414 INDIANS. 



On long journeys to a definite point his sole reliance 

 is on his memory of 'landmarks.' Similar and mono- 

 tonous as the hillocks and valleys of the plains appear to 

 the uneducated eye, each has its own distinctive features 

 to him, which, once seen, he knows for ever after as 

 quickly and well as the farmer knows the distinctive 

 marks of the cattle which he feeds day after day. When 

 going into a country unknown to him, he consults before- 

 hand with some warrior who has visited it, and it is 

 astonishing how clearly the one describes and the other 

 comprehends all that is necessary for a successful journey. 



Espinosa told me that when he was a boy among the 

 Comanches, and the youngsters wished to go on a raid 

 into a country unknown to them, it was customary for 

 some of the older men to assemble the boys a day or two 

 before the start for instruction. All being seated in a 

 circle, a bundle of sticks is produced, marked with 

 notches to represent the days. Commencing with No. 1, 

 the stick with one notch, each is taken in succession. A 

 rude map is drawn on the ground with finger or piece of 

 wood illustrating the journey of the day represented by 

 the notched stick. The larger rivers and streams are indi- 

 cated, the hills, valleys, ravines, hidden water holes in dry 

 countries, every natural object, peculiar or striking. When 

 this was understood, the stick representing the next day's 

 march was illustrated in the same way, and so on to the end. 

 He further stated that he had known one party of young 

 men and boys, the oldest not over nineteen, and none of 

 whom had ever been into Mexico, to start from the main 

 camp on Brady's Creek in Texas, and make a raid as far 

 into Mexico as the City of Monterey, solely by memory 

 of information fixed in their minds and represented by 

 such sticks. However improbable this may seem, it is 

 not more improbable than any other explanation that 

 could be given of the wonderful journeys made by 

 Indians into countries utterly unknown to them. 



A party exploring a country unknown to it, or to 



