354 



COUP cow CREEK 



[b. a. e. 



usually reversed, the thumb being coun- 

 ted 6, the forefinger 7, and so on to the 

 little finger, which would be 10. The 

 movement was therefore sinistral. Al- 

 though the order in counting the first 

 5 on the left hand was in most cases as 

 given above, the order of counting the 

 second 5 was su)>ject to greater variation. 

 It was a common habit to Ijend the fin- 

 gers inward as counted, l)ut there were 

 several western tri))es whose custom was 

 to begin with the clenched hand, opening 

 the fingers as the count proceeded, as 

 among the Zuiii. Among the tribes using 

 the vigesimal system, the count of the 

 second 10 was practically or theoretically 

 performed on the feet, the 20 making the 

 "complete man," and often, as among 

 the Eskimo and Tlingit, receiving names 

 having reference to the feet. The Zuni, 

 however, counted the second 10 back on 

 the knuckles. 



Indians often made use of numeral 

 classifiers in counting, that is, the num- 

 ber name was modified according to the 

 articles counted; thus, in the Takulli dia- 

 lect of Athapascan th<i means 3 things; 

 thane, 3 persons; that, 3 times; tJtatseu, in 

 3 places; thauh, in 3 ways; thailtoli, all 3 

 things, etc. Such classifiers are found in 

 many dialects, and in some are quite 

 numerous. 



Certain numbers have been held as 

 sacred by most tribes; thus 4, probably 

 owing to the frequent reference to the 

 cardinal points in ceremonies and reli- 

 gious acts, has become sacred or cere- 

 monial. Among the Creeks, Cherokee, 

 Zuni, and most of the Plains tribes, 7 is 

 also considered a sacred number. For 

 the Zuiii, Cushing says it refers to the 4 

 cardinal points plus the zenith, nadir, 

 and center or ego. Some of the Pacific 

 coast Indians regard 5 as their sacred 

 numlier. Although 13 appears in most of 

 the calendar and ceremonial counts of the 

 cultured nations of Mexico and Central 

 America, its use as a sacred or ceremonial 

 number among the Indians N. of Mexico 

 was rare, the Pawnee, Hopi, and Zuiii 

 being notable exceptions. 



Consult Brinton, Origin of Sacred Num- 

 bers, Am. Anthrop., 1894; Conant, Num- 

 ber Concept, 1896; Cushing, Manual Con- 

 cepts, Am. Anthrop., 1892; Hayden, Eth- 

 nog. and Philol. Mo. Val., 1862; McGee, 

 Primitive Numbers, 19th Rep. B. A. E., 

 1900; Thomas, Numeral Systems of Mex- 

 ico and Central America, il)id. ; Trumbull, 

 Numerals in American Indian Languages, 

 Tran«. Am. Philol. Ass'n, 1874; Wilson, 

 Indian Numerals, Canad. Ind., i, 272, 

 1891. (c. T.) 



Coup ('blow,' 'stroke'). The French- 

 Canadian term adopted to designate 

 the formal token or signal of victory in 

 battle, as used among the Plains tribes. 



Coups are usually "counted," as it was 

 termed — that is, credit of victory was 

 taken, for three bravedeeds, viz, killing an 

 enemy, scalping an enemy, or being first 

 to strike an enemy either alive or dead. 

 Each one of these entitled a man to rank 

 as a warrior and to recount the exi)loit in 

 pul)lic; but to be first to touch the enemy 

 was regarded as the bravest deed of all, 

 as it implied close approach during battle. 

 Among the Cheyenne it was even a point 

 of bravado for a single warrior to rush in 

 among the enemy and strike one with 

 quirt or gun before attempting to fire, 

 thus doubly risking his own life. Three 

 different coups might thus be counted by 

 as many different jjersons upon the body 

 of the same enemy, and in a few tribes 4 

 were allowed. The stealing of a horse 

 from a hostile camp also carried the right 

 to count coup. The stroke (coup) might 

 be made with whatever was most conven- 

 ient, even with the naked hand, the 

 simi)le touch scoring the victory. In 

 ceremonial parades and functions an orna- 

 mented cpiirt or rod was sometimes car- 

 ried and used as a coup stick. The war- 

 rior who could strike a tipi of the enemy 

 in a charge upon a home camp thus 

 counted coup upon it and was entitled 

 to reproduce its particular design upon 

 the next new tipi which he made for his 

 own use and to perpetuate the pattern in 

 his family. In this way he was said to 

 "capture" the tipi. Warriors who had 

 made coupsof distinguished bravery, such 

 as striking an enemy within his own tipi 

 or behind a breastwork, were selected to 

 preside over the dedication of a new tipi. 

 The noted Sioux chief Red Cloud stated 

 in 1891 that he had counted coup 80 

 times. See War and War discijdine. 



(.1. M.) 



Coups de Fleches. An unidentified tribe 

 mentioned as on the Texas border in con- 

 nection with Tawakoni, Anadarko, Hai- 

 nai, Tonkawa, etc., early in the 19th 

 century. — Robin, Voy. Louisiana, in, 5, 

 1807. 



Cous. See Kouse. 



Couth. A Karok rancheriaon Klamath 

 r., Cal., in 1856. — Taylor in Cal. Farmer, 

 Mar. 23, 1860. 



Couthaougoula ( ' lake people ' ) . One of 

 the 7 villages or tribes fonning the Taensa 

 confederacy in 1699. — Iberville in Margry, 

 Dec, IV, 179, 1880. 



Cowate. A village of Praying Indians, 

 in 1677, at the falls of Charles r., Middle- 

 sex CO., Mass. — Gookin (1677) in Drake, 

 Bk. Inds., bk. 2, 115, 1848. 



Cow Creek. A Seminole settlement of 

 12 inhal>itants in 1880, on a stream run- 

 ning southward, at a point about 15 m. 

 X. E. of the entrance of Kissimmee r. into 

 L. Okeechobee, Brevard co., Fla. — Mac- 

 Cauley in 5th Rep. B. A. E., 478, 1887. 



