A party of Hidatsa who may be away from home for any purpose whatever often appoint a rendezvous, from which point they return to their respective lodges. Should one of the party return to the rendezvous before any others and wish to make a special trip, he will, for the information of the others, place a stick of about 3 or 4 feet in length in the ground, upon the upper end of which a notch is cut, or perhaps a split made for the reception of a thinner piece of twig or branch having a length of about a foot. This horizontal top piece is inserted at one end, so that the whole may point in the direction to be taken. Should he wish to say that the trail would turn at a right angle, to either side, at about half the distance of the whole journey in prospect, the horizontal branch is either bent in that direction or a naturally curved branch is selected having the turn at the middle of its entire length, thus corresponding to the turn in the trail. Any direction can be indicated by curves in the top branch.
No prescribed system of characters is used at the present time by the Ojibwa, in the indication of direction or travel. When anyone leaves camp or home for any particular hunting or berry ground, a concerted arrangement is made by which only those interested can, with any certainty, recognize “blaze” or trail marks.
Fig. 447.—Ojibwa notice of direction.
Three characters cut upon the bark of large pine trees observed in the forest near Red Lake, Minnesota, are shown in Fig. 447. The Ojibwa using such a mark will continue on a trail leading from his home, until he leaves the trail, when a conspicuous tree, or in its absence a piece of wood or bark, is selected upon which a human figure is cut, with one arm elevated and pointing in the direction to be taken. These figures measure about 18 inches in height. Those represented on the two sides of the copy were cut into the bark of a “jack pine” without coloration, and the one in the middle had been rubbed with red chalk upon the wood of the trunk after the bark had been removed and the incision made. The middle figure indicates the direction by its bearings, although the pointers are differently arranged.
Plain sticks are sometimes used by the Ojibwa to indicate direction. These vary in length according to the fancy of the person and the requirements of the case. They are stuck into the ground, and lean in the direction to which notice is invited.
When a preconcerted arrangement is made, scrolls of birch bark are used, upon which important geographic features are delineated, so that the reader can, with little difficulty, learn the course taken by the traveler. For instance, a hunter upon leaving his home, deposits there a scroll bearing marks such as appear in Fig. 448:
Fig. 448.—Ojibwa notice of direction.