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THIS BOOK
FORMS PART OF THE
ORIGINAL LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHICAN
BOUGHT IN EUROPE
1838 TO 1839
BY
ASA GRAY






































2
Z. º
/

- - -
- - -
A Creek
Flongated. Skull from Titicaca .
- - -



// – /?
RESEARCHES
IN TO THE
/ X-
`s ~ *
PHYSICAL HISTORY
OF
MAN KIN D.
BY
JAMES COWLES PRICHARD, M.D. F.R.S. M.R.I.A.
CORRESPON DING MEMBER of THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE,
HONORARY FELLOW OF KING's AND QUEEN’s coll, EGE OF PHYSIcIAN's IN IRELAND,
M EM BER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIY OF MEDICINE OF PAR1S.
THIRD EDITION.
VOL. I.
*.
LO N DO N :
S H E R W O O D, G IL BERT, A N D P IP E R,
PATERNOSTER Row ;
A N D J. A N D A. A R C H,
CORN HILL.
*===ms
1836.
I.ONIDO.N. :
PRINTED BY JOSEPH RICKERBy
8 HER BOURN LANE,
TO THE
VENERABLE AND UNIVERSALLY CELEBRATED
PROFESSOR BLUMENBACH,
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF GOETTINGEN,
By who aſ THE DEPARTMENT OF KNOWLEDGE TO THE CULTIVATION OF WHICH IT
IS DEVOTED WAS FIRST ExPLORED,
Qſìjiš ČHork is Betjirately,
BY HIS OBLIGED FRIEND AND FAITH FUL SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR,
i
j
_r=> 2, -
P. R. E. F. A. C. E.
“Mirantur homines altitudines montium, ingentes
fluctus maris, altissimos lapsus fluminum et Oceani am-
bitum et gyros siderum—et relinquunt Seipsos, nec
mirantur !” This exclamation of St. Augustin refers to
the low degree of interest with which men were thought
by him to contemplate the phenomena of their moral
nature, but a similar remark has been, perhaps with
equal propriety, applied to the want of curiosity long
displayed by them in respect to the physical history of
their species. It is surprising, as one of the most
distinguished of modern physiologists has well ob-
served,” that the natural history of mankind should be
a department of knowledge of the most recent acquisi-
tion—of so recent indeed, that it may be considered
to have been for the first time explored by an author
now living—the celebrated Blumenbach. In reality,
* Dr. W. F. Edwards. “Des Caractères Physiologiques des
Races Humaines.”
b
vi PR E FA C E.
before Blumenbach entered upon the inquiry, no work
of extensive and accurate research had been written
on the comparative anatomy of human races; * nor
until he had formed his admirable collection of
skulls, did there exist any adequate means of inves-
tigating the most important of those diversities in
structure, which distinguish one tribe of the human
family from another.
The origin and mutual relation of human races is
a subject which had strongly excited my curiosity at
an early period; and I had made it the theme of
careful study and research, even before Blumenbach's
treatise came into my hands. His work was the only
one of great value that existed at that time on the
natural history of mankind, and it was not then
so generally known as it has since become. From it
I obtained however the most important aids, and I
was encouraged to pursue the investigation with
greater interest on remarking that while some con-
clusions to which I had been led differed considerably
from the opinions of Blumenbach, the main inference
deduced by him was exactly that, the soundness of
which, as it had been strongly impressed upon my
* The comparative physiology and psychology of different races of
men had never been made expressly the subject of inquiry, until the
publication of my work.
P REFA C E. VII
own mind, I was most desirous to establish and to dis-
play to the conviction of others. I accordingly chose
this subject for the argument of an inaugural essay
which was printed at Edinburgh in 1808. In 1813,
the same treatise was enlarged, and in a new form it
became the first edition of the work, of which I am
now about to bring the third before the public. Each
edition has been almost entirely written anew ; every
topic comprised in it has been reconsidered, with the
advantage of such additional information as I have been
in the interval enabled to acquire.
Since the first edition of this work made its appear-
ance many treatises have been published on the same
subject. In all of these, as far as they are known to
me—with the exception of Mr. Lawrence's well known
Lectures, in which the able author has maintained, with
great extent of research, the unity of species in all
human races—an opposite doctrine has been upheld.
M. M. Rudolphi, Virey, Desmoulins, Colonel Bory de
St.-Vincent and others have asserted, in the most po-
sitive manner, an original diversity of races in mankind.
Even Cuvier has admitted this conclusion, although he
had adopted a definition or criterion of species which
would have led to a different inference; and the most
celebrated scientific travellers have been impressed
with a similar persuasion, which may be traced, if I
b 2
viii PR. E. Iſ A C E,
am not mistaken, in the works of M. de Humboldt, and
in those of M. M. de Spix and Martius on the Ame-
rican nations, as well as in the writings of several dis-
tinguished French navigators and naturalists, who have
described the tribes of people visited by them in the
late expeditions to the oceanic regions. If the eluci-
dation of doubts on subjects of physical inquiry were
to be sought for in the preponderance of authorities
or the opinions of celebrated men, I am afraid that
the problem which I have endeavoured to investigate
would receive a different solution from that which I
have obtained ; but as the case is quite otherwise, I
shall venture to put forth the present edition of my
work, without much doubt that it will find readers dis-
posed to admit the inferences which a long reflection
on the facts therein developed and on their relations
have led me to entertain.
August 8, 1836.
SECTION
SECTION
SECTION
SECTION
SECTION
ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENTS.
4.
INTRODUCTION.
General statement of the inquiries which form
the subject of the following work. . . . . . . . . .
Probable considerations on one side of the question
Of arguments which are urged on the opposite
side of the question—Relation of these in-
quiries to the scriptural history of mankind..
Inadequacy of historical sources of information. .
Method to be followed in the investigation—
Statement of two distinct problems which are
to be discussed in the following books. . . . . .
B O O K I.
Page.
ON THE ORIGIN AND DISPERSION OF ORGANIZED BEINGS, COMPRIS-
ING CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE QUESTION-WIIETHER
EACH SPECIES IN THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE WORLD EXISTS
ONLY AS THE PROGENY OF ONE RACE, OR HAS SPRUNG ORIGI-
NALLY FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT SOURCES.
Introductory Remarks—Opinion and Argument of Linnaeus
CHAPTER I.
—Mode of investigating the Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
X AN A LY SIS OF THE CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
Page.
Of the Dispersion of Plants, and of the primary Habitations
of individual Species.
SECTION I. Three hypotheses which have been maintained on
this subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 2. General facts connected with the distribution of
the vegetable tribes—Distribution of the great
families or classes, of the lesser families or
orders;—of genera—Lastly, of species. . . . . .
Paragraph 1. Distribution of plants in
reference to the three great families or
classes. . . . . . . . . . . . e e o e e s a tº e s tº e º ſº º º
Paragraph 2. Distribution of orders or
families, and of genera . . . . . . . . . . . is e e
Paragraph 3. Analogy in the vegetation
of parallel but distant regions . . . . . . . .
Paragraph 4. Of species common to dis-
tant countries—Enumeration of botani-
cal provinces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 3. Of the means provided by nature for the disper-
sion of plants—Facts relating to the migra-
tions and colonies of plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Paragraph 1. Of the dispersion of plants
by human agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . tº º e º º
Paragraph 2. By means of animals . . . .
Paragraph 3. Diffusion of seeds by means
of the atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . & e º sº
Conservation of seeds in soils . . . . . . . .
Paragraph 4. Diffusion of plants by
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e
SECTION 4. Phenomena connected with the vegetation of
islands and of opposite coasts . . . . . . • ‘º v e º ſº
SECTION 5. Recapitulation and conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER III.
Of the Dispersion of Animals.
SECTION 1. Of the lower orders of animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 2. Of the dispersion of insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
2I
21
22
25
28
34
34
35
37
38
42
43
50
AN AI.YSIS OF THE CONTENTS. Xl
Page.
SECTION 3. Of the dispersion of birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
SECTION 4. Of the dispersion of marine animals . . . . . . . . . . 62
SECTION 5. Of the dispersion of mammifers and reptiles of
the land—Division of the earth into zoological
provinces e e s is e e s - e s e e s e º e º 'º e º 'º e º 'º - * * * 68
SECTION 6. Peculiar characters of each of the great zoological
provinces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e e o e º 'º 7]
Paragraph 1. Terra Australis or Austral
Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Paragraph 2. Intertropical and South
America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Paragraph 3. Intertropical and South
Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Paragraph 4. Indian Archipelago .... 81
Paragraph 5. Polynesia . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
SECTION 7. Distribution of the species comprised in the most
numerous families of quadrupeds. . . . . . . . . . 85
SECTION 8. Concluding remarks on the distribution of tellurian
animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
SECTION 9. General inferences from facts relating to the
dispersion of organized beings—Bearing of the
conclusion obtained on the history of mankind. 96
Note on the Contents of Book I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
B O O K II.
CoNSIDERATIONS RELATIVE To THIE QUESTION, WHETHER THE VARI-
OUS RACES OF MEN ARE OF ONE OR OF SEVERAL SPECIES.—ANALO-
GICAL INVESTIGATION.
CHAPTER I.
Analysis of the different Methods of determining on Identity or
Diversity of Species.
SECTION I. Meaning attached to the terms species—genera—
varieties—permanent varieties—races ...... 105
xii AN ALYSIS OF THIF CONTENTS.
Page.
SECTION 2. Observations on the means of determining as to
identity and diversity of species—Analogical
investigation—Ethnographical investigation 109
SECTION 3. Analogical investigation of the nature of varie-
ties—Different heads of this inquiry enume-
rated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
SECTION 4. First head of the analogical investigation of spe-
cies—Laws of the animal economy in species.
Paragraph 1. Of the duration of life in
general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e e e º e º e s e º 'º 115
Paragraph 2. Of the longevity of the
Africans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Paragraph 3. Of the longevity of the
American and other races of men. . . . . . 128
Paragraph 4. Of the progress of physi-
cal developement, the periodical pheno-
mena of the constitution, the state of the
natural and vital functions in different
TaCeS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - © º e º 'º º 130
General conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
SECTION 5. Second head of the analogical investigation—in-
ferences with respect to sameness or distinct-
ness of species, derived from the phenomena
of propagation between different breeds. ... 138
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Paragraph 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Paragraph 3. Of mixed human races... 149
SECTION 6. Third head of the analogical investigation of
species—Pathological considerations . . . . . . 150
Paragraph 1. Of contagious and epide-
mic diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15] .
Paragraph 2. Endemic diseases . . . . . . 154
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Note on the Contents of Chapter I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I6]
CHAPTER II.
Analogical Investigation continued—of the Psychological Com-
parison of Human Races.
SECTION 1.. General remarks on the psychical history of par-
ticular species . . . . . . . . . • * * * * * > 0 tº 6 tº º... 165
AN ALYSIS OF THE CONTENT8.
xiii
Page.
Secºron 2. Psychical characters of mankind in comparison
with brutes. . . . . . . . . . • * c q e is tº e º e º e º e º e º e
Paragraph 1, Gesture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
—- 2. Family relations and habits
——- 3. Use of speech . . . . . . . . . .
——- 4. Necessary arts of life . . . .
tº 5 tº e º e º & e e º ºs ºr e º e º ſº e º 'º e º 'º
– 6. Of human sentiments . . . .
Section 3. Of the psychical characters of the Bushman or
Hottentot race . . . . . . . . . . e e s e e º 'º º tº e & © tº e
Paragraph 2. Effects of the introduction
of Christianity among the Hottentots
SECTION 4. Of the psychical character of the Esquimaux . .
Paragraph 1. Of the paganism of the Es-
177
I75
183
186
quimaux. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . © e o e º s ºn e 188
—- 2. Of the conversion of the
Greenlanders to Christianity ........ 191
SECTION 5, Psychical history of the Negro races. . . . . . . ... 197
Religion of the Negroes . . . . . . . & © tº º e º & © tº 197
Immediate objects of worship . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Relations of their deities to each other . . . . 200
Fetisses or charms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.1
Worship—prayers to the gods . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Sacrifices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Funereal rites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Sacred festivals—pilgrimages . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Orders of priests, their offices, and powers . . 206
Figments—auguries or Omens by birds . . . . 208
Immortality of the soul—state of retribution 209
Metempsychosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Of the conversion of the Negroes to Chris-
tianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . © e º e º 'º e º 'º 212
SECTION 6. Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . tº e º º e º 'º e º e 2 5
CHAPTER III.
Analogical Investigation continued—external Diversities—Varie.
ties of Complexion in Human Races—Inquiry whether
Differences of Colour constitute specific Distinctions.
T ſº * g te º
SECTION I. General remarks—of the principal varieties of
the
XIV A NALYSIS OF THE CONTENTS.
Page.
complexion observed in human races—phe- g
momena of correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Paragraph I. Of the melanocomous
Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
—2. Of the leucous variety .. 221
—- 3. Of the xanthous variety... 226
SECTION 2. Of the structure of the parts on which the variety
of colour depends . . . . . . . . . . . & e º ºs e º ſº e º 'º & 232
Paragraph 1. Of the eyes . . . . . . . . . . 232
2. Of the skin . . . . . . . . . . 233
— 3. Of the hair . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Note on Sections 1 and 2...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
CHAPTER IV.
The same Inquiry continued—Varieties of Form and Structure.
SECTION 1.. General remarks—instances of the origination of
varieties—of the seven principal varieties of
mankind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . © e º ºs e º º 241
SECTION 2. Of the Negroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
SECTION 3. Of the Papuas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tº e º º is º gº . 249
SECTION 4. Of the Alfourous and Australians . . . . . is us e º e º e 254
SECTION 5. Of the Iranian or Indo-Atlantic, and of the
Turanian nations . . . . . . . . tº º e º Q & © tº e º ſº tº º º 257
Indo-Atlantic or Iranian nations . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Turanian nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
SECTION 6. Of the American nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
SECTION 7. Of the Quaiquae and Saabs, or the Hottentot
and Bushman races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
CHAPTER. V.
Varieties of Form continued—National Forms of the Skull.
SECTION I. General views—diversities in the form of the
skull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
SECTION 2. Of the substance and texture of the skull in dif-
ferent races . . . . . . . . • • * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - 282
SECTION 3. Of prognathous, or narrow and elongated skulls 284
A NALY SIS OF THE CONT ENTS. XV
Page.
Paragraph 1. Of the shape of the skull
in the Negro . . . . . . • e e e e o e s e e s e e º 'º - 284
2. Skulls of the Papuas, Al-
fourous, and Oceanic nations . . . . . . . . 298
Section 4. Oval form of the skull—crania of the Indo-At-
lantic or Iranian nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Section 5. Of pyramidal or broad-faced skulls . . . . . . . . . . 305
Paragraph I. Of the skulls of the Tu-
ranian nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
2. Of the skulls of the Abo-
riginal Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
3. Skulls of the Quaiquae, or
Hottentot race . . . . . . . . . . . . . tº ºp & © º e º 312
Section 6. Of artificial modifications of the form of the cra-
nium—elongated skulls of Titicaca . . . . . . . . 31.5
CHAPTER VI.
Varieties of Form—Diversities of Shape in the Skeleton.
SECTION I. General observations—varieties in the shape of
the pelvis in different races of men . . . . . ... 322
Researches of Soemmering, of Vrolik and of
Weber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 323
Section 2. Of the form of the trunk—length and shape of
the limbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
CHAPTER VII.
Analogical Investigation continued—Survey of the Varieties dis-
played in other Departments of the Animal Creation, and
Comparison of these with the Phenomena above described.
SECTION 1. Of varieties of colour in animals.......... . . . . 339
Note on Section 1. . . . . . . . . . . . tº e º sº tº e º sº º e º º 343
SECTION 2. Of peculiarities in the constitution connected
with the varieties of colour .............. 344
SECTION 3. Of the varieties of texture in the human skin,
xvi AN ALYSIS OF THE CONTENTS
Page.
and of some analogous phenomena in other
species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
SECTION 4. Of varieties in the form and structure of animals
analogous to the diversities in human races
above described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • - - - - - - 349
CHAPTER VIII.
Analogical Investigation continued—other Considerations related
to the same Inquiries–Conclusion of this Argument.
SECTION 1. Of diversity of stature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
SECTION 2. Of the different kinds of hair which distinguish
particular races of men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
SECTION 3. Of the hereditary transmission of varieties—of
atavism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
SECTION 4. Recapitulation and conclusion of the analogical
inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Directions for placing the Plates.
The four figures representing the basis of the skull, opposite the
title page. *
FIG. 1 & 2 opposite page 303
3 & 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
5 & 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
7 & 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
9 & 10 . . . . . tº e º e º e & 299
11 & 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
FIG. I. (page 303)—Is a specimen of the oval or ooidal form of
the cranium, characteristic of the Indo-Atlantic, by Blumenbach
termed Caucasian nations. The skull from which this engraving
was taken was that of a Greek named Constantine Demetriades,
a native of Corfu, who was long known at Oxford, where he was a
teacher of the modern Greek language. The cranium is now in the
museum of Mr. Richard Smith, at the Bristol infirmary. The
engraving is copied from a drawing by Mr. Holmes.
FIG. 2.—Is a representation of one of the elongated skulls brought
by Mr. Pentland from the valley of Titicaca, in the highlands of
Peru. It cannot be doubted that the peculiar shape of this skull is
produced by artificial means, viz. by pressure on the forehead, ap-
plied during an early period, and long continued. The skull of the
Flat-head Indians in North America are modified in a very similar
manner, though not to the same degree, as any person may be con-
vinced by examining one of the crania belonging to that race, of
which there is a specimen in the collection at Guy's Hospital. The
skull from which this figure was taken is that in the museum of the
College of Surgeons. For an opportunity of obtaining it I am
indebted to the kindness of the curator, the able and distinguished
anatomist, Mr. Owen.
FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, are specimens of that form of the cranium
which I have termed Prognathous, i.e. having the maxilla, and
especially the alveolar portion, remarkably prominent. This is
expressed by a term which is formed similarly to Tpoxetxoc as used by
Lucian. The four first figures belong to woolly-haired, the last four
to straight-haired races of blacks.
Fig. 3 (page 290) is the skull of Philip Bernard, a Creole native
xviii DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
of Cuba, whose parents were both slaves brought from the coast of
Africa. This skull of which the annexed figure, drawn by Mr. Holmes,
is a very good representation, is in the museum of Mr. Richard Smith.
It has the peculiar formation of the Negro in a greater degree than
any skull or figure that I have seen. The upper jaw is remarkably
and singularly prominent, and the facial angle proportionably
small. The African peculiarity in this skull, as in general, depends
on the greater anterior developement of the bones of the face, which
begins with the greater space of the frontal sinuses. The cranial
cavity is not small when considered by itself, or with reference to
the probable stature of the individual to whom the skull belonged,
nor is the anterior part of the cavity remarkably deficient in space;
the forehead is not so narrow and compressed laterally as in many
Negro, and even in very many European heads which I have seen.
I shall have occasion to return to the description of this skull below.
FIG. 4.—Is the skull of an Ashantee Negro. The Ashántee or
Asiónti, a tribe of the Inta race, are among the most cultivated of
the Pagan nations in Africa. The general shape of their head ap-
proaches much more to the European form than that of Fig. 1 ;
but a peculiarity may be noticed in it, which was first pointed out
by Mr. Owen in some Negro skulls. The temporal bone adjoins
the frontal, the sphenoidal failing to send up the process which
usually divides them. The same character exists, as Mr. Owen has
shown, in the skull of the troglodyte.
FIG. 5. (page 297)—Is a copy of the figure of a Kaffer skull
given by Dr. Knox, in the Wernerian Transactions. In this skull,
although it has evidently the prognathous form of African heads,
a great improvement is very manifest when we compare it with the
preceding, in the amplitude and convexity of the forehead, as well
as of the occiput.
FIG. 6.—Represents the skull of a Tasmanian or native of Van
Dieman's Land. This cranium is in the museum of the College of
Surgeons: I obtained the figure through the kindness of Mr. Owen.
The general form of this skull resembles that of Philip Bernard, but
the forehead is somewhat higher : the occiput likewise is more de-
veloped, and this is a character which belongs to the Oceanic race,
and nearly all the insular nations of the Pacific.
FIG. 7. (page 299)—Represents the skull of an Australian savage,
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. xix
which is in the museum of the College. It resembles figures 3 and 4,
in its general form. The longitudinal ridge running from the forehead
to the occiput, which is frequently observed in Australian skulls, is
conspicuous in this. The ridge formed by the frontal sinuses is
likewise prominent, and there is a deep notch over the nasal
processes of the frontal bone. These characters are very strongly
marked in the skulls of the Oceanic nations, as in those of the New
Zealanders and Tahitians. The deeply marked depression above
the ossa nasi is observable in Fig. 9, representing the skull of an
Alfourou. The space marked by the insertion of the temporal muscle
is in this, as it generally is in prognathous skulls, particularly in
those of Negroes, deeply impressed.
FIG. 8.-Represents the cranium of an Alfourou Endamene, the
aboriginal race of New Guinea, the Moluccas, and of many if not
all of the islands of the Indian archipelago. They are supposed,
with great probability, by M. Lesson, to be of the same race as the
miserable hordes of Terra Australis. This figure and the two follow-
ing are taken from the magnificent work of M. Duperrey.
FIG. 9. (page 299)—The front view of the skull of an Alfourou
Endamene. It may be observed that the plane of the zygoma is
nearly level with the sides of the head and with the planes of the
parietal and frontal bones. Lines drawn from the zygomatic arches
on both sides to the most projecting parts of the frontal bones,
and prolonged upwards do not form here, as in the skulls repre-
sented in the next plate, a triangular figure, a line drawn from
one zygomatic arch to the other being the base.
FIG. 10.-Is the basis cranii in the same. Of these more will
be observed hereafter.
FIG. 11, 12, 13, 14.—Belong to the class of skulls which I have
termed Pyramidal. Lines drawn touching the zygomas, and passing
to the laterally projecting parts of the frontal bones, meet over the
summit of the forehead and form a triangle, having for base a sub-
tending line determined by the lower edges of the zygomas. Fig.
ll and 12, are both American skulls, and which approximate to
the form which I have termed Turanian. In both the face has a re-
markably, and even a strikingly singular flatness, and the whole
front of the head has nearly the shape of one side of a pyramid.
XX DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
The flatness of the face is perceptible in these sketches; it is imme-
diately striking when the skulls are examined and compared.
–Figures 13 and 14 have been described in the appropriate places.
Of the Four Figures, representing the Basis of the Skull,
prefixed to the title-page.
It has been proved by Mr. Owen, that some of the most impor-
tant diversities in the form of skulls, as distinguishing different
races of the same species as well as different species, are displayed
by a comparative view of the bases of skulls. I have followed this
suggestion by giving representations of the basis cranii in the three
most distinct forms of the human skull, and these are placed in the
same view with the basis of the skull of the adult orang or simia
satyrus, which is copied from Mr. Owen's engraving in the first
volume of the Zoological Transactions. The four sketches here
given are those of the skulls of an Esquimaux, an European, a
Negro, and an Orang. *
1. The Esquimaux, from a skull in the museum of the Bristol
Institution. The basis is somewhat broader than that of either of
the remaining four. Its antero-posterior diameter is least in pro-
portion to its transverse.
2. The European. The skull is one of a French soldier killed
in the battle of Waterloo, supposed to have been one of the imperial
guards of Napoleon.
It may be observed, that the foramen magnum, in this skull, is
situated more posteriorly than in the following figure, which is
that of the skull of a Negro strongly characterized by the peculi-
arities of the Negro races. This refutes the frequent assertions of
those who approximate the Negro to the Orang, and assert that the
black man resembles that beast particularly in the position of the
foramen magnum. -
3. The skull of which the basis is here figured is that of Philip
Bernard, before mentioned, and represented at the head of the en-
gravings of prognathous skulls. -
On comparing these four figures, the reader will find all the ob-
servations collected on the proportions of the skull as displayed by
this view of it completely verified.

R E S E A R C H E S
1 N TO THE
PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MANKINI).
INTRODUCTION.
SECTION I.-General Statement of the Inquiries which form
the subject of the following Work.
THERE is scarcely any question relating to the history of
organized beings, that is fitted to excite greater interest,
than inquiries into the nature of those varieties in complexion,
form, and habits, which distinguish from each other the seve-
ral races of men. Our curiosity on this subject ceases to be
awakened, when we have become accustomed to satisfy our-
selves respecting it with some hypothesis, whether adequate
or insufficient to explain the phenomena: but if a person
previously unaware of the existence of such diversities, could
suddenly be made a spectator of the various appearances
which the tribes of men display in different regions of the
earth, it cannot be doubted that he would experience emo-
tions of wonder and surprise. If such a person, for example,
after surveying some brilliant ceremony or court-pageant in
one of the splendid cities of Europe, were suddenly carried into
a hamlet in Negroland, at the hour when the sable tribes recre-
ate themselves with dancing and barbarous music, or if he
were transported to the saline plains over which bald and
tawny Mongolians roam, differing but little in hue from the
B
2 {N TRO DUCT 1 O N.
yellow soil of their steppes, brightened by the saffron flowers
of the iris and tulip ;-if he were placed near the solitary dens
of the Bushmen, where the lean and hungry savage crouches
in silence, like a beast of prey, watching with fixed eyes the
birds which enter his pit-fall, or the insects and reptiles
which chance may bring within his grasp ;--if he were car-
ried into the midst of an Australian forest, where the squalid
companions of kanguroos may be seen crawling in pro-
cession, in imitation of quadrupeds;–would the spectator
of such phenomena imagine the different groupes which he
had surveyed to be the offspring of one family 2 and if he
were led to adopt that opinion, how would he attempt to ac-
count for the striking diversities in their aspect and manner
of existence 2
To those who have considered the subject of this inquiry
with the greatest attention, and are well aware of all its bear-
ings, the task appears scarcely less difficult to discover a
solution of the problem that may satisfy all doubts. It is
found to involve a number of subordinate questions, in close
relation with subjects which have long been the themes of con-
troversy among naturalists and philosophers. Among these
are investigations belonging to physiology, as well as others
of a different kind, comprising researches into the nature of
moral and intellectual diversities, or those of mind and social
character, and the perhaps still more difficult inquiries which
relate to the origin and formation of languages.
It will be the principal object of the following work to col-
lect data for illustrating these subjects, and for elucidating
the inquiry, whether all the races of men, scattered over the
surface of the earth, distinguished as they are from each
other in structure of body, in features, and in colour, and dif-
fering in languages and manners, are the offspring of a single
stock, or have descended respectively from several original
families. This problem is so extensive in its bearings, and in
many particulars so intricate and complex, that I can scarce-
ly hope to discover evidence conclusive in respect to every
part of the investigation. I shall endeavour to collect and
throw upon it all the light that can be obtained from dif-
ferent sources.
INTRODUCTION. ...}
SECTION II.-Probable Considerations on one side of the
Question.
That every part of the world had originally its “autochtho-
nes,” or indigenous inhabitants, adapted to the physical cir-
cumstances of each climate, is the conjecture which any person
who allowed himself to speculate upon the subject would be
at first inclined to adopt. Many probable reasons suggest
themselves in favour of this opinion, and it seems to afford a
ready solution of some of the most difficult questions which
the history of mankind presents. Hence its general preva-
lence among the ancients, though it was at variance with the
traditions of their mythology; and hence the willing recep-
tion given to the same hypothesis by many maturalists and
speculative writers of modern times.
This doctrine, in the first place, appears to account for all
the varieties in figure and complexion which are observed in
different nations. It explains the diversity of colour so re-
markable between the native races of Africa and the inhabit-
ants of Europe. It accounts for the woolly appearance of
the hair in the Negro tribes, and for its flowing and glossy
texture in the Esquimaux, and for the peculiar features and
structure of limbs belonging to either race, by representing
these nations as tribes of people originally distinct. The sin-
gular physiognomy and proportions of the broad-faced
Kalmuks, and the pot-bellied Samoiedes; the humps and
other well-known deformities of the Bushmen ; the hairy
bodies and apish countenances of the Mallicollese, occasion
no further difficulty to the physiologist, as soon as he has
determined to regard them as the distinguishing characters
of so many different races.
The history of languages presents facts which are very dif-
ficult of explanation, while we maintain the opinion that all
the families of men, and all their dialects, are derived from a
common origin. The antiquity of some languages carries us
back to a very early period in the history of mankind. We
trace the Egyptian language already existing in the time of
the Exodus, and even in that of the patriarch Joseph, if not
so early as the days of Abraham ; and even the dialectic dif-
B 2
4 I NT RO DUCTION.
ferences of the Semitic speech are plainly alluded to in the
history of Jacob and Laban. The oldest compositions of the
Greeks and of the Hindoos, and still more, the remote date
to which it is necessary, on historical grounds, to carry back
the separation of those tribes who have preserved dialects of
the Indo-european language, oblige us to ascribe an equal
antiquity to the mother-tongue of the Japetic nations. Other
facts might be adduced, sufficient to prove that various idi-
oms have existed, and have possessed their distinctive cha-
racters, as well as their affinities, from the most remote period
of time to which the antiquity of nations and the history of
mankind enable us to refer. How them are we to account
for the origin of so many distinct forms of human speech as
we know to have existed, on the hypothesis that all the races
of men are descended from one family On the supposition
that these races had the commencement of their existence se–
parately, or by distinct originals, all such difficulties vanish.
By adopting the same opinion we may save ourselves the
trouble of accounting for the origin of moral and intellectual
diversities, or for the differences in manners and habits which
have been thought to characterise particular races. As tribes
of animals differ from each other in instincts and other
physical qualities, so the various human races, if such exist,
may have had their peculiar endowments of intellect and their
characteristic habits.
By availing ourselves of the same resource we might
succeed in explaining many remarkable facts in the history
of nations and of the world ; or we should, perhaps, rather
escape from the necessity of accounting for them. It has often
been observed that whenever the enterprising spirit of modern
navigators has brought them to hitherto unknown lands,
though ever so remote and difficult of access, they have
almost invariably found such countries already stocked with
inhabitants. The natives of distant and insulated regions, for
the most part, have been barbarous people, in many instances
unacquainted with the art of navigation, even in small canoes:
other tribes, though they have possessed vessels of rude con-
struction, have been too ignorant and timid to venture out of
sight of their own shores. It is difficult to imagine by what
I N T R O DUCTION. J
means the savage inhabitants of such distant tracts can have
been transported into them from other parts of the world.
Nations who have been discovered thus separated from the
rest of mankind have been generally found to retain no tradi-
tion of their arrival: in many instances they have imagined
themselves to be the only human beings in existence, and
have testified great surprise in finding themselves, in this
particular, mistaken. Other tribes, not so entirely rude, and
who appear to have derived from foreigners the first rudi-
ments of civil culture, have preserved the record of an era
when they emerged from their primitive barbarism, after
having remained, from immemorial time, in a savage state,
ignorant of civil arts and of the existence of civilized men,
until some stranger, some Hercules, or Manco-Capac, some
child of the ocean, or of the sun and moon, happened to set
foot upon their shores. Many such nations have been found
destitute of those common arts and resourses which it seems
difficult to suppose that men could ever have forgotten or have
lost when once acquired, and which scattered tribes must,
as we are ready to conclude, have brought with them, had
they migrated from those countries which we generally re-
gard as the cradle of our race. I allude to the art of domes-
ticating animals, to the use of milk, and to the possession of
bread-corn. These considerations have disposed many to
adopt the opinion, that each distant country was originally
provided by Nature with a peculiar stock of home-born in-
habitants. -
To these reflections we might add many others tending to
a similar result,” but what has been already said will suffice
to show that the opinion which has been stated is supported
by many presumptive arguments, and that it affords an easy
* We might remark further, in pursuing the same train of observations, that
vestiges have been discovered, spread through extensive regions of the world, of a
primeval population, which had there dwelt for ages, and had multiplied, and had
been swept away before the earlier inhabitants of the same countries known to his.
tory made their appearance. The remains of ancient military works in various
parts of North America, as well as the discovery of skulls and skeletons entombed,
which display a peculiar structure of body, indicate that continent to have been in-
habited of old by tribes of a different race from those nations who have been sup-
posed to be its aborigines And the Lenni-Lenape or Original People of the
6 INTRODUCTION.
reply to some of the most difficult questions which present
themselves in relation to the organized world and its archae-
ology. Whether it is the conclusion at which we are ulti-
mately to arrive, after a careful investigation of particulars,
does not yet appear. Perhaps, indeed, this way of getting
rid of doubts and perplexities is more like the cutting a knot
than the unloosening it.
SECTION III.-Of Arguments which are urged on the oppo-
site side of the Question. Relation of these Inquiries to
the Scriptural History of Mankind.
I must now proceed to consider some of the most obvious
reasons which have been adduced in support of an opposite
opinion.
There is, in the first place, one argument which has been
thought by many to be conclusive as to the whole question,
and to render any further investigation superfluous. I allude
to the inference deduced from the Sacred Scriptures ascrib-
ing one origin to the whole human family.
Although nothing can be further from my intention than
to detract from the authority and importance of the Sacred
Writings, I yet do not feel that I can, with propriety, avail
myself of their testimony in the present instance.
I am not prepared to adopt an opinion which has been ex-
pressed by writers of various times, that the Scriptures of the
Old Testament comprise only the history of one particular fa-
mily of men, and that other tribes may have been created to
whose origin they make no allusion. To me, as I confess, it
appears evident that by the writers themselves, who were em-
ployed in the composition of these books, the Holy Scrip-
tures were contemplated and set forth as containing a record
Algonquin stock preserve traditions which confirm this opinion. They relate that
when their ancestors first crossed from the westward the Namaesi-Sippu, or River of
Fish, or Missisippi, they found the land already occupied by tribes of a different
complexion and figure from their own, who fled from their approach. In North-
ern Asia even tradition is silent as to the history of the extinct race of men, whose
only vestiges are tumuli spread over the vast regions of Siberia and containing the
remains of bodies, with golden and silver ornaments and distinguished by a peculiar
style of scpulture.
INTRODUCTION. 7
of the dispensations of the Almighty Creator to all mankind;
and if this be the fact, it can hardly be doubted that an ac-
count is comprised in them of the origin of the whole human
family.
It may be observed, that those who hold with entire con-
viction the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, are yet
accustomed to receive different portions of their contents, if
not with different degrees of assent, yet with an assent modi-
fied by different considerations. Many subjects are treated
in these books in regard to which the only rational inquiry
is, what in fact the Holy Scriptures have delivered respecting
them. Such are all matters which transcend the scope of
the human faculties; as the existence and nature of in-
visible agents, the future state, and the relations of man to
the Unseen Power to which he is accountable for his actions,
On these subjects, with respect to which we must otherwise
have remained profoundly ignorant, Providence has con-
descended to give us by revelation such knowledge as it was
important for us to possess. In such instances the Holy
Scriptures are the sole “principium cognoscendi ;” the only
appeal is to them. But the most sincere believers in revela-
tion do not give precisely the same species of assent to those
parts of the Sacred Writings which relate to subjects open to
the ordinary methods of investigation; such as matters of fact
and of historical testimony. These portions of Scripture have
ever been regarded as admitting, and even as challenging the
most unwearied and severe scrutiny. Truth can never be in
opposition to truth ; and the investigation of all subjects com-
prehensible and scrutable to the human faculties is the un-
doubted privilege of a rational understanding. To silence
inquiry in such instances by an appeal to the Scriptures
seems to imply an apprehension lest something may be dis-
covered that may prove them to be erroneous; it indicates a
secret doubt of their entire truth. The palpable and almost
ridiculous absurdities into which some writers have been led,
in their attempt to speculate upon subjects of scientific in-
quiry, by availing themselves of inferences deduced from
texts of Scripture, are sufficient to convince us of the unrea-
sonableness of this proceeding. On the other hand it may
8 INTRODUCTION,
well be remarked, that many investigations which at first
had been thought likely to furnish objections against the
truth and authority of the Sacred Records have been found
ultimately to confirm and elucidate them. From all these
considerations it appears better to proceed to the inquiry to
which the following pages are devoted, as if the testimony of
the Sacred Scripture were altogether indifferent as to its
decision.
SECTION IV.-Inadequacy of historical Sources of Informa-
tion.
Nor can any sufficient and conclusive evidence be obtained
in these inquiries from researches merely historical. M.
Baillie, Sir William Jones, and other writers on the ancient
history of the East have displayed a remarkable connexion
between the traditions of the most celebrated nations of anti-
quity, whose descent from a common ancestry they have hence
Inferred. Perhaps this conclusion may be allowed to have been
established with respect to the Indians, the Greeks, the Per-
sians, and the Teutonic nations: in all these instances, in-
deed, affinity of languages renders the kindred origin of the
respective nations extremely probable. On historical grounds
we might add to the preceding nations those of the Semitic
family, the Hebrews, Syrians, Arabs, who though they differ
essentially in language from the Indo-european race, have
preserved similar histories or traditions. If we join to all these
some African nations, the Egyptians, Abyssinians, Berbers, or
Lybians, which is all that the most sanguine antiquarian or
philologist could pretend to claim, we still fall short of any
thing like proof that all mankind derived their origin from a
single stock. How are we to bring within the pale the African
Negroes, with their multitudimous jargons; the Hottentots;
the Australians; the Papuas, or woolly-haired tribes who are
scattered through the islands of the great Southern Ocean;
the Esquimaux and the Pesserais in the opposite extremities
of the New World, and in the intermediate space, the ancient-
ly civilized but singular Aztecas and Incas' Most of these
nations are destitute of any vestiges which point to a com-
mon origin. With respect to those races of men whose insu-
INTRODUCTION. 9
lated existence and peculiar aspect and manners are most
calculated to excite our curiosity and doubt, historical inves-
tigations are entirely unavailing.
SECTION V.—Method to be followed in the Investigation.
It appears to be the general result of all these considera-
tions, that we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on the sub-
ject of this inquiry from historical testimony, or from argu-
ments founded on general probabilities. It only remains for
us to seek it through the medium of researches into the natu-
ral history of the organized world, and by considering in
detail a variety of particulars connected with the history of
living species. In the way of investigation thus suggested,
the inquiry resolves itself into the two following problems.
1. Whether through the organized world in general it has
been the order of Nature to produce one stock or family in
each particular species, or to call the same species into exis-
tence by several distinct origins, and to diffuse it generally
and independently of propagation from any central point; in
other words, whether all organized beings of each particular
species can be referred respectively to a common parentage 2
2. Whether all the races of men are of one species?—
whether, in other words, the physical diversities which dis-
tinguish several tribes are such as may have arisen from the
variation of one primitive type, or must be considered as per-
manent and therefore specific characters?
I shall now proceed to enter upon the former of these in-
quaries.
BOOK I.
ON THE
O R. I G IN A N D D IS P E R S I O N
OF
O RG ANIZ ET) B E IN GS:
COMIIPIRISING
CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE QUESTION,
WHETHER EACH SPECIES IN THE ANIMAL AND
V EG ETABLE WORLD EXISTS ONLY AS THE PRO-
GENY OF ONE RACE, OR HAS SPRUNG ORIGI-
NALLY FROM SEVER AL DIFFERENT SOURCES.
PART I.
O N T II E
ORIGIN AND DISPERSION OF ORGANIZED BEINGS.
C H A PT E R I.
INTRODUCTORY REM ARKS — OPINION AND ARG U M ENT OF
LIN N AEU S.–MO DE OF INVESTIGATING THE SUBJECT.
THE inquiry to which we have now to direct our attention is,
whether, throughout the organized world, including both of
its great departments, it has been the method of Nature, if
that expression may be used, to produce at first only one fa-
mily in each particular species, or to call beings of the same
specific structure into existence simultaneously from different
beginnings, and to diffuse them over the world from many
distinct centres or original points: in other words, whether
all the existing plants and animals of each species can be re-
ferred respectively, with a degree of probable evidence that
may be deemed satisfactory in such a question, to a common
stock 2
It would be in vain to look for a reply to this inquiry to
any arguments à priori, or supposed probabilities, founded
on the mature and fitness of things, or on what it may appear
to philosophers advisable, and what inexpedient for Provi-
dence to have performed. Discussions of this kind, though
often indulged in, are vague and fluctuating, and incapable
of affording us any secure ground. The human imagination
is almost bewildered, when it attempts to go back to that
period which gave origin to the organized world and its in-
14 O N T H E ORIG IN AN ID
habitants. So many operative causes, totally different from
any that we are now acquainted with, must have been em-
ployed in setting on foot that series of phenomena which we
term the course of Nature, that we are in danger of losing
ourselves in doubts and conjectures when we advert to the
subject, and it requires the greatest care to avoid wandering
into wild and visionary speculations. It is only by a careful
survey of actual facts, and an accurate analysis of their re-
lations, that any light can be thrown on the history of or-
ganized species, and the circumstances and conditions of their
origin and early existence. In attempting to follow the par-
ticular inquiry above suggested, it will be necessary to take
into consideration a great number of facts, to examine accu-
rately their bearings, and to collect the inferences which arise
from their comparison.
Linnaeus maintained, that in every species of plants as well
as of animals, only one pair was originally produced. “Unum
individuum ex hermaphroditis et unicum par reliquorum vi-
ventium fuisse primitās creatum, sana ratio videtur clarissimè
ostendere.”
He defended this position by a very ingenious argument,
of which the following is nearly the substance:—
Experience proves to us that every family of human or
other living creatures has a tendency to multiply, and that
the progeny naturally becomes more numerous at every suc-
cessive generation.
If we follow the history of the race in imagination, tracing
the line perpetually onwards, we find the number greater at
each subsequent step in the series, than in the step im-
mediately preceding, and we perceive the number of indi-
viduals in each kind to be greater to-day than it was yes-
terday.
If now we turn our thoughts in the opposite direction, and
follow the ascending line, we observe each species reduced at
every step to a smaller number, many deriving their existence
from few, and these few from still fewer: nor is there any
term at which we find reason to stop, until we come to a sin-
gle pair.
Linnaeus afterwards proceeded to shew, that Nature has
D IS PERSION OF OR GANIZED BEING S. | 5
provided such means of multiplication and dispersion, as
seem only requisite on the hypothesis adopted by him.
As examples of the multiplication of species, he remarks
that one poppy-seed has been known to produce a plant con-
taining 32,000 seeds, and one seed of tobacco, in a good soil,
to multiply 40,320 fold. -
These considerations are not without some degree of force;
at least they seem to render one conclusion more probable
than another. But nothing altogether satisfactory can be
derived from so speculative an argument.
Perhaps there is no other way of investigating the history
of particular species, and throwing some light on the inquiry,
whether each tribe is derived from one or from many ori-
ginals, than by collecting the facts which relate to their mul-
tiplication and dispersion, and tracing the distribution of
genera and species over different parts of the earth. If it
should appear, on examination, that animals or plants of each
kind have their existence, in general, in those tracts only to
which it is probable they may have wandered, or whither they
may have been conveyed, by accidental means, from some
single point—a point which may be looked upon as the pri-
mitive or original seat of the tribe—there will be a sufficient
reason for believing the whole number belonging to each
species respectively, to have descended from a single origin.
But if, on the contrary, organized beings of the same species
are met with in places remote from each other, effectually
separated by vast distances, or by natural barriers, which
the locomotive powers bestowed by Nature on particular
tribes cannot have enabled them to pass; and if such ex-
amples are not rare exceptions to a general law, but matters
of frequent observation, it must be allowed that creatures of
the same kind had probably distinct and separate origins.
It will be necessary to pursue the inquiry suggested by
this observation, under separate heads, as it relates to the
different orders of organized beings. I shall begin with the
dispersion of plants, and proceed then to the lower, and
afterwards to the higher departments, as they are termed, of
animated nature.
| 6 O F THE DIS PERSION of PLANTs, &c.
CHAPTER II.
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PLANTS, AND OF THE PRIMARY
H Al3 ITATIONS OF 1 N DIVIDUAL SPECIES.
SECTION I.-Three hypotheses which have been maintained
on this subject.
THERE are only three conjectures as to the original habita-
tions, and the dispersion of Plants, which can be thought in
any degree probable. They are,
First, That all species of Plants whatever had in com-
mon their primary seat in one particular region, whence
they have been subsequently spread into the countries where
they are now found.
Secondly, That every species or distinct tribe in the vege-
table creation, originated from one particular centre or birth-
place, but that the primary habitations of different species
were in different regions of the earth.
Thirdly, It has been conjectured that the vegetable tribes
are spread over the surface of the globe, underived from any
particular local origins, or centres of propagation ; and that
plants of every kind have been brought into existence
wherever all the conditions were to be found which favoured
their developement. According to this motion, particular
tribes may have been, from the beginning of their existence,
as widely diffused as they are at the present day; nor is it
necessary, when we find the same species in two distant
places, to inquire how it was conveyed from one to the
other. Writers who adopt this opinion, suppose that plants
were always to be found nearly in the sites where they now
exist; an exception being made in regard to certain species,
which have been either designedly or accidentally conveyed
by men from one country into another.
Each of these three opinions has found supporters among
maturalists of high reputation.
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PI, A NTS. 17
Linnaeus embraced and defended the first of these suppo-
sitions. He conjectured that the habitable world was limited
during the first age to one region of no great extent;
the only tract in the surface of our planet, which had
been as yet laid bare by the subsidence of the primeval
ocean. In this fertile spot were congregated the originals of
all the species of plants which have since existed on the
earth, together with the first ancestors of all animals and of
the human race. “In quá commode habitaverint animalia
omnia et vegetabilia laete germinaverint.” In order to ac-
comodate the various habitudes of so many organized beings
and to provide a diversity of climates suited to their several
natures, Linnaeus imagined this common birth-place of all
living creatures to have been situated in some warm region
of the earth, which contained a lofty mountain-range: on the
heights, and in the hollows and declivities of this were to be
found all temperatures and every clime, from the torrid to
that of the frozen zone.*
Such an imaginary scheme is more allied to poetry or fiction,
than to a serious investigation of the phenomena of nature.
The hypothesis of Linnaeus is irreconcilable with the facts
most generally known and established with regard to the
distribution of Plants.
Botanists of the present day are divided between the two
last of the three conjectures which I have stated. Rudolphi,
who is followed by many writers, has contended strongly in
favour of the position that the same external agencies, the
same conditions of climate, soil, moisture, atmosphere, and
geographical situation, never fail to call into existence, or to
be found in local connexion with plants of the same kinds,
without reference to the means or possibilities of the trans-
migration of species from one region to another. Others
find reasons for concluding that there were given to all the
vegetable tribes original centres of their existence; and they
even seek, in the case of any particular species, a spot where it
was first produced, and whence it has been spread.
* De Telluris habitabilis incremento. in Amoenitat. Academ.
+ Rudolphi's Beyträge zur Anthropologie und allgemeinen Naturgeschichte.
3. Ueber die Verbreitung der Organischen Körper.
C
| 8 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS.
Professor Wildemow was one of the first who adopted this
hypothesis; and he maintained it under a particular modifi-
cation. Wildenow multiplied the Linnaean centres of cre-
ation. He perceived that it was impossible to account for
the phenomena by supposing one primary seat or birth-place
of all living creatures: he imagined that organization began
in many different foci, all of which were on primitive
mountains, the first that were left dry by the waters of the
subsiding ocean. On the higher tracts of these primitive moun-
tains, as soon as they became fitted to support vegetation,
Wildenow supposed that all the plants which have since
existed were first produced ; as the surface of the ocean gra-
dually lowered itself, the different tribes of the vegetable
creation found room to extend themselves on every side;
and they descended by degrees from the heights into the
plains. In these, according to the opinion of Wildenow, are
to be found only such species as may be traced to the feet of
the nearest mountains, and it is thus possible, by different
mountain-ranges, to divide the flora of one region from
that of another.”
In this representation there is some truth, but scarcely
sufficient foundation for such an hypothesis. It has been
well observed by Rudolphi, that a person who has once
ascended the Alps may easily remember how the vegetation
assumed a new character from stage to stage. Instead of
recognising on the tops of the mountains, which are assumed
to be the original birth-places of vegetable tribes, a great mul-
titude of the plants which form the vegetation of the plains,
assembled around their common centres, he finds in such
places very few species, and those of a peculiar character.
As he descends again to a lower level, the multitude and
variety of plants increases, but in the vallies and at the feet
of the hills, he loses sight of those mountain-tribes, supposed
to be the ancestral sources of all vegetation. As he proceeds
to the banks of rivers, to marshes, or salt-lakes, or to the
sea-coast, or towards the dwellings of men, new vegetable
forms everywhere display themselves; no Alps, no moun-
* Wildenow—Grundriss der Kräuterkunde.--Rudolphi tiber die Verbreitung
oder die angeblichen Wanderungen der Pflanzen.
OF THE DISPERSION OF PLA NTS. 19
tain-chains display the vegetation which belongs to the sea-
shore; but in the midst of the land, wherever salt-springs
break forth, the maritime tribes display themselves.”* These
observations oppose great obstacles to our reception of
Wildenow's hypothesis, that the primitive mountains of the
earth have been the original centres of the vegetable crea-
tion. It has been further remarked by De Candolle,f that
without considering the difficulty which we experience in
tracing the proofs of this doctrine, or rather the want of any
evidence to establish it, great doubts exist whether the species
of plants which vegetate in the present day, are to be iden-
tified with those which grew in times anterior to the origin
of secondary formations, and of which the impressions and
other remains are discovered in rocks of later date. Those
curious researches, but very lately entered upon with some
degree of accuracy by M. de Sternberg, and which M.
Adolphe Brogniart already seems destined to perfect, indi-
cate clearly, as M. De Candolle has observed, that our present
vegetable tribes are different from the antediluvian species,
and consequently that there has been a new developement of
vegetation on the surface of the earth, subsequent to the
era of the secondary formations.
A gradual accumulation of facts obtained during late years,
in respect to the distribution of plants through different regions
of the earth has laid open to naturalists new and important
points of view, from which they have been enabled to see
further into the real science of botanical geography. The
knowledge indeed, as yet acquired, of the whole vegetable
creation is very far from being complete. It has been
calculated by M. De Candolle, that the total aggregate of
vegetable species already described or observed in botanical
collections, amounts to 56,000, a number which he supposes
to be rather below than above the reality. After taking into
consideration the period of time which has elapsed since the
* Rudolphi ubi supra, p. 120.
+ De Candolle, Geographie Botanique, Dict, d'Histoire Naturelle.
† De Candolle has explained his reasons for believing that the 27,000 species
indicated in Persoon's Synopsis, may be extended by a more accurate discrimination,
to 56,000. See Dict, des Sci. Nat, tom. xviii. p. 420.
C 3
20 OF THE DISIPERSION OF PLANTS.
discovery of the greater number of these species, after com-
paring the proportion which the European species bear to
foreign kinds, and endeavouring to estimate the extent of
countries scarcely examined or as yet wholly unexplored,
and the probable number of the vegetable tribes which they
contain, the same writer has concluded that the plants already
collected are about half the existing number, and conse-
quently, that the total aggregate of species which vegetate
on the earth, is between 110,000 and 120,000: a vast num-
ber, which illustrates the admirable variety of nature, and
proves that the laws of botanical geography rest as yet but on
an imperfect knowledge of the existing tribes. The informa-
tion, however, which has already been acquired of the dif-
ferent assemblages of plants, or of the floras of particular
countries, is becoming every day more extensive, and the
comparison of different regions in the vegetable world appears
already to have furnished sufficient data for some very inter-
esting and satisfactory conclusions. On exploring with
greater accuracy the botany of countries distant from each
other, naturalists have become more and more aware of the
fact, that each region of the earth has its separate botanical
creation, or if we may so speak, a select arrangement of vege-
tablespecies appropriate to itself; and the greater the accuracy
of discrimination that has been introduced into the inquiry,
the more strongly distinguished from each other have different
countries become, in the comparison of their respective aggre-
gates of plants. The data on which this conclusion is
founded have been accumulating for many years, and have
been the work of many different contributors. Link inves-
tigated the flora of Northern Germany, and the calcareous
districts; Thunberg explored the botany of the Cape, Adan-
son, Smeathman, and others, that of intertropical Africa;
IM. De Candolle has made known the vegetation of France,
Wahlenberg the vegetable productions of Lapland, of
Switzerland, and of the Carpathian chain: Pursh those
of North America; Robert Brown has explored the bo-
tany of New Holland, and has elucidated the collection
of other botanists in Africa. But the science of botan-
ical geography is principally indebted to the comprehensive
of THE DISPERSION OF PLANTs. 21
and philosophical mind of M. de Humboldt, whose enlight-
ened genius has penetrated the obscurities of so many re-
gions of science. M. de Humboldt's Essay on the Geo-
graphy of Plants was the first work, as M. De Candolle ob-
serves, which displayed the real extent and relations of this
science.* In his subsequent works, and still more in his per-
sonal researches, the same writer has further contributed to
increase the sum of knowledge on these subjects, of which
he has displayed the relations in a most brilliant manner in
his Prolegomena to the American Flora. It would be fo–
reign to my purpose to trace the series of these discoveries.
I shall merely state, in as brief a manner as possible, some
general results to be deduced from the researches of M. de
Humboldt, Mr. Robert Brown, M. De Candolle, and other
writers, and point out their relations to the subject which I
have proposed to investigate.
SECTION II.—General facts connected with the distribution
of vegetable tribes—Distribution of the great families or
classes, of the lesser families or orders, and of genera ;
lastly, of species.
Paragraph 1.—Distribution of Plants in reference to the
three great families or classes.
Among the most striking facts in Botanical Geography,
are the different proportions which plants of the three great
families bear to each other in different zones. The propor-
tional number of dicotyledonous plants increases as we ap-
proach the equator, and diminishes towards the poles. Cel-
lular or acotyledonous plants follow an inverse ratio, and de-
* Essai sur la Geographie des Plantes, accompagné d'un tableau physique des
regions equinoxiales. Paris, 1805.
+ See likewise his work, entitled “De Distributione Geographica Plantarum
secundum coeli temperiem et altitudinem montium Prolegomena.” Paris, 1817.
: Mr. R. Brown was the first botanist who displayed the relations between the
three great divisions of the vegetable world. See Appendix to Flinders' Voyage
to Terra Australis, and Observations on the Herbarium of the Congo, appended
to Tucker's Voyage to the River Zaire, p. 422, 479. M. de Humboldt, in 1815,
followed the same method of research, extending it to different orders or natural
families.
22 OF THE DISI ERSION OF PLA NTS.
y
crease towards the equator, while they increase towards the
poles; but monocotyledonous plants, in which the Ferns are
comprehended by M. De Candolle, undergo comparatively lit-
tle variation of number, and constitute every where about the
sixth part of the entire flora. If we compare by themselves
the two families of vascular plants, the monocotyledonous in-
crease regularly towards the pole and lessen towards the
equator. This applies chiefly to continents; for in many is-
lands the proportion of monocotyledonous plants is greater
than according to the ratio of latitude, owing, as it appears,
to the abundant supply of moisture.*
Paragraph 2. — Distribution of orders or families, and of
genera.
The application of the above-stated universal laws of pro-
portion in the distribution of vegetable tribes, belongs to the
comparison of the three great classes. The facts which re-
late to families, more properly so called, or to the natural
orders of plants, are more limited; but the distribution even
of these depends upon physical conditions, though often upon
such as are not manifest. This may be inferred from the
fact noticed by M. de Humboldt, that the proportional num-
bers of plants belonging to particular families, in any given
region, have mutual relations. “If we know in any country
under the temperate zone, the number of Cyperaceae or of
Compositae, it will be possible to estimate that of the Gra-
mineae or of the Leguminosae.”f
In many instances Nature seems to have deposited plants,
if we may use such an expression, upon different parts of
the earth, arranged according to their natural affinities; par-
ticular families having certain principal foci, where the plants
* De Candolle, Dictionaire d'Histoire Naturelle.
+ Sur les loix que l’on observe dams la distribution des formes vegetales par
Alexandre de Humboldt. Dictionaire d'Hist. Naturelle.—The following are the
expressions in which these remarkable inferences are conveyed in M. de Hum-
boldt's Prolegomena.
“Disquisitiones ista ex Arithmetica botanica petitae leges nobis patefecerunt,
quarum imperio natura in quâvis zona subjecta cst. Penitius autem cognoscentur,
quando major pars terrae a viris doctis accurate erit perlustrata. Ubicunque enim,
sub codem parallelo, mirabilem harum legum consensum invenies: atque is est, in
OF THE DIS PERSION OF P L A NTS. 23
that belong to them have been produced in the greatest
number of individuals and variety of species. It may be
said, that plants belonging to certain natural families are
placed in particular groupes, each having a principal centre
around which the genera and species comprised in it are
more numerous, and display the characteristic form of the
order in the greatest perfection. At a distance from these
central points, the common type of the order becomes gra-
dually evanescent, or undergoes modifications.
In some instances, whole genera, and even entire families
of plants are confined to particular regions. The Hespe-
rideae are peculiar to India and China; the Labiatiflorae be-
long to South America; the Epacrideae are nearly confined
to Terra Australis, where their species are very numerous; a
few being distributed to the isles of the Pacific. In some in-
stances, a few solitary tribes, forming however distinct spe-
cies, are found at a distance from their congeners, which are
otherwise assembled in one region. All the Passiflorae be-
long to America, except one, which is in South Africa. De
Candolle observes, that all the species of Mesembryanthemum
inhabit the Cape of Good Hope, except M. modiflorum and
copticum, which are found in Corsica and in Barbary. In
the same country are all the Ixiae, except the Bulbocodium;
all the Gladioli, except the Gladiolus communis found in
France; all the Heaths, in number two or three hundred,
except five or six found in Europe; and nearly all the Oxales,
except three species which are wild in France, and some
found in America.
The manner in which tribes thus related to particular re-
gions are grouped is very remarkable. Mr. Brown has ob-
served, that in Terra Australis, the foci of peculiar vegetation
qualibet regione, nexus inter singulam tribum et summan plantarum phane-
rogamarum, ut quoties Graminearum numerum cognoscas, inde probabiliter non
Solum universum numerum Phanerogamarum queas a stimare, sed etiam Com-
positarum, Labiatarum et aliquarum tribuum. Quippe widemus stirpium familias
modo ab aquatore polos versus numero specierum augeri, modo a polis versus
aquatorem ; interdum etiam certae familiae—v. c. Labiata, Umbelliferae, Cruciferae
in zona temperata numero specierum maxime abundant, polos et aequatorem versus
rarescunt.”—De Distributione Geog. Pl. Prolegomena, p. 41.
24 OF THE DIS PERSION OF PLA NTS.
occur almost exclusively between the thirty-third and thirty-
fifth degrees of south latitude, and principally at the two op-
posite extremities of this tract; that is, near the eastern and
western coasts. These remarks are illustrated by the dis-
tribution of the Proteaceae, a family of plants almost entirely
confined to the southern hemisphere, where it is extensively
dispersed. The Proteaceae are generally, though very une-
qually, spread over all the great southern continents; they
have been observed also in the larger islands of New Zealand
and New Caledonia, but hitherto in none of the lesser ones.
In America they have been found in Tierra del Fuego,
in Chili, Peru, and in Guiana; but, in this continent, the
number of their species is comparatively small, and their
organization little varied. The American tribes of Proteaceae
have much greater affinity with those of New Holland than
of Africa. In Africa the Proteaceae occur in great abundance
and variety about the Cape, in the same parallel which con-
tains the principal number in Terra Australis. But, in the
latter country, they have their chief seat; here, more than
four hundred species belonging to this order have been already
found. They abound at the two principal foci, but diminish
very remarkably in the intermediate space. Those genera of
Australian Proteaceae, which bear the nearest resemblance to
the African tribes of the same order, exist on the western
coast, and those which most assimilate to the American
tribes, on the eastern. Two genera only of this order are
found in more than one of the southern continents, but par-
ticular species have a very limited extent: they are not only
distinct in the tracts separated by seas, but not one species
has been found common even to the eastern and western
shores of New Holland.
There are several other families principally belonging to
Terra Australis, which are partially dispersed over the south-
ern countries separated from that continent by seas. In some
instances the branches of these Australian families are found
in the islands of the Indian Ocean ; in some others they are
spread in an opposite direction, over the isles of the Pacific,
and on the shores of South America. Several species of
Epacrideae, in New Holland a very numerous family, are
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PILA NTS. Z *)
found in New Zealand ; a few of them in the Society, and
even in the Sandwich Islands. Only one plant of this fa-
mily, an unpublished species, exists in Tierra del Fuego. The
leafless Acacia are very abundant in Terra Australis, at the
two principal foci. One hundred species are found in that
country, and are peculiar to it; only seven other species are
known ; of which five are natives of the tropical islands of
the southern hemisphere, and one of the Sandwich Isles,
where it forms the largest tree.*
Paragraph 3.—Analogy in the vegetation of parallel
but distant regions.
Regions situated under similar latitudes and resembling
in soil, temperature, and local circumstances, display, in ge-
neral, a certain analogy in the character of their vegetation.
It is important to observe the particular nature of this cor-
respondence or analogy.
It may be laid down as a general observation, that in dis-
tant countries where the physical circumstances are similar
the vegetation resembles, but that this resemblance does not
consist in the identity of species. In many instances, there
is found in two such regions only a general analogy in the
vegetable forms; certain families, or genera, in one replacing
similar tribes in the other. In other instances the genera are
more widely spread, and different species belonging to the
same genera are found in several regions.
Thus the productions of the antarctic zone resemble those
of the northern countries. The Dwarf Birch, which, in north-
ern Europe, occupies the highest tract on the borders of per-
petual snow, is replaced in Tierra del Fuego by the Betula Ant-
arctica. In a similar manner, on ascending mountains in
temperate and equatorial countries, species analogous to those
of colder zones are discovered in succession; parallel tempe-
ratures, though under different latitudes, displaying analo-
gous modes of vegetation.
America contains many genera in common with Europe and
Asia. In some instances the particular species are distributed
generally to North America and to Europe, as are those of the
* Brown's Appendix to Flinders.
26 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLA NTS.
Fraxinus, Pinus, Populus, Tilia: in others to America and Asia;
as are the Juglans, Magnolia, Vitis: in others, they are com-
mon to all these continents, as the Acer, Salix, and Delphinium.
In the whole world there are known only two species of Li-
quidambar, two of Panax, two of Platanus, two of Stillingia,
two of Planera; one species in each of these genera inhabits
Asia and the other America. Instances equally striking are
mentioned by De Candolle, in which species belonging to ge-
nera, equally restricted in number, are distributed to North
America and to Europe.
Similar observations are formed on comparing the three
great equatorial countries of America, Asia and Africa. The
intertropical regions of these three continents display genera
common to two, or to all of them ; but the species are differ-
ent in each. America and Africa contain, between the tro-
pies, different species of Crataeva, Bertiera, Elaeis. Sagus and
Strophranthus are, in a similar manner, divided between equa-
torial Africa and Asia. Species of Psychotria and Besonia
are in Asia and America; and all the three equatorial regions
contain distinct species of Melastoma, Stercutia, and Jussieua.
Again, Cytinus, Sphenoclea, Melothria, Gyrocarpus, Sauva-
gesia, each containing only two known species, distribute
them separately in the like manner.”
In the southern hemisphere, the three great continents con-
tain towards their southern extremities, three very remark-
able botanical provinces. A certain analogy has been ob-
served in the vegetable forms which display themselves in all
these regions; but there is by far the strongest resemblance
between the vegetation of South Africa and that of Terra
Australis, under the same parallels. In reference to this sub-
ject, I shall cite M. Leschenault, who has drawn the most
striking picture of the aspect of the Australian forests.
“If the animal kingdom in New Holland offers remarkable
peculiarities which isolate it, if I may be allowed the expres-
sion, from all other parts of the world, the vegetable
kingdom has a character no less distinctive. This character
relates not only to botanical differences, but likewise to a ma-
* De Candolle ubi supra.
O F THE DIS PERSION OF PLA NTS. 27
tural physiognomy, which would be remarked by the most
careless observers. The vegetation only of the southern
parts of Africa can be compared to that of New Holland: in
the same latitudes, we find innumerable legions of heaths and
proteae, which include many shrubs remarkable for their
graceful and delicate forms, adorning the otherwise barren
soil of either climate.”
“But in all the places we have visited, and above all on
the western side of New Holland, we do not find, in the great
masses of vegetation, either the majesty of the virgin forests
of the new world, or the variety and elegance of those of
Asia, or the delicacy and freshness of the woods of our tem-
perate countries of Europe. The vegetation is generally
gloomy and sad ; it has the aspect of our evergreens or
heaths: the plants are for the most parts woody : the leaves
of nearly all the plants are linear, lanceolated, small, coria-
ceous and spinescent. This contexture of vegetable produc-
tions is the effect of the aridity of the soil, and the dryness
of the climate: it is, without doubt, to these same causes
that the rarity of cryptogamous and herbaceous plants is
owing. The grasses, which elsewhere are generally soft and
flexible, participate in the stiffness of the other vegetables.
The greater part of the plants of New Holland belong to new
genera; and those included in the genera already known, are
of new species. The natural families which prevail, are those
of the Heaths, the Proteae, Compositae, Leguminosae and
Myrthoideae. The larger trees all belong to this last family,
and almost exclusively to the genus Eucalyptus.
“The families which I have mentioned are spread very abun-
dantly, and form a great part of the vegetation. This remark
proves to what an extent the system of natural families is in
accordance with the method of nature, which seldom renders
species isolated, but on the contrary, reunites them, nearly
always in great number, upon the same soil and in a similar
climate.”
"Observations de M. Leschenault, forming an Appendix to Peron's Voyage
autour du Monde.
See also M. Lesson.—Tableau Physique de la Nouvelle Hollande. “ Tous les
vegetaux de la Nouvelle Hollande ont un caractère unique, c'est celui de posséder
28 OF THE DIS PERSION OF PLA NTS.
The analogy between the systems of vegetation in these
three southern countries, depends, as the observations of M.
Leschenault would lead us to suppose, and as those of Mr.
Brown demonstrate, on the same sort of correspondences
as those above described. There are very characteristic and
extensively diffused tribes in either country, which are wholly
wanting in the other. Such are, in New Holland, the genus
Eucalyptus, and the leafless Acaciae, each consisting of
about one hundred species already known. These, taken
together, comprise, according to Mr. Brown, in respect to
numbers, and the vegetable matter they contain, nearly one
half of the whole vegetation of Terra Australis. No traces of
them have been found in South Africa. That country, on the
other hand, has several genera, very characteristic of its
vegetation, which are entirely wanting in New Holland. In
other instances, certain families in one region replace analo-
gous tribes in the other. The Epacrideae, one hundred and
forty species of which are nearly confined to Terra Australis,
appear there as substitutes for the Ericeae, a numerous and
diversified order in South Africa.
We are informed by Mr. Brown, that the general character
of South American vegetation probably recedes more from
the Australian than the latter does from the South African.
Yet, in Chili and Tierra del Fuego, there are certain tribes of
plants nearly corresponding to some Australian genera.
Paragraph 4.—Of species common to distant countries—
enumeration of botanical provinces.
The instances already collected are sufficient to prove, that
the general law of nature is the distribution of different,
un feuillage sec, rude, grèle, aromatique, à folioles presque toujours simples: par
toute la terre en effet, les mimosae ont des feuilles composées, mais il étoit donné à
la Nouvelle Hollande d'en produire un grand nombre à pétiole devenu feuille simple.
Cette coupe similaire donnée à la foliaison semble étre accommodée à la sécheresse
du Sol, et destinée à multiplier les surfaces par ou slopère la nutrition du vegetal.”
“Endernier résultat,” concludes M. Lesson, “les forêts de l'Australie ont quelque
chose de triste et de brumeaux qui fatigue la vue: la teinte du feuillage est d'un
vert glauque, monotone : les rameaux sont à demi depouillés de leurs écorces fon-
gueuses, ou celles-ci se détachent par lamières qui flottent au gré des vents.”
OF THE DISP ERSION OF PE, A NTS. 29
though analogous species, to separated regions where the phy-
sical conditions are similar. We might almost venture to
consider those cases, in which the same identical species are
found in different continents, in the light of exceptions to a
general fact. But the nature of these instances must first be
examined.
Very many plants of simple structure are widely diffused,
the same species existing in distant countries. This fact
struck the observation of Linnaeus, who says, “ Miramur
muscos, fungos, byssum et mucorem ubique crescere.” A si-
milar remark has been the result of extensive researches made
by modern travellers, and it has been fully confirmed by M.
de Humboldt and Mr. Robert Brown. It is now well known
to be a general fact, that cellular or agamous plants, which
are looked upon as the lowest orders in the vegetable crea-
tion, or as those of most simple structure, are extensively dis-
persed. Two thirds of the Lichenosae observed in Terra Aus-
tralis are also natives of Europe. Of the Musci and Hepa-
ticae one third part, and of the submerged Algae found on the
shores of New Holland one sixth are European species; and
of the discovered Ferns of the same region, which exceed
one hundred species, twenty-eight have been recognised in
other countries.*
Many of the monocotyledonous tribes likewise are widely
diffused. Many Grasses and Cyperaceae are common to Eu-
rope, and to Terra Australis, and to South America. M. de
Humboldt found not only Mosses, but Grasses and Cype-
raceae which are well known as European species.
Very different are the facts established in regard to the
dicotyledonous tribes found in various countries : yet a few
of these are common to distant regions.
It has been observed by M. de Humboldt, that in compar-
ing the vegetation of the old and new continents, a general
fact may be recognised, parallel to that which was observed
by the Count de Buffon in respect to the distribution of ani-
malsº. It is principally in the arctic regions where the two
* General Temarks on the Botany of Terra Australis, by R. Brown, Esq.
5 5 LSQ.
F.R.S. Appendix to Flinders' Voyage, p. 59).
+ “Quod ad plantas phanerogamas attimet, feré eidem legi subjectas esse videas,
quam disertus natural interpres, Buffon, in animalibus zona torridae, vim habere
30 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS.
continents approach towards each other, and are almost
joined, that most of the plants common to both regions have
been discovered. Some few have been found in other parts
of America and of the old world; but, if we abstract from
the number those species which appear to have been trans-
ported by human agency, the number of these common
kinds everywhere diminishes as we approach the southern
regions, where the continents are more widely separated.
Among the 2891 Phanerogamous species, described by Pursh
as natives of the United States, there are three hundred and
eighty-five which are also found in the northern, or in the
temperate parts of Europe; and among these there are se-
veral, as M. de Humboldt has observed, which can scarcely
have been transported by men; as the Satyrium Viride
and Betula Nana. On the other hand, M. M. de Humboldt
and Bonpland, in their travels in equinoctial America,
found only about twenty-four species which were com-
mon to the new continent and to any part of the old ; and
these were all belonging to monocotyledonous tribes, viz. Cy-
peraceae and Gramineae. The agamous plants, of which more
numerous species are common to the two regions, obey the
same law : the number is greater towards the north than to
the southward.*
observavit. Ex magno numero stirpium, quas in America plaga aquinoctiali,
Bonplandio atque mihi legere contigit, exceptis forsan arbusculis quibusdam ma-
ritimis, (Rizophora Mangle et Avicenia Tomentosa) in herbariis nostris huc usque
ne unam quidem dicotyledonem antiqui orbis offendimus, quam constaret ab Eu-
ropeis, post patefactum novum orbem, non invectann esse.”
“ Nos certe, quanquam herbariis diligentissime comparatis, in Phanerogamis
America acquinoctialis longe a littore lectis, non nisi monocotyledones ; sed earum
ultra 20–24 glumaceas, nacti Sumas.”
* De Candolle. Dict. des Sciences Naturelles.
“Rebus his diligentur perpensis patebit, plantas monocotyledones non eideln
legi ac dicotyledones, subjectas esse, hasgue solas, ratione modi quo per va-
rias terras continentes fusae sint, cum animalibus comparari posse. Nam ne-
que ex quadrupedibus, neque ex avibus animans ulla conſe torrida utriusque orbis
communis est; neque reptile ullum, auctore viro summo Cuviero, dissentientibus
licet herpetologorum pluribus, qui veram Boam America cum Pythone antiqua,
continentis confundumt.”
“Si ex plantis novi orbis longe plurima peculiares illi sunt (nam utrique con.
tinenti communes ne quadragesimam quidem partem Phanerogamatum America,
jam cognitarum efficere videmus) necesse est, ut nunc inquiramus qua ratione stir-
pes illae, secundum coeli temperiem, diffusa sint, et quibus limitibus versus polos
OF THE DIST ERSION OF PI, A NTS. 31
In Terra Australis, the aggregate number of plants known
to Mr. Brown is 4100. Of these, one hundred and sixty-six are
common to that country and to Europe; one hundred and
nineteen of the latter are agamous plants, thirty-two monoco-
tyledonous, and only fifteen dicotyledonous. Of these fifteen
several are such as may be suspected to have been transported
by men; but this cannot be said of all of them. However,
all of them, and indeed nearly the whole of the phaneroga-
mous plants which are common to Terra Australis and to
Europe, are such as are likewise found in America, and se-
veral of them also exist in other regions.
A diversity not less striking has been discovered on com-
paring the vegetation of other southern countries with that
of Europe and the northern regions. Although the propor-
tion of European plants in Terra Australis is so small, it ap-
pears, as Mr. Brown has remarked, to be greater than that
which is found in the south of Africa. “The vegetation of
the Cape of Good Hope,” he continues, “not only in the
number of species peculiar to it, but in its general character,
as depending on the extensive genera or families of which it
is composed, differs almost as widely from that of the north-
ern parts of the same continent and the south of Europe,
as does that of the corresponding latitude of Terra Australis
from the flora of India; and of Northern Asia. The same
writer has also observed, that the proportion of European
species in South America, is probably still smaller than in
South Africa, though our means of judging on this point are
insufficient. However, some European plants are known to
exist in South America. The two Forsters found in Tierra
del Fuego, the Pinguicola Alpina, Galium Aparine, Statice
Armeria, and Ranunculus Lapponicus. Wildenow has re-
marked, that it may be questioned whether these naturalists
were not deceived as to the specific identity of some plants
with their European analogues, owing to the want of an op-
ac montes, a frigore circumscribantur. Considerantes primum non nisi loca plana
zonae frigidae et temperatae, mirabimur quantopere, sub eodem parallelo, in amba-
bus continentibus annua temperies differat. Non est hic locus, causas hujus diffe-
rentiae exponendi, quas jam alias demonstravimus; sufficit in hoc argumento ra-
tiones diligentius, quam antea facturm est, numeris exponere.” A. de Humboldt,
De distributione Geographica Plantarum.
32 OF THE DIS PERSION OF PE, ANTS,
portunity of comparing them. De Candolle has made a si-
milar observation, with respect to the older botanists in ge-
neral. They were too ready to admit, without discrimination,
identity of species, when they discovered in distant re-
gions plants resembling those of Europe.
In parts of the same continents remote from each other, or
isolated by mountainous barriers, or cut off by sandy or
rocky deserts or by wide rivers, which, however, are less
effectual causes of separation than those before mentioned,
different aggregates of plants are likewise found; and though
the limitation of species is in such examples not so decided
as in some of the instances already pointed out, it is yet very
strongly marked. Several attempts have been made, with re-
ference to these observations, to distribute the surface of the
earth into different regions of vegetation or botanical pro-
vinces.
The following is the enumeration adopted by M. De
Candolle.
1. The Hyperborean region, which comprehends the
northern extremities of Asia, Europe and America.
2. The European region, comprehending all the middle
parts of Europe, excluding the countries which approach the
pole, as well as those which border on the Mediterranean,
and reaching eastward nearly to the mountains of Altai.
3. The Siberian region including the great steppes of
Siberia and of Tartary.*
* It was long ago observed by Gmelin, that the eastern part of Siberia consti-
tutes a distinct province in the animal and vegetable world. In the preface to his
Flora Sibirica, Gmelin has remarked that the river Yenisei seems to be a natural
limit with respect to organized productions between Europe and Asia. “After
passing to the eastward of this river, the traveller sees every thing under new ap-
pearances : a new and unusual vigour reigns in the vegetable creation. The
mountains, which to the westward, as far as the Uralian chain, appeared only
scattered, now take full possession, and are interspersed with the most beautiful
valleys. New animals, the Argali, Musk, and others, begin to shew themselves.
The plants of Europe disappear, and Nature begins suddenly to display a creation
of vegetable tribes peculiar to Asia.” Pallas has confirmed these remarks of
Gmelin, with some modifications. He says, that in the western parts of Siberia,
immediately beyond the Uralian chain, the vegetation still remains similar to that
of Pannonia: very few of the plants proper to Siberia are there seen, especially in
the lower countries toward the north. On ascending the Irtish towards the chain
OF THE DIS PERSION OF P L A NTS. 33
4. The Mediterranean region, comprehending the whole
geographical basin of the Mediterranean, viz. that part of
Africa which lies to the northward of the Zahara, and those
countries in Europe which are sheltered to the northward by
chains of mountains more or less continuous.
5. The eastern European region, comprehending the coun-
tries which border on the Euxine and the Caspian.
6. India and its Archipelago.
7. China, Cochin-china and Japan.
8. New Holland.
9. South Africa, beyond the tropic.
10. Abyssinia, Nubia, and the coast of Mozambique, on
which our information is very defective.
11. Equinoctial western Africa, including the borders of the
Congo, Senegal, and Gambia.
12. The Canary islands.
13. The United States of North America.
14. The western coast of North America within the tem-
perate zone.
I5. The Antilles.
16. Mexico.
17. Intertropical South America.
18. Chili.
19. Southern Brazil and Buenos Ayres.
20. The Magellanic countries.
Lastly, each of the islands sufficiently remote from main-
lands to afford a peculiar vegetation, ought to be added to
this catalogue.
of Altai a variation is perceived : the plants of the mountainous tracts begin to have
affinity to those of the Yenisei. In the high plains beyond the Oby many plants
abound, which are wanting in western Siberia, in the lower countries, and are only
found towards the Altaic mountains. As you go up the Yenisei, the vegetation of
the mountains takes the ascendancy: to the southward of Lake Baikal is its true
native seat. In the easternmost tracts of Siberia and Kamtschatka, even in the
low hills and plains, most of those plants are found which grow on the steppes, and
some of them in the northern marshes which border the icy sea. See Pallas, Reisen
in Siberien, French translation, vol. vi. p. 157.
It seems hence that the vegetable tribes of this region have their true native
seat in the high chain of Altai and Sayan, and that from this tract, where they are
truly indigenous, they descend along the courses of the great rivers, sparingly towards
the western parts, but in great abundance to the eastward of the Yenisei.
ID
34 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLA NTS.
It has been observed by M. De Candolle, that the vegeta-
tion of these several botanical provinces is so distinct, that
when we read in the works of scientific travellers accounts
which state the plants of one region to have been discovered
in another, we ought not to admit the fact as perfectly es-
tablished, without a careful inspection of particular speci-
IſleIlS.
I shall now proceed to survey a different series of facts
related to the same inquiry, and point out their bearing on
the conclusions which I have already obtained.
SECTION III.-Of the means provided by Nature for the dis-
persion of Plants—Facts relating to the migrations and
Colonies of Plants.
It seems to have been a part of the economy of Nature, if
such an expression may be allowed, to provide for the diffu-
sion of the vegetable tribes. This may be inferred from the
extreme minuteness of many seeds, admitting their trans-
portation by winds through spaces of indefinite distance, and
from the wings and feathery appendages with which other
seeds are provided. In order to form a correct estimate of
the efficacy of this and other causes, which contribute to the
same result, we must survey facts connected with the actual
dispersion of plants. The means by which the transportation
of seeds have been effected are of various kinds. One of
the most obvious is human agency.
PARAGRAPH 1. – Of the dispersion of Plants by human
agency.
It has been observed, that mankind have almost every-
where surrounded their abodes with artificial plantations;
they have changed the most desert spots, and the most
dreary morasses, into corn-fields and gardens; and there is,
even in the northern extremity of Europe, scarcely a poor
hamlet where some exotic tree, or at least some vegetable of
foreign extraction, is not to be found.” Together with these
* Rudolphi tiber dic Verbreitung oder die angcblichen Wanderungen der Pflanzen.
OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS. 35
plants designedly introduced, others are conveyed accidentally.
Thus, with rice and other kinds of grain many plants have
come in which are still found among them, as the knap-weed;
and others which have become very widely spread, as the
erigeron canadense. It was thus that hemp, as well as the
thorn-apple, was first introduced, neither of which are na-
tives of these countries. De Candolle observes, that the in-
habitants of the south of Europe sow together with the wheat
of Barbary, the wild plants of Algiers and of Tunis. He
reports an instance of the accidental diffusion of seeds from
other importations. Near the gate of Montpellier, there is
a field appropriated to the drying of foreign wools after they
have been washed. Scarcely a year passes, in which some
foreign plant does not make its appearance in this field. He
mentions psoralea palaestina, hypericum crispum, centaurea
parviflora.” Many plants have been dispersed, in the first
instance, from gardens among surrounding countries, and have
become naturalized. Linnaeus remarked, that the erigeron
canadense was introduced into gardens near Paris from North
America. The seeds had been scattered by the wind, and
this plant was, in the course of a century, spread over all
France, Italy, Sicily, Belgium, and Germany. A great
number of European plants have been introduced by colo-
nists in the Cape of Good Hope. Thunberg has carefully
enumerated these ; but he has reckoned among them several
species, the introduction of which, in this manner, has been
thought, by some writers, scarcely probable. Such are
lemma gibba, typha latifolia, corrigiola littoralis, alsine me-
dia, rumex aquaticus, bambusa arundinacea.
PARAGRAPH 2.—By means of animals.
It has often been said, that animals contribute to the dis-
persion of plants. Light seeds may adhere to the fleeces of
* De Candolle Dict. des Sic. Nat.
+ Linnaeus in Amaen. Acad. de Coloniis Plantar.
# Thunberg Flora Capens, tom. i. fasc, 1. Rudolphi úber die Verbreitung der
Pflanzen, l 14.
D 2
36 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS.
sheep, or to the fur of other quadrupeds, and may thus be
carried from one place to another. That there is truth in
this conjecture, we may learn from the observation made by
De Candolle at Montpelier. This, however, as Rudolphi ob-
serves, cannot here be a method of dispersion attended with
very important results. Seeds could scarcely be conveyed by
quadrupeds to very distant places.
Seeds are frequently carried by birds after being swallowed,
and they have been ejected without having their vitality im-
paired. Some seeds are even in a state more fit for vegetation
after passing through the stomachs of birds, a fact of which
Mr. Lyell has mentioned a singular proof. Farmers, in some
parts of England, who wish to plant quick-set hedges, cause
the seeds of the white-thorn to be first eaten by turkeys, in
order to hasten the growth of the plants which spring from
them.* The seeds of the Misletoe and Juniper are well
known to be conveyed by birds.
Wildenow advanced the opinion, that the great number of
water-fowls which migrate annually from cold and warm
climates, are the principal means of rendering marine plants
so widely dispersed as they are known to be ; by carrying with
them the seeds of such plants, either in their stomachs, or
adhering to their feathers. Rudolphi, however, declares, that
he has examined a great variety of water-fowls and other
birds of passage, without ever finding seeds adherent to
them. He adds, that the birds of passage arrive in an ex-
tremely lean state, and with their stomachs perfectly empty,
thus precluding all probability of their conveying undigested
seeds. H
These considerations render it improbable, that birds per-
form a very important part in the diffusion of seeds to dis-
tant places; but they occasionally convey even large seeds
from one tract of country, and probably from one island to
another. Mr. Lyell has cited the relation of Captain Cook,
who says, that Mr. Forster shot a pigeon with a wild nutmeg
in its crop : this happened in the Isle of Tanna, where no
* Lyell's Principles of Geology, book 3.
+ Wildenow, Grundriss der Kräuterkunde, 3 auflag. Rudolphi, tiber die Ver-
breitung der Pflanzen, p. 116.
OF THE DISPERSION OF P L A NTS. 37
nutmegs ever had been found.* I was lately informed, that a
piece of ground, in Herefordshire, which had been a grove
of fir-trees, and which had been laid bare by fire, was af-
terwards covered by oak-trees, which sprang up spontane-
ously. A person who was surveying the ground, and wonder-
ing at the appearance of the young wood of oak-trees, hap-
pened upon the spot to shoot a jay with an acorn in its mouth,
and he concluded, that he had thus found a clue to what
had appeared a mystery.
By far the most important agencies in the diffusion of
seeds, are, doubtless, those of the atmosphere and of water.
PARAGRAPH 3.—Diffusion of seeds by means of the atmo-
sphere.
Rudolphi contends, that the diffusion of plants by means
of aerial currents, must be of more limited influence than it is
commonly supposed to be. He thinks, that winds can scarcely
convey even those seeds which are provided with pappi or
winglets over many miles, or further than the immediate
vicinity of places where they originate : plants could only thus
be widely spread when their dispersion is continuous, and
not interrupted by great intervals of space: when the same
species are found in the mountains of Lapland, and in the
Alps of Switzerland, without appearing in the intermediate
countries, it is difficult to suppose, as Rudolphi has remarked,
that they could have been spread from one of these places
to the other by means of aerial currents. This writer deems
it impossible to explain by this or any other known method
of diffusion, such facts as those observed by Olof Swartz,
who found European mosses in the mountains of Jamaica,
and even several of the phanerogamous plants of Europe,
as scirpus lacustris and autumnalis, hydrocotyle vulgaris,
alsine media, euphorbia chamaesyce, sisymbrium mastur-
tium, medicago lupulina, indigenous in the West India
islands. He remarks, that M. de Humboldt found, in the
mines of New Spain, the same subterranean cryptogamous
plants which are known to grow in deep excavations of the
* Lycll's Geology, Book 3, ch, 5.
38 OF THE DISPERSION OF PIANTS.
earth in Europe. These facts appear to Rudolphi inexpli-
cable on any other hypothesis than on that of the universal
diffusion of plants wherever physical conditions exist adapted
to their nature, independently of original dispersion from any
given centres.
