The hands are held with the edge upward, and the right hand strikes
the other transversely, as in the act of chopping. This sign seems to
be more particularly applicable to convey the idea of death produced
by a blow of the tomahawk or war-club. (_Long_.)
Clinch the hand and strike from above downward. (_Wied_.) I do not
remember this. I have given you the sign for killing with a stroke.
(_Matthews_.) There is an evident similarity in conception and
execution between the (_Oto and Missouri_ I) sign and _Wied's_.
(_Boteler_.) I have frequently seen this sign made by the
Arikara, Gros Ventre, and Mandan Indians at Fort Berthold Agency.
(_McChesney_.) This motion, which maybe 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. _Wied_ does not say whether
the clinched hand is thrust downward with the edge or the knuckles
forward. The latter is now the almost universal usage among the same
tribes from which he is supposed to have taken his list of signs, and
indicates the thrust of a knife more decisively than if the fist were
moved with the edge in advance. The actual employment of arrow, gun,
or club in taking life, is, however, often specified by appropriate
gesture.
Smite the sinister palm earthward with the dexter fist sharply, in
sign of "going down"; or strike out with the dexter fist toward the
ground, meaning to "shut down"; or pass the dexter under the left
forefinger, meaning to "go under." (_Burton_.)