416 SUPPOSED PREVALENCE OF ONE CRANIAL TYPE 



of neighbouring islands and the mainland, of whom they lived in con- 

 stant dread, and who subsequently became familiar to the Spaniards 

 as a ferocious, crafty and revengeful race, delighting in cannibalism. 



Moreover, the great Admiral failed not to note the marked distinc- 

 tion between the fair complexion of the G-uanches and the reddish 

 olive of the ferocious Caribs. Both Humboldt and Morton acknow- 

 ledge the existence of considerable varieties in colour and complex- 

 ion, from nearly white to a dark brown. The latter writer, indeed — 

 guarding against possible deductions from such an admission, ad- 

 verse to his favourite theory of a universally predominating con- 

 formity in all the essential characteristics of the American abori- 

 gines — adds : " These differences in complexion are extremely par- 

 tial, forming mere exceptions to the primitive and national tint that 

 characterises these people from Cape Horn to the Canadas The 

 cause of these anomalies is not readily explained ; that it is not cli- 

 mate, is sufficiently obvious ; and whether it arises from partial im- 

 migrations from other countries, remains yet to be decided."* 



The stronghold, however, of the argument for the essential one- 

 ness o? the whole tribes and nations of the American continents, is 

 the supposed uniformity of physiological, and especially of physiog- 

 nomical and cranial characteristics : an ethnical postulate which has 

 not yet, so far as I am aware, been called in question. 



On first visiting the American eontinent, and enjoying the op- 

 portunity of judging for myself of the physical characteristics of the 

 aboriginal race of the forests, I did so under the full conviction of 

 meeting with such a universal approximation to the assumed Normal 

 type, as would fully bear out the deductions of previous observers, 

 and especially of one so persevering in the accumulation of the requis- 

 ite materials on which to base a legitimate result, as the author of the 

 Crania Americana. I visited Philadelphia with a special view to ex- 

 amine the valuable collection of Crania formed by Dr. Morton, and 

 looked with lively interest on some of the most striking illustrations 

 which it affords, of the typical form assigned by him to th'e Ameri. 

 can race. Unfortunately, at that period, (September, 1853.) exten- 

 sive alterations in progress on the buildings of the Academy, depri- 

 ved me of the opportunity for such detailed observations as were re- 

 quisite for drawing any just comparison between these data and the 

 comprehensive deductions founded on them by their collector. 

 AVhen, therefore, I proceeded more recently to open some Indian 

 graves in Canada, and to endeavour to procure crania from others on 



* Crania Americna, p. 70. 



