The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-05


AIong-The Losers Never Quit Until
Cleaned Gut.
A. most extraordinary gambling game
has just come to an end in the little
Indian pueblo of Temecula, in River
side county, Cal 1t continued cease
lessly for three days and nights, and
would not have stopped then but for
the fact that the Indians of the Pa
change tribe had lost all their petty
personal property of any cash value,
except their very garments and grunts
Temecula is one of the eleven Mission
Indian pueblos in oSuthern California.
1t is situated among the Sierra Madre
Mountains. All the Mission Indians in
California are famous gamblers, but the
Teneculas are the most reckless plung-
ers among any redskins in the west
The Sababa6, Temescals and Pachan-
gos are also proficient gamblers. Eve
ry December these little remnants Of
former great tribes meet for season of
gambling. Last year the four tribes
camped at Saboba and had week Of
gambling. The Pachangos and Temes-
calls were winners then. From that
time the Temeculas have been waiting
for the opportunity to win back their
1osings of last December and more, too.
The Mission Indians seem to be born
for gambling. No white gamblers VIII
risk their all so complacently as the red
people do, and no professional white
plungers ever stayed so persistently at
gaming All bucks and squaWs gam
BILE. The Indian agents and the whites
who have lived among the redskins to
teach them habits Of sobriety and in
dustry have almost 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-as just al present among the Pa
changos-when a tribe has parted with
everything by which it may live and
provide some sort of livelihood to the
winners of a long gambling game. But
for the help of charitable people and
the Indian agents the losers at the
gambling game would be almost
starved The one gambling game of the
Indians of the Pacific coast is known as
sing-gamble. It is a simple game of
guessing, but a red man will wager all
clothing, on the game.
Early in November the four tribes
that join in the gambling fiesta began
preparations for the meeting on the
sun-baked mesa in the semi-tropic re-
gion of Temecula canon. The Indians
gathered up their blankets, firearms,
household utensils, ponies, horses and
fancy feathers and went afoot, in wag-
ons and on horseback over the noun
tains and through the canons to Teme-
cula. When 10 goes to gamble he takes
every one and everything in his home
circle. The Indians camp out, and they
stay there until some tribe is com
PEELED to cease because it has lost lite
rally its all.
When the recent gambling season /
among the Mission Indians began the
stakes played for included horses, wag-
ons, buggies, saddles, harness, blankets, |
jewelry, rifles, bed quilts, shawls, cloth
ing and. one hundred and fifty dollars in
cash, the whole representing a total of |
eleven hundred dollars worth or prop
erty. There was all that the allied |
tribes possessed, even to the clothes |
they wore and their winters supply of |
food, wagered on the game. The game
was conducted In a huge wickiup of |
chaparral, grasses, leaves and palm
branches, that has stood on the mesa
several years and has been the scene of
several remarkable gambling games
smoky bonfire of twigs and dried
sod was made at one side of the rude
structure and would have driven any
white men to the open air with it's !
fumes; but 1t seemed to make no differ
ence to the Indians. The tribes camped
in the open all about the gambling
wickiup and attended the gambling in
of players the members of one
tribe always being opponents or the
members of any other tribe Every In
dian had his blanket and many bucks
slept over at one side of the wickiup,
and the furious noise of the gaming
never seemed to disturb their sumbers,
The most earnest gaming opened early
each evening, when lighted candles
were stuck in the ground round about
the wickiup, and every person in the
assembled tribes was present to join in
the excitement of the gambling, even
If not to participate in the game.
An hour after shutdown, when the ac-
tive game of sing-gamble begins in the
TWO WllllhltI, NGIy ldTh-NlS-
aged and hobbling old bucks, with as
profound ceremony as the Indians
know, enter with the LAYOUT" consist
ing of wooden chips about the shape
Of twice the size of a silver dollar and
ane hundred and twenty tally sticks,
all wrapped In gayly decorated straw I
mats. Two bags of thin bark shavings
the outfit. Straw mats are {
spread before the fire, and two men
from each side seat themselves, facing
each other, and are ready for business.
The tribal adherents of the rival play
ers arrange themselves in their rear and
watch the game with intense interest t
and bet recklessly. A paleface cannot
imagine the excitement that they sup [
press as their black eyes follow the t
game. ]
One of the players takes ten chips,
me of them distinguished from the 9TH S
,rs by a white ring, and divides them [
INTO two equal piles and carefully (
mixes them with the bark shavings. I
He then grabs one pile, shavings and
III, in each hand, and moves his hands {
n circle rapidly from right to left t
While one of the opposite side guesses
n which hand he holds the white e
hinged chip, or queen" as it is called. $
L the guess is right one of the tally 7
sticks is taken from the players pile G