16 



the Americans, as well as the people of the 

 Mongul race, have less flexibility of orga- 

 nization than the other nations of Asia and 

 Europe. 



The American race, though the least nu- 

 merous of any, occupies the largest space 

 on the Globe. It extends across both 

 hemispheres, from sixty-eight degrees of 

 northern, and fifty-five degrees of southern 

 latitude. It is the only race, which has 

 fixed its dwelling on the burning plains 

 bounded by the ocean, as well as on the 

 ridges of the mountains, where it roams 

 over heights twelve hundred feet above 

 that of the Peak of TenerifFe. 



The number of languages, which distin- 

 guish the different native tribes, appears 

 still more considerable in the New Con- 

 tinent than in Africa, where, according to 

 the late researches of Messrs. Seetzen and 

 Vater, there are above one hundred and 

 forty. In this respect the whole of Ame- 

 rica resembles Caucasus, Italy before the 

 conquest of the Romans, Asia Minor when 



