2o6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



2. " They eat and do not hunt " i. e., they are food-consumers, 

 but not food-providers. 



3. They are " a source of weakness " as regards defense i. e., they 

 are in the way in war-time. 



4. They are "a temptation to surrounding tribes." 



I think it can be shown that not one of these reasons is of any force 

 as regards the lower savages. 



1. That children " weaken their mothers when young " may be a 

 reason for infanticide, but it is no reason for killing female infants 

 rather than male. 



2. The assertion that women " eat and do not hunt " can not apply 

 to the lower savages. On the contrary, whether among the ruder 

 agricultural tribes, or those who are dependent on supplies gathered 

 " from forest and from flood," the women are food-providers who sup- 

 ply more than they consume, and render most valuable service into 

 the bargain. As a general rule they are the hardest workers and the 

 most useful members of the community in times of peace. 



3. And certainly they are not " a source of weakness " as regards 

 defense. They are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves * in 

 war-time ; and, so far from being an incumbrance upon the warriors, 

 they will fight, if need be, as bravely as the men, and with even greater 

 ferocity. I could give some shocking proofs of this which have come 

 under my own observation. 



4. Finally, that they are "a temptation to surrounding tribes" 

 does not appear to be a sufficient reason for killing them. They are 

 far too valuable a possession to be cast away merely because the 

 neighbors covet them. We do not find the Caffres exterminating 

 their cattle because they are "a temptation to the surrounding tribes." 



It is among the more advanced tribes that the motives for female 

 infanticide are found, and I believe the practice exists also to a greater 

 extent than among the lower savages. Thus, where a costly dower 

 has to be given with a girl in marriage, female infanticide is known 

 to be very common. A daughter there is a special cause of inipov- 

 erishment to her parents, whereas a son is a cause of enrichment. 

 Here we have a motive which seems to act with considerable power, 

 but it does not exist among the lower savages. For with them the 

 dower where one is given is provided by the bridegroom's kins- 

 men and presented to the parents of the girl. Here, then, the condi- 

 tions are reversed. It is the girl who is a cause of enrichment to her 



* They who are accustomed to the ways of civilized women only can hardly believe 

 what savage women arc capable of even when they may well be supposed to be at their 

 weakest. For instance, an Australian tribe on the march scarcely takes the trouble to 

 halt for so slight a performance as a childbirth. The newly-born infant is wrapped in 

 opossum-skins, the march is resumed, and the mother trudges on with the rest. Indeed, 

 as is well known, among many tribes, it is the father who is put to bed, while the mother 

 goes about her work as if nothing had happened. 



