The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-01
LIKE THE LOUISIANA CO.
The Postal inspectors Trying to
Run Down the Chinese
lotteries.
Mongolian Gambling Devices
Which Resemble Sure
Thing Games.
Preparing to Proceed Against u Newspa-
per Which Issues Policies OF In
snrance to Headers.

developments before the next United Stntes
grand jury which meets in Helena. 1t il
we'll known that Chinese lotteries arc run
ming wherever the heathen makes his tenn
porary home in this country. The Coles
tials are the greatest gamblers on the face
of the enrth and would sooner go without
enting than miss an opportunity to tempt
the fiokle goddess. To those who do not
live near one of the large lottery games the
managers, like those who run the octopus
ut New Orleans. render every assistance
when they wish to stake their
money on the numbers. To d. this the
managers of this Chinese lotteries have fol-
lowed the example set by the Louisiana
company and used the mails to
send their tickets to patrons of
the game among their " people.
Ii the Inspectors cannot get evidence to
convict tho owners Of the lotteries County
Attorney Nolan will direct his attention to
the alleged violations Of the law. It will
probably tax the powers of the officers to
the utmost to catch a Chinese lottery in
operation, because since the Butte boycott
the Celestials have become more guarded
in their relations with white people. Some
of the Cinnamon insist that the game ia
not a lottery, but give it q Chinese name,
The meaning of which they cannot ex-
plain. @
The modus o%perandi of the game was
brought to light recently, when several
Cinnamon were tried in the United States
court at Deadwood, S. d., for violating the
postal laws. III ticket is about three and
a half inches long, and nearly four inches
wide, and generally printed in green ink on
light colorod paper. On the tickets are
two squares, one within the other, and in
each are forty characters, each one of which
has something to do in influencing the re-
suit Of the game. The holder of a ticket
puts a mark on the characters he wishes to
bet on, up to the number of ten. Crosses
in black ink are then put on them by one
of the dealers. At Deadwood the lottery in
question vas run in a room about eighteen
openings were closed. There was a long
narrow table in the room with four bowls
and a pan on it.. The assistants bring in
a sack containing a package in which are
tickets similar to the ono furnished the
PLAYERS but have only one character. Four
piles are made OF the tickets, there being
twenty in each pile. AS they are called off
an entry is made in a book. This opera
ton is gone through with to prevent any
sure thing" business taking place.
Whether this is a bona fde operation or
whether it is done to pull the wool over
the eyes of the suckers it would be hard to
tell. While this is going on calm reigns
supreme. When the book is compared with
the groups of number contained in the
four piles there is a noise like a flock of
geese. All these tickets are next shaken up
vigorously in the pan on the
table and placed in the four bowls
40 that there are twenty in
---L Tl--AkL. l.-r:-
One Of the assistants draws a ticket from
one of the bowls, calling out the number or
character. This is checked off on a sheet.
After ten tickets have been taken out the
drawing ceases. If four of the numbers on
any ticket sold appear the holder gets Sligo:
if five, $3.50; six, 1897. 20; seven. $21S; eight,
$5l1; nine, $1,4o0. In case all ten tickets
win the prize is $4,000. The winnings are
said to be very few.
The fact that the Chinese were conduct
ing a lottery in the metropolis of the Black
Hills, though known for some years to the
initiated, created n great deal of surprise to
the church going element. who were nearly
as much astonished at the announcement in
the papers as they we're with the news that
all Of the keathens when arrested and taken
before a United States commissioner were
released on bonds, OH most of which the
mayor of the city qualified as surety. The
majority of the community we're Indifferent
to the matter. thinking it rather a shame,
however, that the Cinnamon were molested
for operating a lottery when the tiger struts
in all the glory Of faro. stud poker, hazard,
and craps in a dozen
or more resorts that can be pointed out by
the school boy or Sunday school teacher
whose daily walk may take them by his nu-
merous ubodes. Even tho fair minded
sporting men think it rather a hardship and
would be inclined to contribute toward pay
ing the fines of the Chinese by buying tick
cts in their lottery were it not that the
grown suspicious of all who do not
a queue, now refuse to sell another
ticket to a "Melican man."