Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-07-28
NATIONAL GAMES.
Antiquity of Many of Modern
Times.
Poker Played I'm Persia in Ancient
Times-Indians had "Layouts" Be-
fore Columbus Landed In
America.

Mr.. Stewart Culin, director of the
Museum of Archaeology and Paleontol
ogy of the University Of Pennsylvania
whose advance articles on the work ht
is compiling on the games of the world
has attracted so much attention. has
been spending a few days at the Ma
tional Museum in pursuit of his stud
les. For the past eight years Director
Culin has been collecting data and spec
linens of games which are played by all
the nations of the world, and has also
made as complete collection as posi-
BILE of specimens extant of the games
PLAYED by the most ancient peoples.
Games generally" said Mr.. Culin'
"are remarkable for their similarity,
which extends practically to identity,
in all parts of the earth, in all times and
among people of the highest and the
lowest culture. Any differences in ref
erence to the contact of races and mi
grations must be made with extreme
caution. as we find pretty much the
same games everywhere. The games OF
amusement played at the present day
by civilized people are clearly survivals
of diyinitary rites. this fact being
shown by the position which all games
occupy among the people whom we call
savages. The more complicated games.
such as playing cards, appear TO have
direct relations with the divinitary
calendar. And the counting boards or
cables. upon which pieces OF wood are
moved. as in backgammon or chess,
have similar relations.
"The collection shown at Atlanta
while occupying a great deal Of space
and apparently diversified in character
merely represented an attempt to illus
trate the development Of two types Of
games which are represented to-day
by playing cards and chess. In the
course of these Investigations IL is
shown that in a sense playing cards In
one form or another are practically uni
versal. and were known to many Of the
tribes of the American continent ante.
dating the discovery. Their most high
ly artistic form occurs in the gambling
sticks of the Indians OF our northwest
coast. These gambling sticks, 1t Is DEM
onstrated, were derived from arrow
statements marked with emblems OF
place and personality.
1.-The cards of northeast Asia. such as
are used in Corea. reveal precisely the
same origin as these arrow statements
Chinese cards connect with them. and
our own cards may be regarded as the
legitimate issues of the same series"
Incidentally in the collection a num-
Der of highly artistic packs of playing
cards are exhibited. intended TO illas-
trate the ancient and existing cards OF
the principal nations. A Persian set
among the oriental cards is of strik-
ingly artistic beauty. The card pieces
are painted with delicate miniatures ex-
ecuted upon ground of gold foil. Gu
riously enough, the game played with
them is our familiar game of poker.
Gen. A. Houtum-Schindler of Teher-
an. in reply to letter of inquiry. has
furnished the following account of the
Persian game: The game is called
AS" and is exactly like poker, but
without any fushes consequences. There
are four players and each player gets
Ave cards. dealt to the right. The deal
err puts down a stake. The first player
then looks at his cards; il he goes"
he says sdi dam" Il have seem, and be
covers the stake or raises il. II he does
not wish to play he says "Nadi dam" Il
have not seen). and throws away his
cards.
lie may also go" without looking a;
his cards. that is. in poker parlance.
''straddles." and says 'Nadid iii dam"
mot seeing. l have SEEM. The second
player, if he wishes to play. must cover
he stakes. and can also raise. The
third player and the dealer then act iE
the same way. just as in poker. and
when the stakes of all players are equal
and no one raises any more. the cards
are turned up ard the player holding
the best hand wins the stakes. The
hands in the order Of their value are
three Of kind and aspair. a full"
cree. ace. king. etc; two pair. aces
highest; one pair. aces highest. When
two players have the same pair of pairs. |
The other cards decide. For instance. a
pair of kings. ace. soldier. and some
card of little value. Bluffing is a
feature of the game and is called zadam
literally. Fire of gun"
Backgammon is one of the few class
cal games TO which the present day
Ittains. 1t is extremely interesting
rom the fact that it is identical with
he Roman gaming. dice being cast
rom dice box into little tower. the
ruriccula OF the classical writers. In
he museum backgammon board is
shown from the Malay peninsula. which
5 used in a game identical with our
'wn. A Syrian specimen is beautiful
y inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Modern ingenuity" said Mr.. Culiu.
cannot be said TO have risen TO the
'oint of inventing a game. All games
we're invented ages and ages ago. and