In Tierra Del Fuego, Until Some Chief Shall Arise
With Power Sufficient To Secure Any Acquired Advantage, Such
As The Domesticated Animals, It Seems Scarcely Possible That
The Political State Of The Country Can Be Improved.
At present,
even a piece of cloth given to one is torn into shreds
and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than
another.
On the other hand, it is difficult to understand how
a chief can arise till there is property of some sort by which
he might manifest his superiority and increase his power.
I believe, in this extreme part of South America, man
exists in a lower state of improvement than in any other part
of the world. The South Sea Islanders, of the two races
inhabiting the Pacific, are comparatively civilized. The
Esquimau in his subterranean hut, enjoys some of the comforts
of life, and in his canoe, when fully equipped, manifests
much skill. Some of the tribes of Southern Africa
prowling about in search of roots, and living concealed on
the wild and arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. The
Australian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes
nearest the Fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang,
his spear and throwing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of
tracking animals, and of hunting. Although the Australian may be
superior in acquirements, it by no means follows that he is
likewise superior in mental capacity: indeed, from what I
saw of the Fuegians when on board and from what I have
read of the Australians, I should think the case was exactly
the reverse.
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