128 HUMAN TREE-DWELLERS 



The woman, who is very fond of children, has 

 the entire management of the domestic economy, 

 and is placed at the head of the man's establish- 

 ment without other ceremony than climbing the 

 ladder leading to his castle in the air. But the 

 preliminary courtship is unique; the girl (she is 

 usually twelve to fourteen) is decorated in pat- 

 terns of red, yellow and black flowers, and is then 

 prepared for the struggle with her wooer, some- 

 what after the manner of the "Bundlers"— only 

 the Sakais girl is without the help of raiment to 

 aid in her defense. I am not familiar with the 

 details of the Bundlers' custom, but the well-chap- 

 eroned Sakais maiden is supposed to successfully 

 resist the "man of the woods" for a good twelve 

 hours ; after which period she submits, and in due 

 course climbs his bamboo ladder. 



And always, so far as my observations went, men 

 and women appeared to share toil and fruits of 

 the chase in common. They are, in truth, the only 

 genuine socialists that I have yet discovered. 

 They divide their blessings and share one another's 

 sorrows. Apropos of which latter I am not likely 

 soon to forget the funeral I witnessed of a Sakais 

 who died the morning I broke camp to move from 

 their midst. Every one belonging to the little 

 band of twenty gathered around the lamented, who 

 lay stretched out with bark cloth under him and 



