New-York tribune. [volume], September 19, 1920, Page 5, Image 69

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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Spain's Sword of Swords
Dies in the Bullrin
The Death of Jose Gomez Plunged the
Nation Into Mourning and Spoiled
King's Birthday Fetes
IfIf* !; ;
N:-7?&-;v7
By Wilbur Forrest
PERHAPS if you could visualize
"Babe" Ruth in the immacu?
late, if not fantastic, 'ogs of
?je Spanish bullfighter, and hailed,
withal, as the national Hero of
Swat, you could begin to get an
idea of your Spanish brother, the
bullfight fan.
Perhaps if you had the hot Latin
blood of the Spanish peninsula
cour?irg Th->":'.>'-" your veins on a
sizzling day you could sit out ther-e
at the Po!o Grounds and through
half-closed lid? dream of the du3t
ind excitemi '.t-of the encounter be?
fore you?scurrying figures harass?
ing a si'" -?'. <;??> needle-horned
wast who <??'?> ? ? ki !. the plunging
animal and eventually the lone
matador w ?clivers the death
thrust. Perhaps you might see
"Bambino' Ru:h, after the forty
ninph home run, bowing his thanks
to the frenzied crowd, but to you
his dusty baseball -miform would
fade out for bespangled traps, dn
his hand you wo lid see the tiny
blade of keenest Toledo .steel dripping
red with '-?? heart's b'ood of the
slain bovine. Perl aps if yon were
truly Spanish and dreaming of
Madrid you ?-.?.-???: d rise up and yell
"Bravo!" "Bravo!" "Bravo!" while
tossinrr your ?c Fedora into the
arena as o::.?ro bellowed their ap?
proval of :'? ? "Bambino's" nigh onto
the fiftieth - wat 7 swats.
The ?'Babe" 11 nth of Spain
Bullfigh! : g is the baseball of
Spain. And Jos*- Gomez?Joselito,
they affect ? itely called him?was
the "Bambino" Ruth of the Span?
ish arena. Jose?to is dead.
Around this Joscdito, in Spain,
during the last < ight years ha;- per?
sistently circu ate i nil the popular
tr.thasiasm for a "Babe" Ruth, n
Christy MathewsoT , a Ty Cobb and
> Walter Johnson relied into one.
Jose Gomez was nationally and
popularly drcreed the king of bull?
fighting. H< came from bullfighl
stock. His father before him was a
'-mous slayer and his brothers to
lay stand matadors in his reflectec
iiary. His death recently at Place
Je Talavera. after he had slain the
Sfth bull of ?ho day. plunged tin
Spanish nation into mourning 01
'?re dawn of the King's birthday
''fief for J iselito enshrouded thi
Kin^B anniversary eo much tha
feteg were abandoned, flags wen
Wf-masted, and :he Spanish penin
*sla mourned from city to city
";'?age to village and house to house
Had Kill?! 1,430 Bulls
The champion bull slayer of Spai
bad a recor.i of killing 1,430 bulb
*!thhia fianc?e in attendance at th
Talavera Plaza, ho faced a short
horned black little beast which goi-e
!?? to death. Four bulls turne
;nto the arena bad proved vicien:
!?sts,fightinc shy of the banderilloi
;f'e darts, and lunging at men an
'?"es. Eighteen blindfolded horse
"id been gored to death by the tin:
MATADOR preparing to I
deliver the death stroke I
Jos?lito had dispatched his fourth
animal.
Then Bailador, a bull named The
Dancer, came from the darkened
pen into the light of the ring. Tor?
tured for a period, as is the custom,
time came for the champion matador
to enter and kill him with a single
thrust. A vicious rush carried the
matador from his feet, and a moment
later thousands watching the spec?
tacle realized that Jos?lito was no
more.
Great crowds gathered about the
mortuary chapel of the bullring
throughout the night, seeking a
glimpse inside. The city of Talavera
ceased all business and hung out
mourning. The Civil Governor of
Toledo arrived and, heading a pro?
cession of deputies, notables and
the entire townfollc, followed the
body to the station, where it was
placed on a special train for Madrid.
The news spread rapidly. When the
train arrived in the capital a multi?
tude was there to pay homage. Men
carried the coffin on their shoulders
through the streets to the bullfight?
er's home. During a day and a
night great crowds visited the scene
arid masses were said beside the
oofiin from dawn to midday.
King Sent an Aid
The King's aide-de-camp and the
Prime Minister of Spain were among
the visitors. Eventually the corpse
was again removed to a hearse which
carried it to another vpecial train ?
for Seville, where interment was i
ana:.god.
