Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/414

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have near their ftate houfe, a fqnare piece of ground well cleaned, and fine fand is carefully ftrewed over it, when requifite, to promote a fwifter motion to what they throw along the furface. Only one, or two on a fide, play at this ancient game. They have a ftone about two fingers broad at the edge, and two fpans round : each party has a pole of about eight feet long, fmooth, and tapering at each end, the points fiat. They fee off a-breaft of each other at fix yards from the end of the play ground then one of them hurls the ftone on its edge, in as direct a line as he can, a conftderable diftance toward the middle of the other end of the fquare : when they have ran a few yards, each darts his pole anointed with bear's oil, with a proper force, as near as he can guefs in proportion to the motion of the ftone, that the end may lie clofe to the ftone when this is the cafe, the perfon counts two of the game, and, in proportion co the nearnefs of the poles to the mark, one is counted, unlefs by meafuring, both are found to be at an equal diftance from the ftone. In this manner, the players will keep running moft ; part of the day, at half fpeed, under the violent heat of the fun, ftaking their filver ornaments, their nofe, finger, and ear rings ; their bread, arm, and wrift plates, and even all their wearing apparel, except that which, barely covers their middle. All the American Indians are much addicted to this game, which to us appears to be a tafk of ftupid drudgery : it feems however to be of early origin, when their fore-fathers ufed diver- fions as fimple as their, manners. The hurling ftones they ufe at prefenr, were time immemorial rubbed fmooth on the rocks, and with prodigious labour; they are kept with the ftricteft religious care, from one generation to another, and are exempted from being buried with the dead. They belong to the town where they are ufed, and are carefully preferved.

Their manner of rambling through the woods to kill deer, is a very la borious exercife, as they frequently walk twenty-five or thirty miles through rough and fmooth grounds, and fafting, before they return back to camp, loaded. Their method of fifhing may be placed among their diverfions, but this is of the profitable kind. When they fee large fim near the furface of the water, they fire directly upon them, fometimes only with powder, which noife and furprize however fo ftupifies them, that they inftantly turn up their bellies and float a top, when the fifherman fecures them. If they flxoot at fifti not deep in the water,, either with an arrow or bullet, they aim 7 at

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