But before we conclude with Rudolphi, that the dispersion
of plants is more extensive than it is possible to explain,
without admitting something closely bordering on the theory
of equivocal production, we must take into the account a
variety of facts, which plainly indicate a very extensive dif-
fusion of seeds through the atmosphere, as well as through
soils, and the possibility of their being preserved in the earth,
under a variety of circumstances, for an indefinite period of
time, so that particular kinds are almost everywhere at
hand, and ready to make their appearance as soon as condi-
tions are present which favour their developement.
It is well known, that when a piece of ground is laid
bare, it is speedily covered with vegetation, and that this
consists not uniformly of plants which grow in the imme-
diate neighbourhood, but often of species which are only
found at very distant places. It happens, indeed, not un-
frequently, that in soils newly turned up, plants appear
which have not been seen in the same districts within the
memory of man. These would appear to be, partly kinds
which are transported by the atmosphere, and take root on a
new surface which affords them a very congenial soil, but
principally plants of which the seeds have lain concealed for
many years, at great depths under-ground, until they are
brought up under circumstances favourable to their vegeta-
tion.
It is commonly observed, that clover is ready to spring up
wherever wood-ashes have been strewn, or where weeds
have been burnt. It is said, that the same thing happens
when soap-lees have been spread upon the ground. Here the
soil imbued with vegetable alkali, affords a congenial recep-
tacle to seeds which are very generally diffused through the
air.”
* I am informed by Professor Graham, that after any hill-pasture in Scotland
has been laid dry and limed and the surface broken, white clover always makes
its appearance.
OF THE DISPERSION OF PIANTS. 39
Many remarkable facts are referable to this or to some
analogous explanation.
The growth of certain plants is known to prepare soils for
other species, which vegetate after such plants more readily
than elsewhere, and even spring up spontaneously, or with-
out seeds purposely deposited. When vast forests are de-
stroyed by fire in countries previously uncultivated, either by
men with the view of bringing the ground under tillage, or
in those accidental conflagrations which break out occa-
sionally, and spread devastation through whole regions, it is
known, that certain kinds of trees are usually replaced by
others. The same trees do not reappear in the same spots,
but they have successors which seem regularly to take their
place. Thus the pine forests of North America when
burnt, afford room to forests of oak-trees. The particular
kinds of seeds are never long wanting to which the new soil
is congenial. If we had only to find an explanation of the
spontaneous appearance of mushrooms or of mould, we might,
perhaps, be disposed to admit the theory of equivocal pro-
duction, where it is difficult to account for the presence of
seeds; but the production of oak-trees without acorns will
scarcely be thought probable, though the latter supposition
may, perhaps, be not more beyond the sphere of possibility
than the former. If the presence of acorns is admitted as
sufficiently indicated by the appearance of oak-forests on a
new surface, a similar admission will be made as to the pre-
existence of seeds in all analogous circumstances.
In some instances it appears clear, that seeds cannot have
been newly introduced ; and we are obliged to conclude,
that they had long lain buried beneath the surface of the
soil. This was the case in the following instances which I
relate on the authority of Professor Graham of the university
of Edinburgh.
Previous to the year 1715, no broom grew in the king's
park at Stirling, but in that year a camp was formed there,
and the surface of the ground consequently was broken in
many places. Wherever it was broken broom sprang up.
The plant was subsequently destroyed; but in 1745 a simi-
lar growth appeared after the ground had been again broken
40 OF THE DIS PERSION OF PLANTS.
for a like purpose. Some time afterwards the park was
ploughed up, and the broom became generally spread over
it. Some years ago, a gentleman planted a garden in Stir-
lingshire, and as he was about to make a washing-green in
the immediate neighbourhood, he took from six to nine
inches of soil off the surface of the field, and carried it into
the garden : he then sowed the washing-green with grass-
seeds. In the field thus uncovered seedling broom appeared
as thick as the grass which had been sown. Broom is a fre-
quent plant throughout the whole district in which the king’s
park and this gentleman's garden are situated, but the seeds
could not have been supplied by the wind, as Professor Gra-
ham concludes, from the following reasons: first, because
they are heavy, round, and without wings; and, secondly,
because all the broom-seed in the parish could not have pro-
duced such a crop, as that which sprang up in the said
bleaching-ground. How long the seeds must have remained
in the ground cannot even be conjectured; no cause can be
imagined which can have conveyed them within many years
either to the king’s park, or the bleaching ground. The
fact cannot be attributed to the agency of winds for the rea-
sons above stated, and the form of the ground is such, that
no stream of water could have transported them, or have
covered them afterwards with soil. Such an effect must have
resulted from the operation of causes continued during a long
period of time.
In several places in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, the
breaking of the surface, as Professor Graham assures me,
produces an abundant crop of Fumaria Parviflora, although
the same plant had never before been observed in the neigh-
bourhood.
A gentleman near Dumfries lately cut in a steep bank a
new approach to his house, and immediately a large quan-
tity of Verbascum Thapsus sprang up.
Another fact of a similar kind, which I likewise owe to Dr.
Graham, would serve to indicate, if there were any doubt.
on the subject, what is the true explanation of the preceding.
“To the westward of Stirling there is a large peat-bog, a
great part of which has been flooded away by raising water
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PLANTS. 41
from the river Teith and discharging it into the Forth, the
under-soil of clay being then cultivated. The clergyman of
the parish standing by while the workmen were forming a
ditch in this clay, which had been covered with fourteen feet
of peat-earth, saw some seeds in the clay which was thrown
out of the ditch : he took some of them up and sowed them;
they germinated and produced a crop of Chrysanthemum
Septum. What a period of years must have elapsed while
the seeds were getting their covering of clay, and while this
clay became buried under fourteen feet of peat-earth !
These facts, which clearly prove that seeds may be con-
cealed in the earth for an indefinite period without losing
their vitality, must have an important bearing on the theory
of the dispersion of plants. They show that there is no ne-
cessity for resorting to so bold an hypothesis, as that of equi-
vocal production, in examples which would be otherwise very
difficult of explanation.
To return to the consideration of the diffusibility of seeds
by means of atmospheric currents, it cannot be doubted, that
their agency is productive of considerable effects in the dis-
persion of the lighter seeds, such as those of mosses, fungi,
and lichens; these are diffusible through the air in an impal-
pable powder, like thin smoke, which may be blown to very
distant places, and under the influence of permanent aerial
currents, such as the trade-winds, may be conveyed, as it
would appear very probable, from one part of the world to
another. M. De Camdolle has recorded an observation which
seems to place this supposition beyond all reasonable doubt.
At Quimper Corentin, on the south-west coast of Britanny, he
discovered on some trees two lichens, the sticta crocata and
the physcia flavicans, which have never been found in any
place in France. These lichens are peculiar to Jamaica, and
M. De Candolle supposes that their seeds had been carried
thence by the south-westerly winds, which prevail during a
great part of the year on this part of the French coast.*
* Essai sur la Geographie Botanique.
42 OF THE DIS PERSION OF P L A NTS.
PARAGRAPH 4.—Diffusion of plants by water.
It is certain, that plants have been transferred from one
country to another, by means of currents in the ocean, and by
rivers; and it is probable, that water is one principal medium
of the dispersion of seeds. It is well known, that plants of
the sea-coast are among those which are most extensively
spread in different regions.
The seeds of these plants are of such a character, that they
are not easily destroyed in the waters of the ocean, and of
those which appear less likely to be thus preserved, it pro-
bably happens occasionally that a few escape out of the
great number which are exposed to the causes of injury. It
is easy to collect facts of this description, many of which
were known to Linnaeus, and are recorded in the Amaenitates
Academica.” The seeds of the cassia fistula, anacardium
occidentale, mimosa scandens, dolichos urens, guilandina
bonduc, and several other plants of Jamaica and the equi-
noctial countries in America are occasionally collected in
the Hebrides, whither they are conveyed by the Gulf-
stream.t Numerous instances of a similar description may
be collected in the works of botanists and scientific tra-
vellers.;
Streams of fresh water descending from Alpine regions bring
with them the seeds of plants, and it is common to find a
similar flora along the banks of rivers, and even the plants
of mountains occasionally reappearing where the waters have
deposited them.S Mr. Lyell cites a fact remarked by Keith
and others, that the southern shores of the Baltic are visited
by seeds which belong to the interior of Germany, and
the western shores of the Atlantic by seeds which have been
generated in the interior of America.
* Amaen. Academicae. De Coloniis Plantarum.
+ Pennant's Voyage to the New Hebrides, 1772. p. 23. Sloane in Philos.
Transactions. No. 223. p. 398. M. de Humboldt's Travels, i. p. 59.
+ Amaen. Acad. De Telluris habitabilis incremento.
§ De Candolle. Dict, des Sc. Nat.
OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS. 43
The greatest difficulty presented by the diffusion of plants,
when we adhere to the theory of their propagation, and reject
that of equivocal production and of the spontaneous gene-
ration of the same species in distant places, arises from those
not very uncommon instances in which aquatic plants occur
in the rivers and marshes of countries remote from each
other. Rudolphi says, that he possessed specimens of po-
tamogeton natans collected in St. Domingo, in nothing differ-
ent from that of Europe. The Nymphaea Lotus, supposed
formerly to have been peculiar to Egypt and India, grows also
in Hungary. Wildenow remarked, that zannichellia palus-
tris, lemna minor, and polyrrhiza, and several other water-
plants, are indigenous both in Europe and in North Ame-
T1C3.
It must be remarked, that many of these plants are very
generally and almost universally spread, and their discovery
in two distant places is so much the less remarkable. In
other instances we must have recourse, in order to account for
them, to the changes which the surfaces of various lands have
undergone, and to extensive inundations. We can only
thus explain, as De Candolle observes, such facts as the dis-
covery of the Aldrovanda in the basins of the Po and of the
Rhone. The same fishes and other fresh-water animals are
also found in lakes which have no communication. The dis-
persion of these as well as of aquatic and even of mountain
plants, can only be explained by reference to inundations,
which in various times have covered extensive portions of our
continents.”
SECTION IV.-Phenomena connected with the Vegetation of
Islands, and of opposite Coasts.
We have seen in a former section, that the vegetation of
countries separated by wide oceans, or by great distances of
space from each other, consists in general of peculiar tribes;
and that when, in regions parallel in latitude and similar in
physical conditions, Nature reproduces analogous forms, or
* De Candolle, ubi supra.
44 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTS.
families and genera resembling each other, and even allots
species of the same genera to different countries; the spe-
cies of plants are yet for the most part distinct in re-
gions thus cut off from each other. We have likewise ob-
served, that although the general law of Nature is what we
have stated it to be, yet many exceptions to it may be found.
We have in the next place remarked, that Nature has pro-
vided means for the dispersion of the vegetable tribes, which
have been, to a certain extent, effectual in giving origin to
colonies or migrations of plants, and that many plants have
actually been conveyed by such means to distant shores
where they have vegetated. The most striking of these in-
stances were, as it was to be presumed, examples in which
species had been conveyed to climates unfavourable to their
multiplication. Had the climate of the Orkneys been conge-
nial to the plants brought by the Gulph-stream, an abundant
vegetation from the seeds thus conveyed would long ago have
been formed, and we should not be able to ascertain the fact
of any recent transportation of plants from tropical climates
by the great oceanic currents. But since we know that plants
have actually migrated from distant coasts, the fact being
here shown by circumstances unfavourable to their multipli-
cation, and since it is highly improbable that these are the
only instances of the same kind which have taken place, have
we not reason to advert to the same fact in other examples,
when identical species are found vegetating in distant places?
A survey of the vegetation of islands and opposite shores
will throw light upon this subject.
We may observe in the first place, that in small islands,
very remote from continents, the species of plants are very
few, and sometimes quite peculiar. Thus in Kerguelen's Land,
or the Island of Desolation, when visited by Captain Cook,
although there was soil sufficient to afford a considerable ver-
dure, it was found that this appearance entirely depended on
one small plant, and the whole flora of the land contained
only sixteen or eighteen species, including some sorts of
mosses, and a kind of lichen. There was not the least ap-
pearance of a shrub in the whole country, nor were there any
animals except seals and marine birds. These animals were
() F THE DISPERSION OF PLA NTS. 45
only visitants; but all the plants were thought by Mr. An-
derson, from whom we have the account, to be peculiar to
that island.
We have one instance of an island at no great distance
from a continent having a peculiar vegetation. Mr. R. Brown
has remarked, that there is not even a single indigenous spe-
cies, characterising the vegetation of St. Helena, that has
been found either on the banks of the Congo, or on any other
part of the western coast of Africa. Does the diversity of
marine and atmospheric currents more completely separate
this island from the continent than its situation would imply,
or are the nature of soil and other local circumstances, the
cause of so marked a diversity ? The last supposition seems
the most probable; because, not only the species of plants,
but likewise the genera in St. Helena, are different from those
of the African coast.
But, generally, the flora of islands near to continents con-
sists in part of species found also on the nearest main-lands.
In some examples of this kind, circumstances confirm and
seem fully to establish a conclusion which presents itself
as a probable conjecture, namely, that in such cases the
plants have been conveyed from one shore to the other.
The Araucania. Excelsa of New Caledonia has been
found in New Holland. If a doubt is raised whether it
migrated from one place to the other, we have to observe,
that the same tribe inhabits also the intermediate Norfolk
island, and that the part of New Holland where it exists is
the coast opposite to the islands before mentioned. The
Goodenia Littoralis which grows on the western shores of
Terra Australis, has been found on the opposite coast of
South America: it is also found in New Zealand, which is
situated between those shores.
M. De Candolle has remarked, that the British isles con-
tain 1485 vascular plants, of which there are only forty-three
that have not been discovered in France.
Malta and Sicily have some plants which belong to Europe,
and others of an African stock.
The opposite shores of the Mediterranean present a re-
markable sameness in their vegetation. Out of 1577 species
46 OF THE DISPERSION OF PLANTs.
observed by M. Desfontaines in Barbary, there are only
about three hundred, or scarcely one fifth part of the whole
number, which are not known in Europe.*
The Canary islands, according to M. de Humboldt, contain
plants found in Portugal, in Spain, in the Azores, and on the
north-west coast of Africa. According to De Candolle, of
five hundred and thirty-three vascular plants found in the Ca-
naries, two hundred and twenty-three have been discovered
in Africa. A great number of species, and even entire ge-
nera, are peculiar to Teneriffe, to Porto Santo, and to Ma-
deira.
Mr. R. Brown inferred, from the botanical specimens col-
lected by Professor Smith in St. Jago, that the flora of the
Cape de Verd islands is intermediate between the vegetation
of the adjoining African continent and the Canary isles.:
But the principal insular region of our globe is the great
Southern Ocean, including the Indian seas, and the most re-
mote spaces of the Pacific. Much information has been col-
lected on the botany of this region by the two Forsters, more
lately by Mr. R. Brown, by Labillardière, Chamisso, and
other scientific men who accompanied the French and Russian
expeditions, and lastly by M. Lesson. This writer appropri-
ates the term Polynesia to the groupes of islands and archi-
pelagos of the Indian seas, including the Sunda, Molucca,
and Philippine islands, with New Guinea of which he con-
siders the chains of Louisiade, the New Hebrides, and
New Zealand to be continuations, and he comprises under the
name of Oceania, the more remote groupes of the Pacific.
The former, which consist according to M. Lesson of primi-
tive, or as he terms them primordial formations, are re-
garded by him as the terminal points, and the débris of the great
Austral Asiatic continent, which has undergone disruption in
its equatorial region: the islands of Oceania on the other
hand are of volcanic and madreporic origin, of recent
* Personal Narrative.—Translation, p. 270. vol. i.
+ Dict. des Sci. Nat. p. 406.
† Brown's Appendix to Capt. Tuckey's Voyages, p. 476. — See also Extracts
from Smith's Journal, in Tuckey's Narrative, p. 29.
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PIL ANTS. 47
formation, posterior to the era of the present surface of our
planet.*
The vegetation of Oceania is composed, according to this
excellent naturalist, of plants exclusively Indian, or analogous
to those of equatorial India, of the Sunda isles, Moluccas,
and New Guinea. Their distribution has evidently taken
place from Polynesia eastward to Oceania, and towards
Easter island and the American coast. M. Lesson observes,
that the vegetable kingdom, so luxuriant in the isles of Poly-
nesia, lessens gradually in richness as we advance towards the
east. The isle Juan Fernandez, however, has not yet been ex-
amined, and it would be not surprising if this ancient volcano
should be found to bear the flora of the continent which it
approaches.
The Indo-Polynesian vegetation displays itself in all its
splendour under the equinoctial line. Majestic in the Sunda
isles, it spreads progressively over the numerous Malayan and
Tidorian possessions, and appears in all its grandeur and lux-
uriance in the eastern Moluccas, and the land of the Papuas.
It is there, that numerous Palms, Cycades, and Ferns assume
the graceful and slender form of light columns: immense
forests are composed of lofty trees, such as the gatip or in-
ocarpus edulis, bread-fruit-trees, nutmeg-trees, and spondias:
it is in the depths of these forests that we meet with the
esculent plants of the Oceanian people, shrubs and legumes
of innumerable and various forms. In observing the mass of
this vegetation, we find it perceptibly diminishing as we ap-
proach the straits of Torres, which only a few species tra-
verse, belonging to genera by no means extensive. Such are
the cabbage-bearing Arec, the Indian Erythrine, two wild
Nutmeg-trees, and the Flagillaria Indica. Continuing to ex-
amine the flora of the chain reaching southward of Polynesia,
viz. New Britain and New Ireland, we find again the same
luxuriance: the forests are still peopled with the Areca and
Sago-trees, with great Ferns, and Drymyrrhizeae. Proceed-
ing towards higher latitudes, in the New Hebrides and
* Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes et des Oiseaux découverts depuis 1788 jusqu'à nos
jours. par R. P. Lesson. Paris, 1828.
48 OF THE DIS PERSION OF PIL ANTS.
New Caledonia these tribes become less numerous; and still
further southward the Austral temperate zone completely
changes the physiognomy of vegetation, and the Isle of Nor-
folk, has, in common with New Holland, the Araucania, found
also in the harbour of Balade, and with New Zealand the
phormium tenax. It is, however, remarkable, that this vast
island, composed of two lands separated by a channel, though
so near New Holland, and lying under the same latitude, dif-
fers from it so completely, that they display no resemblance
in their vegetation. Yet New Zealand, so rich in genera pe-
culiar to its soil and littleknown, has some Indian plants, such
as Pepper, the Olea, and a reniform fern, which is said to exist
in the Isle of Maurice.
The high lands of southern Polynesia between the tropics
partake of the alimentary plants of the Indian islands, which
have spread themselves in different directions to the most
distant clusters, in a manner which it is difficult to explain,
since it is often contrary to the prevalent course of winds and
currents. Nearly all the high islands of oceania bring forth
almost spontaneously bread-fruit-trees, the taro, or esculent
arum, sugar-canes and bananas. At Taiti is found the Hi-
biscus Rosa Simensis, so abundant in the Moluccas; the Pan-
danis Gardenia Florida, the Cyatheae, the Crataeva, Figs
and Bamboos, there display their several tribes. And it is on
this island as M. d’Urville observes, that a multitude of Ferns
begin to appear which inhabit this zone, spread hence and
even from the Marquesas to the Moluccas, some even
reaching to the Isle of France. Easter island, beyond the
tropic of Capricorn, presents but a small number of species,
and these are of Indian tribes; such are hibiscus populneus,
some mimosas and a solanum, which the younger Forster
found also at Taiti. -
“It is more easy to trace the way in which vegetation has
spread to the low coral islands, and we have often fol-
lowed the difference stages of its progress. The flora here
consists but of a few species. The manmer in which this in-
teresting phenomenon has taken place, answers almost ex-
actly to the description, somewhat poetical, but true in its
main principles, of vegetable migrations, sketched in so de-
OF THE DIS PERSION OF PI, A NTS. 49
lightful a style by M. Bernardin de St. Pierre, and M. Cha-
teaubriand.”
A review of the general bearing of the phenomena con-
nected with the vegetation of islands, brings out results
strongly confirmatory of the dispersion of species from parti-
cular central points. Islands of considerable extent, and par-
ticularly those of ancient formation, though near to continents,
have in several instances peculiar systems of vegetation;
but where the flora of islands is not peculiar, it is almost
everywhere precisely of that character which we should an-
ticipate from the local conditions and proximities of the main-
lands or neighbouring shores.
A comparison of the flora on the different coasts of inter-
tropical continents has developed some relations which we
must not omit to notice.
Upwards of six hundred plants were collected by Professor
Smith in the neighbourhood of the river Zaire, which have
been compared by Mr. Brown with the plants of other coasts
within the tropics. Of these six hundred species,
Twenty-two are common to equinoctial Africa, India, and
America.
Thirteen are common to Africa and America, and unknown
in India. -
Seventeen are common to Africa and India, and not found
in America.
Most of these plants are strictly equinoctial, and they are
such whose dispersion cannot be ascribed to human agency.
It was observed by Mr. Brown, that most of them were found
on the lower parts of the river Zaire, where they form but a
small part of the entire vegetation, and that most of the di-
cotyledonous plants in the list, are such as produce seeds
capable of preserving their vitality a long time in the currents
of the ocean, particularly those belonging to the orders Mal-
vaceae, Convolvulaceae and Leguminosae, two of which are
among the most numerous families on all equinoctial shores.
50 C ENERAL INFERENCES RESPECTING
SECTION V.—Recapitulation and conclusion.
We may now compare the results which arise from the facts
stated in this chapter, with the three suppositions laid down in
the outset, respecting the origin of plants.
In the first place it is obvious that the hypothesis of Lin-
naeus, which represents all plants whatever as originating
from a common centre, is wholly irreconcilable with the phe-
nomena. It is unnecessary to say any thing further on this
part of the subject. We have seen, that various parts of the
world, remotely separated, possess each of them a vegetable
kingdom in a great measure, at least, peculiar and distinct
from the productions of other countries.
The same considerations are, perhaps, equally conclusive
against the third hypothesis, that the species of plants are
universally diffused wherever climates and physical condi-
tions in general are congenial to their existence and propaga-
tion. This opinion, which has been held by many eminent
naturalists, seems to be most clearly refuted by the following
arguments.
1. It would be easy to discover districts, situated re-
spectively in North America and in Europe, or in equinoc-
tial America, Africa, and Asia, in which all the same
physical conditions exist, namely, a parallel temperature and
elevation, a similar soil, and the same degrees of humidity in
the atmosphere; yet the species of plants in these several
districts will be far from being identical. The vegetable tribes
will present, in each respectively, analogies of form and general
character; but few, if any, of the same species will be found
in localities thus separated."
2. Instances may frequently be observed in which plants
become naturalized in countries where they had never existed
until they were conveyed by human agency, or by the acci-
dental transportation of seeds. When this has once hap-
pened the results prove, that the climate and all external
* Wide De Candolle, ubi supra, p. 402,
THE DIS PERSION OF PLA NTS. 5]
*
conditions are perfectly congenial to their nature, since they
have spread, in a short time, over extensive regions, and have
appeared to supplant, in some places, the indigenous tribes.
Previously to the importation of seeds, the physical conditions
locally present had no power of producing such plants; nor
does it appear, that their existence is so connected with ex-
ternal conditions as to have been from the origin of things
necessarily or naturally co-extensive with them. When in-
wroduced they multiply just as horses and oxen from Europe
have produced herds which cover the immense plains of Pa-
raguay.
It appears, then, that the phenomena connected with the
distribution of plants are only reconcilable with one hypo-
thesis, or rather they lead us clearly to one inference; namely,
that the vegetable creation was originally divided into a li-
mited number of provinces. Each country had its peculiar
tribes, which at first existed not elsewhere. This conclusion
results most distinctly from the general difference in the spe-
cies belonging to each of the great continents; a difference
never called in question in respect to the principal masses of
vegetation, and the great aggregate numbers of plants which,
by their situation at a distance from sea-coasts, and by the
nature of their seeds, are removed from the chances of trans-
portation; and, secondly, from the arrangement of gregarious
plants round some particular foci, the individual species being
spread out in various directions with reference to the central
points.
If we now revert to the question, of what nature are the
exceptions to this general inference; or whether it is probable,
that the plants which are found in different botanical pro-
vinces were indigenous in all of them, or have been dispersed
from one original seat, the following considerations deduced
from facts already surveyed, will serve to point out which
is the probable conclusion.
1. That there are natural provisions for the dispersion of
plants, and causes actually in operation which have this
result.
2. That the species of plants are widely spread or re-
E 2
52 RECAPITULATION OF FA CTS
stricted to particular places, nearly in the proportion in which
they appear to be thus diffusible or otherwise. The diffusible
nature of seeds belonging to the cryptogamous species has
been often adverted to, and by many has been thought to
afford a sufficient explanation of the almost universal dis-
persion of the cellular tribes of plants. M. de Humboldt
seems, indeed, to admit the original diffusion of the fungi
and other agamous plants, but M. De Candolle with greater
reason rejects this opinion. He remarks, that the determi-
nation of species is very difficult in these tribes of simple
structure, and that the minuteness of seeds explains the
wide extension of such tribes. Among the more perfect
plants, it seems that the species which vegetate on the
sea-coast and at the mouths of rivers are the most widely
spread.
Thus the phenomena to be explained coincide with the sup-
position, that plants have been accidentally spread, when we
advert to the facilities afforded by their nature and organi-
zation. They equally agree with this hypothesis when we
direct our attention to the situation of countries. For,
I. The phenomena related to the dispersion of plants to
islands and sea-coasts, are, as we have seen, in many in-
stances such as to force upon us the conviction, that par-
ticular species have spread themselves from one place to
another. I now refer to some of the facts connected
with the dispersion of plants over different islands in
the Pacific, and with the corresponding vegetation of oppo-
site shores. But generally considered, the diffusion of tribes
over islands coincides with what we should expect to find on
the supposition now contemplated, and give the negative to
any other.
II. The different proportions in which the same species oc-
cur in the flora of continents and great regions tend to esta-
blish the same belief. I allude to the fact, that so many
tribes are common to the northern continents where they
approach and afford facilities for migration; and that the
number diminishes as the great lands become separated by
wider oceans towards the equator, till in the south we find
RESPECTING THE DIS PERSION OF PLA NTS. 53
regions so entirely diverse in their botanical productions, as
are those of South Africa, South America, and Austral
Asia.
On the whole we may conclude, with a great degree of pro-
bability, that each tribe of plants, and especially of the more
perfect plants, had on the earth one original habitation, from
which it has been dispersed according to the capabilities
afforded by its structure, and the aid of external agencies.
p.
54 OF THE DISPERSION OF INSECTS.
CHAPTER III.
J) ISPERSION OF ANIMALS.
SECTION I.-Of the lower orders of Animals.
ON adverting to the dispersion of animals, we are struck
by a fact in close analogy with one of the most general ob-
servations presented by the survey of the vegetable tribes,
and their local distribution. I allude to the almost universal
dispersion of organized beings of the smallest size and most
simple structure, and the more limited existence of those
whose organization is complex, and their bulk comparatively
great. We have seen, that botanists explain this fact, as far
as the vegetable kingdom is concerned, by reference to the
universal diffusion through the atmosphere of the minute
seeds which produce the simplest plants. Recourse has been
had to a similar expedient for explaining facts which other-
wise bring us to the doctrine of equivocal generation in the
animal kingdom, but still greater difficulties here stand in
the way. These difficulties have been strongly stated by
Rudolphi, who was a decided supporter of the theory of the
spontaneous origin of animals. Rudolphi argues, that Infu-
sory Animalcules are everywhere produced of the same form
and structure. He says, “I am not acquainted with any re-
searches into the nature of these creatures made in other
quarters of the world; but as they are so similar in the differ-
ent countries of Europe, we may expect that they will be
found to agree for the most part in other regions. Those
simple structures, which are so speedily produced at the decay
of larger animals, require very little for their existence, and
the requisite conditions are easily fulfilled. After the acute
researches of Treviranus the elder, no one will, as formerly,
mistake these creatures of a moment. Truly, I know nothing
more ridiculous, than the theory which peoples heaven and
OF THI E D1 SPE RSION OF INSECTS. 55
carth with seeds, which come nobody knows whence, and
quietly wait for the moment, when some naturalist is about
to make experiments, in order to spoil his work, and surprise
him by the appearance of so many interlopers. As mould
and various fungi generate themselves under the necessary
conditions, so likewise do these infusory animalcules; and the
most umbridled fancy can hardly imagine, that the infusoria
were produced in Asia, and from thence have been spread
over the world.” From the infusoria, Rudolphi goes on to
make similar strictures on the production of other zoophytes;
but he seems to consider the facts which relate to intestinal
worms the most conclusive in favour of the theory which he
has adopted.*
I shall not enter at large on the discussion of so wide a
question as that which refers to the existence of equivocal or
spontaneous generation, since it appears to be but remotely
connected with the main subject of my inquiry. Whether
those minute creatures, whose size is so small as to baffle all
accurate researches into their mode of origination, produce
themselves and begin to exist without parentage or not, no-
thing of this kind can be predicated of animals whose na-
ture admits of more satisfactory investigation; and although
reasoning from the known to the unknown can amount to
nothing more than probability, yet to proceed in the reverse
direction would be perfectly absurd.: The inquiry, whether
species of animals proceed generally from many, or in the
instance of each species from a single original stock, cannot
derive illustration from any surmises founded on the supposed
presence of minute beings of simple organization wheresoever
the conditions exist which appear compatible with their pro-
* Rudolphi's Beyträge zur Anthropologie, &c. S. 130. u. s. f.
+ The reasons which have induced most of the naturalists of the present day, to
reject the doctrine of equivocal generation, may be stated under two heads; first, the
argument of analogy derived from the known fact with respect to all the higher
orders of animals, as well as of plants; secondly, the negative argument arising
from experiments, such as those of Spallanzani, and Sennebier, which prove that
by precluding the access of minute seeds and ova floating in the atmosphere, the
production of minute animal and vegetable life is prevented, in a very great mea-
sure at least, from taking place.
56 OF THE DIS PERSION OF INSECTS.
duction. We must proceed to establish inferences from par-
ticular facts, and from a survey of what actually is known in
respect to each different department of the animal creation.
From the known facts we shall be enabled to draw inferences
which will be sound and firm, as far as they relate to parti-
cular departments of nature, whatever may be the case in
other regions yet involved in obscurity.
I shall now trace the phenomena connected with the dis-
Persion of animals, arranging them according to the elements
and the departments of the world inhabited severally by par.
ticular tribes, rather than the order of the zoological system:
I proceed, first, to insects and birds; secondly, to marine
animals; thirdly, to animals of the land, including mammifers
and reptiles.
SECTION II.-Of the dispersion of Insects.
The local existence of insects is closely connected with
that of the plants and animals, which afford them sustenance,
and which, in many instances, furnish them their only places
of concealment and abode. We should, therefore, previous
to any inquiry respecting facts which particularly relate to in-
sects, expect to find the same laws prevailing in this part of
the creation, as in the dispersion of vegetable tribes, and in
that of other animals. A great number of insects are espe-
cially limited in the sphere of their existence by the presence
of particular plants. With the exception of mosses, algae,
and lichenosae, which are, in a great measure, exempted from
contributing to the support of the insect tribes, there are few
species in the vegetable creation which are not destined
to afford habitation and sustenance to one or more species,
and in numerous examples, several different kinds of insects
are appropriated to one plant. One half at least of the in-
sect tribes are thus limited to particular regions, since it ap-
pears, according to M. M. Kirby and Spence, that phytiborous
and carnivorous insects exist in nearly equal proportions.
But the remaining half are not much more at large with
respect to the sphere of their existence, since the animals on
which they feed can in general be supported only under given
OF THE DISPERSION OF INSECTS. 57
conditions of nutriment and climate, which are themselves
determined by localities. The noxious insects which man
carries with him are said to be the only kinds which are uni-
versal.
Fabricius had some knowledge of the geographical distri-
bution of the insect tribes and of their loéal relations, but the
subject had never been fully investigated until this, as well
as most other questions in the natural history of the insects
and arachnides occupied the attention of M. Latreille. The
following are the general conclusions of this celebrated na-
turalist, with respect to the dispersion of species in this de-
partment of nature.*
1. The whole or a very great number of the arachnides and
insects inhabiting countries of which the temperature and the
soil are the same, but separated by great distances, are com-
posed, in general, of different species, if the countries are
under the same parallels. All the insects and arachnides
which have been brought from the eastern parts of Asia, as
China, are distinct from those of Europe and Africa, whatever
the latitudes and temperatures of the Asiatic countries may be.
2. The greatest part of the same animals differ, besides, spe-
cifically, when the countries which they inhabit having a simi-
larity in the soil and temperature are separated one from
another, the differences of latitude being of no consequence,
by natural barriers which interrupt the communication between
these animals or render it difficult; such as seas, lofty chains
of mountains, and vast deserts. The arachnides, insects, and
even the reptiles of America and of New Holland, cannot be
confounded with the animals of the same classes inhabiting
the old continent. The insects of the United States, although
often very similar to ours, are different in some characters.
Thus the tribes which inhabit the kingdoms of New Grenada,
and of Peru, countries near to Guiana and likewise equinoc-
tial, are yet in a great measure different from those of Guiana,
separated from them by the Cordillera which divides the cli-
mates of these countries. In passing from Piémont into France
* Introduction à la Geographie Générale des Insectes ct des Arachnides, par
P. A. Latreille. Memoires du Muséum d’Hist. Nat. tom. iii.
58 OF THE DISPERSION OF INSECTS.
by the Col de Tende, a very sudden change is perceptible. These
remarks may have exceptions, relative to aquatic species. We
are acquainted with insects whose habitation extends very far.
The thistle-butterfly, termed “La Belle Dame,” so common in
our climate, and even in Sweden, is found in the Cape of Good
Hope. New Holland likewise has a species very near to it.
The sphinx of the nerion, and sphinx celerio, have for their
northern boundary our climate, and the Isle of France for
their southern limit. Among the aquatic insects, the dytiscus
griseus inhabiting the waters of the ci-devant Provence, and
of Piémont, is not uncommon in Bengal.
It appears from some further observations by the same
writer, that the distribution of genera and the species com-
posing them, in this department of the animal creation bears
some analogies to those general facts, which we have observed
in the dispersion of plants, and to the laws of geographical
diffusion which prevail in other departments of Zoology.
M. Latreille was aware of this relation. He remarks, for ex-
ample, an approximation in the entomology of America to
that of the Austral countries and the eastern parts of Asia.
But this observation refers to genera of which particular
species are the peculiar stock of each country, and not to
any example in which the same species is found in separate
regions. The insects of New Holland are often of the same
genera with those of the Moluccas, and the south eastern parts
of India: they have much affinity with those of New Zea-
land and New Caledonia, and generic relations, as we have
observed, with those of America : yet the entomology of
New Holland has, according to Mr. Latreille, a peculiar
type.
Many instances have been pointed out by naturalists in
which tribes of insects existing in one region, but absent in
another where the climate is parallel and the local conditions
apparently similar, are replaced by analogous groupes. The
honey and wax of Europe, Asia, and Africa, are prepared by
bees of the same genus with our common hive-bee. In Ame-
rica, this genus is not to be found in the native state, but is
replaced by Melipoma and Trigona; and, in New Holland, by
a still different but undescribed representative. The Melo-
OF THE DIS PERSION OF BIRDS. 59
Ionthidae and Rutelidae of the old and new world, are repre-
sented in Terra Australis by the brilliant and numerous Ano-
plognathidae. The Rhipicera of the Brazils is of a different
type from that of New Holland. The singular genus Cre-
mastocheilus of North America has the Genuchus K. for its
representative in Africa, and the Lucani of other countries
give place in New Holland to the Lamprima of Latreille, and
the Ryssonotus of M*Leay.”
M.M. Kirby and Spence have enumerated some of the
principal genera of insects which impart a peculiar entomo-
logical character to different regions. They observe, that the
genera Manticora, Graphipterus, Glaplegous, Eurychora,
Pneumora, Masaris, and many others, are peculiar to Africa.
In Asia alone we find Mimela, Euchlora, Colliuris, Catasco-
pus, Apogonia, a peculiar form of Horia. In America, Agra,
Galerita, Nilion, another type of Horia, Tetraonyx, Rutelia,
Doryphora, Alcernus, Erotylus, Scotinus, Cupes, Corydalis,
Labiolus, Heliconia, Castnia. In New Holland, Hellulo,
Edephastomas, Anoplognathus, Agrotiphila, Cerapterus, He-
leus, Adelium, Paropses, Achirus, Thynnus.
SECTION III.—Of the dispersion of Birds.
The geographical distribution of birds has seldom engaged
the attention of zoological writers, and with the exception of
Professor Illiger's “Tabellarische Uebersicht,”f in which the
abodes of 3800 species were the subject of inquiry, scarcely
any systematic attempt has been made to elucidate this de-
partment of natural history. The ornithology of many ex-
tensive regions, abounding in tribes of birds, has been as yet
so imperfectly explored, that it would be impossible for any
naturalist of the present day, to treat this subject with an
extensive and satisfactory examination of all its bearings.
Buffon imagined the total number of species existing in the
class of birds to be about 2000. It has been stated, that
* M. M. Kirby and Spence's System of Entomology.
t Tabellarische Uebersicht der Vertheilung der Vögel úber die Erde. Abland-
lungen der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin. b. x.
60 OF THE DISPERSION OF BIRDS.
6000 species are already ascertained, and many new species
are added every year to the catalogue. The whole number
in existence must be very much greater than this aggregate,
since 500 species have been ascertained in the colony of the
Cape,” while the ornithology of most intertropical countries,
which abound in tribes of birds, has been, in comparison,
little explored. Europe and the United States are, perhaps,
the only regions the winged tribes of which have been ade-
quately compared. The known birds of the new world were
reckoned by Charles Lucian Bonaparte, in 1827, to be three
hundred and ninety-six species, of which three hundred and
eighty-two belong to the United States. The number of spe-
cies ascertained in Europe in 1832, was stated by the author
of an excellent paper in the Quarterly Review, to be three
hundred and ninety-five, of which two hundred and seventy-
seven species are natives of Britain and Ireland. The species
of Europe and of North America have been classed under
one hundred and seven genera, of which sixty-four are com-
mon to both continents.
Of all existing tribes of animals, birds and the cetacea
are, partly owing to their structure, and in part by the nature
of the media they inhabit, best fitted for extensive migration.
Accordingly in these tribes, and scarcely in any others, there
are individual species which appear to be almost universally
spread. The locomotive powers of some birds are so great,
that scarcely any natural barriers are capable of setting
limits to their migration. The only boundaries which confine
them are uncongenial climates, or physical circumstances in-
compatible with their existence. Some of the largest birds
of prey are found in many distant countries. It has been
observed, that even those tribes which are nearly or wholly
destitute of the power of flight, are more extensively spread
than the wingless animals: that the ostrich, for example, is
to be found over all Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to
the Cyrenaik, and from Cape Verde to Babel-mandeb ; that
the same osprey, or Fishing Eagle, wanders along the shores
* South African Quarterly Journal, No. 1. p. 10. – Quarterly Review, vol. 47,
p. 853.
OF THE DIS PERSION OF BIRDS. 6|
of Scotland, and on those of the south of Europe and of New
Holland. The Chinese goshawk is said to reach from the
south-eastern tracts of Asia to the western coast of Europe,
inhabiting many intermediate stations and extending across
the broad expanse of the American continent: the Lammer-
geyer haunts the heights of the Pyrenean, the mountains of
Abyssinia, and the Mongolian steppes. The Penguin Falcon
occurs in Greenland, Europe, America, and New Holland.*
The structure of these tribes, or the local circumstances of
the countries where they were placed, affords a full and ade-
quate explanation of the fact that their wanderings have been
so extensive. On the other hand it appears as a general ob-
servation, that tribes in respect to which these conditions are
found to be reversed, are confined to a very limited range.
This is the case especially with birds inhabiting islands and
endowed with but weak powers of flight. An example may
be found in the species belonging to the parrot tribe, of which
the number known some years ago amounted to two hundred
and thirty-nine. These are divided into groupes, which are
distributed separately to different parts of the world, to India,
to Africa, and to America. The Lories inhabit New Guinea,
Moluccas, and other eastern islands, but are unknown to the
new world. Owing to the weakness of their flight, one island
of an archipelago often contains a peculiar species which is
wanting in other islands of the same groupe. Another il-
lustration of the same remark is furnished, as Mr. Lyell has
observed, by the humming-birds. They are peculiar to the
New World, where a few have a wide range; Trochilus Flam-
mifrons is common to Lima, Juan Fernandez and the Magel-
lanik, but other species are peculiar to one of the West
India islands. The common grouse peculiar to Britain is a
similar instance of single collocation. -
It may be remarked, that the distribution of genera among
birds to different countries, displays the same method of ar-
* Quarterly Review, vol. xlvii. p. 357.
+ Remarks on the History and Distribution of the Genus Psittacus, or Parrot.—
Edin. Philo. Magazine, May, 1832.
it Principles of Geology, vol. ii.
62 OF THE DISPERSION OF THE
rangement, if we may use that phrase, as that which has
always been observed in the dissemination of plants and of
the insect tribes. As ornithology has advanced, it has been
found more and more requisite to divide extensive families of
birds into different groupes, distinguished from each other by
some peculiarity of character, or by a leading deviation in the
nature and habits of species from the nature and habits of
other species belonging to the same family. It appears
more and more as knowledge becomes more extensive and
particular, that groupes thus constituted have different geo-
graphical relations. Thus in the late work, still incomplete,
of the excellent naturalist M. Lesson, the vulture tribe, or as
they are more properly termed the Vulturidei, are separated
into departments, and distinguished by particular names. Of
these the true Vultures and the Percnopteri belong to the
old world ; the Sarcoramphi belong to South America, as well
as the Catharti and the Iribins, and the Gypaetes is proper
to Europe. New Holland is distinguished from the rest of
the world in having none of the vulture tribe, which are there
replaced by the different races of Caracaras or Polybori.”
SECTION IV.-Of the dispersion of marine Animals.
The inhabitants of the ocean are not so entirely limited by
those abrupt barriers which confine within particular regions
the natives of the land, of islands separated by seas, or of
continents divided by rivers and chains of lofty mountains.
It seems likely, that many of the marine tribes should be
found to take a wide range, and to wander wherever the vast
regions of the ocean afford them an open path. The natural
history of these tribes is among the most imperfect depart-
ments of zoology, and the undefined characters of particular
species has long favoured the error of those who have regarded
some of them as cosmopolites. Mistakes of this description
have been pointed out by M. Péron in regard to the tribes of
Phocae. Under the name of Phoca Ursina, or sea-bear, more
than twenty species have been described, or merely indicated,
* Hist. Nat, des Oiseaux, p. 12.
PHOC ACTEO LJS TRIBES. 63
by various authors, which are distinguishable from each
other, not only in colour, form, size, and the relative position
of their fins, but even in the number of their teeth and the
presence or want of external ears. Not less confusion has
prevailed respecting the Phoceae Vitulinae or sea-calves, an
imaginary species supposed to inhabit at the same time the
frozen oceans of either pole, and to bask under the equatorial
sun. Even the barriers which confine the ocean, were thought
to have set no limits to the progress of this tribe, which has
been said to have made its way into the Caspian, and what is
still more strange, to have peopled with the native herds of the
salt sea, the fresh water lakes of Baikal, Ladoga, and Onega.
Some writers have found no difficulty in supposing that seals,
which breathe at the surface of the sea, could yet find a pas-
sage through subterraneous conduits from the Euxine to the
Caspian. Others have preferred to make them travel up
the great rivers of Asia, from the frozen ocean to the elevated
lakes in the steppes of eastern Tartary, getting over some
part of the journey on the land by means which are not ex-
plained. The facts which these conjectures are intended to
make plain, rest on the authority of such writers as Langius
and Isbrandt, and it is supposed with great probability by
Peron” and by Lesson,t that the pretended seals of fresh-
water Siberian lakes are otters.
Most of the instances in which marine animals have been
Supposed to have so wide a range, appear to have been re-
ported on the authority of ill-informed persons, and so many
mistakes have been detected in these relations as prove them
to be unworthy of belief. Facts connected with the disper-
sion of seals, as well as of the Cetacea, have been investigated
by M. M. Péron and Le Sueur, and more recently by M. Lesson.
By Peron it has been proved, that Steller and Fabricius have
described two different animals under the designation of
Phoca Leonina, and that three great species of Phocaceae
inhabiting the Austral seas have been confounded with the
* M. M. Péron et LeSueur sur les Habitations des Animaux Marins. Annales
du Muséum, tom. xv.
+ Lesson's Hist. des mammiferes, tom 4, Les Phogues.
64 OF THE DISIPERSION OF THE
true sea-lion of the south. If so much uncertainty prevails
with respect to some of the largest Phocae of our northern
hemisphere, it is probable, as M. M. Péron and Le Sueur
have observed, that still greater errors are involved in the
history of the innumerable marine animals which inhabit all
the regions of the Antarctic ocean. “How can we admit
these improbable instances of identity in species which are
registered in so many works? Observed even to the present
day almost exclusively by men who are strangers to all the
principles of science, incapable of making the comparisons
and distinctions which it exacts; the majority of these ani-
mals are so little known, that it is impossible to determine
any thing with respect to their species.” The same writers
conclude by declaring, that among those tribes which they
have been able to examine with their own eyes, or with regard
to which they have obtained accurate information from
others; there is not a single animal belonging to the marine
amphibiae of the antarctic region, which is not distinguished
by specific characters from analogous tribes in the northern
Séa.S.
The dispersion of the Phocaceous tribes has been more
recently investigated by M. Lesson. “These native inhabi-
tants of the sea are nowhere more abundant, nowhere united
in more numerous herds than upon the coasts of lands smitten
with death, or enveloped in the ices of the pole. Here, in-
deed, have their savage tribes preferred to remain for ages,
and here the number is continually increased by the destruc-
tive disposition of man, which incessantly pursues them, and
drives them from milder climates.”
The Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean and Cas-
pian seas, the Indian ocean and the Red Sea, the equatorial,
as well as the arctic and antarctic Oceans, are nurseries of
seals: nevertheless we can confidently lay it down as an un-
doubted truth, that the Phocaceae which live under the equa-
tor and between the two tropics, are merely isolated or soli-
tary tribes, rarely united even in small companies; and that
those which iive round the north pole, or upon the bounda-
ries of the south pole, unite in great herds, or form innu-
merable legions. Some travellers have likewise pretended,
OF THE DIS PERSION OF CETACE AE. 65
that the phocaceae are found in the fresh waters of the lake
Bačkal.” Such a fact requires strict examination before it
can be established. Some naturalists worthy of credit, and
among others M. Péron, have remarked, that it was easy to
mistake otters for phocaceae; and it is very probable that
this error has been committed. It has been for a long time
believed—and this mistake is of greater importance since it
has contributed to confound our nomenclature—that certain
species of phocae exist indifferently in either hemisphere:
framed in conformity with this idea, the descriptions of Steller
and Fabricius have been made to agree with those of Forster,
Pagés, Dampier, and others. Péron has first pronounced
strongly against this opinion, and we fully coincide with him.
In fact, large animals, and the phocae among others, have
bounds which they seldom pass. The marine elephant, for
example, has never been found in the northern hemisphere,
nor has one of the phocae of the north been observed in the
South ; and if the sea-lion, bear, and sea-cat of Krakenmini-
kow and Steller are looked upon as synonymous with the
animals so termed by Pernetty and Forster, the name which
so improperly unites them, and which is given by navigators
without reflection to all amphibious animals, has had more
share in this than any resemblance or analogy of form.”
Adopting thus the views of Péron, which no exam-
ple invalidates, while, on the other hand, every observation
seems to strengthen them, we shall find that the phocae
may be distributed geographically into three groupes; first,
Atlantic phocae of the north pole; secondly, Arctic phocae of
the Pacific Ocean; thirdly, Antarctic phocae. F
M. Péron was not less decided in pronouncing the entire
diversity of the cetaceae inhabiting the northern and the
southern Oceans. He considers it to be entirely by mistake
that the Balaena Mysticetus was supposed to swim around
Spitzbergen, as well as in the seas of the antarctic pole. On
this subject M. Lesson has expressed a different opinion.
He admits the conclusion of M. Peron as almost universally
* Krakenninikow’s “Travels in Siberia and to Kamtschatka.”
* Lesson, ubi supra, p. 373.
66 OF THE DIS PERSION OF CETAC EAE.
correct, even with respect to the majority of cetaceae, but con-
tends, that it is not applicable, if we can rely upon the pre-
sent state of our information, to some of the whales and ca-
chalots which are capable of traversing the equatorial seas
from one polar region to the other. It is generally admitted,
as he observes, that the best known among the great cetaceae,
are spread through all seas on the globe, and that the same
species of whales or macrocephalous cachalots belonging to
the northern seas are found in the great ocean, whether in the
waters which wash the north-west coast of America, or in the
seas of Cape Horn, or southward of New Holland. The whale-
fishers whom we have consulted on this subject have, in fact,
always affirmed this identity; and the whales or fishes that
we have seen under all the parallels of the north or south, or
under the equator, in the Pacific, as well as Atlantic Ocean,
have appeared to us to differ in no respect from the species of
cetaceae in the northern seas, such as they have been de-
scribed. But we know that the same remark does not hold
with respect to dolphins; these are subject to the laws im-
posed upon all animals in a state of nature; they do not go
beyond certain limits. Within these limits are all the condi-
tions appropriated to their support; there they find the kind
of nourishment which is proper for them, the nature and tem-
perature of the waters to which their organs are accustomed;
all the requisites of their existence are included under these
latitudes: thus to the south belong the delphinapter of
Péron, and its representative in the north is the beluga :
thus the dolphins of the coasts of Iceland or even of Europe,
are by no means the same as those of the antarctic seas.”
The dispersion of fishes has been still less an object of re-
search, but in this instance the leading facts direct us to a
similar conclusion. The fishes of the Red Sea, as Mr. Lyell
has observed, are said to differ entirely from those of the Me-
diterranean. Flying fish are almost confined to the inter-
tropical oceans, and different species are found in the Atlantic
and in the eastern seas. The electric gymnotus belongs exclu-
sively to America, and the silurus electricus to the rivers of
* Lesson, Hist. Nat, des Cétacés, p. 9.
OF THE DISTERSION OF FIS FIES. 67
Africa, while the torpedo, which is dispersed over all the tro-
pical seas, is found also in the temperate regions.”
The greatest difficulty connected with the distribution of
fishes is the discovery of the same species in fresh-water
lakes remote from each other, and spread at great distances
and at different elevations over mountainous regions. Such
phenomena have a close relation to those which are displayed
by the diffusion of aquatic plants of the same species through
inland seas and lakes; and the only satisfactory solution of
these facts is to be obtained by reference to inundations and
land-floods, the frequent occurrence of which in different
periods is attested by historical and by geological proofs. It
is supposed by Gmelin and by Mr. Lyell, that birds, and par-
ticularly the anseres, retain occasionally the minute eggs of
fishes among their feathers, and transport them from one lake
to another.-F
M. M. Péron and Le Sueur have adopted a similar conclusion
respecting the lower departments of marine animals. They
begin with asserting a just claim to attention. “ No voyager
has collected a greater number of animals than we have done
in the southern hemisphere; we have observed, described,
and drawn figures of them all in their native spots: we have
brought with us many thousand species into Europe, where
they are deposited in the Museum of Natural History at Paris.
Let these numerous animals be compared with those of our
hemisphere, and the problem of their identity or diversity
will be solved, not only with regard to species of a more per-
fect organization, but even with respect to all those which
are of more simple structure, and which, on that account,
might seem likely to have received from nature less variety
of form. Let those who doubt, examine not merely the spe-
cies of Doris, of Aplysia, of Salpa, of Nereis, Aphinome,
Amphitrite, and that multitude of molluscae and worms,
which offered themselves successively to our observation; let
them descend also to the Holothuriae, to the Actiniae, the Be-
roes, the Medusae; let them extend their researches even to
those shapeless sponges, which all agree in regarding as the
* Lyell's Principles of Geology, p 2.
+ Gmelin in Amanitat. Acad. 75. - Lycli's Geology, vol. iii. p. 3.
{T}
F -
68 OF THE DISPERSION OF TEL LU RIA N
lowest term of degradation, or rather of simplicity in animal
structure. Among all this immense assemblage of antarctic
animals, it will be found, that there is not one which exists
in the seas of the northern hemisphere.”
SECTION V.—Of the Dispersion of Mammifers and Reptiles
of the Land.—Division of the Earth with Zoological
Provinces.
When we engage in similar inquiries with relation to ani-
mals of larger bulk and destitute of wings, principally to
quadrupeds and reptiles inhabiting the land, the various
questions that present themselves appear to be more capable
of solution and encumbered with fewer difficulties. By
reason of their bulk or stature, these animals are easily ob-
servable: they do not elude our view as do the Phocae and
Cetaceae, and other marine tribes in the deep waters of
the ocean. Nor are we subjected in this instance to the
same causes of ambiguity which perplex the researches of
botanists into the history of plants, the seeds of which are
liable to be carried down by rivers, and transported by ma-
rine currents to distant shores, where they vegetate and
establish new colonies, which may be mistaken for original
centres of diffusion. In comparing the wild mammifers which
inhabit separate countries we are enabled to draw inferences
with greater certainty from the facts which present them-
selves; and hence the conclusions, which with respect to
dicotyledonous plants, as well as other tribes of animals,
could only be stated as highly probable, or at most as gene-
ral facts, may be maintained almost without exception in
the instance of quadrupeds and reptiles inhabiting the
land.
Animals thus limited in their power of locomotion, are
confined within the regions which gave them birth by matural
barriers which prevent their dispersion. The climates and
temperatures which furnish the necessary conditions of their
* Hist. de tous les animaux qui composent la famille des Médusas, par M.M.
Péron et Le Sueur. Ann, de Muséum, tom, 14.
M A MIMIFERS AND REPTILES. 69
existence, are perhaps only to be found within a certain tract.
In general the limits which restrain the dispersion of repent
and progressive animals, are high mountain-chains, which
often are the demarcations of climates, and beyond which
new systems of vegetation as well as new animated tribes
exist; or they are wide rivers or branches of the sea which
intersect continents and separate islands. Hence, by a
reference to the geographical features of countries, we may
divide the earth into a number of regions, fitted to become
the abodes of particular groupes of animals. We shall find
on inquiry that every one of the provinces thus conjecturally
marked out, is actually inhabited by a distinct assemblage
of peculiar mammifers and reptiles, as they are likewise in
most instances the appropriate seats of distinct systems of
vegetation, and of particular families in the lowest depart-
ments of animated nature. -
In the first place, it is obvious that the only latitudes
where the great continents are sufficiently near to allow a
possible transit to wild quadrupeds from one into the other,
are those of the arctic region. In the extreme north, the
coasts of Asia, Europe, and America, form almost one con-
tinuous tract; the narrow strait which separates the old and
new continents is frozen over in the winter; the distance is
further broken by intervening islands, and a passage be-
comes practicable from one region to the other for such
animals as are able to endure the intense cold of the arctic
circle. This tract is accordingly one of the great provinces
of the animal kingdom; it contains tribes of quadrupeds
common to all the northern regions of the world.
Secondly.—The temperate zone of the earth to the north-
ward of the equator, is divided by the ocean into two great
districts. The temperate region of Asia and Europe affords
a vast tract, passable by migratory animals from Europe,
through Asia, and as far as the shores of the northern Pacific.
This ocean sets an insurmountable barrier; accordingly, the
same tribes ought to be in many instances found spread
from the western to the eastern extremities of the old
continent in the temperate zone, while the four-footed inha-
bitants of the same zone in the new world, should be
70 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
races peculiar to it, and such as never make their appearance
in the old world.
Thirdly.—The equatorial region contains three great tracts,
separated from each other by wide seas. We must expect
to find in them three distinct assemblages of intertropical
quadrupeds, viz. the American, the African, and the In-
dian.
Fourthly.—The great and numerous islands of the Indian
Archipelago, separate, and perhaps anciently torn from the
continent of Asia, form with reference to their geographical
position, a distinct region of the earth, which is similar in
climate and in its vegetable productions to the hottest parts
of Africa. Here we shall expect to discover mammifers and
reptiles of peculiar character.
Fifthly.—Beyond the Indian Archipelago, we find a remark-
able country, very fertile in vegetable productions. Papua
includes New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland. The
lofty mountain-ranges which support it, spread themselves
out in several great arms, and run southwards into the
Pacific, forming straits and groupes of islands, everywhere
attaining a considerable elevation. The Archipelago of
Solomon, the Arsacidae, Louisiade, Santa Cruz, Tierra del
Espiritu Santo, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and per-
haps the two long islands of New Zealand, appear to be
branches of the same central region.
The more remote groupes of islands in the great southern
ocean may be reckoned as parts of the same Zoological pro-
vince. The whole of this region is placed under circum-
stances, likely to call forth the most abundant productions
of organized nature. In fact its vegetation is luxuriant; but
as we might expect to find in conformity with the preceding
observations, the animated creation is as remarkably de-
ficient in its principal tribes.
Sixthly.—Beyond the Indian seas, but separated from
New Guinea only by straits, we find an extensive continent
differing from the rest of the world in all its physical pecu-
liarities. Terra Australis or Austral Asia according to the
best informed observers, is peculiar and striking in its geo-
logical aspect. It is equally remarkable for the singularity
M A M M ſ FERS AND REPTILES. 7 |
of its vegetation. In no part of the world has the animal
creation so distinct and peculiar a character.
Seventhly.—The southern extremities of America and of
Africa contain countries situated under a similar climate.
The temperate parts of these continents, as well as that of
Terra Australis, are thus so many insulated regions. In all
we may expect to find peculiar tribes.
I shall now attempt a general survey of the animated
tribes inhabiting their different provinces, taking them in a
different order from that to which I have enumerated them.
SECTION VI.-Peculiar Observation of each of the great
Zoological Provinces.
We have already observed that in each of the great bo-
tanical provinces, the system of vegetation there indigenous,
displays a peculiar aspect or character of its own, which dis-
tinguishes it from the aggregates of plants indigenous in
other parts of the world. A similar remark may be applied
to the distribution of animals; and I shall now endeavour to
collect the most striking particulars which illustrate this ob-
servation, and point out its bearing on the principal subject
of my inquiries.
1.—Terra Australis or Austral Asia. There is no other
extensive region so remotely separated from countries in
corresponding latitudes, as is the great island or continent
of New Holland, and there is no other part of the world
which has so peculiar an assemblage of organized beings. This
great region may be said to contain within itself a particular
creation, an organized world of its own. South Africa, and
the Magellanic countries, differ in their productions from the
rest of the continents of which they are prolongations, but in
Terra Australis living nature displays a peculiar type and
new forms, which seem to deviate from the laws of co-exis-
tence, generally regarded as universal conditions of life.
Botanists have observed in the vegetation of this country
a peculiar physiognomy. It is equally striking that many
tribes of animals indigenous in the same region, though
~! OF THE DIS PERSION OF TELLURIAN
differing from each other, display some remarkable attri-
butes of organization which may be looked upon as com-
mon characters.
It is well known that the great class of warm-blooded
quadrupeds constituted by Linnaeus, under the name of
Mammalia, has two distinctive characters. It is understood
as implied by the term, that the tribes to which it belongs,
are those which bring forth their offspring in a mature state;
in that state in which the young animal ceasing to be organ-
ically united to the body of its mother, is fit to enter upon
its independent existence, and to be entrusted to the spon-
taneous impulses of its own instinct. The offspring of mam-
mifers, unlike that of birds and amphibious animals and the
lower orders of the creation, passes at once from the state of
foetal or uterine existence, to that of separate life and lo-
comotion. A second feature considered to be not less essen-
tial to animals comprised in the class of mammalia, consists
in the endowment of a double heart and a double vascular
system, with more ample organs for breathing and evolving
heat. To the universal conjunction of their leading cha-
racter of structure, no exception was for a long time believed
to exist, and it would have been deemed in the highest de-
gree improbable that such a fact should ever have been
discovered.
It must however now be admitted, that a remarkable
deviation from the general character of the mammalia has
taken place in the marsupial tribe, of which Terra Australis
is well known to be the principal abode. Nature has fitted
these animals for a sort of double gestation, having provided
the females with a pouch formed by a fold of the abdominal
tegument and supported by marsupial bones. The pouch
encloses the organs of suckling and receives the embryos,
which are transferred to it, as yet little developed, from the
uterus; and in this new receptacle they are subjected to dif-
ferent and peculiar modes of vitality, until at a later period
the offspring becoming more robust and capable of tempo-
rary separation from the pouch, begin to accustom them-
selves to the open air and the exercise of their instinctive
faculties, but take refuge at the least alarm, in their former
A NIM ALS AND MO NOT REMIES. 73
retreat. It is not determined in what precise manner the
embryo is conveyed from the uterus into the pouch, though
the remarkable discovery of peritoneal canals in the female
kangaroo by Michael Owen has seemed likely to afford an
explanation. Nothing however can be more obvious than the
fact that the existence of this marsupial structure, in pro-
viding for the premature removal of the embryo from the
uterus, constitutes an important deviation from the essential
character of the mammalia. A still greater deviation is how-
ever that which has been noted in another tribe, bearing
some remarkable analogy to the marsupial animals. I allude
to the monotremes, creatures which, though warm-blooded
quadrupeds, are provided with a system of respiration so ano-
malous, that naturalists have differed widely from each other
as to the station to be assigned to them in the system of organ-
ized beings. M. Cuvier placed the monotremes at the end
of the edentata, but this was with reference merely to their
organs of mastication. Authors who direct their attention
to the productive system, and particularly M. Lesson, place
them as a separate class between birds and reptiles, as an
Intermediate link which connects these departments of the
animal kingdom to the mammalia. The monotremes are
provided with cloacae analogous in every respect to the
cloacae of birds; they have no abdominal pouch, but the pre-
sence of marsupial bones displays in their organiza-
tion the rudiment of this structure. Their reproduction ap-
pears to be ovo-viviparus, and the envelope of the mem-
branous egg being torn is supposed to afford an exit to
the foetus, which may then be considered as hatched.* Their
thanner of lactation has only been the theme of doubtful
conjectures. Their skeleton is equally anomalous, and it
displays a clavicle common to the two shoulders, similar in
Structure to that of birds.
It is impossible to determine or even to conjecture what are
the circumstances in the physical state of the Austral land,
which require the existence or favour the developement of
structures so peculiar; in other words, how it comes to pass
* M. Lesson, tonn, 4.
74 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
that the warm-blooded quadrupeds of this region are generally
constructed for an earlier exclusion of the embryo from the
uterus than those of other regions. The plastic operations
of nature, or those physical processes, which, under the guid-
ance of a supreme intelligence, gave origin and a peculiar
modification to the different tribes of organized beings, are
beyond our scrutiny. It may perhaps hereafter be dis-
covered how such a peculiarity of structure is adapted to the
local conditions of the region, what congruity or fitness there
is between them. But that there is a local relation between
these modifications of form and the climate in which they dis-
play themselves is undoubted: in order to be convinced of
it we need only survey hastily the distribution of the mono-
tremes and marsupial tribes.
“Previous to 1789,” says M. Lesson, “the only marsupials
known were the didelphes or filanders of America, mentioned
by Marcgraf and Pison, and the phalanger of the Moluccas,
described by Valentine, and figured by Seba. Buffon knew
only six didelphes; one chironectes, viz. the little otter of
Guyana; two phalangers or couscous. Naturalists of the
present day have distinguished with accuracy twelve genera
of these animals, in which are comprised a great number of
species.” a'
Though the marsupial animals are considered as a single
family, a term which might be applied in one sense to the
rest of the mammalia, they differ widely in all other respects.
Among them are found true carnivorous animals as well as
insectivorous, rodentia or gnawers, herbivora and edentata.
These tribes differ in respect to their teeth, their digestive
organs, their feet, and consequently their habits. The
dasyuri are carnivorous, and correspond to the weasel
tribe of the old world. The thylacine represents the wolf,
and has been described as belonging to the canine family.
The sarigaes belong to America, the phalangers to the Mo-
luccas, the parameles are found in New Guinea as well as
in New Holland; but by far the greater part of this numerous
family, including a very considerable number of species, be-
long exclusively to Terra Australis. . This character, as
M. Lesson observes of marsupiality, seems to form for New
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES, 75
Holland a true zoological law, from which only three mam-
mifers can be excepted;—namely, the roussette or frugivorous
bat of the intertropical parts, the phocae on the shores, and
the Australian dog which followed the miserable natives in
their first emigration into this destitute region. M. Lesson
here associates with the marsupialia the monotremes, which
have the rudiments of the same structure, but he does not
confound these different tribes. “Rien ailleurs,” he says,
“ne peut donner l'idée des étres singuliers qu'on a nommés
paradoxeaux, et qui sont l'ornithorhyngue et l'echiané. Le
premier, à corps couvert de poils, a bec de canard, a pieds
garnis d’érgots, veneneux, pondant des Ceufs, semble étre une
creature fantastique, jetée sur le globe pour renverser par sa
presence tous les systèmes admis sur l'histoire naturelle;
car on peut soutenir avec tout autant de raison qu’elle ap-
partient aux quadrupedes, aux oiseaux, ou aux reptiles.”
The same writer has observed that few countries are so rich
in ornithology as New Holland, and that similar phenomena
of singularity to those which characterise the mammifers
of that region appear also in its birds. The greater part, un-
able to derive subsistence from fruits which are wanting to
the Australian forests, have peculiar modes of sustenance;
those which feed upon insects have tongues organized as in
the birds of other climates, but the parroquets, (the merles
and many of the passereaux) obliged to pump out the sweet
juices which exude from the corollae of flowers, are endowed
at the extremity of the tongue with bundles of papillae, re-
sembling a pencil, (pinceau,) enabling them to absorb the
whole of this fluid, which is only to be obtained in sparing
quantities. The birds of this region vary in the colours of
their plumage, but are generally remarkable for some singu-
larity of structure or plumage. Thus instead of the swan of
other countries, of a spotless white, New Holland has
one of a deep black, and it has black cacatoos replacing the
white cacatoos of the Moluccas.” The most frightful reptiles
* Ce serait outrepasser les bornes de cet article, que de s'etendre longuement
sur les espéces rares, ct curieuses qui peuplent cetetrange climat; nous me pouvons
nous dispenser, toutefois de citer quelques oiseaux de plus remarkables parmi
76 OF THE DIS PERSION OF TELLU RIAN
are found in the same climate; the poison of some is fatal in
a few minutes. The intertropical country partakes in the
productions of New Guinea, and has likewise the bicarenated
crocodile of the Moluccas. Numerous lizards, and different
species of scinques and of agames abound in New Holland ;
the most striking are the gigantic black and yellow scingue,
and those singular scindians the phyllari, having leaf-shaped
tails. There are likewise numerous serpents, some of which
are well known to be extremely venomous. The chelonians,
the molluscae, the insects, the zoophytes of Terra Australis,
present phenomena of singular form and organization which
are scarcely less remarkable. For a description of them I must
refer to the works of the excellent naturalist whom I have so
frequently cited.
Paragraph 2.—The equatorial and southern parts of America
constitute a vast region which might be subdivided into many
zoological provinces. The western part, including the Bra-
zils, is distinguished by peculiar and physical geographical fea-
tures, and limited by well-marked boundaries. The tropical and
the temperate countries lying westwardof the Cordilleras might
be divided into two other provinces; and a fourth, of a very
distinct kind, and bearing much resemblance to South Africa,
is formed by the great plains of the Pampas. Tierra del
Fuego must be reckoned as a fifth district, and one of a par-
ticular description is the vast interior country, covered by
dense and lofty forests and intersected by the rivers Pa-
raguay and Uruguay. In several of these regions peculiar
phenomena relating to the animal kingdom might be traced
and examined, and it would perhaps be not difficult to distin-
guish the zoological character of each department. But as
ceux qu'om y trouve. En premiere ligne sont, ce superbe menme dont le queue est
l’image fidele dans les solitudes Australes de la lyre harmonieuse des Grecs; ce lo-
riot prince-regent, dont la livrée est mi-partié de jeune d'or, et de noir develours,
ces oiseaux satins, ces cassicans variés, ces philedons nombreux, ce scytrops dont le
bec imite celui de toucan ; ce céréopsis cendré, ce casoar Austral, ce faucon d'un
blanc de niege, ces monieaux preborngs, ces traquets superbes, ces pertuches de
toute taile, et de toute couleur, ces bruyants martin-chasseurs, ce moncherolle crepi-
tant dont le cri imite à s'y méprendre le claquement d'un fouet, et tant d'autres es-
péces rares et precieuses, pour l'ornithologiste, et qu'il seroit fastidieux de nommer.
M A MMIFERS AN ID REPTILES. 77
neither zoology nor physical geography constitutes the subject
of this work, I shall confine myself to some very general
remarks on the whole region of South America.
The zoology of South America has some features which
remind us of that peculiar to Terra Australis. It recedes
considerably from the character of the animal kingdom
proper to Asia, and perhaps, in a greater degree, from that of
Africa.”
It was observed by the Count de Buffon, that the largest
quadrupeds are natives of the old world, and strangers in
America. “Nature,” says this ingenious and eloquent writer,
“seems to have adopted a smaller scale in the formation of
animals for the new world, and to have framed man alone n
the same mould as elsewhere.” To Asia and Africa belong
the various species of elephant, rhinoceros, and hippoppota-
mus, and giraffe, camels, horse, and most of the ox kind.
The fossil remains of large animals have been discovered in
America, but those now existing are in general smaller than
the tribes inhabiting the old world.
It may be observed, that the races or animals which have
the most powerful and perfect structure belong chiefly to the
old world. Those of the new have, in general, a character
of organization which places them lower in the scale of ani-
mated beings.
Those carnivorous animals, for example, which have the
greatest vigour and courage, are confined to Asia and Africa.
The lions, tigers, hyaenas, the fiercest of the cat and dog
kinds, all such animals as are taken for symbols of energy,
strength, and ferocity, are among them. The American tribes,
which approach the most nearly to the kinds above mentioned,
are in general much more gentle and feeble than the African
and Asiatic species. The swiftest and most agile quadrupeds,
as well as the most graceful and beautiful, chiefly belong to
the old continent; and those, likewise, which are the most
* The zoological features of Paraguay are extensively described in the work of
Don Felix de Azara, and that of the eastern region of South America in the great
work of Vom Spix and Martius.
78 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
useful to man. Among these are the antelopes,” including
a great number of species, as well as the goat, horse, ass, and
Ox kinds.
On the other hand, we find in the new world most of those
singular races, in the formation of which Nature seems to
have deviated most from her ordinary rules. Such are the
tribes which Linnaeus referred to his order of Bruta: they are
termed by Cuvier, Edentes, or quadrupeds defective with
respect to teeth, some of them being entirely destitute of
these organs of mastication, and all deficient.
America contains, for example, the whole family of tar-
digrades or sloths, which Buffon characterises as defective
monsters, as rude and imperfect attempts of Nature. Cuvier
has remarked of the living species of this tribe, “that we
find in them so little relation to ordinary animals; the gene-
ral laws of organization prevailing among the species at pre-
sent existing apply so little to them, the different parts of
their bodies appear to be so much in contradiction to the laws
of coexistence which we find established through almost the
whole animal kingdom, that we might really suspect them to
be the remains of another order of things, the living relics of
that pre-existing nature, the ruins of which are elsewhere dis-
covered only in the interior of the earth, and we might con-
jecture that these creatures have escaped by some miracle,
the catastrophes which have destroyed the other species that
were their cotemporaries.”f
Besides the living species of sloth, two gigantic creatures
of the same singular family are known to us by their organic
remains: one of these is supposed to have been of the size of
an ox; the other as large as a rhinoceros. They have been
* The mountainous parts of America contain some animals allied to the argali,
or wild sheep. Three species have also been described which are nearly related to
the antelopes, but which are supposed to form a separate natural family, requiring
a distinct classification from the antelopes of the old continent. Transactions
of the Linnaean Society, vol. xiii. p. 40.
+ Buffon's Hist. Naturelle, Article des Tardigrades.—Cuvier, Mém. sur le Mé-
galonyx. Annales du Museum, tom. v.-Item, Mém. sur le Mégatherium, par le
même.—Ibid.
MAMMIE ERS AND REPTILES. 79
termed megalonyx and megatherium. Their relics have been
found only in America.
The fossil animals above mentioned, resembled in some pe-
culiarities of structure the myrmecophagae, a tribe which also
recedes from the common characters of quadrupeds in several
respects, but particularly in being entirely destitute of teeth.
They are peculiar to the new world. The same observation
may be applied to the armadilloes, of which there are nume-
rous species. These belong to the order of Bruta: they have
grinding teeth, but neither tusks nor incisores.
Some of these animals resemble more particularly the sin-
gular tribes already mentioned as characterizing the zoology
of New Holland: but they are in their reproductive economy
entirely similar to the mammalia properly so termed. The
torrid parts of America contain, however, a distinct marsupial
family, analogous to the Australian tribe, though consisting
entirely of peculiar species, and even of genera distinct from
those of New Holland. The relation of this structure to the
local circumstances of the region is here equally unknown,
but the marsupial animals of America differ from those of
Terra Australis in various particulars; in some of which we
discover a remarkable fitness for the countries which they
are destined to inhabit. The differences of the American
genera and species of marsupial animals have been described
by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire. I shall only remark, that the
structure of the American kinds is more fitted for agility than
that of the pouched animals of New Holland, and that Na-
ture has provided them with long protrudate or muscular
tails, which constitue a fifth limb, singularly useful to animals
which are the inhabitants of vast and lofty forests.
There are other tribes in the same region of America pos-
Sessing a similar conformation. The Sapajous, a numerous
tribe of monkeys peculiar to these countries, have a slender,
spider-like form, which gives them great agility in climbing
trees; they have also propensile tails, like those of the
didelphis. The same countries contain also the myrme-
cophage, or American ant-eaters, the kinkajou, and hystrix
prehensilis; all of which are, in this respect, similar to the
opossum,
80 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
We have here an instance of evident adaptation in the
structure of animals to the nature of the districts in which
they are destined to dwell.
The hoofed animals found in South America are of different
structure from those of southern Africa. The organization of
the former renders them fit inhabitants of the precipitous
Cordilleras, while the form and structure of the gnous and
springbocks, and other antelopes, and of quaggas and ze-
bras, are adapted to the vast and dry plains of Caffraria.
In the lower departments of animated nature, the observa-
tion which I have cited from Buffon seems to be reversed.
The reptiles of America, display when compared with those of
the old continent, the greatest bulk and more powerful struc-
ture. This is remarkable in the batracian, but still more in
the saurian and ophidian tribes.
Paragraph 3.—Intertropical Africa and the temperate coun-
tries to the southward form another insulated region. We find
the animal creation assuming here a character almost as pecu-
liar as that which is displayed by the vegetation of the same
countries. In the inferior departments of animated nature this
peculiarity is apparent. A prodigious number of insects are
found near the Cape of Good Hope, which are unknown in
other countries. Lichtenstein collected there between six and
seven hundred species, of which, Professor Illiger found that
three hundred and forty were entirely new.” In mammalia,
southern Africa contains several peculiar genera, which are
spread over various spaces towards the north, according to
their capability of enduring the heat of tropical countries.
In many instances this region contains the same genera which
are found in temperate climates to the northward of the line;
but then the southern are different from the northern species.
Thus we find the quagga, the zebra, and some other species
of the horse kind, corresponding with the ass and the jig-
getai of Asia. The south of Africa is spread out into fine
level plains from the tropic to the Cape. In this region, says
Pennant, Africa opens at once a vast treasure of hoofed
quadrupeds. Besides the horse genus, of which five species
* Lichtenstein's Travels in Africa, vol. i.
MAM MIFERS AND REPTILES. 81
have been found, there are also peculiar species of rhinoceros,
of the hog and the hyrax among pachydermatous races, and
among ruminating animals the giraffe, the Cape buffalo, and
a variety of remarkable antelopes, as the springbock, the
cryx, the gnou, the leucophoë, and the pygarga.”
Paragraph 4. Indian Archipelago.
The Indian Archipelago forms a third intertropical region,
which may be imagined to connect Asia and Terra Australis,
and which bears to these countries the same geographical re-
lation, as Darien and the Gulf of Mexico to the two
Americas. There are many facts which, in the opinion of
M. Lesson, prove that this central portion, as he terms it, of
eastern Asia, once formed part of a great continent. He re-
marks, that these islands contain great living species of quad-
rupeds, which are, in some instances, common to several
different isles, and that the channels by which they are se-
parated, are shallow, and intersected by banks apparently
the remains of ground submerged. Yet it must also be ob-
served, that several of these equatorial islands have particular
species which they seem alone to have preserved. It is re-
markable, though not contrary to general analogy, that the
isles of this archipelago reproduce genera, though not spe-
cies, found in the New World, and hitherto regarded as pecu-
liar to it. Such are the tapir, the couroucous, and a green
rupicola. In the seas of this region is found the dugong, so
long believed to be the creature of imagination. Sumatra
and Borneo are supposed to contain some species which are
identical, such as the Indian elephants and the orang. The
former which have received the names of Javanicus and Su-
* Pennant's Hist. of Quadrupeds.-Burchell's Travels.—Gmelin, System. Nat.
—Cuvier, Règne Animal.
t The momentum with which the waters of the equatorial ocean are borne
against the eastern side of America, though it has hollowed out the Gulf of Mexico,
has not been sufficient to break through the ridge of the Cordilleras. In the
eastern seas no similar mountain-chain existed to support the connexion between
Asia and Terra Australis. A comparison of the geographical facts which dis-
cover themselves in other equatorial regions, goes far to confirm the opinion of
M. Lesson.
G
82 OF THE DIS PERSION OF TELLURIAN
matrensis belong more especially to Sumatra. This island
contains also a great number of monkeys, particularly the
Semnopitheci, and a variety of other mammifers, among which
are the viverra musangua and the tupaca tana of Raffles, and
the Indian tapir, discovered also in Malaya. It is probable,
that Borneo yet conceals many unknown tribes: among those
which are chiefly noted in that great island, the orang-outan
is said to exist also in Cochin-China, Java also contains
some new species.”
To the Malayan archipelago belong most of the flying
quadrupeds. With the exception of bats, nearly all those
mammifers which are enabled by their structure to support
themselves in the air for a short time, and to imitate imper-
fectly the flight of birds, are natives of the Indian archipe-
lago. In the Linnaean order primates, the flying lemures or
galeopitheci, which, as M. Lesson observes, approach most
nearly to the maki, have three species in the Sunda, Molucca
and Pelew islands.t The taguans, or flying nocturnal squir-
rels, of which several species inhabit Java and the nearest
islands, are peculiar to the same archipelago and the neigh-
bouring coasts. The roussettes or frugivorous bats, so
termed though very distinct from the rest of the bat tribe,
are likewise very numerous in the Malayan islands. Yet
among the marsupial animals, while the tribe generally
termed phalangers are distributed to Terra Australis and the
Moluccas, it seems that the flying phalangers, lately termed
petauristae, and distinguished as a separate groupe, have only
been discovered in New Holland. Animals of the lacertine
tribe abound in the hotter parts of this archipelago, and
lessen, in variety, as we proceed towards the East.S Croco-
diles, though found in Java, Timor, Borneo, and Bourou, are
only represented in New Ireland by a large tupinambis. The
birds of this region are of endless variety and resplendent
beauty. Java and Sumatra possess many species, but the
groupe of isles termed the Land of Papuas is unrivalled in
* Lesson, tom. ii. p. 25.
+ Tom. iv. p. 413.
# They have been described by Raffles and Horsfield in the Linn. Transactions.
§ Lesson ii. 29.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 83
the gaudy and various plumages of its feathered tribes. To
this region belong the splendid birds of paradise, the great
promeropes. The lories and the parroquets, the most beau-
tifully clothed among the parrot tribe, belong principally to
the Moluccas and the neighbouring countries.
Paragraph 5. Zoology of Polynesia.
Beyond the Malayan archipelago a high mountain-land
extends towards the south-east, several arms or branches of
which support great islands of considerable length, or long
chains or series of smaller islands. New Guinea is the centre
or nucleus of this insular region. Issuing from the eastern
extremity of this elevated country, a vast circuit of islands,
under the names of New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon’s
Isles, Louisiade, the New Hebrides, New Zealand, surrounds
all the eastern side of Terra Australis, and has been supposed
to have originally formed with it one great continent. Thus
far, according to M. Lesson, a primordial or primitive region
exists: beyond it, in the wide spaces of the great southern
ocean, the numerous groupes which are interspersed through
it, are of volcanic and madreporic origin.
The vegetation of New Guinea displays all the splendour
and magnificence which belong to the most fertile lands in
the torrid zone, and nothing in animated nature can surpass
the bright and resplendent colours with which the birds of
the same region are decorated. These tribes exceed all
others in the beauty of their plumage, and in the variety of
their forms. New Guinea seems fitted to be the centre of
new tribes of quadrupeds; but, in this respect, the fact turns
out contrary to expectation. The whole region which I have
lately defined, seems to be remarkably deficient in mammi-
ferous animals. In New Guinea few species are as yet known.
The Babiroussa exists at Bourou and as it appears in New
Ireland; and it can, therefore, hardly be wanting in the
vast and unexplored forests of New Guinea. The couscous
or spotted phalangers are found there, as well as the pelan-
doc and the sus papuensis or New Guinea hog. In New Ire-
land is the white phalanger.
G 2
84 OF THE DIS PERSION OF TELLURIAN
New Guinea and New Ireland are still supposed, as it was
long ago imagined by Forster, to be the source whence the
isles of the southern ocean derived all the mammifers which
they possess. These, as it is well known, are a very small
number. Even New Zealand has no native quadruped, ex-
cept the seal. The roussette keraudren has spread from the
Philippines over the Marian isles as far as Oualan, but is un-
known beyond that island. In the Sandwich isles there is a
small crepuscular bat. Two species of rat, the hog, the dog,
and gallinacious fowls are very extensively dispersed. Rats
exist almost everywhere, where men are or have been, and
in Oualan there is a mus decumanus or surmulot which
multiplies in the neighourhood of the village of Lulé. The
hog termed booaa at the Society isles, is only found in the
southern groupes of the ocean, and is wanting in the Marian
isles. The breed is everywhere that which is termed Siamese;
it exists at Port Praslin in New Ireland, and in New
Guinea. The dogs termed ouri, of which the flesh is eaten
at feasts, are likewise wanting in some of the islands. The
Papuas of New Guinea keep them half domesticated. The
natives of New Ireland term them koull: the breed is of
small size, with pointed muzzle and upright ears. M. Lesson
says, “ They appeared to us to resemble in every respect
the breed of dogs which follow the miserable natives of New
Holland. They eat whatever they can find ; and chiefly feed
on crabs which they catch on the reefs of the sea-shore.
The natives of New Ireland consider them delicate food.”
The dogs of New Caledonia are, according to the same writer,
precisely similar. They appear to have followed the Papua
tribes, for they are found at the Fiji islands, but are wanting
a little further among the people of the Tonga isles who are
of a different race, as well as at Oualan and the Caroline, and
Marian islands, towards the north. At Easter island, the
most remotely situated in the great southern ocean, there
are no domestic animals except fowls and rats; even these
last are eaten by the natives.”
* I have collected these particulars from the various narratives of voyages to
the southern ocean : many of them from the scientific works of Forster and Lesson.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 85
Section VII-Distribution of the Species comprised in the
most numerous families of Quadrupeds.
The quadrumanous tribe are strongly contrasted with
mankind in regard to the extent of their dispersion or the
space which they inhabit on the earth. Although the form
and organization of the simiae are much more diversified than
those of the most distantly separated races of men, yet the
range of the whole monkey tribe is extremely limited, while
that of mankind is almost universal. In the old, as well as
in the new world, the simiae, in their wild and natural state,
are nearly confined to the intertropical region, and of that
they inhabit but particular portions. One species only, the
magot, is known to advance into Europe to the twenty-
seventh degree of north latitude, where it has become
naturalized on the rock of Gibraltar, under a climate but
little different, from that of the opposite coast of Africa.
In general the hottest regions, and particularly level coun-
tries covered with vast forests, are the favourite abodes
of the quadrumanous tribe. There are some exceptions,
however, to this observation : a few species live at the Cape
of Good Hope, and some in Paraguay, in both of which
countries they reach towards the thirty-fifth degree, or even
the thirty-eight of south latitude.”
The different genera belonging to the monkey tribe are
distributed in the old world as follows:—Of the orangs or
anthropomorphous apes, the troglodytes or chimpanzés are
in Africa, the orang-outan or pongo, in Sumatra and Borneo.
The gibbons, or long-armed apes, are in the Sunda isles
and the Malayan peninsula. The tribe of guénons inhabit
Africa exclusively, viz. the Cape of Good Hope, the coasts of
Loango and of Guinea; there are none of them in India. The
semnopitheci are only in India, as likewise are the macaucos.
Of the two known species of magot, one is an African and
the other an Indian race. The cynocephali are found in
Africa, at the Cape, and likewise in Arabia; the mandrills,
* Lesson, Hist. Nat, des Mammiferes, tom 3. Les Singes.
86 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
on the coast of Guinea. Most of these distinct genera or
subdivisions of the simiae compose many individual species:
all are restricted to some particular province. From this sum-
mary indication it appears that the intertropical region of the
old world is far from being generally inhabited by the monkey
tribe. They are found in all the hot regions of Africa;
but the island of Madagascar has not a single species; and the
quadrumani which there replace them are lemurians. In
Asia, the coast of India and Cochin-china and the great
Sunda isles are the only spots where monkeys are found.
They are wanting in the Moluccas, in New Guinea, and the
whole extent of Terra Australis, and the lands of the great
southern Ocean.
