Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1881-05-12
indian Wives.
HOW THE ABoRIoINE MAIDENs WED
WHITE MEN-THB PRICE OF A
GOOD WIFE.
st. Louis Globe.

among the girls as their color. Tn
impression that the red Made
does not entertain high standar
of morality is an error, for she
Taught as other girls are, and grow
up with we'll developed ideas Of tn
responsibilities of -llfe and a frn
resolution. to discharge them. Ed
ucated in the faith that she was or
dained to work, she trains hersel
to undergo hard labor, and at six
teen years of age is sturdy AM
strong, brave against fatigue and I
perfect housewife. She may no
possess New England potions o
cleanliness, but she takes not lit
tie pride in her personal appear
ance, and in the arrangement o
her lodge she displays some crude
ideas OF taste and certain amour
of neatness. If she marry white
man she makes a good wife as Ions
as she lives with him. His home
is her sole comfort and his confer
her ambition. She thinks of him
and for him, and makes it her study
to please him and make him re-
spect and love her. She recog-
nizes in him one of a superior race
and by her dignity and devotion
endears herself to him and strug-
giles to make him happy.
At the agencies of the upper
frontier thousands Of men are en-
ployed, and it is not an exaggera-
ton to say that the majority oi
them have Indian wives and live
happily. They are not sought af-
ter by the maidens, for the Indian
girls custom is to remain quiet un-
til the marriage contract is made
and the marriage portion paid
over. The husband must have the
dowry, with which he must invest
his projected mother-:n-law before
the ceremony takes place. The
process is little out of the usual
run, and a description may be OF
interest. The aspiring bridegroom
must be we'll known in the tribe
before he can hope to win a wife.
Her people want to thoroughly un-
derstaud him and know if he can
support not only her but also her
relatives in the event of a pinch.
He must be a kind-hearted man,
with a temper warranted to keep
in any domestic climate, and he
must have a good lodge and at
least half a dozen horses. Ii he
be, and have all these, he can a
wooing go. Selecting the lady, he
makes application to her mother
and at a council the price is fixed
upon. If the girl be especially
pretty her mother will demand a
gun, two horses and lot of pro-
vision, blankets and cloth. A gun
is valued at $50, a horse at $40
and he must furnish material to
bring the amount up from $1O0 to
$3.50. Then he tries to beat the
dame down, and if he succeeds, lie
knows there is some reason for let
ting the girl go; if not. he UNDER
stands that he is making a good
choice. The courtship is left eli
tirely to the mother. She commu.
nicstes the intelligence to the bride
elect, who dutitully sets upon pre-
pairing the lodge for the nuptials
Relatives and friends congregate
form circle, pound a drum ant
have feast, at the conclusion O
which the man and girl stand up
A blanket is thrown over thei
heads, und er which they exchang
vows of fidelity, after which tn
mother blesses them, and the cere
mony is complete. But it fare
badly with man who plentiful
stocks his wedding lodge. HI
wife will give away everything h
gives her, and stores intended t
last month will disappear in a
hour. He, if he be called cautious
will give her barely enough to ca
until he teaches economy, a lesso
which once thoroughly learned sh
never forgets. For some littl
time after the wedding the newly
made relatives haunt the happ
lodge, demanding that they b
feasted and cared for. Woe unit
him who sccedes in tho slightest
A firm refusal, we'll persevered ir
is all that will save him . lie {
| misery.
According to prairie law it is dis
reputable in white man to aban
don his dusky wife until she ha
grown too old to work for hin
Then he may send her back to he
tribe if he 80 elect. The obligatio
upon the wife is different. Sh
! may not desert the husband for an
other white man, but she ma
leave hir. fnr on Indian xykc x