187 



Place the left forearm transversely before the body, hand extended, 

 flat, palm down, then pass the liat right hand downward from the lower 

 portion of the breast, forward and upward (forming a curve); then in- 

 dicate any object that has a black color. [Ahsaroka I ; iShoshoni and 

 Banal- 1.) " Literally— born black." 



Make the sign for l^hite Jlan, then point at a black object, or 

 rub along the back of the left hand with the flngei's of the right (for 

 black). [Dal-ota IV.) 



Touch the hair with the tingers of the right hand, then rub the 

 thumb and middle Anger together as if snapjiing them. Kinky hair. 

 {Wt/andot 1.) 



Sweep the hand over the hair (W); gather it up in tingertips (II, 

 with thumb advanced to finger-tips). {Apache 111.) 



Another: Sweep the hand over the face; then touch some black 

 object. {Ajyachelll.) "(1) Kinky hair. (2) Black face." 



Grasp the hair between the thumb and index, rolling it several times 

 between them. {Wichita I.) 



I¥ight. 



The two hands, open and extended, crossing one another horizontally. 

 {Dunhar.) 



The head, with the eyes closed, is laterally incliued for a moment 

 upon the hand. As many times as this is repeated, so many nights are 

 indicated. Very frequently the sign of the l§iiii is traced over the 

 heavens, from east to west, to indicate the lapse of a day, and precedes 

 the motion. {Long.) 



Move both hands, open and flat — that is horizontal — backs up, and in 

 small curves in front of the breast and over one another. ( Wied.) This 

 1 believe to be primarily the sign for darkness, secondarily for night. 

 Night, as a period of time, is more commonly, 1 think, indicated by the 

 sign for sleej). {Matthews.) The Prince of Wied^s sign differs fi'om the 

 {Oto and Missouri I) in execution and conception, one representing the 

 course of the cause (sun), the other the effect, obscurity, or night. " The 

 time or day that the sun moves beneath us when we sleep." {Boteler.) 

 The conception is covering and consequent obscurity. In the sign for 

 Day by the same author he probably means that the hands, palms up, 

 were moved apart, to denote openness. 



Make a closing movement as if of the darkness by bringing together 

 both hands with the dorsa upward and the fingers to the fore. The 

 motion is from right to left, and at the end the two indices are along- 

 side and close to each other. This movement must be accompanied by 



