Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-25
BALTIMORE VS.. WASHINGTON.
Several Big Mains to he Fought by
Game Cocks.

Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.
BALTIMORE. Dec. 25.-The great annual
main" between birds from Washington
and Baltimore will take place In a
barn not a thousand miles from a saloon
in Canton. this afternoon. A perfect pit
has been fitted up there with seats ar
ranged around 1t in amphitheater style.
Birds have been in training for the great
main for several months. Each of the
twenty-four battles is backed at $40 a side,
and the whole fight is backed at $500 a
side. This is the largest amount OF money
staked in a main for several years.
BLOOD Wannenwich will heel" for Bal
ti;nore and a crack heeler who resides In
Keadysville will heel for Washington.
One of the principal men of the Balti-
more cock-fighters lives in Southwest Bal
timore In a large yard at the rear of his
home he has about 100 game birds OF all
ages and breeds. The main fighters" are
confined In large lattice enclosure, and
are fed like stud horses to prepare them
for the Christmas day contest. Their feath-
crs are clipped close. Their combs and
"gills' are shorn OF, and the spurs of steel
are fitted TO their feet. Twice day the
'hee3er' winds the birds under his charge.
He takes each bird into an open space and
chases the rooster" at full speed until it
is completely gaded. After undergoing this
exercise every day for few weeks there
Is scarcely any danger that the game bird
will die from fatty generation of the heart
The bird is in a good condition for fight
and can be relied upon to stand a long
battle and endure a considerable number
of spur strokes from his opponent. The
night before the fight the birds are gener-
ally removed to the scene of action, con-
cealed in baskets and boxes to avoid the
eagle eye of The ever alert cop"
The birds generally weigh from four and
one-half TO six pounds. Scales are ready
in the pit and when the heelers begin to
show their birds they are weighed out and
matched for the eombat.
The man from keadyyille will bring ten
"stags" over which. IL is said, IL will be
hard to lick. They are all of the celebrated
''saddle-back" breed. a race which has won
renown In the Dit for the last twenty-five
years.
Jackie. the Game Cock" is another SPORT
ing resident OF West Baltimore, who will
have few choice things" In the Canton
pit.
Those who have charge of the arrange
mems Tor the great annual main generally
take the strictest precautions to keep the
thrusting place" dead secret.
1T wouldn't do to tell everyone about II /"
said a noted Canton cock fighter yesterday
while the authorities don't enforce the
law against cock fighting very strictly, IL
they get on to the location of the main
they would do some pulling: or at least so
many policemen would be seen In the Vi
cinity OF the place that some of the bows
would be scared OF and We wouldn't have
good crowd. Without a good crowd we
would have no betting and with no betting
We would have no fun"
rs there much betting at a cock fight,"
Be;tingi we'll. / should say. AS much
betting and far squarer betting than at a
prize fight or on a horse race"
'How's that?"
We'll. you see it's this way" continued
the sport. There amt no swindlin, can
be done at a cock fight. The birds can't
have sense enough to make a fake fight
Ike prize fighters do. The fight is on the
dead square. The best rooster wins ali the
time. There can be no arthly chance ty
deception. The man who backs the hest
bird wins the money every time Then
again, race horse. no matter how fast
may be pulled by a bribed rider and peo-
pie lose oceans in coin in that way The
heeler can't do L thing to prevent the hest
bird from win1in'. He throws him down to
fight and that's all he does. Yes sir. the
best bird wins all the time. an no mistake
about 1t"
The main" commences about noon II
the birds are well matched IT will be dark
before the twenty-four battles are over
There is not much betting until a few min,
utes after the birds are thrown down. ard
then, II the contest is in any degree excit-
ing. men begin to dangle the dollars In
their pockets and betting commences in
earnest. II the birds are closely matched
the excitement reaches a high pitch.