The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-06-24
HORRORS OF THE BULL RING
Mrs. John A. Logan Renftts a
Spanish Bull Fight.
(By Mrs. John A. L0gan)

lie cAISIlSlVe preparations Tor the
greatest bull fight of the year, which
occurs annually on Easter Sunday aft
ernoon.
Scarcely ave the sounds of the
church bells, ringing out the glad tid-
ings that our Savior has assembled into
heaven, died out before the jingling
bells on the gayly caparisoned draught
mules used to drag away the lead
bulls and horses announce the opening
of the bull ring. This vicious national
sport the Spaniards have carried to
Cuba and all their colonies
Wishing to see everything that inf1u-
enced the masses when l was in Spain,
I decided to see this spectacle. 1t was a
glorious afternoon when, with a guilty
conscience, we assembled the steps that
led to the seats in the amphitheater of
the enormous bull ring of Seville.
We had heard much Of the science Of
the contest, the wonderful skill and
courage of Garetta, the greatest living
bull fighter, and we hoped in our hearts
that there might be some redeeming
quality displayed as a sort of pallia-
ton to our outraged conscience.
AS we too our seats we felt almost
bewildered by the gay scene before US;
more thai $4,000 people on seats ar
ranged tier above tier of the great am
phitheater, ladies in their gorgeous cos
tunes, wearing their finest jewels and
delicate white or black lace mantillas
over their heads as if they were attend
ing the OPERA; princes, dukes and gen.
tlemen of the highest official ran
attending them, until the boxes looked
like those of the Metropolitan opera
house in New York on a gala night.
In other sections were the Weather
citizens and their families down to in
fants in arms, then the people Of all
classes and conditions in their best
attire, until every seat was occupied.
We had hardly adjusted ourselves
when the gates flew open, and like the
beginning of a circus the grand entree
was made by the matadOrs and torea-
doris, the p%icadores mounted on the poor
old gayly bedecked nags that were soon
to be gOred to death.
The mules with their tinkling sleigh
bells, their riders and drivers all tricked
ut in the brightest colors of the rain
bow, the men wearing costumes richly
embroidered in gold braid, with white,
blue, yellow, red and bright colored
stockings, their slippers and knee
breeches covered with gold or silver
spangles.
The matadors and toreadors wore
round velvet caps, the picadores large,
light-colored sombreros, with bright
ribbon bands n feathers. They circled
round and round the ring, and then out
at one of the entrances, all except the
mounted picadores. The matadors and
~toreadors stationed themselves at the
opposite sides from the gate at which
the bul was to be let into the ring.
At a given signal the gate swung out
ward, and the majestic locking dumb
creature rushed in from the dungeon
like stall where he had been confined
without food or water for many hours
before. Once out in the light and sur
rounded by the gay spectacle which
met his bewildered eyes, the poor brute
held his head high in the air and
ready to dash away in any direction to
escape his surroundings.
This was the opportunity for the
picador to ride, spear in hand, upon the
very horns of the animal, who, like a
hunted beast at bay, naturally plunged
his horns into the horse and hoisted him
into the air. the toreador repeating
again and again the brutal assault.
Each time the horse recoiled from the
wounds made by the bull in self-defence
until the poor, bleeding brute was sufi-
GENTLY exhausted for the dozen or more
matadors to attack him right and left
with barbed javelins and decorated ban
derillas.
They worried him continually until
Garetta, red cloak and sword in hand,
could approach the creature closely
enough to thrust his Toledo blade deep
into his neck, in the vital spot just be-
hind the horns.
Many times he approached and dex-
terously tried to bury the sword to the
hilt, was often unsuccessful, but as
often renewed the attack, while the
%toreadors on foot kept up their perse-
cutions to divert the animals attention,
until at last Garetta made the fatal
stroke n the suffering beast would
drop, all the while displaying more
courage than the nobler animal who
had b~utchered him.
During the combat there were many
times when the bull came near dis
patching his tormentors, and would
have done SO but for their f1eetness Of
foot in reaching and getting behind the
barriers.
From the first to the last our sympa-
thies were with the poor bulls, and
watched what was said to be the skilful
killing by the greatest bull fighter in
Spain of six magnificent bulls, the finest
specimens of the peculiar species that
are raised on the best estates of dukes
and Members of the royal families, who
are given the exclusive privilege of
raising them for the fights, which occur
in some city in Spain every Sunday, we
failed to see one single redeeming fea-
ture in the contest.
When you consider that from twen-
ty-fve to thirty horses were gored to
death and dragged from the ring, and
that from twelve to fourteen men on
foot and on horseback were constantly
%torturing n d~istractnig the bulls we
could not appreciate the moral courage
or skilful thrusts of the great Garetta.
Once the bull made for the lot, and in
running for the barrier Garetta fell and
the bull ran over him as he was making
for n of the matadors. In passing
over Garetta he planted his hind feet
between Garetta's shoulders, uncom-
fortably near the base of his brain,
L ", hioh % ~ t1,all nirh-orl;a. l---.