Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-10-26

fact, it has proved itself Of great value,
as it enables me to present to the
readers of this paper facts in condensed
form whose collection has cost many
thousands of dollars.
Marriage among primitive people,
according to my informant, is purely q
business transaction. The natives of
southern Siberia, for instance, buy
their wives from the parents, paying
for them sums ranging from twenty to
seventy five dollars, according to the
physical attractiveness of the girls.
Among the Tartars the same custom
prevails, but the brides are more valu-
able, some commanding as much as one
thousand dollars A still more simple
way of wooing is that of the Tchukt-
ches, Siberian tribe, among whom
the would-be groom serves his prospec-
tive father-in-law for certain num-
ber of years, according to agreement,
like Jacob served Leban in patriarchal
times.
A wedding in Corea is described as
unique ceremony. The groom,
clothed in a gorgeous gown hired for
the occasion, is preceded by his best
man who carries a goose in his" arms.
The procession marches toward a
small table before which the groom
bows profoundly. Then he relieves his
attendant of the goose, whose feet are
securely tied, and sits down. Soon
afterward the bride, chaperoned by two
elderly females, makes her appearance.
Her face is painted white, with CHASTITY
red spots on the forehead, on each
cheek and on the lips, and her eyes
are sealed. She is led across large
mat in the center of the room. At the
end of the apartment her attendants
place q white handkerchief over her
clasped hands and lead her back to the
mat. At this moment the bridegroom
is supposed to appear at the other end
of the mat. The bride salutes him by
raising her arms to the level of her
eyes and bowling three times. This
greeting is returned in kind by the
groom. Then they sit down at oppo-
site ends of the mat, and the goose
an emblem of fidelity-is released after
having been fed by an old woman.
This completes the ceremony and the
twain are one.
In Burmah the love-sick swain fol-
lows his inamorata for several days,
at a respectful distance. If she is
favorably disposed toward him she will
smile at him on the third day, and the
young man can begin his wooing in
earnest. In China girls are betrothed
at very early age, many brides being
scarcely ten years of age. After mar
riage the girl is taken to her husbands
home, where she becomes the virtual
slave of her mother-in- law, whose
every word is law. My informant ar
gued from this that the stale mother
in-law jokes of our period must have
had their origin in the celestial en-
pire.
The most nonchalant method of
courting of which we have authentic
records is practiced in the Tonga is
lands and among some Australian
tribes. When a man happens to see
a maiden who pleases his fancy he
knocks her down with club and car
ries her to his hut. Among the Ben
gals of India the maiden does the chas-
ing. She pursues the youth of her
choice in true foot-race style. When
she has caught him he is carried to a
river or creek by the girl and her
friends and Immersed with a ven
geance, a proceeding which always
terminates in wedding.
All of the Mohammedan peoples and
tribes, including the Turks, Egyptians,
Persians and Arabs, cling to the tradi-
ton that it is improper for the groom
TO see his bride until after the marriage
ceremony is performed. Among the