Cockfighting

“ These weapons make cruel wounds, and cause the death of one or another of the combatants, almost before the sport has well begun. To the Malay of the East Coast, this form of cock-fighting is regarded as stupid and unsportsmanlike, an opinion which I fully share. It is the marvellous pluck and endurance of the birds, that lend an interest to a cock-fight,—qualities which are in no way required, if the birds are armed with weapons, other than those with which they are furnished by nature. ”

“ The best apology for cock-fighting I ever heard was made by an eccentric uncle of mine, who asked his censor, "Why did God put the fighting drop into the game-cock's veins but that he might fight when he got the chance?"
There is cruelty, peradventure, in attaching long steel spurs, keen as bradawls, to the cocks' legs, as there is in supplying men-at-arms with swords and rifles instead of letting them wage war against one another with teeth and feet and fists—the weapons of nature. Chanticleer of the martial breed should be put into the ring with his natural spurs. ”

“ A battle royal may consist of any number of cocks, but is hardly ever known to exceed eight. The owner of each having made good his stake, or previously contributed his share of the prize or purse for which they fight, and all parties being ready, the cocks are most inhumanly pitted at the same moment, when a long and distressing scene ensues, to which there is no termination so long as a second cock is left alive, and the victory can only be obtained by the last survivor. This species of sport is but little practised now, {55} and that in the most distant and remote corners of the kingdom. ”

“ COCK-THROWING AND COCK-FIGHTING.
Cock-fighting was a barbarous pastime of high antiquity, being practised by the Greeks and Romans. In England it may be traced back to the twelfth century, when it appears to have been a childish or boyish sport. FitzStephen, in his description of London in the time of Henry II., says: "Every year, on the morning of Shrove-Tuesday, [219] the schoolboys of the city of London, and of other cities and great towns, bring game cocks to their masters, and in the fore-part of the day, till dinner-time, are permitted to amuse themselves with seeing them fight." ”

“ Bull-fights are only an occasional luxury, but cock-fights are a daily standing dish. The cock-pit (coliseo de gallos) is a very handsome building; [Pg 602] here cock-fights take place every day. The natural weapons of the fowls are not sufficiently deadly to satisfy the Limanian spectators; and in place of the spur of the right foot, which is cut off, is put a sharp curved blade of steel or gaff. Whatever else may be lacking, Lima can justly boast the finest amphitheatre in the world for the purpose of cock-fighting. ”

“ Up to the middle of the 18th century cock-fighting was 'all the rage' in England. 'Cocking,' says a writer of the time, 'is a sport or pastime so full of delight and pleasure, that I know not any game in that respect which is to be preferred before it.'
The training of the pugnacious bird had now become a sort of art, and this is as curious as anything about the old 'royal diversion.' A few extracts from a treatise on the subject may be interesting as leaves from the book of manners and customs of the good old times. ”

“ A first-rate cocker will never deceive by opening upon an old haunt, nor yet find the gun unprepared by delaying to give due warning before he flushes the bird. When cocks are abundant, some teams are broken, not only to avoid flick, but actually not to notice a pheasant, or anything beside woodcock. Hardly any price would tempt a real lover [46] of cock-shooting, in a cocking country, to part with such a team. Hawker terms the sport, “the fox-hunting of shooting.” ”

“ But the fighting of game-cocks has a history of its own, and cannot be quite passed over in our story of the hen and its brood.
The males of all the higher animals are fond of fighting. It is one of their duties to act as guardians of the family against danger from outside, while the females look after home affairs. This fighting temper is very common among animals and men have often made use of it in getting up battles between animals. We find it in the chicken family, and cock-fighting has long been enjoyed by sport-loving people. ”

“ CHAPTER XXXV. Cock-fighting—Its illegality—Public recognition of it—Description of company at a cock-fight—High stakes—Bull-baiting—Debate thereon in the House of Commons—Prize-fighting—Famous pugilists—George IV. as a patron of the Ring—Attempts to put down prize-fighting—Female physical education—Cudgel-playing, and other sports.
COCK-FIGHTING was another way of gambling—a barbarous pastime, yet of great antiquity, and, changing the name of the combatants to quails, or partridges, extending all over the world, especially in the East. ”

