Evening star., 1893-10-07
SIGN TALK OF THE PLAINS.
A Language Without Words. Yet It fs
Sufficient for Every Occasion.

From the st Louis Globe Democrat
Garrison life has developed some experts
in Indian folklore among army officers. One
of these is Lieut.. II. l.. Scott of the seventh
cavalry. Lieut.. Scott has made a study Of
the sign language 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.. Scotts ac-
QUESTION is remarkable chiefly for the scien-
tific interest which attaches to ii.
One day during the folklore congress
Lieut. Scott borrowed four Indians of varf-
Gus tribes from Buffalo Bills camps, and.
with only such language as he used to ex-
plain to the paleface what he was saying he
carried on a long conversation by signs
The Indians were Painted Horse Fiat Iron
Horses-Come-Last and Standing Bear
The leutenants hand moved nimbly when
he asked Painted Horse where he lived The
old Indian looked homesick for n moment
and then he made a superb motion picture
of a 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 ana that
here"
One after the other the Indians Joined in
the sign conversation with as much en-
thusiasm as an Indian can manifest. They
told their names and where they were from
and to what tribes they belonged. They
understood the lieutenant and each ether
as well. When Painted Horse said Horses
Come-Last was Brule Sioux Horses
Come-Last Immediately worked his hands
to say that was a mistake: he was an Ogal-
lalla. Having started. Horses-C Last, a
magnifcent-looking Indian, signed that he
knew Gen. Miles, who was sitting near, and
ne wanted the general to say something to
him. Gen. Miles told Lieut.. Scott to tell
lIhra
very well as an Indian who had done good
service in the Montana compaign. Lieut.
Scott interpreted by signs. and Immediately
Horses-Come-Last showed his pleasure
Lieut. Scott has had some striking eyi-
dence that the Indians of the plains meet ON
common ground when they resort to the
sign language. he was present when Chief
Joseph OF the Nez Perces addressed several
hundred Indians. The chief told the story
of his march from Washington territory
across Idaho and into Montana to the vi
cinity of the Yellowstone Park. a mastery
minlaIy Ieat, without a parallel since the
retreat OF Aenophon's ten thousand In the
crowd to which the chief gave the nara five
there were Arfcarees, Mandans Gros Nen-
tres. Nez Perces. Cheyennes and Sioux
They were representatives of six different
spoken languages. Yet Lieut. Scott could
See that there was perfect comprehension of
the narrative Not a 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 sentence:
Il shot with an arrow last night an eagle
which was sitting upon a limb of tree
and 1t fell to the ground"
The Indian will convey this information
by sign language as follows:
ore-trees-looking-I saw bird
curved beak-limb of tree-arrow-bow-
aim - shoot - transfix - whirl downward -
strike the ground"
Lieut. Scott has taken part in numberless
talks where the assemblages included In
dams from almost every prairie tribe from
Texas to the Canadian 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 ii has
reached a high development"
Lieut.. Scott has tried to trace the origin
of the sign language. All of the Indians
ennes and Arapahoes tell him their ances-
tors got IT from the Kiowas. who Invented
it, But the Kiowas claim they got IL from
the Cheyennes. Lieut.. Scott believes there
was no invention of the sign language but
that it was of gradual and general develop
ment. As tribes of Indians become perma-
nently separated they cease to have use for
sign language in communicating with othe-
tribes; then they drop the use of il. 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 Of the sign language. The
Northern Cheyennes are the best sign
takers. Comanches are the poorest
This the lieutenant accounts for by