January 20, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



37 



man (president, we might say) of this forest republic, which com- 

 prised the thirty confederated tribes of Powhatan." These ques- 

 tions need not be discussed now, but such statements ought not to 

 be made history. 



My attention was directed to the article by a friend, who was 

 surprised by a mention of the snow-snake among these primitive 

 Virginians. The children indoors were playing at gus-ha-eh (or 

 ' peach-pits '), it is said ; but where the peaches came from at that 

 early day is not explained. The " boys were tumbling about in the 

 light snow, at their favorite game of ga-wa-sa (or the ' snow- 

 snake ')." The use of these Seneca words sufficiently shows the 

 source of information, but it is not wise to place a Northern game 

 so far South. Something more than a light snow is required for 

 this sport ; and boys do not tumble about in it, but stand up to 

 their work. Neither would any one risk breaking the graceful 

 shaft between the legs of one running at full speed. 



I was recently surprised at not finding the snow-snake in the 

 collection of Iroquois implements at the Museum of Natural His- 

 tory in New York, and still more to learn how few students of In- 

 dian life know any thing of it. A game something like it is found 

 among some Western Indians, but the implement used is very dif- 

 ferent. Nor do I now recall any mention of it among early Indian 

 games. That it would not be of general use is in the nature of 

 things. Only in those colder regions where an icy crust often forms 

 would it naturally occur. Even there it may be recent, as the head 

 is always weighted with metal, melted into grooves, and nicely 

 smoothed. Of course, this might have been different if its use was 

 ancient. Morgan describes the Seneca snow-snake as being from 

 five to seven feet long, and he gives a good figure and description. 

 Those of the Onondagas are often longer. Mine is of their medium 



size, and is upwards of seven feet long, while I have seen many not 

 less than nine feet in length. They are very neatly made, for any 

 irregularity would interfere with successful use. The smaller 

 notched end of mine is but a trifle over half an inch wide by about 

 a quarter deep. This increases to seven-eighths of an inch wide 

 by one-half deep just back of the raised head at the other end. 

 The head begins to rise about six inches from the extreme point 

 with a gradual curve. Lead is inlaid in this, often in a pretty pat- 

 tern ; and I have thought it barely possible, granting its antiquity, 

 that stone bird amulets may once have formed the heads. These 

 seem to belong to woodland regions, where the winters are long, 

 but such a use is hardly probable. 



The game is simply one of dexterity and strength. The fore- 

 finger is placed in the basal notch, the thumb and remaining fingers 

 reaching along the shaft, and the snow-snake is thrown forward on 

 the ice or hard snow. It might go a little way through light snow, 

 but this is not favorable to its use. An icy crust or the track of a 

 sleigh, the travelled road, or even ice, are favorite resorts. A much 

 worn road would injure the fine polish of the implement, and a level 

 surface, with a good crust, is commonly chosen. On a fine win- 

 ter's day men and boys are often seen in such places, pursuing this 

 sport. They play quietly, for the Onondagas are a very quiet peo- 

 ple, and one out of sight might know nothing of the most exciting 

 game. When the slender shaft is thrown, it glides rapidly over the 

 surface, with upraised head and a quivering motion, that gives it a 

 strange resemblance to a living creature. The Christian Ononda- 

 gas have abandoned its use, perhaps because betting is a feature of 

 the game, or it may be they dislike its symbolism ; but I think the 

 former the true reason. The Senecas call \\. ga-wa-sa ; the Onon- 

 dagas, ka-ivher-tah ; neither of these words referring to its snaky 

 appearance. I am unable to learn of any idea attached to the 

 name, and this favors an early use. The game is to see which per- 

 son or side can throw it farthest, and sometimes the distance of a 

 quarter of a mile is reached under favorable circumstances, but I 

 think this rare. W. M. BeauCHAMP. 



Baldwinsville, N.Y., Dec. 30. 



The Conspiracy of Silence. 



