XIX. CONVENTIONALIZING…

XIX. CONVENTIONALIZING

Before writing was invented by a people there were attempts in its direction which are mentioned in other chapters of this paper. Human forms were drawn pictorially in the act of making gesture signs and in significant actions and attitudes and combinations of them. Other natural objects, as well as those purely artificial, which represented work or the result of work, were also drawn with many differing significations. When any of these designs had become commonly adopted on account of its striking fitness or even from frequent repetition with a special signification, it became a conventional term of thought-writing, with substantially the same use as when, afterward, the combinations of letters of an alphabet into words became the arbitrary signs of sound-writing. While the designs thus became conventional terms, their forms became more and more abbreviated or cursive until in many cases the original concept or likeness was lost. Sometimes when a specimen of the original form is preserved, its identity in meaning with the current form can be ascertained by correlation of the intermediate shapes.

The original ideography is often exhibited by exaggeration. For instance, a loud voice has been sometimes indicated by a human face with an enormous mouth. Hearing, among the Peruvians, was early expressed by a man with very large ears; then by a head with such ears, and afterwards by the form of the ears without the head. Soon such forms became so conventionalized as to be practically ideographic writing. In the same manner a numeral cipher has become the representation of a mathematical quantity, a written musical note shows a kind and degree of sound, and other pictured signs give values of weights and measures. All of these signs express ideas independent of any language and may be understood by peoples speaking all diversities of language.

So also the idea of smallness and subjection may be conveyed by drawing an object in an obviously diminished size, of which examples are given in this chapter. Another expedient, illustrations of which also appear, is by repetition and combination, with reference to which the following condensed remarks of James Summers (a) are in point:

The earliest Chinese characters were pictorial; but pictures could not be made which would clearly express all ideas. One of the means devised to express concepts that could not be indicated by a simple sketch, was to combine two or more familiar pictures. For instance, a man with a large eye represents “seeing;” two men, “to follow;” three men, “many;” two men on the ground, “sitting.”

All other means failing, the present great mass of characters was formed by a principle from which the class is called “phonetic;” because in the characters classed under it, while one part (called the “radical”) preserves its meaning, the other part (called the “phonetic” or “primitive”) is used to give its own sound to the whole figure. This part does sometimes, however, convey also its symbolic meaning as well as its sound.

But while the original mode of expressing ideas required various devices, when an idea had become established in pictography there always appeared an attempt to simplify the figure and reduce it in size, so as to require less space in the drafting surface and also to lessen the draftsman’s labor. This was more obvious in the degree in which the figure was complicated and of frequent employment.

For convenience the subject is divided into: 1. Conventional devices. 2. Syllabaries and alphabets.

SECTION 1.

CONVENTIONAL DEVICES.

PEACE.

Among the North American Indians and in several parts of the world where, as among the Indians, the hand-grasp in simple salutation has not been found, the junction of the hands between two persons of different tribes is the ceremonial for union and peace, and the sign for the same concept is exhibited by the two hands of one person similarly grasped as an invitation to, or signification of, union and peace. The ideogram of clasped hands to indicate peace and friendship is found in pictographs from many localities. The exhibition and presentation of the unarmed hand may have affected the practice, but the concept of union by linking is more apparent.

Fig. 1011.--The Dakotas made peace with the Cheyenne Indians. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1840-’41. Here the hands shown with fingers extended, and therefore incapable of grasping a weapon, are approaching each other. The different coloration of the arms indicates different tribes. The device on the right is a rough form of the forearm of the Cheyenne marked as mentioned several times in this work.

Fig. 1012.--The Dakotas made peace with the Pawnees. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1858-’59. The man on the left is a Pawnee.

Fig. 1013.--A Mandan and a Dakota met in the middle of the Missouri River, each swimming halfway across. They shook hands there and made peace. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1791-’92.

Mulligan, post interpreter at Fort Buford, says that this was at Fort Berthold, and is an historic fact; also that the same Mandan long afterwards, killed the same Dakota.

Fig. 1014.--The Omahas came and made peace to get their people whom the Dakotas held as prisoners. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1804-’05. The attitudes and expressions are unusually artistic. The uniting line may only intensify the idea of a treaty resulting in peace, but perhaps recognizes the fact that the Omaha (on the left) and Dakota belong to the same Siouan stock. The marks on the Omaha are not tribal, but refer to the prisoners--the marks of their bonds.

Fig. 1015.--The Dakotas made peace with the Crows at Pine Bluff. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1816-’17. The arrow shows they had been at war. The Indian at the left is a Crow. The distinctive and typical arrangement of the hair of the several tribes in this and the preceding figure are worthy of note.

Fig. 1016.--The Dakotas made peace with the Pawnees. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1814-’15. The man with the marked forehead, blue in the original, is a Pawnee, the other is a Dakota, whose body is smeared with clay. The four arrows show that they had been at war, and the clasped hands denote peace.

Fig. 1017.--They made peace with the Gros Ventres. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1803-’04. But one arrow is shown, indicating that the subject in question was war, but that it was not waged at the time, as would have been shown by two opposed arrows.

Fig. 1018.--Dakotas made peace with the Crow Indians. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1851-’52. Here the representatives of the two tribes show their pipes crossed, indicating exchange as is expressed by a common gesture sign.

Fig. 1019.--Made peace with Gen. Sherman and others at Fort Laramie. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1867-’68. This is the adoption of the white man’s flag, as the paramount symbol on recognition of which peace was made.

WAR.

Fig. 1020.--The Dakotas were at war with the Cheyennes. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1834-’35. The Cheyenne is the man with stripes on his arm. The two arrows shot in opposite directions form one of the conventional symbols for war.

Fig. 1021 is taken from the Winter Count of Battiste Good for the year 1840-’41. He names it “Came-and-killed-five-of-Little-Thunder’s-brothers winter.” He explains that the five were killed in an encounter with the Pawnees. The capote or headdress, always but not exclusively worn by Dakota war parties, is shown, and is the special symbol of war as also given in several other places in the same record. The five short vertical lines below the arrow signify that five were killed.

Fig. 1022.--War-Eagle. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure shows a highly abbreviated conventional symbol. The pipe used in the ceremonial manner explained on page 539 et seq. means war and not peace, and the single eagle feather stands for the entire bird often called the war-eagle.

The adoption of a mat or mattress as an emblem of war or a military expedition is discussed and illustrated, supra, p. 553, Fig. 782.

In the Jesuit Relation for 1606, p. 51, it is narrated that “The Huron and Northern Algonkin chiefs, when their respective war parties met the enemy, distributed among their warriors rods which they carried for the purpose, and the warriors stuck them in the earth as a token that they would not retreat any more than the rods would.”

In their pictographs the rods became represented by strokes which were not only numerical, but signified warriors.

CHIEF.

Fig. 1023.--Naca-haksila, Chief-Boy. From the Oglala Roster. The large pipe held forward with the outstretched hand is among the Oglalas the conventional device for chief. This is explained elsewhere by the ceremonies attendant on the raising of war parties, in which the pipe is conspicuous. That the human figure is a boy is indicated by the shortness of the hair and the legs.

Fig. 1024, drawn by a Passamaquoddy Indian, shows the manner of representing a war chief by that tribe:

It signifies a chief with 300 braves. The relative magnitude of the leading human figure indicates his rank. In this particular compare Figs. 137, 138, and 142. The device is common in the Egyptian glyphs.

Dr. Worsnop, op. cit., makes the following remarks about a similar device in Australia:

At Chasm island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, indenting Australia, the third person of a file of thirty-two painted on the rock was twice the height of the others, and held in his hand something resembling the waddy, or wooden sword, of the natives of Port Jackson, and was probably intended to represent a chief. They could not as with us, indicate superiority by clothing or ornament, since they wear none of any kind, and therefore, with the addition of a weapon similar to the ancients, they seem to have made superiority of persons the principal emblem of superior power, of which, indeed power is usually a consequence in the very early stages of society.

The exhibition of horns as a part of the head dress, or pictorially displayed as growing from the head, is generally among the tribes of Indians an emblem of power or chieftancy. It is distinctly so asserted by Schoolcraft, vol. I, p. 409, as regards the Ojibwa, and by Lafitau, vol. II, 21, both authors presenting illustrations. The same concept was ancient and general in the eastern hemisphere. The images of gods and heads of kings were thus adorned, as at a later day were the crests of the dukes of Brittany. Some writers have suggested that this symbol was taken from the crescent moon, others that it referred to the vigor of the bull. Col. Marshall (a), however, gives an instance of special derivation. He says that the Todas, when idle, involuntarily twist and split branches of twigs and pieces of cane into the likeness of buffalo horns, because they dream of buffalo, live on and by it, and their whole religion is based on the care of the cow.

COUNCIL.

Fig. 1025 is taken from the Winter Count of Battiste Good for the year 1851-’52. In that year the first issue of goods was made to the Dakotas, and the character represents a blanket surrounded by a circle to show how the Indians sat awaiting the distribution. The people are represented by small lines running at right angles to the circle.

Fig. 1026.--The-Good-White-Man returned and gave guns to the Dakotas. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1799-1800. The circle of marks represents the people sitting around him, the flint-lock musket the guns.

Fig. 1027.--Council at Spotted-Tail agency. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1875-’76. Here the circle composed of short lines pointing to the center takes the conventional form frequently used to designate a council.

Fig. 1028.--Surrounds-them. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure is introduced in this place to show the distinction made by an antagonistic “surround” and the peaceable ring depicted immediately before.

Fig. 1029.--The Dakotas had a council with the whites on the Missouri river below the Cheyenne agency, near the mouth of Bad creek. They had many flags which the Good-White-Man gave them with their guns, and they erected them on poles to show their friendly feelings. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1805-’06. This was perhaps their meeting with the Lewis and Clarke expedition. The curved line is drawn to represent the council lodge, which they made by opening several tipis and uniting them at their sides to form a semicircle. The small dashes are for the people. This is a compromise between the Indian and the European mode of designating an official assemblage.

PLENTY OF FOOD.

Fig. 1030.--The Dakotas have an abundance of buffalo meat. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1856-’57. This is shown by the full drying pole on which it was the usage after successful hunts to hang the pieces of meat to be dried for preservation.

Fig. 1031.--The Oglalas had an abundance of buffalo meat and shared it with the Brulés, who were short of food. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1817-’18. The buffalo hide hung on the drying pole, with the buffalo head above it, indicates an abundance of meat, as in the preceding figure.

Fig. 1032 is taken from Battiste Good’s Winter Count for the year 1745-’46, in which the drying-pole is as usual supported by two forked sticks or poles. This is a variant of the two preceding figures.

Fig. 1033.--Immense quantities of buffalo meat. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1845-’46. This is another form of drying-pole in which a tree is used for one of the supports. The pieces of meat would not be recognized as such without explanation by the preceding figures.

Fig. 1034 is taken from the Winter Count of Battiste Good for the year 1703-’04. The forked stick being one of the supports of the drying pole or scaffold, indicates meat. The irregular circular object means “heap,” i. e., large quantity, buffalo having been very plentiful that year. The buffalo head denotes the kind of meat stored. This is an abbreviated form of the device before presented, and affords a suggestive comparison with some Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese letters, both in their full pictographic origin and in their abbreviation.

Fig. 1035.--The Dakotas had unusual quantities of buffalo. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1816-’17. This representation of a buffalo hide or side is another sign for abundance of meat, and is the most abbreviated and conventional of all, with the same significance, in the collections now accessible.

Fig. 1036.--The Dakotas had unusual abundance of buffalo. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1861-’62. This is another mode of expressing the same abundance. The buffalo tracks, shown by the cloven hoofs, are coming up close to the tipi.

Fig. 1037.--They had an abundance of corn, which they got at the Ree villages. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1823-’24.

The symbol shows the maize growing, and also is the tribal sign for Arikara or Ree.

FAMINE.

Fig. 1038.--The Dakotas had very little buffalo meat, but plenty of ducks in the fall. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1811-’12. The bare, drying pole is easily interpreted, but the reversed or dead duck would not be understood without explanation.

Fig. 1039.--Food was very scarce and they had to live on acorns. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1813-’14. The tree is intended for an oak and the dots beneath it for acorns.

Fig. 1040.--A year of famine. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1787-’88. They, i. e., the Dakotas, lived on roots, which are represented in front of the tipi.

Fig. 1041.--They could not hunt on account of the deep snow, and were compelled to subsist on anything they could get, as herbs (pézi) and roots. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1790-’91.

Fig. 1042.--They had to sell many mules and horses to get food, as they were starving. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1868-’69. White-Cow-Killer calls it “Mules-sold-by-hungry-Sioux winter.” The figure is understood as a conventionalized sign by reference to the historic fact mentioned. The line of union between the horses’ necks shows that the subject-matter was not a horse trade, but that both of the animals, i. e., many, were disposed of.

Fig. 1043.--Kingsborough (l) gives the pictograph recording that “In the year of One Rabbit and A. D. 1454 so severe a famine occurred that the people died of starvation.” It is reproduced in Fig 1043.

STARVATION.

Fig. 1044.--Many horses were lost by starvation, as the snow was so deep they couldn’t get at the grass. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1865-’66.

Fig. 1045, from the record of Battiste Good for the year 1720-’21, signifies starvation, denoted by the bare ribs. This design is abbreviated and conventionalized among the Ottawa and Pottawatomi Indians. Among the latter a single line only is drawn across the breast, shown in Fig. 1046. This corresponds also with one of the Indian gesture-signs for the same idea.

See also the Abnaki sign of starvation, a pot upside down, in Fig. 456, supra.

HORSES.

Fig. 1047.--They caught many wild horses south of the Platte river. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1811-’12. This figure shows a horse in the process of being caught by a lasso.

Fig. 1048.--Many wild horses caught. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1812-’13.

Fig. 1049.--Dakotas first used a lasso for catching wild horses. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1812-’13. In these two figures the lasso is shown without the animal, thus becoming the conventional sign for wild horse.

Fig. 1050.--Crow Indians stole 200 horses from the Minneconjou Dakotas, near Black Hills. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1849-’50. This figure is inserted to show in the present connection the lunules, which signify unshod horses. The Indians never shod their ponies, and the hoof marks may be either of wild horses, herds of which formerly roamed the prairies, or the common horses brought into subjection.

Fig. 1051.--Blackfeet Dakotas stole some American horses having shoes on. Horseshoes seen for the first time. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1802-’03. The horseshoe here depicted is the conventional sign for the white man’s horse.

HORSE STEALING.

Fig. 1052.--Runs-off-the-Horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. “Runs off” in the parlance of the plains means stealing.

Fig. 1053.--Runs-off-the-Horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure explains the one preceding. The man has in his hand a lariat or perhaps a lasso.

Fig. 1054.--Drags-the-Rope. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is a variant of the last figure, without, however, the exhibition of anything, such as tracks, to indicate horses.

Fig. 1055.--Dog, an Oglala, stole seventy horses from the Crows. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1822-’23. Each of the seven tracks stands for ten horses. A lariat, which serves the purpose among others of a long whip, and is usually allowed to trail on the ground, is shown in the man’s hand.

Fig. 1056.--Sitting-Bear, American-Horse’s father, and others, stole two hundred horses from the Flat Heads. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1840-’41. A trailing lariat is in the man’s hand.

Fig. 1057.--Brings-lots-of-horses. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is a further step in conventionalizing. The lariat is but slightly indicated as connected with the horse track on the lower left-hand corner.

Fig. 1058.--The Utes stole all of the Brulé horses. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1874-’75. The mere indication of a number of horse tracks without any qualifying or determinative object means that the horses are run off or stolen. This becomes the most conventionalized form of the group.

Fig. 1059.--Steals-Horses. Red-Cloud’s Census. In this figure the horse tracks themselves are more rude and conventionalized.

The Prince of Wied mentions, op. cit., p. 104, that in the Sac and Fox tribes the rattle of a rattlesnake attached to the end of the feather worn on the head signifies a good horse stealer. The stealthy approach of the serpent, accompanied with latent power, is here clearly indicated.

Fig. 1060.--Making-the-Hole stole many horses from a Crow tipi. Such is the translation in Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1849-’50. The man is cutting the hole with a knife. Through the orifice thus made he obtains access to the horse. But it is more probable that the single tipi represents a village into which the horse-thief effected an entrance and ran off the horses belonging to it.

KILL AND DEATH.

Fig. 1061.--Male-Crow, an Oglala, was killed by the Shoshoni. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1844-’45. The bow in contact with the head of the victim is frequently the conventional sign for “killed by an arrow.” This is not drawn in the Winter Counts on the same principle as the touching with a lance or coup stick, elsewhere mentioned in this paper, but is generally intended to mean killed, and to specify the manner of killing, though in fact before the use of firearms the “coup” was often counted by striking with a bow.

Fig. 1062.--Kills-in-tight-place. Red-Cloud’s Census. This man has evidently been enticed into an ambush, to which his tracks lead.

Fig. 1063.--Uncpapas kill two Rees. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1799-1800. The object over the heads of the two Rees, projecting from the man figure, is a bow, showing the mode of death. The hair of the Arickaras is represented. This is clearly conventional and would not be understood from the mere delineation.

Fig. 1064.--Kills-by-the-camp. Red-Cloud’s Census. The camp is shown by the tipi, and the idea of “kill” by the bow in contact with the head of the victim.

Fig. 1065.--Kills-Two. Red-Cloud’s Census. Here is the indication of number by upright lines united by a horizontal line, as designating the same occasion and the same people, two of whom are struck by the coup stick.

Fig. 1066.--Feather-Ear-Rings was killed by the Shoshoni. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1842-’43. The four lodges and the many blood-stains intimate that he was killed in a battle when four lodges of Shoshoni were killed. Again appears the character for successful gunshot wound, before explained in connection with Fig. 987.

Fig. 1067.--Kills-the-Bear. Red-Cloud’s Census. Here there appears to be a bullet mark in the middle of the paw representing the middle of the whole animal. The idea of death may be indicated by the reverse attitude of the paws, which are turned up, corresponding with the slang expression “toes up,” to indicate death.

Fig. 1068.--They killed a very fat buffalo bull. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1835-’36. This figure is introduced to show an ingenious differentiation. The rough outline of the buffalo’s forequarters is given sufficiently to show that the arrow penetrates to an unusual depth, which indicates the mass of fat, into the region of the buffalo’s respiratory organs, and therefore there is a discharge of blood not only from the point of entrance of the arrow, but from the nostrils of the animal. No device of an analogous character is found among five hundred of the Dakotan pictographs studied, so that the designation of abnormal fat is made evident.

Fig. 1069.--They killed many Gros Ventres in a village which they assaulted. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1832-’33. The single scalped head shows the killing. This conventional sign is so common as hardly to require notice.

Fig. 1070, taken from Mrs. Eastman’s Dakota (e), shows the Dakota pictograph for “killed”: a is a woman and b a man killed, and c and d a boy and girl killed.

Fig. 1071, taken from Copway (g), gives two characters which severally represent life and death, the black disk representing death and the simple circle life.

In Doc. Hist. N. Y. (d), is the illustration now copied as Fig. 1072 with the statement that it shows the fashion of painting the dead among the Iroquois; the first two are men and the third is a woman, who is distinguished only by the waistcloth that she wears.

The device is further explained by the following paragraphs from the same volume, on p. 6, which add other details:

When they have lost any men on the field of battle they paint the men with the legs in the air and without heads, and in the same number as they have lost; and to denote the tribe to which they belonged, they paint the animal of the tribe of the deceased on its back, the paws in the air, and if it be the chief of the party that is dead, the animal is without the head.

If there be only wounded, they paint a broken gun which, however, is connected with the stock, or even an arrow, and to denote where they have been wounded, they paint the animal of the tribe to which the wounded belong with an arrow piercing the part in which the wound is located; and if it be a gunshot they make the mark of the ball on the body of a different color.

Fig. 1073.--This is drawn by the Arikara for “dead man” and perhaps suggests the concept of nothing inside, i. e., no life, with a stronger emphasis than given to “lean” in Fig. 903, supra. It must be noted, however, that the Hidatsa draw the same character for “man” simply.

La Salle, in 1680, wrote that when the Iroquois had killed people they made red strokes with the figure of a man drawn in black with bandaged eyes. As this bandaging was not connected with the form of killing, it may be conjectured that it ideographically meant death--the light of life put out.

For other devices to denote “Kill,” see Figs. 93 and 94.

SHOT.

In this group the figures show obvious similarity yet seem to be graphic, or at least ideographic, but on examining the text of the several records conventionality is developed.

Fig. 1074.--Shot-at. Red-Cloud’s Census. Here is shown the discharge of guns and lines of passage of the bullets, one of which is graphically displayed passing the neck of the human figure, but without either graphic mark of wound or the conventional sign for “hit” or “it struck.” He was shot at by many enemies, but was not hit.

Fig. 1075.--Shot. Red-Cloud’s Census. There is no doubt that this man, a Dakota, was actually shot with an arrow.

Fig. 1076.--Shot-at-his-horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. Here again are the flashes made by the discharge of guns and the horse tracks showing horses, but no specific indication of hitting. The mark within the right-hand horse track may be compared with the passing bullet in Fig. 1074. The horse was shot at but not hit.

Fig. 1077.--Shot-his-horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure is to be correlated with the last one, as it shows actual hitting and blood flowing from the wound.

Fig. 1078.--Shot-in-front-the-lodge. Red-Cloud’s Census. Without explanation derived from the context this figure would not be understood. The right hand character means several bows united. Between these and the tipi is the usual device for blood flowing vertically downwards, meaning a fatal shot, and the device displayed horizontally and touching the tipi means that the man shot belonged to that tipi or lodge, in front of which he was shot.

COMING RAIN.

Mr. Keam in his MS. describes Fig. 1079 as two forms of the symbol of Aloseka, which is the bud of the squash. The form seen in the upper part of the figure, drawn in profile, is also used by the Moki to typify the east peak of the San Francisco mountains, the birthplace of the Aloseka; when the clouds circle, it presages the coming rain. In the rock carvings the curving profile is further conventionalized into straight lines and assumes the lower form.

