The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-14
Ait OF COCK FIGHTING.
II Was a Favorite sport In the Last
Century.
From the Realm.


From the Realm.
In the middle OF the eighteenth century
Bourne called out against cock fighting
as "a heathenish mode of diversion. which
ought certainly 10 be confined to barbar-
Gus nations" By that time IL had grown
to be a hideous performance. such as we
still see II practiced In the sporting pic
lures Of a hundred years ago, where tho
birds. provided with long steel spurs, stab
one another to death In pit, surrounded
by a ring of leering old gentlemen in boots
and breeches. But. dlflcut as II may be-
to realize the fact, in earlier times this
was a pastme which shocked nobody.
and really was much less horrible than
the Georgian tradition presupposes.
Extreme care was taken from the mos
mont that the egg was laid to insure tho
health OF what might turn out to be a
valuable fighter. At a month old thu
young birds were censed every morning
with burning rosemary or pennyroyal and
then taken for a constitutional on a grass
plot. Directly the comb appeared II was
cut away and the scar constantly rubbed
with butter. If the chicken crowed too
soon he was cast out, for a good fighter
never raised his voice till late In life.
When a promising bird had been selected
no pains were spared with him; he was
given strange and elaborate foods-cheese,
wine In short, no racer of our day Is
nourshed and guarded more delicately by
his fortunate owner.
The bird was taken out Of his pen after
his morning meal and a pair OF "hots,"
soft padded rolls of leather were care
fully fastened over the spurs. Another
cock similarly protected was brought out,
and the two birds, being set on a lawn OF
fine turf, were encouraged TO fight and
buffet one another until the prize cock
a.I.s cd agrrsa - IL tkaw.
taken up. deprived Of his ''hots" and
buried in basket of sweet straw. packed
around him In such way that he could
scarcely stir, "and so shall he stew and
sweat until the evening" This basket was
called the stove" and before the cock
was put into it he was made to swallow
a lump Of chopped rosemary and pounded
barley sugar, mixed in butter.
Some amateurs liked to put their fight
ing cocks into a cock bag, but this was
not held to be so eflcacious as a stove"
because the air could not pass so freely
through II. All the next day the cock
rested, and on the following morning tho
cock master took him into a green In
closure. Then, putting him down on the
turf. and holding some ordinary dung
hill'' cock in his arms, the master showed
II to him. ran from him. enticed him to get
a stroke at the dunghll bird. When thor
oughly heated with this pastme the fight
err was once more stuffed with butter OF
rosemary and then slowed in the basket
of straw till the evening. This kind OF
training went on for six weeks which was
considered the proper time for training a.
cock, the last three days being spent in
absolute rest and fasting, so that IT was
fresh and hungry bird that was brought
out at length into the pit Now came the
exercise of the real art of cock fighting--
the proper relation of the fighters.
None of the incidental rehnements which
made eighteenth century cock fighting so
cruel had occurred to the simplicity of the
seventeenth. No additions werR made to
the arnnor Of the birds-no metal spurs or
needles fixed to their vigorous legs. AL
that was done was to clear decks for
flghting-to cut off the long feathers OF
the neck and tails, to clip the WINGS to
smooth and sharpen the beak and heels
with a knife. 1t was important to leave
no feathers on the crown of the head for
the foe to take hold of, and then. after a
final ceremony, when the cock master 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 combatant was
tenderly taken up and his wounds were
secured. lie was then put into his basket
to recover, so wrapped in flannel and
pressed down with straw that he could
scarcely breathe and thus left motioniess
for the night