Fig. 95—Diagram of awl game.
The first is called nĕ′bäku′thana by the Arapaho and tsoñä or “awl game” (from tsoñ, an awl) by the Kiowa, on account of an awl, the Indian woman’s substitute for a needle, being used to keep record of the score. The game is becoming obsolete in the north, but is the everyday summer amusement of the women among the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache in the southern plains. It is very amusing on account of the unforeseen “rivers” and “whips” that are constantly turning up to disappoint the expectant winner, and a party of women will frequently sit around the blanket for half a day at a time, with a constant ripple of laughter and good-humored jokes as they follow the chances of the play. It would make a very pretty picnic game, or could readily be adapted to the parlor of civilization.
Fig. 96—Sticks used in awl game.
The players sit upon the ground around a blanket marked in charcoal with lines and dots, and quadrants in the corners, as shown in [figure 95]. In the center is a stone upon which the sticks are thrown. Each dot, excepting those between the parallels, counts a point, making twenty-four points for dots. Each of the parallel lines, and each end of the curved lines in the corners, also counts a point, making sixteen points for the lines or forty points in all. The players start from the bottom, opposing players moving in opposite directions, and with each throw of the sticks the thrower moves her awl forward and sticks it into the blanket at the dot or line to which her throw carries her. The parallels on each of the four sides are called “rivers,” and the dots within these parallels do not count in the game. The rivers at the top and bottom are “dangerous” and can not be crossed, and when the player is so unlucky as to score a throw which brings her upon the edge of the river (i. e., upon the first line of either of these pairs of parallels), she “falls into the river” and must lose all she has hitherto gained, and begin again at the start. In the same way, when a player moving around in one direction makes a throw which brings her awl to the place occupied by the awl of her opponent coming around from the other side, the said opponent is “whipped back” to the starting point and must begin all over again. Thus there is a constant succession of unforeseen accidents which furnish endless amusement to the players.
Fig. 97—Trump sticks used in awl game.
The game is played with four sticks, each from 6 to 10 inches long, flat on one side and round on the other ([figure 96]). One of these is the trump stick and is marked in a distinctive manner in the center on both sides, and is also distinguished by having a green line along the flat side ([figure 97]), while the others have each a red line. The Kiowa call this trump stick sahe, “green,” on account of the green stripe, while the others are called guadal, “red.” There are also a number of small green sticks, about the size of lead pencils, for keeping tally. Each player in turn takes up the four sticks together in her hand and throws them down on end upon the stone in the center. The number of points depends on the number of flat or round sides which turn up. A lucky throw with the green or trump stick generally gives the thrower another trial in addition. The formula is:
| One flat side up counts | 1 |
| One flat side (if sahe) counts | 1 and another throw. |
| Two flat sides up, with or without sahe, count | 2 |
| Three flat sides up count | 3 |
| Three flat sides up, including sahe, count | 3 and another throw. |
| All four flat sides up count | 6 and another throw. |
| All four round sides up count | 10 and another throw. |