America, says M. Lesson, contains a great number of
species, which differ entirely from those of the old conti-
nent.* They inhabit the vast forests of Brazil and Guiana,
and the banks of the Orinoco, and the other great rivers.
New Spain has only a few species, and Northern Paraguay
but three or four. Neither Peru, Chili, nor Mexico Pro-
per, contains any race of monkeys; and this tribe of ani-
mals is confined in the new world to the space bounded on
the westward by the Andes, northward by the isthmus of
Panama, and southward by the Rio-de-la-Plata. F
The lemurian tribe, are the makis and the indris, confined
to Madagascar; two species of loris in India; several species
of galago, all inhabitants of Africa; and the tarsiers, natives
of the Moluccas.;
In the cheiropterous tribe, which forms the first division of
zoophagous animals, the pteropi or roussettes and some
other bats nearly allied to them, constitute a very distinct
family. Numerous species of roussettes inhabit the shores
* The American species are divided into three tribes or sub-genera. 1. Sapa-
jous, or monkeys with porpensile tails. 2. Sagouins. 3. Ouistitis, termed arc-
topitheci, or monkeys with bears' claws; having, instead of flattened nails, claws
resembling those of the rodentia or glires.
+ Lesson. Hist. des Mammiferes.
+ On the distribution of the monkey and lemurian tribes, see Cuvier. Reg.
An. i. p. 119.-M. Geoff. St. Hilaire, Mem. Sur les atéles. Ann. du Mus.
tom. vii. § 13. Tableau des Quadrumanes, tom, xix.—Magazin Encyclopédique,
tom. vii.-Mémoirs sur les espèces du genre Loris, Annales du Mus. xiv.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 87
of the Indian ocean and the Malayan archipelago. Several
of these are in the Moluccas, the Isle of Tinian, Amboyna,
Java, and Sumatra; others in Madagascar; some in Africa.
The pteropus keraudren has been found at the Marian
isles, and at Oualan; and another species, Pt. Tonganas was
discovered by M. M. Quoy and Gaimard at Tongataboo.
Other tribes of bats, agreeing with the roussettes in their
general character as well as in the countries to which they
are distributed, are the pachysomes, the cynopterae, the
macroglosses, the harpyes, and the hypodermes. The true
vespertiliones or corpuscular bats are found in nearly all
countries: they feed on insects and small animals. Eighteen
species have been enumerated by M. Geoffroy Saint Hi-
laire, and not less than fifty-six by M. Lesson. Some of
them are extensively dispersed, but the greater number are
found only in some limited tract, not one species being com-
mon to the old and the new world.* The plecotae, or
long-eared bats, were separated by M. Saint Hilaire from
the vespertiliones, as were the nycticeae by Raffinesque.f.
They are distributed as the former. The taphians of similar
habits are all of the old continent. Of the molossi, four-
teen species are enumerated by Lesson : they belong to the
new world. The numerous tribes of phyllostomes, vampyres
or blood-sucking bats, forming a separate family, which is
strongly distinguished from all the rest of the cheiropterous
tribe, are also peculiar to the warm regions of America.
The insectivora are neither very widely spread, if we con-
sider the range of particular species, nor are they greatly
diversified. They are confined towards temperate climates;
and none of them are known to exist in different regions,
being remote from each other. The erinacei or hedgehogs
* Cuy. R. A.
+ Lesson, v. p. 111.
# Lesson, 127. See Description des Rousettes et des Cephalotes, deux nou-
veaux genres de la Famille des Chauve-souris. Par M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire.
Annales du Mus. d’Hist. Nat. tom. xiv. Mémoire sur les Phyllostomes et les
Mégadermes. Par le même, Ibid. tom. xv. Mém. Sur le Genre et les Espèces
du Vespertilions, l'un des Genres de la Famille de Chauve-souris. Par le même.
Ibid. tom. viii. Item, sur les Rhinolophes, tom. xv. p. 162. Memoire sur quelques
Chauve-souris d'Aumérique formant ume petite Famille sous le nom Molossus.
Par le même, Ibid. toul. vi.
88 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
are in the temperate parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Of
the genus sorex or shrew there are many species, some in
the middle countries of Europe, others in Siberia, some in
Egypt, and in southern Africa; others in the temperate
parts of America. Of the desman or mygale, long known in
the Pyrenees, there is a distinct species in Russia, and these
animals are replaced by the subgenus chrysochloris at the
Cape of Good Hope. Analogous to the hedgehogs is the
tribe of tenrecs, natives of Madagascar and naturalised at
the island of St. Maurice. The scalopes in the temperate
parts of America were long confounded with the shrews
and moles. They form a distinct tribe containing several
species. Lastly, the moles of Canada are a distinct species
from those of Europe.*
The bears are divided into a variety of species, but their
exact number is unknown, and their limitations are by no
means determined. Late writers consider as distinct species
many races of bears which were formerly regarded as mere
varieties of the ursus arctos: such are, 1. The bear of the
Pyrenees and Asturias. 2. The Norwegian bear. 3. The
Siberian. 4. The bear of Libanus, described by Ehrenberg
and Hemprich. 5. The black bear, remarkable for its
flattened forehead; its country is unknown, and it is doubt-
ful whether the species can be considered as distinct. 6. The
labiatus of Bengal, supposed by Shaw to be a sloth. 7. The
thibetanus. 8. The isabellinus of Dr. Horsfield, from Ne-
paul. 9 & 10. The bears of the Malayan archipelago and
that of Borneo termed by Horsfield, helarctos.
America has several peculiar species of bears, as ursus
ornatus, the bear of Chili; 2, the black bear of North
America; 3. the bear described by Dr. Richardson as a
variety of the European bear; 4. the large grisly bear de-
scribed by Umfreville and Mackenzie, and by Lewis and
Clark, which is carnivorous and extremely fierce. The in-
stincts of this species are very remarkable, and differ singu-
larly from those of the other bears of the country.
The Polar bear being capable of enduring the rigours of
* Lesson, Hist, dc Manimiſeres, ſom. v. Cuvier, Regne Animal.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 89
an arctic climate, is peculiar to neither of the great con-
tinents.”
Several plantigrade animals are arranged by naturalists as
sub-genera of the bear tribe, as the raccoons of North and
South America, the coatis, the badgers, the gluttons and
wolvereens: these have not a very extensive range, and are
severally appropriated to particular countries.f
The same remark may be applied to the otters, the mus-
telae and viverrae, of which a great number of species are
distinguished by late naturalists: those which are found in
countries distant from each other are marked by peculiar
characters.;
Of the dog kind several species endure an arctic climate;
and these are common to Europe, Asia, and America. The
lagopus or isatis is found at Spitzbergen, and is traced
through the north of Asia to Kamtschatka, and thence
through some of the Kurilian isles to the shores of America,
to Hudson's Bay, and to Greenland. The fox, wolf, and
lycaon, are also common to the arctic countries. Dr. Rich-
ardson, who has given an excellent account of the wolves,
foxes, and dogs of North America, associates with the Euro-
pean wolf the canis lupus occidentalis, of which he considers
the amarok of the Esquimaux, and several tribes of hunting
animals in the plains of the Missouri, to be varieties. Many
tribes of wolves and foxes, which are considered as distinct
species, are adapted to warm or temperate climates; and
these are confined to a limited space, some in America, some
in Asia, others in Africa. Of all regions Africa most abounds
in foxes. To the corsac or mesomeles of the Cape several
other distinct species may be added, which have been made
known by Rüppell and Delalande, in Nubia, Abyssinia, and
the Cape of Good Hope. The megalotis or long-eared fox
of Iliger, the famel found by Rüppell in Kordofan, and the
* Lesson. Hist, des Mammiferes, tom. v. Cuvier, sur les ossemens du genre
de l'ours qui se trouvent dans certaines cavernes de Hongrie et d'Allemagne. An-
nales du Muséum, tom. vii. Pallas, Spicileg, Zoolog, Fascic, 14.
f Cuvier sur les mouffettes et la zorille. Annales du Mus, tom. ix.
# Cuvier, Regne. Animal:—item. Cuvier sur les espèces d’animaux carnas-
siers, &c. in Annales du Mus, tom. ix.
90 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
fennec of Bruce, are species peculiar to Africa, as well as the
cynhyaena, a new genus first described by Temminck.
M. Lesson has enumerated several wild or nearly wild
races, which may be considered as varieties of the domestic
dog. These are the dingo or canis Australasiae,” the dog
of the Himalaya, and the wild dog of Sumatra described by
Hardwicke. It seems doubtful whether the dog of the
Malouine or Falkland isles is a distinct species, or a variety
of the culpoeus described by Molina. Of the last kind
M. Cuvier has enumerated twenty-seven or twenty-eight
species, in an elaborate monograph inserted in the Annals of
the Museum. Of these it appears that not one species is
common to America and the eastern continent; even the
lynx of Canada is now believed to be a distinct kind from
the European. The African species are generally confined
to Africa, and the Indian to the eastern side of the Indus.
But the lion and the leopard endure a more temperate clime,
and they are found, accordingly, not only in Africa and in
India, but in the intermediate countries of Persia and Arabia.
We learn from Herodotus and Aristotle that the lion was
formerly an inhabitant of Greece. It seems that Homer has
alluded to a peculiarity in the structure of the lion, which
has only been known to naturalists very recently.;
M. Lesson has divided the cat tribe into nine sub-genera;
1. the lions, to which belongs the puma of America, the
couguar of Buffon; 2. Tigers; $ 3. Pantherine cats. There
are several in Asia and Africa, and one species, the jaguar
in America. 4. Oceloids, or species resembling the ocelotl,
all belonging to America. 5. Rimaus or Malayan cats,
* The dog of New Ireland termed poull, which, as we have seen, differs but
little, if at all different, from the canis Australasiae. The Australian dog is pro-
nounced by M. Lesson, to be certainly of the same stock with that of New Ireland
and the isles of Bouka and Bongainville. Less. iii. p. 221.
+ Hist. Nat. de Chili. Bongainville's Voyage.
f M. Deshaies in Ann. Sc. &c. Nat. xvii. Lesson v. p. 335.
§ One of the most remarkable facts connected with the history of the tiger, is
the existence of this species as an indigenous inhabitant of the countries near Lake
Baikal, and the river Jenesey. Though the Siberian tiger differs considerably in
some particulars from the Indian, it is supposed, by M. Lesson, to be merely a
variety of the same species.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 91
which replace the tiger in the Malayan Archipelago. 6. Gué-
pars or hunting tigers, in Asia and Africa. 7. Servals in
torrid Africa and Viverrine cats, which replace the servals
in India. 8. True cats, of which there are several tribes
scarcely to be distinguished. The felis catus is a native of
Europe, and a variety is described by Pallas, in Mongolia.
9. Lynxes, of which there are several distinct species peculiar
to the old continent, and others to America. According to
M. Lesson, the Canadian lynx appears to be a different
species from that of Sweden.*
I have already referred to the geographical distribution of
the phocaceous tribes, and of the marsupial animals, which
complete the catalogue of species belonging to the zoopha-
gous order, or the carnassiers of the French nomenclature.
The rodentes, the glires of Linnaeus, form a most extensive
family, which have been greatly multiplied by the discoveries
of modern travellers in different countries. In M. Lesson’s
last enumeration of genera belonging to this order, they
amount to sixty-one, in which are not mentioned a great
number of sub-genera. The species included in these genera
taken collectively, would amount to many hundreds. The
more accurate researches of modern naturalists have proved
that the existence of individual species is in general limited
to districts of no great extent: particular groupes are repre-
sented in distant countries by analogous tribes; but in most
instances the species in one region collectively resemble each
other much more than those of a remote country; so that we
find subgenera in Europe corresponding with other sub-
genera in Asia, and again with forms differently modified on
the other side of the Atlantic. Thus America, which abounds
in species of the squirrel tribe, has all its species distinguish-
able by a particular character from those of the old conti-
ment. The species of rodentes appear never to be identical
in remote countries. Perhaps one or two exceptions ought
to be made to this remark, but they are such as do not in-
Validate its truth. They occur in races of animals which
have become more or less associated with mankind. The
* Lesson, v. p. 356.
92 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
most remarkable are the three species of common European
mures, the domestic mouse, the rat, and the mus decu-
manus or surmulot, which appear to have introduced them-
selves wherever man has taken up his abode. All of these
are found in North America, where there are likewise many
peculiar species. The rat is found in all the islands of the
Pacific, and in the isle of Oualan the decumanus has
made its appearance near the dwellings of men. The
Antilles have the pilori, or mus pilorides.” In other
instances a more exact examination has established a dif-
ferent opinion, in regard to species which had been thought
to exist in parts of the earth remote from each other. The
rabbit of the straits of Magellam resembles the lepus cuni-
culus of Linnaeus, and has been supposed to be the same
tribe; which appeared so much the more remarkable, as rab-
bits are mentioned as existing in these coasts in the voyage
of Pigafetta, who accompanied Magalhaens in the voyage of
discovery which made them known. Baron Cuvier and
M. Lesson have come to the conclusion that it is decidedly
a distinct species.f.
The bruta or edentata are distributed in a remarkable
manner. All the sloths are of American birth, not only the
existing species but likewise those huge monsters now, as it
seems, extinct, which Baron Cuvier has termed megatherium
and megalonyx. The armadillos belong to the same region
as well as the myrmecophagae, which are replaced in the old
continent by the octeropus and the manis of Africa, by an-
other manis, the Indian pangolin, and by the monotremes of
Terra Australis.
Hoofed animals are considered as forming the second great
division of mammiferous quadrupeds. As their species are
much less numerous and their bulk greater than that of ani-
mals which have fingers or claws, their distribution is more
accurately known.
Of elephants and rhinoceroses it is well known, that several
species exist distributed separately to the hot regions of Asia
* Lesson v. 445.
+ Cuvier, Règne Animal.—Lesson, Hist, dcs Mammif.
M AM MIFERS AND REPTILES. 93
and Africa.” The extinct races, organized as it would appear
to be inhabitants of cold regions, were much more widely
dispersed: the extinct elephant was capable of enduring
the climate of the north, and existed in both of the great
continents.f.
The tapir was long supposed to be peculiar to America,
in a living state, though the remains of two extinct species
have been discovered in Europe. Another living species of
Tapir has lately been discovered in Sumatra and Malacca:
it appears to have been long well known in China, and it is
described, according to M. Lesson, in many Chinese books.
The species belonging to the hyrax and the hog tribes,
are peculiar to warm climates, and to limited regions. The
wild boar wanders further towards the north than any of his
congeners. He is found in various parts of Europe; but has
never been seen to the northward of the Baltic. This species
accordingly is not indigenous in America, though the warm
parts of America are very congenial to it: domestic hogs
have run wild there, and have formed herds of vast num-
bers.
Among ruminant animals, the camelopardalis, antelopes,
and goats, are confined to the old continent. Some peculiar
species of sheep are found in America, and some tribes
which are considered as representatives of the camel and the
antelope, as well as others which bear the same relation to
the musk; no species of either of these kinds being common
to both continents.
Some species of the deer and ox kinds inhabit very cold
climates, and these have found their way through the arctic
countries from Europe and Asia to America, or in a contrary
direction. Those species which are unable to sustain incle-
ment seasons, have a limited range in either continent.
A survey of the habitations of the reptile tribes would
furnish a number of facts of a parallel kind to those which I
* M. Lesson describes three species of plewolena proper to India, Java, and Su-
matra, tom iv.
t Bongainville's Voyage round the World.—Pennant's History of Quadrupeds,
-Cuvier Régne Animal.–Mem. sur les Elephans, vivans et fossiles, par M. Cu-
vier, Annales du Muséum.
94 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
have mentioned. Each of the principal geographical dis-
tricts would be found to possess, not only peculiar species,
but appropriate genera, or families.
The distribution of the crocodile tribe has been already
adverted to. Among the other genera which belong to the
Saurian family, Africa possesses the monitors, and most of
the chamaeleons, one species of the latter belonging to the
Moluccas. The iguanas and jeckos are more numerous, and
more widely dispersed; some species are natives of South
America, others of different parts of the old continent. The
serpents are extensively spread ; but the warm climates of
America claim the rattle-snake tribe, the caeciliae, or naked
serpents, as well as the sub-genera termed ophisaurus and
amphisbaena, and several species of boa.”
In the frog tribe, the pipa belongs to South America;
and it has been observed by Cuvier, that some of the testu-
dines and lacertae of the same regions resemble these animals
in certain particulars of structure.
The reptiles of New Holland are likewise of very peculiar
character.
SECTION VIII.-Concluding Remarks on the distribution of
tellurian Animals.
The preceding facts relating to the distribution of species,
afford some results which deserve consideration.
The remark made long ago by the illustrious Count de
Buffon is abundantly confirmed. In the extreme north, where
the two great continents approximate, and an almost con-
nected land extends from the west of Europe eastward
through America and Greenland, several species of animals
appear to be common to the borders of cither continent,
such as the Polar bear, and other quadrupeds of the
bear and dog kinds. The number of species common to
different continents even in this northern tract, is evidently
* Cuvier, Règne Animal. See also a variety of memoirs on crocodiles, &c. in
the Annals of the Museum, by the same author.
MAMMIFERS AND REPTILES. 95
very much less than it was supposed to be by Buffon, Pen-
nant, and other naturalists of the last century. With the
foregoing exceptions, and without any others, as far as zoolo-
gical researches have yet gone, it may be asserted, that no
individual species are common to distant regions. In parallel
climates analogous tribes replace each other; sometimes,
but not frequently, the same genus is found in two separate
continents; but the species which are natives of one region
are not identical with corresponding races indigenous in the
opposite hemisphere.
A similar result arises when we compare the three great
intertropical regions, as well as the extreme spaces of the
three great continents which advance into the temperate cli-
mate of the southern hemisphere.
Thus the tribes of simiae, of the dog and cat kinds, of pa-
chyderms, including elephants, tapirs, rhinoceroses, hogs,
of bats, of saurian and ophidian reptiles, as well as of birds
and other terreme animals, are all different in the three
great continents. In the lower departments of the mammi-
ferous family, we find, that the bruta or edentata of Africa
are differently organized from those of America; and these
again, from the tribes found in the Malayan archipelago and
Terra Australis.
The general result to which all these observations tend is
confirmed by a survey of phenomena connected with the zo-
ology of islands. This will appear from the two following
general facts.
First, Small islands, situated at a remote distance from
continents, are in general altogether destitute of land quad-
rupeds, except such as appear to have been conveyed by men
or to have found their way by accidental means. Kerguelen's
land, or the Isle of Desolation, Juan Fernandez, New Shet-
land, and other antarctic isles, the Gallapagos, the Islas de
Lobos contained, when discovered, no mammiferous inhabi-
tants except seals. In the groupes of islands in the great
Southern Ocean, though many of them are of great extent
and remarkable fertility, abounding in luxuriant vegetation,
no warm-blooded animals were found, except a few species
which appear to have been conveyed, or to have found their
way from the Malayan archipelago.
96 OF THE DISPERSION OF TELLURIAN
Secondly. Animals found in islands situated near to con-
tinents are generally of the stock which belongs to the main
lands. This remark will apply to the British and Mediter-
ranean isles, and to all islands so situated of which the
zoology has been explored.
SECTION IX, -General Inferences from Facts relating to the
dispersion of Organized Beings—Bearing of the Conclu-
sion obtained on the History of Mankind.
I have gone over the different series of facts connected
with the dispersion of organized beings, both plants and ani-
mals, as extensively as it appeared necessary to do. I fear in-
deed that some of my readers may have thought the preceding
details too particular and diffuse. To me it appeared so im-
portant to establish on a broad ground-work the inference
which I am about to deduce, that I have chosen to incur the
risk of being too minute, rather than that of leaving any
thing uncertain that could be elucidated by research.
There appears to have resulted from the foregoing inquiry,
sufficient evidence to establish one out of the three hypothe-
tical statements which were expressed at the commencement
of this investigation, and to show that the other two are ir-
reconcilable with the phenomena of Nature.
1. The hypothesis of Linnaeus, that all races of plants and
animals originated in one common centre, or in one limited
tract, involves difficulties, which in the present state of our
knowledge amount to physical impossibilities. It is contra-
dicted by the uniform tenour of facts, both in botany and
Zoology.
2. The second hypothesis, which supposes the same species
to have arisen from many different origins, or to have been
at the period of their first existence generally diffused over
separated countries, is also irreconcilable with facts. It does
not appear that Nature has everywhere called organized
beings into existence, where the physical conditions requisite
for their life and growth were to be found.
3. The inference to be collected from the facts at present
known, seems to be as follows:—the various tribes of organ-
GENERAL CONCLUSION. 97
ized beings were originally placed by the Creator in certain
regions, for which they are by their nature peculiarly adapted.
Each species had only one beginning in a single stock; pro-
bably a single pair, as Linnaeus supposed, was first called
into being in some particular spot, and the progeny left to
disperse themselves to as great a distance from the original
centre of their existence, as the locomotive powers bestowed
on them, or their capability of bearing changes of climate,
and other physical agencies, may have enabled them to
wander.
The bearing of this general conclusion on the inquiries
hereafter to be pursued is sufficiently obvious. We have now
to investigate the question, whether all the races of men are
of one species in the zoological sense, or of several distinct
species. If it should be found that there is only one human
species in existence, the universal analogy of the organized
world would lead us to the conclusion, that there is only one
human race, or that all mankind are descended from one
stock. It is the more improbable that a plurality of races
exist in one species with reference to man than with regard
to any inferior tribe, as the locomotive powers of mankind,
aided by the resources of human sagacity, are greater than
those of brute animals.
H. '
98 NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF BOOK I.
NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF THE FIRST BOOK.
It may have appeared to some of my readers, that the ge-
neral conclusion deduced in the preceding chapters, relative
to different centres of the organized creation, is at variance
with the scriptural record of an universal deluge. I shall
make some observations on this subject before I proceed
further.
It certainly appears difficult to reconcile with known facts
the opinion maintained by Linnaeus and by Pennant, which
is, indeed, a very prevalent one, that all the tribes of tellurian
animals now existing have descended from a stock that was
preserved in the ark of Noah. But this difficulty is not ma-
terially increased by the conclusions to which I have been led
by researches into the distribution of organized beings. It
must have been obvious to any person, on reflection, that all
the living tribes of quadrupeds, and other animals of the
land, could never, in their matural state, have coexisted in one
region. Polar bears, hippopotami, the inhabitants of the
torrid and the frigid zones, must have dwelt in those zones
from the earliest periods of their existence. If it be neces-
sary to suppose, that creatures of all living tribes were col-
lected from different climates into one spot, in order that they
might be preserved in the ark of Noah, this could only be
done by supernatural agency; and the difficulty attending the
supposition is not materially enhanced by the view which I
have taken of the dispersion of tribes.
Such an event as the congregating by supernatural agency
of animals from all regions of the earth, and restoring them
afterwards by a similar agency to their natural and primitive
abodes, which last part of the hypothesis is a necessary
condition, although a most surprising miracle, must certainly
have been within the power of the Almighty Creator; but it
is obvious to remark, that if such a suspension of the ordi-
nary laws of Nature was really manifested, it is singular
that we should find no intimation of it in the Scripture nar-
rative. It seems to be erecting much upon a small foundation,
NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF BOOK I. 99
if we should venture to infer that such a miracle took place,
from the simple record handed down to us. It is there said,
that a command was given to Noah, which, in St. Jerome's
words, is as follows: “Ex omnibus animantibus mundis tolle
septema et septena, masculum et foeminam ; de animantibus
veró immundis duo et duo, &c.—de volatilibus coeli septena
et septema—ut salvetur semen super faciem universa terrae.”
Here is no intimation of any extraordinary means set in
action for the congregating of animals from distant regions.
I am by no means disposed to take up the argument of those
expositors, improperly termed Neologians, since their attempt
is by no means novel, who, professing to maintain the truth
of the sacred history, explain all miraculous relations in
evident contrariety with the conception of the narrators
themselves; but I do not apprehend that we depart from
the obvious meaning of the passage above cited, by sup-
posing that it refers to the stock of animals peculiar to the
region inhabited by men before the deluge, which were, per-
haps, chiefly the domesticated kinds, and the clean, or those
used for sacrifice in the patriarchal institutions. These races,
which would otherwise have perished, were, as it seems, to be
preserved with man, and to spread themselves with him in
later times over the world.
But if we have to answer the inquiry, whence and where
originated, or where preserved, the races of wild animals now
existing in distant regions; we must, I apprehend, make a
Selection out of the two following suppositions.
1. That the “universa terra” or the whole earth which was
submerged, was only the “oikovºvn,”—the habitable world,
the region inhabited by mankind. It might be said in favour
of this hypothesis, that as the end proposed and expressed in
the announcement of the deluge was the destruction of the
depraved human race, this would have been accomplished
by the submersion of the habitable world, and that all re-
motely separated regions, with the tribes of animals which
they contained, may have been spared. The inhabited region
Was, as we learn from previous passages in Genesis,” some
* In it were the rivers Perath and IIiddekel and the land of Havilah, the situa-
& )
H :
100 NOTES ON THE CONTENTS OF BOO K I.
part of Upper Asia, of unknown extent; and in this same
region is to be found the native seat of most of the tribes of
animals which were domesticated by man in the earliest
tion of which was evidently well known. See Bochart's Canaan, and Michaelis'
Specimen Geographiae Hebraeorum Exterae.
It was in the higher region of Asia, that M. M. Buffon and Baillie, the former
founding his doctrine upon a physical theory of the world, the latter on the indica-
tions of ancient astronomy and the earliest traces of the history of human society,
placed the cradle of our race. (See Buffon's Epoques de la Nature, and Baillie's
Lettres à M. de Voltaire.) It is interesting to observe that the same speculations
which still amuse the philosophers of Europe, were long ago anticipated. Whether
the following passage in Justin suggested to either of these writers the hypothesis
which became so celebrated, I shall not pretend to determine : “Si ignis,” says
Justin, “prima possessio rerum fuit, qui paullatim extinctus sedem terris dedit:
nullam prius quam Septentrionalem partem, hyemis rigore ab igne secretam : aded
ut nunc quoque nulla magis rigeat frigoribus.”—“Quod si omnes quondam terra:
submersae profundo ſuerunt; profect3 editissimam quamgue partem decurrentibus
aquis primim detectam ; humillimo autem solo eandem aquam diutissimè immo-
ratam ; et quantò prior quaeque pars terrarum siccata sit, tantò prius animalia gene-
rari coepisse. Porró Scythiam adeo editiorem omnibus terris esse, ut cuncta flumina
ibi nata in Maeotim, tum exinde in Ponticum et AEgyptium mare decurrant.” Lib.
ii. cap. 1. From all this it appears that there were some in the time of Justin, who
supposed the northern tract of Asia to have been the region of the world first inha-
bited, and that they maintained this hypothesis by two arguments, which happen
to have been favourite speculations with some persons in more recent times. In the
first place they contended that if the element of fire once held the whole globe,
as it was conjectured, in a state of intense heat, and different countries became ha-
bitable in proportion as the heat abated, the more northern region, where cold is
now most severe, would be the first that would become sufficiently temperate for the
existence of organized beings. Secondly, it was argued, that if all the countries
now inhabited were once beneath the surface of the ocean, the most elevated re-
gions would first emerge from the subsiding waters which would continue for a
longer time to cover the lower levels, and the more early each country became dry
and uncovered by the sea, the more early would it be fitted for the abode of men
and animals. Now Scythia was more elevated than other parts of the world, since
rivers there took their rise which discharged themselves into remote seas, as into
the Maeotis, the Pontic, and the Mediterranean.
The hypothesis of a central heat formerly much greater than at present, appears
to rest, since the researches of M. M. Fourier, Cordier, and others, on a more secure
basis than the conjectures of Justin and of Buſſon; but as for any supposed relation
between this theory and the history of mankind, it is altogether refuted by the fact,
that the rate of refrigeration appears to be so slow, that no considerable difference
can have taken place since the earliest era to which the origin of the human race
could with the slighest probability be referred.—Lettres sur les Révolutions du
Globe. Par D. Bertrand, 8vo. Paris, 1828.-Cordier sur la Temperature de l'In-
tgrieur de la Terre, Annales du Muséum, 1827–Bulletin des Sci. Naturelles de
Ferrussac, tom. xiii.
NOTES ON THE CONTENT'S OF BOOK I. 10 |
times, and which have accompanied him in his later wander-
ings over the earth. These, at least many of them, are still
found in their wild state, as well as the cerealian gramina,
which have been, perhaps, the most universal food.
2. That the whole earth was submerged, and that on the
subsidence of the waters a new creation of organized beings
took place, suited to the climate of every region; and that
among these new races, mankind and the tribes which had
been their contemporaries and companions spread themselves
in later ages. In this representation, mankind and the races
of animals coeval with them, are survivors from an era ante-
rior to the last creation of organized beings.
Some persons will make an objection to this opinion, that
it assumes a fact not mentioned in the Scriptural history;
namely, a partial creation posterior to the Noachian deluge.
This must be granted. But is it to be presumed, that the
sacred Scriptures contain an account of all that it has pleased
the Almighty to effect in the physical creation, or only of his
dispensations to mankind, and of the facts with which man
is concerned 2 And of what importance could it be for men
to be informed at what period New Holland began to contain
kanguroos, and the woods of Paraguay ant-eaters and arma-
dillos ?
The proof of this hypothesis, that a new creation of animals
has taken place since the era of the Noachian deluge; or as,
perhaps, I should rather say, the attempt to show that it is
not altogether improbable or unsupported by analogy, must
rest upon geological facts. It can scarcely be doubted,
that organized tribes have more than once disappeared, at
least from extensive regions of the earth, to make room for
new orders of beings. If, for example, we compare the or—
ganic remains of the first great era of the creation, by which I
mean those which are discovered in the older rocks and down
to and including the period of the coal formation and the car-
boniferous lime-stones, the era of encrini and of gigantic mo-
nocotyledonous plants —if we compare these with the relics
contained in the lias, the vestiges of the saurian period, we trace
a great epocha in nature, the commencement of an entirely
new order of things. The intermediate formation of sand
102 NOTES ON THE CONTENTS OF BOOK I.
and marl was the bottom of the ocean which covered the old
world, and laid the foundation of a new. But in the saurian
period none of the contemporaries of mankind seem to have
existed. Repeated revolutions of the earth appear to have
taken place between that age and the origin of the tribes
which are coeval with men. It is within this interval, that all
the numerous tribes of pachydermes, whose relics are found
in the gypsum of Paris, had the commencement and the ter-
mination of their existence. Now if it be allowed to have
been a part of the order of things in remote ages of the world,
that the creation of organized beings, either partially or uni-
versally, should be renewed at different periods, as the sequel
of some great cataclysms, or, perhaps, in consequence of some
physical changes in the surface of our planet, which had ren-
dered it an appropriate habitation for beings of a different or-
ganization from those which had previously existed in it, there
is nothing remote from this analogy in the supposition, that
after the last great deluge which has overwhelmed the
£erówpov ćpovpav, a similar renovation should have taken place.
I do not profess to advocate either of these suppositions,
but have merely laid them before my readers, who will select
from them that which may be most satisfactory to them,
or discover, if they can, one that may be preferable to either.
BOOK II.
CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE QUESTION,
WHETHER THE WARIOUS RACES OF MEN ARE OF ONE
OR OF SEVERAL SPECIES.–ANALOGICAL
INVESTIGATION.
C H A P T E R. I.
A NALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF DETERMINING ON
IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES.
SECTION I.-Meaning attached to the terms Species—Ge-
mera—Varieties—Permanent Varieties—Races.
THE meaning attached to the term species in natural history
is very definite and intelligible. It includes only the follow-
ing conditions, namely, separate origin and distinctness of
race, evimced by the constant transmission of some character-
istic peculiarity of organization. A race of animals or of
plants marked by any peculiar character which has always
been constant and undeviating, constitutes a species; and two
races are considered as specifically different, if they are dis-
tinguished from each other by some characteristic which the
one cannot be supposed to have acquired, or the other to
have lost through any known operation of physical causes;
for we are, hence, led to conclude, that the tribes thus dis-
tinguished have not descended from the same original stock.
This is the purport of the word species, as it has long been
understood by writers on different departments of natural
history. They agree essentially as to the sense which they
appropriate to this term, though they have expressed them-
selves differently according as they have blended more or less
of hypothesis with their conceptions of its meaning. Thus
Cuvier, with reference to the animal kingdom, and not with-
out an allusion to the favourite speculations of some of his
contemporaries says, “We are under the necessity of ad-
mitting the existence of certain forms which have perpetuated
106 MEANING ATTACHIED TO
themselves from the beginning of the world, without exceed-
ing the limits first prescribed: all the individuals belonging
to one of these forms constitute what is termed a species.”
And M. De Candolle admitting that there is something hy-
pothetical in the sense attached by him to this term, observes,
that “we unite, under the designation of a species, all those
individuals who mutually bear to each other so close a re-
semblance as to allow of our supposing, that they may have
proceeded originally from a single being or a single pair.”
He adds, “that this fundamental idea is evidently founded on
an hypothesis, at least as far as its particular applications
are concerned, though it is the only one which conveys pre-
cisely what naturalists mean by species. The degree of re-
semblance which authorises our bringing together individuals
under this designation varies very much in different families;
and it happens not unfrequently that two individuals belong-
ing really to the same species, differ more among themselves
in appearance than do others of distinct species: thus the
spaniel and the danish dog are, as to their exterior, more
different from each other than the dog and the wolf. And
the varieties of our fruit-trees offer greater apparent differ-
ences than many species.”
M. De Candolle is certainly right in limiting what is hypo-
thetical in the conception of species in its particular applica-
tions. The meaning of the term, as I have endeavoured to
define it, is sufficiently distinct. To discover some better
ground-work than hypothesis on which to rest in particular
applications, is the main object of this part of my work.
It is worth while to remark, that the same meaning seems
to have been originally attached to the word genus or yewoc,+
which we now appropriate to species. These terms, as well
as our English word kind, came at length to be applied, by
unscientific observers, to particular assortments of organized
beings, which so resemble each other as to suggest an idea
of some near relation between them. Naturalists however,
finding that such expressions as the ox-kind, the dog-kind,
* M. De Candolle. I’hysiologie Végétale, tome ii. p. 689.
+ The word yévoc might have been defined—oia yuyvovrat sat &p' toy.
TERMS USED, 107
the cat-kind, were, in popular language, too comprehensively
applied to correspond with the results of accurate observa-
tion, introduced the use of the term species, to designate ex-
actly what genus originally expressed.
It is evident that there exist in Nature, beyond the limits
of what we now term species, certain groupes or assortments
comprising tribes, whether of plants or animals, in which the
particular races are strikingly similar to each other, and of
which all the individuals or breeds in each groupe are very
clearly distinguished from those belonging to other groupes.
Such are all the species of the horse kind; the races of oxen,
buffalos, bisons, and auroxen, and the dog and cat kinds
furnish other familiar examples. We are unacquainted with
any physical causes capable of producing such differences of
structure as those which distinguish from each other the dif-
ferent breeds comprehended in each of these groupes; yet
they appear to be so modelled upon particular types, that
many persons have been led to entertain an opinion, that the
differences between such tribes are posterior in time to the
era of their first existence. The phenomena of resemblance
appear to require some explanation, not less than those of
diversity; and a reference of several slightly varied forms to
a common type, cannot fail to suggest the idea of original
affinity.” Our observation of the influence which external
agents have exercised on races of organized beings reaches
back to no very remote period; and it seems by no means
improbable that this influence may have been more power-
ful in the early stage of the existence of each tribe, than it
* M. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, et M. Serres. Mem. du Muséum, 9éme année.
+ This is undoubtedly true, if we consider the subject on an extensive scale; and
the observation as a general one is not refuted by particular instances in which
the antiquity of species has been demonstrated, even though M. Bonastre found,
either represented or preserved, eighty existing plants in the remains of ancient
Egypt, and M. Kunth a twentieth part of our actual plants in the fragments of
mummies. These relations are, as it must be admitted, very surprising. De
Candolle speaks of such facts as establishing the permanency of species for a
period of 3000 years. But it must be remembered that the art of embalming in
imummies, was still in use subsequently to the establishment of Christianity
in Egypt; and even in the time of St. Augustin, viz. in the fifth century. See
Blumenbach, Beytraege zur Naturgeschichte, and Walch de Mumiis Christianis in
Comment. Reg, Soc. Sc. Goetting, tom, iii.
108 MEANING ATTACHED TO
is at present known to be.” It is true that this kind of
speculation loses a great part of its probability when pursued
to the extent to which those naturalists carry it, who main-
tain generally the transmutation of genera and species; and
it might be argued, in opposition to their views, that there
are in many departments of nature defined groupes referable
to particular types or generic forms, which are still very
distinct and strongly marked. But we are stopped in limine,
by the consideration that all such ideas are merely conjec-
tural, and that the investigations in which we are engaged,
refer to matters of fact and not to probabilites. In the present
state of our knowledge, a genus is to be considered as an as-
sortment of tribes, on a principle merely of resemblance, and
it may, therefore, include more or fewer species, according to
the particular views of the naturalist; and the term species
must be solely applied to those collections of individuals
which so resemble each other that, by referring merely to
the known and well ascertained operation of physical causes,
all the differences between them may be accounted for, and
present no obstacle to our regarding them as the offspring
of one stock, or, which is the same thing, of races precisely
similar.
Varieties, in natural history, are such diversities in indi-
viduals and their progeny as are observed to take place
within the limits of species. Varieties are modifications pro-
duced in races of animals and of plants by the agency of ex-
ternal causes; they are congenital: that deviation from the
characer of a parent-stock which is occasioned by mixture
of breed, has been regarded as a kind of variety; but varie-
ties are quite as well known in the animal kingdom as the
mere result of agencies, often little understood, on the breed,
independently of such mixture. Varieties are hereditary, or
transmitted to offspring with greater or less degrees of
constancy.
Varieties are distinguished from species by the circumstance
* See some excellent observations by MI. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and M. Serres,
in the Mémoires du Muséum, 9éme année.
TERMS USED. 109
that they are not original or primordial, but have arisen,
within the limits of a particular stock or race. Permanent
oarieties are those which having once taken place, continue
to be propagated in the breed in perpetuity. The fact of
their origination must be known by observation or inference,
since the proof of this fact being defective it is more philo-
sophical to consider characters which are perpetually in-
herited as specific or original. The term permanent variety,
would otherwise express the meaning which properly belongs
to species. The properties of species are two, viz. original
difference of characters and the perpetuity of their transmis-
sion, of which only the latter can belong to permanent
Varieties.
The instances are so many in which it is doubtful whether
a particular tribe is to be considered as a distinct species, or
only as a variety of some other tribe, that it has been found
by naturalists convenient to have a designation applicable
in either case. Hence the late introduction of the term race
in this indefinite sense. Races are properly successions of
individuals propagated from any given stock; and the term
should be used without any involved meaning that such a
progeny or stock has always possessed a particular character.
The real import of the term has often been overlooked, and
the word race has been used as if it implied a distinction in
the physical character of the whole series of individuals. By
writers on anthropology, who adopt this term, it is often tacitly
assumed that such distinctions were primordial, and that their
successive transmission has been unbroken. If such were the
fact, a race so characterised would be a species in the strict
meaning of the word, and it ought to be so termed.
SECTION II.-Observations on the means of determining as
to Identity and Diversity of Species—Analogical Inves-
tigation—Ethnographical Investigation.
From what has been said it is obvious, that there must, in
Some instances, be a difficulty in ascertaining whether two
races of animals or of plants, belonging to the same genus
110 ON THE MEANS OF DETERMINING
and similar in many respects but different in others, are in
reality so many distinct species or merely varieties of one
species. The doubt can only be removed by a comprehen-
sive survey of the phenomena related to the origin of varie-
ties in breeds, and of facts in the animal economy, connected
with their propagation. The inquiry divides itself into two
heads; the first is an investigation of phenomena taking
place in the particular races to be compared, and in respect
to which the question has been set on foot; the second refers
to other tribes bearing some analogy in their structure, and
in the general laws of their economy to these particular
races. The most immediate and decisive proof that the di-
versities observed between any given tribes constitute only
varieties, arises from the discovery of corresponding phe-
momena of variation in those very races which are the sub-
jects of comparison. Thus, if any one should maintain that
asses are degenerated horses, he would establish his opinion
to the conviction of every one, if he could only point out an
instance in which horses have actually degenerated into
asses. A less direct though still sufficient evidence may be
furnished by facts which bear, by analogy, on the subject of
research. If it can be proved that certain deviations in the
form and structure of individuals, analogous to those which
are the subjects of inquiry, actually occur in other tribes,
that a provision is made for their developement in the laws
of the animal economy, that there is nothing in the change
supposed to have taken place out of the usual course of
organized nature, the inference that such deviations consti-
tute merely varieties, and do not amount to specific distinc-
tions, will be established with a considerable degree of proba-
bility, though scarcely with that decisive evidence which
the direct manner of proof affords. In adverting to re-
searches into the physical varieties of mankind, the former
method of inquiry must be termed the historical or ethno-
graphical one, and the latter the analogical. The first com-
prises a survey of the different races of men, an investiga-
tion of their physical history, the ethnography, as it is termed,
of every tribe of the human family, undertaken and pursued
in such a manner as to enable us to determine what changes
THE IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES. 1 11
have actually arisen in the physical characters of nations or
human races. The second involves every consideration
founded on physiology, or the laws of the animal economy,
that may serve to elucidate the relation of different tribes to
each other in respect to their physical characters and con-
stitution. It will be my endeavour in the course of this work
to go through both of these investigations, and lay before
my readers their results; but I shall take up these two de-
partments of inquiry in a different order from that in which
I have mentioned them. Several motives have determined
me to pursue this plan, but principally the impression that
my readers will proceed with greater facility and advantage
to the ethnographical researches, which form the greater part
of my work, after they have directed their attention to the
physiological and anatomical facts to be comprised in the
other part.
SECTION 3.−Analogical Investigation of the Nature of
Varieties—Different Heads of this Inquiry enumerated.
This part of our inquiry ought to comprise a survey of the
whole theory of varieties arising in the breed or progeny of
organized beings, and an investigation of the nature of such
deviations from the structure of the race, as well as of the
circumstances by which their extent is limited or confined
within certain bounds. It includes the attempt to determine
what in the structure of species is permanent, and what is
liable to transmutation, a question bordering closely on sub-
jects of controversy, which have been much discussed among
naturalists of the present day. By confining myself strictly
to the examination of facts, and avoiding whatever is conjec-
tural and imaginary, I shall spare myself the necessity of
entering on disputed ground. The question to which I have
to direct the attention of my readers is, what are the charac-
ters of organization which are permanently transmitted in
the species of animals and of plants, without change or
Variety, and what are those which are liable to deviation?
It seems to be a fact, that the most permanent and invari-
112 ON THE MEANS OF DETERMINING
able characters in the animal kingdom and those which are
accordingly fitted to distinguish species, consist chiefly in the
general laws or arrangements of the animal economy in each
tribe.
An objection which is likely to be offered to this remark is,
that the structure of parts is essentially anterior to their func-
tions; that functions are merely the results of organization,
and ought accordingly to be considered in the last place, all
distinctions and classifications being founded on the struc-
ture of organs.
Such an observation proposed in abstract terms is very
specious, and it would be well founded if our knowledge of
structures were more complete than it is. But in the present
state of our science, we have frequently no other method of
discerning most important diversities of organization than by
noting the phenomena of functions. Articulate speech is
among the most important attributes of humanity, but this
faculty would, perhaps, never have been demonstrated by ana-
tomical examination of the human vocal organs, or by a com-
parison of the structure of these with corresponding parts in
the orang. Until the organization of living bodies shall have
been so fully explored as to elucidate in every instance the
whole capabilities of structure, we must consider functions
as leading facts on which classifications and inferences may
be founded not less securely than on what we know of organ-
ization itself. Nor does any material difference exist in this
point of view between the two series of facts.
In general, the most constant peculiarities in the races of
animals, and those which accordingly best answer the pur-
pose of specific characters, consist, as I have already observed,
in the great laws which govern the functions of the animal
economy. The physiological characters of race are liable to
few and unimportant deviations. Particular species have, in
general, one limit in regard to the average duration of life,
the circumstances connected with the reproduction of their
kind, such as the number of their progeny, the times and
frequency of breeding, among mammifers, the period of
utero-gestation, and among birds, the interval between laying
and hatching eggs. The other natural functions are subject
THE II) ENTITY AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES. 113
to the same laws: tribes of the same species are with some
varieties subject to the same diseases. Their animal or psy-
chical faculties are equally constant: in general, their
instincts and habits are found remarkably uniform. Few
if any important diversities in respect to any of these principal
laws of the animal economy are known to take place within
the limits of one and the same species; while, on the other
hand, those tribes which most strongly resemble each other
in outward form, but are yet specifically distinct, are found
in reality to differ in the particulars above mentioned. Such
are the permanent characters of species. There are, indeed,
diversities in the internal constitution, as evinced by the phe-
nomena of temperament and predisposition, springing up within
the race; but these do not interfere with the principal laws of
the animal economy. It is in the external and less essential
parts that varieties principally take place. In the texture and
coverings whether hairy or woolly of the skin, the absence or pre-
sence and the size of horns and other appendages, the colour
or complexion, and in some instances in the number of fingers
and toes;–in all these particulars, varieties frequently spring
up within one and the same species, to the transmission
of which there is a strong tendency in the animal econo-
my. Similar observations may be made, mutatis mutandis,
with respect to the vegetable creation. The species of plants
display, as it is well known, varieties of the most striking ap-
pearance; and these are confined to the least essential, but
which are often the most conspicuous parts of vegetation, while
the organs of fructification are unaffected by such changes,
and retain a permanent character.”
I shall now proceed to inquire, with respect to all these
several particulars, what physiological facts can be esta-
blished that may tend to illustrate the relations of races
to each other, both in the lower departments of nature
and in mankind, and I shall begin with some of the par-
ticulars in the physical history of races which are the most
constant, and which scarcely deviate within the limits of the
same species. The subject naturally divides itself under the
following heads:—
* De Candolle, Dict, des Sci, Nat.
114 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
1. The great laws of the organized system, or with respect
to sentient beings of the animal economy, all the principal
facts which relate to the natural and vital functions, the
periods and duration of life, the economy of the sexes, the
phenomena of parturition and reproduction, are with slight
deviations resulting from external agencies, constant and
uniform in each particular species.
2. Connected with the same subject are the phenomena
relating to the mixture or blending of races, and the pro-
pagation or sterility of hybrids. In the circumstances related
to this series of facts, it is possible that some information may
be obtained on the distinctive characters and discrimination
of species.
3. The pathological history of species and of races is a
branch of physiological history which has not been so much
investigated as its importance seems to merit. It is one at
least the consideration of which must not be omitted.
4. The psychical endowments of particular tribes, compre-
hending all their faculties of sense and perception, as well as
their instincts and propensities, their modes of action and
habits, constitute an important part of the natural history of
species. These characters are, when viewed on an extensive
scale, subject to few variations; they may be said, indeed, to
display a surprising uniformity.
5. After considering what bearings the facts observed
under these different heads have on the inquiry respecting
the human family, we shall proceed to the more variable
characters of species, and to the deviations which frequently
arise in the same identical race, and constitute particular
tribes.
SECTION IV.—First Head of the Analogical Investigation of
Species—Laws of the Animal Economy in Species.
Animals of the same species are subjected to nearly uni-
form laws with respect to all the principal functions of the
animal economy. Among the most constant characteristics
of species are the circumstances connected with repro-
duction, the times and frequency of breeding, in mammalia,
DURATION OF LIFE. | 15
the period of utero-gestation, and in birds that of sitting
upon eggs, the number of progeny brought forth at a time,
and the period of suckling or watching over the young. The
progress of physical developement and decay is likewise
ordained by nature to take place in each species according
to a certain rule. The periods at which individuals arrive at
adult growth, the different changes which the constitution
undergoes at particular ages, the periods of greatest vigour
and of decline, and the total duration of life are given,
though with individual exceptions and varieties, to every
species of animals. There are exceptions and variations, but
these are within certain prescribed limits, and obey definite
laws.
On the other hand, it may be observed as a very general
fact, that animals belonging to tribes which nearly resemble
each other, but are yet specifically distinct, differ in a decided
manner with respect to the same particulars.
Thus the wolf and the dog, though proximate species, differ
remarkably as to the period of utero-gestation. The she-wolf
appears to carry her young ninety days, while the period of
gestation in the bitch is well known to be sixty-two or sixty-
three days;* the former being longer by nearly one-third
part than the latter. We are acquainted with no similar
deviation in the animal economy within the limits of any one
species, and it is very unlikely that such a fact will ever be
observed.
Paragraph 1.-Of the Duration of Life in general.
The duration of life proper to each species is subject, like
other characters of the physical constitution, to individual
varieties. The peculiarities of temperament and organization
on which these individual varieties depend are, like other
analogous properties, more or less disposed to become here-
ditary, and by transmission common to whole families. Indi-
* The Count de Buffon asserts that the period of utero-gestation of the wolf is
above one hundred days. An instance is reported in the fourth volume of the
Annals of the Museum of Natural History, in which the gestation of the wolf was
from eighty-nine to ninety-one days.
I 2
*'
| 16 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
viduals in some families appear, indeed, to grow old, if we
may use the expression, at an earlier period of life than in
others. But all these variations appear within certain limits,
and they are all proper to individuals, and disappear when
aggregates or large numbers of individuals are compared.
I shall hereafter exemplify this last remark, but I must first
observe, that besides that variety in the duration of life which
belongs to individual peculiarity of constitution, there is
another sort of difference depending upon climate. In tribes
of animals whose local sphere of existence is, by the condi-
tions of their physical structure, circumscribed within one
region, there exist only individual peculiarities; but in species
which are spread over vast regions, or inhabit indifferently
the whole world, certain varieties take place in respect to the
average duration of life, and the progress of physical develope-
ment, which are the obvious results of different external
agencies. -
The proportionate duration of human life in different cli-
mates has lately been an object of statistical inquiries, in
which many distinguished writers have been engaged. It
would be superfluous to enter on the present occasion into
the statements connected with this subject; but it is neces-
sary to form some idea of the manner and extent in which the
duration of life is affected by climate, in order to be prepared
for estimating the facts which relate to longevity in particular
races of mem.
It is well known that the proportional number of indi-
viduals who attain a given age differs in different climates;
and that the warmer the climate, other circumstances being
equal, so much the shorter is the average duration of human
life. Even within the limits of Europe, the difference is very
great. In some instances, according to the calculations of
M. Moreau de Jonnès, the rate of mortality, and inversely
the duration of life, differ by nearly one half from the propor-
tions discovered in other examples. The following is a brief
extract from a table presented by this celebrated calculator
to the Institute. The table comprehends returns belonging to
different periods, illustrative of the effect produced by political
changes and improvements in the state of society on the
.#
DU RATION OF L J F.E. | ] 7
duration of human life. I have omitted this part, and have
only abstracted that which illustrates the influence of
climate.
Table exhibiting the annual mortality in different countries
in Europe.
In Sweden, from 1821 to 1825 . . . . . . . ... I death in 45
Denmark . . . . . . 1819 . . “ . . . . . . . . . . &C 45
Germany . . . . . . 1825 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . & C 45
Prussia . . . . . . 1821 to 1824 . . . . . . . . . . 4 º' 39
Austrian Empire 1825 to 1830 . . . . . . . . . . {{ 43
Holland . . . . . . 1824 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . (.6 40
England . . . . . . 1821 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . Cé 58*
Great Britain . . 1800 to 1804 . . . . . . . . . . { {. 47
France . . . . . . . . 1825 to 1827 . . . . . . . . . . {{ 39.5
Canton de Vaud 1824 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . ( & 47
Lombardy . . . . 1827 to 1828 . . . . . . . . . . K. 3]
Roman States. . 1829 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . C& 28
Scotland . . . . . . 1821 ... “ . . . . . . . . . . {{ 50
The difference of twenty-eight and fifty is very considerable;
but even the latter rate of mortality is considerably greater
than that which the data collected by M. Moreau de Jonnès
attribute to Ireland, Norway, and the northern parts of Scot-
land.
In approaching the equator we find the mortality increase,
and the average duration of life consequently diminish. The
following calculation obtained by the same writer will suffi-
ciently illustrate this remark. F
Latitude. Places. 1 death in
6° 10' . . . . . . . . . . . Batavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 inhabitants
10° 10' . . . . . . . . . . . . Trinidad . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 $ 6
13° 54' . . . . . . . . . . . . Sainte-Lucie . . . . . . . . . . 27 {{
214° 44' . . . . . . . . . . . . Martinique . . . . . . . . . . 28 **
15° 59' . . . . . . . . . . . . Guadaloupe . . . . . . . . . . 27 {{
18° 36' . . . . . . . . . . . . Bombay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 § {
23° ll' . . . . . . . . . . . . Havanna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 CQ.
* There must be a mistake in this number. According to Porter and Reikman,
the number of annual deaths in England from 1821 to 1831, is one in fifty-one.
+ Notice sur la Population des étäts de l'Europe, par M. Moreau de Jonnès,
De l'Homme et de ses Facultés, par M. Quetelet,
118 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION
It has been observed that in some of these instances the rate
of mortality appears greater than that which properly belongs
to the climate, as some of the countries mentioned include
cities and districts known to be by local situation remark-
ably unhealthy. In some the mortality belongs in great part
to strangers, principally Europeans, who coming from a differ-
ent climate suffer in great numbers. The separate division
from which the collective numbers above given are deduced
will sufficiently indicate these circumstances.
In Batavia 1805 . . . . . . . . . . . Europeans died . . . . . . I in I I
Slaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 “ 13
Chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . } “ 29
Javanese, viz. Natives... 1 “40
Bombay, 1815. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Europeans . . . . . . . . . . 1 << 18.5
Mussulmans . . . . . . . . 1 “ 17.5
Parsees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 “40
Q Whites . . . . . . . . . . . . ] “ 22.5
Guadaloupe, 1811 to 1824. . $ Free-men of colour ... I “ 35
Martinique, 1825 . . . . . . . ... Whites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . } << 24
Free-men of colour . . ] “ 23
Grenada, 1815 . . . . . . . . . . . . Slaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I « 22
Saint Lucia, 1802 . . . . . . . . . . Slaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | << 20
The comparatively low degree of mortality among the free
men of colour in the West Indies, and the Javanese and
Parsees, in countries where those races are either the original
inhabitants, or have become naturalized by an abode of some
centuries, is remarkable in the preceding table. It would seem,
that such persons are exempted, in a great measure, from the
influence of morbific causes which destroy prematurely Eu-
ropeans and other foreigners. That the rate of mortality
should be lower among them than in the Southern parts of Eu-
rope, is a fact which, in the present state of our knowledge,
it is difficult to explain.
It would appear, that in the hotter climates a great part of
those who would otherwise attain to longevity, are carried off
prematurely by various causes of disease. In all countries,
however, particular individuals escape from the noxious in-
fluence of causes which shorten the existence of the majority;
OF SPECIES. l 19
and of these we shall be enabled to collect a sufficient num-
ber to prove that the attainable duration of life, or the term
of longevity, is nearly the same in different races of men. As
this position is one of great importance with respect to the
inquiry which I have principally in view, I shall endeavour
to establish it upon sufficient evidence.
It was calculated by Buffon, that a third part of the hu-
man race die before the age of ten years; one half before
that of thirty-five; two-thirds before fifty-two, and three-
fourths before sixty-one years of age. A very different com-
putation has been made by later writers. According to
Hufeland's estimate, out of a hundred individuals born, fifty
die before their tenth year, and six only live to be above the
age of sixty.”
It may be thought that the instances of centenarians are
so few and scattered, that a collection of their numbers is
rather a matter of accident than calculation. I do not believe
this to be the case; and I have selected this particular class
of aged persons, as examples of longevity in different races,
because I find instances frequently on record, owing to their
having been regarded as matters of singular occurrence and
curiosity, and therefore preserved in periodical accounts and
other documents.
It is difficult to ascertain from data now existing, the pro-
portional number of centenarians in the whole community.
It was calculated from the bills of mortality in London, that
one individual in 3126 reaches his hundredth year. But in
1751, the total number of deaths amounted to 21,028: in this
number there were fifty-eight persons aged ninety, thirteen
aged one hundred, and one aged one hundred and nine; giv-
ing one centenarian to 1617; and in 1762, out of 26,326
deceased there were eighty-five aged ninety, and only two
centenarians. From 1728 to 1758, during a period of thirty
years, the total number of deaths in the bills of mortality
amounted to 750,322. In this number, two hundred and
forty-two persons exceeded the hundredth year.” The tables
* Hist. Nat. du Genre Humain, par M. Virey, Paris, 1824.
+ Easton on Longevity, Salisbury, 1799.
120 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
of mortality, constructed in this country, do not go up so
high as the hundredth year; but in a table for the Belgic
states, M. Quetelet has given the numbers of persons above
ninety years of age as follows:
In 10,000 births, the age of 90 is attained by 682
91 . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
92 . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
93 . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
94 . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
95 . . . . . . . . . . . . lf,3
96 . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
97 . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
98 . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
99 . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
100 . . . . . . . . . . . . | 0
101 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
102 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
103 . . . . . . . . . . . . l
104 . . . . . . . . . . . . ()
|M. Quetelet informs us, that at the commencement of 1831,
there were ten centenarians in Belgica, of which fourteen were
in the three provinces of Hainault, Namur and Luxembourg.
Limbourg and eastern Flanders had each one, and there were,
none in the province of Brabant, Antwerp, West Flanders and
Liege. The three oldest of these centenarians were aged
one hundred and four, one hundred and ten, and one hundred
and eleven. They belonged to Luxembourg: the others did
not exceed one hundred and two years.
Haller made a collection of facts relating to longevity, and
obtained notices of upwards of one thousand individuals who
exceeded their hundredth year. Of these sixty died between
the hundred and ten and one hundred and twentieth year,
twenty-nine were between one hundred and twenty and one
hundred and thirty years old, fifteen between one hundred
and thirty and one hundred and forty years; and seven ex-
ceeded this last term, of whom one lived to be one hundret.
and sixty-nine years old.
Mr. Eastom of Salisbury, in a curious work on longevity,
has collected notices of one thousand seven hundred and
DURATION OF LIFE. 12]
twelve persons who exceeded their hundredth year, and from
these the following table has been deduced.
Of males and females who lived from one hundred to one
hundred and ten years, (both inclusive,) the instances have
been one thousand three hundred and ten :
Above 110 to 120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
“ 120 . . 130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
“ 130 . . 140 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * * * 26
& 4 140 . . 150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
“ 150 ... 160 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
{ % 160 . . 170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
“ 170 . . 180 . . . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3
The following is a collection of instances of very advanced
ages by the same writer.
Apollonius of Tyana , . . . . . . . . . in A.D. 99 aged 130
St. Patrick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 . . . . 122
Attila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 . . . . . 24
Llywarch Hén . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 . . . . ] 50
St. Coemgene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 . . . . 120
Piastus, king of Poland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 . . . . 120
Thomas Parr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1635 . . . . 152
Henry Jenkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1670 . . . . 169
The Countess of Desmond . . . . . . . . . . . . 1612 . . . . I45
Thomas Damme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648 . . . . 154
Peter Torton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tº us a ſº e tº 1724 . . . . 185
Margaret Patten. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1739 . . . . 137
John Rovin and his Wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741 .... 172 & 164
St. Mongah or Kentigen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1781 . . . . 185
Beyond the limits of Europe there are numerous instances
of well authenticated longevity.
Baron Larrey states, that there were, at Cairo, thirty-five
individuals upwards of one hundred years of age.
It has often been related, that the cenobites of Mount
Sinai, live not unfrequently to the age of one hundred and ten
or one hundred and twenty years.
Old men are mentioned by travellers in Arabia, Barbary,
Syria, and Persia, to exceed not unfrequently one hundred
years of age.
122 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION
The following * are instances of longevity which occurred
in America or the British colonies, in persons either of Euro-
pean descent, or born in Europe, but resident abroad during
the greater part of their lives.
Mr. C. Cotterei died at Philadelphia, aged one hundred
and twenty years and three days, afterwards his wife, aged
one hundred and fifteen, after living together ninety-eight
years. F
At Laurens district, South Carolina, died Mr. Solomon Ni-
bel, aged one hundred and forty-three years: he emigrated
from England in 1696, aged nineteen. :
At Whitehall, near New York, Henry Francisco, aged one
hundred and thirty-four, died in 1820. He was present at the
coronation of Queen Anne of England.S
At Campbell, Virginia, died in 1821, Mr. C. Layne, aged
one hundred and twenty-one. He was born in Buckingham
county, in 1700. He has left a widow aged one hundred and
ten, and a numerous and respectable family to the fourth ge-
neration. ||
In Fairfax county, Robert Thomas, aged one hundred and
seven, died in 1821. At Bow, in New Hampshire, in 1823,
died Samuel Welsh, aged one hundred and twelve years and
seven months."|
Died at Spanish Town, Jamaica, Nov. 21, 1829, Mrs. Ju-
dith Crawford, aged one hundred and fifty-one years: she re-
tained her bodily strength and her faculties until within a few
days of her death. She remembered the earthquake in
1692.% #
Died at Goshen, in Union district, South Carolina, July,
1630, Samuel Selby, upwards of one hundred and one years
of age.-ft.
* These instances were communicated to me by the late Dr. Edmund Fry, who
collected them from various authentic sources.
+ Benj. Martin’s Miscellaneous Correspondence in Prose and Verse.—Jan. 1761.
f Times, Sep. 22, 1820.
§ Baldwin's London Mag.--Jan. 1821.
| London Mag.—Aug. 1821.
| Morning Herald.—June 2, 1823,
** Gent. Mag.—April 1830.
++ Gent. Mag.—Sep. 1830,
OF SPECIES. 123
Died at Mount Grace, in Jamaica, December, 1830, Mrs.
Mary Innes, aged one hundred and twenty years.”
Died in the island of St. Helena, in September last, Mrs.
Eliz. Honoria Frances Lambe, aged one hundred and ten
years and four months. In the year 1731, she was house-
keeper to General Pike. She was married eight times, and
left many descendants, of whom two hundred and sixty yet
ave. “She died in the full persuasion, that the Millennium
will happen in 1836, and that the charter will be renewed to
the East India Company.”f-Extract from the Times, Sep. 8,
1831. |
Paragraph 2.—Of the longevity of the Africans.
It has been supposed by some, that the Negro race is of
shorter life than the European.j:
Dr. Winterbottom informs us, that “ few of the inhabitants
of Guinea arrive at old age.” He says, that “they turn old
much sooner than Europeans, and appear in a state of decre-
pitude when the latter have scarcely reached the grand cli-
macteric.” M. Adanson makes a similar remark of the na–
tives of Senegambia. “The Negroes of Senegal,” he says,
“are really old at the age of forty-five, and sometimes earlier.”
Accounts of the same purport are given by Bosman and
others, respecting the natives of Guinea and Congo.
The shortness of life observed among the Africans by these
authors, appears to be the result of circumstances. The con-
dition of savages, their exposure to noxious influences, and
the particular situation of these tribes on the African coast
sufficiently accounts for the fact, without supposing any pe-
culiarity in the race.
We are informed by Mr. Oldfield, that the coast of Africa,
near the river Nunn, is extremely unhealthy, being covered
with a luxuriant vegetation of mangroves and plants of the
* Suppt. Gent. Mag.—Dec. 1830.
+ M. Virey says, that the Negro race is in general more short-lived than the
European —Hist. Nat, du G. H. par M. Virey, tom, i. p. 143—365. -
124 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION
strand exposed to inundations and extensively swampy.” The
natives are very thoughtless and dissolute : they are subject
to diarrhoeas, dysenteries, and a variety of cutaneous diseases.
Considering the general condition of the country, the state of
the natives, their irregularity of living, it is not surprising,
says Mr. Oldfield, to find that few of them attain old age.
It was remarkable to observe so few aged men in the Eboe
country, considering the vast population.
The same writer has observed, that in the Nyffe territory,
which is a fine open country, the natives attain a good old
age. He says, “we met with several aged people said to be
upwards of eighty years old.” He visited Mallum Dando,
formerly king of Rabbah, an old man with a long white
beard, who died soon afterwards, at the age of one hundred
and fifteen years.
Other instances of considerable longevity in Africa, are re-
corded by Winterbottom, Paterson, and Barrow. There is
reason to believe, that the constitution of Negroes is better
adapted to the climate which they inhabit than that of Eu-
ropeans; and that the average duration of life would be
greater among Negroes in such a climate, than among Euro-
peans inhabiting the same region. This, however, would not
establish the conclusion, that the Negro race is absolutely
of equal life with the European. In order to render this pro-
bable, we must collect instances in which they appear to have
attained an age equally advanced.
I have examined the registers of slaves on some estates in
the West Indies, in which I have observed frequent instances
of advanced ages. Many are set down as seventy and eighty
years old. This is the more remarkable, since the causes
tending to shorten life operate with so much severity upon
the enslaved population of the West India islands, where it
has been stated, that one Negro slave dies annually out of
five or six, whereas among the free-blacks who serve in the
English army, the annual mortality is only one in 33.3.f
* Memoirs by Mr. Oldfield, Surgeon to the late Expedition to explore the
course of the Niger.
+ Elements of Medical Statistics by Dr. B. Hawkins.—Quetelet sur l'Homme et
ses Facultés.
OF SPECIES. 125
Edwards, in his History of the West Indies, says, that
negroes in these islands often attain to a great age: he men-
tions one instance of a negress, aged one hundred and twenty
years, and a second of one who was strong and healthy at
the age of ninety-five, or upwards.”
The following instances are collected from a variety of
sources.--
December 5th, 1830, died at St. Andrews, Jamaica,
the property of Sir Edward Hyde East, Robert Lynch, a
negro slave in comfortable circumstances, who perfectly re-
collected the great earthquake in 1692, and further recol-
lected the person and equipages of the Lieutenant Governor,
Sir Henry Morgan, whose third and last governorship com-
menced in 1680, viz. one hundred and fifty years before.
Allowing for this early recollection the age of ten years, this
negro must have died at the age of one hundred and
sixty.
Died at Kingston, Jamaica, Catherine Lopez, a megro
woman, at the age of one hundred and thirty-four years.S
Died April 6th, 1821, at Fellowship Hall, Jamaica, Mar-
garet Darby, a free black woman, at the age of one hundred
and thirty years. She retained all her faculties to the last
moment.|
Died at Frederick Town, North America, in 1797, a mu-
latto man, said to be one hundred and eighty years old."
Died in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Dec. 20th, 1820, a negro
woman, named Mary Goodsall, at the age of one hundred
and twenty.**
Died Feb. 17th, 1823, in the Bay of St. John's, Antigua,
a black woman named Statira. She was a slave, and was
hired as a day-labourer during the building of the gaol, and
was present at the laying of the corner-stone, which cere-
mony took place one hundred and sixteen years ago. She
* Hist. of West Indies. + Communicated by Dr. Fry.
it Supplem. Gent. Mag. June 1831. S Monthly Mag. Jan. 1807.
| Blackwood's Mag. July 1821. * Morning Post, Dec. 25, 1804.
** Blackwood's Mag. Jan, 1822.
126 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION
also stated, that she was a young woman grown, when the
President Sharpe assumed the administration of the island,
which was in 1706. Allowing her to be fourteen years old
at that time, we must conclude her age to be upwards of one
hundred and thirty years.”
April 7th, 1827, died at Falmouth, Jamaica, Rebecca Tury,
a black woman, at the age of one hundred and forty years,
as correctly traced from the deeds of her owners. She re-
tained her faculties to the last.f.
Died in South Carolina, Tom, a negro man, belonging to
Mrs. Bacon, at the age of one hundred and thirty years.;
At Jamaica, November 10th, 1830, died Francis Peat, a
black slave of Kingston, aged one hundred and thirty, leav-
ing many decendants to the fourth generation.&
Died Oct. 12th, 1830, in Jamaica, aged one hundred and
twenty years, Jane Morgan, a negro woman, formerly be-
longing to George Crawford Ricketts, esq. attorney-general
of the island.|
Juan Moroygota, a native of the parish of Tabio, of the
canton of Cappaquina, who completed his hundred and thirty-
eighth year, on the 12th of June, 1828. At this advanced
age, he enjoys perfect health, and works every day as an
agricultural labourer."
Died in Jamaica, 1821, Joseph Bam, a negro belonging to
the estate of Morice Hall, at the age of one hundred and
forty-six.**
Sept. 3rd, 1831, in Jamaica, died a creole negro woman,
named Catherine Hiatt, formerly belonging to the Honourable
John Hiatt; she frequently said she was a good sized girl at
the insurrection of the Coromantee negroes, in Carpenter's
Mountains, Clarendon, which happened in 1690; from this,
her age is computed to have been upwards of one hundred
and fifty years. She never bore a child: she retained all her
* Times, Oct. 2, 1823. + St. Jago Gazette. f
† Gent. Mag. July 1829. § Gent. Mag. April 1831.
| Gent. Mag. March 1831. * Gazeta de Columbia, Nov. 28, 1828.
** Gent. Mag. Dec. 1831.
OF SPECIES. 127
faculties to the last moment, and did coarse needle-work a
very short time previous to her death.*
Sept. 8th, died in Jamaica, Frances Johnson, a Samboo
woman slave, aged one hundred and seven years, retaining
all her faculties to the last.f.
A complete proof that negroes are not short-lived people,
under circumstances favourable to their longevity, is afforded
by the late census of the population of New Jersey. The
whole aggregate number of the inhabitants of that state was
computed to be upwards of 300,000 souls, of which number
20,000 and upwards were negroes, and 300,000 white people.
Among the 300,000 whites, there were existing, at the date of
the census, only two individuals one hundred years of age, while
among the 20,000 negroes, there were not fewer than eleven
persons who had lived a century and upwards.
From the facts above stated we might infer, that many
other countries are even more congenial to the negro race
than their native Africa, or at least more favourable to lon-
gevity. But we are not sufficiently informed of the actual
condition of the African nations, and particularly of what re-
lates to the statistics of that region of the globe, to allow of
our drawing any positive conclusions on this subject. The
intertropical region of Africa is probably more congenial to
the constitution of negroes, than to that of other human
TaCeS.
It may be observed, that there are many instances of lon-
gevity on record, which have occurred among other African
nations; I mean among tribes not usually included under the
designation of negroes. Mr. Patterson has mentioned the
instance of a Kaffer, aged ninety years, and Mr. Barrow,S
and more recently, Mr. Burchell || have seen Hottentots who
had exceeded their hundredth year.
* Gent. Mag. Supplem. Dec. 1831. # Gent. Mag. Supplem. Dec. 1832.
f Patterson's Travels in Caffraria. S Barrow's Travel's in the interior of Africa.
| Burchell's Travels in South Africa.
128 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Paragraph 3.−Of the longevity of the American and other
races of men.
It has been supposed by some that the native Americans
are of shorter life than the races of men inhabiting Europe.
Dr. Rush informs us, that the Indians of North America
have at an earlier period than Europeans the marks of old
age, and that longevity is more rare among them than among
white people. .
It may be suspected that the fact asserted by Dr. Rush
ought to be attributed to accidental circumstances and to the
peculiar state of the tribes from whom his information was
obtained. The native Americans appear, from the accounts
given by many well-informed writers, to be rather remarkable
for longevity.
Don Felix de Azara seems to have formed this opinion of
the natives of South America. In describing the Charruas of
Paraguay, he says that they never lose their hair, which only
becomes grey by half in persons aged about eighty years.
The Mexicans, says Clavigero, become grey-headed and
bald earlier than the Spaniards; and although most of them
die of acute diseases, it is not very uncommon among them to
attain to the age of a hundred years.”
“Among those Americans,” says the same writer, “whose
great fatigues and excessive toil do not anticipate their death,
there are not a few who reach to the age of eighty, ninety,
and a hundred years; and, what is more, without there being
observed in them that decay which time commonly produces
in the hair, in the teeth, in the skin, and in the muscles of the
human body.” ‘f
We have a similar observation from M. de Humboldt respect-
ing the native Americans. He says, “It is by no means
uncommon to see at Mexico, in the temperate zone, half way
up the Cordillera, natives, and especially women, reach a
hundred years of age. This old age is generally comfort-
able; for the Mexican and Peruvian Indians preserve their
* Mexican History, book i. # Idem, Dissertations.
OF SPECIES. 129
strength to the last. While I was at Lima, the Indian,
Hilario Pari, died at the village of Chiguata, four leagues
distant from the town of Arequipa, at the age of one hundred
and forty-three. He had been united in marriage for ninety
years, to an Indian of the name of Andrea Alea Zar, who
attained the age of one hundred and seventeen. This old
Peruvian went, at the age of one hundred and thirty, from
three to four leagues daily, on foot.*
Another race of men, very different from the above-men-
tioned, and also from the generality of Europeans, are the
Laplanders. According to Rheen, who is cited by Sheffer,t
the Laplanders are rather remarkable for long life. He says,
“the Laplanders, not being subject to any dangerous distem-
pers, grow old, and live even to a great age: some live above
a hundred years, but most to seventy, eighty, or ninety years.
Notwithstanding which, they lose not much of their matural
vigour, being able to traverse the highest mountains and
thickest woods, and manage all other affairs as before; nei-
ther get they any grey hairs till they are very old.”
We might be almost inclined to suspect, from these state-
ments, that the longevity of some other races of men, instead
of falling short of the average duration of life, rather exceeds
the term prevalent in those nations who inhabit most of the
countries of Europe. But, on the whole, it does not appear
that any well-marked differences exist between the several
races of men, that can furnish a constant character.
It is interesting, in connexion with this subject, to notice
the very wide interval which separates from mankind the
tribe of animals most approximating to them in physical
structure. Of all the simiae and indeed of the whole brute
creation, the orangs and the troglodyte most nearly resemble
man : this analogy is very striking in the internal organization,
on which the natural functions principally depend. According
to M. Lesson, who has with great accuracy described the
" Political Essay on New Spain. # Sheffer's History of Lapland.
K
130 PROG RESS OF PHYSICAL
family of simiae and the tribe of orangs in particular, there
are satisfactory grounds for believing that the full term of
existence for the chimpanze, or troglodyte, is about thirty
years. This is a longer period of life than other naturalists
have attributed to any of the tribe, and may perhaps be con-
sidered as its full period of longevity.
Paragraph 4.—Of the Progress of Physical Developement,
the Periodical Phenomena of the Constitution, the state of
the Natural and Vital Functions in different Races.
There are many circumstances connected with the state of
the natural and vital functions which are strikingly charac-
teristic of species, as being remarkably uniform within the
limits of one species, and different in races well known to be
distinct. Among these, the specific temperature of the body,
the frequency of the pulse and states of all the functions of
physical life are included, as well as all the phenomena re-
lating to breeding in the economy of the female.
The specific temperature, and the ordinary frequency of the
pulse, are well known to be nearly uniform in all races of
Ill (2Il.
With respect to the periodical phenomena of the constitution,
before we can appreciate the differences which may belong to
races of men, we must first advert to those which are the
immediate results of external agencies, particularly of circum-
stances related to climate. It is well known that climates
give rise to a considerable difference in the period of puberty,
which is much more early in hot than in cold countries, in
the same races of people. The period of child-bearing is
generally observed to commence and cease at a younger age
in tropical climates than in temperate ones, and to be latest
of all in extremely cold countries. There is also a consider-
able variation dependent on the habits of society. The
women of the peasantry in Europe have a more tardy
appearance of the catamenia than the inhabitants of cities,
especially the higher orders. In the state of manners which
exists in populous cities, the time at which these phenomena
commence is much accelerated ; they are greater in degree,
DEVELOPEMIENT :—PERIODS OF LIFE. 13|
and occasion much more disturbance in the system, by their
excess and occasional irregularities.
In England, the age at which the catamenia make their
appearance is generally about thirteen or fourteen years,
sometimes a year or two earlier or later; and the age of
puberty in the male sex is from fourteen to sixteen years. In
the north of France, a difference is perceptible in these
periods, which are accelerated in proportion to the tempera-
ture.* In Italy, the phenomena of the female economy
related to the uterine system are established at twelve years
of age, and in the south of Spain marriages take place at that
period.F In Minorca, according to Cleghorn, puberty com-
mences at the eleventh year, and at Smyrna women are some-
times mothers at eleven or twelve years of age. In Persia,
Chardin reports that the females have the catamenia at nine
or ten years of age. The age of ten is the ordinary period,
according to Niebuhr, in Arabia. In Jamaica, says Mr. Long,
the women attain earlier to maturity, and sooner decline than
in the northern climates: they often marry very young, and
are mothers at twelve years of age.
Diversities of an opposite kind are observed in northern
climates. In the north of Germany, the catamenia do not
commence until the fifteenth year, according to Blumenbach.
In some parts of Europe, the period is still more tardy.
Linnaeus informs us, that the women of the Laplanders
have the catamenia, in general, less copious than the Swedes.
He adds, that obstructions of the catamenia are very rare
among them, excepting those who live in the service of the
colonists; these are occasionally troubled with such irregu-
larities, and are subject, in consequence, like the females of
other races, to epistaxis and oedematous swellings of the
legs.
Such being the variety in this respect which obviously
results from climate in the European races and in Asiatics of
the same complexion and physical variety, we may expect to
find a difference between the inhabitants of Europe and the
native people of Africa and America.
* Fitzgerald, Mem. p. 3. Virey, Gen. Hum. p. 130. + Virey, 130, tom. i.
K 2
&T)
}32 PROGRESS OF PIIYSICAL
We are informed by various writers that the females among
the African nations have the catamenia very early.
Mr. Burchell says, the girls among the Bushmen are
betrothed at seven years of age, which, however, implies
nothing more; but he adds, that they are sometimes mothers
at twelve, or even at ten years of age.
In the hot and low country of the Eboes, the females,
according to Mr. Oldfield, have the catamenia at eight or nine
years of age. He was informed that the periods frequently
return every third week, having a duration of about three
days.
In the West Indies, we have an opportunity of comparing
the white and black people under the same climate, though
not precisely under the same circumstances. I have fre-
quently made inquiry on the same subject of medical prac-
titioners who have lived in the West Indies, and the uniform
result of this inquiry has been, that there is no difference in
respect to the age of puberty, the period of fecundity, or any
of the circumstances connected with the catamenia between
white women and negresses.
Few persons have possessed greater opportunities of ac-
quiring information on the physical condition of the Africans
than Dr. Winterbottom. This writer declares that there is
little difference in the age of puberty between the African
and the European. With regard to the catamenia he ob-
serves, “I am unable to speak with precision respecting this
excretion in the natives of Africa, but among the settlers at
Free Town, in Sierra Leone, my opportunities of observation
were very extensive. It may be proper to remark that these
people, who are generally called Nova-Scotians, because
brought from that country to Sierra Leone, are blacks who
were either carried to America when very young, or were
born there of parents who came from Africa. Of course they
are sufficiently acquainted with the customs of white people,
and they live nearly in the same way as the lower classes of
people in Europe. Among the Nova Scotian women, the
catamenia have precisely the same appearance as among
Europeans, who are usually exposed to the open air; and
the same varieties occur with regard to quantity, periods of
DEVELOPE MENT : —PERIODS OF LIFE. 133
recurrence, &c. nor have they experienced any material altera-
tion by change of climate.”
If any race of men deviates more than others from the
common standard in these particulars, I apprehend it to be
the aborigines of America. Among them, although the
bodily frame is endowed with great muscular strength and
fortitude, the powers of life in the natural and vital functions,
as they are termed by physiological writers, are at a low ebb.
Dr. Rush says, that out of eight Indians whose pulses he
examined at the wrist, he did not meet with one in whom
the arteries beat more than sixty-four strokes in a minute.
It is commonly supposed, that the fecundity of the American
women is less than that of the females in other races,” and
that the sexual affections among these people are less power-
ful. Some writers have indeed plainly intimated a suspicion
of an important and specific difference between them and
other races of men in these particulars. In order to clear up
all doubts on this head, I shall cite the testimonies of some
of the best informed observers.
Dr. Rush assures us, that the women of the North Ameri-
can tribes seldom begin to be subject to the catamenia, till
they are about eighteen or twenty years of age, and that
these phaenomena generally cease before they are forty years
old. “They have the catamenia in small quantities, but at
regular intervals. They seldom marry till about twenty:
their marriages are rarely unfruitful: miscarriages seldom
happen among them. Their labours are short, and accom-
panied with little pain; and after a few days they return to
their usual employments.”:F
These observations refer chiefly to the tribes in the nor-
thern and middle parts of the United States. In the account
which was published by Mr. James, of an expedition to the
Rocky Mountains, we have information on many points con-
nected with the physical and moral history of the nations in
* Don Felix de Azara says, in describing the Indians of Paraguay: “J'ad-
mire la hauteur de leur taille, la grandeur et l'élégance de leurs proportions; qui
n'ont point d'égales dans le monde; et en même tems, je ne doute pas de leur peu
de fecondité.”
+ Dr. Rush on the Diseases and Medicine of the American Indians.
134 PROGRESS OF PHYSICA L
the interior of North America, on the various branches of the
Missouri. In some of the above-mentioned circumstances
this account differs from that of Dr. Rush.
“In the young squaw,” says the editor of this work, “we
were informed that the catamenia, and consequent capability
of child-bearing, take place about the twelfth or thirteenth
year, and the capacity to bear children seems to cease about
the fortieth year; but as superstitious notions prevent these
Indians from taking any note of their ages, these periods are
stated with some hesitation.” The same writer adds, that
“child-birth is remarkably easy among these women. Sterility
is rare. The usual number of children may be stated at
from four to six in a family, but in some families there are
ten or twelve.” It is added, that children are often suckled
till they are three years of age.* Perhaps this fact, together
with the other circumstances of savage life, may fully ex-
plain the small number of children frequently, but not con-
stantly observed in the families of these tribes.
The different ages at which puberty takes place among
the American races mentioned in these two accounts, on the
accuracy of which we have reason to rely, may be ascribed
to the difference of climate.
We are assured by M. de Humboldt, that the women of
the Chaymas, in South America, are often married at the
age of twelve. This celebrated writer is inclined to attribute
the precocity of the Chayma women, not to climate, but to
a peculiarity of the race. That he is not correct in this
opinion, may perhaps be shown by comparing the facts re-
lated by him with the observations above cited from Dr.
Rush and Mr. James.
Some additional observations to the same effect may be
collected from the work of Professor Keating, of the University
of Pennsylvania, containing a series of excellent and in-
teresting memoirs on several of the native races of the
* Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains. By
Edwin James, Botanist, &c. to the expedition. Vol. i. p. 214, of the London
cdition. In the same place the reader will find a copious and accurate account of
the physical peculiarities of these races.
+ Personal Narrative, vol., iii. p. 232.
D EV ELO PEMENT : — PERIODS OF LIFE, I35
American continent. From this work I shall cite some re-
marks which bear upon the subject now under consideration.
In an account of the physical character of the Potowatomi
tribe, belonging to the great Algonquin race, and residing
near lake Michigan, we are informed, on the testimony of
Metea, a Potowatomi chief, that the period of gestation in
the women of that tribe varies from eight to nine months,
and is seldom attended with sickness or nausea. The cata-
menia commonly commence at the age of fourteen, and con-
tinue until fifty, and in some cases until the sixtieth year.
This last is probably only in cases of disease. Metea added,
“That it is not uncommon to see a woman with grey hairs,
whose catamenia have not ceased. Irregularities are not
uncommon, as well as obstructions: but on these subjects it
seems that the informant of the author spoke with reserve.”
The same writer has the following remarks on the Dacotas,
or Sioux, another American race, distinct from the Potowa-
tomi and other Algonquin nations. -
“Sterility among women is by no means uncommon,
neither is it disreputable. It frequently happens that a wo-
man, reputed barren, will bear children if she change her hus-
band. The catamenia commence later among the Dacotas
than among the Potowatomis, for with the former they sel-
dom come on before the age of fifteen or sixteen, while in
the latter they appear at fourteen; this difference is easily
accounted for, by the more severe climate which the Dacotas
inhabit, and by their greater exposure to privations of every
kind.” “Women are frequently liable, during pregnancy,
to lethargy and sick stomach; and we are informed that the
Dacota women have their faces covered with spots, in the
same manner as white women. Being hardened to exercise,
they attend to their usual occupations, even in the last stages
of gestation.”
Many other particulars are added to the preceding, which
are not less important in respect to the physical history of
the American races. For these I must refer my readers to
the original work.”
" Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, &c. By. W.
H. Keating, A. M. vol. i. chapters 3 and 8.
136 PROGRESS OF PHYSICAL
M. Rollin, surgeon to the expedition under the unfortunate
La Pérouse, has given us very sufficient information respect-
ing the physical character of several races in different parts
of America, particularly of the natives of the western coast
at Baie des Français, of the people of California, and those
of Chili. The following is an extract from his general re-
marks on all these nations collectively.*
“The natural progress of life,” he says, “among these
nations, in all its periods of increase and decay, appears to
be the same as with us; but the climate, their mode of life,
and other habits, may have introduced some slight dif-
ferences.”
“In Chili and California, the appearance of the beard, and
the change of the voice, announce the age of puberty, in
males, about the thirteenth year. The girls arrive at puberty
about the age of eleven or twelve, of which the enlargement
of the breasts, and the appearance of the catamenia, are the
usual indications. The quantity in which this periodical
phenomenon takes place, varies in different individuals, ac-
cording to their constitution and manner of living. If no
accident interrupt the natural course, it takes place every
month, and continues from three to eight days. Women are
subject to it until about the fortieth year; but it is not un-
common for some to afford signs of fecundity at a more ad-
vanced age.”
“Old age and decrepitude announce themselves among
these nations, as in civilized countries, by the decrease of the
humours, the loss or decay of sight, and other senses, and a
change of colour in the hair of the head and beard.”