Seldom has the Spanish capital
witnessed such a concourse as that
which followed Joselito to the rail?
way station. T'n? streets were lined
while thousands paced slowly b ?'. ml.
Priest:s in full vestments led the
coll?ge ami deluges of flowers were j
offered up from the multitudes.
Jos?lito amassed a fortune of i
more than a million and a ha!f dol
lars during hic- seven years of bu'.l- ,
ring prowess. His skill was only
short of marvelous, kittle wonder
that crowds reared on exploits of
the bullring as American lads are
reared on baseball should go wild :
Hbout him and weep in multitudes at
his end. |
The Youngest Matador
It is said of Gomez that he gained
fame earlier- than any other of his
kind. He was said to have been
born a bullfighter rather than to
have acquired the art. His father
wa' a celebrated torero of gypsy
stock. His elder brother Rafael (El
Gallo) is another famous sword. All
his sisters married bullfighters.
Working up through the ring ap?
prenticeship the younger Gomez be?
came a matador?a sword?at the
age of seventeen. He was the
youngest matador on record. He met
his fate at twenty-five.
Like "Babe" Ruth, with his record
of home runs in li>20, Joselito es?
tablished his bull killing record in
1915, wh^n he dispatched 100 ani
The Tribune's Namesake
1T WAS The New York Tribune, |
according to Mrs. Katherine
Platt Andrew, of Laporte,
??nd., that furnished the name
'r The Chicago Tribune. Mrs.
h?mas Stewart named The Chicago
,nbune ?t the tea table, says Mrs.
Andrew.
Mf?. Andrew was born near Cin?
ara ln Xovember? 1824- Soon
T****1" birth her father, James
* *8W, and her uncle, Captain A.
T^odrew, moved to Indiana, where
**y founded Laporte. James An- ;
?** ?nd his brother took turns I
jTprtng the baby, Catherine, in :
2J arms across the Ohio and In
7*^* Prairies. Catherine Andrew
2**W. in 1845, Dr. George L. An- |
7*? who died in 1911. Mrs. An
i ?Jt"' and Mr?, Stewart were in
**m friend?, ?ad Mr. Brees, <rwser
and editor of The Chicago Tribune,
was a friend of the Stewarts.
Before Mr. Bross bought The Chi?
cago Tribuno It was known as The
Gem of the Prairie. Mrs. Andrew
says :
'?Mrs. Stewart named the paper.
I think it wa-s in 1850. Previously,
for a few years, it had been known
as The Gem of the Prairie. Mr.
Bross came to tea with Mr. Stewart,
and at the tea table said: 'Now all is
ready to publish our paper, but we
have not yet found a name.' 'I have
always liked The New York Trib?
une,' said Mrs. Stewart. 'Why can?
not Chicago have a Tribune?' "
Although she is more than ninety
five years old, Mrs. Andrews is still
an active member of a women's
literary society and of a reading
I elobw _?*?ai.?*t*
k
HT HE death stroke. A mo- \
?* ment after this picture
was taken tlte bull fell dead
mais. Until he met his fate in fac?
ing The Dancer at Talavera he had
been four times wounded. Little did
the Spanish bull fans dream that
one so skillful would ever be gored to
death on the horns of a provincial
bull. His sword was known
throughout the kingdom as an un?
erring weapon. Seldom if ever did j
he miss the heart of an animal
which lunged.
Juan Belmonte, the nearest ap?
proach to Jos?lito, is to-day the bull?
fight star of Spain.
Spain is the home of bullfights
and wherever Spanish blood has
emigrated bullfights have followed.
All Spain awaits May with feverish
i
expectation. It is the opening of
the season.
Spain's Greatest Spectacle
Give the Spaniard his seat at the
arena, parade before him the gayly
caparisoned horses, matadors, pica?
dors, banderilleros and the rest?
give him blood and the high risk
of human life and he is, figurative?
ly, sitting in the grandstand at the
Polo Grounds with "Babe" Ruth
up and the bases full.
Even before May they begin to
try out the novillos?the young bulls
?to ascertain their fighting quali?
ties. Only those of proved ferocity
are allowed to compete at Madrid,
Barcelona and Seville.
Just as each American town and j
city ha- ils baseball park, Spanish
communities, large and small, have
their plazas de toros. There are
about L'L'? of these scattered
throughout King Alfonso's land. In
them sen;'- 1,.'!00 bu'is and some
0,000 horses are slaughtered during
t?
AIT1NG the bull so that
hr irill become more en?
raged and dangerous
a single season. Six bulls, worth
from ?200 to $300 each, are killed
during one corrida.
