The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-11-12

The fact t0at some peISouS "IC AoA'
handed may start the question whetn'
er the human animal was always rign,
handed. for abnormality often indicates
a trying back" to an ancestral condl'
ton. Now, when we look at our Ian
guage, and that in the case Of man is
q fair test, we find how strongly the
comparative force exhibited by each
of the hands has left its mark on our
common expressions. The right Is the
ruling" hand: the left is the worth
less" or the weaker" hand If we re-
gard the derivative meanings OF the
names. In words imported from the
Latin a certain ability Is called "dex-
terity," or right handedness, While tnat
which has an evil or unsuccessful inf1u-
ence becomes sinister" or left handed.
In like manner if we look at words
from a French source we find that a
clever person is "adroit" because he
has right handed qualities. but clum-
sy person is "gauche" because his work
is left handed.
1t Is evident that when our race be-
came so far advanced as to frame
words for ideas and things the rule was
that the members of it were right
handed. And if we examine other Ian
guages we find proofs that such rule
existed among the people using them.
There is, however. good reason for
thinking that man originally could use
either hand equally well.
''This seems hazardous statement to
make about 4 remote ancestor in the
age before the great glacial epoch had
furrOwel the mountains of northern
true and strictly demonstrable. Just
,ry as you read to draw with the fore
finger and thumb of your right hand
an imaginary human profile on the
page on which these words are printed.
Do you observe that (unless you are an
artist and therefore sophisticated) you
naturally and instinctively draw it with
the face turned toward your left Shout
der? Try now to draw it with the
profile to the right and you will find it
requires far greater effort Of the
thumb and forefnger.
THE hand moves Of its own accord
from without inward, not from within
outward. Then again draw with your
left thumb and fOretnger another mag
mary profile and you will find. for the
same reason, that the face in this case
looks rigEtward Existing savages and
our own young children whenever they
draw a figure IL profile. be it of man
or beast, with their right hand. draw it
almost always with the face or head
turned to the left. in accordance with
this natural instinct. Their doing SO
is a test OF their perfect right handed
ness.
But primitive man, or. at any rate,
the most primitive men we know per-
sonally, the carvers of the figures from
the French bone caves. drew men and
beasts on bone or mammoth tusk turn
ference is obvious. They must have
been ambideXtrous. Only ambidextrous
people draw so at the present day.
and, indeed, to scrape a figure other
wise with a sharp flint on piece of
bone or tooth Or mammoth tusk would,
even fer practiced hand, be compare
lively difficult (Allen).
In connection with this passage it is
interesting to examine the reports of
the bureau of ethnology, where it will
be seen that, although the majority of
profiles executed by the North Amer
lean Indians follow the rule, many
faces also turn to the right, and it Is
found that left handednesS, or, rather.
ambideXterity. is very common among
these tribes
But doubtless the reader will notice
that In writing his hand moves from
left to right and not from right to left
Here is an apparent violation Of the
principle laid down in the quotation
given from Grant Allen. It is, how
ever, more apparent than real. If you
study Egyptian hieroglyphics you will
find that protiles invariably look to the
left. Hebrew, Arabic, Hindoostanee
and other ancient languages read from
right to left. In these as in some
modern tongues. we have to begin the
book at what is to US the wrong end.
The reason Of this is that the early Ian
guages were inscribed, not written. A
tablet of marble or brick formed the
page. The right hand could therefore
carve or Impress the symbol in the nat
ural way and pass on. With the intro
ductlon of wax tablets of papyrus and
in later times of parchment and paper.
a difficulty arose. for if the hand began
at the right and worked leftward it
would obliterate its own work.
Hence the habit of writing from left
to right. so that not only may the writ
ing be clean. but also that it may be
visible. With writing from left to right
came also reading in the same direc-
tion. and one result of this is very curl
Gus. We have become so accustomed
to moving the eyes from left to right
That we instinctively look at things in
that way. Close your eyes in a room
and then omen them YOu will find nm.