NATIVES 
55 
ours. In general yon will find that the less civilized the natives 
are, the stronger the local taboos or restraints will be and the 
more you will be expected to conform to them. Respect for per- 
sonal property, as well as for privacy, is very important. Never 
pick fruits, kill pigs, or take other food without first ascertain- 
ing their ownership, gaining permission and paying for them. 
Remember that in isolated regions money has little value ; paper 
money is actually worthless and coins only are a medium of ex- 
change insofar as they have trinket or jewelry value. Often- 
times matches, cigarettes, empty containers, or other odds and 
ends that you may have in your pockets are worth more to the 
native than any form of money. An exception, of course, would 
be a group that is living close to the outposts of civilization and 
white man’s stores. Under such conditions money may be the 
preferred medium of exchange, but unless it is, don’t try to force 
it on them. Be sure, however, that you make some form of pay- 
ment. Also, if you make a promise of any kind, keep it literally. 
You can’t pull a fast one on a native and get away with it. 
One thing above all to bear in mind is to leave the native wo- 
men alone . More white men have been killed by natives for 
trying to make some dusky dame than for any other reason. 
Even if the circumstances are favorable, which they may be 
under certain conditions with a father, brother, or husband 
offering a woman to you, it is better to skip the opportunity, as a 
case of venereal disease usually can be expected as a follow-up, 
this being one of the “benefits” of civilization bestowed by the 
white man wherever he has gone. If you must play with fire re- 
gardless of all considerations, do your dickering with the men 
and pay them first. Native women are often considered as 
chattels and do not have free say in such matters. Permission 
