The individual of whom I made the inquiry began to think over the names ...

assigning one of his fingers to each, and it was not until after many failures, and consequent fresh starts, that he was able to express so high a number, which he at length did by holding up his hand three times, thus giving me to understand that fifteen was the answer to this most difficult arithmetical question." This meagreness of knowledge in all things pertaining to numbers is often found to be sharply emphasized in the names adopted by savages for their numeral words.

While discussing in a previous chapter the limits of number systems, we found many instances where anything above 2 or 3 was designated by some one of the comprehensive terms _much_, _many_, _very many_; these words, or such equivalents as _lot_, _heap_, or _plenty_, serving as an aid to the finger pantomime necessary to indicate numbers for which they have no real names.

The low degree of intelligence and civilization revealed by such words is brought quite as sharply into prominence by the word occasionally found for 5.

Whenever the fingers and hands are used at all, it would seem natural to expect for 5 some general expression signifying _hand_, for 10 _both hands_, and for 20 _man_.