Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-01-16

height. Guanajuato was turning out
from its serpentine streets. close built
and i'll smelling, its hordes of human
itt, from the family of the Goberna-
dor, handsome, well dressed and mod
ern. down to the swarrns of beggars,
with sightless eyes and doformed
limbs, bearing in their bodies the mark
cf Mexico. with her dark past.
The whole movement was toward the
Presa. the upper town, where the aris-
tocratic element had by natural law
appropriated to itself the better air,
ped gal in sunshine and flowers, clean
water and fresh breezes. secure against
the ever present dread of typhus.
Reservoirs supplying the city with
water gave the location its name, and
now. on the recurrence of his birthday,
ST. John. the apostle of healing wa
ters. was to cleanse the city. The
ea q, We're to be opened aud the presas
wc.e to empty their food into the now
nearly dry river bed. carrying with it
in Il mad rush 70 the Lagos The years
accumulation of disease and debris.
The wealth and ultra fashion were
ont in carsi.~ ~ LaughiGg faces of
de- =. @; 4 se..@.itas dividing the atten-
T. e. Il the picturesque vendors of
L., dulces or sweets, impossible
gyrating monsters, ear splitting whis-
ties and rafting devils boxes, wildcap
little urchins who played cart wheel
and leapfrog or did tricks for centavos.
But the crowning event was to be the
annual bullfight, in which. instead or
professional matadores, young cabai-
Ieros. men of high social rank. were to
contend for the honors bestowed by
the fair hand of the queen of beauty.
Great preparations had been made
for this special function, and long be-
fore the appointed hour the rose gar
landed old amphitheater, where since
the DAYS of Cortes man and beast had
met in an uninterrupted series of un-
equal combats, was filed to overflow
ing.
On one side rose tier upon tier or
dark eyed senoritas, closely guarded by
ever watchful senoras; on the other
side young bloods (haciendados) with
the tightest of trousers and broadest
of sombreros, heavily loaded with gold
and silver trappings, here and there
one in tailoring from the latest Pari-
sian models, for everything French Is
undeniably dear aad desirable to the
Mexican heart.
While awaiting the arrival of the
queen of the fiesta the audience CEN
tered it's attention upon two men in.
their midst-Philip Carter, the energet-
ic, elegant American, whose homage to
the royal Isabella during his few
weeks sojourn in Guanajuato had al
ready given him notoriety, and Senor
Enrique Costello, q recognized suitor,
even now playing the bear" for her
favor.
The presence. of the latter, one of the
best of their senores matadores, in the
audience, signifying that he was to
have no part in the fray, was causing
evident comment among his friends.
They could not know how the weary
waiting for signal from his love, the
Jealous oerotion newly stimulated by
q demon OF jealousy born Of Carter's
evident favor with the girl, the very
ardor of Lis passion had consumed his
strength 10 such an extent that he
knew better than to trust his future to
a hand that trembled if but in the pres
ence of her he loved.
But the Senorita Isabella's royal
beauty as she now sat enthroned in the
midst of her maids of attendance, the
lovely face with it's brilliant eyes peep
ing from tie meshes of exquisite lace,
the hand wrought mantilla without
which no queen of the bullfight is
the heart Cf a pomegranate, were fast
arousing in him the desire to bring
upon himself not the mere smile and
victor's wreath, the applause of the
audience, but a tribute to daring that
should carry with it herself and her
love.
What did she want of the love of
gringo?
Because she had lived in their coun-
try a few months did she know them
with their heart of ice? Did she think
her lover tropical enough to warm a
home in the north into any semblance
of her country?
He had felt so unnerved, so wearied
with the pacing to and fro in heat and
cold, day and night, in front of her
dwelling, walking where she walked,
waiting where she rested and seeing
the smile that belonged to him by ev-
cry precedent of their race given to a
big Americana, a gringo from over the
linel
But jealousy, strong as death in
Mexico, can also give strength.
Two bulls had already been slain,
and the third had dangling from his
shoulders six gayly decorated bande-
rillas, or sharpened goads. Furious and
snorting, he was waiting to attack the
red cloth, this time to his death, when
shout, lost in a roar of fear, sounded
far up and down the city.
\ man, placing his hands on the bar
rier dividing the audience from the
arena, had as deliberately leaped over
it to death as a schoolboy to play
Snatching the red rag, he approached
the maddened beast, who was paving
the ground, believing with pain and
anger, gathering his fury for final
charge upon those who dared to so tor
ture him,
The noise of the audience died into
appalling silence as it recognized Don
Enrique
There was no time for conjecture as
to the cause for his action. His fate
would be decided in one moment OF
| time.
When within two feet of his victim
! Sir Toro closed his eyes in a murderous
| lunge, while the man from whom En-
rique had taken the red cloth made a
dash for safety behind the grating.
But there was hot blood in that son
| of the south, too, and the red flag OF
| jealousy had flaunted itself in his face,
and the audience with wonder saw
| him skip to one side safe, and before
| the bull could recover from his disap-
pointment leap from the side into the
| very embrace of death.
Two arms clasped the animals
throats like bands of steel. The as
| tonished beast lunged and tossed in q
| vain endeavor to free himself. The
goads bent and snapped, dropping one
| by one.
| Then the dazed people woke to re-
| elization of this bit of daring, and
| groans and hurrahs rose again and
again from $4,000 throats as those two
struggled in an encounter uIfheard of
| before i'm the history of bullfghting