The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-02
TALKING BY s11NS
natural Language IN Use by Sioux
and Other Indians,


Julian Ralph in Hdrper's Yostno PeopEe.
Make letter A with your hands and lock
the ends OF your fingers: that is a tepee, or
tent. Keep your hand In tina: position and
bend them down SO that your fingers point
away from you: that's house, and very
good one too, because 1t shows how the logs
are inseriocked at the corners of the sort OF
houses one sees on the frontier. II YOU want
70 say you saw something point to your
eyes. To say you heard something, point to
your ears. To say you slept, or are sleepy,
put up one hand, with the palm side toward
your head ana bend your head as if Won
were going to lay it on that hand.
10 say that you saw some
one who was beautiful put
your face between the thumb and fingers of
one hand, and draw your hand softly down
| from your forehead to your chin. A faint
snirk or smile made at the same time
greatly helps this sign. If the beauty YOU
tell about was woman, make believe take
Mold OF mass OF hair on the right side of
| your head and follow it down past the
| shoulder with your hand, as you see the
women do when they dress their hair,
theSe signs Tor seeing, hearing, sleep,
beauty, and woman are exactly the same as
those used by George L. Fox, the famous
clown, when he played Humpty Dumpty.
l have no doubt that Grimaldi. the great
English clown, also used them, for they are
the natural motions for expressing those
terms
Did you ever notice how the DAVIS of
stnaii animals are ourled in when they are
deadt That is the sign for 'hdied" or dead. -
Hold one hand out with the fingers bent to-
ward the thumb to make the sign But If
you would say some one was killed hold
QUE a Inst with the knuckles a way from you,
and move the wrist slowly so as to force the
knuckles down as IL the person was struck
down. To tell about a child. bold your hand
as Tar from the ground as its head would
reach. Put finger up to either side of the
mead 20 say cow: to"say deer" put up
all your fingers like branching horns. But
another way to tell about deer is to imi-
tate his Looping with one of your hands, To
Tell OF snake, wiggle one finger Ia the air
as a snake would move on the ground. That
sign Is the name for two tribes OF Indians
The sign for Sioux is to make believe cut
your throat with one finger; for Black
foot, point 10 your foot; for a Blood, wipe
your myers across your mouth; for white
man, rub your hand across your forehead to
show how white our foreheads are; for q
Plegan, rub one cheek
The sign for water Is to make scoop of
your hand and put it to your mouth as you
would If you were drinking at stream. To
tell OF O lake, make that sign and spread
OAV JOuA W COVER u Dig space. 10
tell Of a river, make the water sign and
then trace the meandering course OF a river
with your finger. But the sign of whisky
is made by doubling up one fist and drink
ing out Of it as if it were q bottle II you
do that and make believe TO stir I'D your
brains with one finger, or reel a little you
will describe tipsy man. Nearly all signs
In the language are made with the right
hand.
The sign for field or prairie is the same
as that for a lake, but is followed by the
grass sign instead of that for water. The
sign for walking is a splendid one. Hold
your hand down, shut up two fingers and
the thumb, and then make the two fingers
which are free go forward and backward
like the legs of person walking. The sign
to indicate fear-"he was afraid" or ~ am
frightened"-is to put your right hand on
your heart and then move that hand up to
your throat. as il your heart had left your
want to ask man to trade with you, Just
cross the forefingers Of both hands like
letter X.
1t is curious thing that the sign language
Keeps on growing, even now that the In.
dams are nearly all shut up on reservations
and do not often meet either strange white
men or members of other tribes. Two re-
cent additions to the language are signs for
railroad ard for a match. To tell about a
match you raise one knee and draw a finger
rapidly along that leg. To speak Of rail.
road, you make believe turn a crank with
one hand; then your arm will look like the
side bar or piston rod of q locomotive.