“Women who have borne several children, have their
breasts loose and pendant, and the skin of the pelvis corru-
gated, like Europeans in similar cases, without any observ-
able difference.”
“These nations have very nearly the same passions, the
same sports, and the same manner of living; are equally
violent in the expression of joy and anger, which the slightest
action is sufficient to excite.”
We are informed by Don Pelix de Azara, that the women
* Physiological Memoir on the Americans, by M. Rollin.
DEVELOP EMENT : — PERIO DS OF LIFE. 137
of the Charruas, Guarani, and all the other savage nations
in Paraguay, and the eastern parts of South America, are
remarkable for the paucity in which the catamenia make
their appearance and return.
The general conclusion, which results from a comparison
of all the preceding testimonies is, that there is no marked
and decided difference between the different tribes of men in
respect to the principal phenomena of physical life, or in
those processes which are termed by physiological writers the
natural functions. It seems that the phenomena connected
with child-bearing and the uterine system are different in
white and black women who inhabit different climates, in re-
lation merely to climate. The races differing most in these
respects from the European are the native Americans, whose
constitution of body appears to be endowed with a lower de-
gree of irritability; hence, there is less of activity in their
vital functions, or the processes of physical life are carried
on in them with less vigour and intensity. But this difference
is by no means so great as to allow of a question whether
it amounts to a specific distinction, since it does not exceed,
and perhaps scarcely equals the degree of difference which sub-
sists between individuals of the same nation or kindred. It
is to be expected that varieties in the temperament of par-
ticular individuals in respect to the early or late commence-
ment and termination of the prolific period and the de-
grees of fecundity, would manifest themselves more or less
as characters of breeds or races, as they are known to do
even in the vegetable tribes;* but such variations among
human races are evidently confined within very narrow limits;
they do not exceed the measure of individual variety.
* Plants, as M. De Candolle observes, display hereditary characters; and races of
Plants, as it is well known to horticulturists, may be obtained by certain manage-
ment which are precocious or tardy in bearing, or which are capable of flowering
repeatedly, as well as others which resist the action of cold or of heat. De Can-
dolle, Physiol. Veg, ii. 738. Knight, Hortic. Transact.
138 A N A LOC, ICAL INVESTIGATION.
SECTION V.—Second head of the Analogical Investigation—
Inferences with respect to sameness or distinctness of Spe-
cies, derived from the Phenomena of Propagation between
different breeds.
From the capability of propagating or the sterility of
animals sprung from the blending of different breeds
it has been supposed that a criterion may be drawn,
whether the races from which such animals are engen-
dered, are of the same or of distinct species. It is well
known that mules are in general barren, or incapable of
procreating; and it has been supposed that all other hybrid
animals—a term applied to the offspring of a male and fe-
male of different species, are equally sterile. From this cir-
cumstance maturalists have attempted to determine what
races of animals are of distinct species, and what breeds are
only accidental varieties of the same species. It has been
concluded, that if the offspring of two individual animals be-
longing to different breeds is found to be capable of procrea-
tion, the parent animals, though differing from each other
in some particulars, yet belong to the same species; if the
offspring so engendered is sterile, an inference has been
drawn that the races from which it descended are originally
distinct.
The great advocate for this doctrine was the celebrated
John Hunter, and since the time of Hunter, it has been
adopted by many of the most distinguished naturalists.
Other writers have altogether rejected it as an opinion
founded on a hasty and too general induction from a few
facts. It must be allowed that the exceptions to the Sup-
posed law of nature rendering sterile all hybrid productions,
are very numerous, and that when they are stated collectively
in the manner in which this has been done by Rudolphi,”
they have a most imposing appearance, and are well calcu-
lated to excite our doubt as to the soundness of the general
conclusion to which so many particular facts are opposed.
• Rudolphi, Beytracgc zur Anthropologic und allgemcinch Naturgeschichte.
PH ENOME N A OF HY BRIDITY. 139
The casual intermixture of breeds, or the production of
hybrids, is a phenomenon observed occasionally in almost
every department of nature, and in many instances it must
be admitted that hybrids have been found to be capable of
procreation. We must take a brief survey of the principal
observations which have been collected in reference to this
subject.
The existence of hybrids in the vegetable kingdom is a
fact well known, since the time of Linnaeus, who indeed ima-
gined this phenomena to be much more frequent and to
take place under a greater variety of circumstances than
more accurate investigation has been found to warrant.
Hybrid plants are continually produced in gardens between
proximate species, by a process well known to horticulturists.
In the state of nature they are very rare; and although the
observation of botanists has been directed to this subject
during more than one hundred years, the number of hybrid
plants as yet discovered to have been produced in the wild
and natural condition of the vegetable tribes, amounts in the
last and most accurate enumeration only to forty.” Of these
it has been ascertained that several are absolutely sterile,
the ovary being constantly found at the period of maturity
to contain no embryo. This is the case of the medicago
versicolor, which according to M. De Candolle is a hybrid
between M. sativa and falcata; with the ramunculus lace-
rus and two other ranunculi, which are all hybrids, ac-
cording to the same writer, and with the known hybrids of
the verbascum, digitalis and polygonum. There are two
hybrid centaureae which are commonly reported to be fertile,
but M. De Candolle says, that he has observed them in
gardens, and has constantly discovered them to be sterile.
With respect to all the remaining instances of hybrids pro-
duced among plants in the natural state, it has never been
ascertained whether they can be reproduced or not.
Among the insect tribes examples of irregular unions be-
tween different species are cited by some naturalists, but
* Physiologic Végétale ou Exposition des forces et des fonctions vitales des
Wrgétaux, par M. Aug. Pyr. De Candolle, tom, ii, 1832.
140 AN A LOGICAL INV ESTIGATION.
they appear to be of rather ambiguous character. Rossi's
observation of the coupling of cantharis melanura, with the
female of the elater niger, though cited by Treviranus and
Rudolphi, has been received with the doubt which belongs
to a very improbable relation,” and the conjunctions of dif-
ferent coccinellae, which are testified by Fabricius, do not
afford an unequivocal example of the union of different
species, since, according to the opinion of Illiger, accidental
varieties of the coccinella have been frequently mistaken for
distinct kinds...}
Hybrid productions are reported by naturalists among
fishes. Rudolphi declares that he has seen a carp of a
mule breed, and Bloch has cited various writers who have
brought forward instances of a similar kind. The principal
examples of mule fishes upon record have occurred, as it seems,
from the intermixture of different species of the cyprimus.
Defay mentions a hybrid between the barbus and carpio ;
and Bloch a similar production, intermediate between the
cyprinus blicca and brama.
Among birds similar productions are more frequent, and
of more various kinds. Bechstein mentions mules from the
canary-bird with the goldfinch, the siskin, the bramble-
finch, the greenfinch, the greater limnet, the bullfinch, the
lesser linnet, and the chaffinch.Ş. The same writer says
that the tetras urogallus, or cock of the wood, will breed with
the T. tetrix, as well as with the domestic fowl, and with the
turkey. Treviramus has collected many other instances;|
a bastard progeny between the anas glaucion and the anas
querquedula is described by M. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire," and
one between the goose and the swan, by M. Frederic
Cuvier.”
* Rossi, Memorie di Verona, T. viii. Meckel, Traité Gen. d’Anatomie comparée.
See Treviranus, Biologie, Th. iii. viii. 416. Rudolphi's Beytraege, p. 160.
+ Fabricii Systema Eleutherator. T. i. Rudolphi ubi supra.
+ Bloch's Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands, T. i. Rudolphi ubi supra.
§ Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands, B. i. Leipz, 1807.
Rudolphi, p. 101.
| Treviranus Biologie, Th. iii.
• Annales du Muséum, T. vii.
** Ibid. T. xii. p. 122.
PHENOMEN A OF IIY BRIT) ITY. 14 |
With respect to mammiſers, it is well known, as M. Ru-
dolphi contends, not only that hybrid productions are very
numerous, but that they are not unprolific. Mules, properly
so termed, are not always barren; a fact which was known to
Aristotle: the instances of their breeding are supposed to be
not unfrequent in warm countries. Several examples are
upon record in which asses and zebras have bred together.
The mixed offspring between the wolf and the dog has fre-
quently been described,” and the progeny of the dog and the
foxf, and the dog and the jackal is well known. In all of
these mixed productions the hybrid animal has been found
to be capable of procreation.
Sparrmann declares, that the offspring of the Ethiopian
hog and the common swine is prolific.; The bisons of Ame-
rica and those of India are said to breed readily with the
horned cattle of Europe, and the lumps of the bisons to dis-
appear in the course of several generations.S. What appears
still more remarkable is, that sheep and goats are asserted
by many authors to produce an offspring which is capable of
breeding again with either of its parent stocks, so that in
many generations the effect of this intermixture is lost, and
the progeny will become completely sheep or goats according
as the propagation is continued with either kind. || Rudolphi
even declares, on the authority of Hellenius, whom he con-
siders as a witness fully deserving of credit, that a female
Sardinian roe became pregnant by a ram, and produced young
ones which resembled the father in form, but the mother in
colour. These hybrid animals were afterwards made to breed
for two successive generations with common Finnish rams;
* Maschim Naturforscher, St. 15. In this instance the hybrid was prolific. Hun-
ter in Philos. Tr. 1787–89. Geoff. 'St.-Hilaire. Ann. du Muséum, tom. iv.
Rudolphi's Beyträge.
t Pallas (N. Nord. Beyträge) gives from Pennant two instances of generation
between the dog and wolf, and one between the dog and the fox, in which last the
offspring, a female, afterwards produced young by a dog. Rudolphi ubi supra.
# Sparrmann's Voyage to the Cape.
S De la Nux.—Zimmerman's Zoolog. Geograph.
| Buffon. Hist. Nat.—Cogitationes quaedam de an hybrid.—Aboab, 1798.--
Rudolphi's Beyträge, p 165.
142 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
until at length the mixed breed came to resemble in every
respect the common breed of Finnish sheep.”
All these instances are obtained from among animals in a
state of domestication ; a fact of a different description is re-
ported by Steller, whom both Pallas and Telesius considered
to be worthy of confidence. Steller declares, that in Beh-
ring's Islands, sea-lions or phocae jubatae frequently breed
with the female phocae ursinae or sea-bears. F
Such examples of mixed generation, when brought toge-
gether, form a large aggregate, and might, at the first view
of the subject, tempt us to believe, that there is really, in
nature, no impediment to the propagation of hybrid animals;
a conclusion which, indeed, some of the writers cited in the
preceding pages appear desirous of bringing us to admit.
But a question here suggests itself which is not easily to be
answered by those who maintain this doctrine. If there is
no principle in nature which impedes the unrestrained inter-
mixture of species, how is the order and at the same time
the variety of the animal creation maintained ? If animals
of different species mixed their breed in the ordinary course
of things, and hybrid races were often propagated, the ani-
mal world would soon present a scene of strange confusion :
its various tribes would become everywhere blended together,
and we should, at length, scarcely discover any genuine
and uncorrupted races. It may rather be affirmed, that this
universal confusion of all organized tribes would long ago
have been effected. But how opposite is such a state of
things from the real fact. The same uniform and regular
propagation of species holds still throughout all mature, nor
are the limits of each kind less definite than they are sup-
posed to have been some thousand of years ago. It is plain
that in some manner the preservation of distinct tribes has
* It has often been said, that the animals called giummari, or jumars, are pro-
created from parents of the ox and horse kinds. Meckel has shown this to be a
groundless opinion. Amat. Comparée, tom. i. p. 402. Buffon had previously re-
jccted it. Equally groundless are the stories related of intermixture between dogs
and cats, turkeys and domestic fowls.--Mcckel. l. c.
+ Steller's Ausführliche Beschreibung von Sonderbaren Meerthieren, Halle. Ru-
dolphi ubi supra.
PIIENOMEN A OF IIY BRIDITY. 143
been secured, and that universally, or throughout all the differ-
ent departments of the organized creation.
Of what nature are the causes by which the intermixture
of living tribes is so effectually prevented ? It would appear,
that several different circumstances co-operate to this result.
In the first place, it seems evident that races of animals in
the wild and natural state are kept distinct not merely by the
sterility of mules, but perhaps chiefly by the fact that such
creatures are seldom or never brought into existence. It
would appear that there is a mutual repugnance, or at least a
want of inclination to intercourse, between animals of different
species, while they remain in their wild and unrestrained con-
dition, which prevents any blending of kinds, and might be
sufficient alone to account for the fact that hybrid productions
are in that state almost unknown Exceptions are reported
to the universality of this observation. I have already cited
the fact reported by Steller as to the different tribes of phocae
among which it is said that intercourse occasionally takes
place. It has been stated, though I know not on what evi-
dence, that the stag has been known to follow the female of
the fallow-deer. In some old book of voyages relations are to
be found which report that male apes of the African and of the
Indian species have carried away negresses or other human
females, and have lived with them in the woods. It has been
well observed by M. Lesson, in his work on Mammifers, that
all these reports are defective in evidence; they are appa-
rently as unfounded as they are in every way improbable.*
It would appear that captivity and restraint, or at least
long exclusion from females of their own species is requisite
in order to prepare animals of one tribe for intercourse with
those of another kind. It is in this way that equine mules
are engendered. Even this, however, is not always successful,
as it appeared in the experiments made by the Count de
Buffon on the wolf, the fox, and dog, who repeatedly kept
* This view of the subject appears long ago to have occurred to a German natu-
ralist, who laid it down as a positive rule, “Wenn sich Thiere von Natur mit ein-
ander gatten, so ist solches ein unfenlbares kennzeichen, dass sie von einerlei specie
sind.” Frisch, cited by Blumenbach de Gen. H.V. N.
+ Lesson, Hist, des Mammiferes et des Oiseaux. Les Orangs, tom, iii.
144 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIC, ATION.
animals of these tribes together under circumstances most
favourable to their intercourse, without any such result, which
in these instances at least was obviously prevented by nothing
else than a mutual repugnance.* The existence of this aver-
sion was so apparent as to cause the Count de Buffon to
doubt for a time, though he afterwards found reason for
changing his opinion, the truth of Aristotle's assertion, that
dogs, wolves, and foxes will sometimes breed together.
But in the second place, when animals of different species
have been brought to cohabit, it appears that in many
instances no offspring is produced, and that when conceived
it is not so regularly brought to perfection as the progeny,
unadulterated, of one species. Many such births are pre-
vented by abortion. In many conception never takes place
at all, though all the preliminary conditions appear to have
been fulfilled.--
Lastly, the permanent distinction of tribes is further secured
by the sterility of hybrid productions.
We have seen that occasional exceptions are known to this
general fact; but these though curious and remarkable as iso-
lated phenomena, are not of such a description as to indicate
any real infringement of the law of nature which maintains
the diversity of tribes in the organized world. Hybrid ani-
mals have never been known to propagate their kind; that is,
by cohabiting with other hybrids of an opposite sex to engen-
der an offspring similar to themselves. It has been only
when coupled with animals of a pure breed that hybrids have
been known to produce at all. Mules have been found
capable of bearing an offspring begotten by horses, but there
is no instance upon record in which two mules have been
known to breed together. A similar observation holds good
with respect to the hybrid animal generated between the dog
and the wolf, and to that between the dog and the jackal.
This latter animal has been found capable of breeding with a
* Buffon Hist. Nat. du Chien. I beg the reader who doubts the reality of this
supposed natural repugnance to read Buffon's account of his experiments.
+ See the account of an experiment in which no conception took place after a
full and sufficient trial between a male fox and a terrier bitch, of which the details
are given in Dr. Baron's Life of Dr. Jenner, p. 74.
ºº
-
-
º
--

PH ENOMEN A OF H Y BRIDITY. 145
dig, but it has never been ascertained that two such hybrid
creatures could breed together. Human care and interference
are perpetually necessary in order to originate and maintain
the existence of such breeds.” Without this interference they
would never have existed, and when called into existence
would speedily disappear.:F
In the vegetable kingdom, it is well known that hybrids
produced by cultivation are sometimes capable of bearing
seed, though in a great many instances they are com-
pletely sterile. The extreme rarity of hybrid plants ob-
served in a state of nature, and the difficulty which is
experienced in preserving them in gardens afford, as M.
De Candolle has observed, strong reasons for believing that
even in the case of prolific hybrids, fecundation is difficult
and incomplete. The impediments opposed by nature to the
fecundation of hybrid plants are referred by M. De Candolle
to several different principles. He conjectures that the pollen
of hybrid anthers is wholly or partially deficient in granules,
and that on this difference depends the absolute sterility of
some, and the comparative, though still defective, fecundity
of other hybrid plants. With this supposed defect, he com-
pares the fact “que les mulets steriles d’animaux sont privés
d’animalcules.” That some cause of this description must
influence the results of experiments would appear evident
from the observations of M. Gaertner, who found that the
number of grains fertilized in each fruit is much less in the
attempts to produce hybrid fecundation than in the natural
process. It is conjectured also by M. De Candolle, that
abortion of the germs or some monstrosity in the organs of
fructification are among the causes which impede the repro-
duction of hybrid flowers. It appears, however, that in some
instances these hybrid plants can be made to reproduce,
either by blending them with the primitive kinds, or with
"It is said that female mules in Arabia being pregnant by horses often perish in
giving birth to their young, but that the Arabs are accustomed to preserve the foals
as well as their dams by the Caesarean section. “Lettere sull' India Orientale.”—
Rudolphi, Beytraege, ubi supra.
t See some excellent observations on this subject in Mr. Lyell's Principles of
Geology, book iii, **
L
146 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
other hybrids. But this rare fertility has never been known
to become permanent. According to Professor Lindley, it
has never exceeded the third generation. The result of all
the observations which have been made upon this subject
is, as M. De Candolle has remarked, that “all such interme-
diate breeds tend incessantly to extinction, by the difficulties
which are opposed to their reproduction. This explains the
rarity of their appearance, and reconciles the permanence which
is observed among the distinct species of nature with the real
existence, often, however, exaggerated, of hybrid or tempo-
rary tribes, which are thus reduced into the class of monstrous
productions.”
It seems on the whole evident, all the departments of the
organized creation being considered, that the energy of propa-
gation is very defective in the union of different species, and
subsequently in the reproduction of hybrid animals or plants.
The result of experiments has uniformly proved that if such
a stock can be kept up for a few successive generations, which
has only been done by a reunion with a pure breed, it has at
length disappeared, or has at least ceased to exist as a
peculiar race.
Paragraph 2.--
It may be worth while to compare with this conclusion the
well known results of crossing or intermixing varieties or
races differing from each other in colour and form, but still
belonging to the same species. Both horticulturists and those
who are engaged in breeding cattle and other domesticated
animals, are well aware of the advantages to be derived from
this resource; the former, in improving the varieties of fruit-
trees and other vegetable productions, and the latter, with
relation to breeds of oxen, horses, sheep, swine, and dogs.
Mixed breeds are very often produced superior in almost all
their physical qualities to the parent races, and particularly
with so much vigour of propagation, that they often gain
ground upon the older varieties, and gradually supersede them.
This one property of greater fecundity is often the particular
PHENOMEN A OF HY BRIDITY. 147
reason for the selection, and the circumstance which induces
agriculturists and the breeders of cattle to adopt new races in
preference to the old ones.
Paragraph 3.−Of mixed human races.
A question now offers itself to our consideration with respect
to mixed races in the human kind, whether they are, in the
phenomena of their propagation, analogous to hybrid produc-
tions or to the blended offspring of tribes which are merely
varieties of the same species.
Now the undoubted fact is, that all mixed races of men are
remarkable for their tendency to multiplication. The men of
colour, or the mixed breed between the white Creoles and the
Negroes, are well known in many of the West Indian isles to
increase rapidly, and this chiefly by family connexions among
themselves. Hence there has resulted a particular caste in many
places so numerous and so rapidly gaining ground, as to give
rise to serious apprehensions that they are destined to become
at length the dominant tribe in the community.” In other
parts of the world, in almost every example to which different
varieties of mankind are brought into social relations at all
similar to those of the Negroes and Creoles, or offering facilities
for intercourse, similar results have taken place. I shall here
only point out in a brief manner some few of these instances
which I shall have future occasion to investigate, when con-
sidering the ethnography of particular countries and the phy-
sical history of particular races of mankind. In Africa there
are several remarkable instances of a similar description. The
Griquas, or bastard Hottentots, the mixed race between the
Dutch colonists and the aborigines of South Africa, form on
* Partout injustement réprouvés,” says M. Bory de St. Vincent, “les Mulátres
me manquent cependant pas de cette beauté et de cette intelligence qui résultent en
général du croisement des espèces et des races. Les Négres portent envie à la su-
périorité qu'ils prétendent s'arroger comme tenant des Blancs; ceux-ci qui ne
trouvent pas qu'il soit criminel de les procréer, n'imaginent pas non plus qu'il soit
atroce deles dégrader, et c'est um trait déshonorant de l’histoire des Hommes d'espèce
Japetique, que des coutflimes avouées autorisent cette inhumanite.”—Dict. Class
d'Hist. Nat.
L 2
| 48 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
the borders of the colonial settlements a numerous and rapidly
increasing race. The Griquas now occupy the banks of the
Gariep or Orange river, for the space of at least seven hundred
miles, where their numbers were estimated some years ago to
be at least 5,000 souls, They are powerful marauders, and
harass by their predatory incursions all the native tribes in
their vicinity, and are frequently troublesome to the neigh-
bouring colonists. Great numbers of the same mixed race are
in other parts thriving agriculturists; and there is a large com-
munity at Griqua Town settled under the government of the
Missionaries of the United Brethren, by whose means they
had been converted to Christianity and have adopted the habits
of civilized society.” Another mixed tribe in Africa has become
one of the more powerful nations in that continent. The Fella-
tahs are, according to the most recent and accurate accounts,
a mixed progeny from the intermixture of the Red Poules, the
old inhabitants of Fouta Dhiallo and Fouta Torro, with the
Iolofs, Jallonka, and Torodos, as well as with other black
nations with whom they have coalesced. The intermediate
race resulting from this intermixture has become so much
more numerous and powerful as to have superseded the origi-
nal Poules in their native lands, and to have spread themselves
moreover by conquest over a great part of the interior of
Soudan. In South America, both the European colonists and
the Negroes whom they have introduced have intermixed very
extensively with the native population. In Brazil, the mixed
breed between the Negroes and the aborigines are termed
Cafusos : they are a very peculiar race, whose physical cha-
racter has been described by Von Spix and Martius. The
Spaniards have everywhere intermixed with the native people
in South America. In Paraguay, the mixed breed constitutes,
according to Don Felix de Azara, a great majority of the
people termed Spaniards or white men; and they are said to be
a people superior in physical qualities to either of the races from
* For an account of the Griqua, or bastard Hottentot race, see Thompson's
Travels in South Africa.
+ Mollien, Voyages en Afrique.—Golberry, Voyage au Sénégal,
+ Von Spix und Martius, Reisen in Brasilien. th: 1.
IN T ER MIXTU R E O F RACES. 149
which they have sprung, and much more prolific than the
aborigines. The following is the description given of them
by Azara : * Ces mêtis s'unirent en général les uns aux autres,
parcequ'il ne passe en Amérique que très peu de femmes
Européennes, et ce sont les descendans de ces métis qui com-
posent aujourd'hui au Paraguay la plus grande partie de ce
qu'on appelle Espagnols. Ils me paraissent avoir quelque
superiorité sur les Espagnols d'Europe, par leur taille, par
l'élégance de leurs formes, et même par la blancheur de leur
peau. Ces faits me font soupçonner non seulement que le
mélange des races les améliore, mais encore que l'espèce
Européenne l'emporte à la longue sur l'Americaine, ou du
moins le sexe masculin sur le feminin.*
In the north of Asia there are innumerable instances of inter-
mixture of breed between the Tartar, MongolianandTungusian
races, and the Russians and Chinese who are predominant
over the other nations of that continent. Pallas informs us,
that even intermarriages between Russians and Tartars with
the Mongolians, who differ widely from both of these races in
their physical character, are very frequent in Mongolia.
The children born from these marriages are thus described
in Pallas's Memoir on the Mongolian Nations. * Ces en-
fans ont d'agréables et quelquefois de superbes figures, tan-
dis que ceux d'origine purement Kalmuke ou Mongole con-
servent jusqu'à dix ans une figure difforme et boufflé, un
aspect cacochyme, qu' enfin la croissance du corps faît dispa-
roître.''+
Similar observations may be made in different parts of Eu-
rope. The Celtic and Slavonic races were mot so strongly
marked in their physical differences from the German or
Teutonic race as many other tribes of mankind, yet there ex-
isted some physical peculiarities which distinguished these
nations. It may be observed that, in many instances, the in-
termixture has produced breeds physically superior to the
majority of either ancestral race. This may be remarked in
some parts of Ireland : where the Celtic population of that
" Voyages en Amerique Meridionale du don Félix de Azara.
+ Pallas, Mémoire sur les tribus Mongoles. Mém. du Muséum, l 828.
150 A N A LOGICAL 1 NVESTIGATION.
island is nearly unmixed, they are, in general, people of short-
stature, small limbs and features; where they are intermixed
with English settlers or with the Lowlanders of Scotland, the
people are remarkable for fine figures, tall stature, and great
physical energy. It would be easy to multiply instances of
this description, but I shall not proceed further at present.
On a review of all the facts connected with the propaga-
tion of mixed breeds we may conclude, that real hybrids are
either barren or so little prolific that their stock is destined
soon to become extinct, while the mixed offsprings originating
from different races within the limits of the same species
generally exceed in vigour and in the tendency to multi-
plication the parent races from which they are produced. I
do not wish to erect an important conclusion upon this one
argument, but its evidence as far as that extends, and consi-
derable weight will be allowed to it, is manifestly favourable
to the doctrine that the several tribes of men are but varieties
of the same species.
SECTION VI.-Third Head of the Analogical Investigation
of Species.—Pathological Considerations.
It has been well observed by a celebrated German physi-
cian, C. W. Hufeland, that the comparative pathology of
living tribes and species must be more attentively studied and
more fully elucidated than it has yet been, before we can
render complete our acquaintance with their physical history.
The diseases and predispositions to disease peculiar to certain
races, constitute as much a part of the physical description
and enter as fully into the aggregate of distinctive characters
belonging to these races, as any feature in their anatomical
structure. It is much to be regretted, that the sources of in-
formation are very defective in reference to this subject. We
are only enabled to collect facts which are as yet so few and
so imperfectly understood, that they sometimes appear dis-
crepant and contradictory in their bearing. This is particu-
larly the case with respect to the inferior tribes of the animal
creation, and the reasons are so obvious, that they do not
P A THOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 151
require to be specified. The pathology of these tribes is so
imperfectly known, that we are not enabled to deduce from
this quarter any general inferences which may be afterwards
compared with, and may tend to elucidate the bearing of ana-
logous facts collected from the history of mankind. The pa_
thology of human races is somewhat more advanced, and the
facts related to it rest on less doubtful authority, but they
are of very limited extent.
Paragraph 1.—Of contagious and epidemic Diseases.
Observations on contagious diseases,” or on complaints
which are capable of spreading from one individual over a
whole community, may throw some light on the limitations of
species. If it should be proved, that the influence of morbid
poisons is, in general, confined to some particular races and
is destitute of agency on other species, in respect even to
tribes the most nearly approaching in form and organization,
we might avail ourselves of this fact as a criterion by which
the question might be determined with some degree of proba-
bility, whether all human races originate from the same stock.
The state of knowledge on this subject is at present too im-
perfect to warrant any positive conclusions.
It is, indeed, well known, that some contagious diseases are
communicable from one tribe of animals to another. Cow-pox
affords the most familiar example. Without assuming it to
be a certain fact, that this disease is identical with that which
in horses is termed the grease, and that it has been communi-
cated from the horse to the cow through human intervention,
points which have been, however, in my opinion, fully esta-
blished by Dr. Baron, it is certain, that the ass, the dog, the
goat, and the sheep are capable of receiving the vaccine dis-
ease by inoculation, and that matter taken from pustules so
* In the category of contagious diseases, I mean, in order to preclude all con-
troversy, to comprise only such distempers as are considered, like small-pox and
measles, to arise solely from contagion. Diseases which are thought to become under
particular circumstances infectious or capable of spreading, of which the class is
very indeterminate, are not meant to be included under the term adopted in the text.
152 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
produced affords the genuine cow-pox in the human species.*
It is obviously very probable, that the same susceptibility
would be found, on experiment, to exist in many other tribes.
Small-pox, as we might conjecture from its analogy to cow-
pox, is likewise communicable to many species. M. Viborg,
at Copenhagen, is believed to have communicated this disease
from the human subject by inoculation to asses, dogs, and
swine.f. It had been reported long ago by Jansen, a physi-
ciam at Amsterdam, that an ape was affected with pustules
from the contagion of small-pox; ; but without displaying
any of the other symptoms of the disease. The cow is like-
wise said to receive the small-pox by inoculation. §
Hydrophobia is another malady which, by a peculiar method
of inoculation, is known to be communicable to many species
of animals, though it probably originates only in the dog.
Instances have likewise been reported in which the poison of
glanders, a disease commencing in horses, is said to have
affected grooms, who have had wounds in their hands, and
have become accidentally inoculated.
There are other contagious diseases, which, as far as the
evidence yet obtained extends, are incommunicable from the
human to other species, though it does not appear that any
race of men has an immunity from their influence. One of
these is the yaws, a disease which, though principally known
among Negroes, also attacks Europeans. We are informed
by Dr. Thomson, that repeated attempts have been made in
the West Indies to communicate this disease to rabbits, dogs,
and fowls, by different methods of inoculation, but that they
have all failed. He adds that there is an eruptive disease in
cattle, which the Negroes in Jamaica term the yaws, but that
it bears no analogy to the complaint so termed in man. Is
this disease the cow-pox" | Dr. Kerr, in his excellent trea-
tise on yaws, contained in the Cyclopædia of Practical Medi-
* Dr. Baron's Life of Dr. Jenner, page 243.
+ Medical and Physical Journal. Sept. 1802. Dr. Baron's Life of Jenner,
page 216.
† Blumenbach, de Gen. Han. Var. Nat.
§ Dr. Baron, ubi supra, page 216.
| Edin. Med, and Surg. Jo. vol. xv.
PATHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 153
cine, has likewise remarked that “repeated experiments have
proved the impossibility of transferring yaws by inoculation be-
yond the human species.” Attempts have been made to inoculate
an ape with the poison of syphilis, but they have failed.*
Other contagious diseases, such as measles, scarlatina, hoop-
ing-cough, are not known to extend their influence beyond
the human species. I am uncertain whether to include plague
in the same order of diseases with those above mentioned.
When this disease has been committing its ravages, and
almost depopulating whole cities and districts, it might be
supposed that domestic animals would have suffered, if they
were capable of receiving the contagion. Nothing of this
kind, as far as I know, is on record. Murrains among cattle
are indeed said to have preceded some fatal epidemics, but
there is no evidence that these were the genuine plague ; and
it appears to me, that Dr. Baron has succeeded in rendering
it extremely probable that they were epidemical invasions of
small-pox, and not the bubonic pestilence or plague, properly
so termed. In general the distempers which attack different
species of animals, as of cattle, are not observed to spread
from one to another, however severe their effects may be in
the destruction of the particular kind in which they originate.
It has been observed that sheep and pigs have been carried
to the West Indies in the same vessel, and that a distemper
apparently contagious has broken out in one kind, without
affecting the other in the smallest degree. Even among plants
it has been remarked, that a disease which is very destructive
of one species, will not attack others, even the most nearly
allied to it.
On the other hand, it is well known with respect to the con-
tagious diseases affecting mankind, that there is none which is
peculiar to one race, or incapable of attacking others; though
the predisposition to any given disease is different in different
races, as it is known to be in the several families of the same
race or nation. On the whole, the inferences resulting from facts
relating to contagious and epidemic diseases are, as far as their
* It has been asserted, but I know not on what authority, that this disease has
becm communicated to dogs,
154 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
evidence extends, favourable to the doctrine that all human
tribes belong to one and the same species.
Paragraph 2.—Endemic diseases.
The facts relating to endemical diseases and predispositions
to disease, deserve our closest attention, and lead apparently
to some curious results. Before we can collect these results,
it will be necessary to attend to particulars.
Some of these diseases are properly termed endemical,
though they are not the immediate result of local influences;
the constitutional predisposition to them is inherent in par-
ticular races. It seems to originate in local influences, but
these influences must be exerted during a long course of years,
and perhaps during several generations, in order to bring forth
the morbid tendency. This observation must be illustrated
by some examples.
The plica polonica is a disease exhibiting remarkable phe-
nomena, on which some recent information has been com-
municated in Hufeland and Osann's Journal, in 1834.”
“This complaint,” says Hufeland, “is peculiar to districts
on and in the neighbourhood of the Vistula, whence its de-
nomination. The Germans term it Weichselzopf, Caesaries
Vistulana. From this circumstance it has been supposed to
be a disorder arising from merely local causes, or depending im-
mediately on climate. But if such was the fact, the inhabi-
tants without exception would be subject to the disease. We
find, on the contrary, that the Germans who inhabit the same
districts and are exposed to the same local influences, if they
have not an entire immunity from the Plica, are at least af-
fected by it much more rarely, and, as it would seem, only as
the result of contagion or communication with infected persons.
We even find villages close by each other, one of German and
the other of Polish population, the disease being prevalent in
the latter and not existing in the former. It has formerly
been supposed to originate from the dress of the people, from
their wearing skin and fur, and the practice of shaving their
• Merkwürdige Fälle von Plica Polonica zur Aufhellung ihrer verborgenen
Formen gesammelt, von Dr. Kützin zu Bromberg,
PATHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATION S. 155
Heads; but the Russians wear the same sort of dress, and the
Turks likewise shave their heads, yet neither have the plica.
Just as little can we account for this fact by reference to the
uncleanly habits of the Polish boors, since the Russian pea-
santry are not much behind them in this respect, and yet
have no Weichselzopf. All these considerations render it to
me very probable that the plica, with respect to its origination,
belongs to the class of national and not local diseases. It is
peculiar to a particular race of men, namely to the Sarmatic, and
not generally to the whole Slavonic family, which includes the
Sarmatian, the Russian, Bohemian and the proper Slavonian
branches; for these last-mentioned races do not partake of
the affection.”*
The Poles or the Sarmatic race, as Hufeland terms them,
belong originally to the same stock as the Russian and Bo-
hemian. We have therefore in this instance a proof that a
tribe of people, by long residence in a given district, are capa-
ble of acquiring a peculiar hereditary and national variety of
constitution, predisposing them to a particular disease from
which other tribes of the same original stock are altogether
or very nearly free.
Other equally striking instances may be found, in which
predisposition to diseases is only acquired by individuals after
long residence, or even by races after some generations passed
in the climate productive of such diseases. This appears to be
the case with the species of elephantiasis, or elephant-leg of
Barbados, and other intertropical countries. The endemical
disease of Barbados must be distinguished from the leprosy
so well known in the lazar-houses of Madeira and other
places, which is termed by some writers elephantiasis, and
by others, lepra Arabum. The former disease attacks, as
might be supposed, the black indigenous races more readily
than Europeans, or the descendants of Europeans. The
elephant-leg of Barbados has long been known as an en-
demic among the black population, to which it was confined
until 1704. At that period it was first known in a white
man; but before 1760, when he died, it had become a
common disease among the white people of the island. In
* Vorwort üben Ragen-Krankheiten, von C. W. Hufeland.
156 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Demarara this disease attacks the Negroes principally, but
also sometimes the whites. It is more frequent among Dutch
than English families, the former having been longer resident
in the country. It is however said to be unknown among
the native Americans. Their different habits of life and the
different localities occupied by them, are perhaps the causes
of this exemption. In Ceylon a similar disease prevails
among the indigenous people and the Creoles, or descen-
dants of Europeans born in the country, but does not appear
among immigrants, whether Europeans, Africans, Hindoos,
or Malays. The only case recorded in an European, is
that of a man who had been resident at Point de Galle,
from thirty to forty years. Europeans likewise escape a
similar disease, which affects the natives of Cochin in the
Peninsula.
An affection analogous to the Elephantiasis of Barbados,
is said to take place in the same island in oxen, dogs, and
poultry; and in these animals it probably arises from the
same influences of climate. The participation of so many
different species in this endemical sort of tumor may remind
us of the steatopyga, or accumulation of fat about the root
of the os coccygis, which is common to the Hottentots and
the South African breed of sheep. The Elephant-leg of
Barbados is the peculiarity of certain individuals, as is the
hump of the Hottentot; neither of these appearances is
common to all the individuals of the race chiefly predisposed
to the affection. Nor is the steatopyga confined entirely
to the Hottentots among human races, though it is chiefly
known in this tribe of men. We are informed that it occurs
in a less degree among the Kaffers, and various tribes of
black people on the eastern coast.
The yaws has been already mentioned among contagious
diseases, but the predisposition to it is in the strict sense of
the term an endemical affection, since it prevails more
strongly, as we may judge from the greater frequency of the
disease, in some races, namely among the Negro nations, than
in others, without being entirely confined to the former.
The yaws is indigenous in the western parts of Negroland,
whence it has been conveyed to the West Indies, and to the
PATHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 157
American continent with slaves from Africa. This disease
has been considered by some as peculiar in Africa to the
negro race; but Dr. Winterbottom, whose residence at Sierra
Leone enabled him to acquire correct information, asserts
that this is by no means the case; and his opinion has been
established by well-marked examples of the disease described
by himself and others, in persons of European birth and
descent. In the West Indies and in America it sometimes,
though rarely, attacks the white inhabitants. Sprengel dis-
tinguishes two varieties of this disease, the proper yaws and
the pians, which he says was originally endemic in one dis-
trict of the coast of Guinea, the kingdom of Sanguin, and is
not so readily communicated to white persons as the former
variety. By most authors they are considered as the same
disease.
It appears evident, that the predisposition to yaws, or
the susceptibility of the disease is greater in the Negro, than in
the European race; and, in this respect, yaws is very nearly pa-
rallel to the plica polonica which attacks so much more fre-
quently the race which has long inhabited the banks of the
Vistula, than the more recent settlers. It would be interest-
ing to know whether any particular tribes of Negroes are more
subject to yaws than others. This is the case, as we are in-
formed by Dr. Winterbottom, with respect to lepra, or the
elephantiasis of the East, which prevails endemically among
the native tribes near Sierra Leone, as it is well known to do
in many other places and among very different races of men.
Winterbottom informs us, that this disease does not appear to
be so common among the Bulloms and Timmanees, as among
the Foulahs and Mandingos.
It has been observed, that cretinism, which is an endemi-
cal disease in the Valais, and in some other parts of Switzer-
land, is more prevalent in and among the descendants of
Savoyards and the old residents, than in the families of persons
from the higher parts of Switzerland, or of Frenchmen who
have settled in the country.*
* In the report of M. Rambuteau, prefect of the department of the Valais, to the
Minister of the Interior. Dict, de Médicine.
158 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
On the whole it appears evident, that races of men acquire
predispositions to particular diseases by a residence of several
generations in particular districts. Hence, then, varieties of
predisposition are no proof of diversity of origin.
On this principle we may explain, without reference to any
other hypothesis, the remarkable fact proved by the late re-
searches of Dr. Clarke, that Negroes and Malays are the vic-
tims of tubercular phthisis in much greater proportions than
other races of men. By a calculation founded on data which
relate to the West Indian army of Britain, it appears, that
in every thousand deaths among the whites, chiefly as I sup-
pose, if not almost wholly, natives of Europe, one hundred
and twenty arise from pulmonic diseases, while in every thou-
sand deaths among the blacks, four hundred and seventy-two
are attributed to the same cause. Dr. Clarke has likewise
shown, that in Ceylon, the deaths from phthisis in one thou-
sand deaths from all diseases, are in Europeans 43, in Malays
58, in Caffers 146, in Indians 59; thus proving, that in other
races of men inhabiting tropical climates, the greater frequency
of tubercular disease is in as great proportion; whence he con-
cludes, that predisposition to such diseases is brought forth
in the organic structure of the human body by residence in
hot climates.
The excessive proportion of deaths by phthisical disease
among the native races of hot climates, compared with those
which take place in strangers from cold countries, depends in
great part on the greater mortality produced among Europe-
ans by morbific causes peculiar to tropical regions, when com-
pared with that which takes place among the native inhabi-
tants. Negroes and other natives of hot countries bear with
comparative impunity many other agencies which are highly
destructive of life among Europeans. We must not, however,
suppose from this fact, that the Negro is by nature exempt
from the susceptibility of those diseases which destroy so many
of the whites. Dr. Winterbottom assures us, that this is far
from true; that the native blacks of Sierra Leone often have
remittent and intermittent fevers, which run their course pre-
cisely as they would do in Europeans, who, by what is
termed seasoning, have accommodated themselves to the cli-
PATH O LOGICAL CONSIDER ATIONS. 1.59
mate.” He adds, that the same diseases are very common
among the Negroes who were brought from Nova Scotia to
live at Sierra Leone. This remark illustrates the nature of
that immunity from tropical diseases which some have as-
cribed to Negroes as a specific character. Dr. Clark of Do-
minica, in describing the yellow-fever which prevailed in that
island in 1793–6, observes, that the “New negroes,” who
had lately been imported from the coast of Africa, were all
attacked by it. The Negroes who had been long in the town
or on the island escaped. It is well known, that the Negroes
on the African coast suffer greatly in unhealthy districts from
dysenteries, diarrhoeas, and other diseases which arise from
local causes.j. The native tribes of America are likewise sub-
ject, according to Dr. Rush and others, to remittent and inter-
mittent fevers, dysenteries, and other diseases analogous to
those which attack Europeans under similar circumstances.
The yellow-fever appears to have been known in America long
before the arrival of Europeans. Such, at least, is the result
of information obtained by M. de Humboldt. This appears to
have been the pestilence, which was termed matlazahuatl, and
which ravaged the empire of the Aztecas before the arrival
of Cortes and the Spaniards.
The native tribes of America, as we learn from the informa-
tion obtained by M. Say and Professor Keating, are likewise
subject to the same constitutional diseases as other races of
men. The account given by these writers of the diseases of
the Sioux clearly proves that the morbific causes which affect
the constitution of Europeans, have the same influence, with
very slight differences which are easily accounted for, as those
of the native Americans. It appears, for example, that the
latter are subject to disorders of the nervous system, excited
by mental emotions: that cases of fits and of insanity are
attributed among them to disappointments in love, and that
such disorders are so frequent as to be often feigned.
Similar observations respecting the diseases of northern
* Winterbottom, vol. ii. p. 14–22.
+ Medical Tacts, vol. viii. Winterbottom ubi supra.
: Winterbottom.—See Mr. Oldfield, Memoir on the Medical History of the
countries visited in the late expedition to explore the Niger.
160 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Europe may be collected from the accounts of Lapland by
Sheffer and by Linnaeus, and of Asia by Pallas and Gmelin.
From a review of the whole subject considered in this sec-
tion it apears, that the great catalogue of diseases which af.
flict mankind are common to the whole human family. They
differ in different climates; and local circumstances often en-
gender a predisposition to particular disorders in races which
have been long subjected to their influence. These are all
comparatively slight modifications. The pathological history
of different races appears to illustrate and confirm the infer-
ence, already deduced from researches into their physiology,
that a common nature belongs to all mankind.
NOTE O N T H E CONTENTS OF CHA PTER THE FIRST. 16]
NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF CHAPTER THE
FIRST.
In page 132, I have stated the general results of inquiries
obtained from medical practitioners in the West Indies in
reference to the physiology of the Negroes. The follow-
ing queries were sent some time since to Dr. Huggins,
a very intelligent physician, who has had great opportunities
of observation during a long residence and very extensive
practice in the island of St. Vincent, and by him the replies
were given which are appended to the queries. They cannot
fail to be interesting to many of my readers.
Question 1. Is longevity frequent among the Negroes of St.
Vincent's? -
Answer. I have known a great many very old negroes
whose exact ages could not be ascertained. At the time of
the hurricane in 1831, I had a record of the mortality in the
whole of my practice from the year 1813, and in every year
there were deaths of Negroes computed to be sixty, seventy,
or eighty years of age, and upwards. My father will be eighty-
four years old in May next, and the negro woman who carried
him about as a child is still living, and at the age of ninety-six
enjoying good health, upright infigure, and capable of walking
several miles. On a property belonging to a nephew of mine,
there is an old woman who has five great-grand sons and one
great grand-daughter, which great-grand daughter has six
children, and is daily expecting a seventh. The age of this
great-great-grandmother is not known, but her daughter,
the great-grandmother, has been doing nothing for very many
years, I believe for the last twenty. On an estate in the Caraib
country, under my own medical charge, out of two hundred
and forty apprentices, there are one hundred and five Afri-
cans, whose average age is computed at fifty-eight, and on
another property not far distant, out of about the same num-
M
162 NOTE O N THE CONTENTS OF CHAPTER THE FIRST.
ber of people there are one hundred and three Africans, whose
average age is estimated at fifty-six. This fact will at once
explain the principal cause of the decrease in this and other
islands so much dwelt upon by the abolitionists. It is ob-
vious, that there is a great disproportion of aged people, and
that the percentage of mortality must be considerable during
the next ten or fifteen years. So it is with the whole island,
more or less. At the time of the registration, 1817, there
were upon one estate in my own practice one hundred and
eighty-eight Africans: of these one hundred and ten or one
hundred and twenty have died, principally within the last ten
years; yet the actual strength of the gang is now greater
than it ever was, notwithstanding the diminution in the
number.
Qu. 2. At what age do the Negro women begin and cease
to be subject to the catamenia 7
Answer. There is some difficulty in answering this ques-
tion, arising from the Negro women never knowing their own
ages, or being able to answer questions regarding time: but
as far as my opinion or information goes, I should say, that
there was no difference in these respects between black
and white women. The black girls in this island often do
not commence menstruating until they are seventeen and
upwards, but this is late, and I have imagined that it may be
attributed to their early habits of licentiousness.
Qu. 3. Is there any difference in these respects, or in any
of the circumstances connected with the catamenia, between
negresses and white women
Answer. There is no difference that I am aware of
Qu. 4. Is there any difference in the period of utero-gesta-
tion or any of the circumstances connected with child-birth,
between megresses and white women?
Answer. None that I am aware of.
Qu. 5. What are the prevailing diseases among Negroes'
Answer. Worms, dysenteries, colds and coughs and other
pulmonic complaints, rheumatism, inflammatory fevers,
dropsies, also herpetic and itchy eruptions, ulcers, hernias
inguinal and umbilical, menstrual obstructions. Two-thirds of
NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF CHAPTER THE FIRST. 163
the patients come into the hospitals with functional derange-
ment of the stomach and chylopoietic viscera, and are re-
lieved by an emetic, and one or two purges of calomel. Pure
idiopathic fever, or the common bilious or remittent fever af.
fecting the white inhabitants, may be said to be almost un-
known among the negroes. Indeed there are medical men, of
great experience too, who have never witnessed a case and are
therefore sceptical as to those of which they hear accounts—
but I have myself witnessed many cases, and several of them
fatal. But then the diseases of the district in which I have
practised, the Caraib country, have always differed from those
of other parts of the island, in being of a more inflammatory
nature, and requiring a freer use of the lancet. This may be
accounted for by its peculiar situation. The peculiar and
very extraordinary disease, termed “mal d’estomac,” answer-
ing to the “marasmus anhaemia” of Dr. Good, is still fre-
quent, but by no means so common as formerly. Phthisis
pulmonalis occurs much more frequently than has been sup-
posed. I have examined negro lungs as thickly studded
with tubercles as I have seen in Europe. Insanity is by no
means uncommon among the Negroes, notwithstanding the
assertion of Sir Andrew Halliday to the contrary. I have had
many patients.
Qu. 6. Is yaws prevalent and do Europeans ever con-
tract it 2
Answer. The yaws has been very prevalent here, but is
now becoming more rare. Europeans do occasionally con-
tract it. I have attended a white family labouring under it.
Qu. 7. Is elephantiasis prevalent, and are Europeans or
white men, in any degree, subject to it?
Answer. Elephantiasis (meaning the elephantiasis or lepra
Arabum) is very prevalent among the Negroes; and Europe-
ans do occasionally become affected with it, but very rarely.
I have had no white patient myself, and have only heard of
three or four. If by elephantiasis be meant the elephant or
Barbados-leg, I would say that it is confined to the Ne-
groes, having never seen or heard of a case in a white
person.
M 2
164 NOTE ON THE CONTENTs of CHAPTER THE FIRST.
Qu. 8. Are negro children in any respect inferior to white
children in their faculties 7
Answer. Negro children do not appear in any respect infe-
rior to white children in their faculties. On the contrary, they
seem to be generally more forward as infants, a circumstance,
no doubt, to be attributed to their being left much to them-
selves, for being thus thrown more upon their own resources
they become earlier engaged in the exercise of their faculties,
C H A PTER II.
AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUED—OF THE PSY-
CHOLOGICAL COMPARISON OF HUMAN RACES. -
SECTION I.-General Remarks on the Psychical History of .
different Species.
THERE is scarcely any trait in the description of animals
which is more characteristic of species, than the psychical
qualities with which Providence has severally endowed them.
Under the term psychical endowments I mean to include the
whole of the sensitive and perceptive faculties of animals,
their intellect, or what in them approaches most nearly to the
nature of intellect, as well as their instincts, feelings, propen-
sities, and habitudes of action ; all that corresponds in the
lower orders of the creation, to the powers and attributes of
the mind in man. I have adopted this expression, psychical
properties or endowments, because I cannot find another that
will so well answer my purpose. To speak of the minds of
brute animals would be to take a liberty in the use of words
that would hardly be tolerated, and our language supplies no
better means than what I have chosen for expressing the sense
which that term would convey.
All the tribes of animals are characterised by dispositions,
habits and instincts appropriated to particular species. No-
thing, for example, is more remarkable in the dog kind, than
the inclination of the whole tribe to associate themselves
with man; whence it has arisen that in all ages, and in almost
every corner of the globe, they have been his companions and
devoted followers. In this respect, the dog is strikingly con-
166 A N A LOG ICAL INVESTIGATION.
trasted with his congeners, as the wolf, the fox, and the
jackal, animals so strongly resembling the dog in structure,
that by many naturalists all these tribes have been identified.
The fierce and untamable disposition of the wolf separates him
at a wide distance from the dog. The gregarious habits of the
wolf equally distinguish him from the solitary fox. In all
these instances there is just sufficient evidence, independently
of diversities of instinct, and arising from physical considera-
tions alone, to mark out these several tribes of animals as so
many distinct species, and we find in reality these proximate
species characterised by different instincts.
In laying down, as a law of nature, the general observation
that each species has its given instincts universally charac-
teristic of it, we must not omit to take into our account the
fact, that variations are likewise to be traced, though of a
more limited extent, in the psychical manifestations of par-
ticular tribes. Such variations, as it has been fully shown by
Jacobi, bear everywhere a close relation to corresponding
varieties in bodily structure.” Some breeds of dogs, for ex-
ample, pursue wild animals in the chace by sight, and others
by the sense of smell; according as they have received from
nature a more perfect developement of the visual or olfacient
organs. It may be said, that since all the varieties of the
dog tribe are generally supposed to belong to a single spe-
cies, the variety of instinct in these different breeds of dogs
affords one instance in which the preceding observation
must be modified. I do not assume as certain that all
the various breeds of dogs belong to a single original race,
although the great number of essential points in which they
all resemble each other afford a strong, and to myself a con-
vincing proof, that no specific difference exists among them.
If, however, this be allowed for the present and we recognise
the fact, which is indeed beyond dispute, that the instinct of
dogs undergoes considerable modifications in connexion with
corresponding varieties in their bodily structure and the dif-
ferent aptitudes for action which thence result, we may still
* Sammlungen für die Heilkunde der Gemüthskrankheiten, von Dr. Max.
Jacobi, Elberfeld, Th. 1.
PSYC HOLOGICAL COMPARISON S. 167
maintain the position that they have many remarkable quali-
ties in common, which taken collectively are sufficient to con-
stitute a peculiar psychical character, and that the lesser
varieties of instinct belonging to the dog tribe do not inter-
fere with the general observation above laid down. This ob-
servation, it must be remembered, is not that the same spe-
cies of animated beings does not display some variety in its
instincts, but that the same instinctive attributes do not
belong to several species.
Perhaps it would not be easy to point out two species of
animals, confessedly distinct, which are more similar in their
form and structure than the African and Asiatic elephants.
Now the psychical qualities of these tribes differ. The Afri-
can elephant, though partially tamed in ancient times for the
purposes of warfare, has never been known to display that
docile understanding and gentle temper which are so remark-
able in the elephants of India, and particularly in those of
Ceylon.
The ox kind, and the bison and the buffalo, are species
nearly allied, though perhaps not so closely related as the
different tribes of elephants. Similar differences in regard to
psychical endowments exist between these animals. One
of the species above mentioned is among the most subdued
slaves, and the immemorial companions of mankind; the
others are but imperfectly tamable by any means that have
been devised.*
Other instances may be pointed out in which, between
races separated by naturalists at a much greater distance in the
zoological system, the psychical character constitutes the
most striking and in reality the most essential differences.
Sheep and goats, as it is well known to all, constitute distinct
genera. It has been observed by a celebrated naturalist who
has attempted to sum up the distinguishing characters of these
two kinds, that the most decided differences are to be sought
in their habits and instincts. The sheep always stupid or of
the most simple understanding, from its birth timid and inert,
* See Sir Francis Buchanan's Journey in Mysore, Canara, and Malabar,
Vol. iii. 4to,
168 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
follows its dam, the same feeble and defenceless animal that it
is destined to remain through its life, an emblem everywhere
of unresisting innocence. The goat, agile and ever roaming,
shows its disposition not less early : the young kid, driven by
its instinct, seeks in the first hours of its existence the clefts
and summits of rocks, which nature already points out to it as
its future abode.
Among the most surprising instincts of mammiferous tribes
are the migratory propensities of the lemmings, or wandering
rats. The migrations of these tribes are well known to be exe-
cuted with surprising energy, and with the universal accord
of the whole tribe. But to each tribe the migratory move-
ment, as well as other habits, is peculiar. The lemmings of
the Scandinavian Alps are not found far towards the east: even
in Russian Lapland they are unknown, and they are replaced
near the shores of the Polar Seas and in the Ural, by a race
different in aspect and in colour and smaller by at least one
third. These races may be considered as species nearly ap-
proximating: they are distinguished by a striking difference
of instinct. The Scandinavian lemmings are said to lay up
no provisions, and to have only a single chamber in their
dwelling-places, while the Uralian tribe excavate numerous
apartments, and provide for the winter season by storing up
magazines of the rein-deer lichen."
If now we direct our attention to other departments of the
animated world, we shall observe the phenomena of psychical
life more diversified; but in the endless variety of instincts be-
stowed by nature on different tribes, we shall find them every-
where severally distributed and typical of particular species,
Among insects especially it is most remarkable that all the spe-
cies in each tribe display peculiar habitudes and various modes
of energy extending to every thing within their sphere of action
and of existence: they have different methods of providing for
their young; construct their nests of different materials; place
them in different situations; deposit their eggs, and protect
them in different ways; each peculiarity in the characteristic
* Dictionaire Class. d’Hist, Nat, art., Campagnol. Quarterly Review, vol. xlvii.
p. 339.
PS Y CHO LOGICAL COMPARISON S. J 69
habits of the species being common to all the individuals
comprised in it. In order to be fully convinced of the truth
of this remark, we have only to read the admirable descrip-
tions given by M. M. Kirby and Spence, of the habits of the
hymenoptera, and particularly of the wild bees and wasps.
The xylocopa violacea, which bores cylindrical tunnels in the
trunks of trees; the melitta fodiens, which perforates earthy
banks; the apis manicata, which places her eggs in membra-
naceous coverings in holes; the apis muraria, which builds for
them stone walls; the apis papaveris, which covers them with
the leaves of the wild poppy; the centuncularis, or rosen-
biene,” which lines her burrows with rose-leaves, are all dif-
ferent species of bees, distinguished from each other by their
specific habits more strongly than by any discovered peculi-
arity in the structure of body belonging to each tribe. Analo-
gous varieties of instinct distinguish the different species of
wasps, among which the odynerus muraria is remarkable, as
well as the several species of cynips, or gall-wespe, F of which
one tribe produces the rose-galls, another those of the oak,
and a third, the galls of the carica, or wild fig; and likewise
the several races of tinia and curculio. Each species in these
several tribes obeys laws or principles of action entirely
peculiar to its own kind, and distinct from those which govern
all other kinds. Other families of insects and arachnoides
are equally diversified by habits appropriate to their respective
species. Almost every species of spider is distinguished by a
peculiar method of spinning its web.
SECTION II.-Psychical Characteristics of Mankind in com-
parison with Brutes.
In order to illustrate the foregoing observations, and pro-
mote the object which I had in view in bringing them before
my readers, I think it necessary to dwell somewhat longer on
the psychical characters proper to certain tribes, and particu-
larly to advert to the psychical endowments of human races.
* Blumenbach, Handbuch der Naturgeschichte. + Ibid.
17() A N A LOGICA L INVESTIGATION.
Since the resembling tribes among the lower animals differ so
remarkably from each other, as to their instinctive properties
or faculties and habits, each species having its prescribed and
characteristic laws of action, and its peculiar manner of exist-
ence, which separate all the individuals comprehended in one
tribe from those which belong to species most nearly ap-
proaching to it, it becomes interesting to us to know whether
any human races are distinguished from each other in a like
manner. If this should appear, after due examination, to be
the fact, a strong argument would thence arise tending to esta-
blish a specific diversity between different tribes of men. If,
on the other hand, we should be able clearly to trace the same
mental endowments, similar natural prejudices and impressions,
the same consciousness, sentiments, sympathies, propensities,
in short, a common psychical nature or a common mind, par-
ticipated in by all the different branches of the human family,
the result would be a strong inductive argument against the
existence of more than one human species. The most full
and complete investigation of this problem would require a
comprehensive survey of human nature in its different rela-
tions. I cannot attempt to go over so wide a field, but shall
endeavour to obtain satisfactory results from a survey of the
subject in some particular points of view.
It will be advisable, before we proceed to a particular de-
scription of different races of men, shortly to compare some of
the most striking universal characters of mankind with the
corresponding qualities of those tribes, among the lower ani-
mals, which most nearly approximate to man.
In the functions of the animal economy it has often been
observed that the Simiae most resemble man : in the general
structure of the body and limbs they approach most nearly to
the human kind : in the psychical characters of the monkey
tribe we shall find a corresponding analogy to our own, and
though this remark can obviously have reference only to the
lower and merely animal qualities of man, it is a sort of
resemblance or correspondence which has powerfully fixed the
attention of naturalists, and even of casual observers.
The Simiae, says M. Lesson, appear organized to be the
connecting link between man and the lower orders of animals:
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON S. 171
in general organization, indeed, they are much nearer to man
than to the brutes, and it is only in relation to intelligence
and judgment that they remarkably recede from human beings;
to mankind they bear the most complete resemblance in the
structure of the viscera and the destination of parts. Thus in
the brain and its connected structures, in the perfection of the
organs of sense, of sight, hearing, and touch, in the length and
position of the intestinal canal, every thing in the simiae is the
counterpart of what we discern in the human body. The
orang-outan is indeed the only ape in which the vermiform
appendix has been found, which we know to be adherent to the
extremity of the caecum; and it may be proper to observe, that
the stomach of the white-rumped semnopithecus dissected by
M. Otto, instead of being simple was found to be composed
of several spacious cavities separated by contractions and in-
dicating that the animal is by nature subjected to a particular
diet, consisting of roots and plants.
The brain of the simiae has three lobes, of which the pos-
terior covers the cerebellum. The researches of M. Tiedemann
indicate the most complete analogy in the structure of the
brain between the orang of Borneo and man, and great dif-
ferences between this orang and the lower simiae. According
to Tiedemann, the brain of the orang differs from that of other
simiae and approaches to the human brain in a great many
striking particulars, in respect to which differences have been
traced between the brain of man and that of the monkey
tribes in general.” –
To these certainly remarkable analogies presented by the
organ of the understanding, M. Lesson subjoins the resem-
blances which have been traced between mankind and the
* These particulars are as follows: I cite from M. Lesson. 1st, Absence of
the medullary fasciculus, named trapezium, which, in the animals possessed of
it, is situated behind the cerebral ganglion, the point whence issue the auditory
and facial nerves. 2ndly. The existence of a sloping hollow, posterior to the
cerebellum. 3rdly. In a greater number of furrows and laminae in the same
part. 4thly. In the presence of two distinct maxillary tubercles, 5thly. In more
numerous and at the same time less symmetrical convolutions and anfractuosities
of the cerebrum. 6thly. In the existence of fissures directed towards the cornu
ammonis. Now all these are characteristics of structure in the human brain.
Lesson, Hist. des Mammiferes, tom, iii. p. 233.
172 A N A LOGIC A. L IN VESTIGATION.
simiae in the form of the cranium favorable to the mainte-
nance of an erect position. In a future part of this work I
shall find a more proper place for some further inquiry into
anatomical relations. It will be sufficient for the present to
observe that the analogy in this respect between mankind
and the simiae, has been supposed to be very much greater
than it really is. The skulls of the adult chimpanze and orang
outan, differ, as Mr. Owen has clearly demonstrated, much more
from the human cranium than it has been hitherto supposed,
Paragraph 1.-Gesture.
Are any of the simiae destined for an upright posture? This
is a question relating to physical circumstances though inti-
mately connected with psychical considerations.
It is now perfectly ascertained, says M. Lesson, that the
gesture of the orangs is never agile and natural, unless when
they employ all their limbs. It is only by accident, and
often with the help of branches of which they lay hold, or in
climbing steep places, that the orangs tread for a few moments
upon their posterior limbs alone. By long and repeated in-
struction, they can be taught to walk upright, but their inse-
cure gait and the constant habit of resting on the outer edge
of the foot, clearly prove this position to be very unnatural to
them.*
Condemned to support his trunk by his four limbs, the
orang can after all be a very imperfect approximation to man.
This circumstance involves an almost infinite number of modi-
fications in the psychical condition of the tribe.
* The truth of this observation, which contradicts an old and prevalent motion,
has been fully proved from anatomical structure, by Mr. R. Owen, in his excellent
Memoir on the Osteology of the Chimpanze and Orang, in the first volume of the
Transactions of the Zoological Society. The same fact has been established by
actual observation. M. Fred. Cuvier has given some valuable remarks on the
habits of a living orang. He says—“Cet orang-outang était entièrement con-
formé pour grimper et pour faire son habitation des arbres. En effet, autantil
grimpoit avec facilité, autant il marchoit peniblement.” “Il passoit facilement d'un
arbre à un autre lorsque les branches deces arbres se touchoient, de Sorte que dams
une forêt un peu èpaisse il n'y auroit et aucune raison pour que cet animal des-
cendit jamais a terre, où il marchait difficilement.” Annales du Muséum, vol. xvi.
Mr. R. Owen on the Osteology of the Chimpanze.
PSYCHIO LOGICAL COMPARISON. 17 3
Paragraph 2.—Family Relations and Habits.
Monkeys appear to resemble man in many of their social
habits and dispositions. In the state of nature they go in little
troops, which appear to be led by old and experienced chiefs.
“The authority of adults over their young is absolute, and
the former are said to maintain it by means of chastisement.”
It is supposed that the Sapajous and gibbons are monoga-
mists, but in all the other tribes the females are common.
The paternal affection is however remarkably strong in the
monkey tribe. The females of the chimpanze watch their off-
spring during two complete years, with the most tender soli-
citude, and the young apes are so strongly attached to their
mothers, that if the latter are killed, they can hardly be sepa-
rated from the bodies. Instances have been known evincing
a degree of maternal love not exceeded in the human species.
A female of the simia entellus has been seen, when feeling
herself mortally wounded, to collect all her strength, and in a
dying effort to place her young in a state of security.*
Paragraph 3.—Use of Speech.
The use of articulate language has always been regarded as
one of the most remarkable endowments of mankind. The
universality of its existence among men is not a less striking
fact than its total absence among brutes, even among those
which are nearest to man, and in whose organization nothing
has been discovered that precludes the endowment of speech.
We may account for the fact, that there is no tribe of men
without speech, by supposing language to have been handed
down from one original to various branches of the human
family. But contingencies may have occurred, and, we are
apt to think, must have happened in a long course of ages, and
amidst the wanderings of a scanty population over previously
untrodden wildernesses, fitted to interrupt the traditional pre-
servation of this acquirement. How many stories have been
* Lesson, Hist, Nat. tom. iii. p. 248.
174 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
handed down of children lost or abandoned by their parents
and nourished in deserts by wild animals, or fed by their own
instinct upon berries and other spontaneous fruits. Mothers
who have been dumb or almost speechless have borne chil-
dren, and have perhaps ere now brought them up in wild
tracts without society. We might thus account in part for
the origin of new languages. But there are no dumb hordes,
or tribes of savages destitute of speech.
Paragraph 4.—Necessary Arts of Life.
The use of fire, of artificial clothing, of arms, and the art of
domesticating animals are characteristic habits of mankind.
Though tradition goes back to the period when these prac-
tices are said to have been first adopted, they are now uni-
versal. There is no great division of the human family
among whom some traces of these arts are not found.
Paragraph 5.—
It is not in respect to these more variable traits of human
action that we must compare man with the lower species, or
one tribe of mankind with another. The same race who in
the age of Tacitus dwelt in solitary dens, amid morasses, have
built St. Petersburg and Moskow ; and the posterity of canni-
bals and phthirophagi now feed on pillau or wheaten bread.
The habits of men undergo changes from time to time, in all
that refers to their diet and the supply of bodily wants, and
they do not admit of comparison with the uniform customs
of the lower tribes, which are precisely the same in every re-
spect to-day that they were in the times of Homer and of
Aristotle.
There are however uniform traits in human nature, habitudes
both intellectual and moral, which may be regarded as fixed
principles of action, and in this point of view will admit a com-
parison with the invariable psychical qualities of brute animals.
The instinct of the brutes has been already illustrated by one
profoundly philosophical writer through a comparison with the
PSYCHIOLOGICAL COMPARISON. | 75
internal governing principle—the iryspiovakſ of human action.*
I shall attempt to pursue this investigation, adapting it to
my own particular point of view, which is ultimately the com-
parison of human races with each other.
Paragraph 6.—Of Human Sentiments.
The outward characteristics which I have before enume-
rated would be sufficient to discriminate mankind from the
brute tribes which most nearly imitate him ; but it must be ob-
vious on a little reflection, that it is not in these solely or even
principally that the difference consists, which separates man-
kind at so wide an interval from the most anthropomorphous of
animals. The sentiments, feelings, sympathies, internal con-
sciousness and mind, and the habitudes of life and action
thence resulting, are the real and essential characteristics of hu-
manity. But in order to consider this observation in a way
that may enable me to apply it satisfactorily to the subject I
have in hand, it will be necessary to contemplate it in a par-
ticular point of view.
If we could divest ourselves of all previous impressions re-
specting our nature and social state, and look at mankind and
human actions with the eyes of a natural historian or as a
zoologist observes the life and manners of beavers or of ter-
mites, we should remark mothing more striking in the habi-
tudes of mankind, and in their manner of existence in various
parts of the world, than a reference which is everywhere
more or less distinctly perceptible to a state of existence after
death, and to the influence believed both by barbarous and
civilized nations to be exercised over their present condition
and future destiny by invisible agents, differing in attributes
according to the sentiments of different nations, but univer-
sally believed to exist. The rites every where performed for
the dead, the various ceremonies of cremation, sepulture, em-
balming, mummifying, funereal processions, and pomps fol-
lowing the deceased, during thousands of successive years in
every region of the earth—innumerable tumuli scattered overall
* Dr. Hancock on the relations of instinct,
176 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
the northern regions of the world,which are perhaps the only me.
morials of races long extinct—the morais, pyramids, and houses
of the dead, and the gigantic monuments of the Polynesians—
the magnificent pyramids of Egypt, and of Anahuac—the
prayers and litanies set up in behalf of the dead as well as
of the living, in the churches of Christendom, in the mosques
and pagodas of the East, as heretofore in pagan temples—the
power of sacerdotal or consecrated orders, who have caused
themselves to be looked upon as the interpreters of destiny,
and as mediators between the gods and men—sacred wars,
desolating empires, through zeal for some metaphysical dogma
—toilsome pilgrimages performed every year, by thousands of
white and of black men, through various regions of the earth,
seeking atonement for guilt at the tombs of prophets and
holy persons—all these and a number of similar phenomena
in the history of nations, barbarous and civilized, would lead
us to suppose that all mankind sympathize in deeply in-
pressed feelings and sentiments, which are as mysterious in
their nature as in their origin. These are among the most
striking and remarkable of the psychical phenomena, if we
may so apply the expression, which are peculiar to man,
and if they are to be traced among races of men which
differ physically from each other, it will follow that all man-
kind partake of a common moral nature, and are therefore, if
we take into the account the law of diversity in psychical pro-
perties allotted to particular species, proved, by an extensive
observation of analogies in nature, to constitute a single
tribe.
The history of moral sentiments among different nations
and of their religion and traditional and peculiar metaphysics,
if it could be collected from data everywhere correct, would
bring us very near to a satisfactory conclusion on the subject
of these inquiries. The attempt to engage in this investigation
will lead me far out of the path of strictly physical research;
yet I shall enter upon it to a certain extent, since the results
which in a limited survey I may hope to obtain will tend,
if I am not mistaken, to clear up one considerable obscurity,
and to solve a problem the nature of which is now sufficiently
obvious to my readers. I shall endeavour in the following
PSY CHOI, OGICAL COMPARISON. 177
pages to collect the most striking and characteristic particu-
lars relating to the moral impressions, and the superstitions of
some of the most dissimilar races of men, and as this will
tend still further to illustrate their mental history, I shall add
such authentic statements as I can find, in reference to the at-
tempts which have been made to spread Christianity among
such tribes. This course of proceeding may at first appear to
some of my readers out of place, but I am persuaded that
they will, on consideration, admit the propriety of adopting it.
Section III.-Of the Psychical Characters of the Bushman
or Hottentot race.
Writers on the history of mankind seem to be nearly agreed
in considering the Bushmen or Bosjesmen of South Africa
as the most degraded and miserable of all nations, and the
lowest in the scale of humanity. M. Bory de St. Vincent
describes them in his usual manner, as differing most widely
from what he terms the Japetic species of men, and as form-
ing the transition from the genus homo, to the genera of
orangs and gibbons: he even finds analogies between them
and the macacos.
“Of all species of men, this race, approaching as it does in
its form most nearly to the second genus of bimanous ani-
mals, is still more closely allied to the orangs, through the
inferiority of its intellectual faculties. Happily for themselves,
he continues, these people are sobrutish, lazy, and stupid, that
the idea of reducing them to slavery has been abandoned. “A
peine peuvent-ils former un raisonnement, et leur language,
aussi sterile que leurs idées, se réduit a une sorte de glousse-
ment qui n'a presque plus rien de semblable à notre voix.
D'une malpropreté révoltante qui les rend infects, toujours
frottés de suif ou arrosés de leur propre urine, se faisant des
ornemens de boyaux d’animaux qu'ils laissent se dessécher en
bracelets ou en bandelettes sur leur peau huileux, se rem-
plissant les cheveux de graisse et de terre, vétus de peaux de
bète sans préparation, se nourrissant de racines sauvages ou
de pances d’animaux et d’entrailles qu'ils ne lavent même
N
178 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
pas, passant leur vie assoupis ou accroupis et fumant, par
fois ils errent avec quelques troupeaux quileur fournissent du
lait. Isolés, taciturmes, fugitifs, se retirant dans les caver-
nes, ou dans les bois, a peine font-ils usage du feu, si ce
n’est pour allumer leur pipes qu'ils ne quittent point. Le
foyer domestique leur est à-peu-pres inconnu, et ils me bātis-
sent pas de villages, ainsi que les Cafres, leurs voisins, qui re-
gardant ces misérables comme une sorte de gibier, leur don-
nent la chasse, et exterminent tous ceux qu'ils rencontrent.
Ou les a dit bons parce qu'ils sont apathiques, tranquilles,
parce qu'ils son paresseux, et doux, parce qu'ils se montrent
lăches en toute occasion.”
No picture of human degradation and wretchedness can be
drawn which exceeds the real abasement and misery of the
Bushmen, as we find it displayed by the most accurate wri-
ters who describe this people. Without houses or even huts,
living in caves and holes in the earth, these naked and half-
starved savages wander through forests in small companies
or separate families, hardly supporting their comfortless exist-
ence, by collecting wild roots, by a toilsome search for the
eggs of ants, and by devouring, whenever they can catch
them, lizards, snakes, and the most loathsome insects. It is
no matter of surprise, that those writers who search for ap-
proximations between mankind and the inferior orders of the
creation, fix upon the Bushmen as their favorite theme.
But accurate observers who cannot be suspected of undue
prepossession towards opposite sentiments and representations
of human nature, have drawn a less unfavourable picture of
the moral and intellectual character of the Bushmen. Mr.
Burchell, who sought and obtained opportunities of conversing
with them and observing their manner of existence, though
he found them in the most destitute and miserable state, yet
discovered among them traits of kind and social feelings, and
all the essential attributes of humanity. F
* Dictionaire Class. d’Histoire Naturelle, Artic. Homme.
+ Among other interesting remarks of Mr. Burchell's tending to the same re-
sult, we find an observation that the females among the Bushmen, though nearly
naked, displayed as much the signs of modesty as Europeans, “The girls were as
PSY CHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 179
It must not be forgotten that the Bushmen are not a dis-
tinct race, but a branch or subdivision of the once extensive
nation of Hottentots. This was at one time denied. Lichten-
stein, who was followed by other writers, asserted, that the
Bosjesmen are a peculiar family of men: he regarded them as
entirely distinct from all the other inhabitants of southern
Africa. A careful comparison of their language with that of
the Korah and other Hottentots convinced Professor Water
that there is an essential affinity between them, and in recent
times this conclusion has been fully established by local in-
quiries, and no diversity of opinion at present exists upon the
subject. We are assured by one of the latest and best wri-
ters on South Africa, that the Bushmen are the remains of
Hottentot hordes, who subsisted originally, like all the
tribes of southern Africa, chiefly by rearing sheep and cattle,
but who have been driven by the gradual encroachments of
European colonists, and by internal wars with other tribes, to
seek for refuge among the inaccessible rocks and deserts of
the interior. “Most of the hordes,” says the same writer,
“known by the name of Bushmen, are entirely destitute of
flocks and herds, and subsist partly by hunting, partly on the
wild roots of the wilderness, on reptiles, locusts, and the
larvae of ants, or by plundering their hereditary oppressors,
the colonists of the frontier. Having descended from the
pastoral, to the state of robbers and hunters, the Bushmen, as
we are assured, have necessarily acquired, with their increased
perils and privations, a more resolute and ferocious character:
from a mild, confiding and unenterprising race of shepherds,
they have been gradually transformed into wandering hordes
of fierce, suspicious, and vindictive savages; by their fellow-
men they have been treated as wild beasts, until they have
become assimilated to wild beasts in their habits and dispo-
sitions.”
delicate in feelings of modesty, as if they had been educated in the most decorous
manner.” He adds, that they are pleasing by a sprightly and interesting expres-
sion of countenance, though far from beautiful, and although their features have
the peculiar type of the Bushman race. Mr. Thompson fully confirms this account,
and even gives a still more favourable description of the females of the Bushmen.—
Travels in Africa, vol. i. 434.
N 2
*
180 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Difficult as it may be to imagine a change from the state
of herdsmen to that of the miserable Bushmen, the transi-
tion has been actually observed and described. Among the
Hottentot tribes, the Koranas are well known to be the most
advanced in all the possessions and improvements which be-
long to the pastoral life. A late traveller in Africa, whose
narrative is replete with good sense and the marks of accu-
rate knowledge, has traced from observation the process by
which hordes even of the Korah race have been reduced
from the life of peaceful herdsmen to the condition of hun-
ters and predatory savages. The Koranas, as visited by Mr.
Thompson on the Hartebeest river, had actually undergone
this transition: having been plundered by their neighbours,
and driven out into the wilderness to subsist upon wild fruits,
they had adopted the habits of the Bushmen and had become
assimilated in every essential particular to that miserable
tribe.*
Considering the pastoral Hottentots and the Bushmen as
one race, I shall make some remarks on their mental charac-
ter in general, in order to furnish the ground for a compa-
rison between this and other families of men.
We must attempt to estimate the character of the Hotten-
tot race, not from their present degraded condition, after the
cruelty and oppression which they have endured from Euro-
pean colonists during so many generations have broken their
spirit and reduced them to bondage or exile, but from the
accounts left by older writers of the condition of these tribes
soon after the first settlement of the Dutch colony. The
voyager Kolben has given us a full and circumstantial ac-
count of the Hottentots at this time, and many of his state-
ments are singularly at variance with the description which
late writers have drawn. The original Hottentots were a mu-
merous people, divided into many tribes under the patriarchal
government of chiefs or elders: they wandered about with
flocks and herds, associated in companies of three or four
hundred persons, living in kraals or movable villages of huts
constructed of poles or boughs and covered with rush mats,
* Thompson's Travels in South Africa.
PSYCHIOLUG ICAL COM P A R ISO N. | 8 |
which were taken down and carried on pack-oxen. A man-
tle of sewn sheep-skins was their clothing; their arms were
a bow with poisoned arrows and a light javelin or assagai.
They were bold and active in the chace, and although mild in
their disposition were courageous in warfare, as their Euro-
pean invaders frequently experienced.
Kolben extols the good moral qualities of the Hottentots.
“They are, perhaps, the most faithful servants in the world.
Though infinitely fond of wine, brandy, and tobacco, they are
safely entrusted with them, and will neither themselves take,
nor suffer others to diminish any such articles when committed
to their trust. To this quality they add the greatest huma-
nity and good nature. Their chastity is remarkable, and
adultery, when known among them is punished with death.
They are dirty in their habits, slothful and indolent, and
though they can think,” as he says, “to the purpose, they hate
the trouble of thought.” Kolben considered their intellect as
by no means deficient. He declares, that “ he has known
many of them who understood Dutch, French, and Portu-
guese to a degree of perfection; one, particularly, who learnt
English and Portuguese in a very short time, and having
conquered the habits of pronunciation contracted from his
native language, was said by good judges to understand and
speak them with surprising readiness and propriety. They
are even employed by Europeans in affairs that require judg-
ment and capacity. A Hottentot named Cloos was entrusted
by Van der Stel, the late governor of the Cape, with the
business of carrying on a trade of barter for cattle with the
tribes at a great distance, and he generally returned, after
executing his commission, with great success.”
The internal character of the mind is best known by disco-
vering the religious ideas and impressions. It has often been
said, that the Hottentots are destitute of all belief in a Deity
or a future state. Enslaved and separated from their fellows,
and scarcely able, without constant toil, to support life, some
may have lost the power and habit of reflection and all traces
of sentiment; but Kolben assures us, that the Hottentots of his
time had a firm belief in a supreme power, which they termed
“Goumya Tekguoa,” or the god of all gods, saying, that he
182 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
lived beyond the moon. They paid him no adoration, but they
Worshipped the moon at the full and change, by sacrifices of
cattle, with distorted faces and postures, shouting, swearing,
singing, jumping, stamping, dancing, and making numerous
Prostrations, repeating an unintelligible jargon of words. “They
also pay a singular veneration to a peculiar kind of beetle, the
appearance of which is supposed to be particularly fortunate.
They have an evil deity called Toutouka, whom they repre-
sent as a little crabbed, ill-natured being, a great enemy to
the Hottentots and the author of all the mischief in the world.
They offer sacrifices to him in order to soften his temper. All
sudden pain, accidents, or sicknesses, are attributed to witch-
craft. Charms, and amulets are in high esteem among them.
Kolben thinks they have not the least notion of rewards and
punishments; yet, says he, that they believe in the immorta-
lity of the soul seems evident from these particulars;–first,
that they offer up prayers to saints, or good Hottentots de-
parted : secondly, that they are apprehensive of the return
of departed spirits to molest them ; for which reason, on the
death of any person they remove their kraal, believing that
the departed souls remain about the places which they for-
merly inhabited: thirdly, they believe it is in the power of
witches or wizzards to lay these spirits.”
A faithful and correct account of the conversion of these
people to Christianity, would not fail to display in striking
points of view many traits in their moral and intellectual
history. The early endeavours that were made to induce
them to receive the truths of Christianity, were met with the
same obstinate resistance of which we hear so much in almost
every similar instance; and one writer has given as the sum-
ming up of his observations, that “the Hottentots, in short,
seem born with a natural antipathy to all customs and every
religion but their own.” This remark is exemplified by the
account of a Hottentot boy, who was bred up by the governor
Van der Stel, in the habits and religion of the Dutch, and
having learnt several languages and discovering a very pro-
mising genius was sent to India and employed in public
business. After his return to the Cape, he stripped off his
*T)
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 183
European dress, clothed himself in a sheep-skin, and pre-
senting himself to the governor, emphatically renounced the
society of civilized men and the Christian religion, de-
claring, that he would live and die in the manners and cus-
toms of his forefathers.” In this we trace one characteristic
trait of human nature as it exists in other races of men. A
sort of instinctive and blind attachment to the earliest im-
pressions made upon the mind is one of our strongest intel-
lectual propensities. In the example above cited, it appears
to have been equally powerful in the mind of the Hottentot
as it is known to be in more cultivated nations; yet this has
not prevented the spread of Christianity in the same race of
people, when introduced among them under different circum-
Stances.
SECTION IV.—Of the Introduction of Christianity
among the Hottentots.
It is indeed surprising, after all that we have heard of the
sloth and brutish sensuality of the Hottentots, to learn that no
other uncivilized race has given a more willing ear to the preach-
ers of Christianity, and that none has been more strikingly
and speedily improved by its reception, not only in moral
character and conduct, but also in outward condition and
prosperity. So rapid has been the spread of civilization
around the settlements of the United Brethren, by whom the
task of introducing the Christian religion among the Hotten-
tots was undertaken, as to have given rise to a general
notion that the missionaries of that church direct their
endeavours in the first place to the diffusion of industry and
social arts, and make religion a secondary object of attention.
This, however, they uniformly deny. It is the unvarying
statement of these missionaries, deduced from the experience
of a hundred years of patient service and laborious exertions
among the rudest and most abject tribes of human beings,
that the moral nature of man must be in the first instance
* Kolben's Voyages and Natural Ilistory of the Cape of Good IIope.
184 A N A LOGICAL | N VESTIGATION.
quickened, the conscience awakened, and the better feelings
of the heart aroused by the motives which Christianity brings
with it, before any improvement can be hoped for in the out-
ward behaviour and social state, that the rudest savages have
sufficient understanding to be susceptible of such a change,
and that when it has once taken place, all the blessings of
civilization follow as a necessary result.
The first attempt made to spread Christianity among the
Hottentots was by a missionary named Schmidt, a man of
great zeal and courage, who undertook this task in the early
period of the Moravian church. He arrived in South Africa
in 1737, and having settled at some distance from the Cape,
soon collected a small congregation of Hottentots by whom he
was much beloved. Being obliged to sail to Holland, his
return was prevented by adversaries, under pretence of
zeal for the purity of doctrine and peace of the church.
The undertaking was suspended during nearly fifty years.
It was renewed under more favourable auspices in 1792.
The new missionaries sought out the ruins of Schmidt's
abode. They found some aged Hottentots who still revered
his memory, and laid the foundations of the settlement of
Bavian's Kloof, since termed Gnadenthal.
The school established by the missionaries was soon at-
tended by many Hottentots, both children and adults; and
the religious instructions, by reading the Bible and expositions,
were frequented by many attentive hearers. The historians
of the mission say, “The reverential stillness with which the
Hottentots attended these meetings, the eagerness with which
they listened to the discourses, and the emotion visible on
their countenances astonished the missionaries, who had been
told that they would find it impossible to fix the attention of
their hearers even to the shortest address of a serious nature.”
The number of scholars increased, and soon amounted to two
hundred, who were instructed in the open air. Many Hotten-
tots came from a considerable distance, bringing their fami-
lies and their cattle with them, and associated themselves to
the settlement. The colonial boors became alarmed at the
idea of being deprived of the services of their Hottentots, and
on many occasions threatened, and even attempted the de-
PSY CHO LOGICAL COM P A RISON. 185
struction of the settlement; but these menaces were averted,
and it became at length apparent even to this class of the
inhabitants that the Hottentots who had become Christianized
under the instruction of the missionaries were far more useful
and trustworthy servants, than the sensual and degraded
pagans whom they had previously been obliged to employ.
In the course of a few years, the Hottentots began to resort
from all parts of the colony, and increased the population of
Bavian's Kloof. The missionaries were slow and cautious in
baptizing converts, until they thought that evidences were
perceptible of repentance and faith. There were, however, in
1799, two hundred and thirty-eight Hottentot houses; the
number of inhabitants amounted to 1234, of whom three
hundred and four were actual members of the congregation,
eighty-four of them having been baptized during the year.
