The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-20

~ WV W Viz IlNt nblSA N''N -.
the signals made by the use VI mirror, wlnch
flashed reflections far across the hills or plans;
These signals were made by a small gas nelu
IN the hollow OF the hand. IL II nald that an
ndlan chief has been known 10 mnnnuNre u
body Oi his mounted warrior-, sending uienl
backward and onward. wheeling ana ciIaislhs
and retreatIng much after the fashion OF our
OWL cavalry. and 10 do this a he rGt silent pc
fore them at IA distance ana WIN no visible
ino,i9n OF the hand or arm. ~" la'et fap,ap pror
held IN lls hand: When the travelling indian
did not have with him the means OF mahIhp u
~" or OF using IN" hdshNght cuG", winch ~"
appears 10 have Perfected DeiOre the Whlto
man did his cable code, he was by no meali
without resources. II" stopped down anu
gathered "A handful OF fine dust which he 'hst
up ,tto the ,Gr, THIS meant ne eaiht a' w. w.
smoke signal, thouAh not visible -. lar by
tlu~ means the ADVANCE guard conId tel lLat
h. law the hGNllu or that The enemy Wa 'lr'pl"
or that It might be- We'll tor his companions To
conc up 10 him.
In the forests a. well rs upon the plans 1t
was sometimes necessary Tor one man 10 com
municats. with another while the W." NrI"
separated hv day. 81 time or miles nl diHtail't,
What hoy has not l"lt n slanting SUCK 10 yen
his companion which path he has taken III the
woods The boy does without instructor
Precisely what the savage doe, When one
party Of Indians wishes tu tell another party
where 1t has gone the leader places 4 suck,
stuck Slantwise "a the ground, pointing IN ,ie
direction taken bv the departing parry. ms
Is an index finger, saving pluinly. That way
But II the newly arriving party saw a cross
stick stuck INTO the earth az right angles To NE
index It was known, IN the language OF ur,
signs, That the first party intended To travel
one drv. Two cross sticks meant two Gays,
and so n, These leople could not write a letter
20 pin upon tho stick. but their message was none
the less plain 70 those who read II.
Such were sone of The long-distance signals
Of the tribes, simple and easily understood hS
all. This is something interesting. 70 study.
but II has properly no connection win the sigh
language used As n Common vehicle OF COM
municatlon in conversation, The sign Ian
guage proper was executed by the movements,
gestures and positions Of tn" hands and arms.
sometimes Of other members OF The body
To learn the simple signals or the plans was
easy to any one who cared 10 do so, but the mas
terry of the sign talk was II matter lar more com
plex and difficult and for some White men tle
task was too much. Indeed, 1t seems mat
there were degrees Of, proficiency IN lhe shsI
talk even among the Indians themselves. and
they certainly made a distinction between, me
signs used by women and those employed by
mon The woman wa not accrsdi,ed 9g mes
the choicest and most elegant sign language;
Once ! was talking with old BIZ Hamilton ana
had Occasion to make he sign Tor night or
In coming so far. This | gave as II was taught
me by a white man, with the hands placed palms
together upon the side Of the head; the head
inclined upon then simple and more or
less obvious sign, rs of on" who places ms head
upon his hand Ia go 10 sleep or one who lies
down in sleep The old man snorted his dis,
Who taught YOU that? Some one who didn't
know much about il can tell You tina, Why.
night An Indian wouldn't ever say II that
hands together in front Of him. the
aotlv express the motion In type, % indeed
il is impossible to show the sign talk pictOri-
ally. since the movement Of the hands has SO
much Ia do with the significance. ct old BIZ
Hamilton's hands, thus brought slowly together
In front of him, said plainly. when once YOU zane
20 note IL over this way-ml over all
over everything the all-ovcr-pverv-thinE time
the night was all over the land II seems that
tins Is how it should be sad in the court language
not in collcquial expression or in sign dialect.
