n the subject.

For the reasons mentioned under the last heading, little hope was
entertained of procuring a collection from any of the Iroquoian stock,
but the intelligent and respectable chief of the Wyandots, Hento (Gray
Eyes), came to the rescue. His tribe was moved from Ohio in July,
1843, to the territory now occupied by the State of Kansas, and
then again moved to Indian Territory, in 1870. He asserts that about
one-third of the tribe, the older portion, know many signs, a partial
list of which he gave with their descriptions. He was sure that those
signs were used before the removal from Ohio, and he saw them used
also by Shawnees, Delawares, and Senecas there.

Unanimous denial of any existence of sign language came from the
British provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and was followed by the
collection obtained by the Hon. Horatio Hale. His statement of the
time and manner of its being procured by him is not only interesting
but highly instructive:

"The aged Mohawk chief, from whom the information on this subject has
been obtained, is commonly known by his English name of John
Smoke Johnson. 'Smoke' is a rude version of his Indian name,
_Sakayenkwaraton_, which may be rendered 'Disappearing Mist.' It is
the term applied to the haze which rises in the morning of an autumn
day, and gradually passes away. Chief Johnson has been for many years
'speaker' of the great council of the Six Nations. In former times he
was noted as a warrior, and later has been esteemed one of the most
eloquent orators of his race. At the age of eighty-eight years he
retains much of his original energy. He is considered to have a better
knowledge of the traditions and ancient customs of his people than
any other person now living. This superior knowledge was strikingly
apparent in the course of the investigations which were made
respecting the sign language. Two other members of his tribe,
well-educated and very intelligent men of middle age, the one a chief
and government interpreter, the other a clergyman now settled over a
white congregation, had both been consulted on the subject and both
expressed the opinion that nothing of the sign language, properly
speaking, was known among the Six Nations. They were alike surprised
and interested when the old chief, in their presence, after much
consideration, gradually drew forth from the stores of his memory the
proofs of an accomplishment which had probably lain unused for more
than half a