Chapter IX: Sign Language on the Plains

Every one talking with another person who speaks a different language will, in his effort to make himself understood, quite surely make some use of signs. Often the signs so used will seem naturally to express the desired idea. Once, a Tonkaway Indian in trying to tell me that all white men were untruthful, put the first two fingers of his right hand, slightly separated, near his mouth and then moved the hand downward and outward, at the same time slightly spreading the fingers. By this he meant to say that white men had two tongues, or were liars. They say one thing and mean another.

While it is natural for all people to use signs to convey meaning, the use of signs will be most frequent where it is a common thing for several people speaking different languages to come into contact. While all American Indians use some gestures, the Plains Indians, who were constantly meeting other tribes, necessarily made much use of them. In fact, a remarkable sign language had grown up among them, whereby Sioux, Crows, Assinaboines, Pani, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Kiowas, could readily converse upon any subject.

It is not probable that the sign language was invented by any one tribe. Many writers have claimed that it was made by the Kiowas. Rather, it grew up of itself among the tribes because gesturing is natural to peoples everywhere.

Deaf-mutes left to themselves always use signs. These signs are of two kinds. They either picture or copy some idea, thing, or action, or they point out something. It is interesting to find that the gestures made by deaf-mutes and Indians are often the same. So true is this, that deaf-mutes and Indians quite readily understand each other’s signs. Parties of Indians in Washington for business are sometimes taken to the Deaf-Mute College to see if the two—Indians and deaf-mutes—can understand each other. While they cannot understand every sign, they easily get at each other’s meaning. One time a professor from a deaf-mute school, who knew little of Indians and nothing at all of Indian languages, had no difficulty while traveling through Indian country in understanding and in making himself understood by means of signs.

Sign Language on the Plains. (After Mallery.)

We will look at a few examples of Indian signs. Try and make them from the description, and see whether you think they are natural or not. The signs for animal names usually describe or picture some peculiarity of the animal.

_Badger_.—The right hand is held with the back up, fingers
extended, touching and pointing to the front, in front and to the
right of the body. This shows the height of the animal. Then the
first and second fingers are slightly separated (the rest of the
hand being closed) and drawn from the nose upward over the top of
the head. This shows the striped face. The two hands are then held
in front of the body, with fingers curved, the backs up, and drawn
as if pawing or scratching. This has reference to the digging of
the animal. The complete sign thus gives the size, the most
striking mark, and the habit of the animal.

_Beaver_.—Hold out the left hand, with the back up, pointing to
the right and front, in front of the body, with the lower part of
the arm horizontal; cross the right hand under it so that the back
of the _right hand_ is _against_ the _left palm_. Then leaving the
right wrist _all the time against_ the _left palm_, briskly move
the right hand up and down so it shall _slap_ against the left
palm. The beaver has a broad, flat tail, with which he strikes mud
or water. The sign imitates this action.

_Buffalo_.—Close the hands except the forefingers; curve these;
place the hands then against the sides of the head, near the top
and fairly forward. These curved forefingers resemble the horns of
the buffalo and so suggest that animal.

_Dog_.—Place the right hand, with the back up, in front of and a
little lower than the left breast: the first and second fingers
are extended, separated, and point to the left. The hand is then
drawn several inches to the right, horizontally. I am sure you
never would guess how this came to mean dog. You remember how the
tent poles are dragged by ponies when camp is moved? Well, before
the Indians had horses as now, the dogs used to have to drag the
poles. This sign represents the dragging of the poles.

_Skunk_.—The skunk is a little animal, but it has rather a
complicated sign. (_a_) The height is indicated as in the case of
the badger. (_b_) Raise the right hand, with the back backward, a
little to the right of the right shoulder; all the fingers are
closed except the forefinger, which is curved; the hand is then
moved forward several inches by gentle jerks. This represents the
curious way in which the broad, bushy tail is carried and the
movement of the animal in walking. (_c_) Raise right hand toward
the face, with the two first fingers somewhat separated, to about
the chin. Then move it upward until the nose passes between the
separated finger tips. This means smell. (_d_) Hold both hands,
closed with backs up, in front of the body, the two being at the
same height. Move them down and outward, at the same time opening
them. This is done rather briskly and vigorously. It means bad.
Thus in the sign for skunk we give size, character of tail and
movement, and bad smell.

There are of course signs for the various Indian tribes, and some of these are interesting because they usually present some striking characteristic of the tribe named.

_Crow_.—Make with the arms the motion of flapping wings.

_Arapaho_.—The fingers of one hand touch the breast in different
parts to indicate the tattooing of that part in points.

_Arikara_.—often called “corn-eaters,” are represented by
imitating the shelling of corn, by holding the left hand still,
the shelling being done with the right.

_Blackfeet_.—Pass the flat hand over the outer edge of the right
foot from the heel to beyond the toe, as if brushing off dust.

_Comanche_ and _Shoshone_.—Imitate with the hand or forefinger the
crawling motion of the snake.

_Flathead_.—The hand is raised and placed against the forehead.

We will only give one more example. The sign for crazy is as follows:—

Slightly contract the fingers of the right hand without closing
it; bring it up to and close in front of the forehead; turn the
hand so that the finger tips describe a little circle.

Bad boys sometimes speak of people having wheels in their head. This Indian sign certainly seems to show that the Indian idea of craziness is about the same as the boys’.

Captain Clark wrote a book on the Indian sign language, in which he described great numbers of these curious signs. Lieutenant Mallery, too, made a great collection of signs and wrote a long paper about them. A third gentleman has tried to make type which shall print the sign language. He made more than eight hundred characters. With these he plans to teach the old Indians to read papers and books printed in the signs. He thinks that the Indian can take such a paper, and making the signs which he sees there pictured, he will understand the meaning of the article.

W. P. CLARK.—Soldier. Author of _Indian Sign Language_, which not
only is a convenient dictionary of signs, but contains much
general information regarding Indians.

GARRICK MALLERY.—Soldier, ethnologist. Connected with Bureau of
Ethnology from its establishment until his death. His most
extended papers are: _Sign Language among North American Indians,
Pictographs of the North American Indians, Picture Writing of the
American Indians_.

LEWIS HADLEY.—Inventor of Indian Sign Language type.