116 Idle Days in Patagonia. 
the community: and albinism is associated with 
weakness of vision, and other defects, which might 
be a sufficient cause of the aversion. Hven among 
the highly civilized and humane, the sight of sick- 
ness is probably always, in some measure, repulsive 
and shocking, especially in cases in which the skin 
loses its natural colour, such as anzmia, consump- 
tion, chlorosis, and jaundice. This natural and 
universal cause of dislike of the albino would be 
strengthened among pure savages by the supersti- 
tious element—the belief that the abnormal paleness 
of the individual was supernatural, that want of 
colour signified absence of soul. 
As to the white shark of the tropics, the simplest 
explanation of the greater terror inspired by this 
creature would be that, being white, and therefore 
conspicuous above all other dangerous creatures, 
the sight would be more attracted to it, its image 
would become more fixed, and look larger and more 
formidable in the mind, and it would be more often 
thought about apprehensively, with the result that 
there would be a predisposition to regard it with a 
fear exceeding that inspired by other creatures 
equally or even more dangerous to human life, but 
inconspicuously coloured, hence not so vividly seen, 
and creating no such distinct and persistent mental 
image. Let us consider what would be the 
effect of the appearance of a warrior, habited in 
snowy white, or shining gold, or vivid scarlet, or 
flame-colour, among a host of contending men, 
fighting in the old fashion with sword and spear and 
