60 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



fight on a modern battle-field, interfering, for 

 instance with the struggle for Soissons, Chateau- 

 Thierry, or Vimy Ridge. Spurred on, however, 

 by the brave example of the birds, Themistocles 

 and his men fought a winning fight against superi- 

 or numbers. The entire Persian army was fin- 

 ally routed and slain. 



The Greeks were naturally jubilant over the 

 result of the battle, and the cocks received full 

 credit for the victory. After the return of the 

 army to Athens the soldiers instituted an annual 

 cock-fight in one of their temples to commemorate 

 the victory, which was regularly attended with 

 proper religious fervor. So refreshing did the 

 spectacle of these fights prove that within a few 

 years the birds began to be matched for sport 

 alone; and thus the cock-fight became an estab- 

 lished form of entertainment in Europe. 



Cock-fighting in England, next to stag-hunt- 

 ing and falconry, for centuries was considered 

 the sport of sports. Henry VIII set his seal of 

 approval upon it >by erecting a large wing the 

 Royal Cockpit to his palace, and henceforth 

 cock-fighting became a " sport of kings. " It con- 

 tinued as a most popular form of entertainment 

 for several hundred years until the advent of 

 horse-racing placed it in the background. A law 

 was finally passed in Great Britain in 1849 which 

 for humane reasons abolished the sport and pro- 

 hibited the holding of mains. It is now discoun- 