“ This most terrible of natural phenomena is of frequent occurrence in this quarter of the world. In many parts of the city we observed whole streets and churches in ruins, as if from a recent bombardment.
Cock-fighting is the great national sport, amusement, or cruelty, which of the three you will, indulged in by the good people of Manilla. Everywhere along the streets you may meet Spanish boys and half castes, with each his bird tucked under his arm ready for the combat, should the chance passer-by make it worth their while. ”

“ A cock-fight is, however, not a prolonged or painful thing. Tiny knives, sharp as surgical instruments, are fastened to each bird’s heels, and the cock which gets in the first blow generally settles his antagonist. ”

“ Those that do not fall in are set to fight what are called "byes." In a Welsh main the cocks fight until only one is left alive. They are like the famous "Kilkenny cats."
If we should seek a country where cock-fighting may take place under the laws, the nearest to us is in the isle of Cuba. In the cities of that island the cock-pit is as popular as the circus is with us. It is a circular space, with seats around filled with lookers-on and bettors, for much money is lost and won in one of these fights. The birds are of a native breed, and are said to be very brave and bold. ”

“ From a Photograph.
Cock-fighting is as keenly enjoyed by the native of Porto Rico as bull-baiting was by his Spanish ancestors. In the old days enormous sums were staked on these birds, and not a few men were ruined by their passion for the sport. Since the American occupation of the island, however, cock-fighting has been made a criminal offence and persons detected in its pursuit are severely punished. But it is too deeply-rooted a habit to be suppressed in a few years, and notwithstanding the vigilance of the police it is still extensively practised. ”

“ In a country under our own rule, the Philippine Islands, cock-fighting is one of the best liked forms of sport. To take this from the Filipino would be worse than robbing him of his freedom. Sundays and feast-days are the times for cock-fighting, and on these dates the cock-pit is sure to be crowded. When a feast-day arrives, after the siesta, which comes in the hot hours of the afternoon, crowds of natives may be seen going to the large bamboo building where the fight is to take place, many of them with fighting cocks under their arms. ”

“ Cock-fighting up to the end of the last century was a very general amusement, and an occasion for gambling. It entered into the occupations of the old and young. Travellers agreed with coachmen that they were to wait a night if there was a cock-fight in any town through which they passed. A battle between two cocks had five guineas staked upon it. Fifty guineas, about the year 1760, depended upon the main or odd battle. This made the decision [Pg 220] of a "long main," at cock-fighting an important matter. The church bells at times announced the winning of a "long main." ”

“ The revolution not having materialized, I went to the cock-fight. It was held in a back yard, where a rude board shack had been improvised. There was a dirt-floored ring, surrounded by a four-foot wall, and overlooked by a rickety grand-stand and a still more rickety bleachers.
The ring was already thronged with natives, each holding a rooster in his arms, and shoving it at another fellow’s rooster in order to provoke the martial spirit. The birds were fluttering, blinking beady eyes at other birds, and clucking loudly to express their irritation. ”

“ But so much has cock-fighting become the national “sport” of the Filipino that, as I have shown you, he is always represented, typically, with a fighting cock under his arm. But the significance of that also, and all its natural consequences of brutality, gambling, and cruelty, I suppose, escaped the attention of the benevolent elector, who visited the “Exposition” at St Louis.
One thing I can never understand, and that [140] is why people make less fuss about the cruelty towards an animal in proportion to its size. ”

“ Further, the warrior should be careful to avoid partaking of a cock that has died fighting or anything that has been speared to death; and no male animal may on any account be killed in his house while he is away at the wars. For it seems obvious that if he were to eat a cock that had died fighting, he would himself be slain on the field of battle; if he were to partake of an animal that had been speared, he would be speared himself; if a male animal were killed in his house during his absence, he would himself be killed in like manner and perhaps at the same instant. ”

