In Rio last week an aged Negro named Jacaranda decided to run for Congress. His program: legalization of Brazil's favorite gambling pastime, the jogo do bicho (animal game).
Originator of the jogo do bicho was one Baron Drummond, a bluff, bawdy, Brazilian-born Englishman, to whom Emperor Dom Pedro II gave a title and the concession to the Rio zoo. To popularize the zoo, the Baron encouraged visitors to guess the identity of an animal concealed behind a curtain, paid off to winners. In time the guessing game became a tremendously popular numbers game, with different numbers for 25 Brazilian beasts.
The gambling...
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