The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-12-08
A SPANISH BULL FIGHT.
A Horse and Rider Tossed Over a
Fiye-FOOt Fence.

Arena at the Amphitheatre at Mines
The Duke of Veragua's Bulls Used
81. Society for Protection of Animals at
Last Interferred.
In an informal talk before the Port
land Fraternity last evening, Mr.. Edward
II. Eiwell described Spanish bull fight,
witnessed in a French city. The facts IN
connection with it are Of peculiar inter
est. even for a bull fight. Real Spanish
bullfighting, wherein the bulls are tor
tured and killed and horses are impaled
on the bulls sharp horns and killed, IS
contrary to law in France. French bull
fighting is quite different .thing. 1t Is
exciting in the extreme, but not cruel
and not dangerous, except to the human
performers A rosette is fastened be-
tween the horns of the savage, active and
maddened bull. A large prize is offered
to whoeyerrrcan capture the rOsette. Fer
haps twenty of the audience may be
striving at one time to capture the rosette
and the rushes of The bull and their
efforts to escape him are very amusing
and thrilling, as there is real danger.
The rosettes are rarely captured, and.the
prize Ca large one) rarely won, because
the. hull is not only dangerous. but is
long accustomed to the arena and trained
to thwart the men, however active they
may be.
But in the Spanish bull fight there is
real tragedy-real blood and cruelty.
The good people of Mines. a city OF
about 1000 inhabitants in Southern
France, had been enjoying Spanish bull
Hghts, contrary to law, all summer long,
every Sunday, when the party OF 10
American wheelmen, conducted by Mr..
Fla. Elwell, arrived there in Septemb Der.
The previous spring syndicate of lead
ing business men. including members of
the city government, had instituted the
Spanish bull fight as a business enter
prise, and it had met with great success.
Mines is fortunate in the possession OF
the. best preserved Roman amphitheatre
in the world. 1t is in much better pre-
servation than the Coliseum at Rome,
though of course not SO large. It's walls
are made up of two arcades of grand and
graceful round arches, one above the
other, and are just about the height Of
White Head in Portland Harbor.
Inside there are two great
tiers of seats, one above the other, that
correspond with the arcades -ot the out
side, and that look down upon the arena
IN the middle. 1t is variously estimated
that the original seats would accommo-
date from $4,000 to 10000 people. This in
terror is much more worn by time than
the exterior, but the old staircases are all
intact, and tiers of wooden seats were
built on each of the old stone tiers.
The American wheelmen were fortu-
nate in securing seats on the lower tier,
justsoppesite.t the great doors of the dens,
from whence the wild beasts SO many
centuries before had come forth in fury
to battle to the death with gladiators
or to crunch the limbs of Christians.
They were in the dress circle, and paid
81 for a seat. and the tier above the
price was 50. The Ispectaple was some
thing tremendous in its beauty as we'll
rs its grandeur. The vast and grim old
amphitheatre, hoary and wrinkled, but
not infirm, with age, was filed to over
flowing with the bon ton of the great
city, and such costumes, such laughter,
such gaiety! Only in Southern France
could there be such brilliance, vivacity
and grace in color Of dress and tone OF
voice aud social animation. At least
IS, 900 people were present. The gate
receipts must have been at least $40, 600.
Six bulls wera killed during the after
noon They were big black, savage Great
ures, bred purposely for the arena in
Spain by the Duke of Veragua, who
figured so prominently at the Worlds
Fair last year, as direct descendant oil
Columbus. These bulls were lean in the
body, but suggestive of the buffalo in
the great development of the neck and
shoulders. They are allowed to see nc
one but their keepers from birth till
their appearances in the great arena from
the door of the old lions den. The great
concourse of people seemed to daze them
at first. The matador and the rest OF
the BULBS tormentors were all Spaniards
and quite as thorough bred as the bulls.
They were slender, wiry men that seemed
| to have had everything dried out of them
| but bone and sinew and agility and
cruelty. They had long, thin faces, sc
sinister in expression as to seem almost
deyilish. The chulos, picadores and ban
derilleros tormented and maddened the
bull in their different ways, and then the
maJador exhibited his wonderful skill
He would leap over the head of the rush
ing bull, Just as the long, sharp horn;
were about to toss him. He would sit in
chair and leap aside like fash sc
tn at the chair, and not its occupant was
tossed in the air. Finally the wonder
full sword thrust would lie made, AND
the bull WAS dead.
The third bull was terrible fellow.
He chased one picador and his horse
| to the wooden fence, five feet high, just
under the high stone wall. and thrust
| ing it's sharp horns inc the horses alb
! domen. lifted both horse and rider ovsl
the fence. OF course they didn't cleal
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