They All Formed Into Groups And Taking
Their Places At The Several Fires, Prepared For One Of The Most
Exciting Amusements Of The Nez Perces And The Other Tribes Of The
Far West.
The choral chant, in fact, which had thus acted as a charm, was a
kind of wild accompaniment to the favorite Indian game of "Hand."
This is played by two parties drawn out in opposite platoons
before a blazing fire.
It is in some respects like the old game
of passing the ring or the button, and detecting the hand which
holds it. In the present game, the object hidden, or the cache as
it is called by the trappers, is a small splint of wood, or other
diminutive article that may be concealed in the closed hand. This
is passed backward and forward among the party "in hand," while
the party "out of hand" guess where it is concealed. To heighten
the excitement and confuse the guessers, a number of dry poles
are laid before each platoon, upon which the members of the party
"in hand" beat furiously with short staves, keeping time to the
choral chant already mentioned, which waxes fast and furious as
the game proceeds. As large bets are staked upon the game, the
excitement is prodigious. Each party in turn bursts out in full
chorus, beating, and yelling, and working themselves up into such
a heat that the perspiration rolls down their naked shoulders,
even in the cold of a winter night.
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