298 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



often learn as well as the white children up to about twelve years old, 

 they then fall off, and are left behind by the children of the ruling 

 race. 



It will be well now to examine more closely what a race is. Single 

 portraits of men and women can only in a general way represent the 

 nation they belong to, for no two of its individuals are really alike, not 

 even brothers. AVhat is looked for in such a race-portrait is the gen- 



FiG. 9. Caeibs. 



eral character belonging to the whole race. It is an often-repeated 

 observation of travelers that a European landing among some people 

 unlike his own, such as Cliinese, or Mexican Indians, at first thinks 

 them all alike. After days of careful observation he makes out their 

 individual peculiarities, but at first his attention is occupied with the 



