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Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichi, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nScessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE RACES OF MEN: THEIR COMMON ORIGIN, SOME OF THEIR PECULIARI- TIES, AND THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL AGENTS IN THEIR MODIFICATION; OONHTITUTINO ^ L"ECTtJRE / DRLIVERED BKFORK TICK NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, MONTREAL MVUCIl 5, IMiS, Vt W. E. BESSEY, M.p., CM., Licehtiiitt offjif dolli'iir itt' l'lii).iii-iiiii'< (mil Siiiiji'oiis, A", (J. " The proppr stuily of njanklnd Is Man."— Pofe. DAWSON BROTHERS, 55 TO 59 (jIrrat St. James Street, MONTREAL. ^R-^^TI^ UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA LIBRARY THE RACES OF MEK.- THEIR COMMON ORIGIN, SOME OF THEIR PECULIAKI- TIES, AND THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL AGENTS IN THEIR MODIFICATION; CONSTITUTINa A. LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, MONTEEAL MARCH 5, 1868, BT W. E. BESSEY, M.D., CM., Licentiate of the College of Phynciam and Surgeons, E. C. The propor study of maiiklml Is Man."— Pope. DAWSON BROTHERS, 65 TO 59 Great St. James Street^ MONTREAL. "A '« PuiNTKi) BY The Montueai. Printing & PuBURHiNa Company, THE RACES OF MEN. • % t e V e ir is a P is se P • ■ is tl g si i 1 ! / eA fo Cl d( gi re ec ra di ac ch or th ni th V th / LECTURE. Mr. Presidknt, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The subject of our lecture this evening is the races of men, some of their peculiarities, their probable origin, and the influ- ence of physical causes in their modification —a subject, I venture to believe, calculated to arrest the attention of every one, as it is one in which every one is individually interested. At the same time, you will see, that, if there is anything (as Shakespeare says) in a name, I have an abundance of work mapped out for me on this occasion. Pope has said that "the proper study of mankind is man," and of all the objects which nature pre- sents to our observation there is none that more powerfully demands our attention ; none with which it is essential we should be more iutimately acquainted than man. Taking the truth of this aphorism as granted, I shall at once betake myself to the con- sideration of the subject, prefacing my remarks, how- ever, with t >e hope that you will grant me your kind forbearance if I should neglect to mention any cir- cumstance or fact of importance in the course of so detailed and so extensive a subject. The natural history of man has to do chiefly with two great questions, namely, the relations of man to the rest of creation, particularly to other animals, which is entitled Anthropology, or the science that determines man's place in nature ; and the relations of the different types of man to each other, comprising an account of the peculiarities by which each race is characterized, and tleir physical difference and probable origin — which const tutes Ethnology proper, and is one that has given rise to much controversy, and has fur- nished material for the speculations of many a dreamy theorist. We shall have nothing to do with the first division of the subject on this occasion, as Dr. Dawson, in a 6 m u previous lecture in this institutien, has, in his usutri able manner, very fully and thoroughly discussed it. It will bo our province, therefore, to confine our remnrks to the races of men only, and to say notbinj? of our in- ferior cousins, as some 'vould have us believe them, the monkey, chimpanzie, ourang outang or gorilla. With modern ethnologists the researches of geologists have been made to subserve in the elucidation of facts concerning the period during which man has inhabited this terrestrial sphere, to conjecture the period when man, hands of his Creator, looked forth establish or to fresh from tho a perfect being upon the beauties of surroun Mng nature, and recog- nised in all he beheld the handiwork of Hira to whom he owed his own existence. The division of the subject to w ich I now allude has been quaintly termed by some " the Birthday oi our Race ;" by others, " the Antiquity of Man ;" and as might be t-upposed upon this head specu- lation has been rife. Aflera careful perusal of an ela- ^ borate work on this subject by 8ir Charles Lyell, in' which he brings to bear the weight of evidence yielded b^ geological discovery, we are led to the conclusion that mans' sojourn upon che earth must date at least many tens of thousands of years back, although it is fair to conclude that geological research at its present rate of rapid progress, will yet throw further light upon what at present seems to be an irreconcilable difference between biblical an I geological «hronology. For our purpose, however, it matters little whether man h;'3 been an inhabitant of our globe six, or a hundred thousand years ; we shall, therefore, dismiss that ques- tion and pass at once to the subject proper. The in- genuity of the most learned natuialists of every age has been engaged in grouping the numerous types of mankind into r^ces, and at the same time, in displaying the diversity of opinion to which human researches frequently lead. Linnaeus, Cuvier, Buffon, Blumenbacb, Pritchard, Lawrence, Pickering, Dr. Latham and others, have written upon this subject, and have each given us a^^slassification in accordance with their several opportunities of observation and comparison. Thus Linnaeus referred all the human family to five races, viz., the American, European, Asiatic, African, and men of praeternal formation. Buffon proposed six great divisions. Ist. The Hyperbo- rean, including the Laplander and inhabitants of the Polar regions. 2nd. The Tartar, embracing the Eastern and Central nations of Asia. 'Jrd The Soutliern Asiatic, including' the South Sea Islanders 4th. The PiUropettn. 5th. The Ethiopian. 6th. The American. However, he reduced the number to five by classing 'he Tartars with the Laplanders, and regarding. the latter as merely a degenerate race of the former. Blu- menbach, of Gottingen, adopted the arrangement of BufTon, with a change of name of some divisions, and, at the same time, fixed with greater accuracy the geographical limits of each type. Thus he gives to the Hyperborean Variety of Biiffon the name of Mongolian Variety, from the Mongol ♦■' es of Central Asia, from which the type of skiill i . aken. The European he styles the Caucasian Variet/, the type of skull of this variety having been taken !.om one of the races (the Georgian) inhabiting the v j.ncr..;j,n range of mountains, hence the name. The o.»uthern Ail itic he Lt^rms the Malay, from the peninsula of Mtilacca, from .vhence they are supposed to have ;ip,raLed. The Ethiopian and the American Varieties are recognized in both classifications. Cuvier, jrstly celebrated for his high attainments in scientific research, proceeding upon physical structure and general appearance, pro- posed a classification still more simple and elemen- tary, and reduced the primary varieties to three only — the Caucasian, the Mongolian and the Ethiopian*; holding the Malay and American to be nothing more than migratory offshoots of the great Asiatic family. To Dr. Pritchard, however, belongs the credit of having been the first to bring to bear upon the subject a com- petent knowledge of the science of Physiology and. Philology, or the science of language -and he may be said to bare been the founder, in reality, of the sci nee of Ethnology. Proceeding upon the similarity of language, which he deemed as of prior significance to physical likeness, he subdivides the Caucasian variety into two independent groups — which he bases upon a ra- dical difference of language. One he styles the Syro- Arabian, or Semitic race, speaking language akin to the ancient Hebrew ; the other the modern Arab, inhabiting an area in South-western Asia, including the Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Kdornites, Jews, Arabs, the Berberines of Egypt, and the higher caste of the Abysinnian races. These people are of a light olive c brown colour, have capa- cious elongated skuHs, jaws projecting or prognathous nasal profile straight or prominent. Their mfiuence 8 upon the world has beea moral and educational Tbey have originated the use of letters, and have given to the world a written