cULIN] DICE GAMES: DAKOTA 181 
Schoolcraft * describes the game of kuntahso, which he translates 
as “the game of the plum stones.” He figures five sets of stones, 
each consisting of eight pieces: 
In set A [figure 236] numbers 1 and 2 represent sparrow hawks with forked 
tails. or the forked-tail eagle—Falco furcatus. This is the so-called war eagle. 
Numbers 3 and 4 are the turtle; which typifies, generally, the earth. If 1 and 2 
fall upwards, the game is won. If but one of these figures falls upwards, and, at 
the same time, 3 and 4 are up, the game is also won. The other numbers, 5, 6, 7, 
and 8, are all blanks. B denotes the reversed sides of A, which are all blanks. 
Set C shows different characters with a single chief figure (5) which repre- 
sents the Falco furcatus. This throw indicates half a game, and entitles the 
thrower to repeatit. If the same 
figure (5) turns up, the game is 
4 3 2 1 5 6 7 8 
won. If no success attends it by A ® ® &) ce) B S & 
turning up the chief figure, the 
throw passes to other hands. Dis 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 
the reverse of set Candis ablank B ‘) QO (*) (*) @ © O © 
throw. 
In set BE, No. 5 represents a 1 2 3 4 5 6 i 8 
muskrat. The three dots (7) indi- c@ @ =) Gi (® @) © @: 
eate two-thirds of a throw, and 
the thrower can throw again; but 1 2 3 4 
5 6 7 8 
if he gets blanks the second time me ) 2 re] (+) © 9) O & 
the dish passes on to the next 
thrower. Set F is invested with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
different powers. No. 1 repre- E e hy o @ ic ©) '@) © 
sents a buffalo, and 2 and 3 de- . 
note chicken-hawks, fluttering 8 7 6 5 1 2 3 bd 
horizontally in the air. Thechief F S oe ey e @) Cy) @® © 
pieces, 1, 2, 3, have the same yy. 236. Casts in plum-stone dice; Santee Dakota 
powers and modifications of Indians, Minnesota; from Schoolcraft. 
value as A. 
To play this game, a little orifice is made in the ground and a skin put in it. 
Often it is also played on a robe. The women and young men play this game. 
The bowl is lifted with one hand about 3 or 4 inches, and pushed suddenly 
down to its place. The plum stones fly over several times. The stake is first 
put up by all who wish to play. A dozen can play at once, if it be desirable. 
Daxota (Trron). Cheyenne River agency, South Dakota. (Cat. 
no. 153365, United States National Museum.) 
Set of seven plum stones, plain on one side and with marks burnt 
upon the other. 
Collected by Dr Z. T. Daniel,’ who describes the game as follows 
under the name of kansu: 
This is a very ancient game of the Sioux Indians, played usually by elderly 
women, although young women and men of all ages play it. Kansu is an 
abbreviation of kantasu, which means plum seed. ‘They drop the ta and call 
the game kansu, because it is played with plum seeds. It is used for gambling 
and amusement, and is more like our dice than any other of our games. When 
played, the seeds are thrown up in a basket or bowl, and the markings on 
the seeds that are up or down decide the throw. 
* Information respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of 
the United States, pt. 2, p. 72, Philadelphia, 1853. 
>Kansu, a Sioux Game. The American Anthropologist, v. 5, p. 215, 1892. 
