The next day the festivities, which were to indemnify the people for the austerities of Lent and of Passion Week, began.  The cock-pits were opened during the day, and masked balls were given in the evening at the theatres.  You know, probably, that cock-fighting is the principal diversion of the island, having entirely supplanted the national spectacle of bull-baiting.  Cuba, in fact, seemed to me a great poultry-yard.  I heard the crowing of cocks in all quarters, for the game-cock is the noisiest and most boastful of birds, and is perpetually uttering his notes of defiance.  In the villages I saw the veterans of the pit, a strong-legged race, with their combs cropped smooth to the head, the feathers plucked from every part of the body except their wings, and the tail docked like that of a coach horse, picking up their food in the lanes among the chickens.  One old cripple I remember to have seen in the little town of Guines, stiff with wounds received in combat, who had probably got a furlough for life, and who, while limping among his female companions, maintained a sort of strut in his gait, and now and then stopped to crow defiance to the world.  The peasants breed game-cocks and bring them to market; amateurs in the town train them for their private amusement.  Dealers in game-cocks are as common as horse-jockies with us, and every village has its cock-pit.

I went on Monday to the Valla de Gallos, situated in that part of Havana which lies without the walls.  Here, in a spacious inclosure, were two amphitheatres of benches, roofed, but without walls, with a circular area in the midst.  Each was crowded with people, who were looking at a cock-fight, and half of whom seemed vociferating with all their might.  I mounted one of the outer benches, and saw one of the birds laid dead by the other in a few minutes.  Then was heard the chink of gold and silver pieces, as the betters stepped into the area and paid their wagers; the slain bird was carried out and thrown on the ground, and the victor, taken into the hands of the owner, crowed loudly in celebration of his victory.  Two other birds were brought in, and the cries of those who offered wagers were heard on all sides.  They ceased at last, and the cocks were put down to begin the combat.  They fought warily at first, but at length began to strike in earnest, the blood flowed, and the bystanders were heard to vociferate, “ahi estan pelezando"[4]—­“mata! mata! mata!"[5] gesticulating at the same time with great violence, and new wagers were laid as the interest of the combat increased.  In ten minutes one of the birds was dispatched, for the combat never ends till one of them has his death-wound.

In the mean time several other combats had begun in smaller pits, which lay within the same inclosure, but were not surrounded with circles of benches.  I looked upon the throng engaged in this brutal sport, with eager gestures and loud cries, and could not help thinking how soon this noisy crowd would lie in heaps in the pits of the Campo Santo.