When the Cape colony came under the power of the Eng-
lish, the beneficial results of instruction imparted to the
Hottentots by the missionaries of the United Brethren were so
manifest, in the improvement of manners and industry, that the
missions obtained the steady and uniform protection and favour
of government. Gnadenthal had now grown into a populous
settlement, displaying the best effects of human culture, and
occupied by numerous and thriving families of husbandmen,
who obtained a rich produce from the soil over which their
ancestors had wandered for ages without attempting to in-
prove it. In addition to this settlement, another tract, termed
Groenekloof, was given by the government to the United
Brethren. In the course of a year, from being a wilderness,
it was made to bear a plentiful crop. The missionaries
reported that in conducting their temporal concerns “the
Hottentots gave evidence that they were under the influence of
Christian motives. They went diligently to work in building
their huts, and cultivating their grounds, and God blessed the
labour of their hands.” Some of the Dutch farmers expressed
their surprise at the change which they witnessed in these
people. “They were astonished,” say the missionaries, “in
seeing how the wretched drunken Hottentots, when they get
to Gnadenthal, and hear the word of God, truly receive grace,
and become quite a different sort of people.”
| S6 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Perhaps nothing in this account is more remarkable than
the fact, that so strong a sensation was produced among the
whole Hottentot mation, and even among the neighbouring
tribes of different people, by the improved and happy con.
dition of the Christian Hottentots, as to excite a general
desire for similar advantages. Whole families of Hotten-
tots, and even of Bushmen, set out for the borders of
Caffraria, and performed journeys of many weeks, in order
to settle in Gnadenthal. Individuals of the Tambuki nation,
and some from the Damaras beyond Great Namaqualand,
resorted to Groenekloof, and there took up their abode. It
is a singular fact in the history of barbarous races of men,
that the savage Bushmen, of their own accord, solicited from
the colonial government, when negociations were opened with
them with the view of putting an end to a long and bloody con-
test, that teachers might be sent among them, such as those
who had dwelt among the tame Hottentots at Gnadenthal.
“History,” says the historian of the mission, “probably fur-
nishes few parallel examples of a savage people, in treaty with
a Christian power, making one of the conditions of peace that
missionaries should be sent to instruct them in Christianity.”
I have not room to add further details from this account.
The facts which I have extracted have an important bearing on
the psychical history of a curious and interesting race of
human beings, and could not be omitted in connexion with
the inquiry in which I am engaged. Those who will candidly
consider them and give them their due weight, will allow that
they prove the existence of the same principles of action, and
of the same internal nature in the Hottentot race as are re-
cognised in other divisions of mankind: and this conviction will
be increased by a careful perusal of all the details which the
missionaries have afforded of the progress of the work, and of
the moral changes which accompanied it.
SECTION IV.-Of the Psychical Character of the Esquimaua.
The manners and habits of the Esquimaux have been so
generally made known by late writers that it is unnecessary
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 187
for me to enter into any full and particular description of
them. I shall in this place confine myself to a few prelimi-
nary remarks on the general condition and habits of this race,
and shall principally endeavour to collect such traits as may
serve to illustrate their intellectual and moral state, the cha-
racter of their minds, their natural endowments and suscepti-
bility of mental culture. To fulfil this purpose, I know of no
better means than an inquiry into their old national supersti-
tions, and their modes of thinking and feeling in relation to
subjects remote from the cognisance of the senses: and
secondly, an account of the reception and progress of Chris-
tianity among them.
The habits of the Hyperborean people, says M. Lesson,
are nearly the same wherever they have been carefully ob-
served. Living on tracts of the earth where living nature seems
to be expiring, buried under the eternal ices of the pole, their
industry is directed towards fishing and the chace, which are
their only resources for support, and in which they have
acquired great skill. The rigour of the climate during long
winters has obliged them to dig for themselves subterraneous
abodes and storehouses for the provisions which they lay up
against the season when they can no longer fish or hunt.
During the long polar nights which the aurora borealis feebly
illuminates, the Esquimaux, buried under the ice and snow in
yourtes excavated deeply in the soil, feed upon dried fish, or
the flesh of whales, and drink with delight the oil which they
have laid up in bladders. They sew with nerves their winter
garments made of the skins of seals, the hair of which serves
the purposes of fur; and make their summer dress of the
intestine of the largest whales, which resembles varnished
stuffs.
The Esquimaux is skilful in the chace of foxes and sables,
whose skins serve him for clothing, and for an object of
barter in the traffic of the arctic people. He boldly harpoons
the cetacea; his darts made of bone and pointed stones are
surmounted with inflated bladders, the resistance of which
upon the water wears out the strength of the whale, who
speedily rises, and exposes himself to fresh attacks.
Superstitious to excess, says the same writer, the Polar
188 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
race, with some slight shades of difference, displays the same
religious sentiments prevalent among all its tribes. Their
loose morality renders the men addicted to polygamy, and
causes them to prostitute without shame their wives and
daughters, whom they regard as creatures of an inferior order,
to be disposed of according to their pleasure.
In Greenland, and in Labrador, missionaries of the United
Brethren have long had settlements among the native peo-
ple, who are of the same race which is elsewhere spread
along the shores of the Polar Seas. From these mission-
aries we have obtained much more accurate information
respecting the habits of the people than from any other
quarter. The following particulars, which I extract from
their accounts, relate chiefly to the Esquimaux of Greenland,
from whom, however, it is well known that the western tribes
of the same race differ but in accidental circumstances.
Paragraph 1.--
The voyagers who first described the natives of Greenland
formed very erroneous opinions respecting them. It was
reported that they worshipped the sun, and sacrificed to the
devil. Sailors who had observed them look intently on the hea-
vens, on rising in the morning, hence derived the first of these
notions: the second arose from the discovery of flat square
stones, strewn with cinders and bones: it was concluded that
these were places of sacrifice, and to whom should they sacri-
fice but to the devil? When the Moravian missionaries learnt
their language, and were able to converse with them, they
found these motions to be quite erroneous.
The Greenlanders, like other nations, believed in the exist-
ence of supernatural powers exercising control over the desti-
nies of men. It appears, however, as we might a priori
imagine, that they had in general no clear idea of a Creator
or a creation. “They knew not, and perhaps the generality of
them never considered, whether things were always as they
are or not.” Yet, if we may believe the Moravian mission-
aries, whose good faith seems above suspicion, there were
some philosophers among these Pagan seal-catchers, who
PSY CHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 189
speculated on the doctrine of final causes. An Esquimaux
told one of the missionaries that he had often reflected that a
kadjak, with all its tackle and implements, does not grow of
itself into existence, but must be made with labour and con-
trivance. But a bird, he added, is constructed with greater
skill than the best kadjak, and no man can make a bird.
“I bethought me,” said the Greenlander, “that he pro-
ceeded from his parents, and they from their parents; but
there must have been some first parents—whence did they
come 2 Certainly, I concluded there must be a being able to
make them and all other things; a being infinitely more
mighty and knowing than the wisest man.”
The Greenlanders believed universally in the existence of
spirits, good and evil, besides the souls of men. The ange-
koks, or diviners, who pretended to have visited frequently
the realm of souls, describe them as pale and soft ; not to be
felt, if any one should attempt to grasp them. They be-
lieved in a future existence, which was to be without end.
This elysium was generally placed by them in the abysses
of the ocean, to which the deep cavities of rocks are avenues.
There dwells the great spirit Torngarsuk, and his mother,
under a joyous and perpetual summer, where a shining sun
is obscured by no night; there is a fine limpid stream,
abounding with fine seals, fish, and fowls easy to be caught,
and even to be found boiling alive in a great kettle. But
these seats of the gods can be approached only by those
who have displayed great courage and address, who have
mastered many seals, and have undergone hardships, have
been drowned in the sea, or by women who have died in
child-bed. Here is obviously the persuasion that virtue,
bravery at least, is rewarded in the future life. Before the
disembodied soul enters Torngarsuk’s realm, it undergoes a
sort of purgation by sliding, five days or longer, down a
rugged rock, which is thereby full of blood and gore. Un-
fortunate souls who perish in cold winter, or boisterous
weather, incur a risk of being utterly destroyed on the road.
Annihilation is regarded by the Greenlanders, as by other
nations, with peculiar horror; and to prevent it, the survivors
abstain for five days from certain meats, and from all noisy
19() A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
work. The fictions of this people are not so definite as to
admit of no variations in the site and description of elysium:
some fancy it to be the sky, and say that the northern lights
are the dances of sportive souls; others maintain this state
of agitation in the air to be the destiny of worthless souls,
who will there be half-starved, and tormented by ravens. It
seems on the whole that the future state of the old pagan
Esquimaux or Greenlanders, was in a great measure a state
of retribution, of rewards and punishments. Happiness and
misery were at least not dispensed with indifference to merit
and demerit.
Torngarsuk is the chief of spirits, dwelling in his happy
subterranean mansion. His mother or wife is a mischievous
being. This Proserpine of the north, lives in a great house
under the ocean, where by magic spells she can detain all
the animals of the sea. In the oil-jar under her lamps, sea-
birds swim about. Her throne is guarded by rampant seals,
or defended by a great dog, who mever sleeps but the twink-
ling of an eye. So many curious traits occur in the descrip-
tion of this infernal goddess and her abode, which recal the
Proserpine of classical mythology, and the Pattala of the
Hindoos, and the subterranean scenes of enchantment
among the Arabs, that we might well be inclined to derive
these fables from a common source, if the resemblance be-
tween them was not better accounted for by referring it to
the common laws of the human mind, and to the tendency
of the imagination to create similar fictions with reference to
particular subjects, and under the influence of corresponding
feeling and impressions. But this brings out so much the
stronger a proof, that the mind is the same in different coun-
tries and in different races of men.
The Greenlanders likewise believe, that the souls of the
dead are sometimes seen near their places of burial. The
sun and moon have their tutulary genii: water, air, and fire,
mountains and caves are the abodes of mereids, and salaman-
drine spirits. Giants and pygmies, and monsters with dogs'
heads, find their place in this as in so many other mytho-
logies.
The natives of Greenland were strongly imbued with the
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 191
nctions so prevalent among mankind in different regions, that
there must be a particular class of men fitted to mediate be-
tween the people and supernatural powers. These persons in
Greenland were termed angekoks, that is sorcerers and divin-
ers. Many families living together, according to Crantz,
always keep an angekok as their counsellor on particular
occasions; and if they cannot get one they are despised, and
pitied as miserable wretches. In order to become an ange-
kok, it is necessary to abandon for a long time the inter-
course of men; to macerate the body by long fasting, and
by strenuous intensity of thought, like that of the Indian
sannyasis performing puja, to distract the mind almost into
madness. When a Torngak, or familiar spirit, is obtained by
these efforts, the individual becomes an angekok, and thence-
forward is possessed of the united powers of sorcerers,
and magicians. On all occasions of distress or sickness
the angekoks are applied to for relief. It is believed that
they can take diseases off or lay them on ; that they can en-
chant or dissolve the spell of the enchanted arrow; that they
can call blessings down or chase spectres away. If they
have to do with a sick patient, they must mutter something
over him, and blow upon him to cure him ; or they must fetch
and implant a healthy soul in him, or perhaps only predict
if he will recover or die. By other enchantments they dis-
cover if an absent man is living or dead. They cite the soul
of a man to appear before them, and if they wound such
a soul with a spear, the man must die a lingering death.
The witches of Greenland are exactly parallel to the witches
of England, according to the belief of our ancestors.
The account of the conversion of the Esquimaux to Chris-
tianity and to civilization, as given by Crantz from the
simple and unaffected narrative of the Moravian missionaries,
cannot be read without a lively interest. In the long and
painful struggle, almost leading to despair of ultimate suc-
cess, and in the event which rewarded their labours, the his–
tory of these missions affords a specimen of what has
taken place in almost every similar instance, where the pro-
mulgators of Christianity have been sincerely devoted to
their undertaking, and have been endowed with sufficient
192 A N A LOGIC AI, IN WESTIC, ATION.
zeal and perseverance, and with other requisite qualifica-
tions. Among the Greenlanders, as elsewhere, many years
of patient labour were toiled through, and many a prediction
had been heard of utter failure in so vain and impracticable
an undertaking, before a more encouraging prospect was
opened, or any perceptible effect was produced upon the
minds of ignorant savages. In the resistance long made by
these people to Christianity, as well as in the circumstances
which attended its ultimate reception, we perceive the work-
ings of the same mind which has often displayed itself in
other races of men. It was in 1721, that Egede, the apostle
of Greenland, established the first Danish mission in that
country. He was followed by missionaries belonging to the
Unitas Fratrum. After an interval of fifteen years, we find
Crantz, the historian of this community, thus confessing
the total want of any apparent result of their long and pain-
ful exertions. “Hitherto,” he says, “they had not seen the
trace of any permanent impression from the truths they had
held forth. The Greenlanders who came from a distance
were stupid, ignorant, and void of reflection; and the little
that could be told them in a short visit, even if it was heard
with attention, died away in their perpetual wanderings.
Those who lived constantly in the immediate neighbourhood
of the missionaries, and had been instructed so many years,
were not grown better, but most of them worse; they were
disgusted, tired, and hardened against the truth.” When
pressed to give a serious attention to the doctrines of Chris-
tianity, they either showed their dislike openly, or excused
themselves in terms like the following:—“Show us the God
whom you describe,” said they, “then we will believe in
him, and serve him. You represent him too sublime and
incomprehensible; how shall we come at him 2 Neither will
he trouble himself about us. We have invoked him when
we have nothing to eat, or when we have been sick, but it is
as if he would not hear us. We think what you say of him
is not true, for if you know him better than we, then do you
by your prayers obtain for us sufficient food, a healthy body
and dry house, and that is all we desire or want. Our soul
is healthy already, and nothing is wanting, if we have but a
PSYCHO LOGICAL COMPA RISON. 193
sound body and enough to eat. You are another sort of
folk than we : in your country, people may perhaps have
diseased souls; and indeed we see proofs enough, in those
who come here, that they are good for nothing; they may
stand in need of a Saviour, and of a physician for the soul.
Your heaven and your spiritual joys and felicities may be
good enough for you, but this would be too tedious for us.
We must have seals, fishes, and birds; for our soul can no more
subsist without them than our bodies. We should not find
these in your heaven; therefore we will leave your heaven
to you and the worthless part of the Greenlanders; but as
for us, we will go down to Torngarsuk ; there we shall find
an exuberance of every thing without any trouble.”
The first individual of this nation who became a convert
was a man of extraordinary mental powers in such a state
of society, and one whom the missionaries always mention as
altogether a most remarkable person. His name was Kajar-
mak. They describe him as “a man whom they cannot
but wonder at, when they consider the great supineness and
stupidity of the Greenlanders in general, and that they can
comprehend nothing except what they are daily conver-
sant with. But this man,” they continue, “scarcely hears a
thing twice before he understands it, and retains it in his mind
and heart. At the same time he shows an uncommon love
to us, and a constant desire to be better instructed ; so that
he seems to catch every word out of our mouths, which we
have never perceived in any Greenlander before.” Kajarnak
had come from a remote part of Greenland: he was a stran-
ger to the missionaries, and was immediately interested with
their representations of the Christian religion, and impressed
with the marrative, which in a simple and emphatic manner
they delivered, of the most striking events of the evangelical
history.* Kajarnak became a zealous convert and disciple
* I have no doubt that some of my readers will be interested with the account
which the missionaries transmitted of the manner in which doctrines so remote
from their habits of thought penetrated the minds of the first converts among the
Esquimaux. The following is an extract from Crantz's work.
“In the summer of 1728, many natives of the southern country visited the
settlement. One day when a missionary named John Beck was employed in
()
194 A N A LOGI ( : A L IN VESTI (; AT I O N .
of the missionaries, and was a willing and able instrument in
propagating the doctrine which he had embraced among his
countrymen. A few of them soon followed his example; and
a small community of proselytes was formed, which in a few
years increased to a considerable number.
When such a commencement had once been made, the con-
version of the Esquimaux of Greenland to Christianity seems
copying part of a translation of the Gospels, he read a portion of it to these savages,
and took an opportunity of explaining it to them. “ The Holy Spirit,” say the
missionaries, ‘prompted this brother to describe the agonies and death of Christ,
with more and more energy ; and he exhorted them with a warm heart to think
seriously how much it had cost our Saviour to redeem us, and that on that ac-
count they should by no means withhold their hearts from him, which he had
earned at so dear a price; for he had been wounded, and shed his blood, and
died to purchase them, and had endured such anguish of soul, that it made him
sweat blood. At the same time he read, out of the New Testament, the history
of our Saviour's agony on the Mount of Olives, and of his bloody sweat. Then
the Lord opened the heart of one of the pagans, whose name was Kajarnak, and
he stepped up to the table and said with a loud, earnest, and affecting voice, “How
was that ? tell me that once more, for I fain would be saved too.” “These words,”
says the missionary, ‘penetrated my very soul, and kindled in me such an ardour
that I gave the Greenlanders a full account of our Saviour's whole life and death,
and of the counsel of God for our salvation, while tears ran down my cheeks.’
From that time Kajarnak became a disciple of the missionaries, and was a willing
and able instrument in propagating the Christian doctrine among his countrymen.”
In a further account of the state of the new converts, written a few years after
the transaction above related, we find the following reflections.
“Though the woeful state of the heathen still grieved the brethren, yet the
fruits of grace which they discern in Kajarnak and the rest of the catechumens
rejoiced them more and more. They evinced plain signs, not only of a true con-
sciousness of a divine being and of a profound reverence for him ; not only joy
that Christ will raise the dead, and that believers will be happy in another world,
but principally a real sense of their own misery, a joy in the love of God mani-
fested to the fallen human race, in the atonement by Christ, and a growing desire
after the word of life. It was plainly to be seen that the work of grace had taken
deep root in their hearts, by a change of life, by a voluntary abstinence from
heathenish vanities, and by cheerfully enduring the reproach of their infidel
countrymen, by whom they were forsaken, hated and despised. Kajarnak, after
his country people had been catechised by the missionaries, used to subjoin an ex-
hortation, that, having been so long ignorant, they should now embrace the truth
with a willing and thankful heart, and let it effect a true change; or he would
sometimes conclude with a short but fervent prayer. And here let it be observed,
that this was not a thing he was ordered or led to do, but of his own free impulse.
He had at the same time a clear head, helped his teachers to the words they wanted
in the language of the Greenlanders, and often corrected them, because he pretty
well understood their meaning.”
PSY CHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. 195
to have proceeded rapidly. In the year 1744, it was evident
that a considerable effect had been produced upon the minds
of the people generally; great numbers were interested in
the subjects which the missionaries set before them. In
!748, not less than two hundred and thirty converts resided
at New Herrnhut, thirty-five of whom had been baptized
during the year. “Though these people are not without
imperfections,” say the historians of these missions, “it is
yet evident that they are advancing. Their intercourse with
one another is become more and more characterised by mu-
tual kindness and the proofs of real conversion.” A few
years afterwards it was observed, that though nearly two
hundred persons baptized by the missionaries had finished
their earthly career, the congregation now consisted of four
hundred persons. “Since 1742, when the first general awaken-
ing of the natives commenced, the increase has been consi–
derable in proportion to the population of the country.” Se-
veral new colonies had now been established by the Danes,
provided with missionaries from the royal college at Copen-
hagen. These were stationed in different parts of the coun-
try. Two additional settlements were founded by the United
Brethren in 1758 and 1774, at Lichtenfels and at Lichtenau,
near Cape Farewell, where there was soon a congregation of
two hundred and five baptized Greenlanders. In the con-
clusion of the history drawn up a few years ago, it is ob-
served, that since the commencement of the mission, a very
remarkable moral change has taken place in the state of the
country and the character of the natives. “Along the whole
extent of the western coast, the barbarities of savage life and
the enormities ever attending Paganism where it is dominant
are now rarely to be met with ; and the state of the country,
compared with what it was eighty, or but fifty years ago, may
be termed civilized. The nature and climate of this dreary
region, and the methods by which the natives procure their
subsistence, necessarily preclude the introduction of many arts
of civilized society. The people can neither till the land nor
employ themselves in manufactures. A Greenlander can
neither live in the European manner mor clothe himself like
an European, dwelling as he does on sterile rocks and under
O 2
196 A N A LOGIC! A L IN VESTI (4 ATION.
the rigors of a polar sky. Yet it may be said with truth,
that the converted Greenlanders, by the habits of industry
which they have acquired since the introduction of Chris-
tianity among them, by their contentment amidst privations
and hardships, and by the charity of the more affluent to-
Wards their needy brethren, strikingly exemplify the doctrine,
that in every circumstance of life and in every station, a reli-
gious life is great gain, having the promise of reward in this
world and in that which is to come.”
The particulars which I have collected relating to the su-
perstitious opinions and impressions of the Greenlanders in
their primitive state, and especially the facts connected with
their conversion to Christianity and civilized habits, are suffi-
cient, if I am not mistaken, to prove that the mind of the Es-
quimaux has the same moral and intellectual constitution as
that of other human beings. They have the same elements
of moral feeling, the same sympathies and susceptibilities of
affection, the same conscience or internal conviction of ac-
countableness more or less obscurely or clearly impressed, the
samesentiments of guilt and self-condemnation, the same desires
of expiation, which are common to so many other nations in
almost every degree of mental culture. The most elevated
of these principles are only recognised in the natural or pagan
state of these men as mere rudiments of higher and better un-
derstanding, or as scintillations now and then shooting forth.
When those doctrines and representations are opened to them
which have been found, in so many other parts of the world,
* Historical Sketches, p. 64.--From the accounts recently published it ap-
pears that a fourth mission has been established, and that the number of Christian
Greenlanders belonging to the Moravian church, which excludes those under Danish
Lutheran ministers, is 1808. In this last account we are informed, that “the ef-
fects of Christianity upon the moral and social state of the Greenlanders has been
in every respect most cheering and beneficial. The national superstitions have
everywhere almost entirely disappeared. The practice of sorcery is almost unknown
upon the coast. Cruelty and licentiousness, with a whole train of attendant vices,
have, through the influence of Christianity, given way to brotherly kindness, good
order, decorum, and such a measure of civilization as is compatible with peculiar
circumstances. The mind of the Greenlander has been cultivated and his heart
softened and purified ; though his mode of life is still rude, and his habits
greatly at variance with European ideas of comfort and civilization.”
PSY CHOLOGICAL COMPARISON. ] 97
congenial to the human mind, and as such have been re-
ceived by the most polished, as well as by the most barba-
rous nations, they have produced their wonted effects upon
the Esquimaux. The minds of these people appear to be, as
to all essential principles of feeling and understanding, in
harmony and in strict analogy with those of other men. Such
a mind can hardly be supposed common to different species
of organized beings.
SECTION V.—Psychical History of the Negro Races.
I proceed to offer some remarks on the Negro races. It
may appear irregular to take up this part of the subject in
the order in which it now occurs; but some advantages will
arise from this method, and I do not think it liable to any
valid objections, because the Hottentots and Negroes, though
resembling in some respects physically, are yet clearly to be
distinguished from each other. There was, therefore, no im–
propriety in describing the Esquimaux intermediately, who
may, indeed, be as nearly allied to either of the above-men-
tioned races as they are to each other.
As I have collected fuller accounts of the religious be-
lief and practices of the Negroes, than of the superstitions of
other races, and as these will best illustrate the mental cha-
racter of the people, I shall immediately commence with the
religion of the African Negroes.
* It is commonly said, that the religion of the African na.
tions, of those, at least, who have not embraced Mohamme-
danism, is the superstition of Fetisses, that is of charms or
spells. This expression conveys a motion, that is not perfectly
correct. The superstition of charms or spells holds a prin-
cipal place in the minds of the idolatrous Negroes; but this
does not preclude a very general prevalence in their belief of
the first principles of natural religion. It may be observed,
that among nations enjoying a much higher degree of
mental culture, the prevalence of superstitions and practices
more or less resembling the Fetissism of Africa, may be re-
cognised such are a belief in destiny or fatality, astrology,
198 A N A LOGICA I, IN V ESTIC: ATION.
necromancy, charms, spells, omens, lucky and unlucky days,
fortune, and the good and evil genius of individuals.
“The word fetisso,” says Barbot in his description of Gui-
nea, “is a Portuguese word signifying charm or spell. It is
not a native African term, though used by the Negroes of the
Gold Coast, after the Portuguese. These Negroes term their
idols Bossum, or Bossefoe. Father Godfrey Loyer, aposto-
lical prefect of the Jacobites, who made a voyage to the
kingdom of Issini, and studied the temper, manners, and re-
ligion of the natives, says, that it is a great mistake to Sup-
pose, that fetisses are the gods of the Negroes. He declares
that they have a belief in one universally powerful being,
and that to him the people of the countries visited by Father
Loyer address prayers.
“Every morning,” he says, “after they rise, they go to the
river-side to wash, and throwing a handful of water on
their head, or pouring sand with it to express their humi-
lity, they join their hands and then open them, whisper
softly the word “Eksuvais.’ Then lifting up their eyes to
heaven, they make this prayer:—‘Anghiſume mame maro,
mamé vice, mamé shike e okkori, mamé akaka, mamé brem-
lic, mamé unquam e aconsan;’ that is, “My God, give me
this day rice and yams, give me gold and aigris, give me
slaves and riches, give me health, and grant that I may be
active and swift.’”
The excellent missionary Oldendorp, who appears to have
had rare opportunities, and to have taken great pains to
become accurately acquainted with the mental history and
character of the Negroes, assures us, that he recognised
among them, an universal belief in the “existence of a God,”
whom they represent as very powerful and beneficent. “He is
the maker of the world and of men : he it is who thunders
in the air, as he punishes the wicked with his bolts. He
regards beneficent actions with complacency, and rewards
them with long life. To him the Negroes ascribe their own
personal gifts, the fruits of the earth, and all good things.
From him the rain descends upon the earth. They believe
that he is pleased when men offer prayers to him in all their
wants, and that he succours them in dangers, in diseases, and
PS Y CHO LOGICAL COMIPA RISON. 199
in seasons of drought. This is the chief God who lives far from
them on high; he is supreme over all the other gods.”
“Among all the black nations,” says Oldendorp, “with
whom I have become acquainted, even among the utterly ig-
morant and rude, there is none which did not believe in a
God, which had not learnt to give him a name, which did
not regard him as the maker of the world, and ascribe to him.
more or less clearly all the attributes which I have here briefly
summed up. As, however, the Negroes always designate
God and the heaven by the same term, it is doubtful whe-
ther they do not regard heaven itself as the Deity;f but,
perhaps, their motions are not so clear as to have led them
even to contemplate this distinction.
“Besides this supreme beneficent divinity whom all the
various nations worship in some way or other, they believe in
many gods of inferior dignity, who are subject to the chief
Deity, and are mediators between him and mankind. Such
are the powers which they reverence in serpents, tigers, wolves,
rivers, trees, hills, and large stones. The more stupid among
the Negroes certainly imagine the serpent, the tiger, and the
stones to be themselves gods, that the tree understands them,
and the tiger gives them rain; on the other hand, the more
intelligent look upon these objects, as representations of the
inferior gods, and imagine, that local deities dwell unseen
under certain trees or on particular hills. | This appears from
the fiction which the priests of Akkram have invented res-
pecting the subordination of the tutelar gods under the su-
preme divinity, and from the notion that these gods absent
themselves during a certain season of the year, while the vi-
sible objects remain.”
* The author begins his account of the religion of the Negroes with an assu.
rance, which has every appearance of being made in perfect good faith, that he
will relate nothing which he has not received immediately and exactly from the
Negroes themselves. See C. G. A. Oldendorp's Geschichte der Mission der Evan-
gelischen Brüder auf den Caraibaischen Inseln St. Thomas, S. Croix, und S. Jan.
1777, s. 318.
t The same observation has been made by the Jesuit Duhalde as to the Chinese.
Whangti, the supreme divinity, is also the heaven. So in fact was Jupiter both
among the Latins and the Greeks, as it is expressed in the well-known passage of
Ennius and the parallel one of Euripides. Perhaps the Semitic people were the
only race whose language displays a purer or more metaphysical conception,
200 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION,
Immediate Objects of Worship.
“These gods are either national or domestic. Thus the Fida,
besides the great serpent, which is adored by the whole na-
tion, have each their particular smaller serpents, which are
Worshipped as household gods, but are not esteemed so pow-
erful by far as the great one to whom the smaller serpents
are subjected. Where the latter are unable to assist, their
Worshippers have recourse to the great serpent. The national
deity of the Kanga is an elephant’s tooth, and that of the tribe
of Wawa, a tiger. The Sember have wooden gods in human
form, which they eall Zioo. The Loango also have similar
carved idols of both sexes, some clothed, some naked and
painted, as well in their dwellings as in sacred buildings.
They are served by priests, who are said to be inspired by
them, and give out the answers of the gods as Oracles. Some of
the Amina call the Creator of the world and of their nation
Borriborri, and imagine that he has a wife, who is called San-
komaago, by whom he has a son Sankombum, who is the
mediator between man and the superior deity.”
#" Relations of the Deities to each other.
~...~ 3
2- : *
“These inferior powers are appointed by the chief deity as
tutelar gods over certain countries, men, animals, plants,
rivers, &c. and must yearly give an account of their conduct,
This is done in a general assembly of all the gods at the
court of the chief divinity. He who has given satisfaction,
is confirmed by the great god in his tutelar office of a pro-
tecting spirit for a year, and is marked with a red hot iron :
but those who have permitted the evil spirit to disseminate
unjust wars among the nations, or have wilfully allowed pes-
tilence or fires and such evils in the territory entrusted to
them, are deposed from their office, expelled from the rank
of gods, and made mortals. From despair and malice such
deposed gods are accustomed to embrace the party in oppo-
sition to the divinity, and become maleficent spirits. I have
taken this account,” says Oldendorp, “ of the relation of the
inferior gods to the higher deity from the journal of Christian
PSYCHIOLOGIC'A L COM P A RISON. 201
Prottens, a native African, who had been for a long time in
the community of the brethren.”
Fetisses or Charms.
The fetisses of the Negroes, which hold so prominent a part
in their superstition, are of the same nature as the spells and
charms of the northern nations, and as the amulets and talis-
mans of the east.
“Fetisses, or schambos,” says Oldendorp, “as they are called
by the Wawa, are sacred things, which have received a pecu-
liar power from God, as well to drive away the evil spirits, as
to succour in all sorts of diseases and dangers, especially against
enchantment. They have not the dignity of gods; although
it might be supposed from the peculiar veneration of the
Negroes for these fetisses that they were the objects of their
national worship, as indeed many ignorant people say. They
ornament not only themselves, but also their idols with these
fetisses, which descend by inheritance from parents to chil-
dren, who preserve them with the greatest care. Others are
preserved in particular houses, over which overseers are ap-
pointed. The Mandongo willingly receive for their fetisses
any thing that has been struck by thunder. Thus we per-
ceive that the Negroes only venerate their fetisses, because
they believe that something divine has been united to them;
and how could this take place more manifestly, than in the
instance of thunder, which they look upon as the peculiar
attribute of the Deity, and proceeding immediately from
him 7
“The Negroes employ these fetisses especially as a means
of protection against every thing which they esteem evil or
hurtful. Thus the Ibo, when they go to war, bind fetisses
with cords round their bodies, to protect them from wounds;
and the Amina expect the same advantage from a conse-
crated cow's tail. They make use of them particularly to
preserve them from the evil spirit, and his hostile attempts.
They believe that he is the origin of all evil. He is the
enemy of the good God; he seeks to mislead men, to injure
them, destroy them, and after death to get their souls into
202 A N A LOGIC! A L 1 NV ESTIGA'ſ 10 N.
his power. They never consider themselves secure from his
Slla,TeS.
“No African nation makes the malevolent demon an object
of worship, or calls upon him for assistance, but they are
universally afraid of this powerful agent, and seek to ap-
pease him with favours. Thus, for example, the priests of
Amina, before they bury their dead, place some costly things
upon a place cleansed for this purpose for the evil spirit,
whom they term Didi. They call him and give him to un-
derstand that these gifts are for him, and that he must be
contented with them and leave the dead alone. When they
wish ill to any one, they curse him by the Didi, Kalliam-
pemba, or by whatever name they address the evil spirit.”
Worship—Prayers to the Gods.
We have seen that the Negro nations have agreed with
other races of men, in the belief that supernatural powers
exist to whose control all things are subject, and that they
differ not materially from other nations in their conception of
the nature, attributes, and relations of the gods to each other.
It seems that they further agree with European and Asiatic
nations in the methods by which they endeavour to conciliate
the favour of the unseen beings to whose power they hold
themselves to be subject. The principal of these have been
everywhere prayers and sacrifices. “The Negroes,” says
Oldendorp, “profess their dependence upon the Deity in
different ways, especially by prayers and offerings. They
pray at different times, in different places, and as the Amina
Negroes told me, in every time of need. They pray at the
rising and setting of the sun, on eating and drinking, and
when they go to war. Even in the midst of the contest,
the Amina sing songs to their god, whom they seek to move
to their assistance by appealing to his paternal duty. The
daily prayer of a Watje Negress was—‘O ! God, I know
thee not, but thou knowest me; thy assistance is necessary
to me.’ At meals they say, ‘O ! God, thou hast given us
this, thou hast made it grow;’ and when they work, ‘O !
God, thou hast caused that I should have strength to do
PSY CHO LOGICAL COM PA RISC) N. 203
this.’ The Sember pray in the morning. “Oh God, help
us; we do not know whether we shall live to-morrow ; we
are in thy hand.’ The Mandongo pray also for their deceased
friends. They pray in the presence of their idols and fetisses.
The solemn prayers which are made by a tribe or nation, are
accompanied by dancing to the sound of instruments, and
are pronounced with terrific cries. The Akkran frequently
interrupt their dances by kneeling down.
“The requests which they make to God, refer to their bodies,
health, good weather, rich harvests, victory over their ene-
mies, and such things. In a continued dry season, the
Wawa assemble in a melancholy procession, whilst they
bind leaves upon their bodies and heads, before the scham-
beo-house, in which a tiger is worshipped as god. With
howling and lamentations they represent to him their neces-
sity, and pray that he will cause it to rain, since they must
otherwise all die of hunger. Among the Loango, upon a
similar occasion, an offering of cattle is brought. When this
is accomplished with the customary ceremonies, the priest,
who is as well an enchanter, desires the people to hasten
home, not to be surprised by the rain. Among the Koro
manti Negroes, the women go in procession to their priest,
whom they call belum, bring him all sorts of fruits, and beg
him to procure them rain. The Watja beseech the new
moon to give them strength for labour, and the Amina even
request their god to pay their debts.”
Sacrifices.
“The sacrifices constitute the most important part of their
worship, which are performed in sacred places by conse-
crated persons. The sacred places are those, where one of
their divinities dwells, visibly or invisibly ; particular build-
ings or huts, hills, trees, remarkable for their age, height
and strength. They have also sacred groves, which are the
abodes of a deity, which no Negro ventures to enter, except
the priests.
“The oblations of the Negroes consist of oxen, cows, sheep,
goats, fowls, palm-oil, brandy, yams, &c. Human sacrifices
204 AN ALOG ~! - | ? Tº tºº rºl { fºrt * \*
are offered by some nations. On joyful occasions they offer
white, and on sorrowful, black animals. The sacrifices take
place partly at appointed seasons, and partly occasionally.
The intention of them is to gain the favour of the deity, to
procure help in sickness or in war, and rain in dry seasons,
or to manifest their gratitude for benefits received. Obla-
tions are also brought for the dead.
“When the young men of Temba go to war, the old ones,
who remain at home, seek to gain for them the protection
and assistance of Sioo, their divinity, by prayers and offer-
ings. They fall before the image upon their knees, offer him
sheep and fowls, pour out the blood and entrails before him;
but they dress the flesh for a meal for themselves. If the
design of the sacrifices is not obtained and the expedition
does not succeed well, the fault is not laid upon Siod : they
do not doubt his willingness to assist; he has been unable
for this time to prevail against the powerful god of the
enemy. In order to obtain rain, the Amina sacrifice many
sheep and fowls, and beseech the Tankoubum to cause rain
to flow as plentifully from heaven as their blood has flowed
for him. Many oblations are made for the sick, and many
presents made to the priests, that they may assist in restor-
ing them to health. If the sick person dies, the priests are
persuaded that the gods wished for his soul: against this no
presents could be of service. If he recovers, his friends pre-
pare a great feast, and offer for a testimony of gratitude,
white sheep and fowls.”
Funeral Rites and Sacrifices.
“Even the dead are not buried without sacrifices. A white
hen is slain by the priest before the corpse comes to the grave,
and the bier whereon the body lies is sprinkled with its blood.
This custom was introduced by the nation of the Kagreut.
These people offer to the deity a tame animal when they till
their ground, and vow another of the same kind if God will
bless their produce. Human sacrifices are very rare among
the Negroes, but not entirely unknown. In Old Kalabar a child
ten months old was hanged upon a tree with a living fowl, for
PSYCHI () I., () (; ICA L COMIP A R ISO N. 205
the recovery of the king, which M. Seelgrave relates as an
eye-witness. Thus the king of Dahomee sacrificed to his
god, out of gratitude for the victory granted to him, four
thousand captive Fidans, and caused their heads to be cut off,
and piled together in a heap.” º:
Sacred Festivals.
“At the annual harvest-feast, which nearly all the nations
of Guinea solemnize, thank-offerings are brought to the
deity. These festivals are days of rejoicing which the Negroes
pass with feasting and dancing, and they prove their gratitude
to their divinities by pouring out before them and offering to
them a portion of their prepared food. They likewise give
back to their gods, in gratitude, a part of every thing they
earn. The Karabari have the peculiar custom on such feast-
days of hunting the old evil spirit out of their villages before
they celebrate their harvest-feast. The Watje assemble at
harvest upon a pleasant plain, when they thank God thrice
upon their knees, under the direction of a priest, for the good
harvest, and pray to him for further blessings. When they
have risen, the whole assembly testify their gratitude to God
and their rejoicing, by clapping their hands. After this di-
vine service, a joyful feast follows, for which each family
kills and prepares white sheep and fowls.”
Pilgrimages.
“Among the annual festivals is the pilgrimage of the nation
of Fida to the great serpent. The people collected before
the house of the serpent, lying upon their faces, worship this
supposed divinity, without daring to look upon him. Except
the priests, the king alone has this favour once. In the same
manner the Wawa hold an annual service in honour of a
tiger, whom they look upon as a god, and whom a priestess
serves. They do not only then solemnly worship him, but
bring him oblations of maize, fowls, sheep, and such things.
These are first set before the tiger, who is ornamented at this
solemnity with Schambos or fetisses, and what he leaves is
206 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
made into a sacrificial repast, which is accompanied with
dances and other amusements. A Negro also annually so-
lemnizes the day on which he first shed the blood of a hu-
man being.”
Of the Order of Priests, their Offices and Powers.
Like all the nations of antiquity the pagan Negroes
ascribe to a particular class of men the office of mediators
between mankind and the gods. The priests in Africa, as
elsewhere, are the only individuals who can offer acceptable
sacrifice to the divinity; they alone are interpreters of the
divine will. To this function they join that of diviners or
magicians, masters of spells and amulets. It is really won-
derful to discover so extensive an analogy in the opinions of
men and of races separated from each other from immemo-
rial time, not only in the general principles of natural reli-
gion which conscience and the internal feelings impress upon
the understanding and belief, but in all the various phases
and modifications of superstition, and in the modes by which
crafty and designing men have availed themselves of the
weakness and credulity of the people.
“The priests and priestesses are the sacred persons upon
whom the divine service of the Negroes depends, and who,
as they suppose, have confidential intercourse with the gods,
and interpret their will. They alone understand by what
means the wrath of the deity may be appeased. To them it
belongs, to present the offerings to the gods, and to be the
intercessors between them and the people. They convey the
questions of the people to the gods, who reply by the mouths
of the priests. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that
they are held in the greatest esteem by the people, and exer-
cise almost boundless authority over them. No Negro will
transgress the priest's commands. Even after death, in the
performance of sacred ceremonies at the burial of the body,
the assistance of the priest is necessary, for he alone under-
stands how to prevent the evil spirit from getting the soul
into his power.
“At times of sickness, warlike expeditions, and in other in-
PSYCHIO L OG IC A.J., COM PA RISC) N. 207
portant affairs, the Negroes desire to be assured of the is-
sue by a divine answer. In such cases, the Amina bring
a sheep either entirely white or black to the priest, who sa-
crifices it, and with its blood sprinkles a large vessel; where-
upon he receives an answer to the question laid before him.
if a Fida Negro is sick, he causes the serpent to be inter-
rogated through the priest, whether his disease proceeds
from God, or from enchantment. Together with the answer
which he receives, a remedy is shown him, by means of which
he may recover. But if the disease is fatal, he receives the
melancholy intelligence, that he can be cured by no possible
means. In this case, the priest or priestess takes no reward
for their trouble, which is required in all other instances.
The great snake unasked reveals impending wars to the
priestess, who does not fail to give intelligence of it to the
king. She tells him the name of the enemy; appoints the
time of the invasion and the fortunate or unfortunate issue of
the affair. In the latter case, she gives him the prudent ad-
vice, to save himself by a speedy flight. She also foretels
to the king the time when ships will arrive. The priests,
likewise, foretel dearth and sterility, as the effect of the
anger of the gods, who, however, may be appeased by pre-
sents and sacrifices. Nothing is so concealed that the priests
cannot foretel it; even the fate of souls after death is known
to them, and from them it can be learnt whether each indi-
vidual is gone to God or to the evil spirit.
“The priests of the Negroes are also the physicians, as
were the priests of Apollo and Esculapius. The notions which
the Negroes entertain of the causes of diseases are very differ-
ent. The Watje attribute them to evil spirits, whom they call
Dobbo. When these are very numerous, they ask of their sa-
ered cotton-tree permission to hunt them out. Hereupon a chase
is appointed, and they do not cease following the demons
with arms and great cries, until they have chased them beyond
their boundaries. This chase of the spirits of disease is very
customary among many nations of Guinea, who universally
believe that many diseases arise from enchantment, and
others by the direction of the deity.”
208 A N A LOGICAL IN V ESTIGATION.
o x * * -
Y.
Ingenious Figments by which these pretensions are main-
tained.—Auguries or Omens by Birds.
“It is not in consequence of the unskilfulness of physicians
that their remedies are of little use during the rainy season,
but, as they say, on account of the absence of their gods, who
are obliged to appear, in this dangerous season, at the court
of the superior deity. Consequently the priests cannot get
advice from them, and they can do nothing effectually with-
out instruction. During the absence of the protecting spi-
rits, which lasts six weeks, the sacred drum is not beaten, no
holidays are held, and the dead are interred without noise or
songs, and without being bewailed. Among the Fida, those
who have received no help in their sickness from the small
snakes or household gods, turn to the great serpent, who dis-
covers through the priests a medicine, or reproves them for
not having sufficiently honoured, or entirely obeyed the in-
ferior gods, and to regain their favour, he advises them to
offer fowls and the like to them, to appoint a feast in honour
of them, and to invite an assembly, to sing, play, dance, and
make merry. In this way the inferior gods will become fa-
vourable to them, and heal them. When the Mokko, by the
instruction of the priests, have brought an offering for a sick
person, they leave a portion of the sacrificial meat for the
birds, and decide upon the cure or death of the patient by
the deportment of the birds towards the food. Some of the
sacrificial blood is sprinkled upon the medicaments which the
sick person is to take.”
Holy Water.
#The priest of the Akrissons take of the hol y water, which
§flows from the hole in the rock in which their god Kinka
dwells, and give it to the patients, who are to wash them-
selves with it, and be cured of their infirmities. Some Kas-
senti offer for a sick person a hen at a sacred tree, which they
worship on their knees, and they pour a thick pap of maize
over it before the tree, part of which they take to anoint the
patient.
PSY CHO LOGICAL COMPARISON S. 209
“Of the Bliakefa, the priests of Karabari and of Sokko, it
is remarkable, that they give some instruction to the people
concerning the Divinity and prayer. The Negroes come to
them for this purpose either singly, or in companies, when
they pray with them on their knees, that God, whom they
call Tschukka, will protect them from war, captivity, and the .
like. They promise to these priests that they will use their
slaves mildly, and give them two days in each week for their
own concerns. Some priests are likewise sorcerers; but
among several nations, the Sokko and Watje for example,
the latter office is distinguished from the former.”
Immortality of the Soul.
“There is scarcely any nation of Guinea which does not be-
lieve in the immortality of the soul, and that it continues
to live after its separation from the body, has certain ne-
cessities, performs actions, and is especially capable of the
enjoyment of happiness or misery. The Amina call the
soul and the shadow by the same name; and some of the
Watje nation told me, that they consider the soul to be of
as subtile a nature as is the shadow.”
State of Retribution.
“The Negroes believe almost universally that the souls of
good men, after their separation from the body, go to God,
and the wicked to the evil spirit, whence at the death of
their chiefs, they make use of the expression, “God has taken
their souls.” The Loango imagine the abode of the blessed
to be where Sambeau Pungo, that is God, dwells, but hell to be
above in the air, which others on the contrary suppose to be
deep in the earth. They believe that the souls which go to
the evil spirit, become ghosts, and re-appear, and because
they preserve their inclination to do evil, torment those
whom they dislike in sleep; and besides, flutter about in the
air, and make noises and disturbances in the bushes. If any
one, therefore, is said to appear on the third day after his
death, it is a proof that he is not gone to God. The body
P
210 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
of a Negro, of whom a wicked neighbour pretends to have
seen the spirit, is not buried with honour, among the Amina.
The Negroes imagine also, that even the good souls are
often compelled to pass by the evil spirit before they go to
God; when this wicked spirit endeavours to bring them
into his power. Hence arises a custom, which the Amina ob-
serve : survivors satisfy the claims of the Dide, as it has been
before observed. The Mokko affirm, that they free them-
selves from the claims of the evil spirit, by proving to him,
that they belong to God, by the marks which they have upon
their bodies, to which nothing can be objected. The Ibo say,
that each soul is accompanied upon the way to its appointed
place by two spirits, a good and evil one, and has to pass a
dangerous part, a wall, by which the road is divided. The
good spirit helps a pious soul happily by ; on the other hand,
a wicked one knocks his head against it. After this, two
roads open; a narrow one, by which the good soul is led by
his benevolent director to God, and one broad, by which the
wicked soul, under the guidance of the malevolent spirit, is
conducted to a darker place.”
The representations which these ignorant people give of
the situation of the blessed, is very similar to their other
ideas. Their conduct towards the deceased gives us to under-
stand that they suppose the future condition to belittle differ-
ent from the present life, and they believe them to be affected
with the same wants which they have here. On which ac-
count they not only place for some time food upon their
graves, but give them likewise their wives, servants, and
slaves in the other world.
Metempsychosis.
The Karabari and several other black tribes believe in the
doctrine of the transmigration of the soul from one body to
another, and imagine that the soul of a dead person revives
in the body of the next child born after his death. It is
fully established by the assurances of the Negroes, that they
| believe in the transmigration of a human soul, into the body
\ of a bird, fish, or other creature. This belief in metempsy-
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON S. 2] H
chosis has a very injurious effect upon many Negroes. If
their slavery is too severe in the West Indies, they destroy
themselves with the prospect that their souls will wander to
their country, and there revive in the body of a child. Some
fully believe that they will rise alive in Guinea. Murderers
and such criminals are shut out from the privilege of com-
mencing a second happier course of life in a strange body.
Abarre, the evil spirit, will ordain this as a punishment: they
fly about as ghosts, and by inclination torment men with
frightful appearances.
I could cite other writers on the history of the African na-
tions who confirm the statements given by Oldendorp, though
none of them have written so clearly and distinctly, and ap-
parently from such full and satisfactory sources of informa-
tion. Many similar observations occur in the accounts ob-
tained by fathers Loyer, Labat, and by Bosman. From the
last-mentioned writer I shall cite some further particulars.
Bosman mentions their superstitious fear of ghosts and ap-
paritions. He says, “they stedfastly believe the apparitions
of spirits and ghosts, and that they disturb and terrify some
people. If any considerable person dies, they are perplexed
with horrid fears, fancying that he appears for several nights
successively before his late dwelling.”
“They have long been acquainted with the division of time
into weeks, and each day of the seven has its proper name in
their language. Their sabbath falls on our Tuesday, except
at Ante, where, like that of the Mahomedans, it is on Friday.
No person is then permitted to fish, which is the only dif-
ference.”
In their belief of lucky and unlucky days, oracles, omens,
and the like, the Negro tribes might almost be supposed to
have formed their opinions on the model of the Greeks and
other nations of antiquity. “The inland Negroes,” says Bos-
man, “divide time into lucky and unlucky days. The great
period of good fortune lasts in some countries nineteen, and
the lesser seven days; between these are seven unfortunate
days. During the unlucky days they neither travel, till the
land, nor undertake any affair of consequence, but remain
altogether idle. The Aquambo people will not even willingly
P 2
212 AN A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
receive any presents made to them on these days. The inhabi.
tants of some districts differ from those of others as to the
particular days which they hold to be lucky and unlucky.”
Of the Conversion of the Negroes to Christianity.
We have seen that the Negroes of Africa display in their
original and primitive state of mind, untaught by foreign in-
structors at least within the reach of history, the same ten-
dencies to superstitious belief, as well as the same moral im-
pressions as the rest of the human family. It only remains,
in order to fill up this part of the mental history of the Negro
race, to remark, that they have given a ready reception to for
reign religions both true and false. Mahomedanism is well
known to have spread in Africa. Soudan sends its yearly
pilgrims to venerate the sacred stone; and the sable hadji is
as highly revered on the Niger and the western Nile, as the
Syrian pilgrims among the Moslems of Damascus. But I have
not room for tracing the progress of Islam, and it will proba-
bly be more satisfactory to my readers to observe the result
of endeavours which have been made by European teachers
to bring Negroes to the Christian religion. Of these we have
some of the most successful examples in the efforts of mis-
sionaries sent out by the church of the United Brethren. An
interesting account of the proceedings of these well-meaning
and devoted persons is to be found in the undisguised and
simple narrative of Oldendorp. I shall abstract from it a
brief statement of such particulars as are necessary, in order
to point out the way in which the rudiments of true and un-
corrupted religion found their way into the minds of the Afri-
cans, and to show how far the process of their conversion,
indicates an agreement of feeling and sentiment between
them and other divisons of mankind.
The first attempts to convert the slaves of the Caribbean
islands to Christianity had their occasion in a meeting of
some followers of Count Zinzendorf, with one Anthony, a
Negro from the island of St. Thomas, who had been bap-
tized at Copenhagen. This man represented in so strong co-
lours the wretchedness and ignorance of his countrymen and
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPAR ISON S. 213
relatives, and urged so zealously his entreaties on the brethren
to undertake their conversion, that the congregation at Herrn-
hut, before whom he had been induced to appear, were dis-
posed to make the attempt. The difficulties of the enterprise
were great, and they were not lessened by Anthony, who af-
firmed, that in order to promote the conversion of slaves, the
missionary must himself consent to become a slave. Even
under these conditions several of the brethren were willing
to devote themselves to the task. The names of the heroical
men who voluntarily offered themselves, believing themselves
specially called to the undertaking, were Leonard Dobel and
Tobias Leupold. Leupold did not go, the lot having deter-
mined otherwise; and David Nitschmann was substituted for
him; who entered on the voyage with similar expectations.
The business was commenced under the most unfavourable
circumstances. The work proceeded slowly at first and
amidst great opposition ; yet a small number of hearers was
soon collected, some of whom gave signs of sincere conver-
sion, and of disgust at their former courses of life. Circum-
stances required the return of the missionaries to Europe, and
an interval ensued during which the mission was suspended.
It was renewed in 1734 on the arrival of Martin, a zealous
preacher and a man of great energy, whose exhortations were
followed with so much effect, that when Bishop Spangenberg
visited the mission in 1736, he found in not less than two
hundred blacks who attended the services of the brethren, a
great desire to be instructed in the Christian religion, and
three individuals, who, on a careful examination, were judged
to be in a fit state to receive baptism. It is impossible to
read the narrative of Oldendorp without being convinced of
the perfect sincerity of the writer and the truth of his ac-
count. It proves that no other means were used to influence
the Negroes, that no other motives were put in operation to
affect their minds than those of which the promulgators of
Christianity availed themselves in the first ages of the church.
“Full of ardour for the salvation of men,” says Oldendorp,
“Martin declared to the poor slaves the infinite kindness and
condescension of the Saviour, what for their sakes he had
done and suffered, and how worthy he was of their gratitude
214 AN A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
2 3
and love.” “If he once received concerning any individual
the impression that a change had been commenced in his mind,
he never lost sight of such a person, but with the greatest
constancy followed up his work till he gained him over to the
cause of religion. By the constant exhortations of the Brethren
a perceptible change was produced in the minds and cha-
racters of the Negroes; and notwithstanding the unfavourable
circumstances and the bad examples by which they were sur-
rounded, it became manifest, not only that the number of
professed converts increased, but that motives and influences
were in operation capable of effecting a moral revolution in
their minds and character. And so deep was the impression
which had been produced, that when the colonial government,
jealous of innovation, threw the missionaries into prison, bap-
tized Negroes were found ready to carry on the work of ex-
hortation, and contribute greatly to increase the number of
converts. When in the following year, 1739, Count Zinzen-
dorf visited the island, he was filled with astonishment at the
greatness of the work which had been accomplished. It
seems, that at this time the number of Negroes who regularly
attended the preaching of the gospel amounted to eight
hundred.”
The other Danish islands, St. Croix and St. Jam, were after-
wards visited by the Moravian missionaries whose exertions
were attended with like success. I shall not attempt to follow
the steps of their progress, which are described by the writer
so frequently cited. In his conclusion he gives the summary
of its results, from which it appears, that in the year 1768
the number of Negroes who had been baptized in the three
islands by the missionaries during thirty-four years, amounted
to 4,711.
In this very general statement of the facts connected with
the conversion of Negroes in these islands, the principal evi-
dence is yet wanting by which it may be proved, that the
minds of Negroes are, not otherwise than those of Europe-
ans, capable of receiving all the impressions implied in con-
version to Christianity. This evidence can only be fully ap-
preciated by those who read in detail the biographical no-
tices, and other particulars detailed by the historians of the
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON S. 215
community to which Oldendorp as well as Crantz belonged.
But no part of this evidence is more conclusive than the se-
lection of short homilies composed by Negro preachers or
assistants, and addressed by them to congregations of their
countrymen. Some of these, though they do not rival in
strength of diction the discourses of Watts or Doddridge,
breathe the same spirit, and were evidently written under the
influence of the same sentiments and impressions. A selec-
tion of these addresses has been appended by Oldendorp to
his work, which I have so often cited.
SECTION VI.-Concluding Remarks.
It would be easy to collect information on the mental his-
tory of other races of men, tending to establish with respect
to them the same conclusion which I have already drawn,
after describing the Esquimaux, the Hottentots, and the
Negroes. The inquiry would not be without interest, and
I shall hereafter take an opportunity of pointing out at least
some of the sources from which data may be obtained for
pursuing it. But it would not greatly strengthen my argu-
ment, and I am unwilling to occupy a larger space than is
necessary in the discussion of questions which may be
thought remote from the principal object of a work profes-
sedly devoted to physical researches. There are no races of
men so widely differing from each other in structure of body,
and in physical properties as the three above mentioned, and
the fourth class of nations with whom they have been
throughout compared: if therefore the principal conclusion
is allowed with respect to these instances, it will scarcely be
thought disputable in others.
If the evidence adduced in the foregoing pages is sufficient
to establish the conclusions which I have ventured to de-
duce from it, it may be affirmed that the phenomena of the
human mind and the moral and intellectual history of
human races afford no proof of diversity of origin in the
families of men : that on the contrary, in accordance with an
extensive series of analogies above pointed out, we may per-
216 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
haps say, that races so nearly allied and even identified in all
the principal traits of their psychical character, as are the se-
veral races of mankind, must be considered as belonging to
one species.
Nor can it be pretended, that any intellectual superiority
of one human race over another, which can be imagined to
exist, furnishes any argument against this conclusion. If, for
example, it were allowed that the Negroes are as deficient
in mental capacity as some pers&ns have asserted them to
be, this could not prove them to be a different species, since
it must be allowed that there are differences equally great,
and even greater, between individuals and families of the
same nation. It would certainly be no difficult matter to
discover particular men, and even entire families in this
country, who are intellectually weaker than any reasonable
person could pretend the generality of Africans to be. On
this ground it would therefore be impossible to argue with
effect in favour of diversity of species, which confessedly re-
quires the constant transmission of distinguishing characters.
On the other hand there is nothing more probable than the
supposition, that the average degree of perfection in the de-
velopement of the brain as of other parts of the system, differs
in different nations with the diversities of climate and other
elements of the external condition, and with the degrees of
social culture. It is probable that the condition of men in
civilized society produces some modification in the intel-
lectual capabilities of the race. But without going into any
of these conjectural discussions, it will be quite sufficient
for my present argument, if it is allowed, that there are
some Negroes whose mental faculties fully attain the standard
of European intellect. As this is a position which can
scarcely be disputed, I think it superfluous to enter at pre-
sent on a discussion, which in fact is not strictly within
the scope of my present argument. The reader will find
however in the sequel, some testimonies on the subject, which
may be thought sufficient.
V AR IBTIES OF COMPLEXION. 217
CHAPTE R III.
A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUED–EXTERN AL DIVER-
SITIES-V ARIETY OF COMPLEXION IN HUMAN RACES-IN-
QUIR Y WHETHER THE DIFFERENCES OF COLOUR CONSTITUTE
SPECIFIC IDISTINCTIONS.
SECTION I.-General Remarks—Of the principal varieties
of Compleasion observed in Human Races—Phenomena of
Correspondence.
THE course which I have proposed to follow, brings me
now to consider the perceptible varieties of colour and organi-
zation. It has often been observed that the external parts of
animals, such as their integuments, hair, feathers, horns, or
other similar appendages, are more subject to varieties of
form and colour than the structure of internal parts. Whether
this remark is well founded or not, it is certain that very
considerable variations actually take place in many species
of animals, as well as of plants, in the colour, conformation,
and texture of the outward parts. I have to determine if
possible, whether those differences of external character
which display themselves, when human races are compared
with each other, are instances of this description, or depend
upon original diversity. I shall begin with colour, and in the
first place describe the varieties which subsist in this par-
ticular among the human inhabitants of distant regions.
The term complexion is generally applied to the colour of
the skin, but this is well known to be related to various hues
in the hair, as well as in the pigment of the eye. It has
been thought also, there is some variety in the colour of other
parts. The different colours of the hair, the skin, and the
eyes, generally correspond in a perceptible manner. In par-
218 A NALOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
ticular, the colour of the skin bears a relation to that of the
hair, and there is an intimate connexion between these phe-
momena, indicating their dependence on a common cause.
Men who have white or red hair, have generally what is
termed a fair skin, that is, a complexion not merely of white
or light hue, but owing to the peculiarity of its texture, of a
ruddy tint. This is derived from the transparent nature of
the skin, transmitting the colour of the blood which circu-
lates in the cutaneous tissue.
Black-haired persons have sometimes skins as white, but
not so fair and transparent as the light-haired. The skins of
the former also differ from those of the latter, in regard to the
effect produced upon them by exposure to the heat and light
of the sun. When so exposed, the complexion of the black-
haired presently acquires a brown or yellowish hue, very
different from the tinge produced in the sanguine, whose skin,
as well as that of the albino, becomes reddened, inflamed, and
blistered. If therefore black-haired persons are very white,
they may be considered as etiolated or bleached by artificial
protection from light, or at least from the solar rays; and
when exposed freely to the influences of climate, their colour
is found to differ nearly in proportion to the temperature of
different countries. The women of Syria and of Barbary are
often very white,” though they have black hair, but this is
the result of careful protection from the sun. And in Europe,
black-haired women are termed brunettes, from the hue which
the skin acquires on ordinary exposure.
The colour of the eye corresponds with that of the hair,
but with more frequent exceptions, for it is not very uncom-
mon to see black-haired persons with light blue or grey eyes:
the converse is more rare, red or white-haired persons having
very seldom or never black eyes. Generally white-haired
or very light flaxen-haired persons have either very light
blue eyes, or the choroid is red from a total absence of the
pigment, which in other instances covers its surface, and
* “Les femmes qui habitent dans les villes de Barbarie sont d'une blancheur
presque rébutante, d'un blanc de marbre qui tranche trop avec le rouge très vive
de leurs joues.” Buffon, on the authority of Bruce, Hist, Nat. tom. v.
VARIETIES OF COMPLEXION. 219
from the hue of the blood being perceptible through the trans-
parent coats.” Such red-eyed persons are termed albinos.
Their physical condition is not so strongly distinguished
from that of other very fair persons, as it is commonly sup-
posed, and both appear to be only different degrees of the
same constitution; for the albino has been known to acquire
the pigment, and to become a person of the ordinary fair
complexion with blue eyes.'t
The preceding remarks indicate the propriety of dividing
the complexions of mankind into three classes, distinguished
by the colour of the eyes and hair. This division will be
* It is observed in the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science, No. V.
that the fact asserted here may be proved by killing a white rabbit, and cutting
one of its eyes out of the orbit: the vessels being thus divided, and the blood
suffered to escape by immersion in water, the iris and pupil then appear quite
colourless, both by reflected and transmitted light.
+ I extract the following interesting particulars from the Dublin Journal,
No. XV. above cited. They are from the able and distinguished editor, Professor
Graves.
“Last year, Dr. Ascherson informed me that he had seen a case of the after de-
velopement of the pigment of the eye, in an albino boy, three years old. This
child had at its birth white hair, and violet-coloured eyes, with dark red pupils;
at the end of the third year its hair was light brown, and its eyes were blue; but
they had still in a remarkable degree, though less so than before, that restlessness
peculiar to albinos. This was the only case of the kind I had ever heard of, ex-
cept that communicated by Micháelis, in Blumenbach's Medicinische Bibliothek,
vol. iii. p. 679; which however, rests only on the uncertain authority of some pea-
sants. Singularly enough, (says Dr. Graves,) I had soon after the good fortune to meet
with a similar case myself. In my younger days, there were two children, a brother
and sister, living near me, who presented such striking symptoms of leucosis in their
eyes, hair, and skin, that they were recognised as albinos even by non-medical per-
sons. My attention was lately drawn to them by an advertisement I saw in the
papers, in which their name occurred, and I learned that the brother had become a
tobacconist; but, to my great astonishment, on going to see him, I found that his
eyes had changed from violet red to grey, and his hair from white to light brown, and
that the susceptibility of the eyes to the light had greatly diminished. There is a
circumstance in some degree analogous to this subsequent developement of the pig-
ment of the eye, which though much less striking, is of frequent occurrence;
namely, that in children born with grey or blue eyes, they gradually become
brown before the expiration of the first or second year. How far Rudolphi's
statement is correct, that the secretion of the pigment of the eye is more copious in
youth than in middle age, I am not prepared to say. Desmoulins also main-
tains, that the pigment of the eyes diminishes in old people, as is notoriously the
case with that of the hair.”—Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science,
No. XV.
220 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
found very convenient and useful in facilitating an inquiry into
the nature of such varieties. It is likewise necessary, in order
to prevent the frequent repetition of descriptive phrases, to
adopt some technical expressions or appropriate terms, under
which all the characteristics of each class may be collectively
understood and recalled, without the necessity of recapitulation.
I shall therefore adopt the following terms and descriptions.
1. The black-haired or melanocomous or melanous variety,
characterised by black or very dark hair.
2. The xanthous variety, distinguished by yellow, or what
is termed red or light brown hair, and by eyes of a blue
or other light colour. The skin is, in persons of this descrip-
tion, generally fair, as I have before remarked.
3. The leucous variety. Individuals of the human kind
who belong to this class, are termed albinos, but the expres-
sion is not usually applied to animals, and it is desirable to
have some generally applicable epithet. The distinguishing
characters of this variety are a red hue of the choroid as al-
ready described; the hair is usually either white, or of a pale
or cream colour, its texture being peculiarly soft and resem-
bling combed flax; the skin is very light and fair, and easily
reddened and blistered on exposure to the sun, even in albinos
born in the Negro race.
I shall now add a few particulars respecting these varieties
of complexion.
1. Of the Melanocomous variety.
The black-haired variety forms by far the most numerous
class of mankind. It is the complexion generally prevalent,
except in some particular countries, chiefly in the northern
regions of Europe and Asia, where races of the xanthous
variety have multiplied, and it may be looked upon as the
natural and original complexion of the human species. This
variety is distinguished by the hair, both crinal and pilar,
being quite black. The crinal hair in these races is of various
texture and growth, from the long and lank hair of the native
Americans, to the fine crisp hair of the African Negroes.
But varieties in the texture of hair will be considered
L EU COUS V ARI ETY. 221
in a separate place; here we have only to speak of its
colour.
The hue of the skin varies in the black-haired races from a
deep black, which is the colour of some African nations, to a
much lighter, or more dilute shade. The dusky hue is com-
bined in some nations with a mixture of red, in others with a
tinge of yellow. The former are the copper-coloured nations
of America and Africa; the latter the olive-coloured races of
Asia. In the deepness or intensity of colour we find every
shade or gradation, from the black of the Senegal Negro, or
the deep olive, and almost jet-black of the Malabars and
some other nations of India, to the light olive of the northern
Hindoos. From that we still trace every variety of shade
among the Persians and other Asiatics, to the complexion of
the swarthy Spaniards, or of black-haired Europeans in
general.
2. Of the Leucows variety.
Examples of the leucous variety have been noticed in
almost all countries. Either they more frequently occur in
dark-coloured races and in hot countries, or they have been
more the objects of attention, when appearing under such
circumstances.
In Europe they are by no means infrequent; Blumenbach
says he has seen sixteen instances in Germany. European
albinos present some variety of appearance. Their hair is
sometimes as white as that of old age, and not differing in
texture from that of the ordinary kind; at others it is of a
very pale yellowish white, or cream colour, flowing in long
straight bundles of soft, silky texture, which Blumenbach
with reason compares to goat's wool. I have seen examples
of both, in persons born in Europe, of genuine European
descent. Those African albinos, who are termed white
negroes, have coarse woolly hair of a white colour. The red
iris has often a tremulous motion, and the eye is very sensible
to light. The skin in European albinos is like that of the
very fair sanguine complexion.
222 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
The following are descriptions of this variety, as it appears
in different races.
Among the copper-coloured native Americans, in the Isth-
mus of Darien, it is, according to an intelligent eye-witness,
remarkably frequent. The albinos or blafards of Darien, are
thus described by Wafer:—
“These persons are white, and there are of them of both
sexes; yet there are but few of them in comparison of the
copper-coloured, possibly but one to two or three hundred.
They differ from the other Indians chiefly in respect of colour,
though not in that only. Their skins are not of such a white
as those of fair people among Europeans, with some tincture
of a blush or sanguine complexion; yet neither is it like that
of our paler people, but it is rather a milk-white, lighter than
the colour of any European, and much like that of a white
horse.
“ For there is this further remarkable in them, that their
bodies are beset all over, more or less, with a fine, short, milk-
white down; but they are not so thick-set with this down,
especially on the cheeks and forehead, but that the skin ap-
pears distinct from it. Their eye-brows are milk-white also,
and so is the hair of their heads, and very fine withal, about
the length of six or eight inches, and inclining to a curl.
“They are not so big as the other Indians, and their eye-
lids bend, and open in an oblong figure, pointing downwards
at the corners, and forming an arch, or figure of a crescent,
with the points downwards. From hence, and from their
seeing so clear as they do in a moonshiny might, we used to
call them moon-eyed. For they see not well in the sum,
poring in the clearest day, their eyes being weak, and running
with water, if the sun shines towards them ; so that in the
day-time they care not to go abroad, unless it be a cloudy
dark day. Besides, they are a weak people in comparison of
the others, and not very fit for hunting and other laborious
exercises, nor do they delight in any such ; but notwithstand-
ing their being thus sluggish and dull in the day-time, yet
when moonshiny nights come, they are all life and activity,
running abroad in the woods, and skipping about like wild
LEUCOUS VARIETY. 223
bucks, and running as fast by moon-light, even in the gloom
and shade of the woods, as the other Indians by day; being
as nimble as they, though not so strong and lusty. The
copper-coloured Indians seem not to respect them so much
as those of their own complexion, looking on them as some-
thing monstrous. They are not a distinct race by themselves,
but now and then one is bred of a copper-coloured father
and mother, and I have seen of less than a year old of this
SOrt.”%
Albinos have been observed in many islands of the Indian
and great southern ocean. The following is the description of
them in Otaheite, by Captain Cook.-‘‘ During our stay on
this island we saw about five or six persons whose skins were
of a dead white, like the nose of a white horse; with white
hair, beard, eye-brows and eye-lashes; red tender eyes, a
short sight, and scurfy skins, covered with a kind of white
down. We found that no two of these belonged to the same
family.” An individual of this class was seen on the same
island by Mr. Bankes and Dr. Solander, and described by
them : “his skin was of a dead white, without the least ap-
pearance of what is called complexion, though some parts of
his body were in a small degree less white than others: his
hair, eye-brows, and beard were as white as his skin; his
eyes appeared as if they were blood-shot, and he seemed to
be very short-sighted.”:
In Java, Ceylon, and other neighbouring islands, albinos
are well known. Here, and on the continent of India, they
are termed “Chakrelas, or Kakkerlakken,” that is, cock-
roaches. Dubois has thus described the albino variety, as it
appears among the Hindoos.-‘‘ It is no uncommon thing to
meet with a class of persons among the Hindoos, who are
born with a skin much whiter even than that of Europeans.
But it is easy to perceive that it is not a natural colour, be-
cause their hair is altogether as white as their skin ; and in
general their whole exterior appearance is unnatural. They
have this distinguishing peculiarity, that they cannot endure
* Wafer's account of the Isthmus of Darien, 1699, also Phil. Transact. 1763.
+ Cook, apud Hawkesworth, ii. 188. # Ibidem, p. 200.
224 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
/
the light of the broad day. While the sun is up, they cannot
look steadily at any object; and during all that time they
contract their eye-lids so as apparently to exclude vision.
But in return, they are gifted with the faculty of seeing almost
every object in the dark.” He adds, “that these individuals
are termed by Europeans in India “chakrelas.’ By the
Hindoos they are looked upon with horror, and their bodies,
like those of persons labouring under cutaneous diseases, are
cast upon a dunghill, or left to be eaten by wild beasts.”
Among the black races of Africa white Negroes are fre-
quently born ; they are looked upon as great curiosities, and
are often collected by the black kings, and kept as objects of
wonder or ornament. Many of these white Negroes, though
as I believe not all of them, are albinos. The following are
some examples described by eye-witnesses:—
Dr. Winterbottom has described, from his own observation,
several instances of this variety occurring in Negro families
at Sierra Leone and other neighbouring parts of the African
coast. The following are selected from them —
“At Malacurry, in the Soosoo country, I saw a girl about
nine or ten years of age, born of black parents: her skin was
of an unpleasant dead-looking white, and pretty smooth,
though beginning to assume a cracked appearance, owing to
the action of the sun. There was a man of the same colour
belonging to this town, but he was then absent.”
“At Wankapong, I saw a young man about eighteen years
of age, tall and well-formed, whose father had been a white
Negro. This young man's mother, three brothers, and two of
his sisters were black, but one sister was white like himself.
His skin, from exposure to the sun, had acquired a slight
reddish tinge, and was covered with a great number of black
or brown spots, like freckles, some of which were nearly as
large as a sixpence. It was much rougher and harsher to the
touch than the woman's, feeling almost like the skin of a
lizard. He complained very much of the action of the sun,
which cracked his skin, and sometimes occasioned it to bleed.
He was also peculiarly sensible to the bites of insects. His
hair was of a dirty white, and woolly; the iris of the eye was
of a reddish brown colour, and his sight very weak.
| *TY (T) ≤
WHITE NEGROES OF BUFFON. 225
“At Bottoe, on the Kroo coast, I saw another appearance
of this kind in a man about twenty-five years of age. His
parents were black, and had several black children, but they
had two white ones, himself and a sister. The man was very
tall, rather robust, but awkward in his gait. His skin was
nearly of a cream colour, and freckled from exposure, but so
very much unlike that of European sailors, who expose them-
selves without shirts to the sun, that the difference was very
striking at some distance. His eyes were of a reddish co-
lour, and very weak, appearing red round the edges of the
tarsi, and constantly winking in a strong light. His skin was
uncommonly coarse in its texture, and the sebaceous glands
were very large and numerous. He was married to a black
woman, but had no children ; his sister, whom I did not see,
was married to a black man, and had two black children.”
Buffon has given a minute description of a white Negress,
born in the island of Dominica, of black parents, who were
natives of Africa. She was not quite five feet high, and well
proportioned in her body, but not exactly so with respect to
her head, which was too large in proportion to the trunk.
The author adds, “Tous les traits de la face sont absolument
semblables à ceux des Négresses noires, seulement les oreilles
sont placées trop haut.” “Les lèvres et la bouche, quoique
conformées comme dans les Négresses noires, paroissent sin-
gulières par le défaut de couleur: elles sont aussi blanches
que le reste de la peau, et sans aucune apparence de rouge:
«.D-
en général la couleur de la peau, tant du visage que du corps
de cette Nègresse blanche, est d’un blanc de suif qu'on n’au-
roit pas encore épuré, ou si l’on veut d’un blanc mat blafard
et inanimé; cependant on voyoit une teinte légère d’incarnat
sur les joues lorsqu’elle s'approchoit du feu, ou qu’elle étoit
rémuée par la honte qu’elle avoit de se faire voir nue.” “Les
mamelons étoitent d'un rouge assez vermeil.” “Sa tête étoit
bien garnie de laine: cette laine est très touffue et frisée, na-
turellement blanche à la racine et roussätre à l’extremité.”
“Les yeux sont remarquables par un mouvement très sin-
gulier:” “ses paupières n'étaient pas plus amples qu’elles le
sont ordinairement; elle pouvoit les fermer, mais non pas les
ouvrir au point de découvrir le dessus de la prunelle, en sorte
Q
226 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
que le muscle élévateur paroit avoir moins de force dans ces
Nègres blancs que dans les autres hommes: ainsiles paupiè-
res sont toujours à demi fermées. Le blanc de l’oeil est asseſ.
pur, la pupille et la prunelle assez larges. L'iris est com-
posé à l’interieur, autour de la pupile, d'un cercle jaune in-
determiné; ensuite d'un cercle mélé de jaune et de bleu, et
enfin d'un cercle d’un bleu foncé, qui forme la circonférence
de la prunelle: en sorte que vus d’un peu loin, les yeux pa-
roissent d'un bleu sombre.” Many other particulars are mi-
nutely detailed in the original description of this individual, to
which I must refer the reader; but the following observation
deserves particular notice.
“Au reste, les personnes, auxqu’ellescette Nègresse blanche
appartient, m'ont assuré que presque tous les Négres måles
et fémelles qu'on a tirés de la Côte d'Or en Afrique pour les
iles de la Martinique, de la Guadaloupe, et de la Dominique,
ont produit dans cesiles des Négres blancs, non pas en grand
nombre, mais un sur 6 ou 7 enfans.”
In this instance the iris was coloured, and not devoid of
the pigment, as it is in perfect specimens of the albino va-
riety. This is an approximation towards the character of the
flaxen-haired and blue-eyed variety of mankind,
3. The A anthous variety.
The xanthous variety is a term which I adopt to include all
those individuals who have light brown, auburn, yellow or
red hair. With hair of these colours is almost always com-
bined a fair complexion, which on exposure to heat acquires
not a black or deep brown hue, but more or less of a red tint;
and this is not merely the effect of the blood in the cutaneous
vessels, but of a peculiar secretion which imparts its colour to
the skin. The pigment of the eye is in this variety of a light
colour; a light grey, or azure blue, is the most common hue:
but it has sometimes various shades of yellow or brown, and
occasionally a green-yellow tint.
This variety passes insensibly into the others; it would be
* See Buffon. Supplement, tom. iv. p. 559 et seqq.
XANTHOUS V ARIETY. 227
difficult to determine whether some individuals belong to it or
to the melanous: and again, the characters of the xanthous
variety are in some instances intermixed with, or passing into
those of the albino by intermediate gradations.
There is something in the temperately cold regions of Eu-
rope and Asia, which favours the production of this variety;
for it is in these countries chiefly that it prevails, and is in
some instances the general character of whole tribes. From
this fact we must conclude that there is in the climate of these
countries some quality congenial to the constitution of body
connected with this complexion. Either it springs up more
frequently there than elsewhere, or when it casually appears,
multiplies and is propagated more extensively. It is not un-
common to find it prevailing in high mountainous tracts, while
in the neighbouring low grounds it gives place to the melanic
variety. But this is not the place to consider the connexion of
varieties with local or other causes.
The xanthous variety springs up out of every melancomous
tribe. Sometimes it forms the majority of a tribe or nation,
though more frequently only a part. The Jews, like the Arabs,
are generally a black-haired race, but I have seen many Jews
with light hair and beards, and blue eyes, and in some parts
of Germany, the Jews are remarkable for red, bushy beards.
The Greeks were probably, in Homer's time as now, in gene-
ral of the melanous variety; yet it appears from the use of
such epithets as Tvøjóc Śav00c and y\avKöTuc, that the Xan-
thous complexion was not unfrequent. Among the Romans
a grey-eyed child was considered as something disgusting,
perhaps bordering on the monstrous, which indicates that it
was rare.” The Germans had generally blue eyes, and red
or yellow hair in the time of Tacitus;f but this is by no
means the fact in the present day. Among the genuine Celts
* Lucretius, lib. iv.
+ I suspect that the remark on the complexion of the ancient Germans has never
applied to the Suevi, the ancestors of the Allemannic Germans, but to the Gothic,
Scandinavian, and Anglian races ; who are very distinguishable from the eastern
Germans, in the present time, by their greater fairness of complexion, and more
regular and softer features. See Dr. E. Clarke's Travels in Scandinavia, part. i.
chap. 1.
s ).
Q &
228 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
there were at least some melanous tribes, as the Silures;
yet Strabo repeatedly assures us, that the Celtae of the con-
tinent, viz. of Gaul, were nearly as yellow-haired as the Ger-
mans. Many of the Russians are light-haired, though the
mass of the Slavonian nation is of the melanous variety. And
among the ancient Scythians, Herodotus informs us that the
tribe termed Budini were xanthous. The Laplanders are ge-
nerally of the dark complexion; but the Finns, Mordouines,
and Votiaks, who are allied to them in race, are xanthous.
Many of the northern Tungusians or Mantschu Tartars are of
the xanthous variety, though the majority of this nation are
black-haired. Even among the Kalmuks and Bouriaets, as
Pallas informs us, the xanthous variety springs up. The same
variety appears among the South Sea Islanders, the aborigines
of America, and in many other nations.
The xanthous variety appears not only in those melanoco-
mous races which are of less swarthy shade, such as the na-
tions already mentioned; among the ancient Egyptians it
seems to have arisen occasionally; Diodorus says, that red-
haired persons were not frequent in the native stock of Egypt,
but light brown hair has been found in Egyptian mummies.
And among the Negro races of Africa, both in their native
climate, and in other places to which they have been trans-
ported, the xanthous variety frequently appears. This fact
requires some further details. -
I have already cited some accounts of the appearance of
white Negroes. The instances I have selected were examples
of the leucous variety. It seems to be generally believed
that all white Negroes are albinos; this appears to be however
by no means the fact. On the contrary, I find that a consi-
derable proportion, perhaps the greater number of the indi-
viduals termed white Negroes, are either genuine examples of
the xanthous variety, or resemble that variety in some respects,
and appear to exhibit gradations between the albino and the
xanthous. Some of them have all the characteristics of the
xanthous.
Dr. Winterbottom mentions what he regarded as an inter-
mediate step between the common African complexion and
the albino. It was the instance of a man, who though born
XANTH O U S N EG R O ES. 229
of Negro parents, was of a mulatto complexion, and much
freckled, and who had strong red hair, disposed in very small
wiry curls over his whole head.*
Marcgraf saw in the Brazils, an African woman, whose
skin and hair were red. F
Dr. Winterbottom remarks, that when the beard of a Negro
has been exposed during the dry season to a hot sun, the ends
of the hair frequently acquire a reddish or burnt appearance.
This is nothing extraordinary; but he adds, that sometimes
this is the natural colour of the hair, independently of expo-
sure to the sun. “In a family at Free Town, in Sierra Leone,
the children had red or copper-coloured skins, and woolly
hair of a dirty red or singed colour.” “At the same place,”
he adds, “I saw a mulatto man, belonging to the Kroo coast,
whose hair was a pale red, such as occurs in England, and
disposed in very small curls over his head; his skin was very
much freckled, his eyes were black, and not affected by the
glare of sun-light.” This man was evidently of intermediate
variety between the Negro and the xanthous.
Blue eyes, or brown eyes, appear to be not uncommon,
as well as red or yellow hair, in what are termed white Ne-
groes. Dr. Winterbottom describes two white Negroes in the
Mandingo country, from the testimony of an eye-witness.
“In both of these the iris was of a light blue colour, the eyes
were very weak, and unable to support the light of the sun ;
the hair was woolly and white,” the skin was rough, and had
red patches here and there. He describes, from his own ob-
servation, a white Negro woman whom he saw at Dumboya,
near Wankapong in the Soosoo country, whose parents, bro-
thers and sisters, were all black. She had borne a black
child to a black man, so that no doubt could be entertained
of her being of genuine Negro origin. He says that her skin
was coarse, dry, and wrinkled. In parts exposed to the sun
it was of a reddish tinge, or cream-colour; but in parts less
exposed, of a dirty white. Large black spots like freckles,
produced by the sun, were scattered over it. These are fre-
* Winterbottom, ii. p. 170.
| Marcgraf, Tractatus Prasilia, p. 12. Blumenbach, p. 182.
230 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
quent effects of heat on a skin not fitted by nature, as that
of the black Negro is, to endure it. The hair of this woman
“was of a dirty yellowish white, but woolly and crisp. Her
eyes were of a light bluish colour, very weak, constantly
twinkling. The eye-brows and eye-lashes were nearly white.”
“I was informed,” says Dr. Winterbottom, “that a boy of a
similar appearance resided in the neighbourhood.”
The skin is sometimes quite healthy in appearance, and the
complexion ruddy, like that of Europeans of sanguine tem-
perament. Pallas has minutely described a white Negress
seen by him in London, in 1761. She was born of Negro
parents in Jamaica, and was sixteen years of age. She was
of small stature, fair complexion, with ruddy lips and cheeks.
The iris of her eye was neither red nor blue, but of brownish
grey colour: her eyes were weak, and impatient of a bright
light, which was said to have arisen chiefly from the small-
pox. Her hair, which was quite woolly of texture, was of a
light yellow colour, or what the French call “blond.” This
girl had the Negro features strongly marked, and had every
appearance of genuine Negro descent.
A white Negro is described by Dr. Goldsmith, who saw him
exhibited in London. He says, “upon examining this Negro
I found the colour to be exactly like that of a European ;
the visage white and ruddy, and the lips of the proper red-
mess.” “ However,” he adds, “ there were sufficient marks to
convince me of his descent. The hair was white and woolly,
and very unlike any thing I had seen before. The iris of the
eye was yellow, inclining to red; the nose was flat, exactly
resembling that of a Negro, and the lips thick and promi-
nent.” +
In this example the characters of the complexion seem to
have been intermediate between those of the albino and the
xanthous. The same remark may be applied to the following
instance, described by Dr. Winterbottom. He says, “in the
colony of Sierra Leone, there is a girl about mine or ten years
of age, born in Nova Scotia, who has all the features of a
* Pallas. Novae Species Quadrupedum, pp. 10–11.
+ Goldsmith's History of the Earth and of Animated Nature, vol. ii. p. 241.
XANTH O U S N EG ROES. 231
Negro, with woolly hair, of a dirty white colour, and whose
skin equals in whiteness that of a European ; without any
thing disagreeable in its appearance or texture. Her eyes
are between a red and light hazel colour, but not much af.
fected by the light.” In this instance, however, it must not
be omitted, that the parents were both mulattos.
White Negroes are by no means unfrequent in Congo, and
we have accounts from early voyagers, stating, that individu-
als of that description were kept as objects of curiosity at
the court of the king, or emperor. They are generally des-
cribed as having a white skin, with grey eyes, and red or yel-
low hair. A more particular account of them will be given
in the sequel.”
If the hair alone were found to vary in the Negro, this
would amount only to a singular anomaly, and as such it
seems to have been regarded by Blumenbach : but when we
find this character combined with blue, grey, or brownish-
grey eyes, and a white ruddy skin, it must be allowed that
the individuals presenting these appearances are examples of
the xanthous variety, and of something approaching to the
sanguine complexion, as it is termed among Europeans,
though springing up in a Negro race. It appears that some
of those called white Negroes are of this description, while
others are albinos, and in not a few the peculiarities seem in-
termediate between these two varieties. F
* The fact of red hair occurring among the Negroes of Congo has been alluded
to by Blumenbach, who observes in confirmation of it, that he has seen many
Mulattos with red hair; and says that Groben has made the same remark of the
Mulattos of Sierra Leone. .
+ Arthaud has made some remarks which were sufficient to show that all white
Negroes are not albinos. He says, “ Toutes les observations prouvent que les
Nègres blancs ne different des autres que par la couleur: que leur constitution
n’est pas aussi robuste que eelle des autres Négres, sans étre aussi faibles ni aussi
dégradée qu'on l'a dit; qu'ils ont quelque fois de la carnation, et les lèvres verme-
illes: que leur tète est converte d'une laine rousse, et qu'ils ont des poils lanugineux
de la méme couleur, sur les autres parties du corps ; que leur vue n'est pas aussi
bonne que chez les autres homme: que l'iris est diversement coloré, etc. Journal
de Physique, October, 1789; cited by Blumenbach. See French edition of his
work, entitled, “De l'Unité du Genre Humain, et de ses Variétés, p. 275 ;” and a
note by the Translator, p. 277.
