GRAPHIC ART OF THE ESKIMOS. 903 



are common to all mankind, but in the greater part of the United 

 States the sign language is rapidly falling into disuse, both because of 

 the destruction of the buffalo, tiie pursuit of which was participated 

 in by many tribes of diverse languages, a condition which brought 

 about a most highly developed gesture language, and also because of 

 the rapid settlement of the country and the consequent restrictions of 

 Indians traveling from place to place, which also served to keep alive 

 gesture speech. The adoption of the Spanish lan 

 guage by the Indians on the southwest border, and 

 the Chinook jargon in the north, also helped to resume 

 the need of a resort to gesture, the present methods 

 of oral speech, mutually intelligible, being vastly 

 superior and more satisfactory. 



The use of gesture speech by the Eskimo is well 

 known, and repeated instances showing the attempted 

 reproduction, graphically, of gesture signs occur in the ivory records, 

 some examples of which are reproduced. 



To facilitate further study in this line of investigation, the writer 

 submits a collection of gesture signs used by the Eskimo and other 

 tribes of southern Alaska, a collection made some years since, though 

 hitherto unpublished. 



P1CTOGRAPHS OF GESTURE SIGNS. 



]S r o. 1 of tig. il O represents a shaman waving his hands and arms, as 

 if he were stirring up the air above his head, the motive being the 

 invocation of benign spirits to aid him in his work. The rested figure 

 shown in No. 2, denotes the man making application for aid, and his 

 arms are extended upward in like manner, but in this instance denoting 

 supplication, the difference between the two being that the latter is 

 rested upon the ground to indicate his oak-ing for aid, whereas the 

 shaman is portrayed not only erect, but in the attitude of 

 dancing, with his song and incantations. 



The illustration given in fig. 121 is taken from an ivory 

 drill bow in the National Museum, marked as from Norton 

 rig. 121. Sound, Alaska. The figure represents the gesture sign, or 

 [G COVER\ *&quot; signal of discovery. In this instance the game consists of 

 whales, and the signal is made by holding the boat paddle 

 aloft and horizontally. 



Fig. 122 represents a number of natives fishing through the .ice.for 

 seal. The individual represented at No. 1 is dragging an animal out 

 of the water, a hole having been cut for breathing place at which these 

 animals make their appearance. No. 2 has a seal upon the ice and 

 appears to have great difficulty in pulling it along. No. 3 is preparing 

 to spear an animal, his watchful attitude being apparent. No. 4 is 

 holding aloft his harpoon or lance, making a signal that he has discov 

 ered game, or hears it, and thereby warns others near by to be sileiit. 



