From a similar account of the means by sub sistence is procured in the greater part of the New World, Dr Robertson has, with his accustomed ability, deduced the form and character of the political institu tions existing among the Indians of. America, and traced the origin of that spirit of independence, which distin guishes them from the numerous slaves of despotism in Asia or Europe.
In the first place, they were divided into small and distinct communities. This was the natural and un avoidable result of their mode of life. Men who derive their subsistence from the spontaneous productions of the earth, or from the precarious resources of hunting or fishing, are prevented from associating in any con siderable number. Among hunters especially, a large extent of ground is necessary for the maintenance of a very small tribe. The wild animals are by nature soli. tary ; and even those of them which are gregarious. withdraw to the recesses of the forests, when men begin to increase, and to disturb them in the quiet possession of the open country. if they are followed through the woods and thickets, those who pursue them must neces sarily pursue them in small bodies ; and the domain which every petty community regards as its own, must be cleared of every rival that would encroach on the territory appropriated to its use. The enemies of the tribe must be driven to a distance. In exact conformity with these statements, it has been observed, that in America, the word nation has not the same meaning which it has in other parts of the globe. That term has been injudiciously applied to small companies of wan dering and disorderly savages, often not exceeding a hundred persons, and sometimes not above fifty. The central regions of the New World are remarkable for these inconsiderable groups or individuals, separated from one another, not only by implacable and everlast ing hatred, but even by their manners, habits, and lan guage. Towards the northern extremity of the con tinent, the tribes are somewhat larger. More resident and more addicted to agriculture than the inhabitants of the southern provinces, the Algomplins, or Chippeways, might be reckoned a numerous people, when contrasted with any of the inferior societies on the banks of the Maragnon or Oroonoco. But though the larger com munities are distinguished by one appellation, they are in reality divided into smaller parties, each of which acts, in a great measure, independently of the rest. The Iroquois, or Indians of the Six Nations in Canada, who have long been associated for the purposes of mutual defence, ought rather to be viewed as a combination of republics, than as an individual people, subject to the dominion of established rulers, and a fixed administ•a tion of justice. These nations, though combined, still preserve their distinguishing characters ; and during the contests of the French and English in North Ame rica, one part of them was considered as attached to the interests of our and the other to those of their antagonists. I;11t though the American tribes are
in general exceedingly small, yet it is not uncommon to find each of them occupying an extent of territory great er than some of the kingdoms in Europe. In the re gions which border on the Oroonoco, it is possible to travel for several months without discovering a single hut, or the least trace of human society ; and where the climate is mole severe, the desolation is vet more joy less, and the horrid silence is interrupted only by the frightful cries of the wild animals hastening after their prey. (Lathan, .illttur• des SUICV ii. 179. Let. Ady.
360.) Second/y, People who derive their subsistence chiefly from hunting, must have very incorrect notions of pro perty; and therelory must be strangers to those institu tions to which property gives rise. While the animals roam at large in the woods, they cannot be said to belong to any one. Whoever is able to kill them, thinks him self entitled to feed upon their carcasses. A piece of ground is possessed, not by the individual, but by the community ; all who choose are free to hunt within its limits; and, in many instances, the game is laid up, during the excursion, in a common repository, to which all have an equal right. When this piece of ground is deserted by one tribe, it may instantly be occupied by another. It is agriculture alone which gives rise to the idea of property, either in the soil or in its fruits. He who takes possession of a field and sows it, and reaps the produce, naturally looks upon the field and the crop as his own. But so loose and desultory is the life of the Americans, and such is the form or character which it has received from their employment as hunters, that even agriculture has not introduced among them the perfect notion of individual property. It is true this notion is to be found in sufficient exactness among some of the more stationary tribes; but among others, the fields are cultivated by the women, while the men are engaged in the chace, and the harvest is enjoyed indis criminately by all the members of the society. In cer tain districts, the produce of the land is kept in a public granary, and distributed by the elders as the wants of the community may require. Even where individuals, more fortunate or more industrious than their neigh bours, collect or obtain possession of a store, they have no such exclusive right to it, as enables them to riot in abundance while their fellows are in want. The multi tude is not divided, as among civilized nations, into the rich and the poor ; these words form no part of the In dian languages; whoever is hungry, satisfies his appe tite in the readiest and most obvious way ; and if famine assails the community, all its members are doomed to suffer.