232 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Mr. Burchell has given a description of an individual of
the xanthous variety born from the race of black Kaffers in
South Africa. The parents, who were genuine Kaffers, had
lived as servants at Van Heerden's farm, and had left their
child, a female, when an infant, and returned into their own
country. When Mr. Burchell saw her she was sixteen years
old, stout, and of short stature. “The colour of her skin
was that of the fairest European, or more correctly described,
it was more pink and white.” “Perhaps it will be more in-
telligible to a painter,” says Mr. Burchell, “if I describe it
as being compounded of a pure white, and a moderate tint of
vermilion, without the admixture of any other colour. Her
hair was of the same woolly nature as that of her country-
women, but it was of a singularly pale hue, nearly approach-
ing to the colour which is termed flaxen. Her features, how-
ever, were those of a genuine Kaffer.” -
In all races of dark complexion the xanthous variety occa-
sionally springs up. Instances appear now and then among
the natives of the islands in the Pacific. In some of these
groupes, as in the Marquesas, brown hair and light com-
plexions are frequent; in others, they are rare phenomena.
In the isle of Otaha, Dr. Forster informs us, that he saw one
man who had a complexion lighter than all the rest. He had
red hair. In these islands the xanthous, or fair individuals,
have never been confounded with the albinos or leucous.
SECTION II.-Of the Structure of the Parts on which the
variety of Colour depends.
Paragraph 1.—Of the Eye.
The colour of the eye is well known to depend upon the
pigment lining internally the choroid tunic, and imparting its
peculiar hue, which is visible through the other transparent
coats. The pigment is a peculiar secretion from the vessels
of the choroid. In the albino and the leucous variety in
general it is wanting, and the eye has a red or rose-colour,
arising as I have before observed from the blood which cir-
V AR IBTY OF COLOU R. 233
culates in the vessels of the choroid and iris. The pigment
has been known to make its appearance, as I have said,
though originally wanting; and thus an actual transition has
displayed itself, from the xanthous and the leucous variety,
which in the general state of the constitution approximate to
each other, both being connected with that habit of body
termed the sanguine temperament.
Paragraph 2.—Of the Skin.
The variety of hue which the skin displays in different
races of men depends entirely on substances external to the
cutis vera, or true skin. This outer covering or case of the
whole body, which the Germans term haut or hide, and
French anatomical writers corion or corium, is nearly of the
same consistence and of the same white colour, in all human
races. External to the cutis there are, as it is well known, cer-
tain layers of a substance various in consistence, and scarcely
organized; in these, which may be regarded as secretions
from the vessels of the cutis, is the seat of colour. They are
commonly designated the rete mucosum of Malpighi and the
cuticle, but their anatomical structure is by no means com-
pletely known, although many authors of great celebrity
have occupied themselves in this investigation. Among these
Albinus,” Camper, Haller, Soemmerring,S Blumenbach,
Lawrence," have directed their attention particularly to the
anatomical state of these parts, as giving rise to the peculiar
hue of the dark races of men: and if the subject has not
been fully elucidated, it must be concluded that some par-
ticular obscurity and difficulty lies in the way.
It appears from various observations, that there is some
difference in the cuticle of the Negro and that of the Euro-
pean. This substance is well known to be of various thick-
* Albini Dissert. secunda de sede et causā coloris AFthiopum et casterorum homi-
num, &c. Leyd. Bat. 1737.
+ Rede tiber der Ursprung und Farbe der Schwarzen, 1764.
: Elem. Physiologiae. T. 5.
S Soemmerring tiber die Körperliche Verschiedenheit des Negers, u, s, w,
| Dºlumenbach de Gen. Hum. War. Nat,
* Lawrence's Lectures on the Nat. Hist. of Man.
234 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
nesses in different parts of the body. In the palms of the
hands and the soles of the feet it is thick, and this is one
reason why these parts are whiter in the Negro than other
parts of the body. It is said to be of somewhat coarser
texture in the Negro than in the white man.* In the dead
body it is hard and dry; in the living it has a somewhat oily
surface, especially in the Negro, whence the peculiar velvet-
like softness of the skin in the African races.
Haller observed that the cuticle consists in the Negro, in a
healthy state, of two distinct and separate lamellae. Soem-
merring could never distinguish this double fold of the
cuticle in those parts of the body where it is usually
thin. On the other hand he declares, that he once found
the cuticle distinctly separable into two folds in an European
female, of which he preserved the preparation in his museum.
The cuticle itself is besides not quite so white in the Negro
as in Europeans, according to Soemmerring's observations. It
has especially on some parts of the body a brown and darker
hue in the former; yet it is not in this part of the integument
which is more easily examined, since it may be separated
from the body by vesication, that the chief peculiarity of
complexion consists.
The dark colour of the Negro principally depends on the
substance interposed between the true skin and the scarf-
skin. This substance presents different appearances, and it
is described sometimes as a sort of organized net-work or
reticular tissue, at others as a mere mucous or slimy layer;
and it is odd that these somewhat incompatible ideas are
both conveyed by the term rete mucosum, given to the
intermediate portion of the skin by its original discoverer,
Malpighi.
The cuticle is adherent in the fresh state of parts to the
rete mucosum, and both together are easily separable from
the cuticle, but it is very difficult to detach the cuticle alone
from the subjacent rete and true skin. On examining this
middle membrane when either of its coverings is removed,
with a magnifying glass it has, as Soemmerring observes, the
* Soemmerring, p. 45. + Prin, lin Phys. 424. Soemmerring, l.c.
V ARIETY OF COLOU R. 235
appearance of an irregular net-work. “This mucous net-
work,” says the same writer, “ constitutes, as long as it is
fresh and unimpaired, a sort of third skin difficultly separable
from the outer covering, but more easily from the cutis, and
evidently in some places thicker than the cuticle itself. It
cannot however without much trouble be shown as a par-
ticular detached skin, or as a continuous and self-subsisting
membrane, at least in any considerable portions, and I could
only succeed in this attempt at the scrotum. It then ap-
pears lighter on the cuticular than on the interior surface.
When putrefaction however takes place, the skins are easily
separated, and then the Malpighian reticle, or middle mem-
brane, dissolves into a soft slimy mucus, which may easily
be washed away like an unctuous pigment from the cutis, or
scarf-skin. The colouring matter sinks in water, and settling
forms again a layer, somewhat resembling a membrane. Its
appearance in this state is compared by Mr. Lawrence with
that of the pigment of the eye, to which it bears a striking
analogy, and probably almost an identity of nature.
Thus it appears that the chief seat of colour in the black
men is an unorganized extra-vascular substance, falsely termed
a membrane or skin, in fact nothing more than a peculiar
matter secreted from the leatis. Hence we need not be sur-
prised when we find Dr. Gordon asserting, that after trying
all the usual means, he has never been able to succeed in
discovering such a membrance in white persons.
It appears from pathological and other facts, that the pre-
sence and absence of the coloured pigment depends on modi-
fications in the state of the skin, which may take place even
after the birth of the individual. It is no uncommon thing
to see white persons with black or dark-coloured patches on
the skin of various extent. Many females have a dark tinge ex-
tending over a considerable space round the nipple during
pregnancy, which disappears in a great measure afterwards.
This is unexplained by any pathological principle; but the
change of colour which happens at such periods, varies in
its degree of intensity as well as in the space occupied by it;
and in some individuals it has been known to cover the ab-
236 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
domen,” and even to affect the whole body. Bomare, in an
article cited by Blumenbach, mentions a French peasant
whose abdomen became entirely black during each preg-
nancy;i and Camper has given a particular account of a
female of rank, who had naturally a white skin and a beau-
tiful complexion, but whenever she became pregnant, began
immediately to grow brown:—“Vers la fin desa grossesse,” he
says, “elle dévenait une veritable Négresse.” After de-
livery the dark colour gradually disappeared. Dr. Strack, in
a work on intermittent fevers, which is cited by Soemmerring,
mentions the case of a man who became, after a fever, as
black as a Negro. Blumenbach says, that he possesses a
part of the skin taken from the abdomen of a beggar, which
is as black as the skin of an African. Haller, Ludwig, and
Albinus have recorded similar instances. These facts are
quite sufficient to prove that independently of the influence
of solar heat, a physical change may take place, connected
with the state of the constitution, which imparts a black hue
to the skin, similar to that which is natural to the African race.
This colouring matter is also liable to disappear by ab-
sorption in skins to which it is natural. Instances are not
unfrequently observed in different countries in which Negroes
gradually lose their black colour, and become as white as
Europeans. An example of this kind is recorded in the
fifty-seventh volume of the Philosophical Transactions. Klin-
kosch mentioned the case of a Negro, who lost his blackness
and became yellow,' and Caldani declares that a Negro who
was a shoemaker at Venice, was black when brought during
infancy to that city, but became gradually lighter, and had
the hue of a person labouring under a slight jaundice.
The black substance is capable, like other products of
vascular cutis, of being regenerated when partially destroyed.
* Soemmerring, loc. c.
+ Camper, Kleine Schriften, Soemmerring, 47.
†: “Une autre,” says thc learned writer, “a toujours la jambe gauche noire
dans cette circonstance.”
S Klinkosch, de verú natura Cuticulae Prag, 1775. Soemmerring, l. c.
| Caldani Institut. Physiol, p. 170.
VARI ETY OF COLOU R. 237
The contrary has been asserted, and it has often been said
that cicatrices in Negroes remain always white; an assertion
which has been ascertained by Mr. Lawrence” to be alto-
gether without ground.
From these facts it appears evident that a substance analo-
gous to the mucous pellicle, which covers the cutis in the Negro,
is liable to be secreted occasionally in white persons, and
that in the Negro this matter is capable of being absorbed.
It is therefore a safe inference that a substance exists in
Europeans, although in white races the rete mucosum has
never been demonstrated, which is analogous to it in its
nature. As the cutis is always white, and the cuticle inor-
ganic and susceptible of little variety in its state, there must
be something interposed between the two on which colora-
tion depends, and this is probably analogous to the cutaneous
pigment in the African.
It cannot be doubted that the other dark-haired races of
men have the same colouring membrane, if so it ought to be
termed, as the Negro. Albinos born in such races are, as we
have seen, white; if then the cutis and epidermis are as in
other individuals, their whiteness must depend on the want
of the rete mucosum, as it is known to do in white Negroes,
or albinos of African descent.
Paragraph 3.—Of the Hair.
The hairs issue from bulbs or roots, situated in the cellular
web under the cutis. These bulbs have an external vascular
root, which is probably the source whence the hair derives
its nourishment; there is besides a membranous tube, or
sheath, which envelopes the hair, and passes out with it
through the different layers of the skin. The hair itself con-
sists of an external horny covering, and an internal or vas-
cular part, termed medulla, or pith. The pith or medulla
* Lawrence's Lectures, l.c.
t Mr. Lawrence says that there is in the Hunterian collection, a portion of
white skin with the cuticle turned down; a small portion of thin transparent
pellicle has been subsequently separated from the cutis. In the instance mentioned
by Soemmerring of the cuticle separable into two thin layers, it is not impro-
bable that the interior pellicle is the representative of the middle skin.
238 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
appears to be endowed with a species of vitality, or organi-
zation susceptible of vascular action, since it undergoes cer-
tain changes in disease, which cannot be accounted for on
any other principle. In the plica polonica, it is said, that
the hairs bleed when cut: it is well known that they become
white in old age, and grief and anxiety have been observed
to render them white in a very short space of time. Bichât
affirms that he has seen at least five or six examples in which
such a change of colour has taken place in less than eight
days: in one person, known to the same writer, the hair be-
came almost entirely white in the space of one night, the
effect of some sudden and poignant grief. It is doubtless in
this vascular medulla, whatever its structure may be, that
the colour of the hair resides. The outer covering is of a
substance analogous to the cuticle, the nails, and the horns
of animals.
The colouring principle is manifestly of a common nature
in the skin and hair. It has been asserted by a French
anatomist,” who has displayed much ingenuity in his re-
searches into this subject, that the colouring matter of the
skin is produced and secreted in the bulbs of the hair. This
opinion was formed from an attentive observation of the
phaenomena which ensue after the black pigment, in the skin
of the Negro, has been destroyed by the application of blis-
ters, or by any means producing vesication. In the process
of restoration the black matter first begins to reappear at the
pores through which the hairs make their exit. From these
pores, as from centres, it is gradually seen ramifying in dif-
ferent directions, and insensibly proceeds to cover the whole
space which had lost its colour. The same opinion receives
some support from the fact, that parts which are most com-
pletely devoid of hair, as the soles of the feet, and the palms
of the hands, are in the Negro and other black men, of a
much lighter shade than the rest of the body. In spotted
Negroes, or Negroes who have white spots on parts of their
bodies, it has been remarked that the hairs issuing from the
white patches, are themselves perfectly white. Still it is
* Récherches sur l'Organisation de la Peau, &c, par M. Gaultier.
VARIETY OF COLOU R. 239
scarcely possible that the bulbs can be the only seat of the
secretion of this colouring matter, for the skin of the Negro
is occasionally black in some parts which are quite destitute
of hair, as on the inside of the lips. The secreting fabric,
whence issues the colouring matter, is apparently spread in
a certain degree over the whole cutis.
Whatever conclusion may be the true one on some of these
points, it is undoubted that a close connexion exists between
the colouring principle in both of these parts.
For the sake of facilitating comparison, I shall divide the
hair into crinal and pilar, terming crinal that of the head,
beard, &c., and pilar that which grows upon the trunk, par-
ticularly on the breast and on the limbs. The manes and
tails of horses, and other animals, are analogous to the crinal
hair of mankind, and the hair which is generally spread over
their bodies is analogous to the pilar.
NOTE ON SECTION I. AND II.
From what has been said of the seat and cause of variety
in complexion, it must be apparent, that in the instances before
described, a light colour of the skin and eyes makes its ap-
pearance in dark races; the choroid of the eye being coloured
as in fair Europeans, and the hair yellow or red, are examples
of the xanthous and not of the leucous variety, since the
pigment is present which gives a hue to the eyes in persons
of the former class, as well as the colouring matter in the
hair.
It must be apparent to the reader, that as the colour of the
skin passes by a gradual transition from the deeper black to
a light shade, and even to a white or colourless state, we can-
not well divide human races into particular classes by refer-
ence to the complexion of their skins. The colour of the eye
displays more strongly marked divisions, but, on the whole,
the hair chiefly, but in conjunction with other characters, af-
fords the most convenient principle of arrangement.
240 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
SECTION III.-Of variety in the Colour of some other parts.
It had been asserted by some anatomists before the time of
Soemmerring, particularly by the elder Meckel, and Wagler of
Brunswick, that the brain of the Negro is of darker colour
than that of white men. Meckel thought this to be the case
particularly with the white or medullary portion. A different
opinion was that of Walter, who thought that the cineritious
portion was somewhat darker.
Soemmerring endeavoured to ascertain the truth in this dis-
puted question, and dissected carefully the brains of three Ne-
groes in the presence of several other anatomists, viz. Professor
Weichman, Professor Schumlanski of Petersburg, and Bill-
mann of Cassel, taking care to compare on the spot the fresh
brain of a European. The result was that he could not dis-
cover either the cineritious or medullary substance to be in
the least darker than in Europeans. He even thought the
colour rather paler in the African than in the European brain.
Camper had made the same observation in the examination
of four brains of Negroes; and Professor Bonn of Amsterdam,
had declared that he could not perceive the Negro brain to be
of darker hue than that of white men, though he thought the
pia mater of a deeper tinge. On the whole we must con-
clude, as Soemmerring observes, that there is no remarkable
difference as to colour in the brains of Negroes and Euro-
peans.
C H A P T E R IV.
THE SAME INQUIRY CONTINUED.—VARIETIES OF FORM AND
STRUCTURE.
SECTION I.-General Remarks—Instances of the origina-
tion of Varieties—Of the seven principal Varieties of
Mankind.
DIVERSITIES in form, in the shape of the body and the pro-
portion of the trunk and limbs, as well as in the figure and
structure of particular parts, exist in almost every species.
We must take a brief survey of the phenomena of diversity
observed in the human form, and then proceed to compare
these phenomena with those which display themselves in
other tribes. A few previous remarks on the origination of
such varieties will assist us in forming some conception of
their nature.
On extending our view over the organized world, we per-
ceive no other quality so generally characterising the works
of nature as an infinite and inexhaustible variety. Human
art aims at precise uniformity in its productions, while Na-
ture seems, if we may be allowed the expression, to be every-
where satisfied with resemblance. Her purposes are attained
by displaying that sort of general analogy which is still com-
patible with individual variety. It is most probable, that no
two individuals were ever produced in any species with com-
plete and perfect sameness of form and structure. This cha-
racter in all the productions of nature was remarked by Lu-
cretius, whose poetical imagination has led him in this in-
stance, in spite of his atheistical philosophy, to the conception
of a final cause.
R
242 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Praeterra genus humanum, mutaeque natantes,
Squammigeröm pecudes, et lata armenta, feraeque,
Et varia volucres, lactantia quae loca aquarum
Concelebrant, circum ripas fonteisque lacusque,
Et qua pervolgant nemora avia pervolitantes:
Horum unum quodvis generatim sumere perge;
Invenies tamen inter se distare figuris.
Necratione alia proles cognoscere matrem,
Nec mater possit prolem ; quod posse videmus,
Nec minus, atque homines, inter se nota cluere,
And again he applies the same observation to other depart-
ments of nature.
Postremo quodvis frumentum, non tamen omne
Quodque in suo genere inter se simile esse videbis,
Quin intercurrat quaedam distantia formis.
Concharumque genus simili ratione videmus
Pingere telluris gremium quá mollibus undis
Littoris incurvi bibulam pavit aequor arenam.
The variety in form, prevalent among all organized produc-
tions of nature, is found to subsist between individual beings
of whatever species, even when they are the offspring of the
same parents. Another circumstance equally remarkable is
the tendency which exists in almost every tribe, whether of
animals or of plants, to transmit to their offspring, and to
perpetuate in their race all individual peculiarities which may
thus have taken their rise. These two general facts in the
economy of organized beings lay a foundation for the exist-
ence of diversified races, originating from the same primitive
stock and within the limits of identical species; and by no-
ticing the phenomena which associate themselves with both
of these principles, we appear to make some progress towards
an explanation of the varieties which distinguish from each
other different races of men. But there is a question which
remains to be answered, and that one of no very easy solu-
tion, before we can determine to regard this or that instance
of diversity as an example referrible to variety thus originating
and perpetuated. This question is, what is the extent of de-
viation in structure, or what are the limits within which it is
restricted. That there are such limits can hardly be ques-
tioned, since without these, one species would be for ever
VARIETIES OF FORM. 243
passing into another—no tribes of animals or of plants would
be defined and characterised and like only to itself. Even
those physiologists who contend for what is termed the
indefinite nature of species, admit that they have limits
at present and under ordinary circumstances. Whatever di-
versities take place happen without breaking in upon the cha-
racteristic type of the species. This is transmitted from ge-
neration to generation: goats produce goats, and sheep, sheep.
But the new characters of organization, which spring up as
it were casually in the breed, and which, owing to our igno-
rance of the circumstances of their rise, are termed acci-
dental varieties, are transmitted perhaps with equal con-
stancy. These remarks will be illustrated by an account of
some particular instances of variety in structure, springing
up for the first time in races of men and of animals, and per-
petuated by hereditary transmission.
A singular variety of sheep has appeared within a few
years in New England, which furnishes an example of the
origination of variety in form. The first ancestor of this
breed was a male lamb, produced by an ewe of the common
description. This lamb was of singular structure, and his
offspring in many instances had the same characters with him-
self. These were shortness of the limbs, and greater length
of the body, in proportion; whence this race of animals has
been termed the otter breed. The joints also were longer,
and their fore legs crooked. It has been found advantageous
to propagate this variety, because the animal is unable to
jump over fences. The following facts seem conclusive as to
the permanency of the breed, and are very remarkable.
“When both parents are of the otter breed, their descend-
ants inherit the peculiar appearance and proportions of form.
I have heard but of one questionable case of a contrary na-
ture.”
“When an otter ewe is impregnated by a common ram,
the increase resembles, wholly, either the ewe or the ram.
The increase of a common ewe, impregnated by a ram of the
new breed, follows entirely the one or the other, without
blending any of the distinguishing and essential peculiarities
of both.
R 2
244 A NALOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
“Frequent instances have happened where common ewes
have had twins by otter rams, when one exhibited the com-
plete marks and features of the ewe, the other of the ram.
The contrast has been rendered singularly striking when one
short-legged, and one long-legged lamb, produced at a birth,
have been seen sucking the dam at the same time.”
Several instances may be adduced of variety in structure
equally striking originating in the human kind, and in like
manner propagated through many generations.
The growth of supernumerary fingers or toes, and corres-
ponding deficiencies, is a fact of this description. Mauper-
tuis has mentioned this phenomenon; he assures us that
there were two families in Germany, who have been distin-
guished for several generations by six fingers on each hand,
and the same number of toes on each foot. Jacob Ruhe, a
surgeon of Berlin, was of one of these families, and marked
by their peculiarities, which he inherited from his mother
and grandmother. His mother had been married to a man
of the ordinary make. She bore eight children, of whom four
resembled the father; the other four partook of the mo-
ther's peculiarity. Jacob Ruhe transmitted his supernume-
rary members to his posterity.
Reaumur mentions a family which had a similar peculiarity.
The grandfather had a supernumerary finger on each hand,
and an additional toe on each foot. His eldest son had three
children with the same peculiarity. The second, who had
the usual number of fingers, but in whom the thumb was
very thick and appeared as if composed of two united toge-
ther, had three daughters with the supernumerary members;
the third had the natural structure; a daughter with a very
thick thumb brought forth a son with the additional finger.’t
* Thomson's Annals of Philosophy, No. 2. Col. Humphries, on a New Breed of
Sheep. Philos. Transact. 1813. Part. i.
+ This variety has frequently occurred. Instances are recorded among the an-
cients. Pliny says, “Digiti quibusdam in manibus seni. C. Horatii ex patricia
gente filias duas, ob id sedigitas appellatas, accepimus, et Volcatium sedigitum illus-
trem in Poetica.”
The six fingered variety springs up sometimes among the Negroes in the West
India islands and the American states. Dr. Gibson, author of an inaugural disser-
{ A L' U “
| ! ...~y- ~~ (. *...* *
G.
-- V AR IIETIES OF FOR MI. 245
Sir Anthony Carlisle has given an account of a family, in
which the supernumerary toes and fingers were transmitted
through four generations. The first instance was a female,
who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot.
She had ten children like herself, and an eleventh, who only
differed from her in having one hand naturally formed.* -
The following phenomenon is perhaps more curious than
any of the foregoing. In a family at Iver, the individuals for
nine generations had perfect thumbs, but instead of fingers,
had only the first phalanx of each, and the first and second
joint of the ring finger of the left hand, these rudiments of
fingers having no nails. This is said to be the description of
the whole family, as it had been with slight variations that of
nine numerous generations. It is added that it was the wo—
men only who had the misfortune of entailing this defect
upon their offspring, which they did almost uniformly. F
Perhaps the most permanent peculiarity recorded, is a sin-
gular thickness of the upper lip, in the Imperial house of
Austria. This peculiarity is believed to have been introduced
into the Hapsburg family, many centuries ago, by an inter-
marriage with the ancient house of Jagellon.j.
It is well known to medical practitioners, that the same ob-
servation equally applies to those minute varieties of organi-
zation, which give rise to peculiarities of habit or tempera-
ment, and predispose to a variety of morbid affections, as
deafness, scrofulous complaints, and the whole catalogue of
disorders in the mervous system. Even those singular pecu-
liarities termed idiosyncrasies are often hereditary, as in thein-
stance of a remarkable susceptibility of the action of parti-
cular medicines.
Many examples of similar variety will be mentioned in the
tation, in which are many curious and original observations, says, that he has met
with such instances. In all the examples which occurred to his notice, except one,
the little finger and toe were redundant. In one case a thumb and great toe were
supernumerary.
* Philos. Transact. 1814.
+ This account is taken from the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vol.
iv. p. 252.
† Coxe's Memoirs of the House of Austria.
246 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION .
sequel which are not less remarkable than the preceding.
These have been cited on the present occasion in order to es-
tablish the fact that such deviations really take place, that
varieties of structure are not always referrible to ancestors
and to original difference transmitted from first parents, but
arise in breeds previously destitute of any such characters,
and when they have once arisen, become permanent in the
stock.
Variations are observed every day in the shape of the hu-
man body, in the size and form of the head and the proportion
of parts. The causes which give rise to these phenomena,
are various influences which have exerted their agency on
the parents previous to the birth or perfect developement of
offspring so characterised. Whatever the external agencies
may be which give rise to such phenomena in one country,
their variety and consequently the diversity and extent of their
influence must, as it would seem, be much greater when differ-
ent regions and different climates are compared with each
other. Hence, we should not be surprised in finding the na-
tive inhabitants of one part of the world differing from those
of another more widely than the inhabitants of any one coun-
try differ among themselves. Whether all the phenomena
for which we are seeking to account, admit of such an expla-
nation is still to be determined.
I shall not at present attempt to describe all the varieties
which exist in the form and configuration of the human body
in different nations, or of the peculiarities of every race of
men. The more particular enumeration of natural diversi-
ties belongs to the latter part of this work, which refers to
the origin, history, and affinities of nations. It will be suffi-
cient for my present purpose to examine the most striking
and remarkable of these varieties. If any tolerably certain
inferences can be drawn respecting these greater deviations,
it is obvious that they will hold, a fortiori, of those which
are less considerable.
On comparing the principal varieties of form and structure
which distinguish the inhabitants of different countries, we
find that there are seven classes of nations which may be se–
parated from each other by strongly marked lines. Among
W A RIETIES OF FOR M. 247
their principal characteristics are peculiar forms of the skull,
but these are by no means the only difference which require
notice and particular description. These seven principal
classes are, first, those nations who in the form of their skulls
and other physical characters resemble Europeans, including
many nations in Asia and some in Africa; secondly, races
nearly similar in figure, and in the shape of the head to the
Kalmuks, Mongoles, and Chinese. These two first classes of
nations will be designated, for reasons to be explained, Ira-
nian and Turanian nations. I shall hereafter state my reasons
for avoiding the use of the terms Cacuasian and Mongolian
races, which have been adopted by many late writers in de-
signating these divisions of mankind. The third class are
the native American nations, excluding the Esquimaux and
some tribes who resemble them more than the majority of the
inhabitants of the New World. The fourth class comprises
only the Hottentot and Bushman race. A fifth class are the
Negroes; the sixth, the Papuas or woolly haired nations
of Polynesia : the seventh, the Alfourou and Australian
races. The nations comprised under these departments of
mankind differ so strikingly from each other, that it would be
improper to include any two of them in one section, and there
is no other division of the human family that is by physical
traits so strongly characterised. There are, indeed, some na-
tions who cannot be considered as falling entirely within
either of these divisions, but they may be looked upon as
approximating to one or another of them. -
SECTION II.—Of the Negroes.
The physical characters of the Negro races are so well
known, that it is needless to enter into a particular descrip-
tion of them in this place. It has often been said that inde-
pendently of the woolly hair and the complexion of the Ne-
groes, there are sufficient differences between them and the
rest of mankind to mark them as a very peculiar tribe. This
is true, and yet the principal differences are perhaps not so
constant as many persons imagine. In our West Indian co-
248 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
lonies very many Negroes, especially females, are seen, whose
figures strike Europeans as remarkably beautiful. This
would not be the case if they deviated much from the idea
prevalent in Europe, or from the European standard of
beauty. Yet the slaves in the colonies, particularly in
those of England, were brought from the west coast of inter-
tropical Africa, where the peculiarities of figure which in
our eyes constitute deformity in the Negro, are chiefly preva-
lent. The black people imported into the French and to
some of the Portuguese colonies, from the eastern coast of
the African continent, and from Congo, are much better made.
The most degraded and savage nations are the ugliest.
Among the most improved and the partially civilized, as
the Ashantees, and other interior states the figure and the
features of the native people approach much more to the
European. The ugliest Negro tribes are confined to the
equatorial countries; and on both sides of the equator as we
advance towards the temperate zones, the persons of the in-
habitants are more handsome and well formed.
In a later period of this work I shall cite authors who have
proved that many races belonging to this department of
mankind are noted for the beauty of their features, and their
fine stature and proportions. Adamson has made this ob-
servation of the Negroes on the Senegal. He thus describes
the men. “ Leur taille est pour l'ordinaire au-dessus de la
médiocre, bien prise et sans défaut. Ils sont forts, robustes,
et d’un tempérament propre à la fatigue. Ils ont les yeux
moirs et bien fendus, pue de barbe, les traits du visage assez
agréables.” They are complete Negroes, for it is added that
their complexion is of a fine black, that their hair is black,
frizzled, cottony, and of extreme fineness. The women are
said to be of nearly equal stature with the men, and equally
well made. “Leur visage est d’une douceur extrème. Elles
ont les yeux noirs, bien fendus, la bouche et les lèvres pétites
et les traits du visage bien proportionnés. Il s'en trouve
plusieurs d’une beauté parfaite.” Mr. Rankin, a highly in-
telligent traveller, who reports accurately and without prejudice
the results of his personal observation, has recently given a
similar testimony in regard to some of the numerous tribes of
$
PECU LIARITIES OF THE NEGRO, 249
northern Negroland, who frequent the English colony of Sierra
Leone. In the skull of the more improved and civilized
nations among the woolly-haired blacks of Africa, there is
comparatively slight deviation from the form which may be
looked upon as the common type of the human head. We
are assured, for example, by M. Golberry, that the Ioloffs,
whose colour is a deep transparent black, and who have woolly
hair, are robust and well made, and have regular features.
Their countenances, he says, are ingenuous, and inspire con-
fidence: they are honest, hospitable, generous and faithful.
The women are mild, very pretty, well made, and of agreeable
manners.” On the other side of the equinoctial line, the
Congo Negroes, as Pigafetta declares, have not thick lips or
ugly features; except in colour they are very like the Por-
tuguese. Kaffers in South Africa frequently resemble Eu-
ropeans, as many late travellers have declared. It has been
the opinion of many that the Kaffers ought to be sepa-
rated from the Negroes as a distinct branch of the human
family. This has been proved to be an error. In the confor-
mation of the skull which is the leading character, the
Kaffers associate themselves with the great majority of woolly
African nations. The craniology of these races will come
under our consideration in the following chapter, and we shall
have a proper opportunity for describing the differences
which subsist between particular African nations, when we
enter upon the ethnographical inquiries which form the sub-
ject of the succeeding books.
SECTION III.-Of the Papuas.
The name of Papuas is perhaps most commonly applied to
tribes of people, whose colour, approaching to black, varies in
the deepness of its shade, and whose hair is neither lank nor
absolutely woolly. Races of this description are known on
the coasts of many islands in the Malayan seas, such as
Waigiou, Sallawaty, Gummen, and Battenta, and about the
* Golberry's Travels in Africa, vol. i. Mudford's Translation, p. 74.
250 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
shores of New Guinea, from Sabelo to the Cape Dory, where
they have been described fully by M. M. Quoy and Gaimard.
These insular and littoral tribes are in fact, as the writers
above mentioned have proved, a mixed race, between Malay
settlers and the genuine Papuas. This has been inferred
from the mixed state of their language, as well as of their
physical characters and their religious customs, which par-
take in some parts more, in others less, of the corrupt
Mahomedanism of the Malays and the Paganism of the native
Papuas. The same conclusion appears highly probable,
when it is considered that the small tribes into which these
people are divided, under the rule of petty chiefs termed
rajahs, are spread over tracts just intermediate between the
Malayan isles, and the Land of the Papuas, namely, on the
shores of small islands clustered together under the equator,
and continually receiving new Malay settlers from Tidor and
Ternate, as well as Papuas from New Guinea, and even
some Alfourous from the mountains in the interior. The
governing and the commercial caste, are the Malays, who hold
the mixed Papua race in subjection. The latter are des-
cribed as indicating by their puny stature, timid character,
and the leprous diseases which are prevalent among them, the
unwholesome influence of the tracts which they inhabit, and of
their mode of life.”
Such, as M. Lesson observes, are the Papuas, who were
visited by d’Entrecasteaux, Rossel, La Billardière, de Frey-
cinet, Quoy and Guinard. They must be distinguished
carefully from the genuine Papuas, who inhabit the northern
parts of New Guinea and the great adjoining islands of New
Britain, New Ireland, as well as the groupes which extend
southward into the Pacific Ocean, and which are distinguished
in maps by the terms of Louisiade, Bouka, Santa Cruz, and
Solomon’s Islands.
The results obtained by M. Lesson from his researches
into the history of these races, differ materially from the
opinions advanced by Mr. Crawford. According to Lesson,
the Papuas bear the closest resemblance to the Madecasses,
or as he terms them, Cafro-Madecasses, the race of people
who occupy the greater part of Madagascar; this remark
PECULIARITIES OF THE PAPU A.S. 25]
applies to many of the habits and traditions, as well as to the
physical constitution, common to these races. The Papuas,
as Lesson concludes, are not the aborigines of the Indian
Archipelago; their migration appears to have been posterior
in time to that of the Oceanic tribes, a migration which has
not reached into the remote spaces of the Pacific, which
spread itself along the northern coast of New Guinea, then
over New Britain, New Ireland, the Isles of Bouka, of Bou-
gainville, the Admiralty Isles, the Archipelago of Solomon, of
Santa Cruz, the Tierra Australe del Espiritu Santo, and
New Caledonia. These inhabitants of New Guinea distin-
guish themselves by the name of Papuas, reserving the de-
nomination of Endamenes to the black tribes with coarse
and lank hair, who inhabit the interior of the same country.
The latter are the people who are termed by various writers
Alfourous, Alfoërs, or Haraforus. They are, according to the
information obtained by M. Lesson, the aboriginal inhabi-
tants of the great islands of the Malayan archipelago: they
still occupy all the inland and mountainous parts of New
Guinea, and all the southern coast, whence they appear to
have spread themselves in miserable and scattered hordes
over the barren wilderness of New Holland. They appear,
however, never to have passed the strait which cuts off from
that continent the Land of Diemen. In the latter country,
the woolly-haired race can only be supposed to have found
their way by passing along the groupe of the New Hebrides,
and from New Caledonia.” -
Such is the theory adopted by M. Lesson, respecting the
migration of these people, which I have alluded to in order
to point out the probable connexion of different tribes, and
to give a general idea of the extension of the Papua races.
In a future part of this work it will be my turn to collect
what traces I may be enabled to find for the elucidation of
this subject. I shall now proceed to the physical description
of the Papua race, and shall then collect some further notices
of the Alfourous.
“The woolly-haired race spread over the northern parts of
* Mémoire sur les Papouas ou Papous, par M. M. Lesson et Garnot. Annales
des Sie. Nat, tom, x. 1827, p. 93.
252 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
New Guinea, distinguish themselves by the terms Arfaki, or
mountaineers, and Papuas, or people of the sea-shore. These
last live in scattered and insulated tribes, and in a continual
state of dissension and hostility. Their villages built upon
the water and upon piles, consist of a few huts under the
authority of aged chiefs. The stature of the people is gene-
rally of the middle height, but there are among them tall and
well-grown men. Their limbs are well proportioned, and
their figure is often robust and athletic. The colour of their
skin is black, mixed with an eighth part of yellow, which
imparts to it a clear tint of various intensity. Their hair is
black, very thick and moderately woolly. They wear it
frizzled out in a very remarkable manner, or let it fall upon
their necks in long and twisted masses. Their countenance
and features are regular except their noses, which are some-
what flattened, with the nostrils enlarged in the transverse
direction. Their chins are small and well formed ; their
cheek-bones are prominent, their foreheads elevated, their eye-
brows thick and long. Their beards are thin : they let them
grow upon the upper lip and chin, like many African nations.
The physiognomy of the Papuas easily reflects the feelings
which animate them, and which arise from mistrust, sus-
picion, and all the most hateful passions, indicating a re-
markable predominance of purely instinctive faculties over
those of intelligence.* The women are generally ugly, yet
we observed in New Guinea, some girls who were well made,
and whose regular and soft features were remarkable. Formed
for servitude and obedience, this sex among the Papuas and
many African Negroes, is subjected to the rudest labours,
which their rigorous and inflexible masters disdain to par-
take.”
* Lesson remarks that the more remote men are from a state of civilization, the
more their instinctive faculties are proportionally developed. The senses of the
Papuas are more perfect than those of Europeans. They have a more piercing
sight, and their hearing is more acute. M. Lesson adds, that the masseter and
temporal muscles are in this race of great strength, their only business being to
satisfy a voracious appetite, and this function absorbing all their faculties. Thus,
he says, “we remarked on several skulls, numerous crests, roughening the whole
anterior part of the temporal fossae, and serving to give the fibres of the crotaphyte
muscles strong points of attachment.”
TECULIARITIES OF THE PAPU A.S. 253
“The natives of Bouka, with whom we communicated, dis-
played all the characters and all the habits of the Papuas,
and wore, like them, their long and woolly hair frizzled out.
The matives of Port Praslin, in New Ireland, and those of
the Isle of York, in the channel of St. George, differ not
from the latter; only there were among them a greater num-
ber of tall and robust men; but many individuals were re-
markable for the light shade of their complexion, approach-
ing the tawny and slightly bronzed hue of the Oceanic
nations. The persons of the old men among these different
nations, were generally calm, placid and impassible; yet we
observe rapid changes pass over their countenances. The
treacherous and cunning looks of some were as remarkable
as the suspicion and mistrust expressed by others, and the
simplicity and frankness of a small number. If we examine,’
says M. Lesson, “the physical conformation of the natives
of the great island of Madagascar, properly so termed,
known under the name of Madecasses, we shall find among
three or four human varieties which inhabit that great island,
black tribes whose limbs are proportioned with regularity,
and whose forms display vigour and activity. The Made-
casses have a handsome figure, and among them I observed
a great number of men of fine stature. Their hair moderately
woolly, is tied over the occiput in great ringlets; their skin
is a dark brown mixed with yellow; their noses are slightly
flattened, their mouths large; in a word, the whole of their
countenances and regular features would represent the por-
trait of a Papua of Dorery, of Beraae, or New Britain, New
Ireland, or of Bouka. The hair of all these people is in
general very crisp, stiff, and at the same time very thick.
Some families of New Guinea, Waigiou, and of Bouka, give
it the frizzled out and singular form, which is the character-
istic of the Papuas. But other tribes, as those of Bony, in
New Guinea, of New Britain, and New Ireland, let it fall
upon their shoulders in long and floating ringlets. The
Papuas go quite naked, and cover their shoulders and breasts
with incisions, ranged in curved or straight lines. This cus-
tom, which distinguishes many tribes of the interior of Africa,
is practised by all the natives of Madagascar, as well as by
254 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
the black races in the western parts of the Pacific, in Van
Diemen's Land, and in New Holland. The Papuas are fond
of covering their heads with the dust of ochre mixed with
grease, which reddens their hair and their whole countenance.
They wear abundance of feathers in their heads, and orna-
ments of shells, as well as in their girdles and on their arms.
A custom exclusively belonging to this race, is that of wear-
ing bracelets of a dazzling whiteness, made very artfully and
polished, which they probably fashion from the large ex-
tremity of the great conchs which are found in the neighbour-
ing seas.” Some of these ornaments, according to M. Lesson,
are precisely similar to those which are found about Egyp-
tian mummies.
The author of these remarks endeavours further to illustrate
the relation, which he evidently supposes to subsist between
the Papuas and Madecasses, by showing that there are un-
questionable affinities in the dialect of these nations.
This is not a fit place for entering into ethnographical in-
quiries. In a future part of my work I shall endeavour to
examine the questions which relate to the analogies known
to exist between the colonies of tribes scattered through the
southern oceanic region, which have given rise to a variety
of speculative theories. For my present purpose it is suf-
ficient to recognise the fact, that the Papuas and Madecasses,
whether allied in lineage or not, belong to the same variety
of the human species, since they resemble in form and colour,
and more particularly in the texture of their hair, which in
general differs both from the woolly hair of the Negro and
Hottentot, and from the lank hair of other nations. It must
at the same time be noticed that some Papua tribes have
hair nearly resembling that of the African races. We shall
see that the Papuas are not the only variety of mankind
which is supposed to be spread over the oceanic region from
Madagascar to New Holland.
SECTION IV.-Of the Alfourous and Australians.
Another race equally interesting in relation to the natural
P ECU L I ARITIES OF THE AL FOU R O US. 255
history of mankind, and hitherto much less known, at least
in the countries to which we have already referred, are the Al-
fourous. According to M. Lesson, who has given the results
of his own personal inquiries, the primitive population of the
Indian Archipelago consisted of tribes of blacks with rough
but lank hair, very distinct from the Papuas. These tribes
appear to have been supplanted in some islands at various
periods by more powerful races, who have either extirpated
them or have driven them from the coasts into the mountain-
ous and desert parts in the interior. They are yet to be found
in all the wildest and most inaccessible tracts of Polynesia,
under which term M. Lesson comprehends all the lands
bordering on or contained in the Malayan archipelago, re-
serving the name of Oceania for the remote groupes of islands
in the Pacific. The central parts of most of the Moluccas
are still occupied by Haraforas or Alföers, the Philippines by
tribes of the same description, whom the Spaniards term Los
Indios; Mindanao by the Negros del Monte; the interior of
Madagascar by Virzimbers,” of all which countries these
races appear to be the aboriginal inhabitants; in the interior
of New Guinea tribes of a similar description are termed by
the Papuas Endamènes. F
The Alfourous or Endamènes live in the most miserable man-
ner. Continually at war with their neighbours, they are solely
occupied in endeavouring to preserve themselves from attacks,
and escape the snares laid for them. The custom prevalent
among the Papuas of the coasts, of putting their prisoners
to death, and erecting their spoil as trophies, accounts for the
difficulty we find of observing them, even in New Guinea ;
and two or three men, reduced to slavery, whom we saw at
Doréry, are the only ones we have met with. The Papuas
described them to us, as of a ferocious character, cruel and
gloomy, possessed of no arts, and passing their whole lives
* Robert Drury is the only writer who has given from personal knowledge any
tolerable account of the Virzambers or Ovales, the lank-haired people who inhabit
the interior of Madagascar.
t Mémoire sur les Tasmaniens, sur les Alfourous et sur les Australiens, par
M. M. Lesson et Garnot, Ann, des. Sie. Nat, tom. x, p. 149.
256 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
in seeking subsistence in the forests. But we cannot regard
this hideous picture, which each people draws of its neighbour-
ing tribe, as authentic. The Endamènes whom we saw, had
a repulsive physiognomy, flat noses, cheek-bones projecting,
large eyes, prominent teeth, long and slender legs, very black
and thick hair, rough and shining, without being long. Their
beards were very hard and very thick. An excessive stupidity
was stamped upon their countenances—probably the effect
of slavery. These savages, whose skin is of a very deep,
dirty brown or black colour, go maked. They make incisions
upon their arms and breasts, and wear in their noses pieces of
wood nearly six inches long. Their character is taciturn, and
their physiognomy fierce : their motion is uncertain and slow.
The inhabitants of the coasts gave us some details of the En-
damènes; but as they seemed to us to be dictated by hatred,
and as their accounts differed, whether because the sense of
what they told us was badly understood, or they related to
us statements which they did not themselves credit, with the
intention of inspiring us with fear, we think it useless to make
a race of men known by false or inexact descriptions, whose
history is still enveloped in thick darkness.
The Endamènes, confined in the interior of New Guinea,
in the northern region of that country, still continue, as is sup-
posed by M. Lesson, to be the sole possessors of the southern
coast; if they reach to the northern limits of Torres' Straits,
the supposition that in former times they may have passed
over the channel, and spread themselves in the vast regions
of Terra Australis, becomes very probable. M. Lesson refers
the Australians to the class of Alfourous. The following is
the general description of their physical character.
The stature of the Australians is moderate and often below
the mean. The limbs among many tribes are slender, thin,
and, in appearance, of unproportioned length, while some in-
dividuals, on the contrary, have them stout and well-propor-
tioned. Their hair is not woolly; it is hard, very black and
thick; they wear it dishevelled, and in general short, in frizzled
masses. Their beard is of the same nature as their hair;
commonly rough and tufted on the sides of their face. Their
‘countenance is flattened, their nose very large, with nostrils
INDO-ATLANTIC AND TU R A NI A N. 257
almost transversely placed, thick lips, mouths of unproportioned
width, teeth projecting, but of the finest enamel. Loose circular
ears very amply developed and eyes half closed by the laxity
of their upper eyelids, give to their physiognomy a savage
and repulsive aspect. The colour of their skin, generally of
a smoky black, varies in its hue, which is never very deep.
The Australian women, still more ugly than the men, have
squalid and disgusting forms; the distance which separates
them from the beau idéal appears immense in the eyes of an
European. A great number of families place in the septum
of the nose, round sticks, from four to six inches long, which
give a ferocious aspect to their countenances. This custom
was found to exist among all the Papuas.
Section IV.-Of the Iranian or Indo-Atlantic, and of the
Turanian Nations.
If we divide the continent of Asia by a line running from
west to east in the direction of the longest diameter of the
Euxine, passing at first along the chain of Caucasus, dividing
the Caspian, going along the Oxus nearly to the source of
that river, thence turning to the south-east and following the
direction of the Himalaya mountain range, and descending
to the Gulf of Bengal, we shall separate by this line two
great regions of the world which have been from the earliest
periods the abode of two great classes of human races, differ-
ing from each other in their manners and social character, as
remarkably as the arid and saline plains of Mongolia and
the cold desert of Gobi differ from the warm and fertile coun-
tries of southern Asia. To the north-eastward of this line
have been the immemorial abodes of many nations, clearly
distinguished from each other by total differences of language
and equally separate in all that relates to their habits of life
and social character, yet for the most part similar and agreeing
among themselves in physiognomy, complexion, and configu-
ration of body. To the southward and westward of the same
line, we find other races widely distinguished from the pre-
ceding class in physical constitution, but agreeing with each
S
258 A NALOGICAL INV EST1 GATION.
other in all the same particulars in which the former coincide,
and differing in the same respects in which they differ. To
term these separate classes of nations, as some writers have
done, two races, would be to use this expression in a sense
very different from that which is generally appropriated to
it, or to assume what cannot be demonstrated or even ren-
dered in the slightest degree probable. For what can be
more conjectural than to assume that the Hindoos and the
Arabs constitute one particular race or nation ? or on the other
hand, that the nomade Kalmuks who, since the age of Æschy-
lus,” have continued to wander over their steppes, ever shift-
ing their wheeled houses and roaming in quest of pasture for
their flocks, are one people with the Chinese, settled from the
days of Yao and Sha-un to the southward of the Hoang-ho,
tilling the earth or dwelling in towns, and abhorrent from
the customs of the desert ; distinguished from the Kalmuks
and from the rest of men by their monosyllabic speech?
Or again, how can it be allowed that both these departments
of mankind constitute one nation with the fishing Esquimaux,
who feed upon blubber along the shores of the polar sea 7
That these and other races of men are of the same species,
and that they descended from a singly created stock in the
origin of the world, may be the conclusion at which we are to
arrive at the end of our inquiries; but that the three classes of
human tribes just named constitute one particular groupe,
in a sense which implies the existence of some near affinity
between them, cannot in the present state of our know-
ledge be presumed. They differ from each other in nearly
all those circumstances which can be regarded as affording
proofs of distinct race, and they are only connected by
some resemblance in their physical characters. Now if it be
supposed that such physical peculiarities are the result of ex-
ternal agencies, the same agencies may have exerted their in-
fluence on many unconnected tribes. If, on the other hand,
the Mongoles are a race created with all the peculiarities
* Skú9ag ö' & pičev woucióaç, o' TAékrág arêyag
IIsèdpawu vaiova' $7t' eikük\oug &xote,
ſ'km/36Aotº Tóēotowy Śēmprimpuévot,
AESCH. PROM. VINCT. 715.
IN DO-ATLANTIC RACES, 259
which now mark them, it will be very probable, that many
such originally distinct races may have sprung up simultane-
ously, or at different periods and in different places. For this
and other reasons, I shall avoid the practice of late writers on
the physical history of mankind, who have designated all the
nations belonging to one of the two classes above marked out
as tribes of the Mongolian race, and term all those of the
other class Caucasian. It would be absurd to term the
Chinese, Esquimaux; and it cannot be more correct to
name the Esquimaux and Chinese, Mongolians. It is
equally at variance with historical facts and with proba-
bility to comprise, as in one Caucasian race, the na-
tions of Europe and of Mount Atlas, and of the chain of
Himálaya. There is no truth in the assertion that the tradi-
tions of all these nations deduce their origin from Caucasus,
which has been the immemorial seat of tribes proved by their
languages to be entirely distinct from the Indo-European as
well as from the Semitic nations. The mountains of Asia
Minor, of Thrace, and of Hellas, are all famous in Grecian
story. Mountains were of old, in the simple and primitive
ages which long preceded the erection of temples, consecrated
to the worship of the unseen power whom all nations vene-
rate. The tops of Olympus and Mount Meru in the poetry
of Greece and India were the resting-places where Father
Zeus, and Indra descended from the clouds to converse with
mortals. Caucasus came in for its share in the general res-
pect paid to high places; but I cannot remember any tradition
handed down by the fabulists or historians of Greece which ad-
mits of a construction answering to the hypothesis of M. Cuvier,
or deducing the human race from Mount Caucasus.* Nor can
any thing more to the purpose be traced in the mythology of
the oriental nations. The authentic narrative of the Hebrews
* According to a story of which it is difficult to conjecture the meaning, it was
the dwelling-place of Prometheus, where that ambiguous personage, by turns a
Titan, a teacher of mechanical arts, and a maker of man, and then a natural bhilo-
sopher, is said to have watched the movements of the beavenly bodies. “Hic primus
Astrologiam Assyriis indicavit, quam residens in monte altissimo Caucaso niumià
cura et sollicitudine deprehenderat, &c.”—Cic. Tuscul.
s 2
260 A N A LOGICAL INV ESTIGATION.
*
leads us certainly to Mount Ararat in Armenia for the resting
place of the ark, but that is far from Caucasus.
From the use of the terms Caucasian and Mongolian races,
a common notion has arisen that there are two separate hu-
man families, one of which came into existence on Caucasus,
and the other in Mongolia, and that they gave origin respectively
to the nations of Europe and of northern Asia. As this opi-
nion is altogether groundless, it will be right to avoid the
terms which appear to give it sanction. I shall distinguish
the two classes of nations already mentioned, as great de-
partments of the human family, differing physically and in-
habiting from remote ages different geographical positions, but
without building any hypothesis as to their origin, or as-
suming any affinity between the nations belonging to each
class, anterior to the origin of languages and the early glim-
merings of the light of history. In describing, however, the
physical characters of these nations, it will be necessary to
adopt some epithet, which may comprise all the different
branches of each department when they are to be spoken of
collectively. To attain this end, I shall have recourse to a
quarter from whence no similar misconception is likely to
arise.
In the ancient mythical traditions and poetical history of
the East, two classes of nations are distinguished from each
other, as contrasted in character, and as engaged from the
earliest times in perpetual enmities. Turan and Iran, coin-
ciding with the northern and the southern regions above
defined, are the countries where they have always dwelt,
and where these nations carry on still the same conflicts
which their forefathers waged in the days of Feridan and
Afrasiab. The more compendious accounts of eastern affairs
collected by the Greeks are sufficient to identify these nations
with the Scythians and with the Medo-Persians, whose
mutual invasions were briefly recorded by Herodotus, and by
Trogus Pompeius, and who disputed between them for ages
the sovereignty of Upper Asia. The Scythians were the
nations of the north, beyond Mount Imaus, of whom some
branches at an earlier period had reached the neighbourhood
INDO- ATLANTIC R A CES. 261
of Colchis. There is enough, as Niebuhr has shown, in the
notices left by Hippocrates, of their physical traits to identify
them with the class of nations whom I shall comprise under
the indefinite and therefore more convenient designation of
Turanian. That term will serve the purpose of a general
appellation for all the races of men who inhabit the region
northward of the Oxus and Imaus, or of the line before
described ; and who display more or less, and in more or
fewer of their tribes, the same physical character with the
Mongoles and Kalmuks, yet can by no means be identified or
connected with them, by any proofs of national affinity. For
the more southerly nations, resembling the ancient Persians in
physical character, as the features of that people pourtrayed
on the sculptures of Istakhar or Persepolis sufficiently tes-
tify, we may adopt the term Iranian as a distinctive epithet.
Late researches, confirming the speculations of Sir William
Jones, have shown it to be extremely probable that the region
of Upper Asia, termed Iran, was the primitive seat of those
families of nations who have most extensively spread the same
type of features. In the borders of these countries, we find
on one side the Semitic nations, the Indians on the other, the
Armenians and the different branches of the Indo-European
family extending towards the west. To the latter, the term
Japetic has been appropriated by Schlötzer, while M. Bory de
St. Vincent has chosen to designate the whole class of races
who bear the same style of features as the Japetic species
of mankind, deriving however the patronymic not from
Japhet, but from Iapetus. We should not go beyond the
bounds of very probable conjecture if we were to assume that
Iran was the centre whence all the tribes of people having this
same physical character originally were dispersed. Yet it must
be admitted that there are some nations in the catalogue of
whose origin from this quarter we could find no proof except
physical resemblance; and as we have determined to assume
nothing of that kind, unless when supported by historical
proofs, the nations whom I term Iranian can only receive
that epithet in a more general sense. I shall therefore
use it only as synonymous and co-extensive with another name
of less ambiguous meaning. As the races to be described, in
262 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
cluding the Hindoos, reach from the Indus to Mount
Atlas and the Western Ocean, the term Indo-Atlantic will
designate them accurately from their geographical position.
The name of Turanian, but for the error of modern writers who
have confounded the real Scythians with the Goths and the
Slavonians and even with the Celts, might be interchanged
with Scythian.
In some of the remarks introduced into this section I have
anticipated what properly belongs to ethnographical research,
and which therefore might have been reserved for a future
part of my work; but it was necessary to premise these obser-
Vations, as an apology for the introduction of new terms that
were wanting for my present purpose.
Indo-Atlantic, or Iranian Nations.
From the mountains of Himalaya to the Indian Ocean,
including the whole of Hindoostan and the Deccan, as well as
Persia and Arabia, and from the Ganges in the east to the
borders of the Atlantic, comprising the north of Africa and the
whole of Europe, a similar configuration of body prevails
among all the inhabitants, with some few exceptions. Of this
the Greeks seem to afford the most perfect model, in which,
however, they scarcely exceed the type displayed as belong-
ing to the ancient Persians by the sculptures of Persepolis.
Complexion does not enter among the characters of this type,
since it is of all shades, from the white and florid colour of the
northern Europeans, to the jet black of many tribes in Lybia,
and southward of Mount Atlas. In many races, as we shall
hereafter prove, the type has degenerated. The ancient Celts
appear, for example, to have had by no means the same deve-
lopement of the head as the Greeks, and the Indians display
some differences in the configuration of the skull; but for the
consideration of these differences a proper place will present
itself in a future section. I shall now proceed to the nations
of Northern Asia.
ASIATIC RACES. 263
Of the Turanian Nations.
I shall make no attempt to enumerate, on the present occa
sion, all the races of men who partake of that configuration
of body which characterises the whole class of tribes com-
prised under the term Turanian. The proper place for this
enumeration will occur in a succeeding volume. I shall now
describe only two of the most remarkable races belonging to
this division, and differing most widely from each other, name-
ly, the nomadic Kalmuks who wander over the great steppes
of central Asia, and the Esquimaux on the shores of the
Polar Sea, or along the coasts both of Asia and America. For
an account of the Kalmuks, I shall abstract some particulars
from Professor Pallas's admirable portrait of that people, in
his memoir on the Mongolian nations.
Pallas has observed that it is easy to distinguish by the
features of the countenance the principal Asiatic nations,
when their stock is not blended by frequent intermarriages;
but among these races that there is none in which this distinc-
tion is so strongly characterised as it is among the Mongoles.
“If we abstract the circumstance of colour,” says Pallas, “a
Mongole bears less resemblance to other races of men than a
Negro bears to an European. The particular conformation of
the race is most remarkable in the shape of the skull preva-
lent among the Kalmuks; but the Mongoles proper and the
Bouriaets bear to the tribe last mentioned so great a resem-
blance, as well in their physical as in their moral and social
characteristics, that what can be predicated of one people is
applicable to the rest.
“The Kalmuks are generally of middle stature: few are tall,
and many are below the standard: the women especially are
small. They are all well made, and I do not remember to
have seen one deformed person among them. The only fault
in shape, which is frequent among them, consists in an out-
ward bending of their arms and legs, resulting from the prac-
tice of causing children to rest always in their cradles on a
kind of saddle, and from the habit of riding on horseback
continually almost as early as they are able to walk. The
264 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Kalmuks have generally short necks; their limbs are thin
and lean : even the principal and more opulent men among
them are seldom corpulent, in which they differ from many of
the Kirguse and other Tartar nomades.
“The characteristic features of the Kalmuks” are, eyes placed
obliquely, the large angle of which descending towards the
nose is slightly open and fleshy; eyebrows black, thin, and
forming a low arch; a peculiar formation of the nose, which is
generally flattened and squatted towards the forehead; cheek
bones prominent; head and countenance very round. The
ball of the eye is likewise very brown, the lips large and
fleshy, the chin short, the teeth very white; they continue
fine and sound even in old age. Their ears are of an enor-
mous size, and loose from the head. All these characteristics
are more or less apparent in every individual, and are often
united in one person. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the
mixture of Russian and Tartar blood with the Kalmuk and
Mongole, produces very beautiful children, whilst those of
Kalmuk and Mongole origin are of misshapen figure; until the
age of six years they are bloated, and ill-complexioned ; but
in growth, their features take a more regular form.” The fol-
lowing remark, however, seems scarcely to agree with some of
these assertions. “From the relations of many travellers, we
should be induced to believe that all the Kalmuks have ugly
and hideous figures. On the contrary, we see, as well among
the men as women, many round and beautiful countenances;
we even see women, who have such beautiful and regular fea-
tures, that they would find a great number of admirers among
the Europeans.”
In the perfection of the physical senses, tribes who lead a
pastoral life, do not by any means yield to savage nations,
or those who live by hunting. The Kalmuks especially have
the finest sense of smelling, the most perfect hearing, and an
extraordinarily piercing sight. In their journeys and military
expeditions their smell is of great service to them : it dis-
covers to them from a great distance fires, or the scent of a
* M. Abel Rémusat and Jul. Klaproth give this orthography of the word
Kalmuk.
TU R ANIAN RACES : K.A. LMU KS. 265
camp ; it marks out a favourable place for encamping, and
the objects which may become their prey. Many of them
only require to be near the burrow of a fox, or the habitation
of any animal, and immediately discover whether the inmate
is there or not.
By their hearing they discover at still more extraordinary
distances the noise of cavalry in march, the place occu-
pied by a suspected enemy, a herd of animals, or even a
solitary one. For this they merely lie down flat upon the
earth, and apply their ear to the ground.
But nothing is more admirable than the excellence of their
sight, and the extraordinary distance at which, from a mode-
rate elevation, the greater part of the Kalmuks can discover
upon the plain steppe the smallest objects—the dust caused
by a drove of cattle, or a body of cavalry, notwithstand-
ing the difficulties which occur during the summer, the pe-
culiar undulation of the surface of the ground, and the
vapours which arise from it into a pure atmosphere, during
the great heats of these countries. In the expedition which
Oubachi, Vice-khan of the Torgots, made against the people
dwelling below Kouban, the Kalmuk army would certainly
have missed the enemy had it not been for a Kalmuk of the
common class, who whilst he was feeding the horses, dis-
covered from a moderately elevated position, at the distance
of thirty versts, the smoke and dust of the enemy's army.
He pointed it out immediately to those not less accustomed
than himself, whilst Colonel Kidimskoi, even by the assist-
ance of a telescope, could perceive nothing.
The Kalmuks are both in their faces and bodies tolerably
white, at least, their children are all of that colour. But the
custom of the lower people to let their children run about
naked, under the sun and the smoke of their felt tents, and
the habit of the men to sleep during the summer with no
other covering than a pair of drawers, renders their colour
generally tawny. On the other hand, the women are often
very white. In the upper class, we see figures so delicate
and pale, that it heightens the blackness of their hair; and in
that particular as well as in the towt ensemble of their coun-
tenances, the Kalmuks resemble the portraits of the Chinese.
266 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
“The hair is black even in new-born children, and I have
never seen an exception to this fact among the Mongoles and
Kalmuks. I have however information of one instance in a
little Kalmuk girl, five years of age: to a physiognomy en-
tirely Mongole, she united hair decidedly flaxen. I have been
assured that there are likewise among the same people in-
stances of brown hair. Among the Bouriaets I perceived one
individual whose hair was of this shade ; but these instances
are so rare, that they should scarcely be taken into considera-
tion. Moreover, nearly all the children produced by mar-
riages of Russians with the Bouriaet women, have pitch-black
hair, and resemble their fathers in that respect as well as in
their features; these children are called Kargnie, in the
country of Selinginsk, and Daouria.
“In all the nations of Mongolian race, the men, even
when arrived at their full developement, have the beard less
thick than the European and Tartar nations. It is also
slower in its growth : although thicker among the Kalmuks
than the other tribes, it is still thin and scanty even with
them. They generally wear small moustaches, and some-
times a small tuft of hair under the lower lip. Old men
alone, particularly if they are monks or ecclesiastics, besides
the moustaches at the corners of the lips and the patch on
the lower lip, have some thin tufts on the chin to the turn of
the neck; all the others are carefully plucked. They
have seldom hair upon their bodies, because during their
youth it is plucked by their mothers. * The women do the
same to themselves, except some places which they leave
untouched.” | \, , , , ,
Many of the nations who partake of the physical charac-
ters of the Mongolians, are nomadic tribes. As however the
principal character by which this class is constituted is the
form of the head and skeleton, I shall leave any further
remarks that may be requisite on the extent and distri-
bution of these nations to a future section of the present
work, and hasten to conclude this article with a brief descrip-
tion of the sea-faring race, who constitute the most remote
branch of the Turanian nations.
A certain resemblance in habits and customs seems to con-
TU R ANIA N RACES : ESQUIMAUX. 267
nect the Esquimaux, as M. Lesson has observed, with the
Samoiedes, and the Ostiaks, and even with the inhabitants
of Kamtschatka, and the Aleoutian islands.
* Les hommes de cette race,'' says the same writer,
* ont une taille qui ne dépasse guère quatre pieds six .
ou huit pouces. Leur corps est trapu, sans être gras ;
leurs jambes sont raccourcies, mais assez droites et trés
fortes ; leur tête est arrondie et d'un volume assez prononce
pour paroitre peu en rapport avec l'ensemble du corps.
Le visage a cêla de remarquable d'être large, court, et plat
vers le front. Le nez est écrasé, sans être trop large ;
les pommettes sont fort élevées. La bouche est grande, les
cheveux sont plats et noirs, naturellement gras et durs. La
barbe est rare. Fabricius, dans sa Faune du Groenland,
avoit déja dit : * On à remarqué que les hommes du nord,
avoient un teint plus blanc, une chevelure plus blonde,
à mesure qu'on s'avance vers les climats plus froids, mais
par exception, les habitants des environs du cercle polaire,
tels que les Lapons, les Samoïédes, sont de petits hommes
tres bruns de peau, à cheveux et barbe très noirs. La nature
plaça près d'eux, et par un singulier contraste, les grands et
lymphatiques Finois, et près des Groenlandois les blonds
Islandois, plus méridionaux.' La couleur des Esquimaux est
en effet d'un jaune rougeâtre sale."
We shall have occasion to observe that the skulls of the
Esquimaux as well as of many circumpolar tribes, bring
them into the same class of human races with the Kalmuk
and other Turanian nations.
268 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
SECTION V.—Of the American Nations.
The aborigines of America, or those nations whose abode
in the western continent dates from a period antecedent to
history, may be said to form a well-marked division of the
human family, from which, however, we ought perhaps to
except the Esquimaux and some other tribes. It has often
been observed, that the nations of America bear a strong re-
semblance to each other in their most remarkable characters,
both physical and moral. There are many striking circum-
stances in the accounts given by Molina and Azara of the
southern tribes, which may be recognised in the nations of
Mexico and Peru, and even in the descriptions which the
most intelligent travellers have drawn from actual observa-
tion in the interior of North America. Herrera was, perhaps,
one of the first who noticed particularly this resemblance,
and drew from it a very obvious inference. “Es cosa no-
table,” he says, “que todas las gentes de las Indias, del
norte y del mediodia, son de una misma inclinacion y calidad,
porgue segun la mejor opinion procedièron de una misma
parte; y asimismo los de las islas, a las quales passarön de
la tierra firma de Florida.” These observations seem chiefly
to be applied to the moral character of the native races; but
there is an equal resemblance in the principal traits of their
bodily structure. “The Indians of New Spain,” says M. de
Humboldt, “bear a general resemblance to those who in-
habit Canada, Florida, Peru, and Brazil. They have the
same swarthy and copper colour, straight and smooth hair,
small beard, squat body, long eye with the corner directed
upwards towards the temples, prominent cheek-bones, thick
lips, expression of gentleness in the mouth, strongly con-
trasted with a gloomy and severe look. “Over a mil-
lion and a half of square leagues, from Tierra del Fuego
to the river St. Lawrence and Behring's Straits, we are
struck at the first glance with the general resemblance
in the features of the inhabitants. We think that we per-
A BORIGIN A L AMERICAN RACES. 269
ceive them all to be descended from the same stock, notwith-
standing the prodigious diversity of languages which sepa-
rates them one from another.”
Perhaps the degree of resemblance to a common type sub-
sisting between the nations of America, may admit of com-
parison with that which is to be traced between the different
nations of Europe, or among the races of Africa, or those of
the north eastern parts of Asia. It is not universally pre-
valent in the same degree, but there appears to be in every
instance some approximation to it; yet there can be no
doubt that the resemblance has been in general much ex-
aggerated. It will be easy to prove that the American races,
instead of displaying an uniformity of colour in all climates,
show nearly as great a variety in this respect as the nations
of the old continent; that there are among them white races
with a florid complexion inhabiting temperate regions, and
tribes black or of very dark hue in low and intertropical
countries, that their stature, figure, and countenances, are
almost equally diversified. Of these facts I shall collect
sufficient evidence, when I proceed to the ethnography of the
American nations. For the present I shall only offer a few
general remarks respecting their most striking physical
characters.
The nations of South America have in general flatter faces,
and many of them a shorter and broader shape of body than
the North Americans. In these respects the southern people
are more like the Turanian nations than the northern tribes.
The resemblance between the Chinese and the Brazilian
nations appeared very decided to the German naturalists,
Von Spix and Martius, who thought they discerned in both
continents the same fundamental characters.
“The figure of the Chinese,” as they observe, “is more
slender; the forehead broader, the lips thinner and more alike,
and the features in general more delicate and mild than those
of the American who lives in woods; yet the small, not ob-
long, but roundish, angular, rather pointed head, the broad
crown, the prominent sinus frontales, the low forehead, the
pointed and prominent cheek-bones, the oblique position of
the small narrow eyes, the blunt, proportionably small, broad,
270 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
flat nose, the thinness of the hair on the chin and the other
parts of the body, the long smooth black hair of the head,
the yellowish or bright reddish tint of the skin, are all cha-
racteristics common to the physiognomy of both races. The
mistrustful, cunning, and, as it is said, often thievish charac-
ter, and the expression of a mean way of thinking and a me-
chanical disposition, appear, in both, in the same manner. In
comparing the Mongole physiognomy with the American, the
observer has opportunity enough to find traces of the series
of developements through which the Eastern Asiatic had to
pass, under the influence of climate, in order at length to
be transformed into an American. In these anthropological
investigations, we arrive at the remarkable result, that cer-
tain characteristics, which constitute the principal differences
of races, do not easily pass into others, whereas those
which depend only upon more or less, gradually vanish or de-
generate, through a series of different gradations.” “The
physiognomical characteristics of the Mongole, Caucasian, Ma-
lay, and American races blend with each other through so
many shades, that we are involuntarily led to presume a com-
mon fundamental type for all these in distinction from the
Ethiopian. This perhaps is most strikingly marked in the
Mongole, and to it the above-mentioned various conformations
must perhaps be referred as so many forms of developement
occasioned by climate.”
The same writers in describing the tribes termed Puris, Co-
ropos, and Coroados introduce some further observations on
the general character of the American races, which I shall ex-
tract, as they seem to fill up the picture ºf these nations,
and to convey a tolerably complete idea of their most striking
physical peculiarities.
“All the Indians of the tribes of the Puris, Coropos, and
Coroados, whom we saw here, had an extraordinary resemblance
in make and countenance; and their individual features, pro-
bably from want of civilization, have more of the general phy-
siognomy of the race, than is now the case in the other tribes.
The Indians are of a short or middle stature, the men from
four to five feet high, and the women a little above four, all are
of robust, broad, compact make. It is very seldom that some
A BORIGINAL AMERICAN RACES. 27]
of a taller and more slender shape are seen among them. The
breast is broad, the neck short and thick; the female breast is
not so pendent as in the Negresses, the belly very prominent.
The extremities are short, the legs far from full, and the calves
in particular thin, the arms round and muscular. The foot is
narrow behind and very broad before, the great toe parted from
the others. The hands are almost always cold, the fingers
proportionably thin, the nails, which they constantly bite, are
very short. The hue of skin is a darker or lighter copper-colour,
differing a little according to the age, occupation, and health
of the individual. Infants are of a yellowish white, like mu-
lattoes; sick persons become of a brownish yellow colour; it is
very rare to find among them albinos, or any that are dark-
spotted. On the whole their colour is darker in proportion as
they are stronger and more active. On the lower part of the
body, and the legs and arms, the red brown colour sometimes
changes to a blacker shade; in the joints it is paler or whitish.
The Indian, properly speaking cannot blush, and the ‘Eru-
bescit, salva res est,’ cannot be applied to this unpolished
race. It was only after long intercourse with the whites, and
after receiving some education, that we perceived in the In-
dians a change of colour expressive of the emotions of their
mind. Their skin is very fine, soft, shining; and when ex-
posed to the sun inclined to perspiration. Their long, coarse,
stiff, and glossy black hair hangs down thick and in a disor-
derly manner. The beard of the men is in general thin, but
we saw some men with thick beards. The crown of the head
and cheek-bones are broad, corresponding with the breadth of
the breast. The forehead is low, the temples projecting, nar-
row above and falling very much back. The back part of the
head by no means hangs as low as in a Negro, whose skull is
indeed narrow and much more oblong than that of the Indian.
The countenance is broad and angular, and projects much less
than in the Negro, but more than in the Kalmuk or the Euro-
pean. The ears are small and meatly made, rather turned out-
wards, not pierced and disfigured by heavy bodies. The eye
is small and dark brown, placed sideways, the inner corner
turned towards the nose: the eye-brows thin and very high in
the middle; the nose is short, slightly depressed above, broad
272 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
below, but not so spread as the Negro; the nostrils are wide,
standing very little out, the lips by no means so thick and
swollen as in the Negro; the upper, not the lower, projects a
little, or both are alike; the mouth is smaller and more closed
than in the Negro. The teeth are very white, the front teeth
very broad and even; the eye-teeth project. In general the
make of the Indian is robust, broad and short ; whereas that
of the Negro is tall and slender; thus it approaches mearer
to the form of the other races, especially to that of the Chinese
and Kalmuks, though the latter have lighter complexions and
better formed features. We did not meet with any deformed
persons or cripples among the Indians, for which reason some
persons believed that they put them to death immediately
after birth.”%
SECTION VI.-Of the Quaiquae and Saabs, or the Hottentot
and Bushman race.
Another department of the human family, associated
with the races already described by the configuration of
their skulls, are the Hottentots; a people divided into a num-
ber of different tribes, such as the Gamaaguas, the Gonaaquas
and Koraaquas, who assume to themselves generally the na-
tional designation of Quaiquae. The Bushmen who are a di-
vision of the same race, term themselves Saabs.
Although so much has been written of late years on the
history of the Hottentot and Bushman races, I do not find
them anywhere better described than by Mr. Barrow. “The
Hottentots,” says this able writer, “are well proportioned,
erect, of delicate and effeminate make ; not muscular; their
joints and extremities small; their face generally ugly, but dif-
ferent in different families; some having the nose remarkably
flat; others considerably raised. Their eyes are of a deep
chesnut colour, long and narrow, distant from each other;
the immer angle being rounded, as in the Chinese, to whom
* Von Spix and Martius, Reisen durch Brasilien. English Translation of the
first volume.
PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF THE HOTT ENTOTS. 273
the Hottentot bears a striking resemblance. The cheek-bones
are high and prominent, and with the narrow pointed chin
form nearly a triangle. Their teeth are very white. The wo-
men when young are graceful and well made; the nipple is
unusually large, and the areola much elevated; but immedi-
ately after the birth of the first child the breast becomes flac-
cid and pendant, and in old age becomes greatly distended;
the belly becomes protuberant, and the posteriors are covered
with a huge mass of pure fat. That elongation of the nym-
phae, which is well known to characterise the Hottentot wo-
men, has been falsely ascribed to art. It is a natural variety
of conformation.”
The Moravian missionary Adolph Bonatz has given the
following general description of the Bushmen in their present
state.” “These people,” he says, “are of small stature, and a
dirty yellow colour; their countenance is repulsive; a promi-
ment forehead, small, deeply-seated, and roguish eyes, a small
depressed nose, and thick projecting lips are their characteristic
features. Their constitution is so much injured by their dis-
solute habits and the constant smoking of dacha, that both
old and young look wrinkled and decrepid ; nevertheless they
are fond of ornament and decorate their ears, arms and legs
with beads, iron, copper, or brass rings. The women also
stain their faces red, or paint them whelly or in part. Their
only clothing by day or by night is a mantle of sheep-skin
thrown over their bodies, which they term a kaross. The
dwelling of the Bushmen is a low hut or a circular cavity on
the open plain, in which he creeps at night with his wife and
children, and which, though it shelters him from the wind,
leaves him exposed to the rain. They had formerly their ha-
bitation among rocks, in which are still seen rude figures of
horses, oxen, and serpents. Many of them still live like
wild beasts in their rocky retreats; to which they return with
joy after escaping from the service of the colonists. I have
never seen these fugitives otherwise occupied than with their
bows and arrows : the bows are small, the arrows are barbed
and steeped in a potent poison of a resinous appearance, dis-
* Periodical Accounts of the Missions of the United Brethren.
T
274 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
tilled from the leaves of an indigenous tree. These they pre-
fer to fire-arms, as weapons which make no report. On their
return from the chace, they feast till they become drowsy; and
hunger only rouses them to renewed exertion. In seasons of
scarcity they devour wild roots, ants' eggs, locusts, snakes.
As enemies the Bushmen are not to be despised. Their lan-
guage seems to consist of snapping, hissing, grunting sounds,
all more or less nasal.”
V ARIO US FORMS OF THE SR U LL.
2
7
Ö
C H A PTE R. V.
V ARIETIES OF FIGURE CONTINU ED–NATION AL FORMS OF
THE SR U LL.
SECTION I.-General views ; diversities in the form of the
Skull.
THE various races, which I have briefly described, afford the
most remarkable instances of diversity which exist in the hu-
man kind. There are, indeed, several tribes extensively spread
which do not strictly belong to either of these divisions, though
they approximate to one or other of them, but investigations
which belong to ethnography, are beyond the inquiry with
which I am now concerned. I shall endeavour to illustrate
this subject by a careful analysis of the particular points of
variation relating to form. Those which belong to complexion
have been already considered. Varieties of form and struc-
ture refer themselves chiefly to peculiarities in the bony fa-
bric, and I shall proceed to examine the characteristic differ.
ences which are discoverable in the skeletons of different
Tà, CeS.
Of all peculiarities in the form of the bony fabric, those of
the skull are the most striking and distinguishing. It is in
the head that we find the varieties most strongly characteristic
of different races. The characters of the countenance, and
the shape of the features, depend chiefly on the configuration
of the bones of the head. I shall describe the various forms
of the human skull, after premising some remarks on the
manner in which this examination has hitherto been con-
ducted.
The first anatomist who attempted to distinguish and des-
cribe in an accurate manner the differences of form which
have been discovered on comparing the skulls of different
T 2
276 AN ALOG ICAL INVESTIGATION,
\
human races, was Professor Camper. This writer invented
a technical method by which he imagined that he could
display in a single measurement the essential difference of
skulls as to form and capacity, not only in reference to vari-
ous nations of men, but likewise as to the inferior species of
animals. His own account of this method is as follows.
“The basis on which the distinction of nations is founded
may be displayed by two straight lines, one of which is to be
drawn through the meatus auditorius to the base of the nose,
and the other touching the prominent centre of the forehead,
and falling thence on the most advancing part of the upper
jaw-bone, the head being viewed in profile. In the angle
produced by these two lines, may be said to consist, not only
the distinctions between the skulls of the several species of
animals, but also those which are found to exist between dif-
ferent nations; and it might be concluded that Nature has
availed herself, at the same time, of this angle, to mark out
the diversities of the animal kingdom, and to establish a sort
of scale from the inferior tribes up to the most beautiful
forms which are found in the human species. Thus it will
be found that the heads of birds display the smallest angle,
and that it always becomes of greater extent in proportion as
the animal approaches more nearly to the human figure.
Thus there is one species of the ape tribe, in which the head
has a facial angle of forty-two degrees; in another animal of
the same family, which is one of those Simiae most approxi-
mating in figure to mankind, the facial angle contains exactly
fifty degrees. Next to this is the head of the African Negro,
which, as well as that of the Kalmuk, forms an angle of se–
venty degrees, while the angle discovered in the heads of Eu-
ropeans, contains eighty degrees. On this difference of ten
degrees in the facial angle, the superior beauty of the Euro-
pean depends, while that high character of sublime beauty,
which is so striking in some works of ancient statuary, as in
the head of Apollo, and in the Medusa of Sisocles, is given
by an angle which amounts to one hundred degrees.”
The measurement of this angle has been supposed to afford,
in the first place, a criterion for estimating the degrees of in-
telligence and sagacity which Nature has bestowed on all
CAMPER’s THEORY.
977
those animals possessed of a skull and brain; secondly, when
applied to mankind, it becomes, according to the ingenious
inventor, a foundation for the physiognomy of nations and
individuals, a small facial angle denoting stupidity either in a
whole tribe, or in particular persons, and the converse: and
in the third place, it is proposed, in the same measurement,
to find a distinguishing mark of the principal divisions of the
human species,
In the application of this method to the estimate of Saga-
city or intelligence in individuals, or races of men, or differ-
ent species of animals, it is evident that two positions are
taken for granted, neither of which ought to be admitted
without some proof. It is understood, as if the fact were
self-evident, which it certainly is not, that intelligence bears
some proportion to the developement of the brain : in other
words, that the quantity of brain, either positively—per se—
or in relation to some standard, is a measure of the extent of
mental power. The possession of mental faculties is scarcely
predicated of the inferior animals, but if we refer to the ag-
gregate of psychical endowments which in the inferior tribes
stand in the place of the mental faculties in man, we shall
find it very difficult to establish the conclusion as a general
one, that the results of that internal energy which directs the
actions of animated beings towards certain ends, are dis-
played in degrees that may be measured by the quantity of
brain, and its approximating towards the form which it bears
in man. It has been, indeed, remarked frequently, that the
most wonderful instincts are manifested by termites and bees,
and various other tribes of insects which have no organization
resembling the cerebral lobes. It may be observed likewise
that the faculties of animals are different in kind, and that
we can form no definite notion of different quantities or de-
grees of sagacity and intelligence bestowed on the several
tribes, nor conceive any possible method of estimating them.
The psychical endowments of each tribe are perfect in rela-
tion to the sphere of existence for which it is destined. The
instincts and modes of perception and of action, even in those
animals most remote from mankind, are all equally adapted
to their several ends. But, secondly, does the facial angle
278 A N A LO (; ICA L I N VESTIGATION,
measure the quantity of the brain This can neither be
estimated by means of the facial angle in different tribes, nor
even in different individuals of the same species. The angle
may become more acute or obtuse by greater or lesser
breadth and thickness, or elongation of the upper maxillary
bone, so as to give in several individuals angles of very dif-
ferent extent, while the proportion of the cerebral mass to
the entire body or to any given parts, may remain precisely
the same.
The only point of view in which the measurement of skulls
by the facial angle can be of interest in my present inquiry, is
as a distinguishing mark of particular races of men; and its
value in this particular must depend upon its constancy or
variableness. If it were always the same in skulls belonging
to one race, and different in those of different tribes, it would
form at least a leading character in the craniological history
of races. But the reverse of this is the fact. It has been
observed by Blumebach, that the direction of the facial lines
is often the same in heads of very different descriptions, which
present no other analogy whatever, while it displays at the
same time remarkable variations in skulls which are other-
wise very similar, and belong to the same nation. “I have,”
says this distinguished writer, “now before me the cranium
of a Negro, from Congo, and one of a Pole from Lithuania,
in which the facial angles are nearly equal ; yet when I com-
pare the narrow, and laterally compressed skull of the
African with the square head of the Sarmatian, I find be-
tween them a prodigious difference.” He adds, “There are
two Negro skulls in my possession presenting very different
facial angles, but in all other respects so much alike, that
they evidently appear to belong to the same race of men.”
It is well known that all those peculiarities in the forms of
the skull which are most characteristic of particular races,
are yet liable to variation and to a degree of uncertainty.
Hence it appears how little confidence can be placed upon
one mode of measurement, or upon so limited and confined a
character as the facial angle. This is indeed a feature to be
taken notice of, in the description of the skulls of different
nations, but it does not deserve an exclusive attention, to the
BLUMEN BACH's ARRANGEMENT. 279
neglect of other traits, many of which are equally or more
Important.
Another remark on the peculiarities in the shape of the
skull appears to have originated with Camper, which might
have led him to more important and extensive observations.
He observed, in his unpublished commentaries on the bones,
that the breadth of the head differs in different nations; that
the heads of Asiatics, by which he probably meant the Kal-
muks, have the greatest breadth; that those of Europeans
have a middle degree of breadth, and that the skulls of the
African Negroes are the narrowest of all.
Blumenbach has made this circumstance the foundation of
his arrangement and description of skulls. It does not ap-
pear that he was led to it by the suggestion of Camper, but
as the result of his own observation, in a long and constant
study of his collection of the skulls of different nations. He
remarks that the comparison of the breadth of the head,
particularly of the vertex, points out the principal and most
strongly marked differences in the general configuration of
the cranium. He adds, that the whole cranium is suscep-
tible of so many varieties in its form, the parts which con-
tribute, more or less, to determine the national character,
displaying such different proportions and directions, that it
is impossible to subject all these diversities to the measure-
ment of any lines or angles. In comparing and arranging
skulls according to the varieties in their shape, it is prefer-
able to survey them in that method which presents at one
view the greatest number of characteristic peculiarities.
“The best way of obtaining this end is to place a series of
skulls, with the cheek-bones in the same horizontal line,
resting on the lower jaws; and then viewing them from be-
hind, and fixing the eye on the vertex of each, to mark all
the varieties in the shape of parts which contribute most to
the national character, whether they consist in the direction
of the maxillary and malar bones, in the breadth or narrow-
mess of the oval figure presented by the vertex, or in the
flattened or vaulted form of the frontal bone.” This way of
examining and comparing skulls is termed by Blumenbach
280 A NALOGICAL IN V BSTIGATION.
the vertical method, in distinction from the facial angles and
lines adopted by Camper and others.
When all the different forms of the human cranium are
compared with each other in the way thus pointed out, there
are, as Blumenbach observes, three varieties in the vertical
figure distinguished from each other. The skulls of a Geor-
gian, a Tungusian, and a Negro of Guinea, are given by him
as specimens of the three varieties of form, which he terms
Caucasian, Mongolian, and Ethiopic.
I must here observe with respect to the three vertical
figures said by Blumenbach to differ in breadth, that the
description of them given by Camper and by himself, is not
strictly correct. The vertical figure or the summit of the
head, if we compare only the capacity of the bony cavity of
the skull, is broader in Europeans, especially in the anterior
portion, than either in the Mongolian or African. The three
gradations in breadth are to be found only by taking the
section of the whole head in the plane of the cheek-bones,
and including the zygomatic projections. It is in fact the
outward or lateral prominence of the zygomatic arches which
gives to the Mongolian skull its apparent breadth, at least
at the upper part, and it is the forward protuberance of the
superior maxillary bone which constitutes the elongated
figure of the African cranium.
Neither the measurement of the facial angle nor the com-
parison of the vertical aspect of the cranium, affords so much
insight into the peculiarities of its formation, as the view of
the basis of the skull. The superior importance of this man-
ner of examining the bony structure of the head has been
demonstrated in the fullest manner by Mr. Owen, in his ex-
cellent memoir on the structure of the orang and chimpan-
zee. The relative proportions and extent, and the peculiari-
ties of formation, of the different parts of the cranium, are
more fully discerned by this mode of comparison, which has
hitherto been much neglected, than by any other method.
In order however to form a correct idea of the varieties in
the shape of the head which are peculiar to individuals or
to races, it is necessary to examine every part, and to com-
THE PRINCITP A L FORMS OF THE SR U L L. 281
pare all the different aspects which the skull presents: the
basis of the cranium, the vertical figure, the profile, and the
front view, must all be described. By proceeding in this
way, we find that all the varieties in the form of the human
skull may be referred on a general comparison to three prin-
cipal forms, which are the following:
1. The symmetrical or oval form, which is that of the Eu-
ropean and western Asiatic nations. In this the head is of a
rounder shape than in other varieties, and the forehead is
more expanded, while the maxillary bones and the zygomatic
arches, are so formed as to give the face an oval shape,
nearly on a plane with the forehead and cheek-bones, and
not projecting towards the lower part as in other varieties of
the human skull. The cheek-bones neither project outwards
and laterally, nor forwards. The upper maxillary bone has
the alveolar process well rounded, the anterior portion having
a curve in a perpendicular direction. This gives a perpen-
dicular and not a projecting position to the front teeth, to
which the lower jaw, and its teeth correspond.
