The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-09

qualities Of the deceased. and In some M
stances showing hat Il = good thing
that he - dead, and assuring the survivors
that II il no use 10 mourn fer him. because
there are plenty OF others that are just as
good.
This may strike some people az q novel
way at coneo1inx the widow and the or
phan. but il is effective and popular among
the Duaias. and differs from our own cszs-
tom in the fact that 7 gives both sides Of
the case.
The text OF q funeral announcement 10
very imposing II Is couched In chosen lam
guage. and coiored with pathos, so that
it strongly appeals to the sympathies Of
any one capable OF that emotion
The best time fer talking on the drum
is late in the night or just before dawn.
but In the chief town Of the tribe It can
be heard at all hours Of the day. II Is not
confined TO any subject.
The fishermen far down the river tell
the people OF the town what they have for
sale: the traders far away In the bush
tell what they have to bring down to the
coast. treaties are negotiated and count
less other things Of equal Importance to
the people are done by means of this drum.
II white trader wishes to secure any
thing from the interior. he informs his
drum man. who takes the instrument. calls
the people Of the next town and delivers
the message by the aid of the drum. In
this manner the word Ia passed on to its
destination.
When a ship arrives on the coast the
word is Immediately spread throughout
the tribe: they also describe the cargo.
and the people who arrive by it. They
have Q pseudonym for every white man.
and do not attempt to can his true name
on the drum. For example, a certain
white man who II known to them as a
great walker, they describe as walk.
walk. walk. all the time" Another man
they describe as ''go vex. go shoot. bad
man. too much" by which they mean to
describe the man as having a high tenn
per- Another man they describe as ''plen-
ty rubber. small tobacco, he finish" the
translation of which is 1.-The man who pays
a small amount Of big lot Of rubber
or, In other words. one who Is not liberal
in dealing with the n2tives-a close trad
err
This tribe is under German rule. and all
proclamations OF the governor are given
out by the drum. Through the same me-
dunn the people discuss It among them
selves and often transmit their objections
and protests by the same means.
The drum speech Is not understood by
all the people OF the tribe. though 1t is
not regarded as a secret among them.
Some of them learn it as a profession.
and charge small fee for transmitting
a message. Those who repeat the mes
sage do so as a courtesy. but II is under
stood among the professional drummers
that each one shall repeat for the others.
but there IL no division OF the proceeds.
The history of writing shows that In the
progress Of that art man first used picto-
graphs of a crude and puerile type, but as
they became more and more useful they be-
came more and more conventional. until
they lost all resemblance TO the objects
which they at nrst portrayed. This stage
was properly called idiographic. and out OF
II grew the higher form OF symbology in
which each group Of figures represented a
word and was known as the verbal system.
1, Is still in current use among the Chi
nese. This is the same In principle as the
drum speech OF the Duaia, except the one
is permanent and addressed to the eye.
while the other IL transient and Is addressed
to the ear. This is the only thing to be
regretted in the latter system II 1t had
been possible to preserve the tales repeated
for ages by the Duala drums what his
tory it might reveal! 1t would furnish us
a clew to the past which must now forever
remain lost secret to the races of man
kind. KS IL
The syllable method of writing was a
natural deduction from the verbal. and out