“ Sundays, wakes and church festivals were favourite occasions for them. The habit of holding mains in schools was common from the 12th to about the middle of the 19th century. When cocking was at its height, the pupils of many schools were made a special allowance for purchasing fighting-cocks, and parents were expected to contribute to the expenses of the annual main on Shrove Tuesday, this money being called “cockpence.” Cock-fighting was prohibited by law in Great Britain in 1849. ”

“ In the time of which I write, Cocking was a recognized sport, publicly advertised. Morning Post, January 5, 1805: “Cocking, to be Fought on Monday, January 7, 1805, and continue all the week, at the Cock Pit Royal, South side of St. James’s Park, the Gentlemen of Suffolk, and the Gentlemen of Hampshire’s Main of Cocks, for Five [296] Guineas the battle, and One Hundred Guineas the odd. To begin fighting each day precisely at Half-past Five o’clock.” Indeed, “Cock-fighting, Shooting, and Military Carriages” were advertised. ”

“ To cock-fighting they are still more passionately addicted, and it is indulged to them under certain regulations. Where they are perfectly independent their propensity to it is so great that it resembles rather a serious occupation than a sport. ”

“ A punt used for wild-fowl shooting, fishing, &c.
Cochineal, s. An insect, from which a red colour is extracted.
Cock, s. The male to the hen; the male of any small bird; the weather-cock that shows the direction of the wind; a spout to let out water or any other liquor at will; the notch of an arrow; the part of a lock of a gun that strikes with the flint; cock-boat, a small boat; a small heap of hay; the form of a hat.
Cock-fighting is a sport of great antiquity. ”

“ Cock-figghting.Cock-fighting is licensed by the government, and great care is taken in the breeding of game fowls, which are very large and heavy birds. They are armed with a curved double-edged gaff. The exhibitions are usually crowded with half-breeds or mestizos, who are generally more addicted to gambling than either the higher or lower classes of Spaniards. It would not be an unapt designation to call the middling class cock-fighters, for their whole lives seem to be taken up with the breeding and fighting of these birds. ”

“ To satisfy the honour and appease the wrath of his followers and partisans, a peace-offering was necessary. It consisted of six fighting cocks, with which and with the corpse of their chief the warriors took their departure, perfectly satisfied. Cock-fighting is a sport to which most of the Pacific tribes are passionately addicted.
When the Kingsmill savages had got all they could out of Captain Trainer, and trade was over, and the ship about to depart, they came out in their true colours. ”

“ The ancienter sort, the fathers, and the wealthy citizens, come on horseback, to see these youngsters contending at their sport, with whom, in a manner, they participate by motion; stirring their own natural heat in the view of the active youth, with whose mirth and liberty they seem to communicate.”
Cock-fighting was prohibited in England under Edward III. and Henry VIII., and even later: yet Henry himself indulged his cruel nature by instituting cock-fights, and even James I. took great delight in them ”

“ The actual battle is sometimes held in a cock-pit, but in many villages takes place at the humble street corner. When the fray commences, there is great excitement; and cocks, which to begin with are perfectly quiet, have their fighting weapons affixed, and are tormented by being placed near their rivals and suddenly taken away. This performance has the effect of infuriating them; and when they are thoroughly alert with the desire to fight, they are released, and fly at each other. ”

“ That have brave Spurrs to shew for’t, and can Crow, And count all Dunghill breed, that cannot show Such painted Plumes as yours; which think’t no vice. With Cock-like-Lust to tread your Cockatrice. Tho’ Peacocks, Woodcocks, Weathercocks you be. If y’are not Fighting-Cocks y’ are not for me. I of two Feather’d Compatants will Write; And he that means to th’ Life to express their Fight, Must make his Ink the Blood which they did spill, And from their dying Wings must take his Quill. [Pg 87]
No sooner were the doubtful People set, The Match made up, and all that would had bet ”