Pictures of Various Nations.CHAPTER I.INTRODUCTION.About the different colors of the human race.Theglobe upon which we dwell is a small body compared with the sun, or with Jupiter, or Saturn; yet it contains many millions of inhabitants. The exact number can never be ascertained. The best estimates make the number between eight and nine hundred millions. This number is too great for a young mind to grasp. A better idea may be formed of it, by supposing the whole population of the globe to pass by you, one by one. How long would it take you to count them, at the rate of twenty thousand a day? More than one hundred and twenty years.These inhabitants are scattered over every part of the earth, and are to be found in almost every island of the sea. They have penetrated into the frozen regions, where scarcely anything grows but moss; where fish, bears and reindeer are their only food; and where they are obliged to live in cabins under ground.Vast as the number of the earth’s inhabitants is, and widely scattered as they are, yet they all sprung from one pair. This the scriptures tell us. About six thousand years ago, God created Adam and Eve in Asia, and from them all mankind have descended.Do you ask how this can be? Do you say, that the inhabitants of different countries and climates differ much? They do indeed differ. They differ in respect to laws, and government, and manners, and dress, and language, and color. In this last respect, color, they differ almost more than in anything else.Well, because they differ thus much, you think they could not all have descended from Adam and Eve? If they did not, then the Bible, so far, cannot be true. This would be a sad conclusion.But, is such a conclusion necessary? Cannot we account for the differences which exist among different nations,upon the supposition that they all did descend from Adam and Eve?Take the difference in color, which exists among different nations. This, perhaps, is the most difficult to be accounted for. A great variety of color may be noticed; but the various colors may, perhaps, be reduced to three—white, black and red. All the others may be supposed to be different shades of these.Now, were Adam and Eve white, black or red? This we cannot ascertain. The late Dr. Dwight, I believe, supposed that they were red; but allow that they were white; by what process could their descendants have become some brown, some yellow, others red, and others still quite black?Suppose that a white person in the United States should constantly go abroad without any covering upon his head. What would be the consequence of his exposure to the wind and sun? He would “tan,” as we say, or grow dark colored; and the longer he was exposed the darker he would become.Exposure, then, to the heat of the sun, and to changes in the weather, causes a change of complexion. Suppose this same person visits the torrid zone. Here, as the heat of the sun is much greater, and the winds are more scorching, we should naturally expect that his complexion would darken faster, and, in time, become of a deeper cast.This is precisely as we find the fact. All the inhabitants of the torrid zone incline more or less to a black color. Under the equator, where the heat is greater than in any other part of the world, they are quite black. In other parts of the world, where the heat is less intense, as in the temperate climates, they are generally white, or only brown. Still farther north, in the frigid zones, where the air is very dry, and the cold very severe, the inhabitants are tawny.Thus it appears that difference of climate produces a great difference in the complexion of people. But do not nations living in the same climate, differ in color? They do. This is remarkably exemplified in the Tartars and Chinese. The latter are fairer than the former, though they resemble the Tartars in features; but, then, they are more polished, and adopt every means to protect themselves from the weather. On the other hand, the Tartars, are a roving people, without any fixed dwellings; and hence, are continually exposed to the sun and air.We might mention many other causes of a variety of color. Perhaps few things injure the complexion more than want of cleanliness. This recalls to my recollection a set of people, who were called Yonkers, and who lived a few miles from the city of Schenectady, in the state of New York. When I saw them, some years since, they consisted of about one hundred souls. Their ancestor’s name was Johnson. He and his wife were white persons.Being poor and shiftless, they removed into the woods a few miles from Schenectady, where they erected a miserable hut, without a floor, and without a chimney. Some loose straw served them for a bed; and in dirt and in filth they lived. They had several children, who followed their examples. Other huts were erected—they intermarried, and in smoke, andin grease, and in filth, they and their descendants have lived. In the hottest season of the year the children are accustomed to roll in the dirt with the pigs around the door; and in the winter season they play with the ashes and live in the smoke. They seldom, if ever, wash; and it is doubtful whether a child’s hair is combed half a dozen times, till it is grown up. When I visited them, which was for the purpose of distributing bibles among them, it was stated that only five of the whole clan were able to read.The consequence of this filthy mode of living may be easily guessed. They