Part 7

If a party of boys are out for a hike over roads which are not well known, and there are stragglers, the leader may indicate the trail by Indian signs. At the cross-roads he may tie a bunch of grass to a low branch on the right side of the road he takes. If he leaves the path entirely, he must stick up a rod with a knot of grass tied to the top, bending it in the right direction. If at any point he desires to return and meet the others, he breaks two opposite twigs toward one another, as a sign in case he misses them. If he wishes his party to camp there, he draws a circle on the ground. This system is used a great deal by the Indians when two or three families are roving together in the deep woods, hunting or trapping game. When there is only one family, and they are within the danger-line from tribal enemies, the hunter uses a concealed blaze for his wife to follow, and he may adopt a special code whose meaning is known to no one but the two. When he wishes to be particularly obscure, he makes his blaze inside a group of trees. It is a right-angled gash pointing straight to the next blaze.

I remember that I was once instructed to follow a hunter's trail, together with several other boys. We were in the country of the Crees, who were at war with us; but game was abundant, and there was no better location, therefore our hunters took extra chances of danger. However, every precaution was observed.

One of our men had killed a moose late in the afternoon, and on the next morning we boys were instructed to find it and bring home the meat. The first blaze was perhaps half a mile from our camp, on the inside of one of four large birch trees. Above the blaze were two hacks, and above this the mark of an arrow-head. This meant to follow the blaze two hundred paces in the direction of the arrow, and then search for another mark. The next arrow pointed diagonally toward the lake, and two hundred paces further we came out upon the lake shore. We followed the shore to a conspicuous tree, upon the bark of which we discovered a small blaze and the figure of an animal. About fifty paces from this last blaze, we found the moose.

In a prairie country, where there are no trees, stones are piled upon the hills or buttes in a manner to give information to those who come after. Many of these large boulders or cone-shaped heaps of stones were discovered in the prairie states when settlement was made, and some well-known ones have been preserved for many years as historic landmarks.

We Indians never stand boldly out upon a hilltop without having first lain flat and surveyed the country from a concealed position to see that no danger is in sight. We then place the stones so as to convey intelligence to our friends. One is placed with the apex pointing in the direction in which the traveler is going, and several more behind the main pile show from whence he came. If he has seen signs of the enemy, he places two small stones on either side of the central stone. If he cannot go further, he puts these in front of the central one, meaning an obstacle in the path, or reverses the three on the opposite side, meaning that he will return. An old stone pile may be used again and again by slightly displacing the stones. This is the prairie "blazed trail."

XII--INDIAN SIGNALS IN CAMP AND FIELD

In the early and free life of the North American Indian, he was constantly in motion, the various bands of each tribe covering a large area during the year. The hunters, travelers, and war-parties of these widely scattered bands had their well-known codes of signals in the field and on the trail, by means of which it was possible to communicate from a distance. The methods in common use were the smoke, mirror, and blanket signals, all of which could be more readily practiced by the Plains Indians than by those of the woods, for obvious reasons.

There are three distinct kinds of intelligence given in this manner, which may be thus described: First, warning of danger; second, sighting of game; third, general news of importance from another tribe or village. Any person who happens to be in the field and discovers the approach of danger must instantly signal a warning by any means in his power. If he is in full view of the camp or of the individual whom he desires to reach, the blanket method is used.

A blanket or other article of clothing tightly rolled and held with outstretched arms so as to form, with the body, a cross or a capital T, is the primary danger-signal. If the person signaling runs to and fro, it means that the danger is approaching, and if, in addition to these, the blanket is thrown horizontally, it is a call for rescue or signal of immediate distress.

When game is sighted, the game scout runs to and fro; that means a small herd of game, especially buffalo. If he runs in a circle, tossing up his blanket, it denotes a large herd. If he runs back and forth with blanket trailing behind, it indicates bad news. The blanket held straight above the head signifies important tidings from a distance.

Since the mirror came into use among us, each warrior carries with him a small round reflector. With this it is easy to flash a signal into the camp or toward the surrounding hills, upon which it is customary to keep a continual lookout. One long flash is the signal for attention, and as soon as it is answered, you may give the message to be transmitted. One short flash means that game is in sight. Two short flashes means the enemy is in sight. Two short flashes followed by one long one is a call for rescue. Two short flashes and one long followed by two more short flashes means the danger is over. Four short flashes signifies a meeting with a stranger or news from a distance.

The smoke signal is resorted to when no other could be employed, on account of distance or obstacles in the way, such as hills or forest. As this is a long-distance signal, the codes vary among different tribes, so that the intelligence conveyed may not be of equal advantage to the foe. Among the Sioux, it was often used by war-parties, announcing their return and giving news of success or failure; the number of scalps or horses taken might also be indicated.

To make this signal, you must build a brisk fire upon some convenient knoll, and as soon as it is burning freely, smother it with coarse green grass, also heap earth around it so that the smoke may be dense and closely confined. When it has burned long enough to gain attention, check the smoke for an instant by holding a blanket over the fire and then withdrawing it, causing a succession of short puffs, with intervals between. To avoid confusion, it will be well to adopt the code given above for mirror flashes. At night, a signal fire is sometimes kindled. Since fire is not always easy to control single-handed, the Indian is careful to turn up the earth before he builds his fire, and to have an abundance of green grass at hand, not only to produce a sufficient volume of smoke, but to put the fire out if necessary.

