492 GAMES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS _ [E&TH. Ann. 24 
were in white or yellow, and the four dark marks were black. It seems, there- 
fore, that the colors were not exactly fixed, further than that they had to be 
light and dark. 
Another game was played with the same ring and throwing-stick, and the points 
were counted as in the game just described. In fact, this game was like that, 
except that in this the players sat facing each other, and rolled the ring from 
one to the other. One man started the ring rolling, and then threw his 
stick in front of it, so as to stop it, if possible, before it reached the other 
man, Sometimes one man rolled and the other threw, in turn, instead 
of both men running abreast and throwing their sticks in front of the 
ring, as in the other game, one after the other. If the player missed, 
the other man took his turn. 
Another game was generally played,by boys and girls, but occasionally 
by adults. It was played out of doors, but also, in cold weather, inside 
the winter houses. In this a ring from 6 to 10,inches in diameter was 
used. It was made of pliable sticks, around which bark or dried grass 
was thickly twisted. Sometimes it was made of reeds (the same as 
those used in tent-mats) bent in the form of a circle, around which other 
reeds were twisted. The players sat in two lines, some distance apart, 
facing one another. At each end of the lines sat a person who set the 
ring rolling from one to the other between the two lines of players. 
When the ring was in motion, the players threw darts at it, the object 
being to make these darts hit the ring. If they passed through the ring 
without touching, it counted nothing. The darts were about 6 or 7 
inches in length, some thick in the middle 
and small at both ends |figure 642]. 
One end was feathered, while the other 
end was brought to a very sharp point. 
Many darts had the shaft all one thick- 
ness to near the point, where it was 
forked into two sharp points. These 
darts had property-marks, consisting of 
notches, dots, circles, or paintings, to in- 
dicate the owner. The wood used was 
that of the wax-esé’Ip-bush. 
A peculiar custom in connection with 
Fic. 641. Beaded game ring and spear; this game was that sometimes the old 
diameter of ring, 2 to 44 inches; length people would put some of the darts 
of spear, 291 inches; Thompson Indians, which the boys used for throwing at the 
British Columbia; cat. no. ;48s, 48s, 
American Museum of Natural History. 
ring into the fire of the winter house, 
the lads not being allowed to get them 
except by catching the ends of them with their teeth. Sometimes all the darts 
were gathered together and thrown outside. The boys were made to scramble 
Fia. 642. Game dart; length, 12 inches; Thompson Indians, British Columbia: cat. no. ;}8,, 
American Museum of Natural History. 
for them. The one that obtained the most was the victor. A boy who was 
unlucky in playing, and lost all his darts, could get them back again by putting 
up his back as a target, every arrow fired at it becoming his property. This 
game, like the preceding one, has now gone out of use. 
In another game a ring the size of a finger ring was placed on the ground 
