652 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



any time is hit, and must therefore try to hit a fellow, may throw 

 from where he finds the ball on the ground, or from any point be- 

 tween there and the hole. That was our rule, at any rate. 



The hole was sometimes replaced by the boys' hats, and the 

 owner of the hat into which the ball was dropped was the next 

 thrower. This was called " hat-ball." A new feature was some- 

 times introduced. A single miss did not put the player out. For 

 each miss he put a chip or pebble into his hat for a counter, called 

 a " pig." When he had accumulated an agreed number of pigs, 

 he was out. 



Retaining all these features except the hats, the game of " roll- 

 a-hole " went back to the hole in the ground ; but, instead of a sin- 

 gle one, there was a row of them — as many as there were players. 

 The ball was rolled along the line of these holes, and would stop 

 in one of them. Thus the thrower was chosen by lot, and not by 

 discrimination ; though, of course, this was not always true if the 

 ball-holder was dishonest, and had any desire to discriminate. 

 He was closely watched, and often accused of unfairness. It is 

 ever thus. 



I do not recall any other games of this class that we played. 

 The most popular of them was the one called " wibble-wobble " in 

 our school, and " hole-ball " wherever else I have seen it. Hat- 

 ball and roll-a-hole may be higher forms, the latter seeming to me 

 to be the last of its line. 



There is an allied line of games which reached a more interest- 

 ing development. The simplest form of it that I have seen was 

 called " draw-base " by the boy who brought its traditions to our 

 school. Here for the first time the players were divided into two 

 opposing teams, and bases were introduced. These bases were 

 two, facing each other, and the ball was thrown from one base to 

 the other in the effort to hit one of the opposing players, all of 

 whom were standing on the bases. A player who was hit, unless 

 he caught the ball, was not put out, but became an active recruit 

 in the ranks of his late enemies. When one base was in this way 

 emptied of its players, the game was over. Played with a com- 

 mon ball, this game was voted extremely stupid, and was rarely 

 indulged in. But with snow-balls it formed a large part of the 

 winter's sport. Played with a number of balls, inside a high in- 

 closure, so that the balls would not have to be chased, it might be 

 made quite exciting. 



Sometimes the two bases were on opposite sides of the school- 

 house, over which the ball had to be thrown to and fro until 

 caught, before anybody could be hit with it. Whenever it was 

 caught, the two teams changed sides of the school-house, and it 

 was while this exchange was going on that the hitting had to be 

 done. A player could not be hit after he reached " home." As in 



