Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-16
CHINESE GAMBLERS.
Some of the Queer Superssftfons They
 Entertain.

Some of the Queer Superstftfons They
 Entertain.
 Chinese gamblers are more superstitious than the mass of their countrymen, says the New York Times. All colors, save white, are carefully avoided by the owners in the walls and decorations of their gambling rooms. White, the color of mourning and of the robes worn by the spirits of the dead, always considered inauspioious, is associated with the idea of losing money, and is believed to bring bad fortune to their patrons, with cor responding gains to themselves. Even the inscriptions to the tutelary god are always written upon white paper, and white candles are burned before his shrine instead of the rod ones ordinarily used. Gamblers on the way to play fan tan will turn back if anyone iostles them or they happen to come in con tact with any abstraction. If players hand encounters onother's as he lays his stake on the table, he will not put his money on the number toward which he was reaching. Gamblers refrain from reading books before playing, and books are not regarded with favor in gambling houses from the word ''She''-book-sonnding like "She"-to lose money. All inauspicious words are avoided. Thus the almanac, Hang she," is always called ssGut sing" through unwillingness to utter the ominous "She." This book is of daily use among gamblers, for in it's calendar of lucky and unlucky days there is special mention of the days favorable for playing, and, besides, it always contains @ dream book and they attach much importance to the interpretation of dreams.
 Many devices are resorted to in order to divine the winning numbers in the boo hop bu. Some players dot the tickets at random with the eyes closed; others outline with the dsts an suspicious character or mark such characters as, when read in succession, will form a happy sentence. 4 young child or a stranger is often asked to mark tickets. At times the player will visit some shrine, or stKwan ten-the god of war-the divinity generally worshipped by the Chinese in America, and burn candles and incense and mock money before his pictures, kneel and throw the divining sticks, box of which, containing 80 sticks, marked with the char actels of the lottery tickets, is usually kept at the shrine for the use of the gamblers. As many sticks are allowed to fall as the gambler desires to play numbers. The gau- blers do much to keep alive the traditions and religious ceremonies of their native country. The winner of c large sum of money frequently contributes iberally to l the support of the local shrine, and subscrip- tion books for the erection and maintenance ! of the temples in San Francisco, and even | in China, may be seen ia the shops connected | with the gambling houses in eastern Ameri-
 can cities. The shrine in Philadelphia, to which many ot the resident Chinamen resort
 at the season of the new year, was built by . man who won $500 in the boo hop bu, and hoped by it to prop;tiate the god to whom I he attributed his good fortune.
 Among the questions asked at the New \ Years pilgrimage to the temple is whether l the worshipper will be fortunate at play dur | ing the year. The worship of "Kwan to" by | the gamblers is regarded as presumptuous by
 the more intelligent, as by them it is not | thought that he looks with favor upon illegal practices. One of the lower gods is believed | to be more appropriate object for their