The collection of characters given in Figs. 1080 and 1081 are selected from a list published by Maj. C. R. Conder (b). That list includes all the Hittite designs distinctly deciphered which are so far known, and they are divided by the author into two plates, one giving the “Hittite emblems,” as he calls them, “of known sound,” and which are all compared with the Cypriote, and some with the cuneiform, Egyptian, and other characters; and the other comprising the “Hittite emblems of uncertain sound.” The collection is highly suggestive for comparison of the significance of many forms commonly appearing in several lands and also as a study of conventionalizing. In these respects its presentation renders it unnecessary to dwell as much as would otherwise be required upon the collections of Egyptian and cuneiform characters, with which students are more familiar and which teach substantially the same lessons.

HITTITE EMBLEMS OF KNOWN SOUND.

a, a crook. Cypriote u.

b, apparently a key. Cypriote ke. Compare the cuneiform emblem ik, “to open.”

c, a tiara. Cypriote ko; Akkadian ku, “prince;” Manchu chu, “lord.”

d, another tiara, apparently a variant of c.

e, hand and stick. Cypriote ta, apparently a causative prefix, like the Egyptian determinative; Chinese ta, “beat.”

f, an herb. Cypriote te; Akkadian ti, “live;” Turkish it, “sprout;” ot, “herb.”

g, the hand grasping. Cypriote to. Compare the Egyptian, cuneiform and Chinese signs for “touch,” “take,” “have.” Akkadian tu, “have.”

h, apparently a branch. Cypriote pa. Compare Akkadian pa, “stick” (Lenormant).

i, apparently a flower. Cypriote pu. Compare the Akkadian emblem pa, apparently a flower. Akkadian pu, “long;” Tartar boy, “long,” “growth,” “grass;” Hungarian fu, “herb.”

j, a cross. Cypriote lo; Carian h.

k, a yoke. Cypriote lo and le; Akkadian lu, “yoke.”

l probably represents rain. Compare the Egyptian, Akkadian, and Chinese emblems for “rain,” “storm,” “darkness.”

m seems to represent drops of water equivalent to the last. Cypriote re.

n, possibly the “fire-stick.” Cypriote ri. Occurs as the name of a deity. Akkadian ri, “bright,” the name of a deity.

o, two mountains. Cypriote me or mi. The emblem for “country.”

p resembles the cuneiform sign for “female.”

q, this is the sign of opposition in cuneiform, in Chinese and Egyptian. Cypriote mu or no (nu, “not”).

r, a pot. Cypriote a or ya. Compare the Akkadian a, “water.”

s, a snake. Perhaps the Cypriote ye.

t, apparently a sickle. Cypriote sa. Compare the Tartar sa, se, “knife.”

u, the open hand. Cypriote se. Akkadian sa, “give.” Tartar saa, “take.”

v resembles the cuneiform and Chinese emblem for “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” Cypriote zo or ze. Occurs as the name of a god. Akkadian zi, “spirit.”

w resembles the Chinese, cuneiform, and Egyptian emblem for heaven. Akkadian u. It may be compared with the Carian letter u or o.

x, the foot, used evidently as a verb, and resembles the cuneiform du. Probably may be sounded as in Akkadian and used for the passive (du, “come” or “become”).

HITTITE EMBLEMS OF UNCERTAIN SOUND.

y, a serpent. Occurs in the name of a god.

z, perhaps a monument. It recalls the Cypriote ro.

aa, apparently a monument.

bb, probably the sun (ud or tam).

cc, apparently a house.

dd, perhaps the sole of the foot.

ee, a donkey’s head. Probably the god Set.

ff, a ram’s head. Probably with the sound gug or guch and the meaning “fierce,” “mighty.”

gg, a sheep’s head. Probably lu or udu.

hh, a dog or fox head.

ii, a lion’s head. Only on seals.

jj, a demon’s head. Used specially in a text which seems to be a magic charm.

kk, two legs. Resembles the cuneiform dhu, and means probably “go” or “run.”

ll, two feet. Probably “stand;” or “send,” as in Chinese.

mm, apparently an altar.

nn, perhaps a bundle or roll.

oo, apparently a knife or sword; perhaps pal.

pp, apparently a tree.

qq, apparently the sacred artificial tree of Asshur.

rr, a circle. Compare the cuneiform sa, “middle.”

ss, twins. As in Egyptian.

tt resembles the Chinese emblem for “small.”

uu, a pyramid or triangle.

vv, apparently a hand or glove, pointing downwards. Possibly tu or dun for “down.”

ww, apparently a ship, like the cuneiform ma. Appears only on seals.

xx, only once found on the Babylonian bowl, and seems to represent the inscribed bowl itself.

SECTION 2.

SYLLABARIES AND ALPHABETS.

It is worthy of observation that the Greeks used the same word, γράφειν, to mean drawing and writing, suggesting their early identity. Drawing was the beginning of writing, and writing was a conventionalized drawing. The connection of both with gesture signs has been noticed above. A gesture sign is a significant but evanescent motion, and a drawing is produced by a motion which leaves significant marks. When man became proficient in oral language, and desired to give permanence to his thoughts, he first resorted to the designs of picture-writing, already known and used, to express the sounds of his speech.

The study of different systems of writing--such as the Chinese, the Assyrian, and the Egyptian--shows that no people ever invented an arbitrary system of writing or originated a true alphabet by any fixed predetermination. All the known graphic systems originated in picture-writing. All have passed through the stage of conventionalism to that commonly called the hieroglyphic, while from the latter, directly or after an intermediate stage, sprang the syllabary which used modifications of the old ideograms and required a comparatively small number of characters. Finally, among the more civilized of ancient races the alphabet was gradually introduced as a simplification of the syllabary, and still further reduced the necessary characters.

The old ideograms were, or may be supposed to have been, intelligible to all peoples without regard to their languages. In this respect they resembled the Arabic and Roman numerals which are understood by many nations of diverse speech when written while the sound of the words figured by them is unintelligible. Their number, however, was limited only by the current ideas, which might become infinite. Also each idea was susceptible of preservation in different forms, and might readily be misinterpreted; therefore the simplicity and precision of alphabetic writing amply compensated for its exclusiveness.

The high development of pictorial writing in Mexico and Central America is well known. Some of these peoples had commenced the introduction of phonetics into their graphic system, especially in the rendering of proper names, which probably also was the first step in that direction among the Egyptians. But Prof. Cyrus Thomas (b) makes the following remark upon the Maya system, which is of general application:

It is certain, and even susceptible of demonstration, that a large portion, perhaps the majority, of the characters are symbols.

The more I study these characters the stronger becomes the conviction that they have grown out of a pictographic system similar to that common among the Indians of North America. The first step in advance appears to have been to indicate, by characters, the gesture signs.

It is not possible now to discuss the many problems contained in the vast amount of literature on the subject of the Mexican and Central American writing, and it is the less necessary because much of the literature is recent and easily accessible. With regard to the Indian tribes north of Mexico, it is not claimed that more than one system of characters resembling a syllabary or alphabet was invented by any of them. The Cherokee alphabet, so called, was adopted from the Roman by Sequoya, also called George Gist, about A. D. 1820, and was ingenious and very valuable to the tribe, but being an imitation of an old invention it has no interest in relation to the present topic. The same is manifestly true regarding the Cree alphabet, which was of missionary origin. The exception claimed is that commonly, but erroneously, called the Micmac hieroglyphics. The characters do not partake of the nature of hieroglyphs, and their origin is not Micmac.

THE MICMAC “HIEROGLYPHICS.”

The Micmac was an important tribe, occupying all of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton island, Prince Edward island, the northern part of New Brunswick, and the adjacent part of the province of Quebec, and ranging over a great part of Newfoundland. According to Rev. Silas T. Rand, op. cit., Megum is the singular form of the name which the Micmacs use for themselves. Rev. Eugene Vetromile (a) translates “Micmacs” as “secrets practicing men,” from the Delaware and old Abnaki word malike, “witchcraft,” and says the name was given them on account of their numerous jugglers; but he derives Mareschite, which is an Abnaki division, from the same word and makes it identical with Micmac. The French called them Souriquois, which Vetromile translates “good canoe men.” They were also called Acadians, from their habitat in Acadie, now Nova Scotia.

The first reference in literature with regard to the spontaneous use by Indians of the characters now called the “Micmac hieroglyphs” appears in the Jesuit Relations of the year 1652, p. 28. In the general report of that year the work of Father Gabriel Druillettes, who had been a missionary to the Abnaki (including under this term the Indians of Acadia, afterwards distinguished as Micmacs), is dwelt upon in detail. His own words, in a subordinate report, appear to have been adopted in the general report of the Father Superior, and, translated, are as follows:

Some of them wrote out their lessons in their own manner. They made use of a small piece of charcoal instead of a pen, and a piece of bark instead of paper. Their characters were novel, and so particuliers [individual or special] that one could not know or understand the writing of the other; that is to say, that they made use of certain marks according to their own ideas as of a local memory to preserve the points and the articles and the maxims which they had remembered. They carried away this paper with them to study their lesson in the repose of the night.

No further remark or description appears.

It is interesting to notice that the abbé J. A. Maurault, (a) after his citation of the above report of Father Druillettes, states in a footnote translated as follows:

We have ourselves been witnesses of a similar fact among the Têtes-de-Boule Indians of the River St. Maurice where we had been missionaries during three years. We often saw during our instructions or explanations of the catechism that the Indians traced on pieces of bark, or other objects very singular hieroglyphs. These Indians afterward passed the larger part of the following night in studying what they had so written, and in teaching it to their children or their brothers. The rapidity with which they by this manner learnt their prayers was very astonishing.

The Indians called by the Abbé Maurault the Têtes-de-Boule or Round Heads, are also known as Wood Indians, and are ascertained to have been a band of the Ojibwa, which shows a connection between the practice of the Ojibwa and that of the Micmacs, both being of the Algonquian stock, to mark on bark ideographic or other significant inscriptions which would assist them to memorize what struck them as of special interest and importance, notably religious rites. Many instances are given in the present paper, and the spontaneous employment of prayer sticks by other persons of the same stock is also illustrated in Figs. 715 and 716.

The next notice in date is by Père Chrétien Le Clercq (a), a member of the Recollect order of Franciscans who landed on the coast of Gaspé in 1675, learned the language of the Micmacs and worked with them continuously for several years.

It would appear that he observed and took advantage of the pictographic practice of the Indians, which may have been continued from that reported by Father Druillettes a few years earlier with reference to the same general region, or may have been a separate and independent development in the tribe with which Father Le Clercq was most closely connected.

His quaint account is translated as follows:

Our Lord inspired me with this method the second year of my mission, when, being greatly embarrassed as to the mode in which I should teach the Indians to pray, I noticed some children making marks on birch bark with coal, and they pointed to them with their fingers at every word of the prayer which they pronounced. This made me think that by giving them some form which would aid their memory by fixed characters, I should advance much more rapidly than by teaching on the plan of making them repeat over and over what I said. I was charmed to know that I was not deceived, and that these characters which I had traced on paper produced all the effect I desired, so that in a few days they learned all their prayers without difficulty. I cannot describe to you the ardor with which these poor Indians competed with each other in praiseworthy emulation which should be the most learned and the ablest. It costs, indeed, much time and pains to make all they require, and especially since I enlarged them so as to include all the prayers of the church, with the sacred mysteries of the trinity, incarnation, baptism, penance, and the eucharist.

There is no description whatever of the characters.

The next important printed notice or appearance of the Micmac characters is in the work of Rev. Christian Kauder, a Redemptorist missionary, the title page of which is given in Fig. 1082. It was printed in Vienna in 1866 and therefore was about two centuries later than the first recorded invention of the characters. During those two centuries the French and therefore the Roman Catholic influences had been much of the time dormant in the habitat of the Micmacs (the enforced exodus of the French from Acadie being about 1755). Father Kauder was one of the most active in the renewal of the missions. He learned the Micmac language, probably gathered together such “hieroglyphs” on rolls of bark as had been preserved, added to them parts of the Greek and Roman alphabet and other designs, and arranged the whole in systematic and grammatic form. After about twenty years of work upon them he procured their printing in Vienna. A small part of the edition, which was the first printed, reached the Micmacs. The main part, shipped later, was lost at sea in the transporting vessel.

Fig. 1083 shows the version of the Lord’s Prayer, published by Dr. J. G. Shea (a) in his translation of Le Clercq’s First Establishment of the Faith in New France, this and the preceding figure being taken from the Bibliography of the Languages of the N. A. Indians by Mr. J. C. Pilling, of the Bureau of Ethnology.

The publication of Father Kauder was a duodecimo in three parts: Catechism, 144 pages; religious reflections, 109 pages; and hymnal, 208 pages. They are very seldom found bound together, and a perfect copy of either of the parts or volumes is rare. On a careful examination of the hieroglyphs, so called, it seems evident that on the original substratum of Micmac designs or symbols, each of which represented mnemonically a whole sentence or verse, a large number of arbitrary designs have been added to express ideas and words which were not American, and devices were incorporated with them intended to represent the peculiarities of the Micmac grammar as understood by Kauder, and it would seem of a universal grammar antedating Volapük. The explanation of these additions has never been made known. Kauder died without having left any record or explanation of the plan by which he attempted to convert the mnemonic characters invented by the Indians into what may be considered an exposition of organized words (not sounds) in grammatical form. An attempt which may be likened to this was made by Bishop Landa in his use of the Maya characters, and one still more in point was that of the priests in Peru, mentioned in connection with Figs. 1084 and 1085, infra.

The result is that in the several camps of Micmacs visited by the present writer in Cape Breton island, Prince Edward island, and Nova Scotia, fragments of the printed works are kept and used for religious worship, and also many copies on various sheets and scraps of paper have been made of similar fragments, but their use is entirely mnemonic, as was that of their ancient bark originals. Very few of the Indians who in one sense can “read” them currently in the Micmac language, have any idea of the connection between any one of the characters and the vocables of the language. When asked what a particular character meant they were unable to answer, but would begin at the commencement of the particular prayer or hymn, and when arrested at any point would then for the first time be able to give the Micmac word or words which corresponded with that character. This was not in any religious spirit, as is mentioned by Dr. Washington Matthews, in his Mountain Chant, Fifth Ann. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology, with reference to the Navajo’s repeating all, if any, of the chant, but because they only knew that way to use the script. In that use they do as is mentioned of the Ojibwa, supra. The latter often by their bark script keep the memory of archaic words, and the Micmac keep that of religious phrases not well understood. A few, and very few, of the characters, which were constantly repeated, and were specially conspicuous, were known as distinct from the other characters by one only of the Indians examined. It apparently had never occurred to any of them that these same characters, which in their special mnemonic connection represented Micmac words, could be detached from their context and by combination represent the same words in other sentences. Therefore, the expression “reading,” used in reference to the operation, is not strictly correct. In most cases the recitation of the script was in a chant, and the musical air of the Roman Catholic Church belonging to the several hymns and chants was often imitated. The object, therefore, which has been expressed in the above quoted accounts of Fathers Druillettes and Le Clercq had been accomplished regarding the then extant generation of Indians two hundred years before Father Kauder’s publication. That object was for Indians under their immediate charge to learn in the most speedy manner certain formulæ of the church, by the use of which it was supposed that they would gain salvation. The formation of an alphabet, or even a syllabary, by which the structure of the language should be considered and its vocal expression recorded, was not the object. It is possible that there was an objection to the instruction of the Indians in a modern alphabet by which they might more readily learn either French or English, and at the same time be able to read profane literature and thereby become perverted from the faith. These missionaries certainly refrained, for some reason, not only from instructing the heathen in any of the languages of civilization, but also from teaching them the use of an alphabet for their own language.

It is probable that Father Kauder had some idea of reducing the language of the Micmacs to a written form, based not upon verbal or even syllabic notation, but upon some anomalous compromise between their ideographic original or substratum and a grammatic superstructure. If so, he entirely failed. The interesting point with regard to this remarkable and unique attempt is, that there is undoubtedly a basis of Indian designs and symbols included and occluded among the differentiated devices in the three volumes mentioned, which arbitrarily express thoughts and words by a false pictographic method, instead of sentences and verses. But the change from the pictorial forms to those adopted, if not as radical as that from the Egyptian hieroglyphs to the Roman text, resembles that from the archaic to the modern Chinese. Therefore it would follow that the present form of the characters is not one which the Indians would learn more readily than an alphabet or a syllabary, and that is the ascertained fact. At Cow bay, a Micmac camp, about 12 miles from Halifax, an aged chief who in his boyhood at Cape Breton island was himself instructed by Father Kauder in these characters, explained that Kauder taught them to the boys by drawing them on a blackboard and by repetition, very much in the manner in which a schoolmaster in civilized countries teaches the alphabet to children. The actual success of the Cherokees in the free and general use of Sequoya’s Syllabary, which was not founded on pictographs, but on signs for sounds, should be noted in this connection.

Among the thousands of scratchings on the Kejemkoojik rocks, many of which were undoubtedly made by the Micmac, only two characters were found resembling any in Kauder’s volumes, and those were common symbols of the Roman Catholic Church, and might readily have been made by the Frenchmen, who also certainly left scratchings there. Altogether after careful study of the subject it is considered that the devices in Father Kauder’s work are so intrinsically changed, both in form and intent, from the genuine Micmac designs that they can not be presented as examples of Indian pictography.

Connected with this topic is the following account in the Jesuit Relations of 1646, p. 31, relative to the Montagnais and other Algonquians of the St. Lawrence river, near the Saguenay: “They confess themselves with admirable frankness; some of them carry small sticks to remind them of their sins; others write, after their manner, on small pieces of bark.” This is but the application of the ideographic writing on birch bark by the converts to the ceremonies and stories of the Christian religion, as the same art had been long used for their aboriginal traditions.

Examples of pictographic work, done in a spirit similar to that above mentioned, are given by Wiener (g), describing the illustrations of which Figs. 1084 and 1085 are copies, one-fifth real size.

In the most distant part of Peru, in the valley of Paucartambo, at Sicasica, the history of the passion of Christ was found written in the same ideographic system that the Indians of Ancon and the north of the coast were acquainted with before the conquest. (Fig. 1084.) The drawings were made with a pencil, probably first dipped in a mixture of gum and mandioc flour. This tissue is of a dark brown and the designs are of a very bright red.

The second series, Fig. 1085, which was found at Paucartambo, was written in an analogous system on old Dutch paper. The designs are red and blue.

In an article by Terrien de Lacouperie (f) is the following condensed account, part of which relates to Fig. 1086, and may be compared with the priestly inventions above mentioned:

Père Desgodins was able, in 1867, to make a copy of eleven pages from a manuscript written in hieroglyphics, and belonging to a tom-ba or tong-ba, a medicine man among the Mo-sos. These hieroglyphics are not, properly speaking, a writing, still less the current writing of the tribe. The sorcerers or tong-bas alone use it when invited by the people to recite these so-called prayers, accompanied with ceremonies and sacrifices, and also to put some spells on somebody, a specialty of their own. They alone know how to read them and understand their meaning; they alone are acquainted with the value of these signs, combined with the numbers of the dice and other implements of divination which they use in their witchcraft. Therefore, these hieroglyphics are nothing else than signs more or less symbolical and arbitrary, known to a small number of initiated who transmit their knowledge to their eldest son and successor in their profession of sorcerers. Such is the exact value of the Mo-so manuscripts; they are not a current and common writing; they are hardly a sacred writing in the limits indicated above.

However, they are extremely important for the general theory of writing, inasmuch as they do not pretend to show in that peculiar hieroglyphical writing any survival of former times. According to these views, it was apparently made up for the purpose by the tom-bas or medicine men. This would explain, perhaps, the anomalous mixture of imperfect and bad imitations of ancient seal characters of China, pictorial figures of animals and men, bodies and their parts, with several Tibetan and Indian characters and Buddhist emblems.

It is not uninteresting to remark here that a kind of meetway or toomsah, i. e., priest, has been pointed out among the Kakhyens of Upper Burma. The description is thus quoted:

“A formal avenue always exists as the entrance to a Kakhyen village. * * * On each side of the broad grassy pathway are a number of bamboo posts, 4 feet high or thereabouts, and every 10 paces or so, taller ones, with strings stretching across the path, supporting small stars of split rattan and other emblems. There are also certain hieroglyphics which may constitute a kind of embryo picture-writing but are understood by none but the meetway or priest.”

PICTOGRAPHS IN ALPHABETS.

Mr. W. W. Rockhill, in Am. Anthrop., IV, No. 1, p. 91, notices the work of M. Paul Vial, missionary, etc., De la langue et de l’écriture indigènes au Yûnân, with the following remarks:

Père Vial has published a study upon the undeciphered script of the Lolos of Western China, of which the first specimen was secured some twelve years ago by E. Colborne Baber. Prof. Terrien de Lacouperie endeavored to establish a connection between these curious characters and the old Indian script known as the southern Ashoka alphabet. The present, Père Vial’s, work gives them a much less glorious origin. He says of them: “The native characters were formed without key, without method. It is impossible to decompose them. They are written not with the strokes of a brush, but with straight, curved, round, or angular lines, as the shape chosen for them requires. As the representation could not be perfect, they have stopped at something which can strike the eye or mind--form, motion, passion, a head, a bird’s beak, a mouth, right or left, lightness or heaviness; in short, at that portion of the object delineated which is peculiarly characteristic of it. But all characters are not of this expressive kind; some even have no connection with the idea they express. This anomaly has its reason. The native characters are much less numerous than the words of the language, only about thirty per cent. Instead of increasing the number of ideograms, the Lolos have used one for several words. As a result of this practice the natives have forgotten the original meaning of many of their characters.”

A summary of the original cuneiform characters, numbering one hundred and seventy, gives many of them as recognizable sketches of objects. The foot stands for “go,” the hand for “take,” the legs for “run,” much as in the Egyptian and in the Maya and other American systems. The bow, the arrow, and the sword represent war; the vase, the copper tablet, and the brick represent manufacture; boats, sails, huts, pyramids, and many other objects are used as devices.

