The San Francisco call., 1896-08-03
Secretary Holbrook and His
Men Break In on the
Offenders.
TWENTY MEN ARE ARRESTED
They Were Ready to Steam Away on
a Tug From the Arctic Oil
Works Wharf.

'The degeneration of cock-fghting in
this State is simply appalling.
GAS a matter of fact, if the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not
keep it's hands off, these would-be sports,
who don't know stag from q cock and
who never saw a chicken heeled, will kill
the incest entertainment gentleman or
lady could wish to enjoy"
Con Mooney did not say this in just such
language, because the veteran of the pit is
a great deal more emphatic, but such was
the opinion he expressed yesterday.
The thing is that Mooney, once known
as the founder of and first Mayor OF
"Mooneyville by the Sea-" is little bit
out of sorts. He is bedridden with rheum-
atism, and yesterday he had to forego the
exquisite pleasure of watching a few
chickens cut each others throats or stab
each other to death with two-inch steel
gaffs that look like curved and sharpened
darning needles.
Mooney and Johnny Maher. who are
about equally entitled to the palm or pen
atty for initiating the youths of this West
ern slope into the tinesse of seeing dumb
animals suffer most horrible deaths, had
arranged for big cooking main, to take
place early yesterday morning, and to LAST
until either one of the two masters of the
sport had won seven battles.
There was $500 wagered on the result, q
forfeit of $50 being put up as guarantee
OF good faith.
This affair was the outcome of the cock
ing main held two weeks ago in the Mason
distilery outside of the Sausalito town
limits. On that occasion Maher, repre-
sentlng San Leandro and in fact the entire
Contra Costa County, had some thirteen
fighting cocks which he pltted against
like mum bcr from this side of the bay.
San Francisco lost by one battle.
Subsequently the Mason boys, whose
barn had been used to hold the main,
set what was claimed to be an exorbitant
rental for its use. The sum being refused
them they confscated all the roosters they
could lay their hands on and fought them
for their own pleasure or stewed them for
their own delectation.
Mooney was undismayed by the deple-
ton of his barnyard, and when he chal-
lenged San Leandro for another main he
secured this City for more gamecocks,
which he secured in plenty.
These were the birds that were to figure
in yesterdays main, but for events that
were certainly unforeseen by many the RI
val fowls were unable to come together.
1t had been decided that the main
should be held somewhere out on the bay,
away from the reach of the authorities,
so the barge Yolo was engaged at cost of
$40 and $50 more was offered to and &C
cepted by the captain of the tiny tug
Mile to tow two r0osters and the sports
beyond the jurisdiction of the local
authorizes.
The start was to be made at as nearly
o'clock in the morning as possible, and
several days ago quiet tips" that the main
was to be held were given out.
Potrero and Presidio sports, young men
about town, clerks, wholesale butchers cap
italists and select coterie of the jeunesse
doree from the Palace Hotel knew all
about what fun was in store for them.
On loot, IN cars, buggies. wagons and
carriages they began to arrive early at the
foot of the Arctic Oil Works pier, near the
Union Iron Works. To reach there they
had 10 cross the Fourth-street bridge, over
the ill-smeIling Mission Creek, only to cut
through the fouler and denser atmosphere
of the dumps farther on.
At 10 o'clock there was quite cosmo-
politan assemblage at the end of the
wharf. the kid-glove brigade freely mixing
up with the riff-raff which is bound to
find its way into anything like dog or
cock fight But the chickens, Johnny
Maher and Mooney with their satellites
were nowhere to be seen.
The little tug Mile was at the end of
the wharf, however, with steam up and a
hawser strung to the dilapidated capstan
OF the Yolo. As matter of fact, but for
this showing the weary crowd would have
quit the wharf and given up the pursuit of
pleasure hours before in the belief they
had been hoaxed.
Finally there was sigh of relief when
at 10:30 o'clock Johnny Maher and a
couple OF mis- Berkeley stockyard friends