Sign Language Among North American Indians 2

Sign Language Among North American Indians 2

258. Lodge. Pai-Ute 431

259. Lodge. Kutchin 431

260. Horse. N.A. Indian 434

261. Horse. Dakota 434

262. Horse. Kaiowa, etc. 435

263. Horse. Caddo 435

264. Horse. Pima and Papago 435

265. Horse. Ute 435

266. Horse. Ute 435

267. Saddling a horse. Ute 437

268. Kill. N.A. Indian 438

269. Kill. Mandan and Hidatsa 439

270. Negation. No. Dakota 441

271. Negation. No. Pai-Ute 442

272. None. Dakota 443

273. None. Australian 444

274. Much, quantity. Apache 447

275. Question. Australian 449

276. Soldier. Dakota and Arikara 450

277. Trade. Dakota 452

278. Trade. Dakota 452

279. Buy. Ute 453

280. Yes, affirmation. Dakota 456

281. Absaroka tribal sign. Shoshoni 458

282. Apache tribal sign. Kaiowa, etc. 459

283. Apache tribal sign. Pima and Papago 459

284. Arikara tribal sign. Arapaho and Dakota 461

285. Arikara tribal sign. Absaroka 461

286. Blackfoot tribal sign. Dakota 463

287. Blackfoot tribal sign. Shoshoni 464

288. Caddo tribal sign. Arapaho and Kaiowa 464

289. Cheyenne tribal sign. Arapaho and Cheyenne 464

290. Dakota tribal sign. Dakota 467

291. Flathead tribal sign. Shoshoni 468

292. Kaiowa tribal sign. Comanche 470

293. Kutine tribal sign. Shoshoni 471

294. Lipan tribal sign. Apache 471

295. Pend d'Oreille tribal sign. Shoshoni 473

296. Sahaptin or Nez Percé tribal sign. Comanche 473

297. Shoshoni tribal sign. Shoshoni 474

298. Buffalo. Dakota 477

299. Eagle Tail. Arikara 477

300. Eagle Tail. Moqui pictograph 477

301. Give me. Absaroka 480

302. Counting. How many? Shoshoni and Banak 482

303. I am going home. Dakota 485

304. Question. Apache 486

305. Shoshoni tribal sign. Shoshoni 486

306. Chief. Shoshoni 487

307. Cold, winter, year. Apache 487

308. "Six." Shoshoni 487

309. Good, very well. Apache 487

310. Many. Shoshoni 488

311. Hear, heard. Apache 488

312. Night. Shoshoni 489

313. Rain. Shoshoni 489

314. See each other. Shoshoni 490

315. White man, American. Dakota 491

316. Hear, heard. Dakota 492

317. Brother. Pai-Ute 502

318. No, negation. Pai-Ute 503

319. Scene of Na-wa-gi-jig's story. Facing 508

320. We are friends. Wichita 521

321. Talk, talking. Wichita 521

322. I stay, or I stay right here. Wichita 521

323. A long time. Wichita 522

324. Done, finished. Do. 522

325. Sit down. Australian 523

326. Cut down. Wichita 524

327. Wagon. Wichita 525

328. Load upon. Wichita 525

329. White man; American. Hidatsa 526

330. With us. Hidatsa 526

331. Friend. Hidatsa 527

332. Four. Hidatsa 527

333. Lie, falsehood. Hidatsa 528

334. Done, finished. Hidatsa 528

335. Peace, friendship. Hualpais. Facing 530

336. Question, ans'd by tribal sign for Pani. Facing 531

337. Buffalo discovered. Dakota. Facing 532

338. Discovery. Dakota. Facing 533

339. Success of war party. Pima. Facing 538

340. Outline for arm positions, full face 545

341. Outline for arm positions, profile 545

342a. Types of hand positions, A to L 547

342b. Types of hand positions, M to Y 548

343. Example. To cut with an ax 550

344. Example. A lie 550

345. Example. To ride 551

346. Example. I am going home 551

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

SIGN LANGUAGE

 

AMONG

 

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

 

COMPARED WITH THAT AMONG OTHER PEOPLES AND DEAF-MUTES.

 

* * * * *

 

BY GARRICK MALLERY.

 

* * * * *

 

 

INTRODUCTORY.

 

During the past two years the present writer has devoted the intervals

between official duties to collecting and collating materials for

the study of sign language. As the few publications on the general

subject, possessing more than historic interest, are meager in details

and vague in __EXPRESSION__, original investigation has been necessary.

The high development of communication by gesture among the tribes

of North America, and its continued extensive use by many of them,

naturally directed the first researches to that continent, with the

result that a large body of facts procured from collaborators and

by personal examination has now been gathered and classified. A

correspondence has also been established with many persons in other

parts of the world whose character and situation rendered it probable

that they would contribute valuable information. The success of

that correspondence has been as great as could have been expected,

considering that most of the persons addressed were at distant points

sometimes not easily accessible by mail. As the collection of facts

is still successfully proceeding, not only with reference to foreign

peoples and to deaf-mutes everywhere, but also among some American

tribes not yet thoroughly examined in this respect, no exposition of

the subject pretending to be complete can yet be made. In complying,

therefore, with the request to prepare the present paper, it is

necessary to explain to correspondents and collaborators whom it may

reach, that this is not the comprehensive publication by the Bureau

of Ethnology for which their assistance has been solicited. With this

explanation some of those who have already forwarded contributions

will not be surprised at their omission, and others will not desist

from the work in which they are still kindly engaged, under the

impression that its results will not be received in time to meet with

welcome and credit. On the contrary, the urgent appeal for aid before

addressed to officers of the Army and Navy of this and other nations,

to missionaries, travelers, teachers of deaf-mutes, and philologists

generally, is now with equal urgency repeated. It is, indeed, hoped

that the continued presentation of the subject to persons either

having opportunity for observation or the power to favor with

suggestions may, by awakening some additional interest in it, secure

new collaboration from localities still unrepresented.

 

It will be readily understood by other readers that, as the limits

assigned to this paper permit the insertion of but a small part of the

material already collected and of the notes of study made upon

that accumulation, it can only show the general scope of the work

undertaken, and not its accomplishment. Such extracts from the

collection have been selected as were regarded as most illustrative,

and they are preceded by a discussion perhaps sufficient to be

suggestive, though by no means exhaustive, and designed to be for

popular, rather than for scientific use. In short, the direction to

submit a progress-report and not a monograph has been complied with.