_The Alma Mater of Bull-fighters_
'The Arabs were much given to bull-fighting, and highly skilled in
the _lidia_, whether mounted or on foot.'--SANCHEZ DE NIEVA, _El
Toréo_.
Seville is so renowned in the annals of the great Spanish sport of
bull-fighting, that I propose to devote a chapter to a brief history and
description of the 'science of tauromachia,' or the recreation of the
_lidia_. Mr. Leonard Williams, in _The Land of the Dons_, is somewhat
apologetic to his readers for introducing three chapters upon the
bullfight and its history; but such is the enthusiasm exhibited for the
pastime, that Mr. Williams states that thirty chapters, instead of
three, would scarcely be disproportionate to the importance in which the
_corrida_ is esteemed by the Spanish nation. While making personal
confession that I am not an _aficionado_, or enthusiast, of the art of
bull-fighting, I will endeavour to convey to the reader a conception of
the influence of the sport upon the Andalusian public, from which the
moralist and sociologist may draw their conclusions.
There is an odour of Pharisaism in the British fox-hunter's denunciation
of the bull fight on the score of cruelty to animals. But in defence of
the hunter, it may be pointed out that he rarely sacrifices the life of
his steed in order to be in at the death of a fox, and that he would
certainly scorn to torture a worn-out and decrepit horse by riding it
till it dropped with a ruptured heart. In bull-fighting there is no
pity shown for horses. The emaciated beasts, upon which the _picadores_,
or spearmen, are mounted, are urged at the bull, and serve as a target
for its terrible horns until they are no longer able to stand upon their
legs. Even when ripped open, or otherwise wounded, the bleeding,
terrified creatures are sewn up, or have their wounds plugged with tow,
and are again lashed and spurred to the attack.
Surely it is impossible to defend this element of the _corrida_. The
Spaniard does not attempt to do so; he cannot easily understand the
point of view that calls for such defence. All over Spain domestic
animals used in the service of man are treated mostly with callous
insensibility to their sufferings, and often with cruelty that appals
and disgusts the stranger. What does it matter whether an old, used-up
horse goes to the knacker or into the bull ring to end its days? In
Spain there is no sentimental bond between the aged, faithful,
hard-working horse and its owner. The horse or mule is a mere beast of
burden and of draught, to be worked as hard as possible, half-fed,
cursed, abused, and at all times beaten, goaded and kicked.
It would seem that a long training in warfare, the effect of harsh rule,
and the terrible example of the Inquisition form a trinity of evil that
has made the mass of the Spanish people indifferent to the spectacle of
certain kinds of pain. That this apathy to the sufferings of human
beings and brutes is compatible with strong physical courage is a fact
well supported by examples in the histories of nations and individuals.
It is also true that the humane man can be exceedingly courageous.
Cruelty in sport has, however, characterised other European countries
than Spain, which in this matter may be said to stand where we stood,
ethically speaking, in the days of bull-baiting, cock-fighting and
badger-drawing. The English crowd that went to see an unhappy victim of
nervous irritability ducked in a dirty pond, for the offence of nagging
at the goodman, was on the same level of civilisation as the mob in
Spain that enjoyed the sport of arming blind men with swords, turning
pigs loose among them, and urging the sightless to hack at the pigs,
with the result that the men frequently injured one another instead of
the porkers.
So far, then, as bulls and horses are concerned, we can only expect to
find blunted feeling in Spain. And I am not sure that we need expend
much sympathy upon the bull of the arena. In the ordinary fate he has to
die, and it is probable that he would prefer to live the life of a
fighting bull than bear the yoke and drag the cumbrous cart along dusty,
scorching high roads. At all events, the bull reared for fighting has a
placid existence until he is 'warrantable'; and in the excitement of his
short contest with men he may suffer much less pain than we imagine. And
as for the _matadores_, the heroes of the populace, the favourites of
the aristocracy,--well, it is their affair if they and their attendants
choose to risk their lives to make a Seville holiday. The human
performers in the drama are not forced to fight. If one falls, he is not
flogged till he rises to face the bull again, and when injured he is
tended at once by skilful surgeons.
