Page:An account of a savage girl.djvu/70

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42
The History of

Were any nation known which made use of such shrill piercing cries thro' the throat, as were familiar to Madamoiselle le Blanc, by way of language, we should have no doubt about her native country: But still she must have come into France in some such way as we have been describing. It is alledged, that the demand of the young savage was made, on occasion of the letter published in the Mercury; but I have not been able certainly to discover from whence it came. Then was the time to have traced her to her source, and to have been much more exactly acquainted with her history. Perhaps it may not be too late still; and the publication of this relation may procure new light in this very curious and dark affair; which is one of the principal motives that have induced me to compose it.

I Have proved that there is great reason to think, that Madamoiselle le Blanc is of the Esquimaux nation; but as my proofs are equally applicable to the savages of Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Nova Zembla, if it were of importance to know exactly, whether she is a native of the continent of America, or of that of Europe, it is still in our power; for we know that American savages, both men and women, have a certain peculiarity, which distinguishes them both from Europeans, Africans, and Asiatics.

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