a ee a oe 

LACROSSE ON SOUTH FIELD, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
AN AMERICAN SPORT FOR 
ee AMERICANS 
The Ancient and Excellent Game of Lacrosse 
BY G. M. RICHARDS 
(Columbia University Lacrosse Team) 
ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY EDWARD CAVE 
EARS before the canoe of the 
Y | earliest voyageurs floated upon 
id the headwaters of the St. Law- 
ae ——-| rence, before the coming of the 
AX | white man, back in the dim 
No) past of the North American 
B\\ Indian, dates the ancient game 
“\4 of pagaadowewin. It was 

<<) filled with hair, and a short 
1 ih" J stick, called by the Chippewas 
pagaadwan, bent at one end into an 
oval loop, which was loosely knit with 
deerskin, after the manner of a snow-shoe 
—making a small net. Any number of men 
took part in the game, and the object 
of each party was to carry the ball between 
the goal-posts of their opponents. The 
goals were often several miles apart, and 
even among the red men, accustomed from 
childhood to hardship and with muscles 
and wind acquired of necessity, the game 
was considered a trial of endurance and 
skill, lasting sometimes for days. 
When the French came they called the — 
stick used in the game /a crosse, from a 
fancied resemblance to a bishop’s crosier: 
from which we have the name of our mcdern 
game—lacrosse. With the gradual elimina- 
tion of the old methods of play, the subor- 
dination of brute strength to skill and the 
introduction of “‘system,”’ there has devel- 
oped the fastest, most trying and, with the 
exception of equestrian polo, the most 
spectacular game of the day. 
Two reasons why lacrosse has not 
achieved more widespread popularity are 
that it isa gruelling contest, requiring per- 
fect physical condition, and that skill in 
handling the stick can be attained only by 
long and faithful practice. While modern 
lacrosse bears little resemblance to the game 
of former years, as much as possible of the 
rough play having been eliminated, it is 
nevertheless hardly a pastime for infants; 
and the man who fears a few cuts or bruises 
had best seek elsewhere for his amusement. 
The game is played by two teams of twelve 



