_GAMES OF CHASE_.
The spring clade all in gladness
Doth laugh at winter's sadness,
And to the bag-pipes round,
The maids tread out their ground.
Fy, then, why are we musing,
Youth's sweet delight refusing?
Say, dainty nymph, and speak,
Shall we play Barley Break?
_Old Song._
No. 101.
_How many Miles to Babylon?_
A party of young people stand at each end of a space, such as a
portico, a field, etc., and a single player is stationed in the middle.
The former address the latter:
"Marlow, marlow, marlow bright,
How many miles to Babylon?"
"Threescore and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight?"
"Yes, if your legs are as long as light,
But take care of the old gray witch by the road-side."
The players at the ends of the field then run from side to side, and
must be caught by the central player, whom they then assist to catch
the rest.
_Georgia._
This sport, which has been universally familiar in America, is a form
of the old English game of "Barley Break," and probably the "marlow
bright" of our version is a corruption of that name.
The Scotch variety given by Chambers has a very chivalric turn, which
may give an idea of the song which must have accompanied the game in
the time of Queen Elizabeth:
"King and queen of Cantelon,
How many miles to Babylon?"
"Eight and eight, and other eight."
"Will I get there by candlelight?"
"If your horse be good and your spurs be bright."
"How many men have ye?"
"Mae nor ye daur come and see."
The poets of the Elizabethan age fully describe the game of "Barley
Break," and seem to think it the most delightful of youthful
amusements. They represent Diana and her nymphs as amusing themselves
with this sport.
It appears from Sidney's description that the game was played by three
couples, each of a youth and a maid, one couple standing at each end
of the area, and the third remaining in the centre. The mating was
determined by lot, and the last pair mated were obliged to take the
central position, and saluted each other by a kiss. This pair were
required to pursue with joined hands, while the others were at liberty
to separate. Any maid caught replaced the maid, and any youth the
youth, of the central couple. Notwithstanding the courtly nature of
the sport, that its fundamental idea is the same as that of our game
appears by the name of the central space, as Sidney gives it in the
"Arcadia:"
Then couples three be streight allotted there,
They of both ends the middle two do flie,
The two that in mid-place Hell called were,
Must strive with waiting foot and watching eye
To catch of them, and them to Hell to bear,
That they, as well as they, Hell may supplie.
A New England variation introduces blindfolding, thus adapting the game
to a chamber. Two children are made to kneel on stools, their eyes
bandaged, and the rest must run between. The dialogue is:
"How many miles to Barbary-cross?"
"Fourscore."
"Are there any bears in the way?"
"Yes, a great many; take care they don't catch you!"
No. 102.
_Hawk and Chickens._
A hen with her brood. A child represents the "Old Buzzard," about whom
the rest circle. The hen addresses the latter:
"Chickany, chickany, crany, crow.
Down in the gutter
To get the hog's supper--
What o'clock is it, old buzzard?"
The Buzzard, meanwhile, is busied in building up a fire with sticks,
and abruptly names any hour, when the question and answer are repeated
for each child of the ring, until twelve o'clock, thus--
"Half-past ten."
"What o'clock is it, old buzzard?"
"Half-past eleven."
"What o'clock is it, old buzzard?"
"Twelve o'clock."
The ring now halts, and the dialogue proceeds:
"Old buzzard, old buzzard, what are you doing?"
"Picking up sticks."
"What do you want the sticks for?"
"To build a fire."
"What are you building a fire for?"
"To broil a chicken."
"Where are you going to get the chicken?"
"Out of your flock."
The Buzzard gives chase and captures a child. He brings him back, lays
him down, and proceeds to dress him for dinner. All the rest stand
round in admiring silence. The Buzzard asks,
"Will you be picked or scraped?"
According to the choice he proceeds as if picking the feathers of a
bird or scaling a fish, and continues, with appropriate action,
"Will you be pickled or salted?"
"Will you be roasted or stewed?"
He drags the victim into one or another corner of the room, according
to the reply, and the game proceeds as before.[97]
_New England._
In the Southern States a witch takes the place of the bird of prey, and
the rhyme is,
"Chickamy, chickamy, crany, crow,
I went to the well to wash my toe,
And when I came back my chicken was gone;
What o'clock, old witch?"
The witch names any hour, and questions and answers are repeated as
before, up to twelve:
"What are you doing, old witch?"
"I am making a fire to cook a chicken."
"Where are you going to get it?"
