Lacrosse: The National Game of Canada

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PUBLISHED WITH THE SANCTION OF THE NATIONAL LACROSSE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA.

LACROSSE:

Preface

PREFACE.

The following pages are designed to extend a knowledge of the game of Lacrosse, to systematize its principles and practice, and to perpetuate it as the National game of Canada. Until the appearance of my brochure, published in 1860, there had never been any attempt made to reduce the game to rule. It was barren of laws, and goal-keeper was the only player with a definite name and position.

I feel in duty bound to own to the parentage, while apologizing for the publication of the little book referred to, which was issued, without any revision, during my absence from the city. Notwithstanding the fact that it was extensively plagiarized, I trust it will be regarded, by any who had the misfortune to buy it, as one of those productions of youth, which, in maturity, we would fain disown.

The difficulty of writing practically about Lacrosse, was then, as it is now, that there had never been anything practical written on the subject. Every principle and point of play had to be laid down from personal experience and experiments, and "pow-wows" with the best players; and, at first blush, it seemed a difficult task to write anything about the game. Moore, in his Diary, however, mentions a German savant who wrote several folio volumes on the "Digestion of a Flea!" After that accomplishment, no one should despair of producing at least one volume on any subject.

It may seem to some, well acquainted with Lacrosse, as if I had given too much space to the rudiments of the game; but I intend this book for the novice as well as the expert, and wish even the latter to believe with me, that there is a gradation of learning in the use of the crosse, as there is with the rifle or the cricket bat. We may wish for the hereditary sagacity of the Indian, who plays mainly by instinct; as poor Tom, in the " Mill on the Floss," envied the people who once were on the earth, fortunate in knowing Latin without having learnt it through the Eton grammar; but the Indian never can play as scientifically as the best white players, and it is a lamentable fact, that Lacrosse, and the wind for running, which comes as natural to the red-skin as his dialect, has to be gained on the part of the pale-face, by a gradual course of practice and training. All Indians are not good players, but I never yet knew one without an aptitude for the game; and it is surprising to witness the expertness of the juveniles, not yet in their teens, in the villages of Caughnawaga, St. Regis, Oka, and Onondaga.

I have not attempted, in this work, to exhaust the practical feats of Lacrosse, though I have given all the various methods of throwing, checking, &c., in use among Clubs, as well as some original feats, and others derived from the Indians, never introduced among the whites. Some may seem impracticable, and at first, no doubt, will be found to be so, but I simply ask for them a fair trial. There is no reason why an Indian feat may not be done by a white player.

I am indebted, for many kind acts of co-operation, to Messrs. J. R. Middlemiss, W. L. Maltby and L. Cushing, of Montreal; G. H. Leslie, of Toronto; E. Cluff, of Ottawa; Dr. Allen, of Cornwall; J. B. Morrison, of Caughnawaga, and other friends too numerous to mention. Also, to the gentlemen whose photographs represent the various positions in the game, and to the "National Lacrosse Association of Canada" for the vote approving of this undertaking. For many of the facts contained in the chapter on "Historical Associations of Lacrosse," I am much indebted to Mr. Parkman's work, "The Conspiracy of Pontiac."

As I have been requested, since the body of this work was written, to give some account of the rise and progress of Lacrosse, I purpose briefly doing so here. The game first met with popularity in Montreal about thirteen years ago, when the Iroquois Indians of Caughnawaga introduced it as a field sport. The origin and early existence, thirty years ago, of the regularly organized Montreal Club—the Alma Mater of the game—and its several matches with the red-skins, only one of which it won, may make an interesting chapter in the history of Lacrosse at some future day. Among the original members of the Club, alive to-day, are Mr. N. H. Hughes, still President; Judge Coursol, Messrs. Romeo Stephens, and Wm. Lamothe, of Montreal; and Mr. Gouin, Prothonotary, at Sorel. Mr. Lamontagne was one of the crack-players of the early time; and our big friend, "Baptiste," the pilot of the Lachine Rapids, was then as great a master of the crosse as he is now of the helm. I shall be much indebted for information furnished me respecting the early matches and life of the Montreal Club.

