Page:Mexico of the Mexicans.djvu/127

Rh The principal actors in the first part are the picadores; in the second, the banderilleros; and the third and final act is monopolised almost entirely by the espada. There is no necessity for a description of this sickening "sport." But in justice to the Mexicans, perhaps I should state that I have as much contempt for the Briton who goes out to slay wantonly "the beasts of warren and chase," as I have for the Mexican who sits in sun or shade to witness a bull-fight. Let us remember when we denounce the brutalities of other peoples the proverb that has arisen regarding ourselves: "With the Englishman it is always—'What can I kill?' "And can barbarity go further than the slaughter of hand-fed deer or the shooting of half-domesticated ducks that takes place in the Scottish Highlands every season?

Many espadas or toreadors, like Fuentes, have a reputation extending from Seville to Mexico, and draw a salary as large as a British premier. The espada shines supreme after the fatal stroke which lays the noble toro low. Gifts of every kind from cigars to gold and diamond bangles are showered upon him by the excited onlookers, to whom he bows sedately and with the princely demeanour of a great tenor or pianist conscious of his worth.

A sport once popular in England, and now dear to the hearts of Mexicans, is that of cock-fighting, which is regarded as an exciting and pleasing spectacle. The Mexican name for a cock-fight is Los Gallos, and Sunday is the favourite day for this amusement. A cock usually makes its debût (if such it can be termed) when about two years old, and sometimes does not survive its first battle if opposed to an opponent of superior fighting powers. As in horse-racing, bets are placed upon the various birds, and these sometimes reach $100 Mexican.

The birds, which are sometimes valuable and cost from $12 to $50, are specially trained and have separate stalls, each of which has the name of the bird placed over it. The fighters are of different breeds, some being Japanese, but