mi 



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[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 94. 



remains. By these relics it is not difficult to 

 trace in this area the gradual but certain 

 progress of man from the glacial morning 

 of his life down to the present day, without 

 a break in his productive activity. 



Dr. Heierli's address is entitled ' Die 

 Archseologischen Funde des Kan tons Schaff- 

 hausen in ihrer Beziehung zur Urgeschichte 

 der Schweiz.' (Sauerlander, Aarau, pp. 31.) 



THE SVASTIKA SYMBOL. 



Dr. von Luschan in the Proceedings of 

 the Berlin Anthropological Society last 

 February described some weights from 

 Ashantee, marked with the sign of the svas- 

 tika, and also exhibited photographs of a 

 woman of the Basundi tribe (East Africa, 

 valley of the Kuilu River) who was tattooed 

 over her body with a number of figures 

 simulating the same symbol. He was not 

 able to oifer the meaning which in these 

 different parts of the continent was attached 

 to the sign, nor the native word for it. 



It is quite possible that its occurrence in 

 Africa should be referred to influence from 

 India, which was exerted repeatedly from 

 early times, although the design is a sim- 

 ple one and might have arisen spontane- 

 ously. 



Dr. Von Luschan refers to its appearance 

 in America as rare. The extremely well 

 cut copper svastika from the Hopewell 

 mound, Ohio, would intimate that it was 

 an important and familiar device for some 

 purpose. At any rate, it can no longer be 

 maintained, as was argued some years ago, 

 that it is an essentially '■ Aryan ' symbol. 

 It apparently belongs to all races. 



HOTTENTOT LYRICAL POETRY. 



The Hottentots are often quoted as on oi 

 near the lowest round of the ladder of hu- 

 manity. If that is correct it increases our 

 respect for the race. Those who have 

 studied them closest have in them found 

 much to admire. One such trait is their 

 regard for women. The missionary Hahn 



tells us that the most sacred oath'a man can 

 take is to swear by his eldest sister ! So 

 great is his veneration for her that he never 

 addresses her first. 



In a recent number of ' Globus,' Dr. Ja- 

 cobowski collects from various sources some 

 specimens of the lyrical poetry of the tribe. 

 It is of a much higher grade, both in senti- 

 ment and expression, than we could have 

 expected from the cultural condition of the 

 people. One poem reads : 



" My lioness ! Dost thou fear that I will 

 charm thee with magic arts? Soft is thy 

 hand which milkest the cow. Bite me {%. e., 

 kiss me). Pour me the milk, my lioness, 

 thou daughter of a chieftain." 



Other songs of love are chanted alter- 

 nately by men and women. Some express 

 hate and the desire for revenge, others 

 jealousy and defiance, approaching the 

 'nith songs ' of the Eskimos. This inter- 

 esting study reveals anew how profoundly 

 the poetic faculty is rooted in the nature of 

 man as one of his earliest and most univer- 

 sal modes of expression. 



D. G. Brinton. 



University of Pennsylvania. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 

 COLONIZATION BY EUROPEANS IN THE TROPICS. 



It is at present the almost universal opin- 

 ion among those who have studied the re- 

 lations of climate and man that complete 

 acclimatization of Europeans in the tropics 

 is impossible, and that therefore true colo- 

 nization by the white race in the tropics is 

 also impossible. In this connection Arthur 

 Silva White, in an article on ' British Unity ' 

 in the Scottish Geographical Magazine for Au- 

 gust, speaking of tropical countries, says 

 that northern Europeans cannot establish 

 permanent homes in climates so dissimilar 

 to their own. Permanent homes have been 

 established by Europeans in the West In- 

 dies, but their descendants have undergone 

 inevitable deterioration by partial assimi- 