W. St. Chad Boscawen (a) says:

Man’s earliest ventures in the art of writing were, as we are well aware, of a purely pictorial nature, and even to this day such a mode of ideography can be seen among some of the Indian tribes. * * * There is no reasonable doubt but that all the principal systems of paleography now in vogue had their origin at some remote period in this pictorial writing. In so primitive a center as Babylonia we should naturally expect to find such a system had been in vogue, and in this we are not disappointed.

Fig. 1087 is presented as a brief exhibit of the pictographs in some inchoate alphabets.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XX. SPECIAL COMPARISONS

The utility of the present work depends mainly upon the opportunity given by the various notes and illustrations collected for students to make their own comparisons and deductions. This chapter is intended to assist in that study by presenting some groups of comparisons which have seemed to possess special interest. For that reason descriptions and illustrations are collected here which logically belong to other headings.

Many of the pictographs discussed and illustrated in this chapter and in the one following are the representation of animals and other natural objects. It would therefore seem that they could be easily identified, but in fact the modes of representation of the same object among the several peoples differed, and when conventionalizing has also become a factor the objects may not be recognized without knowledge of the typical style. Sometimes there was apparently no attempt at the imitation of natural objects, but marks were used, such as points, lines, circles, and other geometric forms. These were combined in diverse modes to express concepts and record events. Those marks and combinations originated in many centers and except in rare instances of “natural” ideograms those of one people would not correspond with those of other peoples unless by conveyance or imitation. Typical styles therefore appear also in this class of pictographs and, when established, all typical styles afford some indication with regard to the peoples using them.

This chapter is divided under the headings of: 1. Typical Style. 2. Homomorphs and Symmorphs. 3. Composite forms. 4. Artistic skill and methods.

SECTION 1.

TYPICAL STYLE.

Fig. 1088 is presented as a type of eastern Algonquian petroglyphs. It is a copy of the “Hamilton picture rock,” contributed by Mr. J. Sutton Wall, of Monongahela city, Pennsylvania. The drawings are on a sandstone rock, on the Hamilton farm, 6 miles southeast from Morgantown, West Virginia. The turnpike passes over the south edge of the rock.

Mr. Wall furnishes the following description of the characters:

a, outline of a turkey; b, outline of a panther; c, outline of a rattlesnake; d, outline of a human form; e, a “spiral or volute;” f, impression of a horse foot; g, impression of a human foot; h, outline of the top portion of a tree or branch; i, impression of a human hand; j, impression of a bear’s forefoot, but lacks the proper number of toe marks; k, impression of two turkey tracks; l, has some appearance of a hare or rabbit, but lacks the corresponding length of ears; m, impression of a bear’s hindfoot, but lacks the proper number of toe marks; n, outline of infant human form, with two arrows in the right hand; o, p, two cup-shaped depressions; q, outline of the hind part of an animal; r might be taken to represent the impression of a horse’s foot were it not for the line bisecting the outer curved line; s represent buffalo and deer tracks.

The turkey a, the rattlesnake c, the rabbit l, and the “footprints” j, m, and q, are specially noticeable as typical characters in Algonquian pictography.

Mr. P. W. Sheafer furnishes, in his Historical Map of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1875, a sketch of a pictograph on the Susquehanna river, Pennsylvania, below the dam at Safe Harbor, part of which is reproduced in Fig. 1089. This appears to be purely Algonquian, and has more resemblance to Ojibwa characters than any other petroglyph in the eastern United States yet noted.

See also Figs. 70, et seq., supra, under the heading of Pennsylvania, as showing excellent types of eastern Algonquian petroglyphs and resembling those on the Dighton rock.

Fig. 1090 is reproduced from Schoolcraft (p), and is a copy taken in 1851 of an inscription sculptured on a rock on the south side of Cunningham’s island, Lake Erie. Mr. Schoolcraft’s explanation, given in great detail, is fanciful. It is perhaps only necessary to explain that the dotted lines are intended to divide the partially obliterated from the more distinct portions of the glyph. The central part is the most obscure.

It is to be remarked that this petroglyph is in some respects similar in general style to those before given as belonging to the eastern Algonquian type, but is still more like some of the representations of the Dighton rock inscription, one of them being Fig. 49, supra, and others, which it still more closely resembles in the mode of drawing human figures, are in the copies of Dighton rock on Pl. LIV, Chap. XXII. In some respects this Cunningham’s island glyph occupies a typical position intermediate between the eastern and western Algonquian.

A good type of western Algonquian petroglyphs was discovered by the party of Capt. William A. Jones (b), in 1873, with an illustration here reproduced as Fig. 1091, in which the greater number of the characters are shown, about one-fifth real size.

An abstract of his description is as follows:

* * * Upon a nearly vertical wall of the yellow sandstones, just back of Murphy’s ranch, a number of rude figures had been chiseled, apparently at a period not very recent, as they had become much worn. * * * No certain clue to the connected meaning of this record was obtained, although Pínatsi attempted to explain it when the sketch was shown to him some days later by Mr. F. W. Bond, who copied the inscriptions from the rocks. The figure on the left, in the upper row, somewhat resembles the design commonly used to represent a shield, with the greater part of the ornamental fringe omitted, perhaps worn away in the inscription. We shall possibly be justified in regarding the whole as an attempt to record the particulars of a fight or battle which once occurred in this neighborhood. Pínatsi’s remarks conveyed the idea to Mr. Bond that he understood the figure [the second in the upper line] to signify cavalry, and the six figures [three in the middle of the upper line, as also the three to the left of the lower line] to mean infantry, but he did not appear to recognize the hieroglyphs as the copy of any record with which he was familiar.

Throughout the Wind river country of Wyoming many petroglyphs have been found and others reported by the Shoshoni Indians, who say that they are the work of the “Pawkees,” as they call the Blackfeet, or, more properly, Satsika, an Algonquian tribe which formerly occupied that region, and their general style bears strong resemblance to similar carvings found in the eastern portion of the United States, in regions known to have been occupied by other tribes of the Algonquian linguistic stock.

The four specimens of Algonquian petroglyphs presented here in Figs. 1088-91 and those referred to, show gradations in type. In connection with them reference may be made to the numerous Ojibwa bark records in this work; the Ottawa pipestem, Fig. 738; and they may be contrasted with the many Dakota, Shoshoni, and Innuit drawings also presented.

The petroglyphs found scattered throughout the states and territories embraced within the area bounded by the Rocky mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada on the west, and generally south of the forty-eighth degree of latitude, are markedly similar in the class of objects represented and the general style of their delineation, without reference to their division into pecked or painted characters; also in many instances the sites selected for petroglyphic display are of substantially the same character. This type has been generally designated as the Shoshonean, though many localities abounding in petroglyphs of the type are now inhabited by tribes of other linguistic stocks.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological Survey, has furnished a small collection of drawings of Shoshonean petroglyphs from Oneida, Idaho, shown in Fig. 39, supra.

Five miles northwest from this locality and one-half mile east from Marsh creek is another group of characters on basalt bowlders, apparently totemic, and drawn by Shoshoni. A copy of these, also contributed by Mr. Gilbert, is given in Fig. 1092.

All of these drawings resemble the petroglyphs found at Partridge creek, northern Arizona, and in Temple creek canyon, southeastern Utah, mentioned supra, pages 50 and 116, respectively.

Mr. I. C. Russell, of the U. S. Geological Survey, has furnished drawings of rude pictographs at Black Rock spring, Utah, represented in Fig. 1093. Some of the other characters not represented in the figure consist of several horizontal lines, placed one above another, above which are a number of spots, the whole appearing like a numerical record having reference to the figure alongside, which resembles, to a slight extent, a melon with tortuous vines and stems. The left-hand upper figure suggests the masks shown in Fig. 713.

Mr. Gilbert Thompson, of the U. S. Geological Survey, has discovered pictographs at Fool creek canyon, Utah, shown in Fig. 1094, which strongly resemble those still made by the Moki of Arizona. Several characters are identical with those last mentioned, and represent human figures, one of which is drawn to represent a man, shown by a cross, the upper arm of which is attached to the perinæum. These are all drawn in red color and were executed at three different periods. Other neighboring pictographs are pecked and unpainted, while others are both pecked and painted.

Both of these pictographs from Utah may be compared with the Moki pictographs from Oakley springs, Arizona, copied in Fig. 1261.

Dr. G. W. Barnes, of San Diego, California, has kindly furnished sketches of pictographs prepared for him by Mrs. F. A. Kimball, of National city, California, which were copied from records 25 miles northeast of the former city. Many of them found upon the faces of large rocks are almost obliterated, though sufficient remains to permit tracing. The only color used appears to be red ocher. Many of the characters, as noticed upon the drawings, closely resemble those in New Mexico, at Ojo de Benado, south of Zuñi, and in the canyon leading from the canyon at Stewart’s ranch, to the Kanab creek canyon, Utah. This is an indication of the habitat of the Shoshonean stock apart from the linguistic evidence with which it agrees.

From the numerous illustrations furnished of petroglyphs found in Owens valley, California, reference is here made to Pl. II a, Pl. III h, and Pl. VII a as presenting suggestive similarity to the Shoshonean forms above noted, and apparently connecting them with others in New Mexico, Arizona, Sonora, and Central and South America.

Mr. F. H. Cushing (a) figured three petroglyphs, now reproduced in Figs. 1095 and 1096, from Arizona, and referred to them in connection with figurines found in the ruined city of Los Muertos, in the Salado valley, as follows:

Beneath the floor of the first one of these huts which we excavated, near the ranch of Mr. George Kay Miller, were discovered, disposed precisely as would be a modern sacrifice of the kind in Zuñi, the paraphernalia of a Herder’s sacrifice, namely, the paint line, encircled, perforated medicine cup, the Herder’s amulet stone of chalcedony, and a group of at least fifteen remarkable figurines. The figurines alone, of the articles constituting this sacrifice, differed materially from those which would occur in a modern Zuñi “New Year Sacrifice” of the kind designed to propitiate the increase and prosperity of its herds. While in Zuñi these figurines invariably represent sheep (the young of sheep mainly; mostly also females), the figurines in the hut at “Los Guanacos,” as I named the place, represented with rare fidelity * * * some variety, I should suppose, of the auchenia or llama of South America.

Summing up the evidence presented by the occurrence of numerous “bola stones” in these huts and within the cities; by the remarkably characteristic forms of these figurines; by the traditional statement of modern Zuñis regarding “small hairy animals” possessed by their ancestors, no less than by the statements of Marcus Nizza, Bernal Diaz, and other Spanish writers to the same effect, and adding to this sum the facts presented in sundry ritualistic pictographs, I concluded, very boldly, * * * that the ancient Pueblos-Shiwians, or Aridians, * * * must have had domesticated a North American variety of the auchenia more nearly resembling, it would seem, the guanaco of South America than the llama.

It is ascertained that the petroglyphs copied by Mr. Cushing as above are pecked upon basaltic rock in the northern face of Maricopa mountains, near Telegraph pass, south of Phœnix, Arizona.

The following information is obtained from Dr. H. Ten Kate (a):

In several localities in the sierra in the peninsula of California and Sonora are rocks painted red. These paintings are quite rude and are inferior to many of the pictographs of the North American Indians. Figs. 1097 and 1098 were found at Rincon de S. Antonio. The right-hand division of Fig. 1097 is a complete representation, and the figures copied appear on the stone in the order in which they are here given. The left-hand division of the same figure represents only the most distinct objects, selected from among a large number of others, very similar, which cover a block of marble several meters in height. The object in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 1097 measures 20 to 21 centimeters; the others are represented in proportion.

These two figures resemble petroglyphs reported from the Santa Inez range, west of Santa Barbara, Lower California.

The same author, op. cit., p. 324, says:

Fig. 1098 represents symbols which were the most easily distinguished among the great number of those which cover two immense granite blocks at Boca San Pedro. The rows of dots (or points) which are seen at the left of this figure measure 1.50 meters, the parallel lines traced at the right are about 1 meter.

This figure is like another found farther east (see Fig. 31) from Azuza canyon, California.

A number of Haida pictographs are reproduced in other parts of this work. In immediate connection with the present topic Fig. 1099 is presented. It shows the carved columns in front of the chief’s house at Massett, Queen Charlotte island.

The following illustrations from New Zealand are introduced here for comparison.

Dr. F. von Hochstetter (b) writing of New Zealand, says:

The dwellings of the chiefs at Ohinemutu are surrounded with inclosures of pole fences, and the Whares and Wharepunis, some of them exhibiting very fine specimens of the Maori order of architecture, are ornamented with grotesque wood carvings. Fig. 1100 is an illustration of some of them. The gable figure with the lizard having six feet and two heads is very remarkable. The human figures are not idols, but are intended to represent departed sires of the present generation.

Niblack (c) gives a description of the illustration reproduced as Fig. 1101.

Tiki. At Raroera Pah, New Zealand. From Wood’s Natural History, page 180. Of this he says: “This gigantic tiki stands, together with several others, near the tomb of the daughter of Te Whero-Whero, and, like the monument which it seems to guard, is one of the finest examples of native carving to be found in New Zealand. The precise object of the tiki is uncertain, but the protruding tongue of the upper figure seems to show that it is one of the numerous defiant statues which abound in the islands. The natives say that the lower figure represents Maui the Auti who, according to Maori tradition, fished up the islands from the bottom of the sea.”

Dr. Bransford (b) gives an illustration, copied here as the left-hand character of Fig. 1102, with the description of the site, viz: “On a hillside on the southern end of the island of Ometepec, Nicaragua, about a mile and a half east of Point San Ramon.” On a rough, irregular stone of basalt, projecting 3 feet above ground, was the following figure on the south side:

This suggests comparison with some of the Moki and British Guiana figures.

The same authority gives on page 66, from the same island and neighborhood, the illustration copied as the right-hand character of the same figure.

By comparing some of the New Mexican, Zuñi, and Pueblo drawings with the above figure the resemblance is obvious. This is most notable in the outline of the square abdomen and the widespread legs.

Fig. 1103, also mentioned and figured by Dr. Bransford as found with the preceding in Nicaragua, resembles some of the petroglyphs presented in the collection from Owens valley, California.

The carvings in Fig. 1104 are from British Guiana, and are reproduced from im Thurn (i):

Most of these figures so strongly resemble some from New Mexico, and perhaps Arizona, as to appear as if they were made by the same people. This is specially noticeable in the lowermost characters, and more particularly so in the last two, resembling the usual Shoshonean type for toad or frog.

The petroglyph of Boca del Infierno, a copy of which is furnished by Marcano (f), reproduced as Fig. 1105, is thus described:

In the strange combination that surmounts it, a, there are seen at the lower part two figures resembling the eyes of jaguars, but asymmetric. Still the difference is apparent rather than real. These eyes are always formed of three circumferences, the central one being at times replaced by a point, as in the eye at the left; the one at the right shows its three circumferences, but the outermost is continuous with the rest of the drawing. The two eyes are joined together by superposed arches, the smallest of which touches only the left eye, while the larger one, which is not in contact with the left eye, forms the circumference of the right eye. The whole is surrounded by 34 rays, pretty nearly of the same size, except one, which is larger. Is there question of a jaguar’s head seen from in front with its bristling mane, or is it a sunrise? All conjecture is superfluous, and it is useless to search for the interpretation of these figures, whose value, entirely conventional, is known only by those who invented them.

In b of the same pictograph, alongside of a tangle of various figures, always formed of geometric lines, we distinguished, at the left, three points; in the middle a collection of lines representing a fish. Let us note, finally, the dots which, as in the preceding case, run out from certain lines.

The design of c, while quite as complex, has quite another arrangement. At the left we see again the figure of the circumferences surrounding a dot, and these are surmounted by a series of triangles; at the bottom there are two little curves terminated by dots. At d two analogous objects are represented; they may be what Humboldt took to be arms or household implements.

In the above figure, the uppermost character, a, is similar to various representations of the “sky,” as depicted upon the birch-bark midē' records of the Ojibwa. The lower characters are similar to several examples presented under the Shoshonean types, particularly to those in Owens valley, California.

Dr. A. Ernst in Verhandl. der Berliner, Anthrop. Gesell. (c) gives a description of Fig. 1106, translated and condensed as follows:

The rock on which the petroglyph is carved is 41 kilometers WSW. of Caracas, and 27 kilometers almost due north of La Victoria, in the coast mountains of Venezuela. The petroglyph is found on two large stones lying side by side and leaning against other blocks of leptinite, though resembling sandstone. The length of the two stones is 3.5 m., their height 2 m. The stones lie beside the road from the colony of Tovar to La Maya, on the border of a clearing somewhat inclined southward not far from the woods. The surface is turned south. Concerning the meaning of the very fragmentary figures I can not even express a conjecture.

Araripe (c) furnishes the following description of Fig. 1107:

In the district of Inhamun, on the road from Carrapateira to Cracará, at a distance of half a league, following a footpath which branches off to the left, is a small lake called Arneiros, near which is a heap of round and long stones; on one of the round ones is an inscription, here given in the order in which the figures appear, on the face toward the north, engraved with a pointed instrument, the characters being covered with red paint.

The same authority, p. 231, gives the following description of the lower group in Fig. 1108. It is called Indian writing in Vorá, in Faxina, province of São Paulo.

From a rock which is more than 40 meters in height, a large mass has been detached leaving a greater inclination of 10 meters. This incline, together with the wall formed by the detached portion, constitutes a sheltered place which was used by the Indians as a resting place for their dead.

On the walls of this grotto are figures engraved in the stone and painted with “indelible” colors in red and black. It would seem that the Indians had engraved in these figures the history of the tribe. The designs are as follows:

A human figure with ornaments of feathers on the head and neck; a palm tree rudely engraved and painted; a number of circular holes, 24 or more or less, in a straight line; a circle with a diameter of 15 inches, having dentated lines on the edge; two concentric circles resembling a clock face, with 60 divisions; immediately following this the figure of an idol, and various marks all painted in a very firm black; a figure of the sun with a +; a T; six more circles; a human hand and foot well carved, etc. In the wall are fragments of bones.

The two upper groups are copies of petroglyphs in Fuencaliente, Andalusia, Spain, which are described in Chap. IV, sec. 3, and are introduced here for convenient comparison with characters in the lower group of this figure, and also with others in Figs. 1097 and 1107.

Dr. Ladisláu Netto (c) gives an account of characters copied from the inscriptions of Cachoeira Savarete, in the valley of the Rio Negro, here reproduced as Fig. 1109. They represent men and animals, concentric circles, double spirals, and other figures of indefinite form. The design in the left hand of the middle line evidently represents a group of men gathered and drawn up like soldiers in a platoon.

The same authority, p. 552, furnishes characters copied from rocks near the villa of Moura in the valley of the Rio Negro, here reproduced as Fig. 1110. They represent a series of figures on which Dr. Netto remarks as follows:

It is singular how frequent are these figures of circles two by two, one of which seems to simulate one of the meanders that in a measure represent the form of the Buddhic cross. This character, represented by the double cross, is very common in many American inscriptions. It probably signifies some idea which has nothing to do with that of nandyavarta.

The same authority, p. 522, gives carvings copied from the rocks of the banks of the Rio Negro, from Moura to the city of Mañaus, some of which are reproduced as Fig. 1111. The group on the left Dr. Netto believes to represent a crowned chief, having by his side a figure which may represent either the sun or the moon in motion, but which, were it carved by civilized men, would suggest nothing more remarkable than a large compass.

The same authority, p. 553, presents characters copied from stones on the banks of the Rio Negro, Brazil, here reproduced as Fig. 1112.

They are rather sketches or vague tracings and attempts at drawing than definite characters. The human heads found in most of the figures observed at this locality resemble the heads carved in the inscriptions of Central America and on the banks of the Colorado river. The left-hand character, which here appears to be simply a rude drawing of a nose and the eyes belonging to a human face, may be compared with the so-called Thunderbird from Washington, contributed by Rev. Dr. Eels (see Fig. 679).

Dr. E. R. Heath (b), in his Exploration of the River Beni, introducing Fig. 1113, says:

Periquitos rapids connects so closely with the tail of “Riberáo” that it is difficult to say where one begins and the other ends. Our stop at the Periquitos rapids was short yet productive of a few figures, one rock having apparently a sun and moon on it, the first seen of that character.

He further says:

On some solid water-worn rocks, at the edge of the fall, are the following figures [Fig. 1114]. There were many fractional parts of figures which we did not consider of sufficient value to copy.

SECTION 2.

HOMOMORPHS AND SYMMORPHS.

It has already been mentioned that characters substantially the same, or homomorphs, made by one set of people, have a different signification among others. The class of homomorphs may also embrace the cases common in gesture signs, and in picture writing, similar to the homophones in oral language, where the same sound has several meanings among the same people.

It would be very remarkable if precisely the same character were not used by different or even the same persons or bodies of people with wholly distinct significations. The graphic forms for objects and ideas are much more likely to be coincident than sound is for similar expressions, yet in all oral languages the same precise sound, sometimes but not always distinguished by different literation, is used for utterly diverse meanings. The first conception of different objects could not have been the same. It has been found, indeed, that the homophony of words and the homomorphy of ideographic pictures is noticeable in opposite significations, the conceptions arising from the opposition itself. The same sign and the same sound may be made to convey different ideas by varying the expression, whether facial or vocal, and by the manner accompanying their delivery. Pictographs likewise may be differentiated by modes and mutations of drawing. The differentiation in picturing or in accent is a subsequent and remedial step not taken until after the confusion had been observed and had become inconvenient. Such confusion and contradiction would only be eliminated from pictography if it were far more perfect than is any spoken language.

This heading, for convenience, though not consistently with its definition, may also include those pictographs which convey different ideas and are really different in form of execution as well as in conception, yet in which the difference in form is so slight as practically to require attention and discrimination. Examples are given below in this section, and others may be taken from the closely related sign-language, one group of which may now be mentioned.

