oss AS in 
signs as far as possible. An army of Indian dogs 
very much resembling the wolf, usually beset the en- 
trance. From some tents comes the sound of music. 
A virtuoso beats a sort of kettle drum with bells 
around with all his might, and the chorus accom- 
panies him with strange monotone untrained sounds 
that showed strong tendency to the minor chords. 
A similar heart-rending song drew me to a troop 
of squaws that were engrossed in the game of “‘the 
hand,” so popular with the Indians. Some small 
object, a bit of wood, for instance, is passed from 
hand to hand among the players seated in a circle; 
and it is some one’s part to guess in whose hands 
the object is. During the game the chorus stead- 
ily sings some song as monotonous as those to which 
bears dance. But the real object is to gamble in 
this way for some designated prize. It is a game 
of hazard. In this case, for example, a pile of beads 
and corals, which lay in the midst of the circle, was 
the object in question. Men and women are so car- 
ried away by the game, that they often spend a whole 
day and night at it. Other groups of whites and 
Indians were engaged in barter. The Indians had 
for the trade chiefly tanned skins, moccasins, thongs 
of buffalo leather or braided buffalo hair, and fresh 
or dried buffalo meat. They have no beaver skins. 
The articles that attracted them most in exchange 
were powder and lead, knives, tobacco, cinnabar, 
gaily colored kerchiefs, pocket mirrors and all sorts 
of ornaments. Before the Indian begins to trade he 
The Yearly 
Rendezvous 