These bullrings are built after
Die o. I R>iman circus style, an oval
an na, covered with sand and en
circled by a six-foot fence. Between
the inner oval and the seats for the
spectators is a narrow passageway
where the participants await their
turn to enter the ring. Each bull?
ring has its hospital for the
wounded and a chapel where the
fighters receive from priests the
Holy Eucharist before entering the
fray. Each also has its bullpen, a
darkened cage where the animals
are goaded to fury before they are
turned into the dazzling light of the
arena, where they are soon aware
, that it is an unequal fight to the
death.
Does the bull have a chance for
life? the reader may ask. He should
seek his answer in the amphitheater
where richly dressed men and
women, even the King and Queen,
sometimes cheer the animal which
has conquered his armed adversaries
and fought a game fight. The
cheers of these people and a clamor
that the animal be spared to graze
at peace in green pastures for the
? ?
pARADE of a matador and ]
* his assistants about the
arena before the fighting .
begins
remainder of his natural life might
answer the question. The circum?
stance is not uncommon. Many a
game, fighting bull which has out?
fought them all and killed the mata?
dor i-s driven from the ring amid
cheers of which he knows nothing to
live on a pension to the end of his
days.
Back to Roman Times
The Anglo-Saxon holds no brief
for the bloodthirsty sport of the
Andalusians. Trace back the origin
of this sport, however, and you must
at least admit that they come by it
honestly. Spaniards say that bull?
fighting dates from the amphithe?
aters of imperial Rome, carried on
through time by the Thessalians
and Moors and survived the expul?
sion of the Moors from Andalusia.
The ruined Roman amphitheaters at
Cordova, Tarragona, Merida and
elsewhere in Spain saw their bull?
fights, but tradition hails back to
Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, the first
Spaniard to enter the arena against
a bull, and proved himself superior
to the Moorish bullfighters in about
the year 1040. Thereafter the sport
became a matter of rivalry between
the Christian and Moorish warriors
in which the kings of Castile and
the nobles took a great interest.
Present-day bullfighting has sur?
vived only in Spain and those south?
ern countries of America where
Spaniards have immigrated. The
Latins of France and Italy two
centuries ago attempted to adopt it
a? the national sport, but- it was too
bloody for them and they allowed it
to die.
A School for Fighters
Spain has its official schools for
bullfighters. These schools have
existed for decades. In 1913 some
of the most prominent lighters of
Spain gave a large sum of money
with which to inaugurate the great?
est of colleges foij bullfighters at Cor?
dova. Not to be outdone, th* city
of Seville quickened its interest and
established a school. Great rivalry
exists between the two cities.
Modern bullfights are extremely
similar in procedure and are in ac?
cordance with the traditions of gene?
rations. Once the amphitheater is
filled with the highest and lowest,
from royalty, robles and fashion?
ables of the bourgeoisie to the most
tattered rapscallion of the proleta?
riat, the show begins. Americans
would call the first stage a parade.
To Spaniards it is the grand entry,
the entire company?espadas (mata?
dors or killers), banderillero?, pica?
dors, chulos, led by municipal offi?
cers in ancient costume and followed
by the richly decorated mule team
which is to haul the carcasses of
dead bulks and horses from the ring.
The scene is rich in picturesquc
ness. The matadors and banderil?
leros are attired in short jackets
and trousers of satin, gayly em?
broidered in gold and silver. Silk
stockings of light brown or cream
color shimmer down to heelless spe?
cial shoes.
The picadors?the men who ride
the blindfolded horses?choose tc
wear loud hues <f yellow and ir
>
silent noise they rival the matadors,
and banderilleros?the ones who
carry the sharp, decorated barbs
which are thrust into the shoulders
of the charging bull.
Three Acts
The fight is divided into three
? sections or suertes. When the pa?
rade has passed, Act 1 begins. A
high official tosses down the key ta
the bullpen. The picadors on their
: bony, blindfolded horses remain in
. the ring to first engage the bull,
? who emerges from its darkened cell
in a furious temper. Before being)
: turned loose he has had attached to
I his shoulder with an iron pin tha
! gay colors of his breeder and ho is
! ready for the next instrument of
? torture.
Tho instrument is there?a long
i lance in the hands of the picador,
! whose armor plated legs shield his
, extremities from the sharp horns of
the bull. The bull attacks at once,
; pricked into a greater fury by the
: lance as he tears at the horse, more
often than not wounding the ani?
mal to death. The picador is dis?
mounted and the spectators in the
amphitheater cheer. The infuriated
animal rushes at the man, but his
attention is instantly diverted by the
red cloaks waved in his face by
banderilleros and chulos (appren?
tice bullfighters) who have stood
ready for the-* emergency.
