SI !\l)l INS Ol I in. PLAINS 



Games. Amusements and gambling are represented 



in collections by many curious devices. Adults rarely 

 played for amusement, leaving such pastime to children; 

 they themselves played for stake-. Mosl American 

 games are more widely distributed than many other 

 cultural traits; but a few seem almost entirely peculiar 

 to the Plains. 



A game in which a forked anchor-like stick is thrown 

 at a rolling ring was known to the Dakota, Omaha, 

 and Pawnee. So far, it has not been reported from 

 other tribes. 



Another game of limited distribution is the large 

 hoop with a double pole, the two players endeavoring 

 to place the poles so that when the hoop falls, it will 

 make a count according to which of the four marks in 

 the circumference are nearest a pole. This has been 

 reported for the Arapaho, Dakota, and Omaha. Among 

 the Dakota, this game seems to have been associated 

 with magical ceremonies for "calling the buffalo" 

 and also played a part in the ghost dance (p. 120) move- 

 ment. The Arapaho have also a sacred hoop game 

 associated with the sun dance. Other forms of this 

 game in which a single pole is used have been reported 

 from almost every tribe in the Plains. It occurs also 

 outside this area. Yet, in the Plains it takes special 

 forms in different localities. Thus the Blackfoot and 

 their neighbors used a very small spoked ring with an 

 arrow for the pole, the Mandan used a small plain 

 ring but with a very long pole, while the Comanche 

 used a large 1 life-preserver like hoop with a sectioned 

 club for a pole. 



