op Il. The American Aborigines William Robertson Almost two centuries clapsed after the discovery of America, before the manners of its inhabitants attracted, in any considerable degree, the Gttention of philosophers. At length they Siscovered, that the contempla- tion of the condition and character of the Americans in their original state, tended to complete our knowledge of the human species, might become ft for the residence of man, thar thing in it bore marks of a weil os greet and that its inhabitants, intcy called into existence, and still at the beginning of their nt ty Wet unworthy to be compared with the people of a more ancient ani improved continent! Others have imagined, that, under the influence of an unkindly climate, which checks and encrvates the Principle of life, man Never attained in America the perfection which belongs to bis nature, but remained an animal of an Inferior order, defective in the Vigour of his bodily frame, and destitate of Sensibility, as well as of force, ix the operations of his mind? In opposi- fon to both these, other ers have Supposed that man arrives at is highest dignity and cxcellence long before he Teaches a state of ity of savage lifo, displays an eleva- Ment, for which it fs vain ee oes % mind, and a’ warnth of aeeeh From William Robertion, The History of America, YET, Pp. 1-21,William Robertson = 144 the species, These contradictory thearies have been proposed with equal confidence, and uncommon powers of genius and eloquence have been exerted, in order to clothe them with an appearance of truth. ~ As all those circumstances concur in rendering an inquiry into the state of the rude nations in America intricate and obscure, it is necessary to carry it on with caution. When guided in our researches by the intelli- gent observations of the few philosophers who have visited this part of the globe, we may venture to decide, When obliged to have recourse to the superficial remarks of valgar travellers, of sailors, traders, buccaneers, and missionaries, we must often pause, and, comparing detached facts, ‘endeavour to discover what they wanted sagacity to observe. Without indulging conjecture, or betraying a propensity to either system, we must study with equal care to avoid the extremes of extravagant admiration, or of supercilious contempt, for those manners which we describe. ‘In order to conduct this inquiry with greater accuracy, it should be tendered as simple as possible. Man existed as an individual before he became the member of a community; and the qualities which belong to him under his former capacity should be known, before we proceed to examine those which arise from the latter relation, This is peculiarly necessary in investigating the manners of rude nations. Their political union is so incomplete, their civil institutions and regulations so few, so simple, and of such slender authority, that men in this state ought to be viewed rather as independent agents, than as members of & regular so- ciety. ‘The character of a savage results almost entirely from his seati- iments or feelings as an individual, and is but little influenced by bis ‘imperfect subjection to and order. 1 shall conduct my re- searches concerning the manners of the Armericant ® this nature order, Proceeding gradually from what is simple to w] T shall consider I ‘The bodily constitution of the Americans in those regions now under review. TI. The qualities of their minds. 1. Their domestic state, IV. Their political state and institutions, V. Their system inahuratized in various climates, fee! the eect of every remove Proper cekan ead gradually dwindle and degenerate from the vigor and142 Voyagers and Philosophers perfection peculiar to their species. Man is the only living creature whose frame ts Mt once so hardy and so flexible, that he can spread over the whole earth, become the inhabitant of every region, and thrive and roultiply under every climate, Subject, however, to the general law of nature, the human body is not entirely exempt from the ‘operation of climate; and when exposed to the extremes either of heat or cold, its size or vigour diminishes. ‘The first appearance of the inhabitants of the New World, fled the with such astonishment, that they were apt to imagine them a tace of men different from those of the other hemisphere. Their comples- i2n i of a reddish brown, nearly resembling the calour of copper. The hair of their heads is always black, long, coarse, and uncurled. They have Spontaneously, the constitution of the natives, neither braced by the active exercises of the chase, nor invigorated by the labour of cultivation, was extremely feeble and languid. On the continent, where the forests wie wa Ete of various kinds, andthe chic eacpato sees tribes was to pursue it, the human frame acquired greater firmness, Still, however, the