92 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



account we may infer that the original form of 

 marriage ceremony among the Thompson Indians was 

 by " touching," that " touching " involved the residence 

 or visits first secret and afterwards open of the bride- 

 groom at the bride's place of abode, and that no further 

 ceremony was required than the recognition by the 

 bride's family of the relations between her and the 

 bridegroom. These are institutions proper to the 

 stage of motherright. The more formal bespeaking, 

 either for oneself or for a child whether girl or boy, of 

 a spouse and the securing of the contract by gifts are 

 intended to forestall any marriage in the ancient way 

 which would leave it to chance, to the wayward in- 

 clination of the parties, or to the dash and cunning of 

 a rival. 



In the foregoing pages no attempt has been made 

 at an exhaustive enumeration of peoples practising 

 the different forms of connubial relation under review. 

 The object has been to illustrate only some of the 

 stages through which society has passed from matri- 

 lineal to patrilineal reckoning, or to the reckoning of 

 parentage on both sides. The illustrations have been 

 chosen from all parts of the world, so as to bring home 

 to the reader's mind the fact that the process has not 

 been confined to any one race, that it is not a local 

 aberration, but that it belongs to the progressive 

 organisation of human society and is due to causes 

 universally operative, though not everywhere fully 

 wrought out. 



While it has not been possible to arrange the illus- 

 trations in exact progressive sequence, it is hoped that 

 this has been done sufficiently to enable the general 

 trend of social organisation to be apprehended, bear- 



