May 2, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



269 



words, I took on the phonograph several cylinders, with the Indian 

 equivalent of the English words. In doing this I made use of pages 

 of the well-known schedules published by the Bureau of Ethnol- 

 ogy at Washington, speaking the English word, and requesting 

 the Indian to follow with the Passamaquoddy translation. This, 

 of course, is only possible when the Indian has a knowledge of 

 English, or is able to know by signs what is needed. 



To obtain sentences, a conversation was recorded in Indian 

 language between two Passamaquoddies. These cylinders reveal 

 the general linguistic pecuharities, and when studied might be 

 valuable adjuncts in the acquirement of the language. 



It seems possible that the phonograph may be found to be of 

 valuable assistance not only in the study of Indian, but also of 

 all modern languages. A number of cylinders with I'ecords of 

 sentences pronounced by a Frenchman or German with the proper 

 accent might be found a valuable aid to a teacher of these lan- 

 guages who is not a native of the land the language of which he 

 is teaching. Even proficient teachers might find it a help in their 

 classrooms. For study of these languages without the aid of a 

 teacher, a set of cylinders with the proper pronunciation might 

 have a great value in training the ear to the correct pronunciation 

 of the words and sentences of a foreign language, which are but 

 imperfectly indicated by phonetic methods. By the use of the 

 phonograph the teacher of modern languages might be relieved of 

 the endless repetition of pronunciation of words in a foreign lan- 

 guage which the pupil acquires with difficulty. 



I have taken the following clipping from a daily paper: " Edi- 

 son's phonograph has found a new application at the Milwaukee ■ 

 College, where it will be used as an assistant in teaching the 

 French and other foreign languages. The phonograph, of course, 

 never gets tired, and can be made to repeat the same sentence or 

 the same word hundreds of times. In giving a lesson, the teacher 

 reads it before the phonograph, at the same time addressing the 

 pupils, and the lesson is reproduced whenever wanted." This 

 would seem to indicate that the use of the phonograph in the 

 teaching of modern languages had been put in practical test. 



The necessity of work with the phonograph in preserving the 

 languages of the aborigines of this continent is imperative. There 

 are stories, rituals, songs, even the remnant of languages which 

 once extended over great States, which are now known only to a 

 few persons. These persons are in some instances old men and 

 old women, with whose death they will disappear forever from 

 the face of the earth if some record is not now made of them. 

 Many have already been lost forever, even, in the last twenty 

 years, and some are fated to disappear in the next decade. 



These rituals are in some instances the unwritten history of the 

 tribe, and contain all that the Indians know of their history. The 

 younger men among several tribes do not willingly take to the 

 customs of their fathers. They are rapidly losing their former 

 character. They have no desire to commit to memory the rituals 

 of their ancestors. To learn their language, to live among tbem 

 and study all that pertains to them from an intimate acquaintance, 

 even membership in the tribe, is desirable, if earnest investigators 

 can be found to undertake it ; but this is not always possible. The 

 phonograph renders it practicable for us to indelibly fix their 

 languages, and preserve them for future time after they become 

 extinct or their idiom is greatly modified or wholly changed. 



The prime object of the above-mentioned experiments was 

 simply to test the capabilities of the phonograph in recording 

 aboriginal languages. That it could be used for that purpose was 

 assured before I began by the knowledge that it records any 

 language with precision ; so that the experiments bearing on its 

 capabilities in this direction might seem superfluous. Demonstra- 

 tion, however, gave weight to belief. 



The expense at the present time for the use of the instrument 

 is possibly a practical difficulty, which it is to be hoped may be 

 lightened for those using the instrument for scientific purpo.'^es. 

 Certainly no idea could show a more disinterested personal inter- 

 est than a wish to permanently preserve the fast vanishing lan- 

 guages of the American Indians. It belongs to the realm of pure 

 science, and the scientific student will probably be met in a 

 similar liberal spirit by those who control the patents of the 

 phonograph. J. WALTER Fewkes. 



FACTS ABOUT TORNADOES. 



There is no subject in the whole science of meteorology 

 of such absorbing' interest as this of tornadoes. Its impor- 

 tance may be judged from the hundreds of pages that have 

 been written upon it, from the universal attention paid it by 

 newspapers through the length and breadth of the land, and 

 from the fact that many insurance companies have taken 

 the matter in hand, and are prepared to take tornado risks. 

 It is easy to see that the interest in this topic must gradually 

 increase as the tornado districts become more thickly popu- 

 lated, and as the facilities for spreading the news of disaster 

 become greater. There is no doubt that in many instances 

 losses from a tornado have been greatly exaggerated, and 

 fears of devastation have been increased because pictures of 

 the very worst tornadoes are the only ones that have been 

 printed. 



The most important thing for us to do is to establish the 

 facts, and these will serve as a basis from which we may 

 uproot false theories, and, if not now, at some time in the 

 future, to build up a solid superstructure. It is to be noted 

 that all studies on this question ultimately turn to the facts, 

 either to support theories or to form them. We shall find 

 the most diverse views in these discussions, and yet every 

 one of them based upon facts. It is only because of a false 

 or imperfect interpretation of what is observed that such 

 antagonism can exist. A partial explanation of these con- 

 flicting views lies in the fact that the outburst of a tornado 

 is accompanied by such terrifying manifestations, and ob- 

 servers are in such fear for their lives that they are totally 

 unfitted to give an account of what they have seen. In 

 many cases, also, there has been altogether loo narrow a 

 view taken of this phenomenon. We have been entirely 

 absorbed in the immediate destruction, the demolition of 

 houses, the twisting-ofP of trees, the distribution of debris, 

 etc., and have neglected the atmospheric conditions which 

 have led up to the disaster. All will agree that a thorough 

 knowledge of all the circumstances attending these out- 

 bursts is indispensable, if we would learn the mechanism of 

 a tornado, or if we ever attempt to guard against its devas- 

 tation, or ever try to give warning so that others may pro- 

 tect themselves. We may enumerate some of the facts as 

 follows: — 



Quiescent State of the Atmosphere. 



It is quite well known that tornadoes seldom occur singly, 

 but many are formed over an extended region, five hundred 

 or more miles in length and breadth, where the conditions 

 are favorable for their development. In this region the air 

 is remarkably quiet previous to the tornado. There is a 

 general or wide-extended storm some two hundred or four 

 hundred miles to the north-westward ; and into this storm, 

 which is usually intensified much above the average storms 

 at that season, gentle southerly and south-easterly winds are 

 blowing at a distance, which are freshened as the centre is 

 approached. Tornadoes rarely occur in any but the hotter 

 season, say from April to August; and in this season, even 

 when there are thunder-storms, high winds are an excep- 

 tion. 



Temperature. 



The universal testimony is, that there is an exceedingly 

 warm and sultry air. Even if the sky be overcast, and the 



