The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-26
GAMES OF CRIMINALS.
Cruel Amusements Described By Pro-
 lessor Lombroso.

Cruel Amusements Described By Pro- lessor Lombroso.
 have obtained from certain prison. CTS description of some games they organize and practice in their houses of correction. Hardly does the surveil-
 lance become little relaxed than all the organisations and precautions be- come useless particularly in those es- tablishments where the prisoners have employment and work. They join to- gether invariably, and always manage | to arm themselves with sharp pointed
 nails, bits of pointed steel, sometimes even with knives-which they conceal | very ingeniously-to utilize at an op- perfume moment, especially in their pastimes. One of their games, and one
 which apepars to me highly character istic is the one which in argot is called the patta One of the players takes in each hand little stick in which is fixed a sharp metal point. He stretches out i his arms, and brings his hands round | within a little space opposite each other The cleverness of the players consists in getting their heads in be- tween the points without being touched. If they do not achieve this, they re- ceive atrocious scratches on the tenn ples and face, and only sometimes leave off the game when they have had fif- teen or sixteen cuts, of which they bear the marks for very long time. In another of their games one of the players with bandaged eyes places the palm of his hand downward on the ta- ble, with the fingers stretched wide apart. The others strike quickly and in succession with the same sharp pointed instrument in the space between the fingers. If, as often happens from the rapidity with which the blows are given, the point enters the fingers, the roles are changed, and woe to him who shirks it. They affirm that at no tune are the wounds deep or severe, because they say the metal points are short ana do not penetrate deeply.
 The game of the wheel" is not less cruel. Twenty or thirty young men range themselves in circle and run round rapidly after each other. one remains outside the circle armed with | a very heavy stick or bit or ron, | with which he tries to strike the run | ners as they accelerate or -dmlnlsh l their pace and by stopping try to avoid | the blows Even the innocent games 1 common to our children assume among them ferocious character.
 One blindfolded as in blind mans
 buff. tries to discover his comrades, armed with a handkerchief in the cor ner of which is tied stone or Wood-
 en ball or piece of iron. even a piece | of hard dried bread. The moment he
 fancies any one is near enough he
 strikes with his utmost strength, some
 times wounding severely with his pro-
 jectile
 It is the same in game called porta
 gallotti, in which the individual blind l folded has to guess who touched him
 and whom he has caught.
 Instead of the usual innocent forfeits
 in the event of mistake, blows on the
 hands are given of so violent nature
 that the services of a doctor have often
 to be called into acquisition to dress
 the swollen and bleeding hands.
 Besides the suffering this punish
 ment necessarily causes Gall for mis- take in a game) it must be remarked
 that the localizaton of the punishment 1 just on the hands that have erred is reminiscence of the primitive state, and
 of the conscience of his own personal ity in which the different members of
 the body were considered more orless as
 acting independently of each other and
 consequently separately; thus being i individually responsible for their acts. 1 and not as though belonging to one united and sole organization.
 Ire game of "cat and mouse" played by our children also assumes among
 these others the form of a very real 1 fight. When the pseudo cat catches
 the mouse he profits by the occasion, and inflicts such severe blows as to 1 draw blood from his companion. In
 another game all but one bend forward
 and the player throws wooden ball
 more often, as previously explained, stone tied up in a handkerchief 1 through the legs of those in front. The | victory is to him who can throw it fur
 thest. and he has the right (of which
 he always avails himself) of punishing those he has vanquished by striking
 them with the stone.
 In the game of scarf cobarile one of
 the players carries another pick-a- back
 on his shoulders and asks him wheth-
 CT he wishes heads or tails. If the un-
 happy one says heads, he is instantly
 dislodged and thrown violently on the
 ground head foremost. In the very in-
 nocent game of skipping rope they
 manage to give themselves severe and
 dangerous injuries, as you can judge
 by the horror with which this game is
 recalled. When the player has thrown
 himself forward to jump over the rope
 held by two comrades, it is violently
 jerked upward, and of course the play ! CT is also thrnNn vinlentlv tn the