The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03
PORTUGUESE BULL FIGHT.


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necealtatea IN Ne tsrslclpan,s nerve. cubf'
and agility
Az ibe 6seinulna n the haia me great
dopra nppuelts The Royal hos are thrUsh
open. and The pfoce4alon ~ bill hAh'ers
In their picturesque coetuniea ehtera, cfoNsea
Tho arrna, and hating under the foysl bor
salu,es ~ occupants and aahs The necessary
permission 10 beeih the entertainments
The osJadss, o. fighters ON foot, then ~.
tire. followed by thoas on horeeiach, WIN
In making their eSit give q splendid eA-
hlbition ~ horuptnanahip and the a
In which their splendid horpea are tfained'
with hardly any movement ~ tleir hands
they rein back their mounts In n perfectly
straight line across the arena. and through
the gates that had served them a. an en-
trance. The entrada h over, and every
thina In ready for the first bull.
In obediencs 10 o trumpet call the doors
opposite tho royal boz are again swung
open, and a caballero, or mounted fighter,
comes IN. His horss IL q thoroughbred,
carrying his ribbon bedsohed bead proudly
and arching his neck In q way that shows
plainly how oobscious he In Of the attention
he Ia attracting. whlls his perfectly sroornsd
coat shines like Furnished metal in the sun
light.
on his back, seated like q centaur. his
feet In the old Spanish box stirrups, is q
mar wearing q three oornered, feather
trimmed hat, q scarlet coat reaching below
his knees, trimmed with silver lace, a pair
OF mouse oolored hreeches and long boots
Of soft black leather. In his right hand he
carries a long banderillo. Scattered about
the ring are four or five men carrying
cloaks, whose business u Is TO attract the
bull and place him In favorable positions
for the caballero to plant his banderillos.
The trumpet again sounds, the smaller door
TO the left Of the royal box " opened and IN
rushes the bull. His horns are covered with
leather to prevent his doing any harm
should any hapless actor in the fight make
a slip and get within their reach.
The bull PUSHES straight to the centre
Of the ring, looking rather ~perplexed, and
wondering what on earth he is there for,
A scarlet cloak 10 flashed before his eyes,
and he Is after 1t IN q second, giHh AZ 1t an
angry toss as it hangs on the barrier, the
man manipulating 1t having, lost no time
in placing himself on the other side. NO
rid of his batter than another cloak Is
flashed In front Of him, and he gives chase
once more. Soon he sees the scarlet coat
OF the horseman, and makes for that.
With oonsummate skill the rider, look
ing as IL he we're glued to his saddle, draws
get too far away, yet at the same time
leading the bull to think that. the horse
will fGl an easy prey to his horns. On
and on they 20, and now the bull, thinking
the time and distance just right, lowers
his head preparatory to goring the horse.
bull stops dead In his tracks with q sharp
pain in the upper part OF his neck, while the
horse breaks Into q walk q few yards away. =,
The band plays q triumphal strain and
various colored paper fags unfold them-
s selves ss iro% the sIs sh9ss e In tS Of S sne Sa neeE IN
spite Of his wild efforts to shake 1t off. Mad
with rage, the bull goes for the nearest
man, who, slipping quickly out OF the way,
directs the iniuriated animal toward the
horse,
starts of in mad pursuit, bent on ~retalia-
ton. Now he Is close to him--so close
that the o~nlookers hold their breath, ex-
pecting to see the horns enter the horses
body In spite OF their leather protection.
Down goes his head, sure Of success, but
he has failed again. He feels another
sharp prick In his neck, and again the
band proclaims the success Of the cabal!ero.
Two banderillos are now planted, whose
bite is accumulated by each movement OF the
bulls fine head. Another pause, and the
bull stands paving the ground In the centre
OF the fingi i. ne he seems ZEN s no nabe Of P tbis a ga nae
where he gets all the kicks, and can never
succeed in getting any satisfaction, In re-
turn. Four or FIVE more darts are planted,
and then, as he appears to have become
bored, the trumpet again sounds; A hero
Of COWS Is driven In, which surrounds the oull
and leads him out.
The next bull is then sent into the ring
and faced by an espada. The procedure
10 much the same as before, except that the
banderillos used are much shorter. Tn
man stands still while the bull PUSHES at
him. and as the latter lowers his head for
and steps deftly u Of the animal's way,
though from the spectators point OF view
1t seems as II 1t was almost too late. When
the bull fighter is dismounted the coup de
grace 10 given with a sword, not with the
view Of killing the bull-that ia never done
but to make the show resemble its more
cruel and barbaric Spanish prototype; The
animal Is just pr oked over the shoulder.
To provide a diversion, the mozos forca-
dos now enter the ring. Their business is
to seize and lead out the bull. The process
Of seizing the bull Is by no means an easy
one or free from danger. The mozos
forcados, dressed in gayly oolored shirts
and knee breaches, advance In line toward
the bull, one Of their number, who acts as
leader, being slightly in front Of the rest.
On approaching the animal, out Of whom
the fight has not by any means, been com
pletely knocked, the leader makes a dash
at him and grasps his horns.
II he can stick to the bull all Is we'll, and
his comrades close around, overcoming the
bull by sheer weight OF numbers. H.
however, the leader loses his grip, he will
fare badly. He will get tossed, and possibly
rather badly hurt. Generally, however, he
obtains q firm grip, plants himself firmly
between the bulls horns and defes all the
~latter,a attampta to dialodge him.