“ A very large proportion of the known geology of the world has been made out with no more elaborate appliances than a hammer, a pocket compass with a small index to serve as a clinometer, a pocket-lens, a note-book and a pencil. No scientific observer has to depend more on his own knowledge and faculty for observation, and less on instrumental appliances, than a geologist. ”

“ Society.—One of the most interesting features of savage and barbaric life is the existence of an unwritten code of moral conduct, by which families and tribes are practically held together. There may be no laws [119] to punish crime, and the local religion may no more concern itself directly with men’s behaviour to one another than it did in the South Sea Islands. But among the roughest people there is family affection, and some degree of mutual help and trust, without which, indeed, it is obvious that society would break up, perhaps in general slaughter. ”

“ Though the study of the religion and folk-lore of the savage and barbaric world must be left to those who are residents rather than visitors, the passer-by who inquires may see primitive rites of religion or magic. Thus in many an Indian house in Arizona or New Mexico the traveller is reminded of his classic recollections when he sees the first morsel of the meal thrown into the fire as an offering to the ancestral spirits. ”

“ Notions derived from our modern law of landlord and tenant give place in the traveller’s mind to older conceptions, among which individual property in land is hardly found. In rude society it is very generally the tribe which owns a district as common land, where all may hunt and pasture and cut fire-wood; while, when a family have built a hut, and tilled a patch of land round it, this is held in common by the family while they live there, but falls back into tribe-land if they cease to occupy it. ”

“ From time to time some special contrivance may be seen near its original home, as in South America the curious plaited tube for wringing out the juice from cassava, or the net hammock which still retains its native Haitian name hamaca. Architecture still preserves in different regions interesting early stages of development, from the rudest breakwinds, or beehive huts of wattled boughs, up to houses of logs and hewn timber, structures of mud and adobes, and masonry of rough or hewn stone. ”

“ That such peculiarities of constitution are inherited and pass into the nature of the race, is one of the keys to the obscure problem of the origins of the various races of man as connected with their spread over the globe. As yet this problem has not passed much beyond the stage of collecting information, and no pains should be spared to get at facts thus bearing on the history and development of the human species. ”

“ To know what to observe in the economy of animals is in itself an accomplishment which it would be unreasonable to expect the general traveller to possess, and without this he may bring home only insignificant details, contributing but little to our stock of real knowledge. One general rule, however, may be kept always present to the mind, and this is, that anything concerning animals which bears upon the relations of species to their conditions of life is well worth observing and recording. ”

“ Naturally, nations below the upper levels of culture have little or no science to teach us, but many of their ideas are interesting as marking stages in the history of the human mind. Thus, in the art of counting, which is one of the foundations of science, it is common to find the primitive method of counting by fingers and toes still in practical use, while in many languages the numeral words have evidently grown up out of such a state of things. ”

“ Whether among savages, barbarians, or the lower civilised nations, the traveller will find everywhere matter of interesting observation in the law and its administration. The law may be still in the state of unwritten custom, and the senate or council of old men may be the judges, or the power at once of lawgiver and judge may have passed into the hands of the chief, who, as among the modern Kaffirs, may make a handsome revenue by the cattle given him as fees by both sides, a fact interesting as illustrating the times when an European judge took gifts as a matter of course. ”

“ As the greater heating and cooling of the land each day causes the phenomena of daily land and sea breezes, so the greater heating and cooling of the land between summer and winter causes seasonal land and sea winds, blowing from land to sea in winter, from sea to land in summer. Generally speaking, the pressure is greater—in the same latitude—where the air is cooler, so that outside the frigid zones cold areas are usually areas of high pressure, from which wind blows out in every direction, while warm areas are areas of low pressure towards which wind blows in on every side. ”

“ Assuming then that a traveller with some knowledge of field geology is making a journey through a tract of the earth’s surface, the geology of which is unknown, what will be the best method of procedure and the principal points to which he should direct his attention? ”

“ Accounts have been often given of the natural virtue and happiness of rude tribes, as in the forests of Guiana or the hills of Bengal, where the simple native life is marked by truthfulness, honesty, cheerfulness, and kindness, which contrast in a striking way with the habits of low-class Europeans. There are few phenomena in the world more instructive than morality thus existing in practical independence either of law or religion. ”

