Sign Language

A pantomimic system of communicating ideas, extensively used by North American Indians. The range of its use is not exactly known, but it is common among all the tribes of the plains and many of those beyond the Rocky Mountains. It is in one sense the court language of the Indians, being the only means of communication between tribes not speaking a common dialect. According to Gen. Marcy, it is accurately used and perfectly understood by all the Indians from the Gila to the Columbia. The same author tells a remarkable story, which seems to show that the system is very nearly, if not exactly, the same as that used in teaching mutes in deaf and dumb asylums.