DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS 27 



But with animals to care for came property interests to de- 

 fend, and a feeling of responsibility developed which only can 

 stimulate that sober activity which marks civilization as distinct 

 from savagery. 



With the primitive crops land came to have a value. This, 

 too, had to be defended, for savage enemies were not long in 

 learning that cultivated fields on which were growing the next 

 winter's food constituted the most vulnerable point in a neigh- 

 bor. 1 Stores of grain also constituted peculiar temptations and 

 necessitated walled or otherwise defendable cities. 



The civilizing effect of slavery. There is a chapter of this 

 ancient history most unpleasant to revive, but yet upon which 

 we ought to be intelligent. It is difficult for us now to realize 

 how slavery ever did any good in the world, or how it ever 

 helped along towards civilization, yet a little reflection will serve 

 to show how at one time it played an important part. 



In the primitive division of labor it was natural that the men 

 should be the hunters while the women stayed behind with the 

 children. It was natural, too, that upon the return of the suc- 

 cessful hunters, tired and hungry, their duty ended when the 

 game was brought home and laid at the feet of the women, whose 

 natural duty it was to skin the animals and prepare the meal. 



Again, nothing was more natural than that the women should, 

 during the absence of the hunters, scour the neighboring forests 

 for such nuts and fruits and seeds as they could pick up ; for 

 experience taught that the hunt was not always successful, and 

 that a dinner of herbs was better than none at all, besides 

 contributing to the good humor of the men, who, in savagery, 

 did not hesitate to abuse anybody who was unable to success- 

 fully resist. 



Taken altogether, the lot of the women of primitive races 

 is a hard and laborious one, with plenty of abuse thrown in. 

 Now it is easy to see how scarcity of game, restricted hunting 

 grounds, cultivated fields, and stores of food lead to warfare. But 



1 How this led to war has already been noted in connection with the Iroquois. 