This is really all that one can say in reply to the charge of cruelty,
and it is little enough. Bull-fighting is specifically a Spanish sport,
and efforts to introduce it into other countries have failed. British
and American visitors to Seville are frequently to be seen at the Plaza
de Toros; and at Algeciras and La Linea, the soldiers of the British
garrison, and the people of Gibraltar, are the principal supporters of
the bull rings. Throughout Spain the word _toro_ creates keen interest
in all classes of society. The State, the Church and the aristocracy
support the recreation of the _corrida_. Most of the bull rings have
their chapels attached, where the performers receive the sacrament and a
priestly blessing before entering the perilous arena. Ladies of the
highest birth are among the breeders of fighting bulls; even some of the
clerics rear beasts for the pastime, and attend the exhibitions of
tauromachia. The passion for the sport is deep and apparently
ineradicable in the people of Spain. Isabel the Catholic, after
witnessing a sanguinary display in the ring, endeavoured to suppress
bull-fighting. But not even the popular Queen could divert her subjects'
interest from the absorbing sport. Moral suasion and attempted
legislative methods are alike futile. The people demand the bull fight.
In the very midst of war's alarms, and during civil trouble, the _plazas
de toros_ were thronged with enthusiastic spectators. Jovellanos,
Charles III., Señor Castelar, and Señor Ferreras, the editor of _El
Correo_, are among those who have protested against bull-fighting.
'Spain pays no heed to any of these agitators,' writes Mr. Leonard
Williams, 'but continues unmoved the proud traditions of the arena. The
superb bull ring inaugurated not long ago at Barcelona was consecrated
by the clergy in procession, on the very day on which a novel of the
naughty Tolstoi was thrust upon the list _librorum expurgatorum_.' In
Spain the schoolmaster is a bankrupt, while the famous bull-fighter
receives five thousand pesetas for killing two or three bulls. There are
sociological inferences to be drawn from this fact.
BULL-FIGHTING OF THE PAST.
There is no doubt that encounters between men and bulls are of ancient
origin in the Peninsula. The Moors are said to have brought
bull-fighting into Spain, and there is historical proof that exhibitions
of daring in worrying and attacking bulls were one of the chief
recreations of the Moorish feast days. During times of truce between
Moslems and Christians, displays of tauromachia were arranged by the
rival leaders, and knights of both sides took part in the ring. The
great Cid distinguished himself in fights with fierce bulls, and his
horsemanship in the arena was widely admired. In these early days of the
sport, the tournament, or _lidia_, was celebrated in the largest _plaza_
of the towns. Raised seats were erected for the cavaliers and ladies,
and the _fêtes_ were attended almost entirely by the higher classes of
Andalusian and Castilian society. The combatant of the bull was mounted
on a plucky Arabian horse, and armed with a lance, called the _rejón_, a
weapon about five feet in length. At a signal the bull was let loose.
The knight charged the beast, and endeavoured to thrust his spear-head
into the neck. An expert performer sometimes killed his bull at the
first thrust. When hurled from his steed by a charge of the bull, the
knight was bound by the rules of the ring to face the brute on foot,
with a sword. Vassals assisted their master by essaying to draw the
attention of the bull, and at the right moment the knight plunged his
steel into the animal's neck.
Such combats appear to have been held in Andalusia as early as the
eleventh century. In one of Goya's bull-fighting sketches, we may see a
Moor, with a cloak on the left arm, and a dart in the right hand,
practising the _suerte de banderilla_. In the fifteenth century
bull-fighting was recognised as the chief national sport. In 1567 Pius
V. issued a threat of excommunication for all rulers who permitted
bull-fighting within their realms, and for all priests who witnessed the
shows. Fighters who fell in the ring were denied burial with Christian
rites. The Bull of the Pope was utterly disregarded. Nobles continued to
erect bull rings and to arrange _corridas_. The Church then exercised
wonted discretion. A decree came from Salamanca that priests of a
certain order might be present at bull fights, and the institution of
the _lidia_ was made semi-sacred and wholly respectable.
