"  Their  government  was  monarchical  and  succes-
sive and  mostly  of  the  mothers'  side,  to  prevent  a


spurious  issue.  Thej  commonly  washed  their
children  in  cold  water  as  soon  as  born,  and  to  make
their  limbs  straight,  tied  them  to  aboard  and  hung
it  to  their  back,  when  they  traveled  ;  they  usually
walked  at  nine  months  old.  Their  young  men  mar-
ried at  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  if  by  that
time  they  had  given  sufficient  proof  of  their  man-
hood by  a  large  return  of  skins  of  animals.  The  girls
married  at  thirteen  or  fourteen,  but  stayed  with
their  mothers  to  hoe  the  ground,  bear  burdens,
etc.,  for  some  years  after  marriage.  The  marriage
ceremony  was  sometimes  thus  :  the  relations  and
friends  being  present,  the  bridegroom  delivered  a
bone  to  the  bride,  she  an  ear  of  Indian  corn  to
him,  meaning  that  he  was  to  provide  meat,  she
bread.
"Some  tribes  were  commendably  careful  of  their
aged  and  decrepit,  endeavoring  to  make  the  re-
mains of  their  lives  as  comfortable  as  they  could.
It  was  pretty  generally  so,  except  in  desperate  de-
cays ;  then,  indeed,  as  in  other  cases  of  the  like
kind,  they  were  sometimes  apt  to  neglect  them.
"  The  native  Indians  were  grave,  even  to  sadness,
upon  any  common,  and  more  so  upon  serious,  occa-
sions ;  observant  of  those  in  company ;  of  a  tem-
per cool  and  deliberate ;  never  in  haste  to  speak,
but  waited  for  a  certainty  that  the  person  who
spoke  before  them  had  finished  all  he  had  to  say.
