SPECULATIVE ZOOLOGY. 199 



ments and records would contain references to only two races, and, 

 although there might be no traditions to show that either of these had 

 occupied the country longer than the other, the history of the lan- 

 guage and the architectural and other remains would bear witness to 

 tbe gradual introduction of one of them, and would show that in still 

 more ancient times there were no traces of the existence of more than 

 one race. 



The interpretation of the relationships of the people to which he 

 had been led by the study of the living inhabitants would now be far 

 more than a working hypothesis, for everything which had been 

 learned about their past history could be shown to be exactly what 

 we should, by the hypothesis, expect, and he might therefore claim 

 that this was a strictly scientific explanation of the theory of their 

 origin. Although he would have definite proof of only one immi- 

 gration, he would be fully warranted in concluding that the present 

 inhabitants are the result of the crossing of four races ; that at one 

 time only one of these races inhabited the country, and that the other 

 three have been introduced from outside at different times in a defi- 

 nite order. 



The mass of evidence which he could bring forward in favor of 

 this opinion would be sufficient to render it more probable than any 

 other explanation of their origin, and would fully justify its accept- 

 ance as a scientific truth, but a little examination will show that the 

 evidence is entirely circumstantial, and does not by any means amount 

 to absolute proof, but only to a very great degree of probability. 

 Although it may be true that it is very much more probable than any 

 other explanation, this may be due to imperfect knowledge, and some 

 other explanation may possibly be the true one. 



In order to show this, let us suppose that the people of the country 

 have another account of their origin, and believe that the four types 

 were formed ages ago by the breaking up of an homogeneous race into 

 four castes, which have ever since borne substantially the same rela- 

 tions to each other. Suppose that this belief bears such a relation 

 to other traditions, and to certain manners and customs, that it has 

 assumed, in their minds, a very great importance, and is regarded as 

 a point of grave significance, resting upon irreproachable evidence. 

 They might answer the anthropologist somewhat in this manner : You 

 have certainly made out a very ingenious story, and have brought 

 together a mass of evidence which appears to render your view very 

 probable, but you have not shown that no other explanation is possi- 

 ble, and, as we do hold quite a different opinion upon evidence which 

 is satisfactory to us, you must be mistaken. We are open to convic- 

 tion, and are not unreasonable, but we must have proofs which leave 

 no room for doubt, for as long as there is a chance that you are wrong 

 we must hold to our old view. If you say that all natural knowledge 

 is simply probable, and open to the possibility of error, give us proofs 



