cuLIN] RING AND PIN: CHEYENNE 531 
side of the forefinger at the joint next the nail. The coil that forms the eye 
of the needle is up, and the other end or point of the needle is where the point 
of the pen would be, but the needle is held close to the eye that the point may 
project as far as possible. 
The string passes along the under side of the needle; the strand of bones hang 
down; the tassel of loops is held by the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, 
which loosen it at the proper moment for a slight movement of the right hand 
to swing it upward and forward until the chain of bones is in a horizontal 
position in front of the player. The needle is then thrust forward along the 
string on which the bones are strung, with the intention of catching one of the 
bones. 
If it passes lengthwise through the first bone, it counts 10; through the 
second one, 20; the third, 30, and the fourth, 40. Should it enter the end of 
Fie. 696. Cheyenne woman playing nitonisdot, Oklahoma; from photograph by Mi Louis L. 
Meeker. 
the bone, but pass out at one of the holes, it counts but 1. If it passes through 
an earring, it counts but 1. Caught through the tassel of loops at the end it 
counts 50; or some say it counts 5 or 10 for each loop through which the needle 
passes. This, and giving a particular value to each hole, is either an innoya- 
tion or a manner of counting in use only among older players. Children and 
ordinary players count the same for any hole and 50 for the end loops. 
When more than two play, each side takes turns, and each player on a side, 
but it is not passed from one to another until there is a throw that does not 
count. 
Each side has fifty sticks, which are passed back and forth as the play pro- 
gresses. “When one side has all the sticks, the game is ended. It is said that 
in olden times the sticks were redistributed and the game continued until 
exactly noon, when the party having fewest sticks prepared a feast for all. 
