174 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS _ [ern. Ann. 24 
devoted to gambling in various ways, and such is their infatuation that it is 
the cause of much distress and poverty in families. For this reason the name 
of being a desperate gambler forms a great obstacle in the way of a young man 
getting a wife. Many quarrels arise among them from this source, and we are 
well acquainted with an Indian who a few years since killed another because 
after winning all he had he refused to put up his wife to be played for. Every 
day and night in the soldier’s lodge not occupied by business matters presents 
States National Museum. 
gambling in various ways all the time; also in many private lodges the song of 
hand gambling and the rattle of the bowl dice can be heard. 
Women are as much addicted to the practice as men, though their games are 
different, and not being in possession of much property their losses, although 
considerable to them, are not so distressing. The principal game played by men 
is that of the bowl, or cosso6, which is a bowl made of wood with flat bottom 
1 foot in diameter or less, the rim turned up about 2 inches, and highly polished 
inside and out. A drawing and a description of the arithmetical principles of 
this game is now attached in this place. The manner of counting therein men- 
tioned is the manner in which we learned it 
from the Indians, but the value of each of the 
articles composing the dice can be and is 
changed sometimes in default of some of them 
being lost, and again by agreement among 
the players in order to lengthen or shorten 
the game or facilitate the counting. How- 
ever, the best and most experienced hands 
play it as it is represented. It can be played 
between two or four; that is, either one on 
each side or two against two. The game has 
no limit unless it is so agreed in the com- 
mencement, but this is seldom done, it being 
usually understood that the players continue 
Fic. 223. Bowl game; Assiniboin In-  ynti] one party is completely ruined. 
dians, Montana; from sketch by The dice and their counts [figure 223] are 
Edwin T. Denig. e 
as follows: One large crow’s claw, red on one 
side and black on the other, being the only one that will occasionally stand on 
end, in which case 25 for it is counted, besides its value of 5 when on its side; 
four small crow’s claws, painted the same as the large one, which count 5 
each if the red side turns up; if the black, nothing; five plum stones, black 
on one side and scraped white on the other, the black sides turned up yal- 
ued at 4 each, the white sides nothing; five small round pieces of blue 
china, one-half inch in diameter, which count 3 each for the blue side, for the 
white side nothing; five vest buttons, the eyes filed off, the eye side turned up 
counts 2 each, the smooth side nothing; five heads of brass tacks, the concave 
side turning up counts 1 each, the convex side nothing. | 