language, as well as, at a later period, the most beautiful system of religion the world has ever seen, Christianity. The other is the Indo- European race, embracing most of the nations of Europe, the Brahmins of India, and inhabitants of Afghanistan and Persia. In the languages of all these there is a marked affinity traceable to the ancient Sanscrit, or sacred lan- guage of the Hindoos. The Mongolian variety Dr. Pritcbard calls the Turanians, and describes them as the five great Nomadic races, viz., the Turkish, Mongo- lian and Fiogusian races, forming a central group, and tlie Finnish or Segrian races to the North, and a iSouth- eastern group containing the mountain tribes of North- ern India. The Ethiopian variety he divides into two distinct groups, the Hottentots and Bushmen forming one group, and the Negro and Kaffir tribe another. The Australian natives he considered as distinct from the Papuas of Polynesia, and classified them accordingly, thus greatly increasinji^ the number of the primary varieties of the human fainily. Dr. Pickenng, of the United States Exploring Expedition, estimates the number of distinct varieties » t eleven. " I have seen," says he, " in all eleven distinct races of men, and altbougki I am hardly prepared to fix a limit to their number, yet I confess after having "^isrted so many dif- ferent parts of the globe, that I am at a loss where to look for others." Virey has made a division of the hu- man family into two species only ; Dumoulin into eleven varieties, and St. Vincent describes no less than fifteen distinct varieties, while Professor Broc adds to the list numerous sub-genera. Dr. Latham, however, reduced the number to three great divisions, admitting of sub- divisions, but still possessing general characteristics es- tablislied by a similarity of anatomical jtriicture and affinity of language. These divisions correspond essentially to the three varieties of Cuvier. He designates them by the technical names Mongolidae, At- lantidae, and Japetidae. The first are the traditional descendants of Snem, whose influence upon the world has been essentially material rather than moral. The second are the traditional descendants of Ham ; these be also terms the Semitic nations, whose influence upon the world has been of a (}ecidt'dlj moral charac- ter. They were the first builders of cities and organ- izers of Empires, and from them sprang the Christian 9 and Mabomedan religions. The third, or Japetidae, are the traditional descendants of Japhet, and are some- times called the Indo-European race, the physical char- acteristics of which are those of the so-called Cau- casian. In this classification the Mongolian Variety is divisible into the Asiatic or leading typi>, the roly- nesian or Malay type, and the American." These several classes, although exhibiting many minor differ.^nces, yet nevertheless possess the same physical peculiari- ties and the same character of skull among them, which, being universal, gives individuality to every member of this branch of the human family. It is said that in intellect they are by no means defective, but display more an imitative than an inventive genius, which renders them highly susceptible of cuUivation. In many cases they arrive at considerable proficiency in the arts and literature, but their moral character is low. They are warl ke but not valiant in battle, although in times past the Turks and Mongol Tartar tribes have been conquerors of even the Caucasian, yet in most cases their victories were transient. The Eski- mos, Finns and Laplanders appear to be a remnant of some primitive Asiatic Mongols, whom the aggressive Caucasians pushed to the extreme North, and were con- tent to leave to their lot. They differ somewhat in minor details from the Mongols proper, chiefly from the effects of climate, food, aadliabit of living, as well us local po- sition. The American type enjoys a reddish brown com- plexion, long, black, lank hair, deficient beard, eyes, and black, deep set receding brow, very high cheek bones, Srominent aquiline nose, small skull, with high apex, and at at back part, mouth wide, large, turned lips, with frame of medium height, fine symmetrical build, exceed- ingly agile in the native state. However, these are con- sidered as only a branch of the great Mongolian division of the human family. The name, as before observed, is derived from the Mongol tribes ot Central Asia. The following are their physical characteristics, viz. : — Face sallow, broad and flat ; skull wider than long, and square rather than round ; the cheek bonts large and pre minent ; the zygomatic arch large and wide, form- ing a segment of a circle j the forehead receding ; the nose flattened ; jaws projecting,rather prognathouj ; eyes small, black, and in some varieties of the race oblique ; skin reddish-brown copper coloured or olive, rarely approaching white or black ; hair straight, coarse and black. The characteristics ot the three great sub- 10 varieties differ somewhat with each other in minor par- ticulars; in fact, so much so, as to have induced Ethno- logists to place them as separate varieties of mankind. Thus the Asiatic Mongols are described as having a yello,Wj sallowor olive tint, hair black, long and straigut, seldom curling ; beard very scanty ; eyes black ; nose broad and short ; the cheek-bones broad and flat, with salient zygomatic arches; the skull oblong, but flattened at the sides, so as to appear square ; forehead low. Of these people it is said there is a peculiar feminine aspect in both sexes. Their influence upon the world has been rather material than moral. The Malay type is characterised by a tawny or dark 6rown skin, hair coarse black and crisp, mouth large ; nose broad and short as if broken at the root ; flat ex- panded faces ; upper jaws projecting or prognathous ; teeth obliquely set ; skull high, square or rounded, fore- head low and broad. Moral character of a low order. These people possess an active temperament, are fond of maritime adventure; and are said to exhibit consi- deraole intellectual capacity. With the other two great races — viz., the European and Ethiopian — you are faipiliar. Of the Negro, the black skin and woolly hair form the distin- guishing characteristics, with the prognathous jaw, thick lips, nose thick and flat, forehead low and re- treating. Of the European, the characters are, first of all, ft white skin, of a florid tint or inclining to brown ; hair black, or of a light colour, generally soft and in- clined to wave; face oval and straight; forehead ele- vated and expanded, skull large, nose narrow, mouth small. Intellectual and moral capacity of the highest order. It is said to include all the inhabi- tants of ancient and modern Europe except the Finns; in Asia, the Hindoos of high ciass at least, the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, Jews, Fha3nician8, inhabitants of Asia Minor, of the Caucasus; and in Africa, the Moors, Abyssinians and the Egyptians. PHYSICAL CHARACTERS. Ethnologists in classifying the human race have re- lied upon physical differences and resemblances on the one hand, and upon isimilarity of language on tho other ; and where a seeming contradiction was averred, some have allowed physical characters, others the affinity of language, to have greatest weight in forming their con- clusions. In our deliberations, however, upon this sub- ^ ' 11 ject, we will confine ourselves to physical considera- tions alone. Some, in arguing for the plurality of species among mankind, have been biassed by the differ- ences in colour of skin, texture of hair, and general confirmation of the bony skeleton, especially the skull, as well as by the Psychological characters which con- sist in a superiority claimed for some races over others in moral and religious capacity, and in intellectual vigour. COLOUR. The skin is subject* to great and varied cou- trasts in point of colour in the human species. Thus we have the fair, ruddy, and beautiful Saxon, the jet black negro, the olive brown Mongolian, and the red or copper coloured Indian of America. Each of these colours has been considered distinctive of race, but further observation has shewn that in each well-authenticated division of the human family we h ave every gradation of colour, from white to very dark, and Albinos frequent. Thus in the Circaasip i, or Indo-European race, we