Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-10
QUESTION AT ISSUE
Who Shall Control the Game of Thir-
ty-Siz Beasts.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO ROULETTE
Secret of the Kick of the Prince of
Cambodia.
A NATION OF GAMBLE RS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
PARIS. October 30, 1900.
You can put your money on the coral in
sect on the mouse, the cat. the horse, the
lion. the peacock, the goose, the oyster
the carp, the spider, the snake, the lobster,
the rooster. the turtle, the barbot the eel,
the elephant, the dog, the pigeon, the bat,
the buffalo, the tiger, the fox, the rabbit,
the thousand-leg, the reindeer, the she-goat,
the gambler, the wildcat, the crane, the
dragon the magpe, the frog. the monkey,
the butterfly or the pagodas. IL is The game
of the thirty-siX beasts. and one CT them
wins each time. There are no blanks or
zeroes, no eagle birds or splits or any kind
of bankers rake-off!'
This is the explanation of the game that
has so upset the French foreign office,
given to me with charming simplicity by
the prettiest of the poutias, lansuiShng
Cambodian dancing girls of the Tour du
Monde Palace. Throughput the exhibition
time this CambOdian troupe was noted Ior
its turbulent animation. m nsel with iapseS
into laSstude and untlatternS Indifference
to the admiration of visitors. Seated or
sprawing in a Cambodian stage setting OF
oriental luXurianCe, aga nSt background
of temple groves and pagOdaS. they nVei
their Cambodian life sutiiC ent TO them
selves. while their neXt-doOr n2sShborS, up
tO-Odle anu H1lS JdpdiIE-c fIliS, bpN'IS
made eyes at all and sundry. And, tc he
truthful. the Cambodidn life appeared to
turn on the varying identity of these same
thirty-six beasts, as announced TO me
troupe by their elected ''presiGeni' Of The
hour. The president would secretly draw
conventional picture Of the winning beast,
| fold it into an envelope and seal t. Eacn
| player. selecting a beast, )'lii pay MS
money to the banker-n1t the president
and receive in return card with The beasts
| picture on it.
| When all bets were In then came the
| drawing The president with Solemnity,
tied the fateful envelope to tree branch
| of the stage scenery, so that it hung by
string two feet long. The troupe would
| watch it solemnly-sometimes full half
| Mountaineering crowds OF gaping qleS-
| tioning visitors, who got no satisfaction of
their curiosity until the agreed-on signal
| sounded. Then there was rush, and the
| nimb. est oftenest one of the ladies, would
jump up and snatch the envelope and open
| it, announcing the winner AS there We're
| thirty-siX beasts the winner-When there
was a winner-received from the banker
| thirty-siX times his bet. But there were
| only ten persons in the troupe 1t often hap
pened that the beast selected by the presi-
dent was. not found in the choice of any Of
| them. Then the bank won.
They INDUCED in this diversion all the
| day, more or less and all the days through
out their six months exile In the Palace of
the Tour du Monde; and they admitted that
| this Sporty way of passing time present
| ed, in miniature, a faithful picture of the
ideal life of the Cambodian people. THE
| poor man works in order to get money to
gamble" they say, "otherwise why should
he work? He may get rich by gambling:
but he will never get rich by working 1t
is their simple philosophy.
| The Game of CambOdin.
| The Cambodians are a sporting race. The
game of the thirty-six beasts is their unique
| gamble, protected-farmed out-by the old
King Norodom himself: and its universal
playing by population Of millions has de-
veloped certain problems interesting alike
to the psychologist and the sporting man.
| For 3 600 years. they say, Cambodia has
gambled OF recent times. however, there
| has been a French protectorate; and this
protectorate. they say again views the
| Cambodian national game with mixed emo
tons Under the pretenSe that 1t amounts
| to nothing less than a gigantic buncoing of
the whole people by the royal family, the
| French resident SUPERIOR first lnterfered
with it and then suppressed 1t.
| There was trouble in Cambodia. The Oh
king Norodom, sulked in his palace. When
the French government invited him TO visit
the great eXhibition-to show to the world
perhaps how well Cambodia and the royal
| family liked the French protectorate-he
declined, pleading urgent state affairs. But
he sent his son and heir, Prince 1ukanthor
to represent him; and it has been this visit
of the enterprising prince that has made
known to the French people the woes OF
Cambodia and the tragedy of the sup
pressed game Of the thirty-six beasts
While seeming to accept the invitation tc
the exhibition as no more than prncely
junketing, Iukanthor made it up with his
father that, while in Paris. he should, al
unexpectedly, spring a mighty protes'
against the "abuses" of the French resi-
dent SUPERIOR, his clerks and underlings
and all their train, all rank carpetbaggers
saws Prince Iukanthor.
The cable has told how the young prince
made his protest. At first it looked as If HI
had got himself into grave difticuiues. His
| father cable HIM to come home, and dis
claimed participation in his efforts. Thu
French foreign office told him that the tim
had come to take the boat for Cambodia
His passage was engaged. The prince
seemed to acquiesce. Indeed, the loreigI
office thought that they had packed hin
off. But while they were conveying tn
supposed Iukanthor to boat at Marselle
the real Iukanthor had fed to Brussels
| disguised the servant of of hi
French friends. there to keep the campaign
up. II know my fathers mind better thai