MARITAL JEALOUSY 233 



us that jealousy was a passion but little known and 

 much less indulged by those tribes. The principal 

 causes of divorce were indolence intemperance and 

 cowardice. He adds to these impotence and sterility, 

 but takes care to say that he had never known an 

 instance of either and concludes that they must be 

 exceedingly rare. Separation of husband and wife 

 depended upon the wife's will as much as the husband's ; 

 and if she chose to leave him and return to her parents 

 she found no difficulty in marrying again. 1 Another 

 account says of the Osages that a man's concubines 

 (probably meaning his subordinate wives) were offered 

 to a guest. The Assineboin in return for hospitality 

 of this kind used to stipulate for a present. 2 We 

 gather from the traditional narratives of the Foxes 

 that marriages were easily put an end to, and that the 

 first night of a marriage, or sometimes more, was not 

 very rarely given up to a brother or a specially beloved 

 friend. 3 



Among the Dene or Athapascans of the north of 

 Canada the temporary exchange of wives was regarded 

 as a pre-eminent token of friendship and the greatest 

 proof of hospitality. The majority indeed of the Dene 

 have little regard for chastity ; and the lewdness of 

 the Carrier women is said to be unsurpassed. 4 To 

 the south-west of the Ungava district dwells a tribe 

 of Indians, perhaps related to their neighbours the 

 Montagnais of the early Jesuit missionaries. It is not 

 clear from Mr. Turner's account of them whether they 



1 Hunter, 247. 



2 Post, Studien, 345, citing Waitz. 



3 Jones, Fox Texts, i. 217, 305, 313. 



F, A. G. Morice, Anthropos, ii. 33, 32 



