The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-11-21
RECKLESS GAMBLING
OUR MISSION INDIANS ARE THE
FlERcEsT OF PLUNGERs.

They VIII Play Sing Gamble, .
Guessing Game. TIL They Have
Lost Everything They Own, Even
the CIcthing on Their Backs.
Temecula is one of the II mission In
dian pueblos in southern California. It
is situated among the Sierra Madre
mountains. All the mission Indians In
California are famous gamblers, but the
Temeculas are the most reckless plungers
among any redskins in the west. The
Sabobas. Temescals and Pachangos are
also proficient gamblers. Every April or
May these little remnants of former
great tribes meet for q season of gam
bling.
The mission Indians seem to have been
born for gambling. No white gamblers
will risk their all so complacently as the
red people do, and no professional white
plunger ever staid so persistently at gam
ing. All bucks and squaws gamble. The
Indian agents and the whites who have
lived among the redskins to teach them
habits of sobriety and industry have al
most abandoned hope of reclaiming Lo
and his family from gambling ways.
They can curtail the drink habit, but the
love of games of chance never. There
have been many times when tribe has
parted with everything by which it may
live and provide some sort of a livelihood
to the winners of long gambling game.
But for the help of charitable people and
the Indian agents the losers would be al
most starved.
The one gambling game Of the Indians
of the Pacific coast is known as sing
gamble. 1t is simple game of guess
ing, but red man will wager all his
household possessions, even to his cloth
ing, on the game. EARLY in March the
four tribes that join in the gambling
festivity beseat themselves, facing each
other, and are ready for business. The
tribal adherents of the rival players
range themselves in the rear and watch
the game with intense interest and bet
rectlessly. A paleface cannot imagine
the excitement they suppress as their
black eyes follow the game. One of the
players takes ten chips, one of them dis.
tinguished from the others by white
ring, and divides them into two equal
piles ands carefully mixes them with the
bark shavings. He then grabs one pile,
shavings and all, in each hand and
moves his hands in a circle rapidly from
right to left, while one Of the opposite
side guesses in which hand he holds the
white ringed chip, or Queen" as it is
called. If the guess is right, one of the
tally sticks is taken from the players
pile and given to the guesser, but il
wrong the guesser's pile suffers.
The guessing is done with deep study
and after the most earnest possible
watching of the passes of the chips and
the shavings from one hand to the other.
Each side starts with 60 sticks, and
when one side has won them all the game
will come to an end. The Indians trem-
BILE with excitement, and the squaws
chatter excitedly among themselves con-
corning the conduct Of the gaming opera
tlons and the respective winnings and
losings. Bets are constantly being made,
not on the separate plays, but on the
outcome of the game and all will be set
tied at the same time. The bets consist
of money, blankets, horses, guns, cows.
harness and everything the bettors pos
sess, even to the clothing on their backs.
Occasionally the gaming will become
very noisy. and the tribes will endeavor
to cheer their respective tribal players
and therefore help their own bets to-
ward winning by shouts and yells and
deep cultural songs. Fancy what noise
would be made by lot of excited In
dams yelling the following:
Hey-yo, ho-hol
Hey-yo ho-ho, ho-ho!
Ayee, ho-ho ayee, ayeel
Mingi Mingi, Pachango! g
All, oh, a-aa
Ho-yah wah who
Pa-chan-go!
The whole assemblage of redskins take
up this yell and continue it over and
over, keeping time with their clapping
hands and swaying bodies. The dealers,
who are meanwhile silently playing the
game Of sing gamble for their respective
tribal bettors, also keep time with their
movements with the wooden chips. A
dealer will seize a double handful of
shavlngs and then ostentatiously count
out eight wooden chips and one black one.
nine in all. Then he will click them sew
eral times and magically cover them with
shavings. Then he will separate the
chips and shavings and show two piles of
white chips. In twinklng he will
make passes with his hands, holding the
two piles of chips about his head, under
his blouse and about his anatomy so fast
that three card monte sharp would
wonder at his dexterity.
The chatting suddenly ceases, and ey.
cry eye Is turned to some one of the deal
ers who are performing all manner of
rapid passes to deceive the eyes Of the
bettors of the opposite tribe When the
bets have been made. the dealers sudden.
" cease their passes and gyrations, and
by dexterous movement throw the chips
and shavings from one hand upon the
mat. If the black chip is there, one
point has been scored by the tribe that
bet it was there. If it is in the other
hand. the tribe has lost point to it's OPP
ponents.
AS the game progresses the hackers of
the players. who are all intensely almost
insanely. interested in the outcome, be-
cause of having staked their worldly
wealth upon it, encourage them and as
sist them in every way possible. The
squaws are as interested as their lords,
They arrange themselves in lines on eli
Their side of the players and occasionally
break into monotonous chants or indulge
In the peculiar movements that pass for
dancing among the American aborigines.
All night long this is kept up without in
Permission. the Indians apparently being
Incapable of fatigue
To the spectator the game is most mo-
notonous. but never SO to those who have