THE CRUELTIES OF PAGANISM. 55 



The hooting of an owl, the voice of the thunder, the 

 very cooing of the pigeons in the night, are to him 

 sources of fear and alarm. 



The yoke of sorcery, witchcraft, and superstition 

 continually galls him. 



If that of the male is heavy, the yoke of the female 

 is still more grievous. She has also to submit to phy- 

 sical mutilation ; in some tribes one joint of the fore- 

 finger, in others, two joints of the little finger. In 

 some tribes also she is scarified in various parts of the 

 body, somewhat as the young men are. Some kinds 

 of food are denied her also. 



As regards her marriage, she has, as a general rule, 

 no choice. She is the property of her father or his heirs 

 until married, after that the property of her husband. 



In many cases she has to submit to become the wife 

 of a man whom she hates and dreads. If she offers 

 anything like a stubborn resistance, a few blows over 

 the head from a club in her father's hand usually 

 results in a quiet submission on her part. 



They are in most cases married at fourteen, some 

 even younger, and are usually mothers at fifteen or 

 sixteen. 



If the father thinks the child ought not to live she 

 must strangle it at his command. 



In some cases, where death may have resulted from 



