The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-23

When asked about the grammar of III,
sign language. Colonel Scott replied:
The student versed IN the grammars
OF the spoken tongues does not find
grammatical signs analogous 10 thos;
words by which the different parts OF q
sentence are pointed out. nor ccnjuga-
tons or FeTDs or declensions of nouns
these relations must be indicated 5y po-
| sition or by pointing with the hand OF
by eXtraneous and independent signs.
! The English phrase. a fast horse would
/ be inverted and expressed by signs which
| would be literally translated into horse
/ fast or a good heart into heart good
| It may be said generally that the attri-
tute follows the object, the adverb pre-
cedes the verk and the subject is often
| placed last Of ali.
There are few dependent sentences
used. For instance. I shot with an ar
row last night an eagle, which was sit
| ting upon the limb of tree. and it fell
TO the ground. Here il would be neces-
sary TO make the signs IN the following
order: might. before. trees. looking. /
saw. bird. curved beak, trees. standing.
arrow. bow, asn. shoot. transfix. whirl
4
he very nearly the sequence OF the steps
OF the actual occurrence and the order
Of the sign pictures used to describe It.
a god sign talker can make himself
Perfectly understood. once saw = war
rior telling a mixed crowd Of Indians
in which / counted representatives OF six
different tribes about his capture by
General Miles, and they followed him
with pedfect comprehension. Tho way
70 see it TO het best advantage is when
the Indians are upon their migrations
and hunting expeditions. or seated
around their camp fires at night. No
written account can give an idea Of the
graceful and flowing sequence with
which the signs are made by the master
of the art.
If you could have witnessed the scenes
enacted in mary Of their lodges during
the long nights OF the winter. in some
isolated village upon the buffalo range.
or sheltered from the rain IN the noun
tain park. when some OF their older and
more sknlful men. fired with enthusiasm
by the memories OF their youth. were
relating their stories of the warpath and
adventure, or the ceremonies of their re-
riors, then only you could recognize the
great force, the intense meaning. and the
exceeding gracefulness and beauty of the
sign language OF the plains Indian.
Those who understand the sign Ian
guage get many strange stories from the
old men and women OF the tribes One
of these absurd tales is an account of
how the mother of the Kiowas made
her advent on earth by sliding down from
heaven on a rope twisted from the sinews
OF the back Of the buffalo How the buff
falo came TO be in heaven is a part of
the story the dusky relater does not
to explain. Another tradition
tells Why antelope do not eat meat. In
the long ago there was a primeval hero
Sindy by name, who was the wisest and
parsonage of his time. In those
Gays antelope had long teeth and CONF
sdered Indian flesh a delicacy:
Complaint was made 10 Sindy that !
many people were being devoured by the |
antelope. The bravest warriors Of the |
tribe We're powerless to stop the ravages
# the man-eaters, and the Ingenious |
Procedure of the willy Sindy constitutes
the burden OF the tale. Aiming himself |
v IN Il great IbCh iIdlitA he HlOteEGtu 10
he plain where the dreaded beasts were
browsing. As socn as he appeared in
light the herd with one accord started in
5ursuit of him.
He ian swiftly &c nearby quagmire,
md, by artfuI lodging. cortrived 10 al
ure them into the morass. When the
nimals became powerless by being
struck in the mud Sindy broke of their
log teenth with his maIIet. From that
lay to this antelope have not tasted
neat
The folklore of the Indian is replete
With fanciful and grotesque tales. many
f which, having never been written. must
'e forgotten. The compiling of what
emains of them into imperishable print is
worthy undertaking, for by this means
lone can future generations know the
1rdly red man. The day of his Wild
ivouac is past. He no longer frequents
be trail. He is but all gone.
FREDERICK J. HASKIN.