5OA PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
Lewis and Clarke (b) say that the Chilluckittequaw, a Chinook tribe, 
had a “medicine” bag colored red 2 feet long, suspended in the middle 
of the lodge. It was held sacred, containing pounded dirt, roots, and 
such mysterious objects. From the chief’s bag he brought out fourteen 
forefingers of enemies—Snakes—whom he had killed. 
A remarkable drawing in an Australian cave, described by Sir George 
Grey, in Worsnop, op. cit., was an ellipse, 3 feet in length and 1 foot 
10 inches in breadth. The outside line of the painting was of deep 
blue color, the body of the ellipse being of a bright yellow dotted over 
with red lines and spots, whilst across it ran two transverse lines of 
blue. The portion of the painting abo, e described formed the ground, 
or main part of the picture, and upon this ground was painted a kan- 
garoo in the act of feeding; two stone spear heads, and two black 
balls; one of the spear heads was flying to the kangaroo, and one away 
Fic. 712.—Hunter’s charm. Australia. 
from it; so that the whole subject probably constituted a sort of charm 
by which the luck of an inquirer in killing game can be ascertained. 
This cave drawing is copied in Fig. 712. 
George Turner (c) gives account of hieroglyphic taboos, as he calls 
them, which are connected with the present subject: 
The sea-pike taboo, Ifa man wished that a sea-pike might run into the body of 
the person who attempted to steal, say, his bread fruits, he would plait some cocoa- 
nut leaflets in the form of a sea-pike, and suspend it from one or more of the trees 
which he wished to protect. ¢ 
The white-shark taboo was another object of terror to a thief. This was done by 
plaiting a cocoanut leaf in the form of a shark, adding fins, ete., and this they 
suspended from the tree. It was tantamount to an expressed imprecation, that the 
thief might be devoured by the white shark the next time he went to fish. 
The cross-stick taboo. This was a piece of any sort of stick suspended horizontaily 
