No. 1, painted on a rock on the shore of Lake Superior, records an expedition across the lake, in which five canoes took part. The upright strokes in each indicate the number of the crew, and the bird represents a chief, The Kingfisher. The three circles (suns) under the arch (of heaven) indicate that the voyage lasted three days, and the tortoise, a symbol of land, denotes a safe arrival. No. 2 is a petition sent to the United States Congress by a group of Indian tribes, asking for fishing rights in certain small lakes. The tribes are represented by their totems, martens, bear, man and catfish, led by the crane. Lines running from the heart and eye of each animal to the heart and eye of the crane denote that they are all of one mind; and a line runs from the eye of the crane to the lakes, shown in the crude little «map» in the lower left-hand corner.

DescriptionWells american indian picture writing.png	Specimens of American Indian picture-writing (after Schoolcraft)
Date	1920
Source	Wells, H. G. (1920). The Outline of History. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc..
Author	H. G. Wells
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