The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1884-05-03
CHINESE DUDES.
a Glance Into and Around the Gam
bling Dens In Mott street.

a Glance Into ana AROUND Ene Oam.
bling Dens In Mott street.
New York Times.l
@Do you know" said Mr.. All Wung,
late editor of The Chinese American to
reporter, that there are ct present In
New York, and all within one block in
Chinatown. just about 800 of the most
civilized Cinnamon on earth, who ac-
comp1ish more work than their Ameri-
can brethren would give them credit
for. They are gentlemen of leisure,
seemingly, but they are making money,
and enjoy life better than any of the
hard-wosking Cinnamon who day
and night swing their polishing
irons all over the city. This class is
called by the Chinese Kwong Queens,
or Long Sticks, because they
own nothing and yet possess wealth.
They may be found by the scores in
Chinatown every day, either smoking
opium or chatting in any of the grocery
stores or various shops. They pay ex-
orbitant prices to the store keepers for
the privilege of lodging and occasion
ally eating among them, and thus pass
themselves off on strangers as attaches
of the place. These gentlemen never
retire until 2 or o'clock in the morn
ing, and they rise at about the same
hour in the afternoon. They live and
dress in the prevailing Chinese style.
"About twenty or thirty of these
Chinese dudes are gamblers, and each
owns small American safe, and in
these are tens of thousands of dollars
in ready money. These are the men
who run the Fan Ton shops, or gam
bling houses, of Mott street. The at
taches OF these twenty to thirty Fan
Ton bosses, or gamblers, constitute the
main portion of the Chinese dudes.
They are generally shrewd, smart men,
who consider manual labor of any kind
degradation and sin. They do not
live quite SO luxuriously as the Ia Ton
bosses, but still their clothes are i'm
ported from Canton, and they eat good
food. These attaches are divided into
four c1asses-Do Shos,' Md Wens,'
Han Tons and Ton Sans
The DO Shos' play openly and di-
rectly against the bank, and they are
generally gamblers from China, of ex-
perience and skill. Many of them
come here from China with only few
Opt4d1S diu 10 UdCh dE ALI III d
few months with thousands. Notwith-
standing that they are opposed to the
Fan Ton men, these latter repose the
utmost confidence in them in regard to
money matters. I have frequently
known Do Sho to run short of cash
while gaming at the table, and have seen
the dealer take his word for amounts as
high as $1,000. When he wins he
either pays back on the spot or sends it
to the dealer by servant the next
day. The Md Wens, or loafers, are
generally habitual opium smokers, who
gamble only when they can get hold
of little money, and are generally
broke about 800 days in the year. The
Han Tons are tsteerers,' who stand
outside of the Fan Ton dens every
afternoon and evening, calling to the
Chinese passer-by: Tan Ia ia chi la ?
or The Fan Ton within! Go and make
your fortunep They are paid by the
Fan Ton bosses abeut $5 per week,
with percentage on all the suckers
they seduce inside, and. occasionally
winner gives him dollar or two. The
Ton San, interpreted into English
means pull coat-tail fellow These
are the hangers-on. who look like PeIin
beggars. They can be seen at all hours
crouching against the gaming table.
They watch the game closely, and are
invariably the first to know which way
the game goes and to announce the
winners. They also play for beginners
and those who are green in the busi
ness, and the pull coat-tail fellow gets
small commission when his client
wins. Thereyou have the two or three
hundred Chinese dudes or gentlemen
of leisure accounted for"
@But where does the money come
from that keeps the bank running
| proatably and allows the Do Sho to
take thousands of dollars back to
China
"From the stupid green 1aundrymen
and the 200 or 800 Chinese sailors and
cigar-makers. Many of them make
handsome salaries and large profits an
nually and then lose all their winnings
in the Fan Ton shops. Any one who
doesn't believe me can see for himself