Produced by Joshua Hutchinson Tom Allen Juliet Sutherland Charles Franksand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamThis file was produced from images generously made availableby the Canadian Institute for Historical MicroreproductionsINDIAN GAMESAN HISTORICAL RESEARCHBY ANDREW McFARLAND DAVISThere are says Father Brebeuf in his account of what was worthy ofnote among the Hurons in 1636 Footnote Relations des JesuitesQuebec 1858 p 113 three kinds of games particularly in vogue withthis people cross platter and straw The first two are they saysupreme for the health Does not that excite our pity Lo a poor sickperson whose body is hot with fever whose soul foresees the end ofhis days and a miserable sorcerer orders for him as the only coolingremedy a game of cross Sometimes it is the invalid himself who mayperhaps have dreamed that he will die unless the country engages in agame of cross for his health Then if he has ever so little credityou will see those who can best play at cross arrayed village againstvillage in a beautiful field and to increase the excitement theywill wager with each other their beaver skins and their necklaces ofporcelain beadsSometimes also one of their medicine men will say that the wholecountry is ill and that a game of cross is needed for its cure It isnot necessary to say more The news incontinently spreads everywhereThe chiefs in each village give orders that all the youths shall dotheir duty in this respect otherwise some great calamity will overtakethe countryLACROSSEIn 1667 Nicolas Perrot then acting as agent of the French governmentwas received near Saut Sainte Marie with stately courtesy and formalceremony by the Miamis to whom he was deputed A few days after hisarrival the chief of that nation gave him as an entertainment a gameof lacrosse Footnote Histoire de lAmerique Septentrionale par M deBacqueville de la Potherie Paris 1722 Vol II 124 _et seq_More than two thousand persons assembled in a great plain each withhis cross A wooden ball about the size of a tennis ball was tossed inthe air From that moment there was a constant movement of all thesecrosses which made a noise like that of arms which one hears during abattle Half the savages tried to send the ball to the northwest thelength of the field the others wished to make it go to the southeastThe contest which lasted for a half hour was doubtfulIn 1763 an army of confederate nations inspired by the subtleinfluence of Pontiacs master mind formed the purpose of seizingthe scattered forts held by the English along the northwesternfrontier On the fourth day of June of that year the garrison at FortMichilimackinac unconscious of their impending fate thoughtlesslylolled at the foot of the palisade and whiled away the day in watchingthe swaying fortunes of a game of ball which was being played by someIndians in front of the stockade Alexander Henry who was on the spotat the time says that the game played by these Indians was Baggatiwaycalled by the Canadians _le jeu de la Crosse_ Footnote Travels andAdventures in Canada etc by Alexander Henry New York 1809 p 78Travels through the Interior parts of North America by Jonathan CarverLondon 1778 p 19 The Book of the Indians by Samuel G DrakeBoston 1811 Book V Ch III p 52Parkman Footnote The Conspiracy of Pontiac by Francis ParkmanBoston 1870 Vol 1 p 339 concludes a vivid description of thesurprise and massacre of the garrison at Michilimackinac based uponauthentic facts as follows Bushing and striking tripping theiradversaries or hurling them to the ground they pursued the animatingcontest amid the laughter and applause of the spectators Suddenlyfrom the midst of the multitude the ball soared into the air anddescending in a wide curve fell near the pickets of the fort This wasno chance stroke It was part of a preconcerted scheme to insure thesurprise and destruction of the garrison As if in pursuit of the ballthe players turned and came rushing a maddened and tumultuous throngtowards the gate In a moment they had reached it The amazed Englishhad no time to think or act The shrill cries of the ballplayers werechanged to the ferocious warwhoop The warriors snatched from thesquaws the hatchets which the latter with this design had concealedbeneath their blankets Some of the Indians assailed the spectatorswithout while others rushed into the fort and all was carnage andconfusionThus we see that the favorite game of ball of the North AmericanIndians known today as it was in 1636 by the name of lacrossewas potent among them as a remedial exercise or superstitious rite tocure diseases and avert disaster that it formed part of statelyceremonials which were intended to entertain and amuse distinguishedguests and that it was made use of as a stratagem of war by means ofwhich to lull the suspicions of the enemy and to gain access to theirfortsThe descriptions of lacrosse which have been transmitted to us wouldoften prove unintelligible to one who had never seen the game playedThe writers of the accounts which have come down to us from the earlypart of the seventeenth century were men whose lives were spent amongthe scenes which they described and they had but little time and fewopportunities for careful writing The individual records thoughsomewhat confused enable us easily to identify the game and acomparison of the different accounts shows how thoroughly the mainfeatures of the game have been preservedLacrosse is played today as follows The number of players on theopposing sides should be equal Regular stations are assigned in therules for playing the game for twelve on each side Goals eachconsisting of two upright posts or staffs generally about six feetapart and of equal height are planted at each end of the field Thelength of the field and its bounds are determined by the character ofthe ground and the skill of the players The effort of each side is toprevent the ball from passing through the goal assigned to itsprotection and equally to try to drive it through the opposite goalUnder no circumstances can the ball be touched during the