have the fair Saxoa and Ger- man, the darker Frenchman, the browner Spaniard and Arab, and the still darker Abyssinian and inhabi- tant of Northern India. And in the ^^rnerican, from the white races of the North West coast, the fair Menominees, the Village Indians of New Mexico, and the olive coraplexioned Chippewas, to the dark Paw- nees, and the Kaws of Kansas, who are almost as black as negroes ; and among the Asiatic hordes every variety is to be found, from the fairest Chinaman to the darkest Sepoy or Malay. The colour of the skin li«s in the epidermis only, and is dependent upon the admixture of pigment cells with the ordinary epidermic cells, all the varied hues presented by the different races of men being due lo the relative amount of those cells, and to the particular tint of the pigment which they contain, which is liable to change according to the Varied character of climate to which it may be subjected. Thus we have the Anglo-S'ixon and the North German bidding fair for the pre-eminence among the white races of people. The French, who are more southern, a slight shade deeper ; going further south the Spaniards are browner than the French ; tlie inhabitants of Egypt darker than the Spaniards ; and the natives of negroland darkest of all. In fact, a close examination of the complexion of different countries seems to bear us out in the belief that we shall find 12 them darker in proportion to the heat of the climate, and the shades gradually to deepen as they approach the equator — some nations from some accidental cause, either of the country lying higher, and consequently being colder, or from the natives bathing and living 'a more civilised life, preserve a lighter colour. As a rule, however, it may be said that as nations lay nearer to the point of greatest heat do they grow darker, until the colour deepens into perfect black- ness. And I will hero observe en passant that the black races, by their skin and constitutions, are better fitted to inhabit the warm regions of the south than are any other race. It is a well known fact that a black man may be exposed to a burning sun without injury. which in the case of a white man produces painful blisters. Accordingly a black man can labour under the hottest sun with impunity, while the white sinks powerless under similar conditions. For this reason negro labour was introduced into tropical America, and the enterprise was more than crowned with suc- cess. Dr. Davey, Sir Everard Hume, and Dr. Glover having made interesting enquiries into th" peculiarities of skin in thf» dark races, conclude that the black skin, although it .ibsorbs most heat. perS|>'res most readily, and also is the best radiator; nence tley conclude that as this takes place most freely at night, causing the negro to become cooler, that it accounts for the negro's love of night dancing and exercise. The skin consists of the Cutis Vera, or true skin, and the epidermis, cuticle or scarf skin. The true skin is the same in all races ; it is sensitive, and full of blood vessels, and the ruddy tint of health, or blushing, arisps from a fulness of these vessels, seen through the transparent cuticle ; and if the cuticle is thick and opaque, even though colourless, the blood vessels are not seon, and the complexion wears a uniform pal- lor. The cuticle, or epidermis, forms a protective covering for the true skin, and is quite insensible, and without blooJ vessels. It is made, up of flattened cells agglutinated together in layers, which arise in a blastema, poured out on the surface of the true skin. T ese cells are at first round, and contain nuclei, with soft and moist contents, which, by succes- sive f )rmations beneath, are gradually pushed to the free surface, and become flattened in their development into thin scales, which are at last thrown off bv desquamation, aa each new layer of successive growtn 13 makes its appearance. The pigment is contained chiefly in the cells of the deepest layer of the epidermis^ and appear to fade as they approach the surface. Albinoiam consists in an entire absence of pigment cells in tlie skin, and is of frequent occurrence in all the races of men. Most of these cases are fn m birth. Dr. Prichard cites several cases occurring among the sabh tribes of Africa, especially among the tribes along the Mozambique coast, and a well authenticated case of change in the colour after birth, is recorded of a negro slave in Kentucky, who was born of black parents and was per- fectly black until 12 years of age. At that time a por- tion of the skin, an inch wide, encircling the cranium, just within the edge of the hair, gradually changed to white, as well as tne hair also occupying that locality. A white spot next appeared near the inner angle of the left eye, and from this the white colour gradually extended over the face, trunk and extremities, until it covered the entire surface. The complete change Irom black to white occupied about ten years, when out for his hair, which was crisp and woolly, no one would have supposed that his progenitors had r^ssessed any of the characteristics of the negro. His skin now presents the healthy vascular appearance of the European. Albinos are individuals whose peculiar appearance is de- pendent upon defects. Red eyes and light hair are the predominant features, although these \ary according to the race to which the individual belongs, for they are to be met with in almost every country. The peculiar redness of the eye depends upon the entire absence of pigment upon ihe choroid membrane, thus permitting the red blood vessels to appear. In consequence of the absence of this pigment, the function of which is to ab- sorb the extra rays of light, the eyes of those persons are weak, and they love such light as the moon affords, and are all activity and life by night, while by day they are miserable, the rays of bright sunlight causing their weak eyes to stream with water. Albinos are common among the negro tribes of Africa, who are called white negroes from the colour of their skin and their white woolly hair ; they are also common among the copper coloured natives of the isthmus of Darien, having bodies of a milk white tint, covered with a soft down, and possessed in common with other Albinos of white hair and red eyes. The peculiarities of the Albino strikingly exemplifies the common source whence is derived the colour of the skin, hair and eye. 14 ' Next to the colur and softness of the skin the human hair is of interest in an ethnological point of view, and presents itself to us in every varied colour and form, from the woollv hair' of the negro to the black glossy straight hair of the North American Indian ; and the coarse flaxen hair of the North German; but neither is the colour or quality of the hair or skin any distinguishing characteristic of race sufficiently accurate to be relied upon, as all shades of complexion and colour of hair have been observed among every race. The texture has been thought to afford a valid ground of distinction, and it is commonly asserted that the substance that grows on the heads of the African and Pelagian races is wool and not hair. This, however, is altogether a mistaken idea, micros- copic examination having very clearly demoustrated that the hair of the negro has exactly the same struc- ture as the hair of the European, its only resemblance to wool being in its crispness and very great tendency to curl ; and this is not an universal feature by any means, for there is found to be a great variety among the negro races in this respect who present every grada- tion from the very crisp or woolly hair to the slightly curled and flowing: locks ; and similar observations bold good with respect to the natives of various islands of the Indian Ocean, where, in the same race, ar i to be found individuals who possess hair very crisp, and others in all other respects the same, with flowing hair. Hence, on this subject Dr. Carpenter writes : " It is evi- dent, then, that no characters can be drawn from the colour or texture of the hair, sufficiently fixed and definitCj to serve for the oistinction of races ; and this view is borne out by the evident influence of climate in producing changes in the hairy covering of almost ever;^ race ot domestic animals ; such changes often manifesting themselves in the very individuals that have been transported from