142 INDIAN GAMES. 



are neither as accurate nor as reliable as those contained 

 in the Relations. Some of these authors faithfully re- 

 corded what they saw ; others wrote to make books. 

 They difier widely in value as authorities and must be 

 judged upon their individual merits. 



Much of our information concerning the manners and 

 customs of the natives of the Pacific coast is derived from 

 the publications of our national government. The re- 

 ports which are collated in these documents are from a great 

 number of observers and are not uniform in character, 

 but many of them have great value. As a whole, the 

 work was well done and in a scientific manner. 



The narration of the difierent games tells its own story. 

 Lacrosse is found throughout the country ; platter or 

 dice is distributed over an area of equal extent ; chun- 

 kee was a southern and \^estern game ; straws a north- 

 ern game with traces of its existence in the west ; the 

 guessing game was apparently a western game. Every- 

 where, gambling prevailed to the most shocking extent. 



There are writers who seek to reduce the impressions 

 of the extravagance indulged in by tlie Indians at these 

 games. The concurrence of testimony is to the eflect 

 that there Avas no limit to which they would not go. 

 Their last blanket or bead, the clothing on their backs, 

 their wives and children, their own liberty were sometimes 

 hazarded ; and if the chances of the game went against 

 them the penalty was paid with unflinching firmness. 

 The delivery of the wagered wives, Lescarbot tells us, 

 was not always accomplished with ease, but the attempt 

 would be faithfully made and probabl}' was often successful. 

 Self-contained as these people ordinarily were, it is not a 

 matter of surprise that the weaker among them should have 

 been led to these lengths of extravagance, under the high 



