The Spanish Fighting-Bull 207 



animals as these six demanded a Romero, a Montes, or a 

 Guerrita as equals ; instead, these young Toreros who faced them, 

 courageous though they were, lacked calibre for such an under- 

 taking. This co7'7'uki marked an epocli, but it acquired the 

 proportions of a catastrophe. The bye-word that " where there 

 are bulls there are no matadors " became that afternoon an axiom. 



A gettatura, or atmosphere of superstition, surrounded the 

 bulls and unnerved or confounded their opponents. Pepete was 

 caught by the first bull, Moreno de Alcala by the fourth, while 

 Martin Vasquez (already thrice caught) succumbed to the fifth. 



The sixth bull thus remained unopposed champion of the 

 Plaza — not a matador survived to face him, and it became 

 necessary to entice an unfought bull (by means of trained oxen) 

 to quit the arena — an event unprecedented in the age-long annals 

 of Tauromachy ! 



A typical incident, trivial by comparison, intervened. A 

 youthful spectator, frenzied to madness by the scene, had seized a 

 sword, leapt into the ring, and . . . promptly met his death, i 



Every contention of the bull-fighters' guild had been falsified, 

 and the association collapsed. A Sevillian paper summed up the 

 event thus : — 



The six bulls were each worthy to tigure in torouiaquiau annals for 

 tlieir beautiful stamp, their lines, weight, bravery, and caste. We 

 witnessed a tragedy when, on the death of the fifth bull, not a matador 

 remained. But had that tragedy been caused by malice, wickedness, or 

 treachery on the part of the bulls, surely a declaration of martial law in 

 this city would have been demanded by not a few ! But that was not 

 so ; each of the six competed in the qualities of bravery, nobility, and 

 adaptability — such bulls are worthy of ])etter swordsmen. 