one country to anothei." If then, as you observe, we have uo fixed or definite characters aflForded by the soft parts which cloth and adorn the human skeleton, where- by distinction of race may be determined it is natural to suppostt that we should next turn our attention to the human skeleton, in the hope that some perma- nent and enduring peculiarities may be discovered, and to this end attention has been directed parti- cularly to the human skull as affording such charac- ters. A fundamental principle has been generally laid ■ 15 down that all these nations found to resemble each other in the shape of their heads, ghould be considered more nearly related than tribes of men differing in this respect, and it is genorallj acceded that the skulls of the different vaiieties of mankind possess certain pecu- liarities whereby they are distinguishable, and the variation or form of those different crania has alwaysbeen the principal bases for the classification of the races by ethnologists. Dr. Morton in his " Crania Americana " has designated three principal varieties of skull upon this continent, indeed, we may say four, viz., the Brachioce- phalic, or round head ; the Dolicho-Cephalic, or long nead ; and the Pyramidal, or Esquimaux head ; al80,tbe small round skull of the Ohio or Peruvian Mounds. Dr. Carpenter agrees with Dr. Pricbard in believing that climate, not so much as the peculiar habits and modes of life of the different races, nas an infiueace in produ- cing changes in the qonfiguration of the body. Hence, in accordance with this view, he has made a classification of human crania into three principal types. Among the rudest tribes of men, hunters and savage inhabitants of forests, depen- dent for their supply of food upon the accidental pro- duce of the soil or the chase, among whom are the most degraded of the African tribe and the Australians, a form of head prevails, which he distinguishes by the term prognathous, indicating a prolongation or exten- sion lorward of the jaws. This character is very strongly marked in the negroes of the west coaet of Alrica, havinis skulls so formed as to appear laterally compressed, cheek bones projecting forward not out- ward, both jaws projecting so far forward as to give the teeth an oblique direction, being set at an obtuse angle to each other, and also remarkable for the great de- velopment of the parts connected with smell and hear- ing- A second type of skull, very different from the former Dr. Pncbard styles the pyramidal, belonging princi- pally to the nomadic races, who wander over vast plains with herds or spend their lives in fishing along the shores of the icy seas, and live upon the seal and other fish, and flesh of the reindeer. It is typically represented by the nations of Northern and Central Asia, and in an exagerated degree in the Es- quimaux. Its most stri'..og character is the lateral or outward projection of the Zygoma, which with the lat- erally extending malar or cheek bone, forms a large 16 ■II '! rounded sweep or segment of a circle, the forehead being very narrow. Hence it results that lines drawn from the zygomatic arches, touching the temples on each side will meet above the forehead, instead of being par- allel (as in the European variety) and form with the base a triangle. In this type the upper part of the face is remarkably flat, the nose also flat, and the nasal bones as well as the space between the eye brows^ being nearly on the same plane with the cheek bones,it follows that the triangular space bounded by these lines may be compared to one face of a pyramid. The orbits are very large and deep, and the peculiar formation of the surrounding bones gives to the eye anobli^'ie cast, the whole face being lozenge shaped, instead oval as in the European variety. It is also worthy i remark that the great development of the Zygomatic bones and the bones of the face altogether, when compared with the capacity of the cranium, indicates jn this form of skull, a more ample extension of tl'e organs subservient to the senses, the same effect being produced by the lateral extension in this case as by the forward extension in the negro or prognathous skull. Hence a type of face exists which may be termed " squat faced" (as in the Bushmen), which constitutes one of the forms into which the oval or elliptical may be degraded. The third type of skull described byPritchard which he terms the oval or elliptical belongs to the most civil- ized races who live by agriculture and the arts of civil- ized 4ite ; — to these belong, all the most intellectually improved nations of Europe and Asia. This tvpe of pkull is of a most symmetrical form ; no part having an excessive prominence, whilst there is nowhere any flattening or compression ; it is of a rounder shape than the other forms, the forehead is more ex- panded, and the zygomatic arch and maxillary bones are so shaped as to give the face an oval form, nearly on a plane with the forehead and cheek bone and not projecting towards the lower part. The alveolar pro- cesses are perpendicular and the teeth have no outward inclination in consequence as in the other crania. The principal features are therefore the large development of the cranial cavity, the fulness and elevation of the forehead in proportion to the size of the face ; thus in- dicating the predominance of the intellectual powers over those merely instinctive propensities whieh are directly connected with sensations. When the crania of difiereut races of the sam« class are compared, 17 various departures from the typical form are found to occur, some approaching one variety and some another. Thus the Greelcs amolig European nations, display the greatest symetry and perfection in the form of the head. The measurements and characters by which skulls are distinguished from each other, are length or depth of head found by the diameter between the anterior or fron- tal bone and the posterior or occipital bone, and by anat- omists termed the antero-posterior diameter. Breadth, decided by the diameter between the parietal bones, or from side to side just above the usual position of the ear, the proportion between these two diameters fur- nishing a characteristic distinction. Europeans and negroes are both found to be long beaded as compared with the Mongolian races. Another important point is whether the forehead is retreating or vertical. Thus, uDon the difference in this res/ect. Camper founded a scheme whereby he might estimate not only the differ- ence between various individuals and nations, but also th*} different degrees of intellect or sa§:acity possessed by the various members of the animal kingdom. In this way we produce what is termed the facial angle, birds heads giving the smallest, which always becomes greater as the animal approaches the human family. In one species of ape the angle is 42 degrees, in another of the same animal the angle is exactly fiffy. The lowest in the human scale is the African of the West Coast, the angle being the same as in the Kalrauc, or lowest and most characteristic tribe of Mongol Tartars, viz , seventy degrees. In Europeans it is eighty degrees, while in the Grecian figure of Apollo the angle is over a hundred de- grees. The prominence of the cheek bones is also a phy- siognomical^distinction. In the negro it is prominent but projects forward and downward, and not laterally, the jaws projecting downward so that the teeth are inserted obliquely, giving to the skull the name prognathous in opposition to the orthognathous, where the teeth are vertical. The broad and flat faces of manv nations arise chiefly from this prominence of the cheek bone and lateral development, giving the bony arch call- ed the zygomatic a remarUable lateral projection. Dr. Morton, in his Crania Americana, makes a fourth type of skull as characteristic of the American race, and, in hij opinion, distinct from the Mongolian type. It is described as deing of a decidedly rounded form, the occipital portion flattened in the upward direction, the transverse diameter, as measured between the pa- 18 1*1 rietal bones, as remarkably wide, and often exceeding the longitudinal line ; the forehead low and receding, and rarely arched, as in the other jraces — a feature that is regarded by Humbolt, Lund and others as character- istic of the American type, and as serving to distinguish it from the