ABORIGINAL USE OF WOOD IN NEW YORK 



121 



of a weapon used in this way by the early New York Indians, and 

 whether the present boyish game is a survival or one received from 

 the whites is matter for conjecture. 



The old javelin games of the Iroquois have almost disappeared ; 

 but one often yet sees Indian boys throwing their light sumac darts 

 to see which will go farthest, using them with or without the stick 

 and string. A light flat dart is used with these. For merely throw- 

 ing it is but a cylindric stick, adorned with gay colors, nor is it now 

 finished with the care of earlier days, when it was used in formal 

 games. Of these, as played by the Senecas, Mr Morgan gave full 

 and interesting descriptions, and these will be substantially fol- 

 lowed here. 



For the two games the javelins were differently made. In that 

 with the hoop they were 5 or 6 feet long and less than an inch thick, 

 and made of hickory or maple with great care. One end was 

 sharpened, and the stick was spirally striped. Figure 39 shows this 

 and figure 40 the hoop. The ring might be either a hoop or a wheel 

 about 8 inches in diameter, and the dart was thrown at this, being 

 held at the end or in the center. Sometimes four of the clans played 

 against the others, from 15 to 30 players being on each side, each 

 player having from three to six javelins. These were forfeited by 

 the losers to the winning side. The hoop was rolled by one party 

 in front of the line of their opponents, who threw their javelins as 

 it passed. If it was hit, it was set up as a target, and each man of 

 the opposite side took the place of the lucky player and threw his 

 dart at it. If he hit it, he saved his missile ; if he missed, his 

 opponents took it and threw it again. If they were successful, the 

 dart was out of the game and belonged to them. Then the hoop was 

 rolled again by the other party, and the same course was followed. 

 The game ended when one party had lost all its weapons. Morgan 

 speaks of touching the hoop ; the Onondagas tried to thrust their 

 darts through, as in the game of chungke. The Seneca name for 

 this game is ga-na'-ga-o, and the dart is ga-geh'-dii. Zeisberger 

 gives gaheskah as the Onondaga name, which is now that of an 

 arrow. '1 



