Each section of the wooden slabs
gives forth a different note when struck, a penetrating, xylophonic,
tone but devoid of the disagreeably metallic, disharmonic bysounds of
that instrument. The slabs of wood were suspended by means of thin
fibre-cords from the crosspieces, and in this manner all absorption
by the adjacent material was done away with.
By means of many different combinations of the four notes obtained
which, as far as I could ascertain, were _Do--Re--Mi--Fa_, the
operator was able to send any message to a person who understood
this code. The operator seized one mallet with each hand and gave
the thickest section, the _Do_ slat, a blow, followed by a blow with
the left hand mallet on the _Re_ slat; a blow on the _Mi_ slat and on
the _Fa_ slat followed in quick succession. These four notes, given
rapidly and repeated several times, represented the tuning up of the
"wireless," calculated to catch the attention of the operator at the
_maloca_ up-creek. The sound was very powerful, but rather pleasant,
and made the still forest resound with a musical echo. He repeated this
tuning process several times, but received no answer and we proceeded
for a mile. Then we stopped and signalled again. Very faintly came
a reply from some invisible source.
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