The fourth was to inter them and to tread well the earth upon their graves, in order that nothing should ever come forth from their tombs which could grieve their friends and cause the spirit of revenge to arise in their minds.
The fifth was to serve as a wrapping to pack up the arms which were henceforth not to be touched.
The sixth was to cleanse the river, soiled with so much blood.
The last, to exhort the Hurons to agree to what Onontio, the great captain of the French, should decide upon touching the peace.
As a rule there was no intrinsic significance in a wampum belt, or collar, as the French sometimes called it. It was not understood except by the memory of those to whom and by whom it was delivered. This is well expressed in a dialogue reported by Capt. de Lamothe Cadillac (_a_) in 1703:
[Council of Hurons at Fort Ponchartrain, June 3, 1703.]
QUARANTE-SOLS. I come on my way to tell you what I propose to do at Montreal. Here is a collar which has been sent to us by the Iroquois, and which the Ottawas have brought to us; we do not know what it signifies.
M. de LAMOTHE. How have you received this collar without knowing the purpose for which it was sent you?
QUARANTE-SOLS. It has already been long since we received it. I was not there, and our old men have forgotten what it said.
M. de LAMOTHE. Your old men are not regarded as children to have such a short memory.
QUARANTE-SOLS. We do not accept this collar; but we are going to take it to Sonnontouan [the Seneca town] to find out what it means; because it is a serious matter not to respond to a collar; it is the custom among us. The Ottawas can tell you what it is, because our people have forgotten it.
M. de LAMOTHE. The Ottawas will reply that having received it you should remember it, but since this collar is dumb and has lost its speech I am obliged to be silent myself.
In the Diary of the Siege of Detroit (_a_) it is narrated that after receiving a belt of wampum from the commanding officer the Pottawatomi chief called it the officer’s “mouth,” and said that those to whom it was sent would believe it when “they saw his mouth.”
But wampum designs, besides being mere credentials, and thus like the Australian message sticks, and also mnemonic, became, to some extent, conventional. The predominance of white beads indicated peace, and purple or violet meant war.