about nine o'clock in the morning
His advice was asked often , and when he gave it the others listened with gravity and deference . The next day the village played a great game of lacrosse , which was invented by the Indians , and which had been played by them for centuries before the arrival of the white man . In this case the match was on a grand scale , Mohawks and Cayugas against Onondagas and Senecas . The game began about nine o'clock in the morning in a great natural meadow surrounded by forest . The rival sides assembled opposite each other and bet heavily . All the stakes , under the law of the game , were laid upon the ground in heaps here , and they consisted of the articles most precious to the Iroquois . In these heaps were rifles , tomahawks , scalping knives , wampum , strips of colored beads , blankets , swords , belts , moccasins , leggins , and a great many things taken as spoil in forays on the white settlements , such is small mirrors , brushes of various kinds , boots , shoes , and other things , the whole making a vast assortment .