Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-22


sss*s*s*ss.s**sss-s-s*****ss*s
capped enemy. Another bulf hghter /
| close at hand, waving his "capa" taunt
| ingly. Again he makes a rush, and agail
he tosses high the brilliant colored "capa,
but leaves behind the bull fighter
Leap Over PaIisade
| When pressed too hard, the men leal
| over a palisade about five feet higl
which surrounds the arena. Often tn
| bull leaps this barrier after them, ant
! then there is a lively scampering among
the bull fighters TO get back into tn,
| arena, where the bull is later admitted
by one of the gates. The "capedores'
(men with capes) take few chances. il
they are skillful. The more dangerou:
part of the game follows:
When the fighters have tormented the
beast for a short time the judges give g
signal and the second stage of the fight
begins From a side entrance two men in
heavy, padded suits and mounted on bony
plugs or old broken down horses ride
into the ring. They are armed with long
lances having a sharp metal point The
horses are blindfolded to prevent them
becoming frightened when the bull
charges. And the bull is not long making
up his mind to attack his new tormentor.
He charges the horseman. The latter
grasps his pole under one arm and aims
the spear end at the bulls shoulder. If
he hits the mark he tries to hold the bull
away from his mount. Often he misses,
and the bull sinks his horns into the side
of the unoffending and blindfolded horse,
goring him again and again, until the
capedores can attract his sattention away
from the animal Often the horse and
| rider are hurled to the ground by the
| force of the charge, and the horseman,
| who is called ''picador' on account OF
the lance he carries, must lie there, held
down by his heavy costume, unable to
move until assisted py some of the bull
| fighters, who swarm around trying to at
| tract the attention of the bull away from
the fallen victim.
Horses BrutaIly Killed
The killing of the helpless horses is the
most brutal part of the fight. Often one
bull kills three or four horses. When the
| horses fall dead they are dragged out by
pair of mules kept in readiness. Often
when gored they are taken out, their
wounds patched up, and they are brought
back for a second attack The ''pica-
dors'' are supplied with fresh horses as
fast as their mounts are killed. When
| each of the. riders has had four or five
jabs at the bull the judges give the signal
| for them to retire and a new series of
| torture Is in order.
| Next come the "bandarillros," the bull
| fighters who must approach the bull
without any cape to blind him. These
men hold in each hand a stick gaudily
| decorated with paper roses and with a
| barbed steel point in one end. When the
| bull charges one of these men he must
dodge the beast and at the same time
10 -
shoulders If he is successful, both ban
| darillos" remain dangling from the shoul-
ders of the infuriated bull and the gaudy
yellow and pink paper roses are soon dyed
crimson with the blood from his wounds.
| If the ''bandarillero' fails, and one of the
"bandarillos'' falls to the ground the
crowd is displeased and shouts its disap-
proval Six or more of these barbed sticks,
| which are over two feet long, are stuck
into the shoulders of the bull, who is then
nearly worn out and is becoming some
what sluggish in his charges and remains
sullenly waiting for the bull fighters to
approach him before charging them.
The )Matador's Task
The last stage of the fight is the most
exciting, the most difficult of perform
ance, and can only be executed by the
most experienced and skillSd fighters. The
''matador' has the task of killing the
bull. This is the most humane part of
the performance, if slxilfully performed.
1t is the most dangerous to the bull fight
er. The "matador" must take a slender
sword, aim at the bulls shoulder and
when the animal charges he must drive
the sword between the shoulder blades,
deep down into the body, piercing the
bulls heart.
A small, red flannel rag is all the mata-
dor is allowed with which to draw the
attack of the bull and blind him. If he
makes a good thrust the animal falls over
dead and the "matador" is safe; if he
fails, there is great danger of his being
killed.
Bungling "matadors' take two three
and even more thrusts to kill the bull.
The crowd meanwhile, becomes enraged.
1t Kisses and yells insults; abusive, sting
ing Spanish insults, which rankle and
hurt. Then they begin to tear up the
seats and hurl them into the ring. Eggs,
rotten fruit and any available missile are
thrown from a thousand places by the
angry crowd.
The skillful "matador?" Oh, that is a
different question. If the bull falls over
at the first thrust the crowd yells with
joy. "Vivas" and "bravos" rend the air.
Hats, cigars, coins of all denomination
are thrown TO the adored nero Oh the hour,
who bows, throws back the hats ard
keeps the coin and the cigars and praise.
Matador Is Popular
There is no more popular man in Mexico
than a successful ''matador." Mazzantini,
the great SpaniEh bull fighter, Spanish
nobleman who lost his title because he
insisted on remaining in the ring, was CIV
ing a series of fights in Mexico at the
time William Jennings Bryan made his
tour Of the southern republic. The news
papers gave both men special mention
but Mazzantipi got far the best of it..
Bryan wasn't in it with the great bull
fighter.