The sign used by the Dakota, Hidatsa, and several other tribes for “tree” is made by holding the right hand before the body, back forward, fingers and thumb separated; then pushing it slightly upward, Fig. 1115; that for “grass” is the same, made near the ground; that for “grow” is made like “grass,” though, instead of holding the back of the hand near the ground, the hand is pushed upward in an interrupted manner, Fig. 1116. For “smoke” the hand (with the back down, fingers pointing upward as in grow) is then thrown upward several times from the same place instead of continuing the whole motion upward. Frequently the fingers are thrown forward from under the thumb with each successive upward motion. For “fire” the hand is employed as in the gesture for smoke, but the motion is frequently more waving, and in other cases made higher from the ground.

Symmorphs, a term suggested by the familiar “synonym,” are designs not of the same form, but which are used with the same significance or so nearly the same as to have only a slight shade of distinction and which sometimes are practically interchangeable. The comprehensive and metaphorical character of pictographs renders more of them interchangeable than is the case with words; still, like words, some pictographs with essential resemblance of meaning have partial and subordinate differences made by etymology or usage. Doubtless the designs are purposely selected to delineate the most striking outlines of an object or the most characteristic features of an action; but different individuals and likewise different bodies of people would often disagree in the selection of those outlines and features. In an attempt to invent an ideographic, not an iconographic, design for “bird,” any one of a dozen devices might have been agreed upon with equal appropriateness, and, in fact, a number have been so selected by several individuals and tribes, each one, therefore, being a symmorph of the other. Gesture language gives another example in the signs for “deer,” designated by various modes of expressing fleetness, also by his gait when not in rapid motion, by the shape of his horns, by the color of his tail, and sometimes by combinations of those characteristics. Each of these signs and of the pictured characters corresponding with them may be indefinitely abbreviated and therefore create indefinite diversity. Some examples appropriate to this line of comparison are now presented.

SKY.

The Indian gesture sign for sky, heaven, is generally made by passing the index from east to west across the zenith. This curve is apparent in the Ojibwa pictograph, the left-hand character of Fig. 1117, reported in Schoolcraft (q), and is abbreviated in the Egyptian character with the same meaning, the middle character of the same figure, from Champollion (e). A simpler form of the Ojibwa picture sign for sky is the right-hand character of the same figure, from Copway (h).

SUN AND LIGHT.

Fig. 1118 shows various representations of the sun taken from a petroglyph at Oakley springs.

The common Indian gesture sign for sun is: Right hand closed, the index and thumb curved, with tips touching, thus approximating a circle, and held toward the sky, the position of the fingers of the hand forming a circle as is shown in Fig. 1119. Two of the Egyptian characters for sun, the left-hand upper characters of Fig. 1120 are the common conception of the disk. The rays emanating from the whole disk appear in the two adjoining characters on the same figure, taken from the rock etchings of the Moki pueblos in Arizona. From the same locality are the two remaining characters in the same figure, which may be distinguished from several similar etchings for “star,” Fig. 1129, infra, by their showing some indication of a face, the latter being absent in the characters denoting “star.”

With the above characters for sun compare the left-hand character of Fig. 1121, found at Cuxco, Peru, and taken from Wiener (h).

In the pictorial notation of the Laplanders the sun bears its usual figure of a man’s head, rayed. See drawings in Scheffer’s History of Lapland, London, 1704.

The Ojibwa pictograph for sun is seen in the second character of Fig. 1121, taken from Schoolcraft (r). The sun’s disk, together with indications of rays, as shown in the third character of the same figure, and in its linear form, the fourth character of that figure, from Champollion, Dict., constitutes the Egyptian character for light.

Fig. 1122.--Light. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is to be compared with the rays of the sun as above shown, but still more closely resembles the old Chinese character for light, or more specifically “light above man,” in the left-hand character of Fig. 1123, reported by Dr. Edkins.

The other characters of the same figure are given by Schoolcraft (s) as Ojibwa symbols of the sun.

The left-hand character of Fig. 1124, from Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum (a), shows the top of an heraldic column of the Sentlae (Sun) gens of the Kwakiutl Indians in Alert bay, British Columbia, which represents the sun surrounded by wooden rays. A simpler form is seen in the right character of the same figure where the face of the sun is also fastened to the top of a pole. The author, Dr. Boas, states that Fig. 1125 is the sun mask used by the same gens in their dance. This presents another mode in which the common symbolic connection of the eagle (the beak of which bird is apparently shown) with the sun is indicated.

Prof. Cyrus Thomas, in Aids to the Study of the Manuscript Troano, Sixth Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn., p. 348, gives the left-hand character in Fig. 1126 as representing the sun.

General Forlong (a) states that the middle device of the same figure represents the sun as Mihr, the fertilizer of the seed.

Dr. Edkins (e) gives the right-hand device of the same figure as a picture of the sun. Originally it was a circle with a stroke or dot in the middle.

MOON.

A common Indian gesture sign for moon, month, is the right hand closed, leaving the thumb and index extended, but curved to form a half circle and the hand held toward the sky, in a position which is illustrated in Fig. 1127, to which curve the Moki drawing, the upper left-hand device in Fig. 1128, and the identical form in the ancient Chinese have an obvious resemblance.

The crescent, as Europeans and Asiatics commonly figure the satellite, appears also in the Ojibwa pictograph, the lower left-hand character in Fig. 1128, taken from Schoolcraft (t), which is the same, with a slight addition, as the Egyptian figurative character.

The middle character in Fig. 1128 is the top of an upright post of a house of the moon gens of the Kuakiutl Indians taken from Boas (g). It represents the moon.

Schoolcraft (u) gives the right-hand character of the same figure for the moon, i. e., an obscured sun, as drawn by the Ojibwa.

STARS.

Fig. 1129 shows various forms of stars, taken from a petroglyph at Oakley Springs, Arizona. Most of them show the rays in a manner to suggest the points of stars common in many parts of the world.

DAYTIME AND KIND OF DAY.

Fig. 1130, copied from Copway (h), presents respectively the characters for sunrise, noon, and sunset.

An Indian gesture sign for “sunrise,” “morning,” is: Forefinger of right hand crooked to represent half of the sun’s disk and pointed or extended to the left, slightly elevated. In this connection it may be noted that when the gesture is carefully made in open country the pointing would generally be to the east, and the body turned so that its left would be in that direction. In a room in a city, or under circumstances where the points of the compass are not specially attended to, the left side supposes the east, and the gestures relating to sun, day, etc., are made with such reference. The half only of the disk represented in the above gesture appears in the Moki pueblo drawings for morning and sunrise.

Fig. 1131 shows various representations of sunrise from Oakley Springs, Arizona.

J. B. Dunbar (b), in The Pawnee Indians, says:

As an aid to the memory the Pawnees frequently made use of notches cut in a stick or some similar device for the computation of nights (for days were counted by nights), or even of months and years. Pictographically a day or daytime was represented by a six or eight pointed star as a symbol of the sun. A simple cross (a star) was a symbol of a night and a crescent represented a moon or lunar month.

A common Indian gesture for day is when the index and thumb form a circle (remaining fingers closed) and are passed from east to west.

Fig. 1132 shows a pictograph found in Owens valley, California, a similar one being reported in the Ann. Rep. Geog. Survey West of the 100th Meridian for 1876, Washington, 1876, pl. opp. p. 326, in which the circle may indicate either day or month (both these gestures having the same execution), the course of the sun or moon being represented perhaps in mere contradistinction to the vertical line, or perhaps the latter signifies one.

Fig. 1133 is a pictograph made by the Coyotèro Apaches, found at Camp Apache, in Arizona, reported in the Tenth Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey of the Terr., Washington, 1878, Pl. LXXVII. The sun and the ten spots of approximately the same shape represent the days, eleven, which the party passed in traveling through the country. The separating lines are the nights, and may include the conception of covering over and consequent obscurity referred to in connection with the pictographs for night.

The left-hand character in Fig. 1134, copied from Copway (h), represents smooth water or clear day.

The right-hand character in the same figure, from the same authority, p. 135, represents storm or a windy day.

NIGHT.

Fig. 1135.--Kills-the-Enemy-at-Night. Red-Cloud’s Census. Night is indicated by the black circle around the head, suggesting the covering over with darkness, as is shown in the common gesture for night, made by passing both flat hands from their respective sides, inward and downward, before the body. The sign for kill is denoted here by the bow in contact with the head, in accordance with a custom among the Dakota of striking the dead enemy with the bow or coup stick.

Fig. 1136.--Kills-Enemy-at-Night. Red-Cloud’s Census. This drawing is similar to the preceding. The differentiation is sufficient to allow of a distinction between the two characters, each representing the same name, though belonging to two different men.

Fig. 1137.--Smokes-at-Night. Red-Cloud’s Census. Again the concept is expressed by the covering over with darkness.

Fig. 1138.--Kills-at-Night. Red-Cloud’s Census. Night is here shown by the curve for sky and the suspension, beneath it, of a star, or more probably in Dakotan expression, a night sun, i. e., the moon.

Fig. 1139.--A Crow chief, Flat-Head, comes into the tipi of a Dakota chief, where a council was assembled. Flame’s Winter Count, 1852-’53. The night is shown by the black top of the tipi.

Fig. 1140 is taken from Copway (f). It represents “night.”

A typical Indian gesture for night, illustrated by Fig. 1141, is: Place the flat hands horizontally about 2 feet apart, move them quickly in an upward curve toward one another until the right lies across the left. “Darkness covers all.”

The conception of covering executed by delineating the object covered beneath the middle point of an arch or curve, appears also clearly in the Egyptian characters for night, Fig. 1142, Champollion (f).

In Kingsborough (m) is the painting reproduced as Fig. 1143.

This painting expresses the multitude of eyes, i. e., stars in the sky, and signifies the night. Eyes in Mexican paintings are painted exactly in this manner.

CLOUD.

Fig. 1144.--Cloud shield. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure shows in conjunction with the disk, probably a shield but possibly the sun, a dim cloud, and below is a line apparently holding up clouds from which the raindrops have not yet begun to fall. This may be collated with the pictographs for rain and also for snow, as figured below.

A Cheyenne sign for cloud is as follows: (1) Both hands partially closed, palms facing and near each other, brought up to level with or slightly above but in front of the head; (2) suddenly separated sidewise, describing a curve like a scallop; this scallop motion is repeated for “many clouds.” The same conception is in the Moki etchings, the three left-hand characters of Fig. 1145 (Gilbert MS.), and in variants from Oakley Springs, the two right-hand characters of the same figure.

The Ojibwa pictograph for cloud, reported in Schoolcraft (n), is more elaborate, Fig. 1146. It is composed of the sign for sky to which that for clouds is added, the latter being reversed, as compared with the Moki etchings, and picturesquely hanging from the sky.

RAIN.

Fig. 1147.--From Copway, loc. cit., represents rain, cloudy.

The gesture sign for rain is illustrated in Fig. 1002. The pictograph, Fig. 1148, reported as found in New Mexico, by Lieut. Simpson, in Ex. Doc. No. 64, 31st Congress, 1st session, 1850, p. 9, is said to represent Montezuma’s adjutants sounding a blast to him for rain. The small character inside the curve which represents the sky, corresponds with the gesturing hand, but may be the rain cloud appearing.

The Moki drawing for rain, i. e., a cloud from which the drops are falling, is given in Fig. 1149, in six variants taken from a petroglyph at Oakley Springs.

Edkins (f) gives Fig. 1150 as the Chinese character for rain. It is a picture of rain falling from the clouds. He adds, p. 155:

Rain was anciently without the upper line, and instead of the vertical line in the middle there were four, but all shorter. Above each of them and within the concave was a dot. These four dots were raindrops, the four lines were the direction of their descent, and the concave was the firmament.

LIGHTNING.

Among the northern Indians of North America the concept of lightning is included in that of thunder, and is represented by the thunder bird, see Chap. XIV, sec. 2, supra.

Fig. 1151 shows three ways in which lightning is represented by the Moki. They are copied from a petroglyph at Oakley Springs, Arizona. In the middle character the sky is shown, the changing direction of the streak and clouds with rain falling. The part relating specially to the streak is portrayed in an Indian gesture sign as follows: Right hand elevated before and above the head, forefinger pointing upward, brought down with great rapidity with a sinuous, undulating motion, finger still extended diagonally downward toward the right.

Fig. 1152 is a copy from a vase in the collection of relics of the ancient builders of the southwest table lands in the MS. Catalogue of Mr. Thomas V. Keam, and represents the body of the mythic Um-tak-ina, the Thunder. This body is a rain cloud with thunder [lightning] darting through it, and is probably of ancient Moki workmanship.

Fig. 1153, also from Keam’s MS., gives three other representations of the Moki characters for lightning. The middle one shows the lightning sticks which are worked by the hands of the dancers.

Fig. 1154 also represents lightning, taken by Mr. W. H. Jackson, photographer of the late U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey, from the decorated walls of an estufa in the Pueblo de Jemez, New Mexico. The former is blunt, for harmless, and the latter terminates in an arrow or spear point, for destructive or fatal lightning.

Connected with this topic is the following extract from Virgil’s Æneis, Lib. VIII, 429:

Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquosæ Addiderant, rutili tres ignis et alitis austri.

The “radii” are the forks or spikes by which lightning is designated, especially on medals. It consisted of twelve wreathed spikes or darts extended like the radii of a circle. The wings denote the lightning’s rapid motion and the spikes or darts its penetrating quality. The four different kinds of spikes refer to the four seasons. The “tres imbristorti radii” or the three spikes of hail, are the winter when hail storms abound. The “tres nubis aquosæ radii,” the three spikes of a watery cloud, denote the spring. The “tres rutili ignis radii,” the three spikes of sparkling fire, are the summer when lightning is frequent and the “tres alitis austri radii,” or the three spikes of winged wind, are for autumn with its many wind storms.

HUMAN FORM.

Fig. 1155.--a among the Arikara signifies men. The characters are used in connection with horseshoes, to denote “mounted men” b. In other pictographs such spots or dots are merely numerical. c is drawn by the Kiatéxamut branch of the Innuits for man. It is an abbreviated form and rare. d, drawn by the Blackfeet, signifies “Man-dead.” This is from a pictograph in Wind River mountains, taken from Jones’s (c) Northwestern Wyoming. e is also a Kiatéxamut Innuit drawing for man. This figure is armless; generally represents the person addressed.

Fig. 1156.--a is also a Kiatéxamut Innuit drawing for man. The person makes the gesture for negation. b and c, from a Californian petroglyph, are men also gesturing negation. d, from Schoolcraft (v), is the Ojibwa “symbol” for disabled man.

Fig. 1157.--a is the Kiatéxamut Innuit drawing for Shaman. b, used by the same tribe, represents man supplicating. c, reproduced from Schoolcraft (u), is the Ojibwa representative figure or man.

Fig. 1158.--a, from Schoolcraft, loc. cit., is an Ojibwa drawing of a headless body. b, from the same, is another Ojibwa figure for a headless body, perhaps female. c, contributed by Mr. Gilbert Thompson, is a drawing for a man, made by the Moki in Arizona. d, reproduced from Schoolcraft (w), is a drawing from the banks of the River Yenesei, Siberia, by Von Strahlenberg (a). e is given by Dr. Edkins, op. cit., p. 4, as the Chinese character for, and originally a picture of, a man.

The representation of a headless body does not always denote death. An example is given in Fig. 1159, a, taken from an ivory drill-bow in the collection of the Alaska Commercial Company, of San Francisco, California. It was made by the Aigaluxamut natives of Alaska. As the explanation gives no suggestion of a fatal casualty, the concept may be that the hunter got lost or “lost his head,” according to the colloquial phrase.

The figures of men in a canoe are represented by the Kiatéxamut Innuit of Alaska, as shown in the same figure, b. The right-hand upward stroke represents the bow of the boat, while the two lines below the horizontal stroke denote the paddles used by the men, who are shown as the first and second upward strokes above the canoe; in the same figure, c shows the outline of human figures, copied from a walrus ivory drill-bow (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 44398) from Cape Nome, Alaska. The second pair closely resemble forms of the thunder-bird as drawn by various Algonquian tribes and as found in petroglyphs upon rocks in the northeastern portion of the United States; in the same figure, d, selected from a group of human forms, is incised upon a walrus ivory drill-bow obtained at Port Clarence, Alaska, by Dr. T. H. Bean, of the National Museum. The specimen is numbered 40054. The fringe-like appendages on the arms may indicate the garment worn by some of the Kenai or other inland Athabascan Indians of Alaska.

Fig. 1160, from Strahlenberg, op. cit., was found in Siberia, and is identical with the character which, according to Schoolcraft, is drawn by the Ojibwa to represent speed and the power of superior knowledge by exaltation to the regions of the air, being, in his opinion, a combination of bird and man.

It is to be noticed that some Ojibwa recently examined regard the character merely as a human figure with outstretched arms, and fringes pendent therefrom. It has, also, a strong resemblance to some of the figures in the Lone-Dog Winter Counts (those for 1854-’55 and 1866-’67, pages 283 and 285, respectively), in which there is no attempt understood to signify anything more than a war-dress.

Fig. 1161, according to Schoolcraft (t), is the Ojibwa drawing symbolic for an American.

Bastian (a), in Ethnologisches Bilderbuch, says:

Upon a shaman’s drum, from the Yakuts of Siberia, is the figure of a human form greatly resembling some forms of the American types. The appendages beneath the arms, given in Fig. 1162, suggest also some forms of the thunder-bird as drawn by the Ojibwa.

Fig. 1163 is a copy of human forms found by Mr. Dellenbaugh in petroglyphs in Shinumo canyon, Utah. They probably are of Moki workmanship.

Fig. 1164, from Mr. Stevenson’s paper in the Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 283, is the form of a man, drawn in the sand in the Hasjelti ceremony of the Navajo.

The left-hand character of Fig. 1165 is described in Keam’s MS. as follows:

This is a conventional design of dragon flies, and is often found among rock etchings throughout the plateau [Arizona]. The dragon flies have always been held in great veneration by the Mokis and their ancestors, as they have been often sent by Oman to reopen springs which Muingwa had destroyed and to confer other benefits upon the people.

This form of the figure, with little vertical lines added to the transverse lines, connects the Batolatci with the Ho-bo-bo emblems. The youth who was sacrificed and translated by Ho-bo-bo reappeared a long time afterwards, during a season of great drought, in the form of a gigantic dragon fly, who led the rain clouds over the lands of Ho-pi-tu, bringing plenteous rains.

Describing the middle character of the figure, he says: “The figure represents a woman. The breath sign is displayed in the interior. The simpler design in the right-hand character consists of two triangles, one upon another, and is called the ‘woman’s head and body.’”

Fig. 1166, reproduced by permission from the Century Magazine for October, 1891, p. 887, is a representation of a golden breastplate found in the United States of Colombia, and now in the Ruiz-Randall collection. The human figure is nearly identical with some of those described and illustrated in the present work as found in other localities.

Crevaux, quoted by Marcano, (g) in speaking of the photographs of French Guyana, makes these useful suggestions:

The drawings of frogs found by Brown on the Esesquibo are nothing else than human figures such as the Galihis, the Roucouyennes, and the Oyampis represent them every day on their pagaras, their pottery, or their skin. We ourselves, on examining these figures with legs and arms spread out, thought that they were meant for frogs, but the Indians told us that that was their manner of representing man.

In Necropolis of Ancon in Peru, by W. Reiss and A. Stubel, (a) are descriptions of figures a to g in Pl. L, all being painted sepulcher tablets one-seventh of the actual size. The descriptions are condensed. The general characteristics of the tablets are that they are in a tabular form, made of reeds, and covered with a white cotton fabric, the edges of which are stitched together behind and attached to a pole, short at top, and projecting to a greater length downwards. On the front is a slightly sketched design in red and black lines, while a winding or undulating border usually runs around the sides. Nearly all the space within this border is occupied by a human figure surrounded by isolated symbols or ornaments. The head and features of the conventionalized figure is out of all proportion to the small body, which is often merely suggested by a few strokes.

a. The features and high headdress of a human figure, represented by concentric black and red lines. To the short arms are attached outstretched three-fingered hands, the right holding some object, while body and legs are arbitrarily indicated. The legs are twice reproduced in black and red lines. The space between the figure and border is occupied by six simple designs, two black and one red on either side.

b. The human figure, comparatively simple and distinct, distinguished by large ear ornaments, with designs similar to those of the preceding figure, but varying in number and disposition.

c. Highly fantastic figure with diverse ornamentations; the space in the corners cut off by designs, of which the upper two show a bird motive, such as frequently occurs on earthenware and woven fabrics.

d. This is doubtless meant to represent a figure clothed down to the feet.

e. Here the human figure is formed of black lines, connected at right angles with complementary red lines. A wide top-piece covers the head, which consists of two small rectangles, leaving room only to indicate the eyes, while the mouth, placed rather too low down, is suggested by a red stroke. The arms are bent downwards; hands and feet with triple articulation. Within the red and black frame the figure is encircled by crosses, dots, and a conventional star.

f. Human figure filling most of the space, which is inclosed only by a narrow edging. Surface painting distinguishes the wide body, which is rounded off below and to which the triangular head is fitted above. Hands with five, feet with three, articulations; crenelled head gear; necklace suggested by dots; the corners of the ground-surface filled in with rectangular sharply-edged ornaments.

g. Human figure consisting of two disconnected parts; triangular head and body; hands and feet with two articulations; frame of red and black dovetailed teeth.

Wiener (i), describing illustrations reproduced here as Fig. 1167, says:

The tissue found at Moché, a, represents a man with flattened head, exaggerated ears, and the thumb of the right hand too much developed. When correlated with that from Ancon, b, with its coarse paintings, it becomes a sort of caligraphy in which all the letters are traced with the greatest care, while b, and also the sepulchral inscription c, found at the same place, become cursive.

The design a of this series presents peculiarities found in Zuñi drawings on pottery. The appendages from the side of the head among the latter denote large coils of hair so arranged by tying. Their significance is that the wearer is an unmarried woman. The remaining designs also resemble types of human figures found upon Zuñi and Pueblo pottery, being rather of a decorative character than having special significance.

HUMAN HEAD AND FACE.

