970 



WOMEN" 



[b. a. b. 



fibers, the product of which was utilized 

 in the manufacture of lines and nets for 

 fishing and for other purposes; thewomen 

 also harvested and stored the corn and 

 prepared it for eating. 



The duties of a woman of the Upper 

 Lakes — i. e. of the Ottawa and the Chip- 

 pewa — were to bring into the lodge, of 

 which she was the mistress, the meat 

 which the husband left at the door; to 

 dry it; to have the care of the cuisine; to 

 get the fish at the landing or harbor and 

 to prepare it for immediate use or for 

 storage; to fetch water; to spin various 

 fibers in order to secure thread for sun- 

 dry uses; to cut firewood in the surround- 

 ing forest; to clear land for planting and 

 to raise and harvest the several kinds of 

 grain and vegetables ; to manufacture moc- 

 casins for the entire family; to make the 

 sacks to hold grain, and the long or round 

 mats used for covering the lodge or for 

 mattresses; to tan theskins of the animals 

 which her husband or brothers or her 

 own or her sister's sons had killed in the 

 chase; and to make robes of those which 

 were used as furs. She made also bark 

 dishes while her husband or other male 

 members of the household made those of 

 wood; she designed many curious pieces 

 of art work; when her infant, swathed 

 on a cradle-board, cried, she lulled it to 

 sleep with song. When on the move, 

 the woman carried the coverings of the 

 lodge, if not conveyed by a canoe. In all 

 her duties she was aided by her children 

 and by dependents or guests, not rarely 

 by the old men and the crippled who 

 were still able to be of service. 



While the tribes of the N. W. coast are 

 distinct in language and in physical fea- 

 tures and mental characteristics, they 

 are nevertheless one in culture; their 

 arts, industries, customs, and beliefs dif- 

 fer in so great a degree from those of all 

 other Indian tribes that they constitute 

 a well-defined cultural group. The staple 

 food of these Indians is supplied by the 

 sea, whence the women gather sea-grass, 

 which after being cut, and pressed into 

 square cakes, is dried for winter use; 

 clams and mussels are eaten fresh, or 

 strung on sticks or strands of bark are 

 dried for winter consumption. Consid- 

 erable quantities of berries and roots are 

 also consumed. The dense forests along 

 the coast furnish wood for building cabins, 

 canoes, implements, and utensils. The 

 red cedar {Thuya gigantea) is the most 

 useful as it yields the materials for a large 

 part of their manufactures, its wood be- 

 ing utilized for building and carving, and 

 its bark for the manufacture of clothing 

 and ropes, in which the women perform 

 the greater part of the work. The wo- 

 men have their share also in the prepara- 

 tion and curing of the flesh and furs of 



the various game and fur-bearing animals 

 which their husbands and brothers kill. 

 Berries and crab-apples are preserved by 

 them for winter use; the food is stored 

 in spacious boxes made from cedar wood 

 suitably bent, having bottoms sewed to 

 their sides. Women assist in curing and 

 tanning the skins designed for the manu- 

 facture of wearing apparel. Dog's hair, 

 mountain-goat's wool, and feathers are 

 woven into fabrics suitable for wear 

 or barter; soft cedar bark is also pre- 

 pared for use as garments. The women 

 manufacture in great variety baskets of 

 rushes and cedar bark for storage and 

 carrying purposes; mats of cedar bark, 

 and in the South, of rushes, are made 

 for bedding, packing, seats, dishes, and 

 covers for boxes. 



Hodge (in article Pueblos) is authority 

 for the following statements : That mo- 

 nogamy is the rule among the Pueblos, 

 and that the status of woman is much 

 higher among them than among some 

 other tribes ; that among most of the 

 Pueblos the descent of blood, and hence 

 of membership in the clan and so citizen- 

 ship in the tribe, is traced through the 

 mother, the children belonging to her, 

 or rather to her clan ; that the home be- 

 longs to her, and that her husband whom 

 she may dismiss upon slight provocation, 

 comes to live with her; that if she have 

 daughters who marry, the sons-in-law 

 reside with her ; that it is not unusual 

 to find men and women married dwell- 

 ing together for life in perfect accord and 

 contentment; that labor is as equitably 

 apportioned between the sexes as is pos- 

 sible under the conditions in which they 

 live ; that the small gardens, which are 

 cultivated exclusively by the women, be- 

 long to the women ; that in addition to 

 performing all domestic duties, the carry- 

 ing of water and the manufacturing of 

 pottery are tasks devolving strictly on 

 the women ; that some of the less irk- 

 some agricultural labor, especially at har- 

 vest time, is performed by the women ; 

 that the men assist the women in the 

 heavier domestic work, such as house- 

 building and fuel-gathering; that the 

 men also weave blankets, make mocca- 

 sins for their wives, and assist in other 

 tasks usually regarded as pertaining ex- 

 clusively to women. 



According to Mrs Stevenson (23d Rdp. 

 B. A. E., 1904), among the Zuni, who are 

 an agricultural and pastoral people, the 

 little gardens around the villages, which 

 are cultivated exclusively by the women, 

 are inherited by the daughters; a married 

 man carries the products of his fields to 

 the house of his wife's parents, which is 

 then his home. The wife likewise places 

 the produce of the plots of land derived 

 from her father or mother with those of 



