112 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS 



that they seldom have more than two or three children, 

 and that many of the women are barren. It is doubtful, 

 however, if the Hottentots were really badly used by the 

 Boers when working for them as servants. The case 

 of the Bushmen was different. They lived by hunting, 

 and when the Boers killed off the game from their hunting- 

 grounds, they were driven to make depredations on the 

 cattle of the Boers. This led to reprisals, and a war of 

 extermination was waged against them. It is not probable 

 that the Hottentots lived harder lives than the lower- 

 class Chinese. Indeed, their lives were probably less 

 hard. Yet it is the custom to attribute their small 

 families to the hard conditions of life under which these 

 lower races live. 



Similar statements are made about other races. 

 Westermarck * quotes Mr. Catlin as saying : " It is a 

 very rare occurrence for an Indian woman to be * blessed * 

 with more than four or five children during her life ; and, 

 generally speaking, they are contented with two or three." 

 Among these lower races there is an immense mortality 

 especially among children. The mortality among adults 

 is also very great owing to wars, disease, and other mis- 

 fortunes. The above remarks do not appear to be based 

 on very accurate investigations. If they are true, how 

 have the numbers of the race been kept up in the past '? 

 No doubt the Indians are dying out now, but they must 

 have existed for ages before the discovery of America in 

 undiminished numbers, although continually at war. 



Speaking of the Equatorial Africans, Mr. Reade says : 

 " Propagation is a perfect struggle ; polygamy becomes 

 a law of nature ; and even with the aid of this institution, 

 so favourable to reproduction, there are fewer children 

 than wives." 2 Consider the circumstances of the case. 



1 The History of Human Marriage, Westermarck. Ibid. 



