10 



This gentleman made the wild varieties of game fowls his special 

 study, so his opinion should be valuable. 



Whatever may be the doubts as to the origin of the game cock, 

 it is certain that he has been bred for his work for many centuries ; 

 he is perhaps somewhat changed in appearance, and has been 

 divided into many different breeds and strains by selecting birds 

 that were distinguished by some peculiar mark or colour, and struck 

 the fancy of their breeders ; but no one conversant with the subject 

 can doubt the fact that the original ancestors must have been pos- 

 sessed of the true game courage and elegance of shape, knowing that 

 it is impossible that any amount of selection should produce truly 

 game fowls from ordinary blood. 



The first mention of cock-fighting is said to be in the reign of 

 Croesus, King of Lydia (a.m. 3426), and in India it is mentioned in 

 the " Codes of Mann," written one thousand years before Christ. 



At a very early period the cock was famed for his courage ; thus 

 Peisthetcerus (Aristophanes "Birds," 483 et seq.) relates why the 

 cock was called the Persian bird, and how he ruled over that country 

 before Darius and Megabazus (b.c. 521) ; the classic poets and his- 

 torians are unanimous in speaking of his valour, and coins and 

 medals are in existence bearing the representation of two cocks 

 fighting stamped upon them. 



The Greeks and Athenians fought cooks. Themistocles, the 

 Athenian General, encouraged his soldiers' valour by pointing out to 

 them two cocks fighting, saying, "These birds fight not for their 

 gods, nor for their children, nor for glory, nor for freedom, but for 

 the sake of victory, that one may not yield to the other ; " the 

 example of the cocks having such an effect on the flagging spirits of 

 the soldiers that he led them once more to victory. Afterwards 

 Themistocles instituted a public festival, held annually in the 

 theatre, where the young men were compelled to attend to learn a 

 lesson in courage from witnessing the fighting of cocks and quails. 

 The Ehodian fowls, and those of Media, Chalcis, and Persia, were 

 celebrated for their courage and superiority in fighting, and also for 

 the excellence and delicacy of their flesh. 



The Romans, as might be expected, were devoted to the sport, 

 probably learning it from the Greeks, as was the case with many 

 other things. At any rate, they carried it to a great pitch, and 

 fought both cocks and quails. The cock was called " the bird " by 

 the ancients ; highly esteemed in some countries, and held sacred in 



