124 THE CHILDREN OF THE COLD. 



holding the knees firmly rigid, with 

 the feet close together, the contestants 

 paddle along as fast as possible by short 

 jumps of an inch or two. It is a severe 

 strain on the feet, and one cannot go 

 very far in so awkward a way. The 

 little girls, standing in a row of from 

 three to five, often jump up and down in 

 the same manner, keeping a sort of time 

 with the thumping of their heels to the 

 rude songs that they are spluttering out 

 in short jerks and gasps, as unmusical as 

 the hammering of their heels. A lot of 

 these little damsels would favor us with 

 a short version of this stiff-jumping, 

 spluttering melody whenever they were 

 particularly grateful for some small gift 

 we had presented to them. 



A capital game played by the little 

 girls, and by some of the smaller boys, is 



