0056

Outina's Order of March

When Saturiba went to war, his men followed him in whatever order they happened to be. But his enemy Holata Outina (the name means "King of Many Kings"), who was more powerful, both in the number of his men and in wealth, than Saturiba, marched his forces in regular ranks like an organized army.

Outina was painted red, and he walked alone in solitary grandeur in the middle of his warriors. On the flanks of his force were his young men, wearing red war paint; the swifter of the acted as advance guards and scouts. They followed their enemies by scent, as dogs follow wild beasts, and when they found them they immediately returned to the main force with their reports. Instead of using trumpets and drums to give orders, as we do in our armies, they have heralds who direct them by cries when to halt, advance, attack, or perform some other military duty.

They never fight after sunset, but make camp in squads of ten each. When the chief has chosen the camping place, and after he has eaten and gone to rest for the night, the quartermasters post ten squads in a circle around him, containing the bravest men. Ten paces outside this circle they place another line of twenty squads, twenty paces farther another line of forty squads, and so on, the number and distance of these lines increasing according to the size of the army.

Monday, 15-May-95 14:17:42 PDT