The Red Cloud chief., 1896-06-12

N'vYSN horsc-raCing oi the
WV tribes. which took
place on the Nisqually reservation. The
festivities began Saturday. and lasted
until Monday morning, when ;hcI
ceased. and a procession of the most
tired Indians that the people along thc
route have seen in many II day starred
back to the puyallup reservation. They
bore no %laurcls. IL Is true. but then
they had their ponies and blankets.
which at one time during the gambling
they came disastroisly near losing.
The sport took place at a gambling
house kept 10y Jim" DimroOd, Il MIS-
qually Indian. and located In a clear
ing five acres in extent on the right
bank of the NisQually river. four miles
above MaXiicld station, where the
Northern Pacific crosses the river. The
game played by the Indians is called
"sla-hael' and wasactiycly participated
in by thirty puyallups. five White
River Indians and thirty Inequalities,
the White River Indians. playing Nith
the Puyallups. The stakes put up by
each side we're seventeen ponies, on"
COW and ten pigs.
1t was in this gambling house last
Saturday afternoon that Jack ska
menke, the leader OF the Nisdndil\
gamblers, stood mp and began singing
the low dirgc-likc song which forms
part of the ceremony and then handed
the bones to one Of his men. The In
dian took the bones, fumhled n
changed them. and then, holding n
bone tightly concealed in either hand,
began swinging them for n wary
puyallup to guess which hand contain
ed the white ono. The gambling VAS
in full progress. The sccnc was n
strange one. well worthy the brush of
a Fredcrick Remington or any VINO
indulge a liking for The Wild and IAN
tastic. The bright wood fires were
burning in either end of tho room. Ten
feet from the walls two rows o' In
dian men were kncCling down, facing
each other. leaving n space OF ten ''ot
between them. In one row were
Puyallup and White River Indians and
in the other were Inequalities. In the
center OF the knccling rows of Indians
were the leaders. Tommy Lane Tor
the Puyallups and Shamcnke for the
Inequalities.
Back of tho knccling bucks were
benches runningthC entire length OF the
room. on these sat the Indian women
Of the respective tribes, who watched
the varying fortunes of the players
with most intent interest.
Stuck in the ground in scmicircular
form, in front of both Lane and Ska
merkc. were thirty-hye small wooden
pegs about three inches in length and
one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
These were the beans and when one
side won the thirty-iivc belonging to
the other. the game and pot was also
won.
Suspended from the neck of each In
dian player and hanging in front of
his breast was a handkerchief, beneath
which he deity concealed his hands
when the bones were given him to
swing.
The bones mentioned are three in
chos in length and one inch in diane
ter. One of them is perfectly white,
the other one has two black rings
around 1t. Each of the leaders has
two sets of bones. but only n set is
used at a time. The game proceeds as
rSliows: The leader of the side who's
turn II is TO play chants a sing-song
incarnation to- oring luck, the squaws
joining in this music'a'' ~ effor hiin
the bucks also, il they wish. Two Of
his men are then designated by the
leader 10 shake the bones, which are
grasped by the player. one in either
hand and both hands are placed be-
meath the handkerchief hanging over
his breast, where he fumblcs the bones,
shifts them about from hand 10 hand
to confuse those who are keenly watch
ing him from the other side,
and then, suddenly drawing them from
beneath the handkerchief, begins
swinging them to the right and left in
front of him. The leader of the oppo-
site side then guesses or names one of
his men. whom he thinks may be the
more lucky, to guess which swinging
hand contains the white bone. If the
] hn'Go 10 U ~ wv w NV fNi'
which is ~playing-not guessing pulls
one Of the beans from the ground in
front of him, and losses It over to the
leader OF the side which has made the
correct guess. The bean Is taken by
the %wiDnerand stuck in the ground with
the other beans belonging to his side.
The bones are also to be passed to the
guessing side, whose turn it becomes to
play.
Providing the guess is incorrect the
side making 1t losses a bean over to the
side playing and the man who has
shaken the sticks has the right to
shake them again, while his opponents
make another guess. Both sets Of
bones were guessed upon by the same
man at the same time. II he guessed
the white of one and missed the other
he won a bean and one pair of bones,
but lost q bean mon the other set which