86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 43 



I say that that bai)i)ens ordinarily, Ijiit tliis remedy is not so certain that it 

 does not sometimes find stnbborn maladies wbicb it is miable to terminate. 

 Tbis I bave seen in a savage of tbe Yazoos, wbo for at least two years was 

 tormented witb acute pains. He bad only one daughter wbo took care of bim, 

 and be bad passed tlirougb tbe bands of all tbe alcHs of bis village without 

 being able to find either cure or relief for his malady. Wearied out finally 

 with suffering and witb the duration of a sickness wbicb put him out of condi- 

 tion to go bunting or to war, even to go out and walk about, be one day told 

 bis daughter to go in search of somethmg of which he said he bad need in a 

 place which be indicated to her. She started, and scarcely bad she gone out 

 of tbe cabin when tbe savage rose, loaded his gun witb three balls, and broke 

 bis bead. Tbis determination and tbis contempt for life are not unusual 

 among tbe savages. Not only do they deliver themselves willingly to death, 

 as will be seen when I treat of their funeral rites, but even when one among 

 them has bad tbe misfortune to bave a leg or an arm broken, as they are very 

 sure that their alexis bave not the art of resetting it, and besides they bave 

 among them neither hunchbacks nor crooked people, they make a feast to the 

 one who is thus crippled, and after some days of amusement they strangle bim.'' 



BIRTH, EDUCATION, AND THE DIVISION OF LABOR 



This entire ground is fairly well covered by Du Pratz, v^^ho says: 



As soon as a native woman has been confined she goes to the edge of tbe 

 water. She washes herself there as well as her infant. From there she comes 

 back to lie down again, and fixes her child on the cradle which is already pre- 

 pared. Tbis ci-adle is about 2* feet long by 8 to 9 inches broad. It is artis- 

 tically made of straight canes running tbe length of the cradle, .-ind at the 

 end they are cut in half and bent back under to make the foot. The whole is 

 only half a foot high. This ci'adle is very light, since it weighs not more than 

 2 pounds. It is on tbe bed of the mother, who is thus readily able to suckle 

 her infant, which being in a warm cabin can not be cold however little it is cov- 

 ered. Tbis child being rocked endways can not bave the bead disturbed like 

 those which are rocked sideways in tbe manner that is employed in France 

 and elsewhere, and which in that way run tbe risk of being overturned, a dan- 

 ger which tbe natives do not at all fear. A thin bed of Spanish beard is made 

 on which the child is placed. The mother fastens to it the legs, the thighs 

 and the buttocks, and leaves the belly and tbe stomach free. The arms and 

 the shoulders are also fastened. The bead is placed on a little pillow of skin 

 filled witb Spanish beard, which does not extend beyond tbe upper part of tbe 

 cradle, in such a way that tbe head is as low as the shoulders, and is held to 

 tbis pillow by thongs which are double strips of deerskin over the forehead. 

 It is this which makes their heads flat. The child in this state is unable to 

 move. It is rocked lengthwise by making the cr.idie move on two iiicccs of 

 cane which are two rollers. When (he child is .a month old lliey luit below 

 its knees leggings ffir garters] made of bison wool, which is very soft. Then 

 above the ankle they tie the legs with threads of the same wool to a height of 

 from 3 to 4 inches, according to tbe age of the child, which wears these bands 

 until it has attained its 14th or 1.5tb year. 



The children of the natives arc fair at birth, but they dni'ken because they rub 

 tliem witb bear's oil while little in order to stand exjtosure to the sun. They let 

 them crawl on all fours without having them walk cm their legs, still too feeble 

 to bear tbe weight of the body. They rub them with oil for two reasons : First, 



" Dumont, Mem. Ilist. sur I^a Louisiaiio, i, 170-172. 



