The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-08
HOW RED RoMEos WOO.
A Princess of the Piutes Tells of Loye-Mak-
ing Carried on in the Wigwam.

A Princess of the Piutes Tells Of LOye-Mak-
ing Carried on in the Wigwam.
| San Francisco Call.
A reporter yesterday asked Sarah Winnemucca
how Piute courtshps carried on. She be-
came interested at once and thus chatted:
when girl reaches. womanhood and her fam
| lily desire to indicate to the tribe that their
daughter has reached the manageable period,
she makes her debut, as you say in English, but
| the Piute girl comes out in an entirely different
way than that adopted by her white sister, Just
before she reaches womanhood her grandmother
has especial charge of her. To that old lady,
| whose years are supposed to have brought wis
dom, the girl is given. She schools her in
domestic duties and explains to her the
nature and Importance of the wifely
relation. The girl then goes with two
older female relatives in tepee, which is small
wigwam, where she remains with them twenty
/ five days. During this time she performs work
which is supposed to be strengthening. 1t con-
sists chiefly of piling wood Three times day,
at morning, noon and night, she stacks five piles
OF wood, making fifteen each day. Every five
days her relations take her to the river to battle,
and at the end of the time she gives her clothing
to her attendants and returns to the family
lodge. Very frequently the wardrobe which she
presents to her female attendants is quite extern
| stensive, and is regarded by them as valuable
present When the young girl has spent twenty
five days in the tepee she has made her debut
into the society of her tribe and that is consid-
cred as public announcement that she is ready
to marry.
"Of course pretty shapey girl is in great de-
mand, just as belle is in your society. A girl
with a handsome face and fine black eyes, and
flowing hair as black and glossy as a ravens
| wing, and willowy, graceful form, is the object
of great deal of attention from the young men
| OF the tribe, and often of the older men, too.
| A lovely Indian girl is as much sought after in
her circle as great beauty is in a London
| drawingroom But, oh, how different the two
kinds of courtship are. We have no parties in
| the wigwams to which young folks go and get
acquainted and court The young men and
| girls have no theater to attend, and no long
walks home after the play is over They never
| 60 riding together nor stfolling through the
woods along the river bank. They never idle
| together in the canoe on the water, plucking
lilies and flowers. Although they seem to enjoy
much greater liberty to roam and wander
whithersoever their fancy may lead them, yet
they are kept as close as prisoners. Piute court
ship lacks freedom, and yet it is not devoid Of
| that intense excitement that attends love-making
1 the world over
"You may suppose that the girls and young
men would steal out of their lodges of moonlight
nights and have clandestine meetings and WOO
in that way. but they never dare to do it. In
| deed, they never speak together. A word never
passes between them But still girl very soon
| knows when young man is interested in her.
He tries to catch her attention by his horseman-
ship, or his skill with the bow, or his athletic
accomplishments He rides by her at a
| furious speed and returns again and again. In
| this way he attracts her attention and informs
| her, although he does not speak a word, that he
| loves her and would like to marry her. But this
! does not comprise all of hiscourtship. Alright,
when the Indians have retired to their wigwams
and are sleeping, the young man rises from his
bed of leaves and skins and goes to the lodge oc-
| cupled by the girl he loves. He enters silently
and sits down beside her couch. A lodge is cir
| cular in shape, and at night when the inmates
| go to bed they heap brushwood and logs on the
| fire in the center of the tent and then lie down
with their feet toward the fire and their heads
| toward the outside circumference of the wig
wan. The Indians sleep on leaves and robes,
| and are covered when sleeping with skins. AS the
young man enters the lodge he can see by the fire.
light where the young girl is sleeping, and he goes
| directly to her side often stepping over other
sleepers, and sits down by her bed. 1t is Gus
| tomary for the young girl to sleep near her
| grandmother, who is expected to rest lightly
| after the girl has made her debut AS soon as
| she sees the young man enter she wakens the
| girl, who rises and goes to where her mother is
| sleeping and lies down beside her. AS soon as
she does this the young man rises and goes out
as silently as he came in
mot word is spoken He does not touch the
girl while he is sitting by her she sleeps. Her
grandmother does not speak word of encour-
agement to him, neither does her mother indi-
| cate that he is welcome sutton. The next night
| he comes again and takes up his position beside
| the girl, and keeps this up for along time Dur
| ing all the time he is counting in this
way he is treated as absolute stranger
| by the girls relations They may have enter
| tanned him before ne began his attention to the
| girl her brothers may have hunted with him
and shared the game with him, but when he
once begins to WOO the girl, all familiarity and
friendship ceases. He is never invited to eat of
food prepared by the family of the girl and ner
brothers never offer him anything on the hunt.
His presence is wholly ignored If the girl does
not like him, she tells her grandmother, and
when the young man comes again at night, that
good cid lady rises from her bed, takes hand
| full of hot ashes from the fire and throws them
| in his face. That's the mitten.
IF the girl likes him and is willing to marry
him, then she tells her grandmother, who in
| forms the girls father. If the family think it
| is suitable match the father invites the young
man to the tent and asks him, in the presence
OF the GIRL if he loves her and will take good
of her. Then the father asks the girl if she
loves the young man and tells her the duties of
| wife. 1t both say they love each other, the two
| become engaged, but even after that they do not
talk together, neither do they go about together
| A day is fixed for the wedding. A great feast is
| prepared. The relatives of the girl and the
young man sit around great camp fire together,
the young man and girl sitting side by side
The food is in baskets. The girl has carefully
cooked basket of food for her intended hus-
band, and as she hands it to him he seizes her
wrist with his right hand and takes the basket
with his left That is the marriage ceremony.
The girls father then pronounces them man and
wife. and they go to lodge, where they live to-
gether."
lis There Mahdi or Not?