The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-24
SHE SAW A BULL FIGHT.
A baltimore Girl Tells How the Spectacle
Impressed Her.

Impressed Her.
Baltimore girl, who faints at the sight
of a caterpillar. turns green at the flow OF
blood, says tho Sun. md is in every way OF
a most gentle and kindly nature, thus writes
home about her visit to u bull fight:
sat last / have seen my first bull tight,
and l trust my last. You could not have
borne it five minutes. and l scarcely know
how l did. 1900
.'lmapine an immenso arena, with 22.oW
people packed in circles, while above lnno-
cent little white clouds fioated over an m
~tenssly blue sky. Attimes the tender-heat,
cd clouds shut tho sky entirely of from al
view of what WAS going on beneath III .ne
ers of tears (?) fell from them. and 1t Is to Dc
hoped soothed the wonndso of the six ensaGea
| bulls that succeeded each other to death.
| The occuslon was Muzxantinis fareweii TO
the Parisinn public, which has made such a
hero of him. Not only had fatted calves
been killed in his honor i'll appreciation or
the fattsd bulls which Mazzantini hau
killed with such glory. but hats and II
kerchiefs waved, presents OF silver, OF
gold and jewels We're thrown TO mn
after his little speech OF fareweii'
and flowers, in forms of wreaths,
QUEUE and hearts, soon covered the gore
stained ground. OF all these gifts the only
one this Spanish erandee noticed at all was
| a simple bunch of yiolets. THIS he stoopeu
to pick IN, and kissed in the direction of
the fair dame who had thrown 1t. Ills "
Wallets raised the more valuable gllts from
the dust, while Mazzantini himself never
deigned to even glance at the rich Jewels
scattered at HIS feet.
ut was a wonderful sight, exciting past
belief. / WAS glad to have seen 1t, Tor l
learned something. but the one lesson com,
pletes the course. III see no more oult
a H. M >n,J>etro r1pvnl fha yNT2lE nf
Carmen az we came out and L stopped TO
study the faces of the audience That but a
few minutes before were in such extremes
of excitement, shouting and hlssing. wnen
the poor bull, terrified and smarting tried
to save himself instead of showing the
proper amount OF hsht, ana haa
Inembered that l, too, at the moment had
risen to my feet and rejoiced over a we'll
planted lance, which | thought was costing
the picador his life, as he stood directly IN
front of the bulls shoulder just as he low
cred his head to strike. Then the marvel
Gus Mazzantini lsaped over the head ana
stood quietly waiting until the now mad
| deued creature turned ON him with sui
tcient ferocity to satisfy the most exactlng
hisser.
Nothing can express to you the intense
artistic aspect Of the performance. one
has to sac ii TO understand the science OF
these superb men. They walk with the
dignity that princes are supposed to have
in and out OF the jaws of death-a leap
not any higher or less calm than Just
enough to keep them this side of eternity.
This little scarlet cloak. their only deten-
siye weapon, and with this alone they lead
the infuriated animal to the exact spot
where thew wish to kill him. and then kill
him, not at any hap-hazard moment to
save their own lives. bat only at the signal
given by the president. In Paris they 40
not kill the bull in the arena. but when the
signal to kill is given. the natador's per
sonal danger il all the greater for not Kill :
ing, as he nust.touch the bull in the vital
spot above the head between the shoulders,
lust as the bull lowers his head
to gore him. thus going through the
form, after which the bull is taken out by
oxen and killed out of sight. Each bull,
which is of n very high breed, belongs tc
some ~well-known Spanish senor. and Is
worth q good many hundred dollars. But
they say 1t can not fight twice, as it must
be nut an end to-: the honor of the family
to who it belongs is at stake by the way
it fights.
"A wonderful sight, and always shall j
, live in my memory how the artistic supersed
ed the human side of it to my eyes. ! ha1
to grasp the smelling salts in one hand. TO
YOU know how | turn sick at the sight 0
blood, ana to see those poor bllndtoide'
I horses raised on the horns OF tn
l ~maddened bulls made me turn faint 70
0 a moment. while the next | was fascln
: ated b. . wonderful science that turne'
life into a playing. The cos
tunes and all the mise en- scene are tn
: most picturesque scenes Imaginable. l.
t fact, everything is lone to make it endure
bic. Fierce feelings that l never imagine
| had rose up and took possession OF mt
s and l could scarcely realize my own lack c
c heart. For once and the last time l hay
5 seen this relic of a past barbarlsm, and
Z am glad to have had the experienced"