At Valladolid, Charles I. engaged and killed a bull in the public arena.
Succeeding kings and the flower of the nobility yearned to graduate in
the art of bull-fighting. The sons of _hidalgos_ resorted to the
slaughter-houses of the towns to practise with cloak and sword the
feints and passes of the _matador_. A valorous bull-fighter won his way
to women's hearts and to the favour of princes. In 1617 the Pope issued
a Bull announcing that the Virgin was conceived immaculately and was as
pure as her divine offspring. The announcement threw Seville into a
frenzy of delight. Archbishop de Castro gave a splendid service in the
beautiful Cathedral. Guns boomed from the ramparts of the city, and all
the church bells clanged and pealed. In the bull ring, Don Melchor de
Alcázar, a friend of Velazquez, arranged a special display. The Don,
with his dwarf and four immense negroes, gave a remarkable show of their
daring to a host of spectators.
Upon the day that Fernando VII. abolished the University of Seville, he
established an academy of bull-fighting in the city. The building was
constructed with a small ring for the practice of students in the art of
tauromachia, and contained stables, bedrooms, and other apartments. From
that time Seville was regarded as the classic home of bull-fighting, and
many of the most valiant fighters were trained in that city. Then arose
the professional _matador_, or _espada_, the swordsman who faces the
bull single-handed, when it has been worried and incensed by the
_picadores_ and the _banderilleros_.
Two of the first paid _matadores_ were the brothers Juan and Pedro
Palomo. They were succeeded by Martiñez Billon, Francisco Romero and his
son Juan, and José Delgado Candido, who was killed on the 24th of June
1771. The original Plaza de Toros of Seville was constructed in 1763,
and from that date until the end of the century several bull rings were
built in Andalusia and Castile.
'Andalusia,' write the authors of _Wild Spain_ 'has always been, and
still remains, the province where the love of the bull and all that
pertains to him is most keenly cherished, and where the modern bull
fight may to-day be seen in its highest perfection and development. It
provides the best bull-fighters and the most valued strains of the
fighting bull. It may be added that the Andalusian nobility were the
last of their order to discontinue their historic pursuit; and when,
during the darker days of this sport, the Royal order of the Maestranza
de Sevilla was created by Philip V., it was conceded in the statutes
that members of the order could hold two _corridas_ with the long lance
annually outside the city walls. Three gentlemen subsequently received
titles of exalted nobility of this order in respect of brilliant
performances with the lance.' José Candido, usually known as Pepe Hillo,
brought about a great revival of the _corrida_ after the Bourbons had
sought to discountenance the sport of the nobility. _Pepe Hillo_ is the
title of a drama concerned with the valiant exploits of the celebrated
master among _matadores_. Hillo, though he was said to be illiterate,
drew up the rules of the sport, and even to-day he is regarded as one of
the highest authorities upon the art of the bull fight.
According to Mr. Leonard Williams, Francisco Romero, of Ronda, in
Andalusia, was 'the first great exponent of the modern _toreo_.' Romero
was put to shoemaking, but he abandoned that homely trade for the
profession of bull-fighter, acting first as a page to the knights who
encountered the bulls. It was Romero who introduced the pass of
fluttering the cloak, or red cloth, in the face of the bull, and then,
at the fitting opportunity, thrusting the sword into the creature's
neck. Most of the reputed _matadores_ are of Sevillian birth. In the
days of Romero and his son, Juan, who died at the age of one hundred and
two, there lived the famous Sevillian _toreros_, the brothers Palomo,
Manuel Bellón, Lorenzo Manuel, Joaquin Rodriguez, and Pepe Hillo, or
Illo.
