The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-20
SIGN TALK OF THE PLAINS.
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF III
AMERICAN ABORIGINES.
An Entirely Adequate Medium OF Commn'
~nication Peoples Of various
Tongues-The Parable Of the Prodigal
Son In sign Language Some Long-Dis
lance signals Used on the Plains.
From The Chicago Tribun'

lance signals Used on the Plains
From the Chicago Tribune.
Tho writer once had some acquaintance
with old Bill Hamilton, one Of the best sign
takers ever known on the Western plains,
and a protege and pupil Of the old Bill Williams
who to-day remains one Of the giant figures OF
our departed West. Bill Hamilton could talk
with any Indian he ever met. no matter what
his tribe or what his speech. He was raised
upon the plains and In the Rockies, and was
known and respected by all the Indians Of the
upper West. At the time Of the disappear
ance Of the buffalo the Indians were heart
broken. They went to Biz Hamilton. who
they knew had ruamed over much of the West,
and told him that they did not know where
the buffalo had gone. We know that you have
travelled far" they said to him, and perhaps
you will travel again. now that we need to send
q runner after the buffalo. II you 20 far to
the north and find the buffalo. no matter where
that place is, We will follow you there"
Bill never found the buffalo. but he did make
q trip far to the north among the tribes of the
British possessions. lie says that he was sent
ny there by some scientific men TO learn whether
the Indians of that country used the same
sign language as that Of our tribes. He learned
that those northern tribes understood him
perfectly, and that he likewise understood
them, Among the party Of scientists who
employed Bill Hamilton to make this trip WAS
one man who had pursued this same study In
South America. This man could talk inielligi-
bly, with Bill Hamilton by means of the signs
which he had learned in South America; hence
II seems probable that all the native North
American and South American tribes have
u aim lanutIuUa tbigb ia trostif1lly a spnunpn
one. and could converse If brought together.
The chronological records at Washington tell
Of n talk which occurred there between two
indians. one an Apache from Arizona and one
q Nez Perce from the far northern part of the
West. Representatives of tribes which had
never met. They talked together without
confusion and understood each other ahso-
lutely. Where did they learn this common
speech. this mutual languag" which set at
uanght time. and distance. and environment?
Ask Ramesos about that, or Confucius, for the
shades of Rame~es and Conrucius seem to st
along the Icy mountains of the far North. as
they do far in the lower continent along tho
sunny slopes Of the Cordilleras.
Here IS the story OF the Prodigal Son. as
told by IA deaf mute. 1t is likely that It would
be understood, in the sigp~ which he employed,
DA TIC iIlti''l" u llle Nv ! fI'', ny lllf ' rec Ol
the far North or the Peruna Of the South.
"Onoe, man one, sons two. Son Younger say,
Father. property YOU divide. part my, me give
Father 80. son each, part hi- give. Days few
after, son younger money all take, country Tar
60, money spend, wine drink, food nice eat.
Money by and by gone all Country every
where food little, son hungry very. Go see
man any, me hire. Gentleman meet. Gentle
.sa, 80 ...I l,la -,,,,-. t.l 49, -.- -. L..
see self huskS eat want cannot hu>ks
him give nobody. son think. say, father my,
Ser wants many. bread enough, part give away
none -~starvr. die. | decide: Father
l go to, say bad. God disobry. you di-Ohev
my hereafter son. mo- unworthy. You
me work give servant like. So son hegn 20.
tar look son see, pity. run, meet en-
son father say. ! bad, YOU disobey, God
disobey- name my hereafter son, no. I'M
But father servant calls. command
robe best bring. son put on, ring finger put on.
shoes feet pnt on, calf fat bring, kill We all
merry, Why Son this my formerly dead,
now alive; formerly lost, now found, reioice."
Such is the crude and broken method Of the
language. Yet il is far better than no Ian
zuage Al all, whether for deaf mute or for ~tran.
gers 10 a local speech The more study one
yivps To this primeval vehicle of thought the
more interesting II becomes, |
Ever since the settlement of this country we
laVa had AZ Our doors this sign language. this |
'peech without words. whatever It's origin or
& age. The American Indians are the greatest
sign takers now left IN The world. or. perhaps |
more properly, II might bc said that they were
such until the advance of white civilization
many of the requirements Of their
ives and thus altered many of their customs,
among them. The average white man /
never learned the Sign language of the Indians, |
having contempt for II, perhaps iGnOr.
mt that such a thing existed. II was only the
half savage trapper or hunter. the voyageur or
whose life was spent among the
tribes and who Thus p~erforce must learn some
manner of speech. who came to understood fully |
and practice habltually the sign language. Not
white men can learn the sign language.
though som" pick II mp readily, lust A. certain
persons learn foreign ianEHnSrs more Readily
best used bv whites who had been among the
tribes from early youth In some cases il was
30 habitual that Il was employed. as I often is
the Indians. n n regular means of daily con
instead of spoken speech. II was thus
much the ease with Bill Hamilton
! have seen Bill 81 and talk by the hour with
an Indian and never say a word, and il made no
difference 10 him whether the Indian were
Crow, BaCkfoOt or cheyenne.
=, The beginner on the plains learned the fact
which could be travrrSed better by the eve
than by the horse or by the weary human foot.
a. mile away, he saw q hors"man riding in a
C%irCle--a circle which would appear III" same
when seen from any direction. He did not
know what this meant hut when he was told il
said Come ahead. n" did not bother about riding
over TO the man he wanted 10 hay" com" ahead
He simply rode his circle. inst rs had the
from whom the white men got this
plains Ign. III" man were on foot and wanted
his friends ~ com" ahead lac -ignitied il by
squat ing down and rising m "A number Of
times IN succession n sign which looks pretty
much the same from any direction. You can
Pee such a sign q mile or more. andl II i
easier 70 walk That way than 10 trv 10 shout
vacant miles of prairie Sometimes. too.
you might not want to he overheard shouting.
and might want VOW friends 10 como ahead.
The Indians used yot another sign to say come
when secrecy was necessary. This
was made by talking hold Of the lower part Of
tho blanket or rOp" which on" was wearing
and holding II ont from the body, then motion.
Ing in toward the lrgS-a sign n obvious n
the reckoning hand and visible at n greater
distance. The blanket upon occasion PLAYED
plains. Thus. when the Indian watcher, posted
uDon some distant blum, miles from the village.
az last was rewarded by a sight of the buffalo
herd for which hr was on the lookout, he sig.
nailed the fact 10 the people N ~" village bv
graSping his blanket NJ each end with hi hands
and holding il stretched ont in front OF him
a. he faced toward the camp, \ blanket fastened
10 n long pole and thrust up into the air meant
"a a moving and scattered party. "tio into camp
here Yet other signals, a. for attention. or
be careful, were made by the folded blanket.
The traveller upon the plains in the early
DAYS soon learned the significance Of the
spires of smoke which he sometimes saw ri~-
ing from "A distant ridge or hill, and which
In turn he might sea answered from n dit
ferent direction. II was the signal talk of
a signal used in rllly ing the warriors for an
attack or warning them for a. retreat when
that seemed advisable. The Indian had a
way of sending mp the smoke in rings or puf-.