THE PIMA INDIANS OF ARIZONA. 415 



■washed out, when it leaves the hair uot ouly bhxck and glossy, but also 

 free from vermiu.) 



• The custom of destroying all the property of the husband when he 

 dies impoverishes the widow and children and prevents increase of stock. 

 The women of the tribe, well aware that they will be poor should their 

 husbands die, and that then they will have to provide for their children 

 by their own exertions, do not care to have many children, and infanti- 

 cide, both before and after birth, prevails to a very great extent. This 

 is not considered a crime, and old women of the tribe practice it. 

 A widow may marry again after a year's mourning for her first husband ; 

 but having children, no man will take her for a wife and thus burden 

 himself with her children. Widows generally cultivate a small piece 

 of ground, and friends or relatives (men) generally plow the ground for 

 them. 



Makeiages. — Marriages among the Pimas are entered into without 

 ceremony, and are never considered as binding. The lover selects a 

 friend, who goes with him to the hut of the parents of the girl and asks 

 the father to give his daughter to his friend. If the ijareuts are satis- 

 fied, and the girl makes no objections, the latter at once accompanies 

 her husband to his hut, and remains with him as long as both feel 

 satisfied with the compact. If, however, the girl refuses, the lover 

 retires at once and all negotiations are at an end. Presents are seldom 

 given unless a very old man desires a young bride. Wives frequently 

 leave their husbands and husbands their wives. This act of leaving is 

 all that is necessary to separate them forever, and either party is at 

 liberty to marry some one else, only at the second marriage the assist- 

 ance of a friend is dispensed with. Instances of fidelity and strong- 

 affections are known, but many of the wives do not hesitate to surren- 

 der their charms to men other than their husbands, which, though 

 possibly disagreeable to the husband, is not considered a crime by the 

 tribe. Ouly the worst of the women of the tribe cohabit with the whites, 

 but it is undeniable that the number of such women is increasing from 

 year to year. But, though this has caused a great deal of disease in 

 the tribe, which disease is rapidly spreading, still not one of the chiefs 

 or old men of the nation appears to have thought it necessary to raise 

 a warningvoice or propose punishment to the offenders, and prostitutes 

 are looked upon as inevitable, and are by no means treated, with con- 

 tempt or scorn by the Pimas. Modesty is unknown both to men and 

 women. Their conversation, even in the presence of children, is 

 extremely vulgar, and mauy of the names of both men and women are 

 offensive. 



Generally several married couples with their children live in one hut, 

 and mauy of the men who can support more than one wife practice 

 polygamy. The wife is the slave of the husband. She carries wood and 

 water, spins and weaves, has the sole care of the children, and does all 

 the work in the field except plowing and sowing. It fs the Pima 