Americans were more remarkable for agility than strength. They resembled beasts of prey, rather than animals formed for labour. » but incapable of it; and when roused Supposed, to their mode of subsistenoe Amoricans be extremely insipid, as they are alt vec te rd of quanted wih Tinea egal ude tbe in other pars of thea subsisted on co pena wth te mac deg se ent symptom of a diminution in their vigour,‘Wiliam Robertson 183 suspicion. The quantity of food which men consume varies according to the temperature of the climate in which they live, the degree of activity which they exert, and the natural vigour of their constitutions. Under the enervating heat of the torrid zone, and when men pass thetr days in indolence and case, they require less nourishment than the active inhabl- tants of temperate or cold countries. But neither the warmth of their dlimate, nor their extreme laziness, will account for the uncommon defect of appetite among the Americans. The Spaniards were astonished with observing this, not only in the islands, but in several parts of the conti- nent. The constitutional temperance of the natives far exceeded, in their. opinion, the abstineace of the most mortified hermits"; while, on the other hand, the appetite of the Spaniards appeared to the Americans insatiably voracious; and they affirmed, that one Spaniard devoured more food in a day than was suficient for ten Americans. ‘A proof of some feebleness in thetr frame, still more striking, is the insensibility of the Americans to the charms of beauty, and the power of love. That passion, which was destined to perpetuate life, to be the bond of social unton, and the source of tenderness and joy, is the most ardent in the human breast. Though the perils and hardships of the savage state, though excessive fatigue, on some cccasions, and the difficulty at all times @ af procuring subsistence, may seem to be adverse to this passion, and to have a tendency to abate its vigour, yet the rudest nations in every other part of the globe seem to feel its influence more ly than the habitants Cf the New World. The negro glows with all the warmth of desire natural to his climate; and the most uncultivated Asiatics discaver that sensibility, which, from their situation on the globe, we should them 12 have felt, But the Americans are, in an amazing degree, Sttangers to the force of this frst instioet of nature. Ia every part of the vigour, the savage of A\ of a less noble “there © not a more common ar more seducing,144 Voyagers and Philosophers exror, than that of ascribing to a single cause, those characteristic pecul- iarities which are the effect of the combined operation of many causes. The climate and soil of America differ, in so many respects, from those of the other hemisphere, and this difference is so obvious and striking, that philosophers of great eminence have laid hold on this as sufficient to ‘Secount far what is peculiar in the constitution of its inhabitants. They rest on physical causes alone, and consider the feeble frame and languid desire of the Americans, as consoquences of the temperament of that Portion of the globe which they occupy. But the intuences of political and moral causes ought not to have been overlooked, These operate with no less effect than that on which many philosophers rest as a full explana- tion of the singular appearances which have been mentioned, Wherever the state of society is such as to create many wants and desires, which cannot be satisfied without regular exertions of industry, the body, accus- tomed to labour, becomes robust, and patient of fatigue. In a more simple state, where the demands of men are so few and so moderate, that hardly any labour is requisite to procure subsistence. The exertions of a hunter are not, however, so regular, or so continued, as those of persons employed in the culture of the earth, or in the various arts of civilized man in the New World, and his force augmented exercise, he mij sequirem degre of vigour which he does Set in his pase ie pone The teuth of this is confirmed by experience. Wherever the Anericang have been gradually accustomed to hard labour, their constitutions become robust, and they have been found capable af performing such tasks, as seemed not only to exceed the powers of such a feeble freme as has been deemed peculiar to their country, but to equal any effort of the natives, either of Africa or of Europe.* The same reasoning will apply to what has been observed conoem- ing their slender demand for food. As a proof that this should be aserihed as much to their extreme indolence, and often total want of oecupation, fs to any thing peculiar in the physical structure of their bodies it hay been observed, that in those districts, the people of America are obliged to exert any unusual effort of a in order to procure sub- sistence, or wherever they are employed labour, their appetite is not inferior to that of other men, and, in some it struck observers as remarkably voracious.