There is in this city so much to be met with of a demoralizing
tendency, and the tone of moral sense is so clearly out-spoken,
that a person is not aware of what surrounds him, until he pauses
and contemplates the scene in which he is moving, and the complete
prostration of any thing like a controlling influence of public
opinion. And it is a truth recognized in every civilized country, that
good order and even common decency cannot be promoted or maintained,
unless it is by the concentrated force of the opinion of good men
against the overt acts of the vicious. And when we see, as we do in
this city, the _best men_, public officers, the mayor and common
council, giving countenance and sanction to outrages and desecrations,
it is evident that the most wholesome regulations cannot sustain a
healthy tone of moral feeling. And there is also a total disregard of
an institution, that all good men revere and respect, as of divine
origin; and if not as such, hold it to be, in its observance, the
great conservator of the best interests of society, and that no people
or community can preserve its character for morality and good order,
without a due observance in christian form of its requirements. But
here the civil authorities, together with all _good_ men, by official
acts and personal example, desecrate this day to every purpose that the
baser passions may demand. And these official acts are, in granting
licenses for horse racing, bull fighting, theatres and exhibitions of
all kinds, and even brothel balls, on the Sabbath. As evidence of the
countenance given to these things, and of the state of public feeling,
the following notices will give some evidence how the Sabbath is
regarded by the mayor and common council, and the _good people_ of New
Orleans. These announcements are made in the city papers, and also in
large attractive bills, put up in every part of the city.
“Washington Society Balls.
“At a meeting of the subscribers, the following gentlemen were
elected managers:
A. D. Crossman, _Mayor of the city_,
Joshua Baldwin, _Recorder_,
I. E. Caldwell,
W. P. Converse,
A. B. Bien,
H. G. Stetson,
J. B. Byrn,
Maj. Gen. J. L. Lewis,
Col. J. B. Walton,
Capt. Jordy,
E. A. Tyler,
J. W. Behan,
Dr. Luzenberg,
Wm. Emerson,
Wm. Freret,
J. Stroud,
J. L. Poulk,
W. F. Flowers,
W. J. Earthman,
A. H. Way,
N. C. Judson,
J. S. Wallis,
R. C. Faulkner,
H. S. Hatch.
“At the same time, it was Resolved, that the series should consist of
ten Balls, which will be all MASKED.
“The managers will meet every SUNDAY! during the season, at 1
o’clock. Office hours, from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening.”
Now here are the Mayor and Recorder, and twenty-two of the best
citizens of a civilized and _christian_ city of over one hundred
thousand inhabitants, meeting every Sabbath to make arrangements for a
MASKED BALL! and in view of such examples from such men, what else but
a perfect Sodom could be expected of New Orleans?
“Grand Balloon Ascension.
“The seventh ascension of Madame Emma V., of Bordeaux, will take
place on SUNDAY next, between the hours of 1 and 2 o’clock, from
the corner of St. Charles and Poydras streets. Madame E. V. returns
her thanks to the public for the patronage bestowed upon her last
SUNDAY, having proved to the citizens of New Orleans that nothing has
been exaggerated in her previous advertisement. A special stand is
reserved for the Ladies!”
This is done by permit of license from the Mayor.
“Pontchartrain Ball Room.
“The proprietors of this well known establishment respectfully inform
their friends and the public generally, that it will be opened on
SUNDAY next for the season, and that nothing on their part has been
left undone to render this house one of the most _agreeable_ in all
respects. The DRESS AND MASKED BALLS will be given in the following
order.
“For White persons--SUNDAYS, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
“For Quadroons--Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“The Orchestra is without doubt, the best in the city. The BAR is
furnished with the choicest LIQUORS, and the tables supplied with
every delicacy that the market affords.”
Now with such attractions, who could refuse to attend such a place even
on the _Sabbath_!! provided that _license_ is given by the authorities.
And yet the _attractions_ and _entertainment_ are not _all_ advertised
in the bill.
