Evening star., 1902-08-16

| groan went UP from the spectators and
IKE great waves OF humanity they rose i,
| their seats, tier above tier. The man would
| surely he gored to death. But no. Scarcely
had he been tumbled to the earth than half
! a score of men in glittering dress and
| color were flying to the spot. and one was
| there just as the bull, with head down.
| was charging his fallen foe. With the agili-
| ~ of a cat he was by the sides OF the bull
Haunting his cape in front Of the bulls
| rose.
Blind With Rage.
The bull no longer saw the man on the
| ground, but turned and charged his new
aggressor. Head down. blind with rage,
he went through the gaudy coIored cape,
but the man was not behind 1T. Again the
cape was in front of him. and again and
again he charged, from side to side across
the ring and around the cape Haunting be-
/ fore his eyes, and each charge meeting
| with no resistance. At last. dumfounded,
| dizzy, he stopped in the middle of the ring
| completely dazed, and his tormentor throw
ing his cape over his arm, took off his bull
! hghter's hat and put II on the bulls head.
| Only for moment, as forth burst the wild
! cheers of the spectators, and the bulI-ight-
| er, turning his back on the bull ran with
| the bull in close pursuit, till over the bar
| rier he went with a bound, and cheer upon
| cheer went up from the throats of fifteen
| Thousand people.
1t was the espada Largatijo, the great
| Iargatijol
The bull, with air of satisfaction. find
ing MS enemy gone. turned and looked
ABOUT him. Three dead horses in the ring
| men just disappearing with a lifeIess form
| between them, and others hanging about
the barriers The ring was his No, One
| more picador off to the left and lowering
mis- mead, he charged again. But his charge
was less terrible now and the picador re-
ceiylng him between the shoulders the
| bull, with head down. hesitated the people
shouted and for moment 1t appeared a
question who would be victorious, the bull
| OF the man and beast. With the point of
the bloody lance between his shoulders
the buli shook himself pressed forward
ana down went man and horse in the dirt,
the Dull tumblng over both of them
Ihe bugle sounded and out walked the
oandiieros, their capes subs stituted for iron
barbed sticks, decorated with colored paper
ana ribbons. While their companions stood
py TO aid them in case of a misadyenture
they had to walk up to the bull in turn and
plant their pair of sticks or banderillos in
the bulls shoulders one each side of his
mead. This was skillfully done and soon
over, when the buge sounding again. out
stepped the first espada, the great Lar
gatijo.
He was an old man then. but the master
bull fighter Of all Spain. Taking his mu-
leta, a cloth of bright. scarlet, and sword
In his left hand, he stepped up to the presi-
dents box. and taking Off his hat made a
speech, dedicating the bull which he was
ABOUT to Kill to some one, and, fiinging his
which now appeared entirely on the defen-
sive
Largatijo shook out his scarlet cloth in
his left hand, and the bull charged it. The
master bull fighter scarcely moved out of
his tracks, and the bull returned to the
charge. After making a few passes with
the muleta Largatijo raised the sword in
his right hand glanced along the keen
blade, and as the bull lowered his head.
charging again. he received the sword to
its hilt under the shoulder blade. and, hes
itating moment, rolled over on the ground
dead.
Hurrahs and Cheers
Cheer after cheer went up from the
hoarse- -throated populace. Hats and cigars
and even flowers from the ladies, were
thrown into the ring, as the master smil-
ing, walked around the circle bowling and
tossing the hats back.
Yes, this was bull fight I have seen
many others, but they were merely cow
fights in comparison. Even in Spain good
bull fights are not common. They cost too
much money, and must, consequently, be
gotten up on the scale of a grand opera at
the Metropolitan Opera House, and have
their stated seasons; and the raising of the
bulls is an industry by itself
There are only a few estates owned by
noblemen celebrated for their fighting bulls.
The bulls are selected when they are young
at the tenta dero. This always takes place
in the spring, when the cattle are rounded
up. and picadors, mounted on good horses,
without the paraphernalia of the ring, ride
among them making their selections See
Ing a good-looking young bull, they ride up
to him and give him a poke with the pike. If
the bull kicks Irp his heels and runs away
he Is put aside with the rest of the cattle
for the market. If he should turn around
and show a disposition to fight he Is Sc
lected for the ring.
After the selections are all made the good
bulls or rather the fighting bulls, are
driven to pasture far away from Travelled
highways. where they scarcely ever see
other human being than some lone shepherd
attending his flock. Two years alone in the
wilderness is considered long enough to
produce from young bull who has the
fight already in him fighting bull When
the bulls are engaged for a certain plaza,
there usually being six for every fight, six
punches of trained cattle are driven out to
the wilderness, and there, to the calls of
their drivers, surround the particular bull
which they are to bring in.
Suppose it is Seville where the fight is to
take place, and where I have seen the bulls
brought in. On a Saturday afternoon pre-
viouS to the fight any one may go out and
see the bulls to the east of the city. There
they are TRANQUILITY feeding on the green
grass, each bunch of cattle by itself with
their respective picadors, in leather
breeches, sitting astride their mounts, with
their long pixies in their hands. If you no.
tice carefully the bull is in the center of
each bunch, and should he as he feeds
along get out Of the center, at the call of
the picador the tame cattle get around him
again.
From the fields there is a long, wide
street or avenue running directly to the
plaza. AT midnight this avenue is cleared
of all people and the bulls started for the
plaza, each with its bunch of cattle at
time. The picadores call to the cattle, they
move around the bull, get him a little ex-
cited and then start off with him on the
road. The picadores continue their call;
the cattle begin to move pretty fast; now
they run: the picadores gallop after them,
calling, calling they gallop Now they
are running down the avenue in the city,
the dull thud of their hoofs upon the pave
melt, and, above aH the "Ho, ho, Ho, ho!"
Of the drivers.
Caught at Last.
At the plaza the avenue is blocked but
there is a turn which leads to the pens
behind the plaza. Around this turn the
cattle sweep Stacking their pace as they
go. Now they are at the pens. A familiar
voice calls and they stop, but the bull, who
had already got ahead of them, runs on and
is caught in a trap where he is kept with
out food till the next afternoon wnen his
pen is opened and he dashes into the ring,
bent upon death and destruction.
fy, 10, H.