192 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



down ; the points of his horns sawed off, and 

 again turned loose, his torments were re- 

 newed by men with spears wounding him in 

 various parts of the body. He at length 

 became perfectly furious, tore the ground 

 with his feet, bellowed hideously, and at- 

 tacked every thing that approached him; 

 but the number of his assailants was such, 

 that his attention was drawn from one to the 

 other : I saw nothing to admire, either in the 

 courage or agility of all this, which appeared 

 to me to be merely a cowardly and bar- 

 barous pastime. One gentleman should per- 

 haps be excepted from the general censure. 

 He waited on one side of the arena till the 

 bull approached him with violence, when, 

 taking off his mantle and holding it up, the 

 animal instantly leaped at him, but, turning 

 with a slight easy motion, he dexterously 

 avoided the stroke of his horns, and laid the 

 mantle on his head ; this was repeated so 



