etition
among us. We felt very much as our fathers did in hunting and war--each
one strove to excel all the others.

It is true that our savage life was a precarious one, and full of
dreadful catastrophes; however, this never prevented us from enjoying
our sports to the fullest extent. As we left our teepees in the morning,
we were never sure that our scalps would not dangle from a pole in the
afternoon! It was an uncertain life, to be sure. Yet we observed that
the fawns skipped and played happily while the gray wolves might be
peeping forth from behind the hills, ready to tear them limb from limb.

Our sports were molded by the life and customs of our people; indeed, we
practiced only what we expected to do when grown. Our games were feats
with the bow and arrow, foot and pony races, wrestling, swimming and
imitation of the customs and habits of our fathers. We had sham fights
with mud balls and willow wands; we played lacrosse, made war upon bees,
shot winter arrows (which were used only in that season), and coasted
upon the ribs of animals and buffalo robes.

No sooner did the boys get together than, as a usual thing, they divided
into squads and chose sides; then a leading arrow was shot at random
into the air. Before it fell to the ground a volley from the bows of the
participants followed. Each player was quick to note the direction and
speed of the leading arrow and he tried to send his own at the same
speed and at an equal height, so that when it fell it would be closer to
the first than any of the others.

It was considered out of place to shoot by first sighting the object
aimed at. This was usually impracticable in actual life, because the
object was almost always in motion, while the hunter himself was often
upon the back of a pony at full gallop. Therefore, it was the off-hand
shot that the Indian boy sought to master. There was another game with
arrows that was characterized by gambling, and was generally confined to
the men.

The races were an every-day occurrence. At noon the boys were usually
gathered by some pleasant sheet of water and as soon as the ponies were
watered, they were allowed to graze for an hour or two, while the boys
stripped for their noonday sports. A boy might say to some other whom he
considered his equal:

"I can't run; but I will challenge you to fifty paces."

A former hero, when beaten, would often explain his defeat by saying: "I
drank too much water."

Boys of all ag