II. 



THE MAN OF THE FOREST. 



THE man of the forest is in almost perfect har- 

 mony with his surroundings, and if to be so is to 

 be happy, as some have said, then the South 

 American Indian must be one of the happiest of 

 men. He certainly is a most pleasant fellow, and 

 if unsophisticated nearly always kind and obliging. 

 Without him the traveller could hardly find his way 

 through the trackless forest, while in his company 

 everything is comparatively easy. Like other men, 

 as well as animals and plants, he is uncomfortable 

 away from his environment, and is looked upon 

 by the low-class white, or even negro, as vastly 

 inferior. If to be a savage means to be rude and 

 uncouth, ill-mannered and disagreeable, then the 

 Indian little deserves such an appellation. He is 

 one of nature's gentlemen, and even when his 

 wishes do not correspond with yours his opposition 

 is only passive. 



