With the money thus obtained they gambled desperately.  One Indian, who boasted of the terrible name of “Cross-Eye,” brought in two ponies to sell.  One of them was an exceptionally ancient-looking animal, which had long since outlived its usefulness, and which, under ordinary local conditions, could certainly have been purchased for $4.00 or $5.00.  A friendly Indian met Mr.  “Cross-Eye”, and a conversation ensued as to the value of the pony and the probable price that it would realize.  The two men soon got angry on the subject, and finally the owner of the pony bet his animal’s critic the pony against $20.00 that it would realize at least the last-named sum.

With this extra stimulus for driving a good bargain, the man offered his pony to a number of white men, and finally found one who needed an animal at once, and who was willing to pay $20.00 for the antiquated quadruped.  “Cross-Eye” made a number of guttural noises indicative of his delight, and promptly collected the second $20.00.

He had thus practically sold a worthless pony for $40.00, and had it not been for his innate passion for gambling, would have done a very good day’s business.  A few hours later, however, he was found looking very disconsolate, and trying very hard to sell some supposed curiosities for a few dollars with which to buy a blanket he sorely needed.  His impecuniosity was easily explained.  Instead of proceeding at once to sell his second pony, he turned his attention first to gambling, and in less than an hour his last dollar had gone.  Then, with the gamester’s desperation, he had put up his second pony as a final stake, with the result that he lost his money and his stock in trade as well.  He took the situation philosophically and stoically, but when he found it impossible in the busy pioneer town to get even the price of a drink of whisky for his curiosities, he began to get reckless, and was finally escorted out of the town by two or three of his friends to prevent him getting mixed up in a fight.

When the Indians have enough energy they gamble almost day and night.  The women themselves are generally kept under sufficient subjection by their husbands to make gambling on their part impossible, so far as the actual playing of games of chance is concerned.  But they stand by and watch the men.  They stake their necklaces, leggings, ornaments, and in fact, their all, on the play, which is done sometimes with blue wild plum-stones, hieroglyphically charactered, and sometimes with playing bones, but oftener with common cards.  Above the ground the tom-tom would be sounded, but below ground the tom-tom was buried.

An Indian smokes incessantly while he gambles.  Putting the cigarette or cigar to his mouth he draws in the smoke in long, deep breaths, until he has filled his lungs completely, when he begins slowly to emit the smoke from his nose, little by little, until it is all gone.  The object of this with the Indian is to steep his senses more deeply with the narcotizing soporific.  The tobacco they smoke is generally their own raising.