"Out of your coop."
"I've got the lock."
"I've got the key."
"Well, we'll see who will have it."
The witch tries to get past the hen, and seize the last of the line;
the mother, spreading out her arms, bars the passage. The witch cries,
"I must have a chick."
"You sha'n't have a chick."
Each child caught drops out, and as the line grows shorter the struggle
becomes desperate.
_Georgia._
This latter way of playing is the older form of the game, and is also
familiar, though without words, in the North, where it is known as "Fox
and Chickens."
This game is one of the most widely diffused, and the dialogue is
marvellously identical, from Russia to Italy.
In Schleswig-Holstein the conversation runs thus:
"Hawk, what are you lighting?"
"A fire."
"What is the fire for?"
"To make ashes."
"What are the ashes for?"
"To sharpen a knife."
"What is the knife for?"
"To cut off chickens' heads."
"What have the chickens done?"
"Gone into my master's corn."
In our own country, among the Pennsylvania Germans, or, to use their
own agreeable idiom, "De Pennsylfaunisch Deitsch," this game enjoys the
distinction of being almost the only child's game which is accompanied
by words, and is played as follows:
A boy who is digging in the earth is accosted by a second, who carries
a handful of sticks, the longest of which represents the needle:
"Woy, woy, was grawbst?"
"Meine Moder hat erne silberne Nodel verloren."
"Is sie des?"
"Ne."
"Is sie des?"
"Ne."
"Is sie des?"
"Yaw."[98]
The stooping child now rises and pursues the rest.
A similar dialogue is used for a game of chase in New York:
"Old mother, what are you looking for?"
"A needle."
"What do you want a needle for?"
"To sew my bag with."
"What do you want your bag for?"
"To keep my steel in."
"What do you want your steel for?"
"To sharpen my knife to cut off your head."
In the same spirit, the Venetian game has:
"Sister, what are you looking for?"
"A knife to kill you with."
Whereupon she pursues the questioners. In this version we find also
the inquiry about the hour, the putting of the pot on the fire, the
searching for the knife, and final scattering.
The Finns on the Baltic coast, too, have the game in the form of a long
song, beginning,
Close together! see the hawk yon!
Close together! see his talons?
Which exactly corresponds to the Scotch,
Keep in, keep in, wherever ye be--
The greedy gled is seeking ye!
No. 103.
_Tag._
In this game a child, usually selected by "counting out," pursues
his comrades till he has caught one who must replace him. There is
generally some asylum of refuge, where the pursued are safe.
The original form of this game seems to have been "Iron Tag," or "Tag
on Iron," once universal in the United States, and still here and there
played. In Germany and Italy, also, this is the usual form of the
sport. In this game the pursued party is safe whenever touching iron
in any shape, as the ring of a post, horse-shoe, etc.[99] A writer in
the _Gentleman's Magazine_, February, 1738, speaking of this amusement,
says that "the lad saves himself by the touching of cold iron," and
that "in later times this play has been altered amongst children of
quality, by touching of gold instead of iron." In like manner, owing
to the occasional scarcity of iron objects, _wood-tag_ and _stone-tag_
have been varieties of the sport in America.
This form of the game exhibits its original meaning. As in several
other games of chase, the pursuer represents an evil spirit, from whose
attack, according to ancient superstition, iron was a protection. Hence
the challenge, in Silesia and Switzerland, is, "Father, I have no iron,
hit me."[100] The chaser, it seems, was conceived as the aged but
powerful dwarf, of malignant character. Thus we get a vivid idea of
the extent to which such representations once affected the lives even
of children, and see that an amusement which is now a mere pleasurable
muscular exercise followed the direction imposed by belief.
There are numerous varieties of this game. In _cross-tag_, the pursuer
must follow whoever comes between him and the pursued. In _squat-tag_,
the fugitive is safe while in that position, or is allowed a given
number of "squats," during which he cannot be touched. A peculiar
variety (in Philadelphia) is "Tag, tag, tell a body." In this game
every child is forbidden to tell who is "it," on penalty of replacing
him. Sometimes the name of the pursuer is kept secret until revealed
by his actions, or the child who has been tagged deceives the rest by
keeping up his speed. On the other hand, the catcher is sometimes bound
to turn his cap inside out, whence the game is called _turn-cap_.
"Pickadill" is a kind of tag played in Massachusetts during the winter.
