PART I.
C H A P T E R I.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS, AND THE RACES OF MEN.
H a v e all the living creatures of onr glohe been created at one
eonnnon point in Asia, and thence been disseminated over its wide
surface by degrees, and adapted to the varied conditions in which
they have been found in historical times ? or, on the other hand, have
different genera and species been created at points far distant from
each other; with organizations suited to the circumstances in which
they were originally placed ?
Two schools have long existed, diametrically opposed to each other,
on this question. The first may be termed that of the Theological
Naturalists, who still look to the Book of Genesis, or what they conceive
to be the inspired word of God, as a text-book of Natural History, as
they formerly reputed it to be a manual of Astronomy and Geology.
The second embraces: the Naturalists proper, whose conclusions are
derived from facts, and from the laws of God as revealed in his works,
which are immutable.
Not only the authority of Genesis in matters of science, but the
Mosaic authenticity of this book, is now questioned by a very large
proportion of the most authoritative theologians of the present day;
and, inasmuch as its language is clearly-opposed to many of the well-
established facts of modern science, we shall unhesitatingly take the
benefit of this liberal construction. The language of Scripture touching
the point now before us is so unequivocal, and so often repeated, as
to leave no doubt as to the author’s meaning. It teaches clearly that
the Deluge was universal, that every living creature on the face of the
earth at the time was destroyed, and that seeds of all the organized
beings of after times were saved in Noah’s Ark. The following is but
a small portion of its oft-repeated words on this head: —
“ And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were
under the whole heaven, werekovtaed. * * * Fifteen-cubits upward did the waters prevail
and the mountains were covered. * * * And all flesh died that moved' upon the earth, both
of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,
and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life ; of all that was in the dry
land. * * * And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the Ark.” 14
Now we reiterate that speech cannot be more explicit than this; and
if it be true, it must apply with equal force to all living creatures —
g.rnmala as well as mankind. It is really trifling with language to
say, that the Text does not distinctly convey the idea that all the
creatures of our day have descended from the seed saved in the Ark,;
or that they were all created within a certain area around the point
at which Adam and Eve are supposed first to have had their being.
Although the same general laws prevail throughout the entire Fauna
and Flora of the globe, yet in the illustration of our subject, we
restrict our ren^rks mainly to the class of Mammifers, because a wider
range would lead beyond our prescribed limits.
It has been a popularly-received error, from time immemorial, that
degrees of latitude, or in other words, temperature of countries, were
to be regarded as a sure index of the color and of certain other physical
characters in races of men. This opinion has been supported by many
able writers of the present century, and even in the last few years by
no less authority than that of the distinguished Dr. Prichard, in the
“Physical History of Mankind.” A rapid change, however, is now
going on in the public mind in this respect, and so conclusive is the
recent evidence drawn from the monuments of Egypt and other
sources, in support of the perinanence of distinctly marked types
of mankind, such as the Egyptians, Jews, Negroes, Mongols, American
Indians, etc., that we presume no really well-informed naturalist will
again be found advocating such philosophic heresies. Indeed, it
is difficult to conceive how any one, with the facts before him, (recorded
by Prichard himself,) in connection with an Ethnographical Map, should
believe that climate could account for the endless diversity of races
seen scattered over the earth from the earliest dawn of history.
It is true that most of the black races are found in Africa; but, on
the other hand, many equally black are met with in the temperate climates
of India, Australia, and Oceanica, though differing in every
attribute except color. A black skin would seem to be the best suited
to hot climates, and for this reason we may suppose that a special
creation of black races took place in Africa. The strictly white races
lie mostly in the Temperate Zone, where they flourish best; and they
certainly deteriorate physically, if not intellectually, when removed
to- hot climates. Their type is not in reality changed or obliterated,
but they undergo a degradation from their primitive state, analogous