The Montreal Club did not flourish in its early history. For a long time it was dormant, and practice was limited to a very small number. About twelve years ago the Club revived, and was followed by the "Hochelaga." On the 31st of March, 1860, the two Clubs were united, under the name of "The Lacrosse Club of Montreal." About this time the spirited young "Beaver" disputed the championship and the propriety of the definite article "The," assumed by the Montreal Club, and invariably succeeded in making drawn matches. On the 31st of March of the following year the name of the Club was changed again to "Montreal."

The visit of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales to Canada, in 1861, and a proposal to play before him, infused new life into the ancient Indian sport, and a grand match was played in the presence of H. R. H. by the "Montreal" and "Beaver" vs. Caughnawaga and St. Regis Indians, twenty-five players a side. The playing on both sides was determined and excited, and ended in a dispute,—Baptiste, of Caughnawaga, the Indian Captain, having picked up and held the ball with his hand, at a moment when the whites had a clear chance of carrying it into the Indian goal. The match was awarded to the whites. The following are the names of the white players in this ever-memorable match:

Captain—N.H. Hughes

After this match the "Montreal," "Beaver" and "Young Montreal" Clubs, tried to arouse an interest in the game, but the season soon closed, the Clubs were disorganized, and Lacrosse became unfashionable. In the meantime, Mr. George Massey, ("Beaver,") and Mr. W. A. Stafford, ("Montreal,") formed the nucleus of a Club in Ottawa, which flourished under the management of Mr. E. Cluff, when the game was dormant in Montreal. A match at Cornwall, Ont., between the organized Ottawa Club and some of the old members of the "Montreal" and "Beaver," who had never played together before, and most of whom had not handled the crosse for years, ended in the defeat of the Montrea1ers,—not the Montreal "Club." The spirit of young Montreal awoke, Lacrosse was revived, and the lost laurels brought back again. The game began to grow East and West. In June, 1867, the Montreal Club framed the first laws of Lacrosse; and, in September of the same year, called a Convention of Clubs in Canada, to organize an Association for the guidance of Clubs and the government of the game,—an idea which had been discussed in Committee meeting the previous year. The Convention met in Kingston on the 26th of September, organized the "National Lacrosse Association of Canada," amended the laws of the game, and adopted a Constitution. The popularity of Lacrosse now steadily increased, and Clubs sprang up all over the country. The Association met again, in Montreal, in September, (1868,) and made important amendments to its Constitution and the laws of the game.

In the spring of 1807, Mr. J. Weir, a member of the Montreal Club, organized a Club in Glasgow, Scotland.

In July, 1867, Mr. W. B. Johnson, of Montreal, took eighteen Caughnawaga Indians to England and France, and played several exhibition games. This seems to have given the impetus to Lacrosse in England. A number of Clubs were formed in London, and an Association organized similar to the Canadian Association.

The Mohawk Club, of Troy, N.Y., pioneered the game in the United States; and the "Maple Leaf," of Buffalo, and others, followed their lead; and there is every indication that our Clubs in Canada will one day find worthy rivals over the lines, and cross the crosse in friendly contest.

I have much pleasure in chronicling the generosity and public spirit of Mr. T. J. Claxton, a Montreal merchant, in the donation to the "Montreal," for competition among the city Clubs, of a set of four magnificent flags and flag-poles, costing over $250, two of which are represented in photograph No. 12. This gift not only illustrates the generosity of an individual, but the appreciation of the mercantile community, of the efforts of the Montreal Club to popularize and spread the game of Lacrosse. A healthy sign, too, of the growing favor of rational sports.

I have but little to add in conclusion, and may be pardoned for making that little personal. The practice of Lacrosse was my physical recreation; the writing of this book was one of my mental diversions, principally the result of notes made on the field. It would never be allowed to see the light of day, did I think it would get me the reputation of being absorbed in the sport, to the exclusion of more serious and important duties. When I commenced the book I felt its completion would tend to much good, physically, mentally and morally, and assist the cause of rational recreation among the young men of Canada. The popularity of the game has popularized all healthy sports; and nothing, perhaps, has won more esteem for Lacrosse than its moral tendencies, and the necessity it involves of abstaining from habits, which are too often associated with other recreations.

