VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES. 



141 



is skilful in surprising the inhabitants ofthe deep, ami is not even watit- 

 inc in the art of taking tlie larger Cetacoa. The Hyperboreans prefer 

 the blubber of these animals to any other food; they delight in the oil 

 thence procured, and drink whatever escapes being consumed in their 

 lamps during the long night of a Polar winter. Besides the flesh of the 

 animals killed in the chase, they partake of the smoke-dried carcases of 

 Do^s, Rein-deer, or Fish, all of which are most esteemed when putrid 

 or dried rather than when fresh. They make a kind of bread, which no 

 stomach but their own appears capable of digesting, witii the roasted and 

 pounded extremities of Lichens, such as the Iceland Moss ( Ceiraria 

 Islandica) and the. Rein-deer Cenomyce {Ceiiomi/ce rangeferind), mixed 

 with tlie bark of young Birches and Pines reduced to a coarse flour. Salt 

 is seldom used by them, and they have little taste for spiritous or strong 

 drinks, wliile they delight in oil and milk A few tribes, such as trie 

 Kamtchatdales, are acquainted, however, with the art of extracting an 

 intoxicating beer from a species of Mushroom usua'ly acconnttd poison- 

 ous (Agaricus acris), which they drink under the name of Machamor to 

 an excess which often occasions death. They build neither towns nor 

 villages, and can hardly be said to exist in society. In their scattered 

 huts, half-buried in the earth, the memners of a polygamous family pro- 

 miscuously reside, in the midst ol' smoke and the confusion of their do- 

 mestic animals, where the idea of mode.'-ty niver enters. Next to the 

 Hottentot in the nncleanliness of his' person, the Hyperborean brings 

 along with him a most insupportalile odour. 



F. HOMO AMERIC.\NUS.— AMERICAN INDIANS. 



Syn. Les Amekicains. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 84. 



Rack Ameiucaine. — Dusin. Mam. 48. — Less. Mam. 25. 



Homo Sapiens, A.mericanus — x. Lin. Gmel. I. 22 var. Americana. 



— Blumb. Hand, et -Abbild. 



The enumeration %vhich has been attempted in the preceding pages of 

 the several races of mankind would now be complete, liad not the genius 

 of Columbus, at the latter epd of the 15th century, disclosed to Euro- 

 peans the wonders of a western continent, which by a singular injustice 

 now bears the name of another. The aborigines of every pait of that im- 

 mense region exhibit, with slight exceptions, the same physical charac- 

 ters; and their innumerable dialects have those singular affinities and ana- 

 logies, which fully establish the claims of the American Indians to be con- 

 sidered a distinct and original race. There are, however, important dif- 

 ferences among them, which have led to their being subdivided into 

 North American Indians (Bi>reatis)[ and South American Indians {Avs- 

 iralii) . 



I. BoREALis. — North A.merican Indians. 



Syn. Ho.MO COLOMBicos — Bory. Ess. Zool. II. I. — Fisch. Syn. Mam. 6. 



Colo.mbiens Desmoul. Tab. 



Icon. Blumb. Dec. Cran. I. t. 9, 10. II. t. 20. IV. t. 38. 



Nortji American — GrifF. Anim. King. I. 



In this subdivision we include all those scattered tribes of Ked-lndians 

 whom the progress of civilization is gradually confining within narrow 

 limits, but who once peopled the Canadas, the territory of the United 

 States, the eastern part of Mexico, tlie Anulles or West India Islands, 

 the mountain chain of the Andes, Terra Pinna, and the Guianas; fiom 

 Cumana to the Equator — under the names of Hurons, Sioux, Cherokees. 

 Chippewas, Iroquois, Arkansas, Illinois, Apalaches, Chicacas, Mohicans, 

 Oiieidas, Carribees, Mexicans or Aztecs, Peruvians, &c. &c. 



The North American Indians, wherever they have not been confound- 

 ed with European or African blood, are tali, robust, and well made, 

 stronger and more active than is usual with savages. Their limbs are not 

 meagre like the Australian, but well proportioned. The skull is of an 

 agreeable oval shape, but with the forehead flattened to so remarkable a 

 degree, as induced the more early writers to imagine this depression ofthe 

 forehead to be owing to the skilful application of bandasies or planks to 

 the surface of the head. Although it may be true that some tribes assist 

 the natural peculiarity of the races, yet it is found among tribes who use 

 no such art, such as the Mexicans, and being usually considered as a great 

 beauty by the latter, the Aztec gods and heroes are represented with an 

 extreme depression of the forehead amounting to exaggeration.' The nose 

 ofthe North American Indian is long, well-defined, and aquiline. The 

 mouth is moderately cleft, the teeth are placed vertically in the gums, and 

 the lips are similar to those of a European. Their eyes are brown; their 

 hair commonly black, straight, coarse, and glossy ; of medium length, and 



seldom reaching beyond the shoulders. It is said never to become grey 

 v/ith advancing years. The men have naturally hut a scanty beard, and 

 in general pluck the hair very carefully wherever it appears. The colour 

 of their skin is reddish, approaching to the hue of copper. The females, 

 condemned to the severest drudgery, and almost reduced to the condition 

 of beasts of burthen, are not without their charms in some of the moun- 

 tain districts, though elsewhere they are in general of low stature, with 

 high cheek-bones, prominent eyes, and flat bosoms; and their bieasts, 

 though often well made, are in general somewhat pendulous and flat. 

