172 INDIAN GAMES. 



would have been miich more justifiable tliaii the compari- 

 son to tennis by the Freiich writers. 



Ball play seems to be associatecl with the legends of 

 the Indians. Elias Johnson,^ himself an Indian, teils about 

 a traditioii of a little old man vvho frequently presented 

 himself among the ball pUiyers. His presence in no way 

 afFected the game, but he was aiHicted with inimmerable 

 ailings and to akindly woman who received him in her hut, 

 he successively disclosed the treatment which would eure 

 each of his complaints, until he reached consumption, 

 which he pronounced incurable. Whether the nse of the 

 game by the medicine men, as a cure-all, is based on the 

 tradition, or the tiadition on the use, does not appear, 

 but the connection is evident. 



In 1768, J. Long^ airived at Montreal. He spent 

 many years amoiig the Indians of Canada and the north- 

 west. Part of the time he was eno^as^ed in mercantile 

 pursuits, and during a portion of the Revolutionary War 

 he coöperated with the Indians eiigaged on the English 

 side. He describes lacrosse. Itis not clear among what 

 tribes he means that he saw the game played, but I infer 

 that it was among the Chippewas. The ball was of stuffed 

 deer-skin. The rackets were about two feet long and 

 were laced at the end. The ball was to be Struck " into 

 a goal, at the distaiice of about four hundred yards, at 

 the extremity of which are placed two high poles, about 

 the width of a wicket from each other ; the victory con- 

 sists in driving the ball between the poles." He also re- 

 cords the good humor which prevailed during the games, 

 eveu in case of serious hurt. 



ß Legends, Traditions and Laws of the Iroquois, etc., by Elias Johnson, a na- 

 tive Tuscavora chief. Lockport, 1881, p. 58. 



« Voyag;es and Travels of an InUian Interpreter, etc., by J. Long, London, 

 17ÜL 



