Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-01-08
PLAYING FAN-TAN.
an Exhibition of Oriental Deprav-
ity in Philadelphia.
Tnvrterate Gamblers Who Would Sell Their
Souls to Raise stake-Every-
body CANDLES, From tho
Prince to the CooIie.
TPh!la lelphia Tlmes.l

"D.d you ever see Cinnamon gamble!
Come with me, then, and III show you.
They are the most inveterate gamblers in
the world. A Canton Cinnamon woaid
sell his cue to raise stake to gambls
with"
Expressing a d s'rs to see this exhib-
tion of Orieatal depravity, my cicerone
led me to the front door OF house in tn ,
window of which hung the tawdry red
curtains and Of her dec Jrations betokel ing
n Chinese laun irv.
"Chin- Chin" sa Id he, IS we entere1 the
interior, to On aimo1d-eyei Celestial eI:-
gagged in pei shins up the bosom of qa
linen sh r. that waI spread ous on a mar
row coun.er behind the d.nsy curtain.
"Chn- Chin" responded The Chinaman.
as he look ID to take in the lea ures of
his visitors. What can do for M,licln
man to-day?'
NJ guide stepped up to the son of the
Flowery Kingdom, an laying his hand
light y on hi' shol.d'r whispered some
moss internal ten box cibl erish in his
elr. Our laundryman appeared TO catch
on satisfactorily, for he immediat ly said:
"Allee lite; CLONE this de-" show n /,
D
sane hunS with m re red curtains and
where the ga WIS dim and thu smell
more than arumltic 'Me 90 catchse All
kee Back bly, and bly,. SIT dowlV mo-
tionilg US to a richetS rattan sDfa, whic
fro II its age might have Ieen used in the
Confucus homes cad, and then leavinG :
us for the remoter part of the house. pass
ing out tbrou b more red curtains, who 1
a. faH ri N linn
late white Of his paj ina aad the blue
nnukeen of his trousers.
In a little wSils h-Kee, who appeared
20 BE- n sort of mandarin in the place, IN |
who was n rather lar se- rlmsI CIina-
man, with keen. OIL qI,. blace ewes, cue
tied up on top OF his IA al, All d 'e,se n
sem European coitums, returned A
short confab t., k ulacs between hIm I'd
ths gu d., ard turning hs said: "Allee
lite, you nd wantse see Chiname1 gam
ble lay ian-.an. Aileelite. CLONE al oag."
with wh. .ch he led the way through the
red curtlins. along back a narrow hall
way, up fight of stairs to a door lsading
TO rear room of ths d.. At this be
stcpped. "Me lap" wing a mystic
wink of is eye and an esoteric crack or
.wo with h $ long. b my fingers on the
panels. "Ah-Foo. We iy mucl Il ida. NIL
;cIn dice cctiye NJwau chee ct p1iled.'
In a few secJ IDS the dooc was q cxly Ut
boltet OF ths side, an with Messrs
All Kee Gnd A -F1J and ths gliie, wlo
had such int mate acl IailtlacD with
them, the I'm . nrn W : c irrie thr lugh
another room. garlisl ned with more red
rtuias and an 'tIer 10 II. wher, a qI@er
sight met his gaze. Gathered about a
large round table in tn cen er of the
room were SOM ten o. twelvs Cainam IN,
all so ap 0areI V iute1s N what CO.
ing on tlers that they scarce not C d or
Il kel up NJ the ntrud r.. Tne roo }, was
most dark, the ght was so dam.
On the mantel over n dIsuse1 fire.
llace wns bluS Canton jas in
which waS bu 'nils soma taper, Most
OF the China ueI hal lite long bImboo
pipes, the II Il howls Of which were bsin-y
iIcessaltly file |. On some couches or
bu ,lS' IN far c)rner of the room were
hudd ed two or three s!eerers. who either
ron opium or fat que at the game, OF
both, had succumbcl. l. Il tis center OF
the taIle was huge rils of trass cash"
the CI'neso elny. with SOU re holes in
IL.
One man, WHO was intrc ducad as HING
Les, acted as banker and in drawer l,v
him was q lite q comfortab pile OF Uuited
5 ates CON ard roll of notes. The game
seemed TO r-q IRE each Celestial round the
tab o in tue play to rak) out of III ,
large central pile a smaller pila Tnea
they all began TO assert these les ser piles
together with the inker, in.o small
erou ,s Of iour each. THIS counting Off of
four5 was done with marvelous ,x.eritv.
AS the last was reached the payments of
the bets depeu led on how maay of the
cash were left in the bankers grour, /, ,.
3, o. 4. and the coincidence of the indtvid :
ual letters .rouD VITA it,
"Ths is The great Chinese gambling
/ game, fan-.an. Ev body in China
plays it, from Prince Kun- down TO III
I coolies" said the guide. st is very
simple game, but the combinations of be5-
ting are very great They do not alI be.
that the last remaining count of
the cash in Their groups by fours
will coincide with the bankers, Tut that
there VII be one, two, or three cash left in
his group or four, which makes it come out
even, ani on this they eau wager, and,
/ indeed, many other ways. At Macao, The
Portuguese colcesS on a ross ths bay
from Hong h ny. is a fan-tan house, where
as heavy glm5,ilg is done as any place
in the woriI. Taere is large one at
Canton, another at Shanghai aad one at
/ Foo-chu-fu. Every little place in China
has its fan tan hell like this. TLey gam
be, smoke OPIUM aud tobacco in thess
p aces, AMI oten stay days at a sitting
It's comp ratively square game; being
so simple II W uld b. hard 10 practice a
sxin on a CaInaman. An European how.
ever. could b. k'nned by a Chinaman
every day in the week at It, for, as You
see. they play and rt the cash with
wonderful rapidlty. No European is as
dexterous digitally or has such sense OF
touch as a Chiaaman. The latter can tell
by feel and baancing on his fiugers TIE
slighssst difference of wei ,ht in a silver
cJin Chinese "shrOffs," as they are
caliel, are used in the California banks
aad the banks out in India and China to
"shroff" the Mexican dollars-that is, ex-
anime and throw out from "first chop
second and third chop do liars. This is
done by the GE gers, aud with marvellous