200 RACES OF MEN. 



all parts of the world. In each case we either know that repro- 

 duction begins at about the age of 12, or that the circum- 

 stances are such that it begins at the earliest age nature will permit. 

 With these races might also be classed the Negritos of the Philippine 

 Islands and the Indians of Central America, and those scattered 

 along the Amazon and Oronoco. In all of these the act of repro- 

 duction begins at a very early age. 



THE AUSTRALIANS. 



The Australians, though a low race, are said to be "far above 

 the Fuegians." Their method of securing a wife is to find some 

 female unprotected, knock her senseless with a club, and then, seiz- 

 ing her by a leg, arm or the hair, drag her home through the woods. 

 To carry her would be too much consideration. An Australian 

 thinks nothing of cutting, slashing or killing his wife for the most 

 trivial affair. As a result it is rare to see a woman who is not 

 covered with scars, and they usually live only a few years. The 

 women are less numerous than the men, and are eagerly sought 

 after. As it requires considerable prowess to secure a wife in this 

 way, and as older men would have an advantage over youths, repro- 

 duction by the men is carried to a much later age than by the women. 

 Just what, it would be difficult to estimate, but it must certainly be 

 much later than with the races previously mentioned. Hartwig, 

 speaking of the Australians, says : 2 "The old men manage to keep 

 the females a good deal among themselves, giving their daughters 

 to one another," and Broca says 3 that Australian women rarely 

 conceive after the thirtieth year, an age which is the mid-position 

 of our standard. 



(2) Wild Animals of the Tropics, p. 109. 



(3) Phenomena of Hybridity, p. 58. 



