He was, however, permitted to marry prisoners of war, and their
children followed the rank of their father. The chiefs usually made
their choice among the marriageable women of a tribe different from
their own, with a view of increasing their influence and power, for as
the husband after marriage belonged to his wife's_ tribe, he was
favourably situated to rise from an inferior to a superior rank. The
wives of the chiefs were not required to perform any kind of labour,
unless they might have been prompted by their own inclination to
pass their time in the performance of some laborious task. All the
drudgeries of the household, as well as the agricultural operations
were attended to by the slaves. Adultery, which was exceedingly
rare, was punished with death ; but if the husband was afraid of in-
curring the vengeance of his wife's relations he generally restricted
his retaliatory act to repudiation. If it was proved that the faithless
wife was the victim of a vile seducer, she escaped punishment, and
the man alone was made responsible for the deed. If the husband
was found derelict to his marital obligations his mistress was some-
times killed by his legitimate wife ; or she was at least stripped
naked; and the guilty husband was occasionally subjected to this
ignominious treatment by the relations of his wife, if his high rank
did not protect him.
