SECT. II.] CHAEACTERISTICS. MARRIAGE. 295 



ally from famine, and nevertheless neglect to lay in provisions 

 or to cultivate the soil for their support. A characteristic trait 

 proving utter carelessness for the future is mentioned by 

 Labat, 1 namely, that the Caribs sell their hammocks cheaper in 

 the morning than in the evening. The great indolence and 

 thoughtlessness which renders uncivilized nations so disin- 

 clined to improve their miserable condition, has led to the con- 

 clusion, that they are utterly incapable of effecting anything 

 which requires industry and perseverance. That such a conclu- 

 sion is unwarrantable is proved by the surprising patience 

 which they evince in manufacturing their furniture and dress 

 with the simplest tools. As instances, may be mentioned that 

 the Indians of Peru sometimes spend two years in weaving a 

 blanket, 2 and devote five to six hours to paint their bodies. 

 The Bosjesmen are especially distinguished by their perseve- 

 rance, when once they are roused from their lethargy. ' ' Nothing 

 can induce them to leave the track of game, nor will any diffi- 

 culty deter them from an enterprise once resolved upon/' 3 

 Such firmness of purpose is, however, rare among uncultivated 

 nations, as they are commonly very changeable in disposition. 

 Without being absolutely malignant and treacherous, uncul- 

 tured peoples soon become faithless, crafty, and deceitful, 

 especially when they feel themselves secure ; and this not so 

 much from self-interest, as from a momentary impulse, which 

 irresistibly leads them to gratify their desires. That this is 

 taking a just view is proved by many examples in which rob- 

 beries and assassination by savages have been prevented by 

 changing their current of thought in drawing attention to 

 some artificial trick, or by some other entertainment. If 

 Dentrecasteaux (1792), and other writers of that period, 

 describe uncultivated nations, e. g., the inhabitants of Van 

 Diemen's land, as peaceable children of nature, it is partly 

 owing to the then prevailing opinion that all corruption belongs 

 to the civilized state, partly, it may be owing to the circum- 

 stance that some navigators treated the aborigines kindly, 



1 " Nouv. Voy. aux Isles de 1' Am.," i, pp. 2, 18, 1724. 



2 Ulloa, " Voy. historique," p. 336, Amst., 1752. 



3 Lichtenstein, " Eeise im Siidl. Afr.," ii, p. 319, 1811. 



