Snow Snake

Based on a game played by Native Americans in the Northeast

Menominee Indian playing snow snake. Reproduced from “Games of the North American Indians.” Published sometime before 1901 by the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D.C.

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This game is played by skimming or skipping sticks over the hard surface of the snow, as stones are skipped over water.

1. Each player has three to five small sticks. These may be pieces of branches. A perfectly smooth stick with some weight to it is best. Each stick is notched, one notch on the first, two on the second, three on the third, up to five sticks.

2. The players stand at a given line and take turns skimming their sticks over the surface of the snow, each player throwing one stick. When each player has thrown, the stick that has gone the farthest scores for the thrower according to the number of notches on it. For example, if the stick has one notch, it scores one point for the player, etc.

3. When everyone has taken a turn, the sticks that were thrown are gathered up and put to one side. Then each player in turn throws the next stick in his bunch, the winner of the first round having the first throw in the second round.

4. The game ends when all the sticks have been thrown. Or it may be repeated over and over.