724 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



superiority arising afresh. " If an Arab, accompanied by his OM'n rela- 

 tions only, has been successful on many predatory excursions against 

 the enemy, he is joined by other friends ; and, if his success still con- 

 tinues, he obtains the reputation of being ' lucky ' ; and he thus estab- 

 lishes a kind of second, or inferior, agydship in the tribe." So in 

 Sumatra : " A commanding aspect, an insinuating manner, a ready 

 fluency in discourse, and a penetration and sagacity in unraveling the 

 little intricacies of their disputes, are qualities which seldom fail to 

 procure to their possessor resj^ect and influence, sometimes, perhaps, 

 superior to that of an acknowledged chief." And supplantings of 

 kindred kinds occur among the Tongans and the Dyaks. 



At the outset, then, what we before distinguished as the principle 

 of efiiciency is the sole principle of organization. Such political head- 

 ship as exists is acquired by one whose fitness asserts itself in the 

 form of greater age, superior prowess, stronger will, wider knowledge, 

 quicker insight, or larger wealth. But, evidently, supremacy which 

 thus depends exclusively on personal attributes is but transitory. It 

 is ever liable to be superseded by the supremacy of some more able 

 man from time to time arising ; and, if not superseded, is inevitably 

 ended by death. We have, then, to inquire how permanent chieftain- 

 ship becomes established. Before doing this, however, we must con- 

 sider more fully the two kinds of superiority which especially conduce 

 to chieftainship, and their modes of operation. 



As bodily vigor is a cause of predominance within the tribe on 

 occasions daily occurring, still more on occasions of war is it, when 

 joined with courage, a cause of predominance. War, therefore, ever 

 tends to make more pronounced any authority of this kind which is 

 incipient. Whatever reluctance other members of the tribe have to 

 recognize the leadership of any one member is likely to be over- 

 ridden by their desire for safety when recognition of his leadership 

 furthers that safety. 



This rise of the strongest and most courageous warrior to power is 

 at first spontaneous, and afterward by agreement more or less definite ; 

 sometimes joined with a process of testing. Where, as in Australia, 

 each " is esteemed by the rest only according to his dexterity in throw- 

 ing or evading a spear," it is inferable that such superior capacity for 

 war as is displayed generates of itself such temporary chieftainship as 

 exists. Where, as among the Comanches, any one who distinguishes 

 himself by taking many " horses or scalps may aspire to the honors of 

 chieftaincy, and is gradually inducted by a tacit popular consent," this 

 natural genesis is clearly shown us. Very commonly, however, there 

 is deliberate choice ; as by the Flatheads, among whom, " except by 

 the war-chiefs, no real authority is exercised." By some of the Dyaks, 

 both strength and courage are tested. " The ability to climb lap a 

 large pole, well greased, is a necessary qualification of a fighting chief 



