eems to be far behind, yet the civilisation of Peru and
Mexico was in some respects in advance of that of their conquerors. This
was brought about by a dense population which forced men into collision
with each other--in other parts of the continent and on the islands they
were more isolated and therefore less civilised.

In the forest region of the Spanish Main, and on the West Indian
islands, the communities were, as a rule, very small and isolated one
from another. A kind of patriarchal system prevented much communication,
and inter-tribal disputes were a bar to union. Every community
distrusted every other, and even when one tribe fought against its
neighbour there were few attempts to bring the sections together against
the common enemy.

On the coasts and islands of the Caribbean Sea, at the time of their
discovery, lived two distinct peoples, the Arawaks and the Caribs. There
were also a few other tribes of minor importance, such as the Warrows,
but these made little impression, and may therefore be left out of
consideration. The remnants of the two great stocks still exist in
Guiana and at the mouth of the Orinoco, living to-day in much the same
manner as they did when the country was first discovered by the
Spaniards.

Four centuries ago the Greater Antilles were exclusively inhabited by
Arawaks, and the Lesser by Caribs. The Arawak, as his name implies, was
more or less an agriculturalist--a meal-eater, a cultivator of
vegetables, mainly cassava. From the poisonous root of this plant
bread, drink, and a preservative sauce for meat, were prepared, so that,
with game or fish, it formed the staff of life. The probable course of
his migration was from Yucatan or Mexico to the south-east, terminating
in Guiana, and from thence north through the whole of the Antilles. When
Columbus arrived people of this stock filled the larger islands and the
Bahamas, but along the coast and in the island of Trinidad they disputed
the occupation of the territories with the Caribs. In Porto Rico also
the Caribs had become aggressive, and even in Hispaniola the Arawaks had
to defend their shores against that warlike people. If we believe the
accounts of the Spaniards the inhabitants of the Greater Antilles were
not altogether a savage people. Whether they had destroyed all the
larger game, or whether they found none on their arrival, the fact
remains that they were agriculturalists rather than huntsmen. They were,
however, expert