As I can find no epithet more appropriate as a distinguishing
term for this form of the skull, I shall term it the oval or
Goidal form.
2. The narrow and elongated skull, of which the most
strongly marked specimen is perhaps the cranium of the
Negro of the Gold Coast. In these skulls the principal
characters are referrible to the idea of lateral compression:
the temporal muscles having a great extent, rising very high
in the parietal bones, and being very large and powerful,
subject the head to a force producing the effects of la-
teral compression and elongation. The cheek-bones pro-
ject forward, and not outward; the upper jaw is lengthened
and projects forward, giving to the alveolar ridge and to the
teeth a similar projection. From the shape of the upper
jaw alone would arise a diminution of the facial angle.
3. The broad and square-faced skull which is that par-
ticularly of the Turanian nation. The Mongoles afford a good
specimen of this form, and the Esquimaux an exaggerated one.
In this the most striking character is the lateral or out-
ward projection of the zygoma. The cheek-bones project
282 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
from under the middle of the orbit, and turn backwards in a
large arch or segment of a circle, the lateral projection of the
zygomas being so considerable, that if a line drawn from one
to the other be taken as a base, this will form with the
apex of the forehead a nearly triangular figure. The orbits
are large and deep, the upper part of the face is remarkably
plane and flat, the nose being flat and the nasal bones as
well as the spaces between the eyebrows nearly on the
same plane with the cheek-bones. I shall give the following
terms to these two varieties in the figure of the cranium,
viz. to the narrow elongated form, that of Prognathous, from
the prominence of the jaw; and to the broad-faced, that of
Pyramidal, from the figure which the shape of the head ex-
hibits when viewed in front.
The above descriptions are intended as general outlines, or
as standards of comparison, to which the particular varieties
may be referred.
SECTION II.-Of the Substance and Tewture of the Skull in
different Races.
Before I proceed to describe the different forms of the
human skull, I shall make some remarks on the variety of
its weight and texture.
One of the most striking characters in the crania of African
Negroes is the great hardness, density and weight of the
component substance. The whole bony case, destined to
contain the brain, has often a whiteness and compactness of
texture which give it the appearance of ivory or even of
marble, rather than of the ordinary component material of
the skull. This peculiarity in the cranium is accompanied
by a corresponding condition of the skeleton, which in many
Negroes is much heavier than in men of other races.
Soemmerring remarked the great hardness and density of
the skull in the Negro; and he has cited a similar observation
from Peter Paaw, who wrote on wounds in the head about
two hundred years ago, and compared the crania of Africans
D ENSITY OF SK U L L S. 283
to iron helmets.” Paaw observed, that the Spanish soldiers
who followed Cadamosto to Africa, were directed to avoid
striking the natives on their heads; “experientiã docti pro-
tenus dissilire ensem.” A similar story was that which He-
rodotus reported. At påv Töv IIspa wy Kepaxai état &offevéec oito, -
&are ei 03Aetc lipp goivn Baxéetv, 6tateſpawéetc. at 6: Atyvttiwy,
otra oil tº toxupai, plóytc div \{04, Taigaç 6taff ºfféstac. There is a
skull of an Egyptian mummy at the museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons, which is of this dense, firm and heavy
consistence.
The great weight and density of the skull is however by
no means a constant character among Negroes, nor is it pe-
culiar to Africans.
It may be observed that great varieties occur in the weight
and density of the skull in other departments of mankind.
There is a great difference in the weight of European skulls,
and I have seen some which I believe to be equal in thick-
ness and density of substance to any African cranium. Such
instances occur however most frequently, though not always,
in persons of diseased constitution. Some of the crania of
the New Zealanders are observed, by M. Lesson, to be thick,
and of dense texture, and remarkably heavy. Blumenbach
has figured in the sixth decade of his collection the skull of
a Botocudo, which he describes as remarkably ponderous
and large, and of a hard and dense bony texture. He refers
likewise to a passage in Purchas's relation of Pilgrimages,
in which the same characters are ascribed to the whole tribe.
This in a South American race is the more remarkable, since
* “AEthiopes quam dura crassaque habent capita, non ossed militarem tetan-
gere dicas galeam. Norant Hispani qui, Aloisio Cadamusto teste, ducturi novum
in insulam D. Thomas, Angolam, vicinaque Aequatori loca militen, illud im-
primis ipsis inculcant, ne cum incolis conflicturi unquam caput ipsis petant, ex-
perientia docti protenus dissilire ensem.”
Succenturiatus anatomicus de capitis vulneribus. Ludg. Bat. 1616.
+ “Cranium ipsum magnum et ossium textură densa et dura, calvariaeque
crassitie valde ponderosa.” This skull, with the exception of those characters
which are constaut in the human brain, approaches more to the skull of a Simia
Satyrus than any one in Blumenbach's collection, though one or two Negroes have
the superior maxillary bone more prominent. Decad. 6,
284 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
the skulls of the natives of the New World are in general, as
Blumenbach has observed, particularly light.*
The following table exhibits the weights of several skulls,
nearly of the same size.
lb. oz. avoirdupois.
Skull of a Greek . . . . . . . . . . I 11. 35
Of a Mulatto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 10 33
Negro 1, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O 22
Negro 2, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 12% 55
Negro 3, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 5} 32
Negro 4, (from Congo) . . . . . . 1 113 22
New Zealander . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 104 22
Chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 7% 22
Gipsey without the lower jaw.. I 13}—therefore with the lower jaw
at least . . . . . . . 2 ()
It appears from this that there is no constant difference.
SECTION III.-Of prognathous or narrow and elongated
Skulls.
Paragraph 1.—Of the shape of the Skull in the Negro.
I have already cited the testimony of many accurate
writers, which are sufficient to establish the fact that the black
and woolly-haired inhabitants of Africa have frequently beau-
tiful features, and scarcely differ in form from European
nations. It may be observed, on the other hand, that indi-
viduals among other races are frequently seen who strongly
resemble the more characteristic form of the African, and
* Azara mentions a circumstance which, if true, is worthy of observation, and tends
to confirm the opinion that the American crania are generally light. “Un homme
qui avait vécu longtemps parmi les Guaranys Chrétiens (in Paraguay) m'assure
qu'il avait observé dans les cimetières, que les os des Indiens se convertissaient en
terre beaucoup plutót que ceux des Espagnols.” Don Felix de Azara, Voyages
dans l’Amérique Méridionale, tom. ii. p. 59.
PROG N AT HOUS SKU LLS. 285
that examples might easily be found in which all the pe-
culiarities of the Negro countenance are discernible in the
persons of Europeans. Soemmerring has made this remark,
and he has cited Loder, who describes the skull of a Thurin-
gian as affording the characteristics of the African race in a
native of Europe, and sprung from European parents.
My present object is to describe those forms of the
African cranium, which recede most from the European, or
Indo-Atlantic, as well as from the shapes which the skull
assumes in other races of men. The following observations
on the cranium of the Negro refer to that figure which is
most peculiar and different from the type prevalent in other
human races.
The chief peculiarities in the general form of the strongly
marked Negro skull may be referred to the two characters of
lateral compression, or narrowing of the entire cranium, and
greater forward projection of the jaws. The head is propor-
tionally narrower, and the upper jaw is more protruded for-
wards than in the ordinary form of other races.
Soemmerring, who was followed by Mr. White and many
other anatomists, observed or fancied numerous points of
relation between the skulls of Negroes and those of Apes.
Now as the Negro has the narrowest and most elongated of
all human skulls, and as the crania of apes and all other ani-
mals of the monkey tribe are much longer and narrower than
those of men, it could hardly be but that some points of
analogy should display themselves between the Ape and the
Negro. These analogies are of much less weight than they
have been supposed to be ; but we must take some notice of
the essential differences between the heads of the Simiae and
those of men, before we can estimate their importance and
extent.
Of all the monkey tribe, the chimpanzee and the orang
alone make any considerable approach towards the human
form. These anthropoid apes are arranged by M. Geoff-
roy St.-Hilaire and Mr. R. Owen in two sub-genera, termed
Troglodytes and Pithecus.* The researches of Mr. Owen
have lately thrown a most important light on the anatomy
* Annales du Muséum, tom. xix. Zoological Transactions, vol. i.
286 AN A LOGICAL INV ESTfG ATION,
of these animals, in comparison with each other, and with
man. Tyson, Camper, and earlier anatomists, who have
written on the structure of the Simiae, founded all their ob-
servations on orangs of immature age : hence their remarks
on the facial angle, teeth, and the relative proportions of the
cranium and the face, are erroneous when applied to the
adult animal, and have led, as Mr. Owen has clearly proved,
to an opinion that the transition from mankind to the Simiae
is much more gradual than it really is.” It is well known
that in the immature and undeveloped state, anatomical rela-
tions are in many instances nearer than they appear when
the entire being is perfected, and prepared for all the functions
for which nature has destined it. Thus the human foetus is
well known to have a separate intermaxillary bone in com-
mon with the Simiae and other inferior animals, while the
absence of this separate structure in man has ever been re-
garded as one of his distinctive anatomical characters. It is no
matter of surprise, that when the skull of the young chimpanzee
was examined at the period when the small deciduous teeth only
are developed, the resemblance to the human cranium should
have been found surprisingly close. The brain in the ape
attains its full size at a very early period: it is not destined
for further developement like the human brain: consequently
at the age when the jaws become enlarged and lengthened
with the increase of the maxillary apparatus, and the zygo-
matic arch is extended without any corresponding downward
growth and developement of the brain, or extension of its
containing cavity, the proportions of the cranium to the jaws
undergo a material change. In the earlier period, when the
cranial portion of the head preponderates over the facial and
maxillary part, it approximates proportionally to the human
form, the facial angle is wide, the occipital foramen is more
central, and the zygomatic arches, when the basis of the skull
is examined, appear confined to the anterior half of the cra-
nium. All these characters of resemblance are surprisingly
changed when adult skulls are compared. It then appears,
* Mem. on the osteology of the Chimpanzee and Orang Utan, by Richard Owen,
Esq., F.R.S., &c. Zoolog. Tr. vol. i. p. 343.
PROG N AT II () (J S S K U L L S. 287
as Mr. Owen has shown, that strongly marked and most im-
portant characters distinguish the quadrumanous type from
that of the human skull. The cranium, properly so termed,
is a small rounded case, and is altogether posterior to, and
not at all above the face. The antero-posterior diameter of
the basis of the skull is very much longer than in man: the
most striking circumstance which displays this difference is
the different situation occupied by the zygomatic arch
in the plane of the basis of the skull. In all races of
men, and even in human idiots, the entire zygoma is
included in the anterior half of the basis cranii; in the head
of the adult troglodyte or chimpanzee, as well as in that of the
satyr or orang, the zygoma is situated in the middle region of
the skull, and in the basis occupies just one third part of the
entire length of its diameter. Posterior to the zygomata, the
petrous portions have in the simiae a large developement in the
antero-posterior direction. Another most remarkable cha-
racter, in respect to which those anatomists have been
greatly deceived who compared only young troglodytes with
man, is the position of the great occipital foramen, a feature
most important as to the general character of structure, and
to the habits of the whole being. This foramen in the human
head is very near the middle of the basis of the skull, or
rather it is situated immediately behind the middle transverse
diameter, while in the adult chimpanzee it is placed in the
middle of the posterior third part of the basis cranii.” A
third characteristic in the ape is the greater size and deve-
* I do not know whether the phrenologists have yet succeeded to their own
satisfaction in reconciling with their doctrine the apparent contradiction which has
resulted from the researches of Mr. Owen. It seems that the portion of the cranial
cavity most defective in space, when the anthropoid ape is compared with man, is
the region posterior to the great foramen. Consequently, according to the theory
of proportionate developements, the organs most defective in the ape are those
allotted to amativeness and philo-progenitiveness. Shall we be informed that
satyrs are not amative, and that she-monkeys have no fondness for their offspring 2
Assuredly if we adhere to the fundamental principle of distributing the psychical
properties of species according to the indications afforded by proportionate deve-
lopements, we ought to place the faculties which chiefly distinguish men from the
brutes in that part of the head which in mankind assumes so signal an augmenta-
tion of space; namely, in the occiput.
$288 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
lopement of the bony palate, in consequence of which the
teeth are much larger and more spread, and want that con-
tinuity which is, with a single exception, a characteristic of
man, and intervals between the laniary, cutting and bicuspid
teeth admit, as in the lower tribes of animals, the apices of
teeth belonging to the opposite jaws. Fourthly, the basis of
the skull is flat, owing to the want of that downward deve-
lopement of the brain, and of the bony case, connected with
the greater dimension which the cerebral organ acquires in
the human being, compared with the lower tribes.
The characteristic points of diversity above enumerated are
perceived by examining the basis of the skull. There are
others perhaps not less remarkable when the crania of adultapes
are compared with the human skull in other points of view.
A character, for example, on which much stress has been
laid, as one in which the orang approximates to the human
form, and particularly to that of some races of men, is the
facial angle. This angle contains, according to Professor
Camper's measurement, 80° in the heads of Europeans. In
some human skulls it has been considerably less, and has
even measured only 70°, according to the same writer, in the
heads of Negroes. In the orang it has been estimated at 64°,
63°, or 60°,” but this has been in the measurement of the
skulls of young apes. It is stated by Mr. Owen that the
facial angle of the adult troglodyte is only 35°, and that of
the orang or satyr 30°. f.
Such being the extent of difference manifest between the
skulls of those simiae which most approach to the human
form, a difference so great that the utmost diversity between
human races is quite inconsiderable when compared with it, it
becomes rather a matter of curiosity than of importance to
the solution of any great question, to know whether the
crania of any human tribes actually make a slight advance
towards the type of the troglodyte or orang. Still the facts
which Soemmerring and other amatomists have pointed out,
are not to be overlooked.
* Lesson Hist. Nat, des Mammiferes, tom. iii. p. 230.
f Zool. Transact. vol. i. pp. 372, 373.
PRO GN AT HOLJ S S KU L L S. 289
1. The antero-posterior diameter of the basis of the cranium
is certainly somewhat longer in proportion to the transverse
diameter in the skulls of many Negroes than in those of
Europeans. This is the main circumstance of approxima-
tion towards the ape, and that on which most of the particular.
instances of this approximation appear to depend. The dif-
ference is however very slight, and requires some care in order
that it may be ascertained. I have several Negro skulls in
which it may be discerned. On the other hand, in the skull
of an Esquimaux the difference is decidedly of an opposite
kind, so that if we are entitled to affirm that the skulls of
Negroes display degradation when compared with the Euro-
pean, the same thing must be conceded of the European in
comparison with the Esquimaux. The greater length of the
antero-posterior diameter in the Negro depends almost
entirely on the prominence of the upper jaw, which appears in
the basis of the skull in the length of the longitudinal
diameter of the bony palate, and in the face, in the forward
projection of the alveolar ridge of the upper maxillary bone.
2. The position of the great occipital foramen has been
considered as affording a strongly marked character of differ-
ence between the skulls of Negroes and Europeans.”
It was long ago observed by Daubenton, that the occipital
foramen holds in the heads of all the inferior animals a posi-
tion somewhat further backwards than in the human head.
In the human head this foramen is near the middle of the
basis of the cranium, or, as Mr. Owen has more accurately
defined its position, immediately behind a transverse line di-
viding the basis cranii into two equal portions or bisecting the
antero-posterior diameter. In the head of the adult troglo-
dyte the place of the foramen magnum is at the middle of
the posterior third part of the basis; or if the antero-poste-
rior diameter is divided into three equal portions, it will be
found in the midst of the third division. In the heads of
young apes which heretofore have been the subjects of com-
parison, this foramen is situated much more forward, or near
* Mémoires de l'Academie des Scie. de Paris, 1764, sur les différences de la situ-
ation du grand trou occipital dans l'homme et dans les autres animaux. Soem-
merring tiber die verschiedenheit des Negers, w. s. f. p. 54.
U
29() A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
to the middle of the basis of the skull; still its position is
obviously posterior to the situation of the same foramen in
the human skull. Soemmerring thought he perceived some
difference in this same respect between the skulls of Europe-
ans and Negroes. He considered the difference to be very
slight, and expressed himself with doubt upon the subject;
but by all the late writers who have cited his observation
without taking much pains, as it would appear, to verify it,
Soemmerring's statement has been repeated in much stronger
terms.”
I have carefully examined the situation of the foramen
magnum in many Negro skulls. In all of them its position
may be accurately described as being exactly behind the
transverse line bisecting the antero-posterior diameter of the
basis cranii. This is precisely the place which Mr. Owen has
pointed out as the general position of the occipital hole in
the human skull. In those Negro skulls which have the
alveolar process very protuberant, the anterior half of the line
above described is lengthened in a slight degree by this cir-
cumstance. If allowance is made for it, no difference is
perceptible. The difference is in all instances extremely
slight, and it is equally perceptible in heads belonging to
other races of men if we examine crania which have pro-
minent upper jaws. If a line is let fall from the summit of
the head at right angles with the plane of the basis, the occi-
pital foramen will be found to be situated immediately be-
hind it, and this is precisely the same in Negro and in Euro-
pean heads. I shall subjoin some further observations on this
subject in the explanation of the plates.
3. It is chiefly the projection of the muzzle, or of the alveo-
lar process of the upper maxillary bone that gives to the
skull of the Negro its peculiar deformity, and to the face its
ugliness and monkey-like aspect, and it is principally on this
circumstance that the difference in the facial angle noticed by
Camper between Negro and European heads depends. The
facial angle differs greatly in individual Negroes, as Blumen-
* “Etwas weniges mehr nach hinten als bey uns schienet mir dies Loch beym
Mohren zu liegen.” Soemmerring, p. 54.
ºn AT-110 S S R U Lºs
Fig 5.
- -
Creole Ne gro
Ashantee Negro


º
PROG NATHOUS SKULLS. 591
bach has observed, and in some Europeans it is scarcely if
at all greater than in Africans. The difference between Negro
skulls in this particular was noticed by Blumenbach in three
crania represented in his first decade. In his work on the
varieties of the human genus, he remarks, that the facial an-
gle has the same capacity in the skull of a Pole and of a
Congo Negro. A little greater protrusion of the alveolar pro-
cess gives to this angle a very different extent, and it is by
no means a measure, as Camper thought, of the capacity of
the cranium and the amplitude of the brain.
Berthold has represented the form of a skull which he consi-
ders as that of a strongly characterised Negro, and particularly
adverts to the configuration of the upper maxillary bone.*
He describes this bone as being very long and broad, and in
that part which reaches from the septum marium to the in-
cisor teeth remarkably prominent. The alveolar process
projects from the body of the maxilla in the shape of a
bow. It forms “ nicht ein winkel, sondern vielmehr ein wirk-
liches bogen.” The passage into the nasal bones is not only
rounded off, but smoothed over, forming a sulcus bounded
by two margins. The anterior septum projects very little.
The jugal process of the jaw describes with its under surface
an arch equal to two-fifths of a circle.
4. The zygoma is large in the Negro, but the projection is
forward and downward, not lateral or outward as in the Kal-
muk: nor has it that circular sweep which it displays in the
Esquimaux.
5. A curious instance of approximation to the structure
of the cranium of the troglodyte has been noted by Mr.
Owen in several Negro skulls, and in one skull of an Austra-
lian savage. This is the juncture of the temporal and par-
rietal bones, and consequently the complete separation of the
sphenoid from the parietal, which in European and in most
African skulls meet for the space of nearly half an inch, a
process of the sphenoid bone extending upwards to join the
lower anterior angle of the parietal.
* Beyträge zur Anatomie, Zöotomie and Physiologie von A. A. Berthold
Goett, 1831.
U Q
292 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Mr. Owen has observed this conformation in six out of
seven skulls of young chimpanzees.
It is remarkable that the orang, though more remote in
most respects than the troglodyte, resembles mankind in this
particular. In seven out of eight crania of young orangs, the
sphenoidal bone joined the parietal, as it generally does in the
human skull.
6. The orbits are thought to be more capacious in the Ne-
gro than in the European, especially in their external circum-
ference. This is by no means an uniform character. I have
several Negro skulls now before me in which the orbits are
smaller than in skulls belonging to other races.
7. Soemmerring observes, that the nasal bones in two Negro
skulls lie almost in a plane, and do not form a saddle-shaped
projection as in European skulls generally. In one of the
skulls in his collection the nasal bones are each quadrangu-
lar; in the other, both run up together in a very narrow point,
tówards the frontal bone, and give to this part of the face
a very ape-like expression. A similar character has been re-
marked by Dr. Hodgkin on several Negro skulls in the collec-
tion at Guy’s Hospital. It is entirely wanting in other in-
stances. I have a Negro skull in which the nasal bones have
fully as much elevation as is common in Europeans. *
That part of the lachrymal bone which principally receives
the lachrymal sac is in some Negro skulls very small, and
therefore the excavation for the sac is chiefly formed by
the nasal process of the upper jaw-bone. A similar circum-
stance has been noted by Berthold.*
8. The aperture of the mostrils is very wide, and the space
within allowed to the expansion of the olfactory organs con-
siderably greater than in Europeans. This has been observed
by Bonn and by Soemmerring. The latter remarks that in a
North American skull in the collection of Blumenbach, the
nasal cavities are still larger than in many Negroes.
It was long ago remarked by Haller, that there are black
people in the Antilles, who distinguish by smell the track
of a Negro from that of a Frenchman. That mature has
* Berthold's Beytraege, ubi supra.
PROG N A THOU S S KU L L S. 293
given to the African a more sensible olfactory organ than to
the European, would appear likewise from the construction
and amplification of those fine, thin, bony lamellae, which are
probably destined to increase the extent of the surface of the
Schneiderean membrane. In a Negro's skull described by
Soemmerring, the cribreform plate of the ethnoid bone had re-
markably great extent in the basis of the cerebral cavity.
From this anatomical structure we may infer a greater perfec-
tion of the olfactory organ in Negroes when compared with
Europeans; but it is among the Turanian and American races
that great powers have been chiefly moted by travellers in the
organs of smell, as well as of sight and hearing. Perhaps
the black people in the Antilles, mentioned by Haller, may
have been black Caribs, or persons of the mixed race between
the Negroes and the aborigines. The Caribs, as well as other
Americans, are known to have an acute olfactory sense.
9. The posterior openings of the nasal cavity are not less
remarkable than those of the anterior; the pterygoid processes
stand further apart, are stronger, and each forms for itself a
rougher surface than those of Europeans.
10. The external opening of the organ of hearing is also
wide and spacious, and as it appears, proportionately greater
than in Europeans. The mastoid processes which, as Soem-
merring observes, are scarcely discoverable in apes, are as fully
developed in the Negro as in men of our race.* The styloid
process of the temporal bone, which is entirely wanting in
apes, even in the chimpanzee and orang utan, f is strongly
marked in the Negro, and the small bones of the ear, are nei-
ther larger nor different from those in an European. On the
other hand, the vestige which Soemmerring has observed of
a fissure, or slightly traced suture, separating the incisor from
the corner teeth, give the appearance in this place of an inter-
maxillary bone, would seem to constitute a truly animal cha-
* The mastoid process, as Mr. Owen observes, is represented in the chimpanzee
by a protuberant ridge behind the auditory foramen, and its cellular structure is
visible through the thin external table. See Mr. Owen's Memoir in the Zoolog.
Transactions, vol. i. p. 357.
+ See Mr. Owen's Memoir on the Osteology of the Chimpanzee, &c. ibid.
294 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
racter. This is the observation of Soemmerring. I must re-
mark that I have examined many Negro skulls without hav-
ing been able to discover any vestige of the suture said to
mark the line of separation between the intermaxillary and
the maxillary bones; and I do not believe this separation of
the bony structure, or the traces of any intermaxillary bone
exists in the Negro. The foramen infra orbitalae, and the
channel, as well as the nerve and blood-vessel which it con-
tains, are somewhat larger than in Europeans. I observe the
same character in the skull of a Chinese. U \
11. The lower jaw-bone is in Negro skulls thick, strong,
deep, and short. The angle of this jaw, in Europeans ob-
tuse, approaches in Africa more nearly to a right angle, and
the part covered by the masseter is large and rough. The
spina mentalis and the traces of the suture are in some in-
stances strongly displayed.* The extent of the posterior
angle of the jaw is subject to variations in African as it is in
European skulls. There is nothing constant in this circum-
Stance.
12. The teeth of Negroes are generally sound, strong,
broad, thick, long, especially the incisors. Soemmerring found
in an African skull three back-teeth above the usual num-
ber. Billmann has, however, counted the teeth in several
living Negroes and found no difference between their number
and that of Europeans. Camper, in a letter to Forster, ex-
pressed an opinion that the injured condition which the teeth
often display in the heads of Northern people depends on the
want of room, the lower canine teeth pushing the incisors out
of their places, while the jaws of many Asiatic and African
nations afford larger space for the insertion of the teeth. The
upper jaw projecting considerably more from the root of the
septum marium, the muzzle is more prominent and angular in
Negroes than in Europeans, and the teeth of the two jaws
do not meetin directions so nearly parallel.
13. The osseous cavity destined to contain the brain is
somewhat contracted in the heads of Negroes; in those indi-
viduals at least who have the peculiar conformation of the
* Berthold, ubi supra. + Soemmerring.
PROGN ATHOUS SKU LLS. 295
race strongly marked. This peculiarity, as Soemmerring has
observed, is tolerably constant, though not to be found in the
same degree in all African skulls. This writer says, that he
has observed it in all the specimens which he has examined;
yet he allows, that it may very probably be wanting in many
others, since we observe parallel varieties in the heads of Eu-
ropeans. On measuring the cavities of several Negro and
European skulls, Soemmerring found that a string carried
from the root of the nose along the middle of the forehead
and over the sagittal suture to the posterior edge of the fo–
ramen magnum, shorter in Negro skulls than in European
crania which had an equal length of face: consequently that
the upper vertical circumference of the head was less than in
European skulls. The horizontal circumference was found to
be less on a similar measurement. The longitudinal diameter
from the forehead to the occiput, as well as the transverse
diameter between the temples or parietal bones was also less
in the Negro skull. The height, however, on the vertical
diameter of the cerebral cavity appeared to Soemmerring to
be rather greater in the Negro than in the European. These
measurements indicate, perhaps, a somewhat inferior capacity
of skull, but it must be observed that the standard of com-
parison is a sameness in the extent of the facial bones or an
equal length of jaw; if the size of the upper jaw be con-
sidered by itself, in excess, the comparison brings no decisive
result. -
Some measurements of the skulls of different races are
given by Dr. Knox which differ widely from the above. In
these the length of a line carried over the vertex from one
mastoid process to the other, is in a Negress, 14.5, in an
European female 14, and in two Australian skulls 21. It
seems very difficult, if not impossible, to draw any conclusion
from these measurements.
14. According to Blumenbach and Soemmerring the pro-
portionate size of the bones of the face compared with those
containing the brain, is somewhat greater in Negroes than in
Europeans. Although the difference is very slight, it has
been considered as an approach towards the highest order of
brute animals.
296 A N A LOGICAL INVIESTIGATION.
15. It was observed by Kulmus and by Soemmerring, that
the human brain in comparison with the nerves connected
with it is of larger dimension than that of any inferior ani-
mal ; in other words, that man has the largest brain in com-
parison with the nerves, or the centre of the nervous system
larger in proportion to its parts.” This remark was confirmed
by Munro, F and it has been supposed that the Negro displays
in this respect an approximation to the lower animals. In
some instances the nerves which issue from the foramina of
the skull have been found somewhat thicker and stronger in
the Negro than in European heads having brains of the same
weight. The same observation has been made by Berthold.
It is most striking in respect to the olfactory, the optic, and
the fifth pairs. According to Dr. Knox, the foramina for the
transmission of the hypoglossal nerves are very large in the
Bushman as well as in the Negro.
On the other hand, the occipital foramen has been observed
to be remarkably small in the Negro, and this appears to
me to be the case in several Negro skulls which I have coul-
pared.
16. Wormian or triquetal bones are thought to be rare in
the skulls of Africans, and Blumenbach seems to have enter-
tained a doubt whether they are found in the crania of any
savage races.S. The first instance of their discovery in Negro
crania was motified by Berthold, who found them of consi-
derable size in the sutura mastoidea of a skull which un-
doubtedly belonged to a Negro, though its history was un-
known.|| I have seen two Negro skulls having wormian bones,
one of which is in my possession, and I understand from Dr.
Hodgkin, that there is an Australian skull in the museum of
Guy's hospital in which there are some of very considerable size.
* Soemmerring's Inaugural Essay, de basi Encephali et originibus nervorum
cranio egredentium.
+ Observations on the Character and Functions of the Nervous System. Edin.
fol. 1785.
: Dr. Knox's Essay on the South African Nations. Memoirs of the Wernerian
Society.
§ Geschichte und Beschreibung der Knochen in des menschlichea Körpers, s. 88.
| Auffallend characteristisch gebildeter Mohnenschädel mit Wormischen Kno-
chen in der sutura mastoidea,
P Roc NATH O U S S K U L L S
A Kaffer
A Tasman a ºn


PROG N AT II O U S S K U L L S. 297
In a succeeding part of this work, when I proceed to con-
sider the ethnography of Africa and the physical history of
the different tribes particularly, there will be a more proper
place than the present for mentioning the differences in na-
tional characteristics which are found in different parts of the
continent. I shall only here observe, that the features of the
Negro races are by no means widely diffused in so strongly
marked a degree as the preceding description might lead us
to suspect. They are nearly confined to a few parts of the
coast under the equator. The forehead is much more ele-
vated and the jaw less prominent in many nations of western
Africa; and this is still more conspicuous on the eastern side
of the continent. The Negroes of Mosambique have a con-
siderable clevation of forehead, which is, however, narrow and
somewhat conical in form. Their jaws are less protuberant.
This may be seen in several skulls belonging to natives of
Mosambique in the collection of Guy's Hospital.
It is still more remarkable in the Kaffer, as it may be seen
in the outline of cranium in the adjoining plate, which I have
taken from the engraving inserted by Dr. Knox in his memoir
on the nations of south Africa. This was the first represen-
tation of a skull belonging to the race of Kaffers that has
been published by any European anatomist; and the observa-
tions of the author are sufficient to prove, that the people who
bear that appellation belong to the Negro stock, and are not
a race foreign to Africa, or of late appearance in the conti-
ment which they inhabit. In all the peculiarities of organi-
zation which belong to the African nations, the Kaffers resem-
ble the Negroes: their skulls have, though not in an equal
degree, the same characteristics of shape. The extent of de-
velopement of the upper jaw is in the Kaffer nearly as great
as in the Negro, according to the testimony of Dr. Knox, who
concludes that the Kaffers are “Negroes of the mountains:
or Negroes changed by inhabiting an extratropical climate.”
* In a later part of this work, I shall have occasion to collect all the information
that I can procure on the history of the Kaffer and other African nations, and shall
then refer to facts which may tend to illustrate their origin and affinities.
298 ANALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
Paragraph 2.-Skulls of Papuas, Alfourous, and Oceanic
nations.
M. Lesson has made considerable additions to the know-
ledge previously obtained of the native races of the Austral
countries. His remarks on the forms of the skull belonging
to the Papuas, the Alfourous, and the New Zealanders, are
in a great measure new. I shall translate them, as giving a
comparative idea of the shape of the head in the various
races of men above mentioned. It must be observed that
the Papuas, described by M. Lesson, are not the genuine
race of that name, but the people of mixed breed, partly of
Malayan extraction, who inhabit Waigiou and other islands
on the northern coast of New Guinea. Some skulls belong-
ing to this mixed race are figured on the Atlas to the voyage
of M. de Freycinet, and have been described by M. M. Quoy
and Gaimard, the companions of that distinguished navi-
gator. M. Lesson collected some crania of the same descrip-
tion, and he brought with him several genuine skulls of the
Alfoura race. He compares these with the crania of Mo-
zambique Negroes, and with those of New Zealanders, which
afford a specimen of the characters of the Oceanic nation.
“The skull of the hybrid Papua,” says M. Lesson, “is re-
markable for a considerable flattening in its posterior part;
which forms a square surface, with the angles rounded. This
position does not make the occipito-frontal diameter much
smaller, comparatively, than the heads of Europeans, Alfou-
rous and Mozambiques: but this is not the case with respect
to the bi-parietal diameter, which is much larger, owing to the
more considerable developement of the parietal convexities.
The coronal, although a little larger than that of an Euro-
pean, does not present differences so decided as to admit of
description. The face is likewise larger, in consequence of
the greater extent of the transversal diameter of the orbitary
cavity, and of a slight flattening of the bridge of the nose.
The opening of the nostrils is in every respect like that of an
European: but the distance from one mastoid apophysis on
P R O GN AT HOUS SK U L L S.
An Australian
An Alfourou End a meme.


Tº R. O. G. NATH tº U S S K U L L =

PROG NATIIOUS SKULLS-PAPU AS. 299
one side to that on the opposite side is greater. The vertical
diameter is nearly similar to that which is common to the
heads of Alfourous and Europeans.
The skull of the Alfourous approaches nearer to that of the
African Negroes, that is to say, the Mozambiques. The
differences which we observed are, 1st. A flattening of the
lateral partition of the cranian arch, a position which causes
a projection shelving on both sides at the summit of the
arch: 2. The occipito-frontal diameter is a little more elon-
gated in the former: 3. The shape of the face is rather less
oblique than that of Mozambique, in such a manner that the
facial angle is more open in the heads of Alfourous, whence it
results, that the nasal bridge is more vertical. The nostrils
are not quite so large. If we examine the balls, we find that
they are less projecting among the Alfourous than the Mo-
zambiques: but this projection is more considerable than in
the Papua and the European, which is owing to the depth of
the infra-orbitary fossae. The jaws of the Alfourous although
less prominent than those of the Mosambique, are much
more so in comparison with those of the Papua and the Euro-
pean. The heads of the Alfourous are intermediate in their
general form, between the skulls of the New Zealanders, and
those of the Mozambique Negroes. Like the latter the two
jaws are so much elongated, that they may be compared to
the face of an orang. The lower jaw of the Alfourous has the
same developement with that of the Mozambique, but it is
narrower than that of the Papua. All three being compared
to the lower jaw of the European, they differ from it in the
form of the bone in the basis or lower edge, and lastly in
the symphysis. The anterior part of the body of the bone,
instead of being inclined backwards, as in the European and
New Zealander, is cut perpendicularly, which contributes in
causing the arches of the teeth to project more. The basis
of the jaw is more rounded, and is raised a little forwards in
the Alfourous, Mosambique, Papua, and even the New Zea-
lander. The bend is always less apparent among the Papuas.
Placed upon a horizontal plane, the lower edges of the jaws
do not touch in all places, as is the case in the European.
300 A NALOG ICAL INVESTIGATION.
The lateral angles of the symphysis are consequently more
rounded than the latter.
The coronal bone of a New Zealander, is less bulging than
that of an European. The external orbitary angles are much
thicker, and the crooked line which separates them is also
more projecting. The summit of the head is prolonged a
little in the shape of a sugar-loaf, as in that of the Alfourous.
The bridge of the nose has no peculiarity: the anterior part
of the body of the lower jaw, is placed very much as in the
European, from which it only slightly differs in the rounding
of the angles, and in the slight bend of the basis. The
alveolar arches are a little more developed; the facial angle
does not differ much from that of the European, and the ex-
ternal occipital protuberance alone is more strongly marked.
Lastly, the bones of the cranium of the New Zealander, are
remarkable for their great thickness.
From these remarks and the approximation which appears
to be manifested by them between the skulls of the several
races described, it would almost appear that we may revert to
the opinion of Blumenbach, who represents all the tribes of
the great southern ocean as constituting one distinct variety
of the human species. It seems that a general analogy
really exists between the form of the cranium belonging to
the Papuas, or woolly-haired nations, the Alfourous or Aus-
tralians, and the Oceanic tribes, of whom the New Zealanders
are a specimen, and that all these tribes partake in different
degrees of the peculiar form of the Mosambique Negro.
Tribes of people connected with the Alfourous, constitute a
considerable part of the indigenous population of the Indian
archipelago. They inhabit not only New Guinea and the
Moluccas, but also as we shall hereafter show of the Phi-
lippines; and it is probable that the interior of Borneo, and
of other large islands, is occupied by tribes allied to the
same race. By identifying this race with the Australians,
M. Lesson has attempted at least to make one considerable
step towards the elucidation of the history of this region and
its inhabitants. The near relation of these races is at any
rate very probable. In a future part of this work a more
PROG NATHOUS SK U L LS-ALEO (JROUS. 301
proper place will occur for displaying this and other subjects
relating to ethnography of the Austral countries. At present
I shall confine myself to some further observations on skulls.
I do not believe that any crania exist in European collec-
tions belonging to the genuine Papuas of New Guinea. The
Tasmanians or inhabitants of Van Dieman's Land, may
however be considered as an offset of this stock. The de-
scription of their physical character is quite consistent with
this opinion. M. Anderson, who accompanied Captain Cook,
has given the following account of the natives of Van Die-
man's Land.
“Their colour,” he informs us, “is a dull black, and not
quite so deep as that of the African Negroes. Their hair is
perfectly woolly.” Their noses though not flat are broad and
full. The lower part of the face projects a good deal, as is
the case of most Indians I have seen ; so that a line let fall
from the forehead would cut off a much larger portion than
it would in an European. Their eyes are of a middling size,
with the white less clear than in us. Their teeth are broad,
but not equal nor well set. Their mouths are rather wide;
but this appearance seems heightened by wearing their beards
long, and clotted with paint, in the same manner as the hair
on their heads.”
Of this race, which is becoming fast extinct, we have
several portraits by La Billardière, and M. Péron. I have
annexed the drawing of a Tasmanim skull, which is in
the museum of the College of Surgeons. It exemplifies
the characters ascribed above to the Papua race, and ap-
proximates more to the Negro, as might be expected, than
the skulls belonging to the mixed breed of Papuas, described
by M. Lesson, and by M. M. Quoy and Gaimard, in the
zoological department of the great work of M. de Freycinct.
* Captain Cook, as we are told by the writer of his work, on the authority of
Captain King, was very unwilling to allow the last-mentioned fact, “fancying
that the people who first observed it, had been deceived from the hair being clotted
with grease and red ochre. But Captain King prevailed on him to examine care-
fully the hair of the boys which was free from this dirt.” He thus became con-
vinced that it was naturally woolly, and assures us himself that it was as much so
as that of the natives of Guinea.
302 AN AI, O GICAL INVESTIGATION.
There are many skulls of Australians in various collections.
Blumenbach has figured two in his Decades. I have given
the representation of one which is in the museum of the
College of Surgeons. All the Australian skulls which I have
examined are very similar, and I apprehend that M. Lesson's
description of the crania will nearly apply to them. In both
and all of them, the upper jaw has a good deal of the
strongly marked Negro form; the alveolar process turns
somewhat forwards and gives a projecting muzzle, and the
head is compressed laterally, receiving like the skull of the
Negro, deep impressions from the high insertion of the tem-
poral muscles on the upper portion of the parietal and tem-
poral bones. The most peculiar character in the Australian
skull is a very singular and deep depression at the juncture
of the nasal bones with the nasal process of the frontal bone.
This may be seen in the engraving. It is very conspicuous
in most if not all the Australian skulls which I have seen.
The same peculiarity is observable in the crania of many
Oceanic tribes. Blumenbach observes, that the crania of a
New Hollander, which he has represented in his third Decade,
resembles in all its principal characteristics an Otaheitan
skull, which he had just before described. The vertex of
the Australian is rather more compressed. The summit of
the head rises in a longitudinal ridge, in the direction of the
Sagittal suture. In the Australian skull in Dr. Munro's
museum, the forehead is somewhat flat, the upper jaw pro-
minent.* All the foramina except the infra orbital, remark-
ably large. Some of the insular nations in the Indian and
Pacific oceans unite with the progmathous form of the skull,
somewhat of the broad faced type.'t
* Dr. Gibson's Inaugural Dissertation, de forma Craniorum gentilitiã. Edinb.
1808.
+ The first attempt by any European artist to represent the countenance and
physical character of a nation of the Austral seas, was probably a portrait by the
old Dutch traveller Cornelius Le Bruyn, who in his Reizen over Moscovie in-
serted the portrait of a Papua from Lange Eiland, on the coast of New Guinea.
In this, the shape of the head, as Blumenbach observes, resembles closely that of
Australian skulls. The countenance was observed to resemble the New Hol-
landers who were brought to England by Governor Philips from New South
Wales.
OVAL SKU LLS-IN DO- ATLANTIC. 303
SECTION IV.-Oval form of the Skull–Crania of the Indo-
Atlantic or Iranian nations.
The skulls of the Indo-Atlantic nations differ from those
cf other races, in having all their parts moderately developed,
and they hold a middle place in many respects between the
crania of the northern Asiatic and the Negro. The figure
of the bony case is more oval if we take a horizontal section
of the cerebral cavity. The shape of the face approaches
more nearly to the same form ; the cheek-bones make no
regular projection as in the Turanian skull, in which the
lateral prominence of the zygoma gives the section of the face
a lozenge-form.
Among European nations the Greeks have perhaps dis-
played the greatest perfection in the form of the head; in
other words, it has been supposed that the Grecian race in
the configuration of the cranium which belonged to that
people, have exhibited the characteristic traits of the Indo-
Atlantic nations in the highest degree. This has been in-
ferred from the remains of Grecian sculpture. It has been
thought by some, that the statues of Grecian gods and heroes
have been formed, not on the natural model of the Greeks, but
by an ideal conception of the form calculated to give the ex-
pression of dignity and mental elevation. But Blumenbach
has described a Greek skull in his collection, which agrees
perfectly with the finest works of Grecian art, and affords
good reason for believing that the Grecian profiles as dis-
played in ancient statuary, is not exaggerated or founded on
any imaginary principles, but actually copied from the heads
of Greek contemporaries with the artists. The skull to which
Blumenbach refers, is described by him as of a rounded or
oval form, “the forehead highly and beautifully arched, the
superior maxillary bones under the aperture of the nostrils,
joined in a nearly perpendicular plane, the cheek-bones
even, and turning moderately downwards.”
The idea here obviously suggests itself of connecting the
figure of the head, and consequently of the brain, among the
* Blumenbach Decad. Cran. sexta: also a memoir by the same writer in the
sixteenth volume of the Goettingen Commentaries.
304 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION,
Greeks, with the high distinction attained by that people in
philosophy and the fine arts. But before we can determine
that this relation is essential and real, we must explain why
other nations who partake of the same form have never dis-
played the same genius. According to Blumenbach, the
skull of a Georgian female in his collection is equal in beauty
of conformation to the Greek; indeed he only gives to the
Grecian skull the second place; but the natives of Georgia
have never been supposed to be possessed of any intellectual
superiority. It may also occur to those who would refer the
great mental power of the Greeks to the organization of their
brains, to ask themselves the question why, if that opinion
were true, did the Greeks cease, soon after the Roman world
had become enslaved, to show any proofs of high intellect 2
How came it to pass that the subjects of the Byzantine empire,
though in the possession of literature and all means of culti-
vating it, produced no great work of genius during the thou-
sand years which intervened between Constantine the great
and Palaeologus 7 Luxury, sloth, effeminacy, and servile
obedience to their despotic rulers, many of whom, with Jus-
tinian, were barbarians, constituted the leading features of
their character during all those ages, while the German and
Latin nations in the west were rising to a higher cultivation,
and displaying the greatest moral and intellectual energy :
I am not prepared to deny that any connexion exists between
perfection and the developement and structure of the brain,
and vigour in the exercise of the mental functions; but it ap-
pears to me that those who dogmatize on this subject, over-
look many opposing facts, which they are bound to explain.
The shape of the head differs considerably in different
mations, without going beyond those who belong to the class
now under consideration. The varieties in the form of the
skull in the European nations is the particular object of a
work by one of the most distinguished writers of the present
day, on physiology and matural history, and to it I must refer
my readers who are particularly interested in this investi-
gation.*
* W. F. Edwards, D. M. sur les charactères des races humaines, A Paris, 1829.
PY R A MIDAL SKU LLS : TU R A NIAN NATIONS. 305
A considerable number of skulls have been found in bar-
rows in different parts of Britain, and a much greater number
might be collected if pains were bestowed upon this object.
It might probably be not difficult to obtain a series of skulls
displaying the national forms proper to each of the races of
ancient Europe. The skulls found in old burial places in
Britain, which I have been enabled to examine, differ materi- .
ally from the Grecian model. The amplitude of the anterior
parts of the cranium is very much less, giving a comparatively
small space for the anterior lobes of the brain. In this par-
ticular the ancient inhabitants of Britain appear to have dif-
fered very considerably from the present. The latter, either as
the result of many ages of greater intellectual cultivation, or
from some other cause, have, as I am persuaded, much more
capacious brain-cases than their forefathers.
SECTION V.—Of Pyramidal, or Broad-faced Skulls.
Paragraph 1.-Of the Skulls of the Turanian Nations.
I have termed the nomadic people of northern Asia, who in
the form of their skull resemble the Kalmuks, Turanian
nations, for reasons already explained. I shall now proceed
to a more particular account of the form of their skulls, ob-
serving that it belongs to many very distinct and widely-
separated human races. Among all these the Mongoles have
been the most celebrated as conquerors, and one of their
tribes, the Kalmuks, have been most frequently visited by
travellers from Europe. Hence the name of Mongoles as well
as that of Tartars (which according to Klaproth belonged ori-
ginally to the same people though it has been of late applied
to the Turkish race) was extended to all the nations who bear
to the real Mongoles some general resemblance. When
the name of the latter people is so applied, it is used in a
sense as vague and as widely extended beyond its real mean-
ing as is the term Frank, by which the natives of Europe are
designated in the East. To describe all the European
nations as one race, under the name of Franks, would not
be more improper than to designate the nations of northern
Asia as the Mongolian race.
X
306 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
The same type of features, and the broad-faced and pyra-
midal form of the skull belong not more to the Mongoles
than to many other nations quite distinct from them. The
Ostiaks and Siberian Tschudish or Finnish nations partake of
it: the offsets of the same stock in Europe, namely, the Hun-
garians and proper Finns, no longer display the same character,
though it is fully preserved by some of the Laplanders. The
Samoiedes in the north of Europe and Asia, as well as the Yu-
kagers, Koriacs, Tschuktschi, Kamtschadales, and many other
nations less known, have a similar form, as I shall endeavour
to show by accounts hereafter to be cited. The Tungusian, or
|Man-tschu race, quite distinct from the Mongolian, as well as
the Chinese, Indo-Chinese, the Tangutian or Tibetan, and the
Japanese nations, belong to the same class. Some tribes of the
Turkish or Tartar race display a similar conformation; though
others have a different shape of the head, and resemble Euro-
peans. Lastly, the Esquimaux, a race separated into a great
number of hordes, and occupying the shores of the Polar
Sea, from Asia, where they exist northwards of Kamtschatka,
to Greenland in the west, have the pyramidal, or conoidal,
or broad-faced skull in a most marked degree. By some
the Esquimaux with the Samoiedes, have been classed together
as a separate branch of the human family, under the title of
the Hyperborean race; but there is no sufficient reason for
this separation, though perhaps the peculiar type of the
whole class of tribes now described occurs in the Esqui-
maux in a somewhat exaggerated degree. I have given an
accurate representation of an Esquimaux skull, in which
the distinguishing characters are strongly marked. The
most striking of these peculiarities are, 1st. The great late-
ral extension of the zygomatic arch : the cheek-bones do
not project or advance forwards and downwards under the
eyes, as in the prognathous skull of the Negro, but take an
extension outwards, which meeting the jugal process of the
temporal bone forms a rounded sweep, or arch or segment of
a circle; hence the face is much broader in the plane of the
cheek-bones and under the eyes than it is above or below,
and instead of being of a somewhat flattened oval form, as in
most Europeans, is of a lozenge shape, risinglike one of the faces
Pºy R A M I D A L S K U L L S
An Esquimaux


PYRAMIDAL SKULLS : TURANIAN NATIONS. 307
of a pyramid almost to a point, with a ridge running back-
ward from the summit of the frontal bone over the vertex,
and towards the occiput. The upper part of the face
is remarkably broad and flat; the slant of the forehead, and
the anterior surface of the nasal bones, the cheek-bones and
the alveolor part of the maxillary bone being all nearly on
one plane. These characters are common to the skulls of the
Chinese and the Esquimaux, though somewhat more strongly
marked in the latter, in which the lateral projection of the zy-
goma is greater than in the crania of any other human race.
The alveolar process of the upper jaw is more prominent in
the Chinese, and turns up forward, though not so much as in
Negroes. The spine supporting the septum narium is strongly
marked in the Chinese. The nasal bones are rather flat, and
the space between the eyes rather depressed in the Chinese.*
When we compare the basis of the skull in pyramidal
and prognathous heads, we find the forms receding from
each other to opposite extremes, while the European holds
the middle character. The skull of an Esquimaux has
the zygoma situated a little more forward than in the Euro-
pean. The transverse diameter of the basis cranii is longer
in proportion to the antero-posterior than in other races: this
is more especially the case in the anterior fourth part of the
basis when measured from the projection of the zygomatic
arch ; but it is also conspicuous when a transverse line is
drawn across the basis of the skull from the body of the tem-
poral bone between the origin of the zygomatic process and
the meatus auditorius. The basis of the head is also more
flat in the Esquimaux; the downward developement of the
brain, and the consequent downward extension of the cranial
cavity being somewhat less than in other heads; consequently
the plane of the posterior third part of the basis is nearer to
the plane of the middle region. I do not find this character
in the Chinese skull. The circumference of the basis cranii
in the European describes an oval figure: this is somewhat,
though in a very small degree, lengthened and narrowed in
the African : it is shortened in the Esquimaux, especially at
* I have made these observations in comparing skulls belonging to the two
Tà CCS.
X 2
308 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
the anterior part, as if one end of the oval figure had been
flattened, the oval figure being otherwise somewhat wider than
the figure formed by the circumference of the basis cranii in
the other two classes of skulls.
All the foramina in the basis of the skull are perceptibly
larger in the portraits of the Chinese and Kalmuks; some
other characters are observable, which are not perceptible in
the skulls. “The narrow and linear aperture of the eyelids ex-
tends upwards towards the temples, and the internal angle of
the eye is depressed towards the nose, the superior eyelid being
continued into the inferior by a rounded sweep.” This confor-
mation is not dependent on the shape of the skull, in which
the orbits are quite level, those of the Chinese being nearly
square or rather oblong, with a well-defined or sharp edge.”
In neither of these skulls is the cerebral cavity much con-
tracted ; as much space being afforded as in many European
skulls, for the anterior part of the brain.
The zygomatic arches, though forming a round sweep
when we turn the skull, present in the front view an angular
appearance, owing to a slight projection of the lower edge of
the arch. This is particularised from its affording a character
which has been thought distinctive of the northern Asiatic
nations from the Americans.
Paragraph 2.-Of the Skulls of the aboriginal Americans.
The skulls of the American tribes display the same broad
and pyramidal form as the heads of Turanian nations. Tra-
vellers have been struck with the general resemblance which
certainly subsists between these two departments of mankind.
“What we have been stating as to the exterior form of the
indigenous Americans,” says M. de Humboldt, “ confirms
the accounts of other travellers, as to a striking analogy be-
tween the American and the Mongole race. This analogy is
* This is the case particularly in the skull of an Esquimaux. The cranium of
an American, supposed to belong to an ancient and extinct race, found in a tumu-
łus near Niagara, resembles the Esquimaux in almost every other respect, and
particularly in the pyramidal or triangular form of the front face, but differs in
having the edges of the orbit rounded off in a remarkable manner.
PYRAM ID AL SKULLS : AMERICAN NATIONS. 309
particularly evident in the colour of the skin and hair, in the
defective beard, high cheek-bones, and in the direction of the
eyes. We cannot refuse to admit, that the human species
does not contain races resembling one another more than the
Americans, Mongoles, Mantchoux, and Malays.” The same
writer mentions, as a characteristic of the American nations,
“a facial angle more inclined, though straighter than that of
the Negro;” and he adds, “that there is no race of men
upon the globe in which the frontal bone is more depressed
backwards, or which has a less projecting forehead.” But
this observation will not apply equally to all, and probably
not to the greater part of the American races. On this sub-
ject I shall cite the observations of one of the best informed
writers, whose statements are the result of personal obser-
vation.*
“The facial angle of the American cranium has been repre-
sented by Blumenbach at 73°, an obliquity which induced
him to place the American Indian in his series of the varieties
of the human race, as the fourth in number. But his obser-
vations were made on the cranium of a Carib, and will not
rigidly apply to the Western Indian, who certainly possesses
a greater verticality of profile. Agreeably to the mensura-
tions of Dr. Harlan, a cranium which we obtained on the
plains of the Platte, exhibits an angle of 78°; a Wabash
male, 78°; female, 90°; and a Cherokee only 75°.
Other points of difference may be referred to the direction
of the orbits, the degree of prominence in the nose, and the
shape of the cheek-bones.
“The line of the direction of their eyes is nearly recti-
linearly transverse,” says the writer above cited, in describing
the lineaments of the Indians on the Missouri. “This,” he
adds, “is intermediate between the arcuated line of the eyes
of Europeans, and that of the Indians of New Spain, who, ac-
* See an excellent account of the physical characters of the nations of the Mis-
souri, with observations on the peculiarities of the American tribes in general,
chiefly drawn up from the notes of M. Say, in the second volume of James's His-
tory of the Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, under Major Long. p. 3. et
Seqq.
310 A N A LOGICA L INV ESTIGATION.
cording to M. de Humboldt, have the corners of the eyes
directed upwards towards the temples.”
“The noses of the Indians in the interior of North America,
are generally prominent and aquiline, with the wings not
more dilated than those of white men. The pug-nose, and
the more common form of the noses of the white Americans,
of a concave outline, are regarded as remote from the stand-
ard of beauty. The lips are more tumid than those of the
white Americans, but very far less so than those of the Negro,
The lower jaw is large and robust; the teeth are very strong,
with broad crowns; the chin is well formed.”
It appears from this account that the American tribes here
described differ from the Mongoles, in having prominent
noses; but other nations of aboriginal Americans, and par-
ticularly several tribes in South America, who will be men-
tioned in the sequel of this work, appear to have as flat faces
as any of the Asiatics.
The cheek-bones appear to constitute one of the most pe-
culiar features of the Americans. Blumenbach and M. de
Humboldt have made this remark. “The cheek-bones,”
says the writer before cited, “are prominent, but not angular,
like those of the Mongole, and stamp a peculiarity on the
contour of the face, characteristic of the American Indian.”
“The expression of the countenance is austere; often fero-
cious.” This is a remark repeatedly made by the most ob-
servant travellers. “The females have broader faces, and a
more lively expression.”
The nasal cavities are large in the American head. This
* These remarks are confirmed by observations on the Potowatomis, and other
aboriginal tribes, by Professor Keating, of the Pennsylvanian University, in the
narrative of a late expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River. In describing
Metea, a Potowatomi chief, this intelligent writer says, “Like most of the Poto-
watomis whom we met with, he is characterized by a low, aquiline, and well shaped
nose; his eyes are small, elongated, and black; they are not set widely apart; his
forehead is low and receding ; the facial angle amounts to about eighty degrees.
His hair is black, and indicates a slight tendency to curl ; his cheek-bones are re-
markably high and prominent, even for those of an Indian ; they are not however
angular, but present very distinctly the rounded appearance which distinguishes the
aboriginal American from the Asiatic.”—Keating's Expedition to the Source of
St. Peter's River. -

PY RAM ID AL SKU LLS : AMERICAN NATIONS. 3 || ||
has been observed in several skulls, as in a cranium described
by Blumenbach, who connects the circumstance with the
powerful sense of smell for which these barbarians are cele-
brated.
The occiput is somewhat flat, and the protuberances which
mark the seat of the cerebellum not very prominent; though
in the Missouri Indian, they are still marked and distinct.
One of the most remarkable peculiarities of the American
head, and one most generally observed by Blumenbach, is
the largeness and depth of the orbits.
It may be questioned whether any of the characters laid
down as distinguishing the American races from the Asiatic
are constant and applicable to all the nations of the New
World. They chiefly relate to the numerous tribes of the
Algonquin family, and to those allied to the Six Nations
and to the Floridians. In these the features, especially the
nose, are by no means so much flattened as in the Turanian
nations. The same remark applies to other northern tribes,
and especially to the Chepewyan. There are two skulls in the
collection of Guy's Hospital which strongly resemble and have
both the characters here described : one belonged to a Chip-
peway and may be considered as a specimen of the Algon-
quin form, the other to a Chepewyan. I have obtained,
through the kind assistance of Dr. Hodgkin, a representation
of the latter, which I insert by preference, because no skull
of this race, hitherto little known, has been seen in Europe.
Many skulls have been found in ancient tombs in various
parts of the United States, which resemble the Esquimaux
more than the present, or rather the late inhabitants of the
country. Did these belong to races exterminated when the
Lenni Lenape occupied the region eastward of the Missisippi,
or has the physical constitution of the people undergone a
change in the course of ages 2 There is a skull of this de-
scription in the museum of Guy’s Hospital, of which an ac-
count is given in the descriptive catalogue of the collection
by Dr. Hodgkin. It was found in a tumulus near Niagara,
and is supposed to have belonged to an individual of an ex-
tinct race. The skulls of the flat-head Indians have some-
what of the same form, but their shape is modified by art.
312 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
A cranium from an Indian burying-ground, supposed to have
belonged to an Illinois savage, which was presented to Blu-
menbach by Dr. Barton, approaches more nearly to the Cau-
casian or European than to the Mongolian form ; and M. de
Humboldt assures us, that some tribes of Indians have Euro-
pean features.
I shall add further observations on particular tribes of
Americans, when I come to the ethnography of the New
World.
SECTION III.-Skulls of the Quaiquae or Hottentot race.
Very little comparatively has been attempted towards the
elucidation of the physical history, and particularly the cra-
miology of the Quaiquae or Hottentot race. Few skulls be-
longing to that people have been brought into European col-
lections. It was formerly supposed that the Hottentots were
a tribe of Negroes. Mr. Barrow was the first who perceived
the resemblance which they bear to the Chinese and other
nations with broad and flat-faced skulls. The cranium of a
male Bushman is represented in Blumenbach’s last decade,
in which the lateral prominence and wide-spread of the zy-
goma is very conspicuous, as well as the general unlikeness
to the skulls of the Negro nations. In the head of the fe-
male Bosjesman examined by Cuvier it is remarked, that the
“jaws are more projecting than in the Negro, the face wider
than in the Kalmuk, and the nose flatter than in either.” In
Blumenbach's specimen of the same race, it is observed, that
the jaws are not at all prominent, and the incisor teeth, with
their alveoli, as well as the chin, on the same perpendicular
line. In this respect the female examined by Cuvier seems to
have been an exception. In the latter, it is likewise observed that
“ the orbits are very wide in proportion to their height, the
entrance of the nostrils has a peculiar form, the palate a larger
surface, the incisor teeth are oblique, the temporal fossae more
extensive.” The occipital foramen is proportionally larger than
in other heads, which, says Cuvier, “according to the views
of Soemmerring would indicate an inferior nature.” This
PY RAM ID AL SK U L L S : HOTTENTOT. 313
trait, however, according to the observation of Dr. Knox, is one
point of agreement with the Kalmuk rather than the Negro
skull, and the wide orbits remind us of the Esquimaux.
The last-mentioned writer has pointed out many remark-
able traits of resemblance between the Hottentots and the
northern Asiatic nations, and he has drawn an inference si-
milar to that of Mr. Barrow, though without adverting to,
and perhaps without having noticed Mr. Barrow’s observation,
viz. that the Hottentots were a tribe of the Mongolian race.
The most striking particulars in which the Hottentots resem-
ble the Kalmuks and other Turanian nations are,
1. Their complexion is nearly the same.
2. The head in both is broad and square.
3. “The face,” says Dr. Knox, “is in the Kalmuk broad,
flat, depressed, and the features, as it were confluent. The face
of the Hottentot resembles that of the Kalmuk, except in the
thickness of the lips.”
Mr. Burchell describes thus the face of the Hottentot :—
“Space between the two cheek-bones flat; scarcely any percep-
tible ridge of the nose; end of the nose wide and depressed;
nostrils squeezed out of shape; chin long and forward; nar-
rowness of the lower part of the face a character of the race.”
These traits apply equally to the northern Asiatic.
“The nasal processes of the superior maxillary bones are
large and broad.” Hence the breadth at the root of the nose
in the Bushman as well as in the Kalmuk.
4. It was observed by Mr. Barrow, that the “eyes of the
Hottentots are of a deep chesnut colour, long and narrow,
distant from each other, the inner angle being rounded, as in
the Chinese, to whom the Hottentots bear, as he says, a
striking resemblance.”
. 5. “The cheek-bones,” as the same writer observes, “are
high and prominent; viz. outwards, for he adds, that the nar-
row pointed chim forms with them nearly a triangle.” Com-
pare what has been said above respecting the skulls of the
Esquimaux.
It was observed by Mr. Burchell, that the eyes of the Hot-
tentot are so obliquely placed that lines drawn through the
corners of each would not coincide, but would intersect each
314 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
other as low down as the middle of the nose. This is well
known to be common to the Chinese.
6. Mr. Burchell observes, that the hands and feet are re-
markably small in the Hottentot.
7. It is further remarked by Dr. Knox, that the whole
figure of the Bushman displays the finest symmetry: their
stature is very diminutive; he conjectures four and a half feet
to be the average height of the males.
8. The Bushmen, according to Dr. Knox, have uncommon
powers of vision. He says, “the acuteness of their sight
almost exceeds belief. I have found it to be equal to that of
most Europeans when aided by excellent hand-telescopes.”
We may compare this with the obseryation of Pallas on the
extensive vision of the Kalmuks.”
The representation which I have inserted of a cranium of a
Bushman will serve to point out to the eye, the analogy, which
is undoubtedly very great, between the shape of the head in
the Hottentot and Turanian races. I shall not draw the in-
ference that the South African nation has any near connexion
in lineage or descent with the Kalmuks; but it may be worth
while to observe, that the physical and moral condition of the
two races is very similar, and that the external circumstances
under which they have existed from immemorial time have
been nearly the same. Both are nomadic races, wandering
with their herds through deserts remarkable for the wide ex-
pansion of their surface, their scanty herbage, the dryness
of the atmosphere, and almost perpetual drought. Both races
feed upon the milk and flesh of their horses as well as of their
oxen. No countries can be more similar than are the vast
steppes of central Asia, and the karroos of Southern Africa.
The principal difference of the Kalmuk and the Bushman
races is the texture of the hair, which in the latter is woolly.
In both it is scarce and rare, and the woolly tufts which cover
the head of the Hottentot, differ much from the thick wool
of the intertropical Negro tribes.
On the comparison of the south African race with the
northern Asiatics, my readers may find further observations in
*is
* Dr. Knox's Memoir.
E LONG ATED SKU LLS OF TITICA CA. 315
the work of M. Desmoulins, which was written subsequently
to the Memoir of Dr. Knox.
SECTION VI.-Of artificial Modifications of the Form of the
Cranium.—Elongated Skulls from Titicaca.
It was once a general opinion that national varieties in the
shape of the head were produced, in a great part at least, by
artificial means; that the flat noses and depressed features of
the Negroes have acquired this form from the contrivances
used in infancy to improve their beauty, according to the ma-
tional taste. One writer, Barbot, supposed that the Negro
children carried continually on the backs of the females, get
their noses flattened by striking them continually against the
shoulders of their mothers. The opinion that varieties of form
are to be attributed to art is as old as the time of Hippocrates,
who relates that the Macrocephali, a people on the coast of
the Euxine, were accustomed to lengthen by bandages the
heads of young children, supposing length of the head to
be a sign of courage, until that shape which art had first pro-
duced became naturally prevalent in the race; a fact which
Hippocrates connected with his theory of generation.
In opposition to the opinion of those who ascribed the flat-
mess of the features of Negroes to artificial compression, it
was observed by Buffon, that the peculiarity of the race is
already perceptible in young children. This observation was
confirmed by Blumenbach, who has given an engraving of the
skull of a Negro infant, and by Soemmerring who declares
that the shape of the African cranium may be distinctly re-
cognised in the foetus as early as the middle period of ges-
tation.
Modern writers, on the other hand, have doubted the fact,
that any such modification can be produced in the shape of
the head. In opposition to this prejudice, Blumenbach has
taken pains to collect a great number of testimonies, by which
it is fully proved that many barbarous nations, and particu-
larly those of the New World, have very generally followed
the custom alluded to. In particular it seems that the native
316 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIO, ATION.
people of Peru were so much in the habit of binding the
heads of children and giving them an unnatural shape, that
decrees were issued by the council of Spain, and a synod of
the diocese of Lima in the later part of the sixteenth century,
prohibiting the practise.” It is impossible to examine the
skulls of the Flat-head Indians, of the Caribbees, and of many
other American nations both in the northern and southern re-
gions of the continent, without being convinced that artificial
means have been used to modify the shape of the head.
This subject has acquired additional interest since the dis-
covery of the very singularly shaped skulls of Titicaca. Of
one of these skulls presented to the College of Surgeons by
Mr. Pentland, I have given a representation in the first plate.
The following is an account of them, which was inserted by
Professor Tiedemann in the Zeitschrift für Physiologie, and
translated by Dr. Graves. F
“During my short visit to Paris,” says Tiedemann, “I saw,
in the Museum of Comparative Anatomy at the Jardin du Roi,
several skulls brought by Mr. Pentland from Peru, where he
found them in sepulchres of a very ancient date. These skulls
are remarkable for their unusually great length, the axis from
the forehead to the occiput being much longer than what is
observed in any other skulls I have seen, while the lateral
axis is proportionally shorter, in consequence of which they
seem compressed at the sides. The face is exceedingly pro-
jecting, and the forehead very retreating, so that the facial
angle of Camper is smaller than in any known race of man.
The os frontis is continued far backwards towards the vertex,
and is very long, narrow, and flat. The parietal bones look
partly backwards, and where they join the frontal bone make
a remarkable arch or protuberance. The occipital foramen is
large, and its plane looks not downwards and forwards, but
somewhat backwards. The zygomatic processes are not pro-
minent.”
* Blumenbach cites the following authorities, Jos. Sanz de Aguire, Collectio
maxima conciliorum Hispaniae et Novi Orbis.-Histoire du 3e Synode du diocèse
de Lima—decrêt du 17 Juillet, 1385.
+ Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science. No. xv. p. 475. et scqq.
EL ON GATED SK U L LS OF TITICA CA. 317
Mr. Pentland obtained these skulls in 1827, in the province
of Upper Peru, now called Bolivia. He supposed them to
belong to an extinct race of men. In his communication to
M. Tiedemann he says, that “he found them in the ancient
graves called Huacas, in the great alpine valley of Titicaca,
which is likewise remarkable for being the country in which
civilization, planted by the Peruvians, flourished to a degree
unrivalled among the other tribes of the new world. These
sepulchres have the form of high round towers, and in some
places are constructed of enormous masses of masonry. The
stones are very carefully and skilfully arranged, in a manner
similar to that observed in the old structures of Greece and
Italy, named by our antiquarians, Cyclopean. I have met
them only in the valley of Titicaca, which extends from the
seventeenth to the nineteenth degree of latitude south, and on
the skirts of the Andes which form that valley. They occur
in the greatest abundance in the provinces of La Paz, Oruro,
Pacages, and Carangas. I examined several hundreds of
these sepulchres, and in all of them found human skeletons,
and in all the skull had the same singular shape. The ske-
letons are in a state of excellent preservation, a circumstance
attributable to the great dryness of the climate, the country
being situated about two thousand toises above the level of the
sea. The skeletons belonged to persons of all ages, from the
youngest child to the oldest man. All the heads, young and
old, had the same form, from which I conceive that it may be
with justice inferred that their peculiar shape was not artifi-
cially caused by pressure, as is the case with the Caribs, and
some other of the barbarous tribes of the new world. The
heads presented to the French museum were selected from a
great number, and were found in the following places: viz. the
island in the lake of Titicaca, Chunguys, Tiaguanaco, Lica-
sica, Tolapalea, and Lennas.”
The present inhabitants of the interior of Peru belong to
the same race which peopled the remainder of the continent
of South America, and which is distinguished by a copper
colour of the skin, a thinly scattered beard, straight, strong
black hair, and a prominent nose. I am of opinion that the
present inhabitants of Peru are derived from an Asiatic stock,
3.18 A NALOGICAL INV ESTIGATION.
the last colony of whom migrated probably about the twelfth
century. From these latter settlers sprang the dynasty of
the Incas or Ingas, which dynasty was overthrown by the
Spaniards, after it had lasted about twelve generations. The
Asiatic emigrants had gradually spread themselves over the
western coast of South America, conquering, as they spread,
the natives of the country: and it is to the latter, in all pro-
bability, that the skulls in question belonged. Many sepul-
chres of the present race of Peruvian Indians occur along the
coast of the Pacific Occean, the skulls found in which agree
in every respect with the form of that race, but in no instances
do they possess the peculiar characters of those found in the
interior. A careful examination of these skulls has convinced
me that their peculiar shape cannot be owing to artificial
pressure. The great elongation of the face and the direction
of the plane of the occipital bone are not to be reconciled
with this opinion, and therefore we must conclude that the
peculiarity of shape depends on a natural conformation. If
this view of the subject be correct, it follows that these skulls
belonged to a race of mankind now extinct, and which differed
from any now existing.
An excellent commentary on these observations is con-
tained in the following remarks of Professor Scouler, of the
Royal Dublin Society, who has visited some of the countries
before mentioned, and has brought into Europe similar skulls:
his communication is appended by Dr. Graves to the pre-
ceding statement.
“The Peruvian cranium described by Tiedemann,” says
this eminent naturalist, “in the preceding article, possesses
so very remarkable a configuration, that we would be tempted
to adopt his opinion, that it belonged to an original and
primitive race, if we were certain that its form had not been
produced by artificial means. If we remember that the prac-
tice of deforming the head by means of pressure has been
very general throughout America, and the result has been
the production of crania as anomalous as those of the ancient
Peruvians, we shall rather admit that in this instance also
compression has been employed. We are aware that the
possibility of deforming the cranium by the application of
ELONG ATED SIKULLS OF TITICA CA. 319
continued pressure has been denied by able anatomists; but
it is unnecessary to examine their reasonings in a case where
we can appeal to positive facts. That the Caribs of St. Vin-
cent's flattened the heads of their children is well known ;
and an inspection of Blumenbach’s engraving of a Carribean
skull, will convince any one of the great amount of deformity
which may be produced. The same custom prevailed in
Carolina according to Adair, and at the present moment it is
practised by the Indians inhabiting the banks of the Colum-
bia river and the Nootka Sound. Of the authenticity of
this fact, as far as regards the Indians of the Columbia river,
we can entertain no doubt, as we have enjoyed ample op-
portunities of witnessing every stage of the process, and have
in our possession a complete series of skulls, in some of
which the deformity is as great as in the Peruvian skull
figured by Tiedemann. Among the Columbian tribes, the
child, immediately after birth, is put into a cradle of a pe-
culiar construction, and pressure is applied to the forehead
and occiput. After the head has been compressed for several
months, it exhibits a most hideous appearance; the antero-
posterior diameter is the smallest, while the breadth from
side to side above the ears is enormous, thus reversing the
natural measurements of the cranium. As the individual
increases in years the deformity becomes less, but even in
the adult persons it is very great: from the excessive depres-
sion of the forehead the eyes appear as if turned upwards; a
circumstance which gives a very peculiar physiognomy to
the Indian. The process is slow and gentle, so that the child
does not appear to suffer in any way from so unnatural a
process, nor do the intellectual qualities of the individual
appear to be in any degree affected by it; on the contrary,
a flat head is esteemed an honour, and distinguishes the free-
man from the slave.
“These circumstances are sufficient so establish the fact,
that the human cranium may be distorted by artificial means;
and thus render it probable that the skulls of the ancient
Peruvians may have been disfigured by the same process.
This opinion is greatly strengthened by other circumstances.
Blumenbach has figured a deformed and compressed Peru-
320 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
vian cranium from Quilca: the form is different from that of
the skull represented by Tiedemann, and from those of the
Indians of North-western America, but different modes and de-
grees of compression will produce different kinds of deformity.
We have in our possession a skull in which the pressure has
been applied diagonally from the left half of the frontal to
the right half of the occipital bone. In addition to these
facts, we have the testimony of historians and travellers, that
it was the practice in Peru to compress the heads of the chil-
dren. The following authorities, as quoted by Blumenbach,
are sufficient to establish this point. De la Condamine in-
forms us that the custom prevails in South America, and
that it was known to the Peruvians; and in the year 1585,
the synod of Lima prohibited the custom under the pain of
ecclesiastical punishments. The synod alludes to the prac-
tice as universally prevalent in Peru, and that it has fallen
into disuse since the arrival of the Spaniards in that country.”
These facts are sufficient to prove the possibility of modify-
ing the human cranium by means of pressure, that the custom
was very general throughout North and South America, and
that the same practice prevailed among the ancient Peruvians;
consequently, it is more probable that the ancient skulls of
Titicaca owed their strange configuration to a process which
we know is capable of explaining the phenomena, than that
they constituted an original race, a circumstance of which we
have no other evidence than that derived from the shape of
the cranium. Professor Scouler has given the sketch of an
infant skull of one of the Columbian tribes, which is as much
elongated as the skulls brought by Mr. Pentland from Titi-
caca. The method used for the compression of the head is
described as follows:
“Immediately after birth the infant is placed in a kind of
oblong cradle, formed like a trough, with moss under it.
One end, on which the head reposes, is more elevated than
the rest. A padding is then placed on the forehead with a
piece of cedar-bark over it, and by means of cords passed
through small holes on each side of the cradle, the padding
is pressed against the head. It is kept in this manner up-
wards of a year, and the process is not, I believe, attended
ELONG ATED SKU LLS OF TITICA CA. 321
with much pain. The appearance of the infant, however,
while in this state of compression, is frightful, and its little
black eyes, forced out by the tightness of the bandages, re-
semble those of a mouse choked in a trap. When released
from this inhuman process, the head is perfectly flattened,
and the upper part of it seldom exceeds an inch in thickness,
It never afterwards recovers its rotundity. They deem this
an essential point of beauty, and the most devoted adherent
of our first Charles, never entertained a stronger aversion to a
round-head than these savages.
“They allege, as an excuse for this custom, that all their
slaves have round heads; and accordingly every child of a
bondsman, who is not adopted by the tribe, inherits not only
his father's degradation, but his parental rotundity of cra-
nium.”
I have taken these highly interesting observations relative
to the skulls of Titicaca, from Professor Graves's excellent
Memoir on that subject, inserted in the Dublin Journal of
Science for July, 1834.
* Cox's Travels on the Columbia River.
Y
322 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
CHAPTER VI.
AN ALOGICAL IN VESTIGATION CONTINUED.—DIVERSITIES
OF SHAPE IN THIE SFXELETON.
SECTION I.-General Observations—Varieties in the Shape
of the Pelvis in different races of Men.
IN the figure of the body, in the size and proportion of the
limbs, and in the degrees of strength and agility which thence
result, great diversities are well known to exist both between
individuals of the same race, and between different races of
men. We have now to consider the facts which have rela-
tion to the last-mentioned instances of variety, and to esti-
mate their extent.
The most important of these diversities of figure observed
to exist between different races, depend upon the formation
of the skeleton and the proportions of its component parts; and
among the component parts of the skeleton, the pelvis is the
principal foundation of these differences. On the shape of
the pelvis the form of the body in a great degree depends.
It was observed by Soemmerring, that the loins and hips
are more slender in the Negro, and the pelvis narrower than
in Europeans. Of this fact, he says, he has been convinced
by observing the Negroes who go naked by dozens into the
Moors’ bath at Cassel.”
Camper had previously given some measurements from
which the comparatively narrow size of the pelvis in Negroes
was indicated. Camper's measurements are as follows:—he
compared the long diameter of the pelvis from one thigh-bone
to another, with the small or transverse diameter.
* Soemmerring tiber die Verschiedenhect, u, s, w. 34.
SJIATPE AND PROPORTIONS OF PARTS. 323
In a Negro, the long diameter to the short, is as . . . . . . 39. .27%
In an European. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 .. 27
Yet the Negro was much taller than the European.
In another European the proportion was. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44. .28
In the male skeleton belonging to Albinus . . . . . . . . . . 66. .43
In a female European skeleton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49. . 28
In two others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44. . 28
In the Farnese Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48. .34
In the Pythian Apollo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36. . 48
Venus de Medici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46. .34*
Soemmerring has given the following measurements in
S->
inches.
^. in. lines. ' in. lines.
In a skeleton of a Negro, 20 years old the long
diameter is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3... 11; . . . . short diam.3.7%
In a Negro of 14 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. , 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . 9
In an European 16 years old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. .9
In an old European (shorter than the first Negro) 4..6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . 1 ||
From these measurements we are led to believe that the
pelvis is smaller in both its diameters in the Negro than in
the European : but the examinations made have been princi-
pally in males; and the well-known fact that Negro women
have easy labours has given rise to a suspicion that the
cavity and especially the aperture of the pelvis, is more
capacious in the female. Mr. White has stated this to be the
fact, on the authority of surgeons to ships employed in the
Guinea trade. But this opinion has not been established
upon the evidence of accurate measurements. -
It has long been suspected by physiologists that several
national varieties exist in the form of the pelvis, and that
there is some correspondence between these diversities and
the shape of other parts of the skeleton, and even of the
skull. The first writer who devoted much time and research
to this inquiry was Dr. Vrolik of Amsterdam, whose obser-
* Verhandlingen der Bataafsch Genootschap. Soemmerring, ubi supra.
+ White on the Gradation of the Human Species.
# Considerations sur la Diversité des bassins de différentes Races Humaines, par
G. Vrolik, M. D. &c. Amsterdam, 1826.
Platen, behooende tot de Beschouwing van het Verschel der Bekkens in onder-
scheidene Volkstammen, door G. Vrolik.
2 Y
324 A N A LOGICAL INV ESTIGATION.
vations have been reviewed and stated in a different relation,
by Professer Weber, of Bonn.” Vrolik seems to have been
led to these researches by the remark that the shape of the
pelvis must have some influence, greater or less, on the con-
formation of the foetus. He endeavoured to discover what
peculiarities exist in the shape of the pelvis characteristic of
different nations, by examining the form displayed by this
part of the skeleton in a male and female Negro, in a female
of the Hottentot or Bushman race, a male and female Ja-
Vanese and in a Mestizo, or a person of mixed breed, hav-
ing one parent a Mulatto, and the other a white man or
WOIO 8.]].
Vrolik has remarked that the differences between the
pelvis of male and female Europeans are very considerable,
but by no means so striking and well marked as those which
are perceived when we compare the male and female of the
Negro race. “The pelvis of the male Negro,” he says, “ in
the strength and density of its substance, and of the bones
which compose it, resembles the pelvis of a wild beast, while
on the contrary, the pelvis of the female in the same race
combines lightness of substance, and delicacy of form and
structure. Yet the pelvis of the female Negro, according to
the same writer, though of light and delicate form when
compared with that of the male, is in all the examples with
which he is acquainted, entirely destitute of that transparent
portion in which in the European female pelvis the bony
plates are closely united. He has found this transparency
in the pelvis only in one old Negro female, in which however
the part in question, when held up to the light, yet appeared
not entirely destitute of diploé intervening between the bony
plates. But though this characteristic of the race is observed
in the female as well as in the male, yet such is the meatness
and roundness of form in the pelvis of the former, that no-
body on a first view would suppose it to belong to the same
nation as the corresponding bones in the skeleton of the male
+ Die Lehre von den Ur—und Racenformen der Schaedel und Becken des
Menschen, von Dr. M. I. Weber, Professor der vergleichenden Anatomie, Zu Bonn.
u. s. w. Düsseldorf, 1830.
SHAPE OF THE PELVIS 1 N NEGROES. 3.25
Negro. Delicate, however, as is the form of the pelvis in the
female, it is difficult, as Vrolik thinks, to separate from it
the idea of degradation in type, and approach towards the
form of the lower animals. This character is imparted by
the vertical direction of the ossa ilii; the elevation of the ilia
at the posterior and upper tuberosities; the greater proximity
of the anterior and upper spines; the smaller breadth of the
sacrum ; the smaller extent of the haunches; the smaller
distance from the upper edge of the articulation of the pelvis,
and the projection of the sacrum, or the shortness of the
conjugate diameter; the smallness of the transverse diameters
at the spines and tuberosities of the ischium, and the length-
ened form which the pelvis derives from these peculiarities.
All these characters, as he says, recal to our minds the con-
formation of the pelvis in the simiae. The elongated shape
of the pelvis in the Negress is, in short, the character on
which this approximation depends. The ossa ilii assume a
peculiar configuration. The summit of the inclined plane,
which in the European is in the middle of the crest of the
bones of the ilium, between the anterior and upper spine and
the posterior and upper tuberosity, is situated in the Negress
immediately above the posterior and upper tuberosity; being
thus as remote as possible from its situation in the European.
The anterior upper spines are placed lower in relation to the
cotyloid cavities, and are also less prominent. The anterior
and lower spines are neafer to the edge of the cotyloid cavity
than in the European pelvis, in which a greater distance is
here to be observed. The length of the antero-posterior di-
ameter or of the conjugata, at the upper aperture of the lesser
pelvis, is very great in comparison with that of the transverse
diameter.
On the inner surface of the lesser pelvis the ischiadic spines
are found to be more nearly together, which must not be
considered as merely the consequence of the smaller breadth
of the pelvis, since at the inferior opening we scarcely dis-
cover the space to be narrower than in the European, the
ischiadic tuberosities being scarcely less widely separated.
The pelvis is here as above, only longer at its anterior part;
326 AN A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
the angle below the pubic articulation is more acute, and the
aperture narrower than in the European.
The structure of the same parts in the Bushman and Hot-
tentot race, is only known as yet by the skeleton of the female
who died at Paris, in 1815.” The shape of the pelvis in this
individual indicates in Dr. Vrolik's opinion, the inferior con-
dition of the race, or its greater “animality in comparison
even with the Negro.” In no individual exempt from de-
formity have the ilia been observed to assume so vertical a
direction. They are likewise remarkable for their very great
height, in proportion to their breadth. The breadth is about
half an inch less than the pelvis of European females. The
height is, on the contrary, much more considerable than in
the latter: the ilia reach up beyond the level of the half of
the fourth lumbar vertebra. The distance between the two
anterior and upper spines of the ilium is a quarter of an inch
less than in the smallest pelvis of the Negress measured by
Dr. Vrolik, and nearly an inch less than the largest. The
lower anterior spines, which by the inclination of the surfaces
of the ilia in Negresses, are turned more inwards than the
upper anterior spines, are here placed almost in a straight
line under the latter. These circumstances give to the pelvis
a cylindrical form, which we have not observed in any other
example. The spines of the ischia are so wide apart, that in
looking into the pelvis at an angle of forty-five degrees, their
points cannot be seen. As in the pelvis of the Negro the
transparent part is also wanting in the Bushman, but it ap-
pears that less of the diploe exists in the latter, between the
inner and outer bony plate. The sacrum is more concave
from below upwards than in other females, and its basis pro-
* “La conformation,” says M. Cuvier, “frappait d'abord par l'enorme larzun
de ses panches, qui passait 18 poucés, et par la Suillie de ses fisses, qui était de
plus d’un démi pied.” It seems that this female had the peculiarity of conforma-
tion so often remarked to be a character of the Bushman race. “ Elle tait sur
tablier soigneusement caché, soit entre des cuisses, soit plus profondément: et ce
n’est qu'à-près sa mort qu'on a sa qu’elle a possédait.”
In the description and figure of a female of the Bushman race, given by
G. Cuvier. IIist. Nat, des Mammiferes, par F. Cuvier er Geoffroy St.-Hilaire.
PELVIS OF THE HOTT EN TOT. 327
jects further into the pelvis. By its great convexity at
the posterior surface, a projection is formed by which it
seems to rise higher. This projection is increased by the
thickness of the bunches which surround the parabolic space
at the lower and posterior part of the sacrum ; for by this
the lower and posterior part of the sacrum becomes more
elevated at its point of junction with the os coccygis. The
great thickness of these bunches is probably designed to in-
crease the points of insertion for the thick fibres of the
cellular tissue containing the mass of fat which, in the female
Bushman, covers the hips and haunches. The ischiadic
tuberosities are thicker and more knotty; their lateral and
posterior surface is broader and more elevated than in any
other female pelvis. The cotyloid cavities are turned more
backwards than in other females; by which the pubic arti-
culation is rendered more prominent before. The neck of
the thigh-bone is shorter than in Europeans and even than
in Negroes, and it has a more oblique direction. The angle
under the pubic articulation is besides much greater than in
European females.
In proceeding next to the description of the Javanese, Dr.
Vrolile points out the wide differences in moral and physical
circumstances which distinguish the conditions of the races
already mentioned from those of the Indian islanders, whence,
as he says, it is a probable conjecture, that the physical cha-
racters of these nations will be found to differ in a correspond-
ing degree. I shall cite his words.
