He has avenues to God
Hid from men of Northern brain,
Far beholding, without cloud,
What these with slowest steps attain.
Inasmuch, however, as these "avenues" of the far-sighted African are nothing but the blind alleys of Voodooism and devil worship, it may be just as well that they remain "hid" from the slow-paced European.)
In the Booklovers' Magazine for July, 1903, the same writer returns to this subject in an article on "Possibilities of the Negro—The Advance Guard of the Race." The conspicuous position and, the full illustrations given this paper show clearly at what a positive advantage the Black man stands in the world of literature—simply because he is black. We happen to know that the article has made some impression. Ten names are presented of Negroids that have done respectable work in various fields of intellectual labour. If Mr. Washington is easily the Herakles in this latter-day crew of Argo, Dr. Dubois, who has mustered them, is himself certainly Jason, the eleventh. But of these eleven we may at once dismiss eight, for their abundant white blood is apparent in their pictures and is not denied. Only the other three are claimed as "black"; pure black is not said, perhaps is not meant. These seem to be the electrician, the mathematician, the poet. For none of these can be claimed any very high order of merit; the light by which they shine conspicuous among their fellows would not illustrate them very especially among the Whites. That such abilities should occasionally show themselves, even in a quite inferior race, ought surely to be expected and to arouse the wonder of no one. The really significant thing is that eight out of eleven of these champions are confessedly of mixed blood; only 27 per cent. are "black." But these "Blacks" form 80 per cent. of the total Negroid population. Hence, in proportion to numbers, it appears that the Mulattoes are represented nearly eleven times as often as the "Blacks." In the face of such a fact, [ [9] ] it seems vain to deny that the mixed blood is notably more intelligent than the pure black; the necessary inference is that the white blood with which it was mixed is far more intelligent still.
The reader may naturally ask, Why devote space to such trivial arguments as those quoted, since they tell plainly, where they tell at all, against and not for the cause they would support? We answer, that our treatment must be thorough, if it be worth anything; that we desire to represent our opponents at their very best, and as far as possible in their own words; and that the weakness of their position is most clearly seen in their own efforts at defence.
The details of the anatomical argument, which Darwin said would undoubtedly lead the naturalist to classify Negro and European as distinct species, are matters of readily accessible knowledge. They have been presented frequently and with telling force. That in particular the cranial, the facial, and the appendicular skeletons of the dolichocephalic West African (the purest, the lowest, and the prevalent type on the plantation) deviate sensibly from the highest human towards the quadrumanal stamp, has been the common observation of naturalists from Blumenbach to Ratzel; nor can this have escaped the notice of intelligent and unbiased laymen.
Nevertheless, it may be well to record the authoritative statement made by A. H. Keane, professor of Hindustani, University College, London, in the article "Negro," in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. XVII. [ [10] ]