The Decadence of the Savage. 19 
all these countries, even those where there are few whites, the 
pure Indian is steadily giving away to the mixed blood, appar- 
ently the product of natural selection. It would seem from this 
that the climate and country are better adapted to the increase 
of mixed blood than either the Spanish or the Indian. 
Central America and South America were settled by the Latin 
race, North America by the French and English.. The French 
early founded settlements,on the Saint Lawrence, and have ever 
since occupied the larger portion of its valley, though their 
population has never spread outside of this territory and por- 
tions of New England. They are a hardy, frugal, and industri- 
ous race, living in a cold, unfruitful country ; all their strength 
and resources are expended in obtaining a scanty livelihood, 
leaving them without opportunity to develop the artistic taste 
and culture natural to the French race. 
The United States owes its rapid growth and prosperity largely 
to the valley of the Mississippi. This great valley slopes from 
the east and west and toward the south, and has the largest ex- 
tent of rich arable iand in the temperate zone. West of the Mis- 
souri are great plains, and further westward among the Rockies 
great parks and plateaus, with short summers and long winters, 
so dry that neither heat nor cold are unpleasant. Here also are 
great mineral veins, bearing gold and silver, lead and copper, 
iron and coal, with rapid streams, fit country for the miner, the 
manufacturer, and the herdsman. In the far west, where there 
are only from five to fifteen inches of rainfall, numerous irri- 
eating ditches have been made, and by means of the storm water 
collected in reservoirs the desert has been made to yield most 
abundant harvests. 
The English ‘and their descendants have never mingled with 
the Indians, but have driven them from their homes, following 
the example of every other nation of the Old World in occupy- 
ing the territory of the aborigines. As soon as the rich plains 
and fertile prairies of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys were ex- 
plored, thousands and tens of thousands of emigrants from the 
Old and New World flocked into a region where they could ob- 
tain homesteads for the asking. This emigration benefited both 
continents, for the population and wealth of the Old World has 
rapidly increased since emigration began, and never in the history 
of the world has so much wealth been created as by the settle- 
ment and cultivation of these valleys. 
