(115) Pointing to his gun, powder-horn, blanket, and beads—trading goods.
(116) Both hands horizontal, brought forward and upward from chest and then downward—plenty.
In giving this narrative I have observed the original sequence, but there were frequent interruptions, caused by consultation between Chatidoolts and his sons, and before the strangers departed again they had obtained a knowledge of some words of the Kenaitze language.
Footnote 1: [ (return) ]
Chatidoolts explained this to his sons as well as to me, saying that the mountain men had a peculiar mode of catching beavers with long sticks.
Footnote 2:[ (return) ]
They never occupy a house in which one of the other Indians died.
OJIBWA DIALOGUE.
[Communicated by the Very Rev. Edward Jacker.]
The following short dialogue forms part of the scanty tradition the civilized Ojibwas possess regarding their ancestors' sign language:
Two Indians of different tongue meet on a journey. First Indian points to second Indian with the outstretched forefinger of the right hand, bringing it within a few inches of his breast; next he extends both forearms horizontally, clinches all but the forefingers, and bends the hands inward; then he brings them slowly and in a straight line together, until the tips of the outstretched forefingers meet. This gesture is accompanied with a look of inquiry—You met somebody?