August 31, 1688

Children in the 17th century played different games than we do now. They played tipcat, for instance, which is not at all related to cowtipping. Nor did it involve cats--a game of tipcat involved placing a six inch wooden oval on the ground and then hitting it with a bat--done right the wood piece bounced up, and the child hit the wooden piece with a bat, called by them, a cat. This game, played on a Sunday in 1644, made the young John Bunyan feel guilty, since game playing was prohibited by the Puritans, on Sundays. Bunyan, author of spiritual classics, died on August 31, 1688. His books reveal his view that a game of cat was the beginning of his spiritual growth.