Correr El Gallo

Woodcut engraving from the March 3, 1877 edition of Harper’s Weekly.

This sheet shows a tense moment during a game of “running the rooster.” The event encompasses a variety of meanings and methods (some non-lethal!). Harper’s depicts it as amusement, but in some parts of Mexico it’s part of an elaborate “coming of age” ceremony. A church next to a pueblo can be seen at the feet of rolling hills in the background.

Wood engraving after a sketch by Paul Frenzeny for Harper’s Weekly. Frenzeny (1840 – 1902) and Jules Tavernier (1844-1889) were commissioned by Harper’s to record their impressions of the American West, resulting in nearly 100 published illustrations. Ref: Chalmers “Chronicling the West For Harper’s Coast to Coast”