A BULL-FIGHT. 



29 



dies, started the bull, and, chasing him round the 

 ring, with a few throws of the lazo caught him by 

 the horns and dragged him to a post at one side of 

 the ring, where, riding off with the rope, they hauled 

 his head down to the ground close against the post. 

 Keeping it down in that position, some of the oth- 

 ers passed a rope twice round his body just behind 

 the fore legs, and, securing it on the back, passed it 

 under his tail, and returning it, crossed it with the 

 coils around his body. Two or three men on each 

 side then hauled upon the rope, which cut into and 

 compressed the bull's chest, and by its tightness un- 

 der the tail almost lifted his hind legs from off the 

 ground. This was to excite and madden him. The 

 poor animal bellowed, threw himself on the ground, 

 and kicked and struggled to get rid of the brutal tie. 

 From the place where we sat we had in full view 

 the front of the church of San Cristoval, and over 

 the door we read in large characters, "Hie est domus 

 Dei, hie est porta cali." " Here is the house of God, 

 here is the gate of heaven." 



But they had yet another goad for the bull. 

 Watching narrowly that the ropes around his horns 

 did not get loose, they fixed upon his back the 

 figure of a soldier in a cocked hat, seated in a 

 saddle. This excited a great laugh among the 

 spectators. We learned that both the saddle and 

 the figure of the soldier were made of wood, 

 paper, and gunpowder, composing a formidable 

 piece of fireworks. When this was fairly secur- 



