26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 48 



Thieves apprehended with the stolen property in their possession 

 were forced to return it. If they could not produce the property, 

 either they or their famiUes were compelled to return goods of equal 

 value. 



The Choctaw bear a good reputation among the people of the sur- 

 rounding country for honesty and truthfulness. They regard lying 

 as a crime and they have no respect for a person whom they can not 

 believe. Bossu, writing in 1759, said of the Choctaw: 



Although they are wild and ferocious, you must gain their confidence, and be very 

 careful to keep your word after having promised them anything, otherwise they treat 

 you with the greatest contempt. 



The Choctaw appear to be quiet and peaceable people, and even 

 now the few remaining at Bayou Lacomb often refer to the fact that 

 their tribe never took up arms against the Americans. 



Marriage Ceremony 



The marriage ceremony as performed until a few years ago, at a 

 time when there were many Choctaw living in the region, was thus 

 described by the women at Bayou Lacomb. 



Wlien a man decided he wanted to marry a certain girl he confided 

 in his mother, or if she was not living, in his nearest female relative. 

 It was then necessary for her to talk with the mother or the nearest 

 living relative of the girl, and if the two women agreed, they in turn 

 visited the chiefs or heads of the two ogla, or families, to get their 

 consent to the union. As a man was not allowed to marry a girl who 

 belonged to his ogla, often the women were obliged to make a long 

 journey before seeing the two chiefs, whose villages were frequently 

 a considerable distance apart. 



After all necessary arrangements had been made, a day was fixed 

 for the ceremony. Many of the man's friends and relatives accom- 

 panied him to the girl's village, where they seem to have had what 

 may be termed "headquarters" of their own. As the time for the 

 ceremony drew near, the woman with her friends was seen some 

 distance away. The man and his party approached and he endeav- 

 ored to catch the girl. Then ensued much sham fighting and wrest- 

 ling between the two parties, and the girl ran about apparently 

 endeavoring to escape, but she was finally caught by the man and 

 his relatives and friends. 



Then all proceeded to- the place where the feast had been prepared, 

 to which both parties had contributed. Off to one side, four seats 

 had been arranged in a row; usually a log covered with skins served 

 the purpose. The man and girl then took the middle seats and on the 

 ends sat the two maje heads or chiefs of their respective ogla. Certain 

 questions were then asked by the chiefs, and if all answers were satis- 

 factory, the man and girl agreed to live together as man and wife and 



