Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-06-02
Chinese Gather in New York on
Sunday to Enjoy Sport.
Two Small Insects Are Dropped in
Porcelain Bowl and Bets Are
Made on All Sorts of Chances
Flight to Death.

New York.-How Gung at your Chi
person in the world, but on Sunday
morning at about four o'clock he is
changed How Gung.
How Gung is dressed in his best
and he is smoking his fortieth cigar
cite in low, dirty room blue with
the smoke of many hundred other
cigarettes that have been smoked All
flow Gung's fellows are there with
him, and they're all gathered around
a little table.
Two two-inch beetles are fighting
for their individual lives in a porce-
lain bowl placed in the center of the
table. One Of the beetles has white
dot on his wing case. The other has
spot of blue The Chinese have
wagered their money on white or on
blue, as fancy or appearance of the
contestants may have decided.
The proprietor previous to the COM
mencement of the fight exhibits his
two bits Of live stock to the frequent
ers. One of them tries out the man.
bibles of the favorite, letting him
pinch his finger with them, to Judge
his probable fighting strength. The
dialogue is high pitched, nasal and
noisy, and 1t looks as though fight
were going to start at any moment
But they're only making their bets
as things are being made ready for
the big fight in the porcelain bowl.
The proprietor drops the two
beetles into the bowl. Lights are
brought close around on the table
and the gang crowd and jostle each
other to get good view Of what is
going on. The two beetles make
preliminary laundering circle around
each other, clumsily clashing their
mandibles.
Suddenly white dashes in at blue.
Ahe Chinese stand like statues.
White has rushed at blue with wide
open mandibles. Blues mandibles
are open too. They interlock and
soon are pulling against each other
The six legs of each contestant slip
little on the smooth, white porce-
lain. The effort is to turn an op-
ponent over on his back, for he
would then be helpless, and the con-
testants are striving in sort Of
wrestling match.
The clamor starts again. Side bets
are placed on all sort of possibilities.
Will the fight last an hour? A bet
Is posted and covered Will white
let go within five minutes? There is
another bet.
Suddenly the whole punched crowd
quivers with excitement. Blue has
suddenly broken away from white, and
there is little chip off the inner
edge of his mandible where whites
mandible has sawed it. Blue is act
I've now. He isn't clumsy any more.
He backs up the sloping side of the
bowl. all his little legs going like
lightning.
Soon white has lost his strongest
leg on the left side, and blue has lost
right foot. The beetles grind their
mandibles and scrape and tinkle on
the porcelain arena White tries to
get at an angle with blue to make up
The loss. The Chinese look on in tense
excitement, commenting loudly from
moment to- moment, and posting up
al kinds of side bets; for there Is an
interchange of money going on now.
White Isn't downed by any means.
even II he is wounded He can live
Ior days in perfect vacuum If need
oe, and the loss of air doesn't appear
g hurt him. He rushes at blue, fresh
and clipper. for all that can be seen.
me fight is on once more.
We're not really interested in the
nght SO much as we are interested in
4 TOW Chung. How Chung is living his