Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-09-05


leaves No matter II the weather be bitter
ly cold. no matter II the nearest neighbor
be miles away. such Is the law and such
the practice.
of a hogan. or house, late one night in the
winter. when the cold was extreme. Her
hair was as white as the snow upon the
ground. and she was SO old and feeble that
she could not stand upright. but crawled
upon the ground. mumbling hes kaz. hes
kaz," cit is cold. 1T is cold'O. and feebly
gathering some sticks to make fire.
She was but scantiiy clothed in a single
blanket and must have suffered greatly.
Inquiry developed the fact that her SON.
in-law was In the hogan, and that she could
not 60 in there even though she knew that
to remain outside meant death to her. The
only way to save her life was to make the
man leave the house.
Some of the side effects, as 1t were, of
this custom are peculiar. The silversmith
of the tribe a man of high intelligence and
a leader among his fellows, wealthy, and
wishing several wives, apparently devoted
much thought to the problem. His busi-
| ness brought him into contact with many
thousands of Indians, and he was unwilling
to place himself in a position where he
might be compelled at any moment to drop
everything and run for shelter. He solved
the problem in a way which was very sat
isfactory to him by marrying three sisters.
Mnrrying the Old Lady.
Another method, even more peculiar. is
shocking 10 uS, DuI TO the lnu1dn appears
not only proper, but an easy solution of
perplexing problem. 1t is not at all uncom-
mon for Navajo TO marry a woman and
her daughter. OF course, he takes the
mother. usually an elderly woman, first
and the daughter next, although the nego-
tiations for both are carried on at the same
time. By this eXpedent he obtains the wo-
man he wants with no mother-in-laW ap-
pendage.
In his eyes. all women are to be cher
ished not from any chivalrous regard for
the sex, but because the old women assume
largely the care of the children, and be-
cause all women. young and old, wcav-
ers, and the well-known Navajo Blankets
the manufacture of which is now u consid-
cradle industry, are made by the women.
When a woman dies her man does not
speak Of what she has done for him or the
| children that she has borne him, but only
that she was a good blanket weaver. He
mourns the loss of a valuable and produce
tive machine.
The Navajo women mature early and
also fade early. Girls are usually sold
In marriage at fourteen or fifteen years Of
age, but they are often reserved" when
but nine or ten years old by part pay
ment. Eventually, as civilization pro-
crosses. no doubt the sewing ma chine plan
will be introduced. and a man will be
able to pay for his wife In monthly INSTALL
merits.
On the Navajo reservation there are COM
paratively few squaw men-white men who
marry Indian women and thereby attain
certain rights in the tribe. In such cases
the usual price is $50 paid in cash to the
brothers and uncles of the woman, and
not in horses. which constitute the sole and
exclusive legal tender when the transaction
is between Indians. Very much higher
prices than this sometimes realized.
II one instance a white trader offered $500
in cash and goods for a young woman
and grass widow at that. The offer
was declined, her people wanted $3.50 and
had the man not died at this point in the
negotiations the sale would have been
made.
With the Squaw Men.
To the squaw men the mother-in-law
taboo is not a matter of firm belief as 1t
Is to the Indians At least, not at first,
trine.
When white man marres an Indian
woman he nearly always discovers that he
has married her entire family, male and
lem ale, to the extent at least of providing
food for them, and he is not loath to adopt
custom which. aside from its other ad-
Vartages, reduces the number of his new
family. But were it otherwise. and the
white man cherished and honored his
mother-in-law and considered it a privilege
to converse with her. this example would
have no effect upon these Indians. They
have long ago reached that stage in be-
lief when adverse examples have no effect,
where they think that white man may
do the most grotesQue things things which
would be fatal to an Indian, such for ex-
ample, as eating fish, and without effect
upon himself To the Navajo the evil
effects which would follow any intercourse
with his mother-in-law are as certain as
the rising and setting of the sun, and he
governs himself accordingly.