NELSON] DART-THROWING FOOTBALL 335 



Throwing sticks {M-bu'-tuk) — (St Michael). A rectangular ivory 

 pin, from five to seven inches in length, is planted upright in the floor 

 of the kashim. Each player puts up an object for a prize, and stand- 

 ing at a certain distance from the pin tosses in succession two small, 

 flat, ivory rods toward it. The man whose rod lies closest to the pin 

 when all have thrown is entitled to his choice of the articles staked by 

 the players, and the game proceeds until all of the articles are won. 

 The ivory rods used in this game are from about 2^ to 4 or 5 inches in 

 length, rather flattened, and quadrangular in cross section, the corners 

 rounded, and on one side of each end is a rounded bead, the two beads 

 facing in different directions. The name of these two small rods is the 

 same as that of the game. They are sometimes grooved along one or 

 both ftices, and usually are pierced near one end so that they may be 

 strung on a cord with from two to four larger ivory pins like that stuck 

 in tlie floor. These latter are brought down to a flat, rounded point at 

 one end, while the other is larger and rounded or squared, often with 

 the head of an animal carved upon it. 



This collection of rods serves primarily for preparing and twisting 

 the sinew for sinew-backed bows, as has been exphiined by Mr John 

 Murdoch. These objects, including both classes of rods, were obtained 

 from the Alaskan coast between Kuskokwim river and the vicinity of 

 Point Barrow, as well as from the islands in Bering strait and on St 

 Lawrence island. 



A handsome set obtained on Sledge island consists of four of the 

 large pins with the upper ends cafved to represent reindeer heads, and 

 two of the ordinary, small, flat rods. These, like most implements of 

 this kind, are made of walrus ivory; occasionally bone is used, but 

 this is uncommon in the region where ivory is found. One set of the 

 flat rods from Hotham inlet, Kotzebue sound, are marked with the 

 rav^n totem; others have a series of circle-and-dot ornamentation, but 

 many of them are plain. One specimen of the pin from Point Hope has 

 the larger end carved to represent one of the joints in the leg-bone of 

 a mammal, and another set from the same place has carved on them 

 the head of some small animal, probably a fox. Another set of these 

 implements in the National Museum was obtained by Mr Macfarlane at 

 Fort Anderson, in Hudson Bay territory. 



Football {i-tig'-u-mi-u'-hlu-thi) — (St Michael). The ball {liiVlmJc) 

 used in this game is made of leather, stuft'ed with deer hair or moss, 

 and varies in size, but rarely exceeds Ave or six inches in diameter. 

 The game is played by young men and children. The usual season for 

 it is at the end of winter or in spring. I saw it played in various places 

 from Bering strait to the mouth of the Kuskokwim; at Cape Darby 

 it was played by children on the hard, drifted snow; it is also a popular 

 game on the lower Yukon. Two of the participants act as leaders, 

 one on each side choosing a player alternately from among those gath- 

 ered until they are equally divided. At a given distance apart two 



