Slightly contract the fingers of the right hand without closing
it; bring it up to and close in front of the forehead; turn the
hand so that the finger tips describe a little circle.
Bad boys sometimes speak of people having wheels in their head. This
Indian sign certainly seems to show that the Indian idea of craziness is
about the same as the boys’.
Captain Clark wrote a book on the Indian sign language, in which he
described great numbers of these curious signs. Lieutenant Mallery, too,
made a great collection of signs and wrote a long paper about them. A
third gentleman has tried to make type which shall print the sign
language. He made more than eight hundred characters. With these he plans
to teach the old Indians to read papers and books printed in the signs. He
thinks that the Indian can take such a paper, and making the signs which
he sees there pictured, he will understand the meaning of the article.
W. P. CLARK.—Soldier. Author of _Indian Sign Language_, which not
only is a convenient dictionary of signs, but contains much
general information regarding Indians.
GARRICK MALLERY.—Soldier, ethnologist. Connected with Bureau of
Ethnology from its establishment until his death. His most
extended papers are: _Sign Language among North American Indians,
Pictographs of the North American Indians, Picture Writing of the
American Indians_.
LEWIS HADLEY.—Inventor of Indian Sign Language type.