The International Magazine, Volume 4, No. 5, December 1851Various
History
The International Magazine, Volume 4, No. 5, December 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
certainly the cruelty exhibited was most repulsive. The people quite
exulted in the way they drew out the barbed darts from the creature's
back, and thrust them in again, in every way that could torture him
most. He was, however, at last killed by Montes, after a number of
thrusts. After he had been struck the third time by Montes, the blood
gushed out from his mouth in torrents, and in about seven seconds he
died. In the baiting of the eighth bull, the same picador showed his
dexterity. In the third charge which he made, he killed a horse. At
first he brought the horse to the ground, and rolled him over as he
would a cat; then, having dug his horns into his bowels for some time,
at last left him for dead. Two other bulls followed, and with the death
of the last, the spectacle terminated.
The third day was appropriated to the exhibition of the first rudiments
of bull-fighting, and was a regular gala for the more youthful portion
of the community. There is no parallel to this practice at present
existing in any part of Europe. The prize-fighting which till lately
prevailed in England, independent of the heartiness, and emulative
courage of the combatants, was a barbarism of quite another kind, the
excitement of which was enhanced by the scope it allowed for gambling.
But in bull-fighting there is no chance of making money, nor are wagers
ever laid upon the combatants. The spectacle, in fact, is more like
the games that took place in imperial Rome, which argue a brutality of
feeling worthy of those degraded and sensual times.
The third day there were no matadors, picadors, or chulos, but to the
youthful part of the populace, it was one of the most pleasant. The
bulls were allowed to enter, and were chased here and there by the
populace with sticks. There was a good deal of childish folly and
mountebank frivolity in these exhibitions. After the bull had been
tormented for about twenty minutes, he was allowed to leave the circus,
and they brought in a large tame one, with a bell round his neck, who
was followed immediately by the young ones. One of the small bulls
who was baited in this way, jumped over the barrier; but being much
worried, soon jumped back.
The people moved about the circus, laughing and running, and seemed
like schoolboys just allowed out to play, after the hours of study were
finished. It seemed to me that the reputed gravity of the Spaniards did
not at all extend to the lower orders, or to the women, whose mirth,
animation, and playfulness of manner are very striking. The third bull
was killed, and this one was the only sacrifice to the sanguinary
tastes of the people.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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