The drum is used for home communications. When four measured blows are struck, followed by many short ones, it is a call to the council. If every warrior is not present at the second signal, given a few minutes after the first, the Indian "soldiers" or police will come after the absentees. At all dances, the drum is used to call the dancers together, the third call being accompanied by yelps and the fourth by a real burst of war-whoops. There is a curious variation in the call to the scalp dance, which is something like skipping a stone on new ice. It begins in slow time, with each successive beat shorter, and ending in a mere roll.

There are also many signal calls executed by the voice alone, such as the call to war, the journey and hunting halloos, the good deed calls, and other yodels or musical shouts which are very effective and may be heard at a considerable distance.

XIII--AN INDIAN BOY'S SPORTS

Games with arrows are the most popular Indian sports. If you are camping in the woods, you may like to play the "Tree Game."

About a dozen blunt or knob-headed arrows are shot up into the branches of a large, wide-spreading tree, in such a manner that they are all caught and hang there in many different positions. Then, at a given signal, the boys begin to shoot them down. Every arrow that a boy brings down is his; each one of his own that gets lodged becomes a "prize arrow" for the others to shoot at. Now and then an arrow hugs the limb so closely that it can hardly be seen; eventually all the boys aim at this one, and if they are so unlucky as to lose their own arrows without bringing it down, the "tree wins."

Wand games are very simple and are played by the younger boys. The wands are from four to six feet long and as big round as a man's little finger. They are merely peeled switches of any kind of shrub, usually the common red willow. To decorate in Indian fashion, you must take off with a sharp knife a long strip of bark; then, having scraped off all the rest, wind your ribbon of bark spirally round the peeled wand. After fastening each end securely, hold it over a smudge fire until it is well smoked. Then remove the strip and you will find a spiral of white against the deep yellow of the uncovered wood. Sometimes two strips are wound in opposite directions, leaving yellow diamonds bordered with white.

The wand is pitched and made to strike at the start upon an inclined mound or a low horizontal bar, from which it should bound with much force and sail through the air like an arrow, sometimes as far as fifty yards. A simple way to give it momentum is to raise the left foot as high as the right knee, rest the side of the wand against the left instep and propel it vigorously.

From two to a dozen boys choose sides. The side winning the toss sends the first wand, and the other side follows, each boy playing in turn for as long as they fail to pass the first. When they succeed in passing it, the first party tries again, and the game continues until one side has spent all its wands, which are gathered up by the winners. Enthusiastic partisans indulge in cheering, dancing and singing to encourage their friends and confuse and dishearten the opposite party, but are not allowed to interfere in any way with the players.

Wand games are played properly in the summer-time; their winter substitutes are the "snow-snake" and "ground arrow." The former is used only on fresh snow. It is a flat stick five feet long and about an inch and a half wide at the widest point, gradually tapering to half that width at the "tail" end. The head and neck curve slightly upward and are painted to look as much like those of a snake as possible; the body of the wand is polished and hardened by fire. The Indian boy hurls this mimic serpent into the loose, light snow, where it disappears, to appear again some distance off; again it dives beneath the surface only to come up again, somewhat like skipping a stone on water. The winner is he who can make it travel farthest.

Ground arrows are of two kinds. One kind, called "mechá," is made of the short ribs of buffalo or beef cattle. The rib is cut off four inches from the free end, and two small holes bored, into which sticks, the size of a lead-pencil and about a foot in length, are tightly inserted. The end of each is feathered like an arrow, and they spread out so that the feathered shafts are perhaps nine inches apart. The whole looks much like the white boy's shuttlecock.

This "mechá" is grasped firmly between the projecting shafts, and thrown against a little mound the size of a pillow, made of snow dampened and packed solidly. From this it rebounds, sails off like a bird, strikes the hard crust to bound up again and again, and finally crawls along like a wounded animal. The goal, which is called the "blanket goal," is an oblong about six by ten paces in size, drawn on the snow at some fifty yards' distance. Lengthwise of this oblong are drawn six lines, with seven spaces between. The outer spaces count two, the next four, the next eight, and the center space counts sixteen, if your "mechá" hits it in one throw. Any number may play the game.

The other kind of ground arrow, called "matká," is shaped like an arrow. It is made of hard wood in one piece, and is about two feet long with a cone-shaped head, burnt and polished to look like horn. The shaft must be limber, and carries a small tuft of feathers to guide it in its flight. Another arrow shows an attached head of elk or buffalo horn, which is better than wood.

The boys throw this in the same manner as the "mechá," but the course is laid out more elaborately, with obstacles, such as ravines and small hillocks, and a series of five rings each ten feet in diameter, composed of five concentric circles with a "bull's-eye" in the center. Beside each ring there is a snow mound from which to propel the arrow.

The game is in some ways like golf, and may be played individually or by sides, each player having two strokes in which to reach the next ring, the first a distance throw and the second a push or shove in the direction of the ring. The outer circle counts one, and each inner circle doubles the count, the bull's-eye counting thirty-two. All the players play in turn, starting from the snow mound nearest the ring where their arrows lie at the beginning of each round. The score is added at the close of the game, the boy or team with the highest number of points being the winner.

This is perhaps the most popular and exciting winter sport for Indian boys ten years of age and upward. Sometimes they send the arrow flying a hundred yards before touching the ground, and half as far again at the first rebound, after which it continues for several shorter flights. The rings are two hundred to three hundred yards apart for young men, or half that distance for small boys; the game may be played on snow-covered lakes or rivers as well as in the open country.