142 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS _ [27u. ann. 24 
The game is played on the clay floors of houses, usually at night by light of 
the fire. The ground is swept clean and 15 grains of corn are placed in a 
straight line, 13 to 2 inches apart, forming eplix chet, all their places, the 14 
spaces between these grains being the board for play. 
Four flat-sided grains of corn are selected for dice, and are prepared by dig- 
ging out with the thumbnail the eye on one side of each grain and either rub- 
bing charcoal in or applying the live end of a glowing stick to the hollow, 
resulting in each of the four grains, or dice, having a black spot on one side. 
This operation is called tsep, to mark, ké ru xam, put to the face of the fire, 
or ké kek sa ix naj ru, put black in the face of his face. The black-spotted side 
of the dice is called ru bool, face of the dice, and the blank side rit bool, bottom 
of the dice. 
The board and the dice being ready, players select their counters, five for 
each. Any small articles will do, but preference is shown for five similar twigs, 
leaf stems, or split sticks, or different lengths and kinds of these. Fragments 
of leaves of different colors or structure are often used, and where there are 
many players bits of grass, muslin, or paper; even thread is pressed into service. 
Players, any even number, squat around the line of corn, and one of them, 
taking the four dice in his hand, throws them lightly on the ground, calling the 
number of black spots, ru bool, showing as they lie. It may be one, two, three, 
four, or, in case of all blanks, rit bool, five. He plays in a counter to the value 
of his throw starting from the right end of the line of corn, then throws again 
and plays farther in; thus, if his first is two and the second five he would 
leave his counter in the seventh chet, or space, from the right of the board. 
He is followed by an opponent who plays in from the opposite, or left, end of 
the board. Then, in turn, a partner (guchben) of the first and a partner of 
the second player enter, continuing alternately, each throwing twice, entering 
each at the proper end of the board, until both have played and it is the turn 
of the first player, who continues the advance of his counter from its position 
in the seventh space, with the object of ultimately completing his passage of 
the line. If this is accomplished without taking an adversary or being taken 
by him he enters again at his own end of the board, exactly as if the board 
were continuous. 
But it is the hope of every player to fall into the space occupied by the 
counter of an adversary and so take him (xin ket, I struck, or xin chop, I 
caught). In this case he plays backward toward his entering point and passes 
out, carrying his captive (ix kam, he is dead). 
If he passes out safely without meanwhile being retaken by one of his op- 
ponents, the captured counter is retained (ix guak, he is eaten), but his own 
counter, the captor, is entered again as before. But if he is retaken before 
passing out, both himself and his captive become the prey of the new captor and 
are carried by him in the opposite direction. He in his turn may be taken, 
losing himself and all his prey. Sometimes this taking and retaking continues 
until the accumulated counters number 6 or 8, the excitement of players in- 
creasing until it is a wonderful sight to look upon in the half light of the fire. 
All crowded together and moving ceaselessly in a curiously animal way, no 
muscle or feature at rest. Some are pawing with their hands, some stretching 
back like cats about to spring, or leaping for an instant upright, but all scream- 
ing comments or calling throws in voices entirely unrecognizable. At last the 
disputed counters are carried out at one end or the other. They are at once 
separated, those belonging to partners of the winner of them are returned to 
their owners, who enter them again (tex yolé bi chik, they are living again), 
while those belonging to the opposing side are put into a hat or some receptacle 
(lix naj kaminak, there place the dead, or, rotxotx kaminak, house of the dead). 
