[First Across the Continent by Noah Brooks]@TWC D-Link bookFirst Across the Continent CHAPTER VI -- Winter among the Mandans 6/18
To some extent they relied upon the universal language of signs to make themselves understood, and this method of talking is known to all sorts and kinds of Indians.
Thus, two fingers of the right hand placed astraddle the wrist of the left hand signifies a man on horseback; and the number of men on horseback is quickly added by holding up the requisite number of fingers.
Sleep is described by gently inclining the head on the hand, and the number of "sleeps," or nights, is indicated by the fingers.
Killed, or dead, is described by closed eyes and a sudden fall of the head on the talker's chest; and so on, an easily understood gesture, with a few Indian words, being sufficient to tell a long story very clearly. Lewis and Clark discovered here a species of ermine before unknown to science.
They called it "a weasel, perfectly white except at the extremity of the tail, which was black." This animal, highly prized on account of its pretty fur, was not scientifically described until as late as 1829.
<<Back Index Next>> D-Link book Top TWC mobile books
|