The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-06-18

A ~CocKFIGHT IN Il PHILIPPINES.
Britons who ought to have known better
took q tartana and drove to the gallera in
the city, which is somewhat ~inappropri-
ately placed within biscuit throw of the
cathedral.
There was a crowd in the street, but no
sign or placard to show what was going
on. One took tickets through a grating
st / peseta o head with an extra fee of B
confines for the inevitable government
stamp. One then went inside through the
entrance door farther on.
Inside, what was nce a patio, or court,
was rooted over by q metal awning, which
left plenty Of light n air space between
the roof and the top of the walls. The
cockpit itself was in the center of the
building, o slightly raised platform, mud
f1oored and ringed in by q trim green pal
ing II feet in diameter.
Round the edge of the pit were two
semicircles of green benches, on which the
elite of the noble sportsmen present could
sit and drink mp the entertainment with
their honored noses On a level with the
fighting floor. Beyond these again were
rings of rough benches, each row higher
thar the one in front of it, like the seats
in an operating theater. These went right
up to the walls, and above them was a
gallery with more tiers of seats, SO that
the place could be systematically packed
to its utmost capacity.
The fighting cocks were kept in small
coops in q closed dark cupboard at one
side of the gallery, where each amused
himself at intervals by growing out his
own particular chapter of defiance.
The audience dribbled in slowly. The
lower orders came first. We recognized
some of them with surprise. For instance,
there was o professional beggar, who on
weekdays exhibited q ghastly eye, like an
overgrown oyster at a lucrative pitch, be-
side the cathedral and clamored for aims
on the plea of total blindness. But there
- was in a seat close beneath us with his
professional eye closed and another very
sharp optic quite open looking a very diff
ferent person. 1t seemed thai he combined
the profession of weekday begging with
that Of Sunday bookmaking, and I am
free to confess that be showed very fine
business aptitude for both.
But meanwhile we were getting nearer
to the affair of the morning. The cocks
were brought out of their coops one by one
and carefully gone over to counterfeit any
fraudulent tampering. The Spaniard OF
Manila, like his countrymen elsewhere,
likes to get what he wants, and is entirely
constituencies about how he does it. 1t he
has his own way, he will grease the head
Of his fighting cock to prevent the oppos-
ing fowl getting a grip.or he will cheer
fully poison its spurs, or he will even rub
them with garlic in the pious hope of
causing d swelling Of any flesh that they
may so much as scratch, and SO, as a con-
sequence, before these mains were fought
medical precautions were taken to prevent
any of this knayery being brought into
play.
The operation was conducted with gray
itv and care. One mar took each fowl in
turn by legs and breast Another held it's
lower jaw between his thumb and first
finger. Another (the umpire) spongcd its
head and neck carefully over, first with
alcohol and then with water, and then he
dried it most delicately with q fair white
towel.
And meanwhile the din in the place in
creased. There was room for 300 people,
bat 600 had made up their minds to get
in and were doing 1t. The army was
largely represented among the audience,
and SO was cigarette smoke, and SO were
children. Then the two little semicircles
of green seats close up to tho pit were oc-
cupied by five senors, who one could see
felt themselves very Justly to be the envy
OF all bcholders, and the door to the street
was shut and the business OF the morning
began.
Two light speckled birds came on first.
Eachin turn wa slung in o handkerchief,
SO that it could not escape, weighed at the
scale and the weight publicly announced
Then the umpire with q lemon tested the
f--<k