CHAPTER VI.

FASTS AND FEASTS.

'With pipes of peace and bows unstrung,
Glowing with paint came old and young,
In wampum and furs and feathers arrayed,

To the dance and the feast that the Bashaba made.

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And merrily when that feast was done.

On the fire-lit green the dance begun,

With squaws' shrill stave or deeper hum

Of old men beating the Indian drum.

Painted and plumed with scalp-locks flowing,
And red arms tossing, and black eyes glowing,
Now in the light, now in the shade,
Around the fire the dancers played."

Although the Indian was very reserved, even to gruffness, his nature had also a gayer side which found relief, at first in games, chiefly in those calling forth some physical skill, and later in the many feasts and festivals with which the Indian calendar abounded.

In regard to the games our knowledge is somewhat Games. limited, as historians have been so occupied with dealing in the more important and graver features of Indian life that they have given but little attention to them. We know, however, that as human nature was much the same even in those savage hearts as it is now, the children developed. the same gift of imitation, and consequently many of the childish games and amusements were mimic reproductions of the actions of sannup* and squaw. The objects used were almost entirely such as nature supplied. Consequently we find the Indian girl tenderly nursing a corn-cob doll, decorated with hair of the yellow corn floss, dressed in the kilt and leggings of husk, while the boy fashioned a rude arrow or clumsy pot, hunted, fished, and otherwise developed the physical strength so necessary to the brave.

The Indians also played with balls and were expert in handling the quoit. A Game of Plum Stones was called Kuntasso, and in another game a bowl and

* Indian man.

"This game is very fascinating to some portions of the Indians. They stake at it their ornaments, weapons, clothing, canoes, horses, everything in fact they possess; and have been known, it is said, to set up their wives and children, and even to forfeit their own liberty. Of such desperate stakes I have seen no examples, nor do I think the game itself in common use. It is rather confined to certain persons who hold the relative rank of gamblers in Indian society,- men who are not noted as hunters or warriors or steady providers for their families. Among these are persons who bear

counters were used. The young men were trained athletes, and were fine runners, riders, and swimmers. Some of their wrestling encounters with the early settlers are handed down as family tradition even to this day. There was also a game which resembled the modern cricket. One early traveller relates witnessing one of these games in which over six hundred young men took part. He says the exertion called forth was so severe that after playing twenty minutes a brave would drop out and make way for a fresh man. This game decided a long-standing rivalry between two tribes, and lasted many hours. The game of La Crosse, recently so popular in Canada, originated with the Indians. They invented also many gay dances with which to enliven the camp or adorn the feast.

These dances differed greatly in character, and were indicative of the mood of the partici- Dances. pants. Men, women and children took part. The women sometimes hummed a shrill accompaniment or beat time with sticks, while the older men made a

the term of Ienadizze-wng, that is, wanderers about the country, braggadocios, or fops. It can hardly be classed with the popular games of amusement, by which skill and dexterity are acquired. I have generally found the chiefs and graver men of the tribes, who encouraged the young men to play ball, and are sure to be present at the customary sports to witness and sanction and applaud them, speak lightly and disparagingly of this game of hazard. Yet it cannot be denied that some of the chiefs, distinguished in war and the chase at the west, can be referred to as lending their example to its fascinating power." Oneóta, p. 85.