Lincoln County leader., December 28, 1900, Image 7

TALKING BY SIGNS.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE IS ONE
- OF MOTIONS.
Confucius, Ramesea and Sitting Bnll
Might Carry on a Conversation
Though Not Speaking Same Tongue,
Indiana Can Understand Each Other.
There Is an old story of the man who
was too bashful to talk in company and
who received from a friend the rude
advice, "If you can't talk, make signs."
There was more to this remark than
might at first appear. It points back
to the Infancy of human intelligence.
The language of signs Is as old as the
hills, or at least as old as humanity;
It Is old as any form of animal life
wherein thought or emotion has re
quired expression.
The American Indians are the great
est sign talkers now left In the world;
or, perhaps more properly, It might be
said that they were such until the ad
vance of white civilization changed
many of the requirements of their lives
and thus altered many of their cus
toms, this among them. The average
white man never learned the sign lan
guage of the Indians, perhaps having
contempt for it, perhaps ignorant that
such a thing existed. It was only the
half savage trapper or hunter, the voy
"jcur or iiuiusuiHii whose life was
spent among the tribes and who thus
perforce must learn some manner of
speech, who came to understand fully
and practice habitually the sign lan
guage. Not all white men can learn
the sign language, though some pick it
up readily, just as certain persons learn
foreign languages more readily than
others. The sign talk was in all cases
Lest used by whites who had been
among the tribes from early youth. In
some cases It was so habitual that it
was employed, as It often Is by the
Indians, as a regular means of daily
conversation Instead of spoken speech.
To the "tenderfoot" who first went
upon the plains In the old days there
were some signs or marks which were
early accepted as obvious or generally
understood. Thus, he saw a slim pile
of rocks upon the edge of some coulee
or ravine. He did not know what that
meant at first, and tno. older plainsmen
told him
even tv
or water. Not
Vtell who first
Tas the first
. ..s there."
- plains learned
uese the fact that
, upable of vast dis
ld be traversed better
'' by the horse or by the
-ioot. A mile away be
a horseman riding In a circle a
circle which would appear the same
when seen from any direction. lie did
not know what this meant, but when
be was told it said "Come ahead," he
did not bother about riding over to the
man he wanted to have come ahead.
He simply rode his circle, Just as had
the Indians from whom the white men
got this plains sign. If the man were
on foot and wanted nis menus to come
abend he signified It by squatting down
and rising up a number of times in suc
cessiona sign which looks pretty
much the same from any direction. You
can see such a sign a mile or more, and
It Is easier to talk that way than to
try to shout over vacant miles of
prairie.
The Indians used yet another sign to
eay "come ahead" when secrecy was
necessary. This was made by taking
hold of the lower part of the blanket
. v.l,,h riA n m u'Onrlnv A 11(1
.... i
T"!!!!l!!!!!(!,'!!!'ni
WB JgMp .' 1
IH
f&&Zr fS5ssfc. .butpalo Found A &u oangw
tioning with It In toward the legs a
sign as obvious as the beckoning hand,
and visible at a greater distance. A
blanket fastened to a long pole and
thrust up Into the air meant to a mov
ing and scattered party: "Go Into
camp here." Yet other signals, as for
"Attention," or "Be careful," - were
made by the rolled or folded blanket.
Smoke Signals.
The traveler upon the plains In the
early days soon learned the significance
of the spires of smoke which he some
times saw rising from a distant ridge
or hill, and which In turn he might Bee
answered "from a different direction. It
was the signal talk of the Indians,
across miles of Intervening ground, a
signal used In rallying the warriors for
an attack or warning them for a re
treat when that seemed advisable. The
Indian had a way of sending up the
smoke In rings or puffs, knowing that
such a smoke column would at once be
noticed and understood as a signal and
not taken for the smoke of some camp
fire. He hade the rings by covering his
little fire with his blanket for a mo
ment, then suddenly removing the blan
ket and allowing the smoke to ascend,
when he instantly covered up the fire
again. The columns of ascending
smoke rings said to every Indian with
in a circle of perhaps twenty or thirty
miles, "Look out. There is an enemy
near." Three smokes built close to
gether meant "Danger." One smoke
merely sn1d "Attention." Tv.o Eiiiuke
meant "Camp at ibis place." Travel
the plains and the usefulness of this
long distance telephone will quickly
become apparent.
