188 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINGS 



resembling a village feeing fair at home. At the outskirts 

 we came on small booths for the sale of eatables, fruits, and 

 sweetmeats; but everywhere else each little crowd had in 

 its nucleus a gaming-table of some sort. First favourite was 

 a stall where a mat spread on the ground was marked off into 

 various denominations of staking, odd or even, and on any 

 number up to five. Its presiding genius, with a countenance 

 as stolid as the most approved banker at a roulette table, 

 squatted on the ground with a saucer before him, on which 

 he twirled the fatal teetotum, and with a most professional 

 air covered it up with half a cocoa-nut shell so that it 

 might run fair. When the " gentlemen " had all done staking, 

 he lifted the lid with a flourish, declared the fates, paid 

 his losses, and gathered in his little pile of gains, without 

 moving a muscle of his face. He was a Palem anger, this 

 sedate banker, with a sharp eye and a cruel expression of 

 countenance, and, having learned wisdom, doubtless, among 

 the comers and goers of that great commercial centre, he had 

 come up the water to operate on the simple natives here. His 

 stall was constantly surrounded by an eager crowd of patrons, 

 ranging in age from eight years to forty harvests, who staked 

 with untiring zeal various sums, from the two-fifths part of a 

 penny up to two or three, shillings, brames of chance of a 

 like nature were going on in all directions ; but I moved on to 

 witness the heroic sport — the noble and national game of the 

 country — Nyabung, or cock-fighting. 



The cock-pit, or Galanggan, was a large enclosure some 

 twenty feet square, railed in by stakes twelve to fourteen feet 

 high, sufficiently far apart to enable those outside to see all 

 that went on within. The cocks about to fight were handed 

 over to the care of two officials, whose office is to direct affairs 

 in the ring. By them were attached with scrupulous care long 

 double-edged steel spurs, sharp as lances. As soon as the 

 sound of the bedoog announced that this arena was to be 

 occupied again, all other sports were instantly deserted, and the 

 crowd pressed round the Galanggan. The cocks were brought 

 into the ring by the proper officials, each holding his bird 

 carefully with its leg armatures sheathed. Into this enclosure 

 no one but the officials, the owners, and some favourite few 

 were admitted. The two cocks were then held up before each 



