27 



Never has the savage, freely roving 

 through the forests of the temperate zone, 

 been known to throw willingly aside the 

 habits of the hunter, and embrace the still- 

 ness of agricultural life. This transition, 

 which is the most difficult, and the most 

 important in the history of human socie- 

 ties, can only be attained by the force of 

 circumstances. When, in their distant mi- 

 grations, hordes of hunters, expelled by 

 other warlike hordes, reached the plains of 

 the equinoctial zone, they were compelled 

 by impenetrable forests and a luxuriant 

 vegetation, to change their character and 

 habits. There are countries between the 

 Orinoco, the Ucajale, and the river of 

 Amazons, where man finds no other space 

 free than the rivers and the lakes. Rivetted 

 to the soil on the banks of rivers, the most 

 savage tribes encircle their huts with ba- 

 nanas, jatropha, and other alimentary 

 plants. 



No historical fact, no tradition connects 

 the nations of South America with those 



