i422 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS [8TH. Ann. 24 
floors 150 feet long. The Apache play on a level ground, 100 feet 
Jong, with a rock in the center, from which the poles are hurled. 
The Creeks had large inclosed courts with sloping sides, on which 
the spectators were seated. Among the Apache and the Navaho, the 
direction of the track is from north to south. In reference to the 
season of the game, we learn that among the Wasco it is played at the 
time of the first run of salmon, and among the Umatilla in the spring. 
Fig. 544. Pottery bowl with spider-web decoration; diameter, 9} inches; Hopi Indians, 
Mishongnovi, Arizona; cat. no. 75766, Field Columbian Museum. 
Morgan describes it as played between different communities among 
the Iroquois. 
Information concerning the counts is meager. The Arapaho used 
one hundred and the Shoshoni six tally sticks. Among the Apache it 
is the principal gambling game. It is commonly played for stakes of 
value, but not infrequently for the arrows and darts used in the play. 
The explanation of the origin and significance of the game of 
hoop and pole rests largely upon the identification of the hoop. The 
netted gaming hoop is readily seen to be the same as the netted shield, 
-one of the attributes of the twin War Gods, Ahaiyuta and Matsailema, 
