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HISTORY OF AMERICA.

Book

xv.

Their wo.men notprolific.

There are diftricls in America where this dominionis fo grievous, and fo fenfibly felt, that fomewomen, in a wild emotion of maternal tendernefs,have deftroyed their female children in theirinfancy , in order to deliver them from thatintolerable bondage to which they knew theywere doomed IO \ Thus the fiil't inftitution offocial life is perverted. That ftate of domefticunion towards which nature leads the humanfpecies, in order to foften the heart to gentlenefsand humanity , is rendered fo unequal , as toeftablifli a cruel diftintflion between the fexes,which forms the one to be harlh and unfeeling,and humbles the other to fervility and fubjecbon.It is owing, perhaps, in fome meafure , to thisftate of depreflion, that women in rude nationsare far from being prolific 101 . The vigor of theirconftitution is exhaufted by exceflive fatigue, andthe wants and diftreffes of favage life are fo nu-merous , as to force them to take various precautionsin order to prevent too rapid an increafeof their pro-geny. Among wandering tribes, or fuch as dependchiefly upon hunting for fubliftence, the mothercannot attempt to rear a fecond child, until the firftlias attained fuch a degree of vigor as to be infome meafure independent of her care. From thismotive, it is the univerfal practice of the Americanwomen to fuckle their children during feveralyears 101 ; and as they feldom marry early, the

Gumilla, ii. 255.258. Herrera, dec. 7.lib.ix.c.4..!• IO ' Lafitau, i. 590. Charlevoix , iii. 504.

101 Herrera, dec. 6 . lib. i. c. 4.

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