, he would try and lodge the sword in the beasts neck or shoulders. Sometimes the weapon would stick in few inches and re- ai1, ih1ati in he air foro in it would pierce the hide outside of the ribs and come out foot or so below Now it would be plunged in out of sight to the very hilt,-a distance of fully three feet Some times two or three swords would accumulate thus hilt-deep in the bulls neck and on his back before they were removed by being iassoed. At length stroke was delivered with telling effect, which weakened the poor brute so that it no longer required skill to stab him, and then the butcher who bar gained for the carcasses finished the job with an ordinary slaughtering- knife. The body was then dragged out by three mules to ex- ceedingly stirring music by the band.
 The fights with the other three bulls were repetitions of the spectacle already described, with some slight variations, according as the bull was more or less furious. The audience shouted bravo at specially telling thrusts, but did not get up the enthusiasm required to bring about the throwing of hats into the ring, etc.
 Such was one Havana bull-fght. Of. course on special gala occasions the element of skill may enter more largely into the Ter formance but that cannot relieve the in herent barbarousness of the sport. Alasl do not know that the dog fights which some times disgrace parts of our own fair country are any less brutal. It is the spirit prompt ing the latter which finds it's broadest frui- tion in the bull-fght. EMILE.