HANDS, FEET AND EARS. 351 



other cases, arises from the practice of squatting ; that is, 

 of resting the body on the lower limbs, the ankles and knees 

 being bent to the utmost. The weight of the trunk in this 

 attitude, which is painful and indeed insupportable to those 

 who are not accustomed to it, rests on the back of the leg ; 

 hence the form of the calf is spoiled by it. Smallness of, 

 the hands and feet has been remarked by careful observers 

 in many races. Thus it has been found, when the Hindoo 

 sabres have been brought to England, that the gripe is too 

 small for most European hands *. 



The Chinese were amused by the largeness and length of 

 Mr. Abel's hands. He adds, " Those of all tlie Chinese, 

 when compared to the hands of Europeans, are very small. 

 When placed in mine, which are not excessively large, 

 wrist against wrist, the ends of their fore-fingers scarcely 

 extended beyond the first joints of minef." 



Mr. Chappell observes of the Eskimaux, that " the 

 most surprising peculiarity of these people is the smallness 

 of their hands and feet J." 



Humboldt says that " the Chaymas, like almost all the 

 Native nations (of America) I have seen, have small slen- 

 der hands §." Similar observations have been made re- 

 specting the New 'Hollanders and Hottentots |1. 



Tierra del Fues^o, Forster observes that the lower limbs are by no means 

 proportioned to the upper parts ; that the thighs are thin and lean, the legs 

 bent, the knees large, and the toes turned inwards. Obs. made on a Voyage 

 round the World, p. 251. Cook describes the Natives of Nootka Sound as 

 having small, ill-made, and crooked limbs, with large feet badly shaped, and 

 projecting ankles. He ascribes these circumstances to their sitting so much 

 on their hams and knees. Voyage to the Pacific, v. 2, p. 303. Lewis and 

 Clarke found broad, thick, flat feet, thick ankles, and crooked legs, in the 

 Western-American tribes generally. They ascribe the latter deformity to 

 the universal practice of squatting, or sitting on the calves of their legs and 

 heels. Travels, chap. 23. 



* Hodges, Travels in India, p. 3. 



+ Narrative of a Journey in the Interior of China, p. 91. 



:}: Narrative of a Voyage to Hudson'' s Bay, p. 59. 



^ Personal Narrative, v. 3. p. 226. See also Ulloa, Noticias Ameri- 

 canas; v. 2 ; and Morse's American Geography, v. I. 



jj Barrow's Southern Africa^ v. 1. p. 13T. 