A trumpet sounds. The picadors
retire from the ring. The dead
horses are dragged out and the
suerte de banderillear begins. As
the animal charges, the banderillero
steps toward him, dexterously
plants the fish-hooked, decorated
darts in the bull's shoulders and
steps aside. This, naturally, further
infuriates the bull, and after receiv?
ing as many as eight of these darts
he is ready -for the suerte d(? mata?
dor?the killing.
The matador enter* the ring alone
except for those assistant-* who
?-land ready to lend aid in case of
accident. He stops before the royal
box. hold- aloft his keen little sword,
muleta (cape) in his left hand and
his hat in his right hand. Ilepeat
ing a fixed speech in which he con?
demns the bull to death, he tosses
the hat behind him and goes to th?
task bareheaded.
The Death Stroke
The bull, finding a lone antagonist
in the ring, pays him undivided at
I tention. The matador essays to slaj
the beast with a single thrust, a dif?
ficult one, through the hack of th?
neck, close to the Lead, and down?
ward into the heart.
If the matador fails, he is liissec
and booed from the amphitheater. 1
the bull charges him and gores bin
the bull is cheered, "Bravo el Toro!'
If the matador, however, succeed
through the skill which he ha
learned by long experience, th
grandstand goes wild. Hats, colni
- flowers and other articles are throw
down to him as he bows his thank!
The mule team enters, a double-tre<
is attached to the bull's legs and h
is dragged from the arena with a'
the pomp of the old days, when bull
were baited and dispatched in th
ancient Roman f?tes. Tho arena i
then scraped and rolled and th
spectacle begins anew.
East of Eastward
Continued from preceding page
ing well. But you can't keep from i
me that something awful has hap?
pened to the boy I sent from the
Lombock so free and careless.''
De Haan squirmed through all his
thick bulk. "Don't speak so wit' a
pain, my dear fallow," he urged. "I
do not admit it. We haf yet to see."
"I can see. You try to tell me cer?
tain crimes are spared you here. I
take it you mean such deviltry as
grows where foreigners have ratted
a native country?"
"Yes," said De Haan.
"And that's true; they do rot it.
I always thought this place was
I clean, just as you claim, because so
few whites pass through?a plain,
decent, wholesome race that keeps its
self-respect and harms none till trod
upon."
"Yes."
Nivin leaned aeross at him. "But
. the rotters are in. They're at
; thtir slimy work, grubbin' for profit
I through muck. And after that
i what's to be trusted?"
j "What do you mean?" demanded
: De Haan. .
"Such people as that rat Van Goor
over there"- He jerked a thumb
toward the bulbous-eyed man.
"We watch zem. Zai is what we
i are here for. Meanwhile zey bring
development. If zey misbehave, we
! sling sem out quick."
: "And the ceolles they bring?
scum of the earth. Do you watch
them?"
i
"Of course."
"And yets n???r ct?oght them yet
at their slave trade planted right in ;
the ! earl of your people?"
DE HA AN stiffened in his chair.
"What are. you trying to
say? Zis is fool talk of ze
river."
"Native women sold into slavery
to the cinnabar mines to hell aud
Ue;ith. Soul traffic, the fine flower'
of civilization. Here in these lovely
islands!"
"I tell you it can't be!"
"The boats, man. The cinnabar
boats. Can you answer for their'
trade up and down and about?
transporting commodities to supply
the gangs?"
"We inspect every one of zem
here, i.t ze water front, Zere is
nosing nor anywhere to hide such
doings. You, z-at speak to the shame
of our people?prove it if you can!"
"What, if I could?" cried Nivin.
"What if you could?" De Haan
doubled his hands before him, the
kind of big, white, capable hands
that deliberately and quietly have
molded the most successful and the
I ieast troublesome Colonial empire in
the world. "What if you could? By
God, we would take ze man who
did it and break him in liddle pieces!
Can you prove it? Speak now and
let me hear your proof. By God, I
?tell you zis is my gountry?our
gountry, our people! No dirt, but
men and women. Not chatties, not
slaves; not?net"
There broke a sharp click and
; rattle of steel links. They turned
at the sound. Under the big palm
the red-haired ape had started into
. vehement life, bouncing at his
leash. . . .
Nivin had fallen back into his
chair again, silenced, baffled, for he
had no proof to give. De" Haan still
held the pose of challenge, glancing
; over his shoulder. Both of them
watched the ungainly creature reel?
ing In the shadows; both of them ob
served the gestures by which he ;
seemed to solicit their attention.
