LOUISIANA. 231 



are fo delicious, tliat they are given to the Tick 

 to quench their third during the burning fits of 

 the fever. Potatoes are plentiful here ; and the 

 Europeans are very fond of this kind of root, 

 which tafles like chefnuts roalled in hot alhes. 



The Indians are generally contented with one 

 wife, of whom they are jealous to excefs. When 

 an Indian lies at a village where he has no wife, 

 he hires a girl for a night or two, as he pleafes, 

 and her parents never have any objection to it ; 

 they concern themfelves very little about their 

 girls, faying their bodies are free : the Indian girls 

 do not abufe this liberty ; and they find it their 

 intereft to keep up an appearance of inodefly, in 

 order to engage their lovers to aflc them in mar- 

 riage : but in regard to wives the Indians main- 

 tain, that they have fold their liberty by marry- 

 ing, and that they muft not be ferved by other 

 men than their hufbands. The men keep the 

 privilege of having feveral wives, and they can 

 leave them whenever they pleafe \ but this 

 feldom happens. When a woman is caught in 

 adultery, the leaft puniihment is being repudia- 

 ted. The hufDand then leaves the hut ^ and if 

 they have any children, he takes the boys, and 

 the wife the girls -, fi-ie muft remain a widow for 

 one year ^ but he can marry again immediately. 

 0^4 He 



