136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 39 



from you, you are unlucky." Then he said to the man, ''Make a 

 house for yourself out of devil's clubs first and stay inside while you 

 are fasting. After you have fasted four days, Greatest Gambler 

 (Alqa'-s'.a'ti) will appear to you." 



When the man had fasted for three days, living on nothing but 

 devil's clubs, he started to look for more. Then he found a devil's 

 club, as big around as a large tree, covered with scars, and he took 

 the bark ofi" in eight difl'erent spots. Then he w^ent to sleep and 

 dreamed that a man came to him. He said, "Do you know that I 

 am Greatest Gambler? You took the bark oft" from me in eight spots. 

 It was I standing there." Then Greatest Gambler said to him, 

 ''When you leave this place, look around down on the beach and you 

 will find something. When you reach your own village do* the same 

 thing again, and you will find something else." 



Next morning a real person came to him and said, "I want to see 

 your gambling sticks." So he showed them to him, and he gave 

 them their names. He gave all of them their names at that time. 

 Each stick had a certain nuirk. One was named devilfish and the 

 others were called after other kinds of animals and fish. The}^ are 

 the same to-day among both Tsimshian and Tlingit." The two princi- 

 pal sticks besides the devilfish are tuq (a small bright fish found in 

 the sand along shoi'e) and anca'dji (a small gregarious bird wdiich 

 seems to feed on the tops of trees). 



After Greatest Gambler had showed him how to gamble he pre- 

 pared to return to his people. Wlien he was getting ready he looked 

 about upon the beach and found a sea otter lying there. When he 

 reached the first place where he had camped on coming away he 

 camped there again and on looking around as directed found a fur 

 seal. He took off the two skins there and dried them. It took him 

 a whole day. 



When he at last entered the village everybody made fun of him, 

 saying, "Aya'o QonAlgi'c" (said to be Ilaida words meaning " Come and 

 let us gamble, QonAlgi'c"). He had made a shirt out of the sea otter 

 and a blanket out of the fur seal, so they were anxious to gamble in 

 order to win those things. When they first heard him speak of gambling 

 they made fun of him, thinking to beat him as before, and the same 

 one who had before won all of Ifis goods sat down opposite. He was 

 a fine gambler and therefore very rich. When they started to play, 

 the poor man began to go through all kinds of performances, jumj^ing 

 up, running about, and saying funny things to his opponent, so that 

 the latter became confused and could not do anything. The poor 

 man began winning his goods, and, when he got tobacco, he wt)uld 

 treat the crowd about luni with it. Finally the poor man said, ' 'That 

 is enough. I am through," but the rich man answered, "Stay and 



a It appears from examples that no such uniformity really exists. 



