R
Rabbit. Move the M hand straight to the front, back up and undulating on the wrist, to imitate the rabbit hopping forward; then make V right hand and turn it to look back. (Scott.) The Cheyennes omit the second part of this.
Fr. le lapin; Ger. der Hase.
Raccoon or Coon. Draw the V hand horizontally across the face and nose. If necessary, also indicate Size and striped tail.
Fr. le raton; Ger. der Waschbär.
Race. Move the index fingers forward and up, side by side, as in Equal; but keep them moving a long way forward and upward. Compare Parallel, Marry.
Fr. la course, le concours; Ger. das Wettrennen, der Wettlauf.
Rags, In rags. Touch Coat, add Old; then hold left 5 slightly curved, back up and use ditto right as though to comb out the fingers of left, once or twice.
Fr. les guenilles, en loques; Ger. die Lumpen, zerlumpt.
Railroad train or Cars. Sign Fire twice upward for puffs, then add Fast. Compare Motor car.
Fr. le train [de chemin de fer]; Ger. der Eisenbahnzug.
Railroad. Indicate Train as above; then push the right G finger quickly along the back of the left V hand and on beyond. (Sheeaka.)
Railroad. Sign Road; then with the two G hands, backs up, indicate rails as in Parallel.
Railroad. Sign Hard (i.e., metal); then hold out two G fingers, backs up, six inches apart, and push both together far forward and a little up.
Fr. le chemin de fer; Ger. die Eisenbahn.
Railroad Station. Make the signs of Railway and House; adding, if necessary, Alight and Aboard.
Fr. la gare; Ger. der Bahnhof.
Rain (Falling from clouds). Hold A hands, backs up, opposite forehead, near each other; lower them slightly, mostly by wrist action; at the same time open and separate fingers and thumb so they point downward; repeat.
Fr. la pluie; Ger. der Regen.
Rainbow. Sign Rain then indicate the arch with a slow sweep of the flat right hand, back up, high above head.
Fr. l’arc-en-ciel; Ger. der Regenbogen.
Rank or Quality (Of a soldier.) With the right G, indicate stripes on left arm, or else touch each shoulder for epaulets.
Rank or Quality. Sign Chief; then lay upright right G, palm forward, against back of left ditto, as in Rising man, sliding the right up and down to various heights.
Fr. le rang; Ger. der Rang, die Würde.
Rank, What is his? Sign Chief, Big; Chief, Little; Question. Sometimes omit Chief, Little.
Fr. quel rang-a-t-il?; Ger. Welchen Rang bekleidet er?
Rapid. See Fast.
Rapids. Sign River, Rock; and pass the right 5 hand, back up, points first, swiftly forward and down, in an up and down waved course.
Fr. le rapide; Ger. die Stromschnelle.
Rash (Going forward blind). Hold left hand on eyes and point right G index forward, moving it to front.
Fr. imprudent; Ger. unvorsichtig, verwegen.
Rattlesnake. Sign Snake, then hold right G finger, pointing up, near shoulder, and shake it.
Fr. le serpent à sonnettes; Ger. die Klapperschlange.
Reach. Arrive there.
Ready, Orderly, or Arranged. Extend the open hands, palm to palm, a few inches apart, pointing outward and parallel to each other, over toward the left side; lift them both together from the wrists, move toward the right a little and let them come down again; repeat the motion until by stages the hands have been moved over to the right side. (D)
Ready. Sign All, Good; or use Arranged, or combine them into Arranged, All, Good. See Arranged.
Fr. prêt; Ger. bereit, fertig.
Recall to memory. See Bring back.
Receive. Hold out hollow right hand, palm up, half open; draw it back, slightly closing fingers. Compare Give to me.
Fr. recevoir; Ger. erhalten.
Recover, Get well, Get all right again, Revive, or Save. Hold right G hand, back up, in front of breast, pointing to left and front; raise the hand with a graceful sweep, at same time turn it back to front and index pointing
upward. The actual course of the index tip, if seen from above, is as in the dotted line under the hand.
If one is near death by disease, this may be used to denote recovery; if in great danger, this would mean escaped.
Fr. se porter mieux, se rétablir; Ger. sich erholen.
Recreation. See Play.
Reduce. See Decrease.
Reflect. See Idea and Consider.
Refuse. See Won’t.
Religion. Sign Medicine and Way.
Fr. la religion; Ger. die Religion.
Remain. See Sit.
Remember. Sign Heart, Know. Or, in popular code, touch the forehead with right G, raise the brows and nod.
Remember, I; or Understand. Hold right G index upright and grasp it firmly with left hand, face high.
Fr. je me souviens; Ger. ich erinnere mich.
Remember not (It slips from my grasp). As above, but let the right G index slip down and out. See Forget.
Fr. je ne me souviens pas; Ger. ich erinnere mich nicht.
Remembering. See Memories.
Repeat, Again, or Back. Place the finger tips of the compressed right hand on the left palm, as the latter is held in front of the body, back down, and strike once or twice. (Sheeaka. Probably borrowed from Deaf.) Compare Once, Twice, Often, and More.
Repeat. Hold up right G, chin high, back up, pointing to left and forward; lash down with it like a whip twice or more as best fits in. Sometimes sign Come back. Compare All the time.
Fr. répéter; Ger. wiederholen.
Reply. See Answer.
Request. See Beg.