appeared like a different race of beings. Their features were greatly changed; but much more their complexion. In this latter respect they were nearly as dark as the North American Indians. From this story my readers may learn something of the influence which manner of living exerts, not only on complexion, but even upon features.From the foregoing facts it is easy to perceive how white people may, in process of time, become dark-colored, and even black. Hence, admitting that Adam and Eve were created white, their descendants might, through the influence of climate and other causes, become red and even black.But, you say, perhaps they were not white—perhaps they were red, perhaps black. Yes, they might have been red, or they might have been black. Well, if they were either of these, you ask how any of their descendants became white.This is a nice question. But, perhaps, something may in truth be said by way of a satisfactory answer. We have seen how a white man might become very dark-colored, and how his descendants might become, in process of time, even black, by removing to the torrid zone, and there continuing to dwell for several hundred years.Now, might not the very reverse of this prove true? Do not the blacks from Africa grow lighter colored, when brought to the northern parts of the United States? Listen to what President Dwight says on this subject:“The change of the blacks,” says he, “whose ancestors were introduced into New England, is already very great, as to their shape, features, hair and complexion. Within the last thirty years, I have not seen a single person, of African descent, who was not many shades whiter than the blacks formerly imported directly from Guinea.”Now, it is possible that the black people in the United States might become white, in process of time. I do not say that they ever will, because their manner of living is far different from that of the whites. They are not as cleanly; most of them are much exposed to the weather. And this is true of the Indians, or “red men.”But, you ask, can any instances be produced of either “red men” or black men becoming white? I answer, yes, instances of both. I will give an account of an instance of each kind; and I can assure my readers that the account is true, and they may find it in an enlarged form, in Dr. Dwight’s travels. And first, I shall tell them the story of the Indian, or “red man.”Or, rather I might say, that my storyrelates to four Indians. They belonged to the tribe called Brothertown Indians, who lived at a place called Brothertown, in the state of New York. It was in the year 1791, that Mr. Hart, formerly minister at Stonington, in Connecticut, saw four Indians, whose skin, in different parts of their body, was turning white.One, whose name was Samuel Adams, had become almost entirely white. This Indian told Mr. Hart, that his skin had been gradually changing its color for fourteen years. He was a very healthy man; nor was he sensible of any pain or disease which occasioned the change. “His skin appeared perfectly smooth and fresh, and delicately white.” His hair, also, had become in part gray, like that of aged white people.The instance of a black man, who became white, is also related by Dr. Dwight, who himself saw the man, and examined him. His name was Henry Moss. He was a native of Virginia. He came to New Haven in the year 1796, where Dr. Dwight saw him. He was originally black, and woolly headed, like other negroes; but, at this time, he was almost entirely white, and of a “clear, fresh, and delicate complexion.” His hair, also, was in part changed, and was exactly that of fair white people; of a flaxen hue, and perfectly free from curling.From these examples my readers may learn that no one color is essential to the nature of the body; and that, as white men have become black, and red and black men white, all mankind, how different soever they may now appear, may have descended from Adam and Eve, whatever their complexion might have been.I might say much more in relation to the differences which exist among different nations; and might, perhaps, explain how they came to differ so greatly in respect to language, and dress, and laws, and government, and other things; but I must not be tedious.It would be pleasant, no doubt, to my readers, could they travel in safety round the world, and visit the different nations and tribes of men, and mark the differences which exist, for themselves. This pleasure some have enjoyed to a certain extent; and many are the vessels which yearly sail from the United States to various parts of the globe.A few men have visited almost every country on the globe; but it would take a long life to become even superficially acquainted with the different tribes of men, had one the means which would be necessary. But it is not essential to travel much, to become tolerably acquainted with the people of different countries. Different men have travelled the world over, and have given faithful accounts of the people whom they saw. It is desirable to know what has been thus related. Many of my readers, I suppose, cannot obtain the books which have been written on this subject. I shall, therefore, proceed to tell them something about it.[To be continued.]Fresh Water.—The basin of theSt.Lawrence, including the great lakes, contains, in mass, more than half the fresh water on the globe.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
About the different colors of the human race.
