The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1891-07-04
THE GAME OE MONIE

A Mode Of Gambling Very Popular Among
the Mexlcans.
A characteristic of the Mexican peo-
pie is an Unsuitable passion for gam
bling. From the richest merchant or
banker to the poorest "~trabajador," it
is, with surprisingly few exceptions, a
nation Of gamblers I have seen beg
gars-ragged, wrinkled, decrepit old
men-crouch all day with appealing
hand on the street corner, and at night
seek the nearest montebank, and losing
the miserable pittance for which they
had waited SO patiently, hobble off in
the darkness, supperless to bed-God
knows where.
Monte is the national game. In gild-
ed palaces and grimy novels in every
Mexican city you may find the swarthy
monte dealer sitting behind a table
with a pile of Mexican dollars in front
of him. From a pack of cards in his
left hand, he draws the two topmost,
placing them side by side, face upward.
on the table. Let them be a trey and n
five. you bet a dollar OF the trey, and if
a trey comes before a five, you have
won a dollar. Vice versa, you lose.
He may place other pairs IN the board,
and you may bet on either of each pair
with the same result The percentage
in the dealers favor is so great that it
is only a matter of time when he will
have all of your money unless you be
exceptionally lucky. Even then you
had better not depend oil your luck at
any other time.
The pack of cards and their denomi
nations are the same as the ordinary
euchre deck, but the figures are differ
ent The spade" is represented bv a
t~wo-edged sword. the club" by a rough
bludgeon, the heart" by an earthen
vase of Aztec pattern, and the ''dia-
mond" by a figure consisting of a series
of c~oncentric rings, which is supposed
to be a conventional representation OF
the sun. The lack" is a sedate cour-
tier of the middle ages, the queen" is
a fantastic princess mounted on a pranc-
ing horse, and his majesty's full length
figure is arrayed in a costume that must
lave been borrowed from a Roman en-
peror of the eastern empire.
VIC ulHhl III ~ Wy VI 'ltAlCo Ndll
dered down to the principal plaza and
walked into the greatest gambling hall
in Mexico-the great monte-bank sus-
tanned by the municipal government
Monte was no novelty to me, but this
particular bank was. In the hall a
semi-circle bar described a curve of
some eighty feet Inside the center or
a raised platform sat a nan who dealt
and called out his cards. and about fifty
dealers placed the cards he called on
the bar. Several hundred men could
then bet on the same ''layouts"
As | stood idlv watching this onster
game, an old man came in whom | had
noticed white washing a stone wall in
the rear of my hotel that morning. He
watched the game steadily for a few
minutes and placed fifty cents-hisd days
earnings, doubtless-on a card and won;
He placed the dollar on another card
and won that He placed his present
capital, two dollars. on two cards and
won both. And there he stood for more
than half an hour winning every bet.
The dealers pile of 81 yer diminished
as the players increased, until the lat
ter had every 'tlaclo." The dealer
went back to the treasurer for more
money. but by the time he had returned
the Uncovered Whitewater had sen
another dealer to the vaults for the
same purpose. BY this time the inter-
est of all in the house was conferred on
the lucky player. Those who were bet
ting made their bets OF the same care
with him. In another hour at this
rate the bank would nave been
ruined, and the superintendent angri-
ly closed the remaining games.
The old whitewasher counted out
more than three thousand dollars
in Mexican coin. and changed
it into god and notes. As | sauntered
down the street / saw him turn aside
into another monte-bank. Curious 10
see whether he would tempt fortune
further, | followed him in. lie began
playing again and lost as regularly as
he had won before. Losses made him
frantic and he made larger and
larger bets. Within an hOur ! saw him
turn YEARLY and sadly away, without
even the pittance for which he had
toiled all day under the burning trop
ical sun.
The passion for the game is not con-
fined to the Mexicans alone. 1t is
equally strong with the cowboys, herd
ers, transfers and soldiers of weste' n
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona l
once saw nearly six thousand dollars
paid to a camp of soldiers in TexaS-
Within three hours a dozen monte
dealers had nearly every dollar Of it
Most of these in turn went to a neigh
boring town and lost it at other mems
games. Laws prohibiting the game,
providing severe penalties for their
violation, are enacted without avail.
The monte-dealer flourishes, the
frontiersman loses his hard earned pay
and turns cheerily to another month of
hardship-Albert Sidney, in Detroit
Free Press.