The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-11-06
HOW sAvAGEs CoUNr.
Queer Methods Of Enumeration in Va
rious Parts Of the World.
From the GriDsack.

From the GrfDsack
Savages are not very we'll Off for
numerals, and their knowledge Of arithme-
tic is very limited. Very few savage nations
have distinctive words for any higher num-
Der than four-some do not go higher than
two-all higher numbers being included in
the terms many" or ''innumerable."
Some nations can count beyond four, but
they have no word to denote five" and
therefore they use the same word for Ave"
as they use for "hand.r For six, then thew
would say zone hand and one," for "tenn
they would say two ha ds."
Those who count beyond ''ten" make use
of the "toeS," and for "eleven" say "two
hands and one toe" and Twenty" would
be two hands and two feet" or zone man. ~
The Bushmeu and Brazilian Wood In
dians cannot count beyond two. The Boto-
cudos of Central Africa have a word for
zone" but ANYTHING beyond lie ''many. {"
Among the natives of EIlice's islands the
word for "ten" means 'alln-all the fingers
The natives OF Erroob and some of the
Cape Workers Of Australia have words for
zone" "two" and three" but for ''fourn
they say "the whole"
In Western Australia they have words
for zone" 'two +" three" and flour, while
the word for five" means "the fingers be-
ing on one hand" and "tenn "being on two
hands,
One author gives word for "hfteen"-
''mehr-in-belli-belli-gu jura- banga"-
the exact meaning Of which is "the fingers
on the hand on either side ami half the
feet"
The Lower Murray nations have the words
zone" and 1.-TWO" only; for five" they say
lone hand" for "ten" 1.-TWO hands." Very
few Australian tribes can count beyond
-four" their term for "five' merely inn
plying "a large number
In Cations Tropical South Africa" IL is
stated that the Dammaras use no term be-
youd 3, and that when they wish to express
"A" they take to their fingers Beyond 5
they cannot count at all 1t is seldom, how
ever, that they lose in bargain through
their inability to count.
When bartering, each sheep or OK, or
whatever they may be selling, must be paid
for separately. If this rate Of exchange
were at the rate Of sticks OF tobacco for |
sheep, it would greatly puzzle DammarA to
accept sticks for 2 sheep.
Cation says that he several times paid
them In that way and that the Dammsra
forthwith set aside t. O sticks for one Of the
sheen, and even when he found that he had
two sticks left for the other sheep he still
had his doubts as to the genulneness of the
transaction, and was not satisfied until two
sticks we're put into his hand and one sheep
driven away, and then another two sticks
given to him for the other sheep. a
In Labrador the word for "fven means
also hand, }" while the word for twenty"
means 1.-The hands and feet together" The
Zamuca AID Muysca Indians for "tiyen say
zone hand finished" for six" they say
lone on the other hand" for item" "two
hands finished" or 81 uply foot"
For ''eleveAn they say foot one.n for
twelve" foot two" and for twenty" they
say fleet finished" or lone man." meaning
las many fingers and toes as a man has.
The Esquimaux of Greenland for
twenty" say "a man." and for 100" they
say five men," but the generality of t. EN-
are not such learned arithmetic ans as this.
and, therefore, v hen the number is above
twenty they say 'innumerable." For
eight" they say three on the other hand. -
and twenty four" is flour on the second
man."
The Kolusches use similar terms The
Ants for five" say zone hand, y for ''sixn
''one on hand." for ''seven" two on hand. y
TO eight" they say two hands less two"
mine" Is 1.-TWO hands less one, and ''tenn is
two hands"