Among the Andalusian schools of bull-fighting Ronda was renowned for
daring, and Seville for coolness. The intrepidity of the Sevillian
bull-fighters was remarkable. The _salto del trascuerno_, or jump across
the head of the bull, was one of their favourite feats. Mr. Williams
tells us that the most redoubtable of all the _toreros_ of Seville was
one Martin Barcaiztegui, called Martincho, a cowherd of Guipuzcoa.
Martincho was a pupil of the famous José Leguregui, and his bravery
excelled that of his trainer. 'His favourite accomplishment was to mount
upon a table, when his legs were closely fettered with massive irons.
The whole was then set opposite the _toril_. The bull, emerging, sighted
the table, covered with a crimson cloth, and charged it, when Martincho
would leap along his back from head to tail, and alight in perfect
safety. The table, one presumes, went flying into splinters. On a
certain occasion, at Zaragoza, Martincho, seated in a chair, killed a
bull by a single thrust, using his hat as a _muleta_.'
Martincho died in 1800, having survived the dangers of the arena. He
lived for a time with the artist Goya, who has drawn his friend in
several of his bull-fighting pictures. Costillares and Pepe Hillo were
also celebrated for their reckless daring in the bull-fighting
exhibitions of Seville. These heroes retired from the ring before Godoy
influenced Maria Luisa to suppress the _corrida_. For three years there
was no bull-fighting in Spain. Upon the revival of the sport under
Joseph Bonaparte, Pedro Romero was appointed chief instructor of
Ferdinand's academy of tauromachia at Seville. This _matador_ died at
Ronda in 1839. During his public career, he killed no less than 5,600
bulls.
BULL-FIGHTING OF THE PRESENT.
Montes now comes into prominence among the famous _toreros_ of
Andalusia. Francisco Montes fought for the first time at Madrid in 1832.
He attracted the notice of Candido, of the academy of bull-fighters at
Seville, and he was accepted as a pupil and granted a pension of six
_reales_ per day. Montes introduced the modern style in the art of the
_torero_. He wrote a treatise on bull-fighting, entitled: _El arte de
torear á pie y á caballo_. 'Considered to be the _torero's_ very bible
for the infallible wisdom of its precepts.'
The _matador_ of to-day is the idol of the populace; but he is not so
honoured by persons of noble birth as in the earlier times of
bull-fighting. Luis Mazzantini is perhaps the greatest living _torero_.
Guerrita has retired. Antonio Fuentes and Reverte are accomplished
bull-fighters. Montes died of injuries received in the ring, in the year
1850, at the age of forty-six.
To show the favour formerly extended to the _torero_, we may quote the
story of Lavi and Queen Isabel II. Lavi was a Romany by birth, and a
bold _matador_ of his day. During a royal _corrida_, the gipsy pluckily
tore out the _moña_, or bunch of ribbons in the bull's neck, and
advanced towards the Queen. 'Here,' he cried, 'this is the first _moña_
your majesty has had the honour of receiving at my hands!'
The retinue of the _matador_ consists of the _picadores_, or mounted
spearmen, the _banderilleros_, or dart throwers, and the _monos sabios_,
who repair the damages to the wretched horses and thrash them to their
feet. The _matador_ is clad in silk and gold, with a spangled cloak,
which he wears in the parade of the fighters previous to the display. It
is stated by one writer that a bull fight in Seville cost from £1100 to
£1200. The value of each bull killed is about £70. The _matador's_ fee
is from £120 to £200; but this includes the fees paid by him to his
_cuadrilla_, or troupe. The horses are valued at from £120 to £200,
according to the number killed by the bull. The cost of the seats is
from a _peseta_ to three _duros_. Guerrita could 'command all over Spain
and in the South of France almost any remuneration.' The _banderilleros_
receive about fifty dollars, and the _picadores_ something less than
that for their share in the performance.
The glory that surrounds the _matador_ induces a large number of Spanish
youths to adopt the profession of bull-fighting. In consequence, there
is a surplus of indifferent _toreros_ and novices, who are awaiting
their chance for promotion and for an appearance in the arena.
