The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-21
THE PRACA DE TOUROS.
How the BuIfght Of Portugal Differs From That Of SpainThe
Portuguese Method Far Less Brutal but More Dangerous for
the Human Partcipants--The Bull Never Killed in the
Encounter.
New York Times.

men. AS matter of fact, this feature has
long been forbidden within their juris-.s
diction by the city authorities of Lisbon
as too dangerous, and the plan has been
adopted of getting the bull out Of the ring
with the assistance of q herd Of his OK
brethren from down on the farm, who,
with the familiar bells on their necks,
partly persuade him to come with them
and partly hustle him outs But the pega
the word also used for extinguishing a
candies the real national thing, and ts
still worked. outside ofLisbon. When the
cloakmen have had their fun and the
banderilheiros and cabalheiros have made
the bulls neck like chestnut burr, and
his temper like the bottomless pit, enter
nine men dressed like, farmhands Of the
south on a holiday, with their bright red
n1ghtcaps and other fartng adornmentss
and all of them but the leader carrying
pitchforks. The leader comes empty
handed, salutes the spectators with his
bonnet roughe, and then, turning, ficks
1t at the Indignant but puzzled bull. call
ing him Doe! o Boe!.' with -insultingly
assumed tone Of familiarity. At this there
is a paving and below Of Ny name 10
Tour-r-r-ro,'' followed by swift rush, at
the end of which the bull is seen stamp
ing, swaying, and blindly charging to right
and left, with full-groWn man wrapped
about his head and neck. Then the rest
of the pitchfork men surround him, and;
with dusty general scufae and one or
two slight jabs on his rump, hustle him
out OF the arena. -, -..5--5.r,-- 80
- How the PeEas Is Performed. -,
OF course this only tells what the pega
looks like. more or less, not how It Is
done. 1t is a rough, devil -may-care COM
edy, ending thoroughly in keeping with
the whole jolly, down-on- the ranch. char
acter of the, Portuguese sport. To do 1t
even safely one needs enormous muscles.
steady nerves, and some weight-Dom
Alexandra de Sousa Botelho, an amateur,
but the best hand at it in the reign Of
the present kings father, weighed about
100 pounds. His precept for good pega
was given to the present writer in about
these terms: when he begins to come
you back. Then you bend your knees and
go back faster. so as to take off the force
of the shock. Throw back your shoulders,
bend your elbows, and keep your hands
shut, SO your fingers will not get broken.
Keep your eyes open-you may not want
to, but you must. The moment he reaches
you he has to drop his head for the toss;
when he does that you drop your elbows
over his horns till you feel them in your
| armpits, then drop your hands and clasp
them under his. throat-or you are dead
| man. Catch his nose between your knees,
II you can. but If you cannot hold on in
some fashion, you are going up to show
your heels to the sun. and when you come
down the ground will knock the life out
of you - H.
/ The Portuguese bull fight may not be as
refined and elevating an amusement as q
! symphony concert, but it Is not the sport
| Of decadent people; it is not the sport
of the city Lisbonese either; it be-
longs to the old stock of the Portuguese
peasants and country gentry. which. II
| any foreign power should venture to an
| mex, as ventured the Spanish Philips three
centuries ago, or Napoleon's satraps one
| century ago, such foreign power will find
still hale and hearty, and tough, however
! excessively good natured and given to
wasting time playing with its children at
| home, instead Of getting out and hustling
for dollars ,-- -s st''