Another circumstance, which proves the degraded condition of the American Indians, is their ignorance of arithmetic, or the art of computation; an art which must lie regarded as indispensably necessary, wherever pro 'Jelly is known and distribution is frequent, and which in the eastern hemisphere has been practised from a time so remote that the name of its inventor has been lost. But savages, who are in a great measure strangers to property; who have no possessions to contend for, or wealth to distribute ; and whose ideas are few and little diversified, have hardly any occasion for this useful art. Even if they were instructed in it, it would be rather an incumbrance to them than an advantage. It is enough for an Indian that he goes to war with his tribe ; he can distinguish all its members by their look and external appearance, and considers it as both unnecessary and troublesome, that they should be divided into companies of hundreds or fifties. In some parts of America, arith metic appears to he altogether unknown. We have the authority of Condamine, of Stadius, of Lery, and others, for asserting, that the numeration of many tribes goes no farther than three. Several can reckon as far as ten, and some can proceed to twenty. When they talk of any number higher than these, they point to the leaves of the forest, or to the hairs of their head, intimating that it is so great as not to he counted. Of any arith inetkal process, suet, as that of addition or subtraction, they are v.I oily ignorant. What we have now stated, however, does not obtain universally throughout the American continent. The Iroquois, or Indians of the Six Nations, in Canada, the Algonquin, the Chippe ways, and other tribes, in the v icinity of the river St Lawrence and the Lakes, have made very considerable progress in the art of calculation, when compared with the more southern inhabitants of the New World. This has arisen both from their greater advancement in civili zation, introducing a greater variety of objects and ideas, and from their intercourse with the Europeans, with whom they carry on a regular trade in furs. But not withstanding these advantages, even their arithmetic does not reach above a thousand ; in some instances, as among the Cherokees, not above a tenth part of that number. And the smaller tribes, in the neighbourhood of the Cherokees, having less immediate connection with Europeans, and retaining more of their indigenous barbarity, have no words by which they can reckon higher than twenty.
A savage is wholly occupied with what he sees, and hears, and feels. His present wants alone rouse him from indolence, and prompt him to exertion. He seldom thinks of the future ; he has, of course, no anxiety to provide against evils at a distance, and lays down no extensive plans for the continuation of his enjoyments. Many examples of this thoughtless inattention to futu rity have been recorded by those who have visited and examined the American tribes. Borde relates in his " Description des Caraibes," that when an individual of that nation has been tired with the labour of the day, and is anxious to go to rest, nothing will induce hint to part with his hammock ; but in the morning, when he is refreshed with sleep, and invited by his companions to business or amusement, he will sell it for a trifle. Mr Ellis observes of the North Americans, that though the greatest part of their lives is spent in making pro vision for themselves and their families, they are total strangers to frugality; and devour, with inconsiderate greediness, in one day, the food which, with proper ma nagement, might support them for a week. (Voyage to Mer. p. 194.) The consequence of this is, that they are often distressed with the severest famine. And in stances arc not unfrcquent of such an extraordinary scarcity among them, that they are obliged to remove the hair from the skins which they have collected in order to sell them to the Europeans, and feed upon the leather. Even when painful experience has taught them to look forward to consequences, their skill in providing against them appears to be very limited and defective. The same calamities oppress them year af ter year, and year after year they are distinguished by the same thoughtlessness, and the same inability to guard against the evils to which they are exposed.
When the winter is over, they will begin w ith much ea gerness and activity to construct their huts as a shelter against the inclemency of the succeeding season; but no sooner does the fine weather approach, than they relin quish the undertaking, and think of it no more, till they are forced by the cold to resume their diligence, when diligence can be of little avail.
In the savage state every man acts for himself. He revenges his injuries with his own hand ; and cannot see why the community should take cognizance of an action which has been performed by an individual; or why the punishment should not be inflicted by him who has suf fered the wrong. In conformity with this observation, a North American will undertake a journey of several months, through rivers and bogs, unmindful of difficulty, and regardless of danger, in order to satiate his revenge upon some person of another tribe, from whom he has received, or fancies that he has received, an injury.— " In these journics," says Adair, " they disregard eve ry obstacle which nature opposes to them, if they are so happy as to get the scalp of the murderer or enemy, to satisfy the craving ghosts of their relations." Hist. of the* -liner. Indians, p. 150.
I. The Political State of the ..inzerican Indians.
The origin of government has been traced by political writers, either to the natural authority of a father and master of a family over his children and dependents; or to that of a leader in war, or in hunting, the most adven turous and hardy of his tribe : or it has been traced to both of these united. In America, the power of the ruler may be supposed to have originated from the union of the two principles which have just been men tioned, but especially from the last; because in the New World, the authority of a father over his children is very limited ; as we shall have occasion to observe when we treat of the domestic condition of its inhabitants. Among the greater part of the tribes which are scattered over the central regions of America, the bonds of political association are extremely slight. The individuals inha biting a certain district, appear to combine, not from a perception of the advantages which would result from order and subordination among themselves, but rather with a view to watch the motions of their enemies, and to act against them with united vigour. When the at tack is finished, or the invasion repelled, the authority of the leader is disregarded ; every man recovers his in dependence ; and thinks of being directed and governed only when a new attack is meditated, or a new invasion must be repelled by the combined force of his tribe. Laws and the regular administration of justice are un known. Their rulers arc their military commanders, rather than their political chiefs. No established and acknowledged power enforces obedience. And even when an excursion is proposed, and a warrior of tried bravery offers to conduct it, the rest may either follow him or not according to their own inclination. In this respect the natives of America appear to resemble the ancient inhabitants of Germany, who exercised a cor responding freedom of choice in things relating to their military service. "./Itque ubi guts ex princilzibus," says Czsar, "in concilio se dixit duce?n fore, ut gui sequi ve lint profiteantur ; consurgunt ii quiet causam et honzinent Jirobant, suunzque auxiliunz izollicentur." De Bell. Gal lic. lib. vi. e. 22. Among the Indians, the chief men are denominated caciques or ulnzens. Their authority Is often temporary; existing only while the community is engaged in war, and never extending to matters of life and death ; in other instances it is hereditary, though even in these instances, which are rare, the line of suc cession is frequently broken ; and he who can win the first place is entitled to hold it. In hardly any instance does the power of the ruler trench in any degree upon the liberty of the subject. The members of a tribe are fathers, brothers, and friends ; their huts, their arms, and their dress, are the same ; one sentiment of equality animates them all; every individual feels the importance of his own exertions, and values himself in relation to that importance.