“ Animal Products.—If there are wild animals in the country, observe whether the natives hunt them for what they yield in the way of food or other useful products. Are there any ivory-yielding animals, or animals whose skins can be turned to profitable account? Could a sufficient supply for mercantile purposes be obtained by means of native hunters, if properly encouraged; or how would it be best to work such resources? Are there any laws or customs enforced by the natives in hunting wild animals? Are there any noxious wild animals, and to what extent do they affect human comfort and human life? ”

“ Considering the importance of this primitive morality in the history of mankind, it is unfortunate that the attention of travellers has been so little drawn to it, that our information is most meagre as to how far family affection among rude tribes may be taken to be instinctive, like that of the lower animals, or how far morality is produced by public opinion favouring such conduct as is for the public good, but blaming acts which do harm to the tribe. ”

“ The struggle between the hereditary chief or king and the military despot, who not only usurps his place but seeks to establish hereditary monarchy in his own line, is one met with from low to high levels of national life. ”

“ In hot, dry countries the intense radiation from the ground at night often reduces the temperature below the freezing-point, although, during the day, the ground may be very hot. The appearance of frost at sunrise is a valuable check on the readings of a minimum thermometer, and in most cases is a more trustworthy datum. Similarly in cold countries, where snow is lying on the ground or ice covering the rivers, the appearance of thaw, especially in cloudy weather, is a delicate test of the rise of the air temperature to the freezing-point. ”

“ As a rule the disease begins with headache, stiffness of the neck and chilly sensations. There may be vomiting, and the temperature is raised. The mind is often confused, and the patient may be delirious. The skin eruption, which occurs especially on the back and about the joints, and which is responsible for the name “spotted fever,” is not very frequently seen, and can hardly ever be detected on a dark skin. In very bad cases there is violent delirium, laboured breathing, and a purulent discharge from the nostrils. ”

“ I have hardly ever been able, in Africa, to get the water below 80° F.
Note the bowel temperature, and as soon as it falls to 101° F., remove the patient from the bath and put him between warm blankets, and feed [272] with some hot soup. If there are any signs of faintness, ammonia, or equal parts of strong spirit and water, must be given. Weak spirit and water has little or no stimulating effect on the heart, therefore, in cases of fainting, shock, exhaustion, or collapse from any cause, give a little spirit, and give it strong. ”

“ The law of storms has been very fully studied, and rules have been drawn up to enable sailors to ascertain the direction in which the centre of an approaching cyclone lies and the direction in which it is moving. In a work intended mainly for travellers on land it is not necessary to give these rules; all that is required is to tell how the approach of dangerous storms may be ascertained some time in advance. The fact that the barometer is high or low is in itself of no value for prediction. ”

“ A change of climate is often the only thing that will do good in the case of a person afflicted with crops of boils.
Treatment.—It is sometimes possible to abort a boil by dipping a sharpened wooden match or a toothpick into pure carbolic acid and thrusting it repeatedly into the heart of the swelling. If the boil has somewhat developed hot fomentations and moist dressings should be applied and iodine should be painted on the skin round the boil. As a rule it is wiser not to open a boil, even when it has suppurated. ”

“ The most undeveloped forms of government are only to be met with in a few outlying regions, as among some of the lower Esquimaux or Rocky Mountain tribes, where life goes on with hardly any rule beyond such control as the strong man may have over his own household. Much oftener travellers have opportunity of studying, in a more or less crude state, the types of government which prevail in higher culture. It is of especial interest to see men of the whole tribe gathered in assembly (the primitive agora) to decide some question of war or migration. ”

“ Many peoples have something peculiar in the way of beverages, such as the chewed Polynesian kava, or the South American maté sucked through a tube. Especially fermented liquors have great variety, such as the kumiss from mares’ milk in Tartary, the pombe or millet-beer of Africa, and the kvass or rye-beer of Russia. The rudest pottery made by hand, not thrown on the wheel, is less and less often met with, but ornamentation traceable to its being moulded on baskets is to be seen; and calabashes, joints of bamboo, and close-plaited baskets are used for water-vessels, and even to boil in. ”

“ Attention should also be given to any appearances of mirage, or other effects of irregular distribution of atmospheric density. A mirage is only rarely so perfect as to show ships inverted in the air, palm-grown islands in the sea, or distant oases in the desert. The common form is an unusual intensification of refraction, raising land below the horizon into sight, or apparently cutting off the edges of headlands or islands at sea or on large lakes. It is worth while observing the temperature of the air and of the water or ground when an unusually clear mirage effect is visible. ”

