The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-13

in-law. who might crop out In the most unexpected places is certainly not an enviable one. The boasted freedom oi the savage Is to him cruel myth. Tor be 1t remembered he most firmly believes that should he 50 much as look upon the mother of one of his women the results will be most disastrous to him.
 The sympathiee of the people are with the man. and every effort is made to pro- tect him from the baieful influences aris- ing from the proximity of his mother in-law. Should be visit house where she is. although it is her own, the woman must retire when he is seen approaching, and must remain outside and hidden until he leaves. No matter if the weather he bitterly cold, no matter If the nearest neighbor be miles away, such is the law. and such the practice.
 Some of the side effects as 1t were. of smith of the tribe. a man of high intel ligence and a leader among his fellows. wealthy, and wishing several wives. ap- parently devoted much thought to the problem, His business 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 very satisfactory to him by marrying three sisters.
 Another method. even more peculiar, Is shocking to us. but to the Indian appears not only proper but as easy solution of a perplexing problem. II is not at all un- and her daughter. Of course, he takes the mother. usually an elderly woman, first, and the daughter next. although negotiations for both are carried on at the same time. By this expedient he ob- tains the woman he wants with no moth er-in-law appendage.
 In his eyes all women are to be cher shed. not from any chivalrous regard c.. Al th. r1I 1aal assume largely the care of the children, and because all women. young and old. are weavers. and the we'll known Navajo blankets. the manufacture of which Is now considerabl industry, are made hy theswomep When a woman dies her man does not speak of what she has done for him or the children she has borne him, but only that she was good blanket weaver. He mourns the loss or q valuable and productive machine.
 The Navajo women mature early and also fade carly Girls are usually sold in marriage at fl or 15 years of age. but they are often ''ressrvsd' when but or 10 years old by a part pG yment. Even tualIy as civilization progr esscs. no doubt. the sewing machine plan will be intro duced. and a man will he able to pay for his wife in monthly miscellaneous.
 On the Navajo reserYati1n there are comparativ few ,squaw men-white men who marry Indian women and there by attain certain rights in the tribe. In such cases the usual price is $50. paid in cash to the brothers and uncles nf the woman. and not in horses. which consti- tutes the sole and exclusive legal tender when the transaction is between Indians. ve-v much higher prices than this are sometimes realized. In ono instance a white trader offered $500 in cash and goods for a young woman-and a grass widow at that, The offer was declined. Her people wanted S35o. and had the man not died at this point in the nego- tiations the sale would have been made.
 To the squaw man the mother-in-law taboo is not matter of firm belief ,as 1t is to the Indians-at least not at first, but they are ready subscribers to the doctrine.