Some Of the Indian signs are simple and
understood. when the sign talkor
Straddled his left hand with the two split fingers
of the right you caught the idea of horse"
almost at once. When he held the hands thus
and advanced them with a series of short.
rhoppy, forward movements. Won saw that
When the talker hooked his two iorefingers
and held his hands M al the sides OF his head
Won saw the hooked horns of the buffalo, and
You knew what h" meant. If he thrust both
anIerS OF the elk unmi~t akablN
The wolf sign, the frs, two fingers Of each
side ot thr head, indicated the erect. ears Of
that animal plainly. Not quite so PLAIN, yet
plain enough II YOU are a hunter, was the sign
for the mountain bighorn 4heep-the two hands,
~ N"'H ll'' ~ '' ''"' W -
outward and forward curve Of the horns The
finger and thumb slightly approached and
held al the side of the hcad indicated less OBJ
viously the pronGhorn of the antelope. The
sign for snake was simple, and any one would
understand IL the extended torrilnrer thrust
oal eS'% or IN, the s9dk II IN a TayIn ns I">I a IKE @n ME
40 obvious is the sign for lie, liar, he lies
Her" We get back 10 the ancient sy mbol Of the
which seems to be the SYNONYM for
tuplicitv among all peoples aud for all times.
The liar sign j. made every where by the forked
myers thrust out IN front of the mouth. or /
across the body He speaks with a torked
This j. ancient Indian rhetoric
Tor YOU, but IL l. correct The sign for truth, !
I is true" would obviously be- the single finger
used in a similar manner-"tle speaks with a
single tongue
Yet Others Of the simpler signs are easy Of
comprehension 10y the man who Il capable Of
casting of his customary habits Of thought and
a man Is in doubt. he wav"r- mentally. he Is
shaken In his mind. he h~esitates, When the
indian secs something strange To him, whose
narne he does not know, about which he IL in
doubt. he points 10 II. then shakes his loosely |
fingers nIront Of him; What i that?
| don't know what that IS. he says plainly,
when you com TO think of II.
Now, stop 10 think what You dc, with your
hand when Won .ay NO" and say II emphati-
What does the heroine do on the stag"
when she spurns the villains suit? Hand palm
NO" A. plain rs can be. Upon the other hand,
all know the implication Of the extended
mana When " l. nplu IN 1TOnl ol me DpuN, t~
when one shakes hands or is pleased or says it
Is all right the gesture Of assent or OF concur
renee. When the Indian would say Good:
il i all right he throws ont his right hand
in front of him, palm down, the edge Of the
hand away from him. When he says Yes" he
snaps his forofnHer down upon the hand Ms
he brings the hand quickly down in front Of him.
II is hard TO explain, but when You see him
do II You know he melns"Ive got you, aS readily
a. Won would understand il on the Board Of
Trade or on the pool row,
The Indians had a certain love Of female
beauty, lnst q, "" haN"; ana Their estimate
N thc distinguished qualities Of the sex would
appear 20 he not dis~imilar to our own, or NJ
least onr Own as the funny papers have IL, Sup
pose an Indian wanted TO tell YOU that -o-and-so
was n pretty girl. This i y crude and not
elegant way in which he would do II, vet 40
brushed down cach side of head from middle,
the little finger edge Of the hand touching the
hair, the movement Of the hands the same
on enCh side The creature that parts lis
hair in tho middle, l. p, woman, Hand held IN
front Of face, palm toward face, look into hand
IN front Of body, palm down, is sign Of AN
good " So there Won have ~ Woman
looks in glass what snc sees ie all right, II
is good: \ pretty Woman"
We do not sharpen our minds up 10 under
these sigma. because we ordinarily do
not need TO do 50, yet il any e%xiCnnCy Of life
Ms ofthe power Of speech or so depriv"s
10 the universal language of signs, Once
| was left alone all dav with Bear Chief, a Black
foot Indian. out on the Blackfoot reservation.
We were waiting for the arrival Of II friend
named Anpekunny, who had failed TO appear. |
Neither Bear Chief nor myself knew much
of. the others language and we soon
exhausted that little stock. could not talk
sign 10 any great extent. told Bear Chief. |