POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 



soon as they were discovered.&quot; In North America, among 

 the Chinooks, &quot; on the coast a custom prevails which autho 

 rizes the seizure and enslavement, unless ransomed by his 

 friends, of every Indian met with at a distance from his 

 tribe, although they may not be at war with each other.&quot; At 

 first, however, though it is necessary to join some group, it is 

 not necessary to continue in the same group. When oppressed 

 l&amp;gt;y their chief, Kalmucks and Mongols desert him and go over 

 to other chiefs. Of the Abipones Dobrizhoffer says : &quot; With 

 out leave asked on their part, or displeasure evinced on his, 

 they remove with their families whithersoever it suits them, 

 and join some other cacique ; and when tired of the second, 

 return with impunity to the horde of the first.&quot; Similarly in 

 South Africa, &quot; the frequent instances which occur [among 

 the Balonda] of people changing from one part of the country 

 to another, show that the great chiefs possess only a limited 

 power.&quot; And how, through this process, some tribes grow 

 while others dwindle, we are shown by M Culloch s remark 

 respecting the Kukis, that &quot; a village, having around it plenty 

 of land suited for cultivation and a popular chief, is sure 

 soon, by accessions from less favoured ones, to become large.&quot; 

 With the need which the individual has for protection, is 

 joined the desire of the tribe to strengthen itself; and the 

 practice of adoption, hence resulting, constitutes another 

 mode of integration. Where, as in tribes of North American 

 Indians, &quot;adoption or the torture were the alternative 

 chances of a captive&quot; (adoption being the fate of one admired 

 for his bravery), we see re-illustrated the tendency which 

 each society has to grow at the expense of other societies. 

 That desire for many actual children whereby the family 

 may be strengthened, which Hebrew traditions show us, 

 readily passes into the desire for factitious children here 

 made one with the brotherhood by exchange of blood, and 

 there by mock birth. As was implied in 319, it is probable 

 that the practice of adoption into families among Greeks and 

 Romans, arose during those early times when the wandering 



