The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-10
LANGUAGE OF SIGNS
ONLY MEANS OF coMMuNIcA- TfoN COMMON TO MANKIND.
Interpretations Placed Upon Conven- tional Gestures By Different
 Tribes.

New York Evening Post.
 The language of signs is commonly re- gsrded as the natural means of communi- cation among mankind. It's vocabulary, so to say, is limited. no doubt: but. so far as it goes, every human being can un- derstand what 1t means. Animals have similar means of communication, intelli- gible among themselves, and 10 us also in some measures. So, at least. it seems to those who have not trave&ed much in wild countries or have not observed closely. But, in fact, the language of signs is almost as artificial as that of words. There may be certain gestures which have the same significance for all races of men, but they are few.
 We should not feel confident that point ing finger to the open mouth would be understood by every tribe of savages to mean hunger; and not a few would cer. tainly misunderstood the gesture of put. ting out the tongue to mean thirst. Mo- tions which we think instinctive prove to be merely conventional, a heritage from nunfberless generations in Europe, not common to humanity at large. Surely a smile must be the natural sign of vel. come. whatever it's accompaniments. But Captain Cook reported that when New Zealanders met a frienf. after long sep aration, they joined noses for half an hour. then sobbed and howled most dole fully"
 Missionaries have confirmed this state ment. When Mir. Marsden returned to his flock they greeted him with floods of tears, and wailing as If for the dead. In fact. that was the national mode of ex. pressing joyous recognition. And the Maories were not the only people who thus defied the laws of nature. as we think. When Drake visited California the Indians received them with delighted rev. ercnce. Says his chaplain and chronicler
 They raised a kind of most lament. able weeping and crying out. which con, tinued great while together; the women specially extending their voices in a most mi gal Fna
 Chiefs came from distance to behold the wondrous strangers. and at each ar rival the women, as if they had been desperate, used unnatural violence against themselves, crying and shrieking piteous' ly. tearing their flesh with their nails, and also their cheeks in a monstrous manner" The Babissa negroes wished to show that they Were glad to see Living stone again: SD they threw themselves on their backs, clapped their hands and made "a rather inelegant missing. EI' dently a smile is not the universal token of welcome. It is very we'll known that the Chinese beckon by flinging the hand outward instead of drawing it towards the body, as we do: one negro tribe at least does, the same: Peons of Nortnern Mex. Mex. but with the lips. protrudlng them m diverse fashions to express shades of meaning ,a perennial source or amuse. 1ncnt for the foreigner. It IS suggested thai this practice arose from disinclina' tion to uncover the arms, often naked, which are swathed in the sarape; for morning and evening in that country arc bitterly cold. All signs and gestures. of course. must he due to some req son. Mir. Tyler was vastly aStonished to sec the pupils of the Deaf and Dumb School at Berlin express the word French by making a chop. as 1t were, on the back of their nccks with the open palm. It was explained to him that a former generation of schoE ars had been much impressed with the story of the French Revolution, and henccforth they adopted the process of giiliotining. as- a symbol of the nation. This is an instructive little anecdote. Had the origin of the custom dropped out of memory 1t would have remained as myS terious as the "doleful bowling" of New ZeaIanders when transported with joy: for 1t must be noted that Mir. Tyler described the sign as chop after he had heard the explanation.
 Perhaps it did not strike him so at the time Snapping the fingers means con tempt with us. if it means anything. Tn the South of Europe 1t means delight. But many African races show respect thus. and some shake their lists under the nose of a person whom they specially honor When the mountaineers of Sikkim meet A friend first they bow low. then they mt out their tongues and simultaneously nrcss forward the left ear like a man somewhat deaf. Mir. Waddell, who gives a Dhotograph of the ceremony. attributes fhis latter action to the reminiscence ot A practice long extinct. When Sikkim