The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-11-09
SIGN TALK OF THE PLAINS,
Language Without Words, Yet II 10 Suf-
ficient for Every Question.


| officers One of these is Lieut.. H. L.
Scott of the Seventh cavalry. Lieut..
Scott has made study of the sign lam
guage of the plains Indians. In the
| days of Indian outbreaks and wars
there was a practical phase to this
study. but now that peace prevails
! and there are only reservation Indians.
Lieut.. Scott acquisition is remarka Bile
chiefly for the scientific interest which
attaches to it.
One day during the Folklore con-
gress at the Worlds fair Lieut. Scott
borrowed four Indians of various tribes
from Buffalo Bills camps, and with
only such language as he used to ex-
plain to the palcface what he was say
by signs. The Indians were Painted
Horse, Flat Iron. Horses-Come- Last and
Standing Bear.
The ,lleutenant's hand moved MIN blv
when he asked Painted Horse where he
lived. The old Indian looked home
sick for moment. and then he made a
superb motion picture of rock with
trees on it.
Pine Ridge" interpreted Lieut.
Scott
Painted Horse, having found his
hands, kept them going, while his face
remained ,expressionless. Lieut. Scott
added:
'He SAYS his relatives live there, and
that he has come long way and has
arrived here"
One after the other the Indians Joined
in the sign conversation with as much
enthusiasm as an Indian can manifest.
They told their names and where they
were from and to what tribes they be-
longed. They understood the lieuten-
ant and each other as we'll When
Painted Horse said Horses-Come-L Last
vas a Brule Sioux, Horses-Come-Las
Immediately worked his hands to say
that was mistake; he was an Ogallal-
la. Having started, Horses-ComeLast,
a Notwithstanding Indian. signed
that he knew Gen. Miles, who was sit
ting near, and he wanted the general
to say something to him. Gen. Miles
told Lieut.. Scott to tell Horses-Come-
Last that he remembered him very
well as an Indian who had done good
service in the Montana campaign.
Lieut.. Scott interpreted by signs, and
Immediately Come Last showed
his pleasure.
Lieut. Scott has had some striking
evidence that the Indians of the plains
meet on common ground when they re-
sort to the sign language. He was
present when Chief Joseph of the Nez
Perces addressed several hundred In
dams The chief told the story of his
march from Washington tterritory
across Idaho and into Montana to the
vicinity of the Yellowstone park,
mastery military feat without paral-
lei since the retreat of Xenophon's ten
thousand. In the crowd to which the
chief rgave the narrative there were
Orickarees, Mandans. Gross Ventres,
Nez Perces, Cheyennes and Sioux.
They were representatives of six diff
ferent spoken languages. Yet Lieut..
Scott could see that there was perfect
comprehension of the narrative. Not
q word was spoken. Chief Joseph used
nothing but the sign language, but the
Indians all followed him
A literal translation Of The sign
language is the best illustration of its
formation. Take the following sem
tence:
81 shot with an arrow last night an
eagle which was sitting upon a limb
of tree and it fell to the ground"
The Indian will convey this informa-
ton by sign language, as follows:
Night before - trees - lookinr-Y
saw bird-curved beak-Hmb of tree
-+arrow-bow-sim- shoot-transfix-
whirl downward strike the ground"
Lieut. Scott has taken part in num-
berless talks where the assembIsges
inclnded Indians from almost every
prairie tribe from Texas to the Cana
dian line. Practically the same signs
were used by all. Il must give" he
said. my unqualified adherence to the
belief that the sign language of
the plains Indians does exist and that
it has reached high development"
Lieut.. Scott has tried to trace the
origin OF the sign language All Of the
Indians tell him it is of great antiquity.
The Cheyennes and Arapahoes tell him
their ancestors got it from the Kiowas>
who invented it. But the Kiowas claim |
they got it from the Cheyennes Lieut..
Scott believes there was no invention |
Of the sign language. but that it was
Of gradual and general development |
As tribes of Indians become perrna-
1ently separated they cease to have use |
for sign language in communicating /
with other tribes: then they drop the |
use of ii. The Indians around Fort !
Totten. on Devils lake, have been away /
from other Indians and associated with |
white people some years Only the /
oldest among them retain knowledge /
IF the sign language. The northern
1hevennes are the best sign
.alkers The Cornanches are the
poorest. This the lieutenant accounts (
or by the fact that the Coinanche
language was the court language of
he southern plains Many Indians Of |
,ther tribes understood it. Hence
here was less occasion for the CO.
nanches to perfect themselves in the
igns
If you could witness" said the lieu
enant. the scenes enacted in MANY of !
heir lodges during the long nights OF
winter. in some isolated village upon
he buffalo range, or sheltered from the
Wind in a mountain fork. when sor..c
ne of the older or more skslfui men.
red with enthusiasm by the memories
I his youth, was relating his stories
I the warDath and adventure, the
ncient customs of his people. or the
ceremonies OF bis religion to a silent