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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



a boatman of rare skill. J lis favorite sports are boat-races, tennis, and 

 shuttle-cock, to the last of which adults devote themselves with great 

 zest. The shuttle-cock, which is thrown by the toe, often passes from 

 one pair to another fifteen or twenty times without touching the 

 ground. These games of skill are, however, second in favor to the 

 games of chance, of which bacoing and the game of the twenty-six 



Stieno Savage, Cochin China. 



animals are the chief. The former game is common to all the extreme 

 East, and even numbers many Europeans among its votaries. The 

 game of animals is more peculiarly Cambodian. It is a lottery, in 

 which the numbers are represented by animals ; and these give it life 

 and touch the fancy of the players in a thousand ways. Roulette- 

 players are sometimes struck by a particular number, and put a great 

 deal of trust in it. How much more should an animal enlist their 

 confidence ! Its appearance, its voice, the direction of its course, are 

 precious signs to the Cambodian player ; and as he is, moreover, super- 

 stitious and frequently idle, it is easy to see how prominent a place 

 these fascinating diversions occupy in his mind. 



