Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-09-11

/ Z
Of chance with especial reference tc
their origin, but this aspect Of the case
! the part which they play in the life
! Of today-has been generally over
| looked. Indians. negroes, Cinnamon
| have been hastily classed as inveteratc
| gamblers, and such indeed from one
| point Of view, they are, says the Chi
! ca SO News. But there is something
more than this in the universal passion
| for play which characterizes all the
lower races. without being by any
! means confined to them.
The negro. whose whole soul seems
absorbed in the formula, Come
scben' or Come cleben." in his ia
vorite game of craps. is yielding to
the same impulse which causes the
thlnaman to spend all his earnings in
the never-ending, but to him ALWAYS
fascinating mysteries Of 'fantan." and
which justifes the Mexican, in his own
mind, for the loss of many hours and n
rev. if not many, dollars in the allure
mcnts Of monte on the sunny side or
his adobe shack Tho fondness Of
many business men for a quiet little
game is an exhibition Of the same de-
sire for mental excitement ana change
different. perhaps, in amount. but NOT
In kind, from that which holds little
band Of Indians around a blanket
spread upon the ground for days AT y
time while the chances Of the game are
making one man rich and the others
poor.
From this point Of view the gambling
games Of the Indians have j certain
value aside from the picturesoueness
which is nearly always an accountant
ment. All kinds Of games are ID be
found among them. native al well as
imported. ana while the latter arr
gradually supplanting the former On
account Of greater convenience ana
perhaps because Of quicker action. the
strict aboriginal games are by no
means extinct They can still be found
I'm tull swing in many parts of the
United States which are a little remote
from the usually travelled lines. and
but little changed by contact with our
own civilization.
There is little doubt that in their
origin many. if not all. of these games
We're real religious ceremonies. de-
signed to foretell the future. but they
also played the same part in ancient
times that they do today 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 We're originally. Among them
perhaps the most striking is the game
Of mOccasin. which seems To be an
Questionably the forprunner III the
"lttle joker" which every year proves
% effective at country fairs In Turing
dollars from the pockets Of the I'M
wary This game was once widely dis
trihuted among the Indian tribes. and
it has been said that Ill IL now extinct:
nut ii can b. seen today in its
aboriginal form in any If the outlying
parts NJ the Navajo reservation in
Arizona
The paraphernalia Of the game are
very simple ana always at hand. con-
sisting merely Of a knife or other harj
zuhstance-a pebble will do-and the
mocCasins Of the players The game il
usually played at night. although
sometimes il extends over severa!
days. and in its native setting has
Weirdne~s and fascination which the
modern fakr cannot claim. Five per-
sons usually participate. four of them
actively. while the fifth acts as a
musician, but usually much larger
number watch the urogress Of tho
game and PERHAPS place ba- occa-
siun4IIv.
Picture 1uaa shelter of eras,,
hougbs roughly circular in for,,
placed in some tbirl,at IN. md. Tho
ovorhan.fna- branches Of d., I,rr.. ,,.,o
In the center q br,rl,at fs er,...,1 ,,,,--,
the ground surrounded t,I. ~ 49,. On
Trdians so1,ot+i,e, aIl,,+ +. 80, ,a1..t-..
over iutar+I,. u,a+.r,t,,,l tl., ,l.,. O.,
all tho tftr,,I erl,,,- .-,, ~.
from huge fir. on mo -id. Tba
effect is heightened nv weird song
which Is 4 constant acromnanfnent III
the game. ana which rises and faIIs as
the excitement grows ana vanes
reaching. sometimes slcb fra1zfad ac-
cents THAT th- casual rgsser-h,- njab+
easily mistake III r,r i ,.,- son.r
The plaverg TAXI their r1ac4s ~ tba
four corners VI tha blanket 9nd ara
paired 0f hv rnurIas E,acb ,,Ia,.,,.
contributes ono w bis rnocrasfre ,n1
thc winner III rha toss Iays tbDn7 on !,
blanket INSIDE down anJ aLau- eiv
inches 4nart. ,yffh fba t,as r.rDti,,