One of our most eloquent statesmen, in addressing an audience outside of Canada, said, in referring to the physical outfit of the new Dominion, "Young Canada would as soon fight as eat his breakfast." While not advocating pugnacity, men—and women, too—admire manly youth; and if our National game, while exercising the manly virtues, also trains the national and the moral, it will, un , help to make us better men; and genuine "pluck" will never go out of fashion in Canada.

Chapter 1

CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN OF THE GAME OF LACROSSE.

The origin of Lacrosse, like that of the Indian race from whom we derived it, is lost in the obscurity which surrounds the early history of this people; but that it had its first existence in his wild brain is claimed in his own traditions, and entitled to every belief. The subject, however, is a mystery, and the most patient research cannot but meet with bewilderment. Indian traditions concerning it are scarce and unreliable, while anything that might be learned from their hieroglyphics is met by the fact that they could not transmit more than outward events. Doubtless there were rude Pindars and Homers in the "forest primeval" who could have saved their early records from oblivion, had there been means to preserve them; but as it is, the more we try to unravel such mysteries as the origin of the Indian and many of his customs and recreations, the deeper we get into difficulties that have no solution.

The History of cricket, in enlightened Europe, is uncertain, though traced to the 13th century. How much more difficult to discover the origin of Lacrosse in a savage country, unknown till the century after. If obscurity be any proof of antiquity, Lacrosse is certainly senior among field games.

Spanish cruelty sullied the great discovery of America, and made "pale-face" a synonym for everything base and unjust; and French and English conduct afterwards, confirmed the justice of the complaint. Under the circumstances, it was to be expected that they would each have more familiarity with Indian warfare than Indian recreation; and this may account for the comparative silence of American history on their native sports. It was not until a conciliatory policy was adopted, that such sports as Lacrosse were played for the amusement of the whites.

Civilization has not destroyed the Indian's love of hoaxing. Charlevoix, Catlin, and a host of others, were unmercifully hoodwinked and humbugged, and one need not travel far to-day to meet with the same characteristic. A genuine hoax is as old "fire-water" to a red man: it is told to clusters of admirers, and repeated from wigwam to wigwam. While endeavouring to find out the opinion of intelligent Indians as to the origin of Lacrosse, we had some charming and plausible legends invented for us impromptu, and the difficulty of centuries expeditiously unravelled in the rocky recesses of Caughnawaga. If the soil of that settlement is not favorable for peaches, it unquestionably produces a spontaneous imaginative genius, not to be rivalled by anything white or red in Canada. We are satisfied, however, that the Indians of Canada know nothing whatever about the origin of their native field game.

I had the good fortune to travel on the Grand Trunk, side by side with the late Hon. Thos. D'Arcy McGee, about a year before his cowardly assassination by the "Fenian Brotherhood." The subject of conversation turned upon Lacrosse, prompted by the sight of a Crosse on the rack overhead; and Mr. McGee first suggested to my mind the resemblance between the national game of Canada and the Irish game of Coman, or trundling. Some time after, a communication appeared in a Port Hope paper, by a writer holding the identity of origin of the Indian and Irish races with the Phœnicians, and ingeniously attempting to show sufficient resemblance between Lacrosse and Coman to make a plausible argument for his theory. The former part of the proposition involves scientific questions hardly within my province to discuss, but it seems rather far-fetched. If this ethnological view be correct, it would scarcely seem possible that the game of Lacrosse should now be almost the only prominent remnant of the Phœnician origin of the Indian race. Were I inclined like the Irishman who traced his genealogy into the Ark, and the locality of Paradise to his potato patch, which he was irreverently offering for sale, I might enter into archaeological researches, and build up theories from hypothesis; but this would only lead astray.

