38 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the jerking of a string of sinew. A similar specimen is 22268, 

 obtained in 1876. Another specimen in which the tongue is vibrated 

 by a string is 23943, from Fiji. The instrument is shaped like a 

 netting shuttle and the tongue is strung with glass beads. A speci- 

 men from New Guinea (73428) is shaped like a three-tined fork, 

 the central tine shorter than the outside ones, which are brought 

 together and lashed. The middle tine is thinner at the base to 

 make it more flexible, and apparently was vibrated by a string 

 tied to a hole midway its length. A Moro jew's-harp obtained in 

 1901 is 208069, with a V-shaped frame that is held against the teeth 

 while the spur is struck with the finger of the right hand to produce 

 the vibration. 



It is interesting to note that (except among certain tribes of the 

 northwest coast) the only reed instrument used by the American 

 Indians was the " moose call." Such an instrument obtained among 

 the Chippewa was in the form of a short wooden tube, separable into 

 two sections, with a pointed reed set in the lower section. The reed 

 consisted of a very thin slip of bone or horn, probably that of a 

 deer. It is said that other tribes used a thin strip of birch bark in 

 a similar manner. 



3. The single ribbon reed is exemplified by a blade of grass placed 

 between the thumbs and set in vibration by blowing against it. 

 This principle of sound production is said to have been known in 

 ancient times by the Pueblo and other Indian tribes. An instru- 

 ment obtained from the Indians on Queen Charlotte Islands con- 

 tains the principle of sound production (20688). Mr. Hawley de- 

 scribes the instrument as follows : 



It consists of an oval block of wood divided into five longitudinal sections 

 and lashed together with twine. The sections are so hollowed as to form air 

 passages. The reeds are a strip of narrow silk ribbon passed in and out 

 around the sections and stretched taut across the middle of each air passage. 

 There is a difference in the pitch of the different sections, producing a very 

 discordant sound. 



DODBLK REEDS 



The oboe is a wind instrument with a double reed, its form being 

 the result of gradual development from antiquity. Prior to the time 

 of Handel it was the only wind instrument in the orchestra and 

 gave the " tuning A" to the strings, a prerogative which it holds to 

 the present day, although the clarinet has largely displaced it in 

 the family of wood winds. During the Middle Ages the oboe had 

 only three keys. The success of the Boehm system on the flute led 

 Buffet to adopt rings upon the oboe. Numerous improvements fol- 

 lowed, until the oboe is now the most delicate and perfect reed instru- 

 ment that is made. The collection contains an Italian oboe made 

 of boxwood in three joints, with two extra joints, which are, respec- 



