Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-02-19
Unknown Tongues.
BY n. sCHELE WERE, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

EenIle words OF aleCJlOn- 1uO nOOOSN
; snake as many of us have seen in the East
Indies, is fierce and furious when first
, captured. But uttheso-called conjuror rouses
her wrath still more by blows and threats
the next moment however, the blandest
words WOO and win her rheart, and weave q
charm which even the crafty snake can
not resist. Anon he Rises his hand as II
to strike; she follows it with a wistful eye
and playing tongue. 1t is sight OF
strange, irresistible beauty, this combat
between man and,.serpent. Each watches
with intense attention-the dusky Indian
ready to strike with brutal force, the cum
ming reptile waving in graceful curves,
raising the strange spectaclemark that
surrounds her glittering eyes, and gather
ing venom for the fatal bite. Now with
soothing words, and now with soft caress-
es, he tames her fierce temper. Then he
: calls in the aid of music, and soon the ami
NAL raises her head as if in rapture OF
endowment, and in a short time learns to
weave quick mazes in the air, to twist and
twine in most beauteous lines, and follow
the masters bank wherever it bids her.
Pliny tells us of sons of the African desert,
who, with their eyes glances alone, could
rule over serpents. That race of men Is
lost but many Nubian may be seen at
the upper falls of the Nile, who can imi-
tate with surprising precision, the call of
the reptiles. and tempt them TO come
forth from every corner and erevice.
Vipers, also, and aC,1ers' are neither
deaf nor dumb, and cannot heIp, listening =
to the voice of temptation. They were, u
is well known, formerly much used in
medicine and the precious theriak,
known at the time of Nero, and still man
ufactured in Venice, Holland, and France,
consists mainly of the flesh of fYipers. So
poor, prosecuted animals, they are caught
in all countries, and-who would have
thought it?-almost always by means of
their acute hearing. In Italy, grim,
swarthy men, Of gipsy cast, are seen to
stand in the center of large hoops and
then TO indulge in strange, fanciful whis-
lings. After while an adder is seen
gentle to glide up; another, and still an
other appears, no one knows whence; and
all gazing with glittering eye at the quaint
musician, raise their spotted bodies up
against the magic hoop. The deceiver
takes them one by one, with a pair of
songs, and thrust them into bag that
hangs on his shoulder. The poor, delu-
ded vipers are then carried to town, and
kept by druggist and doctor, or sent in
boxes filled with sawdust, alive all over
the world The French, of all nations on
earth the most cruel to animals have still
a more wicked way Of catching adders.
They take the first one they obtain, or
any other snake they can seize upon, and
throwing it into a kettle of boiling oil,
there roast it alive. The fearful kissing
of the tortured creature is heard by its
kindred; they come from under sunny
banks. from the low furze and scrubby
bramble bushes, and as they approach
they are eagerly seized with hands defend
ed by leather gloves. Some have said
men of Maine, we surmise-that it serves
them right, because they are very intem-
perate reptiles. Naturalists-wine bib
bers themselves-have placed vessels fill
ed with wine under hedges and near piles
of stones the thirsty vipers come from
all sides, and soon getting drunk, fall into
the hands of their captors.
Fish have no visible ear, it is said, and
no external avenue for sounds from a dis
tance. Still, they hear with great acute
ness. On the continent of Europe, few
castles and villas are without the tavorite
pond, and its broad-backed carp and
speckled trout. They all learn to obey
the ringing of bell, and come in eager
haste to seize the morsels that young and
old are fond of seeing Ahem catch. La
cepede even speaks of some carps of ven
cradle age that were kept in the gardens
of Tuileries for more than hundred years.
They would come not only at the given
signal, but actually knew the names that
were given them and rose to the surface
as they were called. They were, however,
naughty and proud, for they listened only
to those they loved, and in vain even
tempting morsels, were offered by strangers
The royal pensioners disdained to receive
aims they took only the crumbs that fell
from the table of their master, the mon
arch. But even plebeians among fishes
hear; and it is not the fastidious carp only
that cannot bear the grating sound of
sawmills, and has his nerves shaken by
firing of guns. Surgeons also are fright
ened by loud cries, and thus driven into
the tisherman's net; and the bleak-fish
detests a drum so that he rather surren-
ders than endure its abominable rolling.
An Italian has, of late proved in bril-
liant manner, that fishes cannot only hear,
but actually obey and execute orders,
that, in fact. they show much higher en-
dowments than they have heretofore been
thought to profess. He has tanned a varie-
ty of fishes, from the humble tench to the
gorgeous gold fish of China, and as he bids
them they come and go, they rise or sink,
and display their rich, ever-changing col
Ors. Nay they preform a miniature
drama; pike seizes trout, and lets it
go or brings it up to the surface, as the
masters commands with his voice.
1t needs no proof to establish the
hearing of higher animals; but even
the lowest among them, and those
that are almost mute show their appre-S
citation of sounds when carefully watch
ed The shapeless hedgehog, when tanned,
will uncoil at the word of his-owner, and
the grotesque seal raisesits uncouth head,
with such beautiful eyes, high out of the
water, TO listen to music on shore. 1t
loves to hear gentle voices, and is great
full for kind words. OF all things else,
they bind it firmest to its master, and call
forth its warmest affections. The tiny
mouse, that finds home in the hut of
the Alpine herdsman, becomes there so
tame, that it points its silky ears and APP
proaches at the whistle of the Senner,
when at night he returns to his meal
and his rest. Even with us, it has
been known 10 come timidly out of its
corner, to listen to a song.
The ancients say much of the delight
with which the grazing herd listens to the
flute of the shepherd. The Swiss, on his
meadows and Alps, also knows full well
how exquisite is the ear of his magnificent
cattle. There, in far greater freedom
than in the narrow valley below, in the
pure bracing air of lofty mountains, with
clear blue sky above, and rich fragrant
pasture around them, all their senses are
sharper, all their instincts more fully de
veloped. The leading COW, with the larg
est of bells, is not unconscious of her hon
or and station. She shows it in her more
stately gait, she atfectsa proud and haugh-
ty carriage, Woe to the bold intruder
who dare to precede her! But woe also
to the wanderer from another heard -
She knows, and they all know, in an in
slant, the tone of bell that belongs not
D L Il IL