Another amusing camp sport is the blindfold obstacle walk. Place six or eight good-sized stones on the ground in a row, about two feet apart. The stones should be flat on top so that you can stand a tin cup filled with water on each stone. Let one member of the party make a trial trip over the cups, stepping between them as she passes down the row; then blindfold her, place two people as a guard, one on each side of her, to hold her hands and prevent a fall, and let them lead her to the end of the line of cups and tell her to go over it again.
The guard will steady her in case she stumbles but must in no way guide her course aright. The stepper will step high and be absurdly careful not to kick over one of the cups, for wet feet would probably be the result. Sometimes the stepper will leave the line of her own accord; sometimes her guard will purposely, and without her knowing it, lead her off the course and then her careful, high steps over nothing add to the fun of the onlookers.
Any number may take part in the sport, and in turn act as stepper. At the end a prize should be given by vote to the one who afforded the greatest amusement.
Hunting the Quail
This is something like the old game of hide-and-seek, with which all girls are familiar, and it will not be difficult to learn. The players are divided into "hunter" and "quails." The hunter is "It," and any counting-out rhyme will decide who is to take that part. When the hunter, with closed eyes, has counted her hundred, and the quails have scurried away to their hiding-places behind trees, bushes, or rocks, the hunt begins, and at the same time begins the cry of the quails: "Bob-White! Bob-White! Bob-White!" These calls, coming from every direction, are very bewildering, and the hunter must be alert to detect the direction of one particular sound and quick to see the flight of a quail and catch her before she can reach the home goal and find shelter there. The first quail caught becomes hunter in her turn, and the noisy, rollicking game continues as long as the players wish. Another romping game is called
Trotting-Horse
It is warranted to put in circulation even the most sluggish blood and to warm the coldest feet, and it is fine for the almost frosty weather we sometimes have in the mountains.
The players form a circle in marching order; that is, each girl faces the back of another, with a space between every two players. Trotting-horse, the "It" of the game, stands in the centre of the circle. When she gives the signal, the players forming the circle begin to run round and round, keeping the circle intact, while trotting-horse, always trotting, tries to slip between the ranks, which close up to prevent her escape. Trotting-horse must trot, not run. If she runs when making her escape she must go back into the ring and try once more to break away. When she succeeds fairly in getting through the ranks the player in front of whom she slips becomes "It" and takes the place of trotting-horse.
Wood Tennis
Wood tennis is of the woods, woodsy. Green pine-cones take the place of balls; hands, of rackets; and branches, of tennis-net. Lay out a regular tennis-court by scraping the lines in the earth, or outlining the boundaries with sticks or other convenient materials. Build a net of branches by sticking the ends in the ground, and collect a number of smooth, green cones for balls.