Arkansas true Democrat., 1860-05-26
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NATURE OPPOSING THE PRoGREss OF MAN. The following passage from MT. Buckles History of Civilization indicates in glow ing colors the obstacles which the prodi- gality of nature may oppose to the progress of man:
 Brazil, which is nearly as large as the whole of Europe, Is covered with vegeta- tion of increditable profusion. Indeed, so rank and luxuriant is the growth, that Nature seems to riot in the very wanton- ness of power. A great part of this i'm mense country Is filled with dense and tan gled forests, whose noble trees, blossom- ing in unrivaled beauty, and exquisite with a thousand hues throw out their produce in endless prodigality. On their summits are perched birds of gorgeous plumage, which nestle in their dark and lofty recess Be- low, their base and trunks are crowned with brushwood, creeping plants, innumer- able parasites, all swarming with life.- There, too, are myriads of insects of every variety; reptiles of strange and singular form; serpents and lizards, spotted with deadly beauty; all of which find means of eXistance in this vast workshop and repos- itory of Nature. And, that nothing may be wanting in this land of marvels, the forests are skirted by enormous meadows, which, reeking with heat and moisture. supply nOurishment to countless herds of wild cattle, that browse and fatten on the herbage; while the adjourning plains, rich ln another form of life, are the chosen abode of the subtlest and most ferocious animals, which prey on each other, but which 1t might almost seem no human power can hope to extirpate
 But, amid this pomp and spendor of Nature, no place is left for man; he is reduced to insignifcancy by the majesty with which he IS surrounded. The forces that oppose him are so formidable, that he has never been able to make head against them-never able to rally against their accumulated pressure. The whole of Brazil, notwithstanding its immense appar- ent advantages, has always remained en- tirely uncivilized; it's inhabitants wonder ing savages, incompetent to resist those ob stacles which the very bounty of Nature had put in their way. In their country, the physical causes are so active, and do their work on a scale of such unrivaled magni- tude, that 1t has hitherto been found im- possible to escape from the effects of their united action. The progress of agrlcul- ture is stopped by impossible forests, and the harvests are destroyed by innumerable insects. The mountains are too high to scale; the rivers too wide to bridge. Every thing is contrived to repress the human mind, and keep back its rising ambition. It is thus that the energies ot Nature have hampered the spirit of man. And the mind, cowed by the unequal struggle, has not only been unable to advance, but, with out foreign aid, itwould undoubtedly have receded Brazil, the country where, of all others, physical resources are most power ful. where both vegetable and animals are most abundent where the soil is watered bv the noblest rivers, and the coast stud ded by the finest harbors- this immense territory. which is more that twelve times the size of France, contains a population not exceeding six millions of people. Pro- lessor Ansted adds to this his testimony to the effect that the native Indians seem irredeemable, and sunk in the most wretch ed barbarism; and that there appears no prospect whatever of any improvement in the district, since man can find no spot on which to commence its operations.