The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-23
|N|||AN SIGN Talk
Books viii be Printed of Their
History
BY COLONEL H. |. SCOTT
Who Has Seen Twenty Years
of Their Life.

! the pains lllQlan IS lost III the beNliucE
q ing tangle of time. Among the man!
| tribes that roamed, free and wild, il tn
wilderness. there were no moccasinet
Macauley nor copper-colored Gibbon t,
preserve for future generations the story
! of the early red mans deeds of proves
> his wanderings and his traditions. As {
consequence many of the proudest ex
ploits are altogether lost, or but family
t preserved in absurd fable and legendary
folklore An effort will be made TO com.
Pile as much Of Indian history is known
and, with this end in view, the Govern
ment authorities have ordered Colonel II
L. Ccott, Adjutant General of Cuba, &c
prepare for the bureau OF Ethnology OF
the Smithsonian institution a history OF
the sign language of the plains Indian.
Colonel Scott spent 20 Of his q years
of army service among the Indians, and
is probably the best living authority on
the sign language. He has made q pro-
found study of the subject, having talk
ed with representatives OF nearly ali the
tribes from British Columbia to the Rio
Grande. primevel savage left little evil
dence Of his habits and travels.
The language of gesture signs has been
traced back TO the beginning of the last
century by the white mans records, and
to more remote periods by the reports of
others. It is a veritabIe language OF
! signs, and not at all the like the deaf
and dumb alphabet, rs the reader might
| suppose. Colonel Scott, speaking on the
subject, said:
"A conversation in the sign language
has been likened to series of moving
pictures. Most of the signs are made
with graceful and flowing gestures. but
with none of the swiftness observed in
the intercourse of deaf mutes. The In
dian is seldom in a hurry, having. as he
expresses it, all the time there is He
| prefers grace Of motion 70 rapidly of
! execution-the more expert takers MAX
! ing their signs rather slowly. not allow
ing halt, but causing each sign with
out hesitation to flow into another just
as the words Of the softer languages of
Europe glide into each other by the
elision Of harsh sounds-and often for the
sake of elegance they cause the hand
at the end of most of the signs to make
a slight rebound. Few pastures or facial
expressions are used.
The division of time as regards day
and night are governed by the position Of
the sun The end of the month is repre-
sented by the death or wiping out Of the
moon; the years are counted by the num-
ber Of winters; the spring is shown by the
coming OF the grass; the summer BY the
heat of the sun; the autumn by the red
&c - ,o Ta ar,H min,
ter begins when it is little cold. Water
is symbolized by the act of drinking out
of the hand, and a round motion added
to the water sign shows it is lake or
a pond. while the straight sign would
make it a stream.
There are but two specific signs for
colors-red and black. Animals are gen
orally described by their most prominent |
characteristics. as the elk by its large |
and embracing sntlers; the mountain /
sheep by its horns curving to the rear; !
the antelope by its prongs. and the buffa- /
10 by its in-curving horns. The mule is |
portrayed by its large cars and the wolf |
by the manner in which it carries its ears |
erect. The beaver is represented by its |
habit, when disturbed or frightened, Of |
striking its bread tail on the water in (
order to facilitate diving; the spider by /
its many legs crawling rapidly away; the |
fish by its course under water, and the |
cactus by its many spines.
The RABBIT is shown Fastening away to 1
a safe distance and then sitting up with |
its ears erect to observe its enemy; the
turtle moves in slow and tortuous
course. while the rsttIesnake is recog-
nized at once by the vibration of its tail /
when accompanied by its peculiar rat
Ting sound
THE rain is typifed by the spriukling
of drops from above. the lightning by its
downward zigZag course and the thunder
by its noise To tell the truth is to tell
a straight story. To lie is to speak with
q forl1cd tongue-this sign is Otter used
without the offensive meaning. rather ia
the sense of mistake. Abuse is derived
from the throwing Of lies at one To
remember is to hold fast to a thing To
forget is to have it slip away and be lost
To be hungry is 10 have a gnawirg in
the abdominal region.
TO be thirsty is to be water hungry. /
while to have enough OF anything Is TO
Re full up to ones eyes. To try anything 4
IS TO strive at it. To die a nat
Gral death is TO leave the natural upright /
csition ard lie underground. To KIN is
made with "a motion OF both hands. The
sign having its origin IN the MOTION If
striking. but indicates no certain kind
n stroke. as with club or knife az fist.
Il can be accounted for. however, IN a
manner by referring u 80
he idea OF the action of the ferelsss ~
i deer or buffalo in tho death struggle
I--
seat Of most Of his emotions When DE-
$ sorrowful DE SAYS thar his heart IS on
he ground. or else that his hcart Is
Weeping. When he Is glad his heart is
lpen. when bold il Is stang. whsr dis
outraged II IS wiped out. when de1btf1l
10 has svo or more hearts which are
alternately up and down; when disturb
u ms heart futters I'D g. his throat.
ghen brooding over ar INJURY ~ fees
s II is : being STABBED when BE is
.oTnesick il goes cut I'D search e q home L
When he IS ausry he saws mat his ninl I
$ twisted and when he feels aston +
shlnent ne puts his hands over ais ma1-h
o show thar re hiss no words Inadequate
( expressing himself
Colonel Scott then explained thai MANY
{ the sisrs have become nudsly ccuyen-
.onal 20 the Indian rrom long vsaEe-
~ when asked the reasons concerning
be origin - any eut the most obvious
he reply Is alVays the sane. 90 ere ~
zcr that that the OLD men talked So thag {
-ay. and thai IS an There Is Known ahou, :
!. ;he inference IS to tne original pan- s
,mine ein - dgsNu 81 the iut gers Z
hite man in snsny csses-g9r instance
he sssn 70 understand Is naale t.lta
.otlcn % boJh hants. and Is s. rshls :
-obsble th-f Il ccrnes srom che ,dta -