These hangers-on of the sport are to be seen in the Puerta del Sol of
Madrid, and in the _paseos_ and streets of Seville. They have a 'horsey'
air, and are proficient at lounging, and chaffing the women who pass by.
A little pigtail hangs from the brims of their hats, and they are fond
of frilled shirts, in which they display paste studs. Every city and
provincial town of Spain has its _aficionados_ of bull-fighting. These
amateurs talk learnedly upon _encierros_, _suertes_, and _pases por
alto_. They are vain of their acquaintance with popular _toreros_, and
they read all the literature of the beloved sport. The _Historia del
Toreo_ is better known among these 'sports' than the poems of 'Herrera
the divine.' At the _cafés_ they pore over the bull-fighting journals,
_El Toréo_, _El Enáno_, and _La Lidia_.
Mr. H. T. Finck describes the bull fight as 'the most unsportsmanlike
and cowardly spectacle I have ever seen.' This author does not believe
that bull-fighting is highly dangerous. 'No man,' he writes, 'who has a
sense of true sport would engage with a dozen other men against a brute
that is so stupid as to expend its fury a hundred times in succession on
a piece of red cloth, ignoring the man who holds it.'
The bull fight not dangerous! I can imagine the indignation of the
devotees of the sport at such a suggestion. Personally, I am not in a
position to affirm how great or how small is the peril to the man who
finds himself alone in a ring, face to face with a savage Andalusian
bull. I have, however, been told by a Spaniard, living in Madrid, that
the fluttering of the red cloth certainly distracts the bull's attention
from its combatant, and that the animal invariably closes its eyes when
the _muleta_ is whisked in its face. This 'fact,' given on the authority
of my Spanish friend, may throw a side-light on the art of the
_matador_. But I am certainly not prepared to say that bull-fighting is
without danger to the human performers in the tournament. Many lives
have been lost in the arena, and injuries are of comparatively common
occurrence. On October 7, 1900, Dominguin was killed at Barcelona; two
novices were wounded at Carabanchel; Parrao was injured at Granada,
Telilas had his collar-bone broken at Madrid, and Bombita was wounded at
the same place. Such was one day's list of mishaps in the amphitheatres
of Spain.
Until infuriated by the lances and darts, many of the bulls are far from
savage. There is the story of a bull in the arena, that recognised the
voice of a lad, who had tended it on the plains, and came towards its
friend with apparent pleasure at the re-meeting. On the other hand,
there is the account of the bull of Muruve, who fought at Seville, in
1898, and carried a horse and a _picador_ upon its horns from the
barrier to the centre of the ring. A strong bull will sometimes toss a
_picador's_ saddle high in the air; yet Mr. Williams tells us that two
men are required to carry the saddle. Bulls frequently leap the
_barrera_ of the arena, although the height is over five feet. 'At
Málaga, some six years ago, a bull leaped over the barrier at precisely
the same spot _fourteen_ times in swift succession. At Madrid, in 1898,
another cleared _both_ barriers,' writes Mr. Williams, 'landing with his
head among the spectators, but falling back into the _callejón_. On
April 30, 1896, at Madrid, Ermitaño, the second bull of the _corrida_,
cleared the barrier four times, jamming a carpenter between a pair of
doors and severely injuring him. All the above I have myself witnessed;
but other feats, perfectly authenticated, are even more remarkable.'
The Plaza de Toros at Seville is a handsome building. It was constructed
to seat fourteen thousand spectators. The chief fights take place on
Domingo de Resurrección, and during the week of the _feria_, in April.
The seats are arranged in boxes (_palcos_), the _asientos de barrera_
(barrier seats) and the _asientos de grada_. A higher price is charged
for seats in the _sombra_, or shade; while the cheaper positions,
occupied by the poorer classes, are in the _sol_, or sunshine.
