Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-08
AT A COOK FIGHT.
How This Diversion Is carried On In the CitI
of Brotheriy Love.


of Brotheriy Love.
The following apt description OF cock
fighting adventure In Philadelphia is from
the pen of one whose experience richly
enables him to write correctly on the subject ::
The first thing is TO secure an invitation to
see a Philadelphia cock fight You then buy
your ticket and II you are wise you buy an
excursion ticket Then you In due course of
time reach Philadelphia you meet your
friend who assures you everything Will be
perfectly safe that upon The first appearance
of ''cops' there will be a gun fired which
will give everyone time to reach place OF
security; that the scoops" cannot approach
within mile OF the battle grounds unknown.
AS the hour approaches, you Al notified to
be ready, which means about 10 drinks. For
1t is thirsty crowd, and each man feels he
must set 'em up before leaving the bar. A
short ride In the horse cars and a long walk
over dusty, dirty roads In the broiling sun at
last deposits you on the battle-ground where
your respectable appearance is the signal
for general scattering OF the clans,
whose fears are soon calmed by your
friends vouching for your being all right
There Is the usual wrangle before the first
fight but at last two cocks are in the pit. 1t
Is q long fight, but your friends bird wins
and you are IS ahead. Two more cocks are
pitted your friend again wins.
Another pair are quickly produced, with
same result You are now SIS ahead and
become reckless and your opponents de-
moralized. You have hard work to put SO
out on the fourth fight although your oppo-
nents have the advantage of a two-eyed cock
against a one-eyed " or blinkerh bird.
The blinker Is a fighter and in about five
minutes has the other cock at his mercy.
You congratulate yourself on being SO more
ahead when bang goes gun. That's the
last you see OF your $40, as the stak keholder
disappears over the swamps.
AS the gun went OIL, 10 speak in the first
person, 80 did i, and thanks to my iieetness
OF foot, took a leading position, heading for
q small tavern short distance away, where
there was dance going on. AS drew near
l-noticed a nuInDer OF men fitting through
the dancers and some running towards me
with pistols in their hands which they were
firing in the air. ] could see they were otli-
GERS, and as other officers were close behind
me gave myself up Tor lost stopped run
ming and started back, walking quietly, and
momentarily expecting to teel an officers
grip on my arm and to hear those soothing
little words "you're my prisoner"
Ii was my first experience in tho officer
line, and would like TO testify right here to
the sensation being anything but pleasant
may become more hardened as time rolls
along, but have no ambition to try it again.
To resume. As i strolled quietly along,
officer after officer ran past me. l was
walking along canal and it was just
alive with men struggling through the
water and mud. One poor fellow
got into deep water and would have
been drowned, had not one of his
friends who had safely crossed come back
and rescued him from drowning, but not
rom the clutches OF the law. They were
Doth ordered by the officers to come out on
tneir side aud as the order was enforced by
sunofy pistol bullets, they came. AS l stood
g ws.ching the raid was Joined by one OF the
sPoc.ators who gave me his name, asking
~ hine Nv the same time, and we immed lately
necane as we'll acquainted as If we had
known each other for years.
AS we stood there the oficers colIected
their prisoners and one of them said s'what's 5
the matter with those two.n We Immediats,
~ protested our innocence, and one big offi.
cer saia, "on' they are all right" aud they
tance. We safely got back to PhiladelphI
entirely satisfied with our experience.