Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1888-03-15
QUEER LANGUAGES.
savases rh>s rsik ~ whissIinx. Dram.
ming or FInx@r-F4ashfux.

~ WV tAth MetAANZ 81 lAf D~FtLt At
thropoiogical Society. Lieutenant
QuedenfeldL German officer who has
lived on Gomero island. one Of thu
Canary group. described q whissling
language which IS used BY the inhabi,-
anta The language does not consist
II any arbitrary series Of signals OF
rounds; II is described ~ ordinary
speech translated into ~articulats whist
ling. each syllable having its own
fingers and lips when whistlIng. and
Lieutenant Qleden feldt asserts that be
can carry on a conversation with q
aeighbor = mile of who perfectly I'M
derstands all he il saying The prac-
thee 8 confined 20 Gomero Island. and
II quite unknown in the other islands
Of the Archipelago The adoption Of
the whistling language IS sail 70 b.
h peculiar geological construction
Of GomerO Island. 1t il traversed By
numerous gullies and deep ravines
running oHt in all directions from the
central plateau A. they srs not
britged. they can only BE- crossed with
great difficulty; hence a man living
within n stones throw Of another in a
straight line has often 10 20 round
many miles when he wishes to see and
speak to his neighbor. This. Il is
~eonsectured. led to the adoption II
whistling rs . useful means of COM
municaiion. which has gradually as
sumed the proportions II a true sub
stitute for speech II IS described as
being any thing but ~unpIeasing to the
ear.
This reminds one Of the drum, Ian
guage OF the natives Of the Came
rooms mentioned in Buchholz's book
on West Africa. by means OF which he.
most Complicated message can be COM
Veyed to villagers at n distance when
occasions uecessitats IT, For this pur-
pose a peculisrly-shsped drum Is en-
Ploved b. dividing the surface into
uneven halves the instrument on be-
ing struck may be made 10 Weld two
distinct notes. BY these and shorten
ing or frightening the intervals be-
tween each note. n code Is established.
with n regular sequence Of taps.
strokes and intervals capable Of ex-
pressing every syllable in the Ian
suage All the natives understand
this code; and So highly elaborated is
1t. that q chief can BY it, means sum
mon 20 his presence any vilIager whom
ne desires to see. intimating To the
latter at the same time the purpose f1r
which he is required. In this way. too.
messages n be sent from will ve To-
village over wide stretches IF country
the drummer in one hamlet trans
To the next the signals
ne hears-and with extraorir-
nary rapidity. BuchhoIz had proof
one occasion If the utility OF this
drum language and its capabilities as
a medium Of communication. The |
who had charge Of Ms came /
obtained leave one morning to attend
some private business OF his own.
which took him to the other side II the |
Tbs man remained away an
unreasonable time. and Buchhnlx got
very angry. a be was waiting to leave
the place. Another negro suggested
h a they should drum for him. The
drummer was sent for and instructed
10 inform the missing servant that his
master was very angry with him. aud
mat he was TO return at once. In n
few minutes the man returned with
the inevitable apologies for the length
OF time he had been away. H. had
perfectly understood the message
drummed out to him. ~ BuehhoIz as
BY inquiring Of him.
Equally curious Is the so-csIIe! sign
language. or finger speech OF Oriental
traders largely employed on the east
coast OF Africa in the direction Of Z an
Walking through a market
place In this regi0u Of the world the
Traveller will often witness a stranre
sight A couple Of grave. Ione-ba ar,Ied
Arabs will step aside. each will put his
hand up the others Apparen, lv to
pinch each others fingers for a few
minutes. Often the peri nanc will
be varied One will unrole his gon~
turoan cloth. or perhaps lift up
ms mantle and : then cover
his hand, and concealed beneath
this the pinching Of the fingers will
proceed as before. The initiated
know that this Is a method of barsg4in-
ing by means Of a code Of iur.r
speech understood b. Eastern TRADERS
from Southern Arabit and y lrtheru
Africa to the borders u Persia. 4 has
been adopted in the first instance for
simple reason In the East. espeefaIIv
along the o n Il the Red S.a- Ztuxf-
bar and Southern Arabia. an b~.sTaes.
Is transacted in the open air. Aud in
All such transactions the bvstanders.
oilers rif-raf and meddlesome basv-
bodies generally eontrive 10 have A
good deal u say. ~teudering theIr adj
vice % both buyer and seller. The
unwritfen etiquette II the East re-
quhres thai such Friendly counsel
should rot b. resented Bat a. the
merchants and dealers find Il An I'M
mitlgsted nuisance and A great hin
10 business. hey have adopted
a certain code OF Tiger signs which
they exchange when bargaining with
their hands concealed under their
sleeves or tUrbau cloth Each finger
and each joint Of a finger represents q
certain figure s. tbs pair can bar
gain BY the h0ur-as thew II en- do-ts
thetS hearts eontsat. and none of tb,
aoisy and gaping busy bvlies around
them D. any the wiser for is
Janss' GGSstte
That's a pretty dirty shirt Won