196 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Photo by Mean. Bourne & S/ie/t/iei-U] 



A BRAHMAN AT PRAYERS. 



[Uv/iibay. 



The subject attracted the atten- 

 tion of Professor Max Muller, who 

 in the pages of The Academy pointed 

 out the importance of the subject, 

 and quoted a selection from the 

 recorded cases of wolf-reared children. 

 At the same time he strongly urged 

 upon sportsmen, naturalists, and dis- 

 trict officials the desirability of 

 carefully investigating on the spot 

 the probability and possibility of 

 such cases being true. 



The story of Romulus and Remus 

 is not by any means singular. There 

 are many other gods and heroes of 

 antiquity who are stated to have 

 been suckled by wolves, and whose 

 histories are regarded as wholly 

 mythical in consequence of the 

 presence of this element. If the 

 case of a child being suckled and 

 reared by wolves can be established 

 as a physical possibility by a single 

 well-authenticated case in India, such 



histories will assume a totally new aspect, and will have a chance of being accepted in their 

 entirety. Want of space alone prevents us from giving other examples, but the reader will 

 find them in the paper quoted above. 



THE KASHMIRIS. 



THE Hindus of Kashmir, in the north, are among the finest of Indian races. They became 

 Mohammedans several centuries ago. They are described as almost European in appearance, 

 and in Kashmir we miss the slender frames, prominent cheek-bones, and other unpleasant 

 features so prevalent in other parts of India. The men are of a square, herculean build, well 

 proportioned, and with a frank expression, while the women are fresh-looking and often 

 decidedly beautiful (see illustrations on pages 190 and 191), with an almost Jewish cast of counten- 

 ance. Those of the better classes are scarcely darker than the average natives of Italy. In 

 character they are shrewd, witty, and cheerful. The Tibetans of this region, who belong 

 to the Mongolian stock, are chiefly found in Ladak and Baltistan. 

 The warlike Ghoorkas of Nepaul are of mixed Tibetan stock. 



THE PARSIS. 



WE must not omit from this brief survey of Indian races the Parsis of Bombay. They are 

 Iranians (not Hindus at all in the proper sense) and descendants of the old Persian fire- 

 worshippers who took refuge in India in the seventh century during the Mohammedan invasion 

 of their country. They have ever since kept themselves aloof, thus preserving their religion 

 intact, and their race too (see the photograph on page 192). They are remarkable for general 

 intelligence and commercial ability. They seem to be more in sympathy with their English 

 rulers than any other race in the peninsula. They are very loyal subjects of His Majesty, 

 and have acquired no small wealth. 



THE KHASIS. 



As a specimen of the Tibeto-Burmese race, which comes last but one in the scheme of 

 classification given on page 177, we select the Khasis for brief description. This tribe, which 