A large circle is made in the snow, with quartering paths; if there are
many players, two circles are made. There is one tagger, and the centre
is the place of safety.
"London Loo" is a particular species of the game (in Philadelphia) in
which the following: formula is used:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10--London!"
"Loo!"
"I'll try to catch one of you."
No. 104.
_Den._
This is an out-of-doors game. Each boy represents a wild beast, and
has a separate tree, which represents his "den." Any player who leaves
his den is liable to be tagged by any who has started out at a later
moment. The best runner usually ventures first, a second pursues him,
and so on, until all may be out at once. If a player can tag any one
whom he has a right to capture, he takes him home to his own den, and
the latter must help him to take the rest. The pursuer cannot be tagged
while bringing home his prisoner.
_Cambridge, Mass._
No. 105.
_I Spy._[101]
This game is world-old and world-wide. To judge by the description of
Pollux (in the second century), it was then played exactly as American
children play it to-day. "One of the party places himself in the middle
of his comrades, and closes his eyes, unless some other covers them for
him. The players run away and scatter. Then the pursuer opens his eyes
and proceeds to look for them. It is each player's object to reach that
one's[102] ground before him."
An ancient painting represents this game. Cupids are playing together.
One of these, with his face turned away, has his hands before his
eyes, and appears to be counting. Another is running to a place of
concealment, while a third peeps from behind the door.
Children, with us, usually count a hundred before beginning the search;
but there is an abbreviated method, not accounted fair--
Ten, ten, and double ten,
Forty-five and fifteen.
The "home" is usually a tree. When the seeker catches sight of any
of the players, he (or she) runs to the tree, and touches it thrice,
saying, "One, two, three, for----" (naming the child). On the other
hand, if the latter can reach the tree first, he touches it, saying,
"One, two, three, for myself."[103]
In a variety of the game, a stick is set up against a tree. One of
the players seizes it, and throws it as far as possible. The children
hide, while the one who happens to be "it" gets and replaces the stick,
after which he proceeds to look for the rest. Those whom he discovers
he captures as above described, until all are taken. If any of the
hiders can reach the tree and throw down the stick, all prisoners are
released, and the seeker must begin over again. A similar game, in New
York, is called "Yards off."
"Hide and Seek" differs only in this, that there is no home to be
touched, but the game is ended when the concealment is discovered. When
the players are hidden they announce it by "whooping."
No. 106.
_Sheep and Wolf._
This is a very ancient hiding-game. A wolf is chosen by "counting out"
or otherwise, who conceals himself, and then indicates that he is ready
by howling.
The rest of the party, who are supposed to be sheep, walk round the
corner in a casual way, until one calls out, "I spy a wolf," whereupon
all immediately take to their heels. Whoever is caught by the wolf
before reaching home must take his place for the next turn. This game
is nearly identical in most European countries.
_New York._
No. 107.
_Blank and Ladder._
A boy is selected by the following peculiar counting rhyme:
In came a little man with a white hat;
If you want a pretty girl, pray take that;
Take your choice of one, two, or three,
If you want a pretty girl, pray take she.
Lad after lad being successively excluded, the last remaining is "it,"
and has to hide himself, when he calls out,
Blank and ladder!
The searcher may summon the fugitive to indicate his whereabouts:
Halloo if you're far off, whistle if you're nigh.
_Salem, Mass._
In Portland, Me., the shout of the concealed party is, "Blank,
blank, Cornelia!" and in the western part of the State of New York,
"Blancalilo!"
The searcher, on discovering one of the hidden players, calls "Hi spy!"
and tries to touch the latter before he can reach goal, the rule being
that
Elbow and knee
Always go free.
No. 108.
_Blind-man's Buff._
A blindfolded player is led into the centre of a room, taken by the
shoulders, and turned about three times, after which he must catch
somebody to replace him.
For this initiation there is in the Middle States a rhyme:
"How many horses have you in your father's stable?"
"Three; black, white, and gray."
"Turn about, and turn about, and catch whom you may."[104]
The English name, "Hoodman-blind," is derived from the manner of
blindfolding formerly in use. When caps were worn which could be
drawn at will over the face, the caps, reversed so as to cover the
countenance, formed the mask.
