Part 65 (1/2)

Battles are for best out of five, seven, eleven, or thirteen rounds.

Badger-Pulling

The two contestants, on hands and knees, face each other.

A strong belt or strap is buckled into one great loop that pa.s.ses round the head of each: that is, crosses his nape. Half-way between them is a dead line. The one who pulls the other over this line is winner.

The contestant can at any time end the bout by lowering his head so the strap slips off; but this counts one against him.

Game is best out of five, seven, eleven, or thirteen points.

Poison

This is an ancient game. A circle about three feet across is drawn on the ground. The players, holding hands, make a ring around this, and try to make one of the number step into the poison circle. He can evade it by side-stepping, by jumping over, or by dragging another fellow into it.

First to make the misstep is ”it” for the time or for next game.

Hat-Ball

When I was among the Chepewyan Indians of Great Slave Lake, in 1907, I made myself popular with the young men, as well as boys, by teaching them the old game of hat-ball.

The players (about a dozen) put their hats in a row near a house, fence, or log (hollows up). A dead line is drawn ten feet from the hats; all must stand outside of that. The one who is ”it” begins by throwing a soft ball into one of the hats. If he misses the hat, a chip is put into his own, and he tries over. As soon as he drops the ball into a hat, the owner runs {304} to get the ball; all the rest run away. The owner must not follow beyond the dead line, but must throw the ball at some one. If he hits him, a chip goes into that person's hat; if not, a chip goes into his own.

As soon as some one has five chips, he wins the b.o.o.by prize: that is, he must hold his hand out steady against the wall, and each player has five shots at it with the ball, as he stands on the dead line.

Duck-on-a-Rock

This is a good old grandfather game.

Each player has a large, smooth, roundish stone, about five or six inches through. This is his duck. He keeps it permanently.

Toe rock is any low bowlder, block, stump, b.u.mp, or hillock on level ground. A dead line is drawn through the rock, and another parallel, fifteen feet away, for a firing line.

The fellow who is ”it,” or ”keeper,” perches his duck on the rock. The others stand at the firing line and throw their ducks at his. They must not pick them up or touch them with their hands when they are beyond the dead line. If one does, then the keeper can tag him (unless he reaches the firing line), and send him to do duty as keeper at the rock.

But they can coax their ducks with their feet, up to the dead line, not beyond, then watch for a chance to dodge back to the firing line, where they are safe at all times.

If the duck is knocked off by anyone in fair firing, the keeper is powerless till he has replaced it. Meantime, most of the players have secured their ducks and got back safely to the firing line.

Road-side Cribbage

This is a game we often play in the train, to pa.s.s the time pleasantly.

Sometimes one party takes the right side of the road, with the windows there, and the other the left. Sometimes all players sit on the same side.

The game is, whoever is first to see certain things agreed on scores so many points.