Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-06-06
FALSE CONCEPTION OF PRIAiTiyt
WOMAN

DOuy museum, upon inc Social Position OF
Women among the Early Indian Tribes.
Prof. Putnam 1t will be remembered, stated
his conviction that the carly In
dian tribes east O. Tie Mississippi
river were the builders of the mounds to be
found in that remarkable section and if this
is true, the articles and remains found in
them indicate a much higher degree of in-
telligence and civiliz alton than has been dis
Played by their more rcccpt descendants
during historic t'mes. Ii would I've expected
that in accordance with this higher grade of
Intelligence, many of the barbnrous customs
of the modern Indian were not then in cx-
isence. Especially with reg ri to the social
position of women IN these very carly times,
the article in question shows what false
theories have been advanced by writer's
upon archaeology and kindred topics.
The popular idea of the degradation of
women among these carly peoples is shown
to be utterly false and whatever arguments
may have been drawn from such an error
cous assumption must fall to the ground.
From very careful study of all the cvi
denceS which are afforded by the remains of
these carly Indian tribes, the writer of the
article concludes, and satisfactorily proves,
that women occupied very high social
position in those prehistoric times In fact,
1t would seem thlt the SEX exercised
IN almost despotic influence in the
wgwam and in the council. In
stead of the degraded, despsed, over
worked creature who figures in the
genre pictarco of modern Indian life, woman
appears to have been, in those earlier times,
looked up to as superior being, Her do
nestle relations were even more favorable
than they are now. Eaci, hcusettli was
large, and over each a rnatron presided.
When rouug woman married she took her
husband home, and even if they afterwards
had cabin of their own, he WAS OBLIGED 70
give to his mother-n-law the Whole Or n part
OF The game that he killed aud the fish ,ha,
he caught, 1 he We're lazy or did not do
his share nj the providing he might at any
time be ordered to take his banke, and 90
away. No matter how many children or
how much property he might have, if the
women told him to go, go he must, back to
ms eWn clan, to begin life again, Thus /,
will be seen that the primitive Indian woman
hau some very important advantages which
her more highly civilized sister of
'o'day DOS not enjoy. We would
call particular attention to the admirable
simplicity of the primitive divorce law
what boon TO society would it be, at the
present day, if the lazy or inpr)vidcnt or
non-domestic husband could be Bundled out
OF the wigwam, with his blanket and his
pipa al Il moments notice And then the
admirable provision regulating the portion
OF daily profit falling to the motheri IN law.
would greatly simplify the fclr,.ont between
that anamaous member of society and the
husband et her daughter at the present dav.
u appears that the Indian women of those
remote times were the property owners, in
stead OF the men that is, the property right
was vested in them, and the only things
which belonged to the men exclusively were
their weapons and their clothes The chill
'''eh were the mothers, and acknowledged
no authority but hers, In cases of divorce
inc father sometimes claimed the sons. but
lhe women never allowed the claim. and al
ways defeated it. Even when the guilt CT the
WIG caused divorce, there wGs no scandal.
as she owned the cabin the man would have
to submit as gracefully as he could. and
wander about in his blanket until he found
some unmarried property holder who would
ue wiling TO shelter him fer his services
But THIS was apt to be particularly dis
agreeable and dangerous job for the second
"lle, because there was no provision in the
s'clal code to prevent the first wifcs coming
Gown upon her ard confisca,ing all her prop.
cry, including the man. So that there
seems to have been an iron necessity in the
social requirement as regards the obt di, nee
OIL husbands, which very few of them ven
'uied TO resist. If a wife commanded her
husband 10 go on the war-ralh, Il ere
was nothing further to be said about
It, lie Immediately took his stone
Ratchet aud went. If he brought home anv
Scalps they promptly went into his wifc's
wardrobe and prisoners were either utilized
as domestic help or burned for the amusc.
ment of the children.
Women conducted the councils. and nrc.
sumably, did all the electionceripg work.
packed the caucuses, and managed the pri-
maries. They also preached, and conducted
all the religious festivals Of the tribe, When.
ever they wanted to, they could depose a
chief and elect his successor. They had the
care Of the treasury, and were sole
arbiters of all inter-tribal difficulties.
How they could have done all this
and yet manage their domest ic affairs with
such an iron hand, we leave our fair readers
to determine for themselves. At all events,
a precedent has at last been found which
will oifer the broadest platform for the next
national Woman's Rights Convention. The
modern conception of primitive woman has
been proved to be false. Woman was orig.
inally the ruler, at home aud in the councils
OF the nation. Man was merely her ennis.
sary and her tool. What has been, can be
and we are sure that no discovery in all the
annals of archaeological research will excite
80 much interest and have 80 wide an in
duence, as that detailed in the seventeenth
annual report of the Peabody Museum of
American Archaeology.