This game belongs to all ages and most countries, and is known by many
different names, frequently taken from animals, for example: "Blind
Cow" in Germany; "Blind Goat" in Sweden; "Blind Mouse" in South Germany
and Servia; "Blind Hen" in Spain; "Blind Fly," or "Blind Cat," in
Italy. To the English name, "Blind-man's Buff," correspond the Polish
"Blind Old Man," and the Norwegian "Blind Thief." In these titles a
mythologic allusion is probably contained, which is quite clear in the
Scotch "Belly-blind,"[105] the latter name representing a malicious
demon. Thus again appears the conception of a supernatural adversary so
common in games of pursuit.
A familiar variation makes this a ring-game. The blindfolded person
stands in the centre, with a staff, while the ring circles about him.
When he strikes the floor three times, the ring must pause. The person
in whose direction he points must grasp the staff, and utter some
sound, disguising the voice as much as possible. The first must then
guess the name from the sound. In New York this form of the game is
called "Peggy in the Ring," and the request is "to squeak."
In Cincinnati the game is also played in a dark room, without
bandaging the eyes, and is then called "Devil in the Dark."
Another variety, also commonly played without blindfolding, goes by the
name of "Still Pond," or "Still Palm." The child who is "it," counting
up to ten, says,
Still proving,
No moving.
All now keep their places. The catcher must guess by the touch the name
of his captive.
The game of which we write is described by Pollux, as played seventeen
hundred years since in various forms, all of which are still familiar:
"The game of 'Muinda,' when any one, closing his eyes, cries, 'Look
out!' and whomsoever he catches he makes him close his eyes instead;
or when, keeping his eyes shut, he seeks after the children who have
hidden until he catches them; or else he closes his eyes while the
others touch him, and if anybody gives a clue himself, he speaks out
and guesses till he gets it right."
When a bandage was used, the game was called the "Brazen Fly" (we may
suppose a gaudy species of insect, from the zigzag motion, as boys run
when chasing butterflies), and is thus described by the same author:
"The eyes of a boy having been bound with a bandage, he goes round,
saying, 'I shall chase the _brazen fly_;' but the others, answering,
'You will chase him but not catch him,' hit him with whips of papyrus,
till he catches one of them." These papyrus whips were the equivalent
of our knotted handkerchiefs.
No. 109.
_Witch in the Jar._
One of the children is selected for a witch, and each of the others
chooses some tree or post for a goal. The witch then marks out on the
ground with a stick as many circles as there are players, which she
calls "jars." The children run out from their homes, and are pursued by
the witch. Whenever she catches one, she puts him in one of her jars,
from which he cannot escape unless some one else chooses to free him by
touching. Once freed, he cannot be recaught until he has reached his
home, and ventures out once more. The freer, however, can be caught,
and as the witch keeps guard over her prisoners, it is a dangerous
task for a player to attempt to set his companions free. When all are
caught, a new witch is chosen.
No. 110.
_Prisoner's Base._
This game is also called "Prisoner's Bars;" but the first name,
mentioned in "Cymbeline," seems the older, from which the latter has
arisen by misunderstanding.
The game, which is also popular in Europe, is originally an imitation
of warfare. The two armies stand facing each other, and have their
_bases_ each on a line parallel with that of the adversary. But in
the United States the game has been changed, so that the two parties
stand on the same line, and the bases are placed diagonally opposite
at a distance of some thirty yards, so that each base is nearer to the
enemy's forces than to those of the side to which it belongs. The game
is opened by a challenge given by one leader to the other; each player
can tag any one of the opponents who has quitted his line before he has
left his own. Any player tagged must go to his base. Any player who can
reach his base in safety may release a prisoner.
As it often happens that a half-dozen runners may be pursuing a single
fugitive, who is cut off from his friends, the chase may be prolonged
far from the point of departure, through streets of the town or fields
of the country.
No. 111.
_Defence of the Castle._
After the battle of Dunbar, Oliver Cromwell sent Colonel Fenwick with
two regiments to reduce Hume Castle. The governor, Cockburn, when
ordered to surrender, replied by quoting the following lines, which
must have belonged to a boys' game of his day:
I, William of the Wastle,
Am now in my castle,
And a' the dogs in the town
Winna gae me gang down.
The rhyme, with small change, is still familiar in Scotland, and
the game well known in Pennsylvania, where the defiance runs, less
chivalrously,
Hally, hally, hastle,
Come into my new castle!
Or, with a change of usage,
Hally, hally, hastle,
Get off of my new castle!
In the first case the defender maintains his post against assailants;
in the latter, he endeavors to capture one of a group who have
established themselves in his castle, represented usually by a
cellar-door.
No. 112.
