The Opelousas courier., 1897-10-16
FIGHTING FISH OF SIAM.
Queer Piscatorial Contests on Which ehs
Natives Gamble.

Queer Piscatorial Contests on Which ths
Natives Gamble
Next to the far-famed tree-climbing
fish peculiar to portions ofSouth Amer
lea, [ have failed to discover that the
habitable waters hold denizen much
more remarkable than the fighting fish
Of Siam: The Siamese are notorious
gamblers. I. their innocent, prattl-
ing, ''fond," simple way, they will
stake their little all upon their %fayorite
wrestler, their favorite juggler, their
most admired cock, and eve upon
their choicest champion of the fnny
tribe. For these Fighting fish" are
no myth, and [ am writing of some
thing that | have seen with my own
eyes.
Walking quietly on the streets Of
Bangkok one afternoon, when the
tropic sun was beginning to wane,
and the shorn priests were beginning
their weird invocations to Buddha i'll
the watts of that extraordinary and
malodorous city, I was aware Of a
great connection in the near distance.
Natives were running about, shouting
excitedly in the siamese lingo, and
generally conveying the impression
that something out Of the ordinary
was in process of being.
"3vhat's the matter 2" I inquired.
1.-The fighting fish |! The fighting
fish !" replied several excited voices.
AS i%ncredulous as might be, [ took
the direction indicated aud forced my
way through a smallthrong of natives,
oil talking and gesticulating their fast
est, but still r~eligiously chewing land
when are they not p the inevitable
and unpleasant betel-nut. What a
scene it was, to be sure AS soon as
I could get neal enough to see any
thing "detinite," I perceived that the
centre of attraction was q huge bowl
three parts full of water, the surface
OF which was at that moment churned
into q veritable foam streaked with
blood. In addition to the water, the
bowl containe1~several fish, about the
size of ordinary English river-ish,
and of much the same appearance,
save as regards the gills, which looked
particularly ferocious and warlike. In
all save this the combatants might at
first sight have been mistaken for the
perch, roach, o small pike Of our own
rivers, Or SO it appeared to me They
were lighting" in every different way
known to the smaller fish-savagely
biting, flashing about them with their
tails, and losing no opportunity of
using their sharp, knife-like fins.
Anon o fish would turn over and over,
the curdled water would take a still
ruddier tinge, and the beaten enemy
would roll over on his back or side
dead.
The excited onlookers never paused
one moment either as regarded the
babel Of their raised voices, the pan
tomime Of their gesticulation, or the
quantities of atta-as the copper COIN
age of the country is called-which
they were stalking upon the fishes of
their fancy, Such as had not the
coin employed cowrie shells,
being the original currency of
Siam, still find favor with the masses,
and are recognized as legal tender.
What a race of gamblers this people is!
believe they would part with their
,oulless souls (but for fear Of the Bud
for the chance of "a quiet gam
Die" upon something or somebody. It
s a species of mania which we in the
West cannot anDrOach
[ never waited for the final result of
he fish fight, but walked away, though
he hoarse shouts and cries of the
gamblers fingered in my ears for many
hundred yards. It would be interest
ng to know whether the explanation
s q trace enmity" between the fish
themselves =; but if it is not, what can
oe the explanation In any case, it
s a curious spectacle to European
yes, and one not without a semi
avage interest of it's own. Look for
t beyond the borders of the Land of
he White Elephant and you will find
t not. These fighting fish make ex-
eating.-St. Paul's Magazine.