INDIAN LANGUAGE OF SIGNS
1. Sun—The fore-finger and thumb are brought together at tip, so as to form a circle, and held up towards the sun's track. To indicate any particular time of the day, the hand with the sign of the sun, is stretched out towards the east horizon, and then gradually elevated, to show the ascent of that luminary, until the hand arrives in the proper direction, to indicate the part of the heavens in which the sun will be at the given time.
2. Night, or sleeping—The head, with the eyes closed, is laterally inclined for a moment upon the hand. As many times as this is repeated, so many nights are indicated; very frequently the sign of the sun is traced over the heavens, from east to west, to indicate the lapse of a day, and precedes the motion; it also precedes the following following—
3. Darkness—The hands extended horizontally forwards, and back upwards, pass one over the other, two or three times touching it.
4. Combat—The clenched hands are held about as high as the neck, and five or six inches asunder, then waved two or three times laterally, to show the advances and retreats of the combatants; after which the fingers of each hand are suffered to spring from the thumb towards each other, as in the act of sprinkling water, to represent the flight of missiles.
5. Prisoner—The fore finger and thumb of the left hand are held in the form of a semicircle, opening towards and near the breast, and the fore finger {272} of the right representing the prisoner, is placed upright within the curve, and passed from one side to another, in order to show that it will not be permitted to pass out.
6. Man—A finger held vertically.
7. Seeing—The fore-finger, in the attitude of pointing, is passed from the eye towards the real or imaginary object.
8. Seen, or discovered—The sign of a man, or other animal, is made; after which the finger is pointed towards, and approached to your own eye; it is the preceding sign reversed.
9. Entering a house or lodge—The left hand is held with the back upward, and the right hand also with the back up, is passed in a curvilinear direction down under the other, so as to rub against its palm, then up on the other side of it. The left hand here represents the low door of the skin lodge, and the right, the man stooping down to pass in.