230 ON THE FEONTIER. 



noise, as a party of English children would when enjoying 

 a Twelfth-night frolic. And no man has a keener relish 

 for a practical joke, at some one else's expense, than the 

 Indian. As to the women, they almost invariably sing 

 over their work. And they quarrel about their lovers 

 too. I have seen more than one fight between two jealous 

 maids regular pull-hair, slap-face, clinch-arid-roll-over fights 

 fights inflicting great mutual damage to personal orna- 

 ments, and during which not a little involuntary undressing 

 was done. 



And I have seen more than one Indian woman sit down 

 and regularly cry herself into hysterics, because her personal 

 charms had not been sufficiently appreciated, because 

 she had been contumaciously treated by some other woman, 

 or because she could not have her own way about something 

 or other, acting, in fact, in a most natural and unstoical 

 manner. 



Another misapprehension is that Indian wives are cruelly 

 treated by their husbands. It is positively not the case. 

 I grant Indian women do all the work, but what does 

 all the work amount to ? None of it is laborious, and 

 if they did not dawdle, sing, or gossip over it and take as 

 long as possible to do as little as may be, their time 

 would hang quite wearily on their hands. What does all 

 their bead-work, quill- work, and embroidery testify ? That 

 they have had to invent ways to kill time. The buck does 

 all the hunting, fighting, and stealing. His share of the 

 burden of life is the one entailing toil, hardship, privation, 

 and endurance. And as to an Indian striking his wife, 

 let alone kicking her, I never heard of such a thing. 



