244 THE MENOMIXI INDIANS [bth.ann.14 



relinquishes the moccasins and bullets and takes his turn at guessing. 

 The game is decided when all the sticks on the blanket are Avon, those 

 winning the majority taking the bets previously made. The scoring 

 depends on the agreement previously formed. 



LACROSSE 



The game of lacrosse has already been described in connection with 

 the cult society of the Mita'wit, as oue of the preliminaries thereto, 

 under certain circumstances. The game appears, at the present time, 

 to be played merely for amusement, personal wagers being made on 

 the result. 



BALL GAME 



The. women formerly played a game of ball in which two sides, com- 

 posed of unlimited numbers, would oppose each other. At each end of 

 the ball ground, which was several hundred yards in length, a pole was 

 erected, to serve as a goal. Many of the players would surround their 

 respective goals, while the strongest and most active women, playing 

 about the middle of the ground, would endeavor to obtain the ball and 

 throw it toward their opponents' goal. The ball was made of deer hair 

 tightly wrapped with thongs of buckskin, and covered with the same 

 material. It measured about 3 inches in diameter. The women used 

 sticks with a slight curve at the striking end instead of a hoop, as on 

 the sticks used by the men. 



The game was more like the well-known game of "shinny" than any- 

 thing else, with the addition of having to cause the ball to strike the 

 goal instead of being merely knocked across a certain score line. The 

 guardians of the goals were expected to prevent the ball from touching 

 the post, and a good strike might send it away over the active players' 

 heads, far toward their opponents' goal. 



THE SNOW-SNAKE 



Another game, for both amusement and gambling, was termed the 

 "snow-snake," and was undoubtedly derived from the Ojibwa. It was 

 played during the winter, either in the snow or on the ice, and The only 

 article necessary consisted of a piece of hardwood, from 5 to feet long 

 and from one half to three fourths of an inch thick. The head was 

 bulb-like and shaped like a snake, with eyes, and a crosscut to denote 

 the mouth. This rounded end permitted it to pass over slight irreg- 

 ularities in its forward movements. The player would grasp the end, 

 or tail, of the snake by putting the index linger against the end and 

 the thumb on one side, opposite to which would be the remaining three 

 ringers; then stooping toward the ground the snake was held horizon- 

 tally from right to left and forced forward in the direction of the head, 

 skimming along rapidly for a considerable distance. (See figure 31.) 



The Ojibwa play the game in a similar manner, but they sometimes 

 place a ridge of snow slightly inclined away from the player in order 



