Chap. II. INDIAN CHARACTER. 79 



list of instances to relate to the stranger, showing their 

 base ingratitude. They certainly do not appear to 

 remember or think of repaying benefits, but this is pro- 

 bably because they did not require, and do not value 

 such benefits as their would-be masters confer upon 

 them. I have known instances of attachment and 

 fidelity on the part of Indians towards their masters, 

 but these are exceptional cases. All the actions of the 

 Indian show that his ruling desire is to be let alone ; he 

 is attached to his home, his quiet monotonous forest 

 and river life ; he likes to go to towns occasionally, to 

 see the wonders introduced by the white man, but he 

 has a great repugnance to living in the midst of the 

 crowd ; he prefers handicraft to field labour, and espe- 

 cially dislikes binding himself to regular labour for 

 hire. He is shy and uneasy before strangers, but if 

 they visit his abode, he treats them well, for he has a 

 rooted appreciation of the duty of hospitality ; there is 

 a pride about him, and being naturally formal and 

 polite, he acts the host with great dignity. He with- 

 draws from towns as soon as the stir of civilisation 

 'begins to make itself felt. When we first arrived at 

 Para many Indian families resided there, for the mode 

 of living at that time was more like that of a large 

 village than a city ; as soon as river steamers and more 

 business activity were introduced, they all gi-adually 

 took themselves away. 



These characteristics of the Para Indians are appli- 

 cable, of course, to some extent, to the Mamelucos, which 

 now constitute a great proportion of the population. 

 The inflexibility of character of the Indian, and his 



