18 



THE r.TFlN'OT.OOY OF THE INDIAN AUCITIPin.AOO. 



society beyond that of a few families is formed, but bis wunlrrings 

 are confined to a limited tract. It lias greater nd vantages than 

 otber places be may have visited or than surrounding tracts, or 

 he cannot leave it without severe exertion to overcome natural 

 obstacles. The difficulty of, egress may be greater than that of 

 ingress, — or having, from some strong temporary impulse, or ne- 

 cessity, forced himself into it, the recollection or tradition of the 

 difficulties, exaggerated by the lapse of time, may prevent his 

 attempting to leave it/ — or the tribe mnv be debarred by the 

 proximity ofjealous or hostile ones from pursuing their migration. 

 If in the course of its wanderings, it has encountered strange tribes 

 and suffered from their attacks, it may voluntarily remain iu a tract 

 which it finds to be secluded. The boundless nomadic spirit which 

 is. inconsistent with any location and any development, and in 

 which man bos no more relation to a particular district than the 

 tiger who ji .rnevs through it lingering for a time if he finds food 

 to be abundant, is thus early checked either by ihe character of a 

 particular locality or by the proximity of oilier tribes. The loca- 

 tions fitted to become primary seats by the operation of either of 

 these causes, vary with the nature of the region and the increase of 

 population. 



In Eastern Asia and Oceaniea there are probably several 

 thousands of suoh primary locations of tribes. In the vast moun- 

 tainous aud hilly tracts covered with dense forest, these seals arc 

 exceedingly circumscribed. On open steppes and grassy plains 

 they axe far wider. Some are so small and difficult of ingress and 

 egress, that the families which first wandered into them probably 

 founded isolated tribes, In others, while the obstacles to constant 

 or regular mutual intercourse are great, none exist to hinder occa- 

 sions] or accidental contact. In these, different clans or brandies 

 of one family at first preserve a considerable alliance, but with the 

 growth of jealousies and quarrel*, increase of numbers and weaken- 

 ing of the bond of consanguinity through the lapse of time, estrang- 

 ment and hostility are produced. Mutual interest and fear lead 

 to the restriction of each clan to a particular range. 



The secondary seats are the margins of inland lakes and of navi- 



Sable rivers, after canoes have come into use. The extent of the latter 

 epends greatly on the character of the river, some having so 

 strong a current as to present a considerable obstacle to the main- 

 tenance of a constant intercourse between families settled at distant 

 points on their banks, Lakes and portions of riven which have 



• Amtmgat the ttaaat Ulwrtnition* of ihi% are thm* furnished by thr bawl of 

 lofty mountains tin* passes of which lead from the great Asiatic plat/vm to tbe 

 plain* and value* of India, Ultrabulio. am! Chins. Tribe* hating onco datomdart 

 roust lime been pretested from re-aac»;ndiiig, because Ihe difficulty uf doing so, 

 great in Itself, would be increased by Lb* climatic enervation, and the temptation 

 to do so would be diminiihnd. Evea the descent of the Aliotns from the eastern 

 highland* into Asaro nix centuries ago, soon became mvthicu). They were fublcd 

 ro liavi: rome d->wn from heaven by an iron ladder. 



