SIGHT IN SAVAGES 167 



and to this matter I shall return later on ; but until 

 the eyes of savages are scientifically examined, ft 

 seems a very bold thing to say that defective color- 

 sense is due to the inimical conditions of our civil- 

 ization ; for we know as little about the color-sense 

 of savages as we do about the color-sense of the 

 old Greeks. That the savage sight is vastly more 

 powerful than ours was perhaps not so bold a 

 thing to say, seeing that in this matter our teach- 

 ers were misled by travelers' tales, and perhaps 

 by other considerations, as, for instance, the ab- 

 sence of artificial aids to sight among the children 

 of nature. The redskin may be very old, but as 

 he sits sunning himself before his wigwam in the 

 early morning he is never observed to trombone 

 his newspaper. 



The reader may spare himself the trouble of 

 smiling, for this is not mere supposition; in this 

 case observation came first and reflection after- 

 wards, for I happen to know something of savages 

 from experience, and when they were using their 

 eyes in their way, and for their purposes, I used 

 mine for my purpose, which was different. It is 

 true that the redskin will point you out an object 

 in the distance and tell its character, and it will 

 be to your sight only a dark-colored object, which 

 might be a bush, or stone, or animal of some large 

 kind, or even a house. The secret of the differ- 

 ence is that his eye is trained and accustomed to 

 see certain things, which he looks for and expects 

 to find. Put him where the conditions are new to 



