the light of the btoad day; While the sun is up* they cannot
look steadily at any object^ and during all that time they
contract their eye-lids so - as apparently to exclude vision.
But in return/ they are gifted with the faculty of seeing almost
every object in the dark.” . He a d d s t h a t these individuals
are termed by Europeans ;in India | chakrelas.’ By the
Hindoos they are Iqoked upon with horror, and their bodiesj
like those of persons labouring under cutaneous diseases, are
cast upon a dunghill, or left to be eaten by wild beasts.”
Among the black races of Africa white Negroes are frequently
born; they are-looked upon as great curiosities, and
are often collected by the black kings, and kept as objects of
wonder or ornament. Many of these white Negroes, though
as I believe not all of them, are albinos. The following are
some examples described by eye-witnesses yjjgp|
Dr. Winterbottom has described, from his own observation*
several instances. of this variety occurring in »Negro families
at Sierra Leone and other neighbouring parts of the African
coast. The following are selected from them
“ At Malaeurry, in the Soosoo country,. I saw a.girlnbotft
nine or ten years of'age/ born of black parents: her skin was
of an unpleasant dead-looking white; and pretty smooth,
though beginning to assume a cracked appearance,- owing, :to
the action of the sun. There was a man of the same colour
belonging to this town, but he was then absent.”
“ At Wankapong, I saw a young man about eighteen years
of age, tall and well-formed, whose father had been a white
Negro., This young man’s mother, three brothers, and two of
his sisters were black, but one sister was white -like himself.
IJis skin, from exposure to the sun, had acquired a slight
reddish tinge, and was covered with a great number of black
or brown spots, like freckles, some of which were nearly as
large as a sixpence» I t was much rougher and harsher to the
touch than the woman’s, feeling almost like the skin of a
lizard. He complained very much of the action of the sun,
which cracked his skin, and sometimes occasioned it to bleed.
He was also .peculiarly sensible to the bites of insects. His
hair was of a dirty white, and woolly $ the iris of the eye was
o f a reddish brown colour, and his sight very weak.
-- u At Bottoe, hrassthe Kroo coast, 1 saw another appearance
o f this kind in a mao obdut^'^wenty-fivei’ years of age. His
parents were black, and had several black- children, but they
had two- white- ones* ’himsel-f ànd !à sister. 1 The man was -very
-tall, raflier rofeust/l^ut^awkward in his gait. His skin was
spearl^ubfâ cream’- eolohrl^in'd frecM^d^from. exposure, but so
very much uniike' thât Bj^Muropean éditer^/whO'-expOsefthem-
selves- without> shirts*to. the*, -su®, fthahthé^differ^c^frwas very
striking ,at some distance, i His ? p y ^ weT©- -of a>u:eddish colour,
and very weak, appearing red-.round" Of the
tarsi', ■ and Constantly iwinfciûg imaisîrôngdight., His skin was
f-uncomrhonly coarse indts? texture, -apd -, the - ^e'bab'eotis^gfend's
were very latgfe^arid^numferWs.LuHe- was 'married1 to' à: blàck
woman, b a l Éiaïd^no ■ children^;- his sièî&r|iwhom-1 ditÿ*jlbt§$3é‘)
Was married to^a black man, and hpdJtWbrblack[ children.” - *
Buffon dïasîgiven aminuthsdeàcriptionof 'a whlfeVNègres'^1
born in theriskndofr Dominica, of black parents, whtff'wfeife
natives,.®!#* Africa. "She was not quite fivê^ëp high) and well
proportioned in her body, but not exactly so witffvespffëtl to
'her head, which was too iargfe'ihepropoÊtiôn to the trunk.
The author.adds,.Tous les traits de la face sontujb^lument
; semblables'^ceuxMes Négresses-noires/seüHément lesïbreilles
sont placées\trop haut.” “ Les lèvres èt la bouche, quoique
"conformées comme dans les Négresses/noires, paraissent singulières
par le défaut de couleur :, e l |f | Sont:,aussi blanches
. qtiede- restee deda1 peau, et-sans aucune ‘apparence’ devrouge :
en général la couleur de là pèau, tant du visage que du corps
de cette-.Nègrèsse blanche,re&td’un blanc de süif’qu’on n’àu-
roit pas encore, épuré, ou si l’on véut.d’un blanc mat blafard
et inanimé • cependant onJvdyoitihne teinte légère-d’incarnati
sur les joues lorsqu'elle s’approchoit du feu, ou qu’elle étoit
rémuée par la honte qu’elle avoit de se foire voirmuei” “ Les
mamelons étoitent d ’un rouge assez v e rm e il^ ^ Sa tête étoit
bien garnie de laine : èette laine est très touffuè et friséepna-
turellement blanche- à la racine et roussâtre à l’extremité:”
“ Les yeux sont remarquables par un mouvement très singulier
“ ses paupières n’étaieht pas plus-amplé^qu’elles- le
sont ordinairement ; elle pouvoit les fermer, mais non pas les
ouvrir.au point de découvrir le dessus de la prunelle, en sorte