In the California gold camps of the 1850s good entertainment was hard to come by. Playing cards, dancing (with or without music), drinking and racing horses were common leisure time pursuits of the miner. One was also treated to the occasional diversion of an impromptu necktie party or shooting--the more dramatic and extreme the act the better for this rough set of men.

Bull and bear fights--a gruesome contest introduced by the Spanish--drew a great number of spectators from throughout the mother lode. Frequently audiences became highly aggravated by the brief, highly publicized affairs and protested by demolishing the arena and grandstands prior to running the promoters out of town.

A particularly harrowing bull and bear fight was held in Mariposa in 1852 and was described thusly:

"The crowd had assembled and were all seated around the ring in which the conflict took place, enjoying the sport, when, as is frequently the case, the chain slipped over the bruin's hoof, leaving him to go where he pleased. The majority of the crowd commenced dispersing instantly, as might be supposed, but a few in different parts of the circle drew their revolvers and began shooting desperately at the bear, jeopardizing the lives of numbers who were immediately opposite. Luckily, but one man was injured, and he was only slightly wounded in the thigh, but the wonder was with numbers after the scene was over, that scores were not shot! The bear was killed instantly, but the circumstances was attended congratulations over their own safety."

"Just imagine a crowd in a high state of excitement," wrote an exasperated reporter of the San Francisco Alta California newspaper, "all standing around one object in the center of the circle, and firing directly at it, themselves in range with a dozen revolvers--ugh! The thought is dreadful enough to frighten us from any desire to participate in such fun."

San Francisco Alta California, November 14, 1852