Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-01
MEXICO.
XV1II-Bcu Fighting.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

Built of American steel at a cost OF
100000, and capable Of seating 10000
| spectators, the new bull ring in Mexico
| City is the largest in the world. The bull
| fighters who appear there are the fore
most of the time. 1t was in that city. In
the old ring, that Monies. perhaps the
greatest fighter who ever lived. was kill
ed, after having slain his thousands Of
bulls. There Fuentes and Gaona. the one
the foremost fighter of Spain and the
other MeXico's chosen idol. ply their
! art, There Segura, a millionaire In
his own right and of gentle birth,
! courts the applause of the amphitheater
as gladiator in the days Of Rome might
have done There Harper Lee. the only
| living American matador. occasionally
| pits his art against a mad bulls strength.
| The Mexican bull fighting season occurs
| during our winter months. Viewed from
the standpoint of the Mexican, the mata-
dor is not at the top of his profession I'M
| til he has made his success in the Span
| ish bull rings. Because of the difference
| in the seasons, the great matador Is able
| to put practically twelve months OF fight
| ing into each year.
| !: X
| To begin the story of bull fight 1t is
necessary to go back to the ranch where
the bulls are bred. Usu
Breeding ally the breeder and his
a.. DILL, ancestors have been in
Viz O"'' the business for genera
tons. They have gathered, as the sires
of their ranches. the fiercest bulls which
ever faced fighter. When a bull dis
plays SO much grit and logged persistence
| that he will suffer any amount of torture
in the bull ring, he escapes the usual
death and goes back to the ranch to head
the herd.
On the ranch it is absolutely necessary
that only a certain man, riding a GER
tain horse. shall tend the bulls The ami
mails recognize the man and horse and
there is no trouble. But where any one
else approaches them he is lucky to
occurs in the spring. A horseman goes
into the lot where the bull to be tested
is stationed. Armed with a short staff
capped with goad. he an. his helper,
ing mood. If he charges with spirit.
ignores the punishment of the goad. and
returns to the fray without evidence of
waning courage, he is promoted to the
list of eligibles for the biggest fights.
Less courageous animals are set apart
for cheaper and unimportant fights, and
the ones which show the white feather
are sent to the butchers block.
The breeder sells his animals to the
man who is to fight them-four, six or
eight at time, at about $500 a head.
The best bulls come from the ranches in
Spain, though there are some excellent
specimens sent from Yucatan. They are
shipped in rallied and bOlted boxes, whose
only openings are places in which to put
the feed. There is no pleasure dearer to
the heart of Young Mexico than to get
close to bull crate and tickle his bull
ship on the nose through these little OPEN
ings. At such times the onlooker Is
thankful that strong bars hold the crate
together.
When the bull arrives at his destination
he has three months rest before he is fit
to enter the ring. The
Big Fights big fights nearly all oc-
cur Sunday afternoon,
"" S"""JS' and usually the amphi-
theater is filled, from the seats Of the
abble below to the boxes of the elite at the
top. Seats in the eastern half are in the
| sun, and they are sold much cheaper.
| Their occupants are known as the sun
| gods. The event opens with the entrance
| into the arena of two police officers
mounted on prancing stations They sa-
| lutte the president of the ring and get his
sanction for the inauguration of the
| bloody work. Then they gallop off. only
| to return again at the head of the pro-
| cessiOn which is to constitute the fighting
| force of the day. After them come the
matadOrs, observing with all the pune
| tiliOusness of a diplomatic reception mat
| ters of rank and precedence. Their nee
dle-pOinted swords, which later are to run
| red with the gore of the bulls. flash bril-
1 lion st,n h.Sr brscr
| hued coaks add to the splendor of the
| occasion. After them come the men. also
| afoOt. who are to place the beribboned
! barbs in the bulls necks and shoulders.
| They. too. are gayly dressed in gitterng
colors. After them come the picadors.
| mounted on the poor old coach horses.
which look spry for the time being. Then
| follow the ring attendants, the wise
monkeys who attend the gored horses,
and lastly the team of bedecked mules.
| which is to draw out the carcasses of
dead horses and bulls.
The band plays q. double-quick march
and the procession sweeps around the
arena in swinging stride. salutes the
president. and then breaks away and out
of sight. leaving only two riders and the
matadors with their assistants i'm the
ring The door through which the bull
| enters is opened and as the hero of the
hour appears an attendant plants a thin
dagger between his shoulders, to which
| are tied the colors of the ranch from
which the animal came. Snorting and
paving the air and trying to get at the
horses. the hOrsemen. with their steel
pointed spikes. hold him off. The mata-
dor vaults out into the arena and claims
| the attention of the bull. With snort
the animal charges him. but in twink
ling of eye the fighter waves his cloak
| to the side with both arms, and the bull
| goes after it. his horns missing the body
of the fighter by only an inch. Again
and again the bull charges him. and each
time tie cloak leads the enraged animal
! to the side. When the helpleSSnesS of
brute strength before human intelligence
is sufficiently set forth and the bull