172 ANIMAL ARTISANS 



is a small black animal, as active and determined- 

 looking as our little Jerseys, which indeed it closely 

 resembles. But the bulls shown in the pictures of the 

 recent State bull-fights are wide-horned, light-coloured, 

 and clumsily built, far bigger and heavier than the 

 black breed, but, judging by the analogy of our own 

 light and heavy varieties of cattle, as inferior in 

 fighting power as a Cochin-China fowl is to a game- 

 cock. The unfortunate horses, whose sufferings are 

 such a revolting feature of the bull-fight, would have 

 a much better chance of evading the charge of a 

 comparatively heavy slow animal, and in the absence 

 of the true fighting bulls far fewer horses would be 

 mutilated and sacrificed. 



Of late years it seems to have been rather forgotten 

 that bull-fighting is not even now an institution 

 peculiar to Spain. It is not very long since bull- 

 baiting, a peculiarly cruel and cowardly form of 

 pastime, in which the bull was almost powerless to 

 defend himself, was one of our own national amuse- 

 ments ; and the ring where bulls were tied up to be 

 worried by dogs on public holidays is still to be seen 

 at Brading, and probably at other towns besides. 

 Such encounters were the more to be condemned 

 because dogs and not men were the bulls' opponents, 

 and it could not be urged in their favour that human 

 prowess or agility were in any way developed by them. 

 Yet all the Latin races seem agreed to see in the bull, 

 the one animal whose courage and strength make it a 

 worthy antagonist for a man just sufficiently armed 

 to supplement quickness and skill to the extent 



