THE HIGHLAND WILDERNESS 191 



clothing. A few wore print dresses, but obviously only for 

 ornament. Most of them, especially the girls and young 

 married women, wore nothing but a loin-cloth in addition 

 to bead necklaces and bracelets. The nursing mothers — 

 and almost all the mothers were nursing — sometimes carried 

 the child slung against their side or hip, seated in a cloth 

 belt, or sling, which went over the opposite shoulder of the 

 mother. The women seemed to be well treated, although 

 polygamy is practised. The children were loved by every 

 one; they were petted by both men and women, and they 

 behaved well to one another, the boys not seeming to bully 

 the girls or the smaller boys. Most of the children were 

 naked, but the girls early wore the loin-cloth; and some, 

 both of the little boys and the little girls, wore colored 

 print garments, to the evident pride of themselves and 

 their parents. In each house there were several families, 

 and life went on with no privacy but with good humor, 

 consideration, and fundamentally good manners. The man 

 or woman who had nothing to do lay in a hammock or 

 squatted on the ground leaning against a post or wall. 

 The children played together, or lay in little hammocks, 

 or tagged round after their mothers; and when called 

 they came trustfully up to us to be petted or given some 

 small trinket; they were friendly little souls, and accus- 

 tomed to good treatment. One woman was weaving a 

 cloth, another was making a hammock; others made 

 ready melons and other vegetables and cooked them over 

 tiny fires. The men, who had come in from work at the 

 ferry or along the telegraph-lines, did some work them- 

 selves, or played with the children; one cut a small boy's 

 hair, and then had his own hair cut by a friend. But the 



