"
"Have I not heard of them?" exclaimed the naturalist, dropping a piece
of jerked bison's meat, which he was rather roughly discussing, at the
moment. "I should be greatly ignorant not to have often dwelt with
delight on so beautiful a theory, and one which so triumphantly
establishes two positions, which I have often maintained are
unanswerable, even without such living testimony in their favour--viz.
that this continent can claim a more remote affinity with civilisation
than the time of Columbus, and that colour is the fruit of climate and
condition, and not a regulation of nature. Propound the latter
question to this Indian gentleman, venerable hunter; he is of a
reddish tint himself, and his opinion may be said to make us masters
of the two sides of the disputed point."
"Do you think a Pawnee is a reader of books, and a believer of printed
lies, like the idlers in the towns?" retorted the old man, laughing.
"But it may be as well to humour the likings of the man, which, after
all, it is quite possible are neither more nor less than his natural
gift, and therefore to be followed, although they may be pitied.
Pages:
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415