Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-11-26
Any Strong Yankee
-COlObOy Would Make
Bull Fight q Joke
Could Become TOreddOr King
With Bare Hands Under
Present Mexican Rules.
By LOUIS P. KIRBY,

Present Mexican Rules.
BY LOUIS p. KIRBY,
International News Staff Correspondents
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Nov. 26.-There
is an opportunity for some American
cowboy TO win laurels n the Mexico City
bull ring. A good cowboy could be-
come the king Of toreadors with his bare
hands
Nothing could be more irritstingly
tame and t2wdry than a bull fight.
Dozens of bullhghters come forth In gold
and silver costumes to harass and even.
tuallv kill a foolish bull. who, can not
tell his real enemy from a piece OF rag.
II a hunfirhteT is injured Il is due to
the clumsiness of the bullhghter. For
no matter how many bulls appear for
combat, there is no ch2nge in the stupid,
clumsy, silly ways of the doomed toro.
In the Western cattle country there are
COWBOYS who could jump on the back of
any OF the Mexican fighting bulls seize
the Hnimal by the horns and bring 1t to
earth or break its neck. This feat. which
. has been performed by hundreds Of men
who never did earn $1,000 in single
afternoon. calls for grelter dexterity and
COURAGE than that of MexicO's idoliZed
toreadors, who earn more than opera
singers.
NS LR MAKE 1T
LOOK TOO EASY.
1t may be that the Mexican multi
tudes would not greet the cowboy with
enthusiasm, because he would make the
mastering OF J bull such n simple matter.
But a few cowboys might awaken the
Mexican people TO the sordid tameness
OF their bullhghttng pageants and cause
them to turn 10 sports in which all OF
the participants have lighting chance.
Any one familiar with the ways or
bulls know that there is no real dan
ger, even In the narrow confines OF
the bull ring. At the spectaeles here
every effort is made to emphasize the
supposed dangers Of the arena. In the
first of the six contests which make
up a bullhghting spectacle the tor
eadors and their assailants jump the
fence repeatedly IN pretended haste TO
escape danger, but they soon forget this
piece Of stage play.
Persons In the audience have a way
Of throwing orange peelipgS into the
arena and these must be gathered up
and removed by porters. The porters'
forgetting that they should pretend to
be terribly afraid, some time gather the
Feelings while a combat Is raging, even
passing near the stupid bull while he Is
Slowly trying to make up his mind in
which direction TO charge.
The scene in the ring would be
comedy hut for the fact that the bull
IA making a fight In which he has no
chance to win. man waves cIoth
and the bull chsrges-not the man, but
the scarlet rag. 1t is always the same.
The bull is never intelligent enough 70
distinguish between his tormentor ana
the piece OF cloth he carries.
THEATRICAL PLAY
PART OF GAME.
Often the bull. tired. overheated and
faint from loss of blood from the gads
thrown into his back, looks for some
exit from the disagreeaOle place in when
he has found himself He is forced 10
turn again upon those whose WORK Il IS
70 kill him with as much pageantry as
possIble II he is too tired TO charge,
the bul!fChters gather about him, stlli
pretending that there Is fearrul GAMER
and. after much theatrical display, give
him the fatal wound -.
The bull sinks upon his knees, tries
to rise and sinks again. but usually
maintains an upright sitting position.
one Of the attendants pushes the AMI
nal over upon its side, and while II
IS dying mules, gaiiy decorated: sre
driven up to drag away the defeated
Somet',ues in a fight a horse is killed.
II f. horribly simple matter. Tie
hcrs,g are hlindfolded when they enter
me ring and cannot see the danger into
which they are forced They sense dan
ger. however and are usually uneasy and
restless. When the time comes for the
spectacle Of the disembOwehng or a morse
the rider forces his steed in the way OF
horses side Sometimes the horse. fear
fully wounded. Is able to move about
FOR time Sometimes II Is Knocked
down BY the bull and is lucky enough
TO die quickly.
At times the bull fails to drive its horns
into the horses side ana the thing must
be tried again to complete the bloody
spectacle.
II the rider does not wish to sacrifice
his horse he is able TO keep the bull away
- ht.rzag lffTaF
than the number called for by the bloody
pageant. For there must be blood-of
bulls and horses-or the crowd is not sat
isaed.
HOW THE PAPERS
PLAY IT Up.
The fsYor4te headline OF Mexican news
papers for q bullhghting story is Gold,
Blood, SILK and Sunshine" This il con-
sidered clever and Is repeated endlessly.
Aexicans c9nnot understand the dis
gust Of some Americans when they FIRST
see a bulllght. Not long ago several
hundred American business men were
IN Mexico City and a number went to
see the bulihghts. Some OF the Americans
left the arena after seeing the first bull
killed.
Some Of the Mexican bulIhghting fans
sneeFed. They couldn't understand why
any one didn't enjoy the game.
One OF the Americans when asked why
ne LETT, said: It's a towards game
The bull. the biggest fool OF all ami
mails, has no chance. 1t is cruel
bloody slaughter. No man with the
name could enjoy such a sport In
every game, every player should have
some chance. In bullhghtilg 1t Is moth
Ing but the prolonged tOrturing Of the
bull foredoOmed to death.
Il felt ashamed to sit there and watch
such a spectacle and | can't understand
the nature Of the Mexican people II they
love Ln1s sport above all others / am
mfEh \ V4saz hnr
the farm / killed steers in harvest time
for the harvest hands adm killed many a
pig In the fall of the year. But 1 didn't
make game OF it,
The bullnghting rings are built in cir
cular form Ike the old DOMAIN arenas
where slaves and gladiators met in com
bat. Mexican talking to a man who
thought bullfghting brutal said: but
the bullfghtS are An improvement on the
combats In which one man killed an
other"
Yes" replied the other, but 1t is not
big. enough improvement for 1000
years"
The buIlfghtlng carnival this winter
will be the most brilliant Mexico City
has seen in years. 1t is said by some
that the spectacles will excel any that
have ever been seen here. Great num-
bers of famous bullfghters are here
from Spain to take part in the cOmbats.
Harvard Boxing Teacher
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Nov. 26-Larry
Conley has been engaged to instruct in
boxing at Harvard. 1t is his second year