A ‘TRIP AMONG THE RAINY LAKES. 
BY 
ALBERT B. REAGAN. 
I arrived at International Falls, Minnesota, on the morning of the 18th 
of October last, but found that the ‘International’, the lake boat, would 
not run up the lakes until the 20th. So I bided my time visiting 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 eight 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 
erackers and other eatables on the water for them. And witheut 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 by 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 6 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 4% 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 
wen all the counters, both the white and the red. He then had won the 
game. 
