70 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



from some facts I learned I think it probable that she 

 may." 1 



Many of the Indians of the plains have passed into 

 the stage of fatherright. Traces however of the 

 older organisation are frequently to be found. Among 

 the various stocks of the Pawnee the husband goes to 

 reside in his father-in-law's hut. The morals of the 

 Wichita maiden were the subject of much concern by 

 her parents and relatives. In the choice of a husband 

 she was supposed to take no part. The parents of the 

 youthful pair arranged the matter, the first advance 

 coming sometimes from the one side, sometimes from 

 the other. The young man then went to the girl's 

 lodge in the evening. If her parents still favoured 

 him, he remained and was recognised as her husband. 

 In case of unfaithfulness on the wife's part she was 

 beaten with a stick by her father not apparently by 

 her husband. If on the other hand her parents at any 

 time changed their mind with regard to their son-in- 

 law, he was simply sent home : this constituted divorce. 

 While he remained his duty was to watch over the 

 property of the family and to provide food. On his 

 fulfilment of these requirements rested his claim for 

 favour with his wife's parents in other words, the 

 continuance of the marriage. 2 To these customs the 

 mythological and other tales bear abundant witness. 

 Here too we find the marriage of one man to a band 

 of sisters. 3 Such marriages are common with the 

 Kiowa of the Southern Plains. The husband generally 



1 Maccauley, Rep. Bur. Ethn. v. 496, 508. 



2 Dorsey, Myth. Wichita, 9. Compare (among others) the 

 customs of the Senecas (p. 67) and the Bushmen (p. 61). 



3 Dorsey, Skidi Pawnee, 141, 229, 325; Pawnee Myth. i. 166, 

 196, 254, 283, 287, 359, 371, 424; Myth. Wichita, 83, 173, 268. 