* mises, bas i i‘William Robertson 145 ‘The operation of political and moral causes is still more conspicu- ons, in modifying the degree of attachment between the sexes. In 8 stato Of high civilization, this passion, infamed hy restraint, refined by deli. cacy, and cherished by fashion, oocupies and engrosses the heart t is no Tonger & simple instinct of ature; sentiment heightens the ardous of these, who, by their situation, are exempted from the cates ane labours of fer Among persons of inferior order, who are doomed by their condition to incessant toil, the dominion of this passion is less violent; their solici- fede to procure subsistence, and to provide for the frat demand of nature, leaves little leisure for attending to its second call. But if the maaare of the intercourse between the sexes varies so much in persons of different rank in polished societies, the condition of man, while he remains uncivilized, must occasion a variation still more apparent, We may well suppose, that amidst the hardships, the dangers, and the simplicity of savage life, where subsistence is always precarious, and Sree caeaty, where men are almost continually engaged inthe Purses of thar enemies, or in guarding against their attacks, and where neither dress nor reserve are em as arts of female allurement, that the See or ee americans to their women would be extremely feeble, ee ioputing tis solely to any physoal defector degradation in hes frame. tis accordingly observed, that in those countries of Ameo. whore from the fertility ofthe sol, the madness of the climate, 0° to where ror tne eth the natives bave made in, improvement, the farther advances white mare abundant, and the hardships of savage Me saree cevrely felt, the animal passion of the sexes boswmnas Tite ardent, Striking examples of this occur among some tribes seated on the sexes becomes From that which takes pice among thelr ruder en and a8 hardly restraint is imposed on the gratiflos- ruder countrymen: a4 Vligion, or laws, deoeney, the desoluton ofTY 146 Voyagers and Philosophers them are deformed, or mutilated, or defective in any af their senses, AIL travellers have been struck with their circumstance, and have celebrated the uniform symmetry and perfection of their external Sgure. Some authors search for the cause of this appearance in their physical condi- Hon, As the parents are not echeusted or over-fatigued with hard labour, they suppose that their children are bom vigorous and sound. They imagine, that, in the liberty of savage life, the human body, naked and bneonfined from its earliest age, preserves its natorel form; and that all its limbs and members acquire a juster proportion, than when fettered with artificial restraints, which stint its growth, and distort its shape.!” Some- thing, without doubt, may be ascribed to the operation of these causes; but the true reasons of this apparent advantage, which is commen to all savage nations, lie deoper, and are closely mterwoven with the nature and genius of that stat The infancy of man is so long and so helpless, that it is extremely difficult to rear children ‘among rude nations, Their ‘moans of subsistence are not only seanty, but precarious, Such as live by hunting must range over extensive countries, and shift often from place £0 Blnee, ‘The care of children, as well as every other laborious task, is upon the women, The distresses and hardships of the savage life, which are often such as can hardly be supported by persons in fell vigour, must be fatal to those of more tender age. Afraid of undertaking a task so laborious, and af such Jong duration, as that of rearing their alfspring, the women, in some parts of Ameriea, procure frequent abor under any original frailty attain the age of manhood™ in polished societies, where the means of subsitence are seoured with crate ted Fees erates: Where the talents of the mind ate often of more iroportance thar: powers of the body; children are preserved notwith- standing their defects or deformity, and grow up to be useful citizens, In Zude nations, such persons exe either cut off as soon as they are born or, becoming « burden to themselves and to the community, cannot loug Fe eet, attr But in those provinces of the New Warld, where, by the establishment of the Europeans, more regular provision hes Leck ide for the subsistence of its fuhsbitants, and they are resteined fon Eas stent foray cane len the Ame are so far from eminent for any superior perfection in their form, that one should rather suspect some peculiar imbecility in the race, from the entree tt——————————————— Wilitam Robertson = 147 nary number of individuals who sre deformed, dwarfish, mutilated, blind, or deaf.