Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-08-02
WERE APES HUMAN?
INTERESTING DATA REGARDING
DARWiN'S THEORY.

'NtcnGStING OAtA h6OAHOINC
OARWiN'S THEORY.
Baby With Well Defined TaiI-Professor
( Harrison Collects Statistics About Science S
Latest Puzzle-Five Cases of Homo Cauda-
Ius Reported in This Country.
A correspondent writing from Balti-
more says:
Have tails come to us as an inheri.
tance from simian forbears or were
they at one time part of actual man
is question now exciting much dis.
cussion among learned medical men
the world over.
The discussion probably never
would have developed but for the
theories of Darwin pertaining to the
subject of the descent OF man, and it
question that may never be exact
ly decided. A short time ago DR..
Watson exhibited before the Johns
Hopkins Hospital Medical Society a
baby born with tail. The infant
was three months old and possessed a
distinct caudal appendage, but was
with the exception of little deformity
of the toes otherwise healthy male
infant.
Prof. r. Granville Harrison of the
Johns Hopkins University has COM
piled number OF very interesting
facts in connection with the subject
which will be published in the archives
OF the institution.
In his resume of the question he re-
minds us OF the excellent collection of
data prepared by DR.. Bertels of Belin
some dozen years ago concerning the
knowledge and beliefs OF the human
race in connection with the occurrence
of caudal appendaees in man.
Bertels found reference to this
popularity as far back as the writing
of Pliny and Pausanias, and gave a
map showing the various lands sup
posed to have been at some time or
other Inhabited partially or otherwise
by men with tails.
We should congratulate ourselves
that the North American continent is
never reputed to have harbored such
creatures. South America, however,
is under the stigma OF having been
one OF their haunts. Asia and Africa
and large portion Of Western Europe,
as well as Atlantis, were their happy
hunting grounds.
Although much OF what Bertels coli
lected is merely OF legendary char.
acter it goes to show how considerable
the beliefs in the existence of such
races has been. Some of these stories
from the old writer's were enough to
give any one the nightmare, and
doubtless grew out of superstition.
Among the Ranas of Poorbunda in
India, who were the rulers OF the
Jaftwa or Camari, one Of the Rajpost
tribes, the tail was considered an
honor of the highest kind and even q
proof of divine descent. They traced
their pedigree from q monkey god
named Hanuman and tried to confirm
it by alleging the elongation of the
spine of their princes, who were styled
Pooncheria or the long.tailed Ranas
of Ssuroshtra.
On the other hand, where commun-
tiles of similar character were sup
posed to have existed in another por-
tion of Asia, notably the Turkestan,
they were held in the greatest con-
tempt by the other people, who
Stunned them as they would pesti.
lence and compelled them to die out.
The Tartars believed that the tail was
q special curse because it rendered it
impossible for a man to sit upon o
horse.
Prof. Harrison has heard of five
cases of homo cdudalus in the United
States, So that there may be growing
tendency here to produce such repre-
hensible feature.
THIS is including the case presented
by DR.. Watson and most carefully re-
ported by him.
Bertels states in his treatise that up
to the year 1884 there had been ZIG
cases recorded in Europe, 60 OF which
had been more or less described.
Some of the specimens have been
preserved in chemicals, but there is
no case on record since these scientific
investigations commenced to be made
of human being having been allowed
to grow up With such an indignity to
his understanding.
Probably in few years time some
will be Gagged and bred for purely scien.
tific purposes, but not for sanitary
ones certainly.
Prof. Harrison does not even give
US sly hint of what may be in the
wind in this direction.
The doctors have been content thus
ia, with picking the tails and study
ing the few hairs that have been
rescued from oblivion under strong
microscopes, but they have not yet
proved whether We came from angels
or animals. They'll find out every
thing when the time comes.