But the matter of astonishment in these things is, that in this
enlightened age, and in a civilized community, and in this country too,
public officers in a city could be found, who would, under the sanction
and seal of their office, grant a license for a regular _brothel_ Ball
Room. The assemblage of prostitutes and lewd women at these rooms, is
without exception, taking all the circumstances into account under
which they meet, the most wanton, debasing and licentious exhibition
of human passion ever witnessed. There are three of these Ball Rooms
licensed in the city, open every night and filled to overflowing. The
prostitutes all appear with MASKS on their faces, and so well concealed
that it is impossible to recognize them. The excessive drinking and
carousing practiced at these places, enables the girls to induce men
under such circumstances to accompany them home.
Women are admitted free of charge, and men pay one dollar for
admission. The Bar and the eating tables are the principal sources of
revenue, and that is immense. It is at these places where many rich
scenes are exhibited in the detection by some confiding and much abused
mistress, who has long been haunted by the green-eyed monster with
visions of unfaithfulness on the part of her paramour. She becomes
confirmed in the belief, that he is playing “fond dalliance” with
some beautiful Quadroon, or some other bright-eyed “Donna,” and to be
sure of a capture under circumstances that will allow of no escape,
she goes in MASK to the Ball Room, and there she beholds all that
her imagination has conceived of inconstancy, of treachery, of false
hearts and _love_ unrequited. And here she watches, with more than
argus eyes, and follows their every step, and listens until she hears
the outpourings of the soft words of honeyed love, and then, with more
than a tiger’s rage, she rushes upon the unsuspecting girl with whom
“_her man_” is so devotedly playing the agreeable, and with the jerk
of a whirlwind, the mask is torn from her face, her dress flies in
shreds, and what is left of the poor torn and tattered creature, is
a miraculous escape from annihilation. After thus accomplishing all
that she desires in making this public demonstration of their long
continued intimacy, she leaves the room in triumph, and returns to her
house and settles the affair with “_her man_,” by a course of “curtain
lectures,” usually being satisfied in settling the play as an even
game. And there too, in mask, will many a confiding and devoted wife
look for her husband, and witness the realities of all the forebodings
of her imagination, through long nights of lone watching. She has
found him here, and follows his footsteps while, arm in arm, he joins
in the whirl of the giddy dance, with the wild and polluted being who
is holding her loved and cherished one by charms as fatal and deadly
as the serpent’s steady gaze. It will be seen by the announcement in
the bill that three nights in the week balls are given to Quadroons,
or mulattoes; and on these evenings the attendance of men is nearly
double that of the white balls. And this affords a confirmation of the
truth of the old saying, “there is no accounting for tastes;” and also
of the truth of what is asserted of the _gentlemen_ of the South that
they will seek for companions among the yellow and even black women,
and discard the white ladies. Notwithstanding these things, Southern
men regard the act of eating at the table with a colored person as a
disgrace, and an outrage and an insult too great to be submitted to.
And yet they will have colored girls and colored men for their bed
companions, for body servants, for cooks; and in fact, every thing they
eat, drink or wear, they will see pass through their hands without the
least shudder or repugnance, or sickness of stomach.
The following notice presents still further the tone of _moral sense_
of the authorities and the people of this city. It was displayed in
large bills for twelve successive Sundays in the winter of 1847-8.
“Bull Fight.
“_On_ SUNDAY, _Dec. 12, on Washington Square, Third Municipality._”
“The proprietor respectfully begs to inform the public, that a
splendid BULL FIGHT will take place as above. Four of the finest and
largest Attakapas Bulls will be brought into the ring, two of which
will be slain by the Matadores, and the other two teased by the
Banderilleros and Capeadores.
“The company is composed of the following persons: Gregorio
Camerenas, chief, and first swordman; Juan Gonzales, Lancer;
Mondragon, Camerena and Jacome, Banderilleros, or arrowmen and M.
Rocha, P. Gomes and A. Blancas, Capeadores or teasers. Performance to
commence at 4 o’clock P. M. Admittance one dollar.”