A large number of human faces as drawn by members of different tribes and stocks of North American Indians appear in the present paper. Some of them are iconographic and others are highly conventionalized. Other examples from other regions of the world are also presented under various headings.

In the present connection it may be useful to examine a series of drawings from the prehistoric pottery of Brazil in the National Museum at Rio de Janeiro. Although the U. S. National Museum contains many specimens of a similar character, some of which have been copied and published, the Brazilian types show an instructive peculiarity in the reduction of the face to certain main lines and finally to the eyes, so that the latter are placed apart and independent in a symmetric field.

The following Figs. 1168 to 1174 are reproduced from Dr. Ladisláu Netto (d), all of them being from Brazil and from paintings and carvings on Marajo ware.

Fig. 1168 shows broken lines without the aid of curves, but gracefully attached to an instrument, either lance or trident, which present the outline of the contours of a face.

The characters in Fig. 1169 are somewhat more elaborate. The eyes are decorated with lines and the contour of the face is round.

The characters in Fig. 1170 are carved human faces, some of which would not be recognized as such unless shown in the series.

The face in Fig. 1171 represents the horizontal projection or plan of a double-faced head. The central H represents in this case the top of the head, each of the shafts of the H being neither more nor less than the double arch of the eyebrows, joined to which the representation of the nose in a triangular figure may be recognized. The most noticeable point is that if this surface be applied in imagination to the cranium of the bifrontal head, of which it seems to be the covering or skin, the features of the double-faced heads of the Marajo idols are immediately recognized, including the orifices by which those idols are hung on cords, which orifices are seen in the dividing line of the two faces.

Fig. 1172 presents the general form of decoration found upon vases bearing figures of the face as above mentioned. It is a funeral urn, carved and engraved, from Marajo, reduced to one-fifth.

Frequently the face is produced in relief, in which a larger portion of a vessel is taken to produce more lifelike imitation, as in Fig. 1173. It is the neck of an anthropomorphic vase of Marajo ornamented with grooves and lines, red on a white ground, reduced to one-half.

Fig. 1174 a, real size, is the neck of a Marajo vase, representing a human head. The nose and chin are very prominent, the eyes horizontal and slit in the same direction. This head is remarkable for the relief of the eyebrows which, after reaching the height of the ears, form these organs, describing above a second curve in the inverse direction of the curve of the brow, each brow thus forming an S. There are other heads in which the eyebrows are prolonged to form the relief of the ears at the outer extremity. In these cases the whole relief represents a semicircle more or less irregular, while on the contrary this relief forms the figure S.

Same figure, b, real size, is the neck of an ornithomorphic, anthropocephalous vase. It has on the face the classic and conventional T to represent the nose and brows. The eyes are formed by the symbolic figure equally conventional in the ceramics of the mound-builders of Marajo, and the ears differ very little from the characters seen in other figures.

Same figure, c, four-fifths real size, is the neck of a Marajo vase representing, by engraving and painting, all the conventional characters of the different parts of the human face employed by the mound-builders of Marajo. This vase preserves perfectly the primitive colors, which show vermilion lines on a white ground. A double protuberance from each ear, the design which forms the eyes, and that which surrounds and outlines the mouth, the nose, and the ears, are characteristic traces of the decorative art of the human face which few heads present in such perfection.

Same figure, d, four-fifths real size, is the neck of a Marajo vase more simple than the preceding one, but with more regular and distinct features.

The Brazilian system above illustrated, which reduces the face to certain main lines and finally to the eyes, in such manner that the eyes are placed apart and each is put by itself in a symmetric field, has its parallel in North America. This is the practice of the Bella Coola Indians and their neighbors at the present day. They divide the surface, to be ornamented into zones and fields, by means of broad horizontal and vertical lines, each field containing, according to its position, now a complete face, now only an indication of it, the especial indication being made by the eye. The eyes themselves are given different shapes, according to the different animals represented, being now large and round, now oblong and with pointed angles. These peculiarities, which have become conventional, are retained when the eye is represented alone, so that by this method it may still be easy to recognize which animal--for example, a raven or a bear, is intended to be portrayed.

The left-hand character in Fig. 1175, from Champollion (g), is the Egyptian character for a human face. The predominance of the ears probably has some special significance.

Schoolcraft (u) gives the right-hand character of the same figure as a man’s head, with ears open to conviction, as made by the Ojibwa.

Both of these may be compared with the exaggerated ears in Fig. 1167.

HAND.

The impression, real or represented, of a human hand is used in several regions in the world with symbolic significance.

Among the North American Indians the mark so readily applied is of frequent occurrence, with an ascertained significance, which, however, differs in several tribes.

Fig. 1176, taken from Copway (b), represents the hand, and also expresses “did so.” This signification of “do,” or action, and hence “power,” is also given to the same character in the Egyptian and Chinese ideograms.

Among several Indian tribes a black hand on a garment or ornament means “the wearer of this has killed an enemy.” The decoration appears upon Ojibwa bead belts, and the Hidatsa and Arikara state that it is an old custom of showing bravery. The character was noticed at Fort Berthold, and the belt bearing it had been received from Ojibwa Indians of northern Minnesota. The mark of a black hand drawn of natural size or less, and sometimes made by the impress of an actually blackened palm, was also noticed, with the same significance, on articles among the Hidatsa and Arikara in 1881.

Schoolcraft (x) says of the Dakota on the St. Peters river that a red hand indicates that the wearer has been wounded by his enemy, and a black hand that he has slain his enemy.

Irving (b) remarks, in Astoria, of the Arikara warriors: “Some had the stamp of a red hand across their mouths, a sign that they had drunk the life-blood of a foe.”

In other parts of the present paper the significance of the mark is mentioned and may be briefly summarized here.

Among the Sioux a red hand painted on a warrior’s blanket or robe means that he has been wounded by the enemy, and a black hand that he has been in some way unfortunate. Among the Mandan a yellow hand on the breast signifies that the wearer had captured prisoners.

Among the Titon Dakota a hand displayed meant that the wearer had engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with an enemy. The impress of a hand, stained or muddy, upon the body or horse was the Winnebago mark that the wearer had killed a man.

The drawing of linked fingers or joined hands has been before discussed, p. 643, and in several petroglyphs illustrated in this paper the single hand appears. It is a common device on rocks, and doubtless with varieties of signification, as above mentioned in other forms of pictograph.

It will suffice now to add that the figure of a hand with extended fingers is very common in the vicinity of ruins in Arizona as a rock etching, and is also frequently seen daubed on the rocks with colored pigments or white clay. But Mr. Thomas V. Keam explains the Arizona drawings of hands on the authority of the living Moki. In his MS., in describing Fig. 1177, he says:

The outline of two outstretched hands joined at the wrists and figure of a hand with extended fingers is very common as a rock etching.

These are vestiges of the test formerly practiced among young men who aspired for admission to the fraternity of Salyko. The Salyko is a trinity of two women and a woman from whom the Hopitu obtained the first corn. The first test above referred to was that of putting their hands in the mud and impressing them upon the rock. Only those were chosen as novices the imprints of whose hands had dried on the instant.

Le Plongeon (a) tells that the tribes of Yucatan have the custom of printing the impress of the human hand, dipped in a red-colored liquid, on the walls of certain sacred edifices.

A. W. Howitt, in manuscript notes on Australian pictographs, says:

In very many places there are representations of a human hand imprinted or delineated upon the rocks or in caverns. In the mountains on the western side of the Darling river, in New South Wales, I have observed such, and the aborigines whom I questioned upon the subject said that these representations were made in sport. This reply would, however, be also given were any white man to find and draw their attention to one of the figures which are made in connection with the initiation ceremonies. The representations of hands are made in two ways. In one the hand is smeared with red ocher and water, and impressed upon the rock surface. In the other the hand, being placed upon the rock, a mouthful of red ocher or pipe-clay and water is squirted over it. The hand being then removed there remains its representation surrounded and marked out by the colored wash.

Thomas Worsnop (b) says:

Mr. Winnecke, in 1879, saw several drawings on rocks and in caves, [Fig. 1178], and describes them as follows:

There are found in several large caves near Mount Skinner and Ledans hill, in latitude 22° 30′ south and longitude 134° 30′ east. The natives appear to have selected the smooth surface of granite rocks inside several large caves, which spots are not subject to the influence of wind or rain. These caves are resorted to by the natives during excessive rainy seasons, as indicated by their camp preparations, and it is beyond doubt that these drawings have been performed during these periods of forced inactivity by some artistically inclined native. Those I am alluding to are somewhat numerous in these particular localities and present a uniform appearance.

a, apparently represents a heart pierced in the center by a spear. The outline of the object representing the heart has been delineated with red ocher, whilst the spear has been drawn with a burnt stick or piece of coal. I have only seen this particular sketch in one instance, where four distinct drawings of the same object exactly below and equidistant from each other have been made in anything but a crude manner, the outline having been carefully and very distinctly traced on the rocks, showing a degree of perfection scarcely to be anticipated from these wild inhabitants. The breadth of the heart is about 5 inches and its length about 6 inches. The length of the spear portion is about 3 feet. [The device reminds of St. Valentine’s day.]

b, consists of two parallel lines about 6 inches apart, with regular marks between, and probably represents the native’s notion of a creek with emu tracks traversing its bed. This drawing has been made with a coal, and is found depicted on smooth rocks in various localities.

c, has been drawn both with coal and red ocher. It is found in many places, and seems to be a favorite drawing of the natives. I have found it depicted in several localities in the interior of Australia. It is generally supposed to represent a hand.

d. This figure is made by the natives in the following manner: Placing their extended hand against a smooth rock, after having previously moistened the same, they fill their mouths with powdered charcoal, which they then blow violently along the outline of their extended hand, thus leaving the portions of rock covered perfectly clean, whilst the space between their fingers and elsewhere around about becomes covered with the black substance. This drawing is not very common. I found several specimens near the Sabdover river. I have, however, been informed that it has been seen in other and distant parts of Australia.

Renan (a) says in the chapter on the Nomad Semites:

The real monuments of the period were, as in the case with all people who can not write, the stones which they reared, the columns erected in memory of some event, and upon which was often represented a hand, whence the name of iad [finger post].

Major Conder (c) writes that in Jerusalem a rough representation of a hand is marked by the native races on the wall of every house while building. Some authorities connect it with the five names of God, and it is generally considered to avert the evil eye. The Moors generally, and especially the Arabs in Kairwan, apply paintings of red hands above the doors and on the columns of their houses as talismans to drive away the envious. Similar hand prints are found in the ruins of El Baird near Petra. Some of the quaint symbolism connected with horns is supposed to originate from such hand marks. The same people make the gesture against the evil eye by extending the five fingers of the left hand.

H. Clay Trumbull (b) gives the following:

It is a noteworthy fact that among the Jews in Tunis, near the old Phenician settlement of Carthage, the sign of a bleeding hand is still an honored and a sacred symbol as if in recognition of the covenant-bond of their brotherhood and friendship. “What struck me most in all the houses,” says a traveler (Chevalier de Hesse-Wartegg) among these Jews, “was the impression of an open bleeding hand on every wall of each floor. However white the walls, this repulsive (yet suggestive) sign was to be seen everywhere.”

The following is extracted from Panjab Notes and Queries, Vol. I, No. 1 (October, 1883), p. 2:

At the Temple of Balasundarí Deví at Tilokpúr, near Náhan, the priests stamp a red hand on the left breast of the coat of a pilgrim who visits the temple for the first time to show that he has, as it were, paid for his footing. If the pilgrim again visits the temple and can show the stamp he pays only 4 annas as his fee to the priests.

Gen. A. Hontum-Schindler, Teheran, Persia, in a letter of December 19, 1888, tells:

All through Persia, principally in villages though, a rough representation of a hand, or generally the imprint of a right hand, in red, may be seen on the wall or over the door of a house whilst in building, or on the wall of a mosque, booth, or other public building. It is probably an ancient custom, although the Persians connect it with Islam, and they say that the hand represents that of Albas, a brother of Husain (a grandson of the prophet Mohammed), who was one of the victims at the massacre of Kerbela in 680, and who had his right hand cut off by el Abrad ibu Shaibân. In India I have noticed similar marks, hands, or simply red streaks.

In Journal of the Proc. Royal Soc. Antiq., Ireland, I, 3, fifth series, 1890, p. 247, is the following:

The hand an emblem of good luck in Ireland.--In Maj. Conder’s “Syrian Stone Lore,” published for the Palestine Exploration Committee by Bentley & Son (1886), p. 71, occurs the following passage: “Among other primitive emblems used by the Phenicians is the hand occurring on votive steles at Carthage, sometimes in connection with the sacred fish. This hand is still a charm in Syria, called Kef Miriam, ‘the Virgin Mary’s hand,’ and sovereign against the evil eye. The red hand is painted on walls, and occurs, for instance, in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople and elsewhere. It is common also in Ireland and in India (Siva’s hand) and on early scepters, always as an emblem of good luck.” What actual foundation is there for the above statement as regards Ireland? About twenty years ago the first Monday in January was known in the south of Ireland as “Handsel Monday,” and looked upon as in some way indicating the prosperity the year succeeding was to bring forth. But whether, as the name would seem to imply, this had any connection with the hand as an emblem of good luck I am unaware.--J. C.

Gen. Forlong (b) makes the following remarks:

The “red hand of Ireland” is known alike to Turanians, Shemites, and Aryans, and from the Americas to farthest Asia. The hand, being an organ peculiar to man, is in the East a sign of Siva, and seems to have been identified with his emblem even by the Medes. All men have usually worshiped and plighted their troth or sworn by manual signs, so the hand naturally stands as the sign of man himself; but more than this, Easterns attach a significance to it as an organ without which the procreating one is useless. In Germany, says J. Grimm, the hand was Tyr, or the son of Odin, “the one-handed,” for he lost one limb by the biting wintry wolf--that is, he became powerless to produce.... He was then the “golden-handed,” fertilizer, whom ancient Irans denoted by their name Zerdosht, and Irish Kelts placed as a talisman on their Ulster shield.... The Irish solo-phalik idea is seen in the “crosses” of Clon-Mac-Noise and Monasterboise, where, as in Fig. 1179, all the fingers are carefully placed in the center of the circle of fertility. The Vedas constantly speak of Savatar as “the golden-handed sun,” who lost this limb owing to his efforts when at sacrifice, and who remained impotent until the deity restored to him a hand of gold.

Hindus, like the high Asian tribes and the old Mexicans, usually impress a hand covered with blood or vermilion on the door posts of their temple--that is, on the Delpheus or “door of life;” and the great Islamite, Mahmood, when he captured Constantinople, rode up to the holy feminine shrine of St. Sophia, and reaching up as high as he could, there unwittingly imprinted this bloody sign of Great Siva. We must remember how often the hand appears with other significant objects on the arms of men and nations, and notably so on Roman standards.... Fig. 1180.

In the old shrines of America, Leslie says, the “sacred hand was a favorite subject of art,” and Stevens in his Yucatan says, “The red hand stared us in the face over all the ruined buildings of the country, ... not drawn or printed, but stamped by the living hand, the pressure of the palm upon the stone being quite distinct, the thumb and fingers being extended as we see in the Irish and Hindu hands.”

FEET AND TRACKS.

In the two first illustrations of this group the respective figures of the man and the eagle are in the act of forming tracks on the ground. Such tracks are shown in the next two figures, but without the context might not be recognized as such. The fifth figure is more distinctly ideographic, showing the foot and leg as in the act of making the impress, and the eagle’s feather to indicate the kind of track which would have been made by a running eagle.

Fig. 1181.--Goes-Walking. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1182.--Running-Eagle. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1183.--Tracks. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1184.--Walking-Bull-Track. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1185.--Eagle-Track. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1186, copied from Copway (b), gives three characters of which the first represents “ran,” the second “walked” or “passed,” and the third “stand,” characters similar both to the tracks and the feet found on many petroglyphs in North America.

They are also found in the terraces of temples of Thebes, of Karnak, and especially at Nakhaur in South Bihar.

P. le Page Renouf (a), in An Elementary Grammar of the Ancient Egyptian Language, gives the right-hand character of the same figure as the generic determinative implying motion.

BROKEN LEG.

This group gives several modes of expressing, pictorially, broken legs.

Fig. 1187.--Many were thrown from their horses while surrounding buffalo, and some had their legs broken. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1847-’48. The legs are distorted and the line may refer to the slippery ice touched by the toes.

Fig. 1188.--Lone-Horn’s father broke his leg. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1832-’33. This is a strongly marked representation.

Fig. 1189.--A Minneconjou Dakota named Broken-Leg died. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1846-’47. The-Flame’s representation is objective, but Battiste Good gives another more ideographic. The arm in his character, given in Fig. 1190, is lengthened so as nearly to touch the broken leg, which is shown distorted, instead of indicating the injury by the mere distortion of the leg itself. The bird over the head, and connected by a line with it, probably represents the teal as a name-totem. Perhaps he was called Broken-Leg after the injury.

Fig. 1191.--There were a great many accidents and some legs were broken, the ground being covered with ice. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1847-’48. Here the fracture is very obvious--too much so to be intended as objective--rather delineating the idea of the breaking and separation of the bone.

Fig. 1192.--Broken-Leg was killed by the Pawnees. His leg had been broken by a bullet in a previous fight with the Pawnees. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1807-’08. Here the leg is entirely removed from its normal position.

Dr. Edkins (g) gives Fig. 1193, a, as a picture of a bent leg broken, and adds, “The true radical and phonetic for which this stands as representative is rather b, ‘fault,’ ‘move.’”

VOICE AND SPEECH.

This group relates to sounds issuing from the mouth, that is, to voice and speech:

Fig. 1194.--The-Elk-that-Holloes-Walking. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1860-’61. Interpreter A. Lavary said, in 1867, that The-Elk-that-Holloes-Walking, then chief of the Minneconjous, was then at Spotted-Tail’s camp. His father was Red-Fish. He was the elder brother of Lone-Horn. His name is given as A-hag-a-hoo-man-ie, translated The-Elk’s-Voice-Walking, compounded of he-ha-ka, elk, and omani, walk; this according to Lavary’s literation. The correct literation of the Dakota word meaning elk is heqaka; voice, ho; and to walk, walking, mani. Their compound would be heqaka ho mani, the translation being the same as above given.

Fig. 1195.--Elk-walking-with-his-Voice. Red-Cloud’s Census: This is explained by the following figure.

Fig. 1196 is taken from the manuscript drawing book of an Indian prisoner at St. Augustine, Florida, now in the Smithsonian Institution, No. 30664. It represents an antelope and the whistling sound produced by the animal on being surprised or alarmed. It also shows the tracks, and supplies the idea of walking not exhibited by the preceding two figures.

Fig. 1197.--Dog-with-good-voice. Red-Cloud’s Census. The peculiar angular divisions of the line may indicate the explosive character of a dog’s bark as distinct from a long-drawn howl. Among the many lines indicating voice which appear in the Dakota pictographs none has been found identical with this, and therefore it probably has special significance.

Fig. 1198.--Bear-that-growls. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure gives a marked differentiation. The sound of growling does not appear to come from the mouth, but from the lower part of the neck or the upper part of the chest, from which the lines here are drawn to emanate. They are also confined by a surrounding line, to suggest the occluded nature of the sound.

Fig. 1199, from Copway (b), represents “speak.”

The Mexican pictograph, Fig. 1200, taken from Kingsborough (n), is illustrative of the sign made by the Arikara and Hidatsa for “tell” and “conversation.” “Tell me” is: Place the flat right hand, palm upward, about 15 inches in front of the right side of the face, fingers pointing to the left and front; then draw the hand inward toward and against the bottom of the chin. For “conversation,” talking between two persons, both hands are held before the breast, pointing forward, palms up, the edges being moved several times toward one another. Perhaps, however, the picture in fact only means the common poetical image of “flying words.”

Fig. 1201 is from Landa (b) and suggests one of the gestures for “talk,” and more especially that for “sing,” in which the extended and separated fingers are passed forward and slightly downward from the mouth--“many voices.” Although late criticisms of the bishop’s work are unfavorable to its authenticity, yet even if it were prepared by a Maya, under his supervision, the latter would probably have given him some genuine native conceptions, and among them gestures would be likely to occur.

Gustav Eisen (a), in describing Fig. 1202, says:

The original, from near Santa Lucia, Guatemala, represents a sepulchral tablet, on which are seen the portraits of perhaps man and wife, their different headdresses, etc., indicating decidedly their different sexes. From the mouths of the respective portraits extend as usual curved figures with notes or nodes.

DWELLINGS.

Irving (c) noticed fifty years ago that each tribe of Indians has a different mode of shaping and arranging lodges, and especially that the Omaha make theirs gay and fanciful with undulating bands of red and yellow or with dressed and painted buffalo skins.

The left-hand upper characters of Fig. 1203 represents Dakota lodges as drawn by the Hidatsa. These characters when carelessly or rudely drawn can only be distinguished from personal marks by their position and their relation to other characters.

The right-hand upper characters of the same figure signify, among the Hidatsa, earth lodges. The circles represent the ground plan of the lodges, while the central markings are intended to represent the upright poles, which support the roof on the interior. Some of these are similar to the Kadiak drawing for island, Fig. 439.

The left-hand lower character of the figure represents buildings erected by civilized men; the character is generally used by the Hidatsa to designate government buildings and traders’ stores.

The remaining character is the Hidatsati, the home of the Hidatsa; an inclosure having earth lodges within it.

Fig. 1204.--Dakotas and Rees meet in camp together and are at peace. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1792-’93. The two styles of dwellings, viz, the tipi of the Dakotas and the earth lodge of the Arikaras, are depicted.

Fig. 1205.--The Dakotas camped on the Missouri river, near the Gros Ventres, and fought with them a long time. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1792-’93. The Dakota tipi and the Gros Ventre lodge are shown in the figure. The gun shows that war was raging.

Fig. 1206.--The Dakotas camped near the Rees and fought with them. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1795-’96. This figure is a variant of the one foregoing.

