SAVAGERY AND SURVIVALS. 397 



fail, then as a last rite lie arrays himself in his strange dress 

 and goes through his hocus-pocus over the dying man, with the 

 expectation that his mysterious and magical skill may be invoked 

 at this point to save the patient. In case of an adverse result, 

 however, he easily maintains his self-respect in the community 

 by the explanation that " it was the will of the Good Spirit/' An 

 illustration of savage logic is also interesting in this connection, 

 for the medicine man argues by analogy that extraordinary cases 

 demand extraordinary remedies. Dorman relates an incident 

 which seems to substantiate this. "An Indian warrior was 

 brought to camp after a most disastrous encounter with a grizzly 

 bear. The doctor compounded a medicine that ought really to 

 have worked wonders. It was made by boiling together a collec- 

 tion of miscellaneous weeds, a handful of chewing tobacco, the 

 heads of four rattlesnakes, and a select assortment of worn-out 

 moccasins. The decoction thus obtained was seasoned with a 

 little crude petroleum and a larger quantity of red pepper, and 

 the patient was directed to take a pint of the mixture every half 

 hour. He was a brave man, conspicuous for his fortitude under 

 suffering, but after taking his first dose he turned over and died 

 with the utmost expedition." 



Savages are very fond of ornaments, and in some respects we 

 resemble them with this difference, that in savage life it is the 

 men who are the most highly decorated. The incentive of per- 

 sonal adornment was, as it is now, due to the desire to make one's 

 self prominent or conspicuous in the eyes of others. As proud as 

 the schoolboy is of his medal received as a reward of merit, so 

 is the savage of his trophies, which he wears as a mark of his 

 prowess in battle, or in an encounter with some wild beast. Neck- 

 laces, bracelets, and earrings made of these trophies were among the 

 earliest ornaments worn. Teeth, claws, shells, pearls, ivory, bone, 

 hair, and feathers were commonly used, while the brass plates for 

 keyholes, sardine boxes, and other metallic objects are said to be 

 especially prized. On the arms circular rings of ivory, iron, or 

 copper were worn, and the savage delights to load himself to the 

 extent of physical endurance with these heavy and useless append- 

 ages. Schweinf urth, the African explorer, thus describes the orna- 

 ments of the Dinka, a Central African tribe : " The wives of some 

 of the wealthy are often laden with iron to such a degree that, 

 without exaggeration, I may affirm that I have seen several carry- 

 ing about with them close upon half a hundred weight of these sav- 

 age ornaments. The heavy rings with which the women load their 

 wrists and ankles clank and resound like the fetters of slaves. 

 . . . The favorite ornaments of the men are massive ivory rings, 

 which they wear round the upper part of the arm ; the rich adorn 

 themselves from elbows to wrists with a whole series of rings, 



