; 
Obituary of Dr Samuel George Morton. 309 
Amid these absorbing topics of research, he did not over- 
look his professional pursuits. He was largely engaged in 
practice, and was one of the leading practitioners of his 
day. He was the first to introduce into the United States 
the physical means of diagnosis in thoracic affections. He 
edited Mackintosh’s “ Practice of Physic,’’ with Notes. In 
1849 he published “ An Illustrated System of Human Ana- 
tomy, Special, General, and Microscopic.” He filled the 
chair of anatomy in the medical department of Pennsylvania 
College from 1839 to 1843. 
From the time he commenced the study of anthropology 
to the period of his death, he increased his collection of 
skulls. At this moment it is the most complete collection of 
crania extant. At the time of Dr Morton’s death, it con- 
sisted of 918 human crania. The collection also contains 
erania of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes; in all 1656 
skulls. ‘The collection was purchased by citizens of Phila- 
delphia, and they presented it to the Academy. 
His commentary on Humboldt’s word desolante, shows 
that he had much sound philosophy and plain common sense. | 
*« Humboldt’s word desolante is true in sentiment and in 
morals; but, as you observe, it is wholly inapplicable to the 
physical reality. Nothing so humbles, so crushes my spirit, 
as to look into a mad-house, and behold the drivelling brutal 
idiocy so conspicuous in such places; it conveys a terrific 
idea of the disparity of human intelligences. But there is the 
unyielding, insuperable reality. It is desolante indeed to 
think, to know, that many of these poor mortals were born, 
_ were created so! Butit appears to me to make little differ- 
ence in the sentiment of the question whether they came into 
the world without their wits, or whether they lost them 
afterwards. And so, I would add, it makes little difference 
whether the mental inferiority of the Negro, the Samoiyede, 
or the Indian, is natural or acquired; for, if they ever pos- 
sessed equal intelligence with the Caucasian, they have lost 
it; and if they never had it, they had nothing to lose. One 
party would arraign Providence for creating them originally 
different; another for placing them in circumstances by which 
y2 