It is quite possible that there should be resemblances between Lacrosse and Coman, as between any game of ball played with a bat. In "Strutt's Sports and Pastimes" may be read some very close coincidences, but nothing to prove their identity. The writer aforesaid hinges his conclusions greatly upon the present resemblance between the sticks used in both games; but the original crosse was not the present shape, and had no more resemblance to a trundling bat than a cross-bow has to a "Snider." With the original game, too, was associated peculiar customs and ceremonies which distinguished it from any other field sport. Its uniqueness was and is beyond dispute.

The Indians may justly be awarded the credit of having invented the game of Lacrosse, as well as the snow-shoe, toboggan, and bark canoe; and unless some archaeologist can prove that it was played by the extinct races of a cultivated and superior type of humanity said to have existed on this continent long before the advent of the Spaniards, it is only fair that they should have the honor.

An Algonquin who was asked the origin of his race pointed to the rising sun. So may we as indefinitely answer the query, "When and how did the game of Lacrosse originate?"

Originally, it bore different names; each tribe calling it "ball" in their own peculiar dialect. By the Iroquois it was called "Tehontshik8aheks;" by the Algonquin people "Teiontsesiksaheks;" by the Ojibwe people "Baggataway." The crosse was called "Teionstikwahektawa" by the Iroquois; "Te88aa Naton" by the Algonquins; and by other tribes, names as euphonious and intelligible, sometimes as long as the stick itself. The single tree or pole goal was called "Iorhenoketo-ohikta" by the Iroquois.

Chapter 2

CHAPTER II.

THE ORIGINAL GAME.

In the early history of all countries we find their recreations to have been of a rude and barbarous nature. Such were those of Greece when Homer wrote; such were those of Britain when Cæsar landed; and such were the amusements of the North American Indians when first witnessed by the early French and English travellers.

The character of the game of Lacrosse, as originally played, made it midway between a sport and a deadly combat, because of its serious results to limb and life. It was a game which King James would, no doubt, have anathematized as being "meeter for laming than making able the users thereof;" and more emphatic would have been this edict had he played it; for not even the divinity that hedges kings would have saved his royal shins from many a sore and unceremonious whack.

Never was there ancient or modern field sport that so effectually tried the endurance and agility, and every physical instinct as the original game of Lacrosse. The gladiatorial games of the Romans, and the bull fights of Spain, were severe tests of stamina and skill; but neither the praises of Cicero nor the approval of Pliny can prevent the banishment of amusements deliberately designed for the shedding of blood, and the death of, at least, one of the combatants.

It may not be possible for one who has never handled a Crosse—even though he has witnessed many of the exciting matches of the present day, to conceive of the intensity and vehemence of the old game; but to a player who has tried his mettle against Indian wind and endurance, and experienced the exertion required in the present modified game, it is easier to estimate correctly the magnificent physical condition of the aborigine a century ago, and the unparalleled union of strength, agility and wind developed by, and necessary for, the primitive Lacrosse. It was not played as a superstitious rite in honor of the Great Spirit; it had none of the religious element of the Grecian games. It was instituted as a pure amusement, and as one of the means of quickening and strengthening the body, and accustoming the young warriors to close combat. It was emphatically a sport, and brought out the very finest physical attributes of the finest made men in the world,—the impetuosity and vigor of a wild nature let loose; and compelled its votaries, in its intense exercise, to stretch every power to the greatest extreme.

The hunters and warriors looked and longed for the grand anniversaries, when through dense forests, and in bark canoes, hundreds would return from the chase and the war-path to be present at the Lacrosse tournaments. Among some tribes, ball-play was, as Basil Hall tells us, "the chief object of their lives," so absorbed were they in its excitement; and in every tribe it developed an amount of splendid physical energy sufficient to have made their race masters of this continent for ever, had mind not been so entirely subservient to body, nor destiny so inevitably pointed against them.

