. Combats and conquests of immortal heroes. ucted by Jose Maria de laPlata, known as El Empressario, who was illiterate but wasa personage as important as the mayor and almost as greatan individual as the chief matador. The latter, however,was the idol of the entire j)opulace and most worshippedby the women, therefore envied by all other men. The first arena was erected near Clouds old store not veryfar south of San Pedro Park and west of the stream of thatname, but forays of Indians became so freriuent and the savagesbecoming to bold as to raid the arena when the l)ull fights werein progress,
. Combats and conquests of immortal heroes. ucted by Jose Maria de laPlata, known as El Empressario, who was illiterate but wasa personage as important as the mayor and almost as greatan individual as the chief matador. The latter, however,was the idol of the entire j)opulace and most worshippedby the women, therefore envied by all other men. The first arena was erected near Clouds old store not veryfar south of San Pedro Park and west of the stream of thatname, but forays of Indians became so freriuent and the savagesbecoming to bold as to raid the arena when the l)ull fights werein progress, the management prudently concluded to move theScene of attraction from the outskirts of town as the first ]ilace 116 Combats and Conquests of Lmmortal Heroes then was, to one somewhat less remote, but itself then nonetoo safe, as Indians, even occasionally swooped downand interruped there the gory sport. The next place wherethe arena was located was where Franklin square is now sit-uated and adjacent to the present city hospital. The last. MEXICAN DAXDY Empressario w^as Antonio Valdez, now very aged, but en-gaged in the more laborious pursuit of gardening in Beanville,a Southern suburb of San Antonio. The very latest bull fight was a dual contest first betweena bull and a lion and that followed by one between the samebull and the lioness, mate of the lion. This was in 1878. For COIMBATS AXD CONQUESTS OF HeROES 117 the New York Herald and Leslies Magazine I furnished theaccount. The pair of lions had been left behind by a strandedcircus. The male had been formerly a very fierce beast. Oneof his eyes bad been burned out with a hot iron when he waskilling a keeper. But at the time of the alleged combat withthe bull he was old, decrepit and almost toothless. For threedays preceeding the combat he and his mate had been starvedto make them savage. The arena was a steel cage about thirtyfeet in diameter The bull was really, a bold brute. Thecircus wagon cage in which the pa
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