690 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



The following account of the game is given by the collector :i 



The dice game is called ia-ii seta Una (literally, "striking" or " throwing against" 

 something) bj' the Arapaho, and Moushimiinh Ity the Cheyenne, the same name being 

 now given to the modern card games. It was practically nuiversal among all the tribes 

 east and west, and, under the name of hubbub, is described by a New England writer* 

 as far back as 1634 almost precisely as it exists to-day among the prairie tribes. 

 The only difference seems to have been that in the east it was played also by the 

 men, and to the accompaniment of a song, such as is used in the hand games of the 

 Western tribes. The requisites are a small wicker bowl or basket {hat e chi na), five 

 dice made of bone or plum stones, and a pile of tally sticks, such as are used in the 

 awl o-ame. The bowl is 6 or 8 inches in diameter and about 2 inches deep, and is woven 

 in basket fashion of the tough fibers of the yucca. The dice may be round, elliptical, 

 or diamond-shaped, and are variously marked on one side with lines or figures, the 

 turtle being a favorite design among the Arapaho. Two of the five must be alike in 

 shape and marking. The other three are marked with another design and may also 

 be of another shape. Any number of women and girls may play, each throwing in 

 turn, and sometimes one set of partners playing against another. The partners toss 

 up the dice from the basket, letting them drop again into it, and score points accord- 

 ing to the way the dice turn up in the basket. The first throw by each player is 

 made from the hand instead of from the basket. One hundred jioints usually count 

 a game, and stakes are wagered on the result as in almost every other Indian contest 

 of skill or chance. For the purpose of explanation we shall designate two of the 

 five as "rounds" and the other three as "diamonds," it being understood that only 

 the marked side counts in the game, excepting when the throw happens to turn up 

 the three "diamonds" blank while the other two show the marked side, or, as some- 

 times happens, when all five dice turn up blank. In every case all of one kind at 

 least unist turn up to score a point. A successful throw entitles the player to 

 another throw, while a failure obliges her to pass the basket to someone else. The 

 formula is : 



1 only of either kind . =0 



2 rounds = 3 



3 diamonds (both rounds with blank side up) =3 



3 diamonds blank (both rounds with marked side up) = 3 



4 marked side up = 1 



5 (all) blank sides up =1 

 5 (all) marked sides up = 8 



A game similar in principle, but played with six dice instead of five, is also played 

 by the Arapaho women, as well as by those of the Comanche and probably also of 

 other tribes. 



Arapaho. Indian Territory. (Oat. No. 165765, U.S.N.M.) 



Set of five bone dice marked on convex side with burned designs 

 (fig. 10), and much worn basket of woven grass 10 inches in diameter 

 at top and 2 inches deep (fig. 11). Collected by H. E. Voth. 



Arapaho. Indian Territory. (Cat. No. 165765fl, U.S.N.M.) 



Set of five wooden dice, marked on one side with burned designs 

 (fig. 12), representing on three a swallow or swallow hawk, and on two a 

 dragon-fly. With preceding (Cat. No. 165765). Collected by H. R. Voth. 



' The Ghost Dance religion. Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 

 Washington, 1896, II, p. 1004. 

 * William Wood, New England Prospect, London, 1634. 



