Wanika, 
lOI 
them, or they have been crushed out of them. Any- 
thing approaching manhness^ courage, ambition, is 
seldom met with. The people boast sometimes of 
what they were in former days, but they admit that 
they are not now what they once were. Cowardice 
and pusillanimity now characterize the whole race. 
Lethargic and unenterprising, they accept their pre- 
sent lot, and make no endeavour to improve it. They 
are in a state of complete stagnation. 
They have, 'however, some redeeming qualities. 
Family affection and love of home is very strong in 
them, almost amounting to a passion ; mothers love 
their children very tenderly, and, as a rule, the senti- 
ment is reciprocated by the children. The maternal 
feehng finds strange expression at times. A woman 
who has no children will often dress up a rude doll, 
and carry it about with her in the manner in which 
children are carried ; anything to meet the yearnings 
of her nature. Let sickness creep into a family, and 
the affectionate nature of the people is fully roused. 
They attend upon each other with the utmost assi- 
duity, and do their very best to assist one another, 
and to alleviate each other s sufferings. 
Re3pect for the aged is another of their favourable 
traits. Young people always make way for their 
elders, vacating their seats in favour of the latter, 
deferring to their opinions, and retiring to the 
background when they are present. A young man 
meeting an elderly woman in the path gives her the 
precedence, stands aside at a distance, and salutes her 
most respectfully. A kindness of disposition, too, is 
exemplified by the manner in which they carry on 
their visitations among each other. They never make 
