Igo TALES OF READY-TO-GIVE. 
‘They played first for the things they wore. They picked up the sticks 
and ran. The gambler threw the ring. The boy at once commenced 
to lose. The old woman danced, made fun of the boy, and said that his 
head was what she was after. The boy lost all his clothing. Then the 
man said, ‘‘Suppose we bet our lives now?”’ The boy said, ‘All right.” 
They played and played, the gambler catching the ring every time, and 
the boy losing. The man had to hook the ring once more, and the boy’s 
life would be won. As they started, the man threw the ring, then the 
stick, and the boy took good aim at the man’s stick and he hit it and 
broke it. The gambler wanted to put off the game, but the boy said: 
‘No; I am not tired. I will either lose or win. Bring another set of 
your sticks.”” The man said he had none. The boy said: ‘“‘I have a set. 
You make one ring and I am beaten. I do not want to go home. If 
my life is to go I am willing that I lose it at once.’’ The man then 
sent his errand man, who was no other than Coyote. He went to the 
lodge, and as he entered he heard many buffalo, so that he got scared 
and came out. He came to the ground and said: ‘‘There are no sticks 
in the lodge.”” He was sent again, and again the buffalo scared him. 
He ran away again and said: ‘‘There are no sticks there.’”’ Again he 
was sent. He walked right in, and as he went towards the sticks, the 
buffalo made a big noise, and Coyote ran and defecated in the lodge. 
He went to the grounds and said: “I do not find any sticks there.” 
The boy then sent his errand boy, who was no other than Black-Bird. 
He went out, and although the buffalo made a noise, he flew upon their 
backs and got the sticks. As soon as he got the sticks the noise ceased. 
He saw much of Coyote’s dirt on the ground of the lodge. He took the 
sticks to the ground. 
The boy gave the gambler his choice of sticks. The gambler chose 
the white stick. The boy knew that he would. Before commencing the 
game anew, the boy said: ‘‘Now let us bet all our friends, too. If I 
win, I have a right to kill all your people; if you beat me then you may 
kill all my people.” ‘‘All right,’’ said the gambler. Away they went 
with the sticks, the gambler throwing the ring. They both threw the 
sticks and the gambler hooked the ring, but the ring came off and went 
to the burnt stick and sat on top. The boy then took charge of the ring. 
The boy threw the ring gently, then threw his stick. The ring and stick 
did the work. The gambler had nochance. At last the boy won all of 
his property and everything that he had, so that he put his wife and all of 
his children up. The boy won them, and then the gambler put up his 
own life. When he saw that he was going to be beaten, he fell down on 
the ground and said: ‘‘My leg is broken, and I can not go.” 
EE 
