The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-08-06
CHILD-LIFE ON THE AMAZON.
How the Babes of South America Amuse
Themselves.

ChiId-life here Is an exceedingly curious
study; the little quiet creatures are ~ dlllei :,
ent from our romping American poyS anu
girls. They get few caresses, ana give none !,
mother-iove il mechanical; there Is nothing
OF that overflow Of tenderness, that constant
watchful care that sheds such halo around
our homes. The babies veegetate III their
steady brown fashion, seldom CRYING OF
mock cradles and watching everything
around them with keen eyes. As soon as
the little boys and girls can toddle about
they are left pretty much TO their own re-
sources, tumbling up the back stairs 81 y, llfr
on a diet Of mandioca meal and fish. The
parents seldom punish their children. for
they are very docile; when they do, the little
ones puclser up their mouths and look sullen,
But do not cry. Pleasure il expressed BY o
smile-among the little girls very often by a
broad grin, with abundant show OF teeth
but an articulate laugh is rarity. It Is
Interesting to watch how the mental traits of
the race appear even In the young babies IL
plaything ID given them they examine II
gravely for q little while and then let it drop.
Observe how different this 10 from the white
baby's actions. A bright little six-months--
old at home has four distinct methods Of
investigation first, by looking; second by
touching; then by putting the object in its
mouth; and, finally, by banging it against
the floor. The brown meni1.o Just looks; he
does not Investigate at all.
As the children grow older the same trait
is apparent In almost every case. An Indian
ID content to see or hear a thing without
troubling himself about the why's and where
fores; even such incomprehensible pursuits
as fossil collecting, or butterfly catching, or
sketching, provoke hardly any curiosity.
The people look on quietly, sometimes ask
ing question or two, but soon dismiss ng the
subject from their minds as something they
are incapable OF understanding. With all the
crowding to see the lady Of our party, hardly
person asked why she came. So. too, the
babies are unambitious; they do not cry after
pretty colors, OF stretch out their hands to o
candle. And the men have no appar-
ent desire to better their lot. They 60 on
just as their fathers did; submit to the
impositions Of the whites, a little sullenly,
but without a thought OF rebellion, unless
there is white or O half-breed to lead then.
The children do not care m uch for playthings
we rarely see one with rag doll; the lutte
boys delight In bows and arrows, but they
take them as a part of their training.
Sometimes the people have dances, In
imitation OF the fiesta sports; and we
hear them hummng the watzes and qua
driIles which their quick ears have caught
from the musicians. As an Indian will paddle
steadily all day, while his wife at home hardly
ceases her monotonous eotton-beating, so the
little ones have an ineXhaustible gilt of pa
thence. Where white child would fret and
cry, the brown one sits all day, perfectly
still, but watching everything around him
TO see little Indian boy In canoe, you
would say that nothing Of him was alive but
his eyes.