New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-15
RATZEL IN ENGLISH.
THE SECOND VOLUME OF HIS WORK
ON MANKIND TRANSLATED.

With SoIo'e9 = NV ks3 The Macmillan COM
pany.
~ .,,s vo,,ns Professor Ratzel and his trans
lator pass from the Islands or the S0u'h os"
the great continental masses OF the ea''"'
still avoiding the areas OF hsh cui'ui0
.oo rching oply for man In his natural state A"o
80 Arar,cas the Arctic regions OF Europe anu
Asia ard torrid and Southern Africa CONSUME"
Oh. geographical neld while ethnolosca'y, e'P
c,alI,, IN Africa there IL q suspicion OF hi"u7".e
from the so-caled higher races "h'o" 10
steadily ignored except for woro no"
then. In one sense these portions OF '"e
have somcthing in common. Inc! arc
oesslbl, from the sea than those IN VIM" -, -.
reached what may, at least euphe""e' a..
called Intellectual maturity Ihe 'oe Va
,roze, zone has made incursions 'fo''i 49,
regions rare Africa. with an aiH'o' =,
coastline has defed research from '"e
the old Egyptian conQuerors down ~ ~ A..
ent century, while America, WIN 'ie"i' -
arcs q, the Old World, could orly ne appioA'"eu
ai'' -,',- a,.,.rcss over unknown seas. ana
then gave srudgng entrance to Its interior, ~
,e,,.,y ,oorer In inland seas. bays. ISLANDS anu
nsn,n.u,as than the continent on the other s."'
=, ~. world Tut II was adapted to this 'so'a.
A.. ,.s length gave II every possible variety OF
-. ,,ua ths Old World Of history was All
.o.,.,,r,..d within the north temperate zone VII"
-ov, e,hs-ctic and sub-tropical CUTTERS vi
a.. o+ber hand its comparative narro"hes'
,rsssrves II from tie fate OF the As4auc h'en
Ion6s and the waterless expanse OF N'i'A'
A,r,cs The deserts Of America are smah anu
stounding in GASES The desert OF "A""" 40.
been q greater barrier than the unpfoHeh e'o''
IT,. % communication With Africa But America
has nothing Of this KIND
r,oso r,in.s are Of vital Importance TO tro-
..sso- Patzels theory OF human history Inc
land makes the man. according 10 h's VIC" 70
e. osa owe must bear Africa In our eye Gays
10 "a, we would understand the Africans ms
a.s.,u,s. ~ races are In truth depenoen' On 'ne
sor mon which men travel ana whence '"e'
draw their food according as Z hn'its 'he', vi
let's them spread on the sky whioh ne'er'''i'ee
~. e,oou,- Of moisture that they shall have: on
the dover Of plants and animals anu VIC ma,
.aa minerals from which they get the means OF
re.s,ra c,oth,re and identifying themselves.
,nd NJ providing themselves with friends, help
49,. and allies but which may also raise up enc
,,os" Man With only the inventions ana apti-
.,a.s r. savaserv is the victim Of nature. X ne
.. soouad 70 comparative secusion. he Is In the
CANA breath doomed to slow progress on the
,,nes of culture ard to premature stoppase io'
,ack NJ An exchange IN thought and contrl'ance
with other races This fact goes to the very DOT
tom NJ human nature One man will not heip
another unless he can profit himself or unless
the withholding OF assistance 10 injurious 10 MINI
,eN The coast tribes Of Africa have been laihii-
lar with men Of other continents Tor thoueahus
~ years but they saw nothing In the popuia"on
behind except buyers OF trinKets ana proo"0e''
Of other trinkets. SO they traced between III.
highlands and the sea, inventing nothing ana
never attaining Intelligence enough 70 aPpi'
c,ate novelties when presented to them. But no"
tbs. the African highlanders have chance 70
80. .bs things that are produced by civilized
men II already begins to be seen how keeniy
,hev enpreciate them. Thus We can guess what
might have happened several thousand years
ago II the old Punic traders who haunted the
eastern coast for gold and Ivory and strange
beasts and wonderful plans could have pehe-
rated to the interior. We might now be learning
fror, the African Instead OF depTecatins his in
cGpac!ty.
The race which spread over the Western Con-
tnent while It was isolated by the ocean had the
] advantage Of all climates Of movement more or
less facilitated by rivers, Of an 'sthnus between
North and South America. which was no such
thoroughfa-, as the Isthmus Of Suez. but was at
les., pa.sabls for a race that met no opposition.
Ocean an the Gulf OF Mexico which net only de-
veioped a special type Of American. but spread
his type far and vide. The main question, then
IN this continuous and varied territory Is whether
the people that grew up In It was practically
one IN its cna &C erstics OF diverse. The occa-
sionai even the frequent fel OF hoauoads oil
people from elsewhere upon American shores
does not affect the question. II the Land was al
ready populated in sufficient numbers to take In
these recruits and assmate thei- desc endants
1t IT, Of coura.. to Professor Ra,ze not an unirn'
portant question whether the mixture Of Poly.
nesian and As!atic populations in Northwestern
America accounts for the ,mme diats origin OF a
great part Of the population OF the continent OF
has only created a zone OF con act for varied
nationn l'ties on the shores OF Behring Sea- But
the rea point is q comparison with man In the
Old World as to antiquity. Fur America 10 eth
nologic,.ily the Orient instead OF Asia, and II ia
omen 70 discussion whether man aid not frs,
arise In what IS called falsely enough the New
World. Professor Ratzel takes positive ground
on the side OF those who insist that America pos.
sessed human Inhabitants as early az the age OF
the Drift. That puts man back On the Westerr
Hemisphere to a time wnen geographically The
earth was vastly different from what It is now
and gives to DR.. Brinton's theory Of land con-
nect,on between Europe and America q signin
canoe that demands for II. in Professor Ratzer'
words. "ths keenest scrutiny" He does not &C
cept It, On tho contrary. he holds firmly to th'
relationship Of the Americans with the Eas
Oceanic brarch Of the Mongo!oid race Just firm
~ enough. II may be imagined. to turn the rela
sionship end for end. II need be- to make the sup
posed parent race the offspring at future cal
of science. In fact, there IL q missing link in
this case as important az tho one which biol
ogists are seeking further back between man ant
monkey. The single race from which tho ole
American and his nearest relatives sprang ha.
vanished from the earth. The branches still live
but root and trunk have disappeared, and tn,
place where they grew knows thsm moro
Those wonderful developments. physical. intel
lectual religious social. reach down rather t,
some primeval common property of all mankind