Photo courtesy Salt Lake Telegram

American Buffalo vs. Mexican Fighting Bulls

This is part three of a three part series.
The manager of the bull ring told the Dakotans. "I’ll bet you $500 El Cuco (the matador) kills your buffalo." Bob Yokum, who was a sport, retorted, “I’ll give you a better bet than that. I’ll bet you $5OO the buffalo kills Cuco.''  
Next Sunday’s program was to begin with four bull fights, and then the younger buffalo would be fought by the matador in regular bull fighting procedure. Word of the fight spread quickly, sending Mexican elites and rich Americans to Juarez. Once again, the bull ring sold out, netting $8,000 in ticket sales. The Governor of Chihuahua would attend. Although he wouldn't be traveling to Juarez, President Theodore Roosevelt learned of the showdown when the El Paso Humane Society asked him to stop the contest.
George Philip, knowing how thick the hair was around the buffalo's heart, was sure the younger buffalo would do well. El Cuco, brave and skillful, the top matador of the Juarez bull ring, was the Mexican given the honor of opposing the buffalo. The matador’s job is to entice a bull with a cape, sashay out of the way when charged, plant barbs into the animal’s shoulders, and finish off the bull with a sword to the heart.  How would this work with a buffalo?
Highly popular and courageous, El Cuco knew everything a bull could be expected to do in ring, and it never occurred to him that a buffalo might not be bound by the rules of mere bulls. A bull charges straight, while a buffalo is likely to go into battle jabbing with those dangerous horns in the manner of a skillful boxer. While a bull pivots on his hind feet, the buffalo snakes his swing on his front feet. A bull does not kick, while a buffalo seems to delight in damage done by those outstandingly capable hind feet. That hump on the buffalo is not caused by curvature of the spine, for his spine is just as straight as that of any bull. The upper prongs of the vertebrae are elongated to about a foot at the height of the hump, filled in with muscle.  Nature has placed a tough hide about an inch or more in thickness over most of his body. Over that thick skin is placed an almost impervious blanket of matted, curly, woolen hair, six inches or more through.
The big day arrived. After salutes were given, the first bull was let into the arena. Who should he be, but that beautiful, red fighting bull that had first fought the buffalo Pierre on the preceding Sunday. (In order to save money, the manager used the same bulls from the previous week.) No amount of coaxing could get that bull to believe that his adversary of the week before was not somewhere in that ring. There wasn't an ounce of fight in that prize bull. All he wanted to do was escape. He was finally run back through the chutes, and another bull sent to take his place.  Three other bulls were successively let in, and each, in his turn, refused to fight, and could not be made to charge toward the matador.  Four bull fights had been advertised and the crowd was getting restless and cries of "gyp" could be heard.
Finally, the younger buffalo was admitted to the ring. Having had a week's rest in the warm climate, he came into the ring looking for trouble, yet not understanding what lay before him. When El Cuco began waving his cape in the hopes of angering Pierre Jr., the animal just stared. Whereas fighting bulls charge when they see the motion of a matador cape, nature and breeding had not instilled such an instinct in buffalo. Young Pierre didn’t know what he was supposed to do.  
Pierre Jr. hadn't ever faced combat in the ring. Having been raised on Scotty Philip's ranch, this young buffalo had nothing to fear from humans, no reason to go after the matador. Finally, El Cuco ordered a mounted picador to poke the buffalo with a metal pole. The prodding discomforted Pierre Jr. and the animal halfheartedly ran at El Cuco, but he didn't seem interested in actually causing harm. El Cuco tried to wave his cape and make it look like he was in danger, but the audience wasn't buying it.
The manager, realizing that the fight was going flat, ran to the ring-side seats of the three Dakotans and said, "I don't know what to do. My bulls won't fight and I never saw anything like this before." One of the Dakotans said. "Don't blame us if your bulls won't fight." "But,” said the manager, "the president will call off the fight and make us return the money. What do you propose to do about it?" The Dakotan answered, "Just have one of your men stick a sword or one of those picks in the buffalo and, he'll fight."  
The matador made a few passes with his cape, but the buffalo had not been enraged to fight, even with the “poking.” Finally a sign was posted, calling off the fight.  George Philip said he believed that after the experience of the week before with Pierre and the bulls, the Mexican officials did not want to admit that a matador could not whip a buffalo either. As the manager pleaded with the president, the courageous Cuco, with a banderillo in each hand, was petitioning the president to at least let him plant the two banderillos in the buffalo, or execute the buffalo, to satisfy the crowd for its thirst for blood. The president was adamant that the fight was over, and the crowd filed out, each receiving back his entrance money.   
  The victorious buffaloes did not return to South Dakota to receive the heroes' welcome they had earned. The next day the Dakota men returned to Juarez to retrieve their buffalo. The manager informed the Americans that he'd lost $8,000 dollars in refunds, all because of Pierre Jr. 's unwillingness to fight. Therefore, the manager would be keeping Pierre. The Americans could take Pierre Jr., but only if they sold the animal to a local butcher as a way of promoting future buffalo fights. If the Americans chose to involve the Juarez police, he 'd sue them. Because the courts were backed up, the Americans would await trial in Juarez's notoriously dangerous jail to ensure they didn't skip out on their debt.
George Philip and his companions grew angry, but they noticed they were surrounded by matadors, each wearing a shiny six-shooter on his belt.  Unarmed and unwilling to spend months in the Juarez jail, George Philip acceded to the demands. They retrieved Pierre Jr., and sold him to a local butcher for $200. They'd known it was possible that U.S. customs wouldn't have allowed the buffalo back in the United States, so selling the animals had always been an option. So, the Mexicans did get revenge on the mighty buffalo which had so disgracefully whipped their mighty fighting bulls. They got to enjoy buffalo burgers and steaks.
The Americans might have wanted to see Pierre retire to a life of breeding and pasturing, but the truth, admitted by George Philip, was that he and Eb Jones had been planning future fights for the buffalo, wanting to take Pierre to Chihuahua City and Mexico City to face the very best Mexican fighting bulls. They wanted the profit, and hated giving any of that profit to the Mexican bullfight manager.
Dejected and without the buffalo, George, Bob Yokum, and Eb Jones, boarded a train from El Paso to Fort Pierre. When they arrived, Scotty Philip and the people of Fort Pierre greeted them as heroes, and the travelers enjoyed taking home bragging rights.
Could a buffalo bull lick a fierce, man-killing Mexican bull? The spectators may have been brought to their feet, but the bulls were brought to their knees.

The Pioneer Review

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Philip, SD 57567
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