sacrilegious persons from desecrating the graves. An ordinary "worm" fence is also sometimes built for the same purpose.

Among the non-Christianized Menomini the grave covering is of a slightly different character. These grave-boxes are more like an inverted trough, as shown in figure 27, which illustrates the graves of the late chief Osh'kosh and his wife. The openings in the head end of the box are used for the introduction of ordinary food, as well as maple sugar and other tributes of the first fruits of the year, on which the shade of the departed may feast before it finally sets out for the land of the dead.

Formerly, also, bodies were scaffolded, or placed in trees, according to the wish of the deceased. In some instances it was customary to dress and paint the body as during life, seat it on the ground facing the west-in the direction of the path of the dead toward the land of Naq'pote-when a log inclosure, resembling a small pen, was built around it. In this manner the corpse was left.

When a mitä is about to be buried, his nearest mitä' relation approaches the grave before earth is thrown into it and addresses the shade of the body, as mentioned at length in connection with the preliminaries of the introduction of a candidate into the medicine society.

Mourners blacken their faces with charcoal or ashes. Formerly it was sometimes customary to add pine resin to the ashes, that the materials might remain longer on the skin, and a widow was not presumed to marry again until this substance had entirely worn off. In some instances of great grief, the hair above the forehead was cropped short.

GAMES AND DANCES

THE AKA'QSIWŎK GAME

The game of âka'qsiwok was frequently played in former times, but of late it is rarely seen. It corresponds to the Ojibwa game of "plumstones," or "bowl," and is played for purposes of gambling, either by two individuals or by two sets of

players, as below described.

A hemispheric bowl, made of the large round nodules of a maple root, is cut and hollowed out. Figure 29 represents a vessel of this character, which was fashioned solely with the aid of an ax and a knife of the character represented in figure 37, called wagäq'koman. The bowl is symmetric, and is very nicely finished. It measures 13 inches in diameter at the rim and is 6 inches in depth. The bowl is five-eighths of an inch in thickness at the rim, but gradually increases in thickness toward the bottom, which is about an inch thick.

14 ETH-16

The knife-blade was made by an Indian blacksmith, and is of the type used for almost all kinds of wood-finishing, and especially in basketmaking, as will later be described. The handle is of basswood; the rear end of the blade, which is hammered to a point, is inserted into a socket in the handle and secured by thongs wrapped about both. There are forty counters, called ma'atik, made of twigs or trimmed sticks of pine or other wood, each about 12 inches long and from one-fourth to one-third of an inch thick. Half of these are colored red, the other half black, or perhaps are left their natural whitish color.

The dice, or aka'sianok, consist of eight pieces of deer-horn, about three fourths of an inch in diameter and one-third of an inch thick, but thinner toward the edges. Sometimes plum-stones or even pieces of wood are taken, one side of them being colored red, the other side remaining white or uncolored.

When the players sit down to play, the bowl containing the dice is placed on the ground between them. The counters are placed on the ground between the opponents; bets are made; the first player begins a song, in which the other players as well as the spectators always join. At a certain propitious moment the one to play first strikes the bowl a smart tap, which causes the dice to fly upward from the bottom of the bowl, and as they fall and settle, the result is watched with very keen interest. The value indicated by the position of the dice represents the number of counters which the player is permitted to take from the ground. The value of the throws is as follows, viz:

First throw, 4 red dice and 4 white-a draw.
Second throw, 5 red dice and 3 white, counts 1.
Third throw, 6 red dice and 2 white, counts 4.
Fourth throw, 7 red dice and 1 white, counts 20.
Fifth throw, 8 red dice and 0 white, counts 40.

The players strike the bowl alternately until one person wins all the counters-both those on the ground and those which the opponent may have won. See plate XIV.

MOCCASIN OR BULLET GAME

Another game that was formerly much played by the Menomini was the moccasin, or bullet, game, which was probably learned from their Ojibwa neighbors. Five persons participate in this game, four being active players, while the fifth acts as musician, by using the tambourinedrum and singing, the players usually joining in the latter. The tambourine-drum is shown in figure 30.

The articles necessary to play this game consist of four bullets, or balls of any hard substance, one of which is colored, or indented, to readily distinguish it from its fellows; four moccasins also are required, as well as thirty or forty stick counters, similar to those used in the preceding game, though uncolored. A blanket also is used, and in addition a stick, about 3 feet long, with which to strike the moccasin under which