588 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Cambridge is to be congratulated on possessing a young and 

 vigorous school of prehistoric archaeology under one who has 

 had the good fortune to be a disciple and friend of the great 

 French masters. Of its work it is not for me to speak. It lies 

 outside the main scope of my studies, which have been directed 

 chiefly to the still surviving savage or barbarous peoples, whom 

 I cannot but regard as furnishing us with by far the amplest and 

 most trustworthy materials for tracing the mental and social 

 evolution of our species backward into regions which lie beyond 

 the purview of history. I will conclude this introductory lecture 

 with some observations on that subject. These observations 

 I will comprise under two heads. First, I will say something as 

 to the method of the study ; and next I will mention, by way 

 of illustration, a few of the problems which it undertakes to 

 investigate. 



First, then, as to the method. In principle it is extremely 

 simple, however difficult it may be in the practical application. 

 The method is neither more nor less than induction, which after 

 all, disguise it as we may under the showy drapery of formal 

 logic, is the only method in which men can and do acquire their 

 knowledge. And the first condition of a sound induction is 

 exact observation. What we want, therefore, in this branch 

 of science is, first and foremost, full, true, and precise accounts 

 of savage and barbarous peoples based on personal observation. 

 Such accounts are best given by men who have lived for many 

 years among the peoples, have won their confidence, and can 

 converse with them familiarly in their native language ; for 

 savages are shy and secretive towards strangers, they conceal 

 their most cherished rites and beliefs from them, nay, they are 

 apt wilfully to mislead an inquirer, not so much for the sake of 

 deceiving him as with the amiable intention of gratifying him 

 with the answers which he seems to expect. It needs a peculiar 

 combination of intelligence, tact, and good nature to draw out 

 a savage on subjects which he regards as sacred ; to very few 

 men will he consent to unbosom himself. 



Perhaps the class of men whose vocation affords them the 

 best opportunities for observing and recording the habits of 

 savage races are missionaries. They are men of education and 

 character ; they usually live for years among the people, acquire 

 their language, and gain their respect and confidence. Accord- 

 ingly some of the very best accounts which we possess of savage 

 and barbarous peoples have been written by missionaries, 

 Catholic and Protestant, English, French, Dutch, German, and 

 Spanish. At the present time one of our most valuable 

 anthropological journals, Anthropos, is edited by an Austrian 

 priest, Father W. Schmidt, and is composed mainly of articles 

 contributed by Catholic missionaries in many parts of the world 



