Drs. Houzé and Jacques (a) give a different view of the significance of the marks on message sticks:
It proves very difficult to discover the signification of the notched message sticks. The Europeans have not succeeded in deciphering them. Some marks may represent a whole history. The following anecdote on this subject is reported by M. Cauvin (according to J. M. Davis, Aborigines of Victoria, v. I, p. 356, note): A European, having formed the project of establishing a new station, started from Edward river with a herd of cattle and some Indians. When, all being arranged, the colonist was on the point of returning home, one of the young blacks requested him to take a letter to his father, and, on the consent of his patron, he gave him a stick about a foot long covered with notches and signs. On arriving home the colonist went to the camp of the blacks and delivered the letter to the father of his young follower, who, calling around him the whole encampment, to the great surprise of the European, read from this stick a daily account of the doings of the company from the departure from Edward river until the arrival at the new station, describing the country which they had traversed and the places where they had camped each night.
The Queenslanders did not give Drs. Houzé and Jacques such a long translation of their message sticks, but they informed them that one of the sticks related to the crossing from Australia into America, which is recounted by Tambo, the author of the message. An illustration of it is presented on p. 93 of the above cited work of Houzé and Jacques, but is not sufficiently distinct for reproduction.
WEST AFRICAN AROKO.
Fig. 478.—West African aroko.
G. W. Bloxam (b) says of the aroko, or symbolic letters, used by the tribe of Jebu, in West Africa, describing Fig. 478:
This is a message from a native general of the Jebu force to a native prince abroad. It consists of six cowries. Six in the Jebu language is E-fà, which is derived from the verb fà, to draw. They are arranged two and two, face to face, on a long string; the pairs of cowries set face to face indicate friendly feeling and good fellowship; the number expresses a desire to draw close to the person to whom the message is sent [note the rebus]; while the long string indicates considerable distance or a long road. This is the message: “Although the road between us be very long, yet I draw you to myself and set my face towards you. So I desire you to set your face towards me and draw to me.”
On p. 298 he adds:
Among the Jebu in West Africa odd numbers in their message are of evil import, while even numbers express good will. Thus a single cowrie may be sent as an unfavorable answer to a request or message.