198 THE GROUNDWORK OF SCIENCE
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meeting deaf-mutes, precisely as travellers in a foreign
country are rejoiced to meet persons speaking their
language."
Mr. Romanes himself has given* a very interesting
account of a conversation held between two Indians of
different races, and carried on exclusively by gestures,
beginning as follows :
" Which of the north-eastern tribes is yours ? "
" Mountain river men."
" How many days from mountain river?"
" Moon new and full three times," etc.
A deaf-mute from Washington is said f to have related
to some Indians, that " when he was a boy he went to a
melon field, tapped several melons, finding them to be green
or unripe ; finally reaching a good one, he took a knife, cut a
slice and ate it. A man made his appearance on horseback,
entered the path on foot, found the cut melon, and, detecting
the thief, threw the melon towards him, hitting him in
the back, whereupon he ran away crying. The man
mounted, and rode off in the opposite direction." Another
story of the kind, also told in gesture-language only, was
much appreciated by the Indians, and completely under-
stood.
A truly wonderful amount of abstract thought was thus
expressed and apprehended by means of gesture only. And
there is no evidence that speech generated or facilitated
gesture, but rather the contrary, while it is very evident
amongst many peoples notably in the more southern part
of Europe how very much gesture aids and enforces the
meaning of speech. No doubt speech has greatly, must
have greatly, aided the elaboration of ideas, and so enriched
the mental pabulum for gesture-language ; but it can have
had no tendency to develop gesture -language itself, but
* Op. cif., p. 1 08. t p. 112.
meeting deaf-mutes, precisely as travellers in a foreign
country are rejoiced to meet persons speaking their
language."
Mr. Romanes himself has given* a very interesting
account of a conversation held between two Indians of
different races, and carried on exclusively by gestures,
beginning as follows :
" Which of the north-eastern tribes is yours ? "
" Mountain river men."
" How many days from mountain river?"
" Moon new and full three times," etc.
A deaf-mute from Washington is said f to have related
to some Indians, that " when he was a boy he went to a
melon field, tapped several melons, finding them to be green
or unripe ; finally reaching a good one, he took a knife, cut a
slice and ate it. A man made his appearance on horseback,
entered the path on foot, found the cut melon, and, detecting
the thief, threw the melon towards him, hitting him in
the back, whereupon he ran away crying. The man
mounted, and rode off in the opposite direction." Another
story of the kind, also told in gesture-language only, was
much appreciated by the Indians, and completely under-
stood.
A truly wonderful amount of abstract thought was thus
expressed and apprehended by means of gesture only. And
there is no evidence that speech generated or facilitated
gesture, but rather the contrary, while it is very evident
amongst many peoples notably in the more southern part
of Europe how very much gesture aids and enforces the
meaning of speech. No doubt speech has greatly, must
have greatly, aided the elaboration of ideas, and so enriched
the mental pabulum for gesture-language ; but it can have
had no tendency to develop gesture -language itself, but
* Op. cif., p. 1 08. t p. 112.