Human Anomalies, Moung Phoset, Mahphoon, and the Giant Winkelmeier.

Every departure from the stereotyped plan of humanity is an interesting proof of the vast capacities of nature, and therefore a prophecy of possible variation and grander development for the coming generations; hence the hairy family—Moung Phoset, his mother, Mahphoon, and the giant Winkelmeier—are deeply interesting to the anthropologist.

Winkelmeier, according to the London Standard, is now in London at the Pavilion, standing eight feet, nine inches high, a foot higher than Chang, the Chinese giant, and evidently the tallest man living. He was born in 1865, in Upper Austria. Neither his four brothers, parents, nor grandparents, are unusually tall. He is healthy, strong, and intelligent, and is expected to continue growing.

Moung Phoset, and his old mother, Mahphoon, whose pictures are here given, are now in London on exhibition. They were the hairy family of King Theebaw of Burmah, and when Theebaw was captured by the British army, they escaped to the jungle, where they were robbed by Dacoits, but were recovered by Captain Piperno, and brought to England. Moung Phoset, like his mother, has his face and entire body covered by long, fine hair, from five to twelve inches long, which even fills the ears, and on the forehead is so long that it has to be drawn back over the ears to uncover the eyes. He is an intelligent and well-behaved man, and has a fair Burmese education. His wife, however, is a common Burmese woman. Moung Phoset, having no children, is the last of a hairy species, which it is said, originated in his great grandfather, who was caught wild in the forest between Upper Burmah and Siam.

Hairy irregularities, according to Darwin, are associated with irregularities of the teeth. In Moung Phoset the molar teeth are deficient.