“ Diarrhœa, or looseness of the bowels, is one of the most common and one of the most serious ailments of the tropics, and should never be neglected. In many cases it is a sign of enteric fever, dysentery, cholera, or sprue, the symptoms of which are given below. Ordinary attacks are usually due to the presence of some irritant in the bowels, such as irritating sand, bad food, unripe fruit, or other poisonous material. Amongst African and other natives diarrhœa is often due to a faulty or ill-cooked dietary. The importance of flies in fouling food should not be overlooked. ”

“ The traveller often sleeps out on the deck of river steamers, and then it is certainly advantageous to have the roof of the net composed of stout calico, as sparks from the funnel are very apt to alight upon it, and naturally holes will be burnt much more readily in mesh than in thick cotton. It is foolish to sleep even for one night in a malarious locality unprotected by a net.
The net is for use during the period of sleep, but one is very apt to be bitten by infected mosquitoes just after sunset, and hence it is well to make use of some form of mosquito canopy. ”

“ Native knowledge of natural history differs from much of their rude science in its quality, often being of great positive value. The savage or barbarian hunter knows the animals of his own region and their habits with remarkable accuracy, and inherited experience has taught him that certain plants have industrial and medicinal uses. Thus, in South America the Europeans learnt the use of India-rubber or caoutchouc, which the native tribes were accustomed to make into vessels and playing-balls, and of the Peruvian bark or cinchona, which was already given to patients in fever. ”

“ The usual faults in technique are a lack of cleanliness, resulting in sepsis, the use of too strong an antiseptic when cleaning the skin, over-heating of the lancet, needle or scarifier when purifying it, drawing too much blood, which washes away the lymph, exposure of the recently vaccinated area to the hot sun, and charring of the lymph in the capillary tube when sealing. All that is necessary is to clean the part to be vaccinated with soap and water, using a nail-brush, then rub the skin with alcohol, and when the latter dries proceed with the little operation. ”

“ When about to round-to, remember that you cannot carry the same canvas on a wind that you can before it. If caught in a squall, put down the helm at once, ease the sheet, and if the squall is a bad one, lower the sail while it is still shaking. When approaching a danger, such as a rock, do not stand on if you are in doubt about weathering it, but go about in time, and have an oar ready to help the boat round if she appears likely to miss stays. ”

“ A mistake commonly made is to boil water and then filter it. This should never be done.
The drinking of very cold water, to which there is great temptation when one is exhausted by prolonged heat and copious perspiration, should be carefully avoided; thirst often induces tropical residents to have recourse to iced water, which is always apt to be dangerous if taken when one is heated. The drinking of copious draughts of water is also a habit to be deprecated; it certainly weakens the muscular energy, and as the water is rapidly lost by perspiration, the feeling of exhaustion is increased. ”

“ A traveller may be puzzled, in the midst of the profusion of animal and vegetable forms which he sees around him, to know what to collect and what to leave. Books can be of little service to him on a journey, and he had better at once abandon all idea of encumbering himself with them. A few days study at the principal museums before he starts on his voyage may teach him a great deal, and the cultivation of a habit of close observation and minute comparison of the specimens he obtains will teach him a great deal more. ”

“ Thus, to understand the religion of some tribes, we have not only to consider the rude philosophy under which such objects as heaven and earth or sun and moon are regarded as personal beings, whose souls (so to speak) are the heaven-god and earth-god, the sun-god and moon-god; but we have to go on further and collect the religious myths which have grown on to these superhuman beings. ”

“ Drugs are not usually of much service; however, a mixture containing bismuth, soda, and one drop of carbolic acid in an ounce of gum-water may be given three times a day for a week. The soreness of the mouth and tongue may be treated by the application of borax and glycerine, or mild antiseptic mouth washes, such as a weak solution of permanganate of potash, or a lotion of boric acid. Special symptoms, such as pain and collapse, must be treated as they arise. As soon as the patient is strong enough, he should be removed to a temperate climate. ”

“ In most countries, as already remarked, the truly indigenous, and often the rarest, species are to be found only in the mountains at considerable elevations and in the primitive forests, the products of cultivated districts being nearly all widely distributed and well known. In Botany a traveller, if obliged to restrict his collecting, might confine himself to those plants which are remarkable for their economic uses; always taking care to identify the flowers of the tree or shrub whose root, bark, leaves, wood, etc., are used by the natives, and to preserve a few specimens of them. ”