before and after which time Spurzkeim lectured in Great Britain,
making many proselytes: The phrenologists of Edinburgh must
have been in the very fervor of their; first love during Morton’s residence
there, and they included in their number some men of eminent
ability and eloquence. Collections of prepared crania, of casts and
masks, became common; but they were brought together in the hope
of illustrating character, not race, and were prized according as fanciful
hypothesis could make their protuberances correspond with the
distribution of intellectual faculties in a most crude and barren
psychology. Morton’s collection was ethnographic in its aim from
the outset; nor can I find that he ever committed himself fully to the
miscalled Phrenology — a system based upon principles indisputably
true, but which it holds in common with the world of science at
large, while all that is peculiar to itself is already fading into oblivion.*
Attractive by its easy comprehensibility and facility of application,
it acquired a sudden and wide-spread popularity, and so passed
out of the hands of men of science, step by step, till it has now become
the property of itinerant charlatans, describing characters for twenty-
five cents a head. The very name is so degraded by these associations,
that we are apt to forget that, thirty years ago, it was a scientific
doctrine accepted by learned and thoughtful men. There can be no
doubt that it had its effect (important though indirect) upon the
mind of Morton, in arousing him to the importance of the Craniology
about whieh everybody was talking, and leading him to make that
application of it, which, although neglected by his professional
brethren, was still the only one of any real and permanent value.
It is evident that the published matter for Morton’s studies was
very limited. A pioneer himself, he had to resort to the raw material,
and obtain his data at the hand of nature. Fortunately for him
he resided in a country where, if literary advantages are otherwise,
deficient, the inducement and opportunities for anthropological research,
are particularly abundant. There aré reasons why Ethnology
should be eminently, a science for American culture. Here, three of
the five races, into which Blumenbach divided mankind, are brought
together to determine the problem of their destiny as they best may,
* The ensuing paragraph will show more clearly Morton s matured opinion on this suhj ect.
It is from an Introductory Lecture on “ The Diversities of the 'Human Species,” delivered
before the Medical Class of Pennsylvania College in November 1842.
“ It (Phrenology) further teaches us that the brain is the seat of the mind, and that it
is a congeries of organB, each of which performs its own separate and peculiar function.
These propositions appear to me to he physiological truths; hut I allude to them on this
occasion merely to put you on your guard against adopting too hastily those minute details
of the localities and functions of supposed organs, which have of late found so many and
such zealous advocates.”
while Chinese immigration to California and the proposed importation
of Coolie laborers threaten to bring us into equally intimate
contact with a fourth. It is manifest that our relation to and management
of these people must depend, in a great measure, upon their
intrinsic race-character. While the contact of the white man seems
fatal to the Red American, whose tribes fade away before the onward
march of the frontier-man like the snow in spring (threatening ultimate
extinction), the (Negro thrives under the shadow of his white
master, falls readily into the position assigned him, and exists and
multiplies in increased physical well-being. To the American statesman
and the philanthropist, as well as to the naturalist, the study
thus becomes one of exceeding interest. Extraordinary facilities for
observing minor sub-divisions among the families of the white race
are also presented by the resort hither of immigrants from every part
of Europe. Of all these advantages Morton availed himself freely,
and soon became the acknowledged master of the topic. Extending
his studies beyond what one may call the zoological, into the
archaeological, and, to some extent, into the philological department
oiiEthnography, his pre-eminence was speedily acknowledged at
home, while the publication of his books elevated him to an equal
distinction abroad. Professor Retzius of Stockholm, writing to him
April 3d, 1847, says emphatically: “ You have done more for Ethnography
than any living physiologist; and I hope you will continue to
cultivate this science, whieh is of so great interest.”
The first task proposed to himself by Morton, was the examination
and comparison of the crania of the Indian'tribes of North and South
America. His special object was to ascertain the average capacity
and form of these skulls, as compared among themselves and with
those of the other races of men, and to determine what ethnic distinctions,
if any, might be inferred from them. The result of this
labor was the Crania Americana, published in 1839. This work contains
admirably executed lithographic plates of numerous crania, of
natural size, and presenting a highly creditable specimen of American
art. The letter-press includes accurate admeasurements of the crania,
especially of their interior capacity; the latter being made by a plan
peculiar to the author, and enabling him to estimate with precision
the relative amount of brain in various races. The introduction is
particularly interesting, as containing the author’s general ethnological
views so far as matured up to that time. He adopts the quintuple
division of Blumenbach, not as the best possible, but as sufficient for
his purpose, and each of the five races he again divides into a certain
number of characteristic families. His main conclusions concerning
the American race are these: