Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-26
ECHOES FROM ALTON.
PROFESSOR ABEBNETHY AND HIS
PROPOSED EXPERIMENT.
IN An ORIGINAL LANGUAGE STUDY.
The Mountains Of Virginia Can Fur
n;sh the Bnbics-Some Primitive
eoectmens-Tbc Garner Line of In
xestIgation Discussed-Briefs.
1corresnondenoe Of the pIspateh.l

ALTON, VA, March 2i-When / was a
kid a little friend Of mine committed a
serious breach Of etiquette. / rememoe'
we were down at the "cuppen' with a
white woman whom as between the devil
and the deep sea Of recent freedom
we had hired as servant. Miss Susan
asked this other little boy. "how old are
your"
Miss Susan despised service, and she
fired up in feminine wrath At the question.
Well" she snorted. you've got less
manners n any decent white folks | ever
see; but eff you uns kno', I'm jes as old
as my tongue, N er little older n my
teethr'
4 recent subject in high science re-
calls this old inquiry and its answer.
With about six months margin, ] should
say this is the relative age Of tooth and
tongue that Professor Abcrnethy. OF
Philadelphia, requires TO found his new
colony In phonetics.
Professor Abernethy wants 200 babies
under two years Of age. He wants TO ma
out what speech our common ancestor
talked. lie wants TO know with what
speech Father Adam cOurted Mother Eve
when he implOred her 10 favor him with
her hand-to look with cold dsoain upon
other rivals and to grant that they alone
Of all the wide. wide world should eat
that mellow apple!
Considering their small experience. this
first pair Of lovers were eminently sensi-
Bile; We have no record that they wrote
love-lettcrs 70 each other; their burning
words Of passion were mingled with signs
and bushes: their vows of sweet deVOu0n
trembled with faltering utterance from
lip TO lip.
But with what tongue? Professor Aber-
nethy wants to know all )ut this origi-
nal language. which was given TO Adam
at the creation and spoken by the sons
Of earth until the building Of the Tower
Of Babel. He believes that babies LETT
alone would go back TO the original mo-
Their tongue. and to prove this he proposes
to rear away from any influences Of older
tongues-Or teeth-20) cooling infants.
These. isolated from the sound Of human
voices. except their own. will either give
us the old language, or failing in that,
brand-new one.
Professor Abernethy says he has two
sites offered him for the colonization OF
this babbling world. one is in the Oriental
East. 1t is "three square miles, already
enclosed in a wall so high that no human
being can surmount it," Upon these high
embellishments will be placed electrical
machines to signal ANY attempt at tres
pass" The other locality is i'm America.
IN mountain region says the Profess
sor. Impossible Of entrance. save through
o. ravine. where l will build my Office
through which food supplies must go and
an entrance must be effected" Deaf
mutes will attend upon these children for
fifteen years. by which time it is thought,
the new language will have been formu-
lated Deaf-mute physicians will be in
charge and monthly bulletins will he Is
sued as to the physical welfare Of the lit
tie inhabitants of this second Eden.
Professor Abernethy says he has in
terested a man with millions OF money
In his project. and that he has no doubt
Of its ultimate success. He has done
more-he has created a wild hope that
right here in the mighty Businesses Of
the Blue Ridge. this pioneer colony OF
tongue and tooth may be founded. II be-
hooves every man now 10 speak we'll for
his own section.
only think oil IT, Two hundred babies
drawn from a suffering community. and
walled up in "Dobys Drop so they could
neither set out, nor outside foe get in
though this last idea / THINK super-iuous-
and millions Of money 90 keep them there!
Novel and noble philanthropy I want 20
say that babies are just as indigenous 10
this part Of mountainous Virginia as
'pOssums and persimmOns. We have
ninety-nine cute specimens 'as old as
their tongue n a little older N their
teeth" waiting now; the other l0l can
be easily recruited when the summer Visi-
tors come no 10 the Alton House and the
Mountain Top" Hotel month or so
later.
VERY SMART BABIES.
Our babies are very smart babies, and
they are primitive babies. too-just as
primitive as ma and pc. The original set
tiers OF the soil. Awhile back / went
down on Coon creek" and founu two
linguistic prodigies. l happened IN about
the noon hour when the family were at
dinner and was invited TO draw up
without any ceremony.
The hope of this domestic circle was
youngster just beginning TO talk. With
them as a visitor was the young wife's
sister, and her baby. a girl. also COM
mencing to articulate the root Of all Ian
guages-at least, she didn't speak Eng
lsh.
We had just finished bean soup and
were proceeding 10 roast fowl when the
household baby observed:
"Ony gar du dar dee
"Tom," said the mother, "he wants a
chicken leg; cut away some Of the meat
and give him the bone"
"Wiu you tell me-" l asked. "by what
occult power you found out that your
baby wanted a chicken leg?"
"Wel, my goodness! and the mothers
voice held genuine surprise, you don
go