Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-07-24
BULL FIGHTS IN SPAIN
Form National NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Are
Fruught with Tradition and Ceremony

Form National Industry-Combnts Are
Fraught with Tradition and Ceremony
"Caranzas edct which abolished bull
fighting In Mexico and converted the
famous Gran Plaza de Toros of Mexico
City into an open air opera house. and
the Ibanez novel which, recently trans
lated into English, may be termed the
Uncle Toms Cabin Of the bull fight
have aroused keen interest in the national
sport of SPAIN" says bulletin from
Washington headquarters of the National
Geographic Society.
Charles Upson Clark in a communica-
ton to the society. gives a word picture
Of a bull-fight in Madrid, as follows
"On Sunday afternoons a gay throng
gathers; the bull-fighters march out in
their brilliant costumes, and the cere-
mony of Staying the bull begins. First
the bull is made to charge the horsemen.
the picadores, who jab him with short
pointed spears the horses wear a binder
over one eye, so that their rider can keep
them from seeing the bull onset. II the
horses are not killed at once when the
bull gorges them, they are sewed up and
made to meet another attack. This is the
revolving part Of it. After enough Of this.
nlIIlDle OinOeruleTOS throw tnelr OaTtS
into the bulls neck and shoulders at just
the proper place and interval. These men,
and the espadas matadors) who follow
them. show great deXterity and grace.
The espada is a seasoned bull-fighter;
his function is to plunge his napier into
the bulls heart, and his calmness as he
maneuvers the beast into a favorable po-
sition. teasing him the while, is fascinat-
n IN fCh he 1Iyith
keen as hawks applaud every good
stroke. and boot in derison at any mis-
plays"
Concerning the history of the sport the
bulletin continues:
The American speaks of bread and
butter as the elemental necessaries of
life; but the Spanish equivalent for that
smile is 'pany toros,' or bread and bulls.
The sport Is deposit of the Moorish civil
lization. or lack Of 1t, carried to the PEN
insula afloat the high tide of the invasion,
and left as an unfortunate sediment after
the hosts receded. Spanards and Portu-
guese implanted 1t in Latin American
ENTHUSIASTICALLY Mexico and Venezuela.
Roman amphitheaters. built in emula-
ton OF the stadia in which wer held
classic Greek games later usurped by the
acrobatics and crude burlesque of the
circus. crumbled away amid Moorish bull
fights.
Some Spanish kings practiced the
sport. The wizened Charles V killed a
bull as part Of his inaugural ceremony,
and the Inflated dilettante. Philip ". was
an amateur matador Other kings sought
to suppress bull-fightng popes threat
ened its devotees with accommodation,
but by the early 18th century it was
thoroughly established as a profession.
Cruel though bull fighting seems to
most other peoples cluelty is not its CHIEF
! appeal to the Spaniards. Rather he sees
in It a drama-a drama, he will tell you,
in which the human being Is more evenly
matched. and the animal suffers no more
than in hunting foxes or shooting bigger
game with the unequal advantage of
modern firearms.
THE bull fight Is more than combat
| 1t Is fraught with tradition and ceremony.
The procession Immediately preceding il
suggests a circus parade for its vivacity
| and color. Mounted messengers, or
aguacils, are In sixteenth century cos
tune. They go through a ceremony of
receiving from the president the keys to
| the gate where the bull enters, though
usually the gate is not locked. The plea
dor is the survival Of the cabelleros who
fought on horseback, with lances, From
the matador, literally the master Of his
own cuadrila, or troupe of banderilleros
and picadors. to the wise monkeys as
the attendants of the horses are called
the place of participants in line is as fixed
as the precedence at a diplomatic recep-
| ton; and the costume of each Is al rigidly
determined as American evening dress.
| har Va opfS ~ he
drama First is the hazard play OF the
picadors then the affixing of the darts by
the men afoot, and finally the combat OF
matador and bull. In the major league
corridas this last Is the real conflict OF
the tragedy, which has many opportu
mites for an O. Henry quirk, as when ar
enraged bull cowed all the matadors anc
their aides, and terrified the crowd unit
a resourceful spectator held out some
lumps Of sugar. which placated him. Al
| least that is a story told of a Mexico Cit,
| exhibition. But in a great majority o.
| the fights the bull was permitted to gor,
| so many horses, and was so thorough,
| tired out, that the experienced matadol
took little chance in dispatching his
| weary adversary,
| Bull fighting in Spain is an industry
More than 200 towns have their plaza d.
toros. These range from the provincial
ones of small size to the great amphi
theater at Madrid into which A0V
spectators may crowd. But all have tive
features In common, hospital room fo
treatment OF the wounded. and a chape
where matadors may receive the sacra
ment before entering the ring. In Spair
alone at least a thousand bulls are killed
every year.
1.-THE Gran Plaza de Toros in Mexico
City seats a fourth more people than tina
at Madrid Made of steel and concrete
It cost 100000 The governments fifteei
per cent of the gate receipts on a singh
days fight would amount to abou
$4,000"