Walking the dog

It's impressive how we as members of mankind become who we are, imbibing through our antenna, signals and analysis, based on our primeval subjectivity to custom and reference to our fear of the unknown.
The three masted barque stood at anchor a mile off shore. She had sailed from Europe on a passage of discovery and topographical map making, laying claim, naming the inlets and the topography, donating names from a hat full of famous people, particularly those the Captain wished to impress on his return home.
His voyage had been one of meticulous calculation given the crudity of the navigational instruments on board and a lack of an accurate time piece. His journey laid out on his chart in straight lines,point to point from landmass to landmass. It was an exposition of meticulous planning.
As he watched the canoes just off shore, paddled by the native Indian, skimming hither and thither, a short burst to the right, a pause whilst others gathered around and then off on another tack for another short burst of paddling, like beetles floating on water, zig zagging about with no apparent motive.
Was this a manoeuvre, a prelude to an attack, the Captain maintained his guard.
Anthropology has revealed that the Indian on this West coast of North America was more at home on the sea than on land. His movements were of the person visiting a fair, moving about between the various entertainment booths, drawn on a whim. His life though rooted on the land was turned towards the sea. To him the dangers lay in the forest and the mountains where the vision was foreshortened by the trees and the danger of attack. The sea was an open visitor up to the horizon where he could walk the dog without fear.
This fundamental mind shift, one fearing the sea whilst taming the land for settlement, the other through force of circumstance fearing the land and its dangers sought solis from the sea, at least whilst the weather held.
It's fascinating how we are trapped in our culture and the hob goblins of our youth, direct our paths throughout this life.