Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/288

276 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 22, 1920 rod among its many plain fellows, even behind his back, and frequently displays it alone against the pack in his other hand, to tempt his opponent to incline to the latter; or, divining the tendency of his mind, misleads him with a single unmarked rod.

The Shasta, the Northern Wintun, and the Modoc play like the northwestern tribes; but through the remainder of the state, from the Wailaki and Achomawi to the Diegueño, the implements are two small bones, or short sticks, one of them marked with a band. These are concealed in the two hands behind the back, under a mat, or often wound in two wisps of grass in view of the opponent, whence the popular American name of the game. Some tribes use only one small bone, guessing for the full, hand; mostly they employ four, handled by two men on a side; the southern Indians usually attach string loops to pass over the fingers; but such differences do not seriously alter the course of the play.

The counters are everywhere sticks. Contrary to our custom, the Indians rarely begin with an equal number of markers on the two sides, but with a neutral pile from which winnings are allotted to this or that contestant. Only after this stock is exhausted, do they begin to win from each other; and the game continues until one side is without sticks. This may be an affair of minutes. But if fortunes are fluctuating and ability even, one contest may be prolonged for hours. If the losers, without a word, continue to play, they are understood to bet in the ensuing game an amount the equal of that which was staked by both parties in the first game. At least such is the Hupa custom.

Among the Mohave alone, so far as known, several varieties of the guessing game are played. One of these, shared by them with some of the tribes of the Southwest, is a smaller, informal affair pertaining to idle moments. A bit of stick is hidden in one of four little hillocks of sand. Dexterity of manipulation and perception seems the deciding factor rather than control of the features.

The Coast Miwok, some of the Maidu, and the Washo, played the regular "hand" game, but also guessed whether the number of a handful of manipulated sticks was odd or even. Among the Pomo the sticks were counted off by fours and the remainder