Mongolian. The cheek bones are high, but not much expanded ; the Jaws salient and ponderous, with teeth of a corresponding size, and, singularly, free from deca.y ; orbits large and squared, the nasal oiifice wide, and the bones that protect it arched and ex- panded. The lower jaw is massive and wide between the condyles, and the teeth, notwithstanding the promi- nent position of the face, are, for the most part, vertical. This comprehensive generalization of the American Cranial type, thus set forth on so high an authority, has received ready followers in Agassiz, Nott and Meigs, al- though Dr. Daniel Wilson has not hesitated to call it in question, shewing that among the Lenappes and others an elongated head prevailed, and the type extended west of theMississippi. The rounaed head peculiar to the Tol- tecan family prevailed east of tLe Rocky Mountains and in Florida. The heads of the Caribs and Hurons are also of the rounded form, while the Iroquois and the Algon- quins are of the elongated form. The Esquimaux is different in many respects, and approaches more nearly the Asiatic varietv. The physiognomical measurements of the human face are as follows : dividing it Into three portions, which we will call the forehead or cranial portion, the length and prominence of nose or nasal portion ; and from the terminus of the nose to the point of the chin or maxillary portion, it will be found that as one or the other of these portions has the greatest depth or prominence, just in a corresponding ratio will the individual or class be found to preponder- ate in intellectual capacity, energy and animal vigour, or those propensities which are directly connected with the senses and the animal passion. Among many of the natives otNorth and South Anerica and especially the inhabitants of the Carribcan Sea, so great a partia lily to low, retreating foreheads exists, that the natives have adopted a custom of producing that re- sult artificially. The division of the cranium into several bones, and the spaces intervening between'each at bir.h, as well as the comparative softness and yielding nature of the osseous tissue itself, enables them, the more readily, to accomplish their object. This custom is not confined to the inhabitants of the 19 Amer'icaa Continent alone ; in Eurone, Asia, and some of the isles of the sea, traces are still to be found of its present or past existence. In France, even at the pre- sent day, a practice of distorting the skull in infancy still prevails, which is brouj(ht about by the use of a peculiar head-dress and bandages. Dr. Foville, in his work entitled *' The Anatomy of the Nervous System," has engraved samples of such compressed heads, one of whicU might be taken for a disentombed skull of the Peruvian mound type. The practice is one probably of remote antiquity, and is found chiefly to pharacterise certain districts, — as Normandy, Britany, Gascohy, and Limcussin. By the aid of recent discoveries, and the •■esearches of scientific men, traces of the strange cus- tom of artificial cranial distortion are recovered from aucient European cemeteries, — among the valleys of tlie Alps, on the banks of the Don, and along the shores of the Euxine Sea. It is also traceable to the shores of the Caspian Sea and the valleys of the Caucasus ; and (as Dr. Wilson observes) as wo follow 'back the track of the Huns and Moors, by whom it seems to have been introduced into Europe, we lose trace of it among the unfamiliar steppes of frozen Siberian Asia, only to recover them once more after crossing Behring Straits; and, investigating the strange customs which pertain to the American 'ribes on the Pacific coast, and in the regions which lie west of the Rocky Mountains. We here find the flat-head race to extend over a wide range of country, from 150 miles up the Columbia river to its mouth, and along the Pacific coast and the Straits of De Fuca, Puget's Sound, and Canal Dioro to ■ r the mouth of Fraser's River;, as well as on Vancouvers Island j and extending into South America among the native inhabitants of Peru, including about twenty dif- ferent tribes. Among these are the Cowlitz Indians, the Chinooks, Klatsaps, Klickatots, Kalponets, Chastoys, the Klackamnas ; in Oregon, the Nasquallies, Suaho- mas and (/urasenahos, on Puget's Sound; the Sou gas and Eusaniches, on the Straits of De Fuca ; the Towa- nachus of Whitby Island ; the Cowitchins on the Gulf of Georgia, and the Clalans and Newatees on Vancouver Island. This custom is also practised by the Chimpseyaa Indians, and a few solitary traces ot it are found in the Indian mounds east of the range of Rocky Mountains ; but among the Carribeans and the Peruvi- ans the custom prevailed to a wonderful degree, nearly 2^ all the skulls exhumed from the tombs of these locali- ties being contorted or moulded to one of the manj forms chosen by these people. The artificial forms given to the human head by the various tribes among whom the custom has been practised in ancient and modern times, have been arranged by Dr. Oosse into sixteen, ranging between two extremes. One of these is a comoined frontal and occipital compression^ by which the head is reduced as near as possible to a disk, having its mere edge laterally, as in the case of the bust before you. (Dr. Bessey here pointed out the peculiarities in the specimens on the table.) A medium form is observed in which the head though compressed in front and rear, tapers wedge-like to the vertex, instead of bulging later- ally. The other extreme is where the skull is compressed anteriorly only, depressing the forehead and throwing back the whole skull, so as to give it an approximation to that of a dog. This form is most common among the Flathead tribes of British Columbia, and it is the form that seems to have prevailed on the west coast of the great mountain range, as far south as Peru. The Pe- ruvian Dolicho-cephalic skull partaltes of this character. Fashion, however, regulates to some extent the special forms given to the head among various tribes, subject to moaiiication by individual caprice, hence a consider- able variety of shape is sometimes observable in the same tribe, The process by which this is accoi jilished deserves a passing mentiou at our hands, which differs also with diflferent tribes. Thus the flat head tribes of the western mainland proceed thus : the infant is strap- ped to the cradle board, which is carefull v covered with moss of finely frayed fibres of cedar bark, and is fitted with ahead board which projects beyond the f'a'ce, so as *.o protect the face from injurv. In order to flatten the head, a pad, made of a piece of skin stuffed with soft cedar bark, is laid on the infant's head^ and above this a slab of hard bark, with the smooth side under. This is co- veted with a piece of soft deer skin, and is bound tightly by means of a leather band passing through holes on the cradle board, while the head is supported and kept in an immovable position by a pillow of gra 8S or frayed cedar bark, placed under the back of the neck. The process is commenced imme*! lately af- ter birth, and is continued for a per4od of eight or twelve months, when the head has permanently assumed its new form, harmonising best with the native ideas of grace. Another process is by 21 means of a sqaare piece of leather, with thongs, attached to the four corners, placed over a pad on the forehead, and secured tightlr to the board, other pads being placed under the head, and at its sides, according to the special form desired to give it. The Newateea, a warlilce tribe on the North-end of Vancouver Island, are in the habit of giving a peculiar conical shape to toe head by a means of a cord of deer- skin, padded with the inner bark of the cedar tree, frayed until it acquires the consistency of soft tow. The cord when maae is about half an inch in thick- ness, and is bound around the child's head, compressing it gradually into a uniformly tapering cone, above which they are in the habit of tying up the hair into 'he form of a knot upon the crown of the head. The process does not seem to affect the intellect nor the courage of this people, who are remarkable for their cue ning, as well as their daring. And in the children it might be supposed that the operation, from the extent to which it is carried, would be productive of great suffering ; but Paul Kane remarks he never