WOMEN BULLFIGHTERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10921, 21 May 1898, Page 5

WOMEN BULLFIGHTERS.

THE LATEST SENSATION AT THE CITY OP MEXICO. I contended that there wero no 'new women' in Mexloo— that is to Bay, among the natives. But, said my friends, triumphantly : ' You come with ns to the bull-fight next Snnday and see whether there are or not, before making euuh wild statements, You'll find that Mexioo is, If anything, ahead of your Anglo-Saxon races in the matter of " new women." ' Therefore I went. The oeoasion was the dibnt of a cuadrilla, of lady bull-flghtere, and a big oro wd had congregated out at the Buoarell Bnll.Ring to soe tho fair senoritas. Every one was on the tip»tcj of expoon tation until the ladies entered for tlie promenade, and loud was the applause wheu they did appear, certainly quite fetohing in their torero costumes. They are rather pretty, all Spanish, and the combinations of oolora they had aeleoted wero certainly all that oould be desired. At the start off some quite pretty work with the capa was done by Lolita and Angelita, the object of their attention being a frisky young bull. The crowd liked thia work, and applauded the seuoritas loudly. After that, Angelita very bravely knelt in the ring and challenged the bull. At this every one yelled and applauded ; the band played the ' Diana' over and over again, while up on the sunny side the peones shrieked ' Bravo— bravo, Angelita ! ' and flowers, dollars, purses, and spools of thread oame rattling Into the ring. Next oamo the handerillas, wielded by Angelita and Enoarnaoion. Owing, I Buppose, to the fact that a woman's aim is never what It should be, in every oase except one the handerillas went very wide of the mark. In fact, the little torete seemed to regard it in the light of a frolic, and frisked around in the happiest manner. The handerilla work was not a success, though ono must say that these strong-minded women of Mexico got much nearer to the bull than the average new woman of America would oare to do. The pioadores were eliminated, and so the next thing to the handerillas wa( tho killing ! Every ono was on the gui vive as Angelita took the sword, determined and calm. She wore a beautiful combination of purple and silver, and, looked very psetty Indeed^ For about four minutes she labored with all her might, but the naughty little bull refused to be touohed. He frisked about wildly, and mado divers alarming butts at Angelita, In reply to her attentions with (he sword. Twice ahe was banted ' and rolled in the dust of the ring, and, had it not been for a male torero, who was in the ring to assist, Aogelita might have got her own quiti, in place of the toro. As it was, no harm was done, except to the bull, who re. oeived soretohes and outs from Angelita's sword until he must have wondered what sort of matador had hold of him. No doubt It was as muoh of a surprise to him as any one ejse when the fair tforera'finally did touch the vital spot, B,nd the poor little /<>,)■« bit the duet, and finally rolled over, dead, Agajn the aodlonce shrieked, and stamped, and bravoed, and more dollars, and fjowers, and spools of thread tumbled down at the fair Angelita'a white- slippered feet. She tripped about from aide to side, bowing, with hands on her heart, to the sol and then to the sombra. It was rather funny to S.ea. q woman uproariously applauded for work that a man would have been hissed and hooted for, but It goes to show the Innate gallantry of theJMexioan people. The next bull oame in, an<J again two of tho giyls teased him with th,e pretty Aria, work. In this they do very well.. In the cloak/ play thoro Ib no 'aim' required, and it really ia not difficult for feminine hands. All you have got to do is to flap the cloak at the toro, and, if he Rets too near to you for oomf ort, dodge briskly 'behind, a barrier. B,ut the girls oame out of tho capa, work without acoident,

The handerilla work with this second boll was on the same line with the first —that ib to say, about as bad as it could be, and even the good-natured audience oould not keep from groaning. For my part, I groaned for the bull. They I jabbod at him, and scratched, and stack him until it was a sight to behold. Oat of the two handerillas they sometimos ' placed one, and then the girls would , rash off, and bow, and spread out their ' handa in alarmed gestures at the bull, i who appeared thoroughly dumfonnded . and utterly at a loss to know what it all i meant. [ Again Angelita was called upon to I take the eword and kill the toro. With ■ Spanish grace she bowed and beckoned, , and went through all the preliminary . motions, and then tnado the first whack 1 at the little ball. She aimed, from a [ close distance at the neck ; naturally , the sword took the animal straight in , the ribs. The bull went for her, head ' down, horna out, and evidently with the i >dea of doing murder. If the man bull* ■ fighter, 'El Negrito,' had not been in the ring just then, no one would have known what happened, Angelita having lost her Bword. It took quite a time to get the bull (efficiently smoothed down to give him another thrust, wbioh took him Id the neck, near enough to the vital spot to tumble him. But he waa by no means done for, and it was only after some sharp work that the little bull gave up the ghost and stretohod himself out on the sand. The decorated white mules dragged him oat a moment after, amid the ' plaudits of the orowd,' to join his compadre outside in the corral, whenoe next day would be sold nice beefsteaks and 'rosblf.' So goodby bull! The third bull was brought in, and the capa work commenoed again, but we did not stop longer. I admitted that the 'new women ' of the United States were not 'in it ' with the so-called too feminine and cowardly women of Mexico. Beoiusfl, where in the strongminded American female who will, single-handed or with the help of ' El Negrito,' for that matter, faoe, and torment, and kill a bull as did these intrepid females? — ' Extkanjjbko.' San Francisco Argonaut.