by Alan Nafzger & Lilly Tabbytite (Comanche)
Coyote once went out looking for someone to gamble with, but there was no one in any of the camps. An elderly lady informed him that everyone had gone to the coast to gamble. Coyote returned home to perform his gambling spirit power ceremony. It took five days to complete. He then proceeded to the coast.
On his way over, he passed a house occupied by two women. They pleaded with Coyote to stay and be their man, but he refused, saying he was going gambling. They were so desperate to be with Coyote that they followed him to the coast. They explained on the way that the gambling game over there was not like the stick game they played where Coyote lived. They explained how it worked to him. It was a game involving the bones of the dead.
"Hey, who wants to play the stick game?" said Coyote when he arrived. "We don't play that over here, we do it a different way," Sea Lion explained. Coyote claimed he had no idea how to play the other game. "My power is insufficient for that," he admitted. He smoked his pipe and sat alone. Elk approached and said, "Coyote, get in on this game." You will triumph. " "No, I'd lose everything. I'm not good at that," Coyote replied.
Otter approached Coyote, who was smoking. "You're pretty good at that stick game, Coyote." You should give it a shot. Coyote predicted that he would lose, but he didn't tell him.
Finally, after everyone assured him that he would be fine, Coyote agreed to participate in the Dead Bones game. But he asked them not to bet too much because he wouldn't win this type of game. He was only playing as a courtesy to them.
Coyote was the first to play with Beaver. The stakes were set at five slaves. Coyote was victorious. Everyone laughed at his good fortune. Otter came up next. Ten slaves were won by Coyote. They were all laughing. Next, Deer played and lost twenty slaves. They were no longer all laughing. Coyote defeated the elk and seal. When it was his turn, Sea Lion tried to talk Coyote out of playing. Coyote stated that quitting was bad and that a person should be allowed to win a little before quitting. This, according to Sea Lion, was true, but Coyote was winning everything. Coyote eventually agreed to resign.
But the next time I come over here, I want to play the stick game, not this game with dead people's bones," Coyote said. I'm hopeless at this type of game. "
He took his prize and went inland with the two women.