Spillikins or Spelicans
The game of Spelicans is similar to that of “Jerk-Straws.” The spelicans are a number of thin pieces of ivory or bone, cut into odd and various shapes—some like saws, some like spears, some like hooks, &c. Each spelican is inscribed with a number, the lowest being 5 and the highest 40. The spelicans are taken up in the hand of any one of the players, except by him who plays first, and dropped upon the table in a heap; the other player or players, as the case may be, then alternately endeavour to remove a spelican from the heap either with the fingers, or by the aid of two small hooks provided for the purpose, without in the slightest degree disturbing any other spelican. At the end of the game each player adds up the numbers marked on the spelicans he has captured, and he who can show the highest number wins. Sometimes, instead of each player alternately trying to remove one spelican, it is allowed for one player to continue removing spelicans one by one until more than one spelican is disturbed in the same try, when the play passes as before.