Sometimes at night the settler or
traveler saw fiery lines crossing the
sky, shooting up and falling, perhaps
taking a direction diagonal to the line
of vision. He might guess that these
were the signals of the Indians, but
unless he were an old-timer he might
not be able to interpret the signals. The
old-timer and the squaw man knew
that one fire arrow (an arrow prepared
by treating the head of the shaft with
gunpowder and fine bark) meant the
same as one column of smoke puffs
viz.: "An enemy is near." Two fire
arrows meant "Danger." Three arrows
said Imperatively, "This danger Is
great." Several arrows said, "The ene
my are too many for us." Two arrows
shot up Into the air at once meant, "We
shall attack." Three at once said, "W
attack soon" Four arrows at once said
"We attack now." An arrow shot off in
a diagonal direction said as plainly as a
pointing finger, "That way." Thus It
seems that the untutored savage could
telephone fairly well at night as well
as In the daytime.
In the forests as well as upon the
plains It was sometimes necessary for
one man to communicate with another
while the two were separated by days
of time or miles of distance. What boy
has not left a slanting stick to tell bis
companion which path be has taken In
the woods? The boy does without In
struction precisely what the savage
does. When one party of Indians wish
es to tell another party where It has
gone the leader places a stick, stuck
slantwise In the ground, pointing in the
direction taken by the departing party.
This Is an Index finger, saying plainly,
"That way." But If the newly arriving
party saw a cross stick stuck Into the
earth at right angles to the Index it
was known, In the language of the
signs, that the first party Intended to
travel one day. Two cross sticks meant
two days, and so on. These people
could not write a letter to. pin upon the
stick, but their message y-lone the
less plain to those who ttf it.
Sign Talk Proer.
Such were some of thlong distance
signals of the tribes, simple and easily
understood by all. This Is something
interesting to study, but it has properly
no connection with the sign language
used as a common vehicle of communi
cation In conversation. The sign lan
guage proper was executed by the
movements, gestures and positions of
the hands and arms, sometimes of oth
er members of the body. To learn the
simple signals of the plains was easy
to any one who cared to do so, but the
mastery of the sign talk was a matter
far more complex and difficult and for
some white men the task was too much.
Indeed, it seems that there were de
grees of proficiency In the sign talk
even among the Indians themselves.
Some of the Indian signs are simple
and readily understood. When the sign
talker 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 ad
vanced them with a series of short,
choppy, forward movements, you saw
that the horse was going, that it was
galloping. When the talker hooked his
two forefingers and held his hands up
at the sides of his head you saw the
hooked horns of the buffalo, and you
knew what he meant. If he thrust
both arms above his head, spread out,
and with the fingers spread out, you
saw the branching antlers of the elk
unmistakably. The wolf sign, the first
two fingers of each hand held close to
gether and upright at each side of th
head, indicated the erect ears of that
animal plainly. Not quite so plain, yet
plain enough If you are a hunter, was
the sign for the mountain bighorn
sheep the two hands, one at each side
of the head, describing the outward
and forward curve of the horns. The
finger and thumb slightly approached
and held at the side of the head Indi-
cuuxi less ooviousiy tne prongiiorn orL
the antelope. The sign for snnke wntW
simple, and any one would understand
It the extended forefinger thrust out
before the body in a waving line, like
the course of the snnke in traveling.
Not quite so obvious Is the sign for "lie,
liar, he lies." Here we get back to the
ancient symbol of the serpent, which
seems to be the synonym for duplicity
among all peoples and for all times.
The liar sign is made everywhere by
the forked fingers thrust out In front
of the mouth, or across the body "He
speaks with a forked tongue." This Is
ancient Indian rhetoric for you, but It
Is correct. The sign for "truth, it Is
true," , would obviously' be the single
finger used In a similar manner "He
speaks with a single tongue."
Yet others of the simpler signs are
easy of comprehension by the man who
Is capable of casting oft his customary
habits of thought and trying to be a
child again. Thus, we say a man Is In
doubt, he wavers mentally, he Is
shaken In his mind, he hesitates. When
the Indian sees something strange to
him, whose name he does not know,
about which he is In doubt, he points
to It,. then shakes his loosely extended
fingers In front of him. "What Is that?"
I don't know what that Is," he says,
plainly, when you come to think of It.
