Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-10-08
THE DEAF AND DUMB PYGMY
FAMILIES.
BY JAMES II. FLINT.

!
propose to tell you are only about one
| inch in height, and when young are OF a
| bright silver color, growing darker as
| they enter on the active duties of life.
They are seldom at rest, being almost
constantly kept in service by their hard
task masters, to whom they are in bond
age; but whenever they are allowed a
few moments repose they sIeep all
huddled together in little wooden houses
without doors or windows or roofs. The
families are astonishingly large, being
numbered by thousands; and as it would
be impossible TO give every separate
member different name, each family is
divided into twenty-six tribes, and each
tribe is given name and house. This
is the more easily done because every
pygmy is known by his face. The
twenty-six tribes all have distinct and
characteristic features, and it is only
necessary to see a pygmy's face TO tell at
once to what tribe he belongs, and where
his house is.
When any of the little fellows get into
the wrong house, by mistake, they are
very apt to make trouble on their next
appearance, by speaking when they
ought to be quiet. 1t never does for a
member of one tribe to try to take the
place and do the office of the member of
different tribe. Each tribe bas its own
appointed duties, and although they
mingle with each other freely to perform
these duties they are rendered quite un-
fit for use by getting mixed up in their
houses and when, through any mishap,
this occurs, it takes long time to
separate and distribute them to their
different apartments.
almost forgot to say that among the
twenty-six tribes there were certain
pygmies who had larger faces, although
bearing the same names as their smaller
faced brethren. They differ SO much
from the others that it is necessary for
them to live in separate houses. These
big faced fellows are the upper ten" Of
the dwarf family. They are not so
numerous as the others, and have very
little to do in comparison with their
humber brethren Hence they are
thought to be proud and to hold them
selves very high. They do, in fact, live
above the rest, in what is called the
upper case" but are really capital set
Of fellows.
Although single family numbers its
thousands, that is nothing when COM
pared to the number of all the deaf and
dumb pygmies in the world. Why, in
our own country there are numerous
families in almost every town. And in
this great city of New York they are al
most innumerable. In America, England,
France, Spain, Russia, and several other
countries, the faces of the dwarfs are
much the same but there are some coun-
tries, such as China and Japan, where
they are very different.
The deaf and dumb pygmy family
originated in Germany some 400 years
ago, and from this branch all the other
families throughout the world sprang.
The English family is at this moment
staring you in the face, and speaking to
you, young reader. The members have
been taken up out of their little wooden
houses, one at time, stood on their feet
in row and made to spell the words you
are reading. Then they have been tied
up with stout string and placed, all to-
gether, on marble slab, where they have
been locked up in an iron frame and
taken to man who covered their faces
all over with plaster of Paris. Then the
plaster was taken up carefully, and there
was beautiful impression of every face.
Then this plaster impression was put into
a great iron box and immersed in hot,
was stereotype plate.
BY this time most of my young readers
will have guessed who and what these
curious pygmies are. They will begin to
understand that these little fellows are
not only deaf and dumb, but without an
inal life Of any kind; and yet, the type
family speaks to millions of persons,
every day, in every tongue, and in every
cline throughout the world! The little
pygmies are printingtypes.
But what are stereotype plates? They
are simply casts taken, as | have said,
from the plaster molds which are made
from the "set-up" types. When you re-
me z Der that the pages of this magazine
are printed from stereotype plates,
which could not be made until each little
type had been taken separately and
placed in particular position, and when
YOU are told that there are over three
hundred thousand types thus placed In
a single number of this magazine, you
will say that the deaf and dumb pygmies
are very useful and wonderful family
After the little types have left the i'm
preston of their faces in the plaster of
Paris, and the stereotype plates are cast
and finished, they are mounted on wooden
blocks, and "made up" as the printers
say, into FORM" with the pages ar
ranged so as to come in the right order
when they show themselves on the white
paper. Then the form is locked up
that is, large iron frame, called a
"chase,' is placed around the pages,
which are then securely wedged in the
iron frame. Sometimes this is done on
the press, and at other times it Is done
on large stone, and the locked-up form
is then lifted and placed ON the press.
The next thing to be done is to make
the form ready" and great deal of
| preparation is often required to secure a
clear impression from these stereotype
plates, especially when there are fine en-
cravings inserted in some of the pages,
as there are in the So. Nicholas But, at
| length, all the overlays" and under
| lays" are made, the impression is exactly
right all over the form; the ink on the
rollers is neither too thin nor too thick !;
there is no treacherous oil dripping any
where to spoil the work; and round go
the wheels, backward and forward moves
the iron bed containing the form, while
the paper goes in fair and white and