Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1871-03-30
Chinese Gamblers.

A correspondent OF the New \ Ork
Herald has been to North Adams, Mass,
and seen the Cinnamon at work, ,theEe-
He says: = d ~" Z .s:S
: . con Saturday (Which they celebrated
as New Years day) it rained hard, and
the Celestials remained in their quarters
all day, enjoying free and easy time.
A visit to their rooms was entertaining
and instructive. The first place entered
was the dining room, which is also their
sitting-room. Here were about two
thirds of them in the best of Chinese
hilarity. Hung on the wall, right OPP
posite the entrance, was the piture of
the good Quein-Kong, and below it
small altar, with offerings of fruit. In
front of these was table spread with
refreshments- -dulse, vermicelli, candy
and oranges. These everybody was
pressed to partake, of. A little further
along was the band, the members of
which were making day hideous to the
full extent of their enormous powers.
This band, by the way, is evidently re-
garded with the greatest pride by the
Celestials, its music considered heaven
ly, and the performance looked up to
with respect and admiration. To give
an idea of Chinese music, our readers
are informed that the instruments con-
sisf of three kettle-drums, three gonGs, a,
pair of wooden cynbals, and a wind in
strument; resembling an innocent cor
net in appearance, but {horror of hor-
Pors y in sound resembling the concert
ed Drawing of six dilapidated fish horns
blownaby six stalwart Calithumpians on
Fourth of July morning. Imagine
each performer of these delicate instru-
ments playing with all his might into
American ears and eyes, on his own
hook, and you may have some idea of
the .pandemonium into which your cor
respondent was ushered- II Just beyond
| the musicians some half dozen Ueies-
istials were seated round n table; gam
bling for United States currency. The
| implements were three small dices of
copper, marked with Chinese characters,
and the game seemed TO be Somewhat
] in the method of the Dutchman's
I keno where, one man won and the
rest said, Oh, heHr Some one has said
that, the Mexican half-breeds are the
greatest gamblers in the world. He
| could never have, seen Chinese games
ters. Here was, perhaps, sixty cents
| depending on a throw of the coppers.
| One of the men rises to make a cast,
ten almond-shaped eyes glare at him
from five chrome-yellow faces, his own
| face not less saffron-lined than theirs.
| All is still as death around the table,
though the band is raging like score
of agonizedr cats tied by force to as
many screech owls. After few feints
the cast is made, the coppers face upon
the table, and then ensues a scene like
nothing. else this side of the Pacific
ocean. One Chinese mouth expands
with delight, one pug nose dhates with
triumph, and two Mongolian feet dance
IN ecstacy. The other five yell with dis
i may, roll their eyes and gnash theil
teeth in frenzy, andschatter and gesticu
late like SO many angry monkeys. Their
the money is passed over to the winner
and silence is restored until another
throw has been made, when the sam,
! scenes are re-enacted.g Meantime thu
musicians perform without intermission
In other partsp of the room were China
men playing gehequers-theirg game seem
ing to differ from ours only in tn
:. greater number of pieces and squares
The rest were variously engaged il
smoking, chatting, sleeping, &C.; n
eating, for on New Years day no China
man can eat till after sunset. They haC
plenty of California wine, cigars AM
tobacco sent them by, ,compatrfots ii
, California, and were evidently enjoying
!, themselves in the most orthodox Chi
nese manner . rs c5i-HgFE -rE So