The Duke of Argyll's charge of a conspiracy of silence among 

 scientific men, by means of which new truths are to be ignored, 

 has been perhaps sufficiently answered. In fact, according to the 

 duke's own statement, the theories of Messrs. Murray and Guppy 

 are already printed, and are before the public for judgment. This 

 discussion has been interesting, but, so far as I have seen, two 

 points worthy of attention have not been brought out. 



1. There is in all branches of learning a just and good conserva- 

 tism. We cannot afford to give up scientific truths that have been 

 acquired with much labor and difficulty. Hence, when theories are 

 proposed that conflict with established principles, they are to be re- 

 ceived with caution. No one can believe in perpetual motion until 

 our theory of dynamics is overthrown. A mathematician who 

 claims to solve the equation of the fifth degree will have a hard 

 time in finding believers. If a writer on theoretical astronomy vio- 

 lates the rules of the calculus, he has no right to ask the respect of 

 astronomers. He deserves to be ignored. Astronomers should 

 not spend their time in demolishing absurd theories that may be 

 proposed to them. The age of Don Quixote is past. 



2. But in the discussion which has taken place the assumption 

 seems to be made that scientific men are better, or ought to be 

 better, than other people. Although this might be taken as a tacit 

 compliment, I think it is a mistake. The truth is, that scientific men 

 are very much like other people. They have the same desires, the 

 same passions ; and they will have the same greed for money and 

 fame that other people have. If they place themselves on a footing 

 devoid of morals, they will develop as mean men as the world .has 

 ever seen. But it is not simply from the character of the men who 

 do scientific work that we are to look for good results. These come 

 rather from the scientific method, which, in its final judgment, pays 

 no regard to the condition of the worker. The question is only if 

 his result is right. The dissipated young Frenchman, Galois, was 

 killed in a duel at the age of twenty-one, but his genius was so 

 powerful that he left an indelible mark on the old science of mathe- 

 matics. His work remains, and in using it we do not consider 

 Galois and his extreme republican principles. Asaph Hall. 



Washington, D.C., Jan. 10. 



One of the Causes of the Inefficiency of the Reis Telephone. 



Some who have experimented with the Reis telephone declare 

 that they have never been able to hear a transmitted word. Others 

 have heard some words and sentences ; but these have always been 

 weak and irregular, so as generally to discourage one in a short 

 time, especially now, when through the improvements in telephones 

 it is possible to reproduce words both loudly and regularly. E.x- 

 perimenters therefore have been impatient with Reis's apparatus, 

 and seldom have done any thing with it, except make some hasty 

 tests for some phase of the great telephone controversy. 



The inefficiency of the Reis telephone has, by a kind of common 

 consent, been admitted to be altogether due to the imperfect me- 

 chanical operation of the transmitter, by which the making and 

 breaking of the current when it is in operation is such as not to 

 properly follow the actual vibratory movements of the diaphragm 

 when the latter is moved by speech-vibrations ; that at best it can 

 deliver to the line only the fundamental rate of the vibration, leav- 

 ing out the characteristic over-tones which are supposed to be ne- 

 cessary to the successful transmission of speech. This judgment as 

 to the mode of operation of the transmitter has been derived wholly 

 from what has been heard by one listening at the receiver ; for there 

 is to-day no known method by which it may be determined whether 

 or not a transmitter has the proper motions, except by listening at 

 the receiver. That is the test. Hence it has been concluded, that, 

 if speech v/as not properly delivered in a receiver, the trouble must 

 be with the lack of proper movements of the transmitter. Yet it is 

 mechanically possible for the transmitter to move properly, and the 

 receiver to be so much overloaded, so to speak, that the latter fails 

 to be heard on account of the extra disturbance. 



The Page effect — the magnetic click — may be so strong in a 

 Reis receiver, with a proper current, as to be heard a good many 

 feet distant from it. When the receiver is held against the ear, the 

 sound may be very loud ; so much so as to quite drown weaker 



