hilip Parsons, writing in 1771, described how it was carried out in England: In the Northern parts of England it is no unusual

diversion to tie a rope across a street and let it swing about the distance of ten yards from the ground. To t he middle of this a living cock [sic] is tied by the legs. As he swings in the a ir, a set of young people ride one after another, full speed, under the rope, an d rising in the stirrups, catch at the animal's head, which is close clipped and well soaped, in order to elude the grasp. Now he who is able to keep his seat i n his saddle, and his hold of the bird's head, so as to carry it off in his hand , bears away the palm, and becomes the noble hero of the day.[4] The sport was challenging, as the oiling of the goose's neck made it difficult t o retain a grip on it, and the bird's flailing made it difficult to target in th e first place. Sometimes the organisers would add an extra element of difficulty ; one writer witnessed "a nigger, with a long whip in hand ... stationed on a st ump, about two rods [10 m / 32 ft] from the gander, with orders to strike the ho rse of the puller as he passed by." The reaction of the startled horse would mak e it even more difficult for the puller to grab the goose as he went by. Many ri ders missed altogether; others broke the goose's neck without snapping off the h ead.[5] The American poet and novelist William Gilmore Simms wrote that It is only the experienced horseman, and the experienced sportsman, who can poss ibly succeed in the endeavor. Young beginners, who look on the achievement as ra ther easy, are constantly baffled; many find it impossible to keep the track; ma ny lose the saddle, and even where they succeed in passing beneath the saplings without disaster, they either fail altogether in grasping the goose, which keeps a constant fluttering and screaming; or, they find it impossible to retain thei r grasp, at full speed, upon the greasy and eel-like neck and head which they ha ve seized.[6] Goose pulling is attested in the Netherlands as early as the start of the 17th c entury; the poet Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero referred to it in his 1622 poem Boer engeselschap ("Company of Peasants"), describing how a party of peasants going t o a goose-pulling contest near Amsterdam end up in a brutal brawl, leading to th e lesson that it is best for townspeople to stay away from peasant pleasures.[7] The Dutch settlers of North America brought it to their colony of New Netherlan d and from there it was transmitted to English-speaking Americans. Goose-pulling was taken up by those at the lower levels in American society,[2] though it cou ld attract the interest of all social strata. In the pre-Civil War South, slaves and whites competed alongside each other in goose-pulling contests watched by " all who walk in the fashionable circles."[8] Charles Grandison Parsons described the course of one such contest held in Milledgeville, Georgia in the 1850s: At the appointed time, rude whisky tents, and festive seats, and shades, were pr epared around the "pulling course;" and thousands of spectators ladies as well a s gentlemen, the elite as well as the vulgar assembled to engage in or witness t he favorite sport... Tickets were issued by the proprietor of the gander, at fifty cents each, to all gentlemen present who wished for them, and they entered their names as "pullers ". The pullers were to start about ten rods [about 50 m / 165 ft] from the gande r, on horseback, riding at full speed, and as they passed along under the gander , they had the privilege of pulling off his head which would entitle them to the additional privilege of eating him... One entered the list a "gentleman of property and standing" and dashed over the course. The poor gander seeming quite resigned to his fate, or not comprehending his danger, and not knowing how to "dodge" had his neck seized by the first rid er; but being well oiled, and his head so small, and his strength not yet exhaus ted, he slipped his head through the puller's hand without suffering much from t he twist... After this he kept a sharp look out, and many pullers passed by with out being able to grapple his neck. The game went on, and the pullers increased, till the jaded gander could elude their grasp no longer. An old Cracker with a sandpaper glove on pulled off his head at last, amid the shouts of a wondering h ost of intoxicated competitors.[8] The prizes of a goose-pulling contest were trivial often the dead bird itself, o ther times contributions from the audience or rounds of drinks. The main draw of

such contests for the spectators was the betting on the competitors, sometimes for money or more often for alcoholic drinks.[2] One contemporary observer comme nted that "the whoopin', and hollerin', and screamin', and bettin', and exciteme nt, beats all; there ain't hardly no sport equal to it."[9] Goose-pulling contes ts were often held on Shrove Tuesday and Easter Monday, with competitors "engage d in this sport not just for its excitement but also to prove they were "real me n," physically strong, brave, competitive and willing to take risks."[10] Unlike some other contemporary blood sports, goose pulling was often frowned upo n. In New Amsterdam (modern New York) in 1656, Director General Pieter Stuyvesan t issued ordinances against goose pulling, calling it "unprofitable, heathenish and pernicious."[1] Many contemporary writers professed disgust at the sport; an anonymous reviewer in the Southern Literary Messenger, writing in 1836, describ ed goose pulling as "a piece of unprincipled barbarity not infrequently practise d in the South and West."[11] William Gilmore Simms described it as "one of thos e sports which a cunning devil has contrived to gratify a human beast. It appeal s to his skill, his agility, and strength; and is therefore in some degree grate ful to his pride; but, as it exercises these qualities at the expense of his hum anity, it is only a medium by which his better qualities are employed as agents for his worser nature."[6] The sport appears to have been relatively uncommon in Britain, as all references are to it as a curiosity practiced somewhere else. The 1771 Parsons account loc ates it in "Northern parts of England" and assumes it is unknown in Newmarket in Southern England. In a satirical letter to Punch in 1845 it is regarded as a ba rbarous practice known only to the bloodthirsty Spaniards, like bull-fighting.[1 2] The serious work Observations on the popular antiquities of Great Britain, of 1849, calls it "Goose-riding" and says it has been "practiced in Derbyshire wit hin the memory of persons now living", and that the antiquary Francis Douce (175 71834) had a friend who remembered it "when young" in Edinburgh in Scotland.[13] From these references it would appear to have died out in Britain by the end of the 18th century.