Dorset.] GAMES OF BOYS AND SMALL CHILDREN. 341 



bead the boy whose stick goes the shortest distance. The sticks are 

 thrown as in Ma"fi n -bngi. 



§ 242. Diving.— Boys dive and see who can go the farthest under wa- 

 ter. Some put grass in their mouths previous to diving ; and when they 



Fig. 38.— The stick used in playing l n ti"-lnni. 



get under water they blow through the grass, causing bubbles to rise 

 to the surface and mark their course. He who goes the shortest distance 

 can be struck by the winner with the robe of the latter. 



§ 243. Children' 's games. — Children play in the mud, making lodges, etc. ; 

 hence the verb "li'-gaxe," to male (mud) lodges, to play as children do. 

 The girls used to make dolls of sticks, and place them in small ufuhe. 

 Now, some of them make rag dolls. 



Children strike one another "last," saying, " Gatca 1 "," i. e., " So far." 



j^aha^ija is played by two persons. A's left hand is at the bot- 

 tom, the skin on its back is pinched by B's left hand, which, in turn, 

 is pinched by A's right, and that by B's right. After saying ''j^aha- 

 tjija " twice as they raise and lower the hands, they release them ami nit 

 at each other. The Kansas call the game Taleska. These two customs 

 were observed among the Ponka children. 



§ 244. Games with playing cards. — Since coming in contact with our 

 race the Omakas Lave learned to play several games with cards; and 

 a lew can play checkers and backgammon, though they are hardly fa- 

 miliar with our language. 



Dougherty says, " Various are the games which they practice, of which 

 is one called Matrimony, but others are peculiar to themselves. The fol- 

 lowing is one to which they seem to be particularly devoted : 



" The players seat themselves around a bison robe, spread on the 

 ground, and each individual deposits in the middle the articles which 

 he intends to stake, such as vermilion, beads, knives, blankets, etc., 

 without any attention to the circumstance of equalizing its value with 

 the deposits made by his companions. Four small sticks are then laid 

 upon the robe and the cards are shuttled, cut, and two are given to each 

 player, after which the trump is turned. The hands are then played, 

 and whoever gains two tricks takes one of the sticks. If two persons 

 make each a trick, they play together until one loses his trick, when the 

 other takes a stick. The cards are again dealt aud the process is con- 

 tinued until all the sticks are taken. If four persons have each a stick 

 they continue to play to the exclusion of the unsuccessful gamesters. 

 When a player wins two sticks, four cards are dealt to him that he may 

 take his choice of them. If a player wins three sticks, six cards are 

 dealt to him, and should he take the fourth stick he wins the stakes." 



§ 245. Musicians. — These included the musicians for special occasions, 

 as the Qujpi for the service of the keepers of the sacred tents of the 



