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 410 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

life are said to be imposed on the women; all the heavy work is performed by them; their life is an uninterrupted succession of toil and pain. There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of these and similar statements; but, however correct they be, they hardly express the whole truth. In early society just as among our- selves each sex has its own pursuits. The man is responsible for the protection of his family and its support. His occupations are such as require strength and ability : fighting, hunting, fish- ing, the construction of implements for the chase and war, and the building of huts. On the other hand, the principal occupations of the woman are universally of a domestic kind : she procures wood and water, prepares the food, dresses skins, makes clothes, takes care of the children. She, moreover, supplies the household with vegetable food, gathers roots, berries, acorns, and, among agricul- tural savages, very commonly cultivates the ground. Cattle- raising is generally a masculine pursuit, because it has developed out of the chase. Agriculture, on the other hand, originally devolves on the woman, because it has developed out of collecting seeds and plants. Thus the various occupations of life are divided between the sexes according to definite rules. And though the formation of these rules has undoubtedly been more or less influenced by the egoism of the stronger sex, the essential prin- ciple from which they spring lies deeper. They are, on the whole, in conformity with the indications given by nature itself.

There is nothing for which savages and barbarians have been more commonly blamed than the apparently cruel practice of using their women as beasts of burden. As M. Pinart (quoted by Dr. Nieboer) remarks, with special reference to the Indians of Panama, it may indeed seem strange to the superficial observer that the woman should be charged with a heavy load, while the man walking before her carries nothing but his weapons. But a little reflection will make it plain that the man has good reasons for keeping himself free and mobile. The little caravan is sur- rounded with dangers : when traversing a savannah or a forest a hostile Indian may appear at any moment, or a jaguar or a snake may lie in wait for the travelers. Hence the man must be on the alert, and instantly ready to seize his arms to defend himself and