Above that is the period of semi-civilization, a stage marked by the
discovery of the method of building stone walls. No Algonkian or
Iroquois Indian ever built a stone wall in his life; there is no
record of any and no signs of any throughout the United States east of
the Mississippi; there was never a stone wall built by a native tribe
that really amounted to anything more than a stone pile; but we do
find that in the southwest, among the cliff dwellers, and in various
parts of Central America and South America, the stone wall was not
only known, but it was constructed with a great deal of durability and
skill. Also, some knowledge of metals was found among most of the
semi-civilized people. The Mexicans and the Peruvians were in a state
of semi-civilization when they were discovered by the whites the first
time. They, built many extensive temples and houses, erected
frequently upon pyramids, the pyramids themselves being supported by
stone walls. They knew the dressing of stone; they were distinctly
agricultural and depended more on that than anything else for their
food supply. They had developed a system of mnemonic records which, in
the Yucatan culture, might be called picture writing, but was not
phonetic writing in our true sense of the term. The also knew
something about weighing and measuring. They had definite laws, laws
which were carried out by properly appointed individuals. Their towns
and cities would often number thousands of inhabitants; they had roads
connecting them, which roads were kept in good condition; they had a
regular army made up of men selected and trained for that purpose. In
all these respects we see nations who were semi-civilized, but they
were not yet civilized. We could call a nation civilized that had a
distinct system of phonetic writing and used it; but not all nations
having this are civilized. It is only when it is used freely and for
purposes of business that we can call them civilized.