PASTIMES WHICH DEFY THE LAW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2318, 4 August 1898, Page 50

PASTIMES WHICH DEFY THE LAW.

I There are lots of pastimes keenly follov ed in this country which are supposed to be put down by law, but which the utmost vigilance of the police fails to suppress. Wherever comparatively large bodies of men are thrown together, as for instance those employed in a coal mine or a factory, a*iJ such coal mine or factory is situated in some rural district far removed from the hubbub of the big towns, there you will find illicit sports and pastimes followed which are never dreamed of in other parts. It is no exaggeration to say that certain of the inhabitants of the wild moorland and mining districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, villages only about ten or a dozen miles from tho great hives of industry of the two counties, spend their whole leisure and Slid their sole amusement in sports which are more or less unlawful. Vefj few, indeed, of these sturdy miiiers but what follow regularly such gentle and improving pjstimcs as poaching, gambling, game-snatching, and prize-fight-ing. Cock-fighting even ib by no means the extinct pastime it is commonly supposed to be The average miner is alwaj's something . a sportsman, and sport he will have at all id-l* He loves grouse shooting, but to indulge in it he does not. rent a grouse moor, mr hire men to drive the game; it is questk liable whether he even t<>kes the trouble to puicli'ise a gun license; but -whenever there is ;> shooting paily on the moors he is sure to be there, gun in hand. He is what is termed a " bye-shooter," and during the driving of the game he takes up hn stand on some commanding spot near the cd^e of the moor, and every stray bird which comes in his way is sure to be brought down by his unerring aim. Each bird is safely hidden in the heather the moment it falls. He his to keep his eyes and his wits about him, for the crack of his gun is bound to betray his whereabouts ; but from his position he has early warning of the approach of anyone likely to interfere with him. It is ft bad day's sport when he has not " bagged " three or four brace, and at nightfall he steals on to the moor, collects his birds, and they are on sale the next morning at a dealer's, who will give him eight or ten shillings for the lot, well knowing how they have been obtained. I Gambling, too, is a vice which is terribly prevalent on the wild uplands. In spite of

the utmost vigilance of the police, largely attended gambling " schools " are held on the moors Sunday after Sunday, and to show the extent to which these places are frequented, only a few months ago a large force of pLiinclothes police raided one of the most famous of the '" schools,"' and surprised over 300 men round a ring, busily wagering on the spin of the coin as if their whole existence depended on it. Fines and imprisonment only seem to aggravate the evil, for thousands of pounds change hands every week at these moovbnd " schools" alone. Tlio working-man gambler will gamble on anything, and no amount of police vigilance will fetop him. Even the harmless, necessary house-fly is utilised for gambling purposes in a game which is very popular in Yoikshire. " Fly 100 " is the distinctive title it has earned. It is played mostly in publichouses, and the players each place a coin in a ciicle on the table. Flies arc notoriously fond of sugar and beer, and they arc allured by tempting baits of sugar or beer pbced on each com, and the player whose coin is first touched by a fly colljrs all the money on the Id Me. People not familiar wi f h the g<une luve no idea oi the excitement which can be got out of it, for the fly is a very fickle being, and when it looks edds on Ins alighting on one coin, he suddenly turns off at a, tangent and ' drops on another. The red-letter days of theie districts, however, are the occasions on which bire-knuckle [ contents are brought off by rival champions of the manly art. Various, places are arranged for these contests, but Ike most popular venues are in the mines themselves, far ' away from every possible interference. i It is not six weeks since a terrific battle royal was fought in the bowels of the earth, with a sentinel at the pit's mouth. Out of this fight has arisen another, and the men ari at present in strict training for the coin- i inij event, which will, if possible, be brought ' i off iv the same fashion. When the man in | j chsvge of the pit cannot be ".squared," the even" is brought to an issue on some quiet j secluded spot on the moors at daybreak, • long be foi c ordinary people are awake. J The determination of these men to indulge < in their sport knows no bounds. Not very ' ! long ago two champion " bruiser*. " hud been matched to fight, but the foreman of the pit ' could not be squared to allow the event to come olx. B-'df a mile up the valley, however, theie was a mine which had been' abandoned only the week before, and the machinery had j no', been taken away. The backers of ihe ! two fighters broke into the premises on the j Sunday, got s-team up ready to set the en- j gine going, and early the following morning | the whole party descended into the bowols j j of the c-irih, and after a battle luting over J three hours the event wos brought to j-sspc. ! Vague rumours do of course get to t he cars j of the police sometimes, ond the combatants ' i themselves naturally show evidences of the i hammerings they have received, but the j authorities seem to be powerless to present them, for a pit shaft can (wared v bo described • j as \Vxi-i of His beat of a police officer. I ! For a little chance, or -tthen there is a ' dearth of " bruisers," which certainly is nob often, a cockfight or two will be armnged to I meet the taste of the colliers. The" birds I employed are the gawie*t which can bs ob- ! | lamed, and the spectators will wager on the I result to their last farthing. j ]f the<e rnde spoits and pastimes were ! stri r tlv liwful. it is safe to say they would prob.iWv not be followed by one half the ! zest with which they are to-day, for it is the I daring evasion of the law which coi.f-titules i nine-tenths of the elnrm of breaking it.