Now, stop to think what you do with
your hand when you say "No!" and say
It emphatically. What does the heroine
do on the stage when she spurns the
villain's suit? iland palm out, swept
sharply down and to the right. It Is
"No" as plain as can be. Upon the
other band, we nil know the Implica
tion of the extended hand when It Is
held In front of the body, as when one
shakes hands or Is pleased, or says It
Is all right the gesture of assent or of
concurrence. When the Indian would
say "Good it Is all right," he throws
out his right hand in front of him, palm
down, the edge of the hand away from
blm. When he says "Yes" he snaps his
forefinger down upon the hand as h
brings the hand quickly down In frout
of him. It is hard to explain, but when
you see him do it you know he means
"I've got you."
Best Sign Talkers.
Among the various Western Indian
tribes the Southern peoples seem to
have been the most proficient In the
sign language, Just as the Southern
races of Europe ale those who talk best
with their hands. The Klowas and Co
manches were admittedly the best sign
talkers, though this was no doubt mere
ly by reason of the fact that they had.
In the days when sign talk ruled upon
the plains, more occasion to use the
sign language. MnJ. J. W. Towel!
points out, in his Interesting compila
tions from the records of the govern
ment ethnological office, the fact the
Klowas were supposed to get some of
their sign talk from "early Spaniards,
or, at least, nfter the advent of the
Spaniard they appear to have obtained
great proficiency. It may be possible
that these Southern tribes, meeting
white men often in the earlier days,
came to perfect themselves in the most
feasible form of communication which
then seemed possible.
One will not see so much of the old
6lgn talk among the tribes to-day if he
travels among the reservations of the
West, for the Indian Is nothing if not
practical, and he does anything in the
easiest nnssiWo c'uullge8 ln
his life have rendered It unnecessary
for him to rely much upon the sign lan
guage. There are halfbreeds and Car
lisle graduates to Interpret for him, and
he likes to stand up before the Great
Father and make a speech in that way,
being always an orator, an actor, and
an Individual well aware of the full
value of stage effect and dramatic ac
tion. He does not use the sign lan
guage liecause he does not have to use
it. Hence it Is now passing away.
Scientists are beginning to study it, and
are making minute records regarding
the old speech of the plains. The Uni
ted States government and the Smith
sonian Institution are doing all they
can to learn the old forms. The few
trappers and hunters of the pnst who
were once familiar with the sign talk,
and whft rHI! Mm tn oii i i ii
. ivf us uuuiu ic are y
SOUirht out and I
Once a common fact, because it arose-!
rrom a common necessity, 1t Is now'
disappearing to Join the ancient ami
buuu io ue rorgqtten story of one of the
most Interesting and most dramatic re
ft. c.c. nuun u iu nu me nistory ore
me worid.
Highland Venison.
we reu tieer venison whi-n
finds Its way to London l Si.ntA,
wild venison, shot In the forests. There
is great difference in quality in this
highland venison. To be good, venison
needs to be fat; and unlike most game
the "artificially fed" deer, or, rather,
the deer that enjoys the feed of . good
English park, Is better for tli table
than when picking up a hard lvlng on
a Scotch mountain, but there aire varie
ties of Scotch deer. Those n forests
with plenty of low grounot attached
grow fat nnd heavy, and the fivvit Js as
good as that of an. English iJt, Vfi.j
stag. At the end of October jfuu' be
ginning of November the flesh eterlor
ates rapidly and is rank nnd ifoor, evi
dence, if any were needed, 'that the
shooting ought to have closed enrllcr,
but a good deal of Russian venison.
shipped ready and cut up into Joints, In
.very poor stuff. The same rules as to
season covern thp minnlc nf i',i
. . 1 .I., in 1 1
tvnlsoii from English parks, but the
weight and quality of the latter n.-e su
perior to the Scotch. Most large pro
prietors find a sale for their spare veni
son near home, and consequently It Ih
less common In the market. Ited deer
hinds are again ln season In winter, but
the fallow vulson Is In every way bet
ter. Some ts even stall fed, and the car
casses show almost as much fat as does
small mutton.
When Eugenie lio.d the Fashion.
In her day Empress Eugenie was the
leader of fashion and her pin money for
dress was fabulous. Her feet and
bands were so small that her maids
who had her shoes and gloves as per
quisites could find no market for them,
so they were presented by the empress
every year to the orphans of the Eu
genie Napoleon asylum, where llfty
fatherless and motherless girls were
educated at her cost. All the white
shoes and white gloves which those
girls wore at their first communion
were those which had been worn by
the empress.
