114 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS _ [ETH. ann. 24 
amount won. Thus, if four were playing independently and, after the beans 
were distributed among them in the progress of the game, one of them should 
turn the buttons up all black or all white, the other three would be obliged to 
pay him 20 each; but if the beans were still in bank, he took up but 20. The 
deer buttons were of the same size. In the figure [116] they were represented 
at different angles. 
An ancient and favorite game? of the Iroquois, gus-kii’-eh, was played with a 
bowl and peach-stones. It was always a betting game, in which the people 
Fic. 117. Bowl for dice; Seneca Indians, New York; from Morgan. 
divided by tribes. By established custom, it was introduced as the concluding 
exercise on the last day of the Green Corn and the Harvest festivals, and also of 
the New Year’s jubilee. Its introduction among them is ascribed to the first To- 
do di’ ho, who flourished at the formation of the League. A popular belief pre- 
vailed that this game would be enjoyed by them in the future life—in the realm 
of the Great Spirit—which is perhaps but an extravagant way of expressing 
their admiration for the game. A dish, about a foot in diameter at the base, was 
carved out of a knot or made of earthen. Six peach stones were then ground or 
cut down into an oval form, re- 
ducing them in the process about 
half in size, after which the 
heart of the pit was removed and 
the stones themselves were 
burned upon one side to blacken 
them. The above representation 
[figures 118, 117] will exhibit 
both the bowl and the peach 
stones, the latter being drawn in 
different positions to show the 
degree of their convexity. 
Fic. 118. Peach-stone dice; Seneca Indians, New It was a very simple game, de- 
York; from Morgan. pending, in part, upon the dex- 
terity of the player, but more upon his good fortune. The peach stones were 
shaken in the bowl by the player, the count depending upon the number which 
came up of one color after they had ceased rolling in the dish. It was played in 
the public council house by a succession of players, two at a time, under the super- 
vision of managers appointed to represent the two parties and to conduct the con- 
test. Its length depended somewhat upon the number of beans which made the 
bank—usually 100—the victory being gained by the side which finally won them 
all. 
A platform was erected a few feet from the floor and spread with blankets. 
«League of the Iroquois, p. 307, Rochester, 1851. 