This announcement gives the reader a programme of the interesting
performance of bull fighting. Yet sports of this kind are very little
understood in this country, and are not what it is generally supposed
they are. The idea of them has arisen from the expression used when
speaking of such scenes as _bull fights_, giving the same understanding
as those of kindred performances, as “cock fights,” or “dog fights,”
which every one knows to be contests between two animals, usually
trained for the purpose, and the same impression prevails almost,
universally in regard to “_bull fights_;” supposed to be a contest
between two fierce bulls. But such is not this SPORT! and that the
public may not be misled, and to correct a general false impression,
such sports should be announced as “bull murdering.”
The arrangements for such displays are in a circular inclosure, about
six rods in diameter, with a very strong fence. Around this circle are
seats in amphitheatre form, capable of holding five or six thousand
persons. Into this ring a single bull is admitted. At the same time
in the ring are usually eight men, trained to the _civilized_ and
_christian_ sport of bull-_murdering_. Those who performed in New
Orleans were native Mexicans, and came from Matamoras for the express
gratification of the _Mayor_, _Common Council_, and _good_ people of
the city. When they appear in the ring, they are dressed in fantastic
style, and each one wearing a small crimson cloak. And this is his main
protection, and used mostly, in “teasing” the bull; for when in the
fierceness of his rage he fixes his eye upon his victim, and plunges at
him with tremendous velocity, and death seems almost inevitable, the
man adroitly slips the cloak from his shoulders and steps one side,
and holds it precisely where he stood, and on this point the blow of
the animal is sure to strike.--Hence the cloak receives the full force
of the goad of the bull’s horns. It is evident from the actions of the
animal, that the bright and dazzling color of the cloak charms his
eye so that he is unable to turn his attention from it; for he will
often strike the cloak down, and turn round and examine it with great
minuteness in search of the man, and seems astonished that he has not
caught him. When the bull is cut loose and passes into the ring, a man
sits over the gate-way and drives into his back a barbed dart. It is
prepared and put in a stick about eighteen inches long, and when driven
into the animal it remains there to tear and lacerate the flesh, for
the purpose of exciting his rage and making him more furious. And this
it does, for when the dart strikes him, with a roar of vengeance, he
rushes in with tremendous fury, and often clears the ring in a moment
of every man in it. There appear to be paroxysms of terrible rage
in the expression of the eyes of the animal, that strikes a fearful
awe in the men; and they will throw themselves out of the ring in an
instant, although the bull is standing perfectly still. The performers
with the cloaks are Capeadores, or “teasers.” After this part of the
“_sport_” has continued for a sufficient time, four other performers
come in, each having four bearded darts, the body of which is a stick
about six inches long, and beautifully trimmed with colored tissue
paper representing rosettes. There are the Banderillas or arrow-men.
The great feat and climax in this part of the “_fight_” is to fasten,
by a stroke with the hand, one of these rosettes in the curl between
the eyes of the bull, and escape the goad of his horns. To do this,
is a triumph that is greeted with stamping and rounds of applause,
which convinces the daring one that the audience is fully alive to the
great feat that he has performed in decorating a bull’s face with a
_beautiful rosette_! There are but few performers who have the courage
to attempt this act, as a failure is always treated with hisses and
cries of “turn him out”--“turn him out.”
The next great expert act with the darts is to fasten one in the centre
between the horns, on the neck, and escape unhurt. This act also is
greeted with rounds and shouts of applause, all of which excites the
audience and arouses the fury of the bull. The darts being disposed
of, and most of them sticking in the head and neck of the animal, the
same men take each three bearded rockets, prepared on sticks about
eighteen inches long, and so constructed that when they are driven into
the bull they will ignite, and after burning and hissing for a time,
will explode with as much force and noise as a heavily charged musket.
These are alternately driven into the head and sides of the bull, and
while they are burning, hissing, and tearing his flesh, a more wild and
terrific scene can scarcely be imagined. He roars, plunges and lashes
his sides, with the most intense writhings of maddening pain and fury
that can be conceived. After the rockets are exhausted, the chief or
swordsman comes in, with a straight sword two feet and a half long, for
the purpose of ending the contest by taking the life of the bull. To
perform this act, and strike the animal through the heart at the first
blow, is the climax of all feats in the whole round of bull-fighting.
