Indigenous Races of the Earth

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378 ACCLIMATION; OR, TilE INI~LUENCE OF "A glance at tho inhabit1mts of malarious countries or distl'icts, must convince oven tho most superficial observer, UU\t tho range of disorders produced by tho poi on of malaria i~ very extensive. 'l'bo jaundiced complexion, tho tumid abdomen, tho stunted g•·owth, tho ~tupid countenance, tho shortcneu lifo, attest that habitual exposure to maltLria saps tho onorgy of ovory mental and bodily function, and dmgs its victims to an early grave. A moment's reflection must show us, that fever and ague, two of tho most prominent features of malarious influence, aro ns a drop of water in tho ocoan, when compared with tho othet· loss obtrusive, but more dangei"Cms, maladies that silently, but offeotually, disorganize tho vital structures of tho human fabric, under tho operation of tho dolotorious nnd invisible poison. "What arc tho consoquoncos? Malarious fever&; or, if these arc escaped, tho founda­tion of chronic malarious diso•·dors is laid, in ample provision for futuro misery and suffer­ing. 'l'heso arc not spoculntions, but fncts. Compare tho range of human existence, ns found d on tho docromont of human lifo in Italy and England. In Rome, a twenty-fifth part of tho population po.ys tho clobt of nnture annually. In Nllplos, a twonty-oighth ptu't dies. In London, only one in forty; and in England gonorally, only one in sixty fo.lls before tho scythe of time, or tho ravages of disease." As is the case with all of our southern seaports, "the suburbs of Romo 1:!-re moro exposed to malaria than the city; and the open squares and streets, than the narrow lanes in the centro of the mc­trop? lis." "The low, crowded, and abominably filthy quarter of tho J cws, on t~c banks of the Tiber, ncar the foot of tho capit~l, probably owes 1ts acl nowlcdgcd freedom from the fatal malaria to its sheltered site and inconceivably dense population." This immu­n~ ty may arise, .at least in part, from their position at the foot of the htll; for there 1s no exception to the rule, at the South, that a resi­dence. on the bank .of a river, or in low land, is less aftoctcd by malana ihan the Jnll that overlooks it. At present the fact is inexplicable, although universally admitted. ' . ~o w.ill here .f~dd some interesting facts, from the writings of the du:~tmgmahcd m1htary physician, M. le Doctour Boudin dcri ved from pc~·s?nal observation, during long residence in Algc~·ia, and from offiCial government documents. "O_n t~•o .!llst ?f Dcoombor, 1861, the indigenous city population (of Algeria) nmountod to 10o,8uo mlmbttants, of whom thoro were: :.~::~~:~::~:: ·:::::.::::.::::::::::::::::::.::::·::::: :::::: :::;::::::·::·:::::: :::m ::If wo oompnre ~his cons~s with thnt of tho year 1849, tho following facts appear: . ~· Dy a c~mpanson of ba·ths and deaths in tho official tablos, the Mussulman popula­tion IS dccroasmg. "2. Tho n groes have d creased, in two years, 680. ::8. Tho Jew~, during the snmo time, have increased 2020. Tho mortahty among tho Eu 0 1 • • • varied from 44. to 106 out f r p;~;O popu at~on, m Algo~·m, from 1842 to 1851, hns d I' . 0 ovory i and, mstond of diminishing from ycnr to yenr un or ace JJMhon, the mortality has 8teadily increaaed. ' CLIMA'fE AND DISEASES ON MAN. 379 Mortality accordil1g to Nationality. "IIorcto·fore we have given tho mortality of tho European population taken in mass. It is understood that this mortality must bo greatly iniluoncod by tho origin of tho different elements of tho population. We have shown that tho half of tho European popul11tion is composed of stro.ngors (other thttn Fr~nch), and numbers over 41,000 Spanio.rd~, and 16,000 Italians and Maltose. 'L'ho official tables give tho following mortality, from 1847 to 1861, for the French and Htrangot·s (Spaniards, Italians, and Mnltcso): Deatl1a for each 1000. r-­Strongura. 1847 ......... .......................................... 48.4 1848 .................................................. 41.8 1840 ................................................. 84.3 1860 .................................................. 48.4 1861. ................................................. 89.8 ~ }'roncb. 60.8 41.7 101 .6 70.6 64.6" Thus, on the one side, we sec that the mortality of the French greatly exceeds that of the other J~mopcan population; while, on the other, in 1850 and 1851, the mortality of the former rises to a figure three times greater than tho normal mortality of Fmnco. Jewislt Population. The official tables give tho following resume of the mortality of the Jewish population, during the years from 1844 to 1849: 184.4 .................................................... 21 .()deaths per 1,000. 1846 .................................................... 86.1 1847 .................................................... 81.6 1848 . ................................................. 2:3.4 1849 ............................ ....................... 66.0 This mortality is greatly below that of both tho European a.nd Mussulman population, and shows tho differ nco of acclimation in J cws and Frenchmen: "N ullc part lc J uif no nait, no vit, no rncu1-t, comme los autt·cs hommcs au milieu dcsqucls il habitc. 0' st la 1111 point d'anthropologio comparee que nous avons mis hors de contes­tation, dans plusicurs publications." "According to the last tables of the French establishments in Algeria, the total number of births, from 1 30 to 1851, have be n 44,900, and that of the deaths 62, 768" ! ! ! 'l'lJis fact applies to all the pL"ovinccs, aud shows that the climate tends to tho extermination of Europeans. Tho official statistics also show that tho Mussulman (MooriRh) population is steadily decreasing, in tho cities. Dr. Boudin asks: "Is this diminution the cfroct of want, or of demoralization? is it to be explained by the cessation of union A between tho native worn 'n and the Turkish soldict·s? or, finally, is it explained by that mysL - rious law, in virtue of which infcL"ior races seem destined to disap­pear tllrough contact witlt superior races?"