[1] Of all the games played by men among the Pawnee Indians, none was
so popular as the stick game. This was an athletic contest between
pairs of young men, and tested their fleetness, their eyesight, and
their skill in throwing the stick. The implements used were a ring six
inches in diameter, made of buffalo rawhide, and two elaborate and
highly ornamented slender sticks, one for each player. One of the two
contestants rolled the ring over a smooth prepared course, and when it
had been set in motion the players ran after it side by side, each one
trying to throw his stick through the ring. This was not often done,
but the players constantly hit the ring with their sticks and knocked
it down, so that it ceased to roll. The system of counting was by
points, and was somewhat complicated, but in general terms it may be
said that the player whose stick lay nearest the ring gained one or
more points. In this story, the Buffalo by their mysterious power
transformed the girl into a ring, which they used in playing the stick
game.
[2] Cf. The Story of the Indian, p. 194, and The Indians of To-day, p.
43.