c 



APPENDIX. 499 



yiiri, for the negre, A thirty fecond part of the whole color, upon thi» 

 fuppolition is done away by fome other caufe, fay that of climate If the 

 whole effeft had been produced by ciimatr, and in this proportion, the 

 time neceffary to have completed theeffeft would have been tout 'hou'^anj 

 years. By the fame method of conjeftural eftimation, the tim 'icctTary 

 to reduce the Indian to the European color, would be fm hundif-u years. 

 The difficulty and uncertainty attending this method of forming an eiti- 

 thatc, is not that it can give the period of time too long, but that i' if- 

 fumes what cannot be afcertained by oblcrvation. It is not, and probably 

 cannot be made certain by obfervation, that a thirty fecond part of the oe- 

 j^ro color is done away by climate, or that it is done away ac all, when 

 the negro complexion is fupp >fed to b- completely changed. It is not 

 probable that if a thirty fecond part of the daik. color remained, it could 

 be readilv diftinguifhcd by the eye. But uncertain as the data are, they 

 are fufficieiu to fhow that the operation of climate, in any view in which 

 the matter can be confidered, is extremely gradual and flow. 



g. This influence of climate, whatever it is, may be increafed, or it may 

 be rcaided, tiy the operation of other caufes. The color of the fkin may 

 be affpfted and changed by other caufes, as well as by heat and cold. If 

 there be any thing in the common method of living, in being conftantly 

 expofed to the !un and wind, in the ufe of paint and oil, or in habitual 

 cleanlinefs or filthinefs, fh'at tends to darken, or to render the complexioii 

 more fair ; this, may operate cither with or againft the influence of cli- 

 mate, according as the nature and tendency of fuch cuftom or praftice may 

 be. And we oug.ht not to afcribe that to, or make that any objeftion to 

 the influence of climate, which may be derived fro/n other caufes. Thus 

 in Gre"nland, the influence of climate is in favor of a fair and white com- 

 plexion ; but in the conflant application of greafe, oil, and filthinefs, to 

 the human body, there is another and a more powerful caufe to effeft it*' 

 color than climate; and which, a£ling in conft.int oppofition to it, gives' 

 to the countenance a Tallow or dirty olive complexion. Stich caufes may 

 aft with a force and pov.'er, equal or fuperior to that of climate ; but they 

 are not equally permanent, univerfal, or invariable. There is no error 

 more common, or more apt to deceive us in contemplating the natural 

 hillory ot man, than to afcribe that to one caufe, which is derived from or 

 produced by the j :int operation of many. Whatever tends to render the 

 fkin more or lefs tranfparent, will affeft the color of the human fpecies, as 

 certainly as the climate in which they are placed. 



Color and Climate of the Indians of America. — There is 

 CO fubjeit in philofophy lo well underflood, but that a number of qucf- 

 tions a.nd inq'iities may be propofed refpefting it, which do not; admit of 

 2 fatisfaftory or complete anfwer And this will always remain to be the 

 (iafe, bec.iu'e our itnowledge of nature will never b" equal or commcnfu- 

 ra!e to the fubjctl. But there is one inquiry arifing here, wliich demands 

 our careful attention : How does the climate and the color of the Indians 

 of Ameiica agree with this, or with any. other fuppofed law of climate ? 

 The Indians were fpread over the whole continent of America : They 

 dvselt in every habitable climate from the equator to the pole : And the/ 

 were of the fame color in every place. In tba great -ft heat under the equa- 

 tor, and in the fevrretf climites of Canada and Hudfon's bay, they were of 

 the (ame brownifh led.* This appears to be the proper Indian color in 



* It has been cuflomary lo write in this language, but we are fai' 

 frorh being certain that it is either accurate, or proper. It has been takew 

 for granted, but it has never been examinedi whether the Indiaii cclcr i* 



