INDIAN HOME LIFE. 93 



lency, both men and women preserve the shapeliest 

 of limbs. The arms of the men are extremely mus- 

 cular, and their breasts huge knots of muscle. The 

 head is well shaped and gracefully poised. This, as 

 well as the straightness of the back, and backward 

 throw of the broad shoulders, may be owing to the 

 universal practice of carrying every kind of load upon 

 the head. The custom of flattening the forehead by 

 compression, which was universal until the commence- 

 ment of the present century, is not now practiced. 



Let me subjoin a description of a boy and girl, 

 made as they stood before me, in the primitive garb 

 of innocence and virtue, two years ago. The boy, 

 aged eleven or twelve, had a face round, with chin 

 of good shape, and small; nose rather flat; mouth 

 small ; ears small ; eyes almond-shaped, with black 

 silken fringe ; the forehead broad and prominent ; hair 

 purple-black, abundant, cut short above the eyes and 

 flowing behind ; the shoulders straight a plumb- 

 line dropped from the junction of cervical and dorsal 

 vertebras would touch the heels ; back hollowed ; ab- 

 domen full ; legs straight ; hips not large but power- 

 ful ; breasts well rounded. The girl was an exact 

 picture of the boy in the features above described ; 

 the mouth was daintily cut, with thin lips ; and grace 

 and lithesome freedom were in every turn and mo- 

 tion. 



It almost gave pain to think that these sprightly 

 little beauties would develop into coarse, full-bodied 

 men and women, like those about them. But it un- 

 doubtedly would be so ; and this little boy, though 

 retaining longer the shapely limbs which would de- 

 velop into muscular and brawny members, would 



