During the Corps of Discovery's long and arduous journey, the men found many ways to entertain themselves through organized games and contests. Swimming, shooting, racing, and backgammon were popular diversions, and they also amused themselves by watching the games of the native tribes they met along their route. John Ordway wrote of witnessing the Mandan hoop and pole game, in which two men at a time ran across a course sliding sticks after flat clay rings. Evenings were often spent dancing to Pierre Cruzatte's fiddle, accompanied by a sounden horn and the beat of a tambourine. On January 1, 1805, William Clark wrote that he ordered his black servant to dance, which amused the crowd and astonished them that so large a man could be so active, and though most of the men danced, engagé Francois Rivet was known to dance on his head.