All the education of an Indian from the cradle to manhood tended to physical development and inurement; and however much we may pity the strapped papoose, it is in a better place for a symmetrical body and a straight spine, than the pale-face hopeful, rocked and knocked about in the modern cradle, or the Spartan child cradled on a shield. It was the perfection of the Indian's physical nature which made his conquest so difficult. With every instinct keen as an eagle's eye, with every muscle, nerve and fibre strung to its perfect capacity; with his wonderful vitality, energy and unity, he was more than a match for the white man and superior weapons, until "firewater" undermined his manliness, and treachery stole away his advantages. Whiskey was a cunning ambassador, more effectual than "villainous saltpetre." What was the stoicism of the Indian but his physical training; what was his pride and individuality but the blood of his race and the education of his boyhood? The great brain of a young man was only fit for scalping if it had not a body able to wield the tomahawk; the chieftains and leaders were honoured in proportion to the number of scalps within their wigwams. Such were the characteristics of the men who played the old game of Lacrosse.

The descriptions given of the game by different travellers vary in some respects, as they happened to have seen it played at different periods, and among the various tribes; but all unite in ascribing to it the hereditary wild beauty and variety which it has always retained.

There was some dissimilarity among the different tribes in the shape of the stick used, the size and composition of the ball, the kind of goal, &c., but the general character of the game was the same.

The Crosse.—As far back as we can trace we find the original Crosse to have been of a very different shape to that used at present. That of the Choctaws, Chippeways, Cherokees and Creeks was about three feet long, bent into an oblong hoop at one end large enough to hold the ball. That of the Sacs, Sioux, Objiways, Dacotahs, Poutawatamies, and most other tribes was about the same length, but

the hoop was round as seen in the above illustration. None of the original sticks were over four feet long. The net-work of the oblong hoop was generally three inches long and two wide; that of the round hoop, twelve inches in circumference. The former was literally net-work, but the latter was simply two strings tied in the centre, and fastened in four places to the hoop; and both were sufficiently bagged to catch and preserve the ball. The net-work or strings were originally of wattup, the small roots of the spruce tree as used for sewing bark canoes;—afterwards they were made of deer-skin.

Among the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, &c., each player carried two sticks, one in each hand. The ball was caught and carried between them. There was considerable difference in the play with one and with two sticks, and the former was by far the most expert, as it was the most difficult.

The manner of picking up with one stick was peculiar, and indeed, necessary, owing to its shape. As the ball lay on the ground, it was almost covered with the hoop, and by a peculiar twist of the wrist and arm from right to left, scooped up in one motion. The ball was thrown from it by a jerk, and could not be pitched as far as with the present stick, as it got but little impetus. The Indians dodged very little, except when the ball was caught or picked up in a crowd, and dodging was necessary. This seems the more remarkable when we consider the shape of the stick, and the peculiar facilities for dodging, afforded by the concavity of the netting and the smallness of the hoop which retained the ball.

On grand occasions, they ornamented the hoop and handle with small feathers or tufts of hair, and painted or dyed it various colors.

Several tribes still use the original stick. The above illustration is taken from one which Mr. Radiger, an old Montreal Club player, used in several matches with the half-breeds of the Garden River Indian Reserve, Sault River, about 15 miles from the entrance to Lake Superior. It is similar to the Objiway stick described by early travellers.

The Ball.—The original ball was about the size of a tennis ball, though differing among the tribes; and was first made of deer-skin or raw-hide, stuffed with hair and sewed with sinews. The Objiways and Poutawatamies at the mouth of the Detroit River used a heavy wooden one, generally a knot; while others improvised balls of the bark of the pine tree.

The Goals.—The earliest goal was any marked rock or tree that happened to be convenient; and it is still customary among the domesticated and wild tribes in America to ignore such a thing as "flag poles."

At grand matches, however, the Indians were more particular, and used for each goal a single pole or stake, eight feet high and two inches in diameter, or the two pole goal as at present. The distance from one goal to the other varied in proportion to the number of players, from five hundred yards to half a mile and more. The Poutawatamies, Sioux, Dacotahs, Cherokees, Sacs, Objiways, Iroquois, Algonquins, and nearly all tribes used the one pole. The four former merely required the ball to be thrown past the line of this stake; the Objiways, Iroquois, Algonquins, &c., required the pole to be struck with the ball. The former still maintain this law. The Algonquins, seen by Charlevoix, used one pole.

