The sun., 1908-05-17
,'t1; ssssa lHESEE' EOCEEIGHgiNG LIVES
@ ALMOST DE EfDHERE, BUT FLOUR
AT'fHarsaN fSHBNG. ELSEWHERE. (

- gome Jousnaie to Boom the Trade
a h5Fnyerite breeds cnd The Training.
There Ia not much 'cockfghting now in
the East except under the rose. but in the
south and In many parts of the West the
+ sport hourisnes as IL did-in England 200
. yesrs' ago, when oven olergyinen were
enthusiasts in rearing and pitting blooded
fowl. To cocker. all poultry breeds, no
matter how fertile as a producer Of eggs or
how succulent on the table, are common
and despised except the thoroughbred
game-"never licked until dead, their heads
always to the foe and desperate fighters"
About New York the law against cookfight-
Ing is enforced strictly--for instance. forty
!, n.nes men arrested as spectators at one pit
we're fined $40 each the other day with the
,p1iroiyhis still to be sentenced; yet there
are mains held on The quiet in the city or
suburbs every winter. '-' ''s
Yet there Is always the risk Of detection
A novice at q Westchcster main that was
raided once had to cover two miles of
fields with constable In chase. He said
the sport was too much like cross-oountry
, running for man out OF training to enjoy.
. The fear Of being pulled In and fined the
next morning in a police court, however.
cockfghting from taking long chances to
enjoy the sport that most fascinates. This
accounts for the three or four dozen men
, In evening dress who were marched under
arrest from main being held in private
stable near Fifth avenue two years ago.
The Magistrate soaked fines at them next
day in way to faze even a motorist. One Of
the great mains used to be pulled OF annually
ato kx,x,
bers Of the New York and the Jersey City
police, "A breeder had IA nerve to place
. sign over his gamecocks at the Madison
Square Garden poultry show declaring:
.sThis strain won the main for the New York
police Fred Grant was chief of police
then and read the notice in company with
a minister he was showing through the
show. After recovering from the shock
Brig. .-Gen. Grant took steps to wipe out the
main and make it but to memory dear.
Although cookers care nothing for the
barnyard fowls, there are many of New
York's gentlemen farmers who keep the
game strains for their beauty, their eggs
and meat, without thinking OF ever pitting
their cocks or stays The ma jority of
those who exhibit in the game fowl classes,
even of pit games. at the New York show
Hatfield Of Railway. N. D.. who Learned to
love the sport before the war, when Gov
ernors and Senators thought It no harm
to gather around a pit. He has had game
fowl for fifty years and remembers when
there we're both private and public cock
:, pits in New York city. -, go.
sds In. the South there 10 no beating about
the ,bush and men do not shirk from being
known as cookers. Instead they glory
In their strains as the highest types OF
courage and loyalty, from which intelligent
mortals may derive more than one lesson
In decency and grit. Hundreds attend
the big mains and make their living by
training the birds for them. Technically
they are called feeders" and their tasks
begin when the cocks or stays are brought in
from the farms where they have been
walked They are dieted to be in condition
cloth or shawl feeder" will spar a bird for
hours each day. The cock flies high at the
. cloth and hits 1t vigorously with muffed heels.
for they have no more fear of q man than
q lion. has, the exercise making the birds
: ss, ~ hard as nails IN muscles and hesh.
: to4cocking throughout the South. and even
! one In New YorksState. They thrive through
for sale advertisements Of game stays and
sittings Of eggs from breeders. the announce
ments from dealers In cookers supplies.
such as gaffs, spur saws, sparring muffs
and hand carrying coops. besides some
kindred advertising. The reading matter
g ia largely reports Of mains and hacks, in
which there is no suppression OF the incl
: Of three hacks in the Tampa. Fla. pit on
I, March J.. This extract from the report
reveals that cockfighters have their nerci-
full aide and aiso something of the method
2 Of reporting nit battles -,
looked 10 be a Warhorse; Tampa. red.
looked TO be Warhorse. This was fast
/, and q hard fght. The Wright cock had
c the best Of 1t up to the third pitting, when
Isnga got in the lead and won good,
"We had three more cocks to fight, but
had TO give way to the Cubans. as they have
the pit leased for Sunday. don't like their
! fighting las 1t is cruel TO see the poor little
fellows cut blind and pecked up; They
you would be surprised TO see how the lit
lie feiiows can cut Thew run in weight
from two and nalf TO three pounds. I
have seen them uncouple each other !.
: main az Carlisle, Pa, on New Years Day:
"A gentleman named Haren stepped in the
pit with q broody looking cock, said to be
, Blackhackle, 502: Spahr matched him
with 4.is Mount Boy Here was where where
- Row Was cut blind nsboth sgves, But that
X did not stop HIM, as he fought just a. good
blind and kept hunting and plugging the
BlaoRhackle for fortv-fiye minutee, when he
:, wac given the fight. II was certainly. a
2 well esrned victory. But the hero died the
. followipG afternoon. Here was a cock that
.showed.Np to the lastlas game as any man
3, could wish 40 see and was credit 70 the
man that bred him. Quite lot OF money
chaneej hands on this fight.
Indicating the extent Of the business,
there are seventy-four display advertise
ments in one recent copy Of a game FOWL
trade paper, besides many small cards
from breeders Of the birds The bulk OF the
= advertisers have their yards in the South;
:. hut thara. are few from the North, notably
d Ohio, Colorado. New York andConnecticut
The estate OF Mortimer Kennedy Flagg, the
lawyer, who shot himself accidentally "a
Z he was stepping from an automobile before
his home at Briarcliff Manor on March 49,
announces dispersal sale Of game breeds
Exhibiting as Game Feather Farm. the de-
ceased wns a winner yearly In game fowl
classes at the New York poultry show
Three Of the advertising breeders announce
they are all sold out until the fall, pre-
: sumably an indication that they haNe birds
that are In demand and win battles.
~ z As with the thoroughbred and the trottine
horse. there are many distinct families Of
e. III ...Ix al .t.....