GAMES. 



257 



to urge the ai uk toi'ik, as the ball is termed. The .size of the ball 

 varies from 3 to 7 inches in diameter. They have not yet arrived 

 at perfection in making a spherical form for the ball, bnt it is often 

 an apple shape. It is made by taking a piece of biuikskin, or 

 sealskin, and cntting it into a circular form, tlien gathering the 

 edges and .-stuffing the cavity with dry moss or feathers. A circular 

 piece of skin is then inserted to fill the space which is left by the incom- 

 plete gatherings. This ball is very light and is driven either by a blow 

 from the foot or else by a whip of peculiar construction. This whip 

 consists of a handle of wood 8 to 12 inches in length. To prevent it 

 from slipping out of the hand when the blow is struck, a stout thong 

 of sealskin is made into the form of a long loiip which is passed over 

 the hand and tightens around the wrist. To the farther end of the 

 whip handle are at- 

 tached a number 

 of stout thongs of 

 heavy sealskin. 

 These thongs have 

 their ends tied 

 around the handle 

 and thus form a 

 number of loops of 

 12 to 20 inches in 

 length. These aie 

 then tied together 

 at the bottom in 

 order to give them 

 greater weight 

 when the ball is struck by them. A lusty Eskimo will often send the 

 ball over a hundred yards through the air with such force as to knock 

 a person down. 



At Fort Chimo the game is played during the late winter afternoons 

 when the temperature is 30^ or 10=' below zero. It is exciting and 

 vigorous play where a large crowd joins in the game. 



Sometimes the ball is in the form of two irregular hemispheres joined 

 together, making a sphere which can be rolled only in a certain di- 

 rection. It is very awkward and produces much confusion by its 

 erratic course. Nos. 3161, 3287, and 3160 are footballs of the pattern 

 first described. 



The Innuit who come from the western end of Hudson strait, the so- 

 called "Northerners," have a game which they play with sets of pieces 

 of ivory cut into irregular shapes, and marked on one face with spots 

 arranged in different patterns (Fig. 77). The number of pieces in a set 

 varies from 60 to 118. The name of the set is A ma zu' a Idt, and 

 somewhat resembles our game of dominoes. 



The game is played in the following manner: Two or more persons, 



11 ETH 17 



Pig. 77.— Dominoes. Hudson Strait Eskimo. 



