Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/267

 down on all fours grabbing after them at the feet of the multitude if they happen to fall there. He manifestly enjoys the sport, often laughing most heartily at the sight of the jumping, scrambling and groveling eagerness of his lords to obtain the limes.

Sometimes the limes are hung on artificial trees called ton Kappapruk—literally, "trees that gratified the desires of men." They are intended to represent the four trees that are to be found in each of the four corners of the city in which the next Buddha is to be born, and which will bear not only money, but seri-leaf, betel-nut, oranges, clothing, gold, diamonds—in short, everything else that man shall need for his comfort under his reign.

Four men ascend the mound in which these trees are planted to pluck the fruit by handfuls and cast them to crowds of men who stand as compacted as it would seem possible for them to live. Every throw is instantly followed by a universal shout from the multitude and a rush for the prize. And then they surge hither and thither like a forest swayed by a mighty wind. The writer thinks he has seen ten thousand men engaged at one time in this kind of sport. It takes but about fifteen minutes to pluck all the fruit from these trees, and then the game is over. It is a rare thing for a man to catch more than two or three limes.