“Vivant dams un climat dont la chaleur s'élève souvent
dans les régions montueuses, a un degré considérable, mais
nese change jamais en feu brulant qui consume la terre ou
fait périr la végétation ; habitant un sol qui semble se rajeu-
nir chaque année et ne cesse jamais de communiquer, avec
richesse, les fruits de Sa fertilité; se nourrissant surtout des
productions du pays que son industrie cultive et recueille
en abondance; adorant un Etre Suprême, et tenu par lä au
stricte accomplissement de ses devoirs, il jonit de tous les
avantages de la vie patriarchale; tandis que son physique
et son moral sont portés à un état de civilisation que mous
328 A NALOG ICAL INVESTIGATION.
aurions vainement cherché chez les Négres et les Hotten-
totS.”%
“Il y a dans la stature du Javanais, une admirable beauté
de forme, dans son maintien, une delicatisse engageante, dans
tous ses mouvemens, une singuliére agilité, pour tout ce qui
le touche ou l'affecte un degré très élevé de sensibilité, qui se
déclare surtout dans son penchant pour la musique. Il n'y a
done pas de quoi s'étonner que cette délicatisse caractéris-
tique se manifeste aussi dans le système osseux, et que le bas-
sin, pour ce qui regarde sa forme et sa composition, y parti-
cipe aussi. L’homme et la femme semblent posséder tous les
deux, cette singulière délicatesse ; mais independamment de
celle-ci, quant la forme caractéristique n'indiquerait pas leur
différence, encore seroit-il facile de la déterminer ou par
l’épaisseur de la substance, ou par la différence d’apophy-
ses, d'éminences et de fosses.”
The pelvis of the Javanese is distinguished, according to M.
Vrolik by its peculiar lightness of substance, by the smallness
of its size, and by the form of the upper opening of its cavity,
which is nearly circular. This writer has described and has
given engraved delineations of the pelvis of a male and like-
wise of a female Javanese. From the first appearance of
these, he says, “that any person would suppose himself to be
examining bones belonging to a very young person, and nothing
but the observation of decisive characters, such as are indica-
tive of the age of full maturity would be capable of dissi-
pating this impression. We likewise perceive that the mus-
cles which cover the bony surfaces of the pelvis or take their
origin in it, are also of thickness, hardness, and strength in-
ferior to those of Europeans, of Negroes and Hottentots, and
that this mark holds in the two sexes, although more strongly
marked in the male.”
“The shortened form of the head,” says M. Vrolik, “seems
as if it were impressed on the round form of the upper passage
* Dr. Vrolikh as given figures of the pelvis of a Javanese man who died in a
hospital near Batavia, and that of a female who died in her twenty-third year. For
these I must refer to his work above cited : –Platen behoorende tot de Beschouwing
van het Verschel der Bekkens, &c.
PELVIS OF THE JAW AN ESE. 329
of the little pelvis, a character which is in reality most dis-
tinctly manifest in the female, but is not wanting in the male.
The diminished breadth of the transverse diameter at this part
seems to imply a greater curve outwards of the ilia, in order
to preserve a relative size with the abdomen and the thorax.
This same inclination also causes the anterior and lower spines
to be turned more inwards than in the pelvis of ordinary
shape.” “The smallness of the prominence of the basis of
the sacrum is particularly deserving of notice. To this it
must be added that in none of the pelves belonging to other
nations are the ischiadic spines so much turned inwards. At-
tention to these circumstances will sufficiently point out in
what consists the characteristic form of the pelvis in the Ja-
vanese.”
Professor Weber has examined the various forms of the hu-
man pelvis in a different point of view. By the measurement
and comparison of a great number of pelves belonging to dif-
ferent races of men, he has proved that all the existing varieties
in the shape of this bony structure reduce themselves to four
principal forms, which are denominated and described by him
as follows.
1. The oval form—die ovale ur—becken-form.
“An oval pelvis, so termed by us, is one in which the upper
opening presents an egg-shaped figure, in-such-wise that this
aperture at the anterior part, viz. at the symphysis pubis, is
narrow, but towards the middle of the same aperture and the
junction of the ilia with the os sacrum becomes gradually and
proportionally widened, and again becomes somewhat nar-
rower, in passing backwards to the promontorium, where it
ends in an obtuse point.
“ The conjugata has here a smaller dimension than the
transverse diameter.
“The greater pelvis repeats in the usual manner the same
form. The ilia are moderately distant from each other, evenly
and proportionably excavated, and neither too obliquely nor
too perpendicularly placed, the inner surfaces standing rather
opposite to each other, and being neither turned wholly for-
ward nor wholly side-wise. In similar proportions converge
330 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
the ossa pubis and ischia, and thus the cavity of the pelvis
narrows itself by degrees. The sacrum is moderately narrow
and long, and gently curved.
“The rami of the ischia lie rather backwards and do not pro-
ject outwards, and the ischiadic processes retreat instead of
projecting into the cavity of the pelvis. The finest proportion
prevails throughout, and the pubic angle is neither very acute
in the male, nor the pubic arch excessively prominent in the
female.
“The capacity and elevation of this oval sacrum generally
hold an intermediate place between those of the round and
the cuneiform sacrum. The latter, to wit, is too narrow and
too high, and the round pelvis, on the other hand, too broad
and depressed.
“As we have already shown that the female cranium, in com-
parison with the male has greater roundness, so we find also
in the oval pelvis—form a certain difference in relation to the
SéXéS.
“The female pelvis of this particular type, to wit, is rather
oval, approaching to round—rundlich oval. The size and
the distance of separation of particular parts are more consi-
derable; the hip-bones lie further backward, and are with
the sacrum lower or shorter, whence the whole sacrum is
more spacious but lower, so that we must distinguish two
varieties in this principal type which are as follows.
“The oval or the male-oval form of the pelvis, which, in
perfection, belongs to the male skeleton.
“The round-oval or female-oval type. It must be observed,
however, that the former of these shapes is sometimes dis-
played in the female pelvis.
“2. The round form of the pelvis.
“A round pelvis is one in which the upper opening is cross-
formed or round. The circumference, particularly at the sym-
physis and horizontal branches of the pubis, is more spread
out than in the round-oval form, whence the conjugata has
nearly the same extent as the transverse diameter.
“The ilia and ischiadic bones stand more perpendicularly,
the sacrum is less in breadth, the os pubis smaller than in the
FORMS OF THE PEL WIS CLASSIFIED. 331
form next to be described, whence the cavities of the greater
as well as of the lesser pelvis are round and nearly propor-
tionably wide.
“3. The square or four-sided form is the shape of a pelvis of
which the sides, especially that formed by the os pubis are flat
and broad, so that the upper opening forms nearly a perfect
square. The tranverse diameter is greater than the conju-
gata.
“4. The cuneiform shape—keilformige ur-becken-form—
belongs to the pelvis which appears on both sides compressed,
so as to be narrower from side to side than from front to back.
The ossa pubis unite under an acute angle, and the horizontal
branches run backward in a straighter direction than in the
oval form ; the conjugata is lengthened, and the upper open-
ing is oblong rather than oval. The hip-bones are high and
converge considerably below: their distance is less asunder
than in the previously described forms: the shape of the os
sacrum increases this narrowing, so that the cavity of the
pelvis is smaller and more contracted than the oval figure.
The oblong pelvis makes, however, in the female, some ap-
proach towards the oval shape.”
The object to be obtained by this distribution of the forms
of the human pelvis is a proof of the fact that specimens of
each kind are to be found in different races of men; whence
is to be derived the important conclusion, that no particular
figure is a permanent characteristic of any one race. In the
previous parts of his work, M. Weber had laid down a simi-
lar arrangement in the forms of the skull. He had main-
tained that four principal forms, bearing corresponding desig-
nations, may be pointed out in the shapes of the head; and
that skulls presenting a conformity with each and every one
of these principal types are to be found in several different
races. The examples which he has brought forward of differ-
ent forms of the pelvis under each of the preceding divisions
are as follows:
332 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
1. Specimens of the oval form, are,
a.—An oval pelvis of an European male, of which the conjugate diameter
measures three inches nine lines; the transverse four inches
three lines.
b.-An oval pelvis of a Botocudo. This pelvis is remarkably large ; all
its parts are strongly developed and stand in due proportion; the
conjugate diameter is four inches, and the transverse four inches
seven lines in length.
The whole pelvis displays no remarkable deviation from the form of a large oval
pelvis in an European. A figure of this pelvis is given by Weber.
c.—A cross-oval pelvis of a female European, the highest degree of the
oval type that is possible without transition into the round form :
the conjugata is three inches ten lines, and the transverse dia-
meter five inches in length. This pelvis, of which a figure is
given, is broad and low ; proportionably narrow from back to
front, so that the upper opening forms a cross-oval figure.
2. Specimens of the round form :
a. —A round European female pelvis. The conjugate diameter four
inches two lines, and the tranverse four inches five lines.
b.—A round pelvis of a Negress. The conjugate diameter four inches
three lines, and the transverse four inches seven lines. The
round or cylindrical shape of this pelvis is striking at the first
view : the whole character of this pelvis has the closest resem-
blance to that of the European pelvis just mentioned.
c, d, e.—The pelvis of a Negress, one of a female Hottentot, and one of
a female Javanese, figured in plate 33.
3. Specimen of the square pelvis—form.
a.—Square pelvis of an European female. The conjugate three inches
ten lines, the transverse four inches eleven lines.
b and c.—Square pelves of a Javanese male and female.
d.—A square pelvis of a Mestizo.
e and f-The pelvis of a Javanese man and one of a Mestizo, figured in
plate 33.
4. Specimens of the wedge-shaped or oblong pelvis.
a.—An oblong pelvis of an European female, which has this shape in the
highest possible degree. The conjugate diameter is four inches
nine lines, the transverse four inches six lines.
b.-A similarly shaped pelvis of a female Botocudo. Its form comes un.
der the present description and exhibits no peculiarity.
c.- A very similar pelvis of a Kaffer, somewhat narrower than the pre-
ceding.
V ARIETIES IN VARIOUS R ACES. 333
d.—The pelvis of a Negress in Von Soemmerring's collection has the same
character.
e, f, g.—Three other specimens of the oblong pelvis in Von Soemmer-
ring's collection.
h.—The Negro pelvis in Vrolik's work already cited.
The conclusion at which M. Weber arrives after this exten-
sive and accurate comparison is, that every form of the pelvis
which deviates from the ordinary type, in whatever race it may
occur, finds its analogues in other races of mankind. Thus
two of the figures which he has given, representing in outline
the upper opening of the pelvis in two Negroes, and which dis-
play the oblong form, coincide with each other and with the out-
line of an European female pelvis. Another figure of the pelvis
of a Negress is round, differing from the preceding and cor-
responds with that of a second European, as well as with the
pelvis of the Hottentot female. The second Javanese pelvis
and that of a Mestizo which are square, resemble the square
European pelvis. The oval form is found in the Botocudo
pelvis and in several Europeans, and the oblong in the female
Botocudo and the male Kaffer.
With all this the observations of M. Vrolik are still ad-
mitted ; only it is to be taken into the account, that none of
the characters which he has laid down are constant and be-
longing invariably to a particular race. According to M.
Weber's opinion the most frequently occurring form among
Europeans is the oval shape of the pelvis; the most frequent
in the American nations is the round; the square in people
resembling the Mongolians; and the oblong in the races of
Africa.
SECTION II.-Of the form of the Trunk—Length and shape
of the Limbs.
It was first remarked by Daubenton, that the foramen mag-
num is placed in quadrupeds behind the centre of gravity,
whence an important difference arises in the relative position
of the head and trunk in man and the inferior animals. The
extent of this difference, when the human skeleton is com-
334 A N A LOGICAL INV ESTIGATION.
pared with that of the simiae, has been most fully made known
by Mr. Owen, who has shown that it is much greater in respect
to the adult ape than it has been hitherto supposed. Since
the time of Soemmerring it has been a general opinion that
the Negro differs considerably from the European in the same
circumstances, and that the head of the Negro is placed so
much further backward on the vertebral column, as to occasion
a material difference in the figure of the whole body. This
opinion is founded on a very exaggerated idea of the real
facts of the case. The foramen magnum is only posterior in
the Negro skull to its place in the European in consequence
of the projection of the upper jaw, particularly of the alveolar
process. When considered in relation to the cranial cavity
and the vertex, there is little or no difference between Negro
heads and Europeans in this respect, and therefore there can
be no material diversity arising from this supposed cause in
the general form and attitude of the body.
It has been observed, that the skeletons of Negroes have,
in some instances, six lumbar vertebae. I have seen the same
variety in an European ; and Mr. Owen has noticed a curious
approximation to it in an Australian skeleton. The number
of the lumbar vertebrae in the satyr and troglodyte is four, ac-
cording to Mr. Owen, but the skeleton of the pongo in the mu-
seum of the College of Surgeons has five; a fact which affords
a similar instance of variety, if, as Mr. Owen appears to have
proved beyond all reasonable doubt, the pongo is an adult
Orang.
The sternum is more arched, the ribs larger, more roundly
curved, and the chest more expanded in some Negroes than in
Europeans. This was remarked by Soemmerring, who ob-
serves, that although there are generally in the Negro seven
true and five false ribs, as in Europeans, yet the eighth rib
more nearly approaches to the sternum in the Negro; and in
one instance there were eight ribs attached to that bone.
Soemmerring says, that he has seen the same variety in Euro-
peans. The greater number of true ribs was supposed by
Soemmerring to be an approximation to the character of the
simiae. In this he was mistaken, as far as the anthropoid
PROPORTIONS OF TPAIRTS. 335
apes are concerned. The troglodyte, according to Mr. Owen,
has thirteen ribs on each side, of which seven are true, and
six false.
Differences have been observed between Europeans, Ne-
groes, and men of other races, in the relative length of the
extremities compared to the trunk, and to the proportion of
the limbs and the bones of the arms and legs to each other.
According to some writers, there is a difference between
Negroes and Europeans in the proportionate length of the
humerus and the ulna. “I measured,” says Mr. White, “the
arms of about fifty Negroes, men, women, and children, born
in very different climates, and found the lower arm longer
than in Europeans, in proportion to the upper arm, and to the
height of the body. The first Negro on the list is one in the
lunatic hospital at Liverpool, whose fore-arm measures twelve
inches and a quarter, and his stature is only five feet ten
inches and a half. I have measured a great number of white
people from that size up to six feet four inches and a half, and
among them one who was said to have the longest arms of
any man in England, but none of them had a fore-arm equal
to that of the black lunatic.”
Mr. White has given a statement of these measurements
in a table, from which it appears that in general the dif-
ference observed is not very considerable, and by no means
greater than the varieties which are every day to be ob-
served, on comparing many individuals of any race or
nation. *
In this instance of diversity observed by Mr. White, it was
supposed that a signal approximation to the ape had been
discovered ; but the difference between adult apes and men
in the length of the extremities is so great as to render all
such comparisons very remote, and of very doubtful import-
ance with respect to any ulterior conclusion. According to
Mr. Owen, the arms of the orang reach to the heel, or at least
to the ankle-joint; while in the chimpanzee or troglodyte they
extend below the knee-joint. This is a most decided and
widely-marked difference between the most anthropoid apes
and the Negro races of men. Yet even the slightest approach
to the former shape would be a curious circumstance, if it
336 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
could be fully established. It would tend, with other facts,
to imply that the savage races of mankind have somewhat
more of the animal even in their physical conformation than
the more cultivated races, or those whose improvement by
civilization may be dated from a very remote era in the his-
tory of the world.
It must be observed that this difference, if it really exists,
on an extensive comparison, is only to be found in a scale of
averages, the majority of Europeans differing from the majo-
rity of Negroes. There are many Europeans whose fore-arms
are as long as those of Negroes, and there are Negroes who
resemble Europeans. This consideration renders it difficult,
if not impossible, to suppose that such a diversity can be
owing to original difference of species. In the following
chapter we shall inquire whether analogous diversities are
known to exist in other tribes of animated beings.
Slender, lean, and elongated limbs are generally found in
races who are badly fed, and in those whose food is chiefly or
entirely of vegetables. It is observed by Mr. Lawrence that
this is the case with the Lascars or Indian sailors who come
to England in the East-India ships. Their legs also are long.
A greater length of the arms and legs, and smallness of the
hands and feet, have been remarked by many writers as gene-
ral characters of the Hindoos. It was noticed by Hodges,
whose remark has been cited by Mr. Lawrence in connexion
with this subject, that when the sabres of Hindoos have been
brought to England, the gripe has been found too small for
most European hands. In the Peschermis of Tierra del Fuego,
a half-starved tribe, who are probably of the same race or
nation with the huge Patagonians, Forster observed that
the thighs are thin and lean, and the legs bent, and badly
formed. The natives of Van Diemen's Land and of New
Holland are likewise small in stature, with long and slender
limbs.”
It has been a prevalent opinion that in merely physical
powers savage nations are superior to those who are civilised,
and that in proportion as the mental faculties become deve-
loped, the more the animal qualities become defective. Mr.
Lawrence, in his lectures on the natural history of man, has
PROPORTIONS OF PARTS. 337
collected a great number of testimonies which completely
prove this supposition to be erroneous. The experiments of
Péron are well known. By these it was demonstrated that
the Australians, Tasmanians, and Timorians are very much
weaker in limbs than the French and English. Even the
American aborigines, as Mr. Lawrence has shown from the
testimony of Herrera, Mackenzie, Hearne, Lewis and Clarke,
and others, betray the same inferiority in physical strength.
In engagements between troop and troop, or man and man,
the Virginians and Kentuckians, according to Volney, have
always the advantage over the American savages.”
In all other races, when compared with Europeans, and the
most civilized nations of Asia, the lower extremities are more
apt to be crooked, and, as we should say, badly formed.
Even among the higher and lower classes of the same com-
munity, there is perhaps, more difference in respect to this
than to any other physical character; and it is not a matter for
surprise that the diversity is greater when nations in dif-
ferent grades of civilization are compared.
Soemmerring has remarked, that in Negroes the bones of
the leg appear to be bent outwards, under the condyles of the
thigh-bone, so that the knees stand further apart, and the
feet are turned more outwards than in Europeans. This ob-
servation applies to two Negro skeletons in his possession,
and to more than twelve living individuals whom he has seen.
Soemmerring's remark is confirmed by Mr. Lawrence, who
observes that this peculiarity is observable in the cast of a
Negro belonging to the College Museum. “The tibia and
fibula are more convex in front than in Europeans. The
calves of the leg are very high, so as to encroach upon the
hams. The feet and hands, but particularly the former, are
flat; the os calcis, instead of being arched, is continued
nearly in a straight line with the other bones of the foot,
which is remarkably broad.”:
This high position of the gastro-cnemii muscles and the same
clumsy form of the legs have been observed repeatedly, as
* Lawrence's Lectures, p. 403. + Soemmerring, ubi supra, § 42.
† Lawrence, ubi supra, p. 408.
2.
338 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
well as the flatness of the feet” and the hands. “The only
peculiarity,” says Dr. Winterbottom, “which struck me in
the black hand and foot, were the largeness of the latter, the
thinness of the hand, and the flexibility of the fingers and
toes.”f
I have enumerated the most considerable diversities in the
form of the skeleton and the proportion of parts, which have
been observed on comparing the different races of men.
Whatever conclusions may be drawn respecting these greater
instances of diversity will hold a fortiori, of those which are
less in extent. It would be tedious, and it is unnecessary to
enumerate all these lesser varieties on the present occasion. I
shall beg to refer my readers for an account of them to
subsequent parts of this work, in which the physical history
of particular races is to be considered.
* White, ubi supra, p. 54.
+ Winterbottom's Account of the Negroes of Sierra Leone, vol. ii. 257.
PHEN OMEN A IN OTHER SPECIES. 339
C H A P T E R V II.
AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUED.—SURV EY OF V A-
RIETIES DISPLAYED IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS OF THE
ANIMAL CREATION, AND COMPARISON OF THESE WITH THE
PHENOMEN A A BOVE DESCRIBED.
SECTION I.-Of Varieties of Colour in Animals.
I Now proceed to compare the phenomena of variety al-
ready described in the colour and nature of the integuments,
and in the figure of body, proportions of limbs, shape of the
skull, and other variable characters of human races, with
diversities more or less analogous in the lower tribes of the
creation. I shall endeavour to estimate the extent of this
analogy, and to determine how far it affords an explanation
of the phenomena which it is my principal object to investi-
gate. The varieties of colour and those of form and configu-
ration do not coincide as uniform characters of races: I
shall therefore give them a separate consideration, and shall
begin, as previously, with the former.
There are few species, especially of domesticated animals,
which do not display numerous varieties of colour. Most
of these varieties may be enumerated under the following
heads:—
1. Many of these tribes afford specimens of a colour ana-
logous to that of the black-haired human races. Horses,
asses, oxen, sheep, dogs, cats, hogs, rabbits, fowls, with
black hair or wool or feathers, and a dark-coloured or black
skin, which is found to accompany either, are familiar
examples.
z 2
sº
340 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION .
2. The leucous variety is almost equally common. It
occurs frequently among domesticated animals, in rabbits,
cats, dogs, oxen, asses, sheep, hogs, goats. It has been found
in many wild species, as in monkeys, squirrels, rats, mice,
hamsters, moles, opossums, weasels, martins, and in the pole-
cat, of which the common ferret is supposed to be the white
variety.” In the buffalo, the roe, the camel, elephant,
rhinoceros, the stag and the jaguar of Mexico,S the common
bear of northern Europe, || the badger and beaver," it has
occasionally appeared. Several species of birds, as crows,
blackbirds, canary-birds, partridges, fowls, peacocks, exhibit
similar phenomena, having their feathers of a pure white
colour, and their eyes red.**
3. The xanthous variety is not less familiarly known.
Rabbits, dogs, oxen, cats, with light brown or yellow hair,
afford examples of it. The chesnut-horse, which has the
mane and tail of a light yellowish brown colour, is precisely
analogous to the xanthous complexion in mankind.
All these varieties in the colours of animals sometimes
spring up casually and sporadically; in other instances, they
are generally prevalent in particular breeds. In the different
parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, there are diſ-
ferent breeds of cattle and of horses. In some districts, the
oxen are always black; in others, brown or spotted. The
cattle of particular counties are immediately recognised by
their colour. Blumenbach has noticed many examples of the
same kind. He remarks that all the swine of Piedmont are
black; fºr those of Normandy, white; and those of Bavaria, of
a reddish brown colour. ii. The same author observes that the
* Blumenbach. De l’Unité du Genre Humain.
+ Shaw's Zoology.
: White elephants are mentioned by AElian. De Animal. lib. iii. cap. 46.
S Von Humboldt mentions a white variety of the cervus Mexicanus and of the
jaguar.
| Pallas. Spicileg, Zoolog. Fascic. 14.
* Pennant's Hist, of Quadrupeds.
** Blumenbach, ubi supra.
++ He says, “When I passed through that country during the great fair for swine
at Salenche, I did not see a single animal of any other colour than black.”
it; Blumenbach’s Beyträge zur Naturgeschichte, Some of the remarks contained
VARIETIES OF COLOUR. 341
oxen of Hungary are of a greyish white; in Franconia, they
are red. Horses and dogs are spotted in Corsica. The tur-
keys of Normandy are black; those of Hanover almost all
white. In Guinea, the dogs and the gallinaceous fowls are
as black as the human inhabitants of the same country.*
AElian informs us that Euboea was famous for producing
white oxen; it was termed Apyiſłosta.'f
The same writer says, that the river Xanthus was supposed
to have received its name from the yellow fleeces of the sheep
which fed upon its banks. The water of this and some
other rivers was fancied by the ancients to render the wool
of sheep yellow.f
In the Mysore there are three varieties of colour in the
sheep; they are red, black, and white, and these are not dis-
tinct breeds.S
M. Gmelin informs us that the domestic cats in Tobolsk,
the capital of Siberia, are generally of a red colour.
The ass of the Carnatic presents singular varieties of colour:
some are of the usual ash-colour, while others are almost
black, in which case the cross on the shoulders disappears.
Milk-white asses are also to be found, but they are rare.
These are not distinct species, for black individuals have
sometimes ash-coloured colts, and vice versä.|
Some remarkable facts are mentioned by Azara with rela-
tion to the colour of horses and oxen in Paraguay. It is well
known that both these races have run wild in South America,
and the climate being congenial to them, have multiplied pro-
digiously in the fertile plains in the neighbourhood of the
river Plata. Azara says that all the wild horses are of a
chesnut or bay-brown colour, while the tame horses are of all
colours, as in other countries. Hence he conjectures this to
in this work were previously published in the “Magazin für das neueste aus der
physik,” in a paper which was translated and published in the Philosophical
Magazine, vol. iii.
* Blumenbach de l’Unité du Genre Humain.
+ /Elian, lib. xii. cap. 36.
: Elian de Animal, lib. viii. cap. 21.
Š Dr. F. Buchanan's Journey in Mysore, "anara, and Malabar.
| Ib. ubi supra.
342 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
be the original colour of the race. He makes a parallel ob-
servation respecting the oxen –“La couleur des troupeaux
domestiques varie beaucoup ; celle des sauvages est invaria-
ble et constante; c'est-à-dire, brun-rougeatre sur le dessus
du corps, et noir sur le reste; une de ces deux couleurs do-
mine plus ou moins. Cela peut faire soupçonner que le
couple primitif de l'espèce, étoit de cette couleur que l’on
appelle osco.%
Animals of a light colour often have eyes of a light hue.f.
Some species are however nearly uniform in the colour of the
pigment, notwithstanding varieties in the hair. The iris of
the horse is of the same hue in black and white horses; but
in the cream-coloured horses, the iris is also cream-coloured.
Animals of the leucous variety probably have the same
condition of the eyes, which is so commonly observed in the
human albino. A white mouse in the possession of Blumen-
bach exhibited intolerance of light: it kept its eyes closed
even in the twilight.j:
In animals the hair or wool of which is black, the skin
is well known to be also of a dark or black hue. In this
there are varieties. Hunter remarked, that the skins of the
black and of the white horse are of the same hue; which he
explains by the fact that all foals are of the same colour, and
that though the hair becomes afterwards different, the skin
retains its original hue. This appears to be a singular ano-
maly. That the skin generally varies with the hair or fur, is
well known to furriers, and to those who prepare the skins of
animals for various purposes. It has been remarked, that
the skin of the black buffalo is of a particularly dark colour.
The hue of this species is generally black, but varieties are
seen, white, grey, and of a bay or reddish colour. So
close is the connexion between the colour of the skin and
that of its hairy or woolly covering, that it has been deemed
of importance to ascertain in the ram from which the flock
was to be bred, the colour of the skin, by inspecting his
• Azara, Voy. dans l’Amérique Mérid, tom. i. p. 578 et seq.
+ I have seen a yellow-haired dog with one eye of a blue colour.
+ Blumenbach in Comment. Reg. Soc. Scient. Gott, vol. vii. Lawrence's Lec-
tures on the Natural History of Man, p. 293,
VARIETIES OF COLOUR. 343
mouth. If there was the least blackness or swarthiness in
the tongue or mouth, the ram was rejected from the flock,
that he might not communicate an injurious taint to the
fleeces of the lambs.
“Illum autem, quamvis aries sit candidus ipse,
Nigra subest udo cui tantum lingua palato,
Rejice; ne maculis infuscet vellera pullis
Nascentum.”
NOTE ON SECTION I.
The foregoing comparison between the varieties of colour
in mankind, and those which occur in other warm-blooded
animals, is complete as far as it respects the colour of the
hair. The melanocomous races of men are analogous to ani-
mals with black hair; those of the xanthous variety, to light
brown, or bay, or yellow-haired animals; and the albinos in
the human kind, to white-haired animals with red eyes,
which are well known.
But it does not appear that this comparison throws any
light upon those varieties which distinguish the several me-
lanous races from each other. There is nothing, as far as I
know, in other species, exactly parallel to that difference in
the hue of the skin or in the shade of colour, which is found
between a black-haired individual of the European race, and
the African Negro, or the Peruvian. In all these tribes of
men, the hair, both crinal and pilar, is quite black: they are
therefore all analogous to those animals whose hair, or fur, or
wool is black. It is well known that in animals with black
fur or hair, the skin itself is of a blackish hue, more or less
intense; but nobody has made any observations which tend
to show that the shade of colour varies in intensity in the
same species in a manner analogous to the gradation of
shades which we remark in mankind, when we compare dif-
ferent melanous races. But this difference is perhaps not so
considerable as that which occurs between the melanocomous,
xanthous, and leucous varieties. In the latter instances the
* See Bakewell on Wool, p. 150.
344 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
secretion which gives its hue to the complexion is different
in kind: in the former it chiefly differs in degree. And we
shall prove by adducing a number of facts that these de-
grees insensibly pass into each other. There are, in reality,
many nations of the melanous variety, in which some tribes,
or families, approach to the extremes of whiteness or black-
ness in complexion, falling within the limits of this va-
riety, as before defined. And this takes place in instances
where we cannot refer the phenomenon to any mixture of
races. Nor is it surprising, when we consider how frequently
the xanthous and leucous varieties spring up out of the me-
lanous.
SECTION II.-Of Peculiarities in the constitution connected
with the Varieties of Colour.
Many writers have called the albino a diseased variety of
mankind; others have thought the Negro owes his blackness
to a particular disease. Both these suppositions are ground-
less, but it is obvious that if they were established, they
would throw no light upon the nature of the varieties in
question, or on their causes; since a congenital disease is
only an example of that variation of structure which is
so general a phenomenon among organized beings of all
classes.
But there is a certain laxity or delicacy of constitution and
structure connected with the peculiar hue of the light-coloured
varieties. White has often been termed, from lord Bacon's
time, the colour of defect. The whiteness of hair is owing to
a defect of a peculiar secretion. This may be confined to
the pilar structure, as in horses which have patches of white
hair on places where the skin has been rubbed and injured;
or it may be conjoined with weakness of structure or want of
vigour in other parts, or in the whole constitution. The feet
of horses are thought to be more tender and susceptible of
disease when white than when of darker colour. The hoai-
mess of old age is a want of secretion connected with defect of
vigour. The oxen of Hungary are said to become white after
VARIETIES OF COLOUR. 345
castration.* The whiteness of some animals during winter,
is apparently owing to the defect of the secretion of colour-
ing matter, for promoting which the stimulus of heat is neces-
sary.*
In the albino a want of the secretion which gives colour to
the hair, eye, and skin, is connected with a peculiar delicacy
of constitution.
The xanthous variety appears to have a degree of the same
delicacy. Medical writers, from the time of Galem, have re-
marked a certain degree of irritability and delicacy of con-
stitution in what they term the sanguine temperament. Per-
sons of very fair complexion are often less robust than those
of more swarthy hue; and they are more subject to a variety
of diseases. Men of the choleric and melancholic tempera-
ments, which are both characterised by black hair, are well
known to have generally sounder and more vigorous constitu-
tions, and to be less susceptible of morbific impressions from
external causes than the sanguine. The Negro constitution
has some peculiar morbid predispositions, but in many re-
spects is endowed with greater vigour than that of lighter
complexion. The muscular fibre in the Negro is said to be
of a brighter red than in the generality of men, and capable of
more vigorous contraction.-F
SECTION III.-Of the Varieties of Teature in the Human
Skin, and of some analogous Phenomena in other Species.
Besides the variety of colour, other peculiarities have been
remarked in the skin of the Negro, and of some other races.
Dr. Winterbottom says that the skin of Negroes is always
cool, at least more so than that of Europeans in the same
climate, and that it is also remarkable for its sleekness and
velvet-like softness. A parallel observation has been made
by Bruce and other writers respecting several African tribes.s
The skin of the Tahitians is of a similar kind. This cool-
* Blumenbach, p. 131, sect. 38. + Brown's Travels.
: Winterbottom, vol. i. p. 180. S Bruce, vol. iv.
| Hawkesworth, vol. ii. p. 157.
346 AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
mess and softness of the skin depends probably on the rete
mucosum, for albinos, both among the Africans and
Tahitians, are remarked to have skins which become
rough, blister, and crack easily on exposure.* The same
state of the skin has been observed among the Sumatranst
as well as among the Caraibs and in the women of Asiatic
Turkey.
Burckhardt has made some singular observations on the
skin of the Negro, which seem difficult to reconcile with the
foregoing : he says, “the Arabs of Berber are chiefly dis-
tinguishable from the Negroes by the nature of their skin,
which, though very dark-coloured, is as fine as that of an
European, while that of the Negro is much thicker and
coarser.” He remarks also of the Nouba slaves that “the
palm of their hands is soft, a circumstance by which they
particularly distinguish themselves from the true Negroes,
whose hands, when touched, feel like wood.’’:
The unctuous softness of the skin in the Negro and other
dark-coloured races, is probably connected, as Blumenbach
has supposed, with a peculiarly abundant transpiration. It
is conjoined with a peculiar odour, which is well known in
Negroes and in the Caribbee Indians.S
The same author observes that the race of dogs found in
* Winterbottom, vol. ii. Hawkesworth, ibid.
+ Marsden.
† P. 312.
§ “ Ils ont tous une odeur forte et désagréable. Je ne puis rien indiquer qui
put en approcher l'idée. Quand on trouve ailleurs une odeur semblable on l'ap-
pelle, auxiles Antilles, une odeur de Caraïbe, ce qui prouve l’embarras, ou l'om est,
de la désigner.” Thibault de Chanvalon, cited by Blumenbach. De l'Unité du
Genre Humain, p. 181.
“The Peruvian Indians,” says M. de Humboldt, “who in the middle of the
night distinguish the different races by their quick sense of smell, have formed
three words to express the odour of the European, the Indian American, and the
Negro; they call the first pezuna, the second posco, and the third graio.”
Mr. James, in the Narrative of a Journey in North America, already cited, in-
forms us that the peculiar odour diffused by the body of the Indian, seems not to
be caused so much by the cutaneous transpiration as by the custom of rubbing the
skin with odoriferous plants and with bison grease. The same writer observes,
that to the acute smell of the Indian, the odour of a white man is disagreeable.
Expedition, &c. vol. ii. p. 6.
VARIETIES OF COLOUR. 347
Egypt has a similarly smooth, glabrous, and unctuous skin,
and a transpiration particularly abundant.
Whatever difference subsists between the skin of the Negro
and that of other tribes of men, seems to fall within the de-
grees of that variation which is liable to arise in one species.
Many considerable varieties might be pointed out in the
texture of the integument in several species of animals.
Buffon has remarked an instance of this kind in the domestic
ass. He observes that the principal variety which takes
place in this animal in consequence of domestication, consists
in the texture of the skin. The skin becomes softer in the
domesticated race, and loses those little tubercles which are
dispersed over its surface in the onager. It is of this tuber-
culated skin of the wild ass that the Levantines make the
grained leather termed chagrin.*
It is unnecessary to accumulate facts from the lower tribes
in the creation to illustrate this subject. I shall conclude
the section with the description of a very remarkable variety
which has appeared in the human species.
The first account of this phenomenon is to be found in the
Philosophical Transactions for the year 1731. A boy, aged
fourteen years, was brought by Mr. Machin, one of the secre-
taries, from the neighbourhood of Euston-hall in Suffolk, his
native place, and exhibited to the Royal Society. His body
was covered by a remarkable kind of integument, which is
thus described by Machin.
“His skin, if it might be so called, seemed rather like a
dusky coloured thick case, exactly fitting every part of his
body, made of a rugged bark or hide, with bristles in some
places; which case covering the whole, excepting the face,
the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet, caused an
appearance as if those alone were naked and the rest clothed.
It did not bleed when cut or scarified, being callous and in-
sensible. It was said he sheds it once every year, about
autumn; at which time it usually grows to the thickness of
three quarters of an inch, and then is thrust off by a new
skin which is coming up underneath.” It was not easy to
* Buffon sur la dégéneration des animaux.
348 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
think of any sort of skin or natural integument that exactly
resembled it. Some compared it to the bark of a tree; others
thought it looked like seal-skin; others like the skin of an
elephant, or the skin about the legs of a rhinoceros; and
some took it to be like a great wart, or number of warts unit-
ing and overspreading the whole body. The bristly parts,
which were chiefly about the belly and flanks, looked and
rustled like the bristles or quills of a hedgehog shorn off
within an inch of the skin.”
The second account of this person was communicated to
the Royal Society by H. Baker. He was at that time forty
years of age, and had been shown in London, by the name of
the porcupine man. He is described as being “a good-look-
ing well shaped man, of a florid countenance, who, when his
body and hands are covered, seems nothing different from
other people. But except his head and face, the palms of his
hands, and bottoms of his feet, his skin is all over covered, in
the same manner as in the year 1731, which therefore,” con-
tinues Mr. Baker, “I shall trouble you with no other de-
scription of, than what you find in Mr. Machin's account
above mentioned; only begging leave to observe, that this
covering seemed to me most nearly to resemble an immunier-
able company of warts, of a dark brown colour, and a cylin-
dric figure, rising to a like height, and growing as close as
possible to one another, but so stiff and elastic, that when
the hand is drawn over them they make a rustling noise.”
“When I saw this man in the month of September last,
they were shedding off in several places, and young ones of a
paler brown observed, succeeding in their room, which he
told me happens annually in some of the autumn or winter
anonths, and then he is commonly let blood, to prevent some
little sickness which he else is subject to, whilst they are
falling off. At other times he is incommoded by them no
otherwise than by the fretting out his linen, which he says
they do very quickly, and when they come to their full growth,
being then in many places near an inch in height, the pres-
sure of the clothes is troublesome.”
“He has had the small-pox and has been twice salivated,
in hopes of getting rid of this disagreeable covering; during
VARIETIES OF STRUCTURE. 349
which disorders the warting came off, and his skin appeared
white and smooth like that of other people ; but on his re-
covery soon became as it was before. His health at other
times has been very good during his whole life.”
“But the most extraordinary circumstance of this man’s
story, and indeed the only reason for my giving you this
trouble is, that he has had six children, all with the same
rugged covering as himself; the first appearance whereof in
them as well as in him, came on in about nine weeks after
the birth. Only one of them is living, a very pretty boy,
eight years of age, whom I saw and examined with his father,
and who is exactly in the same condition.”
“It appears therefore past all doubt,” says Mr. Baker,
“ that a race of people may be propagated by this man, hav-
ing such rugged coats or coverings as himself; and if this
should ever happen, and the accidental original be forgotten,
it is not improbable they might be deemed a different species
of mankind.”
It seems that a third generation of this singular family is
in existence. A description of two individuals, who must be
of the third degree from the original patriarch of the stock,
has been published by Dr. W. G. Tilesius and by Blumen-
bach. Mr. Lawrence has given an abstract of these accounts.
“Two brothers, John Lambert, aged twenty-two, and Rich-
ard, aged fourteen, who must have been grandsons of the
original porcupine man, Edward Lambert, were shown in
Germany, and had the cutaneous incrustation already de-
scribed. Tilesius mentions, that the wife of the elder, at the
time when he saw him, was in England, pregnant.” I have
seen an individual, whose skin was covered with warty excres-
cences, and who gave himself out to be a descendant of the
Lambert family.
SECTION IV.—Of Varieties in the Form and Structure of
Animals analogous to the diversities in human races above
described.
In all departments of organized nature varieties of structure
exist in different degrees within the limitations of species, and
~~~
350 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
in all instances they display nearly similar phenomena; it is,
therefore, most probable that they would be found, if accu-
rately examined, to depend on analogous causes. This ob-
servation would seem applicable to the varieties or races, so
termed, which are known to arise in the species of plants,
But the nature and origin of these diversities in the vegetable
world is a subject of more difficult investigation than that of
varieties in the animal kingdom ;” and as the latter affords a
sufficiently ample field for the observation of analogies, I shall
confine myself to a comparison of the phenomena of diver-
sity in structure, as they are manifested in different tribes of
animals, with those which I have already observed in human
l'a,C62S.
In pursuing the analogical method of investigating this
subject, we now have to consider what varieties in figure and
the structure of parts, and especially in the bony fabric of the
body, can be discovered in the lower tribes of animals, which
correspond with and may tend to illustrate the diversities of
form described in the preceding sections.
Varieties of form and structure occur in different degrees
in most races of animals; but it is well known that they are
most numerous and remarkable in tribes which have been do-
mesticated, and which have propagated their kinds for many
generations under the various circumstances, often remote
from those of nature, to which the art of men has subjected
them. Nearly all the domestic animals exist in great variety
of breeds, while the untamed inhabitants of the forest display
very little diversity in their forms. The dog, which has been
the companion of men from the earliest times, and has fol-
lowed him into all climates, has been mentioned by Pallas as
* The opinion of M. De Candolle as to the origin of varieties in the vegetable
kingdom is well known. He attributes them to hybridity or intermixture of spe-
cies. It would be presumptuous in me to express any opinion on a subject con-
nected with vegetable physiology in opposition to M. De Candolle, but is it not
probable that a certain analogy prevails through all departments of organized na-
ture, in the originating causes, as well as the phenomena of varieties; and is not M.
De Candolle's opinion singularly at variance with the general fact fully conceded by
himself, I mean the sterility of hybrid plants in the wild state without any one ex-
ception as yet established 2
V ARIETIES OF STRUCTURE. 351
a striking example of the former observation.” In fact, the
breeds of dogs exhibit the greatest variableness in structure
and animal qualities, and the dog has been contrasted in this
point of view with the elephants, which are seldom propagated
in captivity but caught fresh from the wilderness, and which
in reality display very little variation.
It has been observed by Sturm and by J. F. Meckel, that
the shape of the head furnishes in general the principal di-
versities which are characteristic of particular races in the
species of animals, and especially of the superior kinds. The
proportional length and thickness of the neck present, like-
wise, important characteristics of race which are very remark-
able in the breeds of horses. The chest varies also in breadth
in different families of the same species. Meckel also ob-
serves that the length, the height, and the proportional
breadth of the posterior parts furnish in like manner charac-
ters which distinguish races from each other, as do also the
length and thickness of the tail. The pelvis is in proportion
broader or narrower with constancy in different breeds. We
find, likewise, in the limbs similar diversities in other respects,
which reduce themselves under two heads: first, the proportion
established between particular subdivisions of the limbs com-
pared with each other and with the whole body; and, secondly,
the relations between the subdivisions themselves. But it is
most frequently in the form and configuration of the whole
body that these diversities principally consist.
Varieties of inferior importance, as Meckel observes, occur
in particular systems, or textures, or parts of the body, and
these are often very constant: such are varieties in the texture,
form, and developennent of the epidermis or of parts related to
it. Scales, feathers, hairs, among which parts horn may be
reckoned, although the bony system contributes in particular
but variable conditions to the formation of horns, furnish
numerous instances of this description.
The disposition, form, and developement of the organs of
reproduction afford, likewise, remarkable varieties. Under
this observation, M. Meckel alludes to the size and develope-
* Pallas. Spicileg, Zoolog, Fascic. 4.
352 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
**-*.*
ment of the mammae in human races, and to the elongations
of other parts of the system which are remarked in the races
of southern Africa.
The stature and the mass of the body also characterize races.
The different races of horses, oxen, sheep, and dogs, and of the
last especially, furnish, says M. Meckel, on this head, the most
indubitable examples.
Colour, especially that of the skin and its appendages, pre-
sents, likewise, distinctive characters, though less constant and
less general ones: hence it commonly happens, that one kind
of hue, though in different shades, is proper to a particular
race.*
The various breeds of dogs are alluded to, both by Pallas
and by Meckel, as affording the most striking instances of di-
versity in species, but some writers have denied the evidence
of this example, and have imagined, that there are originally
distinct races or different species of dogs. Some, on the other
hand, have thought fit to identify the whole dog tribe with the
wolf, the jackal, and the fox. The truth seems to lie between
these two extremes. It has been proved by M. de Serres that
sufficiently characteristic differences may be traced between
the skeletons of the dog and the wolf, the fox and the jackal,
to constitute separate species, but it does not appear that any
such distinctions can be established between the different
breeds of dogs. The figure of the skull and the propor-
tionate length of the limbs in comparison with the trunk
differ in the several races, and the instinct displays some corres-
ponding varieties, the animal being naturally impelled to pro-
cure its prey by the aid of those organs, whether of sight or of
smell, which are more fully developed in each breed. In the
most highly domesticated races, it appears that the cranium is
more fully developed, and recedes further from the form of the
skull proper to the wolf, than in those which are less cultivated,
though there is no strongly marked line of discrimination.
The mastiff resembles the wolf most: in proceeding from the
mastiff to the spaniel all the differences become greater: the
* Traité generale d'Anatomie comparée, par I. F. Mechel, traduit de l'Alle-
mand. Paris, 1828, tom. i. p. 418.
DIW ERSITIES OF STRUCTURE IN A NIM ALS. 353
structure of the maxillary bones and of the teeth undergo
alterations. The orbits are larger in dogs than in foxes, and
in foxes than in wolves: in the highly domesticated breeds of
the dog they are the largest of all.”
Among domesticated animals no species afford, as Blumen-
bach has observed, more striking and undoubted proofs of the
effect of domestication, and of changes in external conditions
in modifying the structure of breeds than the hog kind, and no
exception can be taken against the evidence which is in thisin-
stance to be found. “No naturalist,” says Blumenbach, “has
carried his scepticism so far, as to doubt the descent of the do-
mestic swine from the wild boar. It is certain that before the
discovery of America by the Spaniards, swine were unknown in
that quarter of the world, and that they were first carried thither
from Europe. Yet, notwithstanding the comparative short-
ness of the interval, they have in that country degenerated
into breeds, wonderfully different from each other, and from
the original stock. These instances of diversity, and those of
the hog kind in general, may therefore be taken as clear and
safe examples of the variations which may be expected to arise
in the descendants of one stock.”-f
In following this observation, Blumenbach remarks, “that
the whole difference between the cranium of the Negro and
that of an European is by no means greater than that equally
striking difference, which exists between the cranium of the
wild boar and that of the domestic swine. Those who have
mot observed this in the animals themselves, need only to cast
their eyes on the figure which Daubenton has given of
both.” .*
“I shall pass over,” he adds, “the lesser varieties of breed,
which may be found among swine, as among men, and only
mention that I have been assured by M. Solzer, that the pe-
* Memoir on the distinctive characters of the dog, the wolf, and the fox as sup-
plied by the skeleton, by M. Marcel de Serres. Edinb. Philos. Jo. July 1835,
p. 244. +.
+ Beyträge zur Naturg. ubi supra. See also a comparison between the human
race and that of swine, by the same author, published in the Magazin für das
neueste aus der Physik, and translated in the third volume of the Philos. Mag.
A A
354 A N A LOGIC, A L IN V ESTIGATION.
culiarity of having the bone of the leg remarkably long,
which in the human kind is observed among the Hindoos, has
been remarked with regard to swine in Normandy. They stand
very long on their hind legs,”—“ their back, therefore, is
highest at the rump, forming a kind of inclined plane; and
the head proceeds in the same direction, so that the snout is
not far from the ground.”
“Swine,” continues Blumenbach, “in some countries have
degenerated into races, which, in singularity, far exceed every
thing that has been found strange in bodily variety among
the human race. Swine with solid hoofs were known to the
ancients, and large breeds of them are found in Hungary and
Sweden. In the like manner the European swine, first carried
by the Spaniards in 1509 to the island of Cubagua, at that
time celebrated for its pearl-fishery, degenerated into a mon-
strous race, with toes which were half a span in length.”
There are breeds of the solid-hoofed swine in some parts of
England. The hoof of the swine is also found divided into
five clefts.
Buffon had before remarked the varieties of the hog tribe.
“In Guinea,” he observes, “this species, has acquired very
long ears, couched upon the back ; in China, a large pendent
belly, and very short legs; at Cape Verde and other places,
very large tusks curved like the horns of oxen; in domestica-
tion, half pendant, and white ears.”
The different breeds of sheep afford varieties equally re-
markable. The following account by Pallas of the sheep of
the Kirguis is worthy of observation. He says, “On ne
trouve mulle part des moutons aussi gross mi aussi difformes
que ceux des Kirguis. Ils sont plus élevés qu'un veau nais-
sant, et fort pésans. Ils resemblent un peu pour les propor-
tions aux moutons des Indes. Ils ont la tête très bosselée, de
grandes oreilles pendantes; la lövre inférieure dévance beau-
coup la supérieure. La plāpart ont une ou deux verrues cou-
vertes de poils quileur pendent au cou. Au lieu de queu, ils
ont un gros peloton de graisse rond presque sans laine au des-
* Buffon sur la dégéneration des animaux. Hist, des Quadrup. tom. vii.
DIVIERSITIES OF STRUCTURE IN ANIMA LS. 355
sous.” He remarks, “ that although removed into other coun-
tries, these sheep retain their peculiarities.”
If we compare the different breeds of sheep which are found
in Africa, in Tartary, in various parts of Europe, and consider
them all as the modified offspring of one stock, as they are
generally supposed to be, we shall have greater instances of
deviation than any found in mankind; and this will be more
especially the case, if we compare all the breeds of sheep with
the wild argali, which is supposed to be the natural type and
original of the race.f.
Some great diversities in figure and in the proportion of
parts are to be found in the horse and the ox kind. “What a
remarkable difference,” says Blumenbach, “is there in these
respects between the horses of Arabia and Syria, and those of
Northern Germany; between the long-legged oxen of the
Cape of Good Hope, and the short-legged breeds of Eng-
land ' " Blumenbach has observed, “that there is less differ-
ence in the form of the skull in the most dissimilar of man-
kind, than between the elongated head of the Neapolitan
horse and the skull of the Hungarian breed, which is re-
markable for its shortness and the extent of the lower jaw.”:
In this country the heads of the race-horses differ much in
form from those of the draft—horses. Wild horses are ob-
served by Pennant to have larger heads in proportion, and
foreheads of a round and arched form.S
It was remarked by a writer who has displayed an admi-
rable talent of philosophical reflection and research, that a
series of skulls from the large head of the wild horse to the
short head of the Hungarian breed, or the slender head of an
English racer would display more remarkable deviations in
form than any that can be found in the crania of human races.
These observations on the extent of variety in breeds of horses
are illustrated by a description given by Professor Pallas of a
race of horses descended from tame ones which have run wild in
* Pallas. Voyages en Sibérie.
+ See a description of the Argali, or wild sheep of Siberia, in Pallas's Spicilegia
Zoologica.
: Blumenbach, de l’Unité du Genre Humain,
Ś Pennant's History of Quadrupeds.
A. A 2
356 A N A LOC ICAL | NVESTIGATION.
eastern Siberia, in the vast open plains near the sources of the
Tschugan. These animals, which are the remote offspring of
domesticated horses, now differ from the Russian breed in
having larger heads, and more pointed ears: their mane is
short and bristly, and their tail has become shorter. Their
colour is said to be almost uniformly of a dun or brown. Pied
and black horses are very rare among them. Pallas adds,
that their principal traits, or those which distinguish them
from domestic breeds of the horse kind, and which may be
considered as characteristics acquired by the stock since it
ran wild in the desert are as follows:—they have larger heads
than domestic horses, with more vaulted foreheads; their
mouths are more hairy, and the mane comes down lower on
the shoulders; their limbs are stronger, their back less arched
or vaulted; their hoofs are smaller and more pointed ; their
ears are longer and are bent forwards.”
The urus, or aurochs, which has been supposed to be the
wild stock of our domestic oxen, has the fossa lachrymalis
remarkably deep. Our oxen have no trace of it. F
The goat exhibits varieties of form. There is a breed of
goats near Jerusalem of various colours, black, white, and grey;
the ears are remarkably long. The goats of Aleppo are of two
breeds; one is like the English, the other somewhat larger,
with ears often a foot long, and broad in proportion.f
No animals exhibit greater diversity of form than the do-
mestic fowls. “Some of them,” says Pallas, “are large,
* Pallas. Voyage en Sibérie, tom. vii. p. 91—tom. i. p. 377.
+ Blumenbach, wbi supra. It must not, however, be omitted, that the gene-
rally received opinion, which makes the urus or aurochs the wild representative
of our domestic cattle, has lately been controverted by M. Cuvier. This author
has described the fossil skull of an animal of the ox tribe, which he conceives to
have been the true prototype of the domesticated breeds, and to have become extinct
in its natural condition. It differs considerably, according to Cuvier, from the skull
of the urus. It appears that the ancients were acquainted with two wild animals of
this tribe; viz. the urus and the bison, and that one of them has perished. Pliny
distinguishes them, and Seneca mentions them both in the following lines:
“Tibi dant varia pectora tigres,
Tibi villosi terga bisontes,
Latisque feri cornibus uri.”—Seneca Hippol.
See Cuvier sur les Os Fossiles de Ruminans. Annales du Muséum d’Hist, Nat.
de Paris, tom. xii.
S Dr. Russell, vol. ii. p. 150.
IDIVERSITIES OF STRUCTURE IN ANIMALS. 357
some extremely small; they are tall, dwarfish; have small, or
large and double combs; some have tufts of feathers on their
heads; some have bare and yellow legs; others have their legs
covered with feathers.” What is still more remarkable, is that
there is a breed without rumps, common in some parts of
England, and another with five claws. The fowl of Padua,
of which Pallas has published an account, has a peculiarity
in the conformation and capacity of the skull, which is, per-
haps, a greater deviation from the usual structure than any
other species of animal presents.”
The want of horns is a character of some breeds, both of
sheep and oxen : the sheep of Crete and Sicily, and the oxen
of Abyssinia, present a singular contrast to these breeds, in
the number or enormous size of their horns. In Paraguay
there are breeds of oxen without horns, descended from the
common horned race. This circumstance is remarked with
surprise by Azara, who contrasts it with a fact much more
extraordinary, if true, that the horses in the same country are
sometimes seen with horns.
If we take a collective survey of these diversities in the fi-
gure and proportions of parts, distinguishing particular breeds
in the several species of animals, we discover that the primi-
tive type is stamped upon each kind, with a considerable al-
lowance for the origination of new varieties in form and or
ganic structure. The deviations from a common model in
mankind are less in degree than those which are found in
many other species, and they are in kind analogous, as far as
such analogy can be expected.
*
* Pallas. Spicileg. Zoolog. Fascic. 4. The upper portion of the skull is dilated
into a shell of hemispherical form, full of small holes. The whole cavity of the
dilated bone is filled with an unusual abundance of the cerebral substance.
358 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
C H A PTE R VIII.
AN ALOGICAL INVESTIGATION CONTINU ED–OTHER CONSIDE-
RATIONS RELATED TO THE SAME INQUIRIES-CONCLUSION
OF THIS ARG U M ENT.
SECTION I.-Of Diversity of Stature.
THERE is no variety of stature in the different races of men
which can afford any ground for suspecting them to be of dis-
tinct origin or species. I shall therefore pass over this subject
at present with a very brief notice. The particular varieties of
stature which are known, as they characterize different
nations, will be adverted to when I proceed to the physical
description of each race.
There are no varieties of stature in different nations which
are so considerable as those which frequently occur in the
same family.
Perhaps the tallest race of men existing are the Patago-
nians. They are usually from six to seven feet high. Piga-
fetta, who accompanied Magalhaems, in the first voyage
performed round the world, gives their height at eight Spanish
feet, that is seven feet four inches in English measure. Com-
modore Byron, who saw and conversed with many companies
of these people, says, that few individuals were much short of
seven feet high. An Englishman of six feet two inches ap-
peared among them as a pigmy among giants. They were
large and muscular in proportion. It must be observed, that
Byron did not measure them.*
Captain Wallis, who landed afterwards on the same coast,
* Hawkesworth's Voyages,
DIW ERSITY OF STATURE. 359
measured several of the Patagonians. He says, that he saw
one man six feet seven inches high, several of six feet five or six
inches; but that the stature of the greater part was from five
feet ten to six feet.*
The stature of the Patagonians was measured with great
accuracy by the Spanish officers of the expedition to the
Straits of Magalhaens, in 1785 and 1786. They found the
common height to be from six and a half to seven feet, and
the tallest was seven feet one inch and a quarter high.i.
America not only produces the tallest, but also some of the
most diminutive specimens of the human kind. The natives
of Tierra del Fuego are described by Forster as a set of mi-
serable, destitute, and puny savages. The Esquimaux, in the
northern tract of the New World, are a still more diminutive
people. This race was first seen by Europeans at the time
when the Norwegians, who sailed from Old Greenland under
Lief, in 1001, discovered Wineland in Canada, or Newfound-
land. The natives of this country were described by the
Norwegians as pigmies, only two cubits high, and were
termed skraallings, sprigs, or dwarfs. Modern and authentic
accounts represent the stature of the race as generally lower
than five feet.:
Africa produces some very small races. The Bushmen are
perhaps the most deformed of mankind. Two individuals of
this nation, seen by Professor Lichtenstein, were scarcely four
feet high.
The story of the Quimos, or Kimos, a nation of pigmies,
said to inhabit some mountainous tracts, in the interior of
Madagascar, is now generally discredited. According to
Commerson, a female of this nation, who was purchased by
the French governor at Fort Dauphin, was about three feet
and a half high, and had long arms reaching to her knees.
She was probably a person affected with morbid deformity.
I shall examine the accounts of these nations in a future
part of this work. At present they are mentioned only that
they may be included under the observation already sug-
* Hawkesworth's Voyages.
+ Voyage to the Strait, cited by Mr. Lawrence, p. 440.
† Crantz's History of Greenland,
360 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
gested, that every variety of stature which has been found to
occur as the general character of a whole race, is frequently
surpassed by individual examples among the inhabitants of
the same country. Many natives of Europe from eight to
nine feet high, have been described and exhibited in their time
as objects of curiosity, and historical testimonies remain of
giants somewhat exceeding this enormous stature. These
persons were taller than the Patagonians. On the other
hand, dwarfs are not infrequent, still smaller than the reported
stature of the Kimos.”
Both dwarfs and giants have offspring of similar stature to
their own, so that a race of men might easily arise of extra-
ordinary smallness or gigantic size. Of the propagation of
giants, we have an experimental proof in a fact related by Dr.
J. R. Forster. It is well known, that the king of Prussia had
a corps of gigantic guards, consisting of the tallest men who
could be drawn together from all quarters. A regiment of
these huge men was stationed during fifty years at Potsdam.
“A great number of the present inhabitants of that place,”
says Forster, “are of a very high stature, which is more espe-
cially striking in the numerous gigantic figures of women.
This certainly is owing to the connexions and intermarriages
of the tall men with the females of that town.”
A dwarfish stature is in like manner hereditary. A well-
proportioned dwarf of Nuremberg, who measured nearly three
feet high, has been mentioned by several writers. Her pa-
rents, brothers, and sisters, were dwarfs...}
The different breeds of domestic animals vary from each
other in size much more than individuals the most different in
stature among mankind. The small Welsh cattle, compared
with the large flocks of the southern counties in England, or
the Shetland ponies with the tall-backed mares of Flanders;
the Bantam breed with the large English fowls, are well-
known examples. More striking instances are mentioned by
naturalists. In the isle of Celebes, a race of buffaloes is said
to exist, which is of the size of a common sheep, and Pennant
* Count Borwluski measured twenty-eight Paris inches; he had a brother of
thirty-four inches, and a sister of twenty-one. Lawrence, p. 484.
+ Lawrence, ubi supra, p. 424.
DIFFERENT COVERINGS OF A NIM ALS. 361
has described a variety of the horse in Ceylon, not more than
thirty inches in height.”
Section II.-Of the different kinds of Hair which distinguish
particular Races of Men. -
The short crisp hair of the Negro, Hottentot, and some
other races of men, is so different from the long glossy, and
flowing hair of the Esquimaux and other native Americans,
and even from the hair of most Europeans, that there are
perhaps no diversities to be found among mankind, which
afford a more probable argument than this for constituting
different species.
It is common to term the crisp hair on the head of the
African “wool,” on account of the resemblance it seems to
bear to the wool of sheep. Whether this denomination be
correct, must depend on the distinction between hair and
wool, which it is desirable, if possible, to ascertain.
We are assured by an intelligent writer on the nature and
growth of wool, that the peculiarity which has obtained the
name of wool for some kinds of hair, is the smallness, soft-
ness, and pliability of the fibre. These qualities render it
capable of being spun and woven into a cloth, which will felt
or mill into one uniform texture, and in which the process of
fulling will cover the surface of the threads with a pile. The
author adds, that “when the hair of any animal is too hard
and elastic to admit of the same effect being produced by a
similar process, we cease to call it wool.”
Another writer on the same subject remarks the two follow-
ing distinctions between hair and wool:
1. Wool falls off altogether in a mass, and leaves the ani-
* Pennant's History of Quadrupeds.
+ See Bakewell on Wool, p. 9. He further remarks, “that some wool has a
much nearer resemblance to hair, in the hardness and elasticity of its fibre than
other wool equally fine. Cloth made of such wool is hard and harsh to the touch,
loose in its texture, and the surface of the thread is bare.” Ibid. It would
seem from this, that the main distinction between wool and hair must be in the
nature and surface of the filament, which renders it capable or not, of felting.
362 AN A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
mal bare, while hairs fall off singly, and from time to time.
2. The growing part of the fibre of wool varies in thickness
according to the season, being thicker in proportion to the
warmth of the atmosphere, and smallest of all in winter. On
the contrary, the filament of hair is generally of uniform
thickness, or tapering a little towards the point.
We may notice that this latter difference, if it be a constant
one, is not the essential distinction; and as for the former, the
falling off of the fleece in a mass, seems to be the result of its
being previously interwoven, and in some degree felted toge-
ther, so that it is impossible for any part to fall off until the
filaments are nearly all detached from the skin.* There is no
reason to suppose that they all become detached simultane-
ously, any more than hairs.
After all that has been said on the difference between hair
and wool, it appears that there is no absolute distinction be-
tween them. When hair becomes very fine and crisp, it is
termed wool: the characters of these substances pass insen-
sibly into each other. Therefore if the hair of the African be
really such a substance as is properly to be termed wool, it is
not by this denomination characterised as something alto-
gether different in kind from the hair of other men.
There is however a strongly marked peculiarity in the hair
of the Negro. The filaments are evidently finer and shorter.
They have a peculiar spiral twist, and apparently a roughness
of surface which occasions them to become matted, and in
some measure felted together into a mass. This is certainly
an approximation to the character of wool. Forster has ob-
served, that the filaments of the hair of the Negro issue from
smaller bulbs than those of European hair.:F
We may observe, in the way, that every intermediate grada-
tion that can be imagined has been found in a variety of
instances, between the crisp hair of the African races, and the
lank hair of other nations. In Africa the Hottentots are said
to have hair still more crisp, or like wool, than the Negroes;f
the tribes called Kaffers have hair like that of the Negroes ;
* See Bakewell on Wool, ibid.
+ Observations made on a Voyage round the World, by J. R. Forster, &c.
# Sparrman's Travels.
DIFFERENT COVERINGS OF ANIMALS. 363
others have it longer. There are other nations in Africa who
are black, and in other respects resemble Negroes, but who
have curled hair, not crisp. The Papuas have crisp hair, but
unlike that of the Africans, it grows to such length that it
admits of being bushed out into a periwig, three feet in dia-
meter. The hair of the natives of Van Diemen’s Land is as
crisp as that of the Africans, though the New Hollanders have
straight hair, and in the New Hebrides it is of intermediate
character, differing considerably in the natives of the same
island.
I have seen hair on the heads of some Europeans so
remarkably similar to that of the Negro, that it was scarcely
possible to distinguish one from the other.”
In other departments of nature we meet with varieties
in the covering of animals, very similar to this variety in
mankind.
The sheep affords an instance of this class, which is the
most generally known, and the most clearly ascertained.
Some sheep bear wool, others hair, and this without any dif-
ference of species, or even of race. In some respects this
variation is parallel to that of human hair, in others not
strictly so.
It is well known that if a flock of sheep is neglected,
and no attention paid to their breed; that is, to the selecting
of rams and ewes of the finest fleeces for propagation ; the
fine wool gives place to a much coarser growth of the same
kind, intermixed with kemps or strong hairs. The breed seems
gradually to degenerate towards the characters of the argali,
or wild sheep of Siberia, which has generally been supposed to
be the original stock whence all the varieties of domesticated
sheep are derived. The argali, according to Pallas, is covered
with hair, which in summer is close like that of the deer, but
* Particularly of a boy born near Somerton, in Somersetshire, whose parents
are both English rustics, with no peculiarity of appearance; the boy had hair
which appeared so similar to that of an African, that on a minute comparison I
could discern no other difference than that of colour, and perhaps a slight diversity
in the surface; the hair of the Somersetshire youth being somewhat more glossy
than that of the Negro. This boy was so singular in appearance, owing to his
woolly head of hair, that his parents were accustomed to receive money for show-
ing him to strangers.
364 A NALOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
in winter becomes rough and curled, resembling coarser hair
intermixed with wool.” The breeds of sheep kept by the
Kirguis-Kaisacs are very similar with respect to their fleeces
to the argali. They are covered with strong hair, intermixed
with coarse wool. We are assured by Pallas, that into what-
ever countries the breed may be removed, its character con-
tinues to be the same. F
It has often been observed that the sheep now existing in
the West India islands are covered with coarse hair. They
are descended from the woolly sheep of Europe. The change
has generally been attributed to the heat of the climate.
Dr. Anderson has called this opinion in question, and con-
jectures that a different race of sheep may have been propa-
gated in the West India islands. But we have no reason to
believe that any other breed was ever introduced into the
West Indies, than those of England, and perhaps of Spain.
No sheep existed in the islands at the time of their discovery.
The different characters of the West India breed must there-
fore be the effect of the circumstances under which they have
existed and propagated their kind. Among these I am in-
clined to agree with Mr. Bakewell, in believing, that the
most important is, that they have been neglected by man,
particularly with respect to their breed. The heat of the sun,
variation of temperature, will indeed produce a considerable
change in the growth of wool on one individual animal; and
if those same animals, which are hairy in the West Indies,
were brought to England, and properly fed and treated, their
appearance would soon be altered to a certain degree. But
whatever effect might arise from such an alteration of exter-
mal circumstances, a great difference would still remain be-
tween West Indian sheep and the native sheep of England;
and this difference, now inherent in the stock, is strictly
analogous to the variety in mankind.
Mr. Bakewell has described a sheep brought from the Mis-
sissippi. In figure it exactly resembled our Wiltshire sheep,
and was probably the remote offspring of that race. “It was
a fine healthy animal, but it produced no fleece. It was
* Pallas. Spicileg. Zoolog. + Pallas, Voy. on Sibéric, tom. i.
DIFFERENT COVER IN GS OF A NIMA LS. 365
thinly covered with short coarse hairs, or kemps, under which
there was a slight appearance of a fine down or wool.” “This,”
adds the author, “might probably have been increased by
proper management.”*
On the whole it appears that a considerable change is
speedily produced on the fleece of the sheep by the influence
of climate. This kind of variation has no close analogy to
the diversity between the hair of the Negro and European.
But independently of the effect of climate, it seems that there
is a great variety in the fleeces of sheep, depending on the
breed, and the circumstances of propagation; and this dif-
ference, since it constitutes a character which affects the
whole progeny, is analogous to the diversity between the dif-
ſerent kinds of hair in the human race.
Some other animals besides the sheep are well known to
vary in their natural covering in no less a degree.
Goats are both hairy and woolly. Some goats are covered
with rough, others with smooth hair. Other races of goats,
without any difference that can be supposed to constitute a
distinction of species, produce fine wool : as those of Cash-
mire, from whose fleece the shawls are fabricated. The goats
of Lycia are mentioned as producing wool, in the time of
AElian.
The goats of Angora, in Anatolia, produce a fine silky hair
of snowy whiteness, and great length. It is remarkable that
the cats and rabbits of the same district resemble the goats in
the colour and texture of their hair, a circumstance which
seems, as Blumenbach has remarked, to imply some peculiar
influence of climate on the covering of these animals.
Some breeds of dogs have a covering of close harsh wool,
others of softer wool. It can hardly be imagined that these
animals are of distinct species from those breeds of dogs
which are covered with hair, or that they had different proto-
types among the races of wild animals. Wild dogs are not
woolly. We have therefore in the dog species fully as great
* The same author has given an account of two English ewes, which were trans-
ported to St. Domingo. “These animals, soon after their arrival on the island,
became languid and sickly, lost their wool, and in twelve months a harsh, sparing
crop of hair was observed on them.” Bakewell, p. 154.
366 A N A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
a variety in the texture of hair, as there is among the races of
H]621].
Blumenbach has observed, that there is a difference in the
hair of swine, which he thinks analogous to that of the human
kind. He remarks that fair hair is soft, and of a silky
mature; black hair coarser, and among several tribes of men,
woolly. In like manner among the white swine in Nor-
mandy, the hair on the whole body is longer and softer than
that of other swine, and even the bristles on the back are
very little different, but lie flat, and are only longer than the
hairs on other parts of the body. They cannot therefore be
employed by the brush-makers. The difference between the
hair of the wild boar and of the domestic swine, particularly
in regard to the softer hair between the strong bristles, is, as
it is well known, much greater.”
SECTION III.-Of the hereditary Transmission of Varieties
—of Atavism.
All varieties of structure which are congenital, or a part of
the original constitution impressed upon an individual from
his birth, or arising from the developement of a natural ten-
dency, are hereditary, or liable, with a greater or less degree
of certainty, to be transmitted to offspring. In general the
peculiarities of the individual are transmitted to his imme-
diate descendants: in other instances they have been observed
to reappear in a subsequent generation, after having failed,
through the operation of some circumstances quite inexpli-
cable, to show themselves in the immediate progeny. This
fact has been noticed by Lucretius :
“ Fit quoque ut interdum similes existere avorum
Possint, et referant proavorum saepe figuras;
* Blumenbach, ubi supra. Comparison between the human race and swine.
+ M. M. Duchesne and Sageret have adopted the term Atavism to describe this
phenomenon, which is fully recognised in the animal kingdom, and by some sup-
posed to prevail among plants. M. Sageret has drawn this conclusion without any
degree of doubt or hesitation. M. De Candolle does not consider the fact as fully
established in the vegetable creation, but as very probable for analogy, and as
serving, if admitted, to explain some remarkable appearances. See Physiologie
Végétale, lib. 3, tom. ii. p. 758.
II ER EDITARY 'I' R A N SMISSION. 367
Propterea quia multa modis primordia multis
Mista sud celant in corpore Saepe parentes,
Quae patribus patres tradunt a stirpe profecta.
Inde Venus varia producit sorte figuras,
Majorumque refert voltus vocesque, comasque.”
I have already mentioned some examples of variety in
structure transmitted to the progeny through several genera-
tions, and I shall adduce many instances of the same descrip-
tion in a future part of this work, when I proceed to consider
the causes which have contributed to the formation of parti-
cular races of men.
As the complexion depends on minute varieties of struc-
ture, or of the texture of parts, the diversities of colour may
in reality be referred to the peculiarities of organization. The
phenomena of colour, however, and the modes of its trans-
mission to offspring, are more distinguishable, and the facts
relating to this subject deserve to be considered separately.
The offspring of parents of the same complexion is gene-
rally like, them, unless when a new connate variety springs
up in the race, a phenomenon which it is not our present ob-
ject to investigate. The circumstances which give rise to
such appearances will be considered hereafter.
But when the parents are of different complexions the off-
spring is in some cases of intermediate colour; in other
instances it nearly resembles one parent, and seems to derive
no peculiarity from the other. It is difficult to say on what
circumstances these variations in the phenomena depend, but
I shall endeavour to lay down some general observations
respecting them.
1. When the parents are of two different varieties, as one
of the melanous variety, and the other of the xanthous or
leucous, the offspring often follows one parent chiefly or
entirely.
This appears to be always the case in respect to the off-
spring of an albino and a black-haired parent. It seems that
there are families of Negroes in which there is an hereditary
tendency to produce white children, but in such races no
intermixed colour is apt to make its appearance. An instance
of this description has been related by Dr. Parsons in the
fifty-fifth volume of the Philosophical Transactions. As the
368 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
facts of this case are very remarkable and well authenticated,
I shall copy the account which was communicated to the
writer by a respectable lady who had resided in Virginia.
“About nineteen years ago, in a small plantation near to
that of this family, which belonged to a widow, two of her
slaves being black, were married, and the woman brought
forth a white girl, which this lady saw very often, and, as the
circumstances of the case were very particular, I shall make
mention of them here:—When the poor woman was told the
child was like the children of white people, she was in great
dread of her husband, declaring at the same time, that she
never had any thing to do with a white man in her life, and
therefore begged that they would keep the place dark that he
might not see it. When he came to ask her how she did, he
wanted to see the child, and wondered why the room was shut
up, as it was not usual. The woman's fears increased when
he had it brought into the light; but while he looked at it he
seemed highly pleased, returned the child, and behaved with
extraordinary tenderness. She imagined he dissembled his
resentment till she should be able to go about, and that then
he would leave her; but in a few days he said to her, “You
are afraid of me, and therefore keep the room dark, be-
cause my child is white, but I love it the better for that; for
my own father was a white man, though my grandfather and
grandmother were both as black as you and myself; and al-
though we came from a place where no white people were
ever seen, yet there was always a white child in every family
that was related to us.' The woman did well, and the child
was shown about as a curiosity; and was, at about the age
of fifteen, sold to Admiral Ward, and brought to London in
order to be shown to the Royal Society.”
Mr. Jefferson has mentioned seven instances of the appear-
ance of the leucous variety which fell under his knowledge: in
several of these, the individuals who had this peculiarity had
children. Three female albinos were the offspring of the
same black parents; they had two other full sisters, who were
black. Two of these albino women bore black children to
black men. The fourth example mentioned by Mr. Jefferson
was that of a woman, whose parents came from Guinea; they
II ER EDITA R Y TRA NSMISSION. 369
had three other children who were black. This woman was
an albino, and bore an albino child to a black man. The sixth
example was a white negress, who bore a black daughter to a
black man. The seventh instance was that of a male, who is
not said to have had any children.”
Among the instances of white Negroes, mentioned by Dr.
Winterbottom, there are some in which this character was
transmitted. One of them was a young albino man, whose
father had been a white Negro, and his mother a black woman.
From these parents were born five black and two white chil-
dren. In another case a man and a woman, both albinos, were
born of black parents, who had several other children that
were black : both of these albinos were married to blacks.
The man had no children; the woman had black children.f
Phaenomena of this description are not confined to the
result of marriages between albinos and black persons; they
take place also when other whites are married to blacks.
The following instance, related by Dr. Parsons, affords a
proof of this assertion:
“A black man married a white woman in York several
years ago; of which,” says Dr. Parsons, “I had an account
from an eye-witness. She soon proved with child, and in
due time brought forth one entirely black, and in every par-
ticular of colour and features resembling the father, without
the least participation from the mother.’’
A similar observation may be made in other instances;
when Europeans of the xanthous variety have been married
to persons descended from the darker races of the melanous
variety. I have seen a family of several children, the off-
spring of an European of sanguine complexion, and a very
dark woman of colour, born in the West lindies. Some of
the children are as dark as the mother, others very fair, and
of sanguine complexion, with light eyes.
A gentleman with whom 1 lately conversed, assured me
that he knew a family of mixed breed from the West Indies,
in which one individual, a young man, was of very dark
* Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 119.
Winterbottom's Account of the Negroes of Sierra Leone, vol. ii. p. 170.
*~~ > p
l; l;
370 AN A LOGICAL IN VESTIGATION.
colour, and had African features; his sister had English
features, a fair complexion, and red hair.
Mr. White mentions the case of a Negress who had twins
by an Englishman; one was perfectly black, with short,
woolly, curled hair; the other was white with long hair.
Instances have occurred in which the offspring of parents
of different colours have had different parts of the body of
different complexions. The following fact is related by Dr.
Parsons in the Philosophical Transactions.
“A black man, servant to a gentleman, who lived in the
neighbourhood of Gray's Inn, married a white woman who
lived in the same family; and when she proved with child
took a lodging for her in Gray’s-Inn-lane. When she was at
her full time the master had business out of town, and took
his man with him, and did not return till ten or twelve days
after this woman was delivered of a girl, which was as fair a
child to look at as any born of white parents, and her ſea-
tures exactly like the mother. The black at his return was
very much disturbed at the appearance of the child, and
swore that it was not his; but the nurse who attended the
lying-in woman soon satisfied him, for she undressed the in-
fant and showed him the right buttock and thigh, which
were as black as the father, and reconciled him immediately
to both mother and child. I was informed of the fact, and
went to the place, where I examined the child, and found it
true. This was in the spring of the year, 1747, as my notes
specify.”
Some very curious instances of a similar description have
been cited by Mr. White from the Zoological Magazine.”
* White on the Regular Gradation, &c. p. 123.
They are as follows:–1. 1759, a girl was born in Somersetshire, with the hair
on her head of two remarkably distinct colours. After she was grown up a little,
the hair on the right side appeared of a jet black, resembling the father's ; while
that on the left side was of a carroty red, resembling the mother's ; each occupying
one-half of the head, &c. 2. A few years ago a person kept a public house in
Tooley-street, Southwark, the whole right side of whose body was white, and the
left side black. His father was white, and his mother black. 3. A Mr. John
Clark, of Prescott-street, Goodman's Fields, is said to have had half of his body
white, from his navel upwards, and the other half black. His father was a native
of Africa and his mother an Englishwoman.
RECAPITULATION. 37 l
2. In other instances the offspring between a Negro and
an European, is what is properly termed a Mulatto; that is,
a person of intermediate complexion and general character.
This is perhaps more especially the result of marriages be-
tween Negroes and Europeans who are not of the fair or xan-
thous complexion, which is most opposite to that of the
Negro, but of the melanous or black-haired variety, but it is
also a common fact in all intermarriages of Europeans with
Africans.
SECTION IV.-Recapitulation and Conclusion of the Ama-
logical Inquiry.
On a general survey of the phenomena of variation which
display themselves in the colour, the structure of integu-
ments, in the hair or other natural covering of the skin, and
in the figure and proportions of parts in the inferior animals,
we are led to the conclusion that these varieties, which are
manifest in all tribes in a domesticated state or existing
under great diversity of external agencies, are in almost every
particular strictly analogous to the varieties which distinguish
from each other the several races of men. If indeed we
consider the great differences in the external condition of
human races, whether depending upon physical circum-
stances, as those of climate and local situation, or on the
moral state, viz. the various modes and degrees of barbarism
or civilization, we should expect to discover much greater
and more important diversities in mankind than in the in-
ferior tribes, confined as they are for the most part to regions
of limited extent, and to a comparatively simple and uni-
form manner of existence.
When we go on to the enumeration of particulars we find,
in the first place, in the colour of human races, no room for
hesitation or doubt, as to the propriety of referring all the
varieties which are known to variation from one stock. The
white and black-haired, and the intermediate Xanthous races,
find their counterpart and representatives in most tribes
of domestic animals. Even in the more minute and less ob-
B B 2
• 3 ſ 2. A N A J, OC, ICA L IN VESTIGATION .
vious peculiarities of organization connected with the different
complexions of mankind, the analogy still holds good.
Similar peculiarities are connected with corresponding varie-
ties in animals. In the next instance it appears, that all the
differences of shape and conformation which are found, among
human races, are analogous in kind, though not equal in de-
gree, to the diversities of structure and figure which the
several races of domestic animals, such as dogs, horses,
swine, sheep and goats, and gallinaceous fowls display. It
would be adverse to probability or contrary to all reasonable
expectation, if the figure and structure of mankind, when
the various tribes of men exist under circumstances most
favourable to the developement of such phenomena, should
have been found to display less considerable or fewer ex-
amples of variation than we have actually discovered. Nor
will the views which this comparison of analogous phenomena
lead us to adopt, be materially impeded or disturbed, even
if the opinion of those writers should be perfectly established,
who maintain that the skeleton of the Negro has some extremely
remote correspondences to that of the Orang, or has in several
respects a more animal or brute-like character than the
bony fabric of an European, since other species in the animal
kingdom afford room for similar observations. We have
noticed that particular breeds of dogs, viz. those which are
the least improved and modified by domestication, indicate
some analogies in structure to the wolf. We have reason to
believe that similar analogies might be pointed out in the
form of the skull, and in other particulars between the wild
or the less improved breeds of the horse kind, and the ass or
the jiggetai; and that similar observations might be found
applicable more extensively, if different, but proximate
species, and especially such as are liable to degenerate into
a variety of breeds, were compared accurately on a larger
scale.
It therefore appears that the evidence afforded by ana-
logical investigation relative to external varieties is com-
plete, in so far as as it relates to the phenomena of external
variety.
Two inquiries will here suggest themselves to some of my
R EC A PITU L ATI () N. 373
readers, viz. do these phenomena of variety depend on similar
causes in mankind, and in the lower animals' in other words,
do they display themselves under corresponding circum-
stances? Secondly, are the varieties in mankind more per-
manent than in the lower tribes 2 Many of the varities found
in domestic animals take place, or commence, as it were, be-
fore our eyes, so that there can be no doubt as to their
nature and origin. If human varieties are more permanent
than those of the lower species, it will be said that the
analogy fails in this particular.
1. With respect to the causes of varieties, or the circum-
stances under which they originate, or in connexion with
which they may be found more or less uniformly to exist, we
are not yet prepared for drawing any conclusions. It will be
the object of the succeeding parts of this work to investigate
the physical history of all the races of men which form the
population of different countries. In the course of this in-
vestigation, it will appear how far their physical characters are
found in connexion with particular influences of climate and
situation ; whether or not they have local relations, and how
far they may be connected with peculiarities of habit and
the manner of life. At the conclusion of this inquiry, the
proper place will be found for entering, with a prospect of
success, on the consideration above suggested.
2. The inquiry which regards the permanency of varieties
is the most difficult investigation which the physical history
of mankind presents; and those physiologists who have main-
tained the original diversity of races, have rested their argu-
ment entirely on this ground. This subject also will, as I
trust, be elucidated in the course of the succeeding parts of
my work, in which I shall endeavour to trace by ethnogra-
phical researches how far the peculiar traits of different
races are constant, and in what degree they have deviated
from the original or the prevalent character of each tribe,
and to discover examples, if any such exist, in which impor-
tant alterations of figure and complexion have originated
within the limits of history. In adverting briefly to the com-
Parison of different species in this particular point of view,
We may observe that varieties in the tribes of animals are
374 A N A LOGICAL INVESTIGATION.
very different in regard to the constancy of their trans-
mission. In some species they are much more regularly
handed down to the offspring than in others: this is a well
known fact with relation to the vegetable tribes, and it has
been already noticed and illustrated by Mr. Knight and
other writers on the propagation of plants. In animals the
same difference is observable: in certain races varieties are
continually springing up, and they as speedily disappear.
Perhaps the sheep may serve for one instance of these more
variable tribes, in which likewise the varieties which arise
are more ready to become again lost. In certain species
varieties are, as it would appear, produced with greater diffi-
culty; and in these when once generated, they continue with
greater permanency. In some instances it is not improbable
that modifications in the form and texture of parts origina-
ting but rarely, become in future time constant and invariable
characters. We have however in all instances sufficient evi-
dence that the same law of hereditary transmission prevails
in every tribe, by which qualities belonging to individuals,
such at least as are congenital, have a tendency to preserve
themselves in propagation, and to become appropriated to
whole progenies. This is the principle on which the exist-
ence of permanent varieties depends; and we have already
found sufficient evidence of its agency both in human races
and in many of the tribes of animals and plants.
What has been already said in this brief recapitulation, has
reference to the subjects considered in the few immediately
preceding chapters, which treat of varieties in colour and the
form, chiefly, of external parts. The analogical conclusion
has been principally a negative one. I have endeavoured to
gstablish the general fact, that no remarkable instance of va-
riation is discoverable in mankind of which a parallel may
not be found among the lower orders of the creation. Perhaps
the evidence may be nearly as complete as the nature of the
investigation could entitle us to expect it to be. Still it is of a
negative kind, and not so cogent of conviction as a positive ar-
Q ºf r
CON CLUSION. 375
gument would be. But here I must refer my readers to the con-
clusions obtained in the first and second chapters of the same
book; viz. those which contained Physiological and Psycholo-
gical comparisons. These conclusions carried with them some-
thing of positive evidence. In the first chapter it was at-
tempted to be proved—the reader can judge with what degree
of success—that tribes of animals which belong to different
species differ from each other physically in a variety of par-
ticulars, in which the most dissimilar of human races betray
no such differences. In the first place, separate but even
proximate species differ from each other in respect to the
principal laws of the animal economy, as those which govern
the duration of life, the periods of utero-gestation, the facts
which relate to reproduction. Human races coincide strictly
in all these particulars. Secondly, different species of animals
have different diseases, are subjected to different pathological
laws, if I may use such an expression. All human races are
liable to the same diseases; at least, the varieties which exist
in these respects are such as are produced by the influence of
climate. Thirdly, distinct species do not freely intermix their
breed, and hybrid plants and animals do not propagate their
kind beyond at most a very few generations, and no real hy-
brid races are perpetuated: but mixed breeds, descended
from the most distinct races of men are remarkably prolific.
The inference is obvious. If the mixed propagation of men
does not obey the same laws which universally govern the
breeding of hybrids, the mixed breeds of men are not really
hybrid, and the original tribes from which they descend must
be considered as varieties of the same species. In the second
chapter, which contains psychological comparisons, I endea-
voured, in the first place, to establish on a broad scale the
observation that species, even the most nearly resembling and
belonging to the same genera, are endowed with peculiar psy-
chical qualities which are even more distinct, and therefore more
characteristic of particular species, than peculiarities of bodily
structure; that all species, in fact, differ from each other in
respect to their instincts, or those active principles which with
wonderful constancy govern the lives and habits of creatures
belonging to each kind, and give to each tribe an uniform and
376 CONCLUSION.
unvarying character. Secondly, that mankind, however they
vary in different ages and countries in respect to acquired
habits and the arts of life, are yet subjected not less than
the inferior tribes to the influence of certain impulses or ac-
tive tendencies, which, like the instincts of animals, are con-
stant and invariable. Thirdly, I attempted to prove, by a sur-
vey of some phenomena illustrative of the psychical charac-
ter of some of the most dissimilar human races, that they all
have common affections, sympathies, and are subjected to
precisely analogous laws of feeling and action, and partake
in short of a common psychical mature, and are therefore
proved, with the same degree of evidence which has been ob-
tained from the general observation above laid down, to belong
to one species or lineage. Probable evidence from its nature
admits of accumulation; and perhaps it will be allowed that
a considerable mass of evidence has thus been collected in
support of one and the same conclusion with respect to the
tribes of mankind.
T III, END OF THE FIRST VOLUM E,
Joseph Rickerby, Printer, Sherbourn Länc.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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