heard a child crying or moaning, although he had seen the eyes starting from their sockets from the great pressure. On the contrary, he says when the cords were loosened and the pads removed, he had noticed them crying until they were replaced. From the apparent dullness of the children, he imagined that they were reduced to a state of torpor or semi-insensibility by the pressure^ which f;ave place to a sense of pain on removal of the nxtures. n the absence of mortality statistics of these tribes, we cannot ascertain its effect upon the death-rate among the infants, although I should be of opinion that it was greatly Increased thereby. Among some tribes of Indians in Oregon a curious custom prevails of inserting a piece of cedar wood in the lower lip and allowing it to remain, thus causing the lip to project in accordance with their ideas of personal beauty. IMrLUBNOR OF PHYSICAL AOBNTS IN THE MODIFiOATiON OV RACES. With regard to the influence ot pliysical agents in the modification of race, we remark, first, that those physical agents by which the human race is most power- fully influenced are climate, food, soil, habits of lifi^, And the general aspect of nature ; and to one of these agents may be referred all the external phenomena by whioh man has been permanently affected. The last of 22 these, which we call the general aspect of nature, has produced its results chiefly upon the imagination (al- though in mountainous parts it is observed that com- plexions are lighter from the great heat reflected, and on sandy plains, and low places, the tendency is to darker shai^e,) by exciting which origin has been given to those innumerable superstitions which are the greatest obstacles to human progress. Hehce in the infancy of a people the power of such superstitions is supreme, and corresponding varieties are produced in the popular chnracter, and peculiarities imparted which are difficult to efface. The other agents, climate, food, and soil, have oilginated the most im- portant consequences in regard to the general organiza- tion of society, and from them have resulted many of those large and conspicuous differences between nations which are often ascribed to some fundamental diflfer- ence in the various races into which mankind is divided. In illustration of the influence of the first agent, viz., climate, we have it on the authority of Blumenbach, that the domestic swine, when allowed to roam at large among the forests, very soon acquires all the character- istics of the wild boar. The dog, too, Dr. Prichard clearly shews, is subject to the greatest modification by change of climate and circumstances. It has been also frequently observed that a change of colour has been produced by the unusual development of pigment cells la individuals of the fair skinnea race, so that parts of the body have become of a dark red or brown hue, and in some cases even quite black. Modifications of this nature may seem of little weight in the consideration of races, being confined to individuals, and may be put down, as accidental ; but ample evidence exists that analogous changes may in course of time take place, which will tend to produce great variety in the shade of colour in the descendants of any one stock. In the great Indo-European family, for instance, the com- mon origin of which is unquestioned, we find tribes with fair complexion, yellow hair, and blue eyes, others presentmg the xanthous or olive hue, and others decidedly black. The same diversity as we have seen is found among the American races, a people equally referable to one common Stock ; and it exists to nearly the same extent among the African nations, also of common extraction. European colonists settled in hot climates do net present so very great changes in a single generation, but in a few generations they are 23 ^ the complex- tbey respect- very clearly manifested. The relations o ion of different races of men to the clima ively inhabit, Dr. Carpenter thinks, is clearly establfsbed by an extended comparative survey ot both. Take, for instance, the single case of the Jewish people, widely dispersed over almost every inhaoitable portion of the globe, with their distinctive character strictly maintained by means of their remarkable isolation id marriage and every other religious observance, render- ing them peculiarly appropriate examples for the illustration of our present point ; and what do we find ? That the brunette complexion and dark hair, usually re- garded as characteristic of the Jewish race, Ate frequent- ly superseded in the Jews of northern Europe, aud especially in Germany by red and brown hair, a fair complexion, and I myself have seen in this city a young lady, a Jewess, of the most delicate blonde complexion and red hair, who in other respects possessed all the characteristic features of the Hebrew race. While this is the case in the northern countries, on the other hand the Jews who settled in India seme centuries ago have become as dark as the Hindoos them- selves. As we proceed to notice a few of the more prominent characteristics Of the various races, you will observe that the conclusion is inevitable that the inter- tropical regions of the earth are the principal seat of the darkest I'aces of men, whilst the regions remote from the tropics are those of the fairer races, and those climates wvpproiicbing the tropics are generally inhabited by peo- ple of Aii intermediate complexion ; and also, that high mountairfsanci table-lands of great elevation are gen- erally inhdbited by ivibes ot a lighter colour than those inhabiting the lowest lands, such as swamny country and sandy plains on the sea coast. In i .frica all these points are observable. There, the E roper negro, or black, area, is almost exactly limited y the tropical line, and the blackest and most unc- tuous ekin is found on the low plains of the Gold Coast, meeting both conditions, viz., a low situation and a tropical climate, while in the immediate vicinity the mountainous regions are inhabited by people of a much paler aspect and less crispen hair. Whilst the nature of the climate, soil and tke general aspect of nature is thus showu to modify the outward appear- ance of the body, the influence of habits of life^ conti- nued from generation to generation, upon the form of the human skeleton and especially in that of the 24 head is evinced in a remarkable degree by the complete traDsition from one type to another which is shewn in ihe case of several tribes and nations that hav^; under- gone a change in manners and customs, and have either advanced or retrograded in the scale of civilization. A remarkable instance of this kind is found in the Turks inhabiting the Ottoman and Persian Empires, yrho are undoubtedly descended from the same stock as those wandering or nomadic races still spread over Central Asia ; but who having conquced the coun- tries lonff since, and having settled down gradually to the fixed and settled habits of civilized life borrowed from the Indo-European race, have made currespond- ing advances in civilization and have undergone a complete transformation into the likeness of Euro- pean, whilst their nomadic relatives continuing their wandering habits with scarcely any innovation of the habits of civilized society, have still retained the pyra- midal form of skull to a remarkakle degree. This change in the physical structure of the Turkish race has been attributed to the frequent introduction of Cir- cassian slave women into their harems, but this would only affect the superior ranks of society and not the populace who have always intermarried among them- selves. And in the Turkish P-^ovinces^ as in Crete, the Greeks have been kept sepax .te and to themselves by the difference of religion and manners, which is also the case in Persia between the Tajiks or true Persians, and their Turkish rulers. Tie Negro head and face may also be improved or at t? t least assimilated to the European, by long subjection to similar influences ; thug it has been remarked that the pure descendants of Afri- can blood after three or four generations lose their native cdst, and approximate to those of the white people^ the mouth becoming smaller, the eyes lively and gparkhng, the noH^e higher in the ridge, and the hair less crisp and (ionsiderably longer. It has been asserted that in tne West India Islands the physiognomy