44 MES. W. W. BEOWlSr ON 



squaiv-oc-Vmoos-wâl-dee that is, "the swamp woman's dishes" (Squcnv-oc-moos is the bête 

 noire of the Indian legends and even now, children will not play with toad-stools, 

 through the fear of the swamp woman). " One night," so the story runs, "during a very 

 important game of T'wis, on which everything available had been wagered, both contes- 

 tants fell asleep. The one having the t'wis was carried by Med-o-lin many miles into a 

 swamp. "When he awoke, he saw Squaw-oc-moos eating out of the dishes and a fivis 

 made of boughs in his hands." 



C) 



Fig. 3.— T'wis. 



It seems quite impossible to get a firis constructed from these wal-dee. The Indians 

 will describe such a fwis and promise faithfully to make one, even resenting any insinua- 

 tions that they are afraid to do so. Their promise, nevertheless, for whatever reason, 

 remains unfulfilled. 



II. 



The outdoor games requiring, as they do, strength, endurance, swiftness and skill 

 are not calculated to confirm the charge of indolence so often brought against the Indians. 

 Of these : — 



(1.) T' so-hd-ta-ben or Tso-hl-ûc requires more skill, both in construction and playing, 

 than other outdoor games. It is played on the crust or hard-drifted snow of the hill 

 side. If this is the game spoken of by other writers, as " Snow-snakes," there is nothing 

 in the name to so indicate. Each player is supposed to supply himself with the required 

 few fso hr-ac (sticks). In that case, all the sticks are " bunched " and thrown up, except 

 five sticks, though it sometimes happens that quite a number will join in the game, each 

 contestant catching what he can as they fall. Th«se sticks have different values, and as 

 distance is what is aimed at, the one going furthest wins all the others of the same kind. 

 They are set in motion by that peculiar movement which boys use in " skipping " stones 

 on the water. 



The shouts of the players, as the stick flies over the snow to the goal of success, or 

 buries itself in the drift of defeat, are deafening. As the sticks are, one by one, set in 

 motion, the player sings la-hd-wd, Ja-hd-ivd calling the stick by name, and this, echoed and 

 reechoed from the valley, is not altogether unmusical. The sticks, or fso-he-nc, are named 

 m-quon, âtlio-sis, j)-tqtik ivhol-éik, ske-ga-iveis and be-dupk-ts. M'qvon (the spoon) is about 

 two feet long, flat at top and bottom, with one end concave like the bowl of a spoon 

 A-fho-sis (the snake) is long, slender and round, one end resembling a snake's head, the 

 other pointed. Ske-ga-VKU is flat underneath, round on top, about two feet in length, one 

 end notched to resemble its name of wart. P't'ffûk-whol-ûk is the largest of all. From five 



