Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-06-19

When a year ago the people Oh BARGE
Iona fired the whole world with talk Oh
war between Spain and the United
States by mobbing the American con-
sulate in that city and dragging the
stars and stripes in the dust, they had
lust come from a bull fight. The fero-
cious sport had excited their fiery ma
lures to the point of frenzy, and they
were ready for any extravagant act TO
relieve their surplus excitement Ii
there had been no bull fight that day.
Spain might not now be humbled IN
the dust. 1t was the bull fight which
suddenly brought on the crisis, other
wise the national differences might
have been shuttled backward and for
ward in the devious channels of diplo-
macy. until all the bitterness of feeling
had been dissipated.
The Barcelona bull fight is quite diff
ferent from the same kind of sport in
other Spanish cities, for it is there that
the woman bull fighter is born and
bred. and makes her Introductory kill
ing before an admiring audience.
Some of the aristocracy of the old re
gime deplore the existence of the wo-
man bull fighter, but the middle classes
adore her, and every year marks an in
crease in the ranks Of the feminine
dabblers in blood.
In the old days the bull fighter was
gentleman of the bluest blood, who
rode into the ring on an Arabian
charger, with almost his weight in
gold. It was a great accomplishment
in the old days, and the young gentle
man who ranked as the cleverest bull
fighter of his time was a man of vast
social distinction. He was the pet of
all the fine ladies of the land and the
envy of all the men Kings, queens
and princes smiled upon him, and there
was no favor too great to heap upon
him. He was the idol of the people.
He did not fight in the manner of to-
day He carried simple javelin four
feet long, and slew the bull unaided
with his spirited mount through a
series of intricate evolutions, to show
off the PAGES of the animal and his own
Craftsmanship.
Z men of Spain. They were supplanted
by the bull fighters, who entered the
arena for hire. These men at first took
more desperate chances than the others,
and, moreover, rode poor, broken down
horses, which were so slow and nerve
less that they could not avoid the cum
bersome charges Of the enraged bull.
The horses were gOred, and this added
to the pleasure of the populace The
more blood that is spilled and spat-
tered about, the greater the satisfac-
ton of the audience. If some poor
picadOr is laid low their delight is SUI
prene. If the matador is hasty and
kills the bull early in the fight without
giving the beast a chance to gore some
one, the audience is angry. It has
been cheated of it's share of blood.
The next step in the degeneracy Of
the bull ring, according to Spanish au-
thOrities, came with the appearance of
the woman fighter. 5From the ranks
of the Barcelona mill hands, girls with
agile bodies, delicately curved ply
siQUes, handsome in face and form
come the women bull fighters. AS mill
hands they are virtually slaves, earn
ing only enough to keep body and soul
together AS bull fighters they are the
idols of the people, the recipients OF
showers Of adulation, with fine clothes
and plenty of money to spend. They
live under a halo of happiness and
prosperity. No wonder it is the dream
by day and night Of all the pretty dark
eyed girls Shaving away in the mills
that they, too, will enter the arena
some day and kill bulls amid the wild
enthusiasm of the best people of the
city.
1t is almost needless to say that the
most popular of these Amazons are The
prettiest and the shapeliest. They
wear the same garb as the men bull
fighters, and they ride the horse
astride. If they rode with the side
proceeding, for a firm seat is essential
TO safety of life and limb.
In the ring at some little distance it
is quite impossible to distinguish the
sexes. The girls are quite as tall as
the men, and almost as heavily built.
There is nothing feminine about them
either when the fight really begins.
They do not sicken at the sight of
blood, but seem to gain ferocity by it,
and they are happy in a scene which
would cause the average American wo-
mn to faint in short order.
The horses which the women ride are
the same broken down wrecks which
the men use. In fact, the management
fluids that women are more reckless in
exposing the horses than the sterne1
sex. This has led to a practice which
the Society for the Prevention Of
Cruelty to Animals would kill off in nc
time in any city in this country. 1t is
this: When a horse has been horribly
gOred and staggers about the ring with
his entrails hanging out, he is no