CULIN] DICE GAMES: NORRIDGEWOCK 81 
describes the games of the Narraganset as of two sorts—private and 
public. “They have a kind of dice which are plum stones painted, 
which they cast in a tray with a mighty noise and sweating.” He 
gives the following words referring to this game: wunnaugonhom- 
min, to play at dice in their tray; asauanash, the painted plum 
stones which they throw, and puttuckquapuonck, a playing arbor. 
He describes the latter as made of long poles set in the earth, four 
square, 16 or 20 feet high, on which they hang great store of their 
stringed money, having great staking, town against town, and two 
chosen out of the rest by course to play the game at this kind of 
dice in the midst of all their abettors, with great shouting and 
solemnity. He also says: 
The chief gamesters among them much desire to make their gods side with 
them in their games . . . therefore I have seen them keep as a precious 
stone a piece of thunderbolt, which is like unto a crystal, which they dig out of 
the ground under some tree, thunder-smitten, and from this stone they have an 
opinion of success. 
Nirisstnc. Forty miles above Montreal, Quebec. 
Rey. J. A. Cuoq* describes the plum-stone game among this tribe 
under the name of pakesanak, which he says is the usual name given 
to five plum stones, each marked with several dots on one side only. 
Four or five women, squatting around on a blanket, make the stones 
jump about the height of their foreheads, and according to the stones 
falling on one or the other side the fate of the player is decided. Of 
late the game has been improved by using a platter instead of a cover 
(blanket), which caused the name of the game of platter to be given it 
by the whites. 
The name pakesanak is the plural of pakesan, defined as noyau, 
jeu. Dr A. S. Gatschet has kindly given me the following analysis 
of this word: Pake, to fall, to let fall; s, diminutive; an, suffix of 
inanimate nouns. ; 
Norripcewock. Norridgewock, Maine. 
In the dictionary of Father Sebastian Rasles,? a number of words ¢ 
referring to games are defined,’ from which it appears that the 
Norridgewock Indians played a game with a bowl and eight disks 
(ronds), counting with grains. The disks were black on one side 
@ Lexique de la Langue Algonquine, Montreal, 1886. 
* Memoirs American Academy of Arts and Science, n.s., v. 1, Cambridge, 1833. 
ec Je joue avec des ronds blancs d'un coté et noirs de autre, nederakké, v. nedanmké, y. nedasé 
annar. Les ronds, éssé¢ 8anar; les grains, tag8ssak. Les grains du jeu du plat, dicuntur etiam, 
ésséSanar. Lors qu’ils s‘en trouve du nombre de 8,5 blanes et 3 noirs, y. 5 noirs et 3 blanes, 
nebarham, keb, etc. (on ne tire rien); idem fit de 4 blancset 4 noirs. Lors qu’il y ena6d’une 
couleur, et 2 de l'autre, nemes8dam (on tire 4 grains). Lors qu'il y ena7 d'une méme couleur, 
et qu'un de l'autre, nedénedsi (on en tire 10). Lors qu’ils sont tous 8 de méme couleur, n8rihara 
(on entire 20) Nesakasi, je plante un bois dans terre p’r marquer les parties. Je lui gagne une 
partie, je mets un bois p’r, ete., neg8dag8haran. Nedasahamank8, 11 me démarque une partie, 
il 6te un bois, ete. Je joueau plat, nSanradéhama 3. 8an mé. Mets les petits ronds, etc., p8né 
éssé8anar. Nederakébena, je les mets. 
4 Bulletin of the Essex Institute, v. 18, p. 187, Salem, 1886. 
24 ETH—05 M 6 
