316 THE INDIAN GAME OF "HAND." 



another shot behind the fore leg, about a foot above the 

 brisket, when she fell. I then turned my attention to the 

 others, which were by this time a quarter of a mile ahead, and 

 a gallop of a mile put me once more alongside, when I shot 

 the calf, letting the second cow go as my pony was nearly 

 done. 



After taking the two tongues, I rode back the way I had 

 come, meeting some of the Crows coming to look for me, 

 thinking I was a " tenderfoot " and should lose myself. I 

 told them where my two buffaloes were, and they said that the 

 women would come out the next day and take the meat to 

 camp. On our return I found Fishel in the lodge, having 

 just come back from the horse-camp, where he had not found 

 his ponies, though lie said that he was sure that they had been 

 there when we arrived, from some words spoken by the Indians 

 on their way to the horse-camp that morning, which he had 

 understood. An Indian's morality on the subject of stealing 

 generally, and especially stealing horses, is very lax, one of the 

 best Indians I ever knew telling me " that him no wrong to 

 steal, him only wrong to be found out." When you catch 

 them in the act they will only laugh, as if it were a good joke, 

 and are not in the least ashamed of themselves. There was 

 nothing to be done but to make the best of it, though we felt 

 inclined to try and run off a few of their ponies when we left. 



That evening we went to an Indian's lodge to see them 

 play their favourite game of " Hand." The game consists in 

 holding a shell in one hand, then placing both hands under a 

 buffalo-robe, which is lying in front of all the players, who 

 kneel in a circle, moving the hands about rapidly, changing 

 the shell from one to the other and then holding them both up 



