Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes | Page 3

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