12. Kill: Clinch the hand and strike from above downward.—This motion, which may be more clearly expressed as the downward thrust of a knife held in the clinched hand, is still used by many tribes for the general idea of "kill," and illustrates the antiquity of the knife as a weapon. The actual employment of arrow, gun, or club in taking life, is, however, often specified by appropriate gesture. (G. S. 158.)
13. Arrow, To shoot an: Place the tips of the fingers downward upon the thumb, then snap them forward. (G. S. 25.)
14. Gun, Discharge of a: Place both hands as in No. 13, extend the left arm, contract the right before the face, then snap the ends of the fingers forward. (G. S. 130.)
15. Arrow, To hit with an: After the fingers have been snapped, strike the hands together and elevate the index-finger of the right hand. (G. S. 24.)
16. Gunshot, To hit with a: After the fingers have been snapped, strike the hands together as in No. 15. (G. S. 131.)
17. God, great spirit: Blow upon the open hand, point upward with the extended index-finger whilst turning the closed hand hither and thither, then sweep it above the earth and allow it to drop. (G. S. 89.)
18. Medicine: Stir with the right hand into the left, and afterwards blow into the latter.—All persons familiar with Indians will understand that the term "medicine" foolishly enough adopted by both the French and English to express the aboriginal magic arts, has no therapeutic significance. Very few even pretended remedies were administered to the natives, and probably never by the professional shaman, who worked by incantation, often pulverizing and mixing the substances mystically used, to prevent their detection. The same mixtures were employed in divination. The author particularly mentions Mandan ceremonies, in which a white "medicine" stone, as hard as pyrites, was produced by rubbing in the hand snow, or the white feathers of a bird. The blowing away of the disease, considered to be a malign power foreign to the body, was a common part of the juggling performance. (G. S. 179.)
19. Gun: Close the fingers against the thumb, elevate the hand and open the fingers with a quick snap. (G. S. 129.)
20. Bow: Draw the right arm back completely, as if drawing the bowstring, whilst the left arm is extended with clinched hand. (G. S. 43.)
21. Arrow: Pass the index-finger of the right hand several times across the left arm. (G. S. 23.)