Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-03-06
MEXICANS
LOVEGORE
The Main Sport in Mexico is the
Barbarous Practice Of Tortur-
ing and Killing a Bull.
A CRUEL, BLo0DTRIRSTY RACE
The Noble Red Man Has Nothing
on the Mexicans When it
Comes to Fiendish Deeds.

Now that all eyes have been on
Mexico for some time, it may not be
out of place to reprint an article from
an American who witnessed a typical
bull fight in that country not many
months ago. The American who wit
messed the Mexican sport. says:
/ saw five magnificent bulls and
eight horses tortured to death this
afternoon amid the clapping and
shouting of $4,000 Mexican spectators.
The bull fight was held in the Plaza
de Toros, within rifle shot of Cha
pultepec, where President Madero has
his summer home, and within an equal
distance of the mighty Cathedral of
Mexico City, the largest house of wor-
ship on the American continent. The
ball ring is the biggest of it's kind,
and with its seats rising in concentric
circles from ths3F ~enas in which the
Sighting goes on, it reminds one of
the ampitheatres of old Rome. Alto
gether it covers acres, and its seat
ing capacity is about one fourth that
Of the Coliseum and 1000 greater than
that of the largest bull circus of Spain
The bull ring is built of American
steel and it cost 100000. 1t is the
best patronized of all the places of
amusement of the, Mexican capital
I,
been $250OO l am told that the holi-
day fights often net 100000, and that
the city levies a tax of Is per cent
upon all that comes in.
Fifteen Thousand Wild Mexcans.
At the fight this afternoon there
we're at least $4,000 spectators. The
ampitheatre was filled from the ring
to the roof, and that with a more en-
thusistic audience than you will find
at championship American baseball
game. The people went wild, and al
most every man, woman and child
acted the part of a fan
+. l took good note of the audience. It
consisted of people of ali ages and
sexes. saw boys of and girls Of
10, beautifully dressed, who shrieked
their applause as the horns of bull
gored deep into the horses. l saw
defeats ladies in new gowns from
Paris, who broke their white kid
gloves in their clapping, and gayly
dressed dudes who fairly burst their
spat-covered patent leather shoes as
they stamped in response to the death
stroke of the matador. There were
also thousands of the common masses
of Mexico, ranging from the Indian in
his sandals and blanket to the we'll
dressed member of the Chamber of
Deputies, and from wrinkled old wo-
men in black shawls to juicy young
rnaid, in mantillas, all forming, as it
we're, a great human flower garden
rising from the arena to the top seats
near the skies.
In addition to the spectators were
the city officials, on hand to direct
the fighting and give the signals to
start There was brass band, which
burst forth in triumphal marches from
time to time as the fighting went on,
and there was company OF soldiers
with rifles and bayonets ready to shoot
at a signal if any sign of revolution
or disorder broke out.
I sat in the shade, and my place on
the steps cost me 81. The fights al
ways take place in the afternoon
when the sun is declining, SO that one
half OF the seats are in the shade and
the others in the full glare OF the
tropical sun, The shady seats are
reserved, and the sunny ones cores
pond to the bleachers of our baseball
stands. Some Of the box seats are
equal in price to those Of our grand
opera.
The Gladiators of 1918.
Further on ] give you some notes
of the bull fighting as whispered
them into the ear of my stenographer
as the scenes went on in the arena
below me. The show was a horrible
one, but give it as an evidence Of
one phase OF the character of this
Mexican people It was as disgust
& ing as any Of the massacres which oc-
CURED In the public shows during the