258 PHYSICAL INVESTIGATION. [PART ! 



namely, among the Caribs, 1 in the Pearl Island, near Cartha- 

 gena, 2 on the Ucayale, 3 on the Solimoes, among the Juris, 4 01 

 the Tapajoz, among the Mundrucus, 5 and among the Abi- 

 ponians. 6 



These examples prove how cautious we should be in arriving 

 at conclusions when we find merely conformities in such and 

 similar things, as they offer no secure basis by themselves for 

 inferring the affinity of peoples. 



preparation of larger animals, hence the husband passes the greater part of 

 the day in his hammock (Quandt, " Nachr. v. Surinam," p. 252, 1807). Among 

 many peoples we hear of a continuous fasting of the husband on such occa- 

 sions, among the Conibos on the left bank of the Ucayale, among the Indians 

 on the Orinoco (St. Cricq, " Bui. Soc. Geogr.," p. 289, 1853; Gilii, p. 274). Ac- 

 cording to Labat (" Nouv. voy. aux iles del' Am.," ii, p. 123, 1724), this fasting 

 lasts, among the Caribs, thirty to forty days, but only takes place at the birth 

 of the first son, and is thus a religious custom. 



1 Fennin, "Descr. de la col. de Surinam," i, p. 81, Amst., 1769; Lavaysse, 

 " Eeise nach Trinidad," 1816, denies it. 



2 Allerhand, " Lehrreiche Briefe, v. d. Miss, der Ges. Jesu/' i, p. 56, 1726. 

 8 Tschudi, " Peru," p. 235, 1846. 



4 Spix and Martius, p. 1186. 



6 Ibid., p. 1339. 



6 Dobrizhoffer, "Gesch. d. Abiponer," ii, p. 273, 1783. 



