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the other that he wishes to be friendly. He does this by turning his horse around and traveling about fifty paces back and forth, repeating this two or three times; this shows to the other Indian that he is not for hostility, but for friendly relations. If the second Indian accepts this proffered overture of friendship, he indicates the same by locking the fingers of both hands as far as to the first joints, and in that position raises his hands and lets them rest on his forehead with the palms either in or out, indifferently, as if he were trying to shield his eyes from the excessive light of the sun. This implies, "I, too, am for peace," or "I accept your overture." (_Sac, Fox, and Kickapoo_ I.) It is interesting in this connection to note the reception of Father Marquette by an Illinois chief who is reported to have raised his hands to his eyes as if to shield them from overpowering splendor. That action was supposed to be made in a combination of humility and admiration, and a pretended inability to gaze on the face of the illustrious guest has been taken to be the conception of the gesture, which in fact was probably only the holding the interlocked hands in the most demonstrative posture. An oriental gesture in which the flat hand is actually interposed as a shield to the eyes before a superior is probably made with the poetical conception erroneously attributed to the Indian. The display of green branches to signalize friendly or pacific intentions does not appear to have been noticed among the North American Indians by trustworthy observers. Captain Cook makes frequent mention of it as the ceremonial greeting among islands he visited. See his _Voyage toward the South Pole. London_, 1784, Vol. II, pp. 30 and 35. Green branches were also waved, in signal of _friendship_ by the natives of the island of New Britain to the members of the expedition in charge of Mr. Wilfred Powell in 1878. _Proceedings of the Royal Geological Society_, February, 1881, p. 89. HALT! ---- Stand there! he is coming this way. Grasp the end of the blanket or robe; wave it downward several times. (_Omaha_ I.) ---- To inquire disposition. Wave the folded blanket to the right and left in front of the body, then point toward the person or persons approaching, and carry it from a horizontal position in front of the body rapidly downward and upward several times. (_Dakota_ I.) MANY. Wave the blanket directly in front of the bo
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