Chapter XL: Section 7: Appointment

Le Page Du Pratz (_b_) says in describing the council of conspiracy which resulted in the Natchez war of 1729:

An aged councillor advised that after all the nations had been
informed of the necessity of taking this violent action, each one
should receive a bundle of sticks, all containing an equal number,
and which were to mark the number of days to pass before that on
which they were all to strike at once; that in order to guard
against any mistake it would be necessary to take care to extract
one stick every day and to break it and throw it away; a man of
wisdom should be charged with this duty. All the old men approved of
his advice and it was adopted.

Père Nicholas Perrot (_a_) says:

Celui qui, chez les Hurons, prenait la parole en cette
circonstance, recevait un petit faisceau de pailles d’pied de long
qui luy servoient comme de jetons, pour supputer les nombres et
pour ayder la mémoire des assistans, les distribuant en divers
lots, suyvant la diversité des choses. Dans l’Amérique du Sud, les
Galibis de la rivière d’Amacourou et de l’Orénoque usaient du même
procédé mnémotechnique, mais perfectionné. Le capitaine [Galibis] et
moy, écrit le P. la Pierre (Voyage en terre-ferme et à la coste de
Paria, p. 15 du Ms. orig.), eusmes un grand discours ... luy ayant
demandé ce qu’il alloit faire à Barime, il me respondit qu’il alloit
avertir tous les capitaines des aultres rivières, du jour qu’il en
faudroit sortir pour aller donner l’attaque à leurs ennemis. Et,
pour me faire comprendre la façon dont il s’y prenoit il me montra
vingt petites buches liées ensemble qui se plient à la façon d’un
rouleau. Les six premières estoient d’une couleur particulière;
elles signifioent que, les six premiers jours, il falloit préparer
du magnot [manioc] pour faire vivres. Les quatre suivantes estoient
d’une aultre couleur pour marque qu’il falloit avertir les hommes.
Les six d’aultre couleur et ainsi du reste, marquant par leur
petites buches, faites en façon de paille, l’ordre que chaque
capitaine doit faire observer à ses gens pour estre prest tous en
mesme temps. La sortie devroit se faire dans vingt jours; car il n’y
avoit que cest [vingt] petites buches.

Im Thurn (_e_) tells of the Indians of Guiana as follows:

When a paiwari feast is to be held, invitations are sent to
the people of all neighboring settlements inhabited by Indians of
the same tribe as the givers of the feast. The latter prepare a
number of strings, each of which is knotted as many times as there
are days before the feast day. One of these strings is kept by the
headman of the settlement where the feast is to be held; the others
are distributed, one to the headman of each of the settlements from
which guests are expected. Every day one of the knots, on each of
the strings, is untied, and when the last has been untied guests and
hosts know that the feast day has come.

Sometimes, instead of knots on a string, notches on a piece
of wood are used. This system of knot-tying, the quippoo system
of the Peruvians, which occurs in nearly identical form in all
parts of the world, is not only used as in the above instance
for calendar-keeping, but also to record items of any sort; for
instance, if one Indian owes another a certain number of balls
of cotton or other articles, debtor and creditor each has a
corresponding string or stick, with knots or notches to the number
of the owed article, and one or more of these is oblitered each time
a payment is made until the debt is wiped out.

Darius (Herodot. IV, 98) did something of the kind when he took a thong and, tying sixty knots in it, gave it to the Ionian chiefs, that they might untie a knot every day and go back to their own land if he had not returned when all the knots were undone.

Champlain (_a_) describes a mode of preparation for battle among the Canadian Algonquins which partook of the nature of a military drill as well as of an appointment of rank and order. It is in its essentials mnemonic. He describes it as follows:

Les chefs prennent des bâtons de la longueur d’un pied autant
en nombre qu’ils sont et signalent par d’autres un peu plus grands,
leurs chefs; puis vont dans le bois et esplanadent une place de
cinq ou six pieds en quarré où le chef comme Sergent Major, met
par ordre tous ces bâtons comme bon luy semble; puis appelle tous
ses compagnons, qui viennent tous armez, et leur monstre le rang
et ordre qu’ils deuvont tenir lors qu’ils se battront avec leurs
ennemis.

The author adds detail with regard to alignment, breaking ranks, and resumption of array.