Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-07-26
FIGHTING CHICKENS.
BOOKING WAS A FAVORITE SPORT
OF OUR ANCESTORS.

A Diversion Which In Its Early Days Had
Not All the Cruelties That Now Ac-
company It How the Cocks Were
Trained In the Seventeenth Century.
In the middle of the eighteenth century
Bourne called out against cock fighting as
"a heathenish mode of diversion, which
ought certainly to be confined to barbarous
nations" By that time it had grown to be
q hideous performance, such as we still see
1t practiced in the sporting pictures" of
100 years ago, where the birds, provided
with long steel spurs, stab ono another to
death in pit, surrounded by ring of
leering old gentlemen in boots and breech-
es But, difficult as it may be to realize
the fact, in earlier times this was pas
time which shocked nobody and really
was much less horrible than the Gregorian
tradition presupposes.
Excellent old Gervase Markham, writ
ing in the reign Of James l, says, There
is no pleasure moro noble, delightsome or
void Of cozonago and deceit than this
pleasure Of cooking is, and it was cult
waited, with perfectly clear conscience, by
the first gentlemen Of England. So i'm
pOrtant d place did cock fighting take
among the amusements of the age that
certain birds were us famous by name rs
any race horse is today, and Ladas himself
Is not a moro universal celebrity than
were, about 1910 the two celebrated cocks
Noble and Grissell, whose names are hand
ed down to us rs those of 1.-THE two IA
mouscst cocks that ever fought" But per-
haps n still wider reputation was enjoyed
by a certain hen, whose name was links,
who became the mother Of so many bril-
liant fighters that she was regarded ut last
with q sort Of superstitiOus awe.
Extreme care was taken from the mo-
ment that the egg was laid to insure tho
health of what might turn out to be u
valuable fighter At n month old the
young birds were censcd every morning
with burning rosemdry or pennyroyal
and then taken for constitutional on
grass plot. Directly the comb appeared it
was cut away and the scar constantly
rubbed with butter. If the chicken crowed
too soon he was cast out, for good fight
er never raised his voice till late III life.
When promising bird had been selected,
no pains were spared with hkn; he was
BlNOIl hIAttllEO anu NltlDOIttlt lbOuS-CIttSC-
parings, chopped locks, toast sopped in
wine. In short, no racer of our day is
nourished and guarded more dclicately by
his fortunate owner.
Tho professional cockmasters preserved
a great mystery about the dieting and
lodging Of II cock during the days which
preceded a battle Gervaso Mark ham calls
this "a secret never yet diyulged, but kept
close in the breasts of some few" Every
thing was believed to depend on these mat
tiers, and the tricks of the trade were jeal-
ously guarded. No doubt different cock
masters had different panaceas. The train
ing exercise, however, was less secret. The
bird was taken out Of his pen after his
morning meal and pair Of "hots, soft
padded rolls Of leather, were carefully fas-
tened over the spurs. Another cock SINH
larly protected was brought out, and tho
two birds, being set on lawn of fine
turf, were encouraged to fight and buffet
one another until the prize cock showed
signs of WEAKNESS. He was then taken up,
deprived Of his "hots" and buried in u
basket of sweet straw, packed around him
in such a way that he could scarcely stir,
land so shall he stew and sweat until the
evening"" This basket was called tho
"stovo," and before the cock was put into
it he was made to swallow lump Of
chopped rosemary and pounded barley sug-
ar mixed in butter.
Some amateurs liked to put their fight
ing cocks into a cockbag, but this was
not held to be so efIicacious rs stove"
because tho air could not pass so freely
through it. All the next day the cock rest
oil nd tbn fpl1p1trtnSr ,,,nrninc, Ylo
cockmaster took him into green inclo-
sure. Then, putting him down on the turf,
and holding some ordinary dunghill
cock in his arms the master showed it to
him, ran from him, enticed him to follow,
and occasionally allowed him to get q
stroke at the dunghill bird. When thor
oughly heated with this pastime the fight
er was once more stuffed with butter OF
rosemary and then slowed in the basket of
straw till the evening. This kind Of train
ing won't on for six weeks, which was con-
sidered the proper time for training cock,
the last three days being spent in absolute
rest and fasting, 80 that 1t was fresh and
hungry bird that was brought out ut
length into the pit. Now came the exer-
else Of the real art of cock hghting-the
proper relation of the fighters.
None of the incidental refnements
which made eighteenth century cock fight
ing SO cruel had occurred to the simplicity
Of the seventeenth. No additions were
made to the armor Of the birds-no metal
spurs or needles fixed to their vigorous
legs. All that was done was to clear decks
for Nightingale cut off the long feathers of
neck and tail, TO clip the wings, to smooth
and sharpen the boak and heels with u
knife. 1t was important to leave no feath-
ers on the crown Of the head for the foe to
take hold of, and then, after final cere-
mony. when the oockmEster had licked
the head and eyes Of the champion all over
with his tongue, the bird was turned into
the pit to try his fortune After the battle
was over each oOmbatant was tenderly
taken up and his wounds were secured.
He was then put into his basket to reoov-
er, so wrapped in flannel and pressed down
with straw that he could scarcely breathe,
and thus left motionloss for the night
Realm.