By 12 o'clock gay colors were resumed, carriages which had been
rigorously kept out of sight came forth and were flying down the
paseo as if glad that the time of quietness was past. All places of
amusement, which had been closed during Lent, began sticking up posters
announcing a grand opening on the next (Sunday) evening. The noise of
the matracas grew fainter and fainter, and gradually ceased. The wind
picked up the stray pieces of Judases, played with them awhile, and
then carried them out of sight. The venders who had jammed the Zocalo
gradually disappeared; the music in the different parks ceased, and
Lent seemed as far gone, by the time 12 o'clock rang forth, as though
six months had passed. Such is life.
On Sunday the theaters, bull-fights, circus and race-courses were well
attended. The bull-fights were advertised as the last of the season.
The one I attended was excellent. The bulls were good ones, and some
very new and striking features were introduced. One man sat down on a
chair in the center of the ring with two banderillas in his hand. The
door was opened, and the bull rushed in and at him. He sat there, and
as it put down its head to gore him he stuck the banderillas into its
neck and sprung aside, while the bull knocked the chair into atoms.
Everybody cheered, and threw the fellow money and cigars. After this
toro had been dispatched, one man lay down on the ground and another
stood over him, keeping his head between his legs. Again they opened
the door and let a toro in. It rushed for the men, but the one standing
stuck the banderillas into it with such force that it roared with pain
and took after one of the other fighters in the ring, leaving the two
men unhurt. The very daring of this delighted the people, for if the
man had missed the bull both of them would have been killed without the
least trouble.
One toro had horns about four feet wide, and at the first plunge it
killed one horse. Then it caught another horse and threw it on its
back, the rider underneath. The fighters tried to draw it off, but it
stayed there until the horse was dead. All that could be seen of the
rider was his head, which he tried vainly to shield with his arms. They
carried him off for dead. This toro was very hard to kill. It required
seven lunges of the sword to convert him into beef. One toro refused
to fight, and when stuck with a sharp pica he jumped over the fence
and was with the audience. Such a scrambling! Most of the people threw
themselves into the ring, about the first ones to go being the guards,
who are placed around to take care of the people. It was quite a while
before quiet was restored, and the toro lassoed and removed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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