..■J-
25.000
lighting
Chickens
Cockfighting is illo^ail
in North Carolina —
but raisin”’ tlio fi^iilors
isn't.
By ALLA 14’ JESSUP
A 12-ycar-old boy on his father’s
farm near the summit of the Blue
Ridges in Wilkes County one day
wrapped an arm around his rooster
and walked down into the valley to
fight a rooster belonging to a neigh¬
bor. When the dust had settled, and
the boy was walking back home with
his victorious bird, he thought proud¬
ly of a proper name to give his game
chickens, and decided to call them
“Mountain Eagles.”
Today, Mountain Eagles are fight¬
ing all over the world, in places where
cockfighting is legal and plenty of
places where it isn't. Anyway, the
breeding of fighting birds is lawful,
and the little boy and his subsequent
family might say "thank goodness" for
that. The little boy of 60 years ago.
W. S. Church, and his family have
sold over 25.000 Mountain Eagles.
The business is now carried on by
Scott Church, Jr., who took over two
years ago when his father retired. He
still has most of his father’s old cus¬
tomers and many more besides.
The elder Church recalled a few
days ago the first order he ever re¬
ceived for fighting chicken slock. He
had advertised in a trade magazine
and a man from Texas answered his
ad with a registered letter enclosing
S2.50 for a cock and hen (Mountain
Eagles). This was in 1894.
He was attending court at Wilkcs-
boro as a spectator when the post¬
master of Summit advised him that
there was a registered letter waiting
for him at the mountain-top post of¬
fice. He walked 20 miles that day to
get that letter containing his first order.
Since that day in 1894 the
Churches, father and son. have
shipped fighting chicken stock to al¬
most every major country in the world
except Russia. W. S.. Sr. once shipped
20
24 cocks at one time for SI 00 each.
He emphasized that a first class fight¬
ing cock might bring as much as $1,-
000.
Some countries to which they have
shipped are Spain. Portugal, England.
France, Germany. Australia. Mexico,
all Central American countries, Can¬
ada. Hawaii, the Philippine Islands
and every State in the union.
Spanish and Spanish-descended peo¬
ple arc the biggest fanciers of the game
stock, and their favorites generally run
to the beautiful varicolored chickens.
When the founder of the business
was asked how many birds he had
sold during his career, he whistled and
said: “I reckon I averaged 10 a week
for 55 years.”
“Some people want one color and
some want another but I don’t go by
At (op, on a gently rolling hillside in Wilkes, is the Church chicken ranch.
Below, Scott Church. Jr., and his father, Scott, Sr., originator of the game
chicken business, hold two of their prized breeding roosters. The bird held by
the younger Church is the "king of the ranch."
color," young Church said. "I go by
the way a cock is built up, its back¬
ground and what its sires have done.
Having winners in fighting cocks is
like having fine race horses. It’s a mat¬
ter of breeding."
Church now has about 500 chick¬
ens in his flock. He cannot possibly
supply all the demand by his own
breeding. He has about 50 men
throughout North Carolina. Virginia.
South Carolina and Georgia who breed
the fighters for him. In Yadkin County
alone he has 25 men who breed for
him. using his exclusive stock.
Most North Carolinians have nev¬
er seen a cockfight, but plenty of it
is going on. judging from the orders
received by the Churches. And the
sport seems to be growing. At least
the' popularity of Mountain Eagles is.
THE STATE. APRIL 26. I9S2
