Whether the literal statements contained in the Mosaic account of creation be accepted, or the theory advanced by some that from separate divisions of the ape family the various races of man descend—this latter idea seeming to presuppose that the progenitor ape for the Caucasian will some day be discovered, a fossil—the fact remains that the wonderful analogies existing between such legends of different nations as are compared up to date, seem to affirm very strongly the original oneness of the human family, the original oneness of all sources of knowledge.
It is outside the limits of this paper to enter upon the discussion of comparative Folk-lore in its entirety. Comparative study as it bears upon the Afro-American demands our consideration. The Folk-lore of our Southern negro—what is it? to what forces does it owe its individualism? and what relationships does it discover?
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"How shall a man escape from his ancestors, or draw off from his veins the black drop which he drew from his father's or mother's veins?" This query was put by one of our giant intellects: the answer may be discerned in the outcome of the truth declared by Lemarck, "All that has been acquired, impressed, or altered in the organization of individuals during the course of their life is preserved by generation, and transmitted to the new individuals which spring from those who have experienced these changes." The query bears witness to the Nemesis we call heredity; the answer, to its antidote, the force of environment. The consideration involved is, in the language of Herbert Spencer, "The question which demands, beyond all others whatsoever, the attention of scientific men."
The American negro is many generations nearer the savage existence than any race—excepting the Indian—whose proximity invites practical study from our home student. His nearness to this primitive state accounts for his rich possession of legends, his dower of heredity accounts for the character of these legends.
The Southern negroes of the past were, under the most favorable conditions, in a large sense, children. "When our
