that they lack, the courage, temper, and concentration of will which would be necessary for a good schoolboy fight. Perhaps the converse would be true: they have no schoolboy fights and therefore have no courage, temper, and concentration of will. We are not astonished to hear that they develop excessive tyranny and cruelty to those who are weaker than themselves, especially to women, and even to their mothers.[1] These people are excessively distrustful of each other and villages but a little distance apart have very little intercourse. This is attributed in great part to head-hunting and cannibalism. In general they know the limits of their own territory and observe them, but they quarrel about women.[2] The people in German Melanesia are of the same kind; they are cowardly and mean, make raids on each other's land to destroy and plunder, when they think they can do it safely, but they will not join battle.[3] On some of the small islands war is entirely unknown.[4]
The Chatham Islanders sometimes quarreled over booty won in pursuing seals or whales, but they had a law that the first drop of blood ended the fight.[5] The Khonds in Madras became insubordinate a few years ago and a police force was sent against them; they prepared stones to roll down the hill in front of their village, but left the rear unguarded, and when the police entered by the rear the Khonds protested against the unfairness of this movement after they had taken such precautions in front.[6]
- ↑ Pfeil, J.: Studien und Beobachtungen aus der Südsee. 23.
- ↑ Hagen, B.: Unter den Papua's, etc., 250.
- ↑ Pfei], J.: l.c., 125.
- ↑ Kubary, J.: Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Núkuóro- oder Monteverde-Inseln, 20; Ibid.: Ethnographischer Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Karolinen Archipels, 94; Bastian, A.: Die mikronesischen Kolonien, etc., 4.
- ↑ Weiss, B.: Mehr als fünfzig Jahre auf Chatham Island, 18.
- ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay ("J.A.S.B."), I, 240.
