Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-10-14
A MADRID BULL FIGHT
AS Seen by Two American
Women.
IL Was Unique Experience, and IL RE-
moved a Coating OF Gloss from that
Much VRunted PastIme.

travels In that country OF Miss sue r. Daniels of
Grafton, the writer Of the letters, aud a lady
friend The first letter told Of the ocean voy age
and the arrival at Gibraltar. Those which follow
ed described sights and experiences on the jour
ney from Gibraltar to Ronda ,andthence TO Gran.
ada and Madrid, with interesting side excursions
From Madrid the tourists went to Cordova Sc
vile, and then back to Gibraltar. "glad to be on
British soil again when war is really beginning
in earnest They were surprised to find such
excitement there because so little was heard
while in Spain about the coming war.
These letters came, 1t is hardly necessary say
when the first fever of the war excitement was
on in this country and wheh the public had 10
interest in anything but the war news AMI when
the pressure to give such news left no available
space in our columns. For this reason publca.
ton Of the letters not attempted. They have
now lost their first timeliness but the letter print
ed herewith is Of interest be. It describes an
experience which not many American women
have enjoyed Ca visit to a bull fight in Mad
rid
April 10, 1898.
Last Monday we attended at Madrid our
first-and last-bull fight. We thought
we couldn't say we had really visited Spain
If we didn't see one; so we went, dreadng
it beyond measure, and should have dread.
ed it more if we had known how it would
be.
Every city in Spain has its bull ring
where fights are given every Sunday and
holiday from Easter until October, the first
fight this season being given last Sunday,
April 10, Easter, and another Monday.
which we attended. The bull ring is a
large round stone building, this one seat
ing $4,000 spectators, with a space in the
centre several times as large as a circus
ring, fence around that; then, beginning
short distance back, tiers of seats as at a
circus around the whole. Only the bal
cony and gallery are covered the lowest
seats, which occupy about half the seating
space, and the arena having no roof, the
lot sun shining with full force on many
seats. In buying tickets one chooses the
shade or the sun as much as the position
in any other respect. Unlike theatres the
choicest seats seem to be at the very top,
while the populace sits below. The bull
lighters receive large pay and a popular
eSpddd is hero and gains an enormous
income. 1t is asserted that Rafael Guerra,
whose picture is posted up all over Madrid,
killed 22j bulls in the season of 1894 and
netted SO, 900.
We went early in order to watch the
people, who before they took their seats
horrible brass band, conducted by man
smoking a cigarette adding festvity to
the occasion. There were women, peas
ants perhaps, with bare heads and white.
| gayly embroidered fringed silk shawls,
women better dressed wearing mantillas
and great show of red and yellow flowers
or ribbon, and women in grdnde toilette.
evening shades, with hats or mantlllas, as
the case might be. The men had nothing
especially noticeable about their dress. ex-
cepting now and then peasant in his Sun
day clothes, but they were all without ex-
ception smoking, | am sure, and far out
balanced the women in number.
When it came time for the fight to begin
a signal was given to clear the arena, and
| two men rode in on beautiful horses to
drive out the stragglers. This put NJ. and
me into tremor, for we feared that these
were the horses which were to be the vic
tins of the bulls fury. When the ring
was entirely cleared the men rode out and
| then came in again to the sound of music
at the head of a brilliant procession first
SIX bull lighters on foot in gay costumes
just as they are always pictured-then men
with long spears on the horses to be killed,
old nags, lean and gaunt, with crooked
legs and swollen knees; then men on foot
in white suits trimmed with red, who clear
the ring of carnage after the slaughter,
and last two teams of three mules each,
with bells and gayly decorated harness.
which drag off the dead horses and bulls
after the fight. Most of the procession
went out of the ring again, leaving only
the six fighters and the two mounted piScG-
doreS. The fighters, in their bright red
and green and silver costumes, their red
cloaks in their hands, took their stand
far apart on the side of the arena opposite
where the bull was to come out, the two
horsemen taxing their places on the side,
the horses having one eye blindfolded.
They all stood there during few mo-
ments of suspense until door was opened
and the bull could be seen standing in
dark enclosure for an instant before he
started out with lowered head and raised
tail and dashed into the arena.
He was an immense great fellow, red
and white, with long, sharp horns; from
his shoulders, already dyed with blood,
hung short red and yellow streamers (the
national colors) attached to barbs inserted
into the flesh to torment and nfuriate him.
He stood looking about him as if blinded
and dazed and seemed to notice nothing at
first until the fighters approached him and
| "afCu lhCi icu ClOdhS, Wueu he paved
the ground, lowered his head, and rushed
at one of them, who turned and ran and
| jumped over the fence; then another at
tracted his attention and was chased in
turn till he jumped over the fence and so
on. When the bull had lost some of his
freshness, the fighters remained in the
arena, springing nimbly to one side as the
bull galloped towards them, letting him
hook their red cloak as he passed. When
this had gone on long enough, the bull no.
| ticing only the red cloaks and paying not
the slightest attention to the horses, he
was purposely drawn towards one of them
and-I shut my eyes. opened them too
soon and saw for a second, oh, horror! a
sight which | fear l shall never be able to
forget, a horse that had been gored by the
bull and still stood, bearing his rider!
When | looked again a few minutes
later, the two horses lay dead on the
ground near the fence, the working men
were sprinkling fresh sand over the blood,
and the brave fighters were torturing the
tired bull in still more brutal fashion.
| The bull seemed worn out and paid little
heed to the red cloaks even, unless they
were waved very near his face, when he
would run after them a little-not as if he
were angry, but as if instinct compelled
bim-the fighter jumping to one side and
throwing barbed arrow-like darts skillfully
into his shoulder as he passed. The poor,
tortured creature, his shoulders and fore
legs covered with blood, seemed not to
know which way to turn to escape his tor
mentors.