Fig. 1207.--Some of the Dakotas built a large house and lived in it during the winter. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1815-’16. White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house-winter.” It would seem to be a larger dwelling than the ordinary tipi, and that wood entered into its construction. This is made more clear by the figure next following.

Fig. 1208.--They lived in the same house that they did last winter. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1816-’17.

Fig. 1209.--Adobe houses were built by Maj. J. W. Wham, Indian agent (afterwards paymaster, U. S. Army), on the Platte river, about 30 miles below Fort Laramie. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1871-’72. White-Cow-Killer calls it “Major-Wham’s-house-built-on-Platte-river winter.”

Fig. 1210.--American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1815-’16. The figure is intended to represent a white man’s house. Other forms are shown in Lone-Dog’s Winter Count, Chap. X, sec. 2.

Fig. 1211 shows different representations of Moki houses copied from a petroglyph at Oakley Springs, Arizona.

Prof. Cyrus Thomas, in A Study of the Manuscript Troano, Contrib. N. A. Ethn., Vol. V, p. 128, gives the following description of Fig. 1212:

The side wall in Fig. 1212 appears to be composed of blocks of some kind placed one upon another, probably of stone, each bearing the Muluc character. The character at the top of the wall with a cross in it, somewhat resembling that in the symbol for Ezanab, is very common in these figures. This probably marks the end of the beam which was placed on the wall to support the roof. The curved line running from this to the top portion probably represents the rafter; the slender thread-like lines (yellow in the original) the straw or grass with which the roof was thatched.

The checkered part may represent a matting of reeds or brushwood on which the straw was placed.

Champollion (h) gives the Egyptian characters for house, reproduced in Fig. 1213.

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

Fig. 1214.--Dakotas witnessed eclipse of the sun; they were terribly frightened. The sun is a dark globe and the stars appear. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1869-’70.

The left-hand design on the lower line of Pl. XLIX is reproduced from Kingsborough. “In this year there was a great eclipse of the sun.”

Humboldt infers from this painting that the Mexicans were informed of the real cause of the eclipses; which would not be at all surprising considering the many other curious things with which they were acquainted, the knowledge of which they must have derived from the West. It is proper to observe that on the 127th page of the Vatican MS., where a representation of the same eclipse occurs, the disk of the moon does not appear to be projecting over that of the sun. The Vatican MS. appears to have been copied from a Mexican painting similar to but not the same as that which Pedro de los Rios copied, whose notes and interpretations the Italian interpreter had before his eyes and strictly followed.

METEORS.

This group shows the pictorial representation of meteors by the Dakotas. The translations as well as the devices are suggestive.

Fig. 1215.--A large roaring star fell. It came from the east and shot out sparks of fire along its course. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1821-’22. Its track and the sparks are shown in the figure. White-Cow-Killer says “One-star-made-a-great-noise winter.”

This and the three following figures evidently refer to the fall of a single large meteor in the land of the Dakotas some time in the winter of 1821-’22. The fact can not be verified by scientific records. There were not many correspondents of scientific institutions in the upper Missouri region at the date mentioned.

Fig. 1216.--Large ball of fire with hissing noise (aerolite). The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1821-’22.

Fig. 1217.--Dakota Indians saw an immense meteor passing from southeast to northwest, which exploded with great noise. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1821-’22.

Battiste Good says for the same phenomenon: “Star-passed-by-with-loud-noise winter.” His device is shown in Fig. 1218, showing the meteor, its pathway, and the clouds from which it came.

The five winter counts next cited all undoubtedly refer to the magnificent meteoric display of the morning of November 13, 1833, which was witnessed throughout North America and which was correctly assigned to the winter corresponding with that of 1833-’34. All of them represent stars having four points, except The-Swan, who draws a globular object followed by a linear track.

Fig. 1219.--It rained stars. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1833-’34. White-Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-stars winter.”

Fig. 1220.--The stars moved around. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1833-’34. This shows one large four-pointed star as the characterizing object and many small stars, also four-pointed.

Fig. 1221.--Many stars fell. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1833-’34. The character shows six stars above the concavity of the moon.

Fig. 1222.--Dakotas witnessed magnificent meteoric showers; much terrified. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1833-’34.

Battiste Good calls it “Storm-of-stars winter,” and gives as the device a tipi with stars falling around it. This is presented in Fig. 1223. The tipi is colored yellow in the original and so represented in the figure according to the heraldic scheme.

Fig. 1224 is taken from Kingsborough, I, Pls. XXIX and XXX. The description, given in Codex Tell.-Rem., VI, p. 148, et seq., is as follows: Regarding the left-hand device figure, “In the year of Three Rabbits, or in 1534, Don Antonio de Mendoça arrived as Viceroy of New Spain. They say that the star smoked.”

Regarding the lower figure: “In the year of Eleven Houses, or in 1529, Nuño de Guzman set out for Yalisco on his march to subdue that territory; they pretend that a serpent descended from the sky, exclaiming that troubles were preparing for the natives since the Christians were directing their course thither.”

THE CROSS.

Referring to the numerous forms of cross delineated in the work of Mr. W. H. Holmes (d), it is to be noted that most of them are equilateral or the Greek pattern, and that similar ornaments or instruments now used by the Dakotas are always worn so that the cross upon them stands as if resting on one foot only and not on two, as is the mode in which St. Andrew’s cross is drawn.

The “Greek” cross represents to the Dakota the four winds, which issue from the four caverns in which the souls of men existed before their incarnation in the human body. All “medicine-men,” i. e., conjurers and magicians, recollect their previous dreamy life in those places and the instructions then received from the gods, demons, and sages. They recollect and describe their preexistent life, but only dream and speculate as to the future life beyond the grave.

The top of the cross is the cold all-conquering giant, the North-wind, most powerful of all. It is worn on the body nearest the head, the seat of intelligence and conquering devices. The left arm covers the heart; it is the East-wind, coming from the seat of life and love. The foot is the melting burning South-wind, indicating, as it is worn, the seat of fiery passion. The right arm is the gentle West-wind, blowing from the spirit land, covering the lungs, from which the breath at last goes out, gently, but into unknown night. The center of the cross is the earth and man, moved by the conflicting influences of the gods and winds. This cross is often illustrated as in Fig. 1225. It is sometimes drawn and depicted in beadwork and also on copper, as in Fig. 1226, extracted from the Second Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn., Pl. LII, Fig. 4, where it appears cut out of a copper plate found in an Ohio mound.

But among some of the Indian tribes the true Latin cross is found, viz, upright with three members of equal length, and the fourth, the foot, much longer. The use of this symbol antedates the discovery of America, and is carried far back in tradition and myth. When a missionary first asked a Dakota the name of this figure, which he drew for him in the sand, wishing to use the information in his translation of Bible and Creed, the Dakota promptly replied Sus-be-ca, and retraced the figure saying “That is a Sus-be-ca.” It was therefore promptly transferred to Scripture and Creed where it still reads “He was nailed to the Susbeca,” etc. “God forbid that I should glory save in the Susbeca of our Lord Jesus Christ.” To the good missionary this was plain and satisfactory; for the Dakota had demonstrated by tracing it in the sand that Susbeca was the name of the figure called in English, “cross.” The foregoing statement is made on the excellent authority of Rev. S. D. Hinman.

But when the Dakota read his new Bible or Creed, he must have been puzzled or confused to find, “He was nailed to a mosquito-hawk,” or, “God forbid that I should glory save in the mosquito-hawk of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The same disposition of straight lines which is called the Latin cross was and is used by the Dakota to picture or signify both in pictograph and gesture sign, the mosquito-hawk, more generally called dragon fly. The Susbeca or mosquito-hawk is a supernatural being. He is gifted with speech. He warns men of danger. He approaches the ear of the man moving carelessly or unconcernedly through the deep grass of the meadow or marsh--approaches his ear silently and at right angles, as shown in Fig. 1227_a_, and says to him, now alarmed, “Tci”-“tci”-“tci!”--which is an interjection equivalent to “Look out!” “You are surely going to destruction!” “Look out!” “Tci”-“tci”-“tci!”

Now the mosquito-hawk is easily knocked down and caught and has a temptingly small neck. But woe to the man or woman or child who with the cruelty commonly practiced on all living things by Indians of all ages and states, dares to wring off his head. Whoever shall do this before the winter comes shall be beheaded by the detested Ojibwa. It is true, for long ago a reckless young warrior feeling annoyed or insulted by the infernal “Tci”-“tci”-“tci!” so unceremoniously uttered in explosive breaths near his ear, tried it, and his headless trunk was found ere he escaped from the swamp.

The cross has its proper significance in this use not only in representing quite faithfully the shape of the insect but also the angle of his approach. It is variously drawn, but usually as in Fig. 1227, a, or b, and in painting or embroidery, c, and sometimes d.

One reason for the adoption of the dragon fly as a mysterious and supernatural being, is on account of its sudden appearance in large numbers. When in the still of the evening, before the shades of darkness come, there is heard from the meadow a hum as of the sound of crickets or frogs, but indistinct and prolonged; on the morrow the Susbeca will be hovering over it; it is the sound of their coming, but whence no man kens. See also Fig. 1165 and remarks.

Among the Ojibwa of northern Minnesota the cross is one of the sacred symbols of the society of the Midē or shamans, and has special reference to the fourth degree. A neophyte who has been advanced to the third initiation or degree, is instructed in ritualistic chants purporting to relate the struggle between Mi'nabō'zho, the mediator between the Ojibwa and Ki'tshi Ma'nidō, and the malevolent Bear spirit, which contest occurred when Mi'nabō'zho entered the fourth degree structure at the time when the first Indian was inducted therein for initiation.

The structure as erected at this day is built in the form of an oblong square having openings or doors at the four cardinal points. At these openings Mi'nabō'zho appeared and shot into the inclosure charmed arrows, to expel the horde of demons occupying the sacred place, and the Bear spirit was the last to yield to his superior powers. The openings being opposite to one another, north and south and east and west, suggested to Mi'nabō'zho the cross, which is now erected whenever a third degree Midē receives this last and highest honor.

The cross is made of saplings, the upright pole reaching the height of 4 to 6 feet, the transverse arms being somewhat shorter, each being of the same length as that part of the pole between the arms and the top. The upper parts are painted white, or besmeared with white clay, over which are spread small spots of red, the latter suggesting the sacred shell or mēgis, the symbol of the order. The lower arm or pole is squared, the surface toward the east being painted white, to denote the source of light and warmth. The face on the south is green, denoting the source of the thunder bird who brings the rains and causes the appearance of vegetation; the surface toward the west is covered with vermilion and relates to the land of the setting sun, the abode of the dead. The north is painted black, as that faces the direction from which come affliction, cold, and hunger.

Illustrations and additional details on this topic are presented in the paper of Dr. Hoffman (a).

In the chart presented in that paper, Pl. B, a midē' structure is also shown, within which are a number of crosses, each of which designates the spirit of a deceased midē priest.

Upon several birch-bark scrolls received from Ojibwa midē priests are characters resembling rude crosses, which are merely intended to designate wigwams, resembling in this respect similar characters made by Hidatsa to designate Sioux lodges as shown in Fig. 1203.

Groups of small crosses incised upon ivory bow drills and representing flocks of birds, occur on Eskimo specimens, Nos. 45020 and 44211, in the collection of the U. S. National Museum. They are reproduced in Fig. 1228. In Figs. 429 and 1129, representing petroglyphs at Oakley Springs, Arizona, are crosses which are mentioned by Mr. G. K. Gilbert as signifying stars. The simple cross appears to be the simplest type of character to represent stellar forms. See Figs. 1219, 1220, 1221 and 1223.

Fig. 28, supra, represents a cross copied from the Najowe Valley group of colored pictographs, 40 miles west of Santa Barbara, California. The cross measures 10 inches in length, the interior portion being painted black, while the outside or border is of a dark red tint. This drawing, as well as numerous others in close connection, is painted on the walls of a shallow cave or rock-shelter in the limestone formation.

Fourteen miles west of Santa Barbara, on the summit of the Santa Ynez mountains, are caverns having a large opening, facing the northwest and north, in which crosses occur of the types given in Fig. 33, supra.

The interior portion of the cross is of a dull, earthy red, while the outside line is of a faded black tint. The cross measures nearly a foot in extent.

At Tulare Indian agency, Tulare valley, California, is an immense bowlder of granite which has become broken in such a manner that one of the lower quarters has moved away from the larger mass sufficiently to leave a passageway 6 feet wide and nearly 10 feet high. The interior walls are well covered with large, painted figures, while upon the ceiling are numerous forms of animals, birds, and insects. Among this latter group is a white cross measuring about 18 inches in length, Fig. 1229, presenting a unique appearance, for the reason that white coloring matter applied to petroglyphs is, with this single exception, entirely absent in that region.

One of the most interesting series of rock sculpturings in groups is that in Owens valley, south of Benton, California. Among these various forms of crosses occur, and circles containing crosses of various simple and complex types, as shown in Pls. I to XI and in Mojave desert, California, illustrated in Fig. 19, but the examples of most interest in the present connection are the two shown herewith in Fig. 1230, a and b.

The larger one, a, occurs upon a large bowlder of trachyte, blackened by exposure, located 16 miles south of Benton, at a locality known as the Chalk Grade. The circle is a depression about 1 inch in depth, the cross being in high relief within. Another smaller cross, b, found 3 miles north of the one above-mentioned, is almost identical, each of the arms of the cross, however, extending to the rim of the circle.

In this locality occurs also the form of the cross c, in the same figure, and some examples having more than two cross arms. Other simple forms clearly represent the human form, but by erosion the arms and body have become partially obliterated so as to lose all trace of resemblance to humanity.

In the same figure, d, from a rock in the neighborhood, exhibits the outline of the human form, while in e parts of the extremities have been removed by erosion so that the resemblance is less striking; in f a simple cross occurs, which may also have been intended to represent the same, but through disintegration the extremities have been so greatly changed or erased that their original forms can not be determined.

Rev. John McLean (a) says: “On the sacred pole of the sun lodge of the Blood Indians two bundles of small brushwood taken from the birch tree were placed in the form of a cross. This was an ancient symbol evidently referring to the four winds.”

Among the Kiatéxamut, an Innuit tribe, a cross placed on the head, as in Fig. 1231, signifies a Shaman’s evil spirit or demon. This is an imaginary being under control of the Shaman to execute the wishes of the latter.

Many of the mescal eaters at the Kaiowa mescal ceremony wear the ordinary Roman Catholic crucifixes, which they adopt as sacred emblems of the rite, the cross representing the cross of scented leaves upon which the consecrated mescal rests during the ceremony, while the human figure is the mescal goddess.

Concerning Fig. 1232, Keam, in his MS., says:

The Maltese cross is the emblem of a virgin; still so recognized by the Moki. It is a conventional development of a more common emblem of maidenhood, the form in which the maidens wear their hair arranged as a disk of 3 or 4 inches in diameter upon each side of the head. This discoidal arrangement of their hair is typical of the emblem of fructification worn by the virgin in the Muingwa festival, as exhibited in the head-dress illustration a. Sometimes the hair, instead of being worn in the complete discoid form, is dressed from two curving twigs and presents the form of two semicircles upon each side of the head. The partition of these is sometimes horizontal and sometimes vertical. A combination of both of these styles, b, presents the form from which the Maltese cross was conventionalized. The brim decorations are of ornamental locks of hair which a maiden trains to grow upon the sides of the forehead.

The ceremonial employment of the cross by the Pueblo is detailed in Mr. Stevenson’s paper entitled Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand-painting of the Navajo Indians, in the Eighth Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 266, where it denotes the scalp-lock.

In the present paper the figure of the cross among the North American Indians is presented under other headings with many differing significations. Among other instances it appears on p. 383 as the tribal sign for Cheyenne; on p. 582 as Dakota lodges; on p. 613 as the character for trade or exchange; on p. 227 as the conventional sign for prisoner; on p. 438 for personal exploits; while elsewhere it is used in simple numeration.

But, although this device is used with a great variety of meanings, when it is employed ceremonially or in elaborate pictographs by the Indians both of North and South America, it represents the four winds. The view long ago suggested that such was the significance of the many Mexican crosses, is sustained by Prof. Cyrus Thomas, in his Notes on Maya and Mexican MSS., Second Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn., p. 61, where strong confirmatory evidence is produced by the arms of the crosses having the appearance of conventionalized wings, similar to some representations of the thunder-bird by more northern tribes. Yet the same author, in his paper on the Study of the MS. Troano, Contrib. N. A. Ethn., V, 144, gives Fig. 1233 as the symbol for wood, thus further showing the manifold concepts attached to the general form.

Bandelier (a) thinks that the crosses which were frequently used before the conquest by the aborigines of Mexico and Central America were merely ornaments and were not objects of worship, while the so-called crucifixes, like that on the “Palenque tablet,” were only the symbol of the “new fire” or close of a period of fifty-two years. He believes them to be merely representations of “fire-drills,” more or less ornamented.

Mr. W. H. Holmes (e) shows by a series representing steps in the simplification of animal characters that in Chiriqui a symmetrical cross was developed from the design of an alligator.

Carl Bovallius (a) gives an illustration, copied here as Fig. 1234, of pictographs in the island of Ceiba, Nicaragua.

Zamacois (a) says that “the cross figured in the religion of various tribes of the peninsula of Yucatan and that it represented the god of rain.”

Dr. S. Habel (f), describing Fig. 1235, says:

On it is a person in a reclining position, with a single band tied around his forehead, forming a knot with two pendent tassels. From his temple rises an ornament resembling the wing of a bird. The emaciated face, as well as the recumbent position of the body, indicates a state of sickness. The hair is interwoven behind with many ribbons forming loops, which are bound together by a clasp, and then spread out in the shape of a fan. The ear is ornamented with a circular disk, to the center of which are attached a plume and a twisted ornament similar to a queue. On the breast is a kind of brooch, which is hollow like a shell, and in which are imbedded seven pearls. Around the waist are three rows of a twisted fabric, which is knotted in front in a bow, the ends descending between the thighs. Another band, of a different texture, stretches out horizontally from the region of the above-mentioned knot. Attached to this girdle is another fabric, of a scaly texture, which surrounds the thighs. The right leg, below the knee, is encircled with a ribbon and a rosette. This would seem to be the undress substitute for the band and pendant. In front of the recumbent person stands the representation of a skeleton, quite well executed. Other points noticeable about this skeleton are the hair on the head and the fact that its hands are fleshy and the fingers and toes have nails. Like all representations by these sculptures, the skeleton is also embellished with ornaments.

From the back of the head emanate two objects similar to horns, which, if they were not differently ribbed, might represent flames. The ear is ornamented with a circular disk, with a pendant from its center. A double-ruffled collar surrounds the neck and a serpent encircles the loins. Both the shoulders and arms are enveloped in flames. From the mouth emanates a bent staff, touching the first of a row of ten circles. Beneath the second and third circles are five bars, three of which are horizontal. The lowest one is the longest, while the two upper ones are shorter and of different lengths. On the uppermost of these bars rest two others, crossing each other obliquely, and touching with their upper ends two of the aforesaid circles. From the last of these circles descend serpentine lines, which touch the ground behind the recumbent person.

Gustav Eisen, op. cit., describing Fig. 1236, says:

From near Santa Lucia, Guatemala, is a stone tablet, most likely a sepulchral tablet, having in its center a forced dead head, with outstretched tongue. Above the same are seen two crossed bars, perhaps meant to represent two crossed bones.

W. F. Wakeman (a) makes the following remarks:

A cross was used by the people of Erin as a symbol of some significance at a period long antecedent to the mission of St. Patrick or the introduction of Christianity to this island. It is found, not unfrequently, amongst the scribings picked or carved upon rock surfaces and associated with a class of archaic designs, to the meaning of which we possess no key. * * * It may be seen on prehistoric monuments in America, on objects of pottery found by Dr. Schliemann at Hissarlik and at Mycenæ, and, in more than one form, on pagan Roman altars still preserved in Germany and Britain. With the Chinese it was for untold ages a symbol of the earth. The Rev. Samuel Beal, B. A., rector of Flastone, North Tyrone, professor of Chinese in University College, London, writes: “Now, the earliest symbol of the earth was a plain cross, denoting the four cardinal points; hence we have the word chaturanta, i. e., the four sides, both in Pâli and Sanscrit, for the earth; and on the Nestorian tablet, found at Siganfu some years ago, the mode of saying “God created the earth” is simply this: “God created the +.””

A writer in the Edinburgh Review in an article entitled “The Pre-Christian Cross,” January, 1870, p. 254, remarks: “The Buddhists and Brahmins who together constitute nearly half the population of the world, tell us that the decussated figure of the cross, whether in a simple or complex form, symbolizes the traditional happy abode of their primeval ancestors.”

Rudolf Cronau (c), describing Fig. 1237, says that in the Berlin Zeughause are swords of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, bearing the marks shown in a, b, c, and d, while those having the marks e and f are from swords in the Historical Museum at Dresden.

The remarkable resemblance of some of these characters to forms on petroglyphs in the three Americas, presented in this paper, will at once be noticed.

D’Alviella (c), remarks:

One of the most frequent forms of the cross is called the gamma cross, because its four arms are bent at a right angle so as to form a figure like that of four Greek gammas turned in the same direction and joined at the base. We meet it among all the peoples of the Old World, from Japan to Iceland, and it is found in the two Americas. There is nothing to prevent us from supposing that in the instance it was spontaneously conceived everywhere, like the equilateral crosses, circles, triangles, chevrons, and other geometrical ornaments so frequent in primitive decoration. But we see it, at least among the peoples of the Old Continent, invariably passing for talisman, appearing in the funeral scenes or on the tombstones of Greece, Scandinavia, Numidia, and Thibet, and adorning the breasts of divine personages--of Apollo and Buddha--without forgetting certain representations of the Good Shepherd in the Catacombs.

It is, however, impossible within the present limits, to attempt even a summary of the vast amount of literature on this topic. Perhaps one symbolic use of the form which is not commonly known is of sufficient interest to be noted. Travelers say that crosses are exhibited in the curtains of the monasteries of the Thibetan Buddhists, to mean peace and quietness. With the same conception the loopholes of the Japanese forts were in time of peace covered with curtains embroidered with crosses, which when war broke out were removed.

