Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-05-16
SIGNALS OF SAyAGEESS.
HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH
EACH OTHER eY SIGNS

The Esqulmaux Long Distance TslEs--Mes-
sages in Blocks OF suow-sisnals OF
American Indians Almost PorEsOt--Power
OF Little Glass.
With two Esquimaux hunters was once
standing upoh the top OF rocky hill, about
two days journey inland from the north
shore Of Hudson's bay. We had been looking
for reindeer, but had seen none heard the
faint sound of q human voice borne upon the
stiff wind that was blowing from the north
ward. / called the attention of my compan-
ions to this sound, and, brushing their long
black locks from over their ears, they threw
themselves down in the lee of great rock
and listened. They, too, heard the voice,
and said the person calling was 80 far OFF
that they could not understand what he said.
In the meantime | swept the crest of range
Of hills In the direction of the voice with my
field glass, and finally made out tho figure OF
some one who was waving what looked like q
huge piece of cloth. / passed the glass to
Sebeeucktalee, one of my guides, and he at
once recognized hunter named Aluktay,
and said he signaled us to come over where
he was; that there we're reindeer there.
THE EsQUIMAUx CODE.
The following day went out to hunt with
Aluktay. During that day he explained to
me the Esquimaux signal code. l found it
very interesting at the time, and later on its
usefulness was demonstrated almost daily
during my residence with these people. AUX
tay described to me that when an Esquimau
wished to talk with those at distance he
would take a position ON an eminence where
his body could be plainly seen against the
sky or snow covered hillside. With his
body placed so as to directly face those with
whom he wishes to communicate, he extends
his right arm and moves it up and down like
"A puGip handle. This signal means Come
here" When SO far away that the motion OF
the arm conld not be distinctly seen he
would take OF his coat, and, using that as a
dag, make the same motion, which would
thus be more conspicuous. 1t was with his
coat that he made the signal when commune
eating with US the previous day. II after this
he moved his left arm or the coat in similar
manner but on the left side, he meant
Bring dogs" Then, by pointing both arms
nearly straight up from the shoulder, as a
rude symbol of the antlers Of q reindeer, he
woulI indicate that he had killed reindeer,
anu llo uulADGI Vi bltiteS ZIG uTDlS were
aisel would denote the number killed, so that
lis friends would know how many dogs to
ring. The reply to the message is made by
The receiver turning his right side toward the
ender and bending his body forward, making
; right angle at the waist, which would mean
Yes" in the opposite direction would mean
No" or that there was no one to send, or
hat there were no dogs around.
Once, wien on a siedge journey from Mar
Die island, Hudson's bay, to Depot island,
sbout $50 miles to the north, was three or
cur days behind Lieut. Schwatka, who was
n charge Of another party of our native
Allies One day we came upon four blocks of
now placed upon each other so as to make
side pillar, and upon this were set the bead
and antlers of a reindeer. This was inter-
pretod by my guides as show wing that Too
looah, Schwatlla's hunter, had killed four
reindeer there three days before. The num-
per of blocks indicated the number killed,
and the number of days was apparent to my
people by the condition of the snow. They
knew 1t was Toolooah by the way tho blocks
were cut could have learned very easily
aow to read the symbol that four reindeer
had been killed by somebody, but it would
take vast amount of experience to know by
whom and the time that had elapsed. These
savages can tell Enthusiastically, and SO, too,
do they know from the condition as to the
frost the length of time the snow has been
cut. By touching the tracks of people or
wild animals they can tell when they passed
that way almost to an hour il the tracks have
been made within day or two.
INDIAN SIGNALS.
The Indians of the great western plains
nave now system hardly exceeded In eff
cheney by the military code Of the civilized
world. For many years their only means Of
communicating at a distance was by signal
fires upon the hilltops at night and by col
umns of smoke during the day. They have a
method not well known to those outside the
native tribes, of covering fire until Suffi-
eient quantity of smoke has been accumu-
lated, when 1t will suddenly burst forth into
a column of thick, heavy smoke that cannot
fail to attract attention even at a great dis
lance. These signal fires and smoke signals
are still in use among them, but they have
besides q code of signals that Is telegraphed
from point TO point by sun flashes made with
n small mirror. Their code is not known be-
yond their own ranks, further than that it Is
not a system of Words but that certain
flashes of longer or shorter duration, or that
vibrations intermingled with steady rays,
signify conditions or events that it was pre-.
viously arranged thay should indicate, The
Indian Photograph is the small, round mirror
In a metal case which has always been an ar
tcle of trade with savages all over the world.
Every Indian hunter OF warrior wears one
If these little mirrors suspended from string
around his neck, and its use is constant with
him. An officer of the army who recently
was acting as commssary Of subsistence ON
an Apache reservation told me that on one
occasion the stock cattle for issue to the Indi-
ans arrived Unexpectedly, when he supposed
hat there were not more than ten Indians
within twenty miles of the spot, except those
around headquarters These at once put their
little photographs to use, and responses were
Immediately flashed from the neighboring
hilltops and repeated to those beyond. The
result was that within three hours there were
more than ., $50 Indians at the point Of issue,
and others were still coming in hot haste
from every direction across the plains, Cor.
Cosmopolitan.