Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-12

Bantu negroes, who dress in cowskins
aud cottons. and who have cattle, sheep
and goats. When a young man there
wants "a wife he pays her rather llIly
sheep for her or agrees 10 work Tor me
old man 81 number of years. All ma, :
rage arrangements are made by go
betweens, and the matchmaker brings
the bride To the groom In the mean
while tho chief bridesmaid has arranged
The groon's hut for the occasion ana
a new bed is made consisting OF u
framework of wood with a mattress
Of oxskins The bridesmaid Is paid n
sheep for this work. After this she.
goes with the matchmaker. who might
be called another bridesmaid. to the
house Of the bride and brings her home
iii great style.
II was such a procession that |
stopped one morning on It's way W ms
groom j consisted of a score or mort:
of women dressed in garments Of COW.
skins and cotton, yelling and singing
as they danced along about queer
looking figure which laboriously moved
in the center. AT first3I could not make
out what 1t was Ittlooked 5like%a wo-
man with gigantic hump, wrapped
around With bright figured Indian cot
ton. As the party came closer this
figure turned sidewise. The bump then
took the shape of a human form ana
could see that the woman was evi-
IDENTITY carrying sister or brother un-
der her calico gown, ] handed my
camera 10 my son Jack. who was with
me, and accosted the lady. She laughed
and attempted to make what kind
of u creature she carried. / could see
two little black "tootsie wootsies''
sticking out at the front, and by the
outline OF the stretched cotton could
500 shati covered a lusty girl who was
holding on by her arms to the woman
who carried her. Her hands were
,clasped together over the bridesmaids
breast and the bridesmaid was also
supporting her by holding her ankles
which stuck out on each side the bQdy.s
IAput my hand on the woman s back
and the bride squirmed, hMts when |
attempted 10 touch hey, hare feet the.
bridesmaid objected All this took
but a few moEaents and as | stepped
back, the Procession went on, me
second bridesmaid stood behind the
brides e5Trer and held an umbrella over
her,
AS the party neared the hut of the
groom a score OF other women, the rel
atives OF the groom rushed out and
scattered rice over the bride and the
escorting party. Ipeeped into the hut
Just before they arrived. and thus got a.
look at the bridal chamber. 1t was
a dark closet shut In by bark-cloth,
told that the groom was not yet present
and that he would come In and take
possession after the bridesmaids had
arranged everything and fitted the hut
for the pair. He had already given 90
sheep to his father-in-law and one
sheep to the BRIDES sister,
q 7l2yrHhT WIVES COST.
sixty sheep seemed to me big price
for a wife, and asked the Germans
whether many girls were not sold at
reduced rates. The reply was in the
affirmative, but 1t WAS added that
good. iusty woman was worth some-
thing as a worker and that the women
We're the slaves of the family. They
take care of the stock, cultivate the
crops and also keep house. The men
do little but loaf. Besides it costs al
most nothing to keep an extra wife
there. as the women are not allowed to