SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



inst., Mr. Richard Bailey, the celebrated cock- 

 feeder, at the ripe age of 77 years.' 1 



When Dick died his admirers subscribed 

 and put up a monument to him in Carlisle 

 cemetery, on which were graven the tools of 

 his art, a pair of cock-spurs. It is to be re- 

 gretted that this interesting tomb has been 

 defaced and the spurs taken off. 



Cockfighting was carried on openly for 

 many years in the surrounding villages after 

 it was given up in Carlisle itself. At Thur- 

 stonfield the annual cockfight took place 

 openly on Carlin Saturday (a fortnight before 

 Easter) ; at Great Orton Easter Monday was 

 the day, and Moorhouse also had its annual 

 day. Among the noted breeds remembered 

 in Cumberland are the ' Jean's my darling,' 

 formerly kept by the Wills of Burgh ; the 

 ' Birchin Greys," formerly kept by Adam 

 Honnam of Cobble Hall ; the ' Robespierres,' 

 kept by the Riggs of Moorhouse a bird 

 which used to fight about 6 Ib. and which 

 was never known to flinch. Brough, speak- 

 ing of a breed they had at Abbey Holme, 

 says they were the best he ever saw or knew. 

 They were hardly ever beaten. He would 

 often point proudly to a stuffed hen of this 

 famous breed, called ' Daisy,' which hung on 

 his cottage wall. All bred from this hen 

 were prize winners except in one single in- 

 stance. Brough had also a breed of white 

 cocks ; twenty out of twenty-three proved 

 winners of first class prizes. 



At Dalston near Carlisle there existed a 

 famous and highly successful breed known as 

 ' black-reds,' and the Dalstonians are to this 

 day called ' black-reeds.' It is a proverbial 

 saying with them, ' While I live I'll craw.' 



For two years a breed of singular fighters 

 were in the neighbourhood of Dalton bred by 

 Mr. William Simpson, Pennington Mill. 

 They were a good hard-feathered black-red 

 with tawny saddle. On being set down to 

 fight, instead of ' setting to ' face to face they 

 always made a wheel at 3 or 4 yards dis- 

 tance, and swooping down on their opponents 

 caught them on the broad side a shooting 

 blow. If not successful at the first attempt 

 the same manoeuvre would be repeated till a 

 crippler was dealt, and then they would finish 

 off in front. We have alluded to Mr. 

 Clarke's breed that were unable to use their 



1 A friend of the writer has spoken lately to Mr. 

 Tyson of Grinsdale who remembers Bailey, and has 

 seen him ' pit ' cocks. He says nothing pleased 

 Dick Bailey better than this. He became so ex- 

 cited when a bird was fighting that he would follow 



legs with any effect, and we have another 

 instance of a breed that could but wouldn't 

 fight. J. Woodburn, Esq., Thurstan Ville 

 near Ulverston, had the trouble of rearing a 

 breed of muffed game-cocks. They were 

 true unflinching game good shaped and 

 feathered, quite likely to turn out fighters, 

 but when pitted would only jump up and 

 down without striking out a blow, and in this 

 manner would suffer cutting up without 

 flinching. A correspondent writes : ' Of 

 men of repute as " pitters " memory recalls the 

 following names : John and Edward Bivens, 

 Thomas Coupland, William Kendall, T. 

 Chapman, Thomas Seward, Robert Steel, 

 Bell Burton, William Duke, John Dymond, 

 Myles Butcher, John Johnson and Richard 

 Gelderd, the latter the owner of one of the 

 biggest game-cocks we remember. He was 

 named " Ben Gaunt," after the professional 

 prize-fighter, and he went through many 

 battles before he met his fate.' Ben's dead 

 weight was 9 pounds, and my informant ' had 

 a share in his eating.' A gamecock that had 

 been fed for fighting and fallen in battle was 

 considered a great luxury, and no breed of 

 fowls excels them for the table, the flesh being 

 beautifully white, short in fibre, and extremely 

 delicate. 



A proof that in Cumberland the old con- 

 nection between education and cockfighting 

 is not wholly severed is found in the fact that 

 the seal of the Dalston School Board displays 

 a fighting-cock, a Dalston ' black-red,' in the 

 act of crowing, though unfortunately they 

 have omitted to add the motto ' Dum spiro 

 cano,' or the still more appropriate and ringing 

 one ' While I live I'll crow,' both of which 

 were suggested, we understand. 



An old ' setter ' well known in the north 

 remarked to the writer in the course of con- 

 versation that he had no preference in colour. 

 He had handled black-reds, bright-reds, piles, 

 and the white one above mentioned, and 

 found good and game birds in all. He 

 thought it a great pity that the sport was 

 dying out, for we had no substitute to show 

 to the rising generation in what real pluck, 

 courage, stamina and endurance really con- 

 sisted. In gamecocks all these existed in the 

 greatest perfection, and he thought no man 

 could prove a coward after seeing how game- 

 cocks acquitted themselves. 



the strokes with his fists, imitating the actions of 

 the bird. If there were any feathers in the mouth 

 he would blow them out, as it was against the rule 

 to pick them out with the hands. 



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