It is also impossible to refrain from quoting the following, translated with condensation, from de Mortillet (a). The illustration referred to is reproduced in the present paper by Fig. 1238, the right-hand figure being from the vase, and that on the left the recognized monogram of Christ:

There can no longer be any doubt as to the use of the cross as a religious symbol long before the advent of Christianity. The worship of the cross, extensive throughout Gaul before the conquest, already existed during the bronze age, more than a thousand years before Christ.

It is especially in the sepulchres of Golasecca that this worship is revealed in the most complete manner, and there, strange to say, has been found a vessel bearing the ancient monogram of Christ, designed perhaps 1,000 years before the coming of Jesus Christ. Is the isolated presence of this monogram of Christ in the midst of numerous crosses, an entirely accidental coincidence?

Another curious fact, very interesting to prove, is that this great development of the worship of the cross before the coming of Christ seems to coincide with the absence of idols and indeed of any representation of living objects. Whenever such objects appear, it may be said that the crosses become more rare and finally disappear altogether. The cross has then been, in remote antiquity, long before Christ, the sacred emblem of a religious sect which repudiated idolatry.

The author, with considerable naiveté, has evidently determined that the form of the cross was significant of a high state of religious culture, and that its being succeeded by effigies, which he calls idols, showed a lapse into idolatry. The fact is simply that, next after one straight line, the combination of two straight lines forming a cross is the easiest figure to draw, and its use before art could attain to the drawing of animal forms, or their representation in plastic material, is merely an evidence of crudeness or imperfection in designing. It is worthy of remark that Dr. Schliemann, in his “Troja,” page 107, presents as his Fig. 38 a much more distinct cross than that given by M. de Mortillet, with the simple remark that it is “a geometrical ornamentation.”

Probably no cause has more frequently produced archeologic and ethnologic blunders than the determination of Christian explorers and missionaries to find monograms of Christ in every monument or inscription where the cross figure appears. The early missionaries to America were obliged to explain the presence of this figure there by a miraculous visit of an apostle, St. Thomas being their favorite. Other generations of the same good people were worried in the same manner by the cross pattée or Thor hammer of the Scandinavians, and by the conventionalized clover leaf of the Druids. This figure often has been a symbol and as often an emblem or a mere sign, but it is so common in every variety of application that actual evidence is necessary to show in any special case what is its real significance.

* * * * *

Gen. G. P. Thruston (a) gives the following account of Pl. LI, which suggests several points of comparison with figures under other headings in this paper:

There has been discovered in Sumner county, Tennessee, near the stone graves and mounds of Castalian springs, a valuable pictograph, the ancient engraved stone which we have taken the liberty to entitle a Group of Tennessee Mound Builders.

This engraved stone, the property of the Tennessee Historical Society, is a flat, irregular slab of hard limestone, about 19 inches long and 15 inches wide. It bears every evidence of very great age. * * * The stone was found on Rocky creek, in Sumner county, and was presented, with other relics, to the Tennessee Historical Society about twelve years ago. * * *

It is evidently an ideograph of significance, graven with a steady and skillful hand, for a specific purpose, and probably records or commemorates some important treaty or public or tribal event. * * * Indian chiefs fully equipped with the insignia of office, are arrayed in fine apparel. Two leading characters are vigorously shaking hands in a confirmatory way. The banner or shield, ornamented with the double serpent emblem and other symbols, is, doubtless, an important feature of the occasion. Among the historic Indians, no treaty was made without the presence or presentation of the belt of wampum. This, the well-dressed female of the group appears to grasp in her hand, perhaps as a pledge of the contract. The dressing of the hair, the remarkable scalloped skirts, the implements used, the waistbands, the wristlets, the garters, the Indian leggings and moccasins, the necklace and breastplates, the two banners, the serpent emblem, the tattoo stripes, the ancient pipe, all invest this pictograph with unusual interest. * * * The double serpent emblem or ornament upon the banner may have been the badge or totem of the tribe, clan, or family that occupied the extensive earthworks at Castalian springs in Sumner county, near where the stone was found. The serpent was a favorite emblem or totem of the Stone Grave race of Tennessee, and is one of the common devices engraved on the shell gorgets taken from the ancient cemeteries. * * * The circles or sun symbol ornaments on the banners and dresses are the figures most frequently graven on the shell gorgets found near Nashville.

The following summary of the translation, kindly furnished by Mr. Pom K. Soh of an article, “Pictures of Dokatu or so-called bronze bell,” by Mr. K. Wakabayashi (a), in the Bulletin of the Tōkyō Anthropological Society, refers to Pl. LII. The author saw the bell described at the town of Takoka, Japan, in August, 1891. The “pictures” on it were fourteen in number, cast in the metal of the bell, each one occupying a separate compartment and running around the bell in several bands. The author took rubbings of the pictures, lithographs of which are published as illustrations of his article, and from these the eight pictures now presented in actual size are selected, the remainder being of the same general character, and some of them nearly identical with those selected. The information obtained is that the bell, which is iron and not bronze, was procured before, and perhaps long before, the present century from Jisei, in the village of Sasakura in the state of Yetsin, and had been excavated from a mountain at Samki. Copies of the markings upon it were taken in 1817 to a high authority at Yedo, now Tōkyō. It is believed that the markings illustrate or are related to a national story, “Kanden Ko Hitsu,” written by Ban Kokei. A few similar bells or fragments of them, some being bronze, have been found in various parts of the Japanese empire. One, which is bronze, height about 3-1/2 feet, and diameter somewhat more than 1 foot, was dug up in Hanina in the year A. D. 821.

The interest of the drawings on Pl. LII, in the present connection, consists in their remarkable similarity, both in form and apparent motive, with several of those found in the western continent and figured in the present work. Thus, a is to be compared with characters on Figs. 437 and 1227 and others referring to the human form, the cross, and the dragon-fly; b with Figs. 57, 165 b and 1261 l; the two characters in c, respectively, with Fig. 1262; the mantis, and Fig. 1129, one form of star; d with a common turtle form, as in Fig. 50; e with Fig. 166, an Ojibwa human form, and also exhibiting gesture, and Fig. 113 a Brazilian petroglyph; and f with Fig. 657, a north-eastern Algonquian drawing. The three last-mentioned pictures, e and f and g, exhibit the peculiar internal life organ (often the conventionalized heart), noticed in Figs. 50, 700, and 701, and it is to be remarked that the largest quadruped in g has the life organ connected with the mouth, while the other quadrupeds, and those in h, show no depiction of internal organs. The human figure in g is noticeable for the American form of bow, and the upper character of h is to be compared with Figs. 104 and 148.

SECTION 3.

COMPOSITE FORMS.

The figures in this group are selected from a larger number in which the union of two animals of different kinds or that of an animal and another object indicates the union of the several qualities or attributes supposed to belong to those animals or objects. The form and use of such composite figures are familiar from the publication of the inscriptions on Egyptian monuments and papyri.

Fig. 1239.--Eagle-Elk. Red-Cloud’s Census. Here are the branching antlers of the elk and the tail of the eagle.

Fig. 1240.--Eagle-Horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. Eagle feathers replace the horse’s mane.

Fig. 1241.--Eagle-Horse. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is a variant of the preceding, the change being shown in the tail.

Fig. 1242.--Eagle-Swallow. Red-Cloud’s Census. The characteristics of the two birds are obvious.

Fig. 1243.--Eagle-Bear. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1244.--Weasel-Bear. Red-Cloud’s Census. With only hasty view the really characteristic form of the weasel might be mistaken for a rudely drawn gun.

Fig. 1245.--Horned-Horse. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1246.--Bull-Lance. Red-Cloud’s Census. The object attached to the bull’s muzzle is the common ornamented lance of the Plains tribes.

Fig. 1247.--Shield-Bear. Red-Cloud’s Census. The ornamented shield is borne on the bear’s body.

Fig. 1248.--Ring-Owl. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1249.--Sunka-wanbli, Dog-Eagle; from the Oglala Roster. The mingling of the attributes of the dog and the eagle with special reference to swiftness may be suggested.

Fig. 1250.--Zintkala-wicasa, Bird-Man; also from the Oglala Roster. An indication of a bird gens is suggested without information, but perhaps it is only a representation of the usual vision required from and therefore obtained by boys before reaching manhood.

Fig. 1251.--Sunkakan-heton, Horse-with-horns; also from the Oglala Roster. Perhaps this is not intended as a composite animal, but as a horse possessing special and mystic power, as is indicated by the gesture sign for wakan, and, as elsewhere in pictographs, by lines extending from each side of the head. The same sub-chief appears in Red-Cloud’s Census with the name translated into English as Horned-Horse.

This union of the human figure with that of other animals is of interest in comparison with the well-known forms of similar character in the art of Egypt and Assyria.

The feet of the accompanying Fig. 1252, reproduced from Bastian (b) on the Northwest Coast of America, can not be seen, being hidden in the head of the figure beneath. It is squatting, with its hands on its knees, and has a wolf’s head. Arms, legs, mouth, jaws, nostrils, and ear-holes are scarlet; eyebrows, irises, and edges of the ears black.

The drawing Fig. 1253 was made by Mr. J. G. Swan while on a visit to the Prince of Wales archipelago, where he found two carved figures with panthers’ heads, and claws upon the fore feet, and human feet attached to the hind legs. These mythical animals were placed upon either side of a corpse which was lying in state, awaiting burial.

The Egyptians represented the evil Typhon by the hippopotamus, the most fierce and savage of their animals; the hawk was the symbol for power, and the serpent that for life. Plutarch, in Isis and Osiris, 50, says that in Hermopolis these symbols were united, a hawk fighting with a serpent being placed on the hippopotamus, thus accentuating the idea of the destroyer. The Greeks sometimes substituted the eagle for the hawk, and pictured it killing a hare, the most prolific of quadrupeds, or fighting a serpent, the same attribute of destruction being portrayed. But the eagle when alone meant simply power, as did the hawk in Egypt. The Scandinavians posited the eagle on the head of their god Thor and the bull on his breast to express a similar union of attributes.

SECTION 4.

ARTISTIC SKILL AND METHODS.

Dr. Andree (d), in Das Zeichnen bei den Naturvölkern, makes the following remarks, translated with condensation:

The great ability of the Eskimo and their southern neighbors, the natives of northwest America (Koliushes, Thlinkits, etc.), in representative art is well known and needs no further insisting. Among all primitive peoples they have made the greatest advances in the conventionalization of figures, which indicates long practice in painting. The totem figures, carved both in stone and in wood and tattooed on the body, show severe conventionalization and have perfect heraldic value. Ismailof, one of the earliest Russian explorers that came in contact with the Koliushes, relates that European paintings and drawings did not strike them with the least awe. When a chief was shown portraits of the Russian imperial family he manifested no astonishment. That chief was accompanied by his painter, who examined everything very closely, in order to paint it afterward. He was able in particular “to paint all manner of objects on wooden tablets and other material (leather),” using blue iron earth, iron ocher, colored clays, and other mineral colors. Among these peoples, too, painting is employed as a substitute for writing, in order to record memorable things.

Far below the artistic achievements of the Eskimo and of the natives of the American northwest (Haida, Thlinkit, etc.) are those of the redskins east of the Rocky mountains. They are, however, very productive in figure drawing; nay, that art has advanced to a kind of picture writing, which, it is true, is not distinguished by artistic finish. That “fling” which, depending on good observation of nature, appears in the drawings of Australians, Bushmen, etc., and the good characterization of the figures, are lacking among the Indians; and though, as is frequently the case, their animals are better represented than the men, yet they can not compare with the animal figures of the Eskimo or Bushmen. Dr. Capitan, who had drawings made by the Omahas shown in 1883 in the Jardin d’acclimatation of Paris, says concerning them: “It is singular to note that by the side of very rudimentary representations of human figures the pictures of horses are drawn with a certain degree of correctness. If the Indians take pains in anything it is in the painting of their buffalo skins, which are often worn as mantles. On red-brown ground are seen black figures, especially of animals; on others, on white ground, the heroic deeds and life events of distinguished Indians, represented in black or in other colors. You see the wounded enemies, the loss of blood, the killed and the captives, stolen horses, all executed in the peculiar manner of an art of painting still in the stage of infancy, with earth colors black, red, green, and yellow. Almost all the Missouri tribes practice painting on buffalo skins; the most skillful are the Pawnees, Mandans, Minitaris, and Crows. Among the Mandans, Wied met individuals who possessed “a very decided talent” for drawing.”

The same author, in the same connection, reasserts the old statement that there is an established difference in artistic capacity between the so-called mound-builders and the present Indians, so great that it either shows a genetic difference between them or that the Indians had degenerated in that respect. This statement is denied by the Bureau of Ethnology, but the point to be now considered is whether it is true that the historic North American Indians are as low in artistic skill as is alleged.

The French traveler Crevaux, as quoted by Marcano (g), says that he had the happy idea of giving pencils to the Indians, in order to see whether they were capable of producing the same drawings. The young Yumi rapidly drew for him sketches of man, dog, tiger; in brief, of all the animals of the country. Another Indian reproduced all sorts of arabesques, which he was wont to paint with genipa. Crevaux saw that these savages, who are accused of being absolutely ignorant of the fine arts, all drew with extraordinary facility.

The same idea, i. e., of testing the artistic ability of Indians in several tribes, occurred to the present writer and to many other travelers, who generally have been surprised at the skill in free-hand drawing and painting exhibited. It would seem that the Indians had about the same faults and decidedly more talent than the average uninstructed persons of European descent who make similar attempts. An instance of special skill in portrait painting is given by Lossing (a), where a northern tribe in 1812 made a bark picture of Joseph Barron, a fugitive, to obtain his identification by sending copies of it to various tribes. The portrait given as an illustration in the work cited is very distinct and lifelike. This, however, was a special task prompted by foreign influence. While the Indians had no more knowledge of perspective than the Japanese, they were unable or indisposed to attempt the accurate imitation of separate natural objects in which the Japanese excel. Before European instruction or example they probably never produced a true picture. Some illustrations in the present work, which show a continuous series of men, animals, and other objects, are no more pictures than are the consecutive words of a printed sentence, both forms, indeed, being alike in the fact that their significance is expressed by the relation between the separate parts. The illustration which at a first glance seems to be most distinctively picturesque is Fig. 659, but it will be noticed that the personages are repeated, the scene changed, and the time proceeds, so that there is no view of specified objects at any one time and place.

Fig. 1254 shows two drawings from Kejimkoojik, N. S., reduced to one-fourth, each supposed to represent a moose, though possibly one of them is a caribou, and the mode of execution vividly suggests some of the examples of prehistoric art found in Europe and familiar by repeatedly published illustrations.

Fig. 1255 is the etching of a hand from the Kejimkoojik rocks, reduced one-half. Its peculiarity consists in the details by which the lines of the palm and markings on the balls of the thumb and fingers are shown. If this is the real object of the design it shows close observation, though it is not suggested that any connection with the pseudo-science of palmistry is to be inferred.

In connection with this drawing the following translated remarks in Verhandl. Berlin. Gesellsch. für Anthrop. (d), may be noted:

The frequency with which partial representations of the eye are met with appeared to me so striking that I requested Mr. Jacobson to ask the Bella Coola Indians whether they had any special idea in employing the eye so frequently. To my great surprise the person addressed pointed to the palmar surface of his finger tips and to the fine lineaments which the skin there presents; in his opinion a rounded or longitudinal field, such as appears between the converging or parallel lines, also means an eye, and the reason of this is that originally each part of the body terminated in an organ of sense, particularly an eye, and was only afterward made to retrovert into such rudimentary conditions.

The lower character in Pl. LIII is copied from Rudolph Cronau (c) Geschichte der Solinger Klingenindustrie, where it is presented as an illustration of the knights of the thirteenth century, after a sketch in a MS. of the year 1220, in the library of the University of Leipsig.

The upper character in the same plate is a copy of a drawing made in 1884 by an Apache Indian at Anadarko, although the insignia of the riders are more like those used by the Cheyenne than those of the Apache. A striking similarity will be noticed in the motive of the two sketches of the mounted warriors and their steeds as well as in their decorations, from which in Europe the devices called heraldic were differentiated. Doubtless still better examples could be obtained to compare the degree of artistic skill attained by the several draftsmen, but these are used as genuine, convenient, and typical. See also the Mexican representation of horses and riders under the heading of meteors, Fig. 1224.

These horses are far less skillfully portrayed than they are by the Plains tribes, which may be explained by the fact that the Mexicans had not yet become familiar with the animal.

A story told by Catlin to the general effect that the Siouan stock of Indians did not understand the drawing of human faces in profile has been repeated in various forms. The last is by Popoff (a):

When Catlin was drawing the profile of a chief named Matochiga, the Indians around him seemed greatly moved, and asked why he did not draw the other half of the chief’s face. “Matochiga was never ashamed to look a white man square in the face.” Matochiga had not till then seemed offended at the matter, but one of the Indians said to him sportively, “The Yankee knows that you are only half a man, and he has only drawn half of your face because the other half is not worth anything.”

Another variant of the story is that Catlin was accused of practicing magic, by which the half of the subject’s head should get into his power, and he was forced to stop his painting and flee for his life. The explorer and painter who tells the story is not considered to be altogether free from exaggeration, and he may have invented the tale to amuse his auditors in his lectures and afterwards his readers, or he may have been the victim of a practical joke by the Indians, who are fond of such banter, and the well-known superstitions about sorcerers gaining possession of anything attached to the person would have rendered their anger plausible. But certain it is that the people referred to, before and after and at the time of the visit of Catlin to them, were in the habit of drawing the human face in profile, and, indeed, much more frequently than the full or front face. This is abundantly proved by many pictures in existence at that time and place which have been seen by this writer, and a considerable number of them are copied in the present work. Thus much for one of the oft-cited fictions on which the allegation of the Indian’s stupidity in drawing has been founded.

Another false statement is copied over and over again by authors, to the effect that from a similar superstition the Indians are afraid to, and therefore do not, make delineations of the whole human figure. The present work shows their drawing of front, side, and rear views of the whole human figure, presenting as each view may allow, all the limbs and features. This, however, is rare, not from the fear charged, but because the artists directed their attention, not to iconography, but to ideography, seizing some special feature or characteristic for prominence and disregarding or intentionally omitting all that was unnecessary to their purpose.

On the other hand the Indians have sometimes been unduly praised for acumen in observation and for skill in their iconography. For instance, in the lectures of Mr. Edward Muybridge, explaining the highly interesting photographs of consecutive movements of animals from which he formulates the novel science of zoöpraxography, the lecturer attributes to the Indians a scientific and artistic method of drawing horses in motion which has excelled in that respect all the most famous painters and sculptors. But Mr. Muybridge bases his statement upon a small number of Indian drawings, apparently seen by him in Europe, the characteristics of which do not appear in the many drawings of horses in the possession of the present writer, a considerable number of which are published in this work. The position of the legs in the drawings praised is doubtless fortuitous. The Indian in his delineation of horses cared little more than to show an animal with the appropriate mane, tail, and hoofs, and the legs were extended without the slightest regard to natural motion. The drawing of the Indians closely resembles the masterly abstractions of the living forms devised by the early heraldic painters which later were corrupted by an attempt to compromise with zoölogy, resulting in a clumsy naturalism if not caricature.

A comparison of artistic rather than of pictographic skill may frequently be made, for instance the art of the Haida in carving, which shows remarkable similarity to that in Central and South America, and made public by Habel, op. cit., and H. H. Bancroft (i).

The style of drawing is strongly influenced by the material on which it is made. This topic must receive some consideration here, though too extensive for full treatment. The substances on which and the instruments by which pictographs are made in America are discussed in Chaps. VII and VIII of this work, and the remarks and illustrations there presented apply generally to other forms of drawing and painting. Examples of drawing on every kind of material known to the American aborigines appear in this work. Carving, pecking, and scratching of various kinds of rock are illustrated, also paintings on skins and on wood. The Innuit carving on walrus ivory, of which numerous illustrations are furnished, is notable for its minuteness as well as distinctness. The substance was precious, the working surface limited, and the workmanship required time and care. Birch bark, common in the whole of the northern Algonquian region, was an attractive material. It was used much more freely and was worked more easily than walrus ivory, and in two modes, one in which outlines are drawn by any hard-pointed substance on the inner side of the bark when it is soft and which remain permanent when dry, the other made by scraping on the rough outer surface, thus producing a difference in color. Many examples of the first-mentioned method are shown throughout this work, and of the latter in Pl. XVI and Fig. 659. Having before them this large collection of varied illustrations readers can judge for themselves of the effect of the material in determining the style among people who had substantially the same concepts.

It is universally admitted that the material used, whether papyrus or parchment, stone or wood, palm leaves or metal, wax or clay, and the appropriate instruments, hammer, knife, graver, brush or pen, decided the special style of incipient artists throughout the world. The Chinese at first worked with knives on bamboo and stone, and even after they had obtained paper, ink, and fine hair pencils, the influence of the old method continued. The cuneiform characters are due to the shape of the wooden style used to impress the figures on unbaked clay. It may generally be remarked that in materials having a decided “grain,” of which bamboo is the most obvious instance, the early stage of art with its rude implements was forced to work in lines running with the grain.

Dr. Andree (e) gives the illustration presented here as Fig. 1256 with these remarks:

The advances made by the Kanakas of New Caledonia in drawing are illustrated by the bamboo staves covered with engraved drawings, which they carry about as objects of fashion, somewhat as we do our walking sticks, and a number of which are preserved in the ethnographic museum of Paris (Trocadero). They have been described by E. T. Hamy. In these finely incised drawings ornaments of the simplest kind (straight lines and zigzag models) are combined with figures and tree groups. The artistic execution is a rather primitive one, yet the figures by no means lack character and vividness. There are seen on the bamboo the pointed-roofed huts of the chieftains, turtles, fowl, lizards, and between them scenes from the life of the Kanakas. A man beats his wife, men discharge their bows, others stand idle in rank and file, adorned with the cylindric straw hat described by Cook, which at this day has almost entirely disappeared.

