The times., 1899-01-05
THE INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE.
The Nenrcst Approach to IA Common
Medium of Communication.

sue a work which VIII eSpOunu many new
and startling theories in regard to the sign
language of the Indians. An elaborate
treatise on gesture languages is now IN
course of preparation, which will prove be-
yond a doubt that Aztecs of ancient times
practiced the same sign language that Is
now used by the Indians. For many years
the chronological Bureau OF the Smithso-
nian Institution has devoted much time to
preparation of treatises on North Ameri-
can Indians, but on account of the difii-
Guilty in securing definite information the
study of the sign language has heretofore
been devoid of satisfactory results.
Just before the beginning of the war
with Spain Maj. Hugh Lennox Scott, Of
the Seventh Cavalry. was recommended to
the Smithsonian Institution by General
Miles as being the best living authority on
the Indian gesture languages. He was de-
tached from his post at Fort Sill. !. T..
and was ordered to Washington. He had
scarcely undertaken his new work when
the war came on. and he was appointed on
General Miles's staff. His sudden departure
for the front interrupted the preparation
of a book on Indian sign languages which
promised to become the most famous work
on this interesting subject that has ever
been published. Major Scott has devoted
the last twenty-three years of his life to
the study OF sign languages as employed
by the North American Indians. His re-
searches among the picture writings of
Old and New Mexico and among the tribes
now in existence have placed him in po
sition to speak authoritatively on the sub
ject. The work which was begun and
which was interrupted so suddenly will be
an exhaustive treatise on the sign lam
guages which were used by all the tribes.
both modern and prehistoric.
Through the untiring efforts of the
Smithsonian Institution many new and
wonderful discoveries have been made con-
cerning the minute details of this era of
which so little is known. Until recently
nothing authentic was known of the high
degree of civilization of the Aztecs and
prehistoric tribes of North America and
many of the ideas of scientists could not
be proved and were accepted by the public
as mere matters of conjecture. The entire
bureau of ethnology has made every effort
to unravel the mysteries that have con-
fronted the scientific world, and so far the
work has met with remarkable success.
The researches among the picture writ
inigs and hieroglyphics of the Aztecs have
been most interesting. Maj SCOTS unfin-
ished work goes into details which show in
most convincing manner that the Aztecs
practiced the same sign language which is
now used on the Western plains. They at
tained much higher standard of civiliZa-
tion than the modern tribes have reached
and consequently were more proficient.
They carried the principles much further
and Transcribed the gestures made by the
hands into written characters on stone and
wood. From all indications il is evident
that almost all of the picture writings OF
Mexico were evolved from the gesture Ian
guage.
Some convincing examples are shown in
the unfinished work, and are accompanied
by reproductions of many picture writings
taken from pueblos in New Mexico and
from the walls of old palaces in Yucatan.
Individual words are selected which appear
to be best fitted TO demonstrate the theory
advocated. For example, the word rain
in the modern Indian sign language is rep
resented by holding the hand above the
head with the fingers pointing downward.
In an Aztec Photograph found by Lieut..
Simpson in New. Mexico, which represents
Montezuma's adjutants sounding a blast
for rain. is found the figure of a hand
suspended from the sky, with the fingers
pointing downward. Another example is
shown In the word cloud" The modern
Indians represent this word by bringing
the index fingers OF both hands together
near the face and pointing downward
then suddenly separating them TO each
| side, and at the same time describing
| curves like scallop. The same idea is
! illustrated in the same way in the picto-
| graphs. Scallops are found throughout the
/ photographs which represent storms.
| Lightning is represented by the Indians
| of the present day by holding the index
| finger high above the head, then bringing
| it rapidly downward with a sinuous
motion. This same idea Is demonstrated
most convincingly by referring to Moqu
etchings recently found in New Mexico
Some years ago W. II. Jackson photograph
, ed the wall of an estufa in the Jemei
pueblo in New Mexico. and the same ides
| Is represented in detail in these photo
graphs. The word FIRE" is represented b!
| all the Indian tribes of today by placing
both hands forward with all the finger;
pointing upward. A number of photo
! graphs of the Aztec god of fire have beeI
secured by the Smithsonian Institution
and every photograph shows without ex
ception that this gesture represented th
word fire even among the Aztecs o
Yucatan and Central America
Major Scott has also proved that the In
dian sign language is the nearest possible
approach TO a universal language whicl
has ever been formulated. From recen
research il is evident that the tribes uss,
a system of signs which was so perfec
that it was superior 10 the present inter
national signal code which is uSeO through
out the nautical world. The system of tn
Indians was not so complicated as the on
now in use. and answered every purpose
Major Scott thinks that in some instance
the prehistoric tribes were able to accom-
plish that which has haffied modern sci
entists and linguists. The sign languag
was used TO such an extent that il an
| swered the purpose of an intertribal Ian
guage OF course it did not include With
its scope all the minute details of an In
ternational language, but by means of
the most distant tribes were able to com
municate on any subject although thei
languages may have differed as much a
Greek differs from Hottentot. The Indian
of today use sign language which is S
nearly perfect that all the tribes now i
existence can carry on q conversation wit
; each other, although their oral language
may be entirely different. Major Scot
says that he has communicated for houI
with tribes In British Columbia by mean
of the same signs which he uses when cor
versing with the Indians of Old MeXict
, While 1t is true that there are now in eS
istence some tribes which do not practiC
the sign language, this is because they al
so isolated that they have no power for in
tertribal communication or else they haN
become familiar with either the Englis
or Spanish language. Since the cessatio
OF hostilities the major has returned to h
desk In the bureau of ethnology, and it
hoped that the work now in course OF pref
aration will soon be given to the world
Senate only in bottles, sl.a5 per case. Pho