The swordsman is obliged to do it according to prescribed rules in the
science of the sport. He must strike his blow in a particular spot, and
when it is done, must stand on the left side and drive the sword in
just forward of the point of the right shoulder through the heart of
his victim. And while this attempt is being made, and the swordsman is
following the infuriate animal, it in turn rushes furiously after him,
and seems fully conscious that the time has come for the exhibition
of that part of the “sport,” as announced in the bill to be performed
by the chief. During this struggle the audience becomes wrought up
to the highest tone of excitement. The swordsman while seeking for
an opportunity to strike the fatal blow, if successful in the first
attempt, is greeted with shouts and rounds of the most frantic applause
ever witnessed, and at the same time showers of money are poured in
upon him from almost every hand in the audience, and often amounting to
several hundred dollars. He is allowed to strike three times, and if he
fails in giving a deadly thrust, the other extreme of disapprobation
is meted out upon him in long continued hisses and cries of “take
him out,” “take him out,” and thus the audience will _magnanimously_
interfere and save the life of the unconquered bull, who has at least
for an hour defied the power of eight men to destroy him; and yet here
he is, foaming and lashing his sides, and writhing under the most
intense agony, full of ghastly and bleeding wounds, and the tearing
of dozens of darts and rockets that goad him at every step; while
thousands of human beings are looking on with an intensity of feeling
and exultation of pleasure, that is impossible to be expressed by
language. Under these circumstances and cries of “take him out,” a man
comes in on horse-back with a lasso, and catches the bull by the horns
and drags him out. Another bull is then let in, and the same round
of teasing and goading with darts and rockets is gone through with,
and then he is dragged out with the lasso. The darts and goads are cut
out, and the next _Sabbath_ he is let in again, and goes through the
same “fight,” with the addition of its being his turn to be killed.
Thus as the bill announces, four bulls are let into the ring for the
“sport” of one _Sabbath_, and two are teased, and two are slain. In
witnessing scenes of this kind, there is exhibited throughout the
whole assemblage, a blood thirsty and savage desperation, and withal,
a strong desire that the bull may succeed in goading tearing out the
very vitals of some one of the inhuman monsters against whom he is
contending. It would seem that the “sports” could not be _agreeable_,
and meet the expectations and desires of the audience, unless a scene
of that kind could be exhibited; for when the bull makes a deadly and
determined plunge, and his victim barely escapes as by a miracle, as
will often occur, the spectators appear disappointed in not seeing the
man gored through and through, and crushed into a mangled and bleeding
corpse. And to see this done, it appears that every one would go away
perfectly satisfied in having witnessed all that could be done in
the “sport” of “bull-murdering.” Take it all in all, a more brutal
and fiendish exhibition of cruelty cannot be conceived, and yet, on
the _Sabbath_ day, in this civilized land, will the good men of New
Orleans legalize and sanction this horrid practice. But in this, no
one will be disappointed, for it is in perfect harmony and character
with other scenes in the great drama of human life in this city. The
same kindred and brutal exhibitions are allowed, and usually come
off on the _Sabbath_, in cock fighting and dog fights, with animals
trained expressly for such “sports,” and they are often made up by
bets of large sums. There are many who make these “sports” a matter
of permanent business, and to which their whole time is devoted as
a science. A fight of this kind was made up in the winter of 1837,
in which a “ruling passion strong in death” was exhibited to an
extent almost incredible. A _gentleman_ who was in the last stages of
consumption, had arranged a cock fight to come off in about six weeks,
when the animals would be properly trained. The bet was $3,000 a side.
It was evident, however, that he would not survive the time, either to
witness his triumph or defeat, for he could scarcely be expected to
live from one hour to another. Yet the excitement and struggle, and
determination on his part was so great, to live until the day of the
fight, that he was assured by his Physician for three weeks before the
time, that were it not for his determination and anxiety, he would
not live an hour. The day came, and the fight was made, and he was
victorious. He immediately passed from the cock pit to his carriage,
and on reaching the side walk, he sunk down and was a corpse in a
moment.