The evening world., 1888-01-19
THE LAST COCK-FIGHT.
End of q Sport Which Many an Old.Time
Southern Gentleman Loved.

~tCotumbfa Letter 10 Augusta tGa.) Chronfets.l
At the close Of the great battle between the game
cocks Of North and South Carolina, fought in this
city Christmas week, It was perhaps the end in
South Carolina Of what was once regarded rs one
Of the manly sports Of the South.
In the good old cock-dgnting days OF the past
Augusta was the central battle-ground Of the At
lantic and Gulf States. Some Of the greatest
mains ever fought were contested at the old
Lafayette race course and at the 'tOld Shades, {"
Just in rear of the Central Hotel. There gathered
the professional men and the planters, the wealth.
lest and most distinguished men of the country,
convenient side coat pockets leather wallets, from
betw cen the leaves OF which protruded 500 bills
freshly drawn from the banks to back their favor
lite cocks. None were allowed to participate In the
sport who were not considered gentlemen When
a bet was made no money was shown.
until the tight was ended, when the loser produced
the cash. Several mains were fought In Augusta,
N wnes ssS sG so oye was sS Wagsp % on d inc Oad nant and $50
side of the regular stakes. Among the finest
breeds Of games were the Dusty Milers and War
IRON Maryland; the Slonefences, from North Caro-
lima; the indian Spring, Dominique, from Georgia;
Carolina. All Of these were endowed with
m M stsyip ,ssm q%u usrtnss Colo nss,o steel s1sn. did I.noE no,
them from the pit. They were thoroughbreds and
highly aristocratic. Many Of these strains are
hlllt Ehltcu III NaTlOub StAtcb, tuc mObt ulbtluRulsHcu
Of those of the present day being the famous
warehouse" breed. A gentleman, who now oc-
cupies O high place In his church., imported the frat
Of this stock from Ireland along In 1858. In those
days nne birds were often, removed from their
shipping cages IN transit and poorer ones ,substi-
tuted. So careful was the breeder of these birds to
have his stock reach Its destination that he clipped
several feathers from the under part of the wings
and sent them by mail to the importer. When the
birds arrived their feathers were placed In the orig
inal position, and as they matched perfectly, the
purchaser was sure that he had received the
right birds. Although, as j said, this gentleman
10 now a bright ornament to his church, he carries
those feathers around with him to this day TO prove
that he first introduced the noblest strain OF game
cocks ever known In America.
Away hack in the forties, one OF the most gal
liant men that ever lived in the grand old county
Of Edgeneld, carried his red-breasted games 10
Mexico and pitted them against the Emperor Santa
Annals famous black biz ds. The stakes on tho
contest were something fabulous. The result was
Q triumphant victory for the south Carolinian, and
the generous, though defeated, Emperor pre-
scented his opponent with q pair OF Raffs-the weapon
of the game cock, constructed OF the finest Damascus
steel, richly carved and ornamented. A few years
later the Palmetto regiment led the conquering
army OF the Union to the Mexican capital, and the
victory of the birds became the forerunner OF that
conquest that gioriously exemplined Southern valor
on foreign fields.
As late as 1871 cock fighting received the sanction
Of many prominent South Carolinians. In that
lature. Three OF the Senators, noted for their dis
tingulshed g~allantry In war, their able services in
peace and their spotless Integrity ut all times, op-
posed the measure and killed II.
A Few years later the Anti-Duelling law was
passed. This indicated a radical change In the
sentiment OF the people from ante-bellum ideas.
Personal cOmbats to settle personal differences
were legally declared dishonorable, and branded
to be respected, and to-day is prohibited and made
odiouB by Law.