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For other uses, see Smoke signal (disambiguation).
Native Americans on a painting by Frederic Remington
Native Americans on a painting by Frederic Remington

A smoke signal is a form of visual communication used over a long distance, developed in the North American Indians. Frederic Sackrider Remington ( October 4, 1861 - December 26, 1909) was an American painter, Illustrator, Visual communication as the name suggests is Communication through visual aid

By covering a fire with a blanket and quickly removing it, a puff of smoke can be generated. A blanket is a type of Bedding, generally speaking a large piece of cloth intended to keep the user warm especially while Sleeping Blankets are distinguished from A vapor or vapour (see Spelling differences) is a substance in the Gas phase at a Temperature lower than its Critical temperature Smoke is the collection of airborne solid and liquid Particulates and Gases ref> ''Smoke Production and Properties'' - SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering With some training, the sizes, shapes, and timing of these puffs can be controlled. Puffs may be observed from a long distance, and are apparent to anyone in visual range. With this in mind, signaling stations were often created to maximize the viewable distance. Examples of signaling stations include stone bowls used by Native Americans and the towers of the Great Wall of China. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th

There is no standardized code for smoke signals; the signals are often of a predetermined pattern discerned by sender and receiver. Because of this, smoke signals tend to convey only simple messages, and are a limited form of communication.

Contents

Examples

Yámana

Yámanas used fire to send messages by smoke signals, for instance if a whale drifted ashore. The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan (the original spelling Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of [1] The large amount of meat required notification of many people, so that it would not decay. [2] They might also have used smoke signals on other occasions, thus it is possible that Magellan saw such fires (which inspired him to name the landscape Tierra del Fuego) but he may have seen the smoke or lights of natural phenomena. Tierra del Fuego ( Spanish for " Land of Fire " in English tiˈɛərə dɛl ˈfweɪgoʊ] Spanish ˈtjerað̞elˈfweɰo is an Archipelago [3]

Noon Gun

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines would send up smoke to notify others of their presence, particularly when entering lands which were not their own. However, these were not complex signals; smoke simply told others where you were located. [4]

Notes

  1. ^ Gusinde 1966:137–139, 186
  2. ^ Itsz 1979:109
  3. ^ The Patagonian Canoe. Extracts from the following book. E. Lucas Bridges: Uttermost Part of the Earth. Indians of Tierra del Fuego. 1949, reprinted by Dover Publications, Inc (New York, 1988).
  4. ^ Myers, 1986: 100

References

Dictionary

smoke signal

-noun

  1. (often pluralized) A method of long-distance communication sometimes used in ancient and undeveloped societies, consisting of messages conveyed by means of columns or intermittent puffs of smoke.
  2. (idiomatic, often pluralized) An indirect message or indication, especially concerning a future event.
  3. A type of flare or combustion device sometimes used as a distress signal.
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