Arizona silver belt., 1894-07-21
JOHNS MONTE CAR
AROUND THE GAMBLING TABLES
 A CHINESE RESORT.

Carlo of the East, Where Fantan Is tn,
 Gamo Played Picturesque Scenes on tn,
 Canton River.
 Descending the Canton river from tht city of that name, the steamer for Hong Kong touches at Macao, tiny Portu guese settlement, situated at the mouth The voyage down the river, though tho scenery is flat, is not devoid of interest The water was low, and we had to pro ceed often dead slow, and SO had plenty of time to take stock of the native craft with which the river was thronged, fos large numbers, though, after all, but only an infinitesimal proportion of this densely populated empire know no oth, CT habitation than their boats
 The appearance of the picturesque Chinese junks, with their high stern | posts, the pair of eyes invariably painted f on their bows and laced brown sails, is too well known to merit description. Their appearance of unseaworthiness be- l lies them. They seem able to hold their ! own with any boat of similar size ot foreign make The main portion of the | work on board is performed by women | Poor women! The beasts of burden of the eastl But the men work the guns, which are their main defense against | the pirates, with which the coast of | China is infested, in spite of every effort made by the authorities to suppress | them and the certainty that death will be the result of their capture. So every junk is armed with cannon, pominally as protection against pirates, but more probably with the object of doing a little business on their own account should opportunity offer, Nopirates mo l tested us however and We reached Ma oao safely in due course, some eight hours after leaving Canton, the only ex- ciyement being in watching the shoal of large white porpoises that stuck to the ship for miles and raced along with her. keeping up without any apparent effort q ? good knots an hour
 Macao belongs to the Portuguese, but does not appear to be in very flourish ing condition, though little is done in the tea trade. The chief source of income is derived from the heavy duty paid by the gambling tables, with which the lit. tie town is plentifully supplied and which have gained for 1t the sobriquet of the "bIente Carlo of the East !"
 The game played is fantan, simple one but, like all other games of the same class, with considerable odds against the player The method of play is as follows: In the center of the table one large square is divided into four small ones. The players are seated around, and stake to any amount on any numbar or combination of two numbers they like. Tle oroupier, while the stalk. ing j. going 0n, takes handful of Chi nesc cash tbrass coins with a hole in ths centerl and places them on the table un- der a wooden saucer When all the stakes arc down, the croupier lifts the saucer, takes Chopsticil aud counts out the cash by inserting the end of tho chopsticl1 into the hole in the cash and drawing them toward him. The markers are counted into heaps of four and placed on one side, til, at last, there is a remainder of one, two, three or four, which ever it may happen to be. This is declared the winning number, and play CTS who have backed it are paid three times their original stakes, less l2 per cent, which goes to the table. When backing d combination of two numbers, tho amount paid to the winner is of course propoltionately less. We in duty bound paid visit to the tables and tried our luck and were fortunate iii that after two nights play we came of win ners If $3 tAleXieanl, instead of being heavy losers, as is generally the ease with travellers But, as q matter of fact, we did not go to gamble, but rather to study the players.
 They were well worth studying, for the faces of some of the players l shall never forget The old croupier alone was worth going a considerable distance to watch Stolid and emotionless, even for q Chinaman, he had i face like mask, face that gave one the impression that it never had changed and never would change, even in death.
 It was peculiarly striking face and did not belle the character of tho man, for I do not suppose there could have been found any one more stoically in- different to what was going on around him Yet there were among those pres ent many to whom the remainder, after the count of each pile, might mean aifluence or a return to a life of slavery Tho Chinaman is born gambler. He will make his modest pile by work, the severity of which, ill many cases, men of no other nation could endure. Then he will bring the whole of it to the gambling tables and risk it without any more apparent concern than a Wander bilt would show in rislling $5 note
 Wenoticed several of these misguided creatures, who looked as if they did not possess cents in tho world, plank down their S200 or $500, lose it and leave the room as if nothing out of the way had happened. We did not, however, sec any of the highest play The Chinaman, like all gamblers, is intensely supersti tious and considers it unluclSy to play in the presence of the hated European. A gallery runs round the room, and those who prefer it can sit there and back the number of their choice from above by letting down their stakes in Q small basket and drawing up their win niugs in the same manner Exchange.
 Very Fastidious.
 He had thrown himself at the feet of the girl he loved, and on pended knees he pleaded his cause.
 "Mill von be my wifeso he rrged pas