Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1878-01-05
TALL AND SHORT MEN.
Big and LitiIe 1Ien and WOmen-A Japan
csc DwRrf-The Average Height of Man.

csc DwRrf-The Average Height Of Man.
At one OF the public halls in this city,
says the New York Times, are now on
exhibition a couple of the tallest human
being in the civilized world. At another
public hall, not far from the last men-
toned one, are two remarkably little
human beings, who are believed to be
the smallest couple ever exhibited in any
country. Martin Van Buren Bates, who
was born in Kentucky, is thirty two
years of age, weighs nearly 500 pounds,
and is eight feet one inch in height. His
wife was born in Nova Scotia, is twenty
eight years of age, weighs 413 pounds,
and is eight feet two inches in height.
When but six years old, she was as tall
as her mother, who was five feet high.
Her father was only five feet four inches
in height. This loving couple may be
said to represent "linked sweetness,
long drawn out" Gen. Mite is turned
thirteen years of age, weighs but nine
pounds, and is only twenty-five inches
in height. His hands are smaller than
those of any known living baby. Miss
Minnie Obom, who stands beside him on
the platform, is in her thirtieth year,
and is but twenty three inches in height.
Either of these infnitesimal members
of the human race is supposed by most
persons who have seen them to be the
smallest human being living. This,
however, is not true, if we may believe
the Toxic (Japan) Times, which says
that dwarf, said to be fifty-one years
old and only one foot three inches high,
named Sato Yukichi, is about to be ex-
hibited in that city. This is depth of
diminutiveness truly wonderful. 1t
would hardly be more surprising to read
the announcement of giant one and a
quarter years old and fifty one feet high.
The irregularity of proportion for which
Mr.. Yukichi is conspicuous is not less
remarkable than his condensed COM
pactness. His head is seven inches
and a half long, while all the rest of his
body measures only seven inches.
Tne height Of men, according Ito
Villerme, varies from four feet nine
and a quarter inches to five feet ten
inches, and thus gives an average of
five feet three and three-eighth inches.
Taking the extremes of individuals
known, being seventeen inches for a
dwarf spoken of by Burch and Button,
and nine feet three inches for Fin
lander mentioned by Sapply, the
medium would be five feet four inches.
But those cases may be regarded as quite
abnormal. The Esquimaux were long
considered the smallest race of men on
the face of the globe. Harm de Paw has
asserted that the men do not exceed four
feet three inches, and the women four
feet two inches, Subsequent investiga-
tion by Drs. Bellebon and Guerault
has, however, proved that those figures
are too low, that the average of the
lowest tribes is five feet two and a half
inches, and that some others attain to
five feet six and three-quarter inches.
The smallest family of known man is
the iBoschmans of South Africa, whose
medium height is given at four feet
seven inches. Some other tribes OF that
continent rival them, but not quite SO
short. Henry M. Stanley, the explorer,
mentions in one of his letters having
come across race of dwarfs of most
minute stature, but the details have not
reached us. AS for the tallest races,
they are the Norwegians in Europe,
the kafirs in South Africa, some of our
North America Indians, the Polynesians,
and, finally, the Patagonians, whose
average height is given by numerous
travellers worthy Of credit at five feet ten
inches. Taking these last as the high
est and the Boschmans as the lowest,
we obtain an average of five feet two
and half inches. But the savants who
have studied this subject, considering
the small proportion Of very short races,
have decided on fixing the medium
height of the human race at five feet
four and three-quarter inches. The
average of the four persons now on ex-
hibition in this city is probably five
feet