of the negroes has not only become decidedlv European^ but that the inhabitants of the Dutch can be readily distin- Saithed by their physiognomy from those of the ritish Islands, each partaking of the peculiar cha- racters of tneir masters, and that too where there has been no intermixture of blood. But it is equally a fact that not only may the pyramidal and prognathous type of skull be elevated to approach the elliptical, but also the elliptical may be degraded 25 to either of those. Indeed, we hare only to look at any underfed, ill-clothed, and generally degraded class or section withm the same nation or community, to see how far difference of nutrition, employment, and habits alone, without any difference of climate, will, in a few gene- rations, give a peculiar chare ster to the physiognomy, and alter the very proportions of the skeietou ; thus, wherever there is want, squalor and ignorance, there is produced a special tendency to that diminutiou of the cranial portion of the skull and that increase of the facial, which characterizes the prognathous type; this fact receiving a living proof in the case of the lowest class of every country, but especially is it strongly marked in tlie lower Irish, commonly termed the " wild Irish" of the hills of Connemara (who were found, after the lapse of ages, cut off from the rest of humanity, isolated and in wretchedness, where they had fled from the terrors of Cromwell), who have a distinctly prognathous profile which is never seen among the well to do classes. A cer • tain degree of retrogression towards the pyramidal type is also to be found among the nomadic tribes which are to be found in every civilized community. The wandering gypsies are a good illustration of this fact. Among these it has been remarked, '' that according as they partake more or less of the purely vagabond nature^ doing nothing whatsoever for a living but mov- ing from place to place, preying upon the possessions of the more industrious portions of the community ; so will the attributes of the nomade races be found more or less marked in them, and they are all more or less distinguished for their high cheek bones and protruding jaws, thus shewing that kind of a mixture of the pyri- midal with the prognathous which is to be seen among the io west of the Indian and Maylayo-Polynesian races." Thfere seems, however, to be a very great tendency to the so-callea "Spontaneous Variation," prevalent among the human race, since we find most remarkable diversities in the features, complexion, hair, and general confoimation, among offspring of the same parentage ; the free intermixture of those members of the race which possess those modifications with those departing less from the ordiniiry type, merging them again in the general average. And there is no reasonable objection to the sprmise that if the same kind of segregation were practised among individuals of this kind that is done by breeders of animals for the purpose of perpetuating a new variety, the offspring of parents possessed of theso B 26 peculiarities in common would inhetit and trans- mit them in such a manner that a variety would be permanently established as a new race. Now, if we consider that the effect of a limited population in the earliest days of the race by isolating families and causing intermarriages among the nearest rela- tives would produce precisely the eftect of which we have been speaking, we at once have a reason why the varieties which were then produced should have a much greater tendency to self-perpetuation than those which occasionally present themselves in modern times; and if we further consider that the changes in external conditions, induced by immi- gration, would operate not only upon the parents, but upon the offspring, and would have a continual In- fluence in so modifying the constitution of the offspring that the peculiarities thus acquired by it would be transmitted with still greater intensily to its progeny, we will find no difficulty in accounting, upon the strictest physiological principles, for the widest de- partures from one common type of conformation de- rived from one common origin. We ^re, therefore, inevitably led to the conclusion that, anatomically con- sidered, there is no such difference among men as would justify the naturalist in the assertion of their.distinct ori- gin. The weight of the brain is also more or less distinc- tive of race. Professor Tiedemann assumed that, in as much as a certain size and mass of brain is essential to ihe exercise of the faculties of the mind, all human races are furnished therewith in an equal degree. It has been found however upon a careful analysis of existing evidence that this is not the case, but that the most effec- tually cultivated races predominate Tn weight as well as i.n quality ot brain texture. The average brain-weight of the English is 47-5,0 oz. ; of the French. 44-58 oz. ; of the German, 42 83 oz., but there are discrepancies in the re- sults ot different observers. The Italians, Lapps, Swedes, Frisians, and Dutch come into the same cate- gory with the English. Among the Asiatic races, the Vedahs of Ceylon and the Hindoos give a mean of over 41-11 oz. The skulls of Mussulmans afford a slight in- creased average of braiu-weight over those of the Hin- doos. The skulls of male Khonds, one of the unquestion- able aboriginal races of India, show a brain weightof only 37 87. The general average of the Asiatic taXle shows a diminution of more than 2oz. when compared with the Europeans. The general mean of African races is 27 less than that of European races, although there are great differences, the Caffre rising high and the Bnsh- iran sinking low in the scale. The average of thewholo of the aboriginal American races reaches 44*73 oz., which is 2-13 0Z. less than that of the European races. The Australian races show a brain-weight one-ninth less than that of the general average of Europeans. The Malays and other of the " Oceanic racea" who migrat- ed boldly for commercial purposes over the North and South Pacific Oceans, and occupy the islands, show a tolerably high average of brain-weight, and on arriving at this section we seem to be returning m some measure to the large brain-weight of Europeans. HUMAN STATURE. As regards stature, according to the table of Profes- sor Forbes the people of the three kingdoms ranked thus : First, the Irish ; seer ''d, the Scotch : third, the £2nglish ; fourth, the Belf ^as ; and fifth, the French. Average height of En^lisumen, 5ft. 9in. ; of the negro races, 6ft. 6iu.; ofOhiuese, 5 (French) feet; Eskimos and Laplanders, from 4 to 5 feet ; the Patagonians, 5ft. 6in. to 7ft. 4in. It has been observed that the different races of men exhibit considerable difference in stature, although there are no diversities in stature among na- tions 80 great as those that occur frequently in the same family. Very few observations, however, have been made with a view to the comparison o* the heights of different races. The stttture of the European has not been as yet compared with the Asiatic, nor the negro with the American Indian. However, Quetelet while in England observed that the English aristocracy are taller than the common people ; and Dr. Yillorne ob^ serves " that the height of man becomes greater, and the growth takes place more rapidly, other circum- stances being equal, in proportion as the country in- habited is richer, the comforts more general, houses, clothes, and nourishment better, and labour, fatigue, and privations less during youth. The circumstances of misery also put off the period of the complete devel- oping of the body, and stunt human nature." And Quetelet lays it down as an axiom " that individuals who enjoy afBuen^ generally exceed the mean height ; while, on the other hand, hard labour appears to be an obstacle to growth." Another valuable reference made S8 by Quetelet is that the stature is materially influenced by a residence in town or country. Thus the warmth and luxury of cities derelope rapidly the growth of all but the lowest classes, and it is found that the stature of the inhabitants of towns, at the age ot 19, is greater than country residents by two or three French cen- timetres — the result of an examination of 3,500 city people and 8,000 country. AVERAGE WEIQHT. No comparison of weight oe.weei- the races has ever been made, although, in