The Number Concept | Page 6

of the rigidly
elevated left hand. From the nature of this position, however, the palm
of the left hand was presented to the face of the counter, so that he had
to begin his score on the little finger of it, and continue his counting
from the right leftward. An inheritance of this may be detected to-day
in the confirmed habit the Zuñi has of gesticulating from the right
leftward, with the fingers of the right hand over those of the left,
whether he be counting and summing up, or relating in any orderly
manner." Here, then, is the reason for this otherwise unaccountable
phenomenon. If savage man is universally right-handed, he will almost
inevitably use the index finger of his right hand to mark the fingers
counted, and he will begin his count just where it is most convenient. In
his case it is with the little finger of the left hand. In the case of the
child trying to multiply 3 by 6, it was with the thumb of the same hand.
He had nothing to tuck under his arm; so, in raising his left hand to a
position where both eye and counting finger could readily run over its
fingers, he held the palm turned away from his face. The same choice
of starting-point then followed as with the savage--the finger nearest
his right hand; only in this case the finger was a thumb. The deaf mute
is sometimes taught in this manner, which is for him an entirely natural
manner. A left-handed child might be expected to count in a

left-to-right manner, beginning, probably, with the thumb of his right
hand.
To the law just given, that savages begin to count on the little finger of
the left hand, there have been a few exceptions noted; and it has been
observed that the method of progression on the second hand is by no
means as invariable as on the first. The Otomacs[11] of South America
began their count with the thumb, and to express the number 3 would
use the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. The Maipures,[12] oddly
enough, seem to have begun, in some cases at least, with the forefinger;
for they are reported as expressing 3 by means of the fore, middle, and
ring fingers. The Andamans[13] begin with the little finger of either
hand, tapping the nose with each finger in succession. If they have but
one to express, they use the forefinger of either hand, pronouncing at
the same time the proper word. The Bahnars,[14] one of the native
tribes of the interior of Cochin China, exhibit no particular order in the
sequence of fingers used, though they employ their digits freely to
assist them in counting. Among certain of the negro tribes of South
Africa[15] the little finger of the right hand is used for 1, and their
count proceeds from right to left. With them, 6 is the thumb of the left
hand, 7 the forefinger, and so on. They hold the palm downward
instead of upward, and thus form a complete and striking exception to
the law which has been found to obtain with such substantial
uniformity in other parts of the uncivilized world. In Melanesia a few
examples of preference for beginning with the thumb may also be
noticed. In the Banks Islands the natives begin by turning down the
thumb of the right hand, and then the fingers in succession to the little
finger, which is 5. This is followed by the fingers of the left hand, both
hands with closed fists being held up to show the completed 10. In
Lepers' Island, they begin with the thumb, but, having reached 5 with
the little finger, they do not pass to the other hand, but throw up the
fingers they have turned down, beginning with the forefinger and
keeping the thumb for 10.[16] In the use of the single hand this people
is quite peculiar. The second 5 is almost invariably told off by savage
tribes on the second hand, though in passing from the one to the other
primitive man does not follow any invariable law. He marks 6 with
either the thumb or the little finger. Probably the former is the more

common practice, but the statement cannot be made with any degree of
certainty. Among the Zulus the sequence is from thumb to thumb, as is
the case among the other South African tribes just mentioned; while the
Veis and numerous other African tribes pass from thumb to little finger.
The Eskimo, and nearly all the American Indian tribes, use the
correspondence between 6 and the thumb; but this habit is by no means
universal. Respecting progression from right to left or left to right on
the toes, there is no general law with which the