Population of the BritlHh Islen.
The census will be taken on the last
day of March, 1001. Ten years ago,
when the last census took place, the
population of the United Kingdom was
37,740,283. The registrar general esti
mates the present population at 40,
031,471. All in the Interest of Hoience.
Trof. Enill Yung of Geneva, Switzer
land, has counted the ants ln five nests.
Their numbers were 53,018, 07,470, 12,
033. 03,004 and 47.828.
When a minister falls to stick to his
text It may be because ho believes
scattered shot hits the most birds.
As the salt savors the broth, so does
labor give relish to pleasure. . '
MRS. BRYAN.
Her Husband's Partner in Lftw and
Politics, as Well as at Home.
No one who has watched the career
of William Jennings Bryan since his
first nomination for the Presidency can
have failed to observe the devotion of
this remarkable man to his clever little
wife, nor her enthusiastic co-operation
ln his political work. She has been an
Inspiration nnd aid to him ever since
his entrance Into public life and has
been his constant companion on many
of his severest campaigning tours. She
was with him at Chicago in 181)0, when
his meteoric eloquence flashed across
that chaotic assemblage -of Democrats
nd so thrilled them that his nomina
tion was the only possible result. Fol
lowing that event she rode with him
bver thousands of miles of railroad
lines and sat ou hundreds of platforms
with him, her heart swelling with pride
as she saw him stand before millions
pf his fellow-countrymen and receive
their applause. She was disappointed
by his defeat, but with an abiding faith
ln his future, was not disheartened.
During the campaign Just closed she
remained at home until about two
weeks before election, when, fearing
that the terrible strain was breaking
ll Jen i
,1 ' ' Mns W. J. BnVAH.
her husband's health, she Joined him at
New York, believing that her presensce
would impel him to be more cautious
as to his physical condition, and re
mained with him until the end. Elec-
fln day she went with him to Inspect
Heir farm and In the eveninsr she en
tertained his friends while receiving
election returns. If his second dofent
discouraged her, she gave no manifes
tation of it.
Mrs. Bryan's maiden name wan Mr
Elizabeth Balrd. She attended
iuary adjacent to llliiiola
Jacksonville, when Bryan was a stu
dent there. .Their marriage took place
a year after he was admitted to thA
bar. Without neglecting the duties of
lier home, she fitted herself in follow
her husband Into the broader fields of
human activity. In 1887 she took a
course 111 law at Illinois Colleen nnl
when they moved to Nebraska she was
admitted to the bar. She kept always
in touch with him. While bis chief In
terest lay In the practice of the law she
studied law and aided him In his nfiw
When he tumHl to politics and state
craft, she, too, took up the questions of
the day nu-1 lnvestlcnted tlmm Intnlli.
gently and exhaustively, Mr. Bryan
nauKiy com esses the aid she has given
him In preparing his addresses. Dur.
lag his term In the House of Itcpresea
tatlves she never failed to be iu the gal
lery when he was to" speak, and her
presence stimulated as her aid before
had prepared hi in.
The most pleasing phase of the Hr.
aus' life Is their domestic circle. While
participating iu her husband's public
nre, airs, jiryan has not neglected the
home. She keeps one servant, but does
much of her own work and hor iiiru.
children one boy and two girls show
tne results of her careful training. At
home Mr. and Mrs. Bryan are like ua-
marrled lovers.
M(l of Fruit Jars.
The lids of fruit Jars taken from the
top shelf of the kitchen closet, where
they may have lain long In retirement,
should be sterilized before using. Put
them Into cold water and bring the
water to the boiling point; take them
out one by one with a clean skimmer
and slip each upon Its Jur. They shouU
not be handled with the fingers except
to screw quickly into place, nor should
they be left ou the table nor wiped
with towels that have been hanging la
the kitchen. Any of these acts inaks
the sterilizing process useless, as germs "
may be picked up In this way after
has been accomplished.
Caune for Alarm. V'
"Gee whizz!" exclaimed the gl
In the menagerie tent, "Is this lion
business going to strike us ner''
"What's the mntterV" lur
mate.
"That matinee girl
the arm of a bum
I heard her sav
death If he'd
-Pliiladelph
Did "
hunte