Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-01
THE PURCHASE OF WIVES.
Countries in Which Legal Marriage
EOIIOyys the Payment of Il Price.

Follows the Payment of u Price.
There are many countries in which, IL a
man wishes to be legally married, he has
to go out and buy a wife, though the mar
ket price of that article varies considerably,
says the Pail Mall Gazette. In Uganda you
can get what you require for two or three
bullccks, or even for six good sewing
needles, or perhaps a box of percussion
caps; while inferior wives can be picked up
in exchange for a coat, and If one is indif-
ferent to health and beauty, for a pair of
shoes. In the Caroline islands wives are
cheap. A father will let you marry his
aughter If you give him a little fruit or
a small present of fish, while in Samoa
matrimony runs you into pigs and canoes;
among the Fijians, into whales teeth and
muskets. In Tartary it is best to marry
beneath you you can do 1t ON a few pounds
of butter), because a man who has lordly
notions of q marriage with one of the upper
ten must be an owner of horses. The
aborigines Of Australia manage their mar
riages upon a most equitable principle. If
A wishes to marry BIS sister, he allows
him to marry his own; or if B happens to
be a wldower, then his daughter will do
just as well. One of the most Objectionable
forms of gaining a wife Is to work for her,
a habit practiced among many uncivilized ma
tions, its only advantage being that a man
can get a wife on credit, though his father
in-law takes good care that he serves his
time. Among some races you have to do
your work before you get your wife, as
Jacob had to serve for Leah and for Rachel.
Marriage by exchange and purchase is not
customary among unciviliZed nations only.
In Central America and Peru a man has
to work for his bride,
In China a present is given by the father
OF the bridegroom, the amount of which
is agreed upon by both the families. The
Japanese make use of a similar custom,
though, in their case, the giving of pres
ents is the most important part Of the
whole marriage ceremony, for after these
have been delivered and formally accepted
neither of the contracting parties is able
to go back. Wife-purchase appears to have
been the basis OF Indo-European marriage
before the separation OF the peoples took
place. Manu- mentions the Asura form of
marriage as one Of purchase, and according
to Aristotle the ancient Greeks were in the
habit of buying their brides; for In the
Homeric age a maiden was called by a
name which signiied "one who brings her
parents many oxen"
The old Scandinayians believed that even
the gods had paid a price for their wives,
and in Germany the expression ito purchase
a wife" was in vogue until the end of the
middle ages. The old Inhabitants of Ire
land and Wales were accustomed to buy
their wives with gold and silver or land.
In Seryia. at the beginning of our century,
girls had reached such a price that Black
George reduced their value to one ducat.
Among many savage nations the equiva-
Tents of a wife are varied and grotesque.
Poor Bashkirs purchase theirs with cart
loads OF wood or hay; the Indian Kisans.
with two baskets Of rice and a rupee; a
tribe in California. with half a string OF
dentalium shell, and among the Padams, a
rude people OF India, the sutton shows his
intentions by gifts of field mice and squir-
rels.
Jesse l.. Test esq, an old resident and
highly respected citizen OF our town, called
this morning and after purchasing a bottle
OF Chamberlain Collie, Cholera and Diar-
rhoea Remedy. said: IF anyone asks you
II this remedy will do what is claimed for
1t, tell them yes, and refer them to me-" IL.
Alexander Stoke. Reynoldsville, Pa. No
one can doubt the value OF this medicine
after giving it a fair trial. Then 1t is
pleasant and safe to take, making 1t es-
nacfaIlv valnahla for children For sale