878 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



tlie opening of the game each player places six men in tlie oenter of 

 the six squares at his side of the board. The latter usually consists of 

 a slab of stone pecked with the diagram (tig. 187). The men consist of 

 disks of pottery about 1 inch in diameter, made from broken vessels, 

 those upon one side being distinguished by being perforated with a 

 small hole, while those of the other side are plain. The object of the 

 game is to cross over and take the opponent's jdace, capturing as many 

 men as possible by the way. The moves are made one square at a time 

 along the diagonal lines, the pieces being placed at the points of inter- 

 section. When a player gets one of his opponent's pieces between two 

 of his own it may be taken, and the first piece thus captured may 

 be replaced by a seventh man, called the "Priest of the Bow/' which 



A 



Fig. 188. 



POTTERY DISKS USED AS MEN IN GAMES. 



Diameters, ]J, 1, and IJ inclies. 

 Cliff dwellings, Mancos Canyon, Colorado. 



Cat. Nos. 53556-2355H, Museum of Archaeology, Universily of Pennsylvania. 



may move both on the diagonal lines and on those at right angles. A 

 piece may not be moved backward. When four persons play, those on 

 the Xorth and West play against those on the South and East. 



VOCABULARY. 



The board, A te a Ian e, "stone plain." 



The straight lines, a ktvi ire, "Canyons," or " orroyas." 



The diagonal lines, 6 na we, "trails." 



The ordinary men, A un thlah na kive. 



The seventh piece, Pi-thlan shi-wani (Mosond), "Priest of the Bow." 



The latter piece bj^ power of magic is enabled to cross the canyons. 

 The game is commonly played upon housetops, which are often found 

 marked with the diagram. The game, or something similar to it, 

 was widely distributed among the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, 

 as is shown by the numerous pottery disks, which were used for it 