The explanation of many peculiar forms of Indian drawing and painting is to be found in the stage of mythologic sophiology reached by the several tribes. For instance, Mr. W. H. Holmes, op. cit., discovered that in Chiriqui all the decorations originated in life forms of animals, none being vegetal and none clearly expressive of the human figure or attempting the portrayal of physiognomy. This peculiarity doubtless arose from the exclusively zoomorphic character of the religion of the people. Other mythologic concepts have given a special trend to the art of other tribes and peoples. This results in conventionalism. The sculptures of Persia chiefly express the power and glory of the God-King, and the Egyptian statues are canonical idealizations of an abstract human being, type of the race. It is to be noticed that Indians also show conservatism and conventionalization in their ordinary pictures. Within what may be called a tribal, or more properly stock, system, every Indian draws in precisely the same manner. The figures of a man, of a horse, and of every other object delineated are made by everyone who attempts to make any such figure, with seeming desire for all the identity of which their mechanical skill is capable, thus showing their conception and motive to be the same. In this respect the drawing of the Indians may be likened to that of boys at a public school, who are always drawing, and drawing the same objects and with constant repetition of the same errors from one school generation to another.

In discussing artistic skill only in its relation to picture-writing the degree of its excellence is not intrinsically important, though it may be so for comparison and identification. The figures required were the simplest. Among these were vertical and horizontal straight lines and their combinations, circles, squares, triangles, a hand, a foot, an ax or a bow, a boat or a sledge. Both natural and artificial objects were drawn by a few strokes without elaboration. The fewer the marks the more convenient was the pictograph, if it fulfilled its object of being recognized by the reader. The simple fact without esthetic effect was all that the pictographic artists wanted to show, and when an animal was represented it was not by imitation of its whole form, but by emphasis of some characteristic which must be made obvious, even if it distorted the figure or group and violated every principle of art as now developed.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XXI. MEANS OF INTERPRETATION

The power of determining the authorship of pictographs made on materials other than rocks, by means of their general style and type, can be estimated by a comparison of those of the Abnaki, Ojibwa, Dakota, Haida, Innuit, Shoshoni, Moki, etc., presented in various parts of this paper.

Everard F. im Thurn (k), in reference to Fig. 1257, remarks:

Wherever a peculiar, complex, and not very obvious figure occurs in many examples it is legitimate to assume that this had some ulterior object and meaning. Now this figure, occurring in the shallow engravings of Guiana, is of such kind. It is not a figure which an Indian would be likely to invent in an idle moment even once, for such a man very seldom, probably never, except in these particular figures, has been known to draw straight lines. Moreover, even if it were a figure that one Indian might idly invent, it is certainly highly improbable that this would be copied by many other Indians in various places. And, lastly, a figure strikingly like the one in question, if, indeed, it is not identical, occurs in certain Mexican picture writings. For example, in the Mexican MSS. [reproduced in Kingsborough, op. cit., I, from Sir Thomas Bodley’s MSS., pp. 22, 23, and from the Selden MSS., also in the Bodleian, p. 3] several figures occur so like that of the shallow engravings of Guiana that there can be but little doubt of their connection. The recurrence of this peculiar figure in these writings is surely sufficient evidence of the fact that they are not without intention. If it were possible to obtain a clue to the meaning of the Mexican figures it might serve as a key to decipher the hieroglyphic writings of Guiana.

With regard to the study of the individual characters themselves to identify the delineators of pictographs, the various considerations of fauna, religion, customs, tribal signs, indeed most of the headings of this paper, will be applicable.

It is convenient to divide this chapter into: 1. Marked characters of known significance. 2. Distinctive costumes, weapons, and ornaments. 3. Ambiguous characters, with ascertained meaning.

SECTION 1.

MARKED CHARACTERS OF KNOWN SIGNIFICANCE.

It is obvious that before attempting the interpretation of pictographs concerning which no direct information is to be obtained, there should be a collection, as complete as possible, of known characters, in order that through them the unknown may be learned. When any considerable number of objects in a pictograph are actually known the remainder may be ascertained by the context, the relation, and the position of the several designs, and sometimes by the recognized principles of the art.

The present writer has been engaged, therefore, for a considerable time in collating a large number of characters in a card-catalogue arranged primarily by similarity in forms, and in attaching to each character any significance ascertained or suggested. As before explained, the interpretation upon which reliance is mainly based is that which has been made known by direct information from Indians who themselves were actually makers of pictographs at the time of giving the interpretation. Apart from the comparisons obtained by this collation, the only mode of ascertaining the meaning of the characters, in other words, the only key yet discovered, is in the study of the gesture sign included in many of them.

A spiral line frequently seen in petroglyphs is explained by the Dakota to be a snail shell, and, furthermore, this device is seen in Pl. XX, and fully described in that connection as used in the recording and computation of time.

The limits of this paper do not allow of presenting a complete list of the characters in the pictographs which have become known. But some of the characters in the petroglyphs, Figs. 1258, 1259, and 1260, which are not discussed under various headings, supra, should be explained. The following is a selection of those which were interpreted to Mr. Gilbert.

The left hand device of Fig. 1258 is an inclosure, or pen, in which ceremonial dances are performed. That on the right is a headdress used in ceremonial dances.

Compare the drawing from Fairy Rocks, N. S., Fig. 549.

Fig. 1259 gives sketches of the frames or sticks used in carrying wood on the back; also shows different forms of arrows.

Fig. 1260 represents the blossoms of melons, squashes.

The appearance of objects showing the influence of European civilization and christianization should always be carefully noted. An instance where an object of that character is found among a multitude of others not liable to such suspicion is in the heart surmounted by a cross, in the upper line of Fig. 437. This suggests missionary teaching and corresponding date.

Maximilian of Wied (g) says:

Another mode of painting their robes by the Dakotas is to represent the number of valuable presents they have made. By these presents, which are often of great value, they acquire reputation and respect among their countrymen. On such robes we observed long red figures with a black circle at the termination placed close to each other in transverse rows; they represent whips, indicating the number of horses given, because the whip belonging to the horse is always bestowed with the animal. Red or dark-blue transverse figures indicate cloth or blankets given; parallel transverse stripes represent firearms, the outlines of which are pretty correctly drawn.

It may be desirable also to note, to avoid misconception, that where, throughout this work, mention is made of particulars under the headings of customs, religion, etc., which might be made the subject of graphic illustration in pictographs, and for that reason should be known as preliminary to the attempted interpretation of the latter, the suggestion is not given as a mere hypothesis. Such objective marks and conceptions of the character indicated which can readily be made objective, are in fact frequently found in pictographs and have been understood by means of the preliminary information to which reference is made. When interpretations obtained through this line of study are properly verified, they can take places in the card catalogue little inferior to those of interpretations derived directly from aboriginal pictographers.

The interpretation by means of gesture-signs has already been discussed, Chap. XVIII, Sec. 4.

Capt. Carver (b) describes how an Ojibwa drew the emblem of his own tribe as a deer, a Sioux as a man dressed in skins, an Englishman as a human figure with a hat on his head, and a Frenchman as a man with a handkerchief tied around his head.

In this connection is the quotation from the Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part III, 1851, p. 124, describing a pictograph, as follows: “There were two figures of men without heads, and some entire. The first denoted the dead and the second the prisoners. One of my conductors told me on this occasion that when there are any French among either, they set their arms akimbo, or their hands upon their hips, to distinguish them from the savages, whom they represent with their arms hanging down. This distinction is not purely arbitrary; it proceeds from these people having observed that the French often put themselves in this posture, which is not used among them.”

It is also said suggestively, by C. H. Read (f) in Jour. of the Anthrop. Inst. of Gr. Br. and I., that in the carvings of the West African negroes, the typical white man is constantly figured with a brandy bottle in one hand and a large glass in the other.

Instructive particulars regarding pictographs may be discovered in the delineation of the fauna in reference to its present or former habitat in the region where the representation of it is found.

As an example of the number and kind of animals pictured as well as of their mode of representation, the foregoing Fig. 1261, comprising many of the Moki inscriptions at Oakley Springs, Arizona, is presented by Mr. G. K. Gilbert. These were selected by him from a large number of etchings for the purpose of obtaining the explanation, and they were explained to him by Tubi, an Oraibi chief living at Oraibi, one of the Moki villages.

The large object in Fig. 1262, scratched on the Kejimkoojik rocks, Nova Scotia, is probably intended for a mantis or “rear-horse,” but strongly reminds the observer of the monkey forms in the petroglyphs of Central and South America.

Ten Kate (b) shows in Fig. 1263 those animal forms which were not obliterated from the face of the rock of El-Sauce, Sonora; they were very nearly in the order in which they are represented. The fish at the upper right hand is 20 centimeters long.

SECTION 2.

DISTINCTIVE COSTUMES, WEAPONS, AND ORNAMENTS.

On examining the relics of ancient peoples or their modern representatives, the instruments and arms accompanying them and the clothing upon them mark the social status of the individual. In the social life of past generations, and still to-day, certain garments with their adjuncts indicate certain functions. The lawyer, the mechanic, the priest, and the soldier are easily recognizable. These garments do not only give general indications, but minute details, so in looking upon a certain soldier it is known what country he serves, how many men are under his orders, and how many chiefs are above him. It is known if he marches on horseback or afoot, if he handles the rifle or the saber, works the cannon, designs fortifications, or builds bridges. Also, by looking on his decorated breast, it is shown if he has made campaigns and participated in historic battles, and whether or not he has gained distinction. This is told by the color, cut, and ornaments of his clothes and by the weapon he bears. Some details are also furnished by the cut of the hair, and even the style of foot-gear. The above remarks apply to the highest civilization, but all kinds of personal and class designations by means of distinctive costumes, weapons, and adornments were and still are most apparent and important among the less cultured peoples.

The American Indians seldom clothed themselves, except in very cold weather, save for purposes of ornament. They habitually wore no other garment than the breech-cloth, but in their ceremonies and social dances they bedecked themselves with full and elaborate costumes, often regulated with special punctilio for the occasion. The boreal tribes, such as the Alaskan, Athapascan, and Chippewayan, who were obliged to protect themselves for a large part of the year by furs and skins, developed characteristic forms of dress which in pictography take the place occupied by painting and tattooing among tribes where the person was more habitually exposed. Among the southern tribes there was need of protection against the rays of the sun, as in Mexico, where cotton and other fibers were used. In general some of the forms of wearing apparel, if only varieties in the make of moccasins or sandals, designated the tribe of the wearers, and therefore often became adopted as pictorial signs. Ceremonial clothing is often elaborately decorated with beads, porcupine quills, claws and teeth of animals, shells, and feathers. Many of these garments are further ornamented with paintings of a totemic or mythologic character, or bear the insignia of the wearer’s rank and social status. Metal ornaments, such as armlets, bracelets, anklets, earrings and bells, were also worn, the material and quantity being in accordance with the wearer’s ability and pecuniary condition. Upon both social and ceremonial occasions the headgear displayed eagle feathers and the plumes of other species of birds, and tufts of hair dyed in red or other colors. Necklaces were made of claws, shells, deer and antelope hoofs, the teeth of various animals, snake-skins, and even human fingers.

Immediately following are some of the Dakota designations in the particulars mentioned:

Fig. 1264.--Shield. Red Cloud’s Census. The shield here is without device, though frequently one is painted on the war shields. Such painting may be the pictograph of the gens or of the personal designation, or may show the marks of rank.

Fig. 1265.--Wahacanka, Shield. The Oglala Roster. The marks or bearings on the shield probably are personal and similar to those commonly called heraldic, but in this drawing are too minute for accurate blazonry.

Fig. 1266.--Black-Shield “says his prayers” (in the interpreter’s phrase; that is, he performed the rites elsewhere explained); and takes the war-path to avenge the death of two of his sons who had been killed by the Crows. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1859-’60.

Fig. 1267.--Eagle-Feather. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is probably the same name as translated Lone-Feather in the following figure, in which the feather also comes from an eagle’s tail:

Fig. 1268.--Lone-Feather said his prayers and took the warpath to avenge the death of some relatives. Cloud-Shield’s Winter Count, 1842-’43.

Fig. 1269.--Feathers. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure and the next refer to some special ornamentation.

Fig. 1270.--Feathers. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1271.--Bone-Necklace. Red-Cloud’s Census. This figure and the three following show special kinds of neck ornaments.

Fig. 1272--Beads. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1273.--Stone-Necklace. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1274.--Feather-Necklace. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1275.--Wolf-Robe was killed by the Pawnees. American-Horse’s Winter Count, 1850-’51.

He is killed and scalped while wearing a robe of wolf-skin.

Fig. 1276.--Wears-the-Bonnet. Red-Cloud’s Census. This is the ornamented war bonnet of the Dakotas.

Fig. 1277.--Garter. Red-Cloud’s Census.

Fig. 1278.--Wicanapsu-owin, Wears-human-fingers as earrings. The Oglala Roster.

The place for the fingers to be worn is indicated by the line terminating in a loop.

The Indian accumulated no wealth except in things useful during his life. His ornaments were made from shells which in their natural shape are innumerable; from the skins of animals which require only skill to take and dress them; and from stone and copper, demanding only strength to procure and transport them. The value of an Indian ornament is in the skill, care and patience required in making it. Thus the wampum-bead became of intrinsic value, similar in that to gold and silver in civilization; the stone carefully wrought into the fashion of a pipe became the emblem of authority and the instrument of worship; and copper, slowly and toilfully delved and fashioned with the rudest of tools and appliances, became almost a fetich of superstition. So likewise the quill of the porcupine, worked into a design in embroidery with the most exquisite care, was an ornament fit for warriors and chiefs. But on the cradle or basket-nest for the expected or new-born child, upon the gown or woman’s dress of the favorite daughter, and upon the moccasins and trappings for the growing son, hand and head and heart were employed for months and even years.

The Dakotan bride, swayed by the yearning of expectant maternity, perhaps also by ambition to excel in the sole permitted mode of its display, adorned her lodge with ornamented cradles, each new one becoming in design more beautiful and intricate than the last, until her yearning was answered, when the cradles not needed were exchanged for horses and ornaments, which became the endowment of the new-born child.

Some note should be made of the sense of correspondence and contrast of colors which the Dakota, at least, exhibits; the rules which he originates and observes forming that which is called artistic taste. The Indian’s use of colors corresponds more nearly than that of most barbarians with that common in high civilization, except that he perceives so little distinction between blue and green that but one name generally suffices for both colors. It is remarkable that among the wilder and plains tribes of Dakotas dead colors in beads are preferred and arranged with good effect, and that among these, specially, the use of neutral tints is common. Probably both of these results were produced from the old and exclusive employment of clays for pigments--clays of almost all colors and shades being found in the country over which the Dakotas roamed.

The peculiarities of dress or undress would seem to have first struck the people of the eastern hemisphere as well adapted to pictorial representation. Singularly enough to modern ideas, the braccæ or trousers were to the Romans the symbol of barbarism, whereas now the absence of the garments, called even “indispensable,” has the same significance. Maj. C. R. Conder (d) gives this good lesson literally “a propos de bottes:”

A curious peculiarity of dress also serves to indicate the racial connection. In Cappadocia and in Anatolia the monuments represent figures with a boot or shoe curled up in front. An Assyrian representation of an Armenian merchant shows the same boot. Sir C. Wilson first compared it with the boot now worn by the peasantry of Asia Minor. Perrot compares it with the cavalry boot worn in Syria and with what we call a Turkish slipper. The Etruscans wore a similar shoe called calceus repandus by the Romans. On the monuments at Karnak the Hittites are represented wearing the same shoe, and although it is not of necessity a mark of race, it is still curious that this curly-toed boot was common to the various Turanian peoples of Syria, Asia Minor, Armenia, and Italy.

Schoolcraft (t) gives the characters on the left hand of Fig. 1279 as two Ojibwa war clubs, and the right-hand character in the same figure is represented in a Wyoming petroglyph as a bow.

Many other weapons distinctive to their draughtsmen are shown in this paper.

It may be well to insert here Fig. 1280, showing the wommeras and clubs of the Australians, taken from Curr (d), not only on account of their forms but of the pictorial designs on some of them, which should be compared with those of the Moki and other Indian tribes.

A large number of pictographic figures distinguishing bodies of Indians by different mode of head dress have already been given. Some additional detail may be added about the Absaroka who have in this regard been imitated by the Hidatsa and Arikara.

They wear horse hair taken from the tail, attached to the back of their heads and allowed to hang down their backs. It is arranged in eight or ten strands, each about as thick as a finger and laid parallel with spaces between them of the width of a single strand. Pine gum is then mixed with red ocher or vermilion and by means of other hair, or fibers of any kind laid crosswise, the strands are secured and around each intersection of hair a ball of gum is plastered to hold it in place, secured to the real growth of hair on the back of the head. About four inches further down a similar row of gum balls and cross strings is placed, and so on down to the end. The Indians frequently incorporate the false hair with their own so as to lengthen the latter without any marked evidence of the deception. Nevertheless the transverse fastenings with their gum attachments are present. In picture-writing this is shown upon the figure of a man by parallel lines drawn downward from the back of the head, intersected by cross lines, the whole appearing like small squares or a piece of net. See Figs. 484 and 485, supra.

A quaint account of social designation by the arrangement of the hair among the Northeastern Algonquins is recorded in the Jesuit Relations of 1639, pp. 44-5:

When a girl or woman favors some one who seeks her, she cuts the hair in the fashion adopted by the maidens of France, hanging over the forehead, which is an ugly style as well in this country as in France; St. Paul forbidding women to show their hair. The women here wear their hair in bunches at the back of the head, in the form of a truss, which they decorate with beads when they have them. If, after marrying some one, a woman leaves him without cause, or if, being promised and having accepted some present, she fails to keep her word, the presumptive husband sometimes cuts her hair, which renders her very despicable and prevents her from getting another spouse.

There is a differentiation of this usage among the Pueblos generally, who, when accurate and particular in delineation, designate the women of that tribe by a huge coil of hair over either ear. This custom prevails also among the Coyotèro Apaches, the women wearing the hair in a coil to denote a virgin, while the coil is absent in the case of a married woman.

Regarding the apparent subject matter of pictographs an obvious distinction may be made between hunting and land scenes such as would be familiar to interior tribes and those showing fishing and aquatic habits common to seaboard and lacustrine peoples. Similar and more perspicuous modes of discrimination are available. The general scope of known history, traditions, and myths may also serve in identification. Known habits and fashions of existing or historically-known tribes have the same application, e. g., the portrayal on a drawing of a human face of labrets or nose rings limits the artist to defined regions, and then other considerations may further specify the work.

When the specific pictorial style of distinctive peoples is ascertained its appearance on rocks may give evidence of their habitat and migrations, and on the other hand their authorship of the petroglyphs being received as a working hypothesis, the latter may be confirmed and the characters interpreted through the known practices and habits of the postulated authors.

SECTION 3.

AMBIGUOUS CHARACTERS WITH ASCERTAINED MEANING.

Under this heading specimens of the card catalogue before mentioned are presented. The characters would not probably be recognized for the objects they are intended to represent and many of them might be mistaken for attempts to delineate other objects. A much larger number of similar delineations are to be found under other headings in this work, especially in Chap. XIII on Totems, titles, and names.

Prof. C. Thomas (c) gives a, b, c, and d, in Fig. 1281 as representing the turtle.

That they do so is shown by the head of the animal, e, taken from the Cortesian Codex. This is one of the many examples in which the significance of drawings can be ascertained from a series of conventionalized forms. Other instances are given in the present paper, and more in the works of Mr. W. H. Holmes, published in several of the Annual Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology.

Fig. 1282 is given in the last cited volume and page as the symbol of the armadillo of Yucatan.

The drawings of which Fig. 1283 presents copies were made by Dakota tribesmen: a, fox; b, black fox; c, wolf; d, black deer; e, beaver; f, spotted horse; g, porcupine; h, white hawk; i, bald eagle; k, crow; l, swallow; m and n, war bonnet; o, leggins; p, gun; q, pipe.

The characters in Fig. 1284 are Ojibwa drawings. With the exception of the last one they are copies of selected sketches made by Gaga Sindebi at White Earth, Minn., in 1891, as parts of a Midē' song.

a, a wolf. The dark chest markings and the large tail are in imitation of those parts of the timber wolf. The coyote is not now found in the region where the author of the song lives; but is more particularly a prairie animal.

b, a wolf. The pronounced jaw indicates his carnivorous nature.

c, a badger. Although the form resembles that of the bear the difference is shown by the darkened body to imitate the gray fur.

d, a bear.

e, a bear. This style of drawing is not common, it being rather short and stout, while the legs and ears are unusually pronounced.

f, the figure of a bear manido, to which is attached a feather denoting the mythic character of the animal.

g, the figure represents a “lean bear,” as is specified by the appearance of the ribs showing his lean condition.

h, a lizard. The ribs are ridges, which are found upon some forms of Siredon, one species of which occurs in the ponds and small lakes of Minnesota.

i, a toad.

k, a raccoon. The bands of color are indicated in the drawing.

l, a porcupine. Resembles some forms of the sacred bear manido as the latter is sometimes drawn.

m, the crane. The three round spots over the head represent three songs sung by the midē' to the crane manido.

n, the thunder-bird or eagle, having four heads. This character appears to be unique, as it has at no time been noticed upon any of the numerous midē' records in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology.

o, the character represents a man using the rattle, as in the ceremony of incantation. The projections above the head denote his superior powers.

p, a midē', holding in his right hand a bear’s paw medicine bag, and in his left hand an arrow. The character resembles similar drawings to denote vessels in which herbs are boiled and from the top of which vapor is issuing.

q, a midē' medicine sack. The character appears like similar drawings of the otter; in the present instance, however, the ornamentation upon the skin shows it to be not a living animal.

r, a beaver’s tail, from Schoolcraft (y). Many other illustrations of this general nature are given by Mr. Schoolcraft, nearly all colored according to his fancy.

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