He had taken a leaf of the raw
tobacco and adding a pinch for filler '
was trying to twist the spill. And '
he could not. It became evident to -
them that he could not. The fingers
moved painfully, trembling. . . .
Curious fingers he had, stumpy and
thick and clumsy as if covered with,
ragged gloves, wholly unequal to the
delicate task.
SLOWLY Nivin levered his lank'
frame out of the chair and j
moved a pace like a somnambu- ;
list and stood staring at those fin- j
gers. He straightened and trans?
fixed De Haan. "Where's your po-1
lice?" he whispered. "Guns?soldiers I
?something!"
"What? What is it?"
Nivin stood braced like a man at
the edge of a precipice.
"To hold this place."
De Haan looked around the patch
of lighted garden into the banks of
shrubbery and further dim tree
shapes.
"I hold zis place," he said simply, '
bulking big and broad. "I am here.
None of my people will harm us
now, whatever zey may haf done,
?whatever you may mean. And
zen?"
Without a word Nivin stepped
into the circle above the palm,
stepped up to the crouching, sinister
captive, flung an arm about him and
seemed to wrestle. A knife wrought
swiftly in his hand with little
flashes.
"N-n-not ? not ? not monkeys!"
burst a broken voice, sobbing with
eagerness to top the phrase.
And in the fantastic glow of paper
lanterns stood Alfred Poynter Tun
stal, surely the strangest figure to
which a dapper and sophisticated
seeker after truth was ever reduced,
with a face blackened and unrecog?
nizable like a hideous caricature and
slashed across by the raw wound of
his recent fag, clad, head to heel, in
the plastered red hide of a monstrous
orang-outang, the true jungle man!
So he stood to give hia testimony
and make atonements for various
things.
"Not monkeys!" he gasped hys?
terically. "/ thought so?/ thought
they were?and thoy made a monkey
out of me!"
fie swayed and straightened in
Nivin's grip.
"I killed their ape. I put the
touch of dishonor on a brown skin.
And they served me proper for it
proper. But I've got the proof you
want. . . .
"All day I've been sitting there,
under that tree. The man?the man
who bought those cinnabar girls?
he came to talk business.
"It's true. He gets those girls in
starving villages. They engage for
service; that's al!. They don't know
?don't understand?till too late.
. . . Three of them now in that
house back there waiting shipment!
Blind victims?an incidental side
line to Loi Raman!"
"Who?" thundered De Haan.
A long, hairy arm shot out ac?
cusing.
"That greasy little cur over there.
Van Goor, the agent. Stop him!"
The controller stopped him. "Zis,"
he observed, "zis is mos' appropri?
ate !" . . .
And Alfred Poynter Tunstal, re?
covering as he went, continued his
journey eastward as soon and as
fast as ever he could make it until
East bvcame West again. He brought
home few records of his travels and,
curiously, he had not collected a
single globe-trotting tale of wieked
! ness and mystery. But one result
' of hi3 voyaging was marked. Ht
carried a scar?acquired in some
slight aceidert?which ran froir
each corner of his mouth in a thir
'. line and which transformed hi;
original cheerful chubbiness into ar
expression quite grim and taciturn
. He had lost his cherubic smile,
\ (Copyriekt P. F. Co?ter & Soi?.;
Congressman Decorated
CONGRESSMAN GEORGE
HOLDEN TINKHAM, of
Boston, ha3 just been in->
formed by the Italian Consul
at Boston that there has been con?
ferred upon him by the Italian gov?
ernment a decoration which carries
the title of Cavali?re della Corona
. d'ltalia (the distinction of the
; Knighthood of the Crown of Italy).
Congressman Tinkham visited the
i French, British and Italian fronts
in the fall and winter of 1917, and
upon his return to Washington was
of great service to the American
government in giving detailed in?
formation of the general situation in
Europe, particularly concerning the
immediate economic and military
needs of Italy, which were most
?vital at that tima.
I He was the first American to fire
a shot against the Austrian? after
the declaration of war by the United
States, at Gape d'Argine on the
Piave River, December 11, 1917.
Subsequently, the automobile in
which he was traveling with an
Italian General Staff officer was
totally destroyed on the top of Monte
Grappo in an artillery and infantry
action.
It will be necessary to have a
special bill passed by Congress
allowing Congressman Tinkham to
accept this decoration, as the Con?
stitution of the United States pro?
vides that "no person holding any
office of profit or trust under them
(the United States) shall, without
the consent of the Congress, accept
i any present, emolument, office or
title of any kind whatever from any
; king, prince, or foreign state."