253 



A TRIP AMONG THE RAINY I.AKRS. 

 BY 



Ai.uKUT P.. Rkacax. 



I arrived :i(; IiiU'ni:iti(iii:il F;ills, .Miiiiicsc.lii. mi tlic iiioniiiiK of the ISth 

 of October last, but found that the "International", the lake boat, would 

 not run up the lakes until the 2()tb. So I bided my time visitiuR Fort 

 Frances, Ontario, also the International Pulp mills at International Falls 

 on Rainy river, said to be the largest paper mills in the world. On the 

 20th I took boat. Our course lay nearly east. For eif^ht hours we steamed 

 up the lakes a distance of more than 50 miles. Our course lay among islands 

 and projecting points and through narrows and wide open spaces. The day 

 was beautiful and the mirrored shadows of the shore line, rocks, trees, and 

 entangled vines brought forth to view the doubled beauty of the wonderful 

 scenery. Also as we journeyed along in and out through this chain of 

 lakes, the sea birds gathered about us and the captain threw bread and 

 crackers and other eatables on the water for them. And without fear the 

 birds hovered about and darted here and there for the floating morsels. 

 And they were disappointed when the boat whistled for Kettle Falls, our 

 destination. 



Our boat had hardly anchored when an Indian woman t)y the name of 

 Ke-me-tah-beake was canoeing me over to Kettle Falls on the British side ; 

 and on the next day I proceeded on to Moose river and Capitogama lake, 

 finding myself that evening in the Indian village of Moose River. I had 

 moose meat for supper and our Indian guide killed a dear about dark. So 

 we had plenty of venison the rest of our stay in the country. 



We were in the Indian country and Indian scenes were to view on every 

 hand. 



While strolling about the Indian village on the day of our arrival I found 

 two Indians playing the Bowl Game — the Chippewa dice game. The players 

 had a symmetric, nicely finished, hemispheric bowl of some 13 inches in 

 diameter and G inches in depth, a bowl made of a large round nodule of 

 a maple root, fashioned solely with the aid of an ax and a knife. This bowl 

 is about an inch in thickness in the bottom but tapers considerably towards 

 its rim. In this game there are 40 counters. These are made of trimmed 

 sticks about 12 inches in length and usually % of an inch in thickness. Half 

 of these are colored red, half white. The dice used in the game are some 

 variously carved, very small, thin pieces of bone, with sides variously 

 colored. 



When I arrived, the bowl containing these dice was being lightly tapped 

 on the ground to flip the dice. Bets were being made and the staked prop- 

 erty was to view. And as both spectators and players sang, the game 

 went on. A "Smart" tap of the bowl might change the whole game. While 

 thus playing, the players tapped the bowl alternately until one person 

 won all the counters, both the white and the red. He then had won the 

 game. 