+_Lil Lil._+
This game is played in an open field. A boy stands in the centre of the
field, and the other players at the sides. With the cry "Lil lil!" they
run across. The tagger must touch a runner three times on the back, and
whoever is so caught must assist him. There is a rhyme for this game--
Lil, lil,
Over the hill,
Wash my lady's dishes,
Hang them on the bushes, etc.
"Lil lil!" is also a cry (in Boston) of children "coasting," when the
track is to be cleared.
No. 113.
_Charley Barley._
Charley, barley, buck and rye,
What's the way the Frenchmen fly?
Some fly east, and some fly west,
And some fly over the cuckoo's nest.
_Portland, Me._
We have not obtained information as to the manner in which this game
was played, but it is evidently identical with the Scotch rhyme:
Hickety, bickety, pease, scone,
Where shall this poor Scotchman gang?
Will he gang east, or will he gang west,
Or will he gang to the craw's nest?
In the Scotch game, a boy, whose eyes are bandaged, rests his head
against a wall, while the rest come up and lay their hands upon his
back. He sends them to different places, according to the rhyme, and
calls out, "Hickety, bickety!" till they have returned, when the
last in must take his place. The "crow's nest" is close beside the
blindfolded boy, and is a coveted position.
This game is also played in Switzerland. Each of the children receives
the name of some animal, as Goat, Wolf, Snake, Frog, etc. To the
swifter and more dangerous beasts are assigned the more distant
positions. The keeper then shouts out that supper is ready, whereupon
all rush home, each animal uttering his own peculiar cry. The last in
is punished.
No. 114.
_Milking-pails._
All the players join hands in a row, except one, who stands facing
them at a distance of a few feet. The row slowly advances towards the
solitary child, and then retreats, singing,
"Will you buy me a pair of milking-pails,
Oh, mother! Oh, mother?
Will you buy me a pair of milking-pails,
Oh, gentle mother of mine?"
The mother, advancing and retreating in her turn, sings,
"Where is the money to come from,
Oh, daughter! Oh, daughter?
Where is the money to come from,
Oh, gentle daughter of mine?"
The dialogue then continues to the same air,
"Where shall your father sleep?"
"Sleep in the servant's bed."
"Where shall the servant sleep?"
"Sleep in the stable."
"Where shall the pigs sleep?"
"In the wash-tub."
"Where shall we wash the clothes?"
"Wash them in the river."
"What if they should swim away?"
"You can jump in and go after them."
On this the indignant mother chases her daughters, and whoever is first
caught must take the mother's place.
This game does not appear to be established in America, though we have
heard of it as played in West Virginia. Our present version is from
children lately arrived from England, where it seems to be a favorite.
No. 115.
_Stealing Grapes._
A circle of children with arms raised. Enter keeper of garden:
"What are you doing in my vineyard?"
"Stealing grapes."
"What will you do if the black man comes?"
"Rush through if I can."
_New York._
This game is probably a recent translation from the German. It is also
played in Italy in a more humorous form. The thief exclaims, as he
picks each, "A delicious grape!" The guardian demands,
"What did you pick that grape for?"
"Because it's first-rate."
"What would you do if I took a stick and chased you?"
"Pick a bunch and run."
Which he accordingly does.
No. 116.
_Stealing Sticks._
A company of players divide, each having the same number of sticks,
which they deposit on each side of a line; whoever crosses the line may
seize a stick, but if caught is confined in a prison, marked out for
the purpose.
This is the game of "Scots and English," and may be classed among
sports originating in border warfare.
No. 117.
_Hunt the Squirrel._
A ring of players is formed, about the outside of which circles a child
who carries a knotted handkerchief, with which he finally taps another
on the shoulder, and starts to run round the ring. The child touched
must pick up the handkerchief, and run in the opposite direction from
the first. The two players, when they meet, must courtesy three times.
The toucher endeavors to secure the other's place in the ring, failing
which, he must begin again. As he goes about the circle, he recites the
words:
Hunt the squirrel through the wood,
I lost him, I found him;
I have a little dog at home,
He won't bite you,
He won't bite you,
And he _will_ bite you.
_Cambridge, Mass._
In Philadelphia, a corresponding rhyme begins:
I carried water in my glove,
I sent a letter to my love.
A variation from New York:
[Illustration]
I tis-ket, I tas-ket, A green and yel-low bas-ket. I
sent a let-ter to my love, And on the way I dropp'd it.