436 ETHNOLOGY. Chap. XXI 



remains, showing tliat he had once attained a tole- 

 rably high state of civilization ; my researches have 

 proved vain, I have found no vestige whatever of 

 ancient civilization. Other travellers in different 

 parts of Africa have not been more successful than, 

 I have. 



How they came to invent looms to work their grass 

 cloth, no one could tell. Their loom has been used 

 from generation to generation without its being im- 

 proved. To my question — " Who taught them to 

 smelt and work iron?" their answer was that as long 

 ago as they knew, the people had worked in the same 

 way. I think everything tends to show that the 

 negro is of great antiquity, and has always remained 

 stationary. The working of iron, considering the 

 very primitive way they work it, and how easy it is 

 to find the ore, must have been known to them from 

 the remotest time, and to them the age of stone and 

 bronze must have been unknown. 



As to his future capabilities, I think extreme views 

 have prevailed among us. Some hold the opinion 

 that the negro will never rise higher than he is; 

 others think that he is capable of reaching the highest 

 state of civilization. For my own part, I do not 

 agree with either of these opinions. 



I believe that the negro may become a more 

 useful member of mankind than he is at present, that 

 he may be raised to a higher standard ; but that, if, 

 left to himself, he will soon fall back into bar- 

 barism, for we have no example to the contrary. In 

 his own country the efforts of the missionaries for 

 hundreds of years have had no effect ; the missionary 



