THE WESTERN DENES. 125- 



same way as during their union, they continued to have their respec- 

 tive names, even so did the pi-operty of each ever remain distinctly 

 personal. 



This, among the Denes, is twofold : private and personal, as clothes, 

 canoes, dogs, etc., and real or permanent as are the hereditary estates. 

 For to tlie rank of Tcenezoi or notable are attached hunting grounds, 

 the limits of which are very cleai'ly detined. These are, by right, 

 lield in proprietorship by the titular only ; but by a sort of tacit 

 concession, other heads of families of the same clan as the legitimate 

 pi'oprietor share the usufruct thereof during his good pleasure. In 

 fact, they may be said to be, though of inferior rank, his co-associates, 

 hunting with and for him and receiving of the spoils only what he is 

 pleased to let them retain. As already stated, a woman by the fact 

 of her marriage, obtains no claim whatever to these lands, since they 

 could not be alienated or made over to a different clan, but, upon 

 their owner's death, they pass regularly into his nephew's possession, 

 failing whom, then to one of the previous titular's brothers, or, if 

 there is none living, to his sister or any fellow clansman before de- 

 signated by him. 



As for the private property of the deceased notable, until quite 

 I'ecently his widow could not inherit even the least fraction thereof, 

 nor could she hold her own personal chattels, dress or working 

 implements ; they would be ruthlessly snatched away from her, nolens 

 volens, by her late husband's relatives, who wotild also claim and divide 

 among themselves all of the deceased's goods, even though his orphan- 

 ed children might thereby suffer. To be exact, however, I must add 

 that in case the deceased was the wife, her foi-mer husband, unless he 

 were a notable, would hardly be better treated. Even in these ex- 

 ceptional cases, the survivor would be expected, if only for decency's 

 sake, to make })resents to his former wife's relatives. 



Adoption is practised among tlie Denes ; but without any ceremon- 

 ial formalities, and does not involve the i-ight to succession and 

 heredity thereby usual among most civilized peo[)le. Supposing the 

 dead notable to have left no brother or nephew, any other acceptable 

 member of his clan, even his sister would succeed him rather than 

 his adopted son, and then owing to the latter being regarded as belong- 



