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luity. unfortunately, however, it hasproduced a reserve which is not natural, bue has erased none of the marks which bold them to the “Old South’’—those marks are written m every lineament, heard' in every ac„ cent and recognized in every motion. You would know them anywhere.These aged remnants of a beautiful past are never so happy as when recounting the comforts and pleasures of those former days, and as they warm up with their subject they seem to live over again those days before the war—there are delightful stories beautifully told.But there came a terrible awakening—internal, civil war, the cruelestof wars, where brother was arrayed against brother and father against son—but 1 shall not dwell upon it® horrors nor elaborate its results. It was not only a political revolution, but a commercial revelation. It was a bloody transition from a happy, contented, ru/nl life of ease and comfort to an exciting, pushing, crushing com-merical struggle; old traditions were ignored and old idols were ruthlessly shattered. The scramble for wealth, the hurry and flurry of a “New South” pushed aside these old southerners,and left them stranded in the midstof the bustle, wondering what It all'; * - 1 The younger element, however, became imbued wdth the spirit of progress and quickly assumed the burdensof rebuilding and rehabilitating theplaces that were laid waste by the vicissitudes of the war and entered into the work with g, courage that fore-told the success that is visible upon•very hand today.* * *ana giaaes«sWhat bull fighting was to the sports of Spain, cock fighting was to the amusements of the Old South. Great care was taken by the old and young players in the rearing of birds for the cock pit. They were most careful in selecting well proven strains and in training them for the pit. Many of the plantations had their game poultry yards and the gentlemen were as proud of their gamebirds as they were of their horses.They were always ready to pit their birds against all comers and frequently backed their prowess with large wagers. Nearly all the villages in the south had their cock pits, but New Orleans and Mobile were the special sporting centers for the whcie south.The great and predominant institu-wMWMl I* 1 1 M A* *♦ 1 -*J Vk. -s. M -jL % JL« . 5 * ...The real game cock is all that thename implies; he will fight to thedeath—he never surrenders and henever gives quarter; a whipped game ccck is pretty certain to be a dead one. From the time a brood of the chickens have attained sufficient age for the little cocks to try to begin to crow the game spirit begins to make itself seen; the little birds begin to fight for the leadership of the brood and these struggles continue from time to time until the chicks are full grown. When they have attained their full growth there is always a decisive contest, which is always a bitter cue, often last, for hours, and only saved from fatal results by the | absence of spurs, which have not yet ■ l*au time to grow'. This is always a battle royal and the victorious cock with scarcely enough * strength left him to stand manages to utter a weak crow of victory and is given his place
Newspaper Details
San Antonio Sunday Light
San Antonio, Texas, US
Sun, Jul 09, 1905
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Wayne D.
NA, 03 Aug 2021
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