 Puberty commences at an early age. 



The Indians, who wander over the extensive country situate between 

 the Pacific Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains, in a state of savage in- 

 dependence, seem destined soon to undergo an inevitable extermination.' 

 The warlike tribes ofthe Sioux, who traffic largely with the Anglo- Ame- 

 ricans in furs, appear to have emigrated from the north-west They use 

 symbolical writing, like the Mexicans. The Chippeways are of a more 

 pacific character, but passionately devoted tn the abuse of spiritous 

 liquors, which the avidity of the fur-dealer supplies in large quantities. 

 Hieroglyphics are likewise in use with this tribe. The Menomenies have 

 a fine expressive countenance, much intell gence, and a patriarchal sim- 

 plicity of manners. Some considerable progress has been made in agri- 

 culture and domestic manufactures by the Cherokees, who employ Negro 

 slaves to execute the most laborious parts of their employments. Among 

 the numerous tribes who wander between the sources of the Missouri 

 and the frontiers of Mexico, we find a great diversity of language, man- 

 ners, and customs ; yet there are some points in which they exhibit a re- 

 markable similarity to each other. They wander from place to place, 

 occasionally building huts or permanent lodges for hunting the Buffalo, 

 the flesh of which forms their principal sustenance. Many nations go 

 almost naked, though in general their dress consists of a robe of Bul- 

 falo skin, attached to the shoulders ; an apron covering the waist and 

 middle ; and a rude form of boots callird mocassins, attached to the legr^. 

 The females wear a cloak like the males, with an under garment of elk 

 or deer-skin, reaching down to the knees. Feathers are worn on the 

 heads of the chiefs, while various rude ornaments and showy garments 

 distinguish their days of state. It is considered highly ornamental to 

 paint the face red and black ; their bodies are also painted during their 

 warlike expeditions. Some tribes bore their noses, and Wear diff"ereiil 

 kinds of pendants ; others slit their ears and load the helices with brass 

 wire, so that the extremities almost drag on the shoulder. Horses are 

 extensively used by the Indians ofthe plains westward of the Mississippi, 

 but are seldom found to the eastward, where the difficult nature of the 

 country renders it impassable to Horses.' 



The North American Indian is reserved and circumspect in all his 

 words and actions, and nothing ever induces him to betray the emotion 

 of the moment. His thirst for vengeance is excessive, and cannot he 

 eradicated.* The same peculiarities of character extend to the Mexican 

 Indians, who are melancholy, grave, and taciturn, when they are not 

 under the influence of intoxicating hquors. Even the children of the 

 Indians at the age of four or five years display a remarkable contrast to 

 the Whites at these early ages, and delight to throw an air of mystery 

 and reserve over their most trifling observations. But when once the 

 state of repose, in which the Indian habitually indulges, is disturbed, the 

 transition to a violent and ungovernable state of agitation is at once hotli 

 sudden and terrific.'' 



The Mexicans and Peruvians had made considerable progress in th.e 

 arts and sciences, before the barbarous persecutions of the Spaniards 

 plunged them into a state of poverty and degradation. They had a most 

 correct knowledge ofthe true length ofthe year, and the construction of 

 the calendar ; they framed geographical maps of their own country ; they 

 constructed woods, canals, and enormous pyramids, the sides of which 

 were accurately directed to the four cardinal points.' Their civil and 

 military hierarchies and their feudal systems presented a complicated and 

 intricate form, indicative of no very modern origin. They cultivated no 

 other grain than the maize {Zea), and tliey knew no preparation of milk, 

 although the females of two species of the Ox might have contributed an 

 abundant supply. The Me.xicans still preserve a pecufiar taste for paint- 

 ing and sculpture, as well as for flowers, with which they delight in or- 

 namenting their persons and dwellings. 



Some wild tribes of Mexican hunters still preserve a savage independ- 

 ence. The Apachees are a warlike and industrious nation, dreaded by 

 the Spaniards, who are compelled to oppose a large force to their depre- 

 dations. 



Much ingenuity has been employed in tracing affinities and analogies 

 between the languages of North America and the north-east coast of Asia, 

 but without leading to any satisfactory result. 



\ ti 7°"^'™^°}^*- 7"^" ^^^ CordilUferes et Jlonumens des Peuples indigenes de I'Ainferique, 2 vols, folio, 1811. 

 ' Major Pike s Travels. r o i > 



3 Hodgson's Letters from North America. 



5 n!,Tn,r-'' ^'■"■''!''' '^'"'''•, ^J''"^ offi-^"' penetrated for the first time across the (.-ontinent of America to the Pacific Ocean. 

 Oodmans American Natural History. Philadelphia, 1826. Vol I p 21 

 36 



