New-York tribune., 1899-07-02

o -, t'ow 80 90
The last two figures of the first prize in the
Rio daily lottery decide what bicho has won
say the first prize at Rio falls to NO. b4,VoI'
then the bchO is "TOuro" or group No. Il
The bankers give you twenty to one against any
crOup The odds at first glance appear 10 De N
favor Of the bank; and as matter OF fact the
bankers make a lot Of money. There IS one
dra awback to the unlimited success on the bank
ers side. there is no limit 10 the stakes So II
4 person begins betting with very small sum-
he can continue betting until the particular
group he chooses turns up. OF course. he must
continue to bet on the same group every day'
and after nineteen days must increase ms STAKE
II the group comes up within nineteen days ne
loses nothing or gains according 10 Ile IlIIIC H0
has been betting.
WONDERFUL POPULARITY
Some Of the bichos do not come out for
rnonths-the peacock" did not come up once
for nearly five months; and small calculation
will prove that a long purse is necessary very
often The "jacare" on the. other hand, comes
up frequently. and often appears two days run
ming. The popularity Of this kind OF gambling
is almost incredible. From the highest 10 tne
lowest a large majority buy tickets every day
The people Of Brazil are superstltlous ana
well-educated people will back condolences.
I have known cases Of people who nave gwen
the correct group day after day; TWO cases
know personally. Strange 10 say IN both these
cases the prophets were given money Tor luck
by people who hacked their tips. and inyarlaDly
lost it, good dreamer will often dream the
Of are not talked about. There are many strange
stories Of winnings and losses. Not very long
ago a sorrowful family had assembled 10 bid
farewell to a dying old man. II is stated Serl-
oIslv that ne told every one present 10 puy
"iacarY,' at once. He died almost Immediately
after and it is a fact that group No. ID came up
that daV \ young fellow came 10 town very
excited one morning. He had dreamt that ne
cav = donkey walking along the roof Of his
house The cat came up that day. ana ne
lost heavily over the donkey; but he told
every one he met that he was the donkey not 20
have known that cat was almost the ohy
bicho on the list that could walk along root
The whole affair is. Of course. very demoralH-
ing: but the Government has been uhaDle 10
cope with the evil Agents meet YOU at sreet
corners. and all the small general stores sci.
tickets The bankers give n commission OF
from 10 70 ~ per cent 10 their ag nts; and the
money is so easily earned that IL IS almost
bonalees 10 trv TO nut an end to the game. In
some cases il is said that bribery VIII insure
the saf " Of n banker: and unioIotady a 'ot
Of bribery goes on in connection with the game
If q banker 0Versteps his limit ana cannot pay
M he merely runs away. and the packers are
lett with uO remedy. This is by no means
rare occurrence. Theft and dshon,s sty are on
the increase among the lower class s. ana are
said 10 be due entirely to the gambling FEVER. .
To towns at a distance from RIO the result
l. talreraphed as soon "a known. and doOut
the time the telegram is expected crowd 1l
agents collects in the streets outside the caDle
offices In one town have seen the approaches
to the telegraph Office cleared by the ponce "iln
had Ice summoned 10 get rld Oh I'M 'po''
ton Every one hastens TO learn the result,
and in a very short time the news spreads ny
word Of mouth and telephone all over the town
Al nearly every railway station on the dIfereh~
railUays agents arrive to receive teleSratns
. r., utaining the result to try 10 ind out what
il is The evening trains from town are be-
sieged by country people. especially small boys
10 hear the correct result.
DIFFICULT TO STOP
Tb. bicho game seems to have taken hod
Of the Dcople as the rain gambling did N
India and doubt II IL will ever he stamped out
In Brazil there is one lottery every day, except
inc SUNDAYS and holidays often there are TWO
Iotterics on the same day: and in most towns
tn. races take place on Sundays ana holidays
Gambling goes in every form. and the en-
trance tickets To the racecOurses are often
numbered and lottery is drawn during the
afternoon for the people who have purchastd
them With such a state Of things going on
every day and all day long. the government
will have q big task if ii tries seriously to stop
the bicho game. Almost daily you may near
excited auarreng over the group that Is GER
tain to come up" and the reasons are invariably
! given why the cat the elephant must
come up that day These reasons, although, or
course childish and absurd. are debated splemnly
nv people who should know better. An Eng
! Iishman one day backed the ''vacca' because
! no had awakened in the morning 10 hnd ne had
| kicked off all his bedclOthes. and so thought w
would win The group that came up was
! "urso " and he still declares that he got the up
] To back the bear" but did not read II rightIy.