The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-10-12
A PLEASANT PICTURE.
The Remarkable Muscular Development :,
Mankind in the Tropics.

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Mankind in the Tropics.
Then you begin to look about you at
the black, brown and yellow faces that
are studying you curiously from be-
meath the yellow-striped Madras tur-
bans. or from under the shadow Of
mushroom-shaped straw-hats large as
umbrellas. Watching the bare backs.
bare shoulders, bare legs and arms
and feet. you find that the colors Of
flesh are more varied and surprising
than the colors OF fruits. And 1t il
only with fruit colors that many Of
these skin tints can be compared at
all, the only terms of comparison used
by the colored people themselves being
terms Of this kind, such as peas-
sapotille, ''sapota skin" The sapota
or sapotille is juicy brown fruit.
with rind satiny like a human cuti-
Gle, and just the color, when fresh and
ripe, of a fine mulatto skin. But
among the brighter half-breeds I think
the colors are much more fruit-like:
there are gourd tints, banana tints,
orange colors, with occasional f1ushes
of pink showing through, like the first
pink Of the mango. Agreeable to the
eye the darker tints certainly are. and
often very remarkable, all tones Of
bronze being represented; but tho
brighter hues are absolutely beautiful
in certain half-breed types, coolie and
quadroon. Standing perfectly naked
at doorways, or playing naked in the
sun, astonishing children may be seen
-banana-colored and orange-colored
babies. But there is onepeculiar type
totally unlike all the rest: the skin Is
an exquisite metallic yellow, perfect
gold tone; the eyes are long and black;
the intensely dark and lustrous hair
falls over the neck in a heavy mass
of thick, rich, glossy curls that show
blue lights in the sun. What ming
ling of races produced this beautiful
typeP There is some strange blood in
the blending, not of coolie, nor of Afri-
can, nor of Chinese, although there are
Chinese types here of indubitable
beauty.
All this population is vigorous, grace
full, healthy; all you see passing by
are we'll made; there are no sickly
faces, no scrawny limbs. If by
some rare chance you encounter aper-
son who has lost an arm or leg, you
can be almost certain you are looking
at a victim of the fer-de-lance-the SER
pent whose venom putrefies living
tissue. Without fear of exagerating
facts, can venture to say that the
muscular development of the working
men here is something which must be
seen in order to be believed; to study
fine displays of it, one should watch
the blacks and half-breeds work.
ing naked to the waist-on the
landings, in the gas houses and
slaughter houses, or on the nearest
plantations. They are not large men,
perhaps not extraordinarily powerful;
but they have the aspect of sculptural
or even of anatomical models; they
seem absolutely devoid of adipose It's
sue; their muscles stand out with o
saliency that astonishes theeye. tits
marvellous. At tanning-yard, while
Twas watching dozen blacks at work,
a young malatto, with the mischievous
face of faun, walked by, wearing
nothing but clout about his loins;
and never, not even In bronze, did sec
so beautiful play of muscles. A DEM
onstrator of anatomy could have used
him for class model; sculptor, wish
ing to shape a fine Mercury in bronze,
would be satisfied to take q cast Of
such body, without thinking of max
ing one modification from neck toheel.
Frugal diet is the cause of this ply
steal condition." a young French pro-
iessor assured me. "All these men,"
he says, "live upon salt Goldfish and
fruit" But frugal living alone could
never produce such symmetry and sal
iency Of muscles; race-crossing, cli-
mate, perpetual exercise, healthy
labor-many conditions and surround
ings must combine to cause it. Also
1t is certain that this tropical sun has
tendency to dissolve spare flesh, to
melt away all superfuous tissue, leav-
ing the muscular fiber dense and solid
as mahogany.-Lacadio Heorn, in
Harper's Magazine.