laccid, their
hair lank, and frequently pale, the abdomen tumid, the
stature stunted, and the intellectual and moral character
low and degraded. They rarely attain what in more wholesome
regions would be considered old age. In the marshy districts
of certain countries,--for example, Egypt, Georgia, and
Virginia,--the extreme term of life is stated to be forty in
the latter place.... In portions of Brittany which adjoin
the Loire, the extreme duration of life is fifty, at which
age the inhabitant wears the aspect of eighty in a healthier
district. It is remarked that the inferior animals, and even
vegetables, partake of the general deprivation; they are
stunted and short-lived."

In his "Ashango Land," Paul B. du Chaillu devotes a large part of his
fifteenth chapter to the Obongos, or Dwarfs. Nearly all African
explorers and travellers have been much amazed at the diversity of
color and stature among the tribes they met. This diversity in
physical and mental character owes its existence to the diversity and
perversity of African climate.

The Negro, who is but a fraction of the countless indigenous races of
Africa, has been carried down to his low estate by the invincible
forces of nature. Along the ancient volcanic tracts are to be found
the Libyan race, with a tawny complexion, features quite Caucasian,
and long black hair. On the sandstones are to be found an intermediate
type, darker somewhat than their progenitors, lips thick, and nostrils
wide at the base. Then comes the Negro down in the alluvia, with dark
skin, woolly hair, and prognathous development.

"The Negro forms an exceptional race in Africa. He inhabits
that immense tract of marshy land which lies between the
mountains and the sea, from Senegal to Benguela, and the low
lands of the eastern side in the same manner. He is found in
the parts about Lake Tchad, in Sennaar, along the marshy
banks of rivers, and in several isolated spots besides."[65]

The true Negro inhabits Northern Africa. When his country, of which we
know absolutely nothing, has been crowded, the nomadic portion of the
population has poured itself over the mountain terraces, and,
descending into the swamps, has become degraded in body and mind.

Technically speaking, we do not believe the Negro is a distinct
species.

"It is certain that the woolly hair, the prognathous
development,