It is fashionable to drive to the _corrida_ behind four or six horses or
mules, with gay trappings and jangling bells. Hawkers, thieves,
programme vendors and beggars throng around the _plaza_. The half-hour
of waiting, preliminary to the first combat, is enlivened by the arrival
of smart people and notabilities of the city, while the orchestra plays
a selection of pieces.
Reverte or Fuentes arrives, and is acclaimed by his admirers. The
knowing _aficionados_, who have seen the doomed bulls in their
enclosure, promise an excellent show. The seats gradually fill; there is
a loud hum of conversation and a waving of fans by the _señoras_ in the
_palcos_. At a signal from the President of the _corridas_, the ring is
cleared of the groups of _toreros_ and their friends. Then the band
strikes up, and the bull-fighters march out, with the _matadores_ in
front of their attendants. They salute the President. The key of the
bull enclosure is thrown down, an official unlocks the door, and into
the arena canters the first bull, to encounter a charge from the
_picador_. Sometimes the bull refuses to fight. The beast is lazy,
good-tempered, or dazed. Not even the darts will enrage the creature. It
gazes upon its tormentors with benign amazement. This poor sport; _toro_
must be worried into a passion. An explosive dart is thrown at the bull.
The fire burns into its nerves. It is more than the most placid bull
nature can endure with patience. _Toro_ lowers its horns and rushes upon
its assailants.
The spectators, men, women and children, closely watch every move and
double of the fighters. A _picador_ is thrown. The horse, with a ghastly
dripping wound in its flank, rushes around the ring. It is met by the
bull, gored, and tossed in the air. The wounded nag cannot regain its
feet. Again and again the infuriated _toro_ vents its rage on the
struggling horse. Presently, the bull's attention is drawn from the
steed, and it turns to face the gaudy _matador_. A thrust of a dagger
ends the convulsive kicking of the dying horse.
With scientific precision, the swordsman flutters his _muleta_ in the
bull's face. At each charge the _matador_ bounds aside, and the beast
worries the red rag. At length, _toro_ stands snorting and pawing the
ground. The magnificent brute surveys his enemy with hatred, and makes
another rush. Again it is thwarted. Finally, the sword is plunged deftly
into the creature's viscera. _Toro_ trembles, falls, and lies prone. The
_coup de grace_ is administered with a big knife. There is deafening
applause, the strains of the band, and the dead bull is dragged from the
ring by a team of mules.
'When I see children at the _corrida_, I sigh and think of the future of
Spain,' said my Spanish friend. Such expression of opinion is almost
treasonable. Long live the bull fight! Humanitarian cant is not to be
taken seriously. It is not only the Spanish people who love the sport.
'There are no more enthusiastic patrons of the bull ring in Madrid,'
writes Mr. H. C. Chatfield Taylor, author of _The Land of the Castanet_,
'than many of the foreign diplomats, and one remembers clearly the
Secretary of the United States Legation, stationed in Madrid at the time
of a former visit, saying that he was an annual subscriber, and had not
missed a _corrida_ during his entire term of office.'
THE LIFE OF THE FIGHTING BULL.
In Great Britain our nobility and gentle-folk breed racehorses. In Spain
the aristocracy and grandees rear bulls for the ring. The breeders of
bulls are termed _ganaderos_. Around Seville, Jerez, Huelva and
Valladolid are born the _toros bravos_. At the age of one year the bulls
selected for the arena are branded, and sent on to the plains to graze,
in charge of a _conocedor_, who is assisted by an _ayudante_. When the
bulls are two years of age, they are tried for the first time to prove
their pluck and pugnacity. At four years old they are put into huge
enclosures of good pasturage, and in time of scarcity they are fed upon
vetches, maize and wheat. From five to seven _toro_ is warrantable for
the _lidia_. At his trial, at the age of two years, the owner of the
herd invites a number of friends to the ranche. Young and clever
horsemen attend these trials, and vie with one another in courage. The
_caballeros_ are armed with the _garrochas_, lances about twelve feet in
length, with short steel points. Visitors to Seville may often see
parties of mounted sportsmen returning from these _tentadores_, or
trials.
