Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-23

headed bull, is supposed, nevertheless to
be the most dangerous of all Nothing is
more imposing than his entrance into the
ring. He shows himself to the public with
d head well thrown up, without giving way
to any disordered movements. His air is
so majestic that the 10000 people of the
audience send up a great shout of enthusi-
astic appreciation. He scarcely notices the
enemies around him, Men on foot and men
on horses; but he seems purposely to look
to the audience and invite their admira-
ton. Then, sharply beating the ground
with his forefeet. he rushes surely at the
sportsman mounted on his poor shaky and
blindfoided steed. Throughout the fight he
does not fatigue himself, but shows an in
telligence and decision that amount to gen.
eralship. And it is not strange that some
thing of the kind should be-the Spanish
fighter is no common bull
What! wrote a Madrid editor recently
in an editorial on the progress of human
ity, shall we, for the sake of a new
tangled sentln ent, repudiate heroic sport
that has been Spanish for more than ten
full centuries?" And then he goes on,
very logically, to explain that the bulls
themselves like it, because of hereditary
lust for battle.
The argument runs something like this:
Had Fighting Ancestors.
Each fighting bull today in Spain is at
the end of long line of fighting ancestors,
as well and noble in their way any
Spanish grandee is in his, you From
d remote antiquity his bull ancestors have
all been fighters; and 1t would be indeed
strange should he not inherit their ability
and experience.
Unfortunately there seems to be mon
strous dimcuity in the way of this thesis
when one comes to look at 1t in cold blood.
1t is true tnat each bull today is a descend
ant of long line of tghterS-that is, of
bulls who have fought in the ring. But
no bull enters the arena twice-in almost
every the bull is killed there. There
fore, no lighting experience or taste other
than that common to all bulls throughout
the world can have been communicated
along this line of descent. A dead bull can
not become a father. And until the hour
of his death he has never had fight.
Therefore, let us look the difficulty boldly
in the face and pass on.
The bulls have the blood of fighters in
them? Undoubtedly. They have their gene
aiogies. And the noble Spaniards feel that
to refuse well-bred bull his glorious death
in the ring would be like adding injury to
insult in the breach of class privileges be-
tween equals to which it would amount in
stern reality.
Longer Lineage Than Duke.
'Noblesse oblige!" as one of the Dukes OF
Veragua once remarked of an animal from
his own meadows. Il, who am a noble OF
Spain, owe something to these noble bulls,
whose lineage, to tell the truth, is longer
than my own. Shall 1 deprive one of his
hereditary right to die in the full joy of
combat, under the eyes of $4,000 apprecia-
tive Spaniards?'
Neither the present duke nor his father,
nor yet his, would have dreamed of such a
wrong. The bull Pavito. bred in the We
ragua granaderia, is on the golden scroll of
the great bulls of history early as 1867.
On June l. of that year, at Madrid he
killed the celebrated espada, Manuel Ximi-
mon oil 81,
fashionable audience of the period.
Again, 1874, the bull Cachucho, also. the
property of the Veragua family, killed, at
Madrid again, the toreador Manuel Hermo-
silla-Sonera.
That certain bulls have died really quite
gloriously, without the least attempt to
jump the fence and get back to their medi-
tations In the shed, and that others have
escaped even more gloriously, may be seen
from few notable examples Of the pre- sent
century.
l take their names from the Golden
Scroll
"Barbado."-This bull, on May IL, 1900.
gado.
"Barrabas. He killed Manuel Dominguez
IN the ring, at Santa Maria, June 1, 1857,
by thoughtfuly driving u horn into the
Sentleman's eye.
GEestnut color He killed the toreador
Panchos in 1913.
Great Fighter.
Cantanero. This animal was of extra
ordinary strength, courage and agility. In
leI, at the plazo of Puerto Santa Maria
ne Killed nine horses and wounded one
AFTER having received thrty-two smear
thrusts. lie was SO covered with blood that
the color OF his skin could not ba seen
The public demanded that his life be snar-
ed, which was DONE
"Carmeleo. This animal. which no
legged to Don Manuel Suarez de Cots.
fought. turn by turn, lion, a tiger and a
man; and whipped all three. This was in
Aprll, 1873. FITTING of bulls against other
animals is still sometimes practiced In
Spain, as ii was in the Roman Coliseum i'm
the middle ages, when the authorities
would not permit inter human engage
nents. 1 once met Frenchman who in
ISL, was present at such a conflict at
Palma in the Balearic Islands, and saw a
hon conquered by bull.
Centenela In 1880, at Tarragona this
animal Killed the banderillo Rafael Arch
inc.
'Garbata. animal. one of the most
beautiful ever seen, fought on March %.
1863, at Madrid, against an elephant, which
ne attacked valiantly six times without
being able to injure his thick hide
"Giron."-On June It,, 1870, he mortaIly
wounded Augustin Penera and then thanks
to his agility. jumped the fence. He was
u.
Gorchito."-Thfs terrible animal killed
six horses and received more than thirty
spear blows before dying himself.
Mariomeno."-In 1864, in the afternoon
OF May a. this bull received, without ever
orce turning back, fifty-one spear blows
and killed six horses. After his death his
head was carried in honor around the ring.
TO music and the shouts of the people.
Trespicos. On June 10, 1916 this most
terrible of all known bulls wounded and
completely disabled nine picadores and one
banderillo; that is to say, ten men, and
killed SIX horses. The people demanded
that mis- life be spared which was done.
To GO conscientiously through the whole
long list would take up too much time and
tire you; but If the recitation of the few
noble names l have culIed here and there
shall have had some effect of awakening in
the American heart a hearty admira ton
for the Spanish bull, these labors will have
not been in vain. They do their best, the
little Spanish bulls. to kill the men who
torture them. And often they succeed
STERLING HELLO.
German Club Meets.
Der Observation-Disclosures Club" had its
regular meeting at the home Of Miss Emily
Proctor Tuesday evening. The program
uaS Fol