Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-06-11
HOW ANIMALS FIGHT.
6MsaNs ADOPTED BY auADRuPEos
2 TO OVERTHROW THEIR ENEMIES.


Awkwardhess OF the Camel-Fierce Bat
ties of Trained Stations Among the
Northmen - The Old Greeks Loved u
Quail Fight BATTLES Among Pigeons.
3 There ;re no wild beasts In Europe
suitable for the combats which Orien-
tails love, or they would certainly have
been utilized. Wolves look very prom
ising and it might be thought that
such an ill.tempered animal as the
Russian bear could easily be reused to
fighc comrade; but we may be sure
that-the experiment was tried often
enough to prove that in neither case
was 1t worth while to make match.
So our forefathers had to be content
with the hideous sport of "baiting"-
which it not our theme. Had they
possessed more ingenuity, however,
some diversions might have been OBJ
tanned from stays. Even antelopes are
used in India, though they need train
ing. 1t is their nature to fight only at
the -rutting season; to make them Gag"
.er for the fray at any time they must
receive special treatment, and above
nll they must be kept in practice. But
that means a great consumption" of
antelopes, for they battle to the death,
and this variety of entertainment,
Is not common. Elephants and tigers
are the favorite victims, of course; but
nothing profitable can be said about
their duels and certainly nothing
amusing.
A camel fight is rather curious. The
brutes have pair of teeth far back
in the jaw, which rival those of
tiger, and an old male Is extremely
ferocious. Knowing, however, that
these, their most terrible weapons,
are useless in front attack-for,
vast as the camel's cape is, it cannot
he stretched wide enough to bring
them into. action-they never try to
grip the head or neck or any vital part
of an antagonist. All their strategy
is directed to the object of seizing one
of his legs below the knee, and thus
overthrowing him by pressure; then
the huge teeth can be brought to bear
upon his throat, and he is no better
than corpse. There are those who
deny that the camel has any sense at
all, and they appeal to everybody who
knows the beast by experience. The
camel's way of fighting is mean and
awkwsr srd-the coup de Jarnac of quad
Pytf n fc hA hQct C11ltal
to its anatomy. A very strong stom-
ach, however, and nose which has
lost the sense of smell are required
to enjoy this spectacle.
QfsaH eombats between beasts, per-
haps that between horse and a tiger
is. the most thrilling. We have read
several descriptions, and always, if we
remember right, the horse was the vic
tor. But it must be a stallion, as cum
ming as brave. To avoid the tigers
spring, in walled area of limited
extent, is impossible. The horse does
not try, it is only careful to face the
enemy, turning on the same spot as
he circles round. At length he spring
is made; it sinks it's forequarters till
the knees almost touch the ground,
and the tiger lights unsteadily upon
its launches. Instantly the hind legs
last out, with such force that the brute
is thrown headlong, and if it does not
recover its feet in a second the battle
is over, so rapid and So heavy are the
kicks bestowed. In general, however,
there is another round" exactly sim
liar, and the tiger confesses itself beat
en-.
Such match, like fight of camels,
has some interest; but the hammer
and tongs" struggle between two ele-
plants, or an elephant and rhinocer-
os, must be almost as dull in reality as
in nEdescription. Lions and tigers are
not much more scientific in their
methods. Oriental ingenuity, however.
has devised some eccentricities in this
line The old Greeks loved a quail
fight, and the sport is to be witnessed
occasionally in southern Europe. Par
tridges are used in India. That curl
Gus book, "The Private LIE of an
Eastern King" which made stir in
our grandfather's time, gives lively
account of the diversion as practised
at the Court of Dude. When the table
was cleared every evening after din
ner two cock partridges we're intro
duced They trotted about comfort
ably and friendly, being familiar with
man, until hen dropped between
them.
/. There is fable of Lafontaine's,
loved by. French children, which be-
gins. "Deux ,qs vivaient en- paiX-ad-
vint une poule," etc. Its truth to ma
ture was demonstrated by the conduct
of those partridges, hitherto friendly,
which rufI1ed their feathers, crowed,
and engaged upon the spot. The king
would have half dozen mains" be-
fore adjourning for more sophisticated
amusements in the drawing ROOM"
Crows were substituted for the part
ridges sometimes, but the stupid
chronicler only mentions this without
giving the details of the proceeding.
A crow fight should be droll But
"they went one better" in Manipur.
Before the war, while the Maharajah
and his noble kin spent al their time
in diversion, and employed the public
revenue for that object only, the aris-
tocratic sports were polo and pigeon
fighting. The latter does not seem to
promise much amusement; but very
few of us can Judge, for who in this
country has seen two doves Ill mortal
combat? Somehow the noples of Mani
pur contrived to get match, and they
found it quite desperately exciting.
Common pigeons there, such as ma
ture designs for pies, fetched three
halfpence apiece, while proved speci-
men of the warrior class was valued
-, p,,f hour tboy hnro than