ON THE HYPOTHESIS OF EVOLUTION. 147 



acterized by the co-existence of a number of peculiarities which 

 have been developed independently of each other, its distinctive 

 features and striking functions are not exhibited until that co- 

 existence is attained which is necessary for these ends. 



Hence, the characters of the human genus were probably de- 

 veloped successively ; but few of the indications of human superi- 

 ority appeared until the combination was accomplished. Let the 

 opposable thumb be first perfected, but of what use would it be 

 in human affairs without a mind to direct ? And of what use a 

 mind without speech to unlock it ? xind speech could not be 

 possible though all the muscles of the larynx but one were devel- 

 oj^ed, or but a slight abnormal convexity in one pair of cartilages 

 remained. 



It would be an objection of little weight could it be truly 

 urged that there have as yet no remains of ape-like men been dis- 

 covered, for we have frequently been called upon in the course of 

 paleontological discovery to bridge greater gaps than this, and 

 greater remain, which we expect to fill. But we have ape-like 

 characters exhibited by more than one race of men yet existing. 



But the remains of that being which is supposed to have been 

 the progenitor of man may have been discovered a short time since 

 in the cave of Naulette, Belgium, with the bones of the extinct 

 rhinoceros and elephant. 



We all admit the existence of higher and lower races, the latter 

 being those which we now find to present greater or less approxi- 

 mations to the apes. The peculiar structural characters that be- 

 long to the negro in his most typical form are of that kind, how- 

 ever great may be the distance of his remove therefrom. The 

 flattening of the nose and prolongation of the jaws constitute such 

 a resemblance ; so are the deficiency of the calf of the leg, and the 

 obliquity of the pelvis, which approaches more the horizontal po- 

 sition than it does in the Caucasian. The investigations made at 

 Washington during the war with reference to the physical charac- 

 teristics of the soldiers show that the arms of the negro are from 

 one to two inches longer than those of the whites : another ap- 

 proximation to the ape. In fact, this race is a species of the 

 genus Homo, as distinct in character from the Caucasian as those 

 we are accustomed to recognize in other departments of the ani- 

 mal kingdom ; but he is not distinct by isolation, since intermedi- 

 ate forms between him and the other species can be abundantly 

 found. 



