The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1888-06-29
BRUTALITY er suL,;,eonr,Mo.
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BRUTALITY or sul,,snMrlMo.
Thts narbarous spl
mont In ear
ibid you really thiffk That tho prac.
ecc of bull.lghtinE hid fallun ihta IN.
n0cuous d6su6tudep We'll; you were
mistaken. Some time id the forc pari
OF February I was in the City Of Mexi.
co and l saw a bull-fight there and
then which vas as savage and. success.
fl!, I fancy, as any that was over held.
Why, the bull-fight in that city is the
common almuscincnt-thcrc is one ON
every Sunday and every holiday when
the weather is pleasant.
's1hc bull-fght knessed
WIS olhs. Of thtcb In full blast the day !
attended. At tho rink DUR party, visit
ed. around which was an aiiiphitftcatft
capAbls 1T sBatitit between 5000 and
10000 people. Mcxzcntini, tho great
Spanish Matadofe; was advertised to
appcaf. Me2zentini is to bull-fghtiiig
IN Spain aud Mexico what Edwin Booth
10 to the drama in this country: In the
second rink the grcat Mexican Mata.
d0fe, ujaz. was to perform, and in the
third q matadOre of soMo local rcnown.
The capacity of the three aniphitliea:
tres was. l should think, in tho neigh
borhood Of 10000, and each was crowd
ed. General admission to the first was
81, to the second 81, and to the third
fifty cents. the seats v%aryingfrom these
prices upward to 80, according to 10.
cation. You may judge from this the
great popularity Of the entertainment.
OF course the proprietor of the show
pays 4 heaty license to the authorities
Everything is taxed in Mexico-but
he Is no more under the patronage Of
the government than tho proprietor Of
q theatre in this country.
The first thing in a bull-fght is the
grand march, which reminds one of the
grand entrce at a circus. Matadores
and ~pcccadores, the former on foot and
the latter on horseback, travel round
the ring to the music of q brass band.
The number of peccadorcs is usually
two. and they are all gaudily dressed,
and the blindfolded horses which they
ride are gaily caparisoned. During
the opening ceremonies an officer Of
the city rides into the ring aud in a
formal anner presents the chief mat
adore with the license. After he has
ridden out the gate is opened and the
first bull enters the ring.
"In every bull-tight about six bulls
arc killed. The time given to each
bull is a half hour, so that tho enter
tainment lasts three hours. The pee
cadorcs devote the first ten minutes to
each bull, riding around him, prodding
him with their spears and a%gggravating
him as much as possible. Sometimes =
pcccadOre is killed.. bat tile poUr horses
whose eyes are securely bandaged run
the greatest risks. The first bull that
camc into the ring on the day that I
charge at a horse, and, catching him
back of the fore legs. ripped him open.
The sight of that horse crafty escap-
ing from the ring by an available gate,
with his cntrails dragging on the ground
and tapping about his hindlcgs, hang
ing so low that he even stepped 81
them in his mad flight, was more than
enough for me, hut it seemed to please
the Mex;cans, who applauicd wildly.
Tho matldOres to the number of eight
or ten succeed the pcccadorcs and exc
pend ten minutes in batting the bull
into still greater insanity. They wear
. variety of brilliant costumes, carry
red banners, aud a few of them are
armed with a sort of barbed dart called
. bandarilla which they stick into the
shoulders of the bull over his horns.
The bull-fghter always attacks the bull
directly in front, over tho animals
hcad-to do otherwise would be as
much against the rule as for a prize
fighter to hit his antagonist below the
belt. The GOODNESS and activity of the
matadore in standing in front of the
charging beast and, when his horns
are within a few inches of the mata-
dore's person, throwing the bandarilla
into his neck or shoulder is marvellous.
s'The last ten minutes of the bulls
life ATE given to the head matadorc-
the hero of the occasion. This mata-
dore has q sword or dagger two feet
snd . half in length and. catching the
bull ut the right moment Of his charge,
he plunges tho weapon between the
animals shoulders and SO reaches the
vital organs. The promptncss. exacti.
tudc, strength, courage, skill and cx'
perience required for the successful
performance of this feat are, I believe
matched in no other custom of human
life. I saw Mezzentini kill Three bulls
and while the spectacle wasnccessarily
revolving there was something of the
heroic something inspiring-some
thing artistic-something superl,umar
lin the way he did it. It seemed
bagatelle to him; he appeared absolute.
ly oblivious of danger, absolutely surf
Of the contamination of his purpose
Mezzentini is over six feet tall. bril-
liantly handsome, wonderfully strong
and a cultivated all round athlete.
1.-The week before the bull fight which
I attended. a favorite Mexican mata
dorc was killed. He had a fashion O
sticking a bandarilla in the bull ant
then vaulting over him, using o lons
pole. The matadore followed thil
fashion once too often. The last bul
caught him in the air and impalcd hin
on both horns SO firmly that the othe
m~atadores had to pull him off. OF tn
six bulls which I saw killed, five wer,
magnificent animals that began to tigh
the instant they came into thering ant
continued with growing desperation t,
the end. The exception among then
scemedt to be a triie cowardly and whel
pressed leaped over the fence sever
feet high, landed in q narrow area am
made an almost successful attempt II
scale another fence eight feet high
which separated him from the amphi
khookwo ~ q HoIbosf -, l,aDh.