Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-22
NO SPORT DIsPLAcEs 1T IN THE
MExIcAN's HEART
AMERICAN VIEWS 1T AS BRUTAL
AND DISGUSTING
All Glasses In the City of Mexico Turn
Out by Thousands to See
!nfuriated Bulls
Slaughtered
nv HAINEs w. REED

nv the inhabitants of the CITY Oh MeAiS'
is the bull fight. There is also naho M
and recently Americans have lntroouee.
6aseha1 but nothing takes the place o.
the ancient Spanish sport. the oensnt u
ali Latin America. the bull nght,
sunday is the great day Of the bull ngh
an tha CITY of Mexico. It Is also the oaS
Of uious devotion, most OF II. II IS th'
day of amusement and recreation WheI
fhe entire population. with its extremes
of wealth and poverty, sanies fortn upoI
the street. clad in its best and brightest
And the bull fight is not sport OF tns
,d.e rich. II Is an institution beiongine
as well to the poor labortng peon, Wne
will spend his last cent to witness ths
rorv spectacle, even II he has to go hun
CRY next day.
About 9 o'clock the crowd begins TO DRIFT
our along the ancient calle OF Bucaren &c
the immense bull fight amphitheater on
the outskirts of the city. The lower
classes drift along the street on ioot'
chattering in their sort. musical language
about ..los toros." 1t is a good natured,
care free crowd OF men, women ard chill
dren dressed in the native costumes at
rayed In the most brilliant Of colors' OF
which the Mexicans are so fond.
Three Social Glasses
The middle classes-for there are three
Instinct classes of society In Mexlco-go
nv IN the street cars. which pass In con-
tinuous procession TO the bull hight. Inc
women in their black robosos and the men
with Ill fitting attempts at European cos
s,,r,f. are not nearly so picturesque as the
lower classes, with their huge somoreros
and gaudy colored robosos OF the women
Peopl. of Mexico'e upper class whiz by
In elegant coaches, likewise intent on go
ing to the bull fight. All of Mexico's up
per class ride in coaches. 1t Is klno OF
class distinction to own coacn, ana the
family hosiery must be maintained even
IL the family has to go without some Oh
the comforts of life.
Our at the Bucaren arena, the largest
buu fight ring In the City of Mexico, the
crowd begins to gather at noon. BY
O'clock there are several hundred people
congregated in front Of the big gates,
which are then thrown open. Men ana
women of all classes struggle together TO
gain early entrance and select seats near
the ring.
Once inside the classes again separate.
The immense arena, built like an ancient
Roman therater, is circular in form and
entirely open. From the ring in the CEN
ter rise tier after tier of hard, wooden
seats, thirty or forty of them, one above
another On the sunny side o.. the arena
flock the hordes of the lower classes with
their yellow tickets marked "Sol" (mean-
ing sunny side), while the upper classes fill
the more expensive seats on the shady
side of the arena, their tickets being
marked "Sombra,' or shady side.
Parasols Offend
Some Americans, wishing to assert their
democratic spirit take tickets on the
sunny side, along with the masses OF the
lower class Mexicans, and attempt to
shelter themselves from the heat Of Mexi-
can sunshine with umbrellas. A few
oranges or other 4opical fruit in state
of more or less decomposition hurled from
the upper tiers of seats are sufficient to
bring down the offending parasols of the
sgringos" and cause them to wish for
the hundredth time they had followed the
customs of the country in which they are
eojourning.
The noise and babel from the crowd arises
In confused discourse from every side. The
merits of the various bull fighters who
are to participate are being discussed
And the bull fighters are all we'll known.
Mot a Mexican, no matter how ignorant
or Door but knows the name and reputa-
ton of every bull fighter and has gazed
in rapt admiration at their pictures in the
La Corrida and other papers devoted en-
tireiy to news of the bull ring.
Suddenly the tumult and conversation
ceases as the soft notes of bugle sounds
from the judges stand, announcing the
beginning of the fight. The bugle call is
always the same. 1t is known and whis-
tled and hummed and sung by every child
III Mexico before he is able to say papa
and mamma.
The doors on one side of the arena fly
open and a gayly caparisoned horseman
on a prancing steed advances into the
arena, followed by the bull fighters, a
dozen or more of them in their gay cos
fumes of knee trousers and short coats
covered with gold and silver lace. Two
by two they march across the arena and
stop before the judges stand. The horse
man brings his steed below the judges
rail and removes his hat The judge leans
over the rail with the large key to the
bull pen in his hand, ready to throw 1t to
the gallant horseman. The crowd waits
in breathless suspense. If the cavalier
catches the key in his hat 1t is an omen
that a good bull fight will follow. II he
misses and the key falls on the ground
the crowd is disappointed, for this means
the bulls will likely be tame and there
will be poor fight
Bull Batting Begins
Receiving the key from the judge, the
horseman prances over to the gate of the
bull pen and unlocks 1t. The important
the fighting may commence. The horse
man retires not to appear again during
the entire fight The crowd again waits
In breathless suspense until .-.e bugle
peals forth its musical signal for the bull
to be let out.
The door to the bull pen is opened and
every eye is --xed on the blacA hole lead
ing into the apartments where the bulls
are kept in utter darkness in order to in
crease their irritability. Seeing the light
from tie open door, the first bull starts
for 1t, rushing with below into the
arena, thinking he is at last to escape
his tormentors and reach the sunny pas
lures OF the ranch where he was raised
raised from fighting stock to be a fighter;
raised by ranchers who glory in having
their bulls die game in the ring. AS he
passes the threshold a man reaches over
from secure position above and drives a
small barbed spike into the bulls shoul-
der. This is to arouse the huge beast to
great anger
With a below of rage the bull leaps
into the air, twisting and wiggling and
trying to get away from the goad in his