A bull is separated from its companions. The horseman, carrying the
_garrocha_, pursues the brute, and attempts to overturn it by a powerful
thrust on the flank, delivered at full gallop. The horseman must be a
bold rider, possessed of coolness and strong in the arm. If the charge
is successful, _toro_ tumbles with its feet in the air. Another rider
now takes up the attack. He has a sharper spear, and is called _el
tentador_. Should the young bull refuse to charge, it is discarded as a
_toro bravo_, and the slaughter-house or the life of labour awaits it.
The chosen bulls are then christened, and entered upon the breeder's
list of warrantable animals. In due time their names appear on the
brilliant placards advertising the _corridas_ of Seville or Cadiz.
'The _tentadero_ at the present day,' writes the authors of _Wild
Spain_, 'affords opportunity for aristocratic gatherings, that recall
the tauromachian tournaments of old. Even the Infantas of Spain enter
into the spirit of the sport, and have been known themselves to wield
the _garrocha_ with good effect, as was, a few months ago, the case at a
brilliant _fête champêtre_ on the Sevillian _vegas_, when the Condesa de
Paris and her daughter, Princess Elena, each overthrew a sturdy
two-year-old; the Infanta Eulalia riding _á ancas_, or pillion-fashion,
with an Andalucian nobleman, among the merriest of a merry party.'
Travelling by rail across the wide and lonely plains of Southern and
Central Spain, the stranger often sees large herds of bulls, quietly
grazing in charge of an attendant, who leans upon a long wooden staff,
and wears a plaid upon his shoulder. The Spanish travellers crowd to the
window at the magical words _los toros_, and in an animated manner the
points of the herd are discussed. This pleasant pastoral life lasts for
five years of the bull's life, though during that time it has to endure
the trial with the _garrocha_. The bulls are divided into three classes
after the _tientas_, or trials, _i.e._, those of the first rank, the
'brave bulls'; those of the second order, the _novillos_, which are used
by second-rate _matadores_ and beginners, and those sentenced to death,
or a life of toil. Amongst the most eminent strains of Andalusian bulls
used for the ring are those of Cámara, Miura, Muruve, Pérez de la
Concha, Conradi, Adalid, Ibarra, Saltillo, and Anastasio Martin.
The animals are sold from four to eight at a time, according to the
status of the _corrida_ for which they are purchased. If the distance to
the ring is short, the bulls are driven by night through the country,
and pastured in the daytime. They are led by peaceable cattle with bells
hung from their necks. 'These intelligent beasts keep the wild ones
together and out of mischief,' says Mr. Leonard Williams, 'with the
same unerring watchfulness as a collie controlling a flock of sheep, and
lightening to an incalculable extent the labours of the accompanying
horsemen.' At night the bulls are driven into the town, the sides of the
streets being barricaded. When the beasts are consigned to buyers at a
long distance from the ranche, they are conveyed by rail in strong
boxes.
Just before the encounter in the ring, the _toros_ are confined in the
_chiqueros_, dark dens with strong doors that are opened and closed by
ropes pulled from above. Difficulty is often experienced in coaxing
refractory animals into these cells. The operation is witnessed by
_aficionados_, who pay a fee for the privilege.
Among the best-known _garrochistas_ of modern times are the Señores Don
Antonio Miura, Don Faustino Morube, Don Miguel Garcia, Don Guillermo
Ochoteco, Don José Silva, Don Fernando Concha, Don Agusto Adalid, Don
Angel Zaldos, Don Manuel Sanchez-Mira, Marques de Bogaraya, Marques de
Guadalest, Don Frederico Huesca, and the Marques de Castellones. Two of
the finest exponents of the art of wielding the _rejón_, or short
lance--a weapon surviving from the early times of the _lidia_--are the
Señores Heredia, Ledesma, and Grané. Mr. Williams says that there are
not a dozen horsemen in Spain and Portugal who can successfully perform
the feat of killing the bull with the _rejón_.
