30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 92 



which were the foods on which they subsisted. It was pitiful and 

 caused compassion to see a poor woman with the baby on her shoulders 

 about the country, suffering cold, and again heat, hunting certain herbs 

 or seeds ; [to see her] arrive home without finding either fire or water, 

 and most times not even wood ; [to see her] clean them, grind them 

 and cook them, and after they were prepared [to behold] her idler 

 coming now from the game or dance, or getting up from sleep, [to 

 watch him] consume [the fruits of] the toil and fatigue of the poor 

 woman, while if he ate everything up, she had to go without food, not 

 being able to say a word. The women in their gentile condition were 

 worse off than slaves, for one cannot realize the subjection in which 

 they found themselves; it was sufficient [reason] if her husband be- 

 came angry with her either because she answered harshly or because 

 she did not have what he wanted, for him to leave her, or to slay her, 

 and most times the quarrels came from the husband gambling away 

 the utensils of the poor woman. But thank God, since the light of the 

 faith entered these lands, since the holy gospel has been preached, 

 the women have gained the Christian liberty which Jesus Christ won 

 for us through his passion and death. 



The woman could not be idle at her home, for after the food had 

 been sought and prepared and all the chores of the house had been done, 

 she had to make all the utensils needed for her work: such as large 

 and small baskets, which serve as plates and cups for eating, and for 

 other uses ; traybaskets for cleaning and toasting seeds ; and other 

 similar things. 



What is wonderful and for which we should bless God, as regards 

 these women, was the facility and happiness which they had in the 

 bringing forth of children ; it can be stated that they scarcely felt at 

 all the pains of childbirth, which did not last half an hour, and many 

 times the woman was alone, and she herself after having given birth 

 cleaned the baby, and after passing the afterbirth washed herself of 

 all the mess of the childbirth, and we are to note that they did not 

 give birth to children inside the house, but outdoors, and this though 

 they might be in the house, for upon feeling [that they were about to 

 give birth] they would go outside, turn the face in the direction that 

 the wind was coming from — and shortly afterwards would set them- 

 selves to working at whatever was necessary to be done about the 

 house, that was, if there was no one else to do it. In their present state 

 of being Christians, the Creole women of the Mission no longer have 

 this facility, which they had in their gentile condition ; I attribute it to 

 the exercise which they used to have when they were gentiles, since 

 many of them now have more idleness, for finding herself pregnant, 

 she no longer works at anything unless it be something short and easy. 



