XIV 



The pampas Indian's battle-cry — Terrifying effects of sound 

 generally — Other aspects of sound — Effect of a powerful 

 sneeze — The human voice at its loudest — Account of a man 

 with a big voice — Sound in the ears of the drowning — Sound 

 of big bells heard in a belfry — A great thunder-clap — The 

 phenomenon and the dream — The wilderness of the mind. 



TO go back to the old metaphor of the tree- 

 climbing and exploring. When I finished 

 with the branch or the subject I was on in 

 Chapter VIII., which was the sense of smell in man 

 and animals, I became aware of another subject 

 (or branch) left behind, and this was the sense of 

 direction, and it led to the question of migration, 

 which was a long subject and has occupied no fewer 

 than four chapters. Let us now return to Chapter 

 VIII., and to the incident of the frontier tragedy 

 with which it concludes. 



There is a word more to say about that terrifying 

 battle-cry of the pampas Indians. It has no doubt 

 been a habit, universal in man, to go into fight with 

 a cry, this being the natural expression of the 

 emotions of the occasion — rage, and the hope to 

 intimidate the enemy. Animals of the dog kind 

 growl and gnash their teeth, and all cats yell at each 

 other from the same motive. These savages were 



highly accomplished in the art, and regarded their 



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