The Choctaws, seen by Catlin, used two stakes for each goal, twenty-five feet high, and six feet apart, with a pole or goal-line across the top. The Creeks in Alabama used two stakes, six feet high and six feet apart. Basil Hall (1828) says they were simply boughs.

THE GAME DIRECTOR

Was the captain or presiding chief, under whose direction the goals were posted; and who, among several tribes, made a preliminary speech to the players before starting the game. Sometimes he was the best player and fleetest runner, and joined in the game, and like the chiefs in Homer, tried to signalize himself by personal acts of courage, forgeting altogether the management of his men.

THE UMPIRES

Were generally the old medicine men of the tribe, whose decision was in all cases final.

DRESS OF THE PLAYERS.

The primitive Indian players usually appeared almost as naked as the Grecian athletæ, wearing only a tight breech cloth; and on grand occasions painted their faces and bodies, and decorated themselves with fantastic ornamental bead work, feathers &c., of various colors. They wore a curious kind of tail, projecting from the small of the back, made of white horse hair or dyed quills of the Canada porcupine, and a mane or neck of horse hair dyed various colors.

It was a rule of the Choctaws that no one should wear any dress save the breech cloth, and the aforesaid tail. The Poutawatamies always wore mocassins.

PREPARATORY CEREMONIES.

When great matches were on the tapis, village against village, or tribe against tribe, they were agreed upon and the players selected months ahead. For two weeks before the day of the match, the competitors were to fast from all excesses, eat little food, and harden themselves by every possible means for the exertion in anticipation; and the night preceding, they rather ignored the present theory of training, by a peculiar preparatory ceremony, which we will endeavour to describe

It was usual to select a moonlight night, and a grassy plot near the borders of a river or lake. Only those who were to play on the following day were permitted to join in the ceremony. A large fire of pitch pine wood was kindled; several musicians with Indian drums, and large gourds containing gravel, were seated to assist the players in keeping time in the dance. At a signal from the head chief, the intending competitors would begin what they called the training dance,—a succession of the most frantic movements and wriggling of the body and legs, contortions of the face, and screaming at the top of the voice, intended, like the military dances of the Greeks, to make the body active and strong, and to exhilirate the mind. It was also a sort of invocation to the Great Spirit for victory, and must have been of a character as terrible and expressive as the dances of the Furies. This dance was peculiarly attractive to the emotional Indian, who, like all barbarians, was a spontaneous dancer; sounds, however rude, intoxicating him with a passion for a spasmodic oscillation of the body. After performing for an hour or longer, the players, heated and perspiring, immediately plunged into the cold stream.

It was customary among some tribes to dance in a circle around a bonfire, with the crosses in hand; while others danced in their costume around the goals, rattling their sticks together and singing aloud to the Great Spirit. Each party danced for a quarter of an hour at a time around their respective goals or bonfires, and repeated it every half hour during the night, which compelled the players to lie awake until sunrise. The squaws of each side kept the goods which were invariably staked upon the result of the match; and at this dance they formed themselves in two straight rows between the two parties of players, and joined in the dance and song. Four of the most antediluvian medicine men who were to act as umpires on the following day, were seated at the joint where the game was to be started, solemnly smoking and praying to the Great Spirit for impartiality in judgment. Catlin gives a few excellent sketches of the original game as played by the Choctaws, and among them a very suggestive one of this preparatory dance.

In Capt. Basil Hall's "Travels in the United States in 1827-28," we find a new feature of this preparatory ceremony, introduced after the dance, among the Creeks of Alabama. The players met in a hut, round which ran a seat close to the wall; in the middle a fire was burning, at which the players squatted, nearly naked, tying cords tightly around one another's arms and thighs. They then splashed themselves with water, and each placing himself in a sloping position against a wooden pillar, went through the ceremony of "scarifying." This was done by expert operators, who using an instrument formed of the sharp teeth of the gar fish—two rows of about fifteen teeth tied to a corn cob, scraped the arms and legs of the players over a space of more than fifteen inches in length.