176 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS  [x7TH. ann. 24 
nings. Now, if A again wins he only retains the gun, and the whole of the rest 
of the property won by A returns to B, but he is obliged to stake it all against 
his gun in possession of A, and play again. If A wins the second time he 
retains the whole, and B now puts up his horse against all of A’s winnings, 
including the gun. If A wins he retains only the horse, and the gun and every- 
thing else revert again to B, he being obliged to stake them again against the 
horse in A’s possession. If A wins this time, he keeps the whole, but if B wins 
he only gets back the horse and gun, and all the rest of the property goes to A. 
Supposing B again loses and continues losing until all his personal property 
has passed into the hands of A, then B, as a last resort, stakes his wife and 
lodge against all his property in the hands of A. If A wins he only keeps the 
woman; the horse, gun, and all other property returns again to B, with the 
understanding, however, that he stake it all to get back his wife. Now, if B 
loses he is ruined, but if A loses he gives up only the woman and the horse, con- 
tinuing to play with the rest of the articles against the horse until one or the 
other is broke. At this stage of the game the excitement is very great. The 
spectators crowd around and intense fierceness prevails. Few words are ex- 
changed and no remarks made by those looking on. If the loser be completely 
ruined and a desperate man, it is more than likely he will by quarrel endeavor 
to repossess himself of some of his property, but they are generally well 
matched in this respect, though bloody struggles are often the consequence. 
We have known Indians to lose everything—horse, 
dogs, cooking utensils, lodge, wife, even to his wear- 
ing apparel, and be obliged to beg an old skin from 
some one to cover himself and seek a shelter in the 
lodge of one of his relations. It is, however, consid- 
ered a mark of manliness to suffer no discomposure 
to be perceptible on account of the loss, but in most 
Fig. 225. Stick dice; length CaSeS we imagine this a restraint forced upon the 
12 inches; Assiniboin Indi- loser by the character of his adversary. Suicide is 
ans, Montana; from sketch ever committed on these occasions. His vengeance 
by Edwin T. Denig. E ar 3 
seeks some other outlet—in war expeditions or some 
way to acquire property that he may again play and retrieve his losses. ‘There 
are some who invariably lose and are poor all their lives. A man may with 
honor stop playing with the loss of his gun. He has also a second opportunity 
to retire on losing his horse, and when this is so understood at the commence- 
ment they do; but when a regular set-to takes place between two soldiers it 
generally ends as above described. 
The usual game which women play alone—that is, without the men—is called 
chunkandee, and is performed with four sticks marked on one side and blank 
ou the other. The women all sit in a circle around the edge of some skin spread 
upon the ground, each with ber stake before her. One of them gathers up the 
sticks and throws them down forcibly on the end, which makes them bound and 
whirl around. When they fall the number of the throw is counted, as herein 
stated. The implements [figure 225] are four sticks, 12 inches long, flat, and 
rounded at the ends, about 1 inch broad and one-eighth of an inch thick. Two 
of them have figures of snakes burned on one side and two the figure of a bear’s 
foot. All the sticks are white on the opposite side. Two painted or marked 
sides and two white count 2; all the white sides turned up count 10; three burnt 
sides up and one white count 0; three white sides up and one burnt count 0; 
four burnt sides up count 10. Each throws in turn against all others, and if 
the whole of the marked sides or all the fair sides of the sticks are turned up 
she is entitled to a successive throw. The game is 40, and they count by small 
sticks as in the preceding. In fine weather many of these gambling circles can 