'An animated spectacle it is on the even of the _corrida_,' write the
authors of _Wild Spain_, 'when amidst clouds of dust and clang of bells,
the tame oxen and wild bulls are driven forward by galloping horsemen
and levelled _garrochas_. The excited populace, already intoxicated with
bull-fever and the anticipation of the coming _corridas_, lining the way
to the Plaza, careless if in the enthusiasm for the morrow they risk
some awkward rips to-day.
'Once inside the lofty walls of the _toril_, it is easy to withdraw the
treacherous _cabestros_, and one by one to tempt the bulls each into a
small separate cell, the _chiquero_, the door of which will to-morrow
fall before his eyes. Then, rushing upon the arena, he finds himself
confronted and encircled by surging tiers of yelling humanity, while the
crash of trumpets and glare of moving colours madden his brain. Then the
gaudy horsemen, with menacing lances, recall his day of trial on the
distant plain, horsemen now doubly hateful in their brilliant glittering
tinsel. No wonder the noble brute rushes with magnificent fury to the
charge.'
The bull fight of Spain and Portugal is the modern form of the
gladiatorial shows of ancient Rome. At Urbs Italica, the Roman city of
old, is the ring wherein many victims of Pagan persecution were forced
to combat with fierce beasts. It is but a step upwards from this
sanguinary sport to the tournament with bulls, introduced into Andalusia
by the Moors. The fascination of the horrible is the motive that impels
men to witness exhibitions involving risk of human life and cruelty
towards animals. Our bull-baiting with dogs was certainly not more
sportsmanlike than the Spanish duels between knights, armed only with
the lance or sword, and a fierce bull of the plains. Yet bull-baiting
was a favourite diversion of the British nation from the time of King
John until about a hundred years ago. In the reign of Elizabeth
bear-baiting was a fashionable recreation in London, and there were
'Easter fierce hunts, when foaming boars fought for their heads, and
lusty bulls and huge bears were baited with dogs' (_Sports of England_).
When public opinion began to recoil from such barbarous amusements,
Windham, in the House of Commons, made a brilliant speech in defence of
the sport of bull-baiting, and the Bill for its abolition was rejected.
That was in 1802. Yet, no doubt, a number of our countrymen of that
period were accustomed to denounce the atrocious cruelty of the Spanish
bull-fighters.
Statute 5 and 6, William IV., in 1835, made bull-baiting and
cock-fighting illegal. The Act enjoined 'that any person keeping or
using any house, pit, or other place, for baiting or fighting any bull,
bear, dog, or other animal (whether of a domestic or wild kind), or for
cock-fighting, shall be liable to a penalty of £5 for every day he shall
so keep and use the same.' In 1837 the provisions of this Act were
extended to Ireland.
We must remember, therefore, that a high stage of culture and refinement
must be attained before nations will consent to abandon cruel and
dangerous contests between men and brutes, or between beasts. Even in
Spain there is a growing revolt from the exhibitions of combats between
bulls and other animals, which are sometimes given in the big towns. In
these fights--which take place in a cage in the centre of an arena--a
wretched, half-fed lion or elephant is pitted against a bull.
Cock-fighting still flourishes in the Peninsula. It is popular in
Seville, and like bull-fighting, the sport has its _aficionados_ in
every town and hamlet. Sunday, after Mass, is the favourite day for a
display of cock-fighting. These _funciones gallisticas_ have been
described by one or two writers upon Spain, who agree that the diversion
is of a degrading character.
Those among my readers who are interested in bull-fighting, its history
and its anecdotes, will find a chapter on 'Tauromachia' in that
fascinating work _Wild Spain_, by Mr. Abel Chapman and Mr. Walter J.
Buck. A full account of the sport, and the most modern of all the
numerous contributions to the literature of the bull ring, is that in
the three special chapters of Mr. Leonard Williams's _The Land of the
Dons_, published in 1902.