Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1900-02-02
A MANIA FOR CHANCE
PRIMITIVE PEOPLE HAVE A LOVE
FOR GAMBLING.

Otnef form u NOT lncOnei0eraDle part or
the mental life of all savage people
who find in the vagarles Of chance,
aided more or less by skin, the occa-
sional exhaltation Of mind which all
men demand in one form or another.
Much has been written about games
Of chance, especial reference to their
origin, but this aspect Of the case-the
part which they play in the life Of to-
day-has been generally overlooked
Indians, negroes, Chinamen, have been
hastily classed as inveterate gamblers,
and such indeed from one point Of
view, they are, says the Chicago News.
But there is something more than this
In the universal passion for play which
characterizes all the lower races, with
out being by any means confined to
them.
The negro, whose whole soul seems
absorbed in the formula, "COme seb-
en-" or "Come eleben," I'm his favOrite
game Of craps, is yielding to the same
Impulse which causes the Chinaman
to spend all his earnings In the never
ending, but to him always fascinating
mysteries of "fan TAM" and which
justlfes the Mexican, In his own mind,
for the loss Of many hours and a few,
II not many dollars In the allurements
of monte on the sunny side of his
adobe shack. The fondness Of many
| business men for quiet little game"
is an exhibition OF the same desire for
mental excitement and change, differ
ent, perhaps, In amount, but not In
kind, from that which holds little
band of Indians around a blanket
spread upon the ground for days mt
a time while the chances of the game
are making one man rich and the 9th
ers poor.
From this point of view the gam
bling games Of the Indians have GER
tain value aside from the picturesque
ness which Is nearly always an accom-
paniment. All kinds of games are to be
found among them, native as well as
imported, and while the latter are
gradually supplanting the former on
account of greater convenience, and
perhaps because of quicker action, the
strict aboriginal games are by no
means extinct They can still be found
In full swing in many parts of the
United States which are a little re-
mote from the usually travelled lines
and hut little changed by contact with
our own civilization.
There is little doubt that in their ori-
gin many, If not all, of these games
were real religious ceremonies, de-
signed to foretell the future, but they
also played the same part in ancient
tines that they do to-day In supplying
a mental stimulus. Some of the games
have come down practically unchanged
in form. although now played under
entirely different conditions from what
they were originally. Among them,
perhaps the most striking is the game
of moccasin, which seems to be un-
questionably the forerunner of the
''little joker" which every year proves
so effective at country fairs In Turing
dollars from the pockets of the un-
wary. This game was once widely
distributed among the Indian tribes,
and 1t has been said that IL is now ex-
tinct; hut II can be seen to-day In its
aboriginal form In any of the out-ly
ing parts of the Navajo reservation In
Arizona.
The paraphernala of the game are
very simple and always at hand, con
sisting merely of knife or other hard
suhstance-a pebble will do-and the
moccasins of the players. The game is
usually played at night, although
sometimes It extends over several days
and In It's native setting has a weird
ness and fascination which the mod
ern falSir cannot claim Five persons
usually participate, four of them ac-
lively, while the fifth acts as a musi-
clan, but usually much larger num-
ber watch the progress of the game
and perhaps place bet occasionally.
Picture a rude shelter of green
boughs, roughly circular in form,
placed In some thicket OF under the
- | nvorha N orfutr branches of IarOa froa
In the centre a blanket Is spread upon
the ground, surrounded by fifteen or
twenty Indians squattlng about II, or
leaning over, intently watching the
play. over all the fitful glow and play
of light from a huge fire on one side.
The effect is heightened by a weird
song, which Is a constant accOmpani-
ment of the game, and which rises and
falls as the excitement grows and
wanes, reaching, sometimes, such fren-
zied accents that the casual passer-by
might easily mistake IL for war song.
The players take their places at the
four corners of the blanket, and are
paired off by couples. Each player con
tributes one of his moccasins, and the
winner Of the toss lays them on a
blanket upside down. and about six
inches apart, with the toes pointing
forward. Then, with his left hand he
: lifts each moccasin In turn and makes
a pretence of putting the knife under
it, making many passes and using ey-
cry preeaution to deceive his opponents
and the spectators. During ali the time
the musician keeps up a continuous
drumming which he accompanies with
a song. In the song the others all join
in but the opponents of the players
I an ororIu fqh FOR olfr. ruI.ffth mill
| give them a clue as to which moccasin
the knife or little joker is concealed
under.
When the knife Is hidden to the sat.
isfaction of the player, he suddenly
calls out "HOp in a loud voice, and
the singing drops TO a low nurmnr
One OF his opponents Is provided with
a short stick and he raises II threaten
ingly over the moccasins, first over
one, then over another, while all con
versation ceases and every eve Is fixed
J contently upon him. The interest be
comes more and more intense as this
by-play proceeds until finally the man
with the suck places one end Of 1t un
der the moccasin he selects and turns
1t over. Should the kn'fe lie found un
der It, he wins, and the former player
rellnquishes TO him the moccasins ant
knife, together with the stakes II i,
thereupon his privilege to hide th,
knife, while his opponent must guess
at its location. This reversal In posi-
ton gives the native player a nucl
better chance to come out even on thu
play than the average fakir who work.
the game af country fairs Is disposed
to allow his victim.
That Throbblns Headache