Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-06-25

Britons who ought to have known better
took n tartana and drove to che gallcra i'm
the city, which is somewhat inappropri-
ately placed within biscuit throw of the
cathedral
There was crowd in the street, but no
sign or placartl TO show what was gsing
on. One took tickets through grating
at rcscta n head with an extra fee of )
ccntimcs fer the inevitable government
stamp. One then went inside through the
entrance door farther on.
Inside. what was once patio, or court,
was rsofcd over by n metal awning, which
lcfs plenty of light and air space between
tho roof and the top Of the walls. The
cockpit itsoli WAS in the center OF ta;e
building, II Slightly raised platform, mud
| fleorcd and hinged in by q trim green pal
| ing II feet in diameter.
Round the edge of the pit were two
| semicirc!cs OF green benches, on which he
| elite OF the noble sportsman present could
sit and drink up the entertainment with
| their honorcd poses on a level with the
fighting foor. Beyond these again were
| rings of rough benches, each row higher
than the one liz front of it, like the seats
| in an operating theatcr. These went right
! up to the walls, and above them was u
| gallery with more tiers of seats SO that
the place could be Systematically packed
| to its utmost capacity.
| The fighting cocks werc 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 dribblcd in slowly. The
| lower orders came first We recognized
some Of them with surprise For instance,
| there WIS = Professional bcggar, who on
| weekdays exhibited a ghastly eye, like an
| ovcrgrown oyster at a lucrative pitch, be-
side tia cathedral and clamorcd for aims
on the plea of total blindness. But there
ho was in a seat close beneath us with his
| professional eye closed and another very
sharp optic quite open looking u very diff
| ferent person 1t seemed that he combined
the profession of wcoEda- be-gIng with
that Of Sunday bookmakiag, and l am
free to confess that he 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 counteract 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, If he
has his own way. he will grease the head
of his fighting cock TO prevent the oppos
ing fowl getting grip or he will cheer
fully poison its spurs, or he will even ruiz
them with garlic in the pious hope Of
causing swelling of any gesh that they
may so much as scratch, and so, as con
sequence, before these mains were tough,
medical precautions were taken to proven,
any of this knavery being brought into
play.
The operation was conducted with grav
ity and care One man took each fowl in
turn by legs and breast. Another held it:
lower jaw between his thumb and first
finger Another 1.-THE umpire) sponged it.
head and neck carefully over, first with
alcohol and then with water, and then h
dried it most delicately with fair white
towel
And meanwhile the din in the place in
creased. There was room for 300 people
but 600 had made up their minds to get
in and were doing it. The army wa:
largely represented among the audience
and so was cigarette smoke, and SO wer,
children. Then the two little semicircle.
of green seats close up to the pit were &C
cupied by five senors, who one could SC,
felt themselves very justly to be the envy
of all bcholders. and the door To the stree
was shut and the business Of the morning
began.
Two light speckied birds came on first
Each i'm turn was slung in a handkerchief
so that 1t could not escape, weighed Mt tn,
seal, and the weight publicly announced
Then the umpire with a lemon tested tn
SPURS Of each for poison, stabbing the frui
well home, and afrerward wiped the spur
clean of acid with the embroidered towel
and next the birds were put on the foo