The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-04-18
GORED And BURNED.
A Frightful Catastrophe at q
Mexican Bull Fight. S.
Many Women and Children Killed
by the Infuriate1 Beasts.

Sunday afternoon about forty-fiye min
utes past four o'clock the bull-ring at Celaya,
Mexico, was crowded with spectators Of the
fighters from Leon was still playing with
the first bull when q fire suddenly
broke out on the sunny side Of the plaza.
A panic seized upon the vast assemblage, and
a frightful spectacle was the result. The
plaza was constructed Of wooden masts,
reeds etc., and it was due to this fact that.
out injury, being able to force an OPEN.
ing permitting exits at different points,,
but many women and children jumped,
from the top, q distance of 200 to 300
feet, and over one hundred OF them s
were seriously wounded. Many people were
killed and injured by the wild bulls, liberated
through the cowardice and criminality OF
men and children as they had been trained
to ''play" with the ptcadores. -.
Celaya is city Of ten thousand inhabit-r
ants, thirty five miles southeast Of Guanaju-
alto, on the route to Queretaro and Iexico.
1t contains many very wealthy people,
who, Of course. patronize arausements
and sports. Consequently when the
paraphernalia there the bull fight was exten-
sively advertised, and everybody was at the
plaza before oclock on Sunday afternoon,
the time appointed for the national sport to-
begin. Indeed the Superintendent Of the
local prison gave permission to several pris-
cners to witness the fights "under guard
that is, attended by national troops Carrying
crowded to the utmost ~, -
The fight had fairly begun, the picadores
being urged by the excited crowd to despatch
the first bull, which had been mcom-
monty dull and shrinking. All at once a..
cry Of "fre!" was heard IN the rink. This was
followed by cloud Of smoke coming from
the place where the jailbirds were seated. Inn
All the regular exits were choked as II by,
magic, SO the men made openings in the
fral walls Of reed and mating, and permit.
ted their wives and little ones to escape
wherever they were not too far from the
ground But to the gaily dressed throng occu-
pying the upper tiers Of seats the situation
was appalling. The building was now on
fire, all the exits stopped, and these people
were from $50 to 1i5 feet from the ring:
Despite the warning Of the Mayor and Chief
| of Police and the yelling Of the Icons that the
| fire was trivial and could soon be put out,
many Of the sightseers leaped into the arena,
men, women and children falling in confused
| heaps, those underneath being MANNED and
| bruised and some children being killed out
right.
A slight wind was blowing which famed
the flames steadily, the mating burning with
loud, cracking noise. All at once the
bulls, which had been confined in stalls, were
deserted by the boys having them in charge,
broke into the arena and in making for the
plaza they tramped on about two hundred
persons who were trying to find sexits. Fire
frightful degree, for they gored several
women to death and drove others to climb up
again to the lower tiers and risk death
| from suffocation rather than contact with
the infuriated beasts. Details show that
eighteen persons were killed outright. Six
ty-eighf persons were very badly burned and
ten Of them fatally. Fifty persons, in escap.
by the panic stricken throng, and all were
very seriously but not fatally injured. Among
| the eighteen dead were two women, who
were first gored to death by the bulls and
their bodies afterward burned A despatch
to leading journal in the City Of Mexico
says: 1.-The scenes in the neighborhood OF
the bull ring were sickening beyond descrip-
tion. Women and children crazed with
suffering from their burns, ran aimlessly
through the streets, and could scarcely be
overtaken or collected by their friends
| Several persons lost their reason from the
severe mental shocks to which they were
subjected.
"The FIRE was incendiary. In the Celaya
Jail were number Of prisoners, army de-
serters, ETC.. who had obtained permission
from the authorities to attend the bull-fght.
| One of the dessrters suireptitiously struck
a match and ignited one of the dry petate
tmats), and in an instant the SOL side of
the ring was ablaze. In. the confusion
and excitement the prisoners succeeded
| in making good their escape, taking
chances to effect their ends. The besti
society of Celaya was in attendance. /
There was an unusual number OF ladies'
and children there, and these, as often is the
case in such events. were the sufferers. No mani
lost his life. The helpless little ones and
their mothers, who would not desert their
offspring, were the victims of this most ap-
palling catastrophe. It is the saddest
tragedy that has ever occurred in
the three centuries Of the city,s his
tory. Hundreds of fine villas and splen-
did residences contain persons who were
either wounded or made sick by the fire, and
the bull fight of Sunday is likely to be the
last affair Of the kind there for many years