The Washington times., 1922-08-27
By Lady Dorothy Miits

~ LuuB DOTOtfB MUS
tc 1914 Rights
II HAVE SO often been asked since my visit short
time ago among the Troglodytes in the noun
- tains of Northeastern Africa how the cave man
makes love. am afraid that to answer truthfully
shall have to shatter good many popular ideas.
The first Of these is the club idea. Never on any
occasion that have ever heard Of does cave man
use club to expedite his courtship. He has no
need TO.
The cave lady is a warm -blooded creature and
not coy If the objective Of the courtship be mar
ags, she IL usually extremely willing, for stay-at-
home daughters not encouraged in cave families
and old maids unknown.
II the objective be in the nature Of free love-"
she usually only deferred. like many of her civil
lied sisters by the fear of being found out fear in
which her admirer shares almost equally.
Actually, the standard of morality is fairly high.
al any rate, good deal higher than in civilization
Living herded as the cave people do in little inacces-
sibe villages like rabbit warrens the tops of
mountains, there Is, be imagined, but little
convenient privacy for intrigue, and light love- If de-
tected, Is punishable by death for the woman, and
for the man may involve him and his family in
most virulent form of vendetta, which, If he is of
high rank may embroil also his whole village or
tribe.
Brides Are Rsturnable
II Not Satisfactory.
In addition, morality is made easy for him. He
s allowed four wives at a time by his religion, which
10 kind of unorthodox Mohammedanism, and d.
vorce is the simplest thing in the world
w For any or no reason, on the morning after the
marriage, if he wishes he can take his wife before
the head man of the village repudiate her in half
dozen words, and has further responsibility be-
yond providing her with donkey to carry her back
to her parents if she from afar. Her point of
view In the matter Is not considered at all.
The second popular idea to be shattered is the
dashingness Of the cave mans wooing. His court
ship, If of an honorable persuasion, is conducted
with . degree Of formality and convention far ex-
ceeding our own. His bride is chosen for him by
his parents and he sees her till the day of the
wedding. It is his duty to provide all the clothing
and household necessities and their value is based
on the beauty, age and eligibility of the lady.
His ideals in a wife are youth, pumpness and q
capacity for hard work. A woman in his eyes is but
slave for his pleasure and comfort, and they have
proverb which, roughly translated, runs: "Obedi-
ence to women is the road to hell"
Illustrating their tastes in regard to youth and
avoirdupois, was, while out there, the honored
cipient Of formal proposal of marriage from the
son of chief. He started by suggesting that
should take preparation made from native herb
called 'khalba," with which his sisters would supply
me- and that was guaranteed rapidly to fatten me
up into the local standard of beauty adding navely
that it would make me worth so many more skins
and strips of cloth and perhaps even some jewelry
When told him my Ito European ideas) not so
very vast age it considerably softened If not CON-
pletey obterated the blow Of my refusal, and ]
vaguely gathered his comments, which. my Arab in.
tcrpreter was too polite to translate in extenso
Let her 60 back from whence she came she Is
too old for lovep 'y
Fourteen or fifteen is the usual age for . cave
bride, and woman by the time she has reached the
age of twenty five thirty looks unbelievably old
As a husband, the cave man Is generally kind
sno,toh in khiuoe A vvif renrosonts