* New World, than in the ancient continent, When Columbus and the other discoverers first visited the different countries in Amerioa which Lie within the torrid zone, they naturally expected to find je of the same complexion with these in the corresponding regions of other hemi- sphere. To their amazement, however, they discovered that America contained no ; and the cause of this singular appearance became as much object of curiosity, as the fact itself was of wonder. Tn what part or membrane of the body thet humour resides which tinge the complexion of the negro wi ‘2 deep black, it is the business of fanutomins to ingsire and describe. The powerful operation of heat ‘manifestly to be the cause which produces this striking variety fn the human species. All Europe, a great part of Asia, and the temperate countries of Africa, are inhabited by men of a white . All the tonid sone fa Africa, some of the warmer regions adjacent to it, and several countries in Asia, are Bled with le of a deep black colour. If ‘we survey the nations of our continent, 1g our progress from cold tnd temperate onuntres towards those parts which are exposed to the IifueneP of vehement and unremitting heat, we shall find, thet the extreme whiteness of theit skin soon begins to diminish; that its colour deepens gradually as we advance; and after passing throngh ail the sot sectve gradations of shade, terminates in en uniform uavarying blask Fey. raat, where the agency of heat is checked and abated by aaa arcs wrhich I have already explained, the climate seams to be reeic or that forve which produces such wonderful effects on the Haren cane. The colour of the natives of the torrid zone, in America, i hardly of a deeper hue than that of the people in the more temperate parts of their continent. ‘Accurate observers, who had an opportunity of Flowing the Americans in very diferent climates, and ip provinoes fay eae ee gach other, have been struck with the amazing similarity of 2148 Voyagers and Philosophers her productions is indced so great, that it is presumptuous to set bounds to her fertility, and to reject indiscriminately every relation that docs not perfectly accord with our own limited observation and experience. But the other extreme, of yielding a hasty assent, on the slightest evidence, to whatever has the appearance of being strange and marvellous, is still more unbecoming a philosophical inquirer, as, in every period, men are mare apt to be betrayed into error, by their weakness in believing too much, than by their arrogance in believing too little. In proportion as science extends, and nature is examined with a discerning eye, the wonders which amused ages of ignorance disappear. ‘The tales of credu- Jous travellers concerning America are forgotten; the monsters which they describe have been searched for in vain; and those provinces whcre they pretend to have found inhabitants of singular forms, are now known to be possessed by people nowise different from the other Americans. Though those relations may, without discussion, be rejected as fabulous, there are other accounts of varieties in the human species in ‘some parts of the New World, which rest upon better evidence, and merit inore attentive examination, This variety has been particularly observed in three different districts. The first of these is situated in the isthmus of Darien, near the centre of America, Lionel Wafer, a traveller Possessed of more curiosity and intelligence than we should have expected to find in an associate of Buccaneers, discovered there a Tace of men, few in num- ber, but of a singular make, They are of low stature, according to his description, of a feeble frame, incapable of enduring fatigue. Their colour is a dead milk white; not resembling that of fair people among Euro- heads, their eye brows, and eyelashes, are of the same ne. ‘Thor eyes Bee ora ungulas form, and so weak, that they ean hardly beur the Hight of the sun; but they see clearly by moon-light, and are most active and Bay in the night*" No race similar to this has been discovered in any other extended to the provinces bordering on the isthmus of Darien then tare probably brought thence. ‘See igular as the appearance of these peamle may be, they cannot be considered as constituting a distinct species. Among negroes of Ai, as well as the natives of the Indian islands, nature ile Fearn, Produces a small number of individuals, with all the character. istic Features and qualities of the white people of Devies called Albinos by the Portuguese, the laner x, he baw tn Darien, the parents of those Whites are of th i natives of the country, and this bservation apelin othe ee pplies equally to the ‘anomalous progeny of the negroes and Indians, Stme mother who—_——<—<$<$< < William Robertson = 149. some children of a colour that does not