no 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



DRAWING OF A GIRL TWO YEARS OLD, 



Mesopotamia and Nile valleys. Their culture is certainly 

 of Hindu origin." 



BURMA. 



THE reader, after looking at the photographs of Burmese 

 men, women, and children reproduced on pages 107-120, will 

 readily perceive that they belong to the Mongolian branch 

 of the human family. They are stout, active, and well- 

 proportioned, with brown complexions, and an abundance 

 of coarse and lank black hair. Besides the Burmese 

 proper, there are in Burma numerous other tribes, such 

 as Paloungs, Toungthoos, and Karens. To the east and round 

 the northern frontier, and along the ranges that traverse 

 the upper regions, are great hordes of Kachius, who lead a 

 rough life, blackmailing the peaceful inhabitants below. 



The Burmese have much in common with the Chinese. 

 Their women make excellent house-wives, and possess no 

 small aptitude for business. Previously to the annexation 



WITH THICK HAIR ON NECK, BACK,' of the country by Great Britain, the labouring people, both 

 AND SHOULDERS. small proprietors and common labourers, were considered 



as slaves of the king, who might at any time call for their services, as soldiers or as 



labourers. Hence a man could not leave the country without special permission. There 



were seven classes of slaves. The class of outcasts were the slaves of the pagodas, the 



burners of the dead, the jailers, executioners (who were generally condemned criminals), 



lepers, and other incurables, who are held in 



great abhorrence, and treated with singular 



cruelty. The government was a pure despotism. 



The civil, military, judicial, and fiscal adminis- 

 tration of a province was vested in a governor, 



who had the power of life and death, with 



appeal to the chief council of the king at 



Mandalay. No official received a fixed salary: 



the higher officials were paid either by an 



assignment of land, or by the labour of certain 



people; the inferior magistrates by fees and 



perquisites a system naturally productive of 



the worst forms bribery and extortion. 



There were no hereditary honours. Any 



subject, except a slave, might rise to some 



important position in the State. Every article 



possessed by a man, for use or for ornament, 



indicated his rank, whether it were his earrings, 



cap of ceremony, drinking-cup, or umbrella. 



The last-named article is of general use, and 



may be of brown varnished paper, red, green, 



gilded, or plain white. Any one of the lower 



orders using the insignia of a higher class 



might be slain with impunity by the first 



person he met. 



In Burma proper there are no child- 



* These and the two drawings on page 112 are from the Zeltschrlft fur EtJinolngie, Berlin, Vol. VIII. 



JULIA PASTRANA, THE HAIRY WOMAN OF 

 MEXICO.* 



