INDIAN CHARACTER 



53 



perience of Indians, have always a long list of instances 

 to relate to the stranger, showing their base ingratitude. 

 They certainly do not appear to remember or think of 

 repaying benefits, but this is probably because they did 

 not require, and do not value such benefits as their would- 

 be masters confer upon them. I have known instances 

 of attachment and fidelity on the part of Indians towards 

 their masters, but these are exceptional cases. All the 

 actions of the Indian show that his ruling desire is to be 

 let alone ; he is attached to his home, his quiet monotonous 

 forest and river life ; he likes to go to towns occasionally, 

 to see the wonders introduced by the white man, but he 

 has a great repugnance to living in the midst of the 

 crowd ; he prefers handicraft to field labour, and espe- 

 cially dislikes binding himself to regular labour for hire. 

 He is shy and uneasy before strangers, but if they visit 

 his abode, he treats them well, for he has a rooted ap- 

 preciation of the duty of hospitality ; there is a pride 

 about him, and being naturally formal and polite, he acts 

 the host with great dignity. He withdraws from towns 

 as soon as the stir of civilization begins to make itself felt. 

 When we first arrived at Para many Indian families re- 

 sided there, for the mode of living at that time was more 

 like that of a large village than a city ; as soon as river 

 steamers and more business activity were introduced, 

 they all gradually took themselves away. 



These characteristics of the Para Indians are appli- 

 cable, of course, to some extent, to the Mamelucos, which 

 now constitute a great proportion of the population. 

 The inflexibility of character of the Indian, and his total 

 inability to accommodate himself to new arrangements, 

 will infallibly lead to his extinction, as immigrants, en- 

 dowed with more supple organizations, increase, and 

 civilization advances in the Amazon region. But, as 

 the different races amalgamate readily, and the offspring 

 of white and Indian often become distinguished Brazilian 

 citizens, there is little reason to regret the fate of the 

 race. Formerly the Indian was harshly treated, and even 

 now he is so in many parts of the interior. But, ac- 

 cording to the laws of Brazil, he is a free citizen, having 

 equal privileges with the whites ; and there are very strong 

 enactments providing against the enslaving and ill-treat- 

 ment of the Indians. The residents of the interior, who 

 have no higher principles to counteract instinctive selfish- 



