The Descent of Man

maintained that savages are quite indifferent
about the beauty of their women, valuing them
solely as slaves; it may therefore be well to observe
that this conclusion does not at all agree
with the care which the women take in ornamenting
themselves, or with their vanity. Burchell
(53. 'Travels in South Africa,' 1824, vol. i.
p. 414.) gives an amusing account of a Bushwoman
who used as much grease, red ochre,
and shining powder "as would have ruined any
but a very rich husband." She displayed also
"much vanity and too evident a consciousness
of her superiority." Mr. Winwood Reade informs
me that the negroes of the West Coast
often discuss the beauty of their women. Some
competent observers have attributed the fearfully
common practice of infanticide partly to the
desire felt by the women to retain their good
looks. (54. See, for references, Gerland, 'Ueber
das Aussterben der Naturvolker,' 1868, ss. 51,
53, 55; also Azara, 'Voyages,' etc., tom. ii. p.
116.) In several regions the women wear