Theglobe upon which we dwell is a small body compared with the sun, or with Jupiter, or Saturn; yet it contains many millions of inhabitants. The exact number can never be ascertained. The best estimates make the number between eight and nine hundred millions. This number is too great for a young mind to grasp. A better idea may be formed of it, by supposing the whole population of the globe to pass by you, one by one. How long would it take you to count them, at the rate of twenty thousand a day? More than one hundred and twenty years.
These inhabitants are scattered over every part of the earth, and are to be found in almost every island of the sea. They have penetrated into the frozen regions, where scarcely anything grows but moss; where fish, bears and reindeer are their only food; and where they are obliged to live in cabins under ground.
Vast as the number of the earth’s inhabitants is, and widely scattered as they are, yet they all sprung from one pair. This the scriptures tell us. About six thousand years ago, God created Adam and Eve in Asia, and from them all mankind have descended.
Do you ask how this can be? Do you say, that the inhabitants of different countries and climates differ much? They do indeed differ. They differ in respect to laws, and government, and manners, and dress, and language, and color. In this last respect, color, they differ almost more than in anything else.
Well, because they differ thus much, you think they could not all have descended from Adam and Eve? If they did not, then the Bible, so far, cannot be true. This would be a sad conclusion.
But, is such a conclusion necessary? Cannot we account for the differences which exist among different nations,upon the supposition that they all did descend from Adam and Eve?
Take the difference in color, which exists among different nations. This, perhaps, is the most difficult to be accounted for. A great variety of color may be noticed; but the various colors may, perhaps, be reduced to three—white, black and red. All the others may be supposed to be different shades of these.
Now, were Adam and Eve white, black or red? This we cannot ascertain. The late Dr. Dwight, I believe, supposed that they were red; but allow that they were white; by what process could their descendants have become some brown, some yellow, others red, and others still quite black?
Suppose that a white person in the United States should constantly go abroad without any covering upon his head. What would be the consequence of his exposure to the wind and sun? He would “tan,” as we say, or grow dark colored; and the longer he was exposed the darker he would become.
Exposure, then, to the heat of the sun, and to changes in the weather, causes a change of complexion. Suppose this same person visits the torrid zone. Here, as the heat of the sun is much greater, and the winds are more scorching, we should naturally expect that his complexion would darken faster, and, in time, become of a deeper cast.
This is precisely as we find the fact. All the inhabitants of the torrid zone incline more or less to a black color. Under the equator, where the heat is greater than in any other part of the world, they are quite black. In other parts of the world, where the heat is less intense, as in the temperate climates, they are generally white, or only brown. Still farther north, in the frigid zones, where the air is very dry, and the cold very severe, the inhabitants are tawny.
Thus it appears that difference of climate produces a great difference in the complexion of people. But do not nations living in the same climate, differ in color? They do. This is remarkably exemplified in the Tartars and Chinese. The latter are fairer than the former, though they resemble the Tartars in features; but, then, they are more polished, and adopt every means to protect themselves from the weather. On the other hand, the Tartars, are a roving people, without any fixed dwellings; and hence, are continually exposed to the sun and air.
We might mention many other causes of a variety of color. Perhaps few things injure the complexion more than want of cleanliness. This recalls to my recollection a set of people, who were called Yonkers, and who lived a few miles from the city of Schenectady, in the state of New York. When I saw them, some years since, they consisted of about one hundred souls. Their ancestor’s name was Johnson. He and his wife were white persons.
Being poor and shiftless, they removed into the woods a few miles from Schenectady, where they erected a miserable hut, without a floor, and without a chimney. Some loose straw served them for a bed; and in dirt and in filth they lived. They had several children, who followed their examples. Other huts were erected—they intermarried, and in smoke, andin grease, and in filth, they and their descendants have lived. In the hottest season of the year the children are accustomed to roll in the dirt with the pigs around the door; and in the winter season they play with the ashes and live in the smoke. They seldom, if ever, wash; and it is doubtful whether a child’s hair is combed half a dozen times, till it is grown up. When I visited them, which was for the purpose of distributing bibles among them, it was stated that only five of the whole clan were able to read.