a military point of view, such information is very valuable, for it maybe laid down as an axiom that " m all undertakings that require the exertion of physical energy, particularly in war, bodily weight is a most important element, and wherever the superiority in this respect lies, thither will success, all other things being equal, almost infallibly tend." This prop03ition is borne out by an observation of the vari- ous collisions of troops on the field of Waterloo, whether of horse or foot, and also at Alma and Inker- man. Forbes made a comparison of weight among the people of the United Kingdoms, and found that the Irish average was 155, the Scotch 152, the English 151, and the Belgians 150. AVERAGE! STRENGTH. The strength of the human frame is a subject of the Uimost moment, whether wu view it with reference to the comparative physical powers of different races, or merely as a question of interest to civilised communi- ties in its b 'aring upon practical mechanics. Scientific men for a long time believed, from the extraordinary displays of physical power made by savages frequently, that civilisation is effeminating, and diminishes the strength of the human frame ; but this is disproved. Peron made some experiments in tests of strength upon natives of the East Indian islands, and found them to rank with English and French as follows : Lowest in Eoint of strength was found to be the natives of Van •ieman's Land, next the New Hollanders, next the Timorians, and then the French, and the highest power being amongst the English An Englishman named Popham, who lived in the 17th century, performed, un- aided by skill and contrivance, the most wonderful 29 feats from sheer strength ever known among civil'sed nations, although Dr. Winsbip, in modern days, has astonisned the world by his feats of strength. In answer to those who would eulogise the savaere state as more favourable to strength than the civilized, we would say that " bodily strength is found to be a concomitant of good health, produced and preserved by plenty of good food, wholesome ar.d nutritious, and by actira exercise. The inhabitants of civilized com- munities may be reasonably expected to be better fed and cared for than miserable savages who, from the precarious nature of their subsistence, are usually ill- fedj while both have the same facilities for athletic ex- ercises. History also attests the fact of superiority of civilized man over savages in point of strength ; thus the Spaniards in their first difficulties with the natives found in hand to hand strifes that the latter were much weaker than themselves. The backwoodsman or set- tlers in the new territories have always proved them- selves superior to the Indian in hand to hand combat. Pallas says of the Russians that Ibey excel the Mon- gol tribes of the empire to a wonderful extent in strength. A comparison of strength between the men of the United Kingdoms by Forbes resulted in favour of the Irishmen, — thev being first, the Scotch second, the English third, and the Belgians fourth. The equality, at least, of civilized men with n4tivieir complexion has generally a yoUow cast. Dr. Prichard conjectures that all the inhabitants of South-eastern Asia are de- scendants of the Bhotya, — a ^reat nomadic race in- habiting the lower borders ot the great plateau of Central Asia. The Turks present a remarkable change from this type to the Caucasian, shewing the benign influence of civilization upon them. — The Ichthyophagi or tribes of Northern Asia resemble the Esquimaux of North America, who are supposed to have descended from the most remote of these na- tives, called the Namollos, who are a quiet, timid race, living in villages dispersed at considerable distances from each other, and feed on seals and dead whales cast ashore and other gifts of the sea. These people are of very small stature, with very flat faces and high cheek bones, and small eyes, but not oblique. They are the same people as those inhabiting the Aleutian or Fox Islands south of Behriug Straits, which aflbrds us a clue to the origin of the American Mongols. Of the other Siberian tribes, the Samoiedes inhabit along the coast, . nd live by fishing and the chase, and their features are very characteristic. The Kamschadales inhabit the isthmus of Kamschatka, their general appearance, habits and manner of living are essentially those of the Esquimaux. The tribes of Western Siberia are nomadic wanderers from place to place with herds of reindeer, and support themselves partly by pasturage and p' rtly by fish- ing and the products of the chase. ^ hey all belong to the great Mongolian division. The Caucasian or Indo-European race is divided by Dr. Latham into the Celtic and Indo-Germanic groups. And to this great family belong the Semitic races, in- cluding the Jews, Arabs, Assyrians, Egyptians, and supetior castes of Hindostanor Brahmins. The first or Celtic tribes are now confined to the Highlands of Scot- land, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, but once extended over the whole of the British Isles, North of France, Switzerlanu of exquisite beauty stood before ihem apd requestoa some 3f the venison. She told them of beautiful hunting grounds in the spirit land reserved for the brave and virtuous, and promised them that if they would return after thirteen moons to the place where they now were, they should find outuething growing which should be of use to them. She then disappeared as she came, 3mi!is>«f to Ihem and without noise, which so impressed thr;»^ that they did accordingly growing on the spot wber Indian maize, where the as they were bid, and fo. ;M ere her right hand had re«it«J left hand roated they found rice, and where she sat they found tho tobacQo plant ; and in off ring some of i». as a rfayrX «- to the suppoiod 39 ^.3 deity, they (iiscovered its peculiar efTects and immedi- ately began its uae." CONCLUSION. I have thus, ladies and gentlemen, in a cursory man- ner sketched out the chief points to be observed in the study of this great subject, and, had time permit- ted, I should like to hare said many things con- cerning the aboriginal inLabitants of this great continent, who are rapidly passing away. Many of them were fine, high spirited, noole hearted men, with oratorical powers of a superior order, but ere many centuries shall have come and gone, the Indian race will be numbered with the past. In conclu- sion I shall remark, that from the many arguments that may be adduced, and which naturally arise out of a study of this subject in support of the unity of our race, I have little hesitation in adopting the inter- esting biblical narrative of man's creation and the Adamitic and Noahic families as literal, and not allego- rical as some have pretended it to be ; and conclude that however diversified man is in stature, form, colour and character, and however great the contrasts which pre- sent themselves between man and his fellow-man, yet the races so imperceptibly merge into one another, that we are left no room to doubt th'ctures. The Doctor's discourse certainly showed very groat labor and research, and was replete with informa- tion on one of the most intei'estiug subjects of philoso- {)hic investigation. The lecture was also illustrated >y a complete gallery of ferro-typos of specimens of the different races of men, copied from standard authors. — Daily Witness. Natural History Society. — Last night (March 5th, 1868), the fifth lecture of the Somerville Course was delivered iu the Society's Lecture Room, by W. E. Bossey, M.D., the subject being, ** The Races of Men, their peculiarities, and probable origin, with the influ- ences of physical causes in their modification." There was a large and appreciative audience present, and the lecture, illustrated as it was by a number of photo- gi'aphic delineations, was alike creditable both to the ability and assiduity of the lecturer. — Gazette. Natural History Society.— The fifth lecture of the Somerville Course was delivered last night in the Society's Room, by Dr. "W. E. Bessey. The subject of the lecture, " The Races of Men, their peculiarities and probable origin, with the influence of physical causes iu their modification," was ccmsidercd at great l(?ugth in a manner highly creditable to the lecturer. The lecture was illustrated by a number of photogra- phic views. — Evening Telegrajfh.