world and having little to excite the cupidity of others, they are not often forced to fight, but they are reputed courageous and vigorous when put to the test. It appears that life in the hunter or fisher state tends to individuality and the absence of social organization. It is believed that no instance can be cited of a race of people, living exclusively from hunting or fishing and the spontaneous products of the earth, that has passed the stage of simple tribal organization. Though the civilized man can readily perceive the advantages that might accrue to them from concert of action, conditions are not such as to develop it, and probably, if once developed, any form of extensive organization would soon fall in pieces without a marked change in the habits of the people. Among the very lowest promiscuous intercourse is the rule, and the whole burden of rearing the young is cast on the mother. In a great majority of instances, where a permanent relation is recognized as existing between the man and woman, the latter is treated as a slave and forced to bear his burdens as well as her own and those of her offspring.1 The natives of Australia appear to have been below the average of the American Indians in most respects. It is said that they did not till the soil at all, their habitations were of the most crude and temporary character, being mostly of bark or brush. In the manufacture of weapons and implements they exhibited little skill or ingenuity, having no knowledge of metals or skill in weaving fabrics. They did not know the use of the bow and arrow, the almost universal weapon of primitive man, yet the boomerang, a most curious invention unknown elsewhere, is their peculiar weapon. In government they do not appear to have ever advanced beyond the tribal stage, with very little power in their chiefs. As with most savages the women are oppressed and enslaved by the men. and family ties are very weak. 1 In attempting a close study of the development of the first For a more full statement of the various customs cencerning the relations of the sexes see Brissaud's "History of French Private Law." Continental Legal History Series, Vol. 3, p. 1. " steps toward the formation of a government, we are met by 4 sataseng complication of difles Savage tribes can typy så 180 accurate history of their own development. The Pare dragent to close contact with superior je me Der & Migment is affected to a greater or twory we de exes influences to which they are fashions in dress and modes of ted to new conditions. Thus in be the Comanche Indian place him „Aixlix de borse was first brought here by the beads were worn by the natives of e states long before the revolutionary --、ot of an Indian costume without them . Dough the material came from Europe. sen supplanted bows and tomahawks. Amigrations of tribes, the changing con 、 s under which they lived, afford no op& continuing development of a particular American Indians can now be found whose and even tribal organizations have not been Cod by the influence of the whites. Those ... near their ancestral homes have little left or habits of their wild ancestors. Those oved to western reservations have also felt e teachings and examples of the whites, often This frequent and extreme subjection however, a characteristic of the savage state, ever hope for an opportunity to calmly study get of any savage people, uncontaminated by e civilized people for many consecutive genThe reason for this is plain. Steady development. Yeady conditions. Not only were the Indian tribes estruction at the hands of their enemies, but their we ad improvidence left them constantly liable to which often depopulated their villages. mentary society is always domestic in character, it is the rule of the strong male over the female slave. In all quarters of the globe warlike savages have been accustomed to enslave prisoners whom they did not kill. Yet the custom of adopting even prisoners of war to whom the captor chances to take a liking is not uncommon. This was the settled policy of the Iroquois and a great source of strength. The slavery is generally temporary in character, resulting soon in death or emancipation of the slave. The habits of life of the savage are not such as to admit of the propagation and preservation of a servile race. In our efforts to generalize the earliest appearances of social organization, we are liable to take up a preconceived theory and proceed with a smooth and logical narration of orderly development. But, when we attempt to cite authorities and demonstrate the correctness of our theories from known instances, we are met with innumerable perplexities and apparent contradictions. Observers who are ignorant of the language of the people they attempt to describe often give most unsatisfactory accounts. They report what they see and often fill out their descriptions with what they infer to be true. But as we proceed we shall find that these difficulties attend the study of the development of governments in all forms and stages in a marked degree, and that the human capacity and desire to choose and invent leads to most perplexing want of uniformity in the development of social order. While the earliest form of mastery and rulership of a permanent character appears to be domestic and a personal mastery of one over another, the next step generally has its foundation in war. Under conditions of isolation it is possible for a tribe to make much progress in industry without developing a governmental system. The Ifugaos, a head-hunting tribe classed as of Malay stock, inhabiting a mountainous district of northern Luzon, numbering about 120,000, have no trace of political, judicial or priestly government, yet have constructed and maintained from remote antiquity the most extensive and admirable system of mountain terraces for rice culture to be found anywhere in the world, the one in the Benue valley being 12 kilometers long without a break with some of the terrace walls 60 feet high, and that in the Asin valley having 110 rows of terraces from the river to the top. These terraced fields are irrigated from the mountain streams and cultivated with great industry and skill. They are not tribal property, but privately owned in unequal parts, some members of the tribe being rich and others. poor. Though they have no written language, rights to property and domestic relations are regulated by a fairly complete set of customary laws and taboos, transmitted orally from generation to generation. Penalties are also imposed for various offenses. For their enforcement these laws are dependent on the general sentiment of the people and the active force of the family of the injured or offended party. The nearest approach to an official is the go-between, who undertakes by negotiation, persuasion or threats to bring about the settlement of such controversies as he is called on to deal with. In the last resort the family of the wronged party uses the spear, but it is said that loss of life by violence of all descriptions is not nearly so great as among the people of the United States. The surprising thing about these people is that with so much industry, thrift and private wealth as they have, they are, and so far as known always have been, without any governmental machinery to protect owners in their property rights. The general rule the world over seems to be that some form of governmental protection goes along with private wealth. This tribe proves that the laws of an isolated tribe, generally known and understood by the people, may regulate their social and property rights without the aid of courts or other governmental machinery. Laws like many of our municipal regulations, which are neither known to or observed by the people generally, are of very doubtful value, however much governmental machinery may be devised for their enforcement.1 Authorities Bancroft: Native Races of the Pacific States. Alingas Law. Barton, University of Cabfornia Press CHAPTER II TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS AND SIMPLE DESPOTISMS Passing from our imperfect view of the most low and repulsive specimens of human beings to those possessing more intelligence and exhibiting tendencies toward social organizations, we find everywhere that customs, superstitions and fashions precede governments and laws. The tribal organizations of hunters and fishers do not possess the true attributes of government, in the sense in which it is used by civilized man, to as great an extent as one of the many great corporations of modern times. The authority of the chiefs is hardly more than advisory. Matters affecting the tribe are isually determined by public assemblies, and war parties are made up of volunteers who submit to neither discipline nor command. Yet everywhere and even among the very lowest, customs, ceremonies and fashions are found to exist, the observance of which is compelled by public sentiment. These are often most cruel and unnatural. Let us examine some of them. The custom of perforating the lips, nose and ears, of cutting off fingers, making incisions in the flesh and inserting most unsightly ornaments in lips, nose and ears is common with more or less variation among American Indians, African tribes and Polynesians. Thus the Thlinkeet women slit the under lip and gradually enlarge the opening until a large block of wood is inserted from two to six inches in length and from one to four inches in width and half an inch thick. It is so large that when withdrawn the lip falls over on the chin. The Koniagas and Thlinkeets imprison girls arriving at the age of puberty in huts so small as to keep them continually in a cramped position for six months or even a year. Dances and feasts of various kinds are characteristic of savages everywhere. Love of ornament seems to precede a desire for cloth |