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Show / \ Ute Recreation 67 hand which held the other die. Again and again he changed the dice from hand to hand, all the while shaking his hands up and down or putting them behind his back to mystify his opponent. His opponent hugged himself firmly, all the time closely watching the hands of the player with the dice. This would go on for a while, then the player who had been embracing himself raised one arm above his head and suddenly pointed at one hand of his opponent. If the hand he pointed at contained the dice, he took them and shuffled them in his hands as the other player had done. If, however, he had guessed wrong, the players on his side forfeited one counter and this was taken from the bundles and stuck in the ground. This game was played until one side had acquired all of the sticks. Other Ute games included double ball, shinney, and ring and pin. Shinney is similar to the present-day game of lacrosse. The buckskin ball used in shinney was shaped by a drawstring and a thong wrapped around the outside. It was usually three and one-half inches in diameter and was called "pokunump." The shinney stick, called a "beher," was rudely whittled with a broad curved end and was approximately twenty-seven and one-half inches long. This game was played primarily by women. The Utes adopted card games from the whites, and the Mexican game called "monte" became the favorite. Men and women alike, each playing in his own group, gambled at this game, for both sexes had the urge to gamble. Often after a few hours of monte, some unfortunate gambler was reduced to absolute beggary. The Utes loved horse racing and indulged in it at every opportunity. Besides transportation, the main use of the horse to the Utes was racing, and every Indian who could afford horses kept some primarily for racing. To them any individual who did not have a horse to run in a race was a nobody. The horse was also a sign of wealth and an individual's standing was measured precisely by horses he owned. It was estimated in 1874 that the Utes possessed some six thousand horses. Races were run on a straight track which was only a few hundred yards long. The owners rode their own animals and at a signal all started together with their arms outstretched or frantically plying a quirt of leather. They dug their heels into the horse's ribs and yelled loudly as they tried to cross the finish line first. Sometimes a horse would not stop at the end of the |