The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-11-07
Che @att Qitp.
EtAnelexy In America.


IL there h any paIeiculafs dissection in
which the study 81 natural history in this
country needed ~ fostering support of lib
eral patronage, it vas that in the interest Of
which the MpA hcns6pent geue}sN34 this
age has chosen to express his respect for 0ur
ancient univcEaity. No county in the wotl1
offers anything like the extensive Geld which
America presents for the investigation ot the
pure anthropOloeiSs, Or such fascinating mys-
teries connected with the life of pre- historic
races The mere discovery Of : few rude
fragments Of flint and . portion OF . human
jaw in the old gravel beds Of French river,
and of a remarkable skull in German cav
ern within decade, has hssH Snf6eisn& to
revolutionize the beliefs and teachings Of =
century, to date back the existence of man
on this planet unaambered ages. and to ere.
ate new science in natural histOry.
The first natnralists of Europe have hardly
been able to think Of any other subject, and
nearly all their labors have been, directly or
indirectly, conducted in relotioa TO their bear
ings upon the study of man and his place in
the scale of creation. The nstses sod writ.
ings of Falconer, Dhristy, Lartet, Boucher
de Perthes, Lyell, Steenstfup, Huxley. and
Darwin, have become 20 familiar and pleas
ant to the educated public as those Of authors
of modern history and romance, and when
We reflect how little WAS known Of man's pre-
historic existence ten years ago, and how
mnch has been learned within that time BY
explorations in neglected refuse heaps, BY the
ocean, in the muddy bottoms of inland lakes,
in the unsearched soil Of well>known eaves,
and in the gravel beds of antideluvian time,
we cannot doubt that we are only on the
threshold of this enchanting study.
In America ethnology has for longer
time occupied the thoughts OF the student of
nature, but in narrower Geld. There have
been hot discussions as to The unity of mans
origin, studies of race prompted and biased
by political prejudice, superficial and imagi
native descriptions Of the manners and Gus
toms of our aborigines, large collections
made to illustrate only their cranioiogy, q
few hasty explorations under Government
patronage of the strange mounds of onr West
ern lands, and reports by individual explor.
ers among the ruins of Yucatan and Mexico;
but with all this we know little, almost moth,
ing Of the race which preceded the white man
upon this continent. We have no need to ex.
piore the recesses ofcaverns for skulls, nor
the gravel Of past geological eras for remains;
our studies of primitive man may be pursued
with living specimens, and our first duty is TO
conduct them in . systematic method before
the rapidly vanishing opportunity has en-
tirely passed away.
What magnificent museum few years OF
such labors, we'll directed, might build up,
stored as it would be with the crania and
skeletons, the fabrics, and paintings 70 illus
trate the customs and physiognomy of every
tribe of the red man still existing, and with
the bones Of the existing animals associated
with him, also becoming extinct, which pos
sess 80 great value in connection with the re-
mains found with still earlier and even fossil
man; with models Of the ancient earthworks
of the West and the remains which thorough
exploration would bring to light Of these
mysterious mound builders; with relics Of
the unknown miners of copper regions of
Lake Superior; with the results of proper
scientific expeditions among the ruined pala.
ces of Central America, which the writings
of Prescott and Stevens have painted in such |
fascinating colors; and, lastly, with the ves>
tiges of still more remote epochs which re-
main to be discovered in the soil of this vast |
continent. Such are the results which may
be anticipated from this wise and generous |
gift of Mr.. Peabody. Such museum is now
IN fact contemplated by the Emperor Of
France, in behalf of the interests of archeol /
ogy and ethnology in Europe, under Prince
Napoleon boston Medical and Surgical
Journal.