INDIANS. 29 



Peace. — This is always determined on and concluded, by 

 the Mic-co and counsellors ; and peace talks are always 

 addressed to the cabin of the Mic-co. In some cases, where 

 the resentment of the warriors has run high, the Mic-co and 

 council have been much embarrassed. 



Marriage. — A man who wants a wife never applies in per- 

 son ; he sends his sister, his mother, or some other female relation, 

 to the female relations of the woman he names They consult 

 the brothers and uncles on the maternal side, and sometimes 

 the father ; but this is a compliment only, as his approbation or 

 opposition is of no avail. If the parties applied to approve of the 

 match, they answer accordingly to the woman who made the 

 application. The bridegroom then gets together a blanket, and 

 such other articles of clothing as he is able to do, and sends 

 them by the women to the females of the family of the bride. 

 If they accept of them the match is made ; and the man may 

 then go to her house as soon as he chooses. And when he 

 has built a house, made his crop and gathered it in, then made 

 his hunt and brought home the meat, and put all this in the 

 possession of his wife, the ceremony ends, and- they are 

 married ; or as they express it, the woman is bound. From 

 the first going to the house of the woman till the ceremony 

 ends, he is completely in possession of her. 



This law has been understood differently, by some hasty 

 cuckolds, who insist, that when they have assisted the woman 

 to plant her crop, the ceremony ends, and the woman is 

 bound. A man never marries in his own tribe. 



Divorce. — This is at the choice of either of the parties ; the 

 man may marry again as soon as he will ; but she is bound till all 

 the Boos-ke-tau of that year are over, excepting in. the cases of 

 marriage and parting in the season when there is no planting^ 

 or more properly speaking, during the season the man resides 

 at the house of the woman and has possession of her. during 

 the continuation of the marriage ceremony ; in that case the 

 woman is equally free to connect herself as soon as she 

 pleases. 



There is an inconsistency in the exception above ; since in 

 fact, in such season, there can be no marriage ; but the chiefs, 

 in their report on this article, maintained it as an exception, and 

 3 



