Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-12

cept when they come into the presence
Of white people or cross over to Paraguay
to trade. At such times the women wear
white sheets draped about their bodies.
At home they have nothing except a
blanket about the waist, that is, when they
| are in full dress. The men are satisfied
with a band tied about the head. l have
many photographs of them, but all are too
nude for publication.
The younger women are very fine looking,
and the young braves are among the noblest
of their race. Both sexes age early, and
after 80 the women look old.
Among most of the tribes polygamy is
common, but | I'M told that the women get
along peaceably and that a new and young
wife is welcomed into the family. This may
be from the fact that the women do all the
work, and the more women the less work.
1t is the woman who plants the crops, cooks
the meals, makes the fishing nets and weayes
the blankets.
The mon only hunt, fish and fight, They
are skilled in the use of the bow and are,
it is said, very brave in battle. They do
not scalp, but cut off the heads of their
dead and cure them in such a way that they
can use the skulls for drinking cups. AS a
rule they kill the grownups of the tribes
they Conquer, but save the children for
braves and wives.
The marriage customs of the Chaco In
dams are strange. Giovanni Pelfaschi, an
Italian, who has travelled among them, says
that when one of the TOBIAS wants to marry
he paints his cheek bones, lips and the
hollows OF his eyes red. He then struts
about the tent of his sweetheart, and later
on brings all the sheep, chickens, skins and
other property which he possesses to the
- 49, 1hn,o 81, hon ag "a
present. II she accepts them the marriage
is on and he can come in and live with her
family, shortly afterward removing to a
hut of his own. If she refuses he goes else
where. ] am told that such marriages are
happy, that the women are faithful ana 'hat
they make good mothers.
These Indians are not very intelligent,
THEY cannot count more than four. They
have no money and their trading is alto
gether by barter. A community Of inter
ests seems to prevail, and If one OF the
women gets a piece OF fnery from a for
eigner she has to divide it with her sisters,
her cousins and her aunts.
The WiGwnms of the Chnco.
The wigwams of the Chaco are different
from those of our sayages. A village ofteh
has its huts built together, so that one
thatch can cover a number OF dwellings,
one of these common houses looks much
like a great hay wagon, several families ny
ing in the different apartments under IT,
one part of each hut is used for COOKING
and another for sleeping. The people sleep
upon skins when they have them, other
wise on the bare ground, The huts are So
well made that they do not leak. They are
4 built by the women. and when completed
one of the braves crawls upon the roof and
stamps about to see If he can make the
thatch break through. If he cannot, the
/, hut is all right; but If the roof gives, he
tells his wife to get up and go to WORK
again,
/, The Indian women are said to be good
/, cooks. They use pots and splits for cook
!. ing, and | am told they always wash theiI
pots after using them. They use shells OF
gourds for spoons, forks are unknown and
the man is happy who has his own knife.
2, Some Of these Indians have odd ways OF
; taking care of their dead. If a man is rich
at the time OF his death his corpse is put
/ into a clay jar. This is buried in the hut
j and a fire Is kept burning over it to con-
( sum the gases as the body decays
Whether the cooking is done on the same
fire l do not know.
The Indians like to keep their dead with