belong to the race, brings forth the rest with the complexion peculiar to her country. One conclusion may then be formed with respect to the people described by Water, the Albinas and the Kackerlakes; they are a degenerated brood, rot a separate class of men; and from some disease or defect of their parents, the peouliar colour and debility which mark their i are transmitted to them, As a decisive proof of this, it has been observed, that neither the white people of Darien, nor the Albinos of Africa, - gate their race; their children are of the colour and temperament r fo the natives af their respective countries.” "The second district that is occupied by inhabitants differing in appearance from the other people of America, is situated in 3 i northern latitude, extending from the coast ‘of Labradore towards the pole, as far as the country is habitable, The people scattered over those reary regions, are known to the Europeans by the name of Esquisnasn Yee ccives with that idea of their own superiority, which conscles the rudest and yaost wretched nations, assume the name of Keralit or Men. ‘They are of « middle size, and robust, with heads of = disproper: tioned ull and feet as remarkably small. Their complexion, though Swarthy, by belng continually exposed t9 the rigour of a cold climate, Inelines te the Haropean white, rather than to the copper colour of Confidence, that the Esquimaux are a race diff Americans. ; ‘We cannot decide with equal certainty concerning the inbabitants of the int district, situated at the southern extremity of America. These are the famous Patagonians, who, during two centuries and a half, have SForded n cabject of controversy tothe Ieamed, end an abject of wondes to the vulgar. They are supposed tobe one of the wandering tribes, wie occupy that vast, but least Jmown region of i ff the river De la Plata to the Straits of Magellan, Their proper station is in that part of the interior country which Ties on i Negro; but in the hunting season tbey often 10% NR separate Tier dsl Fuego fram the mainland The fist accounts of this pene wero brought to Europe by the companions of Magellan? Bs Deol Were my te a gigantic race, above eight fect high, and of strength in proportion to thelr enormous size. sauna» dopey in bulk as considerable may be observed. Some large Caan area dogs exceed the more diinative races in stature and strength, as far as the Patagonian is to rise above the usual ren, a Te seeouan body” But animals attain the highest perfection ofoe 150 Voyagers and Philosophers their species only in mild climates, or where they find the most nutritive food in greatest abundance. It is not then in the uncultivated waste of the Magellanic regions, and among a tribe of improvident savages, that we should expect to find man Possessing the highest honours of his race, and distinguished by a superiority of size and vigour, far beyond what he bas reached in any other part of the earth. The most explicit and unexcep- some navigators, and those among the ‘most eminent of their order for discernment and accuracy, have asserted that the natives of Patagonia, with whom they had intercourse, though Stout and wellanade, are not of such extraordinary size as to be distin- guished from the rest of the ‘human species2° The existence of this gigan- Hc race of men seems, then, to be one of those points in natural history, Notes ieee i £ tie Soma, ©. 48, D. Life of Columbus, «24, Tonle, 51, ©. Voy, de we neste Se ate ey hee SS Recie Saaie mm 41 Herrera, dee. 1. ib i. 616. 8S P 9. Hake 40,508 "tisanepit Mocum des Savages, Rochefe Antilles, P- 461. Voyage Corea 14, Ramen 36, pratt HR das ae ' 1M. de Bulfon Hist, Nut. Hh. 484, &. tx, 103. 114, Recherches Jes Ameri. passinWittam Robertson = 167 71. Fakner’s Descr, of Patagon. p. 125. Lettere di P. Cataneo ap. Marstori 1 Chris- tan. Felice, i. 308. 1 Chanvalon, p. Bi, Letts, Edié. tom. xriv, 918. Tertee. p, 377 Venoges, i, 81. ‘bes Hist. de los Triuml. p. 11. 108. 44 Sea Note XEVIL 36 Camilla, 12.70, 247, Laftan, i 515. Ovalle Church, ii, B1. Muratori, |. 208. 10 Biet, 990, Charley. ti, 423. Dumont Mem, sur Loutsisne, 185. 11 Piso, p. 8. 18 Ells's Voyage to Hudson's Bay, 188. Herrera, dec. 7, lib. ix. 0, 4. 1 Gunilla Hist. if. 294. Techo's Hist. of Paraguay. &c. Churchill's Collect. vi. 2° Creuxil Hist, Canad. p. 57. 38 Voyage de Ulloa, i232. 24, Martyr, dec. p. 71. 38 See Note XLVI. 24 Wafer Descript. of Tath. ap. Dampier, itp. 546. Cones ap. Rarous. iil. p. 241, E. 34 Margray. Het. Rer, Nat, Braz. Bb. vic. 4. st Walee, p. 345, Demaner Hist. de YAdrique, #, 294, Recherch Philos, sar les Amer, il. 1, &c. Note XLVIL 28 Elis Voy. to Huds, Bry, p. 191. 130. De In Potherie, tom. tp. 70, Wales’ Jour. of a Voy. to Churchill River. Phil. Trans. vol. ix, 109. 20 Fdloner’s Description of Patagoela, p. 103. 1 See Note XLIX,