2. "They eat and do not hunt"—i. e., they are food-consumers, but not food-providers.
3. They are "a source of weakness" as regards defense—i. e., they are in the way in war-time.
4. They are "a temptation to surrounding tribes."
I think it can be shown that not one of these reasons is of any force as regards the lower savages.
1. That children "weaken their mothers when young" may be a reason for infanticide, but it is no reason for killing female infants rather than male.
2. The assertion that women "eat and do not hunt" can not apply to the lower savages. On the contrary, whether among the ruder agricultural tribes, or those who are dependent on supplies gathered "from forest and from flood," the women are food-providers who supply more than they consume, and render most valuable service into the bargain. As a general rule they are the hardest workers and the most useful members of the community in times of peace.
3. And certainly they are not "a source of weakness" as regards defense. They are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves[1] in war-time; and, so far from being an incumbrance upon the warriors, they will fight, if need be, as bravely as the men, and with even greater ferocity. I could give some shocking proofs of this which have come under my own observation.
4. Finally, that they are "a temptation to surrounding tribes" does not appear to be a sufficient reason for killing them. They are far too valuable a possession to be cast away merely because the neighbors covet them. We do not find the Caffres exterminating their cattle because they are "a temptation to the surrounding tribes."
It is among the more advanced tribes that the motives for female infanticide are found, and I believe the practice exists also to a greater extent than among the lower savages. Thus, where a costly dower has to be given with a girl in marriage, female infanticide is known to be very common. A daughter there is a special cause of impoverishment to her parents, whereas a son is a cause of enrichment. Here we have a motive which seems to act with considerable power, but it does not exist among the lower savages. For with them the dower—where one is given—is provided by the bridegroom's kinsmen and presented to the parents of the girl. Here, then, the conditions are reversed. It is the girl who is a cause of enrichment to her
- ↑ They who are accustomed to the ways of civilized women only can hardly believe what savage women are capable of even when they may well be supposed to be at their weakest. For instance, an Australian tribe on the march scarcely takes the trouble to halt for so slight a performance as a childbirth. The newly-born infant is wrapped in opossum-skins, the march is resumed, and the mother trudges on with the rest. Indeed, as is well known, among many tribes, it is the father who is put to bed, while the mother goes about her work as if nothing had happened.