Resemble. See Alike.
Respond. See Answer.
Responsible. Sign I (or whoever it is), Do, That Or My (or His) Way. (Seger.) Sign Carry and That (Suggested.)
Fr. responsable; Ger. verantwortlich.
Restaurant or Hotel. Sign for House and Eat.
Fr. le restaurant, l’hôtel; Ger. das Restaurant, das Hotel.
Restrain or Prevent. Sign Hold and Keep quiet. Sometimes use Do not.
Fr. réprimer, empêcher; Ger. zurückhalten, verhindern.
Result. Sign After, Work, See.
Fr. le résultat; Ger. das Ergebnis, die Folge.
Retreat (Of many). Sign Charge, then reverse and withdraw the hands.
Retreat (Of one). Sign Going, then turn the G hand palm toward you and draw it back with similar action. (Understood; not established.)
Fr. la retraite; Ger. der Rückzug.
Reverie. Bow the head, resting the mouth on the A fist. Compare Memories.
Fr. la rêverie; Ger. die Träumerei.
Revile. See Blackguarding.
Revive. See Recover.
Revolver. Sign for drawing from belt behind and present the same, using right G hand, back to right. Add Fire-off, if need be. See Gun.
Fr. le pistolet, le revolver; Ger. der Revolver.
Rich. Sign Possesses, Heap, Money.
Fr. riche; Ger. reich.
Ride (To ride an animal). Hold the hands as in Horse, and then move the hands to the front on short vertical curves.
Fr. aller à cheval; Ger. reiten.
Ridge (Of hills). Hold the A hands touching, thumbs toward face and upright; draw them apart a foot. Compare Soldiers and Hill.
Ridge. Sign Hill with right, then hold 5 out at arm’s length, face high, flat, and bent, so the fingers point to the left; swing it slowly horizontally across to the right. This last seems to mean “lying across the horizon” and appears in several combinations. See Mirage.
Fr. la crête; Ger. der Kamm.
Rifle. See Gun.
Right. See Good.
Rill. See Creek.
Ring (For finger). Hold up left 5 hand; then with right index and thumb make as though slipping a ring on the ring finger.
Fr. la bague; Ger. der Ring.
Rising man, or Coming man (Man rising to stand on a hill). Hold up left as in Hill; lay right G behind or beside it, against the thumb, palm forward, pointing up; push right up until the base of the index is sitting on top of the left; that is, becomes Prominent. See Prominent and Famous.
Fr. l’homme qui arrivera; Ger. der Mann der Zukunft.
River, Big stream, or Running water. Sign Water then with tremulous movement draw flat right 4 hand, palm down, from opposite left breast to opposite right; fingers always level and pointing to left. Compare Creek and Rill.
Fr. la rivière; Ger. der Flusz.
Road (i.e., Highroad; especially between high banks, hills, or fences). Holding the open hands, palm to palm and pointing forward, carry them forward, as if they represented the sides of a road; then add Going by pushing the flat right hand forward in line between, palm to left, fingers level. (Sheeaka.) Or sign Way and Wagon.
Fr. le chemin, la route; Ger. der Weg, die Landstrasse.
Robe. Sign Coat; but instead of ending at waist, sweep the hands as low as possible.
Fr. la robe; Ger. das Kleid, die Robe.
Rock or Stone. Sign Hard and sometimes indicate shape. For Stone add Lump. Compare Metal.
Fr. la roche, la pierre; Ger. der Fels, der Stein.
Root. First sign Tree or Grass, as may be; then point down, place the 5 hands together at the wrists, backs up and level; pointing left to front and left, right to front and right; then move them out and apart.
Fr. la racine; Ger. die Wurzel.
Rope (Trailing after the horse and twisted). Sign After; then, as right is drawn to rear, make tip of index describe a spiral curve. Commonly omit the left hand.
Fr. la corde; Ger. das Seil, der Strick.
Rose (Flower). Hold the fingers of the left hand straight, little separated, arranged in a circle, back to left and front; in front of body, index finger horizontal and pointing to right and front; with right hand make as though picking berries from the left finger tips. (C)
Fr. la rose; Ger. die Rose.
Rotten (Meat). Indicate smell, etc.
Fr. pourri; Ger. faul, verfault.
Rub it out, Erase, Annul, Never mind, As you were. Put middle finger of right hand to tongue, then rub left palm and wipe the palm with under side of right forearm. (Sheeaka. A white man’s sign now understood by Indians.)
Or, if afar, simply shake the flat right hand quickly and vigorously from side to side as it is held palm forward in front of the face. (Pop.) Compare Easy and Erase.
Fr. effacer; Ger. auswischen, “Schwamm drüber!”
Rumor (A little flying thing). With flat 5 right hand, palm down, shoulder high, swing out level from throat to right, working all the fingers as in playing piano. (A Paiute sign, given me by Mary Austin.) A combination of Wind and Fly.
Fr. la rumeur; Ger. das Gerücht.
Run. Swing the fists at each side as in running.
Fr. courir; Ger. laufen.
Run against. See Quandary.
Run away, Slip away, Clear out, Sneak (Run under cover). Hold out flat left hand, palm down; push right G hand under it quickly and sinuously. Sometimes preface it by laying one hand over the eyes. Compare Jealous.
Fr. filer, se sauver; Ger. ausreiszen, weglaufen.
Running Water. See River.