356 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS _ [evu. ann. 24 
Pima. Arizona. (Cat. no. 218048, United States National Museum.) 
Four joints of reed (figure 467) engraved with marks, 84 inches 
in length. These were collected by the late Dr Frank Russell, who 
describes the game played with them as follows :¢ 
Vapttai, ‘* Lay.” A guessing game in which a number of players act as assist- 
ants to two leaders. A small bean? is used by the Papago and a ball of black 
mesquite gum by the Pima. It is placed in one of 
four joints of reed. The reeds are then filled with 
sand, all being concealed under a blanket, and the 
opponents guess which reed contains the ball. The 
reeds are called vaptitakit, “ laying implements.” 
Reed no. 1, called kuli, “old man,” has 17 longitu- 
dinal rows of 8 spots each. 
Reed no. 2, aks, ‘* old woman,” is unmarked. 
teed no. 3, hota stcok, “* middle black,” has 6 longi- 
tudinal rows. 
Reed no. 4, ma-atecovolt, has 5 rows around the open 
end. 
One hundred grains of corn are placed between the 
players in a hole, from which it is taken as won and 
Hiding game; leneeh Gh placed in a hole in front of each player. When a 
inches; Pima Indians, player wins all the corn he puts up a stick in the 
Arizona; cat. no. 68289, sand. The number of the sticks may be from 1 to 10, 
aes Columbian Mu- ag determined beforehand. Each player cancels one 
; : of his opponent’s sticks when he wins one himself. 
Two players confine their attention to the guessing; one on each side fills the 
reeds; one on each side watches the counting. Four men, one at each corner, 
hold the blanket under which the filling is done, and sometimes offer suggestions 
to the leaders. The “old people,” the plain and the marked reeds, are kept to- 
gether, and the ‘ young people” are used by the opponents. When the two pairs 
are filled with sand and a bean or ball is concealed in each pair, the blanket 
is dropped and the reeds are laid in the center, each filler 
handing his pair over to the side of his opponent. If A 
guesses wrong and B right, they exchange reeds and begin 
2 3 4 
Fig. 466. Cane tubes for 
again. If both guess right, there is no count. When one 
guesses right he takes the four reeds and places his ball in 
one, and the opponent then decides which pair it is in by lay- e 
ing one reed across the other in the pair which he thinks 
does not contain it. Then he pours out the sand of first one bes 
cin 5 seseed ninhnondoes ara Fia. 467. Tubes for 
then the other. e has BEESSE: right he Snes no Cre; hiding game; Pi- 
but continues the play by filling and offering to his op- ma Indians, Ari- 
ponent. If he guesses wrong, the opponent scores 4 and 6 zona; cat.no. 218043, 
additional if the ball is in the under reed; 10 if it is in the United States Na- 
tional Museum. 
upper. 
Cheating is done in various ways, but there is reason to believe that this prac- 
tice has arisen since they have come in contact with the whites. 
1 
Zuaqur. Rio Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico. 
Mr C. V. Hartman informs me that a guessing game is played by 
«Yn a memoir to be published by the Bureau of American Ethnology. 
> Obtained from Sonora from the tree called paowi by the Pima and chilicoti by the 
Mexicans. 
