Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-11-11
PORTUGUESE BULL FIGHTING.
While the Sport Is Exciting II Seldom
Results

While the Sport Is Exciting IL seldom
Results Fatally.
No knacke-'s yard horses are brought into
the ring 10 BE- butchered unresisting. There
are no picadors of the low Spanish type, with
horses incaps bic OF fight from the bull, the
Portuguese Iicador being generally gentle
man by birth of a class that Is, with whom
the management of the great horse" is a
traditional accomplishment He is neither
protected by armor nor does he carry any
weapon either Of offense or of defense. Horse
and rider preserve the traditions of this An
ciest chivalr1us art; the rider by wearing
rich, gold laced costume of the sixteenth cen
fury, the no SO by his careful training and
magnificent silken and gold caparisons.
To equalize the odds between the bull and
his baiters, his horns are tipped and yet,
even with this handicapping the Portuguese
bull has much the best of it. He is never
seriously hurt, indeed, in my belief, he is
never hurt at all, and he enjoys the delight
the intense slight, common TO all men and
all animals o. natural courage-of being put
In a boundleS, and justifiabls rage with his
enemies. 1t is a magnificent sight to see a
blacSibun from the plains of Alemtejo, a puro,
who has never been fought before, in his
first rage and rush into the ring. He charges
at the first living creature in his path; the
binder and n adder his rush the safer is the
bull fighter. The man holds his scarlet silk
EN- cloak in -ront of him, and, behind It's
shelter darts 70 one side as the bull is on
him, and the bulls horns meet only the silk
and the empty air. A mistake of a fraction
OF second IN his action may cost the man
his life. and the right performance OF this
difficult feat Of cozening the bull with the
cloak Is the bu fighters first elementary ac-
quirement
When the bill has run at three or four Of
the men and failed each time to gore. the
poor beast Is disappointed and enraged. He
stands in the center of the ring, gazing from
one TO another OF his foes, hesitating which
to attack first He paws the ground. below
ing hoarsely III his anger; his great muscular
neck is lowered and raised. in terrible SEM
tance of goring and tossing and killing an
Imaginary enemy, he stamps on the ground,
and fancies he Is trampling an assailant under
bis hoofs. Sometimes he charges again and
again till his wind and rage are spent.
Sometimes he turns cunning, and, approach
ing one Of the men slowly, stalks him with
deadly intent 10 catch and hold him against
the wooden barrier OF the ring and crush the
life out OF him
This action h, of course, more to be feared
than the bulls blind rushes, and would lead
TO more deaths in the ring than occur, but
that the boun larry Of the arena, which is
from to feet IN height, is provided with a
little ledge about half way from the ground.
On this the bul fighter can place his foot,
and, resting hk hand on the top, vault over
and escape. 1t is amusing to see a practiced
bull fighter chased by the bull across the
arena, and timiag his flight 30 exactly that
he Reaches the barrier and leaps over at the
very moment that the bulls horns come with
a resounding bang against the woodwork
Sometimes, tho Ugh, the man has to run as
fast as his legs tan carry him, and sometimes
he does not run fast enough. Then the bull
scores. -The Fortnightly Review.