The consequence of this filthy mode of living may be easily guessed. They appeared like a different race of beings. Their features were greatly changed; but much more their complexion. In this latter respect they were nearly as dark as the North American Indians. From this story my readers may learn something of the influence which manner of living exerts, not only on complexion, but even upon features.
From the foregoing facts it is easy to perceive how white people may, in process of time, become dark-colored, and even black. Hence, admitting that Adam and Eve were created white, their descendants might, through the influence of climate and other causes, become red and even black.
But, you say, perhaps they were not white—perhaps they were red, perhaps black. Yes, they might have been red, or they might have been black. Well, if they were either of these, you ask how any of their descendants became white.
This is a nice question. But, perhaps, something may in truth be said by way of a satisfactory answer. We have seen how a white man might become very dark-colored, and how his descendants might become, in process of time, even black, by removing to the torrid zone, and there continuing to dwell for several hundred years.
Now, might not the very reverse of this prove true? Do not the blacks from Africa grow lighter colored, when brought to the northern parts of the United States? Listen to what President Dwight says on this subject:
“The change of the blacks,” says he, “whose ancestors were introduced into New England, is already very great, as to their shape, features, hair and complexion. Within the last thirty years, I have not seen a single person, of African descent, who was not many shades whiter than the blacks formerly imported directly from Guinea.”
Now, it is possible that the black people in the United States might become white, in process of time. I do not say that they ever will, because their manner of living is far different from that of the whites. They are not as cleanly; most of them are much exposed to the weather. And this is true of the Indians, or “red men.”
But, you ask, can any instances be produced of either “red men” or black men becoming white? I answer, yes, instances of both. I will give an account of an instance of each kind; and I can assure my readers that the account is true, and they may find it in an enlarged form, in Dr. Dwight’s travels. And first, I shall tell them the story of the Indian, or “red man.”
Or, rather I might say, that my storyrelates to four Indians. They belonged to the tribe called Brothertown Indians, who lived at a place called Brothertown, in the state of New York. It was in the year 1791, that Mr. Hart, formerly minister at Stonington, in Connecticut, saw four Indians, whose skin, in different parts of their body, was turning white.
One, whose name was Samuel Adams, had become almost entirely white. This Indian told Mr. Hart, that his skin had been gradually changing its color for fourteen years. He was a very healthy man; nor was he sensible of any pain or disease which occasioned the change. “His skin appeared perfectly smooth and fresh, and delicately white.” His hair, also, had become in part gray, like that of aged white people.
The instance of a black man, who became white, is also related by Dr. Dwight, who himself saw the man, and examined him. His name was Henry Moss. He was a native of Virginia. He came to New Haven in the year 1796, where Dr. Dwight saw him. He was originally black, and woolly headed, like other negroes; but, at this time, he was almost entirely white, and of a “clear, fresh, and delicate complexion.” His hair, also, was in part changed, and was exactly that of fair white people; of a flaxen hue, and perfectly free from curling.
From these examples my readers may learn that no one color is essential to the nature of the body; and that, as white men have become black, and red and black men white, all mankind, how different soever they may now appear, may have descended from Adam and Eve, whatever their complexion might have been.
I might say much more in relation to the differences which exist among different nations; and might, perhaps, explain how they came to differ so greatly in respect to language, and dress, and laws, and government, and other things; but I must not be tedious.
It would be pleasant, no doubt, to my readers, could they travel in safety round the world, and visit the different nations and tribes of men, and mark the differences which exist, for themselves. This pleasure some have enjoyed to a certain extent; and many are the vessels which yearly sail from the United States to various parts of the globe.
A few men have visited almost every country on the globe; but it would take a long life to become even superficially acquainted with the different tribes of men, had one the means which would be necessary. But it is not essential to travel much, to become tolerably acquainted with the people of different countries. Different men have travelled the world over, and have given faithful accounts of the people whom they saw. It is desirable to know what has been thus related. Many of my readers, I suppose, cannot obtain the books which have been written on this subject. I shall, therefore, proceed to tell them something about it.
[To be continued.]
Fresh Water.—The basin of theSt.Lawrence, including the great lakes, contains, in mass, more than half the fresh water on the globe.