Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 76.djvu/160

156 firmed by those who have known them best. Their fights were probably half ceremonial or of a sportive character and they were usually stopped when blood flowed freely.

They undoubtedly did fear strangers, and a man from a strange tribe, unless accredited as a sacred messenger, would be speared at once. On the other hand, delegations from distant tribes were received and treated with the utmost kindness if they came in the recognized way. They were even permitted to take a prominent part in the ceremonies of their hosts.

The relations subsisting between members of the same tribe or group were, according to Spencer and Gillen, marked by consideration and kindness. There were occasional acts of cruelty, but most of them can be attributed to something else than a harshness of character. Thus, much cruelty resulted from their belief in magic (The Central Tribes, p. 48). The revolting ceremonies practised at initiation were all matters of ancient tribal custom and hence cast little reflection upon the real disposition of the native.

All things considered, we are obliged to say that their life was moral in a high degree, when judged by their own social standards, and not even according to our standards are they to be regarded as altogether wanting in the higher attributes of character. Dawson holds that, aside from their low regard for human life, they compared favorably with Europeans on all points of morality. Howitt says (p. 639):