The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-01-22

| Carolina bear the name of DIR. Gibbs
| ana Or. Barrett and include among
other beautifully finished objects a
! number of polishing mullers of high
finish for paint grinding and other
i purposes. The gems of the collection.
! however. are a number of dScoidal
/ stones of marvellous perfection of FORM
Ihey are made OF quartzite. one white
| and translucent. from four to five
| inches in diameter and having sym
| metrical cup shaped depressions on
| both sides. in one broken through. and
| on another with hole worked in the
! center. with arrow-like marks running
diametrically across. There are none
other than the implements for the game
of chungkc, a celebrated amusement
among the Southern Indians. Adair de-
scribes 1t as follows: The warriors have
another faNorite game. called chungkc
which with pronrieiy Of language may
hc called running hard labour." They
have near their state house a square
piece of ground well cleaned. and nn..
sand is carefully strcwed over it. when
requisite 10 promote "A swifter motion
To what they throw along the surface
| only ono or two at a side play at this
ancient game They have a stone about
two fingers broad at the edge and two
spans round: each party has "A pole
about eight feet long, smooth and la
pering at each end, the points fiat.
They set off abreast of each other at
siA NdihS IIpHt the emu hI the play
ground: then one of them hurls the
stone on its edge in as direct line as
he can, a considerable distance toward
the middle of the other end of the
square. When they have run a few
yards. each darts his pole. anointed
with bears oil, with a proper force as
near as he can guess in proportion to
the motion of the stone. that the end
may be close to the stone.
When this is the case the person
counts two of the game, in proportion
to the nearness of the poles to the
mark, one is counted, unless. by meas
uring, both are found to be at an equal
distance from the stone. In this man
ner. the players will keep running the
most part of the day. at half speed. I'M
der the violent heat of the sun, stalking
their silver ornaments. their nose fin
ger and earrings, their breast arm and
wrist-plates. and even all their wear
ing apparel, except that which barely
covers their middle. All the American
Indians are much addicted to this
game, which to us appears to be
task of studied drudgery. 1t seems.
however, to be of early origin, when
their forefathers used diversions as
simple as their manners The hurting
stones they use at present were from
time immemorial rubbed smooth on the
rocks and with prodi gious la Dor. and
they are kept with the strictest relig-
other and are exempted from being
buried with the dead. They belong TO
the town where they are used, and are
carefully preserved.
II Will be seen from this that the
stones at the university are tribal
treasures from one of the old Indian
towns of Carolina. Mr.. Andrew Mac
farland Davis has shown that the game
of chungke in one form or another was
pretty we'll known to the Indians of the
whole United States. Among the
Apaches, as in many Northern and
Western tribes, it is played with a hoop
instead of a stone. a like game is
known to the Ainu of Japan.
DR.. Samuel q. Morton's collection
contained still other objects than the
North American stone implements, as
is illustrated by the beautiful silver fig
ure of a woman from Lake Titicaca I'm
Peru. now in the possession of his dis
son. DR.. Thomas c. Morton
of Philadelphia. The acquisition of the
collection by the university is most for
tunate for science, and ii will form
with the celebrated Morton collection
of skulls at the Academy lasting
memorial of its former owner.